《Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters》


 Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition

    Empire Year 557 [26 years after Richard IV withdrew his troops]The Federated Provinces Republic [formerly known as the Republic before the Mountains]


    Guidao City


    It was a midsummer afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky. The scorching sun turned the entire city into a steaming cage, draining all living beings of their vitality. Even the annoying cicadas had ceased their chatter.


    "Just a bit longer and victory will be ours," Winters told himself. He was in the third year at the Army Officers'' Academy, biting his lips and desperately trying to resist the urge to breathe through his mouth.


    [Winters Montagne]


    He tried his best to maintain abdominal breathing, consciously controlling the rhythm, ensuring each breath was as prolonged as possible. Air, heated by his body temperature, streamed out from his nostrils and hit the inner wall of the full-coverage helmet, bringing back a fetid whiff of sweat when it bounced back.


    In the current temperature, it should be time for a bath and some relaxation under the shade. Yet, in this oppressive heat that could make one sweat just by sitting still, Winters was completely wrapped up.


    He was wearing an entire set of cotton martial attire close to his body, over which he donned a set of training armor. The armor he was using was cavalry armor stripped from the bodies of nobility over thirty years ago during the Sovereign War. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Army Department hoped to save as much as possible on teaching expenses, so the cadets had no choice but to use these second-hand goods.


    The armor Winters was using, of course, wasn''t the high-ranking nobles'' armors ¡ª the ornate, luxurious pieces were taken home by generals as decorations. Instead, the cadets used the armor of knights who had actually fought on the frontlines,


    These lower-ranking nobles had sold their ancestral properties for warhorses and armor, carrying the lances and treasured swords passed down in their families and following their liege lords to Forthland in the hope of fortune, believing their enemies to be nothing more than traders, farmers, and craftsmen.


    But in the end, it was the traders, farmers, and craftsmen who had the last laugh, leaving the knights buried in foreign lands. Nobody remembered who they were, leaving only suit after suit of armor, pocked with bullet holes and scratches, as evidence that they once existed.


    These armors were modest in appearance, without much adornment, but were constructed of sturdy materials, for they were a matter of life and death for their wearers. The Army Ordnance Department removed all the components below the armor skirt and repurposed them as brand new leg armors, which were then redistributed to the Cavalry Division.


    They then took a batch of left shoulder armors from other captured armors and replaced the original right shoulder armors of these ones ¡ª because these armors had a gap under the right armpit to facilitate handling the lance, and the Ordnance Department did not want to go to the trouble of forging a new set of right shoulder armors. "After all, shoulder armors don''t differentiate between front and back, right?"


    Later on, the Ordnance Department registered this batch of second-hand assembled goods as "new premium three-quarter armors" and sent them to the Army Officers'' Academy for the cadets'' use, and many armors with bullet hole damage were not even repaired.


    However, a few bullet holes weren''t a significant issue, as the cadets wouldn''t be wearing this armor on the battlefield. What tormented the cadets wasn''t these bullet holes, nor the weight of the armors, but the excellent heat conductivity of the iron armor.


    In the winter, it rapidly stole away your body heat, while in the summer, it efficiently transferred the external heat to the inside of the armor.


    Right now, Winters was soaked as if he had just taken a bath, the cotton martial garments beneath his iron armor drenched in sweat and clinging to his back. Sweat trickled down his forehead, occasionally getting into his eyes, stinging them painfully. With his helmet on, he could not rub his eyes and had to endure the discomfort.


    Every time he donned the training armor, older than himself, during summer, Winters sincerely thanked the Ordnance Department for not patching up the holes, as at least that allowed for slightly better ventilation.


    In fact, during swordsmanship lessons, armors with more holes were always in high demand among the cadets. The officer responsible for handling these armors twenty years ago probably never imagined that his laziness could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.


    These armors had been continuously used from the day the Army Officers'' Academy was established till today, over twenty years, and they would continue to torment Winters'' juniors far into the foreseeable future.


    But at the moment, Winters had no spare concern to pity his juniors. What he yearned for was to strip off this encumbrance and sit on a stone bench at the side of the field, drinking cool water.


    After more than thirty rounds of sparring, all he felt was that the muscles around his shoulders were blazing hot, like red-hot iron, and as rigid as a rusty door hinge that hadn''t been oiled for decades.


    Winters'' upper arm muscles were involuntarily causing his entire arm to tremble, and his hands were almost unable to hold onto the hilt of his sword ¡ª that''s right, this sword in his hands was exactly the reason why he had to wear a full set of iron armor in the blazing summer heat.


    Just as dogs all originated from wolves and are classified in biology as a subspecies of domestic dogs, with such morphological variations that one might question, "Are they really capable of interbreeding?" so too has the sword seen a similarly vast divergence.


    Over the millennia, in conjunction with changes in tactics, techniques, and metallurgy, the category of swords has branched out into hundreds of thousands of distinct subspecies, all varied in shape. The sword that Winters held was one of the younger breeds, mentioned in the last few pages of the family tree, so to speak.


    This sword had a total length of 1.3 meters, which can be described another way: for an adult human male standing 1.8 meters tall, when he rests the sword tip on the ground, the pommel at the balance end of the sword is about four fingers below his armpit.

 Chapter 2: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_2

    The blade of the sword was 95 centimeters long, with no fuller. Besides its length, another distinctive feature of this sword was the club-like crossguard perpendicular to the blade. This crossguard was much larger than those on ordinary swords, almost as long as the forearm of an adult male. This oversized crossguard was the soul of the weapon, essential for executing many techniques.Despite its length, the sword was surprisingly light. The one Winters was using weighed only 1.4 kilograms, which is about the weight of a few potatoes.


    Praise be to the advancements in metalworking that allowed smiths to forge such a light yet tough and resilient blade.


    The sword had a long hilt, requiring two hands to wield effectively. However, it wasn''t categorized as a "two-handed sword", since that term had already been claimed by other predecessors. Although it could be managed in one hand, it certainly wasn''t deserving of being adopted by the "hand-and-a-half sword" family.


    Most of the time, the cadets simply called it "the sword". If they needed to distinguish it from other types of swords in conversation, they referred to it as "the sword we practice with"; or simply "Longsword", since it was longer than the average sword.


    Do not underestimate those 1.4 kilograms. A forceful swing, even of only 1.4 kilograms, could easily crush a skull or slice open an unarmored enemy. This was why Winters would train in half a set of Cavalry armor even under the risk of heatstroke in the scorching summer days.


    Winters, and his opponents, wielded blunt Longswords¡ªall genuine articles, despite their blunted edges.


    Winters felt nearly boiled by his own sweat; he just wanted to quickly win the duel, to beat the opponent he hadn''t defeated in six years. And this was his closest chance at victory yet.


    Peering through the visor grid of his helmet, Winters glanced at the scoreboard on the sidelines, his score at 17, his opponent''s at 12. He had never led his adversary by as many as five points before.


    The rule for swordsmanship practice in the Military Academy was first to 20 points wins, and Winters now held match point. He kept reminding himself, "Stay calm, stay calm, just three more points."


    His mind raced with thoughts, "I''m at match point. He has to attack to catch up. I can wait for a slip-up." With his strategy set, Winters entered the dueling area from the waiting zone. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He tentatively stepped out half a step with his right foot, grounded himself in a stable T-stance, keeping his back straight. His right hand in front and left hand behind gripped the Longsword hilt, both hands lowering to belly-button height, with the sword''s tip angled upward toward his opponent''s throat.


    The swordsmanship Winters and his classmates learned in class originated from the founding marshal Ned Smith. One of the crucial elements of this swordsmanship was "the guard." The guard Winters employed was called "the Plough", suited for both offense and defense, and he favored keeping both his dominant hand and leg forward.


    He knew his strength was at its limit, and his stiff posture must have appeared ludicrous to the onlooking classmates. But he didn''t care about losing face; he consoled himself, "It''s a competition to see who''s less awful. He''s tired too. Winning is what matters."


    Time always seems to pass quicker in the mind. Though he thought of a multitude of things, only a few seconds had actually gone by in the real world. Winters'' opponent was approaching him in a posture similar to Winters''. As expected, holding match point, the opponent opted for a more aggressive and proactive approach, since a single sneak attack from Winters could end the match.


    Winters'' opponent also aimed his Longsword''s tip at his head but took broad steps around to Winters'' right side, trying to gain a flank position. Naturally, Winters was not about to let him succeed, adjusting his footwork accordingly.


    They circled each other for a few steps, closing in the distance, their Longsword tips starting to clash. Winters now didn''t dare to blink; when both using the Plough and their sword tips met, it meant they were both within striking range of the other.


    Winters'' opponent boldly controlled the clash of their Longswords with confidence, as if to provoke him. The blades chimed with a clear clink, these minor clashes not granting any advantage but serving as an effective psychological tactic, putting the opponent under pressure with such an assertive attitude.


    Winters didn''t realize that by deciding to play defensively, his own momentum had already diminished. What he saw as a solid and sensible choice was, in reality, an external show of his lack of confidence.


    Because Winters was acutely aware that his opponent had stronger physical capabilities than himself. He couldn''t figure out how he managed to be five points ahead, so he decided to play it safe. Had his opponent been ahead by five points, the onslaught would have been swift and fierce.


    Seeing Winters firmly defending the centerline, his opponent began to adjust the direction of the attack. Using a counterbalance as a pivot, the opponent turned the Longsword''s tip, originally aimed at Winters'' right side, towards the left.


    Winters immediately perceived his opponent''s intent to attack. His opponent was a "strong-king", often relying on sheer physical strength to knock the opponent''s Longsword off the centerline.


    Then his opponent would quickly step forward, catch the enemy''s blade with the crossguard, and deliver a thrust from above straight toward the chest¡ªa signature move of his.


    Winters instinctively reacted, seeing his opponent''s blade shift to his right side, he too altered his posture, swinging preemptively to the right. It was going to be a head-on collision, where the advantage in the ensuing bind could lead to a point.

 Chapter 3: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_3

    ```But his opponent''s sword tip drew a circle in the air and returned to its original position, revealing it was all a feint. Winters felt a chill in his chest as a single thought flashed through his mind, "Not good!"


    There was never a "battle of three hundred rounds".


    In unarmored swordsmanship, a single move could determine the victor.


    If you fell for a feint, it was all over.


    Although Winters''s brain had ceased to function, his swordsmanship instincts remained. Instinct took over thought, and he switched his swing from right to left, trying to readjust his position.


    But it was too late, his opponent launched an attack from Winters''s left side. Instead of aiming for Winters''s torso, he first struck Winters''s weaker sword with his stronger one, knocking Winters''s longsword out of position. At the same time, he exploded forward with a powerful thrust from his spring-like left leg, and his right foot took a large step forward.


    The longsword in his hand quickly circled back to the high guard and initiated a fierce overhead chop. The blade traced an arc of light through the air, the speed of the swing generating a whistling sound, as his longsword this time aimed straight for Winters''s neck. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without the slightest hint of mercy, the sword hit squarely on the neck armor at Winters''s left clavicle, the whistle sounded! Winters''s opponent did not slacken in the slightest as he rapidly pulled back his longsword and took a horizontal sword position to seal off any possible counter from Winters, leaving no chance for a "post-strike".


    Post-strike, a situation recognized by the military academy where both sides perish together. Should this occur, it is regarded as mutual destruction, with neither side scoring. Winters''s opponent would certainly not leave such an opportunity to Winters.


    But Winters''s opponent was actually overthinking it, for after taking such a powerful "bolt from the blue", it was almost impossible for Winters to counterattack, he was already in so much pain he was close to choking.


    Although his neck and chest armor distributed that force across his entire torso, the spot where he was hit on his clavicle still hurt as if a door had slammed hard on his toe.


    The intense pain paralyzed Winters''s body, and for a moment he could hardly move. His central nervous system responded to this severe stimulus by rapidly releasing a large amount of adrenaline and endorphins within his body.


    So, after the brief but intense pain, Winters felt a bit of relief. Enduring the pain, he pointed to his left neck armor, indicating where he was hit. The chief referee did not hesitate to declare "3 points", and the scorer changed the score to 17:15.


    A round of applause broke out in the training room, not as a mockery of Winters, but as a tradition of the military academy, where everyone claps for a beautiful fight.


    In fact, even Winters wanted to applaud his opponent''s attack. It was simply too beautiful: a simple and effective feint, a clean and sharp chop, and a flawless recovery. The entire sequence was just too cool for words.


    Although this round was described with nine hundred characters, in reality, from the moment their sword tips collided to Winters being struck, it took less than two seconds.


    Victory was decided in a single breath; many classmates watching from the sidelines didn''t even see what happened, only seeing Winters taking a hard hit, staggering as he got smashed.


    Beyond the pain, Winters''s mind was filled with frustration, his face burned with shame because he had fallen for a feint.


    Marshal Ned''s swordsmanship theory emphasized the initiative, encouraging simple and direct attacks, praising aggressive tactics to suppress the opponent, opposing flashy but impractical moves, and criticizing any unnecessary feints.


    Because this swordsmanship theory believed that a competent swordsman should never be easily deceived by feints, and when facing a skilled swordsman, using feints randomly was like giving the opponent a free opportunity to strike. For Winters, falling for a feint seemed more humiliating than standing still and taking a beating.


    "Are you okay? Want to take a break before continuing?" Winters''s opponent didn''t return to the corner of the fighting area in the waiting zone and, seeing Winters was in quite a bit of pain, he inquired with concern. His voice sounded muffled as it passed from one helmet into another.


    Winters was now past the most painful stage; he tentatively moved his shoulder a few times to ensure there was no bone damage.


    Thus, the fiery and aggressive nature of a young man overcame the pain; although he now felt like sitting at the side to rest, he simply couldn''t surrender his adult male pride. He moved his shoulder and said through gritted teeth, "I''m fine, let''s continue".


    "Maybe we should let them go first and then we''ll continue afterwards." His opponent was still not reassured.


    Winters was even less likely to agree to that, and repeated, "I''m fine, let''s continue." After that, Winters walked back to the waiting area.


    His opponent sighed and returned to his own corner.


    The whistle sounded once more, signaling the beginning of a new round, as the two once again approached the center of the area. Winters was now fueled by frustration. All he could think was to slap his thirty seconds younger self twice hard across the face; being defensive meant being passive, being passive meant falling for feints, and after falling for a feint to be brutally hit, it was too embarrassing. He must attack! Attack! Attack! Just aim for the head with a thrust, and it''s a win.


    Thus, in this round, as soon as they crossed swords, Winters launched a sneak attack. He started with a wide-step high thrust aiming straight for his opponent''s face. This thrusting technique consisted of raising the sword high after the engagement, using the guard to block the enemy''s line of attack, while threatening the opponent''s head.

 Chapter 4: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_4

    Well, I''ll be damned, the surprise salted fish thrust actually startled Winters'' opponent, leaving him momentarily unable to wrap his head around the sudden change in tactics: "How come this guy, who was so stable in the last round, has suddenly become reckless?"But the instinctive reflexes of a top fencer overcame the panic brought on by the salted fish thrust. As Winters stepped forward, his opponent deftly retreated one step and quickly positioned his stronger blade against the tip of Winters'' sword, pressing it down with force. He twisted his longsword to block any potential slashes from Winters, keeping his point aimed at Winters'' abdomen. The next moment, Winters crashed into it.


    The whistle blew! Another impressive display, this round lasting less than two seconds, Winters'' opponent easily landed a hit on Winters'' torso, scoring two points as scattered applause once again filled the training room.


    Winters pointed at the spot on his practice armor where he was hit, impatiently running back to the waiting area. The score was now 17:17. The main referee and Winters'' opponent exchanged glances. The student serving as the referee shook his head helplessly; they could all tell that Winters'' mental state had crumbled. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, the competition had to go on. As both returned to their starting positions, Winters'' opponent began to seriously ponder a question, "Should I just throw the match this time and let him win?"


    Another round began, and this time when Winters entered the field, he adopted the "fury stance." The fury stance is a posture for accumulating energy, drawing the hilt up to the shoulder. Just as pulling back a fist allows for a more powerful punch, the same applies to swordsmanship. The fury stance delivers a powerful chop with a long reach, but the drawback is that the intention and direction of the attack are all too obvious.


    At this moment, one thought dominated Winters'' mind: "I definitely can''t match him in raw strength, but I have one more point to score, and my chance to win is to launch a surprise attack and take three points out of nowhere," this was the broken mindset Winters used to convince himself, and it did hold a sliver of reason.


    When everyone thinks someone has lost their mind, that person often has their own twisted logic to persuade themselves, and it might actually be quite convincing.


    There''s nothing wrong with the idea of a sneak attack, but what Winters was failing to realize now was: his intention to attack was so blatant it couldn''t be ignored, and there was no possibility of scoring three points by surprise, so the so-called scoring tactic was just self-deception.


    But when Winters saw his opponent also adopting the fury stance the next second, he immediately recognized the intention: the fury stance was a posture they had both practiced when they first met at the military preparatory school, and they had always started with several routines of fury stance in their six years of swordsmanship classes.


    He could opt for a straight thrust to score three points, as thrusts are always faster than powerful chops. His friend and opponent obviously wanted him to win this time. But now Winters didn''t even want to win ¨C it''s not like he was mad. He realized that his attitude from before had been that of a sore loser.


    This was their final contest in swordsmanship class, and perhaps their last bout ever. After all, graduation meant accepting the possibility that the friends who had been together day and night might never meet again. Winning or losing didn''t matter anymore, and Winters had come to terms with it.


    So this round, neither put on any tricks, and this time, Winters'' opponent used his superior strength to forcibly open the center line and landed a straight thrust, scoring a hit.


    It was an expected outcome, and Winters consoled himself silently, "The guy is taller than you, stronger than you, and has practiced more than you. Wouldn''t it be against all reason if he didn''t win? Isn''t it normal to lose? Scoring 17 points is still something to brag about."


    After being struck, Winters walked towards his opponent, sword in hand. The whistle blew, and Winters suddenly realized something was amiss. It should have been 2 points, his opponent hadn''t aimed for the head ¨C the hit was to the chest. The score was now 17:19; his opponent needed one more point to end the match.


    Winters felt a surge of anger welling up in his throat, as he had intended to end the match with a gracious hug. Now he found himself facing another round, his level of embarrassment comparable to wailing at a funeral next door.


    Luckily, he hadn''t gone in for the hug yet, or he would have lost face. He felt like he had wasted all his emotion, just when he was in the right mindset ¨C continuing for another round would just ruin the mood.


    So Winters, muttering under his breath at a volume only he could hear, shouldered his longsword and trudged back to the waiting area. Another new round began, both starting with the fury stance.


    His opponent slashed diagonally, Winters blocked with his blade;


    His opponent withdrew his sword to change sides, Winters changed direction to block;


    His opponent withdrew his sword again to change sides, and Winters instinctively continued to block with his blade.


    About a second passed in this lightning-fast exchange. Although Winters was fencing by instinct, he had begun to sense that something wasn''t quite right.


    Thus, when Winters realized that the distance between him and his opponent was rapidly closing, he fell into a state of great panic. He understood everything in an instant, swearing profusely, "You [nasty expletive]! You''re going to ¡­ [even nastier expletive] ¡­ "


    But it was too late, his personal attack didn''t quite get through to his opponent. All his adversary could hear was the indistinct wails coming from inside his helmet.


    Winters'' opponent switched to holding the sword with one hand, controlling Winters'' blade, while his other hand grabbed Winters'' shoulder. With a trip at his feet, a simple leg sweep combined with a mountain-flattening move, Winters, along with his armor, was slammed hard to the ground and pinned beneath his opponent, evoking thunderous applause from the training room.


    Yes, if it was a bout of swordsmanship, punching obviously couldn''t score points, wrestling even less so. But taking down the opponent and controlling them before inflicting damage with the sword, that''s valid! One point scored.


    Wrestling is part of swordsmanship, if you don''t like it, don''t play the game.


    The whistle blew, and the referee announced loudly, "Winner, Axel of Orange!"


    Lying on the ground, Winters had only one thought, "Not stabbing him with that sword just now, I really was a [expletive]."

 Chapter 5: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?

    "You also want to play at wrestling? Are you still human?" Winters and Aike, having just come off the arena, were helping each other remove their training armor.Criticism with words was obviously no match for the critique of weapons; Winters was getting more and more worked up, so he threw a punch at Aike''s back. Aike was Axel''s nickname, and friends of Axel generally called him that.


    The fist landed on Aike with a dull thud. Aike didn''t feel much¡ªhe was still wearing his training armor, after all. It was Winters who ended up in tears from the pain.


    "You''re right. I''m not human. Hurry and help me get this encumbrance off. If I wear it any longer, it might actually kill someone," Aike said reluctantly, responding to Winters.


    The training armor they wore was essentially half of a full set of cavalry armor. It was impossible for one person to put on or take off the armor alone, so during swordsmanship class, the sparring pairs would help each other don and doff their armor.


    This kind of insincere self-criticism made Winters even angrier. He punched Aike in the back again. This time, however, he was smarter and removed Aike''s armor first, causing Aike to let out a muffled grunt of pain.


    After they had taken off their training armor, they hastily stripped off their arming clothes for the upper body, which were as soaked as if they''d just been pulled out of water, completely drenched.


    Swordfighters found summer duels particularly painful, and the cotton clothing had to bear as much blame as the sun itself. The Senas Bay area, where Winters was currently located, had the sea as a natural heat reservoir, providing a warm climate.


    Therefore, in the Gulf Region, such cotton arming clothes could easily serve as winter clothing, but wearing them in the summer became torture.


    "How did those knights in the old times fight wars in the summer wearing stuff like this? They wore an additional layer of chainmail atop this, didn''t they?" Aike said with a sigh as he continued to undress.


    "Just don''t fight wars in the summer, and it''s fine. If you must fight, well, the enemy has to wear the whole set too, so it''s a matter of who can endure it longer," Winters replied without much thought, tossing his clothing onto the ground.


    They placed their longswords and armor on the stone bench and, bare-chested, ran to the big water vat in the corner of the training room, where they began to guzzle the brackish water with ladles.


    Where did this brackish water come from? The swordsmanship instructor had prepared a whole vat of it in advance, enough for all the students in the training room to drink their fill.


    People in this era didn''t understand ion balance or water intoxication. But the instructors at the military academy already knew that drinking a large amount of plain water after heavy sweating could be dangerous to life. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This valuable insight had cost them two lives.


    The brackish water of swordsmanship class embodied a profound yet simple truth: using a technology does not require understanding its deep underlying principles. Birds do not understand aerodynamics, yet they can fly.


    Unfortunately, Winters, now gulping down water beside the vat, was far from having any epiphany. His mind was fully occupied with the recent competition.


    After setting down their ladles, the two leisurely walked back to their stone bench where they kept their gear. In the square-shaped arena, the ringing clinks of longswords colliding paused and restarted as the duels continued, now with a different pair of swordfighters.


    Aike still seemed to remember the bearing and manner expected of an officer, while Winters sprawled carelessly on the ground without regard for appearance, finding the frosty touch of the stone floor particularly comforting.


    Once he relaxed, however, the pain returned. Pain from his left shoulder reminded Winters that he had just lost eight points.


    Winters glanced down at his left shoulder. A large area around the shoulder was bruised blue by Aike''s heavy blow, with the contusion spreading to his collarbone. Everywhere in his field of vision was discolored with bruising. One could imagine the places he couldn''t see, like the shoulder socket, were in a similar state.


    "Look at this," Winters said, pointing to his shoulder. "I thought you had broken my bones just now. If I hadn''t been wearing armor, I reckon that strike of yours could have cleaved me in half."


    Seeing the bruising on Winters'' shoulder, Aike spoke apologetically, "Indeed, I didn''t control my strength well. In that situation, I should have pulled my blow. It also startled me when the strike landed on you; I hadn''t expected it to be that solid."


    But did Winters truly blame Aike in his heart? Of course not. He had no grievances against his friend, being well aware that bumps and bruises were normal in swordplay. What was the purpose of wearing all that armor if there was no risk?


    Despite having safer training swords available, the instructors insisted they used blunted real ones to spar, precisely for the occasional small injuries it could cause.


    Deep down, Winters didn''t care about the blow from Aike at all. He didn''t even realize that his relentless chattering was because he was nervous, subconsciously seeking topics to cover the question he was about to ask.


    To ask directly was something he couldn''t do. He would feel shame, fear the awkwardness, and worry that he wouldn''t hear the truth.


    Let a group of boys live together day in and day out, and being tenderhearted gets ridiculed. Everyone tries to present themselves as tough guys who don''t care about anything. Winters was no different.


    Winters'' Adam''s apple bobbed. He deliberately avoided making eye contact with Aike, pretending to focus on the duels happening in the arena, showing only the back of his head to Aike. He asked in the most nonchalant tone he could muster, "You, didn''t you just go easy on me in those last few rounds?"

 Chapter 6: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_2

    ```Winters couldn''t see Aike''s expression, but he could make out from Aike''s tone that it was quite natural, "Not at all, I''ve never intentionally played poorly or allowed myself to be hit by the sword on purpose. The rounds you had earlier were really good, very stable. When you got to match point, I truly felt I was going to lose. I got anxious, and I couldn''t control the strength in my sword properly. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have hit you so hard."


    Winters was now in great spirits, having confirmed that his lead over Aike was due to his own skills and not because Aike had let him win on purpose. At this thought, he suddenly felt regretful, as it also meant that he really had the chance to win the match, and it was his own final lapse that caused him to lose the advantage.


    However, no matter what he thought internally, he couldn''t show any weakness verbally. Winters chuckled and said, "Bullshit, I think you just planned it out, letting me get to match point before making a cool comeback."


    Aike laughed out loud after hearing this.


    The swordsmen on the field had a round of exciting offense and defense, and Winters and Aike also clapped their hands vigorously in admiration.


    "I think if you spent more time working out and practicing swordsmanship, you could have definitely won just now," Aike said seriously after looking at Winters''s less defined arms, then at his own more muscular ones.


    Aike began to speak frankly and reasonably, "Look, you don''t practice swordsmanship in your spare time, do you? You only practice during swordsmanship class, not outside of it. And look, you don''t work out for strength either, do you? You haven''t lifted bells or pulled millstones, have you?"


    "Even so, you still scored seventeen points. You''re good enough, I think that''s pretty impressive," Aike concluded in the end.


    "Now I really don''t know if you are praising me or mocking me," Winters said with a wry smile after looking at Aike''s sturdy arms and chest muscles.


    "Of course I''m praising you," Aike picked up a longsword and swung it a couple of times while sitting on a stone bench, then said to Winters, "Think about it, swordsmanship essentially relies on on-the-spot judgment and your own strength. If you don''t deliberately train your strength and have underdeveloped muscles, you naturally are at a disadvantage when fencing. And since you don''t rigorously practice swordsmanship, then you..."


    "Stop talking, get up, I need to find something," Winters quickly interrupted Aike.


    "What do you need to find?" Aike asked, puzzled, as he stood up.


    "I need to find a crack in the ground to crawl into," said Winters.


    "I''m really praising you," Aike said sincerely.


    Truth hurts more than lies, and Winters couldn''t take it anymore so he quickly begged for mercy, "Please, no more, Master. I''m so ashamed right now I want to hang myself. When I get home, I promise I''ll train extra every day, stick to weightlifting, and develop muscles like yours."


    The "Master" Winters referred to was short for "Fencing Master." In the Alliance, this was not a title casually used in flattery among swordsmen, but an official one that required the certification of the smiths'' guild.


    Only those swordsmanship grandmasters whose theories were widely recognized and learned, who had a significant influence, would be certified as "Fencing Masters." To date, no living person had earned this honor; it was only bestowed posthumously.


    Aike had a profound mastery of longsword swordsmanship; during his preparatory school days, no one in his class could match him. Back then, only adults could discipline Aike. When Aike was fully matured after puberty, he became unbeatable in all age groups.


    Everyone from the Military Academy, from instructors to students, had learned longsword in swordsmanship class, but no one could score 20 points against Aike. Winters could say responsibly that the Military Academy was now no match for Aike''s depth, as Aike''s level was a notch above everyone there, making him the academy''s unacknowledged top swordsman.


    So, at some point, Aike acquired the nickname "Fencing Master" at school, which quickly shortened to "Master." Even the instructors jokingly called him "Master" in light-hearted moments.


    The most memorable incident happened when General Taylor of the Federated Provinces'' Republic''s Army visited the academy to inspect teaching conditions during Winters and Aike''s sophomore year. Upon realizing that the student in front of him was Axel, he blurted out, "Are you the ''Master''?" shocking all the students around him. From then on, the nickname became even more widely known.


    Although on one hand, the nickname "Master" was a recognition of Aike''s swordsmanship by the academy, it also carried an undertone of teasing because no living person had yet earned the title.


    It was a nickname with both commendatory and derogatory connotations, and Aike himself seemed indifferent to it. He never claimed to be a Fencing Master, but he didn''t mind when others called him so.


    However, as Aike''s good friend, unless they were teasing each other in jest, Winters was not willing to call Aike "Master," as he disliked the curse-like implications hidden in the word towards a friend.


    When Winters called him "Master," Aike also teased back, "As if you could develop those muscles. You don''t train at school, how would you suddenly become diligent at home? People claim they''ll study furiously once home after not learning at school - do you believe that? And you''re talking about developing muscles? When you come back from Sea Blue next year, I bet you''ll have lost all your swordsmanship basics."


    ```


    S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 7: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_3

    Winters'' old face turned red as he brazenly said, "In my view, for a prospective officer who will one day take on the responsibility of commanding on the battlefield, a wise mind is more important than well-developed muscles. That''s why ensuring sufficient sleep is my military duty."Immediately afterward, Winters began to reason with Aike, "Do the math again¡ªif I practice for a year and still can''t beat you, what then? Since I can''t beat you without practicing, and if I still can''t beat you after practicing, wouldn''t I be at a loss? Therefore, not practicing is like preserving my capital, and preserving my capital is like not suffering a loss."


    "Look, not practicing means no loss for sure, but practicing could lead to a big loss. Therefore, not practicing is akin to a big gain. I''m content with scoring seventeen points, and I don''t think I could beat you even if I did practice," Winters confidently expounded his twisted logic.


    "To practice and still not beat me would be a big loss, so not practicing equals a big gain. You Sea Blue people really are business geniuses," Aike said, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.


    "I was sent here to the Federated Provinces Republic at the age of thirteen to attend the military prep school. You say I''m Sea Blue People, but they probably think of me as a hillbilly," Winters said with a mischievous smile, "Criticizing me is like criticizing yourselves. If there''s anything wrong with me, a person from the Sea Blue Republic, it must be because I''ve been corrupted by you folks from the Federated Provinces Republic.


    The clanking sounds of sword fighting stopped as the group of students practicing behind Winters and Aike finished their match, and they repeated the actions of Winters and Aike: quickly stripping off their training armor and upper body combat clothing, then rushing to the water tanks to guzzle down brackish water.


    A new group of students went up to suffer, and Aike, watching them fight with longswords, suddenly said with a touch of melancholy, "Sometimes I can''t help but wonder what''s the point of all the sweat we pour into practicing swordsmanship? Think about the owners of those armors; they wear an extra layer of chainmail and spend even more time practicing with weapons than we do."


    Winters was taken aback, but Aike continued, "I only started learning swordsmanship when I entered the military academy for the young, but the owners of these armors have been trained to be warriors from childhood. And in the end? They still get dragged off their horses and stabbed to death, or shot dead with muskets. Does personal bravery truly mean anything in war?"


    Winters was nearly choked by Aike''s abrupt change in stance, "Stealing my lines, aren''t you a bit immoral? Are those words even fitting for you to say? At least you should have lost before you have the right to make such remarks," he protested.


    "I''ve actually had this thought for a long time. I can understand why you don''t like practicing swordsmanship. You''re a Spellcaster, after all. It doesn''t matter if you don''t practice swordsmanship. I might be able to match you in swordplay, but in a real battle, I might be dead after you cast a single spell. For Spellcasters, swordsmanship truly isn''t that significant," Aike looked straight into Winters'' eyes and said earnestly.


    Winters and Aike had known each other since they entered the prep school six years ago; it was no secret among the military academy students that some were Spellcasters. To Winters, Spellcasters were just like any other military academy students but with an additional Spellcaster course.


    The rest of the time everyone was in the same classroom, eating in the same dining hall, sleeping in the same large dormitory¡ªnothing special. But only today did Winters realize that Aike lacked even the most basic understanding of the Alliance Country''s Spellcasters.


    This was actually not surprising, as for most people¡ªincluding trained prospective officers like Aike¡ªthe image of Spellcasters was tied to pointy hats, high towers, old men with white beards, and various supernatural folk tales.


    If Aike hadn''t attended military school, he might never in his life have seen a breathing Spellcaster¡ªand certainly not one who couldn''t breathe.


    Those born with magical talent were rare to begin with. More challenging than having a child with magical talent was the task of identifying and nurturing such gifted individuals from among the masses. So challenging that those who were not magicians wouldn''t even know where to start.


    Known magicians in this world were all Royal Mages/Court Magicians of feudal monarchs. They served as scholars, advisers, bodyguards, and enforcers exclusively for the very top of the feudal hierarchy.


    The magicians roamed the courts of feudal monarchs, and commoners had no chance to meet them¡ªthey should hope they wouldn''t encounter a magician. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Who exactly were these court magicians with pseudonyms? Were they truly human? At what age were they selected? And how were they trained to be magicians? These secrets were likely only known to the magicians and rulers themselves.


    The techniques for selecting potential wizards, the training programs for magicians, and the means of casting spells¡ªthese were all closely guarded secrets of the ruling elite. Ordinary people''s understanding of magicians ranged from "cry again and the witch will take you away to eat you" to "the brave prince receives a magical sword from the reclusive wizard and wins an empire."


    The Gulf Alliance¡ªa nation founded by commoners who overthrew the emperor and nobles¡ªnaturally would not have magicians. Not only were there no magicians, but the Gulf Alliance was also a prime victim of the feudal rulers'' monopoly on magical power.

 Chapter 8: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_4

    In the war for national independence won by the militia, a large number of officers and soldiers died at the hands of court wizards raised by Richard IV. The mad Richard would cause a bloodbath every time he deployed the court wizards to the battlefield. Moreover, until the Emperor withdrew his troops, the Allied militiamen were never able to capture or kill any court wizard.Magic combat power in the Gulf Alliance was born after the war ended. After the Emperor withdrew his forces and the Gulf Alliance was established, "Mage without magical talent," army general, and eminent scholar Antoine-Laurent summarized his experiences of facing court wizards in the war and finally discovered how to identify humans with the talent for spellcasting.


    General Antoine-Laurent immediately invented a corresponding detection tool, and from that moment on, the Allied Army began to screen for children and adolescents with magical talents within the Alliance territories every year, then using reason, bribery, intimidation, and other means to "convince" the parents of these children to enroll them in the various levels of schools operated by the army.


    The seedlings were found, but new problems quickly followed. How to train a child with magical talents into a mage like the court wizards? Everyone in the army was in the dark.


    The training system for mages was one of the ruling group''s core competencies and a closely guarded secret. There were no external experiences to draw from. It was still General Antoine-Laurent who took the lead in establishing the Army''s Magic Warfare Bureau to start groping in the dark. Starting from scratch, they struggled to explore ways to train spellcasters and methods to realize spells.


    Today, after 25 years since the establishment of the Magical Warfare Bureau, they have just begun to achieve a little. The Mage Warfare Bureau divided magic into two major disciplines: the School of Spellcraft and the School of Alchemy, and categorized spells into fire-type, acceleration-type, and sound-type, identifying the methods for twelve spells and forming a preliminary "proprietary intellectual property" training system for spellcasters.


    Because mages were traditionally synonymous with court wizards, to distinguish them, the military did not use the term mage but referred to their magic wielders as "spellcasters."


    In fact, even the Magic Warfare Bureau didn''t know if the path they were taking was right or wrong. The military''s higher-ups generally believed that although the Magic Warfare Bureau claimed to be training mages, the level of the spellcasters was far inferior to the court wizards they had seen. The intuitive feeling was also a bit different¡ªperhaps standing too close had robbed them of their mystery.


    But the Alliance''s spellcasters could indeed replicate some of the magical effects they had seen on the battlefield.


    As the saying goes, "If you haven''t eaten pork, haven''t you seen a pig run?"


    But now the situation is quite special, as the Allied Army had only been injured by the metaphorical pig; not only had they not eaten the pork, they also hadn''t clearly seen how the pig ran.


    Although the military didn''t know if the path opened by General Antoine-Laurent was right or wrong, based on the simple idea that "having something is better than nothing," they firmly supported the Magic Warfare Bureau to continue moving forward reluctantly.


    Winters was one of the spellcasters, identified as having magical talent only after entering the army''s junior school. Out of 171 cadets in his cohort, 21 were spellcasters.


    This was a quite astonishing ratio; nearly half of the spellcasters in the Gulf Alliance of the same age as Winters were here, while the other half were mainly female and a few males whose physical conditions didn''t suit them for officer roles. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All these spellcasters were enrolled in either the infantry or cavalry branches, with no one in the artillery branch (the military academy only offered these three disciplines). This was because one of the design goals of the army''s spellcaster training system was to train front-line officers with magical abilities as much as possible.


    The late General Antoine-Laurent believed that for a long time to come, the Alliance Country would not be able to train mages of the level of court wizards. Since they could not take the elitist route like feudal countries, they had to win by numbers.


    Compared to the cautious approach of Richard IV using mages in war, the Allied military''s strategy was to deploy magical combat power to the front lines of the battlefield, training as many officers with magical abilities as possible. However, there were some deviations in the execution of this strategy, which we will not mention here for now.


    Winters had assumed that his fellow military academy students would at least have a basic understanding of spellcasters, but even Aike thought he could kill someone with a single spell.


    He shook his head and waved his hands to quickly deny, "I''m not, I haven''t, don''t talk nonsense. I don''t like practicing swordsmanship because I''m lazy, don''t attribute it to being a spellcaster. And so what if I am? Didn''t you just beat me up?"


    "But if you used magic, I couldn''t beat you," Aike said matter-of-factly.


    "How am I supposed to explain this!" Winters covered his face and let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 9: Chapter 3 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 1)

    "Ah, I can''t make it clear, let me demonstrate some magic for you, and you''ll understand." Winters slapped his thigh, feeling that showing is better than telling."Sure." Hearing that Winters would show him real magic, Aike nodded eagerly.


    Spellcasters at school were all very secretive, and the school strictly prohibited asking about them. This was the first time Aike discussed magic and spellcasters with Winters.


    As for Winters, he had studied with Aike for six years at the preparatory school, and this was the first time Winters heard Aike express envy for the identity of a spellcaster. In fact, it was the first time Winters heard Aike express envy over anything at all, which made Winters feel obliged to satisfy Aike''s curiosity.


    So, Winters squeezed a few drops of sweat from his uniform onto a stone bench. He first focused his attention on his longsword to practice concentration, then Winters pressed his left thumb onto his left index finger, trying hard to recall the feeling of casting spells in the past.


    In Aike''s eyes, Winters was just staring motionlessly at these few drops of water. But to Winters, he began to feel a strange pressure and a tingling sensation.


    This pressure and tingling weren''t coming from anywhere inside or outside his body, not from any part of his skin, any tissue, or any bone, yet he distinctly felt the squeeze and the sting.


    However, Winters was already familiar with this sensation, he endeavored to endure and conquer the pressure and tingling, and soon, a layer of fine sweat beaded on his forehead. Finally, the few drops of water on the stone bench had all but disappeared.


    "All done!" Winters clapped his hands and took a comfortable breath.


    "That''s it?" Aike asked, utterly confused.


    "That''s it," Winters answered matter-of-factly.


    "That was magic?" Aike asked, still puzzled.


    "That was magic," Winters assured Aike confidently.


    "How can that possibly be magic?" Aike felt truly baffled.


    "That is magic. You don''t understand magic, I show you what magic is, and yet you still don''t believe it," Winters also felt particularly wronged.


    "This (expletive) is just water evaporating, right? This (expletive) is just a few drops of water evaporating when blown by the wind, isn''t it?" Aike said, almost laughing in frustration.


    "Don''t rush, listen to my explanation," Winters cleared his throat and began to give a forced explanation: "The disappearance of these few drops of water in front of you is different from evaporation due to the wind. These were turned into water vapor by my magic, they would vanish even without any wind blowing."


    "First, you must understand that using magic is just a type of ability, no different from other human abilities. Like some people run particularly fast, some people jump incredibly high," Winters shared his direct experience.


    Aike frowned.


    "Like fish can swim without learning and birds can fly without being taught. I can indeed use magic, but I don''t know the principle behind it, I just have the ability to use it," Winters thought but still felt he hadn''t made things clear enough.


    He thought it would be easier for Aike to understand if he related it to his own experiences: "Just like you don''t know why everyone practices swordsmanship and you''re better at it, right? I think the innate talent for swordsmanship and for magic are similar in nature."


    "My swordsmanship comes from my hard work," Aike felt the need to correct Winters'' misunderstanding.


    "If you insist that you have no innate talent for swordsmanship and became the strongest in the school solely through hard work, that would just be irrational," Winters countered: "There are others who practice as diligently as you, or even more so, and still aren''t as good. I don''t deny the role of effort, but you can''t ignore the disparity in talent, can you?"


    "Then tell me, who practices swordsmanship more diligently than I do?" Aike felt quite indignant.


    "Bard," Winters threw out a name without hesitation.


    "Bard... Bard does work harder than I do, but I think his swordsmanship is lacking because he started too late... Ah, never mind, go on," the mention of that name deflated Aike''s indignation.


    "I didn''t say your swordsmanship is all due to talent; talent plus hard work, missing either won''t make you a top swordsman," Winters delivered his verdict: "But you can''t deny the role of talent just because of diligence, that would be an insult to those who are more hardworking but still fall short of you."


    "Now, where was I... Magic is an innate ability, spellcasters only know how to use it but don''t understand the principle," Winters gathered his thoughts, which had been disrupted by Aike.


    "But the effects that magical abilities can achieve are diverse and complex. The drops of water just now did not evaporate, they were turned into mist by me. Notice if there was any feeling of wind," Winters said as he made a gesture with his thumb pressing his middle finger and entered a spellcasting state, using the Wind Control Technique to generate a slight breeze between them.


    "Do you feel this breeze? This breeze was also produced by magic," Winters could only maintain the spell for a short while before he had to stop.


    "I just felt a little wind on my face, is that magic?" Aike did indeed feel a breeze against his skin just now.


    "That''s just the effect achieved by magic. When I use magic on you, you won''t feel ''magic,'' you can only feel the effects produced by the magic."


    "Just like the Wind Control Technique I just used, did you feel the magic? No, you only felt the wind. You can''t even distinguish whether it''s a natural wind or one produced by magic."


    "Human eyes can''t see magic; people can only observe the effects produced by magic. Because the effects that magic can create are so diverse and chaotic, we need to summarize and deduce, transforming perceptual knowledge into rational knowledge."


    "What are perceptual knowledge and rational knowledge?" Aike heard these two terms for the first time.


    "Put simply, at first, spellcasters only knew how to use magic, which is perceptual cognition. Great minds were not satisfied with just knowing how to use it, they attempted to summarize and deduce, to discover the intrinsic laws of magic, and that''s rational cognition," Winters explained, feeling exhausted from speaking, so he shifted from sitting on the stone floor to sitting on a stone stool.


    Winters felt it was better to give examples from something Aike was familiar with, "Like swordsmanship, those who first used swords surely only knew how to flail and hack wildly. After much use, they found several effective techniques, gained what we call experience, which is perceptual cognition.


    If it develops further, and a master of swordsmanship summarizes a theoretical system of swordsmanship, allowing inexperienced people to learn swordsmanship, and even to invent more powerful sword moves based on that system, that is rational cognition. Let''s go back to the example of those drops of water I mentioned earlier."


    "First, think about this, if you put water in an iron pot and heat it on a stove, the water eventually evaporates and disappears, right?" Winters started with the reasoning foundation.


    Aike nodded. It was common knowledge that water would evaporate when heated by fire.


    "So where does the water go?" Winters gently probed.


    "It turns into steam," Aike replied without hesitation. Water boiling and producing white steam was also common knowledge.


    "The process of boiling water is the water being heated by the fire and then turning into steam, right?" Winters continued to inquire. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Isn''t that obvious?" Aike was getting a little frustrated with Winters'' obvious statements.


    "Here comes the crucial part, listen carefully. General Antoine-Laurent believes that it''s because of the fire that water turns into steam," Winters explained the history of magic in the Alliance seriously.


    "At the same time, the general believes that when magic is used to turn water into steam, even though no flame appears, the same result as boiling water is achieved. Essentially, magic has taken the place of the flame. You didn''t see any flame just now, did you?" Winters asked Aike.


    "I indeed didn''t see any flames," Aike was sure he saw no open fire.


    "Therefore, this type of ability where ''magic takes the place of a flame'' was summarized by General Antoine-Laurent as Fire-Starting magic. That''s the reasoning process the general followed when summarizing the Fire-Starting spells."


    "Similarly, ''the ability to accelerate an object'' has been summarized as Acceleration magic."


    "Abilities related to sound have been summarized as Sound magic. These are the three major categories of spells that the general came up with," Winters exclaimed in one breath.


    "Huh?" Aike was completely confused.


    "Think back to the breeze just now, it was wind accelerated by magic, so it''s Acceleration magic, and that spell is called the Wind Control Technique. If what''s being accelerated is a nail, then it''s the Arrow Flying Spell," Winters hurriedly helped Aike review the points mentioned earlier.


    "Before General Antoine-Laurent summarized these three categories of magic, the Alliance was entirely ignorant about what magic was."


    "Furthermore, unlike the usual process where perceptual knowledge comes first followed by rational knowledge, magic was monopolized by the Emperor and the great nobility, and the general himself wasn''t a spellcaster. He started from scratch, and it was entirely through his several encounters with Empire court spellcasters on the battlefield that he managed to summarize the three categories of magic, gaining rational knowledge.


    It was as if someone who had never touched a sword in their life, only been wounded by others using swords, had summarized a set of swordsmanship theory, and it was truly an effective theory.


    It was the general who first constructed the magic theoretical system and then invented magical detection devices based on that system that the Alliance was able to screen people with talent for spells from the populace," Winters said, admiring the feats of General Antoine-Laurent.


    Winters then added, "Without long-term training, those with only a talent for magic are incredibly weak, so weak that neither they nor others would normally notice. If it weren''t for General Antoine-Laurent, the Alliance would not have magicians."

 Chapter 10: Chapter 4 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 2)

    Winters was clearly enjoying himself, but Aike was already fighting off sleep. Seeing Aike in the same state he usually was during spellcasting classes, Winters figured if he kept reading from the spellcasting textbook, Aike would be asleep in no time."I''ve got to demonstrate some spells with more obvious effects!" Winters thought, carefully considering which spells were convenient to demonstrate.


    So Winters plucked a few hairs from Aike''s arm, causing Aike to jolt from the pain and wake up a bit.


    "Watch closely," Winters instructed Aike. He used the gesture of pressing his thumb against his index finger again to enter the spellcasting state, and the familiar yet strange sensations of compression and prickling returned.


    The hairs in Winters''s hand began to change. Just as when arm hairs are accidentally singed by fire, the hairs curled up at a visible pace, leaving only a bit of char behind.


    Aike finally witnessed the magical aspect of magic, as he saw no open flame.


    "Doesn''t this hair look like it''s been burnt?" Winters showed the charred remains to Aike.


    "The kind of magic that turned the hair to char is fire-type magic. This spell is called a Fire Spell, and the one that vaporized the water earlier is called a Vaporization Spell."


    "These two spells are the most basic within the fire-type spells. Now you understand why this kind of magic is called fire-type, right?" Winters prompted Aike, leading him to think for himself as a teacher would.


    "No flame, but it had an effect like flame, right?" Aike digested the information and responded, beginning to grasp the concept.


    "Correct, for example, if I use the Fire Spell on a lamp wick. Though there''s no visible flame, the wick will light as if it''s touched flame," Winters provided another everyday example.


    He said self-deprecatingly, "To tell the truth, doing small tasks like lighting lamps is, in my opinion, the most practical use of fire-type spells."


    "And that Vaporization Spell, after ten years of spellcaster training, I can only vaporize a little bit of water, so the combat capability of fire-type spells is really poor."


    Thinking about the state of fire-type spells, Winters continued to mock himself, "If one day people can carry a source of fire with them, fire-type spells might just become obsolete."


    Aike''s eyes were nearly closed again, but Winters, completely unaware, kept talking to himself, "I have imagined that if one had strong enough capabilities with fire-type spells, maybe it would be possible to vaporize the blood within an enemy''s body. But I still don''t know which Alliance spellcaster could be that powerful¡­"


    "You really did fall asleep!" Winters noticed Aike''s eyes had closed and scolded in frustration, "You wanted to see magic, I showed you, and you fell asleep."


    "I explained so clearly and simply, yet you''re still sleepy? You might as well listen to a spellcaster lesson when you have insomnia. I bet your butt will hit the chair and you''ll be asleep in an instant."


    "Wait, this is magic? You don''t have to chant some super long and complicated spell? Aren''t sorcerers in stories always highly powerful only after they''ve learned some ancient chant?" Aike suddenly perked up with a thought, lifting his head to look at Winters.


    "Chant my ass, chant for whom?" Winters said angrily, "In the Alliance territory, everyone speaks the Empire language, don''t the Sea Blue People and United Provincials have different accents?


    The Empire nobles don''t speak the Empire language, they speak an old tongue; Ancient Empire people speak ancient language; the Flemish (Fremen, meaning travelers) speak the Flemish language; Silk Country people speak the Silk Country language (Silk Country, also known as Serica).


    With different languages used all over the world, chanting? If you chant in different languages, who''s chanting it right? Who''s chanting it wrong? Do we also need to invent a language specifically for chanting? You think that a sorcerer from Silk Country and one from the Empire can agree to use one unified chanting language across thousands of miles?"


    "What about the staff, then? Sorcerers have to have a staff, don''t they?"


    "If I had a staff, why would I practice this?" Winters lifted his longsword and gestured, "Shouldn''t I have just gone and trained with a staff then? A spellcaster''s abilities all come from within, not affected by external things. Don''t fantasize that acquiring some magical treasure will suddenly make you a great sorcerer, it''s impossible. If you give an ordinary person a great sword, can he become an expert swordsman like you?"


    "Alright, alright, don''t be angry. Think about it, you''ve had ten years of spellcaster training, and I''ve only learned from you what a spellcaster is today. How could I possibly understand it all at once? Let me digest it slowly," Aike appeased Winters with soothing words. He knew Winters''s hot temper and that the mule should be stroked along the grain.


    Winters also felt that he had been too harsh in his words just now, and although he felt guilty, he couldn''t express it, so he thought for a bit and continued to explain to Aike, "However, there might be some truth to those stories of sorcerers'' chants, as if they were not entirely unfounded. General Antoine-Laurent believes that for a sorcerer, chanting may be a form of self-suggestion."


    "The General thinks chanting for sorcerers is just a ritual, ''The ritual isn''t important, the sense of the ritual is.'' Use a specific phrase for a specific spell, creating self-suggestion with the sense of ritual." Winters still took examples from Aike''s life, "Just as archers believe certain rituals make their shots more accurate, and before a sword fight, don''t you always lick your palm?"


    "Me licking my palm isn''t self-suggestion, it''s just a habit," Aike''s face turned red: "And when did I ever lick it furiously¡­"


    "You say it''s a habit, then it''s a habit. Your so-called habit is just another term for self-suggestion."


    "In short, it''s about linking the difficult Action A with the simple Action B, then by partaking in simple Action B, assist with the better accomplishment of the difficult Action A."


    "There''s no need to be that embarrassed about liking to lick your palm, right? I always wear the same pair of shoes for every exam."


    "It''s those old shoes with the worn-out soles!" Aike had an epiphany, "I wondered why you were so reluctant to throw them away¡­"


    Winters inadvertently revealed his own secret, but his skin was thick enough to ignore Aike and continue educating on magic knowledge, "It is precisely because incantations are just self-suggestion that General Antoine-Laurent invented spellcasting gestures to replace incantations."


    "The general categorized magic into three main classes, each representing a different spellcasting ability. Spells within the same category are quite similar, while spells from different categories are as different as wrestling is from sword fights."


    "Wrestling is a part of swordplay; Marshal Ned''s manual on swordsmanship dedicates a considerable section to wrestling," Aike immediately stood up to refute Winters.


    "Wrestling is a damn part of sword fighting, cut the crap," Winters said frustratedly.


    "This is the gesture used when casting Fire-type spells." Winters raised his left hand and pressed his thumb against his index finger.


    "This is the gesture used when casting acceleration-type spells." He then pressed his thumb against his middle finger.


    "This is the gesture used when casting sound-type spells." Finally, he pressed his thumb against his ring finger.


    "This is you when you''re wrestling." Then he raised his middle finger.


    Winters continued to explain, "Actually, you could use any other action, like pulling hair, rubbing eyes, picking your nose, anything will do, as long as you associate an action with a category of spells."


    "The set of gestures invented by the general is quite simple; all it takes is a finger movement. Therefore, spellcasters from the Alliance generally use this set of gestures."


    "Of course, you can also cast spells without gestures, but if you suddenly switch from using one category of spells to another, your mind won''t be able to keep up."


    "It''s like being told to fence for a round and then suddenly play a move in chess. Then go back to fencing another round before coming back to continue the chess game. The spellcaster''s magical cognition will get confused."


    "Especially when using composite spells that combine two classes of magic, it''s nearly impossible to switch smoothly without coordinating gestures. If the spellcasting gestures are well practiced, the transition back and forth won''t be as confusing."


    "So we spellcasters from the Alliance don''t chant; we only use gesture casting."


    It was another lengthy lecture, leaving Aike feeling dizzy. After digesting the content for a moment, he earnestly said, "Although I didn''t understand much, I did pick up one thing: General Antoine-Laurent created many things and discovered much knowledge; he''s a truly great man."


    "Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is the father of the Alliance''s magical system. Although he couldn''t perform magic, I''m willing to call him the greatest spellcaster," Winters also put aside his flippant attitude and said solemnly, "I feel he represents the spirit of our humanity, the courage to explore the laws of everything."


    "It''s a pity General Antoine-Laurent died too soon, passing away at just fifty-one,"Aike sighed as well, "Do you know how the general died? At that time, I was just starting at the military school and didn''t understand much. I only remember one morning the teacher told us General Antoine-Laurent had passed away and asked us to observe a moment of silence."


    "Head disease," Winters replied succinctly, "It''s said that the general was working on something that would redefine magic, but tragically, his life was cut short, and his manuscripts were also lost."


    "So being able to turn water into steam means having talent for magic? Let me give it a try; maybe I have a talent for magic, too?" Aike quickly changed the subject, as he dabbed his hand in water and let a few drops fall onto a stone bench, then he mimicked Winters, trying to focus intently on the droplets.


    "The vaporization of water is very difficult." Seeing Aike attempt to vaporize water, Winters hurriedly reminded his friend, "The abilities of untrained spellcasters are very weak, almost indistinguishable from common people. It''s impossible to vaporize water.


    To draw an analogy, if the essence of magic is fire, then untrained spellcasters are not even a flame; they could only be considered the sparks from striking flint. Only through prolonged training can they gradually become a spark and eventually a flame.


    To test for a little spark, you''d have to use the device invented by General Antoine-Laurent. Besides, haven''t you been tested?"


    "When was I ever tested?" Aike exclaimed in surprise.


    "Didn''t they test you when you entered the academy as a young boy?" Winters was also surprised, "Isn''t everyone at Lu You tested upon admission? That''s how I found out during my enrollment."


    "I was only nine years old when I entered the academy; I really don''t remember whether I was tested or not. How do they test?" Aike thought hard, but had no memory of being tested.


    "I can''t remember either; it seems it was in a room with several glass instruments," Winters scratched his head¡ªit had been ten years ago, and his memory was hazy.


    "It seems a woman tested me; I did whatever she asked, and then I left. Afterwards, the teacher told me I was a spellcaster, and I ended up with an extra spellcaster course."


    Aike shook his head, expressing regret, "I really don''t have any memory of it. Maybe they didn''t test me, or perhaps they did, and I''ve forgotten." S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he quickly added with cheer, "Never mind, let me now try and see if I can vaporize this water. Ha ha, what if I''m a neglected genius? Giving it a shot isn''t against the rules."


    Having said that, he dabbed some brine, dropped it onto a stone bench, and then cupped his hands around the water droplet to shield it from the wind. He concentrated hard and stared at the droplet. Winters sat beside him noncommittally, curiously waiting for the outcome.

 Chapter 11: Chapter 5: The Third Hand and the Fifth Limb

    Watching Aike fumble about, Winters remained noncommittal. He felt that given the army''s eagerness for spellcasters, it was unlikely that a cadet with the potential to cast spells would be overlooked.But to flatly deny someone''s dream is highly unethical, even if what''s said is the truth.


    Aike strived to "use magic," his face getting closer and closer to the stone bench, his expression increasingly fierce, his eyes nearly glued to the water droplet.


    However, Winters thought that with today''s temperature, whether Aike had the ability to cast spells or not, the water on the stone would surely evaporate.


    "Do you feel anything special?" Winters asked Aike.


    "Right now, my eyes feel particularly dry."


    "That''s what I like about you, your sense of humor."


    "Water can''t be used to test for potential, otherwise there would be no need for special equipment to screen spellcasters," Winters explained why water tests wouldn''t work: "General Antoine-Laurent once mentioned that vaporizing a droplet of water requires more magic power than accelerating an arrow as if it were fired from a hundred-pound hard bow."


    "But the general just mentioned it in passing, without a detailed argument," Winters continued: "However, I can also feel during my regular training that water is the hardest liquid to vaporize. Now do you see why spells of acceleration are recognized as the most lethal?"


    "So vaporizing this bit of water seems useless, but accelerating an arrow can take a life?" Axel pondered for a moment and tentatively replied.


    "Exactly, the difficulty of the spell does not correlate with its lethality," Winters thought about the awkward status of the current fire magic spells: "Magic wasn''t created for battle, humans simply picked out the spells that are suitable for killing."


    "Hey, what''s there to talk about, isn''t it more frustrating to spend ten years on swordsmanship only to die from a gunshot on the battlefield?" Aike accepted the reality quickly and drew a parallel: "Gods didn''t create steel and gunpowder for killing, right? Aren''t they still used to take lives?"


    "Spellcasters don''t believe in gods, but I agree with your view."


    The water droplets on the stone bench had all disappeared, but Aike hadn''t experienced any sensation of using magic. He said somewhat dejectedly, "It seems I indeed lack the talent for spells."


    "Not necessarily, but anyway, water can''t be used to test it," Winters said, indicating that regardless of whether Aike had potential, water testing was unsuitable. He consoled Aike, "If you really want to test, after the awarding of ranks tomorrow, I''ll take you to find Instructor Christian. He should have a way."


    "Which Instructor Christian?" Aike asked, as Christian meant believer, and it was a common name at the school.


    "Head of the Spellcasters Teaching and Research Office, he should be the most powerful spellcaster in school," Winters assured Aike with confidence: "Don''t worry, he has a good temperament, asking for his assistance will definitely be no problem."


    "Forget about it, I was just trying it out, I never really thought I was a spellcaster." While Winters offered eagerly to find someone to test Aike, Aike backed out. It was one thing to test casually with a few drops of water; going to see the head of the Teaching and Research Office and using specialized equipment was totally another matter.


    "Just tell me about the sensation of using magic, don''t talk about the theory of magic, it gives me a headache." Aike was very curious about what it felt like to be a magician.


    "I can''t accurately describe it with language either," Winters said helplessly, feeling no matter how he phrased it, he couldn''t describe it properly: "Let me give you an example, don''t be upset, but can you describe colors to a person born blind?"


    This question stumped Aike as well. He thought for a long while and came up with various descriptions but ultimately admitted, "No, how can someone who has never known colors understand them?"


    "It''s the same with the feeling of using magic. How can you describe the sensation to someone who has never experienced magic?" Winters spoke frankly, quickly adding: "I''m just making a comparison, I''m not saying you''re disabled, don''t get upset."


    "I can certainly understand what you''re saying," Aike said with a gentle smile: "It depends on what you consider normal. If spellcasters are the norm, then indeed, we are all disabled."


    "You are normal, spellcasters are the exceptions," Winters quickly changed the subject: "I will still try my best to describe the sensation of using magic, though it won''t be very accurate and is limited to my own experiences."


    "Alright."


    "Sometimes there''s an intense squeezing sensation, as if the entire space is compressing towards me; sometimes there''s a sharp, stabbing pain, as if I were being pierced with a knife; sometimes it''s very cold, and at other times extremely hot," Winters frowned as he reflected on his experience with magic.


    He continued, "The point is that these feelings don''t come from any specific part of my body. It''s like someone else is getting hit, but I feel the pain. Do you know what phantom limb pain is?"


    "Is it when amputated soldiers feel as if their severed limbs are still there and even experience pain?" Aike recalled content from his health class.


    "Exactly, it''s like phantom limb pain," Winters nodded. "But for me, it''s not about feeling pain where a body part has been amputated; it''s as if the pain comes from a limb I''ve never possessed.


    The source of pain has no flesh and blood but possesses a real sensation. To call it a limb isn''t quite accurate, yet I don''t know how to describe it precisely. Just like I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to describe colors to a blind person," he said.


    "I think I''m beginning to grasp what you''re talking about," Aike replied thoughtfully.


    "That''s why the Alliance spellcasters refer to the gift of magic as the invisible ''third hand,'' the ''fifth limb'' beyond the four limbs. The numbers three and five hold significant symbolic meaning to the Alliance spellcasters, which is why the Alliance of Spellcasters is also known as the Three-Five Society."


    Winters dipped his hand in water and drew a symbol on the stone bench. He began by drawing a pentagon and then connected one vertex to two others, dividing the pentagon into three triangles.


    "This is the emblem of the Alliance spellcasters. Look at its shape; a pentagon divided into three triangles. It can represent the third hand, the fifth limb, and the three major types of magic," Winters explained to Aike the meaning behind the symbol as he drew it.


    "So this is the emblem of the spellcasters? And here I was thinking you wore this badge every day because it was the insignia of the Sea Blue Fellowship!"


    "You didn''t know this was the spellcasters'' emblem?"


    "You never mentioned it, did you?"


    "You never asked, did you?"


    This chicken-and-egg cycle could go on endlessly. Aike explained why he hadn''t asked, "The school doesn''t allow us to inquire about spellcasters. Besides, you all attend spellcasting classes on Sundays. While we go to church, you have classes, and we''ve never eavesdropped."


    "It really wasn''t necessary, seeing as you''ll eventually find out in the army. No wonder you had the wrong impression of spellcasters," Winters quickly remembered something else: "But haven''t we taken tactics classes on countering enemy mages?"


    "It''s precisely because of how the instructor in the anti-mage tactics class described it that I thought spellcasters could kill me with just a flick of their fingers," Aike said with a wry smile. "What he described in class is very different from what you''re telling me."


    "I think what''s described in the anti-magic class must be related to Richard IV''s enforcers during the Sovereign Wars¡ªthe court wizards," Winters realized what was being misconstrued: "Court wizards are few and shrouded in mystery. Their training and the methods of casting spells are unknown to outsiders."


    Winters took a moment to recall what he had learned about court wizards in his literature class: "Flemish scholars documented that ancient emperors of Silk Country once summoned meteor showers to destroy hundreds of thousands of rebels. It''s unimaginable. Someone like me, who can barely light a candle, can''t fathom how to perform such super spells."


    "Summoning a meteor shower? If court wizards were really that powerful, wouldn''t the madman Richard have conquered Guidao City?" Aike also found it hard to believe.


    "That''s why I think there''s a lot of exaggeration in that part of the ancient records. Anyway, if people are going to exaggerate, they definitely tend to go big," Winters said, laughing. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line of the Starfall Spell¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Book of Later Han - Annals of Emperor Guangwu: "At night, a meteor fell in the camp; during the day, a cloud like a crumbling mountain appeared, falling over the camp and dispersing before it reached a foot above the ground, causing all officers and soldiers to be filled with dread."


    Book of Jin - Annals of Emperor Xuan: "Meeting with Liang at Jisheng, he fought on the plains. Liang was unable to advance and withdrew to Wuzhang Plains. Then a long-tailed star fell on Liang''s rampart, and the Emperor knew defeat was inevitable so he sent troops to attack Liang from behind, beheading more than five hundred and capturing over a thousand prisoners, with over six hundred surrendering."


    Book of Jin - Annals of Emperor Xuan: "At that time, a long-tailed star, white and with a mane-like appearance, streaked from the southwest of Xiangping city to the northeast, falling into the Liang River, shaking the city with terror. Wen Yi, greatly afraid, sent his appointed chancellor Wang Jian and Grand Herald Liu Fu to surrender, requesting to lift the siege and presenting themselves in shackles."

 Chapter 12: Chapter 6 Mass-Produced Magic Combat Golems

    After laughing, Winters still kindly reminded Aike, "The descriptions of magicians in ancient books are definitely exaggerated, but since court wizards can be the emperor''s personal enforcers, they must possess real skills.If you ever encounter a court wizard one day, be very careful. Don''t lump us spellcasters together with court wizards. We and they are two different kinds of magic users."


    "I think maybe they''re the ones who deserve to be called magicians, while we''re just spellcasters," Winters said in self-deprecation. "I think that''s what the generals at the Department of the Army must think too, which is why they refer to us as ''spellcasters'' and not ''magicians.'' We''re nothing but mass-produced magical war tools for the Alliance."


    "Don''t put yourself down, magic must be of great use on the battlefield." Although Aike had never been to a battlefield, it was obvious that he was a firm supporter of the Army''s spellcaster policy: "Otherwise, why would the Army place so much importance on spellcasters? Magicians are the Mad King Richard''s most trusted executioners."


    "That has to be an extremely, extremely powerful magician though, there isn''t a spellcaster in the entire Alliance now that can match the court wizards of the Mad King." Winters cupped his hand by his mouth, making a megaphone shape: "If I really get to the battlefield, I''m just a human megaphone. You know, the kind made from tinplate, shaped into a cone, with the tip removed, the kind the drill instructor holds every morning to yell at people."


    Aike didn''t understand what Winters was talking about, and Winters said bitterly, "I''m not the one who said that, it was General Taylor. He came to inspect last year and spoke to the spellcaster cadets alone."


    Getting excited, Winters imitated General Taylor''s hoarse duck voice: "The most useful spell in battle is the Amplification Spell! This Amplification Spell is really good for commanding troops. It doesn''t get drowned out by gunfire, even made little drums obsolete. You guys definitely have to practice your Amplification Spell well, and cut down on those other useless, fancy tricks."


    "Just listen to how the top brass of the Provincial Army values spellcasters, useless fancy tricks?" Winters suddenly had a ludicrous thought: "If there were portable fire starters, Fire-type spells would be rendered obsolete. And if someday someone invents a device that can amplify voices without magic, army spellcasters might just all be out of a job."


    "What ''tool people,'' you guys are the treasures of the military!" Aike pondered for a moment before making up his mind to tell Winters: "Have you ever heard of the ''Decade Personnel''?"


    Winters thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head.


    Aike explained: "It''s normal that you haven''t heard of it, it''s something those of us without magical talents discuss. If army officers want to be promoted, apart from serving time, there must also be a vacancy, right?"


    This was common knowledge among all army officers and prospective officers, so Winters replied without hesitation: "That''s correct."


    "But there are many officers in the military who, even if they have served enough time, can''t get promoted and just continue to accumulate seniority." Aike''s tone was also uncertain: "However, many people say that spellcaster officers will definitely be promoted once they have served enough time, so within ten years they''re sure to make major, and within twenty, colonel."


    This was the first time Winters had heard about this unwritten rule within the Army, and he was shocked. Naturally, just as nobody discusses a bully in front of the bully, which classmate would talk about spellcasters in front of spellcasters?


    Aike''s words made Winters feel his cheeks burning because he realized he was a beneficiary of an unfair system, while his good friends and classmates were being oppressed by it.


    "If there really is such an unwritten rule, then it''s blatant discrimination and unjust." The education Winters received since childhood emphasized fairness and justice, and such a policy of the Army obviously contradicted the principle of fairness.


    He said sincerely: "Military promotions should be based on ability and merit, I don''t believe that a talent for spells holds any special value for commanding troops, that''s just mismanagement by the Army."


    Aike realized his words had made Winters feel guilty, and he quickly said, "Don''t take it too seriously, it''s not a big deal. Officer promotions definitely won''t only look at magical ability, but considering everything, having magical ability as a bonus is reasonable."


    Aike then mentioned another example of even less fair treatment: "What about those officers who come out of ''crash courses'' and can''t even become field officers in their lifetime, aren''t they even more discriminated against?"


    Seeing the topic veering towards a critique of the Alliance Army''s decision-makers, Aike now particularly regretted bringing up the subject of the ''Decade Personnel'' with Winters. He hurriedly brought the conversation back to magic: "You were just saying that Fire-type spells are useless, but how can fire magic be useless? Isn''t controlling fire quite impressive?"


    "Fire-type magic isn''t about controlling fire, but using magic to achieve some effects in place of fire. For example, with a non-flammable material like stone, no matter how much magic I use, I can''t make it burn," Winters hurriedly corrected Aike''s misunderstanding about magic.


    "But to tell you the truth, my Fire-type spells might not even be as powerful as just using a torch," Winters said reluctantly: "I can barely vaporize a bit of water at full strength, but with a torch, you could quickly dry out the water."


    "Sound-type spells don''t require casting materials, and the Acceleration-type just needs some hard objects. Whereas most Fire-type spells rely on casting materials. If we really were on the battlefield, you''d have probably taken me down with your sword before I could even get my casting materials out."


    "How could that be? Didn''t you just burn a hair just now?" Aike said with a smile: "If we really got into a fight, can''t you just figure out how to light my hair on fire and win?"


    The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. The suggestion struck Winters like a bolt of lightning: "I actually never really thought about using the Fire-type spells to set an enemy''s hair ablaze."


    Winters thought more and more that the idea was interesting. He stood up excitedly and said to Aike, "Your idea is really so dirty, I love it, I''m going to note this spell down in my spellbook."


    "Haha, now you have your own original spell, how about we call it Axel''s Hair Burning Spell?" Winters paced and said, "Hair Burning Spell doesn''t sound imposing enough, how about Axel''s Scalp Scorcher? Face Flamer? Hair Annihilator?"


    "Is this really considered inventing a spell?" Aike said with a wry smile, "Isn''t this a bit too childish?"


    "Why wouldn''t this be considered inventing a spell? You''ve invented a unique usage for fire-type magic." Winters argued earnestly, "It''s all about waving arms and wielding swords, which can be broken down into so many stances and moves. So why wouldn''t inventing a unique usage for a spell be considered inventing a spell? Do you think fire-type magic spells are categorized together because they all follow the same principle, differing only in their application?"


    "Alright, alright, let''s just call it Hair Burning Spell then," Aike answered offhand.


    "Although it''s not tested yet, this approach is really novel. We need to find some actual hair to practice with a few times to see how to make hair burn faster and more fiercely." The more Winters thought about it, the more interesting it became, "I finally understand why the general said, ''There are no useless spells, only foolish spellcasters. A spellcaster must first be clever and only then can one be a spellcaster.''"


    "I''ve been too rigid in my thinking, only considering Flash Spell for actual combat, but you''ve opened my eyes," Winters said emphatically. "Aike, you really are a genius. If you had magical talent, you''d definitely be a hundred times stronger a spellcaster than I am."


    "It''s not that amazing, don''t flatter me," Aike felt that Winters was making too much of a fuss, "What if I shaved off all my hair then?"


    "That¡­" Winters''s breath hitched, "¡­then I would have to resort to using Flash Spell again."


    Aike burst into laughter, but after his laughter subsided, he spoke to Winters with a sincere and yearning tone, "I really want to become a spellcaster, even if I were the worst one. Even if I could only manage the most basic spell of the fire-type spells you despise. It''s not because of any ''ten-years goal'' that I want to become a spellcaster, I just genuinely want to be one. I really want to know what it feels like to use magic."


    Winters could understand the sentiment Aike expressed; who hadn''t fallen asleep with fantasies of becoming a knight or a magician in their younger years? When he''d learned he could study spells, he too was so excited that he could hardly sleep all night.


    It''s a shame though, for the magical abilities of an untrained potential spellcaster were like tiny sparks. But if one wished to make flames roar, one at least needed those sparks to begin with. How could you light a fire without any sparks?


    "Is it so devastating not to be a magician? If you really experienced it, you''d probably think it''s ''not a big deal'' and be greatly disappointed. Plus, I''ll tell you, ever since I started my spellcaster training, I''ve been particularly sleepy; I seriously suspect it''s a side effect of learning spells." But Winters still tried to console Aike:


    "If I could, I''d rather trade my spellcasting ability for your swordsmanship prowess. Do you know how painful it is that I''ve never beaten you? Do you know I hide in the bathroom every day, washing my face with tears? Besides, court magicians might be different, but us spellcaster officers, we''re really just tools."


    This absurd rambling brought a smile to Aike''s face, "Your love of sleeping has absolutely nothing to do with being a spellcaster, you just naturally love to sleep in. Enough about the impossible. Tell me more about what it feels like to use magic. Is it just extremely painful when you use magic?"


    Winters thought carefully again about the sensation of using magic, his face flushing as he said, "It''s really extremely painful, like being tortured, but besides that, it''s also extremely... exhilarating. It hurts while bringing joy, at least that''s how it feels to me. And I often feel a bit empty after I stop casting, I suspect it might be a sign of addiction."


    "Using magic can also be very exhilarating? Exhilarating to the point of addiction?" Aike was stunned.


    "Yes." Winters''s face reddened even more.


    Of course, using magic could be addictive because it was exhilarating, but the spellcasters of this era did not know the deeper reasons. Later researchers, through MRI technology, discovered that when spellcasters used spells, almost their entire cerebral cortex became intensely active, and the activation pattern was very similar to the brain rewarding human reproductive behavior. This kind of cerebral fireworks surely brought intense pain and pleasure similar to the rewards for human reproduction.


    Without this kind of compensation, humans wouldn''t be able to endure the additional pain brought by casting spells. Later researchers even found that the physical structure of spellcasters'' brains differed from that of regular people, with spellcasters having a thicker cortex and smaller medulla.


    "How exhilarating is it?" Aike asked seriously.


    "Very exhilarating," Winters answered earnestly. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It''s not because of some particular type of desire you have?" Aike asked skeptically.


    "I am not a masochist!" Winters retorted angrily.


    "No need to talk any further, let''s not wait until tomorrow, let''s do it today." Aike gripped Winters''s hand tightly, "After class, hurry and take me to see whatever his name was... Christian, the teacher, to get tested. I feel now... that I might very well be a diamond in the rough!"

 Chapter 13: Extra Story: The Protagonists Character Card (Up to Chapter 6)

    ```(A character sheet similar to the one from "Pillars of Eternity" has been created for the protagonist, and it may become interesting as it''s updated throughout the story.


    However, don''t take the attributes too seriously, because spellcasters rely on their brains to fight, not attributes.)


    Name: Winters Montagne/Winters Montagne/Yue Dong


    Gender: Male


    Occupation: Warrior (Level 3) Spellcaster (Level 2)


    Innate Ability: Never Tear Card


    Handedness: Right-handed


    Height: 1.82 meters (barefoot)


    Background:


    Great Gulf Alliance Country/the Confederate States of Great Sinus


    (Enlightenment: The people don''t need an emperor, it''s the emperor who needs the people. Resolve +1.)


    Sea Blue Republic/Venerable Vineta Republic/ Honorable Republic of Veneta


    (Mercantilism: Everything in the world has a price. Diplomacy +1)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Educational Background:


    Army Junior School of Vineta Branch


    Army Officer Preparatory School


    Army Officer School


    (Ivory Tower Officer: Street Smarts -4 Tactics +3 Strength +1 Constitution +1)


    (The Army''s unhealthy obsession with schooling results in most officer school students being from internal promotions.)


    Standard Alliance Country Spellcaster Officer Training


    (Mass Production Magic War Tool: Unlocks Alliance Spellcaster Skill Tree. Religious Knowledge -4)


    (If you believe wine can turn into blood, bread into flesh, you''re not a qualified spellcaster.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Courses Completed:


    General Studies: Rhetoric, History, Mathematics, Geometry, Law, International Law, Old Language, Ancient Language;


    Military Science: Tactics, Fortifications, Fortress Tactics, Military Map Drawing and Use, Military History, Terrain, Equine Studies, Hygiene, Accounting;


    Military Academics: Horsemanship, Swordsmanship, Weapons, Field Surveying, Field Tactics, Military History Travel, Annual Exercises, Routine Services.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Active Abilities:


    Longsword (A Skilled) (Being routinely thrashed by S-rank swordsmen makes him quite strong in a sense.)


    Matchlock Gun (B Proficient) (Here you go, this is the shooting rod; point the muzzle at the enemy, and you can go to war.)


    Horse Riding (B Proficient) (I like horses, but I''m too lazy to shovel manure, brush them, or feed them carrots.)


    General Weaponry (D Rough Understanding) (Oh~ Ah~ Eh~ So that''s how it is, I get it.)


    Machinery (A Skilled) (Need to add two more sets of gears for balanced force, so the planetary gears don''t break so easily.)


    Blasting (B Proficient) (Art is explosion, what mischievous kid doesn''t love fireworks?)


    Alchemy (E Basic Knowledge) (I hear... maybe... presumably...)


    Old Language (B Proficient) (¨ºtre?seul?n''a?pas?d''importance being single is no big deal.)


    Ancient Language (C Unfamiliar) (Ancient language is a dead language, I can manage with a dictionary.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Passive Abilities: (The standard for the average person is 3; passive abilities equal to 3 are not specified.)


    Historical Knowledge 6 (History +1 Military History Class +1 Military History Travel +1) (Obscure historical knowledge)


    Diplomatic Communication 4 (Mercantilism +1) (Trust me, this is to our mutual benefit.)


    Religious Knowledge -1 (Standard Senas Spellcaster Officer Training -4) (Eat shit, charlatan!)


    Street Smarts -1 (Ivory Tower Officer -4) (If I lose my wallet, I''ll go to the guards.)


    Tactical Acumen 6 (Military-school background +3) (Grip your weapon tight! No looking back! No retreat!)


    Outdoor Survival 2 (Highfalutin -2 City Kid -2 Stomach forged in the military school dining hall +3) (Is this wheat? Oh, it''s not wheat.)


    Perception 5 (Military Training +2) (From the tattoo on your arm, I deduce you''re a sailor.)


    Intimidation 4 (Military Status +1) (Let me introduce you to something else: a broad-blade knife!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spellcasting Assessment:


    Fire-based Magic: Medium


    Kinetic Magic: Weak


    Sound-based Magic: Slightly Weak


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spells That Can Be Cast Effectively:


    (Just as a five-year-old could try lifting a hundred-pound barbell, as long as one understands the principles, a spell could be utilized, but the issue is whether it can be used effectively)


    ```


    Antoine-Laurent''s Fire Burning Technique


    Antoine-Laurent''s Vaporization Spell


    Tesla''s Luminosity Spell


    David''s Flash Spell


    The Nameless One''s Iron Melting Technique


    The Flying General''s Arrow Flying Spell S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Wright Brothers'' Wind Control Technique


    Ludwig''s Sound Amplification Technique


    Axel''s Hair Burning Spell


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Character Traits:


    Alliance Country Supporter


    Although born in the Sea Blue Republic, Winters was educated in The Federated Provinces Republic from a young age and has been deeply influenced by Alliance Country ideals, agreeing that the Alliance government should have more power.


    (So is he a patriot or a traitor?)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Genetics of Venetian People


    Fierceness is etched into the DNA of Venetian people.


    (Stop carving everything into DNA, you bastard!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Respect for Professional Knowledge and Skills


    Winters respects people who have professional knowledge and skills, such as mathematicians or swordsmiths.


    (You can do what I cannot.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Atheist


    Spellcasters'' powers come from their understanding of the laws of everything, and Winters doesn''t believe in the existence of deities.


    (Listen up, I''m too lazy to educate you on atheism, and don''t you try to push your religious beliefs on me.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Lawful Good


    Winters is willing to do good deeds, but his military academy education also taught him to respect order.


    (It''s good to thrust a sword into a bad guy''s mouth, but I''d prefer if the judge gave the go-ahead first.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Boys'' Club


    Winters spent ten years in an all-boys boarding school, and he''s very skilled at getting along with males, but relatively poor at dealing with females.


    (What kind of school is this! You have really done some damage here!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Carefree


    Winters, naturally lively, even in the darkest and most tragic circumstances, likes to joke and the uncertainty of life, favoring those with a sense of humor.


    (Specifically manifests as an uncontrollable desire to make snarky comments)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The World is a Shoddy Performance


    Winters thinks the whole world is a shoddy performance, a world competing to be worse, not better.


    (It doesn''t matter how miserable I am, as long as my enemies are more miserable than me.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Loves Animals


    If heaven doesn''t have cats, then I''d like to go to a place that does.


    (Of course, it would be even better if they didn''t shed.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Not Very Rigorous Character Attributes: (Added points according to PE rules, plus the skill points provided by character background)


    Strength 12 (Base 11 +1 from military academy background) (Winters loves to sleep and avoids all unnecessary physical labor)


    Constitution 13 (Base 12 +1 from military academy background) (A constitution of 13 means less likely to fall ill)


    Agility 14 (Base 13 +1 from swordsmanship training) (Agility without strength is meaningless, except for running away.)


    Perception 15 (Base 13 +2 from spellcaster training) (Intuition is the thing that''s most accurate after the fact.)


    Intelligence 18 (Base 16 +2 from spellcaster training) (Do you think my extra sleep was for nothing?)


    Determination 14 (Base 13 +1 from Enlightenment beliefs) (Is 14 points of determination really that much?)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (The End)

 Chapter 14: Chapter 7: A good soldier is one who can grab a weapon and has saliva in his mouth.

    "On the battlefield, if you can grip a weapon and have saliva in your mouth, you are a good soldier!" swordsmanship instructor Richard Nal was giving his last lecture to 55 students of Infantry Class 554 at the Army Officer Academy: "These aren''t my words, but those of the old Marshal."When the Army Officer Academy was established, the preparatory committee believed there were too many courses conducted in classrooms and that it was necessary to add a special physical education class. The initial plan was to choose one among swordsmanship, wrestling, and archery.


    Most senior officers of the Alliance Army had attended Marshal Ned''s evening "tutoring sessions" organized during the Sovereignty War, so everyone had learned longsword techniques from Marshal Ned incidentally.


    Therefore, the Army''s decision-makers wished to pass on the tradition of the longsword, making it one of the military subjects in the physical education curriculum at the Officer Academy.


    "Classmates, this is your last swordsmanship class. You must have all thought about the significance of practicing longsword techniques for your future military careers," Instructor Nal paused and said without any courtesy:


    "I can tell you now that the chance you will need to draw your longswords to grapple with the enemy in the future is very slim. Many of you might never hold a sword hilt in both hands again after leaving this training room."


    "What is a longsword to you? What is swordsmanship? Is it really for combat? Outside the Ivory Tower of the military school, there are more agile and portable weapons in vogue. Want to know what weapons work in actual combat? Go watch the Duelists'' Association! Not one of you could win against those guys in a one-on-one fight."


    "In the world of officers, the longsword has become a ceremonial sword used to embellish dress uniforms, and swordsmanship has become a threshold to distinguish officers'' origins."


    "Although we try our best to give you the feeling of actual combat, for you, longsword techniques have evolved from a combat skill into a sporting activity. You must wonder if swordsmanship really matters. I can tell you now, it doesn''t matter."


    "Don''t think just because you''ve trained for many years and each of you is proficient with a sword, you can go out and conquer on the battlefield. Two peasants with pitchforks could take you down!" Nal''s swordsmanship class was much more relaxed and enjoyable compared to other cultural and military courses. This was the first time he had belittled his students, not sparing their feelings at all.


    "Because when you truly reach the battlefield and face death, even the noble knights who have been trained to fight from the moment they could walk might find themselves so nervous that their minds go blank and their limbs freeze, unable to move."


    "Although swordsmanship may not be of much significance to you anymore. But please remember what I''m about to say: if there comes a day, at some point in the future when you really need to draw your weapons for self-defense."


    "No matter what you''re holding in your hand, be it a spear, a saber, a club, a hammer, or even if you have no weapons at all and are just bare-handed. Think of my words today, think of the swordsmanship training you''ve had over the years." sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If you can recall even thirty percent of your ability from today, you might just save your life. If you can recall sixty percent of your ability, then there wouldn''t be many on the battlefield who could stand against you. The principles of martial arts are always interconnected, and many of the philosophies behind the longsword can be applied to other weapons as well."


    "The old Marshal always said, ''I fear those whose swordsmanship is versatile in practice but resort to wild chopping with brute force in actual combat''. That''s why he emphasized simple and direct attacks."


    "When that day truly arrives, I hope you will remember what I''ve said today. Don''t grip the hilt too tightly! Don''t let your arms become too stiff! Don''t just rush forward blindly, be agile in your steps! And think again about the swordsmanship training you''ve received!"


    Another cohort of students was about to leave the school, and Richard Nal, for once, was genuinely emotional, and each sentence spoke from the heart. Yet his students didn''t treasure this emotional display, with most of them just thinking about rushing to have dinner.


    Young people despise the advice from their elders, mostly because a lot of the condescending advice truly is garbage content. But at the same time, they risk missing out on genuinely valuable experiences because of this attitude.


    It would take at least another decade, after they had been battered by the winds and rains of adulthood, for them to know which of the past teachings were nonsense and which were gems of wisdom.


    Only on that day, when they look back on today''s swordsmanship class, will they understand the earnestness of Instructor Nal''s efforts. But now, they are just a bunch of kids who grew up sheltered in the Ivory Tower.


    After saying a lot in one go, regardless of whether his students took it in or not, Instructor Nal simply concluded the speech: "I''ve said my piece. Alright! Dismissed!"


    Instructor Nal clapped his hands twice, giving the command: "Dismissed!"


    The students bowed in unison: "Goodbye, Instructor." They then ran out as one to return their training armor.


    The training room returned to silence and became empty once more.


    The young men who had sweated and laughed freely here seemed like just a dream of this classroom.

 Chapter 15: Chapter 8 Night Duty

    The swordsmanship class at the Army Officer Academy was held twice a week, starting right after lunch. The duration of the class depended on the time of the sunset.In summer, when the days were long and the nights short, the swordsmanship classes last longer. In winter, as the darkness fell earlier, the classes were shorter. As a principle, students were given an hour to have dinner before dusk.


    This led to a problem: during the long summer days, the sun wouldn''t set until eight or nine o''clock. After eating lunch, the cadets would practice with their longswords, not getting to eat dinner until very late. Therefore, by the last hour of swordsmanship class in the summer, everyone was famished.


    After returning the training armor to the equipment room, Winters and Aike, carrying their longswords and combat clothing, didn''t even have time to change out of their cadet uniforms before they dashed at full speed to the cafeteria, beginning to gobble down food ravenously.


    By the time the two of them had finished eating and taken a quick shower, it was nearly eight o''clock when they got back to the cadet dormitory, and the sun was about to set.


    Lamps had been lit in the cadet dormitory, and Winters could see that those students whose homes were not in The Federated Provinces Republic¡ªnamely, those from Sea Blue Republic, Highland Republic, Monta Republic, and Varn Republic¡ªhad already started to pack their bags, preparing to return home the next day.


    Aike was a local from Guidao City, just a walk away from home, so he wasn''t in a hurry. He grabbed a washbasin intending to wash his combat clothes and saw Winters sprawled motionless on the bed.


    So he gave Winters'' back a hard smack and reminded him, "Are you going to sleep so early? Aren''t you going to pack your luggage?"


    "It''s fine; I can pack tomorrow, I don''t have much stuff anyway." Winters, full and struck by a fit of drowsiness, responded lethargically.


    Weariness, pain, and sleepiness assaulted Winters one after the other. At that moment, he didn''t even want to move a finger; all he wanted to do was sleep.


    "What about your combat cloth? Aren''t you going to wash it? It''s all sweaty; if you leave it until tomorrow, won''t it stink?" Aike asked again with a frown, glancing at the combat cloth lying in a wooden basin by Winters'' bed.


    Winters weighed the options between "getting up to wash the clothes" and "continuing to sleep" and without any suspense, chose "continuing to sleep." He buried his face in the pillow and said, "Forget it, just toss it. I won''t wear it anymore anyway."


    "Didn''t you say you wanted to practice the longsword diligently once you got back to Sea Blue? And now you''re just going to throw away your combat cloth? Besides, saying you''ll throw away such good clothes is incredibly wasteful, isn''t it?" Aike couldn''t help but laugh at the attitude that preferred sleep over keeping clothes.


    However, Winters couldn''t hear Aike''s words anymore; the sound from Aike was going in one ear and out the other. Then suddenly, Winters remembered something very important¡ªsomething that meant he couldn''t sleep just yet.


    He sat bolt upright, startling Aike into stepping back. Winters frowned and said, "I just remembered, I have night watch duty tonight."


    He took a deep breath and let out a mournful howl from the depths of his chest, "Ah..."


    "You scared me. But aren''t you just going to sleep during your watch anyway?" Aike said, looking helpless.


    Winters quickly got up and dressed while Aike followed up from behind, asking, "What about your clothes then?"


    "No help for that, I won''t have time to wash them now. If you want them, they''re yours; if you don''t, whoever wants them can have them. If nobody wants them, just throw them away," Winters replied while hurriedly putting on his trousers. He then grabbed his jacket and hurried out of the dormitory while shrugging into it.


    The Army Officer School had three gates, each manned by two shifts a day. Each shift consisted of six people, two from each the first, second, and third years.


    The Army Officer School had three branches: Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery, with each year''s population fluctuating between fifty-five and sixty students. This meant that approximately once a month, each cadet would have to serve one day shift and one night shift on guard duty.


    Winters jogged all the way to the school''s north gate. The day guards hadn''t yet left, and the freshmen and sophomores who were to replace them were already waiting there.


    "Good evening, squad leader." The lower-year cadets saluted Winters one after another, which was a small tradition at the Army Officer Academy. During the freshmen''s introductory training, either a second-year or a third-year cadet would be assigned as their deputy squad leader or squad leader, leading them through training.


    So at the academy, it was customary for lower-year cadets to call anyone wearing more stripes than themselves "squad leader," whether they knew them or not.


    Winters casually returned the salute and hastened into the on-duty room to meet the other third-year cadet on night duty. He was a robust young man, just over 1.7 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a generous width of hand, and a wide mouth and nose under a pair of thick eyebrows and large eyes.


    To Winters, his roommate''s physical characteristics signaled that he was a kind, unpretentious, and tolerant person. The young man saw Winters approaching, punched him lightly on the shoulder, and, grinning to reveal a double row of teeth, said, "You''re here."


    Winters flinched as he was hit where he had bruised during swordplay that day and sucked in a breath of cool air in pain.


    "What''s wrong?" The young man didn''t understand how his light punch could provoke such a strong reaction from Winters.


    "Got hit hard on the shoulder during swordsmanship class today¡ªno big deal," Winters said with a smile.


    "Was it the master who did it?" The young man understood instantly and responded with a laugh.


    Winters pulled over a chair, plopped down onto it with a casual air, and said proudly, "You didn''t see it today¡ªI actually scored seventeen points against Aike, got him so flustered. If I hadn''t been so worn out afterward, I would have ended Aike''s undefeated streak."


    "Really? You''re not bullshitting me?" the young man was surprised because scoring seventeen points against the master was only a notch below beating the master.


    "Why would I lie? There were so many people watching during the class, you can ask anyone," Winters said confidently.


    The young man punched Winters lightly on the other shoulder and burst out laughing, "Seventeen points! That''s impressive! Too bad, if you had won, we could have avenged the beatdowns we''ve gotten from the master over the years."


    Just then, a head peeked in at the door¡ªit was a first-year cadet. The junior saluted and said, "Squad leader, the duty instructor is coming."


    Winters and the other quickly straightened their appearances and left the cadet duty office. Night watch duty is different from day watch. There is no patrol duty during day watch, and six people are on duty for the entire day, with each team taking a four-hour shift. You report to duty before your shift starts and you''re free to go once it''s over.


    But night watch duty is more complicated, as it involves patrol duty. The routine for night watch is that each team stands watch for four hours, patrols for four hours, and sleeps for four hours. This ensures that at any given time, one team is on patrol, another is on watch, and the rest are sleeping.


    Since you can''t return to the dormitory to sleep during night watch, there are two small brick buildings constructed next to the main gate, on the inside of the perimeter wall, serving as the cadet and instructor duty offices, where those on night watch can rest. Those resting in the duty office also serve the function of being "ready to provide immediate support in case of emergency." S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why is there an instructor''s rest room? Because the instructors also take turns on night watch. The school authorities believe that night duty is complicated, and students alone are not enough¡ªin the event of an emergency, it''s necessary to have an active duty officer present to ensure stability.


    In theory, everyone from the headmaster to the lecturers has the obligation to take night duty. But in practice, it''s the fresh, low-ranking, single instructors living in the staff dormitories who end up taking the shift.


    However, instructors don''t actually have to stand watch; they just need to sleep in the instructor''s rest room.


    The one who came was a short-armed weapons instructor, his face flushed red, his shirt unbuttoned down to the third button below the collar, clearly having had a drink. The two who hadn''t left day watch yet, plus the six on night watch¡ªa total of eight¡ªformed a horizontal line under Winters'' lead.


    Everyone braced themselves and stood at attention, while the instructor on duty nodded without expression¡ªno one was in a good mood on night duty¡ªand began to call roll.


    "Winters Montagne!"


    "Here!" Winters answered.


    "Gerard''s Bard!"


    "Here!" the solidly-built young man familiar with Winters replied¡ªthat was his name.


    Bard''s name was unusual because he had no surname. Gerard was his hometown, and calling him "Gerard''s Bard" was to distinguish him from any others named Bard.


    In this era, last names were a product of pragmatism, quite different from the orderly naming customs of "given name, surname, clan name, courtesy name, and pseudonym" in the people of Silk Country at the time. Even emperors and kings a few hundred years back didn''t have "real surnames."


    Maybe one day Bard will take Gerard as his last name, but for now, he''s just Bard, formally known as Gerard''s Bard.


    Then the instructor called the remaining names, dipped his quill pen in his mouth, and checked off each name on the attendance list.


    He then asked, "Are the weapons accounted for?" Winters had been too busy chatting with Bard to check the weapons. But Bard gave him a nudge, and Winters understood; it seemed Bard had done it.


    Now with confidence, Winters answered loudly, "Six halberds, six muskets, all accounted for."


    "Alright, dismissed! Call me if anything comes up." The duty instructor nodded and then went to the instructor''s rest room to sleep.


    The two cadets on day shift said their goodbyes and hurried back to the dormitory. Winters and Bard began their last shift on night watch.

 Chapter 16: Chapter 9 School Management Enthusiasm

    Many rules in this world are well executed when they are first established, but as time goes by, they gradually lose their original flavor. Just like when Marshal Ned Smith formulated the "Night Regulations" for the Army Officers'' Academy, it stipulated that all instructors, regardless of rank or position, must take turns at night duty.When Marshal Ned became Principal Ned, the rule was executed to the letter. Because Ned Smith was not the kind of man who only paid lip service, when he set a rule, he would truly bring a small blanket to the instructors'' duty room to take the night shift. With him setting an example, everyone dutifully took their turn, and no one dared to shirk their responsibilities.


    But after Principal Ned stepped down, this regulation slowly evolved into the current "rule": those assigned to night duty were all newly employed, of low rank and single men living in staff dormitories. Not only had the instructors'' scheduling changed, but the way the students took their night duties also no longer followed the original design. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The original plan of each person standing guard for four hours, patrolling for four hours, and then catching up on four hours of sleep somehow changed so that third-year students could go into the duty room and fall asleep immediately, while the first and second-year students miserably stood guard for six hours and patrolled for six hours.


    So, before Winters was promoted to the third year, what he hated most was night duty. A great passion of Winters'' life was sleeping; he would become particularly irritable when he was sleep-deprived and would develop a strong self-destructive tendency.


    Thus, when Winters entered the third year, every time he was on night duty, he would lay down in the student duty room and sleep soundly, feeling utterly justified, because in his view, he had already done his share of duty in the previous two years, and now it was his turn to sleep.


    It''s precisely this psychology of humans that allows so many blatantly bullying and irrational rules to exist and persist in this world.


    Because these "bullying systems" all preserved a channel for advancement, a glimmer of hope, they promised those who were oppressed: "Just endure the pain now, and you will have your day sitting on top of others."


    The saying goes that as long as a daughter-in-law doesn''t die, she will eventually become a mother-in-law; junior single instructors will eventually be promoted and marry; lower grade officer cadets will eventually become upperclassmen in the third year. Therefore, with a little hope in their hearts, everyone clenched their teeth and endured, waiting for their day to bully others.


    But they often failed to realize that the design of this "bully/victim perpetual motion machine" actually caused everyone to endure much more unnecessary pain.


    Enduring the torment of three "eight hours of duty, four hours of sleep" night shifts was not as much as enduring a single "grueling twelve-hour shift followed by a day of classes."


    A Silk Country sage named Treeman commented on this distorted system: "It takes a generation to endure the hard times of being bullied, yet be noble enough not to bully others, to break this cycle."


    This time on duty, Winters didn''t just dive into the student duty room and fall asleep as before; instead, he picked up a long halberd, ready to patrol. It wasn''t because Winters had an epiphany; he couldn''t possibly think that deeply at this stage. In fact, today was not his turn to be on duty; he had specifically swapped with someone else just to seek out Bard.


    Bard was also from The Federated Provinces of the Republic. Unlike Aike, however, his home was not in Guidao City, but in a small village over a hundred kilometers away from the city''s west gate.


    The military of the Alliance Country¡ªor more precisely, The Federated Provinces of the Republic¡ªhad a fervent hobby of "running schools." This hobby was theoretically supposed to have been inherited from Marshal Ned, the man who started "cram schools," but it seemed to be somewhat different.


    Although the "Army Officers'' Academy" was there to train junior officers, this was clearly not enough to satisfy the educational fervor of The Federated Provinces of the Republic''s Army, so they set up the "Army Officer Preparatory School" to train cadets for the Army Officers'' Academy;


    Then, the "Army Junior School" was established to nurture cadets for the Army Officer Preparatory School.


    Winters entered the Army Junior School, Sea Blue branch school at the age of nine, and from there on embarked on a career path without choices.


    But do you think that was the end of it? Of course not. While other member countries of the Alliance only established junior schools, inside the territory of the Republic, the fanatical education enthusiasts went on to set up Army Enlightenment Schools to cultivate students for the Army Junior Schools.


    If this endless nesting trend continues, one day we will surely see the advent of Army Kindergartens, Army Early Education Classes, and Army Prenatal Education Classes across the lands of the Federated Provinces of the Republic.


    This strange concept of training officers seemingly right from the womb led to a situation: although in theory, the Army Officers'' Academy''s enrolment requirements never included "must be a graduate of the Army Preparatory School", and although the Army Officers'' Academy held unconditional entrance exams every year to recruit students from the Alliance, there were hardly any non-preparatory school graduates who could pass the tests; a single interview would block most external candidates.


    The interviewers believed themselves absolutely unbiased, declaring that the "external candidates were far too lacking" and "lacked the slightest military bearing." However, they never considered that external candidates were not military to begin with, so how could they possibly compare with cadets who had come all the way up from the Junior Schools in terms of military bearing?


    In any case, no matter the process, the end result was that the majority of cadets in the military academy were internal promotions, while external entrants were incredibly rare.


    People did not yet know whether this phenomenon was good or bad, nor did they know what impact it would have on the future of the Republic and even the entire Gulf Alliance. What would happen in the future? Who could guess? Let''s return to the subject of Bard.


    There are always some people in this world that can win your trust the very first time you meet them; Bard was one of those people.


    His appearance was not threatening, with broad shoulders, large hands, a wide mouth and broad nose, and his slight strabismus made him appear naive.


    He spoke slowly and his voice was slightly hoarse, his thick lips always tinged with a hint of a smile. He was good-natured, and only when he was hungry would his temper worsen.


    Upon entrance, the school provided each student with a set of summer and winter uniforms. Wealthy students would have tailors make several sets for change. Bard had only one set, but he washed it diligently every day.


    Among the young people keen on dressing up, he wore his uniform that had been washed to the point of fading but was clean and neat without a trace of embarrassment on his face. So, when you saw him for the first time, you''d know he was a reliable person.


    A wise man from the East once said, "Those who find contentment in moderation do not know that the sustenance of body and mouth is inferior to others." Winters did not know whether Bard had truly reached the state of equanimity described by the Eastern sage or was just trying hard to appear composed and self-assured.


    But Winters did not want to guess or investigate because whether it was the former or the latter, it meant that Bard was a person with great self-respect, and Winters respected those with self-respect.

 Chapter 17: Chapter 10 External Admission

    Bard was one of only three externally enrolled students in Winters''s cohort of officer candidates, and he was probably the most formidable among them.Most external enrollments at the Army Officer Academy were for the artillery branch, granting exceptions to those with mathematical talent. Yet, Bard was studying Cavalry, and before him, the Cavalry department had not had an externally enrolled student for six whole years.


    When the Federated Provinces were still the domain of the Duke of Montefronte, starting with Bard''s grandfather, their family made a living by breeding horses for the House of Earl Menai, from the time of the old Earl to his grandson''s inheritance of the title.


    Whenever they had time, Bard''s grandfather would take his two sons to tend to the family''s dozen or so acres of land. Life was tough, but there was no worry of lacking food and clothes.


    But Bard''s family could never have dreamed of the outbreak of the Sovereignty War. Bard''s grandfather and father didn''t understand why the city folks suddenly wanted to rebel against the Emperor; after all, to them, the Emperor seemed a far and distant figure. In Bard''s family''s eyes, their life was calm and well-provided for, and they never imagined this way of life being disrupted.


    As the Galleon Sect began destroying monasteries everywhere, Bard''s family had a faint premonition of the storm to come. Yet for three generations, as dutiful coachmen who bred horses for the Earl, there was nothing they could do but to continue feeding the Earl''s horses.


    When the first revolt in Guidao City happened, and the militia took control of the city,


    Bard''s family was feeding the Earl''s horses, while the Earl held his troops back because he was not pro-imperial;


    When the first uprising in Guidao City was suppressed and the army of the Emperor-appointed Governor entered the city,


    Bard''s family was feeding the Earl''s horses, and the Earl held his troops back because he did not support the militia either;


    When the second revolt in Guidao City happened, with militia inside and outside the city collaborating to breach Guidao City and trap the Governor in the castle, Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard''s family was feeding the Earl''s horses, while the Earl continued to hold his troops back, choosing to wait and see;


    When the second suppression of Guidao City failed, and after the Battle of the Golden Saddle, the pro-imperial nobles of the Duke of Montefronte were entirely wiped out,


    Bard''s family was feeding the Earl''s horses, while the Earl still held back his forces, intending to observe further;


    Finally, the Emperor unleashed his fierce hound, Duke Arlian, who declared that all nobles who had survived the Battle of the Golden Saddle were traitors. He led his mountain militia through the Duke of Montefronte''s domain, turning it into rivers of blood;


    Bard''s family was feeding the Earl''s... oh, there was no need to feed the horses this time. Because all the horses had been taken by Earl Menai to war. The fence-sitting nobles of the Duke of Montefronte''s domain could no longer sit idly by.


    Bard''s family switched to feeding the Earl''s cattle, sheep, and poultry.


    After Duke Arlian''s defeat and subsequent suicide, Bard''s family thought they could finally go back to feeding horses for the Earl.


    But what Bard''s family did not expect was that the militia and the anti-monarchist noble army, who had fought side by side just moments ago, began to turn on each other once more.


    The knights clad in helm and plate patrolled the royal roads, executing all suspicious passersby without trial, to intercept messengers who were connecting the insurgents of various cities;


    Lone swordsmen wandered the forest paths, their longswords and matchlock guns wrapped in oiled cloth on their backs, lying in wait to assassinate any noble they could find.


    The war within the Duke''s lands in front of the mountains finally ended with the victory of the militia, and no new Duke was elected. Henceforth, this land was renamed the "Republic in front of the Mountains" (also known as The Federated Provinces Republic).


    Bard''s family no longer needed to worry about when they could go back to feed horses for the Earl because the militia''s blades were quicker and more ruthless than those of Duke Arling.


    There was no longer an Earl of Menai, as the entire family of the Earl of Menai had been slaughtered. The Federated Provinces Republic would no longer fall into the hands of the nobility, for there were no living nobles left in The Federated Provinces who dared to claim their titles.


    The Bard family thought it was all over: even though they could no longer feed horses for the Earl, at least they could go back and tend to their little plot of land.


    What the Bard family did not expect was Richard IV leading a campaign of all the major and minor lords of the entire Empire. And this was no longer just about The Federated Provinces Republic, the Royal Sea Blue lands, the Highland Duke''s lands... The whole Gulf Region was being dragged into this.


    The originally Earl of Menai''s domain, now Menai Province, was once again ravaged. Crops not yet ripe were trampled and burned, and fleeing soldiers were more terrifying than bandits. In the chaos, Bard''s father lost his own father, brother, sister, and all his children.


    The Bard family was completely bankrupt, with a small piece of land but no food. Out of desperation, Bard''s father mortgaged their small plot to the Green Heart Monastery nearby, and the couple sought protection from the Monastery, becoming tenant farmers there.


    The Sovereignty Wars came to a definitive end, the Emperor withdrew his troops, and after the Gulf Alliance gained full sovereignty, the couple gave birth to Bard.


    For Bard''s parents, the life of tenant farmers offered no prospects; the farmers could barely feed themselves, doomed never to save enough money to redeem their land. Thus, the only hope for Bard''s parents was for Bard to become a monk at the Monastery.


    But a monk is an officially registered cleric, and Bard''s parents wanted Bard to become a monk? They could wish for it, of course, but it was impossible.


    Because the Monastery would not accept a young man who had nothing. To become a monk, one must bring a contribution to the Monastery. The Monastery welcomed those "brothers" who came with deeds and precious metals.


    From the time he could remember, Bard served as a servant in the Monastery, initially responsible for lowly jobs like cleaning toilets. He was diligent, careful in his work, and tight-lipped.


    So, he quickly escaped the lowest menial work and began to take charge of cleaning the Monastery''s scriptorium and library. A kind monk taught him how to read and write in Old Language, and through an Old/Ancient Language dictionary Bard taught himself Ancient Language.


    Ever since he could read, Bard spent all his free time in the Green Heart Monastery''s library. He read a vast number of ancient texts and materials preserved by the Monastery, teaching himself the Ancient Empire scholars'' "Mathematics," "Principles of Geometry," and the Flemish "Medicine Canon."


    Meanwhile, his status within the Monastery kept rising: from cleaning the library to specializing in the cleaning of precious relics and holy vessels, and then he became the personal servant to the head of the Monastery, helping the abbot with the accounts.


    But the more Bard learned about the Monastery, the clearer it became that there was no possible way for him to become a monk, nor did he wish to spend his life as a tenant farmer or servant. By chance, Bard learned from a visitor to the Monastery about the Military Academy, and that there were no conditions for applying to the Army Officer School.


    So, at the age of 16, Bard decided to take a chance. With six small silver coins and three pieces of black bread, he left his home in Gerard Village and walked a hundred kilometers to reach Guidao City.


    Thanks to his ancestral horsemanship skills and outstanding scores in cultural subjects, Bard miraculously gained admission to the Cavalry branch of the Military Academy, and he became the only off-campus student in six years to enter the Cavalry.


    Bard and Winters met in the equine studies class (equine studies and horsemanship were two separate courses). In horsemanship, Bard wasn''t as good as Winters, but when it came to caring for horses, Winters couldn''t hold a candle to Bard.


    When they first met, Winters only admired Bard''s skills in horse husbandry. But as they got to know each other better, Winters increasingly recognized virtues in Bard he didn''t possess, such as being gentle and never losing his temper.


    Winters, lacking these qualities, unconsciously gravitated towards people who possessed them. And Winters''s friendship, free from any sense of condescension, was comfortable for Bard. In time, the two became very close friends.

 Chapter 18: Chapter 11 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 1)

    After taking over the shift, Winters and Bard carried their long halberds and patrolled along the military academy''s perimeter wall. They didn''t bring muskets because muskets were far too heavy compared to halberds.Moreover, without gunpowder and bullets, a musket was nothing but decoration. If it were up to Winters, he wouldn''t even want to carry this halberd.


    The military academy was no treasure vault; the Army Officer''s Military Academy could be described as extremely poor. The army''s educational philosophy was always to save wherever possible, taking the saved money to establish even more schools.


    In such a place so poor that even a mouse would cry upon entering, it was also filled with strong and vigorous young men.


    Thieves had no business there, let alone ghosts who would also stay clear.


    For the school authorities, the primary purpose of night patrols was to prevent the occasional student from sneaking out after hours. But catching a couple of students trying to sneak out of the dormitory didn''t require weapons. Also, having students catch their peers wasn''t very reliable; Winters himself had slipped out to play multiple times while his classmates stood night watch, returning in the middle of the night. And every time, he walked out through the main gate without the need to climb over any walls.


    After ambling around for a while, night had fully fallen, and lights-out time had passed. The military academy at night had bid farewell to the daytime''s hustle and bustle, and the silent school shrouded in darkness was like a wild beast lurking in the shadows. Winters often felt this way on night patrol: the academy at night wasn''t an inanimate object; it was constantly breathing rhythmically.


    The nearby neighborhoods, like the military academy, had entered slumber. Only the distant port area was still awake, where they could vaguely see specks of light. That was the territory of revelers and service industry workers still seeking entertainment.


    Outside the military academy walls, close to the residential area, there were a few simple stone tables. The tables were shaded by several broad-leaf trees which provided shelter from the sun on clear days and from the rain. These stone tables were put up by the neighborhood''s residents, who usually set up stalls on them to do business with officer students.


    Seeing those stone tables, Winters thought about resting for a while and suggested to Bard, pointing, "Let''s go sit there for a bit."


    "Sure, let''s sit for a bit. I wanted to have a smoke anyway," Bard agreed, noticing that Winters didn''t want to move anymore.


    The wind tonight was a bit strong, blowing from the direction of the sea onto the land. It brought a lot of moisture, and the skies above Guidao City were already obscured by clouds. The moonlight, weakened after passing through the clouds, barely improved the walkability of the path compared to a night with no moon at all.


    Winters, recalling his geography lessons, frowned and said, "Looking at this wind direction and cloud cover, it might rain tomorrow."


    Rain wasn''t good news for someone about to embark on a journey home.


    As they sat down at the stone table, the wind blowing in from the sea dried the sweat on their bodies and took away a significant amount of their surface heat. The daytime''s dry heat had disappeared, leaving a cool night.


    From his small shoulder bag, Bard pulled out an old pipe. First, he packed it with some shredded tobacco leaves, then he pressed it down, and repeated this "packing and pressing" process two more times.


    Once Bard had finished packing the tobacco, Winters''s left hand held a gesture with his thumb pressing down on his index finger and used a fire-starting spell to light the tobacco in Bard''s pipe bowl. This was one of the little perks of being a friend of a spellcaster; with Winters around, Bard never had to worry about finding a light for his smoke.


    "Aike was saying today how he envies me, but if he finds out that the greatest benefit of being a spellcaster is the convenience of lighting a smoke, I wonder if he''d still speak enviously," Winters thought to himself with a touch of self-mockery.


    In that era, a significant portion of men were either smokers or alcoholics, with many possessing both identities. In a time lacking in entertainment options, many who did not smoke or drink didn''t abstain out of choice, but because they couldn''t afford it.


    However, Winters neither smoked nor drank, and he refused to try any potentially addictive stimulants. This was because Antoine-Laurent believed that these addictive "poisons" would corrode a Spellcaster''s will, numb their perception, and destroy their Spellcasting abilities. Winters regarded General Antoine-Laurent as a god; he always took Antoine-Laurent''s words as the absolute truth and thus resolutely avoided such things.


    Seeing Bard draw a comfortable puff of smoke and then exhale leisurely, Winters finally decided to ask a question that had been weighing on him. He asked Bard with concern, "Have you found out where you''re going to be assigned?"


    Under the dim light of the fire, Bard''s expression remained unchanged, unaffected by Winters'' question.


    "I didn''t inquire," Bard answered calmly after taking a puff of his cigarette, "but it''s easy to guess even without asking ¨C it''ll just be an overseas deployment."


    After this statement, Bard continued to focus on smoking, an activity that harmed his health but which he seemingly enjoyed, appearing totally unconcerned about being sent overseas by the military.


    "An overseas deployment is not such an easy matter," Bard spoke casually, but his words alarmed Winters instantly.


    Yet Bard smiled at Winters as if to say "it''s nothing" and continued to quietly smoke his cigarette.


    Winters glanced at Bard, then at the nighttime cityscape of Guidao City, and finally at the sleeping school, before he sighed helplessly. Although Bard himself did not seem to pity his situation, Winters felt distressed for him.


    An overseas deployment, in the strict sense, referred to military academy graduates being sent to major and minor nodes along sea trade routes. The two closest destinations from the motherland were the Holy Rome Empire and the Freeman Empire, both of which had world-renowned capital cities where the Alliance had consulates. Serving as a military officer in the consulates of these glamorous worlds was a coveted easy job.


    However, the "overseas deployment" that Winters and Bard referred to was obviously not such a desirable assignment; they meant deployment to places that were both further and more dangerous.


    Tomorrow, Winters would start his journey home. He would be interning for a year in his ancestral Sea Blue Republic. Next year at this time, Winters would have to return to school. Because, strictly speaking, he hadn''t truly graduated yet; this year, he was just interning with the rank of Acting Ensign.


    But for those assigned an overseas deployment, once they boarded the ship bound overseas, they could kiss the idea of returning home goodbye. They wouldn''t even be able to attend the graduation ceremony next year, because the time spent on the round trip alone would exceed a year.


    In name, the officers dispatched to the various trade points were there to protect the Alliance''s overseas interests, but oftentimes they were just commanders without soldiers. With no troops or power, they naturally had no chance of distinguishing themselves. The only ways to return home were either in a coffin or after retirement.


    To understand why Bard was targeted for overseas deployment while Winters was not, one must understand the officer assignment system of the Army Military Academy. To understand the assignment system of the Army Military Academy, one needs to start from the beginning of its establishment. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of the objectives of the old marshal in founding this military academy was to bridge the gaps between the member states of the Alliance Country, especially the divisions between their militaries.


    Because the Alliance Country is not strictly a "nation" but an "alliance," its full name is the Senas Republic Alliance. The political environment of the Alliance could be described with the classic saying of former Alliance Country State Secretary Humphrey: "Nation? Are we even a (expletive) nation? Aren''t we just five primitive tribes with mutual animosity?"

 Chapter 19: Chapter 12 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 2)

    ```Indeed, as he said, the Alliance government had no real authority to speak of. The five member states within the Alliance governed themselves, each possessing independent personnel authority, their own fiscal budgets, and armies. The only major power they delegated to the official Alliance was foreign affairs, along with a few inconsequential privileges such as the "right to decide the Alliance''s national anthem" and the "right to decide the Alliance''s flag."


    The various departments of the Alliance government sounded impressive, with names like the Alliance Army Committee, the Alliance Finance Committee, and the Alliance Judiciary Committee. But, in reality, they were nothing more than figureheads, completely decorative.


    This fragmented state of the Alliance began the moment the United Provincials started their rebellion. Starting with the Guidao City riots thirty-odd years ago which set off the Sovereignty Wars, all the way to the end of the Emperor''s retreat from war twenty-six years ago, no Anti-Emperor factional military in the Gulf Region wanted to be led by another.


    The United Provincials'' militia would not accept command from Sea Blue opportunists, and the Sea Blue militia would not accept orders from the United Provincials'' yokels. While the Anti-Emperor factional nobles were keen on usurping power every day, aiming to take command over all the military forces, they had no attention from the militia.


    The various Anti-Emperor factional forces were mostly independent of one another, fighting their own battles most of the time. In the end, under the military pressure of the Emperor and the charismatic appeal of the old marshal, they were forged into a single army under the command of the old marshal to fight the Emperor.


    As soon as the fighting was over, everybody disbanded. Armies from the Federated Provinces Republic, Sea Blue Republic, and Highland Republic went home and transformed into the regular armies of their respective states. The newly established Monta Republic and Van Republic, which were carved from the Empire during the Sovereignty Wars, also created independent army departments.


    The old marshal was acutely aware of the dangers that such army allegiances to the member states posed to the internal peace of the Alliance, but he was powerless to change the reality of the member states harboring their own agendas. Thus, the old marshal believed that if it was not possible to unite the armies of the member states at present, the only hope lay in the future.


    It was important to facilitate communication and understanding among the military factions of the member states; lack of communication could lead to misunderstandings, and misunderstandings could lead to bloodshed. Most importantly, it was crucial to cultivate the youth, to ensure that the younger generation of military officers from the member states would not view each other with the same hostility as their predecessors, and to foster friendships among them.


    When these young people became the mainstays and leaders of the armed forces in their respective member states, the differences would naturally be bridged, and the integration of the member states'' armies would seamlessly occur.


    Thus, the old marshal voluntarily resigned from his military position to focus on establishing the Army Officer Academy. The management rights of the academy were nominally tethered to the defunct head offices of the Provincial Army, with the old marshal serving personally as the first principal, ensuring impartiality. This prevented any bias toward the Federated Provinces Republic just because the school was located in Guidao City.


    His original plan was for the five member states to each take 10 cadets per year per field of study, totaling 150 cadets per level, who would be randomly assigned to the armies of the various member states upon graduation.


    This move of "mixing sand" faced strong resistance from the armies of the member states. The Sea Blue military was the first to stand in opposition; they adamantly refused to send their best prospects to other member states and rejected officers from other member states joining the Sea Blue military. On this point, the militaries of the member states rarely found consensus.


    With no other choice, the old marshal had to put aside the concept of "having a bit of you in me, and a bit of me in you" for the time being, only retaining a clause in the school''s constitution that stated, "When conditions permit, the graduates'' post-graduation placements should be reasonably allocated without discrimination based on their origin," with the hope that one day the member states could amicably apply this provision.


    Therefore, the graduates of the Army Officer Academy returned to where they came from. For example, students from the Sea Blue Republic, like Winters, would return to serve in the Sea Blue Army after graduation.


    This was the old marshal''s plan, and though it did not seem very effective, at least today, twenty-six years later, the armies of the member states were still acting independently.


    Nonetheless, it did have some effect. The officer cadets were indoctrinated with the ideology of greater Alliance unity for several years. Even if they did not support it, at the very least, they were sympathetic toward it. Take Winters as an example; he was an advocate for the ideology of greater Alliance unity, albeit more in spirit than in practice.


    ```


    But still, as the saying goes, plans cannot keep up with changes, and the situation shifted after the old marshal stepped down. The Alliance''s influence stretched beyond the ocean, and they began to possess more overseas interests.


    Overseas trade points needed protection, and the military required reliable representatives abroad, so an overseas deployment option was added to the list of possible assignments for graduates.


    At this time, the fixed number of 150 cadets each year was definitely not enough, and no member state''s military would accept their children being sent overseas. Therefore, the Military Academy expanded its enrollment, increasing each subject''s intake by 5 to 10 additional cadets, bringing Winters'' class to 172 cadets.


    By then, actual control of the Military Academy had fallen into the hands of the Army Department of the United Provincials. Naturally, the United Provincials military was not as fair and impartial as the old marshal, so all the expanded enrollment spots were filled by cadets from the United Provincials.


    The United Provincials military also used the expansion as a pretext to change the graduate allocation policy. Each member state still sent 30 cadets yearly, but when it was time to return, there would be 32 or 33. The United Provincials took this opportunity to mix their own into the armies of the other member states.


    Clearly, cadets from the United Provincials would not receive favorable treatment in other member states. But compared to overseas deployment, going to another member state was still an excellent destination.


    At least going to another member state meant staying within the Alliance''s territory; but an overseas posting was standing to sail out and lying to return. In this era, when even a fever or cold could claim lives, traveling to a land rife with unfamiliar epidemics was a high-risk endeavor.


    Therefore, when the practicum season arrived, the concern that occupied the cadets from the United Provincials the most was where they would be assigned¡ªback to the United Provincials'' homeland, to another member state, or to an overseas deployment?


    Cadets from the member states had no worries, since they would return to where they came from;


    Nor did cadets from the United Provincials with deep family connections worry, for their elders would never let them be sent to a member state or overseas;


    But the unprivileged commoner cadets from the United Provincials had to seek connections and beg at every door just to stay in the United Provincials'' homeland. If not, going to a member state was acceptable. Absolutely not overseas, for that would be a road to certain death.


    Bard''s parents were tenant farmers, and they were of no help in this decision that would determine his life''s path. Winters wrote to his own uncle without telling Bard. Winters'' uncle served in the Sea Blue military, and Winters hoped he could help. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But how could the Sea Blue military intervene when the Provincial Army was allocating its own cadets? Winters'' uncle replied, telling Winters that given the current relationship between the Provincial Army and the Sea Blue military, if he asked for somebody, the Provincial Army would not hesitate to send Bard overseas instead.


    Therefore, regarding this matter, Bard could only wait for others to decide his fate, and Winters could only stand by, watching anxiously.


    Graduation assignments were not all good news, after all.

 Chapter 20: Chapter 13 Sudden Incident (Part 1)

    "With your excellent scores in the cultural classes, you shouldn''t be sent overseas," Winters persisted, still harboring a sliver of hope that Bard would stay in the homeland."I applied for an overseas dispatch myself," Bard said calmly, delivering a sentence that shocked Winters.


    "What!" Winters stood up startled, looking down at Bard, not understanding why he would choose to walk into the jaws of death, and all the words in his heart culminated into one: "Why?"


    "It''s okay, being sent overseas isn''t as bad as you think," Bard, pulling Winters by his clothes to sit him down, said, "Sit down, and let me explain it to you slowly."


    "You know the situation of my family," Bard began, speaking unhurriedly from the perspective of his family background.


    "Yes," Winters nodded, aware that this was a sensitive topic. He knew that both of Bard''s parents were tenant farmers at the Monastery.


    "My parents are tenant farmers, and they are both hardworking and devout people, I am proud of them," Bard said, his tone soft yet solemn.


    "I know," Winters nodded again, believing that a person''s worth shouldn''t be judged by the volume of their wealth.


    "So, while others were going around giving gifts and pleading for favors, I didn''t. Not because I didn''t want to but because I didn''t have the money to grease the wheels and make connections," Bard stated his reality with a calm that bordered on cruelty.


    In his tone, there was no resentment, "Not having money isn''t my parents'' fault; giving gifts with money isn''t others'' fault either. That''s the reality of this world¡ªI may not be satisfied, but I can only accept it. So, my going overseas was an inevitable outcome."


    "But even if you can''t stay in The Federated Provinces, you could still have a good chance of going to an affiliated country. Assignments don''t just depend on money!" Winters still couldn''t accept that Bard had abandoned hope and applied for overseas dispatch on his own.


    "I''m not so outstanding that I can ignore the influence of money, nor am I a Spellcaster," Bard continued to reveal his wounds, "In fact, even those who have spent money to work the system have many who are still assigned overseas. What about me? There always has to be a group sent overseas."


    "But you can''t give up hope! There''s always a chance; you can''t just resign yourself to fate!" Winters couldn''t deny Bard''s harsh truth but believed there was still a chance and one should not give up.


    "I''m not resigning myself to fate, I am actually fighting against it. Ever since I walked out of the Monastery, I''ve been battling fate, and this time I don''t want to wait for others to decide my fate," Bard said decisively, "I don''t have the freedom not to go overseas, I accept that. But at the very least, I want to have the freedom to choose where overseas."


    "After all, there are various destinations for overseas dispatch," Bard added with a faint smile, returning to his measured pace, "If I cling to a slim hope, in the end, I would only be sent to the worst place overseas. By actively applying to go, at least I still have a choice."


    Under the faint light of the moon and the Ignition Spell in his pipe, Bard''s expression was calm and resolute. Winters knew Bard had his reasons for applying for overseas dispatch, but he now felt those reasons were too cruel.


    Yet Winters had to admit that Bard was right; his decision was the best solution in the worst situation. But his chest felt tight, filled with frustration, suffocation, and a sense of powerlessness.


    Winters collapsed onto the stone table, the multitude of words that had reached his lips swallowed back down. Was there any point in cursing those officers who accepted bribes? Was it useful to berate those classmates who gave gifts and pleaded? In the end, Bard was still going overseas, and Winters could only let out a long, powerless sigh.


    "Don''t feel sorry for me. Being able to go from a servant at the Monastery to a cadet at the Military Academy, I''m already more than satisfied," Bard described his future life as an overseas military officer with an upbeat and pleasant tone, "Going overseas is a good thing. I''ve heard that the salary for overseas dispatch is three times what it is at home. Staying here, I can''t even afford a uniform, but overseas, I reckon I''ll quickly save up a bit of money to help my parents redeem their land."


    "Damn it!" Winters yelled into the night sky, waking several guard dogs in the nearby houses. Bard''s optimism only made him feel sadder. It was true that overseas dispatch-paid well, but it was money earned in exchange for risking one''s life.


    Bard patted Winters on the leg, signaling that he understood everything, and the two fell back into silence. The only sounds were the chirping of insects, the barking of dogs, and the sputtering of Bard''s smoking.


    After a little while, footsteps suddenly approached from nearby, and a teasing voice reached the ears of Winters and Bard.


    "Well, look at you two, hiding here and smoking instead of patrolling the night watch. Were you the ones howling just now?"


    Out of the darkness, two students wielding long halberds emerged, one after the other, the one in front muttering as he walked, "Why the hell were you two howling in the dead of night? Come on, give me a light..."


    They were two second-year students on night duty at another gate, who had heard Winters'' earlier shout during their patrol and came over to see what was going on, hoping to get a light for their smokes.


    When they got up close to Winters and Bard, they noticed the three stripes on the sleeve of Bard''s summer uniform and realized the two men hiding here smoking were their seniors.


    The military academy''s structure is a mimicry of the army''s structure, and the army''s hierarchy is also the academy''s. Realizing they had run into their seniors, the two second-year students quickly apologized, "Sorry, squad leader. We didn''t know you were on patrol."


    Winters was in a bad mood and could not be bothered with them.


    But Bard, ever generous, waved them over. He didn''t give them a dressing down, and even tried to help them light their smokes. However, Bard''s cigarette was almost finished, and he couldn''t get the tobacco in their pipes to catch.


    With a long sigh, Winters reluctantly took the pipes from Bard''s hands and used the Ignition Spell to light the shredded tobacco inside their bowls. He was adept at this, but the two juniors had probably never in their lives had a Spellcaster use magic to light their cigarettes for them, and their eyes were wide with amazement.


    "Let''s go," Winters said irritably as he shoved the pipes back into the hands of the juniors. Thankful, they scampered away hastily.


    The two of them were also wondering what had gotten into the two third-year squad leaders, not resting in the duty room and instead wandering about on patrol.


    After the juniors had left, Bard also stood up and straightened his clothes. Feeling he had rested enough, he said to Winters, "Let''s go, we should make a few more rounds, so the juniors won''t laugh at us for doing nothing but skiving off."


    Winters lay on the stone table, legs dangling idly in the air. He was in no mood for patrolling, so he said to Bard, "Let''s sit for a while longer, and then head back to the duty room to sleep. It''s our last night, no more patrols." S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You rest here for a while longer," Bard said, knowing better than to press Winters. He wanted to have one last look at the school, "Last duty shift, won''t get another chance to come back to the academy for night watch. I''ll take another few rounds and come back for you later."


    With that, Bard, carrying his long halberd, walked away. Bard''s footsteps grew more distant, and Winters said nothing. He was deeply affected because Bard would soon be dispatched overseas. He was now coming to grips with the possibility that he might never again see his good friend Bard after tomorrow.


    He lay back on the stone table, listening to the sounds of the insects around him, his mind feeling empty.


    After a while, the sound of footsteps returned. Hearing Bard had come back, Winters felt it pointless to lie there, thinking he might as well join Bard for another couple of rounds around the academy.


    So he straightened up and sat on the stone table, smiling and about to speak to Bard... Wait! The person approaching wasn''t Bard!

 Chapter 21: Chapter 14 Sudden Incident (Part 2)

    The approaching figure was dressed in the military academy''s summer uniform, but this person was slim and of a different build compared to Bard. Winters recognized at a glance that this was not Bard. Moreover, this person was not carrying weapons like halberds, indicating they were not a student on night duty.Caught someone sneaking out of bed! Winters couldn''t believe his eyes. It was such a coincidence that the patrolling person hadn''t caught the student breaking curfew, but he, the one playing hooky, had caught one.


    The person Winters stopped was also stunned; they had chosen to run from this spot only after seeing the patrol walk away. Little did they expect that half of a body would suddenly sit up from the dark stone table at the side of the road, almost like encountering a ghost.


    "You! What grade are you in?!" Winters''s belly was on fire, his tone extremely harsh.


    Unexpectedly, the person across him who wanted to sneak out didn''t respond at all. They ducked and ran past Winters, heading straight for the residential area.


    Winters was momentarily too shocked to react; it took him a moment to realize the little rascal had actually run away.


    Caught sneaking out by the squad leader, and instead of properly admitting their error and begging for mercy, they dared to run away?!


    This ignited Winters''s fury so much that he chased after them, cursing as he ran, "What the hell are you running for? Do you think you can escape?"


    Winters, being taller and more agile, had the edge in this footrace. Despite the head start the curfew breaker gained, they couldn''t outrun Winters. Barely thirty meters in, Winters had caught up to them.


    "Can you outrun the monks, let alone the Monastery?" Winters bellowed, grabbed the person''s shoulder from behind, and with a strong pull, brought them to the ground.


    But it wasn''t until he grabbed the person''s shoulder that Winters realized something was off: this person wore a hooded cloak over their face, had slim and soft shoulders, was too light to be a man, and fell over with just a tug... No! This was a woman! There are no female students at the military school! She was a thief!


    The female thief grunted from the rough fall caused by Winters''s tug.


    While it was a thief he had thrown to the ground, Winters still felt a pang of guilt for knocking over a woman.


    But in the next instant, the female thief got up swiftly, silent as a shadow, drawing a dagger that glittered with the cold light. She gave Winters no time to react, pouncing on him like a leopard, aiming the dagger straight at his chest.


    Although Winters had the advantages of height, weight, and strength, he was taken completely by surprise by this woman. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was utterly shocked that this woman would attempt to kill him without a word, dagger aimed straight for his heart. Astonished, he thought: Was tossing you over really a reason for a deadly attack?


    The instincts honed from years of practicing swordsmanship saved Winters. Subconsciously, he swung his right arm and deflected the dagger, which missed his chest but left a deep cut on the outside of his right upper arm.


    Immediately after, the woman''s shoulder slammed hard against Winters''s chest, knocking him off balance and to the ground. But the relentless woman pressed her full weight onto the dagger, stabbing violently towards Winters''s neck.


    Ignoring the intense pain from the knife wound on his right arm, Winters crossed his hands and clamped onto the woman''s arms. This was the preliminary move of a grappling technique, setting him up to twist the dagger away.


    But Winters was merely acting on instinct, forgetting all techniques in his desperation, only blindly pushing the woman away with brute force.


    However, in the moment of standoff between the two, Winters had a flash of inspiration, recalling what Aike had said during the day: "If you can use magic to singe off arm hair, then you can also use magic to ignite hair."


    So without even the time to perform the casting gesture, he went straight into casting mode. Enduring the intense pressure and stinging pain, he poured all his might into the Ignition Spell, channeling his magical energy into the exposed hair of the woman sitting astride him.


    First came smoke, then a spark of flame, and then the woman''s hair burst into fire from Winters''s magical Ignition Spell, her hood following suit, her head ablaze like a torch.


    The female assassin hadn''t realized her hair was alight until after the initial spark lasted for more than a second; only then did she smell the burning scent and feel the sharp pain of the flames searing her skin.


    The woman, who had been silent and straight for Winters''s life a second earlier, now screamed and leapt off him, whipping off her hood and frantically batting at her burning hair.


    With the immediate threat to his life subsided, Winters couldn''t yet focus on pursuing this murderous woman. He struggled to his feet, fumbling for the whistle issued to students on night patrol, and blew it with all the air in his cheeks.


    It was not the sentry''s duty to eliminate invaders, but to signal an alert to comrades in time.


    The piercing whistle shattered the silence of the night; with it, Winters notified Bard and the other students on duty about the situation, hoping they would come to his aid quickly. Despite his opponent being a woman with far less strength and weight, her deadly and ruthless tactics still unnerved him.


    This woman struck to kill without blinking, attacking with no hint of hesitation. Facing such a ruthless killer unarmed, Winters truly felt uneasy.


    The woman, hearing the whistles, ran into the alley of the residential area without fully extinguishing the flames on her head. Winters followed closely behind, only to find the woman flinging her dagger at him as she turned her head.


    Winters quickly dodged; the dagger just missed him by the width of a finger. He had narrowly avoided having another gash to bleed from.


    Winters continued the chase, but after a few steps, severe pain shot through the sole of his foot as if something sharp had pierced it.


    Unable to continue running, Winters, gasping for breath, fumbled to pull a metal object from the sole of his shoe and only then realized what had happened when he saw it up close.


    It turned out the woman had scattered metal caltrops along the way at some point, and he had stepped on one, causing his foot to be injured.


    After several setbacks, Winters was now close to madness due to this troublesome woman.


    When he looked up again, the woman with flames in her hair had disappeared into the pitch-black alley.


    The residential area''s alleys were not the result of planned design but merely gaps left when the houses were built, twisting and turning, extending in all directions.


    Winters knew that once the woman entered the alleys, there was no chance of catching her. He also worried about walking into an ambush by her, so he had no choice but to give up the pursuit.


    A random thought crossed his mind: This woman is utterly immoral. Didn''t she realize that the nearby residents might also step on these when they pass by here tomorrow?


    He didn''t understand why he was even concerned about the living quality of the nearby residents, as their plight could not be worse than his current situation.


    Realizing he could no longer catch the female thief, he turned around and started walking back. After the short yet intense struggle for life, a sudden fear crept into his heart.


    No one faces death without fear, and had his luck or reflexes been a fraction slower, he might well have been lying on the ground, waiting for death.


    Winters could never have imagined that a night shift could nearly result in a fatality¡ªwith him as the victim.


    All of a sudden, Winters felt his right hand wet; under the moonlight, he saw it was smeared with a black liquid. Only then did he realize it was blood.


    The thief had left him injured from the first round when she pulled out her dagger. His right arm had a deep wound, and the right sleeve of his summer uniform was soaked with blood.


    As the adrenaline effect wore off, fatigue and the sharp pain from the wound on his right arm intensified their assault on Winters. With nothing on hand to treat the wound, he clenched his left fist and tucked it under the armpit of his right arm, hoping to stanch the bleeding somewhat.


    As he was walking, Winters noticed the reflection of metal on the ground¡ªit was the dagger. He picked it up, thinking, "This is a war trophy that cost me dearly; I should keep it as a memento."


    Beside the dagger was a small square package the size of a palm. Winters picked it up too. The fabric on the outside of the package felt like silk, indicating it was not mere garbage but something the woman dropped while trying to put out the fire in her hair. Winters stuffed the dagger and the small package into his bag and continued toward the stone table where he and Bard had been resting.


    The sound of heavy running approached; it was Bard running over. Bard was shocked to see Winters covered in sweat, his left hand under his right armpit, and his right arm completely drenched in blood.


    "I heard the whistle¡­ What happened?" Bard hadn''t expected bloodshed so soon after he had left.


    "There was a thief," Winters felt slightly dizzy, probably from blood loss, "she came from the school side, armed with a dagger, and a woman at that. I set her hair on fire, and then she ran away."


    "What? A female thief? Where did she come from?" Overwhelmed by the flood of information, Bard spoke with a sense of helplessness, "Never mind the thief for now, you need to tend to your arm. Which way did she run?"


    With his hands otherwise occupied, Winters could only point with his head.


    "Are you sure it was the thief''s hair you set alight?" Bard asked, looking toward the direction the thief had escaped.


    "Unless the hair growing on her head isn''t actually hair," Winters didn''t understand why Bard would ask such a foolish question.


    But immediately, he too was stunned.


    The sky was now stained red with flames.

 Chapter 22: Chapter 15 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 1)

    "This really wasn''t me!" Winters felt that he had been wronged beyond measure, trudging through the darkness with uneven steps, "Damn! I really only burned the thief''s hair!""I know, I know, this definitely wasn''t your doing. The fire started far from here," said Bard, who was carrying two long halberds and leading the way, calmly deflecting the blame for Winters.


    "This is cursed luck!" Winters''s entire day had been nothing but misfortune, struck by a bolt from the blue by Aike during the day and targeted by a female thief at night, leaving him with injuries on his left shoulder, right arm, and feet.


    The two hurried back to their duty post at the north gate, where the junior students on guard duty had already heard the whistle and seen the strange occurrence in the sky. They thought it was the patrolling guards blowing the whistle after spotting a fire, and the instructor on night duty had been awakened and was anxiously waiting at the entrance.


    So when they saw Winters return with a bloody arm, they were all shocked.


    "What happened here? Why are you covered in blood?" the duty instructor asked in confusion.


    "There was a thief. Caught her coming out from the school direction. A knife was involved, and she escaped," recounted Winters, having arranged his words on the way back.


    He decided it was wiser to keep quiet about anything related to "fire" and not to mention a woman. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, and the need for further explanations.


    "Who dares to wreak havoc on our Military Academy''s ground?" The instructor, upon hearing about a thief daring to infiltrate the military academy, was furious.


    Winters thought to himself: Indeed, she has a death wish, and my life was almost lost too.


    However, the thief was long gone, and for the moment, no one could do anything about her. The priority was clearly to treat the wound on Winters''s arm and figure out exactly where the fire was.


    The night-duty instructor immediately took Winters to the faculty duty office. The instructor tried to light a match with flint and steel, but failed several times. Winters sighed inwardly, then used an Ignition Spell to light the oil lamp, and the instructor realized that Winters was a Spellcaster.


    Even with the oil lamp, the light was too dim, so the instructor asked Winters''s juniors to bring a few more oil lamps. At this moment, Winters remembered the dagger from the female thief; as long as it wasn''t rusty, the dagger could be used as a casting material for the Luminosity Spell.


    So Winters pulled out the dagger, using the same casting gesture for the Ignition Spell, he used Tesla''s Luminosity Spell. Magic poured into the surface of the dagger, the metal, infused with magical power, released it in the form of visible light, and the room was immediately illuminated.


    The instructor took advantage of the light to find a pair of small scissors, and swiftly cut the sleeve off Winters''s summer uniform. The blood on Winters''s arm had coagulated, sticking the fabric tightly to the wound.


    "You''ll need to grit your teeth and bear it," the instructor said in a low voice. "This must be torn off, it can''t stay on the wound. Otherwise, your wound will get infected, and you''ll die of a fever."


    Over a decade of Sovereignty Wars had provided the military with extensive experience in dealing with sharp weapon injuries, eventually becoming part of the curriculum in health classes. Instructors at the military school certainly came from a military background, and everyone in the room knew that the fabric must not stick to the wound.


    Winters nodded. The instructor didn''t waste words and, with a stern heart and a forceful pull, tore the fabric stuck to the wound. The pain made Winters gasp for air, and the wound that had stopped bleeding began to bleed anew.


    At that moment, the sound of hooves approached from afar, quickly stopping outside the faculty duty office. A student pushed open the door: "Report! The horses have been brought."


    The students on guard at the entrance had spotted the anomaly in the sky earlier and immediately woke the instructor sleeping in the duty office. The instructor immediately judged that it was a fire at the port and, accompanied by a student, ran along the main road toward the fire to ascertain the situation.


    As he ran, the instructor realized he had made a foolish mistake, the burning location was clearly a good distance from the school, how soon could he get there just by running? So the two of them ran back and dispatched a cavalry student from the school to lead two horses from the stables.


    As the instructor paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pan at the school gate, waiting for the horses to be brought over, Winters and Bard returned to the north gate.


    The instructor paid no attention to the student bringing the horses, he first carefully examined the piece of cloth ripped from Winters''s body under the glow of the Luminosity Spell, and then scrutinized Winters''s wounds. At that moment, Winters no longer had the strength to maintain the Luminosity Spell, and the dagger dimmed, leaving only the oil lamp as the room''s source of light.


    "It''s alright, it hasn''t hit the bone. The weapon that caused the wound is very sharp, no shredded fabric has been embedded in the wound. The cut is also very clean; it will heal quickly. If there were a Divine Arts user here, he wouldn''t even scar," the instructor confidently deduced, immediately instructing the other students, "Find some clean water, dissolve some salt in it, and wash his wound, don''t wrap it up."


    The instructor then tore off a long strip of cloth from the bedsheet, wrapped it around Winters''s neck and right hand, tied a knot to form a sling similar to what one would use for a broken arm, and advised Winters, "Don''t move your right arm at random, minimize disturbing the wound so it can heal quickly."


    After treating Winters''s knife wound, the instructor hurried off with a student on horseback to investigate the fire at the port area.


    After the instructor left, Bard quickly arranged for saltwater to clean Winters''s wound, but he also ran into trouble, where to find clean water and salt at this late hour? It seemed only the kitchen would have both these things, so he hurriedly ran out to the canteen to get the saltwater.


    In the room, only Winters and three junior students remained, Winters didn''t recognize these three, and they didn''t know Winters, all gaping at one another.


    "Go to the student duty room," Winters decided to move to another room, they couldn''t stay in the staff duty room.


    "Squad leader, who would be so vicious?" A lower-grade officer cadet carefully examined Winters''s wound and said in horror, "Need to use a knife for stealing something? Besides, what is there to steal in the school?"


    "I thought it was someone running from bed duty," Winters said with a bitter smile, "I didn''t expect them to come at me with a knife."


    "Did you see what she looked like?"


    "She was masked, I didn''t see, but I''m certain it was a woman."


    "A woman?!" The three juniors were dumbstruck, in their military academy life they rarely encountered other females apart from the kitchen maids and laundry women, let alone a female thief.


    The three juniors exchanged glances and unanimously thought to themselves that this senior must be so desperately hungry for the opposite sex that he imagines every person to be a woman.


    "It really was a female thief, [expletive]!" Winters spotted what these little brats were thinking immediately; a female thief indeed sounded like some kind of fantasy, but he was certain that the person who had charged at him with a dagger was definitely a woman.


    He now regretted mentioning to these three brats that the thief was a woman, their attention had been utterly diverted by the word "female." Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Didn''t you notice anything unusual just now?" Winters asked the juniors what they knew.


    "No, I was on my post the whole time. Same as always, didn''t hear any strange sounds or see anything odd," one lower-grade officer cadet shook his head.

 Chapter 23: Chapter 16 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 2)

    The military academy''s surrounding wall was built with bricks, and to save money, it was not even 1.7 meters tall. Winters believed that the female thief must have climbed over the wall. Now that the person had fled, the whole school could only check their belongings to see what was missing in order to know what the thief had taken."Where is everyone! [Expletive]! Where are the guards!" A roar came from outside the building.


    Damn it, Winters''s heart skipped a beat, preoccupied with chatting inside, he had forgotten his duty to stand guard. The four cadets hurriedly ran out of the duty office.


    A senior officer riding a chestnut horse dismounted and without a word, lashed the four cadets with a whip, cursing furiously, "Not even [Expletive] standing guard?"


    "Report! North gate nighttime guard duty! Six should be present! Only four are present!" Winters, confused as to why he had been whipped, felt a burning pain on the spot where he had been struck and a surge of anger welled in his heart.


    But he knew the military academy was no different from the army, and this was definitely not the time to talk back. The lighting was poor, and Winters couldn''t make out who the person was, but the uniform made it clear that it was a senior officer of at least the rank of lieutenant colonel.


    "Where is the duty officer?" the senior officer demanded sternly.


    "Report! Went to investigate the location of the fire!" It wasn''t until this moment that Winters could finally see clearly the officer before him.


    He had a face with sword-like eyebrows and piercing eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips; he was the head of the academy, effectively the second in command of the Provincial Army''s Officer College, and the actual individual in charge.


    "Why wasn''t there a report about the fire situation!" the head of the academy''s anger did not subside.


    "Report! I didn''t know!" Winters retorted loudly, discharging his frustration, and indeed he had no idea about it.


    Most of those living in the school were low-level teaching staff with ranks below lieutenant colonel, residing in officer dormitories. Although individual residences were prepared for school officers and higher-ranking military officers, senior officers generally opted to find their own property outside the school.


    The reason the instructor on duty tonight with Winters had not reported wasn''t for lack of wanting to, but because he really didn''t know which school leader was staying at the school tonight; he had thought to clarify the situation before making a report.


    "Ring the assembly bell! Emergency assembly! Get everyone up! Have all personnel form up at the north gate training ground!" The head of the academy didn''t continue to make things difficult for the four cadets, and immediately issued orders to them.


    "Yes, sir!" Winters and the others accepted the orders and immediately ran to ring the assembly bell.


    "Wait a moment," the head of the academy stopped Winters with his riding crop as he was about to walk away: "What happened to your arm?"


    "Report! There was a thief! The thief wielded a knife! I repelled her!" Winters replied succinctly, using his most concise language to describe what had happened.


    Facing the infuriated head of the academy, Winters did not dare to say "the thief ran out from the school, I did not stop her, and let her escape," but he also believed he had not lied.


    "Which daredevil dares to run wild on Provincial Army territory!" The head of the academy became furiously enraged, his reaction identical to that of the duty instructor: "Come see me tomorrow, give me a detailed report."


    "Dong dong dong dong"¡ªthe assembly bell was rung ferociously, and immediately afterwards, the piercing whistles of the nighttime guard cadets sounded. Like a beast awakened from its sleep, the Provincial Army''s Officer College, in slumber, was roused by the assembly bell.


    The nighttime quietude was replaced by chaos, as cadets awakened in their dormitories jumped from their bunks, grabbed their clothing, and quickly pulled it on. With no gear needed to carry along, they hastily made for the door once dressed. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Outside, someone shouted, "Assemble at the north gate training ground! Assemble at the north gate training ground!" These were the nighttime guard cadets who had received orders from the head of the academy.


    In an era without portable fire-starters, the military school''s emergency nighttime assemblies had no time to light lamps. Everything had to be carried out in the dark, as cadets navigated their way to the north gate training ground guided by the faint glimmers of moonlight.


    The crowd moved silently yet in a disciplined fashion, packed together like a school of sardines in the sea, creating a strange yet orderly aesthetic.


    The cadets who rapidly emerged from all dormitories quickly joined the ranks at the north gate training ground. Point leaders formed the head of the line, while others swiftly found their places in the formation.


    Winters had also run back to the formation by now, startling Aike with the wound on his shoulder. However, since idle chatter was not permitted within the military ranks, the two could only communicate with their eyes. Each district''s teams began to count off and report in sequence.


    The instructors came over from the stables, riding horses as they patrolled around the cadets'' square formations. Spellcasters among the instructors brought over a pile of torches from the armory, igniting them with a fire spell before distributing them to various instructors.


    Only then was the entire north gate drill field illuminated by the light of the flames. The cadets stood in well-ordered squares, waiting for orders.


    The Head of the Department, mounted on his beloved horse at the forefront of the parade ground, watched the Provincial Army Military Academy cadets assemble in an orderly fashion amidst the darkness, and with an imperceptible nod of his head, showed no emotion.


    "First-year corps, 174 expected, 174 present!"


    "Second-year corps, 175 expected, 173 present!"


    "Third-year corps, 172 expected, 172 present!"


    "Report to the Head of the Department! Cadet battalion! 521 expected, 519 present! Reporting complete."


    "Attention, everyone!" The Head of the Department''s deafening voice echoed through the entire school, evidently using an amplification spell, "Three minutes! Take all your tools! Depart to fight the fire! Dismissed!"


    The academy''s formations swiftly disbanded, and Winters hurried to the armory to grab tools. However, he was somewhat puzzled; a fire is just a fire, what does a fire in the residential area have to do with the military academy, and it can''t burn all the way here to the military academy.


    The duty officers who had gone ahead to scout the fire situation also returned at this time, quickly reporting to the Head of the Department.


    After hearing the report, the Head of the Department immediately sent messengers to inform other senior officers of the military academy and the Provincial Army, and at the same time, summoned aid from two infantry battalions of the Provincial Army stationed outside Guidao City.


    The cadets quickly returned and once again formed into neat and uniform squares, only this time each person was equipped with an assortment of tools.


    Without a word, the Head of the Department gave a grand wave, and the entire military academy cadets advanced in six columns along the main road towards the port area of Guidao City.


    "What happened?!" It was not until the formation set off that Aike found a chance to ask Winters.


    "Ran into a thief, got stabbed," Winters summarized the whole affair as succinctly as possible.


    "What kind of thief would use a knife?"


    "I don''t know."


    "Are you alright?"


    "Just a flesh wound."


    "Shut up!" An instructor patrolling on horseback alongside the column of cadets barked at Winters and Aike to stop their whispering, and the two dared not speak anymore, quietly following the column.


    They marched through the outermost circle of run-down slums, past the ruins of the demolished old city wall, past the tanners'' workshops reeking with an awful stench, past the disorderly residential houses in the port area, until finally, they arrived at the site of the fire.


    It was not until then that Winters understood why the military academy had to come out in full force to fight a fire in the residential area.


    Because the first armament factory of the Senas Bay National Alliance Army was ablaze with roaring fire.

 Chapter 24: Chapter 17: The City Ablaze (Part 1)

    The Arsenal of Guidao City (also known as the First Arsenal of the Alliance Army) traces its origins to the Royal Weapons Administration of the mountain-front province during the Imperial rule. When it was established, the primary consideration was transportation conditions, hence its location near the coast close to the docks of Guidao City, where ships could directly dock at the small pier of the Weapons Administration.Initially, only four blacksmiths were stationed here, essentially operating as a large-scale blacksmith shop. The facility was responsible for storing and maintaining the weapons and equipment allotted to the royal troops stationed in the mountain-front province, without any manufacturing capabilities.


    After the Federated Provinces militia captured Guidao City for the first time, they immediately seized control of the Royal Weapons Administration and emptied its arsenal.


    When Guidao City changed hands for the second time, and the Federated Provinces militia realized that the war was not going to end quickly, they immediately transformed the old Royal Weapons Administration into the new Arsenal of Guidao City.


    The assigned functions of the Arsenal were no longer limited to maintenance and storage, allowing the Arsenal of Guidao City to begin producing cold weapons.


    The prolonged sovereignty war of more than a decade brought about a booming demand for weapons, resulting in the technical capabilities and production capacity of the Arsenal of Guidao City making major leaps forward.


    At first, the arsenal could only forge weapons using ready-made iron materials. But due to trade blockades, the supply of purchased copper and iron from external sources became increasingly inadequate.


    Therefore, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to recruit iron-smelters and established a smelting department, enabling the arsenal to smelt ore and supply its raw materials independently.


    Latterly, as the war dragged on and soldiers using gunpowder weapons made up an increasing proportion of the militia forces, the Arsenal of Guidao City added a rifle and artillery department, specializing in the technology of gun manufacturing.


    Towards the latter stages of the war, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to produce an unending stream of muskets and cannons, arming a large number of unarmed citizens.


    Marshal Ned once praised this arsenal with the following words, "Without the Arsenal of Guidao City, there would be no victory!" From that moment, the nickname "Victory Arsenal" spread like wildfire, becoming this arsenal''s affectionate moniker among the Alliance Army.


    Over the span of twenty-odd years, Victory Arsenal underwent expansion after expansion, like an insatiable glutton swallowing up the surrounding land and houses. From a corner plot beside the docks, it evolved into a city within a city that occupied nearly half the port area.


    But right now, there is no longer any Victory Arsenal, just a sea of flames.


    Some fifteen minutes ago, as the cadet battalion marched to the ruins of the old city wall, a faint smoke already permeated the entire street.


    The smoke infiltrated every alleyway by the roadside, every independent courtyard. The residents living at the edge of the district were all awakened, either poking their heads out from their windows or standing by their doorways gazing out, astonished at the sight of the large battalion marching towards the smoke''s origin.


    The further they marched, the denser and more pungent the smoke became; Winters was brought to tears by the stinging sensation, and coughing sounds emerged sporadically from the column.


    The horses ridden by the instructors became increasingly restless and refused to proceed no matter how much they were spurred on.


    With no other choice, the Spellcaster instructors had to continually take turns employing magic, always maintaining two horizontal Wind Control Techniques at the front of the column to blow the smoke into the residential areas on either side of the road.


    Continuing forward, when they could see the glow of the fire, the situation became much worse.


    The flames had already spread from the arsenal to the nearby residences; many inhabitants died from poison smoke without even waking from their sleep. Some citizens who were trying to escape ran towards the direction from which the cadet battalion was coming, crying and screaming.


    "Judgment has come! Judgment has come!" Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It''s the devils! The devils are spreading through the streets!"


    "Run for your lives! There''s nothing we can do! Escape!"


    The fleeing people shouted as they ran, clutching tightly the valuables they had grabbed on their way out of their homes. Their houses had been consumed by the fire, and the possessions in their hands were now all that they owned.


    Cries and howls battered Winters'' chest, making him extremely uncomfortable. Facing the fleeing crowds, the battalion of cadets advanced in silence.


    A little further on lay a vision of hell.


    Here, darkness was dispelled by fierce flames. Streets were illuminated by raging fire, the smoke so intense that not even the Wind Control Technique could mitigate it. Bibi babbling wood burning noises and the constant rumble of collapsing houses echoed non-stop.


    A woman was kneeling by the road, hysterically wailing, with no one knowing what had befallen her, nor paying her any attention.


    Those who had narrowly escaped from the fire were terrified, scrambling on hands and feet towards the outskirts of the city.


    And for those residents whose houses were but a few meters away from the fire line, despair had set in:


    Some of them had not given up and were struggling to carry whatever valuables they could from their homes;


    Some were beating their chests and cursing the devil aloud;


    Some had gone mad, desperately banging their heads against the ground;


    While others had given up resistance, closing their eyes and muttering prayers.


    But fire and water are merciless, and all efforts were in vain. They could only watch helplessly as their homes were devoured by the flames.


    When Winters first noticed the anomaly in the sky, he had a very bad premonition. A fire that could turn the sky colors was bound to be extensive.


    But it was only when he truly witnessed the scale of the fire disaster that he realized his initial thoughts were far too optimistic.


    The cadet battalion from the military academy couldn''t even get close to the wall of the Victory Arsenal; heat waves and thick smoke stopped them a block away.


    "Sir! Sir!" A man dressed in a short brown outfit, holding onto his hat, ran up to the head of the military academy: "I''m the captain of the port fire prevention team. It''s so good you''re here!"


    "And how may I serve you, my esteemed commander?" the head of the academy asked coolly.


    "The fire is beyond extinguishing now. All we can do is tear down the surrounding houses and establish an isolation zone. Your cadets have arrived just in time," the fire prevention captain said hastily, not daring to beat around the bush with his plan.


    "I came here to save the army''s assets. Now that the arsenal is gone, I''m not going to use my valuable officers for firefighting. That''s your responsibility," the head of the academy said before turning his horse to leave.


    "Sir! Please, have a heart!" The fire prevention captain grabbed the reins of the head''s horse, pleading.


    "Hmph," the head of the academy snorted coldly.


    "I beg you! Look at the wind direction, the wind is blowing from the coastline inward. The wind feeds the fire, and if we don''t establish an isolation zone quickly, it won''t take long for the entire port area to become a sea of fire, followed by the whole city area," the fire prevention captain urged.


    The head of the academy still had a grim face, saying nothing.


    "Sir, if the whole of Guidao City is burning, can your school alone survive?" Seeing a slight shift in the attitude of the highest-ranking person in this military academy troop, the fire prevention captain refused to give up this last straw for salvation.


    "The bigger the fire, the faster it spreads. It''s already getting out of hand. Please, have a heart! Sir! Look at these common folk!" the fire prevention captain continued to plea desperately.

 Chapter 25: Chapter 18: The City Ablaze (Part 2)

    "What do you need us to do?" the head of department suddenly asked."Ah?" The abrupt change in the high-ranking official''s demeanor caught the fire prevention team captain off guard, but he quickly regained his composure, "Demolish the houses! The houses here are definitely beyond saving; we need to fall back two more blocks and make a firebreak."


    "All units, attention! About face¡ªmarch! Forward¡ªmarch!" The chaotic noise on the outskirts of the fire scene was drowned out by orders amplified using a spell, as the head of department issued direct commands to all the cadets through magic.


    He was decisive and acted swiftly, "Which houses need to be demolished, speak!"


    "I''ll take you there!" The fire prevention team captain nodded frantically and led the way, "My manpower is truly insufficient; your help is really appreciated; God will bless you."


    "Hmph." The head of department snorted coldly again, clearly not impressed by the flattery.


    Residents within the firebreak zone designated by the fire prevention team captain realized what the group of soldiers were planning to do. The fire was still two blocks away! Of course, they were unwilling to let the soldiers tear down their homes.


    "What are you doing?"


    "By what right are you demolishing our homes!"


    "If you''re going to demolish my house, you''ll have to step over my dead body."


    "Why demolish ours and not others''?"


    "The soldiers are killing people!"


    Residents in the designated firebreak zone stood by the streets, brandishing things like door bars and kitchen knives, waving them to keep the military academy cadets from getting close.


    The fire prevention team captain ran back and forth, trying to persuade them with earnest words, but nobody was willing to listen to him.


    Residents living within the inner side of the firebreak also came to their senses, realizing that the creation of a firebreak meant their homes were to be abandoned.


    So they too joined the ranks of those preventing the demolition, resolutely not letting the military cadets come a step closer to the houses.


    Residents living on the outer side of the firebreak, however, were very supportive of the demolition plan, but they merely stood by with their hands in their pockets, watching the commotion.


    "Get out of the way!" The head of department''s shout, infused with the power of magic, startled the previously defiant residents into a stunned silence; he could no longer tolerate this charade, "Third-year students! Infantry division! Fall in!"


    Winters, upon hearing the order, reflexively stepped out and stood at the front of the line.


    "Anyone who dares to obstruct, shoot to kill!" The deafening voice was still magnified by the spell, "If you want compensation, go to the city government!"


    Winters had not expected the head of department to issue an order of "shoot to kill." In his view, the situation had not escalated to the point of killing.


    The residents of the port district clearly did not expect the official to be so ruthless; they trembled, barely able to stand on their own if not for helping each other, no longer possessing the unruly arrogance they had shown before.


    Winters stood face-to-face with the residents who were protecting their homes; he saw fear and terror in their eyes.


    "Do we really have to use force?" Winters thought to himself, clutching the iron shovel tightly in his hands, swallowing hard.


    "Take action!" came another fierce shout from the head of department.


    Winters steeled his heart, as a sense of duty to obey orders overcame all other thoughts. Ignoring the injury on his arm, he gripped the shovel with both hands and swung it fiercely towards the people opposite him.


    However, Winters deliberately used the wooden end rather than the metal end, thinking to himself, "The wooden handle probably won''t kill anyone."


    The group of minor citizens was no match for these military cadets who had undergone years of training, quickly beaten into crying for their parents and running away in panic.


    "Murder!"


    "The soldiers are killing people!"


    "It''s the military academy who started the fire!"


    "Demolish!" The head of department ordered, completely ignoring what the dispersed residents were shouting, focusing only on executing the original plan.


    This time, nobody dared to obstruct anymore; the residents all turned and ran back home to move their belongings, trying to salvage as much property as possible before their houses were destroyed.


    Guidao City''s port district''s houses could be said to be a typical example of organic, unplanned urban areas.


    Starting from the docks, the city grew naturally without order, with houses enveloping one another like layers of an onion.


    There were houses for all sorts of uses: residential, storage, workshops, shops; houses made from all kinds of materials: wood, adobe, bricks, stone; and houses from various eras. It was truly a melting pot.


    The military academy students secured ropes to the houses that faced the street and pulled down a whole wall of a wooden house with a united effort.


    The fire prevention team captain''s selection of the firebreak location was quite strategic, running along a stinking ditch. After demolishing the houses, the resulting construction debris could be pushed directly into the ditch, greatly improving efficiency.


    "Don''t all crowd here; we can''t spread out! Third-year stay here! First-year, go to the eastern blocks! Second-year, go to the western blocks! Anyone who dares obstruct, shoot to kill!" The head of department commanded in an orderly fashion.


    "Montekucoli!" The head of department called out another name.


    "Present!" The head of the artillery department responded immediately.


    "Go back to the armory to get the explosives; demolish all brick and stone houses with blasting!"


    "Yes!" The director of the Artillery Academy''s teaching and research office didn''t say another word and left with a subordinate right away.


    While all the soldiers on-site were busily dismantling houses, from afar suddenly came the sound of a sermon being shouted at the top of someone''s lungs.


    "Revere! Feel the fiery wrath of God! The glorious day of His judgment has arrived!" A mendicant monk dressed in a coarse hemp robe, holding a banner aloft, strode forward; the residents who had been spectating all dropped to their knees before him, many attempting to kiss the hem of his robe and his shoes.


    With both hands raising the banner high, the mendicant monk preached loudly: "The angel of fire has descended upon Sodom! This is the divine fire that punishes your everyday sins! Repent..."


    "Fuck your mother!" The commander lashed out with his whip, knocking over the fanatic.


    "Anyone who comes to help will get a big silver coin! It doesn''t matter if you are man or woman, old or young!" Having dealt with the clergyman who was openly preaching defeatism, the commander immediately started recruiting bystanders: "If you don''t help, the fire will get here, and your houses won''t be spared either!"


    (Big silver coin: Refers to the large silver coins first minted by The Federated Provinces of the Republic in the year 537 of the Empire, which corresponded to the smaller silver coins with a silver content ratio of 1:20. The value of a big silver coin was roughly equivalent to one month''s wages for a dock worker.)


    Who would pay for this? Certainly not the military academy.


    Following the commander''s line of thinking was: "Go and demand it from the city government."


    The commander didn''t care how much trouble his words might cause the Guidao City Executive Committee; what he was considering was how to demolish the isolation zone quickly and efficiently.


    Through a combination of threats and incentives, along with a bit of bluffing and intimidation, the demolition crew had significantly grown in number.


    The marshal, along with the assembled Guidao City Urban Guard, arrived, timely allowing the Urban Guard to maintain order at the scene.


    The two infantry battalions stationed outside the city (full strength of 960 soldiers and 14 officers) also arrived on-site, and the army soldiers quickly joined the work of tearing down the isolation zone.


    The dull sounds of blasting and the collapse of buildings echoed back and forth, as horses, harnessed with makeshift bridles, were used to pull down the structures. The demolition project was proceeding in an orderly, tense, and race-against-time manner.


    But plans can never keep up with changes, as from nightfall to now, the wind speed of the sea breeze blowing from the ocean to the land had been gradually increasing.


    With the help of the sea breeze, the fire spread faster than anyone had anticipated. The fire line was accelerating towards the isolation zone, while a significant part of the isolation zone still remained to be demolished.


    "Sir, I''m afraid we''re not going to make it... We should have set up the isolation zone two blocks further back," moaned the head of the fire prevention team, clutching his hat in his hands, crumpling it into a ball of tattered cloth.


    "I know." The commander''s attitude was still cool as ice, but he was thoughtful, as though he had an idea.


    "Christian!" The commander called out loudly.


    "Present!" The head of the Spellcasters'' teaching and research office, having heard the commander''s summons, ran over from a distance.


    "If all the spellcasters work together using the Wind Control Technique, could they temporarily change the direction of the wind in a particular area?" the commander asked, voicing his remarkable idea.


    "It''s very challenging for spellcasters to contend with the forces of nature," said Christian, feeling that the commander''s idea was far-fetched: "Spellcasters should use their spells in harmony with the forces of nature, not against them..."


    "I''m asking you if it''s possible or not?" The commander didn''t want to hear any excuses.


    "Theoretically, it should be." Christian continued to explain: "But realistically, I think it would be difficult to achieve with the current strength of our spellcasters; we don''t have enough and don''t have sufficiently powerful spellcasters..."


    "That''s enough." The commander heard what he wanted to hear.


    "I said it''s theoretically possible, but in reality..." Christian hurried to clarify that there was a gap between theory and practice.


    "Doing something is better than doing nothing." The commander made a judgment: "Gather all the spellcasters present, I''ll tell you where to go in a while."


    Winters, who had been focusing on dismantling a house, was suddenly called out. He noticed that all those who were taken out with him were spellcaster students.


    All the spellcasters on the scene were brought together, and Christian repeated the orders loudly: "When you hear the command, use the Wind Control Technique with all your might directly ahead, without holding back. Remember! Straight ahead."


    Winters immediately understood the leadership''s plan, thinking that even with his poor skill in acceleration magic, he was being drafted as a tool, indicating that the commander was really clutching at straws.


    Soon after, the spellcasters were brought to a yet-to-be-demolished area; for even distribution, some spellcaster students were even positioned on rooftops.


    Winters didn''t go onto a roof; he stood on the street, where, through the smoke, he could see the burning buildings about twenty or so meters away.


    "Wind Control Technique, activate at full power!" The command came from not far behind him.


    Upon hearing the command, Winters, with his thumb pressing down on his middle finger in his left hand, recalled the feeling of using acceleration magic and entered the casting state with all his might.


    Scorching heat and extreme cold tormented his "third hand," as though thousands of knives were cutting into his "fifth limb."


    He could feel the wind direction changing around him, the breeze from the front gradually weakening, coming to a stop, and then turning into a wind blowing from behind toward the front.


    Winters knew the commander''s plan was working, but he could no longer hold out, so he tried to relax his mind and exit the casting state.


    But to his horror, he couldn''t leave the casting state. The casting state that usually couldn''t be maintained with the slightest distraction was now inescapable, even if he wanted out.


    He even became paralyzed, losing control over his own body.


    To onlookers, Winters simply stood at attention on the street, but in reality, he was being forced to endure an incessant and grueling torment. Eventually, he could bear no more. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the final moment before he collapsed, he saw a gigantic flame serpent soaring into the sky.

 Chapter 26: Chapter 19: Fire Dragon Scroll

    There was no time, no space, no matter, no fluctuation, just boundless darkness... No, even the concept of darkness did not exist here; this was pure "nothingness." It was impossible to know how much time had passed when suddenly, a spark appeared within this "nothingness"¡ªWinters regained consciousness.The first sense to come back to him was his hearing: the surroundings were noisy, but what were the sounds? Then his sense of touch came back: he seemed to be lying down, was it on a bed? Was it a very hard bed? Finally, his vision began to return; Winters first felt light, and then he struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was blurry, unable to focus.


    After regaining sensation in his body, intense pain followed. This pain was not the normal kind of pain but more like the pain one feels when using magic. The pain was not emanating from any particular part of Winters'' body, yet it was genuinely tormenting him.


    Winters wanted to scream in pain, but he could only weakly open his mouth, and no sound came out from his vocal cords. He tried to lift his arm but did not feel any response. It seemed he had only regained sensory awareness of his body, but not control over his muscles.


    For Winters, this was all like a sudden, deep sleep; he could not even remember when he had lost consciousness. He had no memories, no concept of time, not even dreams.


    The last moment he remembered, he was fighting fires in Guidao City. He closed his eyes, and upon opening them, he had lost control of his body, lying on a hard plank bed somewhere unknown, enduring agony.


    "He''s awake! He''s awake!" Winters heard someone shouting excitedly.


    "Who is it? Where am I? What''s happened to me?" Winters'' consciousness was still very sluggish, and thinking was a strenuous task for him. His eyes still could not focus, and it seemed like his vision was filled with a deep brown color.


    A warm liquid flowed into his mouth, seemingly not water, with a hint of bitterness. Swallowing reflexively made Winters subconsciously drink it down. It turned out someone had propped up his upper body slightly and was spoon-feeding him bit by bit. Seeing that Winters could swallow, they continued to spoon-feed him.


    After being fed, Winters was placed back in his original position, lying down. His consciousness began to blur, and soon he fell into a heavy sleep.


    Again, he closed his eyes and opened them. There were still no memories, no concept of time, and no dreams.


    But upon waking up the next time, Winters felt his condition had significantly improved. Although the pain had not gone away, it was no longer so intense that it made him want to roll around on the ground; it had become bearable.


    Indeed, for Winters, the last time he woke up was "just now." He had no real feeling of the passage of time; it felt as if he had just regained consciousness between the closing and opening of his eyes.


    This time, Winters'' eyes could finally focus. He carefully identified his surroundings: the ceiling was very close, it seemed he could touch it with an outstretched hand, and it appeared to be... wood planks??


    His limbs could move as well, and he immediately reached out to feel the bed, which was right next to a wall, seemingly also made of... wood planks??


    Winters could no longer lie still; he sat up with a forceful movement of his waist and abdomen, struggling to discern his environment: a narrow and gloomy wooden room, many ropes, with the whole room swaying rhythmically... was he in a ship''s cabin?


    What? I''m on a ship?? Winters was taken aback.


    "Ah?! You''re awake?" A voice like a ringing bell came to Winters'' ear, its loudness causing his ears to buzz: "Go report to the Major! Someone''s awake!"


    Hearing this distinctive booming voice, Winters could recognize who it was just with his ears. Without needing to use magic to amplify his voice, there was only one person who could be this loud: his fellow Cavalryman from the Sea Blue Republic, Andrea Cherini, whom everyone called Andre.


    Winters'' own temper was not exactly pleasant, so his friends were usually very tolerant. However, Andre''s temper was cast from the same mold as Winters'', both being typical fiery Venetians. Similar tempers often repel each other, so even though the two were compatriots from the Sea Blue Republic, they weren''t very close.


    However, to Winters, who had just awakened from a deep coma, Andre''s loud voice brought a sense of relief.


    Winters looked around, noticed several unconscious classmates beside him, and realized he wasn''t actually on a bed but simply on a plank with some padding. He was eager to understand his surroundings: "Am I on a ship?"


    "Yes, you''re on a ship," Andre confirmed.


    "Why am I on a ship?" Winters was still Very confused.


    "You were carried on. You all passed out, and no matter what, we couldn''t wake you up, so everyone carried you onto the ship," Andre explained, interpreting the question from a rather unique perspective.


    "I mean, what are we doing on a ship now?" Winters asked again, this time rephrasing his question unambiguously.


    "Heading home by ship, back to Veneta (Sea Blue)." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Shouldn''t we be returning by land?" Winters was more baffled than ever.


    "They said the road is difficult to travel this year, so a ship was sent to pick us up." After explaining the current situation to Winters, Andre asked a strange question: "Do you remember what you did?"

 Chapter 27: Chapter 19 Fire Dragon Roll_2

    "What did I do?" Winters felt this question was incredibly baffling."Have you really forgotten?" Andre asked tentatively again.


    "What do you want me to remember?" Winters was utterly confused. He struggled to stand up, but Andre quickly reached out to help him.


    "You set Guidao City on fire! On fire! Don''t you remember?" Andre''s words hit Winters like cannonballs.


    "Burned? What burned?" Winters felt a chill run through his body as the last bit of haziness in his mind cleared, and he asked in shock, "Weren''t we putting out a fire? What do you mean we burned down Guidao City?"


    "Yes, originally we were putting out the fire, and the department head ordered us to demolish houses. Then all you Spellcasters were called away, and as soon as you used Magic, a firestorm was summoned." Andre was unaware of the impact his words had on Winters, "After the firestorm appeared, the fire became even stronger. The firebreak was useless, and we all retreated. As we left by boat, the common people were frantically spreading rumors that the military academy''s magicians summoned Hellfire and destroyed Guidao City."


    "How could this be? We were there to put out the fire! What firestorm?" Winters hadn''t expected things to turn out like this. He suddenly remembered the last scene he could recall: a massive flame serpent soaring into the sky.


    "Tell me, what did the firestorm look like?" Winters had too many things he wanted to know, he had to prioritize his questions. Speaking while standing was too tiring, so he sat back down on the makeshift bed.


    "Let me think... It was like a rope, connecting heaven and earth," Andre tried his best to describe the scene after Winters had lost consciousness using the limited vocabulary he had, "A swirling flame rope... a fire tornado!"


    Pleased with the analogy he had come up with, Andre repeated, "A fire tornado!"


    Remembering the last thing he had seen, Winters realized that this fire tornado might indeed be related to him... no, to all the Spellcasters who were present and had used the Wind Control Technique at that time.


    "What is the current state of Guidao City?" Winters urgently wanted to know the consequences of the incident.


    "Half of the city district is gone. If it hadn''t been for torrential rain, perhaps the entire city could have burned to the ground," Andre hesitated before voicing his own doubt, "Was it really you guys who summoned the fire tornado?"


    "I don''t know... I really don''t know..." Intense pain surged through Winters again, and he answered in agony, curled up. He truly didn''t know if the fire tornado Andre spoke of had anything to do with the Spellcasters.


    "It''s okay, don''t worry too much." Seeing Winters in pain, Andre thought he was feeling guilty about the burning of Guidao City and hurried to comfort him, "After all, it''s the Federated Provinces'' territory. If it''s burned, it''s burned. Even if it''s completely destroyed, it''s none of us Sea Blue People''s business! After all, we''re going home."


    Andrea, a native of the Sea Blue Republic, clearly had no empathy for the disaster in the capital of The Federated Provinces.


    Winters now had a bitter grievance he couldn''t express: I didn''t admit it was me who set the fire... I just said I wasn''t sure, and I really am not sure if there''s any connection with the Spellcasters... Besides, it wasn''t me who started the initial fire, so how come it sounds like I''m the prime suspect for arson?


    A series of urgent clacking of military boots against the deck approached, and two people dressed in military officer uniforms stepped into the cabin. Winters clenched his teeth as he got up and, together with Andre, stood at attention and saluted.


    "It''s good you''re awake!" The officer dressed in a general''s uniform was the first to speak. The middle-aged general had a commanding appearance and a tall stature, with a neatly trimmed mustache over his lips. Even without his military attire, one couldn''t mistake his profession, for the military bearing in his movements was too evident.


    The general ended the pleasantries with a single sentence and asked Winters directly, "I need to ask you something, and you must tell the truth. Did the Army Officer Academy intentionally cause your unconsciousness?"


    Winters quickly assessed the situation, this high-ranking officer was probably the "Major General" Andre mentioned earlier. Winters gathered his energy and honestly replied, "Report to the general, I do not know!"


    Upon hearing Winters'' response, the Major General frowned, "Then tell me what you do know."


    Winters recalled the situation that night, "At that time, the instructor gathered all the spellcasters together and had us use the Wind Control Technique simultaneously to alter the direction of the winds on the fire front. I only remember using the Wind Control Technique, I don''t have any memory of what happened after that, I woke up and found myself here."


    "When you say all spellcasters, you mean all, right? Not just Sea Blue spellcasters, but also United Provincials?" The major general sharply caught the key information he wanted and pressed on repeatedly.


    "Yes, all spellcasters, including those from the Federated Provinces," Winters was certain. Indeed, all spellcasters had been gathered without specifically selecting who would or would not go, naturally, including those from the Federated Provinces. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having received his answer, the major general''s expression suggested he was far from satisfied. He didn''t ask further, clearly having lost interest in Winters, "Alright, I''ve got it, rest well and tell me immediately if you recall anything else."


    With a perfunctory end to the conversation, the major general turned and left the small cabin.


    Winters also vaguely grasped a thread of the issue: it seemed that the major general was quite eager for the United Provincials military to take responsibility for his blackout.


    Only after the major general left did the officer who came with him speak. He was a smiling, handsome young man whose youthful face seemed almost at odds with the officer''s uniform he wore. His smile was so nonchalant and relaxed, it was as if he wasn''t very concerned about anything.


    "Please, take a seat, don''t stand on my account," the officer waved his hand amiably, indicating for Winters to sit.


    When his superior acted so courteously, how could Winters dare to actually take a seat? He merely nodded, his body remaining still.


    "Alright, then I''ll sit down first." The officer, devoid of pretense, sat down comfortably on the floor, leaning back against a wooden panel of the cabin.


    Seeing that Winters and Andre still didn''t dare to move, he smiled and encouraged them, "Relax a bit. We''re alumni. I''m just a senior who graduated a few years before you; don''t mind the ranks. It tires me out to look up and talk to you while you''re standing."


    Only when they learned that the man before them was an alumnus did Winters and Andre start to relax a little and sat down, though they kept their backs ramrod straight.


    "Now you''re both warrant officers and entered the officer ranks. There''s only a few years of military service between us." The two cadets were still somewhat reserved, but the officer didn''t press them. He started by introducing himself, "The one earlier was Major General Layton, and I am Major Moritz. You can call me Moritz, senior, or Major, whatever you prefer. By the way, what are your names?"


    "Senior, I''m Winters Montagne."


    "Senior, I''m Andrea Cherini."


    The waves and the pattering rain beat against the hull. Amid the sounds of the wind, rain, and waves, the body of the ship swung rhythmically back and forth like a pendulum. The dim cabin''s only source of light was a small ventilation window that was half open.


    "Winters, how do you feel right now?" Major Moritz asked a question that seemed perplexing to Andre.


    "What?" Winters was a bit confused.


    "You''re feeling, your current feeling."


    Winters understood what Major Moritz was asking, "Pure pain, but it''s at a barely tolerable level. When I woke up last time, the pain was unbearable."


    Winters silently thought to himself: I feel as if I haven''t left the spellcasting state. But this Major Moritz in front of me isn''t wearing the Triad Association''s badge; clearly, he isn''t a spellcaster. So even if I told him, he wouldn''t understand what the spellcasting state is. For that reason, Winters chose to describe it in a way a layperson could understand.


    After hearing Winters'' explanation, Major Moritz took out a silver coin and started toying with it in his hand, deep in thought.

 Chapter 28: Chapter 20 Muscle Strain

    Major Moritz seemingly conjured a small silver coin out of thin air and toyed with it in his hand. The coin moved nimbly between his fingers, appearing and disappearing intermittently. Winters didn''t notice this, but Andre was completely captivated by the Major''s magical sleight of hand, thinking to himself, "You definitely shouldn''t gamble with dice against this upperclassman, or you''re sure to lose even your pants.""You do have some external injuries, but your coma obviously wasn''t caused by those wounds; other spellcaster cadets without these injuries fell into comas just the same," Major Moritz mused for a moment before sharing his observations.


    It was then that Winters realized that the other unconscious cadets around him were all spellcaster cadets from the same class of Sea Blue. Counting roughly, it seemed like all were present.


    "Did all the spellcasters pass out last night?" Winters tentatively asked.


    "Not last night, but the night before. You''ve been unconscious for nearly two days now." Major Moritz unreservedly informed Winters of the current situation, "The Federated Provinces have said that almost all of the spellcasters lost consciousness, but we don''t know if what they say is true or false. I can only be sure of one thing; when we came to retrieve the officer cadets yesterday, all the Sea Blue spellcasters were in a deep coma." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Major Moritz chuckled as if he had thought of something, "That''s why General Layton was so angry."


    "Yeah, Winters, you didn''t see it, I was quite enlightened," Andre happily added from the side, "It was my first time seeing Chief Cornelius scolded bloody yet unable to utter a single word."


    "If it weren''t for Cornelius, why would they send a Major General to escort the cadets?" Major Moritz was also pleased, clearly, Chief Cornelius being scolded by General Layton was a recent source of joy for Major Moritz.


    Winters remembered the lashing he received while on duty the night before last, and his appreciation for General Layton surged.


    Cornelius was hot-tempered, acted with swift decisiveness, and was aggressive in his dealings. The soldiers respected him but also feared him, and he was certainly not popular in day-to-day interactions. However, his capabilities were strong, and it was rare for him to face a setback. Winters deeply regretted not having witnessed General Cornelius being reprimanded in person.


    "Let''s talk about your current situation," Major Moritz turned the conversation back to Winters, "I''ve seen many injured spellcasters, but I''ve never seen a case like yours."


    Major Moritz pointed at Winters and the other unconscious cadets, "You''re not in a coma because of external injuries, and we''re clueless about the internal injuries you''ve suffered. However, since you''ve regained consciousness, the others should also be able to self-repair."


    "Hasn''t anyone else woken up? I remember waking up once before," Winters hurriedly asked, confident that he had a clear memory of regaining consciousness and it wasn''t an illusion.


    "Some haven''t woken up at all, while others have woken up once just like you. They were fed medicine and went back to sleep," said Major Moritz, twirling the silver coin.


    "Medicine! That''s right, someone fed me medicine!" Winters suddenly remembered drinking a liquid that had a bitter taste.


    "Well, that can''t really be called medicine; it''s a sleep aid concoction I mixed. I didn''t know if it would work. Hoping to help you enter a sleep state, I mixed two sleep-inducing agents and fed you a bit," Major Moritz casually explained the sleep aid he had used to the two lieutenants:


    "I suffer from severe insomnia. The Flemish prepare a treatment for insomnia by drying and grinding the rootstock of a plant and consuming it, and I happened to have some of their powdered rootstock here; the natives of the Western Colonies of the Pseudo-Murlo Empire like to chew a certain leaf to enter a calm state, claiming that it allows them to communicate with their ancestors, and I also have some of this dried leaf.


    After your first awakening, you were clearly in great pain. Rather than suffer like that, it was better to let you remain unconscious, so I tried to mix these two things together and fed them to you, helping you return to a sleep state. Thankfully, it worked."


    It was then that Winters knew who had aided him. The last time he awoke, Winters had been in so much pain he wanted to roll on the ground, whereas now he could bear it. He gratefully said, "The concoction you made must have worked, I feel much better than I did when I woke up last time. Thank you, senior."


    "No, no, no, you''re mistaken. It wasn''t my concoction that helped you; what I made is not a medicine, just a sleep aid," Major Moritz gently waved his hand, laying out his theory, "My sleep aid can''t repair your body¡ªit''s your body itself that''s repairing you."


    "Repairing the body?" Winters didn''t understand what the Major was talking about.


    "I believe that the reason you fell into a coma must be due to a severe injury somewhere in your body. Since there''s no external injury visible to others, this invisible damage can only be healed by the body''s self-repair mechanism. When does your body do its self-repair? I guess it''s when you''re unconscious or asleep.


    When you lose consciousness, your body is actually busy repairing itself. And when you are conscious, the severe pain from the injury actually hinders the body''s self-repair process. So by helping you sleep, I intended to give your body more time for self-repair."

 Chapter 29: Chapter 20 Muscle Strain_2

    Major Moritz''s explanation was simple and easy to understand, and Winters had no trouble grasping it."So if I want to recover faster, I should sleep more?" Winters asked tentatively.


    "If I''m not mistaken, that''s correct," nodded Major Moritz.


    "Then could you give me some more sleeping aid?" After all, sleeping was Winters''s favorite sport.


    "I''m out, I''m afraid, I only had a little of both sleeping aids left. They were originally for treating my insomnia, but now they''ve all been used up by you guys." Major Moritz spread his hands helplessly, "But..."


    In any language of this world, whatever comes before "but" can generally be considered nonsense.


    "But..." Major Moritz said with a smile, "I have another method that can approximate the effect of the sleeping drugs, you can try that."


    "Uh... Thank you, senior," Winters thanked him, though unclear about the details. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Don''t thank me, you should thank the classmate who has been taking care of you these past few days. It was your classmate who stayed with you the whole time," Senior Moritz reminded Winters.


    Winters quickly stood up and gave Andre a deep bow, "I really can''t thank you enough."


    "No, no, don''t thank me..." Andre also stood up quickly, explaining embarrassingly, "I''ve only covered the shift for less than an hour. It''s been Bard looking after you before. He has been up for an entire day and couldn''t hold on anymore, so he just went to sleep."


    "What? Bard?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The sky was clear and the waves high, as colorful flags fluttered atop the leading mast.


    This fast ship, full of Sea Blue apprentice officers, had already sailed out of the rainy area. The students no longer had to be trapped in the gloomy and damp cabin and rushed to the upper deck for some fresh air.


    Taking advantage of the good weather, Winters and Bard were also on the upper deck, enjoying the sea breeze and drying clothes. Winters was unconscious when they set off so Aike had packed his luggage for him, including washing his military clothing.


    However, it rained the night of the fire rescue, so the clothes were not dried. Winters thought about throwing away the moldy-smelling military clothing, but he felt it would be disrespectful to Aike''s kindness, hence he took advantage of the good weather to air it out on the deck.


    "Did you know you drank back what you vomited into the cup last night?" Bard could barely contain his amusement.


    "Stop, please, I feel like throwing up just thinking about it," complained Winters, the hangover making his head throb with pain, different from the "phantom limb pain" caused by using magic, but a straightforward headache.


    After truly understanding Major Moritz''s "alternative therapy," Winters realized how unreliable first impressions could be. The major''s gentlemanly demeanor was just a facade; his true nature was that of a heavy drinker.


    The thing Major Moritz suggested as a substitute for sleeping drugs was alcohol, and by approximating the effect of sleeping drugs he meant drinking until one blacked out.


    Moreover, the Major didn''t prefer wine or ale but rather rum, the strong liquor preferred by the lower classes of sailors.


    Ever since sugarcane was introduced from the southern continent, the Gulf Region''s outlying island chain saw a crop of sugarcane plantations spring up like mushrooms after rain.


    Rum, a by-product of the sugar industry, started to become popular in the Gulf Region and somehow became Major Moritz''s favorite at some point.


    Under the pretense of treatment, the Major, who had no one else to drink with, got Winters so drunk that he passed out, indeed fulfilling his promise to help Winters "approximate the use of drugs to aid in sleep."


    "So, how do you feel now?" Bard, curious about the effect of Major Moritz''s therapy because Winters had almost drunk himself to death, asked.


    "I have a headache, feel nauseous, and want to throw up," Winters replied weakly, leaning on the ship''s railing.


    "I''m asking about the magic side of things."


    "Well, I think the Major''s theory has some merit. Sleep does indeed seem to repair the third hand," Winters had to admit that the unexplained pain he felt upon waking from sleep was lessening each time, "By the way, have you gotten hold of any gunpowder?"


    "Right here." Bard took out a small cow-horn container from his bag, "I asked the captain for some gunpowder, and he just handed me a whole hornful. I''ll give it back to him after you''ve used it."


    Winters took the gunpowder horn, popped the cork, and poured a bit of the powder onto the ship''s railing. Then, remembering the sensation of casting fire-type spells and maintaining the casting gesture, he tried to ignite the small pile of gunpowder with a fire spell.


    Using a fire spell to ignite gunpowder is a skill that spellcasters learn at the beginning of their training and is one of the simplest effects to achieve.


    But the gunpowder did not ignite as Winters had expected; instead, the gradually subsiding phantom limb pain erupted once again.


    Winters trembled with pain, feeling unstable on his feet, so he leaned against the railing, waiting for the pain to subside.


    Bard quickly poured Winters a strong drink, "There''s no need to rush to try magic. Relax, your magical abilities are definitely still there. Isn''t the gradual disappearance of your phantom limb pain proof that your magical abilities are recovering?"


    "I was just giving it a try; I wasn''t deluding myself into thinking I''d recover so quickly." Winters took the drink in his hand but didn''t drink it, "Looks like I''ll just have to slowly heal."


    "I think it''s quite fitting how you guys refer to magical talent as the ''third hand'' and the ''fifth limb,''" Bard said thoughtfully, "Look, isn''t what you''re experiencing now just like a muscle strain from overexertion?"

 Chapter 30: Chapter 20 Muscle Strain_3

    "Hahahaha." This amusing analogy hit Winters''s funny bone, "You''re right, my ''magic muscle'' is strained. It''s not just the muscles; it feels like my tendons are nearly snapped."After the laughter, Winters said to Bard, "You see, you mentioned that you were definitely going to be assigned overseas. Look at you now, aren''t you in the Sea Blue Republic?"


    "I did indeed apply for an overseas assignment, and I never expected to end up in Vineta." Not being sent overseas, Bard was also in good spirits, "It''s also because this year is unusual, there were no overseas assignments at all, everyone stayed at home. But I always feel something''s a bit off..."


    "Don''t think too much, being in Sea Blue is always better than being sent overseas." Winters was still his usual optimist, "Don''t worry, the Sea Blue army won''t deliberately ostracize United Provincials. Besides, I''m here, there''s no need to worry about it." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I actually don''t mind regional discrimination, because no matter where you are, it''s the poor who are discriminated against most." Bard always had a unique perspective, but his attitude remained very calm.


    "Don''t be so negative, we finally made it from cadets to officers. When we get to Sea Blue City, we must celebrate." Winters patted Bard on the shoulder vigorously, inadvertently pulling at the knife wound on his right arm.


    "Mr. Officer sir, will you still be drinking this?" An abrupt voice interrupted the casual conversation between Winters and Bard.


    The intruder was a sailor. The sailor''s skin had been tanned dark by the constant baking of two suns, leaving only the whites of his eyes exposed. His hair clumped together, as if it hadn''t been washed for a long time. He rubbed his hands together, looking eagerly at the cup of alcohol in Winters''s hand.


    "If you want to drink, just drink it." Winters handed the cup to the sailor. He himself wasn''t fond of alcohol, especially since there was simply no clean freshwater on the boat, "But I''m not a ''sir'', just call me Winters, and this is Warrant Officer Bard. There haven''t been any ''sirs'' on this land for a long time; the noble class was overthrown twenty-seven years ago."


    "Thank you, Mr. Officer sir, thank you, Mr. Officer sir." The sailor bowed incessantly like he was pounding garlic, took the cup, and drained it in one go, sighing with satisfaction. Although the Alliance had abolished the nobility twenty-seven years ago, many people still clung to the idea of nobles in their hearts.


    "Don''t call me ''sir'', just Winters will do. Brother sailor, I actually have a question to ask." Actually, Winters had been puzzled since he woke up today, and now he had a chance to ask a sailor for answers.


    "You tell me, you tell me." The sailor nodded briskly.


    "Why do I feel like we are heading east?" Winters had judged the ship''s direction from the trajectory of the suns and found it a bit strange.


    "That''s right, we are heading east." The sailor''s tone was as if someone was asking him whether one plus one equals two.


    "What?" Now it was Winters and Bard who were dumbfounded.


    The land around Senas Bay was roughly shaped like a semicircle, with the Federated Provinces occupying the northern half and the Sea Blue Republic the southern half. Sea Blue City was located to the south of Tess City, across the sea, which is common geographical knowledge.


    Yet the sailor before them was saying: the ship was not heading south, but east instead.


    Winters and Bard had been on the ship for two whole days, only to find out that this was not the route home.


    "So where are we going?" Winters grabbed the sailor''s clothes and pressed for an answer.


    "Mr. Officer sir, we are of course headed for Tanilia."

 Chapter 31: Chapter 21 Cargo Ship Brokerage

    ```Four days later, at a dock on the main island of the Taniria Islands, Winters, Andre, and Bard were idly standing at the uppermost level of the ship''s stern castle, competing over who could throw a stone the farthest.


    "You two are blatantly bullying an injured man," Winters complained, as he had injured his right hand and could only participate using his left, currently ranking last.


    "You''re allowed to concede defeat. Do you?" Andre said, giving a strong swing and tossing a small stone into a graceful arc, which landed far out on the water.


    Bard didn''t speak. He weighed the stone in his hand, stood sideways with a stable stance, and using the strength of his waist and abdomen, he threw it powerfully. The stone hit the water''s shimmering surface even farther out, so distant that its point of impact was unclear.


    Seeing Bard''s new record, Winters began to look around thoughtfully. He felt that he could only stand a chance at a comeback if he found some material to make a rudimentary catapult.


    "Aren''t you from the Monastery? Do monks also practice shot put?" Andre asked cheekily, speaking whatever came to mind.


    "Monks don''t do shot put," Bard replied with a smile, "but I''ve herded livestock for them."


    Winters sighed¡ªthere were no suitable thin ropes nearby.


    Warrant Officer Winters was now practically crippled: the spot on his left shoulder where Aike had struck had turned from green to purple, and every movement caused pain;


    his right foot had been pierced by a caltrop, but given that he had not developed a fever, it seemed it wasn''t too serious. After the wound was cleaned, wrapping it in clean cotton cloth was counted as a solution;


    the most frightening injury was a cut on his right arm left by some crazed woman. After the wound reopened several times despite attempts to stop the bleeding, it just wouldn''t close. The flesh was turned outwards, constantly seeping blood.


    The officers all knew that the wound should be stitched up, but no one dared to do it. In the end, it took Major Moritz downing a bottle of rum, and, bolstered by the alcohol, he took a fish hook and some cotton thread to sew more than a dozen clumsy stitches in Winters'' arm;


    The pain from his "third hand," or phantom limb, had considerably lessened, but it had started to itch instead. And itching was even more unbearable than the pain.


    Furthermore, Winters was still unable to use magic. Any attempt to concentrate would trigger intense phantom limb pain, preventing him from maintaining a state suitable for casting spells.


    In the span of one day, Winters had gone from student to warrant officer, in addition to having three injuries and temporarily losing his magical abilities.


    "How long has this ship been here? When are we going to set sail?" Winters just wanted to get back home for a good sleep.


    Andre also lacked his usual vigor and leaned against the railing despondently.


    The ship they were on was called the Bandit Gull, a communications vessel within the Sea Blue navy''s inland fleet. The Bandit Gull hadn''t taken the trainee officers straight home but instead carried them east across Senas Bay to the Taniria Islands.


    Once they reached the Taniria Islands, the Bandit Gull first anchored outside the harbor overnight. The next morning, it docked at this pier and had stayed here for a whole day with no sign of action from the captain.


    Since Lieutenant General Layton had strictly forbidden any officer from disembarking, Winters and the others could only watch the bustling world ashore with envy, unable to go down and explore. Eventually, out of boredom, they ended up throwing stones from the ship''s stern castle.


    "It''ll be soon, very soon. The cargo broker will be here any moment," the first mate of the Bandit Gull climbed up to the stern castle and cheerily approached Winters and the others.


    For a moment, Winters and his companions exchanged glances, unsure whether to salute. While Winters racked his brains recalling the naval ranking system, Bard spoke first, "This cargo broker you mentioned, who are they? Are they in charge of regulating who enters and leaves the port?"


    The first mate didn''t answer immediately but instead flipped his hand and handed several yellow fruits to Winters and the others, "Try these, a delicacy from Taniria." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters and his companions had never seen these fruits before, and received them with suspicion. They didn''t dare eat them, unsure of how to proceed.


    "Just eat them directly, or you can peel them," the first mate said, taking another fruit and demonstrating how to eat it for the three young warrant officers. He peeled away the outer skin, revealing the yellow fruit underneath, and quickly ate it all.


    Winters followed the first mate''s example and peeled the skin, tentatively taking a bite of the fruit. It was sweet and juicy, extremely delicious. He quickly devoured one of the fruits and wanted another.


    "What is this fruit called? I''ve never eaten it before," Winters said, encountering such a fruit for the first time.


    "It has no name, the locals just call it ''Sweetwater,'' it''s a type of berry from the island."


    "I''ve also never had this before, I haven''t even seen it," added Andre, while Bard nodded. Clearly, both of them also liked the fruit.


    "It''s hard to store. Once picked from the tree, it rots in less than a day," the first mate said nonchalantly. "That''s why besides the island''s locals, only us sailors can taste it."


    "What were you guys asking earlier? What does a cargo broker do?" The first mate took more fruits from the pouch he was carrying to distribute to the three, explaining seriously, "A cargo broker helps shipowners sell or buy goods. We don''t have time to slowly sell off the cargo in our hold, nor do we have time to buy slowly, so we look for cargo brokers. They have connections and can clear out a ship or fill one up in one fell swoop."


    "Wait¡­" Winters keenly sensed a conflict in the information he''d received, "Aren''t you a part of the inland navy? Why would you need a cargo broker to sell and buy goods?"


    "Hahaha" Winters'' question set the first mate off into a chuckle, "How could we possibly be navy? Look at me, do I look like a naval officer? Then look at the Bandit Gull, does it look like a warship?"


    "Isn''t the Bandit Gull a navy communications vessel?"


    ```


    "It''s just a nominal title, with the navy being the minor shareholder of the Bandit Gull."


    "Then why is the Bandit Gull the one taking us home?"


    "The navy commissioned the work, and besides carrying cargo, we sometimes take on passenger transport like this. Just like now, aren''t we carrying a few other people besides you?"


    Winters finally understood what those few people on the Bandit Gull were there for; they were neither army soldiers nor sailors. He had originally thought they were the shipowners, but it turned out they were just passengers.


    "No wonder," Winters sighed, "I was wondering why a navy ship would be so small?"


    In Winters'' eyes, the Bandit Gull indeed wasn''t big; he had seen many cargo ships much larger than the Bandit Gull.


    The Bandit Gull had only two decks, with the topmost being the open deck. Below was another deck, and further down, the bottom of the ship.


    Moreover, because the Bandit Gull''s freeboard was not high, the second deck was already below the waterline, so the cabins under the open deck could at most have a small vent, not capable of having windows, and naturally, they couldn''t be fitted with cannons.


    This small ship not only lacked a dedicated gun deck, but it also had no cannons at all. Winters wandered around the ship a few times, and not to mention cannons, he hadn''t even seen cannonballs, and now he finally understood why.


    "The navy doesn''t actually have that many real warships; they''re all just nominally commercial ships like the Bandit Gull." Upon hearing someone belittle the Bandit Gull, the first mate was somewhat displeased and tried to highlight the ship''s advantages: "The Bandit Gull isn''t that small either, capable of carrying a hundred tons or more¡ªhow is that small? Moreover, the Bandit Gull''s rigging is designed exceptionally well, very easy to control; it only takes about a dozen sailors to handle it well."


    "With only about a dozen sailors needed to handle it, that''s why squeezing in over thirty more people is nearly killing us," Andre fired another shot.


    The Bandit Gull''s cabins were meant for holding cargo, and theoretically, they could also accommodate people, but they lacked ventilation, had poor lighting, and the living conditions were extremely harsh.


    It was for this reason that an extra forecastle and two aft castles were added to improve the sailors'' living environment.


    The second floor of the aft castle was a separate small room. It was originally meant for the captain, but the highest-ranking person on board was clearly Admiral Layton. The admiral naturally took the best single cabin without hesitation.


    The first floor of the aft castle was a large room, given to Winters and the other injured Spellcasters to stay in;


    Major Moritz and the captain shared accommodations in the forecastle;


    The other trainee officers could only squeeze into the cabins with the sailors, and after leaving the rainy area, the warrant officers simply opted to sleep on the open deck, following the example of the sailors.


    Because life at sea was tough, the Sea Blue cadets always traveled by land when returning home in the past, never by ship. Traveling by ship was not only riskier, but the experience was also inferior. If one traveled by land, they could stay at relay stations, enjoying food and drink all the way home.


    This year, however, they were told to take a ship back because "the road is not easy to travel." What was supposed to be a pleasure trip turned into an ordeal, and every time they thought about it, it enraged all the trainee officers.


    "Although it''s a bit cramped, the Bandit Gull is very fast," the first mate persisted.


    "What good is speed if you''re going in the wrong direction?" Andre was relentless.


    The first mate conceded defeat, feeling in the wrong: "There''s nothing we can do, running a direct route between Sea Blue City and Guidao City doesn''t make much money, so the ships in the Senas Sea all run triangular routes. Don''t worry, we''ll head straight for Sea Blue City as soon as we leave port."


    "Clomp, clomp, clomp," Major Moritz also climbed up to the aft castle; he was there to ask the first mate to help buy some liquor. Because of Admiral Layton''s confinement order, Major Moritz couldn''t leave the ship either. Between his own drinking and supplying the Spellcaster students with "medicinal" use, his rum stock had been completely depleted two days ago.


    Without the "water of life," the major''s spirits had clearly been down over the past few days.


    "Mr. First Mate, could you please also replace the ship''s water barrels with new ones? The sides of the barrels are covered in green slime. When I touched it, it felt slick and slimy. Aren''t you afraid of getting sick drinking that water?" Major Moritz hadn''t consumed any liquids for two days, having no liquor and being unable to stomach the ship''s freshwater reserves.


    Hearing the major''s description, Winters felt a chill, as he had been drinking the ship''s freshwater these past days.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll have the sailors clean the water barrels right away," the first mate hurried off.


    Vendors on the water near the docks in small rafts were selling local fruits and vegetables to the sailors. The major whistled, signaling one of the rafts to come over.


    The major gestured to take everything. No one saw where he pulled a silver coin from, but with a light flick, the silver coin accurately slipped into the vendor''s hand.


    "You guys go bring his food and drink aboard and share it with everyone," the major, clearly having withdrawal symptoms, commanded, "I''m going to rest for a while. Wake me when the liquor is back."


    Although he had just thrown out a silver coin, now the major had another silver coin in his hand, which he played with absently as he left the aft castle.


    "Is that some kind of magic trick?" Andre peered out to glance at the vendor and then looked back at the major: "He didn''t make the silver coin he gave away reappear, did he?"


    "How could that be? It''s just one more coin, but I thought the way he tossed the coin into the person''s arms was pretty impressive."


    Later that day, the Bandit Gull emptied its cargo of ironware and leather brought from Guidao City, loaded up with sugar and tobacco in the Taniria Islands, and set sail for Sea Blue.

 Chapter 32: Chapter 22 Inland Sea

    After Bandit Gull was loaded with sugar and tobacco in Tanilia, it was cutting through the waves toward Vineta. Its bow stirred up great sprays of water, splitting the waves aside along the hull and leaving a faint trail at the stern, as if it were the only vessel left between heaven and earth.Bandit Gull swayed side to side with the rhythm of the sea, the amplitude of swaying greater at higher positions. At the top of the mast, the swaying even exceeded the width of the ship''s body.


    Winters looked up to see the sailor who had asked him for a drink a few days earlier scaling the mast without any protective gear, nimbly like a monkey, and he quickly reached the topmost yardarm.


    "Seems like I don''t have the talent for working on a ship. I couldn''t do that job," said Andre, watching the sailor working high above, with heart pounding.


    "Neither do I," Winters said as he watched the sailor climb so high, his hands and feet tingling. "What''s he going to do up there?"


    "He''s going to tie up the square sails. We will be sailing into the wind on the next leg of the journey, using only the jibs and staysails," the first mate of Bandit Gull enthusiastically imparted some nautical knowledge to Andre and Winters.


    Senas Bay is normally tame, sheltered by land on the west side and shielded by the Tanilia Archipelago on the east, so there usually aren''t any strong winds or big waves.


    The terrain of Alliance Country slopes from high in the west to low in the east, and the rivers that flow down from the western highlands drain into the sea here, forming many flat and fertile estuarine deltas along the coastline. Cities like Sea Blue and others are situated on typical alluvial plains.


    Therefore, ships that sail in these waters, to be able to enter shallow seas and river mouths, usually don''t have a deep draft.


    Bandit Gull is neither an ocean-going vessel nor a coastal ship; it belongs to a "hybrid" breed, adopting whatever design is useful, a prime example of pragmatism.


    Although Bandit Gull has a shallow and flat hull like coastal ships, it is equipped with a keel designed to withstand wind and waves. For the sake of speed, Bandit Gull has three masts on a not-so-large ship, greedily equipped with both square sails and triangular fore-and-aft sails.


    "Does sailing into the wind mean we''ll be going against the wind?" Winters took the opportunity to ask a question he had been pondering while there was a naval expert at hand.


    "We don''t say ''against the wind'' or ''unfavourable wind'' on the ship; we call this situation ''sailing into the wind.'' And yes, next we have to sail into the wind," the first mate reminded him of the language taboo aboard the ship.


    "Alright, sailing into the wind. But I don''t understand why the ship can sail into the wind?" This question had left Winters completely puzzled.


    "It''s actually quite simple," the first mate explained to Winters. "Angle the ship and the sails to the wind, and the ship will move forward at an angle."


    "But why exactly can angling the ship and sails to the wind make it move forward?" This was the real question Winters wanted to understand.


    "Uh..." This question actually stumped the first mate: "This... I don''t know why myself. I just know that doing this allows the ship to sail at an angle into the wind, but as for the specifics, I really don''t know¡ªI''ve never thought about it."


    "Then it seems that you too are a spellcaster," Winters said with a laugh. "You too can wield a power that you can''t explain yourself."


    A few passengers who were taking this ship from Sea Blue to Vineta were also on the deck for some fresh air, standing behind Winters. Overhearing Winters'' comment, one of the men stealthily sized Winters up.


    "What is a spellcaster?"


    "It''s a mage."


    "Ha ha, if I were a mage, I would conjure myself gold that I could never spend in my lifetime."


    "If you could just conjure gold at will, gold would no longer be valuable."


    A series of urgent bell rings interrupted the two men''s casual talk, as the lookout at the top of the mast loudly reported, "Port side, forty degrees! Sails! Port side, forty degrees! Sails!"


    The first officer, upon hearing there was a ship to port, quickly ran to the forecastle, and Winters followed.


    "I can''t see anything," Winters squinted, only to see the sea and sky.


    "When the lookout atop the mast can see the other ship''s mast, we can''t see anything from our position. We have to wait until the lookout can see the hull before we can see their mast," the first officer added, "Not seeing is good, it means the other ship is also circling around us."


    At that moment, the captain of the Bandit Gull also arrived at the forecastle. The captain was a plump middle-aged man, a rarity among seafaring men to have such a round face.


    "Forty degrees to port, the lookout has spotted sails," the first officer briefly reported the situation.


    "The other ship has taken the windward position." Without any hesitation, the stout captain immediately ordered the helmsman, "Turn with the wind! Adjust the mainsail!"


    The helmsman immediately turned the wheel to the right, and the Bandit Gull began to list leftward, the wooden frame groaning under the pressure. The ship left an arcing wake as it adjusted to a downwind course. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let''s give them some room, then return to our original course, maintaining a distance from them." The fat captain held considerable respect for the army officers, and seeing that Winters and Andre were puzzled, he took the time to explain: "If the other party doesn''t harbor ill intent, they''ll also be concerned about our intentions and keep their distance."


    This made both Winters and Andre look at each other in surprise.


    "Harbor ill intent? Are there really pirates on the inner sea?" Andre found it hard to believe. Senas Bay could be described as the Alliance''s bathtub, fishpond, and backyard, colloquially known as the "Inner Sea." Could there really be pirates in such a place?


    "It might not necessarily be pirates, considering this is a busy shipping route." The fat captain sounded quite relaxed: "But pirates are always around, and because of the inner sea''s busy trade, there are actually quite a few pirates."


    He chuckled, "Besides, wasn''t the Alliance Navy originally just a bunch of pirates? If you all helped me rob other ships, then the Bandit Gull would become a pirate ship too."


    "Would anyone bother to rob a small ship like the Bandit Gull?"


    "The Bandit Gull is not small. Even smaller ships get robbed. Pirates favor light ships. Large ships have more crew, making them hard targets for pirates and therefore safer."


    "But surely the navy patrols the inner sea with warships?"


    "The navy doesn''t have many pure warships; they''re mostly like the Bandit Gull, nominally merchantmen. Shipbuilding has to be profitable, after all!" The fat captain began to share some business wisdom with Winters and Andre: "A ship must earn back its building cost for the owner to break even, and that''s after deducting wages and maintenance costs for the net profit. The money made after breaking even is the real earnings for the owner. Warships that don''t carry cargo are pure expenditure, a guaranteed loss."


    "Doesn''t the navy fight the pirates, then?" To Winters, if there were brigands, shouldn''t they just be dealt with? While the Standing Army wasn''t large, it didn''t hinder the military from clamping down on organized robbery gangs.


    "Merchant ships are all armed. When armed merchantmen have evil thoughts, they become pirates; when they earnestly run ships, they are businessmen. You can''t eradicate them completely." The fat captain seemed to enjoy enlightening these young soldiers and patiently explained: "To truly eliminate piracy, you must start with the fencing operations, which the Alliance can''t control."


    "The Alliance allows pirates to fence their goods on its own soil?" The news was more shocking than the last.


    "Not within the Alliance, but in Tanilia. After robbing, pirates fence their goods in Tanilia ¨C it''s a well-established process." The fat captain revealed a meaningful smile: "Who knows? There might even be stolen goods among this cargo. After all, pirates are the source of cheap goods, right?"


    "Then¡­ what if you get robbed?" The fat captain''s symbiotic philosophy with pirates left Winters and Andre speechless.


    The fat captain answered composedly, "I just have to not get robbed. Don''t worry too much; it''s not so easy to encounter pirates."


    "Dang! Dang! Dang!" The lookout sounded the urgent bell once more, his voice hoarse as he reported, "Aft direction! Hull!"


    The people on deck quickly rushed back to the stern castle, and this time, they saw the sails.

 Chapter 33: Chapter 23 Determination

    "Hey, they really came?" The corpulent captain''s tone was unusually relaxed, seeing that the visitors meant harm, yet he bore an expression as if he had an ace up his sleeve, "Raise the flag, raise the naval flag." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Sailors climbed up the mainmast, the blue and yellow striped flag symbolizing the Sea Blue Republic was taken down, replaced by a striking red diagonal cross flag fluttering in the wind.


    This flag represented the Vineta Navy; the blue symbolized Vineta, the red symbolized blood, and the meaning of the flag was that the navy had established the Sea Blue Republic with blood.


    But in reality, the true reason for choosing red back then was because the flag''s designers thought it was more conspicuous and could be recognized from afar. The interpretation involving blood came later, eventually turning into a misconstrued fact that became the official explanation.


    The fat captain, with his hands on his hips, boasted to the landlubbers, "On the inland sea, pirates will give the navy some face no matter what. Seeing this flag, any villain harboring ill intentions would retreat on their own."


    The captain''s decisive leadership affected the trainee officers, it seemed they wouldn''t encounter pirates today, and Winters felt a twinge of disappointment in his heart.


    But soon, the situation developed beyond the fat captain''s prediction. Winters watched as the other vessel first revealed its masts, then sails, and then the deck until the entire ship came into view.


    If he wasn''t hallucinating, that meant the distance between the two ships was shrinking.


    The fat captain remained composed, "They probably can''t see the flag clearly from that far away, give them some time."


    After "some time," Winters could clearly see the bare tops of the masts of the approaching ship¡ªthey weren''t flying any flag. This meant they could also clearly see the Bandit Gull''s flag, and the newcomers weren''t deterred by the sight of the naval flag.


    "Let down all sails, full sail ahead," the fat captain finally got a bit anxious. Sailors obeyed the command and climbed along the rigging up to the yardarms, unfurling the neatly bundled sails, as the Bandit Gull''s main and foremasts were again hung with square sails.


    The sails on the Bandit Gull''s three masts were now full of wind, causing those on the deck to stagger. Even the most obtuse passengers could feel the ship slowly accelerating, and the bewildered trainee officers walked up from the cabins onto the deck, even Major General Layton and Major Moritz came out.


    "It''s fine, their sails are small; they''re not fast even at full speed. The Bandit Gull will be able to shake them off shortly," the fat captain said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.


    The sails of the Bandit Gull, inflated by the wind, suddenly started to deflate, the sea being a fickle lover, the power of the wind was waning.


    "It''s okay if the wind has died down, The Bandit Gull has more sails than they do; if we slow down, they''ll slow down even more," the fat captain confidently assessed.


    No sooner had he spoken than under the gaze of everyone aboard the Bandit Gull, the opposing ship''s sides extended a pair of "wings" and began beating the water.


    They were oars; the oncoming ship was not only equipped with sails but also with oars. As the wind diminished, but with the rowing of the oars, the oncomer''s speed increased instead of decreasing, and the distance between the two vessels quickly closed.


    Actually, a mix of oars and sails was the standard configuration in Senas Bay at that time; ships sailing in these waters were mostly flat-bottomed with square sails, using sails with the wind, complemented by a set of oars for use against it.


    A ship like the Bandit Gull, rigged with complex tackle and powered solely by the wind, was the outlier in the inland sea. While this type of ship with strong self-reliance and requiring fewer sailors to operate represented the future, when it came to short-distance maneuverability in light winds, it was seriously outclassed by the more traditional oar-and-sail ships.


    The distance between the two ships closed even further, so close that Winters could see ant-sized people climbing on the sails of the other ship.


    Someone climbed to the top of the mast and raised a flag divided equally between red and black.


    "Whose flag is that?" Layton asked in a heavy tone, having grasped the predicament the Bandit Gull was in.


    "It belongs to no one," the fat captain said with a whimper, "The meaning of that flag is that if we don''t stop and surrender, they''ll kill us all, not sparing a single life."


    There was a sudden flash of red light at the bow of the oncoming ship, followed by a puff of white smoke. "Boom!" A cannon shot rang out, a gray object flew from the prow of the other ship to behind the hull of the Bandit Gull, splashing water.


    Oar-and-sail ships kept their sides clear for the rowers, so the main guns were mounted at the bow. This shot was clearly intended as a show of force to the Bandit Gull.


    "Pirates just want the cargo; if we can''t get away, just give them what''s in the hold," one of the passengers aboard the Bandit Gull spoke up; they weren''t willing to risk their lives for the ship owner''s benefit, since the pirates weren''t robbing them specifically.


    "Give it to them, if they only want the cargo, that''s fine," the fat captain''s legs had gone weak and he could barely stand, "I''m afraid they''ll want the ship as well! The most valuable thing at sea isn''t the cargo, it''s the ship!"


    "Give them hell! Not even a speck of dirt!" A thunderous voice made the fat captain sit abruptly on the ground; Major General Layton was furious. With blazing red eyes, he bellowed, "They rob you and you give? To hell with that! What would that do to my reputation if this got out? Where would the pride of the Sea Blue Army be?!"


    Escape being hopeless, the fat captain had already considered surrendering. The prospect of losing everything, both ship and cargo, filled him with grief, better that than to lose his life, right? But seeing Major General Layton''s defiance, he suddenly found a backbone and sensed a glimmer of hope to save both the ship and its goods.

 Chapter 34: Chapter 23 Determination_2

    "You''re right, General, these pirates may not be a match for us in a real fight," the chubby captain muttered as he started tallying, "We have more than fifty men on this ship, each one a brave soul. The approaching pirate ship isn''t big, they might not have as many men as us.""That''s right!" the chubby captain decided loudly, "Fight a battle, we''re sure to win."


    "Then let''s do it!" Major General Layton firmly slapped the ship''s gunwale.


    "Easy there!" Some passengers didn''t know how they got dragged into a fight with pirates, "What if they just sink us outright? They have cannons."


    "They won''t, pirates are after money, no profit in sinking the Bandit Gull," the chubby captain transformed from a surrender advocate to a hawkish stance, "And we have cannons too, right here in the hold."


    "You have cannons and you don''t mount them on deck, you keep them in the hold for what?" Major Moritz, who had been silent, pointed at the chubby captain''s nose and demanded.


    "The Bandit Gull has a shallow draft and high freeboard, the center of gravity isn''t stable, I''m afraid we''ll capsize with the cannons on deck," the chubby captain licked his lips, "We have four six-pounders and several swivel guns in the ship."


    "Bring them all up!"


    "General! Please wait..." An elegant middle-aged passenger dressed meticulously stood out, "You must understand, you''re risking your officers'' lives to guard the ship owner''s property!"


    "I''m defending the honor of the Vineta Army!" Major General Layton retorted sharply.


    "This has nothing to do with honor!"


    "Honor is the lifeblood of a soldier! If my officers value their lives over their honor, then they don''t deserve to be officers! You say I don''t care about my subordinates'' lives? After boarding, I''ll be the first to jump over!" Major General Layton''s words left everyone on deck in utter silence.


    "Surrendering doesn''t guarantee safety," the chubby captain was the first to snap back to his senses, earnestly chiming in, "Pirates will strip all the money from you before taking hostages for ransom. If the ransom can''t be paid, you''re sold off as a slave to the plantations of Tanilia."


    The middle-aged passenger of some social standing fell silent; whether cowed by the Major General''s resolve or confused by the chubby captain''s mix of truth and bluster wasn''t clear.


    "Enough talk! Ready the weapons!" The Major General slammed his fist against the capstan at the stern.


    He walked to the edge of the quarterdeck, locking eyes with the warrant officers on the deck, and spoke with vehement disdain, "The ship behind us is a pirate vessel; they''ve come for us. Some say you''re worthless, can''t stand up to pirates, and might as well surrender. Any coward who wants to give up, step forward, and I''ll give you a small boat to surrender in!"


    He swept his gaze around, and the warrant officers didn''t budge, "Very well, sons of Vineta, how could you possibly surrender to pirates? You are officers trained with great effort by the army; it''s time to see what you''re made of! Are you cowards or heroes? Try and see today! A bunch of (expletive) worthless scum dares to trouble us? Go get your weapons! Follow me and exterminate these bastards!"


    The warrant officers roared with excitement, and Winters felt as if a blaze had ignited in his chest; he jumped from the quarterdeck and dashed straight to the hold for his longsword.


    Major Moritz spoke to the chubby captain with a disgruntled tone, "You''re lucky today; this fight looks inevitable now. It''s indeed not right for the proud army to surrender to pirates. But maybe we can devise a reasonable plan..."


    Winters jumped down two levels from the quarterdeck straight to the hold to search for his luggage; his longsword was with it. Even though his longsword was a blunt practice sword used in swordsmanship classes, it was the only weapon he could think of in such short notice. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only when he actually held the sword did he realize it might not be suitable for use on a ship. The longsword was too long; to swing it freely, the surrounding vertical clearance would need to be at least three and a half meters.


    It would be especially difficult to wield it in the cramped, low-ceiling space of the hold, likely hitting the ceiling or the walls. It wasn''t much better on deck, either, because of the ropes lying around, which could easily snag the blade.


    But Winters had no other weapons at his disposal, so he still secured the longsword to his side; having it was certainly better than nothing.


    Suddenly remembering the female pirate''s dagger, Winters hastily searched for his belongings. Aike had carefully wrapped his shoulder bag with his luggage, and he found the dagger quickly.


    The dagger, having been used for a Luminosity Spell, had transformed from a common metal hue to a red and black mix. Winters tried it out; it was still very sharp, so he tucked it into his belt as a backup weapon.


    Bard also entered the cabin to get a longsword and, seeing Winters securing the dagger to his belt, hurriedly stopped him, "Look at the state you''re in; don''t even think about boarding. Your arm''s just been stitched up, any strong movement and it''ll rip open, won''t it?"


    "Then stitch it up again!" Winters couldn''t possibly let his schoolmates and comrades fight while he played the invalid in the back.


    After clashing with the female pirate, he knew firsthand how dangerous real combat was, potentially lethal, but he was even less willing to be a coward.


    "You go help the artillery crew with the cannons; we won''t miss one man in hand-to-hand combat," Bard said resolutely.


    Winters acted as if he hadn''t heard, and walked straight out of the lower quarterdeck that was set aside for the resting spellcaster casualties. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the first mate and a sailor lifting a barrel filled with swords onto the deck, distributing them one by one to the crew.

 Chapter 35: Chapter 23 Decision_3

    Winters also hurried to switch to a single-handed curved saber. The blade of the saber was wider, shorter in length, with the center of gravity positioned towards the front, and it had a large guard.He often saw sailors carrying this type of saber. Holding it in his hand for a moment, he immediately understood why the sailors favored this weapon.


    Its shorter length made it more convenient to wield on the narrow confines of a ship, less likely to get caught on the ship''s body or cables. The wide blade and forward center of gravity made for more powerful chops. Sailors didn''t wear armor, so the cleaving effect was exceptional.


    "We need a few more men to help move the cannon! Come on!" Just as Winters had exchanged for the more practical short saber, he heard a call for help from the cabin and immediately went to assist.


    When Winters climbed down the ladder to the lower deck, several artillery trainee officers were exerting all their strength to move an iron cannon.


    The ship''s cannons were short-barreled, not large in caliber but with thick walls ringed with iron hoops, exceedingly cumbersome. Moreover, the cabin was small and crammed with cargo, giving the warrant officers no good way to apply force.


    Winters looked around and thought that unloading the cargo would make it easier to move the cannons, but it was clear that unloading was not feasible at the moment. So, he could only go over and lend a hand, but the cannon could still only be inch out very slowly.


    Major Moritz also came down to the lower deck and, seeing the trainee officers moving the cannon, felt like he was going to be driven insane by these youngsters'' stupidity: "Don''t bother with these old six-pounders; can you move them? Is there time? Don''t we have swivel guns? Where are they?"


    Spotting the swivel guns equipped on the Bandit Gull, Major Moritz''s eyes brightened up: "Oh, they''re breech-loading swivel guns? Perfect! Just the thing for fighting pirates."


    "Where are the chambers? Get the chambers out first." The major started searching through the lower deck on his own and eventually found the swivel guns'' chambers in a few wooden crates: "Send a few men to load the chambers with powder first, and just carry one swivel gun body up; that will be enough."


    The breech-loading swivel guns on the Bandit Gull were known as culverins or "mother-and-son cannons" in the Silk Country. Gunpowder and cannonballs were loaded into a chamber, which was then inserted into the back of the main gun before igniting. The combustion process mainly occurred within the chamber, with the main body of the gun acting as a barrel.


    The advantage was that multiple chambers could be prepared in advance, replacing one after firing quickly without needing to load each shot individually, providing a fast rate of fire.


    The downside, due to limitations of the craftmanship, was that there were serious air leaks at the junction between the chamber and the gun body. Therefore, the guns had very low power and could not shoot far. However, they were entirely adequate for close-range boarding actions.


    Upon the major''s words, Winters and several gunnery warrant officers abandoned the six-pounders and turned to lift the swivel gun instead.


    "Don''t just busy yourself with carrying the gun body; load the chambers with powder, take all the chambers with you," chided Major Moritz, finding it both annoying and funny to see the young men hurriedly move the large cannon and then the swivel guns: "Take it easy, it''s just dozens of pirates, you''ll face much bigger scenes in the future."


    Winters, directed by the major, and another gunnery warrant officer hoisted several small swivel gun barrels up to the lower deck.


    By then, the lower deck was in complete chaos, with warrant officers and sailors running back and forth, each unsure of what they were busy with but all appearing very busy.


    Winters stopped the first mate, who was carrying a matchlock gun, and asked him to take two men to fetch gunpowder and lead shot.


    The corpulent captain was stingy, a person of accumulation without dispensation, treasuring everything excessively.


    He had everything a merchant ship should have: large guns, swivel guns, matchlock guns, swords, gunpowder. But he kept everything locked up, carefully stored on the ship and never taken out for the sailors to practice with, lest they get damaged by the rough handling of the sailors.


    In the fat captain''s eyes, the most important thing was to prevent the ship and all its property from depreciating.


    But when the first mate smashed the locks and opened the "treasured" gunpowder barrels, Winters was at a loss¡ªhe only knew how to use matchlock guns but had never learned how to handle cannons.


    "How do we load the powder?" Winters asked, holding several swivel gun chambers, unsure what to do.


    "Load it just like you would a musket!" the gunnery warrant officer replied with reprimand, not looking back as he busied himself.


    "What I mean is, how much? How much powder do we load? And what about the cannonballs?" The gunpowder was too little; it wouldn''t be enough, too much, and the gunner would be blown up first.


    "There''s no time to find cannonballs, just use lead shot as canister. The amount of lead shot you load, that''s how much powder you use." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are you talking about volume or weight?"


    "Enough, you go find some match," the gunnery warrant officer said irritably, snatching the chambers from Winters''s hands and sending him away.

 Chapter 36: Chapter 24 Switching Sides

    Captain Gold rested his hand on the curved sword at his waist, gazing from the bow at the distant three-masted clipper.The fat captain of the Bandit Gull once said that "merchant ships with wicked thoughts turn into pirates, and honest pirates running ships are merchants," but this time he was wrong. Because robbery was not Captain Gold''s hobby¡ªit was his full-time job. "Good Fortune" Gold was a full-time pirate of the inland seas, specializing in the promising industry of maritime robbery.


    The reason why "Good Fortune" Gold acquired his nickname was because the Goddess of Luck always smiled at him.


    Many pirate ships would often get caught by the Alliance navy, but he always managed to escape. When faced with tough prey, after a bloody battle where every surviving pirate was wounded, he would come out unscathed every time.


    Sailors said: Bullets would curve around "Good Fortune" Gold. There were also whispers spreading quietly in the cabin: Good Fortune Gold had made a deal with the devil, and evil black magic protected him.


    However, Gold''s luck had indeed always been excellent, so much so that he even named his ship "Good Fortune."


    Like now, if it weren''t for the wind stopping, there was no way a galley like the Good Fortune could ever catch up to the three-masted clipper ahead. But just as luck would have it, the wind stopped and thus the ship, no matter how many sails it had, could only become the prey of the Good Fortune.


    Gold saw that after he raised the black and red flag, the small ship ahead had already lowered the naval flag and raised the white flag.


    The ease of scaring the opponent into surrendering owed much to the large cannon on the bow of the Good Fortune. This large-caliber stone cannon was Captain Gold''s prized possession, acquired through a fortunate coincidence and a high price.


    Nobody on the Good Fortune knew how to use the cannon, but fortunately, it wasn''t necessary for actual combat. Just loading the gunpowder and stone shot and firing a shot was enough; upon hearing the cannon fire, even the toughest prey would surrender.


    A large-caliber stone cannon could dispel any merchant ship''s fantasies of boarding combat.


    The merchant ship on the opposite side raised the Vineta naval flag, not softening at the knees just from a blast of the cannon? As for that naval flag, Gold didn''t care much.


    He was aware of the details of the various Alliance navies; there were many merchant ships registered with the navy. The weaker and less capable a merchant ship was of defending itself, the more it preferred to register with the navy of different countries, paying a protection fee and getting a naval flag in return.


    A naval flag could possibly scare away armed merchant ships with malicious intentions, but it could not scare away Good Fortune Gold.


    In the inland seas, ships come and go, why would I be afraid to rob you just because you hang a Vineta naval flag? Besides, on this vast sea, if I rob you, would the Vineta navy even know? And even if the Vineta navy knew, what could they do to me? Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, this time, Good Fortune Gold came specifically for the naval flag. Three masts, a light vessel, registered under the Vineta navy, appearing here at this time¡ªall the intelligence confirmed it. No mistake, it was this ship!


    Seeing the opponent had already raised the white flag and surrendered, the corners of Captain Gold''s mouth almost split to his ears, and he was bursting with excitement: "I''ve struck it rich! This time, I''ve struck it rich!"


    Gold could hardly wait to board the ship ahead. To him, the Good Fortune''s speed seemed as slow as a turtle, and the rich prize within arm''s reach made him anxious. He called to his first mate, "Do the rowers want to die? Are they not putting in the effort? Why are they rowing so slow? Go make them row with all their might!"


    The first mate heeded Gold''s command, grabbed a whip, and walked down to the open deck, starting to lash those wretched rowers on the lower decks.


    Like the Bandit Gull, the Good Fortune had two decks, but both decks of the Good Fortune were above the waterline.


    In fact, rather than saying the Good Fortune had two decks, it would be more accurate to say that the Good Fortune was a flat-bottomed tub with an illegally added layer of a through-deck building acting as an open deck.


    The rowers on the Good Fortune were positioned on the second deck, each with one foot chained next to the oar, without even space to turn around, they could only row.


    The rowers weren''t the pirates of the Good Fortune; no free man would willingly become a rower. The rowers were sailors from the merchant ships that Good Fortune Gold had robbed.


    The cargo was taken, the ship was sold, some of the sailors were sold off, and some were kept to row on the Good Fortune.


    The rowers were shackled, eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and sleeping all next to the oar. Even when the pirates went ashore to rest, the rowers wouldn''t be released.


    With poor food, bad sleep, and high work pressure, even a strong man wouldn''t last long in such conditions.


    But luckily, there were always new victims to replace them. The rowers were just replaceable parts of the Good Fortune, needing replacement every so often.


    For the rowers, there were only two ways out: die next to the oar or somehow manage to become a pirate.


    On the Good Fortune, there were ten rows of oars, each oar manned by two rowers, totaling forty rowers. Together with the more than fifty pirates, that was the entire crew of the Good Fortune.


    Almost a hundred crew members for a ship of Good Fortune''s size seemed overly bloated. Thus, the Good Fortune had very poor self-sustainability, and it had to dock again for supplies and rest after only one or two days at sea.


    Ordinary galleys had sailors who doubled as rowers. But on the Good Fortune, with the free labor from human beasts, the pirates naturally didn''t want to also be rowers; they wanted to save their strength for possible hand-to-hand combat.


    The Good Fortune closed in on the Bandit Gull until they were only a few ship-lengths away. Captain Gold directed the Good Fortune to intimidatingly circle around the Bandit Gull.

 Chapter 37: Chapter 24 Switching Sides_2

    It wasn''t just to intimidate the enemy, but also Captain Gold''s cautious desire to take a closer look at this small boat: sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.The fattest one must be the captain; no sailor could have so much flesh, and his clothes were also the finest. This man was standing at the bow, looking absolutely flustered and wiping sweat from his brow without stopping.


    Captain Gold laughed heartily, "We can''t sell this fatso; he must stay and row on the Good Fortune until he drops dead."


    There were seven or eight others left on deck, typical sailor-looking types, with worn clothes and skin darkened and cracked from the sun''s rays. Two years ago, Good Fortune Gold had been such a wretched sailor, but now he was a Hunter.


    There must be more sailors on this ship, definitely some hiding in the dark corners of the boat, praying to escape this ordeal. There was no hurry; they could be slowly sniffed out. No one could get away on the vast sea.


    The Good Fortune retracted the oars on the side close to the Bandit Gull, while the pirates threw grappling hooks with ropes toward Bandit Gull, all the while making wild cries to scare the sailors on board.


    The hooks bit into the Bandit Gull''s side, pulling the gap between the two ships closer inch by inch. Four boarding planks with hooks stretched towards the Bandit Gull, hooking firmly onto the ship''s hull.


    Done! These boarding planks had hooks on both sides. Once hooked, they were extremely difficult to release. Now Bandit Gull was firmly connected to the Good Fortune, and now not even the fat captain could run away, even if he regretted it.


    Over a dozen anxious pirates didn''t wait for Gold''s order and rushed onto the Bandit Gull''s deck, which greatly irritated Good Fortune Gold.


    Within the pirate democracy to some extent, the captain, aside from a small private room, didn''t have much privilege, and could even be voted off the ship by the sailors if things went wrong.


    The rule for robbery was that all spoils must be evenly distributed, but pirates who boarded the prey''s ship first would definitely grab more scattered silver coins.


    So, every time as soon as the boarding plank was in place, the pirates would rush on board in a frenzy, and Gold was unable to restrain them. If he used harsh measures, his throat could be cut by the pirates and "voted off the ship" that very night.


    "The crew''s hearts are too scattered, and the team is hard to lead," sighed Gold, shaking his head, as he also headed towards the Bandit Gull.


    What Bandit Gull faced from Good Fortune Gold, however, was a piercing whistle. Bandit Gull tore off its sheep''s clothing disguise, and what the pirates saw as a fattened lamb showed its fangs and claws, as a large group of young men in military uniforms and armed with weapons poured out from the prow castle, stern castle, and cabins of Bandit Gull.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Line break ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Major Layton threw his whistle fiercely, making true on his promise to be "the first to jump in."


    The major roared, "Follow me, you bastards!" and then leapt down from the stern castle, crashing onto the open deck of Good Fortune, making the entire ship tremble upon his landing.


    Most of the warrant officers used single-handed weapons together with makeshift small shields from planks, but the major held his own sword in his left hand, and a sailor''s cutlass in his right.


    Upon landing, he delivered a vicious overhead chop to the neck of a pirate before him, the brutal strike slashing through the neck at an angle, cutting halfway through it, and the curved front end of the cutlass inflicting a second wound on the pullback.


    The major, not paying further attention to the poor soul whose neck had been half-severed and now splattered with his blood, ferociously continued to slice through the remaining pirates who had yet to come to their senses.


    Andre and a few warrant officers, infected by the major''s fierce momentum, also roared as they followed the major onto the deck of Good Fortune.


    Major Morris sighed helplessly and also, sword in hand, leapt from the prow castle.


    The major''s original plan was to ambush and deal with the pirates boarding the ship first, then use revolving guns and muskets to weaken the pirates remaining on the enemy ship, and finally board to exterminate the remaining enemies.


    But with the top boss jumping in right away, he had no choice but to follow suit.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Line break ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Meanwhile, at the top of the stern castle, Winters and two gunnery lieutenants together exerted their strength to mount the swivel gun on the ship''s side. The three of them had been lying flat on the deckboards, concealed by barrels and sacks.


    The swivel gun was so named because it was mounted on a stand, allowing it to swivel to aim at different angles.


    Under the iron frame was an iron rod, and the ship''s side had holes drilled during the construction, into which the iron rod could be inserted to mount the swivel gun on the ship''s side.


    Bandit Gull''s side was lower than that of Good Fortune, which was a disadvantage. But don''t forget, Bandit Gull still had the fighting tops.


    In naval boarding actions, whoever had the higher fighting tops had the advantage. From the very top of Bandit Gull''s stern castle, one could overlook the open deck of Good Fortune with an unobstructed view.


    As they say, "From high to low, beat the dumbass," and with Bandit Gull''s long-range firepower at a higher position, they could leisurely shoot at Good Fortune.


    With the gun in place, one gunnery warrant officer grasped the gun''s tail to aim at the enemy, while another quickly grabbed a chamber and stuffed it into the rear cabin of the swivel gun, followed by a wooden wedge to secure the chamber into place, then poured gunpowder into the priming hole.


    While the two warrant officers were busy, Winters was tasked with only one thing: ensuring that the slow match didn''t go out.


    Without a real salt-soaked slow match on board, they had to unravel hemp rope to use instead. The problem was that with hemp rope, if you held it upside down, it would burn quickly, but if you held it upright, it would go out by itself.


    Winters was now like Prometheus, the fire thief, both blowing on it and adjusting the angle, carefully tending to the small flame in his hand.


    "Ready! Light it now!" urged the loader warrant officer.

 Chapter 38: Chapter 24 Jumping Ship_3

    Without a linstock, Winters directly used his hand to light the powder with the slow match. He didn''t know when to pull away, and as the gases propelled the shot, they also sprayed the powder from the touch-hole, adding a few more burns to his hands, but Winters clenched his teeth and made no sound."Boom!" Along with the acrid smoke and a loud bang, six or seven lead balls shot out from the rotating cannon''s muzzle, hurtling towards the pirates on the Good Fortune. The battle was too chaotic to see how many pirates were hit, but certainly, some were crying out for their fathers and mothers.


    The two gunner warrant officers seemed very dissatisfied with the effects of the bombardment.


    In this era, cannons didn''t have anything like a depression angle because the shot was smaller than the bore; if the cannon was tilted down, the shot would simply roll out.


    In a hurry and without proper cannonballs, the warrant officers used musket balls as cannon shot. Wrapped in pieces of sackcloth to prevent the lead from falling directly out when the muzzle was pointed downward.


    But the problem was that the lead shot was still smaller than a cannonball and sealed poorly, allowing the gas from the burning powder to spray out through the gaps. That''s why when gunners used canister shot, they added a sabot.


    But where could they find sabots in such haste? There was no time to carve wood on the spot, so they had to go ahead with thick skin, and naturally, the power of the rotating cannon was greatly reduced, lacking the expected effect of mowing down a row with a single shot.


    "Keep going! Don''t stop," the gunner warrant officer called off the ongoing damage assessment. Having something was better than nothing, even if it was just for the sound, it was a great deterrent to the enemy.


    After swabbing the bore, a new chamber was loaded and Winters lit it again. Sparks hissed into the chamber, but it only emitted smoke.


    The rotating cannon did not roar; the sound was like a damp fart.


    Misfire?


    The loader warrant officer, unfazed, immediately knocked out the wedge and loaded a new chamber.


    Upon igniting it again, there was still no reaction.


    "(Expletive)! That stingy captain must have stored the powder for too long without use, causing it to separate," the loader warrant officer sent his kindest regards to the fat captain''s entire family. But his hands did not stop; he loaded another chamber.


    Upon igniting it again, this time it sounded.


    All twelve chambers were quickly spent, with only five successful shots; the remaining seven were duds. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The alarming rate of misfires infuriated the loader warrant officer, who cursed loudly, while the gunner warrant officer said nothing and picked up the slow match gun that was set aside, handing it to Winters and the loader warrant officer.


    From his high position, Winters had a clear view of the situation. The shouting had ceased, now only the dull sounds of blades entering flesh and screams could be heard. The pirates who had leaped onto the Bandit Gull''s deck were all dealt with, and on the crowded deck, one could no longer see the pirates'' filthy hair, only the clean heads of the warrant officers.


    The Bandit Gull''s combined land and sea forces were attacking the Good Fortune''s deck, and even three of the four passengers who had been hesitant were now wielding weapons and fighting pirates on the frontline. But with limited space, only a few in the front ranks were desperately fighting, the rest could only push from behind.


    And at the Good Fortune''s bow hatch, pirates were continuously pouring out, turning what started as an ambush into a bloody tug-of-war, each exchanging blows.


    Winters watched as Andre, along with the fiercely aggressive Major, charged into the Good Fortune''s cabin from the aft hatch.


    He felt tense; with the way things were, there surely were a large number of pirates inside the cabin, and with just Major and Andre entering, the odds were more perilous than not.


    Winters and Andre were originally only acquaintances from the same hometown, but over the past few days, with Winters injured on board, Andre had taken good care of him. Regardless of what Andre thought, at least Winters now considered this loud-voiced fellow a friend.


    Seeing Andre enter the danger, Winters could no longer stay in a safe place to provide support with a slow match gun.


    He threw down the gun, and with a shout of "Eh? What are you doing?" from the gunner warrant officer, Winters leaped down onto the aft deck of the Good Fortune, gritted his teeth, and followed Andre''s path into the Good Fortune''s cabin.

 Chapter 39: Chapter 25: Close Quarters Combat

    Jumping from the brightly-lit open deck into the dimly-lit cabin, Winters couldn''t see anything at first. Fortunately, no one took this opportunity to ambush him.Only when his eyes adjusted to the darkness did he realize that the Good Fortune had apparently divided the lower deck into several areas. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was used to wielding a two-handed sword, and only being able to grip the sailor''s knife with one hand made him feel a lack of security. He drew his dagger again and, imitating the admiral''s style, held blades in both hands as he explored into the darkness.


    A heavy thud came from behind ¨C Winters tensed and turned, ready to swing his knife, but the person who had jumped down said, "Wait, it''s me."


    The light filtering in through the hatch was too dim to see clearly, but Winters recognized the voice all too well ¨C it was Bard.


    "Let''s go up together," Bard said, following him in a low voice.


    Winters nodded and continued to explore ahead ¨C having someone cover your back was always reassuring.


    After entering the cabin from the rear entrance, they saw several compartments on the left and right that appeared to be used by those of higher status on the ship. A narrow path was left in the middle, only wide enough for one person to pass through.


    Winters smelled blood, and in one of the compartments, he found a corpse. Clearly, the admiral and Andre had already broken through here.


    Moving forward, he kicked open another cabin door, which led to an open area.


    No longer separated by wooden partitions, the entire cabin was one large room with big holes in the cabin walls. The floor was filled with people dressed in rags like beggars, with the pungent stench of acid and decay hitting their nostrils.


    The admiral and Andre were in the middle of the cabin. The admiral''s movements were not flashy, even somewhat simple: a parry with the left arm, a stab with the right.


    But with the admiral''s extraordinary strength, these simple moves became the most efficient means of killing. He used his left sword to deflect a scimitar coming head-on, then with a stab and a twist of his right hand, a pirate was screaming as he was knocked down.


    No one aboard the ship was a match for the admiral alone. The pirates, lacking spears and not skilled in combined attacks, were forced to retreat repeatedly.


    Andre, standing next to the admiral, hardly had a chance to strike; he struggled to keep pace, protecting the admiral from being attacked by multiple pirates at once.


    Still, several pirates were using the width of the ship to try to circle behind the admiral and Andre.


    Winters and Bard''s arrival was impeccably timed, for if they had truly been surrounded, even with their superior swordsmanship, the admiral and Andre would have been helpless. They could rush to this point because the pirates had been intimidated by the admiral''s ferocity, and both men had been driving pirates before them on the way here ¨C no need to worry about what was behind them.


    Winters let out a roar, drawing the attention of the pirates and signaling to the two ahead that reinforcements had arrived. The pirates who had been circling to get behind the admiral and Andre, hearing Winters, abandoned their targets and rushed toward him instead.


    A single-handed sword often required a small shield or a parrying dagger, but Winters''s dagger lacked a guard and was of no use in blocking; holding it was more a psychological comfort than anything else.


    However, when the pirates charged at Winters wielding his scimitar and dagger, they hesitated, their hearts uneasy, but they steeled themselves and met him head-on.


    The pirates'' attack was simple ¨C a savage chop from upper left to lower right.


    As for Winters, the sailor''s knife was both his weapon and his shield. The deck was crowded with emaciated rowers, leaving no room to dodge, so Winters met the pirate''s blade with his own.


    In that moment, he understood Instructor Nal''s lesson: on the battlefield, nothing was more useful than immense strength.


    As the two scimitars clashed, how could the pirate, who did not eat or train as well as a well-fed, well-trained cadet, compete in strength? He was directly overpowered by Winters''s blade strike.


    Winters instinctively used a longsword technique and cut into the pirate''s center line. The cabin was filled with rowers with no space for Winters to step forward, so he directed his blade at the pirate''s right arm.


    The weapons aboard the Bandit Gull were poorly maintained; the sailor''s knife in Winters''s hand was not particularly sharp, but for this reason, it bit into the flesh even more deeply. When he struck the pirate, Winters resolutely dragged his blade, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone in the pirate''s arm.


    The pirate screamed in agony, dropping his knife and stumbling backward, clutching his wound. If this were a swordsmanship contest, Winters would have scored an elegant two points with that move. But this cabin was a battlefield, and crippling a pirate''s hand didn''t take his life.


    "Hold them! Have you be my crew!" a voice cried out with a thick Tanilian accent, "or I''ll kill you all!"


    Winters didn''t understand who was being addressed, then realized the pirates were coercing the rowers. He surveyed the sorry rowers ¨C some averted their gaze in fear, while others showed desperation and greed in their eyes.


    With at least thirty rowers in the cabin, if even a third were incited to action, the four officers there were in danger.


    Every rower in the cabin was now a potential enemy. Winters shouted back, "The pirates are finished! Those who are not pirates, stay seated! Move, and you will be killed without hesitation!" He and Bard stepped over the seated rowers and strode towards the admiral and Andre, trying to move away from that area.


    "Don''t just sit there, you scum! Do you want to die?" the voice with the Tanilian accent bellowed again.

 Chapter 40: Chapter 25 Short-Armed Combat_2

    As soon as the words had left his mouth, Winters felt someone grab his left leg, and Bard was tackled to the ground by three oarsmen. At that moment, another pirate charged at him from the front.The last bit of pity in Winters'' heart for these oarsmen was crushed by rage. He too became ferocious, switching his dagger from his right hand to his left, and viciously stabbed it into the neck of the oarsman holding his leg.


    He reminded himself that he was on a battlefield, and this time he didn''t just stab down, he mimicked Major General Layton''s move¡ªa stab, followed by a brutal twist.


    An irreparable, destructive wound appeared on the oarsman''s neck right away, his artery and tendons directly pierced and shredded. In agony, the oarsman covered the wound and let go of Winters'' left leg.


    With his leg free, Winters sidestepped, dodging the straight thrust from the pirate. The next move was completed instinctively by his swordsmanship training, first using the blade to block and knock the opponent''s scimitar off course.


    But this time, he didn''t chop at the man''s arm; instead, he thrust into the pirate''s soft abdomen. Again, a stab and a twist. When he pulled out the scimitar, its curved blade created an even larger opening. That one strike took away the pirate''s ability to move.


    He didn''t bother with the eviscerated pirate any longer and turned to help Bard. By this time, Bard was already pinned to the ground by three oarsmen. One oarsman was desperately trying to pry Bard''s fingers open to seize his knife, but Bard was holding on tightly. Unable to pry the knife free, the oarsman moved to bite.


    Winters took two steps to Bard''s side, plunging his knife fiercely into the neck of the oarsman attempting to bite, killing him instantly.


    The other two oarsmen were struggling with Bard. Fearing that using his Longsword might hurt Bard, Winters drove his dagger into the back of an oarsman''s neck and, with a punch, drove it through, neatly dispatching the two oarsmen.


    He pulled Bard up from the ground, and the oarsmen no longer dared to meet the gaze of the officer who had just killed three men, hanging their heads in submission. Not a single oarsman was spurred to attack the two by the pirates any longer.


    Seeing reinforcements arriving, the major general no longer led Andre forward. They had numerous wounds, but sheer momentum had carried them this far. Now, with reinforcements, there was no need for a reckless attack, so the major general started a defensive retreat with Andre.


    Winters and Bard advanced, while the major general and Andre fell back; finally, the four of them regrouped, confronting the pirates.


    At this time, sounds of clashing blades came from behind the pirates, signaling that the pirates on deck had also been defeated. The major general and his men had fought from the stern into the cabin, while the ensigns were attacking from the entrance at the bow of the ship. Now, it was the pirates'' turn to be caught in a pincer attack.


    "Surrender! Or I''ll kill you all!" The major general, like death incarnate, devoid of any mercy or compassion, suddenly started his psychological warfare, but the dripping blood from his two blades and his blood-stained uniform didn''t seem very persuasive.


    "Surrender my ass! Do you think we''ll live if we surrender?" The pirate leader who had earlier spurred on his men to fight, shouted in despair, "If we surrender, this butcher will kill us all! This butcher is an officer; capture him, use him as a hostage, then we can live!"


    By the end of his speech, the leader was crying, kicking and beating the other pirates like a shrew: "Go on! Capture him, and we can live! We can live..."


    "Trash! Truly disgusting!" The major general looked contemptuously at the blustering pirate leader, pointing his sword at the man: "Even if you surrender, I would still kill you! Listen up, everyone, I''ll only kill this one. If you don''t want to die, throw down your weapons and surrender!"


    On this side, Winters, Bard, and Andre silently faced off against the pirates. Meanwhile, more and more army ensigns leaped down from the entrance to the cabin. The pirates, trapped in the cabin, had nowhere to run and were at a dead end.


    Winters watched as the pirates, uncertain and looking at each other helplessly, seemed to want to surrender, but no one dared to be the first to drop their weapon.


    "Drop your weapons!" The major general commanded with another loud shout.


    One by one, two by two, the pirates began dropping their weapons one after another, declaring the end of the brief but bloody melee.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDividing Line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the deck of the Good Luck, pirates who had surrendered were tightly tied up, kneeling in an orderly row. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Surrounding them were a flock of fledgling ensigns who had just tasted blood for the first time, holding their knives and watching fiercely.


    One by one, pirate corpses and those on the brink of death were dragged out from the deck and cabin and neatly placed in front of the surrendered pirates.


    Major General Layton sat heroically on a wooden barrel that had been dragged over, while Major Moritz, bolstered by alcohol, was stitching up his wounds.


    There was no one on the ship thick-skinned enough to dare use a fishhook for suturing, so it fell to this man, who became indiscriminate once drunk.


    Even though the instructor had said swordsmanship was a sport, it turned out to be somewhat useful, as at least the ensigns knew how to avoid being stabbed in the vital chest and abdominal area.


    The injured ensigns mostly suffered wounds on their limbs, and if they didn''t develop severe inflammation or fever in the following days, they would survive. Otherwise, they would die.


    In an age without antibiotics and tetanus vaccines, survival from an injury entirely depended on the severity, physical condition, and luck.


    Impatient from waiting, Major General Layton stood up with his sabre as soon as all the dead and dying pirates had been dragged out and approached the captured pirates.

 Chapter 41: Chapter 25 Short Arms Conflict_3

    "I won''t waste words with you. You, come here first." The Rear Admiral stopped in front of the pirate captain he had said he would kill no matter what, back in the cabin standoff.The pirate, who seemed to be the captain, hung his head and dared not meet the Rear Admiral''s gaze. The Rear Admiral placed his sword against his neck, "Speak, which one is the captain?"


    Upon hearing the Rear Admiral''s question, the pirate felt a glimmer of hope and mustered his courage to ask in return, "If I tell, if I give up the captain, will the General spare my life?"


    Before he finished speaking, the Rear Admiral''s sword had pierced through his left ribcage. Shocked, he looked at the Rear Admiral and then at his own chest where the sword had sliced through his heart.


    As the sword was withdrawn, the pirate fell forwards as if his soul had been drained from him, blood pouring out beneath him.


    Even though Winters had seen bloodshed that day, his heart softened a bit at the sight of the pirate''s death, and the Rear Admiral''s ruthless cruelty shocked him. There''s a difference between killing on the battlefield and executing a bound prisoner.


    But he said nothing, nor did his classmates. The only sound on the deck was the sea, as the young ensigns silently watched and learned from the senior officer''s methods.


    "Such a waste of words." The Rear Admiral shook the fresh blood off his sword with disgust, and turned to question another pirate next to the one just dead, "Speak, which one is the captain?"


    With a body still bleeding next to him, the second pirate called upon felt a coldness in his groin and had already wet himself. He agreed hastily to help identify and pleaded for mercy.


    Rear Admiral Layton did not rush to have this pirate identify anyone but simply lifted him by his shirt collar with one hand as if picking up a chicken.


    Rear Admiral Layton had the pirate look carefully at the faces of his still-living comrades before smiling at all the pirates, "I will have you turn around, and let this piece of trash in my hand point someone out among you and these bodies first. Then I will bring another person forward, and if you don''t point out the same one, you''ll both die."


    Winters quickly understood why the Rear Admiral was using this peculiar method; it was still about making the pirates betray one another, avoiding casually pointing out a corpse as the captain.


    "If you''re going to kill, just kill. Why play with us? These men of mine aren''t so loyal that you would need to employ such tactics," an indignant voice came and Gold could no longer refrain from standing out, "But you promised us, surrender and you spare our lives!"


    "Hahaha," the Rear Admiral laughed even more joyfully, his laughter extremely discordant amidst the bloody scene, "When did I ever promise you surrender would spare you from death? I only promised I wouldn''t kill you, but if my officers act, that has nothing to do with me."


    The pirates grew restless, Gold stood up even more angrily, spewing a string of sailor''s profanity that Winters couldn''t understand.


    The Rear Admiral tossed the pirate he was holding to the ground and strode over, one hand grabbing Gold''s hair, and the other slamming the sword''s pommel into Gold''s mouth with force.


    Once, twice, three times.


    Everyone on the deck could hear the clear sound of metal crushing flesh and teeth breaking, even Winters felt a bit frightened upon hearing it.


    Winters caught Bard''s eye, feeling his stomach churn, and he saw a flicker of fear in Bard''s eyes as well. No one wasn''t afraid of such a brutal person, even if he was one of their own.


    The crew of the Bandit Gull had long since sought quiet corners to hide, avoiding the bloody scene.


    The Rear Admiral said through clenched teeth, "What do you think you are? To negotiate terms with me?"


    Three blows were far from enough to satisfy the Rear Admiral''s anger, and he hammered down a fourth time, "When I ask something, you answer!"


    Gold, now unable to speak clearly, could only nod desperately.


    "Why didn''t you retreat upon seeing the naval flag?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Gold opened his mouth, blood mixed with saliva streamed out non-stop. Having been hit by Layton''s four vicious blows, his teeth and tongue were severely damaged, and it was impossible to understand what he was saying.


    Major Moritz couldn''t stand to watch and sighed, offering a solution, "General asks, you nod or shake your head, understood?"


    Gold nodded desperately again.


    "Listen carefully," Rear Admiral Layton paused, then asked the question lingering in everyone''s mind on the Bandit Gull, "Did you intentionally come after us?"


    Upon hearing the question, Gold nodded heavily.

 Chapter 42: Chapter 26 The Boat Song

    The sun was setting, and the Bandit Gull had unfurled its sails and resumed its journey.The sailors who had escaped death were happily singing songs, wiping the decks, and tending to the ropes, as if the bloody boarding battle just hours earlier had been an illusion.


    But the newly installed swivel gun at the stern castle''s top deck had not been removed.


    By the side of the swivel gun, Winters, Bard, and Andre sat on the deck, leaning against the railing, lost in thought.


    The excitement from their first battle had passed, and the rationale that had been clouded by bloodlust restored.


    Recalling the battle, other than a sense of pride, the three ensigns felt nothing but relief and confusion, as well as nausea induced by the gruesome memories of close combat where flesh was torn and viscera spilled.


    "Eh, I always feel like what we did wasn''t right," Bard sighed deeply. He did not specify what it was, but there was no misunderstanding between Winters and Andre.


    The last of the pirates who surrendered were unable to save their lives, as Major General Layton kept his promise, choosing not to kill anyone himself.


    Instead, he arranged for the ensign cadets, particularly those whose blades were not bloodied¡ªmeaning those who did not actually partake in the melee battle¡ªto do the deed.


    On a ship where space is limited and combat had not turned into a free-for-all, it was only the ensigns at the very front who had truly fought with the pirates; the majority of the rest could only cheer from behind.


    "If pirates survive to reach shore, they will be hanged anyway, so there isn''t much difference in the end," Winters felt wrong about killing prisoners too, but couldn''t deny that it was indeed a simple and effective solution: "I think on one hand, the major general really has a bit of a bloodthirsty streak, and on the other hand, this batch of pirates really was troublesome to deal with. The small ship Bandit Gull couldn''t contain so many people. What if they seized an opportunity to take over the Good Fortune? How would we handle that?


    "If they''re killed, they''re killed; what else can we do?" Andre yawned and stretched his arms, appearing very tired now.


    More time was spent discussing how to handle the prisoners and wrapping things up after the battle, compared to the enthusiasm the major general showed when he directly decided to engage in battle with the pirates.


    Interrogations of the pirates after the battle unearthed surprising intelligence: The Good Fortune hadn''t captured the Bandit Gull by mere chance; in fact, all the pirates in the inland sea were searching for a three-masted Vineta light warship


    that was rumored to be laden with gold and silver from the "Tanilia Archipelago Captains and Planters Union" intended as a bribe for the Sea Blue Republic''s governing committee.


    The Captains and Planters Union of the Tanilia Archipelago operated a noisy, guild-style democracy with a loose structure and weak authority. Nonetheless, it was undeniable that the captains and planters were the true owners of the Tanilia Islands.


    Piracy was rampant above the inland sea, and as Tanilia served as a laundering and supply point for pirates year-round, the relationship with the Sea Blue Republic was always extremely tense.


    The pirates didn''t know why the union wanted to bribe the Sea Blue governing committee, but they were convinced that at that very moment, a three-masted fast ship filled with Gold Coins and silver coins was sailing towards Sea Blue City.


    As for why the union would bribe the Sea Blue governing committee, the pirates had various contradictory theories; there was no accurate story. However, they were certain that such a treasure ship existed. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because it''s difficult to deduce the result from the reason, but to infer the reason from the result... isn''t it easy to find a convincing reason for yourself?


    Even up to their execution, the pirates on the Good Fortune were still convinced that the Bandit Gull was the treasure ship, and the ensigns were the soldiers guarding the transport.


    Guarding troops? Or guarding bribes? Winters, Bard, and Andre had never heard of any side task to transport gold and silver on their way home.


    Could it be a secret mission? Only Major General Layton and Colonel Moritz knew what was going on?


    At first, Winters believed this. But when he saw the expressions of the major general and colonel, Winters knew they were just as bewildered.


    But since the pirates spoke with such conviction, it seemed improbable that they were lying, which made the major general, colonel, and ensigns skeptical.


    So, the pressure came down on the portly captain. The portly captain was sweating profusely, swearing heaven and earth that he knew nothing of any treasure ship and there was no union bribery money aboard the Bandit Gull.


    Words were bondless, and oaths did nothing to dispel the suspicions. After all, there was only so much space aboard the Bandit Gull, and whether the pirates'' claims were true or false, a search would make everything clear.


    Therefore, the major general immediately ordered a search of the cargo, and the ensigns meticulously scoured the Bandit Gull, opening every box and bag in the cargo hold and knocking on each plank to ensure there were no hidden compartments.


    In the end, it was proven that the portly captain had told the truth; the ship''s cargo was nothing but sugar and tobacco.


    With this, the situation facing the Bandit Gull became clear: The pirates were convinced that a treasure ship was sailing from Taniria to Sea Blue City, and all the pirates across the inland sea were red-eyed trying to intercept it;


    There might well be such a ship, but it was definitely not the Bandit Gull¡ªthe Bandit Gull held not a single unclaimed Gold Coin; its cargo consisted only of ordinary sugar and tobacco;


    Unfortunately, the silhouette of the Bandit Gull resembled what the pirates thought the treasure ship looked like, or to be precise, the pirates believed the treasure ship to be a fast three-masted light ship of the same type as the Bandit Gull;

 Chapter 43: Chapter 26 Boat Song_2

    Bandit Gull couldn''t prove to the pirates that it wasn''t a treasure ship; surely they couldn''t just stop and let the pirates inspect, could they?That was the situation. Currently, Bandit Gull was a high-risk vessel on the inland sea. Usually, maybe a naval flag would be enough to guarantee safety, but now such a flag would definitely not scare the pirates away.


    It seemed the two army officials hadn''t even thought of immediately going ashore to let the officers disembark. And the corpulent captain also hoped the army officers would stay on board to protect Bandit Gull, so he deliberately didn''t suggest this plan.


    Therefore, Major General Layton, Major Moritz, and the corpulent captain unanimously agreed that Bandit Gull must not head directly for Sea Blue City now, and needed to quickly leave the main route, taking rarely traversed waters as a detour back to Sea Blue City.


    Besides that, they could only pray urgently for a strong wind at sea.


    Perhaps the devout prayers of the sailors took effect; by dusk, the previously frail sea breeze began to gradually strengthen.


    Bandit Gull, filled with wind power, resumed its course through the waves at a speed of eight knots.


    "I think the Major General''s idea is correct. In the current situation, the pirates are like dogs that have caught a scent. Even if we were made of iron, we couldn''t withstand another two close-quarters battles. Speeding back to Sea Blue City is the top priority," Andre said nonchalantly. He was now simply lying on the deck, seemingly intending to take a nap.


    "The oarsmen are innocents, we can''t just slaughter them indiscriminately, can we?" Bard clearly disagreed with Major General Layton''s solution.


    There was no disagreement over the order to change course; what really sparked debate was the method of dealing with the Good Fortune.


    Major General Layton''s solution was to kill all the surviving pirates, throw their bodies into the sea, scuttle the pirate ship directly, and have Bandit Gull return to Sea Blue City at full speed.


    The problem was that Major General Layton didn''t distinguish between coerced oarsmen and pirates; he deemed every living person on the pirate ship as a pirate, all deserving death.


    But Major Moritz, for the first time, raised an objection to the high command. In his view, the oarsmen were in a coerced position, essentially innocent sailors who had been captured and enslaved by the pirates. Killing these non-pirate sailors would be a too shocking act and would damage the army''s reputation.


    "Hmph," Andre sneered, clearly unimpressed by the notion of innocents, "Who''s innocent? Wasn''t it their rowing that allowed Bandit Gull to be caught up to? And didn''t you suffer at the hands of those oarsmen?"


    Bard was momentarily at a loss for words, unaware of what "Stockholm Syndrome" was. Indeed, three oarsmen had attacked him, and he couldn''t think of a reasonable defense for those oarsmen who had been incited by the pirates to attack him.


    Winters, listening to the exchange, thought again of the rotten smell in the cabin, the emaciated bodies of the oarsmen, and their desperate eyes, and couldn''t help but sigh, "I think that the oarsmen didn''t really want to help the pirates."


    "Then what did they want?" Andre had little patience for this kind of pity for the enemy.


    "They just wanted to die outright."


    This response left Andre momentarily speechless. He scratched his head, his lips parted several times without making a sound, before he returned to his indifferent demeanor, "Don''t think too much about it. If they dare to fight against us, they deserve to die if they''re killed. We''re just a few low-level military officers¡ªnot even officers, just officer cadets. We have no power, and haha, no responsibility either. We just do whatever the top brass tells us to do. They''ll shoulder the sky if it falls."


    Winters thought perhaps it was this kind of mentality that allowed one to sleep well every night, he replied with a bitter smile, "That''s right, just consider yourself a tool."


    Major General Layton''s solution was only half implemented. The surrendering pirates were all slaughtered, the non-surrenderers were finished with a knife, and their bodies were all tossed into the sea as food for the fish. They spared the pirate captain half his life because the Major General wanted to bring him back to Sea Blue for further interrogation. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The oarsmen were not treated as pirates and executed, which was the result of Major Moritz''s ardent negotiations.


    The Good Fortune was not scuttled, which was the result of the corpulent captain''s insistent efforts.


    We still do not know the name of Bandit Gull''s corpulent captain, but he was no longer aboard Bandit Gull. Now, Bandit Gull''s acting captain was its former first mate, and the corpulent captain had taken over the role of Captain on the Good Fortune Gold, leading a few sailors aboard as its new captain.


    As the corpulent captain had said, at sea¡ªat least on the inland sea¡ªthe most valuable thing wasn''t cargo, but the ship itself.


    Major General Layton wanted to scuttle Good Fortune, and Major Moritz actually didn''t have strong feelings about it. They were both army officers, not familiar with the value or caring for such a decrepit ship.


    But upon hearing Major General Layton''s intent to scuttle Good Fortune, the corpulent captain firmly disagreed and, for the first time, displayed remarkable assertiveness in front of the Major General by slamming the table and glaring.


    The corpulent captain then explained the situation to the two landlubber army officers, counting on his fingers:


    First, although Good Fortune was somewhat old, it was a solid, functional, and sturdy vessel.


    Second, even though Good Fortune was an old-style galley, most ships on the inland sea were of this type; despite having fallen into the hands of pirates, it would be a good merchant vessel again with some repairs after returning to port.


    In short, Good Fortune could fetch a good sum of money! Scuttling it would be a sheer waste. This ship was now legitimate war booty, with ownership belonging to the army officers. Wouldn''t it be nice to sell it and share the proceeds?

 Chapter 44: Chapter 26 Boat Song_3

    Here, the portly captain cunningly omitted any specific price he could sell for, only using vague quantifiers like "a lot" to describe it.The portly captain also persuaded Major General Layton and Major Moritz from another angle:


    On the Misfortune, there are more than thirty rowers. If we scuttle the Misfortune, what happens to these rowers? Where do we put them?


    The Bandit Gull currently has about fifty people on board and is already overburdened. There really isn''t any more room to accommodate over thirty rowers.


    "To scuttle the Misfortune, it would be tantamount to killing this group of rowers; if we don''t kill this group of rowers, then we can''t scuttle the Bandit Gull." Through this chain of logic, the portly captain successfully tethered Major Moritz onto his chariot.


    The ship couldn''t be scuttled; to scuttle it, they would have to kill the portly captain first.


    But, how to bring the Misfortune back to port became a new problem.


    All the pirates are dead, so there is nobody left on the Misfortune to handle the sails and helm.


    Leave a few pirates as crew members? Major General Layton won''t agree, and neither does the portly captain dare to.


    Release the rowers to serve as crew? The portly captain firmly disagrees too, arguing: How can one know these rowers won''t harbor ill will? These rowers, influenced by pirates aboard the pirate ships, may well harbor bad intentions, seize the ship, and sell it themselves. Wouldn''t everyone on the Bandit Gull have worked for nothing?


    This is a trust crisis created by the unique survival environment at sea. On the open ocean, there are no communications, no laws, no supervision. Only this ship exists between heaven and earth, and what happens aboard is unknown to outsiders, unreachable by their whips.


    The portly captain didn''t even dare to let his first mate take a few sailors over to the Misfortune to bring the ship back to port. Because one can''t see into another''s heart, who knows if this seemingly honest first mate might harbor some evil intention? If this first mate developed wicked thoughts, tomorrow the inland sea might be home to a new pirate ship named "Misfortune."


    Eventually, the portly captain had a stroke of genius, proposing a brilliant solution:


    He, along with half the sailors from the Bandit Gull, would go aboard the Misfortune. This way, they could just about manage to operate the ship;


    The rowers on the Misfortune wouldn''t be set free right away, but tied down in the cabin as before to prevent them from getting any ideas about seizing the ship and also because their services as rowers were still needed. Once in port, they would fetch a magistrate to release the rowers and let them disembark;


    The first mate of the Bandit Gull, now acting as captain, would choose a few healthy-looking sailors from the Misfortune''s rowers to fill the crew shortfall on the Bandit Gull, so that it too could function normally. With over thirty naval officers on board the Bandit Gull, any trouble could be easily suppressed. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the eyes of Major General Layton and Major Moritz, this was a pretty good solution. The only drawback was that the crew on the Misfortune was too few; if the portly captain encountered pirates on the way back to port, they could end up... handing it over for nothing.


    However, the money-hungry portly captain had already decided to take that risk, and considering the attraction of the Bandit Gull to the inland sea pirates, it''s hard to say which ship was actually more dangerous at this point.


    Taking half of the Bandit Gull''s sailors and a letter detailing the Misfortune''s full story, signed and sealed by Major General Layton and Major Moritz, the portly captain excitedly boarded the Misfortune, and the two ships went their separate ways.


    Now, what Winters, Bard, and Andre heard was a chorus between the new and old sailors.


    Andre had been quiet for a while, obviously having fallen asleep.


    Bard''s mind seemed to be preoccupied with many thoughts. He furrowed his brow and said to Winters, "I always feel like something is... odd, every event is baffling. Guidao City sees a few fires every year, yet this time specifically the armory caught fire and it was massive; every year people head overseas, yet this year not a single overseas assignment; and this so-called treasure transport ship¡ªtreasure transport? Do you believe that? Something we don''t know about is definitely happening in the world."


    "Hey, why overthink it? I''m the one who ended up unable to use magic," said Winters. He understood Bard''s anxiety, but believed they should take things as they come: "Even if some earth-shattering change is happening, we can only be swept along by the current. Andre is right, we''re just three junior officers; let''s just focus on being tools, and let those with higher ranks brace for the sky''s fall."


    The first mate of the Bandit Gull¡ªoh, no, now the captain¡ªclimbed up to the poop deck. He was there to deliver some liquor to the three junior naval officers, clearly thrilled even by the temporary assumption of the captain''s duties.


    "Drink up, esteemed officers, drink up. I saw you jump to help today; you''re all exceptionally brave warriors. Even among seafarers who make their living on the ocean, it''s hard to find a few as gallant as you. This round is on me," he said.


    Winters accepted the bottle with a smile and casually asked, "What song are the sailors singing? It''s pleasant to the ear, but I can''t understand with their thick accents."


    The acting captain laughed sheepishly: "Some call these ship songs, but they''re really just vulgar sailor tunes, mostly about women and drink."


    "I think these songs are naturally plain and simple. What''s wrong with talking about women and drink? Aren''t songs supposed to express emotions? It''s a pity I can''t understand what they''re singing about..."


    "Would you like me to sing it for you in the Vineta accent?"


    "That would be wonderful!"


    The first mate cleared his throat and joined the sailors in their song. His voice was rough and unrestrained, but the lyrics he belted out were laced with an unspoken sadness:


    "Farewell forever, maidens of the isles.


    Farewell forever, beauties of the isles.


    For we are bound for old Vineta.


    Never again will we see ones as fair as you.


    We roar and laugh wildly, true sailors of Vineta.


    We roar and laugh, amid the briny waves.


    Until we''ve sailed the length of Senas Bay,


    From the isles to Sea Blue, a full two hundred leagues.


    ...


    Fill up the glass, drink it all down.


    Fill up the glass, drain it to the dregs.


    We drown our melancholy in alcohol.


    Here''s to the health of every lovesick soul, let''s drink it to the last.


    ..."


    Amidst the sailors'' singing, Winters grew closer to Sea Blue, where he would obtain his military rank and officially become a probationary officer.


    He wasn''t entirely a novice, but that was just the most basic education. Much, much more remained for him to learn through practical experience.

 Chapter 45: Chapter 27 Close at Hand

    Luck is relative. The luck of other pirates on the Inner Sea seemed not so good after all, not every pirate had Gold''s good fortune, or it could be said the Goddess of Luck once again sided with the Bandit Gull.In the following voyage, the Bandit Gull, having avoided the main shipping routes, only encountered a few sporadic unfamiliar vessels.


    But with strong winds at sea and sails fully spread, the Bandit Gull swiftly sped along, leaving those unfamiliar ships with only a glimpse of her masts before falling far behind.


    Just like the boastful fat captain proudly claimed, "This is the best clipper on the Inner Sea."


    However, the Bandit Gull''s detour added three days to its journey, leaving the unprepared Major Moritz, who lacked flexibility in his provisions, to run out of his stock of alcohol.


    The warrant officers watched as the once gentlemanly major''s lips grew increasingly chapped and cracked, and his temper became more and more irritable, even his mental state began to become abnormal.


    The major was either stumbling and banging about on the ship every day, or pacing back and forth on the deck in the middle of the night with a "thump thump thump," causing all the warrant officers to suffer insomnia with him.


    Who isn''t afraid of mental illness? Even Major General Layton began to intentionally avoid Major Moritz, leaving the warrant officers under even greater pressure.


    But fortunately, they finally arrived safely at Sea Blue City, and upon seeing the landmark lighthouse of Sea Blue Port, the warrant officers couldn''t help but shed tears of relief.


    Their reasons were not just the excitement of returning home, but more so the "small fortune" of finally being able to get away from the severe alcoholic, Major Moritz.


    The closer they got to Sea Blue Port, the more Winters could feel the prosperity of this, the largest port of the Alliance.


    In the last stretch of the shipping route, the Bandit Gull could no longer intentionally avoid other vessels even if it wanted to. With Sea Blue Port as the center, the routes of hundreds of ships formed a fan shape, all heading to or just leaving the harbor.


    Winters even saw a true warship patrolling the nearby seas, a substantial behemoth. Compared to the towering superstructure and enormous hull of the other vessel, the Bandit Gull was simply a child.


    However, to the surprise of the warrant officers, the Bandit Gull did not proceed directly into the harbor but instead anchored on the open sea outside the port.


    The acting captain was immediately surrounded by warrant officers eager to get home.


    "The gentlemen officers must understand that a major port like Sea Blue Port does not allow small merchant ships like ours to dock at will," the acting captain said with a wry smile, explaining the maritime rules to the land army as he wiped the spray from his face. "Sea Blue Port hasn''t been expanded for over a decade, there is a shortage of berths, and merchant ships must wait at the outer anchorage and queue to enter the port. We''ll anchor here, and soon a customs official will come by boat to inspect the cargo. If the gentlemen officers are in a hurry to go home, you can ask the customs tax collector if they can make arrangements for you to take their boat ashore."


    But the warrant officers soon fell back into disappointment when they realized the "customs boat" the acting captain mentioned was really a "small boat."


    This small boat was hardly bigger than a canoe, about the width of two people and less than three meters long. The boat was packed full with two tax collectors and two rowers, and at most, one more person could squeeze in.


    Watching the small boat bob up and down with the waves, Winters truly worried that the next second, the customs officials'' boat would flip over.


    "Is the first mate playing with us?" Andre was almost driven mad with anger: "They expect us to take this tiny boat home? I''d rather swim back!" S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Can you swim?" Bard asked nonchalantly.


    Andre instantly fell silent and after a long pause, he replied awkwardly, "No."


    But not one to concede, he shot back at Bard, "Can you swim then?"


    "I can," Bard replied calmly.


    "What are you bragging about?" Andre burst out angrily: "When did the military academy teach swimming? The largest pool there is the practice room''s bathtub. Don''t tell me you learned it at the Monastery?"


    "Monks do not teach swimming, nor do they swim," Bard said with a smile: "But monks like to eat fish, and the Monastery has its own fish pond."


    Whether in the Orthodox or Catholic traditions, fish hold a special religious status. During the Ancient Empire era, when the Western Church was still an underground organization intermittently subjected to persecution, it used the symbol of fish and wine cup as a secret sign. So Bard wasn''t just bluffing Andre offhandedly.


    "Even if you can swim, it''s not possible to swim back, the distance to the shore is not short," Winters quickly interjected to end the debate on swimming skills: "Actually, doesn''t the Bandit Gull have a small boat?"


    "Where?" Andre instantly perked up.


    "Hanging right behind the sterncastle."


    At the news, Andre ran towards the sterncastle with a surge of excitement, and Winters and Bard reluctantly followed.


    But upon seeing the boat, Andre couldn''t help but be greatly disappointed again, for the Bandit Gull''s small boat was even smaller than the customs'' boat.


    The customs boat could maybe fit five people with some effort, but the Bandit Gull''s was like an oversized bathtub; it looked like if three people got on, there wouldn''t be any room left to stand.


    "This boat is even worse than the customs one," Bard said with a rueful smile.


    Yet Andre began muttering calculations: "It can fit three people at once, including the two officers we have thirty-six, thirty-six divided by three is twelve."


    He slapped his thigh excitedly: "Twelve trips back and forth would get all of us ashore, actually not that troublesome. It won''t take much time!"

 Chapter 46: Chapter 27 Nearly Within Reach_2

    Winters was about to be driven to tears by the foolishness of his dear classmate Andrea Cherini. He finally understood how Major Moritz felt a few days ago during the boarding combat, when he saw him and a few gunnery sergeants huffing and puffing as they moved the cannons.He and Bard exchanged a grave look, confirming that they both realized Andre''s intelligence was beyond saving. "Think about it. Three people need to get ashore, and one has to row the boat back. That''s just two people ferried ashore per trip. Consider the longer return trip with only one person rowing, and it''s likely we won''t all be ashore by tomorrow."


    "Yeah, we might as well wait to enter the port. We''ve got luggage too, and if we load that, this little boat can only carry two people." Bard was always thorough in his considerations, adding the luggage Winters had overlooked. "Didn''t the new captain say so? The wait won''t be long, we should be docking by tomorrow at the latest." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Andre clearly wasn''t listening to the latter part. He was incorporating the elements of "luggage weight" and "rowing back alone" into his primitive mathematical model and was lost in thought over a new plan.


    By now, two customs taxation officers had boarded the ship. They wore wide-brimmed hard hats and were draped in black leather armor, its vulnerable parts reinforced with thin iron plates, and chainmail protecting the joints.


    The two tax officers were tall and rugged, with swords hanging from their belts. From their appearance, they seemed less like customs officials from Vineta and more like a band of thieves or mercenaries.


    Had it not been for one of them holding a ledger, Winters might have mistaken them for mere bodyguards of the tax officers.


    "Is this what customs tax officers look like? Why do they seem tougher than pirates?" Winters said to Bard in surprise. He sized up the two tax officers and felt that even in one-on-one combat, he couldn''t guarantee victory.


    Bard laughed softly, leaning relaxed against the ship''s rail, and replied, "Since ancient times, tax collectors have had a more dangerous job than being a soldier. The emperor was gone by the time I was born, but I''ve always heard rumors of United Provincials tax officials found dead in the wilderness."


    "Is your hometown that wild?" Winters laughed heartily. As someone raised in the city, he had never heard of merchants or craftsmen rebelling over taxes to the point of death¡ªexcluding sovereign wars, since sheriffs and city guards could handle any citizens who didn''t want to pay taxes.


    "The Federated Provinces Republic was founded by city militias, so the government''s control over rural areas isn''t strong, and they lack interest in the countryside," Bard said, still with a slight smile on his face.


    As someone who grew up in the countryside, attended a military academy in the city, and was well-educated, Bard''s understanding of the political system of the United Provincials was far deeper than Winters''. "For citizens, the Alliance forces broke the emperor''s shackles, allowing cities to develop freely. But in rural areas, the Federated Provinces Republic inherited all the rights of the old nobility¡ªwhat was there before, remains. So for ordinary farmers like my parents, it''s just a change of emperor."


    "It''s still different," Winters instinctively wanted to argue upon hearing his friend seemingly criticize the Alliance Country. To him, the Alliance, the militia alliance army, stood for Marshal Ned, General Antoine Laurent, and was not to be tarnished. But he didn''t understand politics and couldn''t immediately think of any counterargument.


    "Hahaha, indeed, it''s somewhat different," Bard said, seeing that Winters was struggling to find a difference. He began to counter his own point, "After all, the Republic did abolish demeaning noble privileges like the marriage tax, so it''s not without progress. But when it comes to economic rights, the government is uncompromising."


    "Right, there are changes," Winters said, his typically optimistic nature shining through. Being naively unaware of what a "marriage tax" was, he added, "Any progress is a good thing, right? What ever happens overnight?"


    Hearing the tax officers had boarded, the acting captain of the Bandit Gull hurried out of the cabin, trying his best to imitate his old leader, scurrying forward with a bowed back and shuffling steps to greet the two customs officers.


    "What''s being carried on this ship?" one of the tax officers asked curtly, holding the ledger. He had seen too many such sycophantic performances to be affected by them anymore.


    "Tobacco, and sugar," the acting captain answered, while stuffing packets and parcels into the tax officer''s arms. "Try our fine tobacco, and the sugar, white like clouds. Have a taste."


    "What are you doing? Trying to bribe me?" the tax officer snapped, not accepting the items offered. He thought to himself how clueless this man was, offering a bribe in full public view.


    His demeanor grew even worse, "You dare try to bribe a tax officer, want to lose your hand? Don''t pull this useless stunt! Take me to review the cargo. You do know the tax rates, right?"


    Scared sweat poured from the acting captain at the tax officer''s words. Bribery of an officer was legally punishable by amputation of the right hand, but the portly captain had done this every time, and his chubby hand still intact, had something gone wrong on his end? Hearing the tax officer inquire about the rates, he answered hurriedly, "Yes, yes, I know."


    "Sea Blue Port doesn''t take goods in kind, you understand?"


    "Yes, yes."


    "Take me to check the cargo."

 Chapter 47: Chapter 27: Within Reach_3

    "Alright, alright.""Why are there so many people on the ship?"


    "They are His Excellency''s army officers, riding our ship back from Gui Tu City." The acting captain added, "They''re from our Sea Blue Army."


    "Oh?" The tax collector raised an eyebrow, scrutinzing the deck where groups of warrant officers were scattered about. The warrant officers were all dressed in military academy uniforms, looking vigorous and spirited, and didn''t look like slaves no matter how one looked at them.


    The tax collector came to a conclusion in his heart, knowing these people were not slaves, but still sneered at the acting captain, "If you dare to traffic humans, you''re as good as dead, do you understand?"


    "Understand, understand," the acting captain hurriedly nodded. The laws of the member states of the Alliance varied, and attitudes towards slavery were different as well. But in the Sea Blue Republic, bribing a public officer only cost you a hand, while human trafficking cost you your head.


    "Take me to check the cargo."


    "Alright, alright."


    The acting captain of the Bandit Gull led the two tax collectors down into the ship''s hold. This original first mate, an old sailor of more than a dozen years at sea, was still going to suffer a social beating due to his lack of social experience.


    What awaited the Bandit Gull was to be a strict and thorough inspection. I wonder if the portly captain still adrift at sea would suddenly feel a pang in his chest?


    "Hey! I''ve got it!" Andre suddenly shouted excitedly, dancing around and explaining his latest mathematical theory to Winters and Bard, "I''ve figured out how to get us all ashore the fastest using this small boat. First, send three people ashore, then have it come back and only carry a cargo each time, cycling back and forth.


    Use only one person to row each time, and make sure each person rows only once, so that everyone has enough energy.


    "With only twenty-seven trips, we could get all of us and our luggage ashore..."


    So, this gentleman had been silent all this time just to ponder over his own mathematical theory.


    Winters and Bard exchanged another pained look, and Winters suddenly felt a phantom limb pain flare up, causing him to sigh deeply as he supported his forehead.


    Bard, with deep seriousness, said to Andre, "I never would have thought you such a mathematical genius. There''s a problem I''ve never been able to figure out, and I must ask for your instruction. An old man had to cross a river with a wolf, a sheep, and a basket of turnips. The boat was too small, so he could only carry one thing at a time. The wolf wanted to eat the sheep, the sheep the turnips; how could the old man get all three across the river unharmed?"


    A painful sigh escaped from the deepest part of Winters'' chest, feeling his phantom limb pain intensify.


    Later on, the tax collector counted the goods, collected the money, left a receipt, and then went to inspect other ships in a small boat.


    The Bandit Gull anchored overnight outside Sea Blue Port, waiting to enter the port the next day.


    Major Moritz, a severe alcoholic, continued his sighing and circling on the open deck.


    Winters lay on the deck, unable to sleep as he tossed and turned. Just a few kilometers away lay his homeland, which he had longed for day and night. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not far from Winters, Bard seemed to be sleeping sweetly.


    Winters suddenly realized that he was finally returning home, but Bard was leaving his homeland; he must be feeling uneasy as well.


    The night passed without a word.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line between leaving home and returning to it¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    If there are any recommendation votes, could you please cast them for me? Thank you.


    Assuming the luggage of two people equals the weight of one person, and the boat''s maximum load is three people, and there are thirty-six people in all. Can it be guaranteed that each time only one person rows and each person only rows one one-way trip, that twenty-seven round trips can get everyone ashore?


    Actually, it can''t.

 Chapter 48: Chapter 28 The Dock

    Winters wasn''t sure if it was because they had offended the tax collector, but the Bandit Gull had to wait at the anchorage for one evening and the following morning; it wasn''t until the sun was well into the west the next day that they were finally allowed to enter the harbor.When the pier was within sight, Winters began to reorganize his gear. Only then did he understand why Instructor Narl had said that people no longer used the Longsword, opting instead for more portable weapons.


    That was because compared to the sabers worn by Major Layton and Major Moritz, the Longsword used at the military academy was just too "long."


    Winters tried to figure it out a few times. Attached to his belt? The bare scabbard didn''t look very appealing.


    Slanted on his belt? The scabbard easily scraped the ground, and it was uncomfortable to have a 1.3-meter iron bar strung around the waist.


    On his back? He wasn''t the silver-haired, scar-faced witch hunter of legend, and it felt strange; he had never seen anyone carry a sword that way.


    In his hand? It probably looked a lot like he was a thug about to get into a brawl with someone.


    After much consideration, hanging it from a horse might be more convenient.


    The sabers of the major and colonel were one-handed swords, about the size of an arming sword, and could be easily hung from the belt.


    Compared to Winters''s Longsword, their sabers were shorter, lighter, and more ornate. He wasn''t sure about their effectiveness in actual combat, but in terms of portability and aesthetic value, they made Winters''s Longsword look absolutely outdated.


    Winters glanced at Bard and Andre, and suddenly smiled. He laughed at himself for being fearful as he neared home, too nervous from the thought of returning that he became clumsy.


    Having realized this, he stopped fussing over how to wear the Longsword in the most dashing way and instead tied it together with his luggage, carrying it by hand as he stepped onto the deck.


    The Bandit Gull was very close to an available mooring spot. Sea Blue Port was filled with ships, and one careless move could lead to a collision.


    Consequently, the sails of the Bandit Gull had been retracted, and the sailors were using long poles to cautiously prevent hitting other vessels. Discover more stories at §Þ??


    When they felt they were close enough, the acting captain picked up the task of the first mate again, grabbed the rope and threw it with all his might toward the wharf''s mooring spot. The dockworkers who had been waiting there deftly caught the hawser and tied it to the pilings.


    The sailors on the ship then shouted in unison and pushed with force, while a few others with long poles helped to steadily dock the ship at its berth.


    The sailors began to place planks between the dock and the ship''s side. Just as Winters was about to disembark, he was called out by the major by name.


    Winters keenly noticed the major''s unconscious habit of playing with coins was gone, and even his hands were trembling slightly. Clearly, the combination of alcohol withdrawal and dehydration was tormenting him.


    Even the major''s voice sounded a bit hoarse as he listlessly told Winters, "After you disembark, take your classmates and form up first. Don''t disperse right away. Report to the military headquarters first, and then you can go home."


    Winters accepted the order, saluted and turned around to disembark the ship. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was a bit puzzled as to why the major called him out. Could it be just because he had shared a drink with him and looked familiar?


    On the pier, the acting captain was exchanging bills with the port''s customs officer.


    As a commercial republic, customs was an important source of revenue for Sea Blue, and successive executive committees placed great emphasis on customs infrastructure.


    In Sea Blue, tax collectors would board the cargo ships before they entered the port to inspect the goods and are responsible for collecting the duty. A set of three identical bills was issued: the tax collector took one copy, while the merchant ship kept two as proof of duty payment and port entry permit.


    After entering the port, the customs staff at the dock would check the goods again and take one of the bills left by the tax collector for reconciliation and inspection. Only after the inspection was confirmed to be correct could the merchant ship begin unloading its cargo.


    This simple and effective system curbed corruption within the customs to some extent and was considered a model of efficient administration in that era.


    After a long walk down the wharf and finally stepping onto solid ground, Winters suddenly felt out of sorts.


    Right after regaining consciousness, Winters nearly vomited his stomach out because of seasickness. But once he had gotten used to the constant rocking of the Bandit Gull, stepping onto dry land actually made him feel seasick again.


    Despite the solid ground under his feet, Winters felt like he was treading on air, swaying uncontrollably.


    However, this feeling wasn''t too intense. Winters gathered his spirits, looked up, and scanned the Sea Blue Port dock, scanning his familiar yet strange homeland.


    Sea Blue had some subtle differences from his memories, but its spirit was the same¡ªbusy, bustling, and crowded with people.


    Everyone was busy with their own affairs, walking their own paths, and no one noticed or cared that a junior military officer who had been away from home for years had returned to his hometown.


    A hand landed on Winters''s shoulder. Bard said with a smile, "Is this the Alliance''s premier port? It does seem more vibrant than Guidao City."


    "Ah, Lord Bard!" Winters placed his hand over his heart and made an exaggerated bow, then waved toward the bustling crowd on the wharf, smiling at Bard, "Welcome to the heart of the esteemed Republic of Vineta, the gem upon the Inner Sea, the city of commerce, the city of wealth¡ªSea Blue!"


    Bard played along with the exaggerated gesture, jokingly saying to Winters, "But why have I heard that Sea Blue is the city of masks, conspiracies, assassinations, and secret societies? Aren''t assassins the most famous thing about Vineta?"

 Chapter 49: Chapter 28 Dock_2

    "Hey, that''s all in the past," Winters''s old face reddened, and he didn''t retort because Bard was right.Venetians are impetuous like fire, treating life and death lightly and pursuing revenge seriously. Besides their custom of wearing swords and masks, they also have a tradition of secret societies.


    Outsiders don''t understand these customs, but Venetians feel no shame in them; they take pride in these practices. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Winters had lived in The Federated Provinces for six years, so he also felt that the Venetian culture of masks, poisons, and daggers wasn''t very friendly.


    He waved his hands repeatedly and explained to Bard, "That all happened during the Imperial Era, and besides, we Venetians assassinated only the imperialists and the old nobility, those assassins were heroes of The Alliance."


    Thirty years ago, before the church had its second schism, the brutal suppression of heretics provoked the resistance of the Venetians.


    Under their cloaks, Venetians with poisoned daggers roamed the streets and alleys of Sea Blue, assassinating church clergy on the street. With large numbers of clergymen lying dead on the streets, the remaining bishops and judges, shivering in their fortresses, dared not take a step outside.


    When the noble faction and the militia forces within The Alliance split, the Venetians eagerly assassinated a large number of bay aristocrats. The Duke at the front of the mountain was the last legitimate heir outside of the faux-royal family, assassinated by a Venetian assassin with a single sword strike, directly causing the extinction of the Forthland family, even its sidestreams.


    "Is it in the past? Then why do I still see people on the streets wearing masks?" Bard''s eyes curved into crescents as he pointed and said, "Look, over there by the carriage, those people are all wearing masks."


    Winters followed Bard''s pointing and looked over, two black four-wheeled carriages were parked on the cobblestone path by the dock. The carriages, painted black with white wooden trim, were completely enclosed. Small windows on the carriages, curtained, concealed whoever sat inside.


    Standing by the carriage were four individuals wearing black tricorn hats and cloaks, their faces covered with white fool''s masks. These masks provided full coverage, with only the lower part arching upward slightly, resembling a bird''s beak.


    Known for their wealth and extravagance, Venetians consider opulence in both attire and possessions as beautiful. Although these four individuals and two carriages by the dock seemed simple, they stood out starkly against the flashy crowd and other carriages, drawing attention whether one wanted to notice or not.


    "Not everyone wearing a mask is an assassin, wearing a mask is just a custom. You wouldn''t understand, right? Even the ugliest men and women gain some beauty with a mask. Haven''t you seen the carnival? At that time, everyone in the city wears a mask," Winters carefully observed these cloaked figures but couldn''t determine why they were there: "They are probably just servants from some wealthy household here to pick someone up from the dock."


    "Shouldn''t servants be wearing liveries?" Bard, now intrigued, questioned.


    Before Winters could respond, a rough voice barged into their conversation: "What''s it to you? Maybe someone likes to use these outfits as liveries for their servants."


    Without even looking, Winters knew from the gravelly voice that it was Andre. Andre was seen lugging two large suitcases in his hands, both evidently heavy, as he was dripping with sweat from just a short walk down from the ship.


    "Whoa! How much stuff did you bring back?" Winters was startled by Andre''s luggage.


    Andre spoke breathlessly, "I brought back everything!"


    The sound of metal clashing was heard as Andre placed his luggage on the ground, leaving Winters wondering what it contained.


    "Don''t you still have to make another trip? Wouldn''t it be better to split it in two?" Winters was bemused by Andre''s stubbornness and recalled the task given by the Major. He then said to Andre and Bard, "Tell those who have already got off to not disband. Wait here in line for the Major. I''m going to the dock exit."


    Bard nodded, and Winters, carrying his baggage, walked to where the dock''s pier met solid ground, conveying the Major''s orders to every classmate disembarking the ship.


    The dock was bustling with merchants, sailors, travelers, and many laborers. A burly porter in short attire passed by Winters, who suddenly felt a strong sense of familiarity with the man''s figure and remembered who it was. He shouted toward the figure, "Benwei? Benvenuto?"


    The porter turned around in confusion, then was also swept into joy, rushing over and laughing as he embraced Winters.


    Benvenuto was Winters''s good friend from the Sea Blue branch of the Army Cadet School. After graduating, Benwei did not continue his education, whereas Winters went to a preparatory school in The Federated Provinces. They occasionally corresponded, but it had been a full six years since they had seen each other.


    "Look at you! A real officer now!" Benwei, with tears in his eyes, punched Winters''s chest hard.


    Your next chapter awaits on §Þ??


    Winters also laughed heartily and punched back: "You''ve gotten taller and stronger, how''s your family doing now?"


    "They''re doing well! My mother still talks about you all the time!"


    The two old friends, who hadn''t seen each other for years, had so much to catch up on that a few words couldn''t suffice; they quickly exchanged updates on their lives. Not far away, Benwei''s workmate was urging him to get back to work, so he had to leave.


    "Your family hasn''t moved, right?" Benwei asked reluctantly as he departed.

 Chapter 50: Chapter 28 Wharf_3

    Winters hurriedly shook his head, "No, it didn''t move, and your house didn''t move either, right?""It didn''t move either. I''m heading back to work first, and after I get off work this evening, I''ll come find you!"


    "It''s a deal!"


    After a brief conversation, the two separated again. Winters had never expected that he would run into an old friend and classmate on the docks just after returning to Sea Blue.


    As he was reflecting on the notion that life has encounters everywhere, the four passengers from the Bandit Gull also disembarked and headed toward Winters from the jetty.


    As they passed by Winters, one of the passengers adjusted his hat and nodded at Winters with a smile.


    Having fought pirates together before, although Winters didn''t know who these four passengers were, they shared a camaraderie as comrades-in-arms, prompting him to return the nod with a smile.


    Winters watched the four passengers walk off the jetty and head straight through the bustling crowds on the docks towards two black carriages.


    He immediately looked at Bard and realized Bard was also watching him; evidently, Bard had noticed the passengers too. They exchanged a grin, surprised that the passengers being picked up by the two black carriages were the four from the Bandit Gull.


    Winters'' gaze returned to the passengers, but what he saw next made him gasp.


    One of the passengers seemed to be embraced by a person in a black cloak, yet Winters clearly saw a blade, covered in blood, piercing through the passenger''s back, subtly trembling in the sunlight.


    In the next moment, the person in the black cloak began dueling with the passenger. A sharp scream from a woman pierced everyone''s ears, and the brutal fight unfolding on the docks was noticed by the pedestrians.


    Among the remaining three passengers, one was fighting desperately to prevent the black-cloaked individuals from advancing, while another guarded a more distinguished-looking passenger fleeing back towards the Bandit Gull, who was calling for help repeatedly.


    Seeing all of this unfold, Winters subconsciously decided he had to do something because he couldn''t stand by and watch these "comrades" get slaughtered in broad daylight.


    With no other weapon at hand, he drew his blunt training sword and charged forward.


    The incident occurred in the blink of an eye, and the warrant officers were still trying to comprehend what was happening, staring blankly as two black-cloaked individuals chased two passengers with swords drawn.


    The passenger who looked like a bodyguard, realizing he couldn''t escape, turned around to fight, trying to stop the two black-cloaked individuals.


    When that bodyguard stopped, one of the black-cloaked individuals also stopped and pulled out a particularly short musket from within his cloak. Without seeing him laboriously attach a slow match, Winters just saw him point the musket at the bodyguard and fire it directly.


    A flash of red light, followed by a puff of white smoke, and the sound of gunfire resounded through the entire dock. If people were still unclear about what was happening, that gunshot plunged all the dock''s bystanders into chaos.


    Although Winters had no idea how the man in the black cloak fired the musket without lighting it, he knew at such a short distance there was no chance the shot would miss; the bodyguard was undoubtedly doomed.


    However, contrary to expectations, the bodyguard who was hit by the musket at close range not only didn''t die but thrust his sword towards the black-cloaked individual as if he hadn''t been shot at all.


    The more distinguished elderly passenger was shouting for help and scrambling towards the Bandit Gull, and Winters brushed past him to meet another black-cloaked individual head-on.


    With no time to think, Winters instinctively swung his sword with all his might using the furious style. It was Winters'' most powerful strike, and even with a blunt Longsword, he could shatter bones. The opponent would have to dodge if he didn''t want to die. Experience tales at §Þ??


    Yet, the other''s single-handed sword somehow circumvented the Longsword with agility that was impossible for a Longsword, plunging straight into Winters'' chest like a venomous snake.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the inconveniently carried dividing line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    D¨¹rer''s "Knight, Death, and the Devil" illustrates how soldiers of the era carried their weapons. The Knight in the painting has a two-handed Longsword slung diagonally across his waist. Interested readers may wish to seek it out for appreciation. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 51: Chapter 29 Assassination

    Winters had never seen such a flexible one-handed sword before.Compared to common one-handed arming swords, the longsword''s blade could already be considered slender.


    Yet the one-handed sword in the robed figure''s hands was even more delicate than the blade of the longsword, and despite being a one-handed sword, its length was no shorter than the two-handed sword Winters wielded.


    How could something so long be so flexible? It was utterly baffling.


    Fortunately, this wasn''t a competition; there were no points to score.


    The Winters of old believed that swordsmanship depended on sparring, and that so-called insights into swordsmanship were just useless nonsense. But after clashing with pirates in a boarding fight, he began to ponder anew the teachings of his teacher, Richard Nal.


    "Don''t just charge blindly; your footwork must be agile."


    Seeing his own strike miss and his opponent''s sword already bypassing his guard, stabbing upwards from below the blade, Winters readily let go of the longsword in his hand and flung it directly at his opponent.


    "In a competition, that would be an instant loss," he thought. Perhaps it was the experience of two consecutive real battles, but he was no longer so nervous, and he even began to mock himself.


    Regardless of what was on his mind, Winters'' body didn''t stop. He took two quick steps back to dodge the tip of his opponent''s sword.


    The assassins from Vineta were especially fond of using poison, and Winters had grown up hearing stories about daggers laced with toxins. So, even if there was only a one percent chance, he didn''t want to risk even a scratch from his opponent''s blade. Discover hidden content at §Þ??


    The opponent didn''t expect Winters to have a move that turned a longsword into a throwing axe, and failing to dodge in time, was solidly hit.


    When the robed figure was hit, Winters heard a strange sound. Unfortunately, his longsword was a blunt training sword, and the hit merely caused his opponent to let out a stifled groan of pain without causing any external injury that might incapacitate him.


    Winters'' "sword throwing technique" briefly delayed the robed figure, who was furious at being tricked and didn''t bother pursuing the traveler he was originally after but instead charged straight at Winters with his sword.


    Winters hadn''t expected his sword-throwing technique to also have a taunting effect. He snickered internally and then... took to his heels and ran.


    He didn''t know the level of the robed figure''s swordsmanship, but had this been a competition where victory was at stake, the opponent''s blade entanglement earlier would have secured a win.


    However, this was a dock, not a training ground; a fight to the death, not a competition.


    So, if I can''t outfight you, can''t I outrun you?


    Yet, Winters had nowhere to go but the pier behind him, so like the traveler who had scrambled before him, he too stepped onto the pier and headed straight for the Bandit Gull.


    The freight and alarmed passersby on the pier hindered the progress of the three runners, and the robed figure watched Winters get ahead. Despite having run a dozen or so steps, he couldn''t catch up.


    Winters had just seen another robed figure using a gun that could be fired instantly. Since another person had it, there was no reason to think that the robed figure chasing him wouldn''t have such a deadly tool.


    He was constantly on guard against this possibility, so he didn''t dare just run blindly; he kept looking back at the robed figure.


    Sure enough, he glimpsed the robed figure raising his other hand, concealed beneath his robe, toward him, and in it was that strange-looking gun.


    Already prepared, Winters dove behind a stack of cargo about half a man''s height, akin to a short wall, as soon as the robed figure raised his hand, and cursed, "(Expletive)! You resort to a gun in a sword fight! How utterly (expletive) shameless!"


    Enraged nearly to the point of spitting blood, the robed figure shot back, "Aren''t you the (expletive) running like a rabbit?!"


    But talking spelled the robed figure''s downfall, completely shattering the image of a silent and efficient assassin.


    The robed figure''s retort made Winters realize that this was just an ordinary person capable of anger and joy, and his courage swelled even further.


    As the robed figure approached, Winters peered through the cracks between the crates and saw his opponent''s gun pointing at him continuously, so he did not dare to show himself.


    But struck with a sudden inspiration, he remembered Axel''s Hair Burning Spell that he had used once before. He immediately formed the hand gestures for casting a fire spell, recalling the sensation of igniting the hair of a female bandit the other night. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Though he couldn''t see the hair beneath the robed figure''s cloak, he pushed his magical abilities to the limit regardless, channeling magical power into the top of the robed figure''s head.


    Familiar pressure and phantom limb pain made Winters tremble, but he gritted his teeth and struggled to maintain the spell until the very last moment.


    On the ship, the continual intense phantom pain in his third hand from fighting fires had gradually diminished.


    However, just to be safe, the Major prohibited any spellcasters with the rank of Warrant Officer from using any magical abilities until they had fully returned to the normal state. Clearly, that caution now had to be disregarded.


    Winters only sustained the use of his magical abilities for a brief period before the agonizing torment made it impossible for him to concentrate. He took deep breaths and stopped casting the spell.


    It seemed as if a few wisps of blue smoke rose from the robed figure''s head, but unlike the female bandit, there wasn''t an immediate intense combustion; the figure continued moving, indicating that Axel''s Hair Burning Spell had seemingly failed.


    Winters knew he was clutching at straws; his spellcasting range was actually about one meter. He could use spells within this range, but beyond that distance, his magical abilities became negligible. Managing to cause a bit of smoke to rise from the robed figure''s head a few meters away was already an overachievement.

 Chapter 52: Chapter 29 Assassination_2

    Winters took a deep breath and prepared to use a spell again. He planned to wait for the robed man to come closer before launching out to engage in close combat, then use the Hair Burning Spell once more at close range.He comforted himself mentally, "Anyway, after my tricks, that bastard surely can''t catch up with the elderly traveler. If worse comes to worst, I''ll jump into the water."


    The robed man strode to Winters''s front, and Winters, bracing himself for action, waited until the man''s sword tip was about to sweep over his head when, out of nowhere, a thunderous boom resounded on the pier.


    The loudness of the blast was incomparable even to the strongest thunderclap. Winters felt as if he had placed his ear against the muzzle of a thirty-two-pound cannon when someone ignited the gunpowder within.


    The thunderous roar left Winters dizzy and ringing in his ears, and the robed man involuntarily covered his ears as well.


    A faint whizzing sound was followed by a crisp clink of metal from the robed man''s body.


    Turning towards the source of the thunder, Winters saw Major Moritz standing on a plank between the Bandit Gull and the jetty, with blood streaming from his ears, his arm pointing at the robed man.


    Something in Major Moritz''s hand reflected faintly as another whizzing sound was followed by another crisp metallic clash against the robed man''s body, and something rebounded off him and onto the pier.


    The robed man raised his musket and aimed at the Major, who waved his hand, a shot rang out, and the bullet hit the hull of the Bandit Gull, splintering the wood.


    Deafening thunder, Major Moritz, silver coins, metallic clashes, bullets curving, strange sounds when the longsword struck the opponent... Winters understood, Winters figured it all out: Major Moritz was also a Spellcaster! He just didn''t wear the badge! And this robed bastard was wearing a chain shirt under his cloak.


    "Aim for his head, Major!" Winters shouted to alert the Major, "He''s wearing a breastplate under his cloak!"


    The Major, as if deaf to Winters''s words, shot two more silver coins with the Arrow Flying Spell, hitting the robed man''s armor with a clang but obviously unable to penetrate. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the Major disregard his advice, Winters felt an urgent frenzy. Desperate, he leaped out from behind cover and slammed his shoulder hard into the robed man.


    He was not entirely reckless, for he had seen that the robed man''s musket was empty, so he used both hands to snatch at the man''s longsword.


    The robed man had not expected this petty swordsman, who had been running away, to dare counterattack. He was struck solidly in the chest by Winters and, off-balance, fell to the ground.


    Winters had learned this move from a female thief. If only he had brought a dagger, he could have taken the robed man''s life with this blow.


    The feel of his shoulder striking the robed man confirmed Winters''s estimation; indeed, the man was wearing plate armor under his cloak.


    Winters pinned the robed man down with his body, grasped the man''s right hand and forearm, and used grappling techniques to twist his wrist, forcing him to release his grasp.


    The robed man was tough, enduring the pain while holding firmly onto his single-handed sword. With his left hand, he reversed the musket and hammered down on Winters''s back with the butt.


    A reversed musket was like a warhammer. A dull thud resonated from Winters''s back as if it were a drum, and he thought he could hear his own ribs cracking. No longer caring for decorum, he resorted to the most primal weapon known to animals¡ªteeth¡ªand bit down fiercely on the robed man''s right wrist.


    Humans have a bite force of nearly fifty kilograms, and with one bite, Winters tasted the metallic flavor of blood. The robed man, hurt by the bite, could no longer hold onto his longsword, and Winters wrested it away.


    The robed man wore a breastplate, rendering attacks on his torso ineffective. Seeing the single-handed sword Winters had snatched had a blade at the base of the sword body as well, he directly wiped it across the robed man''s neck. The robed man''s reaction was extremely quick; he guarded his throat with the musket, blocking the blade.


    The two men fought like farmwives in a muddy pond, using the most disgraceful methods to try to kill each other.


    The robed man''s single-handed sword was excessively long, putting him at a disadvantage in close combat. Winters got up, intending to regain his standing position.


    The robed man also tried to get up and was immediately met by a vicious kick to the chin from Winters. The blow drained the robed man of his strength, and he fell back heavily to the ground.


    Wielding the blade, Winters left a deep wound on the robed man''s left arm, and the man''s musket slipped from his left hand.


    Now Winters had the upper hand. As he hesitated between killing the robed man outright or capturing him for interrogation, he heard Major Moritz''s loud warning, "Be careful!"


    Looking up, he saw the blade of a trembling sword aimed at him as two more robed men arrived.


    Winters stepped back and parried the thrust. The robed men pushed him back but did not press their attack; one stood with a sword, facing him, while the other knelt down to check on his compatriot.


    One down, two more to contend with.


    Two against one, a dire situation.


    Read exclusive adventures at M V L


    Winters fiercely challenged, "Do you have a death wish? How dare you attack an officer!"


    The robed man in front of him did not respond. His mask obscured his face, so Winters could not see his expression, only the eyes that stared intently at him.


    The robed man who had been kicked hard in the head by Winters recovered consciousness and, with the help of another robed man, staggered to his feet.

 Chapter 53: Chapter 29 Assassination_3

    Winters cursed under his breath, was this guy''s chin made of stone? He was now seriously regretting not having a steel plate fitted into the front of his boots.One against two had turned into one against three, making things even worse. Winters pointed his sword at the robed men and slowly stepped backward to regroup with the Major.


    Winters''s brain raced with thoughts: the robed men''s target was obviously the older traveler, and since he had held them off for so long, the traveler had evidently found a safe place to hide. Their plan had already fallen through;


    Under the circumstances of not letting them achieve their goal, there was no need for him to try to kill or capture the enemies by forcibly fighting against greater numbers;


    If the opponents hesitated, unwilling to retreat, then all Winters and the Major had to do was to hold on for a while. Once the other students realized what was happening and came to support them, these few robed men would be trapped like turtles in a jar, unable to escape even if they grew wings;


    Therefore, the top priority was to delay time as much as possible.


    Having realized this, Winters began to ramble nonsense to distract the attention of the robed men, "Take a look behind you, your two carriages have been stolen, what are you still standing here for like fools?


    ...


    Don''t you know that with just a shout, I can summon more than thirty brothers? You dare to attack an army officer in broad daylight, don''t blame us if we fight you with superior numbers.


    ...


    Also, it''s supposed to be a sword fight, yet you shamelessly wear armor and use muskets, how despicable is that?


    ...


    By the way, your swords aren''t poisoned, right? That fellah who''s down got a nasty cut on his arm with his own blade, you''d better go back and help him out.


    ..."


    Winters took a step back with each word he spoke, and for a while, the three robed men didn''t seem to know how to respond to an officer who had just been fighting for his life and now was talking nonsense, irritating them.


    But they seemed unwilling to give up their target and leave, so with every step Winters took back, they pressed forward.


    The Major, too, sword in hand, quickly moved to Winters''s side.


    Winters saw that the Major''s ears were still bleeding, the blood streaming down in two long streaks, dripping off his jaw.


    One of the robed men, unable to endure Winters''s meaningless verbal assault any longer, launched an attack first, and another followed suit.


    Winters and the Major began a sword fight with the two robed men. The sword of the other robed man was now in Winters''s possession, so he didn''t join the duel but stood behind his peers, reloading his musket.


    This was the first time Winters had used this type of one-handed sword, with its center of gravity at the guard, making it feel incredibly agile. However, as a result, the effect of slashing was reduced.


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    Winters was not accustomed to this type of sword; he merely managed to parry his opponent''s attacks awkwardly.


    On the other hand, the Major, despite Winters''s impression of his sword as merely ornamental, was holding his own with that very ornament.


    In an armor-less duel, a single round could determine life or death. But after two rounds, neither Winters, the Major, nor the two robed men could defeat the other, and they all returned to a face-off and cautious probing.


    However, a scream drew everyone''s attention.


    The two robed men looked over Winters''s shoulder towards his back.


    While curious, Winters dared not look back easily. He and the Major took a big step back to widen the gap with their opponents before turning to see what had happened.


    The sight before them was shocking: on the pier, the older traveler who had reached a safe area was stabbed through the heart by a dockworker with a short blade, the tip protruding from his back.


    That dockworker casually pulled out the short blade and, under everyone''s gaze, leisurely lit the fuses of two box-like contraptions with his pipe and then turned and jumped into the sea.


    At the same time, on other moored merchant ships at the pier, a few other dockworkers tossed several packages with lit fuses onto the pier and then also jumped into the sea.


    One landed close to Winters. When he looked back again, the robed men were gone.


    He and the Major exchanged glances; they didn''t recognize what these things were, but they immediately guessed their purpose.


    Hand-held explosive grenades had been used by the people of the Ancient Empire a thousand years ago, and iron-cased hand grenades were definitely not something new in the Sovereignty Wars thirty years ago.


    With the fuses burning rapidly, there was no time to think. Winters and the Major jumped straight into the sea. The shockwave from the violent explosion churned the water, pushing Winters deeper.


    It was only after he choked on a mouthful of water that Winters remembered something crucial: he couldn''t swim.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis line divides gunplay from the skills of swordsmanship¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Expert duelist Michael Hunter''s book "The Artistic New Swift Sword Swordsmanship Compendium" details a hundred moves, with the hundredth one stating the following: The world is becoming dangerous, so please don''t use a dagger as a secondary weapon to the Swift Sword anymore, if you have a gun, use a gun.

 Chapter 54: Chapter 30 A Mess

    Three hours after the dockside assassination, in the two-story building of the Sea Blue City Customs General Administration, the air seemed to have congealed into a solid.Robert Hurd, the Chief Administrative Officer of Sea Blue City Customs, now felt as though his head was splitting.


    One of his piers had been blown to bits, his morgue had several more bodies, and these were not even the most troublesome issues. The most pressing problem at the moment was that his jail was crammed with military officers.


    With a gloomy expression on the face of the big boss, the lower-level clerks naturally trembled with apprehension. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the highest-ranked assistant to the lowest-ranked copyist, every customs clerk buried their heads as deep as possible into the files on their desks, not daring to breathe too loudly.


    Inside Hurd''s office, the heads of various departments under the Chief Administrative Officer looked solemn, all silently smoking, no one speaking.


    The office of the highest-ranking official of customs was shrouded in smoke, as if heavy fog had descended.


    Earlier, right in this office, after Hurd had listened to the reports from the heads of departments about the dock explosion that occurred a few hours ago, an unreachable place inside his skull had started to experience pulsating, severe pain, and his temples throbbed rhythmically.


    Now, seeing that none of his department heads would break their silence, Hurd couldn''t help but inwardly sigh at these incompetents, none of whom were reliable. He stood up and opened the window behind him. Find your next read on M V L


    The fresh sea breeze swept the secondhand smoke from the office. Hurd gathered his energy and asked in a deep voice, "Does anyone have any information that hasn''t been mentioned and would like to add anything?"


    The response was a silence akin to death.


    Seeing no one spoke, Hurd frowned and continued, "Then let me summarize. This afternoon, a fight broke out on the dock; a pier was reduced to rubble, several people died, and, moreover, a group of military officers were implicated."


    "We understand that''s pretty much the situation, right? The pressing issue now is how to handle those detained military men¡ªwe need to come up with a solution quickly." Hurd leaned back in his chair, tapping the desk lightly with his fingers before suddenly letting out a cold chuckle, "Is that army what''s-his-name still ranting about slaughtering us?"


    "Uh... Yes," the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau timidly nodded. The military officers were placed in the cells originally meant for smugglers, which were now under his charge, "General Layton is currently resting in my office... but I think if we continue holding onto his men, he might just charge into the General Administration with his sword."


    "Let him come!" Hurd slammed the table hard, causing cups, ink bottles, and other small objects on the desk to jump an inch high, "Is the mighty Customs really afraid of him?"


    "We''re naturally not afraid, and we definitely won''t be at a disadvantage in a head-on collision," the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau wiped sweat from his forehead and offered a wry smile, "But we can''t just keep the army guys locked up in the Anti-Smuggling cells forever, can we? The situation is not justifiable, and Customs really has no right. I think, why not simply let them go? The army men seem very cooperative with our investigation, they are all officers registered in the military roster, even if we let them go they won''t just disappear. We can call them back for assistance with the investigation as needed."


    "Let them go? Easy for you to say. If the army was behind the explosion, and if you let them go today, how could they ever let us catch them again? If you ask me, we must interrogate each one to clear up what exactly happened today before anyone thinks of leaving!" As soon as the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau mentioned releasing people, the Tax Bureau head protested.


    He strongly disagreed with the suggestion of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau head; the two had always been at odds, constantly at each other''s throats.


    "Then you do the questioning! You''ve been interrogating all afternoon, what useful things have you discovered? Aren''t you still clueless with every question?" The Anti-Smuggling Bureau head, his anger stoked, retorted aggressively.


    "Interrogating my ass! Just asking politely, what can you find out? These sons of bitches definitely have something they''re not telling." The Tax Bureau head''s face turned red as he yelled loudly, "Chief, let''s use torture! Just give the nod, and I''ll administer it right now, I guarantee these army scoundrels will spill everything they know."


    "Torture? You want to go to war with the army?" The head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau shouted as he leaped up.


    "Bang!" A loud noise erupted as Hurd''s fist created a crack on the oak desktop, "Everyone shut up!"


    The two high-ranking customs officials closed their mouths and angrily returned to their seats.


    Hurd''s head now ached even more.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªSeparator¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "Hey! Talking to you guys! How long are you going to keep us locked up? What right does Customs have to detain us? Release us!" Andre, grasping the bars of the cell, shouted at the two guards by the door, one portly and one slim. He angrily kicked the cell door so hard that it dislodged a chunk of dust from the walls.


    "Mr. Officer, sir, it''s not that we''re keeping you," the slim guard said with a smile, trying to appease in a fawning tone, "Please don''t give us a hard time. We''re just earning our living. Why you''re being kept here, how would we know? We do what our boss tells us to."


    "If you don''t know, call someone who does!"


    "The higher-ups are not here right now, this cell is just the two of us. How about I get you some water?"


    "I''ll drink your..."


    "Forget it, Andre, come over here and sit down." Seeing the slim guard being slippery, Winters didn''t want to watch Andre get mocked by his words, so he called out softly to Andre.

 Chapter 55: Chapter 30 A Mess_2

    Andre snorted coldly; he too had realized that, despite his polite speech, the skinny man in front of him was impenetrable. He walked straight back to Winters, lay down on the ground, shut his eyes immediately, and casually grabbed a handful of wheat straw to use as a pillow.Winters was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, shirtless, while Bard inspected the area on his back where he had been hit by the butt of the black-robed man''s gun.


    It''s necessary to mention a counterintuitive piece of knowledge: even in a future when humans begin to use lightweight polymers to make firearms, guns still weigh more than cold weapons. An unloaded assault rifle weighs at least five pounds, while Winters''s Longsword weighs only three; let alone in this era where wooden stocks were still in use.


    Therefore, in those days, using a firearm the wrong way around was essentially like using a hammer. Many musketeers who found themselves in close combat didn''t even bother to draw their swords, preferring to swing the butt of their guns to strike their enemy instead.


    The initial hit with the butt of the gun hadn''t hurt Winters too much, but now a dull pain had begun to throb in his back.


    "These assassins struck viciously." Bard smacked his lips as he lamented, pressing gently on the bruised area with his fingers: "Does it hurt when I press like this?"


    "How can it not hurt? You''d feel pain if you were hit too," Winters said with a wry smile.


    "I mean, do the bones hurt?"


    "It''s bearable, a bit painful, but I can hold on."


    "That''s good; the bones should be fine. You probably didn''t get hit too hard because you were wrestling with him." Bard speculated about the situation and gave his medical advice: "In any case, even if the bones were broken, there''s nothing to be done but to let them heal. Regardless, you should rest properly for a month without causing any trouble."


    "That scoundrel was insufferable, secretly wearing a breastplate under his robe." The more Winters thought about it, the angrier he got, his impotent rage flaring: "If I had been wearing plate armor too, do you think he could have injured me?"


    As Bard helped a grimacing Winters, who winced in pain when he lifted his arm, put his clothes back on, he casually remarked, "Really? I actually thought those black-robed men had pretty formidable swordsmanship."


    That hit home for Winters. Reflecting on his fight with the assassin, he said earnestly, "Definitely formidable; the black-robed man who hit me with the butt of his gun had very precise control over the distance. And their swords had their center of balance at the hilt, making them extremely agile. In a true one-on-one duel, I probably wouldn''t stand a chance against him; I''d have to call on Aike for a secure victory." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I reckon you could search the whole bay and not find more than a few swordsmen as skilled as the master." Bard said with a smile.


    "Ha-ha, that''s just competition. After all, we''ve seen bloodshed. If it was a fight to the death, Aike might not be able to handle us now," Winters said, a smile creeping onto his face as he thought of Aike. He continued with enthusiasm, "I''ve reached a new understanding of swordsmanship. If I were to carry a short gun like those black-robed men... even against Aike, I wouldn''t be afraid. Hmm, one might not be enough, carrying two would be safer."


    "Then did you figure out how he managed to fire the musket without a match?" Bard had been unable to understand this point.


    "I didn''t catch it; it must be some special design." Winters shook his head. He had come into close contact with the black-robed man''s musket and confirmed there was no match lit, but he had been unable to discern the specific mechanism.


    However, Winters recalled subduing the black-robed man on the jetty and said cheerfully, "That guy carried a specially made firearm, and still I knocked him out with a kick. If his companion hadn''t come to his rescue, I might have taken him alive. Once we''re out of here, I''ll reinforce my boot tips with metal plates. Next time I''ll kick his jaw to pieces."


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    He bragged somewhat proudly, "I''m increasingly feeling that the battle we fought during boarding with pirates is very important. Aike truly might not handle the two of us now."


    "What practical experience? It''s merely the art of killing we''ve honed," Bard''s sentiment didn''t carry the same pride as Winters''s; he was bittersweet: "I can''t even imagine what my father and mother would think if they knew I had killed someone."


    This statement struck a chord with Winters; what would his own family think if they knew he had taken several lives? His pride melted away instantly.


    Winters tried to comfort Bard dryly, "Haven''t we spent so many years at the military academy learning this very skill? Cough, it''s a necessity. Don''t overthink it. Like Andre said, ''just think of yourself as a tool,'' that''ll make it easier."


    Just then, a startled yet elated voice came from the other end of the cell, "The major has woken up! He''s awake!"


    A few hours earlier, Winters and Major Moritz had jumped into the sea to avoid an explosion, but it wasn''t until he had started choking on water that Winters remembered he couldn''t swim.


    As he panicked, flailed his limbs around, and was on the verge of drowning, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him back to the surface.


    Even now, when Winters recalled the feeling of nearly drowning, he couldn''t help but shiver all over.


    Winters initially thought it was the major who had saved him, but once he was dragged ashore, he realized it wasn''t the major who had saved him but his old classmate, Benwei.


    What about the major? There was no sign of the major on the sea surface; it turned out the major couldn''t swim either!


    Without the time to exchange pleasantries with Winters, Benwei dove back into the water.

 Chapter 56: Chapter 30 A Mess_3

    It took quite a while before they saw him emerge from the water, holding the major aloft.The major, just dragged back to the shore, was breathless. The dock workers employed every method they could think of, from pounding on his throat to sucking his nasal passages, to revive him from the brink of the netherworld. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after briefly regaining consciousness and his breath, the major again fell into a coma.


    Soon, the army warrant officers were surrounded by customs guards who had hurried over upon hearing the commotion. The confused warrant officers faced off with the even more confused customs guards.


    Following negotiations, General Layton ordered the warrant officers to "proceed with dignity to the customs office to cooperate with the investigation." Thus, the warrant officers were not searched, allowed to keep their luggage, and were "politely" escorted into the rooms of the anti-smuggling department.


    Major Moritz was originally supposed to accompany General Layton to the anti-smuggling chief''s office for a "rest," but since the major was still unconscious, he remained in the cell under the care of the warrant officers. Find more to read at M V L


    The just-awakened major was extremely feeble, barely opening his eyes and half-opening his mouth, with his lips trembling slightly.


    "Water, get water quickly," the major''s classmate who was supporting him urgently called for help.


    The lean guard hastily poured a cup of water, which was passed hand to hand to the person in front of the major. Everyone was in a flurry to prop the major into a semi-sitting position, carefully feeding the water to him.


    As the water trickled into the major''s mouth, the warrant officers all breathed a sigh of relief.


    However, hardly had their hearts settled when the bit of water they fed the major was spat back out.


    Everyone was dumbfounded.


    Seeing the water he had fed being regurgitated, Winters too was stunned.


    But as he watched the major''s haggard face, a lightbulb went off in his head, and he suddenly had an epiphany about what was going on.


    The major needed a drink!


    Winters shouted at the two guards, "Alcohol! Bring alcohol! Not water! Quickly bring alcohol!"


    "Sir, where am I supposed to get alcohol at a time like this?" the lean guard said helplessly. "I don''t even have alcohol to drink, can''t you just make do with water?"


    "(Expletive)! If you can''t find it, go to your superior!" Seeing the sly official still trying to be slippery at a time like this, Winters was furious and roared, "Bring alcohol! Or I''ll kill you!"


    The two guards were so frightened their faces turned pale, and the lean one quickly left the cell.


    He returned shortly with General Layton and the cell block''s head guard.


    The cell door creaked open, and General Layton briskly walked over to Major Moritz''s side. Seeing that the major had regained consciousness, he too let out a sigh of relief.


    The warrant officers poured the grape wine brought by Layton into a cup and fed it bit by bit to Major Moritz.


    This time, the major didn''t spit it out. His Adam''s apple moved up and down, clearly indicating he swallowed the drink.


    Winters thought he saw a trace of satisfaction on the major''s face, with tears seemingly swirling in his eyes, and his complexion greatly improved.


    The major drank a full glass of red wine before signaling to the cadet that he didn''t need any more.


    Seeing that Major Moritz was markedly better after downing a glass of wine, General Layton bent over and asked with concern, "Major Moritz, how are you feeling now, can you speak?"


    Unexpectedly, the major paid no attention to General Layton''s words, completely ignoring him. Layton''s face immediately showed some irritation.


    Winters explained sadly to General Layton:


    "General, the major has lost his hearing."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line of demarcation for having lost hearing in both ears¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    P.S 1: Until the Sino-Japanese War, some of our forebears who were not adept at bayonet fighting still fought against the Japanese army using the technique of wielding their rifles like war hammers.


    P.S 2: If you have any recommendation tickets or such, could you please give them to me? Thank you.

 Chapter 57: Chapter 31 Old Friend Comes

    "General, the Major has gone deaf."Upon hearing Winters''s words, Major General Layton turned pale, his eyebrows arching, his pupils slightly dilated, as he repeatedly asked, "What happened? How did he go deaf?"


    What kind of person could make Major Moritz, who was both a spellcaster and a master of swordsmanship, go deaf?


    It was he himself.


    The thunderclap on the dock still filled Winters''s ears with a faint screeching noise; that deafening thunder wasn''t Zeus venting his anger or Thor swinging his hammer, but the effect of the Major''s angry shout amplified by a sound spell.


    Sound spells, including the one that caused the burst of sound, belong to the same category as sound amplification spells, but the former is simply a more powerful, intensified version of the latter.


    Sound amplification spells merely multiply the volume of spoken words several times, mostly used to convey commands; whereas the burst of sound spell endows the voice with the might of thunder, capable of destroying a person''s sense of balance. If a sound amplification spell is a garden hose nozzle, then the burst of sound spell is like the legendary Urbain siege cannon.


    This incredibly powerful burst of sound spell repelled the black-robed assassin, saving Winters''s life.


    But it also caused Winters to still suffer from tinnitus while directly rupturing the Major''s own eardrums.


    The burst of sound spell is recognized as the most powerful among sound spells, but it''s also the least practical.


    It is an indiscriminate attack; the closer one is to the source of the sound, the stronger the spell''s power.


    And who, generally speaking, is closest to the source? Of course, the spellcaster himself.


    Especially for someone like the Major, who is both a spellcaster and the source of the sound - regardless of the power of the sound spell, the one who suffers the most severe damage is always the caster himself.


    That is why the burst of sound spell is currently considered impractical.


    On the dockside walkway, once Winters realized the Major was a spellcaster and saw him bleeding from both ears, he immediately understood that the Major had, in his urgency to save him, cast the burst of sound spell without wearing any protective gear.


    He explained the principle of the burst of sound spell and the Major''s ruptured eardrums as succinctly as possible to the General and his classmates, who listened and sighed in dismay.


    "We can use paper and pen to communicate with the Major. Right now, he just can''t hear sounds, speaking and reading shouldn''t be any issue," Winters suggested with a furrowed brow, his heart filled with guilt and apology towards the Major, who became this tragic figure in his quest to save him.


    Everyone thought it was indeed a good idea and quickly brought paper and pen.


    While Major General Layton dictated, Winters wrote, the quill scratching against the paper, a line of text flowing from its tip: Major Moritz, Layton D. Castel is speaking with you. Can you make your own judgment as to whether you have regained consciousness?


    The Major stared at the paper and nodded his head.


    Another line was written: Do you still remember who we are?


    The Major nodded again.


    A third line: What does the number 4 represent?


    The Major''s mouth curled into a wry smile as he helplessly chuckled, took the quill from Winters, and scrawled unevenly: My head feels heavy and foggy, and I''m very tired, but my mind is clear.


    Winters took back the quill and continued to translate Major General Layton''s words into text: Can you hear sounds right now?


    The Major gently shook his head.


    Winters continued writing: You might have gone deaf.


    The Major''s expression was as calm as a placid lake, and he nodded lightly, his eyes seemingly saying: I know, I understand.


    Major General Layton asked another question: Can you speak now?


    The resigned smile returned to Major Moritz''s lips. The Major cleared his throat and responded in a voice three times louder than normal, "I can''t hear sounds! I can''t control the volume of my voice! I can speak! But I do not wish to speak right now!"


    Major General Layton asked a few more trivial questions, to which Major Moritz responded one by one.


    Seeing that Major Moritz indeed had regained his clarity of mind, Major General Layton''s furrowed brow relaxed slightly. Noticing the Major''s state of fatigue, he asked the Major if he wished to leave this "room."


    After receiving a negative answer, Major General Layton left the Major in the care of the warrant officers and briskly left the cell, apparently to go and have another spat with the customs bureaucrats.


    Winters had wanted to let the weary Major rest properly, but instead, the Major insisted on staying alert and refused to lie down. He signaled to the warrant officers to help him sit up against the wall.


    An official''s rank carried substantial weight; a whole four levels higher was a different story altogether. Even for the Major''s own well-being, Winters had no choice but to offer powerless "advice" in writing: You should rest properly.


    The Major took the quill: I am fine, I just need to know our current situation, there are some questions I need answered. Find your next read on M V L


    Winters grabbed another quill: Have you used the burst of sound spell before? Can your hearing be restored? S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Winters''s worried face, the Major smiled and wrote: I wouldn''t say I''m completely deaf, I can still hear the sound of my teeth clashing, which means it''s just eardrum damage. I have been through this once before, a period of convalescence should restore my hearing; there''s no need to worry.


    Relieved that the Major had confirmed his hearing could recover, Winters finally breathed easier, feeling much more at ease.


    The Major''s pen nib danced as he asked in detail about the major and minor incidents that occurred since the Bandit Gull docked.

 Chapter 58: Chapter 31 Old Friends Arrival_2

    Winters, though wishing to allow the major to rest, could only comply with his will, answering each question with statements as concise as possible.The two men engaged in conversation through the use of pens, repeating the process of query and response.


    As more intelligence was gathered, the major''s spirit seemed to improve. He even drank another glass of red wine midway. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After understanding the information Winters and the other warrant officers knew, the major closed his eyes, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the paper as the warrant officers exchanged puzzled glances, watching the major seemingly lost in thought.


    Your next read is at M V L


    The major appeared to be dozing off, and after a short while, he finally reopened his eyes.


    This time, his eyes regained their former brilliance. He wrote swiftly on the paper: "It seems we''re suffering from an undeserved disaster."


    The major was indeed correct, Winters wrote: "Yes, those assassins were clearly targeting those travelers. We were just implicated. Now that customs can''t find the assassin, they''re not letting us leave, probably hoping to pin the blame on us."


    A derisive snort came from the major''s nose. He shook his head indifferently and wrote: "Tell everyone to relax; this matter doesn''t concern us, customs can''t do anything to us. Has the military department been notified yet?"


    Winters nodded and wrote: "One of the conditions for our ''cooperation with the investigation'' is that we must inform the Army Department."


    Despite his pale face, Major Moritz seemed quite relaxed. He wrote with a smile: "Then by tomorrow at the latest, customs will have to let us go. If those high-ranking officials in the military department take it to heart, we might be going home tonight."


    Major Moritz''s confidence inspired the warrant officers, igniting a flame of hope in their hearts. Hope was the most precious thing; with it, even being trapped here wouldn''t be too unbearable.


    The tip of the major''s pen moved subtly: "Let everyone rest, don''t crowd around me, I''m fine. Just eat and drink whatever you like, and wait to go home."


    Receiving the word, the warrant officers dispersed and sat back down in various parts of the cell, finding ways to pass the time.


    Winters was about to help the major lie down on the straw bed to rest when he suddenly recalled something, an intelligence that might be very important, a piece of information he wasn''t sure if he should share with his comrades.


    He scanned the room, noting that the others'' attentions were elsewhere, even Bard and Andre had returned to their luggage. He then picked up the quill again, dipped it in ink, pulled out a new sheet of paper, and wrote quietly to the major: "You''re an army spellcaster, right?"


    Major Moritz, puzzled, nodded.


    Winters continued to write: "The assassin shot at you, and if I''m not mistaken, you used a Deflection Spell to turn the bullet away, right?"


    The major nodded again.


    Winters went on: "Deflection Spell is a very difficult spell, right?"


    Clear-minded, the major seemed to have a slight premonition of what Winters was implying. He pursed his lips and nodded.


    Winters glanced around once more, ensuring that only he and the major could see the paper in his hands. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally resolved to write: "Among those four travelers, there''s also a spellcaster."


    The major''s brows knotted, he lifted his chin slightly, signaling Winters to continue writing.


    Winters wrote quickly, his handwriting becoming sloppy: "If I''m not mistaken, one of the guards among the travelers used a Deflection Spell at the dock. The musket was fired at close range, yet the bullets hit the ground."


    The major''s expression turned grave; his eyes fixated on Winters. Winters read from those eyes the question the major wanted to ask: "Are you certain?"


    With a forthright and determined nod, Winters confirmed; he had seen with his own eyes how the assassin''s musket, aimed directly at the guard, inexplicably struck the stone slabs of the dock. His penmanship grew resolute: "I am certain of what I saw. Others must have seen it too, but I dare not confirm it with them."


    Major Moritz exhaled heavily, clearly convinced by Winters''s expression and attitude. He believed Winters was not lying. The major ground his teeth for a moment and deftly tore off the last two paragraphs Winters had written, ripping them into small pieces and swallowing them, chasing them down with a gulp of wine.


    Winters stared dumbfounded as the major "destroyed the evidence," momentarily stunned.


    Having set down his wine glass, Major Moritz wrote quickly on the paper: "Do not speak of this to anyone, and let no one from customs know. We will discuss this matter after leaving this place."


    The major paused, then added a phrase: "A secret discussion."


    Winters nodded in understanding. In the Senas Alliance, only the army possessed magicians; the spellcaster training system was almost entirely the army''s exclusive domain. If customs found out that one of the parties in the dock confrontation was a spellcaster, they would never let it go easily.


    Smiling, the major penned another sentence: "Just in case, you should eat the rest of the paper as well."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line that obliterates all traces¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Bard stared in surprise as Winters, having returned from the major''s side, was now gulping down the major''s wine. His eyes widened, and he asked Winters, "I thought you didn''t drink?"


    Warrant Officer Montaigne belched lengthily, and replied irritably: "I choked."


    "What does choking have to do with drinking wine?" Bard was confused.


    "To wash it down."


    "Wouldn''t water suffice?"


    "This wine eases my heart."

 Chapter 59: Chapter 31 Old Friend Arrives_3

    "Are you drunk?" Bard couldn''t help but laugh and cry at these bizarre responses. He looked up at the other end of the cell and asked, "How is Major Moritz?""Hmph, he''s just fine," Winters said with a tinge of annoyance. "He''s gone back to sleep."


    Bard was even more confused, "What''s wrong with you? You seem to have suddenly taken a strong dislike to the Major."


    Next to Bard, Andre slept soundly with his hat covering his face.


    "Stretching it." Winters pushed Bard and Andre aside and heroically lay down on the ground: "Move your butt over and make some room for me too, I''m going to sleep for a bit as well."


    With the fullness from the plant fibers and the slight intoxication from the alcohol, Winters quickly entered a state between sleep and consciousness; he could still perceive the sounds around him, but his consciousness was almost in chaos, and soon he would fall into a deep sleep.


    At this critical moment, he heard someone shouting, "Which one is Winters Montagne? Who is Mr. Winters Montagne?"


    Winters jolted awake when he heard his name being called. He sat up straight, slapped his head, and spent a few seconds trying to become fully alert.


    Once his brain started working again, Winters responded with a grumpy morning voice, "I''m Montagne, what is it?"


    "Please come out for a moment." The door of the cell creaked open, and the head of the cell, in a polite tone, said, "Someone wants to see you alone."


    At these words, Winters'' heart skipped a beat, then raced.


    His mind raced with thoughts, "They want to interrogate me alone? Did the customs people see what I just wrote? Has there been an informant? Are the customs really that sinister? Should I wake up the Major first?"


    His mind teemed with frantic speculations, but on the surface, Winters still managed to appear calm. Like someone who had just awoken, he lazily asked, "Who wants to see me? What is it for?"


    The cell head did not answer but kindly repeated, "Please come out for a moment; someone wants to see you alone."


    Winters thought to himself morosely, "It seems I can''t escape this ordeal today. How did customs find out what I wrote? Damn sinister!"


    But fortunately, the Major was foresighted; all the evidence had been destroyed. Winters made up his mind, either customs would have to cut open his and the Major''s stomachs, or he would stick to his story and refuse to admit anything.


    With a plan in mind, Winters stood up with composure and straightened his clothes.


    Bard furrowed his brow and challenged the cell head, "What, are you going to torture him?"


    "He wouldn''t dare," Andre shouted as he sprang up from the ground, having not been asleep after all.


    The cell head, still without saying anything extra, simply lifted his arm and gestured for Winters to follow.


    Winters patted Bard and Andre''s shoulders to reassure them, loosened his collar, and with the eyes of his compatriots upon him, he walked out of the cell with a scoff.


    The silent cell head walked ahead to lead the way; each prison cell had two layers of doors. Winters followed him through the double doors and entered a long corridor, with prison doors intermittently lining both walls.


    The prison of the Customs Office was a single-story standalone building, and the large cell where the warrant officers were placed was just one of the rooms used to confine prisoners guilty of minor offenses. The environment could be ranked among the top, so it was made available to "invite" this group of army officers for a temporary stay.


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    There were many more cells harsher than this, and customs filled them all up with people.


    The Customs Office was a significant source of revenue for the Republic, having been granted independent enforcement powers to combat smuggling by the Senate. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since transborder smuggling was essentially undermining the Customs Office''s authority, they took their anti-smuggling efforts very seriously¡ªso seriously that the Office had a special section of land designated for a prison built to detain the smugglers they caught.


    The hatred of a tax collector for a smuggler runs as deep into the bone as the hatred of a merchant for a tax collector.


    Winters followed the head of the prison ward through door after door, exiting through a small door at the end of the corridor and was led to the deeper parts of the prison.


    Until the head of the ward stopped in front of a small door and made a gesture inviting him into the trap.


    Winters felt a bit scared, but his expression betrayed no sign of panic. He secretly swallowed, pushing open the wooden door with disdain.


    Inside the room, there were none of the torture devices he had imagined, only a square table in the center with four chairs around it.


    Behind the square table sat a middle-aged man, toying with a small knife.


    This person was tall and thin, with large bone structure and eyes, his dragon-like gaze was full of life, and his facial features were of noble appearance.


    Winters recognized this man, not only did Winters recognize him, but he also knew Winters, even when Winters was still an infant.


    Winters''s eyes widened, and his mouth gaped, he was just about to blurt out "Uncle" when he swallowed the word back down forcefully.


    But he still couldn''t suppress the surprise in his heart and called out another familiar title:


    "Colonel?!"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line that knows you are an old friend¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Excerpt from "Winters'' Spellbook: Speed Enhancement Spells"


    Spell Name: Wright''s Deviation Spell


    Description: An advanced version of the Arrow Flying Spell, it accelerates objects like bullets and arrows through magic towards a lawful direction, causing them to deviate from their original trajectory.


    Difficulty: A (Extremely Difficult), to cast the spell precisely on high-speed moving objects in an instant, demanding high burst strength, precision, and casting range.


    Notes: Once this spell is mastered, projectiles will have difficulty penetrating (but it probably can''t guard against a stab in the back).


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Excerpt from "Winters'' Spellbook: Sound-Based Spells"


    Spell Name: Yvede''s Sonic Blast Spell


    Description: A more powerful version of the amplifying spell, it can scare enemies, shatter their eardrums, and disrupt their balance.


    Difficulty: B (Difficult), requires the spellcasters to have extremely strong spell burst strength, otherwise, it is just akin to yelling; the spell''s power increases with the increase of spell burst strength.


    Notes: This spell really has more problems than solutions, if one cannot solve the technical challenge of "injuring the enemy a lot but oneself a little," then this spell will never truly be usable in combat.


    P.S. 1: Every spellcaster has their own spellbook for recording learned spells and their own original spells and includes some combat experience and insights;


    P.S. 2: If you have any recommendation tickets, could you please cast them for me? Thank you.

 Chapter 60: Chapter 32: Visit

    Continue your story on M V LThe middle-aged man waiting for Winters in this small room was none other than Winters''s uncle by marriage, the husband of Winters''s mother''s younger sister, a military academy classmate who had been through life and death with Winters''s father, and Winters''s close kin¡ªAntonio Serviati.


    "How could customs possibly know everything!" Winters cheered in his head, originally thinking he would have to undergo some severe punishment, only to find out that it was just a "prison visit," making him overjoyed.


    The guard leader who had brought Winters here bowed respectfully and left the small room.


    The heavy wooden door screeched as it closed, leaving only the uncle and nephew alone in the room.


    Antonio walked over joyfully and hugged Winters tightly, ruffling his hair, and exclaimed with heartfelt emotion, "You rascal, look at you! You''ve truly grown into a man now! You''re the spitting image of your father when he was young. I almost thought the gods had taken me back twenty years, letting me see your father walk in through the door."


    The tone of Winters''s uncle was deep and mellow, filled with six parts joy and four parts sorrow.


    Winters felt sentimental and affected by his uncle''s emotions, but at the same time, the sudden display of affection made his skin crawl. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Six years of closed boarding school life had profoundly affected his personality; classmates are not family, and men do not express emotion to each other in such an affectionate manner¡ªin fact, men hardly ever communicated emotions at all.


    Therefore, Winters, out of the Ivory Tower of the military academy, was very uncomfortable with such intimate body language. In Antonio''s eyes, Winters was still the kid who pestered him to learn swordsmanship, but what Winters felt now was mostly embarrassment and helplessness.


    "How are Kosa and my sister? How are the Great General and the junior generals?" Winters hurriedly tried to escape his uncle''s "pincer attack" with words.


    "They are all fine, all missing you," Antonio let go of his arms, wiped his eyes with his palm, and took in a breath through his nose, seemingly not yet out of the emotional state, "Let''s sit down and talk."


    Antonio led Winters back to the table by his arm.


    No sooner had Winters''s bottom touched the chair than he eagerly asked in a low voice, "Does the military know we have been detained by customs?"


    Seeing Winters''s cautious appearance, Antonio couldn''t help but chuckle with a snort, "Of course they know. It''s not even ''the Palace''¡ªonce the docks make a noise, within two hours the whole of Sea Blue City knows. Now the rumors outside are overwhelming. The city is buzzing with tales of the Vineta Army smuggling goods, intercepted by customs resulting in a big fight, with some even saying that hundreds were killed. Everyone''s making it sound so believable."


    ''The Palace'' was a colloquial reference to the Vineta Army headquarters, which was built so lavishly that the citizens mockingly compared it to a royal palace. Over time, ''the palace'' and ''the throne'' became nicknames for the army headquarters among the soldiers.


    "So is my uncle from the army here to get us out?" Winters, elated, thought it seemed they would be leaving this dreadful place soon.


    Antonio smiled and gently shook his head, "No, I''m just visiting as a relative right now."


    "Why?" Winters''s smile froze, utterly astonished, "If the army already knows we''re locked up, why don''t they send someone to get us out?"


    "Hmph, obviously because those fools at customs have made a big blunder." Antonio snorted with a blend of scorn and contempt in his smile, "Those customs bastards have their brains filled with mud, first detaining you all without explanation. Now they can''t admit their fault and still can''t let go of their pride, they actually want to have a joint meeting to ''request'' to take you all back from customs. Do you think ''The Throne'' would agree to that?"


    As the army headquarters was mockingly referred to as ''The Palace,'' the small conference room where the army''s highest authority, the senior officers'' joint meeting, took place was naturally the room with the most power in the palace¡ªand so, the senior officers'' joint meeting also got dubbed ''The Throne.''


    "That''s shameless!" Winters was shocked and angry after learning about the custom authorities'' petty schemes, his eyes wide, nostrils flaring violently, and he abruptly stood up, knocking the chair over.


    Winters, fuming with indignation, said, "What right do they have to do this? We were just implicated."


    "Don''t rush, don''t rush," Antonio pulled Winters to sit down, his tone light and cheerful, "Haha, you have just the same temper as your dad... Ah, as one gets older, one tends to reminisce about the past too often. Sit down and listen to me explain everything slowly."


    Winters knew he had been inappropriate for shouting at his uncle in a burst of anger, he smiled apologetically at him, and mentally chastised himself yet again to be more restrained and calm in the future, and he set the chair upright and sat down again.


    "Anyway, the situation is like this, customs has made a foolish mistake, but doesn''t want to lose face and expects us to clean up their mess, wanting The Throne to speak up first," Antonio spread his hands in a relaxed gesture, dismissively saying, "It''s delusional¡ªthey think the army will compromise its dignity just to wipe customs'' ass? Now you''re stuck in the middle. But it''s no big deal, customs won''t dare do anything to you, they still have to coddle you."

 Chapter 61: Chapter 32 Visit_2

    "We''re hardly being catered to," Winters said with a wry smile. "We''ve all been thrown into cells, though at least the conditions are clean. However, there''s one severely injured person who I think would be better off if we could get him out for proper care.""Severely injured? Is it a cadet officer?"


    "No, it''s Major Moritz."


    "Moritz van Nassau?" Antonio''s eyebrows shot up, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face, clearly interested by the name Moritz.


    "I don''t know the Major''s full name," Winters shook his head. In the few short days they''d interacted, he only knew the Major as Moritz and was unaware of any other parts of his full name.


    "Hmm," Antonio stroked his chin with a tentative voice, "In the army, I''ve only heard of one person named Moritz, last year''s third place in the army sports meeting swordsmanship event. They said he''s also a spellcaster, is that him?"


    Upon hearing his uncle''s description, Winters nodded, "A master of swordsmanship and a spellcaster, then we must be speaking of the same person."


    "A master of swordsmanship and a spellcaster," Antonio mused with surprise, "he alone could probably handle a full company of a hundred men. Just how many enemies did you encounter to injure such a character so severely?"


    "The Major''s main injury was from nearly drowning; he also burst his eardrums due to the impact of his own spells, which led to temporary deafness." Winters explained the cause of the Major''s injuries as straightforwardly as he could: "Additionally¡­"


    "Hold on a moment." Antonio stopped Winters and pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, then fetched ink and a quill pen from a cabinet in the corner of the room.


    Once he was ready to take notes, Antonio seriously said to his nephew, "That fool Layton sent back only bits and pieces of information, and the palace has received contradictory reports. Rumors are flying everywhere. Tell me exactly what happened at the harbor this afternoon from start to finish."


    Winters started from the moment their ship docked, recounting in detail to his uncle about the four passengers, the assassins, and the explosion. To avoid detracting from the main issue, he briefly mentioned the encounter with the pirates, and to prevent eavesdropping, he did not disclose the fact that among the four passengers was a spellcaster. After all, they were in the territory of the customs; who knew if there were pipes being used for clandestine listening?


    Antonio listened intently to Winters'' account of his experiences with a grave face, his pupils involuntarily shrinking when he heard his nephew was nearly killed. But he remained silent throughout, nodding occasionally and jotting down key points on paper.


    "That''s it," Winters concluded his recount of the assassination and explosion at the dock. He really wanted to speak to his uncle about the skirmish at sea and the great fire in Guidao City. He had many questions and hoped for his uncle''s wise counsel, but clearly, this was not the time.


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    Antonio pondered Winters'' story in his mind, coming to a conclusion.


    He rubbed his temples and said, "Then, this has absolutely nothing to do with the army! Our cadet officers happened to be involved only because they acted out of a sense of justice."


    "Exactly!" Winters slapped the desk, but then he remembered the passenger who could use the Deflection Spell, quietly thinking to himself that it might have some connection to the army, but definitely none to the cadet officers.


    "What on earth is customs thinking? Instead of going after the assassins, they locked you all up," Antonio put away his notebook, "Don''t worry, if it''s unrelated to us, then the customs can''t expect to pin this mess on the army''s head." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters nodded emphatically, bolstered by his uncle''s stance.


    "Tell your peers not to worry; eat and drink as they usually would. Let''s see how long customs intends to keep you under house arrest," Antonio, full of confidence, imparted his strategy to Winters: "You are not criminals. Demand whatever you need, and if customs dares to withhold it, smash through this place. They''re just a few guards; can''t you handle them?"


    Winters was about to remind his uncle that walls have ears, but then it dawned on him that perhaps his uncle was deliberately using this opportunity to apply pressure to customs. He thus played along vigorously, agreeing with a series of "Yes."


    However, he was still worried about Major Moritz and asked in a low voice, "What about Major Moritz? He would be best cared for in a tranquil place."


    Antonio thought for a moment and then answered slowly, "Moritz cannot leave just yet. The Throne won''t ask for him proactively; I will have customs arrange for a doctor to treat Moritz."


    He then added with a smile, "Rest assured, it''s customs who should be praying for Major Moritz''s health now, praying that he doesn''t die in their cells. If something happens to Moritz, the customs headquarters will get to see what the army''s cannons look like."


    Winters nodded vigorously once more; whether anyone from customs was eavesdropping or not, Antonio''s threat was no idle one.


    The Sea Blue Republic''s various power institutions all have strong independence.


    To be precise, it isn''t that the government oversees various departments of power, but rather that these departments of power compose the government of the Sea Blue Republic.


    Therefore, it''s not uncommon for these powerful institutions to engage in armed clashes over irreconcilable differences.


    While to date there hasn''t been any use of firearms, it''s not unimaginable for the army, if pushed too far, to wheel out their cannons and give their brethren a taste of "grapeshot''s breezy touch."

 Chapter 62: Chapter 32 Visit_3

    As for the neighboring Federated Provinces and the Republic, the situation there was even worse. So much so that Vineta philosophers like Conte once sarcastically commented, "The Provincial Army is not the military of the Federated Provinces; the Federated Provinces is the nation of the Provincial Army."As the first regime to overthrow the emperor and aristocracy on this continent after the ancient Muro Republic, each member state of the Federated Provinces was still groping its way in constructing a political system for the post-Imperial Era. To this day, none had been able to satisfactorily answer the simple yet troublesome question, "What do we do without an emperor?"


    "Oh, and there''s this." Antonio pulled out a small basket covered with a white cloth from under the table and pushed it towards Winters with a smile, "Take a guess, what''s it?"


    Winters leaned in to take a deep whiff and said happily, "Actually, I smelled the aroma when I entered the room, I just never got around to asking."


    He lifted the white cloth and inside were neatly arranged rows of small pies, with another layer of white cloth beneath. Judging by its thickness, there seemed to be a total of three layers in the basket.


    These pies had a unique shape, rolled up from inside out into chubby cylinders. Rather than calling it a pie, it was more like a rolled pastry.


    The dough was made from the precious refined white flour, and the meat filling was seasoned beef. It required rolling the white dough thinly, evenly spreading the beef filling, rolling it into a long strip, steaming it until done, and then cutting it into small sections.


    The ratio of white flour to water, the force used in kneading, the preciseness of fermentation, the seasoning of the meat filling¡ªany slight misstep in these procedures could make a significant difference in the final product''s taste.


    This "dessert" was a recipe from Winters'' mother''s family, now the unique skill of Winters'' aunt. Winters would confidently claim that in Vineta, this was the only place you could find it, with no other branches.


    Food is the deepest bond to one''s hometown, and one''s palate has profound connections to their life experiences.


    Winters didn''t care about hygiene, directly grabbing a whole piece and putting it into his mouth. With a moderate salty taste, rich and juicy meat filling, and a properly fermented crust... The familiar flavor finally gave him the true sensation of coming home. Before he could savor it enough, the pie was already gone.


    "I heard yesterday that the ship you came on had already reached the outer harbor. Early this morning, Kosa started preparing this in the kitchen for you," Antonio said affectionately, watching his nephew eat greedily with both hands. "I didn''t expect such an incident... When I heard I was coming to visit you, she insisted I bring it over. Hey, this really turned into a prison visit."


    After eating a few, Winters thought of Bard, Andre, and the others from his same period, so he put the pie he was holding back.


    Seeing his nephew stop, Antonio asked in puzzlement, "What''s wrong? Has it gone bad?"


    Antonio knew his nephew''s capacity; just six years ago when Winters was in Shanqian, he could eat two catties of such pies in one go. Let loose, this whole basket wouldn''t be enough to fill him.


    "No, I want to save them to take back for my friends to try," Winters said carefully as he covered the basket again with the white cloth, tucking in the corners.


    Antonio inspected his nephew''s eyebrows, eyes, nose, and jawline carefully, then chuckled, "You''ve grown up so much now. I still remember when you were a kid, you and your sister would fight over these pies¡­"


    As his embarrassing past was exposed, Winters'' cheeks flushed, and he hurriedly stopped his uncle from disclosing more old stories, "Let''s not talk about that. I was wrong back then, and I have deeply reflected on it."


    Antonio laughed heartily, finding joy as middle-aged people often did in revisiting children''s embarrassing histories. But then he suddenly became serious, gazing directly into Winters'' eyes.


    Winters sensed the shift in the atmosphere and listened attentively.


    Antonio asked his nephew earnestly, "Do you want to leave this place now?"


    Upon hearing Antonio''s words, Winters'' first reaction was confusion. Then he realized his uncle wasn''t joking¡ªAntonio definitely had a way to help him leave the prison right now if he wished to.


    Winters asked himself: Did I want to leave that prison cell?


    The answer, of course, was yes. No matter how good the prison environment, it was still a prison: low, damp, crowded, with a floor full of pits and uneven mortar, not even a comfortable place to lie down. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was also no way to pass the time in the cell, one could only sit withered in the prison room, where every second felt as long as a century.


    But, if I were to leave that cell, it definitely wouldn''t be alone. Everyone else was in prison too, what would it look like if I ran off by myself? If I were to leave, I must leave with everyone.


    Having realized this, Winters shook his head: "When everyone leaves, I will go out too."


    Antonio watched Winters''s eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter, "Good! Such is the spirit befitting of the son of Glavis!"


    Antonio forcefully rang the bell on the table and leaned back heroically in his chair.


    Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in a silk customs official''s uniform came through the door. The customs bureaucrat had a radiant smile on his face as he stood beside Antonio, rubbing his hands and asking in a low and obsequious voice, "General Serviati, have you finished talking with your nephew?"


    Antonio also smiled, saying, "We''ve finished. There''s something I really must ask of you."


    "Of course, of course," the customs official nodded eagerly.


    "This matter is truly embarrassing to bring up." Major General Antonio Selviati''s smile was now warm enough to melt ice caps, "My wife has only this precious nephew, spoiled beyond belief. We''ve heard about the hardships this child faces in the customs prison, it''s been causing quite a fuss at home..."


    "Rest assured, as an esteemed Corps Commanding General personally guarantees him, I will certainly honor this request. I''ll explain to the director and chief - you can take your nephew with you right now," the customs official quickly ascended the ladder of the conversation.


    "That would be really wonderful..." Major General Antonio''s expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned his tone, "But I have found that the environment of the customs prison is very helpful for young men to temper their minds, Ensign Winters!"


    "Present!"


    "I order you to stay in the customs prison! Without orders from the Army Department, even if customs asks you to leave, you are not to leave!"


    "Yes!"


    The customs official, thinking he had solved a thorny problem for his senior leader, was now dumbstruck, but Major General Antonio did not let him off that easily.


    He grabbed the collar of the customs uniform, dragging the customs official closer, and with a fierce and terrifying voice said, "Listen well to what I''m about to request! Go back and tell that old coot Hurd, the army will ''snatch'' people back, but absolutely will not accept them back passively. If this matter isn''t settled to our satisfaction, I''ll lead my troops and tear down your customs headquarters!"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHere''s the divider line for the old coot¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Find more to read on M V L


    In fact, I think fermented food is the type of food that best reflects the influence of life experiences on personal dietary preferences. It''s hard for adults to get used to unfamiliar fermented foods they didn''t eat as children, because many fermented foods basically just taste like decay, such as the infamous pickled auk.


    Thanks to "Old Wang of Social Justice" for the recommendation ticket.


    I used to give myself a recommendation ticket every day, but I always felt that voting for myself was a bit too shameful; recommendation tickets should be praise from the readers, not self-flattery by the author. So, I might as well ask for tickets from all you readers. If you have a recommendation ticket, please cast it for me, bowing in gratitude.

 Chapter 63: Chapter 33 Treatment

    The cell was the same as before, but the environment had slightly improved.The guards brought in a lot of wheat straw and hay, covering the uneven mortar floor.


    The cell door wasn''t locked anymore, allowing the warrant officers to freely use the guard''s toilet, instead of having to use a bucket in the cell.


    The message conveyed by Major General Antonio bolstered the warrant officers'' confidence. As he had said, Customs now found itself in a difficult position, not daring to mistreat these army officers, and even trying to accommodate the warrant officers'' demands as much as possible.


    Inside the cell, Winters and his peers were eagerly watching a famous doctor, invited by Customs, diagnose and treat Major Moritz.


    "Don''t all crowd over!" The old doctor glared fiercely at the warrant officers and scolded harshly, "With so many of you crowding around, it''s dark and nothing can be seen clearly, move aside! Let some air in!"


    This old doctor wore a monk-style robe made of fine silk satin. He sported a handsome goatee and his tone of rebuke was very much like that of a high-ranking officer¡ªcommanding and full of presence, clearly a man of great skill. Read new adventures at M V L


    Upon hearing his words, the warrant officers immediately took several steps back obediently to make space, and to avoid blocking the light, they all sat down on the ground. However, they still couldn''t suppress their curiosity and craned their necks to watch.


    The warrant officers left the best spot for ventilation and lighting in the cell for Major Moritz, who lay on the only straw mattress in the cell. However, regardless of the improvements, the location was still a prison, not a sanatorium, and the doctor clearly was dissatisfied with the environment.


    The doctor, reputedly hired by the Smuggling Division of Sea Blue City at great expense, placed his right hand on Major Moritz''s wrist, twirled his beard with his left, and lowered his eyelids, deep in thought.


    "What''s he doing?" Winters gently nudged Bard''s leg and whispered.


    Bard narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, "He may be feeling the pulse? Diagnosing illness by sensing the heartbeat. I''ve read about this diagnostic method before, I think it was in ''The Canon of Medicine''?" Bard shook his head, "I can''t remember clearly."


    "Medicine box!" The doctor''s eyes sparkled suddenly, and he transformed back into a live person, evidently having reached a conclusion, "Bring the medicine box."


    The assistant who came with him hurriedly took off the wood medicine box slung across his body and respectfully handed it over to the doctor with both hands. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The mood of the warrant officers was instantly energized, and the atmosphere in the cell began to get agitated.


    They were simply too bored¡ªa group of lively and restless young men confined without any form of entertainment; even a wooden stick could amuse them for half a day.


    The doctor took off a key that hung around his neck with a thin rope, and with a click, unlocked the golden lock of the wooden box. Although the box was small, inside was an entirely different world; as the lid was lifted, the whole box slowly unfolded like flower petals.


    The warrant officers sitting on the ground all issued sounds of admiration in unison.


    A hint of imperceptible smugness appeared at the corners of the old doctor''s mouth. In Sea Blue City, whether it was nobles and high officials or wealthy merchants and magnates, all were amazed by his meticulously crafted medicine box.


    Winters watched the renowned doctor open his exquisite medicine box and then take from one of the compartments... a knife.


    Wait, a knife?


    Winters'' previously excited smile froze as he watched in horror as the old doctor grabbed the major''s hand with his left and lifted the knife with his right as if to cut the major''s wrist.


    Several gasps were heard throughout the cell.


    "Wait a minute!" Winters yelled anxiously, leaping to the major''s side, grabbed the doctor''s wrist firmly, twisting it and snatching the knife away, and demanded sternly, "What are you doing?"


    The doctor''s assistant, seeing his teacher struck, quickly moved to engage with Winters, but he barely lifted his arm before he was pulled down and subdued by Winters'' peers.


    The doctor himself was nearly scared to death by Winters, already in his fifties or sixties, his old arms and legs couldn''t withstand such force, and his wrist was almost twisted off by Winters; he trembled as he retorted, "What, what, what are you doing?"


    Winters was both angry and amused as he gestured with the knife in his hand, "I''m asking what you''re doing with this."


    The old gentleman recovered a bit of his composure and angrily responded, "It was you who asked me to treat this gentleman."


    "Yes, that''s right, but what are you doing taking out a knife?"


    The doctor, shaken by Winters'' insistent references to the knife, scoffed back, "I''m treating this gentleman; do I need to explain to you?"


    "If you''re willing to explain, of course, I''m very keen to listen," Winters challenged evenly.


    "Hahaha." The doctor laughed in irritation at Winters, "Have you read ''The Medical Writings of Muro''?"


    "I haven''t."


    "Have you read ''Aphorisms of Kradi''?"


    "I haven''t."


    "Have you read ''On Water, Air, Fire, Earth''? Have you read ''On Trauma''? Have you read ''The Heidegger Notes''?"


    "I haven''t."


    "Then do you understand the theory of humors?"


    "I don''t."


    The doctor became furious, "Then what do you want? You don''t understand anything, yet demand explanations from me?"


    Winters was also angry, "You wanted to cut the major''s wrist with a knife, and I will not allow it!"


    "What do you know?" The doctor pointed at Winters'' nose and rebuked, "This gentleman has drunk too much seawater after nearly drowning, resulting in an imbalance in bodily fluids and toxic blood accumulating in his liver. The liver and the right arm are interrelated; it''s necessary to let out the toxic blood from his right arm!"

 Chapter 64: Chapter 33 Treatment_2

    "I''ve only heard of soldiers bleeding to death on the battlefield, never of bloodletting as a way to save people!""Nonsense! Where did you learn your medical skills to be so presumptuous in front of me?" the old man blew his beard and glared.


    Winters replied coldly, "The Army Officer Academy!"


    "Isn''t the Army Officer Academy meant for teaching how to kill? Since when is it qualified to teach medicine?"


    "The military academy doesn''t teach medicine, but I learned a bit in hygiene class¡ªif there''s a wound bleeding, you need to find a way to stop it, but no one ever taught me to draw blood deliberately when there''s no external injury!"


    "Can external bleeding and internal toxin accumulation be considered the same?"


    "I don''t care! The major is very weak now, and I absolutely can''t agree to you bloodletting him. Is that the only treatment you have?" Winters didn''t bother arguing with the doctor and firmly refused to allow the bloodletting of the major. All of Winters'' medical knowledge came from the hygiene courses at the military academy, which in turn originated from practical experiences summed up during the Sovereign Wars.


    The old man was so infuriated by Winters that he was almost having a stroke, and he bellowed resentfully, "You won''t let me bleed him, then I won''t treat him at all! If this gentleman''s condition worsens, it will be your responsibility! Don''t come looking for me!"


    With that, he snatched his knife back from Winters, hurled it into his medicine box, slammed the wooden case shut, and stormed off angrily.


    His assistant cast a hateful glance around the cell and then sullenly followed the old man.


    Having driven the doctor away, Winters actually felt a bit guilty, but he believed he wasn''t wrong this time.


    He said helplessly to his classmates sitting on the ground, watching him, "Can bloodletting even be called a treatment method? It really could kill the major."


    "Good job!" Andre cheered loudly and started clapping vigorously, "I''ve always found that old pretender annoying!" The others joined in the applause, and sporadic claps echoed within the cell.


    Winters nodded in gratitude to Andre, now finding an endearing quality in Andre''s character. The guy had no real sense of right and wrong¡ªor rather, his sense of right and wrong could be summed up in five words: stand by your own. His own people were always right, the enemies always wrong.


    The major couldn''t hear anything, but he saw the doctor and Winters seemed to have started arguing, his assistant was held down on the ground by the other warrant officers, and then the doctor left in a huff.


    He picked up a quill pen and wrote on a piece of paper, passing it to Winters: What happened?


    Winters smiled bitterly and wrote back: That doctor just now said that toxins are accumulating in your blood, in your liver, and wanted to bleed you from the arm. I didn''t agree, so he left.


    After reading this, the major nodded and wrote: It''s normal, the world doesn''t recognize our medical experience, thinking we are just a bunch of executioners, while we merely sum up patterns in practice. Thank you, you did right by not allowing him to use bloodletting.


    Getting the major''s understanding was a big relief for Winters. What he feared most was that the major himself would support bloodletting, which would make his own rush to prevent the doctor turn into a farce.


    Suddenly remembering that the major hadn''t properly eaten ever since, Winters wrote: Do you want to eat something?


    The major shook his head; he had no appetite. Most of the time now, the major was in a sleep state, eager for news updates, and he picked up the pen to write: Any new developments at the customs?


    Winters replied: None at the moment, but the attitude there has softened a lot.


    Looking at Major Moritz''s face, which had become slightly sunken, Winters suddenly remembered the scene at the dock when he had shouted to the major to aim at the opponent''s head, yet the major still fired at the opponent''s chest armor. It seemed comical in retrospect.


    So, Winters wrote with a smile on the paper: If you had aimed at those assassins'' heads back then, it would be the customs awarding us medals now.


    When the major used the Arrow Flying Spell, Winters heard a teeth-gritting sound of metal deformation as silver coins collided with armor; the assassins were even forced to retreat repeatedly to offset the impact.


    Such power wasn''t inferior to arrows shot from a bow of over a hundred pounds. The assassins weren''t wearing helmets, so a hit to the head would certainly be fatal.


    Major Moritz wrote with a resigned smile: Hands were shaking, couldn''t aim, so I aimed for the torso instead.


    Winters didn''t understand the major''s meaning at a glance, but when he recalled the major''s condition before disembarking, he immediately understood.


    Based on Winters'' current understanding of magic, the Arrow Flying Spell essentially involved accelerating an object as much as possible within one''s spell-casting range, in essence, like throwing darts with a "third hand"; accuracy was all about "feel." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The major''s spellcasting material for releasing the Arrow Flying Spell was a silver coin he constantly fiddled with, leading Winters to conjecture that the major constantly practiced coin tricks to maintain his feel for the spell.


    However, during the last days on the Bandit Gull, Major Moritz''s hands shook uncontrollably due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms. He couldn''t even perform coin tricks, let alone expect any accuracy from the Arrow Fying Spell.


    General Antoine-Laurent believed that Spellcasters shouldn''t use any addictive substances, as they could destroy their precious magical abilities.


    Winters had previously blindly followed the general''s teachings to abstain from drinking and smoking, but now the way Major Moritz''s magical abilities had suffered due to his heavy drinking was a real lesson for Winters.


    Winters really wanted to urge Major Moritz to give up drinking for good; he dreamt of becoming a powerful Spellcaster like the major. Your next journey awaits at M-V-L

 Chapter 65: Chapter 33 Treatment_3

    A spellcaster attuned to such high levels of magic yet addicted to alcohol was like someone trampling on Winters'' most treasured possessions, a piercing irony indeed.But he was well aware that unsolicited advice was a big taboo. Drunkenness was the major''s personal choice, and he had neither the position nor the right to say those ''I''m only saying this for your good'' kind of words.


    Seeing Major Moritz begin to grow tired, Winters helped the major lie down and watched as he fell back into a deep sleep.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the same time as Major Moritz slipped into dreams, still within the Customs Administration office, still in Hurd''s office, the same few people, the same stifling atmosphere persisted.


    The directors of Customs were still just burying their heads in smoke, and this time, Hurd joined the ranks of the haze creators. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The situation now was: everyone from the top to the bottom of Customs knew that these army officer trainees were innocent and had to be let go, but no one dared to be the first to propose it.


    Whomever broached this solution, the customs leadership would immediately take the out offered, agree amicably, with a big fuss, see off this plague of the Vineta Army.


    But the person who proposed the solution would be labeled as groveling to the Army, a disgrace to the customs'' dignity. This label would be mentioned over and over again in later internal criticism, and the branded person would be stepped on by ten thousand feet.


    The directors thought Hurd was waiting for his subordinates to step up and ease the leader''s worries, the directors were waiting for Hurd to display his leadership qualities and take the thunder for his subordinates.


    Meanwhile, the two chief regiments of the Vineta Standing Army were ready and waiting outside the city, awaiting the Throne''s command to move out and snatch the people.


    It was still the Director of Smuggling Prevention who first spoke up: "We can''t just fall out with the Army over such a trivial matter."


    Expressing weakness didn''t mean he was a defeatist at heart.


    "Afraid of what? Let them come! Who are they trying to scare with their big guns? As if we don''t have big guns ourselves," the Tax Director roared as if spoiling for a fight.


    The one starting with a high pitch wasn''t necessarily a true hardliner.


    Stay updated via M-V-L


    "Can''t make up your mind? Let''s do a minority obeys the majority, how about an anonymous collective vote among the directors and above?"


    Oh? Here was someone wanting a piece of the pie, attempting to overthrow the top administrator.


    Hurd sat behind his desk, calmly enjoying his tobacco.


    At fifty-eight, he was considered on in years for this time and age.


    His thoughts were no longer sharp, his body no longer nimble, his temples were grizzled, and his cheeks began to show age spots.


    But his mind was as clear as a mirror. He sat on the chief customs officer''s chair, seeing through everyone''s petty schemes with utmost clarity.


    What was it to falsely capture a few army warrant officers? It was just that they saw he was about to retire, and so even the smallest of issues could make all hell break loose.


    He had long had his decision in mind, he just wanted to calmly finish his tobacco pipe while assessing what his subordinates were really worth.


    The next customs chief administrator, barring any accident, would be chosen by the fifteen-member finance committee from the current directors.


    Hurd had to ensure that the place where he had devoted his life''s work, the Vineta Republic Customs, would fall into the right hands.


    "I''ll handle it." This was a voice rarely heard at director meetings, forthright and calm.


    Hurd gently tapped the tobacco ash out of the pipe bowl.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the helmet-wearing dividing line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Winters had acted as a "medical troublemaker," but this was by no means an encouragement for the readers to compete in medical knowledge against the doctors in the real world. It''s just that in the alternate world where Winters was, compared to some doctors, barbers who treated wounded soldiers were closer to the truth, because practice is the only criterion for testing truth.


    Furthermore, it may be hard to believe, but prior to the formation of modern medicine, ancient European physicians also used herbal remedies and pulse diagnosis techniques.


    Herbs need no further mention, most of which were used by monks in monasteries and recorded by them.


    As for pulse diagnosis, the first chapter of Italian Benvenuto Cellini''s "Autobiography" mentions his father knowing some Latin and a little bit of medicine, diagnosing his pulse when he was sick, and even using it to assess his moods.


    However, whether this technique was introduced to the Latin region from the Arab region, or if it was a long-standing diagnostic method of the Latin people, is something I don''t know.


    P.S. Thanks to Break-arm Stream and Social Justice Wang for their recommendation tickets, and thanks to Old Wang for his reward. It really pleases me that living people read the stories I write.

 Chapter 66: Chapter 34: Arriving Home

    Later that evening, after infuriating the doctor, Winters inexplicably received a small bag jingling with reward coins from the smiling customs boss and a Customs Third-Class Service Medal was pinned to his chest.Amid the discordant march played by the makeshift orchestra, Winters and Bard carried Major Moritz on a stretcher as they were escorted out of the smugglers'' prison.


    The heavy prison gate closed with a resounding "bang" behind them, leaving thirty-three warrant officers and one seriously injured major dumped at the prison entrance.


    Is that it, then? Is the matter resolved?


    Where are we supposed to go now?


    What about Major General Layton?


    The officer trainees looked at each other, at a loss.


    "Anyhow, let''s get some wagons first! We need to get the major back to the army headquarters," Winters proposed loudly. It was better to act than to stand around idly; they certainly couldn''t take turns carrying the major all the way back to the army headquarters, could they?


    His contemporaries apparently found his proposal sensible. With someone willing to lead, things became easier. Several proactive individuals immediately went to look for wagons.


    "Hey! Why did that scoundrel from the customs give us money?" Andre slapped his thigh hard, "I get it, it''s taxi fare they''ve given us!"


    The smugglers'' office was quite secluded, unlike the docks where coachmen were always waiting to be hailed. The warrant officers finally managed to stop two proper passenger carriages and also acquired two mule-drawn carts and a donkey cart for hauling hay from nearby farms. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when it came time to assign seats, no one wanted to sit in the donkey cart. The mule carts at least had a small cabin; the donkey cart was nothing more than a wooden board with two wheels and no shelter.


    After all, they were all officers; you can''t treat warrant officers as if they''re not cadre. It would be utterly embarrassing to ride in such a petty donkey cart.


    "Alright, folks, stop dawdling," Winters said helplessly: "I''ll take the major in the donkey cart since the stretcher won''t fit in the wagons anyway."


    The warrant officers, in high spirits, rushed to claim their seats, while Major Moritz, still groggy and unaware, was settled quite clearly by Winters and then somewhat confusedly hoisted onto the donkey cart. Bard also got on.


    "You might as well take the wagon too; this donkey cart really is beneath you." Deep down, Winters felt the same shame as his peers at the thought of riding in the donkey cart.


    But he had opened his mouth to suggest finding transport, and now he''d have to swallow the consequences.


    "I''m from The Federated Provinces," Bard laughed heartily: "This isn''t my hometown, and nobody in Sea Blue City knows me."


    "Ah," Winters sighed deeply: "But this is my hometown."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªSeparator¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The guards outside the Vineta Army headquarters watched as five animal-drawn vehicles, four large and one small, pulled up at the military compound''s entrance. As they were about to step forward to reprimand these clueless country bumpkin drivers, they saw a swarm of young men in uniform miraculously emerging from the carriages one after another.


    In this era, shoulder and arm badges hadn''t been invented yet, and the way to distinguish between soldiers and officers was to look at the cut of their clothes, while distinguishing higher-ranking officers involved checking the material and adornments of the uniform.


    Thus, although the army officer trainees were in their summer uniforms, their cut was unmistakably that of an officer''s uniform, and the guards at army headquarters, well-versed and knowledgeable, would certainly not misidentify them.


    A few guards didn''t dare to neglect them and immediately sent one of their numbers to report to the headquarters building.


    The sudden return of these junior cadets threw the army headquarters into disarray. Everyone had vaguely felt that this matter wouldn''t end amicably and feared that it would ultimately lead to a major conflict, with some of the more combative already secretly preparing for a fight.


    No one expected the customs to change their tune so quickly, releasing everyone just like that. The practical and face-saving resolution from the customs caught everyone at the Vineta Army headquarters by surprise.


    However, the efficiency of the army officers was high, and they managed the unexpected event swiftly and appropriately.


    Major Moritz was taken into the care of the medical staff.


    The warrant officers were escorted to complete their reporting process and were registered.


    After reporting, the warrant officers were divided into two groups. Those whose homes were not in Sea Blue City were taken to the officers'' club for accommodation, while those from Sea Blue City went home to their respective families after completing the reporting process.


    Winters and Bard temporarily parted ways as Bard was housed in the officers'' club. At the fourth intersection after leaving the army headquarters, Winters and Andre also temporarily bid farewell, each making their way home.


    Six years had passed, and the city had undergone great changes. The old uneven streets were now paved with new stone, and many of the shopfronts and buildings from his memory had changed signs, but there were still a few unchanged landmarks to guide him. Experience new tales on M-V-L


    Guided by memory, Winters found his way home.


    When he opened the courtyard gate and stood before the familiar, beautiful, two-story stone house, he suddenly felt an inexplicable panic.


    He took a deep breath and knocked on the door knocker.


    "Who is it?" A crisp female voice called from inside the house.


    Though the voice sounded different, Winters recognized it. A smile spread across his face, "It''s me."


    The door cracked open, and a small head peeked out. A pair of large eyes, very much like his uncle''s, blinked at him: "Brother! You''re back!"


    The door was flung open, and the young girl rushed out, clinging to Winters''s neck, shouting back into the house, "Mom! Brother''s back!"

 Chapter 67: Chapter 34 Arriving Home_2

    Winters once again felt startled by this unexpected affectionate gesture, and, being awkward and unsure of how to respond, he simply gently rubbed the girl''s hair."Ouch, let go of him, let your brother get into the house," a woman in her thirties with high cheekbones, black phoenix eyebrows, and a dignified and graceful demeanor hurried out and pulled the girl from Winters''s neck.


    However, she herself couldn''t help but shed tears, stretching out her arms to tightly embrace her precious nephew.


    She grabbed Winters''s shoulders and pushed him away, taking two seconds to examine him carefully. Then, pulling Winters close again, she kissed his cheeks. Her crying became more intense; she could hardly speak clearly, only murmuring over and over, "You''re back, you''re finally back."


    Now, Winters felt like a doll being playfully manipulated, being moved around at will, and he responded with a grin, "Auntie, I''m back."


    For most people, family members are a gender-neutral presence, rarely described in terms of beauty or ugliness. Although handsome men and beautiful women might attract stares on the street, people seldom examine the faces of their relatives closely.


    Even from the everyday proximity to their relatives, they become too familiar yet too strange, their faces fixed in one''s mind, but many people would struggle to accurately describe them.


    So Winters did not measure these two women by the standards of beauty or ugliness. Although he was feeling out of his element, this was just the normal reaction of an adult being treated like a child. He simply felt very comfortable by their side.


    "Mom, let go, let my brother come inside," the girl grudgingly pulled her mother''s arm, rescuing Winters from his auntie''s death grip hug.


    "Right, right, right, look at me," Winters''s auntie wiped her tears, laughing as she offered to help Winters with his luggage.


    Of course, Winters couldn''t let the women carry his belongings. His auntie didn''t insist, leading Winters inside instead. The girl wrapped her arm around Winters''s left arm and clung to him once more.


    The older woman was Kasha Serviati, Winters''s aunt, and the girl was his cousin, Elizabeth Selvidi. They named their daughter after Winters''s mother using her name.


    After entering the house, Winters saw a sturdy ginger cat walking out from the sitting room.


    In Sea Blue, the climate is warm, and to facilitate heat dispersal, cats tend to be on the smaller side. But this orange cat had a robust bone structure, thick shoulders and legs, and a stocky build, quite different from the local felines.


    The cat strutted out with its tail held high, the tip bent into a hook, and with a proud look, it walked to Winters''s feet, unabashedly rubbing his cheeks against Winters''s trouser legs, purring loudly.


    "Great General!" Winters scratched the top of the cat''s head and stroked its back. Just as he was about to reach for the excess flesh on its belly, the cat coldly shook its head and walked away with a swagger.


    "The Great General still recognizes me," Winters said, undeterred by the cat''s disdain, happily sharing with his aunt and cousin.


    "How could it not recognize you?"


    "And where''s the little General?"


    Continue your adventure with M-V-L


    After entering and passing through a short corridor, turning right would take them into the sitting room. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. As soon as Winters sat down in the sitting room, a tabby cat that was smaller than the previous ginger cat came running out, meowing "mie mie." S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Little General!"


    The tabby cat jumped right onto Winters, its claws piercing through his clothes and making him gasp from the pain. Winters hastily grabbed the Little General with his right hand to prevent it from scratching him and possibly drawing blood.


    The Little General meowed and rubbed its cheeks against Winters''s collar, licking his chin with its barbed tongue, which Winters found quite painful.


    "Haha, why is the Little General so enthusiastic?" Winters looked helplessly at his aunt and said, "But you really should trim its claws."


    "He''s missed you so much," his aunt answered affectionately.


    "Get off me," the girl said bluntly, grabbing the tabby by the scruff of its neck and setting it down on the floor.


    However, the tabby was relentless, circling around Winters''s feet and meowing nonstop, like a chatterbox. It didn''t meow like other cats but made a short "mie" sound instead.


    "Look at you, look at you, really turning into a strapping young man," Kasha said, sitting to Winters''s right, holding his right hand and speaking with a wealth of emotion, "These eyebrows and eyes really bear a resemblance to your mother. Elizabeth would have been so happy to see you all grown up."


    This was already the second time since Winters had gotten home that he''d been told he looked like someone else. Do relatives all have a different take on resemblance?


    Winters wasn''t as sentimental as his aunt. He replied with a smile, "Really? The Colonel said I look like my father."


    "Hmph!" Kasha glared and raised her eyebrows, "How could that be? Look at this nose, these hair, these eyes, you''ve got the Granashi bloodline. I''ll find your grandfather''s portrait for you, you look just like him when he was young. The Colonel is just talking nonsense! Wait until he gets home tonight, I''ll have to deal with him properly."


    The Colonel is the home nickname for Major General Antonio Serviati, because once during an argument with his wife, he retorted in frustration, "I''m at least a Colonel, and you should give me some respect," and it stuck.

 Chapter 68: Chapter 34 Arriving Home_3

    From then on, Kelsa called her husband a lieutenant colonel and even forced her nephew and daughter to do the same, so that when Winters met his uncle at the customs prison, he subconsciously called out "Lieutenant Colonel.""Ella, take your brother to drop off the luggage first." Kelsa remembered that Winters had just returned home and asked with concern, "Are you hungry? You must not have had much to eat at customs. I''ll cook something for you."


    As she spoke, she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.


    "No need, Auntie," Winters hurriedly stopped his aunt. "I''m not hungry, I''m just a bit tired and would like to sleep for a while."


    "How can you not eat? I''ll make some snacks¡ªquickly," Kelsa said, ignoring Winters''s opinion as she walked towards the kitchen.


    In the military academy, Winters was the junior class leader; in front of soldiers and civilians, he was an officer; on the Bandit Gull, he was a warrior daring to jump ship; among his peers in Vineta, he was vaguely seen as a leader.


    But at home, his family status was still that of a child, slightly higher than his sister and the little general, but much lower than the Great General. So, he could only watch helplessly as his aunt walked through the service door towards the kitchen.


    "Brother, let me take you to your room," the young girl pulled Winters up from the soft chair in the living room. "After you left, Mom had the servants clean it every day¡ªit''s even cleaner than before you went to school."


    Leaving the living room and crossing another corridor, they went upstairs. With a smile, Elizabeth pushed open that familiar door, and memories, long sealed, tumbled out as the door swung open.


    There was a charred mark on the wooden floor where Winters had burned it playing with fire as a child. The large and small wooden swords he used to learn swordsmanship with his uncle still leaned in a corner, above which hung a dartboard. The bed was covered with a clean white sheet, the desk polished spotless,


    "See? Isn''t it cleaner than when you were here? I''m the one who checks it every day," Elizabeth said proudly. But Winters was immersed in memories and heard nothing.


    Gently touching these familiar old objects, Winters finally opened the wardrobe. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had merely opened it casually, wanting to see if the clothes he used to wear were still there. But to his surprise, five or six new outfits, all adult-sized, hung neatly inside.


    "These were all made by your aunt," Elizabeth''s voice came from behind. She complained to Winters, "You wouldn''t send back your measurements despite your aunt asking you to, so she had to guess the size. After you left, she made new ones every year, only to throw them away. She would never dare to send them to you, and just put them here, worried you might come home with no clothes to wear."


    "I could only wear the cadet uniform at the academy, so sending back my measurements would have been pointless. The three cadet uniforms I had were enough," Winters said, feeling a warm current in his heart. He gently closed the wardrobe door and smilingly said to his sister, "It''s about you, though. Do we still have home tutors?"


    The young girl stuck out her tongue, "I''ve grown past the age of needing home tutors. I''m now learning painting with Madam Anguisola."


    "Learning to paint?"


    "Yes. Yup, the lieutenant colonel just can''t stand to see me idle and has to find things for me to do. Now, Mom sighs every day, pondering how to get me married off."


    Winters laughed heartily upon hearing this: "After all, you are a grown lady now."


    "But I''m not worried," Elizabeth said with a twinkle in her eye and a mischievous smile. "With you taking the brunt, as long as you''re not married, the biggest pressure is not on me."


    The sharp retort from the young girl instantly extinguished Winters''s mirth. Sheepishly, he placed his luggage on the table and began emptying it out, item by item.


    First came some everyday items. Then the more valuable ones: his spellbook, some spellcasting materials he''d sneaked out from his magic class, his handwritten manuscripts from the military academy, class notes, and a few genuine printed books.


    To digress for a moment, printing technology had been in Vineta for over a decade, but Winters, like the clergymen in the old church schools, still mainly used manuscripts and copied books himself. Even printed books, which utilized the printing process, were very expensive and mainly used for printing scripture which was always in demand.


    However, compared to past times, this was a significant stride forward, mostly because advances in papermaking improved the quality of paper while lowering its cost. In the past, theologians and priests would rent books page by page¡ªnote, rent, not buy¡ªas a single book could cost as much as a craftsman''s entire annual income. Hence, not only was it expensive to become a priest, but attending a theological college was even more so.


    It was the advancement of papermaking and the introduction of printed books that enabled the Alliance army to emulate the structure of theological colleges and establish tuition-free schools to train officers at a lower cost. The fact that the military academy charged no tuition made it highly attractive to a large number of poor but ambitious young people.


    But let''s get back to Winters.


    Stay tuned to M-V-L


    After taking out the other small items, Winters finally took out his shoulder bag from the deepest part of the luggage.


    "Brother, is that blood on the cloth bag?" Elizabeth exclaimed with her hand over her mouth.


    "No," Winters replied calmly, "it''s red wine."


    This bag was the one Winters had used on the night shift when he encountered the female thief, after which he was taken to fight the fire and then lost consciousness, later being carried onto the Bandit Gull.

 Chapter 69: Chapter 34: Home_4

    So, the shoulder bag had never been washed, covered in bloodstains from Winters everywhere: splatters from the fight, smears from handling the whistle."Really?" The girl was skeptical; she was no fool. But her brother''s tone was calm and unflustered, not seeming to be feigned.


    Winters opened the shoulder bag and carefully took out the female thief''s dagger, which he had returned to the bag after their encounter.


    Elizabeth''s eyes lit up, and she reached for the dagger: "What is this? It''s so pretty."


    Winters was startled and lifted the dagger high, out of his sister''s reach: "Be careful, it''s sharp."


    With his height and long arms, no matter how the girl reached, she couldn''t touch the dagger. She simply hugged Winters''s left arm and coaxed him: "Just let me see it, please? I''ll just look, I won''t take it, is that okay?"


    Discover hidden tales at M-V-L


    "Alright," Winters relented: "I''ll hold it for you to look, but be careful, it''s very sharp."


    Before, Winters had either casually stuffed the dagger into the bag or pulled it out to stab someone, so this was, in fact, the first time he had properly examined the weapon he had confiscated.


    The blade of the dagger was about twenty centimeters long, about two fingers in width, double-edged, with a straight edge and no fuller. It resembled a short sword, but it had no guard or quillons, just a sleek, straight hilt.


    There might have been decorative patterns originally on the blade, but since Winters had used it to cast the Luminosity Spell, it had turned red and black, covering everything. However, the red and black patterns on the blade gave it an eerily beautiful look.


    The handle of the dagger had no decorations either; it was wrapped in some kind of leather over a wooden grip. Thin strands of some silver-colored metal were twisted into a cord and wrapped around the handle of the dagger with a one-finger interval, ending in a smooth counterweight sphere.


    Winters speculated that the metal wire on the dagger''s hilt might be silver, and even if it wasn''t, the craftsmanship required to weave three strands into a cord was not something an average artisan could manage.


    Although the blade was not visible at the moment, when he stabbed people on the ship, the dagger slid into the body as if cutting through butter, suggesting the steel was of good quality as well.


    From all the evidence, this seemed to be a rather fine dagger. Unexpectedly, the female thief cared quite a bit about her "dining utensils."


    "This little knife is so pretty." Elizabeth, taking advantage of her brother''s distraction, snatched the dagger and started making gestures in the air with it.


    Watching his sister clumsily wave the sharp weapon, Winters felt his heart leap with fear, worried she might accidentally cut herself, and he kept saying: "Ella! Be careful, that dagger is very quick."


    In truth, the more Winters mentioned the sharpness of the dagger, the more Elizabeth wanted it.


    Winters hadn''t realized, from a male perspective, that the dagger had been originally used by a woman; although its design was simple, its compact and exquisite construction naturally would attract the eyes of a girl. Moreover, since Winters had "colored" it with the Luminosity Spell, Elizabeth was even more reluctant to part with it.


    Hearing his words, Elizabeth stopped, blinked, and played hard to get by obediently handing the dagger back to her brother.


    Then she hugged Winters''s left arm again, playing the spoiled child: "Brother, can you give me this little knife? Please? The safety in Sea Blue City has been terrible lately, let it be for my self-defense?"


    "I''m afraid you might hurt yourself."


    "But I''ve used kitchen knives before, and even craft knives, and I''ve never hurt myself," Elizabeth retorted sharply and quickly. Winters had never been able to win an argument with her since they were young.


    "It''s designed differently, this dagger is really dangerous, and you could very easily hurt yourself with it." Could it not be dangerous? Winters thought. In his hands alone, the dagger had already taken three lives, not to mention its previous owners; it might be the deadliest thing in the house.


    "Then you can teach me how to use it."


    Winters was at a loss for words. He had only love and tenderness for his sister, and he couldn''t say things like "What does a girl need with something like this?"


    He sighed, finally conceding defeat: "Okay, I''ll give it to you. But the dagger doesn''t have a sheath now. Wait until I make one for you, okay?"


    "Isn''t it just a sheath? I can find some leather and sew one right now." Elizabeth cheered triumphantly, now that she had gotten her way.


    "Fine, make the sheath, and then come get the dagger from me, okay?" S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You''re the best, brother!" Elizabeth planted a kiss on her brother''s face and hurried off to her room to sew the sheath.


    Winters shook his head, the image of his sniffling, tearful little sister who used to fight and cry with him still vivid in his memory. When had she become so...


    Astonishing? Not quite right.


    Understanding? Not quite right either.


    Very good at persuading people? Even less so.


    In any case, she had changed; truly, a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood.


    As he pondered, he emptied the shoulder bag, and a small white silk parcel fell out. Winters picked it up and took a while to remember this too belonged to the female thief.


    But Winters was very tired now, with no interest in what was inside the parcel, so he casually tossed it back onto the table, pulled the white cloth off the bed, and collapsed onto it as if he had lost all his strength.


    He closed his eyes.


    Time to sleep.


    ...


    ...


    But he couldn''t sleep!


    Curiosity overpowered sleepiness; he still wanted to know what was inside the little parcel.

 Chapter 70: Chapter 34 Homecoming_5

    Winters abruptly stood up, walked to the desk, and unraveled the white silk cloth.Inside was something that looked like a small notebook?


    The notebook''s front and back covers were yellow, with a texture that felt like some kind of leather, possibly cowhide?


    There was a clasp on the side.


    Winters opened the clasp, filled with anticipation, and opened the notebook...


    ...


    ...


    What??


    It''s blank?


    Discover exclusive tales at M-V-L


    He flipped through the notebook back and forth, only finding a tiny letter ''L'' at the lower-left corner of the last page.


    ''L''?


    What the hell is ''L''?


    Winters tossed the notebook back onto the desk with self-mockery, thinking, "Lieutenant Montagne, what were you expecting? A treasure map? A huge secret? Some unspeakable novel? That female thief probably can''t even recognize letters."


    He sighed and collapsed back onto the bed.


    He hadn''t had a good rest for two days.


    As his mind relaxed, fatigue came knocking at his door.


    On this familiar bed, all his physical pains were soothed away.


    Sleepiness overtook him.


    He drifted off to sleep.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line for the notebook with nothing written in it¡ª¡ª


    Although marrying one''s cousin was quite normal in this era, I assure you there will be no orthopedic content in this story. I hope to depict independent, intelligent, self-respecting, and admirable female characters, but essentially this is still a man''s story, about steel, gunpowder, and Magic.


    (Although up until now I have yet to let Winters "discover the ultimate secret of Magic," Orz, I promise, it''s coming soon.)


    Elizabeth Serviati is Winters Montagne''s sister, and although they''re cousins, they grew up together and are as close as siblings from the same mother. Their relationship is purely familial, with absolutely no romantic affection involved.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the orthopedic-free dividing line¡ª¡ª


    Moreover, before the invention of papermaking and book printing, books were astoundingly expensive, and ordinary people hardly had any need to read, with most books being copied and consumed by clerics. The early papermaking technique was subpar in quality, so scribes continued to copy texts on parchment, for after all, copying was a tough job, and certainly one would want to write on the best paper available.


    According to the paper "Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages" by Christopher Dyer, published by Cambridge University Press in 1989


    In England of 1397, the University of Oxford spent 113 pounds to purchase 126 books of an average 77 pages each, with ''pound'' referring to a pound of 92.5% pure silver. The average cost per book was about 0.830 pounds of silver, and the definition of ''pound'' in terms of weight has not changed much over time, approximately 376.482 grams of silver by today''s standards.


    Converted into today''s silver price, one book is nearly 1500 RMB.


    But considering the purchasing power of precious metals at the time, it was a fortune.


    This was because the outflow of precious metals in 14th century England led to a currency shortage, inflating the purchasing power of precious metals;


    At the same time, today''s low silver prices are due to mass mining, which has nearly turned silver into an industrial material, losing its monetary properties.


    Even after movable-type printing was introduced in Europe, book prices remained high due to the limited audience. Like I mentioned before, many swordsmanship masters in the 15th and 16th centuries went bankrupt trying to print manuals and even resorted to embezzlement to fund their printing, only to end up hanged...


    Thus, movable-type printing was mainly used to print religious books because only this genre had a broad enough audience to worry not about sales and to spread the cost. During the Protestant Reformation, Protestants were fervent in printing pamphlets and vernacular versions of the scriptures.


    Furthermore, Selika''s widespread use of woodblock printing technology was an impressive achievement in reducing book prices. Yet it might be precisely because of a barely adequate technology that there was less motivation to improve, which is lamentable. In the tenth year of the Daoguang era, when Li Yao printed "Southern Border Chronicles" in Hangzhou using movable-type, it actually cost more than woodblock-printed books. Woodblock printing technology suppressed the development of movable-type, eliciting a sigh.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the ''blessing in disguise'' dividing line¡ª¡ª


    Thanks to the social justice advocate Old Wang and book friend 20181013204343295 for their recommendation tickets


    Thank you so much, bowing in gratitude. To claim that this story is purely written for oneself would be disingenuous; thank you for the recognition. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 71: Chapter 35: Internship Volunteer

    The early military organization of human civilization consisted of property owners who provided their own weapons, armor, and horses for military service. These politically empowered property owners were known as citizens in the Gumlu Empire and as nationals in the Gusalica Empire.From this period on, the ability of a commander to inspire the morale of troops became extremely important.


    In small-scale scuffles involving less than a dozen people, a silver-tongued leader was less useful than one who led from the front.


    But when a thousand people were fighting desperately against another thousand, how to make soldiers willingly follow one into hell became a skill that could determine victory or defeat. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The crudest and simplest method was "money in place, men in place."


    But money was not the problem; the lack of money was the problem.


    Waging war was burning money, something that military strategists through the ages have repeatedly emphasized as an important consideration.


    In wars, it''s rare for money to be on time; it''s the norm for it to be late.


    Since ancient times, generals and kings who have lost their lives due to unpaid military salaries are as common as hairs on an ox.


    Not to mention the distant past, let''s just look at the recent events. A symbolic incident marking the full outbreak of the war for sovereignty occurred 38 years ago when Duke Arleans, dubbed "The Butcher," led his troops over the Sheltering Mountain Range to attack the rebels in the Duke of the Mountain Foothill Territories.


    In later generations, historians from the Alliance would find thousands of metaphysical reasons, such as ''good always triumphs over evil,'' to explain why Duke Arleans could initially crush the rebels but eventually ended up besieged in a lonely castle, defeated, and dead by his own hand.


    But in this era, when this history was still a living memory and not just words in a book, every member of the Allied Army who had experienced the war for sovereignty knew why they could win: because Duke Arleans had run out of money.


    If King Richard IV could have paid Duke Arleans his military salaries on time, the Federated Provinces Republic might still be the Mountain Foothill Duke''s Territory of the Empire.


    Duke Arleans, the Empire''s most capable and combative land army commander in the past hundred years, did not die by his own sword but rather due to bankruptcy.


    While money cannot buy true die-hard soldiers, in the feudal era, as long as one could ensure that his soldiers were well-fed, warmly clothed, and paid on time, one could be called a great general, inevitably reserving a spot in future history textbooks.


    Most of the time in history, the biggest issue facing officers was not how to convince soldiers to go to battle, but how to persuade a group of soldiers who were hungry, cold, and underpaid to fight, and this was true for both sides of the conflict.


    At this time, an inspiring pre-battle speech was the simplest and most effective method.


    A capable officer, with just a few words, could make his soldiers red-eyed and howling with readiness to charge forward.


    The brigadier general currently speaking at the podium clearly lacked such eloquence. He had earnestly written a speech, but when he spoke, it was in one dull tone with no modulation, like a wooden xylophone with only one string left.


    As soon as the brigadier general opened his mouth, Winters could only feel his head swell and his eyelids begin to fight each other, blinking more and more frequently.


    The sun was westward, and the warrant officers were sitting in pairs or threes in the stuffy little auditorium of the army headquarters, in a meeting.


    This was an introductory session, originally intended to introduce internship positions within the various departments of the army to cadet officers.


    But the person on the stage was so hypnotically boring that Winters struggled to concentrate and only heard some repetitive nonsense. If it weren''t for Bard poking him secretly, he would have fallen asleep long ago.


    One person after another came and went from the podium, each explaining their respective departments. Although a number of senior officers spoke, their prowess was about the same as that of the initial brigadier general.


    Throughout the auditorium, there was a pervasive sense of dullness, and it wasn''t just Winters¡ª all the warrant officers were drowsy and wobbly.


    Winters was really struggling to stay awake; his head gradually drooped, and his eyes closed. This time Bard didn''t wake him up because Bard couldn''t hold on either. As for Andre, he had completely let himself go, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear his quiet snoring.


    Just as Winters was about to fall deeply asleep, a thunderous drum sound suddenly came from the podium.


    According to legend, an ancient wise king, after killing a dragon, made a war drum with the dragon''s hide as the drumhead and the dragon''s bones as mallets. When this drum was played, it could be heard for a hundred miles around.


    This myth was originally told by Selika to Winters as a bedtime story when he was a child, but Winters now felt that the drum might be right there on the podium.


    That drumbeat startled him from his drowsiness, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, instantly dispelling all traces of sleepiness. All the cadet officers in the auditorium immediately perked up.


    Winters looked towards the podium, but instead of seeing any legendary dragon drum, he only saw a smiling person in officer''s uniform glancing around the auditorium.


    This individual appeared to be just over thirty, with sharp eyebrows, deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and thin lips. He stood at an average height among the tall military officers, yet his presence seemed to tower over everyone else.


    Winters stared at the officer standing in front of the podium, and then there was another drum sound from that direction. This time, Winters saw it clearly.


    There was no drum at all; it was just the officer snapping his fingers. A regular snap could not make such a loud sound, and the answer was obvious: this was a Spellcaster who had amplified the sound of his finger snap with a sonic spell. Find exclusive content at M-V-L


    However, Winters was puzzled; in his memory, the amplification spell only worked on the sound emitted by the Spellcasters'' vocal cords. He had never seen Spellcasters amplify external sounds before.

 Chapter 72: Chapter 35: Internship Volunteer_2

    Seeing that his method had captured the attention of every apprentice officer, the officer smiled smugly and nodded."Are you all awake? Actually, I was almost asleep just now." The officer''s voice was clear and piercing, yet much louder than when ordinary people spoke; everybody in the auditorium could hear him perfectly, which was obviously the effect of a spell to amplify sound.


    Winters thought to himself that amplifying one''s voice was not difficult, but maintaining such stability was. For spellcasters, using a spell wasn''t as simple as pressing a button to achieve a certain effect.


    Spellcasters'' process of using spells is more akin to muscle exertion. Major Moritz''s burst of loud noise was the release of as much magical power as possible in an instant, like throwing a punch with all one''s might, striving for explosive power.


    And this officer was controlling the volume extremely smoothly through his spell, speaking while casting, as if he were tightrope walking while reciting poetry. Ordinary officers might not find this impressive, but for spellcasters, it was nothing short of an outright show of skill.


    Winters found himself interested in this senior spellcaster.


    The officer continued indifferently, "I don''t want to waste everyone''s time, so I didn''t prepare a speech, and I have very little to say."


    With one hand, the spellcaster swept over all the apprentice officers in the small auditorium: "You graduated from the foremost military academy on this continent. Did those few say you were the most promising and brightest youths in the Army?"


    "The most promising and brightest youths?" The officer snorted coldly, raising his voice, "Where? I don''t see any! Every active-duty officer in this auditorium is an alumnus who came before you, and at best you will only become like us!


    Becoming a bureaucratic Army officer who can bore you to sleep like dead pigs, what future and prospects is that? Every one of us has come all the way from where you are standing, so let me give you two pieces of advice as a senior."


    This sudden denigration snapped all the warrant officers to attention, as sharp criticism often attracts more attention than lavish praise.


    The officer raised a finger: "First, everyone here has been singing praises of their department''s work, but let me tell you, it''s none of your concern. You''re just apprentice officers; in the coming year, you''ll only do trivial chores! Copying reports, changing ink... that''s about it."


    Winters and Bard exchanged wry smiles, as the lieutenant colonel slapped every warrant officer''s face resoundingly.


    Then he raised a second finger: "Second, even though you''re only responsible for odd jobs, you''ll be doing them in the most powerful violencer in this continent!


    Listen up! You will have the chance to observe up close how the power center of the Vineta Army operates and makes decisions, an opportunity that officers from miscellaneous backgrounds would die for! If being so close to power doesn''t excite you, then you don''t deserve to be officers; better to take off your uniforms and scram right now!


    Go on! Dismiss! Go run errands for the officers and generals! But if a general''s wife sends someone to ask about her husband''s evening schedule, tell them he has a meeting, got it? I''ve said all I want to say! That''s it, assembly dismissed!"


    The warrant officers burst into laughter, and the small auditorium was filled with sustained, enthusiastic applause.


    "Who is this guy? Which department head?" Winters, clapping vigorously, asked Bard.


    Bard flipped a page in his notebook: "Lieutenant Colonel Field Drums."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am a lowly line separator¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Late that evening, at dinner time. Aunt Cosha and Cousin Elizabeth were busy in the kitchen, while Antonio and Winters were setting the table. Continue reading on M-V-L


    The big general, enticed by the aroma, was clamoring at the kitchen door, unable to enter, and could only lie by the door, licking his fur to soothe his craving.


    "How did the meeting go this afternoon? Which department do you want to apprentice in?" Antonio asked Winters as he distributed the utensils.


    Every year, the warrant officers returning to Vineta would have such a meeting, aiming to acquaint these new military academy graduates with the basic structure of the Vineta Army and allow them to choose their departments for apprenticeship.


    Although in theory the choice was voluntary, if too many people applied for a certain department, that department would pick a few apprentice officers, and the other applicants would be distributed to departments where no one had applied, preserving a roughly even allocation of apprentice officers to the various departments of the Army.


    "I want to go to Lieutenant Colonel Field," Winters answered earnestly while placing plates, genuinely attracted by the lieutenant colonel''s charisma.


    "Field Drums?" Antonio appeared mildly surprised.


    Winters nodded, "Yes."


    Antonio laughed at the name, musing jovially, "He''s a famous troublemaker. Zio is always ranting about tossing him over to the Historical Office. If he weren''t a spellcaster, he would have been shipped overseas a long time ago."


    "Maybe," Winters considered it wiser to listen obediently as his uncle made fun of the lieutenant colonel who might become his superior; he scratched his head and said, "I just feel like Lieutenant Colonel Field is more sincere when he speaks."


    "Someone who dares to say anything, if not sincere, what is he?" Antonio''s tone carried no hint of disapproval; he just found the situation amusing.


    After setting the tableware, both men sat waiting for the meal to be served. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 73: Chapter 35: Internship Volunteer_3

    Antonio opened a bottle of wine, but Winters, having witnessed Major Moritz''s situation, avoided alcohol as if it were the plague and stuck to water instead.Winters carefully reflected on the lieutenant colonel''s performance during the meeting today and said, "Actually, I might not make it, Lieutenant Colonel Field was very popular today, and I expect there will be quite a few people applying to his command."


    "Do you want to go?" Antonio asked his nephew casually after taking a sip of wine.


    Winters nodded vigorously, "Of course, I do."


    "Then go for it, it''ll be good for some training," Antonio said in a relaxed tone.


    Winters'' eyes lit up; he understood his uncle''s meaning and got a little greedy, "I also have a friend from the cavalry who''s applied to go to Lieutenant Colonel Field''s, uncle, could you possibly..."


    Antonio didn''t mind at all, smiling as he said, "Then he should go with you. What''s your friend''s name?"


    "Bard, Gerard''s Bard."


    Aunt Kosha came out with a basket of cut bread and, seeing the two men in the house drinking and chatting, slapped her brother on the back with an air of indignation, "You two sure have it easy, starting to drink before even setting the table, come and help out."


    Antonio and Winters were herded toward the kitchen by Kosha. Antonio seemed to remember something and cocked his head to ask his nephew, "You do know what department that kid Field is in charge of, right?"


    "Something with an M, I didn''t quite catch it; Lieutenant Colonel Field didn''t mention it himself." Winters felt too embarrassed to admit to his uncle that he had almost fallen asleep at the time.


    "Haha," Antonio laughed, patting his nephew on the shoulder, "It''s MP, Military Police."


    "What? Military Police?" Winters was certainly familiar with Military Police; weren''t they just the military school inspectors? Hardly a popular role.


    "Dad, you take this, and brother, you take this." Elizabeth assigned tasks to the two men before rushing off to attend to something else.


    Antonio and Winters each carried a deep iron pot, one filled with stewing meat and the other with soup. The aroma of the stewed meat was appetizing, but Winters'' mind wasn''t on it at all, "Lieutenant Colonel Field is in charge of Military Police?"


    "To be precise, Field is just the head of the Military Police department at Vineta Army''s headquarters," Antonio carefully explained to his nephew, "The soldiers of a Standing Army regiment are managed by their Military Police unit; any army personnel who commit offenses in Sea Blue City come under the jurisdiction of the garrison command''s Military Police unit; the Military Police department that Field oversees is an empty establishment set up just for that thorn in their side. It has a very narrow jurisdiction and practically doesn''t manage anything."


    After explaining these intricacies unknown to outsiders, Antonio asked his nephew, "So, do you still want to go to Field''s now?"


    "I do," Winters affirmed with a nod.


    "Oh?" Antonio seemed puzzled.


    "Lieutenant Colonel Field is a very capable spellcaster, and I want to learn magic techniques from him."


    "Then go for it, go and learn, that will be good," Antonio nodded, his attitude still relaxed, "Although Field has never worked under me, the fact that Zio has been driven half mad by him a few times and still couldn''t bear to send him overseas, setting up a sinecure just to keep him at the headquarters, shows that the man must be capable of something."


    With the food all set on the table, the four people took their seats again. Kosha, clearly delighted, began the prayer before the meal, and the four joined hands to form a circle as Kosha began chanting.


    All spellcasters in the Gulf Alliance are atheists, firmly believing that their abilities come from knowledge and training, not from the grace of any existing deity.


    Winters was naturally no believer; he just played along with Kosha not to hurt her feelings. However, he had his own convictions¡ªnever to recite the prayers, remaining silent every time. Find adventures at M-V-L S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was now preoccupied with thoughts of his internship; as soon as the pre-meal prayer was over, he couldn''t wait to ask his uncle, "I don''t understand why the internship places are all in governmental units? Why aren''t we allowed to intern with the real army?"


    "Because there aren''t that many armies," Antonio said.


    "What?"


    Antonio patiently explained: "Where are there so many troops for you to intern with? Otherwise, why would you be thrown into governmental units? These days, most officers work in governmental units, and not many actually lead troops. There are three regimental numbers in Vineta, two of which are Standing Armies; each Standing Army also only maintains half of its troop strength in peacetime, namely one chief company plus four companies."


    Winters was astonished by Antonio''s words. According to his uncle, the entire Vineta Republic, in theory, had three regiments, but only two were Standing Armies, and the actual force was just a little over one regiment, more than five thousand men.


    After the Sovereignty War ended and Richard IV withdrew his troops, scholars began seeking answers from ancient texts to the question "What to do without an emperor?"


    Finally, they found the answer they wanted: In ancient times, the people of Muro had also overthrown their king and established the kingless Muro Republic, which thrived for hundreds of years.


    "So, we are not the first to do this," the scholars breathed a sigh of relief.


    Since history had an example of success without an emperor, it meant having no emperor was no big deal.


    Thus, from then on, the Senas Bay Alliance feverishly imitated the Muro Republic in all aspects, from politics and military to even artistic works, fully reviving the Ancient Empire.

 Chapter 74: Chapter 35: Internship Volunteer_4

    This period of history was later known as "reforming through antiquity" because these imitations were simply putting new wine into old bottles. They simply borrowed the name of an old system to implement new policies.Take politics for example, the Republic of the Muro and the Republic of the United Provincials both call themselves republics, but they are entirely different matters.


    The former was a noble republic; whereas the latter had slaughtered the nobility, creating a republic of the citizen class, with vast rural areas not included within the republic''s jurisdiction.


    In terms of the military, they also imitated the Muro Republic by establishing legions, adopting the structure of squads of ten, centuries, cohorts, and legions.


    But now, with matchlock guns having become widespread, their formations aside, in terms of tactics, training, or the balance of melee and ranged weapons, the two are utterly different.


    "How could our forces be so few?" Winters hurriedly asked.


    "Is a little over five thousand men considered few?" Winters'' naive question left Antonio speechless.


    He explained to Winters with resignation, "These are over five thousand full-time, standing soldiers! Kid, do you know how much money it costs to support a fully professional soldier who does not engage in any other profession? If you want someone to fully commit to being a soldier, you at least have to pay them an apprentice craftsman''s wages. This means paying the salaries of five thousand craftsmen, plus taking care of their food, clothing, housing, and travel, as well as weapons and equipment. To be honest, if it wasn''t for the need to maintain a deterrent force, I would think even five thousand is a bit too much."


    "But what if there''s a war?"


    "In the event of a war, we temporarily call up reservists. Reservists also draw military pay, so after the war is over, they must be quickly disbanded. Thirty years ago, during wartime, there were refugees everywhere; you could pull in soldiers with just a mouthful of rice. Now it''s different. Waging war is burning money. For dealing with scattered bandits and a few farmers who refuse to pay taxes, the standing army is enough."


    "What?" Winters was thoroughly dumbfounded, "Isn''t the standing army established to resist foreign enemies?"


    "Haha, how could that be? The greatest role of the standing army is to deter internal enemies. It would not be enough to rely on these few thousand men against foreign adversaries."


    As the conversations between the two, young and old, became more animated, Elizabeth, seated aside, was also spellbound, but Tess was very angry.


    She had put a lot of effort into preparing dinner, and yet none of the three others at home were eating properly, nor was anyone praising her culinary skills. She felt very wronged at the moment.


    Tess suppressed her anger and knocked on her cup, "Can we not talk about things outside of the dinner table while we eat?"


    "Ah, this beef stew is really excellent." Antonio immediately noticed that his wife was in a bad mood, and he hastily signaled to Winters with his eyes, praising his wife''s great cooking skills again and again.


    Elizabeth, another family member of lower status, also got the hint and loudly exclaimed about how fragrant the beef soup was.


    Winters offered half-hearted praise as well; his head was full of the military secrets his uncle had just shared, and he really couldn''t fit anything else in.


    After a few bites of his meal, he couldn''t help but ask his uncle, "So afterwards, once I''m assigned to the office, does that mean I''ll only be doing clerical work for life?" He had thought he would be leading troops, but it turned out to be different than what he had expected.


    "Don''t be in a hurry. Once you become official officers, you will take turns leading troops in the units. Right now, there are too many officers and not enough soldiers, so you have to wait your turn."


    "Uncle, was it like that for you when you graduated from the military academy?"


    Antonio said proudly, "It was different for your father and me back then; we had wars to fight, so we went directly to the units to lead troops. Nowadays, there are no wars, so there aren''t that many soldiers, but peace is actually a good thing."


    Antonio paused, then added, "You guys don''t need to worry. It might not be long before we need to call up the reservists..."


    Tess once again knocked on her cup forcefully, "If you want to discuss these matters, go to the study after dinner!" Find your next read on M-V-L S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even someone as slow as Winters now realized that his aunt, a volcano, was on the verge of erupting.


    Praising the lady of the house once again became the main content at the dining table.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line that only praises the chef at the dining table¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although weapons and tactical concepts have evolved countless times, the military structure of the Alliance''s various republics still completely copies the Muro legions, as if possessed by the Muro spirit.


    Each legion is primarily composed of infantry, with cavalry and artillery serving as independent support units.


    For infantry, every 8 men form a squad;


    (That''s right, isn''t it common knowledge that a squad has only 8 men?)


    Every 10 squads, totaling 80 men, form a century;


    Every 6 centuries, with 480 men, comprise a cohort;


    9 cohorts of 480 men, plus a prime cohort of 750 men, totaling 5070 men, make up a legion;


    Cavalry and artillery serve as auxiliary legions, used collectively and under the direct command of the legion commander.


    The number of artillery and cavalry corresponds to the actual situation and fiscal policies of each member state.


    For example, since The Federated Provinces backs up to the Victory Arsenal, the legions of the Provinces are equipped with a number of cannons far exceeding those of other member states.


    And the Highland Republic (Republic of Palatu), with its abundance of fine horses, places greater emphasis on cavalry, and consequently, pays less attention to the development of infantry.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line of legions reborn¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Thank you to social justice advocate Old Wang, book friend 20181013204343295, and longbow expert Li Gong for their recommendation tickets.


    Thank you for the reward from the vampire-slaying Lan Qie.


    A bow in gratitude.

 Chapter 75: Chapter 36: Field Work

    Winters smoothly obtained an internship opportunity at the headquarters of the military police, but he was the only one. Since he learned that the military police was not a good place to go, he felt there was no need to drag Bard into it, especially since Bard was not one of the Spellcasters.Bard wanted to go to the Equipment Department''s Horse Administration, and Winters asked his uncle for help. Andre found his own way to the Training Department, and the three friends separated for the time being.


    Standing at the entrance to the military police office, Winters adjusted his collar, smoothed the wrinkles on his uniform, and straightened his belt. After meticulously tidying up his appearance, he gently knocked on the door three times.


    "Come in." A voice slightly lacking in vigor emanated from inside the room.


    Carrying his cap under his left arm, Winters pushed the door open and entered. Immediately to the right upon entering was a square table, behind which sat a golden-haired young man in his early twenties who was writing something on paper.


    He smartly saluted, and the golden-haired young man, in a fluster, hurriedly stood up, attempting to return the salute. Just as he raised his hand, he hesitated and put it down again, opting instead to bow deeply.


    Blushing, the golden-haired young man explained, "I am not an officer, just a scribe. There''s no need for you to salute me."


    Winters also felt a bit nervous, he even hadn''t noticed earlier that the golden-haired young man was wearing civilian clothes rather than a uniform. He smiled and extended his hand to the golden-haired youth, who shook it shyly.


    "Are you here to see Colonel Field?"


    "Yes, I am Winters Montagne, ordered to intern here for a year."


    The golden-haired young man, Morlock, busily came around the table and led Winters further into the office, saying, "The colonel isn''t here right now, please take a seat and wait for a while. My name is Morlock, and I am the clerk of this office."


    Guided by Morlock, Winters sat down on a long bench at the other end of the room, taking the opportunity to carefully observe the office space.


    The room allocated to the military police was situated in a corner on the second floor of the entire Army Headquarters building, clearly someone wanted the colonel to be as far away as possible.


    Although the room was in a remote location, its corner position afforded excellent lighting. The office was very tidy, with only a few desks and chairs and several filing cabinets, devoid of decorative items, it felt refreshingly uncluttered to the eye.


    Besides the door he had entered through, there were two other doors in the office. The space behind the door to the west appeared larger and was obviously Colonel Field''s office. As for the other door, it was unknown what lay behind it.


    "Would you like some tea?" Morlock pulled out a set of porcelain cups and placed them on a small table in front of Winters. It seemed the military police hadn''t entertained guests in a long while, as the cups were covered in a layer of dust. Morlock quickly took out a handkerchief and started to wipe the cups.


    "Don''t bother, I don''t drink tea," Winters hastily stopped Morlock. People in the Gulf Region liked to brew their tea with spices such as pepper and cinnamon along with leaves from the Far East. Winters always found the taste bizarre and never got used to it.


    "Then what would you like? Alcohol? Water?"


    "Thank you, but there''s no need to trouble yourself." Seeing Morlock''s frantic manner, Winters couldn''t bear to see him continue to fumble around: "Rather, could you please give me an introduction to the military police office?"


    Morlock scratched his head: "I can''t explain very well, as I am just a clerk. Please forgive any inaccuracies."


    "Please go ahead."


    "Actually, there''s not much to say about the headquarters'' military police. There are two officers¡ªyou make the third¡ªand a centurion of military policemen. It''s good for you to intern here; the work is very relaxed, solely responsible for standing guard at the Army Headquarters. Anyway, no one dares to cause trouble here, so usually just arranging the guards'' shifts is enough."


    So that was it. Winters finally understood why his uncle had said that the headquarters'' military police was a department specifically established for colonels. Named military police, but actually guards, it was indeed degrading for a colonel to only lead a centurion.


    Morlock pointed at the door to the large room: "That''s Colonel Field''s office."


    "And what about the other door? Whose office is that?" Winters indicated the other door that led to a smaller room.


    Without looking back, Morlock said, "Oh, the officer for that office took leave and hasn''t been here for quite some time. Currently, in the military police, it''s only you and Colonel Field."


    At this point, Winters started to feel slight regret. Bard had gone to the Horse Administration, where he could enhance the family''s traditional horse-raising expertise; Andre had gone to the Training Department, which would presumably be interesting as well.


    From the once noisy group of more than thirty peers, Winters now sat here alone, suddenly feeling a bit lonely. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he sat there lost in thought, the door to the military police was violently kicked open, and a dynamic figure burst into the room, ignoring Winters''s presence, and kicked open Colonel Field''s office door with equal force before walking in.


    A loud shout came from the office: "[Expletives capable of making a deaf person cry]!"


    After a short while, Colonel Field emerged from his office with a rigid expression, and Winters quickly stood at attention and saluted.


    Field, with a hoarse voice, cut straight to the chase as he asked Winters, "Who are you?"


    Winters calmly presented his dispatch letter with both hands, "Interning officer Winters Montagne, reporting as ordered!"


    Field took the dispatch letter, glanced over it hurriedly, his attitude neither warm nor cold, "Hmm... Infantry branch?"


    "Yes!" Your next read awaits at M-V-L


    Colonel Field''s gaze shifted to the insignia of the Society of the Three and Five hanging on Winters''s chest.


    "Spellcaster?"

 Chapter 76: Chapter 36 Outfield Work_2

    "Yes, sir!""Which spell are you proficient in?"


    "Uh, the Fire series."


    Hearing that it was the Fire series, Colonel Field chuckled dryly and pointed to Winter''s chest, "Take off that badge. Are you afraid outsiders won''t know you''re a spellcaster?"


    It was only then that Winters noticed that Colonel Field didn''t wear the badge of the Tri-Circle Association, and he recalled that Major Moritz didn''t wear a badge either.


    Proud of his spellcaster status, Winters wouldn''t have worn that badge every day at the military academy. However, considering that two senior officers didn''t wear badges, there must be a reason; he swiftly removed his badge and put it in his pocket.


    Colonel Field gazed into Winters''s eyes and said in a grave voice, "I have only two requirements, keep a tight lip and follow orders. Meet these two conditions and we''ll get along very well. Learn them, and you are a qualified officer."


    "Yes, sir!" Winters snapped his heels together, standing at attention once again.


    "How are your horse-riding skills?"


    "Decent."


    "Did you come to the palace on horseback today?"


    "No." Winters''s home was not far from Army Headquarters, just a short walk away, so there was no need to ride.


    "Go to the stables, lead out my horse, and get one for yourself; meet me at the entrance."


    Winters really hadn''t expected that on his first day as an intern, he would be sent on an outdoor task. Wasn''t it said that the job here was easy, just scheduling guard shifts?


    He crisply saluted once more and was about to set out.


    "Wait!" Colonel Field stopped Winters again, "Where is your sidearm?"


    Winters was stunned, "I don''t have a sidearm, only a longsword."


    "How can an officer not carry a sidearm? Wait here."


    Colonel Field quickly walked back to his office. Soon, he emerged with a saber in hand, tossing it to Winters as he said generously, "This is my Dusack, carry it for the time being."


    Winters caught the saber thrown by the colonel from the air. The weapon, scabbard and all, felt heavy, even heavier than the longsword.


    The blade was slightly curved, about eighty centimeters long, with a simple, curved guard, resembling a cavalry saber. The black wooden scabbard was unadorned, except for the pommel which was carved into the shape of an eagle''s head. Your journey continues at M-V-L


    He drew the sword a handbreadth and saw that it was sharpened on one side, with a thick spine and thin edge, featuring two fullers along the blade that shimmered with a menacing cold light. There was also the scent of oil.


    Without a doubt, this was a well-maintained real deal.


    "You can go now," the colonel gestured with a wave of his hand.


    Winters nodded, gripping the Dusack, and strode out of the Military Police office. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª This is the genuine ''catching the blade'' line separator¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He left Army Headquarters.


    Colonel Field rode his black steed up front, while Winters followed behind on his own military mount, keeping half a horse''s length of distance.


    On this mission, Colonel Field had only taken Warrant Officer Winters with him, without any Military Police escort.


    There were quite a few pedestrians on the road, preventing the horses from galloping, so they proceeded with just a brisk walk.


    As they went further and left the city area, where there were fewer pedestrians, Colonel Field no longer deliberately controlled his pace, giving a gentle flick of the whip and nudge of the spurs against the horse''s ribs.


    With just a light signal, his majestic black horse instantly understood his master''s wish, snorted happily, and with a sudden burst of muscular power in its limbs and chest, accelerated rapidly, carrying the colonel at breakneck speed along the suburban dirt road¡ªthe black horse, too, felt stifled in the city and was eager for a good, fast run.


    The little black horse indeed enjoyed this, but Winters was distressed.


    Being naturally taller and larger than the major, even with excellent riding skills, he was not suited to be a jockey.


    His horse, provided for officers'' communal use by the stables of Army Headquarters, was already less superb than the colonel''s black horse and was quite worn from daily use, quickly falling a large distance behind.


    After a few strides, Colonel Field realized Winters had fallen behind. The colonel pulled the reins, and his black horse, just warmed up and not yet satisfied with the run, whinnied discontentedly and slowed down.


    Winters then caught up, feeling embarrassed. He resolved inwardly to find himself a truly fine horse in the next few days to compete with the colonel.


    The two rode the entire way in silence, with the colonel not disclosing their destination and Winters not asking. Yet, the farther they went, the more familiar Winters found the road; he tried hard to remember where he had traversed this route. At last, he recognized it.


    Wasn''t this the way to the Customs Prison?


    Indeed, as Winters had guessed, they stopped at the grand entrance of the Customs Prison¡ªexactly the place Winters had been "invited" to leave two days before.


    The colonel handed Winters the reins and walked straight up to the prison''s main gate, kicking it hard. His force was so great that the three-meter-tall, six-meter-wide oak doors shook on their frame.


    A small door on the larger one opened, and several fierce-looking guards, holding long spears, ran out. They were about to start cursing when they saw the military uniforms and swallowed their dirty words back down.


    The leader asked politely, "What can I do for you gentlemen?"


    Colonel Field retrieved a sealed letter from his saddlebag and tossed it to the guard, "Give this to the person in charge here; tell him to come out and see me."


    The guards exchanged glances, and one of them quickly went to deliver the message.

 Chapter 77: Chapter 36 Fieldwork_3

    After a while, the main gates of the customhouse''s anti-smuggling prison swung open, and the warden came out in person to meet Colonel Field, leading him and two military officers into the prison.Returning to this place after less than two days, Winters felt slightly emotional. Entering the prison as a guest rather than a prisoner certainly felt different. Find more to read on M-V-L


    The warden didn''t lead Field and Winters into the main building but took them around the exterior wall to a small stone house.


    Even before approaching the small stone house with a wooden roof, Winters could smell an odor that made one want to vomit. It was clear the warden was prepared, as he pulled out a sachet to cover his nose and mouth.


    The colonel, expressionless, looked with contempt and disdain at the warden who couldn''t help but react to the smell. Winters followed the lead, striving to keep his face straight and trying not to show any signs of discomfort.


    The three of them stopped outside the stone house, with the warden frowning as he said, "The guards from the security department have been waiting at the archive building since early this morning. I''ve sent someone to notify them, they should be here shortly."


    He glanced slyly at the two army officers, smiling as he spoke, "It''s too smelly inside. You''d better wait out here instead of going in to look first."


    Colonel Field observed the customhouse warden with a deep gaze, and from the deepest part of his nostrils, he let out a cold snort. He kicked the door open and entered, with Winters following closely behind.


    Upon entering the stone house, the stench became even more intense and sickening, almost urging one to vomit out the last bit of content from their stomach. The wretched stench brought to Winters'' mind the most disgusting thing he could imagine in the world:


    It was as if the gas bloated from a skunk''s corpse that had been left to rot in a sealed cave for a hundred years.


    Winters finally understood where they were¡ªthis was the prison morgue.


    Inside the stone house, flies danced wildly as three naked male bodies were laid out on wooden planks, most likely the source of the horrid smell.


    The bodies were covered with a snowflake-like powder which Winters deduced to be salt.


    Using salt to preserve was an ancient method of preservation; certain civilizations used this technique to keep the heads of their enemies. However, it was clear that the pickling had not been very effective on these three, as some kind of liquid oozed from underneath their bodies, dripping from the planks onto the ground.


    Two more people entered from outside, their noses and mouths wrapped with cotton cloths filled with spices, appearing quite surprised to see two military officers entering the morgue without any protective scent gear.


    The leader adjusted the brim of his hat and saluted the two officers politely. Winters returned the gesture in similar fashion, while the colonel just nodded, his face expressionless.


    The leading man quickly introduced himself, "I''m Lop, an officer from the customhouse security department." He pointed to the man behind him, "This here is my deputy, Colonel Naro."


    Colonel Field, however, did not introduce himself. Instead, he went straight to the point, "Are these the three bodies?"


    "Not three," the security officer said with a wry smile. "Four."


    With a wave of his hand, his deputy walked to the far end of the room and lifted up a filthy burlap cloth, revealing a fourth body underneath.


    To be precise, it wasn''t a complete body, just several parts of one. It was evident the original owner of the corpse had suffered some unspeakable and tragic fate, leaving only half remaining. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had killed pirates and had seen them executed on deck by their own mates, most needing more than one chop to sever their heads, a scene utterly bloody.


    He thought his mind was well-trained, but the gruesome sight of the half-corpse still made it impossible for him to look directly. He slightly turned his head away, avoiding the sight.


    Yet, Colonel Field simply nodded, his expression unchanging.


    Understanding the colonel''s demeanor, Lop, the security officer, said, "We''ve seen the bodies. Let''s discuss the rest outside. I know the two of you army officers have seen it all and can disregard it, but I can''t stand another second in this room. Let''s step out, shall we?"


    Winters instantly felt a surge of appreciation for the customs officer, but he remained as impassive as Colonel Field.


    The colonel nodded, and the four of them left the house. The warden outside had long since disappeared.


    As they walked, Lop, the security officer, explained in a casual tone, "The prison folks only know about using salt for preservation, but they don''t know you need to remove the innards first. With the weather being so hot, the bodies rot from the inside even though they might look intact outside, which is why they look like this. But you can''t blame them. When prisoners die, they''re kept for a couple of days before being claimed by family, or they''re buried straight away if they have none. They''re not used to dealing with bodies for so long."


    The four men continued walking until they were about twenty meters upwind from the morgue before they stopped.


    Lop handed a dossier to the colonel from his deputy''s hands and began to speak, "Everything we''ve found is in here. The four inside arrived at Sea Blue Port on a three-masted schooner called the Bandit Gull with your cadet officers this year..."


    What Lop didn''t know was the tumult his words were causing in Winters'' heart. The dim light in the morgue, coupled with the distortion of facial features caused by post-mortem muscle contractions, meant Winters couldn''t recognize any of the deceased.

 Chapter 78: Chapter 36 Field Work_4

    So it wasn''t until he heard what the customs official said that he realized the three and a half people lying inside were the four passengers from the Bandit Gull. It seemed none of the four had survived."...And then they were all killed on the dock," Lop said, failing to notice the young military officer opposite him had dilated pupils and quickened breath. "These four people, their names, places of origin, occupations are all mysteries. The murderer or murderers made off with the things they carried. Among the personal belongings left behind, not a single item could reveal their identities. As for the perpetrators, they fled the scene immediately and are now untraceable. They blew up one of our customs docks, and now we don''t even know whom to ask for compensation."


    Lop took another dossier from his adjutant and handed it to the lieutenant colonel: "This is the report written by the doctor in charge of the autopsies from our guard office."


    The lieutenant colonel accepted the report, didn''t bother to open it, and handed it to Winters without looking back, along with the previous dossier.


    Lop didn''t take offense and continued calmly: "Among those three whole bodies, one had a fatal injury in the chest that pierced the heart and lungs. The other two''s fatal injuries were on the side and back, likely the result of being attacked by several people."


    The lieutenant colonel listened very carefully, nodding as he did.


    "As for the one blown to pieces," Lop said with a bitter smile, "it''s impossible to tell where the fatal injury was. He might have been blown to death."


    "Only these four died?" Colonel Field asked with a slight frown.


    "A few sailors and dockworkers were also killed," Lop replied with composure. "Some were blown up, others were shocked to death in the water. Their families and workmates identified and took away the bodies. Their names are recorded in the dossier I gave you. Ha, I suspect that the missing part of that half body, if it wasn''t simply not salvaged, then it must have been erroneously claimed by someone."


    "Is there any other valuable information?" the lieutenant colonel continued to inquire.


    Lop let out a sigh and spread his hands: "That''s everything I''ve found, all detailed in the dossier."


    The lieutenant colonel still had an expressionless face as he nodded, but his lips parted slightly to say "thank you."


    "What''s there to thank me for? I haven''t figured anything out," Lop said with another long sigh, speaking helplessly. "This case is just a mess, completely unclear, and is sure to become an unsolved case. Although I don''t know why the army would take over this homicide... Anyway, you taking over this case is doing me a huge favor, and I owe you one. If you need my help with anything, don''t hesitate to come find me at the customs guard office."


    Colonel Field tipped his hat in gratitude. The two customs officials also responded politely, and the parties bid each other farewell.


    However, a few dozen meters after the two customs officials had left, Colonel Naro''s adjutant jogged back. He rushed to Colonel Field and Winters, panting as he asked the colonel, "Excuse me, sir. The customs official asked me to inquire what you would like to do with the evidence and the bodies? We can deliver them for you, or even bury them if you prefer."


    "Please send the evidence directly to the Army Headquarters Military Police," Colonel Field readily agreed to take the evidence, but the handling of the bodies posed a dilemma. He pondered for a moment before saying, "As for the bodies... hmm... let me think..."


    Then the colonel had a good idea. He happily said, "I''ll take the bodies as well, but the Army Headquarters doesn''t have a morgue. Deliver them to the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters instead."


    To ensure the customs adjutant remembered, Colonel Field repeated his instructions, emphasizing "the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters."


    Colonel Naro''s adjutant nodded, saluted in haste, and muttered "the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters" to himself as he jogged off to catch up with his superior, Lop.


    Colonel Field was in high spirits as he led Winters toward the prison entrance. When they passed the morgue again, the colonel suddenly had an excellent idea.


    "You can do the Wind Control Technique, right?" Colonel Field asked Winters with a smile.


    Winters nodded; it was the spell that had knocked him unconscious, how could he not know it.


    "Follow my command and use the Wind Control Technique to blow air into this room, understood?"


    Winters nodded firmly this time, as he had already grasped what the colonel intended to do.


    Field snapped his fingers and, using the same spellcasting gesture as Winters, they both launched the Wind Control Technique together. Magic accelerated the air in front of them, creating a gust that blew into the morgue.


    During this process, Winters vaguely felt his ability to use the Wind Control Technique had improved a bit.


    The foul smell that had been trapped in the morgue was pushed out by the gust and quickly spread throughout the entire prison, with sounds of retching coming from all over the customs prison.


    Colonel Field laughed wildly as he and Winters strode to the prison gate, both men mounted their horses and galloped away.


    The horses'' hooves thundered, and soon, the customs prison was left far behind, no longer in sight.


    Suddenly, Colonel Field pulled on the reins, and his black horse neighed, coming to a halt.


    Winters didn''t stop in time, rushing past Colonel Field. Seeing the colonel dismount, Winters quickly turned his horse around to rejoin him.


    Without a word, the colonel walked over to a roadside cypress. Winters, puzzled, followed him.


    The colonel shut his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and finally, unable to hold it back any longer, vomited with a "wah". S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, having been trying hard to forget the nauseating feeling induced by the morgue at the customs prison, was reminded of that nightmarish stench upon seeing the colonel vomit. He felt a great force squeezing his stomach, his esophagus involuntarily expanded, and he too vomited with a "wah".


    After vomiting once, the colonel''s urge to retch wasn''t as strong. But when he turned around and saw Winters vomiting, his stomach started churning again, and he vomited with another "wah".


    Winters was the same, barely recovering before seeing Colonel Field vomit again, and couldn''t help but follow suit and vomit once more.


    Colonel Field said, "Stop vomiting, once you do, I can''t keep it under control either, blegh..."


    Winters replied, "Wasn''t it you who vomited first, blegh..."


    The two men emptied the last bit from their stomachs, and finally, after vomiting up to the point of bitter bile, they were at last able to stop completely.


    The colonel spat out his saliva bitterly: "This damn thing, if it ever comes to the palace, I must host him properly."


    Turning around, the two men saw their horses licking and eating their vomit.


    Winters and Field exchanged glances, both seeing despair in each other''s eyes.


    "Blegh..."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDivider¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Military customs have existed since ancient times, with the tradition of touching one''s hat at least present since the eleventh century, and saluting with a raised hand appearing at least as early as the sixteenth century.


    I''ve posted some photos and information of the Dusack given to Winters by Colonel Field on the fan circle, for those interested to see (don''t bother looking now, the image has been broken, as all three-dimensional cold weapons will break).


    Also, horses really will eat human vomit... At least I''ve seen one that does....


    Further, thank you for your recommendation votes. Since such content is not allowed in the main text, the thank you list will be moved to the author''s remarks from now on. Thank you, dear readers.

 Chapter 79: Chapter 37 Autopsy Report

    ```Colonel Field, who had vomited all his bile, clearly had no mood to return to the Army Headquarters; he now smelled foul all over and just wanted to rush home for a thorough wash.


    He led his black horse, and while walking, he instructed Winters, "Take these two dossiers back to the Military Police, have Morlock file them, then have him make two additional copies."


    Walking back from the roadside drain to the rammed earth road, the Colonel mounted his horse, took a look at Winters, who appeared just as miserable as he, and said hoarsely, "You did well today, you''ve not disgraced the Army. Send the dossiers to Morlock and then head straight home, have a good wash, and get some sleep¡ªit''s been a truly tough day."


    With that, Colonel Field clamped his legs against the horse''s flanks, cracked his whip, and sped off, seemingly straight for home.


    Although as a pragmatist at heart, Winters believed that earning respect through this sort of brute toughness was meaningless, he couldn''t deny a small feeling of joy from his superior''s verbal praise.


    The career newcomer, Warrant Officer Montaigne, whose threshold was still relatively low, checked the two dossiers in his saddlebag to make sure they were complete, then also mounted and headed directly to Army Headquarters.


    After returning his horse, Winters went to the Military Police''s office, handed the dossiers to the blond copier Morlock, but did not go straight home. As Morlock was buried in copying the dossiers, Winters picked up the autopsy report and began to read it carefully on the bench.


    Though Winters didn''t know the specific details, through the words of Customs Officer Lop, he deduced that the task of investigating this dockside assassination had apparently been handed over to Colonel Field.


    If that was the case, Field hadn''t asked, but Winters felt it was his duty to learn as much as possible about the incident.


    Another reason why he was eager to know what Customs had discovered was that, as an eyewitness to the incident, he was essentially the first-hand witness.


    The Customs autopsy report was very detailed; the three complete bodies of the passengers all died from sharp weapon injuries, with multiple vital organs punctured, ultimately leading to death from massive internal bleeding. The doctor who performed the autopsy speculated that the sharp weapon wounds were likely caused by a narrow-blade, straight-edged weapon.


    This medical examiner had some skill, Winters thought, recalling the black-robed figure''s single-handed sword, which was indeed narrow-bladed and straight-edged.


    As for the specific weapon, the medical examiner believed the greatest possibility was a Swift Sword.


    Swift Sword? Winters had heard of this type of weapon during his time at the military academy, but he had never seen one in person.


    He continued reading; of the three passengers who appeared to be escorts, only one died from a frontal injury, while the fatal wounds on the other two were from the side or back.


    Winters mused: The one who died from the frontal injury was likely the first to be attacked in the ambush, and the other two succumbed to side or back injuries, which suggests that these escorts were skilled in swordsmanship, and the black-robed figure couldn''t quickly dispatch them one-on-one.


    The rest of the autopsy report contained scattered details, such as height, hair color, etc.


    Based on factors like the wear on the teeth, the medical examiner estimated that the three men were roughly between 25 and 30 years old. Their build was robust and their physiques healthy, indicating that their social class was not low. They must have had meat regularly, as muscles like theirs don''t grow on a flour-only diet.


    The medical examiner concluded, "All three victims had calluses on their palms, which considering these men evidently were not laboring farmers, suggest these calluses are the result of years of weapons training. Hence, it is inferred that the victims likely belonged to a class of people like mercenaries, or were craftsmen and merchants wealthy enough to afford time for weapon practice, or possibly..."


    The text abruptly ended at "or possibly," with the rest of the sentence obscured by ink.


    Errors are common when manually copying documents, and scratch-outs are normal. Morlock, when transcribing, would naturally ignore the scratched content, and the new copy would end at "craftsmen and merchants." However, this document was obviously the original handwritten by the medical examiner himself.


    Winters could not make out what had been obscured, but he guessed that the medical examiner intended to mention¡ªsoldiers.


    Even the word "soldiers" was a bit off; a more accurate term should be "officers."


    The ordinary soldiers themselves had a hard life and would not have the privileged demeanor of those travelers. Officers, on the other hand, match the description of practicing with cold weapons year-round and having good dietary conditions.


    The medical examiner had included the possibility of them being officers in the report, but Customs, clearly not wanting to cause extra trouble, had obscured this part of the content.


    If there was solid evidence, alright, but to state that these three victims were officers without firm proof would certainly infuriate the Army, which was already upset about the unwarranted detention of the trainee officers.


    Winters began to understand why this case had been handed over to the Army.


    If he had not witnessed the entire incident at the first crime scene, Winters would have scoffed at Customs'' speculation that the three might be officers.


    But he kept thinking about the traveler who could use the Deflection Spell. Since muskets were notoriously inaccurate, Winters couldn''t be sure that the missed shot was definitely the result of the Deflection Spell, but it was a suspicion he couldn''t shake off.


    "Should I report this information to Colonel Field?" Winters pondered with his hand on his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, "But I''ve already promised to discuss this matter secretly with Major Moritz."


    If that person was indeed a Spellcaster officer from the Army, the nature of the matter became extremely serious.


    Merely being an officer was sensitive enough, but who would dare kill an officer in broad daylight in front of a crowd? And a Spellcaster at that? The case reeked of danger, even more pungent than the stench from the Customs'' morgue. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ```

 Chapter 80: Chapter 37 Autopsy Report_2

    ```If that person wasn''t a land force spellcaster officer, this matter would be even graver.


    It would mean that either the fruits of the Magic Combat Department''s research had already been stolen by outsiders who also trained spellcasters capable of using advanced spells like the Deflection Spell;


    or... the dead traveler was one of those legendary court wizards who were said to use magic. But could a court wizard be killed that easily?


    Winters''s headache grew the more he thought about it, and he decided that unless Colonel Field asked, he would keep his mouth shut. After all, he trusted Major Moritz more than Field.


    And since you don''t ask proactively, my not telling doesn''t count as intentional concealment.


    Thoughts brought him to a mild resentment: "Weren''t we supposed to discuss this in secret together? Why has Major Moritz disappeared? When I get home, I must ask Uncle if he knows where the Major is now."


    Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen about the suspect spellcaster from the autopsy report; these three had neither tattoos nor conspicuous scars.


    And as for that traveler torn to pieces, although the coroner hadn''t determined the cause of death, Winters knew it was due to an assassin stabbing him in the left rib with a short dagger. The explosion only hastened his death and destroyed the body.


    However, for some reason, Winters always felt there was something discordant, like something was off.


    He scrutinized the autopsy report again to make sure he hadn''t missed anything. But he still couldn''t pinpoint the source of this discordance.


    Morlock had long finished copying the customs guards'' investigative records and had been waiting silently for Winters to finish reading the autopsy report. Winters, with an apologetic look, exchanged the documents with the copyist and continued to peruse the investigation records.


    Yet the investigation report was even shorter than the autopsy report.


    The customs guards'' approach was straightforward¡ªimmediately starting to look for the assassin. But the assassins all wore masks and cloaks, and no one had seen their faces.


    If it was temporarily impossible to find out who the assassin was, then where did the assassin run off to? According to the statements of the vendors near the docks, the assassin fled in a black carriage heading east along the main road.


    If one knew the carriage was black and in which direction it escaped, all that was left was to search.


    Venetians liked grand styles, so pure black carriages were not very common, only a few coachmen used such carriages.


    But the customs guards ran into difficulties in their investigation. When they inquired about it along the path of the assassin''s escape, they found that after six or seven blocks, no one remembered such a carriage¡ªwho would pay attention to a mediocre carriage on the street?


    When the customs guards described the carriage in detail and repeatedly inquired, those vendors seemed to "recall" this carriage. However, the directions they provided were all over the place. Some even swore they saw the carriage not coming from the docks, but heading towards them.


    In response, Lop from the affairs office believed these statements were not credible; purely because the customs investigators were too detailed in describing the carriage, overly persistent in their questioning, which led to the vendors'' induced testimony.


    If it was not known who the assailant was, then how about investigating who the victim was? But the sailors from the Bandit Gull were completely ignorant about the identity of the deceased.


    Wanting to question the captain, they found this captain was only a stand-in, while the original captain was still drifting at sea with the Fortunate Gull, his fate unknown.


    The final result of the investigation was that the assassin could not be found, the carriage could not be found, and the port had a few extra corpses, but no one knew who the deceased were.


    Winters had to admit, just as Lop said, this case was a tangled mess, almost certainly destined to be an unsolved mystery. Whoever took it over would have a headache, no wonder Colonel Field was furious enough to curse in his office today.


    However, as a witness on the scene, Winters had his own informational advantage. He discovered something the customs people had not yet noticed: the traveler blown to pieces was actually killed by someone disguised as a dock worker.


    And clearly, killers were also among the dock workers. These assassins did not wear masks, perhaps they could become a breakthrough.


    Furthermore, on that day, army lieutenants were all at the docks, with many witnesses. Perhaps other lieutenants might have also noticed some valuable information.


    Having finished reading both files, Winters stood up to stretch his stiff body; he suddenly remembered that he had not properly thanked Benvenuto for rescuing him from the water.


    They had agreed to meet that night back at Sea Blue, but Winters ended up in the customs jail until now, so the meeting never happened.


    Thinking of this, Winters figured he''d take the chance today to go home, change clothes, and clean up a bit. Later, when the dockworkers had finished for the day, he would go find Benvenuto at his place.


    He bid farewell to Morlock and made his way home.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªDivider¡ª¡ª¡ª S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters arrived home, where the day-servant, who was not living in, opened the door for him. Kosha was sitting on the parlor sofa, a small basket resting on her knees, busying herself with some embroidery.


    The Great General had been dozing beside her but was startled awake by the sound of the door and sat up alertly, looking toward the newcomer. Recognizing Winters, he settled back down.


    Glad to see her nephew come home, Kosha happily laid down her needlework and rose to greet him: "How was the first day of the apprenticeship, and where did you get this sword?... Oh my, where have you been? Why do you smell so odd?"


    "Really? Does it smell? I thought it was just my imagination," Winters replied with a smile, skirting around the topics of dead bodies and murder: "Colonel Field lent me the sword, he said a soldier can''t be without a sidearm. Today, I went to a particularly smelly place with the Colonel."


    ```

 Chapter 81: Chapter 37 Autopsy Report_3

    "Quick, take off that outfit and have a proper bath," Kosa wrinkled her nose and softly summoned the maid, "Marita Mum, please prepare some hot water for Master Winters.""No need to trouble old Marita, I can just take a cold bath. I''m used to cold baths from the military academy," Winters''s nature was not to inconvenience others.


    "The well water is too cold, you''ll get sick," Kosa ignored Winters''s suggestion and gestured for the maid to continue boiling water.


    She suddenly said happily, "How about accompanying me to the Mewah''s after this [a famous tailor in Sea Blue City]? It has been quite a while since my last visit. We need to make you some new clothes; look at you, with nothing but military uniform to wear. That won''t do."


    At the very thought of going to the tailor''s, Kosa''s eyes lit up, and it was unclear why she was so delighted.


    However, Winters subconsciously wanted to refuse, "I''m fine with just this military uniform; it''s enough for me. I''m not comfortable in civilian clothes; I prefer wearing boots."


    "How can that be? Without appropriate clothes, people will laugh at you," Kosa knew her nephew had never liked dressing up since he was a child, so she had to push him, "Don''t worry about it, just come with me. It won''t take too long. Your uncle''s clothes are all chosen by me. Come on, go have your bath."


    Though Winters found it troublesome, he really couldn''t come up with a reason to refuse his aunt. He estimated the time, with Benwei still working at the docks, and figured a trip to the tailor''s with his aunt wouldn''t take too long. After returning, he could go directly to meet Benwei, so he nodded in agreement.


    Seeing Winters agree, Kosa, fearing he might change his mind, hurried him to the bath while joyfully instructing the servants to have the Coachman prepare the carriage.


    In Winters''s mind, the case at the docks was what occupied his thoughts, and his intuition told him there must be a key point he had missed. Yet, like something covered with a thick layer of leather, it was elusive and indistinct.


    He quickly took a cold shower, changed into a clean military academy uniform. He would continue wearing the cadet uniform until the end of his probation period, and only after he officially received the rank of lieutenant would he be allowed to wear the officer''s uniform.


    After Winters had bathed and changed, he came downstairs to find Kosa was not in the drawing room. Stepping outside, the carriage was waiting at the door, but his aunt was not in the carriage either.


    Where had his aunt gone? Winters was puzzled.


    Winters''s uncle, unlike some senior officers who used soldiers as servants, had always hired help from outside ¨C apart from old Marita ¨C and General Antonio''s orderlies were not allowed inside the yard.


    The stables at the Serviati residence were not large, managed by a highlander over fifty who doubled as Coachman and stableman, a multi-talented individual indeed.


    But Winters did not recognize him. During the time Winters was at the military school in The Federated Provinces, the previous Coachman had left, replaced by this man.


    Suddenly, Winters realized he could inquire about the carriage with the Coachman. He politely greeted the Coachman, who was flattered and tipped his hat in return.


    "May I ask you about something?" Winters inquired with a smile.


    "Of course, young master, ask away," the Coachman nodded repeatedly.


    Seated high on the coachman''s box, Winters had to look up to speak: "Do you know other Coachmen in Sea Blue City?"


    "I know a few; Coachmen tend to know each other somewhat," the Coachman blinked, adding, "There are many of us Paratu People working as coachmen here." S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are there many black carriages in the city? Black with silver trim, are there many?"


    "I''m not sure about that, such plain carriages aren''t very common, but I suppose there are a few. Some Puritans don''t like fancy decorations, ah, that lot doesn''t like much of anything," the Coachman said, clearly holding little regard for the Puritans.


    Puritans, Winters latched onto a key point, repeating it to himself several times.


    "What if I want to find a black carriage with silver trim now?" Winters pressed on.


    The Coachman scratched his head, "I don''t know about that, sir. Are you looking to rent or to buy? If you want to rent, I could ask around at the brotherhood for you."


    "What is this brotherhood?" Winters heard a new term.


    The Coachman, realizing his slip, grinned sheepishly, "Did I say something? I meant I could ask a few of the Coachmen colleagues for you."


    Seeing the Coachman evade the question, Winters stared into his eyes and asked, word by word, "If I wanted a carriage to disappear, could this brotherhood you mentioned help with that?"


    The Coachman dared not meet Winters''s gaze; he looked away and said with a wry smile, "I really don''t know about that, sir. I''m just a poor man; can we pretend I never said anything, please?"


    It was "I don''t know," not "we can''t," Winters had gotten the answer he was looking for.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is Fight Club''s break line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 82: Chapter 38 The Mewa Brothers

    The coachman spoke earnestly, unwilling to continue the discussion.Since they couldn''t arrest him and force a confession, it seemed impossible to extricate anything else from him.


    "I was just curious, you don''t have to be nervous, and if you don''t want to talk about it, that''s fine." Winters placated the somewhat flustered coachman, pressing no further.


    The coachman nodded his head gratefully in acknowledgment.


    Kosha walked out from the main entrance. She had changed out of her comfortable home clothing and into a dark green dress decorated with embroidery and lace, topped with a light purple silk shawl and a lavishly adorned hat.


    "That''s quite an elaborate outfit just to visit a tailor''s shop," Winters remarked in surprise as he approached Kosha, "Aren''t you hot? Auntie, you''re not also wearing a corset, are you?"


    "Silly boy, the tailor''s shop is a woman''s battlefield!" Kosha scolded her nephew with a glance, happily taking Winters'' arm and stepping onto the carriage.


    She gave the driver their destination with demure politeness, "Mr. Bato, please take us to the Mewa residence."


    The carriage glided smoothly over the cobblestone streets, the wheels clacking rhythmically through the gaps in the stones, and the horseshoes rhythmically striking the pavement. The carriage''s compartment was suspended on leather straps from the frame, so the ride was not bumpy.


    Kosha lifted the curtain, enjoying the street scene, seemingly in high spirits.


    But Winters was preoccupied with serious thoughts, his mind occupied by the coachman who appeared to have joined some secret society, and the brotherhood he mentioned. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kosha gently tapped Winters'' hand with her folding fan, "What''s on your mind that has you so distracted?"


    "It''s nothing," Winters responded with a smile, regaining his composure. It clearly wasn''t appropriate to share his concerns with his aunt in the carriage; that was a conversation for his uncle. He diverted the topic, "By the way, where''s Ella? Isn''t she at home?"


    Mention of Elizabeth always gave Kosha a headache; she touched her forehead helplessly, saying, "She''s gone to Lady Angusoraf''s studio. Sigh... Your sister really worries me. She''s already sixteen but still acts like a wild girl, without a trace of ladylike demeanor."


    "Isn''t learning painting a good thing?" Winters admired those skilled in painting; although he was not religious, he always lingered in front of the beautiful frescoes in churches.


    Kosha''s mood dimmed a bit, "She''s not there to learn painting, she''s just looking for an excuse to frolic with her little friends. When your mother and I were her age, we had to check your grandfather''s accounts every day, unlike her frivolous behavior now. She can''t sew, can''t manage accounts, she doesn''t have any ability to run a household."


    Winters felt his aunt was underrating his sister too much; Elizabeth was one of the few people he acknowledged as smarter than himself, and he had to defend her, "If you teach her about accounts, I''m sure she could learn very well. I''m quite convinced of her mental arithmetic abilities."


    "I''ve taught her, of course, I''ve taught her," Kosha''s tone grew heavier, "but your sister lacks any persistence. She starts complaining within two days of learning the accounts. No matter what it is, she loses interest as soon as she learns the basics. How can she get married like this? What good family would take her? Isn''t it just a matter of time before she gets deceived?"


    Kosha fell silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Winters with hope-filled eyes, grasping his right hand, "Let''s not talk about your sister, let''s talk about you."


    Kosha''s demeanor turned very formal, puzzling Winters, who sat up straight to listen seriously.


    She spoke very earnestly, "I''ve told you this once six years ago when you went to The Federated Provinces, and now that you''re back, I need to repeat it. After your maternal grandfather passed away, his property was divided into two parts, each as a dowry for your mother and me. My share was taken to the Serviati family, and your mother''s share was kept by me as your guardian because you were not of age. Next year, when you come of age, I will hand over your mother''s dowry to you, relieving myself of this concern."


    Winters had thought his aunt was going to discuss something significant, yet it turned out to be about the inheritance again. Winters was a posthumous child, his father had died in battle with the rank of sub-lieutenant twenty years before, and his mother had also passed away early.


    Although Kosha had always strictly forbidden anyone from discussing the details of her sister''s death with her nephew, merely attributing it to illness, Winters, who was always keen, managed to infer the real answer through indirect inquiries: his mother, Kosha''s sister, had died from complications shortly after childbirth.


    However, he wasn''t too troubled by this; to him, his aunt was his mother, and his uncle treated him like his own son.

 Chapter 83: Chapter 38 The Mewa Brothers_2

    ```Compared to his biological parents, whom he had never met, he cared more for the close family members who had raised him. Since his aunt did not wish for him to know the truth, he had always pretended to be unaware.


    "Auntie, I''ve told you several times, just handle the money yourself, whether you incorporate it into the household accounts or use it as a dowry for Ella, I have no objections." Winters strongly opposed Aunt Kosha''s resolute stance on not using a portion of the property held in his name.


    Kosha might have been worried about gossip from outsiders, but in Winters''s view, no amount of gold could ever repay the effort it took to raise a baby into adulthood.


    "Silly boy, you still have to establish a family and a career, and there will be many occasions where you''ll need money. I exchanged your mother''s dowry for property in the Harbor District, and it has appreciated quite a bit in the past twenty years." Kosha''s eyes became moist as she spoke, and with maternal love, she straightened Winters''s hair, "My dear nephew has grown into a fine young man. Elizabeth [referring to Winters''s mother, who shares a name with Winters''s cousin] must be very pleased to see you all grown up in heaven. When I meet her again, I''ll proudly kiss her cheek."


    During their conversation, the carriage came to a stop, and the coachman informed them softly, "Madam, we''ve arrived at the Merva residence."


    Kosha wiped away her tears and resumed her authoritative tone, "Thank you, Mr. Bato."


    Winters got out of the carriage first, then assisted Kosha down.


    The carriage stopped in front of a charming storefront which occupied about five meters of width amidst a row of stone buildings. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The door had been painted black, so clean that it seemed one could smell the fresh paint. A scissors and a sewing kit were depicted in gold paint on the door, with the words [Merva Brothers] written in sweeping cursive below the image.


    The most eye-catching design, however, was not the storefront itself, but the walls to either side.


    Flanking the door, instead of brick walls, were small panes of clear flat glass held in wooden frames. Behind the glass, wooden mannequins displayed elegant readymade outfits. The window primarily featured extravagant women''s attire, with elegant men''s wear as a secondary focus.


    This type of small clear glass pane was not cheap, and most ordinary citizens could only afford to purchase a few for windows, with wooden shutters still being the predominant choice for most households. Using such fragile material for walls was a bold and imaginative move by the designer.


    Using gold paint for the sign was equally lavish, and they had used gold powder, not gold leaf. Winters, although not versed in painting, knew that gold color could not be achieved without using gold powder, a rather expensive material.


    The grandeur of the Merva Brothers'' tailoring shop left Winters speechless. He couldn''t help but wonder if the owners ever feared that thieves might strip the storefront at night.


    "Isn''t it impressive?"


    "But won''t all these glass panes and pigments end up being paid for by the customers?"


    "Come on," Kosha took Winters by the left arm, dragging him inside the shop.


    The bell above the door jingled as they entered, where several elegantly dressed ladies and young women were picking out fabrics. Compared to them, Winters no longer found his aunt''s attire to be exaggerated. This place was not so much a tailor''s as it was a fashion battlefield.


    An attractive young man with the look of a tailor approached them quickly; he had a tape measure draped over his shoulder and stood out in his uncommonly simple work clothes among the competitive sea of colorful garments.


    Greeting Kosha with an earnest smile and a doff of his hat, he spoke with a faint tone of reproach, "Madam Serviati, it''s been far too long since your last visit to our modest establishment. Without seeing you, my inspiration runs dry."


    If an ordinary person had said this, it might have seemed insincere and nauseating. However, the dashing youth''s expressions, posture, and tone were just right. Even knowing the flattery was merely courteous, one couldn''t feel any aversion.


    Kosha was unmoved, smiling as she retorted, "Then your sources of inspiration must be plentiful. How many ladies have you said that to?" She had quite a high tolerance for such bootlicking.


    "But you are the most beautiful among them." The tailor, one of the Merva brothers, undeterred in moving to impress Serviati, shifted the focus of his praise to the young man by her side, "And who is this handsome young man with you? He''s got a natural build for suits."


    Winters blushed at such a comment, but the young tailor managed to say it with a sincere tone, showing just how hard life could be.


    The flattery worked wonders, though, as Kosha beamed with joy, "This is my nephew, fresh out of the Federated Provinces'' military academy, and now working at the Army headquarters."


    The young tailor heaped clever compliments on them, delighting Kosha while Winters, noticing several ladies in the shop casting covert glances his way, felt even more embarrassed and quickly interjected, "Aren''t we here to get some clothes made?"


    "Right, let''s start with your measurements." The young tailor led Winters to a quiet, small room at the back of the shop and began taking his measurements.


    Winters, always observant, noticed the shop was mostly frequented by female clients, suggesting that another female tailor likely did the measuring. Yet, there was only one male tailor at the front, with the rest appearing to be apprentices. He heard a faint sound of cloth cutting from inside the shop and mused to himself that perhaps the Merva Brothers was actually Merva siblings.


    "What kind of suit would you like to have made?" the young tailor got straight to the point, asking Kosha instead of Winters.


    ```

 Chapter 84: Chapter 38 The Mewa Brothers_3

    "Two regular suits, one formal suit," Kosa considered for a moment and then spoke again, "And make one set of officer''s uniforms as well."At the military academy, the students'' uniforms were made to measure by the school itself. However, once out of the academy, officers had to pay for their own uniforms.


    The officer ranks of the Allied Army were still inevitably influenced by the old nobility, much like nobles of the old era who came equipped with their gear and attendants, the officers of the new era also had to provide their own military uniforms, horses, swords, and so on.


    These unwritten rules formed an invisible threshold, and Bard wasn''t exaggerating when he said that if he didn''t go overseas, he couldn''t even afford to have his military uniform made.


    "I can''t wear an officer''s uniform yet," Winters hurriedly reminded his aunt.


    But Kosa didn''t seem to mind, "Won''t you be able to wear it next year? It''s better to have it made in advance, so you won''t have to bother later on."


    Winters knew he had no say in domestic matters, so he didn''t oppose further.


    Kosa sat beside him, flipping through a spread-out book, which appeared to be a design catalogue from the Meva brothers, while a male tailor busied himself beside Winters.


    But Winters thought of the case at the docks, a thought struck him and he asked casually, "Do you make cloaks here?"


    "Cloaks? Your Excellency wishes to have a cloak made? If you need, we can take care of it for you," the male tailor replied while measuring Winters''s waist.


    "From what you say, it seems that the Meva brothers don''t usually make cloaks?"


    The male tailor answered with a smile, "Our shop usually makes more exquisite garments. Indeed, we haven''t made cloaks before."


    "About how many tailors are there in Sea Blue City?"


    "Not many, less than a hundred people," the tailor added, "Many households don''t come to tailors to have clothes made, most buy the fabric and make it themselves."


    Hearing this, Winters understood that trying to find the cloak-wearing man through the tailors was not realistic. The cloaks of those assassins weren''t necessarily custom-made by an external tailor; hiring a maid who was good with needlework could also produce them.


    However, Winters was not willing to give up even if there was just a sliver of a clue, he politely asked the tailor, "Could you help me inquire if any tailor in Sea Blue City has recently received orders to make black cloaks?"


    "No problem," the tailor replied politely, "Are you looking for someone in particular?"


    Winters answered with a faint smile, "I''m seeking a few friends who wear black cloaks."


    "If you are looking for clothes, you might rather look for the fabric," the tailor noted down the measurements in his booklet, saying offhandedly.


    "Looking for fabric?"


    "There are over forty fabric suppliers in Sea Blue City, and each one''s materials have slight differences. If you bring the fabric to me, I can roughly identify which supplier it''s from, then ask that fabric merchant who they supply to, and continue to trace from there, which will be much simpler."


    It was indeed a good method, but unfortunately, Winters had none of the assassins'' fabric in hand. He thought back to the situation at the time and couldn''t come up with an explanation.


    "What material? Linen? Cotton? Wool? Silk?" the tailor asked.


    Winters tried hard to recall the feel of the cloak when he had grappled with the cloaked figures, "I don''t know, I only know that it should be quality fabric, the weave was very dense, but not as smooth as silk."


    "Then it''s likely wool or cotton," the tailor concluded, "I will ask around for you, but there are many merchants selling wool and cotton fabrics in the city, so don''t get your hopes up too high."


    "Thank you."


    Once the measurements were taken, the next step was to pick out fabric. During this process, Winters became a mere puppet, with Kosa directing the tailor to bring several types of fabric for her to choose from, repeatedly having Winters step onto the small platform and draping the fabric over him to see the actual effect. After selecting the fabric, they moved on to pick out designs.


    Winters originally thought he was just going to the tailor''s to have his measurements taken, which would be quick.


    But by the time an exhausted Winters and a content Kosa returned home, it was already getting dark. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Inside the mansion, Antonio had been waiting for a long time and was passing the time by playing with a cat in the living room. As soon as Winters entered the front door, Antonio called him over and said seriously, "Come with me, there''s an urgent matter."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In the eleventh century, a method for making small pane glass appeared in the Germany region, which later spread to the Italian Peninsula. The Venetians improved this technique and by at least the fourteenth century, were able to produce transparent glass; however, at that time, colored glass was more valuable.


    The manufacturing of large transparent glass panes came later, not until 1674.

 Chapter 85: Chapter 39: Strong Luck

    "Come with me, there''s an emergency," Antonio called out to Winters, then added, "Tell the coachman not to unhitch the horses, and Winters, you go change into your ceremonial attire.""Ceremonial attire? But I only have my military academy uniform right now."


    Antonio looked towards his wife, "Didn''t you make several sets before?"


    "But none of those clothes fit, and they haven''t been altered yet. We only took the measurements today," Koshar replied with a tinge of annoyance.


    Antonio didn''t dwell on it, "In that case, I''ll change into a military uniform, and we''ll both be dressed the same."


    This time, Winters didn''t have to wait too long. Antonio was a military man known for his efficiency and soon emerged from the house in his officer''s uniform, different from ceremonial dress.


    "Now that we''re both in uniform, what do we need a carriage for?" Seeing Winters foolishly waiting by the carriage, Antonio sounded quite helpless. He turned to the coachman and said, "We won''t be needing the carriage. Bato, you''ve had a hard day."


    With that, he handed a small bag of reward money to the coachman, who took it with profuse thanks.


    Antonio gestured to his nephew and led Winters to the stables behind the house.


    In the stables, there were now three horses. Antonio pointed to one of them, a grey steed with a black mane and white spots, saying reluctantly, "It''s yours from now on. Although Sea Blue City isn''t that large, it''s inconvenient to go anywhere without a horse."


    Winters was instantly overjoyed. He approached the proud and majestic creature, keeping his excitement in check. The horse wasn''t panicked by the newcomer; it chewed its hay calmly. Its pectoral muscles were strong, its legs well-proportioned and powerful, and the lines from its neck to its back and haunches were smooth and elegant. The mane and tail were well-groomed, and its coat was brushed clean, without a single speck of straw.


    Winters gazed into the horse''s eyes, and the horse blinked its moist eyes back at him with a tame and friendly gaze, its ears flicking deftly. Winters tentatively stroked its neck, finding the skin not only smooth and glossy but also warm to the touch. It felt wonderful, and the horse hummed comfortably through its nostrils.


    "It''s truly beautiful." sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An irritated Antonio said, "Of course it''s beautiful. You infantry types just don''t recognize a good thing. This is a top-notch Lucian horse."


    The more pained Antonio felt, the better the horse must be. Winters, rarely seeing his uncle so reluctant, chuckled and asked, "Is it a monk?"


    Antonio was furious: "How could it be? There are plenty of people who''d want to borrow this horse for breeding!"


    "But if it''s not that, can it be ridden?"


    "Of course, it can be ridden. Didn''t you see who trained it? Besides, Lucian horses are naturally gentle."


    "What''s its name?"


    "I called it ''Good Luck.'' Do you want to give it a new name?"


    Winters gently scratched the area between the horse''s eyes, and the animal flicked its tongue lightly. Recalling the pirate ship named Good Luck, he said, "Who doesn''t like luck? But let''s call it ''Strong Luck'' instead. It seems luck doesn''t work on me."


    Seeing how much his nephew fancied Strong Luck, Antonio hesitated but couldn''t help instructing, "Horses are noble creatures, and Good Luck is my treasure. You must take good care of it, don''t wear it out, but don''t let it get too idle either..."


    Winters kept nodding, then pointed to the other two horses and asked his uncle, "If you''re worried about Strong Luck, how about I ride one of those instead?"


    The other two horses in the stable were a white horse and a bay mare.


    "Now I really regret sending you to study in the infantry," Antonio said with a heavy tone. "Do you think those two aren''t good horses?"


    Antonio took out a small packet from his pocket and fed each horse a piece of sugar. He then led out the bay horse, and Winters brought out Strong Luck. They saddled up, mounted their steeds, and left the mansion.


    The sky had darkened, and the last rays of the sun were fading away. The daytime heat was gradually replaced by the coolness of the night, and the refreshing sea breeze carried away the excess heat from the two riders. At that moment, riding the streets of Sea Blue City was utterly invigorating.


    Workers along the road were filling the lamps with oil, lighting the street lamps one by one. In Senas Bay, only Sea Blue City was lavish enough to provide public lighting. The flickering flames shone through the soot-stained glass, illuminating the hurried faces of the pedestrians, signaling the start of nightlife.


    In the city streets, Strong Luck could hardly stretch its legs, making Winters eager to take the horse outside the city for a hearty gallop.


    But then he suddenly remembered he didn''t know where his uncle was taking him, so he sped up a little and rode alongside Antonio, "What''s the emergency? Colonel, where are you taking me?"


    Antonio looked at Winters with a playful smile and said, "To find you a wife."


    "What? Stop joking!" Winters was taken aback, nearly losing his balance and falling off the saddle, "I was planning to see Benwei tonight, and I only followed you because you said it was urgent. If there''s nothing serious, I''m heading to Benwei''s place."


    "Benwei? Which Benwei?" Antonio scratched his head, trying to remember the name: "Benvenuto?"


    Winters was surprised his uncle remembered Benwei''s full name: "You remember him?"


    "Isn''t he your schoolmate, Lu You? You always loved to scrounge meals at his house when you were on leave."

 Chapter 86: Chapter 39 Strong Luck_2

    "It''s him."Antonio became interested, "How is he now? It seems that I didn''t see his name among the trainee officers who returned this year."


    "Benwei didn''t continue at the military academy, he went to work to support his family after Lu You graduated." Winters said somewhat sorrowfully, "If there''s nothing else, I''ll be on my way."


    Leading the way, Antonio and Winters, with their backs to the docks, walked on. As the crowd started to thin out, Winters, who lived in the Harbor District, mentioned his intention to turn back as he redirected his horse.


    "Wait a moment," Antonio called to his nephew, "Don''t go today. Are you planning to go empty-handed? I remember his family has many younger brothers and sisters... How about this, tomorrow I''ll have Marita buy some flour and good meat, and you can take it to Benwei, how does that sound? Besides, I called you here today because I truly have something important."


    "What is it?"


    "To meet a widow."


    "I''m really off!" Winters, in a huff, yanked the rein to the right.


    Antonio quickly dropped his teasing demeanor and said seriously, "Alright, to business. There''s a small gathering at the Navarre residence tonight, and I called for you because I want you to show your face there."


    "Navarre? Isn''t that the merchant who deals in wool? What does that have to do with me?" Of course, Winters had heard of the Navarre surname; it was a well-known merchant family in the city.


    Antonio looked at Winters with a meaningful gaze, "Money is power, and Mrs. Navarre might just be the most powerful woman in this city¡ªalso a widow."


    "Why do you keep bringing up widows?" Winters became anxious, hoping his uncle wasn''t suggesting he sell his charms.


    Antonio put on a serious face on purpose, "What? Do you look down on widows? Let me tell you, widows hold up half the sky in Sea Blue City. Without these widows, where would the Governor''s office get the money to pay our salaries?"


    Winters began to sweat profusely from his forehead, "When have I ever looked down on widows... besides, what does that have to do with anything?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Winters''s naive reaction, Antonio burst into laughter, patting him on the back, "Alright, no more jokes. Actually, there''s nothing much. You''ve been away in The Federated Provinces for six years, during which you didn''t participate in any social activities in the city. Aside from your peers from the military academy, you don''t know a single person your age, do you? Now that you''re back home, I thought it would be good for you to make an appearance in the society hosted by the Navarre family."


    Just as Winters was about to speak, Antonio gestured for him to stop and continued, "I know what you''re going to say, but even if you don''t like socializing, you still need to let people know you exist. Sooner or later you''ll need to get married, but do you know any eligible young ladies right now? This is the consequence of a lack of socializing. At your age, I was going from one dance to the next, everyone was vying to invite me. Anyway, it''s better to get to know a few young ladies, so you have some choices."


    Winters was left speechless by this speech; he felt there was something off about his uncle''s words but didn''t know how to refute them.


    Seeing his nephew''s face turn red, Antonio teased, "And honestly, considering Mrs. Navarre''s wealth, even if you wanted to pursue it, it wouldn''t be so easy."


    "Colonel!"


    The two rode on, chatting as they went, and without realizing, they had reached the city walls.


    The rammed-earth walls from the Sovereign War era, after more than twenty years of weathering, were in ruins. Seeds scattered by the wind took root and sprouted on the walls. The walls were lush up and down, resembling a green tapestry. Even a seedling grew resiliently on it, as if an arm was reaching out from the inside of the wall.


    The city moat had also collapsed in many places due to lack of maintenance over the twenty-six years without military disaster. Now, the citizens no longer appreciated these old defensive works that once protected them, finding them a great inconvenience to entering and exiting the city area.


    The capital, Guidao City, of The Federated Provinces had already torn down its walls and filled in the moats. The people of Sea Blue City were restless as well. Why preserve these old fortifications when they had just built the impregnable Bastion outside the city?


    Crossing the wooden bridge built over the moat, Antonio and Winters left the city area. There were no streetlights outside the city; the journey ahead would be illuminated by moonlight. The compacted earth reflected more moonlight than the vegetation did, creating a silvery stream that stretched into the distance.


    Through the intermittent hedges and patchy tree shadows along the way, one could make out brightly-lit mansions in the distance, filled with festive guests and the vigorous sounds of music coming from each estate.


    With the growth of Sea Blue''s population, the city area was becoming increasingly crowded. The wealthy merchants were unwilling to continue living within the resource-limited city walls and began building lavish estates in the suburbs one after another.


    In the past, merchants would not have dared to move outside the city walls.


    The citizens of the old era adored city walls because they protected them from external armed attacks. New era citizens scorned the walls because they no longer needed such passive protection.


    Living in the suburbs, the greatest risk was from bandits and thugs. The Allied Army of the new era was more effective than the old civic militia at suppressing bandits, because although the militia was strong in defending cities, their morale plummeted once they left the city and they typically did not engage in field battles.


    And the noble militias of the old era? If it were just a few greedy peasants robbing on roads, it wouldn''t be dangerous, but the greatest threat came from those well-equipped with weapons, armor, and warhorses, who had received military training their entire lives.


    Impoverished knights often became the backbone of bandit gangs, and robbing merchant caravans, extorting, or even raiding cities were long-standing significant sources of income for unscrupulous nobles.

 Chapter 87: Chapter 39: Strong Luck_3

    Therefore, the citizens of the old era fervently worshipped the city walls, generously donating vast portions of their wealth to their city. For they shared fate with the city, which, to them, was the only safe haven in a perilous world.But times are different now, just as Antonio said, the Standing Army is mainly used to deal with internal enemies, and they do it well. Any sizable band of robbers within the Alliance''s territory would be swiftly annihilated by the Allied Army, and a few straggling villains could be dealt with by merely a handful of guards.


    The Navarre family followed the trend and moved out of the urban area, but Winters did not know the address, simply following his uncle forward.


    "What kept you busy today on your first day of internship at the constabulary?" Antonio asked casually.


    Winters was about to talk about the day''s events but then he remembered Colonel Field''s admonition, "keep tight-lipped, follow orders." He chewed over his words for a long time before squeezing out, "Pretty busy anyhow."


    "What exactly kept you so busy?" Antonio persisted unwaveringly.


    "Please don''t ask, I can''t say."


    Antonio laughed and lightly tapped Winters'' shoulder with a riding crop, "Field taught you well. Being tight-lipped is a virtue. Usually, you should watch more, listen more, do more, but speak less. Speak less, and others won''t know what cards you hold."


    Winters blushed and nodded.


    "Even if you don''t tell me, I still know what cards you hold." Antonio''s smiling eyes were like crescents, "When the Throne voted on whether to pin this mess on Field, I cast the only dissenting vote on your behalf."


    "What?" Winters exclaimed so unexpectedly that he involuntarily tightened the reins, causing the spirited horse to halt with a snort. "Were you present when it was decided to hand this case to the constabulary?"


    "Of course I was there," Antonio gestured, "Don''t just stand there like a fool, walk and talk."


    Winters lightly squeezed the horse''s belly and trotted forward to catch up with his uncle, "Does the Throne know that even with me included, there are only two officers in the constabulary now?"


    "Of course they know," Antonio nodded.


    "And they still handed this case over to the constabulary? With only two officers and eighty guards needing to man posts, how are we two supposed to investigate?"


    "Quite simple. If Field wants to close the case, he could write a report today, and by tomorrow this case would be closed," Major General Antonio offered a relaxed solution.


    The case could be closed at any time if they wanted? Winters'' thoughts raced, and in an instant, he grasped the profound implication behind those words, asking his uncle word by word, "Are you implying that the Throne already has a scapegoat prepared for this case?"


    "Not bad, a teachable lad," Antonio said with a hint of a smile, praising Winters, who could tell from his tone that his uncle didn''t consider the case a big deal, "What''s the big deal about an assassination attempt? Doesn''t Sea Blue have several each year? If the assassin isn''t caught on the spot, how can they possibly find the person? It''s sure to become a cold case. The person who took this case from the customs didn''t care about the truth; they just wanted to pin the blame on someone they chose in the end."


    "Are you saying that the army took the initiative to take over the case from the customs?" Winters could hardly believe his ears.


    "What else? If the army didn''t want it, could the customs force it upon them?"


    Only now did Winters realize that he had comprehended it all wrong; he had initially thought that the customs and the army had reached a secret agreement. The customs discovered that the victim might be a soldier and did not want to meddle in the army''s affairs, so they communicated secretly with the army, leaving them to investigate the case.


    But according to Antonio''s statements, the army was utterly unaware of the victim''s identity; someone just wanted to create an issue, proactively taking over the case.


    One dared to ask, the other dared to give, both believing that a mere exchange of glances was an adequate understanding, yet in reality, their thoughts were entirely different.


    Moreover, from what Winters could see now, both parties had less information about this assassination than he did. In his view, both the customs and the army underestimated the severity of this assassination attempt. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, who exactly does the Throne want to pin the blame on?" Winters voiced another doubt.


    Antonio nonchalantly gave an answer that Winters did not anticipate, "Pirates."


    "How could the assassin be a pirate? I''ve fought against pirates, I''ve also fought those assassins, and there is no one among pirates as formidable as those assassins."


    "But can pirates come out to prove they are not assassins?" Antonio questioned with an almost mocking smile.


    "Framing pirates..." Winters'' mind flashed like lightning, as he agonizingly pondered, attempting to connect the fragmented information, to seize the main point from a tangle of confusion.


    Seeing him deep in thought, Antonio kept silent, and the two walked in quiet for a while.


    Suddenly, Winters sighed and asked softly, "Are we going to war?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDelimiter¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Stallions are temperamental and naturally aggressive, but they are easily attracted by mares in heat. History is replete with instances where mares were used to attract stallions for profit in war; mares are gentle and quiet and can also serve as warhorses. However, sending a mare into battle means one less foal for the following year. Therefore, the final solution was to use castrated stallions as warhorses, which the Teutonic knights called ''monk horses'' [M?nchpferde]. Another advantage of using castrated horses was that even if captured by the enemy, the enemy could not use them to improve their own horse bloodlines.


    Horses have a rich emotional life, so I believe that the reason horses cannot become pets is mainly due to their size and digestive issues.

 Chapter 88: Chapter 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite

    Winters suddenly sighed and asked in a low voice, "Is war upon us?""There must be an enemy for a war, right?"


    "The Tanilians, the Republic wants to seize the islands," Winters gave the answer calmly, "I''m really too slow, only coming to realize this now."


    Antonio neither denied nor confirmed, but counter-asked, "Then why would Vineta go to war with its important source of raw materials and trading partner?"


    "I don''t know the reason, but what I''ve learned from history is that people can find ten thousand reasons to start a war, and ten thousand reasons to stop one. War is not a duel between two, each party in a war has conflicting interests. As for the fundamental reason for a war, that can only be known from historical records after the war ends. I''m just trying to infer the direction of the wheels from the ruts."


    "What ruts?" Antonio seemed intrigued.


    "Bits of information, rumors in the military academy, the disputes between the Islands and Sea Blue, the tense atmosphere within the army headquarters, your casual mention of the conscription of reservists... and most importantly, what''s the point of framing pirates? Can the army even control the pirates? It''s simply a way to lead the fire towards the Islands." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Interesting," Antonio said.


    Winters asked with difficulty, "Must there be a war?" This was not a question a soldier should ask,


    "Not necessarily, war is just a means, not the goal. Making grandiose preparations for war is sometimes only for gaining more negotiating chips. Vineta is not a place before the mountains; the final action will be decided by the ruling committee," Antonio said with a clear and calm voice,


    He spoke unhurriedly, "But military deterrence not only comes from force but also the determination to use it. If the wrong message is conveyed, making the Archipelago Confederation think Sea Blue dares not to take military action, then war becomes the only path. Have you seen the Great General and the lesser generals fighting with wild cats in the yard?"


    "I have, the lesser generals are smaller in size but more ferocious." Every spring and autumn night, fights between cats would rise to a crescendo around Winters''s home.


    "Wrong, it''s not that the lesser generals are more ferocious, but the wild cats think they can bully the lesser generals and dare to challenge them. And the Great General? As soon as it sees a wild cat on its territory, it rushes to fight a battle to the death. The wild cats nearby are all afraid of it and steer clear of it. In the end, it''s the lesser general who doesn''t like to stir trouble but ends up fighting with the wild cats more often."


    "So has the Republic made preparations for war?" Winters mused over this conversation, feeling he knew far too little.


    "Yes and no. Plans have been devised one after another for several years, but if the supervisory government doesn''t make a decision, the plans are nothing but waste paper," Antonio snorted with dissatisfaction, "Only after the governor made that vehement speech in the Senate a month ago did the thirteen-member committee agree to start preparing materials for war."


    [The Thirteen-Member Committee, aka the Vineta Republic''s Military Committee, members are composed of the army and navy high-ranking officials.]


    "I think The Federated Provinces probably won''t just sit back and watch us take control of the Islands." If Sea Blue took over the Islands, it would inevitably disrupt the delicate balance within the Alliance.


    "''Feilengcui'' has already stood off against ''Torrent River'' on the northern Border River, otherwise why do you think this year they didn''t let you travel by land but made you return to Vineta by sea?"


    [The Fourth ''Feilengcui'' Legion, Sea Blue Republic Army]


    [The Second ''Torrent River'' Legion, The Federated Provinces Army]


    Winters felt chills down his back, two of the Alliance''s standing army legions were already confronting one another at the border, no wonder they''d changed to travel by ship this year. But he found the absurdity incredulous, "Don''t tell me we''ll have to fight with the United Provincials first?"


    "How could that be? The Provincial Army, no matter how reckless, wouldn''t dare take such a monstrous risk of starting a civil war," Antonio laughed, trying to comfort his nephew, "Their intent is merely to constrain us, so we can''t give our all, buying themselves time to control the Islands."


    "The Federated Provinces also want to control the Islands?"


    Antonio countered, "Sea Blue and The Federated Provinces each occupy half of the bay; whoever takes the Islands can control the inland sea trade. Let me ask you, if you were The Federated Provinces'' Secretary of State, wouldn''t you want to control Taniria?"


    In the past, the Taniria Islands were also directly under the royal dominion. Unlike Sea Blue, which became a royal possession due to its wealth, Taniria was deemed a royal possession because it was so desolate that no one desired it¡ªuntil they had to. Before the introduction of sugarcane and other cash crops, it was just a wilderness where only self-sustaining islanders and exiled criminals existed.


    More than thirty years ago, the Alliance navy, with just a few galleons, set out from Taniria and ravaged the Empire''s maritime transport ships with such ferocity that it forced the emperor to bypass the Sheltering Mountains to supply Duke Arian. The Islands, as a place where the Alliance navy disposed of their loot and resupplied, attracted the greediest sailors, mercenaries, and speculators from across the continent, leading to the Islands'' prosperity.


    It was also during this time that sugarcane was introduced to this land. Plantations started to appear throughout the interior of the large and small islands.


    After the madman Richard retreated, the captains and plantation owners'' associations took this opportunity to declare independence from the Empire, turning themselves into a permanent "Neutral Free Port." For over twenty years, they''ve existed as a loose confederation sandwiched between various powers.

 Chapter 89 Chapter 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_2

    Antonio said without doubt, "Speaking impartially, do you think the tensions between The Federated Provinces and the Archipelago are greater, or are the tensions between us and the Archipelago greater? Who do you think can offer a better deal to the Archipelago, The Federated Provinces or us?""The Archipelago Confederation is too loose a political entity, negotiating with the Confederation is like shouting at a hundred ducks at once. If we try to win over each island one by one, Tanilia will sooner or later become the eighth province of The Federated Provinces Republic. It''s not that Sea Blue wants the Archipelago, it''s that Sea Blue does not want The Federated Provinces to get the Archipelago, thus the means must be somewhat drastic."


    After hearing Antonio''s words, although it was the height of summer, Winters felt a chill from within: "Tell me the truth, the Victory Arsenal wasn''t burned down by someone from the Throne, was it?"


    "What are you thinking?" Antonio scolded Winters, "The struggle over Tanilia between The Federated Provinces and Sea Blue is merely internal competition within the Alliance. The United Provincials may not get along with us, but we''re still brother allies, not enemies. The Victory Arsenal is an important equipment procurement site for the Sea Blue Army, why would we burn down the Victory Arsenal?"


    "That''s a relief, that''s a relief." Winters let out a sigh of relief, for a moment he really worried that the tension between the various republics had escalated to the point of breaking out into a fight the next second.


    Antonio earnestly advised Winters, "I''m telling you all this so you can go beyond the limitations of a pawn and see what the chessboard looks like. Taking this assassination case from customs is just the war faction trying to make a issue out of it, to pressure the executive committee, to involve public opinion, to advocate for war. These little tricks aren''t meaningful, don''t learn from them. Because whether the assassin is Venetian or a pirate, it won''t affect the decisions of the executive committee." Your journey continues on empire


    "So, are you a war hawk or a peace advocate?"


    "I''m neither for nor against war, I have only one principle, and that is to prioritize Veneta''s interests. Remember that, you''re a soldier of Veneta, your duty is to protect the interests of Veneta, and not to be hostile for the sake of party allegiances," Antonio said with great emphasis.


    Winters nodded solemnly, "But I still don''t understand, why was this case handed over to the military police?" S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Whoever investigates this case has only two paths to follow. Either to thoroughly solve this headless case; or to follow the war faction''s wishes and pin the blame on pirates. The latter is simple to close, but if it''s not a ironclad case, the consequences could be severe should it be overturned later on," Antonio laughed heartily, "Field is too reckless, and lacks tact, he recently offended some people and there''s a lot of resentment against him. Handing the case to Field is purely to annoy him."


    Antonio added, "But you don''t need to worry, you''re just an intern at the military police, even if the case is overturned in the future it won''t implicate you, but that boy Field will have to go work at the office for War History."


    Winters remembered the "impressive figure" of Colonel Field at the internship orientation meeting, guessing it was then he had managed to offend all the senior officers present.


    As soon as the case was mentioned, Winters suddenly remembered the coachman, and he hurriedly said to his uncle, "I think it''s best to replace our family coachman."


    "Why?"


    Winters explained in detail his discovery that the family''s coachman appeared to be involved in some secret society.


    Antonio didn''t take it seriously, "It''s just a secret society, right? There are plenty of those in Sea Blue City, not just among coachmen, even the porters at the docks are in secret societies, and they belong to several."


    Nevertheless, Winters still insisted on changing the coachman, as the ones who rode in the carriage most were not the two men, but the two ladies of the house, and he felt the coachman had to be someone dependable.


    In the end, Antonio agreed with his nephew''s opinion, and the two concurred that Antonio would have someone talk to the coachman, and if there were no issues, they would give him severance pay to dismiss him. Then they''d hire two honest ex-soldiers from the Third Legion to take up the posts of coachman and groom.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    A hundred beeswax candles illuminated the side hall of the Navarre residence, and the faint aroma produced by the burning beeswax permeated the room, adding a private ambiance to the already elegant sitting room.


    This was a small reception, not many people. The main hall was too large, it might have made the guests feel isolated. Navarre''s lady, of course, would not make such a basic error.


    There was no dance floor in the side hall, but at this moment, Navarre''s lady was the most graceful of dancers.


    She flitted between each small group of guests, wherever there was the hint of a dispute, Navarre''s lady would cleverly use a witty pun to diffuse the tension. If she noticed a guest feeling uneasy, Navarre''s lady would skillfully guide them to a conversation circle better suited to them.


    The men in the living room dominated the conversation, talking endlessly. They craved an audience, eager to attract the attention of others, while Navarre''s lady did not seek to have everyone listen to her.


    With a look, a smile, a glass of wine, a word of wit, she made each guest feel welcomed, comfortably maintaining the pleasant atmosphere of the evening.


    Though the men occupied the stage, the person who truly orchestrated the order here was the considerate hostess.

 Chapter 90 Chapter 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_3

    However, even Mrs. Navarre, who could effortlessly manage the atmosphere of the soir¨¦e, encountered people who left her helpless. While attending to her guests, part of her attention was always on her daughter, fearing that some chaos might ensue.Her eldest daughter was now standing in front of an egg tempera painting of Aphrodite, surrounded by several gentlemen. The people in this small group were all listening to a handsome man with a fine beard critique the painting.


    To this critic, the lovely young girl was probably the most attentive listener in the world. She was seventeen, having shed the naivet¨¦ of a child, yet not possessed of the maturity of a married lady. She was in the most vibrant stage of youth where every frown and smile was radiant.


    What made her an even more valuable audience was that there was not a trace of impatience on her face. Mrs. Navarre''s daughter was seriously appreciating the artwork, listening with a smile bright as a blossom, nodding gently from time to time, humming in agreement.


    The critic thought he had gained an admirer, but Mrs. Navarre had already noticed her daughter''s subtle changes in expression and habitual hand movements, realizing that she was on the verge of an angry outburst.


    "...The biggest problem is the artist''s biased understanding of beauty." Encouraged by the beauty at his side, the critic grew more animated in his critique of the painting, "Aphrodite is clearly the goddess of love and beauty, yet the goddess in this painting lacks aesthetic appeal and fails to invoke any thoughts of love in me..."


    "Anna, come here," Mrs. Navarre called to her daughter, who was standing a little distance away.


    Anna Navarre offered a gracious smile and a slight nod to the gentlemen, as if apologizing for having to leave, and then walked straight to her mother, passing between the men who moved aside for her.


    Objectively speaking, Anna''s features couldn''t be considered traditionally beautiful. She hadn''t inherited her mother''s soft and graceful countenance, instead taking after her father''s more defined facial lines. Yet even without any overt flirtatiousness, men were involuntarily drawn to her fair shoulders and lustrous hair.


    Mrs. Navarre took her daughter''s hand and squeezed it subtly without showing any emotion, to remind her to always be mindful of her manners. Anna understood her mother''s message, let out a dissatisfied hum, but obediently followed her to another part of the living room.


    Mrs. Navarre placed her daughter in a group mostly made up of young people and then continued fulfilling her duties as hostess, attending to the guests.


    Meanwhile, Antonio and his nephew had just arrived at the Navarre residence.


    Winters had not had his fill of riding and reluctantly handed the reins of the spirited horse to a livery-clad servant. Guided by the butler, he followed Antonio into the grand side hall.


    "General Serviati, how are you?" Mrs. Navarre greeted Antonio with effusive warmth, playfully chiding him, "Why are you so late? I thought you weren''t going to show your face." Enjoy new adventures from empire


    "How could that be? I am your most loyal servant," Antonio bowed his head graciously and gently kissed Mrs. Navarre''s hand.


    Mrs. Navarre smiled behind her fan and said, "You, not loyal at all. Now introduce me to this handsome young man."


    "Don''t you recognize him? My nephew, Winters Montagne, just returned from the Military Academy this year."


    "Elizabeth''s son?" Mrs. Navarre exclaimed softly. She measured up to Winters''s waist with her hand and said with a sigh, "Good heavens, he''s all grown up now. But in my memory, he was only this tall as a child."


    It seemed Mrs. Navarre had seen Winters before, but he had no recollection of it. One can''t remember everything from childhood, so Winters merely smiled politely without speaking.


    "Ah, the academy has turned him into a blockhead, you will have to take good care of him."


    "It''s your precious nephew you should be worried about, lest he be spirited away by one of these ladies," Mrs. Navarre said casually as she affectionately linked arms with Winters.


    Winters felt the lady''s soft body and warmth on his left arm. He had never been so close to a woman outside of his family, and this sudden closeness made him stiffen up and his face flushed red.


    "Your friends have been waiting for you for a while," Mrs. Navarre said to Antonio, "I will take care of this young man."


    Antonio nodded with a smile and left the bewildered Winters by Mrs. Navarre''s side before departing from the evening party.


    "Elizabeth and Kosa are both my friends, just consider yourself at home here," said Mrs. Navarre, finding the young man''s reaction amusing. She took a glass of wine from a waiter''s tray for Winters, "Does being with elders make you feel constrained? Let me introduce you to some people your own age. Have a drink and don''t be so tense."


    "Thank you, madam, but I don''t drink," Winters replied earnestly. "Um... do you have anything to eat here?"


    Mrs. Navarre could not help but chuckle at Winters''s words; it was her first time encountering someone looking for food at such a reception. This kind of gathering was neither a banquet nor a buffet; there was no food, just drinks.


    But Winters was truly famished and feeling dizzy. He had accompanied Colonel Field to the customs prison that afternoon and ended up throwing up everything he had eaten for lunch. After returning home, Kosa took him to the tailor''s shop, and it wasn''t until nightfall that they returned, only to immediately rush with Antonio to the Navarre residence. He had been too hungry to eat earlier, but now, for some reason, his stomach began to churn again.


    Winters''s expression was straightforward, and his tone was sincere. Mrs. Navarre knew he wasn''t putting on an act but was genuinely hungry. She found the young man''s social inexperience charmingly naive and explained to Winters, "We don''t have food here, but the kitchen will have some. I''ll have someone take you there."


    Mrs. Navarre called her daughter over in a soft voice and introduced her to Anna, saying, "This is Mr. Montagne. Anna, take Mr. Montagne to the kitchen and ask the chef to prepare something Mr. Montagne likes." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She then turned to Winters and introduced her, "This is my daughter, Anna. She will take you to the kitchen."


    Mrs. Navarre''s daughter smiled, lifted her skirt in a curtsy, and said softly, "Mr. Montagne, please follow me."


    As Winters beheld Anna''s smooth forehead and her graceful neck, his face grew even redder. But as a Spellcaster, his keen senses made him realize that Miss Navarre was actually very displeased.


    She was smiling, but there was no hint of joy in the corners of her mouth or eyes, which made Winters feel like she was a doll.


    "Just call me Winters," he replied, bowing back to her. He didn''t like to trouble people and said to Mrs. Navarre, "There''s no need to trouble the young lady; a servant can take me instead."


    "You are an honored guest; how could I let a servant accompany you?"


    Mrs. Navarre was adamant, and Winters had to accept her kindness.


    Under Anna''s guidance, Winters passed through groups of guests and left the reception room through another door.


    Before leaving, Winters''s gaze involuntarily shifted to a fresco of Aphrodite¡ªhow could it not attract his attention? The goddess in the painting was nearly naked, boldly displaying her delicate body while covering only the slightest bits.


    Poor Lieutenant Montagne had mostly seen military maps and church murals, where saints were wrapped up tightly, and any nude figures, if at all, were male. He had never seen artwork that portrayed the female form so unabashedly.


    Anna noticed Winters standing transfixed by the painting and paused. Winters, deeply embarrassed, hurried to catch up.


    The two left the reception room, walking down the corridor in silence, one after the other, until they reached the kitchen door.


    Before pushing the kitchen door open, Anna suddenly turned her head to lock eyes with Winters and asked seriously, "What do you think of that Aphrodite painting?"


    "What? Was that the goddess of beauty?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the precise line of awkwardness¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Because basically no readers are telling me their thoughts... Nonetheless, I also feel these chapters have been a bit too draggy, so I will move the main story along quickly after Anna Navarre''s entrance...

 Chapter 91 Chapter 41 Anna

    "What? That was a goddess of beauty?" Winters asked in slight surprise, for he had actually only seen a nude female figure.Anna smiled sweetly and nodded her head.


    Although the girl in front of him was all smiles, Winters clearly saw two faint wrinkles form between her eyebrows. He also noticed that Anna''s left hand, which was holding a candlestick, had become pale at the joints from gripping too hard, while her right hand was twitching slightly, unconsciously.


    Did I say something wrong? Winters was a little puzzled. He also found it hard to understand why Lady Navarre''s daughter, clearly very angry, still masked it with a bright and sunny exterior.


    Those admired in the military were men like Layton and Field, men of strong character, bold and unrestrained. Even if Winters didn''t like Major General Layton very much, he was willing to follow him onto the battlefield.


    Although Winters wanted to remedy the situation, he was not one of those art connoisseurs who spoke eloquently. The painting conveyed to him only the most straightforward visual impression, so he honestly shared his thoughts, "If you hadn''t told me that was Aphrodite, I would have thought it was Athena."


    "Why would Athena be presented naked to the viewers?" Anna blinked in slight confusion.


    "Is that so? Then I am superficial." Winters blushed with embarrassment, searching hard for the right words to describe his direct impressions: "But the goddess in the painting feels to me more like a¡­female warrior, a female knight. Yes, that''s it!"


    His thoughts suddenly became clear, and he explained with gestures: "Although the figure in the painting is female (her breasts feature secondary sexual traits), she is very fit, valorous, and well-proportioned; even I don''t have such beautiful abs¡­ I feel she would look more harmonious with a shield and a spear in her hands, so I mistook her for a goddess of war."


    Anna covered her face and smiled heartily: "Mr. Montaigne, I have never heard such comments before; they''re quite refreshing." Her brows were no longer furrowed, her fists no longer clenched, and her eyes resembled crescent moons, reflecting a smile that came from her heart this time.


    Winters said embarrassingly, "I don''t understand painting, these are all my wild thoughts."


    "Such interesting thoughts, Mr. Montaigne."


    "Perhaps there will be a chance to ask the painter himself what he thinks."


    "In my opinion, even the painter doesn''t know what he wanted to convey."


    "Who exactly is the artist who created this masterpiece?"


    "Not any known artist; it was bought by my mother from some obscure little painter."


    "But I think it''s beautifully done."


    "It''s nothing more than a clumsy imitation of classical art. Many statues of goddesses from the classical era are just as fit and brave. Many are even male statues converted into female figures," Anna said as she removed the bolt and pushed open the kitchen door leading to the living room. "Come on, Mr. Montaigne, you can tell the cook whatever you want to eat; please don''t be shy."


    But the spacious kitchen was empty, with only a faint glow emanating from the oven. The door to the backyard was open, indicating the servants who worked there had all sneaked out.


    Anna stood motionless in the doorway to the kitchen, her back toward Winters.


    "It''s too late; it seems the kitchen has already closed for the day. Let''s not trouble them then, and head back," Winters said, somewhat concerned that the young lady of the house might find it hard to step down.


    "How could that be?" Anna entered the kitchen and lit the oil lamps with the candlestick: "If you don''t mind, I''ll prepare something for you."


    Winters was flattered: "I''m not hungry anymore; how could I trouble you to personally make something?"


    "There are some ready-made ingredients; it''s quite convenient, as long as you don''t mind," Anna''s tone was gentle but left no room for Winters to decline: "Please stoke the fire in the oven a bit more."


    Winters subconsciously obeyed, and began to add more wood to the oven.


    Anna found two pieces of wheat bread left over by the servants, and cut off the hardened crust that had formed from sitting too long.


    Then she sliced thin pieces from a large block of dry cheese and smoked meat, layering them onto the bread. Lastly, she fished out a pickled cucumber from a jar, cut it in half lengthwise, and placed half on each slice of bread.


    Winters wanted to help but found he couldn''t do anything; he could only watch as Anna, in her dress, bustled about the kitchen.


    The bread, having been processed a second time, was placed by Anna into the oven to bake; the cheese began to melt, seeping into the crevices of the bread. After a few minutes, Anna took out the baked bread, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and led Winters out of the kitchen to a secluded gazebo in a corner of the garden.


    The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of a certain rose species, and the sound of cicadas ebbed and flowed around them. The bright moonlight eclipsed the radiance of most stars. Through the neatly trimmed shrubs, one could vaguely see the light from the windows of a nearby side hall.


    "Please enjoy."


    Winters hadn''t expected things to turn out this way; he had casually asked for something to eat, but it ended up with the young lady personally cooking for him. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He said apologetically to Anna, "You can leave me here alone; I''m truly sorry to have taken up so much of your time. Lady Navarre must be getting anxious."


    But the girl did not leave; instead, she sat down lightly on the stone bench, lifting her dress slightly, and smiled at Winters, "I should thank you, Mr. Montaigne, for giving me an excuse to escape from that tedious party. I didn''t want to attend such gatherings at all."

 Chapter 92 Chapter 41 Anna_2

    "What''s the matter, didn''t you enjoy the party?""What''s there to enjoy at a party? Aren''t parties just about listening to the most powerful men boast?"


    "Well said, Miss Navarre, well said!" This witty summary made Winters laugh and applaud in approval, and no one could empathize with that sentiment more than a soldier.


    Anna stopped maintaining her ladylike smile and began to giggle. In that moment, Winters truly felt that the Miss Navarre before him became a living, breathing person, no longer a puppet.


    "Please, have a seat, Mr. Montaigne." Anna gestured for Winters to sit down.


    Winters tasted Anna''s culinary efforts¡ªthe combination of smoked meat, cheese, pickles, and bread was wonderful: "Although the bread is a bit dry, it''s really, really delicious."


    "When I was a child, my grandfather used to make this for me. It tastes a bit better with fresh bread because it''s moister."


    Winters was truly famished, and the best way to compliment a chef''s skills was to eat; Winters tried his best to express his admiration for Anna''s cooking.


    While he was busily wolfing down his food, Winters caught Anna staring at him out of the corner of his eye.


    Winters stopped and asked with his eyes: What''s the matter?


    "I actually haven''t eaten anything since this afternoon either," Anna said, sounding forlorn.


    "Then, shall we split the food between us?"


    "But I can''t eat."


    "Why not?"


    "Only married ladies have the right to eat freely, burp, and fart in front of gentlemen."


    "Hahaha, why do you say that?" Winters found Miss Navarre to be quite the character¡ªnot only did she have a unique perspective on the world, but she was also articulate and witty.


    "Mr. Montaigne, do you have sisters?"


    "I have one sister."


    "Then haven''t you heard your mother and your sister say ''Girls who show their appetite can''t find a man''?"


    Winters thought for a moment: "I''ve never really heard my sister''s mother say that."


    "If you were a lady, your mother would tell you ''Men want girls with appetites as tiny as sparrows, preferably without any insight, who only know how to say how amazing you are. If men find out you''re more insightful than they are, they won''t marry you.''" Dropping her fa?ade, Anna no longer maintained her smile, her expression one of dismay.


    "So the ladies have to play dumb?" Winters had never even held a young lady''s hand before, let alone considered marriage, so this was a new concept to him.


    "Yes."


    "But one can''t pretend to be dumb forever, right?"


    "After they''re married, it''s too late for the men to regret it."


    "Hahaha."


    "What''s so funny, Mr. Montaigne?" Anna said crossly, letting out a sigh of frustration: "It''s just the way things are, you can eat without a care at the party, and people will commend you for your composure. But what about me? I''m very hungry too, yet if I were to do the same, my reputation would be ruined, and all of Sea Blue would quietly gossip about me. Do you think that''s fair?"


    "It''s indeed unfair, but that''s a big issue, beyond what you and I alone can solve. We can only solve a small problem," said Winters thoughtfully, with a smile he asked Anna, "Do you plan to marry me?"


    "What nonsense are you talking about?" Anna stood up in a panic, her eyes wide as she looked at Winters.


    "Since you don''t plan to marry me, and I don''t plan to marry you, why would you worry about maintaining appearances in front of me?" Winters calmly explained to Anna: "It''s just the two of us here; even if you ate an entire cow in front of me, it wouldn''t reach the ears of the man you fancy. If you seek fairness, then all the more you should not oppress yourself even when alone."


    Winters pushed the tray of bread towards Anna: "Eat if you''re hungry; don''t worry about me. I won''t tell anyone about this."


    "Even if you told someone, I wouldn''t be afraid!" Anna''s cheeks turned red for the umpteenth time that evening: "Come here!"


    "What for?" Winters was somewhat puzzled.


    "I want you to come over! Stand next to me," Anna repeated. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, bewildered, slowly walked over to Anna''s side, a bit worried that he was about to receive a slap.


    The girl looked at Winters for a few seconds, then turned around, presenting him with the graceful lines of her back: "Undo it for me."


    "Please don''t, I''m not considering marriage right now!" Seeing Anna''s beautiful nape, Winters quickly spoke out in refusal. His mind was in turmoil; he couldn''t figure out why suddenly they were talking about undressing?


    Anna was both angry and flustered, punching Winters hard on the back and stamping her feet: "What are you thinking? I want you to help me loosen my corset; I can''t eat with this thing constricting me."


    That scared the life out of me, I thought she wanted to sleep with me, Winters thought. Upon realizing it was just the corset, he let out a sigh of relief and asked, "Where''s the corset?"


    Anna was dressed in a blue long dress with ruffled edges, the ruffles trimmed with white velvet ribbon. Overall, the dress was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, with an exaggerated skirt supported by a crinoline from the waist down.


    It was at this moment that Winters noticed the girl''s waist was incredibly slender, thinner than even a sixteen-pound cannon. Such a waist was an affront to normal human anatomy, evidently compressed by external forces to this degree.

 Chapter 41 Anna_3

    Having just admired the unconstrained display of feminine beauty in the painting of Aphrodite, Winters found the painfully cinched waist before him to be a cruel and pathological treatment of women."You unbind the cords at the back of the skirt first, then undo the ribbons inside the corset, and I''ll take care of the rest," Anna blushed, not knowing what had come over her to allow a man to unlace her corset.


    "Oh, right," Anna said, and Winters immediately understood, expertly unfastening the ribbons of the skirt and gradually loosening the crisscrossed slender cords.


    "Why are you so adept at this?" Anna asked, alarmed to find that Lieutenant Montaigne could untie the cords faster than her own maid.


    "Aren''t these just like shoelaces? I''ve worn boots for over a decade¡ªtying and untying laces, I could do it with my eyes closed," Winters answered with pride.


    Once the corset''s knots were undone, Anna wouldn''t allow Winters any further assistance and slowly loosened the remaining part herself. This wasn''t about removing the corset, rather, like loosening shoelaces, it was about not letting it constrict too tightly anymore. Read exclusive content at empire


    Free from the confines of the corset, Anna took several deep breaths with relief, as evident that the garment had not only tightened around her waist but also compressed the space for her lungs. She glared at Winters, sat back down on the stone bench, and ate her food with a sort of vengeful vigor.


    Winters couldn''t help but feel a bit sorry for the young lady and pushed the remaining food towards Anna. One silently ate while the other silently watched; they sat this way for a while until Anna finished off all the remaining bread in one go.


    "I hardly had a few bites," Winters joked. "It seems all to have gone into your stomach."


    "If you wanted to eat, why didn''t you make some yourself?" Anna quickly retorted.


    With no more food, Winters found it pointless to continue sitting around and thus suggested, "Shall we return to the party then?"


    "I''m not going back, and you''re not allowed to either. If you go back, mother will certainly send people to look for me."


    Winters was at a loss for words, so the two sat silently for a while longer.


    The sound of boot heels knocking against stone grew louder from a distance, clearly someone was approaching. Anna immediately dropped her relaxed posture, sitting up straight with her back erect on the stone bench.


    Winters stood to look in the direction of the footsteps and saw a familiar figure emerge from behind the neatly trimmed bushes, taller than one man¡ªAntonio.


    "So here you are. You can''t just hide away because you dislike social gatherings," Antonio said to Winters with a smile. He then caught sight of another figure at the stone table, and his expression became complicated, with a playful smile spreading across his lips.


    As soon as Winters saw Antonio''s expression, he knew his uncle had gotten the wrong idea. Before he could explain, Antonio had already greeted Anna, "Good evening, Miss Navarre!"


    Anna rose politely and returned a curtsy: "Good evening, General Serviati."


    "I hope this young fellow Winters here hasn''t troubled you."


    "Not at all? Mr. Montaigne has been very polite."


    Antonio then turned to Winters, cheerfully asking in the old language, "[Old Language] Have you kissed her tonight?"


    The Old Language, known as the high tongue or noble tongue in the Northern Empire, is deeply rooted yet distinct from the Empire''s language. In the past, it was mainly used by the noble class and the clergy.


    After the overthrow of emperors and nobility by the Alliance, the terms high tongue and noble tongue were discarded, and it was henceforth referred to as the Old Language.


    While the Empire''s language came to be called the common tongue or continental tongue.


    The Old Language and the common tongue share only a few words, but most pronunciation and grammar differ significantly, so speakers of the common tongue might understand individual Old Language words but certainly not the whole sentences.


    During the Imperial Era, knowledge was monopolized by the clergy and the nobility, and most books were written in the Old Language.


    In the modern Republics, only the learned class studies the Old Language as they need to read past literature. The vast majority only speaks the common tongue, which is enough for daily life and work.


    Above the Old Language is the ancient tongue, whose original pronunciation is lost.


    Only researchers needing to read books from the Ancient Empire era¡ªand clergy, as the official scriptures recognized by the church are written in ancient tongue¡ªstudy the ancient tongue.


    Since the three languages use the same alphabet system, people today can "hard read" the ancient tongue using current grammar.


    The church also has a unique system of pronunciation for the ancient tongue, known as "ecclesiastical pronunciation," believed to have been passed down orally since ancient times and generally only learned by clergy.


    The military academy offers courses in Old Language and ancient tongue, enabling Winters and Antonio to speak the Old Language.


    When Antonio suddenly switched languages, Winters didn''t understand at first and was startled when he realized what had been said.


    Winters hadn''t expected his uncle to dare to say something so rude in the presence of a lady, which would have earned him a harsh slap from even the most gentle of women. He turned to look at Anna, who, tilting her head in confusion, watched the two men and showed no sign of anger.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, since Anna evidently didn''t understand the Old Language, and he replied to his uncle in the same tongue, "[Old Language] Can you please not stir up trouble?"


    "[Old Language] Alright, alright, young people have their own ideas," Antonio said with a smile, still misunderstanding the situation, "[Old Language] I''m done with my business. When you want to leave, just find me. I''m in no hurry."


    Having said his piece, and before Winters had a chance to clarify, Antonio nodded farewell to Anna and strode off.


    As Antonio''s figure disappeared behind the bushes, and his footsteps grew fainter, Winters was at a loss for words. Antonio had already jumped to conclusions, and to explain now would be troublesome.


    He sighed, turned to Anna, and took his leave: "Miss Navarre, it has been a pleasure spending time with you today. But I must head home now, please allow me to take my leave."


    Anna''s smile beamed brightly as she said to Winters, "[Old Language] Then, would you like to kiss me?" sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After she spoke, she gave Winters a slap and stormed off huffily.

 Chapter 42 The Hitman

    "I didn''t expect you to move so fast, now I can rest assured," said Antonio with considerable relief to Winters on the way home."Don''t mention it, as soon as you left, I got slapped," Winters said gloomily. He subconsciously touched his cheek where he had been hit; although the physical pain had long since disappeared, the mental wound had not. Your journey continues with empire


    "Slapped? Were you too hasty?"


    "Miss Navarre and I aren''t what you imagine, she can understand Old Tongue."


    "Huh? A woman also knows Old Tongue?"


    "Anna is not an ordinary woman; I think her education level is higher than mine."


    Antonio''s tone was full of the frustration of iron not turning into steel, "How can you be so naive? You were only with her once, and you''re already head over heels?"


    "Why won''t you believe me? I really have no intention of pursuing Miss Navarre," Winters was at a loss for words with Antonio already having a prejudice: "And I feel that Miss Navarre... is very sincere."


    "Of course she''s sincere! If she didn''t make you feel that way, how could she manipulate you?" retorted Antonio. But he then changed his tone and laughed, "However, a man has to be deceived by a woman; you only mature after being cheated on."


    Winters had now lost all desire to speak. He simply shut his mouth tightly, looked straight ahead without a sideways glance, and kicked his horse''s flank with his boot heel. The steed received the command and happily took off.


    "Don''t be mad, what can''t we talk about?" Antonio shouted at Winters''s back: "Don''t ride so fast in the middle of the night, be careful not to break the horse''s hoof."


    Winters initially didn''t want to pay him any heed, but when he heard that the horse''s hoof might break, he slowed down anyway, and Antonio caught up from behind: "Hey, what are you shy about? In our youth, we took these matters as matters for pride."


    "Please stop, I really don''t have the kind of thoughts about Miss Navarre that you think I do."


    "Alright, alright, no more about that," Antonio said kindly, but his tone sounded like he was pacifying a shy young man.


    Winters couldn''t be bothered to explain and the two rode in silence for a while until Antonio suddenly said with a sigh, "Ah, it seems that the one thing I worried about the most has come to pass after all."


    He deliberately extended the tone, waiting for a cue, but Winters didn''t pick up on his line at all.


    Antonio smacked his lips in boredom and continued, "Do you know what the Army Officer Academy was modeled after?"


    Winters thought to himself, "Isn''t it based on a university?" But he didn''t feel like engaging with Antonio and kept silent.


    "If you think it''s a university, then you''re wrong," Antonio answered his own question: "Universities are places for young people to study, get drunk, and brawl. Have you experienced that? The Army Officer Academy was directly modeled after the Monastery; in the military academy, you''re essentially Ascetic Monks with a military status. With little communication with the outside world, the military school is everything to you."


    Antonio went on, "When the academy was first established, this wasn''t a problem. Your father and I were sixteen and seventeen when we attended, almost adults. But the United Provincials later established preparatory and juvenile schools. Now, by your generation, you''re sent to the military school at nine years old and work your way up. After ten years of life in the ''Monastery,'' you have almost no social experience. I''m not sure if this model is good or bad, but one thing I''ve confirmed now is, once you meet a Judith, all of you become Holophernes."


    Judith used her beauty to get close to Holophernes, the general of the army lusting after her, and cut off his head while he was drunk, leading to a great Assyrian defeat. Although Winters was not a believer, he was familiar with this famous story from the scriptures.


    But Winters didn''t want to listen to a word of it, he whipped his horse and sped toward home.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next morning before going to the gendarme, Winters greeted Bard and Andre.


    Bard walked around the steed three times, clicking his tongue in praise. Upon seeing the steed, Andre couldn''t take his eyes off it and insisted on riding it.


    After Winters and his two companions showcased their new ''toy,'' they arrived at the entrance of the gendarme. He saw the clerk Morlock anxiously pacing back and forth in the corridor like an ant on a hot pan.


    "Good morning, Mr. Morlock? Don''t have your keys?" Winters greeted him jokingly.


    "Oh, you''re here, Captain Montaigne," Morlock sighed with relief upon seeing Winters: "The people from the Commandant''s Office are about to go mad. They sent someone to cause a ruckus yesterday afternoon. But with both officers not present, I couldn''t explain. This morning they sent someone again, and he''s sitting inside."


    To get rid of the four stinking corpses, the customs prison worked at an astonishing speed. No sooner had Field and Winters left than the warden immediately got some thin wooden planks to make four crude coffins, placed the bodies inside, and sent them to the Sea Blue Commandant''s Office.


    Half of Colonel Field''s words were true, but the other half was not entirely false. He was right when he said the Army Headquarters had no morgue.


    But when he told customs to send the bodies to the "morgue of the Sea Blue Commandant''s Office," his phrasing became ambiguous because the Commandant''s Office also had no morgue.


    Seeing the customs'' cart carrying bodies stopped at the door, the officers of the Commandant''s Office exchanged puzzled glances, not knowing what was going on.


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 Chapter 42 Hitman_2

    Upon learning that the Military Command Headquarters had no morgue, the customs officials brazenly placed the coffins directly beside the entrance of the Headquarters, claiming they were "sent by Colonel Field," and then they strode off.The personnel at the Military Command Headquarters were thoroughly disgusted, and I mean that quite literally. When the coffins were opened, many officers vomited on the spot, and the coffins were hastily nailed shut again.


    Even with the coffins closed, it only reduced the stench from vomit-inducing to merely sickening.


    Now, these four corpses had become a problem for the Military Command Headquarters; there was no place to store them, and they didn''t have the courage to dump the four coffins at the doorstep of the Army General Headquarters.


    The chief of the Military Police Section, upon hearing that it was these four toxic gas coffins that Colonel Field had ordered to be sent, flew into a rage. He mustered his men and stormed over to the Army General Headquarters to have a "discussion" with Field. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But at that time, Field was not in, and Winters had already gone home after reading the report, leaving only Morlock there. With no one directly responsible, a group of burly officers had nothing they could do to this frail scribe; after all, they couldn''t just beat the life out of this earnestly smiling clerk, right?


    The frustrated officers from the Military Command returned empty-handed, their anger futile against cotton. The next day, they sent a lieutenant colonel over, insisting that Field offer an explanation and get rid of the four bodies quickly.


    The Winters of yesterday might have felt guilty for inconveniencing the Command, but today''s Winters had already learned the true nature of the case was political struggle, and giving it to the Military Police was just a way to annoy Colonel Field. So now, Winters felt no psychological pressure, and for the first time in his life, he found the advantages of being a low-ranking officer.


    Imitating the attitude of the svelte jailer from the customs prison, he saluted and, no matter what the Command''s lieutenant colonel said, he replied with "I don''t know," "I''m not clear on that," or "I''m just a trainee; I have no authority."


    The lieutenant colonel from the other side was livid but powerless against him, after all, a mere trainee officer wasn''t in charge of anything. Just as Winters was leisurely sipping the sugared water Morlock had poured for him, going over the customs autopsy report, Colonel Field entered the room.


    The two lieutenant colonels started quarreling the moment they met, neither listening to the other, each just shouting and yelling.


    In this mode of argument, the victory goes to the one with the louder voice and greater presence. So, of course, it was Spellcaster Colonel Field who had the upper hand, effortlessly drowning out the other with a spell that amplified his voice. Discover more stories at empire


    Colonel Field screamed one sentence after another, spitting in the other''s face:


    "Those four corpses are important evidence!"


    "You hand over the dirty work to me, and you can''t even look after evidence?"


    "The headquarters has no morgue, so what''s wrong with temporarily storing them at your place?"


    "If you''re not satisfied, then take the case back!"


    As he yelled, he banged the table so loudly that the entire Army General Headquarters could hear him clearly.


    What is the might of magic if not beyond the reach of mere mortals? The lieutenant colonel from the Military Command couldn''t outshout Field and, realizing his disadvantage here, stormed off in a huff.


    Colonel Field, seizing the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, shouted, "Don''t you dare bury them! If the evidence isn''t preserved properly and the case can''t be closed, it''ll be your fault!"


    It felt good to release some anger, but the case still needed to be investigated.


    Field called in four squads and, along with Winters and the military police, headed straight for the docks.


    Upon seeing the Lucian horse Winters was riding, Colonel Field looked rather surprised, "Isn''t that ''Good Luck''?"


    Winters patted the horse''s long neck, "It''s now called ''Strong Luck''."


    Field nodded, his thoughts inscrutable.


    Once they reached the docks, Winters realized that Colonel Field''s investigative approach was not much different from that of the customs guards''. It was all about searching for witnesses, questioning, and investigating along the way.


    The enforcers of the law had always investigated cases in this way: first look for witnesses; without any, they would investigate bit by bit, then apply torture to the suspects, and finally close the case.


    Winters felt that since Officer Lop had not obtained any results with this method, Colonel Field would certainly not obtain any more useful information. But he said nothing, simply working silently.


    In essence, the military police from the Army General Headquarters were guards; they had their regular duties ¨C to stand guard. By having his men come to the docks for the investigation, Colonel Field had actually encroached on their time to rest.


    Therefore, the morale of the soldiers was low, their attitudes passive, and they lazily inquired among the residents and merchants near the docks. Their lackadaisical appearance indicated that even if there were any valuable clues, they would surely be missed.


    Seeing the soldiers'' condition, Colonel Field realized that continuing the investigation in this manner would be meaningless. So, he dismissed the military police before noon.


    "Continuing like this won''t work; we need to think of a new strategy," Field said to Winters across the table, while eating lunch at the Army Officers'' Club.


    Winters swallowed the bread in his mouth and boldly said, "If you want to close the case, isn''t it quite simple?"


    "Humph, they push the dirty work onto me thinking I''ll let them manipulate me. But I refuse to play into their hands, and I''m determined to get to the bottom of this," Field stated, unsurprised and unopposed. He glanced at Winters and asked, "So why would you jump into this fire pit, knowing what it is?"

 Chapter 42 Henchman_3

    "The things you said at the introduction meeting were very enlightening," Winters admitted frankly, "I have never seen anyone who could control the output of the amplification spell so steadily. I came to the gendarmerie because I wanted to learn your magic techniques.""Just say what you want, that''s somewhat interesting," Field poured Winters a little light beer, "But, Lieutenant Montaigne, you need to think carefully about whether what you want to learn is magic techniques or the skills to kill enemies."


    Winters understood what the colonel was saying; the difficulty of a spell wasn''t linked to its lethality. Precisely controlling the output of the amplification spell was unquestionably a lot harder than booming spells capable of rupturing eardrums.


    The former was like walking a tightrope, while the latter was like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. The latter only required strength, but the former demanded fine skills.


    "Can''t I learn both?"


    "Hahaha, think about why you guys who are good at fire-based spells are far inferior in actual combat to those who specialize in acceleration spells," Field said as he served himself some light beer.


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    "Acceleration spells are inherently better for combat."


    "Wrong! It''s because you''ve learned too haphazardly. The training philosophy of the Magic Combat Bureau is deeply flawed. To train a spellcaster skilled in slaughter, just teaching a single spell is enough," Field slammed the table, "There are seven spells in the fire series now, and only three in the acceleration series: the Arrow Flying Spell, Wind Control Technique, and Deflection Spell. The only one with lethal power is the Arrow Flying Spell, and spellcasters who specialize in the acceleration series use only this spell to kill."


    "But I think the Vaporization Spell is clearly more difficult and yet far less powerful than the Arrow Flying Spell."


    "You could also practice the Arrow Flying Spell."


    "I am not very good at acceleration spells, even with a lot of practice I don''t make much progress."


    Field burst into loud laughter and leaning back in his chair, said, "This is exactly what I want you to think about: whether you want to learn the spell you have more talent for, or the one more suited for killing."


    Winters pondered over this statement; the colonel''s meaning was simple: If the purpose was actual combat, then practice the spell best suited for battle, even if he had no talent in that area.


    "Think about it yourself," Field said while pouring himself more light beer, "I can teach you my spell techniques. If your starting point is actual combat, then it''s better to go learn from my adjutant. However, he''s recently been ill at home and will take some time before coming back."


    Having said that, the colonel put his knife and fork down on the plate and downed the rest of the light beer. There was still quite a bit of food left on the plate, but the colonel didn''t seem to have much appetite. He said to Winters, "After we finish this meal, let''s go and find some dockworkers and cart drivers to see if there are any leads."


    Upon hearing the word ''cart driver'', Winters thought back to the Paratu driver from his home. He immediately reported to Colonel Field the secret society of cart drivers and shared his speculation, "I think the ''brotherhood'' the driver mentioned might have helped the assassin dispose of the carriage, or at least from what the driver said, they have the capability to do so."


    "That''s rather interesting," Field rubbed his chin, lost in thought. After a while, he spoke up, "Your line of thinking is good; maybe those scum from the gutter might know something of value."


    He grabbed his hat and stood, urging Winters, "Stop eating. Let''s go to Qianmin Street, but we need to find someone before we head over there."


    "Who are we looking for?" Winters hurriedly finished the last few sips of his soup.


    "A fighter. You, a fire series spellcaster, and I, a sound series spellcaster, what use would we be in actual combat? In a place like Qianmin Street, if four or five people trapped us from front and back, we''d both be done for," Field spoke bluntly, demeaning both of them, "So, we need to find a fighter to come along. I''ll take you to the Army Headquarters to find the fiercest one! If you want to learn about killing, you''d have to learn from him."


    The two hurriedly left the officers'' club, and led by Field, they rode towards the eastern district.


    Field eventually stopped in front of number 122 on Shell Street in the eastern district, a row of beautiful brick-and-stone houses. A kind old woman dressed in a gray cloak and wrapped in a green floral scarf opened the door for Colonel Field. She was not surprised to see the colonel, which suggested Field was a familiar face here.


    Colonel Field bowed in greeting, not one for small talk, and asked directly, "Is he at home?"


    "He might be sleeping," the lady indicated upstairs.


    Field nodded slightly and entered. Winters followed, also bowing to the elderly woman as he passed.


    Entering the house, the first thing that caught his eye was a short, narrow hallway. His boots squeaked on the wooden floor, a clear indication that the support structures below needed repair.


    Following the stairs straight up to the second floor, at the end of the staircase there was a small window, and on the right hand side lay a spacious living room. The dark red wall cloth bore no decorations, not even the shrines or statues of the Virgin commonly seen in ordinary households. A lounge chair was set in front of the fireplace, which swayed gently with the wind. Other than a few wine glasses, the desks and coffee table were littered with empty bottles of alcohol.


    Colonel Field seemed all too accustomed to such scenes as he walked directly to a door on the side of the living room and knocked heavily a few times.


    No response.


    He knocked even harder.


    Still no response.


    He tried to push the door.


    It wouldn''t budge.


    The Colonel took a few steps back and then kicked the door down with force.


    The room inside was completely dark, and a strong smell of hangover wafted from within. Field stepped in, adeptly pulling back the curtains and opening the wooden window.


    The sunlight came in, along with fresh air, allowing Winters to finally get a clear view of the room''s interior.


    It was a bedroom, not very large, with a single bed in the corner of the room. A wardrobe stood against the wall alongside the bed, and opposite the bed was a desk. Several pieces of clothing hung over the back of the chair in front of the desk.


    There was still a person lying on the bed, deep in sleep, unaffected by the loud noise Field had made by kicking down the door.


    After Field opened the window and light poured in, the person on the bed simply pulled the blanket over their head.


    "It''s already noon, and you''re still sleeping?" Field said to the person in the bed.


    But the person on the bed didn''t react.


    Field picked up a wine bottle from the nightstand, looked at it against the light, and saw that only a small amount of liquid remained.


    "You''re starting to drink in broad daylight?" the Colonel said, a bit angrily.


    The person on the bed still gave no response.


    Field yanked off the blanket, and all the remaining liquid in the bottle was poured over the head of the person lying on the bed.


    The room''s occupant woke up abruptly from sleep, reaching for the sword on the floor. Not until seeing Field standing beside the bed did they relax and toss the sword back on the ground.


    The person lifted their arm, sniffed themselves, and with a frown asked, "You didn''t pour urine on me, did you?" S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It''s your own stuff anyway," Field shrugged.


    The room''s occupant pointed to their ear and said loudly, "I can''t hear anything right now."


    Winters got a clear look at the person''s face and a name slipped out:


    "Major Moritz?"

 Chapter 43 Qianmin Street

    Field pointed at Winters, "This is the new apprentice."Then he pointed at Moritz, "This is my lieutenant, but it looks like you''ve met before¡­ Ah, so it was Moritz who secretly took leave to meet you?"


    "Major Moritz, and Major General Layton."


    The elderly woman who had opened the door downstairs heard the sound of the door being dismantled upstairs and came up to see what was going on.


    "Mrs. Warren, I''m afraid we''ll have to bother you to have the door repaired again." Field handed Mrs. Warren a few small silver coins, which she accepted without asking any questions, clearly used to such occurrences.


    The major handed Mrs. Warren a small bag of money, asking her to buy some old clothes and boots to match the sizes of the three officers from the neighbors.


    Meanwhile, Major Moritz got out of bed and rummaged through a desk drawer for paper, pen, and an ink bottle. Winters acted as the scribe while the three of them discussed and wrote things down simultaneously.


    Field was unaware that his lieutenant had been sent on a business trip to The Federated Provinces, for the army regarded it as a secret mission; he had thought Moritz had been at home sick all along.


    When the major learned that Moritz''s eardrums had been ruptured by his own spell, he laughed till he bent over backward.


    However, when he realized that Winters and Moritz were actually eyewitnesses to the event and had kept him in the dark, his expression became very complex.


    His face bore an astonished look that seemed to say, "You actually formed a small clique behind my back."


    This was all because of Major Moritz''s mention of a "secret discussion."


    However, at the moment, Field had no time to ask for details, for he had more pressing matters to attend to.


    "Do you still have the skill?" Field asked.


    Major Moritz sleepily reached under the mattress and produced a silver coin. The next second, alongside a sharp whistling sound, the silver coin in his hand disappeared, and a bottle of wine on the desk shattered in response, leaving a hole in the wooden wall behind it. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Get up and come with me."


    Major Moritz rubbed his neck and yawned widely, "Sure, but can I take a bath first?" Discover more stories at empire


    "No need. We''re heading to Slum Street, where your scruffy appearance will fit right in." Major Field said with a sneer, "Any cleaner and you could only pass for a male prostitute."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Slum Street might sound like a single street, but it actually covers an area no smaller than the Sea Blue City district.


    The history of Sea Blue City dates back to the Ancient Empire, and the name Sea Blue [Venetus] comes from the ancient language.


    This city has been destroyed several times by war and natural disasters, only to be rebuilt. Underneath the surface of today''s Sea Blue City lie the ruins of the old city.


    The ancients left behind two legacies for this city: a water supply system and a sewage system.


    The water supply system has lost its original function, leaving only remnants of aqueducts as relics of the ancient civilization, standing alone in the outskirts.


    But the sewage system still faithfully fulfills its original purpose today.


    Even though the city has changed hands time and again, the position of Drainage Commissioner, responsible for clearing blockages in the sewage system, has been preserved. The old sewage system of Sea Blue City has been maintained and has not been abandoned and blocked like the old sewage system of Guidao City.


    Moreover, whenever knowledgeable rulers held the city, they added to and repaired the ancients'' old sewage system to accommodate the growing population of Sea Blue City.


    After numerous modifications, the sewage system of Sea Blue City turned into a labyrinth; no one knows how many forgotten paths and passages are inside, or where this complex network might lead.


    Thus, the sewage system designed to "contain filth" for Sea Blue City became a literal hiding place for all kinds of filth. Thieves, smugglers, murderers, devil worshippers¡ªall sorts mixed and mingled here.


    Goods that could never be sold openly on the market were traded here, and humanity''s ugliest desires could be satisfied within its confines.


    The ruling council of Sea Blue City was powerless to deal with this; when the guards were dispatched to clean up, the rats would scatter, vanishing into off-the-map paths and pipes. As soon as the guards retreated from the sewage system, the rats would emerge from the gutters again, gathering back in this place.


    Therefore, the sewage system of Sea Blue City was also known as Slum Street, where the public authority under the sun and the rats that could only live in the dark established a subtle dynamic balance.


    Winters donned a dirty sackcloth robe and cloak, wore a cat-face mask, and holding the Dusack saber that Major Field had lent him, he followed the two senior officers.


    Major Field, being detailed, not only had gotten clothes from Moritz''s landlady, but he also had her find some shoes. The presence of the three officers together was eye-catching enough; wearing military boots would have given them away instantly.


    However, shoes found in a hurry couldn''t possibly fit well; the boots Winters was wearing were too small and pinched uncomfortably.


    The three left their horses at Major Moritz''s residence, and under Major Field''s guidance, they descended from the Carpenter''s Bridge in the eastern district to the dry riverbed and arrived in front of a drainage pipe nearly as tall as a man.


    The major lit a torch with a fire spell and took the lead entering the tunnel.


    Major Moritz saw Winters gripping the handle of the saber nervously and reassured him in a soft voice, "It''s alright. Slum Street isn''t so dangerous, and there are even some good bargains to be had. Relax a bit; the way you walk right now screams soldier."


    With that, Major Moritz was the second to enter.


    Winters loosened his shoulders and entered the drainage pipe with as natural a gait as he could muster.

 Chapter 43 Qianmin Street_2

    The drainage pipe was about two meters wide and built with bricks and stones. Most of its width was occupied by the watercourse, its waters appearing pitch black in the torchlight, its depth indiscernible.Along the edge of the pipe, a narrow path just wide enough for a person to walk on had been constructed, probably intended for the maintenance workers to clear the sludge.


    The trio walked in silence, turning left and right, having no idea how long they''d been walking. But after Winters had counted twelve intersections, he began to vaguely hear footsteps ahead; there seemed to be flickering firelight as well.


    Moving forward, Colonel Field suddenly turned right with Winters, entering a hidden passage in the wall of the pipe. After a few dozen steps, the space suddenly opened up.


    It was no longer the stooped drainage pipe they had to walk through but an approximately two-and-a-half-meter-high twisting tunnel that seemed endless. There were quite a few people inside, creating a somewhat bustling atmosphere.


    Some, like Winters, using masks and capes to hide their identities, had set up small tables at intervals of one or two meters, lit oil lamps, and seemed to be selling things there.


    Most of the items on their tables were unrecognizable to Winters, with some merely displaying a few small wooden placards.


    Others wearing masks occasionally stopped by the tables, gesturing to communicate with the vendors. It was unclear what counted as a transaction and what didn''t.


    This underground cavity struck Winters as peculiar, with parts of the space appearing freshly excavated, the walls rough and uneven, still moist with mud, and awkwardly placed wooden columns supporting a few planks.


    Yet other areas subtly revealed to Winters the ancient history of this place: scattered old bricks on the ground, stone arch sauctures, and traces of faded paint barely visible on some plastered walls.


    Colonel Field kept his eyes straight ahead, walking along the tunnel. Winters followed closely behind, accidentally kicking a white stone caked in mud. The stone rolled a few times, revealing three holes.


    That was when Winters realized what this place truly was¡ªthe white rock wasn''t a rock at all, but a human skull.


    The underground space which the Sea Blue City''s street merchants used as a market was originally a tomb. Winters couldn''t tell from what era the tomb dated, but it likely wasn''t from the time of the Ancient Empire, nor from the last few centuries.


    Ancients wouldn''t have built their burial chambers next to their sewage systems, and the tombs from recent centuries wouldn''t have been dug so deep. Sea Blue City had several layers of ruins buried underneath, how many times it had been destroyed and rebuilt was anybody''s guess.


    Probably someone had stumbled upon this tomb by chance, looted its grave goods, and then repurposed the chamber, turning it into a commercial street.


    As the original tomb space became insufficient, the people of Sea Blue City''s subterranean streets continued to dig into the walls. Thus, some walls were made of plaster, while others were still mere soil.


    Winters couldn''t help but "admire" the reckless spirit of these Sea Blue City''s underground rats, daring to make unlawful constructions in what might be a thousand-year-old underground structure. The tomb''s wall supported arches above; knocking them out, they didn''t fear that the earth on their heads might cave in the next second.


    Winters''s mind was full of wild thoughts, but his feet didn''t stop; he followed Colonel Field''s lead closely.


    However, Major Moritz was attracted to something on one of the tables and stopped, gesturing to negotiate with the street merchant from Sea Blue City.


    After walking a bit ahead, Colonel Field turned to find Moritz bargaining with someone. Annoyed, he strode back and kicked the major in the rear.


    But the major remained unperturbed, as if the kicked butt didn''t belong to him, continuing his leisurely exchange of gestures.


    Once their transaction was complete, the major pulled out a few Gold Coins, and the Sea Blue City merchant took a few paper packs from under the table.


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    Money exchanged hands for goods, and the major opened the paper packs to check them. After confirming they were correct, he nodded at the vendor and tucked the paper packs into his jacket.


    Although Winters couldn''t see Colonel Field''s face because of the mask, he could imagine Field''s expression with his knees. But Major Moritz just shrugged nonchalantly as if to say, "What''s wrong? You know this is just how I am, right?"


    Colonel Field sighed helplessly and continued to lead the way. The trio left the underground market through another secret door.


    Exiting this underground market and heading deeper, they encountered another such market. However, this one had far fewer people than the previous one.


    Leaving the second underground market and walking on, the ground began to flatten and dry. The passage seemed to turn into a carefully maintained corridor, with holes in the walls spacious enough for a person to pass through occasionally.


    Winters peered curiously into these holes, which were either covered with black gauze or concealed by wooden doors, leading to unknown places.


    Colonel Field stopped in front of one hole, nodded at Major Moritz, then pushed open the wooden door and entered. Winters had thought that this would be their destination, but to his surprise, it was still a tunnel.


    This structure of tunnel within a tunnel had completely disoriented Winters, and he marveled at how Colonel Field managed to navigate.


    They traveled about a few dozen meters down this tunnel when they saw flickering lights ahead at the bend. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning the right-angle corner, they were confronted by a burly man with a sledgehammer sitting on a barrel, blocking their path like a wall. The man had bulging muscles at the base of his neck, broad shoulders, and thick limbs, a veritable human bear.

 Chapter 43 Qianmin Street_3

    A sinister voice came from behind Winters, "We noticed you guys the moment you entered and kept heading further inside; do you no longer wish to live?"From the narrow passage behind, seven or eight masked thugs wielding short knives and wooden clubs studded with iron spikes had emerged, eyeing Winters and his two companions with ill intent.


    Behind that human-like bear, several secret doors were pushed open, and another four or five thugs emerged.


    Field, Moritz, and Winters also drew their weapons. Winters counted quickly in his mind and estimated that there were around fourteen people in total. They were at a severe disadvantage in numbers, but in the confined space, the enemy might not be able to fully exploit their advantage. The most challenging to deal with was the muscular man; a war hammer like his would render even a full suit of plate armor useless.


    "There''s no need to risk your lives for those rich people in the senate," the malevolent voice spoke again, and this time Winters could see clearly that it came from someone wearing a jester''s mask behind him, "Throw your weapons on the ground, and I''ll let you go back the way you came, sparing your lives. Otherwise..."


    The thugs juggled their weapons, closing in with malicious laughter, attempting to put psychological pressure on Winters and his companions.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field nodded at Major Moritz, who sighed and plunged his sword into the ground.


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    "That''s more like it, see how clever your companion is..." The man with the jester''s mask abruptly stopped speaking as his eyes sprayed out a mist of blood and he fell backwards to the ground, dead.


    It was then that Winters understood why Antonio had said, "Even a hundred men wouldn''t be enough for Moritz van Nassau to kill."


    An archer needs to draw a bow to shoot an arrow, a musketeer needs to load his gun to fire, but Major Moritz didn''t need any preparatory actions to cast the Arrow Flying Spell.


    Not only did he not require any preparation, but his method was also extraordinarily covert. There was no sound of bowstrings or gunfire, only the whistling of the arrow cutting through the air. And unlike bows or firearms, he didn''t need to aim holding the weapon¡ªWinters didn''t see Moritz lift a finger towards any enemy.


    With his hand casually at his side, silver coin after silver coin shot out from Moritz''s right hand, his posture reminiscent of a child playing marbles. Yet every silver coin he fired resulted in an enemy falling to the ground with a bloody hole in their head.


    Silver is not a very hard metal, but when Moritz accelerated the silver coins with magic to speeds close to that of a musket ball, even the blunt coins could easily slice through skin, tissue, and bone, turning the soft brain into mush.


    This was the simplest and most efficient killing spell Field had talked about; it required no fancy techniques, no complex variations: only to accelerate a silver coin to two hundred meters per second and then aim it at the enemy''s head¡ªthat was all it took.


    In the brief span of six seconds, most of the enemies in the tunnel had already been taken down by Major Moritz. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That included the man holding the war hammer; a silver coin struck him right between the eyebrows, and the bear-like strong man fell flat onto the ground, motionless.


    A few thugs, seeing the turn of events and trying to run, were hit accurately in the back of the head.


    "Leave one alive!" Colonel Field advanced with his sword drawn.


    With a thought, the Major hit the last enemy''s knee; the escaping thug''s legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.


    "Is this all Dusa has to offer with his men?" Colonel Field sounded genuinely regretful, and as he spoke, he planted his sword in the neck of each thug, whether motionless or still twitching, then asked without looking back, "The youngest of you gentlemen, could you take care of the few back there?"


    The Colonel didn''t call Winters by name nor did he specify what he wanted Winters to do, but anyone with sense would understand his meaning.


    Winters was no longer that fledgling who had just left the Ivory Tower, his last bit of naivety had disappeared after that ambush battle, or to be more precise, when he plunged his dagger into the neck of that unfortunate oarsman.


    Bearing a slight sensation of discomfort, he began to use his Dusack to finish off each of the thugs from Sneak Alley one by one.

 Chapter 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell

    Alliance Magic Combat Bureau''s research shows that a spellcaster''s magical talent is an indivisible whole. The three major types of spells are artificially divided post-hoc; those with magical talent can use all types of magic. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.In simple terms, humans can only be divided into "those with magical talent" and "those without." There is no such case as someone possessing only a partial talent for magic.


    For example, during tests, even if a subject only displayed talent for fire-type spells, while the other two types remained latent, after prolonged training, they could still learn to use sonic-type spells and acceleration-type spells.


    Take Winters, for instance. Although his specialty is fire-type spells, he is equally capable of using acceleration-type and sonic-type spells. it''s just that his progress in the latter two is slower, which is why he prefers to devote his time and energy to fire-type magic.


    But Moritz van Nassau wasn''t like that. He was a unique case among the thousands of spellcasters trained by the Magic Combat Bureau over the years. He only possessed talent for acceleration-type magic and could only use high-level acceleration-type spells.


    As for sonic-type and fire-type magic, even after years of arduous practice, he could only manage the most basic spells and was unable to perform any advanced applications.


    [The Sonic Blast Spell is, to put it plainly, a louder version of an amplification spell, not considered a higher-level application] (Thanks to the book friend with the screen name "Black Computer Accessories" for pointing out the plot bug, I''ve come to debug it.)


    When Moritz was taking spellcaster courses at the military academy, his instructors and classmates jokingly referred to his rare condition as a "natural disability."


    However, those desperados lying in the underground passages would probably disagree with that term.


    In just a few short breaths'' time, the only ones left standing in the tunnel were Colonel Field, Major Moritz, and Warrant Officer Winters.


    The smell of rust mixed with the scent of earth assaulted Winters'' nostrils. The flickering torches lit up the tunnel walls, splattered with red and white everywhere, making it seem not like a passageway ten meters beneath Sea Blue City but rather the backyard of a bustling butcher shop.


    Field shook the blood off his knife and quickly caught up with the individual he had ordered the Major to keep alive.


    "Don''t, don''t kill me..." the masked man with his knees smashed crawled on the ground, scraping at the earth with his hands, trying to move forward.


    "Shh, quiet." The Colonel crouched next to the masked man, spoke kindly, and asked, "Where is the cripple?" Stay updated via empire


    "He''s up ahead, right up ahead." The masked man hastily pointed deeper into the tunnel, then suddenly bowed his head to kiss the Colonel''s boots: "Don''t kill me, I''ll take you there."


    Field distastefully stepped back a pace.


    "I''ll lead the way." The masked man struggled to stand up but couldn''t maintain his balance. Barely managing to stumble forward half a step, he fell to the ground again. His wound was disturbed, and curling like a shrimp from the pain, he began to wail miserably.


    "Enough, enough. Since he hasn''t moved, there''s no need for you to lead the way." Field walked toward the masked man with his sword drawn in a backhand grip.


    The masked man, who had been wailing on the ground just a moment before, suddenly sprang up. He seemed to be arching from pain, but in reality, it was a ploy to extract a weapon from his bosom, and now he held a gleaming dagger, thrusting it towards the Colonel''s abdomen.


    Whoosh, another sharp whizzing sound, and a silvery light struck the back of the masked man''s head accurately. The force of the silver coin caused the masked man''s entire body to lurch forward, and he fell face-down in the dust, breathing no more.


    "Interesting, he even wanted to take someone down with him," Field muttered, sinking his sword into the masked man''s back to ensure he was utterly dead.


    Then he nonchalantly wiped his sword on the dead man''s clothes and, without looking up, asked Winters, "Have you dealt with the rest behind us?"


    Winters noticed how the Colonel, though he seemed rough, was in fact quite cautious. He answered as calmly as possible, "Neck, chest, I doubled-check each."


    "Interesting," Field, sounding slightly surprised, didn''t expect this trainee to work so efficiently. The Colonel leisurely sheathed his sword: "Let''s go."


    The trio encountered only that one group blocking their way; after that, they encountered no more obstructions as they moved forward.


    Passing a storeroom stacked with wooden crates and barrels, Field led Winters through a securely shut wooden door into a small room.


    In Seacrawler Street, which mainly used tombs and sewers as its infrastructure, this small room could be considered refined. It had not only a bed and a desk but also a stone floor. The most eye-catching things in the room were two large bookshelves loaded with rolls of documents. Had it not been for the underground gloom, Winters would have believed it was a scribe''s dwelling.


    The torch''s flame flickered from side to side, indicating the presence of hidden ventilation or a secret passage.


    "Where is he? Escaped?" Field, seated heroically on the bed, said, "Cripple, if you don''t come out now, I''ll burn all your stuff outside."


    No one responded to him.


    "An old friend visits, yet you hide away. Then I''ll just have to hand your ledger over to the Security Committee and see how many gentlemen involved themselves in your grand enterprise," Field continued talking to the empty air.


    Though he mentioned looking for the ledger, Field didn''t even glance at the files on the bookshelves. He stood up and took the stack of blank papers from the desk into his hands, shaking them before Moritz and Winters: "Found it."

 Chapter 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_2

    But what he was holding in his hand was clearly a blank sheet of paper. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Field dipped his hand into a basin of water and explained unhurriedly to his two subordinates, "Some people who shun the light of day use invisible means to write content that can''t stand the light of day. This technique is called secret writing. In fact, it''s simply using alum water as ink, which turns the paper back to white when it dries. Only by applying water can the writing appear."


    He spread the water evenly over the blank sheet, but nothing appeared on the paper.


    Major Moritz coughed awkwardly.


    Field, however, didn''t seem the least bit embarrassed and said with interest, "Oh, they''ve improved the technique? That''s interesting."


    The lieutenant colonel held up a sheet of paper to the light and said with certainty, "Secret writing is just like a riddle; the party meant to read it only needs to know the solution, and the process of retrieving the information should not be difficult. The usual methods involve nothing more than water or fire. If not water, then fire, perhaps?"


    As he spoke, the lieutenant colonel took a sheet of paper and held it near a torch to heat it. After more than a dozen seconds, rows of pale yellow writing really appeared on the white paper.


    "I thought it was some novel trick, but it turns out to be the same old trick of lemon juice mixed with ink," the lieutenant colonel said, his tone filled with disappointment as if a toy he had enjoyed was broken.


    The creaking sound of a wooden axle turning arose, and suddenly, a hidden door appeared on the wall.


    Winters instinctively drew his weapon, for he had not noticed the hidden door in the wall at all. The designer had cleverly concealed the door''s seams using the uneven surface of the mud wall, which would likely require one to feel along the wall inch by inch in the dim underground light to find it.


    An indignant voice came from behind the hidden door, "That''s not a ledger, just a few receipts. Besides the secret writing, I also used encryption. Just unlocking the secret writing won''t reveal what''s written."


    A bald grey-robed man limped out from the door. Winters had expected that the leader of those thugs would be a fierce and terrible figure, but this grey-robed man looked just like an ordinary person, even thinner than most.


    He must not see the sunlight very often, as his skin was an unhealthy shade of white. But he had a set of neat teeth, uncommon among the lower classes. His hair and beard were well-groomed, and though his robe was made of unremarkable cloth, it was clean. Despite being underground, there was not a speck of dirt under his nails.


    And his baldness did not seem natural, but rather as if it had been shaved intentionally into a pattern resembling male pattern baldness.


    The grey-robed man gave Winters a feeling that matched his perception of the room. Had he encountered this person on the street, Winters might have thought him a cleric from the public church.


    Field gestured with his eyes for Winters to sheathe his sword and waved the stack of papers at the grey-robed man, "So, do you want to see if I can crack your code?"


    The grey-robed man limped over to Field, snatched the stack of white papers aggressively from the lieutenant colonel''s hands, and tucked them into his chest. He didn''t seem the least aware that his men had just been wiped out.


    Dragging his leg, he sat back on the bed and said impatiently, "If you have something to ask, just send someone to pass on a message. Is it necessary to make such an ordeal every time? Do you think it''s easy for me to gather such scum?"


    "I sent someone because I fear I wouldn''t get clear answers," Lieutenant Colonel Field replied with a smile.


    "If you''ve got questions, ask them quick and then get out." The grey-robed man''s grammar was polite, but his tone was extremely impatient.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field dragged over a stool and sat in front of the grey-robed man, "The explosion at the docks has the whole city talking. Don''t tell me you haven''t heard a thing."


    "You came to me just to inquire about this?"


    "Yes."


    "I really don''t know much about this matter," the grey-robed man said, frowning. "I only know that someone on the black market ordered a batch of spring-loaded guns from the north, specifying that they needed to be short-barreled guns that can be used with one hand. Spring-loaded guns are rare goods. When I heard someone was buying them, especially short-barreled ones, I knew that probably another big shot was in trouble, so it left an impression on me."


    "Someone was buying spring-loaded guns made in The Federated Provinces?"


    "Yes, they specifically wanted ones crafted by artisans of The Federated Provinces, urgently, and they were willing to pay a high price for it."


    "Is it possible to find out who the buyer was?"


    The grey-robed man grinned silently and gave a cynical laugh, "What do you think? Why do you think they come to the black market to buy these things?"


    "Then who was the seller?"


    The grey-robed man snorted, "Aren''t you asking the obvious? Subterranean Street is not my back garden. I am just running a small business here. It wasn''t me selling. Even if you find out, it''s useless; in this place, the seller wouldn''t know who the buyer is."


    The man spoke brusquely, but the lieutenant colonel was not angered. Resting his chin on his hand, he asked, "Any other useful news?"


    The grey-robed man thought for a moment, then looked up and replied, "Nothing else, at least not that I know of."


    Winters couldn''t tell whether the grey-robed man was telling the truth or lying, but Lieutenant Colonel Field appeared to have no doubts.


    "Then do me another favor and keep your ears open for any news or movements, and inform me promptly," Field stood up, clearly ready to take his leave.


    "Please, don''t come here in person next time. Just send someone to pass on the message," said the grey-robed man with a wry smile.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    An hour later, Major Moritz''s living room.

 Chapter 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_3

    Field climbed up from downstairs, holding three freshly washed goblets in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.He placed the goblets on a small table, first poured himself half a glass and drank it, then poured half a glass each for Moritz and Winters.


    The lieutenant colonel still cared quite a bit about the mental state of Winters, the rookie fresh out of the gate. As he handed a goblet to Winters, he said, "Don''t feel any guilt about today''s events; half of those scum in the slums have one murder on their hands, and the other half more than one. Killing them actually just saves the Parliament the money it would''ve spent on hangman''s ropes."


    "You can''t say that, after all, we didn''t go through any trial process," Major Moritz sipped his wine and methodically offered a counterpoint.


    "They attacked officers in the line of duty; there''s no need for a trial," the lieutenant colonel said with marked ill temper as he poured himself more wine. "It''s a pity that this scum can never be completely wiped out. Kill so many today, and tomorrow cripples will find even more people; heaven knows how many rats are hiding in those slums."


    "Who was that bald man, and why was he sporting a clergyman''s hairstyle?" Winters asked, holding his goblet.


    "Cripple... Cripple is the scum of the slums who somehow doesn''t quite seem like scum. With him keeping them in check, those beasts commit fewer foul deeds," Colonel Field didn''t directly answer Winters, but deftly shifted the topic, "Ensign Montaigne, do you still want to learn practical spellcasting? If so, you have someone who can teach you right before your eyes."


    Having said that, Field pointed at Major Moritz with his hand.


    "I want to learn," Winters said, standing up excitedly.


    Today, the extraordinary magical abilities showcased by Major Moritz had impressed him. That day at the docks, when Moritz was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms, was far from a true representation of the major''s capabilities.


    "What are you going to learn from me? I can''t use anything but acceleration spells. Spellcasters like me are the freaks among spellcasters ¡ª congenitally disabled," the major said with a wry smile.


    "Bullshit! The approach of the Magic Combat Bureau is utterly wrong," Colonel Field slapped his thigh forcefully, "The Magic Combat Bureau wished spellcasters could master every spell, bombarding us with over a dozen spells to learn all at once. I understood too late, it was only after meeting Moritz that I realized how completely wrong this approach was. A spellcaster, mastering a single spell in their lifetime is enough."


    Although Moritz himself seemed to take no pride in his magical abilities, Winters''s resolve to learn from the major was firm. He had been troubled by the lack of lethality in fire-type spells, and now that he had the opportunity to seek guidance from a more skilled spellcaster, he was unwilling to give up easily.


    Seeing that the younger student genuinely wanted to learn, Moritz shrugged his shoulders. He went into his bedroom and rummaged through his desk for a long time until he emerged with a small leather pouch.


    "Catch." The major threw the little leather bag to Winters.


    Winters untied the binding cord, and inside the pouch were ten metal rods. He took one out, and from the sheen and weight, the material appeared to be steel or iron. The rods were of uniform quality, smooth on the surface, with one end pointed and the other flat. They were two sizes thinner than his little finger, about as long as his middle finger, and felt neither too light nor too heavy in his hand.


    "Is it iron?" Winters asked.


    "It''s steel, good quality steel. This is the training equipment I''ve devised myself," Major Moritz said as he settled back into his lounge chair, slowly explaining, "In the military academy, the practice for the Arrow Flying Spell involves accelerating heavy objects, the heavier the better. But I find that practice meaningless. I believe when practicing the Arrow Flying Spell, it''s essential to ensure the ''arrows'' used have the exact same weight each time, only after a prolonged period can one develop a good feel for it. The ten steel spikes here, five with blunt ends and five with sharp points, have been adjusted to the same weight using the most precise scale."


    Winters took out all ten steel spikes, five with curved blunt ends and five with sharp tips. He took two and weighed them in each hand, indeed, he could not distinguish the lighter from the heavier.


    "Ever played darts?" Moritz asked Winters.


    "I have, but I''m not very good."


    Moritz then went into the bedroom again, and this time he dragged out a round target from beneath the bed. The wooden target wound with a coil of straw rope, at the center of which was nailed a silver coin. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The major hung the target up above the fireplace and turned back to Winters saying, "Take one of those blunt-ended steel spikes as the material for the Arrow Flying Spell and aim for that silver coin."


    Winters held the steel spike in his hand, aimed at the silver coin in the center of the target, recalling the sensation of casting the Arrow Flying Spell, and entered the spellcasting state. He endured the intense stabbing and burning sensations as he magically accelerated the spike in his hand.


    The originally stationary steel spike was magically accelerated in a short time, flying out of Winters''s hand, beyond the reach of Winters''s third hand. It hit lazily at the edge of the fireplace, not even touching the edge of the target.


    [Both "third hand" and "fifth limb" refer to magical abilities]


    Winters''s face felt hot with embarrassment, but no emotion could be seen on Major Moritz''s face.


    "Aim a bit higher next time," the major said.


    Winters nodded, adjusted his breathing, and shot out a second steel spike.


    This time the spike hit the target, but it was at the upper right corner, still some distance from the silver coin at the center.

 Chapter 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_4

    "Are you still practicing spells every night?" the major asked."Yes," Winters replied. At military academy, nightly spell practice was mandatory for all spellcaster cadets. Apart from the days on the ship when phantom limb pain made spell practice impossible, Winters hadn''t missed a night of spell practice even after returning home.


    "Switch all your training to this one, and stop practicing other spells. Use the blunt ones for practice, and the pointed ones for actual combat," Major Moritz explained while drinking his liquor: "Think of the Arrow Flying Spell as throwing darts with an invisible third hand, the explosive force of the magic determines the dart''s power, and the feel of the magic determines its accuracy. Both can be improved with persistent practice. Once you get home, focus on this. Continue using the Arrow Flying Spell without stopping as long as possible, until the phantom limb pain makes it impossible to enter the spellcasting state. At night, if you can''t sleep because of the phantom limb pain, steep this in water and drink it." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Major Moritz then tossed Winters a paper package, which Winters recognized as something the major had bought on the black market on Submerged Citizen Street. He opened the package and saw it appeared to contain some kind of herb.


    "Steeping this in water can help you enter a sleep state¡ªjust a small amount each time, don''t steep too much. Sleep enables self-repair; after a good sleep, the phantom limb pain will be gone."


    "But it took us several days of rest on the ship before the phantom limb pain went away," Winters cautiously asked.


    "I''ve never seen phantom limb pain as severe as you had on the ship. It won''t be that bad with the training I''m prescribing, don''t worry," the major curled back into the lounge chair and murmured with confusion: "I am also quite puzzled about how the United Provincials managed to get you in that state."


    "Understood."


    The major had gone from sipping his drink bit by bit to gulping it down: "In the end, it all comes down to long-term training. Your spellcaster courses ended when you left the military academy, but the training of a spellcaster never ends. When I first graduated, my skill with the Arrow Flying Spell was just a bit better than yours. Don''t rush; you''ll gradually get there with practice."


    Winters carefully memorized the major''s words, but he still had an unanswered question: "Then, sir, if you have these specially made steel spikes, why still use silver coins?"


    "Too much money is uncomfortable, what else?" Field, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.


    The major laughed heartily: "What do you think?"


    "Umm... easier to carry?" This was the only reason Winters could think of, yet using silver coins still seemed too extravagant, something he himself would hate to do.


    "Exactly," Moritz nodded in approval: "Think about it, carrying a hundred silver coins when you go out is commonplace, but carrying a hundred steel spikes is cumbersome. Moreover, these spikes are specially made, and once you run out, hastily switching to a new ''arrow'' can dramatically change the feel, leading to inaccuracy. Later, I found that silver coins are more practical. Even if you''re at the ends of the earth, you never worry about running out of ammunition."


    "Bullshit! Silver coins have different weights. Do you think the coins minted by Oathbreakers weigh the same as those minted by Sea Blue? I know plenty of crooks who shave flakes off silver coins, taking a little off every coin they handle," Colonel Field clearly had little regard for Major Moritz''s reasoning.


    [Oathbreakers, referring to Henry III of the Holy Moro Empire] Stay updated through empire


    Still, the major replied lazily: "It''s not much of a difference, and besides, with enough practice, even a slight difference in weight doesn''t matter."


    While the colonel and major were still debating, Winters had already decided to have someone make him several hundred steel spikes all at once when he had time; he didn''t think carrying a hundred spikes was cumbersome at all.


    After all, turning the Arrow Flying Spell into a "coin scattering" spell seemed a bit too profligate for Winters.

 Chapter 45 Accident

    After returning from Qianmin Street, Lieutenant Colonel Field held the first full officers'' meeting of the Army Headquarters Military Police at Moritz''s apartment.Number of attendees: three;


    Chairman: Lieutenant Colonel Field;


    Secretary: Warrant Officer Montaigne.


    [Because Major Moritz''s hearing has not yet recovered, the conversations with Major Moritz in the previous chapter and this chapter were all transcribed by Winters and then shown to Major Moritz, and will not be reiterated.]


    "Senior, there are only three of us, and the Major can''t hear anything. Do we need to be so serious?" Winters said with a mix of laughter and helplessness as he buried his head in writing the meeting minutes, having already started addressing the others as ''senior''. A trip to Qianmin Street had brought him a bit closer to the two official officers of the military police.


    "This is the first full officers'' meeting of the Military Police, of course, we need to be formal," Field said with a beaming smile. "To hold a full officers'' meeting, we need at least three officers. Before, there were only Moritz and me in the Military Police, so we couldn''t hold this meeting. Now with you, we have exactly three... Hey, don''t put this in the minutes."


    Winters quickly began to scratch out the text he had just recorded: "Does a warrant officer count too? I''m not a formal officer yet."


    "The ''Regulations'' do not specify that warrant officers do not count, don''t be so rigid. As a trainee, you''re just going through the process."


    "If I may ask, before me, hadn''t there been any trainee officers here?"


    "Haha, no."


    Huddled under a thin blanket on the lounge chair, Moritz snored inopportunely. Although the Major had temporarily lost his hearing and could only sense vague sounds through bone conduction, it actually improved the quality of his sleep.


    Field discontentedly tossed his cap at Moritz''s face.


    The Major woke up startled, wiped the drool from his mouth, and sat up, asking in confusion, "Is the meeting over?"


    "[The kind of curse that would make the saints in the paintings cover their ears]... Don''t put the curse in the minutes either!"


    "Alright." Winters quickly scratched out the text he had just written down.


    After some sorting, the first full officers'' meeting of the Army Headquarters Military Police finally began in an atmosphere of unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness.


    Beyond giving the Lieutenant Colonel a chance to indulge, there was one serious matter for the meeting: to save the careers of the two field-grade officers. To prevent them from being kicked from their current cold bench to an even colder one someday in the future¡ªlike to the War History Division.


    In the Senas Alliance, the military made it almost impossible to discharge an officer outright. Therefore, officers who made mistakes were usually demoted a few ranks and then kicked to a ''cold bench''. This indirectly led to the histories of the wars of various Republics military being quite sour to read.


    Winters didn''t need to worry; he was just a trainee officer, and even if things were reversed in the future, it wouldn''t involve him. But Field and Moritz had treated him well, so he also wanted to do his part for the careers of his two seniors.


    The Lieutenant Colonel ordered Moritz and Winters not to form any more cliques and to report everything they saw and heard at the dock that day fully and without any omissions.


    The whole mix-up was really Moritz''s fault. The Major told Winters he wanted to discuss something secretly, so Winters kept his mouth shut and waited for the Major to approach him. But after leaving the customs prison, two bottles of strong liquor made Moritz forget about the matter entirely.


    So it was only now that Field was hearing the specifics of what happened at the docks from the two key eyewitnesses.


    "You mean one of the dead might have been a spellcaster?"


    "I can''t be certain, but I think that person may have used a Deflection Spell."


    "If one of the dead is a spellcaster, then things get interesting," Lieutenant Colonel Field''s expression grew serious. "There are only about a hundred or so spellcasters in the Sea Blue Army, and if one goes missing, it would be easy to find out. I''ll look into this... There were assassins mixed in among the dockworkers?"


    "Yes."


    "Without masks?"


    "None."


    "Do you remember what they looked like?"


    The faces of those assassins disguised as dockworkers were just too ordinary, so nondescript that they lacked any distinguishing features. Winters tried to describe them for quite a while but couldn''t make it clear, ending up helplessly saying, "If those assassins were standing in front of me, I could recognize them, but I really can''t make it clear just through words." Stay connected with empire


    "The dockworkers are all familiar faces; they should remember something. Humph, that place on the docks is controlled by a few groups of people, and you need more than just brute strength to become a dockworker. We''ll find out who introduced them, who vouched for them with a little investigation."


    Winters suddenly remembered the Swift Sword he had snatched: "I took a sword from one of the assassins. It ended up in the water when the assassin blew up the dock. Should we have someone dive for it?" S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You go hire a few sailors who are good swimmers tomorrow to dive for it," Field suggested as his right hand fingers subconsciously tapped on his glass. After thinking for a while with furrowed brows, he said, "We can try, but I think it was probably carried away by the tide."


    "And a gun, I kicked one of the assassins'' guns into the water too. Their gun was strange, it could fire without a match cord. It was also short, usable with just one hand."


    "Didn''t the cripple tell you? Someone paid a high price for several spring-loaded guns," Field said as if it were obvious.


    Winters was surprised: "What''s a spring-loaded gun? This is the first time I''ve heard of it."

 Chapter 45 Unforeseen Events_2

    "I haven''t heard of normal. The spring-loaded gun is a new type of gun invented up north that uses a mechanical contraption instead of a match to ignite. It only arrived at Sea Blue a few days ago, and it''s still a rare item; I don''t have one either." Lieutenant Colonel Field tried to draw a diagram with his finger dipped in alcohol on the table, but failed: "You would understand if you saw the actual object."After much study, they finally determined two directions for investigation. One was to look into the recent disappearances and deaths among the Sea Blue Army spellcasters; the other was to start with the dock workers, investigating the assassins disguised as porters.


    There were also two leads Field wasn''t very hopeful about: the sword and gun the assassin dropped into the sea; and the possibility that the Carters'' Brotherhood helped the assassin handle the carriage.


    Although there was no real progress, the situation was at least no longer as clueless as before, which was a cause for celebration.


    Major Moritz''s sick leave was cancelled by Colonel Field, whose words were, "Keep taking leave and you''ll sooner or later choke to death on your own vomit, so roll back to headquarters and be on duty."


    Armed with ten steel spikes and a target board given by the major, Winters returned home eager to start practicing the Arrow Flying Spell.


    According to Major Moritz, the target board should be hung ten steps away initially, and only when one could hit a silver coin eight out of ten times with the Arrow Flying Spell while ensuring its potency, should the target board be pushed back another five steps, gradually increasing the distance.


    But then he remembered he still had to visit the Benwei family, so he packed up the training equipment again. With the flour and meat Marita Granny had bought as gifts, he rode straight to the Benvenuto house.


    Back in his junior school days, Winters often went to the Benwei house for "dock meal". Dock meal, as the name implies, was the food eaten by dockworkers, high in oil, salt¡ªand later, when sugar became cheaper, high in sugar too. Not everyone could stomach it, but the workers needed such meals to have the energy to work.


    Winters particularly enjoyed this kind of food high in oil, salt, and sugar, but Kosha usually wouldn''t cook such dishes and wouldn''t allow Winters to eat a lot of it. Therefore, Winters would sneak off to the Benwei house for his guilty pleasure, and Benwei''s mother never minded fixing an extra plate for him.


    The Benvenuto house was not far from the docks, but in comparison to the bustling docklands, the street where the dockworkers lived was less attractive. Low wooden houses clustered together, and roads paved with coal cinders turned into a muddy mess whenever it rained. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Benwei''s family of twenty-two¡ªif they hadn''t increased their number during the years Winters was away in The Federated Provinces¡ªlived in two small, adjacent houses. Originally separate, they had knocked through the walls to connect them. As the children grew, the small courtyard behind the houses had been converted into sheds, and an extra level had been added on top of the bungalows.


    The elder Benweis were Vaughan People, who had fled war and taken refuge in Sea Blue over thirty years ago. The Vaughan People generally had a strong sense of family, liking to cluster together when times were good, and even closer when times were bad.


    It was hard to say this was due to a strong bond of kinship, but rather a valuable lesson learned from hard times¡ªthat a family must be united to survive.


    So the Benwei family was not just his parents and siblings, but also his uncles, aunts, and cousins. Although it was crowded living together in two houses, there was a unique warmth to it.


    But Winters, who had arrived at the Benwei''s home cheerfully, was shocked to find the place deserted, the usually bustling house now completely empty of people.


    "Moved out?" Winters was bewildered, thinking, "No way, Benwei clearly said they hadn''t moved."


    Both houses had locks on the doors, and peering through the cracks, he could see only darkness inside; nothing was visible.


    Winters knocked at the neighbor''s door of Benwei, and an old man opened a crack, eyeing Winters warily.


    "Sir, may I ask where the family next door has gone?"


    The old man looked at Winters''s sword and then his boots, and with a hoarse voice said, "I don''t know anything, and don''t ask me."


    At this time, Winters had only changed back into his boots, still wearing the clothes he had put on for his visit to the civilian streets. He thought: Could it be the old man has taken me for a bad guy?


    After speaking, the old man moved to close the door. Winters hurriedly blocked it with his foot, clarifying, "I''m a friend of Benvenuto."


    "A friend? Do you take me for some old fool?" scoffed the old man, "How could Benwei have friends like you wearing military boots."


    A stick poked out from the gap in the door; Winters stepped back to avoid it, and the old man took the opportunity to shut the door. No matter how much Winters knocked after that, he refused to open it again.


    The atmosphere in the street also began to change, and Winters keenly sensed it. No pedestrians could be seen on the cinder road between the rows of houses; the women quickly secured their doors and windows, herding the playing children back into their homes.


    Winters could feel wary eyes watching him from behind the wooden windows.


    He knocked on the door of another neighbor. The knocking echoed down the corridor of the house. No one answered, but Winters was certain someone was at the door.


    In a soft voice, he said to the gap, "I''m an old schoolmate of Benvenuto from the Army Junior School. Could you please tell me if their family has suffered some misfortune? I would do everything I could to help."

 Chapter 45 Misfortune_3

    No one answered still."Then please pass these items to Benwei for me," Winters said, placing the meat and flour he had brought at the neighbor''s doorstep before mounting the strong and turning to head home.


    "Something must have happened at Benwei''s home; perhaps they are hiding from someone," Winters pondered. "Judging by the neighbors'' reaction, Benwei doesn''t seem to have come to harm. That old man said ''you folks'' and ''those wearing army boots''? Could it be that some military personnel are troubling Benwei? Maybe I could ask that cripple from Qianmin Street to look into it?"


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Enduring the pain of phantom limb, Winters picked up the steel awls used for practice from the ground. After self-testing, he concluded that he could only use the Arrow Flying Spell twelve times at full strength with awls of such weight before the power of the launched awls would significantly diminish. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pushing to his limits without considering the strength, he could use the Arrow Flying Spell twenty-nine times. Any attempt to continue beyond that would cause the phantom limb pain to become so intense that Winters could not enter the spellcasting state.


    This was probably the limit state that Major Moritz talked about.


    However, Winters found that after the fire at the Victory Arsenal, his proficiency with acceleration-type spells had somewhat improved compared to before. He had no solid evidence, only a faint feeling.


    Could it be that using spells beyond one''s limits could more effectively improve one''s magical abilities?


    This question might have to be directed to the other spellcasters who lost consciousness like Winters that day to get an answer.


    Moreover, Winters considered that if it were just his solo practice, the current extent was already his limit. His phantom limb pain was not intense enough to make him lose consciousness, but it was sufficient to prevent him from continuing the spellcasting state.


    Winters recalled the day of the Arsenal fire; it was usually difficult to maintain a spellcasting state with even a slight lapse in concentration. However, on that day, he had reached his limit, and the phantom limb pain was intense enough to be deemed torture, yet he remained in a spellcasting state.


    He couldn''t help wondering, "Could it be that the simultaneous use of spells by a large number of spellcasters might trigger some uncontrollable effect, like a chorus?"


    He thought about it, and to confirm this hypothesis, he would need to gather a large group of spellcasters to recreate the scene from the Arsenal fire. The chance to utilize so many spellcasters at once was rare; he could mention this idea to his uncle, but even Antonio would have to apply to the Council of Thirteen to use so many spellcasters.


    And if this conjecture were true, it would be of significant meaning to spellcasters. The more valuable the information, the more cautiously it should be treated. If there were a potential gold mine somewhere, it would be best to confirm it quietly before deciding what to do next.


    So, instinctively wanting to keep it secret, Winters decided to refrain from discussing the idea with anyone until he had gathered more information.


    By this time, it was already evening, and Winters had set up his practice room in the basement. He discovered that target practice in his bedroom, clinking and clanking, would disturb the entire household. Practicing magic in the yard was also quite odd. So, he had no choice but to "hide" in the basement to practice the Arrow Flying Spell.


    Back in his bedroom, Winters drank a cup of bitter herbal tea made from the herbs Major Moritz had given him.


    The Major was right; the herbs did have a sleep-inducing effect. Less than a moment after drinking it, Winters felt warm all over; although he still had a slight phantom limb pain, his eyelids began to fight each other.


    He lay down on the bed, ready to rest.


    But just as he closed his eyes, a series of spine-chilling sounds came from outside the door. Winters reluctantly got out of bed to open the door, only to find Great General and Little General squatting at the entrance.


    Cats are creatures with obsessive-compulsive disorder; many of their actions don''t serve any purpose, they do them merely for the sake of doing them.


    If a cat wants to enter a room, it will keep scratching at the door until someone opens it for them.


    But after the owner opens the door, the cat may lose interest.


    Great General, who had been making a ruckus just moments ago, swaggered away as Winters opened the door. Little General, on the other hand, meowed joyfully, leaping onto Winters'' bed.


    Winters was lost for words. He closed the door again and lay back down.


    Little General curled up next to his pillow, seeming to have decided to sleep there.


    No one knew when they fell asleep; under the influence of the medicine, Winters soon lost consciousness.


    In his dream, Winters seemed to float in a pitch-black sea, with a dark sky above. He couldn''t swim, but in this ocean, he wouldn''t drown or sink.


    He just floated, and floated, as if he could float to the end of time.


    Until someone with a hammer smashed it hard against his chest.


    The pain caused Winters to groan involuntarily.


    The person who struck him with the hammer spoke:


    "Meow-wow!"


    Winters'' consciousness had already awoken, but his eyelids would not open.


    He was quite familiar with this situation and was certain it was Little General jumping onto him from the top of the wardrobe again.


    Perched on Winters'' chest, Little General let out a second deep roar of "Meow-wow."


    This was the sound Little General made only before fighting with a stray cat.


    Winters opened his eyes, ready to get up and take Little General out of the bedroom.


    He saw a humanoid creature climbing into his bedroom through the window.

 Chapter 46 Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)

    Startled awake from deep sleep, he saw a human-shaped creature crawling through the window into his bedroom.It''s described as a human-shaped creature because the intruder was cloaked in black, moving in an odd posture, and under the moonlight, one could barely discern its limbs and head.


    This humanoid also noticed that the bedroom''s owner was awake and turned its head to look over.


    As their eyes met, Winters''s sleepiness vanished in an instant.


    He immediately leaped from the bed to grab the Dusack saber hanging on the closet door.


    He had only an instant to think, it didn''t matter whether the intruder was human or monster, getting a weapon was the priority.


    Winters drew his combat sword and lunged at the humanoid figure, who was forced back into a corner, meanwhile drawing a short gun from its waist and aiming it at Winters''s head.


    Not a matchlock, but the kind of short gun with strange mechanisms used by assassins on the docks, what the cripple called a ''wheel-lock gun.''


    Winters recognized the firearm and abruptly halted his advance.


    Just as the humanoid was about to pull the trigger, seeing that Winters had stopped, it loosened its finger and threatened in a deep voice, "Don''t move. Make a sound, and I''ll kill you."


    With that, the intruder revealed her own information: not a monster, merely a woman. Although she tried to lower her voice, she couldn''t hide the feminine tone.


    "Don''t shoot, guards live downstairs. If you fire, you won''t escape," Winters feigned panic.


    In reality, only Marita the housekeeper lived downstairs, the only domestic servant in the entire house apart from the four family members, brought from Sea Blue by the matriarch. The housekeeper was nearly fifty, virtually without any capacity to fight; Winters was simply bluffing.


    "By the time the guards get here, you''ll already be dead." The woman in black, face masked, only her eyes visible, gripped the wheel-lock gun with both hands, the muzzle never straying from Winters''s head, "Put your weapon down."


    Winters found that the more perilous the situation seemed, the clearer his thoughts became. The intruder spoke a second time, exposing more information.


    The existence of guards didn''t seem to bother her, implying she knew about the family''s military background. However, she didn''t know that the Serviati estate had no guards, indicating her intelligence wasn''t in-depth, perhaps only the kind available through public channels.


    "Don''t kill me, there''s some money in the pouch on the table, take it all if you want," Winters obediently threw the Dusack knife to the ground. He presented himself as weak and compliant, yet never ceased contemplating a counterattack.


    He desperately recalled the mechanics of firearms: there''s a short delay from the trigger pull to the ignition of gunpowder, and another short delay from the ignition to the bullet leaving the barrel. Timing the opponent''s movement, he would sidestep early, avoiding vital areas. As long as the first shot missed, he would immediately close in and subdue her with his superior strength.


    But unless absolutely necessary, Winters didn''t want to resort to this method as it was far too risky. It would be best to find a way to divert her attention first.


    What could divert her attention?


    The Arrow Flying Spell? But all ten steel spikes were on the desk, right beside the woman.


    Was there any other way? Winters racked his brains.


    "Don''t you recognize me, Mr. Montaigne?" The woman in black changed her tone, as if flirting. Yet, she held the wheel-lock gun very steady. Experience tales at empire


    Winters shook his head; he realized that she had figured out his name.


    The woman in black said bitterly, "Half a month ago, you set my hair on fire."


    "It was you?" Winters exclaimed, never expecting that the female thief from that night would have followed him to Sea Blue. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, me," the thief said with a cold laugh.


    Winters felt bewildered, "You broke into the military academy to steal. It was my duty to patrol and stop you. There is no personal vendetta between us, is there?"


    "Who are you calling a thief? I was merely retrieving my family''s property from another thief!" The woman in black was obviously stung by the word ''steal,'' her emotions flaring.


    After blurting this out, she realized her slip of the tongue, and tried to cover it up with feigned anger, "You haven''t settled the score for burning off my hair."


    "So you want to set my hair on fire too?" Winters spread his hands, "Besides, you were trying to kill me then. Aren''t I allowed to defend myself? That stab you gave me in the arm still hasn''t healed."


    "All of you in the Allied Army deserve to die," the woman in black hissed. She realized she had been drawn into revealing too much by Winters and got straight to the point, "Return my belongings, and I won''t kill you. We''ll be even."


    "What belongings?" Winters''s heart sank, but he lied without changing his expression.


    "Where''s my dagger?"


    "What dagger?" This was really troublesome, Winters had already given the dagger to Elizabeth, but he couldn''t involve his sister now. Elizabeth was sleeping in a room just a few meters away; who knew what this madwoman was capable of.


    "Stop playing dumb. I searched thoroughly when I got back, but it was gone. You must have picked it up," the woman said.


    "You lost the dagger yourself and you''re asking me for it?" Winters noticed the inconsistency in the woman''s logic, the night she ran away, she threw her dagger at Winters to buy time. If she valued the dagger so highly, why would she use it as a throwing knife?

 Chapter 46 Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_2

    "Mr. Montaigne, you seem to misunderstand the situation. It''s not me begging you, but you needing to hand over my belongings in exchange for your life." The woman in black''s tone began to turn icy, "If you don''t cooperate, I don''t mind killing you first and then searching manually. Hand over my dagger!"With the experience of last time, Winters had no doubt that the woman in black could kill him without hesitation. This woman seemed to have no psychological barrier to taking a life; that night''s encounter was filled with strikes aimed directly at Winters''s vital points.


    But Winters''s reason was warning him: even if you return everything to the woman in black, she will still shoot you in the head and then vanish.


    The key was what the woman in black truly wanted. Was it the dagger? Obviously not. If she really cared about the dagger, she wouldn''t have thrown it away.


    Ask for the dagger? Winters shook his head inwardly and muttered, "But I really didn''t pick up the dagger... I only picked up something else."


    The bait was set.


    "What thing?" The woman in black''s intonation was very detached.


    The fish had taken the bait.


    "A small notebook." Winters had seen through the woman in black''s intentions¡ªwhat she truly wanted was that blank notebook.


    The dagger was merely a ruse; if Winters obediently handed over the dagger, he wouldn''t refuse to hand over another item. The woman in black could just casually mention she wanted the notebook back;


    if Winters refused to return the dagger, the woman in black wouldn''t expose what she truly sought.


    Ignorance isn''t the greatest barrier; arrogance is.


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    The woman in black underestimated Winters; she thought concealing her real agenda from this naive young man would be effortless, and she would pay the price for it.


    "Where is it? Show me." The woman in black''s tone was still cool, but Winters heard something different in it.


    "It''s in the bag on the table behind you," Winters said nonchalantly.


    The moment the woman in black heard this, she wanted to turn around to search, but she suddenly hesitated. Her hands remained firmly on the revolver pointed at Winters, giving him no chance to suddenly attack. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She tilted her head to indicate to Winters, "You go get it for me."


    "Can''t you get it yourself?"


    "No nonsense."


    Winters reluctantly walked to the desk, dragging his feet, while the woman in black kept the gun trained on him at all times.


    But in reality, this was exactly what Winters had hoped for; he never expected to distract her in this manner.


    Winters reached his right hand into the bloodstained messenger bag and quickly touched the notebook, but he didn''t take it out.


    The woman in black, watching Winters reach into the cloth bag then freeze, urged impatiently, "Hurry up and find it."


    "Is this what you want?" Winters asked the woman in black with a loud laugh, pulling out the notebook from the messenger bag.


    Under the firelight, Winters''s smile appeared crazed, accompanied by the smell of burning leather and smoke. The blank notebook that the woman in black risked her life to obtain was blazing fiercely.


    The moment Winters got his hands on the notebook, he immediately released his magic without reservation and ignited it with a fire spell.


    The woman in black''s eyes widened, emitting a shrill scream.


    Now was the moment!


    Winters crouched and pounced toward the woman in black like an arrow released from its bow.


    The woman in black''s attention was no longer on Winters. It wasn''t until his hand touched the barrel of the gun that the trigger was pulled.


    A loud "boom" resounded through the room, and immediately a bullet hole appeared in the wooden ceiling.


    At close quarters, Winters pushed the revolver''s barrel up and, using the momentum, knocked the woman in black off balance. He used his weight to pin her down, restraining her.


    But at this moment, the woman in black had lost her previous ferocity and cruelty; she was like a helpless little girl, struggling, crying, shouting, "Fire... put out the fire..."


    Winters, however, had no time to notice the emotional shift in the woman in black. He vividly remembered her sudden murder attempt, so he dared not be careless at all, carefully searching for all the weapons the female assassin had on her.


    After searching her, Winters pulled down the bedsheet and tied up the female assassin tightly.


    The woman in black let out heartbreaking screams; even Winters could hear the despair and resentment in her voice. She muttered like a madwoman, "I''ll kill you... I''m going to kill you..."


    Antonio, awakened by the gunshot, hurried to Winters''s bedroom with his sword, pushing the door open to see his nephew clutching a bedsheet and riding atop a dark figure, doing who knows what. There was also a fire on the floor, which he quickly stamped out with his foot.


    After putting out the fire, he realized that the dark figure on the floor was actually a person.


    "What happened?" Antonio asked with uncharacteristic calmness.


    A sweat-drenched Winters, panting heavily, said, "A thief, a thief and an assassin, followed me all the way from The Federated Provinces to my home."


    The female family members were also awakened by the noise. Elizabeth''s eyes widened as she saw her brother carrying a person in black onto the bed, while Tess delayed a bit in lighting a candle.


    When Winters''s room finally had light, Tess clearly saw the figure of the person in black and exclaimed, "It''s a woman!"

 Chapter 46 Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_3

    "Thief, pickpocket, assassin," Winters answered.The bound assassin suddenly screamed shrilly, "I will kill you!"


    Kosha and Elizabeth were terrified by this piercing curse.


    "Save your breath," Winters took a pillowcase and stuffed the assassin''s mouth tightly.


    Now the woman in black could only make muffled sounds. She struggled desperately, but her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were also bound; she was just flailing around ineffectively.


    Antoine quickly sorted things out and took command calmly, "Elizabeth, go back to the bedroom with your mother. Don''t worry, it''s just a burglar in the house."


    Once the women were taken care of, Antoine pointed at the woman in black and said to Winters, "Let''s carry this thief down to the basement first, so she won''t disturb your aunt and sister on the second floor."


    Marita, who lived on the first floor, was also awakened by the commotion. Seeing Antoine and Winters carrying a fiercely resisting woman in black downstairs, she kept exclaiming, "Oh my, oh my, what happened..."


    "Marita, please hold the lamp for us and go to the basement," Antoine interrupted her.


    The shaken Marita walked ahead with the oil lamp, still muttering, "Oh my, oh my."


    The black-clad thief was carried into the basement storage room, where Winters succinctly explained the situation to Antoine. After discussing it, both men agreed that though many questions remained about the whole affair, it was best to hand the woman over to the sheriff for now. They would lock her in jail and then question her at leisure.


    Since Winters, who had returned to Sea Blue only a few days ago, knew no one, it was decided that Antoine would ride to fetch the sheriff while Winters stayed home to guard the female thief.


    The woman in black was no longer struggling futilely, but rage blazed in her eyes as she glared at Winters. If looks could materialize, Winters would now be riddled with thousands of holes.


    "Who is this person?" Unable to curb her curiosity, Elizabeth sneaked down to the basement. The girl had an astonishingly bold spirit and tiptoed past Winters, peeking covertly at the woman in black.


    Winters pushed Elizabeth out of the storage room, "Just a thief... What''s there to look at? Weren''t you supposed to stay with Kosha?"


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    "Does Aunt Kosha need me to keep her company? It''s more like she''s keeping me company," Elizabeth pouted discontentedly. "I just came to bring you something."


    Elizabeth handed Winters the woman''s revolver, but honestly, she wasn''t really there to give him anything; it was just an excuse to leave her mother and see the excitement in the basement.


    "Alright, I''ve got it. Now go back upstairs," Winters said helplessly.


    "There''s also this." Elizabeth handed Winters a small, charred book, "It''s almost burned up."


    It was the little notebook the thief had wanted. The pages were layered thickly and hard to burn through. Despite Winters''s full use of the "Spell of Ignition," only about half of it was left after burning for a long time.


    Winters shook his head ruefully, "I really can''t figure out what this woman wants with a blank notebook."


    Randomly flipping through the mostly charred notebook, Winters was surprised to find blue writing appearing where there had been no words before.


    Colonel Field''s words echoed in his mind: There are ways of writing information invisible to some, known as steganography... Steganography is a riddle... Common methods involve nothing more than water, fire¡­


    So that was it! S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The contents of this notebook were written in invisible ink, which only became visible after being exposed to the flame.


    Winters flipped to the first page of the notebook, where the smoke-tainted paper bore these words:


    "To my dear Mary


    You are the flame that warms my skin


    You are the clear water that quenches my thirst


    You are my light


    You are my everything


    After you left, my life lost all its meaning


    ¡ªAL.D.L"


    It was a sad love poem, seemingly written by a man mourning the departure of his beloved.


    But at that moment, reading the poem made Winters feel as if he had fallen into an icy pit.


    It was midsummer, but his limbs felt chillingly cold, and the breath he exhaled seemed to freeze into ice.


    Never had he felt such fear, not even when a dagger was a mere inch from his neck, not when he was caught by an oarsman in a cabin, nor when a musket was pointed at his head.


    He flipped two more pages with shaking hands.


    This page showed a simple diagram with the title:


    "Fourth Improved Prototype of the Spell Talent Testing Device"


    A few pages further:


    "Analysis on the Essence of Sound-based Spells"


    Winters reached for Elizabeth; he felt dizzy and needed to hold on to her to keep from collapsing.


    There was no mistake.


    AL.D.L was the abbreviation for Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier.


    And Mary de Lavoisier was the wife of General Antoine-Laurent.


    The letter ''L'' he had seen at the end of the notebook stood for Lavoisier.


    This little notebook was the lost research notes of Antoine-Laurent.


    And Winters had burned it with his own hands.


    "What have I done..." Winters murmured to himself.

 Chapter 47 The Madman

    ```In a hurry, the sheriff who rushed to the Serviati estate realized he had made a pointless trip. It turned out to be a mere misunderstanding; a young man of the Serviati family had secretly brought a woman home tonight, and when spotted by other family members, she was mistaken for a thief.


    Although it caused a fuss, the weighty gold coins from the Major General''s wife dissolved all of the sheriff''s chagrin, and the Major General''s wife, her face clouded with worry, earnestly beseeched him not to let word of tonight''s scuffle spread.


    The sheriff could understand Mrs. Serviati''s concerns, for a young man not yet married associating with disreputable women and even bringing them home would not be looked upon favorably by the city''s respectable households when considering a match for their daughters.


    "Such an imprudent rascal," the sheriff thought, "to have such a beautiful lady troubled."


    His protective instincts roused, the sheriff thumped his chest and swore on the graves of his father and grandfather that he would forget about tonight''s events as soon as he went to sleep and wouldn''t let a whisper of it slip.


    While Kosha was outside helping Antonio cover up, Winters "invited" the woman in black back to the guest room on the second floor¡ªof course, by carrying her.


    Winters placed the woman in black onto the bed and, worried she might be uncomfortable, found her a pillow.


    The woman in black was silent and made no struggle throughout, only staring at Winters with a chilling gaze.


    "I''m really sorry about earlier," Winters negotiated with the woman in black, "I''m going to remove the object from your mouth, but please stay quiet."


    The woman in black didn''t react.


    "Your lack of opposition I''ll take as consent."


    Winters had been unmerciful when he initially gagged her. When the woman in black had shouted, "I''m going to kill you," Winters didn''t hesitate to stuff a handkerchief in her mouth. During the struggle, he used so much force that the black cloth she used to cover her face was also stuffed in.


    So, when he removed the gag, the black cloth that had been veiling her face was also pulled off. This was the first time Winters had the opportunity to take a good look at the face before him.


    He had assumed the female burglar to be between thirty and forty years of age, as her decisive and ruthless approach indicated considerable experience and combat skill.


    But upon lifting the black cloth, Winters realized she was far younger than he had imagined, likely just over twenty, barely older than himself. With delicate features and thin lips, it was hard for Winters to believe that such a petite lady had pointed a coil gun loaded with ammunition at him just moments before.


    Once her mouth was free, the woman in black didn''t scream or shout; instead, she slowly exercised her stiffened jaw.


    "You''ve been misunderstanding all along; you and I are not enemies," Winters said with utmost sincerity.


    "Hmph, with me tied up like this, those words aren''t very persuasive," the woman in black replied coldly.


    "If I released you, wouldn''t one of us end up dead right away?" Winters dragged a chair over and sat beside the bed, "We should have a proper talk first, Miss Lavoisier."


    This name evidently touched a sensitive nerve in the woman in black, who, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, said with red-rimmed eyes and clenched teeth, "I am not a Lavoisier, and you must not call me that!"


    After the woman in black had calmed down a bit, Winters asked, "Then how would you like me to address you?"


    She suddenly fell silent.


    "Does the name Salome Blue mean anything to you?"


    The woman in black''s eyes widened, yet her pupils contracted sharply, clearly startled by Winters'' words. She scoffed, "You don''t need to probe me in this manner. It''s not Salome Blue; it''s Salomiya."


    Anyone with even a slight understanding of military history knows that Lavoisier was the surname of General Antoine-Laurent, but only a very few knew that Salomiya was the middle name of the General''s wife.


    Winters knew this because, as an admirer of Antoine-Laurent, he had once entertained the idea of writing a biography on him.


    So, during his years at the military academy, he had read through all the public and classified dossiers on Antoine-Laurent that he could get his hands on from the archives.


    The behavior of the woman before him largely confirmed Winters'' suspicions; even if she wasn''t a descendant of Antoine-Laurent, she must have had some intricate connection to him.


    That would then explain the deep-seated hatred she showed towards the Allied Army.


    Because Antoine-Laurent had indeed been sentenced to death by the military court of the Federated Provinces Army¡ªmore precisely, the army military court of the Republic. The euphemism that Antoine-Laurent died of a "head illness" referred to his execution by the guillotine.


    Sixteen years ago, a decade after the Sovereignty Wars had ended, the radicals in the Federated Provinces rose to power, wielding the military and political control of the Federated Provinces. Shouting "Anything less than absolute loyalty is absolute disloyalty," they initiated a brutal purge within the Serviati front lines.


    Accused of treason and involving military secrets, Antoine-Laurent was beheaded after a secret trial, and his research manuscripts consequently lost.


    The Marshal, Ned Smith, lamented, "A mind like Antoine-Laurent''s comes once in a hundred years, and yet it was chopped off just like that." However, Marshal Ned was also in danger at the time, narrowly escaping the guillotine himself.


    "You claim this notebook belongs to your family; how can you prove it?" Winters presented the half-burnt notebook to the woman in black for a moment before placing it on the bed.


    "Why should I prove anything to you?"


    "Because this notebook is worth a fortune, and I hope you can prove you are not a thief."


    If Winters recalled correctly, this woman in black detested the word ''thief'' particularly.


    Sure enough, the woman in black flew into a rage: "Whom are you calling a thief? It''s you soldiers who are the thieves, stealing my father from my mother''s hands! Then stealing his research from his hands! And finally, even his life was taken!"


    "Calm down; since you''ve used the words ''father'' and ''mother,'' are you the missing daughter of General Antoine-Laurent?"


    ```


    The woman in black scoffed disdainfully.


    "I''m not your enemy. If you can prove your identity, I''m willing to hand over these notes to you," Winters said seriously, "and this dagger as well."


    As he spoke, Winters took out the dagger belonging to the woman in black and placed it on the bed.


    It had taken quite an effort for him to get the dagger back from Elizabeth.


    "Or should I also thank you for your generosity? For so generously burning my father''s notes before returning them to me?" the woman in black said with a sneer.


    Winters awkwardly said, "Actually, there''s still almost half of it left."


    "Then come closer and I''ll prove my identity to you," the woman in black suddenly said calmly.


    Winters subconsciously stood up and approached the bedside, but noticing the slight excitement in the woman''s eyes, he realized something was amiss and quickly retreated.


    But it was too late; the woman in black leaped from the bed and charged at him.


    After all, Winters was an educated Gentleman; he couldn''t possibly repeatedly check a woman''s sensitive areas¡ªso he had missed a few small silver coins with sharpened edges that the woman in black had hidden on her.


    Just now, while she had been seemingly talking to Winters, she had actually been secretly taking out a sharp object to cut through the bedsheet that bound her hands, waiting for Winters to let down his guard.


    The woman in black grabbed the dagger beside her and lunged at Winters''s left rib. She seemed to calm down on the surface, but in reality, she had not stepped out of her hysterical state; it was all a facade.


    If she wanted to escape, she could simply wait for another opportunity to be alone, but at this moment, all she could think about was revenge.


    But Winters was no longer the same person he had been on the night of the patrol. A rookie in real combat becomes stiff all over due to nervousness and fear, but a veteran soldier can respond calmly and collectedly. If the woman in black couldn''t kill Winters that night, of course, she couldn''t this time either.


    The pillowcase used to gag the woman in black was still in Winters''s hand. He used his left hand, cushioned with the pillowcase, to grab her weapon hand. Just as he was about to punch her fiercely in the face with his right hand, he stopped and instead turned it into a struggle to disarm her.


    In a fight, grabbing the blade or body of an opponent''s weapon is extremely dangerous and is a tactic born of desperation. Even if one only intends to grab the wrist, it''s very possible to grab the blade instead.


    The dagger didn''t have a crossguard, and Winters missed the wrist and grabbed the palm instead. Fortunately, the pillowcase was there as padding; otherwise, the area in contact with the blade would have bled immediately.


    The woman in black wouldn''t let go, twisting her wrist in an attempt to slice Winters''s arm. Winters, now a bit angry, used a wrestling move to throw her down.


    The essence of one-on-one combat is ultimately a battle between two people. The woman in black might be a formidable assassin, but no matter how ruthless she was, she was just a woman with far less strength and weight than Winters. Even her close-quarters combat skills were inferior to Winters''s, and she was promptly subdued by him on the ground.


    "Calm down!" Winters said, pressing one hand on the woman in black''s weapon hand and the other on her shoulder. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "All of you in the Allied Army deserve to die," the woman in black struggled violently.


    "What does your father''s wrongful case have to do with me?"


    "Pah."


    "The remaining content is also very valuable."


    The woman in black said sarcastically, "Do you think I care about what''s written in the notes? Magic, Spellcasters, they are worthless to me."


    Winters was completely at a loss for words; he found that it was utterly impossible to reason with this woman: "Then why did you want these notes?"


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    "To take back my family''s property."


    "So, if I return these notes to you?"


    "You''ve already burned them!"


    "Didn''t you say you didn''t care about their contents?"


    "That doesn''t mean you can burn them!"


    "Then what will satisfy you?"


    "I want them restored to their original state."


    "But the original has already been burned."


    "I''ll kill you!"


    "Are you insane?" Whether or not the woman in black was crazy, Winters was close to losing his own sanity: "You! Need! To! Calm! Down!"


    Winters didn''t waste any more words and bound her again swiftly.


    He pushed the door open and found Elizabeth eavesdropping at the doorway.

 Chapter 48 Negotiation

    Winters was at a complete loss with this irrational madwoman; this time he had securely tied the woman in black''s fingers to ensure she wouldn''t slip out of her bonds a second time.As he stepped out the door, Winters found Elizabeth eavesdropping at the doorway.


    "You''re really pushing your luck," Winters felt a shiver of fear, wondering what would have happened if he hadn''t managed to subdue the woman in black and she had encountered Elizabeth. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let me talk to her," Elizabeth said confidently, "You two were just shouting at each other. I''m sure I can get more out of her than you did."


    Then Winters, gripping Elizabeth by the arm, locked her in her own bedroom.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After sending the sheriff away, Antonio listened expressionlessly to Winters recounting the recent events and the whole story. How to deal with the woman in black would ultimately be a decision for the head of the family, as this matter had surpassed the scope of Winters'' personal affairs.


    "So, you''re suggesting she might be Lavoisier''s daughter?"


    "That''s what the signs point to, but there is no concrete evidence."


    "What''s your opinion?" Antonio asked out of the blue.


    "If she truly is the daughter of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. The Lavoisier family has suffered enough, Antoine-Laurent''s orphan should be treated kindly. But right now... she''s mad, completely irrational," Winters confessed, his thoughts muddled, instinctively relying on his foster father, "I just don''t know what to do. I''ll follow Uncle''s lead."


    "Follow my lead?" Antonio''s gaze was icy: "Then you and I should take her out to the countryside, shoot her dead, and bury her in a ditch."


    "Isn''t that a bit extreme?" Winters was dumbfounded.


    In Winters'' eyes, Antonio was a gentle husband and a kind father, making it easy to forget his other identity. This was the first time Winters had seen his cold and ruthless side.


    "My boy, this is the permanent solution. Lavoisier''s daughter and the notebook, do you have any idea what kind of trouble that would bring? If people found out you have that notebook, Korsa and your sister would both be living in danger. It doesn''t matter whether she''s Lavoisier''s daughter or not, we''ll interrogate her first, eliminate her, and then we''ll only have the notebook to deal with," Antonio sighed, "but you won''t agree. Your sense of justice is still intact. Come on, let''s go meet the lady."


    Having said that, Antonio headed up the stairs.


    Winters, recovering from his shock, muttered softly as he followed Antonio, "Just give the order, Colonel, and I''ll get the horse ready at once."


    "Let''s meet her first, hopefully, it won''t come to that," Antonio said without looking back.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Upon opening the door to the guest room, there was an unexpected person inside; Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed, happily chatting with the woman in black.


    "Dad, brother, don''t tie up Sofia anymore." Seeing the two men enter the room, Elizabeth cheerfully ran to Antonio''s side to report her success: "Sofia isn''t a bad person, she just wanted to retrieve her father''s belongings. Now she knows we''re not bad people, so you shouldn''t fight anymore." Experience new tales on empire


    Winters was astonished; she even knew her name? Could there be some special way women communicated?


    "Ella, go back to your room," Antonio ordered his daughter deliberately.


    Normally, Elizabeth would ignore anything Antonio said out of indulgence, but this time she sensed the threatening atmosphere and immediately fell silent, obediently leaving the room.


    Antonio sat on a chair at the bedside, with Winters standing behind him. Winters held a steel awl in his hand, the sharp kind.


    "I am Antonio Serviati. May I know how you wish to be addressed?" Antonio started with a polite exchange.


    The woman in black, who just moments ago seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Elizabeth, snorted coldly but didn''t respond.


    "May I ask what General Antoine-Laurent is to you?" Antonio got straight to the point.


    "What''s it to you?" the woman in black replied rudely.


    "Because if you''re the daughter of General Antoine-Laurent, then you''re a guest here."


    "Seems like you enjoy tying up your guests, don''t you?"


    "If I untie you, can you guarantee you won''t resort to violence again?"


    "I''m not a madwoman."


    "Madam, please listen carefully," Antonio said to the woman in black, serious yet earnest, "General Antoine-Laurent is a military man and scholar whom I admire, and his family shares a distant kinship with my wife''s family. It''s for this reason alone that I consider you a guest.


    I understand your hatred, but remember, there''s a debt for every wrong, and it was The Federated Provinces Republic that executed General Antoine-Laurent. This is the Venetian Republic, and we are all Venetians. The injustice against Antoine-Laurent has nothing to do with us Venetians.


    I''ve said my piece. This is my home, and I won''t tolerate any threat to my family. So, if you commit any violent act against my family again, no matter whose daughter you are, regardless of your circumstances, I will kill you on the spot."


    Antonio''s tone was not fierce; his composure resembled that of a Shepherd counting his sheep, but no one in the room doubted his threat.


    After finishing his speech, Antonio took out a small knife, first cutting the ropes around the woman in black''s legs, then the ones binding her hands.

 Chapter 48 Negotiation_2

    Winters clutched the steel awl tightly in his hand, not daring to relax his vigilance for a moment. He had made up his mind that if the woman in black made any move to harm Antonio, he would drive the steel awl into her skull with the Arrow Flying Spell.Fortunately, the worst did not happen. The woman in black merely moved her wrists and silently removed the remaining bindings herself. Now free, the woman in black did not lash out to harm anyone; she simply sat quietly on the bed.


    Winters felt both annoyed and amused, and he couldn''t help but wonder, "Does this woman only respond to force and not kindness? Or did Elizabeth cast some kind of magic on her?"


    "It seems for the moment we have reached an agreement," the woman in black did not take the opportunity to take him hostage, which seemed to disappoint Antonio slightly, "Could you please explain why you have visited my humble abode in such a manner this evening?"


    Before the woman in black could speak, Elizabeth burst through the door, loudly saying, "If you keep asking like this, you''re just going to start arguing again! Dad, Sofia just wants to retrieve her father''s heirlooms. She doesn''t want the person who killed her father to occupy her father''s property; those are her only two demands."


    "Is that so?" asked Antonio of the woman in black.


    The woman whom Elizabeth called "Sofia" gave a slight nod.


    "Then it''s very simple, as long as you can prove your identity, that notebook can be immediately returned to you. Neither Winters nor I have any intention of occupying your father''s property."


    "I have a birth certificate, baptism certificate, and letters, seals, jewelry, and documents brought from home that can prove my identity," the woman in black finally opened up, no longer disdainful of the request to prove her identity. But she pointed at Winters and said, "However, my father''s notebook has already been destroyed by him."


    "Miss Sofia, you are being too severe. Books are actually quite difficult to ignite. Even if they do catch fire, only the outermost parts get burned in a short time; the insides would not be damaged. The contents recorded in your father''s notebook did not suffer much loss. What I mainly burned was the leather cover," Winters felt he had to defend himself.


    "You''re mistaken, brother," Elizabeth glared at Winters, "That notebook was a precious memento left by her father, one of the few possessions he left behind. She went to the military school to retrieve it because she didn''t want the person who killed her father to continue possessing it. Sofia wanted the notebook itself, not its content, understand? You destroyed her father''s keepsake."


    The notional worthlessness of Antoine-Laurent''s notebook content contrasting with the physical value of the notebook itself left Winters dumbfounded.


    However, Antonio coldly asked from the side, "Miss Sofia, do you not think you also bear some responsibility for the burning of this notebook?"


    "Why should I bear any responsibility?" Sofia laughed in anger. Experience tales at empire


    "If you hadn''t sneaked into my house with weapons tonight, would that notebook have been burned? You threatened Winters'' life, so any reaction from him was justified. If he had killed you outright, I wouldn''t have blamed him. If you had approached him openly with documents proving your identity to demand it, would it still have ended this way?"


    "Would he have given it to me if I asked for it?" Sofia asked furiously.


    "He would have," Antonio replied nonchalantly.


    Sofia was left speechless by Antonio''s response.


    "However, as the one who burned the notebook, Winters should also bear some responsibility. As compensation, I have a proposal," Antonio''s tone shifted as he spoke earnestly, "I can help vindicate your father, help restore the Lavoisier family''s honor, and pursue those who were once responsible."


    Antoine-Laurent had been executed for treason after a secret trial sixteen years ago, his property confiscated, his statues toppled, his contributions omitted from the war histories, and to this day, the father of the Alliance Spellcasters had not been vindicated.


    Antonio''s words left Sofia, who had been in a state of anger, stunned, but she quickly regained her composure and sneered back, "Restore my father''s honor? With your help?"


    "Of course, I can''t do it alone," Antonio was not angered by Sofia''s scornful retort, "But your father''s research notes can. The Military Committee and the Supreme Pentarchy would be very willing to restore General Antoine-Laurent''s honor in exchange for the fee of the notebook."


    Sofia screamed, "I would rather die than let the Alliance possess my father''s achievements!"


    "I''ve said it before; it was the United Provincials who executed your father and still refuse to vindicate him, but this is the Venetian Republic. Your enemies are the United Provincials, not us Venetians. You should not hate the Alliance as a whole; if you see humanity as a whole, then aren''t all of humanity the murderers of your father?"


    "You said it yourself, this is Vineta; what right does Vineta have to overturn the judgment of the Federated Provinces?" Sofia''s attitude softened slightly, but she still found it hard to trust Antonio. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Antoine-Laurent''s treason was pinned on him by the Federated Republic, but we can overturn that judgment at the level of the Alliance. After all, the Senas Alliance consists of five member states, and it only takes the affirmation of three to vindicate General Antoine-Laurent at the Alliance level. The Federated Provinces may stubbornly refuse to accept it, but outside the Federated Republic, Antoine-Laurent will no longer be seen as a traitor. Please believe, we Venetians can still do this much."

 Chapter 48 Negotiation_3

    Sofia seemed somewhat tempted.Antonio spoke persuasively, "Moreover, we don''t need the original notes; we only require their content. The original will still belong to you personally as a precious relic of General Antoine-Laurent."


    "I need to think it over," Sofia shook her head, unable to make a decision.


    "Miss Sofia, this is just a proposal, and you can consider it yourself," said Antonio softly. "However, our previous promise still stands; as long as you can provide documentation proving your identity, the original notes can be returned to you. Winters should not be held responsible for tonight''s accident, and it is your own fault that the original got burned. If you truly value the sentimental significance of the original, even a burned one is still a precious relic."


    After a long silence, Sofia finally asked, "Then how can I get the documents that prove my identity? Will you let me go?"


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    "I''m afraid not, I cannot let you go, but I won''t keep you in my house either. I would like to ask you to stay temporarily at the Third Legion''s quarters. Just give me an address for the necessary documents, and I can send someone to retrieve them," Antonio replied politely, his tone returning to that of the party.


    Sofia huffed in dissatisfaction, "What if I am the only one who can retrieve my documents? What if my documents are in Guidao City?"


    "Then, I can also let you go, but only after I have handed these notes over to the Military Committee will you be free, and the rest will be an issue between you and the Military Committee," Antonio answered tightly. "I''m sorry, but these notes are of great strategic value, and even letting outsiders know that the notes appeared in this house is a threat to my family."


    Antonio paused and then said firmly, "Please understand something, it was you who dragged us into this, and I have maintained the utmost respect for you." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sofia looked at Antonio and then at Elizabeth, her defiant energy dissipating. She said, sounding dejected, "I still have to think about your proposal. The documents proving my identity are at St. Jeannie''s Convent; you''ll find my personal belongings stored with Mother Tess."


    St. Jeannie''s Convent is located on a hillock southwest of Sea Blue City, about half a day''s journey from Sea Blue.


    "You can''t stay here, I would like to invite you to stay at the Third Legion''s barracks, would that be alright?"


    Sofia nodded silently.


    "Before the soldiers arrive to escort you, your freedom of movement will need to be temporarily restricted, as neither of the two ladies in this house is a match for you. Please, understand," Antonio stood up, signaling the end of the conversation. "Winters, please tie Miss Sofia up again, but try to make her as comfortable as possible."


    Antonio assured Sofia, "Once we have the documents, I will release you immediately."


    "Do we have to tie Sofia up again?" Elizabeth spoke out loudly on behalf of her "new friend," but she fell silent after seeing the look on Antonio''s face and looked at Sofia with sad eyes.


    Sofia didn''t resist or ridicule, seemingly accepting easily Antonio''s reasons for "protecting his family." Her body language was submissive, but her eyes were fixed on Winters.


    Truthfully, Winters hadn''t expected to tie up a woman three times in one night. He nodded apologetically, but he didn''t put away the steel awl; he kept holding it. The psychological shadow Sofia had cast on him was too large, and he dared not let down his guard for an instant.


    This time, her hands were bound in front, not behind. Then Antonio took Winters and Elizabeth out of the room, leaving Sofia alone in the guest room.


    Still uneasy, Antonio had Kosha take Elizabeth and Marita to the neighbor''s house for temporary shelter.


    In the house, only Antonio, Winters, and Sofia, left alone in the guest room, remained.


    "Do you think she is Antoine-Laurent''s daughter?" Winters asked Antonio.


    "Now I''m eighty percent certain that Sofia is Antoine-Laurent''s daughter," Antonio poured some spirits for himself and his nephew. "If she wants to retrieve the documents herself, it shows she doesn''t care about these notes. She seems very confident in her decision to stay. But it could also be a deception tactic, so we must not become complacent."


    "Should I stay and watch over her in the guest room?"


    "No need, I have something else for you to do. Now, go to the neighbor''s house as well, protect your sister and Kosha. Take some paper and transcribe the remainder of these notes. I''m going to the legion''s quarters to call up the troops," Antonio calmly delegated the task to Winters.


    "Aren''t we supposed to return the notes to her?" Winters said with a bitter taste in his mouth.


    "The original can be returned to her, but Antoine-Laurent''s research notes are a valuable asset to the Republic of Vineta. In the interest of Vineta, our personal honors are insignificant," he replied.


    "Just leave her alone in the guest room?"


    "If she escapes, then all the better!"

 Chapter 49 The Essence of Magic

    The next two days passed with calm and tranquility.Antonio was quite disappointed to find that, although he had given "Sofia" several opportunities, not only did she not take the chance to escape, but she calmly accepted life under house arrest in the military camp.


    A sister from St. Jeannie''s Convent, Sister Teresa, personally delivered a small box, which contained, as Sofia had said, her birth certificate, baptism certificate, and some other items from the Lavoisier family.


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    Sofia herself matched the eye color, hair color, and birthmark listed on the birth certificate. At this point, Antonio had almost completely believed in Sofia''s identity.


    The next step would be to obtain copies of the birth certificate and baptism certificate from the church where Antoine-Laurent''s daughter was baptized through the channel of the church, to compare the two sets of documents. If they were consistent, it would be possible to fully verify her identity.


    Reputable guarantors, birth documents, and tokens¡ªthese were the methods of the era to prove that "a person" was indeed "that person."


    In other words, no matter who it was, as long as they had a full set of documents that matched the description therein, she would legally be Antoine-Laurent''s daughter.


    While there were many loopholes to exploit, this was the most rigorous method people of the era could have.


    Sofia agreed to Antonio''s proposal to treat the research content in the notes as a reward for the Republic of Vineta to restore Antoine-Laurent''s honor. This was a perfect solution, and Sofia inadvertently protected the honor of both Antonio and Winters. Because Antonio had already decided that he would keep the contents of the notebook in Vineta, even if it meant breaking his promise.


    In the Military Police division of the Army Headquarters, these two days had been hectic; Lieutenant Colonel Field had confirmed that no spellcaster officers in the Vineta Army had taken leave, gone missing, or died in the past few days.


    At the second full officers'' meeting of the Military Police division, Winters brought up a possibility: that man was indeed a spellcaster, but not from the Vineta Army. He wasn''t returning to Vineta, but was heading there, and he was a spellcaster of the Provincial Army.


    However, the three men of the Military Police division currently had no means to verify this, and they could only send an official letter to the Provincial Army. But considering the tense relationship between the two sides, it was expected that the letter would be like a stone sinking into the sea.


    But the salvage operation did yield some unexpected findings. Sea Blue Port is a natural deep-water harbor, with coral reefs and rocks mainly at the seabed, and not much silt. Four skilled sailors managed to retrieve both guns and swords within a day.


    The problem was that neither the guns nor swords bore any marks or crests that could prove the assassin''s identity, rendering them essentially meaningless.


    The biggest gain was actually the retrieval of Major Moritz''s dress sword by the salvaging sailors. Moritz had lost his dress sword the day he drowned, and he had been using a simple old sword since, so finding his original, costly ceremonial sword was a pleasant surprise.


    These past few days, however, Winters''s mind wasn''t on the assassination case, but on Antoine-Laurent''s notebooks.


    At the military academy, all spellcasters had heard their seniors mysteriously talk about a story: over a decade ago, the executed father of the spellcasters of the Alliance¡ªAntoine-Laurent¡ªhad been conducting research in the final stage of his life that could overturn the magic system, touching the essence of magic itself. After his death, his manuscripts were lost, and his achievements disappeared with them.


    No one knew where the story originated, but it was certain that the story became more like a myth over time. Winters personally witnessed two variations of this story during his three years at the officers'' academy.


    The contents of Antoine-Laurent''s research became more and more exaggerated and mysterious in the retelling among the spellcasters, transforming his manuscripts into artifacts that could empower spellcasters to become legendary mages of destructive power, according to legend.


    As a spellcaster, Winters certainly didn''t believe that anything could instantly elevate a spellcaster''s spell-casting abilities out of thin air. As he said to Aike, "Does giving a child a good sword make him a top swordsman?"


    Still, being steeped in such stories over the years had given him a mysterious imagination about Antoine-Laurent''s research notes: although not as miraculous as the stories claimed, they must have contained very important information.


    However, when he actually finished transcribing the notebook, his feelings were quite complex.


    The contents of the notebook were a mess, something between a diary, a collection of inspirations, and a record of experiments.


    Many parts seemed to be written on a whim; some were fragmented thoughts, some were results of experiments. With hasty scribbles, erasures, and modifications, and some rough sketches in the corners that seemed to have been doodled when he hit a dead end in his thoughts.


    Did Antoine-Laurent''s notes contain important information? S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course.


    But for the Republic of Vineta, the most useful thing recorded in this notebook was probably the sketch of the "Fire-type Spell Potential Testing Instrument."


    Although crudely drawn, Winters had figured out what it was. The instrument was essentially a sophisticated scale. Two glass spheres were placed at either end of the balance, connected by a glass tube.


    The sketch was rudimentary, and the glass spheres in the drawing seemed to contain some kind of liquid.

 Chapter 49 The Essence of Magic_2

    Winters speculated that the two glass spheres and the glass tube connecting them should form a sealed whole, and the liquid inside the glass sphere was likely some kind of highly volatile substance.As a spellcaster, Winters quickly figured out the principle behind this testing instrument. Simply put, this device could detect even the faintest magical ability.


    The magical ability of an untrained spellcaster is as weak as the tiny sparks from a fire sickle, and this clever instrument could detect the presence of those sparks.


    First, by balancing the scale to achieve equilibrium, if the subject possesses even the weakest fire-type spell ability, just enough to vaporize a little bit of the liquid in the glass sphere, the balance of the scale would be disturbed.


    Even Winters couldn''t help but applaud the ingenious design of this invention. It is known that the hardest part is not training a spellcaster but finding those with magical talent from among the masses. Read latest stories on empire


    Just like ordinary people, spellcasters have two eyes and a nose. Before being tested, even the spellcasters themselves might not be aware of their own magical talent. Their magical abilities are so weak that even if they use magical power unconsciously, the effect is so insignificant that neither others nor themselves can perceive it.


    Thus, individuals with magical potential are buried in the crowd. A sudden headache in their lives or an inexplicable shiver could actually be phantom limb pain caused by the unconscious use of magic. But they themselves might not notice these signs, which are quickly forgotten.


    Yet with this testing device, even the weakest of magical abilities could be detected.


    The selection of individuals with magical potential has always been a closely guarded secret of the Federated Provinces of the Republic. Through exclusive control of this technology, all the Republic''s spellcasters, regardless of gender, are sent to the Federated Provinces for training.


    Getting hold of these blueprints meant that the Vineta Republic could break away from the Federated Provinces and independently carry out the screening of spellcasters. They could even shove the Federated Provinces aside and independently train their own spellcasters. After all, the training content for spellcasters is no secret; Vineta has hundreds of spellcaster officers who have all undergone complete training courses in military academies.


    As for the rest of the content in these notes... it overturned Winters''s understanding of magic.


    But whether before or after reading these notes, Winters''s magical ability remained at the same level.


    However, the contents kept Winters up for two sleepless nights.


    In these casually recorded notes, Antoine-Laurent wrote:


    "People of ancient times believed that the entire world was composed of four elements: fire, air, earth, and water. The people of Selika thought the world consisted of metals, plants, fire, earth, and water, while naturalists classified everything in the world into plants, animals, and inanimate objects. But I find their view of the world unattractive, too chaotic, too disordered. So I take it further by dividing everything that exists in the universe into two categories: matter and energy."


    "Everything tangible is matter; water, gases, stones are matter."


    "Everything intangible is energy, such as light and heat."


    On this basis, Antoine-Laurent proposed a hypothesis: the conservation of matter.


    Meaning, magic does not create matter out of nothing, nor does it annihilate matter into nothingness.


    The Vaporization Spell does not make the water disappear but turns it into a gas.


    "Water Creation Spell" does not create water from nothing, but condenses the moisture in the air into liquid.


    Antoine-Laurent recorded an experiment he designed: in an extremely dry room, a spellcaster using a Water Creation Spell at full strength could only "create" a few drops of water. However, in a humid outdoor environment, using the same spell at full strength, the caster could quickly "create" a cup of water.


    In addition, he conducted another experiment, the metal powder combustion experiment, which ultimately confirmed that metal powder gains weight after burning because the matter from the air enters the metal. When heating metal powder in a closed system, although the powder gains weight, the mass of the entire system does not change.


    Antoine wrote on the first page of his notes: "What is magic? Is magic some kind of trick? Creating an apple? A rabbit?"


    "If magic could create matter, wouldn''t all the sorcerers in the world eventually flood all the lands by continually creating water?"


    "Certainly not, the essence of magic should be summarized in a beautifully poetic sentence: it can, and only can, change the energy state of matter." Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "However, I do not have enough evidence to prove this yet."


    The rest of the notes are devoted to verifying this speculation, with Antoine overturning his own established magical classification and rebuilding the three major categories of spells.


    In the section on the analysis of the nature of sound-type magic, Antoine-Laurent confirmed that the essence of sound is a kind of vibration. The so-called "sound" is the vibration of the source spreading into the surrounding medium.


    The nature of sound-type magic is the ability to change the vibrational energy of matter. Hence, sound-type magic was renamed by Antoine-Laurent to vibration-type magic, and from this he proposed a new spell concept "Resonance Spell."


    In his thoughts on acceleration-type magic, the father of Alliance spellcasters believed that accelerating objects was just the superficial aspect of acceleration-type magic. He considered that the state of motion of matter is essentially a form of energy, which he called kinetic energy. Acceleration-type magic was therefore summarized by Antoine-Laurent as the ability to change the kinetic energy of an object.

 Chapter 49 The Essence of Magic_3

    As for Fire-type Spells, there was nothing revolutionary. Nonetheless, the Father of Spellcasters had some new thoughts, he believed that fire is a material releasing stored energy within. Both light and heat are forms of energy release. Fire-type Spells replace flames to accomplish energy transmission.Later on, Antoine-Laurent felt it was necessary to establish a mathematical system for magic, however, the content of the notes ended abruptly, as if some unexpected event had interrupted his research.


    Winters read and copied these notes in a state of complete bewilderment.


    The content of this notebook should be accurately categorized as magic philosophy and magical principles. The majority of it consists of Antoine-Laurent''s conjectures and explorations regarding the essence of magic.


    Practical information, such as how to improve a spellcaster''s level of expertise in spells or which training methods are more effective, is not mentioned at all.


    But perhaps this cannot be blamed on Antoine-Laurent, for the Father of the Alliance Spellcasters himself was not a spellcaster and lacked magical abilities. His research was entirely theoretical, with almost no focus on practical applications.


    In the entire notebook, the most practically valuable item might be only the hastily sketched diagram of a magical talent testing device by Antoine-Laurent.


    "The essence of magic is altering the energy state of an object."


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    After finishing the notebook, Winters remembered this one line. He didn''t know whether it was right or wrong, but even if it was correct, his spellcasting level wouldn''t skyrocket simply from knowing the "essence" of magic. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, with tears streaming down his face, said, "General Antoine-Laurent was indeed not deceiving, ''The power of a spellcaster comes from knowledge and diligent practice.'' There are no shortcuts, so what if one knows the essence of magic? Doesn''t one still have to earnestly practice the Arrow Flying Spell at night?"


    However, Antoine-Laurent''s analysis of sound-related Spells did bring Winters great benefit; he had originally thought that sound-related Spells only worked on sound itself.


    It was after Antoine-Laurent specifically pointed out that the essence of sound is vibration that he opened a new door for Winters by suggesting sound-based magic should be called vibrational magic.


    He even tried practicing the "Resonance Spell" a few times as recorded in the notes. Antoine-Laurent was not a spellcaster himself; the "Resonance Spell" was merely a spell concept he recorded, just like the blood vaporization spell Winters had imagined, never tested in reality.


    The so-called Resonance Spell was inspired by an accidental discovery from Antoine-Laurent''s military career. When marching over a small bridge, the synchronized trotting of the warhorses caused the entire bridge to tremble violently, eventually collapsing and causing many casualties.


    After observation and consideration, Antoine-Laurent concluded: the bridge was already vibrating leisurely, and the rhythm of the warhorses'' steps overlapped with the bridge''s natural vibration frequency. It was akin to swinging the bridge like a pendulum, leading to its collapse.


    Therefore, he hypothesized that if a spellcaster''s abilities were strong enough to enhance the natural vibrations of structures like bridges, they could destroy such structures. However, achieving this effect would require magical abilities beyond imagination, so this remained only an idea Antoine-Laurent put down on paper.


    Winters certainly didn''t have the magical ability to demolish bridges or buildings, but he cleverly validated the feasibility of the spell in another way.


    He bought some thin glassware for experimentation and had Elizabeth tap the glass with a spoon while he attempted to use sound-based Spells at full force to amplify the sound produced when the glass was struck.


    After dozens of failed attempts, the glassware finally shattered with a brittle sound magnified many times over by magic. This meant that Antoine-Laurent''s statement was correct¡ªthe essence of sound-based magic is altering the vibrational state of an object, and such spells should indeed be renamed as vibrational magic.

 Chapter 50 New Ideas

    "The docks aren''t that big, and the dockworkers all know each other. You''re saying you don''t know who''s missing after the explosion?" Winters slammed the table hard."There''re too many people on the docks, and anyone with the strength can become a dockworker, how could we remember everyone?" The man being interrogated answered flawlessly, "Your Honor, the constable, why don''t you ask someone else?"


    Winters asked various other questions from different angles, but the man stuck to his story that he knew nothing.


    "Get out," an exhausted Winters waved his hand, "Send in the next one."


    The man left, and another short, stocky man took his place in the chair.


    This little man sat uneasily on the stool, lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing.


    "May I have your name?" Winters politely broke the silence.


    Before he finished speaking, the stout man sprang up as if stung in the buttocks, shouting, "I know nothing!"


    "I''m asking for your name..."


    "I know nothing!"


    "Your name..." Continue reading at empire


    "I know nothing!"


    "Get out!"


    "I know nothing!"


    Winters grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it to pieces on the ground.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    "The dockworkers are all tight-lipped, they won''t say anything," Winters reported to Colonel Field helplessly about the inquiry results of the dockworkers.


    In the officers'' club lounge, Field, Moritz, and Winters sat around a small table in a circle. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The dockworkers are scared to be seen as informers. A few gangs control all the dockworking business, and they''ve put a gag order in place, so naturally, the workers don''t dare fart," Field''s mood was foul, holding a wine glass for a long time without having a sip, "We can''t protect the dockworkers'' families, they won''t side with us."


    There were no leads on the assassination case, leaving Field and Winters with grim expressions.


    Major Moritz, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected and merrily poured his own drink. Winters couldn''t help but wonder if Major Moritz was truly deaf or was just pretending not to hear so he could dodge the irksome work.


    Under the calm surface of the docks, an undercurrent was brewing; the Benvenuto family''s house was still empty to this day. The cripple on Hidden People Street had some news, explaining why all the dockworkers were keeping their mouths shut, and why the entire Benvenuto family had disappeared.


    The dockworkers in Sea Blue City were roughly divided into several groups by region; they often got into violent conflicts over work competition, occasionally breaking an arm or a leg.


    On the night of the assassination, the Montan people found their leader lying in a pool of blood in an alley behind the Pine Forest Tavern, killed by a stab wound beneath the left rib.


    Just a few days earlier, the Montan people had a fierce fight with the Vaughan People, leaving one severely injured and several others with minor injuries. The one who was seriously injured died shortly after being carried back.


    Monta Republic is located in the mountainous area, where the environment is harsh. As the land can''t sustain them, the men have to join the army to earn money. Therefore, Montans are known to be fierce and tenacious; braving death, Monta has been an important source of soldiers since ancient times.


    The Montan people now believe the Vaughan People are the murderers, swearing to repay blood with blood. That means they won''t cease until they''ve spilled the blood of their enemies.


    The Vaughan People, while denying they killed the Montan leader, regretted only that someone had taken their chance for revenge.


    For the family-oriented Vaughan People, when one dies, a part of the community seeks revenge. The entire Vaughan community is interconnected by complex familial ties, like a pot of soil teeming with plant roots.


    The Vaughan People, having suffered a great loss, were also licking their wounds and preparing to strike back.


    In the bustling shadows of the port area, both sides were gearing up, accumulating strength for what might become a full-blown fight.


    According to the cripple, both sides have been buying up real weapons and a lot of gunpowder on the black market. Even the Paratu People, uninvolved in the matter, were preparing in secret. The final outcome could be very ugly.


    The Vaughan man who had died of severe injuries in the previous violent conflict was Benvenuto''s own uncle. In Vaughan culture, blood-revenge by relatives is a praise-worthy action. Therefore, the Benvenuto home was now a primary target for Montan retaliation, and according to the cripple, their house had likely been protected by the Vaughan community.


    Would the different groups of dockworkers fight to the death?


    Field couldn''t care less about such matters.


    In his view, even if the sea at the port turned red with the blood of dockworkers, that was a problem for customs and the city guard.


    But it was precisely because of this absurd reason that the dockworkers remained silent, refusing to speak.


    "These bastards, they''re certain we can''t torture them without evidence," Field said angrily yet dejectedly, "Damn it! Lock them up and beat them, and they''d surely spill everything."


    But Field could only talk tough; although torture was a common method used by Alliance law enforcement to obtain evidence, Alliance laws strictly regulated the conditions for its use. The Church also strictly forbade the use of torture on believers¡ª in theory.


    Today, if Field dared to imprison and torture the dockworkers without any evidence, he wouldn''t have to wait for a future reversal in the case; he''d have to pack up and leave to write war histories right now.

 Chapter 50 New Ideas_2

    "Use money?" Winters proposed another straightforward method."We can''t offer a price high enough to warrant their lives, the dockworkers'' association doesn''t go easy on rats," Field shook his head: "Besides, ordinary workers wouldn''t know anything valuable, we need to look for those in charge, but right now they definitely won''t tell us where those leaders are."


    In these past few days, Winters had a new thought in his mind but prudently didn''t rashly propose it. Now, seeing the investigation had hit another deadlock, he felt it was time to share his new idea. Your next chapter is on empire


    "I got my hands on a wheel-lock gun these days, almost identical to the one fished up," the wheel-lock gun Winters referred to was actually Sofia''s: "After experimenting a few times, I first noticed that this gun is far from ordinary, and the gunner even more so."


    After Sofia was taken into custody at the military barracks, the wheel-lock gun she carried was left behind at the Serviati residence. Winters, unable to resist his own curiosity, dismantled the gun, then spent three times as long reassembling it.


    Being a person with a natural intuition for mechanical structures, Winters quickly figured out the construction and principle of the wheel-lock gun. The essence of the gun''s firing mechanism is a friction wheel connected to a coiled spring; it requires winding up the friction wheel "tight" before use. When pulling the trigger, the rotating friction wheel scrapes against the flint to produce sparks, igniting the gunpowder.


    In Winters'' view, the advantage of this design was that, unlike matchlock guns, it did not require careful attention to keep the slow match lit, and there was no open flame.


    One should know that matchlock guns are quite dangerous weapons, both to the enemy and to the gunner themselves. Since the match, although slow-burning, is still an open flame, it poses a risk to gunners who carry a large amount of gunpowder and are covered in powder residue; just not igniting oneself already qualified one for a salary.


    Another advantage was that it could be used with one hand, as the shooting process of a matchlock gun requires two hands; hence there were no one-handed matchlock pistols. Wheel-lock guns, however, could be shot by holding the gun and pulling the trigger with one hand, which is how dock assassins could wield a gun in one hand and a sword in the other.


    However, at the same time, Winters also noticed the danger in this design¡ªthe wheel-lock mechanism was far too complex, too fragile, and not reliable enough.


    Trigger, sear, coiled spring¡ªif any one component came loose, the gun could discharge unintentionally. How could an assassin dare to carry such a gun at their waist, not fearing it might discharge and blow apart their own thigh?


    "What''s so special about it?" Field lay back on the sofa with lackluster interest.


    "It''s difficult to handle! The person who made the gun didn''t even consider the reality of using it one-handed, still using a long gun barrel. Essentially it''s just a sawn-off long gun, shooting thirty-gram lead bullets. With such caliber, the difficulty of one-handed use is tremendous; if I were to design it, I''d make the caliber smaller," Winters confidently shared his thoughts: "The gun we fished up has an even larger caliber than the wheel-lock gun I have on hand. Whoever could shoot accurately with that gun must be proficient in firearms."


    Field lay back on the sofa, softly humming a response: "Then what?"


    "The customs autopsy report gave me an inspiration; the coroner infers their identity and social status from the cadavers'' physique, appearance, and calluses on their hands. I believe we can also speculate on what type of person the assassin is based on the evidence we have."


    "That''s interesting," said Field, sitting up slowly: "Go on."


    "Four assassins, with at least two proficient in firearms, able to use these large caliber wheel-lock guns single-handedly; there are also insiders within customs, so they knew when the Bandit Gull was docking and were waiting at the docks in advance; the four passengers approached them on their own initiative, thinking the assassins were there to meet them, which is quite strange... And yes, their horses, those draught horses pulling the cart didn''t panic at the sound of gunfire... Hah, untrained draught horses probably couldn''t manage that."


    Field''s expression turned extremely serious; even Moritz noticed the change in the atmosphere and quietly put down his wine glass, and the colonel said to Winters in a grave voice: "Speak your mind directly." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Those assassins also left a very, very, very deep impression on me with their swordsmanship expertise, especially their familiarity with Marshal Ned''s Longsword techniques."


    Winters used three "very"s to express his thoughts, and he continued, "It''s as if they have sparred thousands of times, knowing exactly how to counter the Longsword with the Swift Sword. The moment I crossed swords with the first assassin I encountered, I nearly got my belly slashed open. It definitely wouldn''t have been that close if it had been an ordinary swordsman. Major Moritz also fought with one of them, and you could ask for his opinion as well."


    "Experts in the military academy''s Longsword technique, proficient in firearms, and horses trained to be unafraid of gunfire¡ªthere aren''t many who fit this description in Vineta," Winters gritted his teeth as he came to his conclusion: "This is my own thinking, but the assassins we are looking for likely include a few alumni... one of whom had his jaw kicked off by me."


    "Alumni," which alumni? What Winters meant was clearly army officers, but the accusation was so serious that he still used the term alumni, yet Field would not have any misunderstanding.


    "Are you very skilled in swordsmanship?" Field asked abruptly.


    "Not bad, but there aren''t many swordsmen who can put me in such a tight spot."


    "Let''s go, there are training swords in the club," Field stood up, grabbing his uniform coat: "Talking won''t do, a spar will show us."


    Half an hour later, on the second floor of the officers'' club.


    Field took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting, "You rascal really have something. I didn''t expect a newcomer would make me the one with the worst swordsmanship..."


    Without training armor, just the helmets and a stop at touch, Winters scored 20-0 against Field. Winters had thought about giving the Colonel a few points, but as soon as he held the Longsword in his hands, all he could think about was winning. Colonel Field''s sword skills were far inferior to his skills in Magic.


    "Your turn," Field called to Moritz, gesturing with a hook of his finger and tossing the helmet to the Major.


    Facing Moritz, the pressure on Winters surged. True to his reputation as one of the top swordsmen in the army competitions, the Major''s reaction time and control in a sword exchange were much sharper than the Colonel''s.


    But... still a notch below Aike. Even though Winters routinely got beaten by Aike, Aike was a true master of swordsmanship. Through countless defeats, Winters'' own swordsmanship also kept accumulating, and he even came close to beating Aike in the end.


    Major Moritz was a strong swordsman, but he was still just top tier. Not only was he unable to suppress Winters, but it was Winters who grew stronger the more he fought, ultimately winning the duel.


    Colonel Fidel watched with shining eyes from the side.


    "This year''s competition is relying on you to bring honor to the Military Police, Moritz doesn''t have the drive, you must train hard," Field came forward and firmly shook Winters'' hand: "Make sure to take down all the bastards from the Security Headquarters."


    Winters, flattered, nodded again and again.

 Chapter 51 The Giant Rat of the Business Firm

    For the cultured young ladies of Sea Blue City, they appeared fragile and ignorant before marriage, evoking pity, and were as beautifully delicate as artificial flowers arranged in a tall celadon vase.But upon getting married, they transformed into the respected mistress of the household: managing the servants with impeccable order, ensuring the living room, study, bedroom, and the master''s attire were spotless, and also guaranteeing the kitchen could provide decent food, among other things.


    Could marriage really possess such magic to turn an ignorant girl into a competent mistress overnight?


    Of course, that was impossible.


    In truth, the pretense of premarital ignorance was merely a disguise. In that era, every well-born woman had received extensive training before reaching the age suitable for marriage, in order to take on the duties of a mistress in the future.


    From a young age, they followed their mothers, learning through observation and participation how to manage an entire estate. When they got married, they would bring along servants, dowries, and sufficient capabilities to take over another household.


    The gentlemen thought women were weak and ignorant, while the ladies cleverly used this to their advantage, manipulating the men, a little secret among ladies unknown to the gentlemen.


    The deceived men should blame society, for after all, it was society that set the unified goal for unmarried ladies to find a husband of equal social status.


    The Navarre family was naturally the same, and like every respectable family in Sea Blue City, Anna Navarre had been raised by her mother from an early age to become an excellent wife and mistress.


    Indeed, compared to ordinary noble ladies, Lady Navarre held even higher expectations for her eldest daughter.


    An ordinary noble lady would bear offspring after marriage, raise children, and manage everything inside the house quite well.


    But that was all. Matters outside of family life were deemed the responsibility of the gentlemen and were not to be meddled with by the ladies. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For a lady, working outside like a man was considered highly improper, attracting criticism and gossip from all around, unless... unless she was a widow.


    And as a respectable widow, Lady Navarre not only expected her eldest daughter to become a qualified mistress, but she also hoped Anna would possess a business acumen superior to that of men, capable of assuming responsibilities traditionally not expected of women, and someday take over the management of Navarre Commerce¡ªensuring the property would not be lost due to an incompetent heir.


    So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon, when Lady Navarre came to the large office of Navarre Commerce to work, Anna would sit quietly beside her mother''s large peach wood desk, using a small knife to help her mother open one letter after another, assisting Lady Navarre in checking the accounts, listening to reports from employees, and silently observing her mother''s decision-making process.


    "Mr. Lodovico," Lady Navarre asked in a gentle and magnetic tone, unhurriedly, "Could you explain why, despite my written orders two months ago, to this day you have not even reached half the planned purchase volume?"


    The chair of the employee was two meters away from Lady Navarre''s desk, located in the very center of this spacious office. The chair was not comfortable to sit in, completely exposed at the front and with nothing around it, the whole office arranged in such a way that the person sitting there felt completely seen through.


    However, the middle-aged man sitting opposite Lady Navarre did not display the same discomfort and nervousness as the younger employees. He sat upright, holding his hat in hand; his hair, threaded with strands of silver, was meticulously groomed.


    Lodovico answered calmly, "Madam, the prices of sulfur, saltpeter, lead, and iron are climbing, and many competitors are vying with us for supplies on the market. Our current stock is the result of our best efforts to procure these materials. Moreover, if we were to fulfill the quantity you requested at the current prices, it would deplete most of the liquid assets on our balance sheet. Our main focus is not these bulk goods, and I cannot agree to your speculative actions."


    "Your points are well-made," Lady Navarre nodded with approval on her face, tapping the bell on her desk. The maid waiting outside the office door came in.


    "Summon all the senior partners here," Lady Navarre ordered in a clear voice.


    The maid nodded and then closed the door.


    Anna faintly sensed a change in the atmosphere, growing more solemn. Lodovico''s soft hat was now misshapen in his hand, but he still maintained an air of composure, his face as calm as ever. Find adventures on empire


    The senior partners above the level of head of Navarre Commerce filed in, silently communicating with their eyes, roughly forming a line, with only Lodovico remaining seated.


    "Good afternoon, gentlemen," Lady Navarre nodded as a greeting.


    The senior partners also touched their hats to their chests and bowed in response.


    "Now that everyone is assembled, Mr. Lodovico can explain these two sets of ledgers for us," Lady Navarre said as she took out two ledgers with black covers from the drawer.


    Upon seeing the two ledgers, Lodovico''s face turned ashen, and he fell silent, bowing his head.


    The senior partners were all experienced businessmen; they immediately knew what was up when they heard about the sets of ledgers. The office fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop, everyone holding their breath and listening intently to what Lady Navarre would say next.

 Chapter 51 The Magnate Rat 2

    "What is the difference between these two ledgers? The difference lies in the fact that one of the ledgers recorded all the transactions of bulk purchases of goods like sulfur and saltpeter by Navarre Commerce over the past two months, while the other has had most of the transaction records erased, leaving only a small portion of the content."Lady Navarre slammed the ledger onto the desk, "Mr. Lodovico, your idea was perfect. You handed over the goods purchased by Navarre Commerce to your brother-in-law, intending to profit handsomely by selling them off with the fake ledger if the price of these bulk goods rose. If the price fell, you would present the real ledger and let the firm bear the loss."


    Anna noticed Lady Navarre was signaling her with her eyes. Understanding her mother''s intent, she obediently took up the ledgers and offered them to the senior partners present, but no one dared to take a closer look. She completed a circuit and brought the ledgers back.


    "What exactly have I done to be treated with such disrespect by you?" Lady Navarre''s tone was icy: "You have worked in the Navarre family for over a decade and are the most senior partner. I trusted you, yet you betrayed my trust. Do you have anything else to say?"


    Ever since Lady Navarre took out the two ledgers, Lodovico had kept his head deeply bowed, with no one knowing what the eldest employee was thinking.


    Moments later, he raised his head and regained his composure and calm, "The ledgers are not about truth or falsity, one is merely my projection. The goods purchased by Navarre Commerce only amount to what is in the warehouse, which corresponds exactly with the actual ledger. I haven''t misappropriated any of the firm''s money for personal gain. Since you no longer trust me, please allow me to resign."


    Lodovico calmly adjusted his clothes, put on his hat, and stood up intending to leave. In this moment, he became the principal partner in Navarre Commerce, second to none and above all others.


    "Why are you still stubbornly denying everything? Do you hope Mr. Yano will continue to take your side, and once you leave here, you can dispose of the goods to cover the deficit?" Lady Navarre asked slowly and methodically.


    The senior partners erupted into an uproar, not expecting Lady Navarre to point out yet another major rat. Another tall and lean senior partner was pushed out of the crowd, bowing awkwardly to Lady Navarre, his mouth opening and closing. In the end, he chose to play mute and said nothing.


    "You are now complacent, simply because you believe your accounts are impeccable, not a single silver coin missing from the firm''s funds. But you mortgaged the inventory of cloth as the capital to purchase these bulk goods, do you think I wouldn''t find out?" Lady Navarre then drew several documents from her drawer, asking with a smile.


    Lodovico replied politely, "Mortgaging the firm''s inventory without permission was Mr. Yano''s personal action, I fail to see what this has to do with me. You should hold Mr. Yano accountable."


    "Madam! I never thought of embezzling the firm''s money! It was Lodovico who said he needed some money to tide over, that''s why I did it!" Yano, realizing he had been betrayed, shouted, "Lodovico lured me! He''s the devil!"


    Yano charged at Lodovico, "You devil..."


    Lodovico met him head-on with a punch that knocked the tall and lean Yano to the ground, who then clutched his face and moaned in pain as blood flowed from between his fingers. The sight made Anna cry out in shock.


    "How embarrassing," Lodovico said, graciously taking off his hat, bowing to the people in the room as if he was truly sorry for losing his composure in public, "Mr. Yano is not my partner, there is only a creditor-debtor relationship between us, with a promissory note as evidence. As for where the money Mr. Yano lent me came from, haha, I personally had no knowledge."


    Having said this, Lodovico put his hat back on and turned to leave the place.


    A round of applause came from behind the desk.


    "Splendid, truly splendid, Mr. Lodovico," said Lady Navarre as she clapped and smiled, "You''ve crafted a complete narrative that clears you of all charges on a legal basis. Even if I were to accuse you, you could use this as your defense in court. But you''ve made one mistake..."


    Lady Navarre''s tone shifted, "I may be unreasonable."


    Lady Navarre pressed the bell on her desk, and under the command of an army officer, several fierce-looking soldiers emerged from the adjacent room.


    The soldiers immediately approached and grasped Lodovico, who shouted and resisted briefly before one hit him hard across the face with a lead-filled baton.


    Lodovico, half-dead from the blow, was then tightly bound. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lady Navarre gracefully walked up to Lodovico and, looking down at him with cold disdain said, "Navarre Commerce had already signed a trade agreement with the army two months ago. You were not selling off my goods, you were trading military supplies. So, take your reasoning to a military court, Mr. Lodovico!"


    The army officer nodded to Lady Navarre and took Lodovico and Yano away.


    Having witnessed the widow''s prowess, the remaining senior partners of Navarre Commerce were now silent as chickens.


    "Mr. Leo," called Lady Navarre, pointing to another senior partner.


    Unease spread through the crowd, could it be that Lady Navarre was taking this opportunity to reshuffle the deck?


    Read new chapters at empire


    A portly man of average height stood up, bending at the waist to pay his obsequious respects to Lady Navarre with a sycophantic smile.


    "You will take over Lodovico''s responsibilities, while middle partner Piero will take over your current position. The rest of you may leave, Mr. Leo, please stay behind."


    The crowd breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed this matter was, for the moment, closed.


    After the other partners left, the portly Mr. Leo tentatively asked, "Madam, shall we then continue with the original plan to purchase sulfur, saltpeter, and the like? The prices are already very high."


    "Continue, the future prices will be even higher," Lady Navarre replied wearily, leaning back in her chair and resting her forehead on her hand.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª¡ª


    "I think there was no need to treat Mr. Lodovico that way, it was too cruel... After all, he has been a friend of our family for many years, and he has even held Kate..." Anna said in a soft voice inside the carriage on their way home.


    "You... After all these years of teaching, do you still not understand?" Lady Navarre sighed, "The world outside the family is a man''s world, thus a woman needs to be more masculine than a man to avoid being looked down upon. If your father were still here, would Lodovico dare to do such a thing? Therefore, I must be even more ruthless and heartless than your father, in order to protect our family''s wealth. Remember this in your heart."


    "Why don''t you teach Catherine instead?" Anna muttered under her breath, "She really likes doing business. You took me to the commerce house, and she was nearly green with envy. I think it''s not too late to start teaching her now, she''d be very willing. Why does it have to be me? I don''t even like looking at ledgers. Wouldn''t it be better to let the right person do the right job?"


    Lady Navarre sighed again, "What your sister likes is the feeling of being able to order people around. When your two sisters get married, I will prepare a very large dowry for each of them, making them the wives with the most generous dowries in Sea Blue City, but I cannot let Kate manage the commerce house."


    Anna pouted and huffed softly.


    Seeing her daughter still very unconvinced, Lady Navarre seriously warned Anna, "Listen well, managing Navarre Commerce is not a power, but a responsibility. It''s a parent''s responsibility, and once you take it on, you have to take care of your two sisters for life."


    Lady Navarre fell into memories and continued, "When you were young and fought with your sister, it was you who got scratched, but it was Catherine who came crying to me. You didn''t shed a single tear. I realized then that your sister is a flower that can only bloom in the full summer; if the times turn bad, Catherine won''t survive on her own. That''s why I chose you."


    "I don''t want to take care of Catherine for life," Anna said defiantly, "Taking care of Olivia is one thing, Catherine... Catherine doesn''t need my care, and she never saw me as her sister."


    Lady Navarre adjusted her daughter''s hair and said with a smile, "When you both grow up, you will look back at the fights with your sister as beautiful memories."


    The carriage drove out of the suburbs and returned to Navarre Manor.


    The butler helped the lady and young miss out of the carriage, and reported in a soft voice, "General Serviati and Mr. Montaigne are waiting at the residence... It seems Mr. Montaigne is here for Miss Anna."

 Chapter 52 Giovannis Request

    In the quiet parlor of Lady Navarre, Antonio was lounging on the sofa, comfortably enjoying the paintings on the wall as if he were in his own home.Winters, on the other hand, maintained an erect posture¡ªeyes on his nose, nose in line with his mouth, mouth following the heart¡ªsitting upright in the chair like a statue.


    "Don''t be so stiff," Antonio cheerfully passed a small plate of nuts to Winters, "Right now, you look just like an Ascetic Monk, the only thing missing is a flail in your hand to scourge your own back."


    "Whose fault is that?" Winters retorted, irritated at the main person responsible acting as if the matter was none of his concern. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Antonio carelessly picked up a fig from the small table and slowly peeled the skin, "Haven''t I accompanied you here?"


    Why had Winters and Antonio come to the Navarre mansion? The reason was rather convoluted.


    Major Moritz only had ten steel awls, which were far from enough. Therefore, Winters sought help from his uncle¡ªAntonio''s younger brother, Giovanni Serviati.


    The Serviati family''s history in Sea Blue City was not long; it was only from Antonio and Giovanni''s father, Cavalier, that the Serviati family began to flourish in Sea Blue.


    Cavalier, a big-nosed, hot-tempered Venetian, had been forced to leave his family behind due to a vendetta when he was young.


    His mother placed two Gold Coins in his hand, kissed his cheeks, and said in tears, "My dear son, do not spend these two Gold Coins. Keep them with you but do not spend them. The red streaks in the coin''s design are the blood of Saint Novellata. Carry them with you, and Saint Novellata will bless you. And I shall pray for you at every moment."


    His father silently handed him a sharp sword.


    And so, with a sword, two Gold Coins, and his mother''s blessing, Cavalier came to Sea Blue City from the City of Flowers¡ªalone.


    He first pawned the fine sword, then spent the two Gold Coins and lived comfortably for a while. But, within days, once the money was spent, Cavalier''s new "friends" in Sea Blue abandoned him at twice the speed they had approached him.


    Penniless and desolate, Cavalier lived miserably until a kind-hearted goldsmith took him in as an apprentice. After surviving a tough apprenticeship, he became a full member of the Sea Blue City Guild of Precious Metal Craftsmen.


    By the time Cavalier''s eldest son, Antonio, was born, he had already made a name for himself as a gold and silversmith in Sea Blue City, owning a rather fine workshop. And he had redeemed the heirloom sword and the two Gold Coins said to be touched by Saint Novellata''s blood.


    Cavalier Serviati''s eldest son, Antonio, passed the entrance exams to the Military Academy, becoming a military officer. His younger son, Giovanni, inherited his father''s craft and took over the workshop after Cavalier passed away, becoming a gold and silver craftsman.


    If Antonio held a fatherly position in Winters''s heart, then Giovanni, though his uncle in name, was actually more like a brother to him.


    The progeny of Cavalier was fragile, with five children dying young. It was many years after the birth of the eldest son that a second healthy son grew up. Antonio was fourteen years older than Giovanni, and Giovanni was only nine years older than Winters.


    So, compared to his much older brother, the fun-loving Giovanni was much closer to Winters. Most of the major misdeeds Winters committed growing up were led by Giovanni.


    If Winters accidentally set the house on fire, he wouldn''t tell Antonio or Kosa, but he would tell Giovanni. If Giovanni killed someone, he wouldn''t tell his brother either; he would ask Winters to help him move the corpse.


    Of the ten steel awls Moritz gave Winters, only five sharp-tipped ones could be used in combat, which was obviously insufficient. Winters wanted someone to make a batch just like the ones the Major had provided.


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    As the job was metalwork-related, Winters immediately thought of his uncle Giovanni. Even though Giovanni was a precious metals craftsman, Winters believed that he must also know some highly skilled blacksmiths.


    Apart from forging a batch of awls, Winters had another objective: to create a sheath for Elizabeth''s dagger.


    The dagger, which Elizabeth had pestered from Winters, had initially been returned to Sofia, but somehow, Elizabeth persuaded Sofia to gift the dagger back to her.


    The leather sheath Elizabeth had made was hardly usable, quickly becoming full of holes from the dagger''s pokes. Thus, Winters had another mission, to ask Giovanni to fashion a silver sheath for Elizabeth. Of course, the sheath would only be silver on the outside, lined with softwood padding inside to prevent the dagger''s blade from becoming dull.


    Winters had thought making a few hundred identical steel awls would not be difficult, but it was only after speaking with actual blacksmiths that he understood the complexity involved.


    To maintain consistency in shape and weight purely by handcraft was challenging. The steel awls made by Major Moritz were cylindrical, and hand-forging could not craft cylinders. They had to forge prisms and then painstakingly file down the edges before smoothing them out. And it would be even more time-consuming and labor-intensive to work with steel.


    Meanwhile, ensuring each awl had the same weight would multiply the difficulty of production.


    Using Giovanni''s most precise scale, designed for weighing Gold, even that could not detect any weight difference between the ten steel awls Moritz had given to Winters.

 Chapter 52 Giovannis Request_2

    These ten steel spikes left Giovanni''s blacksmith friend utterly astonished, admitting that he didn''t possess such skill, and even if he exerted great effort to make them, each steel spike would cost more than a silver coin.According to Giovanni, "The materials aren''t expensive, but the craftsman''s dedication far exceeds the value of the material itself. The value of craftsmanship is severely undervalued, which is why so few would expend so much effort on a base metal. These little items are like engraving patterns into iron."


    It was only then that Winters began to understand why Major Moritz used silver coins as casting materials¡ªthat the cost to produce these specialized steel spikes was even higher than that of a silver coin.


    It would be better off just using silver coins as arrows, since the coins from the Vineta Mint are uniformly minted and readily available materials of equal weight and similar shape.


    Compared to the troubles encountered in custom-making the steel spikes, crafting a sword sheath for Elizabeth was much more straightforward.


    Winters brought the dagger as well. After Giovanni took the measurements and made a wax mold, all Elizabeth had to do was wait at home for Uncle Giovanni to deliver the sheath to her.


    "By the way, did the little girl mention wanting any particular patterns as decoration on the sheath?" Giovanni asked casually as he handed the dagger back to Winters.


    Winters was stumped by the question; he did not dare to decide for Elizabeth. He had no choice but to ride back home without rest to ask Elizabeth herself.


    Elizabeth did not immediately reply to Winters, but after visiting the studio once, she handed Winters two paintings.


    These two paintings were different from the common religious style, leaning more towards freehand painting, not concerned with perspective, and with delicate, exquisite strokes outlining a rich and splendid scene. Yet, they were not overly complex, making good use of negative space techniques.


    Giovanni was amazed when he saw the two paintings and delivered the finished sheath the very next day. The patterns provided by Elizabeth were replicated by Giovanni using the embossing technique on the sheath.


    The embossing technique involved using a small chisel to hammer out hand-symmetrical patterns on the back of a thin metal plate, resulting in shallow relief patterns on the front side. Details were then carved by hand to enhance the clarity of the relief lines. This ultimately created beautiful relief patterns on the metal surface.


    These embossings on the sword sheath served not only a decorative purpose but also made the sheath more secure to grasp to a certain extent.


    Elizabeth was so pleased with the sword sheath that she excitedly went to show it off to Tess and Antonio.


    However, Giovanni had another matter in mind when he came to see his young nephew. He laughed heartily as he hooked his arm around Winters'' neck: "Where did those two patterns come from? Do you have any more?"


    It turned out that Giovanni had shown the two patterns to another wealthy merchant''s wife and immediately received orders for two silver salt cellars.


    Compared to base metal craftsmen, the valuation of skills for precious metal craftsmen is somewhat higher. Even if a lot of effort is expended, iron can hardly sell for the price of silver. However, after precious metal craftsmen have elaborately carved and polished, the price of gold and silver artifacts can far exceed the value of the material itself.


    Therefore, unlike base metal craftsmen who pursue mass production, precious metal craftsmen have taken a different path: investing more effort into a small number of exquisite gold and silver items to make money.


    The keen-nosed Giovanni realized that wealthy female patrons were very fond of these patterns. This new style presented to Giovanni an opportunity akin to a new vein of ore, and he was eager to acquire more patterns.


    Winters explained, "The patterns were given to me by Ella, she''s always going to Lady Angusola''s studio, aren''t she? She must have painted them herself."


    Giovanni said regretfully upon hearing this, "That girl Ella, if I ask her, she''s definitely going to extort me."


    "Then there''s nothing I can do," Winters spread his hands. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But has Ella not always listened to you?" Giovanni seemed to have had a plan in mind, "You help me request a few more patterns from her, and I''ll help solve your steel spike issue, how about that?"


    For the steel spikes Winters wanted to customize, Giovanni had the following solution: the cylindrical shape required too much manual labor time and was not considered; therefore, he proposed using a triangular prism, which could be directly forged on an anvil with a V-groove; after the blacksmith made the roughly equi-weight blanks, they would be sent to Giovanni''s workshop for a secondary process called "precision grinding," a technique used in precious metalwork. Though it could not achieve the exact precision of the ten steel spikes Winters had, it would ensure uniformity of shape and weight to the greatest extent possible.


    More importantly, the cost would be acceptable to Winters.


    Winters couldn''t refuse the proposal, but he did not expect that his uncle had changed, and now wanted to trade with him in this manner.


    Seeing the look of grievance in Winters'' eyes, Giovanni agreed to make an additional silver saddle head as compensation for the patterns. Moreover, whether or not Winters could bring more patterns, he would still help Winters with the steel spikes.


    However, much to Winters'' and Giovanni''s surprise, Elizabeth told Winters that she was not the artist of those patterns.


    She mentioned a name that Winters was least willing to hear at the moment: Anna Navarre.


    Not only did Elizabeth know Anna, but their relationship was also very close. Anna, Elizabeth, and several other female friends were learning together in Lady Angusola''s studio. Those two patterns were ones Elizabeth had requested Anna to draw.


    Pride is a subtle thing; it drives people to perform noble acts but can also prevent communication between them.

 Chapter 52 Giovannis Request_3

    Out of pride, Major General Layton honored his first promise to defect, and Winters rushed into the enemy''s cabin ignoring the knife wound on his arm;It was also out of pride that Winters couldn''t be bothered to explain to Miss Navarre, much less wanted to see her again. After all, that unexplained slap still stung quite a bit.


    But Elizabeth smirked, refusing to agree to help Winters get the designs from Anna. Clearly, she already knew through her own channels that Winters had been slapped by Anna. This was probably one of the few joys in her mundane life, and she definitely wasn''t going to let it go easily.


    "Your friend has a particularly bad impression of me, I''d rather not see her if I can help it. Is this how you want to see me get slapped again?" Winters grabbed Elizabeth to stop her from running away.


    "Winters, I''m doing this for your own good," Elizabeth argued with a twisted logic, feigning seriousness, "You''ve almost angered Anna to death, and now all my lady friends think you''re a very indecent man¡­ Apologize to Anna, she will forgive you."


    "Why should I apologize?" Winters couldn''t help but laugh and cry at the same time, seeing through Elizabeth''s thoughts, "You''d be happy to see me get slapped again, huh?"


    Elizabeth could no longer hold back and burst into unrestrained laughter. Just then, Antonio came home, and Elizabeth quickly sought her father''s help.


    Antonio''s attitude was generous, "I originally thought they were just going to Lady Anguisola''s studio for fun. So they are pretty good at painting, huh? Since Giovanni needs to ask for Miss Navarre''s assistance, I''ll take you to Navarre Manor myself."


    "Wouldn''t it be easier for you to go ask Mrs. Navarre yourself to take a few of her daughter''s paintings?"


    "Giovanni is asking for your help, not mine. You should go yourself; I''m going to Navarre Manor to apologize for my own rude behavior to Miss Navarre." Antonio''s smile was just like Elizabeth''s, and Winters confirmed once more that Ella''s penchant for mischief was definitely inherited from Antonio.


    Upon returning to Mrs. Navarre''s small parlor, Antonio and Winters were greeted by Mrs. Navarre and her daughter.


    Antonio and Mrs. Navarre were old acquaintances. He briefly explained the purpose of their visit, hoping to obtain several of Miss Navarre''s works on behalf of his brother Giovanni. Before Anna could speak, Mrs. Navarre agreed on her daughter''s behalf.


    Afterward, Antonio cheerfully started conversing with Anna in the old tongue, then switched to speaking with her in ancient language.


    Anna responded fluently, while Mrs. Navarre felt somewhat at a loss on the side.


    Winters could understand them, but the conversation between Antonio and Anna was casual small talk with no substantial content.


    After confirming that Anna could indeed use the old and ancient languages, Antonio stood up and bowed deeply to Anna, saying sincerely, "[Old Language] Miss Anna, I apologize for any offense I previously caused, having mistakenly seen you as a common woman; please accept my apology."


    Anna, Mrs. Navarre, and Winters were all taken aback.


    In any case, in this era, men held a far higher status than women; not to mention that even if Anna were male, the social status of Navy Admiral and Standing Army commander Antonio Serviati was still far above hers.


    It was rare in any era or country for someone of higher status to apologize to someone of lower status. Most high-status individuals, even if they should apologize, act as if nothing happened.


    Seeing this, Winters began to admire his uncle''s magnanimity, because Antonio was sincerely apologizing for his actions to Anna without any reluctance.


    Anna, seeing Antonio bow deeply to her, was also a bit panicked. She quickly stood up, clumsily returning a curtsy.


    Without saying anything more, Antonio turned his head to Mrs. Navarre and said with a smile, "Then please have Miss Navarre bring out a few of her artworks."


    Mrs. Navarre was utterly confused, not understanding what had happened, and she hadn''t grasped a single word of the conversation between Antonio and Anna.


    Finally, Antonio switched back to the common language, and Mrs. Navarre, gracefully leaning back in her armchair, responded, "Let the two children go together. You and I have endless topics to discuss." S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters followed Anna, and the two walked in silence all the way to Anna''s studio.


    The studio was furnished with several easels, the tables covered with canvases and papers. Many completed works covered with white cloth leaned against the walls. Countless papers with sketches lay carelessly on the floor.


    "Hmph." Anna, with her back to Winters, rummaged through the table, annoyed, she spoke first, "Mr. Serviati still deeply looks down on women, ''I mistakenly viewed you as a common woman,'' does this mean he can be so frivolous with any common woman?"


    Winters was left speechless.


    The more Anna thought, the angrier she became, and she turned to Winters with a burning question, "What do you think, Mr. Montaigne?"


    Winters thought for a moment, speaking slowly, "As a guest, I should not have been treated this way."


    Two rolls of paper were thrown at Winters, but since the thrower wasn''t strong, and the papers were no javelins, Winters easily caught them.


    "A guest can demand my work after insulting me?" Anna came over holding several more rolls, shoving the papers at Winters, "Take them all!"


    "Others can''t represent me; I''ve never entertained any indecent thoughts towards you. On the contrary, you''ve been quite rude to me." Winters replied with neither humility nor arrogance, "If you don''t wish to gift your paintings to me, I am also prepared to purchase them. But to be honest, compared to before, I now hold you in less respect."


    Anna was truly about to lose her mind with anger now.


    "Or perhaps, would you like to slap me again?" Winters asked wistfully.


    His words were so full of mockery that Anna was driven to utter fury, and then she... she started to cry.


    Yes, Anna was cried out of anger.


    She crouched on the ground, burying her head as she sobbed heavily.


    Winters was stunned.


    He stood there agape, completely at a loss.


    "Eh? Why are you crying?"


    "You''re not faking it, are you?"


    The other party cried even louder.


    "What''s going on here? I''m innocent."


    "If your servants hear this, I''ll be smeared... so will you."


    Still no effect.


    Winters also crouched down, tentatively asking, "Or... perhaps if I slap you back we call it even?"


    "You hit me!" Anna lifted her head, sobbing and hiccuping, small, helpless, yet fierce.


    Finally, there was an effect.


    "I don''t hit... ladies." Winters intended to say he didn''t hit women, but then he thought of Sofia, and among women, there were fierce assassins like Sofia, so he chose to replace ''women'' with ''ladies.''


    Anna stopped crying, her eyes red, and asked Winters with no ladylike image at all, sniffling, "You said you want to buy my painting, right?"


    "I can buy it, you name the price."


    "It better not be extortionate," Winters thought to himself, "I still have to get reimbursed from Uncle Giovanni."


    "You will know the price." Anna glared at Winters and pushed him out of the studio.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the way home, Antonio remarked to Winters with emotion, "Miss Navarre is indeed remarkable; I think if she weren''t a woman, she would surely achieve even more."


    "Didn''t you tell me just a few days ago that widows hold up half of Vineta?" Winters retorted.


    "Exactly, I was talking about widows." Antonio replied with a smile, "If Miss Navarre becomes a widow, she would also achieve even more."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Inside Navarre Manor, Anna buried her face in Lady Navarre''s bosom, her face showing no trace of having cried just before.


    "Are you very familiar with that young man named Winters?" Lady Navarre asked casually.


    "No, this was only the second time we met." Anna replied absentmindedly.


    "What do you think of him?"


    "Not good!"


    Lady Navarre said seriously to Anna, "I know his mother, I''ve seen his father. He carries Northern blood, and our family does not intermarry with Northerners, do you understand?"


    "Oh! Mom, what are you talking about! I''m not Katelyn, who thinks about getting married all the time!"

 Chapter 53 Honor Guard

    In the morning light, a beautiful three-masted ship appeared on the sea. Hanging from the ship''s mainmast was the flag that represented the emperor of the Muruo Empire, and on the second tallest mast hung the unfamiliar noble emblem of some noble that Winters did not recognize.Although also with three masts, this ship was certainly not a small vessel like the Bandit Gull. The ship before him was an imposing warship, with three-story high aft and fore castles that stood like dual humps on the deck.


    The Bandit Gull, being a smaller vessel, was like a dwarf before a giant, easily crushed with a mere flick of the finger.


    "Finally, they''ve arrived. They really made us wait," Andre complained under his breath to Winters.


    Winters yawned, "All mysterious, yet we don''t know which big shot it is."


    As temporary members of the Honor Guard, Winters and Andre had been waiting on the naval dock outside Sea Blue City since before dawn, and now they were dead tired.


    Bard, being slightly shorter, was lucky to miss out. Winters, Andre, and the other eighteen apprentice officers were not so fortunate, currently holding long halberds and clad in armor, they served as the Honor Guard for the Vineta Army to present a splendid front.


    Once the investigation shifted toward the interior of the Vineta Army, Winters found himself with quite a bit of free time. As all the official officers ranked higher than him, an apprentice officer was not qualified to question any official officer.


    Although, in theory, the military police were a tool the army used against their own, the military police department overseen by Field was different.


    The essence of the Army Headquarters Military Police was akin to a gatekeeper, with the boundary of their jurisdiction being the surrounding wall of the headquarters. The "military police" were only responsible for standing guard at the gates on ordinary days, having never arrested anyone.


    So, Winters spent most of his time recently on office duty, doing menial tasks like handling documents and scheduling duties for the gate guards, chatting with the copier Morlock over tea to pass time when idle. He also had lots of time to attend to his personal matters, such as ordering steel spikes, making scabbards for Elizabeth, and requesting designs from Giovanni.


    Meanwhile, two staff officers were out working hard on the investigation.


    There weren''t many army officers who matched the conditions of being proficient with firearms, skilled in Swift Sword, having an injury on the chin, and lacking an alibi on the day of the assassination.


    Most army officers were merely competent in using firearms; they were the commanders of the musketeers, not musketeers themselves. And as Instructor Nar had said, many officers dropped swordsmanship after leaving the military academy because they hardly used it. For example, Warrant Officer Montaigne had not practiced swordsmanship since he sailed home; he only managed to win against Major Moritz by relying on his past experience.


    A hundred years back, even kings and dukes had to be in armor, riding warhorses, and charging into the front lines.


    However, with the change in military philosophy and the growing scale of armies, being an officer became a technical profession. Although the northern Empire already had a tradition of military nobility, in recent years, they have also started establishing military academies, following the example of the southern Alliance.


    Personal bravery was no longer the main criterion for evaluating a commander, so only those who were genuinely passionate about swordsmanship and shooting would continue to practice these skills.


    Major Moritz, who had always shunned duty, could no longer feign ignorance, as the description Winters gave reminded him of a small group¡ªthe Duel Club.


    The Duel Club was a small association within the Army, primarily composed of army officers who enjoyed combat techniques with melee and ranged weapons. They would meet and compete regularly. It wasn''t a secret society; any army officer with an interest could join.


    Moritz thought they ought to start the investigation with the Duel Club''s members and, rarely volunteering, took on the task of obtaining the Duel Club''s membership list¡ªsince the major himself was also a member.


    But after only two days of leisure, another task came his way. The headquarters had picked twenty of the tallest apprentice officers of the year. Winters was informed that he had honorably made it into this year''s Venetian Army officer Honor Guard.


    Only then did Winters learn that every year, twenty tall apprentice officers were selected to form the so-called "officer Honor Guard." Simply put, they were to dress impressively and then serve as decorations during various important Army events.


    Because virtually no significant or minor event would go by without being called to stand as human statues, the official officers hated this duty. In the end, they had to choose from among the apprentice officers, replacing them yearly.


    Andre and Winters were both unlucky enough to be selected, so they had been standing dumbly at the dock since early morning, their armor frosted with dew, unsure who they were even there to welcome.


    As they passed the outer circle of naval artillery fortifications, the guns and gun ports on the approaching vessel''s gun deck and stern castle opened one after another, the dark muzzles poking out.


    From Winters and Andre''s vantage, the warship''s hull emitted puffs of blue smoke, which were quickly followed by rolls of thunder over the sea.


    The warship was firing a salute.


    Gun loading took time, and for short-barreled thirty-two pounders used at close quarters to destroy enemy ships, sailors even had to be hoisted outside the hull to load the guns. When warships entered a foreign port, firing blanks was a way to show lack of hostile intent, and over time, it evolved into a special gesture of etiquette.


    The naval artillery fortresses also fired salutes in response.


    Only when the ship got closer did Winters notice that its hull was lavishly decorated with paint, wood carvings, and gilding. These extravagant decorations served no purpose in combat and were purely to showcase royal grandeur and majesty, eliciting a deep disdain in Winters for the ostentatious style of the northern Empire, which he considered all flash and no substance.


    Guided by the pilot boat, the magnificent and mighty warship slowly retracted its sails and deftly docked at the navy''s pier.


    "First gun crew! Ignite!"


    At the command, the army''s cannons were also fired.


    For more than two decades, the Venetian Army and Navy had given no quarter, contesting everything from military budgets to the seats in the Council of Thirteen to the pettiest of trifles. Any contestable matter was an excuse for struggle. Explore more stories at empire


    The gun salute from the bastion was a gesture from the Navy, and with the Army present, of course, they couldn''t let the Navy exclusively represent Vineta. Consequently, the Army brought over a dozen large cannons for a saluting ceremony.


    The passengers had yet to disembark when two figures circling in the sky started to loom larger. These figures, initially the size of seagulls, were actually much larger but appeared small because of their height. As they approached the ground, everyone on the dock realized these were two monstrous creatures.


    The two birds resembled eagles, but ordinary eagles would never be this large. The wingspan of these giant eagles was wider than the warship, casting shadows like dark clouds as they soared above. The two behemoths dove down, scattering the terrified gunners, who couldn''t be called back even by officers shouting themselves hoarse.


    The two giant eagles gracefully landed on the dock, stretching their wings as if to show off, letting out a sharp screech and surveilling their surroundings with indifferent yellow eyes. Winters estimated the wingspan of the giant eagles to be at least ten meters long, standing taller than a single-story building, appearing like two high walls on the dock.


    Winters, of course, didn''t run like the gunners. The officer Honor Guard remained still, knowing what these creatures were. However, had Winters not seen the giant eagles with his own eyes, he wouldn''t have believed such beings could truly exist.


    "[An expletive under breath]" Winters exclaimed in a low voice, "The Pretender Emperor actually has such giant eagles; I thought it was just a bunch of bullsh*t in the war history." sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Andre didn''t respond, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered involuntarily.


    One couldn''t blame Andre; the fear instilled by these beasts was overpowering, as if legendary monsters had ripped through the pages of a book and emerged into reality. That Andre didn''t flee with the gunners was bravery enough.


    "What''s there to be afraid of?" Winters jabbed Andre, whispering, "As long as it''s alive, it''s afraid of cannons. They are just oversized turkeys. The Pretender Emperor can only scare people with such impractical things."


    "I''ll be damned if I''m scared," retorted Andre angrily, though his body language suggested otherwise.


    Two not-so-tall figures dismounted from the eagles, causing another stir among the soldiers. These two giant eagle riders were not in armor, but clad in black soft leather suits.


    One of them stood in front of both the Army and Navy officer Honor Guards and declared loudly, "On behalf of the supreme Muruo Emperor, Full Minister with the Seal, Earl Narzia, offers greetings to all!"


    The man was not tall, but his voice was incredibly loud, reverberating clearly across the entire navy dock.


    "Isn''t this just a show of force to intimidate us Venetians? Who do they think they''re scaring?" Andre said discontentedly, making out the situation clearly.


    Winters snorted coldly, "This inbred bunch of imbeciles loves to engage in such useless pageantry."


    Having arrived before dawn to stand by at the navy docks, the two were disgruntled to be subjected to such a display, especially since they were standing at the back of the formation. This left them even more uninhibited to chat idly. A group of soldiers dressed in black half-armors with swords by their sides disembarked first, forming an equidistant line along the entire gangway that extended to the dry shore.


    "So this is the infamous Legacy Army of the Oath Breaker?" Winters eyed the black-armored soldiers, "They aren''t as formidable as their reputation suggests. Deploying the Legacy Army for protection suggests the Oath Breaker does take this so-called Full Minister with the Seal quite seriously."


    The Legacy Army was established by the incumbent Muruo Emperor, Henry III, upon his accession to the throne. As the name implies, this force was recruited solely from the orphans of fallen soldiers and royal officials who died in the line of duty, mainly responsible for guarding the palace and protecting Henry III himself. They were the only troops allowed to bear arms within the palace and were deeply trusted by the Oath Breaker, touted as the Empire''s most elite forces.


    Andre sarcastically remarked, "The Oath Breaker broke his own vows, so he''s particularly worried about others betraying him, resulting in this farce. The father dies, and then the son continues to slog for the Oath Breaker. ''Legacy Army,'' more like ''End of Legacy Army''."


    The black-armored Legacy Army couldn''t hear Andre''s mocking tone, but Winters felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Essentially, he too was part of a "Legacy Army," belonging to the Vineta branch.


    Many fellow cadets at the Army Officer Academy were like Winters, progeny of fallen officers. As Andre had put it: the father dies, the son continues the toil.


    Realizing his faux pas, Andre slapped himself hard on the side of his helmet, "My damn mouth...shit...really is...don''t mind me..."


    "It''s nothing... don''t worry about it," Winters reassured Andre with a smile, knowing full well it was just a slip of the tongue.


    The task of the Honor Guard was simple, to stand on either side of the road with the Navy officer Honor Guard and stare down each other. Once the VIPs had all ridden away in their carriages, the Honor Guard was dismissed.


    Just as Winters, contemplating returning to the Army headquarters, a stranger blocked his way.

 Chapter 54 Reunion with Benwei

    Experience tales at empireThe visitor was wearing a large hat and kept their head low as they entered the stables where the officers tethered their horses. Along the way, they inquired about the name Winters Montagne and were led to Winters''s side.


    Winters didn''t recognize the face, but the visitor was able to accurately state his surname.


    "Are you Mr. Montagne?"


    "Do I know you?" Winters became alert.


    "I''m a friend of Benvenuto; I have a verbal message for him from me."


    Hearing the name Benvenuto, Winters hurriedly led the visitor away from the stables to a secluded area.


    According to the cripple, a group of Montans were turning the place upside down looking for Benwei, but this friend had just announced Benwei''s name in front of others.


    "What message? Go ahead," Winters couldn''t help but remind the other, "Someone is looking for your friend, so don''t mention his name casually. If the wrong person hears that name, they could follow you and find him."


    "No way, the Montans can''t be that formidable. I''ve delivered many messages and never made a mistake," said Benvenuto''s messenger, who, believing in his own vast experience, was quite dismissive of Winters''s caution.


    Seeing the messenger''s unconcerned smile, Winters roared inwardly, "The Vaughan People have no sense of confidentiality at all!"


    Countless military operations in history had successfully deceived the enemy''s spies and scouts, only to be ultimately undone due to the intelligence leaks from shepherds and woodcutters.


    One should never underestimate the intelligence capabilities of the public¡ªthis was an important lesson Winters had learned in his military history classes.


    But discussing this with the messenger seemed pointless, so Winters went straight to the point, "What message did he send me?"


    "Benwei says he''s doing well, very safe, and you shouldn''t worry about him. He''ll find you after the storm passes."


    "Where is he staying now?" Winters''s mind raced.


    Without a second thought, the messenger replied, "He''s staying at my place."


    ...


    Two hours later, on the edge of a small village in the suburbs, Benvenuto was splitting firewood in a small courtyard.


    His shirt was hung aside, his upper body bare and darkened by the sun from his years of working on the docks. He was lean but lacked the thick muscular build, yet when he wielded the axe, the strength contained within his sinewy body became apparent.


    Benvenuto was responsible for wielding the axe, chopping the wood with each powerful swing. Another young boy was tasked with setting the sawn logs on the block. The two had a clear division of labor and worked seamlessly together, stacking the split firewood neatly under the eaves into a wall.


    "Benvenuto, look who I''ve brought you," the courtyard''s gate creaked open to reveal the happy voice of the property''s owner.


    Following the messenger, Winters entered, leading his horse.


    "What brings you here?" Benvenuto was indescribably surprised.


    Winters strode over and gave him a bear hug, "It''s a long story."


    The enthusiastic owner who was also Benvenuto''s messenger and the little yard''s owner welcomed Winters warmly, instructing his wife to prepare food and drink. Although the Vaughan People were not adept at secretive plans, they were generous, hospitable, and loyal to family and friends.


    Most of the villagers had been Vaughan People who had fled to Vineta to escape the war more than twenty years ago, so it was no wonder that Benvenuto was hiding here.


    "Is it just you here?" Winters asked. The small courtyard didn''t seem large enough to house Benvenuto''s entire family.


    "I live here with my brother," Benvenuto said flatly as he moved a stool for Winters, "We''ve sent the elders to relatives far away."


    The two sat under the shade of a tree in the corner of the courtyard. The owner kindly took his son inside the house to give them privacy, leaving only Winters and Benvenuto in the yard. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rain had just stopped last night, and as the sun came out, the accumulated water slowly evaporated, making outside as humid as a steamer. Under the mottled tree shade, Benvenuto held a large jar and poured water for Winters to drink.


    "Actually, you''re not safe here at all. This friend is a good person but also an awful messenger. He''s too careless, and your enemies could easily track you down following his leads," Winters said, getting straight to the point.


    There was no time for small talk as Winters, from a military officer''s perspective, reviewed the defense arrangements of the small courtyard, "The walls of this courtyard are too low, plus it''s on the edge of the village, and you don''t even have a dog. What will you and your brother do if someone sneaks in at night?"


    Benvenuto handed Winters the cup of water, "It''s alright. The Vaughan People in the village are all connected to my family. If outsiders show up in the village, I''ll be informed immediately. With their protection, I''m safe. Don''t worry."


    "The safer you think you are, the more dangerous it actually becomes," Winters said, deeply concerned, fearing that Benvenuto might be lulled into a false sense of security, "This courtyard isn''t inside the village; it''s on the edge. If I were leading a raid, we could be in and out before the villagers could even react."


    Benvenuto laughed, "Don''t overestimate those Montans. Whether Montans or Paratu People, they''re just like us Vaughan People, a bunch of dockworkers with a bit of strength, that''s all."


    "The more you think like that, the more danger you''re in," Winters said worriedly.


    "Alright, alright, I''ll switch to a house further inside the village with my brother," Benvenuto seemed unconcerned.


    Winters sighed, knowing that if the person involved wasn''t worried, there was little point in others getting worked up. However, moving to a different house would at least be safer. He added, "It''d be best to change your location every day to keep others from pinpointing where you are."

 Chapter 54 Reunion with Benwei_2

    ```"Alright, alright." Benwei responded to Winters helplessly.


    There was a moment of silence between the two, only interrupted by the constant croaking of toads in the small pond outside the courtyard,


    "I''ve heard about the dock situation." It was Winters who broke the silence, "Since when did working at the docks require forming gangs?"


    Leaning lightly against a tree trunk and gazing into the distance, Benwei said, "It hasn''t been that many years. Anyway, back when my dad worked there, it wasn''t like this... Essentially, it all boils down to fighting for work. More and more people have been flooding into Sea Blue City over the years. Despite the hard labor, if you have the strength, you can work at the docks, so the competition has become fiercer. Maliciously undercutting others is the least of it; it''s common to beat people half to death in the alleys. If you don''t band together, you''ll get bullied by those who do, forcing you to form your own group."


    "You are creating an oppressor for yourselves, this kind of..." Winters bit his lip, struggling to find the right word, "...gang, organization, club, whatever you call it. Although now it''s just to avoid being bullied, it will inevitably corrupt and become a monster that feeds on you through violence."


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    "You''re right, there are signs of it starting already," Benwei said with a self-deprecating laugh. "But after the docks were divided into territories, the malicious underbidding among the porters came to an end. Outsiders aren''t allowed to just come to the docks and take our jobs anymore, and the porters are earning more. Even the order imposed by thugs is better than no order at all, right?"


    "Let''s drop it, why should we care so much about this? It''s the customs office''s problem, not mine." Winters dropped his smile and asked Benwei seriously, "How do you Vaughan People intend to resolve this situation? Are you going to keep hiding? Is there anything I can help with?"


    Benwei burst into laughter and patted Winters on the shoulder, "No worries, you''re taking this too seriously, it''s not like two countries at war. The Montans bark louder than they bite; they raise a lot of noise, but it''s really just to occupy more territory. Once this cools down, I won''t need to hide anymore."


    Winters frowned and said, "From what I know, the Montans have purchased quite a few real weapons, including over a dozen matchlock guns; they seem intent on exacting revenge."


    According to the cripple''s words, the usual dockside brawls involved sticks and bats, not edged weapons, and certainly not firearms.


    Dock workers are not soldiers; their fights are over work, not to kill, and they certainly don''t want to escalate matters. The cripple thought that this time the Montans meant business and their intentions were far from simple. It was likely they intended to make a big move to smash the other two factions and monopolize the docks.


    "Don''t worry, we''ve got guns too. Actually, showing guns is just for intimidation; we don''t even load them with bullets," Benwei said angrily, punching his thigh. "Those Montans have screws loose! Blaming their own man''s death on us Vaughan People and insisting my family killed their guy, it''s just..."


    "Uh, so it wasn''t you and your brother who did it?" Winters suddenly noticed a blind spot.


    Although the Vaughan People denied it, everyone¡ªwhether it be the cripple, Field, Moritz, or Winters¡ªbelieved that it was Benwei and his brothers who had killed the Montan leader.


    Because... it made too much sense. Almost two hundred homicides happen in the city each year, with revenge killings accounting for a third of them.


    Enemies encountering each other and drawing swords is far too common in Sea Blue City.


    Revenge is one of humanity''s most primal emotions, and a culture of revenge is universally acknowledged. Although the law has monopolized the right to revenge within the ruling class, in the "wild lands" south of Sheltering Mountain, blood feuds are still highly revered by most.


    Benvenuto seeking revenge for his uncle''s death, despite breaking the law, would still be cheered by the citizens of Sea Blue City.


    But just now, in the past few seconds, the implication in Benwei''s words didn''t seem to be the case.


    "Of course not!" Benwei''s tone was extremely exasperated, "My brothers and I had indeed planned to avenge our uncle, but Big Scar''s death really had nothing to do with us. Sigh."


    "Not you?"


    "Of course." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nor your brothers?"


    "On the night Big Scar died, my entire family was attending my uncle''s wake. It definitely wasn''t my brothers."


    "Then how..."


    Benwei sighed, "That''s the biggest problem. Everyone thinks my family killed Big Scar for revenge. It''s not just the Montans; even Vaughan People are convinced, including distant relatives of mine. No matter how I try to explain, it''s useless."


    Benwei had no reason to lie to Winters, especially not about this matter. Although Winters had initially thought Benwei was responsible, he still stood by Benwei''s side, and Benwei was aware of that.


    So, since Benvenuto claimed it wasn''t him who killed the Montan, in Winters''s view, it truly wasn''t him.


    "Isn''t this going to become an unsolvable issue then?"


    Benwei snorted, "It doesn''t really matter. Even if Big Scar hadn''t died, I would still have had to avenge my uncle. It actually makes no difference, it just saves me some trouble."


    "There''s a big difference!" Winters objected frantically, "If this gets pinned on you, you could at least be sentenced to exile."


    "It won''t get pinned on me," Benwei smiled crookedly. "My neighbors are my alibi. Since the constables can''t just take me in for trial, the Montans are so eager to seek revenge on me. Besides, I didn''t do it, and I will never admit to it."


    ```

 Chapter 54 Reunion with Benwei_3

    "Is there anything I can help with?" Winters asked, "Anything at all.""No need, I''m not lacking anything right now, and I don''t have to go to work, I''m good."


    Winters looked into Benwei''s eyes and said with earnest solemnity, "If you hadn''t saved me at the docks that day, I would have drowned. I owe you my life. If there''s anything... anything I can do, just say the word, friend."


    Winters emphasized the word "anything" heavily.


    Benwei understood what Winters meant; he chuckled and playfully punched Winters''s knee, "Do we even need to talk about repaying favors between us? You just go be a good officer and don''t worry about my trivial matters. Speaking of which, I do have a favor to ask of you."


    "Name it."


    "Is your family''s workshop still running?"


    "It is, my uncle is running it now."


    "Can you help me secure an apprenticeship spot?" Benwei asked somewhat awkwardly.


    "Of course! I''ll vouch for you, my uncle will definitely agree," Winters declared, patting his chest.


    "It''s not for me to be an apprentice, I want it for my younger brother," Benwei hurriedly explained, "He has also graduated from Lu You, and this year finished his studies, but unfortunately, he can''t go to Guidao City. I don''t want him to work at the docks, so if you could secure an apprenticeship for him, that would be perfect."


    Skilled artisans represent the middle-income class in this society; they earn money through their craft, neither dependent on the weather like farmers nor scorned and criticized like merchants. They are the envy of most manual laborers.


    However, becoming an artisan isn''t something one can just decide to do. In Vineta, guilds in various trades have since ancient times monopolized entry qualifications by paying large sums in taxes.


    A person who only knows carpentry can''t become a carpenter; they can at best make furniture for their own home. Only official members of the Carpenters Guild are allowed to publicly sell carpentry products and provide carpentry services to others.


    The same is true for other industries as well.


    Through this method, artisans limit the number of people entering the market, thus avoiding excessive competition. In fact, not only artisans do this, but merchants also carry out the same practice through commerce guilds.


    And to become an official guild member, one must first be an apprentice to an official member, and after a five to seven-year apprenticeship, one can automatically become an official guild member with the tools given by their mentor upon completion.


    The apprenticeship is extremely tough, as many craftsmen have bad tempers, advocate corporal punishment, and are easily provoked to hit and scold; moreover, apprentices do not get paid. However, this is the necessary path to enter a lucrative industry, and many people are desperate for it.


    "Why don''t you join my family''s workshop too? The work at the docks is very hard on the body and can''t be done for a lifetime," Winters sincerely suggested, considering Benwei''s well-being. Benwei, at nineteen, was the same age as himself, and it wasn''t too late to start an apprenticeship at that age.


    "I''ll pass," Benwei said with a light smile, "Apprentices don''t earn wages, and I have a whole family to support. It''s enough for my brother to become an apprentice. I am just worried that the kid can''t handle the hardships of apprenticing." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    "Don''t worry, I will ask Giovanni to look after your brother," Winters remembered something important to ask, "Right, I wanted to ask you something. You were there the day the dock''s pier was blown up, right?"


    "I was there."


    "The people who blew up the pier weren''t the men in black robes, but dressed like dockworkers. Do you remember?"


    Benwei nodded with a cold smile, "Of course I remember, it was those Montans."

 Chapter 55 Assassin

    "Wait, what did you say? Montan?" Winters was surprised, his breathing quickened."Yes," Benwei replied matter-of-factly.


    "The Montan working at the docks?" Winters pressed repeatedly, "Do you mean the ones who blew up the docks are members of the Montan gang?"


    "Yes," Benwei spread his hands, "It was Scarface''s new help, they just recently started hanging out with those Montan."


    Winters took a deep breath, becoming extremely serious, "Benwei, if you want me to take care of those Montan for you, you just have to say the word, and I''ll definitely help you. But, never make unfounded accusations because you have a grudge against the Montan. This assassination is complicated, the identity of the deceased remains a mystery until now and could lead to some serious trouble... I need you to answer me honestly, are you sure you didn''t see it wrong?"


    "I''m sure, I''m sure I didn''t see it wrong," Benwei answered earnestly, meeting Winters'' gaze, "And we haven''t reached a point with the Montan where it''s a matter of life and death. You''re thinking too seriously."


    "Tell me everything you know about those people."


    "Where should I start?"


    "From the beginning."


    Benwei took a sip of water to moisten his throat and began his story six years ago.


    In the last year of the Naval Academy for young students, Benwei''s family lost two breadwinners due to a tragic accident - Benwei''s father and uncle. So, after graduating from the Naval Academy six years ago, to support his family, Benwei went to work at the docks just like his forefathers.


    At that time, there was no established order at the docks, and with a massive influx of dispossessed peasants into the city, the competition became brutal.


    "You want three silver coins to unload a ship?"


    "We will do it for two."


    Dockworkers undercut and outbid each other, leading to endless violent conflicts.


    Soon, as the conflicts intensified, organized groups began to emerge among the dockworkers. The power of one was nothing against a group, and without joining one, dockworkers would be intimidated, beaten, and driven away.


    Small gangs were oppressed by larger ones; either they would join the opposition or they had to band together into an even larger gang. Eventually, all the dockworkers became members of some large gang.


    For these people from all corners of the land, regional origins were the most common form of identity, and it was inevitable that they would band together based on them. In the end, outsiders like the Montan, the Vaughan People, and the Paratu People ended up expelling the locals from the docks, seizing control of all the cargo handling work.


    These three groups controlled the number of dockworkers, refusing outsiders from working at the docks at will, avoiding excessive competition. To some extent, it had a similarity to the artificial entry thresholds set by merchants and craft guilds.


    But they didn''t form a tight organization, and fundamentally they united only to avoid being bullied. Even the gang leaders were regular porters on a daily basis, only taking charge during conflicts when everyone would side based on their place of origin.


    Things were relatively peaceful until some were no longer content with the status quo. About half a month ago, Benwei noticed some new faces among the Montan. This wasn''t unusual, as dock work had a high turnover rate with new people always coming and going.


    However, the Montan soon instigated conflicts with the other two groups. Previously, the three groups were evenly matched as they were all just porters who dared not fight too fiercely. But the new faces among the Montan were exceptionally ruthless. It was they who seriously injured Benwei''s uncle, who died shortly after being brought home.


    Scarface, the leader of the Montan, boasted while drunk that he had specially found these bruisers, intending to crush and subdue the Vaughan and Paratu completely this time.


    And on the day of the dockside assassination, Benwei himself saw those new Montan throw explosives onto the pier. There were several other porters with those Montan, but they were silenced on the spot, only Benwei escaped by hiding in a ship''s hold.


    Winters thought, "Those silenced porters must be the ones mentioned by the customs that were claimed by their families." The pieces of information corroborated each other, increasing their credibility.


    What followed was an earth-shattering explosion, with Benwei rescuing the non-swimmers Winters and Moritz from the sea. Winters and his contemporaries were invited to "rest" in the customs prison, and whatever happened outside was of no concern to them.


    For Benwei, though, one bad thing followed another. The customs were in such chaos after the explosion that Benwei couldn''t find anyone willing to listen to a mere porter.


    With no other choice, he went home first, planning to find the customs guard the next day. But before he even had dinner, several distant relatives knocked on his door, breathlessly telling him: Scarface was dead, and the Montan were gathering people to take revenge on him.


    Overnight, Benwei and his family had to leave their home; women and the elderly were sent to distant places, while Benwei, his uncle, and his brother hid on the outskirts of the city until today.


    "Those hired by the Montan aren''t bruisers, they are assassins in disguise, just masquerading as bruisers to infiltrate the Montan gang," Winters furrowed his brows, "I guess by now they''ve already run off without a trace."


    Benwei sighed lightly, "I also figured those unfamiliar faces weren''t ordinary folks; they were the type that treated other people''s lives like nothing."


    "I''m actually a bit puzzled; if they had already infiltrated the docks, why cause such a big commotion? And that carriage, could it be they also planned to kidnap someone alive?" Winters stroked his chin stubble, sneering, "I''m getting more curious about the identity of the deceased by the minute. Who could be worth all this trouble? I bet the Montan''s boss was also silenced by them."


    "Anyway, those people must have already run off without a trace."


    "Wherever one goes, one leaves traces. If we follow the footprints, we''ll surely find them. Do you know where the core members of the Montan are now? The dockworkers won''t tell us anything."


    Benwei shook his head: "I don''t know, just like they don''t know where I am, we''re all hiding. If I find them, I''ll let you know."


    "Alright, but don''t have this friend deliver messages for you anymore," Winters said with a wry smile, "He really is a terrible messenger. Also, move to a new place to live quickly; this house is too unsafe."


    Benwei nodded with a smile and agreed.


    After chatting about the times they had shared and those they hadn''t, the two said goodbye.


    "How will I find you if you move?" asked Winters.


    "Go to the docks and find George Gap, tell him you want to see me, and I''ll contact you."


    Winters nodded, without wasting words, and rode back to the city.


    Pushing open the door of the gendarmerie, Winters found that Colonel Field and Major Moritz were waiting for him.


    "Where have you been?" Field asked with some dissatisfaction.


    "I went to see a dockworker and got some important information," Winters, who had been absent from his friends, answered without blushing or skipping a beat, "The docks shouldn''t be monolithic anymore, the Varn People will support us."


    "Oh? What information?"


    Winters relayed what he had heard from Benwei about the relationship between the assassins and the Montan gang.


    "Isn''t your classmate Lu You trying to use us to eliminate the Montan?" Field looked skeptical.


    "It''s possible," Winters said, trusting Benwei but not committing entirely.


    "Let''s put that aside for now," Field said with a wave of his hand, "There''s an important task for you... ever stolen something?" Find your next read at empire


    It turned out that Colonel Field and Major Moritz had spent several days searching according to a list provided by the Duelist Club, only to discover that the Duelist Club had provided a list that was half true and half false.


    On one hand, it was a very detailed list, filling up seven pages. But many of the names were just signatories on a guestbook, also included in the list. And many who weren''t military officers appeared on it¡ªthe Duelist Club seemed to have a fair number of non-officer members.


    However, the gendarmerie was looking for someone familiar with Ned Longsword''s swordsmanship and proficient in Swift Sword. There might be many civilians proficient in Swift Sword, but few were familiar with Longsword, which had long since gone out of style; there were no swordsmanship schools in Vineta that taught Longsword. Only officers returning from the Army Officers'' Academy had systematically studied this swordsmanship.


    The real core members of the Duelist Club were scarcely present on the list. There were only a handful of field-grade officers on the entire list, which was impossible. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Major Moritz was a formal member of the Duelist Club, his character was consistently casual, and he was seldom sober after eight o''clock in the evening. So the few times he went to the club were just for eating and drinking, never involving himself in the management of the Duelist Club.


    Moritz had gone to demand the list, but the other party wouldn''t sincerely give it, and the major was helpless.


    No, the major actually had a way¡ªhis method was to steal.


    "No, no, no," Winters shook his head vigorously, waving his hands again and again, "You can have me rob someone, but stealing, I really can''t do that."


    "Stealing is easy, mainly you need to have good psychological quality. Like horse thieves, as long as you act calmly like the horse''s owner, then no one will suspect you. I think your psychological quality is strong and you have a lot of potential," Field praised Winters, the Montaigne Ensign, to the skies.


    "Senior, I really can''t do it. I am, after all, an officer. If I get caught stealing..."


    Field scolded, "You''re thinking about failure before we even start. Can you succeed with that attitude? You just have to think about success, and you won''t slip up."


    He added, "Besides, we''re on official business, conducting a legitimate investigation. How could the gendarmerie''s actions be considered stealing? This is called using flexible methods to obtain evidence."


    "If it''s so legitimate, we should go with guns and kick down doors to seize it! If it''s a raid, I''ll definitely go!" Winters was anxious.


    "Alright, Montaigne Ensign, I order you to seize the evidence¡ªwithout being detected."

 Chapter 129 56 Chapter: Duelists Club

    The Dueling Club usually held its activities at the suburban residence of Colonel Bozuhof, whose reputation was quite significant. Winters had heard of this famous playboy and dueling expert from the army ever since he joined up.In Sea Blue City, where merchants abound, the military salary was nothing to boast about. However, Colonel Bozuhof, an officer who hailed from a wealthy merchant family, had inherited a large fortune, which allowed him to indulge in his hobbies lavishly.


    Because of his warm-hearted nature and superior swordsmanship... and a generous inheritance, Colonel Bozuhof became the manager and organizer of the Dueling Club, and he generously provided his suburban residence as a venue for its activities.


    It was he who had provided a partially false list to Major Moritz, forcing Winters to replace the two officers to "retrieve" the real list.


    "Moritz has already been exposed, and I have never participated in any activities of the Dueling Club, Bozuhof will be very wary of the two of us, but no one will notice a junior officer like you, and nobody cares where a warrant officer is stationed." Lieutenant Colonel Field explained why the mission could only be assigned to Winters, "Moreover, you have just come back from The Federated Provinces, you like swordsmanship, so it makes perfect sense for you to attend the activities of the Dueling Club."


    Lieutenant Colonel Field patted Winters on the shoulder and said emotionally, "You are the person that Moritz and I trust the most, apart from you, there isn''t another officer in the entire army that we would trust. Are you going to let us down?"


    Time returned to the present, and the sun had already set. Most parts of the city were plunged into darkness, but Colonel Bozuhof''s residence was brightly lit.


    Winters and his party of three had just arrived at the entrance of the residence.


    "I am such an idiot," Winters cursed himself silently, "Why did I agree to this on impulse?"


    It''s common for newcomers in the workplace to be semi-forced into doing something they''re reluctant to do because they don''t know they can say "no." That was the situation Winters found himself in now.


    "Wow, quite the opulence." Andre marveled, casually handing the reins to the servant at the gatehouse, "This Dueling Club must be pretty rich."


    Although rich families do not necessarily light many lamps, those that do are certainly wealthy¡ªa simple and crude method of distinction.


    "It''s not the club that''s rich, but the sponsor," Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er said with a smile to Andre.


    The best way to gain rightful entry to Colonel Bozuhof''s residence to "take" something was to attend the Dueling Club''s activities every Wednesday and Friday evening. Your journey continues with empire


    It''s clear that Colonel Bozuhof had become wary of Major Moritz, so of course, Winters could not possibly join the club through Moritz''s introduction.


    Thanks to his connection with Antonio, he sought out Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er of the Third Legion to serve as his referee, and he also dragged Andre along to provide cover. As for Bard? Outside entrants like Bard had mediocre swordsmanship skills and were also very disinterested in dueling.


    Winters took two pieces of sugar from a small bag and fed them to Strong Run, his horse, who happily snorted twice and, with lingering enjoyment, licked Winters'' hand.


    "Please tie this horse apart from the others; don''t mix it with other horses," he instructed Bozuhof''s servant as he handed over the reins.


    The servant dressed in striped livery nodded and led the three horses away.


    "What''s with Strong Run?" Kongtai''er asked curiously.


    Winters sighed and replied helplessly, "He seems to have caught the scent of a mare the other day and started fighting with the other horses in the trough, ending up with a mouth full of hair from their manes."


    Andre laughed heartily, "That''s the trouble with young stallions."


    The three chatted and laughed as they made their way into Bozuhof''s residence.


    It wasn''t until Winters actually entered the Dueling Club that he first noticed the atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed and natural. There were no introductions, oaths, or fraternity ceremonies. After registering in the guestbook at the entrance, one could move about freely.


    No wonder Major Moritz said he just drank and chatted at the Dueling Club, as most people there were eating, drinking, mingling, with quite a few bringing their female companions along.


    This was far from the stern gathering of men Winters had imagined in secret rooms fiddling with firearms and swords. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ha, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er, it''s been a while since you came around," said a voice before the man was seen.


    A man with a ruddy complexion, tall stature, and curly brown hair came over, laughing and giving Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er a bear hug.


    "I didn''t just come here myself, but also brought two bits of ''fresh blood'' with me¡ªWinters and Andrea," said Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er, pointing at Winters and his companion and introducing them, "Both are pure Venetians, this cohort of warrant officers returning from The Federated Provinces."


    Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er then patted the curly-haired man on the arm, "This hairy bear right here is the host of this place, the organizer of the Dueling Club, Colonel Bozuhof."


    Kongtai''er deliberately stretched the word "Colonel," causing Winters and Andre to instinctively salute, but Bozuhof stopped them with a gesture, punching Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er''s shoulder and said boisterously, "Salute? Me and Kongtai''er just happened to be born a few years earlier. This place is where friends who enjoy swords come to have fun, rank doesn''t matter here, only swordsmanship. How about it? Feel like going up for a match tonight?"

 Chapter 56 Duelists Club_2

    "What''s this for? Putting freshmen on the field for a sword fight on their first visit¡ªisn''t that taking advantage of the newbies?" Kongtai''er said to Bozuhof, "At least let them get used to the atmosphere first, right?""Haha, swordsmanship skills are always strongest right out of the academy; don''t you know that? As their introducer, it''s your responsibility to show them around." Bozuhof replied to Kongtai''er and then turned to Winters and Andre, "Make yourselves at home, and if you need anything, come find me."


    With that, Bozuhof nodded to the three men and returned to the living room.


    "Come on, let me show you around the manor¡ªit''s quite a task to find the restroom here. If you find this place interesting, feel free to come on your own in the future... and you''re welcome to bring a female companion." Colonel Kongtai''er grabbed two glasses of wine for Winters and Andre and led the two warrant officers around the first floor of the manor.


    Kongtai''er wasn''t exaggerating; Bozuhof''s guesthouse really did have a well-hidden restroom.


    Winters noticed that Kongtai''er was very familiar with the place and silently speculated that the colonel must also be a core member of the dueling club.


    In the hall, Colonel Bozuhof tapped a silver key against a glass wine goblet, drawing everyone''s attention with a few crisp sounds. The guests in the club instinctively cleared a space in the middle of the hall, forming a circle.


    Two swordsmen in full armor walked out and stood in the cleared space in the center of the hall.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce tonight''s first pair of competitors," Bozuhof stood between the swordsmen and announced the two competitors aloud.


    Winters wasn''t paying attention to Bozuhof''s words. As all eyes focused on the center of the room, he knew his opportunity had come.


    "I''m going to the restroom," he whispered to his friends.


    "Can you find the way?" asked Colonel Kongtai''er with raised eyebrows.


    "Don''t worry, I''m not going to get lost."


    Major Moritz hadn''t shown up at all that evening so as not to raise any suspicion. He had drawn a complete floorplan of Bozuhof''s manor for Winters, including not just the first floor, but also the second floor.


    The first floor of the guesthouse was used as a reception and activity area, where all guests could move around freely. However, the second floor, separated by a floorboard, was off-limits. The staircases leading to it from the hall below had been rebuilt and sealed off.


    While the downstairs was a city that never sleeps open to all guests, the upstairs was Bozuhof''s private space. There was a reception room, Bozuhof''s office, and several bedrooms¡ªthough Bozuhof did not live there.


    Winters'' target was Bozuhof''s office, where all the documents of the dueling club were stored.


    The reason Colonel Field opted for the "steal without being detected" approach was that Bozuhof''s manor was purely functional with no valuables. The security was similar to a private residence, or even worse, it was almost undefended.


    Winters left the hall without drawing attention to himself, muttering Colonel Field''s words in his mind: "A third-rate thief wears dark clothes to steal, a first-rate thief wears a suit to steal. The more composed and natural you seem, the safer you are."


    After repeating it three times in his head, he grabbed the protruding wood on the exterior wall of the house and climbed up.


    "Nonsense! If someone sees me climbing the wall, I''ll still get caught, even if I''m wearing a crown," Winters inwardly cursed Colonel Field.


    After renovations, the only entrance to the manor''s second floor had a servant guarding it, and only guests very close to Bozuhof could pass. Therefore, Winters had no choice but to climb the wall.


    Overthinking was futile. Regardless of whether he was being watched or not, Winters clenched his teeth and exerted all his strength to climb. This was the most dangerous part of the entire plan; if he were discovered halfway, it would be over for him.


    Fortunately, no one exclaimed in surprise by the time Winters reached the balcony.


    Everything was going smoothly, but Winters'' heart was still beating furiously, and he could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat. He took a few deep breaths and carefully examined the balcony. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything was as Colonel Field had predicted; the balcony''s wooden door was locked from the inside. Following the plan, Winters pulled out a thin, short knife from his boot, slid it into the crack of the door, and easily unlatched it.


    Recalling the floorplan Major Moritz had drawn for him, Winters crossed the corridor and reached Bozuhof''s office. The office door had a metal lock hanging on it, which Winters forcibly pried open.


    Colonel Field didn''t expect Winters to rapidly become adept at lockpicking like a burglar, nor did he plan for a stealthy copying of the list. The colonel''s intent was to show Bozuhof that they got what they wanted, whether he gave it or not.


    So Winters forced his way through the locks and finally pried open the drawer of Bozuhof''s file cabinet. The dueling club didn''t have a real "core member list;" Bozuhof wouldn''t just copy the names of those core members onto parchment.


    Field wanted the dueling club''s financial statements, donation records, meeting minutes, and any documents that recorded the names of people closely involved with the club.


    Winters took out a polished, shiny copper plate and, under the pale green light of the Luminosity Spell, started sorting through the documents, packing up anything that seemed useful.


    The job was going too smoothly, and Winters felt his fingers twitching with excitement.

 Chapter 56 Duelists Club_3

    The items had been secured; now the remaining task was how to leave.Three minutes later, at the second-floor entrance to Bozuhof''s separate compound, the watchful servant courteously opened the door for Winters, who nodded his head in acknowledgment and stepped out.


    This was the part of the plan that most tested luck and audacity. Field had determined that such gatekeepers only paid attention to people entering, not those leaving. As long as Winters maintained a calm and natural demeanor, he could walk out openly and unhindered.


    Winters, emerging from the door, turned into the garden and picked up a bundle of documents from the bushes. He took all the related documents with him, but the stack was too thick to conceal on his person, and carrying it in his hands was too conspicuous.


    In a stroke of ingenuity, he tied the documents into a bundle and threw them through the window into the shrubs of the garden.


    Everything had gone according to plan perfectly. Winters slipped quietly into the stable, where the Coachman was nodding off at the entrance and didn''t notice him. He found Strong Run; he placed the documents into the saddlebag and even gave Strong Run a piece of sugar as a treat.


    Now all Winters had to do was return to the ground floor hall with a casual demeanor, and explain his lengthy time away as having "popped by to check whether the horses were tied up," linger a bit longer with his two companions and then leave, thus taking the documents away without anyone being the wiser.


    Just as he whistled and left the stable, a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and brown hunting attire entered the stable. The man kicked the Coachman''s leg to wake him up as if he was there to retrieve a horse.


    Winters sized up the man almost instinctively. The person was shorter than Winters and the hat concealed the upper part of his face, allowing Winters to only see the part below his nose.


    The man''s beard on his lower jaw was unkempt, not the kind that was intentionally grown out and trimmed, but rather looked as if it had been left unshaven for seven or eight days.


    Winters found the chin peculiar, but it wasn''t until he had walked about twenty paces away that he realized what was wrong: the color didn''t match.


    The front part of the man''s lower jaw was an abnormal color, not because of dim lighting or because it was unshaven. It was a color all too familiar to Winters, having seen it many times on his own body; it was the purplish hue of a bruise from a powerful blow.


    Swiftly, Winters turned around and went back to the stable, striding up to the man in the hunting attire. He patted his shoulder and asked with a smile, "Friend, how''s your chin. Healing up?"


    A normal person being patted on the shoulder would turn around to look, but that man simply shuddered, silent without acknowledging Winters or turning to look at him. Stay connected through empire


    Winters continued with a smile, "Your sword and gun are with me, do you want me to bring them over to you?"


    Winters kept a close eye on the man''s hands, and after he finished speaking, the man clenched his fists.


    Initially, Winters couldn''t be sure of the man''s identity and was merely probing, but seeing his reaction, he understood everything. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without further words, Winters swung his long arm and landed a heavy punch on the back of the man''s head, now certain that this person was the assassin whom he had kicked in the chin.


    The assassin hadn''t expected Winters'' sudden aggression; struck hard in the back of the head, he was instantly dizzy. However, he had his own countermove; he turned around and hurled what was in his hand at Winters'' face with force.


    Winters, about to follow up on his advantage, was hit with a face full of chaff and straw fragments. Foreign objects got into his eyes, and tears streamed down, blinding him instantly.


    While Winters was speaking, the assassin had quietly picked up a handful of debris from the manger, pulling a fast one on Winters.


    The Coachman watched in horror as the two gentlemen went from speaking barely a word to grappling with each other.


    Now unable to open his eyes from the intense pain and with tears flooding out, Winters'' blood was up. He lunged towards the assassin, hoping to grapple at close quarters, but came up empty.


    Someone grabbed his arm, and Winters immediately pushed them down and threw a punch.


    "Ouch, I''m the Coachman, the Coachman," cried the person being hit, pleading for mercy.


    Winters had heard the assassin''s voice before, which was different from the one pleading. Breathing heavily, he asked, "Where''s the other man?"


    "That gentleman left."


    "Where did he go?"


    "I don''t know where he went... You better blow your eyes out, don''t rub them, else it could be serious."


    The Coachman ran to fetch water, helping Winters rinse his eyes while babbling, "No bleeding, no serious trouble as long as there''s no blood. You absolutely must not rub your eyes if there''s straw in them, the small sharp edges are like knives once you rub... it''s over..."


    Once the foreign objects were washed out, Winters'' vision finally returned. With his eyes still red, he asked the Coachman, "Which way did that man run?"


    The Coachman spread his hands, "I just saw that gent running out of the stable."


    "Did he ride a horse?"


    "No."


    Upon hearing this, Winters dashed out of the stable without another word, heading straight for the hall.


    Bozuhof''s compound was in the suburbs; without a mount, one couldn''t get far. The man was still inside the compound.


    Kongtai''er and Andre looked on in surprise as Winters came back from supposedly visiting the restroom, now with wet hair and reddened eyes.


    "What happened to you?" Andre asked bluntly; "Did you fall into a manure pit?"


    "I...," Winters nearly died of irritation, "I..."


    A loud bang interrupted him; the main door to the hall was violently burst open, and a man rushed in, shouting frantically, "We''re under attack!"

 Chapter 57 Dong Da Camp

    A man burst into the hall, shouting, "We''re under attack!""The villain plays victim!" Winters, hearing someone bellow that they were under attack, stormed angrily towards the shouter with large strides.


    The bewildered Colonel Kongtai''er and Andre followed behind.


    It was only when Winters was a few steps away from the man that he realized he was not the chin-injured assassin who had run away. The newcomer was dressed in the uniform of a military officer, while the assassin had been in a deep green hunting outfit.


    Colonel Bozuhof reached the uninvited guest first, offering him a cup of wine and speaking gently while clutching his arm, "Don''t panic, speak slowly. What''s attacked us?"


    The man with hair glued by sweat grabbed the wine cup and drained the full glass of sweet beer down his throat. After finishing the drink, he caught his breath, widened his eyes, and, gasping for air, said to Bozuhof, "The naval dock! The Duck Mouth Battery has fallen! General Zio has ordered all military officers who receive this message to immediately assemble at the Eastern Camp."


    A few gasps of shock rose from the surrounding crowd, and a lady almost fainted.


    Colonel Bozuhof tightened his grip on the man''s shoulder and demanded, "Who has attacked us?"


    "I don''t know!" the messenger roared back. He repeated, "General Zio''s order: All army officers and soldiers who hear this command must immediately proceed to the Eastern Camp for assembly! There must be no errors!"


    Bozuhof released the messenger and, scanning the crowd of onlookers, asked loudly, "Who can confirm this gentleman''s identity?"


    "He''s from my batch, the 13th Artillery Class, a man from the Ordnance Department. Those from the 13th should all recognize him." Another man stood up.


    Having confirmed the man''s identity, Bozuhof nodded to the man who had stepped forward and called out to everyone, "The naval dock has been attacked, the battery is lost, and the enemy is unknown. Gentlemen not serving in the army, please take care of the ladies present. Gentlemen with military positions, follow me to the Eastern Camp!"


    The entire hall erupted into a frenzy as officers scrambled for their coats and swords, and the ladies panicked, asking what was happening.


    "Holy communion, dammit to hell." Kongtai''er cursed a dirty word and strode towards the exit, "Come with me, let''s get our horses first."


    Andre did not hesitate to follow Colonel Kongtai''er. Winters had returned to the hall to find the assassin but was suddenly met with the urgent rally order, which left him unsure of what to do.


    After hesitating for a few seconds, Winters kicked a nearby stone pillar furiously and cursed, "That son of a bitch got lucky!" Then he hurried to catch up with Kongtai''er and Andre.


    The small stables of Bozuhof''s villa were now crowded with people, and officers had to crane their necks over other people''s shoulders to identify their warhorses. People were leading horses out and trying to get in through the stable door, causing a complete blockage.


    The neighing of horses and the clamor of voices merged, creating a dizzying cacophony. Every now and then, someone would yell, "Why are you taking my horse?"


    In a foul mood, Winters simply kicked open a fence, creating a makeshift side door and leading the strong Warhorse out through it.


    In the front yard, many people were already waiting, gathered in small groups and talking. Bozuhof sat on a tall blue horse with a sullen face, chewing tobacco and silently counting the number of people in his mind.


    Mounted on that spirited Warhorse, he was in communion with his master''s impatience, scraping at the lawn with his front hooves.


    The viscous tobacco lees were spat onto the ground by Bozuhof, and the colonel couldn''t wait any longer. He said to the officers who were ready to depart, "We''re not waiting any longer. Let''s go ahead. The rest can follow from behind."


    With that, he charged out of the guesthouse first. Winters and Andre exchanged a glance and followed out, just like everyone else.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the eastern outskirts of Sea Blue City, the army camp known colloquially as "East Camp" was also in chaos, with its gates wide open. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Bozuhof didn''t slow his horse and led the officers straight through the gates of the camp. Normally, charging through the camp gates would be a severe crime punished by fifteen lashes, but clearly, this wasn''t the time to be concerned about that.


    East Camp could house six to seven thousand people, exactly the number of a fully staffed legion plus auxiliary Cavalry units.


    Shaped like a rectangle, the camp was surrounded by three-meter-high walls and moats. Inside, two main roads, one horizontal and one vertical, intersected perpendicularly, with the main roads ending at the four main gates along the walls.


    The closer to the center of the camp, the more important the buildings, with the outermost ring being the soldiers'' barracks, followed by the stables and officers'' barracks. At the very center, where the two roads crossed, were the residences of the high-ranking officers, the warehouses, the council hall, and the legion''s treasury.


    East Camp was the base for the 4th "City of Flowers" legion, but the 4th legion was currently stationed to the north, facing off against the United Provincials, so the camp was nearly empty except for a few maintenance personnel.


    Bozuhof hurried straight to the center of the camp. At this moment, only this central area was lit, while the rest of the barracks were pitch-dark.


    An old soldier with graying hair, wearing an officer''s uniform, stood on his horse at the most conspicuous spot at the crossroads, with a few guards by his side. Further back, many officers, having heard the news, had hurried over, and the crossroads were filled with shouts and the neighing of horses.


    Bozuhof approached and gave a military salute, and the two exchanged a few words. Then Bozuhof came back and told the officers who had come with him loudly, "Go find your superiors at the back and assemble according to your units."


    The officers dispersed, and amidst the chaos, Winters looked around until someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned to find Colonel Field.


    The colonel nodded at him and led him to the back of the council hall. Most of the HQ personnel were resting here. The officers were grouped into clusters by department, chatting in low voices while smoking.


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    Winters followed Field to sit under the eaves where a man was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, a hat covering his face, dozing off. It was undoubtedly Major Moritz by his build.


    All three members of the military police were present. Field took a seat on a stone and asked Winters, "Did you also receive the orders?"


    "Someone ran to Bozuhof''s villa to deliver orders." Winters also sat on the ground, "I got the stuff; it''s in my saddlebag."


    Upon hearing this, Colonel Field stood up, opened the sturdy saddlebag, and pulled out the documents, exclaiming, "How much did you take?"


    "I took everything that might be useful." Winters scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.


    "We''ll look at it slowly tomorrow." The colonel stuffed the documents back and scrutinized Winters, "You didn''t bring a weapon?"


    "I came directly from the Duelist Club; I didn''t take any weapons."


    "Come with me to get one." Colonel Field led the way, "I reckon Zio is waiting for two battalions from the third legion. As soon as those battalions arrive, we''re going to set out immediately."


    "Who attacked the naval dock? We''re not at war with anyone, are we?" Winters followed behind the colonel and said, "I bumped into a dock assassin at the Duelist Club tonight..."


    "What?" Field stopped in his tracks and turned around, astonished.


    "I had a face-off with a dock assassin in the stables."


    Field, frowning, asked, "Are you sure you weren''t mistaken?"


    "His built and stature were very similar to that assassin, and he had a scar on his chin. I tested him a bit, and he immediately started fighting me," Winters said through gritted teeth, "Unfortunately, he got away. The bastard played dirty, throwing soil and chaff in my face to blind me."


    "You encountered him at Bozuhof''s villa?"


    "That''s right."


    "Are you certain?"


    "Positive!" Winters stated emphatically.


    Field patted Winters on the shoulder, "No matter if he got away, since they appeared at Bozuhof''s villa, it means they have significant ties to the Duelist Club, proving we''re on the right track. But remember, if you encounter them again, don''t act rashly alone. They will truly fight to the death with you, so be careful."


    "That assassin wouldn''t have won if he hadn''t resorted to underhanded tactics," Winters said, still seething.


    Field sighed and resumed walking, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Fine china doesn''t clash with pottery, understand?"


    With a dissatisfied "Hmph," Winters got to his feet and followed the colonel.


    The key to the armory at the eastern camp was taken by the quartermaster from the fourth legion, so the three heavy locks had been forcibly broken open.


    Since most officers had rushed to the camp unarmed in response to the sudden emergency assembly order, riding in on just their horses, a senior officer took charge here with a few people, distributing weapons and armor to those officers in need.


    Winters received a breastplate, a helmet, and a saber, and only then did he realize he might actually shed blood tonight.


    He hurriedly asked Colonel Field, "Who exactly is attacking the naval dock... What''s there at the naval dock? There''s no money."


    "Don''t know; I was also roused by a knock at the door, and they didn''t tell me anything," said the colonel, kicking Major Moritz awake, "Stop sleeping, get your armor on."


    Yawning, Major Moritz stretched his shoulders and stood up, leisurely loosening his joints.


    Seeing the major''s sluggishness, Field could barely contain his irritation. He kicked the major again, "Hurry up."


    After Winters assisted both Colonel Field and Major Moritz with their breastplates, the colonel picked up Winters''s armor and beckoned him to stand in front of himself.


    Attendants would assist knights with their armor, and junior officers helped senior officers with their armor. But a higher-ranking person would not assist someone of lower rank; this was a traditional custom.


    Winters was somewhat flattered, "I can wear it myself."


    "No more nonsense." Colonel Field roughly pulled Lieutenant Montaigne over and, while fitting the breastplate over Winters, said, "There are more officers than soldiers in Sea Blue City. Right now, only two battalions from the third legion are available, and their garrisons are all in the western part of the city; who knows when they will be able to come over. I''m now worried that Zio will get impatient and start using us as the frontrunners."


    "How could the people from the third legion be slower than us?"


    Colonel Field snorted, "Because the officers all have warhorses. As soon as they heard the news, they directly rode over. Great, now all you infantry fellows will get to be dragoons for the night."


    The colonel skillfully finished helping Winters into his breastplate and carefully checked all the belt buckles, ensuring they were securely fastened. After confirming everything was tight, he slapped the iron plate on Winters''s back, "All set. Move around and see if anything feels uncomfortable... how''s your sword swinging from horseback coming along?"


    "Not so good," Winters honestly replied, "The infantry course doesn''t have horseback slashing lessons anymore."


    "Just aim for the head when you slash," Colonel Field mounted his horse and demonstrated a few cuts, "Keep your legs tight, circle the saber back to position by your side after a slash, keep it tight. Don''t engage too long; you''re cavalry now, with four legs. If you can''t beat them, run."


    Another rider galloped into the camp gates and swept into the crossroads. The horse reared up, and the rider jumped off, striding toward the old soldier in general''s uniform, the chairman of the Council of Thirteen, the member of the Council of Five, and the governor-general, General Zio, to report in a low voice.


    Five minutes later, all officers in the eastern camp received orders: to set out for the naval dock immediately and retake Duck''s Beak Fort.

 Chapter 58 Ducks Beak

    The Duckbill Battery earned its name because it was situated on Duckbill Cape at Haidong Bay. The shape of the cape closely resembled a duck''s bill and acted as a natural breakwater, like an arm extending from the land sheltering Haidong Bay.By establishing a battery on Duckbill Cape, offensively, it controlled the narrow entrance and exit of Haidong Bay; defensively, every ship in the port fell within the range of its guns. If necessary, a chain could be stretched from Duckbill Cape to the opposite shore to block any maritime enemies.


    It was precisely because of Haidong Bay''s unique geographical advantages that the Vineta Navy constructed a dedicated dock here, making Haidong Port the home base of the entire Vineta Navy.


    But now, the port had fallen. Heavy cannons atop Duckbill Battery were being rotated to bombard the naval ships moored within the port.


    And the army officers had received orders, "Take back this place."


    In the cover of night, a troop of cavalry galloped wildly. Over a hundred officers had received the news, assembled at the eastern encampment, where Admiral Zio had dispatched them all in one breath, led by a colonel racing toward Haidong Port.


    Winters lay close to his horse''s body, tightly following Lieutenant Colonel Field in front of him. The imposing momentum of hundreds of warhorses charging together was astonishing, their hoofbeats thundering like war drums.


    But Winters was not affected by the fervor. At that moment, the moon was veiled by clouds, and the road was pitch black, making it nearly impossible to see anything. Galloping on this night road was extremely risky¡ªa small misfortune could cause a horse to stumble. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From time to time, someone fell off their horse and was carried to the side of the road to wait for rescue from those following.


    After what felt like an eternity, the distant sounds of gunfire began to faintly reach them, indicating that Haidong Port lay ahead. Just then, Winters saw someone ahead waving torches, so he slowed down his horse and stopped.


    In a clearing by the road, officers who had arrived earlier were resting.


    Although the cavalry troop numbered just over a hundred, they had extended to a kilometer long when running at full speed. Several leading lieutenant colonels decided to set this location, from where the sound of gunfire could be heard, as the attack point, dispatching three officers to reconnoiter ahead while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble.


    From the assembly point, the sounds of gunfire directly ahead could be heard clearly. Boom, boom, boom¡ªthe air carried heavy, dull sounds, roars that only heavy artillery could produce.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field handed a water-skin to Winters, "Take a drink, follow me later, and don''t stray off."


    Winters pulled out the stopper, was about to drink, but noticed a pungent smell, "Is this alcohol?"


    "Of course, it''s alcohol."


    Winters nodded, resealed the stopper, and decided not to drink. He didn''t think numbing his nerves with strong liquor would be any good in battle.


    The wait before the fight was long and agonizing. The officers neither knew who the enemy was nor the number of the enemy forces. Yet, at the command, they would have to fight these unknown enemies¡ªa fact that made everyone uneasy.


    Field and a few other officers huddled into a small circle, smoking their pipes and chatting in low voices, occasionally erupting in laughter. Winters didn''t smoke and couldn''t join in, so he just found a rock to sit on, silently fiddling with two throwing spikes in his hand. He had initially planned to spend the evening at the club, so he had only brought three throwing spikes as a backup.


    Moritz, however, slept on a felt blanket he''d pulled from his saddlebag, not bothered by others. The major wouldn''t miss any chance for a nap.


    A man approached with a torch, passing on orders one by one, "The scouts have returned, Colonel Kara wants everyone at the meeting."


    Over a hundred people gathered in a large circle; conveying commands to this many people simultaneously was no easy task. Colonel Kara, not being a spellcaster, had to stand on a large rock amidst the crowd and shout at the top of his lungs:


    "Duckbill Battery has been confirmed lost, and now the attackers are using the cannons to strike at the navy''s ships. The fiercest fighting is happening at the dock, with the remaining navy personnel desperately combating the attackers at the dockside." Colonel Kara laughed coldly, "But this has nothing to do with us. Our orders are to retake Duckbill Battery. Now that the navy has drawn the enemy''s attention, it''s our perfect chance. Silently advance straight to the battery¡ªeveryone keep close to your commanding officers, dismissed!"


    The officers scattered to look for their horses. They had never trained together, and not all of them were cavalry, making it difficult to form any complex formations.


    Therefore, Colonel Kara''s tactic was to take advantage of the enemy''s distraction and charge headlong on fast horses, engaging in close combat once inside the battery. For this group of military academy graduates, who also included several spellcasters, melee fighting was an area where they could leverage their advantage over firearms.


    The officers loosely formed two columns, with Winters in the middle section, Major Moritz in front of him, and further ahead, Lieutenant Colonel Field. At the very front was Colonel Kara, who had to lead the charge in order to command this purely officer-made cavalry troop.


    The charge began at a walking pace until they opened up a two or three-meter gap between each cavalryman. That''s when Colonel Kara issued the command to trot.


    Winters didn''t know which direction he was going, and he didn''t need to. Although a column charge has weak impact, it is agile and can quickly adjust direction. As long as each cavalryman follows the one in front of them, they can maintain formation.


    The trotting cavalry troop left the road and entered the forest, where branches lashed against them like whips. After several minutes of navigating through the trees, shafts of light began to pierce through the gaps.


    It meant they were about to leave the woods. Winters took a deep breath, used his knees to hold the sheath and drew his sabre.


    After passing through the deliberately cleared line of trees, the view suddenly opened up. Less than a kilometer straight ahead was the Duckbill Bastion, where the navy and attackers were engaged in fierce combat on the dock to the left.


    Major Moritz in front of Winters suddenly accelerated, charging at the bastion like an arrow released from its bow. Winters, following behind, spurred his mighty horse for the first time, initiating the charge.


    This charge was silent, without shouts or bugles. The officers silently drove their warhorses. Winters witnessed his strong horse fully demonstrating its running prowess for the first time, overtaking Major Moritz''s horse, and eventually running neck and neck with Field''s black steed.


    The distance of one kilometer was covered in the blink of an eye. A dozen attackers heading from the bastion to support the dock hadn''t realized what was happening when they were abruptly struck down by the whistling cavalry.


    The officers in front didn''t leave any chance for those behind to swing their sabres. Winters only saw a body with its head chopped off.


    Killing these dozen or so enemies was just incidental; the entire cavalry didn''t slow down and continued their straight line toward the bastion.


    The Duckbill Bastion was not a star fort; it was constructed to defend against enemies on the water, not on land. It was just a square bastion made of stone and mortar, clumsy yet sturdy. Half-moon outposts were later added at the four corners, but the overall structure hadn''t changed, still with a single gate for ingress and egress, and no moats.


    This was actually a gamble. If the attackers had closed the gate, then these one hundred cavalrymen, being a temporary light cavalry unit without any siege tools, would have been helpless against the eight-meter-high stone walls of the bastion, able only to swarm and climb like ants.


    Colonel Kara was betting that the attackers wouldn''t expect a quick reinforcement, nor would they predict that the relief troops wouldn''t head to the port but straight to the Duckbill Bastion instead.


    From the moment Haidong Bay was attacked, Admiral Zio received the message and gathered the troops to provide support, all in under three hours. In three hours, before the attackers could even finish off the Haidong Bay garrison, this cavalry formed purely of officers had already reached the site.


    The gate of the Duckbill Bastion was closed.


    But not barred!


    The dozen or so who had left earlier had only closed the gate without securing it, and the attackers simply didn''t have enough manpower to defend the Duckbill Bastion.


    The people at the front pried open the gap and pushed the gate open with great effort. The following cavalrymen streamed in, pouring into the open space within the bastion.


    And at that moment, the attackers inside the bastion were still completely unaware, preoccupied with operating the cannons.


    Colonel Kara dismounted, shouted, "Take a few alive," then kicked open the wooden door from which the sound of cannon fire was emanating, and charged in holding his sabre high.


    Winters hadn''t anticipated such a lax defense from the attackers. It was a blind spot in their thinking; they only considered how they would attack others, never imagining they might be attacked themselves. With the element of surprise on their side, they had already won half the battle.


    Leading the way, Colonel Kara and about a dozen officers, without hesitation, also charged in with their sabres. From inside the door came screams and the dull thumps of metal striking bone wrapped in flesh.


    But Winters remained still, as did Moritz, both waiting for Lieutenant Colonel Field''s orders.


    "No need to follow them; it seems there aren''t many enemies here," Lieutenant Colonel Field made a calm assessment, "Let''s head to the powder magazine. I''m worried these guys might be desperate enough to risk everything and blow us all up."


    As he spoke, Lieutenant Colonel Field intercepted two officers in lieutenant uniforms: "You two, guard the gate. Once our men are in, bolt it shut. Don''t open it for anyone without an order from an officer of at least colonel rank."


    The two lieutenants had originally wanted to join Colonel Kara in getting some real action and letting off steam, but they were stopped mid-way by Lieutenant Colonel Field. Rank has its privileges, after all.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, leading Moritz and Winters, didn''t follow the main troop but went in a different direction.


    "You still remember where the powder magazine is located here?" Winters couldn''t contain his curiosity.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field grunted, "The location of a bastion''s powder magazine is always the same ¡ª the farthest spot from the cannons."

 Chapter 59 Cannon Rampart

    ```The entire raid was astonishingly smooth, as the officer Cavalry unit took the artillery battery gate without suffering any casualties.


    In fact, the Cavalry in the second half of the charge were almost just running along, giving Winters the illusion that this was all some farce.


    Field, with two subordinates, entered the battery from another direction, and to prevent open flames from igniting the gunpowder, the three Spellcasters took turns maintaining the Luminosity Spell.


    Field led the way, cautiously checking each storeroom. He would first open just a sliver of the door to determine if there was any light inside. However, the Colonel found no gunpowder stores, only empty warehouses and panicked rats. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had been somewhat skeptical of the Colonel''s theory that "the gunpowder store must be located at the point farthest from the cannons," and after inspecting a row of storerooms without seeing even a shadow, his vigilance had waned a bit.


    But Field remained alert, carefully opening the second to last door. The wooden door creaked open a fraction, and the Colonel froze on the spot.


    Turning his head, he gave Moritz a slight nod, and the Major, who was maintaining the Luminosity Spell, got the message and stopped casting. He pulled out a silver coin from his pocket and flashed it at the Colonel.


    Field nodded again, took a deep breath in front of the door, and kicked it open vigorously. He then quickly ducked to the side and used the Amplify Sound Spell to give a loud shout.


    This magically augmented shout wasn''t as deafening as Moritz''s Sonic Burst Spell but still startled Winters, and clearly, it also caught the people inside off guard.


    Elite Musketeers can suppress their instinctive fear, remaining unblinking and awaiting the commander''s order to fire, even as the enemy charges at them.


    But the people inside clearly didn''t possess this ability.


    Gunshots rang out, and two lead bullets flew from the room, shattering against the artillery battery''s stone walls.


    Upon seeing the people inside open fire, Major Moritz swiftly moved to the doorway, launching three silver coins in rapid succession with his unadorned yet lethal Arrow Flying Spell.


    The sounds of heavy objects dropping to the floor came from inside the room.


    "Didn''t you say we needed to take captives? Couldn''t you aim for the shoulder or something?" Field chided the Major, retrieving a copper rod to activate the Luminosity Spell.


    Moritz just shrugged, saying nothing.


    The room''s cold weapons and armor reflected the green light from the Luminosity Spell; it must be the arms store of the Duckbill Battery. Winters saw two bodies lying over a pair of matchlock guns, with neat stacks of barrels behind them and cannonballs piled high on racks.


    "Naval management is really poor," the Colonel remarked, not missing the chance to criticize: "An armory and gunpowder store together? Aren''t they just asking for accidents?"


    By now, Winters had grown accustomed to Colonel Field''s tendency to critique everything, knowing the Colonel meant no harm and was just outspoken. Ignoring him as usual, he and Moritz acted as if they were deaf.


    Accustomed to this cold shoulder, the Colonel clicked his tongue disinterestedly and began to check the bodies on the ground.


    "Notice anything?" Moritz asked, a rare utterance for him.


    "No uniforms, filthy fingernails, rotten teeth¡ªthough these are all common enough features, they don''t indicate anything specific," the Colonel replied offhandedly, his attention suddenly caught by the weapon carried by the deceased: "But this knife... isn''t this a cutlass?"


    Waving the short, curved knife he''d pulled from the body, the Colonel mused, "This is a sailor''s cutter... Huh, interesting. Let''s go see if we''ve caught any survivors."


    The attackers, locked in hand-to-hand combat, were no match for the officers, and even outnumbered, the officers managed to quickly secure the entire battery at the cost of only four light injuries¡ªfewer than the number who were hurt falling from horses at night.


    The remaining few surviving enemies were dragged out to the battery''s central open area like chickens, shivering as they knelt. The staff officers sat on the side bragging, while the junior officers were tasked with the dirty work of dragging out body after body.


    "That little bastard didn''t even realize what was happening; I just went up and chopped off half his shoulder with a single swing, and even bent the blade..." Colonel Kara was obviously very pleased with the raid, laughing and boasting about his bravery with his peers.


    What do warriors do after a victorious battle? They brag. It''s human nature. There was no doubt this was a splendid victory, and as the commander, Colonel Kara was entitled to boast.


    Seeing a subordinate approach him, Colonel Kara dropped his jovial expression, lifted his head towards his men, and asked, "Are we done tallying?"


    The young officer nodded, "We''ve counted forty-seven bodies, but some are the local garrison, hard to separate them..."


    "Don''t worry about that," Colonel Kara interrupted, "Let the Navy sort it out. We..."


    Before he could finish, a sound like a hammer smashing a boulder interrupted him.


    Accompanied by the whistle of cannonballs and the dull thuds of iron projectiles striking stone, the outer walls of Duckbill Battery started to crumble under the cannon barrage.


    Chunks of broken stone even flew into the open area at the center of the battery, and several cannonballs screamed overhead.


    From the sound of it, at least a dozen cannons were firing at Duckbill Battery.


    ```

 Chapter 59 Artillery Bastion_2

    "Who''s firing at us?" Colonel Kara asked angrily."There is a warship in Haidong Bay firing at us," an officer, clutching his hat, ran over and reported: "It should be a navy ship; they probably don''t know we''ve recaptured Duckbill Fort. Should we go inform them?"


    "Inform my ass!" Colonel Kara glared at him: "Let them fire. The navy''s ship bombing the navy''s fort, what''s that got to do with us? Can their fire even reach us on the reverse slope?"


    He loudly ordered: "Listen up, no one is allowed to get close to the guns. If you get hit, go ask the navy for medical expenses. Our mission is already complete. I command, everyone! Guard the gate! Wait for reinforcements to rendezvous."


    Another artillery colonel pulled Kara to the side and asked in a low voice: "There''s still fighting at the docks, is it really okay for us to just watch from the sidelines?"


    "Brother, all of us here are officers, who can I command?" Colonel Kara said helplessly: "You are a colonel, and so am I. Could I command you without Admiral Zio''s orders? The admiral''s command was to recapture the fort, and we have accomplished that. The admiral treated us like disposable soldiers, and it''s already lucky no one died. There''s no need to throw our juniors into the fray for the navy''s sake, right?"


    "I get your point, sacrificing ourselves for the navy is definitely not worth it, but we could support them in a safer way," the artillery colonel explained: "I checked the gun positions at Duckbill Fort, and actually, by adjusting the angles, some of the heavy artillery could cover the docks. The admiral''s command was to recapture the fort, but after recapturing it, we should utilize it. Otherwise, what was all our effort for? Just for these broken stones?"


    Unable to argue with him and unable to command him, Colonel Kara could only nod. Being of the same rank, it was already a great respect that the artillery colonel came to discuss with Kara. However, he still had his worries and cautioned: "The navy''s ship is still firing at us, you must be very careful."


    "Don''t worry."


    After the night watch schedule was arranged, Colonel Kara, along with two other staff officers, took the prisoners into the kitchen for interrogation, which probably wouldn''t be a pretty scene. The artillery colonel, along with some officers specialized in artillery, went to fiddle with the big guns. A few officers were standing night watch, and the rest of the men rested.


    The warship drifting in Haidong Bay continued to fire several volleys at Duckbill Fort before it too realized something was amiss, as the previously firing Duckbill Fort had suddenly gone silent. Assuming something had happened, they ceased firing at Duckbill Fort.


    Of course, it could also be because they lost the guidance of the firelight from Duckbill Fort''s guns in the dim moonlight, unable to see where Duckbill Fort was.


    Duckbill Fort suddenly returned to tranquility. First, Winters went to make sure Warhorse was well accommodated, as Warhorse had recently developed a liking for fighting with other stallions, which wasn''t mere fabrication. Other officers'' horses were no match for Warhorse, terrified by the fierce stallion, desperately trying to get away, breaking several reins in the process. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since Warhorse had a bit in its mouth, it couldn''t bite the others and was also very agitated.


    Winters had no choice but to hammer a stake into a corner of the clearing, tethering Warhorse away from the other horses.


    "You troublesome little rascal!" Winters slapped Warhorse on the forehead. The Lucian stallion felt no shame for causing his master to be scolded by several staff officers, blinking its large eyes at Winters and sticking out its long pink tongue, asking for treats.


    Winters, both annoyed and amused, fed Warhorse a few sugar cubes: "Eat, eat, eat, that''s all you think about."


    Winters had planned to remove Warhorse''s gear to make it comfortable, but noticing that the other officers hadn''t taken their horses'' gear off indicated everyone was prepared for an emergency. Therefore, Winters only removed Warhorse''s bit and provided it with some hay and water.


    "Montaigne!" someone was calling Winters; it was Andre. He stood by the door enthusiastically waving at Winters.


    "Keep it down," Winters walked over: "What''s making you so happy?"


    "Don''t ask, just follow me," Andre mysteriously answered.


    He led the way, with Winters trailing behind him, and after making a few turns, Andre bowed, presenting a host''s gesture: "Please allow me to present to you¡ª the navy''s treasure!"


    Having said that, he lifted a wooden board on the ground, revealing an underground space.


    The underground space was brightly lit, echoing with laughter and chatter. In the cramped space, about a dozen people were squeezed in. Winters recognized quite a few familiar faces, seeming to be fellow warrant officers.


    "You found a wine cellar?" Winters understood what was happening and asked Andre with a smile.


    Andre boasted proudly: "Of course, my nose is better than a dog''s. I followed the scent and found it. Alas, it''s a pity ''The Chaplain'' isn''t here; otherwise, we''d definitely have to drink him under the table tonight."


    ''The Chaplain'' was the nickname Andre had given Bard. Bard didn''t join tonight''s operation since he didn''t have a horse, and even with the news, he couldn''t have made it to the East Camp gathering in time.


    "You guys have fun; I''ve got to stand night watch," Winters found an excuse to leave; in truth, he didn''t drink or enjoy such revelry.


    The night''s raid felt like a farce to Winters, inexplicably summoned to the East Camp, bewilderingly setting off to face an unknown enemy. He hadn''t even done anything throughout the battle. He really wasn''t in the mood to celebrate.

 Chapter 59 Cannon Rampart_3

    Winters paced to the top of the battery, where heavy guns were arrayed inside the sturdy fortress, and smaller caliber cannons were exposed to the elements here.He sat on the low wall, and the sea under the moonlight appeared a deep black, with a solitary warship adrift on the waters. That very warship was the one that had just bombarded Duckbill Fort, yet for some reason, it hadn''t joined the battle at the docks.


    The docks were ablaze by now, as Haidong Port served as Vineta Navy''s home base, not only a supply harbor but also the location of the Vineta Navy''s shipyards.


    Buildings inside the harbor had been engulfed by flames, and Winters could only spot one ship berthed, burning fiercely. The attackers were in the shipyard, setting fire to the laid keels and the ships under repair.


    Gunshots emanated from the shipyard as Winters watched the navy sailors attempt several times to recapture the docks, only to have their formations scattered by volleys of gunfire and forced into retreat.


    There was bloodshed in the shipyard, while just six hundred meters away in Duckbill Fort''s battery, the warrant officers were indulging in a drunken revelry, with most officers having found a place with a roof to rest. The fight was over, and the entire battery rested in an eerie quiet and tranquility.


    Andre, carrying two bottles of wine, also came up to the top of the battery, nonchalantly speaking to Winters, "It was no fun alone there; I came to keep you company."


    He bit off the cork and handed a bottle to Winters. Then, biting open another, he took a huge swig, "This officer''s cellar wine doesn''t seem anything special."


    Winters took the bottle but didn''t drink, pointing towards the shipyard, "The battle over there is fierce. If we go and support them, attacking from both fronts, do you think we could win?"


    Andre scrutinized the situation at the docks and said with a sneer, "If these attackers were of the same caliber as the folks in this battery, the navy men wouldn''t be needed. A hundred or so of us could rout them with a single charge. But having spent so many years in military school, would you be content to die like that?"


    Winters was at a loss for words, as Andre bluntly and cruelly voiced everyone''s selfish thought¡ªit wasn''t worth it.


    A stray bullet, a flying arrow, a long spear could easily claim a life. It wasn''t death they were afraid of¡ªanyone afraid to die wouldn''t have assembled at the eastern camp tonight. Leading the soldiers to die on a charge was one thing, but to die like an ordinary trooper, hardly worth it.


    "Stop worrying, we are just two warrant officers, the least valuable of the officers. We do what we''re told, no need to overthink," Andre said, introducing his ''tool man'' theory once again. He excitedly nudged Winters, poking him in the side and asked with a manic tone, "How many for you tonight?"


    "How many what?" Winters didn''t understand what Andre was getting at.


    "Come on, you don''t get it?" Andre gestured with a chopping motion, "This, how many?"


    Realizing what the madman was asking, Winters replied helplessly, "None."


    Andre burst into laughter and held up three fingers, "Three for me tonight, now we''re tied at five each... but truth be told, my five are of a higher quality. The chaplain, zero, hahaha."


    Montaigne, the warrant officer, sighed deeply, "Brother, no matter what you''re talking about, you''ve won."


    Andre replied, but Winters only saw his lips move; the roar of the heavy guns drowned out Andre''s words. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The thirty-two-pounder cannons of Duckbill Fort unleashed their fury for the first time that night, targeting the invaders.

 Chapter 60 Vineta

    Although they had recalibrated twice, in Winters'' and Andre''s view, the several heavy cannons aimed toward the bay were still lobbing thirty-two-pound iron balls into the shipyard with no accuracy at all. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Rather than providing fire support for the sailors, it was more like they were firing off cannons to cheer. The main purpose was to make some noise and incidentally notify everyone that the fort had changed hands.


    After a period of silence, when the artillery at the Duckbill Fort roared back to life, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel commanding the sailors assaulting the shipyard acutely sensed that the tide of battle seemed to be changing.


    The Duckbill Fort''s guns, which had originally fired at the water, now turned to start firing at the Navy shipyard.


    Although the shells were hitting attackers and Navy sailors alike, making it seem like the assailants'' poor marksmanship might be to blame, there was another possibility¡ªthe reinforcements had arrived and recaptured the fort.


    The morale of the over four hundred hastily assembled sailors was on the verge of collapsing, and had it not been for the thirty plus boarding party members retained by the Navy Lieutenant Colonel as a supervisory team, this ragtag bunch would have long thrown away their weapons and scattered.


    The Navy Lieutenant Colonel knew all too well that this disorganized group could only fight when they were winning; now that they had lost confidence in victory, they would turn tail at the slightest resistance.


    Sailors are not soldiers. First and foremost, they are sailors and only then, members of the Navy. Their usual workload aboard a ship is extremely demanding, leaving them no time or energy to undergo land combat training. That''s why ships have specialized boarding parties for close-quarters combat.


    Likewise, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel''s job was that of a captain, and rallying the sailors amidst the chaos for a counterattack was already playing way out of his league; he truly lacked the ability to lead this motley crew to recapture the shipyard.


    Thus, the sailors'' several attempts to storm the shipyard ended in immediate routs; one person turned to flee, and everyone else followed suit, running back. The Navy Lieutenant Colonel, watching from behind, was filled with anxiety, yet helpless to act.


    Realizing that the fort might have been retaken by the reinforcements, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel was overjoyed. Leaving a captain in charge of the supervisory team to watch over the dispirited sailors, he took a few guards and headed straight for Duckbill Cape, bypassing the shipyard.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Atop the high wall, the officers on night duty noticed a horseman approaching the fort gate from the darkness, the sound of hooves particularly clear in the night.


    Without a word, a highly tense officer yanked a red-hot iron spike from the brazier and thrust it into the cannon''s touch-hole.


    A cannonball roared out of the barrel, flying into the night unknown.


    Before the sound of the cannon faded, the gunner received a resounding slap to the face.


    "Who the [expletive] told you to fire? Can''t you discern the sound of hooves? Just one person! Why would you fire?" the officer on duty cursed angrily and dealt the gunner another fierce slap.


    Winters and Andre, drawn by the noise, stayed silent as mice, not wishing to draw fire upon themselves.


    The horseman, however, was not deterred by the shot and soon arrived at the gate. But instead of declaring his identity, he simply clamored to see the person in charge of the fort.


    The rider clearly didn''t look like a messenger from the East Camp, and exchanging glances, the officers on night duty unanimously grabbed their muskets and began to load them, while Winters reached for his bayonet.


    "We are the Vineta Army, declare your identity!" the officer on duty called out to him.


    Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the horseman outside the fort turned his horse around and fled without a word. This left the army officers on the wall feeling utterly bewildered.


    A few minutes later, the same horseman returned to the fort gate with the Navy Lieutenant Colonel.


    It turned out that as the outline of the fort became clearer and clearer, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel''s heart had grown more and more anxious. In the end, he decided to be cautious and sent a guard to scout the situation first. As soon as he knew it was the Vineta Army that had retaken the fort, he quickly came over to ask for help.


    But the overjoyed Navy Lieutenant Colonel didn''t even make it through the fort gate.


    The duty officer refused to open the gate for him without orders from a higher-ranking officer. When Colonel Kara arrived at the wall after being informed, he bluntly told the Navy Lieutenant Colonel, "Whatever your business is, say it from outside."


    Left with no choice, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel explained his purpose while looking up, only to be immediately rejected by Colonel Kara, "The orders from Admiral Zio were to recapture the fort, and we must hold here until further orders. I''m sorry, but I cannot spare men to support you."


    "The pirates won''t come to Duckbill Fort anymore; their ships have fled. This is just a rock, a dead rock!" the Navy captain shouted in anguish, "Are you going to just watch as the pirates burn all of our warships?"


    Standing behind Colonel Kara, Winters caught a few key words: pirates, fled. Winters doubted his ears. "What pirates would dare attack the Vineta Navy''s home port? Did I hear wrong, or does ''pirates'' mean something other than what I think it does?"


    However, Colonel Kara remained unmoved. Pointing to the lone ship on the sea, he replied to the Navy man, "The sailors on your ship, along with the people now present, are enough to retake the shipyard."


    "That''s not our ship! It belongs to oath-breakers! They won''t help us." The Navy Lieutenant Colonel retorted angrily, then pleaded desperately in a lowered voice, "Please help us. Pirates have already taken four of our large ships; if we let them burn the ships in the shipyard as well, the fleet won''t recover for years."

 Chapter 60 Vineta_2

    His words were so sorrowful that even the stony-hearted Colonel Kara couldn''t remain indifferent to him, "My cavalry unit is too small; it''s not of much use. Two battalions of infantry are on their way here, they will arrive soon and help you crush the enemy.""By the time they get here it''ll be too late!"


    "It''s already too late! Whatever is in your shipyard, it''s now all burnt to charcoal, and I won''t let my officers die for charcoal. Please go back."


    After speaking, Colonel Kara turned his head sharply and left without compassion.


    The Navy Lieutenant Colonel stood dazed outside the fortress for a moment, then rode away on his horse, his spirit crushed.


    Watching the retreating figure of the diligent Navy Lieutenant Colonel, a bitter taste rose in the throats of the officers atop the fortress. The joy of victory was also diluted, and everyone turned away in silence.


    "What''s that over there?" Andre suddenly shouted.


    At the sound, the officers turned their heads. On the mainland connecting Sea Blue City with Haidong Port, the black shrubs were moving¡ªit was a marching column. With the beat of a drum, the soldiers advanced in an eight-row column, uniform in their steps. From a distance, the exceedingly long lances looked like a forest on the move, orderly and ominous.


    Major General Antonio Serviati, with the Third Legion¡ª"Da Weineta," had arrived!


    A single black dot broke away from the formation, circled past the shipyard, and approached the battery. The cavalry officer spurred his warhorse urgently, galloping to the battery''s gate.


    The warhorse frothed at the mouth as the messenger bellowed, "Where is Colonel Kara?!"


    "Here I am!" Colonel Kara rushed back to the watchtower.


    "Orders from Major General Serviati: Command your unit to coordinate with mine in attacking the enemy entrenched in the shipyard!" With that, the messenger jerked the reins and again galloped off without stopping.


    There was no explanation, just a command. The officers in the battery were somewhat stunned, their gazes involuntarily focusing on Colonel Kara.


    Colonel Kara hesitated for a moment but quickly regained his stern composure. He scanned the area: "Didn''t you hear the order? Wake everyone up! The lightly wounded stay here, the rest of you, to the attack!"


    The north side of the naval shipyard connected to the sea, and its land portion was separated by a ring of stone walls and other port structures. The attackers had used this wall to repel several assaults by the navy sailors.


    The attackers had set up numerous gunmen along this breastwork and had even dragged down several short cannons from ships undergoing repairs.


    Once navy sailors came within fifty paces, they would be harshly shot at by matchlock guns, and once the leading men were downed, the more cowardly would turn and run.


    The behavior of individuals fleeing in the face of combat could not be stopped, and it spurred others to run as well. Then the attackers barraged them with a round of grapeshot from short-barreled cannons, completely breaking the assaulting side''s morale.


    In the end, the navy sailors only dared to stand over sixty paces away, exchanging inconsequential gunfire with the attackers from a distance.


    But those arriving this time were not sailors; they were the most elite troops of the Vineta Standing Army.


    Since the end of the Sovereign Wars, the Alliance army''s equipment and tactics had not undergone significant changes. Marshal Ned improved the square pike formation tactics of Duke Arian and retained a part of the sword-and-shield men to counter Duke Arian''s squares, also replacing crossbowmen and archers with gunmen.


    In the Battle of Butchers, Marshal Ned utilized this improved pike square formation to crush Duke Orlean''s forces in field combat. The combined system of extra-long pikes, sword-and-shield men, and gunmen had been used until today.


    However, squares were obviously unnecessary against the current enemy. Amidst the drumming, two battalions of infantry smoothly deployed into horizontal lines. The pikemen rested their long pikes on the ground and drew their swords, lining up behind the sword-and-shield men.


    The gunmen took positions at the forefront of the ranks with a two-step interval, drawing out ramrods and beginning to load their matchlock guns.


    The enemies inside the shipyard felt unprecedented pressure; those now advancing to attack were not a motley crowd wielding sailor''s knives and yelling to bolster their courage.


    The Third Legion''s infantrymen stood a hundred meters away, their formation as neat as a cut by a knife but silent as the grave. All that could be heard on the battlefield, aside from the wind, was the sound of lead bullets being pushed into the barrels.


    The gunmen poured in the gunpowder, inserted the lead bullets, returned the ramrods to the slots beneath the barrels, and then filled the priming pans with powder, closing the covers. Lastly, they attached the smoldering match to the serpentine, and in the enemy''s sight, they calmly completed the entire loading process. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The officer in charge of the gunmen swept past the front lines, and once he confirmed that all gunmen had finished loading, he stood on his stirrups and waved the battle flag hanging from the pike three times.


    Antonio, in the rear of the formation, saw the flags wave and nodded at his ensign.


    The Spellcaster officer rode forward, his voice amplified by a spell as he roared, "Da Weineta!"


    The soldiers roared back, "Kazar! [Hooray]"


    "Da Weineta!"


    "Kazar!"


    "Da Weineta!"


    "KAZAR!"


    Three war cries, each more thunderous than the last. Not only the enemies within the shipyard were intimidated, but even the navy sailors behind them trembled with fear.


    Startled by the war cries, a gunman behind the stone wall involuntarily pulled the trigger, firing a shot. The lead ball gouged a hole in the ground. Then a dozen more gunshots rang out as others instinctively fired their guns.


    The officers lined up outside the battery heard these three war cries and understood that the Third Legion was about to attack.

 Chapter 60 Da Weineta_3

    Time waits for no one. Colonel Kara drew his sabre and commanded loudly, "Arrowhead formation, officers in front, young men to the back, I''ll stand first.""What wishful thinking do you have?" Colonel Bozuhof rode forward and whipped Kara''s back with the back of his sword, laughing and scolding, "What makes you think you can stand in the front alone?"


    After three battle cries, Andre turned his head to his aide-de-camp and whispered, "Begin."


    Accompanied by a command of "Advance!" the beat of drums began, and with the musketeers at the forefront, the Third Legion started to move forward. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldiers of the Third Legion, like an unstoppable tsunami, step by step they approached the shipyard. At a distance of more than sixty paces, a musketeer within the wall, unable to bear the psychological pressure, fired his gun at the approaching army.


    This time not just a dozen, but all musketeers with powder in their guns pulled the trigger. Gunshots burst forth like popping beans, and even a few short-barreled cannons fired.


    Dozens of grapeshot the size of grapes sprayed out of the cannons, forming a barrage.


    Amidst bullets and cannonballs, over twenty musketeers were struck down, their bodies acquiring four or five bloody holes.


    Being killed outright was actually a mercy, as most deaths were accompanied by cruel pain. A musketeer whose lungs were pierced, blood poured into his trachea, and air sacs squeezed out of his mouth. Yet, he still hadn''t breathed his last, lying on the ground with helpless whimpers.


    But the soldiers of the Third Legion continued to advance resolutely, the musketeers keeping eyes fixed on what lay ahead, not even glancing at their fallen comrades. Not just the musketeers, but also the sword and shield bearers and the spearmen behind them did the same.


    The soldiers, treating the bodies on the ground and the dying as though they were invisible, stepped over them as if stepping over a log lying on the ground.


    Advancing to about fifty paces, accompanied by the command "Halt!" the human wall stopped moving.


    "Fix bayonets!"


    The musketeers planted their support rods into the ground and readied their matchlock guns.


    At this time, their enemies were frantically reloading.


    "Ready!"


    The musketeers gently blew on the fuse and opened the lid of the powder pan.


    "Aim!"


    They rested the guns on their shoulders, lining up their targets through the sights.


    "Fire!"


    They pulled the lever, the smoldering match cord drew an arc, igniting the powder in the pan. With a flash of light and the sound of gunfire, a volley of lead shot flew towards the stone wall, and screams came from behind the wall of smoke.


    "Charge!"


    Behind the ranks of musketeers, the officers leading their subordinates jabbed their horses'' flanks, charging to the front. Sword and shield bearers followed, shouting as they rushed towards Haidong Port''s shipyard.


    On the other side of Haidong Port, the officer''s cavalry completed their formation, galloping towards the docks at a "quick march" pace.


    The four colonels were at the very front of the entire charge, leading the assault. Behind the four colonels, the width of the formation gradually increased.


    The charging formation was shaped like an arrowhead, known as the arrowhead formation or chevron formation. Just as a red corner does not make one move faster, forming the chevron does not increase the penetrating power of the charge.


    The true purpose of the chevron formation was that as long as every cavalryman followed the one in front, a single person at the forefront could guide the direction of the entire charge, while under this premise, they maximized the width of the formation.


    At less than a hundred meters away from the shipyard wall, Colonel Kara bellowed his charge command. All officers drew their sabres, leaned in, and accelerated to full speed.


    It was expected that this distance would have to be crossed under a hail of gunfire, but no gunshot sounded from within the stone wall.


    The cavalry met no resistance and quickly reached the stone wall. Without a moment''s hesitation, Colonel Kara spurred his horse into a leap, gracefully clearing the chest-high wall.


    Seeing Kara leap so caught the other officers off guard. Take Winters, for instance, who had never trained in such vaulting. Seeing Colonel Kara jumping the breastwork, the warrant officer''s heart skipped a beat.


    He had no idea if his horse would suddenly stop at the wall''s edge and throw him off to break his neck. But if his seniors ahead of him all jumped over, he too had to bite the bullet and jump.


    Fortunately, the others were not as reckless as Colonel Kara. Colonel Bozuhof pulled the reins at the wall''s edge and stopped. The rest followed suit and stopped as well.


    Cursing under his breath, Colonel Bozuhof led the other two officers to climb over the breastwork and opened the gates.


    The cavalry charged into the shipyard only to halt in their tracks. There were no enemies inside, only people scattering in flight.


    "[Expletive]!" Colonel Bozuhof cursed, "The Third Legion has done all the work! Leaving us crumbs."


    "What do we do now?"


    "What do you mean what do we do?" Bozuhof glared fiercely at the person who asked the question, "Are we not going to eat the crumbs? Kill every non-uniformed person!"


    He then slapped the side of his horse with the flat of his sabre and charged at the enemies fleeing to the seaside.


    Winters saw Andre gleefully following Colonel Bozuhof, chasing after the fleeing enemies.

 Chapter 61 The Guard Corridor

    "Wow! It''s the statue of a Sabine woman! How did the ancients manage to carve the texture of light gauze from stone?" Anna, with a comical little mustache stuck to her lips, wandered happily through the mercenary colonnade, "And this one here, look at the lines of her body, so beautiful!"However, Winters seemed somewhat distracted at the time, responding with noncommittal "hmms" whatever Anna said, his hand on the hilt of his sword, protecting this girl dressed as a man by her side.


    The Guard''s Colonnade was a section next to the Parliament Square, constructed during the imperial era. In the past, the emperor''s messengers would read out decrees from atop the colonnade, and meet petitioners within its confines.


    Because this colonnade symbolized the emperor''s majesty, it was not only built very high, but also housed several statues created by famous artists. Next to the colonnade was the former residence of the royal guards, hence the name Guard''s Colonnade.


    After the Sovereignty Wars, the Republic of Vineta inherited this colonnade. Although some major public ceremonies¡ªsuch as the swearing-in of administrative officers¡ªstill took place here, usually it served merely as a spot for citizens to relax and cool off, no longer the inviolable sanctuary of the royal domain.


    Elizabeth, who loved stirring up trouble, happily became the messenger relaying messages for Anna. As a reward for providing her with the patterns, Anna had asked Winters to meet her precisely at nine o''clock that morning outside Lady Anguisola''s studio, with two horses in tow.


    And so Winters waited for Miss Anna, who had arrived dressed as a man and sporting a small mustache.


    "I skipped class!" Anna''s eyes were full of excitement, "Take me to the Guard''s Colonnade! Did you bring the horses?"


    "I have, but I didn''t bring a lady''s side-saddle," Winters said, apologetically, "Shall I find a carriage for you?"


    Riding astride was considered very unladylike; hence the special side-saddle for women. But Anna happily mounted the horse, "No need. I''ve been wanting to try riding astride for a while now."


    In that moment at the Guard''s Colonnade, Winters watching Anna admire the statues, suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if the horrific battle at Haidong Port the night before had been just a dream.


    On the street, laborers pushing wheelbarrows argued noisily with merchants driving mule carts; a lady curiously peeked through the curtains of a rattling carriage; and impeccably dressed gentlemen, indifferent to the commotion, rode past leisurely on their horses.


    While passersby bustled about their daily lives, Anna lost herself in the world of sculpted art. It was another ordinary day in Sea Blue City, yet soldiers could already taste the increasingly pungent odors of gunpowder and blood.


    When cleaning up the battlefield the night before, over six hundred bodies were tallied. The attackers, entrenched in the shipyard, tried to escape to the sea in small boats, but the majority were caught by the cavalry and cut down from behind.


    Without need for torture, the captives gave up a name: Captain Drake. A notorious member of the combined council of captains and plantation owners of Tanilia, and a dreaded pirate of the Inner Sea.


    It was a well-planned surprise attack; the pirates took advantage of the high tide to come ashore in small groups, hiding in the forests to the east of Haidong Port. Two days later, on a night when the south wind howled, they launched their assault.


    A gang of pirates mounted a noisy feint attack on the pier, and when the defenders at Duckbeak Bastion went to support the pier, another gang of pirates hidden outside the bastion seized the opportunity to capture it.


    Following that, the two groups of pirates pinched the defenders between them, overwhelming the guards.


    Then the pirates began setting fires at the docks and seizing the warships anchored in the harbor.


    After returning to home port, most of the sailors from the warships had already gone ashore to rest. With only a few crew members left on guard, there was no organization strong enough to mount an effective resistance.


    The brave sailors aboard three of the warships repelled the pirates, attempting to navigate their ships out of the harbor. Two of them were sunk by the heavy cannons of Duckbeak Bastion at the narrowest exit of the bay, while the third vanished after passing the bay, ambushed by pirate ships waiting outside in the sea.


    The sailors of another warship held fast in the cabin; they couldn''t sail away, and the pirates dared not go down. In cruelty, the pirates eventually set fire to this warship.


    In the shipyard, two warships that had been hauled ashore for cleaning their hulls from barnacles could not be dragged back into the sea by the pirates, who simply burned them as well.


    The sailors aboard the remaining four warships were killed by the pirates, who, riding the strong southerly wind, drove these four warships away from Haidong Port.


    In just two hours, the Vineta Navy had lost four of its ten warships anchored in Haidong Port, while the remaining six were burned.


    The last intact warship in the harbor turned out to be the imperial warship "Virtue" that Winters was responsible for welcoming that day. A few dozen loyalist soldiers aboard the Virtue fought off the pirates attempting to seize the ship, breaking their teeth in the attempt.


    Meanwhile, the captain of the Virtue coolly assessed the situation, choosing not to blindly leave the bay. Since the bastion had changed hands, most of its cannons must have been aimed at the entrance and exit of the bay, leaving few pointed toward their own harbor. The captain of the Virtue determined it was better to deal with the bastion in the bay than head into the sea with unknown enemy positions. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Indeed, by the time the cavalry from the eastern camp arrived at Haidong Port, most of the pirates had already fled. To have captured a real warship was a major coup; any pirates who managed to board a naval warship had only one thought: to get the ship out.


    Ultimately, the pirates left hunkering down in the shipyard were those who had not managed to board the ships; they continued looting and setting fires in the port until they turned around to find all the ships gone. Most of them were trapped in the shipyard, with only a few left at the bastion.

 Chapter 61 The Guard Corridor_2

    That was what Winters saw: a lone battleship in the bay exchanging fire with Duckbill Fort; a battleship next to the docks ablaze, its sailors fiercely battling with the enemies from the shipyard."War is only a means, not an end," Antonio said to Winters.


    But now, besides war, there was no longer a second option.


    The entirety of Sea Blue City had already learned of the naval harbor attack. Soon, the whole of Vineta, and even the entire Alliance Country, would know of this news.


    Overnight, Vineta''s navy had lost half of its ships. It was an undeclared attack, and whether or not the Tanilia Federation had instructed Captain Drake, the Vineta regime had already determined that the Tanilia Federation had stealthily attacked Haidong Port.


    For the first time since the War of Sovereignty, Vineta convened a full assembly of citizen representatives. Messengers galloped along the highways, delivering news, with the representatives of the various cities converging on Sea Blue City.


    The Consul would speak at the full assembly of citizen representatives, but everyone already knew what he would say.


    "War!"


    The prices of iron, copper, sulfur, and saltpeter soared, each minute bringing a new price;


    The navy was press-ganging all the armed merchant ships they could find, offering high daily wages to recruit sailors, and conscripted all the criminals they could lay their hands on.


    The army reserves had received their mobilization orders, with officers previously placed in various sinecure positions being allocated new posts within the troops.


    The Third Legion was swiftly brought up from half-strength to full complement; a reserve legion already had its officer framework set up, just waiting for the reserve soldiers to fill the ranks. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The war faction had originally wanted to use the dockside assassination to pressure the governing committee, but now there was no need. The responsibilities of the dockside assassination and the headquarters'' guard were transferred en bloc to the Sea Blue City Public Security Headquarters, and the Military Police Office at the army headquarters was disbanded.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, Major Moritz, Warrant Officer Winters, and many other sidelined officers were reappointed to new duties. Lieutenant Colonel Field and Major Moritz were sent to lead troops in the reserve legion, while Winters was assigned by Antonio to train with the Third Legion.


    Vineta''s war machine had begun to turn, and all officers were merely cogs in this machine. No one could control their own destiny, at least not a mere warrant officer.


    As the vortex began to spin, Winters found he could only be dragged along by the current. He had expended so much effort investigating the dockside assassination, but it was suddenly rendered useless. Perhaps for the bigwigs, it was just a round of political games.


    He suddenly began to envy Andre''s carefree nature, "Don''t think too much, we do what we''re told," Andre would say. Perhaps compared to himself, Andre was more suited to being a soldier.


    "What are you thinking about?" Anna waved her hand in front of Winters'' face, breaking his train of thought, "Were you listening to what I said?"


    "Of course," Winters, the warrant officer of Montaigne, came back to his senses and changed the subject without missing a beat, "Did you ask me to come out here just to accompany you to the guard colonnade? Haven''t you ever been to the guard colonnade before?"


    The guard colonnade was considered a landmark of Sea Blue City. Winters had often played there with friends since childhood or arranged to meet there. He didn''t understand why there was such a fuss about just strolling around the square.


    "How could a lady come to such a place? All these statues are... they''re all... that sort of thing..." Anna blushed, her voice getting softer and softer, until her last few words were barely audible.


    Winters looked at the marble and bronze statues around him; the male statues'' primary sexual characteristics were overtly displayed in the public space, "Naked?"


    Anna softly murmured a "hm" in affirmation.


    "Knowing they''re naked, you still came to look?"


    Anna, who had been bashful just a moment ago, kicked Winters'' shin hard.


    Winters, the Montaigne warrant officer, nimbly dodged, "Why are you so barbaric?"


    Anna said angrily, "I''m here as a man."


    "You really don''t think that by wearing that outfit, people won''t recognize you as a woman?" Winters countered.


    "Just don''t treat me as a woman right now."


    Winters gave a slight bow, "Mr. Navarre, please enjoy your time here. I have other matters and must leave first."


    "Don''t go," Anna quickly grabbed Winters'' sleeve, "How could you leave a woman... anyway, it''s not safe here... You promised to model for my painting in exchange for me being your guard, are you going back on your word?"


    "This is the parliamentary square," Winters laughed, "This is probably the safest place in Vineta, what''s unsafe about it?"


    Anna let go and sat down on the stone plinth of a statue base, saying softly, "You wouldn''t understand, you''re a man, you''re safe wherever you are."


    Saying that, Anna buried her face in her arms, lost in thought.


    Winters sighed and walked away.


    A few minutes later, he returned, carrying two large cups.


    Anna looked up to find herself alone in the guard colonnade, nearly panicking. Seeing Winters return, she kicked the Montaigne warrant officer''s shin again in anger, "You really left? Where did you go?"


    "Aren''t you a man now? I''m offering you a man''s drink," Winters casually sat down on the stone plinth of the statue base and handed a cup to Anna.

 Chapter 61 The Guard Corridor_3

    Anna paused for a moment, then sat down beside the stone platform and took a small sip, "Sweet?""Sweet beer, it''s not hopped, so it can''t be kept for very long, it''s always brewed and sold on the spot." Winters took a large gulp himself, "When I was at Lu You, I always came here with friends to drink sweet beer. I didn''t expect that six years later, that beer lady would still be selling this stuff."


    As he spoke, Winters took another gulp and smacked his lips, "It just tastes a bit different, though. In my memory, it was always tastier."


    "Do you still come here to drink sweet beer with your friends?" Anna, holding her cup with both hands, sipped it gently and asked Winters.


    Winters thought of Benwei, who was hiding out in a farmstead on the outskirts, and shook his head, "Not now, my friend is... quite busy."


    A gentle breeze blew as the two sat silently in the corridor, drinking the sweet beer.


    Anna suddenly mimicked Winters'' carefree way of sitting, no longer keeping her legs primly together, but stretching them out comfortably instead. She leaned back against the statue''s pedestal, stretching languidly.


    Winters extended his beer cup toward Anna. She stared for a moment and then laughed as she clinked cups with him.


    As she looked toward the direction of the parliamentary square, she said softly, "Thank you, this might be the only time in my life that I''ve come to the Guard''s Corridor in person to enjoy these sculptures."


    "You give me the design, I do you the favor, a fair trade." Anna''s sudden niceness caught Winters off guard, and he took a small sip of beer to hide his embarrassment.


    "Actually, I''m very envious of you," Anna whispered, "Because I''m a woman, I can''t go watch dissections, I can''t go see models, I can''t look directly at nude statues. No matter how well I paint, I can only hang them in my own bedroom; no art dealer would take a female artist''s paintings. Even Lady Angui Sola can only paint portraits for others. I used to only see these sculptures in paintings. Even though they are right there in the parliamentary square, I''ve ridden past here several times, but I have never gotten off the carriage to walk here."


    "Actually, just like now, you can come here anytime you like," Winters retorted.


    "That''s only because I have... a guard with me, then I dare to come here," Anna said a bit irritably, "Mr. Montaigne, you still don''t understand! For ladies, there''s no safe place outside their homes."


    "Who''s been telling you this?" Winters couldn''t help but want to laugh.


    "My mother! And other respectable ladies!"


    Winters thought that Anna was simply a contradiction, possessing an unrestrained side, yet constantly bound by her own constraints.


    He finished the rest of the sweet beer in his cup and then took Anna''s cup. Anna stood there, stunned, watching as the man before her guzzled the sweet beer from her cup in one go.


    After that, Winters returned the cups and, leading the horses, guided Anna through a few twists and turns in the narrow alley next to the parliamentary square. They arrived at a small clearing.


    Anna, led by Winters through a haze to this grassy space between houses, was puzzled.


    "Okay, here we are. This is where we used to play with swords," Winters said, happy as he drove a stake into the ground to tie up the two horses.


    "What did you bring me here for?" Anna asked, her arms crossed protectively over her chest.


    Winters waved his hand dismissively, "Relax, I''m not interested in men."


    Annoyed and embarrassed, Anna made as if to kick Winters.


    Winters unfastened the sword in its sheath, pulled out the blade, handed it to Anna, and kept the sheath in his own hand.


    This was a typical ceremonial straight sword, short, light, and narrow, but also a real sharpened weapon.


    But Anna didn''t reach out to take it.


    Winters said seriously, "Miss Anna, I agree with what you said. There''s a natural physical gap between men and women, and although there are frail men and robust women, in this world, most men, if they want to harm you, you really wouldn''t have much of a good method to defend yourself. But I can teach you some swordplay for self-protection in a crisis, hoping there will never be a day when it''s needed."


    He then pushed the ceremonial sword into Anna''s hands.


    "There''s only one thing I want to teach you¡ªcourage," Winters pointed at his own chest, throat, and eyes, "Many times, it''s not about skill, it''s about bravery. If you dare to stab powerfully toward these parts, stabbing deep enough, it''ll cause serious injury if not death. Come on, try stabbing me."


    With that, Winters stood in front of Anna, holding the sheath in his right hand.


    "What are you thinking? Get on with it!" Winters adopted the tone of Drill Instructor Nal, "I''m asking you to stab me."


    Anna was close to tears, "I... I can practice on a dummy when I get home, can''t I?"


    "Can a dummy fight back? Can a dummy bleed?" Winters rebuked sternly, "Didn''t you paint that warlike Aphrodite? When it''s your turn, you get scared?"


    "You... you knew?"


    "I''m not a [profanity a gentleman should never utter in front of a lady]!" Winters scolded loudly, "Stab it!"


    Anna closed her eyes and stabbed out.


    ...


    ...


    In Lady Angui Sola''s atelier, Elizabeth, seeing Anna with red-rimmed eyes, expressed her surprise, "What''s happened now? My brother is not a bad man, there must be some misunderstanding..."


    Anna shook her head but was thinking about what Winters said when he escorted her back.


    ...


    "What''s with the tears every time something happens..."


    Anna, sitting on the horse, just wiped her tears, not saying a word.


    "Isn''t it just that I knocked the sword out of your hands? It''s a common occurrence in sword practice."


    Anna remained silent.


    Winters carefully asked, "After today, does that mean we''re even with the designs?" S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I gave you ten drawings, and you provided half a day''s guard duty, how can we be even?"


    "Sigh, what else do you need me to do, then? Tell me all about it at once," Winters said in resignation, "Actually, I still suggest you have them changed into silver coins, I could simply pay you."


    At these words, Anna asked angrily, "Do you want to avoid seeing me that badly? I don''t want to see you either!"


    "No, it''s not like that, Miss Anna," Winters said with a bitter smile, "I''m off to war. If I don''t come back, you won''t be able to collect your debt... You see, although men are safer than women, sometimes men have to go to the most dangerous places too, don''t they?"

 Chapter 62 General Assembly

    "...Remember this day of disgrace! Vineta was deliberately attacked by the Tanilia Federation. Until a week ago, the governing committee was still in talks with the Federation to maintain peace in the inland sea.But history will testify that the Tanilia Federation had long premeditated and carefully planned this attack. They deceived Vineta with their hypocritical statements and posturing of maintaining peace.


    Our fleet suffered heavy losses, our naval ports were burned to ashes, and many brave Venetians lost their lives.


    The fact is self-evident: the enemy has launched an attack against us. As an official of the Venetian Republic, I have ordered the army and navy to take all necessary measures.


    The sea remembers forever, and Vineta will always remember Tanilia''s undeclared war. Under the watch of the gods, I swear: no matter how long it takes, no matter how much blood is shed, even if the entire inland sea is dyed red, we will uphold our justice!


    Believe in our military! Believe in our people! May the gods bless Vineta, and we shall prevail!


    I demand that the Citizens'' Representative Assembly of Vineta declare: from the moment the Tanilia Federation launched their despicable sneak attack on Haidong Port, the esteemed Venetian Republic and the Tanilia Federation are officially in a state of war."


    In the center of the parliamentary hall, this spirited old man fiercely slammed his hand on the podium, sweeping his gaze around, and declared indisputably, "The Tanilia Federation, must be destroyed!" Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The spacious parliamentary hall was filled with citizen representatives from all over Vineta, who had rushed to Sea Blue City. A special acoustics design meant that the official''s words could be clearly heard by everyone in the room.


    With every statement made by the official, the citizen representatives would shout back in response.


    When the official finished his last sentence, the impassioned citizen representatives all stood up, waving their fists, and let out a roar like a tsunami: "Destroy the Federation! Destroy the Federation..."


    On the observation deck of the second floor, Antonio put his tricorn hat back on and turned to Winters, "Let''s go, Winters. There''s nothing more to see."


    Those without the status of citizen representative or lawmaker were not permitted to attend meetings on the first floor of the hall. Thus, the hall''s designer had specifically included the second-floor observation deck for the general citizens to listen in.


    "You''re not going to watch the voting process?" Winters got momentarily distracted by the atmosphere of unanimous animosity among the hundreds of lawmakers: "We don''t even know what proposal the official wants to pass."


    The other people on the observation deck made way for the two officers, and one of them clapped Winters on the shoulder, saying to him, "Take out those damned pirates from the Federation!"


    Winters responded with a polite smile and followed Antonio off the observation deck.


    Once outside, Antonio spoke to Winters, "We don''t need to know the official''s proposal; knowing the official''s attitude is enough."


    Winters nodded in agreement.


    "Governor Debela is quite skillful." Antonio suddenly said with some emotion: "Actually, there are some lawmakers in the parliament who do not agree with linking Drake''s attack to the Tanilia Federation, but Debela directly convened the entire Citizens'' Representative Assembly. With the current atmosphere in the hall, I believe even the highest war budget would easily be approved with three shouts."


    "How could Drake, a mere pirate captain, possibly organize such a sneak attack? The Federation must be supporting him from behind," Winters said, perplexed: "But I can''t figure out why the Federation would dare to provoke us? Clearly, we were going to attack them, yet they struck first. Do the Tanilians think by destroying the Venetian Navy, we would be unable to retaliate against them?"


    Antonio raised an eyebrow and instructed, "Don''t consider the Federation as a whole, just as you shouldn''t see Vineta as a monolith. There''s no need to consider the thoughts of the Tanilians; all hopes for a peaceful resolution have been shattered, leaving only the path of war. And our duty is to win this war for Vineta... Are you getting used to working under Kongtai''er?"


    "Colonel Kongtai''er, he... I feel like he''s taking too much care of me. The colonel put all of us cadet officers into his prime cohort, we hardly have anything to do," said Winters, a tad embarrassed.


    Colonel Kongtai''er was in charge of commanding the primus pilus [Cohort Prima] of the Third Legion, which normally maintained at half strength but was quickly brought to full strength with reservists after the Haidong Port attack and was now intensely training at West Camp. However, Winters, currently training with the standing forces, found himself not very busy.


    "Speak less, do more, observe more," Antonio reached out to straighten Winters'' military cap and patted his back, "Some will curry favor with you, others will despise you, but none of that really matters. Just do your job."


    Winters silently nodded his head.


    He understood: to deny the help that came from his family would be hypocritical; if he and Benwei were to switch places, Benwei might not do better than him, but he definitely couldn''t manage what Benwei did, working on the docks to support his family at a young age, nor could he do what Bard did ¡ª and it was precisely for this reason that he respected both Benwei and Bard.


    But he still wanted to avoid any allegations of nepotism, so Winters had actually wanted to join Colonel Field in the reserve legions, but Antonio had managed to get him sent to "Da Vineta." Although few knew about the relationship between Warrant Officer Montaigne and the legion commander, it still made Winters somewhat uncomfortable.

 Chapter 62 General Assembly_2

    Antonio was still consoling Winters, telling him how he should respond: "Fulfill your duty."As they rode back home from the parliamentary hall, close to the entrance to their house, Antonio casually mentioned, "The navy is clearing the nearby seas. Once they''ve cleared the shipping lanes, the Third Legion will be striking out. Get ready and sort out any outstanding business."


    "What? We''re sending out troops so soon?" Winters suddenly became alert, "This is too hasty, the warships, gunpowder, shells, provisions... Are we prepared yet?"


    "We are not ready, but we must respond," Antonio said with a slight bitter smile, "The anger of the people is a fire that can burn both the enemy and ourselves. If we don''t retaliate when attacked, public opinion will crush the government. The Politburo needs a victory now more than ever to establish its authority."


    "Monarchs should not start wars in anger, and generals should not launch attacks out of resentment. This is chaos, you should firmly oppose such reckless orders!"


    "I''ve read ''The Art of War: The Volume of Blazing Fire'' too," Antonio shifted the conversation, "but let me ask you a question. Do you think there is a better commander in Vineta than me right now?"


    "No!"


    Although it sounded like flattery, this was Winters''s honest opinion.


    The Vineta Republic named the Third Legion after itself, which spoke volumes about the troop''s combat capability. And the Commander of the Grand Vineta was undoubtedly the most excellent commander in the whole Republic.


    "Yes, I think so too." Antonio sounded self-promoting, but there was not a trace of arrogance on his face, as calm as if discussing the weather, "So if I oppose, will the Quintet give up on seeking a swift victory?"


    "They would consider your opinion."


    "I have already voiced my opposition, but the Quintet asked me to obey the orders. If I continue to firmly oppose, they will replace me and have someone else command the attack."


    "Then let someone else do it."


    "And then what? Watch the Third Legion suffer unnecessary losses due to a change in command right before battle? Smugly boast about having foresight?" Antonio pulled the reins tightly and stopped, speaking seriously to his nephew, "Listen well, Winters, never say ''I told you so,'' even if you did. We are soldiers of Vineta, and as long as we''re being paid, we have to serve the interest of the Republic to the best of our ability!"


    Antonio rarely spoke to the children with such severity, whether it was to Winters or to Elizabeth. It was Kosa who was the stricter parent, while the colonel was the one who covered for the children.


    Chastised, Winters lowered his head, and Antonio realized that he had been a bit too angry, and gently said, "The Politburo has made up its mind, and all a soldier can do is to try their best to win the war. The interests of Vineta must come first; the Alliance has eradicated the nobility, but we officers are the Knights guarding her."


    Winters grunted an acknowledgment. In his view, most officers simply regarded their military position as a job and did not elevate loyalty to the level of a Knight''s fealty to their liege. Although he admired Antonio, Winters did not think himself capable of such nobility.


    The parliamentary hall was not far from their home, and they arrived shortly. A grubby little beggar wearing an oversized hat was peeking through the fence.


    Seeing the two officers return, the little beggar ran away in panic. With a large number of dispossessed farmers flooding into the city, Sea Blue City had many more beggars than before. The street where the Serviati Residence was located was under tight security, being a priority patrol area for the police headquarters, but even so, it was not unusual to see people begging.


    "Go after him and find out who he is. If he''s just a beggar, give him some money. Tell him not to come near our house again," Antonio instructed, pointing at the retreating figure of the little beggar.


    Winters nodded and spurred his horse to follow.


    Antonio took care of his bay horse in the stable first, and then entered the house through the back door.


    As soon as he entered, Elizabeth came running over anxiously and grabbed his arm, "Dad, are you and my brother going off to fight in a war?" S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who said that?" Antonio asked with a smile.


    "Everyone''s talking about it, the whole Sea Blue City is discussing the war, even my female companions at the art studio are talking about it, and the old ladies are telling stories about the wars from over twenty years ago. Where are you going to fight? Is it dangerous? Why does my brother have to go too?"


    Antonio ruffled his daughter''s hair, speaking in a light tone, "It''s not dangerous. Your brother and I just have to take a boat to a small island at sea, take a turn around, and this war will be over."


    "If you play dumb with Elizabeth, she''ll grow up to be a foolish woman," Kosa walked over and said discontentedly to Antonio, "Have some faith in the children we''ve raised. Ella is sixteen now, and she''s strong enough to understand what''s going to happen."


    Kosa took Elizabeth into the living room, had her sit down squarely on the sofa, and sat down on either side of her with Antonio.


    Clasping Elizabeth''s hands, Kosa explained earnestly to her daughter, "War is the most violent way to resolve disputes, with two groups of people slaughtering each other until one side gives in. That''s why we have soldiers. If soldiers go to war, then others don''t have to bleed. Your father and brother are soldiers, so even though they will miss you terribly, they have to leave home to go to war. Do you understand? They''re not leaving home because they don''t love you."

 Chapter 62 General Assembly_3

    Elizabeth asked with red-rimmed eyes, "Is war dangerous? Could you¡­ never come back?""Not at all," Antonio quickly consoled his daughter, "War isn''t as dangerous as you think. There''s even a song that goes, ''If every bullet hit a man, who would the king have to serve as his soldiers?''..."


    But Ella glared at Antonio and seriously said to Elizabeth, "War does kill people, and many families'' sons won''t return. Your father and brother might not come back either. We pray for their safety, but if they can''t return, you have to be strong enough to face it."


    Upon hearing her mother''s words, and imagining the terrible scenarios, Elizabeth couldn''t help but burst into tears.


    "She''s still a child, isn''t this a bit too cruel?"


    "She''s already sixteen, she must learn to accept all of this. Only in this way, if she truly loses you both, she won''t collapse into insanity like my sister did!"


    Just as the two were about to argue over their child-rearing philosophy, Winters pushed open the door and came in.


    Seeing Winters return home, Elizabeth ran over and threw herself into her brother''s embrace, sobbing, "Winters, I don''t want you to go to war! I don''t want you to never come back! Please don''t go..."


    Winters, having no idea what had transpired, awkwardly held Ella. He could only gently pat Ella''s back while looking to the parents with a questioning glance, "What''s going on?"


    However, the usually strong and resolute Ella couldn''t help but wipe away tears at this moment.


    Antonio sighed helplessly, pulled his wife into his embrace, and exchanged a look with Winters.


    After a long silence, the expressionless Sofia came down from upstairs. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Indeed, Sofia was now residing at the Winters'' household. The Third Legion''s base was now brimming with soldiers, and it was clearly inappropriate for a lady to continue staying there.


    Sofia''s identity had also been confirmed. The messenger had ridden tirelessly to The Federated Provinces, copying the original documents stored in the church. These were cross-checked without error against the documents Sofia carried.


    The Governing Council and Sofia reached an agreement. In exchange for her notes, Governor Debela would expedite the proposal to rehabilitate Antoine-Laurent, while Sofia would temporarily stay in Vineta waiting to attend a hearing.


    Originally, Sofia wanted to stay at a Monastery, but Elizabeth eagerly invited Sofia to their home. Although Antonio and Winters were resolutely opposed, Elizabeth succeeded in convincing the real head of the household¡ªElla.


    Ella agreed to let Sofia stay for a simple reason: the two families were actually related.


    Ella''s grandfather''s sister had married into the da Ravassy family, that sister''s grandmother was Antoine-Laurent''s grandmother, making her Sofia''s great-grandmother.


    That is to say, Winters and Elizabeth had to call Sofia "Cousin."


    Due to the natural geographical barriers of "two mountains flanking a valley", the aristocracy of the Senas Bay region tended not to intermarry with outsiders, while inner-community marriages were very frequent. United Provincials with a "de" or "la" in their surnames sitting in a tavern could chat and surely find a familial connection between them.


    Winters'' maternal grandfather, being the youngest child, had no rights to inherit the title and lands, so he turned to business. But he fortuitously avoided the Federated Provincials'' purge of the old aristocracy during the Sovereignty Wars.


    [In feudal states, it''s quite common for the younger sons of minor noble families to lose their nobility and become commoners.]


    Sofia, with a cold expression, walked up to Winters, who while sharing a roof with her, had never been on the receiving end of any pleasantness from her. Winters empathized; if someone had first burned Winters'' hair and then his beloved family heirlooms, Winters wouldn''t be quick to forgive either.


    But this didn''t mean Winters forgave Sofia for breaking into his home at night, attempting to kill twice. [Understanding but not forgiving], Sofia felt the same, and that was the awkward state between them.


    Winters awkwardly smiled and nodded to Sofia. Sofia gave him a stern look, took Elizabeth into her arms, and helped the inconsolable girl back upstairs.

 Chapter 63 Unexpected Guests

    The minor disturbance had rendered the atmosphere within the household somewhat somber, the eaves no longer echoed with joy and laughter. The several servants in the house also keenly sensed the shift in mood, with even Marita showing extra caution.After dinner, as night fell, Antonio led Winters into the study, claiming there was something he needed to give him.


    Winters had thought that Antonio was simply making an excuse to call him over and avoid Vineta, but Antonio did indeed find a box and, after opening three nested wooden cases, handed a sheathed sword to Winters.


    "This sword of yours is too..." Winters racked his brain for a long time, but couldn''t come up with a complimentary adjective, "...tacky, isn''t it?"


    The design of the sword was that of a typical single-handed ceremonial sword, somewhat resembling the Swift Sword, but it was shorter and lighter. However, the emphasis of this sword was not on its blade, but on its hilt and scabbard.


    A ceremonial sword naturally seeks opulence due to its decorative purpose, but there are different levels of opulence. Major Moritz''s ceremonial sword was opulent with taste, while the one in Winters'' hands was a prime example of tasteless opulence.


    All the metal on the sword, aside from the steel of the blade itself, was gold. Not only was the entire handguard made of gold, but even the sheath was encased in gold.


    The sheath and the end of the hilt were also inlaid with gems that Winters did not recognize, but since they could be set in gold, their value was definitely higher than that of the gold.


    The whole sword blatantly proclaimed an aesthetic typical of the nouveau riche, with the sheath costing more than the blade itself, a perfect embodiment of lavish material stacking, reaching the pinnacle of buying the casket rather than the pearl.


    "Tacky? It''s the fashion of the times," Antonio blushed, "A ceremonial sword is meant to be extravagant. When I was young, everyone competed to wear their entire fortune on them. If you went out with a plain sword, you''d be laughed at. Do you think it''s different now? Keep it safe, this sword is yours now."


    Winters imagined himself wearing the sword and couldn''t help but get goosebumps.


    He quickly placed the sword back on the table and refused, "Wearing this golden sword would be too shameful; it would be like declaring to everyone, ''I''m all for show''. I''d rather simply wear a bar of gold around my waist. If you''re embarrassed to wear this sword, how could I possibly have the nerve to wear it out?"


    "Be politely spoken," Antonio knocked Winters on the head, "This was your father''s ceremonial sword; he gifted it to me, and today I am passing it on to you. It''s an inheritance, take care of it."


    "That only proves that both of you had questionable taste," Winters commented as he drew the sword and tested the flexibility of the blade, which snapped back into shape after being bent into a large arc, still perfectly straight, "The blade itself is quite good, though."


    "Of course, it''s made from the finest steel," Antonio affirmed.


    Interactions between men rarely involved emotional exchanges, even between father and son. However, affected by Elizabeth''s sentiments, Winters also became somewhat emotional.


    He carefully put away the ceremonial sword, lowered his head, and for the first time expressed his true feelings, "Actually, I don''t care who my biological parents are, I don''t know them, and they have never seen me. To me, Vineta is my mother, and you are my father, and I will serve and protect Ella like a son."


    Antonio, too, was moved, and embracing Winters'' shoulders, he spoke softly, "What are you talking about, you fool? The fact that you have grown up is already enough for Vineta and me. Of course, you are Vineta''s and my child. You always have been, and you always will be."


    A knock on the door interrupted the rare moment of warmth between the two men.


    "Sir, a carriage has stopped outside the door, and the person inside asks for you, but refuses to reveal his identity," the voice of Marita came through the study door.


    "He is the guest I was expecting, please let him in through the back door, straight to the study," Antonio replied loudly.


    Marita responded and walked away.


    "A guest? Then I''ll excuse myself," Winters said.


    "You should make your excuses but also eavesdrop," Antonio replied as he opened a secret door in the corner of the study, "The visitor would surely expect you to leave, but I want you to listen to what he has to say."


    Behind the secret door was a spiral staircase leading directly to the upstairs master bedroom, a "secret passage" known to the entire household. But the door was so well-made that its edges were hidden in the wall''s contour lines, with no visible door seam in sight.


    Winters got the hint and slipped behind the door, peering through an observation hole hidden in the shelves at the study.


    Two figures clad in black cloaks, a master and a servant, entered Antonio''s study under Marita''s guidance, the servant carrying a finely crafted wooden box. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only when the room was left with the three of them did the cloaked person remove his hood, revealing his identity to the person he brought with him.


    Seeing the face beneath the hood, Winters behind the secret door almost cried out in surprise. Winters not only recognized who it was, but there was no way he could be mistaken, for this person had left a very deep impression on Winters.


    Luxurious warships, elite loyalist troops, and the legendary Eagle Knights... Days ago, at Haidong Port, which had not yet been burned to ashes, Winters and Andre had waited for hours to welcome this person.


    Earl Narzia¡ªthe head of Chancery and plenipotentiary envoy for traitor Henry III¡ªhad secretly arrived at the residence of Vineta Army Major General Serviati.

 Chapter 63 Unexpected Guests_2

    ```Although the Sovereignty War had ended twenty-six years ago, many within the Empire still regarded the Senas Alliance as southern rebels. The clandestine meeting of the Vineta Army''s powerbroker with the Emperor''s favorite was enough to spark endless speculation with a simple sentence.


    Yet Antonio wasn''t surprised by the identity of the visitor. Without even a cursory word of greeting, he just nodded at the other party and casually pointed to the chair in front of the desk, saying indifferently, "Please sit."


    Despite the cold reception, Earl Narzio didn''t appear angry. Instead, a fawning smile spread across his face, "His Majesty sends his sincerest regards."


    Antonio chuckled dryly, but offered no reply.


    However, Earl Narzio took the exquisite wooden box from his servant''s hands with diligence, placing it respectfully on Antonio''s desk, "This is a gift from His Majesty for you and your esteemed wife."


    But Antonio didn''t even glance at it, leaning back in his chair with impatience, "If you are here to deliver gifts and greetings on his behalf, I have received them, you can go now. Otherwise, speak plainly."


    "Bringing a gift from His Majesty is indeed the main purpose of my visit. He doesn''t wish to obtain anything from you, merely to extend well-wishes to an old friend," Earl Narzio said with a smile, but then his tone shifted, "Of course, there is another matter..."


    "Speak directly."


    "I am here to convey His Majesty''s stance... Of course, to convey a stance, not to give directions," Earl Narzio said politely.


    "Speak!"


    "Our side... that is, His Majesty and the government representing his authority, do not wish to see war break out between Vineta and Tanilia," Narzio spoke warmly.


    Antonio scoffed, "Too bad he doesn''t have the final say." S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You misunderstand, His Majesty has no intention of imposing his will onto the southern... nations, only asked me to relay some facts," Narzio maintained his courteous demeanor, "A new warlord has unified most of the Norman tribes and gained the loyalty of the Tatars. The Empire will not stand by as a new barbarian regime emerges on its borders. Our northern armies will initiate a preemptive offensive to eliminate this threat."


    The previously impatient Antonio fell into thought, while Narzio waited silently.


    After a while, Antonio asked, "When do you plan to commence the war?"


    "Four days ago," Earl Narzio replied with a smile, "The war has already begun. According to plan, the borderland armies have already set out from White Mountain fortress four days ago. The news should reach here in a few more days."


    "You are taking preventive measures indeed."


    "This is necessary. If one doesn''t extinguish the fire at its beginning, wouldn''t the end be just as we see before us?" Narzio said, smiling and gesturing around, "This is the lesson the southerners like you have taught us."


    Antonio laughed as well, "Why tell me this?"


    "Sir, you must understand what I am saying," Earl Narzio spoke smoothly, "The Empire and your Alliance have close commercial ties; traders carry their goods wherever they fetch a higher price. Our war against the Norman barbarians has already driven up the prices of bulk commodities. If Vineta and Tanilia were to go to war now, the prices of military supplies would skyrocket.


    This continent''s supplies cannot support two wars at once. If we both bid for military assets, it would only benefit the merchants. With the current prices, your side could not possibly procure enough supplies. Moreover, Vineta isn''t self-sufficient; saltpetre and sulphur rely entirely on imports, let alone hoping to secure supplies through trade embargoes."


    Narzio paused for a moment, then added more weight to his words, "Moreover, when the campaign against the Norman barbarians consumes most of His Majesty''s attention, the power balance in the south will be disrupted, and inevitably some will become restless..."


    Antonio snorted, interrupting him, "Why are you telling me this?"


    "Someone wants to know your stance."


    "I have no stance; the stance of the Executive Committee is my stance."


    "No, your stance is very important," Narzio insisted firmly, "Within the Vineta military, you are the one the sensible look to for direction. Your stance is very important."


    "Says who?"


    "I say so." The servant who had been standing silently behind Narzio stepped forward, lifting his hood.


    Winters didn''t recognize the man, but now it was Antonio''s turn to be shocked.


    Antonio stood up abruptly, his voice low with astonishment, "The Secretary of State, Your Excellency?"


    The highest position in the Vineta Republic was that of the Consul, but the title of Secretary of State was only used by The Federated Provinces. The Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces held a status equivalent to that of the Consul of Vineta.


    Startled by Antonio''s words, Winters was taken aback as well.


    "Yes, it''s me. In my capacity as the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces, I request your help," Secretary Lionel took a few steps forward, speaking earnestly to Antonio.


    In that moment, the Emperor''s favorite, the head of state of The Federated Provinces, and the general of Vineta, three individuals who should never have been in the same room, were all within Antonio''s study.


    Of course, that included a Vineta Army lieutenant eavesdropping behind the secret door.


    "What is going on here?" Antonio looked at Earl Narzio.


    "It was I who requested Earl Narzio help me get here; without Earl Narzio''s protection, I wouldn''t have been able to reach Sea Blue City," Secretary Lionel of The Federated Provinces explained quickly, "I''ve arranged everything properly in Guidao City; no one knows I''ve come to Sea Blue City."


    ```

 Chapter 63 Unexpected Guests_3

    ```Lionel was now visibly anxious, showing none of the composure expected of the Chief Civil Servant of the Federated Provinces Republic.


    "So, what is the real reason you''ve gone to such lengths to come to Sea Blue?"


    "The reason is complex, but I''ll keep it short." Lionel leaned towards Antonio and said, "I can no longer suppress the young faction within the Provincial Army. As soon as you send troops to Tanilia, the Provincial Army will use it as a pretext to move against Vineta."


    "On what grounds?"


    The Secretary of State was almost frantic: "What reason do those mad dogs need? The Provincial Army has always wanted to turn the Alliance into a real state, aren''t you aware of that? And aren''t pretexts easy to come by? The diplomatic rights of the republics have been handed over to the Alliance government, Vineta doesn''t even have the power to declare war! You''ve already violated the ''Sovereignty Charter''!"


    "Please, hold on." With a leisurely demeanor, Earl Narzia said, "Based on my understanding of your Alliance, whether the member states have the power to declare war is a matter of dispute, and the ''Sovereignty Charter'' does not stipulate in detail..."


    "A dispute is enough!" Lionel rudely interrupted the other party.


    With a smile, Earl Narzia spread his hands and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.


    The Secretary of State hastily added, "Furthermore, Tanilia is now divided into several factions, with one of them being very close to the Provincial Army. What would you do if, after your intervention, the Tanilia Islands became the eighth province of the Federated Provinces? Could the Vineta Executive Committee tolerate that? By then, the situation would be uncontrollable."


    Antonio frowned and said, "The idea of a Greater Senas Nation was originally Marshal Ned''s, the Provincial Army certainly inherited this concept, but they wouldn''t go mad enough to start a fight with Vineta over it."


    "Naive! Don''t you know what the Provincial Army is like? A state within a state! There are indeed rational factions within the Provincial Army, but the greater the friction between Vineta and the Provinces, the weaker the voice of the rational faction becomes, and the louder the voice of the war faction. Therefore, Vineta needs to give us rationalists some room to maneuver. If Vineta goes to war with Tanilia, the rational voices in the Provincial Army will vanish completely," Lionel said excitedly.


    "But what''s the point of telling me this? Unlike the Provincial Army, the command of the Vineta Army lies with the chief executive. You should go to Governor Debela."


    "That''s precisely the problem! The war faction in the Provinces is in the army, but your Vineta''s war faction is in the government! The Provinces have people who want to turn the Alliance into a centralized state; don''t you think there are people in Vineta who want to split from the Alliance and make the Vineta Republic independent?" Lionel launched into a passionate oration with the eloquence of a Secretary of State, "There are people in both our countries who want to solve problems through civil war, and what''s more dangerous, they all think they have a good chance of winning!"


    Once again, with his unhurried manner, Earl Narzia interjected, "I think the Secretary of State is very right. In fact, without the military pressure from your king, there would probably have already been fighting within the Alliance. Now that we are tied up by the Normans to the north, some see it as the perfect opportunity."


    Antonio bluntly asked Lionel, "Secretary of State, what exactly is your purpose in coming to me?"


    "To avoid a civil war!" Lionel answered unequivocally. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''m afraid that''s beyond my power."


    "You can."


    "How could I possibly do that?"


    Lionel''s next words were shocking, "The best course of action would be for you to lead a military coup, strip Governor Debela of her powers, dissolve the assembly, and establish a temporary military government. Your legion is the only force near Sea Blue City; no one can stop you."


    Antonio stood up abruptly: "What madness are you talking about!"


    "There''s a second way," said Lionel, his eyes bloodshot, his emotion verging on hysteria, "Vineta sends troops to purge the Provincial Army, restructure the army''s command, and take back command power to the Provincial Assembly. With my support, the pro-war faction in the army won''t be able to stir up any trouble; you could wipe them out in one fell swoop! To cut off the risk permanently."


    "The more you talk, the more outrageous it gets! Isn''t that just civil war?"


    ```


    "Better a moment of pain than a lifetime of suffering, better a minor civil war than a major one, better to shed some blood today than rivers of it later!"


    Antonio grabbed the arm of the secretary of state and led him out, "Please leave, I don''t want to hear this madness anymore, I''ll pretend you never came today."


    However, nobody expected that Lionel, the secretary of state, a man even taller than Antonio, suddenly began to cry out loud. Even the count of Narzia, who had been watching as if it were a play, was stunned, to say nothing of Antonio and Winters, who was behind a secret door.


    "I have no other choice! Do you understand? I have no choice! I''m watching the Republics drown in a sea of blood, and I''m powerless! The Senas Alliance is doomed! The Federated Provinces are doomed! You Vineta are doomed too! If there were another way, why would I seek help from the lapdog of the Pretender Emperor!" Lionel hysterically pointed at the count of Narzia: "I hid in the ship''s cabin and smuggled myself from Guidao City to Sea Blue City to see Debela, because there''s still a glimmer of hope in Vineta. But it''s too late, after Haidong Port was burned, it''s all too late! Done! It''s all over!"


    This chief civil servant of the Federated Provinces collapsed on the ground, his face covered in tears, crying helplessly.


    Winters, who had been watching everything from behind the secret door, suddenly felt pity for him, but also thought he was a madman.


    "Mr. Serviati, what happened in the study?" Kosha''s voice came from the door of the study, apparently the earlier commotion had disturbed her.


    "Nothing." Antonio replied: "Tell the servants to go home, and have Miss Ella and Miss Sofia called upstairs."


    Kosha did not ask any further, simply responding softly, "Okay."


    After exchanging glances for a moment, Antonio and the count of Narzia watched as Lionel suddenly stopped crying. Shortly after, he stood up, appearing to have become another person.


    The excitement and madness had disappeared from his face; as the secretary of state, he now showed no emotion, as if he were a cold stone statue.


    The contrast from moments before was so striking that one couldn''t help but wonder whether someone had extracted his original soul and inserted a new one.


    Lionel looked emotionlessly at Antonio and said in a stern tone, "Major General Serviati, you are a qualified soldier, but you lack the resolve to sacrifice everything to change the course of history, nor do you have the courage and determination to drive change, and you lack the wisdom to see through fate.


    I met with the Governor Debela yesterday, and with you today. You and Debela are of the same kind, driven by public opinion and you by duty. I knew what kind of person you are, so I knew what the outcome would be before I came to see you. Still, I came, because if you can remember what I said today, maybe the destruction can come a little later."


    If it were any other situation and someone spoke to Antonio like this, he would surely want a duel. But there was no hint of attack or insult in the secretary''s tone now.


    No sooner had the words been spoken, regardless of whether Antonio understood them or not, Lionel put on his hood again and walked straight toward the door of the study.


    As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said calmly and steadily to Antonio, "My assistant and dear friend, Mr. Mara, came to Vineta as my secret envoy to see Governor Debela, but has vanished without a trace, obviously dead. When you find him, please send his ashes to me."


    After saying that, without turning back, he opened the study door and walked out, leaving Antonio and the count of Narzia bewildered. After a moment of confusion, the count nodded apologetically at Antonio and followed out.


    Only after the two of them had gone far did Winters emerge from the secret door.


    "That man is the secretary of state of the Federated Provinces?" Winters asked incredulously.


    Antonio nodded silently.


    "Isn''t he just a madman?"


    Antonio was silent for a moment before he replied, "Perhaps..."

 Chapter 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell

    "How could General Serviati possibly mutiny over a few mad words? Your Excellency is well aware of that," said Earl Nalzia as he took two cups out of a cabinet, pouring wine with a casual tone, "I just can''t understand why you would say those things to him."After the honey-colored liquid filled the cups, Nalzia added a few ice cubes from a cotton-covered iron can into the wine and handed one to Lionel.


    Lionel looked completely different from how he appeared in Antonio''s study; now, he seemed more like the Chief Civil Servant of The Federated Provinces ¨C renowned for his shrewdness and boldness in handling affairs.


    The Secretary of State swirled his glass gently and said calmly, "Not being able to persuade Debela meant that I had already failed. Everything else was just patching holes, inconsequential and expected... But the corrupt ways of you nobles always manage to surprise me a little. Using court mages to make ice just for drinking ice wine, isn''t that a bit too luxurious?"


    "It''s not really about luxury, since I''m also one of His Majesty''s most trusted ''lackeys,''" Earl Nalzia replied with a smile.


    The day after the Secretary of State''s unexpected visit, Virtue set sail from Sea Blue City with the Emperor''s delegation. It would stop in Guidao City for supplies, then head straight back to the Empire. Vineta''s march on the Taniria Islands was a foregone conclusion.


    When Virtue left the dock, a high-level military officer meeting was taking place in the Throne Hall at the army headquarters in Vineta. The atmosphere was extremely tense ¨C they had been in session since the morning without reaching any conclusions.


    "...Mobilize three more legions, clear the outer islands in a month, take down Golden Harbor in two, and pacify the Taniria Islands in three..." Major General Layton, appointed as the commander of the First Reserve Legion, was spitting enthusiastically at his colleagues, his face glowing red.


    "Bullshit! If you can''t deal with the Federation in three months, will you commit suicide to apologize?" Another officer sitting opposite Layton retorted unceremoniously, "Just opening your mouth about mobilizing three legions, that''s five in total, are you digging up the money from your ancestral grave?"


    Layton was so infuriated that he sprang up, drawing his sword. The officer opposite was not to be outdone, pulling out his own military saber. As the council hall almost turned into a battleground, the surrounded officers hurriedly restrained the two men.


    The senior officers sitting further away were already accustomed to such scenes; in more than thirty years since the establishment of Vineta, more generals had died in duels than in battle. Watching the army fight amongst themselves, the navy officers were unperturbed and watched the drama with relish.


    "Disgracing yourself in front of allies!" Admiral Zio, the military governor, couldn''t stand it anymore and scolded, "Take away their swords!" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With their superior officer truly angry, Layton and his rival did not dare to cause more trouble. They handed over their swords and sat down on the chairs, trying to burn each other to death with the fury in their eyes.


    Another army officer began to speak, "Layton is not wrong. If we don''t fight, so be it, but if we do fight, we should crush the Federation. Deploying five legions all at once is better than sending one legion at a time. The longer it drags on, the more likely things are to change."


    "Five legions'' worth of troops is enough to resolve the Federation in three months?" someone else contested.


    "The Federation is like scattered sand; why can''t we?"


    The objector sneered, "The Pretender Emperor thought the same, claiming he could annihilate us before the Spring Festival, yet the Sovereignty War dragged on for eleven years!"


    "How can you compare those pirate and slaver scum of the Federation to us?" the one supporting Layton was also riled up, "Besides, it was the Federation that chose war, not Vineta!"


    "Enough!" Admiral Zio stopped the two, calling another person by name, "Antonio, your thoughts!"


    "I''d like to hear what our other comrades think first." Enjoy new chapters from empire


    "When it''s your turn to speak, speak! Your Third Legion is the main force attacking Taniria."


    Antonio cleared his throat, "Then I will share my thoughts."


    The room went suddenly quiet.


    "I agree with the point made earlier. The longer the war against the Federation drags on, the worse it is for us," Antonio said in a deep voice. "But I absolutely do not support the idea of a quick victory. Once the war starts, the most important thing is how to end it. But I don''t know at all how the Executive Council wants to end this war."


    As he spoke, Antonio left his seat and walked to the large map of the inner sea hung on the wall of the council hall. Pointing to the Taniria Islands, he said, "Where can this battle end? By capturing Golden Harbor? With the Federation surrendering? Conquering the entire archipelago? Turning Taniria into a province of Vineta? Our current task is to clarify our strategic objectives."


    "Didn''t the Governor Debela say ''The Tanilia Federation must be destroyed''?" someone interjected.


    "Right, but how exactly can the Federation be considered destroyed?" Antonio countered, "Strangle the leaders of the Federation? Dissolve the Federation? Arrest and execute all members of the Federation? And after destroying the Federation, how shall we deal with Taniria? Maintain its independent status? Take over governance from the Federation? Or turn the islanders into Vineta citizens?"

 Chapter 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_2

    "Finally," Antonio concluded, "Different strategic objectives call for different tactics. Without clear strategic objectives, there is no true victory. Moreover, Vineta must prepare for a protracted war no matter what. War is of the utmost importance in determining the life and death of a nation, and there absolutely should not be any opportunistic mindset for a quick victory."At this point, Antonio thought of the deranged words spoken by Secretary of State Lionel and added heavily, "Because our greatest threat isn''t from the Tanilia Federation but rather other... potential enemies."


    At three o''clock that afternoon, an order signed by the Governor Debela and four members of the Board of Supervisors was delivered to the Thirteen-Person Military Committee:


    "The war budget has been fully approved;


    The Second Army Reserve Corps begins conscription, prepare for the establishment plans for the Third and Fourth Reserve Corps;


    Authorize the Navy to attack any and all ships of the Tanilia Federation;


    Organize a retaliatory strike against the Tanilia Federation as soon as possible."


    Accompanying this order from the Board of Governors was a public declaration:


    "The noble Venetian Republic and the Federation are now in a state of war, all treaties, contracts, and agreements are hereby null and void.


    Any Venetian supporting or assisting the Federation will be regarded as a traitor.


    Any Tanilian supporting or assisting the Federation will be regarded as an enemy.


    The Tanilian captains and plantation owners'' Federation will be destroyed.


    Victory belongs to Vineta.


    That same evening, Winters, Bard, and Andre, who were also apprentice officers under Colonel Kongtai''er, received formal orders: to arrive at the West Camp at eight o''clock in the morning the day after tomorrow, with all their equipment.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    The next night, in Major Moritz''s residence.


    The half-drunk Major Moritz clung to Winters, insisting on teaching him the "Deflection Spell" as a goodbye gift no matter how much Winters tried to decline.


    Three officers from the former Army Headquarters'' Military Police Section gathered once again at Major Moritz''s residence, but this time it wasn''t for a meeting. Instead, Field and Moritz were there to see off Winters.


    "What ability do I have to use the Deflection Spell?" Winters said with a wry smile, seeking help from Colonel Field.


    However, Field was so drunk that his eyes were glazed over and he couldn''t understand what Winters was saying. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Don''t worry... don''t worry... The training method I am going to teach you is one I created myself," Moritz burped long and loud, "The... The Deflection Spell doesn''t need much explosive power; the key is precision... precision, understand?"


    The Major let go and turned to search for something, "Where''s the chair? Where''s the chair?"


    Bemused, Winters quickly handed his own chair to Major Moritz, although he still didn''t see how a chair could be used to practice the Deflection Spell.


    Moritz took the chair and unsteadily stood on it. Winters hurriedly went to support this inebriated man, but Moritz reached up and took down a thin rope from the beam.


    What began as a lesson on the Deflection Spell suddenly turned into a lesson on hanging, frightening Winters to quickly pick up the Major from the chair.


    The rope was long, hanging from the beam down to the height of the table. Moritz tied a dinner knife to the end of the rope and then instructed Winters to step back¡ªuntil the rope was taut and the tip of the knife was still a finger''s width away from Winters''s nose, no closer.


    "Stand still, and don''t move." After Major Moritz said this to Winters, he let go of the dinner knife.


    Winters watched as the knife before his nose swung away like a pendulum and then swung back toward him.


    The glinting knife tip carved an arc through the air, seeming like it would stab into Winters''s eyes, which prompted Winters to dodge to the side with a turn of his head.


    "Don''t move, it won''t hurt you," Major Moritz explained. "The dinner knife won''t swing higher on the return; don''t believe me, watch."


    With that, Major Moritz demonstrated it himself. He held the knife close to his nose, retreated until the rope was tight, and then released his grip.


    The dinner knife tied to the rope swung out and then back again like a pendulum. Moritz didn''t flinch, and the knife came back only a tiny distance from his nose but did not hit him.


    As the knife swung back the next time, it didn''t head straight for Moritz as before, but instead veered off and swung toward his shoulder.


    "See what I mean?" Major Moritz asked with a twinkle in his eye.


    "I... I''m starting to understand now," Winters hadn''t expected Moritz to be serious rather than foolishly drunk: "Senior, you''re really a genius!"


    The principle of the Deflection Spell is fundamentally simple; it''s a lateral Arrow Flying Spell.


    The real difficulty of this spell lies in its demand for precision.


    Experience new stories with empire


    The Spellcasters must accurately target a high-speed moving object with the spell; they must also be able to change its horizontal velocity in the instant before it would hit them, causing it to deviate from its original path.


    Yet the problem bigger than the difficulty of the spell itself is that the Deflection Spell lacks a safe and effective training method.


    The Deflection Spell itself is a high-risk spell, used for life-saving in critical moments. But even the most skilled Kinetic Mages wouldn''t fully trust this spell because a slipup could mean taking a bullet.


    Practicing with a musket was of course suicidal, and the existing training plan involved using bows and arrows. They would shoot arrows from a light bow towards the trainee, allowing the Spellcasters to practice deflecting the arrows as a way to learn and then gradually switch to a stronger bow.

 Chapter 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_3

    But even with arrows that had their heads snapped off and were wrapped in cotton, accidents still occurred frequently. A larger problem was that spellcasters themselves found it hard to discern whether their arrows had gone awry or had been deflected by a spell.Continue reading at empire


    Using a spell itself is akin to ''feeling'' one''s way in archery; the process of practicing spells is about deepening that feel. If archers don''t know whether their shots hit the target each time, how can they find their feel?


    Major Moritz''s method of training was particularly ingenious:


    Objects tied to a rope wouldn''t swing back higher than their original height, so the trainees, positioned in an absolutely safe spot, wouldn''t experience any additional psychological pressure;


    As the swinging object on the rope moved closer to its original position, its speed decreased, making spellcasting less difficult and allowing practice to progress step by step;


    The most brilliant aspect was that spellcasters could clearly know whether they had successfully used the Deflection Spell. If the pendulum deviated from its trajectory, it was a success. Otherwise, it was a failure;


    They only needed to improve their success rate; once they remembered the feel of the spell, they could then switch to practicing with a bow and arrow, which was much easier than starting directly with archery.


    "Genius? More like inherently flawed, it''s just some tricks," Major Moritz waved Winters over. "Try it yourself."


    This time, when the dinner knife flew towards the tip of Winters''s nose, he suppressed his fear and didn''t dodge. As expected, the knife did not touch Winters; it reached its limit very close to him and swung back out again.


    When the dinner knife swung back towards him, Winters attempted to cast the Arrow Flying Spell sideways at it. However, the fast-moving knife in the air and the stationary awl in his hand were not of the same difficulty level, and he failed several times in a row.


    "Know what''s happening, go back and practice more, it''s not that easy to master the trick," Moritz stopped Winters. "Better to stick with drinking!"


    He patted Colonel Field, who was slumped on the table without any response. "Has one gone down already?"


    Winters quickly propped up the already asleep Field onto the couch. Concerned that the colonel might choke on his vomit, he adjusted him into a side-lying position.


    Watching Winters adjust Field''s sleeping position, Major Moritz chuckled, "You''re considerate."


    After speaking, he lay back in the wobbly lounge chair, stared at the ceiling, and said with a breezy tenor, "You''re a good lad, but be sure not to end up like me... ha ha, nor like Field here."


    The statement was a bit too weighty, and Winters didn''t know what to say for a moment.


    After a long silence, Winters asked a question he had always wanted to ask but never did out of politeness, "I don''t understand, a powerful spellcaster like you, why would you turn to drinking... You''re the most powerful spellcaster I''ve ever seen, bar none... Why? Have you forgotten what Antoine-Laurent said?"


    "Any substance that causes addiction is poison to a spellcaster, I remember well," Moritz sniffed, clutching a bottle of alcohol, his eyes glistening. "But Winters, you still don''t understand, the only thing that can keep a rational soul from falling into the abyss is a bad habit. Answer me, do you believe in God?"


    "No, spellcasters should be atheists."


    "Neither do I. I''ve visited miracles, studied scriptures, sought proof of the existence of gods. But the more I understood about various religions, the less I could bring myself to believe in the existence of deities. Winters, one more question for you, have you ever lost someone close to you?"


    "No," Parents he had never met obviously didn''t count as close.


    "This is a good thing. Have you ever thought about where people go after they die?"


    "...No."


    "Normans believe that after death they can feast with the gods; Catholics think they will go to paradise; Selika people believe in entering a cyclic system after death, becoming newly born animals. Do you know why all these religions paint pictures of the afterlife?"


    "...I don''t know. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Because people are afraid of death, because humans hope that their death is not a true ''death'', hoping their souls can continue to exist. But for us spellcasters, us atheists, us rationalists, death is a total dissolution of consciousness, and whatever happens in the world afterward has nothing to do with you, you won''t feel it... no, death means even the feeling itself is gone. Whether the world spits on you, mourns you, commemorates you, it''s all meaningless to you... even the meaning itself is gone. When you die, there is nothing left... do you understand?"


    Overwhelmed with too much information, Winters had some trouble grasping it.


    Moritz murmured, "One day you''ll understand, everyone dies, and one day you too will lose someone important to you, and you won''t be able to help but wonder where they''ve gone? In the end, you get a cruel answer, they haven''t gone anywhere, they just cease to exist, gone..."


    Winters sorted out his thoughts and asked back, "Aren''t those who believe in God the same when they die? Haven''t believers been deceived?"


    "Of course, they''ve been deceived," Moritz replied softly. "But what does it matter to someone whose consciousness no longer exists? They won''t be angry, regretful, or unwilling. Since everything dissolves completely after death, it''s better to be deceived and have peace while you''re alive."


    "Then why are you still an atheist?"


    "Me?" Moritz curled up on the chaise longue and said with a laugh, "There''s no point in pretending to believe when you don''t, one cannot deceive oneself. I am too rational to be fooled by religion, but not brave enough to accept death. I live now just to live, without any meaning. But I don''t want to die, so I just muddle through. You still have someone very important which means your life still has meaning. Take good care of them, don''t end up like me..."


    Major Moritz''s voice grew fainter and then he started to snore lightly, having fallen asleep.


    Winters took the bottle of wine from Major Moritz''s hand and found a thin blanket to cover him. After confirming that Colonel Field and Major Moritz were both asleep, he went into Moritz''s bedroom.


    Opening the backpack he had brought, Winters took out a beautifully crafted revolver. After confirming that the flint could spark, Winters began to load the ammunition efficiently.


    Among the gifts from Earl Narzio were a pair of finely crafted, lavishly decorated revolvers. The inside of the barrels was polished as smooth as a bronze mirror, ensuring accuracy within thirty steps.


    Antonio had given Winters one, and Winters was now loading it.


    After loading the bullets, Winters quickly changed into a set of tight-fitting black clothes; he had deliberately chosen not to wear army boots today, opting instead for a pair of soft leather shoes.


    He slipped the revolver into the holster on his right leg and strapped a long dagger to his left leg, finally slinging a belt studded with steel spikes diagonally over his shoulder.


    Having confirmed once more that the two other officers in the living room had passed out drunk, Winters opened the window of Moritz''s bedroom and climbed onto the roof.


    He hadn''t fully understood what Major Moritz was saying, but he knew, without needing the major to tell him, that he would protect the people he cared about at all costs.


    [Winters Montagne''s alignment has changed from Lawful Good to Neutral Good]

 Chapter 65 Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns

    ```Having climbed out the window, Winters swiftly scaled the rooftop.


    During the Sovereign War, the district where Major Moritz now resided had been used to accommodate noble families that had fled from The Federated Provinces to Vineta.


    At that time, the militias of The Federated Provinces had already openly raised their banners in rebellion, but the flames of insurgency hadn''t reached Vineta. Officially, autonomous cities like Sea Blue City and City of Flowers were still direct territories of the royal family.


    Keen-sensed Vinetan merchants spotted an opportunity: even as refugees, the nobles desired more dignified housing.


    Thus, they built rows of stone houses in that district.


    Ingenious merchants constructed these houses with two stories, and placed one right next to the other, with a single wall shared between two homes. This design of double-layered, side-by-side units not only saved on materials but also maximized the use of the land.


    While homes directly next to each other were not considered very respectable, at least they had roofs, four walls, and were made of stone; most importantly, they were much cheaper than individual stone houses.


    Eventually, the idea was a great success, as the refugee nobles outdid each other in handing out the few Gold Coins they had brought with them from The Federated Provinces. Terraced rows of stone houses sprang up throughout the district, and even some of the less affluent nobles began to commission the construction of houses in this style.


    The buildings in the Benwei district were constructed with the same design concept. The noble refugees still had some money, so they used stone. But the fleeing commoners were penniless, so the living areas of the dock workers were primarily made of wood.


    When the houses were connected, the rooftops connected too. Although subsequent occupants had modified their rooftops somewhat, it posed no impediment to the agile Winters.


    At this moment, Winters was like a silent black cat, stealthily moving across the rooftops. Two night watchmen passed below with a lantern, oblivious to the shadow that leaped across the gap between two rows of houses above them.


    Shortly, Winters crossed the entire district and arrived at his destination.


    It was a house that could be found anywhere in the district, with an ordinary design. The doors and windows on the first floor were tightly closed, and faint lights shone through the windows of the second floor. It looked like an ordinary household, with nothing particularly noteworthy.


    Using the moonlight, Winters checked the features of this house against those of the surrounding ones. Once sure he hadn''t made a mistake, he drew the wheel-lock pistol from its holster, sprinkled gunpowder on the firing mechanism, and snapped the flint into the frizzen.


    The pistol was now ready to fire.


    Unlike regular wheel-lock pistols¡ªHenry III''s gunsmiths were indeed worthy of being the royal gunsmiths¡ªthis firearm had an ingenious design: there was a small cap over the priming pan that was linked to the trigger.


    Only when the trigger was pulled would the cap open, igniting the gunpowder in the barrel, significantly reducing the risk of accidental discharge.


    Winters had to trust that the design was effective as he slid the ready-to-fire wheel-lock pistol back into its holster.


    The pistol was his last resort. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn''t want to use this loud weapon.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Let''s rewind to two days earlier, when Winters was returning home from the council hall with Antonio.


    "Follow him, find out who he is. If he''s just a beggar, give him some money. Tell him to not come near our house again," Antonio said, pointing at the little beggar''s retreating figure. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters nodded and set off at a brisk pace.


    It didn''t take long for Winters to catch up with the little beggar. Once he did, Winters stepped in front of the boy, who didn''t turn to run but stopped and stared blankly at Winters.


    "Why are you running?" Winters dismounted and approached the little beggar, hand on the hilt of his sword, and demanded in a stern voice.


    Unexpectedly, the little beggar''s nose turned red, and he burst into tears, clutching Winters, "Brother, please save my big brother..."


    Winters instinctively wanted to dodge but froze in place upon hearing the voice, allowing the little beggar to embrace him. Although the boy''s voice was changing, Winters couldn''t mistake it.


    Winters took out a handkerchief and wiped the little beggar''s face, "Are you Benwei''s brother? Are you the third one?"


    The little beggar nodded.


    "What happened to your brother, tell me slowly..." Winters led the younger Benwei to a back alley where there were no passersby.


    Back in the Army Junior School, Winters often went to play with Benvenuto. Benvenuto was the eldest son with several younger brothers and sisters. At that time, Winters and Benvenuto were only as old as the current third Benwei, and Benvenuto''s younger brothers liked to follow the two older boys like tails, with both the second and third Benwei calling Winters "Brother."


    "The Montans came looking for us last night..." Benwei''s third brother sobbed, using a mix of words and gestures to explain to Winters what had happened. Although the child was young and his speech was punctuated with sobs, his thoughts and narrative were clear, and Winters quickly understood the situation.


    Last night, a group of men had broken into the farmhouse where Benwei was hiding. After a struggle, they took Benwei and his second brother away and severely beat the owner of the house.


    Benwei''s third brother had been living with the son of the house owner. By lying and saying the third brother was his own son, he had narrowly escaped the same fate.


    "And then what?" Winters tried to keep his breathing controlled, a voice in his head shouting non-stop: The Montans found Benwei because they followed you!


    ```

 Chapter 65 Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_2

    ```Benwei''s youngest brother, who had already stopped crying, suddenly burst into tears again, "And then, my second brother died."


    The group that had kidnapped Benwei quickly mounted the carriage and left the farm. Benwei''s youngest brother immediately gave chase and caught up with them.


    Unexpectedly, after not going far, the two carriages suddenly stopped for a while and then moved on.


    Benwei''s youngest brother ran to the spot where the carriages had stopped and found his second brother''s still warm body. The clothes below the torso were completely soaked with fresh blood. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The image of Benwei''s second brother began to surface in memory, a round-faced, honest child, somewhat clumsy, but especially obedient to Benwei and Winters. Even when his mother beat him with a stick, the silly boy never betrayed Benwei and Winters.


    The child was dead? The kid who had followed behind with a silly smile was dead?


    Winters suddenly felt a sense of unreality.


    Wiping away his tears, Benwei''s youngest brother continued with the rest of the story, "And then¡­ then I had no choice but to hide my second brother in a ditch by the side of the road¡­ and continue to chase those Montans."


    That night, Benwei''s youngest brother quietly followed the carriage into the city and watched as the group dragged Benwei into a house.


    Winters had a rough understanding of what had happened. He felt sweat forming on his forehead, and his breathing became uncontrollably rapid. But he constantly reminded himself in his heart, "Panic is of no use"; the priority was to clarify the situation, and there were still some doubts that had to be cleared up.


    "Xial, don''t be anxious. I have a few questions to ask you." Winters tried to ask as calmly as possible, "How do you know that those who kidnapped Benwei were Montans?"


    "Their accent; they all had the Montan accent." Benwei''s youngest brother didn''t even have to think before responding.


    "Have you gone to your eldest brother''s companions¡­ those dockworkers, or have you been to the sheriff?"


    The eyes of Benwei''s youngest brother moistened again, and he sobbed as he said, "It''s useless, the sheriff won''t care about us. The Montans have bribed the sheriff. My brother''s coworkers were killed by the Montans, several of them, and the sheriff didn''t even show up. We are not Venetians; the sheriff will not bother with us¡­"


    Everyone''s attention was focused on the war with the Tanilia Federation, and the Montans chose a good time.


    "You mean there was another brawl at the docks between the Vaughan People and the Montans, and the Vaughan People lost, right?" Winters caught on to some information.


    "Yesterday during the day, the Montans attacked my brother''s group and killed the leaders. I went to them, but they had already knelt in submission, too afraid to rescue my brother. It was they who told the Montans where we were hiding!" Benwei''s youngest brother gripped Winters''s arm, weeping, "I¡­ I really had no other choice, otherwise I wouldn''t have come here¡­ Winters, I beg you, please save my brother. If you get my brother out, my life is yours from here on!"


    "Stop crying! A man sheds blood, not tears." Winters took out a handkerchief to wipe Xial''s tears, "Do you remember where they took your brother?"


    "I watched all through the night, and as soon as the sun came up, I wrote down the address of that house." Benwei''s youngest brother hurriedly unfolded his clothing and tore off a piece of fabric from his undergarment, handing it to Winters.


    The fabric was inscribed with an address in blood.


    "Are you sure about this address?"


    "Yes!"


    "Does anyone else know that you came to find me?"


    "No one! I haven''t told anyone."


    "How many people took away your brother?"


    "About a dozen."


    "Is your brother still there?"


    Benwei''s youngest brother shook his head while crying, "I stood guard outside all night long, and they didn''t take my brother out. Today, during the day, I went to my brother''s companions and couldn''t keep watching them¡­ Please save my brother quickly, the longer we delay, the more likely they are to take my brother elsewhere¡­"


    There was nothing else to ask. Winters grabbed Xial''s shoulders and asked, "Your other family members were sent to relatives by your brother, do you know where they are?"


    "I know." Benwei''s youngest brother dried his tears and nodded.


    Winters took out his Spellcaster''s insignia and placed it in Xial''s palm, then withdrew all the money he had on him and said to Xial earnestly and seriously, "Leave your brother''s matter to me. Now, go to your other family members. Take this insignia and find Warrant Officer Bard at the Army Officers'' Club, Gerard''s Bard. Tell him I sent you, but don''t mention your brother''s situation. Ask him to arrange a horse to take you to your family. Did you understand?"


    Benwei''s youngest brother seemed to want to say something, but seeing the look in Winters''s eyes, he swallowed his words and nodded firmly.


    "Repeat it."


    Benwei''s youngest brother repeated Winters''s words.


    "Your brother is alive; I will get him out. If your brother is dead, I will avenge him. Go to your family and don''t tell anyone that you''ve seen me, go now."


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Time returns to the present.


    After confirming that there was no light seeping from the wooden door on the balcony, Winters grasped the parapet and iron bars and gently landed on the backstreet-side balcony of the house.


    Even though he did his best to reduce the height of the drop, being a man of normal weight, he still made a slight sound upon landing.


    He held his breath, drew his dagger, leaned against the wall, and listened intently.


    ```

 Chapter 65 Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_3

    ```Fortunately, only snoring could be heard behind the door, and no one seemed to notice the unusual noise.


    Winters was acting alone tonight, not seeking help from anyone. Although he was certain that Bard would have helped him without hesitation, and Andre might have too. But he didn''t ask for help, nor did he tell anyone his plan.


    Benvenuto was a good friend of Winters''s and had saved his life. However, since Bard and Andre didn''t know him, Winters didn''t want to involve others.


    From elementary school to officer''s academy, ten years of military education had forged Winters Montagne into a "keeper of order".


    He could have gone to the sheriff, but he knew what would happen if he did: the Montan would get a tip-off in advance, slit Benwei''s throat and bury him in a pit outside the city; he could ask for Antonio''s help and have the gendarmerie search the place, but that would expose Kosa and Elizabeth, putting them in danger.


    So Winters decided to take matters into his own hands.


    Using a method Colonel Field had taught him, Winters slid the thin blade of his dagger into the gap in the door and unlatched it.


    Over the past two days, Winters had carefully scouted the house and kept watch for a long time. The house was not as simple as it seemed; Benwei''s younger brother had said about a dozen men had kidnapped Benwei, but in reality, Winters had counted at least twenty-two different faces entering the house without leaving.


    One house certainly couldn''t house that many people; the only explanation was that the adjacent house also belonged to these Montan. They had broken through the walls, turning two houses into one. And perhaps it was more than two houses.


    He had two plans: if the enemy moved Benwei, he would intercept them en route; if Benwei hadn''t been taken away, he would execute his original plan, which is what he was doing now.


    Using the Luminosity Spell to emit a dim glow, Winters counted three men lying on the floor, asleep.


    He silently approached one of them, identified his vital spots, and without hesitation, plunged his dagger into the man''s neck. As he thrust into the neck, Winters pressed his knee into the man''s chest and covered his mouth and nose with his left hand.


    The Montan woke up from the intense pain of his dream, but with his throat severely injured and his mouth and nose covered, he couldn''t make a sound, only flailing his arms about.


    But Winters was unmoved, continuing to slash forcefully, feeling a strange resistance as he cut through tendons, the windpipe, and blood vessels, leaving a gruesome gash on the man''s neck. The Montan quickly lost his strength and stopped moving altogether.


    As the man struggled, Winters inexplicably remembered Major Moritz''s words. He thought, according to the major, even if I am hanged one day for this, it has nothing to do with you. You won''t feel the satisfaction of revenge; your existence will be entirely obliterated.


    Killing an enemy on the battlefield was different from executing a citizen without trial. Vineta was not a place outside the law; Vineta had order and law, the state had monopolized the right to take life. No matter how the law was actually enforced, murder was a first-degree felony without question.


    But Winters''s purpose tonight was not to rescue Benwei; he was there to thoroughly resolve Benwei''s problem. Destroying the body might not solve the problem entirely, but it would take care of most of it. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters could use the Arrow Flying Spell to drive a steel spike into the forehead of his opponents, sparing them pain, making a clean kill without blood.


    But he didn''t possess the advanced knowledge of Kinetic Magic that Moritz had. If it were Major Moritz, he could have brazenly walked through the front door and nailed everyone inside one by one, only worrying about anyone escaping. Winters didn''t have that ability; he had to conserve his magic for the enemies to come.


    He continued in the same manner, dealing with the other two men in the room.


    "Three," Winters counted silently in his mind, "at least nineteen more to go."


    ¡ª¡ªSlash¡ª¡ª


    In a room on the first floor of the adjacent house, Benvenuto was jerked awake from unconsciousness by a bucket of cold water poured over his head.


    His left eye was throbbing with piercing pain, sealed shut by clotted blood. Ever since he had been brought here, he had been tightly tied to a chair and brutally beaten.


    Benvenuto laboriously lifted his head and, by the dim light of the oil lamp, he made out the person in front of him.


    He licked his dry lips and said weakly, "I stand by what I said; I have nothing to do with Big Scar''s death. If I had killed him, I would never deny it. But it wasn''t me, and you won''t force me to confess."


    "Actually, it doesn''t matter. If you confess, you live a few more days before being hanged. If you don''t, you''ll be beaten to death right here." The man beside Benwei answered, bringing a cup to Benwei''s lips, "Here, have some water."


    The man was skinny and pale, with sparse brown hair, giving the impression he was not accustomed to physical labor, not a dockworker.


    But Benwei refused to drink, turning his head away to ask, "Then why don''t you just kill me outright?"


    "Because they dare not. They can accidently beat a man to death in a group, but they lack the courage to execute you while looking into your eyes. You won''t admit to killing Bal [Big Scar], so they don''t know what to do with you; they just keep you locked up waiting for you to die." The effeminate man explained, taking a big gulp from the cup, "Are you afraid the water is poisoned? It''s just water, see, I''m drinking it too."


    ```

 Chapter 65 Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_4

    ```"Who are you?"


    The frail man put the cup aside, seemed tired from standing, and dragged a chair to sit in front of Benwei: "I am Bal''s son."


    Benwei was silent for a moment before saying, "Believe it or not, your father''s death had nothing to do with me."


    "I''ve said it doesn''t matter whether it was you or not. Bal''s death is actually a good thing. Your death will be the same. These are all inevitable bloodshed."


    "I don''t understand what you''re talking about." Benwei shook his head in confusion.


    Propping his chin with one hand, the frail man said, "You can understand. Your family has been at the docks for many years; you know better than anyone what it was like in the early days. Chaotic competition, violent scrambles for work, and as a result, no one had enough to eat. Only after our three factions took over the docks did we first establish rules, and life got a bit better for everyone. But the struggle between us continued, costing so much blood. Every year, the docks saw a few more widows, a few more beggars."


    "So what?"


    "There''s no need to split into three groups; having just one group at Sea Blue Port''s docks is enough. I''m not trying to drive you and the Paratu People out of the docks; I want to turn you into my people. Only by uniting the three factions can we truly eliminate internal strife. I will establish a dockworkers'' guild like the blacksmiths, and when the dockworkers are united, then we will have a say..."


    Benwei interrupted him: "Wait a minute... What did you say? You will? The Montan are listening to you now."


    "Yes," the frail man nodded. "Now it''s just the Montan, but soon it will be all the dockworkers."


    "What if the Vaughan People and the Paratu People don''t want to listen to you?" Benwei asked with a cold laugh.


    "That''s why we need some people who can use force, whose purpose is to make everyone listen to me," the frail man replied softly.


    Benvenuto spoke with disdain: "So your thugs are your military aristocracy, and you still want to be the emperor on this tiny dock, huh?"


    The pupils of the frail man dilated, and he said excitedly, "You don''t understand, Benvenuto, this is for the benefit of all dockworkers! Have you ever seen a fifty-year-old dockworker? No! Because they''re either dead or their bodies have been worn down. Dockworkers are trading their lives for money, and the money they earn is getting less and less! In ten years, the price of food has increased by twenty percent, yet the wages for dockworkers have barely changed. Due to the devaluation of currency, their earnings have actually dropped by ten percent. Without a voice, we will never have bargaining power! The docks don''t lack workers; they''ll chew us all up and drain us of blood and flesh, spitting out only the dregs!"


    This passionate speech seemed to exhaust the frail man''s strength; his chest heaved as he gasped for breath.


    Benvenuto was left speechless by the rebuke; it took him a while before he asked again, "You aren''t a dockworker either, are you?"


    "I am not, but I was born in a dockworker''s family just like you and have seen their suffering," the frail man replied through gritted teeth.


    "Have you shared your grand ambitions and your ''military aristocrats'' with them?"


    The frail man shook his head: "They don''t understand yet; what drives them now is hatred. They only want to avenge Bal and some are after territory. I will guide them step by step. Eventually, they will understand; in the end, everyone will."


    Benwei asked with a smile, "Then what''s the use of telling me all this?"


    The frail man lowered his eyes to Benwei''s feet and replied softly, "Because you''re going to die soon, I want you to die with some understanding, to let you know your death isn''t in vain."


    Suddenly, the wooden door behind the frail man was pushed open. Before the frail man could turn around, a flash of cold light streaked by, and the frail man''s body stiffened unexpectedly.


    The next second, the frail man who had been speaking eloquently slid powerlessly off the chair and fell to the ground. Something had penetrated his skull from behind, and a pointed tip emerged from his mouth.


    A bloodied, masked figure in black clothes immediately entered the room.


    Everything happened so abruptly that before Benwei could cry out in shock, the masked figure rushed over to cover his mouth: "Don''t shout, it''s me."


    Hearing the familiar voice of the masked figure, Benvenuto''s eyes widened in disbelief, and a muffled sound emerged from his covered mouth: "Winters?"


    The masked figure nodded, let go of his hand, and quickly began to check the entire room. After confirming there were no other living people in the room, he hastened back to Benwei''s side.


    "It''s me, you''re still here, thank goodness! I was afraid they had moved you..." Winters removed the black cloth covering his face, revealing his own visage. Winters'' eyes were surrounded by splattered blood, but the area below his eyes was clean, giving off a bizarre appearance.


    The initial surprise faded from Winters'' face, replaced by anger and sorrow: "What have they done to you, what happened to your eyes?"


    "What? What do you mean?" Benwei didn''t understand what Winters was talking about.


    "Never mind that now." Winters drew his dagger and swiftly cut through the ropes binding Benwei''s limbs and body.


    Benvenuto, freed at last, attempted to stand using the chair but fell back down, his arms and legs too weak after being tied for nearly three days without proper circulation.


    Now with only his eyes able to move, Benwei watched in astonishment as Winters grabbed the frail man''s hair with one hand, and with the other, took a dagger and smeared the corpse''s neck again.


    ```


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 Chapter 65 Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_5

    Then he reached into the corpse''s mouth, not knowing what he was doing. It seemed to take a great deal of effort before he pulled out an object a finger length long with a sharp point from the corpse''s mouth.Winters wiped the bloody object clean on the frail man''s clothing and put it back into his belt. Only then did Benwei realize that the belt was lined with a row of triangular steel spikes, with several places empty.


    Once he had finished with his task, Winters pulled out a revolver and handed it to Benwei. "If someone else comes in, you shoot, no need to use the firing pin, just aim at them and pull this little lever," he said.


    After speaking, he picked up his dagger and walked toward the door.


    "Where are you going?" Benwen Nutuo hurriedly asked.


    "He''s number twenty, there are at least two more," Winters said without turning back, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.


    Benwei slumped in his chair, holding the strange gun that Winters had given him, pointed at the door, his mind blank, the too sudden twists and turns leaving him not understanding what had happened at all.


    Gradually regaining strength in his limbs and the ability to control his arms, Benwei''s first instinct was to give himself a sharp slap on the face.


    It hurt.


    It wasn''t a dream.


    He slapped himself again.


    It hurt just the same.


    He was certain it wasn''t a dream.


    Benwen Nutuo picked up the water glass that the frail man had left on the table and drank the remaining water. His long-thirsty throat was finally moistened, and he couldn''t help but glance over at the frail man who had given him water to drink.


    The frail man''s body was lying on the ground with its head to one side, a pool of fresh blood expanding from where his throat was slit. The face of the young and frail big boy, already pale, had become even paler, covered in a muddy mix of blood and dust. Whatever dreams he had ended along with his life.


    Benwei knelt beside him, gently closed those dilated eyes with his hand, and then took the man''s hand, silently reciting the Lord''s Prayer for him.


    The door opened again, not with the quick and noiseless manner Winters had used, but violently shoved open with a shoulder.


    Benwen Nutuo immediately grabbed the gun again, pointing it toward the door, but the person who entered was Winters.


    "Twenty-five! They''re all taken care of, let''s go," Winters panted, "What are you doing?"


    Seeing that it was Winters who entered, Benwei took the frail man''s hand again, continuing his murmured prayer.


    Winters became anxious. "What are you thinking, conducting religious rituals at a time like this?" he asked.


    But Benwen Nutuo insisted on finishing the entire Lord''s Prayer for the frail young man before standing up, limping and following Winters outside.


    "How did you know I was here?" Benwei asked.


    Just as they left the small room that had been his confinement, Benwei saw another body lying in a pool of blood in the hallway.


    "Xial came looking for me," Winters replied.


    "Where is Xial now, do you know how my younger brother is?" Benwei quickly asked.


    "Xial went to your mother''s place," Winters said with difficulty. "Laine... is dead."


    Benwei''s vision darkened, the world seemed to spin, and he almost fell to the ground.


    Winters quickly steadied Benwei, silently squeezing his arm.


    Benwei took a deep breath, gathered his spirits, and said, "Go ahead, I''ll take care of things here."


    "You don''t need to worry about this place. Come with me, I have a place where we can hide you," Winters responded.


    After making sure the street was empty, Winters led Benwei away from the Montan hideout. Benwei limped slowly, so Winters, taking the gun back and slipping it into its holster, simply hoisted Benwei onto his shoulders.


    Carrying Benwei, he ran to the nearby Yangchong River, finally setting him down. The two found a gentle slope and made their way down to the riverbed, walking until they reached a drainage pipe.


    A bald man dressed in a rough monk''s robe had been waiting for quite some time. Upon seeing Winters approaching, the lame man complained, "What took you so long?"


    "Ran into some trouble on the way, thanks for the help this time," Winters replied.


    "Stop with the bullshit," the lame man said impatiently, then gestured to Benwei, "Follow me."


    With that, he limped into the drainage culvert.


    "The Montans might continue seeking revenge, and if the Montans don''t get you, the sheriff will. Follow him, no one will be able to find you, heal from your injuries first," Winters told Benwei, handing him a bag of money.


    Benwei intended to refuse the money, but in the end, he accepted it. Clutching Winters'' arm, with tears in his eyes, he managed just a few words: "Thank you..."


    "Do we really need to say these things to each other?" Winters gave Benwei a bear hug.


    "What about you? Over there..." Benwei asked worriedly again.


    "Don''t worry, no one but you saw me there. After tonight, I''ll be off to war, and then no one will be able to find me!" Winters laughed as he spoke, then his voice dropped a bit, "If by chance neither of us men return... help me look after my family."


    "Of course." Benwei squeezed Winters''s hand tightly, followed the lame man into the dark tunnel, and the two figures, one limping, vanished into the darkness.


    Winters covered his face and returned to the Montan stronghold; he still had a few steel spikes embedded in a Montan body that he hastily hadn''t pulled out, so he needed to go back and retrieve them.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    "Senior? Major?"


    Moritz, in his sleep, vaguely heard someone calling him, and then he got on a boat, swaying back and forth.


    Finally, when he looked up to see who was calling him, he woke up.


    Winters''s face was before him.


    "Did I fall asleep? How long was I out?" Major Moritz asked, puzzled and groggy upon awakening.


    "Not for long, we''ve been drinking together, and as we drank, I noticed you dozed off, so I woke you up."


    "Oh... what time is it now?" Major Moritz, head throbbing painfully, felt a hangover kicking in.


    "Don''t know, it''s very late. You kept making me drink and wouldn''t let me go." Winters replied with a wry smile, "But now it''s really late, and I truly need to head home."


    "Sorry... sorry... what about Field?"


    "He''s also asleep."


    "Wake him up. His wife won''t stand it if he doesn''t come home at night." Moritz said, clutching his forehead. He sniffed forcefully: "What''s that smell on you?"


    "What smell? Have you forgotten you just spilled your drink on me?" Winters pointed to the still-wet spot on his clothing. He had deliberately doused himself with half a bottle of drink before waking Major Moritz to mask any lingering scent of blood.


    "I''m so sorry... I really drank too much." Major Moritz apologized, rubbing his temples with both hands.


    When Field and Winters left Major Moritz''s place, Moritz''s landlady personally saw the two men out.


    After walking a distance, half-drunk Field, riding on horseback, pointed at the sky and asked, "What''s going on over there?"


    "What''s going on?" Winters sounded puzzled.


    "In the sky, look," Field yawned, "Is that a fire over there?"


    Winters yawned as well, "I don''t know, but it''s none of our business."


    Field laughed, "True... bullets don''t discriminate; you be careful. After this war is over, I''ll treat you to a drink at Golden Harbor."


    Winters answered cheerfully, "Then I''ll expect the good stuff, not the cheap swill you gave me today."


    The two laughed heartily as they rode away from that part of town.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Kosha pressed her ear against the door and turned to Antonio, "He''s going upstairs, he''s going upstairs."


    Antonio lifted his gaze from the book in his hands, glanced at his wife, and sighed.


    "He''s gone back to his room." Kosha returned to the bed and complained to Antonio, "Where has that child been? Why is he coming home so late without telling me?"


    "How is this late?" Antonio lightly said, still looking at his book, "The child has grown up, he should have his own nightlife. When I was Winters''s age, staying out all night was quite normal. You shouldn''t worry so much."


    Kosha, irate, spun around and thumped Antonio twice forcefully.


    "All right, he''s back, now you can go to sleep in peace." Antonio put away the book and blew out the candle. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the darkness, Antonio hugged Kosha from behind, took his wife''s hand, "After I leave Sea Blue with Winters, you and Elizabeth go stay at Giovanni''s place. With the men gone from the house, it''s not safe."


    Kosha simply replied, "After you both leave, I will light two votive lamps. And every day until you and the child return, I will pray for you."


    Antonio silently squeezed his wife''s hand.


    The room was filled with the low sound of Kosha''s weeping.

 Chapter 66 Expedition

    ```"Having such morale immediately after assembly is impressive," Admiral Zio said as he rode past the formation, speaking to Major General Antonio.


    It had been ten years since the Third Legion had been at full strength.


    This was also the first time that "Da Weineta" had fully assembled with all its equipment, standing in formation to be inspected by Admiral Zio and Major General Antonio.


    A chief infantry battalion and nine infantry battalions, totaling over five thousand infantrymen, and two cavalry battalions with over six hundred cavalry¡ªthis was the entire fighting force of the Third Legion.


    Among them, aside from the five infantry battalions consisting of temporarily conscripted reservists, the rest of the soldiers were all members of the Standing Army, drilled daily.


    There was no artillery, as it would greatly slow down the marching speed, so the Venetian Republic''s auxiliary artillery units were formed into separate troops.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre were now three junior officers-in-training within the chief infantry battalion. They could stand proudly at the front of the infantry lines, but they also had to humbly stand behind the official officers.


    After the inspection, Admiral Zio did not waste words; he simply saluted Antonio solemnly.


    With a grave expression, Antonio returned the salute and stepped into the ranks of the legion. At his command, Antonio led the entire legion out of the camp in formation, four columns abreast.


    No one knew where they were going, but the atmosphere was somber, and no one dared to whisper. The soldiers mechanically followed the person ahead, and the officers did the same¡ªonly they were on horseback.


    The three junior officers also had no idea where they were headed, and based on Winters''s observations, several formal officers were also exchanging glances, evidently also in the dark.


    Silently, the Third Legion left its station, bypassed Sea Blue City, and headed east.


    As they marched further, Winters felt increasingly familiar with the road. He exchanged a knowing look with Andre, who had also recognized the route¡ªit led to Haidong Port.


    Eventually, the nearly six thousand officers and soldiers of the Third Legion arrived at the Haidong Port docks.


    The battle had long since ended, but it would be a long time before Haidong Port''s wounds would heal. Everywhere one looked, there were charred ruins.


    This military wharf had now essentially lost its function, and neither officers nor soldiers knew why Antonio had brought the Third Legion here.


    Antonio leaped atop a high position where all the soldiers could see him.


    He surveyed his troops and spoke loudly, "It was here that the Tanyria Confederacy launched a shameful sneak attack on us. They fought without declaration, they burned our warships, they massacred unarmed civilians. The despicable islanders thought they could scare off the Venetians, thought they could delay the judgment."


    With each sentence he uttered, the Spellcaster adjutant beside him would repeat it using a spell to amplify the voice, the augmented sounds echoing throughout Haidong Port.


    The legion''s formation was deathly silent, all eyes focused on the figure of the legate on the platform.


    "For this reason, I have gathered you, the bravest, the finest sons of Vineta. The Republic has trained you, transformed you from ignorant children into real men. And now, the Republic needs you; she anticipates that each one of you will fulfill your duty."


    The soldiers below could not help but grip their weapons tighter, and even Winters could not help but clutch the hilt of his sword.


    Antonio paused for a moment before bellowing, "Today! This moment! I will lead you from here! To Tanyria for vengeance! Blood debts must be paid in blood; we will not forgive! The Tanyria Confederacy must be annihilated! Annihilate the Confederacy!"


    "Annihilate the Confederacy!"


    "Annihilate the Confederacy!" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Annihilate the Confederacy!"


    ...


    In the midst of thunderous cries, a colossal warship, flying the flag of Vineta''s navy, sailed into Haidong Bay, its sails unfurled like white clouds floating on the sea. Behind it, one after another, large ships followed the behemoth into Haidong Bay.


    Antonio raised his hands downward, and the legion''s formation fell silent again.


    Antonio issued his first command with a fierce tone, "No unnecessary burdens for a long voyage. The supply line is a matter of life and death for a cross-sea expedition! All surplus transport must be used for food and gunpowder. All officers, heed my command! Dismount!"


    After speaking, Antonio was the first to leave the saddle, standing on the ground. Led by him, everyone in the Third Legion, from generals to warrant officers, dismounted.


    "Officers'' warhorses will be cared for back at the station; we can still fight without mounts. The entire Third Legion is ordered! Except for weapons, ammunition, tents, and cookware, nothing else is to be brought. Everything else, leave it in Haidong Port!"


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Taking advantage of the rising tide in the afternoon, sailors staying behind in Haidong Port to cooperate with the army''s actions had moved out prepared planks and small boats, erecting two temporary floating bridges to enable the Third Legion to embark.


    This was a joint operation of the army and navy, with the navy extending the utmost courtesy. They sent the flagship of the off-shore fleet¡ªThe Glorious. The presence of this ship at Haidong Port signified that the off-shore fleet commander had also arrived.


    Besides The Glorious warship, there were also twenty-one other "volunteer conscripts" of large armed merchant ships to act as troop transports.


    According to the plan, this detachement would first transport the Third Legion, and then the remaining warships of Vineta''s navy would join this detachement, ultimately forming a powerful fleet with more than thirty large sailing ships and over a dozen oared warships.


    ```

 Chapter 66 Expedition_2

    Theoretically, this fleet with over forty large ships combined with the Third Legion on board was enough to handle any enemy on the inland sea.However, some small slips occurred at the very beginning... sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The navy liaison sent ashore looked at the position of the sun in the sky, then at the level of the seawater, and said to Antonio with resignation, "Your Excellency, your men need to speed up the boarding process. Otherwise, it''s going to be very troublesome after the tide goes out. We can only wait for it to rise again in the middle of the night."


    Antonio had also been worried about this issue. He pointed to the floating pier and said, "This kind of low-floating pier means climbing onto the ship, my soldiers can''t go any faster. Relying only on these two piers is definitely not enough. Let the big ships lower their boats, and row people up in the smaller boats. There needs to be coordination when transporting people in the smaller boats; my troops'' organization must not be disrupted."


    The navy liaison, who held the rank of colonel, felt Antonio had a point. He nodded at Antonio, hurried to the shore, rowed a boat back to The Glorious, and passed on the message. Since the Vineta Army and the Navy did not use a common system of ranks, the soldiers from both branches did not need to salute each other.


    Antonio watched as the navy liaison officer left, leaving only a few army field officers by his side. Looking at Colonel Kongtai''er who seemed hesitant to speak, Antonio patted Kongtai''er on the shoulder, "If there''s something on your mind, just say it."


    "Isn''t it a bit too hasty to deploy the troops now?" Kongtai''er asked with a concerned expression, "We''ve only just completed rallying today. Shouldn''t we at least give the reservists a week of drills?"


    Antonio looked at the other field officers beside him. These few field officers, including Kongtai''er, were Antonio''s trusted subordinates. If they also had doubts about Antonio''s strategy, he would have to provide clear explanations.


    Antonio countered, "The key to this war isn''t how thoroughly we prepare but the gap between the enemy''s preparedness and our own. Those five reservist battalions are not of much use now, but I still have five elite Standing Army battalions with you. Meanwhile, the Tanilians have nothing. They are still each led by individual captains and plantation owners with their small bands of men. Drake struck first and destroyed Haidong Port, so we must also seize the opportunity."


    Kongtai''er still looked worried, "But after all, we only have five battalions of the Standing Army, whereas each of the main islands of Tanilia has a population of around a hundred thousand. Our numbers are still too few."


    "Of course, we can''t expect to conquer an archipelago with just one legion. Our current objective is to win a battle and boost the morale of the Republic, to tear open an entry for the subsequent offensive." Antonio added, "If even you think I shouldn''t deploy the troops now, what would the Tanilians think? If we can take them by surprise, we''ve already gained the upper hand."


    "But can we really catch them unawares?" Kongtai''er pointed to the colorful figures on the dock of Haidong Port, "Sea Blue City has no secrets, you know!"


    A force of nearly six thousand troops couldn''t possibly keep their departure from their base secret. By the time the Third Legion was marching towards Haidong Port, the news that Da Weineta would be leaving Haidong Port by ship to embark on a campaign had already reached the ears of the officers'' families.


    Once one officer''s family member knew of it, all the military families soon did. There was always a special channel of communication among military families; even though it was essentially word-of-mouth, the speed and efficiency of their information spreading was astonishingly high.


    The military families, upon learning the news, hurried to Haidong Port. No one would pass up the opportunity to say farewell. After all, this might be their last glimpse...


    And so arose the scene before them: children clutching at their fathers'' sleeves, refusing to let go; wives who had arrived a step too late kneeling on the docks and weeping bitterly, desperately waving towards the ships; even several trembling elderly women had been carted over, these who likely lost their husbands in the wars thirty years ago were now sending off their sons.


    Even though the boarding process continued tense and orderly, the solemn and grandeur of departure began to turn into sorrow and despair, a sight which would moisten the eyes of any onlooker.


    Antonio couldn''t bring himself to order the dispersal of the relatives who had come to see their loved ones off. These women, children, and the elderly were sapping the Third Legion''s morale, something Antonio didn''t want to see. But if he ordered their dispersal, he would lose his soldiers'' respect and trust forever, which was even worse than a weakened morale.


    Moreover... for many, this really could be their last chance to see their families. As long as it did not delay the embarkation, all Antonio could do was sigh and let it be.


    "The inability to keep it a secret was already discussed by the thirteen-member committee," Antonio turned away, no longer looking at the scene on the dock, "As soon as we mobilize, complete secrecy is impossible. Still, we can hit the Tanilians with a time difference. The faster we act, the less time the Confederation has to react. So the key is not secrecy, but how quickly we can reach the archipelago."


    The lieutenant colonels appeared reflective.


    Antonio said somberly, "After all, Sea Blue City has no secrets."


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    While the Third Legion was busy embarking, a Sea Blue City law enforcement officer was leading a patrol team, busy pulling corpses out from the ruins of a house destroyed by fire.


    One, two, three, four...


    A total of twenty-five bodies were found in the burnt-out building, with the charred corpses laid out on the street like some heretic ritual, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers.

 Chapter 66 Expedition_3

    "Arson?" a patrol officer asked, shivering.The sheriff also felt a pang of fear, but he still sternly reprimanded his subordinate, "Do you think an arson could leave not a single one of the twenty-five people able to run out? All these bodies have fatal wounds, it must have been murder followed by arson."


    "Look at this person, the cut on his neck was enough to kill him, yet his head was also split open." Another patrol officer''s lower teeth uncontrollably chattered against his uppers, almost crying out, "Who exactly were the deceased? Does one need to be killed twice in order to die? Have we encountered a cult?"


    A patrol officer struggled through the crowd and handed a letter to the sheriff.


    The sheriff broke the seal and briefly scanned the contents of the letter, then suddenly his face broke into a smile, "We don''t need to worry about this case anymore. The sheriff of the dock district is willing to take over this case; he says it''s a family feud."


    "Do you think this was a family feud?" the shivering patrol officer asked.


    "Would a family feud result in the extermination of an entire family? And would only the men die?" the sheriff said indifferently, "But since someone is willing to help us out, I wouldn''t care even if they claimed they roasted themselves."


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Not until they arrived at the docks did Winters, Bard, and Andre realize that they were actually setting off today.


    Andre was eagerly hoping to see his family one last time before departure, but Winters and Bard had no such expectations.


    Bard wasn''t Venetian, and Antonio had strictly forbidden Kosa and Ella from seeing them off. Antonio had always strongly disliked such acts that could dampen the military''s morale.


    It was just as well that they didn''t come; Winters didn''t know how to face the farewell anyway.


    Finally, it was time for Winters'' hundred-man troop to board the ship, but a strange woman stopped Winters just as he was about to step onto the makeshift gangway.


    "Mr. Montaigne, please wait," said the strange woman politely.


    "Do you know me?"


    "Someone wants to meet you, please follow me."


    "Who is it? All so mysterious." Winters shook his head and followed her.


    As long as it wasn''t a sheriff with a group of patrol officers coming to arrest him, Winters wasn''t worried about anything else.


    The strange woman led Winters to a carriage, all black with silver trim, gesturing that the person wanting to see Winters was inside.


    Seeing the carriage, Winters gasped and quietly took out a steel spike, grasping it in his hand.


    With his other hand, he opened the carriage door, and simultaneously, Winters prepared to use the Arrow Flying Spell, with the steel spike poised and ready.


    However, sitting inside the carriage was someone he didn''t expect.


    "Miss Anna? Why is it you?"


    Anna, somewhat nervously, retorted, "Why can''t it be me?"


    "Uh¡­ Are you talking about the same thing I am?" Winters realized he might have misunderstood.


    "What are you talking about? Come in quickly, close the door," Anna pulled Winters into the carriage with both hands: "Don''t let others see¡­ I''m not married yet."


    The two sat in the carriage, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.


    Winters quietly stuffed the steel awl back into his pocket, the tension in his nerves easing to the point of fatigue. He joked, "If you''ve come to pay me for the painting, it''s not the best timing. I''m about to take a ship to Tanilia."


    In fact, since Xial located Winters the day before yesterday, Winters had been on edge. Last night, the tension had reached its peak as he repeatedly planned, checked his route, and prepared contingency plans. Yet, when it came time to act, it was still fraught with danger. Now, suddenly relaxing, a strong sense of fatigue washed over Winters, and he especially wanted to sleep.


    Anna''s eyes reddened. "Why are you always like this? Why do you treat me this way again?"


    "I was just kidding." Winters quickly apologized and sighed, "The first time we met, you were angry and slapped me. Now why do you burst into tears so easily?"


    "You''re holding a grudge over that slap! You spiteful little man! I knew it all along, you remember everything but pretend to forget."


    "If you say so, then so it is." Winters didn''t have the energy to argue now.


    This attitude made Anna even angrier. She suddenly leaned back in her chair and turned her head away from Winters. "Just go."


    "Alright then, I''m leaving." Winters stood up. As he looked at Anna''s neck, profile, and hair, an unbidden thought crossed his mind: Anna''s profile might be my last memory of peace, representing the wonderful imagination of another path in life.


    "Why aren''t you leaving?"


    "I want to look at you one more time." For some reason, Winters really wanted to touch Anna''s hair. So, he reached out and tousled Anna''s slightly curly hair, "Because the carefree and vibrant you is very beautiful."


    Then he opened the carriage door and stepped out.


    Arms from behind Winters embraced him. Anna, hugging Winters'' back and crying, said, "I just want you to do one thing for me, just one thing... you need to come back, just come back."


    "That''s too easy, does it count if it''s my ashes coming back?"


    Anna broke into laughter through her tears, pounding on Winters'' back. "You''re really annoying..."


    Then Anna took out a thumb-sized wooden carving of a goddess, holding a shield and a spear, from her handbag. The details of the tiny statue were fully realized and lifelike.


    Anna placed the wooden carving in Winters'' palm, "No matter how far or difficult, Athena will guide those who''ve left their homeland back home."


    "When did you learn wood carving?" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I never learned wood carving." Anna said shyly, "It''s not good, right?"


    How could I have been so stupid not to notice? Winters thought to himself. Anna''s left and right index fingers had multiple new wounds, already red and swollen at the edges.


    "This is the most exquisite carving I''ve ever seen. I''ll trade you the most valuable thing I have for it." Winters searched himself but found nothing of value, so he took off his ceremonial golden sword and handed it to Anna, "This sword was my father''s, but it doesn''t really have any sentimental value... Anyway, it''s the most expensive thing I have on me."


    Winters wore the ceremonial sword today as only an inspection had been scheduled.


    Anna, flustered and incoherent, said, "You can''t, that sword is too valuable, I can''t accept it... Why would you give your father''s sword to me... Could it be as a betrothal gift? No, no, I...I...I... We''re not that kind of relationship yet... Oh right, my family doesn''t intermarry with northerners [people from the Empire]!"


    "When did I say I wanted to marry you?! And why do you always say I''m from the Empire?" Winters was on the verge of passing out from frustration, "My mother''s family is from The Federated Provinces, and my father''s family has always been in Venetia; how did I become a person from the Empire?"


    "You might be tall, but even if you''re not from the north, it won''t work... I don''t want to get married yet..." Anna said weakly.

 Chapter 67 The Avenging Angel

    The sun tilted to the west, and the southeast wind was gradually weakening.Accompanied by the sound of bells, The Glorious turned direction, sailing against the wind to lower its sails and drop anchor, waiting with other warships that had arrived at the anchorage earlier for the ships lagging behind.


    Although Vineta''s army officers and navy officers had never seen eye to eye, after spending two days on a ship, even the most prejudiced army officer had to admit: Fleet management was absolutely a technical job.


    To command fifty soldiers, a loud voice sufficed, but to lead fifty hundred-man units into battle, one needed an effective command system.


    The third "Da Weineta" Legion consisted of fifty-nine hundred-man units, totaling just over five thousand men, a modest force compared to the legions of the Ancient Empire in historical stories, which routinely numbered in the hundreds of thousands.


    (For the composition of fifty-four hundred-man units and five chief hundred-man units, please refer to previous chapters for the legion''s structure)


    Yet, just to mold these five thousand plus men into an army, it required the concerted effort of seventy-six officers, one hundred and eighteen military police, sixty-two standard-bearers, forty buglers and drummers, thirteen barber-surgeons, and three chaplains.


    Thank heavens, the soldiers were responsible for cooking their own food, or else this list would have needed to include several dozen more cooks.


    However, the difficulty of managing a fleet was a notch above managing a legion.


    The vengeance fleet Winters was in included the offshore fleet''s large sailing ships and oar-and-sail warships, commandeered merchant ships, and some supply ships specially used for carrying materials.


    These ships varied in model, age, draft, and seaworthiness. The navy''s warships could cut through the waves at speeds over ten knots, while it would be a miracle if the cumbersome merchant ships didn''t capsize at the same speed. Flat-bottomed oar-and-sail ships could not withstand strong winds and waves, but deep-draft merchant ships and warships couldn''t venture into shallow waters either.


    This medley of ships couldn''t sail in a column for long, with one closely following another, as gaps naturally formed between them, with the less seaworthy ones lagging behind.


    That''s why during these two days, when Winters was on deck for fresh air, he couldn''t see where the other ships were at all. The sea was too vast, and only occasionally could he spot a sail on the horizon.


    Therefore, the navy headquarters had planned the course and anchorage for the vengeance fleet in advance. Departing from Haidong Port, after sailing sixty to seventy nautical miles, the fleet would regroup at the anchorage before heading to the next one.


    Colonel Kongtai''er told Winters, "To think that not a single ship fell behind after two days and nights of non-stop sailing, it seems the navy people are really getting serious."


    Coming from Kongtai''er, who often said, "The navy has only sailors and captains, no officers," Winters thought the navy officers should take this as the highest compliment.


    At this very moment, Winters was lying half-reclined on a bed in a cabin at The Glorious''s stern, focusing intently on the cabin door.


    This "bed" was more of a wooden box than a bed, with two-foot-high guardrails on all sides; lying inside felt like being in a coffin. Such design was due to the ocean''s rocking waves, preventing a soundly sleeping person from being thrown off the bed.


    Above his head and beneath him was the wooden hull, just as close.


    To save space, the beds were arranged in bunk style. This small cabin fit four beds, leaving only an arm''s breadth of passageway in the middle, making it extremely cramped.


    The accommodations were rather spartan, but this was actually a special favor by navy standards. The conditions of life at sea were very harsh, with navy sailors having to curl up in hammocks, inevitably waking with aching bodies.


    Even so, this was better than the lot of many merchant ship sailors. The crew of the Bandit Gull simply slept on the deck, not only suffering from severe dampness and potential skin diseases but also from restless sleep. When the waves were high, people would roll up and down the deck with the rhythm of the sea.


    The Vineta navy showed their utmost sincerity by streamlining The Glorious''s crew, dispensing with even the gun crew, and keeping only the sailors needed to maintain the operation of the warship. They converted all available space temporarily into cabins¡ªeffectively turning this flagship of the offshore fleet into a command center and dormitory for the army officers.


    To ensure smooth communication, the navy even placed the quarters of the commander of the third legion next to the commander of the offshore fleet. Just as Colonel Kongtai''er said, they really wanted to give the Tanilians a thorough beating, even if it meant starting to win over their old rivals.


    Because they were anchoring against the wind, The Glorious remained steady, merely undulating slightly with the waves.


    Andre had evidently fallen asleep, as snoring of varying volume came from Winters'' bunk above.


    Bard was in the bunk opposite, once again buried in his book that was nearly falling apart from overuse. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Feeling the motion of the ship, Winters seized a moment when the ship rose to its highest point and became momentarily still to use the Arrow Flying Spell.


    A steel dart flew from his hand and nailed into the cabin door.


    Drawing a satisfied breath, Winters pulled out another steel dart.


    In the middle of the door, within a small circle carved with a knife, there were now over a dozen steel darts, with not a single one outside the circle, only holes from earlier practice.


    The burst strength of a spellcaster''s spells and their skill could only be improved with persistent practice. One must practice when conditions are right, and create the conditions for practice when they''re not.


    From his hand to the door was about two and a half steps; Winters had already begun practicing six-step targets in the basement of his home. Such a short distance he could now hit with unerring accuracy, and in truth, the practice wasn''t particularly meaningful.


    But the ship''s space was indeed limited, and there was no suitable practice area. And with so many senior officers around, Winters didn''t dare to act recklessly. He could only play around in the cabin, treating it as a game.


    "Remember to remind me never to play darts with you," Bard said with a laugh, sticking his head out of his bunk and glancing at the steel darts stuck in the door.


    "No problem," Winters responded playfully, adopting the posture of dart throwing, aimed briefly, and threw the steel dart towards the door.


    However, just as the steel dart left his hand, someone outside opened the door.


    ¡ª¡ªsnip¡ª¡ª


    While three warrant officers were idly whiling away the time in The Glorious'' cabin, a nimble sailboat docked at Sea Blue Port.


    The sailors on board were all haggard and exhausted. They worked in shifts, day and night without rest, maneuvering the nimble sailboat as they hurried towards Sea Blue Port. They had even encountered headwinds and storms on the way, but these challenges failed to defeat the resilient sailors.


    The sailors didn''t yet know that they had just broken the record for the fastest journey from Golden Harbor to Sea Blue Port and had established a significant lead over the second-place finisher. Although this episode remained unknown to others, the sea would remember it forever.


    Their record would stand for hundreds of years, until it was broken by trans-era clipperships.


    However, they were still too late; The Republic of Vineta had already dispatched their avenging angels.


    After learning this news, Captain Kenway¡ªone of the leaders of the Tanilia Captains and Planters Council¡ªdidn''t make another attempt to meet with the Debela Governor but instead went straight back to his ship.


    War had arrived and would not end until one side succumbed.


    Kenway had tried to prevent all of this, but his efforts were proven to be in vain.


    Now, he needed to convey the news that the Third Legion of Vineta had already set out to the other captains as quickly as possible.

 Chapter 67 The Golden Lions Oar and Sail Warship

    As soon as the person outside the cabin opened the door, the steel spike left Winters''s hand. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.No one expected someone to open the door at that moment, Winters and Bard shouted out at the same time.


    If the person outside had waited to hear their warning before dodging, it would certainly have been too late. The person acted just before they yelled out, leaning to the side to avoid the flying implement, averting the danger.


    This sharp little thing flew out the door and embedded itself in the wooden partition opposite the cabin door. The person outside reached out and pulled it down, holding it as he walked into the cabin, smiling, "Well, you land ducks are trying to go up against us sailors in a fight?"


    Winters jumped down from the bed, stepped over to the other man, and steadied his shoulder, saying with relief, "Lucky you reacted quickly, Cage, very lucky. I''m so glad you''re not hurt, I won''t play like this in the cabin ever again."


    Cage, the cadet officer of The Glorious, handed the steel spike back to Winters and said with a smile, "If you''re trying to hurt a naval officer, a little toy like this won''t do the job."


    "Okay, whatever you say it is, it is," Winters also said, smiling as he lay back down on the bed.


    After Bard exchanged greetings with Cage, he asked, "Aren''t you on duty?"


    "We switched shifts after anchoring. It''s my turn to rest now." Cage yawned tiredly and lay back down in the bunk below Bard''s.


    There were four bunks in the room, three of which were occupied by the army warrant officers Winters, Bard, and Andre, and one by a naval cadet officer.


    However, a naval cadet officer like Cage was a very different matter from an army cadet officer like Winters. Cage had much more seniority than his three roommates.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre were fresh out of military school, while Cage had been a cadet officer on The Glorious since he was twelve and had already spent eight years on board. An army officer with the same experience would have been promoted to lieutenant long ago, yet Cage was still just one of the eleven cadet officers on the ship.


    The reason was that the naval and army officer systems were two entirely separate entities, not corresponding to each other at all.


    Compared with the strict hierarchical structure of the Alliance army''s rank system, the navy''s rank system was very flat. There were only three officer ranks on a ship: Captain, Lieutenant, and Midshipman.


    Among them, only the Captain and the Lieutenant were formal officers, with Midshipmen, like Winters and the army warrant officers, ranking above sailors and soldiers but below formal officers.


    In the army, both Captain and Lieutenant are junior officers, with the former being the third level and the latter the second level. Officers of these two ranks usually command a company of eighty men at most.


    But in the navy, the Captain commands the ship, holding supreme authority. The Lieutenant acts as the Captain''s second-in-command, subordinate only to one and above all others.


    The power a Captain can wield depends on the ship. The Glorious, with its thirty cannons and crew of over five hundred, would equate its Captain to at least a colonel in the army.


    The rotund Captain of the Bandit Gull is also a Captain, yet with a meager crew of about twenty sailors, he wouldn''t even qualify as a warrant officer in the army.


    Yet in the navy''s view, the Captains of The Glorious and the Bandit Gull are theoretically of the same rank, neither having to salute the other first.


    Because of this substantial disparity, the land and naval forces of Vineta simply ignored each other''s rank systems, each going their own way. An army warrant officer like Winters didn''t have to salute even a naval general, and the same held true in reverse.


    To become an officer in the Vineta navy, one firstly had to come from a good background and secondly needed a guarantor. With these two requirements met, one could board a ship as a cadet officer. After that, they would have to painstakingly build up seniority until the naval headquarters approved their promotion to warrant officer. As for when one could become a Captain? First, there had to be a ship without a Captain.


    Although Cadet Officer Cage was much more seasoned than the three army warrant officers, he never put on airs as the senior, and his personality was very amicable. He imparted a great deal of knowledge about ship life to Winters and the others. Furthermore, with their ages being similar, they quickly got to know each other and got along very well.


    "By the way, after we leave this anchorage, we should be docking at Lighthouse Port for a day," Cage said, covering his head with a pillow and speaking listlessly. "Then you guys can take a break as well."


    "What?" Winters suddenly sat up. "Get off the ship?"


    Life on board was like being in prison, with seasickness to boot. Yet when he heard about disembarking, Winters''s tone showed no hint of joy.


    "Yeah, disembark for a rest. We''ll probably dock for a day or two."


    "We''ve just set sail for two days and we''re already docking for a rest?" Bard poked his head down from the top bunk, puzzled, "Aren''t we supposed to be heading non-stop for the Taniria Islands?"


    Winters teased, "The bunch of us land ducks haven''t even started to complain, so why are you sailors the first ones needing to dock for a rest?"


    "How are you suffering in your officer''s quarters?" Cage, unable to sleep, got up with a wry smile, "Besides, you still get to enjoy hot meals. How is that suffering?"


    "We didn''t get any rest for a day when we took the ship back from Guidao City to Vineta."


    "What ship did you take?"


    "Uh, I don''t know what kind of ship it was," Winters admitted, then recalling the Bandit Gull, he said, "It was called the Bandit Gull, a smallish ship with three masts."


    "I see, how many people were on the Bandit Gull?"


    "About twenty crew members, plus us, making over fifty in total."


    "If it were just The Glorious, she could make the voyage without docking once straight to the islands. A large sailing ship can do that, but a galley cannot." Cage lay back down wearily, "If you want to know why, when the other ships gather and I go to deliver the sea charts, I''ll take you to have a look, and you''ll understand."

 Chapter 67 The Golden Lions Oar and Sail Warship_2

    ¡ª¡ªThe Cut¡ª¡ªThe navy had carefully selected an anchorage sheltered by an unnamed island, with each ship maintaining a safe distance, scattered across a natural harbor.


    A small boat was lowered into the water from The Glorious, and Winters followed Cage down the rope ladder onto the small boat.


    Cage tightly clenched a wooden chest containing sea maps and the fleet''s next destination.


    To ensure the secrecy of their course, the captains of the other ships, except for the high-ranking officers aboard The Glorious, only received the location of the next anchorage when the fleet regathered. This way, even if individual ships were captured, the enemy wouldn''t know the entire fleet''s route. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the Retribution Fleet had a massive target, accurately intercepting this fleet in the vast ocean wasn''t that easy.


    Four sailors paddled vigorously, accompanied by the sound of oars slapping against the water. The small boat left The Glorious, gliding over the undulating waves towards the galley "Golden Lion."


    As the afterglow of the sunset lingered, Winters sized up the galley before him.


    The Golden Lion wasn''t purely an oared vessel or a sailing ship but a product of pragmatism. Whether oars or sails, I want them both.


    Compared to the "broad-shouldered," The Glorious, the Golden Lion had a more narrow and slender hull to accommodate more rowers. The entire ship was relatively low, with only one deck, and both the bow and the stern also had only one deckhouse.


    There were no gun ports on the hull''s sides, just dense arrays of oar openings. Remembering the layout of The Lucky, Winters speculated that the Golden Lion''s cannons were likely arranged along the ship''s length at both bow and stern.


    "Why is the freeboard of this ship so low?" Winters patted Cage on the shoulder from behind and asked, "Isn''t that a disadvantage in combat?"


    Although he had only experienced one naval encounter, Winters had understood that in a fight, higher was better, and the side with the taller ship held an advantage. That''s why warships'' deckhouses were built taller and taller until they looked like castles upon the deck.


    The Glorious not only had a higher freeboard than the Golden Lion but also had three deckhouses. Sailors on the Golden Lion were akin to facing a wall when up against The Glorious. Attacking The Glorious from the Golden Lion meant having to fight upward, while The Glorious could easily dominate from above.


    "Of course, it''s a disadvantage; that''s why new warships being built are round ships. The Golden Lion is an old ship constructed over a decade ago," Cage explained patiently to Winters, turning to face him.


    "Indeed, sailships are out of luck when there is no wind," Winters remarked, thinking back to the sea battle he had been through.


    "Actually, I think that the design of warships now is too extreme, much like cavalry soldiers who ended up covering both themselves and their horses in iron plates." Engaged in a topic he was fond of, Cage suddenly became animated, gesturing towards The Glorious and critiquing it to Winters, "The Glorious looks powerful but is actually very cumbersome. With such high deckhouses, its center of gravity is unstable, and they dare not place too many cannons there. Besides, high deckhouses have another drawback: they have a large windward side, which makes turning difficult..."


    "But having high deckhouses gives an advantage in naval combat, doesn''t it?" Winters weakly interjected, his confidence low as this wasn''t his area of expertise.


    Cage slapped his thigh, "That''s why I say it''s extreme, just like those full-body plated knights. In hand-to-hand combat, the more solid the armor, the better, so the nobility ended up encasing themselves entirely in metal plates. But what if the enemy switched from hand-to-hand combat to using firearms? It''s the same at sea: in order to have an advantage in boarding actions, they made deckhouses taller and taller. The Glorious is a warship that went to the extreme in boarding combat, but what if the enemy doesn''t board?"


    "Not fighting a boarding action... how else do you fight naval battles?"


    Never pretending to understand when he didn''t, but instead asking questions, it was one of the good habits Winters had learned from Antonio. After ramming tactics gradually declined, for nearly a thousand years naval battles involved two ships closing in, sailors shooting bows, crossbows, and muskets at each other, and finally, deciding the battle in hand-to-hand combat. Winters genuinely couldn''t think of any other method.


    "With cannons," Cage confidently replied. "Sink those cumbersome ships from a long distance."


    Winters snorted with laughter, "Aren''t there already cannons on board? And with the accuracy of cannons, on the heaving sea, let alone at a distance, it''s hard to hit another ship even fifty meters away."


    "The cannons on the ships, other than the large caliber short guns, are swivel guns, which can only be used at close range," Cage explained hurriedly. "Think about it, equip mobile and agile ships with long guns, firing only from a distance without boarding. Big ships like The Glorious can neither catch up nor hit the target; they can only take the hits helplessly. It''s a pity that all the old stubborns at the navy''s headquarters aren''t innovative. They just like mighty and imposing big ships like The Glorious, and all the funding goes into building these high-rise round ships!"


    Cage punched his thigh angrily.


    "I don''t know much about naval battles, but on land, there was a similar battle. In the Battle of Calais, the infantry of the Ancient Empire couldn''t catch up with Palati''s cavalry, were worn down by archery until their morale collapsed, and were finally harvested by the heavy cavalry," Winters joked. "If I ever become the military governor, I''ll allocate the entire naval budget to building the ships you want."

 Chapter 67 The Golden Lions Oar and Sail Warship_3

    Cage laughed as well, smiling as he said, "If I ever become a military inspector, I will take your army''s funding to build ships for our navy."Winters laughed heartily, "It''s a deal... In fact, I have always admired people like you who have fresh ideas. I can''t do it, I can only learn from you guys."


    Cage shook his head repeatedly and waved his hand, "No, no, no, it wasn''t my idea. All these are Captain Spire''s theories. I''m just parroting them... Captain Spire is the captain of the Golden Lion. You''re just in time to meet him on this trip with me."


    As they talked, their small boat reached the side of the Golden Lion. A rope ladder was thrown down, and Winters followed Cage aboard the Golden Lion.


    The conversation on the way nearly made him forget the purpose of his visit here. But after boarding the ship, Winters immediately remembered why he had come to the Golden Lion.


    He instantly understood why Cage said, "The galley needs to make land every two days; you''ll understand once you take a look on board."


    Before his eyes, the open deck of the Golden Lion was densely packed with people, leaving no space to even set a foot down.


    The open deck had been divided into two levels, roughly convex in shape. In the middle was the upper platform, obviously for the navy soldiers who, lacking space to lie down, could only rest while huddled together.


    The decks on either side near the ship''s sides were the lower part of the convex structure, sitting more than a meter lower than the middle deck. This was where the oarsmen sat. This structure allowed the oarsmen to be lower than the soldiers in the middle, so they would not block the soldiers'' use of long-range weapons.


    The haggard and emaciated oarsmen were chained next to their oars, with three or four oarsmen manning each oar. They didn''t even have space to move, looking no different from the slave oarsmen on The Glorious.


    Even though the deck was open to the air, Winters could still smell an odor. The Golden Lion, crammed with people, resembled a cattle transport ship, where humans were packed together like animals, unable to move. On this ship, there was no dignity left for a man.


    Winters couldn''t have lasted an hour in a place like that.


    "Why are there so many people? How many does this ship hold?" Winters asked Cage in shock.


    Cage countered, "How many were on The Glorious?"


    "About two to three hundred?" Winters wasn''t too sure.


    Cage said expressionlessly, "The Glorious originally had over five hundred crew. To make it comfortable for you, now even with you added, there are less than four hundred. The Golden Lion carries about the same as The Glorious now, around four hundred people."


    "This... This ship is so much smaller than The Glorious and it holds four hundred people? How can they stand it?" Winters was shocked by the appalling living conditions of the Golden Lion''s crew. The Glorious was not only larger in size but also had multiple decks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people on the Golden Lion were crammed into the open deck.


    Cage, seemingly long accustomed to the cruelty of life at sea, said coldly, "They''re not people, they''re sailors. But even for sailors, they can''t last many days on such a ship, so every two days they must go ashore to rest. Essentially, a galley is a floating fortress with very poor self-sustenance. More than half of our fleet consists of such galleys, and for us, capturing a supply port is far more important than destroying the enemy''s ships."


    "What about when it rains? There''s nothing above to shield them."


    "They endure."


    "And these oarsmen? Why are they chained up?"


    "They are all criminals; no free men are willing to be oarsmen." Cage walked ahead without turning back as he answered, "There''s no need to pity them; it''s their crimes that led to this fate. And if they survive the battle without dying, they can be pardoned, which is better than dying in a cell, isn''t it?"


    Winters fell silent as he followed Cage, navigating through the oarsmen''s limbs to find footing, heading toward the sterncastle, which should be the best environment on the ship. The captain always resides in the best part of the ship.


    Suddenly, a pair of hands clutched at Winters''s legs, a seemingly delirious oarsman begging in a slurred voice, "Have mercy, give me some water to drink, please."


    Cage, walking ahead, turned around and saw an oarsman grabbing Winters''s leg and instantly flew into a rage, "You''ve got some nerve! Are you looking for death?"


    With that, he drew his naval cutlass and turned back, the oarsmen in his way scurrying aside desperately, making way for him.


    The others were also startled, navy soldiers from the upper platform poking their heads out to watch, whispering amongst themselves, yet no one intervened. Under such deplorable living conditions, the only reason there was no mutiny aboard was military discipline. As a criminal, an oarsman attacking an officer allowed Cage to execute him.


    "Stop..." Winters raised his hand to stop Cage, who was approaching with his cutlass to help him, "This man... I know him."


    Cage froze in place. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters looked at the face of the oarsman and uncertainly asked, "Gold, Lucky Gold, captain of The Lucky, is that you?"


    Gold, who had been struck nearly toothless by Layton with the butt of his sword, trembled as he heard the words "captain of The Lucky" and burst into uncontrollable weeping.

 Chapter 68 Good Luck

    "Do you recognize this man?" Cage''s demeanor softened somewhat, but he still gripped the navy cutlass tightly."Can''t really say I know him... He was originally a pirate captain, planning to rob our ship, but we caught him and brought him back. As for how he ended up on your navy ship, I have no idea."


    "In the interest of launching our assault as quickly as possible, the magistrate allowed us to press all serious criminals into service." Cage sheathed the navy cutlass, "This fellow got lucky. Being a pirate is punishable by death, but rowing for a ship is certainly better than hanging, right?"


    Lucky Gold was no longer the spirited figure who had once dominated the inner seas. Layton had knocked out half his teeth, and the flesh on his cheeks had sunken in, leaving his lips crisscrossed with bloodied fissures. His shoulders and arms were nothing but bone, and the man looked completely wasted.


    Winters felt some pity for him and said to Cage, "Get him some water to drink."


    Cage glanced at Gold and whistled to the sailors watching the spectacle from above, and a water skin was tossed down.


    The man who had been shouting in grief at the sight of the water skin, couldn''t be bothered to feel sorry for himself anymore. He lunged forward to snatch back the water skin and clutched it to his chest, then, wiping away a tear, eagerly pulled out the stopper and tilted his head back to drink deeply.


    Winters said nothing more and turned to leave with Cage.


    What more was there to say? In Winters''s view, Gold had brought this fate upon himself¡ªthe moment he became a pirate, he should have been prepared to face the gallows. He felt the same about himself, the moment he donned the black uniform and slid the spring-loaded pistol into its holster, he was prepared: if this affair led to the gallows, he would not cry out in protest.


    He wouldn''t sympathize with Gold, but neither did he enjoy kicking someone already down. Nor did he feel like a saint for giving Gold a bag of water.


    Winters thought the matter was settled, not expecting that somebody had already taken notice of the commotion here at the stern of the ship.


    In the center of the deck on the high podium, several people clad in navy officer uniforms advanced from the stern castle, as the sailors made way for them.


    The leader wore a navy uniform with generous cuts, a deep blue coat, a white shirt, and breeches. Gold lace decorated his collar, cuffs, and lapels. Amidst the grimy ship, this officer was pristine, memorably so.


    Even the least observant could tell the captain had arrived.


    Unlike army officers, naval officers didn''t wear boots, yet Captain Spire''s footsteps still produced a "thud, thud" sound as he walked.


    Several officers with unadorned tricorn hats followed him; Winters surmised these men were likely lieutenants from the Golden Lion since the naval cadet Cage never wore a tricorn hat.


    As Captain Spire drew near, Cage immediately stood at attention and saluted, while Winters just nodded in acknowledgment.


    "Mr. Bastille, please inform me of what transpired here?" Captain Spire''s voice was slightly hoarse, but when he spoke, the entire Golden Lion fell silent instantly.


    "Yes, sir. One of the rowers impeded this gentleman from the army." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Captain Spire shifted his gaze away from the water skin in Gold''s hand, already discerning what had happened here.


    The captain of the Golden Lion ordered, pointing to Gold, "At the thirteenth bell, give him ten lashes. Mr. Delong, I leave the task to you."


    "Yes, sir."


    Cage shook his head slightly and exchanged a look with Winters, signaling him not to plead on the man''s behalf.


    After resolving this episode, Captain Spire turned and strode away. The lieutenant and several sailors jumped down, unlocked the irons, and carried Gold away.


    Once Captain Spire was out of sight, Cage began to speak to Winters, "Only giving him ten lashes is already considering your face. Had it been another rower, cutting off an arm would have been considered light punishment."


    "I... did not intend to plead for him," Winters realized he had been misunderstood and said with a wry smile, "How could I, a mere army warrant officer, presume to meddle in ship''s affairs? Besides, I hold no affection for that man, quite the opposite."


    Cage let out a light laugh, "Then he''s lucky, managed to save an arm."


    After delivering the nautical chart to Captain Spire, Cage and Winters left the Golden Lion.


    Before leaving, Winters took a careful look around the stern castle of the Golden Lion. The ship hadn''t set aside separate cabins for officers in the stern castle; Captain Spire''s "private quarters" were merely a small space temporarily partitioned with thin planks at the stern.


    Several hooks screwed into the posts seemed to be for hanging hammocks. A few sticks propped up a board on which a slide rule and an ink bottle weighted down maps; this was the captain''s desk. There was no chair, just an overturned wooden bucket.


    Next to the desk stood a large cannon, and Captain Spire resided beside the stern cannon of the Golden Lion. It seemed the captain''s quarters became a gun deck only when not engaging the enemy, turning back into sleeping quarters once the threat was gone.


    "A captain living in such a modest place? It seems to be even worse than where we''re quartered," Winters couldn''t help but ask Cage as they embarked on the small boat returning to The Glorious.


    With a sigh, Cage replied helplessly, "There''s no helping it, space on a galleon is limited. These ships are meant to attack by day and rest ashore by night. They mustn''t stray too far from port and are not designed for long voyages. Ah, if there had been other ships available, these coastal vessels wouldn''t have been called to action."

 Chapter 68 Good Luck_2

    Everyone was talking about how the Tanilia Federation''s shameful surprise attack had dealt a heavy blow to the Vineta Navy, but most people did not understand just how great the loss to the Vineta Navy was. In contrast, the Vineta Navy quickly assembled a fleet for retaliation so large that many, including Winters, felt "the Navy seemed to have hardly suffered a scratch."It was not until this moment that Winters truly realized the extent of the Navy''s loss. The Navy was merely putting on a brave front; they had even incorporated coastal ships into the fleet meant for a long-distance sea expedition, with sailors and officers on the galleons enduring harsh living conditions.


    "It seems the Tanilians have truly struck a vital blow..."


    Cage, however, was unwilling to show weakness in front of the Army. He cheered up and said spiritedly, "No worries, the men are still there. If the ships are gone, we''ll just build more. Out with the old, in with the new, it''s time to build new ships."


    Winters nodded, but the thought of the revenge expedition grew dimmer in his heart. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Not only along the coast of the Senas Sea, even when looking at the entire world, there were very few ports that could supply a fleet as large as the Vineta retaliation fleet.


    There were about four hundred small towns in the Vineta Republic, each with around a thousand residents, and fifty-eight mid-sized cities with around five thousand inhabitants. But there were only nine towns with more than ten thousand residents, each one a historically significant and well-known stronghold. Including the suburban population, Sea Blue City had about seventy thousand people, making it one of the most prosperous cities on the continent.


    The fleet consisted of forty-three large ships and more than twenty small vessels, carrying over twenty thousand sailors, soldiers, and officers¡ªeffectively, the population of an entire city floating at sea.


    Only a few major ports like Sea Blue Port and Golden Harbor could dock so many ships at once. The residents of most harbors were not as numerous as those of the fleet, and they could only offer limited fresh water and food.


    Lighthouse Port could not accommodate so many people at once, and its docks were not large enough. It would take two days for everyone to disembark at Lighthouse Port, and an equal amount of time to get back on the ships.


    In the Navy''s original plan, only the twelve antiquated galleys with poor self-sufficiency and tough conditions could dock and rest for a day.


    Since the large sailing warships and requisitioned merchant ships carried enough supplies to sail continuously for more than a month, these vessels would remain at anchor off the coast without going ashore.


    But just as Winters and Cage returned to The Glorious on a small boat, Rear Admiral Nalesho, who was in charge of commanding the entire fleet, suddenly discovered that the Navy''s headquarters had not consulted the Army when developing this plan.


    The sailors could endure the cramped and poor conditions on the ships for a long time, but the more than five thousand Army soldiers of the Third Legion might not be so tolerant. Especially since many of them were suffering from seasickness and seeing Navy personnel going ashore while they could not, it was inevitable that they would feel resentful.


    "That''s how it is, General Serviati." Rear Admiral Nalesho sought out the highest-ranking man in the Third Legion and explained the fleet''s actual situation to him truthfully.


    "Just call me by my name, Admiral Nalesho," Antonio said with a polite smile.


    The gray-templed Rear Admiral leaned forward anxiously and said to Antonio, "Please trust me, I had absolutely no intention of treating your side differently. It''s truly out of necessity. Some of the old galleys don''t even have a cargo hold; the sailors only have their personal provisions, so they must go ashore to resupply. If any Army officers want to rest ashore, I can send small boats to take you there. I will stay on the ship myself, and as long as there is one Army ''Gentleman'' who does not disembark, I will not disembark. The other naval men on the warships will also stay on board. Would that be acceptable?"


    Action and reaction between the Vineta Navy and Army had always been confrontational, and the Navy Rear Admiral had already mentally prepared himself, expecting to be drenched with verbal spittle. But to his surprise, he found that the Army Major General across from him had set aside the Army''s domineering demeanor and had become understanding and reasonable.


    Antonio reached out and grabbed Admiral Nalesho''s arm, saying earnestly, "Admiral Nalesho, there''s no need for concern. In the face of a great battle, we must be united and forbearing. Since such are the actual needs, you need not consider what the Army might think. My opinion is that of the Third Legion. I have no objections, and the Third Legion will not either."


    Rear Admiral Nalesho grasped Antonio''s hand with joy and nodded his agreement again and again.


    However, Antonio suddenly changed his tone and said, "I do have one small suggestion."


    The smile on the lips of the Navy Rear Admiral sagged. He thought to himself: So, this is where he was waiting for me. Expecting the Army to be forgiving was indeed a mistake.


    Antonio seemed oblivious to Nalesho''s change in mood, earnestly voicing his proposal, "The Vineta Army and Navy are going their separate ways, Your Excellency must be very clear about this. The Army has one chain of command, the Navy another. The result is what we have now, the Navy treats the Army like cargo on a ship, and the Army sees the Navy as mere transport vessels."


    "And then?" Nalesho asked with a level tone.


    "But my soldiers can also defect from the ships, and your sailors can take to the land. We should establish a joint command for wartime, uniting the two chains of command into one. This is how we can maximize our fighting force. Military actions should not be mixed with political disputes; we must do our utmost to secure victory for Vineta. The Tanilia Federation has hundreds of islands, both big and small, totaling up to a population of several hundred thousand, definitively not the feeble structure that the parliament imagines it to be. If we act separately, we''ll give the Federation the chance they''re looking for."


    "And then?" Nalesho, unmoved, asked coldly, "A joint command that can direct my ships and your troops. Would this joint command be led by your Army or by our Navy?"


    "Establishing a joint command is to resolve the discrepancies between the Army and Navy; it''s pointless if we continue to quibble." Antonio paused, then said sincerely, "If Your Excellency agrees, I am willing to follow your orders and have you serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the joint command!"


    ...


    Nalesho''s aide had been waiting outside Antonio''s cabin and, seeing the Navy Rear Admiral come out, he hurriedly asked, "Did the Army disrespect you? Why... Why would you be so accommodating?"


    Without a word, Nalesho paced back to his own cabin.


    The aide, who had accompanied Nalesho for many years, followed behind, becoming more irritated as he thought, muttering under his breath, "You shouldn''t be so courteous; the uncouth soldiers of the Army respect force, not kindness. Why let them disembark at all? Next time I will... "


    Nalesho gestured with his hand, signaling his aide to stop, and the aide wisely closed his mouth.


    The Navy Rear Admiral slowly sat down in a chair, supporting his knee, and took off his hat, saying with some emotion, "You''re mistaken, I was mistaken... There are Gentlemen in the Army after all."


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    After the Revenge Fleet arrived at Golden Harbor, an officer from The Glorious read a joint letter drafted by both Generals to all the fleet''s personnel¡ªregardless of Army or Navy affiliation.


    The letter mainly spoke of three things:


    First, it clarified to all sailors the fleet''s current situation and the insufficient mooring space at Golden Harbor, announcing that only twelve galleys would be docked for supplies, while other vessels must anchor offshore. It also declared that at any port unable to accommodate the fleet, the galleys will still be resupplied first, with no further notice.


    This was a plan initially devised by the Navy.


    Second, the Generals thanked all the officers and soldiers of the Army and Navy for their resilience and determination, many of whom had endured poor living conditions and still fulfilled their duties. Though the large ships could not dock, small boats could still transport supplies and personnel in limited quantities. The Generals decided to draw lots for twelve individuals from each vessel to go ashore for a day of rest as a reward. This drawing of lots would also occur at other ports in the future without any separate announcement.


    This was a solution offered by Antonio, the Major General of the Army, who said, "Hope must be given to people. With hope, one can persevere."


    However, neither of these points shocked the officers as much as the third.


    Navy Rear Admiral Nalesho and Army Major General Serviati announced the establishment of a joint command committee. The command of the Fleet and the Third Corps had been transferred to the joint command committee. All military actions against the Tanilia Federation will henceforth be the responsibility of the joint command committee, effective immediately.


    The committee was comprised of three voting members, with Nalesho and Antonio each occupying one seat. Both Generals had sent messengers back to the Vineta Military Committee, with the third member to be appointed by the Group of Thirteen.


    Army and Navy officers alike were stunned by the news: What, we''re all one family now?

 Chapter 69 The Banquet

    The lighthouse port bustled with extraordinary activity, as twelve oars-and-sails warships were docked at the wharf, with laborers transporting dry food and barrels of fresh water onto the ships. The sailors disembarked and pitched tents on the open ground of the harbor, made fires for cooking, and rested.Ever since leaving Vineta, the oars-and-sails warships'' sailors could only drink cold water and eat dry hardtack that had lost its moisture. It was only after arriving at the lighthouse port that they tasted hot soup and fresh bread for the first time.


    Other lucky ones from the ships selected by lot also pitched camps and made fires on the shore, but they were strictly isolated from the oars-and-sails sailors and were not allowed to intermingle.


    It was the same with the sailors from the oars-and-sails ships; each ship''s crew set up their own camp, and the lieutenants and midshipmen took turns patrolling, forbidding any sailor from leaving their ship''s encampment on their own.


    All these measures were for epidemic prevention. Vice Admiral Nalesho, who had lived at sea his entire life, saw it as only a matter of time before a contagious disease broke out on the filthy, crowded oars-and-sails ships, and that it was inevitable no matter how hard one tried to avoid it.


    The only thing the vice admiral could do was prevent the spread of disease from the sailors on the oars-and-sails ships to the large sail ships.


    Outside the harbor, the rest of the fleet anchored.


    The entire fleet seemed irregularly moored at the anchorage, but actually followed an internal pattern.


    The Glorious and supply ships anchored on the innermost, the large merchant ships carrying the third legion''s infantry anchored near The Glorious, and the navy''s main force of large sail warships in the outer circle, protecting the merchant ships carrying infantry.


    The other light vessels of the fleet were placed by Vice Admiral Nalesho at the position farthest from the flagship, serving as the outermost layer and sentinels of the entire fleet.


    As night fell, the bustling port gradually quieted down, but the atmosphere aboard The Glorious gradually heated up as a grand banquet was being held on The Glorious. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The temporary bulkheads on the gun deck had been torn down, and square tables were put together to form one long table, spanning from the prow to the stern.


    Antonio and Nalesho, the two admirals, sat side by side at one end of the long table near the prow, with other navy and army officers seated face to face, roughly placed in descending order of rank towards the stern.


    Using small boats, the navy transported freshly slaughtered cows, pigs, and poultry, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits, and fine wine from the harbor.


    The cooks on the ship truly outdid themselves that night, continuously presenting one dish after another from the ship''s small kitchen to the long table.


    The preparation of these dishes was quite simple, involving only roasting and boiling. The meat was speared and roasted, while the vegetables and fruits were washed and served in dishes.


    But having fresh meat and vegetables on a ship was a rare treat, and everyone at the banquet was very happy, lavishing praise on the head chef for his skill, making the burly sailor blush with embarrassment.


    While the officers dined inside the cabin, the sailors on deck received double the usual ration of strong spirits in accordance with the Victory Festival standards and enjoyed roasted meat and vegetable soup delivered from the kitchen. Although they had no tables and chairs, their joy was no less than that of the officers.


    Winters had never attended such an interesting party; the venue was so dim, low, and simple: Winters''s chair was backed against The Glorious''s cannons, and the deck was not far above their heads, with dozens of candles on the table providing the only light in the cabin.


    There were no doily tablecloths, no fine porcelain, no silver and gold cutlery¡ªin fact, they didn''t even have enough tableware. The Glorious had never hosted so many officers before, and by regulation, the officers could not use the sailors'' eating utensils, so those sitting in the latter half of the long table had to eat their meat with their hands.


    Yet the atmosphere in the cabin was so warm and cheerful. To Winters, this seemed countless times more enjoyable than the pretentious receptions held by the Navarre family or the serious dining gatherings of the land forces.


    Who would have thought that the navy, so rigorous with its rules, would cast aside notions of hierarchy when it came to the dining table?


    Aboard The Glorious''s gun deck, army and navy officers converged joyfully, and it was impossible to tell they were groups that normally looked down on each other.


    The officers didn''t drink much, but their faces were flushed with happiness. Antonio was particularly witty, and from his end of the table near the prow, bouts of hearty laughter erupted frequently.


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and other warrant officers were seated at the far end of the table. They couldn''t hear what the higher-ranking officers were saying, only the waves of laughter and thumping on the table.


    But being far away had its advantages; no one minded the manners of these low-ranking officers in training, and since all the dishes came from their end of the table, the few warrant officers could eat to their heart''s content without regard for decorum.


    Andre passed his plate to Winters, piled high with meat like a stack of blocks. With his cheeks full, he chewed vigorously while speaking indistinctly, "Eat... eat this meat, it''s cooked deliciously..."


    Winters didn''t hesitate to push half of the roasted meat onto his own plate, raising his glass with a smile, "To the cooks! To the flames in the stove! And to this pig!"


    Andre, grinning ear to ear, reached out with his glass for a clink.


    Bard, too, silently raised his glass for a touch, as he preferred not to talk while eating.


    Opposite the few army warrant officers, sat four or five youngsters who appeared to be only in their teens.


    One of them, with golden curls, struggled to break off a rib but lacked the strength, and the rib was unusually tough; no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn''t budge.

 Chapter 69 Banquet_2

    Winters stood up at the sight, took out a small knife, and pried off a rib along the seam of the bone to place it on the blond child''s plate.The kid, dressed in a blue naval officer''s uniform, stood up and said politely in a child''s voice, "Thank you, Your Excellency from the Army."


    Watching these children, Winters thought of Benwei''s brother, Xial, and thus he rolled up his sleeves and began to tear off pieces of meat from the roasted pig to distribute among the few children.


    Each of these children dressed in naval uniforms was very polite, rising to give thanks every time Winters placed meat on their plates.


    Although they were only eleven or twelve years old and hadn''t even reached puberty, they belonged to the same military rank as Cage, as navy officer candidates, and Cage had been just their age when he first came aboard.


    This was Vineta''s method of training officers, with the Army running military academies, while the Navy sent these eleven or twelve-year-olds directly onto warships. To the Navy, a warship was the best kind of military academy.


    These children left their parents at the age of eleven or twelve to live on ships. As trainee officers, they learned by the captain''s side how to use sextants and nautical charts, how to navigate the wind and waves at sea, and how to earn the respect of sailors.


    By the time they reached twenty¡ªif they managed to endure the hardships of life at sea¡ªthey would become tough, tenacious men.


    Then they would be eligible to undergo the Naval Committee''s assessment, and after passing, they would step into the true ranks of naval officers as lieutenants. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But for now, these trainee officers before Winters were just children.


    "Do you want anything else to eat?" Winters asked after he had filled each child''s plate with meat.


    The blond curly-haired child exchanged glances with his companions, stood up again, and bowed slightly, saying, "This is plenty, thank you."


    Winters found the child even more endearing and reached out to pat his head, smiling, "No need to be formal."


    But this affectionate gesture only angered the little officer. The golden-haired child, who had been nothing but polite, swatted away Winters'' hand in annoyance, "Don''t treat me like a child, I am a naval officer!"


    Winters laughed heartily. He was not only not offended, but he also found this little grown-up even more adorable.


    Andre stood up laughing too, lifting his wine glass and saying, "On his behalf, I apologize to you, gentlemen of the Navy."


    After speaking, he downed his entire glass of wine in one go.


    The blond curly-haired naval candidate officer, not to be outdone, poured himself a full glass of wine and drank it all in one tilt of his head.


    Winters punched Andre lightly, then bowed sincerely to the young naval cadets, "I was presumptuous just now, my apologies."


    Then, from the direction of the dinner tables at the bow, there came another round of raucous laughter. The Navy and Army officers were laughing so hard they were gasping for air, pounding the tables with their hands.


    The admiral stood up with a beaming smile, raising his glass high, and toasting aloud, "To our lovers and wives¡ªmay they never meet!"


    This witty remark set off a fresh wave of hearty laughter in the cabin, and all officers raised their glasses in unison, "To our lovers and wives¡ªmay they never meet!"


    Then everyone drank it all down.


    Suddenly, there came the sound of singing from above; the sailors on deck, having had their fill of wine and meat, began to sing a shanty in harmony:


    "Back in the quiet homeland,


    Let the ocean roar, my friend!"


    Admiral Nalesho, caught up in excitement, followed the sailors'' song:


    "After countless storms,


    We''ve safely reached the shore!"


    All the navy officers smiled at each other and stood up, joining in the singing:


    "Don''t forget your old shipmates!


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    La la la la la la la, aye-oh!"


    Antonio also stood, clapping his hands to the beat of the navy officers'' chorus. Inspired by him, all the army officers stood up to clap along.


    "We manned the guns together,


    We scrubbed the decks side by side,


    I cleaned the cannon while you loaded,


    And triumphant we returned from the fight!"


    After a few seconds of pause, the sailors on deck and the navy officers in the cabin sang together:


    "After countless storms,


    We''ve safely reached the shore!


    Don''t forget your old shipmates!


    La la la la la la la, aye-oh!"


    Everyone refilled their glasses, waiting for the two generals to make the toast.


    But suddenly, as if from the distant sea, there came a sound like thunder.


    The festive atmosphere of the feast cooled rapidly, and the previously noisy cabin fell silent in an instant. The officers knew all too well what that sound was.


    "Thunder, or cannon fire?" Winters suddenly realized, trying hard to discern the origin and direction of the sound.


    Then came a succession of thunderous booms.


    It was cannon fire, Winters was certain of it, and it was coming from the sea.


    Why would there be cannon fire? Could it be that the Tanilia Federation was repeating an old trick?


    The silent cabin became noisy again in an instant, the officers cursing as they searched for their swords and coats.


    "Quiet!" Admiral Nalesho bellowed.


    All the officers in the cabin froze in place and turned to look at Admiral Nalesho.


    "The Falcon and the Amelia reported that since the day before yesterday, two fast ships had been trailing us at a moderate distance. Therefore, General Serviati and I thought it better to create an opportunity for them to decide the battle with us than to go looking for pirates!" Admiral Nalesho said calmly, "Tonight, the wind, the tide, and the formation are all disadvantageous to us. The pirates from the Federation must think they''ve grabbed a godsent opportunity, and tonight we will take back the first blood debt!"

 Chapter 69 Banquet_3

    "I declare Joint Command''s First Order: Annihilate the enemy that comes tonight," Major General Nalesho announced loudly, then he raised his glass, "To victory!"Having said that, he finished his drink in one gulp and smashed the glass to pieces.


    Apart from a few senior officers, most of the officers only now realized what had happened.


    Antonio also followed, raising his voice, "To victory!" and drained his glass.


    Under Antonio''s lead, all the officers lifted their glasses, and with expressions of worry, alarm, or calmness, they toasted.


    Major General Nalesho calmly said to his adjutant, "Mr. Kalaman. Signal to beat the drums and prepare for battle!"


    The urgent beat of the drums began, and The Glorious entered battle readiness.


    The navy officers donned their uniforms, strapped on their swords, and rushed to their posts.


    The sailors poured into the ship''s cabin, while tables, chairs, and dinnerware were quickly cleared from the gun deck. Andre held a plate with a gloomy expression, "I haven''t finished eating yet."


    "Throw it away, look at those few youngsters," Winters said, pointing at the young naval officers.


    Though they had barely had a few bites of meat, they stood up and left the cabin without hesitation as soon as the war drums sounded.


    The sailors threw whatever was uneaten out of the gun ports into the sea, clearing the gun deck in less than a minute.


    Every officer and sailor on the ship returned to their posts and prepared for battle in an orderly fashion, while the army officers just stood there, not knowing what to do.


    "Centurions, go back to your ships and find your troops. The battalion commanders stay on The Glorious, awaiting assignments," Antonio called the army officers over and ordered, "Carry out the orders of the Joint Command."


    Like waking from a dream, the army officers quickly left the cabin. At sea, the army had an officer on duty on each ship in rotation, while the other officers usually rested on The Glorious.


    The three warrant officers immediately ran back to their quarters in the stern castle to fetch their weapons, then found Captain Wilson of the lead battalions'' hundredth. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sailors lit torches all over The Glorious''s deck. Four small boats were lowered, taking the navy and army officers who had attended the banquet back to their own ships.


    Again, two signal cannon shots were fired, this time from The Glorious.


    The entire fleet was awakened by the sound of the cannons, and other ships also lit torches in succession, firing signal cannons in response to The Glorious.


    In the distant harbor, where the sailors had gone ashore to rest, they too heard the sound of the signal cannons. The port springs to life, with the sailors'' encampment gradually transitioning from a few specks of firelight to brightly lit.


    Major General Nalesho stood on the forecastle, his hands clasped behind his back, silently counting the answering signal guns.


    An aide clambered up to the forecastle, excitedly saying, "General, Drake really did come!"


    Major General Nalesho kept counting up to thirty before he replied, "I''ve waited for him a day and a half; if he didn''t show up, it would mean I had overestimated him. The entire bay is swarming with spies, no matter who it is or where they make landfall, they can''t hide the news, let alone that our ships have already spotted them." Stay updated with empire


    Antonio also climbed onto the forecastle, shaking hands with Major General Nalesho in excited congratulations, "Your Excellency, to think you could sway the enemy to act according to your plan across the vast ocean. Had you not informed me in advance, I would have thought you were improvising to reassure the troops."


    "It is indeed about reassuring the troops, the situation is still against us, and I wasn''t sure before if Captain Drake would actually come," Major General Nalesho replied with a wry smile. "Captain Drake is a fanatic gambler, he doesn''t miss any opportunity to bet small for big returns. Having acquired four of our warships, he had more to wager, but I had no certainty whether he would dare to come down and gamble."


    "Please don''t be so modest, your grasp on Drake''s mindset is beyond my imagination," Antonio said with admiration.


    "Because I am a gambler myself, and only a gambler understands what another is thinking," Major General Nalesho said, his face devoid of any sense of joy. "I am also betting the fleet against Captain Drake."


    "So, what do you need our army to do tonight?" Antonio asked.


    "Nothing," replied Major General Nalesho, somewhat embarrassingly. "I will not call upon these twenty-one troop ships unless absolutely necessary. It''s not that I underestimate your subordinates'' combat power, but the sea is different from the land. If I can avoid using the Third Legion, I will try my best not to use it."


    Antonio nodded and conveyed his understanding with a look.


    Major General Nalesho also nodded back appreciatively.


    In the distance, a light flickered over the sea.


    It was the outlying patrol boats. Nalesho had dispatched two light sailing ships, each under a hundred tons, to patrol the perimeter of the fleet''s anchorage. They had just spotted the enemy fleet and fired a warning shot.


    The patrol boats were transmitting information to the flagship by means of light signals.


    The pattern of the light''s shining and dimming represented a few scenarios that had been agreed upon in advance.


    The patrol boats repeated the message incessantly: Enemy ships, northwest, twenty to twenty-five vessels.


    The moonlight was dim, but on the dark sea surface about two kilometers away, one could still make out the vague shapes of ships.


    The enemy had arrived.

 Chapter 70 The Gambling Table

    What is the most important quality for a gambler?Some may say it''s "luck", while others may assert it''s the wisdom to "quit while you''re ahead".


    But a true gambler only loses because of bad luck, not because of good luck. If they win, they credit their own skill.


    As for "quit while you''re ahead"? Such people hardly qualify as gamblers at all. A true gambler stakes the winnings again as capital, until left with nothing.


    Self-declared gamblers believe that seizing the moment is the most crucial ability at the table. A shrewd gambler can grasp fleeting opportunities and must own the courage to bet it all, to sweep the prize pool.


    As one of the master sail makers of the Tanilia Federation, Frank Drake might be a hopeless gambler, but even his enemies would applaud his knack for seizing the moment in battle.


    And tonight''s opportunity was truly once-in-a-lifetime.


    The rowing battleships, constituting half the Vineta Fleet''s main force, were resting in the harbor, while outside the anchorage lay only eleven large sailing ships, a few small and swift sailboats, and twenty-one merchant vessels carrying army officers and soldiers.


    To the east of the Haidong Port anchorage lay miles of treacherous reefs and shoals. Unless the navigator knew these dangerous waters like the back of his hand, the entire fleet risked being annihilated once inside.


    At this moment, strong northwest winds were blowing in from the sea. The tide turned, the evening tide surged toward the coast, and darkness fell. Drake''s fleet, riding the northwest wind, firmly held the upper hand, benefiting from both time and place.


    But if the avenging fleet faltered slightly, they could be swept by wind and waves into the eastern waters. Once driven there, they wouldn''t need Drake''s fleet to act¡ªthe ocean itself would teach the Venetians about its dangers.


    Land officers like Winters knew nothing of this; when they heard the drumbeats rising from the ships and saw all sailors preparing for battle in an orderly fashion, they just felt their blood boiling, eager for a fight.


    But naval officers¡ªespecially senior officers like captains¡ªunderstood the sea and were keenly aware of nature''s mighty force.


    The very survival of the fleet now depended on Vice Admiral Nalesho. The palms of all captains were sweaty with anticipation, hoping the vice admiral was not all talk and actually had a clear plan.


    Aboard the flagship The Glorious, everyone gradually fell silent, turning their gaze toward the quarterdeck, where the fleet''s supreme commander stood.


    Vice Admiral Nalesho atop the quarterdeck had an inscrutable look on his face, his hands tightly gripping the ship''s rail, head unturned as he commanded, "Mr. Kalaman?"


    "Yes, sir!" the first officer snapped to attention reflexively.


    "Relay my orders to all ships, with The Glorious as the lead. Set course due north, weigh anchor and set sail!" sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, sir!"


    "You all heard the vice admiral''s orders!" Kalaman shouted across the deck: "Lower the boats! Set course due north! Hoist the staysails! Move it!"


    The previously still deck buzzed back to life with Nalesho''s orders.


    The boatswain''s whistle sounded, sharp and clear, two short then two long¡ªnow even the sailors who hadn''t heard the first officer''s orders understood what the whistle meant.


    Signal lanterns at the stern lit up, transmitting commands to the entire fleet through established sequences of flashes.


    About two dozen sailors deftly climbed the rigging, securing block and tackles. On deck, sailors raised the staysails between the masts with coordinated effort.


    Winters recognized this kind of sail; the first mate on the Thief''s Seagull had taught him that with this triangular sail, a ship could sail against the wind.


    But the sailors'' next moves puzzled him as two small boats were lowered from the side into the sea, and the deck crew busily tied ropes between the ship''s bow sprit and the boats.


    "What are they doing?" Winters asked Cage, puzzled.


    "Heavy warships must be anchored into the wind for stability," Cage explained. "But to raise anchor, boats must first be used to adjust the ship''s direction, or the wind could spin it around uncontrollably."


    "Row, lads! Pull hard!" bellowed the flushed-faced boatswain.


    The sailors aboard the small boats rowed vigorously, gradually turning the bow of The Glorious to the north, roughly at a right angle to the wind.


    Twelve sailors pushed the capstan with fierce determination, their faces contorted, muscles taut, and bodies nearly tilted onto the deck. Accompanied by a grating noise, the anchor, sunken in the seabed, was slowly lifted.


    When the anchor left the bottom, the ship jerked forward. Previously, the anchor and sails had been locked in a tug-of-war; suddenly released, the sailboat began to steadily gain speed.


    "The vice admiral is taking us north, avoiding the eastern reefs," Cage swallowed nervously. "This is too dangerous¡­ too dangerous¡­"


    "Where''s the danger?"


    Pointing to the wind-billowed sails, Cage said, "The wind and waves are both driving us east. At night, it''s impossible to discern direction. We may think we''re heading north, but find ourselves drawn closer to the east. The Glorious is the guide; if its course is wrong, it could lead the entire fleet to catastrophe."


    Winters didn''t know what Nalesho''s plan was, but he had studied the assault on Haidong Port thoroughly. The Tanilian commander had used diversionary tactics to concentrate forces and defeat the port''s defenders, moving swiftly, ripping off a piece and withdrawing, leaving Vineta Army''s reinforcements grasping at air. Experience more content on empire

 Chapter 70 Gambling Table_2

    Such a splendid example of battle is seldom seen even in military school textbooks. And the man who commanded this battle is now leading his fleet toward The Glorious. Does he intend to give the Vineta Fleet a chance?As the Revenge Fleet was anxiously weighing anchor to set sail, the Tannilian Fleet to the northwest had already closed to within a kilometer of the Vineta Fleet, and at this time, the anchor of The Glorious had not yet been raised from the water.


    The silhouettes of the Tannilian vessels were becoming increasingly clear, five imposing ships at the center, with smaller ones flanking them. Unlike the brightly lit Vineta Fleet, Drake''s ships did not have even a hint of light, and the twenty or so shadowy warships advanced in a crescent formation toward the Vineta Revenge Fleet. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cage counted the Tannilian warships: "I count twenty-one. Five big ones, probably the ones we lost at Haidong Port, and the rest look like armed merchant ships."


    "We have more than forty ships, they only have twenty, if we can''t win this, the navy might as well disband," Andre said disdainfully.


    "It''s not that simple," Cage shook his head. "The galleons are ashore for repairs, and the troop transports are useless now. It''s not forty against twenty, but ten against twenty-one. Our warships are of better quality, but the wind and environment are against us. If we can get alongside, we might stand a chance..."


    Winters cut Cage off and pointed to the enemy''s ships, asking, "Why aren''t they lighting their lanterns?"


    "To maintain concealment," Cage answered.


    "But obviously we have already spotted them!"


    "This..." Cage was also puzzled; he looked at the approaching enemy fleet, and his expression suddenly changed: "No, no! Is there something in front of the big ships?"


    Yells from Admiral Nalesho also came from the bow: "No time to weigh anchor now, cut the anchor cables! Signal all ships to cut their anchor cables! Let your men climb the masts and set all the sails!"


    Winters also saw what the dark shadows in front of the Tannilian warships were:


    They were small boats and skiffs, numerous small boats and skiffs.


    From a distance, the shadows of these small boats overlapped with those of the big ships, and only as they drew closer could their true forms be seen.


    The central large ships of the Tannilian fleet suddenly furled their sails, but the ships on both wings continued on, six on each side undeterred.


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    "Sound the alarm gun to inform the port! Have the caravel sailing ships go over..." Admiral Nalesho''s tone was rushed, lacking his usual calm and steadiness.


    On the sea surface to the northwest, a spark first appeared, followed by a blaze of light across the sea. These small boats, filled with pitch, firewood, and straw, and temporarily fitted with masts and sails, all caught fire at once; the pitch-dark sea turned blood-red from the flames, like hell itself.


    The two wings of the Tannilian Fleet, the suddenly emerged six large ships, also burst into flames. The six blazing ships, laden with raging fire, along with the smaller arson vessels, formed a wall of fire on the ocean. Pushed by the strong winds and waves, they drifted toward the Vineta Fleet relentlessly and unmercifully.


    The Tannilian warships lowered their topsails and followed the sea fire wall leisurely.


    "The Tannilians are bloody [sailor''s curse] mad! [Curse] using their big ships as fire ships!" Cage cursed furiously, "The most precious thing at sea is the ship! The ship..."


    The Glorious fired the alarm gun three times in succession, with the ships paying no attention to their sequence of movements and directions anymore.


    There was no time to raise anchor; the anchor cables were cut directly. The sailors climbed the masts hurriedly, releasing all the sails, wishing to even tie their handkerchiefs to the yardarms.


    The fire wall advanced menacingly; the three fast sailing ships stationed on the fleet''s outer edges didn''t avoid it. Instead, they set up red flags and moved aggressively towards it.


    They headed for the wall''s right flank, with the sailors enduring the scorching heatwaves as they cast grappling hooks, originally meant for boarding operations, at the three large fire ships on the right flank.


    After the grappling hooks latched onto the fire ships'' hulls, the three caravel sailing ships immediately adjusted their sails, trying to direct the fire ships toward the northern open sea to buy time for the fleet. The hooks, burning hot from the flames, made the ropes smoke and then burn. The sailors doused the ropes with seawater and cast more grappling hooks.


    The Tannilians would not simply watch these few small ships disrupt their plan, and the bow guns of the Tannilian warships immediately opened fire on the small vessels.


    Wood chips flew aboard the caravel sailing ships, and cannonballs gouged bloodied furrows through them. Nevertheless, the valiant Vineta sailors gritted their teeth and stubbornly dragged the three large fire ships off course.


    Admiral Nalesho gripped the ship''s rail tightly, looking out to sea, his hands a network of bulging veins.


    The three large fire ships on the right were being dragged away, but the other three on the left and the smaller boats in the center were still heading straight for the Vineta Fleet. The escort ships had exhausted all their strength, yet the massive and sluggish fleet remained within the fire ships'' path, with the distance shrinking to less than a hundred meters.


    The Day of Judgment for the Vineta Revenge Fleet had arrived, and it was inevitable.


    On the bow deck of the Tannilian Fleet''s central warship, Captain Frank Drake looked out at the distant and formidable Glorious.


    He gazed at the bow of The Glorious, knowing that Nalesho had to be there.


    "Mr. Nalesho, I''ve shown my hand; now it''s your turn," Drake murmured to himself.

 Chapter 70 Gambling Table_3

    On the deck of The Glorious, Kalaman''s first mate pleaded anxiously with Admiral Nalesho, "General, please take refuge on the Siren; leave this to me."Nalesho''s facial muscles twitched slightly as he shook his head.


    "You are the commander of the fleet, your duty is to direct the entire fleet, not to share the fate of the flagship."


    Nalesho said through clenched teeth, "I didn''t expect Mr. Drake to come up with such a large scale of fireships, it was my oversight. Such a number of ships couldn''t possibly have been gathered at the last moment, he must have been preparing from long ago... but since I dared to sit at this gambling table, I also have my stake." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kalaman''s first mate, sweating profusely with urgency, said, "Now is not the time to be thinking about gambling... "


    Suddenly, the sound of war drums thundered over the sea.


    Nalesho let out a manic laugh of turning the tables. He laughed hysterically like a gambler who, left with just one silver coin, had hit a thirty-six fold on the roulette. Pointing crazily toward the southwest part of the sea, he exclaimed, "My stake is here! Hahaha, my stake has arrived! Signal the fleet, lower the square sails, steer west, break through the fireships, and head straight for the enemy!"


    From the southwest, accompanied by the earth-shaking sound of war drums, twelve paddle sail warships burst forth from the Lighthouse Harbor.


    "Push harder! Beat it with all your might! Row with all your strength! Let everyone know, Spire has arrived!" Captain Spire, standing at the bow of the Golden Lion, drew his sword and roared, "All hands! At my command! Three cheers!"


    "Huzzah!"


    "Huzzah!"


    "Huzzah!"


    The sailors on deck roared along with the captain, each shout louder than the last.


    When the captains of the other paddle sail warships heard the battle cry from the Golden Lion, they issued the same order.


    For a moment, cries of valor broke through the skies as the twelve paddle sail warships charged with formidable momentum toward the flank of Tanilia''s fleet.


    The wind was not in their favor, but it didn''t matter, for the paddle sail warships were not using any sails at the time.


    The waves were against them too, but that also didn''t matter, because the paddle sail warships had oars.


    The oars on both sides of the paddle sail ships, like the wings of a bird, ceaselessly flapped on the water''s surface, slapping the waves with each stroke.


    The Golden Lion''s first mate personally took up the drumsticks, using all his strength to beat the large drum of the size of a round table, dictating the rhythm of the rowers'' strokes. Armed with a whip, the second mate and officers patrolled below decks, severely punishing any rower who dared to slack off at this moment.


    Three paddle sail warships split off from the charging line and headed for the three large fireships on the left flank.


    As they neared the fireships, the drum beat on the paddle sail ships abruptly changed to a rapid sequence.


    The rowers, hearing the drumbeat, thrust their oars into the water and held them firmly in place, increasing the resistance of the ship and causing a sudden deceleration. When close enough to the fireship, the sailors at the bow strenuously threw grappling hooks.


    Then, the drumbeat on the paddle sail ships changed again, this time to a slow rhythm at half beat.


    Upon hearing the drumbeat, the oarsmen began to row in reverse. Accompanied by the splashing oars, the galley slowly backed up, dragging the fire ship to one side.


    The entire process was smooth and swift, leaving Winters aboard The Glorious dumbfounded; he had never imagined that cumbersome galleys could perform maneuvers as agile and delicate as horsemanship.


    Rear Admiral Nalesho also revealed his trump card.


    Indeed, galleys were not suited for long voyages or combat on the high seas amid fierce winds and waves. However, this anchorage outside the lighthouse harbor was the perfect place for them to show their prowess.


    The Confederation''s spies saw the galleys anchored in the harbor, with the oarsmen remaining on board and the sailors going ashore to rest. They assumed that these warships could not be readied for battle in a hurry and would need several hours to regroup.


    Little did they know that the sailors had strictly camped according to their assigned warships, prohibiting any personnel movement. In case of an emergency, they could quickly assemble and board by ship.


    All of this was not only to give the sailors rest but more importantly, to feign weakness and unpreparedness to the enemy, creating an opportunity for Drake.


    In Drake''s view, Nalesho had only ten warships at his disposal. If he could defeat these ten ships, the twelve galleys in the harbor could not escape either.


    The remaining troop transports would be like meat on the chopping block, ready to be eaten as desired.


    These two dozen or so warships were Vineta''s last assets; by devouring this fleet, the Inner Sea would belong to the Tanilians. Without ships, the Venetians'' dreams of crossing the sea for an expedition would be mere wishful thinking.


    Rear Admiral Nalesho never believed that just transporting the army to the islands was enough; he never considered himself a mere transporter. His core strategic idea had never changed¡ªit was encapsulated in the phrase "fleet decisive battle."


    The mere existence of the Tanilian fleet was a threat to the Venetians. In Nalesho''s opinion, a decisive fleet battle was necessary to resolve the issue. Rather than chasing the shadows of the Tanilian fleet across the sea, it was better to find a way to make them come to him. Stay connected via empire


    The viper had now slithered out of its nest, coiling around his arm, but it had to be killed.


    "Captain, what do we do?" asked Drake''s first mate, panic-stricken.


    "What''s there to fear? Even with a few more galleys, we still have no fewer ships than they do," Drake kicked a chair flying: "Raise the flag! Vineta''s main force is now being tugged by the fire ship; let''s deal with these galleys first, then we''ll turn to Nalesho!"


    Drake drew his cutlass, walked to the edge of the forecastle, and looking at the sailors in disarray on deck, he roared: "What''s there to fear? Our ships are still more numerous than theirs! If you''re scared now, your descendants will become slaves to the Venetians! For freedom! For gold! Tonight, I''ll lead you to earn more money than you could in a lifetime!"


    The morale of the sailors aboard the "Revenge" had nearly collapsed with the appearance of the galleys, but spurred on by Drake''s words, they found their fighting spirit reignited, returning to their stations with eyes blazing and shouting.


    Sailing ships can''t go directly into the wind, but they can sail at a sharp angle with the wind direction.


    The wind blew from the northwest; The Glorious had initially sailed north for a distance before, upon receiving Rear Admiral Nalesho''s orders, the helmsman put all his strength into pushing the rudder in the opposite direction.


    With inertia, The Glorious turned ninety degrees into the wind, heading westward with its bow aimed straight at Drake''s flagship.


    In the chaos, it was difficult to pass the orders to all the ships, but The Glorious''s actions served as the best command¡ªthis was the significance of a flagship.


    Seeing the flagship turning to charge into the center of the enemy''s formation, the other warships also turned their bows. They no longer avoided the fire ships but instead charged through the flames toward the Tanilian fleet.

 Chapter 71 Sea Battle

    On board Revenge, Drake bellowed orders, "Signal all ships to turn about, follow Revenge! We''ll devour these galleons first! Do not board, shoot to sink them with cannons!"Revenge was one of the five warships Drake had seized from Haidong Port; the Venetian navy thought there were only four, but actually, the fifth had escaped to the sea and was also captured by the Tanyrians.


    Even though it was clear that warships with higher freeboards and castles held an advantage in boarding combat, Drake knew all too well that his pirate crew lacked the capability to endure casualties in brutal close combat¡ªthey could only fight with the wind at their backs.


    Once the enemy boarded their ships and turned naval combat into brutal hand-to-hand combat, the pirates'' morale would collapse immediately.


    The Tanyria fleet turned about and charged towards the Venetian galleons.


    The captains of the Venetian galleons also attacked the Tanyria fleet, and the distance between the two sides rapidly closed.


    The characteristic of galleons was like a wolf: iron prow and brass stern with a weak midsection.


    Because of the oars on the sides, the galleons could only attack head-on from their bows, where the hardest timbers, largest-caliber cannons, and boarding ramps were placed.


    The gunwales were the most vulnerable part of the galleon, with only a few small-caliber swivel guns. This area was not only the weakest in firepower but also in structural integrity. A single fierce ram from a large sail ship aimed at this area could snap a galleon in two.


    As the two fleets sailed head-on, the pirates impatiently fired the bow cannons at the galleons as soon as they were within range.


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    A cannonball, hitting at a steep angle, bounced off the sturdy fore castle of the Golden Lion. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another galleon, White Eagle, wasn''t so lucky. A cannonball shot straight from the prow into the deck. It passed through four sailors and stopped only when it hit a fifth. The cries of agony from the fore castle of this ship could be heard by nearby ships.


    A sailor with a terrifying hole torn through him did not die immediately, but cried out heart-wrenchingly. Those beside him embraced him but were at a loss for what to do. The White Eagle''s first mate immediately drew his knife and mercifully ended the sailor''s suffering. The cries ceased, and there was no other sound from the fore castle of the White Eagle¡ªapart from the beating of the drum.


    Despite sustaining a round of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons did not return fire. The drums roared, and the Venetian galleons steadily approached their enemy.


    Spire stayed by the side of the cannons at the bow of the Golden Lion, not in the safer stern castle like other captains, his hand gripping the iron spike that was heating in the brazier.


    The Golden Lion had only one chance to fire its cannon, and Spire trusted only himself.


    The warships drew ever closer, and the Venetian galleons entered musket range. The Tanyrians'' larger ships crackled with gunfire, but the Venetian galleons still did not fire their cannons.


    "To the right! See that ship with the black flag?" Spire, practically lying on the cannon''s recoil bed, didn''t blink as he stared down the barrel and said to his first mate, "I hate ships with black flags the most."


    The flag on the right side of the castle was hoisted, and upon seeing it, the helmsman immediately turned the rudder to the right.


    By now, the distance between the Golden Lion and the black-flagged large ship was less than twenty meters and the Venetian sailors could make out the beards of the Tanyrians.


    At the cannon''s recoil bed, muzzle, and black-flagged large ship¡ªthree points in a line.


    "Now!" Spire plunged the red-hot iron spike into the touch hole.


    The two-ton cannon, pushed back to the end of the slide by the recoil, made the ship tremble. Accompanied by an ear-ringing roar, the bow was shrouded in smoke.


    A massive stone projectile left the cannon muzzle and flew towards the black-flagged ship.


    With scant cannon positions, the galleons made up for their lack of numbers with firepower, often fitting three to five heavy cannons on the bow.


    But the Golden Lion mounted only one cannon, with a caliber so large it was astonishing. Spire insisted that it was better to have one significantly larger cannon than three smaller ones.


    This huge cannon positioned on the Golden Lion''s bow was no ordinary cannon but an old-fashioned stone-thrower used in sieges. Not only was it extremely heavy and tedious to load, but it also had poor accuracy, capable of missing even targets as large as city walls.


    Therefore, Spire had to get close enough¡ªso close that "the muzzle could press against the enemy''s forehead," close enough to ensure he would not miss¡ªbefore firing.


    With countless drawbacks, this cannon had only one advantage: power.


    What were warships compared to a wall it could demolish?


    The nearly two-hundred-pound stone projectile, like an angel of death, whistled as it shattered all wood and flesh that stood in its path. The black-flagged ship was smashed at the waterline, a gaping hole upon entry and another as the projectile left.


    Seawater rushed into the hold, and amid the pirates'' screams, the black-flagged ship began to list.


    The sailors on the Golden Lion let out a deafening cheer.


    The Golden Lion''s initial cannon fire was a signal; the bow cannons on the other galleons roared in unison.


    Cannonballs shot into the Tanyrians'' bows, reaping lives in the holds. Another large sailing ship was breached below the waterline, sinking at the bow, and sailors scattered, leaping into the sea to flee.


    After a volley of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons and the Tanyrian fleet charged into each other''s formations, engaging in close-quarters battle.


    Although the Venetians dominated the initial exchange with their bow cannons, the low profile of the galleons exposed a critical disadvantage in the boarding combat that followed.

 Chapter 71 Naval Battle_2

    The tall ship''s superstructure was like a wall to the galleys, with the Tanilia raining shots down on the galley from on high.On the crowded decks of the galleys, the Venetian sailors had no protection and nowhere to hide, only able to return fire with muskets and crossbows amidst enemy lead.


    The deck became a battleground, and the sailors became musketeers, as a duel of projectile weapons unfolded upon the high seas.


    The Venetian captains all knew that their only hope of victory was boarding. To continue this fight, morale on the galleys would surely collapse first.


    Officers on the galleys urged the rowers to row furiously, trying to approach the enemy''s large ships from the front, where the firepower was weakest.


    Meanwhile, the Tanilia tall ships tried to maintain their distance as much as possible, bombarding the galleys with the cannons mounted along their sides.


    A Tanilia armed merchantman was caught off guard and ensnared by grappling hooks thrown by the White Eagle. The Venetian sailors pulled hard on the ropes, drawing the vessels ever nearer.


    The hooks bit deep into the hull and couldn''t be dislodged. The Tanilia sailors tried to cut the ropes, only to discover that behind the hooks trailed two-meter-long chains.


    The Venetians, to prevent their grappling hooks from being cut, had replaced the two meters of rope behind the hooks with riveted chains.


    A brave sailor climbed the chain, intending to cut the rope behind it, but as soon as he showed his head, he was shot dead by a musketeer from the White Eagle. Other Tanilia sailors hacked frantically at the bulwarks, trying to chop off the iron hooks and the railings together.


    But it was too late; the boarding plank from the bow of the White Eagle was lowered, its hook biting into the merchantman''s side, locking the two ships together.


    A piercing whistle blew, and the Venetian sailors charged onto the merchantman, initiating a gruesome melee.


    At the same time, on the western side of the battlefield, a galley was being attacked by three Tanilia ships.


    The Venetian galleys were at a disadvantage not only in their design but also in their numbers.


    The cannons on the sides of the tall ships roared and snarled, sending one cannonball after another flying out of their barrels, splintering the galley with wood shards and sending flesh flying.


    The captain and first mate of this galley had both died, and the remaining junior officers were unable to reorganize the sailors amidst the chaos.


    The living stacked corpses into a wall, with only a few brave souls continuing to fire back.


    The rowers ceased following orders and sought any tool they could to unshackle the chains binding them.


    Some jumped into the sea, intent on abandoning ship, but the people on the big ships showed no mercy, shooting at them with muskets relentlessly.


    Outside the Lighthouse Port, a bloody and fierce melee raged. Amid the smoke produced by burning gunpowder, the sounds of gunfire and battle cries were intermixed, with limbs, bodies, and wooden debris floating everywhere on the sea. Discover hidden content at empire


    Spire had no interest in those armed merchantmen, only warships were worthy adversaries for the Golden Lion. The sea glowed red with fire, and in the night, the silhouette of a tall warship was especially distinct.


    A few armed merchantmen fired at the Golden Lion, but Spire paid them no heed.


    He immediately ordered the Golden Lion to change course, leveraging the galley''s powerful close-range maneuverability, to find a path through the chaotic battlefield and pounce on that tall warship.


    The lookout on the Revenge noted the galley rapidly approaching, and Drake immediately ordered a turn to the southeast, dropping full sails, ready to meet the enemy with the right broadside.


    The cannons thundered, a dozen cannonballs flying towards the Golden Lion.


    Wails of agony arose from the ship, but the Golden Lion simply beat the drums louder, and its speed somehow increased even more.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the same time, on another side of the battlefield.


    No one could have imagined Nalesho recklessly leading the charge through the fireships, not Tanilia, and certainly not the Venetian navy.


    The small ship carrying flames rode the wind, pulling up a firewall between the two fleets.


    A normal captain at the sight would steer clear of the fireship, sailing southeast first, then circling back to the battlefield when a safe distance had been established.


    This was also the original plan, to force the Vineta Fleet towards the dangerous waters to the east using the fireships, with their own fleet in pursuit to eliminate any escapees.


    Even if an unexpected twelve galleys sallied out from Lighthouse Port, the Vineta Fleet would still be driven towards the shallows under fire, while Drake would pick them off one by one¡ªthe galleys first, then strangling the Vineta''s main force ships that might escape from the deadly waters, if they could.


    But Nalesho was not normal, and he was also the biggest gambler in the Venetian navy. He chose the shortest route, aiming directly for Drake''s flagship, the Revenge.


    The roaring blaze was frightening, but it was even more terrifying to see someone marching into the inferno willingly. From a dozen meters away, everyone on the deck of the Glorious felt the scorching heat wave. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "God, save me!"


    "This is hell! We''re going to hell!"


    On the deck, some prayed fervently, while others knelt, mumbling profanities.


    "Get back to work, you cowards!" the surly boatswain blew his whistle, slapping and prodding the praying sailors back to their posts with slaps and sticks: "Never see you praying at other times! What''s the use of feigning piety now, you dogshit! Just do your job! Old Nick never loses!"

 Chapter 71 Sea Battle_3

    Captain Wilson of Kongtai''er''s 100-man squad also exchanged a look with three warrant officers. Winters and Bard picked up the trembling, chanting soldiers from the ground. Andre was even more brutal; whenever he saw soldiers praying with their weapons dropped, he struck their faces hard with his fists.As the navy and army were busy regrouping their morale, The Glorious closed in on the fire ship. The sails, dried out by the heatwave, caught fire from the sparks rising with the hot air even before touching the fire ship.


    The sailors, shouting aloud, rushed towards the bow, throwing sea water prepared in advance onto the burning sails.


    "Pour water on the sails quickly! Don''t stop!" the boatswain screamed at the top of his lungs.


    "The 100-man squad! On my command, assist the navy with water retrieval!" At Wilson''s order, the three warrant officers and all the soldiers set to work fetching water. The ship was already stocked with stacks of empty buckets, which just needed to be lowered into the sea with ropes to draw water up. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Glorious plunged into the inferno, smashing headlong into a sampan. Accompanied by the grating sound of breaking wood, the burning sampan was crushed into the sea by The Glorious, leaving only a few charred planks behind.


    The sailors at the bow let out a cry of joy.


    But soon after, no one could laugh anymore.


    The fire ships, which had sidled up to The Glorious from the bow, had not been swept under the ship; instead, after hitting The Glorious, they clung tight to its hull, not moving an inch even when slapped by the waves.


    The bows of these fire ships were half buried with one-foot-long sharp iron nails so that once they hit a warship, the nails would penetrate the hull, firmly fixing the fire ships to the warship.


    The Glorious hit three fire ships in succession, its resistance greatly increased with the burden of three ships, causing her speed to falter.


    A smell of charred wood drifted through the air, and terrifying crackling and popping sounds came from below the bow. It was unclear whether it was the sound of the sampans burning or if The Glorious''s hull had caught fire.


    First Mate Kalaman sprinted to the stern, no longer caring to use honorifics: "Midshipman Cage! Take men down with you!"


    Cage saluted and, without a moment''s hesitation, tied a rope around his waist. The sailors beside him, disregarding rank and status, picked up buckets of water and drenched him from head to toe.


    After getting soaked, Cage led a dozen sailors down the ropes at the bow and scooped up sea water with their buckets to douse the flames on the sampans. The guns at The Glorious''s bow had also been moved, and the sailors leaned out of the gun ports to pour water onto the fire ships.


    Following the lead of The Glorious, three other forward ships also broke through the wall of fire, attacking the Tanilia fleet with the fire ships stuck on them.


    The sea wall made of fierce flames and wood was forcibly breached, and the ships behind decisively turned and passed through the opening at this "maritime impasse."


    "General! The fire at the bow can''t be put out! We can barely keep it under control," reported First Mate Kalaman, gasping for breath.


    "If it can''t be extinguished, then it can''t be extinguished! Even if it''s the fires of hell, it will take time to consume my ship completely," Nalesho said, his face flushed with excitement, gripping Antonio''s arm. "General Serviati, The Glorious may not make it, but there''s a new ship right in front of us."


    The Navy Rear Admiral pointed to Drake''s flagship: "The Vengeance is right before us, The Glorious is gone, we''ll seize Drake''s flagship for ourselves!"


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    "The Vengeance has lowered all sails, General! Drake seems to be running away!"


    "No, Drake won''t run, and neither will I!" Nalesho sneered. "Do you think a gambler would leave the table to cut his losses? No, they wouldn''t. A gambler would bet everything he has left to turn the tide! We and Drake have both put all our chips down, winner takes all! Raise the flag of no return! All hands prepare to board!"


    A giant red triangular flag was hoisted up the mast of The Glorious.

 Chapter 72 Boarding

    Pirates on the inland seas would tell each other that there were three things on the high seas that were the most terrifying:sea fortresses equipped with heavy artillery, wind blowing from the bow, and oar-sailed ships during windless conditions.


    There was actually an implied meaning in this saying, although oar-sailed ships were fearsome during windless conditions, they were only really feared when there was no wind.


    That''s because large sail ships would be immobilized during windless or weak wind conditions.


    But if there was a good wind, then the oar-sailed ships were nothing to fear.


    On the quarterdeck of The Revenge, Drake swung his cutlass and bellowed commands, "Lower full sail! Move with the wind!"


    At least a quarter of the cannons hit their target, and the sailors on The Revenge could even vaguely see the mist of blood spewing from the enemy ship.


    However, the oar-sailed ship closing in seemed like a monster impervious to pain, unaffected, with the rhythm of its drums not faltering, only growing louder.


    The drumsticks struck not only the drum skins but also the fragile nerves of the pirates.


    The Golden Lion made its final sprint.


    The helmsman on The Revenge put all his might into pushing the helm while sailors climbed the masts, cutting the ropes directly with their cutlasses without bothering to untie them.


    All the sails were unfurled on the three masts, catching the full wind, and The Revenge began to accelerate.


    Trying to intercept The Revenge, the Spire missed its target, and the ships dangerously brushed past each other, with the Golden Lion almost colliding at full speed with the side of The Revenge, getting within three or four meters at the closest point.


    Now, The Revenge had turned to starboard of the Golden Lion, where the firepower was weakest.


    And the Golden Lion had fallen astern of The Revenge, where the heaviest artillery was located.


    Drake sprinted to the interior of the quarterdeck, gathering all his gunners there.


    Under the stern yelling of the master of rigging, the pirates on The Revenge frantically reloaded the stern cannons.


    The tables had turned, the prey had become the hunter, and the wise move should have been to maintain speed, to pull away from the enemy by moving in opposite directions.


    But Spire, his vision red, refused to give up. Under his command, the oarsmen on the right of the Golden Lion rowed forward, while those on the left rowed backward, turning the oar-sailed ship with a small radius on the water and continuing the relentless pursuit.


    With shouts, the sailors raised two triangular sails. The oar-sailed ship had not only oars but sails as well. With the addition of two more sails, the speed of the Golden Lion also began to increase.


    "Captain! We can''t chase any longer!" Seeing the situation spin out of control, the first mate of the Golden Lion, who was supposed to be on the quarterdeck, left his post in desperation and rushed into the forecastle, "The wind is too strong, even with sails, we can''t catch a full-rigged sail ship..."


    He hadn''t finished speaking when he was interrupted by the thunderous cannon fire from The Revenge.


    A cannonball skimmed low over the forecastle, boring into the rowers'' benches. The thirty-two-pound cannonball knocked down a row of rowers after gliding halfway through them before smashing a large hole in the wooden hull.


    In an instant, screams of agony filled the Golden Lion.


    "Good shot! Reload quickly!" Drake pulled out a Gold Coin and rewarded each gunner on the position with two apiece, causing the surrounding sailors'' eyes to bulge with desire.


    Drake, now invigorated, raised the Gold Coin in his hand and asked the surrounding sailors, "Want it?"


    The sailors greedily eyed the gold in Drake''s hand, and nodded vigorously.


    Yet, Drake raised his hand and threw all the gold coins through the gun port into the sea.


    The sailors gasped, but Drake snarled, "You bunch of wastes! What''s this bit of gold? Blown on a bottle of good wine, a couple of wenches, then you''d still have to come back to scrub the deck! Ever seen the finest whores in Golden Harbor? Big tits, big asses, but faces like the Virgin Mary! Have you wastes ever been with one?! Can you afford it?"


    The cabin fell silent, with only the heavy breathing of the sailors audible.


    "I''m taking you lot to earn not this small change, but big money! Money beyond your wildest dreams!" Drake shouted hysterically, "Money enough to last a lifetime! Money to take as many whores as you want! Win this battle, take the Venetian ship, sell it off, and I''ll lead you to buy all the booze in Golden Harbor! Now, man the cannons and blast those Venetians to hell!"


    The pirates roared back to their stations, red-eyed, exerting twelvefold strength to clean the barrel and reload the ammunition.


    "Captain, we can''t chase anymore! If we go forward, we hit the fireships! This ship has been driven off the battlefield; it''d have to take a long way around to rejoin the fight. Let''s pick another target!" The first mate of the Golden Lion wracked his brains to find an excuse for Spire, trying to convince the stubborn captain to give up his current prey.


    Another succession of heavy cannon shots rang out, narrowly missing, and shooting up several meters high water spouts.


    Everyone on the Golden Lion heard a "thump" from below the waterline, as if the hull had been hammered hard.


    A cannonball had struck the hull below the waterline, and the sailors listened in terror to the noise below the deck, but nothing happened, as the cannonball failed to penetrate and was repelled by the hull.


    If the cannonball had been a little faster or the angle a bit sharper, the Golden Lion would have had a large hole below the waterline, and everyone would have had to abandon ship.


    They were lucky this time, but could they be this lucky again?


    Spire punched the bow gun, "Trim the sails, turn right, we''re going back!"


    The first mate received the order and immediately ran to the quarterdeck.


    Spire glared at the flagship of the Tanilia fleet, his eyes filled with unwillingness to give up.


    Just as the first mate was about to change course at the quarterdeck, he heard the captain from the bow roar, "No turning! Charge straight at the enemy ship!"


    The first mate looked ahead and saw a terrifying warship emerge from the fiery sea and thick smoke.


    Its sails were adorned with fire serpents, its prow topped with flames, like a warship returned from hell, charging straight toward The Revenge.


    Nalesho stood at the prow, his features contorted, howling, "Raise the desperado''s flag! All hands prepare to board!"


    On the mast of this fiery warship, a huge red triangular flag was hoisted.


    It was the red flag once raised by the "Sea Beggars" of Venetia when they made surprise attacks on the Empire''s supply ships.


    This was the red flag hoisted by the nascent Venetian navy as it charged toward the madman Richard''s fleet blockading Guidao City.


    This battle-worn, tattered red flag, riddled with bullet holes and scorched marks, was the Venetian navy''s relic, a privilege solely reserved for the flagship of the open-sea fleet.


    When this red flag was raised on the flagship, it signified that the fleet commander believed the final moment had come, that the fleet''s existence hung by a thread, and that the Venetians would never retreat, even unto their last drop of blood.


    Even the most cowardly of sailors would be spurred into courage upon seeing this banner.


    This was more than just a flag; it was also the spirit, hope, and backbone of the navy.


    The first mate pounded the drum hard as Golden Lion powered forward, flanking Tanilia''s flagship together with The Glorious.


    A sharp whistle rang out on the deck of The Glorious, where the fierce boatswain distributed weapons to the sailors, shouting, "Prepare to board! Grip your weapons! Wait for the captain''s order!"


    Aside from the boarding crew, who also served as the ship''s marines, it was not permissible for other sailors to carry arms during a normal voyage; only before boarding combat were sabers and spears distributed.


    Antonio found his subordinates: "Officers from the gunnery department, take men to the gun deck! There are no gunners on board now."


    Several officers saluted and turned to descend into the cabin.


    Antonio then called another name: "Captain Wilson!"


    The commander of the first cohort of the chief brigade stood at attention and saluted.


    "Which cohort is under your command?"


    "Reporting to the general, the spearmen!"


    "Switch your men to daggers, and lead your cohort to board!"


    "Yes!"


    "Other officers stay on The Glorious, suppress the enemy ship''s deck with your matchlock guns!"


    "Yes!"


    The situation was urgent; Rear Admiral Nalesho ordered The Glorious to take the enemy flagship directly, but he had forgotten that The Glorious was not its usual self, as the ship had been temporarily converted into a command vessel. Stay updated through empire


    The Glorious, ordinarily manned by over five hundred thirty sailors, now had fewer than two hundred on board. To make more room, The Glorious had neither brought along gunners nor the boarding crew, keeping only the deck sailors necessary to keep the warship operational.


    Fortunately, there were more than one hundred fifty army soldiers from the first hundred of the third legion''s chief brigade on board,


    Winters, Bard, and Andre assisted Captain Wilson in mustering the soldiers of the first hundred. The army''s long pikes were impractical to form phalanxes on the cramped ship.


    The distance to the Revenge grew closer, and the figures of the pirates on Revenge''s deck became distinctly visible.


    The sailors and soldiers on The Glorious ran around the deck like headless flies, shouting aimlessly. They felt the need to do something, but didn''t know what they were supposed to do.


    Three warrant officers, each holding a bundle of sailors'' knives, handed out weapons wherever they saw an unarmed sailor amidst the chaotic deck.


    "I don''t care if you''re an officer or a soldier, anyone with a matchlock gun must go onto the platform by the mast!" Antonio calmly distributed tasks to his subordinates: "Wilson! Rally your men on deck! Everyone else get to the gun deck and load the cannonballs!"


    At this point, the Revenge was being cornered from two sides by The Glorious and the Golden Lion. Drake had not expected Nalesho to actually carve a path through the fire ships.


    "Hard starboard! Turn southward!"


    Frustrated by the helmsman''s slow response, Drake seized the helm himself.


    He intended to turn south and leave the two Venetian ships behind, but it wasn''t going to be easy.


    The Revenge''s speed was too high, resulting in a very large turning radius, and the full starboard turn caused the ship to list severely. High-speed turning was extremely risky, especially for a warship with a high center of gravity, which could capsize if not handled carefully.


    The hull of the Revenge creaked loudly as it began to list to the left during the swift starboard turn.


    "All hands to starboard!"


    Upon hearing the order, the sailors all moved to the starboard side, gradually stabilizing the ship.


    Drake exerted all his skill to maneuver the Revenge''s turn, but the ship''s large windward side, strong winds, and waves kept moving it southeastward.


    The distance between the two ships had shrunk to barely over twenty meters, and it was closing even more.


    At this moment, the soldiers and sailors on The Glorious clenched their weapons, standing stiff in anticipation.


    Captain Wilson''s knuckles had turned white from gripping the hilt of his knife too tightly. Andre, with a smile that wasn''t quite a smile, watched Winters and Bard and gestured with his chin toward Wilson''s right hand.


    For the three warrant officers, who had experienced a boarding battle before, their hearts and breaths still accelerated uncontrollably, but they were not as nervous as they had been the first time.


    The boatswain, bearing a grim expression, carried a machete in his left arm and a bucket, cursing as he scattered something unknown across the deck. Any sailor who got in his way received a kick.


    It wasn''t until what was being thrown about landed near Winters that he realized the bucket contained sawdust and sand. After a moment of thought, he understood the purpose of the two substances.


    Sawdust could absorb blood, and sand could increase friction. Scattering these on the deck would prevent people from slipping on too much spilt blood.


    At that moment, it seemed that only this ill-tempered boatswain knew what to do.


    The two ships drew closer, side by side. As the helmsman pushed the wheel, The Glorious steered to ram into the Revenge. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Grappling hooks were thrown, and cries of battle erupted.


    The boarding battle commenced between the flagships of the two fleets.

 Chapter 73 Loss of Control and Fury

    When The Glorious launched its grappling hooks, the two warships immediately commenced a long-range exchange of fire. Heavy muskets, light muskets, harquebuses, fuse-lock muskets, and even steel crossbows and stones¡ªwhatever was available was used.The sound of gunfire popped like exploding beans, with both sides desperately trying to send more bullets and arrows onto the enemy''s ship.


    The army officers who had climbed onto the platform had received orders from the legion commander, ignoring those enemies with muskets and instead focusing on suppressing the opponent''s swivel guns.


    Several arms stretched out from behind the hull of The Revenge, attempting to cut the grappling hooks. However, as the distance between the ships narrowed, for every hook that was cut, two more latched onto The Revenge''s gunwales.


    Venetian sailors chanted cadence as they pulled on the ropes, dragging The Revenge closer to the side of The Glorious.


    A few extraordinarily strong sailors hurled iron bombs onto the deck of The Revenge like discus throwers; after several consecutive explosions, agonized screams erupted from The Revenge''s deck.


    Winters crouched behind the gunwale, dodging stray bullets and arrows, waiting for the command to board. Several stray bullets even struck the hull in front of him, but could not penetrate the two-inch-thick oak boards.


    Suddenly, all sounds from The Revenge ceased in a mysteriously silent way.


    The gunfire, battle cries, curses¡ªall sounds disappeared, even the screams.


    Crouched behind the gunwale, Winters noticed that the enemy ship''s long-range fire also ceased along with the silence.


    He peered out and saw that all the lights on the opposing ship had been extinguished. With the firelight from The Glorious, he couldn''t see anyone on the deck of The Revenge.


    This quiet, dark ship exuded an eeriness as if it were a ghost ship. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    More and more people on The Glorious realized something strange about the adversary''s ship; an excited sailor shouted, "We''ve killed them all!"


    "Shut up!" The fierce boatswain rushed over and slapped the sailor across the face, then immediately ordered the other sailors, "Extinguish all the lights on the ship! Move quickly!"


    Since they couldn''t see the enemy, The Glorious'' gunners also ceased their firing. The two ships slowly approached each other in this sinister, eerie atmosphere.


    When the ships were only a few meters apart, Kalaman, the first mate, loudly commanded, "Lower the gangplanks!"


    Gangplanks protruded from the bow, waist, and stern of The Glorious, resting on the gunwales of The Revenge, securing the two warships together.


    Kalaman stood up, drew his saber, and roared, "Long live Wildcard Nick!"


    [Huzzah for Wildcard Nick!]


    [Wildcard Nick was Nalesho''s nickname.]


    The sailors let out a thunderous cheer.


    Kalaman charged first, and the sailors surged behind him onto the deck of The Revenge.


    Wilson, the captain, called out the battle cry of the 3rd Corps: "Long live Great Vineta!"


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and all the soldiers yelled "Kazar!" in response to the captain, following Wilson onto the deck of The Revenge.


    Yet the deck of The Revenge was still deserted, deathly silent.


    That same sailor, unconvinced, said, "We really did kill them all!" Read chapters at empire


    A massive "boom" resounded, with dozens of grapeshot creating a storm of flesh and blood on the deck of The Revenge.


    The Tanilians pushed the heavy cannon into a position facing their own deck, and with one shot took the lives of a dozen Venetians.


    With the thunderous sound of the heavy cannon as the signal, gunfire erupted, and The Revenge launched a full counterattack.


    From the gun and cannon ports in the forecastle and quarterdeck, dark muzzles extended, sloping their ammunition onto the deck where the Venetians were.


    At the gun deck of The Revenge, cannons fired at close range into the hull of The Glorious. Since The Glorious didn''t carry gunners and skipped the process of cannonade exchange in favor of boarding, The Revenge''s gunners were right on the ship.


    This close-quarter combat was the moment when the warship''s short-barreled cannons could unleash their maximum destructive power, with sixteen and thirty-two pounders roaring and blasting terrifying holes into the hull of The Glorious.


    "What are your men doing?!" Antonio furiously yelled at Colonel Kongtai''er from The Glorious''s poop deck: "Not attacking the quarterdeck, just hiding behind cover waiting to die?"


    Colonel Kongtai''er wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Suddenly attacked, it''s human instinct to hide in a safe place."


    The deck of The Revenge was in chaos, sailors and soldiers felt innumerable bullets heading their way; the land and naval forces mixed together, both sides losing organization.


    "They''re in the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck!" Captain Wilson, furious at the sight of his men hiding behind cover, began dragging those crouched behind debris on the deck, "Don''t fucking hide here! Go attack the¡ª"


    Before he could finish his sentence, a lead ball pierced his neck from the left side, shattered his vertebrae, and created a horrific wound on the right side of his neck.


    Wilson''s body slumped, falling onto the deck of The Revenge.


    "First, shoot all those dressed in officers'' uniforms!" Drake laughed heartily from within the quarterdeck: "Reload, reload quickly!"


    In land combat, officers would be protected within the ranks, but in the close-quarters fighting on the deck, those dressed in fine uniforms were exceedingly conspicuous.


    The crew of The Revenge felt an odd sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, as this tactic of cowering inside the ship''s decks was clearly invented by the navy.

 Chapter 73 Out of Control and Frenzy _2

    In the past, when pirates on the Inner Sea attempted to join up with the Venetian navy, even if the pirates had a numerical advantage, as long as the navy holed up inside their ship towers, the pirates could do nothing about it.Fortified within the sturdy ship towers, the Venetian navy could fight two or even three to one and defeat the pirates of the Inner Sea.


    But now, the situation was completely reversed; the pirates were ensconced in the ship towers, while the navy was getting battered on deck.


    Winters saw a spray of blood burst from Wilson''s neck, and despite the lead flying about, he rushed to the captain''s side. However, it was to no avail; the captain was already dead.


    With the Centurion fallen, the command system of the hundredth squad had collapsed, and someone needed to step forward to replace Wilson.


    Amongst the cacophony of musket fire, cannon fire, wails, and cries on the deck, where nothing could be made out clearly, a deafening voice drowned out all others.


    "Attack the ship tower! Everyone attack the ship tower!"


    For the first time, Winters used all his magic power to cast a spell amplifying his voice, bellowing, "Third legion to the aft! Sailors attack the bow!"


    General Taylor was right! The most useful spell on the battlefield really was the amplifying spell!


    Killing spells were of little effect in a battle of hundreds or thousands. How many could a spellcaster kill? Ten? A hundred? Five hundred? However, an amplifying spell could organize soldiers on a chaotic battlefield to kill for you.


    "First hundred! Follow me up!" Bard roared as he grabbed two soldiers crouching behind barrels and charged toward the stern tower.


    Andre, sword in hand, followed him, shouting, "Kill them!"


    Winters repeated himself three times, having used all his magical power to amplify his voice for the first time, the intense phantom limb pain making him feel as if his body had been inflated like a skin bag three times.


    He could barely stand, his hands shook uncontrollably, and his skin all over his body secreted sweat uncontrollably.


    Fortunately, all the Venetians had already heard the three undeniable orders, and heard them very clearly. Sailors and soldiers needed someone to tell them what to do, and they heard Winters'' command.


    At first, a few took the lead, but the majority followed the instructions. Sailors rushed toward the bow tower, the first hundred toward the stern tower.


    "It''s sorcery! Witchcraft! Black magic!" An enraged Drake, grabbing the collar of the cannoneer beside him, shrieked hysterically; he had just witnessed the Venetian soldiers on the deck, who had been on the verge of a morale collapse, find their backbone again.


    Drake pushed the cannoneer back to the cannon, "Fire the cannon! Fire! Kill those witches!"


    Winters smashed his thigh hard with the handle of his knife, using the real physical pain to suppress the phantom limb pain. After regaining a semblance of lucidity, he got up and ran towards the stern tower.


    At that moment, in the vicinity of the stern tower, the attack by the hundredth squad had met with frustration. The ship towers on warships were fortresses on the sea, and the soldiers of the hundredth squad, armed only with daggers, had no siege weapons.


    Andre was banging on the ship tower''s door with another tall soldier, but the wooden door didn''t budge.


    Meanwhile, on the second and third floors of the ship tower, people kept shooting down at the army soldiers with muskets. Bard had no idea from which corpse he had snatched a matchlock gun and was struggling to load it.


    "Stop banging! It won''t open! They must have barricaded it inside!" Winters grabbed Andre.


    "Then what do we do? Do you hold me up and I climb through the second-floor window?" Andre asked, not knowing what else to do.


    "Looking to die? The pirates would chop off your hand the moment you climb the muzzle!"


    "Well, what the hell do we do?" Andre was completely out of options.


    Winters thought hard about the structure of The Glorious. This ship was a warship seized by the pirates, and its structure must be much like The Glorious''. "Find the entrance to the ship''s hold! The hold and the ship tower are connected!"


    "Sir! Over here!" a soldier shouted, "It won''t open¡ªit''s been blocked from the inside."


    Winters strode over; on the deck was a square entrance about a meter and a half on each side, with a wooden board firmly propped against it, sealing off the ship''s hold entrance.


    "Anyone weighing over 160 pounds, get on! Hurry!" Winters stood on the board covering the hold entrance, pulling Andre up as well, while other tall and sturdy soldiers were also hauled onto the board by him. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard, leading a few soldiers who knew how to use muskets, suppressed the shooters above, covering Winters and the others.


    "Follow my count of one and two, everyone jump together! Jump hard, jump high!" The situation was urgent and Winters couldn''t afford to explain. He shouted the order, "When I say two, jump!"


    "One, two!" The men jumped at different times, and the board creaked.


    Understanding Winters'' intention, Andre sternly scolded, "Whoever XX doesn''t jump in sync, I''ll kill you!"


    "One, two!" The board groaned in pain, and it seemed like there were sounds of snapping from below as well.


    "One, two!" The men''s jumps became more coordinated, almost landing simultaneously.


    "One, two!" With a loud crash, the board and the beams supporting it from below snapped altogether, and everyone standing on the board fell into the hold.


    "Ah! Ah! My arm!" One of the soldiers cried out in pain.


    There was no time to check his injury, as Winters got up and looked inside the hold.


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    The pirate gunners on the lower gun deck, hearing noises from the hold entrance, approached confusedly; suddenly, they saw six or seven soldiers fall from above and were stunned.

 Chapter 73 Out of Control and Frenzy_3

    "Kill!" Winters, weaponless, lunged at the Tanilian facing him.The pirate gunner was bowled over by Winters'' tackle at the waist. Winters, disregarding other enemies nearby, desperately pounded his fists into the man''s face and throat.


    The other soldiers, coming to their senses, charged the enemies on the gun deck and the fight ensued.


    The gun deck, less than two meters high, saw other soldiers one after another jumping down, sparking a bloody battle aboard.


    The slender pirate beneath Winters, his nose and throat smashed by several punches, was bloodied and dazed. Instinctively, he reached for Winters'' face and neck, frantically trying to gouge out Winters'' eyes.


    Dirty hands left bloody trails across Winters'' face¡ªthis was not battle, just two desperate men struggling to survive. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The violent side of Winters'' nature was ignited. He ignored the hands attacking him, pinned the pirate down with his knee pressed against the man''s chest, pulled out the curved knife from the pirate''s waist, and slit the pirate''s throat.


    The poorly maintained knife made the sensation of cutting flesh all the more intense. Holding down the spine of the blade, he dragged the edge from base to tip, the wound deep enough to reach the spine, almost severing the pirate''s head.


    The pirate gunner instantly gasped for air. Winters delivered another chop to the neck, breaking the bone. Stepping on the torso and pulling the hair, he tore the last bit of flesh between head and shoulders, decapitating the pirate.


    Winters, drenched in blood like a Blood Man, held the pirate''s head in his left hand, and the curved knife in his right, roaring as he searched for a new opponent. The pirates on the gun deck, scared witless by this demonic slayer, scrambled towards the lower decks in complete terror.


    "Damn! You... I''m going to have nightmares for a month!" A deep male voice rang out as a pair of large hands took the pirate''s head from Winters and tossed it aside.


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    The speaking officer took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Winters'' face, "If you don''t want to carry an unflattering nickname for life, you little rascal, best do less of this in the future."


    Regaining his composure, Winters recognized the face¡ªit was one he had seen only briefly before, Captain Spire of the Golden Lion.


    It turned out that after the Golden Lion drew alongside the Revenge, they encountered a predicament: the Revenge''s gunwales were too high for the Golden Lion''s boarding plank to reach.


    Helpless, Spire ordered the plank hung from a gun port, and he had just led his men through the cannon embrasure into the Revenge''s gun deck when he witnessed the scene before him.


    Winters looked around, and saw soldiers and sailors lowering their heads in fear, not daring to meet his gaze.


    He breathed heavily, struggling to suppress the turbulent bloodlust in his chest.


    Bard came over, put an arm around Winters'' shoulder, patted his back, and signaled him that it was okay.


    "What''s the situation on the ship now?" Spire asked directly, without mincing words.


    "Tanilians are holding the cabin. I''m thinking of attacking from the hold," Winters replied succinctly.


    "You take your men to clear out any remaining enemies in the hold. Leave the enemies in the cabin to my men," Spire looked Winters in the eye and asked, "Any problems with that?"


    Andre was somewhat reluctant, but Winters had no interest in competing for glory with Spire at that moment. Since the other was willing to chew on the tough bone, all the better. He signaled to Andre that it was fine, and Andre grunted but said no more.


    "Then the deck is yours," Winters nodded to Spire.


    Spire glanced at the young man in front of him, saluted a land officer for the first time in his military career, "Stay safe, after this fight I''ll buy you a drink."


    Having said this, he turned and led his crew towards the ladder to the cabin, shouting to his men, "A Gold Coin for each head! But leave that bastard Drake to me!"


    The crew of the Golden Lion continued to emerge from the gun ports, and one sailor, passing by Winters, handed him a water skin.


    Winters didn''t see who it was. He felt incredibly thirsty but resisted the urge to drink, instead handing the water skin to his soldiers.


    Warrant Officer Montaigne of the Third Legion, First Company, Hundredth Squad, temporarily in command, wiped the blood off his knife and addressed his men, "Come on! Follow me and let''s finish off the rest."

 Chapter 74 Conclusion

    The sea had returned to calm, with the waves sweeping away planks and severed limbs, leaving hardly a trace of the fierce battle that had raged just the night before outside Lighthouse Harbor.Only on the sandy beaches along the port, the charred keels of two fire ships were still smoking.


    "...in the name of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, we commit their bodies to the deep, waiting for the sea to resurrect them in death, to enjoy eternal peace and tranquility in heaven,"


    aboard The Glorious, Centurion Nalesho was giving the final eulogy.


    After a brief memorial service, the bodies of the sailors were sent into the sea from a plank covered with the military flag.


    Such was life on board, where everything was frugal and rudimentary, and the rituals and moral concepts of land didn''t apply.


    Without coffins or graveyards, the fallen sailors were sealed in burlap sacks filled with stones, then "delivered" to the sea. The living had to be busy with living, continuing their struggle on the harsh and perilous seas.


    At this moment, Winters was outside Lighthouse Harbor City leading the remaining soldiers of the hundred-man squad in digging graves.


    Antonio, who had always given way, refused to budge at the funeral and would not accept the time-saving and more efficient sea burial, insisting on burying the bodies of the Third Legion''s fallen soldiers on land.


    Army men weren''t sailors; sailors were used to all this and could calmly accept the sea as their final resting place. But Antonio couldn''t and wouldn''t tolerate anyone throwing his soldiers into the sea to feed the fish.


    After the death of Captain Wilson, Winters temporarily took over as the centurion of the hundred-man squad.


    The position of centurion could only be held by a formal officer, so Winters was only standing in until the army headquarters sent a new official to replace him.


    Although as the beneficiary of the situation it was difficult for Winters to voice criticism, he still perceived a severe flaw in the current military officer system¡ªthe lack of redundancy. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a hundred-man squad with only one officer, the entire squad would lose organization if that officer fell, and the man taking over had to wait for a replacement from the army headquarters, making the entire command system delicate and fragile like an egg carving.


    However, considering himself just a lowly warrant officer, Winters thought it was better to let those above worry about these matters; he just wanted to quickly finish digging these dirt pits.


    A mere tens of hours prior in the sea battle, the Vineta Navy had had the last laugh.


    After The Glorious engaged with Revenge, the other naval warships following The Glorious did not come to aid the flagship.


    The captains made a cool judgment that there were more pressing places for them on the battlefield, and they could only trust that The Glorious would triumph over Revenge in their duel.


    As the Vineta main fleet broke through the fire ships, the oar-sail warships were trapped in a tough fight.


    Being outnumbered, when a Vineta oar-sail ship laid its boarding ramp onto a Tannilian warship, one or more other Tannilian warships would fire their cannons at her.


    This resulted in the oar-sail ships not only having to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Tanyria warships directly ahead but also suffering cannon fire from behind.


    The arrival of the Vineta main battle fleet completely changed this situation, as their oar-sail ships no longer had to fight two-on-one, and the warships started to engage in one-on-one duels.


    When the sea battle turned into a seesaw fight on crowded decks, trading blow for blow, the side with thicker nerves and more immunity to pain won the victory.


    In the end, the Tanyrians could no longer bear such bloody combat¡ªthey were not navy men; they were just a fleet cobbled together from pirates, adventurers, and speculators.


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    With dreams of plunder and rewards, they''d taken to the sea, but when they realized they could not win this fight, all Tannilian warships began a desperate race to escape.


    Revenge had not yet given up its resistance when the Tannilian fleet had already completely collapsed.


    The pirates that could flee dropped their full sails recklessly, using strong winds and waves to push their speed to the limit as they blindly fled toward the dangerous waters to the east.


    However, Spire did not get his wish fulfilled, for Drake had escaped.


    Time returned to tens of hours before.


    On the fiercely battling Revenge, the lower level of the sterncastle had been overrun by sailors from the Golden Lion, but the way to the second level could only be accessed through a narrow ladder that would not allow the sailors to advance easily, stalling their momentum.


    At the ladder entrance to the second level, Drake swung his cutlass, chopping into the neck of a Vineta sailor, then kicked the now limp body down the stairs, laughing wildly, "Stop sending your pathetic underlings up to die, Spire! If you''ve got the guts, come up here and fight me one-on-one!"


    Spire below, of course, wasn''t going to trust Drake''s bluffs, and since he was steadily gaining an advantage, he became even more unhurried, "I''m not in a rush; in fact, I relish the idea of slowing down time to enjoy your despair a bit longer! Hahahahaha! But don''t you dare jump down yourself¡ªI won''t duel you even if you do!"


    Drake''s voice grew increasingly frantic, "Coward! Weakling! [Incoherent vulgarities]!"


    The dirtier the insults from above, the louder Spire laughed, as if he were enjoying Drake''s final moments of madness.


    However, silently, he gestured to his crew, instructing them to dismantle two of the swivel guns on the gunwales and carry them into the cabin of the Golden Lion.


    Spire carried on trading barbs with Drake; meanwhile, he swiftly loaded the swivel guns with ammunition.


    "Just you wait, I''m coming up!" screamed Spire as he aimed the swivel guns at the stairwell.

 Chapter 74 Finishing Up_2

    "I''m waiting for you! [Swear word]!" Drake cursed viciously as he lit the fuse of the iron pot filled with gunpowder in his hand; he had been stalling Spire with talk precisely to buy time to make this makeshift bomb.As the hissing iron pot was thrown down the staircase, the two swivel guns loaded with grapeshot that Spire had brought over also fired, sending dozens of nut-sized pellets flying into the second deck, where immediate screams ensued.


    In the moment the swivel guns fired, Spire also noticed the object hurled down from above; he immediately ran towards the lower decks, and as he shouted, "Run!" the iron pot exploded, its force clearly felt even by those aboard The Glorious nearby.


    "You... you XX are really despicable!" Amidst the smoke-filled sterncastle, Spire cursed for the first time during the exchange.


    "Hmph, aren''t you the same?" Drake replied with a sneer.


    "Too bad your iron bomb exploded in halves and wasn''t very powerful; it was just a loud noise."


    "Your cannons hit the wood and hardly injured anyone."


    Deep down, these sworn enemies knew all too well that they were essentially the same: Drake was Tanilia''s Spire, and Spire was Veneta''s Drake.


    Silence fell in the sterncastle, with only the sounds of combat echoing from elsewhere on the ship.


    "Surrender, Drake. You''re at a dead end, and you certainly won''t live, but I assure you a swift end without the indignity of capture," Spire said, genuinely sincere this time. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Above decks, Drake, pressing on the wound in his arm caused by the swivel gun, instinctively wanted to utter some harsh rebuttal, but suddenly felt disheartened.


    Spire was right: aboard the Revenge, the Venetians were unstoppable, and the Tanilian fleet on the sea was crumbling¡ªDrake had been utterly defeated. For the first time in his life, he truly understood what it meant to be at the end of his rope.


    Drake gripped his cutlass once more, grinding his teeth as he said each word, "You''ll never capture me alive!"


    In the moment the cutlass touched his own throat, Drake heard one of his men shouting, "A ship! It''s ramming us!"


    Into the deep night, a large, black-sailed ship silently entered the battle scene from the northwest. It didn''t join the melee, instead heading straight for the Revenge''s starboard side, and collided at full speed with the Golden Lion.


    With the force of the violent collision, the large ship brutally struck the middle of the Golden Lion. The huge inertia caused the ship to mount right atop the Golden Lion, its bow raised high, the weight of the entire ship transferred to the keel and ultimately to the body of the Golden Lion.


    The Golden Lion was desperately groaning as it broke in two amidst the painful creaking of its hull.


    A group of boarders swung from the large ship onto the Revenge''s deck, and the leader, armed with four revolving pistols and wielding twin cutlasses, swept through the Venetians on deck like a tempest. Discover more content at empire


    Drake recognized this uniquely shaped large sail ship, and even more so the berserker dancer of twin blades. He laughed wildly, as if saved from certain death and shouted, "It''s the Phoenix! Captain Kenway is here! Hahahaha! You''re all going to die!"


    Drake''s remaining men, upon hearing the name Phoenix, reignited their will to fight and followed Drake down to the decks below.


    However, Spire and the crew of the Golden Lion had already been driven back into the cabins by the Phoenix''s boarding team.


    Drake, grasping the shoulder of the boarding team''s lead man, said crazily, "In the end, you still came to my aid! Nalesho is right there on that ship, let''s go obliterate them all! We haven''t lost this battle yet!"


    The man removed his hood, revealing none other than the legendary captain and master of rigging, Edward James Kenway, who had tried to stop the war until the very last moment.


    "I''m not here to back you up," Edward said, dispensing with pleasantries and knocking out Drake with a fierce punch.


    Taking Drake with them, the Phoenix''s boarding team quickly returned to their own ship and sailed away.


    The entire assault was as swift as lightning, and by the time the officers on The Glorious could react, the Phoenix had already rescued Drake.


    Warships pursuing the fleeing enemy reported sighting a black ship entering the reef-strewn waters. No ship dared to follow the Phoenix into the reef area; to the Venetian sailors, a ship entering the reef was as good as sunk, and there was no point chasing further.


    The battle was a resounding victory: at the cost of losing seven Venetian galleys and three large sail ships, the Vineta Fleet captured four warships including the Tanilian flagship Revenge, five armed merchant ships, and sunk or burned one warship and three armed merchant ships. The remaining Tanilian ships fled into the Dead Sea area east of the Lighthouse Port, their fate unknown.


    The warships stolen by the Tanilians from Haidong Port had all been recaptured or sunk.


    The Tanilians could no longer muster a fleet capable of confronting the Venetian navy head-on.


    It was indeed a grand victory.


    The loss of three large sail ships resulted from being ignited when breaking through fire ships; the flames couldn''t be controlled, leading to the entire crew abandoning ship.


    Fortunately, The Glorious was not burned down. The Revenge''s gunners targeted The Glorious''s waterline with heavy cannon, causing The Glorious to take on water and sink.


    As the hull began to sink, the panels nailed to the bow also sank into the water, extinguishing the fire on the fire ship. The Glorious''s sailors, fighting for their lives, plugged the holes below the waterline and snatched the fleet flagship from the brink of sinking.

 Chapter 74 Conclusion_3

    And so, The Glorious miraculously avoided disaster by a twist of fate, prompting a sigh of reflection.Just as Nalesho had said, those twenty-one troop transports watched the entire naval battle from a distance, serving no practical purpose.


    The evening following the Lighthouse Port naval battle. Discover hidden tales at empire


    "There really was no helping it." Cage sprawled out on the bed, speaking carelessly, "We didn''t count on them from the start. When those troop transports were requisitioned, they came with their original captains and sailors, who of course preferred to save their own ships."


    Cage now had a bald head with a startling gash on his scalp, stitched with more than a dozen sutures.


    As expected, with the merits from this battle, he would smoothly be promoted from officer candidate to lieutenant¡ªthe navy had lost a batch of officers and urgently needed to fill the gaps.


    "I think there''s more to it than that," Bard said thoughtfully, "I think for your navy, the captain''s initiative is very important. Army officers are used to obeying orders, while navy captains often make their own decisions. Last night when The Glorious engaged with the enemy, not a single warship came to rescue; they all headed straight for the main battlefield. This shows that the captains on all the ships had made a judgment, deeming the frontal battlefront more important than rescuing the flagship."


    Cage cracked a smile, "That''s a fresh take... but on second thought, it''s not wrong. Just like that. A lone ship on the vast sea, surrounded by water, a ship is a kingdom, the captain is the king."


    "I still think it''s because of the lack of unified command. The merchant captains wanted to fight, but the army officers aboard might have been waiting for orders. The army officers were keen to fight, while the merchant captains probably wanted to save their ships. If there was a supreme commander on each ship with full authority to command, we might have fought more easily."


    Andre''s bunk made an untimely snoring sound; he always got sleepy listening to these armchair military discussions. He was a man of action, understanding only through personal involvement.


    "How could that be possible? When have the army ever listened to navy officers? And the navy wouldn''t want to be commanded by army officers either." Cage yawned as well. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But aren''t we now all under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? The Joint Chiefs should have the authority to appoint officers who can command both the army and the navy," Winters pondered, resting his arm under his head.


    "Forget it, let''s not talk about that. If that were the case, you army officers shouldn''t be here but rather on board a sailing vessel. And the sailors from the sailing vessels should be transferred to those requisitioned merchant ships. That would be the most logical arrangement, allowing the whole fleet to utilize its full combat power. But in the end, wasn''t it all to cater to the army''s preferences, placing you on the big ships?"


    Cage''s blunt words left Winters and Bard at a loss for words.


    "Let''s drop that subject, I heard something interesting." Cage, sensing the awkward atmosphere, quickly changed the topic, sat up, and patted Winters''s bunk, grinning mischievously, "I hear you scared the sailors on the Golden Lion so much they wet their pants."


    "That''s an exaggeration, it wouldn''t be to that extent." Bard immediately defended his friend, "Who told you that nonsense?"


    Cage slapped his thigh, "Do I need someone to tell me? It''s spread throughout the entire fleet. I bet you''ll have a nickname soon. If you''re worried about it being unflattering, think of a nickname yourself and I''ll help spread it. Ah, I''ve been wanting a nickname myself..."


    Ever since Cage was wounded on the head, he seemed to have unlocked a chatterbox personality.


    Winters sighed, turned away from Cage, curled up on his side, and just felt a pang in his stomach.

 Chapter 182 Chapter Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea

    "Please provide the goods as listed on this paper." Bard pressed the supply list onto the table, his voice emanating from within the helmet with a buzzing quality, "They must all be delivered to the dock by noon tomorrow, where someone will be responsible for receiving them."Winters and Andre stood imposingly behind Bard, donned in full military regalia. Especially Andre, who rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword, eyeing the middle-aged man behind the desk with a menacing look.


    Explore new worlds at empire


    Although Bard''s tone was as polite as possible, their stance clearly left no room for refusal.


    The slender and gaunt mayor of Sea Spring Port bowed his head, not daring to meet the eyes of the three towering and majestic officers, and quickly took the list from the table with both hands to inspect it carefully.


    After scrutinizing the list thoroughly, the previously worried brows of the Sea Spring Port mayor relaxed slightly.


    Major General Nalesho''s quartermaster knew the ins and outs of Sea Spring Port well. This list would cause the mayor some pain, but with gritted teeth, he could definitely procure the items.


    Moreover, the Revenant Fleet was only demanding supplies like grain, firewood, cloth, etc., not enough to cripple the small commercial port.


    But the merchant by nature, the mayor of Sea Spring still attempted to haggle, his face troubled as he said, "Honorable officer, this town doesn''t even have a thousand households. Where can we find so much of these goods at short notice? For example, this... ten thousand kilograms of twice-baked wheat cakes? I... I... where am I supposed to find so many wheat cakes? And..."


    "Hmm?" Winters emitted a long, threatening hum from the depths of his nose with an unpleasant expression.


    The lanky mayor immediately fell silent.


    "You said it yourself¡ªyou can''t gather these items," Andre said with a mocking sneer, "Since you''re unwilling to hand them over, we''ll just take them ourselves, hahaha, all the better."


    No sooner had he spoken than he pushed the door to leave.


    Desperate, the mayor of Sea Spring leapt three feet in the air and hurriedly ran to block Andre. His instincts told him that while the other two officers might be difficult to deal with, this tallest officer was truly capable of carrying out violent plunder without any prick of conscience.


    "Please, sit, sit, no need to rush." Seeing that the timing was right, Bard helped the grey-haired mayor back to his chair, speaking in a warm and gentle tone, "My colleague might be a bit hot-headed, but he''s telling the truth. We need to collect these supplies one way or another, either through your voluntary donation or by our own retrieval. Frankly, us coming to you for them is already a courtesy... If I were you, I''d already be making the cakes."


    Beads of sweat formed on the mayor''s forehead as the well-traveled old merchant clearly understood the game these young men were playing.


    But the dozens of warships moored outside the harbor were real, as were the gaping cannons on board, and the bloodthirsty aura emanating from these young men, not much older than his grandsons, was certainly not faked.


    Under immense psychological pressure, the kind and gentle demeanor and tone of the officer beside him felt unusually congenial and trustworthy.


    The mayor of Sea Spring swallowed hard, nodded with difficulty, and seemed to age a decade in an instant, "I will pay, I will pay."


    "Take your time, just have them dockside by tomorrow noon." Bard bent down to pick up the list that had dropped to the floor, placing it back on the mayor''s desk, "Oh, and where is the town''s water source? We''ll draw freshwater ourselves, no need for you to supply that, saving the townspeople some effort."


    "Freshwater... Freshwater..." The old mayor appeared dazed, not yet recovered from the previous conversation, when he suddenly shouted, "Cannons! How many cannons do you have?" S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre strode over to the old mayor, grabbed him by the collar, and hoisted him up, asking viciously, "Spying on military intelligence, looking to die? You must be a spy for the Confederation!"


    "Don''t treat the elderly that way! He''s nearly the age of your grandfather." Bard immediately intervened to stop Andre, with Winters rushing to assist as well.


    The scared witless old mayor hastily explained, "I''m not trying to spy, no... Can your fleet fire a round from the dockside?"


    Winters and Andre exchanged glances, unsure what exactly the old man was scheming, but Bard seemed to understand.


    The more the mayor spoke, the more animated he became, "That''s right! Fire a round! Let the whole fleet fire a round! Blank rounds are fine, if you could fire a round for me, I could prepare all the goods you need overnight!"


    Bard and Andre looked to Winters.


    "Mr. Mayor, gunpowder is a precious military resource, and the fleet cannot waste it just to scare the townspeople for you," Winters said, frowning, already grasping the old man''s intent.


    The mayor now understood that the medium-height officer was the leader of the three. He grabbed Winters''s arm and said, "Gunpowder is manageable, I can supply you from the town''s arsenal. Without you showing force, not only can I not continue as mayor, but the townspeople won''t willingly give up the supplies. If they intend to stall, it will also delay the preparation of the supplies!"


    Winters was pondering, while Bard and Andre didn''t speak.


    "I can also provide a sum of money to compensate the esteemed officers," the old mayor pleaded further.

 Chapter 183 Chapter Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_2

    "The entire fleet wouldn''t bombard just to intimidate a small town, and it certainly wouldn''t look good for the noble Vineta navy to be threatening civilians," Winters mused. "However, I can find a way to bring over a main battleship to fire a salute. No need for money, just hand over all the gunpowder from the town armory.""Yes, yes!" the old mayor nodded vigorously, then remembered something else, "Would you three officers please leave me a letter of explanation saying that if Sea Blue Town doesn''t surrender the supplies, we will use the cannons to blast Sea Blue Town to rubble?"


    "I can''t possibly write such a thing for you; it''s a donation, not a robbery, get it?" Winters said with a big laugh. "But I can write you an equivalent document with roughly the same idea."


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Holding a threatening letter that read "If Sea Blue Town does not pledge allegiance to the Republic of Vineta, the Vineta navy will bombard Sea Blue Town to ruins," the mayor of Sea Blue Town hurriedly rang the bell to call a town meeting. Read the latest on empire


    After completing the mission, Winters, Bard, and Andre strolled leisurely toward the dock.


    "I can''t figure out why they call it Sea Blue Town, I didn''t see any well in the town square," Andre casually said.


    Bard answered unhurriedly, "The sea near this island often sees whales surfacing and spouting water. Ancient people saw it from afar and thought it was a sea fountain, hence the name Sea Blue Town."


    "How did you know that?" Andre asked, feeling somewhat unconvinced.


    "Because I read books," Bard smiled and said.


    Winters undid the buttons under his jaw and took off his plumed helmet. His heavy helmet was steaming with sweat, and his hair was soaked.


    "Ah, after all those years at the military academy, now I''ve ended up doing a pirate''s job," Winters sighed and said with remorse, "Thank you both for helping me with this disgusting task."


    "Hey, why talk about that?"


    To keep the military in check and prevent them from becoming too powerful within the Republic, the logistical aspects of the Vineta military were handled by the civilian departments of the Governor''s office.


    With the plates in someone else''s hands, it was inevitable that things wouldn''t be quite to the military''s liking.


    Moreover, for this hurriedly launched overseas expedition, the Avenger Fleet had already emptied Vineta''s war readiness storehouses. Nalesho and Antonio had no confidence in whether subsequent supplies could be provided, so the joint command unanimously agreed not to miss any chance of resupply. Better to throw the supplies into the sea later on than to leave the storerooms empty now.


    That was why the "coerced donation" just now had occurred.


    Collecting military contributions was theoretically not difficult; the tricky part was doing it elegantly. It had to be done without looking too ugly, yet still managing to secure the supplies. This was why Winters reluctantly sought help from Bard and Andre. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In theory, such dirty work would not be something any honorable officer would willingly do, but it certainly wouldn''t call for a mere acting ensign to step in.


    But who made Winters stand out in capturing the Avenger, and with the death of the leader, he, an acting ensign, became a Centurion?


    And not just any Centurion, but the Centurion of the chief cohort.


    A regular cohort had only 80 men, while the chief cohort had 150 men, practically the strength of two regular cohorts.


    All coming from the military academy, the seniors hadn''t yet managed to become the Centurion of the chief cohort, and here you are, a mere junior officer fresh out of the academy, landing this position¡ªeven if temporarily¡ªhow could you not be envied?


    Even Andre felt a bit of unease, not to mention others.


    Only Bard privately advised Winters with concern, "You''ve not been placed in a good spot, but rather in a viper''s nest!"


    So Winters became even more unassuming, his demeanor even more humble, saluting his superiors from a distance for fear of others saying, "This young man has become arrogant after becoming the Centurion of the chief cohort."


    Fortunately, few knew that Serviati''s legion commander was Montaigne Acting Ensign''s maternal uncle. Winters bit his lip and endured when people gossiped behind his back. But if anyone dared to sling mud at Antonio, Winters would challenge them to a duel.


    Speaking of which, since leaving Sea Blue City, Winters hadn''t met with Antonio alone. Once in the barracks, there were no blood relatives, just superiors and subordinates. That was better, at least Winters felt more at ease. He would have been uncomfortable if given special treatment.


    So during the days of rest after the Lighthouse Port naval battle, what Montaigne Acting Ensign looked forward to most was the military headquarters quickly sending someone to replace him as the temporary Centurion.


    He also couldn''t understand why a mere acting ensign like him was temporarily acting as the Centurion of the chief cohort; it made more sense to transfer a senior warrant officer from another cohort.


    But when Winters sought out Kongtai''er, the colonel said, "The legion has no personnel authority; commission of officers must be appointed by the army headquarters. Temporarily moving a warrant officer from another cohort to the first cohort would break the combat power of two cohorts. Having you act as Centurion would at most disrupt the combat power of one cohort."


    Kongtai''er Colonel patted Winters on the shoulder, comforting him, "This is a great opportunity for experience; you should cherish it. Others would long for such a chance. Besides, you won''t act for too long, just hang in there. Don''t be afraid of what others say; it''s only mediocrity that goes unenvied."

 Chapter 184 Chapter Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_3

    With the higher-ups saying as much, Winters could hardly decline any further.However, Warrant Officer Montaigne, who had eagerly awaited a formal officer to relieve him, instead received orders to set sail once again.


    After burying the dead, repairing the warships, salvaging weapons and supplies from sunken ships, and transporting the prisoners back to Sea Blue City, a series of post-battle wrap-up tasks were completed.


    On the third day after the Sea Blue City naval battle, the Vineta Fleet of Vengeance set sail again.


    The outcome of the grand sea battle outside of Sea Blue City was already spreading throughout Senas Bay and even further abroad through the comings and goings of merchant ships.


    This is exactly why Admiral Nalesho went to great lengths, even daring to put the Vineta Fleet in jeopardy and create opportunities for the enemy, to engage in a decisive fleet battle.


    Admiral Nalesho firmly believed that a large-scale naval battle would determine the course of the war and even its outcome¡ªthe victor of the fleet battle would have it all.


    The Vineta navy not only broke the Tanilian fleet in the battle but also shattered the Tanilian''s will to fight.


    On the shipping routes from Sea Blue City to Golden Harbor, aside from a few nearshore ports directly governed by Vineta, farther ports only nominally belonged to Vineta and were usually cozy with the Tanilia Federation. Ports like Sea Spring Port, which were closer to the Taniria Islands, were actually within the Federation''s sphere of influence.


    After the news of Vineta''s victory over Tanyria spread across Senas Bay, the places visited by the Fleet of Vengeance that had been eager to stir after Haidong Port''s catastrophic loss, turned compliant overnight. Ports like Sea Spring Port, territories of the Federation, didn''t even have the courage to resist and surrendered one by one at mere sight of the threat.


    Commanding the Fleet of Vengeance, Nalesho swiftly cleared each obstacle from their path, steadily approaching the main island of the Tanilia Islands. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, look at what you''ve done! You''ve directly sent the bravest and best captains and sailors of Tanyria to their deaths. Ships flying the Vineta flag now roam unopposed in the inner seas, and ports that were once loyal to us are surrendering one after the other," Edward Kenway said with a stern face in the cabin of The Phoenix.


    "You really can''t blame me for that!" Drake lay in the swaying hammock with a cynical smile, his head and shoulders bandaged from wounds treated: "Whether I win or lose, just a couple of cannon shots from the Venetians are all it takes to scare those islanders; they''d probably love nothing more than to hoist their underwear up the pole as a white flag. And don''t you dare tell me those islanders have any real loyalty, do you even believe your own words?"


    "Even if they had the courage to resist Venetians before, your crushing defeat has dissipated it," Captain Kenway suppressed his anger: "You gambled twenty of Tanyria''s finest ships for your personal vendetta, do you think it was worth it?"


    Captain Drake¡ªno, he no longer had a ship¡ªsighed, smacked his lips and said with indifference, "Fighting a fleet battle was the right call. If I had won, the Venetian war plans would have utterly collapsed there and then. What would you have said in that case? So the only mistake is that I lost."


    "Have you forgotten why the Venetians started the war with us in the first place?" Captain Kenway sneered: "If you hadn''t raided the Venetian home port, this war would never have started."


    "You''re wrong again, whether I razed Haidong Port or not, the Venetians would have declared war. Debela has repeatedly advocated for military action, and the calls for war in the Venetian parliament have grown louder each time. As long as Venetian territorial ambitions remain, war is inevitable. I simply expedited its arrival, and I gave the islands an advantage," yawned Drake, slowly closing his eyes: "Stop talking nonsense. You rescuing me already shows which side you''re on, doesn''t it? If you''re not satisfied and need to vent, why don''t you cut me?"


    Without a word, Kenway drew his curve blade.


    "Hey! What are you doing? You really going to cut me?" Drake broke into a cold sweat, struggling to rise from the hammock.


    A flash of cold light passed, and the ropes holding the hammock were cleanly severed, sending Drake crashing heavily onto the deck, moaning, "Ugh... my old back..."


    "You still don''t understand, or you refuse to. As long as your fleet existed, it was a sword hanging over the Venetians'' heads. They wouldn''t dare sail freely on the inner seas as long as your fleet wasn''t destroyed," Kenway said.


    "What''s the use of saying all this now?" Drake struggled to his feet, clutching his back: "If you were unwilling to attack The Glorious at the time, then you should''ve left me on The Revenge to die!"


    "You''re still of use alive," said Captain Kenway coldly: "Even without your fleet, you are still a sword hanging over the Venetians'' heads. Your plan has failed, so I want you to fully support my plan within the Federation!"


    Kenway wrinkled his nose and said, "And I wouldn''t leave my friend to die on a ship."


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    As the setting sun cast long shadows, the pint-size battery at Sea Spring Port slowly raised the Vineta Flag to the booming salutes from a Venetian capital warship''s guns.


    Not far from there, in the town square, the old town mayor was saying something to the gathered townspeople.


    Standing on the fortifications, Andre scoffed at the sight of the town square and spat on the ground.


    "Actually, I think it''s good for you to get involved in this kind of dirty work. It''s a form of care, a very astute arrangement," said Bard while hoisting the flag and speaking to Winters.


    Winters remained silent. Discover stories with empire

 Chapter 76 Red Sulphur

    "What does the signal flag on that ship say?" Winters asked Cage, pointing at the warship that was gradually moving away."''Wish,'' ''good luck,'' ''victory,'' ''goodbye,''" Cage read the signal flags, squinting his eyes.


    Six main warships left the fleet and scattered across the entire sea area.


    "I can''t understand why your navy would do something like dispersing its forces," Winters sighed.


    Moving his joints, Cage answered, "The sizable Tanilia fleet has already been destroyed, there is no need for the fleet to stay clumped together anymore; spreading out will allow us to control this sea area... We should be close to Red Sulfur Island, right?"


    Red Sulfur Island is the fifth largest island of the Taniria Islands, named for its red soil and the abundant sulfur produced on the mountains in the middle of the island.


    The entire island is roughly an irregular oval shape, its area nearly 700 square kilometers, about one hundred and forty times smaller than the territory of Vineta, or about a quarter the size of a Vineta county.


    If you calculate based on the speed of a field march, it would take about two days to go from the southern end of the island to the north, over fifty kilometers. From the west end to the east, it would take about a day, over twenty kilometers.


    Later generations discovered that this island was actually a small part of a giant underwater volcano that surfaced, but people of this era did not know this. However, as long as there was sulfur to be mined, they didn''t care about living on the edge of a volcano.


    This island controls the southern gateway of the Taniria Islands, and Red Sulfur Harbor is the best deepwater natural harbor on the Sea Blue¡ªGolden Harbor shipping route,


    Unlike Sea Spring Port, which swayed indecisively between two major powers, Red Sulfur Island is one of the main islands of the Taniria Islands, a core territory of the Federation, with sugarcane plantations crowding the island, which spoke volumes.


    Therefore, after the Consul of Debela declared war, this important sulfur-producing area quickly cut off its sulfur exports to Vineta.


    In Nalesho''s step-by-step battle plan, capturing Red Sulfur Harbor was a critical link. The docks of the large harbor could accommodate the entire fleet, the rich island could provide supplies for the Expeditionary Force, and they could also seize the sulfur mines on the island.


    Using this island as a base and springboard, there would be a solid rear for the assault on the main island of Taniria.


    Later that afternoon, atop The Glorious''s castle, Winters could already see the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island; likewise, the observation post on the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island had noticed the Vineta Fleet.


    The sentinel in the observation post gaped, stunned as he spotted sails on the sea surface thirty sea miles away.


    One ship, two ships, then dozens; an imposing fleet was sailing towards Red Sulfur Island, with the flags of the Vineta Navy clearly visible at the top of their masts.


    Even though the outcome of the battle at Lighthouse Port was already known, the efficiency and speed of the Vineta Fleet still left the sentinel dumbfounded. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What are you staring at?!" The watch commander angrily kicked the sentinel: "Light the beacon!"


    From the ship, Winters saw a plume of thick smoke rise from the southern coast of Red Sulfur Island, reaching hundreds of meters into the sky before dispersing. The beacon spread the news of the Venetians'' arrival across the island, and the Venetians were aware of this too.


    The fleet steered eastward, bypassing the southern tip of Red Sulfur Island, sailing beneath the basalt cliffs, and by evening, they had anchored at a sheltered spot from the wind. A small troop on the shore had been following the fleet closely, keeping a close watch on the Venetians'' movements.


    Since embarking on the campaign, the soldiers of the Vineta Army felt the tension of impending battle for the first time.


    For dinner that night, the soldiers of the Third Legion didn''t eat the usual dry biscuits, but fresh fish, salty meat soup, and freshly baked bread.


    By special command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each infantry soldier also received a small cup of strong liquor. Find adventures on empire


    Every spellcaster officer received two basic units of standard casting materials¡ªsomething the army wouldn''t normally be so generous with.


    The soldiers retrieved their weapons¡ªthese had been collected and managed centrally upon boarding. Veterans in the centurion''s unit were all issued with half-armors.


    Musket soldiers began to inspect each lead bullet, polishing away the poor-quality ones that wouldn''t fit into the barrels. The sound of weapons and armor being honed was incessant throughout the fleet.


    The gun deck of The Glorious was temporarily transformed into the Legion''s command tent, and all officers of the Third Legion, who attended the military council, packed the not-so-large gun deck.


    "The Tanilia Federation is merely a loose political alliance with no standing army. Their main armed force consists of plantation owners'' private troops and the militia guards from various towns, aside from the peace-keeping forces," explained the deputy legion commander, standing in front of the map: "Apart from Red Sulfur Harbor, there is a small town inland called Tachi. Red Sulfur Harbor has about ten thousand inhabitants, Tachi less than five thousand. Outside the cities, there are four villages, and numerous plantations."


    A guard began distributing maps to the officers present. As the acting centurion of the first hundred-man unit, Winters also received a spread-out map of Red Sulfur Island.


    The detail of the map astounded him¡ªit was less than two handspans in size, but meticulously marked the roads, villages, water sources, and large plantations of Red Sulfur Island, and certainly not something that could be produced hastily.


    The deputy legion commander briefly explained the topography of Red Sulfur Island with reference to the map, and then began assigning combat tasks.


    Finally getting to the heart of the matter, all officers present perked up.

 Chapter 76 Red Sulfur_2

    "Red Sulfur Island is surrounded by dense reefs, with only Red Sulfur Harbor as a natural deep-water good port. Tomorrow morning, the fleet will head toward Saint Hiliary Beach. After the tide rises, the lead squadron will take small boats to land first on the Saint Hiliary Beach and establish a temporary camp. If the enemy on Red Sulfur Island thinks to attack us at this opportunity, the second and third battalions'' troop transports will directly run aground on the beach; the strength of three battalions should be enough to resolve..."Before the Vice Admiral could finish, a messenger came running from the cabin with a thump thump thump, interrupting him.


    As per military law, anyone who barges into a military council without permission is to be hanged.


    The messenger, trembling with fear, lowered his head to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the ship''s officers and hurried forward to hand Antonio a piece of paper.


    Antonio, who had been silent throughout the entire military council, glanced at the paper, slightly arched his brow, and said indifferently to his subordinates, "The Red Sulfur Island Council has surrendered."


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    In the midst of the scorching sun, a warship with all its cannon ports open slowly moved toward Red Sulfur Harbor, firing a round of blank shots at the bastion guarding the entrance to the bay in a display of might.


    Along with the thundrous sound of cannons that echoed across the entire bay, a white flag was raised at the top of the bastion.


    Immediately, a deafening cheer burst from within the Vineta Fleet.


    The soldiers and sailors were, of course, overjoyed that they didn''t have to fight to the death.


    However, the land force officers had a sour taste in their mouths; from the beginning of the campaign until now the armies had virtually no chance to showcase their prowess. The Navy took all the credit, even the surrender of Red Sulfur Harbor without a fight¡ªobviously, this was also due to the great victory at the battle of Lantern Harbor and had nothing to do with the army.


    Along the coast of Red Sulfur Island, cliffs and hidden reefs were everywhere, with only Red Sulfur Harbor being a natural good deep-water harbor.


    However, the bay itself was shaped like a gourd with a narrow entrance which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tanilians had even built a formidable cannon bastion at the entrance to the bay, which was why the initial battle plan didn''t consider a direct naval assault on Red Sulfur Harbor at all.


    "Why would they surrender just like that?" Andre cursed angrily, frustrated with the Red Sulfur Island Council, "Block the entrance to the harbor with an iron chain, what ship could enter then? Relying on their natural defenses, they should at least put up a fight, right? How could they just surrender like this?"


    "Enough, isn''t it a good thing no one has to die?" Bard said helplessly. Explore stories on empire


    Winters nodded in agreement; although he also felt it was somewhat baffling, not having to fight was always a good thing. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The Navy fought the battle, the Navy took the glory, we''ve become the Navy''s dependents..." Andre continued to grumble dissatisfied.


    From inside the prow cabin of The Glorious, General Nalesho politely inquired with Antonio, "General Serviati, shall we dock now?"


    "Please wait." Antonio, for once, voiced a differing opinion. He signaled one of his lieutenants: "You lead my guard to that bastion, invite all the Tanilians out, and nail shut all the cannons inside that face the water."


    "Is that really necessary?" Nalesho was slightly taken aback, "The cannons in the bastion will still be needed to defend Red Sulfur Harbor in the future, won''t they?"


    "Your Excellency General, although we have no intention of resistance, must you humiliate us like this?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council was also somewhat indignant.


    Antonio said with a smile, "Just to be cautious. If we need these cannons in the future, we can drill them open again, even if it''s a bit of trouble."


    Nalesho hesitated, but in the end agreed to Antonio''s arrangement.


    The entire fleet waited outside the bay, watching as The Glorious lowered a few boats, carrying dozens of soldiers slowly rowing toward the bastion.


    The originally exuberant atmosphere began to quiet down, as the soldiers and sailors, confused by the flagship''s actions, began to grow restless.


    After nearly an hour of fuss, someone finally waved the army flag on top of the bastion. Seeing the agreed signal, Antonio''s solemn expression eased a bit.


    General Nalesho sighed and waved to Kalaman, his first officer. The order spread from The Glorious to the entire fleet, and the ships pulled up their anchors and entered the bay.


    "Why make such a fuss for so long?" The second officer, stationed at the helm, asked Kalaman in confusion.


    Kalaman snorted coldly, "What else could it be for? Isn''t it just that the army is jealous of us? They want to swipe some credit too, it''s an old tradition of greed for the army..."


    Because the entire bay was nearly gourd-shaped, after entering it, the water became much more expansive. However, the shore was still rugged with boulders, and there was no place for large ships to dock.


    Proceeding further, the leading ships could already see the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor and the bastion next to it when Antonio once again called a halt to the fleet.


    Kalaman, furious, left the prow cabin to issue the order for all sails to be taken in.


    "General Serviati, I can understand your concerns, but you really needn''t worry so much," Nalesho resignedly shared some naval secrets with Antonio, "The Red Sulfur Island Council and the Navy had extensive communications prior to this, and both sides did not wish for Red Sulfur Island to be destroyed by war, which is why the Council chose to switch allegiances."


    "Do you truly intend to switch allegiances?" Antonio asked the Council Envoy seriously, particularly obstinate today.


    "Otherwise, why would I be here?" The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council retorted sharply.


    "Fine, then let one of my hundred-man teams occupy the bastion at the harbor first," Antonio said, word by word.


    The envoy responded angrily, "What do you mean by this, Your Excellency? We''re switching allegiance, not surrendering!"

 Chapter 76 Red Sulfur_3

    "You heard what I said." Antonio no longer spoke much to the messenger and directly turned to General Nalesho, "I ask that you provide ships for my soldiers. Once the Third Legion has been stationed in Bastion, the fleet can dock.""Lord Serviati, we in the navy have indeed already reached an agreement with the council..."


    But Antonio remained unmoved, "Please dispatch ships for my troops. Since the council has decided on a change of flag, what harm is there in letting my soldiers garrison Bastion ahead of time?" Find exclusive stories on empire


    Ignoring the messenger''s stern protests, Nalesho helplessly nodded his head. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre, who had already stripped off their armor, received the orders: the first hundred-man squad to assemble immediately.


    "It''s finally our turn!" Andre excitedly fastened his helmet.


    The three lieutenants quickly helped each other don their officer-issued cuirasses and began to gather the hundred-man squad''s sections.


    Every eight army soldiers formed a group, sharing one tent and one pot, thus they were called a "section" or a "mess" ¨C the smallest unit in the army.


    As the temporary centurion of the first hundred-man squad, Winters still couldn''t recognize everyone; he now only knew each section''s person in charge.


    Just as the nineteenth section of the hundred-man squad was mustered, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er walked onto the deck with his flag officer. The operation to take Bastion was to be personally commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er, which also made it more convenient for negotiating with the council.


    The boats from various ships began to converge towards The Glorious.


    Aboard another warship next to The Glorious, commotion arose. Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er and the three lieutenants explained, "The navy is not willing to let us garrison Bastion alone; they also want to send a team there."


    Winters, Andre, and Bard sat in one boat, with Andre holding the centurion''s banner high.


    Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er, with his guards, took another boat, flying the flagship battalion''s banner.


    A naval officer from another warship descended, flying a naval banner Winters did not recognize.


    The three boats flying banners led at the front, followed by another thirty or so boats, heading towards the docks at the bottom of Red Sulfur Harbor.


    "Hey¡­ ho¡­ hey¡­ ho¡­" The soldiers clumsily rowed, entering the second wide expanse of the gourd-shaped bay.


    Winters sat at the bow of the boat, looking around. The shore at the bottom of the gourd seemed also mostly rocky, with the jetty of Red Sulfur Harbor extending from the coast.


    There was not a single ship by the docks, not only no large ships but also no small ones. A hexagonal bastion lay quietly by the dockside, utterly devoid of any sign of life.


    Atop the prow of The Glorious, Antonio and Nalesho silently watched the small boats slowly drift away from the fleet.


    "I will report exactly what has occurred today to the gentlemen of the council. How Venetians treat Red Sulfur Island... will anyone wish to bow their heads in the future? You¡­" The council''s messenger, filled with anger, pursued the matter.


    "Alright, alright. After we dock, I will personally apologize to the gentlemen of the council," Nalesho placated the council''s messenger with a generous tone: "The Venetians..."


    His words were interrupted by the roar of heavy artillery.


    The cannonball caused a huge splash, plunging the Vineta Fleet into chaos.


    "Where is the firing coming from?!"


    "It''s nearby!"


    "It''s fortress artillery!"


    Following three more booms of heavy artillery fire, cries of agony and the sound of boat hulls being shattered echoed simultaneously. A galley began to slowly list, and the sailors on board scrambled to abandon ship, while the rowers, chained to their seats, screamed, begging for someone to unlock their chains.


    This time, everyone saw the position of the cannons. Frighteningly close, situated at the narrow section in the second part of the gourd-shaped bay.


    The camouflaging layer of shrubs and vines was removed, revealing yet another battery.


    "It''s not on the map!"


    "When did they build another battery?!"


    Accompanied by the thunderous sound of the call to arms, at the narrowest point of the second part of the bay, by the battery, a chain was raised from the seabed,


    With the firing of the heavy cannons as a signal, the harbor bay of Red Sulfur Harbor revealed its fangs.

 Chapter 77 Waves

    "Cannon fire! Where is the firing coming from?!" Winters suddenly realized, standing up in the rocking boat and looking back.But the situation deteriorated too rapidly for him to think. Shouts rose from the shore, deafening. The chains being dragged clanked loudly, and a red and black line slowly rose from the seabed, forming a natural arc blocking the waist of the gourd-shaped bay.


    Winters couldn''t help but curse under his breath. The soldiers sitting in the small boat had also noticed the anomaly behind them, stirring a commotion.


    The blocking chain had divided the Venetians into two groups. Red Sulfur Island was feigning surrender!


    Turn the boat around? Attack the second bastion? Speed up towards the dock? What to do?


    Everyone in the hundred-man squad distributed across the small boats looked to Winters, even Bard and Andre awaited his command, looking forward to the Centurion''s orders.


    Winters'' forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Most of his life he had followed orders, but now he suddenly had to take responsibility for hundreds of lives, which made him panic. Each option had its pros and cons, he really didn''t know which was the best.


    However, the panic lasted only as long as a breath. Winters regained his composure, his sense of duty overwhelming all unease. Better to have foolish commands than none at all! He gritted his teeth and decided to abandon the mission, bellowing, "Turn around..."


    "Charge forward!" The voice of Kongtai''er came from a small boat nearby. The lieutenant colonel waved his arms frantically, repeating loudly over and over, "Charge forward! Charge forward..."


    With the superior officer assuming command, Winters felt some relief that he no longer needed to ponder. He activated the amplification spell, projecting Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai''er''s order across the sea: "Charge forward!"


    The waiting soldiers seemed to have had their spirits rekindled. Andre lifted the battle flag high above his head and waved it desperately, while Bard grabbed an extra oar, joining the rowing soldiers.


    The disconcerted sailors instinctively obeyed Winters'' magically amplified voice. The leading naval officer shouted in anger, but he was not a spellcaster, and his voice was drowned out by the gunfire.


    The larger the caliber of the cannon, the more cumbersome it was to load, yet after eight roars of heavy artillery, the concealed bastion did not fall silent. The sound of more light cannons began to ring out. The ambushed Vineta Fleet also began to retaliate.


    Now Winters couldn''t concern himself with the intense battle behind him. A squad equipped with muskets and crossbows rushed to the shore and began firing at the Venetians in the small boats.


    The boat carrying three warrant officers was at the forefront, flying the military flag, with three others aboard donning polished armor, making them the most exposed and conspicuous.


    Most of the musketeers and crossbowmen on the shore noticed this boat, and projectiles came flying incessantly. The others on board crouched down with all their might.


    But Andre, far from being intimidated, provocatively raised the flag even higher and vehemently cursed the Tanilians on the shore.


    Merely shouting profanities was not enough for him, and as if worried the Tanilians couldn''t hear his greetings from so far away, an enraged Andre even started to undo his trousers to urinate towards the shore.


    Winters pulled him down roughly: "Are you insane? Don''t court death!"


    "Hahaha..." Andre laughed wildly at Winters, "The Tanilians'' aim is terrible, they can''t hit me."


    "You''re mad!"


    "I''m telling you, you aren''t scared, and neither am I! The soldiers sure aren''t!"


    Winters looked to the other five soldiers on the boat. Andre''s boldness and disdain for the Tanilians had infected them. They stopped trying to hide beneath the gunwales and leaned out to row vigorously. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Cannons!" shouted a sailor from another boat.


    A large group of Tanilian soldiers was seen laboring to bring two light cannons closer to the shore. The Vinetan boats were less than seventy meters from the coast, and grapeshot could turn the surface of the water into hell.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    "Now we''re sitting ducks!" Andre shouted fiercely, punching his thigh, "Row, for God''s sake, row!"


    Winters also saw the two cannons, but his breathing rate decreased instead, and his thoughts became clearer.


    Instinctively, he entered into spell-casting mode, his concentration at its peak. Yet he did not use magic; instead, he pulled out the spellcasting materials pouch.


    The standard-issue spellcaster officer''s pouch was designed uniformly, so Winters immediately found what he was looking for.


    A few small containers with metal shells and glass inners.


    Now was not the time to be thrifty with spellcasting materials. Winters took out all four containers.


    All spells of the Alliance spellcasters were, at their core, reverse-engineered from the magic of the Muruo Empire''s court magicians.


    The "Poisonous Smoke Spell" had caused militia in the Sovereign Wars much suffering. The Empire''s army had often used this tactic of employing poisonous smoke to kill the bastion defenders and non-toxic smoke to obscure the vision of the cannons before launching assaults to capture the bastions.


    While the Department of Magic Warfare had yet to decipher the poisonous smoke spell, the non-toxic smoke spell had already been successfully replicated.


    Removing the stopper from a metal container, Winters entered his spell-casting state and fully unleashed the fire spell on the container''s contents, a spell he hadn''t practiced in a long time.


    First, a wisp of blue smoke, then, increasingly dense white smoke billowed from the container. The white smoke wasn''t deadly but still caused incessant coughing among those on the boat.


    Winters, the closest to the smoke, should have been the most affected, yet he seemed to not feel it at all, repeating the same process three times.

 Chapter 77 Wave_2

    Winters then grabbed a small bucket onboard, placing four metal containers that were emitting thick smoke inside and used all his strength to push the barrel into the water and towards the shore.Through the standard spellcasting materials provided by the Magic War Department of the Alliance, the Alliance''s spellcasters could reproduce the "Smoke Spell" effects of the Imperial Court Mages.


    Winters didn''t know what was inside those metal containers, which contained precious alchemical products. He only knew that releasing a fire spell on the substance inside could create thick smoke, and that was enough for him.


    Swordsmen don''t need to know how to forge swords, and spellcasters don''t need to understand alchemy. Users don''t need to know the principles; they just need to know how to use it.


    The full name of these metal containers was "Trigger-type Portable Activated Alchemical Substance Smoke Generator," but the officer spellcasters simply called them "Smoke Grenades."


    This was the Senas Alliance version of the Smoke Spell. Although they didn''t know how the court mages'' original spells were cast, the effect was the same, which was enough for the Magic War Department.


    The billowing thick smoke drifted with the wind toward the east coast, pulling up a smoke screen between Tanilia on the shore and the Venetians on the ship, blocking the range of long-distance weapons.


    The small boat behind the smoke was but a blur, and the Tanilia on the shore could only fire wildly, greatly reducing the pressure on Winters''s small boat. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You should have used it earlier!" Andre exclaimed, excitedly thumping Winters on the back with a punch.


    "I''ve used up all four Smoke Grenades at once; I won''t know what to use against the Bastion later," Winters said with bloodshot eyes, uncontrollably tearing up from the smoke as he forced a bitter smile.


    "Why haven''t the cannons on the Bastion started firing yet?" Bard, who had been silently rowing, suddenly spoke up.


    The oarsmen exerted themselves as if their lives depended on it, and the thirty-odd small boats swiftly glided over the surface of the bay. Winters estimated that they were less than four hundred meters from the dock, well within range of a pound or larger cannon directed at them.


    Yet the Bastion remained silent.


    Winters''s heart sank a little more. The commander of the Bastion was either terrifyingly calm, waiting to punish the Venetians severely when they got closer, or the Tanilia had enough forces not to waste gunpowder.


    It was also possible that they had moved the cannons to the newly built battery... Could that really be the case?


    Winters looked toward the small boat carrying Colonel Kongtai''er; what was going through a commander''s mind when he led his men toward certain doom?


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    After the concealed second battery revealed its fangs, the situation at the battery guarding the entrance to the bay, occupied by Antonio''s guards, was also hanging by a thread.


    The battery was designed mainly to combat enemies from the sea, not to defend against attacks from land. Continue reading on empire


    The Tanilia, who had seemingly retreated from the battery, turned around and launched a fierce attack. Outnumbered, the guards began a bloody melee in the battery, with the flagman on the top desperately waving the military flag for help.


    "What the hell is going on?!" Nalesho, a gentlemanly figure, grabbed the messenger from Red Sulfur Island by the collar, rarely swearing.


    "I... I don''t know either!" The messenger turned pale, drenched in sweat, his expression full of terror: "It''s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."


    Furious, Major General Nalesho smashed a punch down onto the messenger''s nose bridge: "Is this a misunderstanding?"


    Then came an even harder punch: "Is this a misunderstanding?!"


    The messenger was almost knocked unconscious, with blood rushing back into his windpipe, coughing up blood continuously.


    "Your Excellency!" Antonio stepped in to stop the enraged Nalesho. There was not a trace of ''I told you so'' satisfaction on his face now, only calm and restraint: "Spare his life; we have more pressing matters! Provide boats for my troops to land; we must take this battery quickly!"


    The deck of The Glorious was in a state of chaos, with officers ordering sailors back to their positions, midshipmen scrambling to get the gunpowder, and a few cannons already retaliating, a choking cloud of smoke enveloping The Glorious.


    The entire fleet was plunged into disorder; some ships wanted to turn and leave but were blocked within, others wanted to return fire with their cannons but were obstructed by friendly ships.


    Nalesho, gasping for breath, stared at the deck below and said, "No good! There are no boats left."


    "What do you mean there are no boats?" Antonio was also becoming somewhat impatient.


    "The teams sent to occupy the Bastion just now took most of the small boats. The few remaining small boats can carry at most two hundred men. If two hundred can''t take down the battery, the fleet will be trapped here!" Nalesho said, panting: "The wind is against us; the remaining small boats have to be used to tug the big ships out of here."


    Then, the Naval Vice Admiral regained his usual commanding composure: "Mr. Kalaman!"


    "Yes, Commander!"


    "Release all the remaining small boats! Tug the big ships to turn around; we''re leaving this place!"


    "Yes, Commander!"


    "Send the galley out first! Have The White Eagle''s sailors swim to the battery at the mouth of the bay!"


    "Yes, Commander!"


    Kalaman saluted and left the bow with swift efficiency.


    "Why not let the troop transports beach?" Antonio struggled not to question him in front of Nalesho''s subordinates.


    "No, Saint Hilary has a sandy beach, but here the shore is all reefs. The ships would run aground before reaching the shore; we have no choice but to swim, making us sitting ducks!" Nalesho explained rapidly.


    Antonio fell silent.


    "The battery at the mouth of the bay cannot be held either. There surely is another chain there!" Nalesho said through clenched teeth: "The Tanilians are going all out; they''re not just after your hundred-man team! If we don''t leave now, the whole fleet will be trapped in the bay! We must save the fleet!"


    "General Serviati!" For the first time, Nalesho used the highest form of address for Antonio, who was more than a decade his junior. The naval vice admiral said sorrowfully, "Your men cannot be saved, and neither can mine. This is my responsibility, which I will not shirk. But right now, I have no selfish intentions; the fleet must leave immediately."


    Antonio understood that the vice admiral was right; the priority was to escape the ambush as soon as possible. As the leader of the legion, he had to place the survival of his force above all else.


    The commander of the great Vineta legion reluctantly agreed to the vice admiral''s retreat order.


    In the midst of continuous cannon fire, the fleet began to rescue sailors from the wrecked ships, turning around with the aid of smaller boats, ready to leave.


    The Tanilians brought out dozens of fire ships made from modified canoes, and Venetian sailors, biting on daggers, leaped into the sea; both sides engaged in a brutal struggle on the water.


    Inside the battery at the bay''s mouth, a bloody melee continued.


    Antonio watched as the one-hundred-man team''s boat rowed towards Red Sulfur Harbor, drawing ever closer to the dock.


    The waters inside the bay, initially calm, began to churn.


    On the boat, Winters also noticed this change; the mood of the ocean seemed to shift, causing the boat to become unsteady.


    "Is something wrong?" Winters asked, puzzled as he watched the increasingly turbulent water.


    Under everyone''s gaze, the unbelievable happened: the waves changed direction, surging from the shore towards the open sea.


    The boats approaching the dock suddenly stalled in their advance, caught by the waves and pushed back rather than forward.


    Yet the anomalies did not cease; inside the harbor, which should have been calm, the tidal waves grew higher with each swell, all rolling from the direction of the dock out to sea.


    "My God, what is that!" One sailor yelled in terror.


    In front of them, the turbulent water formed into a wave as high as three meters, the raging surf thundering and roaring, lifting thousands of whitecaps as it struck the Venetians'' boat.


    Several large ships from the Vineta fleet, a kilometer away from the small boat, also lost control, pushed and bashed together by this massive wave.


    After the wave passed, even the seawater along the coast retreated three meters from its original position.


    The sea then mysteriously returned to calm, and the water surged back to its original place.


    The Venetians'' small ships, all capsized.


    Winters was thrown into the sea, the salty water stinging his eyes shut; his heavy armor and weapons dragged at him, pulling him down into the depths.


    The pressure of the water grew more intense, squeezing out the last bit of air from his lungs. He desperately told himself not to inhale, not to inhale, but a surge of seawater still flooded his nostrils, followed by even more.


    In the merciless ocean, Winters struggled to remove his helmet, fumbled to unfasten his breastplate, and cast his sword and sidearm into the depths.


    But it was no use; he kept sinking.


    Then it dawned on him, "Right, I can''t swim... so what am I struggling for?"


    He could no longer think, as the severe lack of oxygen deprived him of his ability to reason.


    When he ceased to struggle, a pair of strong hands grabbed his clothes, pulling him toward the shore.

 Chapter 78 Fleeing

    ```As if a flame was rekindled in an extinguished hearth, Winters regained a trace of consciousness.


    He could vaguely sense that he was being dragged, as well as the sensation of floating, the waves, and cries for help.


    Another pair of hands joined, and two men propped Winters up, dragging him from the waist-deep sea onto the pebble beach.


    One person quickly cleared the water from Winters'' nose and throat, forcefully slapped his back, and then began to press on his chest.


    The remaining seawater was expelled from his trachea. Fortunately, he had not been underwater long, and his instinct to breathe remained, the air re-entered his lungs, and through alveoli, capillaries, arteries, in his weak heartbeat, it was pushed towards the organs throughout his body.


    His brain again supplied with oxygen, Winters'' thoughts flickered back to life like the flame that had nearly gone out, and his consciousness was restored. He struggled to open his eyes to the light, and before him was an all too familiar, yet surprising face, one with a gap-toothed smile, "¡­Gold, is it you?"


    Before they could exchange pleasantries, a loud shout came from the distance, "Over here!"


    This was followed by a series of gunshots, battle cries, and screams of agony.


    "The Tanilians are coming!" someone nearby shouted in terror, "The Tanilians are coming! Run!"


    Winters struggled to get up from the ground, reminding himself that he must stay calm. The situation gave him no time to think¡ªhe needed to quickly assess the current state.


    He took a quick survey of his surroundings: beneath his feet was a pebbly beach, ahead twenty or so meters was the boundary line between the forest and the stones. Looking to his right, Bastion, the docks¡ªRed Sulfur Harbor. Looking behind him, the sea.


    He realized then that the small boat had been capsized by a huge tide, and Gold had pulled him to shore. According to their relative positions, he should now be on the coast to the west of Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The sound of gunfire and battle cries came from the front right, which meant the forces clearing the remnants were coming from Red Sulfur Harbor!


    Winters grabbed Gold''s arm, "Into the forest!"


    He stood up and shouted at the others on the beach, "Into the forest! Head for the trees."


    Remaining on the pebble beach would make them sitting ducks; they had to find a way to shake off this wave of pursuers first.


    Winters ran stumbling towards the broadleaf woodland at the edge of the coast, "Follow me! Everyone, follow me! Into the forest!"


    On the beach, aside from Winters and Gold, there were around twenty-odd soldiers and sailors who had narrowly escaped death. The chain of command had been destroyed, but the disoriented Venetians subconsciously obeyed the "officer''s uniform" orders. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Regardless of whether they were sailors or soldiers, all Venetians started running towards the forest to retreat.


    A voice with a heavy Tanilian accent called from a distance to the right, "Don''t let them escape! Five Vinets for a prisoner!"


    A non-human-like scream followed from the same direction, "Help! Save me!"


    Winters fled into the tree line, the resilient branches hit him as though he was being whipped, but he gritted his teeth and pushed deeper into the forest.


    Once inside the woodland, their view obstructed by vegetation, they could not see each other''s whereabouts, only hearing rustling sounds everywhere, intermittently interrupted by gunshots and cries of pain.


    No Venetians dared to stop and identify friend from foe; they had lost their leadership and direction, and could only run desperately to save their lives.


    "Which way to run? Red Sulfur Harbor is to the northeast. The pursuers started from Red Sulfur Harbor, searching from north to south, so there should be no enemies to the south now." Having realized this, Winters stopped and used a spell to amplify his voice and shouted in the Venetian dialect, "[Venetian dialect] South! South! To the left!"


    Before he could run south, suddenly a powerful force hit him around the waist, and Winters was knocked down.


    An excited voice shouted, "Here! Here! I''ve caught an officer!"


    The two rolled around in the muddy forest, the Tanilian trying to use all his strength to pin Winters to the ground, while Winters struggled to fight back, attempting to rise.


    This was a grappling match without any honor or etiquette, one driven by bounty and greed, the other fighting for his life.


    The Tanilian was not as strong as Winters but clung to him from behind, taking the blows without letting go, just continuously shouting, "Here!"


    The human body is not designed to exert as much strength backwards as forward, and being gripped from behind around the waist, even a stronger Winters couldn''t manage to free himself.


    Whether hitting back with fists or elbows, he couldn''t exert force, and the Tanilian''s shouts were drawing more pursuers.


    Winters suddenly realized this was no contest with rules to follow. He stopped flailing his fists futilely and instead traced the man''s arms to find his fingers.


    Found them! The man''s fingers were tightly clasped around Winters'' waist; Winters slid his hand between the man''s fingers and his own clothing, grasping the Tanilian''s two fingers tightly and pulled back with all his strength.


    After two snaps, the Tanilian screamed and let go. Free once more, Winters flipped over, pressed the Tanilian beneath him, and clasped his hands tightly around the man''s neck.


    But the Tanilian did not rapidly lose the ability to resist; he struggled fiercely, his throat emitting a deep, intermittent growl. His right hand clawed up a rock from the ground and smashed it hard against Winters'' head.


    Winters only felt a sharp pain followed by numbness on his head, and he loosened the grip on the man''s throat.


    The Tanilian, who could finally breathe again, moaned as he drew a deep breath.


    ```

 Chapter 78 Escape_2

    However, before he could exhale that breath, a rock almost as big as his head smashed ruthlessly onto his skull.Accompanied by a terrifying crack, the Tanilian convulsed once and then lay motionless.


    Winters''s hands still didn''t let go of the rock; he summoned strength in his waist and lifted the rock above his head again, swinging it down in a full circle.


    Once, twice, thrice.


    Only after the opponent was thoroughly dead did the exhausted Winters release his grip, gasping for breath as he got up.


    The mud patch in the forest seemed like it had just hosted a bloody sacrifice, with splashes of red and white everywhere.


    "Help! Help!"


    The cries for help carried a Venetian accent.


    Winters took the dagger that the now-deceased Tanilian wore and, using both hands and feet, climbed out of the muddy area and headed toward the source of the sound.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Colonel Kongtai''er''s situation was now precarious.


    A dozen Venetians had fled toward the south until they were stopped by a low cliff in front of them. The ground in front abruptly rose two to three meters, and the cliff was made of limestone, offering no handholds whatsoever.


    A tidal wave coming from the northeast had capsized the Venetians'' small boat, and the western beaches of the bay were nearly covered with Venetians who had been washed ashore, some alive, others dead.


    Colonel Kongtai''er was among those who were alive when they were washed ashore.


    He immediately gathered the other surviving Venetian soldiers around him and led this small band of stragglers into the forests in the island''s interior.


    "Colonel, we can''t run anymore; if we do, the soldiers'' morale will collapse. While we still have the strength, let''s turn around and fight them," Andre said, carrying a wooden stick as he found Colonel Kongtai''er.


    Warrant Officer Andrea Cherini, leading a few soldiers, had joined up with Colonel Kongtai''er''s group during their escape.


    "We don''t even have weapons; a direct confrontation would be a dead end," Kongtai''er said, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "Head southwest to the coast. Figure out a way to set sail back to the fleet; there''s still a chance to live."


    In the group, which included the two officers, there were a total of fourteen people, not one of them had a piece of iron. Those who refused to abandon their armor and weapons drowned at sea; during the escape, they only found the things they carried too cumbersome.


    The soldiers wished they could throw away everything disposable, only Andre had picked up a thick tree branch as a club.


    "Let''s rest here in this clearing for a moment, then we''ll walk along this cliff to the west to find a gap to climb up," Colonel Kongtai''er, drenched in sweat, clearly couldn''t run any further, as high-ranking officers who usually rode horses had no stamina for this.


    Hearing the colonel''s order to rest here for the time being, the soldiers collapsed onto the ground one by one, running through the forest had left them utterly drained.


    "Don''t sit! Get up! Once you sit for a rest, you won''t be able to run anymore," Andre, holding the stick, moved among the soldiers, ordering them not to sit: "Stand up, all of you, stand up."


    The utterly fatigued soldiers could hardly attend to all this; the authority of an officer meant nothing to them at this point. They just kept their heads down, sitting on the ground, neither answering nor obeying orders.


    Andre, seething with rage and gritting his teeth, however, did not dare to force the soldiers to act at this moment.


    Sounds of snapping branches came from the woods, growing quickly closer, and a figure dashed out of the dense forest and into the clearing.


    Not wearing Venetian uniform, it was a Tanilian!


    The Venetian soldiers did not expect the pursuers to catch up so quickly, and the Tanilian hadn''t expected to stumble upon so many Venetians.


    They stared at each other, eyes wide, for a second.


    "Kill him!" Andre scooped up the stick and charged.


    At the same moment, the Tanilian turned tail and ran back into the dense forest, shouting as he ran, "They are here!"


    The lean Tanilian was agile like a monkey, disappearing in a flash. Andre chased him a few steps, but seeing he couldn''t catch up, he stopped, defeated.


    "Move, move!" Andre shouted loudly, urging the soldiers as he dragged them up from the ground.


    But just as he had warned, after a strenuous activity, not resting was one thing, but once they sat down to rest, their bodies completely lost energy.


    The soldiers stood up, swaying, and shuffling their feet; even knowing the pursuers were behind them, they could no longer run.


    Just a little rest, just a little longer, even just a moment would do. The voice of the devil whispered in the soldiers'' minds.


    "I can''t run anymore; I''d rather die than run! Just let them kill me!" One soldier simply sat back down on the ground, succumbing to despair and resignation.


    Andre couldn''t suppress his fury any longer; enraged, he raised his stick and roared, "I''ll kill you right now!"


    The soldier who had sat back down was startled into action, scrambling to his feet.


    However, it was already too late; the Tanilians had caught up with them.


    About a dozen Tanilians emerged from the dense woodland, encircling the small band of stragglers led by Kongtai''er and Andre.


    The Venetians had the advantage in numbers but had no weapons at all, not even enough stones for each person to have one. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the Tanilians had cutlasses and short spears, they were outnumbered, so they did not dare to strike first.


    The sides stood in a standoff, the Tanilians slowly pushing the Venetians back to a small space by the low cliff until the Venetians with their backs against the cliff had nowhere to retreat.


    The spark that ignited the brawl came from two more Tanilians who ran over from the woods carrying matchlock guns.

 Chapter 78 Escape_3

    When he saw two enemies carrying ranged weapons approaching, Andre realized he couldn''t delay any longer, he should have acted the moment the Tanilians appeared."Follow me! Kill!" Warrant Officer Andrea Cherini bellowed, swinging a stick as he charged at the tallest of the Tanilians.


    The Tanilians surrounding them hadn''t expected these cornered beasts to fight back. Confronted by an officer wielding a club, the muscular Tanilian in front of them froze in place, instinctively raising his saber to block the attack.


    Years of swordsmanship training enabled Andre to intuitively use the stick in his hands as if it were a longsword. He knocked the enemy''s weapon away with one swing and swung back hard, striking the other''s right ear. Blood instantly poured from the man''s nostrils, mouth, and eyes, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.


    In the blink of an eye, Andre had floored the Tanilian strongman.


    The sight of this officer''s fierce courage shocked the Tanilians, while it inspired the Venetians, who brandishing stones, charged at the enemy with cries.


    However, the dire situation only deepened Andre''s despair as seven or eight more Tanilians were drawn by the noise, and he saw the number of Tanilians in the clearing steadily increase.


    "Come on! Come and kill me!" the young warrant officer roared in desperation, searching for another opponent. Yet the Tanilians avoided him, and a small vacuum unexpectedly appeared in the chaotic battlefield.


    "Thud," a dull gunshot rang out.


    Andre closed his eyes, but realized there was no particular pain in his body, and immediately opened his eyes again.


    At the base of the short cliff, Colonel Kongtai''er clutched his abdomen and collapsed to the ground.


    A Tanilian chieftain reached the edge of the clearing and immediately noticed the conspicuous officer in the midst of battle. Under his continuous commands, several spear-wielding Tanilians surrounded Andre.


    If stones were effective, humans wouldn''t have resorted to iron weapons to slaughter each other.


    One after another, the unarmed Venetian soldiers, armed only with stones, were struck down. Seeing this, Andre let out a roar of despair. He grabbed the longspear aimed at him and smashed the stick in his hand together with the spearman''s head.


    The other spearmen, out of fear, didn''t dare approach him, but two arquebusiers on the edge of the clearing had him in their sights.


    "This Venetian doesn''t look much older than twenty, does he?" the Tanilian chieftain leading the men thought as he watched the young officer in the battlefield, "He is indeed a brave warrior, shame he''s a Venetian."


    The next moment, he felt a hot surge at the back of his head, and his consciousness extinguished.


    The captain beside him collapsed to the ground with a thump, and the arquebusier nearby, completely bewildered, hurriedly crouched down trying to wake the captain, but the captain had already breathed his last.


    More sounds came from the dense forest. The arquebusier looked in the direction of the noise, his legs weakened instantly, nearly unable to maintain his crouched position.


    From the forest emerged a person dressed in Venetian military uniform, which looked as if it had been washed in mud and sludge, the mud encrusted with bloodstains, and the traces of some white fluid that had congealed were even more conspicuous.


    Before the arquebusier could cry out for help, the person raised his hand and the powder flask at the arquebusier''s waist exploded instantly, the force blowing him in two.


    The other arquebusier yet to grasp what was happening had his powder flask explode as well, leaving a huge gap in his abdomen, as if half his stomach had been bitten off by a giant beast.


    The slaughter in the battlefield was interrupted by these two loud blasts. Both the Tanilians and the Venetians stood bewildered, looking towards the edge of the woods.


    A blood-covered Venetian officer charged into the battlefield, slashing at the Tanilians like a violent storm. Every time he lifted his left hand, a Tanilian spasmed and fell. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Six or seven men wielding sabers followed him into the fray, and another Venetian officer armed with a bow stood at the edge of the forest, supporting the attack.


    "The Centurion is here! The reinforcements have arrived!" Andre cried out in manic laughter, "Kill them all! Don''t let a single one escape!"

 Chapter 79 A First-Class Thief

    About an hour after the Vineta Fleet withdrew from the bay, on the grand road connecting Red Sulfur Harbor with the entrance of the bay, a group of Tanilian was swaggering towards Red Sulfur Harbor with a line of prisoners in tow.Less than twenty people were stretched out in a column along the packed dirt road, half of them being the Tanilian sailors responsible for the escort, the rest bound at the wrists and chained together were Venetian.


    A gaunt pirate with missing teeth held a long spear aloft at the head of the procession, the spear''s tip pierced through the head of someone wearing a Venetian military cap. The face beneath the cap appeared unnaturally pale, the result of having been drained of blood.


    Among the group was even a large cart, its pitiful mule foaming at the mouth from exhaustion. Several Venetian corpses were covered with a casually thrown straw mat, revealing only their lower halves, and were tossed brazenly onto the cart.


    Aside from the corpses, many heads were piled up. The cart creaked along its way, and a trail of blood dripped behind it.


    There were almost no civilians on the road; a few passersby who spotted the group from a distance quickly scurried into the neighboring woods to hide.


    The island of Red Sulfur had long been under martial law, and the locals were aware that the Venetians were coming to raid Red Sulfur Island. But more than the Venetians, the locals feared the pirates who had converged on Red Sulfur Island from every direction.


    At this moment, the island''s defenders included not only the militia guard and plantation private soldiers but also mercenaries and irregulars recruited by the Confederation with generous bounties¡ªpirates.


    These pirates touted themselves as defenders of Red Sulfur Island, finding it perfectly rational to demand some additional fees. Not daring to provoke the large plantations, the pirates specifically victimized the civilians.


    Within just a couple of days, there had already been several clashes between the militia and the pirates, with both sides suffering casualties. If the Venetians didn''t arrive soon, Red Sulfur Island might well descend into internal strife.


    Now, having won a great battle, the pirates'' arrogance had swollen even further.


    The ones escorting the prisoners didn''t bother paying any mind to the onlookers hiding in the woods, simply proceeding along the road toward Red Sulfur Harbor. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The scrawny lead pirate, suddenly in high spirits, broke into a raucous sea shanty:


    "Feast on the rib, the choice part of meat~


    Marry a bandit, with him life''s complete~


    Midnight awakes to the sound of steal clashing~


    Sister in silk while brother''s head smashing!


    ..."


    The ghastly song broke through his windy mouth, and in a thick Tanilian accent at that, so thick it was almost indiscernible to anyone but the singing pirate himself.


    The few farmers hiding in the woods looked at each other in dismay, unsure if the pirates with heads on their spears were more terrifying or the donkey-like clamor of the song.


    Another group of pirates, heading to support the battery, appeared from the opposite direction. The two parties brushed past one another, and those pirates who hadn''t gotten a chance to fight or take captives enviously eyed the prisoners and severed heads on the cart that their comrades were escorting.


    "Hey mate, a fine haul!" called out a pirate half in envy, half in admiration to those escorting prisoners, "You lot have struck it rich; spare me a few heads, will you?"


    "Plenty of heads up front, chop ''em off yourself!" retorted the toothless skinny pirate with a hearty laugh: "Don''t you XX think about touching my merchandise."


    "Mate, I reckon there might be heads of the old island farmers among those, huh?"


    "[Crude sailor jargon]!"


    Read new chapters at empire


    The two groups passed each other and quickly left each other behind. The road meandered and, after a bend, the others were out of sight behind the trees.


    "Those damn donkey''s turds, they must''ve chopped a few farmers from the nearby homesteads to make up the numbers," said the pirate who had shouted at the skinny, toothless one, jealously, to his companion: "How many even managed to get ashore? I reckon there''s at least fifteen heads on that cart!"


    The adjacent pirate nodded in agreement.


    "Ah! Why don''t I have that luck?" lamented the shouting pirate, full of self-pity, "We also need to think hard about where to get a couple of heads ourselves."


    Time rewound to a little earlier.


    Accompanied by two explosions, a strike force burst out from the dense forest, and the Tanilian, caught between attackers from front and rear, immediately lost all morale.


    A few quick-witted ones on the edge of the battlefield turned tail and ran, triggering a chain reaction; the outnumbered Tanilian scattered in every direction.


    The Venetian officer holding the bow didn''t bother with any Tanilian attempting to counterattack but aimed only at the sailors trying to flee.


    "Chase! Don''t let them escape! If they get away, we''re all dead," Andre shouted harshly, urging on the weary Venetian.


    Running all the way to the low cliff, the Venetian who had been fighting on pure adrenaline found their opponents turning tail to flee, and they literally didn''t have the energy to give chase.


    Instead, the reinforcements who had rushed out were desperately trying to intercept the fleeing pirates, and the Venetian officer with the bow took down several men in quick succession.


    Nevertheless, two pirates managed to slip into the dense forest, their figures quickly vanishing among the leaves and bushes.


    "We''re finished!" Andre thought desperately in the middle of the battlefield, "The second wave of pursuers will slaughter us all."


    But the bloodied and muddied officer who had led the reinforcements into the fray followed the footprints of the pirates into the broadleaf rainforest.


    How much time had passed was hard to tell; it felt short yet simultaneously endless.


    Footsteps and the rustling of branches were heard once more from the woods, and the officer reemerged carrying two heads.


    The clothes and shoes of the two fleeing pirates, along with their heads, were tossed to the ground with a thud.

 Chapter 79 A First-Class Thief_2

    Andre had a multitude of words he wanted to say, but once they reached his lips, he swallowed them all back down again, his thousand words condensing into a hug and a teasing remark, "Winters... do you have some sort of peculiar penchant for chopping off heads?"Winters looked at the complexions of the Venetian soldiers behind Andre and inwardly sighed that his reputation was now thoroughly ruined.


    "The pirates want to exchange our heads for money; they have to take our clothes and shoes as proof," Winters explained with a bitter smile, to prove that his mental state was very normal. "Leaving a headless corpse, they can''t tell who''s dead."


    The Venetian soldiers relaxed a bit upon hearing this. Even Venetians would feel chills seeing Winters in action in battle. The man now offering a helpless explanation was once again the normally amiable Lieutenant Montaigne.


    "How did you find us?"


    "With all the noise you were making, it would have been hard to miss," Bard stepped over and said with a smile.


    Andre also excitedly gave Bard a bear hug.


    Others were cleaning up the battlefield, the trio of lieutenants from the hundred-man squadron quickly held a meeting.


    Winters briefly and concisely recounted how he had gathered the scattered troops, encountered Bard, and captured and interrogated two enemies.


    "These Tanilians are all pirates, the Federation has put a bounty of two Gold Coins per head on them, alive and officers double," Winters said gravely. "Every long-legged pirate on Red Sulfur Island has started to cast their net to hunt us down, the ones who weren''t drowned."


    "You''re now the highest-ranking officer in the chain of command; we''ll do whatever you say," Andre said, relieved that he no longer needed to ponder the situation.


    Colonel Kongtai''er was not dead; the pirates'' powders for their guns were not very powerful, and had only caused a hole the size of a fingertip in his abdomen. The blood had stopped on its own, but the lead bullet was still inside, creating uncertainty about the situation within the abdominal cavity, and the colonel had already fallen into shock.


    Winters and his companions were also at a loss; having soldiers who were half-dead was troublesome, and Bard had already arranged for soldiers to make a temporary stretcher.


    "No choice, we have to run. The key question is, where do we run to?" Winters found a stone to sit on: "Moreover, we''re carrying wounded, which means we can''t move fast."


    "So what do we do then?" After a moment of silence, Andre said in a strained, low voice, "Otherwise..."


    He made a gesture.


    "No," Bard said calmly, pressing down on Andre''s hand. "The soldiers are all watching; if we abandon the wounded, their morale will break. We either carry the wounded with us, or we abandon everyone."


    Five had died in the recent skirmish, and four were seriously injured¡ªthose needing to be carried were considered severely injured.


    Winters was very clear in his mind: not only did the small group of survivors have to deal with the drag from the injured, slowing down their marching speed, but a larger group also made for a larger target. If only the three lieutenants moved, they would have a much greater chance of escape.


    The soldiers who were clearing the battlefield were almost all wounded, but nobody dared show signs of injury, fearing they''d be left behind. A grievously injured soldier was crying softly, while others remained silent; everyone was acutely aware of how things would unfold.


    All of the wounded would be abandoned, and with some luck, they might receive a quick end. Those whose strength failed would fall behind one by one, until only a few managed to reach the western shores of the island, still hoping they could find a boat to take them out to sea.


    "Are my soldiers destined to only get this far?" Winters thought grimly. "Even if there is such a thing as fate, I refuse to surrender without a fight!"


    All the living Venetians present were summoned to the side of Lieutenant Montaigne, including soldiers of the hundred-man squadron and sailors from the navy.


    "Lieutenant Bard, Lieutenant Cherini, and I have decided not to abandon a single wounded soldier," Winters declared straightforwardly.


    In the eyes of his men, Winters saw gratitude and also anxiety and bewilderment.


    "Look at this map; we''re roughly here. If we flee southwest, we could possibly make it to the coast," Winters, who had carefully wrapped the pre-battle map of Red Sulfur Island in oilcloth and kept it in his chest, was fortunate it hadn''t been soaked: "But I''ve decided that we won''t flee southwest; we''re going to advance northeast, towards Red Sulfur Harbor. Listen well, we''re not fleeing, we''re advancing!"


    "Heading towards Red Sulfur Harbor will be much safer, even safer than running southwest. The pirates'' net will tighten, but the area behind the net is comparatively weak," Winters reiterated Colonel Field''s teaching to the astonished soldiers: "Third-rate thieves wear black to skulk in the night, but first-rate thieves wear suits. Follow me, I will lead you in your finest attire through the net!"


    Time returned to the present.


    Fully liberated, the resolute Winters led the ragtag group of Venetian survivors in pirate clothing, crashing into a nearby farmhouse for a hearty meal, and even commandeered a large cart.


    Venetian who could not speak the dialect of Tanilia¡ªincluding three officers¡ªhad all become "captives".


    His original plan was for everyone to dress up as pirates, but the three officers impersonating pirates could only fool the peasants. Anyone with a discerning eye could spot the ruse, so they were forced to go half pirate, half captive.


    The "prisoner escort" team swaggered down the main road of Red Sulfur Island, attracting curious glances but arousing no suspicions.


    The Bastion outside of Red Sulfur Harbor was in sight, however, there were fewer and fewer Tanilians around, apparently, most of them were preoccupied with capturing prisoners.


    "Whose men are you?" asked a rider as his group and a large wagon came to a standstill, blocking the road just outside Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The wagon couldn''t make way, and the driver, unabashedly pushing forward, forced the riders to reluctantly move aside.


    "Hailerdin!" the lead toothless thin pirate boldly announced a prominent name.


    "Oh... one of Redbeard''s men. No wonder," the rider in charge muttered thoughtfully. He glanced at the load in the wagon and asked with a smile, "What''s with the mix of odds and ends?"


    "Are you blind? Those are alive!" scoffed the toothless thin pirate with a sneer. "A dead one is worth two, a live one three. Do you even understand?"


    The spear-wielding pirate was skinny, but his sharp tongue spared no one. Mixing rough sailor''s slang with the Tanilian dialect, he was obviously not saying anything pleasant, and it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying.


    "Oh... I see," the rider in charge responded calmly.


    Winters, who had been keeping his head down, couldn''t help but be curious about the identity of the rider, so he discreetly raised his head for a glance, only to lock eyes with him.


    Winters knew instantly that this was not good and quickly lowered his head.


    But it was already too late. The leader of the riders immediately ordered his men, "Bring that Venetian out from the middle, I want to question him!"


    "You sons of bitches! What the hell do you think you''re doing?!" the toothless pirate interposed fiercely, protecting the captives.


    "I need to interrogate this prisoner," the leader of the riders said impatiently, not wanting to waste time arguing with the lowlife pirate. "Aren''t you just going to trade him for money? I''ll give you the money directly¡ªhow about that?" Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You think just because you want to question him, I''ll let you? You..." The insult-spewing pirate''s rant was cut short as he suddenly noticed the rider fumbling and showing difficulty, quickly realizing he hadn''t brought money. He decisively changed his tune, "...Can you cough up the cash?"


    "Hand him over to me, then go collect your money at Gott Guild Hall, tell them Captain Kidd sent you," Captain William Kidd, rummaging through his pockets and finding no purses, could only suggest another solution.


    "I don''t give a damn who you are! You want the man, bring the money!" cursed the toothless pirate. "Five Venetian coins! If you can''t pay up, then piss off!"


    ["Venetian" referred to the gold coins minted by the Republic of Veneta, short for Venetian ducats.]


    "Does anyone else have money?" Captain Kidd turned and asked his fellow riders.


    Unfortunately, no one had brought money that day, and the other riders could only scrape together a handful of large silver coins. Find more to read at empire


    "Just go," Captain Kidd said, disinterested in haggling with the despicable pirate before him, waving them off. "He''ll end up in my hands eventually. I''ll interrogate him later."


    With that, he led his men away.


    The anxious group finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    "We might have just run into the commander of Red Sulfur Island," Bard whispered. "Did you see their horses? All top-notch warhorses."


    Andre nodded in agreement, "We''re lucky they didn''t bring any money."


    "Of course," the skinny pirate grinned widely, showing his uneven and missing teeth, "I''m ''Lucky'' Gold, after all!"

 Chapter 80 Find a Way to Survive

    "We''ve found out that the council took all the boats on the island away days ago, and now the peasants don''t even have large planks of wood," Gold brought back the bad news.The Vineta Remnants, having escaped the dragnet, transformed themselves into pirates, never stopping as they skirted the harbor and moved eastward, with Winters even sending Gold into Red Sulfur Harbor to risk his neck for a bit of money.


    Most of the enemy were searching for Venetians in the southwest of the island, while Winters''s group had already reached the east side. The situation was temporarily safe, but the next step was to figure out a way to get a small boat to sea. Stay connected with empire


    Stroking the stubble on his chin, Bard mused, "As expected, the Red Sulfur Island council has gone to great lengths to prepare such a gift, they certainly didn''t want to let any word slip out. Even if some islanders have hidden boats, they absolutely wouldn''t hand them over."


    "Can we trust this man? Wasn''t he also a pirate before? And one that we captured at that?" Andre''s focus was completely off the boat.


    Winters, pouring over the map of Red Sulfur Island, responded without lifting his head, "I don''t know why he decided to side with us, but if he wanted to betray us, we''d be dead by now, so I choose to trust him."


    It was only after marching on the main road and then turning onto a smaller path for a while that Winters finally ordered a halt to rest.


    The team stopped by a small stream where the taut nerves of the escaped Venetians just started to relax a bit; sleepiness immediately took them. Even the sentries were nodding off, while the others were snoring as soon as their backs hit the ground.


    "Fourteen people still able to walk, plus a large cart," Winters mused while looking at his subordinates sleeping under the shade of the trees, "This is what''s left of my hundred-man squad."


    He tried not to think about what the outcome might have been if he had ordered "to turn back" instead of "charge forward."


    But as the linchpin of these remnants, he couldn''t afford to think about "what ifs" nor could he rest. Lieutenant Montaigne told himself, "You must find a way for these people to survive."


    "You two, come look at the map," Winters called Bard and Andre over to his side, "This map''s scale is 1:10000. I''ve been counting steps; after leaving Red Sulfur Harbor, we walked over four thousand four hundred steps on the main road and then another three thousand two hundred or so on the smaller path..."


    The steps Winters referred to were marching steps, one with each foot alternately counting as one step, approximately one point two meters per step.


    Bard quickly did the math, "So from noon until now we''ve walked almost nine kilometers, quite fast, almost at forced march speed."


    "With not even a pot to eat from, how could we not be fast?" Andre rolled his eyes, turning to Winters, "It''s no use, knowing how far we''ve walked doesn''t help. Do you have a soft tape measure?"


    "I didn''t bring one, but I have this," Winters said with a cunning smile, pulling out a steel awl, "This awl is exactly fifteen centimeters long, neither more nor less."


    The three lieutenants fiddled with the map for a while, picking up their past skills in mapping, and finally pinpointed their current location on the map based on their walking distance and the nearby streams and roads.


    They had followed the road and were now nearing the eastern coast of Red Sulfur Island, with the straight-line distance on the map being only about three to four kilometers.


    "We can''t go blundering around like headless flies now," Winters put away the map, and said to the other two lieutenants, "The team will rest here for the time being, and Bard and I will scout to the east..."


    "I want to go, too!" Andre immediately protested, not wanting to be left behind.


    "You''re not going anywhere," Winters pushed him back down, "If all three of us are gone, won''t the rest think we''ve run off? You stay behind."


    When the sun was sloping west, Winters who had returned to the resting place called a meeting for everyone.


    The situation was quite special at the moment, with the team''s composition being complex and his own authority uncertain, so he had to use this kind of military democracy to get the soldiers to follow orders more willingly.


    "We''re just behind the eastern hills at the coastline, less than four kilometers away," he didn''t beat around the bush and looked directly at the few naval sailors in the group, "Do any of you know how to make a raft?"


    "Sir, I''m afraid it won''t work if you''re thinking of making it to sea on a raft," one bold sailor spoke up to explain, "Rafts not only have poor load capacity but they also capsize at the slightest sign of wind and waves, and besides... we don''t even have the tools to make one, do we?"


    "What if we had tools?" Winters counter-asked. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sailor counted on his fingers for a while before answering, "To carry all of us, we''d need to chop at least fifty logs, and we would also need plenty of rope, and preferably tar as well."


    "Do you know anything about shipbuilding?" Winters asked again.


    "I used to work in a shipyard," the sailor scratched his head.


    "Everyone heard it, the enemy has scavenged all the boats, and it''s going to be very difficult to make temporary rafts," Winters gazed into the soldiers'' eyes and spoke up, "And both Lieutenant Bard and I have scouted toward the seaside, there are enemy sentries everywhere, it''s absolutely impossible for us to chop wood and build boats under their watch."


    The soldiers'' eyes grew dim.


    "However, there is still one way out," Winters''s aim was not to demoralize, he firmly outlined his plan, "Colonel Kongtai''er''s plan was to find a way to the seaside to look for a boat. But my plan is the opposite, we''re not only not going to the seaside, we are going northwest, we are heading further inland on the island."

 Chapter 80 Find a Way to Survive_2

    ```the temporary meeting place was as quiet as the grave, with only the gentle murmur of the creek. although the soldiers were surprised and confused, none spoke a word; instead, they listened intently.


    they formed a circle, with winters placing the map in the middle, he explained using a branch as a pointer, "although we''re trapped on the island, the tanilia''s ambush has actually failed. our main forces are unharmed and will soon land again. this is why, along the coastline, bard and i found so many tanilia sentries; their primary defense is directed towards the coast. the further inland we go, the fewer enemies we''ll encounter."


    winters looked at everyone and said, "i don''t want to tell you the empty words of ''conserve strength and wait for victory.'' right now, our goal is to do whatever it takes to survive, to live until vineta conquers this island. and in my opinion, our best chance of survival lies in advancing into the heart of the island."


    the soldiers of the third legion''s prime squad were career soldiers, within winters'' small group, there were a few centurions who had served for over a decade, much longer than the three warrant officers.


    but whether they were veterans or new recruits, never in their service had an officer explained to them the "why." winters actually underestimated his own authority; with the bloody battle in the forest and his leading the team out of the encirclement, he had already earned the soldiers'' respect.


    "centurion montaigne, we''re all with you! just give the order, and we will follow!"


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    dawn.


    the tranquility of the village tadong was shattered by cursing and wailing.


    the small farming settlement, nestled in the heartland of red sulfur island and home to just over forty families, had been intruded upon by unwelcome guests.


    a group of fierce-looking men, dressed as sailors and wielding curved swords, kicked in the gate of a homestead on the eastern edge of the village. they first beat the resisting homeowner, then herded the entire household into the courtyard.


    "we''re captain kidd''s foraging party!" the gap-toothed pirate boasted as he brandished his curved sword with a whooshing sound, yelling shrilly, "bring out anything valuable quickly. if i find it myself, don''t blame me for not warning you."


    "the cellar''s here!" an exultant voice came from the backyard.


    "move it!" the gap-toothed pirate gestured broadly with his hand.


    several pirates emerged from the backyard carrying smoked meats, pickled vegetables, and fine flour. these pirates had an eye for quality, selecting only the best goods.


    "don''t be upset, we''re paying," the gap-toothed pirate mockingly shouted at the farmer''s family, then pressed his curved sword to the dazed homeowner, "tell me, where does the village chief live?"


    the women and children, initially sobbing softly, burst into louder cries. the old grandmother of the family, while trying to grab the leg of the gap-toothed pirate, wailed, "you killed my son, you murderer, just kill me too..."


    taken aback, the gap-toothed pirate hastily stepped back to avoid the old lady.


    the old man of the house quickly pulled his wife back and stood, arms extended like a mother hen protecting her chicks, between his family and the pirates, his expression rigid, "don''t harm my son, i''ll take you to the village chief''s house."


    "alright, patriarch. tell your women to stop crying; we''re not here to kill," the gap-toothed pirate laughed and sized up the family, his eyes lingering on the women and children huddled together, "your women are quite pretty, is she your daughter-in-law or your daughter..."


    the old man angrily stepped in front of the gap-toothed pirate, containing his anger as he said bluntly, "you... you''re a guest in my home, take what you will... but you must not touch my women, unless you kill me first."


    another tall pirate behind the gap-toothed one grabbed his shoulder, "captain kidd sent us to gather provisions, not to fool around with women. work first, when it''s done, i''ll treat you to the expensive ones."


    "patriarch, you''ve got quite the temper. i just saw your women crying pitifully and thought to cheer them up," the gap-toothed pirate raised his hands, stepping back, "if you''re not keen on the idea, forget it, patriarch, lead us to the village chief."


    outside the courtyard, a cart stood ready. seeing the goods loaded aboard, the gap-toothed pirate rummaged through his belt and pulled out a handful of inscribed paper, shoving several "military notes" into the old man''s hands, "don''t say we don''t pay. this is called military notes. keep it safe, and after the war, you can redeem it for money at the red sulfur harbor gott guild hall."


    the old man took the "military notes" with humiliation and followed the gap-toothed pirate out of the courtyard, looking back three times with every step.


    the tall pirate was the last to leave. he tossed a silver coin into the air, and with a precise arc, it fell into the old grandmother''s bosom, "take this, don''t say we don''t pay."


    after that, he left and even closed the door behind him.


    being in extreme terror, the family failed to notice that the tall pirate spoke with the eloquent accent of sea blue.


    ```


    but in the community of pirates, there are all kinds of people, so it''s not strange for venetians to become pirates.


    the village chief''s house was the second to have its doors kicked open.


    the pirates repeated the process of "beating anyone who resists¡ªdriving the whole family into the yard¡ªdemanding food supplies."


    "gentlemen, our village of tadong has already paid its dues," the village chief said, head bowed, in a fawning tone.


    "bullshit, if you ate yesterday, do you not eat today? just because you paid the quota before, means you don''t have to pay this time?" the toothless pirate slapped the chief''s face with the back of his machete, "flour, oil, meat, salt, we want everything. oh, and carts, we need six carts. i''m not asking for too much, just fill three carts for me, i''ll get the other three filled in other villages."


    looking at his son''s bruised face, the tadong village chief bitterly said, "where am i supposed to find six carts for you?"


    "don''t you know who has carts?" the toothless pirate''s brows shot up as he pressed the machete against the other''s neck, sneering, "seems you''re not afraid of captain kidd, right? good, come with me, william kidd likes to slowly torment tough nuts until they turn into jelly¡­"


    the village chief trembled in fear at his terrible laughter, begging for mercy and swearing that every time he thought of captain kidd he would wet himself, promising kidd could have anything he wanted.


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    the toothless pirate nodded satisfyingly and casually asked, "by the way, where does your village barber live? is there a doctor nearby?"


    ...


    "my name is captain kidd


    as i sail the open seas


    i commit all manner of deeds


    i''m endlessly wicked


    i killed william moore


    i killed william moore


    ..."


    the carts creaked away into the distance, along with the pirates'' ghastly, howling song. the village chief''s and a few other wealthy farmers'' carts, along with their draft animals, had been requisitioned, leaving the tadong villagers with "military notes" in hand, crying without tears. several women discovered that these vicious pirates had even taken iron pots.


    "now we''ve really become bandits," winters sighed dejectedly, riding on the cart and swearing, a rarity for him, "i wonder if this''ll land us in a military court later on?"


    bard, who was driving the cart, said calmly, "it''s not that bad, really. we mostly took non-staple foods, not much staple food, no one will starve to death. during sovereign wars, things get much worse, the histories just note them down as ''years of famine, people ate each other,'' and that''s it. haven''t we discussed this already? if we want to move undetected in the countryside, our only option is to pose as a grain requisitioning party. what kind of grain requisitioning team would we be without carts?"


    "let''s talk about the future when it comes," winters sat up suddenly, saying with a headache, "it''s unbelievable there''s just one doctor capable of bloodletting within miles, and he''s a plantation owner, too. this is going to be tough."


    colonel kongtai''er had incredible vitality, and thanks to the careful attention of three warrant officers, his condition stabilized. however, another problem arose; the unconscious kongtai''er began to run a fever.


    clearly, the fever was due to foreign bodies in the wound. upon examination, they found a musket ball had even carried a piece of cloth from his clothing into kongtai''er''s body.


    but even bard, the one most versed in "medical classics" and with the best grades in health class, didn''t have the skills to operate and remove the musket ball.


    if they helped colonel kongtai''er remove the musket ball, he might still die. but if they did not remove it, he would undoubtedly die. s~ea??h the novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    to watch colonel kongtai''er die, to give him a quick end, or to find a doctor and make the utmost effort.


    winters, bard, and andre were faced with a difficult choice.

 Chapter 81 Red Pine

    on the winding dirt road, two riders were galloping, kicking up a trail of dust behind them. s~ea??h the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.the rider in the rear suddenly slowed down, and the rider in the front sensed something was wrong and also reined in his horse.


    the lagging rider dismounted and, walking with an unnatural waddle, led his horse to catch up with the front rider: "ow, my lord, i truly can''t ride anymore, let''s rest for a while. my backside feels as if it''s been speared by a red-hot iron rod; the flesh on my inner thighs is nearly rubbed raw."


    "you lazybones, where do you think you can rest in this wilderness?" the rider in front scolded his personal servant: "stop dragging your feet; when we get back to the manor, you can rest all you want. mount up, we must get home before dark."


    the old servant detected a softening in his master''s tone and seized the moment to lament persistently: "my lord, we''ve already come this far; even if we walk, we''ll definitely make it home before dark. i truly can no longer ride. ow, my backside is really burning with pain... how about you ride on ahead, and i will slowly walk back?"


    "hey, you sluggard." as a personal servant, bok had loyally served kalman for over twenty years, and both had turned from hale young men into grizzled middle-aged men. although kalman, the master of hongsong manor, was scolding verbally, his attitude had softened: "look at this wild land, where do you think you can rest?"


    the old servant bok was overjoyed and pointed in the distance: "look over there, behind the woods where the smoke rises, there must be a noble resting from the hunt. let''s go ask for some water to drink, and who knows, they might even reward me with some meat."


    "you rascal, craving meat, aren''t you? have i been mistreating you?" kalman said with a mix of laughter and scolding.


    old servant bok realized he had misspoken and quickly changed the subject, slapping his chest as a guarantee: "let''s just go and ask for water to drink. after that, we''ll head home straight away, without a second of delay."


    after walking through the woods to where the rising smoke was, master and servant realized they had made a big mistake.


    on a small clearing between the woods and a stream, several wagons had been arranged in a circle around a campfire, and a few people wrapped in cloaks were dozing off on the ground.


    two iron pots were set up over the fire, bubbling with their contents. the smoke that the two had seen was rising from here.


    at first glance, it appeared to be nothing but an ordinary caravan, but the problem was not with this, but with the people around the campfire.


    walking around the small camp were stout men, each sporting a sailor''s cutlass. several long spears and muskets were carelessly propped against the wagons; the dark red blood on their tips had not yet dried.


    from their attire, kalman judged: these men were godforsaken pirates.


    red sulfur island''s council tacitly permitted pirates to fence their loot, and this was an open secret. the pirates'' loot brought prosperity to red sulfur island, but the island''s residents also suffered greatly at their hands.


    most pirates were desperados who, if circumstances allowed, certainly did not mind dabbling in side jobs on land. moreover, after committing crimes on land, they could directly board their ships and escape, which was most convenient.


    red sulfur island had frequent homicides, and eight or nine out of ten remained unsolved, but the island''s residents all knew well that the murderers were the godforsaken pirates.


    the council repeatedly declared it would crack down on heinous crimes committed by outsiders on the island. however, the pirates did not rob these high-ranking council members. in contrast, fencing loot for the pirates made them a fortune. consequently, the banditry on red sulfur island was never resolved. stay tuned to empire


    and now, with the pirates brazenly entering red sulfur island, the civilians were even more terrified.


    bok''s face turned deathly pale, and kalman sharply glanced at his old servant, signaling him to keep quiet and sneak away.


    however, it was already too late; the pirates in the camp had spotted the master and servant.


    "hey! you two, stop right there!" someone in the camp yelled at the master and servant.


    kalman leaped onto his saddle and spurred the horse''s flanks, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye. bok, however, was not as agile as his master; his slower movements resulted in someone from behind rushing out and grabbing the reins of his mount.


    the rest in the camp immediately surrounded them; meanwhile, those who were napping were jolted awake and their first action was to grab their weapons.


    kalman, having run a distance away, saw his old servant being caught and, with regret, turned his horse and rode back.


    realizing they couldn''t escape, kalman boldly dismounted and said loudly, "we''re just passersby, looking for some water to drink."


    another pirate snatched the reins from his hand and pushed kalman next to bok, as the rest of the pirates began to enclose the master and servant subtly.


    the pirates paid them no heed, and a tall pirate sternly scolded the one who had caught bok: "what kind of lookout are you keeping? they almost reached the camp!"


    the scolded pirate hung his head in shame.


    seeing this, kalman guessed that the tall pirate must be their leader and gathered his courage to say, "we''re just passersby, looking for some water. we didn''t mean to intrude; please let us go."


    the tall pirate gazed deeply at kalman, then turned silently and walked towards the campfire, signaling them to follow.


    bok was trembling with fright, clenching his jaw so tight that the muscles on his cheeks bulged out.


    kalman patted the back of his old servant, reassuring him: "it''s ok."


    "my lord, i''m sorry, i will never be greedy again," bok finally broke down, crying with a mix of snot and tears.

 Chapter 81 Red Pine _2

    the servant and master were coerced into an encampment formed by large wagons, where a gap-toothed pirate who had run down from atop a wagon saw the two men and walked over to the tall pirate with murderous eyes, gesturing a "chop" with his hand.the tall pirate neither agreed nor disagreed, but bent down to pick up two cups from beside the campfire and handed them to the men.


    "this¡­ what do you mean by this?" kalman was somewhat dizzy.


    "aren''t you the ones asking for water to drink?"


    "oh, thank you, thank you." after thanking him repeatedly, kalman took the cup but dared not drink. the terrified old servant bok, however, took the cup and gulped it down in one go.


    "who are you?" the tall pirate asked with an expressionless face.


    "passers-by." kalman cautiously answered, "we''re just farmers from around here."


    "do farmers ride fine horses?" the tall pirate said with a half-smile.


    "we are¡­ slightly wealthier peasants with a bit more land." seeing that the other party didn''t seem bloodthirsty, kalman bit his lip and asked in return, "may i ask who you are?"


    "me?" the tall pirate laughed, "i am part of captain kidd''s grain requisition team."


    as his tension eased somewhat, kalman''s thinking gradually got clearer, and he instinctively tried to glean more information from the physical features of the pirate leader before him.


    although his face was smeared with some black soot, his voice indicated that the man was quite young. his hands were slender and clean, untouched by rough work. and then, his teeth, skin, figure... if the gap-toothed pirate was what one expected a pirate to look like, then this young man didn''t resemble a pirate at all; rather, he looked more like a monk or someone of that ilk.


    the focus was his eyes; they were a pair of stern, profound eyes.


    as their four eyes met, kalman averted his gaze, explaining to himself: would someone so young be a pirate leader if they didn''t have some skill?


    under his scrutinizing gaze, both kalman and bok lowered their heads, and just as kalman was mustering the courage to say something.


    "you can go now." the pirate leader waved his hand at his subordinates, "let them go."


    the other pirates seemed reluctant, but at the young pirate''s command, they returned the reins to the servant and master and cleared a path for them.


    kalman mounted his horse in disbelief, hastily made a hat-tipping gesture to the pirate leader, then fled with his old servant as if they were running for their lives. the pair looked back as they ran, fearing they were being chased.


    "i know what you''re worried about." after watching the two strangers go far away, the pirate leader said to his subordinates, "but we''re not pirates."


    kalman rode hard and fast back to hongsong manor, not daring to slow the horses down even the slightest, fearing pursuit.


    he strictly ordered his old servant not to mention today''s events to anyone; given how bok was already scared out of his wits, he wouldn''t dare speak of it even without the order.


    the gentle mrs. kalman noticed that her husband was preoccupied after he returned home, but since kalman refused to talk, she didn''t ask any more questions.


    but even back at home, the feeling of life being in someone else''s hands still left kalman shaken. he summoned the captain of the manor guard, inquired about any unusual activities near the manor lately, and repeatedly admonished him to be vigilant against pirates in the coming days.


    the captain of the guard affirmed the order verbally but didn''t really take it to heart. in his opinion, pirates at most would rob people on the road; they wouldn''t have the nerve to attack a guarded plantation.


    the sky gradually darkened completely, and hongsong manor fell into slumber.


    after cleaning his matchlock gun and short sword, kalman blew out the candle and climbed into bed.


    "why have you dug out the gun again?" asked mrs. kalman uneasily, and couldn''t help but inquire, "what exactly happened to you today? you''ve been restless since you came back."


    "i came across the grain requisition team from the council today, and the team was full of pirates," kalman sighed, "with war raging outside, our home is no longer safe."


    "let''s sleep, sleep." not knowing what else to do, mrs. kalman held her husband''s hand and drifted off to sleep.


    madam kalaman, sleeping soundly, was unaware that a small squad of people and horses lay in ambush outside hongsong manor, waiting to attack.


    originally, the three sergeants thought that as one of the two pillars of the confederation, the plantation would surely have high walls and deep moats, elite private soldiers, and be highly vigilant¡ªa veritable fortress.


    however, the intelligence brought back by bard and andre showed that the defense of this plantation was laughable, so weak that it even amused the three sergeants.


    the outer wall was just a wooden fence less than a man''s height, and bard and andre didn''t even count up to the sixth guard with weapons.


    winters led the vineta remnants in an ambush outside the manor for half a day without encountering any patrol, and the nighttime guard seemed to be just a dog. s§×arch* the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "it looks like there are no nighttime patrols," andre said in a low voice, "with just five guards, he couldn''t possibly organize a night shift."


    winters hadn''t expected the renowned plantation to be so lax in defense; he felt both aggravated and amused, having taken great pains to devise an elaborate plan for the assault.


    "let''s get to work," winters cautioned one last time, "stick to the plan, if anyone resists, kill them on the spot. but the plantation owner''s family must be taken alive."


    bard shot an arrow tied with poisoned meat towards the nighttime guard.


    the nighttime guard barked a few times, then began to feast on the meal.


    after quite a while.


    the nighttime guard of hongsong manor was still bouncing around lively.


    andre cursed gold in a suppressed voice, "f***, didn''t you say this method was supposed to work really well?"


    "it does work! truly! but i always used rat poison before, i''ve never used poisonous mushrooms," gold replied in self-pity.


    andre then turned the gun barrel towards bard, "what the hell is going on? didn''t you say those mushrooms were highly toxic?"


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    bard sighed, stood up, drew his bow fully, and shot down the nighttime guard of hongsong manor.


    "couldn''t we have just done this from the start?" andre said with frustration, "what was the point of us lying on the ground all this time?"


    "it was you who wanted to use poison, wasn''t it? let''s focus on the task at hand," winters said resignedly, "don''t let anyone escape."


    bard led some men to stand watch outside to prevent escapes, while winters and andre led the remaining men to sneak into the guard''s dwelling.


    after swiftly taking care of the five guards, the venetian soldiers lit torches and brazenly broke into the main house.


    kalman was awakened by the footsteps downstairs, but before he could react, the bedroom door was kicked open, and several men brandishing machetes and torches burst in.


    the firelight was so bright that kalman couldn''t open his eyes, but the intruders were laughing and shouting, "my lord, what a coincidence, the sparrow we let go has flown back into our hands."


    ...


    the owner of hongsong manor, kalman, was brought before winters and stared angrily at the pirate leader, asking bitterly, "you followed me here, didn''t you?"


    winters shook his head, "no, we were actually coming to find the owner of hongsong manor."


    "so my household was doomed from the start," kalman said, as if the strength had been drained from him, aging significantly, "money, jewelry, food¡ªyou can take whatever you want, but please, do not harm my family."


    "no, i didn''t come to rob," winters sheathed his machete, "you are a doctor, right? i''m here to ask you to save someone, and i need to inquire about some matters. if you fulfill my two requests, your family, your manor, your money, none of it will be harmed."


    "there are many good doctors in red sulfur harbor, why come looking for me? what do you need to ask a plantation owner from such a remote place? you¡­" kalman suddenly had a realization, the sea blue accent, the appearance unbecoming of a pirate, the strange grain requisitioning team, he understood it all, he understood everything.


    kalman''s eyes widened, his pupils constricted sharply, and pointing a trembling right hand at winters''s nose, he stuttered, "you¡­ you¡­ you are venetian¡­ you are a venetian officer¡­"


    winters nodded slightly, "da weineta legion, first centuria, centurion, winters montagne. pleased to meet you, doctor kalman."

 Chapter 82 The Enslaved Freeman

    the decision to raid hongsong manor was made after discussion among the three warrant officers, not just because colonel kongtai''er had an extra lead bullet in his abdomen that required a doctor, but also because they urgently needed a channel to acquire information from the outside world.the biggest problem for the group was their complete lack of knowledge about the battle situation. had the third legion launched a second attack? where was the direction of the attack?


    particularly winters and andre, both of them believed that it was not an option to keep hiding in the tanilia people''s vacuum zone. even if they needed to remain under the radar, it should be an "active" concealment, meaning they should gather intelligence and move flexibly, instead of burying their heads in the sand like ostriches, praying that the tanilians would not stumble upon them.


    therefore, hongsong manor became the perfect target. the manor owner had a high social status and was well-informed; moreover, the location of hongsong manor was remote and not easily exposed; most importantly, kalman was a doctor¡ªthough it was said his main method of treatment was bleeding.


    before winters and kalman could say anything, a centurion hurriedly walked in and whispered in his ear, "something''s gone wrong, we''ve lost three of our men."


    winters, without changing his expression, left kalman with andre and strode towards the door. your next chapter is on empire


    "what happened?" winters only asked after leaving the residence, maintaining a very calm attitude.


    but his centurion was somewhat panicked, "one went to check the house on the west side, and after he went in, he didn''t come out. two more went in to find him and ended up the same." s§×ar?h the novel?ire(.)ne*t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the centurion, a seasoned sergeant with over a decade of experience, was winters''s trusted assistant and had the confidence of the warrant officers, but even he was sweating profusely and looked panicked.


    "take me there," winters said, frowning.


    outside the row of wooden houses on the west side of the residence, the remaining soldiers stood a few meters from the doorway, craning their necks to look inside, but didn''t dare to approach.


    the house was pitch dark, as if it was hiding predatory beasts in the shadows, devouring every particle of light.


    upon seeing warrant officer monta approaching, the soldiers saluted. bard, seeing that the raid team had succeeded, also hurried over with two musketeers.


    "what''s going on?" bard asked quietly.


    "i don''t know, only that three of ours went in," winters turned to the centurion, "did they light torches when they entered?"


    "the second group did," the centurion explained anxiously, "but after they entered, there was a shout, and then it went dark again. centurion, there''s definitely something wicked in here."


    "is there a back door?"


    "no, just this one entrance. one door in, one door out."


    "torches!"


    a torch was handed to winters; he drew his saber and led two other soldiers into the pitch-black wooden house.


    the firelight reflected back at them; the entrance was curtained off, dividing the wooden house.


    winters used his saber to lift the curtain, and behind it was another curtain, with no one in sight.


    he cut down the rope holding the curtains and continued to explore deeper into the room with his men. the wooden house was divided into even smaller spaces with curtains.


    suddenly, winters heard a creaking noise from above, indicating the wood was under stress. he knew something was wrong and immediately stepped back.


    however, the attacker moved extremely fast, leaping down from the beam, using momentum to flip him over. it was then that winters realized it wasn''t any sinister creature, but a person.


    the two soldiers who had entered with him cried out twice before falling silent, their torch extinguished.


    winters lay on the ground, his torch snuffed out by a hand that reached from behind the curtains. the attacker who had leaped down was on top of winters, wrestling with him, twisting winters''s right wrist almost 180 degrees.


    but the saber was still firmly in winters''s grip. suddenly plunged into darkness, his eyes hadn''t adjusted, and he couldn''t see anything. more people came out from behind the curtain, trying to pin down winters''s limbs.


    in his desperate situation, winters headbutted the attacker viciously. his forehead collided with something hard, causing agonizing pain in his skull.


    but clearly, he had hit the right spot, striking a heavy blow on the attacker, who cried out in pain and released his grip on winters''s right hand.


    "attack!" winters shouted the code word, and with his right hand free, he thrust the saber into the darkness towards the enemy.


    but there was no sensation of piercing flesh; the adversary agilely put distance between them and winters.


    "[language winters didn''t understand]" a hoarse, elderly voice came from deeper inside the house, "[still language winters couldn''t understand]"


    the others who had tried to restrain winters withdrew their hands, and winters, now completely free, pushed himself up from the floor.


    by then, bard had also led the rest of the soldiers into the wooden house.


    in the glow of the firelight, winters finally saw who was in the room.


    a group of people with iron chains on their hands huddled in a corner of the wooden house¡ªthe women and some children were tucked away in the furthest part of the corner, with the other men shielding the women and children on the outside.


    this group of people was vaguely led by an old man with a deeply lined face, leaning on a withered wooden staff, trembling as if a breeze could blow him over.


    yet his eyes were sharp and alert.


    "we don''t want to shed blood," the old man looked at winters, his voice like crushed glass grating against each other, and said in a hard, strangely accented common tongue, "uninvited guests."


    "where are my men?" winters demanded in a deep voice.

 Chapter 82 The Enslaved Freeman_2

    the old man spat out another incomprehensible sentence, and several skinny black men responded. they carried out winters'' subordinate, who had disappeared after entering the house earlier.bard immediately bent down to check, pressing his hand to the soldier''s neck.


    after the examination, bard nodded at winters to signify that the man was just knocked out but still had a pulse.


    a half-grown boy of about fifteen or sixteen was supporting the old man, and winters noticed the boy''s injured chin and blood at the corner of his mouth, realizing what had happened.


    having nearly been taken down by such a youngster, winters felt a complex mix of emotions. he pointed his curved knife at the boy and asked, "it was you who sneak-attacked me, wasn''t it?"


    "if i had a knife too." the boy with chains on his hands spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and answered in a stiff lingua franca, "would it be your turn to ask questions now?"


    seeing the chains on these people and their dwelling, winters had a rough idea of their situation. he sheathed his knife and asked with detached coolness, "are you slaves of this plantation?"


    the skinny, black boy took great offense at the word and was about to erupt when the old man held him back.


    "we''re not slaves, we. are. enslaved. free. people," the old man solemnly and earnestly corrected winters, then counter-asked, "as for you, who exactly are you?"


    "we are free people who have not been enslaved," winters replied, not keen on revealing too much.


    "you... you are venetians, aren''t you?" the old man, squinting his eyes, pierced through their identity: "the free people enslaved by gold by the sea."


    winters let out a dry chuckle.


    "so it seems, your republic has taken over red sulfur island?" s§×arch* the novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    winters'' eyelid twitched. the slave elder was surprisingly well-informed. he smiled, saying nonchalantly, "you''ll find out."


    "oh..." hearing winters'' reply, the old man sighed softly, his expression dimming before quickly livening up again: "i understand, no need to worry, we will go about our work as usual tomorrow. for now, please leave, we need to rest."


    the old man then spoke a few words in a foreign language to the other slaves, and the men, women, elderly, and children in the corner of the room began to move. ignoring the presence of winters and his men, they started to re-bind the curtains that had been cut and spread mats on the ground, preparing to sleep in all seriousness.


    the venetians stood dumbfounded, bewilderedly "escorted out" of the slaves'' wooden hut.


    "oh, there''s another wooden hut to the north with some people living there," the old man added as he sent them off at the door.


    entering and leaving in such a baffling manner, the venetians were all somewhat at a loss.


    ever since entering the house, bard had been silent. only upon leaving did he say to winters, "judging by their physical features, these people appear to be herders."


    the soldiers beside them were even more puzzled upon hearing ''herders,'' but the centurion looked thoughtful.


    "herders? how would herders end up as slaves on the islands?" winters, recalling what he had read in books, was also surprised: "aren''t herders located far to our west, even further west than the republic of paratu?"


    "it''s because they are next to paratu that herders can end up as slaves in tanilia. the paratu people have a tradition of selling captives as slaves, even going as far as raiding specifically for that purpose," bard briefly explained.


    winters and the other soldiers suddenly understood.


    "those paratu shepherds, they indeed do anything." a soldier scoffed softly, disdainfully saying, "taking believers as slaves, they''re not afraid of going to hell!"


    "herders don''t believe in our god; they are heretics," bard corrected the soldier, furrowing his brow then added, "however, we really are in a difficult position now. enslaving heretics could exploit a loophole in the law of the federated provinces, but venetian law prohibits slavery in any form. so strictly speaking, if we continue to detain them, we''d be breaking the law."


    "if we release them, we might as well sign our death warrants. this is an island; we''re surrounded by the sea on all sides, where could they possibly go?" winters muttered gloomily: "humph, that old man is shrewd. even if we break their chains, they won''t run; he has already seen through us."


    "so what do we do... there are at least three or four dozen slaves on this estate of nearly a hundred acres, and we''ve killed the guards responsible for watching them..." bard said with difficulty: "does that mean we need to split up some of our men to take over their duties?"


    winters took a deep breath: "first pirates, then bandits. and now, acting as guards for a slave master really does seem a legitimate occupation... assign five men to watch them. make sure they don''t escape."


    the soldiers snickered.


    "that old man said there are more slaves elsewhere?" winters said languidly to bard: "take some men and have a look." enjoy exclusive content from empire


    bard nodded and led several soldiers towards the north.


    but not long after,


    another soldier came running to report to winters: "centurion, warrant officer bard is calling you over again."


    in a shanty further north, the slaves living inside looked very different from the herders, bearing a closer resemblance to winters and bard.


    the slaves here were people from senas bay.


    there, the two warrant officers unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance.

 Chapter 82 The Enslaved Freeman_3

    winters arrived to find someone clutching bard''s leg, weeping with snot and tears."you... you are..." winters recognized the person at once, but couldn''t recall his name, "you are... you''re the fat... that captain of the bandit gull?"


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    the following day.


    morning, a light breeze.


    the once bustling red sulfur harbor no longer exhibited its past liveliness; the docks, usually noisy with people, now stood eerily quiet, with not a single ship in the bay.


    only a few seagulls remained on the pier, staring blankly at the rolling waves.


    the master of hongsong manor, kalman, brought a cartload of meat, vegetables, wine, and water, along with his nephew, to "comfort the troops" at red sulfur harbor.


    to say "comfort the troops" was actually to check on his own laborers. a medium-small plantation like hongsong manor employed fewer than fifty slaves in the fields and only seven armed guards.


    outsiders thought the guards were private soldiers, but in reality, the plantation guards were essentially laborers. unlike slaves, they received pay and carried weapons. catching runaway slaves was part-time; usually, the guards did lighter tasks, and during the busy farming season, they also worked in the fields.


    after all, a small plantation couldn''t afford full-time soldiers. but being on an island with nowhere to run meant slave escapes were rare, and those who did flee didn''t get far.


    the council of red sulfur island was, of course, fully informed about the situation of small plantations like hongsong manor. thus, the manor''s contributions were mainly in the form of money and grain, not manpower.


    even so, hongsong manor still had to provide two men who could handle their weapons and ammunition well, skilled in using muskets, aged between twenty and forty, and also cover their salaries and any potential compensation fees.


    in the noisy tavern, two laborers unlucky enough to draw the short straws were drinking and complaining bitterly with their boss. kalman was at once consoling them and making promises.


    kalman''s nephew sat quietly beside his uncle, never interrupting, just humbly listening. whenever someone''s cup was empty, he would promptly pick up the bottle and fill it up.


    both guards found this modest and mild-mannered young man very agreeable. the older of the two thought to himself: "the master''s nephew was quite the rascal as a child. who would have thought, who would have thought, he''s turned out to be something these six or seven years later."


    ...


    the carriage clinked along the cobblestone road, heading away from red sulfur harbor.


    kalman showed the pass sealed with the council''s wax stamp, and just like on his way in, he passed through the checkpoint without trouble. red sulfur harbor was now under strict martial law, and civilians could only enter or leave with a pass.


    on the edge of the town, hundreds of conscripted laborers were working vigorously, widening and deepening the existing moat and using the excavated dirt to build an embankment around red sulfur harbor.


    winters observed all these things and took mental notes. explore hidden tales at empire


    but what he saw was more than just this. s~ea??h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    on the main road of red sulfur harbor, a stake was erected every ten meters or so, each with a human head nailed on top. the weather was hot and humid, and the heads had begun to rot, releasing waves of stench, attracting crows pecking at them.


    these heads were all taken from the corpses of venetians.


    the red sulfur harbor council used this method to declare victory to everyone on the island.


    they were also intimidating the islanders, for not only "enemy" heads were spiked on stakes, but also those of "traitors."


    winters looked at these stakes, unable to describe the extreme rage he felt at that moment, shaking all over, nearly biting his teeth to shards.


    "i have done everything you asked of me, and the council will never let me go," kalman implored in a subdued voice. "please let my wife and daughter leave, let them go to my father-in-law''s house. they won''t let a single thing slip, i assure you, i can stay as a guarantee."


    through careful questioning, winters had already learned about the state of the war. after leaving the ambush site, the vineta fleet immediately blockaded red sulfur harbor, trapping winters and his small team inside, and now the tanyrians were being surrounded by the vineta fleet.


    the red sulfur island council had built forts at several possible landing sites, and the third legion had launched several probing attacks from the northern beaches, none of which were successful.


    winters surmised that the third legion''s losses were small, because although the red sulfur harbor council claimed a significant victory, no new heads had been put on stakes in the last few days, and they had produced no other tangible evidence of their military prowess.


    this proved that the third legion took their fallen with them; even when attacks failed, they retreated in order.


    the main forces that had fought the third legion recently were mostly militia and the tanyrian confederation guards; the council had realized that pirates were not suitable for major combat, so the majority of pirate forces were sent to less critical defense segments.


    "as long as you don''t do anything that threatens our security, the safety of your family is completely guaranteed. we are not bandits; we are trapped here."


    "this..." after thinking hard and hesitating, kalman finally made up his mind. he spoke haltingly: "perhaps i have a way... to get you out."

 Chapter 83 Kulxit Ritual

    it was already night.fires blazed in the open area in front of the main house of hongsong manor, and shadows flickered around them. by the light of the flames, one could see several goats hanging from an oak tree on the edge of the clearing, waiting to be slaughtered.


    in a room on the second floor of the main house, winters sat by the window, fiddling with a steel awl and watching the busy people in the courtyard.


    after several knocks, kalman entered the room.


    "have you brought the smelling salts?" winters asked indifferently. his gaze lingered on the bonfire, avoiding any eye contact with kalman.


    "i have," kalman stood awkwardly in front of winters, swallowing hard. "but i wouldn''t recommend waking the injured man. although the lead bullet has been removed, his condition is still very dangerous. forcibly waking him from his coma would be... unwise, and might instead exacerbate his injuries."


    "that''s not your concern; just wake him up. i have my reasons," winters said, his gaze fixed on the bonfire, still not making any eye contact with kalman.


    stymied by winters''s response, kalman muttered as if reassuring himself, "how you handle your people is none of my business, but i have fulfilled my duty as a doctor."


    on the small bed in this guest room lay colonel kongtai''er, still unconscious.


    kalman approached the bed and took out a small glass bottle. he uncorked it and waved the bottle under the nose of the unconscious colonel.


    the foul odor wafted out from the bottle, and colonel kongtai''er immediately reacted to the irritating gas. his nostrils flared, his chest heaved, and with a bout of instinctive coughing, kongtai''er struggled to open his eyes.


    kalman looked towards winters, and winters subtlety turned his head toward the door, signaling kalman to leave.


    the room was now left with only kongtai''er and winters.


    kongtai''er''s consciousness was still unclear as he emerged from his coma, and he made several pained, guttural sounds from his throat.


    winters picked up a cup from the table and slowly helped kongtai''er drink some water.


    moistened by the clear water, colonel kongtai''er''s parched lips and throat recovered slightly, and he looked at the person before him, asking with difficulty, "montanye... lieutenant?"


    "yes, it''s me."


    "where... where am i?"


    "red sulfur island." explore hidden tales at empire


    "have we been... captured?"


    "no, neither of us has been captured. this place is still safe for now." sear?h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    colonel kongtai''er''s consciousness became clearer, he groaned and reached towards his abdomen.


    winters stopped kongtai''er, "don''t touch, that''s where the wound is. do you remember? you were shot, and the doctor here removed the bullet; he did a clean job, and the rest is up to you now."


    suffering from acute pain, kongtai''er couldn''t stop shaking.


    "the doctor said the coma was a form of self-protection for you. i made him wake you up."


    "why... why?" kongtai''er managed to utter with great effort.


    "because there are some things i must ask you." winters''s tone was devoid of emotion. "in a few hours, i''ll have to leave this place. if i don''t get the answers now, i fear there will never be another chance."


    "what do you want to ask... ask about?"


    standing by the bed, winters leaned down close to kongtai''er''s ear. his voice was soft but crystal clear and devoid of any emotion, "why did you (plural) attempt to assassinate the envoy of the federated provinces'' secretary of state affairs?"


    struck as if by lightning, kongtai''er''s shock even overwhelmed the pain of his wounds. he gasped, his eyes involuntarily bulging.


    after a long silence, the colonel closed his eyes and slowly answered, "it wasn''t me."


    [in continental language, the second person singular and plural are the same word.]


    as if he had heard the funniest joke, winters burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he pounded on his chest and stamped his feet. after he finished laughing, wiping away tears, he said, "we may not live until tomorrow. is there really a need for such word play? whether it was you who acted, or your accomplices, what difference does it make?"


    "no... i was opposed to the assassination from the start," kongtai''er insisted, looking at winters and asking with difficulty, "and you... how did you find out?"


    "me?" winters sighed, "it would be better to ask why it took me so long to figure it out."


    ...


    kalman waited anxiously at the stairwell, unsure how much time had passed until he heard the sound of a door closing upstairs, followed by footsteps approaching him.


    "the patient is asleep again," winters said softly as he approached kalman, taking a small waxed paper packet from his belt and placing it in kalman''s hand. "if he wakes up again, use warm water to dissolve this medicine and let him drink a little at a time."


    "what is this?"


    "a sleep aid, it helps one enter a deep sleep," winters explained patiently, adding with a smile, "i might not need it after today, so i might as well leave it all with you."


    kalman opened the waxed paper packet, layer upon layer, and carefully picked up a piece of processed herb to examine closely, "this is quite fresh; i''ve never heard of a medicine that can induce sleep."


    kalman''s eyes were nearly glued to the herb, as if he had discovered a new world.


    "these plants aren''t from our region; these things are specialties from the new world, from the empire''s colonies," winters said with a smile, watching dr. kalman until he put the herb away, and then sincerely said, "mr. kalman, sorry to have troubled you."

 Chapter 83 Kulxit Ritual_2

    kalman was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, "no, it''s alright, it''s alright.""don''t worry, i''m not going to silence you," winters laughed heartily, "since you''ve kept your promise, i will fulfill mine. this is a sincere apology from the heart."


    only then did kalman let out a sigh of relief.


    "however, from the standpoint of your own interests, i still wouldn''t advise you to report us immediately," winters added.


    "no, no, no... how could i possibly report you? i won''t say a thing," kalman, face reddening, shook his head vehemently. find exclusive content at empire


    "there''s no need to be afraid, mr. kalman. this is not a threat, but my heartfelt words. even if you were to denounce us, i would bear no grudge against you, let alone seek revenge. we invaded your home, so nothing you do would be excessive," winters said, looking into kalman''s eyes with sincerity. "but i suggest you wait and see, be prepared for both outcomes. if i fail, you can immediately turn over the severely injured to dissociate yourself from us. but if i succeed... keeping these injured men will earn you the gratitude of the venetians."


    winters, not minding kalman''s complex expression, walked straight from the main house towards the bonfire.


    after a moment of stupefaction, kalman hurriedly followed.


    the old servant bok, with a mournful face, ran over to complain to kalman, "master... our home is ruined... i couldn''t stop them..."


    "don''t worry, mr. bok," winters said politely, "i will compensate you for anything the herders took, at fair value."


    hearing winters speak, bok shivered involuntarily, not daring to respond, just muttering under his breath, "and what about the slave? a strong slave is worth more than ten sheep..."


    "hahaha," winters laughed, "mr. bok, throughout history, when slaves bought their freedom, it was always with the blood of their masters. so i think freedom given freely is much better, wouldn''t you agree?"


    ...


    a herder, a small knife, and in less than ten minutes, they could strip off an entire sheepskin without a tear.


    "waste nothing" was the principle of the herders.


    the blood of the sheep was carefully collected in wooden barrels, and the entrails were not discarded. herder women cleansed the sheep''s offal, boiling it to remove the blood before slicing it finely to make a white, thick mutton broth.


    nothing else was wasted either, whether boiled or roasted, everything was put to use.


    the freed herders busied themselves, and in that moment, they seemed transported back to their faraway homes.


    low tables beside the bonfire were joined to form a long table, heaped with large and small plates, and still more food was being brought out freshly prepared.


    seeing his soldiers seated on the ground like the herders, gorging themselves, they only realized winters had approached when he was right beside them, and they hurriedly got up to salute.


    winters called the soldiers over, "let everyone eat more meat, but no drinking alcohol."


    the centurion nodded and returned to the table.


    not far away, at the end of the long table, andre beckoned eagerly to winters.


    sitting with andre were bard and an elderly herder.


    as winters sat down, a herder woman immediately offered him a bowl of white soup and brought forward a platter with a sheep''s head that, although split in two and put back together, had been cooked whole¡ªthe sight was quite grisly.


    "dig in, we''ve been waiting for you to join us," andre said to winters, making a playful wink, "this is what the herders give to their most honored guests."


    "ah?"


    the eye sockets of the sheep''s head were gaping, staring straight at winters, which considerably added to his pressure. he tried the mutton soup, which was actually delicious. it seemed to have pepper in it, and after one sip, his body felt warmly suffused.


    "centurion montaigne, i have another impertinent request," the herder elder, who had been talking with bard, turned to winters.


    "what is it?" winters asked, his tone neutral as he continued to sip his soup, unable to bring himself to like the old man.


    "mustas would like to conduct the ''kulxit ceremony'' with you," bard explained, "he enlisted my help to explain, and from what i gathered, it seems to be a kind of bonding ceremony."


    "this ceremony is probably some kind of oath," s~ea??h the novel(f~)ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "it''s not just an oath, not only an oath," said the herder elder, speaking in a strange accent with the common tongue. "''kulxit xi'' is a covenant witnessed by the heavens, an unbreakable vow."


    "isn''t that still an oath?" winters said while sipping soup.


    "no... it''s different." the herder elder initially wanted to continue explaining but after some thought, he gave up on the effort to elaborate with the foreigners, "if you think it''s an oath, then it''s an oath."


    "do we have to cut open our palms and bleed or something? actually, we don''t need to engage in such formalities." winters reluctantly put down his soup bowl. "i''m a spellcaster, i believe in nothing, and i detest self-harm. no ceremony can bind a person''s will, what i pledge to you is my honor."


    "[old language] i think it''s necessary," bard suddenly switched to the old language, mused, "[old language] the other herders do not trust us, they simply obey mustas'' orders. if a ceremony can earn the trust of the other herders, then it''s worth it."


    "[old language] i certainly don''t want to cut myself and bleed," winters grumbled. "[old language] if you like it, you go ahead."


    "[old language] but they have set their sights on you," bard said with a smile.


    "[old language] exactly, exactly," andre chimed in happily.


    the herder elder quietly watched the three lieutenants converse in the old language.


    "elder, i have a question for you," winters asked, plucking up the courage, "what about that ceremony you mentioned? does it use one''s own blood?"


    "it does," the herder elder''s face was full of smile lines, "but the blood of a sacrifice will do as well."


    ...


    the firelight reflected on winters'' face, as well as on the face of the herder elder.


    the two stood face to face.


    the herder elder mustas cut open his own left hand and grabbed winters'' left arm, and winters also seized the other''s left arm.


    a herder man knelt and offered a bowl of sacrificial blood.


    the herder elder dabbed a bit of the sacrificial blood on his lips, and winters followed suit.


    the herder elder then took oil and smeared it on both of their left arms.


    as winters wondered about the meaning of such a ceremony, the herder elder began chanting some sort of song in an odd tone of voice. suddenly, the oil smeared on both of their arms ignited, and in an instant, a flame rose between the two men.


    winters was shocked and tried to pull back abruptly, but the herder elder''s arm held onto his like a vice.


    the next second, the flame extinguished, as if what had just happened was an illusion.


    but the burning sensation on his left arm told winters that the fire had been real.


    the herder elder took some hearth ash and sprinkled it over their heads, and then he finally released his hand.


    throughout the entire ceremony, the herders surrounding the two men suddenly picked up horns and started to blow.


    "just who are you?" winters demanded, grabbing the herder elder''s arm with a serious tone.


    "they are your soldiers now," the herder elder did not respond directly, only speaking wearily, "they will trust you as much as they trust me. as long as you lead them, even into the fires of hell, they will follow. please uphold our promise; after your soldiers set foot on this island, send the women and children back to our homeland."


    the elderly man, looking utterly exhausted, was helped back to his seat by other herders.


    from the outskirts of the crowd, bard and andre pushed their way in.


    "was that fire just now? where did the fire come from? was it fire?" andre asked, shocked.


    winters'' eyelids twitched incessantly, "it was fire, definitely fire, the oil would never burst into flame without reason, nor extinguish... are there spellcasters among the herders, too?"

 Chapter 84 The Dance to the Styx

    the night was deep, yet the hongsong manor had not fallen silent.the venetian people had finished their meals and went to rest, but the celebration of the herders would not end just like that.


    after one last check of his preparations, winters, weary to the bone, collapsed onto his wooden bed. he desperately wanted to grab some sleep, but sleep eluded him completely.


    it wasn''t because he was nervous, but because it was too noisy¡ªthe herders seemed unsatisfied with just eating and drinking, and had begun to beat their drums and sing.


    winters was a light sleeper, unable to fall asleep with even the slightest noise¡ªa common affliction among spellcasters¡ªlet alone the continuous noise pollution from the herders.


    tossing and turning in bed for a long while, he simply couldn''t fall asleep. just as one foot would cross the threshold of dreamland, he would be yanked back by the drumming and singing outside.


    woken repeatedly by the rowdy sounds in his semi-conscious state, winters''s anger grew. he thought to brew some sleep-inducing herbal tea, but after fumbling around, he remembered he had given all his herbs to kalman.


    infuriated, winters hurled his pillow to the floor, "[inarticulate cursing of impotent rage]! what the hell are they playing at, not sleeping in the dead of night!" discover more content at empire


    deciding not to sleep, winters donned his coat, kicked open his door, and stormed off to find the seemingly spiritual leader of this bunch, the elder hestas.


    "will you join our feast as well, mister montaigne?" hestas sat by the bonfire, content and smiling, as he looked towards the scowling winters.


    seeing the herder elder only served to fuel winters''s anger. with his nerves frayed, he could no longer contain his impulse to curse out loud, "what the hell are you doing not resting properly before our departure?"


    hearing winters''s coarse language, hestas did not get angry, but maintained his smiling demeanor, "the feast must go on. in our herder language, the word ''feast'' is composed of the words ''eat'' and ''laugh''; merely having a big meal is not enough. a feast is an important part of a herder''s life. these children have not been able to attend a feast since they were sold here."


    it''s hard to hit a smiling face, and winters, feeling somewhat ashamed, refrained from any further foul language.


    by the bonfire, several herder men began to dance, with hestas intently watching the dancers by the firelight.


    this dance was vastly different from the venetian social dance. the dance the herders were performing was fierce and unrestrained. to winters, it seemed less like a dance and more like a display of physical prowess.


    the herder men stamped the ground and swung their arms, slapping their chests and shins. they squatted and leaped, executing a succession of complex dance moves.


    even winters, who had arrived in anger, had his attention captured by the unrestrained and fierce dancing.


    "this is ''kurvaleta''," said hestas, transfixed, "the dance to journey to the styx."


    "the styx? what''s that?" winters asked, uncertain.


    "it''s the river that separates the living from the dead. in our legends, once the dead cross the styx, they cannot return to the world of the living," hestas explained calmly. "these young people are dancing the dance leading to death. we have resolved to face death, but you must keep your promise to return the women and children back to herder land."


    winters was silent, "i never trust promises or oaths, but all i can give you is my promise. if i am still alive, i''ll arrange for them to return home myself. if i''m dead, commander serviati will take care of it; i''ve left him a letter."


    "i trust you because i know you are a man of honor," sighed hestas with emotion. "just ensure the women and children are sent back. for a tribe, there is nothing more important than women and children. even if all the men die, as long as the women and children survive, the tribe can quickly regain its prosperity." s~ea??h the nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "but can the tribe survive without men to protect them?"


    hestas smiled, "the herder people here come from different tribes, many of whom were originally enemies. once they are back on the grasslands, they will naturally return to their own kin."


    "who are you, really?"


    "me? i''m just a shaman without a tribe," hestas said, shifting his position and ceasing to look winters in the eye. "however, on the land of foreigners, i have found my tribe once again."


    winters felt a stir in his heart and sat down to continue, "when you say shaman, do you mean a magician?"


    "no, a shaman is merely one who communicates with the gods. as for magicians you speak of... we herders have no magicians."


    "but you indeed can do things that others cannot, right?" winters pressed, "i saw it. you made the oil combust on its own. without significant mastery of the fire-making spell, that would not be possible."


    "some shaman priests can indeed do things that others cannot," hestas said calmly. "but it''s all a gift from the gods. we can use these powers only because the gods have chosen us."


    winters slapped his thigh vigorously, his voice trembling in encountering a different system of divine arts for the first time, "then what''s your training model? i mean... how do you select those children who are bestowed with divine gifts, and how do you help their powers grow?"

 Chapter 84 The Dance to the Styx_2

    hestas looked at winters with a smile that was not quite a smile, yet said nothing.in this world, there exist practitioners of the divine arts, and many within the church are such practitioners. the spellcasters of the alliance do not acknowledge the existence of these gods, yet the effects of the divine arts are undeniably real, which leads to the inconsistency of the alliance spellcasters'' atheistic theories.


    in response to this, the magic combat bureau circulated a hypothesis: that practitioners of the divine arts are also spellcasters, merely using a different system from that of the alliance spellcasters.


    but this hypothesis remained just that, a hypothesis, as the divine arts were sacred secrets of the church, beyond the reach of the magic combat bureau; they could neither understand the system of the divine arts nor procure the bodies of priests for dissection.


    however, winters now discovered that outside of "civilization," the alien tribes also possessed a similar system of divine arts. people who prided themselves on civilization did not believe that the barbaric nomads could have practitioners of both the divine arts and magic, but the elder before him clearly also wielded abilities akin to the divine arts.


    perhaps this foreign divine arts could provide insights into the church''s system of divine arts, and at this thought, winters was almost trembling with excitement.


    but the lean, dark-skinned elder before him just smiled at winters, remaining silent. experience tales with empire


    seeing the elder''s mocking smile and his amused eyes, winters deflated. since the church was so protective of the secrets of the divine arts, so were the herders'' shamans.


    "you can''t speak of it, right?" winters sighed.


    "i could tell you, but could you keep a secret for me?"


    suddenly energetic, winters nodded eagerly, "yes, of course i can."


    "hmm, so could i."


    "hey... do you find playing this game fun?" winters, struck speechless, stood up, dusted off the soil and grass from his pants, and said irritably, "go ahead then, i''m going back to sleep."


    "young man, why sleep long before death, when after death comes eternal sleep?" hestas now looked very amused.


    "yeah, if you don''t sleep well while alive, naturally you''ll soon end up buried and sleeping in the ground forever." winters immediately shot back. he then considered something further, asking the elder with a curious expression, "say, you all ate the meat, drank the wine, danced the dance, in this atmosphere, is what comes next really...?"


    he didn''t specify what it was but made a few pumping motions with his right-hand middle finger into his half-closed left fist.


    the normally restrained winters would never have made such an obscene gesture, but he was not only mentally exhausted but in a very bad mood. his rational dam had burst, and he now just wanted to disgust the old bastard before him.


    hestas laughed briefly and replied calmly, "i suppose it might."


    "tomorrow we''re facing down the tanilians in a fight to the death, and your people won''t rest well tonight? they''re drinking, dancing, and fucking around ¨C do you have the energy for battle tomorrow?" winters grew angrier at the old man''s attitude. sear?h the n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    unperturbed, the old shaman replied openly, "the men are going into battle tomorrow; wouldn''t it be unacceptable to deny them a final moment of warmth with the women? they might not return tomorrow, so naturally, they want to ensure their bloodlines continue. the same goes for you, if you die tomorrow, your lineage ends. wouldn''t you regret that? hmm... if you want, i can help set you up. i think there are women who would appreciate your fine physique."


    if it were the normally chaste young winters, he would have blushed to the tips of his ears. but the sleep-deprived winters, now possessed by an ill-tempered personality, spitefully retorted, "do your herders'' shamans also take on the role of pimps?"


    "it''s as normal for a woman to be attracted to a man as it is for a man to be attracted to a woman. if a girl is interested in you, it means you are attractive ¨C that''s a compliment to you," said the old shaman hestas with a natural demeanor.


    winters suddenly realized that either the old man''s skin was incredibly thick, or his spiritual level was several levels above his own ¨C whatever vicious words he said simply couldn''t hurt him.


    "you''re tall and look strong, seemingly a chosen one. bringing the bloodline of a chosen one into my tribe would be a great boon. is it wrong to pass on a better lineage?" the old shaman asked seriously, "when breeding horses, do you not pick the best stallions for the mares, or would you use a nag instead?"


    the old man''s righteous sounding nonsense and series of flatteries left the venomously tempered winters speechless. winters, with a flushed face, argued back, "humans are people! not animals!"


    "humans and animals are not so different," hestas said with a light smile. "good people are the best animals, and bad people are the worst. stallions in the herd are constantly fighting for the right to mate, and men in the tribe also want to pass on their bloodlines. humans are animals, not much different."


    "humans are different from animals." winters wanted to argue further but suddenly felt that this statement wasn''t strong enough.


    consider the living conditions of these herder slaves and the senas indentured slaves; are they truly seen as human by the kalman family? they''re human, but they''re also bipedal beasts whose ownership doesn''t even belong to themselves.


    "humans have animal instincts, but unlike animals, people can restrain those instincts." winters knew such words wouldn''t convince his opponent. he thought for a moment and then spoke with a smile, "i have a good friend, taller and stronger than me. with long arms and legs, a broad back and narrow waist, and a top-notch master of swordsmanship. if there''s a chance in the future, i''ll introduce him to you for breeding."

 Chapter 84 The Dance to the Styx_3

    the old shaman nodded with satisfaction.remembering axel, winters couldn''t help but let out a long sigh. just a month and a half had passed, yet the days at the military academy already seemed like a dream.


    two months prior, he would never have guessed that two months later he would be hiding on a small island owned by the enemy, leading a small group of enslaved soldiers and crippled warriors to fight to the death.


    what was axel doing now?


    winters had lost his temper, and even the thought of anger had dissipated, replaced only by a sense of fatigue.


    he bowed to mustas, and the old shaman straightened his back to accept it gracefully.


    winters turned and left, returning to his temporary dwelling. stay updated through empire


    with a kick off of his boots, he collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.


    time passed unknowingly, and not knowing where he came from, winters found himself in a combat arena, carrying a shield and spear, while someone beside him was rubbing olive oil on his body.


    the olive oil was spread starting from his feet, then his waist, and then his chest. the thing rubbing the olive oil... were they hands? they were hands... warm and soft... not a man''s hands, were they a woman''s?


    in his sleep, winters jolted awake and pushed away the strange woman on top of him¡ªthere really was a herde woman who''d sneaked into his room!


    woken up for the second time, winters was both shocked and furious, and his just-awakened temper completely overwhelmed any sexual desire. enraged, he didn''t hesitate to use the sonic blast spell to curse loudly, "get out!"


    the strange woman who fell to the floor was so startled by the thunderous blast that she screamed and ran out. the entire estate probably heard this angry shout, and the singing and drumming of the herders outside ceased.


    exhausted, winters fell back onto the bed with a ringing in his ears, falling into a sweet sleep. this time, no one dared to disturb him again.


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    in guidao city, across the great sea in the federated provinces of the republic''s army headquarters.


    axel, who was on night duty, was startled awake by a knock on the door.


    an upperclassman stood at the door of the duty office, panting and said, "passed unanimously with three to zero... condemnation... mobilization order... war budget..."


    after swallowing hard and catching his breath with some difficulty, the upperclassman grabbed axel''s arm, "we... we are being deployed too."


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    in the herders'' longhouse, the boy who had ambushed winters was serving hestas as he lay on a meadow.


    "don''t follow them tomorrow, the venetians will send you back to the steppes. take care of your sister and go find your brother," hestas said still using the stiff common tongue, even when they were alone. s~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lfire .net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "[herde language] i''m not a child anymore, i can kill," the boy protested.


    hestas knocked on the boy''s head with his withered hand, "speak the language of the two-legged, not our language. when you get home, you must also practice the language of the two-legged¡ªsadly, by that time i won''t be there to practice with you."


    "[common tongue] those two-legged beings just want to use us," the boy said, shifting to the awkward common tongue as well, "i can''t understand why you would make a deal with them, and even... even conduct the kulxit ceremony with that man..."


    "foolish boy, do you want to be a slave on this island for the rest of your life? do you remember what the steppes are like? if you have children, they will be utter slaves," hestas said as he ruffled the boy''s hair. "this is your best chance to return to your homeland. if we don''t pay blood-money, even if the venetians conquer this island, they won''t grant us freedom."


    the boy uttered an "oh."


    "i know you are not convinced, you can''t stand the two-legged," hestas said earnestly, "but there''s nothing to be dissatisfied about. we have truly lost, otherwise we wouldn''t have ended up here. i taught you their language so you could learn their knowledge. only by learning from those who defeated us can the defeat not be in vain and your children avoid being enslaved like us..."


    outside, the herders extinguishing the last of the fires.


    the feasts have ended, leaving only blood and fire.

 Chapter 85 Iron Melting Technique

    at the break of dawn, a caravan set out from hongsong manor. mules and oxen heaved as they pulled the large carts behind them, moving languidly towards red sulfur harbor on eight four-wheeled wagons."halt, what business do you have? what''s loaded on these carts?" a patrol team stopped the caravan on the road.


    "the carts are filled with grain," the cart driver replied. "we are from hongsong manor, delivering the levied supplies to the town."


    using the excuse of the war, the council of red sulfur harbor demanded that all plantations and villages on the island set aside grain as military provisions, which the islanders referred to as a levy.


    a soldier from the patrol team climbed onto a wheel and peered into the wagon, only to see sacks of hemp neatly piled up. cutting one sack open carelessly, wheat spilled out.


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    seeing that it was indeed grain, the patrol team did not make further difficulties for the caravan.


    as they were about to leave, the patrol team''s captain jokingly said to the young man next to the cart driver, "you''re tall and sturdy¡ªbeing a laborer suits you little. how about joining the army? we''re short on hands, and with a daily silver coin, you''d make in a month what you earn in a year."


    the young man cracked a smile but said nothing.


    "eh? i''m talking to you! are you dumb? can''t you speak?"


    the tooth-gap cart driver hurried to smile and explain, "brother, you''ve actually hit the nail on the head. this fool is indeed mute; our master took pity on him, that''s why he''s allowed to drive the cart with me."


    the young man also gesticulated wildly with his hands and feet babbling.


    seeing that the other party was mute, the patrol team''s captain no longer insisted, merely muttering regretfully, "so he''s a mute, and here i thought he was good soldier material." he waved them off, letting the caravan go.


    after shaking off the patrol team, gold, who was driving the cart, laughed and said to winters, "my lord, that guy has quite an eye, spotting you as soldier material instantly."


    winters managed a wry smile and waved his hand, "that almost got us trapped into conscription... thanks to you. never mind that now, continue teaching me the islanders'' dialect..."


    winters led the caravan onwards, the oxen pulling the carts maintaining a slow pace. from early morning until evening, they were finally close to reaching red sulfur harbor. along the way, they encountered only one patrol team and the occasional passerby.


    at the last fork in the road leading to red sulfur harbor, the caravan turned onto a small path that did not lead to the harbor, driving until they reached a secluded spot.


    winters had modified these large carts, adding secret compartments beneath the carriage that were high enough to fit an adult lying flat. from the outside, the carts appeared to be simple transport vehicles, and unless all the sacks of wheat were unloaded, no abnormalities could be detected.


    and beneath these compartments hid the men of hongsong manor¡ªherders.


    after positioning lookouts, winters led the remaining venetian soldiers to start unloading the carts immediately.


    the herder men, who had been suffering in the hot and pitch-black compartment for almost a day, were pale and could hardly stand upright.


    yet they uttered no complaints, just helped each other down from the wagons and silently went to find a place to relieve themselves.


    "have we arrived?" hestas asked winters, gasping for air. he had come along too; there was no helping it since among the herders, only he knew the common tongue.


    staying in such a cramped space, with no room to even turn around for a whole day, would be unbearable even for a middle-aged man, let alone hestas, a man in his sixties.


    "not yet, we have to walk the remaining distance." winters handed his water flask to hestas, using a respectful tone for the first time, "elder, are you all right?"


    "i''m fine." the old shaman was in poor condition, yet he laughed as if nothing was amiss, "it''s much easier than riding a horse."


    inside the carts, not only were people hidden, but weapons as well.


    after counting the numbers and distributing weapons, the venetians and herders cooperatively reloaded the grain back onto the carts.


    bard led some of the men to drive the carts to a concealed location for hiding.


    winters and andre penetrated the dense forest with another group.


    their target¡ªthe two forts that stood at the throat of the red sulfur harbor bay.


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    in the early hours of the morning.


    cloudless.


    full moon.


    along the coast of red sulfur harbor bay.


    the bright moonlight scattered over the surface of the water and the coastline, exposing anyone and anything attempting to hide.


    a soldier of the tanilia federation, dain, was stationed on the coastal watchpost, his eyelids constantly fighting a battle to stay open.


    above the sea, an iron chain as thick as a man''s arm spanned from east to west, setting up an impassable barrier at the throat of the bay.


    any ships that attempted to force their way through this barrier would shatter their hulls and sink.


    this was a man-made natural hazard, a wall upon the sea.


    and the weakest spot of this formidable obstruction was not the chain itself, but where it was anchored.


    the tanilia residents had foreseen this and extended the chain from the forts on the shore, where a winch in the fort could raise and lower it, and the other end was a bastion.


    both ends were guarded by the most trusted troops of the council, and in the event of an alarm, red sulfur harbor could send rapid reinforcement.


    to sentry dain, this was just another commonplace day of the siege.


    with the harbor''s entrance firmly secured by two forts and two chains, the venetians couldn''t get in.


    the venetian warships patrolled outside the bay, preventing ships from red sulfur harbor from getting out.


    this was a sea blockade; those outside wished to break in, and those inside wished to break out, yet neither side could fulfil their desires.


    the venetians concentrated their main force on the northern coast, while red sulfur harbor''s council matched them in a standoff there.


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 Chapter 85 Iron Melting Technique_2

    in dain''s view, his job as a night watch might be boring, but it was safe. even if the enemy were to attempt a forced landing, they would only attack from the northern coast. only if the venetians had lost their minds would they attack the impregnable red sulfur bay.at this moment, dain was just hoping that the next shift would come quickly to relieve him, as he was unbearably sleepy.


    as he was about to doze off to the sound of the waves, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind him, and the groggy dain asked loudly, "who''s there?"


    "relief for the watch."


    "hey, what time is it now? why are you so late?"


    the newcomer did not answer, only approaching closer.


    when they were only six or seven steps away, dain finally saw the other''s face smudged with black, and he exclaimed in surprise, "you..."


    before he could finish speaking, the person raised their hand, and a flash of cold light passed, a steel spike pierced dain''s eye and protruded from the back of his skull.


    the one who had thrown the steel spike was none other than winters.


    having hit his mark with one throw, winters did not stop there but used the arrow flying spell to continue to shoot the other two steel spikes he held towards the sentry.


    now he was not concerned with conserving magical power, so he shot all three spikes in one go to ensure the kill.


    after three sounds of bones being shattered, the veteran of the tanilia federation didn''t even manage to cry out, only let out a stifled "uh" before slumping down softly.


    winters rushed over and caught the body.


    after disposing of the sentry, he picked up two stones and tapped them against each other in a pattern of three short and one long, twice.


    upon hearing the signal, the other venetians emerged from the shadows of the distant thicket and scurried low to the ground towards winters.


    language barriers with the herders made it impossible for them to execute any complex tactical commands.


    so winters simply split the team into two groups: he and bard, along with the venetians, would stealthily eliminate the enemy sentries along the coast, while andre and hestas, together with the rest of the herders, would deal with the patrol team.


    if the surprise attack turned into a frontal assault, then the herders would be responsible for blocking reinforcements coming from the bastions.


    "did you bring my gear? my gear, give me my gear." the tension and excitement almost made winters speak incoherently.


    when the sentry had questioned him, winters had almost thought the surprise attack had failed. the moonlight was too bright tonight, offering no place to hide, yet his plan had to be executed on the night of a full moon.


    he had never expected that the few phrases of tanilian he had hastily learned would actually be useful. s§×arch* the nov§×lf~ire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "your gear is right here with me, right here, don''t worry," bard said with a smile, swiftly removing the standard spellcaster''s kit he was carrying.


    bard himself had not expected that taking out the sentry would go so smoothly. no one could have imagined that a tanilian covert scout would actually change shifts, revealing the location of the coast''s watch positions with one change of guard.


    winters immediately took the kit, opened one layer of padding after another, and carefully extracted silver, black, and white powders, each contained in a glass vial.


    these were the key elements for tonight''s operation and the reason the plan was feasible.


    winters knew what the black powder was¡ªthe alchemists called it copper essence, obtained by grinding and refining pure copper.


    the silver and white powders were also products of alchemy; the alchemists named the white powder as a combustion aid, while the silver metal was expensive and rare, known to alchemists as activated metal, also known as¡ªaluminum.


    the tanilians had set up sentries along the coast to prevent the venetians from landing by boat at night, but this sentry position was right next to the iron chains, which was why winters had to take out this sentry.


    tonight, winters would destroy these two artificial obstacles, the sea-blocking iron chains.


    winters first mixed the aluminum powder with the copper essence powder and then started stirring.


    both the fresh recruits and veterans of veneta watched with awe as montaigne warrant officer mixed the spellcasting materials; they all knew that this officer was a legendary mage, and in their eyes, magic was no different from witchcraft.


    the iron chains that blockaded red sulfur bay were made up of iron rings as thick as an arm, some of which lay on the shore. winters intended to destroy the iron rings on the shore.


    first, he took out a small iron plate prepared earlier, roughly forming an iron box with the plate and isolated a short middle section of the shoreline iron ring.


    then he poured nearly two kilograms of spellcasting materials into the iron box, burying the isolated section of the iron ring with spellcasting materials. lastly, winters added the combustion aid.


    "the canvas!" winters ordered in a low voice.


    the soldiers beside him immediately propped up the canvas they had prepared in advance, shielding winters thoroughly.


    "listen well, no matter what happens, never retreat," winters repeated the order he had issued before the action because he knew the terrifying prowess of the spell, "don''t be afraid, there''s nothing to fear."


    then he took a deep breath, held his breath, and entered the spellcasting state.


    the spell he was about to use was one of the most powerful in the fire-based magic arsenal, the iron melting technique.


    fire-based spells rely heavily on spellcasting materials; the caster''s own power is like a source of fire, with the spell materials acting as fuel. the more spell materials there are, the greater the power of the spell.


    originally, the iron melting technique was just one of the basic spells for the composite spell "melting flow technique," and no spellcasters thought this technique had any other use. but winters realized that with enough spellcasting materials, the iron melting technique could burn through anything.


    [melting flow technique: a composite spell consisting of the iron melting technique and the arrow flying spell, with the effect of shooting out a stream of molten metal.]


    winters had never had the luxury of using two kilograms of spellcasting materials in one go to cast the iron melting technique. he had no idea what kind of quantitative effect so much material would produce.


    but there was no turning back now. gritting his teeth, he poured all of his magic into the accelerant.


    the spell required extremely high explosive force, outputting a sufficient amount of energy in an instant to activate the iron melting technique.


    it was only a second, yet winters felt as if he had been drained of his essence.


    a hissing sound began in the iron box, and winters knew he had succeeded. he quickly took a few steps back, retreating behind the canvas.


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    at first, there was just a hissing noise, followed by a glimmer of fire.


    in the blink of an eye, a light burst forth from the iron box, a searing brilliance too intense for human eyes. never had the sun itself emitted such scorching light.


    sparks flew in all directions as if thor''s hammer had struck the anvil.


    the burning was so intense that it made a "whoosh" sound.


    even behind the canvas, every venetian could feel the scorching heat. the high-temperature sparks pierced the canvas, creating numerous holes.


    winters felt fortunate to have prepared the canvas to block the light; the mere intensity of the iron melting technique would have sufficed to draw the attention of the enemy within the battery.


    however, even the thickest canvas could not hide the dazzling light, which shone through the canvas. winters could only hope that no one in the battery noticed the commotion on the coast.


    fortunately, although the iron melting technique was fierce, it lasted only a brief moment.


    after a mere dozen seconds, the light rapidly diminished, dwindled, and died out.


    as soon as the light disappeared, winters ignored the scorching air, swiftly picked up the crowbar, pushed aside the canvas, and took a few steps toward the iron box.


    now there was no iron box to speak of. the entire iron box, the middle section of the iron hoop, and the spellcasting materials had all turned into a magma-like viscous liquid.


    at this moment, the iron hoop, having been softened by heat, had lost its original properties and could no longer withstand the heavy force exerted by the weight of the iron chains. it was visibly being stretched bit by bit.


    "don''t just stand there holding the canvas!" seeing that the crowbar was now of no use, winters turned his head, lowered his voice, and urged sternly, "saws!"


    bard, who had prepared the saw in advance, also stepped inside the canvas tent. no extra words were needed; the two understood each other perfectly well.


    winters and bard each took hold of one side of the large crosscut saw, typically used for sawing wood, and placed it atop the iron hoop.


    once, twice, three times.


    after a few back-and-forths, the softened mid-section of the iron hoop was completely sawn through by the two of them.


    that is the most interesting aspect of chain structure; breaking just one link can destroy the whole chain.


    the previously balanced force structure of the sea-blocking iron chain was disrupted, and the chain began to plummet toward the seabed. as the chain itself was massive, the weight of it pulling downward made the chains on the east bank of red sulfur bay slide into the sea like an escaping serpent.


    winters and bard exchanged excited glances, elation unmistakable on their faces. the venetian soldiers looked at their centurion with awe.


    they had succeeded! one of the sea-blocking iron chains had been destroyed!


    "don''t just stand there gawking," winters looked around at his subordinates, "follow me, there''s another chain up ahead!"

 Chapter 209 86th Chapter: Earthen Fortresses

    the artillery emplacement at the entrance of red sulfur bay was situated on the west coast of the bay, with a small fortification located across the water on the east bank.the two ends of the sea chain that blocked the entrance to red sulfur bay were anchored at the emplacement and the fortification, respectively.


    the structure of the fortification was very simple; it was essentially a square shape roughly enclosed by walls packed with earth on all four sides. the base of the square fortification was over a dozen meters wide, and the walls stood just over six meters tall, roughly the height of a two-story building.


    in the defense systems of the old era, this fortification wouldn''t even be considered significant, being nothing more than walls of earth. it wasn''t steep enough, nor tall enough, and didn''t even have loopholes for shooting on the parapet.


    in the new era''s defense systems, such structures with blind spots, lacking artillery, and purely relying on height for defense, had become obsolete.


    however, for winters''s group of light infantry who lacked siege equipment, this fortification was still a hard bone to chew on.


    atop the fortification, the tanilian sentries were also dozing off. to prevent the enemy from approaching stealthily through the forest, trees within thirty meters of the fortification had been cleared long ago. under the bright moonlight, nothing could hide.


    for the tanilians defending the fortification, the excitement and tension from the day''s ambush of the venetians had long since dissipated, leaving them with nothing but the wearying duties of standing guard, standing guard, and standing guard.


    suddenly, a few dull sounds rang out, waking the half-asleep sentry with a start. he shivered, held his breath, and listened, then heard a few more thumps.


    this time, he was sure it wasn''t his imagination¡ªthe noises were coming from right beneath his feet, neither too close nor too far.


    the sentry drew his sword and tread lightly to the edge of the parapet, carefully peering down below.


    no sooner had he stuck his head out than a pitch-black hand suddenly reached over from outside the wall, grabbed his collar, and in the next moment, the sentry felt a great force at his neck, dragging him over the wall.


    the sentry screamed as he was thrown from the high wall, head over heels, breaking his neck upon impact, and died.


    immediately after, two herders, with shaved heads, stripped bare, and smeared from head to toe in ash and black mud appeared atop the parapet. to conceal themselves in the darkness, they carried nothing reflective on their bodies, even their only short knives were blackened to a dull finish.


    winters, with the remainder of his men, lay in wait at the edge of the forest, watching the movements of the two herders. these two were brave warriors handpicked by hestas from all the herders for their exceptional climbing skills.


    no venetian could climb a six-meter wall with bare hands, not even one of packed earth. but the only way for the remaining crippled soldiers and slaves to breach the fortification without siege weapons was to send someone in to open the fort gates.


    winters silently watched as the two ghostly herders approached the fortification unnoticed and began to climb. at that moment, even winters, the atheist, suddenly felt an urge to pray.


    but he still heard the sound he least wanted to¡ªhear a scream followed by a thud. he didn''t know whether it was a herder or a tanilian who had made the noise, as the two herders had already vanished from winters''s sight.


    "we''ve been spotted, switch to the backup plan!" the scream in the silent night, clearly audible even from over thirty meters away to winters, was surely even clearer to the garrison inside the fort. seeing that the stealth attack had failed, winters immediately ordered, "follow me, even if we die here, we must destroy this chain!"


    as soon as he finished speaking, winters burst out of the crowd, with the spellcasters carrying tools, and strode towards the shore. the others, after a moment of hesitation, also rushed out of the woods.


    everyone started running at full speed, turning the night attack into a frontal assault, foregoing the need for stealth. explore new worlds at empire


    the fortification was located on elevated ground by the shore, with the end of the chain secured inside the fortification, extending from holes in the wall all the way to the surface of the water.


    unlike the artillery emplacement in the middle of the bay, this fortification was less than ten meters from the sea; the shore-end of the chain was entirely within range of the fort''s projectile weapons. attempting to sabotage the chain under the eyes of the garrison and go undetected was an impossible task.


    but since the plan to seize the fortification had failed, they had no choice but to press on hard. sea??h th§× n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    then, against all expectations, a sliver of light appeared at the fort''s gate, growing wider as the gate slowly began to open.


    when winters saw a gap form in the gate, he didn''t have time to think; he waved his hand and shouted, "take the gate!"


    the gate creaked open less than a meter, those inside shouting in alarm as they tried to close it again, but it seemed to be stuck on something.


    the distance of thirty meters was covered in strides, and with his battle sword drawn, winters roared and leaped through the gap between the two wooden doors of the fort.


    inside were six or seven tanilian soldiers who were startled by the shadow that darted in. but winters, experienced with numerous life-and-death fights, viciously cut down the enemies around him without giving them a moment to react.


    it was only when winters nearly cleaved a tanilian in two that the soldiers realized what was happening.


    they yelled and lunged at winters with their knives and spears. winters was about to parry with his sword, but his scimitar had become lodged in the bones of a corpse, and he couldn''t pull it free.


    the winters of now was no longer the naive young man fresh out of military academy; he had been forged in iron and blood.


    realizing his scimitar was stuck, winters didn''t hesitate to drop the sword and back away. he also discarded any distracting thoughts and entered a spellcasting state.

 Chapter 86 Dunpu_2

    the next moment, a tanilian soldier''s powder keg suddenly exploded. the force of the explosion did not only blow a large hole in the waist of the soldier carrying the keg, but also injured the soldiers around him, and even winters was pushed against the gate by the blast wave.this was winters''s first original spell, an improvement on "axel''s hair burning spell." during the fight on the landing day, winters realized that if the fire spell could ignite the enemy''s hair, it could also detonate the gunpowder on their bodies. after several attempts, he found that the spell was unexpectedly effective.


    an entire keg of gunpowder detonated in the narrow gate, like a bomb was thrown in. the interior filled with gun smoke, and blood, flesh, and intestinal content splattered on the walls and ground, with those not yet dead screaming in horror.


    the explosive blast hit winters in the chest like a sledgehammer, making his chest feel stuffy. but he struggled to stand up, spat out a chunk of flesh that had flown into his mouth, picked up a spear from beside him, and stepped back into the smoke.


    it wasn''t until that moment that the other venetians and herders caught up with winters. the vineta soldiers and hurd slaves who broke into the blockhouse gate trembled at the sight of the gruesome scene, with nobody daring to step into this corridor of blood and flesh.


    "fuck! what are you staring at? kill!" bard came to his senses, cursing extraordinarily, and ran into the blockhouse with a curved knife.


    with an officer leading, the others also mustered their courage and charged into the interior of the blockhouse, shouting.


    the blockhouse only had a dozen or so defenders, and winters had killed half of them at the entrance; the remaining defenders lost the will to fight and hid shivering in concealed, dark corners, but they were all eventually found by winters''s men.


    the tanilian soldiers who were still alive were dragged out from cabinets, baskets, and storerooms and pushed into the open space in the center of the blockhouse. some cried and begged, while others closed their eyes and began to pray.


    both vineta soldiers and herders surrounded the prisoners.


    "we have no one to guard them, kill them all," winters ordered the execution of the prisoners impassively, as he found a clean towel to wipe the blood off his face.


    the herders could not understand what winters was saying, and the vineta soldiers were at a loss.


    seeing this, winters said nothing else, snatched a spear and stepped next to the prisoners, grinding his teeth and saying, "this is for my soldiers nailed to stakes... i haven''t forgotten a single one."


    after he spoke, he swiftly and cleanly stabbed a prisoner to death.


    the other prisoners scrambled to flee, only to be pushed back by the venetians and herders nearby.


    bard, also expressionless, grabbed a prisoner''s hair and drove the curved knife into his collarbone, executing a prisoner.


    once the two officers took the lead, the other soldiers clenched their teeth and acted against the remaining prisoners, and none of the tanilian people inside the blockhouse were left alive.


    "two of our men are injured but not dead. no herders died... except for those two," bard and winters reported the casualty situation: "one of them fought to the death to open the door, and the other destroyed the warning bell... had it not been for them, we''d likely be getting shot at on the coast right now."


    winters turned his back to bard, said nothing, and started loading a matchlock gun found in the blockhouse.


    "time is running short, you''d better get to the beach with the signal flares. leave the rest to me," winters said without turning his head, "if we both go down, who will deliver the message to the legate? go now."


    bard sighed, but didn''t leave.


    winters sighed too, put down the firelock, turned around, and said helplessly, "i know killing prisoners isn''t good, but if given another chance, i''d do the same."


    "i''m not opposed to executing the prisoners, after all, we truly have no spare people to guard them," bard sincerely said, "i just hope you won''t obsess over revenge, and you shouldn''t blame yourself for the decimation of the century team."


    winters remained silent.


    bard stood at attention and gave a military salute, winters also stood up and returned the salute solemnly, then bard turned and left.


    bard led two vineta soldiers away from the blockhouse and headed towards the southern beach.


    winters used up the remaining material for the iron melting technique in one go, and the chain across the entrance of the bay was cut on the east bank and sank to the seabed.


    winters saw the brave hurd who fought to the death to open the gate. he finally understood why the tanilian couldn''t close the door, as the herders had jammed the door hinge with his body.


    his tribesmen retrieved his body and laid it flat on the ground. there were three knife wounds in his abdomen, and half of his body was almost crushed.


    winters saluted the body of the fallen herder, and the soldiers of vineta did the same.


    "do not grieve for him, for he''s already waiting for us by the styx," said hestas calmly. "he departed as a free man to the styx, and we will join him as free men."


    the old shaman squatted beside the body, placing a silver coin into the palm of the deceased, and began to sing the herder''s song to calm the soul.


    amidst the herder''s quiet chorus, winters led the remaining soldiers and herders away from the bunker, advancing toward the artillery fort in the middle of the bay.


    an ambush a few days earlier, though it had failed to completely destroy the vineta''s avenging fleet, had brought an unexpected bounty.


    one seafaring strategy involved blocking enemy harbors by scuttling ships, trapping the enemy''s fleet inside.


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    such a blockade prevents ships inside the harbor from getting out, but also stops outside ships from getting in.


    three sunken vineta warships lay across the channel into the bay, creating a swath of artificial reefs. even without the chain blockades, ships passing through these reefs could smash their hulls, and even capsize or sink.


    for this very reason, the council of red sulfur island believed red sulfur bay to be as impregnable as a fortress. even without the two chain blockades, the sunken ships and the pair of artillery forts were deemed sufficient to repel the venetians.


    if the venetians stubbornly forced their way in and more of their warships were sunk, they would only serve to completely block the bay.


    however, tonight was unlike any other.


    a near full moon hung in the sky, hindering winters'' surprise attack. but it would compensate the venetians in its own way.


    tonight was the seventeenth of the lunar month, the time of the spring tides!


    since nightfall, the tides within red sulfur bay began to surge and rise. according to bard''s calculations, the tide would reach its monthly peak between one and two o''clock.


    by then, even the sunken ship reefs could not obstruct the vineta fleet''s warships. once the two iron chains were destroyed, the vineta fleet would drive straight through, heading for red sulfur harbor.


    kalman claimed he could smuggle winters off red sulfur island, using a secret smuggling route known to traffickers, taking two people at a time.


    but kalman told winters only to undermine the unity of the venetians from within. he didn''t expect winters to use this smuggling route to establish contact with the vineta fleet.


    once the fleet at sea, poised and ready, received bard''s signal, they would immediately rush into red sulfur bay.


    winters could now find a safe place to hide, waiting for the vineta army to conquer red sulfur harbor and return. his mission was already complete; in the original plan, he just needed to destroy the two chains.


    but he understood there was still one thing he could do¡ªdestroy the cannons in the east bank''s artillery fort.


    the defenses of red sulfur bay consisted of two artillery forts; the west bank fort guarded the entrance to the bay, while the east bank fort covered the middle section.


    the west bank fort was beyond his reach, but if he could destroy the east bank fort, many venetians would be spared.


    winters himself didn''t know what was driving him. it wasn''t for military honors or a sense of glory; this war had no honor for him.


    after much thought, the only reason he could convince himself was, "if those cannons can be destroyed, many venetians will be spared."


    perhaps he just couldn''t bear to see any more venetian corpses. s~ea??h the n?vel(f)ire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "our target is the artillery fort on the east bank," announced winters montaigne, warrant centurion and acting commander of the first century, rallying the last of his soldiers: "we are outnumbered, and our only hope for victory is a fierce and swift assault. before the enemy can react, we''ll storm in, destroy the cannons, and immediately withdraw."


    "you have already done so much for vineta, but we must fight for vineta one more time." he looked over the soldiers who had followed him in sneaking around red sulfur island. under the bright moonlight, everyone''s eyes shone brightly. without further ado, he drew his saber: "follow me!"


    ahead lay the artillery fort of red sulfur island.

 Chapter 89 Forcible Attack

    although it was a frontal assault, a frontal assault did not mean recklessly charging head-on.before attacking the bastion, winters arranged for soldiers to return to the watch post beside the bastion, lighting torches to signal for reinforcement from the bastion.


    those remaining were ambushed between the bastion and the watch post, ready to ambush the defending troops coming out of the bastion at the right moment to seize the gate.


    on this continent, no one understood siege tactics better than officers who graduated from the senas army officers academy, for it was in siege after siege during the sovereign wars that the elite forces of the empire were decimated by the senas allied forces.


    thus, siege warfare was the most important subject at the military academy. with the assistance of fortress works, even the most cowardly and weak civilians could replace three elite enemies.


    for this reason, in winters'' view, attacking the enemy within a fortified bastion was the worst of the worst strategies, and even if a frontal assault was sometimes inevitable, it was best to lure the enemy out of the bastion and fight on open ground.


    the sentries on the bastion saw the waving torches of the coastal watch post but had not yet noticed that the chains had been cut.


    after several shouts went unanswered by the coastal watch post, the commander of the bastion decided to send a few men to see what was happening.


    after a bout of commotion, the bastion''s gates swung open, and five soldiers walked out with their torches. s~ea??h the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    as they were still about a dozen meters from the coast, the herders hidden in the grassy mud by the path pounced on them, while winters, who was closer to the bastion, led the venetian soldiers towards the bastion''s gates.


    the five tanilian soldiers were suddenly ambushed and overrun before they even had a chance to flee.


    the bastion commander saw from atop the wall that the soldiers he had sent out had been killed by men crawling out of the bushes and an indeterminate number of other men were rushing towards the bastion.


    he immediately realized what was happening and urgently ordered the soldiers downstairs to close the gate.


    this makeshift bastion had no moats, and when the venetians reached the gate, the gap between the two doors was less than a finger''s breadth wide. a venetian soldier, quick of hand and eye, thrust his spear through the gap in the doors.


    the hardwood spear shaft groaned under the pressure of the doors, but it did not break. at this point, a few other venetian soldiers with spears inserted their weapons through the gap as well, effectively jamming the doors shut.


    the bastion''s doors opened outward while the bastion''s doors opened inward. the tanilians inside pushed outwards with all their might, while the venetians outside pushed back just as desperately.


    a few long knives stabbed through the gap at those outside. the venetian soldier closest to the gap was struck by four blades in the arm, ribs, and thigh, screaming as he staggered back two steps and collapsed to the ground.


    the tanilians inside continued to thrust outwards. one knife was extended too far, and the hand holding it was also exposed. a venetian soldier armed with a hatchet, who was responsible for breaching the gate, viciously chopped down, severing the knife-wielding hand at the wrist.


    both sides switched to longer weapons, jabbing each other through the gap less than a finger''s width wide, and commenced a clumsy, comical, yet incredibly bloody and brutal fight.


    as soon as the tanilian commander within the bastion saw someone attempting to take the gate, he immediately ordered the alarm bell to be rung.


    the alarm bell rang desperately, and three pyres were lit atop the bastion - the agreed-upon signal for reinforcements.


    hearing the alarm bell, winters realized there wasn''t much time left; the enemy from red sulfur harbor would soon be aiding their allies. frantically and furiously, he shouted, "where''s the gunpowder? where are the men with the gunpowder?"


    "it''s coming, sir, it''s coming," gasped the soldier tasked with carrying the gunpowder, who had fallen behind during the initial rush.


    the herders who had dealt with the enemy also arrived at the gates of the bastion and, seeing the standoff, several brave herders began climbing the earthen walls with short knives in their mouths.


    the defending troops inside the bastion had also regained their composure after the surprise attack and began using long-range weapons to kill the venetians outside the wall.


    the venetians, armed with matchlock guns and bows and arrows, began to retaliate, while the herders broke off long spears seized from the blockhouse to use as javelins, hurling them at the enemy above.


    however, the attack was woefully ineffective from below, while the tanilians on the wall held the high ground advantage. with the distance too close, the fall of every bullet or twang of bowstrings meant someone outside the wall would plummet. melon-sized rocks thrown from the wall landed on the heads of venetians, who couldn''t dodge in time, smashing their skulls into their chests.


    grabbing a pot filled with gunpowder, winters plopped it by the door and stuck a fuse into it, yelling, "fall back."


    he then used a fire-starting technique to ignite the fuse. find more chapters on empire


    the gunpowder had been found in the blockhouse, but there were no sealed containers, only gunpowder; so, they had to make do with iron pots and kettles.


    seeing the fuse lit, everyone hastily scattered. a dull thud was heard when the fuse burned out by the door, completely lacking the effect of an explosion. on closer inspection, not just the door but even the iron pot remained undamaged.


    although winters had used a narrow-mouthed pot and had attempted to seal it with a makeshift wooden plug as best as possible, it was still not airtight. the method of igniting the fuse and the successive burning meant the gas from the burning gunpowder on the surface blew the powder underneath away, making a whole pot of gunpowder fizz like a firework, less powerful than even a blast from a gunpowder flask.


    enraged, winters abandoned the idea of blasting the gate and instead switched to a gunpowder sack tied with iron nails.


    the gunpowder sack, also part of the equipment of the blockhouse gunners, was not made from cow horns but sewn from leather to increase its lethal potential. winters wrapped several coils of iron nails around the outside of the gunpowder sack.

 Chapter 89 Strong Attack_2

    winters directly stuffed the soft pouch through the slits of the door; he no longer used a powder fuse but instead fully unleashed a fire ignition spell. s~ea??h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.unlike the layer-by-layer ignition of the powder fuse, the fire ignition spell acted directly on the entire bag of black gunpowder. the black powder, having absorbed a massive amount of energy, breached its energy barrier and exploded instantaneously.


    with a "boom," the powder pouch exploded violently, the iron nails bound to its exterior propelled by the burning gas of the gunpowder, shooting out in all directions.


    an iron nail shot through the slit in the door, carving a bloody furrow over winters'' head. and inside the door, the situation had to be even grimmer¡ªthe screams of agony coming through the slit were evidence, and the force pushing against the door from the inside drastically diminished.


    "on my command! all together, ram the door!"


    the venetians put all their strength into ramming the gate, and at last, the barricade door was breached.


    the tanilians on the wall realized that the barricade door had been broken through, and they shouted hoarsely.


    "centurion, you take two men and destroy the door hinges; the rest, follow me!" winters drew his combat knife and was the first to rush into the barricade.


    the venetian soldiers and herders, with their left arms exposed, charged into the barricade and would kill anyone they saw whose left arm was not bared.


    the corridor leading to the second level of the barricade was too narrow for any dodging. the men pushed against those in front of them, who had no place to escape but to thrust and parry blade for blade.


    not just the venetians and herders, but even the tanilians had gone red-eyed with killing frenzy. those at the very front screamed with inhuman howls as they stabbed toward the enemy or were stabbed down.


    as the men at the front fell, those behind immediately took their place.


    the soldiers of the ancient empire used phalanx tactics to constantly replace the front-line soldiers, but the soldiers nowaday no longer received such training.


    in this bloody melee, they could only fight to the death; and if the battle continued this way, everyone would perish. as the front line fell, one by one, the relatively safe rear ranks would become the new front.


    as the battle reached this stage, victory was no longer decided by tactics, but by willpower and numbers. it was a matter of who had thicker nerves, who could hold out for just one more minute. and if neither side feared death, it boiled down to which side had more men.


    however, in the corridor wide enough for only three men abreast, winters'' sword was already notched and when he struck an enemy it felt like swinging a metal club.


    he had acquired multiple cuts on his limbs, and if not for the instincts honed by years of swordsmanship, he would have been dead already.


    winters was becoming numb. he was no longer excited, no longer tense, not even afraid anymore. he just mechanically parried the oncoming weapons and counterattacked towards the enemy''s shoulders and necks.


    spellcaster, officer¡ªall these identities meant nothing. no officers were needed in this meat grinder, nor spellcasters, only flesh.


    this tiny corridor swallowed those who were alive and kicking, only to spit out mutilated corpses.


    winters did not know how many men he had cut down, but he could indeed feel they were making progress and that the enemy was gradually retreating.


    an enemy in front of him swung a club overhead at winters. mechanically, winters "blocked¡ªchopped."


    but the now-numb winters failed to notice that the "club" was not a club at all, but rather a flail.


    he blocked the "club," but the striking head, attached to a chain on the end of the club, swung around the blade and smashed half a circle before brutally striking winters on the head.


    stay tuned to empire


    winters only felt his consciousness suddenly go dim, his vision darkened, and for the first time during combat, he dropped his weapon.


    the tanilian wielding the flail was about to follow up on his advantage with another fierce blow to winters. however, the venetian soldiers and herders quickly protected winters, lifting the nearly unconscious winters to the rear of the corridor.


    half-dazed, winters heard the sound of a gong. he shook his head trying to clear his mind, but there was an indescribable severe pain inside his skull.


    his diaphragm squeezed his stomach, and he retched involuntarily a couple of times, but nothing came up.


    "is that a gong?" the pale-faced winters grabbed the soldier supporting him; he wasn''t sure if he was hallucinating and with effort asked the soldier, "do you hear the gong?"


    "officer, it''s a gong. you heard right; it''s a gong," the soldier replied.


    upon hearing the soldier''s answer, winters'' expression suddenly relaxed, he let out a breath as blood ran from the top of his head down to his chin, making his smile look somewhat fierce, "retreat! retreat now! lieutenant cherini has succeeded!"


    in the tactical courses at the military academy, private winters montagne had only learned four things: position the reserves on a reverse slope; if the front won''t break, flank from the sides; backup plans will eventually come into play; and¡ªbefore launching the real attack, make sure to feint in other directions.


    [at the military academy, cadets automatically obtain the rank of private upon enrollment.]


    there were at least a hundred enemy soldiers in the fortress, and winters had never imagined that he could break through the tanilians at the main entrance with his small band of thirty-odd crippled soldiers and makeshift slave troops.


    every attack at the main gate was a feint; the louder and fiercer, the better.


    after the battle at the main gate drew the attention of all the tanilians, andre cherini would lead four of the most capable venetian soldiers and herders from another direction into the fortress.


    forging a cannon is difficult, but destroying one is easy. andre came equipped with enough nails and hammers to seal the touchholes of every cannon on red sulfur island.

 Chapter 89 Assault_3

    the gong was the signal that andre had made it. experience exclusive tales on empirethe still-living venetian soldiers and herders carried winters and quickly withdrew from the artillery bastion. the enemy inside the bastion, uncertain of what was real, dared not pursue.


    leaning against a tree trunk, winters sat on the ground and silently counted the remaining men. there were only eleven of them left with him, and each of the survivors was injured.


    adding the three from bard''s side and the five from andre''s, tonight winters had lost twenty-three men under his command, half of his force.


    hestas, who had stayed behind at the assault position, was treating winters'' wounds. the old shaman first cleaned the wound, then washed it with warm salt water. finally, he began chanting in a strange tone.


    an amazing scene unfolded as the deep, bone-visible, bleeding wound on winters'' left shoulder began to slowly shrink. under the gaze of everyone present, this wound, over two and a half fingers in length, healed at a visible speed until it turned into a shallow red line.


    the still-living herders, disregarding their injuries, knelt to the ground and pressed their foreheads into the mud, also chanting ceaselessly.


    the venetians, whether they were catholics or protestants, were profoundly shaken upon witnessing the miracle of the healing wound.


    this was the divine art that could "revive the dead and mend broken bones," and the reason why the catholic church rose from a banned and persecuted heretic religion to replace the polytheistic religion of the ancient empire and become the state religion of the ancient empire.


    whoever witnessed such divine arts, how could they not bow down before the catholic altars?


    "old man, don''t waste the divine art on me," winters grabbed hestas'' hand. "go save the others."


    hestas nodded and moved on to treat the others.


    the herders, when their wounds were cleaned by the old shaman, felt immense pride and honor to have hestas himself treat them, an honor unmatched for the herders.


    the venetian soldiers, on the other hand, dreaded the "sorcery" of hestas, the heretic, and even those with severe injuries who had no choice but to receive divine healing, trembled as they recited the lord''s prayer and the rosary.


    the herders glared angrily at these reluctant venetians.


    "fucking exhilarating! i nailed all their damn gun ports shut! [andre''s poor vulgar language]! where did those tanis get such good cannons from? but they all got nailed by me!"


    winters heard andre''s coarse and breathless voice before he saw him.


    "after destroying so many cannons, won''t they have to grant us at least a one-kilogram medal? can they? huh..." andre''s tone was filled with excitement as he shouted boastfully about his achievement.


    in the vineta army regulations, nailing enemy cannons during combat was equivalent to capturing them; officers below the rank of colonel were promoted one rank, and soldiers were given money and land to retire as small landowners.


    however, upon seeing the miserable state of the venetians and herders who had been assigned to feint at the main gate, he could no longer laugh.


    andre walked over to winters, crouched down to look at the knife wounds and almost blood-soaked outer garments on winters, and said with a trembling voice, "brother... are you okay?"


    "i''m fine, they''re all minor wounds," replied winters with lipless pale smile, asking, "are the cannons taken care of?"


    "taken care of, nailed down dead," andre nodded, and after thinking for a moment, added, "the heavy cannons in the bastion were all thirty-two-pound bronze cannons with long barrels. the tani people shouldn''t have the ability to cast such large cannons. i really don''t know where they got them from."


    "it''s good they''re destroyed," winters'' last lingering worry dropped, and he said in a relaxed tone, "it doesn''t matter where they got the cannons from, let the higher-ups worry about that. we''ve done our job."


    then, another set of footsteps came from the south, as bard also returned to the designated rendezvous point with two other venetians.


    "how did it go? did you make contact?" winters saw bard return and anxiously tried to stand.


    "don''t move, don''t move, just sit there," bard quickly held winters down, speaking softly, "we made contact, our warships have set out."


    bard pointed in the direction of the bay, "look, they''re already here." s§×arch* the ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the sound of the cannon fire came faintly from the direction of the entrance to the bay, and behind the hazy trees, warships entered red sulfur bay one after another.


    the venetian soldiers shouted and yelled with excitement.


    the herders, realizing they were about to go home, teared up with emotion as well, hugging each other and weeping openly.


    winters, bard, and andre also exchanged smiles with a sense of relief.


    ...


    ...


    then came the sound of cannons again, and this time it was heavy artillery, the thunderous boom of which made the leaves tremble.


    winters'' expression became panicked... something was wrong... the direction was wrong... the cannon fire was not coming from the entrance of the bay, but from the second bastion at the waist of the bay, the very one they had just attacked.


    winters and bard widened their eyes at andre.


    andre was almost in tears with anxiety, "i... i... i fucking nailed shut all the damn gun ports!"

 Chapter 88 Destroying

    with the iron chains blocking the sea now gone, venetian warships charged into red sulfur bay, their murderous intent palpable as they headed for the docks.in the moonlight, one after another, the warships, bearing torches, resembled a long dragon within the bay.


    these warships were not the "big fellows" from the revenge fleet; they were all fustas.


    [note: fusta refers to a light galleon with a complete deck, manned by only around thirty rowers. gold''s good fortune was such a ship. these light galleons might be small, but they had a shallow draft and were highly maneuverable.]


    the vanguard warships had already breached the docks, where venetians were engaged in fierce combat with the harbor''s defenders. the direction of red sulfur harbor echoed with the roaring of guns, shouts of killing, and the surrounding docks were ablaze with fire.


    in the middle of the bay, two fustas below the waterline were blasted open by heavy artillery from the battery, sea water churning as it poured in and the warships spiraled down while sinking.


    to prevent the sunken ships from blocking the channel, nearby warships threw out hooks and ropes, striving to drag the sinking vessels away. other warships veered around the wrecks and raced toward red sulfur harbor at full speed.


    both attackers and defenders knew the outcome of the battle depended on speed, on how quickly the venetians could land their troops.


    while the venetian ships were frantically clearing the channel, the heavy artillery in the battery continued its relentless bombardment, and cannonballs, one after another, created plumes of spray around the venetian warships.


    another venetian warship sank, crewmembers scattering in all directions to abandon ship. the warships that followed didn''t even stop to rescue those in the water, sometimes sailing directly over their heads.


    the survivors among winters''s men, watching from the shore, felt a deep agony not just for the venetians but even the herders felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on their chests, suffocating them.


    so many had died assaulting the battery, yet the heavy artillery within was left unharmed, still firing one lethal cannonball after another.


    what was the fierce fighting for? what did those sacrifices amount to? did they die in vain?


    andre''s face was ashen as he shivered, muttering curses under his breath.


    a sense of despair, depression, and bleakness spread among those who were still alive.


    what to do?


    everyone looked to centurion montaigne for guidance.


    winters remained silent, staring fixedly in the direction of the battery and red sulfur harbor.


    finally, a young venetian soldier couldn''t hold back his tears and cried out.


    among sobs, winters turned to face everyone, his eyes wide, breathing heavily, and shouted fiercely, "saber!"


    his eyes were bloodshot, and he looked utterly terrifying.


    the crowd was stunned, unsure of what warrants officer montaigne intended to do.


    a gaunt figure with a missing tooth squeezed to the front, and gold stepped forward, presenting a curved sword to winters with both hands respectfully.


    only then did they understand that the centurion''s weapon was lost in the battery and montaigne was requesting a weapon.


    winters tore off the sling fixing his right arm, threw it to the ground, took the curved sword, and issued his command, word for word, "attack again!"


    "have you gone mad?" andre exclaimed in alarm, forgetting the presence of others, immediately objecting to winters, "there must be at least fifty people in that battery. we couldn''t breach it even with the advantage of a surprise attack, going again would be a death sentence, wouldn''t it?"


    "attack again." winters repeated firmly.


    "i understand how you feel, but we''ve done our best, we can''t just go and die, can we?" andre was frantic. he looked at bard, "bard, say something to him!" your next chapter awaits on empire


    "actually, i think..." bard narrowed his eyes, pondering, then said, "...we could attack once more."


    "xx! why can''t i make you two understand?" andre pounded his head with his fists in frustration.


    "look, red sulfur harbor is in chaos now. the reinforcements that left from the harbor are turning back. there are only the original defenders in the battery." winters pointed with the curved sword towards the turning torches outside the harbor and sneered, "the defenders in the battery know we are few and could only mount a sneak attack. they would never expect us to dare to return. additionally, a significant portion of the defenders who are still alive are manning the cannons. we might actually have the advantage for a surprise assault."


    andre seemed to understand the situation though his instinct was still to object, "but..."


    "centurion!" winters, however, didn''t give him a chance to speak further, shouting out loud.


    the venetians looked at each other; no one responded.


    "where are they?"


    "report, sir, the old sergeant died¡­ took a knife to the belly¡­" a venetian soldier replied softly.


    winters paused for a few seconds before asking again, "i ordered him to destroy the battery gate hinge. is the gate hinge destroyed?"


    "destroyed." the same soldier who had spoken before replied, "i was with the sergeant when we destroyed it." s~ea??h the n?vel_fire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "from now on, you are centurion." winters pointed at the speaking soldier, then addressed the rest, "are you afraid now?"


    the surviving venetian soldiers lowered their heads, no one speaking.


    "i''ll tell you! those tanyrians are more afraid!" winters declared fiercely, "their courage just now was nothing more than the advantage of numbers! and now they are afraid, they''re trembling while cleaning up the bodies! just recalling our bravery will make them shiver! the gate to the battery is broken, and this is our god-given opportunity! enter through the gate, kill anyone you see! catch them completely off guard!"

 Chapter 88 Destruction_2

    andre''s face turned from green to red, and with gritted teeth, he made up his mind and shouted, "do it! kill those tanilian bastards! slaughter them all!""after we charge in, we need to make a lot of noise, make our voices heard," bard added. "even though there are only a dozen or so of us, we must appear like a squad of a hundred men."


    "old man, your herder people have kept their promise, you don''t have to follow us," winters earnestly said to hestas. "but i hope you can help us this one time, we will be forever grateful, as will vineta."


    including three officers, the venetians only had eight men left, and they needed the strength of the herders no matter what.


    "our pact was that we entrust our lives to you for the safety of our women and children back home," hestas laughed heartily, also picking up a scimitar. "to get our women and children safely to our homeland. as for our lives, you can use them however you like."


    "thank you," winters said, nodding in gratitude, then he looked towards the venetian soldiers, "how about you? are you willing to fight one more battle with me?"


    "sir! wherever you lead us, we will follow!" gold was the first to cry out, and the other venetian soldiers also agreed in unison.


    "after this battle, i''ll find you a good place. you won''t need to fight any more battles in this war."


    ...


    with the roaring of the cannons as cover, winters and his dozen men stealthily approached the battery.


    with the exception of hestas, all were lightly wounded. there were no severely injured men; those who were severely injured had died in the battery.


    "old man, you don''t have to risk your life with us," winters whispered to the lean old shaman.


    "what? you doubt my capabilities?" hestas coughed twice and mumbled, "i was fighting in battles before you were even born!"


    the group crawled to the nearest cover from which they could approach without being seen; any further crawling would expose them on the cleared land around the battery, with no place to hide.


    hestas grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, lifted it to the height of his forehead, and, in a special guttural tone, he began chanting like he was using "healing arts," slowly opening his hand.


    as the dirt from hestas''s hand gradually fell back to the ground, winters felt his fatigue and fear fade away. he felt fearless and was filled with a furious excitement.


    he glanced at hestas in amazement; could the divine arts work even on a non-believer?


    under the influence of hestas''s shamanic magic, even the most cowardly among the group radiated boundless courage. your next journey awaits at empire


    winters realized that the time was now. he let out a great shout, raising his sailor''s cutlass and leading the charge towards the battery.


    the two doors of the battery opposite each other and their connection to the wall had been destroyed, laying haphazardly on the ground. three tanilian soldiers were busy trying to repair the gate with tools.


    one of the tanilian soldiers moving the wooden door heard footsteps and turned his head to see a line of figures dashing out from the bushes.


    the tanilian soldier was first stunned, then frantically screamed a warning.


    but within the short distance of a dozen meters, winters had nearly reached them in the blink of an eye.


    the three tanilians trying to repair the gate turned to flee inside the battery; in his urgency, winters hurled his cutlass like a throwing ax at them.


    the spinning cutlass pierced through the back of one of the tanilians, pinning him to the ground.


    the other two tanilians screamed as they ran into the battery.


    winters strode to the door, pulling the cutlass out of the tanilian lying on the ground.


    the tanilian impaled by the cutlass was not yet dead, moaning in pain, clutching the dirt with his hands and spitting blood bubbles from his mouth.


    winters bit his lip and delivered a mercy stroke to the tanilian.


    "don''t scatter! first, find the powder magazine! let the enemy run if they want to, but kill anyone who resists!" after speaking, winters was the first to charge into the battery, "kill!"


    the venetians and herders, yelling their battle cries, followed winters into the battery.


    the corridor, which had just seen bloody combat, was strewn with bodies from both venetians and tanilians, all unremoved.


    the tens of meters long corridor was horrific, filled with corpses from both sides, leaving no room for foot placement, only allowing passage by stepping on the bodies.


    winters remembered what colonel field had said, "the powder magazine is always as far from the cannons as possible."


    he led everyone in the opposite direction from the gun positions, attacking fiercely.


    the tanilians inside the battery were caught off guard; they had never imagined such a small group of enemies could be so fiercely aggressive, daring to launch a counterattack.


    in their panic, the battery''s garrison was unable to organize an effective resistance and were overrun by winters'' assault into the eastern building.


    "find the powder magazine!" winters ordered loudly, searching each storeroom.


    however, at that moment, a disciplined group of guards collided with the attackers head-on.


    when the battery commander learned the enemy had broken into the eastern building, he immediately realized their target was the powder magazine. he swiftly organized the nearby garrison to intercept them.


    "don''t let them near the powder magazine!" the battery commander drew his command saber, "exterminate them!"


    this group of guards was armed with two and a half meter-long spears. though spears were cumbersome in the narrow corridor, the walls protected the flanks of the spear formation, making it an unstoppable force from the front.


    s§×ar?h the ¦Çovelfire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 88 Destruction_3

    in this situation, much like two rats fighting in a sand burrow, there wasn''t much to say¡ªthe fiercer one would win.two herders immediately hurled their javelins. in the narrow corridor, there was almost no room to dodge. propelled by the muscular strength of the herders, the javelins pierced through human bodies as easily as a hot knife through butter.


    yet when one tanilian fell, another immediately took his place, with spear points like a forest advancing towards the venetians and herders.


    seeing reinforcements arrive, winters understood he had found the right spot. he shot a steel spike at the enemy commander, which missed the head and hit the chest, but made a crisp sound¡ªthe target was wearing armor.


    the spears advanced, and there was simply no room to wield short weapons. the venetians and herders were forced to retreat.


    if they retreated any further, there would be nowhere to go. winters grabbed a barrel lid close by and squeezed to the very front. with clenched teeth, he used the barrel lid to deflect spear points upwards, charging forward towards the enemy amid the forest of spears.


    in the violent melee of long spears, soldiers would sometimes crawl under the shafts to reach the dead angles of the long weapons and attack the enemy¡ªthis kind of battle was known as "rat warfare." s§×arch* the novelfire.net* website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    what winters did was exactly that; although the long spears left several wounds on his body, he finally managed to barge below them.


    without hesitation, he thrust his curved blade fiercely into the enemy''s soft belly. the long spear men, taken by surprise, hurriedly dropped their spears and drew daggers to defend themselves.


    but once the spear formation broke, the other venetian and herder soldiers immediately charged in.


    the scene was extremely chaotic and bloody, with people in the back pushing those in the front, the latter squeezed tightly like in a vice, with even no space to swing their weapons.


    pressed from above, winters could not tell who or how many were in front of him; he just kept stabbing, twisting, stabbing, twisting in the direction of the enemy, with gritted teeth. continue reading stories on empire


    finally, the tanilian soldiers'' morale collapsed, unable to bear the bloodiness of the fight any longer. the tanilians in front wailed, begging to flee, and those behind them turned deserters outright.


    the commander of the bastion, furious, tugged at the soldiers attempting to escape, personally killing two of them. however, everyone wanted to flee, and he could no longer control nor stop the rout.


    as the bastion commander was about to kill a third deserter, winters knocked him over with a body check. straddling the bastion commander, winters stabbed at his chest with the curved blade, but the screeching sound followed by the blade sliding off reminded winters¡ªthe man was wearing armor.


    blocking the commander''s arm as he tried to counter-attack, winters slammed the butt end of the curved blade hard against the bastion commander''s face, "just because you''re wearing armor, you think i can''t deal with you?!"


    the bastion commander''s head was impaled on a spear, but inside the bastion, the tanilians still heavily outnumbered the others.


    "sir! there are only two barrels of gunpowder in the armory," reported a venetian soldier frantically to winters.


    "take it out and start a fire," ordered winters, not having time to wipe the blood from his face, "spread out the fires. don''t let the tanilians regroup!"


    following winters'' orders, everyone began to clear the bastion''s first floor while starting fires.


    the main structure of the bastion was rammed earth, but there was also a considerable part made of wood. with the assistance of gunpowder and pitch, the wooden structures quickly ignited, and the inside of the bastion was suddenly filled with smoke.


    gold, following bard''s instruction, held up the head of the bastion commander on a spear and shouted at the top of his lungs in tanilian dialect, "defeated! defeated! there''s a fire! captain kidd is dead! the captain is dead! run for it..."


    after clearing all the enemies on the bottom floor of the bastion, winters shouted, "andre! lead us to the gun decks!" the roar of the heavy guns from the top of the bastion increased winters'' impatience.


    this was a two-tier bastion, and to ensure a clear field of fire, the heavy guns were on the third tier, at the very top of the rammed earth building.


    but there was no answer.


    "stop shouting. it''s just the two of us; who knows where the others have scattered off to," bard said with a bitter smile.


    winters suddenly realized a problem; he shouldn''t have set the fire. the swirling smoke and fierce flames not only destroyed the tanilians'' cohesion but also his men''s.


    winters'' orders couldn''t be conveyed to his soldiers scattered throughout the bottom floor, and he was forced to use amplification magic to bellow, "everyone! attack upwards! to the gun decks!"


    "let''s not lose each other," winters said, not bothering about the effectiveness of his command, as he and bard groped their way towards the upper floor.


    on the second floor, the smoke was thicker, choking them as they struggled to breathe.


    amidst the chaos, they finally reached the top of the bastion.


    because it was the uncovered top of the rammed earth building, the smoke was not as thick. the thirty-two-pound heavy guns were positioned here, and at the side of a thick and imposing bronze cannon, several gunners were busy reloading.


    winters and bard, wielding their curved blades, charged up, and the gunners scattered like birds and beasts.


    standing beside the cannon, winters looked at the gun''s touch hole, which to his surprise, was spiked shut!


    "andre didn''t lie, this cannon was spiked shut," bard said, puzzled, "but how exactly is this cannon fired then?"


    at that moment, the sound of the heavy cannon firing came from the other side of the wall.


    the two exchanged glances, winters gripping his curved blade tighter, "let''s go!"


    sticking close to the wall beside the watchtower, winters and bard reached the corner and carefully peered around it.

 Chapter 88 Destruction_4

    additionally, three heavy cannons were positioned here.the gunners were busily engaged beside the cannons.


    however, apart from the gunners, there was a person wearing a mask by the cannons.


    once a cannon had been loaded, the masked person walked over to it; no linstock or red-hot poker was in sight. the person simply held a hand above the cannon. enjoy more content from empire


    the next second, with a roar, the cannonball hurtled forth.


    the gunners repositioned the cannon, quickly began to clean the bore, and reloaded.


    "with just the two of us against over a dozen gunners, it simply won''t do," bard whispered to winters. "wait for the others to get here."


    winters, with a grave expression, drew out a steel spike to clutch in his palm. he said to bard with difficulty, "it''s not the dozen or so gunners i''m worried about... we might have encountered..."


    from around the corner of the attic came the battle cries in a familiar venetian accent, obviously signifying that their own men had attacked up another passage to the roof.


    bard immediately gripped his sword, ready to charge out and attack the gunners on the roof from both sides.


    but winters grabbed bard, gesturing for him to be silent.


    on the roof, the gunners wanted to flee, but in the presence of the mask wearer''s tyranny, they dared not. the masked person seemed unconcerned with the enemies before him.


    several venetians and herders surged from the stairwell, with one venetian soldier at the front charging at the masked person with his sword raised.


    however, the masked person stood motionless, simply standing with hands clasped behind his back, watching winters''s men.


    before even reaching the masked person, the venetian soldier collapsed, blood flowing from all orifices.


    next, the masked person turned his gaze toward the other herders. simply by looking, the herders dropped dead one by one, blood oozing from their orifices.


    the whole process took just a few blinks, as if the masked person''s gaze severed the threads of life of those he looked upon.


    the cruel, efficient, and ruthless process of life being snuffed out sent shivers down bard''s spine.


    bard noticed that winters''s knuckles had turned white from clenching so hard, his chest heaved, and his eyes were blood red. the fury in his chest almost ignited his hair.


    the last herder didn''t even get close to the masked person. yelling in the herders'' tongue that winters couldn''t understand, he threw his javelin at the masked person.


    this time, however, the masked person did not dodge as composedly as before, avoiding the javelin with an ungainly maneuver.


    winters narrowed his eyes.


    just at this moment, a raspy voice with a tanilian accent shouted from the stairwell, "defeat! we are defeated! the captain is dead! captain kidd is dead! red sulfur harbor is gone! run for it¡­"


    this cry was the final straw that broke the camel''s back. the gunners, who were already wanting to flee, didn''t see who took the lead, but scattered in every direction.


    the masked person shouted angrily, "come back!"


    but speaking in common, whether the gunners understood or not, they ran without looking back.


    some of the gunners even ran toward winters''s position.


    the masked person, however, did not chase in their direction but followed the sound of gold''s voice down the stairwell.


    winters and bard immediately followed with long strides, but as they were halfway there, the masked person returned from the stairwell.


    winters cursed loudly and flung a steel spike at the masked person.


    as soon as the masked person saw winters, winters also caught sight of the masked person.


    the moment the masked person''s gaze fell upon winters, winters felt an intense pain in his skull, his consciousness blurred, and the steel spike missed by two inches, flying past the masked person''s ear.


    bard charged with his sword raised, but the masked person turned his gaze toward bard.


    with the last of his strength, winters pulled bard back.


    "run! bard! run!" he struggled to spit out the words.


    just as the threads of life for winters and bard were about to be cut, suddenly a gloomy guttural sound echoed across the top of the parapet.


    the masked person screamed, as if suffering immense pain, and winters, on the brink of death, was pulled back from the line of death. struggling, he drew another steel spike from his belt.


    the masked person, in agony, chanted in the ancient language of the ancient empire, "gather flames to blaze!"


    "pu." that was the sound of something bursting open.


    the masked man''s expression instantly relaxed, his agony having greatly subsided.


    the next second, a steel spike was driven into the back of his head, bursting out of his eyes.


    before the masked man could fall, winters had already roared and charged to his side. he thrust his sword into the masked man''s heart, violently stirring it, then pulled out his curved blade and left a deep, bone-deep cut on the masked man''s neck.


    after doing all this, winters who confirmed that the masked man was dead beyond any doubt, went downstairs panting heavily.


    the very thing he least wanted to happen still occurred, amid the swirling smoke, several herders were weeping loudly around a corpse with a dreadful death expression.


    the corpse''s head was completely blown open, much like a watermelon burst from within.


    it was impossible to recognize the deceased, but winters knew who lay there.


    feeling as if all his strength had been drained, he knelt beside the body, tears streaming unstoppable: "old man..."


    "it was hestas who saved us, right?" bard also came down, asking with difficulty. his condition was even worse than winters''s, he could hardly stand steady.


    winters didn''t speak, only took off his clothes to cover the upper body of the old shaman and picked up his body: "we need to take him home."


    in the smoke, another group of people quietly approached; seeing it was winters and bard, they breathed a sigh of relief.


    "it''s almost collapsing! let''s go! it''s fucking too late if we don''t leave now!" andre coughed as he urged.


    winters carried the body of the old shaman, the old man was so thin, so light, it was almost weightless. the remaining venetians and herders used cloth to cover their noses and rushed out along the same path they came in.


    without a moment''s delay, they ran all the way to the coast.


    behind them, the fortifications in the middle of red sulfur bay were ablaze.


    "they really can not refuse to give us a one-pound medal now!" andre laughed heartily and then asked with some confusion, "who are you holding... "


    before he could finish his sentence, several shots rang out from the water, the stones next to winters were splashed by the lead bullets.


    "xx! these xx are treating us as the enemy!" andre cursed loudly, angrily yelling at the venetian warships on the water: "friendly forces! friendly forces! assholes!"


    along with his shouts, more gunfire was heard.


    "we need to find a way to tell them we''re friendly, or get out of here." bard frowned, "you''re shouting at them, they think it''s a provocation."


    "a token, yes, i have one!" andre''s eyes lit up, suddenly laughing maniacally, and as he laughed, he began to cry: "i''ve been keeping it safe since the day i landed!"


    with that, andre took out a cloth bag from the innermost layer of his clothes, and when he unfolded the cloth, a blue flag with golden embroidered double-winged lions appeared before everyone.


    it was the battle flag of the first hundred men team of the third legion''s chief brigade.


    the battle flag, andre had held high on the day of the landing.


    andre attached the flag to a long spear, just about to wave it toward the ships on the water, but stopped.


    he walked over to winters, handing the flag to him: "montaigne commander, the honor of displaying this battle flag should belong to you." sear?h the n?vel(f)ire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    winters took the battle flag, clutching the spear shaft tightly, a thousand thoughts running through his mind.


    "did i do the right thing? we''ve sacrificed so many people, did i do the right thing?" he asked bard.


    "that''s not important. what''s important is, we followed you voluntarily, even if it was heading into hell."


    winters raised the battle flag, and as the sea breeze blew, the flag unfurled naturally. illuminated by the fierce fire, the golden embroidery shone brightly.


    more gunfire rang out.


    "who xx fired the shots? are you blind? that''s our own!" a magically amplified voice thundered across the sea, a voice very familiar to winters, the voice of colonel field: "it''s warrant officer montaigne who destroyed the sea-blocking chains and cannons for us! all of second battalion! on my command! three cheers for warrant officer montaigne!"


    "urrah!"


    "urrah!"


    "urrah!!!!!!!!!!!!"


    as the earth-shaking cheers erupted, no one knew what exactly winters was thinking.

 Chapter 89 Conclusion

    after a night of chaotic combat, the vineta forces breached the red sulfur harbor city, and the remaining tanyrian troops huddled into the bastion on the southwestern corner of the town.lacking siege weapons, the vineta troops made several probing attacks but failed to succeed and did not press on, leading both sides into a delicate standoff.


    the venetians had a numerical advantage, but they were not in a rush to attack the bastion. light sail oar ships were salvaging the sunken ships in the bay and clearing the waterway so heavy warships could enter.


    the tanilians also did not launch a counter-attack; their cannons on the bastion could cover both the docks and the entire town¡ªthe design of this small bastion at the edge of the town was not just to defend against external enemies but also to deter the city''s own citizens.


    however, for some reason, the big guns in the bastion fell silent, letting vineta''s light warships come and go at the docks unchallenged.


    at dawn, winters led the last of the living men as victors into red sulfur harbor for the first time. andre proudly raised the military flag, and their party proceeded unobstructed.


    the earthen walls and ditches around the town''s perimeter were beginning to take shape, yet the tanilians never imagined that red sulfur harbor would be broken through from the sea, making the encircling fortifications and trenches futile.


    crossing the trench, the doors of houses within the city were tightly closed, and the bodies on the streets had not yet been dragged away. constables armed with long spears patrolled to maintain military discipline and ordered scattered soldiers to rejoin their units.


    after the capture of red sulfur harbor, chaos ensued. not only were tanyrian remnants stirring trouble, but many vineta soldiers also attempted to seize the opportunity for plunder. under the control of the constabulary, a semblance of order was still barely maintained.


    above the council hall, the tanyrian red dragon flag was torn down and replaced with the golden lion flag¡ªthe symbol of saint marco, the patron saint of vineta, and the flag of the vineta army.


    it was here that winters encountered colonel field. explore more stories with empire


    "hahaha, didn''t expect it to be us, did you?" field laughed heartily, giving a bloody and sooty winters a bear hug.


    "indeed, i didn''t expect..." winters, who had intended to salute, was hugged so tightly that he struggled to breathe, "...my contacts mentioned the third legion... i''m afraid the tanilians also didn''t expect you to arrive so quickly."


    "''da weineta'' is still floating in the northern seas off red sulfur island, so this piece of meat was left for us ''saint marco'' to devour." colonel field said triumphantly, laughing, "haha, but thanks to your third legion indeed. if they hadn''t held back the tanyrian forces, red sulfur harbor wouldn''t have been so easy to take."


    after the declaration of war, colonel field was transferred from the constabulary to command a battalion in the "saint marco" reserve legion. when winters had set out with the da weineta army, the saint marco legion was still being reorganized, and not even winters had expected this newly conscripted reserve legion to be deployed so quickly.


    [note: following the constitutional assembly after the war of sovereignty, to prevent military arms racing within the senas alliance, each member state was allowed to maintain no more than two standing legions.


    because the sequence numbers for the standing legions came from the alliance, vineta''s two standing legions were respectively the third and fourth legions.


    however, militias and reserves outside of the standing army exploited a loophole in the covenant, falling under the domestic affairs of the republic and thus were unrestricted. hence the reserve legion "saint marco" got the number "first reserve legion."]


    "and major moritz?" asked winters. s~ea??h the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "out on patrol." field responded with a rueful smile, "i reckon you wouldn''t have guessed, but moritz is still in charge of the constabulary after joining the legion. once he''s back, you will see him."


    before field could finish, boot steps were heard coming from outside the council hall, followed by a sharp command of "attention!"


    field and winters unconsciously stood straight.


    a group of senior officers entered the hall, led by a general officer in uniform, and before he even stepped through the door, winters heard his gruff voice, "what the hell are we waiting for? waiting for the tanilians to react? as soon as the fifth battalion comes ashore, attack directly with the force of four battalions!"


    this general happened to be one winters recognized; it was major general layton, the one responsible for commissioning them as officers. layton frowned and thought for a moment before remembering that he had heard major general layton was now commanding a newly formed reserve legion.


    field and winters immediately saluted.


    "field, how are your troops shaping up?" general layton asked in his usual blunt manner, not waiting for field to answer, he turned to winters, "and who are you?"


    while winters remembered general layton, evidently layton no longer remembered the small ensign winters.


    "this is ensign winters montagne of the third legion! the man who destroyed those two sea chains! the man who destroyed the bay''s batteries! the man who brought us victory! without him, red sulfur harbor would still be in tanyrian hands." field proudly introduced winters, and then he answered layton''s question, "all six of my hundred-man squads have regrouped."


    suddenly there was a hush in the hall; all the officers looked in astonishment at the ensign next to field, whom they had assumed was just one of field''s soldiers.


    they had seen the battle flag raised high beside the burning battery, but they never thought the man beneath the flag would be so¡­ youthful, looking like nothing more than a big child. yet the uniform on the ensign, almost soaked with blood and scorched by fire, silently told everyone of the cruel battles he had endured.

 Chapter 89 Ending_2

    "montaigne¡­ oh, i remember you," layton looked at winters thoughtfully. he threw out a line that baffled the other officers, "you did well on the ship too."winters saluted in acknowledgment.


    "son, i wasn''t as capable as you are when i was your age." layton made an unexpected move¡ªhe took off his own oak leaf lion medal and pinned it on winters'' bloodstained coat: "without you, red sulfur harbor would still be in tanilian hands. keep up the good work, you''ll surely outdo me in the future."


    winters still just saluted in acknowledgment. he wasn''t proud, nor did he feel honored; he hadn''t fought the tanilians for a medal, and a medal couldn''t bring back the lives that had been sacrificed.


    layton, looking at winters'' calm expression, rated the young warrant officer even more highly. he pointed at winters, "you will stay for the military council."


    without any pomp and circumstance, a table was dragged over, a map was spread out, and the officers formed a circle around it to begin the meeting.


    the content of the meeting was simple¡ªmajor general layton couldn''t stand the sword hanging over his head and was determined to capture the bastion at red sulfur harbor. s§×arch* the n?velfire.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "i took people to check it out just now; it''s a small four-pointed star fort, not even a triangle fort," layton leaned over the map, marking it with charcoal as he spoke: "the fort is bordered by water on the south, so we can only attack from the other three sides. the first contingent will control the city defenses of red sulfur harbor, while second, third, and fourth contingents will attack from the other three sides, and the fifth contingent will be in reserve. tanilian morale must be brittle; as soon as we storm the trench, they''ll be too scared to do anything but surrender!"


    another officer, clearly not in agreement with layton''s perspective, raised an objection. vineta army''s military councils weren''t about rank: "the trench is at least ten meters wide and filled with water, how are we going to cross it?"


    "drag small boats ashore to make a temporary floating bridge," another officer who supported an aggressive assault suggested.


    "setting up a floating bridge under the fort''s artillery?" field also joined in, clearly not in support of an assault: "i think we can present an aggressive stance to intimidate the tanilians, but don''t actually squander lives in an attack. the tanilians in the fort probably also want to surrender; otherwise, why haven''t they bombarded us by now?"


    "if they wanted to surrender, they would have done so by now," the officer who had proposed setting up the floating bridge quickly countered: "but the confederation''s flag is still flying over the bastion."


    "it''s highly likely that the tanilians inside are also wavering, or waiting for adequate terms of surrender," field insisted that persuasion was called for: "there''s still tanilian main forces on the island, and we need to reserve our troops to face them, not waste our strength on attacking fortified positions."


    every officer present held at least the rank of lieutenant colonel. with a general leading a group of field officers in a meeting, winters certainly didn''t plan to interject.


    however, layton''s attention stayed with the silent winters. he specifically asked, "warrant officer montaigne, you know this island better than anyone here, what''s your take?"


    all eyes suddenly focused on winters.


    "the bastion was refurbished three months ago. it has new cannons, a water reservoir, and both its ammunition and food stores are full," winters spoke without hesitation, having been called upon. "but the confederation''s main forces are engaged with the third corps. the bastion is mostly defended by the militia of red sulfur harbor, meaning the defenders'' families are all in the city."


    in the presence of high-ranking officers, winters didn''t offer suggestions, merely stating the intelligence he had acquired. however, his thoughts were clear as day.


    "this is a military council, don''t be scared; speak your mind!" layton, always hot-tempered, chastised winters, not pleased with the half-spoken suggestion: "don''t talk in half-truths!"


    "the bastion''s garrison might be open to negotiation," winters, chastened, now spoke frankly. he added, "also, there are thirty-two-pound cannons in the battery in the bay. whether we want to negotiate or attack, we could start by bringing over those cannons."


    having heard winters'' words, layton made a decision, "that''s settled, then. find someone from the city to carry a message to them. we''ll talk if they''re willing; if not, we fight. the first contingent will move the heavy cannons montaigne talked about, and the rest of the contingents will prepare to attack."


    "what about the trench?" someone asked.


    "if the tanilians don''t surrender," layton snorted coldly: "let the tanilians inside red sulfur harbor fill it! dismissed!"


    ¡­


    ¡­


    outside the council hall, people who had been waiting for a long time finally saw winters emerge.


    continue your journey on empire


    "why did it take so long?" andre had grown extremely impatient.


    winters pulled something off his chest and tossed it into andre''s arms: "kongtai''er, layton, they''re all the same."


    "what''s this?" andre caught it clumsily and suddenly widened his eyes: "a victory medal?"


    looking at andre''s excited expression, winters somberly said to him, "you''re becoming just like them."


    "where did this victory medal come from?" andre''s eyes gleamed, not hearing what winters had said: "is this¡­ is this a real victory medal?"


    "if you want it, keep it."


    "really? you''re giving it to me? you won''t regret this later? is this really a victory medal?" andre was already so thrilled that he was nearly incoherent.

 Chapter 89 Ending_3

    "did you manage to get some help?" bard''s focus was on something different than andre''s at the moment."damn!" winters cursed. "layton came in for a meeting in the middle, and i forgot what i went in there for."


    he turned to go back to the conference hall but ran into colonel field, who was coming out.


    field grabbed winters. "the federation forces are still on the island. rest here with me for a bit until the third corps lands, then you can rejoin them."


    "colonel, please lend me ten men. it would be best if you could lend me a few horses as well."


    "what do you need the men for?"


    winters was silent for a moment, his eyes reddening, he said, "my men are still lying out there, i need to bring them back." enjoy exclusive content from empire


    bard and field were told about what happened after landing on the island and the agreement with the herders.


    "go," field''s expression grew heavy. "i''ll give you two squads of ten... be careful, there are still tanis soldiers outside."


    ...


    ...


    when the wagon carrying the bodies returned to hongsong manor, all winters could hear was weeping.


    the herder women struggled to identify the mutilated, charred beyond recognition bodies, ending in nothing but tears.


    "what are you crying for? don''t cry!" the half-grown boy who had previously been by hestas''s side wiped his tears and scolded the weeping women and children. "if you cry, the boat that carries them across the styx will capsize¡ªyou must not cry!"


    kalman looked helplessly at the bodies on the wagon; the scene before him had greatly shocked the doctor as well.


    he grabbed the hand of the half-grown boy, trembling as he questioned, "why? why? have i whipped you? have i mistreated you? have i torn your families apart? i have treated you as kindly as i can, yet why did you still have to go and die for the venetians? dead, all dead..."


    "mr. kalman, you have been kind to us. you are the only slave owner on red sulfur island who treats herders well," the half-grown boy stared intently into kalman''s eyes, asking every word. "but even so, are we not slaves? are our sons and daughters not slaves? are our grandson''s sons, our granddaughter''s daughters not slaves? i would also like to be kind to you, would you be willing to be my slave?"


    kalman was rendered speechless by the half-grown boy and walked away in a daze.


    winters approached the half-grown boy and said softly, "i will take you to red sulfur harbor, and as soon as the third corps lands, i will send you home immediately."


    the half-grown boy sobbed and gave a nod.


    "hestas... i hope you can take him back to his homeland for burial."


    "okay."


    "i don''t know the burial rites of your people, the herders. right now, it''s easy for plagues to spread, so it''s best to cremate the bodies before taking them back. is that okay? if herder burial rites do not permit cremation, we can think of another way."


    "cremation is fine," the half-grown boy wiped away his tears, his eyes red as he said, "you are hestas''s ''kulxit'', whatever you say about his funeral goes."


    ...


    in a secluded clearing of hongsong manor, torches ignited the pyres, burning away the last of human flesh and sinew.


    the herders softly began their song, farewelling the deceased.


    the venetian soldiers'' bodies were not cremated, as for venetians, cremation meant waiting till the end of days for resurrection.


    winters and the others swung their shovels and hoes, digging out graves one after another, laying the venetian soldiers to rest.


    he suddenly remembered major moritz''s philosophy on life and death: only the living hold meaning, and whatever the dead have sacrificed for bears no significance to them.


    he shuddered and dared not think any further.


    field''s advice echoed in his ears, "don''t get too close to your soldiers, keep a distance, or else you''re not fit to be an officer."


    "yes," winters added the last handful of earth, "maybe i''m really not cut out to be an officer." s§×ar?h the n?velfire(.)net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 90 Tachi

    "sir! this isn''t right! it''s the confederation that wants to war with vineta, us ordinary civilians didn''t take part in this... and there''s not just militia from red sulfur harbor in that bastion, but also the confederation''s mercenaries. we people from red sulfur harbor have no say in the matter..." a local gentleman of red sulfur harbor, highly respected for his integrity and influence, was pleading with general layton with tears streaming down his face.layton''s threats were never hollow. when he heard that the locals sent to negotiate surrender claimed, "the garrison within the bastion are also arguing incessantly, begging for a day''s respite before giving an answer," he immediately made good on his threat.


    soldiers from the saint marco legion burst through the doors, following a list they found in the council hall, they searched door to door, capturing the garrison''s family members and relatives. any venetians from red sulfur harbor who refused to identify garrison relatives were also taken away.


    the old, the weak, women, and children were tied up with hemp ropes in a line like livestock and herded before the bastion to dig tunnels. meanwhile, saint marco soldiers began to bind firewood, collect small boats, and construct components for floating bridges.


    layton''s message to the garrison inside the bastion was clear and explicit: if you do not surrender, i will fill the moats with your families'' corpses.


    finally, when the saint marco legion hauled their heavy artillery from the ruined bastion of the bay to the front of the bastion, the garrison''s morale collapsed.


    wishing to surrender, the red sulfur harbor militia knocked down the confederation''s red dragon banner, lowered the drawbridge, and the saint marco legion soldiers immediately rushed into the bastion, slaughtering every remaining confederation soldier who had not given up the fight.


    winters noticed that surrounding saint marco officers all let out sighs of relief when they saw the red dragon banner fall.


    these officers, far more experienced than winters, of course understood the price the saint marco legion would have to pay if the garrison had adamantly resisted.


    the confederation''s main forces were still entrenched in the inland of red sulfur island. if the saint marco legion had suffered great losses at this bastion, being pushed into the sea by the confederation seizing the opportunity was not impossible.


    the one who understood this best was probably general layton, but it seemed he did not particularly care, and neither did the other officers.


    now that the garrison had surrendered, it was undeniably great news for the saint marco legion. sea??h th§× n?vel(f)ire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    with no effort at all, the saint marco legion not only captured a sturdy bastion and took full control of red sulfur harbor but also obtained the garrison''s gunpowder, weapon stores, and food supplies.


    winters suddenly remembered marshal ned once saying, "the key to siege tactics is to break the garrison''s morale."


    watching the saint marco legion soldiers cheer and leap for joy, winters couldn''t help thinking, "did layton just put on a show to pressure the garrison, or was he indifferent to casualties and really going to attack? hmm... maybe it''s both."


    anyway, general layton took down red sulfur harbor''s bastion smoothly, so he must be clever.


    with the security of red sulfur harbor now ensured, layton dispatched two battalions, one to attack the bastion guarding the bay''s entrance and the other to repair the middle bastion of the bay.


    the defensive situation of red sulfur harbor had shifted, and the fortifications winters and his men had destroyed, the saint marco legion now had to rebuild.


    winters and the other two sergeants followed colonel field, assisting him in conscripting labor from the local population of red sulfur harbor and nearby villages to continue to reinforce the city''s defenses.


    the scouts cast out soon clarified the enemy''s movements. when the confederation''s main forces learned that red sulfur harbor had been breached by the vineta army, they immediately fractured.


    the confederation''s main forces, the local militias of red sulfur island, and a few pirates abandoned their coastal defenses, instead seeking refuge in tachi, an inland city of red sulfur island. these fleeing troops made up the majority.


    a small part, mainly composed of loosely organized pirates who had once been part of the main confederation forces, broke away and fled toward red sulfur harbor.


    without waiting for the saint marco legion''s scouts to act, these pirates, displaying white flags, surrendered to the venetians of their own accord. each claimed to hold important information, hoping to exchange military intelligence for amnesty and, preferably, a reward as well.


    however, layton scorned the intelligence offered by these people, showing no interest whatsoever. the pirates that surrendered to the saint marco legion were all drafted into the death camp, sent outside of red sulfur harbor to dig trenches, engaged in the most grueling work.


    these surrendering pirates already belonged to the category of the most scheming individuals; they quickly foresaw their dismal future. some pirates claimed to have essential intelligence and insisted on meeting with the supreme commander of the vineta military forces.


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    "they want to see me? someone in that pack of mongrels wants to see me?" general layton laughed with rage, his smile chilling to the bone: "alright then, let''s meet."


    the hall of red sulfur island''s council, formerly used for negotiations, had been transformed into the headquarters for the first reserve corps, usually only frequented by military personnel. now, over a dozen disheveled pirates were being escorted into the corps'' headquarters.


    under the collective gaze of the legion, including winters, the dozen trembling pirates stood in front of layton.


    "i am the legion commander," layton said coldly as he sat in his chair, resting his hand on his sword: "you''ve seen me now. what do you want to say?"


    "your excellency... sir," the leading pirate licked his lips, suddenly knelt down, and summoned his courage to speak: "we were coerced into serving the confederation; it wasn''t voluntary... we are willing to switch sides, to become your vanguard against the confederation''s bandit forces. please spare our lives! and we also have crucial intelligence about the bandit chief, kidd!"

 Chapter 90 Tachi_2

    "i don''t want to hear it!" layton stood up impatiently and waved his hand, signaling the guards to take these people away.like wolves and tigers, the guards grabbed the pirates and dragged them toward the door, with the lead pirate crying and shouting, "my lord... my lord, spare my life... captain kidd said reinforcements are coming... he plans to hold tachi, sending people to gather food around... my lord, spare my life..."


    layton''s originally impatient expression turned into one of annoyance, disdain, and extreme impatience, as he strode towards the lead pirate.


    thinking he was saved, the lead pirate pleaded even more frantically, swearing that he was forced into the confederation''s army.


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    layton chuckled, and the lead pirate also squeezed out a stiff smile. the next second, layton''s sword plunged into the lead pirate''s mouth.


    "i said i didn''t want to listen, who allowed you to tell me?" layton asked.


    the lead pirate died on the spot, the other pirates were petrified, several of them instantaneously wetting themselves.


    the officers of the saint marco legion also showed shock, but winters, bard, and andre were not surprised at all.


    in the minds of the three warrant officers, who had witnessed major general layton''s cruel tactics and volatile nature, such an act was all too normal. to winters, the pirates were marked for death the moment they entered the hall.


    "these spineless wretches, living is just a waste of food." layton, without a trace of emotion, flicked the blood off his sword. he didn''t scold the pirates but rather bellowed at the officers around, "soldiers must have backbone! traitors will never deserve respect!"


    all the officers of vineta shuddered.


    the guards dragged out both the living and the dead pirates, leaving behind dark red and pale yellow streaks on the floor of the hall.


    "scum is scum, no matter where they are," layton snorted coldly and called out the name of a military police captain: "moritz!"


    "yes, sir!" major moritz, who had been lazily watching the spectacle from the back row, answered immediately, not expecting his name to be called.


    "you are in charge of dealing with this pirate scum. let the islanders identify them, then find a place with lots of people and hang them all."


    "yes, sir," winters noted major moritz rolling his eyes, subtly enough to go unnoticed, as he casually continued to ask, "aren''t we keeping them for labor?"


    layton''s eyebrows shot up, and he said sternly, "pirates are only good at cheating and being slippery, they won''t work honestly. hang all of them, and do the islanders a favor. any future prisoners are to be handled by your military police force, and anyone identified as a pirate is to be killed."


    this was a reasonable enough reason, and major moritz couldn''t argue. he saluted and left the hall.


    after dealing with this farce, the military council of the saint marco legion continued. it was an expanded meeting of officers, not only including battalion commanders but also centurions.


    layton sat at the head of the table, with his battalion commanders seated in a circle around the map table and the centurions standing.


    "the confederation''s troops have retreated to tachi and are still gathering food, they must be pondering a long-term defense. nice thought, but they''re up against me," layton set the tone for the council by pointing at the map, "i''ve decided to strike first and attack tachi. let''s hear your thoughts."


    though he asked for the officers'' "thoughts," his decision to attack had already been made, so they could only work within that context.


    the commanders began discussing specific action plans, the centurions getting no chance to speak. soon, a detailed plan was formed:


    the chief battalion of the saint marco legion was to stay behind to guard red sulfur harbor, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth battalions would move out lightly equipped to drive away the small confederation units gathering supplies near tachi, compressing the confederation troops'' operational space.


    the remaining five battalions would advance on tachi after all the baggage was unloaded from the ships, with the force of nine battalions attacking tachi. s§×ar?h the n?vel(f)ire.n§×t website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "relax. those tanis are rubbish at war, give them fortresses and cannons and they still can''t hold them," layton ended the council with a smile, "maybe they''ll surrender without us having to lift a finger. meeting adjourned!"


    winters followed the others out of the council hall.


    outside the headquarters, field asked the three warrant officers, "what do you think? do you want to join me in the vanguard, or stay in red sulfur harbor with the third corps?"


    winters, bard, and andre exchanged glances; andre seemed eager to go, but winters shook his head, laughing, "i''ve had my fill of war, i won''t join you in earning more laurels. ask the other two."


    "i would like to rest in red sulfur harbor as well," bard answered leisurely.


    andre initially wanted to follow but, seeing his two peers choosing to stay, he regretfully changed his mind, "then i won''t go either."


    field did not press the three warrant officers and laughed, "the combat merits you three earned the other night are enough for many soldiers to covet for a lifetime, you deserve a good rest... don''t worry, although layton has a bad temper, he won''t steal your glory."


    it was now afternoon, and as field turned to mount his horse, winters, bard, and andre silently saluted him.


    just as field was about to return the salute, the roar of cannon fire suddenly erupted from red sulfur harbor.


    field instantly became alert, "where''s the firing coming from?"

 Chapter 90 Tachi_3

    on the waters outside the docks of red sulfur harbor, a large fleet was slowly sailing in, led by big sailships and heavy galleons. the size of the fuste warships boarded by the saint marco legion seemed insignificant in front of the incoming large warships. sear?h the n??elfir§×.net website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.the large warships stowed their sails and were nearing the docks. plumes of white smoke spurted from the sides of the ships, followed by the thunderous sound of cannons that reached winters'' ears.


    this fleet firing salutes was all too familiar to winters; it was the reinforcement he had longed for, day and night.


    one day after red sulfur harbor had changed hands,


    the vineta revenge fleet had arrived.


    ...


    ...


    meeting after meeting, the endless meetings.


    bureaucracy is indeed the cancer of mankind.


    field hadn''t even left before he was called to attend a joint senior officers'' meeting between the saint marco legion and the da weineta legion.


    winters was not qualified to attend such a high-level meeting, and he was more than happy to have his leisure.


    inside the council hall, the atmosphere was very awkward.


    even without recognizing the subtle differences in uniform decorations between legions, one could clearly tell from their facial expressions which officers belonged to the saint marco legion and which were from da weineta.


    with the battle achievement of capturing red sulfur harbor in hand, the officers of the saint marco legion were beaming with pride, their backs ramrod straight. especially major general layton, who, having sat on the sidelines for many years, finally had his moment of satisfaction; even the volume of his voice had risen by a notch.


    on the other hand, the officers from da weineta legion looked on with disgruntlement and sat in silence. they had done the grunt work, but others claimed the victory. seeing the triumphant demeanor of their allies, the officers of da weineta had a mix of sourness and irritation in their hearts.


    however, major general serviati had tremendous prestige within his legion, so the officers of da weineta refrained from sarcasm or strange remarks, maintaining an outward sense of harmony.


    legionnaire antonio serviati first exchanged greetings with layton before moving onto the main subject, "now that red sulfur harbor has been captured and our two legions have united, we should consider how to clear out the enemy within red sulfur island as soon as possible..."


    before he could finish, the haughty layton interrupted antonio, "the confederate troops were so scared by us that they ran into tachi. leave it to our saint marco legion; within a week, i''ll take tachi!"


    "i understand the situation in tachi quite well, and relying on one legion might be difficult to make substantial progress in a short time," antonio replied mildly, "we''d be better off not launching an assault and instead trying to persuade the garrison to surrender."


    "tachi, such a tiny place, can their city defenses be as solid as red sulfur harbor''s bastion? i took down the bastion of red sulfur harbor in one day; how could i not take tachi?" layton, full of confidence, slapped antonio''s shoulder, "you don''t trust us, do you? don''t worry, you can rest well in red sulfur harbor while we take tachi."


    antonio instinctively wanted to dodge, but he restrained himself and let layton pat his shoulder grandly, his face still wearing a polite smile.


    seeing layton''s disrespect, several hot-tempered officers from da weineta were about to explode on the spot, but upon seeing antonio''s composed demeanor, they gritted their teeth and endured.


    "the situation in tachi is quite complicated; we should first scout the area," antonio pondered for a moment before adding more diplomatically, leaving layton some dignity, "even if an assault is necessary, we can''t let just your legion do it¡ªgive da weineta a chance to earn merit as well."


    "alright, alright," layton laughed heartily, and with a slap to his forehead he said, "then what are we still gabbing about here for? let''s go! directly to tachi, i want to see what''s so special about this little tachi!"


    he dragged antonio along and rushed off eagerly; however, upon arriving at the scene, he could only utter three words, "eh? my grass! this¡­"


    what happened?


    a natural barrier with mountains on both sides, positioned high and looking down.


    a narrow front that made it impossible for the attacking troops to fan out.


    an outer wall nearly ten meters tall, encased in volcanic rock, imposing and formidable.


    outside the wall, a swarm of people, like ants, busily dug a moat around the city.


    layton dismounted and dug into the soil; beneath a less than an inch-deep layer of dirt was the same tough volcanic rock¡ªthere was no digging through this cursed place. explore new worlds at empire


    although layton was recognized among the land army officer academy graduates of his year as a reckless man, he was not lacking in intelligence.


    although tachi was small, it was undoubtedly a hard nut to crack¡ªno, not a nut, granite.


    this¡­ how the hell can we attack this?

 Chapter 91 Secret Societies

    realizing that the garrison of tachi was racing against time to fortify the city''s defenses, the two legion commanders who had gone to scout returned to red sulfur harbor immediately.the two legion commanders rode back to red sulfur harbor by nightfall. not bothering to fight for command, layton, upon his return, immediately ordered the saint marco legion to hand over the city''s defenses to the allied forces, and then led his troops to tachi lightly equipped under the cover of darkness.


    the third "da veneta" legion would rest for a day in red sulfur harbor before setting out to join forces with the saint marco legion, carrying the baggage trains of the two legions.


    fire basins and torches illuminated the central square of red sulfur harbor, where antonio and layton, mounted on their horses, watched as the urgently assembled saint marco legion distributed hemp ropes.


    in this era, many people suffered from night blindness. even with the moon shining brightly, they were as blind as bats at night. therefore, competent officers generally avoided night operations wherever possible. but in urgent situations like this, the venetians couldn''t afford to be choosy.


    one end of the hemp rope was tied around the waist of the soldier in front, and the other end was grasped by the soldier behind, ensuring that no one would fall behind, lose their way, or desert during the march. it was a clumsy method, but an effective one.


    once ready, the saint marco legion set out from red sulfur harbor in four columns.


    with a solemn expression, antonio saluted layton, who, equally solemn-faced, did not return the salute, but merely waved his hand before spurring his horse and departing without exchanging a word with antonio, who had come to see him off. s§×arch* the n??efire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    the civilians of red sulfur harbor hid in their homes, peering through cracks in doors and windows at the actions of the venetian army. they still vividly remembered how the ferocious venetian soldiers had gone from house to house seizing people just a few days before and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the venetian troops marching out of the city.


    however, the sight of a new king''s flag on the city walls indicated the departure of one venetian force and the arrival of another. no one knew what the next day would bring; the people of red sulfur harbor went to sleep amidst gnawing unease.


    winters, however, got no rest, anxiously waiting in a room at the camp of the third legion.


    the door was pushed open, and antonio entered. winters stood to salute, but antonio pressed down on winters'' arm, patted his shoulder, and said nothing.


    how does a man react when he sees his son drowning? he would jump into the water to save him, regardless of whether he could swim.


    what about a commander faced with the situation of "a viper biting the hand"? even with a guilty conscience, he must "take drastic actions for survival."


    but when these two identities overlap, things become very complicated.


    the third legion was ambushed on the day in question, and antonio had abandoned winters and his hundred-man squad. winters did not know what went on in antonio''s heart at that time; he knew it couldn''t have been easy.


    it was an unavoidable situation; war always results in casualties. he harbored no resentment against his adoptive father. having been tempered as a true officer on red sulfur island, he had let go of any bitterness that might have lingered in his heart.


    yet he didn''t know what to say to antonio, so he said nothing, and neither did antonio. it is difficult for men to communicate their feelings openly, so in most cases, they simply do not communicate at all.


    besides, there were more pressing matters at the moment.


    "i have already located the person that the secretary of state of the federated provinces asked you to find," winters stated straightforwardly, believing it urgent to convey this information to antonio as soon as possible.


    "hmm?" obviously, antonio was caught off guard and was momentarily stunned.


    "to be precise, it''s a body," winters added, biting his lip.


    "lionel..." antonio struggled to recall, "... is he the one who asked me to look for that person before he left? the name seems to be..."


    "mara, the special envoy of the secretary of state of the federated provinces," winters reminded. "before secretary lionel left, he asked you to send mr. mara''s ashes to him."


    "i''m getting old, my memory really isn''t what it used to be," admitted antonio with a wry smile, confusedly asking, "you found that man on red sulfur island? he died there?" continue your journey on empire


    winters took a deep breath and spoke softly, "no, not on red sulfur island... but in sea blue city, in the morgue at the commandant''s office¡ªthe person assassinated at the docks, he was the special envoy of the secretary of state of the federated provinces."


    initially puzzled, antonio then gasped sharply, soberly asking winters, "are you certain?"


    "positive, the accomplice of the assassin confessed to me personally."


    "who is it?"


    grinding his teeth, winters spat out a name: "... it''s colonel kongtai''er."


    "kongtai''er?" antonio''s face turned stormy: "he''s got some nerve! where is he now?"


    "lying in the infirmary, unconscious, uncertain to survive. on the day we attacked the harbor, colonel kongtai''er was shot in the abdomen, and his intestines were ruptured. i found a doctor on the island who removed the bullet for him, sewed up his intestines, and cleaned out his abdominal cavity. he confessed to me while he was conscious. i don''t think he was lying; there was no need for him to lie about this matter," winters explained.


    learning of kongtai''er''s critical condition, antonio''s emotions slightly settled, and after exhaling, he asked, "why would kongtai''er assassinate the special envoy of the secretary of state of the federated provinces?"


    "it wasn''t colonel kongtai''er, but others in his group who acted," winters articulated, explaining, "according to their claim¡ªbecause veneta needs the tanilia archipelago."

 Chapter 91 Secret Societies_2

    subsequently, winters meticulously recounted all the information he knew to antonio.the special envoy from the federated provinces, mara, had not arrived at sea blue city by chance; he brought with him a treaty concerning the tanilia archipelago.


    the venetian desire for the tanilia archipelago was common knowledge.


    seven years earlier, the freman people had begun a brutal tug-of-war with their eastern neighbors. to raise more military funds, the freman sultan, who controlled half the eastern trade route, had started levying higher commercial taxes.


    therefore, since debela took office as governor, venetian tax revenue had plummeted, the current prosperity had begun to decline, and merchants who had grown wealthy from the eastern trade route were going bankrupt one after another.


    meanwhile, within the internal trade circle of senas bay, the status of venetia''s central transfer station was facing a formidable challenge¡ªfrom the tanilia archipelago.


    the tanilia archipelago was no longer the savage islands it had been thirty years ago; amidst major powers'' struggles, the islands had rapidly prospered as neutral ports and accumulated vast wealth.


    because tax revenue was reduced, tax rates had to be increased. but after the tax hike, merchants fled to the tanilia archipelago, where tax rates were lower. with fewer merchants, the tax base shrank, necessitating another tax increase to maintain the existing revenue.


    as a result, a vicious cycle had set in.


    "veneta needs the archipelago," were colonel kongtai''er''s exact words. it wasn''t because of some damned pirates; piracy in the senas sea had been rampant for decades, yet it had been emphasized repeatedly in recent years for one reason¡ªveneta needed the archipelago.


    whether it was the need to eliminate competitors, to find new sources of raw materials and markets for dumping goods, or more importantly, new ports¡ªocean ports.


    the harbors along the coast of senas bay were too small, too shallow. but scattered across the tanilia archipelago were deep-water good harbors, with the storm ocean to the east of the islands.


    securing tanilia meant gaining new land and also a new possibility, the possibility of a new trade route, a possibility of a new route through the storm ocean straight to the spice islands.


    the freman sultan''s exorbitant taxes on merchant ships had damaged trade but had also caused prices of goods from the east to surge, making eastern goods more profitable¡ªthe catch was to bypass the flemish''s control.


    the tanilia archipelago represented this possibility. after decades of surveying, venetian navigators had realized that if the earth were a sphere, a straight line could be drawn from the tanilia archipelago directly to the spice islands.


    to achieve all this, they needed to navigate through the tumultuous, wave-tossed storm ocean, an ocean that devoured the lives of numerous explorers.


    and to traverse the storm ocean, they needed sturdy, seaworthy ships, large enough dry docks, and deep-sea ports.


    for a myriad of reasons, more and more venetians were recognizing the immense value and potential of the taniria islands, especially within the venetian military.


    young venetian militarists reached a consensus in heated debates over the future of their nation: veneta must take the archipelago. to further this aim, at least one secret society had been established within the venetian military.


    the dying kongtai''er refused to reveal more secrets of the group to winters, attempting only to make winters accept his ideology and recruit him into the secret society.


    it was during this process that winters obtained more information about the group. sear?h the n?vel(f)ire.¦Çet website on google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    however, it wasn''t just the venetians who saw the potential and strategic value of taniria; the united provincials had also recognized it. the republic of the federated provinces had acted on the archipelago sooner and laid out plans earlier. before the venetians began to emphasize the island as a haven for pirate loot, the united provincials were already striving to penetrate the taniria islands, intending to turn them into the eighth province of the federated provinces.


    even the political structure of the republic enabled it to offer more generous terms than the venetian republic could. becoming the eighth province of the federated provinces was certainly better than becoming another county of veneta. continue reading on empire


    for this very reason, veneta had become more aggressive. governor debela brought up the taniria islands in every parliamentary speech he gave, with his language becoming more intense each time.


    but the secretary of state for the federated provinces, lionel, proposed a new possibility, one that could prevent conflicts within the senas alliance.


    his special envoy came to veneta in secret to conclude a treaty, a treaty that debela and lionel had been discussing secretly for a long time: turning taniria into an overseas territory of the senas alliance, maintaining its semi-independent status, governed jointly by veneta and the federated provinces.


    this was bound to be a treaty that satisfied neither party, and also the reason why the special envoy from the secretary of state for the federated provinces was assassinated.


    honestly speaking, winters was not opposed to kongtai''er''s rhetoric that "everything was for the benefit of veneta." securing taniria could bring great advantages to veneta, and winters agreed.


    however, from the moment kongtai''er''s confederates assassinated the special envoy from the secretary of state for the federated provinces because the political resolution did not meet their expectations, everything they said could no longer be trusted by winters.


    in winters'' view, while these people spoke of "everything for the benefit of veneta," their actual actions served only their own political ambitions.

 Chapter 91 Secret Society_3

    The army is the weapon of the state, and military academies have always instilled this into officer candidates. However, when the weapon develops its own thoughts and even attempts to influence the actions of its wielder, this is fundamentally an act of rebellion.The soldiers who drowned at sea, were nailed to stakes, or perished burnt in the gun emplacements¡ªthey all died because of the ambitions of Kongtai''er and his ilk.


    "That''s all I know," Winters concluded. "The secret society of Kongtai''er is probably using the Duelists'' Club as a cover for their periphery. These people are already very dangerous. They''ve tasted the sweetness of manipulating politics with violence; I can hardly imagine what they dare to do next. But according to Kongtai''er, they weren''t the ones who blew up the docks. It was another group... Who knows if that''s true or not."


    He had originally left all this information in a letter, but since he had survived, there was no need for the letter anymore. He was eager to find Anniuo and explain everything to remind Antonio that a secret political faction had infiltrated the Vineta Army.


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    No one knew which officers were members of this secret faction, even within the Third Legion itself. There could very well be others like Kongtai''er. The most dangerous aspect was that this political faction was becoming more violent and radical, ready to eliminate anyone who stood in their way with lethal force.


    Antonio pondered without speaking.


    After a long moment, he said, "¡­ I have heard a bit about secret societies. There are many within the army, but this is the first that dares to kill..."


    "If you want to investigate them, I can infiltrate them. Kongtai''er tried to recruit me. If he survives, I''ll use him as a stepping stone. If he''s dead, then it''s even simpler."


    "No, there''s no need for you to investigate. It''s too dangerous for you. We should deal with such covert matters in an open manner, but now is not the right time. War has already broken out with Tanilia, and we need every capable person we have. If we bring this to light now, the military council will only deal with it lightly. If we try to handle it too harshly, it could damage the army''s combat power." Antonio frowned and said, "You don''t need to worry about this issue anymore. I will go to General Zio and handle it from the top down."


    Winters caught the subtext in Antonio''s words, and said unwillingly, "Are you saying there''s no way to deal with Kongtai''er and his group because they''ve become intertwined with Vineta? We can''t act against them?"


    "Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back. The battle has begun, and the priority now is to figure out how to end the war. They will be dealt with, but the timing is not right. We need to find a proper way, one that does not weaken the army''s fighting strength." Antonio''s brow furrowed deeply: "Leave this matter to me to manage; you should not get too involved."


    "You need to be careful of these people as well. They dare kill a delegate from the office of the Federated Provinces'' Secretary of State. Their knives are already stained with blood, which will only make them more frantic. They might even¡­ turn on their own." Although reluctant, since Antonio had decided to take over, it was probably the best solution for now.


    Suddenly, Winters remembered something and hesitantly said, "There''s another matter, possibly even more significant than Kongtai''er..."


    "Hmm? What is it?" Antonio rubbed his temples, looking somewhat fatigued. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I... I think I''ve killed a court mage."

 Chapter 92 Siege

    When the sentry on Tachi''s city walls saw the Golden Lion Flag on the horizon in the dawn light, he could hardly believe his eyes.The Tanilians clearly didn''t expect the enemy to arrive so quickly. Red Sulfur Harbor had just fallen, and the Venetians, still in the midst of reorganizing, had forcibly marched thirty kilometers overnight, cutting through the countryside that was, in theory, still under the Federation''s control, and headed straight for them.


    Now, most of the foraging teams sent out by Captain Kidd had not yet returned, and the Saint Marco Legion had already reached the base of Tachi''s walls.


    Layton didn''t rush to attack the city; instead, after cutting off Tachi from the outside world, he divided his forces to start purging the Federation''s small units from behind.


    After several minor skirmishes, the foraging teams sent out by Kidd were completely routed. The remnant soldiers scattered like birds and beasts, yet most of them were captured by farmers in the fields, wielding farm tools as weapons.


    The Federation soldiers, horrified to discover that the farmers, who were once timid and subservient, begging for everything, now had the courage to resist.


    The farmers, long harboring resentment, had some of the bolder ones slaughter the Federation soldiers and buried them quietly. Those less bold tied up the captured Federation soldiers and delivered them to the Venetians.


    When Antonio saw the scattered prisoners brought to Red Sulfur Harbor by the island''s farmers, he understood that everything went well for the Saint Marco Legion. The farmers received their reward money and went home delighted.


    Meanwhile, on Layton''s side, the Saint Marco Legion quickly compressed the Tanilians'' range of activity to within Tachi''s city walls.


    However, the defenders did not surrender obediently, nor did they send emissaries to contact the Saint Marco Legion, creating an eerie silence on the battlefield. Seeing this, Layton still resorted to the old method¡ªsending emissaries to persuade surrender.


    The local gentry of Red Sulfur Island, coerced into delivering the letter of persuasion to the defenders, was shot dead by a volley of arrows before he could even speak.


    The defenders expressed their resolve in this way¡ªthey would never surrender. They killed the envoy before he had a chance to speak, to avoid his words of persuasion weakening their morale.


    Layton was furious, but also impotently enraged. If the Venetian commander attacked out of rage, it would have been more than ideal for Captain Kidd.


    Expecting the defenders to surrender was nothing but a pipe dream. Layton ordered the construction of ramparts around Tachi, and the war fell into a deadlock.


    ¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª


    "Give me some fatty pieces... Ah, man, don''t give me the ones with bones, more fatty ones," a short soldier said, giggling as he stood in front of the cutting board with his pot.


    Behind him, a long line of soldiers waited to receive their meat.


    This was a corner of the camp, where the volcanic soil was turned into mud by the blood flowing everywhere, squelching underfoot.


    "Everyone wants the fatty cuts, who wants the lean?" the man distributing the meat retorted unhappily, his hands moving quickly. He sliced off two large chunks of fat from the pork skin and threw them into the short soldier''s pot: "Here''s a bone-in piece for you and two more chunks of fat. Get going, there are others waiting behind you, don''t hold up the line."


    The short soldier, satisfied with his pot full, walked away, and the next soldier with his pot stepped forward: "Give me two pieces of fatty as well..."


    The legions of the Ancient Empire were exceedingly good at building ramparts and roads; most of the hard-surfaced roads leading to Muro were built by the military, which were crucial to the prosperity of the Ancient Empire and remnants of which still exist today.


    The military organization of the Republic was said to inherit from the ancients, although in reality, it was modernized under the guise of the "Legion" name, but it had also adopted the Ancient Empire''s expertise in engineering and masonry.


    On the third day after the Saint Marco Legion arrived at Tachi, the Da Veneta Legion joined forces with the Saint Marco Legion, also contributing to the construction of the fortifications.


    Thin soil layers not conducive for digging? The Venetians gathered wicker and branches from the dense woods to make baskets, filling them with soil to form wall foundations. Tachi was flanked by mountains on two sides, narrowing the attack front. This also made things easier for the Venetians, as a narrow attack front meant a similarly narrow sortie front.


    The two legions quickly erected two-meter-high earthen walls around Tachi, completely isolating the city from the outside¡ªbut without moats, for basalt was simply too difficult to dig through.


    For soldiers who undertook heavy physical labor every day, bread alone was insufficient to sate them; they needed meat and salt.


    Winters was now at what was quite literally a slaughterhouse. In front, soldiers were being distributed meat, and in the back, pigs were still being butchered. Such places, prone to breeding epidemics, were located in the corners of the camp, strictly isolated from the living quarters.


    Winters watched with interest as the butchers worked: slaughtering the pigs, singeing off the hair with straw, gutting them to remove the organs, then using sharp knives to cut the whole pig into large pieces of pork.


    The processed pork was carried to the cutting board, where another butcher cut and weighed it to distribute to the soldiers. Discover exclusive content at empire


    In Veneta Legion organization, a ten-man squad had eight soldiers, sharing a pot and a large tent. Pork was distributed by squad, hence the soldiers came with pots to collect it. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The butcher responsible for splitting the pork was extremely efficient, turning a whole pig leg into a skeleton in the blink of an eye. Six butchers working behind him could barely keep up with his pace of meat distribution.


    "I could watch this all day," Winters said to Andre by his side.


    Andre, also fascinated, said, "So could I."


    The two warrant officers were not idly wandering here; like distributing meat and wine, it was prone to fights. So, Winters and Andre were in charge of supervising the meat distribution process. With two officers present, the soldiers dared not disrupt the order.

 Chapter 92 Siege_2

    Winters was no longer acting as a Centurion; he, along with Bard and Andre, had been reassigned to the logistical unit for a rotation internship.Less than a day into the rotation, Winters and Andre were almost driven insane by the tedious and onerous paperwork, so they decided together to volunteer for the dirty work no one else wanted to do¡ªsupervising the division of meat at the bloody, filthy slaughterhouse.


    Bard, on the other hand, was in his element among the mountainous piles of archives and documents. His writing skills, honed from years of transcribing scriptures at the Monastery, proved to be of great use in the logistics department. The head of logistics finally found an officer proficient in shorthand and quick calculations, a treasure indeed.


    As for why the three warrant officers were transferred to the logistics unit, starts with what happened the day after the Third Legion arrived at Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The day after the Da Weineta Legion was stationed at Red Sulfur Harbor, another supply fleet set sail from Sea Blue City and reached Red Sulfur Harbor.


    This supply fleet not only brought reinforcements, ammunition, and provisions for the Third Legion but also carried a member of the 13-person military commission and an officer who was officially appointed to command the Hundred-Man Squad.


    However, this officer, theoretically the centurion of the Hundred-Man Squad, was shocked to find that the Hundred-Man Squad, in effect, no longer existed¡ªafter two bloody battles, out of the original 150 soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad, only five remained, plus three officer cadets.


    Not only the Hundred-Man Squad didn''t exist anymore, even his superior officer was gone¡ªthe Chief Company Commander, Colonel Kongtai''er, wasn''t dead but had been sent back to the Vineta mainland due to injuries.


    The new centurion sadly realized that until the next wave of reinforcements arrived, he was just an officer without a single soldier under him.


    With no Hundred-Man Squad left, continuing to intern there was pointless. Besides, Winters had lost his appetite for combat. He felt it was not worth risking his life for the ambitions of people like Kongtai''er.


    Experience tales at empire


    At Winters'' request, Antonio reassigned him and Bard and Andre to the logistics unit for a rotation internship, and he also moved the few remaining soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad to the logistics unit for light duty¡ªfulfilling Winters'' promise: "After tonight, you won''t have to risk your lives anymore."


    Thanks to Antonio''s arrangement, the Herders had already embarked on the sailboat leaving Red Sulfur Island. They were to be taken to Sea Blue City first and then escorted to the Republic of Palatu before finally returning to their homeland.


    So now Winters, Bard, and Andre were relieved, simply waiting for commendations.


    There was no doubt that their contributions in destroying two sea-blocking chains and the artillery bastion were significant achievements. If the three had not been officer cadets, just for destroying the artillery alone, they would have been instantly promoted.


    However, they were not even formally commissioned officers, which made things rather awkward. It wasn''t feasible to promote a warrant officer to a lieutenant, was it? What would happen when they did get formally commissioned? Commissioning isn''t the same as a promotion, so would they be made lieutenants all over again?


    In the end, the solution the senior officers of the Third Legion came up with was to defer the commendations until the three warrant officers were formally commissioned next year, so that the process would be orderly.


    That meant as soon as the three became commissioned officers next year, they would not have to toil through seniority and would immediately be promoted to the rank of lieutenant.


    In Bard''s opinion, it was fortunate to be able to avoid the limelight by going to the logistics unit. Already being the subject of envy because of their significant achievements, it was wise to give up the chance to earn more honors on the frontline to others.


    Although Andre felt somewhat reluctant to leave combat behind, the memory of bloodshed during the full moon at the artillery bastion made him somewhat fearful, and he, too, was glad for the chance to take a rest.


    As for Winters¡ªhe didn''t think as much as Bard, nor did he cling to the opportunity for frontline combat like Andre. He simply didn''t want to die for the ambitions of a few or command soldiers to do so. Yet, he couldn''t change the course of the world, so he could only step aside and pretend not to see.


    A butcher at the edge of the cutting board knocked on his knife unsatisfiedly; they were out of meat to cut and urged the butcher behind to hurry up and provide more. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I think you shouldn''t have one person deal with a whole pig. If each person only handles one part of the process, like one person solely responsible for scalding, another for removing the entrails, the slaughtering efficiency would be higher," Winters couldn''t help but interject.


    Upon hearing someone meddling in his work, a butcher immediately responded, neither too softly nor too forcefully, "My lord, my family has been butchers for generations. I know how to slaughter pigs."


    Seeing Winters hit a snag, Andre snickered and poked Winters in the lower back. Winters also gave a wry smile and shook his head¡ªthe butchers were hired from outside and not military personnel, naturally oblivious of the strict hierarchical order of the military.


    "Fine, do your work any way you want," Winters said helplessly. "But I have to correct you on one thing¡ªI''m not ''my lord,'' and in Vineta, there are no ''my lords.'' The nobility throughout Senas Bay have been toppled and purged, there are no ''my lords'' anymore."


    "Alright, my lord."


    Winters was rendered speechless by the retort, while Andre burst into loud laughter, beating on his thighs uncontrollably.


    ...


    After completing his duty, Winters didn''t head straight back to his tent like Andre, but took a detour to the armory instead.


    A legion is a microcosm of society, not only filled with soldiers but also with various artisans, like blacksmiths.


    These artisans all held military status, some were full-time craftsmen, such as the armory''s blacksmiths and gunsmiths, responsible for repairing weaponry.

 Chapter 92 Siege_3

    Some soldiers possessed specific skills, such as carpentry or masonry, which allowed them to avoid heavy labor and receive higher wages than ordinary soldiers.Therefore, at any time, skilled individuals are more valuable, even within the army.


    When Winters approached, the armory''s gunsmith immediately took out a strange-looking short blunderbuss from the cabinet and reverently handed it over with both hands, "Commander, I have modified the gun you requested."


    The exquisite wheel-lock pistol Antonio had given Winters, along with Winters''s armor and sidearm, had all fallen to the bottom of Red Sulfur Bay before they ever saw combat.


    After Winters and his party returned, he hired several people to dive and salvage them. However, his luck was not as good as before, as the skilled divers found nothing after a day underwater.


    The beautiful and opulent wheel-lock pistol was lost for good, which pained Winters whenever he thought about it. After hearing about the incident, Antonio gave Winters the other pistol from the pair of wheel-locks. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Winters had a new idea, one that was even more convenient than the wheel-lock pistol.


    He took the short blunderbuss, which looked like an ordinary short gun, but there was nothing next to the flash hole¡ªno matchcord lever and no wheel-lock mechanism.


    Bare, with only the flash hole and the powder chamber.


    This was the inspiration Winters got from the battle with the man suspected to be a court mage.


    The reason he was "suspected" was that nothing could prove the man''s identity. Winters was convinced that the masked man who chanted in Ancient Empire language must be a magician, very likely one of the legendary court mages.


    However, after inspecting a charred corpse for several minutes, Antonio and Winters realized the burned body proved nothing.


    There were no tokens, marks, or distinctive features, only an iron mask that had not been damaged by fire.


    In the sovereignty war, the Senas Allied Army had not managed to kill, capture, or persuade any court mage to defect. Even if Antonio believed his nephew was not lying, he could not point to this body and declare it a court mage.


    Antonio could only ask Winters to keep quiet about it for the time being and send the body to the Magic Combat Bureau for dissection, while he would try to uncover the anonymous magician''s identity through other channels.


    It was only upon retrospect that Winters understood how the man managed to fire the nailed-down cannon¡ªhe had used some kind of powerful fire-starting spell to ignite the gunpowder within the gun barrel.


    In this way, the cannonball could be fired without an open flame.


    He had tried it himself, finding igniting gunpowder through closed metal to be extremely difficult, as magic seemed to hardly penetrate metal. However, it was not impossible¡ªit could be done with sufficient magical power.


    With this thought, an idea struck Winters¡ªmaybe this concept could be applied to firearms. It wasn''t necessary to light the gunpowder through the barrel; magic could replace the open flame.


    Therefore, this customised short blunderbuss was created, but its actual performance was yet to be tested by Winters.


    After confirming the gunsmith had followed his instructions, Winters placed a bag of silver coins on the gunsmith''s table.


    "No, no, I can''t take this, I already receive a salary," the gunsmith refused, trembling with fear.


    "Your salary is for the work you do for the legion; this gun was custom-ordered by me, privately. This money is not just for your labor, but also for the gun materials. Keep it."


    The gunsmith finally accepted the money bag, and with a sheepish expression, said, "Actually, it wasn''t much trouble, just sawing off a regular gun barrel and making a lighter stock. But without even a firing mechanism, I really can''t imagine how you''ll use this gun..."


    Winters smiled and said, "I have my uses for it."


    He wrapped the gun in burlap and returned to his own tent.


    Outside the tent, a dark, thin man was waiting for him. It was Gold, "Lucky" Gold, the former pirate captain, death-row oarsman, and Winters''s key to survival on Red Sulfur Island.


    In times of emergency, the Vineta Navy could release prisoner oarsmen and arm them. Provided they fought and returned to their posts without fleeing, their crimes would be expunged at the end of the war, allowing them to regain their freedom.


    Gold''s freedom was restored after the Lighthouse Port sea battle, and the Golden Lion sailor who handed a bag of water to Winters was him.


    Now, he came to say goodbye.


    "Sir, I''m leaving this damned place, taking the next messenger ship to Sea Blue City," Gold said, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth¡ªthose knocked out by Layton had all been replaced with gold, and he added with a smile, "Thanks to the commendation letter you wrote, the Vineta Navy restored my freedom early. I''ve come to bid you farewell."


    "Leaving now? Where will you go?" Winters was surprised and quickly invited Gold into the tent to talk.


    Gold didn''t enter, standing respectfully outside the tent and said, "I don''t know, I don''t know where I''m going. Now that I''m free again, I''ll just take it one step at a time."


    "It''s good to leave this place; you don''t need to be involved in this war," Winters said, somewhat sentimentally. He took a piece of paper, wrote down an address, and handed it to Gold, "Do you remember that fat captain we found? You know, our old acquaintance, the one who sailed your Lucky back to Sea Blue City and ran into pirates again, ending up sold as a slave at Hongsong Manor? Remember him?"

 Chapter 92 Siege_4

    Gold took the slip of paper, somewhat puzzled, "Hmm, seems like... I kind of remember...""I said I''d give you a ship, didn''t I?" Winters said with a big laugh, "That fat man owed me a huge favor, so he sold his Bandit Gull to me for a cheap price. Just so happens my mother left me a small inheritance, enough to afford it. Go find him at this address. The Bandit Gull is yours now, Captain Gold... Just don''t go back to being a pirate this time."


    Gold was stunned, the slip of paper in his hand almost fell as he couldn''t hold it steady. He stood there at a loss, his eyes slightly reddened.


    "Don''t you dare say ''thank you,'' and definitely don''t cry, you deserve this." Winters got goosebumps and quickly made a joke, "But if you go back to being a pirate and run into me again, then we''ll have to fight another battle."


    "Sir, what do you think of my luck?" Gold didn''t respond to the joke but asked a seemingly unrelated question.


    "Uh..." This question stumped Winters, and it took him a while to reply, "To some extent, your luck is very good... It''s unfortunate to encounter Layton and us, but even so, you''re the only pirate from the entire ship that survived, that''s also a tremendous stroke of luck..."


    "Right, that''s what I think too. My luck has always been good, so I''m Lucky Gold. However, there''s someone whose luck is even better than mine, so when I came across this person, my good luck was useless. Who do you think that is?"


    "...You''re not talking about me, are you?" Winters was a bit perplexed.


    "Exactly, sir, it''s you. I thought about it a lot on the deck of the Golden Lion and finally realized that luck is relative, one person''s fortune could be another''s misfortune. When encountering someone luckier than me, my good luck turns into bad luck. You are that person luckier than me, which is why I followed you on Red Sulfur Island," Gold stated decisively, "So if I run into you again in the future, I''ll just surrender."


    After finishing, Gold nodded his head in respect, turned around, and walked away with a swish.


    Winters was dazed for a moment, then went back to his tent and continued to write a letter that he hadn''t been able to finish the beginning of in two days.


    The supply ship from Sea Blue City didn''t just bring provisions, it also brought family letters¡ªof course, only for officers, the soldiers didn''t get this treatment.


    Inside Elizabeth''s envelope, Winters unexpectedly found another letter, Anna''s letter.


    He couldn''t wait to open Anna''s letter, which didn''t say anything particular: She and her sister had another big fight, she wanted to learn sculpture but her mother absolutely forbade it, an old servant in the house had left, and there was a new fabric from the north that was becoming fashionable in Sea Blue...


    These contents were not particularly special, just Anna''s everyday trifles, but for some reason, Winters felt like they were from another lifetime as he read them.


    Although his hands were covered in blood, Winters had never been troubled by the people he had killed, not even once. To him, those who died at his hands had brought it upon themselves. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the soldiers from the First Hundred Squad, those nailed to wooden stakes, those who followed him fleeing in the dense forest, those who fought desperately in the cramped corridors¡ªWinters would always remember their faces in his dreams.


    "Saint Marco Cathedral is undergoing renovations, they hired many painters and sculptors. When you come back, shall we go see it together? Mr. Montani, where are you now? What are you doing? Why aren''t you writing to me? Please write back to me, I hardly know anything about you, please write back." Anna wrote this at the end of the letter.


    Winters really wanted to tell Anna everything, to tell her how he was constantly gripped by fear while trapped on Red Sulfur Island yet still had to appear confident in front of everyone, to tell her about the anger he felt when he saw those desecrated bodies, to tell her about his rage towards Kongtai''er and those behind him, to tell her about the ghosts that invaded his dreams...


    He thought a lot but couldn''t write a single word.


    In the end, he picked up his pen and wrote, "I''m fine, eating well, sleeping well, maybe I really am just that lucky."

 Chapter 93 The Defense of the Old City

    "According to the locals we''ve found, the walls of Tachi have been around for some time. The exact construction date is unknown, but they are at least fifty years old¡ªthis place was once the duchy of Red Sulfur Island. After the Alliance seized power, it gradually fell into disuse, until it was repaired again two years ago, with no major alterations,"The atmosphere inside the temporary military camp''s strategy tent was exceedingly oppressive. Most of the senior officers were silently smoking their stale cigarettes, listening to the intelligence chief''s briefing without uttering a word.


    The officer who was speaking flipped a page in his small notebook, licked his lips, and continued, "The main body of the wall isn''t lime mortar, but volcanic ash concrete, which is the material used in the dome of Saint Marco Cathedral, made by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater to create artificial stone. The outer wall is covered with volcanic rock quarried nearby. In simple terms, the core of the wall is one massive stone, with another layer of stone wrapped around it."


    A staff officer cursed under his breath, and the expressions on the others'' faces also turned grim. The officers at this meeting each had at least fourteen years of military experience; the more solid the walls were, the greater the cost the attackers would have to bear.


    Seeing that the mood was growing somber, the intelligence chief hurriedly continued to explain the disadvantages of the wall: "However, the biggest problem with Tachi''s defensive system is its antiquity; it''s an outdated model, still relying on height for defense and an earthen slope below the high wall to counter siege ladders."


    "Due to the expense of stone walls, the main body of Tachi''s wall is rather thin, only barely two meters in thickness, which makes it difficult to deploy cannons. During that renovation two years ago, those Tani bastards realized this problem, but they didn''t undertake a comprehensive overhaul. They only added a protruding demi-lune on each of the eastern and western walls to mount enfilade cannons,"


    The intelligence chief took a breath, turning another page in his notebook: "Because digging is difficult, there is no moat in Tachi. After Alliance troops fled into Tachi, they thought about digging one temporarily, but gave up after less than a meter and a half. However, they used the excavated earth and stone to build another breastwork below the city wall and covered the city gate with a temporary rammed earth trilateral bastion..."


    "Somewhat methodical. William Kidd is just a mere pirate; I doubt he has the ability. Who is really defending the city?" Antonio interrupted the Third Legion''s intelligence chief.


    Sweat immediately appeared on the intelligence director''s forehead; he did not dare retort, but had to say, "¡­We don''t know that yet."


    "We don''t need to discuss the defensive issues; we can all see them. Tell us some other more important information," Antonio continued to ask, "Is there a water source in the city? How many civilians? What about the food supplies?"


    The officers'' thoughts began to waver upon hearing Antonio''s questions, suggesting that Major General Serviati was already considering a long siege rather than a forceful assault.


    The intelligence director hurriedly flipped through his notebook again: "The civilian population of Tachi mainly consists of sulfur mine workers and their families, not amounting to more than three hundred households. The Alliance did not establish a granary in Tachi, so there should only be the food stores of the sulfur mine workers'' households and the food they have collected from nearby villages in recent days. There are no wells in the city; it mainly relies on stream water flowing down from the mountains, with two to three water storage reservoirs. According to locals, there is a volcanic crater lake higher up behind Tachi, but the water there is brackish due to the proximity to the sulfur mines."


    Antonio, holding his forehead, ordered, "Send a few men into the mountains to find out exactly how many streams there are and whether we can somehow cut them off." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The intelligence director promptly acknowledged the order.


    The air in the council chamber grew heavy once more.


    Layton, unable to contain himself, slapped his thigh and cursed, "[Army swear word]! [Army swear word]! These Tani bastards have stolen all our stuff! [Army swear word]!"


    Though Layton''s words seemed somewhat nonsensical, they indeed voiced the inner thoughts of the gathered officers.


    Ever since the Republics broke away from the Empire, they had always been on the defensive in strategic terms. The Empire, though defeated, still retained a strength far greater than the Senas Alliance.


    Although there had been no more fighting between the Empire and the Republics after the end of the Sovereignty Wars, relations under Henry III had become increasingly close.


    However, strategic pressure is strategic pressure; on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain range lies the most powerful empire on the continent. Even the friendliest of giants remains a formidable threat.


    Thus, the military doctrine of the Republics'' armies was primarily defense and counterattack, which had been the successful experience of the Sovereignty Wars. They used fortified towns to deplete the aggressors'' forces and morale, while the field armies sought opportunities for decisive battles.


    In the strategic thinking of the Alliance, no fortress was impregnable; as long as sufficient casualties were inflicted and enough time was won before its fall, the fortress would''ve achieved its strategic goal.


    The Tani inside Tachi were clearly intent on this. It was a doomed lone fortress¡ªten thousand troops from two legions besieged a small city defended by less than three thousand men, with no reinforcements for the defenders.


    Normally, in the face of such inevitably doomed combat, the defenders would''ve surrendered by now. At most, during negotiations, they might propose some conditions, such as being allowed to leave with their arms. However, the Alliance defenders simply refused to surrender, not showing even the slightest intent to negotiate.


    The Tani behind the city walls had accurately targeted the weaknesses of the Republics'' military system: the political system determined that Vineta couldn''t mobilize armies counting in the hundreds of thousands, regardless of the cost, like feudal kings could.

 Chapter 93 The Defense of the Old City_2

    During times of peace, Vineta had a total of just six thousand troops in its Standing Army, and to save money, they were dispersed to be stationed in various cities since supplies could be provided by the cities where they were based.Therefore, Antonio and Layton could not afford to waste Vineta''s elite soldiers at the gates of Tachi, but they also could not afford to leave an Alliance army poised to strike in their rear.


    That was the reason Layton cursed the Tanyrians for stealing their own secrets. It was an era where "tactically, offense overwhelmingly beats defense, but strategically, defense overwhelmingly beats offense." When your own trump card for victory was used against you by others, it would frustrate anyone.


    However, there was nothing to be done about it because humans learn everything else slowly but pick up the art of warfare exceptionally quickly.


    The Barbarian tribes on the fringes of the Empire may not have been able to master poetry or literature, but when they saw ironware, catapults, gunpowder, and cannons, they could immediately assimilate and digest those technologies.


    That''s also why "barbarians" were able to conquer "civilizations" time and again¡ªbecause, in this era, the military technology of the "barbarian tribes" was not inferior to that of "civilized nations," and their mobilization capabilities were even better.


    But I digress, back to the siege of Tachi.


    The officers pondered long and hard but could find no good solution.


    Actually, the best solution was clear to all: don''t attack, just surround the city. There were less than three thousand troops in the defending army of Tachi, and they were already scared witless; they would certainly not dare to sally forth to battle.


    Thus, if either the Great Vineta Legion or the Saint Marco Legion left just one legion behind to lay siege, they could wait for the defending troops to run out of food and surrender on their own.


    If the defenders didn''t come out, then it would just be a waiting battle; after all, the Venetians had the whole of Red Sulfur Island as a resupply base and could wait out the Tanyrians until the end of the world.


    If the defenders dared to make a sortie for a field battle, that would be even better. A full-strength legion of over five thousand men attacking their three thousand rabble would certainly smash Tanyrian''s brains out.


    The other legion could then be freed from the siege to continue attacking the other main islands of the Tanilia Archipelago.


    Everyone was fully aware of this plan; it was sound, but the problem was... who would stay? Who would go?


    Who would be willing to remain for the siege? Who knew how much food the Tanyrians inside had? Richard IV had besieged Guidao City for two years without being able to breach it. If they were unlucky, perhaps by the time the war ended, the legion left here would still be staring down the Tanyrians inside the city.


    The soldiers might be very content with that prospect, but none of the officers seated here felt the same way.


    Without war, an officer''s chances for promotion depended solely on seniority. And the military system of the Senas Alliance meant that officers not only had to wait for seniority but also had to wait for a vacancy.


    Any officer worthy of a seat in the military council, unless they came from a wealthy family or had a rich father-in-law, had battled their way through the ranks, starting as "begging sub-lieutenants, impoverished lieutenants, scrimping captains, until finally becoming majors."


    Having finally gotten the chance to fight, which officer would be willing to waste time here? Who wouldn''t want to advance further?


    Outside the small but tough Tachi, the problem with Vineta''s military command system became apparent.


    If one were to speak from a standpoint of rationality, of course the reserve legions should lay siege here, while the elite Standing Army legions should leave Red Sulfur Island to continue conquering and plundering.


    But the problem was that Serviati was a Major General, and so was Layton. Moreover, even if the former''s rank could outstrip the latter''s by a head, he still could not command the latter.


    The military system of the Venetian Republic determined that each legion operated independently because they were directly subordinate to the Military Commission, with each legion commander answerable only to the Council of Thirteen. Even if a sub-lieutenant were appointed as the commander of the Saint Marco Legion, he could ignore Antonio''s orders.


    This structure prevented the military from becoming a power unto itself within, ensuring that the government commanded the army, rather than the army hijacking the government, thus avoiding the pitfalls that befell the Federated Provinces Republic.


    Moreover, if it were domestic operations, there would be no issue with each legion acting independently under the command of the Thirteen People''s Council. However, the current problem was this: between the two legions and Sea Blue City lay a vast sea. To communicate with the Thirteen People''s Council, ships would have to travel the great distance back to Sea Blue and then again to Red Sulfur Island.


    Even with favorable winds, a round trip would take at least three weeks. If luck were to be slightly worse and they constantly faced headwinds, it wouldn''t be impossible to receive news from Sea Blue City only after a month. In the unluckiest scenario where the communication ships all sank, the two legions might foolishly wait here for a reply while Sea Blue remained ignorant of the situation on Red Sulfur Island.


    Moreover, even if everything went smoothly, it would still take three weeks to receive a message from the Thirteen People''s Council, so it might be better to simply launch a strong attack, as taking Tachi could potentially be achieved within a week if the siege went well.


    The senior officers in the military tent were all too aware of the current situation; however, decisions about whether to advance or attack, who should go and who should stay, were not theirs to make.


    Decisions could only be made by the two legion commanders, and no one else had the right to participate ¡ª of course, theoretically, there was one more person with the right to be involved, and that was another member of the Thirteen People''s Council sent from Sea Blue City.


    This general, who came to Red Sulfur Island aboard the supply fleet, arrived at the request of Major General Antonio and Rear Admiral Nalesho to act as the third member of the temporary military committee for the Revenge Fleet.


    However, as luck would have it, he was yet another navy rear admiral... With high rank in the navy, he had no say in the affairs of the army.


    Antonio had previously suggested the establishment of a joint command in order to avoid this kind of internal consumption between the army and navy, but who would have expected that while the cooperation between the Third Legion and the navy went smoothly, the problem arose within the army itself.


    So, in the end, it was still necessary for the two legion commanders to reach a consensus, and the officers were all waiting for the final decision of the two major generals.


    Major General Layton obviously had no desire to stay behind and endure a siege. Having sat on the bench for many years and finally getting a chance to command troops again, he would surely want to make a decisive move, not waste time on the tiny Red Sulfur Island.


    Even if Antonio agreed to stay and besiege Tachi, the officers of the Da Weineta Legion wouldn''t accept it.


    Winters made contact with the Da Weineta Legion through Kalman''s smuggling channels, which meant that the credit for capturing Red Sulfur Harbor should have originally belonged to the Third Legion.


    However, in order to ensure victory, Antonio decided the Third Legion should continue feint attacks on the northern coast to draw the enemy''s main forces, while assigning the recently arrived Saint Marco Legion the task of attacking Red Sulfur Harbor.


    In other words, this credit was a gift from Antonio to the Saint Marco Legion. The officers of Da Weineta were filled with resentment, suppressed only by Antonio''s authority. Words like "tolerance for the country''s sake" and "making compromises for the greater good" had little persuasive power to officers dreaming of earning commendations and promotions. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, they had already endured once, so why couldn''t the Saint Marco Legion endure this time? The officer corps of Da Weineta firmly believed that it was both logical and fair that it should be the "reserve forces" that stayed behind; they would rather scale the city walls than be responsible for besieging Tachi.


    "How about drawing lots? Or maybe each legion leaves half behind¡­" As a certain officer was lost in wild thoughts, Antonio abruptly declared the meeting adjourned.


    At noon that day, Antonio, Layton, and Nalesho, along with Rear Admiral Compton, who had just arrived from Sea Blue, the four highest commanders of the army and navy, held a closed-door meeting.


    No clerks were allowed into the tent, so no one knew what kind of conversation took place between the four.


    That afternoon, Andre burst into Winters'' tent, where Winters was taking his midday nap, and shook him vigorously awake.


    Winters, who always had a severe case of morning anger, barely managed to restrain the urge to curse: "What is it?"


    "We''ve got work!" Andre shouted excitedly, "The chief has ordered the two of us to follow the engineer officer in charge of the road construction! Finally, no more clerical work! Copy! Copy! Copy! I''ve been writing so much these past few days that I''m almost forgetting what the letters look like¡­"


    "Ah!? Road construction?"

 Chapter 94 Want to Siege? First Build the Road

    The proverb says, "To get rich, build a road first."But the Venetians'' purpose in building a road on Red Sulfur Island would certainly not be to stimulate local economic growth.


    "Build a road?" Winters, just awake, was still a bit groggy, "What road?"


    "A standard Guzhi Road, from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi," Andre said cheerfully, "A joint order from the two major generals, no mistake. Hey, no matter what road we''re building, at least we''re not stuck being clerks!"


    "Hmm." Winters rubbed his eyes, trying hard to think about the true purpose of the road construction. Suddenly, he sighed and said, "I think I''ve figured out what''s going on... It looks like the higher-ups have made up their minds to besiege the city."


    Red Sulfur Island is a typical volcanic island; the island itself is a huge volcano. Thus, from the coast of Red Sulfur Island, the elevation increases as one goes inland.


    Located in the center of the island, Tachi is backed by the volcano on the volcanic island, thus occupying a naturally formidable terrain.


    The environment where Tachi is situated was not originally suitable for forming a natural settlement; however, the place is replete with rich volcanic sulfur mines.


    The former Duke of Red Sulfur Island, in order to keep the sulfur mines in his grip, did not set up his administration in Red Sulfur Harbor but rather established New Town here.


    The sulfur mining industry and political reasons eventually led to the creation of Tachi, which is also named for the high tower castle built there by the former Duke of Red Sulfur Island.


    There is no direct road between Tachi and Red Sulfur Island, not even a decent one.


    The neglected dirt road leading out of Red Sulfur Island winds through several villages and plantations before it finally reaches Tachi.


    Thinking of all this, Winters sees the reason why Antonio and Layton would prioritize road construction over besieging the city as rather obvious.


    Winters had also observed Tachi''s defense structures from a distance; though they were of the outdated old-fashioned kind of city walls, they were still quite daunting.


    In the old days, towering walls were considered impregnable and insurmountable, symbolizing wealth and military might.


    However, no one builds those kinds of walls anymore for a simple reason: they cannot effectively withstand artillery bombardment.


    Funds are limited, and if walls are built high, they inevitably become thin. In the past, this wasn''t an issue, as wooden scaffolding could be constructed behind the walls to temporarily increase their width so that more defenders could stand on them.


    After the maturation of artillery technology, however, the advantages of high walls became their disadvantages:


    The taller the wall, the larger its front silhouette and the easier it is to be hit by cannonballs;


    And if the wall is not thick enough, it can''t accommodate artillery, as the defenders of Constantinople discovered during its siege: the recoil from heavy guns mounted atop the walls caused more damage to the high walls than did the attackers'' siege artillery;


    The towers on the original walls became a problem too, as the towers on old-fashioned walls were much higher than the walls themselves. This design allowed defending troops to continue holding the towers even if the enemy scaled the walls;


    However, the presence of high towers on the wall made it difficult for defenders to rapidly move artillery along them...


    The various disadvantages are numerous. In short, when faced with such high walls, bombard them with artillery, and that''s the end of it.


    In the Venetian military structure, the artillery unit is an independent force separate from the regular legions, so the legions have only infantry and cavalry.


    But now, Antonio and Layton have ready-made cannons:


    The thirty-two-pound cannons pulled from the ruins of the Red Sulfur Bay bastion are basking in the sun on the docks; if these aren''t enough, there are also four-pound and eight-pound guns from the bastion in Red Sulfur Harbor; if those aren''t sufficient, the cannons from the warships can be disembarked.


    What about the lack of gunners? That''s even easier to manage, because artillerymen and engineers are two of a kind.


    The graduates from the Artillery branch of the Army Officer School, those who do well join the artillery, those who do less well end up in the engineering corps.


    Although Antonio and Layton don''t have artillerymen, they do have engineers, and officers who are now doing clerical work after graduating from the Artillery are plentiful.


    It''s unlikely they''ve forgotten all their book knowledge so quickly, so Layton slapped his forehead and said, "What clerical engineers? Get them all back to being artillerymen."


    Additionally, the gunners from the naval warships can be temporarily deployed to assist with the siege.


    The enemy has gifted them with a batch of heavy cannons, and the military isn''t short of gunners; the biggest problem is actually how to move the big guns from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi.


    The roads on Red Sulfur Island are too poor and circuitous, and the Venetians lack heavy draft horses and oxen needed for hauling, plus transporting the artillery from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi involves an uphill journey due to the terrain, making it a challenging task. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If they were to rely on the island''s original poor roads, moving these dozen cannons to the front lines would be harder than simply waiting for the defenders to run out of food and surrender, which would save some energy.


    So¡ªthey need to build a road.


    When Winters first heard this order to build a road, his first thought was: it must be yet another one of Major General Layton''s spur-of-the-moment ideas.


    However, after setting aside his biases and thinking rationally, Winters found that it might indeed be a good method.


    As the saying goes, "Lathering up doesn''t delay the shave."


    The Da Weineta Legion, as a Standing Army, is very proficient in civil engineering and has ready-made techniques. There are plenty of farmers and slaves on Red Sulfur Island, providing ready labor. In addition, there are quarries on the island, supplying ready materials.


    Building a Guzhi Road connecting Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi would not only make it easier to transport cannons but would also greatly benefit the logistical support of the besieging army.


    It would also allow Venetian troops to quickly maneuver between Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi, enabling them to rapidly support Red Sulfur Harbor in the event of a change in battle conditions or retreat to their ships.

 Chapter 94 Want to Siege? First Build the Road_2

    Even after the battle was over, they could continue to collect tolls... because the Vineta Army had the right to impose tolls on the Guzhi Roads they constructed, partly using the fees for road maintenance and partly as additional income which went straight into the army''s treasury.This law was originally intended to encourage the Army to engage more in infrastructure construction. As a result, the Guzhi Roads between the major cities of Vineta had become one of the most important sources of revenue for the Army... The most wonderful part was that this income was not included in the military budget, allowing the Army to use it as they pleased... Therefore, the splendid Army headquarters could actually be said to have been built on the sweat of the soldiers working on the roads.


    "Where is my mind wandering to..." Winters shook his still somewhat groggy head, hastily straightened his attire, took the newly issued sword from the rack, and said to Andre, "Let''s go."


    The two mounted their warhorses and galloped toward Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The warhorses of the Third Legion were left at Sea Blue City, and the Saint Marco Legion did have some warhorses, but only as mounts for the officers. The Saint Marco Legion, being a reserve force, did not have a cavalry unit.


    However, it was quite inconvenient for the officers of the Third Legion to move around without warhorses, so the logistics department initially got some mules. As a result, they faced strong resistance from officers with cavalry backgrounds; some even claimed they would rather "swallow a bullet before suffering the indignity of riding a mule."


    It was Winters who came up with an idea. He had noticed that the plantation owners on Red Sulfur Island generally kept horses. The logistics department of the Third Legion immediately acted, forcibly buying up all the horses from the plantations on the island. Naturally, the plantation owners dared not express their anger, as they were already lucky not to have been liquidated.


    Through this coerced buying and selling, the Third Legion''s logistics department managed to issue a warhorse to every officer in the Legion.


    The military acts swiftly and decisively, so once the two Regimental Commanders decided to build a Guzhi Road, their subordinates only needed to focus on how to carry out the order.


    The Red Sulfur Island Road Construction Strategy Headquarters was established five minutes after the order was issued, drawing officers from both legions to manage the construction of the Guzhi Road, with Antonio assuming the role of Chief of the Department himself.


    The Strategy Department immediately dispatched engineer officers responsible for surveying and mapping, starting the preliminary plan on paper right away.


    These tasks that required advanced expertise, of course, had nothing to do with Winters and Andre, two junior second lieutenants; their assignment was well-considered based on their abilities.


    "What? What''s that? You''re saying we should lead a group to conscript laborers?" Winters looked at the order with a grimace.


    "Hey." Andre seemed unfazed, laughing, "After all this hassle, it turns out we still have to deal with farmers, don''t we?"


    "Alas, let''s go."


    The order from the Road Construction Strategy Department only specified how many laborers were needed and said nothing else. In addition, Winters and Andre were allotted forty fully armed soldiers.


    The superiors'' intentions were elusive but clear: By any means necessary, just get the manpower.


    In the following days, while Winters and Andre were busy recruiting villagers on the island to work on the road at a daily wage of five silver coins, a small-scale skirmish broke out outside of Tachi.


    The garrison, noting that the Venetians outside were not undertaking any significant actions besides wall construction, grew bolder and dared to send men out of the city at night to continue deepening the moat.


    This, of course, could not be concealed from the Venetians outside as the Venetian Army''s siege lines were less than four hundred meters from the city walls.


    The sound of stone clinking in the moat could be clearly heard on the siege lines, four hundred meters away.


    Antonio and Layton, of course, could not simply watch the defenders strengthen their fortifications. Since they lacked cavalry, two hundred-man teams from the Third Legion were mobilized on short notice.


    There was no time for talk. Antonio ordered Captain Doria and Lieutenant Juan to lead a hundred-man team each and strike with light equipment from the east and west sides, aiming to approach the moat as quickly as possible.


    If they could drive the fleeing soldiers into the city, the assault teams only needed to hold the city gates until the two large legions launched a full assault. If there was no chance to seize the gates, the assault teams were to inflict casualties and then quickly retreat. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ten minutes later, two teams of figures silently left the Venetian barricades and approached Tachi from both flanks.


    The light infantry moved swiftly, covering the less than half a kilometer distance in no time. Just as the defenders on the walls sounded the alarm bell when they spotted the enemy, the two leading Centurions had already leaped into the trench with their swords, slashing frantically.


    Right behind their officers, Venetian soldiers poured into the moat like a tidal wave. The Tanilians in the trench, armed only with tools, tried to climb out and flee but were grabbed by the ankles by Venetian soldiers and dragged back into the trench to be killed.


    The one-sided slaughter in the trench, which was less than two meters high and wide, unfolded quickly, as the two Centurions began to lead their men from the east and west towards the center city gate.


    As they advanced, they pushed the Tanilians in the trench toward the city gate.


    "The honor of taking Tachi first is mine!" Captain Doria shouted inwardly, eyeing the mass of Tanilians crowded at the city gate.


    However, no matter how desperately the Tanilians at the city gate beat and pleaded, the gate remained unmoved.


    The defenders in the outer bastion were the first to react, and gunfire erupted from above. Musket and crossbowmen began firing at the Venetian soldiers in the moat.


    The defenders on the city walls were also stirred by the counterattack from the bastion, starting to use their ranged weapons to suppress the enemy.

 Chapter 94 Want to Siege? First Build the Road_3

    Arrows and lead shot rained down upon the Venetian soldiers in the moat like a storm, halting the momentum of the assault team."Sound the horn, signal retreat!" Antonio bellowed from the ramparts, and the trumpeter promptly sounded the horn for retreat.


    Juan, the lieutenant responsible for the eastern attack, immediately led his soldiers to climb out of the moat and sprinted towards their own ramparts. Muskets and crossbows from the city walls struck down several men, but the majority of the hundred-strong unit retreated safely.


    However, Captain Doria, who was in charge of the western assault, was unwilling to give up. His vanguard was less than twenty meters from the city gate, and the opportunity seemed too good to miss; maybe they could capture Tachi in one fell swoop.


    He roared, "Advance! If the enemy opens the gate, we charge in! Victory is within reach!"


    But the city gate didn''t open, and the roar of cannons crushed his valiant dreams.


    The cannons installed on the triangular forts were reloaded and began firing at the enemy troops in the moat. The triangular forts, which covered the city gates and spanned the moat, provided a ruthlessly lethal side fire to the besiegers.


    The projectiles from the city walls were no significant threat to the Venetian soldiers in the moat, but those in front of the triangular fort''s volley were utterly exposed.


    A four-pound iron cannonball entered Captain Doria''s left chest and exited through his back. Then it pierced the body of the soldier behind him, and then another soldier... With just one cannon shot, a bloody trench was ploughed through the moat.


    Captain Doria was killed on the spot, and his hundred-man team were first bewildered as the soldiers behind the moat had no idea what had happened; they then completely collapsed.


    First one soldier took the lead, then two, three, and finally, all soldiers started crawling out of the moat and running back.


    The centurion "Big Beard" and another sergeant "Buck Teeth" lifted Captain Doria''s body, attempting to take it back. However, they hadn''t gone far when a thick, short crossbow bolt shot from behind, nailing Sergeant Major "Big Beard" to the ground.


    Sergeant "Buck Teeth," holding the captain''s lower leg, let go in a panic and ran towards the Venetian camp without looking back.


    At this moment, the gates of Tachi creaked open at last.


    In the midst of the noisy, chaotic battlefield, Antonio suddenly caught a hint of an unusual sound, and he shouted orders, "Musketeers! To the western parapet! To the western parapet! Guns at the ready, follow my command!"


    Amid curses and warhorse neighs, over thirty Cavalry burst through the crowd, streaming out from the city gate. They leaped over the moat and charged towards the escaping Venetian soldiers heading for their own ramparts.


    Lagging behind, Sergeant "Buck Teeth" heard the horse hooves getting closer. He gritted his teeth, turning around to fight back, when all he saw was a flash of cold steel. A saber, propelled by the speed of a Warhorse, cleaved through Sergeant "Buck Teeth''s" shoulder, slicing him into two, flesh and bone, in an instant.


    This terrifying clean cut didn''t even slow the Cavalry''s pace by a bit ¡ª the saber arced up over his head, and the rider continued his chase, slashing at new prey.


    The soldiers who fell behind were cut down like wheat after a stormy pass, and Antonio watched intently as the cavalrymen from the Confederation reached the forefront, shouting sharply, "Hold your fire without my command!"


    Above Tachi, Captain Kidd did not wish for the Cavalry to chase too deep. Seeing his own Cavalry had crossed the middle line, he quickly ordered the sounding of the horn for a recall.


    As the horn sounded from the battlements, Antonio roared, "Now! Fire!"


    On the ramparts, the musket fire erupted like popping beans, and a volley of lead shot targeted the chasing Confederation Cavalry.


    The Cavalryman who had killed Sergeant "Buck Teeth" was at the forefront, thus many musketeers aimed at him. One lead shot exploded in his right shoulder, causing him so much pain he almost fainted. His Warhorse beneath him took four shots and died instantly.


    The cavalryman screamed inhumanly as he was rolled under his horse, which also broke his left leg. He struggled to crawl out from under the warhorse.


    However, his left foot was trapped in the stirrup, and his leg was pinned down by a six-hundred-kilogram weight; he was immobile.


    A few other cavalrymen who had charged too close to the Venetian fortification walls were also killed on the spot.


    The gates of the Venetian fortification burst open, and a troop of halberdiers rushed out with cries to aid their own soldiers.


    Seeing that he had already killed many Venetians, the commander of the cavalry unit was no longer keen on fighting. He blew a sharp whistle, leading the remaining cavalry to retreat quickly. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Venetian halberdiers pursued for a distance. When one of the halberdiers passed the rider trapped under the dead horse and saw he was still alive, he quickly ended the rider''s suffering.


    The cannons on the triangle and semi-circular forts began firing at the Venetian halberdiers to cover the retreat of their cavalry.


    Several iron balls flew over, but they were not very accurate and posed little threat to the dispersed soldiers.


    One cannonball flew at such a high angle that it even soared over the fortification walls of the Venetian army.


    The walls constructed by the besieging force were between 400 and 600 meters away from the city walls, a distance already within the range of the cannon. But this was the first time the defending army fired at the walls, and they knew the threat at this distance was minimal.


    Having seen plenty of bloodshed today and with the halberdiers having completed their mission, Antonio ordered the troops to withdraw. Your journey continues on empire


    At the break of dawn, a horseman bearing a white flag approached the Venetian fortification wall, claiming to have a verbal message from General Serviati.


    "I am Antonio Serviati. What do you wish to say?" Hearing that the messenger wanted to see him, Antonio, who had just lain down for a moment, hurriedly went up to the fortification wall.


    "Honourable General Serviati," the rider proclaimed loudly, "General Kidd extends his highest respects to you. Following last night''s battle, with much blood already spilled, General Kidd hopes that our side and yours can collect the bodies of the fallen without interference today, prepare them properly, and bury them."


    Antonio pondered for a moment, then replied, "Alright, those who are in charge of collecting the bodies will tie white cloths around their left arms. If your side does not attack our people, then we will not attack yours."


    When the messenger heard the reply, he removed his helmet, bowed deeply, and said, "Once more, my respects to you, General Serviati. With that, our sides have reached an agreement."


    Having said that, he rode off without looking back.


    "Huh, who would have thought that pirates and slavers could still possess a shred of decency," muttered Lieutenant Sara, who was on watch duty, as he watched the rider leave.


    Antonio gave Lieutenant Sara an impassive glance and said, "Mr. Sara, do you think they are proposing to retrieve the bodies out of decency?"


    Startled by the sudden attention from the legion commander, Sara was a bit flustered: "Yes! Sir! I don''t know, sir!"


    Antonio patted Sara''s shoulder, saying gently, "Don''t be nervous. As an officer, you should think more from the enemy''s perspective. William Kidd''s request to collect the bodies undisturbed merely aims to buy an additional day''s time."


    "Then... then why did you agree to it?" asked Lieutenant Sara hesitantly.


    "Why? Because time is not on their side," Antonio sighed lightly, "Besides, if it means not leaving the soldiers to rot in the wilderness, then let him have the extra day."

 Chapter 95 The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer

    On the day following the minor skirmish at the moat, both the attacking and defending forces sent people to collect the bodies, with neither side taking any further action.The second day, the defending army sent men out to dig the moat again.


    However, this time they were not working under the cover of night but openly during the day, with clanging and banging.


    Clearly, the defenders had keenly sensed the Venetians'' weakness: no artillery, too few expendable troops, and a lack of cavalry.


    Therefore, there was no need to work at night like thieves trying to muffle the bell, which would just allow the Venetians to approach under the cover of darkness.


    So they brazenly worked during daylight when those on the city walls could have a clear view of the Venetians'' every move from above. Continue reading at empire


    The defenders were as if spreading their legs open and taunting the Venetians, "Come on, you come now. Don''t you not come."


    On the city walls, the half-moon and triangular forts, the Federation soldiers were ready for battle, with cannons and muskets loaded, crossbows strung, and bundles of arrows stacked by their sides.


    It was obvious that if the Venetians were willing to risk bullets and arrows to fight for the moat, the Tachi defenders would be more than happy to oblige.


    Atop the Venetian ramparts, Layton was so angry he was close to smashing the battlements with a slap, cursing vehemently, "Fucking hell! To be underestimated by these Tanilian bastards! Send a battalion there! This time we must massacre them until they dare not step outside again!"


    "If we send troops to inflict casualties on those in the moat, I fear we would be playing right into William Kidd''s hands," Antonio said with a smile, "Rust [Layton''s nickname], who do you think are in the moat right now?"


    "Don''t beat around the bush! Always speaking in riddles every day, it''s annoying. Just speak plainly!" Layton did not play along, glaring fiercely at Antonio.


    Unperturbed, as he was accustomed to his old classmate''s temper, Antonio answered his own question, "William Kidd would definitely not send his own soldiers out there. Those in the moat are probably miners who originally lived in Tachi. For every miner we kill, that''s one less mouth for him to feed. To exchange those spare mouths for the lives of our soldiers, William Kidd sure knows how to make a good deal."


    "So what do we do then?" Layton glared again.


    Antonio rhythmically tapped his fingers against the parapet, "This is an overt scheme. They come out during the day to more effectively inflict casualties on our assault teams. Estimate the distance from here to the city wall."


    "About half a kilometer, I guess."


    "That distance is already within the effective range of the cannons, not to mention the advantages the Federation''s elevated artillery positions provide. Why haven''t the half-moon and triangular forts bombarded us yet? Why watch us build siege works without taking action?"


    Layton''s nostrils flared in anger, berating, "Still playing guessing games? When will you ever stop?"


    "Think, my friend, think. The juniors are watching; don''t be so impetuous," Antonio urged.


    "Get lost."


    Seeing Layton about to explode, Antonio patted his arm, explaining, "The enemy must be running low on gunpowder. That''s why they''re waiting for an opportunity to inflict maximum casualties on our forces. Otherwise, they would have bombarded us with cannons by now. Our numbers are few; we cannot afford to waste lives. William Kidd, on the other hand, is short on gunpowder and cannot afford to waste it either. These maneuvers are nothing but an attempt to bait us closer to the walls..."


    "Enough talk; get to the point," Layton said impatiently.


    "Whatever William Kidd wants us to do, we''ll do the opposite. We currently lack heavy artillery, and since the enemy''s gunpowder is scarce, there''s actually no difference," Antonio brushed dust off his hands, "There''s no need to send troops to kill the miners in the moat. Forced to labor after last night''s battle, whether it''s them or anyone else, none would work with any enthusiasm. Moreover, these miners, who now harbor resentment towards the Federation, may prove quite useful to us."


    Layton''s eyes bulged like a bull''s, "So we just watch while the Tanilians fortify their defenses?"


    "Since William Kidd can have people digging moats, we too can engage in engineering works," Antonio stated nonchalantly, "Let the enemy do whatever; we''ll do the same. We certainly won''t follow their plans. Let''s see who scares whom." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That afternoon, as the guards on the Tachi city walls began to tire from a morning of vigilance, the Venetians'' fortification began to inch closer to the city walls, several hundred meters away.


    A sentry on the triangular fort spotted the unusual activity of the enemy opposite and hurriedly called his superior. After several reports up the chain of command, Tachi''s supreme commander, William Kidd, made his way to the triangular fort in front of the city gate¡ªthis location being the closest to the Venetian earthworks.


    After careful observation for quite some time, Captain Kidd ultimately figured out what the Venetians were up to. He slammed his hand against the earthen wall of the triangular fort, cursing loudly, "Son of a bitch!"


    Directly opposite the city gate and the triangular fort, the Venetians had made an opening in their earthwork wall and were constructing an angled passage at 45 degrees to the line connecting the gate, the triangular fort, and the opening itself.


    This was why the first sentry to notice reported that "the enemy''s earthwork is approaching us."


    On the Tachi side, the Tanilians were energetically digging trenches.


    Meanwhile, outside the city, the Venetians were busily building walls.


    The greatest defensive feature of Tachi was not the city walls, but the foundation. The entire city was situated on a large slab of volcanic rock, with soil created from weathered rock swept away by strong sea winds to lower-lying regions.


    As a result, the soil around the city was extremely thin, too thin even for farming, with the hard volcanic rock lying just beneath the surface layer. This made it impossible for attackers to dig trenches to approach the walls or use mining and blasting tactics to destroy them.

 Chapter 95 The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_2

    The siege troops must cross the open ground in front of the city walls, a hard and open area where they are completely exposed to the long-range firepower of the defenders, vulnerable to ricocheting cannonballs and the whizzing of bullets, arrows, and darts.However, when people are pushed to the brink, they can come up with all kinds of methods.


    Sebastian Volbon, the engineering lieutenant colonel called to the road engineering headquarters, barely had time to settle into his seat before he was summoned back to the siege frontline. Cornered by two major generals, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon racked his brains and came up with an alternative plan: if digging trenches wasn''t possible, then build walls - construct entrenchments on the ground surface.


    In simple terms, this meant constructing corridors between two walls. Although this was far more labor-intensive than digging entrenchments, it was the only method available for the time being.


    Upon hearing Volbon''s plan, Layton immediately gave his approval, "Do it!"


    In Rost Layton''s eyes, "It''s better to progress with an idea than to halt in hesitation" ¨C doing something was far better than just watching the enemy dig trenches.


    Yet, the plan decided on a whim proved to be extremely difficult to implement in practice, leading to numerous engineering challenges.


    Firstly, the corridors would be built right under the enemy''s eyes. The enemy might tolerate the Venetians encircling the city from half a kilometer away, but they would never allow them to continue constructing corridors closer to the city.


    Digging trenches offered a natural barrier to direct fire, but building walls didn''t ¨C and the efficiency of ramming earth for walls was too slow.


    No one had the nerves of steel required to tamp down earth for walls while being bombarded by enemy cannons.


    Luckily, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon, in a stroke of inspiration born from urgency, innovated a new method of wall construction from his experience with dam engineering.


    Volbon utilized local resources, weaving dense vines and pliable branches from the island''s forests into roughly cylindrical cages, first filling the cages with large stones, then filling the gaps with smaller ones, and finally packing them tight with mud.


    Laying the cages flat on the ground and stacking them layer by layer allowed for the rapid construction of temporary walls.


    The length of the cages determined the thickness of the walls: a one-meter-long cage was enough to withstand the fire of muskets and light cannons.


    Although such crudely constructed walls were bound to collapse over time, no one expected them to last forever; as long as they held until the end of the siege, it was sufficient. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To ensure the soldiers could work more safely, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon invented a "moving wall".


    That is, by loading farm carts with mud and pushing them in front of the working area to lock the axle in place to form a temporary shielding wall.


    These moving walls were used not only to block enemy cannonballs but also to obscure the enemy''s view while the sappers quickly constructed the corridor behind them.


    Once a section of the corridor was completed at the current position, they would push the cart forward and continue work at the next spot.


    When William Kidd realized what the Venetians were up to, he immediately ordered artillery to fire upon the Venetian fortifications extending towards Tachi.


    The Venetian fortifications were only about five hundred meters from the city walls, a distance at which even three-pound or four-pound light cannons could achieve near precision.


    The four-pound cannons on the triangular bastion fired first. The four-pound iron balls flew over the Venetians'' heads in a parabola, landing far behind the makeshift walls without hitting anything but air and ground.


    The gunner immediately adjusted the wooden wedge under the barrel of the cannon. After reloading, the four-pound cannons roared a second time.


    This time, the cannonball hit the mud-filled farm cart directly, breaking through the cart''s plank and burying itself deep in the mud.


    The cart shook, the axle and spokes groaning under the impact, and one of the wheels'' spokes, unable to withstand the pressure, snapped off.


    The farm cart toppled to one side, with the other end sticking up abruptly, and the mud spilled out... But that was all that happened ¨C the Venetians simply dragged the cart away and pushed another one into place. Experience new stories on empire


    The gunner adjusted the angle once again, and this time the cannonball flew just beneath the cart''s body, theoretically able to kill a few Venetians hidden behind the cart.


    However, the enemies seemed like bloodless stones, unshaken, continuing the construction of the corridor.


    William Kidd, infuriated, punched the earthen wall of the triangular bastion.


    After one ranging shot and two effective hits, the skill and luck of the gunner were beyond question. But the Venetians seemed... impervious to pain.


    William Kidd ordered the use of eight-pound cannons, yet it seemed that the previous two hits had exhausted their luck. The eight-pounder''s shots were either too low or too high.


    One eight-pound cannonball hit the cart directly, but it didn''t cause much trouble for the Venetians.


    Seeing that the Venetians had managed to construct a section of the corridor, William Kidd then ordered the eight-pound cannons to bombard the walls on either side of the finished section of the corridor.


    However, shooting at the corridor walls was even less effective because Lieutenant Colonel Volbon had intentionally designed the corridor to zigzag towards the wall like a snake.


    Although this increased the workload, it also made it impossible for the cannons on the city walls to fire directly into the corridor.


    The eight-pound cannons set up on the triangular bastion could only fire at the corridor walls from a high angle, and all were deflected off the walls.


    William Kidd, observing this, went to the eastern side of the city to the demi-lune, where the cannons, though further from the corridor, had a shallower angle of fire.


    Indeed, shooting from the demi-lune at the corridor resulted in an even worse hit rate. William Kidd simultaneously regretted wasting gunpowder and prayed that the next shot would hit the corridor wall directly.


    Finally, an eight-pound iron ball traced a beautiful arc through the sky and struck the side wall of the corridor hard.

 Chapter 95 The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_3

    The immense momentum of the cannonball directly toppled a large section of the side wall, and the long-suppressed defending army on the wall burst into a thunderous cheer.However, their laughter quickly faded because the Venetians brought out more baskets filled with dirt and stones and rapidly repaired the demolished wall to its original state.


    In frustration, William Kidd halted the cannonade; he couldn''t afford to waste gunpowder on bombarding a dirt wall hundreds of meters away.


    On the Venetian side, Major General Layton hearty laughed and patted Volbon''s shoulder, "Gold will eventually shine. Given your capabilities, it''s obvious a reservist corps'' engineering major is beneath you. Do well, and if we take Tachi, I''ll promote you to colonel!"


    "The closer the tunnel gets to the wall, the more difficult the construction becomes," Colonel Volbon said with a wry smile, shaking his head. "I''m just a patcher, fixing whatever problem there is. I only hope that if one day we can''t advance further, you won''t send me to the martial court."


    "Each meter your tunnel advances reduces many casualties in the subsequent combat," Antonio said gently. "We understand the difficulty of this plan; just do your best. After the battle, General Layton and I will jointly recommend you for recognition." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Engineer Lieutenant Otto Skorzenny hurriedly came running, saluted the three senior officers, and then anxiously reported, "Sir, it seems we''ve built the wall too high. I''ve observed that the lowest layer of baskets can no longer bear the weight of the stones above and is about to snap!"


    Volbon, Antonio, and Layton immediately rushed to the spot where Lieutenant Otto had found the compromised wall. After a thorough examination, Colonel Volbon confirmed, "Indeed, it won''t do. The weight on top is too much for the lower baskets to withstand."


    Antonio asked, "Then, should we remove a few layers and have the soldiers move in a crouch?"


    "The height of the wall is what I calculated," Colonel Volbon explained reluctantly. "If we lower the wall, the corner won''t sufficiently shield the tunnel."


    "So what do you suggest we do?" Layton asked impatiently.


    Volbon pondered silently for a moment, then slowly said, "I see that the third layer from the bottom isn''t cracked, which suggests removing two layers of baskets would ensure the stability of the wall structure. After removing two layers from the top of the wall, we can dig a shallow trench as deep as two layers of baskets between the walls. This effectively raises the wall''s height. Moreover, the dirt and stones we dig up can be used to fortify the wall, saving us the time of transporting them from the rear ¨C killing two birds with one stone."


    Layton, hearing Volbon''s solution, was overjoyed, his face quickly brightening from gloom to delight, and he playfully punched Colonel Volbon''s shoulder, "You''ve got some quick wit there."


    The slender-bodied Colonel Volbon gasped from the hefty punch of the burly Layton, saying bitterly, "Maybe don''t rush to praise me just yet. If we dig trenches, any rain will cause them to fill with water. Digging trenches on rock is not only troublesome, but unlike in soil, it''s hard for the water to seep away... These are desperate measures. I think we''d better just pray it doesn''t rain."


    Antonio and Layton were left speechless.


    ...


    While officers at the Tachi frontline were busy with engineering works, in a village in the interior of Red Sulfur Island, Andre was furiously bellowing, "These damn troublemakers! Troublemakers! Troublemakers! I''ll kill them today! Whoever doesn''t go to repair the road, I''ll slaughter them! I want to see who dares not go!"

 Chapter 96 Six Silver Coins

    Winters and Andre had already canvassed all the villages on the island.The process was much the same everywhere, first finding the village chief, gathering all the villagers for a meeting, promoting the work recruitment policy (daily wages of five silver coins, paid at the end of each day), and then moving on to the next village.


    However, after two days had passed, only a sparse number of farmers had come to Red Sulfur Harbor to apply.


    Following intense surveys, several engineer officers from the road construction headquarters had come up with a plan for the first five kilometers of road, with the remaining plans to be dealt with while construction progressed.


    Work was imminent, yet the workers were not in place; a fruitless Winters and Andre were hauled over by the deputy minister for strategy and scolded profusely.


    The two, faces splattered with spit, returned to the field camp dejectedly and summoned Bard to discuss strategies¡ªBard hadn''t been transferred to road construction because he was too good at working, and the supply department chief was reluctant to let him go.


    "[Obscenities learned from a sailor], [Repeats the obscenity]... I think these bumpkins are just asking for it!" Andre, who had just been berated, became more infuriated the more he thought about it, his features twitching in anger as he struggled to speak clearly: "Tomorrow I... I''ll take troops and sweep through each hamlet, [Sweet Nectar Brew]! I''ll see XX who dares not to come! [Swear words too vulgar for even the roughest soldier to utter]!"


    "If we can avoid using force, we should. It''s dishonorable, and who knows if someone will take advantage of that in the future. You wouldn''t want a black mark on your file, would you?" Winters, looking extremely tired, said while washing his face: "Otherwise, why do you think they didn''t assign someone else? Why put it in the hands of us two junior warrant officers?"


    Having spent some time together, Winters now understood exactly how to persuade Andre. He realized Andreya Chelini and the two cats he kept at home were quite similar: he was like a semi-solitary wild animal, only caring about "his own people" and lacking empathy and kindness towards others.


    So to convince him, it was best to appeal to his own interests.


    Sure enough, after hearing Winters'' words, Andre fell silent. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard, resting his chin on his hand, said: "This matter really is in a gray area; the key is how the governor defines the civilians on Red Sulfur Island. Are they now considered enemy nationals? Or do they automatically obtain Vineta citizenship? If the former, they aren''t protected. If the latter, then forcibly recruiting citizens would mean facing a military court by Vineta''s laws."


    "So what do we do?" Andre stood up agitatedly: "Then what do we do?"


    "Sit down and save some energy," Winters pulled Andre back into his seat: "If you think about it, if I were a farmer on the island, I''d be afraid to work for a foreign military... Maybe we could raise the daily wages a bit more? To one small silver coin a day?"


    Eight silver coins could be exchanged for one small silver coin, which was more commonly used in everyday life than gold coins and large silver coins. Small silver coins and simple coins were what civilians encountered most often.


    Because the Saint Marco Legion had seized the treasury of Red Sulfur Harbor''s council, the Vineta military forces on the island were now quite flush with funds, and could indeed afford to pay one small silver coin a day.


    "No way!" Bard said with determination: "A daily wage of five silver coins is already far beyond normal wages. If we raise it to one silver coin a day, even fewer people will come. If you ask me, not only should we not raise the pay, but we should actually cut it. It''s the off-season for farming right now, two silver coins plus meals should be enough to satisfy the island''s farmers."


    Both Winters and Andre grew up in Sea Blue City and went to study in Guidao City as teenagers. Put them in a field, and they wouldn''t be able to tell malt from weeds.


    In the eyes of these two city boys, "money" seemed the most persuasive language, yet on the small Red Sulfur Island, this compelling language hit a wall.


    In contrast, the farmer''s son Bard knew the farmers'' minds better than anyone else.


    "So what do we do? Offering more money doesn''t make these bumpkins willing to come; offering less makes them willing?" Andre glared angrily once more.


    "Stop using the term ''bumpkins''; they are people, just like you and me. If you were in their place, you wouldn''t come either," Bard said, frowning: "The key issue between the island''s civilians and us is a lack of trust. Once trust is established, all problems can be easily solved."


    "Oh, ''Bishop,'' quit your sermonizing. Just spit it out if you have a solution, and don''t give us this equality education crap," Andre retorted irritably.


    Bard was nicknamed "Bishop" by his peers because he had only one scripture and two Gospels when he started school, along with his experience at the Monastery¡ªso the troublemakers among his contemporaries dubbed him "Bishop" behind his back.


    This nickname carried a severe insult because a farmer''s son could never become a bishop... For an outsider suddenly thrown into a group of boys who had known each other for years, it was only natural to be bullied.


    But Winters had never called him that nickname, nor did he allow others to say it around him. He might have used the "Swordsmanship Master" nickname a few times in jokes, but he had never uttered "Bishop."


    This was the first time Winters had heard Andre call Bard that nickname to his face, and he immediately nudged Andre, signaling that he had gone too far.


    Andre knew he had spoken out of turn and fell silent, sheepishly.


    Bard didn''t get angry; rather, he smiled and said slowly, staring at Andre: "How about we make a bet? If I manage to resolve this issue, then you''ll never use the term ''bumpkins'' again, deal?"

 Chapter 96 Six Silver Coins_2

    "By the Host! It''s this late already, just stop quarreling," Winters had also cursed for the first time using expletives reserved for the faithful, feeling exceptionally weary¡ªemotionally."Well, do you dare to bet with me?" Despite Winters''s words, Bard kept his gaze fixedly on Andre, ignoring Winters.


    Andre felt the stare prickling him, but his mouth remained defiant: "Fine, if you can recruit enough people to build the road, I will never say ''rustic'' again in my life!"


    "Agreed, it''s a deal."


    Bard and Andre clapped hands to swear on their bet.


    After the clap, Bard spoke calmly: "I''ve already said, what lacks between the commoners of the island and us is trust. And trust... it can be bought with money."


    "Buy trust? How does one buy it?" Winters was intrigued, leaning involuntarily towards Bard.


    He felt inspired by Bard''s words but still couldn''t see through the haze, like an itch out of reach, making him desperate to know the solution.


    "It''s simple, just purchase some firewood," Bard didn''t keep them in suspense, explaining in detail: "To build a foundation of trust, start from somewhere harmless. We''ll buy firewood at a high price on the island, and when the farmers receive the money immediately after the sale, a fundamental trust is established between us."


    "Buy firewood... and they will come to build the road?" Andre stood dumbfounded, bewildered.


    "Just buying firewood of course isn''t enough. After buying the firewood, we then hire people from the village to transport it to Red Sulfur Harbor¡ªalso paying a high salary." Bard''s mouth held a confident smile: "Most farmers won''t enlist, only a few daring ones will dare to come. But, as long as the farmers transporting the firewood return home safely with their pay, the others in the village will grow envious and regretful."


    Bard of Gerard paused, gazing into the eyes of Winters and Andre, speaking gravely: "Thus, a foundation of trust is built. When you go back to the villages to recruit, those boldest and most avaricious farmers will apply. And as long as a small group of these road-building farmers return home safely, the others will understand we don''t intend to enslave them. By then, heh heh, every able-bodied farmer on the island will be your road worker!"


    "Let''s do it this way! I don''t believe we can''t bring people in!" Winters slapped his thigh, laughing: "I say, not only should we pay those who transport the firewood, but also give each of them two pieces of cloth! Money in the pocket is invisible to others. Confer two pieces of fine red cloth to take home, and anyone with eyes can see it clearly!"


    "You sure do have a lot of sly ideas¡­" Bard was amused into laughter as well.


    "Eh? Wait a moment, I''m a bit confused," Andre, rubbing his temples, asked hesitantly: "So what do we need the firewood for?"


    "What for? Didn''t Bard just say? To buy trust," Winters patted Andre''s arm.


    "No, no, no, what I mean is¡­ we have to buy something anyway, so what do we need the firewood for?" Andre asked as he sorted out his thoughts: "Why don''t we buy something useful? Like some grain or live pigs or something."


    "If we wanted to buy grain, the farmers wouldn''t sell it to us. Without grain, people would starve, but without firewood, they could simply go chop more," Bard immediately clarified his deeper considerations: "Right now, what the farmers on this island are most afraid of is us taking their grain, so if we were to buy grain, it would be like drawing snakes out of their nests. We have to buy firewood, and specifically dry firewood. Dry firewood, even though it''s something the farmers have at home, they won''t have too much of it. Plus, even if they sold it all to us, they wouldn''t be afraid."


    "So that''s the consideration¡­" Andre felt somewhat dizzy.


    "However, just to be safe, we better find a ''proxy'' as well," Bard said, smiling gleefully: "A proxy that not only we can trust but also the commoners on the island, and who would never be suspected as a ''proxy''."


    "Hongsong Manor¡ªKalman!" Winters and Andre exclaimed in unison.


    The three sub-lieutenants looked at each other and burst out laughing.


    ...


    ...


    This was the second day after the three sub-lieutenants had agreed on the plan.


    It was now sunset, with the sun slanting to the west.


    In Tri-leaf Village, near Hongsong Manor.


    Farmer Boris was peeking from behind the gate, anxiously waiting for his wife''s return.


    Under the eaves of Boris''s house, where there used to be a pile of firewood as tall as a man, was now completely empty.


    Suddenly he heard footsteps, which made Boris shiver with fright.


    The footsteps grew nearer, and Boris recognized them not as the heavy steps of a man but as the light footfall of a woman; he was then able to relax.


    It was his wife, Maria, coming back.


    Upon hearing the footsteps reach the gate, Boris didn''t wait for the woman to knock; he rushed to open the door and hastily asked, "Have you returned?"


    "Good heavens, you scared me to death! Yes, yes, I''m back," Maria was startled, catching her breath as she complained, "Why don''t you let me in first?"


    Boris quickly let his wife into the house.


    The farmers in the village had been walking on eggshells these past few days, and Boris was no different. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A few days earlier, two gentlemen on horseback had come to the village with dozens of fierce-looking guards, calling the farmers together and announcing they were recruiting people to build a road.


    Boris hadn''t dared to go to the village square when the gentlemen had arrived, and he certainly didn''t dare to "build roads."


    Even though the offer of five silver coins a day was tempting, who knew if it was a trap? The men were worried that if they went, they might never come back, so no one dared to go.

 Chapter 96 Six Silver Coins_3

    Although Boris had never been to school, he was not foolish. He knew very well that since no one from the village had gone to Harbor City, those two aristocrats on horseback would certainly not let the matter drop so easily.Because of this, Boris had spent the past few nights with his pillow being a bag of dry food.


    Right now, inside the house, by the door, the packed dry food and clothes were placed there.


    He had prepared to flee at any moment, ready to run into the woods on the island and hide until the danger had passed if his wife brought back bad news.


    But who would have thought that those two aristocrats would come again today, this time without any guards, and only wanting to purchase dry wood?


    And they offered a price for the dry wood that a peasant couldn''t even dream of.


    Boris was tempted, but he stayed cautious and didn''t go to sell it himself; instead, he had his wife sell it.


    The six silver coins he received for the dry wood were now in his breast pocket, right against his skin, the hard feeling of the silver coins against his ribs reminding Boris that he was not dreaming.


    A large amount of dry wood had been bought that couldn''t simply be carried away by the two aristocrats¡ªand of course, it was unimaginable for them to do such menial work themselves. So, the aristocrats wanted to hire several carts from the village to transport the wood back to Harbor City.


    This made many people in the village hesitate. It was one thing to sell firewood in the village, but quite another to follow the aristocrats to Harbor City.


    Seeing no one volunteering, the two aristocrats offered an unimaginable price for this job and only wanted to hire five carts, no more.


    Boris was tempted again. His family owned a cart... and a mule... but still, he was afraid and dared not go.


    Enjoy new chapters from empire


    In the end, the two aristocrats hired two carts from nearby Hongsong Manor, where Lord Kalman even sent his personal servant to drive them.


    Seeing that even Lord Kalman was not afraid, some of the men in the village became more interested.


    Two bold peasants and an old cripple who had once been treated by Lord Kalman mustered up the courage, brought out their own carts, made up the required five carts, and set off for Harbor City with loads of dry wood.


    Boris looked down on those three villagers; he did not believe in pies falling from the sky and was certain that the aristocrats were only buying the wood as a ruse to lure people away.


    Watching the carts disappear at the end of the road, Boris thought, "I''m the smart one, not greedy, I''ll take the bait and run. Hmph, those three fools, I doubt they''ll come back."


    Yet, he felt both relieved and anxious, as if there was a thorn in his heart, making him itch in a way he couldn''t scratch. He couldn''t help thinking, "What if this time it really was a pie falling from the sky... What if... I mean, what if it was? What if the aristocrats were not deceiving us?"


    So for the entire afternoon, Boris was restless, uneasy in his own home, hoping for either good news or bad news.


    He didn''t even know what he was waiting for.


    As dusk fell, he heard the creaking sound of carts on the road.


    Boris was eager to know what had happened but remained cautious, having his womenfolk go out to gather information.


    The women had their own exclusive channels of information, and they were very efficient.


    Boris stayed at home, ready to flee over the fence the instant Master came with soldiers to capture people.


    "Is everyone back?" Boris gripped his wife''s arm tightly and asked with glaring eyes.


    "Ouch, you''re hurting me," Maria shook off her husband''s hand and answered, "Everyone''s back, the old cripple, the two sons from the Kriv family at the west end of the village, all of them."


    "Are you sure?" Boris asked incredulously.


    "I saw them with my own eyes, didn''t I? The old cripple couldn''t have been more pleased. Both masters personally escorted them back and rewarded each with two Gold Coins... My God, I''ve never seen a Gold Coin before. They also gave them an extra bottle of fine wine and two bolts of red cloth," Maria stretched her arms wide and said, "Really good red cloth, so very nice, I''ve never seen anyone in the village wear such fine fabric..."


    As his wife enthusiastically talked about the cloth she saw, Boris felt a chill in his chest as though he had lost something exceedingly important.


    The joy from exchanging firewood for six silver coins became insignificant, swallowed by a much larger and heavier sense of defeat.


    Boris felt his steps falter, nearly collapsing to the ground.


    "What''s wrong, my husband?" Maria noticed her husband''s odd behavior and looked at him cautiously, her voice filled with concern.


    "Damn it! Damn it!" Boris, in frustration, pulled out the six silver coins from his embrace and flung them to the ground. The young farmer tugged at his hair, hitting his chest and thighs hard: "Damn it! Damn it!!"


    Maria hastily picked up the six silver coins from the dirt. Simple as she was, she vaguely understood what was happening and hugged Boris to stop him from beating himself: "My husband, don''t be like this. We still have six silver coins, right? When do such good fortunes fall from the sky? I don''t need the red cloth, these six silver coins are enough for me, I am content..."


    Yet, Boris continued to repetitively express his annoyance: "Damn it, damn it."


    It quickly became completely dark outside.


    Lamp oil was expensive, and nightlife was a luxury in those times, so once it got dark, the farmers would all rest.


    Boris, who usually snored as soon as his head hit the pillow, was unusually silent tonight.


    Maria lay in bed, listening to her husband''s heavy breathing, knowing he clearly hadn''t fallen asleep. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She purposefully changed the subject and asked, "Hey, my husband, why do you think Master Kalman also sent a large carriage along? The Kalman family sure has a lot of money."


    Boris was irritable, and upon hearing his wife''s question, the man who considered himself the smartest in Tri-leaf Village figured out why. He answered impatiently, "The Kalman family has been raided, don''t you know? The slaves from Hongsong Manor were all taken by Master Vineta. Ha, now Master Kalman has no money either... Okay, let''s just sleep, sleep."


    Maria gropingly held her husband''s hand, softly saying, "We don''t need to envy others, isn''t it great that we have a house to live in and food to eat? And didn''t we get six silver coins for free today? When have we ever had so much money? I have you, and that''s enough for me, what use is that red cloth anyway?"


    Boris grunted and said nothing.


    "Those two masters from Vineta said they want to hire people to repair roads in Harbor City, though this time they''ll only pay two silver coin pieces a day, but they include meals," Maria prattled on, her voice getting quieter until it turned into the mutterings of someone half asleep, half awake: "... it''s still... really nice red cloth..."


    Boris pulled away from his wife''s hand and turned over, facing away from her in anger.

 Chapter 97 Counteracting Every Move

    While Winters and Andre racked their brains to build credibility on Red Sulfur Island, several small-scale battles erupted around the tunnel entrance as the two opposing armies at Tachi clashed.William Kidd only had light artillery, which was not powerful enough to destroy the tunnel entrance from a distance. Once he discovered its ineffectiveness, the defending troops quickly ceased the bombardment.


    That night, nearly a hundred Cavalry from the Federation assembled quietly outside the city under the cover of darkness.


    When the Federation Cavalry led their warhorses out of the city gates, the Vineta sentinels a few hundred meters away were completely unaware, as their view of the city gates was obscured.


    The people of Tanilia had constructed a temporary triangular fortification in front of the city gate, which hindered the view of the Vineta forces, preventing them from seeing whether the city gate was open or closed.


    It was only when the thundering sound of hoofbeats reached their ears that the Vineta sentinels realized the Tanilians were attacking.


    Barely had the Vineta sentinels rung the alarm bell when the Federation Cavalry had already charged to the forefront of the tunnel entrance. Instead of entering the tunnel to attack the Vineta camp, the riders stayed at the edge of the tunnel and hurled grappling hooks toward the walls.


    They were not there to raid the camp, but to dismantle the wall.


    The grappling hooks used by the riders were modified from those used in boarding battles at sea, one end featuring a metal claw like an eagle''s talon, and the other end tied to the breastplate of a warhorse. With a quick pull from the warhorse, they easily dragged down baskets filled with soil and stones from the wall.


    However, as the riders were working hard to dismantle the wall, William Kidd, who was watching the battle from atop the triangular fort, noticed something amiss... It seemed as though there were bushes shifting vaguely on both the east and west sides.


    "Sound the cannon! Get them back! Quickly!" William Kidd suddenly realized his mistake, shouting frantically, "Get them back!"


    The cannoneer by his side promptly pulled a red-hot iron rod from the charcoal furnace and inserted it into the touch hole.


    In the silent night, the roar of the cannon was clearly audible even from a great distance.


    By the time the sound of the cannon reached the Vineta encampment, Layton could hardly catch his breath for laughing; he ordered with glee, "Why the hell hide anymore? We''ve been spotted! Signal the flanks! Have the large units move in immediately!"


    A Spellcaster officer, following orders, raised his hand and shot a signal flare dozens of meters into the sky. The green flare exploded midair, a much more efficient means of communication than firing a canon.


    On the eastern side of the battlefield, Colonel Field, who was moving covertly, saw the signal flare and leapt onto his warhorse. Enhanced with a spell to amplify his voice, he shouted, "No need to hide anymore! Second unit, follow me!"


    Having said that, he buckled on his helmet and charged at the head of the Cavalry units from the Federation, shouting the name of the patron Saint of Vineta as he led the charge, "Saint Marco!"


    The soldiers of the second unit of the Saint Marco Legion hesitated at first, but then with cries of "Saint Marco," they followed Field and charged towards the enemy.


    The same happened with another unit on the left flank.


    The two infantry units from both flanks were enveloping the Federation''s Cavalry like encircling arms.


    In the meantime, a large group of Halberdiers poured out from the main tunnel entrance, dragging down and killing several Cavalry from the Federation who had not untied their ropes, so panicked they even forgot they could cut the grappling hooks with their swords.


    "William Kidd is too dumb. Not only is he dumb, but he also thinks everyone else is as dumb as he is..." Layton, still not having caught his breath, wiped away tears of laughter as he said to Antonio, "...are we really at war with this kind of opponent?"


    For seasoned military professionals like Antonio and Layton, William Kidd''s strategy was as transparent as clear water.


    If bombardment didn''t work, then attempt a night attack¡ªsuch logic was far too straightforward, and naturally, Antonio and Layton were prepared for it.


    Layton had initially thought the Tanilians wouldn''t cause trouble that night, considering, "Surely William Kidd wouldn''t be so foolish that after failing to bombard us, he''d try to sneak attack the same evening, right?" Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the Federation Cavalry really did come.


    "I''m a bit puzzled myself," said Antonio, shaking his head with a mix of confusion and resignation, "as if we''ve changed opponents."


    "If you ask me, that''s just William Kidd''s level. He''s just a pirate, what else do you expect? Just keeping these thousands of men together without falling apart is already him punching above his weight," Layton dismissed Antonio''s doubts, though it was unclear whether he was deriding Kidd or praising him.


    Antonio thought it over and actually found Layton''s words to make sense.


    Over thousands of years of evolution, war had transformed from a brutal contest between primitive tribes to a precise technical profession.


    A fool, given systematic officer training, could learn how to allocate troops and arrange formations, whereas an untrained bright person, no matter how intelligent, could not intuitively organize a large army.


    That is the purpose of training, not to make smart people smarter, but to make the foolish appear less foolish.


    From Antonio and Layton, to Field and Moritz, to Winters, Bard, and Andre, they had all undergone comprehensive military command training. They haven''t become smarter, but they know how not to make mistakes. Discover more content at empire


    And tonight, the commander of the defending forces at Tachi had made a big mistake: he underestimated his opponent.


    The infantry units from the left and right flanks were coordinating smoothly with the Halberdiers at the front, rapidly closing in the encirclement.


    Upon hearing the retreat signal, the Cavalry of the Federation started fleeing toward the city walls in disarray. Field, noticing this, immediately redirected his charge to intercept the gap between the Federation Cavalry and the city walls.

 Chapter 97 Countermeasures_2

    Again, cannons roared, as William Kidd had prepared the artillery on the city walls earlier to fire at Field''s troops, attempting to cover his own cavalry.But Field''s troops ignored the flying cannonballs and resolutely cut into the escape route of the coalition cavalry.


    The fleeing coalition cavalry had already lost command, with each person only thinking of getting back into town as quickly as possible; in this situation, officers could not get orders to every man''s ears.


    Seeing a large number of pikemen blockading ahead, a portion of the cavalry, in panic, wheeled their horses, heading east and west to escape. Stay connected via empire


    This was exactly the outcome Field wanted. His own troops had become totally disengaged; he was in the vanguard, and the last of his soldiers were still three hundred meters behind. He did not wish to annihilate the cavalry here but to drive these disheartened riders to flee in a scattered fashion east and west. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This kind of disorganized infantry actually posed no threat to cavalry, if the coalition cavalry''s command system had not broken down, they could''ve just taken a turn to bypass Field''s troops, and might have even directly crushed Field''s team.


    But it was too late for that now. The riders only intent on getting back to the city had lost their reason, leaving only the instinct to survive, which was driving them to flee where there were fewer people.


    The majority of the riders turned their horses towards the east or west, and the further they ran, the farther away from the city gates they became. The Venetians had Tachi under tight siege, and they would soon realize they had nowhere to flee to, as other infantry units of the Da Weineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion were waiting for them.


    Not knowing whether it was out of cunning or folly, there remained some who neither dodged nor evaded, and charged straight towards the gates of Tachi.


    As the two forces clashed head-on, Field lay low on his horse, stretching his cavalry sword straight ahead with all his might.


    In the fleeting moment of their crossing, he struck an oncoming rider, nearly unhorsing him, while agilely dodging another swung scimitar.


    However, after the collision, apart from the enemies Field had taken down, the majority of the fleeing riders still managed to break through Field''s blockades.


    Since Field''s formation had broken down in the running, without coordination, few on two legs could stop a four-legged horse.


    Field only ordered a retreat when they were within firing range of the musketeers in the triangular fortress, watching the enemy''s retreating figures. Field couldn''t help thinking regretfully, "If only I had a cavalry unit..."


    The fighting continued elsewhere, as the coalition cavalry fleeing east and west encountered more Venetian soldiers. Except for five or six who escaped to the outskirts of the city moat and made their way back to Tachi along it, the other scattered coalition cavalry were either captured or killed on the spot.


    The result of the night''s chaotic battle was that the Venetian soldiers had horse meat to eat the next day, and incidentally took a few prisoners.


    After interrogating the prisoners, Antonio and Layton confirmed that the highest commander of the city''s defenders was the former captain William Kidd ¡ª now General William Kidd (Layton snickered disdainfully at this title).


    There were now about four thousand Tanilia soldiers in the city, a number that surprised both Antonio and Layton. They had originally thought there were no more than three thousand defenders in the city, but according to the prisoners, a group of coalition mercenaries had already been stationed in Tachi three weeks before the Venetians arrived.


    Layton was skeptical of this intelligence, but after questioning several prisoners separately, their stories were all roughly consistent.


    Antonio summarized at the officers'' intelligence meeting, "That means either they''re telling the truth, or they also don''t know the real situation."


    As for how much food was left in the city, the prisoners had no idea. They only knew that William Kidd had confiscated all the food reserves in the city to the Earl''s Tower, guarded by his most trusted soldiers, forbidding any unauthorized persons from approaching.


    A strict food rationing system was being implemented in Tachi, and the morale of the soldiers was generally somewhat low.


    "Without the warhorses, there will be food in the city for a few more days." At the intelligence meeting, Layton stroked the stubble on his chin and said jokingly, "The fools have had some unexpected gains; it''s just a pity that horse meat tastes so bad."


    In the following days, Volbon began supervising the construction of more tunnels, with earthen pathways extending towards the city walls from the siege embankments like tendrils.


    The fastest progressing tunnel had even reached about two hundred meters from the city wall, where the defenders'' beards could be clearly seen from inside the tunnel.


    But the defenders were not idle either. Though their first large-scale nocturnal sortie ended in painful failure, the Tanilia people seemed not to be discouraged but instead began to frequently send out smaller assault teams to sabotage the tunnels.


    As the tunnels gradually approached the city walls ¡ª even closer to the walls than to the Venetians'' embankments ¡ª the difficulty of defending these tunnels also increased.


    The defenders of Tachi tried various methods: first, they sent small groups of soldiers with gunpowder to blast the tunnels, but Antonio was quite willing to exchange the earthen walls for the defenders'' gunpowder, as walls could be rebuilt, but the defenders'' gunpowder would diminish with use.


    The defenders'' blasting operations only lasted a few times; then, they started to install rudimentary catapults on the bastions, using the catapults to toss burning sulfur into the tunnels.


    Sulfur mining was a pillar industry of Tachi, so it was not hard to imagine that William Kidd now possessed a large quantity of sulfur ore.

 Chapter 97 Counteracting Every Move_3

    Don''t mention it, the first use of this tactic indeed caught the Venetians off guard.The working Venetian soldiers could only see objects wrapped in blue flames whistling towards them. Once these blue fires hit the ground, they splattered, capable of burning through flesh and skin upon contact. The ensuing smoke made it unbearable to breathe.


    Like demons crawling out of hell, the smell of sulfur was everywhere, and it sent Venetians fleeing in panic.


    It was Colonel Volbon who urgently addressed the crisis. After taking samples on the spot, he quickly figured out what this "blue fire" was¡ªsimply sulfur.


    The defenders in the city first broke sulfur ore into fragments, ignited them, and then packed them into clay jars before launching them into the tunnels with counterweight trebuchets.


    The gas produced by the burning sulfur was particularly choking and denser than air. So when a "blue fire" struck a tunnel, the resulting smoke would settle and linger, making it impossible to breathe.


    When a blue fire hit, a whole section of the tunnel became uninhabitable.


    Even Antonio and Layton, both of whom had many years of military experience, had never seen such a bizarre chemical weapon.


    Seeing its effectiveness, the Tachi defenders immediately started throwing more blue fire into the tunnels to disrupt the Venetians'' progress.


    However, the blue fire quickly lost its effectiveness. William Kidd, if he thought he could stop the Vineta Army with such tactics, was underestimating the Venetians who had once defeated the Emperor''s Guards.


    Lieutenant Colonel Volbon swiftly found a solution to the problem. He drew inspiration from the section "Effects and Countermeasures Against Toxic Smoke" in the "Army Tactical Manual," applying tactics previously used by the Republic militia in the Sovereignty Wars against "Mad Richard''s" court mages, to Tachi.


    Colonel Volbon''s response was simple and effective:


    First, he improved tunnel ventilation by leaving a vent every meter at the bottom to ensure the smoke could naturally dissipate;


    Second, the militia had previously discovered that the court mage''s toxic smoke dissolved easily in water, so Volbon similarly flooded the interior of the tunnels, maintaining about five centimeters of standing water in the shallow ditches and sprinkling quicklime into it. This way, the toxic smoke that settled to the bottom would be quickly absorbed by the water, and the poison''s potency neutralized by the quicklime;


    Finally, Volbon distributed a large quantity of damp bedding to the engineers. As soon as a tunnel was hit by the blue fire, they immediately covered it with the bedding to prevent the smoke from forming. And if anyone was unlucky enough to be ignited by blue fire, they could be quickly wrapped in the damp bedding to extinguish the flames.


    The more Layton observed Volbon''s brilliant work in the siege, the more he appreciated him. This subordinate had earned him a great deal of prestige, allowing Layton to speak with a much louder voice in front of Antonio.


    Other officers believed that after Tachi was captured, it was all but certain that Lieutenant Colonel Volbon would become Colonel Volbon.


    However, at the military conference, Volbon reported with concern to the two Major Generals, "But even with all these countermeasures, the ''blue fire'' still poses significant trouble for the Venetians, slowing down the progress of the works."


    Volbon even admitted somewhat fearfully, "Fortunately, the geological conditions of Tachi don''t allow for the digging of underground tunnels, as this weapon, capable of instantly turning air into poison gas when used in tunnel warfare... I dread to think how many would die..."


    But no matter what, each day the tunnels crept closer to the city walls.


    Soon enough, the defenders realized that the blue fire was losing its effect and the Venetians were gradually mastering how to counter it. When blue fire flew into the tunnels, the Venetians no longer fled but instead rapidly extinguished it using some method.


    By then, the tunnels had generally been repaired along the centerline. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, the distance from which Tachi''s defenders could attack the tunnel was now shorter than the distance the Venetians needed to cover to reinforce it.


    The fight reverted back to hand-to-hand combat as William Kidd frequently sent small elite squads to attack the Venetian engineers and laborers working on the tunnels. Meanwhile, Antonio also laid numerous ambushes to counter any Federation soldiers emerging from the city.


    After several clashes, Antonio confirmed that the defending army''s morale was still high; otherwise, the soldiers William Kidd sent out from the city would have already mutinied.


    Both sides continued to adapt to each other''s moves, engaging in a battle of wits on the open ground before Tachi''s walls, but a full-scale siege had not yet broken out.


    The Venetians had never attempted to attack the walls, but the Tanilians were also firmly trapped within Tachi.


    William Kidd might have thought his efforts had given the Venetians a significant headache. Some Venetian officers thought the same, such as Lieutenant Sara from the Third Legion''s Fifth Battalion.


    But it wasn''t long before Lieutenant Sara understood why their commander claimed "time was not on their side."


    The Venetian artillery had arrived at the front lines of Tachi.

 Chapter 98 Triangle Fort

    It was a moonless night, and for the Federation soldier Zeke Delbrook standing night watch at the triangular fort, it was just another common night of the siege.Zeke Delbrook was the youngest son in his family, and his father loved this youngest child so much that he beseeched the priest to give his son a saint''s name as a baptismal name.


    However, the name was overly long and cumbersome, with hardly a few people able to pronounce it smoothly. Because his face was full of freckles, the other Federation soldiers simply called him "Freckles."


    As the son of a subsistence farmer, Freckles'' reason for choosing to become a soldier was simple¡ªhis father''s land was little, yet his father had many children.


    Freckles had four older brothers and three older sisters, and his parents had only lost two children. This was an unusual stroke of luck, but also an unusual misfortune.


    So until Freckles turned sixteen, his eldest sister Zhuoya had still been unable to marry.


    Not only was Zhuoya skilled in her chores, she was also beautiful and gentle in disposition, and the number of young men her father chased off with a stick was beyond count.


    However, the few marriage discussions for her all fell through because Freckles and Zhuoya''s father could not afford a dowry for his daughter.


    Freckles'' father had only a dozen or so acres of land, scattered in bits and corners, not even contiguous.


    Because of this, Freckles'' parents worked from dawn to dusk, turning to odd jobs for extra money when the grain was scarce. Even with such toil, they barely raised eight children, and his father truly had no extra means to save for a dowry for his daughter.


    Eldest sister Zhuoya became an old maid, always secretly wiping her tears in the yard; the parents were distressed all day long, sighing and blaming each other.


    All of these things, Zeke Delbrook saw with his own eyes.


    So, two weeks before turning sixteen, Zeke Delbrook handed over his nesting fee to his sister for her dowry, then left home with a Federation recruiting officer, becoming "Freckles."


    Although the direct purpose of enlisting was to provide for his sister''s dowry, it was also because Freckles did not want to eke out a living in the soil all his life like his father, whose land was not enough to be divided between Freckles and his brothers; Freckles also wanted to see the world beyond.


    But now, on the triangular fort just outside the walls of Tachi, amidst the Venetian army''s siege, Freckles found himself missing home especially.


    "What are my parents doing now? They should be sleeping, right?" Freckles tried hard not to doze off as he thought hazily, "I wonder who Zhuoya married, and my eldest brother is probably getting a wife soon too..."


    As Freckles struggled to remember his family''s house and roads, suddenly "whoosh," "whoosh" several sounds came from the front. He startled awake, but before he could react, three short, thick crossbow bolts had already flown toward him.


    Two bolts clanged off Freckles'' breastplate with "ding", "ding" as the arrowheads penetrated the armor but did not go all the way through.


    The third bolt struck Freckles squarely in the face, piercing through his eye and bone, the arrowhead lodged in the soft brain, causing a fatal wound.


    Freckles slumped to the ground limply, his consciousness quickly snuffed out, his memories along with everything in them vanished completely. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Good shot!" Field, lurking not far in front of the triangular fort, excitedly punched his own knee, but before he could issue an order to attack, the night was pierced by the shrill sound of whistles and alarm bells.


    The other sentry at the triangular fort first heard the unusual sound, then saw Freckles fall straight back, and immediately sounded the alarm.


    "[Furious expletives]!" Seeing success slip away, Field cursed angrily and then barked, "Anyway, we never expected to sneak attack! Blow the whistle! Assault!"


    Inside the triangular fort, the Federation soldiers awoke from their sleep and fumbled for their weapons in the pitch dark, rushing to the fort upon grabbing them.


    The defending army inside Tachi also heard the alarm bells, with watchfires being lit one after another on the city walls, and the guard troops resting all over the city hurried to the walls.


    As the low-intensity siege standoff lengthened, the defenders inside the city developed a certain complacency and disdain for the Venetian outsiders.


    The initial panic and fear when surrounded by the large army gradually dissipated, and quite a few Federation soldiers began to feel that "what''s the big deal? Venetians are nothing special, all they can do is build walls."


    The Venetians stopped advancing the tunnel when it was about two hundred meters from the city walls, rather, they started extending it parallel to the walls, seemingly content to erect a closer siege barricade.


    Some experienced Tanilian veterans claimed profundity to the recruits, "The Venetians'' fervent wall-building is good for us soldiers."


    The clueless recruits would ask, "What''s good about that?"


    The old soldiers would smugly answer, "The more they busily build that wall, the less they want to assault; they just want to starve us out. With the current situation, if the grain runs out and the higher-ups don''t want to surrender, they''ll have to anyway. Isn''t not having to fight a good thing?"


    Yet the complacent Federation defenders never anticipated that the Venetians would choose this night for a sudden, thunderous offense.


    In the darkness in front of the city walls, there was first one sharp whistle, followed by hundreds of whistles blowing simultaneously.


    Upon hearing the attack signal, Venetian officers in the tunnels and barricades started blowing their whistles and ordering torches to be lit.

 Chapter 98 Triangle Fortress_2

    In an instant, hundreds of torches were lit in front of the city walls, as if an entire army was moving in the darkness. Accompanied by the swaying of the torches, the Venetian soldiers'' shouts of killing rose and fell like waves, battering the defenders'' morale.In their panic, the defenders fumbled as they loaded their muskets and cannons, strung their crossbows, and searched senselessly for arrows.


    The officers of the Confederation could no longer spare a thought for conserving gunpowder, urgently urging the artillerymen to fire as soon as they were loaded.


    In that moment, the defenders fired countless bullets and arrows toward the distant torches and shadows, relentlessly repeating the process of loading and firing.


    Fear is contagious, and the thunderous presence of the Venetians plunged the defenders into terror; only firing at the enemy gave them a semblance of security.


    Under the cover of shouting, the glow of fire, and the sound of gunfire, a large number of Venetian soldiers were pouring out of the tunnel directly facing the city gate and the bastion, these soldiers neither shouted nor carried torches; in groups of three, carrying ladders and led by officers without night blindness, they rapidly advanced toward the bastion.


    Field Colonel and a few other crossbowmen who had quietly approached near the bastion were waiting for them.


    The defenders on top of the bastion immediately noticed something was amiss; the fire basins by their side blinded them from seeing the open space ahead, but the sound of footsteps was clear and getting closer.


    While the noise from the east and west was deafening, from the perspective of the bastion, it was clear: the torches were not nearing the city walls, but moving back and forth.


    Sanogaila, the captain in charge of defending the bastion, realized that the movements on the east and west sides were only feints. He shouted in desperation to warn those on the city walls, but the defenders had already succumbed to a frenzied state; even the few who noticed him were of no use.


    Helpless, Sanogaila had no choice but to send runners back to seek reinforcements via the drawbridge between the bastion and the city walls.


    But it was too late, a large number of Venetians surged out of the mist-like darkness, making Sanogaila take a sharp breath of cold air


    The defenders shot and killed the front row of Venetians, but for each one that fell, more emerged from the night.


    Like the city walls, the temporarily constructed bastion in front of the gate lacked the protection of a moat. Its main material was earth to resist cannon bombardment, with a height of only around five meters.


    The triangular structure eliminated any blind spots for firepower, and the back wall could provide full-coverage fire support. The low and thick main structure not only absorbed the force of cannonballs but also allowed the city walls behind it to conduct enfilade fire.


    This was a fortress of the new era, which Antonio aimed to breach tonight using the tactics of the old times.


    Without the protection of a moat, the ladder-bearing Venetian soldiers carried their ladders to the base of the bastion in one fell swoop and began to climb. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Venetians'' reckless determination chilled Sanogaila to the bone. He shouted loudly, commanding the defenders to counterattack.


    The defenders on the bastion dropped their muskets and hurled large stones down on the Venetians. Those hit by the stones were killed on the spot.


    The pitch had not had time to boil before it was poured down the walls. The Venetians doused in the scalding pitch let out ghostly howls as torches were subsequently thrown down from the city walls, turning them into burning men.


    The four-pound and eight-pound cannons, loaded with a dozen walnut-sized iron shots, fired at the Venetians, each shot stirring up a storm of flesh and blood.


    The cannons and matchlock guns roared incessantly; the dying shrieked with chilling despair amid the thick smoke and raging flames, as if the whole world was on the verge of destruction.


    But even with their stubborn resistance, the defenders could not stem the tide of the Venetian assault.


    Tonight, Antonio and Layton deployed two large battalions to simultaneously attack both flanks of the bastion.


    The two battalions tasked with the main assault were selected elites from two legions. The colonel leading the battalions was now stationed under the bastion''s wall, commanding the troops, while the centurions, biting down on their daggers, were the first to climb.


    After a considerable number of casualties, a small portion of Venetian forces quickly scaled the bastion and engaged in close combat with its defenders.


    Field, seeing this unfold, was frantic with urgency. He had missed out on the main assault task tonight; his duty was to command the musketeers in providing covering fire for the assault battalions.


    However, due to the limited speed of deploying troops through the tunnel, two hundred-man musketeer squads were lagging behind. By the time the Venetian soldiers had already climbed the bastion, the musketeer squads arrived unhurriedly.


    "[Expletive]! What the hell took you so long! [Expletive]!" Field cursed furiously at the centurions of the musketeer squads with bulging eyes.


    Lieutenant Leyman and Captain Philip, the centurions of the musketeer squads, did not dare to retort, nor did they have the time to do so.


    Both centurions commanded their units to quickly deploy in front of the bastion and began using their matchlock guns to suppress the defenders atop the bastion.


    The long-ranged weapons had an immediate effect; several Tanilian soldiers peeking out to throw stones or pour pitch were shot indiscriminately and fell screaming from the walls.


    The remaining Tanilian soldiers were too frightened to show themselves, only reaching out their hands from behind the parapet. The momentum of the bastion''s defenders was broken, their lethality began to decline, and the pressure on the climbing Venetian soldiers drastically reduced.


    However, at this moment the defenders on the city walls of the Confederation finally came to their senses. Receiving the bastion defenders'' call for assistance, William Kidd dispatched numerous signalmen to pass orders along the city walls.


    Upon receiving the orders, the defenders immediately rushed to the city gate to support the bastion.

 Chapter 98 Triangle Fortress_3

    The cannons atop both semi-moon bastions adjusted their firing angles and began shooting at the Venetians below the walls of the triangular fortress.The design of the new-era fortress finally bared its fangs, as the shape of the triangular bastion meant that projectiles fired from the rear two sides of the walls were unobstructed, without any blind spots¡ªeach cannonball was a terrifying side-shot firepower.


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    A cannonball fired from the east semi-moon bastion killed all the Venetian soldiers in a straight line, and finally, bouncing off the hard volcanic rock, it smashed two ladders and lodged into the wall of the triangular fortress.


    Upon seeing this, Colonel Field reassigned two squads of musketeers to suppress the enemy marksmen on the rear walls of the triangular bastion. However, he knew that suppressing the enemy musketeers was of little use; the real killers were the side-firing cannons placed on the semi-moon bastions.


    Field roared in his heart, "Fire the cannons! Fire the cannons!"


    The god of artillery heard his call. "Boom," "boom," "boom," "boom," the dull roar of the cannons resounded across the entire battlefield.


    But this time, it wasn''t the big guns on the walls that were roaring¡ªthe Venetians'' cannons finally showed their might.


    Several stone shots flew out from behind the newly built defensive walls of the Venetians; most of the projectiles were misdirected, only one cannonball hit its target, crashing heavily onto the east semi-moon bastion.


    Rock and wall collided, debris flew, dust rose everywhere. All the Tanilian gunners on the semi-moon bastion were killed or injured by the flying debris, and the main gunner''s chest was so concavely smashed by the stones that he died on the spot.


    The cannons on the east semi-moon bastion fell silent at once.


    "Cannons? Where did the cannons come from?" Atop the walls, William Kidd, with a fierce expression, gripped an officer beside him and roared, "When did the Venetians bring up the cannons? Why didn''t you tell me when you saw the Venetians setting up cannons? [Pirate swear] I''ll kill you!"


    With that, he reached for his sword.


    "Sir... no... we didn''t see...," the officer grabbed by William Kidd was so scared that he was nearly crying, trembling as he replied, "We didn''t see anything... Nobody saw the Venetians transporting the cannons."


    "Argh!!!" Enraged, William Kidd fiercely struck his sword on the parapet, sending sparks flying.


    About two hundred meters away from the city wall, parallel to the wall and behind the Venetian defensive wall¡ªthese defensive walls were extensions built horizontally after the tunnels reached two hundred meters from the city wall¡ªMajor, now Colonel Volbon of the Engineers, while observing where the cannonballs fell, commanded, "First battery, second battery, adjust one quarter right. Third battery, fourth battery, reset."


    By his side, the gunners were bustling around four squat and stubby cannons, loading them.


    The cannons were behind a defensive wall, hidden from the sight of the Tachi garrison on the city wall, who could not see the actions of the Venetian gunners.


    These four cannons were Volbon''s secret weapons, secret weapons that could be deployed right under the noses of the garrison without being detected. They were not ordinary barrel cannons, but¡ªmortars, dismantled from warships.


    Ordinary cannons needed a battery, a firing embrasure.


    High above on the city wall, the cannons would be a target as soon as the garrison found out the Venetians were deploying their own cannons, and the Venetian positions would be bombarded immediately.


    But mortars have a high-arcing trajectory; they provide indirect fire rather than direct fire, so they can be positioned behind the defensive wall to inflict casualties on the enemy atop the wall.


    Although their accuracy was somewhat lower, it was the only way to achieve an element of surprise. Moreover, the Guzhi Road connecting Tachi and Red Sulfur Harbor was not yet fully repaired, heavy artillery could not be brought up, so the Venetians had to temporarily move a few light mortars for emergency use.


    When Colonel Volbon''s four mortars suppressed the cannons of the east semi-moon bastion, at another tunnel exit, Winters, who had been waiting with horses, finally got the signal to attack.


    There were few people around Winters, including him, the small team of riders totaled only sixteen.


    And leading this small group of cavalry was none other than Winters'' old acquaintance, Major Moritz.


    That''s right, all sixteen riders were spellcaster officers. And except for Major Moritz, they were all junior officers.


    Major Moritz, discarding his usual languid demeanor, watched the group of junior officer spellcasters and commanded sternly, "Do not linger, do not dawdle, move fast, get in and out, and retreat immediately after completing the task!"


    "Yes!" the fifteen spellcaster junior officers responded in unison.


    Moritz glanced at Winters, nodded, and shouted, "Mount up!"


    The sixteen riders dashed out from the eastern side of the battlefield, with Winters not sparing his warhorse and driving it at full speed towards the direction of the triangular fortress.


    As they reached the side of the triangular bastion, Moritz bellowed, "Throw!"


    Fifteen junior officer spellcasters removed the smoke grenades hanging in front of their chests, activated them with a fire spell, and hurled them with all their might toward the space between the bastion and the city wall.


    A few particularly skilled spellcasters also used the Arrow Flying Spell to throw the smoke grenades even further.


    Upon detonating in midair, the "Activated Portable Alchemic Material Smoke Generators" blanketed the east side of the city wall with thick smoke, obscuring the defending Tanilian troops'' view and preventing them from seeing the Venetian soldiers climbing up the bastion behind it.


    Once they completed the task on the east side, the spellcasters then moved to the west side and threw out all the remaining smoke grenades.


    Winters had never used casting materials as lavishly in his life, as both legions had handed over half the armory''s smoke grenades to them. Antonio and Layton were determined to take this small bastion no matter what.


    The smoke wall tightly covered the field of vision of the Tanilians on the city wall, and with no wind tonight, the smoke wall lingered for a long time.


    William Kidd yelled furiously, yet he was out of options.


    Although the angles of the cannons on the bastion had been set, the accuracy of these artillery pieces was greatly reduced without direct visual aiming and correction; the gunners didn''t know if they were hitting or missing, let alone how to correct their aim.


    Not to mention the musketeers on the walls, who could now only blindly shoot into the smoke.


    After completing their mission, the spellcaster riders quickly retreated back to their strike position.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, commanding the musketeer squad in front of the bastion, saw what he had been praying for¡ªa Venetian battle flag had been planted on top of the bastion.


    "Urrahhhh!!!!!" Field roared with fervor.


    Realizing what had happened, the musketeers also shouted excitedly, "Urrahhhh!!!!!"


    "Hahaha! We broke through!" Layton, watching from the rear, laughed wildly and punched the breastwall, "Well done!"


    "As planned, the engineer company and the reserve troops will now move out," Antonio commanded the other officers with calm.


    More and more Venetian soldiers were crowding atop the bastion while the Tanilian defenders kept being forced into a retreat by the climbing enemies¡ªtwo climbed up for every one that the defenders managed to kill. Regardless of Sanogaila''s attempts to stop them, the defense couldn''t hold back anymore and they began retreating into the city.


    When the earth-shaking battle cries filled the bastion, the Tanilians'' morale completely collapsed, and they began to flee into the city along the drawbridges between the bastion and the city walls.


    The joint Confederation elites sent to support the bastion were blocked by the fleeing soldiers at the end of the bridge and couldn''t move forward.


    During the pre-battle briefing, Layton and some senior officers believed that if the enemy didn''t cut down the drawbridges, they would charge across them directly onto the city walls and breach the city at once.


    However, Lieutenant Juan, who had climbed up the bastion, suddenly realized that because the Venetians could never deploy troops as quickly as the Tanilians, not only was the drawbridge of no use to them, but it became an uninterrupted way for the enemy to send reinforcements to push the Venetians off the bastion.


    Realizing this, Lieutenant Juan shouted to his hundred-man team, "The drawbridge! The drawbridge! Cut the drawbridge!"


    Hearing the order, Juan''s hundred-man team, who were chasing and slashing the routed soldiers, began to attack the drawbridge.


    William Kidd, who had rushed to the battlements, saw the escaping soldiers running into the city, the reinforcements going toward the bastion, and both groups stuck, unable to move, and flew into a furious rage. He cursed, "Waste! Push the fleeing soldiers down! Hurry to the bastion!"


    Upon receiving the order, the armored Confederation soldiers began to push the retreating bastion troops off the bridge.


    On the bridge, caught in the crowd, the commander of the bastion, Sanogaila, shouted in anger and despair, "Why? Why?!"


    No one paid attention to him, and one by one, the bastion''s defenders were pushed from the bridge, screaming as they fell to the ground. Some who did not die on impact continued to emit terrifying wails of agony.


    Lieutenant Juan had already charged to the edge of the drawbridge and began to hack at the bridge''s cables with his raised saber.


    A few soldiers rushed over to help as well. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Finally, the drawbridge was severed.


    With one end of it detached, the fleeing troops, reinforcements, and Sanogaila all tumbled down from the bridge.


    After suffering heavy casualties, the bastion now belonged to the Venetians... for the moment.

 Chapter 99 Engineers

    After the fixed end of the drawbridge on the triangular fort was severed, all the people on the bridge tumbled down onto the open ground between the triangular fort and the city gate.Fearing a Venetian assault, the defenders dared not open the city gate to rescue them.


    This hastily constructed triangular fort was actually just an earthen mound, without even an entrance or exit, save for the drawbridge connecting it to the city wall.


    After destroying the drawbridge, the Venetians temporarily cut off the defenders'' support and turned to focus on annihilating the remaining Tanilia Federation soldiers inside the fort.


    About a dozen Federation soldiers fled into a storage room deep within the triangular fort¡ªa space so cramped that the Venetians couldn''t handle them for the moment.


    Juan, seeing his own men standing at the door with none daring to enter, felt a surge of rage and cursed out loud, "Cowards! What are you staring at? Take off your armor and give it to me!"


    An army sergeant immediately stripped off his armor, and the others clumsily helped the Centurion to strap it on.


    Don Juan, with another layer of armor over his original military gear, looked particularly bulky and awkward.


    He pulled out a dagger from his boots and, without saying another word, fiercely kicked open the wooden door.


    The Tanilians inside were also startled and instinctively pulled the trigger. With two "thud" sounds, one was the gunshot, and the other was the lead bullet hitting Juan''s armor.


    The lead bullet penetrated the outer breastplate but changed its trajectory as a result and was deflected by the inner breastplate, flying out from under his ribs.


    Juan felt as if a huge hammer had struck him, his insides churning, almost suffocating, but he still managed to stab at the nearby enemy with sheer willpower.


    The soldiers behind him, seeing the Centurion act so boldly, also surged forward, and the Tanilians were quickly slaughtered in close combat.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers on the city wall came to their senses, clamped their heavy matchlock guns to the parapet, and began firing at the enemy atop the triangular fort.


    The city wall was three to four meters taller than the triangular fort, giving the Tanilians a height advantage, and their hail of lead bullets made it impossible for the Venetians on top of the fort to stand their ground.


    [The height of the triangular fort in front of the city gate was 5-6 meters, while the height of the Tachi city wall varied from 8-9 meters depending on the terrain.]


    But what happened next left the officers and men of the Tanilia Federation on the city wall dumbfounded as a group of peculiar soldiers charged up from in front of the triangular fort.


    They were called soldiers because they all wore grey military uniforms. They were strange because instead of weapons, they carried various tools.


    The second group sent out by Antonio and Layton were the engineer companies from two legions.


    Chanting their cadence, the engineers braved the storm of enemy gunfire to break down the pointed angle of the triangular fort, which faced directly toward the Venetian position, using shovels, picks, and explosives, reducing the original earthen mound that was five to six meters high to a gentle slope.


    Then the Venetian engineers used the slope to bring up buckets of earth and bundles of firewood onto the triangular fort; akin to the djinn from the tales that could build a city overnight, they used sacks, dirt, and wood to construct a temporary bastion atop the triangular fort, unlike the original structure, this new one faced the city wall.


    The Venetians'' position on the triangular fort was rapidly solidified, making it very difficult for the city wall defenders'' ranged weapons to harm the Venetian soldiers inside the fort.


    And all this was achieved under the muzzles of the Tanilian guns.


    That night, for the first time, the officers and soldiers of the Tanilia Federation truly understood what military technology overpowering meant.


    Military technology wasn''t just about better muskets and cannons, it was also about superior ideas, training, and tactics. Discover hidden tales at empire


    The Tanilians could muster the courage to fight to the death against the Venetians, yet they would never be able to execute the tactics displayed by the Venetian army that night¡ªa resolute and swift offensive combined with highly efficient engineering work.


    The siege lasted nearly half a month, William Kidd began to feel a hint of despair for the first time.


    ...


    ...


    The first day after the brief yet fierce struggle for the triangular fort.


    The Venetian army began their true, large-scale bombardment of Tachi for the first time.


    The heavy cannons had not yet been brought up, and those roaring on the front lines were light cannons of six pounds or less. These cannons could hardly inflict substantial damage on the city walls, as their shots only left white marks on the hard granite exterior.


    Nevertheless, the bombardment had been continuous since the break of dawn, without stopping until now.


    There were two reasons for this: first, although light cannons and mortars had difficulty in destroying the city walls, they were extremely effective against the ramparts atop the walls. The Venetians focused their bombardment on both the demi-lunes and the city gates, aiming to knock down those ramparts, leaving no place for the defenders to hide or escape from their shooting position.


    Secondly, it was to exert pressure on the Tachi defenders, making them incapable of launching counterattacks on the triangular fort.


    Because the location of the triangular fort was simply too crucial, being too close to the city walls; even now, for the Venetian soldiers wishing to go to the triangular fort, they had to cross a stretch of exposed ground that Tanilian guns could cover. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Engineer battalions were toiling desperately, endeavoring to extend a passageway to the triangular fort, but they were still short of a hundred meters as of now.


    The triangular fort was only seven or eight meters from the city wall. If the Tanilians decided to recapture the fort, they could simply use a long enough ladder to cross over.


    But for the Venetians to support the triangular fort, they had to cross through a "killing zone"¡ªthe designation the officers used for the exposed area covered by guns and guns."


    If the Tanilians were determined to retake the triangular fort, a mere two battalions of infantry inside would definitely not be enough to hold it.


    Thus, they had to rely on artillery fire to suppress the defending forces at the city gate, preventing them from daring to stand there, thereby inhibiting them from organizing a counterattack.

 Chapter 99 Engineers_2

    At the same time, the two battalions inside the triangular fortress were frantically raising its height, continuing to stack a high wall on top of the triangular fortress with sacks of sheepskin and burlap filled with earth.The logistics chiefs of both the Da Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion were bleeding inwardly ¨C for some of the less affluent civilians, sheepskin and burlap could be used as clothing, yet now they were being used generously for wall construction.


    With time pressing, cost was no longer within the scope of consideration for Antonio and Layton.


    Meanwhile, as the work was ardently proceeding at the front, Winters hesitated in the field camp of the two legions, wondering whether or not to knock on the door.


    "Smack!" The crisp sound of a slap was so clear that even Winters, outside the door, could hear it distinctly.


    An angry roar emanated from the command center in the middle of the field camp, Major General Layton bellowed, "Dammit! Why chop down the drawbridge?! Who gave you the audacity to take matters into your own hands?!"


    "Smack!" Another slap, even louder, followed immediately.


    "Yes, sir!" Ensign Tang Juan, reeling from the blow, answered with a tone full of defiance, "At the time, a troop of armored soldiers was about to cross the drawbridge! If we hadn''t destroyed it in time..."


    "Smack!" Juan had not finished speaking when he was struck down with another forceful slap.


    "Did I allow you to speak?! Did I permit you to speak?!" Layton''s rage escalated, "What were the orders I gave you before the sortie?! Tell me! What orders were given to you?!"


    Tang Juan struggled to quickly stand upright again and loudly responded, "Yes, sir! The primary objective, to drive the enemy out of the triangular fortress! Secondarily, if conditions allowed, to control the drawbridge, sweep the ramparts, and control the gates!"


    "Which order allowed you to chop down the drawbridge? Who allowed you to issue orders on your own!" Layton cursed violently, "F**k! You''ve botched the whole operation!"


    "But..." Despite having been slapped three times, Juan was still full of resentment.


    "Enough! You''re not brought here to make excuses!" Antonio interrupted Ensign Juan sharply.


    In Antonio''s view, this young ensign actually hadn''t done anything wrong ¨C the battlefield situation changed in the blink of an eye, how could they know the urgency from the rear. But since Juan was Layton''s subordinate, Antonio couldn''t undermine Layton''s authority in front of everyone.


    He frowned at Juan, saying, "No matter what you saw, you have no right to make such a decision. Your battalion commander was on the front line, it''s his responsibility to decide whether to chop down the drawbridge, not yours! Understand? Like to argue, do you? Roll back and submit a self-defense report... General Layton and I have a meeting soon, off with you!"


    Hearing the words of Colonel Serviati, Juan glanced back at Layton.


    "Get out!" Layton, his anger not yet subsided and his chest heaving violently, spat out a word impatiently.


    Ensign Juan snapped his boot heels together, paid a military salute, and left the colonel''s office.


    But as he exited the headquarters, he came face to face with Winters, who had been waiting outside.


    Seeing his senior Juan''s cheeks swollen high, Winters hurriedly saluted, while Tang Juan merely nodded, nonchalantly wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve and striding away with his head held high.


    When Winters delivered the Road Construction Department report to the legion commander''s office, the two colonels were still discussing Juan''s case. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...This little bastard, stubborn mule, still won''t concede! Just a f**king insubordinate!" Layton cursed vehemently.


    "Come on. Weren''t you just like that when you were twenty?" With only the two of them in the office, Antonio bluntly brought up his colleague''s past indiscretions.


    Layton snorted coldly but said no more.


    A knock on the door sounded, and Winters brought the report inside.


    The two high-ranking officials of the legion were very concerned about the progress of Guzhi Road and demanded daily updates.


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    In the known world, there might be armies more valiant in battle than the Standing Army of the Republic, but none more adept at engineering works.


    The Road Construction Department''s plan for the road was ingenious, neither starting from scratch nor drawing a straight line between Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi on the map.


    The engineers were losing their hair by the day, yet the project plan was excellent: they made the most of the island''s existing compacted earth roads while avoiding hills and streams to minimize construction effort.


    The thirty-three kilometers of Guzhi Road were designed with a base of large stones and clay, a second layer of broken stone and mortar, a third layer of sand, lime, and clay, and finally, a top layer of paved stone for a hard road surface.


    However, this road did not use the better-quality volcanic ash concrete, nor even waited for the mortar to fully set before it was put to use.


    As the road was still under construction, cannons were already being transported over the sections completed. As the road extended forward, the cannons were pushed ahead.


    According to the engineers, there might be concerns about the lifespan of the road, yet they assured with a slap on their chest that there would be no issues using it temporarily for a few years.


    While Colonel Volbon and the defenders of Tachi matched each other move for move, the road between the two points was progressing rapidly.


    Yet up to the day they assaulted the triangular fortress, the construction front was still four kilometers away from Vineta Camp. But the celestial timing waits for no one; after these few days when the moonlight was dimmest, waiting would mean another month.


    Therefore, Antonio and Layton made a decisive call, not to wait for the heavy artillery to arrive, but to transport light cannons to the front line using animals in an emergency, resulting in four mortars suppressing the eastern demi-lune ¨C the western demi-lune was equipped with four two-pounders, but attacking the wall-mounted cannons from below was ineffective; it was the cumbersome mortars that proved successful.

 Chapter 99 Sappers_3

    Antonio leafed through the report without any casual conversation with his nephew, and Winters stood at attention, obediently waiting for orders. In the barracks, there was only the Legion Commander and the Trainee Warrant Officer, no private identities were involved. Experience exclusive tales on empireSitting to one side, Layton had no idea of the familial relation between the two, and after staring at Winters for a few seconds, he suddenly stood up, walked over to Winters, and exclaimed with surprise, "Hm? Aren''t you the Warrant Officer who broke the chains at Red Sulfur Bay? Is that you? Am I mistaken? It''s you, right?"


    Winters''s face felt a little hot as he stood at attention and replied, "Report, General, it was me!"


    "Kid, why did you end up working on a road?" Layton asked with a somewhat strange expression. He squinted his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "Winters... your name is Winters, right?"


    This question was one Winters couldn''t answer; he certainly couldn''t reveal that he didn''t want to be on the front line. He could only reply, "Report, General, because I received transfer orders!"


    Layton was clearly satisfied with this answer, and he turned to Antonio, laughing as he said, "I tell you, General Serviati, you''re really not doing your job as Legion Commander. Such fine steel is being wasted in your hands. You let such a fine frontline officer go repair roads?"


    After criticizing his old classmate, Layton looked back at Winters, slapped him on the shoulder in a hearty manner, and said, "Do you, lad, want to lead troops under me? I tell you, after this battle with the Tannies is over, who knows how long until the next one. If you don''t think of ways to distinguish yourself now, the highest you''ll ever reach is Colonel. You''re still in training, right? Once you''re officially commissioned, come to my legion, and I''ll give you a position as Centurion of the first company! What do you say? Will you come? Your name is Winters... uh, Winters Montaigne, right?"


    Antonio, sitting behind the desk, spoke without lifting his head, "Lieutenant Montaigne, feel honored. General Layton remembered your name after only seeing you twice. When we were in the military academy, he couldn''t remember my full name for two months."


    "Montaigne... Montaigne..." Layton mulled over the surname, furrowing his brows for a while before his face broke into a smile, saying, "I like this surname, Montaigne is a good name! I had a Montaigne in my time too, but he was in the cavalry... you''re in the infantry, aren''t you? It doesn''t matter... this means we''re fated! Come lead troops under me, kid!"


    Winters recalled the swollen cheeks of Senior Tang Juan and thought to himself that he didn''t want to get slapped every now and then. He played a bit of a word game: "Report, General! I''ll go wherever the orders send me, right?"


    "Good! Good!" Layton thought the young lieutenant was agreeing with him. He slapped Winters''s shoulder hard twice, joyfully saying, "Good! Work hard under me! One day, you could be sitting where I am now."


    Although Layton was nearing forty, he was still very strong, and his slaps left Winters in pain.


    Winters saluted, and Layton said no more.


    After finishing the report, Antonio scribbled the command for the construction headquarters on a piece of paper, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Winters.


    "The road is almost finished, and the remaining heavy artillery can be deployed on the front line the day after tomorrow."


    "Is that so? Great!" Layton was thrilled to hear the heavy artillery was finally ready.


    Antonio looked out the window and sighed softly, "The order for slaughter has been issued, and the warhounds will ravage the Tanilians, along with us." S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 100 The Crow is Singing

    When the road connecting Tachi and Red Sulfur Harbor was finally penetrated, Antonio sent an envoy to the defending army for the last time. Based on "the last of mercy and honor," he demanded that the defenders hand over their weapons and open the city to surrender.Serviati and Layton jointly guaranteed that no Tanilian would be executed or tried after surrendering.


    But when the envoy with a shield shouted towards the city walls, the only response he received was over a dozen lead bullets.


    The attitude of William Kidd was made abundantly clear.


    Heavy cannons capable of firing thirty-two-pound iron shot were placed on large carts and dragged little by little to the front of the city walls. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even from a great distance, the Venetian soldiers atop the walls could hear the ruckus of their approach: the castrated oxen and draft horses bellowed as they were whipped; the Venetian drivers shouted as they lashed with their whips; and the squealing cart axles emitted a monotonous, incessant, grating sound.


    If the Angel of Death could also sing, then surely this cacophony was the Angel''s song to the ears of Tachi''s defenders now.


    After the heavy artillery arrived at the front lines, the Venetian engineers spent a whole day using lifting machinery to unload the cannons from the carts. They were then positioned on pre-constructed forts and had their angles adjusted.


    All light and heavy cannons in the Venetian army were divided into eight groups, each group anchored by the heaviest cannon and complemented by lighter ones.


    The Venetian soldiers affectionately called these groups "wolf packs," with each being likened to a lead wolf followed by a brood of cubs.


    With the city gates as the dividing point, four groups of cannons were placed on either side of the walls, targeted at the wall''s weak spots.


    As the Venetian deployed their heavy artillery, the defenders on the city walls tried their best to destroy the enemy''s large guns with their lighter ones at hand.


    However, these attempts were largely fruitless; the Venetian protected their big guns with wooden fences and earthen barriers, making it hard for the defenders to find a suitable angle for their shots.


    Moreover, the Tanilian cannons were vastly outnumbered and continuously suppressed by light artillery positioned at the base of the walls.


    The Tanilians could only watch in despair as one after another, cannons were positioned in front of the walls while they desperately reinforced them.


    The next morning, as the sun began to shine on the walls of Tachi, a broad barrage of artillery fire kicked off the proceedings.


    Before the heavy cannons made their presence felt, the defenders on the city walls were first subjected to a volley of musket fire and light cannons loaded with grapeshot.


    Especially the matchlock gunners and cannons on the bastions, being closest, didn''t even need to aim.


    In the past two days, the Venetians crazily worked, continually raising the height of the bastions with bags of soil. Now, the tips of the bastions were level with the city walls.


    The cannons that the Tanilians had deployed on the bastions were now being employed by the Venetians against their own defenders.


    Tanilians peering from behind the battlements were struck down on the spot. Iron and lead rounds shattered upon stone, sending shards flying and dust billowing; the soldiers on the walls huddled behind the parapets, not daring to raise their heads.


    And most of the defenders had taken cover below the walls; William Kidd was no fool, and it would have been a deadly folly to force his soldiers to remain on the walls under such bombardment.


    Therefore, he had the majority of soldiers take shelter in the Armament Cave behind the wall, leaving only a few sentries on the walls to keep watch.


    once the defenders on the walls were suppressed, the eight heavy cannons began to roar.


    The sound of the cannons was like the dreadful trumpets signaling the apocalypse: iron cannonballs flew out of the barrels and smashed into the city walls, the immense force causing the entire structure to tremble.


    The previous two-pounders had left only a few white marks on the walls, but the heavy cannons directly destroyed the volcanic rock covering the outer surface of the walls.


    Even if the stone did not crumble, the huge stress caused by the impacts surpassed the limit of the mortar binding the volcanic rocks together.


    At the points of impact, the external rocks of the walls fell off, revealing the inner wall made of volcanic concrete. Continue your story on empire


    And the firm inner wall, too, was gouged with a vast conical breach by the iron shots.


    The Venetian forces outside the walls let out cheers louder than the booming of the cannons.


    But for the defenders inside the Armament Cave behind the walls, it was like hell.


    The massive noise, the choking dust, and the vibrations transmitted to the Armament Cave every time the walls were hit by artillery made even the most battle-hardened soldiers shiver with dread.


    Nothing conveyed the damage to the walls by the cannons more clearly than the Terror of the Tanilians hiding in the Armament Cave; a panicked recruit exclaimed, "The walls are shivering!"


    Indeed, the colossal force borne by the cannonballs made the entire city wall tremble, and the defenders felt it as if it were their own bodies.


    When the cannons were still firing stone rounds, the walls of old could already be seen tiring. Stone-throwing cannons were like massive hammers, smashing one side of the wall after another, crushing the will of the defenders at the same time.


    And now, the cannons unleashing their fury on Tachi were arguably more potent than the stone-throwing cannons. Advances in material and manufacturing techniques allowed cannon-makers to cast lighter, thinner, sturdier cannons with longer barrels.


    The stone-throwing cannon''s rounds had a weight ratio of twenty to twenty-four parts to one part of gunpowder, whereas the eight thirty-two pounders outside the city could be loaded with sixteen pounds of gunpowder per shot, achieving an astonishing weight ratio of two to one.


    Even though iron cannonballs were lighter than stone ones, their penetrating power was incomparably greater.


    The city walls that the Tanilians had trusted were now disintegrating before the new era''s cannons.


    Inside the Armament Cave, Tanilian soldiers praying to "get through today" heard the sentries ring the alarm bell.

 Chapter 100 The Crow is Singing_2

    Accompanying the cannon fire was the task of filling in the trenches. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Antonio and Layton had chosen two points of attack on the eastern and western sides of the city wall, both identified as weaker sections of the wall from intelligence reports.


    Each legion was responsible for one direction of attack, tasked not only with destroying the wall but also with filling in the trenches at these locations.


    Amid the loud shouting of Captain Hoffman, the defending troops hurriedly ran up to the city wall, and the sentries on the ramparts screamed with all their might, "The triangular fort! They''re coming from the triangular fort!"


    A large number of soldiers pushing carts poured out from the triangular fort occupied by the Venetians; they rushed into the trenches, filling them with soil and wood from their carts.


    "Shoot them! Shoot them!" Captain Hoffman on the city wall roared, snapping his stunned subordinates out of their daze.


    The defenders, regaining their senses, immediately used crossbows and muskets to shoot at the Venetians below. The distance between them was so close, and there were so many Venetians, that firing at random would bring one down.


    Following a few more huge bangs of stones shattering, the light cannon outside the city fired again to suppress the defenders on the city walls. Flying debris filled the air, its force comparable to arrows,


    and Captain Hoffman, who had just been giving orders, screamed and waved his arms frantically, his face covered in dust, with blood streaming from his tightly shut eyes.


    The shards had flown into Hoffman''s eyes, plunging the strapping man into a frenzy amid severe pain and darkness. Hoffman''s men tried to hold him down, but he roared, drawing his sword and swinging it wildly, forcing everyone around him to give way.


    Hoffman could no longer hear what people around him were saying; he shouted and swung at the imagined enemy, stepping backwards. His men watched helplessly as their captain fell backward from the breached parapet and plummeted to his death below the city wall.


    Meanwhile outside the city, Venetian musketeers had also arrived. Using the trench walls for cover, the Venetian matchlock gunners fired fiercely at the defending soldiers on the city walls.


    The trench outside the city wall, hastily dug, was shallow, less than two meters deep, about the height of a man. Standing in the trench, the musketeers could just rest their guns on the edge.


    The merlons atop the city wall had been battered during the previous days'' cannon fire and were now in ruins, offering scant protection to the Tanilian soldiers atop the wall. Any attempt to peek over would meet with volleys from several matchlock guns.


    Yet the Tanilians on the wall knew that once the trench was filled in, the wall would be next, and then everyone would die.


    The ferocity of the defenders was ignited; the Tanilians howled to embolden themselves, leaning out to use crossbows and muskets to kill the tightly packed Venetians below.


    From their high vantage point, they looked down at the Venetian musketeers in the trench, who were almost completely exposed.


    The two sides engaged in a brutal exchange of lives at a distance nearly close enough to "put a musket to the forehead."


    The crossbowman Stave suddenly thought to use "Greek fire" to burn the Venetians.


    Stave ran down the city wall. Soon, he returned carrying a jar spouting blue flames.


    He shouted, "Greek fire! Greek fire!" as he rushed to the parapet. Just as he was about to throw the Greek fire into the enemy-filled trench, a lead bullet shot from below hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to fall backward onto the city wall.


    The burning sulfur from his jar spilled all over him, and his screams, mingled with the smell of charred flesh, even reached the Venetians below.


    However, Stave''s actions reminded the others that the trench was seven or eight meters from the base of the city wall; boiling oil and pitch couldn''t be thrown that far, but they could be if placed in jars.


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    While the defenders were looking for jars on the city wall, William Kidd arrived at the east side of the wall with reinforcements, bringing two short-barreled cannons.


    "Here! Don''t bloody line them up straight! Fire from the side!" Seeing the gunners absurdly trying to carry the cannons straight over, an infuriated gun commander Berta kicked the gunners who were carrying the cannon and cursed, "Idiots! Get lost!"


    The two short-barreled cannons were brought by Berta to a slightly curved section of the city wall, positioned diagonally towards the Venetians below.


    The gunners frantically assembled the gun carriages and loaded the ammunition. Berta aimed personally and lit the fuse.


    With two booming blasts, the short-barreled cannons unleashed a storm of grapeshot that tore through the bodies below.


    "Good! Good! Good!" The gun commander bellowed three times, his voice harsh as he urged his men on: "Reload! Keep firing!"


    As the Tanilian cannons slaughtered the Venetians below, the Venetian cannons outside were cleansing the city walls of Tanilian soldiers.


    The Venetian gun crews 200 meters away, seeing the smoke and flash from the city wall cannons firing, immediately adjusted their aim towards the two short-barreled cannons.


    A four-pound cannonball hit one of the short-barreled cannons, sending the cast iron cannon flying off its carriage, severing the arm of a gunner.


    Berta immediately moved the other short-barreled cannon to a new position.


    One side atop the wall, the other below, the Tanilians and Venetians were essentially aiming guns at each other''s heads.


    Everyone would die here; it was only a matter of time.


    Before today, the Tanilians had understood the importance of the triangular fort, but it was only now that they truly realized they had still underestimated its significance.


    Losing the triangular fort was tantamount to ceding control of the trench. Had the triangular fort still been in Tanilian hands, the Venetians would not dare rush into the trenches like they were doing now, since the cannons positioned at the fort would have pulverized them.

 Chapter 100 The Crow is Singing_3

    Moreover, once the Venetians connected the triangular fortress to the siege barriers through the trenches, they no longer needed to traverse the killing fields in front of the city walls but could directly enter the ditches from the triangular fortress.Not to mention the long-range firepower on the fortress exerted suppression on the troops defending the city walls.


    But the biggest problem with losing the triangular fortress was more than just that...


    While both attackers and defenders were slaughtering each other around the ditches, behind the city gates, William Kidd''s most elite Montani guards were assembling.


    These heavily armored brave warriors were the best fighters and the most reliable troops within the Tanilia Federation. If placed within the Empire, the Montani Guard would equate to the Emperor''s personal bodyguard. They were not subordinate to William Kidd but instead, the highest council had temporarily given William command over two of their companies.


    William Kidd had always regarded these two hundred-plus Montani guards as his personal guard and supervisory force; the Montani Guard was the key to his command over the military.


    However, due to the urgency, he was forced to deploy these elite reserve forces.


    Without any warning, the double gates of Tachi suddenly swung open.


    The Monta warriors let out a chilling war cry, bursting forth from the gates. Splitting into two groups, they plunged straight into the ditches, slashing at the Venetians inside like legendary berserkers.


    Captain Zenus, brandishing his battle-axe, led the charge, cleaving the top of a Venetian soldier''s head with an overhead strike. When the axe blade fully sunk into the skull and Zenus could not dislodge it after two pulls, he simply dropped the battle-axe and drew his sidearm for close combat.


    No matter the situation, it was impossible for those standing on the walls to stop attackers from filling the ditches. Explore new worlds at empire


    The only way was to send troops out to hit the enemy from both above the walls and below, slaughtering everyone inside the ditches.


    Therefore, regardless of the situation, the city gates were the most powerful weapon for the defense''s counterattack.


    But now, the triangular fortress before the gates was in Venetian hands.


    As large numbers of armored soldiers burst out from the city gates, the muskets and cannons on the fortress were immediately redirected to fiercely bombarded these heavy-armored foes.


    Two musketeers together hurled a forty-something-pound iron-shell bomb toward the city gate. The Montani guards hit were instantly streaming blood from their eyes and nostrils, dying on the spot.


    Other Montani guards, seeing the hissing fuse, panicked and fled. But it was too late. A thunderous explosion followed as the iron bomb detonated, nearly blowing the Venetians atop the fortress off their feet. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Between the city gate and the triangular fortress, the narrow space was filled with flying limbs, blood splatter everywhere. Even those Montani guards not struck by shrapnel sat collapsed on the ground, spitting blood in great gushes.


    Before the city gate, it had turned into hell, yet the ordeal was far from over, as the Venetians on the fortress dropped three more iron-shell bombs successively.


    The Monta soldiers, spitting blood, looked at the iron-shell bombs before them, frantically trying to crawl away as their limbs failed to respond. In desperation, he watched the bomb''s fuse burn down,


    "God, forgive me!" he cried out in his last moment of life, then was blasted into pieces.


    No one heard his final penance because the battle cry "For Da Weineta" drowned out all other sounds on the battlefield.


    Large groups of sword and shield bearers, roaring, poured out from the fortress and trenches in three directions. Two forces jumped into the trenches to engage the Montani guards in close combat, while the third group ignored everything else and headed straight for the city gates.


    The two Lieutenant Generals had prepared a total of six hundred-strong sword and shield troops, poised for the possibility of a sortie from the defenders.


    "Close the gates! Close the gates quickly!" William on the city walls, seeing this scene, shouted in panic.


    The troops at the gates immediately chopped the cables, and the massive gates fell sharply, trapping several Venetian sword and shield carriers in between.


    Before the gate, barrels of pitch poured down. There were still Montani guards alive before the gates, but the defenders could no longer afford to care.


    A few torches were thrown down from above the city gates; the Venetians screamed and scattered as they ran. The pitch ignited instantly upon contact, and the defenders burned the Venetians and their own men alive.


    On the other side of the gates, about a dozen defenders descended from the city wall through a passage into the gatehouse. Knowing they faced certain death, the trapped Venetian sword and shield fighters roared as they clashed fiercely with the Tanilians.


    The combat in the ditches grew equally brutal. The Tanilia Council spared no expense on their "Imperial Guard"; the Montani Guard were all equipped with three-quarters plate armor. Meanwhile, the Venetian sword and shield fighters were also fully geared with half armor.


    But the space was too cramped, combat was literally hand-to-hand, and many sword and shield fighters and Montani guards simply discarded their swords and axes, pulling out daggers and stabbing violently at the gaps in the armor, under the ribs, and other less protected areas.


    The soldiers in the rear pushed those in front into a crush, leaving no room to dodge. The only way to avoid the enemy''s stabbing blades was to strike at the enemy first.


    Tang Juan, at the rear of the masses, grew anxious watching the clumsy melee. Glancing at the ditch walls to either side, he yelled, "Up! Get up! Climb up and stab them! Lift me up!"


    The soldiers around the Centurion lifted him, boosting him to the outside of the ditch.


    Juan dashed forward, next to the Montani guards at the front, and started stabbing downwards at the necks of Montani soldiers from outside of the ditch.


    Noticing their comrades being stabbed to death, Montani guards clambered out of the ditch one after another. Juan''s company had also arrived, and the two sides commenced a new round of brutal combat just outside the ditch.

 Chapter 100 The Crow is Singing_4

    Blood flowed like a river both inside and outside the city ditch, as if it were a flesh and blood mill.Winters, who was watching the battle from two hundred meters away, could not help but feel his mouth go dry and his heart pound chaotically as he witnessed everything unfold before him.


    By Winters'' side was none other than Colonel Sebastian Volbon, who seemed indifferent to the brutal combat beneath the city walls, muttering to himself in confusion, "Why is this so strange...."


    Volbon and Winters were at the most forward artillery position, where one of the eight "Head Wolf" heavy cannons was located.


    The reason Winters was here was simple, Antonio had sent him.


    "Sebastian Volbon is an expert in siege tactics, you will benefit from learning a thing or two from him," Antonio had said, so Winters came with twenty soldiers to guard the big gun. Explore more at empire


    "Uh...." Winters, utterly perplexed, asked, "Colonel, what do you find strange?"


    The roar of the big gun interrupted him, another volley fired.


    After the cannon fire, the artillery crew quickly covered the cannon with wooden fences, preventing the garrison on the walls from threatening these weapons.


    The other gunners were busily reloading the ammunition.


    First, the gunners used a long-handled scraper to remove any unburnt powder from the cannon bore, then they stuffed a water-soaked mop in through the muzzle to clean the bore.


    The barrel of a cannon, hot after firing, caused any remaining moisture inside the bore to evaporate quickly, not affecting the next shot.


    If craftsmanship was poor, using water to clean the bore could lead to increased internal cracking, and consequently, a burst barrel. Inferior cannons could only be cooled with oil, but that was very cumbersome.


    After the temperature of the cannon had dropped, the gunners began to reload the gunpowder, packed it in tightly with a tamper, inserted a wooden sabot, and finally the cannonball itself.


    Once the cannonball was loaded, the gunners stuffed the gaps between it and the cannon bore with strips of cloth.


    Volbon called a halt to the firing and personally adjusted the cannon''s firing angle.


    A thunderous blast later, the cannonball hit a lower point than previous shots.


    After carefully observing the falling point of the cannonball, Volbon had an epiphany and excitedly said to Winters, "I know what''s going on...."


    "Uh... What are you talking about exactly?"


    "I''ve figured out the trick Tanilia''s people played," Volbon slapped his thigh, "They''ve piled up earth behind the walls!"


    "Pile up earth? You mean..." Winters said uncertainly, "you mean they piled up earth behind the walls to absorb the impact of the cannonballs? But isn''t that..." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That''s right! The effect on the wall from the cannon''s fire isn''t as powerful as it should be from these heavy guns," Volbon analyzed, staring intensively towards the direction of the walls, "I''ve conducted several more test shots, and the conclusion became clearer with each. The Tanilia people inside must have used piling up earth as a way to increase the thickness of the wall."


    "But if they''re piling earth behind the walls..." Winters mused, recalling his siege tactics course, "won''t the piled earth collapse too once the wall falls? And if it pours out forming a slope, won''t that make it easier for us to mount an attack?"


    "Indeed, that''s true," Volbon rubbed his nose, patted the cannon beside him, and said, "I don''t know if William Kidd doesn''t understand this, or if he''s desperately resorting to any remedy in his illness, or if he has other plans. But in any case, it looks like he is indeed determined to hold out to the very end...."


    ...


    ...


    After hours of fierce fighting, both sides were already too exhausted to continue the struggle.


    The walls still stood, yet the large chunks gouged out and the cracks indicated its destined destruction in the future.


    Nearly the entire Montani counterattacking force perished save for those who hadn''t struck in time and a few who managed to make it to the edge of the walls to be pulled up by the garrison with ropes.


    Three ditches were nearly filled in and were no longer significant barriers to attack.


    But the Venetians also paid a heavy price.


    In just one day of fighting, nearly four hundred were killed or injured, which was more than the combined total of Venetian casualties on Red Sulfur Island up to that point.


    And the majority of the wounded would die in their beds in the following days.


    The day''s bloody combat made the previous sieges seem almost leisurely by comparison.


    And Major General Antonio Serviati''s only order was: "Tomorrow, continue."

 Chapter 101 The Duty Officer

    The artillery bombardment of the city walls had not ceased since the deployment of the heavy cannons. It goes without saying that this occurred during daytime, but even at night, the eight artillery units outside the city would sporadically fire a few rounds at the walls.This relentless pounding day and night was not only destroying the walls but also intended to break the spirit of the defenders, preventing the Tanilians from resting.


    The walls were on the verge of collapse; each bombardment could signal the beginning of Vineta''s general assault, leaving everyone inside Tachi, civilians and soldiers alike, on edge.


    However, there was a side effect to this tactic: almost all of Vineta''s Spellcaster officers were also suffering from nervous exhaustion due to the nighttime bombings.


    Because their brains were more active than the average person, Spellcasters were more sensitive to their environment. Poor sleep quality was not just Winters''s personal problem; it afflicted all the Spellcasters.


    The intermittent booming of the cannons at night was torturing the Spellcasters in the camp. It was easy now to identify which officers were Spellcasters in Vineta Camp, looking for those with dark circles under their eyes and bloodshot whites.


    Only the Provost Marshal Moritz was unaffected by the bombardment. Major Moritz van Nassau could sleep like the dead every night after consuming his fixed cocktail of strong spirits and herbs, and wouldn''t awaken even if shots were fired next to him.


    Antonio would shake his head at the mention of Moritz, telling Winters, "If Van Nassau could quit drinking, he''d have been a lieutenant colonel by now. For him, achieving the rank of general in the future wouldn''t be difficult... What a shame, such a waste of talent¡­"


    Yet, Moritz van Nassau was not under Antonio''s command; he was a fully capable adult making his own life choices, and Antonio had no reason, nor any intention, to interfere with Moritz''s lifestyle.


    The unceasing bombardment was painful for the Vinetian Spellcasters, and even more agonizing for the defenders and civilians inside Tachi.


    At the start of the campaign, both sides still maintained some virtue and grace. But now, all that had dissipated, and the war plummeted towards its worst, bloodiest, and cruelest depths.


    The night when Montani''s guard made a sally and was annihilated,


    William Kidd sent a messenger with a handwritten letter, hoping for a day of truce like before, so that both sides could send out teams to collect and bury the dead.


    But this time, Antonio rejected the defenders'' request. His cold reply to the messenger was, "If William Kidd truly cared for the dignity of the dead, he could surrender the city. Then, you would no longer have to worry about this problem."


    The defenders'' messenger left dejectedly, and the siege continued.


    During the day, Venetians bombarded the walls, filled in the ditches, and extended the trench works towards the moat, launching probing attacks against weakened points.


    At night, William Kidd led the defenders in desperately repairing the shattered walls: pouring mortar into cracks in the wall, using whatever was available¡ªstones, shrubs, dirt¡ªto fill in minor breaches that had appeared.


    They learned from the Venetians, bringing buckets of soil to the ramparts, using them as a substitute for the parapets, which had been bombarded to rubble.''


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    The Vinetian army was not idle at night, either; the eight artillery groups would suddenly bombard the walls, using light cannons to target those Tanilians desperately fixing the walls.


    Volbon also dispatched small groups of soldiers through the bastion to the ditch, using hook nets to recover precious cannonballs scattered around the ditch and wall base¡ªcontinuous bombardment was rapidly depleting Vineta''s ammunition reserves, and even the cannonballs under the enemy''s eyes had to be retrieved.


    After being woken up by heavy artillery booming nine times in a half-asleep, half-awake state through the night, Winters simply volunteered for the night guard duty on the big cannons.


    He wasn''t currently assigned an official position and was considered a "utility officer" in the legion¡ªwherever needed, that''s where he would be sent, making this sort of menial task perfect for him.


    So, the day after the massive bombardment began, Winters became the duty officer for the "West-4" artillery unit.


    The legion command assigned two ten-man teams to each artillery unit for night watch, which was the front line and couldn''t spare too many troops.


    But stationed behind the old siege ramparts, 300 meters away, was a full-strength company, ready to rapidly respond if an alarm was raised. The main forces in the camp could also arrive quickly.


    The night watch''s task was actually simple: spot the enemy, sound the alarm bell, wait for reinforcements to arrive, and job done.


    Especially now, with the current state of the war making the night watch''s task incredibly easy: with the bastion captured, the Tanilians couldn''t quietly use the city gates for a sortie. To counterattack would mean sharing the fate of the Montani Guard.


    And Tachi was a small city, not a massive one like Constantinople with many side gates and secret doors¡ªit only had this one gate next to the bastion.


    The Tanilians would have to be incredibly foolish to repeat the Montani Guard''s downfall.


    Therefore, the night watch, with no chance of earning distinction, was unanimously considered the most miserable task by Venetian junior officers. Doing a good job wouldn''t be considered meritorious, but mistakes would lead to a military court.


    When Lieutenant Charles of the West-4 artillery unit heard that Winters was volunteering to replace him, he practically wanted to pick up Winters and call him dad, happily completing the handover.


    Although it was a hard task, since he was there, he had to do it well.


    After taking up his post, Winters did three things.


    First, he issued whistles to all the soldiers under him. Normally, whistles were only given to officers, so providing them to soldiers could lead to confusion on the battlefield.


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 Chapter 101 Duty Officer_2

    But Winters thought ringing the bell was too slow, once something happened, it was far from being as quick as a whistle.The second thing was expanding the angles of the passages to the left and right of the cannon so that two groups of ten could be accommodated. Winters placed his two groups of ten on either side, instead of scattering them throughout the passageway.


    This was the experience he gained after being ambushed several times at night: lone sentries could easily be eliminated; it was essential to arrange multiple concealed and visible sentries.


    The third thing was to request six crossbows. In Winters''s view, issuing matchlock guns to night sentries was pure stupidity, a model of bureaucracy. It was impossible for sentries to keep a matchlock smoldering all night, and even if they were not afraid to die, there wasn''t enough match cord for them to squander.


    It was better to simply use crossbows and blow a whistle if attacked than to fumble with lighting match cords in a panic.


    The Vineta army''s efficiency was extremely high. Winters went to the armory for crossbows and whistles in the morning, and by the afternoon, the passageway had been rebuilt. By evening, Winters, carrying a rifle and a saber, started night shifts again after a long absence since leaving the military academy.


    Around midnight, while on duty, Winters thought about how he used to hate standing night watch, yet now he had to volunteer for it, and he couldn''t help but sigh.


    An abrupt voice interrupted Winters''s thoughts.


    "Why are you sighing, Centurion?" Halberdier Buba, with something in his mouth, mumbled unclearly while holding his halberd: "My mother says sighing blows away good luck, so after you sigh, you have to ''fan'' the good luck back."


    After speaking, Buba clumsily fanned twice in front of Winters''s nose.


    "Presumptuous! What are you doing?!" Centurion Taylor, startled, immediately scolded Buba fiercely.


    Buba tentatively retracted his hand.


    Taylor, with a hint of frost at his temples, pointed at his head and explained to Winters, "Sir, there''s something... off with Buba''s mind. Please do not take him seriously."


    Winters waved his hand, indicating it was fine. He smiled at Buba and said, "I''m not a Centurion, Buba. Do you know how many people are on night watch here tonight?"


    "There are two groups of ten." Buba counted on his fingers for a while: "Ten... sixteen people?"


    "Does that make a hundred?"


    "It does not."


    "So am I a Centurion?"


    "Then, you''re not..." Buba hesitated, "... then you are... a Twenty?"


    Winters couldn''t help but burst into laughter at Buba''s answer.


    "Damnit!" Sergeant Taylor, furious, lifted his leg and gave Buba a hard kick in the rear. After kicking, he raised his hand to strike, scaring Buba into cowering and covering his head.


    However, Taylor''s raised arm did not come down, as Winters grabbed his wrist.


    Sergeant Taylor was surprised to find that this seemingly not-so-strong warrant officer had an unexpectedly strong grip, holding his arm as if it were clamped in a vise, immobile.


    "I asked, and he answered. He did nothing wrong, there''s no need for corporal punishment," Winters said, and then let go, allowing Taylor''s right arm to move freely again.


    "Isn''t this ''disrespectful speech''? According to military regulations, he should be getting a sound whipping," Taylor glared at Buba, then lowered his head and said to Warrant Officer Montaigne, "But it''s fine if you don''t mind."


    "He wasn''t wrong, though; I am indeed a ''Twenty'' at the moment," Winters couldn''t resist another laugh.


    "Um... you can''t say that..." Sergeant Taylor found himself at a loss for words.


    Winters patted Taylor''s arm and smiled, "Montaigne, Warrant Officer, Sir, whatever you find convenient to call me, I don''t mind."


    "I''m all confused... I''ll just call you ''Sir,'' okay?" The cause of the commotion, Buba, was completely oblivious, scratching his head and grinning sheepishly.


    Centurion Taylor gave Buba a harsh stare, making Buba lower his head again.


    "Food''s here! The food''s arrived!" Excited shouts neared from the distance, and the echo of footsteps resonated through the passageway.


    Private Dan, carrying a small iron pot in his hands with three cloth bags hanging around his neck, ran out from the passageway.


    The personnel guarding the cannon at night had to stay on duty from dusk till dawn, close to twelve hours. Because they had to rest during the day and couldn''t get lunch, there was an extra meal at night.


    Seven hungry soldiers from the group of ten eagerly took the iron pot from Dan''s hands.


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    Lifting the pot lid, they saw steaming soup.


    With his stomach growling, Buba didn''t even wait for Dan to take the cloth bags from around his neck; he was too impatient and stuck his hand inside the bags.


    "Hold on! Don''t mess around! Don''t take the wrong one!" Dan guarded the bags tightly and pushed Buba away. After carefully identifying them, he handed two of the bags to Buba: "These are our bread."


    Buba snatched the bags, and pulling out a brown loaf as big as a plate, he quickly broke off a piece and started chewing voraciously.


    This hefty "loaf-shaped" bread, weighing almost a pound, was the main staple for Vineta soldiers. Unlike the vegetables and soup made by the soldiers themselves, the bread was baked uniformly by the legion''s logistics bakers and distributed per headcount. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The primary ingredients of the military bread were equal parts wheat, barley, and rye, with salt and water as additives.


    Winters had tried the military bread and found it somewhat sour. But in fact, since wheat flour made up one-third, it was considered quite good rations, affordable only to the yeoman class and above.


    Many poor boys tasted this kind of bread, Maslin, for the first time when they enlisted.

 Chapter 101 Star Officer_3

    The other soldiers each received a piece of bread and ladled some soup into their cups, eating with alternate sips of soup and bites of bread.Dan handed the last cloth bag to Winters, "Commander, this is yours." Continue your adventure at empire


    "Oh, thank you," Winters took the bag and, like the soldiers next to him, casually found a rock to sit on.


    As soon as he sat down, the soldiers from Taylor''s squad stopped eating. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the Vineta army, not only do officers eat differently from soldiers, but they actually never dine with the soldiers. There is no sense of unity between officers and soldiers, only distinction.


    So when they saw Warrant Officer Montaigne taking a seat next to them, the soldiers from Taylor''s squad were all taken aback, exchanging glances, uncertain of what to do next.


    "What''s wrong? Why aren''t you eating?" Winters found it very strange to see that everyone had stopped eating.


    The soldiers all looked towards Centurion Taylor, who awkwardly said to Winters, "Well, shouldn''t you be dining at the officers'' club?"


    "Officers''s club?" Winters couldn''t help but express his amusement, "With cannons to the side and the city wall in front, where could there possibly be an officers'' club?"


    "Still, you shouldn''t be dining with the soldiers," Taylor didn''t know what else to say, "It''s just... it''s just... not right."


    "What''s not right?"


    "Well... it''s just not."


    The nonsensical reply gave Winters a headache. He asked bluntly, "Okay, just tell me, where did the officer in charge of the night watch dine before?"


    "Centurion Charles always went back to the camp to dine," Taylor honestly replied.


    "What? Back to the camp? That''s almost two kilometers away..." Winters frowned and asked, "If the duty officer goes back to dine, what happens here?"


    "Lieutenant Charles goes back to the main camp to dine," Taylor answered matter-of-factly, "We''ll handle things here."


    Winters understood what was going on and muttered a few complaints to himself. Charles might dare to abandon his post, but Winters had no intention of following suit.


    He reached out for his own food and said in a relaxed tone, "Lieutenant Charles is diligent; I''m lazy. It''s too far to go back; I can''t be bothered to return, so I''ll eat here. You carry on as normal, and if you feel uncomfortable, just pretend I''m not here."


    Since the duty officer had said this, Centurion Taylor didn''t say anything more.


    He saluted, returned to his spot, and began breaking the hard bread into pieces and shoving it into his mouth.


    Seeing the Centurion start to eat, the other soldiers continued to chew vigorously; they had been famished.


    Inside Winters''s bag were two paper-wrapped packages. He unwrapped one, and inside was beef¡ªmany cattle had "tired" to death moving the cannons.


    If not for the fact that they would need animals to move the cannons away again, the officers could "tire" the remaining cattle to death at a rate of two per day.


    In the other paper package was bread, not the coarse bread eaten by the soldiers, but white bread.


    Removing the outer bran of the wheat, then subjecting it to an extra round of milling and at least three sifts, yielded fine white flour.


    Wheat itself was the best and most expensive grain. The refining process resulted in a significant loss of mass, so white bread had not only a better taste but also bore an intense symbolic significance.


    Buba, who had been devouring his food, suddenly stopped, his hands and mouth motionless, as he stared intently at the beef and white bread in Warrant Officer Montaigne''s hands, his Adam''s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.


    The other soldiers also saw the beef and white bread in Warrant Officer Montaigne''s hands. They just took a deep look and quickly averted their eyes, quietly bowing their heads to chew more vigorously on their coarse bread.


    "What are you looking at? Eat your own!" Centurion Taylor scolded with a stern face.


    Hearing this, Buba quickly hung his head and swallowed again before breaking off a large chunk of his coarse bread and stuffing it into his mouth.


    Seeing this, Winters gained a bit of understanding as to why Lieutenant Charles would go back to the main camp to eat.


    Thirty-one years ago, the Army of the Provinces had fought and killed "The Butcher" Earl Arlian, and the provinces had become republics.


    Twenty-six years before, the armies of the republics had repelled "Madman" Richard, and the Senas Alliance was formed.


    The forefathers proudly proclaimed "We were compelled to become independent because of an obvious truth: in rights that belong to us as ''humans,'' no one sector should dominate over another. If someone thinks oneself above a segment of people, then they are effectively agreeing to being below another segment."


    At least, that''s what Winters learned in history class, and he wanted to believe that the ancestors had ended the emperor''s rule for this noble cause.


    But now, Buba, who had just been grinning foolishly, buried his head deep into his shoulders. The pleasant mealtime had turned silent and stiff.


    As he watched all this, Winters suddenly found the food in his hands difficult to swallow.


    While eating, Buba kept sneaking glances at Warrant Officer Montaigne''s fine bread and meat. He looked at the fine bread, then took a bite of coarse bread, as if trying to convince himself that the coarse bread in his hands was the fine bread.


    Winters reached out and took Bard''s coarse bread, startling Buba so much that he froze in place.


    "Is it that delicious? Watching you eat so heartily makes me want to try it too," Winters said as he broke off half of Buba''s coarse bread and gave back most of his own alongside it, "Don''t say I stole your bread, eh! I''m trading, not stealing."

 Chapter 101 Duty Officer_4

    It wasn''t until Winters stuffed the bread into Buba''s hand that he snapped back to reality. He still stood there, grinning foolishly. But he didn''t move to eat it, just looked at the bread in his hand and then towards Centurion Taylor.Sergeant Taylor nodded with a stern face.


    Only then did Buba, as if he had found a treasure, hurriedly stuff all the white bread into his mouth, chewing with a look of joy on his face.


    He was so greedy, he stuffed too much bread into his mouth at once and started coughing, still smiling foolishly even as he coughed.


    The coarse bread, which had been sitting for a few days, instantly sucked all the moisture from his mouth. Winters said with a bitter smile, "Is there a spare cup? I need some soup."


    "Use mine," said Sergeant Taylor, expressionless as he dug out his cup, wiped it with a clean handkerchief, and filled it with hot soup for Winters.


    "I won''t drink your soup for free. I''ll trade with my side dish." Winters crushed the cooked beef leg meat from another paper bag and added it to the soup.


    The other soldiers in the decuple squad stood there, eyes on the pot but not a single one touched the ladle.


    Old Taylor sighed and nodded again.


    The other soldiers then couldn''t wait to scoop up the soup, scrambling for the beef in the pot.


    Private First Class Dan, responsible for cooking that night, said to Winters, "I''ve always felt the rumors were false. I''ve delivered meals so many times, and aside from you, no officer has ever said ''thank you'' to me. You seem so easy to get along with."


    Winters initially thought Dan was just brown-nosing, but the more he thought about it, the more something felt off: "Hmm? Wait a minute, what rumors ..."


    "Nothing, nothing," Dan laughed sheepishly and beat a hasty retreat.


    Buba took a big gulp of the meat soup and said blissfully, "We''ve got fine bread and meat soup; it''s been so long since I''ve had such a good meal. Montaigne is such a good officer, why did you guys scare me earlier?"


    Spotting another breakthrough, Winters immediately pressed Buba, "Scare you with what? Tell me in detail."


    "Nothing, nothing," the other soldiers quickly intervened between Winters and Buba, and Old Taylor grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into Buba''s mouth.


    Clearly, it wasn''t anything good, but now Winters wanted to hear it even more. He grabbed Sergeant Taylor''s arm, "Don''t block his mouth, let him talk."


    "...Yeah? Why shouldn''t I speak?" Everyone was scrambling to cover Buba''s mouth, but he was dodging and weaving, determined to speak: "Officer Montaigne... they said you''re incredibly brutal, like to chop off heads, they call you ''Headhunter''... and ''Blood Man,'' they said you practice black magic of the wizards..."


    The other soldiers panicked, desperately covering Buba''s mouth with all their might.


    Struggling, Buba said, "...and there''s more..."


    "Enough! Stop!" Winters shouted angrily.


    The soldiers from Taylor''s decuple squad froze in fear, dared not to move any further.


    "Let him finish," Winters looked at Buba, "What else did they say? Tell me everything."


    Buba said with a foolish smile, "They said you fight recklessly, that your last century ended with only four survivors... They all think I''m dumb, but I can tell who''s good and who''s bad.


    You''re so nice, how could it be?"


    Winters felt a tightness in his chest and took more than a dozen seconds to calm down. He didn''t bother to explain, nor did he want to explain to these people.


    "Captain, we didn''t mean it like that..." Old Taylor quickly tried to smooth things over.


    Winters looked at Sergeant Taylor, then at the other soldiers, and said calmly, "The rumors are indeed all true. Only four people from my century survived, I''ve chopped off the enemy''s heads, and I do know the wizards'' black magic."


    The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.


    "How could that be? I don''t believe it." Buba said naively, "You''re a good person."


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    "Maybe I am, maybe I''m not. War only needs soldiers who obey orders, whether they''re good or bad doesn''t matter." Winters felt a touch of melancholy, but quickly regained his usual demeanor, "Continue eating, the soup will get cold."


    Everyone silently returned to their seats to eat.


    After finishing this "main meal," Winters arranged the night patrol shifts for the decuple squad and left the post to go to another decuple squad''s location.


    But Winters thought it best to check the alert system set up in front of the gun positions before heading over.


    Dozens of meters to the east, occasional flashes of firelight were visible, that was "West-One" artillery group conducting night firing.


    In the darkness straight ahead, the walls of Tachi were faintly discernible.


    Walking under the night sky, watching the myriad of stars, Winters felt light-footed. The cool breeze, which carried away the day''s heat, was the first hint of comfort he had felt since landing on Red Sulfur Island.


    The first thought that crossed his mind was, "I wonder what Anna is doing now? Is she looking at the same starry sky as I am? What are Cosha and Ella doing?"


    The alert system was set up not far in front of the gun positions, and Winters quickly reached it.


    Calling it an alert system was a bit grandiose; it was just a simple trap of thin wires and bells. Simple, but effective; any careless touch would make a sound.


    However, Winters searched in vain for the tripwire, almost thinking he had gone to the wrong place. But after comparing landmarks, he confirmed he was in the right spot.


    Winters began to breathe faster, uncontrollably.


    Crouching down, he took out a bronze rod and concentrated his mind, using the rod as a material to cast a Luminosity Spell. He didn''t cast with full force, maintaining the smallest amount of magic without breaking the flow.


    A faint green glow emanated from the rod, and with the dim light, Winters carefully searched for any trace.


    Finally, he found the tripwire¡ªalready severed.


    Following that were the second, and third cut tripwires.


    Winters methodically put away the rod and drew his sidearm.


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 Chapter 102 Blood Man

    Resting at his watch post, Sergeant Taylor heard footsteps outside. He called out alertly, "Who''s there? Password!""Torrent." The person replied with the passphrase, "It''s me."


    The passphrase matched, and the old Taylor relaxed, responding with the countersign, "Blossom."


    The footsteps approached rapidly. Centurion Montaigne deftly vaulted over the parapet and jumped into the corridor.


    Taylor immediately noticed that Centurion Montaigne was holding a strange short musket¡ªstrange because this musket had no firing device, like those old hook guns that required one hand to hold the gun and the other to ignite it, but it was indeed a firearm.


    "What''s the matter, sir? Enemy attack?" Sergeant Taylor hurriedly asked.


    "No enemies spotted." Winters pulled out a bell, "But the alarm tripwires have been cut."


    "What do we do? Sound the alarm?"


    Winters hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Ring the bell! Sound the alarm!"


    Seeing the duty officer so resolute, Taylor actually became frightened. He licked his lips and tried to dissuade him, "Should we double-check? The tripwire could''ve snapped on its own¡­ What if it''s a false alarm? It''d be a huge mess. Should we wait?"


    Winters wasn''t sure if the tripwire had been deliberately cut either. To be on the safe side, it would be better to wait, to wait until they actually encountered the enemy before sounding the alarm.


    Because if it turned out to be a false alarm afterward, Winters was sure to face severe accountability, and even the other sentries might get into trouble because of it.


    "Ring the alarm bell now! Light the beacon!" Winters bit his teeth again, "Better to report in error than miss out! Go sound the alarm, I''ll take the responsibility if something goes wrong."


    Seeing the duty officer''s determination, Sergeant Taylor had no choice but to comply. He rushed to the alarm bell and began to ring it vigorously with the hammer.


    The urgent bell reverberated across the battlefield in front of the city wall, first from the west-four position, then the sentries on the old siege wall behind Winters also rang their alarm bells.


    The camp was shaken from its slumber, officers dashed out of their tents, bellowing "Emergency assembly!" Soldiers fumbled for their clothes and weapons in a panic.


    Next to the west-four battery, two beacons were lit on the earthen wall, signaling an alert.


    The other batteries and watch posts lit a single beacon, indicating their positions were still tranquil.


    Winters climbed onto the rampart and counted the beacons again three times carefully. Once he was sure there was no mistake, he called over Sergeant Taylor, "West-three battery hasn''t lit any beacons, there might be trouble there. Which of your men don''t have night blindness?"


    "Dan, Weck." Old Taylor named two soldiers without hesitation.


    "Have them grab their weapons and follow me." Winters buckled his helmet, drew his sword, and threw the scabbard on the ground.


    "You''re going out too?" Old Taylor was surprised, "We just have to hold the cannons and wait for reinforcements."


    "We have to find out what exactly happened at west-three battery," explained Winters. "Cowering in our post is like being blind, not knowing where the enemy is running to."


    Sergeant Taylor grabbed Winters'' arm, "Then let me take men out, and you stay here."


    Winters asked sternly, "Are you as good in combat as me? Besides, I don''t trust others to scout; I need to see it with my own eyes."


    Taylor''s ten-man squad were Halberdiers, it was difficult to use their long weapons in the cramped corridor, Dan and Weck left their polearms and followed Winters along the corridor towards the west-three battery with swords in hand.


    Designed to protect against cannon fire, the corridor snaked like a serpent, with a turn every four or five meters. As they were close to the battery, Winters heard footsteps in the corridor ahead.


    "Password?!" He immediately shouted.


    The person approaching didn''t reply, their footsteps quickened.


    "Enemy attack!"


    Dan and Weck only saw a figure flash out from the corner; then Centurion Montaigne drew his strange short musket and shot the person down with a round to the head.


    Dan saw clearly that the short musket in the centurion''s hand had no fuse, no wheel lock, not even a trigger¡ªjust a stock and a barrel. However, in Centurion Montaigne''s hands, it fired as if it were a normal firearm.


    "A wizard''s dark magic," the thought simultaneously struck the two privates.


    The recoil of the firearm numbed Winters'' palm. It was his first time using this kind of spell-activated firearm in combat and he hadn''t expected it to actually work, yet it was highly effective.


    For Winters, a spell-activated firearm was far more convenient than an Arrow Flying Spell. He wasn''t adept with kinetic spells, but he had a knack for Fire-type magic.


    Before he could take pride in himself, more enemies wielding short daggers rushed out from the corner ahead.


    The disadvantage of a spell-activated firearm was also clear¡ªit had only one shot.


    In a moment of urgency, Winters threw the empty firearm towards the foes.


    An idea suddenly struck his mind, "Perhaps bundling three barrels together?"


    But now wasn''t the time for such thoughts. Winters switched to his sword and thrust at the enemy.


    Even a coward, weak and ineffective like Winters, having been forged through several bloody battles, would have long become a fierce warrior, not to mention that Winters was already a long-trained officer.


    Dan and Weck watched in shock as Warrant Officer Montagne efficiently killed¡ªno, slaughtered the oncoming enemy.


    The corridor was narrow, with enemies able to advance only one by one. As each one came up, the warrant officer took them down, none of them proving to be a match for him.


    As a result, it was only Winters, Dan, and Weck who advanced forward, without a need for Dan and Weck to swing their swords. They followed behind Winters, and would thrust a sword into anyone they saw who wasn''t quite dead yet. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After killing eight or nine men in a row, the will of the Tanilians completely collapsed. The remaining Tanilians, stricken with fear, began to crawl and scramble away, turning and running.


    Winters watched the Tanilians flee over the parapet wall towards the city wall but did not pursue further.


    He picked up the pistol he had dropped from beneath a corpse, while Dan and Weck watched him with awe.


    "Move out, to the western artillery position three," Winters commanded, once he had retrieved his gun, leading the way at the front.


    Dan swallowed his saliva and couldn''t help but whisper to Weck, "I finally understand why they call the warrant officer ''Blood Man''¡­"


    Continuing towards the western artillery position three, they began to encounter the bodies of Vineta soldiers. The fallen Vinetans were strewn about in the corridor leading to their artillery position, their bodies still warm.


    "Sir! There''s a centurion here!" Weck reported loudly to Winters. Read latest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    A body clad in an officer''s uniform lay sprawled on the ground, arms limply dangling, the eyes no longer showing a spark of life.


    Winters took a good while to recognize him as Lieutenant Dyke, the duty officer of the western artillery position three. There was a terrible wound on Dyke''s neck, which appeared to have been the fatal blow.


    "Dead," Dan summarized succinctly.


    Weck spat out his saliva, "No shit."


    Winters tried to reconstruct the scene of Dyke and his subordinates'' last stand in his mind but there was one question he couldn''t figure out.


    Furrowing his brow, Winters pondered with confusion, "No matter how you look at it, a fierce fight took place here, but why didn''t I hear any noise right next to the western artillery position three?"


    The cannons were on their mounts, but the touchholes were firmly nailed shut, rendering them all useless for the foreseeable future.


    Clearly, the goal of the Tachi garrison''s surprise attack was to destroy the Vinetan cannons, and for that reason, the Vinetans had prepared thoroughly. But why didn''t he hear any alarm?


    Winters checked the alarm bell next, which was undamaged.


    A shrill whistle came from the west side, and Dan shouted in panic, "Sir! It''s our artillery position!"


    "Move! Let''s go back!" Sword in hand, Winters sprinted towards the western artillery position four, leaving Dan and Weck far behind.


    Among the eight artillery positions, the lower the number, the closer to the central axis, with the western position four being the closest to the city wall.


    Tanilian soldiers carrying nails and hammers climbed over the parapet, jumped into the artillery position, and rushed towards the cannon.


    Winters'' two squads of ten tried to stop the enemy, but were vastly outnumbered and had been pushed back into the signal post.


    The two signal posts were positioned like horns in front of the artillery position, structured according to Winters'' specifications: narrow at the entrance but large enough inside to accommodate a squad of ten.


    A ferocious Tanilian swordsman howled as he charged into Taylor''s signal post, only to be impaled in the belly by Buba''s halberd as soon as he entered. The second Tanilian who tried to rush in was also repelled by the halberdiers.


    Seeing no chance to break through from the front, the Tanilians moved to the outside of the signal post, climbing the walls and jumping in. Old Taylor, holding a crossbow, shot a Tanilian climbing the parapet, then pulled out his dagger and turned to cut down another who leapt into the post¡­


    Outside the signal post, a Tanilian archer, bold as brass, simply stood on top of the parapet, firing arrows down at Taylor and his soldiers.


    With a single Arrow Flying Spell, Winters knocked the bowman off the wall. He didn''t stop to check if the archer was dead, drawing his sword and cutting his way toward the signal post.


    The Tanilians had focused all their attention on attacking the Vinetan signal post, not noticing Winters approach from behind.


    Only when screams suddenly erupted from behind did the Tanilians realize they had been flanked by a single man.


    "Fight! Warrant Officer Montagne has come back! Reinforcements are here!" Taylor, with a gash on his head, blood flowing down into his eyes, wiped his face haphazardly with his hand, raised his dagger high, and roared, "For Great Vineta!"


    "Huzzah!"


    The Vinetan soldiers inside the signal post were invigorated and, shouting, counterattacked from within.


    Trapped between attacks from both sides, the Tanilian soldiers collapsed, many jumping the wall to escape. Those who were too slow were dragged back and killed.


    After dealing with the Tanilians in the corridor, Winters leaned on his knees panting heavily and hoarsely asked Taylor, "What''s the situation now?"


    "The cannons! We''ve lost the cannons!" Taylor was so anxious he''d forgotten to show respect, "At least a hundred Tanilians! The other signal post has fallen too!"


    "What about the reinforcements?"


    "They haven''t arrived yet."


    "Move! To the cannons! Follow me!" Winters wiped the blood from his face with the bottom of his shirt and switched to a dead man''s curved sword¡ªbecause his own had become blunt¡ªleading everyone toward the artillery position, leaning against the wall for support.


    Soldiers of the Third Legion rumor: Bloody Montagne is the bravest officer in the legion, and just now, Taylor''s squad of ten have personally confirmed that the gossip is true.

 Chapter 103 Execution

    After a night of fierce fighting, the corridors near each gun position on the western side were now littered with bodies, both Venetian and Tanilian.If the Venetians hadn''t taken the unused gunpowder back to camp every day, last night''s losses would have been even more severe.


    When daylight came, the Venetians began cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the bodies of their comrades.


    Winters and Taylor, having hastily tended to their wounds, immediately returned to the West-Four gun array.


    A ghastly wound adorned the brow of Winters, held together by black stitches. If the injury had been two inches lower, Winters certainly would have lost his right eye.


    Taylor''s sword wound was at the top of his head; he had to shave his hair completely off to sew it up.


    However, they were the fortunate ones, for they were still alive.


    Buba lay before them, his body already stiff. His eyes, already dilated, stared emptily at the sky, his mouth was wide open as if he were still shouting.


    Almost his entire right side of the neck was blown apart by a musket ball from a heavy firearm that killed him. Aside from this fatal gunshot wound, his body had a dozen other wounds, large and small.


    He fought with his injuries until a musket ball took his life.


    In the last moments of his life, Buba still clenched his halberd tightly. So tightly, in fact, that Taylor couldn''t separate his hand from the halberd.


    Winters stood silently behind Taylor, his last memory being of many enemies charging at him, and suddenly, it was as if someone had struck him on the head with a war hammer, blood blurring his vision. Buba roared as he swung his halberd to block the foes, while Taylor and Weck dragged him further and further away from Buba.


    Winters couldn''t recall what happened after that; the blow to his head nearly caused him to faint, clouding his consciousness.


    During the melee at the artillery positions, Tanilian marksmen quickly took notice of the Venetian officer charging in the forefront.


    Three crossbows swiftly aimed at Winters; two of the marksmen missed, but the third one struck true.


    A short, thick iron crossbow bolt hit Winters squarely in the face, knocking him to the ground.


    Had he not been wearing a helmet, Winters would have been killed on the spot.


    Even Taylor and his men thought Lieutenant Montaigne was shot dead until they brought back the "body" and found that the lieutenant was still breathing. The crossbow bolt had pierced the helmet but failed to penetrate further.


    In the chaos, the few soldiers still alive fought desperately to protect the semi-conscious Winters, and Buba was killed during this struggle.


    Had Buba not covered their retreat and held back the Tanilian soldiers, Taylor and Weck would have had no chance to drag Winters away.


    "So he died like that," Winters thought sadly, "Before dying, he only ate half a loaf of white bread, drank a little beef soup. He said that eating white bread made him happy, and then he just died."


    To die for one''s country is glorious and grand, and perhaps that''s how the messengers would tell Buba''s parents. But Winters knew that Buba didn''t die for Venice; he died due to the inflated ambitions of a handful of ambitious men.


    Those people brought him from his hometown to this island with a piece of coarse bread, and then they let him die here.


    "He wasn''t even twenty years old, he only ate white bread once..."


    "Isn''t this what you wanted?" Old Taylor closed Buba''s eyes with trembling hands, "You gave Buba white bread, gave him meat, isn''t it for this? Isn''t it for him to fight to the death?"


    Winters didn''t answer.


    "Isn''t it?" Taylor, suddenly impassioned, turned around, grabbed Winters by the arm, and angrily confronted him, "Is it or isn''t it?"


    "No."


    Old Taylor seemed to age a decade in an instant; the anger faded, leaving only a profound emptiness. He murmured, "Then Buba didn''t die in vain... didn''t die in vain..."


    Winters was silent for a long time before he said in a low voice, "No, he did die in vain. If it weren''t for the ambition of certain people, he didn''t have to die, Dan didn''t have to die, many people didn''t have to die. We wouldn''t have to be here, fighting the Tanilians with our lives." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ve been on the military grain since the Emperor was still around. Over forty years have passed, and I''ve long seen through it. The lives of common soldiers are the cheapest thing in this world. Buba''s life, my life, all are insignificant to those big shots," said Old Taylor as he carefully tidied up Buba''s appearance, his back to Winters, "Common soldiers aren''t afraid of death; they just fear dying pointlessly. Buba didn''t die for those high-ups; he died for you, because he was fighting with those bastards from Tanilia. If you''re not using him, then his death was worth something..."


    Taylor covered Buba''s neck wound with his collar, stood up, and looking into Winters'' eyes, he said earnestly, word by word, "Lieutenant Montaigne, you possess a kind of magic... a kind that makes common soldiers willingly embrace death. Before you, I had only seen such skill in one person, and that was Ned Smith. Please don''t abuse this magic; remember the kindness in your heart now, and when you become one of those big shots, don''t let us die in vain again."


    ...


    ...


    The Tanilians launched a night raid on three of the eight artillery positions, nailing down two and a half sets of cannons.


    The cannons of the West-Two and West-Three gun arrays were completely spiked, and all the sentry officers and guards were killed in action. Thanks to Winters'' counterattack, most of the heavy artillery positioned further back at the West-Four array were preserved.


    After the reinforcements arrived from the rear, they swiftly repelled the attackers at the West-4 artillery position, and some twenty-odd Tanilian soldiers who hadn''t escaped were all captured.


    The eeriest aspect of this raid was that sentries at the other two positions failed to raise any alarm.


    A post-battle investigation proved that the sentries indeed put up a fierce resistance; however, no sounds from those two positions were heard by anyone. This was true for Montaigne''s squad at the West-4 position and Sokolu''s squad at the West-1 position.


    Rumors spread throughout the camp, with soldiers whispering among themselves that the townsfolk had sacrificed six children to the devil in exchange for some sort of dark magic, which allowed them to silently kill in the night.


    Upon hearing this, Layton flew into a rage, and an infuriated Rost Layton personally took to torturing the captured prisoners.


    The captives claimed that they hadn''t launched their attack from the city gates. A sailor had a stroke of genius and adapted the pulley system used for launching lifeboats from large warships for the city walls; they built a temporary lift with pulleys and planks to quietly lower the soldiers down from the West side of the wall.


    According to the captives, their first sneak attack was on the West-3 artillery unit, and as they prepared to attack the West-2 position, the West-4 unit rang the alarm bell.


    Captain Hernan, who led the night raid, decided to risk splitting his men in half to attack the West-4 unit in a bid to destroy one more artillery unit while he led the assault on the West-2 unit.


    However, no matter how much Layton tortured the captured Tanilia soldiers, they couldn''t explain how exactly they managed to assault the Venetian positions without making a sound.


    On the night of the raid, not only could the Venetians hear nothing, but the Tanilia attackers themselves heard nothing either. Footsteps, battle cries, the clash of weapons ¨C all were silent.


    In hand-to-hand combat, cries of agony and battle shouts are usually all one hears, but this time they could only see mouths opening without hearing any sound.


    All the prisoners claimed that during the night raid they could only hear the sound of their own voices, which sounded as if they were talking with their ears covered.


    According to the captives, Captain Hernan possessed a form of black witchcraft. Whenever he wished, he could take away the hearing of others within tens of meters around him.


    Only one captive remembered that there was a masked guard beside Captain Hernan, who did not engage in the fighting. But since he was a close guard, nobody thought it was strange.


    However, this captive had always been under Hernan''s command, and before tonight, he had never seen this mysterious masked guard by Hernan''s side, nor had he heard about Hernan possessing any black magic.


    Beyond that, they could extract no valuable intelligence.


    With the inexplicable loss of two officers, over sixty soldiers, and twenty-eight cannons, a furious Rost Layton disregarded the advice of other officers and swore to execute all the prisoners in the most brutal way possible in front of the defending troops.


    But when Layton decided to act ruthlessly, no one could stop him.


    The Tanilia soldiers on the city walls watched with trepidation as the Venetians made preparations for the execution: soldiers carried dozens of two-meter-long logs to the front of the position, and carpenters began to sharpen the wood.


    The Tanilia prisoners, many of whom had been tortured to the brink of death, were brought in front of the city walls with shackles.


    After the captives were pinned to the ground, they immediately realized their grim fate, pleading, screaming, praying, yet the executioners remained unmoved.


    The executioners drove the sharpened stakes into the [anus] of the captives who were held down, eliciting screams that could give even the bravest man nightmares.


    Another executioner behind the captive raised a heavy mallet with both hands, striking down with all his might, hammering the stake deep into the body.


    Immediate death was a form of relief for those captives; those who did not die immediately suffered even worse torment.


    Afterward, the executioners raised the poles, embedding them into the ground in front of the city wall. Under the victims'' own weight, the stakes continued to bury themselves deeper into the bodies.


    The victims died quickly, but the stakes kept rising until the sharp end emerged from the captives'' mouths or necks, skewering their bodies on top.


    Some twenty-odd stakes were arranged in a row like that, with the captives dying miserably under the watchful eyes of the defenders.


    Witnessing such a hellish, brutal scene, even the most desensitized person would shudder.


    Not only did the Tanilia soldiers on the walls endure tremendous psychological torture, even the Venetian troops were shocked.


    The chaplain accompanying the army, Leonard, spoke out bluntly to Layton: "General Layton, you are going to hell!"


    "Hmph, as long as William Kidd goes down first," Layton dismissed the clergyman''s disdain with indifference.


    Even Andre, who lacked any empathy, couldn''t bear to witness the spectacle and whispered to Winters, "General Layton has gone too far with this; to kill is to kill, but why in such a manner..."


    Winters responded expressionlessly, "No, Layton didn''t ''kill'' them, he ''executed'' them. This isn''t aimless cruelty, it''s a bloody spectacle."


    "By doing this... you''ll only make the Tanilia men on the walls fight even more tenaciously..." Antonio sighed.


    "Perhaps so," Layton said nonchalantly. "But I''ve also branded fear into their souls." Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire


    In the song of crows, war was spiraling helplessly towards a direction of greater savagery, brutality, and bloodshed.

 Chapter 104 Reverse Process

    Rost Layton executed the prisoners with wooden stakes that nightfall, Winters attended a secret meeting in the camp.The secret meeting took place inside the legion''s treasury, which, like the headquarters, was located in the center of the field camp and was one of the most important buildings. It had a semi-underground structure with the best sound insulation, which was why it was chosen for the meeting.


    There were no clerks, no orderlies, not even guards¡ª they were arranged to stand more than five meters away.


    Aside from the two legion commanders, the attendees all held dual roles: they were both the most trusted officers of Antonio and Layton, as well as senior spellcasters.


    Technically, Winters didn''t qualify to participate in such a high-level meeting ¡ª at least the others were majors, and he was just a junior warrant officer.


    But he had to be there. Because... he was the key party involved, the eyewitness, and the witness. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    The atmosphere of the meeting was quite solemn, and Antonio warned with a stern face, "I need not say more about the principle of confidentiality. Being called here means that you are the most trusted by me and Rost. The matter we''re about to discuss is of great importance, so even when you''re dreaming, make sure to keep confidentiality tightly wound."


    The several staff officer spellcasters silently waited for the general to continue.


    Antonio and Layton exchanged a glance, "Then let''s begin... Warrant Officer Montaigne!"


    "Present!" Winters stood up reflexively.


    "Repeat the encounter you had with a ''suspected magic user'' on the night the Saint Marco Legion attacked Red Sulfur Harbor."


    Antonio''s choice of words was ambiguous, not explicit. But the officers sitting here were the elite of Vineta''s military, and it was impossible they failed to get the subtext of the Major General.


    A suspected magic user? And a battle with our side?


    The implications behind this were enormous.


    In other remote regions, there might exist mages, but unless they lost their minds, they would have to be stuffed to the brim to travel such long distances to this small island to help the Tani people fight their battles.


    Therefore, the magic users appearing on this island, besides the Alliance spellcasters present... could only be the Emperor''s court mages.


    And whether it was one of these two aiding the Tani locals, the deeper meaning behind it far transcended the issue of "a few more mages in the defending army."


    So, after hearing "suspected magic user" and "battle," Winters saw the tense staff officer spellcasters begin to grow restless: shifting their collars, touching their noses, shifting their weight to the other leg... subconscious movements that betrayed the turmoil within them.


    Realizing the officers were agitated, Winters organized his thoughts and concisely recounted his encounter with the masked mysterious person during the second raid on Red Sulfur Bay''s battery.


    This time, unlike when he told Antonio, he didn''t outright say, "I think I killed a court mage," but simply described objectively the opponent''s presumed use of spellcasting capabilities, as well as that suspected ancient language spell incantation, "Gather flame into fire."


    After Antoine''s improvements, the Alliance spellcasters all used gestures and silent casting. Since there was no need for "incantation," Winters did not know what spell incantation really was.


    But before killing the old Shaman Hestas, the incantation "Gather flame into fire" by the enemy left an indelible impression on Winters.


    It was neither a roar nor a scream. It was a chant, void of emotion, rhythmic, and in ancient language.


    Winters had read in books: during the Sovereign Wars, the soldiers who survived the massacres of the court mages reported that the devils on the battlefield sang hymns to the Lord of Hell while slaughtering.


    The officers called this act of "singing hymns" "spell incantation," because they knew those were not devils, but the most vicious lackeys of the madman Richard¡ª the court mages.


    Every time the court mages launched an attack, there were similar reports afterward. Thus, "spell incantation" was considered by the Alliance officers as a necessary precursor to the court mages'' use of magic.


    Based on this understanding, during the Sovereign Wars, the Alliance forces tried various tactics aimed at interrupting the enemy''s incantation, such as drowning out the enemy''s voice with noise, devoted believers chanting hymns together, and so on, of course, all failed in the end.


    However, after personally fighting the masked man suspected of being a court mage, Winters realized that it was more appropriate to say the enemy was "casting a spell" rather than "chanting."


    Imagine this: to the soldiers of the Alliance thirty years ago, who did not understand ancient language, this rhythmic recitation of spells would sound like "singing hymns in the language of demons."


    Therefore, Winters reasonably speculated that the enemy''s phrase "Gather flame into fire [in ancient language]" was the so-called spell incantation, or what they called a "spell." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Though he did not state it outright by the end, only... the court mages of the Emperor up north used incantation to cast spells.


    After Winters concluded his brief account, someone immediately grew restless.


    Major Mag coughed softly twice, frowning as he looked at Winters, "Warrant Officer Montaigne, do you mean... you''ve killed a court mage?"


    Having been through recent events, Winters began to feel "maybe I''m really not cut out to be a career officer," he even sometimes involuntarily wondered, "Is being a career officer truly my own intention?"


    So he was not eager to take this credit, but he didn''t want others to think he was hogging glory.

 Chapter 104 Reversal Process_2

    Winters replied meticulously, "No, I am not certain that the person was a court mage.""Then let me rephrase that." Colonel Magr touched his nose, "Did you kill a chanting spellcaster who was a suspected magic user?"


    "No, the person was killed by Hurd shaman Hestas, the other soldiers present, and myself," Winters replied without wanting to overstate his role. He knew that if it hadn''t been for Hestas interrupting the enemy in time, he would have been dead.


    "Let me ask it another way." Colonel Magr said somewhat displeased after failing to get a conclusive answer, "How did that suspected magic user die?"


    With no way to avoid it, Winters answered upright, "I pierced his head with an Arrow Flying Spell."


    Colonel Magr snorted coldly and stopped asking questions. He leaned back into his chair, resting against the backrest.


    "Lieutenant Montaigne, are you aware that we''ve fought the Sovereignty War for over a decade without being able to kill or capture any court mages?" Another attendee, Colonel Blythes, could not help himself and offered a reminder.


    "I am aware," Winters answered tersely.


    "But you killed one?" asked Colonel Blythes.


    "I cannot be certain that person was a court mage."


    "Were there other witnesses present?"


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    "Warrant Officer Bard was fighting alongside me at the time."


    "Warrant Officer Bard... Warrant Officer? Is he of the same batch as you?"


    "Yes."


    "Then you must be very close, right?"


    "Yes." Winters''s tone remained unchanged, but a spark of irritation was ignited within.


    Colonel Blythes wanted to press on with his questioning, but before Antonio could speak, Layton, unable to restrain his temper, slammed the table and cursed loudly, "You''re soldiers, speak directly! Cut the ambiguous crap! Why are you bullying a kid? Jealous of someone''s achievements? Is this what you were called here to discuss? [a string of expletives]."


    With each sentence, Layton added expletives, spittle flying from one side of the table to the other. The rest of the room fell silent, with only Layton''s angry curses echoing through the treasury.


    Colonel Blythes was showered in vitriol, swallowing back the questions he had for Winters. Colonel Magr jolted up as if jabbed by a nail, his body springing up from the backrest. The other officers all shuddered under the barrage of insults.


    All the spellcaster officers sat straight and disciplined, just like new cadets at the military academy, which Winters found immensely satisfying. However, he dared not show any expression on his face and, like the other officers, observed decorum seated in solemn silence.


    After a long outburst, Layton leaned, hands on knees, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. After all, at over forty years old not repeating himself or pausing to breathe while ranting was indeed a strenuous activity.


    Antonio knocked on the table and said indifferently, "Warrant Officer Bard has confirmed Lieutenant Montaigne''s account. I trust their testimonies. However, we still lack direct evidence, so Major General Layton and I have decided that this battle will not be recorded as killing a court mage. Lieutenant Montaigne, do you have any objections?"


    "No!" Winters answered urgently, as it was exactly what he wanted.


    "But Major General Layton and I didn''t call you all here to discuss the accreditation of Lieutenant Montaigne''s battle achievement," Antonio changed the subject, "Last night''s break of the artillery position confirmed a concern I have long held."


    He softly uttered a statement that startled everyone, "The Tanilians still have a second magic user... perhaps even a third or fourth."


    ...


    ...


    "Why didn''t I hear any sound from the artillery position a few dozen meters away, where all the personnel fought bravely and died?"


    Ever since waking from his coma, Winters had been thinking about this question but couldn''t come up with a solution.


    When he got the confession of a captive, he suddenly had a bold idea: If magic can amplify sound, could magic make sound disappear?


    All spells in the Alliance spellcaster system are based on the principle of "energy input," such as speeding up, igniting, or amplifying sound.


    But Winters, who had been exposed to Antoine-Laurent''s revolutionary theory, had gone beyond the understanding of regular spellcasters. Antoine-Laurent''s new theory stated: The essence of magic is to change the state of material energy.


    If inputting energy is changing the energy state... what about drawing out energy?


    Isn''t drawing out energy also changing the energy state?


    If energy could be extracted, then in theory, magic would be able to create an effect of "silencing."


    Given that the essence of sound is vibration, flattening the vibrations in the air would sever the transmission of sound.


    This is why the prisoners claimed they "couldn''t hear other people''s voices but could hear their own, although it sounded a bit strange." That''s because, aside from air conduction, people also hear themselves speak through bone conduction.


    Winters had not yet realized that he had opened a new door, he was simply curious, "If Vibration-type Spells can be reversed, what about Fire-type Spells? If the direction of a Fire-type Spell is reversed, then... isn''t that the Ice Spell that the Alliance hadn''t yet managed to achieve?"


    With that thought, he couldn''t help but start to try actively. However, after a long struggle, Winters experienced what Axel felt for the first time.


    What is color to someone who is born blind?


    What is the fourth dimension to someone living in a three-dimensional space?


    How can a spellcaster who has never used an "Ice Spell" find the feeling to use one?


    Because the essence of using magic is the feeling.


    The first thing a novice spellcaster must do is to find the feeling of using magic, then become proficient through repeated use, becoming able to easily find that feeling.


    Winters realized he had no idea what it should feel like to use an "Ice Spell," nor how to enter such a state, as if he had to walk a path without any "road."


    After staring for ten minutes, he still couldn''t turn a drop of water into solid ice. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This way definitely won''t work... I need to start from the easiest place..." Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Winters thought.


    But he had more important things to do now; he didn''t have time to ponder how to "reverse a spell."


    He had to inform Antonio that there might still be another spellcaster in Tachi, or even more than one.


    That evening, Antonio and Layton gathered all the trustworthy senior officers and seasoned spellcasters inside the legion for a secret meeting.


    ...


    ...


    "Any evidence that there are other mages in the city?" Colonel Field, who had been silent, finally asked.


    Colonel Field and Major Moritz were currently inside the legion''s treasury.


    There weren''t many spellcasters in the Saint Marco Legion anyway, so Layton simply called them all. Layton''s reasoning was, "Field is a bit of a smartass, but he''s a good soldier, trustworthy... And bring his little sidekick along."


    Was there evidence of other mages'' existence?


    The evidence had always been in front of everyone; it was just that no one had thought in that direction at the time.


    The huge wave that swept back from the dock towards the Venetians on the day the Da Weineta Legion attacked Red Sulfur Harbor was the best evidence.


    That wave, several meters high, capsized all of Vineta''s small boats, even a large sailboat that was turning capsized directly.


    What kind of wave hits from the shore towards the ocean? It certainly wasn''t a naturally-formed tide.


    Only magic could explain the inexplicable.


    So, if the essence of sound is a vibration, is the essence of a wave also a form of vibration? If you tap on the side of a water glass, doesn''t the water inside form tiny ripples?


    Perhaps with another term, a wave; is it a type of fluctuation?


    If a wave is a type of fluctuation, it can be amplified through magic.


    "That''s too... too absurd." Field''s face turned red, and he even forgot he was speaking to a general: "Do you know how tremendous the magical power needs to be to stir up a wave that can overturn warships?! Not to mention me, search all the Republics and you won''t find such a powerful spellcaster! The power of magic has limits! Because spellcasters have limits! No mage can match the might of nature! What can''t be done, can''t be done! What you''re saying is absurd!"


    "Field!" Layton picked up a cup and smashed it onto Field''s body: "You unfilial wretch! How dare you!"


    Antonio, however, was not angry, he calmly countered, "Then what do you think... How powerful a spellcaster would be needed to make a few hundred square meters of artillery emplacement produce no sound at all?

 Chapter 105 The Eve

    The enemy ranks contained multiple high-order mages, and although there was no direct evidence, the possibility could no longer be ignored.What is the most powerful weapon against a mage?


    To find the answer, one must first understand where a mage''s biggest threat lies.


    It is not their Spell ability. For even the most potent Spells, when deployed on the battlefield, are merely methods of killing.


    What is never lacking within an army is methods of killing; even if mages were allowed to kill without resistance, how many could they kill before their magic is exhausted?


    Are there more kills with swords, bows, spears, and cannons?


    Are the leftovers from swords, bows, spears, and cannons more?


    After facing the might of magic time and again, soldiers of the Senas Alliance gradually realized that the greatest threat of a mage lay not in their Spell abilities, but in their extreme stealth.


    You can eliminate enemies you see, but how can you eliminate an enemy you can''t see?


    Spellcasters possess no external features, no extra eyes or missing limbs compared to ordinary people.


    If there were any visible differences between mages and ordinary people, identifying those with Spell potential amid the masses would not be so difficult.


    Thus, any enemy could be a concealed mage. It might be the young soldier, barely out of boyhood, or the old man with a face marked by years.


    They could disguise themselves as ordinary soldiers, striking suddenly at the enemy''s front-line commanders during combat¡ªin fact, this was the primary mode of operation for court mages during the Sovereignty Wars.


    They could also disguise themselves as the enemy, sauntering into the enemy camp and silently assassinating high-value targets¡ªGeneral Simmons, a dear friend and comrade of Marshal Ned, met his unexplained end by magic like this.


    In fact, if it were not for the Empire using it as propaganda, the Alliance wouldn''t even know that General Simmons had died by assassination. Everyone thought that a sudden stroke had caused Simmons''s death.


    So... what is the most powerful weapon against a mage?


    The answer is quite simple:


    The most powerful weapon against a mage,


    is another mage.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    War, war, war.


    War is tiresome, not only for the soldiers but also for the people in the rear.


    Within the first week of the outbreak of war, it was the topic on everyone''s lips in Sea Blue City.


    High-ranking officials talked about war, clerks talked about war, coachmen talked about war, traders talked about war, and even prostitutes talked about war. All people discussed was war, war, and war.


    But after a week, the fervor for the topic quickly cooled down.


    Citizens'' attention returned to grain prices, firewood prices, and the private scandals of the ruling elite; merchants resumed the discussion of the trends in bulk commodities; the once-quiet Sea Blue Port bustled once more; gentlemen talked about horse racing and whether to donate a military position for some credit; ladies were besotted with the latest trendy attire from the Republic of Paratu.


    No one knew what tortures, battles, and pains the soldiers at the frontlines were enduring.


    In the outskirts of Sea Blue City, within the lavish mansion of the Navarre family, a grand ball was taking place.


    Although night had already fallen, the chandelier hanging from the dome cast the hall in light as bright as day, adding even more romantic ambiance than sunlight.


    Mrs. Navarre, with a deft touch, had transformed the hall supported by twelve marble columns into a spectacle of blooming splendor.


    The air was suffused with the scent of face powder and the burning of laurel candles, as well as the faint aroma of flowers.


    Climbing roses, fancy basil, geraniums, hydrangeas, oleanders... The flowers and brocades cleverly segmented the space, leaving just enough room for guests to hold their glasses and chat casually, while also avoiding any sense of emptiness in the large banquet hall. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    It was hard to imagine how much effort Mrs. Navarre must have invested to turn the "Twelve Pillars" from an ordinarily desolate stone hall into such a beautiful and pleasant space.


    The melancholic and beautiful "Lorina" echoed under the hall''s dome, with elegantly dressed young people dancing away on the floor.


    Girls were everywhere: their gorgeous dresses with hoop skirts spun around revealing glimpses of beautiful slender legs; embroidered shawls seemed carelessly draped over arms, but deliberately exposing flawless shoulders; peacock feather-fanned fans adorned with gold dangled lightly from delicate wristlets.


    As the dance ended, the girls smiled and curtsied, lifting the hems of their dresses to bid farewell to their partners, but not agreeing to a second dance with the same gentleman.


    Ana Navarre sat alone on a sofa looking lost in thought. Her smile returned, albeit formulaically, when gentlemen invited Miss Navarre to dance the next piece.


    The sudden glimpse of vitality from the "Iceberg Beauty" caused the heart of each suitor who came to invite her to dance to skip a beat.


    But Ana graciously declined all invitations, and after the gentlemen walked away with regret, Miss Navarre quickly reverted to her preoccupied state until the next suitor appeared.


    Her sister, another Miss Navarre, Catherine Navarre, came back to Ana, the unique purple dancing shoes tapping a "tap-tap" rhythm on the stone floor.


    Catherine''s cheeks were flushed and her forehead glistened with perspiration. The heat from dancing three consecutive dances made her feel warm, and she fan herself gently with her hand as she caught her breath. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That Mr. Michel is so greedy. The dance had ended and he was still holding onto my hand, refusing to let go¡ªI was almost scared to death. Humph, he should not expect a second dance invitation from me," Catherine exclaimed with excitement as she sat next to Ana, affectionately linking arms with her sister: "Don''t be so glum, Ana."

 Chapter 105 The Eve_2

    Catherine, with her innocent and lively charm, left the young gentlemen around her completely stunned when she was by Anna''s side. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.Anna was considered a beauty, but next to Catherine, she seemed to pale in comparison.


    Anna''s features inherited some of her father''s stark lines, while Catherine was the spitting image of Mrs. Navarre, even more radiant than the lady had been in her youth. Continue your adventure at My Virtual Library Empire


    Dressed in a light green dress, Catherine complemented Anna in her blue gown. The sisters outshone all the other girls present, and among them, Catherine made Anna look particularly dim.


    "Ah," Anna sighed, pinching Catherine''s bottom discreetly, "You little rascal, now you''ve done it, you''ve drawn everyone''s attention here. When you dance later, others are going to bother me."


    Catherine laughed and swatted Anna''s hand away, saying nonchalantly, "Well, then you should dance too."


    "I don''t feel like dancing today."


    "Come on, Anna, just one dance, just one. It''s not often we have a ball. I''ve been so bored these days. Who knows when the next one will be?" Catherine shook Anna''s arm. "I really don''t understand why they can''t hold balls during the war. How can we meet young men if there are no balls? If we don''t meet young men, how can we ever marry? If the war drags on for more than a decade, won''t we all end up old maids?"


    "No, I''m certain you won''t become an old maid. I have faith in you..." Anna covered her face with her fan, her tone full of helplessness.


    "Alas, so many good young men have gone off to war. Without them, the balls just aren''t lively anymore." Catherine sighed gloomily, "Captain Wilson went to war too. He''s the best dancer, and he wouldn''t step on my feet like my partners today. Anna, what''s so good about war? Why must they all go? Wouldn''t it be better if they stayed in Sea Blue, attended our balls, and danced?"


    Struck by Catherine''s words, Anna became lost in her own thoughts again.


    Seeing Anna''s demeanor, Catherine''s eyes gleamed mischievously, and she whispered with a giggle, "I know who you''re thinking about!"


    "What nonsense are you talking about?" Anna''s face drained of color.


    "Humph, mother may not know, but I see it all too clearly." Catherine struggled to contain her laughter, put on a serious face, and mimicked a deep, hoarse male voice, "I''m fine, I eat well, I sleep well, maybe I''m just really lucky."


    "What? Oh! You little minx!" Anna blushed furiously, grabbing Catherine and demanding, "You, you, you... You read my letters!?"


    "I didn''t sneak a peek at your letters," Catherine corrected proudly, "I saw them because you left them on the dressing table, not put away."


    "Isn''t that the same as snooping?" Anna was both angry and frantic upon hearing her sister brazenly admit it.


    Seeing her sister lose composure, Catherine grew even more smug. She bit her ear teasingly and continued, "Not only do I know about the letter, I also know you''ve hidden a sword in your wardrobe... Ah, ah, ah, a gold scabbard, now that''s truly a tasteless choice."


    Anna''s face now turned completely red as an apple, even her earlobes reddening as she stammered, "You... you''ve been through my wardrobe too?"


    "Don''t we always share clothes? It''s normal for me to look in your wardrobe, isn''t it?" Catherine quickly changed the subject, teasing her sister, "Never mind whether I snooped or not, tell me now, who is W.M.? Using initials... hmm, he must be a stingy fellow."


    "He''s not stingy at all!" Anna snapped back, irritated at her sister''s remark about W.M. Then, suddenly realizing her outburst, she quickly covered up, "It''s none of your business!"


    "Oh, to be neglected by a sister who has found a lover breaks my heart," Catherine said with a secretive smile, fanning her mouth.


    "You..."


    Anna was both agitated and embarrassed, but Catherine couldn''t be more pleased with herself.


    Meanwhile, onlookers watching the sisters thought the young women were playfully roughhousing - there could be nothing more delightful, and Catherine looked even more stunning in their eyes.


    The orchestra suddenly began playing a lively introduction, identifiable by anyone as a joyous and exuberant tune.


    "Ah! It''s ''Look! That''s Seaman Johnny!''" Catherine exclaimed, her spirits soaring. She pulled Anna up from her chair. "Dance, Anna! Dance with abandon! Keep dancing until you can''t move anymore! We must dance to this song! It would be a shame not to! Come on!"


    As the prelude sounded, the gentlemen were at liberty to invite the ladies to dance.


    The men who had been eagerly watching the Navarre sisters could hardly wait to extend their invitations to dance.


    The confident or brash men hurried to invite Catherine, but most of them were rebuffed. Those who did not approach Catherine felt that the competition was too fierce... Miss Anna wasn''t too shabby either.


    Catherine quickly chose her dance partner, and before she left, she whispered teasingly to Anna, "Anna, sister, believe me, if a man writes you such a short letter, he''s definitely not very fond of you. The love letters I receive are filled on several sheets of paper and even sprayed with perfume. It''s not worth fretting over someone who dismisses you in a single sentence. There are plenty more fish in the sea! Come and dance!"

 Chapter 105 Eve_3

    Anna, already a bit out of sorts, was shaken to the core by those words, and she almost fell into a stupor.She didn''t know what she had said or to whom she had agreed, but she found herself led onto the dance floor by a gentleman she did not recognize.


    Throughout the entire song "Look! That''s Sailor Johnny!" Anna, like a puppet, merely went through the motions subconsciously, making frequent mistakes and stepping on her dance partner''s feet numerous times.


    After the dance ended, Anna''s partner courteously escorted her back to her seat, not minding in the least the number of times she had trodden on his feet, and amiably invited her to dance again.


    However, when he looked up to see Anna''s face, he discovered that Miss Navarre''s cheeks were stained with tears, and she could not stop sobbing.


    Her dance partner got a bit flustered, took out his handkerchief to offer to Anna, but she did not accept it. She buried her face into her fan instead, her shoulders still trembling uncontrollably, obviously crying.


    The dance partner felt somewhat bewildered and keenly aware of the pointing and whispering from others behind him; he quickly excused himself, leaving Anna alone in a corner of the hall.


    Seeing that the atmosphere of the ball had become sufficiently lively, Councilor Mid from Sea Blue City decided it was time to get to the point. He walked into the dance floor and tapped his glass with a spoon.


    The clear tapping sound traveled across the hall, quieting down the bustling ball in an instant, as everyone awaited Councilor Mid to speak.


    "It has been a long time since Sea Blue was this lively," said Councilor Mid with a smile.


    Everyone applauded, and the hall filled with the sound of clapping and enthusiastic cheers.


    After it quieted down again, Councilor Mid continued, "Watching the children dance, it''s as if I''m back in my youth, when we used to play even wilder."


    Another burst of cheers erupted, and someone shouted loudly, "Mr. Mid., dance one!"


    "To get me to dance, it must be with the most beautiful partner, but I have important matters to discuss first." Na Bei Mid cleared his throat and began his speech in a loud voice, "Firstly, we must thank the lady of this place, Mrs. Navarre! It was Mrs. Navarre''s generosity in hosting this fundraising ball that we have the opportunity to gather here, bringing life and vitality back to Sea Blue."


    A round of applause followed, and Mrs. Navarre smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.


    "The Tanilia Federation has shamelessly launched a surprise attack on us, and at this very moment, our finest sons are bravely fighting the enemy on the islands, seeking to avenge us. The young men are making sacrifices for us, and we too hope to do our part in helping them achieve what we can."


    Mid paused for a moment before continuing with emotive arm gestures, "Hence, I stand before you all now, asking, asking you to donate your jewelry. I''m not asking you to make a sacrifice, does Vineta want your jewelry? No! What is being asked here is a minor sacrifice compared to what our brave soldiers at the front are enduring."


    "Earrings dangle beautifully from the ladies'' earlobes, and bracelets look gorgeous on smooth wrists! But this gold and these gems can be exchanged for food, ammunition, and medicine for our lads. Many here have sons, husbands, brothers fighting and bleeding on the front lines. By donating our jewelry, they may bleed a little less. Come now! Let''s start with me!"


    The final part of Councilor Mid''s speech was drowned out by a tempest of applause and cheers.


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    Every guest received an invitation that had already explained this was a fundraiser for the front lines, and everyone had come prepared.


    Two servants held up a large silver platter, as Mid removed his own solid gold cufflinks and medals and placed them on the platter, laughing as he approached Mrs. Navarre for a dance.


    Mrs. Navarre smiled demurely, boldly removed her earrings, brooch, bracelet, and necklace, placed her hand on Councilor Mid''s arm, and stepped into the dance floor.


    "Change the tune!" Councilor Mid shouted at the orchestra: "Daniela Kupor!"


    The cheerful, vigorous, and catchy "Daniela Kupor" poured out from the instruments like a waterfall.


    Na Bei Mid clapped twice, then began following the rhythm, tapping his feet and twisting into the steps of the Trepak Dance.


    Nobody would have imagined that this nearly sixty-year-old man could dance so well, and the dance he chose was the intense and elaborate Trepak Dance.


    But as Mid''s dance partner, Mrs. Navarre danced even better than Mid did.


    The youth had never witnessed Mrs. Navarre''s dancing skills before, as she had not set foot on the dance floor since her husband''s death.


    Tonight, the dancing duo simply astounded everyone.


    Not just the guests, but even the hall entrance was crammed with the smiling faces of servants. On one side were the male servants, on the other the female ones, all had come to see the joyous Councilor Mid and Mrs. Navarre dance.


    The gentlemen among the guests hurriedly removed their rings, cufflinks, and medals to place on the platter before approaching the ladies they admired to ask for a dance.


    The ladies, in turn, laughed as they took off their earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and hairpins to place in the platter, then paired up with the gentlemen into the dance floor.


    In such an atmosphere, no woman would refuse an invitation, and Catherine happily accepted a gentleman she had previously turned down, leaving others to sigh in resignation.


    Each time an item of donation landed on the platter, it drew cheers and acclamation. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The dance floor grew increasingly crowded, but no dancing couple was as eye-catching as Mid and Mrs. Navarre.

 Chapter 105 The Eve_4

    Anna began to feel restless. As everyone''s attention was focused on Mid, she quietly wiped away her tears.She suddenly realized she was only wearing one earring. It wasn''t that she didn''t have any jewelry; it was that she simply hadn''t been in the mood to dress up, so she had carelessly put on a pair of earrings.


    But this was her home, where she''d played since childhood, and she knew every corner of the grand hall like the back of her hand.


    Seeing that no one had invited her, Anna quietly slipped away from the crowd and pushed open a secret door in the corner of the hall to leave. She hurried back to her room, planning to fetch some jewelry before returning.


    However, when she opened her wardrobe, she saw the sword Winters had given her, that garish sword with a gold scabbard.


    "If a man writes you such a short letter, he definitely doesn''t love you very much."


    Catherine''s words echoed in Anna''s head like the whispers of a demon.


    Suddenly, Anna''s tears could no longer be held back and they flowed freely.


    Sobbing, Anna picked up the gold sword: "Why did you do this to me? Saying it was a relic from my father, it was all fake! All deception! You never truly loved me!"


    Anger and resentment filled her heart, and Anna slammed the "gold sword" onto the ground. The idea of revenge uncontrollably scratched at her heart; she picked up the "gold sword" and walked toward the banquet hall: "You gave this to me, now I''ll return it to you, and we''ll be even!" S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna walked and cried, the angrier she got, the more heartbroken she wept. The music from the banquet hall grew louder and louder, the secret door was right in front of her. In the moment before pushing the door open, Anna hesitated.


    Their first encounter at the banquet, the quarrel over the painting request, bickering in the guards'' gallery with mulled wine, learning swordplay behind the Parliament square¡ªthese memories surfaced one by one before her eyes, and that person''s face began to blur.


    She was starting to forget his facial features, but she vividly remembered him, and missed him tremendously.


    Anna, clinging to the "gold sword," helplessly curled up in a corner behind the secret door, unable to stop sobbing: "You wretch ... why did you do this to me ... where are you?"


    So where was Winters Montagne now?


    He was at Tachi''s city gate, in the triangular fort, the Venetian point closest to the city walls.


    He meticulously wiped his matchlock clean, sharpened the awl and his sword to an incredibly fine edge, and then checked the gunpowder to ensure it hadn''t gotten damp or separated.


    After completing all these tasks, he still couldn''t settle down to sleep.


    Major Moritz, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly amidst the loud snores of the regular troops.


    Unable to sleep, Winters wrapped himself in a coat and climbed to the top of the triangular fort. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    After continuous efforts to raise its height, the fort had reached the structural limit it could support, level with the city walls.


    Now standing on top of the fort, one could look directly at the city walls. To raise it further would require expanding the base, otherwise, the rammed earth would collapse.


    Interestingly, the garrison wasn''t idle either; they too had built a wooden watchtower at the city gate, raising the height of the wall and at the same time blocking the view from the triangular fort.


    The sentinels atop the fort initially didn''t recognize Winters in his uniform. Upon seeing his face, they quickly saluted him in a panic.


    Winters silently watched the dark city walls, where two lights glowed, seemingly the garrison''s sentinels smoking.


    "Tomorrow, all of this could come to an end." he thought to himself.

 Chapter 106 The Final Assault

    Both the Venetians and the Tanilians could clearly feel it¡ªthe final moments were approaching.The grueling siege was a tremendous torment for both attackers and defenders; everyone longed to see the end of it all, yet they also feared the arrival of that final moment.


    The battlefield was quiet for the first time, the previous night''s unceasing thunder of cannon fire had quieted for the first time. But everyone understood that this brief calm foretold the spilling of more blood.


    Grindstone met sword and sparks flew, as the Venetians sharpened their weapons over and over again. The musketeers were also meticulously grinding their lead bullets so they would fit snugly into the barrels of their guns.


    Upon the walls, the garrison busied themselves in frantic preparation, tirelessly moving stones, sulfur, bundles of arrows, and barrels of pitch to the ramparts through the night.


    By dawn the next day, the Venetians had begun to assemble, and meat rations were distributed directly into the hands of each soldier for the first time.


    Every soldier, whether deeply religious or not, knelt to pray and receive blessings before the chaplain accompanying the army. The chaplain moved among them, sprinkling Holy Water over everyone.


    The intense bombardment had been going on for eleven days.


    In that time, the garrison tried everything they could to reduce the damage to the walls from the cannonballs:


    They smeared the external surface of the wall with a mixture of lime and mud to add a protective layer;


    They hung wood, bags of wool, and even precious tapestries outside the walls, in hopes of absorbing the impact of the cannonballs;


    They piled up earth behind the walls to effectively thicken them;


    They worked through the night to repair breaches with wooden palisades, earth, and stones, using barrels filled with earth as makeshift merlons.


    However, all these measures were to no avail; the walls were inexorably crumbling to pieces.


    The Venetians, taking their cue from the attackers at the siege of Constantinople, improved their artillery tactics, making the impact points form a triangle: first, two horizontal breaches were created about eight or nine meters apart with cannons, then the heaviest artillery delivered the finishing blow.


    When a thirty-two-pound iron ball hurtled into the wall, it triggered a chain reaction, creating a larger breach on top of the damage from the previous two shots.


    This kind of damage caused the still-connected parts of the wall to endure tension beyond their limits, much like a tree with a V-shaped notch cut into it, collapsing thunderously amidst a terrifying sound of fracturing, as if the once impregnable walls had crumbled.


    From the fourth day of the heavy bombardment, the speed of destruction of the walls had already surpassed the repair speed of the garrison. Even if the Tanilians managed to repair the breaches, they couldn''t clear the rubble from beneath the walls under Venetian gunfire.


    Although piling earth behind the walls slowed down their destruction, once the wall collapsed, the mound behind it would too. The spilling earth and rock formed a gentle slope in front of the breach, which inadvertently aided those attempting to scale the walls.


    The Venetian forces also launched incessant probing attacks on various breaches, one of which even managed to plant a battle flag atop the wall, but the attackers at the walls were ultimately driven off by the defending forces that rushed to the site.


    The Venetian soldiers were left wringing their hands in frustration, but the senior officers remained unmoved.


    Given the tenacious spirit shown by the Tanilian defenders, no one expected that such small-scale attacks would capture Tachi, nor did anyone believe that planting a flag on the walls would collapse the Tanilians'' morale.


    None of the probing attacks captured the walls, but Antonio and Layton remained unswervingly determined to launch the next one, using this method to whittle away the defenders'' spirit, energy, and manpower.


    Perhaps it was the cruel spectacle of the stakes execution that had deterred the defenders, or perhaps they simply had no more strength to spare; William Kidd no longer sent men to night-raid the Venetian artillery positions.


    On the sixth day of the massive bombardment, two companies that went around to the rear hill successfully intercepted the stream flowing into Tachi from the crater lake, cutting off the defenders'' water supply.


    By the seventh day of the massive bombardment, the defenders had almost given up on repairing the walls. Venetian soldiers could brazenly walk up to the wall at night, remove the barrels serving as merlons with long poles fitted with iron hooks, and even retrieve the unexploded cannonballs from the wall''s base.


    The Tanilians... seemed completely exhausted.


    On the twelfth day after the massive bombardment, the twenty-eighth day of the siege, and the thirty-ninth day since Winters landed on Red Sulfur Island, the final assault on the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the island was imminent.


    After praying, being blessed, and receiving communion, the Venetians with weapons in hand began to move into their assault positions. The Tanilians, who hadn''t slept a wink on the walls, first heard a cacophony outside the city and then a deathlike silence.


    It was the sign of an impending attack.


    Everyone clenched their weapons tightly. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At dawn, with the simultaneous firing of all the cannons as the signal, the Venetians launched an all-out assault on the seven breaches in the walls amid the sound of war drums and bugles.


    The terrifying yells of the Venetian charge made every living person inside the city tremble incessantly.


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    Under cover of cannon, musket, and crossbow, the Venetians crossed the trench and rushed to the wall breaches with their Siege Ladders.


    The soldiers in front climbed the ladders onto the parapet, while those behind worked fervently to dismantle the temporary wooden barricades blocking the breaches.


    In the darkness, the two armies clashed in a brutal melee.


    As stones were hurled from atop the wall, the ones that directly hit the Venetian soldiers snatched their lives in an instant. The stones that missed their targets bounced off the slope at the base of the wall, striking the Venetians so hard that they spat blood.

 Chapter 106 Final Assault_2

    Cannons loaded with grapeshot roared and claimed more than a dozen lives with each blast, the walnut-sized iron balls capable of piercing one person''s body before killing another.Boiling oil, burning sulfur, and bubbling pitch were poured down from the city walls, immediately followed by a chilling chorus of agonized screams.


    Atop the triangle fortress, the Venetians too were cleansing the city walls, their cannons and muskets shredding Tanilian soldiers into a gruesome spray of flesh and blood.


    The siege troops extended ladders from the triangle fortress onto the battlements; heavily armored sword and shield bearers leapt onto the city wall, engaging the defenders in brutal melee.


    The cacophony of cannon and musket fire, the warning bells of Tachi''s church, the crisp sound of clashing weapons, and the desperate screams of dying warriors merged into a single horrific symphony.


    Flames from the muzzles of guns flashed like lightning, while the combined roar of sounds thundered like a storm, shocking even the gods with the cruelty humanity exhibited today.


    Great fires erupted in many places; the stench of burning tar and sulfur, along with the terrible charred scent of cooking human flesh, spread throughout the city walls.


    The smoke from the fires at the front lines and the white smoke from the gunshots grew denser, until the entire city was enveloped in thick smoke, and eventually neither side could see the other, and no one knew whom they were fighting.


    Thus, Venetians and Tanilians were slaughtering each other in a confined space¡ªno, there were no longer distinctions between Venetians and Tanilians, just individuals struggling to survive.


    While the Veneta Army and the defenders engaged in fierce combat, Winters anxiously awaited the signal.


    By his side was Major Moritz, along with seven other junior officers. This special squad all shared an additional identity¡ªSpellcasters. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The best weapon against a mage was another mage, and the generals of the Vineta Army were well aware of this fact.


    The enemy might have legendary court Spellcasters on their side, but the Venetians now also had their own Spellcasters.


    Antoine-Laurent initially believed that Alliance Spellcasters could not quickly achieve the individual level of court Spellcasters, hence he suggested enrolling potential Spellcasters into military academies to cultivate Spellcasting officers for frontline combat support.


    However, this idea ultimately went awry in practice: being a Spellcaster became a stepping stone for officers, and once they had served long enough, they were swiftly promoted to senior ranks.


    So how were these Spellcasters, now removed from the front lines, to provide magical support? And where could busy military commanders find the energy for daily spell practice?


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    It resulted in a perverse cycle: the more senior the Venetian Spellcaster, the poorer their Spellcasting skills tended to be¡ªcolonel Spellcasters weren''t even as combat-effective as their junior officer counterparts.


    Antoine-Laurent made an error, which, unfortunately, he no longer had a way to correct.


    That''s why Major Moritz ended up being assigned to lead this "countermeasures" squad. After all, they couldn''t just call in commanding officers from every unit, could they? Not to mention how much of their magical ability those officers still retained was questionable.


    Instead, Moritz, who had been benched for many years, saw his Spellcasting skills steadily improve.


    Winters, one of the few Spellcasters with actual combat experience, although not a formal officer, was also drafted into Moritz''s special squad.


    Major Moritz, for various reasons, was not heavily utilized in the military, and he did not care about others'' opinions; on the contrary, he enjoyed his leisure. But at this moment, Antonio and Layton could only rely on the strongest Spellcaster recognized in the military¡ªMoritz van Nassau.


    "Why hasn''t the signal been given yet?" Lieutenant Kirk paced back and forth restlessly beneath the parapet.


    Faced with an unknown enemy, everyone in Moritz''s squad became somewhat edgy: Captain Lailo repeatedly checked his weapons over and over; Major Moritz toyed with a steel awl he had borrowed from Winters¡ªtoday the Major was not concerned with portability; Winters was sitting on his seat, hands on knees, trying to clear his mind as much as possible.


    This squad, comprised entirely of officers, was now all dressed in enlisted soldiers'' uniforms.


    Not just them¡ªtoday, all the Spellcaster officers in the Vineta Army had removed their Spellcaster insignia.


    The centurions and commanders on the front lines had also removed their distinctive officer''s armors and helmets, donning soldiers'' gear instead. Although it did reduce the efficiency of the command system, it was a necessary measure in desperate times.


    "No signal is actually a good thing," said Major Moritz, taking off an exquisite silver flask from behind his belt and tossing it to Lieutenant Kirk, "Take a drink."


    Lieutenant Kirk suspiciously pulled out the stopper and sniffed it: "Is this wine?"


    "It''s a special wine; I''ve added some agents to it that can suppress a Spellcaster''s emotions, making it easier for them to enter a Spellcasting state."


    Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Kirk took a big gulp and then handed the flask back to Major Moritz.


    "Winters," Lieutenant Pisani couldn''t help but pat Winters on the shoulder.


    Winters, whose mind had been blank, reflexively stood to attention.


    "Sit, don''t be nervous," Pisani, startled himself, patted Winters on the shoulder again, "I have something to ask you."


    Pisani was only two classes ahead of Winters, and the two were quite close while at Guidao City. Winters naturally answered whatever he was asked.


    "You''re the only one among us who has killed a mage; since we''re idle, come on, share your experience," Pisani said, slinging an arm around Winters'' neck.


    Hearing Pisani''s words, the others also pricked up their ears. It was rare for the more senior to seek advice from the younger, and it was Winters'' first time being asked about his "killing experience."

 Chapter 106 Total Attack_3

    "But I can''t be sure that person is a magician," Winters said with a wry smile."Come on, let''s not talk nonsense between us," Pisani said, dissatisfied, and punched Winters lightly. "Just tell me, what''s it actually like when spellcasters fight each other?"


    "Let me think..." Winters pondered for a moment and replied, "If I have to describe it... I think it''s like eggs smashing each other with hammers."


    "Eggs smashing each other with hammers?" Major Moritz laughed. "That''s an interesting analogy."


    "I think it''s exactly like that... A battle between two spellcasters is like eggs smashing each other with hammers," Winters said gravely. "No matter how powerful the magic, the bodies of spellcasters are as fragile as any other person''s. A stab would make them bleed, a shot in the head would kill them. Therefore, in the battle of spellcasters, whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies."


    "''Whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies,'' huh?" Pisani mused.


    "And... it''s impossible to capture a spellcaster alive¡ªunless they surrender of their own volition," Winters said resolutely. "My seniors, do not hold back during today''s battle, don''t let your guard down until the enemy is completely dead. Even if they die, we''re only safe once we''ve decapitated them."


    This was the conclusion Winters had reached after the battle at the artillery stronghold: it''s impossible to capture a spellcaster alive.


    You can bind a warrior''s limbs with ropes and break them, any brave warrior can be subdued if the price is right. But how do you bind a third hand? Or break a fifth limb? Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Magic stem from consciousness, even if you whittle a magician down to a stick, they could still continue to use deadly spells. Even if you can knock out a magician temporarily, the moment they regain consciousness, they become extremely dangerous again.


    In the battle at the artillery stronghold, that mysterious magician had almost killed Winters. However, he was only distracted by Hestas for a few seconds, and the near-death Winters managed to kill him.


    Eggs taking turns hitting each other with hammers, not crushing the opponent completely could lead to being counter-killed; such is the cruel fight between spellcasters.


    After hearing Winters'' explanation, the officers fell silent.


    "So is that why we need to use this kind of concealed, swift weapon?" Lieutenant Lailo murmured to himself, holding the short gun improved by Winters.


    The short gun improved by Winters had become standard issue for spellcaster officers in the legion. Spellcasters who had seen Winters'' demonstration immediately took a liking to this "magic-triggered firearm."


    The biggest challenge with firearms was ignition; fuse cords were dangerous and troublesome, and the wheel lock was complex and unreliable. Using magic to ignite the gunpowder in the chamber was an excellent idea, not only reliable. Moreover, because there''s no need for an ignition mechanism, it also reduces the weight of the firearm.


    To address the "single-shot" issue, Winters modified a gun barrel to be three barrels, allowing spellcasters to fire them sequentially or all at once. In theory, more barrels could be stacked, but considering the weight, three barrels were already the optimum solution.


    Major Moritz, of course, didn''t need such a thing, but not everyone had the Major''s expertise in kinetic spells.


    Many spellcasters, adept in fire-type magics and vibration-type spells, lacked the ability to fatally subdue an enemy; therefore, this kind of firearm that required only the lowest level of fire-type magic to operate was widely praised.


    Many spellcasters couldn''t help regretting that they hadn''t thought of this idea themselves, which made Winters feel embarrassed, as he had also come up with the idea only after seeing that mysterious spellcaster ignite the cannon through the barrel.


    "You don''t have to worry so much. Maybe that person won''t even show up today," Pisalo patted Winters on the shoulder, smiling. "Whether he acts or not, Tachi is definitely going to fall today. If I were him, I''d just hide among the soldiers and wait to surrender, rather than coming out and seeking death." sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before he had finished speaking, a panicked sentinel from the triangular fort rushed down from the top, shouting, "Signal flare! Red! East side of the wall!"

 Chapter 107 Grenadiers

    The sentry tumbled and scrambled down from the top of the fort, shouting in panic, "Signal flare! Red! East side of the city wall."Everyone''s hearts suddenly tightened.


    According to the prearranged agreement, a red signal flare meant that the front line commander had determined that their troop had encountered enemy magic forces.


    "Move out!" Major Moritz grabbed his helmet and rose to his feet, followed closely by the momentarily disoriented officers.


    They quickly led their warhorses out of the triangular fort and galloped towards the east side of the city wall.


    The sun had not yet surfaced, but the sky was growing brighter, revealing a deep blue color.


    Sea fog began to waft through the air, mixing with the battlefield''s gunsmoke and sharply reducing visibility.


    The drummers pounded on their drums with all their might; the sound thudded against people''s chests. Archers, both atop and outside the walls, were firing blindly in the enemy''s direction, and wounded soldiers who could still walk stumbled out.


    The scene was one of extreme chaos, as Major Moritz bellowed "Out of the way!" and drove the soldiers blocking his path aside. His horse plowed recklessly through the ranks, with others following in the path he cleared.


    However, as everyone rushed to the eastern side of the battlefield, they suddenly realized: they had no idea where the signal flare had been fired from.


    The breaches in the east side of the city wall were numerous¡ªthere were three in total¡ªand fighting was breaking out at each one. The battle situation was spiraling out of control. The organization of many hundred-man units had collapsed, and wherever there was the sound of combat, officers were leading their soldiers that way.


    After three circular attempts without finding the position, the spellcasters grew increasingly restless,


    Fortunately, another red signal flare burst into the sky, and the riders charged in the indicated direction.


    [The primitive signal flares used by the Venetian army would explode in mid-air, not lingering for long.]


    By the time Moritz''s squad arrived below where the signal flare had been, the Venetians who had been first to scale the wall had already been repelled by the defenders.


    The lead troops'' organization had collapsed, and they were running out from the breach. However, the soldiers that followed had not yet engaged the enemy and were forcefully squeezing into the breach.


    A group was trying to escape, another was trying to push their way in, and for a time the breach was completely blocked, both groups unable to move.


    Those Venetians who had the misfortune of falling were trampled by the crowd, screams of agony filling the air. The defenders in the city relentlessly chased and cut down those fleeing, not needing to wait for the routed to run out before being killed by their pursuers.


    The sides of the breaches were recaptured by the Tanilians, with more and more defenders appearing on the walls. The Tanilians occupied an excellent position high above, injuring the Venetians at the breach from above. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Projectiles flew in all directions, the smoke thickened, and the sounds of battle cries and wailing never ceased.


    In the midst of the chaos, since the officers had all switched to wearing the soldiers'' armor today, the spellcasters couldn''t find the field commander for a moment.


    Not until they heard a furious voice roaring, "[Expletive]! Stop bickering here! Disperse to the left and right! Let them come out first! Seventh century squad! Disperse to the left and right! Disperse to the left and right!"


    Without the aid of magic, the roar managed to surpass the chaos of the battlefield.


    The soldiers who had been desperately pushing into the breach were stunned for a moment and then actually began to disperse to the sides of the breach, clearly very familiar with the voice of their Centurion.


    "Siege ladders! Onto the walls!" the Centurion continued to roar.


    Following the order, the soldiers picked up the siege ladders that had been pushed down and set them against the city wall again. Shield-bearing swordsmen, protected by their shields, climbed the walls on both sides of the breach and fought the defenders, silencing the guns on the wall.


    Moritz spotted the Centurion mixed in with the soldiers at a glance and led the squad of spellcasters through the chaotic crowd with difficulty, grabbing hold of the Centurion''s arm and shouting loudly, "Juan! Did you send the signal flare?"


    In the midst of the dire battle, Lieutenant Juan, busy commanding, reacted with fury when a soldier grabbed his arm and called him by his surname without ceremony.


    An expletive reached the brink of his lips, but then Juan recognized that the man in a soldier''s uniform before him was Major Moritz.


    He swallowed the coarse words back down, Tang Juan shook off the Major''s hand and asked anxiously, "What did you say?"


    "The signal flare!" Moritz pointed to the sky, "Did you launch it?"


    "Signal flare? Not me!" Juan denied hastily, turning to head towards the breach in the wall.


    Moritz grabbed hold of Juan''s arm once again, pressing, "Where is your captain?"


    "I don''t know! Where the hell should I know?" Tang Juan lost his temper, not caring that the Major before him outranked him by three grades, and violently broke free from Moritz''s hold.


    The cheers of the Tanilians pierced through the smoke from behind; the defenders were celebrating their retaking of the breach. The Venetians had been driven off the wall, tumbling and scrambling out through the route cleared by Juan''s century.


    Hearing the Tanilians'' cheers, Tang Juan realized the breach had changed hands.


    With a swift move, he planted his sword in the ground and bellowed loudly, "Grenades!"


    A dozen tall, muscular soldiers quickly gathered around Centurion Juan upon hearing the order. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Lieutenant Juan took a metal ball in a rope net from one of the soldiers, and the other soldiers also took out similar objects from their backpacks.


    Winters recognized what Senior Juan was holding; it had no official name yet, but it went by many: bomb, grenade, explosive¡­ users could call it whatever they wanted.


    But whatever it was called, it was an exceptionally dangerous weapon¡ªnot just for the enemy, but even more so for the user.


    "Ready!"


    A soldier nearby lit the fuse of the iron bomb in Lieutenant Juan''s hand, and Centurion Juan took a deep breath, swinging the iron bomb above his head by the rope.


    The hissing iron bomb circled overhead, pulled by the rope, making a terrifying whistling sound.


    "Throw!" Lieutenant Juan shouted as he released his grip, sending the bomb flying toward the breach in the wall, trailing the hemp rope along its tangential path.


    The other grenadiers followed the Centurion''s lead, sending a dozen more iron-cased bombs flying into the smoke.


    Limited by the level of casting technology, the lightest throwing bombs equipped by the Venetian army weighed four pounds, and could not be used by anyone who wasn''t physically strong; therefore, grenadiers were all carefully selected strong men.


    But even these elite soldiers needed a sling-like rope net to throw the heavy iron bombs far enough.


    Carrying a bomb that could explode at any time was terrifying enough¡ªpeople of this era still didn''t understand static electricity.


    The "throwing" method was even more dangerous: no one could stand next to the thrower, and if misguided, the bomb could land among their own ranks.


    Hence, very few people could use this weapon, even fewer dared to; it was simply too dangerous. However, in shoulder-to-shoulder, face-to-face siege warfare, its lethality was also quite astonishing.


    Continuous explosions erupted from behind the smokescreen, and the cheers of the Tanilians were no longer heard, only the inhuman screams and moans.


    "Continue! Don''t stop! Use up all the grenades!" Juan''s loud command woke up the soldiers who were still in shock. The grenadiers took new iron bombs from their backpacks, casting them toward the breach in the wall.


    Moritz''s squad was frozen in place, and the noise was so intense that Captain Lailo had to shout into Major Moritz''s ear, "Sir! What do we do?"


    "Wait!"


    In front of Winters, a grenadier was shakily striking flint, but no matter what, he could not light the fuse.


    This grenadier hadn''t managed to throw his bomb with Centurion Juan in the first round, and while the other soldiers had thrown at least three times each, he was still struggling to ignite the fuse of his first bomb.


    "Give it to me!" Winters couldn''t bear to see the panicked grenadier potentially throw the bomb onto their own men.


    The frantic grenadier had a look of both helplessness and gratitude in his eyes as he let Winters take the iron bomb from his hands.


    Winters lit the fuse with a fire-starting spell and then tossed the bomb into the breach behind the wall as if casting a shot put. Since he hadn''t practiced with it, Winters didn''t dare to use the sling to launch the bomb and simply threw it like a shot put instead. Fortunately, his basic fitness was good enough that even with this method, the throw wasn''t too short.


    The sight of Winters igniting the fuse with a mere gesture shocked the panicked grenadier into freezing on the spot.


    Winters, after throwing the bomb, reprimanded him, "What are you standing there for? Give me another one!"


    The grenadier hastily took out another bomb, and Winters repeated the previous action.


    Juan had each of his grenadiers carry six backup bombs, and with this continued effort, Winters had used up all his bombs even faster than the other grenadiers, despite being three rounds behind.


    "If only this thing weighed only one pound," Winters wiped the sweat from his forehead, wishing, "Even at two pounds, it wouldn''t be so troublesome to use."


    He suddenly noticed that Lieutenant Juan, who had thrown his six rounds of bombs, looked at him deeply. In their mutual gaze, Centurion Juan nodded at his junior and then turned around to shout, "The military flag!"


    The flag bearer quickly took out the flag from his bosom, affixed it to a long spear, and handed it to the Centurion.


    Lieutenant Juan, holding the Golden Lion Flag aloft, roared, "Follow the military flag! Attack! Follow the military flag! Attack!" He led his hundred men headlong into the breach in the wall.


    Seeing this, even the most discouraged soldiers felt a surge of shame. Many Venetians who had fled from the breach also picked up their weapons and followed Juan''s century into the wall.


    Issuing conspicuous armor to officers wasn''t for appearance''s sake, but so the timid soldiers could clearly see their commanders right beside them.


    Swapping an officer''s armor for a soldier''s might reduce the impact of spellcasters, but it also undermined the will of the Venetian army.


    Lieutenant Juan raising the military flag let all the soldiers present know he had not retreated an inch, but it also made him a target.


    "Major, what do we do?" Lailo couldn''t help but ask again.


    "Follow Centurion Juan!" Moritz drew his sword, taking large strides to catch up, "If there''s a spellcaster among the Tanilians, Centurion Juan is the most obvious target!"

 Chapter 108 The Tip of the Knife

    The siege, where those outside the city want to enter and no one knows what those inside the city desire... but one thing is certain¡ªthey do not wish to let those outside in.After weeks of attrition warfare, Winters set foot within the city walls for the first time.


    He encountered no adversaries, nor did he step into any traps. The soil underfoot was exceptionally muddy, saturated with a red liquid.


    Limb fragments were strewn everywhere; the six-round barrages had not only shattered the spirits of the Tanilians but also destroyed their bodies.


    Venetian soldiers who stormed the breach had slaughtered all the Tanilians still alive¡ªthey wouldn''t have survived much longer anyway, and a swift death was a special kind of mercy. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Colonel Volbon had anticipated, the defenders had packed thick mounds of earth behind the city walls. However, not all sections of the wall were reinforced in this way, and it seemed only those targeted by heavy bombardment were buttressed with earth.


    Low, crude wooden shacks appeared and disappeared in the sea fog, their familiar construction making Winters feel as though he had returned to his hometown.


    The slums here were no different from those in Sea Blue; impoverished miners had erected barely habitable shanties behind the city walls.


    Many of the wooden shacks had been dismantled, not hard to imagine being repurposed as timber for the defenders. More shanties must have been outside the walls, but those had been cleared out long before the Venetians arrived.


    Some low cottages were set ablaze by other troops that had breached the walls, the damp wood burning and emitting smoke that further reduced visibility.


    Winters could no longer see where Lieutenant Juan was, but could vaguely make out the red base of the Golden Lion Flag. Juan''s company wasn''t advancing towards the city district; instead, they began attacking toward the direction of the city gates, staying close to the base of the walls.


    Tang Juan charged at the city walls ferociously, while Major Moritz and the spellcasters could not catch up no matter what, nearly losing sight of the Golden Lion Flag ahead in the dense fog.


    "Be careful! Don''t get separated! The Tanilians won''t surrender that easily!" Moritz warned the spellcasters without looking back, his voice grave.


    A few junior officers unsheathed their swords, staying no more than a step away from each other, advancing in the fog with uneven steps. Winters nearly tripped over bodies several times, and the thick sea fog carried with it an unsettling eeriness, hiding who knew how many enemies.


    Lieutenant Pisani suggested, "Let''s join forces and use the Wind Control Skill to disperse the fog!"


    "Conserve your magic power!" came the cool reply from the major.


    Then, Winters distinctly heard the sound of disordered footsteps to the front-right, and a peculiar sound... the clashing of armor parts during a run.


    "Enemy attack!" Winters immediately bellowed a warning.


    The Venetian soldiers ahead also sensed something amiss but couldn''t be certain of friend or foe; a few sergeants called out, "Who goes there?! Password?!"


    The response was several arrows shot toward the sound, and a small squad of Federation soldiers burst from the dense fog in the narrow slum alleys, crashing into the Venetian line.


    "Enemy attack!"


    "Tanilians!"


    First came shouts, and then the battlefield fell into some kind of terrible silence.


    This silence wasn''t absolute; intermittent sounds of gunfire could be heard in the distance, the cries of dying warriors nearby. But apart from this white noise, one could only hear the crisp clang of weapons clashing and the horrifying sound of weapons penetrating flesh.


    The Venetians and Tanilians locked in a deadly struggle made no sound from their throats; they clenched their teeth tightly, every muscle strained, their brains nearly devoid of the capacity for thought, slashing at each other by instinct.


    Without saying a word, Moritz plunged directly into the melee.


    It was evident that if they didn''t deal with these enemies before them, Moritz''s group couldn''t extricate themselves. Although this had deviated from their original mission, Winters and the other junior officers had no choice but to eliminate this Tanilian squad first.


    With the assistance of this small group of officers with superior combat skills, the Tanilians, despite their initial advantage of surprise, not only failed to rout the rear of Juan''s company but were also forced to retreat by the Venetians.


    However, the noise of combat attracted more Federation soldiers from the slums. While Tang Juan had yet to turn back to provide support, another enemy squad had already collided head-on with Juan''s advancing party.


    It was just as the enemies before Moritz and his group fled back into the slums in disarray that another squad of Tanilian soldiers assaulted from behind.


    Moritz immediately took command of the rear, shouting, "Join up with Tang Juan!"


    The soldiers didn''t recognize his identity, but they instinctively obeyed his command. Juan''s company fought and retreated, regrouping in the direction of the Golden Lion Flag.


    Yet at the same time, numerous figures appeared on the rooftops of the slums, followed by a volley of crossbow bolts. The defending archers climbed atop the shanties, starting to fire at the exposed Venetians.


    The Venetians jostled each other to avoid the arrows, their formation on the verge of collapsing.


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    Moritz wheeled about and headed back, with steel darts flying from his left hand. It was then that Winters realized the major''s displayed combat prowess had never reached its limit; his iron heart trembled when Moritz unleashed his killing intent without reservation.


    The Federation crossbowmen atop the shanties were wiped out in the blink of an eye, with Moritz ensuring a kill by shooting two steel darts at each person. The crossbowmen hit right between the eyes met with brains splattering, not even having a moment to scream, dying instantly and painlessly.

 Chapter 108 Knife Tip_2

    The Tanilians, who couldn''t see clearly what Moritz was doing, only knew that anyone he pointed to would drop dead on the spot.Only the devil could possess such power. The soldiers of the Federation, realizing this, screamed in terror, "The devil! A demon!" and fled desperately deeper into the slums.


    Only then did the other junior officers besides Winters understand why some would say this seemingly frail, disheveled man was the strongest magical combat force in the army.


    With his mastery of the Arrow Flying Spell alone, even bundling all the others together would not be enough to contend with Moritz.


    "Shall we pursue?" someone asked the major.


    "Do not pursue!" Moritz said decisively: "Go and join up with the forward units!"


    Following Lieutenant Juan, Moritz and the others made their way to the city gates, where the disguised spellcasters, posing as ordinary soldiers, killed any enemy attempting to approach Don Juan on the spot.


    During this period, they saw no other signal flares. Lieutenant Juan''s hundred-man team, in coordination with the forces attacking from the Triangle Fort, overpowered the city gate''s defenders and quickly seized control of Tachi''s gates.


    The process was so smooth it seemed unbelievable, so much so that the spellcaster officers felt a sense of unease.


    But the nature of a magician''s battle is deceptive; bodies don''t talk. It''s possible that Moritz and his men hadn''t killed a single enemy spellcaster, or that they had wiped out all the enemy spellcasters.


    The enemy was dead, and there was no way to verify what had happened. The spellcasters could only suppress their anxiety and continue to stand firmly by Don Juan''s side.


    The day had started to break, the sun climbing higher, and the morning mist was gradually dispersed by the sunlight.


    After more than two hours of fierce fighting, Tachi suddenly became quiet. All Winters could hear were sporadic sounds of gunfire and the groans of the dying in the distance.


    The spellcasters and the common soldiers of Juan''s hundred-man team collapsed on the ground as if they were dead. It was because they acted as the arrowhead and blade that the hundred-man team was able to quickly capture the heavily guarded city gate.


    The Golden Lion Flag flew proudly over the city gate, but the exhausted Venetians no longer had the strength to continue the offensive.


    When the fog completely dissipated, the sight that met everyone''s eyes brought even the most resolute Venetian a hint of despair.


    Winters heard the sentry crying. He didn''t understand what had happened until he also stood upon the battlements and looked out.


    Not far away, a dyke made of earth enveloped Tachi''s "Earl''s High Tower," and the flag of the Tanilia Federation still flew above the castle.


    William Kidd had constructed another wall inside the city walls. The Tanilians had not given up resistance; the battle was far from over.


    ...


    ...


    For this general offensive, the Venetians had deployed nine battalions¡ªnine fully manned battalions.


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    Two legions combined had only twenty battalions to begin with, not to mention many had already taken heavy casualties in the siege.


    The Venetian military leadership wanted a decisive victory, yet the Tanilians'' tenacity was infuriating.


    Such was the helplessness of the era: tactically, offense overshadowed defense, but strategically, defense overwhelmed offense.


    Even the most battle-hardened troops could only turn warfare into an endless exchange of numbers when faced with fortified structures and a stubborn defense.


    Thirty years ago, the Senas coalition had used dozens of fortified towns to grind down the Duke of Arlion, forcing the Emperor to negotiate peace. Now, the same tactic was being used against them, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of all Venetian officers.


    "Fight! Keep fighting!" Layton slammed his fist on the table at the military command meeting: "We lose men, don''t the Tans lose men too? [Fiercely offensive language]! Keep fighting! It''s a matter of who can hold out to the last breath!"


    Layton''s rage was nearly palpable, but the attending senior officers had no reaction; the battalion commanders avoided Layton''s gaze and bowed their heads in silence.


    The nine battalions responsible for the day''s general offense were already exhausted. Many had suffered casualties of over thirty percent, and the fact that the troops'' morale hadn''t yet collapsed was a miracle in itself.


    Under normal circumstances, commanders like these would have been praised for their method of governing the army. However, the reason why these brigade commanders are not speaking now is not because they are stingy with soldiers'' lives, but because they clearly understand that their troops have reached their limits. To continue forcibly driving soldiers to attack the city would likely lead to mutiny on the spot.


    The brigade commanders who did not participate in today''s offensive also remained silent, and no one knew what they were thinking... Perhaps the ferocity of today''s battle also left them with a trace of fear.


    "General Layton is right," said Serviati, the commander of the legion, with a grim face, "Victory in battle depends on which side can persevere for one more minute. No matter how much blood we shed, William Kidd''s men will shed even more. We cannot give the people of Tanilia a chance to catch their breath, and I don''t need to go on about this. At this point in the fight, it''s about who has a harder, more ruthless heart. Even if we all go to hell, it doesn''t matter, as long as we send William Kidd there first! Are you... not even as good as William Kidd''s pirates and slave traffickers?"


    The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually heated up with the words of Major General Serviati, as the officers began breathing heavily and clenched their fists, looking at the two legion commanders.


    "No rest. We attack the city overnight! I''ll make sure William Kidd doesn''t even have time to urinate," declared Major General Serviati, who, for the first time, did not consult with Layton beforehand and unilaterally ordered both legions, "There''s no need to hold a reserve anymore. The main reserve''s four brigades will lead the attack! Report the centurions from your brigades who still have combat capability, to form temporary brigades responsible for the second wave of the offensive. Move out now! Within one hour I want to hear the bugle for charge! If I don''t, I''ll execute the four brigade commanders!"


    Even Layton was taken aback by this statement, but he still held back from saying anything. It was at this moment that the officers realized that General Antonio Serviati, who appeared more rational, may actually be the more crazed of the two legion commanders.


    Since the beginning of the siege on Tachi, the Venetian army always kept four full brigades as reserves. This reserve force was never intended to be deployed for the siege, but rather to defend against possible reinforcements from the Federation.


    You cannot count on the enemy''s failure in war. To commit the four brigades of reserves to the assault means that the two legions have reached the point of no return.


    If the Venetian navy makes a mistake and even a small support force from the Federation lands at Red Sulfur Harbor, it would spell disaster for both the Great Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion.


    But the legion commanders have already made up their minds to spare no expense, and everyone else just needs to obey.


    The numbers of the remaining capable centurions were rapidly gathered, and Lieutenant Tang Juan''s centurion was notably among them.


    "Conti! You lead a temporary brigade!" Layton called out to an officer, then signaled to another, "Field! You too! And then¡­"


    "Commander¡­" someone interrupted Layton, solemnly reminding him, "... Colonel Field, he fell this morning."


    The parchment in Layton''s hand, which had been corrected for the fifth time, dropped to the floor.


    ...


    ...


    Winters and Moritz stood silently in front of Colonel Field''s body.


    The colonel''s face was hidden under the flag, but he would never breathe again.


    "Colonel Field is gone, he will never talk, laugh, or race with me again... Is he just gone like this?" Winters felt short of breath.


    "Let''s go," Moritz pulled Winters away, "This is just Field''s body, not Field himself."


    The first red flare came from Colonel Field, and the second red flare came from another fallen officer, Colonel Petrach.


    By the time Moritz and Winters arrived at the second red flare, that mysterious magician within the city had already killed Colonel Petrach and most of the witnesses, vanishing into the mist.


    "If we¡­" Winters''s eyes felt hot, "... if we had arrived in time, could we have¡­" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Don''t think about such things! Don''t even entertain a bit of such thoughts!" Moritz, furious and gripping Winters''s shoulders tightly, chided sharply, "You, me, Field, we are all going to die, it''s just a matter of time. Field is dead, part of us died with him. But he doesn''t hurt, regret, or feel sad, no matter what you think, it won''t affect him. Got it? Don''t feel guilty for the dead, it''s only self-gratification for the living, and it''s unnecessary."


    Three officers were killed in today''s siege, all dying from organ damage and severe internal bleeding. Autopsy conclusions, on-site investigation, and testimonies all pointed to that elusive magician.


    The strategy to use high-mobility Spellcaster squads to counter the enemy magicians was proven to be an utter failure.


    However, the joint command also discovered that using elite Spellcasters as the spearhead of the offensive yielded astonishing results.


    That afternoon, Moritz and eight other Spellcasters received new orders.


    They were to lead the main attack force, striking at the walls first.

 Chapter 109 Breaching the City

    "My lord... it''s just ahead." The Tanilia soldier, forced to lead the way, stumbled ahead, trembling as he clutched the wound on his head.The man behind him instilled a fear so profound, the Tanilian old soldier had never seen such a ferocious warrior¡ªcharging into the crowd amidst musket fire, cutting down an entire squad of musketeers.


    The soldier''s legs trembled involuntarily, unable to stop, and fear made him look back involuntarily.


    Seeing the movement, Winters, in a fury, smashed the butt of his gun hard against the back of the soldier''s head.


    The soldier fell face-first into the mud and scrambled to his feet without daring to delay, choking and praying as he moved forward.


    The Venetians, no longer holding any reservations, had directly blasted open the volcanic crater at the mountaintop, sending water cascading down through the former streams to flood Tachi as the first wave of their assault.


    After several more hours of fierce combat, the Venetian troops rode their momentum to break through the trenches, embankments, and the will of the Tanilia people, leading to the total collapse of the defense within the city.


    The "siege within a siege" had descended into utter chaos, with Tanilian soldiers still resisting from within houses, while bloodthirsty Venetian soldiers killed anyone they saw.


    Winters ignored all of it; he had gotten separated from Major Moritz in the chaos of battle¡ªbut that did not matter, for he was after just one man.


    "This is the place, my lord." The trembling soldier pointed at the former residence of the Earl of Red Sulfur Island, not daring to turn his head. Then, he heard the sound of a weapon being drawn. Instinctively, the soldier shut his eyes.


    "Get lost!"


    The Tanilian soldier, as if receiving a pardon, scrambled away in escape.


    Winters burst through the wooden doors of the tower, bellowing, "William Kidd!"


    The last of the Federation guards charged down from the staircase, only to be slain one by one by Winters. With each kill, he shouted: "William Kidd!"


    His thunderous roars echoed through the tower like a death-curse, and the last guard, terrified by the Grim Reaper-like Winters, threw away his weapon and leapt out the window in a frenzied escape.


    At the top of the tower, he found William Kidd.


    William Kidd sat in a chair, seemingly unsurprised by his arrival.


    Compared to the spirited captain he had first met, the William Kidd before him had been completely worn down: his temples and cheeks were deeply sunken, his eyes tired and haggard, his shoulders thin as leaves, and the bones of his once broad wrists were all that remained.


    But even with only skin left, Winters recognized that face; there was no doubt, it was William Kidd.


    "Ha, Venetians, you''ve won... for now," said William Kidd from his chair, unusually calm. "Kill me and go claim your reward."


    But in the next moment, Winters grabbed him from the chair and slammed him onto the floor.


    Kidd moaned in pain as the furious Winters stepped on his chest and said through gritted teeth, "Do you think I care about that crap?"


    After that, he struck William Kidd''s face with two fierce punches.


    William Kidd''s mouth filled with blood, his nose broke, and a red liquid flowed ceaselessly from his nostrils.


    "I''m only going to ask you one thing," Winters said, panting, spitting out a mouthful of blood, pressing the blade of his knife against William Kidd''s neck, asking grimly, "Where is your Spellcaster?"


    "Hahahaha..." Kidd''s response to Winters''s question was a chilling laugh, as if he had heard the funniest joke.


    He laughed so violently he choked on the blood in his mouth.


    His face red with coughing, the features oddly flushed with a morbid redness: "You... you know nothing... right... hahahaha..."


    Winters wasted no time with words, raised his knife, and chopped off William Kidd''s right index finger: "Where is your Spellcaster?"


    "Ah!!!!!!!!" As pain surged like heart-piercing daggers from his hand, William Kidd screamed, trying to cover the wound, but Winters kept his arm pinned down, causing him to roll on the ground in agony.


    "Where is your Spellcaster?"


    This time, Kidd''s middle finger was separated from his right hand.


    William Kidd''s body convulsed severely, and he curled up, unable even to let out a full scream; only intermittent, low, broken noises could be heard from his throat.


    "Where is your Spellcaster?"


    William Kidd lost another finger, and his consciousness began to blur.


    "Where is your Spellcaster?" Winters kept asking the same question over and over: "Where is your Spellcaster?"


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    ...


    "Where is your Spellcaster?"


    Major Moritz, who led the other surviving Spellcasters to the tower, was shocked by the scene before him. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Winters! What are you doing?!" Moritz rushed over and dragged Winters away from the nearly unconscious William Kidd: "Calm down!"


    "Let go of me!" Winters struggled and roared like a frenzied bear: "William Kidd knows who the magician is! He knows! He knows everything! Let go of me! XXX let go of me!"


    "Lailo, Joshua, carry William Kidd away!" Unable to restrain Winters by themselves, Moritz and Pisani immediately ordered others to move Kidd: "Hurry up and stop the bleeding, General Serviati has ordered him alive!"


    William Kidd was quickly carried down from the tower, as the Major and Pisalo desperately held on to Winters, preventing him from following.

 Chapter 109 Breach the City _2

    "Field is dead, and I''m even more heartbroken than you!" Moritz pressed his forehead against Winters''s, "But men always die in battle! Do you understand? Field doesn''t need you to avenge him! Do you understand?"Winters finally came back to his senses from his rage after an indeterminable amount of time. He suddenly felt extraordinarily tired, as if all his strength had been drained away, and the sword in his hand dropped to the ground.


    Seeing that Winters was no longer out of control, Moritz finally let out a sigh of relief. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire


    Observing the blood-stained armor and clothes on Winters, the major hurriedly ordered Lieutenant Pisalo and another lieutenant to "escort" Winters to the military doctor to deal with his injuries.


    Looking at the dark red bloodstains on the tower floor, Lieutenant Kirk said to the major with a lingering fear, "This little guy... When he goes mad, he''s totally different compared to normal times! It''s like... It''s like there''s a completely different soul inside his skin..."


    Moritz watched Winters''s figure walk towards the camp from the top of the tower and also sighed.


    ...


    Outside the military medical office, Winters said to the two lieutenants "escorting" him, "Seniors, there''s no need to follow me anymore. Rest assured, I won''t go looking for William Kidd."


    Pisalo observed Winters for a while, and seeing that he really seemed to have returned to normal, he nodded gently, "Alright, come find me if you need help."


    Winters nodded in response and walked into the medical office.


    The military doctor, Kane, was almost scared by Winters''s appearance. Kane''s assistant helped Winters take off his breastplate, which had two horrific dents in the front.


    Pointing at the dents, Doctor Kane asked Winters, "How did this happen?"


    "It was from a musket." Winters recalled the previous fierce battle, "Probably because it was from a distance, it didn''t penetrate."


    "Take off your clothes, let me examine you."


    "It didn''t penetrate, and I don''t wear the breastplate against the skin, so it''s fine."


    "It''s not as simple as you think; just because the musket didn''t penetrate your breastplate doesn''t mean you''re not injured." Kane insisted, "Take off your clothes, I need to check you."


    "Mr. Kane," Winters said wearily, "Perhaps you should treat my left arm first."


    "Your left arm?" Kane looked at Winters''s left sleeve, covered in mud and bloodstains, "What happened?"


    "I was hit by an arrow when crossing the trench." Winters replied nonchalantly.


    "The arrow?!" Kane exclaimed in shock.


    "I pulled it out myself."


    Kane shouted angrily, "Mr. Montaigne! Do you have a death wish?!"


    "I''m not dead, am I?" Winters said with a light laugh, "Just wash the wound and sew it up for me."


    With that, Winters started to take off his uniform.


    "Don''t move!" Kane yelled, "Don''t you move! I''ll cut it open with scissors! Don''t you move!"


    Doctor Kane went to get scissors, and suddenly Winters felt his internal organs as if churning, his throat dry, followed by a powerful force surging up from deep within his chest.


    Winters, holding onto Kane''s assistant, couldn''t help but retch violently. The severe retching made him feel as if his organs had shifted, yet he vomited nothing.


    Kane hurried back to Winters''s side and quickly cut the uniform open.


    At the corresponding places to the two dents in the breastplate, bruises bloomed like two purple flowers on Winters''s chest.


    ...


    "I still don''t understand to this day, Tachi was a city doomed to fall." Antonio sat beside the dying William Kidd, his tone as if chatting with an old friend, "Knowing you''re bound to be defeated, why did you refuse to surrender?"


    "How about you?" William Kidd, who couldn''t move in bed, spoke with difficulty, "If... you were me... would you surrender?"


    Antonio fell silent.


    "If I had... opened the city and surrendered," William Kidd actually managed a faint smile, "I''m afraid it would make you all think... there is no one on the islands..."


    "Is there anything else you wish to say?" Antonio stood up.


    William Kidd refused to be outdone and retorted, "Do you have... anything else to ask?"


    After leaving the room where William Kidd was held, Major Moritz was waiting outside for Antonio.


    "Did you find the Tanilian spellcaster?" Antonio asked straightforwardly.


    "Sorry, commander, but no," Major Moritz shook his head, "The origins of the prisoners are too diverse to effectively discern. General Layton says we might as well just kill them all."


    "That''s the last resort. Alright, leave this matter to me and Layton, you don''t have to worry about it anymore." As Antonio walked side by side with Moritz towards the headquarters, he praised, "You and your spellcaster squad did very well, Layton and I will commend you. What do you think about making this type of spellcaster squad a permanent formation?"


    "It''s difficult to achieve," Moritz shook his head, "General, all the spellcasters in the army are officers, which officer would be willing to be treated like a soldier? There''s actually a conflict between the identity of a spellcaster and a commander. Officers don''t need strong personal combat abilities, and the role of spellcasters would be hindered by command duties. Perhaps... the Empire''s approach to using court mages is the right direction..."


    ...


    ...


    Fifteen days after the Vineta army captured Tachi.


    The door to Anna''s studio in Navarre Manor was flung open, and Elizabeth hurried in, in a flurry. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What''s happened to you?" Anna shifted her gaze slightly away from the canvas.


    Elizabeth Selvidi, hugging Anna and gasping for breath, said, "I... my brother''s back!"


    With a clatter, the palette knife in Anna''s hand dropped to the ground.


    "What does his return have to do with me?" Anna bent over to pick up the palette knife, feeling guilty, and began fiddling with the paint bottles unconsciously.


    Elizabeth couldn''t help but laugh, "Then why is your face red?"


    "Nonsense! Where is my face red?" Anna angrily threw down the palette knife and covered her cheeks.


    "Alright then, I''m leaving!" Elizabeth said as she rose to leave.


    "Wait, don''t go!" Anna caught the hem of Elizabeth''s clothes.


    "What is it?" Elizabeth asked with a mischievous smile.


    "Don''t leave, Ella," Anna asked with a blush, "Mr. Montaigne... where is he now? Has he returned home yet?"


    "No, he went to the army headquarters in Sea Blue first to report on duty; he''ll only go home after that''s done."


    ...


    Upon leaving the army headquarters, Winters said goodbye to everyone and headed straight home.


    Accustomed to the scent of sulfur, the stench of blood, and the smell of gunpowder from the siege, returning to the bustling, busy Sea Blue, Winters felt a profound sense of alienation, as if he were an outsider from another world. Everything around him seemed normal, yet at the same time, so abnormal.


    A black carriage was parked outside the house, and through the carriage window, Winters saw Ella''s grinning face. Elizabeth beckoned to Winters, signaling him to get into the carriage.


    It wasn''t until he opened the carriage door that Winters realised there was another person inside¡ªAnna was also there.


    Before Winters could react, Elizabeth had already jumped off the carriage and pushed Winters inside. She said, "I won''t disturb you two," then quickly ran into the house.


    Anna was startled as well, and by the time she collected herself, only she and Mr. Montaigne were left in the carriage.


    Recalling that short reply letter, Anna steadied her emotions¡ªshe would still feel saddened whenever she thought of that letter. She took out the ceremonial sword that Winters had given her from the hidden compartment behind her, convincing herself that the reason she came to see Winters was to "return the sword to that bad guy."


    But when she took the sword in hand, ready to utter the most heartless and hurtful words she had prepared during many sleepless nights, she was surprised to discover: the "bad guy" in front of her was staring at her, his eyes rimmed red, tears gradually streaming down his face.


    Was he... crying?


    Anna suddenly panicked, the words she had meticulously planned for getting back at this "bad guy" slipped from her memory instantly.


    She clumsily reached out to wipe his tears and instinctively embraced him.


    Winters leaned on Anna''s shoulder, sobbing softly. Anna didn''t know what he had been through, nor why he was so sad; she merely gently stroked Winters''s hair, over and over again.

 Chapter 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories

    In the midst of Sea Blue City, a grand parade ceremony was being held.Leading the forefront were black-robed monks carrying censers, from which a strange fragrance wafted out with each swing, permeating the entire street.


    Amid the wafting blue smoke, the atmosphere of the parade became mystical and enchanting.


    Four priests followed closely behind, holding aloft the relics of Saint Marco in a golden casket¡ªever since two Venetian merchants stole the saint''s relics from a conquered port and brought them back to Sea Blue three hundred years ago, Saint Marco had become the patron saint of Sea Blue and indeed, all of Vineta.


    Winters was in full Honor Guard armor, riding the magnificent ''Fortune,'' and holding the captured Tanilian battle flag inverted behind Saint Marco''s relics. Other Venetian officers who had returned from Red Sulfur Island did the same.


    Following the knights'' column were notably three prison carts. The Sea Blue People didn''t recognize the prisoners, but without a doubt knew they must be some bigshots from the Tanilia Federation. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were right¡ªin the middle cart sat none other than the notorious pirate, captain, and explorer William Kidd.


    Apart from a few caught on Red Sulfur Island, Generals Serviati and Layton sent all captives back to Sea Blue to participate in the offering of captives ceremony.


    However, the transport ship holding the regular prisoners tragically sank, leaving only a few important captives who were separately imprisoned alive, all now in the prison carts.


    Though the procession of captives appeared somewhat pitiable, it did little to dampen the spirits of the Venetians.


    Following the prison carts were two elaborately decorated carriages, from which jesters in fine attire grabbed fistfuls of silver coins and fragrance powders from bags and tossed them into the crowd, causing bursts of frantic scrambling.


    It was as if Carnival had arrived early, and the entire city was stirred into action.


    The streets were crowded with people, children ran to rooftops, women leaned out from second-story windows along the streets, waving bouquets and fans. Many civilians joyfully followed behind the procession.


    Cannons fired in salute, bells tolled, people set off fireworks, and held a service of thanksgiving¡ªthe city became a sea of joy and happiness.


    The lengthy parade circled the city and finally returned to its starting point, the Council Square.


    As the captured flags, weapons, armor, and even four cannons were thrown before the guard promenade¡ªone by one, at the feet of Perseus holding the head of Medusa¡ªthe crowd grew more frenetic.


    The exuberant mood infected everyone, and each person swept up in it couldn''t extricate themselves. The gathered Venetians shouted over and over, "Victory! Saint Marco! Victory! Saint Marco!" desperately reaching out to touch the golden casket bearing the saint''s relics.


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    The atmosphere was intoxicated and fervent; people thanked the gods and saint for the victory, yearning to receive even a tiny blessing. In a sense, this victory parade had turned into a religious procession.


    Even the officers of the Honor Guard had become the center of the vortex.


    Reservedness was cast into the Senas Sea by jubilant girls and young women as they tossed bouquets and silk fans to the majestic knights.


    Many bold women even threw their masks and veils to the officers¡ªamong the Venetians, this was an extremely, extremely suggestive gesture.


    For a moment, Winters only felt objects raining down on him like drops of rain, never even the Tanilian arrows were so dense. He was just glad to be wearing full plate armor and a helmet, otherwise he would certainly have been bruised all over.


    After seven rounds of the cannon salute, Governor Debela appeared above the guard promenade.


    The governor began a stirring speech, but Winters could hardly hear a thing.


    In fact, it was unlikely anyone in the Council Square could make out the details. Each time Debela said something, the crowd responded with loud cheers. The cheers even interrupted Debela''s speech several times, forcing the governor to wait for a modicum of quiet before continuing.


    But Winters didn''t care what the man on the promenade was saying. According to protocol, as soon as the governor began the speech, the Honor Guard was permitted to disband.


    Fortune was getting restless with all the noise; the three-year-old was snorting in discontent, and Lieutenant Montaigne just wanted to get away from the frenetic atmosphere of the Council Square as soon as possible.


    Taking advantage of the crowd''s diverted attention on the speaking governor, the returning officers communicated through gestures, dismounted, and began the arduous process of pushing through the crowd toward the edges of the square.


    Of course, the Honor Guard couldn''t just leave without notice; along the way, girls eagerly stuffed jewelry, slips of paper with addresses, and handkerchiefs embroidered with family crests and initials into the young men''s arms.


    A small sandalwood fan was even stuffed into the visor of Winters'' helmet. With the foreign object thrusting toward his eyes, Winters instinctively dodged, only to bump into another lady''s arms.


    The officers squeezed their way out of the square in a rather awkward fashion, and once in less crowded areas, were finally able to remove their stifling helmets.


    "Hey? Where''s Tang Juan?" asked Lieutenant Pisani, counting heads and realizing they were missing someone.


    "Ah? Someone''s missing?" Hearing this, Winters was also startled. After a quick count, he realized it wasn''t just Tang Juan missing: "He couldn''t have been trampled, could he?! I''ll go back and look!"


    With that, Winters mounted his horse, ready to ride back into the crowd.


    Captain Lailo grabbed the reins of Fortune, saying helplessly, "You lad, really... If they didn''t follow us out, then they surely have a place to be. Don''t rashly mess up someone''s good fortune!"

 Chapter 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_2

    Winters finally understood what was going on and, with a mix of tears and laughter, dismounted again."Montaigne is too naive to understand," Pisani teased, asking, "But Lailo, senior, how come you came out with us too?"


    Lailo and Pisani exchanged a glance, their knowing smiles laden with deeper meaning.


    Not long ago, Winters had been in the hellish siege battlefield. Now, he was a war hero, back in the bustling, crowded, and vibrant Sea Blue, surrounded by friends who only talked about women, women, and women.


    Winters still hadn''t gotten used to this stark contrast in circumstances, the sights before him felt like a dream, not real in the slightest. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire


    In the square, the noisy crowd''s voices gradually merged into one name: "Saint Marco! Saint Marco! Saint Marco!"


    Hearing the crowd''s chanting, Winters chuckled and said, "I don''t remember Saint Marco personally killing any Tanilians."


    The officers nearby, hearing Winters'' rebellious remark, smiled awkwardly.


    "We are the hands of Saint Marco! Hahaha, it''s just for fun, to make everyone happy," Pisani immediately burst into laughter, slinging his arm around Winters'' neck, "Do you think the old man likes to spit from the gallery? Who else do Venetians love for this? If he doesn''t cheer everyone up, where would the money to continue the war come from?"


    Conscious of his faux pas, Winters also knew that Senior Pisani was smoothing things over for him and nodded along with a few chuckles...


    "Don''t be fooled by the grandiose stage, this might be the most cost-effective method," Lailo said somewhat nostalgically, "In a month''s time, the Sea Blue People will forget our names, but even after a hundred years, they will remember this grand victory parade. Old Debela has a real knack for manipulating people''s hearts!"


    Winters spotted familiar faces waving to him from a carriage not far away, realizing they were anxious for him, he excused himself from the others. The officers of the Honor Guard all had places to be and naturally dispersed on the spot.


    Winters tied Strong''s reins to the rear beam of the carriage, then opened the door.


    Anna had been waiting inside the carriage for a long time already.


    She reached out to pull Winters into the carriage, smiling and saying, "It really feels like Sea Blue hasn''t been this lively in a long time."


    "The war hasn''t been won yet, celebrating now might be a bit premature," Winters sighed, a touch of worry surfacing whenever the subject came up.


    But Winters didn''t realize, now was not the atmosphere for such words. The air in the carriage seemed to cool by three degrees because of his buzzkill.


    Anna held onto Winters'' hand without letting go, faintly sensing that he no longer seemed able to be as happy as before.


    She pinched Winters'' hand, pretending to be angry, "Mr. Montaigne, you really should learn how to charm the ladies!"


    "Hahaha, then may I ask who can teach me?" For the first time that day, Winters'' face showed a genuinely heartfelt smile.


    "That would be..." Anna''s laugh was blooming when halfway through her sentence, her gaze shifted towards the helmet sitting beside Winters, "¡­ Hmm? What is that?"


    Before Winters could react, Anna had already released his hand and picked up his helmet.


    Protruding from the helmet was a delicate, exquisite folding fan.


    Winters, oblivious to the crisis before him, answered somewhat puzzled, "Isn''t that a folding fan?"


    Anna took the fan from the helmet, examined it, and sniffed the helmet. Convinced, she looked at Winters with a very playful gaze.


    It was only then Lieutenant Montaigne realized that something was amiss, and he cautiously explained, "This was given to me by someone else¡­ I don''t know who did it¡­ I didn''t really want it¡­ that fan almost hit my eye¡­" S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna played with the folding fan, her lips curling into a faint smile as she listened to Winters'' excuses.


    "If you like it... you can have it?" Winters said helplessly. But after thinking about it, he felt it was strange to re-gift this, and corrected himself saying, "Or I''ll buy an identical one for you?"


    "No, I want this one," said Anna as she suddenly tucked away the folding fan.


    "Fine, it''s yours."


    Anna suddenly stood up, closing in on Winters. Her hair brushed against his face at such close proximity that Winters could almost feel the warmth from her body.


    Human body temperature should not differ, but at that moment, Winters could distinctly feel that Anna''s body was burning hot.


    "What... what... what are you doing¡­" Lieutenant Montaigne''s breathing nearly stopped.


    Anna extended her arms, circling Winters'' neck, then¡­ began to unbuckle the straps of Winters'' breastplate.


    The Honor Guard armor Winters wore was not the roughly made chest plate distributed to ordinary swordsmen. This set of armor might not fit perfectly, but it was a finely crafted three-quarter plate armor.


    This armor, particularly the core protection, was meticulous. If encountered in hand-to-hand combat, it could give the most skilled swordsman a headache.


    Yet such tightly fitted armor had been infiltrated by women slipping several handkerchiefs through the gaps under the arms and waist. Winters had not even noticed when they had been inserted¡ªthe crowd had been too vast, too dense.


    Consciously, Winters unbuckled his arm plate and indeed found two handkerchiefs stuffed in there.


    "You seem rather popular... Mr. Monta-gne," Anna leisurely folded the handkerchiefs one by one, articulating each word.

 Chapter 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_3

    The handkerchief was sprayed with perfume, making the carriage unusually fragrant.Winters helplessly said, "Once this helmet is on, no one can tell if it''s a human or a ghost inside. If there really is something popular, it''s just this armor. If you wear this and take a turn in the square, you''ll definitely get more attention than I do."


    Anna laughed with a snort, placing the neatly folded handkerchief in Winters''s hand, "Alright, alright, keep these handkerchiefs. When you''re old, you can reminisce about your glorious days with them."


    "Do I need them?" Winters felt both annoyed and amused, "I''ll show you a magic trick."


    Having said that, he placed the helmet on Anna''s head and, clutching the handkerchief, stuck his hand out of the carriage window, focusing his mind.


    Although Winters''s level of magic had not improved significantly in absolute terms, the skills he used in combat after numerous battles were worlds apart from before. It was as if his strength had not changed much, but his power-release and fighting techniques had been honed day by day.


    Winters smoothly entered the spellcasting state and cast a fire spell, instantly igniting the flammable silk handkerchief.


    Ana hummed as she took off the helmet, "I''m not afraid of you receiving handkerchiefs from others."


    "It''s not that I don''t want to receive them, I''m afraid," Winters said, feeling utterly exhausted.


    Ana looked at him with feigned anger, then suddenly leaned in and lightly touched Winters''s forehead with her lips before nonchalantly throwing the fan engraved with some young lady''s maiden name out of the window.


    The black carriage slowly left the Parliament Square.


    ...


    In fact, the speech made by the Governor Debela ¡ª which Winters did not listen to closely, and the people in the square listened to half-heartedly ¡ª was very important.


    Although the war had not ended.


    However, Debela had made the Venetians firmly believe in three things with one grand victory parade: Vineta had already won, Vineta was winning, and Vineta was still on the path to new victories.


    Debela took this opportunity to announce three things.


    First, in the future, they would cast a new statue of Saint Marco from captured Tanyrian cannons and weapons¡ªa traditional Venetian custom, using mostly old cannons and weapons, of course;


    Second, all debtors could receive debt relief by enlisting in military service;


    Lastly, a draft would be executed in the rural areas of Vineta to form two new legions. The war would continue until Vineta''s ultimate victory;


    The second and third announcements were essentially about one thing: manpower.


    The Standing Army consisted of volunteers, elite professional soldiers; whereas the reservists were well-trained citizen-soldiers.


    That meant half of the Da Weineta Legion and the entire Saint Marco Legion were made up of urban residents¡ªmost of them citizens of Sea Blue City.


    These conscripted reservists were the cream of the city. Receiving weapons training and carrying weapons were privileges in Vineta, ones that the lower classes of the city, struggling to make ends meet, did not have the time or money to obtain.


    Thus, the reservist soldiers were essentially "citizen soldiers," affluent merchants and craftsmen in the city. They received military training once a week, and a significant number had purchased their own weapons and armor.


    Because of this, although not as elite as the Standing Army, the reservists showed strong combat abilities in the battle on Red Sulfur Island.


    But the two legions had already drawn nearly ten thousand able-bodied urban laborers¡ªhealthy adult male citizens.


    If they continued to conscript reservists on a large scale, the production and day-to-day life in Vineta cities like Sea Blue would inevitably be affected.


    Thus, the new legions and additional soldiers would be conscripted from rural areas... whether this decision was good or bad, no one knew.


    A week after the victory parade, a new fleet had assembled at Sea Blue Port.


    Before departing, the Debela regent held a grand departure ceremony.


    Drums and bugles filled the air, horns competed in a cacophony, and clergy conducted religious rites to bless the fleet.


    Debela handed over a battle flag to the fleet commander, Cro Zenon. The red background of the flag featured a golden lion with a crown and wings, holding a sword in one paw and a scripture in the other.


    The regent solemnly proclaimed:


    "God has entrusted you with a sacred mission, to defend this republic with your courage and to seek vengeance against those who dare to insult and threaten its security. We entrust you with this victorious, awe-inspiring battle flag, and your duty is to return with it triumphantly, without tarnishing its honor."


    Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the sound of saluting cannons, the fleet slowly departed Sea Blue Port.


    However, the ships were actually only filled with reinforcements and military supplies; two new legions had not yet completed assembly, and even their numbers had not been determined.


    Cro Zenon was merely a naval commodore, far lower in military status than Nalesho, Antonio, and Layton.


    There was no ceremony when the Da Weineta Legion departed, nor when the Saint Marco Legion did; yet, the departure of a small supply fleet was celebrated with great fanfare, which caused those in the know to smirk quietly.


    Winters was also in this fleet.


    The reason he had returned to his homeland was only partially to escort prisoners; his main reason was to heal from his injury. Dr. Kane had sternly warned him, "If you don''t want to have an arm amputated, then go home and rest properly."


    But after three weeks of rest, Winters felt that his arrow wound had mostly healed.


    He didn''t want to fight, but Antonio was on the front line, Bard, Andre, and Moritz too; he couldn''t bear to stay safe at home while his friends and family shed blood on the battlefield.


    Therefore, Warrant Officer Winters Montagne requested an early return to duty.


    The faces of those on shore saying farewell had already blurred; Winters returned to his cabin. He carefully opened the delicate locket, which housed portraits of Kosha and Ella... and Anna''s as well.


    In the tiny paper pieces, the soul of the portrayed was captured by delicate brushstrokes, a gift from Anna.


    Ana''s voice lingered in his ears: "Write to me! Mr. Montagne, write me a hundred letters; write every day. Tell me everything, you can tell me everything! I will also write to you every day! I will wait for you... I will write to you every day! Please write to me too! Don''t forget me..."


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    Winters gazed for a while, then closed the locket, snapped it shut, and carefully hung it back around his neck.


    Before leaving, he had promised Anna, "When all this is over... I''ll leave the army, or apply for a safe duty."


    "Retiring with the rank of Major isn''t so bad," Winters mused as he lay in bed, pondering the thought.


    ...


    On shore, the silhouette of the ship had slowly disappeared below the horizon at sea. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Elizabeth supported the tearful Mrs. Serviati, while Sofia held the weeping Miss Navarre in her arms.


    Ella hadn''t expected that she, the youngest, would end up being the strongest in the end. She too wanted to cry, but she firmly believed in one thing: "Winters won''t have any trouble."


    ...


    Departing with the soldiers were appointed officials, emissaries for receiving duties, merchants, priests, speculators... the number of non-military personnel was more than double that of the military.


    With dreams of glory and wealth, the Fourth Venetian Fleet set sail for the Tanyria Archipelago.

 Chapter 110 Waves

    "That idiot Layton, he hasn''t progressed a bit after all these years," a man grumbled at the dining table, "It''s convenient for him to abduct civilians from their homes and take them as hostages, but has he ever considered how the Republic is supposed to govern here after the war?"This was a confidential dinner held in Red Sulfur Harbor, with two other people at the table¡ªAntonio and Winters.


    Hearing the speaker relentlessly condemn Major General Rost Layton, Winters just kept his head down and drank his soup without saying a word.


    Instead, Antonio put down his cutlery upon hearing this and defended, "The situation was quite special at that time, and he had no other good options. However, that being said, Layton''s reputation among the islanders is now surprisingly good."


    "Of course it is. First, he scares the islanders so badly they wet their pants, then he plays the hero who rids them of a scourge. The Tanilians are naturally grateful to him," the man scoffed disdainfully, "But that''s all temporary. The islanders will gradually forget their fear and gratitude, and may even forget Layton''s name. They''ll only remember the Venetians who took their family members to fill the trenches."


    If someone else had made these remarks, they likely would have been taken as exaggeration.


    But the man at the dinner table had the credentials to judge Layton, for he was Gus Lanch¡ªAntonio and Layton''s old classmate, and the newly appointed Governor of Red Sulfur Island.


    Gus Lanch''s career trajectory was rather unusual; he graduated from the Military Academy in the same class as Antonio Serviati and Rost Layton, with a specialty in the Cavalry.


    After joining the military, Gus rose rapidly through the ranks and seemed poised to become the first among his peers to receive a general''s baton. However, after sixteen years of service, for some unknown reason, Gus abruptly abandoned his promising military career to enter politics, becoming a glorified but humble civil servant.


    Luckily, with the support of influential figures in the administrative system, Gus started as the lowest-rank public notary and rapidly rose to the position of City Administrator of Modong Port, where he earned a reputation for being "efficient and well-disciplined."


    Thanks to his background, birth, and prior experience, Gus still maintained an intricate connection with the military, and he was considered a key bridge between the administrative and military systems.


    This was precisely why the ruling quintet appointed him as Red Sulfur Island''s first Governor.


    Gus and Antonio enjoyed a deep friendship. As for Winters, he was "the uncle who often visited his home as a child." Antonio privately invited Gus to a dinner and also called Winters over.


    "Military men really shouldn''t be concerned with politics," Antonio smiled tolerantly. He frowned, asking, "However, I''m still not clear on what exactly is meant by this ''semi-colony'' mentioned in the resolutions?"


    "Semi-colony" was the political status given to "new territories" such as Red Sulfur Island and Sea Spring Island by the Venetian ruling committee.


    "Hey, it''s actually quite simple. Think about it, if it''s a semi-colony, what''s the other half?" Gus had a smile on his face as if he knew all along. Enjoy exclusive chapters from My Virtual Library Empire


    "Half overseas territory?"


    "No," Gus shook his finger, "It''s half occupied area. But if that term were used, it would imply recognition of the Confederation''s claim to the archipelago. The quintet neither wants to rule the islands as conquerors nor give Tanilians citizenship rights at present, so they made up the term ''semi-colony.''"


    "It seems then that the gubernatorial government has no intention of truly integrating the islands as a part of Veneta?" The concern on Antonio''s face deepened.


    "The governors have very long-term plans for the islands, I believe they will gradually grant the islands a political status equal to the mainland, but not yet," Gus Lanch said and then walked away from the table towards the window, slowly speaking while looking out at the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor, "If we give the Tanilians citizenship rights now, how is the Republic going to squeeze money out of the islands?"


    At those words, even Winters, who had been quietly dining, stopped his movement.


    Gus returned to his seat, laughing heartily, "To put it bluntly, they sent me here to raise funds."


    "Have the finances become that tight?" Winters couldn''t help asking.


    "I know exactly how much Gold Coin is left in the treasury, but war is certainly an expensive business. The war with the Confederation may profit in the long run, but we still need to fill in the short-term deficit, so here I am."


    Winters felt a pang in his heart, "Fill in... How exactly is it to be filled in?"


    "Since they have chosen to be our enemies, all fixed assets of the Red Sulfur Island Council will be confiscated and liquidated. The possessions owned by the council members will also be seized and auctioned," Gus Lanch explained succinctly, leaning back in his chair with a smile, "The fastest way to create wealth is by building an empire, but even faster than that is by destroying one."


    The council members were essentially all the plantation owners on the island. And the Red Sulfur Island Council''s fixed assets were, in essence, all the common property of the island''s residents.


    "There''s a plantation owner on the island who played a big role in the battle to seize Red Sulfur Harbor, could we give him some leeway?" Winters immediately thought of Kalman from Hongsong Manor.


    "That can be easily arranged," Gus answered with a light tone, "Just send a letter of certification from your corps to me, and I''ll take care of the rest."


    S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 110 Waves_2

    Winters felt somewhat relieved, but then he thought of the slaves on the island and asked, "What about the slaves in the plantations, how should they be dealt with?""That''s simple," Gus Lanch had a plan in mind. "Vineta''s laws do not allow any form of slavery, yet slaves are important property of the plantations. So, once the plantations are confiscated, all slaves on the island would be able to redeem themselves."


    "Where would the slaves get the money to redeem themselves?" Winters couldn''t help but give a wry smile.


    "The Vineta government can lend them the money for their redemption," Gus sipped a little wine, stating it matter-of-factly, "The slaves, once freed, can pay off their debt with their labor."


    Having heard Gus''s words, Winters felt as if... there was not much change, but this was not a field he could meddle in, so he said no more.


    It was Antonio, however, who raised his eyebrows and asked, "Doing this is basically wiping out the wealthy class of Red Sulfur Island in one fell swoop. Aren''t you worried about provoking a popular uprising?"


    "Do you think there are more poor people or rich people on the island?" Gus Lanch spread his hands, smiling as he said, "The main body of an uprising is ''people''. I won''t touch the property of the civilians and the poor. Rich people''s power comes from their wealth; strip them of their wealth, leaving them with only the attribute of ''people'', and I''d like to see how they resist me. Besides, don''t I have you? As long as your swords are sharp enough, I can do whatever I want on Red Sulfur Island. I actually hope they resist, it would be a good opportunity to thoroughly cleanse Red Sulfur Island."


    "It seems you''ve already had a full plan in place," Antonio said carefully, "You''ve never changed over the years, still so... radical."


    "Otherwise, why would they send me to Red Sulfur Island?" Gus Lanch tapped on the table with his knuckles, saying with a satisfied tone, "Who would go after the money of the poor on Red Sulfur Island? Only the rich on the island would do that. Where does the Council''s wealth come from? Isn''t it all squeezed from the poor? I''m different. I can''t be bothered to take money from the poor; I''ll target whoever has it!"


    "My duty was to take Red Sulfur Island, and I have completed that," sighed Antonio. "How to govern here is your responsibility. The Governor must have had his reasons for appointing you."


    "Let''s not talk about this, I know you''re not interested." Gus saw that his old classmate was indifferent to his plans and turned to Winters, who was wrestling with a rack of ribs, "Kid, you''ve got quite a good reputation on the island too! Those representatives of the citizenry asked me several times ''if Centurion Montaigne could stay''. How about staying here to help me? I could use some capable hands." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Previously, Winters and Andre had gone to "buy firewood as a sign of loyalty", not thinking much of it, but after delivering the firewood back to Red Sulfur Harbor, they found that the residents were in desperate need of such living supplies.


    Normally, the surrounding farmers would carry firewood into town to sell to the residents of Red Sulfur Harbor. After the Vineta troops landed, the farmers were too afraid to come, and the residents'' reserves of wood quickly ran out, worrying about what to do next.


    Seeing the urgent need for fuel among the inhabitants of Red Sulfur Harbor, Winters decided to distribute the few carts of firewood he had bought for free, resolving their immediate crisis. Winters also took the opportunity to visit the villages around the harbor, restoring the supply of firewood for Red Sulfur Harbor.


    After this back and forth, Centurion Montaigne''s reputation among the residents of Red Sulfur Harbor had become very good.


    Two legions were about to depart, but some soldiers still needed to remain stationed on Red Sulfur Island. A force of about a centuria was required, and a Centurion was needed.


    Upon hearing Gus''s proposal, Winters truly felt tempted. After all, staying on Red Sulfur Island and dealing with a few plantation owners might be safer than engaging in combat with the Confederate forces, wouldn''t it?


    He thought of Kosha, Ella, and Anna, who were hoping for his safe return home.


    Winters looked towards Antonio.


    When Antonio heard Gus Lanch''s proposal, at first he was taken aback, then he softly said to Winters, "It''s up to you, if you want to stay here, stay."


    Winters gritted his teeth, but in the end he shook his head, stood up, and bowed to Gus, replying, "I lack the ability, and there are others more suited for the duties on Red Sulfur Island."


    "Alright, then." Gus Lanch didn''t say much more, but with a chuckle, he said, "The army is still as heartless as ever, taking away all the good lads, not leaving me any useful ones."


    "Always mocking the army, aren''t you also from the army?" Antonio laughed as well.


    Gus kept a straight face and said, "That''s why when I was young, I was also one heck of a fine young man."


    The two men looked at each other and burst out laughing.


    As Gus Lanch, slightly tipsy, turned his attention back to Winters, he said, "You lad, you''re starting to look more and more like your father... You didn''t resemble him so much when you were smaller... but now the more I look at you, the more you do... Back when I, Andre, and your father were studying at the military academy..."


    Seeing the middle-aged men''s favorite form of entertainment¡ªreminiscing about the glorious days of youth¡ªbeginning again.


    Winters rolled his eyes inwardly, managed an awkward smile, and continued to focus on his soup, leaving Gus and Antonio to reminisce about their youth, exchanging memories back and forth. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    Several hours later, Gus Lanch, thoroughly drunk, was carried into his bedroom by his servants, while Antonio and Winters rode away from the requisitioned Governor''s mansion of Red Sulfur Island.


    "I can''t help but feel," with just his uncle and himself left, Winters no longer held back, "that Uncle Lanch seems to have a personal vendetta with the Confederacy?"

 Chapter 110 Waves_3

    ```Antonio said indifferently, "Because Gus... was originally from Tanyria."


    ...


    ...


    The daunting star-shaped Bastion of Red Sulfur Harbor had held out for only one day, while the old and weakened defenses of Tachi had endured a bitter struggle for an entire month before finally falling.


    The siege exhausted the Venetian soldiers, casting a shadow over the hearts of all the officers. Some even said in private, "If all the Tanyrian defenders were as troublesome as William Kidd, we might as well negotiate peace now, on the basis of our current victories."


    After more than a month of rest, the replenished Da Veneta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion left Red Sulfur Island.


    The officers'' concerns did not completely materialize, as not everyone possessed William Kidd''s tenacious will.


    Three weeks later, the Federation garrison at Throat-Slit Harbor surrendered to the Venetian forces. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another month passed, and the Da Veneta Legion, along with the Saint Marco Legion, seized Santorini Island.


    It was now December, and the climate of the islands during winter was markedly different from the mildness of Veneta. The wintry, cold sea breeze caused skin on faces and hands to crack, revealing blood-red flesh that throbbed with piercing pain at the slightest touch. The temperature had not yet reached freezing point, but even wearing two layers of clothing did not feel warm.


    The waves grew increasingly tumultuous on the ocean, making it difficult for oar-and-sail ships to navigate safely in these unpredictable waters. Only the large round ships were capable of ferrying supplies between the islands and Veneta.


    After their main fleet was destroyed, the Tanyrians changed their strategy and fell back on what they were best at¡ªpiracy.


    The nearby islands, jagged coastal inlets, and miasma-infested lagoons... all these places hid Tanyrian nimble and swift sailing vessels ready to prey on the unarmed Venetian transport ships that lacked protection.


    The Venetian navy was forced to deploy more warships to protect the shipping lanes, sparking brutal raid and counter-raid battles in the wintry Senas Sea.


    Supply efforts became increasingly difficult for the Venetian forces, who had to break from their prior policies and resort to sourcing materials locally. This only fueled further resistance from the Tanyrians.


    Facing an environment unsuitable for combat, Antonio Serviati and Rost Layton still relentlessly pushed their soldiers towards the next Tanyrian city.


    However, when faced with the solid defenses of Gusa, not even the most ruthless officers could drive their exhausted troops to an attack.


    The Battle of Gusa turned into a prolonged and arduous siege. The Venetians were unable to charge, and the defenders of Gusa could not counterattack. Behind three-meter-deep trenches, in the bone-chilling cold, the Venetian army outside the city quietly waited for the people within to starve to death.


    After consuming all their food, mules, horses, dogs, cats, and even rats and leather, the people of Gusa who had been forced to resort to cannibalism, could no longer endure. The civilians and Federation troops began to turn on each other, with the sounds of slaughter and screams so clear that even the Venetians outside could hear them distinctly.


    The next day, when the citizens of Gusa who had killed all the Federation soldiers opened the city gates to surrender, the entering Venetians discovered that this once lively and prosperous city... had completely perished.


    ```


    No Venetian could feel happy, not only because of the hellish scene before their eyes but also because they had received some news:


    The Republic of Forthland army had already been stationed in Golden Harbor and had received a warm welcome from the Tanilia Federation. The Federated Provinces announced: The archipelago had officially become the eighth province of the Federation.


    Lionel, the Secretary of State Affairs, issued a stern demarche, demanding the Republic of Vineta to immediately return the occupied territory of the islands.


    The first "Goddess of Victory" Legion of the Provincial Army pointed its spearhead directly at the occupied zone of Vineta, confronting the Great Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion across the river.


    The Goddess of Victory Legion, eager for combat, provoked multiple small-scale bloody skirmishes, clearly intending to exhaust the Vineta army''s old soldiers and take down both legions in one fell swoop.


    The situation within the Alliance was rapidly heating up, and even the most optimistic Senas natives could no longer confidently declare that a civil war would definitely not break out.


    Many critics from the Federated Provinces clamored to ''completely resolve the chronic illness of Alliance Country, a country in name only'' and ''remove the current situation of Vineta Republic''s military independence''. Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Debela also added a new title to the Governor of Vineta''s title in a tit-for-tat manner: the lord of three-fifths of the Tanilia Islands.


    This title, on one hand, was due to the Venetian''s meticulous and keen nature, capable of measuring everything ¡ª indeed, the territory of the islands occupied by the Venetians was precisely three-fifths.


    But it was also a message to the United Provincials: I might not claim the other two-fifths of Tanyria, but don''t even think about making me spit out this three-fifths of the islands that I have consumed.


    Yet, in the end, the Venetians only got three-fifths. This was the result of the continuous wintertime battles of Antonio and Layton.


    The Venetians fought to the death, but in the end, they were simply preparing a wedding dress for the United Provincials. Without any effort, the United Provincials gained the other two-fifths of the islands, including the most elite parts of Tanyria ¡ª Golden Harbor and the main island.


    On the Tanilia Islands, witnessing the military struggles and the political gambits one after another, Winters passed winter and spring and greeted the new year''s peak summer.


    Compared to this time last year when he stepped out of the military academy full of youthful vigor, Winters had lost twenty-six pounds, transforming from robust to lean. His cheeks sank in, and the lines of his cheekbones and jaw became more pronounced.


    One siege after another had tormented him into this state, and all Venetians had endured the same hardship.


    He began to grow a beard on his chin ¡ª in fact, it was because shaving during the winter had cracked the skin on his face, so everyone simply stopped grooming.


    Many officers had died in combat, and even he, an officer-in-training, had now been promoted to Centurion, responsible for a hundred-man squad that was half short of members.


    At Anna''s request, he wrote many letters, each one very detailed. But not a single letter could be sent back ¡ª the coming and going of ships with the mainland was sporadic, and even officers had no special privilege to occupy precious transportation capacity to send letters.


    A year had passed, the trainee period had ended, and Winters, Bard, Andre, and their contemporaries were about to return to Guidao City to obtain their official military ranks.


    (The Wave Volume Ends)

 Chapter 1 Back-to-School Season

    ```"To the proudest Tanilia!" a gruff male voice overpowered the noisy hubbub.


    "To the most honorable Vineta!" another part of the hall responded.


    Cups clinked and drinks were exchanged; the banquet hall was lively and cheerful.


    In a deserted corridor of the hall, Andreya Chelini slouched against a windowsill, spitting disdainfully onto the mirror-smooth marble floor tiles.


    "I''m so fucking done with this," Andre drained half a cup of strong liquor down his throat: "The gutsy guys from Tanilia are either killed by us or are thinking about how to kill us. Has Debela''s brain been soaked in donkey piss? Relying on these spineless lapdogs to guard the islands?"


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    After a year of struggling on the battlefield, Andre''s speech had completely matched that of the crudest brawlers.


    "Wouldn''t have thought you could spout some golden words out of that dog mouth of yours," Bard sat against the wall on the floor, sipping on special brew honey wine, and spoke in an indifferent tone: "But you have to use some locals, and there''s not much choice."


    Bard, the child who grew up in the Monastery and once the "Bishop," was now colored by blood and fire.


    Although his demeanor remained as honest and gentle as before, Bard''s expression would occasionally reveal a certain numbness and sharpness that comes with being accustomed to life and death.


    Andre glanced irritably at Winters: "Quit fucking touching it. There''s nothing on your chin. You''ve been rubbing it all afternoon. Watching you do that makes me want to touch it too."


    Winters ignored Andre and continued to stroke his bare chin. Although the beard that had been grown for half a year wasn''t very long, shaving it off completely made Montaigne Warrant Officer feel like something was missing.


    This was a high-status cocktail party, and the warrant officers were already highly honored to be invited; hence nobody came to join them for a drink, and Winters and his companions were happy for the peace.


    Before attending the cocktail party, the warrant officers had thoroughly bathed, tidied their facial hair, and donned starched, brand-new dress uniforms, each looking tall, imposing, and full of vigor.


    Only Bard still wore his academy uniform, which had been washed to the point of fading.


    In fact, after a year of war and sharing the spoils, Bard had saved a small sum of money. But instead of spending it on a uniform, he had found a way to send it all to his parents.


    Therefore, he only had this set of academy uniforms and adamantly refused any loans his friends freely offered.


    But Gerard''s Bard, from his time as a cadet, never cared for admiration when wearing this old outfit among his classmates. Let alone after a year of war and repeated brushes with life and death, he cared even less about these external possessions.


    Winters and Andre had no choice but to let him be.


    A bottle of wine was quickly finished, and Andre beckoned a waiter to bring more wine.


    Bard teased: "You cuss them out so fiercely, but you sure aren''t shy when it comes to their wine."


    "Fuck. That. Drinking when it''s free is the way to go!" Andre drained the last bit of wine from the bottle: "This is my humble and glorious defiance. I''m not just going to drink it, I''m gonna take a couple of bottles with me too!"


    Bard waved his hand: "Alright, alright. Rest assured, Debela can probably hear your unyielding cries even in his dreams."


    The waiter didn''t come, but Alvis Marcelo did, carrying two bottles of wine. Marcelo pulled the cork and poured half a glass for Andre, jokingly saying: "You guys sure know how to find a quiet spot."


    Alvis Marcelo was also a contemporary of Winters'', a probationary officer, a warrant officer, only he was from the artillery branch.


    People from the artillery branch... were not very close with those from the infantry or cavalry, mainly because they didn''t attend the same classes.


    Whereas infantry and cavalry often shared many of the same classes in a "big course" setting. As a result, officers from infantry and cavalry were mostly familiar with each other, while they were merely acquaintances with those from artillery, even though all were from Vineta.


    But after fighting side by side for a year, even strangers became close as brothers, so Marcelo and Winters were now very familiar with each other.


    After pouring for Andre, Marcelo filled Winters'' glass.


    As Winters reached for it, he asked in return: "What are you artillery guys huddled up discussing? Seems pretty lively over there." S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You don''t know?" Marcelo seemed surprised: "It''s been all over the artillery circles."


    "Know what?" Winters was baffled.


    "Hey, I''m saying..." Marcelo said mysteriously: "...do you still remember those heavy cannons on Red Sulfur Island? Those thirty-two-pounders."


    Winters, of course, remembered those behemoths placed on the bastions along Red Sulfur Bay that could sink a galley with one shot.


    "What about them?" Winters became even more perplexed: "Didn''t we use those heavy cannons during the attack on Gusa?"


    "Yeah, those heavy cannons," Marcelo nodded and went on: "According to the Tanilia defectors, the Union still hasn''t mastered the technology to cast such heavy artillery. The largest they can produce is a twelve-pound cannon weighing two thousand pounds."


    "So they bought them, what''s so odd about that?" Andre interjected dismissively.


    "Who would sell them?" Marcelo immediately retorted: "Those thirty-two-pound heavy cannons weigh four or five thousand pounds each and have extremely exquisite craftsmanship, smooth bores with scarcely any pits or imperfections. There are only a few foundries around the Inner Sea that can cast such large cannons."


    ```

 Chapter 1 Back-to-School Season_2

    Andre was getting impatient, "Old Ma, just speak plainly, what are you implying? Stop beating around the bush..."Bard held Andre back, signaling him to cool down and frowned as he asked, "Do you mean that to deal with Vineta, someone deliberately provided those cannons to the Tanilians?"


    "Exactly," Marcelo confirmed. "Kovyrian went to check on them when he heard about it. According to him, those cannons didn''t have any inscriptions. We didn''t notice before, but now it seems obvious they were deliberately erased. Not just the heavy artillery on Red Sulfur Island, but other coastal defense cannons that caused us a lot of trouble and that we eventually captured were the same."


    "Now that''s interesting," Winters mused. "When were those cannons delivered to Tanilia?"


    "I don''t know the exact time," Marcelo shook his head. "The Tanili say it was personally overseen by Edward Kenway... but it definitely was before we departed from Haidong Port. Oh, and apparently, William Kidd was also Kenway''s man."


    "Do we even need to think about it?" Andre exclaimed angrily. "It''s definitely those United Provincials who gave the cannons to the Tanili! Wasn''t the Victory Arsenal home before we came back here? There must have been someone stirring up trouble! Damn those mud-farmers! Racking their brains to mess with us... uh, Bard, no offense." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let''s not voice unfounded speculations!" Winters quickly stopped Andre from continuing, "The United Provincials aren''t stupid enough to burn their own arsenal and half the capital just to supply a few cannons to the Federation, right? We''re catching a ship to Guidao City tomorrow, so don''t say anything like this in front of the United Provincials, or they might find an excuse to detain you¡ªand then you''ll have a hard time."


    Bard nodded in agreement, while Andre snorted in dissatisfaction but said no more.


    "Old Ma, tell our classmates not to mention this when we get to Guidao City," Winters then said to Marcelo. "Once we''re back from The Federated Provinces, we''ll have all the time to investigate. Isn''t William Kidd still alive? That guy knows a lot, and I don''t believe we can''t get it out of him with a good interrogation. Our trip to Guidao City is just for an award ceremony, so it''s best not to cause any trouble."


    "Understood, understood," Marcelo chuckled and nodded, touching his cup to Winters'' before returning to the small circle of artillery officers.


    After Marcelo had walked away, Andre said resentfully, "I could guess with my ass where the Tanilis got their cannons from. Vineta, The Federated Provinces, the Empire, the old military factories are just these few, it''s sure as shit not from us. If it''s not the United Provincials who supplied them, could it be the ''Oathbreaker'' aiding the Tanilis? Damn!"


    [Note: "Oathbreaker" is a derogatory nickname for the current Emperor Henry III, who, during the war of succession for the throne, broke his promise by executing his own younger brother and all of his brother''s descendants. As a result, Henry III''s mother "Mary of Lotar" and grandfather "Duke Winfred of Lotar" refused to meet with him until their deaths.]


    [Further Note: The father of "Oathbreaker" Henry was "Madman" Richard, and not a single ruler of the fervent Sun Dynasty had a good nickname.]


    This time Winters did not stop Andre, simply gazing at the mead in his cup and said, "It doesn''t matter who supplied them, the Tanilia Federation has been devoured, the war is over. Once I''m a commissioned officer, I''m finding myself a safer and easy position, and coast to retirement as a Colonel¡ªthat will be enough for me."


    "We had over thirty classmates leave Guidao City together, and only twenty-something returned. So many didn''t even make it to the day of the official commissioning. Fate is really unpredictable," Bard murmured.


    "I now hope that there really is a heaven," Winters whispered. "I hope every fallen comrade is there now."


    "Whether it exists doesn''t really matter, as long as you believe it does," Bard said languidly.


    Andre snorted at this remark.


    Winters emptied the mead from his cup, wiped his mouth, and replied expressionlessly, "If I could fool myself, would I even need to say such stupid things?"


    ...


    ...


    The apprentice officers of Vineta departed directly from the archipelago, crossing the inner sea to arrive at Guidao City. After the award ceremony, they would return to Sea Blue, awaiting their official assignments.


    As for Winters, no matter what he thought, he really did benefit from nepotism. Because Antonio had already planned a position for Winters.


    Before leaving, his foster father lovingly said to Winters, "If you don''t wish to be on the front line, then go and teach. Vineta is setting up its own military academy, and the school is anyhow a quieter place."


    Teach? Winters was somewhat puzzled... but maybe it would be interesting?


    With an uneasy heart, Winters descended onto the familiar yet strange docks of Guidao City.


    Everything in sight had changed beyond recognition; the great fire from a year ago that swept through half the city had left nothing but burnt stones.


    Yet, without destruction, there can be no construction; a new city was rapidly rising from the ashes of the old one. Discover stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    The Victory Arsenal, which had devoured much of the Harbor District''s land, had been relocated to the outskirts of the city, forming its own little town.


    You have to know, the relocation of the Victory Arsenal was a task that had dragged on for over a decade without success. In the end, like the Conqueror King cutting through the Gordian knot, a single fire solved all the problems.

 Chapter 1 Back-to-School Season_3

    The firestorm had burned the munitions factory to the ground, and the last of the tools and raw materials were easily taken away by more than a dozen horse-drawn carts.The port area no longer had the layers-upon-layers "onion" structure, instead, planned building clusters had replaced the wildly grown city. The winding alleys had become straight stone-paved roads with drainage ditches installed as well.


    Winters and his peers could hardly recognize Guidao City, which had changed beyond recognition with each passing day.


    But the joy of returning to their "second homeland" quickly faded due to the tense relations between The Federated Provinces and Vineta. As soon as the Venetian apprentice officers set foot on Provincial soil, they were under strict surveillance.


    They were not allowed to move freely, nor were they allowed to visit the "new Guidao City." The Venetians were taken straight back to the dormitories at the Provincial Army Officers'' Academy, and they couldn''t even move around freely on campus. Even Bard, a fellow Provincial, was no exception.


    "Damn it! They''re treating us like prisoners..." Andre cursed as he paced back and forth in the dormitory.


    Winters didn''t seem to be angry; he comfortably lay back down onto his own bed... It was a curious feeling. He had spent over a thousand nights on this bed and was incredibly familiar with it, the broken wooden planks, the carvings on the headboard, the places that had been stained black by fire.


    It felt like he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar face.


    "Aike!" Winters yelled out in surprise.


    Axel was delighted and punched Winters in excitement, and the two embraced each other in a bear hug.


    When Axel heard that the Venetian classmates were returning to the academy, he rushed over immediately, and other United Provincials classmates also arrived.


    There might have been friction between the Venetian Republic and the Provincial Republic, but that had nothing to do with the military academy students, nor would it affect the friendship between them.


    It seemed at that moment that Marshal Ned''s vision had become a reality, with Venetian and United Provincials cadets gathering together, laughing and horsing around as if they had returned to their school days.


    "My goodness! What happened to you? You look so haggard," Axel said, clicking his tongue in concern as he looked at Winters'' gaunt face.


    "Really?" Winters looked around at his peers in the dormitory.


    The United Provincials classmates looked rosy and vibrant. By contrast, the Venetian classmates appeared tired and haggard but also more mature and seasoned.


    Several names came up, but upon hearing these names, the Venetians'' expressions grew somber¡ªthey had all died in Tanilia.


    "I bet your swordsmanship has gone rusty, hasn''t it?" Axel said enthusiastically. "How about we have a match right now?"


    "Forget it, I surrender. I really haven''t practiced in a long time," Winters laughed and raised his hand in surrender, thinking to himself: But now I have a much better weapon¡ªmy gun.


    "By the way, how''s Professor Christian? Is he doing all right?" Winters suddenly remembered the director of the Spellcasters'' Research and Teaching Department and was eager to consult him on a pressing issue.


    Axel shook his head upon hearing this: "Not good. He''s been dismissed, and he''s not in a good state of mind. The Army Ministry has ordered him to reflect on his actions and stay home. He''s currently under house arrest at the academy instructor''s residence. Want me to take you to see him?"


    "I''d like to go," Winters said with a wry smile, "but I can''t leave this door."


    The Venetian apprentice officers were confined to their dormitory, but this was not a problem for Axel.


    Because there was a paradox in the surveillance system: There weren''t enough people in the academy, so who was watching Winters and the others now? It was Winters'' juniors...


    With a stern glance, the junior officers stationed outside the dormitory obediently made way.


    On their way to visit Professor Christian''s residence, Winters and Axel passed a lifeless two-story detached building.


    Winters stopped in his tracks¡ªbecause it was the former home of General Antoine-Laurent.


    "What''s the matter?" Axel also stopped and asked with curiosity.


    "It''s nothing, I just suddenly remembered the former owner of this place," Winters replied.


    Gazing at the somewhat dilapidated house before him, Winters thought, "Yes, it was from this place that Sofia stole the notes."


    Winters approached the small building, wanting to take a closer look, but the doors and windows were all nailed shut with wooden boards, so he could see nothing of the inside of the house and had no choice but to leave, disappointed.


    In the faculty residence, Winters met Christian Huygens.


    From his casual talk with Aike, he had come to understand. Although it was not admitted publicly, Christian had been identified by the Provincial Army as the person ultimately responsible for the "Dragonfire Devastation" that occurred a year earlier.


    Even though the order to use spellcasters to change the wind direction wasn''t given by Christian, he was definitely going to be saddled with the blame.


    However, dealing with Christian, a seasoned spellcaster, was giving the Provincial Army''s head a headache.


    Spellcasters¡ªneither could you kill them nor could you punish them.


    The figurative plank was laid on Christian''s shoulders lightly; he was merely dismissed from his position and was reflecting at home. As for whether he should be brought before a military court, it was said that the higher-ups were still considering it.


    But the current problem was that Christian''s mental state also seemed to have some issues.


    At least, that''s what Winters thought. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Christian before him no longer looked like a soldier at all; he was unkempt and disheveled. Despite the extreme heat of midsummer, Christian was tightly wrapped in a long robe, wearing a pair of furry slippers. As to what, if anything, he wore under the robe, Winters dared not imagine.


    Christian''s residence didn''t seem like a place where a person lived. The small faculty apartment was filled with experimental equipment, and there were drafts covered with handwriting everywhere.


    What was most insane was that these drafts weren''t just thrown randomly on the floor. Instead, they were meticulously laid out, one by one, even carefully trimmed to fit around table legs and corners, as if a layer of paper carpet had been laid on the floor.


    Winters didn''t dare to walk further into the room, fearing he might disturb the neat array of papers.


    "Oh... it''s you guys! Come in, come in," Christian said, heartily welcoming Winters and Axel, though he seemed to be sleepwalking, his eyes unfocused and not looking at the floor as he walked.


    Winters and Aike exchanged glances.


    Winters thought: Instructor Christian may have gone insane.


    Axel thought: Instructor Christian has become even more insane.


    Unable to resist the instructor''s enthusiastic invitation, the two of them still carefully walked into Christian''s apartment.


    "Welcome," Christian said, as he brewed tea for his guests in two cups that had evidently contained something else before, "It''s been a very long time since I''ve had guests."


    "Please drink," he said, placing two cups of tea in front of Winters and Axel, then wrapping his robe more tightly around himself.


    Neither Winters nor Aike dared to drink, merely holding onto the handles of the cups and not braving to bring them to their lips.


    "Please drink," Christian urged them repeatedly, "Please drink."


    Winters''s strong instinct to save himself came to the rescue, as he looked at the drafts on the table and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He put down his teacup and began to read the drafts carefully.


    Seeing Winters engrossed in reading his drafts, Christian stopped speaking and simply wrapped himself tighter in his robe, shivering non-stop on his stool.


    After reading for a while, Winters finally looked up and asked with confusion, "Sir, are you currently researching the true nature of the Dragonfire Devastation?"


    "I see," Axel said, having an epiphany. He thought to himself, "Being dismissed over the Dragonfire Devastation, Instructor Christian must have been unable to let it go. Holding onto it, it eventually led to his mental issues. He is truly pitiable."


    "No," Christian made a startling statement, "That was my research project nine months ago, I already know the truth about the Dragonfire Devastation."

 Chapter 2 Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse

    So, what was the true nature of the fire dragon that razed the city?This question had always perplexed Winters.


    If one were to go by the words of the city''s citizens, the fire dragon''s rampage was the masterpiece of some mysterious sorcerer;


    according to religious figures, it was a punishment for the morally corrupt sinners.


    Regardless, there was one point people firmly believed: the fire dragon''s destruction was certainly not a natural phenomenon.


    On one hand, Winters did not believe the incident was related to magic, since the spellcasters had attempted to divert the wind direction out of goodwill that night; on the other hand, he also did not think an ordinary fire could invoke a fire tornado.


    The man sitting before him, wrapped in a robe and shivering on a stool, claimed to have unraveled the truth behind the fire dragon''s destruction.


    Winters was eager to know the answer.


    Axel was also very curious.


    Christian opened a drawer and began to rummage through it.


    Winters and Axel exchanged glances; the mystery was about to be revealed, and they both felt suddenly nervous.


    What Christian found was merely a smoking pipe. He then carefully filled it with tobacco, lit it with magic, and took a satisfying puff.


    Winters and Axel watched with wide eyes as the instructor completed the entire smoking process.


    However, Christian''s expression was one of complete indulgence, as if he really just wanted to smoke after all.


    "Teacher..." Winters couldn''t hold back any longer and was about to ask.


    "Puff." Christian blew smoke directly into Winters''s face.


    The spicy smoke was inadvertently inhaled by Winters, causing him to cough repeatedly and tears to flow, filling Christian''s not so spacious living room with swirling smoke.


    Winters felt as though he was being mocked and asked somewhat displeased, "What are you trying to do...?"


    "Shh." Christian placed his index finger to his lips, signaling Winters to be quiet. He pointed to the ceiling and whispered a word, "Look."


    Upon hearing this, Winters and Aike looked up at the smoke.


    Christian gently waved his fingers, one circle, two circles, three circles... Something miraculous happened:


    Starting from a central point, the aimlessly drifting smoke suddenly seemed to have a life of its own, swirling in mid-air. Following the rhythm of Christian''s fingers, one circle, two circles, three circles...


    The smoke spiraled like a tornado, forming a ring-shaped structure. There was no smoke in the center, resembling the calm eye of a storm.


    The smoke rings spun faster and wider, until finally surpassing the limits of Christian''s control and abruptly dissipated.


    Winters was gobsmacked, while Axel was still dazed.


    Aike pointed to the ceiling in confusion and asked, "Is this... magic?"


    "Yes, it''s magic," Christian replied contentedly, taking another drag of his pipe.


    "Oh, that''s pretty interesting," Aike said with a foolish grin. "So this is magic, huh? It doesn''t seem like much, does it?"


    "Show some respect!" Winters grabbed Aike''s arm and swallowed nervously, "This is simply... unprecedented... I''ve never seen magic like this before. It''s incredible, truly incredible."


    Laymen watch the excitement while insiders appreciate the technique.


    Clearly, Christian had used Kinetic Magic. Changing an object''s kinetic energy was not a difficult task for spellcasters.


    Nearly all Kinetic Spells are simply about accelerating something, faster and faster. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Though simple and efficient, they are also thoughtless, brutish, and lack depth. So much so that some spellcasters who specialize in Fire-type Spells sarcastically call Kinetic Spells "dummy spells."


    Meaning that, much like a club, no matter how big, it''s still a club, with no technical sophistication to speak of.


    Being able to precisely control the formless and shapeless smoke with such ease was an astonishing skill. Winters had only seen this level of magical technique in one person, and that man was Moritz van Nassau.


    What was more incredible was¡ªrotation?


    Rotation?


    There was no such effect as rotation in the existing Kinetic Spells, which are all straightforward.


    Making an object accelerate in one direction was already challenging enough for a spellcaster''s skills, let alone rotation... not blind, random motion, but controlled rotational movement. Winters had no idea how to achieve such an effect.


    Rotation... fire tornado?


    "Is this the spell that summoned the fire tornado?" Winters asked excitedly. "Was the fire dragon''s destruction triggered by this spell?"


    Axel was also taken aback and turned to look at the instructor alongside Winters.


    "No," Christian exhaled a mouthful of smoke. Oddly, he was no longer shivering while he smoked. "This is the result of my research in recent months; the fire dragon''s destruction has nothing to do with this spell."


    "Then what exactly happened with the fire dragon''s destruction?" Aike couldn''t stand the instructor''s roundabout narrative any longer and asked bluntly.


    "Oh, you want to know about that?" Christian said in a nonchalant tone. "It''s very simple, the reason for the fire dragon''s destruction is quite simple; I''ll give you a demonstration and you''ll understand."


    Christian set down the pipe and started rummaging through his things again, finding a thin-walled glass cylinder and a small candlestick.


    Winters noticed: as soon as Christian''s hands left the pipe, his body began to shiver uncontrollably. Winters grew suspicious but said nothing.


    Christian placed the very short burning candlestick on the table and covered it with the glass cylinder.


    The candle was burned down to a very short stub, and with the candlestick, it was no more than ten centimeters tall. The glass cylinder, half a meter in height and open at both ends, covered the candlestick like a lampshade.

 Chapter 2 Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_2

    Christian snapped his fingers and lit a candle, asking Winters, "Do you know the Wind Control Skill?""I do." Winters was of course adept at using this most basic of Kinetic Spells.


    "Follow my actions and send the wind inside." Christian snuffled arbitrarily, speaking somewhat listlessly, "Gradually apply force, don''t blow out the candle."


    Just as Winters wondered how he was supposed to send the wind, Christian reached out and "opened" the glass cylinder.


    It was then that Winters and Aike realized that the glass cylinder on the table was actually composed of two identical half-cylinders, as if a very sharp sword had vertically split a complete glass cylinder into two halves.


    Christian offset the two halves of the cylinder, creating two symmetrical gaps in what had been a seamlessly joined glass cylinder. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Wind Control Skill, do it like me." Christian gestured for Winters to follow his spellcasting movements.


    Cooperating with the instructor, Winters engaged the Wind Control Skill and each directed wind into a gap. Winters exerted himself to control the outflow of magic, gradually increasing his force.


    As the magic-driven wind grew stronger, something astonishing happened.


    The candle began to burn violently, and the flame, which had been stable, now started rotating and extending upwards. Winters remembered Andre''s description of "a serpent of flame ascending towards the sky."


    In the glass cylinder before them, a miniature fire serpent was rising into the air, with the flames at the top even shooting half a meter out of the cylinder.


    Christian waved his hand lazily, "That''s enough; stop now."


    However, when Winters and Christian ceased casting, the fire serpent did not disappear. Within the glass cylinder, there was still a visible red line, until the candle rapidly burned down to nothing at a visible pace.


    "Fire... Fire Dragon Burning the City?" Axel stammered in amazement, "But isn''t this too small?"


    "Exactly, this is the ''Fire Dragon,'' the same thing that burned down the Victory Arsenal," Christian, the instructor, yawned and then resumed smoking his pipe.


    "You mean to say... the Fire Dragon Burning the City is a natural phenomenon?" Winters raised an eyebrow.


    "Yes, and no." Christian exhaled a ring of smoke, "If anything, it''s a man-made natural phenomenon. Alas, let me get a chart to explain and you''ll understand."


    Before he had finished speaking, Christian began rummaging through his belongings, finally pulling out a dust-covered scroll of parchment from the top shelf.


    He spread out the parchment across the desk, and Winters and Axel leaned in to take a closer look, immediately recognizing what it was.


    It was a map, a map of Guidao City. To be precise, it was the old map of Guidao City before the great fire. The Victory Arsenal still occupied more than half of the port area, and the city retained its chaotic, unplanned onion-like structure.


    "By supplying air to the fire source at a specific angle, a fire tornado is formed, basically a tornado plus flames." Wrapped in his floor-length robe, Christian explained while pointing at the map with his pipe. His eyes were listless, but his speech was sharp and clear, "On the day of the fire, the buildings functioned as wind channels. The wind driven by magic mingled with the sea breeze coming from the sea and converged at the fire site, thus forming the fire tornado."


    Winters remembered the events of that day while Axel suddenly had a revelation.


    But Christian wasn''t finished; he continued to muse, "The fire tornado constitutes a positive feedback loop. It sucks in air from its surroundings, and the more air that comes into contact with the flames, the stronger the fire burns. The more fiercely the fire burns, the larger the fire tornado grows, until it consumes all burnable material."


    "So the Fire Dragon Burning the City was just a coincidence! It was an accident that led to the creation of the fire tornado. And yet, they blamed you... Why didn''t you write a letter in your defense?" Axel protested, slapping his thigh indignantly.


    "Defend myself? What is there to defend?" Christian''s expression was strangely peculiar, "The Fire Dragon Burning the City occurred because the spellcasters changed the wind direction; why would I defend myself?"


    "So by that logic, the fire tornado was just a fluke, not replicable?" Winters suddenly felt a tinge of regret.


    He had always thought that if he could unravel the secret of the Fire Dragon Burning the City, the spellcasters'' book of spells might include a new "Fire Tornado Spell."


    However, according to Christian, the Fire Dragon Burning the City was merely a coincidence, making the hope for a Fire Tornado Spell seem remote.


    "Replicable?" Christian sniffed again and calmly dropped a bombshell of a statement, "Of course, it can be."


    With that, Christian found another candle and lit it.


    He made a spellcasting gesture without even looking at the candle. And the flame on the candle began to rotate and ascend once again, like the miniature fire tornado in the glass cylinder before.


    "Look, there it is," Christian said casually.


    Winters was completely astonished.


    "After figuring out the Fire Dragon Burning the City, I found the motion of rotation very intriguing." Christian yawned again and turned to Winters, "Montaigne, how many types of acceleration magic do you think there are?"


    [Note: Christian has not yet encountered the "Antoine-Laurent Notes," hence he still uses the old term, calling "Kinetic Spells" "acceleration spells."]


    "Um, isn''t there just one type?"


    "No, there used to be one, but now there are two," Christian answered, "One is the acceleration you learned, linear motion, which I call linear acceleration [kinetic energy]. The other is the rotational motion I just demonstrated to you, which I call angular acceleration [rotational kinetic energy]. Do you understand what this means, Montaigne?"

 Chapter 2 Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_3

    Christian''s narration shattered Winters'' understanding of magic, completely overturning the existing kinetic spell system of the Alliance. Yet his tone was as if he was saying, "It''s really hot today."Axel was utterly dumbfounded; he simply couldn''t understand what the two in front of him were talking about.


    Winters was still digesting his instructor''s words, his brain almost coming to a halt: "Uh... I don''t know."


    Christian tapped off some ash from his cigarette and continued with his shocking statements, "This means that Antoine-Laurent was wrong, your training methods are wrong, all the Alliance spellcasters'' training is wrong. Angular acceleration and linear acceleration are two abilities, but during training, you treat them as one, as if you''re training a hand and a foot to be one limb. Montagne Cadet, what do you think is the essence of the Deflection Spell?"


    "Applying acceleration perpendicular to the object''s direction of motion," Winters reflexively recited the content of the books.


    "Wrong, Cadet Montagne, wrong," Christian patted Winters'' shoulder and said in a lecturing tone, "The essence of the Deflection Spell is to use angular acceleration to rotate an object. You use linear acceleration to release a Deflection Spell, just like using the common tongue to simulate the pronunciation of an ancient language. It''s not clear and has a strong accent. Or to put it another way... it''s like using your foot to scoop soup with a spoon. So, Montagne Cadet, what do you think is the Fire Tornado Spell?"


    The barrage of life-and-death questions brought Winters'' thoughts to a complete halt; he felt as though he was back in the classroom, being called repeatedly to answer questions.


    Christian answered his own question: "The Fire Tornado Spell is actually a composite spell combining a Deflection Spell with a Wind Control Skill. Get it? Go back and practice, and you''ll be able to do it."


    The living room fell into a deathly silence.


    It took a long while before Winters began to speak.


    "Teacher, do you realize what you''ve just said?" The recovered Winters was even trembling a bit.


    "What, what?" Now it was Christian''s turn to be puzzled.


    "You deconstructed kinetic spells! Deconstructed, the true deconstruction, complete and utter deconstruction, finding order and principles amidst chaos. This is an achievement that even Antoine-Laurent couldn''t accomplish! The Magic Combat Bureau... the Alliance should give you a ton-heavy medal!" Winters was extremely excited, his speech almost incoherent.


    "Oh." Christian replied casually.


    ...


    ...


    On the way back to the dormitory, Aike said to Winters in confusion, "I still don''t understand why you''re so excited. It doesn''t seem like much, does it? Being able to make things spin... is that so impressive?"


    "It''s very impressive, and it''s hugely significant," Winters, having left Christian''s house, was still in a state of excitement, "Do you know? Perhaps the Empire''s court mages have long been able to use the Fire Tornado Spell, but they only know how to ''use'' it, they can never understand its mysteries. Our Alliance spellcasters'' abilities come from rationality, we crave to understand the laws of everything. The more we understand the laws that govern the world, the more we can achieve, so our potential is infinite. From Antoine-Laurent to Christian, one day the old-era magicians will be left far behind by us.


    Winters'' visit to Christian today actually had another purpose; everything that happened was an unexpected gain.


    What Winters originally wanted to ask was of even greater significance; he wanted to inquire of the former director of the spellcaster training department: on the night when the Fire Dragon Scorched the City, whether the simultaneous use of spells by dozens of spellcasters led to some unexpected change, like...amplification, expansion.


    Upon seeing Christian, Winters even speculated that perhaps it was the spell overload that night that caused his mind to become abnormal, because it was very likely that Christian was the one actually guiding the spells that night. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    But Winters held back and didn''t ask.


    Because he realized that if Vineta wanted to establish its own military academy, perhaps... perhaps now was the best time to "invite" Teacher Christian to Vineta.


    But if Winters wanted to bring Christian to Vineta, he mustn''t let The Federated Provinces realize the value of Christian Huygens.


    And if Christian could uncover the answers to Winters'' questions, it might mean more to the Alliance spellcasters than the discovery of angular momentum...


    ...


    ...


    When Winters and Axel returned to the dormitory, two officers in uniform from The Federated Provinces were standing guard outside with a group of unfamiliar soldiers.


    They were not cadet officers, but actual soldiers, with faces Winters did not recognize.


    "You there! Come here!" Seeing Winters and Axel, one of the mustachioed officers questioned harshly, "Are you two from Vineta?"


    "I am, he''s not," Winters replied. The term ''from Vineta'' made him very uncomfortable.


    Hearing the answer, the mustachioed officer pointed at Winters and shouted, "That''s him! Seize him!"


    Five or six ferocious soldiers rushed over and subdued Winters.


    "On what grounds are you arresting me!" Winters was incensed but he did not resist, nor could he, as the soldiers had tied him up.


    Axel, clueless about the situation, asked angrily, "Sir! We were just taking a walk around the school, is there a need to arrest him?!"


    "Shut up!" The small mustache stepped forward and gave Aike a heavy slap, "You took him away without permission, and I haven''t even settled the score with you yet! Get yourself to the military tribunal! I''ll deal with you after I''m done here!"


    Aike stood at attention without moving.


    The small mustache gave Aike another slap, "Get out!"


    Axel from Orange took a deep look at the mustachioed officer, saluted, and without saying a word, turned and walked towards the direction of the military tribunal, occasionally looking back at Winters.


    Another officer rode up to the front of the barracks and from a distance asked loudly, "Have you found him?"


    "Found him!" the small mustache snatched the chance to reply, "All present, we''ve found everyone."


    The mounted officer glanced at Winters, and Winters returned the look with eyes full of raging fury.


    The mounted officer sneered and waved his hand, "Take him away!"


    The small mustache pushed Winters outside the door of the Army Officer Academy, where several carriages were parked. These were specially made carriages for transporting prisoners, large and pitch-black, reinforced with steel bars, without a single window around.


    Without much thought, the small mustache pointed to a carriage, and the soldiers pushed Winters into it.


    Chaotic noises erupted inside the carriage.


    "Who?"


    "What''s going on?" S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who''s come?"


    "It''s Winters!" Andre''s irritable voice rang out, "It''s Winters Montagne!"


    There was a small window with iron bars on the top of the carriage that let in a sliver of light. Utilizing the dim light, Winters saw there were other people inside¡ªfellow Vineta citizens from his cohort.


    His classmates fumbled in the darkness and quickly untied the ropes binding Winters. Winters asked Andre calmly, "What''s happening?"


    Andre replied irritably, "I. Don''t. Damn. Know... Bloody. Federated Provinces. Hick."


    After the carriage door was shut, several more metallic clanging sounds followed, suggesting it was reinforced with multiple structures.


    Not long after Winters got into the carriage, it began to move.


    Without windows, the Vineta warrant officers had no way of telling where they were being taken.


    Cries for attention, ignored.


    Curses, unanswered.


    The carriage kept moving until night fell, then stopped.


    Winters listened carefully to the sounds outside, which seemed to indicate they were changing horses.


    The small mustache''s face appeared at the carriage''s top window as he supervised the soldiers stuffing water bags and bread into the carriage.


    "I need to pee!" Andre shouted angrily.


    "Use the bucket," replied the small mustache.


    "I need to shit!" Andre grew even more furious.


    "That too."


    "Mother. Fucker!!!!"


    "I''ll thank you on behalf of my mother."


    "Where are you taking us?" Winters asked coldly. He seemed no longer angry, or rather, he was too angry for it to show.


    "Where are you going?" The small mustache''s face twisted into a sinister smile, "You''re going to Paratu, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses."

 Chapter 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing

    The rooftops of the Army Ministry of the Federated Provinces Republic were nearly blown off by the clamor. No sooner had Paratu''s consul in Guidao City stormed out after a furious argument than Vineta''s chief advisor in the Federated Provinces arrived, fuming with anger.The military''s actions were secretive, swift, and efficient, with no advance warning whatsoever.


    By the time the Vinetan officials stationed in the Federated Provinces learned that all the Vinetan cadet officers awaiting commission in the military academy had disappeared, it had already been three days since Winters and the others were taken away.


    "[Vineta curse word]! What on earth are you doing! What the hell do you intend to do!" Domenico Roye, Vineta''s chief advisor in the Federated Provinces, slammed his hand on the table and cursed, spitting so much that William Balenz''s, the head of the Army Ministry''s external liaison department, face was covered in it.


    In terms of military rank, Balenz actually outranked Roye by one level, but since the Federated Provinces were in the wrong, Balenz had to appease Roye with a smile, "Please, calm down, let me explain. I assure you, Colonel Roye, that we in the Army Ministry were truly completely unaware of this matter..."


    Roye punched the desk so hard it cracked, "You dare say you didn''t know? Every little thing in Guidao City happens right under the eyes of your Army Ministry, and you still dare say you didn''t know?!"


    "We really didn''t know!" Balenz said earnestly, "The operations headquarters handled this matter all by themselves, keeping even the Army Ministry in the dark. We only learned of this incident very recently and had no prior hints at all."


    The separation of the military command and military administration in the Federated Provinces Republic had been a chronic issue since its independence. Vinetan military had only one "palace," while Federated Provinces military had their counterpart "departments."


    Other republics could see this flaw in the Federated Provinces clearly and took it as a warning. Especially Vineta, which feared becoming a second Federated Provinces, controlled the powers of military officers with a large number of stringent laws.


    But Balenz''s excuses couldn''t deceive Domenico Roye. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire


    "Bullshit!" Roye was even more irate, "You can''t control the operations headquarters, but since when can they reach into your Army Ministry?! Since when did the military academy become part of the operations system?! You dare say the military academy isn''t under your military administration?!"


    "Correct, the military academy is under the jurisdiction of the military administration," Balenz said helplessly. "But the jurisdiction over the Army Officer Academy is in the hands of ''Alliance Army Headquarters!''"


    ...


    ...


    The carriage travelled on the stone-paved Guzhi Road, the wheels bumping and jostling slightly.


    Winters was feigning sleep with his eyes closed.


    The marks on the wooden planks indicated that the group had spent sixteen days inside the carriage, during which the Vinetan warrant officers could only eat stale bread and drink water that had started to stink.


    A large wooden barrel filled with waste was placed in the corner of the carriage; it was a miracle that it hadn''t been overturned during the journey.


    But the barrel inevitably emitted a foul odor, mixing with the sweat smell in the poorly ventilated carriage, lingering for a long time.


    The Vinetans had become numb; they couldn''t tell whether their own bodies smelled worse or the barrel did.


    If it hadn''t been for the naturally stronger constitution of an officer, this long and painful "journey" would have been enough to take down most of them.


    Everyone suffered tremendously. On the first day, the young Vinetans cursed and swore, but by the sixth day, they didn''t even have the strength to talk.


    There were six people in the carriage Winters was in, and only Andrea Chellini still had the energy to speak. Andrea stubbornly tried to sharpen the edge of an iron spoon on the metal plate, cursing hoarsely after a few scrapes.


    When they were locked in the carriage, the soldiers of the Federated Provinces took everyone''s weapons, but Andrea had sneakily kept a spoon on him.


    "That''s enough." Andrea tested the sharpened edge with his finger, satisfied, "It''ll do."


    "Let me see?" Winters opened his eyes.


    "Here." Andrea handed over the spoon to Winters.


    Winters tried it on his face and said with a laugh, "This thing''s hardly good enough for shaving, let alone thinking of other uses."


    "It''ll do," Andrea laughed too, "They can''t keep us locked up forever... hmph, the moment they open the carriage door, I''ll make my move and kill those mudsuckers!"


    Another voice came in the dark, "Fine, leave that little bearded bastard to me. I swear I''ll tear off his beard." S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Vinetans didn''t know the small-bearded man''s name, so they nicknamed him "Goat Man," based on his beard, which eventually evolved into "Little Beard Man" amidst their cursing.


    The men found humor amidst their suffering, and low chuckles filled the carriage.


    However, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the inside of the carriage fell silent.


    Winters listened intently; it sounded as if they were changing horses outside.


    Since setting off, the carriage had been moving night and day, always changing horses without changing carriages. The only possibility to pull this off was by using a courier station system.


    If they were using a courier station system, it meant that the transportation was not a rash act by individuals, but rather had at least some degree of official support.


    Every time they thought of this, everyone in the carriage grew more anxious.


    This time, however, the changing of the horses took unusually long, and the warrant officers only felt the outside grow silent. Locked inside the carriage, they had no sense of time and could only observe the sun''s position through the iron window on the carriage ceiling,


    But then a long time passed, and the carriage did not start moving again.


    "Don''t tell me they''ve left us in the middle of nowhere?" Andrea suddenly panicked, pounding on the carriage wall, "Hey! Let us out! Do you hear me?! Let us out!"

 Chapter 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing_2

    The annoying face with a little mustache didn''t appear at the iron bars, but Winters heard other sounds: the familiar shouting of his classmates and the same banging on the carriage.The Venetians in the other carriages heard Andre''s shouts and responded in the same way.


    Even though they could not see each other, the warrant officers confirmed in this way that there were four carriages, and all twenty-seven warrant officers who had returned to Guidao City from Vineta for the conferring ceremony were there¡ªincluding Bard, the United Provincial.


    But beyond that, the warrant officers received no response.


    The sun outside the iron window set once, then rose again, and only Winters continued to hit the carriage with his spoon.


    Just as Winters, who was beginning to dehydrate, was about to give up, footsteps sounded outside the carriage.


    The iron lock was smashed open, the carriage door was split, and the blinding light made the warrant officers, who had grown accustomed to the darkness, instinctively cover their eyes.


    Unable to see clearly for a moment, Winters clung tightly to the arm of the person who had come to rescue him and asked eagerly, "Where are we now?"


    "Where?" The person asked was quite puzzled, "Where else could we be? Of course, we''re in Kingsfort."


    [Note: Kingsfort - Hetumoger, the capital of the Republic of Palatu, named for the legend that seven ancient kings had sworn oaths here.]


    ...


    ...


    In a sense, at the moment Winters was locked in the carriage, Marshal Ned Smith''s last wish was fulfilled.


    Only it was in an unexpected way and for reasons completely contrary to Marshal Ned''s original intentions.


    When Winters learned that he was in Kingsfort, news that Vineta graduates were being sent to the Republic of Palatu had also reached Sea Blue.


    This move by the Provincial Army was absurd, ridiculous, incomprehensible, and even... childish.


    Why would they do this? That was the question looming in the minds of all Vinetan military and political personnel.


    By what right could they do this? That was the fury rising in the hearts of all Venetians who learned of this. Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    But the deed was done, and the problem had to be addressed first.


    "This matter is really a bit complicated," Colonel Andro said, puffing on a stale cigarette, "It''s not easy to resolve."


    The Vineta Army Headquarters Throne Room was filled with smoke; the war plan against Tanilia had been decided here a year ago.


    A year later, the senior Vineta Army officials gathered here again. But this time, they were discussing the career of a group of lieutenants, making the officers in attendance feel a sense of dark humor.


    "What''s so difficult about it?" Another officer in the meeting room was puzzled, "They sent people to Palatu, can''t we just bring them back?"


    Colonel Andro glanced at the questioner impatiently and said, "They weren''t ''sent'' to Palatu, they were ''assigned'' to Palatu, understand? Assigned! Their military records went with them! The kids who graduated this year are now officially officers belonging to the Republic of Palatu!"


    "What? Why were our Venetians assigned to the highlands?" The questioner was shocked and dismayed.


    Andro sighed and had to explain the reasons in detail once again.


    Why could the Military Academy assign Venetians to the highlands?


    Procedurally speaking, the Military Academy indeed had the authority to assign Vineta graduates to the Republic of Palatu.


    Because the military records of the cadets did not belong to the various republics, but to the Senas Alliance.


    Take Winters as an example; when he was enrolled in the Army junior school and the preparatory school, he was still an ordinary citizen. Only after being admitted to the Military Academy did he acquire a military record and became a true soldier with the rank of private.


    So although Winters was born in Vineta, during his time at the academy his military record was not with the Republic of Vineta but with the Military Academy, and his personal file was kept by the academy''s records office.


    The Military Academy was also affiliated with the headquarters of the Provincial Army...


    In other words, cadets at the military academy are not "soldiers of the various republics" but "soldiers of the Alliance."


    Before cadets are assigned to the various republics, the Alliance Army possesses absolute and complete personnel authority over them.


    The problem arises with this "assignment."


    "From whence you came, to thence you shall return." This rule has been in place for nearly thirty years since Marshal Ned established the academy, and it has never gone wrong.


    Vineta cadets return to Vineta, United Provincials stay in The Federated Provinces; everyone is distinct and keeps to their own side.


    However, the problem is that Marshal Ned also retained a clause in the school charter that reads, "When conditions permit, graduates should be allocated rationally irrespective of their region of origin."


    Marshal Ned Smith had the best intentions, hoping this would bridge the gaps between the republics.


    But what do "when conditions permit" and "rational allocation" mean?


    No explanation.


    No explanation... which means the interpretation is up to whoever holds the charter.


    Although this power has never been used, in reality, the Alliance Army Committee could assign the military academy graduates however they wished.


    When people like Winters were "rationally allocated" to the Republic of Palatu, they legally became soldiers of the Palatu Army.


    "[Expletive]! Isn''t the Alliance Army Committee just The Federated Provinces Army in disguise?" Hearing Andre''s explanation, the attending Vineta generals were staggered, "By... By what right?"


    All the generals in the meeting room hail from the Army Officer Academy, yet they had never heard of such dealings.


    "Indeed, the Alliance institution is nothing but a puppet of The Federated Provinces. But procedurally speaking, the Alliance Army Committee has complete and absolute authority over the personnel assignments of the cadets. That''s just the way it is, we''ve been played by the United Provincials," Colonel Andre said with a touch of despondency.


    "Have the United Provincials lost their minds? What''s the point of such disgusting maneuvers? Will sending a couple dozen lieutenants to Palatu prevent us from waging war? Isn''t this purely to disgust us?" Colonel Boone, in charge of the military police, was infuriated.


    Many officers also started cursing, creating chaos in the meeting room.


    "Have you seen a couple in passionate love?" General Zio, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke up.


    The Throne Hall fell suddenly silent, as the abrupt mention of love affairs left everyone somewhat perplexed.


    Zio spoke calmly, "When men and women are in love, they''d walk through fire and water for each other. But once they become enemies, they''d use any means to hurt each other. I believe it''s the same with us and the United Provincials. In love, we couldn''t be closer, but now that we''ve fallen out, things naturally turn uglier."


    His words seemed like a joke, yet not quite. Those present mulled over them, unable to bring themselves to laugh.


    "What meaning was there for the Torrent River Legion to cross the Border River and burn down two of our signal towers? Or, for that matter, sending the kids to the plateau? What meaning does that serve?" Zio stood up and faced his subordinates with a frigid expression, "None of it has meaning, yet these actions themselves are highly significant. The United Provincials are simply provoking us with every means they can think of. Whether big or small actions, the goal is the same. For us, there''s only one core issue. If The Federated Provinces go to war with us, can we win now?"


    The officers remained silent, as the answer was all too clear.


    Seeing that his subordinates were silent, Zio sat down and continued calmly, "Then we must endure. This is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. Watch, The Federated Provinces will make more moves... but we can only bear it for now."


    "What about this year''s youngsters, then? Are we just going to leave them on the plateau?" Major General Pegoroti couldn''t help but ask.


    "If they can send people over, we can bring them back. Just send someone to bring back this year''s newly commissioned lieutenants," Colonel Boone spread his hands, his attitude quite optimistic.


    "Service records can be transferred, but now, they belong to the Republic of Palatu, and we need their approval," Colonel Andre''s expression remained very worried.


    "Then we ask for their consent. Isn''t it only fair for Venetians to return to Vineta?" Boone said, as if it were a matter of course.


    "I''m afraid the Highlanders won''t agree easily this time," Andre sighed. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why not?"


    "Because their kids have been sent overseas."

 Chapter 4 Wolf Town

    "Alright, that''s far enough," Winters patted Andre''s arm, "It''s not like we won''t see each other again.""Who would have thought that these shepherd bastards are even worse than the mud dwellers!" Tears welled up in Andre''s eyes as he said, "If your family has a way, get them to pull you out of here as soon as possible. Among us buddies, whoever has a connection should take it, it''s not about being dishonorable. We really can''t afford to mess with these shepherd bastards..."


    Shepherd bastard was a derogatory term for Paratu People. Andre was so emotional that he was speaking without thinking. His cathartic venting might have made himself feel better, but there were others around the two of them.


    Upon hearing the term "shepherd bastard," the Paratu soldiers responsible for "escorting" Winters and the others couldn''t help but cast a sidelong glance.


    Winters quickly spoke words of comfort to Andre and persuaded him to leave. As Andre walked towards the town, he looked back repeatedly with reluctance.


    After resuming their journey, Winters apologized to the Paratu cavalry beside him, "Lieutenant Cherini has always been a bit tactless, but he meant no harm. I apologize to all of you on his behalf."


    Lieutenant Voyik, who led the team, forced a faint, cold smile and nodded.


    The riders sped on their warhorses, the wilderness beside the road laying flat and endless, with the dark green mountain range rising on the horizon in the distance.


    Looking around, the wilderness held nothing but the vastness of green.


    Racing a horse across this vast land was exhilarating. But Winters couldn''t muster any enthusiasm now, as the desolate scenery before him made him acutely aware of where he had been sent.


    This was the frontier of the Republic of Paratu, the farthest western land of the Alliance. If Guidao City was the heartland within the heartland, then this place was the frontier of frontiers.


    The situation had started six days prior when Warrant Officer Vineta and the others finally escaped from the confinement of the wagons, only to be placed under house arrest once again. Only at this moment did they learn two things:


    First, they were now lieutenants;


    Second, they were lieutenants of the Republic of Paratu.


    The Paratu People treated Winters and his companions well, with food, drinks, and the opportunity to bathe. However, their freedom was still restricted, and they were not allowed to meet with the Vineta officials staying in Paratu. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    When the immortals fight, the mortals suffer. In the eyes of the military of the Federated Provinces, this was merely a trivial provocation, but it completely disrupted the life trajectories of Winters, Andre, Bard, and the other young lieutenants.


    For these young men, the path ahead had been clear: receive commission, take post, accumulate experience, await promotion, retire¡­


    But their path had now been thoroughly scrambled by the sudden "assignment," tangled like yarn played with by a cat.


    In Vineta, they had been promising young men with bright futures, but in Paratu, they were nothing.


    Without connections, without relatives or friends, even without money... Winters and the others were sent to Kingsfort without a single silver coin to their names.


    Strangers in a strange land, cut off from any news. They didn''t know anyone, and understood nothing. They were now merely the lowest-ranked professional officers in the army.


    Unaware of the negotiations taking place above them, but after three days of house arrest, the Paratu People had a new plan for their fates.


    In a sunny office, a Paratu colonel with a warm smile handed Winters a commission document.


    After accepting the perplexing commission, Winters was promptly ushered out of the office, remembering only the colonel''s words, "...the Republic looks forward to your hard work and struggle, with the vast world before you where you will achieve great things..."


    This uninhabited wilderness... truly is a "vast world" my ass!


    Recalling the colonel''s enthusiastic smile, Winters couldn''t help but swear inwardly.


    After galloping for several hours on the rough dirt road, they crossed a shallow ford about a dozen meters wide, and the riders arrived at their final destination.


    Before them lay a small town that could hardly be called a "town." Two dirt roads, each about twenty meters long, crossed each other to form the main thoroughfares; at their junction stood a small chapel.


    Along the roadsides were a few plank-built houses that seemed to be the only shops in the tiny town.


    Winters had thought the places Andre and Bard were sent to were desolate enough, but compared to this small town, where they had gone was practically bustling and vibrant.


    "Here we are, this is Wolfton (Wulfthorpe)," Lieutenant Voyik pointed with his riding crop, "Come on, I''ll take you to meet the mayor."


    Winters followed Voyik to the front of a house opposite the chapel. Apart from the chapel, this wooden house was the largest in the town, which seemed to be the town hall.


    Before they even entered, Winters could hear... snoring?


    Lieutenant Voyik also seemed puzzled. He exchanged a glance with Winters before leading the way into the town hall.


    Inside was a small compartment. A wooden wall divided the whole house. Facing the door, on a desk, a lean old man with clean-shaven beard was busily writing and calculating.


    "Are you the mayor?" Voyik was straightforward.


    The old man squinted at Voyik, answering slowly, "I am the town''s clerk. May I ask who you are?"


    "I am Lieutenant Voyik from the military," Voyik introduced himself and pointed with his crop at Winters, "This is Lieutenant Montaigne. We want to see the mayor." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh, please follow me then," the lean old man spoke in an affected tone that sounded quite strange. He stood up and opened another door in the partition wall, "This is the mayor''s office."

 Chapter 4 Wolf Town_2

    Looking through the door, the first thing Winters saw was a pair of shoe soles and... a big beer belly?The owner of the beer belly was sprawled out on a bench by the window, fast asleep, emitting deafening snores. His snoring was so loud and unique that each breath seemed as if it would choke him.


    "Sir, wake up... An officer from the city is here to see you," the old clerk attempted to wake the man with thunderous snores.


    No matter how gently he patted the other''s shoulder or arm, the mayor just wouldn''t wake up. The old man gritted his teeth and slapped him hard on the face.


    "Kill!" The sleeping man jolted awake, leaping up from the bench and shouting. Explore more at My Virtual Library Empire


    After seeing Voyik and Winters, the man paused, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and asked with an embarrassed smile, "Ah? What''s going on? Who are these two?"


    The clerk reintroduced Voyik and Winters, and Winters took a closer look at the man before him.


    The mayor of Wolf Town was a short man, a full head shorter than Winters. But he had a thick neck, an even thicker waist, and, judging from his upper body, one might think he was taller than Winters.


    Propping up his bulky torso were two short, thick bowlegs, not something found on the average person, clearly indicating he was an excellent horseman.


    His dense brown curly hair was interspersed with many silver threads, showing that he was no longer young. Yet his two blue eyes still held the carefree expression of youth.


    Those blue eyes sat on a round face, beneath which were a large nose and a wide mouth. When he laughed, it was hearty and sincere, betraying not a hint of pretense, a spiritedness that was rough around the edges but vibrant.


    With just a glance, Winters felt a strong sense of fondness for this burly man.


    "Haha, my apologies!" The mayor of Wolf Town chuckled, scratching the back of his head, "I''m Gerard, Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell. The townsfolk elected me mayor because my house is close to town. Tell me whatever matters you have."


    Voyik didn''t speak but handed a missive to the mayor instead. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gerard chuckled, scratched his head again, and passed the document to the clerk, "I don''t recognize many big characters. Panveche, read out what''s written in the letter."


    The clerk¡ªnow we knew his name was Panveche¡ªaccepted the document and read it carefully. Then he looked up at Winters and said, "Sir, this Lieutenant Montaigne is the new Garrison Officer."


    "Hey, that''s great! Finally, a Garrison Officer is here!" Gerard slapped his thigh with delight, grabbing Winters'' arm and laughing, "This fine young man! How wonderful! Our Wolfton finally has its own Garrison Officer! Fantastic!"


    Gerard then realized that the young man in front of him was not his son and quickly let go. He laughed apologetically, "Sorry, sorry! I''m just too pleased! Wolfton has been lacking a Garrison Officer since its establishment, for many years now. Now that we finally got one, and such a fine young man at that, it is a cause for great celebration!"


    Voyik obviously didn''t want to linger. He took out a purse and handed it to Winters, "This is your salary for this quarter. The duties of the Garrison Officer are simple and are all listed in the appointment letter. The army''s couriers will visit periodically; they will be responsible for delivering your future salary."


    Winters accepted the purse wordlessly, saluting in respect.


    Looking at Winters, Voyik seemed somewhat reluctant. He led Winters out of the town hall, sighed, and said, "In the Republic of Palatu, a Garrison Officer is actually just a military representative in the New Reclamation Area. Just oversee law enforcement and the militia, that''s all, it''s quite easy, not much to do. Hang in there, and you''ll be able to go home once the issues are resolved."


    Winters knew this was true, nodded his head, and saluted respectfully once more.


    Lieutenant Voyik patted Winters on the shoulder and left with his Cavalry.


    Three days before, every Lieutenant Vineta had received their appointments. They were assigned as Garrison Officers to various small towns and ordered to assume their posts immediately, without delay.


    Perhaps they meant to scatter the Lieutenant Vinetas in this way or maybe there was another purpose. Winters didn''t know the decision-making process of the Palatu military, but it was clear they had made their stance known: they would not let the Lieutenant Vinetas return home until the people of Palatu were satisfied.


    Most of the postings for the Lieutenant Vinetas were in the "New Reclamation Area."


    If the Republic of Palatu was the furthest edge of the Alliance''s territory, then the New Reclamation Area was the very edge of the Republic of Palatu''s territory. And Wolf Town¡ªwhere Winters had been assigned¡ªwas at the very edge of the New Reclamation Area''s territory.


    Winters was now at the edge of the edge of the edge of the Senas Alliance''s territory, possibly even the furthest edge of "civilization."


    Thus, beyond this place to the west lay a vast uninhabited area nearly a hundred kilometers wide, and beyond the uninhabited area to the west was the land controlled by the barbaric Hurd tribes.


    These "towns" in the New Reclamation Area were almost all established as "village amalgamations" in the last decade, sparsely populated, and cut off from communication. Almost no officer wanted to be stationed in such places, which is why the position of Garrison Officer, including in towns like Wolf Town within the New Reclamation Area, had been vacant for so long.


    It was now conveniently used to house this batch of unwanted Vineta "guests."


    Gazing at the desolate frontier town before him, Lieutenant Montaigne suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loneliness.


    Fifty-six kilometers north from here, Lieutenant Andreya Chellini was experiencing the same feeling.


    At this very moment, in the small towns dotted along the border of Palatu, every Vineta-born lieutenant was thinking about the same thing: going home.

 Chapter 4 Wolf Town_3

    But how could he ever get home?Run?


    Where to run to?


    To desert was to become a "traitor" and a "deserter" in the eyes of the law.


    Wait?


    And just how long would he have to wait for an end?


    ¡­


    While Winters was lost in thought, Gerard came out of the town hall with the clerk Panveche, both beaming with delight.


    As they walked, Gerard instructed, "Go back and tell Eileen to make sure everything''s well-prepared today. On your way, also invite the Wilkes family and the Bunting family. Ask them to bring a couple of bottles of good wine..."


    Upon seeing Winters upon exiting, Gerard exclaimed excitedly, "Lieutenant Montagne, we must have a good drink tonight! It''s been a long time since we''ve had such a great joy. Oh, do you have a place to stay? Our town is small, with no hotels, so you should stay at my place! Really, although our town is small, the people here are all very kind¡­" S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warm hospitality of Gerard caught Winters off guard, but also brought him a hint of warmth. He smiled, accepted, and expressed his gratitude.


    Old Panveche, seeing that Gerard and Montagne were deep in conversation, headed to the back of the house to fetch the horses.


    However, Gerard seemed to suddenly realize something. He scratched his head and called Panveche back.


    "What else do you need, sir?" asked Panveche.


    "Panveche, you go on back."


    With a grimace, Panveche replied, "It''s quite a distance from home, sir."


    "You lazy fellow, just go to the Bunting place and borrow a horse from Frank to ride back home," Gerard chided.


    Muttering under his breath, Panveche reluctantly began his slow trek toward the western end of town.


    Winters didn''t understand at first but being perceptive, he soon realized: Gerard was letting Panveche give up a horse for his own use.


    When Winters came to Wolf Town, he had ridden a government Warhorse, which Voyik had taken with him when he left.


    In this unfamiliar land, he had nothing.


    He had no Warhorse, no sword, no uniform¡ªWinters was still wearing the uniform of a military academy student¡­ If he hadn''t received his salary for the quarter, he wouldn''t have even had a single silver coin.


    In Winters''s brief life, he had never felt so desperate.


    But then he suddenly thought of Bard¡ªBard''s station was forty kilometers north of Andre''s¡ªhe realized that his current predicament was actually the same hardship that Bard had always faced.


    He was just temporarily poor, while Gerard''s Bard had always struggled like this.


    "If someone else can do it, then so can I," Winters Montagne, the lieutenant, thought as he rallied his spirits, "Since I''m here, I need to settle in. I''ll find a way to get home."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Forgive my frankness, but you neither allow me to meet with them nor make their assignments without notifying us first, I see no semblance of sincerity. How do you propose to agree to our officers'' release?" Vineta''s chief adviser in Kingsfort, Turanio, asked, struggling to keep his anger in check.


    The head of external relations for the Paratu Army, Marco, replied with a smile, "Your excellency, I must correct your terminology. These lieutenants are not ''your'' Vinetan officers, but rather career soldiers of our Republic of Palatu. Therefore, how we assign them is not for outsiders to dictate." Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Enough with these word games!" Turanio shook with rage, "We both know what''s really going on. It''s the United Provincials causing all this trouble! We should be united in our enmity, but you side with tyranny. Is it our responsibility that your men were sent to the overseas deployment forces?"


    "So it''s our fault that your men were sent to Palatu?" Marco countered sharply.


    Out of patience, the chief adviser slammed the table, "Enough nonsense, just tell me what it takes for you to agree to release them!"


    "What I say won''t be put on the record, and the Republic of Palatu officially won''t admit to it," Marco leaned back in his chair, his tone cold, "When our replacement officers return to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, your replacement officers will be able to go home."


    "Your men left on a ship, do you understand?" Turanio argued angrily, "The United Provincials specifically sent their fastest courier ship; they can''t be caught up with! Back and forth, it''ll take at least a year. If your men can''t return for a year, do you mean to detain our men for a whole year?"


    "Your excellency, if I were you, I wouldn''t be complaining here, but already on the fastest ship in pursuit," Marco responded.

 Chapter 5 Wolf Plague

    At the break of dawn on Sunday, the blue-gray sky twinkled with sparse morning stars. The wind blew down from the mountains, stirring up a moist mist. The breath of the earth was cool and comfortable, and the sun remained lazily behind the horizon, unwilling to rise.Living in the eastern part of Dusack Village in Wolf Town, old Sergei woke up early. First, he stared blankly at the old saber hanging on the wall of the inner room. Only then did he sluggishly pull on his trousers, slip into his cloth shoes, and while heading outside, he buttoned up his shirt.


    Standing at the entrance of his yard, Sergei silently admired his own small courtyard: the newly built storeroom and livestock shed were covered with neat tiles, the large animals of the house were peacefully chewing hay, the grain stores were full, and the old woman and children of his home were still sound asleep...


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    Prosperous, comfortable, carefree¡ªthese were good days that the former Sergei Vladimirovich could not even have dreamed of.


    After looking around for a while and feeling satisfied, the old man headed toward the backyard. Skirting along the wall, he reached the outside of his younger son''s window.


    "Vasya! Son!" The old man knocked on the wooden window: "Come on, let''s go up the mountain to check the traps."


    [Note: Vasya is a term of endearment for Vashka]


    Sergei knocked several times before Vashka, bleary-eyed, got up from the bed. He pushed open the window and asked softly, "Dad, what are you saying?"


    "Come on, let''s go check the trap I set on the mountain the day before yesterday."


    "But today is Sunday!" Vashka complained.


    Sergei urged unconcernedly, "It won''t delay your trip to the church. Come on, come on, we can be back before the sun comes up."


    The son, unable to prevail over his father, reluctantly grabbed his clothes and pulled them on. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, his father had led out two horses from the stable.


    Vashka helped Sergei with the harness, and the two Dusacks led the horses out of the red willow fence and mounted them, galloping toward the forest south of the village.


    If one were to look down from tens of thousands of meters in the air, one could clearly see two tall mountain ranges that run north-south, almost parallel to each other on the southern edge of Senas Bay.


    The north one is Sheltering Mountain, and the south one is Golden Summit Mountain. This natural geographic division inevitably also results in a political divide.


    Thus comes the saying, "Between two mountains."


    And Wolf Town is located at the foot of Jinding Mountain, nestled against the north slope of Golden Summit Mountain, a settlement carved out from shrubs and woodland.


    This small town is not only at the far western edge of the vast Alliance territory but also at its southernmost point, beyond which lies the uninhabited primeval forest.


    Continuing further south would lead to a sharp rise in terrain. The primeval forest is replaced by alpine meadows, where only weeds can grow until reaching the snow line.


    On a sunny day, the millennial snow on the highest peaks of the mountain range glimmers in the sunlight, resplendent like it is made of gold.


    Hence, the name "Golden Summit Mountain Range."


    Naturally, Sergei and his son were not heading that far. The people of the various villages near Wolf Town who "rely on the mountains to live" only frequent the periphery of the forest on ordinary days.


    Sergei rode his own old horse, sparing his old companion from being sent to the village pasture. Vashka, on the other hand, rode a two-and-a-half-year-old horse, a robust and strong animal.


    But the old man was an excellent rider, and even in cloth shoes and riding an old horse, Vashka couldn''t catch up to him.


    Sergei rode with great joy, whipping the reins and howling with delight as he filled his belly with the wind.


    Vashka, trailing behind, thought to himself, "Checking the traps? The old man probably just wanted to take the horses out for a run."


    Soon they arrived at the edge of the forest, and Sergei pulled on the reins, cheerfully saying to his son, "Vasya! Isn''t it wonderful! So refreshing! Going for a horse ride in the morning energizes the whole person!"


    However, Vashka, whose sweet dreams had been disturbed, merely rolled his eyes inwardly and urged his father to hurry and inspect the traps.


    Following his memory, Sergei led his son deeper into the woods.


    Sergei had quite the luck; the first two traps both contained prey, a rabbit and a pheasant.


    The old man became even happier, joyously saying to his son, "Blessed be! Vasya, maybe we might find a deer today! I dreamt a few days ago that a deer''s antlers had smashed the roof, maybe it''ll be a splendid stag!"


    Vashka didn''t respond but hurried his father to find the last trap.


    When they found the last trap, they discovered two men had already squatted beside it. And on the trap¡ªonly a shattered deer leg remained.


    ...


    After coming out of the woods, Vashka didn''t go straight home, but instead, as instructed by his father, he took the rabbit and went straight to the home of Mayor Mitchell.


    Leaving the field ridges, stepping onto the village dirt road, and letting the horses run for a while, Vashka could already see the roof of the mayor''s house.


    Vashka went around a neat row of oak trees, and a beautiful white two-story house appeared before him. The Sergei family had just a wealthy farmer''s small courtyard, but the house in front of him was the estate of a major landowner.


    At the sound of the hooves, two hunting dogs began to bark loudly.


    Gerard Mitchell''s son and Vashka had been playmates since they were little, and Vashka was very familiar with the Mitchell estate.


    But this time, he encountered a strange face, a young officer he''d never seen before, standing with Gerard in the open space in front of the house, both holding sabers, apparently practicing something.


    "Alright, stop barking!" Hearing the barking, Gerard saw the visitor and scolded the hunting dogs.

 Chapter 5 Wolf Plague_2

    The hunting dogs recognized a familiar face and ran excitedly "huffing" towards Vashka''s horse, eager to bite into the dead rabbit hanging from the saddle."Good morning, Sergei Novich!" Gerard plunged his saber into the ground, and from a distance shouted at Vashka, "How is your father doing? Are you here looking for Pierre?"


    "He''s doing well! He even went horseback riding this morning!" Vashka tied up his horse and, holding the rabbit, said with a smile, "I came to bring this to you! My dad asked me to give you this rabbit!"


    "Such a fat rabbit! Thank your father for me! Wait here for a moment." Gerard took the game and strode quickly back to the house.


    Outside the house, only Vashka and the unfamiliar military officer were left.


    The strange officer smiled kindly at Vashka, and it was only then that Vashka had the chance to take a good look at the man. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    Unlike those stern military officers with beards who rarely cracked a smile, Vashka noted that the man before him was quite young, even younger looking than himself, hardly resembling a military officer at all.


    Yet he was dressed in a genuine military uniform¡ªalthough it looked a bit strange, it was undoubtedly a military uniform. Any Dusack would instantly recognize the garb of a military officer.


    Gerard came striding out of the house and handed Vashka a bag of sugar and tea leaves, "Take this home for the women to use in cooking."


    "We haven''t even finished what you gave us last time," Vashka said with a chuckle, "You should give me some tobacco leaves instead."


    "Alright, I''ll get them for you." Gerard hustled up the steps and back into the house.


    Though Vashka had grown up listening to his father''s war stories and had been commanded time and again to respect Praninovich,


    in the eyes of most Dusack children, Gerard was nothing more than a kindhearted old fellow who was generous with his hands.


    To the Dusacks of Wolf Town, everyone in the Mitchell Family¡ªexcept for Gerard''s wife¡ªwere true Dusacks, they just didn''t live in the Dusack village.


    "This is for both you and your old man to smoke," Gerard said, running out with a large packet of tobacco leaves for Vashka. He laughed and said, "Share some with your father, don''t smoke it all yourself."


    "Of course." Vashka replied with a grin, but then he remembered there was something serious he had to mention, and he quickly told Gerard, "Uncle, when my dad and I were in the mountains today, we encountered something strange. My dad told me to let you know."


    "What kind of strange thing?"


    Vashka spoke for a while but didn''t get to the point, "...Ah, I''m not good with words, I can''t explain it clearly. My dad just wanted me to mention it, he''ll discuss it with you in detail later at church." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After speaking, Vashka, impatient to get back home for breakfast, bid farewell to Gerard and rode back home.


    Halfway through, it occurred to him, "I still don''t know who that military officer is!"


    ...


    Sunday is the biggest day of the week in Wolf Town.


    After breakfast, villagers from nearby villages, those who lived close came on foot, those from afar drove carts or rode horses, all heading towards the central church in town.


    Everyone wanted to arrive early, as arriving early meant securing a seat, while being late meant standing for the mass.


    For the villagers, it wasn''t that the church was built at the center of the town, but rather that the town hall was built beside the church. Wolfton Church''s history predates the "combination of villages into a town" history of Wolf Town.


    The Sunday mass was not just a religious activity; it was also the main assembly occasion for residents of the villages.


    Before the ceremony began, Vashka finally learned who the mysterious officer was¡ªhe was the new Garrison Officer of the town, Winters Montagne, a young lieutenant.


    Gerard took advantage of the congregation of villagers from three villages to step up to the pulpit and publicly read Winters'' commission, introducing the new Garrison Officer to everyone.


    This was Winters'' first official appearance in front of the townsfolk of Wolf Town, and he conducted himself with decorum. After saluting the congregation from the pulpit, he stepped down.


    To the townspeople, having an additional officer in town had little to do with them, but it was a rare novelty in their mundane lives.


    The crowd inside the church jostled forward to catch a glimpse of the new Garrison Officer, chattering about his uniform, appearance, and age.


    Some unmarried girls didn''t know what they were thinking, but they blushed and sneakily sized up the new lieutenant.


    After all, a uniform lends an air of dignity even to the plainest person, and Winters himself was quite presentable.


    After the introduction of the new Garrison Officer, the official Sunday mass began. The two priests of the church, holding holy icons, slowly made their way onto the pulpit from outside the church.


    Winters awkwardly realized that he was "trapped" in the church.


    As a Spellcaster, Winters naturally had no interest in participating in religious activities. However, he felt it would be impolite to leave during the service, and as one of only two public officials in Wolf Town, his seat was at the very front of the church alongside Gerard''s.


    Winters thought to himself, "If I leave now, it would be as if I''ve offended all of Wolf Town''s believers at once."


    In a spirit of pragmatism, Winters decided, "Better to avoid making waves." He remained seated until the sermon was over, gazing at the image of Anna in the medallion, lost in thought.


    The townspeople oblivious to the truth thought the new Garrison Officer was fervently praying.


    After the sermon, Winters discreetly skipped the communion process.


    It all went very smoothly; the elderly chief priest did not notice Winters'' small maneuver, and no one else in the church did either.

 Chapter 5 Wolf Plague_3

    But the young deputy priest saw everything clearly, and Winters'' actions puzzled him considerably. However, he did not stop Winters, just watched as the new Garrison Officer followed the crowd and left the church.Actually, Winters also found the presence of the deputy priest quite strange. Such a small church certainly did not have the right to have two official clergymen, yet the Wolf Town church did have two. But Winters was not interested in religious charlatans, so he did not inquire further.


    Outside the church, the weather was clear and crisp, with several layers of light-colored clouds floating high up in the sky.


    Gerard was leading a few people in setting up the targets and the field. The targets, lifted from the church''s backyard, were placed on the meadow beside the church.


    Seeing this, Winters went over to help.


    Wiping his sweat, Gerard said to Winters, "Lieutenant, we never had a Garrison Officer in town before, so I had to fill in. Lieutenant Montaigne, from now on, the Sunday archery training is in your hands."


    "Sunday archery training?" Winters asked with an odd expression, "You don''t mean the ''Bow and Arrow Decree,'' do you?"


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    "Yes, that''s right! The Bow and Arrow Decree!" responded Gerard with a laugh.


    The Bow and Arrow Decree was an imperial-era law that required all men to participate in archery training after church services. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Gerard''s explanation, Winters learned that this law was never abolished in Paratu.


    The Paratu Grand Council had never passed a specific repeal of the law¡ªsuggesting strong suspicions of governmental indolence¡ªand thus the Bow and Arrow Decree remained in place.


    However, the decree had lost its mandatory force, and for the townspeople, archery had become akin to a recreational activity. After all, shooting a few arrows on a Sunday morning was hardly a chore.


    Winters never expected to find such a "historical relic" level of weekend activity in this remote small town. After he and Gerard finished setting up the targets, the archery training officially began.


    Women and children, old men who could not draw a bow, and some men who considered archery beneath their status stood aside as spectators.


    About a hundred young men lined up, waiting for their turn to shoot.


    Some brought their bows and arrows, evidently very confident in their shooting skills, standing in the line like proud roosters, waiting to show off in front of their fellow villagers.


    As for those without their own bows and arrows, they used the cheap poplar practice bows provided by the town hall.


    A farmer brought his homemade sweet beer, pushing barrels and loudly hawking it for sale.


    Some traveling merchants from other regions also took advantage of Sunday to sell small items like needles and thread.


    No one cared about the doctrinal command of "no labor on Sundays," and the usually quiet Wolf Town was now extremely bustling.


    Winters'' duty was quite easy, as long as he watched out for anyone retrieving arrows from the targets being accidentally shot.


    If a shooter missed the target, the spectators would let out jeers.


    If a shooter hit the bullseye, the spectators would cheer loudly.


    The simple joy was infectious, and even Winters, whose thoughts were full of returning home, couldn''t help but wear a light smile.


    At the same time, Winters also keenly noticed a few out-of-place adult men in the crowd, not fitting in with the jubilant atmosphere.


    They were unkempt with disheveled beards and clothes, their faces mostly sullen, neither participating in archery nor mingling in the crowd around the targets.


    Even the common folk of Wolf Town deliberately gave these people a wide berth.


    Only the farmer brewing illicit liquor liked them, as they stood by the barrel drinking cup after cup of beer.


    Although Winters had thought about fleeing countless times, running back to Vineta, as long as he was in office, he had to fulfill his duties.


    Therefore, the Wolf Town Garrison Officer stopped the shooters by his side and pointed to those men, asking, "Who are those people? Are they locals? "


    The young man who was shooting followed the direction Winters was pointing, shook his head, and replied, "Sir, those fellows are from the lumberyard. Hired from outside to chop wood."


    Winters wanted to ask more, but Gerard invited him over.


    Inside the town hall, besides Gerard and Sergei, there were two other men, one old, one young.


    The old one looked to be in his thirties or forties by build, but the scars marring his face were like a spider web. His skin was tanned dark, and his lips were tightly pursed. He was holding a roll of leather in each hand.


    The young one seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen, still at an age of youthful innocence, curiously looking around with big eyes. He was holding an unstrung one-piece bow, about a meter in length, smaller than one for an adult.


    Upon Winters'' entrance, Gerard reintroduced him to the others, "This is the new Garrison Officer of our town, Lieutenant Montaigne."


    Pointing to Sergei, Gerard introduced, "This is Sergei Vladimirovich, the Dusack of Dusa Village."


    Hearing the title of Dusack, old Sergei proudly puffed out his chest.


    Gerard then pointed to the older and younger hunters and introduced, "These two are hunters of our town, Ralph and his son Bell. Ralph, if you have something to say, speak."


    The Hunter Ralph first respectfully removed his hat and bowed, then with an anxious expression and tense tone, warned the two Wolf Town officials, "Sirs, the wolf plague is coming!"

 Chapter 6 Hunter

    In the Senas Alliance, mountain ranges span the north and south, with the overall terrain gradually ascending from the east to the west, prompting the coastal dwellers to refer to the Paratu People as Highlanders.In the southwestern outskirts of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, the town of Wolfton sits nearly fourteen hundred meters above sea level, nestled in the pine and oak forest belt at the northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains.


    In the forest south of Wolfton, coniferous giants thick enough to require an embrace to encircle, stretch upwards piercing the heavens and blocking out the sun. Only specks and spots of sunlight filter through the gaps in the canopy, nourishing the underbrush and shrubs that grow between the trees.


    For thousands of years, in this uninhabited place, nature''s cycle of growth, death, and decay has resulted in a layer of humus soil several feet deep.


    Located deep within such a dense forest was Hunter Ralph''s cabin, accessible only by a narrow trail blazed by hunters leading to human society.


    After receiving Ralph''s warning, Gerard, Winters, and Sergei immediately followed Ralph and his son to the hunter''s cabin.


    The cabin was rudimentary and ordinary, with several stinking barrels outside, apparently used for tanning animal hides.


    "Gentlemen, please look." Ralph brought out a piece of animal limb from inside the cabin and presented it to Gerard and Winters, "This was found in a beast trap this morning."


    By now, Winters had stopped trying to correct the villagers for calling him "Lord", and it seemed Gerard had long grown accustomed to it as well.


    The limb appeared to have belonged to a deer, but now only the part from the hoof to the femur remained.


    That was all Winters could discern, and he didn''t think there was anything unusual about it.


    Gerard, equally puzzled, asked, "It''s common for trapped game to be scavenged by wild beasts; though it''s unlucky, it''s a normal occurrence. How is this related to a wolf disaster?"


    "It is related!" The inarticulate Ralph became anxious and impatient, "Just look at the break on the femur!"


    "What the fuck is the way you speak? If you can''t talk properly, I''ll fucking sew your mouth shut!" Sergei flared up instantly, unwilling to tolerate any disrespect towards his old comrade.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine." Gerard immediately intervened to diffuse the situation. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Hunter Ralph didn''t retort; he just bowed his head to apologize to the mayor. Meanwhile, young Hunter Bell clenched his wooden bow tightly, glaring angrily at old Sergei.


    Winters took the deer leg and examined the bone break carefully, but indeed he could not see anything amiss, "Mr. Ralph, we are not hunters, things obvious to you are foreign to us. You need to explain to us in detail what the problem is with this deer leg."


    Pointing at the broken surface of the bone, the old hunter explained, "Gentlemen, this bone was bitten through while still alive. The deer stepped on the trap and couldn''t move, and some beast bit the deer to death and then bit through the leg, dragging the remainder into the woods."


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    "What''s so strange about that?"


    "Common beasts can''t bite through a deer''s femur! They can''t chew through it!" Hunter Ralph spoke rapidly and with agitation, "Lord! This was a strong, adult male deer, and its leg bones are exceedingly tough to chew through, yet it was bitten clean through! You can imagine the crushing power between the jaws of the beast!


    Having heard the hunter''s explanation, Winters reexamined the broken leg in his hands - if something could bite through this bone, it could tear off a person''s arm.


    Winters furrowed his brow and asked the old hunter, "Is it a wolf?"


    "Wolves can''t do it! Beasts like wolves, weighing about a hundred pounds, might kill the deer and eat it on the spot at most. Wolves don''t have the power to drag away a stag''s carcass, not even a pack of wolves! Wolves hunt the old, weak, sick, and lame. To take down such large animals, it must be a formidable predator like a tiger or a bear!"


    Just speaking wasn''t enough; the old hunter ran back into the cabin and returned with two white, smooth femur sticks, "Lord, look, these are handles made from the femur of a deer eaten by wolves. Wolves love to eat marrow and wouldn''t leave it if they could bite through it. But these two bones are intact except for teeth marks!"


    "Then why do you say it''s a wolf disaster?" Confused by the denial of wolves, Winters was bewildered.


    Old Sergei explained awkwardly, "Officer, around here, any wild beast that harms people is called a ''wolf disaster''."


    It was then that Winters understood; he nodded and then asked the hunter, "You mean there''s a large predator now stalking this forest?"


    "Yes, but not exactly!" The old hunter, vexed, tugged at his hair and muttered, "I don''t know how to explain it to you, and I don''t know where to start, but something has been very wrong in the forest these days!"


    After a year of living amongst the lower ranks, Winters gradually realized: Soldiers without a formal education often have an extreme lack of linguistic ability. Their speech lacks focus, and even repetition is stuttered. Patience is a necessity, as well as the ability to pick out key words from their chaotic narratives.


    "Don''t rush; take your time, say whatever comes to mind," Winters patted the hunter''s shoulder and moved a wooden stump, gesturing for Ralph to sit and talk.


    Gratefully glancing at the Garrison Officer, Hunter Ralph took a while to gather his thoughts and then began to babble on.


    Winters listened carefully, striving to discern the critical information amidst the dialogue.


    "...So, starting from a while back, it became rare to see deer, roe deer, foxes, and rabbits; they went crazy running out from the deep forest... My son and I set traps along the animal paths, and at first, we caught quite a few good ones... But lately, many of the catches have been dragged away clean by wild beasts, and it''s getting closer to the outside every time... Yesterday, I even found some unfamiliar tracks in the forest..."

 Chapter 6 Hunter_2

    "Wait." Winters''s spirit lifted, interrupting the old hunter, "You found footprints?""Yes, sir."


    Then why are you talking so much nonsense? Winters couldn''t help but criticize inwardly, immediately commanding Hunter Ralph, "Where? Take us to see!"


    Under the guidance of the hunter father and son, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei advanced deeper into the forest.


    This was truly a place where few people tread; the deeper they went, the quieter and more profound the forest became. Not even the chirping of birds and insects could break the endless silence of the forest; only the rustling of leaves as the wind brushed through them could be heard.


    Looking back, Winters could no longer discern the path they had taken to come here.


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    But the hunter father and son were as familiar with this forest as the backs of their hands. Hunter Ralph, who appeared to be at least forty years of age, strode with vigor through the woods, quickly locating the spot he remembered: "This is it!"


    It had been sunny since the rain three days ago, and the footprints in the mud were preserved.


    Clearing away the ferns that blocked their view, a terrifying paw print was revealed.


    Upon seeing the paw print, the three men who were not hunters all gasped in shock. With five claws on one paw, the entire print was nearly twice the length of Winters''s shoe.


    Hunter Ralph was right; no beast that could leave such a print could possibly be a wolf. Wolves were merely food in front of such an enormous creature.


    Mere glimpses of the paw print transformed the previously serene and tranquil forest in Winters''s eyes into a place of lurking danger and omnipresent threats.


    The horses began to grow restless. The two terriers that Gerard brought with him tucked their tails and whimpered softly.


    "Vicious beasts will urinate everywhere to warn their own kind," Ralph stated with absolute certainty, pointing to the shaking, tail-tucked hunting fox terriers, "These two definitely smell the stench of urine; they wouldn''t be this scared otherwise!" S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Holy smokes!" Sergei exclaimed up close to the paw print, "What kind of creature can grow this big?"


    "Are there other footprints?" Winters asked.


    Ralph shook his head, "No, this is the only one we found."


    "Then it''s best we don''t linger here; let''s head back to Ralph''s house first." Winters, who had brought no weapons, didn''t want to stay a second longer. He looked at Gerard, "Mayor Mitchell, what do you think?"


    "That''s right, let''s leave this place first."


    Leading the way, the hunter father and son escorted the five men back to the hunter''s log cabin.


    Though Gerard and Sergei were both men in their fifties and had grown somewhat weary from trekking through the woods for so long. In contrast, the hunter father and son remained nimble, their faces unchanged.


    Gasping for breath, Gerard asked the old hunter, "What exactly is it? Can you tell from the footprints?"


    "Five claws, by the looks of it, should be a bear," Ralph replied gravely, "But the paw print is too big, so big that I don''t know what it might be."


    "Do you think we''ll have another wolf calamity?" Gerard pressed further.


    Ralph pondered for a long time before saying, "Wild beasts usually avoid human activity, let alone come near the forest area close to human habitation. But this big guy''s range of activity has been getting closer to the edge of the forest. I think it''s bound to encounter people sooner or later. Once it tastes human blood, it will definitely start hunting people. But it might turn back into the deep forest instead. Sigh, but Sir, you ask me, and I really don''t know..."


    After hearing the hunter''s words, Gerard looked at Winters, "Lieutenant Montaigne, I think we might need to call up the militia."


    Winters was initially taken aback, then came the realization: the handling of militia affairs was part of his duties as the stationed officer.


    "Do you think we need to form a hunting party?" Winters asked in return.


    Gerard silently nodded.


    Sergei slapped his thigh in excitement, "Exactly! Screw it, whatever it is, if it can eat a bullet, it can be killed!"


    Winters Montagne had never regarded himself as one of the Paratu People, but in that moment, he truly stepped into his role as the officer stationed in Wolfton.


    His brows furrowed, "Calling up the militia would at least give the villages some ability to defend themselves, which I think is feasible. But before dispatching anyone to hunt this wild beast, I would like to hear the opinion of the professionals."


    "Mister Ralph," Lieutenant Montaigne locked eyes with the old hunter, speaking earnestly, "Don''t worry about what you have to say, I''ll take responsibility for it. But tell me the truth... as a hunter, do you think enlisting the militia to hunt down this beast is feasible?"


    Montaigne Lieutenant''s words were heartfelt, and Ralph, after gritting his teeth and mustering courage, replied, "Respected Sir. You honor me, so I can''t refuse. I''ll tell you the straight truth; the forest is simply too vast and we have no idea where that thing is. If we truly wish to kill it, the whole village would have to come out for a concerted hunt, and even then, the slightest mistake could allow it to escape.


    Beasts have a sense of spirit. If we fail to kill it, it will harbor resentment and be even harder to deal with later. Moreover, it hasn''t harmed anyone; there''s even less reason to provoke it. I think it''s enough for everyone to be cautious for now. If it does harm someone, then we can hunt it. And if it retreats back into the depths of the forest on its own, all the better."


    After listening carefully, Winters turned to Gerard, "What do you think?"


    "This seems like a prudent plan," Gerard also agreed, "Then let''s leave it at that for now."


    With nothing more to say, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei prepared to leave the hunter''s cabin.


    "Mister Ralph, I think you shouldn''t stay here these next few days either; go to the village and stay with family or friends for a while," Winters specifically advised before leaving, concerned that the hunter father and son might come to harm out of complacency.

 Chapter 6 Hunter_3

    The old hunter nodded gratefully.Winters laughed and said to the young hunter, "Kid, come back for archery next Sunday, I''ll have the prize you want ready for you next time!"


    Young hunter Bell scoffed disdainfully; the lad''s archery was astonishing, easily winning the prize¡ªa half-dozen feather pens¡ªfrom a group of adults. However, this youngster clearly was not fond of these trinkets.


    Seeing this adolescent in his rebellious phase, Winters found it amusing. He nodded in acknowledgment and lightly spurred his horse''s flank to bid farewell to the hunter father and son.


    ...


    On the way back to Wolfton City, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei chatted idly.


    "Why do they call it a wolf plague?" Winters still wondered, "Is that a Paratu dialect? What''s the origin?"


    "It''s not Paratu; it''s our dialect here. Dusa Village and the villages to the east and west of the river all call it that," Gerard replied with a smile.


    Old Sergei brimmed with gusto when that subject came up, "This place used to be plagued by wolves! In the early years, they really tormented the bumpkins living here. Later, when we Dusacks were settled here, boy, did we slaughter them. We killed lots of wolves, big and small¡ªI still have a pair of wolf-hide knee pads! In the end, we drove the wolves into the mountains and finally had peace. Hey! The local mothers still threaten their crying kids with, ''Keep crying, and a wolf will snatch you away!''"


    "Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Sergei, forgive my presumption. If I''m not mistaken, you''re both Dusans, aren''t you?" Winters couldn''t resist asking the question that had puzzled him for a long time, "How did you come to settle in the Senas Alliance?"


    Ever since he heard the unusual name Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell, Winters had been suspecting that Gerard was a Dusan.


    "Of course we''re Dusacks! Isn''t it obvious at a glance that we''re different from bumpkins?" Old Sergei laughed heartily, reminiscing, "You''re asking how we ended up over here? Well, that''s a long story. More than thirty years ago, we were still serving the old Emperor, and then after that, well we were..."


    "Vladiminovich! That''s enough! Stop talking!" Gerard clearly did not want to dwell on the past and interrupted Old Sergei''s recollections.


    Sergei was surprisingly obedient. As soon as Gerard said stop, he stopped talking. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing that Gerard didn''t want to go into details, Winters changed the subject, "Mr. Mitchell, I''m curious... why do you call Mr. Sergei... Vladiminovich?"


    The question apparently was safe to answer, and Gerard explained with a smile, "Sergei''s father''s name is Vladimir, and Vladiminovich means son of Vladimir. He calls me Pleninovich because my father''s name is Plenis, that''s how we Dusans do it."


    Winters laughed and said, "Should I perhaps be called Gravinovich then?"


    To his surprise, this remark made Gerard and Sergei''s expressions turn somewhat embarrassed.


    Gerard was reminded of something else and hastily asked Winters, "Did you just arrange for Ralph and his son to stay with family friends for a few days?"


    "Yes, I think they might be the most in danger right now."


    "I''m afraid they have nowhere to go," Gerard said with some concern.


    "Why?"


    "Because the boy is of Herder descent," Old Sergei blurted out bluntly, "Ralph got himself a Herder woman, and then she died. That left just the kid. They wouldn''t even have been part of Wolfton if it weren''t for Pleninovich taking pity on them."


    "That''s enough, stop it!" Gerard reprimanded his old friend.


    Sergei immediately fell silent.


    Gerard scratched the back of his head and continued, "Actually, it''s easy to solve. I''ll just invite the two of them to stay at my home for a while."


    "Afraid they might not appreciate it," Sergei commented coldly.


    Gerard thought for a moment then said, "Even if Ralph doesn''t want to come, he will for the safety of his son."


    Old Sergei snorted but said nothing more.


    Gerard then looked at Winters, "Lieutenant Montaigne, how do you feel about this arrangement?"


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    "Of course, that would be great," Winters, a bit flattered, replied quickly, "It''s just a bit of trouble for you."


    "Hey, no bother at all; so many empty rooms in my house make me anxious..." Gerard was saying when he suddenly slapped his forehead, "Lieutenant, about mobilizing the militia... I can run to the villages east and west of the river and to Dusa Village. But those two Protestant villages¡ªwe have to go together..."


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The content about werewolves recorded in "The Hammer of Witches" published by the Holy Inquisition of the Empire in the year 526:


    "...Half man, half wolf... Fears silver, garlic, and Holy Water... Immensely strong, fierce, and bloodthirsty, extremely dangerous... Once bitten, even the purest of heart, one who does not forget to pray at night, will inevitably transform into a wolf on a night when the aconite blooms and the moon is full..."


    An excerpt from the master''s thesis in anthropology titled "Explorations into the Deep Consciousness Behind Mythical Creatures ¨C A Case Study of Werewolves" recorded in the Grand Database in the year 1020 of the New Calendar (Empire Calendar):


    "...After the fifth century, as the process of internal colonization deepened, humans began to demand land from forests and wilderness, resulting in a large number of wildlife attacks. It was during this period that the legend of the werewolf spread far and wide... The name of Wolfton City in Jire Wodan Province originates from a pack of wolves that settled in this area in the early sixth century, and rural areas of Wolfton City still carry tales of werewolves to this day..."

 Chapter 7 Militia and Warhorses

    After truly understanding the powers and responsibilities of the Garrison Officer, Winters was astonished to find that in the small domain of Wolfton, the authority of the Garrison Officer was simply boundless.In the Republic of Vineta, the ruthless bureaucratic system detested any growth of military ambition and was strictly on guard against the risks of potential military interference in politics, especially forbidding any military personnel from grasping both military and civil administration at the local level.


    Yet, in the Wolfton town of Revodan County, Republic of Palatu, militia, public order, anti-smuggling, border defense, labor service... anything that involved force was under the jurisdiction of the Garrison Officer.


    Moreover, the Garrison Officer and the Mayor had no hierarchical relationship. Their areas of responsibility overlapped to some extent, but their statuses were independent of each other. The Garrison Officer had absolute decision-making authority in the matters they were responsible for.


    So theoretically, no one in the small place of Wolfton could control Winters.


    Only the headquarters of the New Reclamation Area, established in the county capital, could give him orders, and that was at least a hundred and fifty kilometers away from Wolf Town.


    In other words... the Garrison Officer in this small town was practically a semi-emperor!


    The power of Palatu officers at the local level¡ªor rather, the power of the Palatu military in local areas¡ªleft the young Venetian utterly dumbfounded.


    Shock aside, Winters was not particularly concerned with the grassroots political ecology of the Republic of Palatu because he considered himself to be eventually returning home, and was merely temporarily placed in this position.


    But as long as he was in office, he had to do his job well.


    ...


    "See? Just throw like this. You need to use the strength of your waist and abdomen! When releasing, the spear tip should be tilted slightly upward, or else it won''t go far."


    At the threshing ground of East River Village in Wolf Town, Lieutenant Winters Montagne held a makeshift javelin and was demonstrating. A few other javelins were sticking out haphazardly from the target boards nearby, the results of his recent throws.


    The adult men of the village all gathered around Lieutenant Montagne to watch the demonstration of spear throwing techniques.


    The women sat around the threshing ground, chatting and laughing, keeping busy and enjoying the scene. Snotty-nosed children ran wild, throwing sticks and imitating the adults.


    East River Village''s threshing ground was a bustling scene, like a festival gathering, lacking any of the appropriate tension.


    Originally, Winters was annoyed by the presence of the women and children as spectators, considering it a distraction. But he soon discovered it was also a very effective motivator.


    "Practice seriously!" Winters purposefully said to the militia, "The ladies are watching you. If you embarrass yourself here, how will you have the face to climb into bed tonight?"


    After hearing this, the young and strong men practicing the spear throw from East River Village blushed, each straining to outdo the others.


    Winters was not satisfied with the militia of Wolf Town, because they were far different from the Standing Army he had previously led. But farmers were not professional soldiers, and it was already good that they were willing to partake in the training.


    While correcting the militia''s mistakes, Winters admonished them, "Remember, don''t stand in front, don''t throw at the head. Move to the side or back and aim for places without bone protection, like the stomach!"


    Given the size of the paw prints, hoping to kill that massive beast with a single blow was sheer folly.


    Following Hunter Ralph''s advice, if the beast attacked the village, the best strategy was to drive it away with firelight and noise. The second best approach was attrition, wearing the beast down until it was exhausted and covered with wounds before making the kill.


    Therefore, Winters had specifically added barbs to these hastily fashioned javelins, which would tear out a large chunk of flesh once embedded and pulled out. When used, ropes would also be tied to the spears so that they could be dragged and anchored. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some of the farm wives voluntarily gathered some blue berries known as "rat arsenic" from the fields for Winters, saying that boiling them in water and applying the liquid on the javelins would be useful.


    However, Winters was quite skeptical about the effectiveness of the poison.


    Although those blue berries were toxic if consumed, it was unknown whether their toxicity remained when entering the bloodstream, and whether they could bring down a large beast was also in question. Nevertheless, since it wouldn''t make much of a difference either way, Winters let them proceed.


    "Officers trained by the old Marshal are just different! Everything they do is done so well," Gerard cheerfully told everyone he met, seeing how Winters systematically organized the militia and crafted spears and javelins, "Having Lieutenant Montagne come to Wolfton as the Garrison Officer is truly a blessing from the Lord!"


    Under Winters'' coordination, all five villages under Wolfton Town had established their own militia units.


    The farmers were admonished to guard their homes carefully at night and sound the alarm in case of danger, waiting for the militia of their own village to assemble and come to the rescue.


    Winters also specifically borrowed some dogs from two villages that were further away from the forest and distributed them to those villagers whose houses were closer to the woods.


    The problem that was currently troubling Winters the most was the lack of weapons.


    East River Village and West River Village were still in a better situation, as the villagers at least had some bows and arrows in their possession.


    But the two villages inhabited mainly by Protestants were utterly unarmed. They lacked not only swords and spears, but even a good bow, and villagers could only use pitchforks as makeshift spears.


    Expecting to take on the owner of those paw prints with pitchforks meant that the Protestants had to show a fearless courage.


    Then again, if the farmers could muster such dauntless bravery, why would Winters need to urgently craft these javelins?


    Just take up the spear and stab! As long as it''s flesh and blood, what cannot be pierced?


    But the reality was: shooting arrows from a distance, the militia could barely manage; but when a ferocious beast got up close, the militia would just end up being chased around.

 Chapter 7 Militia and Warhorses_2

    It was precisely because he knew ordinary people didn''t have the courage to fight fierce beasts in close combat that Winters trained the militia to use spears¡ªthe hunting tool of ancient ancestors.What caused Winters even more headaches was the undisguised hostility emanating from those two Protestant villages.


    Honestly, before Gerard had mentioned them, Winters hadn''t even been aware that Wolf Town had two Protestant villages under its jurisdiction.


    The Protestants neither attended the Sunday service nor had much interaction with the other three villages.


    In Winters'' view, Wolf Town was already remote and secluded, yet within the edges of this civilized world, the Protestants had formed an even more closed-off and isolated community.


    In the other villages, it was sufficient for Mayor Gerard to read the appointment letter once for the introduction to be complete. The villagers naturally accepted the new Garrison Officer.


    However, in those two Protestant villages, every literate person read Winters'' appointment letter, and the villagers still scrutinized Winters Montagne with suspicious eyes.


    What infuriated Winters even more was that the Protestants seemed not to believe in the "wolf disaster" warning, nor did they take his orders as the Garrison Officer seriously.


    Very few able-bodied men came to the training, and those who did appeared to be going through the motions. A few Protestant villagers even quietly told Winters that the "wolf disaster was just a pretext by the mayor to increase the levy of labor and extort from us."


    They behaved as if stricken with a persecution complex, which almost enraged Winters to the point where he couldn''t contain his fury. Gerard, however, had gotten used to this and even consoled Lieutenant Montagne.


    But neither Mayor Mitchell nor Garrison Officer Montagne had any effective measures for dealing with these obstinate Protestants.


    And it just so happened that those two Protestant villages were the closest to the forest edge.


    Thus, whenever he thought about those two Protestant villages, Winters'' head would split with pain.


    The only thing that gave Garrison Officer Montagne some peace of mind was Dusa Village, the settlement of Dusacks.


    Upon hearing that a large beast was lurking in the woods, the men of Dusa Village were elated and began to prepare their knives and guns.


    Unlike the customs of the east and west river villages and the two Protestant villages, every household in the Dusack community owned weapons.


    Sabers hung on the walls, and spears leaned in the storerooms; these were just the basics.


    Even Dusa Village possessed about twenty matchlocks, both new and old. The new ones were recently purchased for hunting, while the history of the oldest firearms could even be traced back to the Sovereign Wars.


    In Dusa Village, each household also raised horses, and the men''s horsemanship was honed from childhood¡ªWinters'' own riding skills couldn''t compare to theirs.


    With the threat of the wolf disaster approaching, the older men were called upon to teach the young how to use spears and military sabers.


    The idle and energetic young Dusacks suddenly had something to do, so issues like fights and gambling subsided considerably.


    Sergei proudly told Winters, "Officer, could you count on those bumpkins in such a situation? You''d still need to rely on us Dusacks! No matter what comes our way, we''ll kill ''em all!"


    Since he had such a brave group of Dusacks at hand, Winters saw no reason not to make use of them.


    Therefore, in high places of all five villages, Winters ordered the construction of signal fire beacons. If any village was attacked, they would use the beacon to sound the alarm, and the horsemen of Dusa Village would immediately gather to support.


    With the signal beacons, the villagers from the east and west river villages were quite happy. But judging from the skeptical expressions of the Protestant villagers, Winters couldn''t help but feel that the Protestants might not ask for help from the Dusacks even if a beast did come.


    Furthermore, including Mitchell''s, over a dozen manor owners from Wolf Town generously contributed funds for the purchase of spears.


    In addition to inspecting the villages and supervising the training, Winters also followed Ralph into the woods multiple times to search for traces of the beast.


    A multitude of matters weighed heavily on Winters, leaving him extremely tired.


    But being busy also alleviated the depression of having his fate manipulated by others¡ªafter all, having things to do meant he had no energy left to contemplate how to return to Vineta.


    However, on this particular morning, Winters pushed aside all other matters; he had a very important task to do¡ªhe was going to... buy a horse.


    In the sparsely populated New Reclamation Area of Paratu, a horse was a necessity; without a mount for transportation, it was inconvenient to go anywhere.


    Lieutenant Winters Montagne was currently eating at Gerard''s, living at Gerard''s, and although Gerard Mitchell didn''t mind, Winters really felt ashamed to continue using Mitchell''s horses.


    So Winters very much wanted to buy a horse.


    Not only for transportation, but he also harbored a dark thought: if he had a horse, he could directly flee back to Vineta.


    But he couldn''t afford it.


    "Poor lieutenant" wasn''t just self-mockery among officers; being an officer was an expensive career, with uniforms, horses, and weapons all requiring personal purchase.


    Although the pay in Paratu seemed to be slightly better than in Vineta, it was already good if a lieutenant''s income could cover his basic living expenses.


    Want to buy a horse?


    One could dream.


    Therefore, in this era, if an officer did not come from a wealthy family, it was best that he found himself a wealthy father-in-law.


    Although there might be a suspicion of overconfidence, Winters still believed that Gerard Mitchell would definitely be delighted to give his daughter in marriage to him.


    Miss Mitchell blushed every time she saw Winters, and when she talked to him, her voice was as soft as a mosquito''s, which made Winters feel quite embarrassed.


    And the graceful and virtuous Mrs. Mitchell seemed to have a fondness for Lieutenant Winters Montagne of Sea Blue origin.


    sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 7 Militia and Warhorses_3

    Sergei had several times asked Winters indirectly if he had any engagement.Since the Sergei family had no daughters, who else could he be asking for?


    Winters insisted that he was already engaged, and his fianc¨¦e was in Sea Blue.


    But Sergei muttered, "We are so far from Sea Blue, even if there''s an engagement, it might not count."


    "Being poor is so painful!"


    During the nights of restless tossing and turning, Winters Montagne lamented in this way.


    But it was not possible for him to borrow money from the Mitchell family. On the contrary, the more generous the Mitchells were to Winters, the less he dared to incur their favors. Read latest stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    In fact, Winters was already considering moving out from the Mitchell''s when the time was right.


    All things considered, besides three months'' salary, the only valuable Winters currently had left was... Anna''s pendant box.


    It was pure gold.


    But the pendant box could not be sold; if it were, Miss Navarre would surely tear Second Lieutenant Montagne to pieces with her bare hands.


    "Being poor really is painful!"


    In the midst of another sleepless night''s restlessness, Winters Montagne lamented once again.


    In the end, it was the two cufflinks given by Antonio that saved the day.


    The Winters family was very strict with money management, but he himself did not have a strong concept of money since he never had to spend much at the military academy.


    So the two cufflinks that Antonio handed to him without much thought were not taken seriously by Winters. He wore them for important occasions, and even took them with him during his return to Guidao City for the award ceremony. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When a person is driven to the edge, even the smallest hope is clung to tightly.


    Filled with thoughts of money, Lieutenant Montagne looked at the two cufflinks given by his uncle and suddenly had a bold idea.


    After confirmation from the blacksmith, Winters finally confirmed that the two cufflinks he always thought were made of bronze... were indeed pure gold.


    And so was the belt buckle given by his uncle.


    Even separated by a thousand miles, the wisdom of elders still filled Winters''s empty purse.


    And so the poor Second Lieutenant Montagne suddenly had money. Though not a lot, it was almost enough to buy a serviceable warhorse.


    Buying toys brings great joy, and the happiness of a man is that simple.


    And a warhorse, in some ways, is a big toy.


    All of Winters''s long-held resentment vanished, and he couldn''t wait to inquire with Gerard about which family in Dusa Village had a warhorse for sale.


    Although he was too embarrassed to accept more goodwill from the Mitchell family, the matter of buying a warhorse could not escape Gerard''s notice.


    Instead of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, Winters felt it was better to straightforwardly ask for Gerard Mitchell''s assistance.


    Gerard''s eldest son Pierre, upon hearing that Second Lieutenant Montagne wanted to buy a warhorse, was also excited to join in.


    The public pasture of Dusa Village was located on the flat land south of the village without any fences. Unattended alfalfa and rye grew at will, giving the meadow a beautiful cream-yellow hue from afar.


    In the distance to the south, brown and black spots twinkled as a herd of horses ran toward a water pond. A small figure bouncing up and down on horseback like glue, herding the horses.


    "Hook!" Standing up in the stirrups, Pierre waved his hand excitedly towards the direction of the horses and shouted, "Anglu!"


    The figure on the horseback in the distance heard the call and waved his hat in response.


    "Come here! Come here!"


    The rider put his hat back on and raced towards Winters and the others.


    "That''s the horse-herder from Dusa Village, Anglu." Gerard pointed with his whip to the approaching rider and said with a laugh, "No one knows the horses in the village better than him. Let him pick a decent one for you!"


    The horse driver urged the horses to run swiftly, and soon he was drawing near to the group.


    It was only then that Winters noticed the horse driver''s frame was very thin, and although his face was tanned dark, it could not hide his youthfulness.


    "How come it''s a kid?" Winters was greatly surprised.


    "Little Hook is already sixteen, isn''t he? He''s not a child anymore." Gerard said with a smile, "Don''t underestimate him because of his young age. He has been managing the horse herd on his own for two years, and he''s done quite well."


    "Two years?" Winters was even more surprised, "So he''s been a horse driver since he was fourteen?"


    "That''s right," said Gerard matter-of-factly.


    "He''s not from Dusa, is he?"


    Pierre immediately retorted, "Hook is definitely a Dusan!"


    It was Gerard who understood what Winters meant. With a sigh he said, "Little Hook''s father died of illness, and his family didn''t have their own land. Hook''s mother brought him to find his father, but not long after they arrived at Wolfton, she also fell ill and died. The kid likes horses, so I had him follow Old Pick to manage the horse herd. Old Pick also passed away from a fall while drinking two years ago, and the boy has managed the horse herd on his own pretty well... Ah, but he''s finally old enough; once he goes to do his service and comes back, he''ll also be able to have his own land."


    In the span of a few sentences, the horse driver had already arrived by their side.


    The teenager on horseback performed a beautiful dismount and ran over to Pierre. Pierre got off his horse too, and the two joyfully started horsing around, even wrestling each other to the ground.


    Having learned of Winters'' purpose, "Hook" Anglu led the group towards the horse herd that was drinking water.


    Winters immediately took a liking to a majestic green horse, but the horse driver shook his head, "Sir, that Trell Green is the breeding stud of this herd. It''s got a terrible temper, you can''t ride it."


    As his gaze traveled around, Winters spotted a black horse, "How about that black horse?"


    Gerard pursed his lips and smiled.


    The horse driver, whose voice was still breaking, answered in a quacking tone, "Sir, that one is a mare. It was brought over for breeding, just waiting to have a foal next year. How could we possibly sell it?"


    The situation became somewhat awkward, as Lieutenant Montagne from the infantry had encountered his weak spot. At this moment, he dearly missed his classmates Bard and Andre.


    Winters gave up thinking, "Anglu, you pick one for me."


    "Yes, sir! That ''Rejek'' over there is quite good," the young horse driver pointed at a chestnut horse and said.


    Winters looked where the horse driver was pointing, and the horse perked up its ears, looking over alertly. But judged by the standards of "strong runners," the chestnut horse seemed a bit too short and small.


    In fact, Lieutenant Montagne''s only standard for assessing horses was that they looked good.


    Given they looked good, the bigger they were, the better.


    Looking at that chestnut horse, Winters said with some hesitation, "Isn''t that horse a bit... small?"


    Gerard and Anglu both burst out laughing, while Pierre and Winters were a bit puzzled.


    Over fifty years old, Gerard was so amused that he could barely catch his breath; hands on his hips, he said, "Lieutenant, we Dusans judge warhorses not by size, speed, or strength... but by endurance. Only a horse that can run continuously is a good warhorse."


    "Rejek is only three years old, but his stamina is really amazing," Anglu added. "The small horses are both nimble and light, perfect for jumping fences. Once it turns four, its stamina will be even better, and then it can be brought back for breeding."


    Convinced by the two Dusans, one old and one young, Winters was also tempted, "Will the owner be willing to sell?"


    "As long as the weather''s fair, good horses are like crops in the field, one yield after another," Gerard laughed. "What can''t be sold? I will go negotiate with the owner for you."


    Since the horse experts said so, Winters was no longer hesitant. Gerard took his son to discuss the price with the horse''s owner, leaving Winters at the pasture to chat with the young horse driver Anglu.


    Looking at the serene horses grazing, Winters asked curiously, "By the way, how do you Dusans name horses?"


    "Dusans don''t name horses; we just refer to them by their coat colors," the young horse driver said laughing, showing a mouthful of teeth. "But we Dusans have hundreds of words just for describing the colors of a horse''s coat."


    The young driver added, "Rejek refers to that mix of chestnut and red, with a white spot on the forehead."


    The deal was soon struck.


    The horse''s owner gave a very reasonable price.


    Having borrowed a set of horse tack, Winters Montagne rode off on Rejek, leaving Wolf Town.

 Chapter 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete

    Although Winters, having left Wolf Town, had more than once entertained the thought of "simply escaping back to Vineta," he never put it into action.Not to mention what would become of his military registration after his escape, relying solely on one horse was insufficient to sustain a long-distance trek. Furthermore, as a foreigner, how would he shake off pursuit on this unfamiliar land?


    Escape was highly impractical, so Lieutenant Montaigne could only resign himself to thinking about it.


    Winters had not left Wolf Town intending to flee, but rather to find Andre.


    His new comrade was called "Rejek" by the Dusans, meaning a reddish-brown horse. Consequently, Winters also named this three-year-old colt "Red Mane."


    Mounting Red Mane, Winters immediately decided to make a trip to Blackwater Town. To see Andre and, incidentally, to test Red Mane''s mettle.


    The Alliance army''s horsemanship divided warhorse gaits into five categories: walk, trot, canter, gallop, and jump. If one did not wish to exhaust the horse to death, the latter three gaits could not be sustained for long periods.


    Therefore, the most one would use for daily riding was the trot, and a warhorse making seven or eight kilometers per hour was considered satisfactory.


    Yet Red Mane, trotting and resting intermittently, took only about six hours to bring Winters the more than fifty kilometers to Blackwater Town.


    This speed, considering the negative factor of Red Mane''s unfamiliarity with a new rider, suggested that its pace would improve once it grew accustomed to Winters'' weight.


    It seemed the young horse trader Anglu wasn''t wrong¡ªRed Mane''s legs were indeed exceptional.


    Although Winters knew Red Mane was a good horse, he had not yet realized he had actually stumbled upon a great deal. Because buying a warhorse already trained by an experienced rider was much easier than training a fresh one from scratch.


    The owner had been willing to sell such a fine horse to Winters purely out of respect for Gerard Mitchell.


    Infantry Officer Winters might not recognize a bargain, but Cavalry Officer Andre sure did. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as when he first saw Tess, upon laying eyes on Red Mane, Andre could not look away. His eyes sparkled as he walked around Red Mane, marveling and stroking it, almost drooling with appreciation.


    If it weren''t for the fact that Winters had no other mount to return to Wolfton, Andre would have wanted to borrow Red Mane to ride for a few days by any means.


    "Hey! How can an infantryman like you always get such fine horses?" Lieutenant Cherini lamented, stroking the horse''s mane: "It''s a pity Bard isn''t here! He would definitely love this horse."


    The woeful demeanor of his good friend made Winters barely suppress a chuckle.


    Winters patted the horse''s rump and said to Andre, "Then you get me a horse, and I''ll give you Red Mane. We can switch rides, how about that?"


    "Get lost!" Andre responded more sorrowfully, "Where am I going to get the money to buy a horse?"


    "Well, we''ll talk when you have the money. I came to you for serious business," Winters said, his smile fading as he turned serious. "Has anyone from home been looking for you?"


    Truth be told, Lieutenant Montaigne had been quite comfortable living in Wolfton.


    For Winters, who had grown up in the cramped, dirty, and busy atmosphere of a city, the natural conditions in Wolf Town were second to none.


    Located on the remote borders of Paratu, this place was sparsely populated and at a high altitude, hence the air was refreshingly clean. Everywhere he looked, there were no cramped houses, only the boundless wilderness.


    And as one of the only two civil servants in town, he enjoyed almost half the status of a feudal lord. No longer subject to anyone''s commands, Winters found this incredibly comfortable.


    But Wolfton was just too isolated! There was absolutely no channel to glean information about the outside world.


    Since Winters had arrived in Wolfton, aside from a few itinerant merchants, he had not seen a single person from the outside.


    Lieutenant Voyik had said that military mail carriers would visit Wolfton on a regular schedule, but Winters had yet to see a shadow of one.


    Having only stayed for less than a week, Winters was eager to know what was happening in the outside world:


    Had the disputes between Vineta and The Federated Provinces quieted down? How were the negotiations between Paratu and Vineta faring? When could he go home?


    But trapped in Wolfton, Winters was clueless. This isolation was almost a form of torture for him.


    When asked about this, Andre''s expression turned somber, "No! In this godforsaken place, I haven''t seen a single Venetian!"


    "I thought Blackwater Town was bigger than Wolf Town and would have more up-to-date news," Winters said, disappointed.


    "How much larger can this dump be? I sent word to Bard to see if he has any news," Andre said with a helpless shrug, "I''m just biding my time here, taking it one day at a time. I''ve come to terms with it¡ªif I can make it until we go home without working though still drawing pay, then that, my friend, is victory!"


    The two brethren in misfortune exchanged glances, sighed in unison, and then burst into wry laughter together.


    Although Winters hadn''t received any news, his trip was not entirely fruitless.


    The next day, when returning from Blackwater Town to Wolfton, Winters'' saddle bore two extra heavy matchlock muskets.


    The guns were borrowed from Blackwater Town''s armory. Being far more prosperous than Wolfton, Blackwater Town could afford genuine weaponry.


    The muskets in Dusa Village had very small charges, suitable for hunting, but they lacked the impressive caliber needed for large wild beasts.


    Thus, Lieutenant Cherini, with a grand gesture, lent two of the finest matchlock muskets to Wolfton at no cost. Read new adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Hearing that large predators roamed the forests around Wolfton, the hitherto bored Andre suddenly became extremely excited.

 Chapter 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_2

    If it hadn''t been because the Garrison Officer couldn''t leave his station for too long, Lieutenant Chellini would have personally carried his gun into the forests of Wolf Town to "eliminate the beast for the people."Even if he couldn''t camp out in Wolf Town, Andre was adamant with Winters, insisting that if there were indeed reliable tracks of the giant beast, he must be notified immediately with a fast horse.


    Andre thumped his chest and promised to bring Blackwater Town''s best Hunter to reinforce the effort.


    Winters knew that Andreya Chellini was just bored stiff;


    he also knew that if it weren''t for the wolf disaster, his own mental state would probably not be much different from Andre''s.


    Winters returned to Wolf Town with two heavy muskets and was surprised to discover that having been gone to Blackwater Town for only one day, Wolfton had been thrown into quite a bit of chaos.


    Since the word spread that there was a ferocious beast in the woods, the villagers now saw every shadow as the beast. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Within a single day, villagers repeatedly ran to the town hall, swearing that they had spotted the ferocious beast near their villages.


    But by the time Mayor Mitchell and his men arrived at the sighting locations, there wasn''t a beast in sight, not even a single hair to be found.


    When questioning the eyewitnesses again, the villagers'' descriptions turned into "seeing a black figure" or "hearing the roars of the beast."


    Such incidents happened over and over again, and coincidentally with Garrison Officer Winters gone to Blackwater Town, Mayor Mitchell, an over-fifty-year-old man, was exhausted from the turmoil.


    During that period, on one occasion, a villager from the west side of the river was scared silly by what he claimed was a "huge black beastly shadow," and in his panic, he directly lit the signal fire.


    By the time old Sergei and the Dusack people rushed to the west side village, they found the villagers acting as if nothing had happened, back to work in the fields, leaving the old man cursing in anger.


    Having returned to Wolf Town, Winters and the Hunter Ralph went around to each so-called "beast sighting" location to investigate, but they found absolutely no evidence, no paw prints or fur.


    Although the villagers swore they really saw the beast, Winters was eighty percent sure they were just scaring themselves.


    On the way back to the town hall, Winters asked the Hunter, "Did you discover anything in the forest during my day trip to Blackwater Town?"


    "Sir, in the woods near Protestant Village, I found some trees with peeling bark, and I found dark brown fur on the trees," replied the old Hunter Ralph with restrained demeanor and respectfully, "According to its habits, the beast might be a bear, which likes to scratch its back against trees. But even if it''s a bear, it must be a very big one. However, bears usually eat pine nuts and berries; it''s not certain they would trouble us."


    "Keep observing and be safe. Report to me immediately if anything happens," Winters instructed, then asked the hunter, "How about your son, is he adapting well to living at Mitchell''s?"


    For safety reasons, the Hunter and his son temporarily moved out of their cabin in the woods. Gerard had invited them to stay at his place, but Ralph firmly refused to live in the guest room like a visitor, instead opting to live with his son among the farmhands at Mitchell''s.


    "Thank you for your concern, sir," Ralph said with a hint of a smile on his weathered face when his son was mentioned, "Captain Mitchell has always been very kind to me and my son, and I am very grateful."


    "Captain Mitchell?" Winters caught a special term of address that only the people of Dusa Village used for Gerard.


    Winters raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled, and asked the Hunter, "Ralph, are you a Dusan too?"


    "I was."


    Winters was even more puzzled, "Then why don''t you live with the Dusack people?"


    After a long silence, the Hunter Ralph replied with difficulty, "I''m sorry, sir. I don''t remember why."


    Although curious, seeing that the Hunter was reluctant to speak, Winters didn''t press the matter further.


    ...


    When Winters returned to the town center, he first visited the blacksmith''s shop.


    In this era, only cities had professional craftsmen, as full-time artisans could not support themselves in the countryside.


    Farmers do not need tailors, bakers, or builders... They sew their own clothes, bake their own bread, and build their own houses.


    But not everyone possesses the skill to refine metals, heat up iron ingots, or forge and bend red-hot steel. Moreover, blacksmithing is a capital-intensive industry, requiring not only skill but also a variety of tools.


    Therefore, a blacksmith is one of the few professional technicians who can make a living in rural areas. Farmers can do without tailors, bakers, and masons, but they need blacksmiths.


    In rural life, the blacksmith plays an important role; you find a blacksmith to make farm tools, repair pots, and even to pull teeth.


    Of course, the blacksmith''s shop is also an important part of Wolf Town''s commercial street¡ªalthough the town center only consists of two dirt roads laid out in a cross pattern plus a handful of buildings.


    The blacksmith of Wolf Town is also a Dusack, who took up his old trade after being settled in Wolfton. Originally, his shop was in Dusa Village, and it took Gerard a great deal of effort to persuade the blacksmith to move his business to town.


    The shop was extremely simple, without even a storefront, with the forge and anvil openly facing the street.


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    A young man, looking to be in his early twenties, was working shirtless, with his left hand gripping a pair of tongs holding a bright yellow hot iron bar and the right hand wielding a small hammer by the forge.


    The young man had an average build, shorter and more slender than Winters. Judging by his physique, he seemed far from the typically burly and strong blacksmith.

 Chapter 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_3

    But the hammer in the young man''s hand seemed to possess a special kind of magic, and with his deft striking, the red-hot steel was gracefully bent into shape, and in the blink of an eye, a horseshoe revealed its form.Watching the youth forge the iron billet, Winters suddenly remembered Anna''s comment on the arcade''s stone carving, "It''s not about chiseling the stone into the shape of people, it''s about the people trapped inside the stone being chiseled out."


    The young man''s skill was so exceptional that even an outsider like Winters could see it.


    Only after the youth had finished crafting a horseshoe did Winters speak up and ask, "Is the owner here? Are you his son? I haven''t seen you before when I came here."


    It was only when Winters spoke that the youth, who had been fully focused on forging the iron billet, realized someone had come. He looked up at Winters, smiled, and nodded his head slightly.


    The youth''s face was blackened by soot, which only made his teeth appear whiter.


    The booming voice of the old blacksmith, Misha, came from the backyard, "Ah, I wish! If only my boy had half the character of Berlion, I''d die without regrets, officer."


    Misha arrived at the front yard and introduced the young man, pointing, "This is Berlion from the Protestant village. He was in the city getting supplies last time you came. Berlion, this is Lieutenant Montaigne, our town officer!"


    The blacksmith youth¡ªBerlion¡ªseemed a bit reserved, managing a strained smile as he bowed, but didn''t speak.


    "Is he your apprentice?" Winters also nodded in return and asked Misha with a smile, "His craftsmanship is really quite good."


    "Yes, I am Master Misha''s apprentice," Berlion answered stiffly.


    "No need to flatter me!" Old Misha laughed heartily and patted Berlion on the back, "I''m not fit to have an apprentice; this lad is much better than I am! Back home, he was a furnace master, but he lost his family business while fleeing! I consider this fine young man as a partner. That no-good son of mine, the forge will be Berlion''s sooner or later. It''s just a pity I don''t have a daughter..."


    Seeing that old Misha was rambling on and who knew where he''d go next, Winters quickly interrupted, "How about the thing I asked you to handle?"


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    "The officer''s request, I certainly take it to heart!" Old Misha chuckled as he ran back into the backyard, "Just wait here a moment!" S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not long after, Misha came out with a long object wrapped in red cloth in both hands, "What do you think, do you like it?"


    When the red cloth was lifted, beneath it were three blade bars.


    Winters, who had been left empty-handed, got on the horse carriage. Unaccountably, he had been assigned to Wolf Town without a sword or a gun to his name.


    But how could a garrison officer not have a handy weapon? Consequently, Winters approached blacksmith Misha to forge a few blades.


    Winters'' order was: a practice sword in the shape of a longsword, a sharpened longsword, a single-handed side sword, and, finally, a Dusan saber.


    In ancient language, the word "Dusa" referred to the special, elongated sabers used by the Dusacks, translating directly to "one who wields a Dusan saber". Whether the terms Dusa and Dusack appeared first is now unknown.


    Since he had the chance to learn the Dusans'' saber techniques, Winters certainly wouldn''t miss out. He was currently learning Dusack saber techniques from Gerard, which is why he added a saber to his order as well.


    But this generous order posed a problem for Misha. According to old Misha, he could forge the blades alright, but in terms of quality... They weren''t as good as the ready-made sword bars from the city, and the price was even higher.


    The bars being sold on the market today are all produced in Solingen City of the Republic of Monta.


    Old Misha claims that in Solingen, a blacksmith is only responsible for one process, and a sword bar must pass through the hands of more than a dozen blacksmiths before it is finished. The blacksmiths there are highly specialized, with even those responsible for tempering belonging to separate guilds.


    Hence, sword bars from Solingen, even with shipping costs, are cheaper than those made by individual smiths elsewhere, and the quality is better. Independent blade smiths are being squeezed out of business, forcing many to switch careers.


    Even within the Republic of Palatu, many blacksmiths have given up on forging blades, turning to simply transporting swords instead.


    Thus, old Misha''s suggestion was: if there''s no urgency, then wait a bit until he could order ready-made sword bars from the city.


    The only easy thing was the Dusan saber; old Misha said he could collect a few unused bars from the village, as he could make cutlery in his shop.


    The three bars before him were the ones Misha had gathered from Dusa Village over the past few days.


    After carefully inspecting the three bars, Winters asked with some dissatisfaction, "Aren''t these bars a bit too old?"


    "Old is good!" Old Misha slapped his thigh, clearly holding an opposing view, "A good bar can be passed down through several generations. Old means it''s durable. The bar of my saber was snatched by my grandfather from the barbarians up north; it''s crossed barbarians in the north with my grandad, Herdman with my dad, and still sharp in my son''s hands..."


    "Alright then," seeing that old Misha was about to launch into another lengthy discourse, Winters quickly called a halt, "I''ll take this one."


    Winters pointed to the longest of the three bars.


    "Alrighty!" Old Misha, grinning, wrapped the other two bars back up, "Berlion, take the officer''s measurements."


    Even though the bars were ready-made, the hilt still needed to be custom-fitted according to the hand size.


    Just as Berlion was measuring Winters'' hand size with a leather tape, Alci, the grocer from the neighboring shop, ran into the smithy in a panic.


    "Sir!" Alci panted out of breath, "A signal fire!"

 Chapter 9 The Unbeliever

    "Where is that thing?" Winters stopped a villager at the entrance of the village, asking anxiously, "Who lit the smoke signal?"Seeing a thick plume of smoke rising from the direction of the Nanxin Protestant Village, Winters immediately rushed over with two borrowed fire guns.


    All the way there, he harshly spurred his red-maned horse, fearing he was too late. The horse broke into a frantic gallop, swiftly arriving at Nanxin Village.


    The frightened farm girl he stopped meekly led the way and took Winters to a yard at the south side of the village. A group of villagers had already gathered inside and outside the yard, whispering and discussing among themselves.


    Winters''s heart tightened: Had someone already fallen victim?


    He rode his horse closer to the yard with quick steps, and the villagers around moved aside. Winters asked the village head straight away, "Are there any casualties? Where is that thing? Which way did it run?"


    "It didn''t run, sir," the head of Nanxin Village pointed toward the yard, "We''ve trapped it inside the warehouse!"


    What?


    Warehouse?


    At first Winters was puzzled, then he became a bit irritated, a surge of nameless anger rising within him.


    The warehouse in the yard that wasn''t even two meters tall? That dilapidated boardroom could hold a beast from the forest? What a joke!


    "Mr. Balbi." Montaigne, the lieutenant mounted on his horse, looked down at the village head with a chilling voice, making the air turn suddenly cold, "Are you trying to make fun of me?"


    ...


    The air inside the warehouse was damp and stuffy.


    Sunlight came through the holes in the roof and landed on the floor, revealing bright paths through the dancing dust, barely lighting up the low boardroom.


    Wheat husks, straw, and some farm tools were scattered around the warehouse, with low growls emanating from the deepest part of the clutter.


    A large, disheveled brown wolf leaned against the corner wall, bracing itself with its front legs. It bared its sharp teeth, its eyes filled with ferocity, growling warnings to keep the enemy at bay.


    There were several bloodstains on the wolf''s body, the injury on its left hind leg was the most severe; the broken bone piercing through the skin could be seen, inflicted by the blows of the farmers'' sticks.


    This wild creature was now at the end of its tether, Winters gave it one last look, then threw the spear in his hand.


    The short spear, thrown with tremendous force, hit the wolf with the severely injured hind leg, the tip entering from one side, piercing through the rib and sticking into the ground from the other side.


    The pinned-down wolf whimpered like an injured puppy. Winters pulled out a short blade and put an end to its suffering.


    After dragging the brown wolf''s carcass out of the warehouse, Winters asked the village head, "Is this the only one? Are there more?"


    Surrounded by the yard, the villagers of Nanxin erupted into cheers at the sight of the dead wolf.


    "No more, your lordship," the shaken village head Balbi swallowed his saliva and said with cautious care, "Just this one that got trapped in the board warehouse."


    A dog, three chickens and ducks, half a dozen eggs, and several villagers bitten on the legs, that''s all the loss Nanxin Village suffered.


    About five or six wolves broke into Nanxin Village in search of food, and one was killed on the spot by the gathered militia. Except for one wolf that frantically hid in a farmer''s barn, the rest ran back into the forest.


    The barn was narrow and no villager dared to enter, so that brown wolf was eventually dealt with by Winters himself.


    The villagers of Nanxin Village were very exhilarated. In their view, although the wolf invasion was real, not only had they driven the wolves away but had also killed two, so the wolf invasion wasn''t a big deal at all.


    After getting Winters''s permission, the jubilant Protestants had already begun preparing to divvy up the wolf meat.


    Gerard and Winters rode side by side on their horses, watching from afar as the villagers sharpened knives and boiled water. Gerard expressed his satisfaction, "Lieutenant, it seems that the militia of Nanxin Village has been well trained by you."


    Winters shook his head, not sounding pleased, "I only practiced javelin throwing a few times, there''s hardly any training to speak of. It''s just wolves, something that a few farmers with clubs can handle."


    Hunter Ralph left the villagers who were dealing with the dead wolves and approached the two men.


    "Is there something special?" Winters asked the hunter.


    "Sir, except for some gastric acid and a bit of squirrel remains, there were only grass roots in the wolf''s stomach," Ralph reported his findings. "Overall, this pack of wolves still fears humans, and they probably only dared to enter the village because they were starving."


    Winters asked the hunter, "The people of Nanxin Village say the wolves ran west. Do you think we can catch up with them?"


    "We can try to follow them. Although two of their companions are dead, the pack knows there''s food here, and in desperation, they might come back. But we''ve arrived late, and the chances of catching up to them are slim," Ralph replied cautiously.


    Winters nodded and ordered, "Go get Dusack assembled, you lead the way, and we''ll give it a try. Killing one more now means less trouble in the future."


    Ralph accepted the order and left to call those Dusack who were watching the spectacle.


    As the riders were regrouping, Sergei came over with two bundles smeared with blood, showing them to Winters with high spirits, "Commander! Look! I got the wolf pelts from the heretics for you."


    The hunter''s skinning skills were very adept; the wolf pelts from claw to tail to head were peeled off completely, even without getting too much blood on them.


    "What do I need this for?" Winters felt uncomfortable at the sight of the stripped wolf pelts.


    "It''s the wolf you slaughtered, of course the pelt belongs to you," the old man said matter-of-factly. "We can''t let the heretics get it cheap. Tomorrow, we''ll have Ralph tan it, and make a few sets of gloves, wrist guards and such, wouldn''t that be lovely?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gerard also chimed in with a smile, "Wolf pelts are good, more breathable than cowhide or sheepskin."


    "Exactly! The best part of a wolf is its hide, better than two layers of cowhide put together!" Sergei asserted confidently.


    The old man glanced disdainfully at the lively scene of the Nanxin villagers dividing the meat, "Heretics don''t know what''s good. What''s so tasty about wolf meat? It''s sour and stinky; I wouldn''t eat it even if it were given to me for free."


    "Enough already. It''s good just to have meat to eat, what''s there to dislike?" Gerard joked, giving his old pal a light tap with his whip, "If it were thirty years earlier, you''d be the one pushing to the front to grab the meat."


    Sergei didn''t continue the topic but happily asked Winters, "Commander, I heard you almost made the village chief of Nanxin wet his pants?"


    Although running in vain made the old man quite irritated, evidently, the Protestant village chief''s humiliation delighted him more.


    Winters smiled wryly and shook his head; he also hadn''t expected that a simple question could cause such a loss of composure in Chief Balbi.


    "Heresy must be occasionally chastised!" the old man said buoyantly, "If you ask me, you''re just too kind to them; they aren''t afraid of you at all..."


    Winters felt increasingly that something was amiss as he listened, but since he didn''t understand the grudges between the villages of Wolf Town, he just listened and didn''t speak.


    "Enough!" Gerard immediately interrupted, "Will you ever learn to hold your tongue as you grow older?"


    Soon after, the riders from Dusa Village assembled.


    Under Hunter Ralph''s guidance, about twenty riders followed the wolf pack''s trail toward the woods west of Nanxin Village.


    ...


    ...


    It wasn''t until sunset that Winters and Gerard returned to Mitchell''s.


    The two had led the riders of Dusa Village in pursuit for hours, but they had nothing to show for it.


    Montaigne, the weary lieutenant, hadn''t even caught his breath when an unexpected visitor came looking for him... to be precise, the visitor had been waiting at Mitchell''s. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Looking at the visitor''s clothes and accessories, Winters tried hard to recall the face in front of him.


    He asked uncertainly, "Er, you are... you''re the priest who held the cup in the church, right?"


    "Indeed, Garrison Officer," the young man in front of him replied without a hint of annoyance, still smiling, "I am Priest Caman, Anthony''s assistant."


    A tiny church with two priests? Winters found it odd, but he asked in an indifferent manner, "What do you want with me?"


    "Indeed, there is something I''d like to ask for your help with," said the young priest with a smile tinged with embarrassment, "You haven''t employed a formal clerk yet, have you?"


    Winters had been entrusting his written work to Gerard''s clerk, Panveche.


    Hearing the priest''s question, Winters was both surprised and amused, "I haven''t, but I dare not employ an official priest as my scribe¡ªyou''re not here looking for a job, are you?"


    "Yes, I am indeed here to seek employment with you," Priest Caman''s smile grew more awkward, "but not for myself. Rather, it''s for another respected priest..."


    "Just wait a second," Winters interrupted Caman, asking with a smile, "You''re not talking about that Priest Anthony, are you? He must be at least sixty years old, right?"


    Priest Caman hurried to explain, "Of course not, Brother Anthony is the main celebrant of our church; he certainly wouldn''t be a clerk. I am referring to another clergyman."


    "Mr. Caman," seeing that the priest was serious, Winters asked earnestly, losing his smile, "You''re not joking with me, are you?"


    "Certainly not! Absolutely not, I am sincerely here to seek a position for Brother Reed!"


    Winters was already tired, and now he felt slightly annoyed, "A formal clergyman wants a position as a clerk? You''re not joking with me?"


    "Not at all, please let me explain," said Priest Caman earnestly, "Brother Reed is an Ascetic Monk who wanders and practices asceticism all year round, begging for alms. He only arrived at Wolf Town yesterday and plans to spend the winter here. So, I was hoping to find him a temporary haven."


    Ascetic Monks emphasize poverty and purity without a congregation, preaching through their "begging" journeys; they are a type of ascetic.


    Winters was even more perplexed, "Is your church by any chance lacking a set of tableware? Even an Ascetic Monk doesn''t need to be a clerk for me, does he?"


    "Well, Brother Reed''s theological views are somewhat..." Priest Caman''s face turned red, and he stammered in a nearly inaudible voice, "¡­quite unconventional, so he is somewhat at odds with Brother Anthony..."


    The young priest asked with difficulty, "Lieutenant Montaigne, I really have no other options, hence my request for your help... You''re not a Catholic, right?"


    Winters shook his head, replying with a sneer, "No."


    "Nor an Orthodox or a Protestant, correct?"


    "Neither."


    "You are... an unbeliever, right?"


    "Correct."


    Having confirmed that the officer before him wasn''t a believer, Priest Caman''s expression not only didn''t darken, but it also seemed to relax significantly, "That''s why I''m asking for your help, because you''re the only one in Wolf Town who could tolerate Brother Reed''s theological views."


    Winters was astounded, "Are you telling me you want to push a heretic on me?"


    "Not at all," Priest Caman said with an embarrassed laugh, "But since you''re an unbeliever, you wouldn''t mind heresy, would you?"


    Trying to argue with a priest who had received a theological education was clearly masochistic. Winters, utterly exhausted, just wanted to rest and had no desire to waste more words with the cleric before him.


    He yawned, resignedly saying, "Well then... bring the person to meet me first, will you?"


    "Certainly!" Priest Caman stood up excitedly, "Then it''s settled."


    Having said that, Caman left without looking back, not even saying goodbye.


    Winters tried to call him back but failed, Montaigne, the lieutenant, murmured with a wry smile, "How is that settled?"


    ...


    The following day.


    The town hall of Wolfton.


    Both Gerard and Winters were dumbfounded.


    "Mr. Caman, are you sure you''re not joking with me?" Winters managed to keep his composure, asking in as calm a tone as possible, "This... Brother Reed... he must be at least seventy years old, right?"


    Gerard Mitchell couldn''t help but nod along.


    Before them, an old monk with a flowing beard twirled his whiskers and smiled without a word.

 Chapter 10 The Mendicant Monk

    Winters never imagined that the "Brother Reed" Caman spoke of would turn out to be such a weathered old man.The elder''s hair and beard contained not a trace of black, and his skin sagged, appearing to drape over his bones.


    Due to advanced age, the inevitable loss of bone density made his frame slightly hunched, but the pair of eyes hidden beneath the wrinkles still sparkled brightly.


    The mendicant monk, dressed in a coarse gray robe, calmly surveyed the Wolf Town town hall and the two public officials, almost as if he were the true master of this place.


    In front of this old man, Gerard and Sergei could only be considered young men. Caman addressed him as "Brother Reed," but in truth, the old man was old enough to be his great-grandfather.


    "Sir, how old are you this year?" Winters politely inquired. Keeping in mind that elders often have hearing impairments, he deliberately raised his voice by several decibels, "Seventy? Eighty?"


    "Rest assured, Your Excellency, I''m not so old as to be hard of hearing," Brother Reed laughed heartily as he spoke, "To be honest, I am ninety-five this year!"


    Father Caman also explained, "Brother Reed was consecrated only after he turned sixty. He took vows as a mendicant monk, and although he is now ninety-five years old, he still travels about preaching."


    "Ninety-five? Am I seeing a living saint?" Gerard, fifty-four, was greatly surprised and hurriedly moved his chair for the old monk, "Please have a seat, elder. You do seem young... "


    Brother Reed, not shying away from the offer, sat down graciously.


    Winters was also quite shocked by the ninety-five-year-old mendicant monk, but he noticed something else out of the ordinary: the elder had an awkward accent when he spoke, sounding as if he were imitating the pronunciation of the common tongue in another language. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Brother Reed? You''re not a Senas native, are you?" Winters frowned in curiosity.


    The old monk replied with a smile, "No, not a Senas."


    "Are you a Selika from the Far East?"


    "You are indeed knowledgeable," the old monk said with an amiable smile, "Few can discern that I am from Selika. Most people who recognize that I am not a Senas assume I am a Saracen from the Far East."


    Indeed! Winters thought.


    To the people of this continent, whether they be Senas or Empire, "people from the East" generally refers to the Saracens of the Near East, and "the East" naturally refers to the territory of the present-day Fleman Empire.


    The East of the East, the turning point of the monsoon trade route, the land of spices, silk, and porcelain, the extreme orient, is referred to as the Far East by geographers.


    However, in this era, most people can''t differentiate between the East and the Far East, nor do they need this knowledge. Apart from scholars, only merchants know there is another powerful empire in the Far East.


    To others, the Selika of the Far East are no different from the Saracens of the Near East.


    But from the moment the mendicant monk entered, Winters felt that this old man was from the Far East.


    Although appearance can vary greatly among individuals, people from different regions have subtle differences in facial features. Even if one can''t articulate these differences, it''s possible to recognize them through intuition.


    The mendicant monk, however, was simply too old, his saggy skin, layered wrinkles, and settled pigmentation obscured the distinctive traits of a foreigner.


    Thus, to those whose discernment wasn''t very sharp, Brother Reed was merely an old man with a strange accent.


    "That''s not unusual, I''ve seen some Selika merchants from the Far East in Vineta," Winters did not accept the compliment, instead he found the old man more suspicious, "I am quite curious, how does a Selika man receive holy orders from the Church? Has the Church already spread to the Far East?"


    "Oh, that''s a long story, and if we start from the beginning, three days and nights might not be enough to tell it all," the old mendicant monk stroked his beard, smilingly said, "I converted, received holy orders, and was consecrated on Rhodes Island. As for why a Selika man became a mendicant monk of the Church? I don''t understand myself, presumably it is the arrangement of the Lord above."


    Winters wanted to continue his questioning but was interrupted by Gerard.


    "You... You come from the farthest east in the world?" Old Dusack''s demeanor became reverent and respectful.


    "In a sense," the mendicant monk gently stroked his beard and smiled, "Yes."


    Gerard''s expression became even more respectful, almost to the point of kissing the hem of the mendicant monk''s robes, "You... Are you a living saint?"


    "No."


    Seeing the way Old Dusack was about to bow on his knees, Winters was almost beside himself with frustration.


    He coughed twice, asking the old monk coolly, "I previously thought Brother Reed that Caman spoke of was a young man. You''re ninety-five years old, and still want to work as a scribe for me?"


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    "What?!" Gerard was instantly agitated, jumping up and exclaiming, "How could we make Brother Reed work as a scribe?"


    "Mr. Michel, please be calm," the mendicant monk waved at Gerard who immediately quietened down like a trained pup,


    Subsequently, Brother Reed said with a poised demeanor, "I am here to apply for the scribe position. I plan to spend the winter in Wolf Town this year, so I''m looking for a job to support myself."


    "You should not work as a scribe, please come to my house. I am willing to provide for you, for as long as necessary," Gerard said eagerly.


    "Mr. Michel, I am a mendicant monk," Reed smiled and shook his head, "I have taken a vow of poverty, ''no work, no eat,'' I will not accept any free support from others."

 Chapter 10 The Mendicant Monk_2

    ```Gerard was so moved by these words that he couldn''t help but kneel to lift the hem of the mendicant friar''s robe to his lips, his eyes reddening as if he was on the verge of weeping right there and then.


    Seeing this, Winters felt a chill and rolled his eyes involuntarily. He thought to himself, "Well now, if this old charlatan asked Mr. Michel to jump off a cliff, he''d probably do it without hesitation."


    Looking at the old charlatan before him, Winters''s irritation grew. He asked pointedly, "Brother Reed, the work of a copyist is quite demanding. I fear an elderly man like you couldn''t handle it?"


    "Please be assured, Montaigne. Despite my age, my mind is still clear and my hands still capable," the mendicant friar responded with an ever more kindly and gentle smile, "Copying manuscripts, counting money and keeping accounts are no trouble at all; as for medicine, both internal and external, and complex diseases, I have some understanding; celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, baptizing and blessing are my duties; even exorcisms, dream interpretations, divinations, and fortune-telling... I know a thing or two..."


    The old mendicant friar went on and on, his litany leaving Winters and Gerard dumbfounded.


    The more Brother Reed spoke, the more reverent and humble Gerard became.


    But the more Winters listened, the less the old man before him seemed like a clergyman and more like a charlatan from the streets.


    Winters looked dubiously at Priest Caman, who responded with an awkward smile.


    With Winters and Caman at a loss for words and Gerard listening devoutly, and the old mendicant friar stroking his beard with a smile, silence fell upon the town hall.


    Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and the panicked grocer brought bad news once again: "Sir! Beacon fires! Another beacon fire has been lit!"


    "Beacon fires?" Gerard was both shocked and enraged, "Those wolves must be starving mad! How dare they come again?"


    "I''ll go see what''s going on." Winters immediately took his musket and ammunition and, without a moment to spare for farewells, ran to the backyard to fetch his horse.


    Gerard Mitchell stayed in the town hall to receive Brother Reed and Father Caman.


    It was not until Winters, mounted on his chestnut horse, had run out of the town center that he realized something was amiss¡ªthe direction of the rising smoke was from Dusa Village.


    ...


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    Old Sergei led Winters to the communal pasture where the young stable boy Anglu was kneeling beside a horse carcass, weeping bitterly.


    Recognizing the blue mane, Winters identified the horse carcass on the ground.


    It was Tess, the majestic blue horse, the leader, father, and protector of the herd.


    "It must have happened this morning when the beast broke in and killed Tess, dragging him into the woods," Sergei said with no sign of his usual smile, his expression grim, "Little Hook found a horse missing when he got up and called us to search. By the time we found it, its belly had been gutted."


    "Anglu!" Winters dismounted and walked over to the stable boy. "Did you see what did it?"


    The stable boy wiped his tears and shook his head.


    Seeing the stable boy kneeling beside the horse carcass and sobbing unrestrainedly, Winters grasped his collar and dragged him to his feet, "Stop crying! Don''t cry if you''re a man! This isn''t your fault, but you should channel the energy from your tears into seeking vengeance!"


    After wiping the boy''s tears with his sleeve and remounting, Winters asked Sergei, "Were there any other casualties?"


    "Rostov''s youngest son and Yuska''s daughter are also missing," Sergei replied with an even grimmer demeanor. "That drunkard Rostov didn''t even realize his son sneaked out last night... Those kids are always up to mischief together; it''s hard to say if something''s happened to them..."


    To dare go into the woods at this time for a tryst?!


    Winters grew more anxious and angry, "When did they run off? Did anyone see where they went?"


    "No," Sergei replied in a subdued voice, shaking his head.


    "Where was the horse found?"


    "In the woods south of the village."


    "Call all the Dusacks; follow me!"


    No rallying was needed, for the Dusacks'' anger and shock had reached a boiling point. Thus, all men who could still mount a horse, young and old, brought out their warhorses and armed themselves with spears and muskets, gathering in the village square.


    In the eyes of the Dusacks, they were the predators, the ones who offered help and protection.


    ```


    No one thought that Dusa Village would be attacked¡ªnot the Dusacks, anyway. They didn''t even have beacon fires prepared.


    It was this blind arrogance that made Dusa Village neglect its defense, allowing the young people to brave the forest for a tryst at such a time.


    Now, it was too late for regrets.


    After dispatching riders to notify Gerard and to assemble the militias from the other four villages, Winters led nearly a hundred Dusacks into the woodland, searching for the missing couple and traces of wild beasts in groups of three, in a dragnet-style operation.


    In the deep and gloomy primeval forest, the riders scrutinized their surroundings with care, vanishing from view amongst the foliage as they bowed their heads.


    The men used sticks and spears to beat the trunks, deterring wild beasts and using the sound to gauge the distance of their companions.


    Winters was grouped with the Hunter Ralph and Sergei.


    Seeing Winters'' grim face, Ralph cautiously offered consolation, "My lord, there''s no need to worry too much, those two kids will probably be fine, perhaps they just got carried away and forgot to return home."


    "Why?"


    "Because wild beasts seldom kill for the sake of killing," the Hunter explained cautiously. "Even if you throw a rabbit in front of them after they have had their fill, they won''t bother with it. Whatever killed the warhorse had its fill before abandoning the carcass, and unless provoked, it would likely not attack humans."


    Upon hearing the Hunter''s words, old Sergei''s expression softened a bit.


    The old man slammed his stick against the trunk furiously, "First the wolves, now this thing. Why do these evil beasts seem like they''ve gone mad, running out of the woods?"


    Ralph thought for a moment and then slowly answered, "The most likely reason is hunger. Unless they''ve tasted human blood, even the most ferocious beasts fear humans. Also, fierce creatures have their own territories. If an even more vicious creature takes over the territory, the original inhabitants can only flee. I think... it''s quite possible that the pack of wolves was driven out of the woods by whatever we are searching for." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters'' mind stirred, asking the Hunter, "Are you suggesting that the territories of the wild beasts might fall like dominoes, one after the other?"


    "That''s not exactly what I mean. If a wolf is driven into another bear''s territory by a bear, it still can''t defeat the bear," Ralph said, vexed, scratching his head. "I don''t know... Ah, the secrets of this primeval forest are too many. I actually don''t know anything."


    Hey, what''s there to think about? It''s just a wolf disaster, isn''t it? Where have wild beasts not injured people?" Sergei scoffed with disdain. "Could it really be that someone exhausted the forest''s rabbits and deer, causing wolves and bears to run out because they have nothing to eat?"


    The Hunter was about to say something when shouts came from the depths of the woods, out of sight, "Here! Over here!"


    The three men immediately closed in on the source of the noise.


    A Dusack had found fabric scraps hanging from the shrubbery... as well as bloodstains.


    Following the blood, they found the bodies.


    Two bodies.


    One relatively intact male body, with everything above the neck bitten off, the head nowhere to be found.


    Then there was the other body that was unrecognizable as either male or female, and could not even be called a "body" anymore.


    Because all that was left were two legs, the rest torn to shreds, with organs and flesh scattered like rain across the forest floor.


    Rostov was overcome with grief, clutching the cold body of his younger son, refusing to let go. For the first time, the man who regularly drowned his sorrows in liquor had sobered up, only to face the agony of losing a child.


    The girl''s father, upon seeing this sight, fainted dead away.


    Sergei clenched his fists, glaring at Ralph fiercely.


    The old man said nothing, but the Hunter wouldn''t misunderstand that gaze, "You said it wasn''t dangerous, didn''t you? Didn''t you say that?!"


    After examining the two bodies, Ralph spoke with difficulty, "The beast must have dragged off the girl first. The boy tried to rescue her, so he followed, and ended up being killed by the beast too."


    As the spread-out Dusacks heard the news, they all gathered around. People crowded around the remains; two young lives had vanished like that, leaving behind only endless grief and rage.


    "Leave a few people to help the families bring back the bodies," Winters suppressed his emotions, remounting his horse, "Everyone else, follow me!"

 Chapter 11 The Beast Hunting Team

    At the Mitchell''s dining table, a heated debate was unfolding.More accurately, it wasn''t so much a debate as it was a one-sided rout.


    The old mendicant friar Reed was entirely triumphant, while Father Anthony was inching ever closer to dying of rage. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The priest of Wolf Town Church, with a red face and hurried voice, exclaimed, "¡­The essence of the Catholic Church is personal worship. The Lord truly incarnated as a person, and not in the image of a pharaoh, a king, or an emperor, but as a humble Galilean farmer. This concept is unprecedented, and it''s precisely this that draws more and more people to convert and accept the Gospel."


    However, Friar Reed scoffed in response, "And why don''t you tell your followers that the Son of God is just a lowly farmer from Galilee? See if they are moved or if you end up stoned to death? What''s so special about God becoming human? Travel thousands of miles from here to the east, and you''ll find religions where humans can become gods!"


    "But doesn''t our success in supplanting the ancient pagan religions exactly demonstrate the divine mandate of the Catholic Church?"


    "The rise of the Catholic Church only shows one thing, that those in high places know how to get things done. With the Empire''s support, the Western Church went from a church of the poor and the oppressed to a church of the powerful. What I really want to ask you is, in the lands of the Saracens, another heretical religion holds equal status to Catholicism, where the Eastern Church can only be second-class citizens. Do you also acknowledge their divine mandate?"


    Father Anthony''s breath hitched, nearly passing out from indignation.


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    The old mendicant friar leisurely sipped his wine, with a smile on his face that made Father Anthony suddenly want to punch him square in the nose.


    The pair were speaking in Old Tongue, also mixing in many ancient terms.


    Apart from the two in dispute, only Father Caman and Winters in the Mitchell household understood their words.


    Pierre, the son of the Mitchell family, had gone to find the young groom Anglu, leaving only Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and their unmarried younger daughter, Scarlett, at the dining table.


    Gerard''s young daughter was thoroughly preoccupied with the lieutenant; she kept sneaking glances at Lieutenant Montaigne. Gerard himself didn''t understand why the two priests were arguing, even though he didn''t grasp what they were arguing about.


    However, the Mitchell family should be glad they couldn''t understand the "abominable and shocking" remarks of the clergy, which would be deemed heretical in the eyes of ordinary believers; this way, they could continue to respect the two priests.


    Of the two people who could understand, Father Caman showed no expression, while Winters was distracted.


    They had found nothing in their hunt for the beast; the blood trail and scent vanished at a small stream. The creature had traversed some distance in water, erasing its tracks with the flow.


    Winters, leading men, searched kilometers up and down the stream, but the best hunting dogs from Dusa Village couldn''t sniff out where the creature had emerged from the water.


    This vast primeval forest absorbed the search party of over a hundred people like a drop of water in the desert. The search area was extremely limited, like searching for a needle in the ocean.


    As the sun began to set, making it harder for humans to operate at night while the wild beasts thrived, Winters reluctantly ordered the militia to withdraw from the woods.


    What angered Winters even more than the failed hunt was the indifference of the two Protestant villages toward the beast plague.


    Before leading the Dusack into the woods, Winters had sent riders to all four of the other villages to summon their militias. The militias from villages east and west of the river quickly arrived under their leaders'' guidance and joined the hunt.


    However, the villages of Nanxin and Beixin didn''t send anyone from start to finish.


    When Winters questioned the village leaders, both came up with the same excuses, using "We thought the Dusack were pulling our leg" and "Our participation wouldn''t have made any difference" to shirk responsibility.


    More hateful than an enemy''s attack was betrayal.


    If the two Protestant village heads were not civilians, the furious Lieutenant Montaigne might have executed those two wastrels on the spot.


    If an outsider felt such indignation, imagine what the Dusack must have felt.


    The old village chief of Dusa, Sergei, almost drew his sword to kill the two Protestant village leaders; he was so enraged that he was held back and, beating his chest, swore oaths that even if all the heretics died out, he would never extend any help to them again.


    In the small village of Wolf Town, the mood was as tangled and indecipherable as a ball of yarn.


    Winters had no intention of meddling in these affairs; he merely hoped that the villages would unite to resolve the wolf plague swiftly. He knew that sooner or later, he would return to Vineta and did not wish to leave a mess behind.


    But now, the beast was yet to be seen, and the villages were on the verge of fighting each other instead.


    Lieutenant Montaigne even began to miss the harsh battles in Tanilia, where at least enemies were enemies and friends were friends, without any of these annoyances causing fresh disdain.


    Winters really had no appetite; he thanked Mrs. Mitchell for her hospitality and left the dining table.


    Shortly after, Father Caman too got up to leave. After exiting the dining room, he went straight to the back of the house.


    There, Lieutenant Montaigne was pacing thoughtfully.


    Startled by Caman''s footsteps, Winters casually asked, "Your Brother Reed sure is bold with his words; he isn''t afraid of being sentenced to the stake. Is that why you placed him with me?"


    "Brother Reed is only intentionally provoking Father Anthony; he was merely teasing him," Father Caman replied with a measured tone, nonchalantly sitting on a barrel: "Theologic debates often sound blasphemous to the ears of the faithful, which is quite normal. The Catholic Church does not have a tradition of burning its clergy. Moreover, Brother Reed has a special status which allows him to speak freely."

 Chapter 11 The Beast Hunting Team_2

    "What''s so special about that?"Father Caman answered indifferently, "The special part lies in the ''introducer''. Over thirty years ago, when Rhodes Island was conquered by the Saracens, the head of the Knight Order''s Monastery, Philip, was martyred and later canonized. Brother Reed was originally a monk of the Bodhi Religion, converted to the Catholic faith under the inspiration of Saint Philip, and was personally consecrated by the saint as a clergyman."


    "So even saints have connections."


    "It is said that the recognition of Brother Reed''s holy orders was intended to send him to preach in the Far East, but unexpectedly, he chose to stay here and not leave, which greatly angered the former Pope." Caman said with a smile, "Brother Reed has traveled the world and is widely knowledgeable, drawing from a vast reference in debates. Although his theological views are very dangerous, no one could refute him, and many famous debaters were beaten into a sorry state by him."


    "With such a dangerous person, your church doesn''t confine him and instead allows him to roam around?"


    "Who would do that to a powerless mendicant friar? And how many clerics can truly abide by the vows of chastity and poverty within the church? With Brother Reed''s noble conduct, it wouldn''t be excessive for him to be canonized after death."


    Winters was unimpressed, "That old man has such skills? Then I should indeed invite him to Nanxin village and Beixin village to see if he can settle the farmers there."


    "Haha, if you were to send Brother Reed there, perhaps indeed he could relieve the Bishop''s Council of a worry."


    "A worry?"


    "A worry." Father Caman stretched out lazily, and said languidly, "You can''t argue him down, nor can you kill him; if that''s not a worry, what is?"


    "Mr. Caman, your current demeanor would probably upset your parishioners if they saw it."


    "But you don''t believe." Father Caman yawned, "So there''s no need for such formalities between us, it''s pointless."


    As he spoke, Father Caman took a tobacco-filled pipe out of his pocket and handed it to Winters.


    Winters was taken aback, "I don''t smoke."


    "I''m not offering you a smoke," Caman said with a grin, "I''m asking you to light it for me."


    "What do you mean?" Winters became wary.


    "Don''t pretend, Lieutenant Montaigne," Caman asked with a smile, "You''re a spellcaster, aren''t you?"


    Winters snorted coldly without confirming nor denying.


    Without waiting for a response, Father Caman continued, "In the south, there are only two kinds of people who are not believers: one is a spellcaster, and the other is a devil worshiper. Are you a devil worshiper, Lieutenant Montaigne?"


    Winters didn''t respond to him.


    "Since you''re not a devil worshiper, then you can only be a spellcaster." Father Caman jiggled the pipe in his hand, "Lieutenant, I mean no harm."


    Winters took the pipe, silently cast a fire-sparking spell and lit the tobacco.


    Magic and evil wizards are always spoken of interchangeably among the folks, which is why Winters had never revealed his identity as a spellcaster since coming to Wolf Town. This was his first time showing his magical ability in front of someone else.


    "Those who claim to have no ill will often have the most," Winters said as he passed the pipe back.


    Receiving the pipe, Father Caman held it in his hand but did not indulge, "I was just curious." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Curious about what?"


    "I understand your concern," Father Caman sighed, speaking earnestly, "but rest assured, as long as you don''t harm the parishioners of this diocese, I will not reveal your identity as a spellcaster to anyone, nor will I use this fact to do anything detrimental to you."


    Winters scoffed, "It seems spellcasters are no different from devil''s worshippers in your eyes."


    Laughing heartily, Father Caman retorted, "Aren''t clerics all the same in your eyes?"


    Suddenly, Winters looked into the distance, faintly hearing the sound of hoofbeats. They grew closer and clearer, and soon Father Caman also heard them. Yes, a rider was galloping toward Mitchell''s estate.


    Winters and Caman exchanged glances and swiftly went towards the front gate.


    The rider brought another piece of bad news, the beast had appeared again.


    Upon receiving the news, Winters and Gerard immediately led out the warhorses, fully armed, and rushed to the scene.


    It was already dark, too late to gather the militiamen, but Father Caman volunteered to join them.


    ...


    This time, the place where the beast committed its violence was not within the five villages under Wolf Town''s jurisdiction, but a logging camp.


    A lumberjack stepped out of his shack to relieve himself, only to encounter the beast. Hearing the wails and cries for help from outside, the other lumberjacks banged on iron tools to save the unfortunate lumberjack.


    When Winters and company arrived at the logging site, they saw an almost unrecognizable, barely breathing victim lying on a wooden bed. Everything below the victim''s left ankle had vanished, leaving only a gruesome, bloody stump.


    An old logger with some medical knowledge had tied the victim''s calf with hemp rope in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but dark red liquid was still seeping out from the wound, the bed sheet by the victim''s feet already soaked in blood.


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    For the poor lumberjack, death was merely a matter of time, and Father Caman was already offering his last prayers.


    "Did he see what it was?" Winters asked the foreman, "Did any of you see what it was?"


    "It was a bear!" The foreman''s body still shook uncontrollably, "A bear as big as a house!"


    ...


    The unfortunate lumberjack died during the night.


    The foreman assigned two workers to dig a shallow pit and bury the body, the other divided up the dead man''s shabby belongings, and that was considered the funeral. The whole process was shockingly haphazard.

 Chapter 11 Beast-hunting Team_3

    When Winters first learned that there was a timber camp in Wolf Town, he thought it was a small-scale lumber mill with a dozen workers.It wasn''t until he arrived at the timber camp that Winters realized it was a large lumbering team with a hundred people, not much different from the population of a small village.


    The logging team''s campsite delved deep into the forest, away from human settlements, practically a meal laid out for wild beasts. The foreman had heard about the wolf plague and had long since run back to the county seat, leaving only a few supervisors behind to maintain order.


    Furthermore, the living conditions of the loggers were unimaginably crowded and harsh. Winters didn''t know where the foreman had found workers willing to toil in such a place.


    "I reckon that bear will come again," Winters discussed with Gerard, "These loggers are all able-bodied; can we enlist them in the militia?"


    "I''m afraid not, they''re not residents of Wolf Town, just hired to chop trees," Gerard said with a wry smile, "Once they''ve cut down these few hundred acres of forest, they''ll be gone. The wolf disaster doesn''t concern them, and we don''t have jurisdiction over them. Even if we asked them to join the militia, the merchants who purchased the logging rights wouldn''t agree, and the workers themselves wouldn''t accept it either."


    "Weren''t the logging rights sold by you?"


    "No, they were bought from the county. This forest, this land, this river¡ªall belong to the county."


    "I''ll give it a try and see if I can persuade them."


    The negotiation with the logging team failed completely, as Gerard had said. The foremen claimed that without the manager there, they didn''t dare to make decisions, and none of the loggers responded to the call to join the bear-hunting team.


    A foreman sought out Winters in private to explain, "My lord, these workers lead a very harsh life. Most of them are Protestants and have not been spared disdain by the villagers. The few Catholics that attend mass in town on weekends even have the Dusans making trouble for them. They would not risk their lives to help the people of Wolf Town catch a bear."


    "Those few villages are outside the forest; your logging team is inside. Wouldn''t that bear, when hungry, come for you first?" Winters was somewhat displeased.


    "I understand this, but the workers don''t!" the foreman said helplessly. "In their eyes, with over a hundred people here, it''s far safer than the villages outside."


    The idea of recruiting the loggers into the bear-hunting team had failed, but at least now Winters knew that the dangerous beast was a bear, a very large one.


    Immediately upon returning to town from the logging site, Lieutenant Montaigne organized a bear-hunting team, borrowing more heavy muskets and hunting dogs from Blackwater Town.


    The main members of the bear-hunting team were Dusack from Dusa Village. The Dusans had warhorses, weapons, and a great grudge against the bear. Neither Nanxin Village nor Beixin Village sent a single person to join the bear-hunting team.


    In response, the bear-hunters from Dusa Village flatly refused to patrol and search the forests near the Protestant villages.


    Lieutenant Montaigne was powerless in this situation; the militia were not soldiers, and he had no authority over them. His command over everyone relied on trust and respect.


    Winters could only have Hunter patrol the forests near Nan and Beixin Villages more frequently.


    In the following three days, Winters led the bear-hunting team to comb the forests near Wolf Town, but to no avail.


    They didn''t find the giant bear, but the old mendicant friar came knocking on the third night.


    "Speak quickly, if you please," Winters, tired and weary from trekking through the deep mountains and forests all day, had no patience for idle chatter with the old charlatan, "Otherwise, I need to rest."


    "Don''t hurry, Lieutenant. I''m here to help you," said the old man, beaming, "I''ve observed you for several days. In terms of fighting, ten of me wouldn''t match you. But there''s one thing a hundred of you wouldn''t match me in."


    "What''s that?" Winters asked with a cold laugh as he took off his boots.


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    The mendicant monk pulled over Winters'' chair, settled himself with dignity, and uttered a single word gravely:


    "Politics."


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 Chapter 11 Politics

    "Politics!"Upon hearing the friar utter that word, Winters completely lost interest in the conversation.


    "Bloody politics," the garrison lieutenant said nastily as he tossed his boots, which landed with a thud thud on the floor, "As if there''s any damn politics in this tiny speck of land!"


    "Where there are people, there is politics. Even within this very small room, there is politics." Friar Reed stroked his beard and said with a smile, "In Wolfton, you represent military authority, and I am a missionary sent by the Catholic Church to the grassroots. Isn''t that politics? Since there''s politics between you and me, of course there is also politics in Wolf Town."


    Winters subconsciously wanted to argue, but he felt there was some truth in the other''s words.


    "So an old charlatan is giving me a lesson in politics? Laughable." Winters disdained and started making his bed, getting ready to sleep. Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire


    He didn''t notice that his attitude had unconsciously softened a lot compared to when Friar Reed had first entered the bedroom.


    "Young man, I have to correct one of your views." Such sarcasm clearly didn''t dent the friar''s thick skin, the old man said with a cheery smile, "Although I am a charlatan, I am your charlatan."


    "Since when did you become ''my'' charlatan?" Winters retorted.


    The old cleric replied matter-of-factly, "Of course, when you hired me. Isn''t it you who pays me my salary?"


    "You have the nerve to say that? Have you even done a bit of a scribe''s work?" Winters crossed his arms and sat boldly on the bed, deliberately using a respectful term sarcastically, "The Mayor Mitchell wouldn''t dare trouble you, the living Saint. Aren''t all the clerical tasks still being done by Panveche? You eat at Mitchell''s, live at Mitchell''s, and still get a salary for nothing. Frankly, I''d like to swap places with you."


    "Some serve as scribes because that''s all they can do, while I do not serve as a scribe for the exact opposite reason." The old beggar friar was in no way ashamed of shirking work, he said with utter sincerity, "If I were to do scribe''s work, it would mean someone is wasting your resources, and of course, I cannot allow that to happen."


    "You really have the gall to say that!" Winters was stunned.


    The old man replied unhurriedly, "Lieutenant, sir, power requires the aid of knowledge to function. Why do officials of the Empire in the Far East hire scholars as staff? Why do the noble lords here employ clerics as advisors? It''s the same principle. For you, my value does not lie in menial tasks like copying and accounting, but in providing the knowledge you lack."


    "What knowledge?"


    "Political knowledge."


    Winters sighed, "Friar Reed, it''s getting late. Please go back and rest." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let me ask you a question, Garrison Officer," said the friar, with no intention of leaving, "Do you know why the highlanders call this place Newly Reclaimed Land?"


    Winters thought for a moment and guessed based on the literal meaning, "Because it is newly reclaimed land?"


    "Newly reclaimed?" The friar chuckled softly, looking straight into the lieutenant''s eyes, "Then what about the original owners?"


    The old man''s eyes were dark and profound, hiding who knows how many secrets.


    "How would I know?" As for the history of Paratu, Winters''s knowledge was not deep, "Ownerless land, presumably."


    The old cleric burst into laughter, bending over backwards as if he had heard the funniest joke.


    "Young fellow, I''ll tell you, from the great ocean to the east to the vast desert to the west, there is no ownerless land under the heavens. There is land without people but not a single inch of land without an owner." Friar Reed wiped away the tears from laughing with his palm, "The Newly Reclaimed Land of the highlanders was, if we go back thirty years, the grazing grounds of the Herders. The Blackwater River that divides Wolfton and its neighboring towns is what the Herders call ''Dakta'', meaning the river with nine bends."


    Winters sat up straight from his half-reclining position, "So... what does this have to do with Wolf Town today?"


    "It''s related, of course it''s related. Everything today has its reasons found in the past. To understand the ''politics'' of this place, you must know its history." Friar Reed asked an unrelated question, "You''ve visited the villages under Wolfton''s jurisdiction, haven''t you?"


    "I have, I''ve been to every village."


    "Then have you paid attention to their land?"


    Winters didn''t understand what the other was getting at, "Land? What do you mean?"


    "I''m asking if you''ve noticed the abundance, or lack thereof, of farmland in each village." The friar smiled a little, "In other words, the abundance or lack of wealth."


    "Nanxin and Beixin villages seem a bit worse off." Winters recalled his observations from each village and answered, "The villages east and west of the river are better, and Dusa Village is the most prosperous."


    "Wrong!" The old man produced a vine stick from nowhere and rapped Winters on the head, "The most prosperous places are right where we''re sitting¡ªthe Mitchells'', the Wilkes'', the Buntings''... these estate owners! Then comes Dusa Village. Next are the villages east and west of the river, and the poorest are the Protestant villages."


    In the moment he was struck by the vine stick, Winters felt as though he was back in the military academy classroom. He covered his head and asked, "So what? Isn''t it normal to have the rich and the poor?"


    Friar Reed asked indifferently, "Haven''t you noticed anything wrong?"


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Thwack," the friar gave Winters''s head another rap with the vine stick, "Think hard, what do the estate owners grow in their fields? What is grown in Dusa Village? What about the other villages?"

 Chapter 11 Politics_2

    "How would I know? I can''t even tell wheat seedlings from weeds!" If the other person wasn''t a man over ninety, Winters really wanted to snatch the vine stick and give him a thrashing in return."[Celican] A man who does not work with his four limbs will never differentiate the five grains." The mendicant monk muttered something in a language Winters did not understand, no longer attempting to guide Winters to think but instead directly imparted, "The big landlords grow crops like tobacco and sugar beet that can be sold for money, and only a little of their land is used for growing food. Why? Because they are not lacking in food. How much can they eat with their open mouths? The estate owners occupy the best and most land in Wolfton, yet they have the fewest people, so most of their arable land is used for growing cash crops."


    The old man caught his breath and continued, "And Dusa Village, Dusa Village has fewer people than the other villages, but their land is second only to the estate owners, even more so than the other four villages combined, so much that they can apply the three-field system. Do you know what the three-field system is?"


    Winters, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, shook his head.


    "The three-field system is crop rotation, dividing the arable land into three equal parts; one for growing staples, one for supplementary crops, and one left fallow as pasture, rotating each year." The old friar thought for a moment and asked, "You''ve seen the communal pasture in Dusa Village, haven''t you?"


    "I have."


    "That''s this year''s fallow land, which has become the village''s communal pasture. That''s why the Dusacks can afford horses and use oats to feed pigs, because they are not short of arable land."


    "What about the other four villages?"


    The mendicant monk sneered, "The other four villages? They have to rent draught horse ploughs from Dusa Village every year because they use all their land to grow food and can''t afford big livestock. The villages to the east and west of the river just about make do with their land.


    These two Protestant villages have the most people but the least land; even if they plant every inch with food, it is not enough to eat. Aren''t all of Mitchell''s laborers Protestants? If they could be tenant farmers, which farmer would want to come here to work as a hired hand?"


    "The more people, the less arable land?" Winters frowned deeply, "How can that be? Why not reclaim more land? I clearly saw a lot of wasteland!"


    "Do you think the wasteland here can be reclaimed whenever one wishes?" The friar''s smile grew colder, "I already told you, every inch of land, every tree, every river¡­ even the rabbits in the forest, the fish in the river, the birds in the sky all have their owners!"


    "Whose?"


    The mendicant monk pointed his vine stick at Winters'' nose, "Yours."


    Winters was at first puzzled, then surprised, and finally displeased, "Do you find this amusing?"


    "Or perhaps I should put it another way," the old friar''s hand rested on the vine stick, "you are part of the true owner of this land."


    Winters finally caught on, "You mean... the army? The Parlatu Army?"


    "You''re not too foolish," the old monk tapped the junior officer''s shoulder with the vine stick. "Of course, it''s the military. Otherwise, what right would a mere hundred-household captain have to hold the power of life and death in Wolfton? Do you think you''re here to manage public safety? No! You represent the authority of the true owners of this land."


    "Wait a minute... the power of life and death?" The young Venetian was confused, "I don''t have an easy job; I was banished here! Wasn''t the position of Garrison Officer in Wolf Town vacant for over a decade before me?"


    "The vacancy was because Wolfton is not wealthy, not because the Garrison Officer''s position is not lucrative. In the system you belong to, you were sent here as a punishment. But to the people here, you are a lord descended from heaven.


    The Parlatu Army''s status in the New Reclamation Area is almost equivalent to that of a feudal lord; here, you are half a lord. That''s why the landlords and Dusack welcome you, the villagers from east and west of the river respect you, and the Protestants simply do not trust you."


    "Why don''t they trust me?"


    The mendicant monk''s face bore a mocking smile, "The Protestants have people, and Wolfton has wasteland. What''s stopping them from reclaiming it?"


    "Uh¡­ me?" The answer was obvious, but Winters did not understand, "Why?"


    Monk Reed sneered, "Because if they occupy even a little more land, you will go with the Dusans to chop off their heads¡ªdon''t worry, the Dusans would be very willing to do such a thing. If you are defeated by them, another squad of soldiers will come from the county seat. If one squad isn''t enough, then ten squads, a hundred squads will come, until they are annihilated.


    So, they fear you, they are terrified of you, they are afraid you''ll find the small piece of land they''ve cultivated in secret, they are afraid you''ll find the fish bones and rabbit bones in their homes. You are the Knight of Wolfton, while they are merely despicable farmers, sneaking around hunting and farming on your land. How could they not fear you?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I still don''t get it," Winters was still puzzled in some areas, "Does Paratu law prohibit hunting and fishing, or forbidding clearing new land on one''s own?"


    "Paratu law doesn''t prohibit it, but the laws of the Newly Reclaimed Land do not allow it."


    "Why?"


    "No reason." The old mendicant monk had already realized that the young lieutenant''s political acumen was notably lacking: "This land is the spoils of war for the Paratu Army, which holds all rights from the heavens above to the earth below."


    "And then?"


    "Then, the best land was sold to the wealthy to repay debts, giving rise to these estate owners. As rewards for fighting and compensation for generations of military service, the Dusacks also received land, resulting in Dusa Village. There were also some poor and tenant farmers dreaming of becoming independent farmers, and with their meager savings, they could only afford a small piece of land. The villages on the east and west sides of the river are made up of these people."


    "What about the villages of Nanxin and Beixin?"


    "Those Protestants were originally from the Empire, having fled here gradually over the past decade from the north." The old monk''s smile was telling: "The Empire disfavored the Protestants, while the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was in need of people to settle frontiers. So every time the Catholic Church repressed them up north, the number of Protestants in the New Reclamation Area increased. But the Protestants here arrived late. The land prices in Wolfton were already not as cheap as in the early days, let alone with other buyers in the mix."


    "Who?"


    "What do you think?" The mendicant monk''s eyes sparkled with intensity: "The Dusans are under the land assignment system; they have no worries about land. Small independent farmers can only support their own families; they have no extra money to buy land. So who else could it be? So who has the money?"


    Winters fell silent, then after some thought, he said, "To suppress land clearance just to sell land for money seems more damaging than beneficial. Why would the Paratu People come up with such a system?"


    "More damaging than beneficial?" Brother Reed couldn''t help but laugh: "My boy, you truly don''t understand how powerful this system is. Out of all your republics, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses has the least population, yet it has the most territory, and it''s always growing. What do you think that''s due to?"


    "You can''t be telling me it''s just down to making money by selling land?"


    "Of course it''s not that simple." The old monk tapped Winters'' head with a vine stick, chiding as if in frustration: "I''m asking you, what do you think is the deadliest weapon in this world?"


    "Uh." Winters tentatively answered, "The sword?"


    "Wrong! The deadliest weapon in the world is called ''mobilization.'' A sword is a person''s weapon, no matter how sharp, it can only kill one person at a time. Mobilization is a weapon of slaughter between nations, capable of raising a country or destroying one." The old monk sighed, "Ah, I''m talking, but you won''t understand. Let me put it in terms you might understand."


    "Please go ahead." Winters sat with his knees together, respectfully attentive.


    "Searching the mountains requires manpower, and just your few dozen Dusacks won''t be enough. The Dusacks are your most reliable manpower, but they are simply too few in number. You must mobilize the other four villages."


    Winters said with bitterness, "The villages of Nanxin and Beixin are unwilling to send militia. The Protestants are particularly hostile toward me, and I don''t know why."


    "You''re always mingling with the Dusans; it''d be strange if they showed you a good face. Who do you think the Emperor''s Dusacks are meant to fight? Who do you think drove them from their homelands?" A subtle smile appeared on the old monk''s face: "But I will help you with that issue."


    Winters was quite surprised, "Aren''t you a member of the Catholic Church? Caman thinks it''d be dangerous for you to go to the Protestants."


    "Politics! My boy! Politics!" The mendicant monk tapped the lieutenant''s head twice with his stick: "The essence of politics is not to turn the other party into one of your own but to make them think you are one of them, understand? Tomorrow, come with me to the Protestant village."


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    Having said that, the old monk left Winters'' room without looking back, leaning on his vine stick.


    "Please, take care," Winters said as he rose to see him out.


    Long after the old man had left, Winters closed the door before it dawned on him: "[Venetian swear word]! When did I start to really take this old charlatan for a teacher?"

 Chapter 13 The Chase

    Winters had no idea what the mendicant monk actually said to the Protestants of the two villages, but Nanxin village and Beixin village suddenly became enthusiastic towards him.Previously resistant to the priest of Wolf Town church, the villagers of both communities began to show reverence towards the old mendicant monk after listening to Brother Reed''s sermons.


    All the able-bodied men from the two villages signed up to join the bear hunting team, and the manpower for the search operation in the mountains suddenly became ample.


    "What did you tell them?" Winters asked, quite curious, "You didn''t trick them into thinking that I''m also a Protestant, did you?"


    Seeing that the old charlatan still couldn''t garner respect from Winters, the old monk was well aware of this. Because of this, the two could converse without any reservations.


    The mendicant monk did not directly answer, "Are you planning to reclaim the land they''ve cultivated without permission?"


    "Of course not, do I look like I have nothing better to do? In another two months, I might not even be here," Winters said, feeling bewildered.


    "Then whatever I told them doesn''t really matter," the old monk said offhandedly, "As long as they know you mean them no harm and think you are one of their own, that''s enough for you."


    The lieutenant probably understood a bit, but he was curious again, "So how did they come to see you as ''one of their own''?"


    "For some people, ''worship'' is a fundamental need. Thus, the more devout a person is, the easier they are to manipulate because they will convince themselves," Brother Reed said casually, speaking words of profound heresy, "Those two villages belong to the Puritan faction. Once you know what they want to believe in, the rest is simple¡ªjust preach what they want to hear."


    Winters was left speechless by these words, which seemed even more sinister than heretical theology; he couldn''t help but voice the doubt that had been plaguing his mind, "I just can''t understand how a person like you could join the Catholic Church."


    "Having the identity of a clergyman makes traveling easier. A merchant can be extorted, a farmer interrogated, but no one troubles an old, poor charlatan," said the mendicant monk with a smile, who had converted to many religions, "In the East sometimes I am a monk of the Bodhi Religion, sometimes a scholar of the Star Moon Sect, and on this continent, I am a clergyman of the Catholic Church; it''s all the same to me."


    Hearing Brother Reed casually admit that he was a false believer, Winters found it hard to believe.


    After some thought, it didn''t seem all that implausible, but the old man''s tone was just too nonchalant, as if he were commenting on the weather of the day.


    After a long silence, Winters said with a mix of sarcasm and admiration, "You certainly embody a pragmatic spirit."


    "I''ll take that as a compliment," the old monk laughed heartily.


    ...


    Now with more manpower, Winters redivided the search zones and once again devoted all his energy into the operation to hunt down the man-eating bear.


    While the militia scoured the forest inch by inch, knocking on tree trunks and maintaining a distance of about ten meters apart like dragging a net over the forest floor, the two clergymen at the church in Wolf Town opened a bottle of wine and sat by a small table, chatting leisurely.


    "That young fellow must be suffering in the deep mountains and dense forests right about now?" Brother Reed said with a smile.


    "Most likely," Father Caman replied respectfully, "Teacher."


    Brother Reed sipped his wine lightly and asked casually, "Do you have any relationship with him? Why did you ask me to help him?"


    "No relationship, I don''t know Lieutenant Montaigne," Father Caman replied earnestly, "But I feel he is sincerely trying to do something good for this parish."


    "Many times," the old clergyman said indifferently, "good intentions don''t necessarily lead to good outcomes." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you think we shouldn''t have helped him?" Father Caman asked, puzzled.


    "What do I know? I am just a foreigner who is adrift in a distant land. If I truly possessed wisdom, would I not be able to return home?" There was a hint of a bitter smile on the old clergyman''s face, "Let''s wait and see."


    ...


    Although they had gained the full cooperation of four other villages, the bear hunting team still came up empty-handed after three consecutive days.


    The militiamen moved through the dense forest, tapping on tree trunks and spreading out over ten meters apart, scouring the land like casting a net. They found feces, fur, broken trees¡ªevidence that the beast was indeed in the mountains¡ªbut despite all these signs, they could not find the evil bear, not even a glimpse of its shadow.


    A full week had passed since the last attack, and the militiamen were becoming tired, their morale dropping day by day.


    The village heads from both villages, Hedong and Hexi, came together to Winters with a suggestion, "Perhaps the bear has escaped?"


    It was indeed a compelling and tempting hypothesis.


    The idea that the search team''s extensive operations had frightened the evil bear back into the deep mountains¡ªsounded logical.


    However, Hunter Ralph firmly objected to this idea, claiming, "Once a wild animal has tasted human flesh, it becomes a man-eater and will never forget the taste of human flesh." And from the evidence, it was clear the bear had not gone far and was lurking near Wolf Town.


    The old hunter abandoned his previous "cautious kill" stance, opposed ending the large-scale search, and insisted on "killing the man-eater completely to avoid future troubles." He believed the man-eating bear was nearby and that these fruitless days were simply bad luck. With continued searching, it was only a matter of time before they found the creature.


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    Like those commanders faced with a difficult choice throughout history, Winters agreed with the hunter''s view¡ªthe giant bear had definitely not gone far. But he was also acutely aware that his militia had reached the limits of both their physical and mental strength.

 Chapter 13. The Hunt_2

    ```Searching the mountains was a hard task; every meter traversed drained a great deal of strength. Not to mention that the militiamen had abandoned their own farm work to search the mountains, and when they came up empty-handed, it was their wives, children, and elderly who toiled in the fields. Thus, the longer the delay, the more their wills wavered.


    To stop searching the mountains, or to force the militiamen to continue?


    The former Lieutenant Montaigne only needed to follow orders, but the current Garrison Officer Montaigne had to make his own decisions. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire


    Winters gathered the village chiefs of five villages and said, "As long as the search continues, we can definitely find the man-eating bear. But the manpower from each of the villages is already exhausted and cannot continue the search. Now the only option is to wait for that giant bear to attack again."


    What he did not say outright was that there had been no attacks in a week; the bear was probably starving by now.


    After hearing the news of halting the mountain search, the militiamen from East River Village and West River Village grumbled, and the villagers had many complaints about Winters; on the other hand, the young and able-bodied from the two Protestant villages obeyed the order without any complaints, as if they truly saw Winters as "one of their own."


    Ralph, the old hunter, after learning of Winters'' decision, left the main troop without saying a word and ventured deeper into the forest alone.


    For the first time, Lieutenant Montaigne felt the pressure of decision-making.


    ...


    Three days after the mountain search stopped, Wolf Town welcomed another Sunday. Despite the dark cloud of the wolf disaster overhead, villagers from all three villages rushed to the church in the town center to attend the Sunday service, as usual.


    The church in Wolf Town was not large, but not particularly small either; its layout was similar to other single-nave churches. Two walls with windows formed the central hall of the church, and with a vaulted ceiling, the central hall required no pillars for support. One end of the hall was the narthex, and the other was the altar and ceremonial objects.


    Because revealing the identity of spellcasters in the insular and conservative Wolf Town could potentially cause unnecessary trouble, Winters would also sit in the church with Gerard during Sunday services.


    This time, it was the young Father Caman who was responsible for the sermon; he first led the congregation in prayer for several victims of the wolf disaster, and then used the sayings of saints to deliver an encouraging message to the believers.


    Watching the followers pray earnestly to the deity to drive away the evil bear, Winters somewhat understood them. It was essentially a sense of helplessness¡ªhoping for help from a higher existence when one feels powerless over something seemed to be the natural thing to do. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The weekly bow and arrow training had been canceled by Winters, so people hurried back to their villages after the ceremony.


    Winters found Father Caman: "Although I don''t know why, I still need to thank you. East River and West River villages have quite the resentment toward me recently."


    "There''s nothing to be done about that," Father Caman spoke softly to console him: "The beast is in the woods, but you are right in front of them."


    Winters chuckled bitterly, "I used to wish for a leisurely position until retirement, but now¡­ now I''d rather go back to the army and be a lowly centurion."


    "Destiny has placed you in this position for a reason."


    "I thought you would use the word ''Lord,''" Winters joked.


    Father Caman also showed a hint of a smile, "Who told you to be an unbeliever? I changed it to something you can accept."


    "But I don''t believe in destiny either. If everything is predetermined, then what''s the point of human struggle? We might as well just lie down on the ground and wait for destiny to take its course."


    "Perhaps the human struggle is also part of destiny."


    "Sophistry," Winters scoffed. "Don''t they teach logic in theology school? You are essentially saying that the future is both knowable and unknowable; you are describing a paradox."


    Caman wanted to say something, but an urgent knocking interrupted their metaphysical conversation.


    Caman glanced at Winters and said aloud, "Come in!"


    The church handyman pushed the door open: "Father! Something terrible has happened... Ah! The Garrison Officer is here too!"


    "What''s happened?" Winters asked.


    "Sir!" the handyman swallowed and said, "Beacons!"


    ...


    "Which way did it run?" Winters, who had been sprinting the whole way, yanked the reins and the warhorse reared before the chief of West River Village.


    The chief didn''t dare delay and pointed westward: "To the west!"


    ```


    Winters spoke rapidly, "When did it come? Are there any casualties?"


    "It must have been when people were at mass, that thing came in and ate a lot of grain, and bit an old paralytic woman to death!"


    Winters wheeled his warhorse, "Call up all the militia, follow me!"


    "Yes, my lord, yes." The village head remembered something and added, "The hunter has already taken the lead in pursuit."


    The militia of Dusa Village had also seen the beacon fires, and old Sergei immediately led the Dusans to join with the West River Village militia.


    Unlike the previous three violent encounters, this time the beast had just fled, leaving a trail clear and distinct. Following the traces, Winters led the group directly to the southwestern forest.


    Under the shadows of the tree canopy, Winters could see broken shrubs and underbrush. The bear''s enormous size had left a trail among the forest''s underbrush and saplings that resembled a small path.


    Guided by the tracks on the ground, Winters relentlessly gave chase. At this moment, his mind was consumed by a single thought: to kill the man-eating bear. Unintentionally, he even left the militia far behind.


    He spurred his horse fiercely, crashing through a thicket of hazels, crossing the chill stream, and surging over a mound before charging down, racing wildly through the forest.


    On the galloping horseback, the pine needles scraped his skin like the sharpest arrows, each contact leaving a new bloodstain.


    The forest''s complex terrain was even more perilous, but fortunately, his horse''s hooves seemed divinely assisted, for a mere rodent burrow could have caused him to break his neck.


    After vaulting over several mounds, the broken branches and underbrush first led Winters to a hollow, turned sharply, and then suddenly began to ascend. Winters didn''t know how far he had chased but could tell the terrain was rising swiftly.


    The steeper the slope became, the louder the warhorse neighed, exerting all of its strength to push and step, its hooves digging one deep hollow after another in the soft, dark earth.


    The warhorse was at its limit. Seeing this, Winters dismounted. He took two heavy matchlock guns and a powder flask from his saddlebag and began to load them.


    A strange silence pervaded the gloomy forest.


    Suddenly, a rustling noise came from nearby.


    Winters raised his matchlock, firmly bracing the butt against his shoulder.


    "My lord, it''s me." Hunter Ralph emerged from among the leaves and branches.


    Without wasting words, Winters asked directly, "Is it ahead?"


    "It should be ahead."


    "Lead the way."


    "We can''t take the horses; they make too much noise," the old hunter explained. "That thing moves incredibly fast in the woods, we can''t catch up even on horseback, and we might startle it. If we scare it off, we can only hope it dies of exhaustion."


    Winters took two javelins out of his horse''s saddlebag, giving one to Ralph, keeping the other for himself.


    Then he pointed his horse in the direction from which they''d come and lashed its hindquarters hard, "Go! Go home!"


    Pained, the red-maned horse sprinted away back the way it came.


    "Let''s go." Winters slung the two guns over his shoulder, took the javelin in hand, and spoke to the hunter.


    "My lord, just the two of us might not be able to kill that thing. It would be best if we leave markers along the way for the reinforcements to follow," Ralph suggested, his weapons being nothing but a hunting knife, a single-shot bow, and the javelin Winters had given him.


    It was then that Winters realized he had lost contact with the other militia.


    "No matter what, let''s find that thing first," Winters drew the Dusa military saber.


    "Yes," Ralph nodded and took the lead, but he couldn''t help reminding, "My lord, there is no matchcord on your gun."


    The answer to the hunter was a cold voice, "I don''t need a matchcord."

 Chapter 14 Wrestling with a Bear

    ```Using the javelin as a walking stick, the Hunter Ralph and Winters climbed up the steep slope. After the ascent was a descent, and following the descent was another ascent.


    After continuously traversing several hills along the beast trail, even the seasoned Hunter who often roamed the woods was gasping for breath.


    Wolf Town was located at the northern foot of the Jinding Mountains, and generally speaking, the deeper into the southern forests one went, the higher the terrain became. However, the micro terrain was not a constant uphill but a series of undulating ridges, which were extremely torturous to travel through.


    Winters, carrying a heavy-duty musket that was dripping with sweat, knew this large-caliber matchlock gun was extremely cumbersome. It usually had to be mounted on a support pole during use, weighing close to twenty pounds, and Winters had two of them on his back.


    "Sir, beasts generally circle around the hillside," Ralph said, panting heavily. "That creature must have been scared by the people returning from the church, so it panicked and ran without choosing its path."


    Winters leaned on his knees, trying to steady his breathing rhythm. He nodded but didn''t say a word, as he was simply unable to speak at the moment.


    "That beast must be even more tired; it can''t have gone far!" the old Hunter, leaning on his javelin, moved forward again.


    Winters bit his lip and followed.


    The signs of destruction in the forest were becoming less and less. The giant bear had crashed through the forest upon escaping, and its brutal actions caused damages that even Winters could identify.


    But the deeper they went into the forest, the less broken branches and bushes there were, and the paw prints also became shallower.


    It was clear the pace of the beast was slowing down, and its frenzied emotions were subsiding; it was gradually reverting to its natural behavior patterns¡ªmoving stealthily with a strolling posture.


    The tracking became more and more difficult, but the beast could not escape the Hunter''s eyes.


    Ralph clung tightly to the bear''s trail, chopping notches on the trees with his hunting knife as he went to mark the direction for those who might follow.


    Passing through a stand of white oak trees, the giant bear''s tracks disappeared into a small river. Winters''s heart tightened, but the Hunter crossed the stream to inspect it carefully, then led Winters upstream in pursuit.


    The two of them walked along the riverbank, with one foot deep and the other shallow. Seasonal mountain floods had washed away all the soil along the banks, exposing stones of various sizes and shapes underneath the earth''s layer.


    The forests on both sides of the riverbed were like dark, wide beast dens, lurking with lethal dangers. The power of the water had polished the surface of the stones on the riverbed, making them smooth and hazardous.


    Ralph, leading the way, suddenly stumbled, barely avoiding a fall. But he managed to steady himself with a violent struggle, emitting a painful groan from his throat in the process. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Winters hurried to catch up with Ralph and saw the old Hunter clenching his teeth, flaring his nostrils, his whole body''s muscles tensely shivering.


    The Lieutenant quickly realized: the exhausted old Hunter had not stepped firmly on the stone underfoot, and he had twisted his ankle.


    A sprain, the most common and troublesome injury. It won''t kill you, but it will prevent you from moving.


    The reason the two of them had managed to track this far depended on the Hunter''s skills, which Winters was well aware of.


    He could no longer discern where the fierce beast had run to. If Ralph could not move, then he could only watch helplessly as the creature disappeared without a trace.


    Supporting Ralph''s arm, Winters gritted his teeth and asked, "Can you still move?"


    "Yes!" the old Hunter replied through clenched teeth. "Keep pursuing."


    After steadying himself, the old Hunter lifted his leg and proceeded to walk forward, but he wobbled again and nearly fell.


    Winters immediately steadied Ralph, saying helplessly, "Let''s rest for a while."


    The Lieutenant helped Ralph to sit down slowly on the spot and removed the old Hunter''s boots. Ralph''s right ankle had swollen up considerably, the skin underneath turning blue-purple, evidently no longer capable of movement.


    "Stay here and wait for the others to come," Winters resolved. "I''ll go after it alone."


    The old Hunter shook his head vigorously and said breathlessly, "No, it won''t work, not alone. Let me catch my breath, I''ll wrap my ankle with cloth, and we''ll continue the pursuit."


    As he spoke, the old Hunter took a horn cup from his waist, leaned over to scoop up some water from the river to drink. The cup had nearly reached his lips, but then the Hunter suddenly thought of something. He stopped, and offered the water to the Lieutenant first.


    Winters was both annoyed and amused. "What the hell, it''s not the time for this kind of formality, just drink up. I''ll drink after you''ve finished."


    Ralph stopped resisting and drank. After finishing, he scooped another cupful of water for Winters. The Lieutenant, thirsty to the point of a dry throat, downed it in one go and handed the cup back to Ralph.


    Once again, the Hunter leaned out to scoop water. The moment the cup touched the river, the Hunter suddenly froze, and failing to grip it firmly, the horn cup slipped from his hands and was swept away by the swift current downstream.


    Winters was about to reach out and ask when he saw Ralph make a gesture for silence. The old Hunter looked at Winters, slowly shook his head, and then pointed toward the pine trees on the opposite bank of the river.


    In the eyes of the old Hunter, Winters saw a hint of fear.


    He looked in the direction the Hunter was pointing. At first glance, he saw nothing. The next moment, he realized that the very thing he had been desperately searching for was right under the trees on the opposite bank of the river!


    The deep brown fur was a natural camouflage in the woods; the creature was lying in the shadows under the trees, as if it was a huge rock that had stood there for eons. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The head of the logging team hadn''t exaggerated in the slightest; it truly was a bear as big as a house. The beast''s massive size was truly daunting, so much so that even lying on the ground, it was an intimidating large mass.


    ```

 Chapter 14 Wrestling the Bear_2

    Winters was not at all surprised why he and Ralph hadn''t spotted it at first, because no one would consider such a huge stone to be an animal. Even though he was very aware he was tracking a giant bear, the size of the thing in front of him far exceeded his mental expectations.The beast was so large that it could no longer be called a bear. No words could accurately describe it; only the royal eagles raised by oathbreakers could compare to it.


    Could the two muskets really inflict damage on that thing? The lieutenant felt a flicker of doubt in his heart.


    For many days, Winters Montagne had dreamed of finding this fierce beast. Now he was less than twenty meters away from it, but the lieutenant did not know how to kill it.


    Fortunately, the beast was perfectly still at the moment, appearing to be in a deep sleep.


    What to do? Fight or flee?


    The hunter and the lieutenant exchanged a wordless glance.


    Winters quietly placed the javelin and the military saber in his hands on the ground, then he took off the two muskets from his body, setting them down just as gently.


    To avoid waking the beast on the opposite bank, every move Winters made was extremely slow and without the slightest noise.


    The sound of flowing water, the chirping of birds, the rustle of wind through leaves... the more noisy the background sounds of the forest, the more terrifying the silence that the hunter and the lieutenant felt.


    After putting down all his weapons, Winters gestured to Ralph not to make a sound. He silently walked over to Ralph, grabbing one of Ralph''s legs with one hand and Ralph''s arm with the other.


    The lieutenant took a deep breath, his abdominal muscles suddenly tense, lifting the old hunter onto his shoulders in one movement.


    As the old hunter was hoisted onto his shoulders, a crisp sound came from his bag.


    Instantly, Winters felt the hairs on his back stand up, and Ralph immediately pressed down on his tool bag.


    The two froze in place, not daring to move. Winters slowly turned his head to look at the giant bear. Luck was on their side; the beast was still lying under the tree, motionless.


    The lieutenant nodded, carrying the old hunter back in the direction they had come from, moving slowly and steadily. The old hunter held tightly to his tool bag, preventing it from making any more noise.


    Winters counted his steps silently; when he reached five hundred, he found a flat spot to put the old hunter down.


    "Sir," Ralph didn''t even have time to thank him, he knew what the lieutenant was thinking and urged in a low, anxious voice: "Just the two of us can''t deal with that creature, you mustn''t go over there alone. Sir, let''s figure it out when the others get here."


    "What if that thing runs off before the reinforcements arrive?" Winters chuckled softly, "Don''t worry, I''m not that reckless. I''ll go and watch it, make sure it doesn''t run away again."


    "Then take my foot spikes," the old hunter said, taking a set of shoe studs from his tool pack.


    After a brief explanation of how to use them, Winters took them and turned to leave.


    The old hunter was at a loss, wanting to call Montagne lieutenant back but not daring to raise his voice, he could only watch helplessly as the lieutenant walked away.


    Returning to the previous location, Winters recovered his weapons. The giant bear was still sound asleep beneath the tree, oblivious to the happenings around it.


    "Shooting this massive thing in the body is useless; it has to be shot in the head," Winters estimated silently in his mind. "But perhaps even the head isn''t enough; it would have to be the eyes or some other vulnerable spot."


    At this moment, what Montagne lieutenant regretted most was not having brought a cannon into the mountains.


    With two guns in hand, Winters found a gently flowing shallow where he crossed the river and approached the giant bear without making a sound from downwind.


    Winters was not confident in the accuracy of the muskets in his hands.


    Unlike the two wheellock guns Anthony had given him, which were made by royal gunsmiths and could shoot exactly where they were aimed, their bores as smooth as mirrors,


    the muskets from the Blackwater Town Armory were cheap, and their barrels were not finely polished. He had to get close enough to ensure a hit. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The closer he was to the giant bear, the more palpable was its immensity. The beast was like the embodiment of the wilderness, as if its sheer existence was to demonstrate the force of nature.


    The lieutenant still had his wits about him and didn''t consider handling such an enormous creature by himself.


    But he also could not allow himself to let the dangerous animal escape. So when he was about fifteen meters away from the giant creature, he found a suitable tree fork and mounted the musket.


    He did not dare, and could not afford, to get any closer.


    What followed was the wait.


    Waiting for reinforcements.


    The distance was too close, and Montagne lieutenant could even hear the bear''s breathing. At some moment, he suddenly had the illusion that the forest itself had come to life, pulsating with the breathing of the giant bear.


    Time seemed to blur, perhaps a second, a minute, a quarter of an hour?


    The heartbeat of the forest, paused for a second.


    The bear under the shade of the trees woke up, as if a giant stone had been endowed with a soul.


    Winters'' breathing halted suddenly, his heart constricting fiercely.


    The bear moved its body slightly and turned its head towards Winters, sniffing with its nose.


    The distance was too short, short enough for Winters to clearly see every detail of the giant beast: its unkempt fur, pronounced back, pointed ears, dark snout, cold eyes, black eye rims.


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    He also saw the reddish color of the fur beside the bear''s nose, the fresh blood of a recent victim.


    As the two looked each other in the eye, Montagne lieutenant did not hesitate to use magic to ignite the gunpowder in the musket barrel.

 Chapter 14 Fighting the Bear_3

    The gunshot shattered the silence of the forest, and the double charge''s recoil nearly knocked the lieutenant to the ground. In the instant that the gun smoke spewed out, he saw the lead bullet graze the giant bear''s cheek, exploding upon its shoulder.With no time for regret, Winters immediately switched to another rifle.


    Following the gun smoke came a bone-chilling roar; neither the flash of fire, the deafening bang, nor the smoke scared off the beast. The enraged giant bear charged towards the puny human with a roar.


    So for the second shot, Winters aimed for the gaping maw of the giant bear.


    This rifle did not let Winters down for all the trouble he''d taken to carry it, as the 35-gram lead bullet accurately lodged between the bear''s upper and lower teeth.


    The bear''s head jerked back from the massive impact force of the lead bullet, and blood froth spewed from its mouth. The colossal creature crashed down, whining in agony.


    With no time for pity, seeing the beast fall, Winters hurriedly started to reload his musket. There was no time to clean the barrel, so to save time, he poured the gunpowder directly into the barrel.


    But before he could even reach for the lead balls, the bear that had just taken a heavy blow staggered back to its feet.


    "Vineta [swearing]!" the lieutenant decided instantly, tossing aside the musket and scrambling up a tree.


    In a life-or-death moment, Lieutenant Montaigne, who had never climbed a tree in his life, clumsily ascended, using the "foot treads" given by the old hunter, and managed to scamper up the tree¡ªthough in an exceedingly ungraceful manner.


    Just as he reached a height of two to three meters, the bear slammed into the tree trunk. The thick pine, almost as wide as a person''s embrace, swung like wild grass in a violent storm, nearly shaking Winters down.


    The pine tree trembled, but did not fall. Winters, having steadied his position, frantically climbed higher.


    The bear, after ramming into the tree, shook its head a few times and stood upright, leaning on the tree. It roared and swung its front paws at the human, the swooshing bear claws narrowly missing the human''s ankles.


    The distance between man and bear was a hair''s breadth; Winters could even smell the rancid breath from the bear''s mouth.


    But the human had now climbed five or six meters high; the bear reached out futilely with its front paws, while the man above climbed higher and higher.


    Lieutenant Winters Montaigne had only two wishes at that moment: first, that the bear could not climb trees; second, that the tree was sturdy enough.


    The first wish was granted, for the giant bear showed no intention of climbing. Realizing it couldn''t reach the human in the tree, the bear turned to viciously batter the tree trunk with its back and shoulders. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the lieutenant discovered that the tree he had climbed was certainly not sturdy enough.


    With each attack from the beast, the thick pine tree began to tilt. There were no other large trees within several meters for Winters to jump to.


    He couldn''t let it continue to ram¡ªhe realized¡ªor he was certainly doomed.


    "[Incoherent, vicious swearing]!" Not caring whether the beast could understand human speech, Winters shouted desperately to distract the bear''s attention in his dire situation.


    However, the beast beneath the tree paid no heed, continuing to pummel the tree with brute force.


    Winters pulled out his saber and, while climbing down, chopped at the pine branches beside him. Branches smashed onto the bear, but even this felt inconsequential to the massive creature, and it was not impeded.


    Winters descended to almost within reach of the bear.


    "Come on!" The human roared like a wild beast: "Come and kill me!"


    Furiously, the bear stood on its hind legs and lunged toward the man in the tree.


    Winters was waiting for this moment.


    As the bear opened its huge maw, roaring and pouncing towards the man in the tree, the man above also roared and thrust all his might to drive the javelin into the bear''s mouth.


    The man in the tree was smacked hard onto the ground, yet the javelin lodged deeply into the bear''s throat.


    Intense pain nearly paralyzed Winters; he couldn''t even feel which of his bones were broken. He lay on the ground, motionless.


    The bear desperately flailed its head, flicking scarlet blood everywhere. It tried to pull the javelin out with its front paws, but reversed barbs had bitten deeply into the flesh, causing excruciating pain the more it tried to pull.


    With a tremendous effort, the beast snapped the shaft with its jaws, leaving the spear point lodged inside. The beast, gasping, groaning, and snorting, moved closer in the direction of Winters.


    One step, two steps¡ªthe heavy footfalls grew nearer.


    Winters was in utter despair.


    "In this situation... does playing dead still work?" A thought tinged with dark humor suddenly struck the despondent Winters Montaigne.


    He chuckled bitterly to himself and closed his eyes to meet his fate.


    He could feel the heat of the beast''s breath.


    "Whoosh."


    A sound of something slicing through the air came. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire


    "Whoosh."


    Another followed.


    Two arrows from a one hundred eighty-pound longbow pierced the bear''s face one after the other.


    The bear, struck by the arrows, stood on its hind legs and roared in pain.


    "Come on, beast! Charge at me!"


    It was the old hunter''s voice.

 Chapter 15 Duel to the Death

    The old Hunter roared as he drew his longbow tight as the full moon, and with a flash of cold light, a heavy arrow whisked across the mountain stream. Guided by the wind, the arrowhead found its mark in the giant bear''s left eye.Blood and other matter gushed from the socket of the giant bear''s eye. The momentum of the arrow did not stop there but continued to bore deeper, until the shaft sank more than three inches into the left eye.


    Yet even the toughest longbow combined with a weighted arrow hitting directly in the eye could not kill the beast; instead, it only made it more dangerous.


    Driven to frenzy by the agonizing pain, the giant bear let out a roar that made the mountains tremble. It abandoned Winters, who was within easy reach, and lunged towards the opposite bank to tear the old Hunter to pieces.


    The old Hunter, who had twisted his ankle, did not run either but stood his ground, continuing to shoot arrows at the fierce beast.


    He shot quickly and accurately, wielding the nearly two-hundred-pound draw weight bow in his hands as if it were a toy. The twang of the bowstring rang out continuously, each arrow striking the beast''s skull with precision.


    But the arrows could not penetrate the creature''s hard skull, and the giant bear ignored the arrows sticking out of its head, its charge kicking up thousands of water droplets in the river. The shallow ford six or seven meters wide seemed laughable beneath it. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With nowhere to run and unable to escape, Ralph roared in fury, firing arrow after arrow at the bear in vain.


    Barely regaining consciousness, Winters struggled to his feet and picked up a rock to throw at the beast. "Don''t run! Come kill me!" he yelled.


    In the blink of an eye, the bear covered the thirty-some meters. The old Hunter watched the beast approach, his eyes wide with despair, and then he closed them.


    Less than ten meters from Ralph, at the critical moment, a black high-headed horse charged out from around the bend in the river downstream at breakneck speed.


    Seeing Ralph''s life hanging by a thread, the black horse''s rider did not swerve but crashed fiercely into the giant bear.


    Even such an enormous beast stumbled from the full force of the charging Warhorse.


    But the situation was even worse for the Warhorse and its rider. The Warhorse, with who knows how many broken bones, lay in the river channel, neighing in pain and struggling to get up.


    The rider was flung from the saddle, arcing over the bear''s upraised shoulder blades and crashing heavily into the river.


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    Winters, of course, recognized the black horse; it was Gerard''s beloved steed.


    "Mayor Mitchell!" he bellowed as he ran towards Gerard''s location.


    The unbalanced bear, now even more enraged, smashed its massive paw down, crushing the skull of the black horse¡ªGerard Mitchell''s treasured Warhorse, instantly dead on impact.


    As the ferocious beast turned to tear apart the human who shot arrows at it, more riders charged out from around the bend downstream.


    Reinforcements had arrived¡ªthe Dusacks were here.


    "Dammit! Does this thing eat shit to get this big?! Dammit!" old Sergei cursed loudly, riding past the Hunter on his Red Sun at full speed.


    In the fleeting moment of a horse and man crossing paths, Ralph grabbed Sergei''s outstretched arm and swung himself up onto the horse''s back with acrobatic agility.


    The Red Sun did not slow its pace, carrying the two men a dozen meters away in the blink of an eye.


    The giant bear roared, intent on pursuing Ralph, but two more riders flew by its side. As they passed the bear, the riders threw their javelins, making use of the horses'' speed.


    The javelins, carrying far more kinetic energy than arrows, pierced effortlessly into the giant bear''s abdomen, puncturing its organs.


    Seeing the javelins hit, Dusa immediately pulled hard on the rope tied to the javelin and jerked in the opposite direction of the horse''s momentum.


    Meanwhile, more Dusacks arrived at the scene. Although initially shocked by the bear''s size, they quickly regained their composure and, using the speed of their horses, threw their javelins at the bear, pulling on the ropes in the opposite direction once they hit.


    The riders hunted the beast like a pack of wolves taking down a bear.


    Another rider with an unmounted Red charger rushed to Winters'' side, Gerard''s son Pierre dismounted in a hurry, holding the reins of the Red charger and shouted, "Brother Winters! Rejek!"


    This unmounted Red charger was none other than Winters'' Red-maned¡ªRejek, which Pierre had brought for Winters.


    "Don''t worry about me! Save your dad!" Winters yelled anxiously, "He fell into the river!"


    Pierre''s face changed drastically, and he dashed into the river stream.


    With Pierre''s help, Winters dragged Gerard, who was dazed from the fall, towards the shore.


    "We thought you were dead!" said Pierre incoherently, "Seeing the horn cup floating downriver, we immediately came upstream."


    "Not dead yet," Winters laughed heartily, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva.


    The people who landed behind Winters were startled to see Rejek return alone; Mayor Mitchell immediately led the Dusacks, leaving the footsoldiers without horses behind, and following the old Hunter''s directions, they pursued at full speed.


    Fortunately, that had enabled the Dusacks to arrive in time to save Winters and Ralph; the militiamen from the other villages still had no idea where they were.


    Winters first scooped the water from Gerard''s tongue root, then leaned over his chest to listen, and checked Gerard''s breath as well.


    Pierre knelt beside them, at a loss.


    "He''s still breathing! Come help!"


    Together, they lifted the unconscious old Dusack onto the horseback, and Winters helped Pierre into the saddle, "Go with your father! Quick! Find Priest Caman!"


    After speaking, he slapped Pierre''s mount hard on the back.

 Chapter 15 Deathmatch_2

    The horse, pained, broke into a run, its hooves beating the ground. Pierre gave Winters a complex look and galloped away, disappearing into the shadows of the trees at the river bend.Old Sergei and Ralph crossed the river on a single horse and returned to Winters'' side.


    "My lord! This won''t do! We need to scatter them! Everyone retreat!" From a dozen meters away, the old Hunter couldn''t help but shout loudly.


    The giant bear in the river was already impaled with over twenty javelins. The riders pulled on the ropes in all eight directions to the west, rendering the beast seemingly immobile for a time.


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    "Why?"


    "The animal has an injury in its mouth, it can''t eat. As long as we tire it out, it will inevitably weaken," the old Hunter said, rushing to Winters'' side, speaking anxiously, "Now this is only drawing out its ferocity!"


    Winters understood the Hunter''s point. He leaped onto his red-maned horse and, under the amplification of a loudening spell, shouted toward the Dusacks, "Let go! Spread out! Spread out!"


    But it was already too late¡ªthe inability to move was only an illusion. The giant bear, roaring, thrashed its body. Several Dusacks who didn''t react in time were dragged down from their saddles, and the ropes slipped from everyone else''s hands.


    Without their riders'' control, the Warhorses could no longer resist their instinctual fear of the beast and ran away in panic, leaving their riders behind. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, seeing a Dusack thrown from his horse, didn''t have time to think. He took a javelin from the saddlebag of a rider nearby, jabbing the horse''s ribs to maintain his grip and charged full speed at the giant bear.


    The combined strength of man and Warhorse converged at the tip of the spear, striking the beast''s flesh. Winters felt as though his right shoulder had been brutally torn off, but the javelin in his hand also plunged deep into the bear''s back.


    The giant bear let out a pained roar, twisting around to swipe at Winters with its front paw. The red-maned horse skillfully dodged the counterattack, and after several stamps, it was back to a safe distance of about a dozen meters.


    While the bear was distracted, the other riders managed to rescue the fallen Dusacks.


    The giant bear did not launch another attack. It stood in the river, panting heavily, surveying the humans around it.


    Steam mixed with blood spurted intermittently from its nostrils and mouth. Over a dozen javelins were stuck in its body, and the blood that flowed copiously from its wounds turned the river beneath it dark red, extending downstream.


    Humans and beast stood in a standoff.


    The bear let out a mournful cry; this wild creature was now at the end of its road.


    In its eyes, there was no anger. In the dim gaze of this creature, Winters saw only despair, sadness, and pain.


    "You ate a human, and this was bound to happen one day!" Holding a spear, Winters turned his horse forward, aware that the beast before him could not understand human language, "This ends here! I will put an end to your suffering!"


    As if possessing a spirit, the giant bear let out another mournful cry in response to Winters'' words.


    It shook its head twice¡ªthe heavy arrow shot by Ralph was still lodged there¡ªand charged toward the riders downstream.


    The Dusacks in front did not dare to confront the rampaging beast head-on and quickly steered their horses aside. The giant bear, however, did not pursue the riders to tear them apart, but broke free and ran downstream along the river.


    "From the smallest cricket to the largest bear or tiger, no creature, aside from humans, will give up the will to survive," the old Hunter said quietly, coming to Winters'' side, "That animal doesn''t understand your words. To it, everything is just instinct."


    "We pursue! Two on a horse won''t be fast, so we keep only one rider per horse. Those with mounts, follow me; the rest, come from behind. Give a horse to Ralph!" Winters organized the troops before him in a collected manner.


    Taking the opportunity, Winters picked up two muskets. The Dusacks who had fallen from their horses dismounted their companions'' horses; several headed upstream to find their own Warhorses.


    Sergei signaled a rider, and the designated Dusack reluctantly handed over his Warhorse to Ralph.


    A troop of riders quickly got themselves in order, following the blood trail downstream.


    Old Sergei suddenly remembered something, his face turning pale as he exclaimed in shock, "No good! Those Bumpkins are behind us; they might run into that beast!"


    Premonitions often come true when they''re bad.


    Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Winters led the Dusacks in a full gallop, following the blood trail that never left the river. The riders sped through the mountain valleys.


    After racing about three or four kilometers downstream to a shallow crossing, they lost the trail of the giant bear.


    It was not that there were no bloodstains, but that bloodstains were everywhere.


    Clearly, the militiamen who followed had encountered the wounded giant bear here, some killed, the rest scattered in fear.


    "Damn it! They really fucking ran into it!" Old Sergei cursed loudly, "With human blood and bear blood mixed together, how the hell are we to track? If those Bumpkins are incompetent, then they damned well shouldn''t have caused chaos!"


    "Those who volunteer for the militia are brave men!" Lieutenant Montaigne glared fiercely at Sergei, "Mr. Morozov, refrain from insulting them!"


    Old Sergei fell silent, embarrassed.


    "Can you make it out?" Winters asked the Hunter.


    Ralph dismounted, studied the ground carefully for a while, then pointed towards the woodland in the southwest direction of the riverbank, "The beast should have gone that way!"


    The expressions of the Dusacks were fearful. On the open riverbanks, they could engage the giant bear on horseback, but in the woods, it was the beast''s home ground, and riding would be very cumbersome.


    "Ralph and I will take the lead," Winters said, loading ammunition into the two muskets, "Don''t fight head-on; everyone, be cautious."

 Chapter 15 Deathmatch_3

    "It shouldn''t have gone far!" the old Hunter shouted encouragement to everyone.Following the blood and signs of destruction, a group of riders, each armed, carefully searched the wooded area.


    The bear''s movements seemed to be slowing, staggering; the trihedral spearhead made the wound difficult to close, and instead of diminishing, the blood trail in the forest was actually increasing.


    However, the dense vegetation seriously hindered the riders'' progress, and it was extremely easy to lose sight, inevitably causing the team to stretch out.


    The normally peaceful forest now felt exceptionally dangerous in the hearts of everyone.


    "Sir! Look! Someone made a mark!" Ralph suddenly pointed to a freshly exposed tree trunk.


    "There might be militiamen ahead of us chasing that thing." Winters took the firelock out of the saddlebag, "Keep chasing!"


    Continuing forward, the same kind of mark was still there. It was obviously no coincidence, but someone had carved arrows into the tree bark to indicate direction.


    Without further doubt, Winters and Ralph summoned the other riders to gather and quickly pursued along the direction marked.


    But after passing through a large birch forest, the mark and the blood trail disappeared at the edge of a low cliff. The previous mark had directed them here, but there was nothing on the trees at the edge of the low cliff.


    "The mark is gone!?" the old Hunter was both shocked and puzzled.


    "Down below?" Winters, frowning, urged his horse closer to the low cliff.


    Their position was about eight or nine meters higher than the ground ahead. It seemed a collapse had occurred here, forming this low cliff.


    Just as Winters brought his horse to the edge of the cliff, a voice, as if from someone with a changing voice, suddenly sounded from behind him, "Watch out!"


    What followed was a spine-chilling roar. The giant bear they had been chasing all along burst out from below ground, opening its grotesque mouth to bite at the forelegs of the chestnut horse.


    Only then did Winters realize that there was a large burrow at the edge of the low cliff, which the bear had used as its den. However, due to the angle of view, one could only see this burrow by approaching the edge of the cliff.


    The chestnut horse, startled, violently stamped the ground and leaped to dodge, narrowly escaping the bear''s lethal bite. But Winters, caught off guard, was thrown from the saddle, crashing down to the ground, man and gun together.


    Before Winters could catch his breath, the bear, having missed its first strike, abandoned the chestnut horse and charged roaring directly at him.


    With the sudden outburst of the bear, Ralph, Sergei, and the other Dusacks were too late to come to the rescue.


    At this life-or-death moment, Winters clenched his teeth and rolled off the edge of the low cliff.


    The beast, missing twice, also roared and leaped off the cliff. Find more to read on My Virtual Library Empire


    Before the Dusacks could react, a slim figure wielding a long spear dashed out of the woods, shouting and following the bear down.


    As his body uncontrollably fell along the cliffside, tumbling down, Winters clutched his firelock tightly. He knew it was his only chance for survival.


    However, what he had not expected was that the leaping bear would land before him. Its body heavily smashed into the ground, but the ferocious creature just shook its head and stood up again.


    The instant he hit the bottom of the cliff, Winters, enduring the pain, raised his gun to aim at the bear.


    At the same time, the bear also charged at Winters with a ferocious growl.


    Time seemed to stop at that moment.


    If he was lucky enough, he might be able to shoot the 35g lead bullet into the beast''s mouth¡ªbut he knew that wouldn''t kill it, having already tried.


    To shoot? Or to wait? There was only a moment to decide.


    Accompanied by a shrill shout, a thin figure leaped from the low cliff, plunging the long spear straight down towards the bear''s neck.


    On its own, this frail primate could never have penetrated the bear''s hide. But gravity¡ªthough in this era no one knew what was called gravity¡ªlent a hand, making it all possible.


    Height became speed, speed became force, and the spearhead, like a hot knife through butter, pierced the bear''s neck fur, fat, muscle, and through the body, embedding itself into the ground.


    The bear, struck by this heavy blow, was brought to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.


    But the savage beast did not die immediately. It pushed off the ground with its forelimbs to stand once again, swinging its neck to shake off the foreign object and the human on it.


    No matter how much brute strength the bear exerted, it could not shake off the thin figure clinging to the spear shaft. Each shake only inflicted more damage upon itself.


    Winters, who had escaped death by a hair''s breadth, finally saw the face of the fierce and thin spearsman¡ªit was Anglu, the small groom from Dusa Village.


    So, it was clear what that piercing shout that was too shrill to discern had been¡ªit was "Telqing."


    Winters struggled to his feet. Anglu had created an opportunity for him, and he could not waste it. He sprinted towards the bear, and the moment he inserted the barrel into the bear''s ear, Winters ignited the gunpowder.


    With a "boom," shrapnel flew in all directions, leaving Winters with a ringing in his ears and his vision swimming. The lead bullet did not successfully fire, and the matchlock gun exploded in his hands.


    The heavy matchlock gun had burst its barrel. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bear became even crazier, wildly lunging at Winters. Caught off guard, Winters was knocked to the ground by the bear. Seizing a cartridge of gunpowder in desperation, he blocked the bear''s savage bite.


    The next second, he ignited the gunpowder.

 Chapter 16 Compensation and Care

    Everyone''s heart was in their throats.Since Lieutenant Montaigne had led people into the mountains, three consecutive batches of militia followed, but after that there was no news.


    The families of the militia gathered at Rivereast Village, anxiously waiting for news at the edge of the woods, and all they could do was wait.


    But what they got was bad news, first with Mayor Mitchell being rescued in a coma by his son, followed by one militia after another fleeing from the woods. Nearly every militia who escaped to Rivereast Village was injured. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire


    In the descriptions of the shaken militia, what attacked them were the minions of the devil, terror werewolves as tall as mountains, and giant monsters with spikes on their backs... That thing charged into the crowd like a scythe sweeping over weeds, reaping souls away.


    Some of the militia were seen dead, many more were missing in the woods. The families of the deceased were in utter despair, and the families of the missing could not help but break down in tears.


    Rivereast Village was struck by sorrow, thankfully Father Caman and Brother Reed rushed to the scene. The two clergymen consoled the bereaved, led the families of the injured in prayer, treated the wounded, prepared medications, and steadied everyone''s spirits.


    As the sun dipped low in the sky and darkness fell, the mood in Rivereast Village grew more anxious.


    Just as Father Caman, Brother Reed, and several village elders were discussing whether to send another party into the woods for rescue, an excited child ran to the village to bring news.


    "They''re back! They''re back!" After yelling several times impolitely at the adults, the child raced off to tell others.


    Upon hearing this, Father Caman and the elderly mendicant monk rushed to the village entrance.


    At the western entrance of Rivereast Village, they met the returning bear-hunting team.


    Sergei led Lieutenant Montaigne''s Crimson Mane, walking ahead with a lofty stride, looking like a general returning from victory. Winters, on the back of Crimson Mane, showed no signs of pride or joy; his eyes were filled with deep fatigue.


    In contrast, Sergei almost seemed to be the one riding the horse.


    But neither of them were the main focus of this "victory parade"; the attention of everyone was captured by the huge bear carcass at the end of the procession.


    The Dusacks had tied together a temporary sled of wood, placing the giant bear''s body on it, displaying it as a trophy and pulled by six horses all the way back to Rivereast Village.


    The people of Wolfton finally had the chance to witness the true face of the man-eating beast. The bear''s size was shockingly massive, with adults standing beside it looking like children, and children appearing as infants.


    The giant bear''s yellow-brown fur was almost dyed dark red with blood, and its body was covered in horrifying wounds. Several spears and javelins were still lodged in it¡ªthey couldn''t be pulled out because they were stuck too deep. The bear''s head was mangled and gruesome, and no one knew what kind of immense force could have caused such destruction.


    Merely by seeing the wounds on the bear''s body, everyone understood how tough the fight had been for the hunting team to kill this ferocious beast.


    Even as a carcass, the bear''s lingering ferocity still chilled the villagers. Ironically, the children were not afraid; they ran around the bear''s body, making noise, and threw stones at its head until they were taken away by their parents.


    The Dusacks dragged the bear carcass through the crowd of villagers all the way to Rivereast Village''s threshing ground.


    The atmosphere in Rivereast Village cleared, almost festive; villagers brought out their homemade wine and meat to entertain the warriors who had slain the beast. The Dusacks drank sweet wine and colorfully recounted their own versions of the thrilling tale.


    Winters did not join the "celebration," nor did he rest; for him, there were countless matters to attend to.


    It was already confirmed that four militia had unfortunately encountered the bear in the valley and perished; they were pillars of their families, the main labor force. Their widows and orphans were now in inconsolable grief, facing an uncertain future; how would they be compensated? Winters needed to come up with a solution.


    And there were many injured, the minor wounds were manageable. But what of the severely injured who, even if they were lucky to survive, would lose a significant portion of their labor capacity?


    Compared to these issues, questions like "A part of the militia got scattered in the woods and are still missing¡ªwe need to send people to search and rescue them" seemed trifling.


    The greater the power, the greater the responsibility, Winters deeply realized the truth of this saying.


    When he was in the archipelago, all he had to do was fight, without worrying about other issues. But in Wolfton, he exercised authority far beyond that of a normal officer, and his responsibilities were greater. He had to take responsibility not just for the living, but also for the dead.


    He could have easily shirked his duties, considering he could leave it all behind eventually. But Winters Montagne had gradually embraced his role as the garrison officer of Wolfton.


    Although he was a Venetian, he genuinely wished to do something beneficial for this little town in the southwest corner of Paratu, at the very least, not to leave a mess behind.


    ...


    "Is it over?" Winters, suddenly awake in the dead of night, felt a twinge of unreality.


    The roaming beast in the woods had been hunted, and the people of the various villages of Wolfton were returning to their normal lives... perhaps that was the case.


    Winters had Hunter Ralph lead a team into the mountains to search and rescue, bringing back all the missing militia¡ªboth the living and the dead. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bear''s carcass was paraded around Wolfton by old Sergei and the Dusacks, shown off in each village, allowing the Dusacks to have their moment in the spotlight.


    Afterward, the villagers divided up the bear meat. Its skin, a trophy full of battle scars, was kept by Sergei who respectfully handed it to Winters, who in turn gifted it to the hunter and his son.

 Chapter 16 Compensation_2

    Sergei again presented the bear''s head to the Mitchell Family. Gerard was grateful for his old friend''s generosity but did not display the giant bear''s head as a trophy. However, Pierre clamored to hang the bear''s head on the wall and was scolded by Mrs. Mitchell before he fell silent.Most of the bear''s offal was also distributed as meat, except for the bear''s gall which was taken away by the elderly begging monk Reed. It was unclear what use he had for such a bitter thing.


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    A small incident then occurred: the drunken old widower Rostov, whose son had unfortunately perished in the beast plague, began to sob uncontrollably when he saw others eating the bear meat. He cried out, "My son''s flesh and blood is in this bear meat too."


    The people of Dusa Village, feeling sorry for the old widower, buried the bear meat they received.


    However, when Hunter Ralph''s son Bell saw this, he asked Rostov, puzzled, "The bear ate your son, and you eat the bear. Isn''t that the rule of the Great Wilderness? Isn''t wasting food the greatest disrespect?"


    Winters overheard this but the tearful Rostov did not hear clearly. Ralph''s expression changed drastically, and he hastily dragged his son away.


    The news quickly spread to the neighboring towns, and when Andre heard that the man-eating bear had been killed and the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town had been injured, he immediately borrowed a horse and rushed to Wolfton. Seeing Winters still lively and kicking, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    To witness the only remaining head of the giant bear, Lieutenant Chelini made a special visit to the Mitchell''s.


    Looking at the bear''s head that was nearly big enough for two people to hug together, Andre smacked his lips and exclaimed, "Goodness, that must weigh about two thousand pounds, right?"


    "About that, maybe a bit heavier," Winters replied offhandedly. "There''s no scale here that can measure the weight of this thing."


    "Amazing," Andre said with envy. "I dream of hunting such a big game."


    "If you were knocked down by this thing once, you wouldn''t think so," Winters thought for a moment and then asked, "How about it, do you want to take the bear''s head? Mayor Mitchell is troubled about how to deal with it."


    Andre snorted, "What would I do with it if I didn''t hunt it myself?"


    "Right, I broke the gun I borrowed from you. Can I compensate you with money? Can we settle it that way?"


    "How did you break it?" Andre''s focus was obviously not on the money.


    Winters answered calmly, "The barrel burst."


    "The barrel burst?" Andre was astounded, took a careful look at Winters to make sure his old schoolmate wasn''t missing any parts. "You''ve got one hell of a luck! Was it worth risking your life for those shepherds? They''ve never treated us as one of their own!"


    Winters sighed, at a loss for words.


    Seeing his old friend''s negative reaction, Andre said angrily, "I''m serious! You need to value your life, you know? I don''t want to have to come to such a godforsaken place to visit your grave in the future. We all have to return to Sea Blue together, and it wouldn''t be the same without any of us."


    "I got it, I got it."


    Andre was helpless, but then something came to mind, and he slapped his forehead, "Right, Bard sent me a message for you."


    "What did he say?" Winters perked up at the news of Bard.


    "He wants you to come to my place on the Sunday of the first week next month. He''ll be there too. From Blackwater Town, we''ll follow him to meet a senior."


    "Which senior?"


    "He didn''t specify, and I don''t know either. Just a message, but it''s always good to meet someone familiar."


    "Okay, I''ll remember."


    After confirming his old classmate was alright and without staying the night, Andre returned directly to Blackwater Town, taking with him the several muskets he had lent to Winters.


    After Andre left the Mitchell''s, the hunter and his son were also preparing to leave.


    Now that the fierce beast had been slain, Ralph could take his son back to their cabin in the woods.


    Ralph''s son Bell, the young stable boy Anglu, and Gerard''s son Pierre, these three lads, all around fifteen or sixteen years of age, had grown close over these days, becoming good friends.


    The departure of Bell from Dusa Village was hard for the other two boys to accept.


    When the old hunter came with his son to say farewell, Winters was at the town hall writing documents and beckoned the young hunter to his side.


    The young hunter approached the desk, puzzled, as Winters opened a drawer, took out something wrapped in black cloth, and handed it to the young hunter.


    It was a dagger, a replica of Sofia''s, previously commissioned by Winters from the blacksmith Misha.


    The young Hunter''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "I''ve canceled the archery competition this weekend, but you were likely to win anyway. Here''s your prize in advance," said Winters with a smile.


    The young Hunter looked at his father with pleading eyes.


    "Since the lieutenant is giving it to you, take it," the elder Hunter nodded to his son and then looked at Winters with respect, "Thank you, sir."


    Elated, the young Hunter ran out of the town office to find something to test the blade on.


    "Why such a hurry to get back?" Winters watched the young Hunter run off and said to the elder Hunter, "I always feel somewhat restless."


    "I share that feeling, sir," the elder Hunter said slowly, "Which is why I need to return home quickly."


    "Alright then, come to me if anything arises."


    The elder Hunter bowed and left the town office.


    It seemed that everything truly had come to an end.


    ...


    With the menace of the bear taken care of, the farmers could sleep without fear at night, the Hunter father and son returned to their cabin in the woods, and village life returned to its usual pace. It seemed the turmoil caused by the animal attacks had indeed come to an end.


    The only remaining issue was how to compensate the victims and the injured.


    On the fifth afternoon following the slaying of the bear, Mayor Mitchell, Garrison Officer Montaigne, and Priest Caman held a serious meeting in the town office to discuss compensation for the casualties.


    Despite his wariness, Winters had to admit the considerable influence religious figures held among the villagers. The farmers always feared hell more than the gallows, and salvation seemed insignificant compared to all the world''s temptations.


    Religion had penetrated deep into all facets of society, and the spellcasters, a distinct minority, were powerless to change this reality.


    An old mendicant monk once told Winters that just three roles held all the power in Wolfton ¨C a county official, a military officer, and a clergyman. They had authority over everything from taxation to conscription, from the land they walked on to the graves they lay in.


    If the mayor, the garrison officer, and the church''s priest worked together in Wolfton, anything could be accomplished.


    So, although Winters was very displeased with the clergy meddling in public affairs, he ultimately held his nose and accepted it, ensuring nothing went awry.


    After discussing with Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman, all three agreed not only to provide a one-time compensation for the militiamen who died or were disabled, but also to extend long-term assistance to them.


    Knowing he wouldn''t stay much longer, Winters knew he must enlist the help of the mayor and the church to maintain this method of compensation.


    For clarity, he used terms the farmers would easily understand: families who lost their labor force due to the bear hunt would have their land cultivated by the entire village, like the lands of the past nobility, until their children came of age.


    The system essentially meant that the land of the militiamen''s families would be prioritized for plowing with communal farm equipment and harvested first by other villagers, with each farmer spending a few days a year working those fields.


    The farmers were all too familiar with these practices, which continue to operate as "commons" in the villages even today. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The system obviously had many flaws and loopholes, but since the nobles had managed to maintain it for centuries, Winters figured Gerard and Caman could maintain it for a decade or two with no issue.


    "The rest is up to both of you," Winters said, standing up and bowing sincerely to Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman after they had settled on a compensation plan for the casualties.


    Priest Caman smiled and nodded his head.


    Gerard found it strange but comforted the lieutenant, "Don''t worry, the bear-hunting militiamen died for us all. The villagers will take good care of their families."


    Just as Winters was about to say something, a tempestuous knock interrupted him.


    Young Hunter Bell was banging on the door of the town office frantically; he had run there, looking as though he had been fished out of the water.


    "Help!"

 Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World

    The disordered tracks extended deeper into the forest. Following the marks left by the hunter, Winters spurred on his horse in pursuit.The more he moved forward, the more unsettled and agitated his chestnut horse became. It bit fiercely on the bit, shaking its head from side to side to resist the rider''s commands, forcing Winters to use even greater strength to control the reins.


    Winters''s attention was drawn to a fleeting depression in the muddy ground. He immediately yanked on the reins. His chestnut''s forehooves rose high as it charged forward a short distance before stopping.


    Winters dashed back to the muddy patch he had just passed. He confirmed that he wasn''t mistaken, it wasn''t an ordinary depression, but a paw print.


    Since the beginning of the beast plague, Winters had followed Ralph time and again to search the mountains and forests. He had seen countless animal tracks, bears, wolves, deer, roe deer, foxes, rabbits... He had almost become a self-taught hunter.


    But the paw print before him was different from any he had seen in this forest before, a strange paw print, yet also a familiar one.


    Indeed, he felt an eerily familiar sense of the shape of this paw print, only he couldn''t remember where he had seen it before.


    Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind, not in Wolfton, not in Paratu, not in the Taniria Islands, he had seen these types of paw prints, but it was back in his home in Sea Blue... These were cat paw prints.


    A palm with four lobes, pads without claws, the paw prints of Big and Little General were exactly like that, Winters had seen them countless times.


    But a cat''s paw print was no larger than a thumb, whereas the "cat paw print" before him was large enough to accommodate his hand.


    A gigantic cat?


    Winters suddenly understood: why did the deer herd flee as if escaping from deeper within the forest? Why were no remnants of clothing fabric found in the bear''s intestines and feces? Why did the wolf pack, taking a risk, break into the village to forage?


    The wolves weren''t migrating, they were fleeing. Top predators leave their territory only because a more powerful predator has arrived. Moreover... there wasn''t just one.


    Suddenly, the chestnut horse tied to the tree whinnied in terror. The three-year-old steed struggled so fiercely that the knot Winters had tied was directly ripped apart.


    A chill wind brushed past Winters'' fingertips, and in that instant, all the hairs on his body stood on end, and a sudden chill ran down his back. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instinct drove Winters to roll to his right. Accompanied by a hair-raising growl, a spotted beast pounced on the spot where he had been just a second earlier.


    Winters narrowly avoided the stealthy attack from behind. Suppressing the deep-seated fear in his heart, he drew out the Dusack scimitar as he regained his balance.


    The old hunter had told him, "In the woods, no man can ever outrun a wild animal," never flee, to turn and run was to choose death.


    Spooked, the chestnut ran toward the depths of the forest. The spotted beast chased after for a few steps, then suddenly turned back.


    It didn''t immediately attack but instead kept a fixated glare on Winters, snarling and moving slowly to his side.


    Winters dared not make any sudden movements. He too gripped the cavalry saber, slowly rotating his body to maintain facing the spotted beast.


    Man and beast confronted each other in the forest, like duelists with drawn swords. For this reason, Winters managed to get a clear look at the true face of the spotted beast.


    The creature before him was terrifyingly large, its shoulder height was not much less than the chestnut''s, almost reaching Winters'' chest. Its body was covered in pale yellow stripes, blending into the dappled tree shadows, making it nearly invisible.


    Its shape resembled the lion on the Vineta Flag, with a short snout and a broad forehead, slender facial contours, but it had short mane around its neck, making it look peculiar.


    But no matter how odd it appeared, Winters did not want to provoke it. Even if it were a pig, at that size, it was not something Winters could handle alone.


    First the enormous bear, now a giant lion, Winters was becoming numb to the notion that everything in Wolf Town seemed larger.


    The peculiar lion started to slowly crouch, its head nearly touching the ground, shoulder blades protruding from its back.


    "It''s coming!" flashed through Winters''s mind. He hadn''t seen a live lion, but he did have two cats. When a cat is poised to strike, it adopts this posture.


    The next second, Winters saw the lion''s whiskers on its face slowly turning forward¡ªan omen of a cat''s attack.


    Winters steeled his heart, took a deep breath, and cast a spell he had never used in real combat before: Scare Beast.


    A deep voice originated from his vocal cords, amplified by magic within his mouth, ultimately forming a wave of sound that spread around him.


    The novice spell "Scare Beast," one of the divine arts from the Druid Teachings, inversely reconstructed by the Magic Combat Bureau.


    It was found that animals are extremely sensitive to low frequencies; herbivores can be easily frightened by low-frequency sounds, and ferocious animals emit low-frequency calls to intimidate each other when encountering threats in the wild.


    The principle behind the "Scare Beast" spell is to mimic and amplify the low growls of large animals intimidating their foes, and in conjunction with lion''s dung and urine as casting materials, it leads the targeted animal to believe it''s facing a lion.


    This spell is mainly used to scare warhorses or animals such as dogs and wolves; no spellcaster has ever tried it on lions¡ªor rather, no one who has done so has lived to write a report. Winters also didn''t have the feces or urine of a ferocious beast as casting materials.


    But he had no alternative; he could only give it his all.

 Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_2

    ```The thunderous low-frequency soundwave detonated in the forest, and the caster himself bore the brunt of the impact. It felt like a cannon had gone off right by his ear, Winters''s skull trembling with it.


    The giant lion was startled by the sudden boom and sprung up from the ground leaping backwards, disappearing into the thickets after a few bounds, vanishing from sight.


    Having just escaped with his life, Winters wanted to laugh, but he couldn''t. He didn''t know whether to thank the Magic Combat Bureau or the fact that the peculiar-looking lion had a rather full breakfast.


    Without time to ponder this question, Winters bolted towards the edge of the forest.


    He hadn''t run far when an uncontrollable wave of nausea suddenly erupted in his mind, as if a fist inside his abdomen was hammering his stomach mercilessly; he involuntarily knelt on the ground and began to retch.


    A gust of cold wind swept past him, and the chaotic sounds of the underbrush behind him rustled loudly¡ªthe giant lion had caught up.


    "I knew it wouldn''t be so easy!" Winters wiped the acidic saliva from the corner of his mouth, got up, and faced the direction from which the lion was coming, his hands gripping the military saber.


    Leaping from the bushes, the giant lion didn''t continue the standoff with Winters. Its brawny limbs stomped on the ground, its tail whirling, claws and fangs exposed, as it roared violently towards Winters. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This "big cat" moved incredibly fast, so much so that Winters was only able to react when it was already soaring through the air, almost instantly upon him.


    The dense woods provided Winters with some cover, and he immediately darted between the trees to his side.


    The swipe from the mid-air lion''s claws was blocked by the trunk of a tree, but the tree, as thick as a man''s forearm, was bent by the lion''s fierce paw, and its claws swept onto Winters, who couldn''t dodge in time, tearing away chunks of cloth and flesh.


    Winters first felt a chill on his back, followed by a searing pain. The cloth on his back was soaked with a warm liquid and stuck to his body.


    At the same time, blood was dripping from his military saber, and the lion''s right front leg had a fresh cut¡ªa wound from a sharp weapon. Winters Montagne did not have the habit of being a sitting duck.


    The injured giant lion did not immediately launch a second attack, giving Winters a moment to catch his breath. It backed off a short distance and, with seeming disregard, began to lick its wound.


    But this behavior didn''t mean it had given up on its prey. On the contrary, the lion had decided the human in front of it would be a fine meal, so it was not in a hurry to kill.


    Seeing that the lion''s wound had stopped bleeding so quickly, Winters let out a bitter laugh.


    The current trade-off didn''t seem profitable at all. He had to find a more effective tactic soon, or else he might as well find a way to end it quickly himself.


    "Can''t delay any longer," Winters thought. "The longer I wait, the more blood I lose, the slimmer my chances become."


    But a few inches long cut was insignificant for a lion weighing several hundred pounds. Glancing at the military saber in his hand, Winters realized he had only one chance, a single all-or-nothing opportunity:


    To use the Arrow Flying Spell to accelerate the saber¡ªif he could imbue it with enough kinetic energy, he might be able to deal a lethal wound to the beast.


    It was an all-or-nothing gamble, Winters had never cast the Arrow Flying Spell on a sword before. Moreover, the military saber in his hand was his only weapon, and there was only one chance. Should he miss, even a quick death would be at the mercy of the lion.


    But magic was his only chance to kill this giant lion.


    After stopping the bleeding, the giant lion lazily stood up and began circling Winters again. It continuously intimidated Winters, as though trying to force its prey to reveal a gap.


    "Got to hit the head, only a blow to the head will kill it instantly," Winters reminded himself. "Can''t be too close, too close and the speed won''t be enough to penetrate the skull¡ªnor too far, as it can be dodged. My spellcasting radius is only two meters. I''ll have to wait till it''s within three meters."


    But the giant lion kept moving, making it impossible for Winters to find the right moment to strike, and yet, it was closing the distance between them.


    Holding the military saber backward in the posture of throwing a javelin, Winters found his concentration increasingly difficult to maintain as the loss of blood was making him weaker.


    Both predator and prey were waiting for the opportunity to land a deadly strike.


    Suddenly, the lion''s ears perked up. It hesitated for a moment then moved back to a position further away from Winters.


    Winters knew that the beast must have heard something, and soon he heard it too¡ªthe sound of hoofbeats, riders approaching from a distance.


    It must be Gerard with the militia! Winters''s spirits were greatly lifted. After receiving the young Hunter''s call for help, he split up with Gerard, heading out first to survey the situation while Gerard would go to Dusa Village for reinforcements.


    Immediately, Winters struck the tree with his saber, signaling his location to the rider. He soon realized something was amiss, the hoofbeats were too sparse.


    The hoofbeats drew nearer, seemingly just one rider. A familiar warhorse came into Winters''s view, its red mane bursting from the underbrush. Astonishingly, atop the red-maned horse was the old Hunter, Ralph.


    Realizing it wasn''t reinforcements and despite the risk of provoking the lion to attack, Winters yelled out to the old Hunter, "Don''t dismount! Get away fast!"


    His shout was like a start signal, and the giant lion, seeing Winters distracted, immediately lunged towards him.


    Ralph ignored the lieutenant''s warning, vigorously whipping the red-maned horse and arrived beside Winters in a flash.


    Jumping from the horse just a few lengths away from the lion, Ralph rolled several times upon landing, while the inertia of the horse carried it straight into the path of the giant lion.


    ```

 Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_3

    But the lion was far more agile than the bear, and the massive lion easily dodged the warhorse''s charge. It immediately poised to pounce on Winters again, as Winters bit down hard, ready to throw his scimitar.However, the mighty lion suddenly froze in place, and Winters was also stunned. He heard a sound that should not have been there, he heard a tender wail.


    "Beast! Look at me!" Ralph yelled angrily. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters saw the hunter''s thigh was wounded, a horror to behold, with blood dripping down from the cuff of his trousers. What surprised him even more was what the old hunter was holding.


    In Ralph''s hand was a lion cub.


    The cub was only the size of a small cat, its eyes freshly opened. Held by the scruff of its neck in front of the old hunter, it called out pitifully to its mother.


    Only then did Winters realize that the giant lion before him was a lioness and she had recently become a mother.


    The lioness didn''t immediately attack Ralph; it sat with a mournful cry in response to the cub''s call.


    The next moment, the old hunter plunged a knife into the soft belly of the lion cub, slashing down viciously, the newly opened eyes of the Little Lion witnessed its own belly being ripped open.


    Winters felt a buzzing in his skull, a chill from the top of his head to his fingertips.


    The mother lion let out a piercing howl that made all creatures shiver, launching itself at the old hunter like a demon.


    "Come on!" the old hunter stood his ground, not dodging or evading.


    "No!" Winters threw his military saber. The moment the blade left his hand, he entered a Spell-casting state, pouring all the magic power he could muster into the military saber.


    The lioness didn''t dodge or avoid either, but it was too fast; the military saber failed to hit its head and instead skewered three inches off target into its spine.


    With its spine severely injured, the lioness didn''t hesitate, continuing to pounce towards the old hunter and reaching him in the blink of an eye.


    Ralph pushed his left arm into the giant lion''s gaping maw, and the lion bit down hard, severing the hunter''s arm at the elbow.


    Ralph was knocked down by the mother lion, and as the giant lion ravaged him, stepping on his chest, the old hunter''s left arm was ripped directly from his body.


    However, the hunter achieved his goal; as the giant lion tore off his arm, he also left a terrifying gash in the lioness'' abdomen.


    The lioness''s entrails spilled out, but it continued to rip into the hunter. The hunter also used his last strength to slice open the lioness'' belly.


    Everything happened too fast for Winters to intervene. He hit the giant lion with all his might, knocking the several hundred kilogram beast off balance. The lioness stepped on its intestines, pulling even more organs from its gaping abdominal wound.


    Winters shielded the old hunter, and the lioness, looking at Ralph who was now lifeless, howled mournfully, picked up the cub''s body with its mouth, and dragged its bowels to disappear into the bushes, leaving behind a trail of blood.


    Blood sprayed from Ralph''s terrible shoulder wound, and through the hole, one could even see his heart in his chest cavity.


    Winters wanted to stop the old hunter''s bleeding but didn''t know where to begin, as the hunter''s chest, shoulders, and neck were fatally wounded. He held the hunter, who was barely breathing, tears unstoppable.


    "My debt... is paid..." the dying hunter struggled to utter, his lungs spewing from his mouth, "Look... look after my son..."


    The hunter''s body suddenly went limp, his pupils dilated, his eyes dimming as he died in Winters'' arms, leaving this world forever behind.


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    "Winters Montagne''s Book of Spells"


    (This spellbook, being carried around all year round, is worn out and the sides are stained black and yellow. The owner has crossed out and modified much of the content, adding many notes in the margins. In the corner of the title page, there is an abbreviation: W.M.)


    Spell: Startle Beasts


    Type: Composite Spell/Druide Divine Art imitation


    Spellcasting Materials: The dung and urine of large wild beasts


    Description: Mimic the sounds and scents of large beasts to scare herbivores and smaller wild animals.


    Note 1: Mr. L said that when wild animals encounter each other in the wild, they don''t start fighting right away. Most of the time they just roar at each other until one side gives in and withdraws. Perhaps this spell is also effective against larger predatory animals.


    Note 2: It works on lions, tested, but only for a short while.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spell: Arrow Flying Spell Enrichment


    Type: Kinetic Spell


    Description: An Arrow Flying Spell that uses heavy objects as casting materials. It is more difficult, but carries more kinetic energy.


    Note: Not suitable for use on scimitars, perhaps javelins are more appropriate as casting materials.

 Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia

    The night before, the young men had dug the grave. It lay in the cemetery of the Wolf Town Church, right next to the resting place of other old Dusacks.At this moment, those young people who were born and raised here after their parents had settled in the land, were standing behind the grave with shovels, waiting to fill it back in.


    A few pine boards and a handful of iron nails made up the old Hunter''s coffin. Winters, Gerard, and two other old Dusacks carried the casket all the way to the graveyard.


    They placed the casket next to the grave and stepped aside. There were unexpectedly many people who came to see Ralph off, not just Dusans from Dusa Village, but also villagers from the east and west sides of the river. Even Protestants from Nanxin and Beixin, villages far from the town center, had made the journey to attend the funeral.


    It was only when villagers from the other four villages offered their condolences to Bell that Winters learned Ralph, the Hunter, was also a veterinarian, a herbal doctor, and a forest rescuer. All attending villagers from the four other villages had benefited from his services.


    The Priest Anthony, dressed in full black ceremonial robes, presided over the ritual himself. Holding the gospel book, he chanted the scripture with great eloquence, leading all those in attendance in prayer, and then recited the Catholic funeral prayer once more.


    Having known Ralph for a long time, Winters never thought the respectable Hunter was a Catholic, and neither was his son. The Hunter and his son did not attend Sunday mass, and there were no religious artifacts in their home.


    But when the old Hunter was laid to rest, the funeral held was a Catholic one, which left those who knew the situation unsure how to feel.


    Priest Anthony finished the prayers and looked around before asking, "Would anyone like to say a few words?"


    Just as Gerard was about to speak, Sergei stepped forward from the crowd in front of the casket¡ªand it was too late to stop him.


    Gerard Mitchell''s heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    After all, disputes and brawls among Dusans were as likely to be caused by strong liquor as they were by this custom of "saying a few words" at a funeral.


    Dusans held funerals and the deceased in high reverence, and they certainly did not have a tradition of speaking only well.


    With immense respect for death, the mourners at the casket would speak their minds, hiding nothing of their true thoughts.


    Such candidness often led to outright shouting matches, followed by hot-tempered Dusacks throwing punches; in some cases, it even escalated to drawing knives, shooting, and consequently, more funerals.


    Gerard now feared that Sergei couldn''t help but say something inappropriate, and any argument or injury was the last thing he wanted to see.


    "Ralph Pradov, the second son of old Yelmo... there''s no need to introduce him, as you all know who he is." The proud chest of the Dusan that could be seen no matter where he went was gone, as tears welled up in the old man''s eyes. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Choking back tears, Sergei said, "Yelmonovich was one of our old brothers. Every Dusan of age here had worked as a laborer with him. We stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting against Bumpkins and Northerners, and were sent down south to slay Rebels and fight Herdman. I''ve never seen a better archer than him... The battle at Stony Ford, I can''t say how many Dusacks died there. My horse was stabbed to death, and my thigh had a hole gouged by a Rebel spearman. If Yelmonovich hadn''t carried me on his back, I would have died there too."


    As he spoke, the old man broke down into tears. The villagers from the other villages had complicated expressions on their faces, but many of the old Dusacks were already stealthily wiping away tears.


    Ralph, Sergei''s son, ran out to support Sergei, but the old man insisted on finishing his speech, "We old brothers lose one more each time one passes. I regret! I regret not understanding before! Yelmonovich was a true man, a true Dusan. We used to ostracize him, we wouldn''t let him into the village¡ªwe were bastards! But he has paid his debts, and whatever happened in the past should now be crossed out. A Dusan''s son should also be a Dusan, Ralphnovich should be a Dusan too. That''s all I have to say! If anyone disagrees, I''ll be waiting at my house for you!"


    After "saying a few words," old Sergei let go of his son''s hand and strode back to his original position. Winters noticed that the other villagers didn''t react much to the old man''s latter words, but the Dusans were clearly very surprised.


    Perhaps because Sergei''s speech was so impactful, no other Dusans "said a few words," but several villagers from the other four villages did speak of the old Hunter''s kindness to them and expressed their gratitude.


    With this final ceremony completed, the old Hunter''s casket was lowered into the grave. Bell, the young Hunter, tearfully cast the first handful of earth, followed by shovelfuls of soil cascading onto Ralph''s coffin.


    The old Hunter''s grave was gradually filled in, and some couldn''t help but cry softly, while Winters too felt profound sorrow.


    The left arm of the old Hunter was hastily sewn onto the body. Because the corpse was "far too incomplete," no lady dared to perform the sewing, and in the end, it fell upon Winters and Caman to do so.


    Following the blood trail, the militia that arrived later discovered the already dead adult lion and its cubs in a cave. In addition, they found a half-eaten fresh corpse and... the head of the youngest son of the Rostov family. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    There were also some scraps of clothing, but those were of no consequence.


    It was clear that a man-eating lion was to blame. That night, Dusa Village was not attacked by one beast, but by two.

 Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_2

    To protect the horses, Er Maziteleqing fought against a giant bear, but was overpowered. When he was found, his internals had already been devoured¡ªa behavior consistent with that of bears.The couple secretly meeting in the woods unfortunately became the giant lion''s prey. The giant lion dragged away and ate the girl, and after its feast, it killed the boy who had pursued it.


    This explained Ralph''s long-standing question: Why did the beasts, already satiated with horse flesh, still attack the lovers from Dusa Village?


    The day the old hunter and the giant lion perished together, the giant lion had actually killed a villager from Beixin, dragging the corpse back to its lair to enjoy¡ªthis was the half-eaten body the militia had found.


    When Ralph learned that a girl from Beixin had gone into the mountains to gather wood and had not returned, he immediately set out to search. Upon discovering the tracks of the giant beast, he sent his son to seek help from the garrison officer lieutenant, while he himself continued to follow the tracks.


    What happened next caught everyone by surprise. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having been identified by the worldly-wise Brother Reed, the giant lion that died at the hands of the old hunter was likely the legendary "cave lion."


    Named after its depiction in cave paintings, this kind of giant lion is also known from ivory carvings and clay sculptures that corroborate its existence.


    However, the issue lies in that the cave paintings and sculptures that recorded the cave lion were created by prehistoric humans, some theologians of the proof-seeking faction even believe that those paintings might predate the construction of the Tower of Babel.


    Therefore, even Brother Reed, who had traveled the world, dared not assert that the creature was the so-called "cave lion," because truly no one had ever seen what a cave lion looked like. The existence of such a beast hasn''t even been recorded in the annals of history.


    If that creature was indeed a cave lion, then this species must have a history spanning at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands of years, which is simply unimaginable.


    But the old mendicant brother could be sure of one thing: that creature was definitely not an ordinary lion. Of all the people in Wolf Town, only Brother Reed claimed to have seen a living lion¡ªhimself.


    The old brother adamantly stated that ordinary lionesses do not look like this, nor are they so large. He hasn''t seen such giant lions anywhere, either in the East or the West. Perhaps only the Nemean lion from the ancient myth of the Twelve Labors of the great hero could possess such a size.


    Winters had only seen the image of a lion on military banners, and the old Dusacks too had seen it on the enemy''s banners. The others had not even seen a drawing of a lion, let alone a live one.


    Thus, Brother Reed held absolute authority, and although others might be skeptical, they could only accept the old brother''s explanation.


    The old mendicant brother wrote to some natural history scholars, entrusting traveling merchants to deliver the letters to Revodan Cathedral, to be sent out through the church''s channels. But no one knew when they would receive a reply.


    The troublesome means of communication reminded Winters where he currently was¡ªafter living in Wolf Town for a while, he had almost forgotten that this place was on the edge of the "civilized world."


    Winters took this opportunity to also send a letter home, using Brother Reed''s church channels as well. The letter itself was a form of information, and he carefully didn''t write too much, merely inquiring about the welfare of his family.


    But the verification work was not urgent; another weighty matter pressed on the minds of the people of Wolf Town: why would such a gigantic beast come to little Wolf Town?


    Winters contemplated more deeply: this was a mother lion with cubs.


    This meant... there was at least the existence of one male lion.


    And even considering that giant bear, it surely must have had a father and mother, right?


    Could it be that within the depths of the forest, in uncharted regions where humans have yet to set foot, beneath those mountains crowned with gold, there lurked yet more gigantic beasts?


    Could these two encounters just be the beginning?


    At this thought, Winters shivered. He suddenly realized that although the two ferocious beasts had been slain, the Wolf Town militia could not be disbanded. Not only could they not disband, but the militia training must become a regular practice.


    Furthermore, they needed to establish an armory and acquire some "real weapons." Thus, next time they encountered an ancient fierce beast, the people of Wolf Town wouldn''t have to face it with just javelins and cavalry swords.


    Otherwise, when he left his post, if another beast calamity occurred, it would be very difficult for Mayor Mitchell, a man of over fifty, to reorganize the militia completely.


    Moreover, the great hero who had dealt with this beast calamity¡ªthe old hunter Ralph¡ªwas no longer alive. Where could this remote little town find another spellcaster officer?


    After Winters shared his thoughts with Gerard, he obtained Gerard''s approval and strong support. Mayor Gerard Mitchell not only supported the normalization of the militia but also strongly suggested establishing a formal guard force in Wolf Town.


    For a town, a town guard and a guard force are essential law enforcement bodies. The town guard is generally full-time, while the guard force members can be either full-time or part-time, depending on the size of the town and its budget.


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    The situation in Wolf Town was somewhat awkward. If you call it a town, it has fewer than ten permanent residents, just two dirt roads crossing each other, and no walls.


    By the way, in the common language, the word for townspeople/citizens [Burger] is derived from the word for city walls [Burg], meaning those who dwell within the walls.


    Revodan City''s Wolf Town had nothing, but legally speaking, Wolf Town was indeed a "town." It''s just that before Winters took office, it had neither a town guard nor a guard force.

 Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_3

    So when Gerard was both the mayor and the Garrison Officer, the town government had almost no enforcement ability.Even for minor matters like "lumberjacks fighting with villagers", Gerard would have to personally go out with his saber; otherwise, he would have to seek help from his former subordinates in Dusa Village.


    And in fact, such trivial incidents as "lumberjacks fighting with villagers" happened quite frequently, occurring almost once a week, much to the annoyance of Mayor Mitchell.


    Even the newly-appointed Winters experienced it once when several young men from the village east of the river were beaten black and blue. At that time, Winters was busy dealing with the threat of wild beasts and let both parties off with a warning after some admonishment.


    In order to realize his desire to make Wolf Town a truly prosperous market town, Gerard Mitchell was very keen to establish a formal security force. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In his view, a security force might not be necessary, but it could not be nonexistent. Ensuring public safety was essential to attract more people to reside in the town center. It would be best if the security force members were full-time, but part-time would also do.


    Mayor Mitchell even actively proposed to help Winters solve the budget issue by directly funding and hiring a security team for the town.


    The authorities granted to officers stationed in the Newly Reclaimed Land were significant, and the powers of a mayor were also considerable. The Paratu Council only cared about taxes; as long as the taxes were delivered, everything else was inconsequential, and the mayor practically had the same powers as the Empire''s tax farmer.


    Moreover, since all property belonged to the army, the common folk in the Newly Reclaimed Land had to pay taxes for almost everything they did. Going into the mountains to chop wood incurred a tax, fishing in the river incurred a tax, and setting nets to catch birds incurred a tax¡ªthese and many other activities were taxed in addition to the basic agricultural and poll taxes.


    Take a hunter''s family, for example. Besides paying the poll tax and road tax, they had to pay a hunting tax for their activities in the mountains, providing eight deer skins and eight fox skins annually, or paying three large silver coins.


    As for Mitchell''s, they had a small boat, and whether Gerard Mitchell fished or not, they still had to pay the fishing tax.


    These additional taxes were paid annually, and some were mandatory, such as the firewood tax. Even if a farmer only burned his own straw for a whole year, he still had to pay the tax, which was virtually a form of poll tax.


    When Winters heard Monk Reed casually talk about these "exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes", he could hardly believe his ears. The taxes in the Far East Newly Reclaimed Land were completely different from those in Vineta; one could even say they were worlds apart.


    The ruling class of the Vineta Republic almost left the rural areas to fend for themselves. The merchant Republic was innately skilled in calculations and used to weighing everything on a scale as a business deal.


    What the commercial Republic needed was currency¡ªactual silver and gold, precious metals that could be used for trade. Besides that, the Republic needed manpower and material supplies to maintain its trade fleet and urban crafts.


    And what farmers lacked most was precious metals; small households could not save up much money. Transactions among farmers were commonly conducted via bartering year-round. Even the smallest silver coin was too large in "face value" for a farmer; it had to be cut into smaller pieces to be used in the rural areas¡ªthat is, "silver fragments".


    Therefore, in the eyes of the rulers of the Vineta Republic: scraping money off farmers was simply too costly. Every silver coin scraped from farmers would cost two silver coins in maintaining the Standing Army that suppressed them.


    What a loss! Such a huge loss! This business was doomed to hemorrhage money!


    And frequent farmer rebellions would also disrupt the supply of materials and labor to cities.


    Therefore, the rural tax system of the Vineta Republic is primarily in-kind, and the supervising government is only responsible for annual taxation and suppressing bandits (as bandits rob caravans on Guzhi Road, which is very bad for business).


    All the wealth of the noble Commercial Republic of Vineta is in the cities, the cities, and the cities.


    The cities are the key; as long as cities can keep receiving a steady supply of materials and labor, do the farmers live or die? The ruling officials of Vineta don''t really care that much.


    However, it is also for this reason that the farm taxes in the Vineta Republic are among the lowest of the republics; farmers just need to pay their grain quota annually.


    Other times? Don''t cause trouble, and fend for yourselves. [Note: However, the farmers of the Vineta Republic do not enjoy any civil rights, such as the right to carry weapons in the city.]


    "They don''t rebel against this? They can tolerate this?" Winters said incredulously to the old mendicant monk, "If such taxes were imposed on the farmers of Vineta, Sea Blue City would have been set ablaze by rebels."


    "Lad, do you think the Dusack is for nothing? There is a Dusa Village in every town in the Newly Reclaimed Land. Why do you think the Paratu council goes to such lengths to arrange this? Why is it Dusan Gerard Mitchell who becomes the town mayor?" Monk Reed squinted and smiled, patting Winters'' shoulder, "You! Too young, too simple."


    "Uh... could it be that the Dusack is especially used to suppress the farmers?" Winters was almost too shocked to speak coherently, "But I see that Wolf Town''s Dusa Village has a decent relationship with the other villages, right?"


    "Decent?" the old monk asked with a beaming smile, "Really decent? Lad, I told you your political sense is dull, and you didn''t believe me. If you could distribute some of your martial skills to politics, you might have some potential."


    "Decent... maybe?" Winters stammered, recalling carefully, "The two Protestant villages indeed seem unfriendly toward the Dusans, and now that I think of it, the attitudes of the other two villages also seem a bit subtle."


    The old monk laughed heartily, "That''s right, politics are very subtle. Do you know what the other four villages call Dusa Village behind their backs?"


    "Isn''t it just called Dusa Village?"


    "Wrong! They call it ''Barbarian'' village. Barbarians, savages, and blood drinkers." The old mendicant monk chanted some ancient verses with a rise and fall in his voice, "Understand?"


    "Hmm..." Winters was at a loss for words for a moment.


    "The relationship between the several villages of Wolfton is actually quite good," Monk Reed said with a light chuckle, savoring a sip of the Mitchell''s homemade grape wine, "Gerard Mitchell, although he seems brash, is simple on the outside but shrewd on the inside, and knows well the ways of lenient governance. He turns a blind eye to the other villages not paying taxes and rather fishing or hunting rabbits. He also overlooks them secretly cultivating on the edges of their lands. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire


    With Mitchell''s having a ''capable wife,'' naturally, the relationships between the villages are quite harmonious. In Newly Reclaimed Land like Wolf Town, there are plenty of small towns; some govern leniently, while others govern strictly. I have visited every small town in the Newly Reclaimed Land, and speaking of places where governance is too harsh, I have seen massacres. Despotic governance is as fierce as a tiger, from the Far East to the Near East, and here as well, the world over is no different."

 Chapter 19 Two Guards

    The words of the old mendicant monk deeply impacted Winters, who countered, "Isn''t the Highlands Republic currently akin to sitting atop a volcano?""Pretty much, at least that''s the case for the Newly Reclaimed Land," Brother Reed conceded, "Paratu does not restrain amalgamation, and a minority control most of the land. The rich have fields stretching far and wide, like the Mitchell Family; the poor have no place to call their own, not even able to become tenant farmers, only long-term laborers. The landlords'' greed knows no bounds, suppressing the poor to seize even more land for cultivation. If this were in the Far East, chaos would have erupted long ago. In my view, the only reason a peasant revolt has not occurred here is simply due to the ''vastness of the land and sparsity of the population''."


    "Old man, you''re not trying to scaremonger, are you?" Winters couldn''t help but defend the Mitchell Family, "You speak of how insatiable landlords can be, yet I think the Mitchells are good people." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old monk said serenely, "Gerard is indeed a generous man, but his personal virtues have no bearing on the desires of the entire landlord community. Just as there are good and bad soldiers, but when they are on the battlefield, regardless of their nature, they must fight the enemy. If you look at each individual landlord family, most conduct themselves respectably. But is their consolidation of land untrue?"


    When it came to sharp words and endless discourse, how could a green lieutenant compare to a seasoned clergyman?


    Yet Winters remained somewhat unconvinced, "But if these things have existed up to this day, doesn''t that mean there''s nothing wrong with them?"


    "Kid, it''s not ''existed'' but ''maintained'' up to this day! Politics are not fixed in stone; they are like building blocks, never unchanging," Brother Reed said with increasing mirth. "No one knows what the future holds. Everything has an end; there''s no immortal monarch, no undying nation. Honestly, I''m very curious to see where this system ultimately leads."


    Winters sighed. The old mystic before him had become whimsical once again, a behaviour to which he had grown accustomed. But the true reason for his late-night visit to the mendicant wasn''t this; he had been inadvertently sidetracked by the old man''s ramblings.


    "Enough already," Winters complained, "I came to ask for your views on establishing a Standing Peacekeeping Force in Wolf Town, but instead of addressing the issue, you went on and on about irrelevant matters."


    "I''m offering you advice because I think highly of you," Brother Reed said, feigning anger, "Don''t be ungrateful, boy. An old man''s time is very precious."


    Winters''s original idea was simply not to disband the militia but to keep up with weekly training sessions. However, Mayor Mitchell''s suggestion took a much bigger step forward, causing Lieutenant Montaigne to hesitate.


    If he were in Sea Blue, Winters could discuss any doubts with Antonio, seeking advice from an elder was not a source of embarrassment for him.


    In Wolfton, he had no one to rely on; Bard and Andre were tens of kilometers away. Yet he was eager to hear others'' thoughts on the matter, preferably objective and neutral ones.


    After much thought, he could only seek Brother Reed''s opinion. After all, the old monk, ninety-five years old (or so he claimed), had accrued wisdom ¡ª a fact even Winters had to admit ¡ª and moreover, Reed was a disinterested third party.


    "Alright, enough, drink up and let''s talk business. Is it really feasible to organize a Standing Peacekeeping Force in a small place like Wolfton?" Winters glanced at the nearly empty bottle on the table. It was customary to bring a gift when seeking advice, so Winters had brought a bottle of wine with him, not expecting the mendicant monk to become so talkative upon drinking.


    "Done!" Brother Reed spread out his hands, "It seems all I said before was for nothing."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Do I have to spell everything out for you?" Brother Reed said helplessly, "Of course it''s feasible. In a small place like Wolfton, with Gerard''s support and yours, it will certainly succeed."


    "I think Wolf Town is too small to afford a salaried soldier," Winters expressed his concern, "to force the establishment of a peacekeeping force, isn''t that just adding a burden to the civilians?"


    "That''s not for you to worry about. Let Gerard handle the money, and you manage the people," Brother Reed said dismissively, "Military texts say fifteen working-age men can support one soldier. With you and Gerard working together, forming a small squad of constables should be a piece of cake. If full-time soldiers can''t be sustained, then go for part-time farmers and part-time fighters."


    "Won''t there be objections?"


    "Who dares to object?" The old monk''s eyebrows shot up, "What is the peacekeeping force for?"


    Winters suddenly remembered the Standing Army of Vineta, which seemed more preoccupied with internal matters than external. His enthusiasm waned, "Alright, then we''ll proceed according to Mayor Mitchell''s wishes."


    "No! It must be according to your wishes," Brother Reed said, stroking his beard at a leisurely pace, "The key to the peacekeeping force lies in the selection of its members. You cannot entrust this to anyone else; you must pick them yourself."


    "Why?"


    "Consider what would happen if you let Gerard recommend and pick personnel," the old monk chuckled, prompting Winters to think. Your next journey awaits at My Virtual Library Empire


    After contemplating for a moment, Winters ventured a guess, "All Dusans?"


    "Exactly, if Gerard does the choosing, then the peacekeeping force will definitely be all Dusans," Reed scoffed, "The Dusans are brave and fierce, excellent horsemen, and how could any farmer compete with them even in a fair selection? But you aren''t just the Garrison Officer for Dusa Village; you are for the entire Wolf Town. The structure of the peacekeeping force must be balanced, or the other villages won''t accept it."

 Chapter 19 Two Guards_2

    The old seer does speak sense, Winters mused with a nod, "So what should we do? Select one person from each village?""Exactly, select one person from each village." Brother Reed looked at Winters with satisfaction, "Dusa Village can select two or three. That way, the Dusans won''t have any idle talk. No one will be satisfied, but everyone can accept it. That''s the subtlety of politics."


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    This kind of calculation made Winters feel bored, he sighed, "Mr. Reed, there''s something else I would like to ask for your advice on."


    Then, Winters recounted Sergei''s eulogy and carefully described the different reactions of the Dusans and the other villagers.


    "What exactly does Sergei mean? Who is Ralphnovich?" Winters asked, "He seemed to only say a few words of praise, so why were the other Dusans so surprised?"


    "Why do you care about the Dusan''s affairs?" Brother Reed raised an eyebrow.


    "Before Ralph passed away, he entrusted me with the care of his son." Mentioning the old Hunter, Winters still felt a bit sad, "I need to understand what Sergei meant and whether he has any ill will towards Bell."


    "I see," Brother Reed sighed too, "Ralph was indeed a rare good man, a pity."


    The old Brother stroked his beard and said with a frown, "Don''t worry, Sergei probably means well. Ralphnovich means ''son of Ralph''; he''s trying to restore the status of Dusack to Ralph''s son."


    "What does that mean? Isn''t Bell a Dusan? Half a Dusan?" Winters was entering an area of ignorance.


    "Dusans and Dusack, these are two different concepts." Brother Reed explained, leaning on the table, "To be accurate, Dusans aren''t a race but a way of life. Those who follow a specific lifestyle are called Dusans; their bloodlines can be said to be a complete mess, with ancestors of all sorts.


    Moreover, not every Dusan is a Dusack. Ralph must have been stripped of his Dusack status, hence he couldn''t live in Dusa Village. If the father isn''t a Dusack, then naturally, the son can''t be either. Sergei wants to restore the Dusack status for Ralph''s son. This is a good thing for little Bell."


    "Why?"


    "Because the status of Dusack is tied to the land," Brother Reed countered. "Do you know what the appanage system is?"


    "Uh... I don''t know."


    Brother Reed, who had been sitting for too long and felt stiff, stood up and began pacing, "In the Empire on the other side of Sheltering Mountain, the Dusacks are called ''the Emperor''s whip.'' They have a very special way of life; every male Dusack is born to serve for life, and must provide their own warhorse. As a reward, the Emperor grants them bountiful land, enough to make them affluent farmers and small landowners.


    The Emperor gives land to the Dusacks, so when he orders the Dusacks to kill someone, they do it without the slightest hesitation. Therefore, the Dusacks are mostly used to suppress rebellions; they never show mercy when killing farmers, that''s why they''re called ''the whip.'' That is the appanage system."


    Winters nodded as he listened, "But if they are serving for life, how can they farm? What use is land to them?"


    "Serving for life doesn''t mean being in the army forever," the old Brother smirked, "The appanage system is a very complex one. Dusacks first serve a term of six years, then they can return home to their land. After an interval of several years, they serve a second term of three years. Life service means they are always on the roster, ready to respond to the call-up at any time."


    Winters quietly uttered an "oh."


    Brother Reed continued thoughtfully, "The problem is that the Dusacks'' settlement is within the Empire, and the Dusans are subjects of the Empire. Although I''m not sure how these Dusans ended up in Paratu... But as far as I know, Paratu''s council treats them the same way the Emperor does, exchanging land for loyalty. So for these Dusans, it''s simply a change of master holding the whip, nothing else different.


    And among the Dusans, the men who serve for life are called Dusacks¡ªnaturally, women aren''t. And only the Dusacks can serve, receive land, and start families. The status of Dusack is both a duty and a right. Sergei wants to allow Ralph''s son to serve, receive land, and return to Dusa Village. It''s a good thing for the boy, no need to worry."


    Winters''s biggest worry was that the local toughs would trouble the young Hunter. Now that he understood Sergei''s intentions towards Bell were good, Winters also breathed a sigh of relief.


    As it was getting late, Winters took his leave from Brother Reed.


    ...


    ...


    Over the following days, Winters and Gerard devoted their energies to mundane affairs.


    The wounds of Wolf Town were gradually healing. Life had to go on, and people began to stop bringing up those who had died, as if by this means they could forget the pain.


    The beast calamity began to slowly evolve from a vivid memory in people''s minds into a fading tale recounted by the elders, all of which Winters observed closely.


    He visited every grieving family, encountered cold stares and hostility, but also gratitude. He could never make up for the loss of loved ones to their families, but he did everything in his power to provide comfort to the families of the deceased and injured.


    In comparison, organizing a standing militia was much simpler and easier.


    As the Garrison Officer, Winters changed the Sunday archery training into militia training.

 Chapter 19 Two Guards_3

    Every Sunday morning, the men from the villages would go to the town center to attend the worship service and then receive military training in the afternoon.Since the initial purpose was merely to prepare for beastly disasters, rather than to send the militia into battle, the training program Winters had devised did not include formations or close-order drills. It was simply basic weapon use, plus some tactics against wild beasts that Winters had summarized.


    The old Hunter was no longer there; Winters had originally wanted the militia to patrol the nearby woods once a week.


    However, he realized that patrolling and standing guard were the tasks requiring the most perseverance, something the militia certainly couldn''t sustain in the long run. Therefore, all he could do was to instruct those who went into the mountains to collect firewood to pay extra attention to the situation within the woods.


    The preparation for the public order militia was even smoother, as Winters unexpectedly found that money was not an issue at all.


    Although Wolfton only had a permanent population of less than ten, it was, procedurally, an unquestionable "town." Thus, after the villages were merged, two percent of the annual taxation collection was allocated as the town government''s financial budget. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    And the mayor of Wolf Town was astonishingly incorruptible; Winters had never seen a public official as upright as Gerard Mitchell in his entire life.


    Mayor Mitchell ate and lived at his own home, rode his own horse, the horse''s feed was also his own, and even the position of secretary was filled by Panveche, the butler who came with Mrs. Mitchell when she married.


    Apart from hiring farmers from the surrounding villages to repair the dirt roads in winter, there were no other expenses for Gerard after serving as mayor for more than a decade.


    Oh, there was one recent additional expense¡ªpaying Brother Reed, the clergy scribe, his copying salary.


    Panveche, the butler who also served as the scribe and accountant, kept the accounts very neatly, making the use and surplus of the town government''s funds clear at a glance.


    The surplus from over the years had accumulated into a reasonable sum of money, more than enough to set up a small armory. Winters had no intention of making the public order militia too large; he even thought a ten-man squad [eight-person team] was a bit much.


    [Note: A ten-man squad is fully staffed with only eight men. "Ten-man squad" is just the customary term.]


    Moreover, as a "tax-farming official" by nature, Mayor Mitchell theoretically had the right to impose an additional "security tax" on the people of Wolf Town.


    But considering Wolf Town''s sound financial situation, there was no need for such a measure for the time being.


    After discussing and gaining understanding from the village heads of the five villages, the matters of the Wolfton town public order militia were quickly settled.


    Under Wolfton, there were five villages; Winters would select one person from each village to serve as a part-time guard.


    The part-time guards also received a salary and were not taken away from their normal lives. They provided services only when needed, such as helping maintain order on Sundays.


    On weekdays, the part-time guards lived in their villages like the other farmers and were responsible for the routine public order of each village.


    Winters would also select a few individuals to serve as full-time guards whose membership wasn''t restricted to any single village and whose appointment was decided solely by him.


    The total number of both full-time and part-time guards combined would not exceed one ten-man squad [eight persons], meaning that there could be at most three full-time guards.


    As the old clergyman said: No one is completely satisfied, but everyone can accept it. Thus, in the end, no one opposed Winters.


    Winters actually found even having three full-time guards a bit excessive since he was usually in the town hall. With a Spellcaster officer stationed there, in reality, there was no need for any guards, as Lieutenant Montaigne alone could settle everything.


    Even considering the day he might return to Vineta, having one or two full-time guards in town would be sufficient, and Winters already had a very suitable candidate in mind.


    ¡­


    "Me? You want me to be a guard in town?" Anglu, the young stable boy, widened his eyes, the bruises on his face still fresh. His voice was hoarse as he exclaimed, "Sir, you can''t be serious!"


    "I''m not joking." Winters patted the stable boy''s shoulder. "You can''t be a stable boy forever, right? Being a guard won''t interfere with your farming duties. You can start working in the town and continue until you''re twenty. After you''ve completed your service, you can take up the post again. I''ve spoken to Mayor Mitchell; he''ll hold the position for you."


    Winters had always taken a liking to this small stable boy, familiar with horses, because he always reminded him of Bard. Not to mention, during the bear hunt, the stable boy had saved his life, which made him even more determined to find an opportunity to express his gratitude.


    Anglu looked down at his toes, humming softly, "Actually... I really like being a stable boy."


    "Hmm?" Winters was puzzled. "Why?"


    According to Brother Reed, the status of a stable boy in Dusan society was not high, often assigned to punished Dusacks or Dusan men unfit for battle.


    "Because as a stable boy, I can ride horses whenever I want. Being able to ride is enough to make me happy," Anglu murmured. "I don''t own a Warhorse. If I''m not a stable boy, I won''t be able to ride at all, so I don''t want to be a guard in town."


    Winters laughed, "Boy, being able to ride is enough for you?"


    "It''s enough," the stable boy shrugged.


    Thinking it over, Winters decided to persuade him in a different way, "Your Dusack service requires you to provide your own Warhorse, right?"


    "When serving, we''re given some money to buy a horse," Anglu answered quietly.


    "Is that money enough to buy a Warhorse?"


    Anglu''s head drooped further, his voice even quieter, "It''s not enough."


    "So, what will you do? Without a Warhorse, without gear, you can''t go..." Winters paused for a moment, "...serve. Can you still get your allotment of land?"


    Anglu fell silent, the adolescent''s immature mind nearly on the verge of tears after just a few words.


    Seizing the moment, Winters pressed on, "You don''t get paid as a stable boy, but being a guard in town comes with a salary. You can save the money you earn and, although you won''t be able to ride freely for a while, by the time you reach twenty, your savings plus the horse-buying allowance should be enough to afford a Warhorse. Then you can serve. Once you return from your service and receive your allotment of land, you''ll be a true Dusack, with your own land, Warhorse, and family..."


    Anglu burst into tears with a "waah" and nodded in agreement to become a "guard" in town.


    "Why are you crying, boy?" Winters, unable to help himself, ruffled the stable boy''s hair. "It''s not like you''ll never saddle up again. I can lend you Redmane to ride."


    "My mother..." Anglu, with sobs in his voice, "...she hoped to see me become a Dusack before she passed. I never thought I''d be one in my lifetime..." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters felt a tinge of sadness himself; he squeezed the boy''s shoulder, saying nothing.


    "And... Sir..." Anglu wiped away his tears with force, "please don''t wear out Rejek too much, you need to take good care of him. Since Trellgreen is gone, Rejek is the only stallion left for next year''s village herd... but you don''t seem to care for him..."


    "I don''t care for Redmane..." Winters laughed in sheer exasperation, smacking the stable boy''s head lightly, "Then you''ll take care of Redmane from now on. Once you''re in town, you''ll be in charge of tending to my horses!"


    Winters intended to appoint only two full-time guards in town and the young stable boy Anglu claimed one of the spots. The other had already been decided upon well in advance.


    The young Hunter, Bell, was brought from his cabin in the woods by Winters and became the second official guard of Wolf Town''s watch.

 Chapter 20 The Police Station

    This was an ordinary day in early September, and there hadn''t been any more violent animal attacks for over half a month. It seemed the wolf disaster was thoroughly over.


    Life in Wolf Town was gradually returning to normal, but in some ways, it would never be able to return to its original course.


    Winters had been in office for over a month, and he had gradually become familiar with and adapted to life in Wolf Town.


    The days here were bland and quiet, and the people around him were all very friendly. Before he knew it, his "salted fish" attributes had stealthily awakened, and he began to entertain the idea: perhaps settling down in this quiet little town wasn''t a bad choice.


    That afternoon, after leaving the carpenter''s house, Winters went straight back to the town hall.


    Pushing the door open, Panveche was still hunched over his table, writing and calculating as always. Nodding in greeting, Winters walked into the office.


    Gerard wasn''t in the town hall, and the only person in the room was the old mendicant monk Reed, who was comfortably dozing in a recliner by the window.


    Winters, irritated, lightly kicked the recliner. It took a while for the old man to slowly open his eyes.


    "Where are they?" Winters asked.


    "Perhaps they snuck out to play?" Monk Reed replied indifferently.


    "You''re not going to do something about it?"


    "The master leads the way, personal cultivation is up to the individual. I''ve always been..." The old monk yawned and with a sing-song intonation recited a foreign saying, "[Celican] Jiang Taigong fishes, those who are willing will take the bait."


    Winters couldn''t understand what the old monk was saying in the latter half, but he knew that arguing with a charlatan was a complete waste of breath.


    He stormed out of the town hall, and yelled toward the backyard, "All of you, get over here!"


    Soon enough, Bell was the first to come over with his head hung low, followed by Anglu, and then Pierre, the son of Mayor Mitchell.


    The three youngsters didn''t dare to meet Winters'' gaze, trying their best to avoid the lieutenant''s eyes, and Winters rounded them all up and brought them back to the town hall.


    Monk Reed coughed softly and began to lecture with feigned seriousness, "[Celican] I am well-versed and well-travelled, deigning to come enlighten you. Yet you boys fail to appreciate it, little do you know that while you may play today, you will surely regret it later..."


    "Who understands what you''re saying!" Winters couldn''t help but shout, "Don''t use a language others can''t understand to lecture!"


    After getting to know him better, Winters had discovered that the old charlatan liked to mumble in Far Eastern language whenever he had drunk alcohol or when he wanted to tease someone.


    "I accidentally slipped into my mother tongue, sorry, sorry." There was no hint of an apology in Monk Reed''s expression, "But these youngsters neglecting their studies, Lieutenant Sir, you are also responsible."


    "What responsibility do I have?"


    The old monk spoke eloquently, "For something like basic education, Mr Panveche is more than capable. Isn''t it a misuse of your great talent to have me doing this sort of thing?"


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    "I would be delighted to have Mr Panveche do it," Winters said with a sneer, "How about you take over Mr Panveche''s clerical work and you two switch jobs?"


    It was only after bringing the groom and the young Hunter to town that Winters realized how appalling the two boys'' level of education was.


    They could identify individual letters, but when strung together, they didn''t recognize the words. Two boys, fifteen or sixteen years old, couldn''t even write their own names, and they had to use their fingers to add or subtract numbers within ten.


    It wasn''t really their fault, because most people in Wolf Town were illiterate. The Dusacks were even more so, and Mayor Gerard Mitchell himself was also illiterate.


    Winters, who hailed from the Republic, believed that possessing some writing and arithmetic ability would be very useful to Bell and Anglu. At the very least, they would be able to understand the simplest contracts and accounts in the future and not be cheated.


    Therefore, Winters decided to hire a teacher for Bell and Anglu, to teach them the most basic words and arithmetic. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The most suitable for this job was, of course, Panveche. The middle-aged steward wrote a beautiful script and kept clear accounts. What was most admirable was that he was diligent, serious, and responsible.


    But Panveche was already burdened with multiple roles, including steward, scribe, and accountant, and his work was very busy. Winters really couldn''t bear to add another burden to him.


    The cultural level of the two clerics at the Wolf Town church was also sufficient, and it was said that some great nobles would employ priests as family tutors, and the rest would simply hire someone to read and write for them.


    But Priests Anthony and Caman wouldn''t come to teach two poor lads to read and do arithmetic, even if Winters himself asked.


    As for the other literate farmers and craftsmen in Wolf Town,they could barely read and write themselves, and teaching was probably beyond their ability.


    After much consideration, Winters realized that only Monk Reed was left as an option.


    Although the old mendicant monk was from the Far East, after his conversion and sanctification, he had also studied for several years at the Catholic seminary, so his educational level was beyond doubt.


    And based on Winters'' own impressions: Reed did not have the inherent arrogance that other clerics did.


    As "God''s shepherds," even the most humble clerics are arrogant at heart, because they believe themselves closer to God and heaven than anyone else. The metaphor of "shepherd" itself is the greatest arrogance.


    But Monk Reed, this old charlatan, did not have this problem. He could apply for a copyist job without a blush, and teaching poor boys to read probably wouldn''t hurt his dignity. It was likely just as the old man himself said, "I became a priest for the convenience of traveling."


    So after some negotiations, Winters agreed to pay an extra salary for a teacher, and Reed agreed to teach Bell and Anglu literacy and arithmetic.

 Chapter 20 The Public Security Bureau _2

    But Winters hadn''t anticipated that the old charlatan''s laziness was an ingrained habit. The young Hunter and Horseboy often found excuses to skip out on lessons. Reed didn''t mind; in fact, he was happy for the free time.


    "Earning an extra salary, you should at least do some work, right?" Winters sarcastically said to the old charlatan.


    Unexpectedly, Brother Reed casually pointed at Pierre, "If it''s just teaching these two youngsters to read and do arithmetic, then Mr. Mitchell is surely up to the task."


    The reason Pierre was there was because of his mother.


    Upon hearing that Lieutenant Montaigne had requested Father Reed to teach the two little Dusacks, Mrs. Mitchell sent Pierre over too.


    However, Mr. Mitchell was already literate and could do arithmetic. According to Gerard Mitchell, it was his wife¡ªMrs. Ellen Mitchell¡ªwho had personally taught their son when he was young.


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    Winters had no choice but to explain that he had only asked Father Reed to enlighten the two little Dusacks, and that Mr. Mitchell wouldn''t learn anything new.


    But to his surprise, Mrs. Mitchell replied, "It would be beneficial for Pierre to spend more time in the company of Father Reed and Lieutenant Montaigne. The boy is always getting into trouble; we ask that you strictly supervise him for us."


    With Mrs. Mitchell''s reasoning, Winters had no room to object. Moreover, ever since he had arrived in Wolf Town, he was deeply indebted to the generosity of the Mitchell family. Compared to that assistance, adding another desk and chair beside the two little Dusacks was hardly a repayment.


    Thus, Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell became the third student of Brother Reed, who, far from refusing newcomers, did not take the opportunity to ask Winters for a raise.


    Anglu and Pierre were already playmates, and Bell, who had temporarily lived with the Mitchells during the wolf calamity, had also become part of their group.


    Nominally, Anglu and Bell were guards, but in reality, they had little to do. Pierre, as the sole child of the estate owner and mayor, also had nothing to do and was idly mischievous.


    The three little Dusacks, when together, didn''t merely cause three times the trouble¡ªthey caused trouble to the third power. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Whenever Winters left the town hall, the three boys would sneak away right after him. Old Reed would turn a blind eye, very pleased to have more time for a nap.


    Fortunately, all three had both respect and fear for Winters, so he still had them under control.


    Back inside the town hall, Pierre was caught off guard when Father Reed called on him.


    The old monk, without wasting words, wrote a few sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to Pierre, "Kid, read this."


    Pierre took the note, looking blankly at Father Reed.


    "Read it!" The old monk, who knew not where he got the vine stick from, gave Mr. Mitchell a whack.


    Pierre jumped in fright and stammered, "Clumsy, stupid Jinding Mountains. Fuck. Sheep. Herders... is the best description for my friends... Anglu and Bell."


    Anglu and Bell initially struggled to hold back their laughter at the first part, but they were stunned when they heard the end.


    Brother Reed yawned and said indifferently to the other two little Dusacks, "Do you understand now? If you can''t read, you won''t even understand when others are insulting you."


    After that, Reed asked a few mixed operation math problems. Each time, he first asked the other two little Dusacks, and while they were still counting on their fingers, Reed would turn the question to Pierre.


    Pierre quickly gave the answers, but his voice became lower and lower, while the other two little Dusacks became increasingly ashamed and silent.


    Brother Reed yawned again and asked carelessly, "You''re about the same age. Pierre already knows how to read and calculate, what about you two?"


    The little Horseboy Anglu hung his head, and the young Hunter Bell clenched his fists tightly, staring at Father Reed. Pierre, at a loss, sought help from Winters with his eyes.


    "Oh well, I won''t be hard on you," sighed Brother Reed, before scribbling something on the paper and passing it to the two little Dusacks, "You two just copy the word I wrote here, and you don''t have to come to class anymore. You can''t fail to do even this, can you?"


    Bell was the first to grab a pen and paper, leaning over the table to get to work.


    The young Hunter wasn''t writing; he was tracing. He imitated every curve very carefully, but still, his letters were crooked and twisted, like those of a child just learning to write. After finishing, he passed the feather pen to Anglu.


    Anglu looked pitifully at Winters, who nodded expressionlessly.


    So, the little stable boy also leaned over the table and copied it. However, because he pressed too hard, the tip of the feather pen broke off.


    "No need to rush, write slowly, try to write better," said the old monk, handing Anglu a new feather pen.


    In the end, Anglu also completed the "copy," his handwriting was even more dreadful to behold than Bell''s.


    Monk Reed took the paper back and examined it carefully, then sneered and asked, "Are you idiots? You just write when asked to write? Do you know what this is?"


    The two young Dusacks stood there petrified.


    The old monk unfolded the paper¡ªhe had handed out a folded sheet, and on a part Bell and Anglu had not seen, there was additional content.


    Monk Reed shook the paper in his hand and said, "This is a ''slave contract,'' and by signing it just now, you are no longer free men but my slaves. I can trade or execute you as I please."


    The two young Dusacks were stunned.


    "Think I''m scaring you?" the old monk scoffed. "Don''t believe me? Let the lieutenant and young Michel have a look."


    With that, he passed the contract to Winters.


    After reading through it carefully, Winters said, "This is indeed a standard personal rights trade contract. Paratu doesn''t allow the use of slaves, but permits the slave trade, and Monk Reed now has the right to sell you elsewhere. However, this contract is not valid in Vineta, because Vineta does not allow any form of slavery. If you escape to Vineta, you''ll be free."


    Pierre took over the paper and, after reading it, also confirmed Winters''s words.


    "It was you who tricked us into signing!" Bell yelled angrily.


    "Who can prove that?" the mendicant monk said with disdain, "You were the ones who signed this contract in black and white. If anyone''s to blame, it''s you for being illiterate¡ªsigning anything without knowing what it is, not realizing you''re being sold into slavery. Don''t agree? Here! Pierre, you write it down too, just like I did."


    After saying this, Father Reed thrust the contract into Pierre''s hands.


    Pierre stood there dumbfounded, not moving to write.


    "Look! Mr. Mitchell knows what this is and knows not to sign," the old monk taunted. "But what about you two? You know nothing, signing whatever I tell you to. You didn''t learn the shrewdness of the Dusacks, inheriting only their recklessness."


    Anglu was flushed with shame, while Bell''s eyes were filled with fury.


    Monk Reed didn''t waste any more words, tearing the contract in two and stuffing it into the hands of the two young Dusacks.


    "Take it," the old monk said with indifference. "If you don''t want to be sold into slavery without warning in the future, go learn all the words on it with Mr. Mitchell. If he doesn''t teach you, then he intends to trap you. Now, out you go."


    Bell was the first to turn and leave the room; Anglu followed him, and Pierre also hastily pursued them after giving a bow.


    Once the three young Dusacks had left the town hall, Winters could not help but ask, "Is it necessary to do this with a few children?"


    "Sixteen is not so young. Had they not been Dusacks, they might have already married," the old monk yawned. "And who knows, maybe these kids will hate me for a lifetime, but they might never learn the lesson."


    "You''ve thrown all the teaching work to Pierre, aren''t you just collecting a salary for nothing?" Winters suddenly grasped the crux of the matter.


    Monk Reed laughed heartily, "Teaching someone to read is not worth money; knowing how to teach someone to read is worth a salary."


    While the lieutenant and the monk chatted idly in the town hall, a new wooden house was rising across the road.


    Whole logs were being transported from the logging site by cart, and carpenters, plasterers, and laborers toiled, sweating profusely, with one wall already erected.


    This was the number one event in town recently, an important piece in the puzzle of the prosperity and growth of Wolfton, longed for by Gerard Mitchell.


    This wooden house, projected to be even bigger than the town hall, is the future Wolf Town Security Office, which will have functions like the stationed officer''s office, an armory, jail cells, and barracks for the guards.


    Whether Winters liked it or not, whether the impact was good or bad, he had ultimately left his mark on this land.

 Chapter 21 The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig

    As dusk set in, two men were still bustling in the blacksmith shop.


    The elder blacksmith, Misha, held a red-hot iron billet while the younger blacksmith, Berlion, swung his hammer. Their shadows danced against the wall, following the flickering flames, as if performing some special kind of dance.


    With every strike from Berlion, Misha would adeptly adjust the angle. The two blacksmiths worked seamlessly together, swiftly forging a curved sword blank from the billet.


    Misha tossed the formed sword blank into an oil barrel and called for his assistant to prepare the hilt.


    Berlion went to the back of the shop to retrieve a wooden hilt made from the resilient and comfortable to hold edge material of oak, which had been pre-shaped to fit the user''s hand.


    The hilt, carved with spiral grooves, was tightly wrapped by Berlion with milky stingray skin, glued together with glue made from fish bladders.


    After ensuring it was securely glued, the young blacksmith placed a can of black ink near the forge to warm it, and started to lacquer the hilt.


    For Winters, who was watching from the side, the earlier work of the two smiths, while interesting, wasn''t anything special.


    But when the ink-dipped brush touched the stingray skin, he was dazzled.


    Under the effect of the black lacquer, an exquisite and meticulous pattern emerged on the originally unremarkable skin, tempting one to touch it at just a glance. The black ink had become a magical stroke that turned the decayed into the divine.


    The real marvel came afterwards, as Berlion, having completed lacquering and drying, pulled out a spool of silver wire.


    After securing one end of the silver wire to the tail of the hilt, the young blacksmith began to wrap it along the grooves. Soon, the black leather was divided into evenly spaced segments by the fine silver lines.


    There was no use of gold, no embedding of gems. Yet, in Winters'' eyes, this sword hilt was no less exquisite than any royal''s ceremonial sword hung at their waist.


    The black stingray skin contrasted with the bright silver wire, not only looking refined but also practical. The simplicity and elegance made the glittering ceremonial swords seem vulgar in comparison.


    Not only were Winters'' eyes glued to the young blacksmith''s hands, but even the old blacksmith Misha couldn''t help but marvel.


    A door in his memory was flung open, and Winters suddenly recalled where he had seen similar craftsmanship, or rather, a similar style and aesthetic.


    It was on a dagger that had almost claimed his life¡ªthe hilt of Sofia''s dagger was strikingly similar to this sword hilt.


    The wrapping of the silver wire was quickly finished, and the remaining finishing touches were simple, just assembling the various parts onto the blade before delivery. But it seemed to the young blacksmith, these were not yet the final touches.


    After temporarily fixing the sword blank, hilt, and counterweight, Berlion handed the sword to Winters, saying briefly, "Try it for yourself first."


    This was a single-handed sword, one of the weapons Winters had ordered days before. The blade was an off-the-shelf item Misha had someone buy from the city of Revodan, a journey that took nearly half a month for the traveling merchant to complete.


    Winters then pressed the tip of the sword into the ground and pushed downward, bending the blade to the side in an arch. When he let go, the blade sprang back naturally.


    The lieutenant narrowed his eyes to examine it, and the sword remained perfectly straight, showing no sign of warping.


    He hacked on the spherical anvil used for testing swords several times. As he gradually increased the force of his blows, the sword still held firm, experiencing no bends or breaks at the front.


    Winters nodded, pleased.


    Misha, the blacksmith from Dusack, lamented from the side, "Man compares with man ''til one is blue, goods compare with goods ''til one is thrown through! The ready-made blades from the steel fort are much better than my work; if my swords were tested like this, they would have broken already. There''s no comparison, not really."


    "These blades have been tempered again; they''re a bit tougher," the young blacksmith simply said.


    Winters swung the sword in the air a few times, the stingray-skin and silver-wire hilt feeling extremely good in his hand. It was comfortable to grip without being abrasive, and the grooves provided a way to wick away sweat, keeping the hilt from becoming slippery.


    "The balance is a bit to the rear; adjust it a bit forward, to about a foot in front of the blade," Winters returned the sword.


    The current center of gravity on this single-handed sword was near the blade, but Winters preferred it a bit more forward for more power in a swing.


    The advantage of a custom weapon is that everything can be changed, but in reality, there''s not much that can be altered about the weapon itself. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Special requests from buyers are mostly reflected in decoration, and that''s why Winters was in the blacksmith shop¡ªMisha had invited him to come and pick a decorative style.


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    "Are you sure you don''t want to etch any patterns on the blade?" the elder blacksmith couldn''t help but ask.


    "No need," Winters said with a smile, shaking his head, "Wouldn''t that weaken the strength of the blade?"


    Misha waved his hands dismissively, "No problem, it doesn''t really affect it. After all, a sword should have some patterns on it to look nice."


    "I prefer simplicity," Winters stated.


    Misha said regretfully, "Etching is a real skill, probably only Berlion is capable of it in the whole region. It''s really a pity not to try. Well, if you ever want to add some decorations to your sword, come back."


    "Sure," Winters pondered, then casually remarked, "Even as a layperson, I can tell that your sword-making skills are truly impressive."


    "Me, an old guy, make swords? I only know how to forge farm tools," Misha said with a pleased smile, patting the young blacksmith''s shoulder, "This lad is the truly skilled one! The swordsmiths in Revodan can''t even compare to him. The only pity is that he''s in such a small place; if he were in a big city, he would have made a fortune by now."

 Chapter 21 The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_2

    "Don''t say that," Berlion whispered, his brief words slipping out.


    The young blacksmith was quiet and sparing with his words, spending most of his time immersed in his work without a sound. If there wasn''t any work, he would just sit on the chair in the corner, staring at the furnace.


    "There is no need to be modest. Excessive modesty is a form of arrogance. With your skills, if you went to Sea Blue, you could have orders lined up until next year," Winters said casually. "I still don''t know where your hometown is? Berlion."


    "To the north."


    "The Empire?"


    "Yes."


    "Where in the Empire?"


    The young blacksmith raised his head to meet Winters''s gaze for a moment before quickly lowering it again: "Solingen."


    "You are from Steel Castle? Little Berlion, I had no idea!" exclaimed the old blacksmith, surprised. "No wonder your craftsmanship is so good, coming from the famed blacksmiths of Steel Castle."


    Winters had heard a little about the renown of Steel Castle Solingen. He smiled and asked, "Steel Castle is quite far from here, so how did you end up in Paratu?"


    Before the young blacksmith could speak, Old Misha interjected, "The lad is a Protestant; he was not well received in the north." Discover hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    Berlion nodded.


    "Sigh!" Old Misha slapped his thigh, his voice tinged with sorrow, "Every few years they find an excuse to persecute the Protestants over there. When I was in service of the old emperor, I was also ordered to do such things. Sigh, in those days, I was young and would chop down without distinction, sigh..."


    The older blacksmith grew increasingly upset as he spoke. The young blacksmith stopped his work and shook his head gently to signify "it''s alright."


    Winters asked further, "Did any family come with you?"


    "My brother."


    "And he''s not a blacksmith?" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "He works as a laborer for the Bunting family."


    No useful information was gleaned from the conversation. But the source of Sofia''s dagger wasn''t of particular concern to Winters. Sea Blue was a world away; what good would it do to find out?


    "Please come for your sword tomorrow," Berlion said.


    Winters was somewhat surprised, "Isn''t it almost done? Can''t you finish it today?"


    "The guard needs polishing, the balance needs grinding," the young blacksmith explained briefly. "I will work through the night; you can come collect it tomorrow."


    "Polishing is meticulous work, the fees for polishing can sometimes be more expensive than the armor itself," the old blacksmith added from the side. "You should head back now; this lad will definitely get it done for you."


    The sky had darkened, and leaving town alongside Winters was Old Misha. The older blacksmith''s home was in Dusa Village, and he rode back and forth on horseback every day. The young blacksmith, meanwhile, lived and slept at the forge and also looked after the shop.


    ¡­


    When Winters returned to the Mitchell estate, he saw its lights glowing from afar. The normally quiet estate after sunset was bustling with activity tonight.


    As the weather grew cooler, it was the last tobacco harvest season for the Mitchell estate.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, due to climatic reasons, tobacco needed to be harvested in three stages. The first two involved picking only portions of the leaves, while the third harvest involved picking all the remaining leaves.


    For the Mitchell estate, tobacco harvest season was the most important time of the year.


    Apart from a small portion reserved for growing food crops, the rest of the Mitchell''s more than two hundred hectares of land was devoted to tobacco cultivation.


    Taxes, wages, purchasing seeds¡­ the operation of the Mitchell estate relied entirely on tobacco. Therefore, the tobacco yield determined the estate''s income for the entire year.


    The harvest of the tobacco leaves was a backbreaking and tiring task, and speed was of the essence.


    It was now September, and frost could occur at any time. Once the tobacco was frosted over, the year''s crop would be ruined.


    So when the tobacco leaves ripened, harvesters had to work as fast as possible to pick them while they were still perfect.


    The picked tobacco also had to be quickly tied, dried, and stored, otherwise the quality would be affected.


    That''s why during tobacco harvest season, the Mitchell estate operated around the clock. Everyone, from the owners to the servants to the laborers, men and women alike, had to work in the fields.


    Even Pierre, who was usually idle, was dutifully plucking tobacco leaves in the fields.


    It wasn''t just Mitchell estate toilers hard at work in the fields; many villagers from the five villages under the jurisdiction of Wolf Town also came to help.


    Apart from the Mitchell estate, other tobacco-growing estates also mostly harvested during these days.


    To recruit more hands, the estates offered high wages to the helping farmers.


    Therefore, tobacco harvest season was a rare opportunity for the farmers of Wolf Town to earn extra money, with men and women, young and old, pouring out from every village.


    It was already night, but bonfires burned in the fields as people continued to work.


    The division of labor during the entire harvesting process was clear. Those working in the fields would break the tobacco leaves from the plants in one piece, load them onto carts, and transport them to the curing barns.


    Individual leaves were then tied into bundles with thin twine outside the curing barns and hung on wooden racks. Binding tobacco required even more skill than picking it, and only handy women were up to the task.


    Thus, there were virtually no men seen working outside the barns. The speed of the women was incredible, with twine flying between their fingers. Onlookers could not keep up with their movements, as they quickly tied off one row after another.


    Neatly hung tobacco leaves were sent into the curing barns to dry, a process in which copious amounts of coal were used without stint.


    Inside the curing barns, only men were left working as the heat inside was intense. The workers, nearly naked, climbed up and down the ladders, a sight unfit for women to witness.


    Still, even without any clothes, those responsible for curing the tobacco leaves could only stay in the barns for a short while; otherwise, they risked suffocation.

 Chapter 21 The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_3

    Winters saw an amusing scene: Mrs. Mitchell and her little daughter were driving a horse cart laden with iron-hooped barrels. It seemed they were on their way to deliver drinks to the people working in the tobacco fields.


    Everyone else was busy, and the two ladies did not appear to be skilled at driving horses.


    The heavy draft horse, with thick skin and flesh, was unabashedly nibbling the wheat in the roadside fields, utterly indifferent to the whip''s lashes from Mrs. Mitchell and her daughter and not showing the slightest intention to move forward.


    Seeing this, Winters immediately went forward to help. He wasn''t skilled at driving either, but he could manage to lead the horse by the bridle and move forward.


    When they reached the tobacco fields, Mitchell''s coachman saw the lieutenant leading the horse and quickly ran over to take over from Winters.


    Mrs. Mitchell smiled in thanks to Winters, while Miss Mitchell nearly buried her face in her mother''s arm.


    Seeing everyone working hard on the estate, Winters suddenly felt a twinge of shame.


    "I''ll help out with the work, but you must remember to pay me," Winters joked.


    "I actually have a favor to ask of you," Mrs. Mitchell said with a smile: "Mr. Mitchell is on the west side of the smokehouse. Could you please go and assist him? He could use a reliable helping hand."


    "Of course, ma''am," Winters mounted Redmane and nodded in acknowledgment, then galloped towards the smokehouse.


    Before he even arrived, Winters understood what was happening ahead.


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    A tempting aroma wafted through the air; it was the smell of roasting meat.


    A few dozen meters west of the smokehouse, Gerard and his old Dusack buddies were busy at work.


    The ground was covered with several huge arched wooden covers, with the smell and smoke seeping out through the slits in the boards. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had Winters seen the construction underneath an uncovered lid: beneath the wooden cover was a pit nearly a meter deep, lined with stones on its walls, and its bottom filled with wood and charcoal fires¡ªit looked like a sort of makeshift oven.


    Seeing Winters approach, Gerard waved at him happily, "Come on over! Give us a hand!"


    Only when Winters reached Gerard did he understand why such a big "oven" was needed¡ªbecause it was meant to roast an entire pig at once.


    The whole pig, split from snout to tail, lay splayed on an iron frame, looking quite peaceful.


    Gerard filled the pit with charcoal and wood, and it took the combined strength of six men to lift the pig halves and iron frame onto the flames and then cover it.


    From a distance, pig squeals could be heard. Glancing at the traces of blood on the grass and the pig offal in wooden basins, Winters realized they were slaughtering and roasting the pigs right there.


    He counted six smoking pits already on the ground, and at the makeshift pigpen not far away, there were at least twice as many porkers.


    He asked in surprise, "Aren''t we roasting too many at once?"


    "If you invite folks over to work, you''ve got to feed them well," Gerard said with a smile all over his face.


    Old Sergei was there too, laughing: "Mitchell''s roast pig is famous far and wide. Not just the captain''s family, but workers from other families too, they''ll all come running when they smell it, abandoning their work."


    "Tobacco harvest season is a rare festival," another familiar voice reached Winters''s ears: "Only at this time of the year do we have enough fuel and time to roast whole pigs. Boy, you''re in for a treat; who knows when you''ll have such a feast again!"


    "How come you''re here too?" Winters''s eyes widened as he saw the old mendicant monk.


    "Came for the meat," the monk answered simply.


    "Why didn''t I see you helping to lift the frame just now?"


    Monk Reed replied matter-of-factly, "Well, I can''t lift it, can I?"


    "Alright then, I''ve got to go take a nap," Old Sergei yawned: "I''ll come back later to relieve you."


    With that, Old Sergei ran off to a nearby flat spot and lay down.


    "Take a nap?" Winters had never seen such preparation: "How long do we have to roast this for?"


    Gerard scooped up a cup of sweet wine from a barrel next to him and handed it to the lieutenant: "About ten hours or so."

 Chapter 22

    The first food processing method mastered by our ancient ancestors, who once ate raw flesh and drank blood, was undoubtedly "roasting."


    Roasting is intimately related to fire, as long as there is fire, there can be roasting. Or rather, it was for the sake of roasting that they sought to control fire.


    For these ancestors, roasting meat wasn''t just a way of preparing food, but also bore the significance of a sacrificial ritual.


    In the times of Winters Montagne, people regarded cooking as the labor of lower classes and women. Men of status would not enter the kitchen, and families that could afford it would hire a maid to handle the cooking.


    But in those primitive tribes that still retained ancient ways, on the lands of the Herders and the people of the north, slaughtering animals and roasting meat was the men''s responsibility.


    Meat distribution symbolized the power of the tribal leader; only the chieftain could wield the knife.


    This perception even infiltrated the language, where many words denoting power, tracing back through history to modern times, are closely related to slaughter and apportioning meat.


    The strong men standing before the bonfire, distributing precious meat to other members of the tribe, represented a picture of power and honor.


    Knowing this, it would not be surprising why Gerard Mitchell¡ªthe man of highest status in the entire estate¡ªtook personal charge of roasting the pig.


    Gerard''s role in this task was not because roasting meat was easy. On the contrary, it was a more arduous task than harvesting tobacco. It demanded great effort and could only be managed by the most formidable men.


    Taking on the tougher job was not a punishment but a matter of honor.


    If Winters was familiar with the past of the Dusans of Wolf Town, he would be amazed to find that the old Dusans working on the roast with Gerard were all once the most formidable and bravest warriors among the Dusack.


    Only a Dusack who had proven himself on the battlefield was now worthy to stand next to Gerard and help him with the roasting.


    Unconsciously, Gerard, Sergei, and the Dusacks were sacralizing the act of roasting.


    Due to poor air circulation, the charcoal mostly smoldered throughout. Oil dripping onto the charcoal from the roast meat sizzled, and fragrant smoke wafted from the gaps in the lid.


    It was less of a roasting process and more akin to smoking.


    It indeed was a tiresome job. One couldn''t simply throw in too much fuel at once, so those in charge of the roast could not sleep, needing to constantly watch the pit to prevent the fire from going out.


    That night, Winters and the old Dusacks watched over six roasting pits, periodically shoveling in timber and coal into the pit''s bottom, lifting the lid to check the heat, flipping the meat, and sprinkling salt and spices on the golden-brown flesh.


    When there was no need to add more wood, everyone sat on small chairs next to the pits, enjoying drinks and chats while watching the flames leap within the fire basins. Stay tuned for updates on My Virtual Library Empire


    The atmosphere was leisurely and comfortable, with a bit of a "boys'' club" vibe. The old Dusacks happily reminisced about the past, told jokes, boasted, and passed around a bottle of strong liquor.


    Even Friar Reed seemed to have a thorough understanding of Dusack history. He blended seamlessly into the Dusans'' conversation, occasionally dropping clever remarks that caused the Dusacks to burst into hearty laughter.


    Sitting by the fire as the meat slowly cooked was a delightful and pleasant affair¡ªsweet wine, laughter, warm fire, faint smoke, the aroma of roasting meat, and the crackling of wood¡­


    Winters, affected by the atmosphere, couldn''t help but feel a bit tipsy as the wine bottle made a few rounds; even the Spellcaster, who rarely drank, became slightly inebriated.


    Unaware, the young Venetian found himself forgetting for the first time that he was thousands of miles away from home in a foreign land, enjoying everything like an ordinary resident of Wolf Town.


    Time spares no one; the old Dusacks gradually started snoozing, from time to time some couldn''t stay awake and slipped away to the nearby grass to sleep, and then returned upon waking.


    Others came and went, came and went. The only ones who tirelessly stayed by the pits were Gerard, Winters, and Friar Reed.


    Gerard enthusiastically taught Winters the secrets of roasting, with Winters listening while also occasionally voicing his own questions.


    "Why not simply use a big fire then? It would cook faster, wouldn''t it?" Winters asked.


    Gesticulating, Gerard explained, "For small pieces of meat you can use a big fire. But for roasting a whole pig, if you use a big fire, the outside will burn while the inside remains raw. That''s why you start with a big fire to sear the skin, then the rest of the time you use a low flame."


    "Roasting isn''t as simple as just placing meat over a fire; not just the heat is important, but also the type of wood you use," said the old friar, wide-awake, his eyes shining in the firelight, "Different woods change the flavor of the meat."


    "Is that so?" Winters looked at Gerard.


    Gerard picked up a log split in half and handed it to Winters, "Father Reed is right. This is walnut wood, take a sniff."


    Winters took the piece of wood and brought it to his nose, the heartwood emitting a faint sweetness.


    "I smell a sort of fragrance," Winters commented.


    Feigning irritation, the old friar said, "Would I lie to you?"


    "When you smoke with a low flame, the sweetness of the wood also gets into the meat," Gerard remarked admiringly to Father Reed, "I didn''t expect you to know so much about roasting." sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I don''t know much about it, I''ve just eaten plenty," the old friar laughed, patting his hands together; he gave Winters'' shoulder a good pat, "Don''t underestimate roasting. Mr. Michel''s roasting is such a delicacy that it would be the grand finale on any royal table anywhere in the world, and enjoying such a taste is truly an honor."


    "Oh, you flatter me too much," Gerard''s face blossomed into a smile.

 Chapter 23 Pursuit

    The mounted officer, towering above, berated loudly, "Worthless! An entire smuggling caravan disappeared within your jurisdiction! Are you neglecting your duty or were you in on this all along? Speak!" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lieutenant remained silent, flames nearly leaping from his eyes.


    The guard beside the officer noticed the lieutenant''s gaze. He nudged his horse a step forward, subtly positioning himself between the lieutenant and the officer, his right hand gripped tightly around his sword hilt.


    The officer thought he was dealing with an incompetent low-ranking military official; he did not realize that he was facing a spellcaster on the brink of losing control.


    Winters Montagne was on the verge of losing control.


    Since the moment he had been escorted to Paratu, Winters''s negative emotions had been accumulating, and even he had not realized it.


    Even on the harshest days on the islands, he always had supportive people around him. But in Wolf Town, he was alone.


    This was the moment his will was at its weakest. Any further hostility from the officer might completely evaporate the Venetian''s s remaining sanity, leaving only violent and cruel instincts.


    The warhorse, sensing the searing rage, shuffled its front legs restlessly.


    Lady Michel instinctively clutched Mr. Montagne''s arm.


    The officer noticed the lieutenant''s clenched fists, and a nameless anger rose in him. He was about to continue chastising the insubordinate junior officer in front of him when a certain indescribable intuition stopped him from acting.


    Many figures came running from the direction of the Michel estate.


    Hearing the scream of Lady Michel, the Dusacks grabbed their tools and rushed out. Leading them was Sergei, the old man holding a sickle he''d picked up from who knows where.


    Approaching closer, Sergei realized the gravity of the situation.


    A Dusack, not recognizing his own mother, certainly would not mistake a military uniform. Old Sergei cursed under his breath: They were confronted with a military official, and a high-ranking one at that.


    Sergei Morozov, a Dusack who feared neither heaven nor earth, turned to jelly only at the sight of a military uniform.


    But now, he had no choice but to face the music.


    Mustering his courage, the old man stood beside the lieutenant, swallowing his saliva nervously and shouted defensively yet apprehensively, "Hey! What are you doing?"


    The officer snorted disdainfully and gestured to the guard beside him, not even sparing a glance at the peasant before him.


    Unbeknownst to him, his attitude somewhat reassured Sergei.


    The other Dusacks also arrived one after another, each startled by the sight of the officer''s uniform. Looking at each other, no one dared to speak.


    The officer''s guard took the silver whistle hanging from his neck and blew it forcefully.


    The cavalry outside the estate noticed that something was amiss. As the sharp whistle sounded, they quickly moved toward their commander.


    While a few cavalrymen charged straight toward the scene along the path, the rest of the cavalry leaped over the fences to flank from both sides. They raced through the bean fields without a care, trampling and smashing the crops under their hooves.


    The smaller group of cavalry somehow ended up surrounding the Dusacks.


    This was a true cavalry unit, not mere horsemen or mounted infantry, but cavalry trained strictly for combat.


    Their military swords were not loosely hanging at their sides but were instead tucked between the horse''s back and their thighs, ready to be drawn at any moment.


    The cavalrymen edged closer bit by bit, narrowing the space around the Dusacks. Those holding farming tools became somewhat panicked, though not yet out of control.


    Old Dusack Aleksei slowly moved closer to Sergei, whispering to his companion, "Vladimirovich, do you see? That''s at least half a squadron!"


    "I''m counting them, it''s not half a squadron," Sergei replied irritably. "Just over thirty horses; that''s just one platoon."


    "What do we do?"


    "How the hell would I know!"


    As the Dusacks murmured among themselves, several figures hurried over from the estate.


    "I''m the mayor of this town." A path formed in the crowd seemingly on its own, and Gerard approached the front of the officer''s horse: "May I ask what I can do for you in Wolf Town?"


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    Gerard was out of breath, obviously having run all the way after hearing the news. Seeing Captain Michel arrive, the Dusacks all breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone hanging over their hearts finally dropping to the ground.


    "You''re the mayor?" The officer glanced at the sturdy man before him.


    "Yes."


    "Do you not know that yesterday a large band of smugglers crossed the Big Horn River from Wolf Town?"


    "That... I was not aware."


    "Wolf Town''s Garrison Officer has been neglecting his duty," the officer stated coldly. "Have you made any accusations or reports?"


    Gerard''s face faltered.


    "Colonel, I must disagree with your statement," another voice tinged with an accent emerged from the crowd. "Everyone here, as well as all the gentry of the town, can attest that Captain Michel and Officer Montagne have always been diligent and responsible in their duties, never negligent, and therefore there was no need for accusations or reports."


    Unknown to them, an old mendicant had come to stand beside Winters. He surreptitiously squeezed Winters''s arm and took the riding crop from his hand.


    The old mendicant walked up beside the officer, handing over the riding crop with a clergyman''s amiable smile: "I''m Father Reed of this parish. How might I address you, Colonel?"


    "I am not a Colonel, you may call me Lieutenant Colonel Castor," he replied as he took the riding crop and flipped it a few times, sneering back, "Diligent and responsible? So responsible that they didn''t notice a large group of smugglers crossing the border? Or was it that they were all in on it together?"

 Chapter 23 Chase_2

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    "The Big Horn River stretches over seventy kilometers within Wolfton territory, with vast uninhabited wastelands all along its banks. How could Lieutenant Montagne alone possibly manage such a lengthy riverway?"


    "Although the river is long, there are only three fording places."


    "But even those three crossings are at least twenty kilometers apart from each other, with the northernmost one being over forty kilometers away from here. A round trip would take an entire day, though it is closer to Blackwater Town." The old monk spoke with veiled sharpness, "If you believe that Lieutenant Montagne alone can handle this band of smugglers, why then, have you brought your elite subordinates here with you?"


    Colonel Castor was at a loss for words.


    At this moment, a large number of people rushed from the estate. The farmers harvesting tobacco leaves also noticed something unusual at the estate''s entrance.


    Having heard that a group of unidentified individuals had detained Mayor Mitchell and Lieutenant Montagne, the villagers and laborers clamored, carrying their farm tools to help.


    For these disorganised farmers, their numbers were their confidence, and it was now the busiest time of the year on Mitchell''s estate.


    Because of herd mentality, men and women gathered in increasing numbers, all moving towards the estate, and those Dusacks who couldn''t make it at first also rode over on horses.


    In an instant, there was a sea of people, creating quite an intimidating presence.


    Not only were Colonel Castor and his cavalry taken aback, but so were Gerard and the Dusacks; the situation was getting increasingly difficult to control.


    Brother Reed looked toward Gerard, "Mr. Mitchell, please take a few people and persuade everyone to go back. Time is precious. Don''t delay the tobacco harvest."


    Gerard was first stunned, then nodded and hurried off with a dozen or so older Dusacks.


    "Colonel, by your account, the smugglers have already crossed the border. Hence, dwelling on who''s at fault is now utterly meaningless. What''s most important is how to solve the problem, isn''t it? Please, feel free to say what you need from Wolfton," the old monk looked at Castor again, speaking in a relaxed manner, "Bear in mind that we Wolfton folk loathe smugglers intensely. We''d love to eat their flesh and wear their skins."


    Colonel Castor was silent for a while, then spoke with a cold face, "Please provide accommodations for me and my men; we''ll handle our own food. Our horses need a covered area to rest, do not feed them haphazardly, give them quality feed."


    The demands of the Colonel were not complicated, and the old monk readily agreed.


    Castor gathered his cavalrymen together: "Those guys won''t get far. Tonight, we''ll rest up here and rejuvenate, then catch up to them all at once tomorrow!"


    After dispersing the farmers who wanted to help, Gerard returned to the main entrance, where Brother Reed meticulously explained the situation to him.


    Gerard listened and nodded, then led Colonel Castor and the cavalry to another estate that had spare rooms to offer them lodging.


    "What''s your name?" Just before leaving Mitchell''s estate, Colonel Castor asked the lieutenant.


    Winters had regained most of his composure, but the anger had yet to subside: "Winters Montagne."


    "Your rank?"


    "Lieutenant."


    "I''ll remember you, Lieutenant Montagne," the Colonel pointed his riding crop at Winters'' nose, "You''re not satisfied, are you? Tomorrow, bring all the manpower you can find and join me in the chase. I want to see how capable you really are."


    Having said that, Colonel Castor strode off without looking back.


    The Colonel''s guard gave Winters a deep look and then rode off as well.


    "According to the officer''s intentions, we''ll be heading out before dawn." Sergei discussed the matter among himself and the other older Dusacks, "We''ve got to notify the Dusacks house by house tonight. Let''s split up to find them, we must inform everyone, and have the young and old masters get the horses ready tonight."


    Aleksei shook his head a few times, "Should we notify the Bumpkins? Call up the militia from the other villages as well, to have more people."


    "Call them my ass!" Sergei didn''t spare his old brother any face, "The officer''s men all have four legs, do the Bumpkins have horses? Can they chase on two legs?"


    Aleksei meekly shut his mouth.


    Sergei smacked his lips and continued, "The round trip might take more than a day. When you tell the young and old masters, also mention to have their wives prepare some dry food and water to bring along, plan for three days." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Sergei was pondering, he suddenly remembered that Lieutenant Montagne was still with them, and it wasn''t his place to make decisions.


    He quickly looked at Winters, "Lieutenant, I mean no disrespect. Whether or not to call the militia is up to you. If you say we need them, I''ll go and inform them. We''ll follow your orders. But honestly, having the Dusacks is enough. We''ll make sure we do you proud and not hinder the operation..."


    "No need to notify anyone." Having said that, Winters also left.


    Aleksei looked at the bean field in front of him and sighed, "That officer''s subordinates are really good riders, easily jumping fences over a meter high... It''s just too bad for these beans, they''re almost ripe..."


    ...


    The next morning, at dawn.


    The sky turned from black to gray, gradually beginning to blue.


    "Damn it! What? Escaped?" Colonel Castor cursed furiously, "[Expletives in Paratu]!"


    "You can''t exactly say he has escaped." Old Sergei''s expression was awkward, "It''s just that he can''t be found."


    "Isn''t that the same as having run away?" Castor slammed his fist on a wooden post, seething with rage, "That little... cocky kid... Is he not all guts? And now he''s run away? Run away? Damn it!"

 Chapter 23 Assassination_3

    The Dusacks stood aside, their eyes fixed on the ground, none daring to look up.


    Castor swung his military sword and bellowed, "Chase him! Bring him back to me! For neglect of duty, desertion! I''ll execute him myself!"


    The lieutenant colonel''s guard cautiously reminded, "Sir, we still need to chase ''that thing''... That Venetian won''t get far. Send word to Revodan, let others catch him."


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor grew angrier the more he thought about it. "Who was the last to see Winters Montagne yesterday?"


    The Dusacks exchanged glances, sharing information among themselves, before calling over the blacksmith Misha. The old blacksmith hadn''t joined the chase due to an injury to his leg.


    "Were you the last to see the deserter Montagne?" the colonel asked.


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    The old blacksmith scratched his head. "I report to you, sir, I don''t know if I was the last to see the lieutenant."


    "What did he come to you for?"


    "To pick up the sword he''d ordered."


    "Anything else?"


    "That''s all."


    "Did he say where he was going?"


    "I don''t know."


    Castor realized he would get nothing from the blacksmith and, grinding his teeth, asked, "You''re all covering for him, aren''t you?"


    "No, I wouldn''t dare," the old blacksmith said, waving his hands repeatedly.


    Castor let out a roar of fury and chopped a wooden ladder next to him in two.


    "Just wait, once I catch him, not one person who shielded him will get away!" Castor glared at the Dusacks hatefully. He forcefully sheathed his military sword: "Let''s go!"


    "Reporting to the sir," the old blacksmith said, scratching his head again. "It seems the lieutenant also bought a bag of nails..."


    ...


    At the Mitchell estate, young Mistress Michel held her mother and wept bitterly, "Mother, did Mr. Montagne really leave?"


    Mrs. Mitchell gently patted her little daughter''s back and said earnestly, "Lieutenant Montagne was never truly of this place. We shouldn''t be sad; we should pray for him. Pray that he may safely return to his father and mother."


    ...


    "Hey, why did he leave?" Sergei led the horse and sighed. "Don''t even know where he went."


    Gerard shot Sergei a look. "Stop talking."


    "Hey." Sergei rarely talked back to his elder brother. "I just wanted to see the lieutenant off, to at least send him on his way."


    ...


    "Brother Reed, has Big Brother Winters truly left?"


    The old mendicant monk stroked his beard and spoke indifferently, "You must understand, Pierre. For Winters, leaving like this might actually be a blessing. ''What seems to be misfortune can be the ground for fortune, and what appears as fortune may hide impending misfortune.''


    ...


    And many others: Father Caman, the young stable boy Anglu, the young Hunter Bell... were still unaware of this news.


    ...


    Before departing, Castor chose three of his best riders. He said to the first one, "Take this note to Revodan, see to it that they dispatch their fastest horses to search along the way."


    The lieutenant colonel instructed the remaining two, "That Venetian is definitely heading back to Vineta. You two go directly to all the garrisons on the route to Vineta, have them set up checkpoints along the way... "


    While Lieutenant Colonel Castor was still giving instructions, he and his Cavalry heard an excited shout: "Lieutenant Montagne is back!"


    "Where?" Castor erupted in anger.


    "Over there!" a Dusack pointed excitedly toward a hill a hundred meters away: "Rejek!" S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The colonel looked up to see a red horse leap from behind the hill and dash down like thunder. The rider became clearer in view, reaching Castor in a blink of an eye.


    "Lieutenant Montagne!" Castor roared furiously. "You deserted your pos..."


    "Thud"


    "Thud"


    Colonel Castor''s words were interrupted by two heavy impacts.


    The lieutenant removed his saddlebag and threw it in front of the colonel.


    A head rolled out of the blood-soaked saddlebag, stopping at Castor''s feet. The colonel looked down to meet a pair of lifeless eyes.


    "The cart is on the west side of Fengping Ferry. Move it yourself."


    The lieutenant wiped his nose; riding all night, sweating and getting chilled, it seemed he''d caught a cold.


    ...


    The peace agreement between the Herders and the Paratu People prescribed: The land west of Big Horn River shall not be cultivated by the Paratu People; the land east of the Red River shall not be grazed by the Herders.


    Thus between them, a nearly hundred-kilometer ''no-man''s land'' was preserved.


    Big Horn River had thus become the natural boundary on the west side of Wolf Town.


    Thirty kilometers west of Fengping Ferry''s ford, Castor found the smugglers'' caravan.


    The goods were intact, their fully armed corpses scattered everywhere, just minus their heads.


    From the traces at the scene, what Lieutenant Montagne did was simple: He charged into the caravan and killed half the people first, then he started to hunt down the other half.


    The more Castor''s guard saw, the more terrified he became.


    "Sir," the guard said to Castor with dread. "I think that fellow might have really been intent on killing."


    "Dammit!" the colonel cursed, slapping his thigh. "That bastard didn''t leave me a single survivor!"


    ...


    Before Castor''s cavalry left the Mitchell estate.


    Castor found Winters, who was washing his hands.


    "Get ready. Wolf Town is soon to levy troops, forming a hundred-man squad," the colonel said.


    The lieutenant paused, "Are you threatening me?"


    "Kid, I''m repaying a favor to you. Now you know, better to be aware before being conscripted. Whether or not today''s events happened, Wolf Town was going to draft troops; that was decided long ago. The sooner you know, the more you can prepare," Castor huffed coldly.


    The colonel left, and the lieutenant continued to wash his hands vigorously, over and over again.


    Winters felt a tinge of fear, not from the killing, but because after the killing, he felt... calm.

 Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason

    After Castor''s "unexpected visit," Winters followed the agreement and headed to Blackwater Town to meet with Bard and Andre.


    Since they had been dispersed and deployed, this was the first time the three of them gathered together. After a long absence, their reunion was especially warm, with endless topics to talk about.


    Bard clicked his tongue in wonder as he circled Redmane, examining the horse, even lifting its hooves one by one for inspection, and gave his verdict, "This is a good horse."


    "Like you needed to say it?" Andre retorted with a laugh.


    Without spending the night in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard changed to the horses Andre had borrowed from Dusa Village in Blackwater Town, and the three immediately set out to meet the "senior" Bard had mentioned.


    "Which class of senior is it?" During a pause on the road, Andre couldn''t help but ask Bard, "Do we know him?"


    "You two definitely don''t know him, nor do I. He''s my squad leader''s squad leader."


    The smallest organizational unit in the Alliance Land Academy''s Officer Academy is a "squad," in which officer cadets from the first, second, and third years are simultaneously assigned.


    Thus, an officer cadet in the academy could be exposed to peers from two classes above and below his own.


    Wolf Town and Blackwater Town were so remote that a horseback trip to the county seat city of Revodan and back would take more than four days. And since Revodan itself is a frontier city, Winters and Andre had hardly any visitors.


    However, Bard''s station at Saint Christopher Town, hereafter referred to as Saint Town, was different. Saint Town was located on a thoroughfare between two counties, with very convenient transportation.


    The hardened Guzhi Road ran through the town, and troops often passed through Saint Town when being deployed.


    Some of the seniors from Paratu whom Bard knew well had heard that their junior was assigned to Paratu and visited him several times, either making a special trip or passing through.


    Therefore, Bard was somewhat more informed than Winters and Andre; Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cherini were truly unfamiliar with the place, completely in the dark.


    Bard learned from the "squad leader" who was responsible for guiding him when he was a new cadet: Apart from the officers stationed in Revodan city, there were only four Land Academy graduates in the entire county.


    There was no need to mention who the three unlucky ones were. The other one was a senior whose station was just south of the county seat, about forty kilometers away from Blackwater Town.


    According to what Bard''s squad leader said, that person was a squad leader''s squad leader. Meaning, he was four classes senior to Winters, Bard, and Andre and had been serving in Paratu for five years.


    Out of courtesy, Bard felt they should also pay a visit to this senior alumnus. Not to mention, isolated in their closed-off environments for so long, the lieutenants were thirsty for news from the outside world.


    So Bard sent word to his two friends, arranging a time to go together.


    After leaving Blackwater Town, they galloped on dirt roads through forests and wilderness. As they had to return with the same horse, they occasionally had to stop and rest the horse.


    In the sparsely populated Newly Reclaimed Land, they''d often go a long time before seeing a village or scattered farmhouses. With no one in sight ahead or behind, they subsisted only on the dry food and water carried with the horses.


    But the three friends, rarely able to gather, did not mind the hardship.


    The journey was uneventful, but the closer they got to their destination, the stranger Winters and Andre felt. It seemed they weren''t heading to a town but rather in the direction of even less populous areas.


    "You sure we''re not lost?" during another break to rest the horses, Andre couldn''t help asking Bard, "There''s not even a place to stay in sight, and we didn''t bring tents. It''s going to be a problem if we made a mistake."


    Andre had been estimating the distance and direction all along, and he realized that their destination should be within a few kilometers. But the surroundings looked even more desolate than before, not at all like the outskirts of a town.


    "It should be right, there weren''t any forks on the road." Bard pulled out a scroll of paper from his saddlebag, on which was a crudely drawn map and description provided by the senior: "The key is I don''t have a detailed map of the areas near Revodan." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "We should''ve brought a guide," Winters regretted, "I forgot this is Paratu."


    The three studied the map in their hands and carefully recalled the road they had taken, confirming they hadn''t gone the wrong way. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue onward.


    About half an hour later, wooden fences began to appear alongside the road. The signs of human activity gave the three lieutenants a boost in confidence.


    To their surprise, at the end of the dirt road was a town that looked even more rudimentary and dilapidated than Wolf Town.


    Although small, Wolf Town at least had one horizontal and one vertical street as well as a church, and it was vibrant with life.


    But this town in front of them consisted only of a row of low wooden barracks along the road.


    They were called "barracks" because the wooden houses resembled the plank houses in military camps and looked quite different from ordinary homes on farms.


    Although farmers'' houses were generally similar in materials and structure, they were filled with the living breath of the inhabitants in their details.


    The wooden houses before them, however, were uniform as if cast from the same mold, giving off a templated aura.


    A row of wooden houses stood abruptly on the land, surrounded by desolate meadows on all sides, appearing very lonely.


    The strangest thing was ¡ª Winters pondered for a while before realizing ¡ª there were no women or children in this little town.


    "Is this the place?" Winters asked Bard.


    Bard was also quite puzzled, "It should be here, but it looks a bit off."


    People outside the wooden houses noticed the three officers by the road. A man who appeared to be a guard, carrying a bow and arrows, came over and asked lazily, "Gentlemen, who are you looking for?"

 Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_2

    The man had a large dark red birthmark around his left eye that nearly covered half of his face, making it quite conspicuous.


    "We''re here to see Lieutenant Mason," Bard asked the man, "Is Lieutenant Mason the person in charge here?"


    The man answered listlessly, "The lieutenant took some people to oversee the mowing. Please wait here, gentlemen, I will find someone to call the lieutenant back."


    Speaking with a thick Parlatu accent, he shouted loudly, and a short man by the side of the log cabin responded before running toward a dirt slope not too far away.


    "What''s your role here?" Andre asked the man, furrowing his brows as he stared. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Me?" The other man chuckled, "Well, to answer you, sir, I''m the one in charge of watching over the others."


    Winters sensed something amiss, "Wait, is this a prison?"


    "Of course not, sir," the bored guard answered without even lifting his eyelids, "This is a ranch, a labor farm."


    ¡­


    ¡­


    "Ha ha, what a rare visit, it''s been ages since a fellow alumnus came to see me." Lieutenant Mason pushed open the door and warmly invited the three juniors inside, "Recently been busy cutting the grass for winter, and if I don''t keep an eye out, everyone slacks off... ah, why am I mentioning this! Come in, make yourselves at home."


    The furnishings inside Lieutenant Mason''s room were extremely simple: a bed, a cabinet, two tables large and small, a few stools, a rack for hanging clothes, nothing more.


    In the labor farm, other cabins were shared among several people, only the lieutenant had a cabin all to himself¡ªThis was perhaps the only luxury in this dwelling.


    The plain wooden bed was in the corner of the room, its bedding left in the same state it had been when its user last left it, carelessly rolled into a heap.


    The remains of breakfast were still on the plates on the small table, and two flies buzzed away as the lieutenant walked past.


    The whole room well reflected the typical state of a single, solitary young man without anyone to care for him.


    What piqued Winters'' curiosity was the stack of books and the manuscript papers full of writing on the big table.


    "It''s a bit of a mess." The lieutenant casually tossed the plate from the small table into a wooden bucket outside the door, "Don''t mind it, please sit down."


    He rummaged through the armoire, pulled out a few cups. He dove under the bed and found a bottle of liquor, half-empty¡ªfollowed by finding an unopened one.


    "I haven''t had a guest for months," Lieutenant Mason said cheerfully as he busied himself pouring drinks for his juniors, "It''s really rare for someone to visit me. Next time, send me a message in advance so I can prepare properly. The beef here is especially delicious."


    As soon as he heard that there were visitors, Lieutenant Mason rushed back. Upon discovering that the guests were his fellow alumni, his enthusiasm soared even higher.


    Without waiting for Winters and the others to ask, Lieutenant Mason started talking. Once he began, it was like a dam bursting, unstoppable.


    After gulping down a full glass of strong liquor, Lieutenant Mason began to slam the table and curse like a sailor. Interspersed with his profanities were phrases like "me, a proper artillery officer by training," "those maggots who made me raise pigs," "I''d rather head overseas."


    When his emotions reached their peak, Lieutenant Mason, with tears welling up in his eyes, grabbed Winters'' hand and said, "Listen to some advice, leave early if you can. If you can get out of your uniform, hurry back to The Federated Provinces. Us United Provincials in this place shouldn''t even dream of making a career..."


    "That¡­senior, I''m not from The Federated Provinces, I''m Venetian," Winters said with an embarrassed expression, trying to withdraw his hand but not quite feeling right about it.


    "Ah?" Mason was taken aback, then looked toward Andre, "Then are you from The Federated Provinces?"


    "I''m not, I''m also Venetian," Andre quickly shook his head, pointing toward Bard, "But he is."


    Mason''s mood gradually cooled, and he asked in confusion, "What are you two Venetians doing over here? Shouldn''t you be returning to your homeland?"


    Winters recounted in detail the unwarranted disaster that befell this year''s Venetian graduates.


    When the tale reached the point where a mustachioed officer had locked the Venetian graduates in a wagon, and when they emerged they found themselves at Kingsfort, Lieutenant Mason let out a contemptuous snort, "Sounds like something the Provincial Army bastards would do."


    When it came to the part about the Parlatu Army forcibly scattering the junior Venetian officers and assigning them to different posts, Lieutenant Mason''s look of disdain intensified, "I wouldn''t put it past those goat-f***ers to do something like that."


    Wounded by a sense of shared misfortune upon hearing Winters'' story, Lieutenant Mason gazed at the three juniors with profound sympathy, "The Federated Provinces sending you here isn''t just a provocation to Vineta; it''s a provocation to Parlatu as well. Those goat-f***ers certainly won''t be nice to you either. We always end up being sacrificial pawns in the battles of the big shots, cough!"


    The lieutenant sighed, then offered reassurance, "But don''t worry, you''re better off than I am. The highlanders won''t keep you here forever. Just hold on until they send you back. As for me, I can only spend a lifetime here. Feeding pigs, horses, and prisoners, day in and day out, helplessly watching the days go by, the mere thought is despairing..."


    The topic was too heavy, and Mason''s face grew increasingly somber.


    Andre quickly interrupted, "Senior, are all the people under your command prisoners?"


    Mason paused for a moment, then answered, "Except for the guards... but most of my guards were prisoners before."


    "But aren''t your security measures a bit... lax?" Winters joined the new topic at once, "It seems it wouldn''t be too hard to escape?"

 Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_3

    "Run? Where to run? The plains are barren in every direction." The lieutenant''s face had a smile that wasn''t quite a smile as he patiently explained, "Moreover, those who come here are only serving light sentences. A few months of work and they can go home. If they run away, they''ll be wanted for a lifetime. Actually, I''m quite hoping that a few would run every now and then, so I could have a bit more fun."


    "Do Paratu people always replace imprisonment with labor?" Bard asked.


    "Those day-sheep bastards are stingy as hell. How could they tolerate convicts eating for free in prison?" Whenever Mason spoke of the Paratu People, he always did so with dissatisfaction: "But working for two months for stealing a chicken is still better than having a hand chopped off, don''t you think?"


    "That''s true," everyone agreed.


    "But there''s one good thing about those day-sheep bastards¡ªthey don''t meddle much. As long as the required livestock is delivered, they don''t care about the rest. Life here is pretty relaxed for me. These past few years have been good, so I''ve even been able to pay the prisoners wages and give them some meat. Some of the homeless convicts end up not wanting to leave at all." Mason''s face lit up with excitement: "I''ve been improving the breeding stock. Once I find a way to get out of this uniform, I''ll buy a small ranch in Palatu..." Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire


    The three sub-lieutenants exchanged glances, realizing that despite complaining about being assigned to pig farming, their senior officer had clearly become fully invested in the endeavor.


    "Senior, have you heard about the conscription that''s supposed to happen soon?" Winters asked the lieutenant.


    Visiting Lieutenant Mason, Winters and the others also intended to casually inquire about the outside world.


    But it seemed that Mason was even more cut off from the world than they were, which caught them by surprise.


    Winters had also told his two friends about the "conscription" mentioned by Colonel Castor, and they concluded that Colonel Castor had no reason to lie to Winters.


    However, they knew nothing about why the conscription was needed; they didn''t even have a clear understanding of what "conscription" truly meant in Palatu.


    Although the lieutenant did not seem to be particularly well-informed, Winters still mentioned it offhandedly.


    To his surprise, Mason answered matter-of-factly, "Of course, I know. It''s probably happening right after the autumn harvest."


    "You''ve received news too?" Winters was taken aback.


    "No, who would send me news?" Lieutenant Mason pulled out a few papers from the large table: "Even though no one sends me news, by reading the army post newsletters that the military courier sends, I can guess what those day-sheep bastards are up to."


    Newsletters? Winters had never received any.


    After Mason explained, the three sub-lieutenants learned that the Paratu Army couriers delivered only once a quarter, bringing salaries and newsletters for various stationed officers along the way.


    In the Republic of Palatu, with its vast territory and sparse population, communication between settlements was difficult. To alleviate this issue, the military and administrative agencies distributed newsletters quarterly throughout the country to ensure at least a basic flow of information.


    Winters and the others carefully read the newsletters from the last quarter, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn''t find any mention of a post-harvest conscription or even see the word "conscription."


    "The army has been pushing it for quite a while now. They''re just shy of coming out and saying it directly," Lieutenant Mason said calmly: "Considering the circumstances, they''ll probably conscript after harvest and go to war in the winter. They might even draft prisoners, which is why I''m hurrying to cut the grass. If the prisoners are drafted, then I won''t have enough hands here." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Think about it," the lieutenant said with a cold laugh: "Why would The Federated Provinces choose this time to deal with Palatu? They''ve bitten down hard because they''re sure that those day-sheep bastards will tolerate it."

 Chapter 25 Guests

    When the three men said their farewells to Lieutenant Mason, their senior was full of reluctance. He insistently stuffed several large packs of beef jerky and pork into their saddlebags, claiming they were specialties from the ranch. He even insisted on seeing them off, accompanying them for more than a dozen kilometers.


    Just before parting, Mason was almost begging, "You must come to visit me again when you have time, you must." Afterwards, he stood on the roadside embankment, watching until they were out of sight because of the terrain.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre embarked on the journey back to their station with heavy hearts.


    During a break to rest their horses, Andre spoke in a disheartened tone, "If those sheep-herding bastards hadn''t let us go, I''m afraid in a few years we would''ve ended up just like him."


    "Lieutenant Mason''s situation is even worse than ours," Bard said, as calm and aloof as ever. "He may seem like the warden, but what difference is there really between him and the prisoners?"


    "Like boiling a frog in warm water," Winters forcefully threw a piece of quartz into a distant puddle and remarked with a sigh, "Always feeling there''s a way out so you don''t dare to take the risk, and in the end, you suffer the worst possible outcome. If we had just escaped back to Vineta when we first arrived at Kingsfort, we might not have all these troubles now."


    The white quartz stone arced through the air and plunged into the water with a plunk, disappearing from sight and leaving behind only a few small ripples.


    ...


    After arriving in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard switched back to their original mounts and promptly went their separate ways to their respective stations.


    Blackwater Town and Wolfton are separated by the natural boundary of Blackwater River. There is no bridge over the river, but there is a ford where one can wade across.


    When Winters reached the ford, he found Anglu had already been waiting for him at the river crossing for some time.


    "Lieutenant!" Anglu couldn''t wait to tell Winters, "You have visitors! Two visitors!"


    Waiting for Winters at the police station were two guests he never expected.


    "Gold?" Winters could hardly believe his eyes. "You? How did you end up here?"


    The thin, dark man in front of him laughed heartily, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth; it was none other than the former pirate, sailor, and marine "Lucky" Gold.


    "There''s not just me," Gold laughed boisterously. "There''s another old acquaintance of yours."


    Behind Gold, a young lad rushed out and embraced Winters.


    Caught off guard by the sudden event, Winters froze for a long while before recognizing the youth embracing him as "Xial? Is that you?"


    If he wasn''t mistaken, the person who hugged him was Benvenuto''s third brother, Xial. However, it had been a year since they last met, and the boy had grown taller. His face had lost its childlike features and now bore a more adult-like appearance.


    "It''s me, big brother Winters!" Xial spoke excitedly. "We finally found you!"


    "You... What are you doing here? Did my letter get to you so quickly?"


    Winters had never expected to encounter old friends in Wolf Town, let alone Xial and Gold¡ªtwo people with barely any connection.


    "That''s a long story," Gold said, pointing at Xial with a chuckle. "This kid is here to deliver a message to you." Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Who sent you two to deliver a message to me?" Winters asked.


    "No, no, no! Not me, just him," the former pirate captain shook his head repeatedly, proudly stating, "I''m not here to deliver a message. Your mother and your fianc¨¦e were worried that this kid wouldn''t manage to deliver the letter, so they hired me to protect him en route."


    Winters was overwhelmed by the multitude of issues in the other man''s response, not knowing where to begin.


    "What are you blabbering about?" Xial gave Gold a stare and explained to Winters, "Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre sent me to deliver the letter."


    "The letter? Where is it?" Winters''s breath suddenly quickened.


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    Xial used a small knife to slit the hem of his clothing and pulled out a scroll wrapped in felt cloth.


    "What''s the use of being clever like this? You might as well have just put it in a package," Gold scoffed as he watched Xial withdraw the letter from his clothing.


    Xial immediately retorted, "Who knows if there are bad guys around?" As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Gold.


    But Winters''s mind was already completely off the two of them as he eagerly unrolled the scroll and read through it at the fastest speed.


    There were three letters, one from Kosha, one from Elizabeth, and one from Anna.


    The letters didn''t contain anything special, only a few brief lines. Possibly for fear of interception, they didn''t even mention Winters''s name.


    Yet to Winters, these letters were as sweet as the first breath of air for someone who had been drowning.


    After listening to Xial''s story and piecing together his own thoughts, Winters roughly understood what had happened.


    Rolling back the time to a year ago, Benvenuto had been kidnapped by the Monta gang from the docks, and Xial came to Winters for help. To prevent Xial from being retaliated against, Winters had Bard take him to the City of Flowers.


    In the days that followed, Xial hid out at a relative''s home in the City of Flowers, living in fear and listening to news from Sea Blue until the storm had gradually calmed, and he returned to Sea Blue.


    It had been five whole months since the Monta gang had been wiped out, and Xial wanted to thank Winters but found out that Winters had already set off on the second supply fleet to Tanilia.


    Because Winters had previously made arrangements, and because Kosha remembered Xial as Winters''s schoolmate''s younger brother, Xial spent the following half year apprenticing in Giovanni''s [Antonio''s younger brother] workshop.

 Chapter 25 Guest_2

    As for that minor disturbance a few months ago, Xial never mentioned it to anyone. No one in the workshop knew he was Benvenuto''s brother, and nobody knew that he had sought Winters'' help.


    After that, the event where the Provincial Army sent graduates from Vineta to Paratu occurred.


    While Winters was constantly thinking about how he could return to Vineta, his family in Sea Blue were also trying every means to bring him back home.


    Due to geographical separation causing communication difficulties, and the deliberate deception by The Federated Provinces, Vineta initially received almost no valuable information.


    The Governor''s Office only knew that the warrant officers who went to Guidao City for the awarding ceremony had gone missing, but had no idea about their whereabouts, and even thought that the Federal military had imprisoned them.


    One after another, messengers dispatched by the consul in Guidao City arrived at Sea Blue, and Vinetians learned that the warrant officers had been sent to Paratu.


    By then, it was too late for a pursuit, and the Governor''s Office could only start negotiations with Paratu.


    But the Highlanders, having suffered a setback, were even more obstinate and scattered the Vinetian lieutenants. The envoy from Debela hadn''t even reached Kingsfort when the Vineta lieutenants were dispatched to various remote locations.


    Only at that point did the news of the missing officer cadets spread from the upper echelons of Vineta to the common citizens. All at once, the Republic of Vineta was in an uproar and public sentiment was agitated.


    The families of the officer cadets were overwhelmed with grief and staged a public petition in the Parliamentary Square. Upon learning of The Federated Provinces'' treacherous and provocative acts, the ordinary Venetian citizens with no personal connections to the cadets were equally filled with righteous indignation.


    For the Vineta Governor''s Office, the totality of the cities equated to the nation. Vineta''s farmers had almost no political rights, a historical legacy left over from the time of autonomous cities and the Sovereignty Wars.


    As the heart of the Republic, angering Sea Blue equated to angering the Republic of Vineta.


    The rage of Sea Blue City''s citizens was like boiling magma, causing the ruling committee to face immense public pressure for a time.


    The Governor of Debela had to personally intervene to calm the public, publicly promising to "bring back our children."


    Despite Debela''s fervent and impassioned vows, not a single Vinetian lieutenant could return home until the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was satisfied.


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    What would satisfy the people of Paratu?


    To give them back their officers that had been sent overseas.


    So, in reality, the Vineta Governor''s Office could do nothing.


    With Winters sent to Paratu, Antonio still stationed in Tanilia, the household in Sea Blue City was left with only Kosha and Elizabeth, along with Sofia who resided temporarily.


    Kosha wrote to Antonio, asking her husband to send someone to bring Winters back to Vineta. But Antonio, unusually, opposed his wife''s idea.


    Antonio''s reply was just one word ¡ª "Wait."


    However, the impatient Kosha couldn''t wait, which is why Xial travelled all the way from Sea Blue to Wolf Town carrying the letter.


    "Did my family receive my letter?" Winters felt something was amiss.


    "Letter? What letter?" Xial was equally surprised.


    "The one I sent through the church."


    "No, not received; at least I don''t know about it."


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked, "When did you leave Sea Blue?"


    "The month before last, six weeks ago."


    Winters'' letter was sent out only half a month ago, and six weeks ago he was still busy organizing militia. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Then how did you know I was in Wolf Town?" Winters grew more puzzled.


    "We have Miss Navarre to thank for that," Xial said with a mischievous smile. "Miss Navarre really does like you a lot, big brother Winters."


    Xial went on to explain the connection again, and Winters then learned that it was Anna, through the relations of Navarre Commerce, who had clarified his station in a town under the jurisdiction of Revodan City.


    Anna informed Kosha of this news, and shortly after, Xial and Gold set off from Sea Blue; at that time, Winters'' letter sent through the church hadn''t even been written.


    "When we left, we only knew you were near Revodan City, not in which specific town. So we had to search town by town," Xial said happily. "Thank goodness, we found you after searching just five towns!"


    "Hold on, are you saying that Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre both sent you?" Winters stressed the word "both" quite distinctly.


    "Yeah, I could have come alone," Xial said, casting a dissatisfied glance at Gold. "I don''t know why this pirate had to come along. He took the opportunity to extort a lot of money from the lady!"


    "With you? You wouldn''t have made it out of Vineta alive," Gold scorned Xial''s words and looked at Winters. "Sir, it was your mother and your fianc¨¦e who hired me. Although my price was a bit steep, it seems like your family is not short of money anyway."


    Xial huffed softly; he knew about Winters'' family situation but couldn''t be bothered to correct Gold.


    "That means my aunt already knows about Anna?" Winters suddenly realized this and felt a wave of dizziness.


    While Winters was still bewildered, Gold discreetly kicked Xial''s foot.


    "Alright!" the former pirate boss said gruffly: "We''ve already met Lord Montaigne, and there''s no one else here. Stop hiding it, just take it out."


    Struck by lightning, Xial stood petrified.


    With a sneer, Gold snatched the staff from Xial''s hand and snapped it over his knee.

 Chapter 25 Guest_3

    The walking stick snapped in the middle, and over a dozen objects with the thickness of fingers and a dark yellow metallic sheen fell from inside the stick onto the ground, clinking as they land.


    Winters picked up one of them and didn''t need to recognize it to know what it was.


    He raised his eyebrows, "Gold bars?"


    "Yes, gold bars, all twelve of them, not a single one missing. The lady and Miss Navarre asked me to bring these to you," Xial nodded as he spoke and then pulled out a small wooden tube from his trouser leg, "Miss Navarre also asked me to bring this to you. She said it contains documents, and you can take them to Albert the goldsmith at Kingsfort to exchange for Gold Coins."


    "This kid, so stupid, still thinks I don''t know," Gold chuckled, "Wherever he goes, he has to carry that broken stick around, even sleeps with it at night. Won''t let anyone else touch it, as if everyone else is a fool? If I had any ill intentions, would he still be alive? Even if I had no ill intentions, did he really think he could travel all the way here safely on his own?"


    Xial''s cheeks turned bright red, and he wanted to retort but couldn''t find the words in the moment.


    "Why are you bringing me money?" Winters asked.


    "The lady said you''re sure to need a lot of money, you definitely will need it while you''re out and about," Xial repeated honestly, "She also said that when you see the money you would understand what she means."


    Winters was short of money, but he also didn''t quite understand his aunt''s meaning.


    "Could she want me to spend the money to win over the Paratu People?" he wondered, "Or does it mean I could use this money to escape? But my military registration is still with Paratu, what happens if I run away?"


    There were twelve gold bars, each as thick as a thumb and as long as a middle finger, heavy in the hand.


    Winters took out six of them and handed them to Gold, "Captain Gold, thank you for protecting Xial on his journey here. I cannot express my gratitude enough, please accept my token of thanks."


    Xial''s eyes widened in surprise.


    "Although I would really like those gold bars, I can''t accept your money," Gold waved his hands, "I''ve already received payment from your family, and it wouldn''t be right to take money from both sides. Wouldn''t that make me a traitor?"


    Winters smiled, "Then, would it be okay if I hired you to escort Xial back?"


    Unexpectedly, Xial shouted, "Don''t be fooled by this pirate! I''m not going back! If you''re not going back, Brother Winters, neither am I! I''ll stay here to help you."


    "What nonsense are you talking, lad?" Winters couldn''t help but slap Xial on the head, "You''re not going back to Sea Blue, but staying here?"


    "Brother Winters, do you remember what I told you?" Xial looked straight into Winters'' eyes, "I made a vow that if I could save my brother, my life would belong to you from then on. How can you be here alone? I''ll stay and help you. I''ll do anything, be your follower, wash clothes, cook, clean, I can do it all."


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    Before Winters could retort, Gold spoke out in agreement.


    The pirate boss said earnestly, "Sir, things are different here compared to Vineta, back thereyou have many connections. But here, you don''t have a single person you can trust, and it''ll be too late when something actually happens. Besides, even if I took the lad away, he''d probably run back halfway through the journey. You should keep him with you."


    At that moment, Winters was at a loss for words.


    From outside the house Gerard''s voice came, followed by Dusack who pushed the door open and laughed, "Where did that handsome horse come from in the backyard? It seems to be a mare too! Winters, do you know whose it is? Eh... do you have guests?"


    "What? A horse?" Winters looked at Xial and Gold in surprise.


    "Yes, that''s right." Xial nodded, "I brought Strong Luck to you as well."


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 Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery

    Among the currencies circulated in the republics, the most popular are the Ducat Gold Coins minted by the central minting house of Sea Blue.


    [Note: The term "Ducat" originally meant "money coined by the Duke," used by many regimes to refer to their own issued currency. However, with the popularity of the Venetian Ducats, the term now specifically refers to Venetian Gold Coins.]


    The Venetian Ducats were almost pure gold, with a stable quality, so their value was the most robust. Large volume transactions were all priced in Ducats, making gold coins minted by other Alliance nations seem inferior by comparison.


    For example, consider the gold coin with a larger circulation volume¡ªthe Gold Coin of The Federated Provinces, usually ten of these coins were only worth seven Ducats, and if used for payment, compensation for the seller''s melting loss had to be provided.


    The value of Gold Coins minted in different years also varied slightly, generally, the newer the Gold Coins, the lower their value¡ªthe Federated Provinces'' mint increased the admixture of base metals in Gold Coins as time went on, and everyone was well aware of this.


    Therefore, using Gold Coins was quite inconvenient, even less capable of challenging the position of Ducats.


    Not only within the borders of the Senas Alliance but even merchants in the Empire and the Near East were very willing to trade in Ducats. As a result, the large annual outflow of gold coins also caused some trouble for the Republic of Vineta.


    Thus, merchants and craftsmen who traveled among the republics directly called Ducats "Gold [gold]", while other types of gold coins had different names.


    For most people in the Alliance, Ducats were equivalent to pure gold and represented one of the primary forms of coming into contact with gold. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    But the gold that Kexia and Anna brought was an entirely different kind¡ªgold bars weighing close to 200 grams each, so valuable that Winters had no way of using them. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Each 3.56 gram Ducat rarely circulated in the market due to their high value, let alone these gold bars, one of which was worth 56 Ducats.


    Kexia said that Winters would understand her intentions upon seeing the gold bars, but the only use Winters could think of was for bribery.


    Yet Winters, a stranger in the lands, didn''t even have the means to bribe anyone, nor could he afford to leave his fellow comrades and head out alone.


    Having supported each other during the arduous siege warfare, shared tents and hot meals in the bone-chilling winter of the archipelago, and survived the campaign in Tanilia together, the bonds between this group of Venetian military academy graduates were far stronger than those of their predecessors.


    Though there was currently no place to spend money, making the gold bars as good as lead weights. Suddenly having a large amount of disposable precious metals alleviated Winters'' anxiety and pressure unconsciously by a great deal,


    Money just has that kind of magic.


    ...


    Xial got his wish and stayed by Winters'' side, while Gold didn''t stay in Wolf Town for too long.


    The day after, the pirate leader set off, and Winters saw him off all the way to the Blackwater River ferry.


    "I''ll leave the rest to you, Captain Gold," Winters said gravely, saluting Gold.


    "No big deal," Gold laughed heartily, "You''re not afraid I''ll take the money and run."


    "That I''m not worried about," Winters also said with a smile, "Just don''t tell Miss Navarre I gave the gold notes away."


    Gold carried not only Winters'' reply but also the promissory note from Kingsfort''s goldsmith, Albert.


    The goldsmith''s promissory note, brought by Anna through Xial, essentially serves as a receipt that can be exchanged for predeposited gold at the goldsmith''s.


    With various purities, money circulated on the market before, so people needed to take gold and silver to the goldsmith to mint into coins of uniform specifications.


    Goldsmiths had not only safes but also armed guards. Gradually, people realized that gold was safer in the hands of a goldsmith than in their possession.


    Goldsmiths honor the note, not the person, and give gold upon presentation of the note. As a result, gold notes have also evolved into a form of currency, widely used and traded by merchants for being convenient and discreet to carry.


    According to Winters'' request, Gold would first go to Kingsfort to exchange the promissory note for gold coins, then deliver the map and gold coins to Venetian lieutenants scattered throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The Venetians probably weren''t having the best of times. Now that Winters was no longer short of money, he hoped to provide as much help to others as he could.


    It was a difficult assignment since Winters neither knew how many of his peers had been assigned to the Newly Reclaimed Land nor the specific locations of the others.


    For Andre and Bard, Winters had Xial deliver four gold bars to each of them. The remaining Venetians would have to be located by Gold, searching one town at a time.


    "Mr. Gold, I really don''t know how to thank you... truly, thank you," Winters sincerely thanked the former enemy from the bottom of his heart.


    "Don''t mention it, what''s there to thank?" Gold showed a gold tooth with a grin, "It''s not like I''m doing this for free, I''m getting paid."


    After saying that, Gold laughed heartily, spurred his horse in the ribs, and took off at a gallop.


    As Winters watched his old acquaintance leave, he suddenly understood the feelings of Lieutenant Mason.


    ...


    Just as Colonel Castor and Lieutenant Mason said, a week after Xial and Gold arrived in Wolf Town, in mid-September, a military courier brought three items to Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The newspaper, next quarter''s salary, and a conscription order from the New Reclamation Legion.


    The content of the order was brief and vague about the specific plan, with only a few words explaining the requirements and timing.


    Quoting part of the original text:


    "Issued under the honorable and inviolable ''Treaty of Torde'' by Major General of the Republic of Palatu, Legion Commander of the New Reclamation Legion, and recipient of the Violet Medal, Kevin J. Adams."

 Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery_2

    "The village of Wolfton under the jurisdiction of the Federated Counties is obliged to provide militia as support troops when the New Reclamation Legion needs them,"


    Stripped of its verbose formalities, the specific content of the request was that Wolfton provide a full hundred-man militia, with no weapons required on their part, and conscription limited to able-bodied males between the ages of 15 and 35.


    The muster rolls had to be sent to Revodan town''s garrison by October 15, with the exact assembly location and time to be notified separately.


    The tone of this levying order didn''t seem to come from the Republic; it rather resembled the demands of a noble from the old times, requiring his vassals to fulfill their fealty.


    They were only concerned with taking men, with no regard for anything else.


    It''s known that the less detailed the instructions and the broader the mandate, the more leeway is left to the executors.


    Apart from quality control in conscription, the order signed by General Adams had no restrictions. In the hands of some with ill intentions, it wouldn''t be difficult to ruin ordinary farming families. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire


    Winters found this surprising, but Gerard and the commoners from various villages in Wolf Town had grown accustomed to it.


    After the orders were read aloud in the villages, the villagers had no objections to the method of conscription; their only concern was the number of conscripts.


    Many villagers murmured, "Last time they only levied forty, why are they taking eighty now?" A few literate villagers even plucked up the courage to ask to see the original drafting order.


    However, the commands were clearly written in black and white on the sealed order, and though there was dissatisfaction, people merely complained a few words. In front of Winters and Gerard, no one dared to openly oppose.


    Winters hadn''t expected the people of Wolf Town to accept so naturally the necessity of conscription. The reading of the orders went very smoothly, hardly needing him to say a word.


    Back at the security office, Winters invited Gerard, Father Caman, and Brother Reed to discuss conscription methods.


    "Don''t worry too much; Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before, everyone is used to it," Gerard sensed Winters'' unease: "If you ask me, we should stick with the old way, drawing lots."


    Father Caman shook his head: "Drawing lots alone probably won''t do. Previously we only conscripted forty, which wasn''t too many. This time we need to take eighty, all young and strong men from the villages. If a family has two members drawn, the remaining elderly, women, and children will have a hard time. There might be some who desert."


    Gerard, in thought, said: "What about drawing lots, and those not drawn contribute some money as compensation?"


    "That might work," Father Caman said, holding his necklace: "But we need to get the compensation amount right. Some families are poor, some are rich, we should take that into account."


    Gerard and Caman discussed back and forth.


    But what Winters was more curious about was what Gerard had mentioned, "Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before."


    "What was the previous conscription like?" Winters asked.


    "Ah," Gerard sighed, "Every time we fought with the Herders, be it a large or small skirmish, we had to conscript. Before we had a Garrison Officer here, I was the one leading our men."


    The new lands were not only heavily taxed, but the corv¨¦e was more frequent than Winters had imagined.


    Seeing Winters'' furrowed brow, Gerard quickly added: "They say militia, but actually it''s just laborers, hardly ever having to go into battle. Mostly doing odd jobs, carrying things, escorting supply materials."


    "Fighting the Herders? What do you mean?" Winters'' focus was not on what Gerard said: "You''ve fought them many times?"


    "Isn''t that obvious?" snorted Brother Reed: "On the east of Palatu lies Vineta and The Federated Provinces, and to the west the Herder tribes. If we don''t fight the Herders, do we make war with our allies instead?"


    "Why didn''t I hear much about Paratu fighting with the Herders while I was in The Federated Provinces and Vineta?"


    "Would everyone buzz with excitement over a dog biting a man?" the old monk scoffed, "It''s only notable when a man bites a dog. What''s so special about highlanders and Herders fighting? Especially for you Venetians, what do you care about other than money? Have you ever cared about Paratu, unless, let''s say, Paratu discovers a gold mine one day? I guarantee by the next day every Venetian would know."


    Winters disregarded the old mystic''s sarcastic tone and pursued, "What I mean is... why fight?"


    "Why fight?" Reed laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke, "You should ask, when have they ever stopped fighting?"


    He stood up, dipped his finger in the liquor, and began to trace on the table, quickly sketching the rough outline of the Paratu plateau. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The Herders are not a monolith; various factions and the Paratu People fight small battles every three years and large ones every five, with a history of warring back and forth for at least several hundred years. If we go back to the westward expansion of the Ancient Empire, it''s been over a thousand years. Today''s Paratu People are just Empire-ized Herders, originally one of the factions themselves. It''s just that the Paratu People don''t acknowledge it."


    As the old monk drew on the table, he continued, "In the last hundred years, there were times that Paratu People and the Herders had their victories and defeats. The factions even once made it all the way to Kingsfort, with the Duke of Paratu shivering in the castle, letting the Herders burn, kill, and loot at will."


    The old mendicant suddenly stopped, calculated with his fingers, and sighed, "Come to think of it, that was sixty years ago."


    Winters, Gerard, and Father Caman were all listening intently.


    "And then?" Winters asked.


    "Then the Herders played themselves to death. Internal strife, division, disputes over clan leadership, the same old story," the old monk sneered, "while the Paratu People received arms from The Federated Provinces and gold from Vineta. Given the situation, the balance tipped, and of course, the Herders couldn''t hold out. The place where you''re sitting right now used to be the land of the Herder''s Suta Faction, and now it has become the Paratu Newly Reclaimed Land, hasn''t it?"


    The old monk tilted his head towards Father Caman, "The church in Wolf Town was a chapel built by heretic missionaries who came to the Suta Faction in the early years. That''s why the wall paintings depict Arianism. Didn''t you know?"


    "What are you saying?" Father Caman was stunned.


    "Go back and have a good look. See if the depiction of the divine child on the paintings gradually changes from beardless to bearded. This implies that the divine child is a man, which is the doctrine of Arianism." The mendicant chuckled, "Those who came to take over the church property didn''t know a thing. They took over as is, and the paintings remained unmodified. I didn''t have the heart to mention it to old Anthony; it would have killed him."


    "Where did the Suta Faction go?" Winters asked.


    "Where else? They''re all in heaven now." The old monk pointed at Gerard, "Mr. Michel here contributed his part as well."


    Gerard, who was initially absorbed by the conversation, jumped, startled at being called out, and after a moment slowly answered, "When we Dusans first arrived in Paratu, the Newly Reclaimed Land was indeed not reclaimed yet."


    Remembering the Herders on Red Sulfur Island who were desperate to return home and were fearless in death, Winters couldn''t help but sigh, "You mean the war between the Kingdom of Galloping Horses and the Herder factions has never stopped?"


    "Pretty much," the old monk blinked, "There''s been fighting and pauses in between. Overall, it''s never really stopped."


    Winters thought of the war between Vineta and the islands, "Are the Herders wealthy?"


    "No, on the contrary, the Herders are poor. So in the past, it was always the Herder factions attacking and the Paratu People defending," the old monk explained, pointing at the map on the table, "But now it''s different; now it''s the Paratu People attacking and the Herders defending. The Kingdom of Galloping Horses craves more land and can''t attack The Federated Provinces or Vineta, so naturally, they move westward."


    "Isn''t there unclaimed territory further west?" Winters had been to the west bank of Big Horn River not long before.


    "I think this time they want that hundred-kilometer-wide unclaimed area," the old monk stroked his beard, "The Paratu People rely on plunder to wage war. The more they fight, the more they need the spoils of war, and the more they need the spoils, the more they have to continue fighting, like rolling a snowball... But this doesn''t concern you. Rest easy, the people of Wolf Town will definitely support the war against the Herders. If the compensation is reasonable, it won''t be hard to put together a hundred-man militia."


    "Why?" Winters grew more puzzled, "Are there still people willing to fight? I mean, the poor... Even the poor are willing to fight?"


    "Kid, you''ve got it all wrong," Reed narrowed his eyes and spoke mysteriously, "In the Republic of Paratu, those most eager for war with the Herders are exactly the ''poor families'' you''re talking about."

 Chapter 27 Revodan

    Three days after the conscription orders reached Wolf Town, dawn broke on the third morning.


    As the sky began to light up, lines of four-wheeled farm carts streamed out from the estates of Wolf Town, converging in the town center before making their way toward Revodan City.


    Over a hundred carts stretched out in a long line on the road, with the front and rear being a kilometer apart, their squeaking axles audible from a great distance.


    Fully armed and agile riders occasionally dashed past the sluggish carts, patrolling back and forth along the caravan.


    Following the lay of the land, the road meandered and twisted into the distance, with most of the journey crossing through deserted areas.


    The wilderness and meadows dominated the scenery along the route, and whenever the caravan passed through a forest, everyone''s nerves instantly tensed.


    Even the laziest of drivers would snap to attention, pulling out daggers and crossbows to keep at hand, vigilantly watching the dark woods on either side of the path.


    Only once the caravan had left the forest would the drivers dare to breathe a sigh of relief, kicking their weapons back under their seats and slipping back into their usual listless demeanor.


    The riders patrolling at the very front of the caravan were none other than Winters and Gerard, and the riders were Dusacks hired by the estate owners.


    Although Wolf Town had received conscription orders, life still had to go on.


    The farmers'' crops needed to be harvested, and the autumn sowing had to be done; tobacco, cotton, and beets harvested by the estates needed to be sold.


    The output of most estates had already been secured by merchant houses through advance payments.


    But for the merchants, the risk and cost of transport were too high, so the estate owners had to transport their goods themselves to Revodan City for delivery.


    Therefore, every year around this time, the estate owners of Wolf Town would arrange a time to jointly transport their goods to Revodan City, which was why the grand caravan seen now had come into being.


    Band together for warmth, a measure born of necessity.


    Oppressive governance, oppressive as a tiger¡ªthe authoritarian policies of Palatu''s higher-ups in the Newly Reclaimed Land inevitably led to rampant banditry.


    Theft, poaching, tax evasion, unauthorized farming... Any one of these charges could drive otherwise law-abiding farmers to desperate measures, exchanging violence for sustenance and devolving into robbers and bandits.


    If the times turned tough¡ªif temperatures remained low all year, summers were cool and damp, winters were long and icy¡ªcrop failures would occur, and famine would follow.


    Then it wouldn''t just be the Newly Reclaimed Land, the Republic of Palatu, or the Senas Alliance... Across the entire continent, numerous farmers would go bankrupt, starve, and turn to banditry.


    [Note: The people of this era were not aware that they were experiencing what later generations would call the "Little Ice Age."] S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Most of the Newly Reclaimed Lands of the Republic of Palatu were covered by pristine forests and meadows, scattered with sporadic villages and a few small towns with populations of just one or two thousand.


    The only larger city was Maplestone City, the capital of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, where the legion was stationed.


    In such sparsely populated frontier regions, without the protection of city walls or the vigilance of neighbors, any lonely farmhouse encountering a few strong men armed with makeshift weapons could only submit to their mercy.


    As a result, most farmers in the Newly Reclaimed Lands lived in close-knit communities, with few isolated farmhouses far from villages.


    Rural dirt roads, the borders between towns, and the forests near cities¡ªthese places all lay beyond the reach of help and were rife with banditry.


    In Wolf Town, thanks to Gerard Mitchell at the helm, the days were peaceful.


    Gerard ruled with benevolence, supported wholeheartedly by the Dusacks, so Wolf Town itself did not breed bandits.


    Outlaws from elsewhere found no assistance from the locals, ending up like fish out of water. The brighter ones would flee immediately, while the dimmer ones were easily eradicated by Gerard leading the Dusacks.


    After disposing of a group of bandits with some notoriety, few rogue villains dared to cause trouble within the jurisdiction of Wolf Town.


    But there were one hundred and twenty-four administrative regions in the Newly Reclaimed Lands at the same level as Wolf Town; the peace in Wolf Town had little to no effect on the larger environment.


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    To the gangs of thieves, the heavily laden, slow-moving, defenseless farm cart caravans were simply an irresistible feast.


    Each year at this time, small groups of bandits would even spontaneously band together to form larger gangs to rob the merchant caravans on their way to the city.


    After paying a bloody price several times, the estate owners of Wolf Town thus banded together for warmth, hiring riders from Dusa Village to protect the caravan.


    "A few years ago, there was a particularly notorious bandit, nicknamed ''Bloody Hand Schutte,''" Gerard recounted vividly to Winters as they rode side by side, sharing the legends of the robbers of the Newly Reclaimed Land: "That guy didn''t just rob and kill, he would even chop off people''s hands and pickle them in salt barrels. It''s said that when the legion gendarmes caught him, they found over a hundred severed hands, unable to tell which belonged to whom."


    Winters, indignant, said, "It took the murder of dozens before he was caught, what were the gendarmes of the Newly Reclaimed Lands doing? I was a gendarme too, if my old commanding officer Colonel Field were here..."


    Words stirred memories, and suddenly recalling the fallen Colonel Field and the pacts made over heavy drinking in Golden Harbor, Winters''s voice grew quieter and quieter, until he could no longer continue.


    "It''s the local government''s responsibility to capture thieves, the stationed legions don''t get involved," Gerard sighed, "The legion gendarmes only went after Bloody Hand because he overstepped, robbing the legions'' own supply convoys."


    Sergei, who was nearby, perked up and interjected enthusiastically, "There''s also a joke. It goes like this: a peddler was on his way to the city when he encountered a robber. Just then, a troop of gendarmes happened by. The peddler shouted for help, but the gendarmes ignored him. Desperate, the peddler yelled, ''I haven''t paid my taxes,'' and immediately the gendarmes charged over, drove away the robber, and took the peddler all the way to the city."

 Chapter 27 Revodan_2

    Having said that, Sergei burst into laughter.


    Two riders were seen galloping back from ahead, Pierre and Vashka. Gerard, always cautious, had sent out a few horsemen earlier to scout the path.


    "Dad!" Pierre called out impatiently from afar, "The Panto River basin is flooding!"


    Vashka too looked panicked, "The water is already reaching the horses'' backs, what do we do?"


    The drivers in front heard their shouts and quickly pulled on the reins to stop the big wagons. The drivers behind them also hurriedly stopped, and the wagons came to a halt one after another.


    Sergei, seeing his son''s flustered state, rebuked him dissatisfiedly, "What''s all the panic about? Are you even a Dusack? It''s such a small matter, and you''re scared like this?"


    "These two kids are out with the convoy for the first time; they''ve got little experience," Gerard explained to Winters, "This area is downstream, when it rains upstream, the downstream floods. It''s common to not be able to traverse by foot."


    "So what do we do?"


    Gerard pointed northwards, "Take a detour, to Wolf Town. There''s a bridge over the Panto River in Wolf Town. It''ll just take a little more time, and we''ll have to pay some extra tolls, that''s all."


    Gerard and his old companion exchanged glances and then nodded at Sergei.


    Sergei turned his mount and sped towards the rear of the caravan, shouting orders as he rode, "Detour! Detour! Head to Wolf Town! Keep up with the front wagons! Keep up with the front wagons!"


    "The turn-off for Wolf Town is behind us, we already passed it. But it''s difficult to turn around on the road, keep going and find a good spot to circle back!" Gerard commanded the lead wagon''s driver, "Follow me."


    The drivers whipped their beasts hard, and with piercing friction sounds, the horses neighing, the wagons were dragged forward as the convoy continued onward.


    Gerard apologized to Winters, "I guess this will delay us by another day on the road."


    "No problem, we''re not in a rush for a day or two," Winters replied with a smile.


    The reason why Winters was also in the convoy was secondary to providing protection¡ªthe massive convoy was not short on men capable of wielding a sword.


    The primary purpose of Lieutenant Winters Montagne was to visit the garrison in Revodan City. The content of the military draft order was too vague, and there were some critical issues that urgently needed clarification.


    Although the draft notice had been distributed for a few days, there was no progress with the conscription work in Wolf Town. No lots had been drawn, no training had occurred¡ªnothing.


    It wasn''t that Winters was intentionally dragging his feet, but rather because it was the busy farming season, and drafting men at this time would mean destroying the peasants'' year of hard work.


    The Paratu Plateau has a low latitude and high altitude, where the air currents from both the north and south are blocked by towering mountains. The precipitation mainly comes from the monsoons blowing from Senas Bay to the plateau.


    This is why the crops in Paratu usually follow the pattern of double cropping in a year or triple cropping in two years.


    Right now, in the fields of the villages in Wolf Town, the spring-planted crops needed harvesting and drying, while the fall-planted crops¡ªlike winter wheat¡ªwere waiting to be sown.


    Ordinary peasants were frantic with gathering harvests, drying grains, and sowing seeds while the Dusans had an additional task¡ªgrass cutting. After each household had their assigned pastures, men and women, young and old, had to join forces to cut and dry grass to feed the livestock in the winter.


    Peasants with less farmland finished their own field work and then went to help other households short on labor in exchange for some grain to supplement their household.


    At such a time, drafting peasants was something Winters could not bear to do. Fortunately, there was still some time before the deadline, so there was no need to rush.


    Therefore, it was a good time for Lieutenant Winters Montagne to make a trip to Revodan City and clarify the vague terms in the drafting order, as the lieutenant had many questions for his immediate superior.


    The most critical question¡ªand one that sounded quite absurd¡ªwas whether the drafted militia legally counted as "soldiers" or "peasants."


    For the villagers of Wolf Town, this question was downright ludicrous.


    Peasants? Soldiers?


    What''s the difference? Isn''t it all just work?


    If you asked the peasants of Wolf Town, they would unanimously respond, "Whichever allows me to serve less is the one for me."


    But Brother Reed had an exceedingly creative idea. Conscription was a heavy blow to any family, but the old mendicant monk''s idea might turn a misfortune into a blessing. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he often said, "Celican proverb: Calamity is where fortune leans, fortune where calamity hides."


    But all this hinged on clarifying whether the "militia really counted as civilians or soldiers."


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    If one rode a horse from Wolf Town to Revodan City, covering sixty kilometers per day, it would take roughly two days one way.


    But for the slow-moving farmer''s wagons, traveling twenty kilometers a day was already the limit. With the detour through Wolf Town, it took a full seven days to reach Revodan City.


    Gerard and Winters enforced military discipline on the convoy, sending out scouts ahead, positioning rear guards, patrolling back and forth during the day, and taking turns standing watch at night.


    After several days of travel, everyone was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But most of the drivers and Dusacks were not on their first convoy and managed to grit their teeth and bear it silently.


    On the other hand, Pierre, Vashka, and other young Dusacks who were with the convoy for the first time soon lost their enthusiasm and began to incessantly complain. By the last few days, they became too lazy to patrol and simply refused to get off the wagons.


    A few incidents such as broken axles and overturned wagons occurred along the way, but thanks to Winters and Gerard''s capable handling, there were no casualties. Gerard had specifically brought a few empty wagons just to anticipate such accidents.


    Besides these minor hiccups, the journey was safe and smooth, with no ill-intentioned bandits causing trouble, which was fortunate indeed.

 Chapter 27 Revodan_3

    After all, one big cart might be considered prey, but a hundred big carts would make the predator consider the risk of breaking its teeth.


    Luckily, the rain that Gerard was most worried about did not happen, and the caravan arrived in Revodan city without any incident.


    As soon as the bell tower of the Revodan Cathedral came into view, Winters set out ahead to the military encampment, and Gerard enthusiastically offered to accompany him.


    "Is that okay? Don''t you need to follow the caravan?" Winters felt embarrassed to trouble old Dusack further.


    "No problem," Gerard said cheerily, "Just need to deliver the tobacco to the warehouse, I''m not needed there. Besides, you don''t know the way to the garrison, let me lead you. I know Major Ronald, I can introduce you."


    With Gerard''s enthusiasm, Winters had no reason to decline, and the two of them left the caravan and galloped towards the center of Revodan City.


    As the capital of Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and Iron Peak County, Revodan could only be called a "city" and not a "town" because it had a downtown area but no city walls.


    Just like all naturally formed settlements, from the perspective of modern people, the geographical conditions of this city were exceptionally favorable.


    The downtown area was situated in the middle of a valley, with the land beneath being firm and flat. The St. George River flowed around the city, providing fresh water for the citizens of Revodan and carrying away the filth.


    The most conspicuous building in the whole city was the towering Revodan Cathedral in the center of the downtown area, whose spire topped with a bell tower was visible to travelers from kilometers away.


    "Revodan Cathedral is really something. Big! Tall!" Old Dusack, not good with words, turned beet red trying to express himself, and after a while, he found another adjective: "Gorgeous! Oh yes, the grave of Saint Ados lies within the cathedral! It''s said that no matter how severe the illness, one touch can restore health. I haven''t tried it though, firstly because I''m not sick, and secondly, because the priests won''t allow it..."


    Throughout the ride, Gerard introduced Revodan City to Winters, who listened attentively.


    One spoke, the other listened, and soon, the two arrived at the banks of the St. George River.


    "They say this place is called Lover''s Forest." Gerard pointed to a sparse woodland on the opposite side of the downtown area, to the west of the road, and said, "Anyway, it''s where men and women go to do that thing."


    Hearing this, Winters couldn''t help but take a few extra glances at the little woodland.


    But it was still daytime, and there wasn''t a soul in the woods; nothing seemed particularly special about it.


    There was only one wooden bridge over the St. George River, where an old man dressed in a coarse friar''s robe dozed off in a pavilion at the head of the bridge.


    Seeing the two riders approach, the old man hobbled to the wooden barrier that served as a block and made a gesture of blessing: "Good day, may God bless you."


    "Good day, father," Gerard returned the gesture: "How much is the toll for the bridge today?"


    "One silver coin for a horse, a quarter silver coin for each person."


    As Gerard counted out the silver coins, Winters frowned and asked, "Are you a clergyman?"


    "Of course."


    "Clergy from the cathedral?"


    "Of course," the old man replied puzzled: "What about it?"


    "Then why are you collecting money here?"


    The old man made another blessing gesture and rambled on in explanation: "This bridge belongs to the Revodan Cathedral, so there''s a toll for crossing. However, city residents, clergy members, and the cathedral''s servants don''t have to pay..."


    Gerard handed over three silver coins to the old man: "Father, please use the rest to buy some wood for warmth."


    The old man gave thanks for the gesture and moved aside the wooden barrier.


    After the two horsemen crossed, the old man struggled to move the wood back into place.


    Seeing this, Winters turned back, dismounted, and lifted the wood: "You go back and sit."


    The old man expressed his gratitude repeatedly and hobbled back to the pavilion.


    Winters shook his head secretly, thinking to himself that what he had actually wanted to ask was, "How can they make such an old man do this kind of work?"


    After crossing the bridge, they entered the downtown area of Revodan, and on the way to the garrison, Winters passed by the great cathedral.


    It was only a fleeting glance, but this towering stone structure was truly majestic and... indeed, brilliant and resplendent.


    The barracks were housed in a two-story stone building with white walls and red tiles, surrounded by a wooden fence that formed a large courtyard. On the other side of the courtyard was a row of barracks, with a flat drill ground in between the barracks and the building.


    The guards at the gate recognized Gerard and waved the two of them in. Instead of going straight upstairs, Gerard led Winters to the stables in the back yard to store the horses first.


    As Winters handed the reins to the coachman, Gerard Mitchell''s face turned red with embarrassment as he said, "Lieutenant, there''s something I''ve been thinking about for a long time, and I need to ask for your help. Please, you must help me."


    The sudden request caught Winters off guard. He had a bad feeling about this, but still answered, "What is it?"


    "I hope you won''t find it abrupt," Gerard became more earnest.


    "Go on," Winters began to sweat even more.


    "I''m really embarrassed, and this is quite presumptuous."


    "Go on."


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    "I''ve thought about this for a long time before mustering the courage to ask."


    "Go on."


    "You..." Gerard bit his lip, saying awkwardly, "could you let the colt your family sent over mate with my family''s mare?"


    Winters almost had a stroke, "That''s it?"


    "Of course, it would be for a fee. I know the rules," Old Dusack hastily added.


    The colt Gerard mentioned referred to not Redmane, but Strongwind.


    While Winters had been fighting in Tanilia, Strongwind had stayed at Sea Blue''s house. When Kosha sent Xial to find Winters, she had Xial bring Strongwind along as well.


    Winters guessed that it also meant something like "riding this horse back home."


    From the moment Gerard saw Strongwind, he could hardly take his eyes off him, hanging around Strongwind whenever he had the chance, which made Winters think he wanted to buy Strongwind.


    "Mr. Mitchell," Winters shook Gerard''s hand sincerely, "Please, use him for breeding, as much as you like."


    Old Dusack was all smiles, rubbing his hands together without knowing quite what to say.


    "However, I''ve heard that the mare might be more important," Winters queried.


    "The quality of the mare is certainly important, but so is that of the colt," Gerard suddenly said with sadness. "After Hanu was killed by a bear, my family hasn''t had a decent colt... anyway, let''s drop it."


    Gerard waved his hand and led Winters into the two-story building. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To Winters'' surprise, every officer and soldier in the barracks seemed to know Gerard, all greeting Old Dusack.


    Thus, with ease, the two men met the commander of the Revodan barracks, Winters'' direct superior¡ªMajor Ronald.


    Whether it was because of Gerard''s introduction or their alumni relationship, Major Ronald was very friendly to Winters.


    He inquired carefully about Winters'' difficulties, what assistance he needed, and even introduced Winters to the other officers at the barracks.


    "I am only a few classes ahead of you," the Major said with sympathy, patting Winters on the shoulder. "I''ve heard a bit about your situation. For now, just bear with it. We''re in the middle of a manpower shortage, and those higher up won''t let anyone go. Once the war is won, everything will be easier to talk about."


    The Paratu Army, from top to bottom, made Winters feel a stark contrast. Every Paratu-born officer he met was very nice and friendly.


    Yet it was precisely this collective representation of all Paratu officers that was detaining him here, preventing him from going home.


    Of course, Winters had not forgotten the purpose of his visit. He had some important questions that needed clarification.


    In Paratu''s law, were militiamen considered "labourers" or "soldiers"?


    "They are soldiers," Major Ronald gave a definitive answer, bringing documents to support it.


    Then Winters'' second question:


    Is Dusack''s conscription as a militiaman... also considered service?

 Chapter 28 Regulatory Arbitrage

    In the eyes of Palatu law, whether militia are considered "common laborers" or "soldiers" doesn''t matter to other ethnic groups¡ªthey''re all there to do a job anyway.


    But for the Dusacks, the distinction couldn''t be more significant.


    If militia are "soldiers," then Dusacks serving as militia could offset their service time, even though the work they actually do is that of common laborers.


    This was an idea from Brother Reed, who, after a couple bottles of wine, couldn''t keep his mouth shut.


    The surviving elders of the Dusacks had all sworn an oath to Marshal Ned thirty years ago, formally aligning themselves with the Republic of Palatu, and eventually settling and multiplying into what is now the Newly Reclaimed Land of the Dusans.


    And their descendants, upon coming of age for service, would swear the oath anew.


    But within all the oaths, only "eternal loyalty" and "service" were mentioned, without specifying the form of service, leaving room for interpretation.


    For the Dusacks, serving meant being soldiers, killing, and cleaving down with horse sabers¡ªit was a matter of course.


    They failed to see the significant loophole in the system¡ªthat militia were soldiers too, and serving as militia also counted as service. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, for every day a Dusack joins the militia, in theory, their future period of service could be theoretically reduced by one day.


    Although it''s essentially exploiting a loophole, the Dusacks would be pleased since it lowers the risks associated with their duty;


    The other four villages of Wolf Town would be happy too since they would have fewer people to send;


    Winters would also be pleased, as he turned a bad situation into something of a mixed bag;


    The only one probably not happy would be the Republic of Palatu, but what ruled the Republic was a clumsy, massive, bloated system of power.


    It was so slow to react that it could take a long while to notice a minor cut, and it''s highly unlikely that it would make a fuss over a small advantage taken.


    This "transformation of civilians into soldiers" tactic was proudly hailed by the old charlatan as "exploiting the system."


    The old man had even more outrageous strategies: The precondition for the Dusacks to be granted land was to complete a term of service, but the definition of a term of service was equally vague. Serving in militia auxiliary units and automatically concluding service upon their disbandment¡ªdoesn''t that count as "completing a term of service"?


    Then there were even more outrageous, utterly shameless strategies: The "Teldorf Accord" stipulates that in times of emergency, the Garrison Officer has the right to conscript civilians to form militia units.


    But what constitutes an emergency? The "Teldorf Accord" didn''t elaborate, thus the interpretation naturally fell into the hands of the Garrison Officer.


    And a town-level militia unit was still a militia, legally equal to the militia conscripted by a legion, meaning that serving in a town-level militia counted as service.


    So theoretically, Winters could simply declare an "emergency in Wolfton" and establish a nominal militia to allow the young Dusacks to serve their term until they were granted land.


    Reed''s continual exploitation of the system left Lieutenant Montaigne dazzled and speechless. The poor lieutenant had attended a military academy from the age of nine and had never seen a "system exploiter" like Reed who could push every loophole to its limit.


    Compared to other system-exploiting strategies, the initial method seemed like child''s play, barely counting as taking advantage of the public.


    "But you''ve got to be careful, son. The last two tricks aren''t just bloodletting with a small knife, they''re chopping off toes with a big axe!" Brother Reed, even in his inebriated state, didn''t forget to warn Winters, "You''re forcing officials to close the loopholes and you will definitely provoke retaliation from the authorities. So don''t overdo it. Let the Dusacks serve as militia and accumulate some service time, perfectly solving the source of the militia. If higher-ups ever call it into question, you''ll have an excuse."


    However, the old monk was clearly overthinking it, because the mere tactic of "transforming civilians into soldiers" had already turned Lieutenant Montaigne''s world upside down. As for more aggressive, greedier system exploitation, Winters hadn''t even considered them.


    Not expecting to change the Dusans'' way of life, Winters was content with contributing something modest to Wolf Town. At the Revodan garrison, he received a satisfactory response.


    ... Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire


    Major Ronald had some hesitation initially, but Captain Apel, the head of the garrison archives, brought up a case from eight years prior to support Winters'' claim.


    Eight years ago in Dastone Town, which was also under the jurisdiction of Iron Peak County, the town''s military officer urgently called upon the Dusacks to form a militia to suppress bandits. During the process, a young Dusack who was not yet of age unfortunately died in battle.


    It was customary for Dusacks to serve at the age of twenty. But in rural areas, marriages happened early, and many Dusacks already had children before reaching the age to serve and obtain land.


    The young Dusack who died fighting bandits in Dastone Town left behind a son, a daughter, and a widow.


    After the militia disbanded post-bandit suppression, the Dusacks of Dastone Town went all the way up to the headquarters of the garrisoned legion to petition.


    They hoped the legion would recognize the death of the underage Dusack as "fallen in service."


    Because the only way an un-landed Dusack''s son could inherit land until he came of age was through the father''s death in service, otherwise the death was in vain.


    The petition eventually landed on the desk of then-Legion Commander General Ferenc, who was deeply moved upon learning that the deceased Dusack had been pierced by several arrows yet continued to fight the bandits until his death.


    General Ferenc personally approved the fallen as "killed in service," and the injured were also recognized as "wounded in service," to be given commendation.


    This case from eight years ago provided the support for Winters'' claim.


    Even if it came to a debate in military court, to reject Winters'' claim would mean to overturn General Ferenc''s precedent first.

 Chapter 28 Regulatory Arbitrage_2

    Winters was completely unaware that such an incident had occurred eight years ago, but since there was already a similar precedent, that was certainly for the best. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After much consideration, Major Ronald reluctantly said to Winters and Gerard, "This conscription will proceed as you wish, but whether future conscriptions can still be done this way... I''ll have to consult with the legion headquarters."


    All archival materials of the Dusacks in the county were managed by the garrison, and Major Ronald, as the highest military commander of Iron Peak County, had a considerable degree of autonomy.


    He nodded, and with that, the matter was settled.


    For a moment, Winters was also very excited, after all, he had never thought about the future, and everyone, including himself, believed that Winters Montagne would not stay in Paratu for long.


    As Major Ronald was seeing Winters and Gerard out, he sighed unintentionally, "A son is not a creditor of his parents, but he can suck their blood even more than a creditor."


    "Hmm? Did the Major agree just to save Mr. Michel''s face?" Winters thought to himself.


    He looked at Gerard, only to find that the old Dusack''s face was ashen and he was silent.


    "Senior, thank you for lending a hand today."


    Stepping out of the garrison''s gate, Winters sincerely thanked Captain Apel. If it weren''t for the captain citing the precedent, they would not have been able to convince Major Ronald so easily.


    To his surprise, Captain Apel merely replied indifferently, "I was not helping you, I was just stating facts. But if you ask me, it was really Mr. Michel''s influence that was more effective."


    After this, the captain greeted the two men and turned back to the garrison building.


    Outside the garrison walls, only Winters and Gerard were left, along with two horses.


    "Lieutenant, do you want the kids to join the militia now to idle away their time, so they serve less when they are of age?" the moment the captain left, Gerard asked impatiently.


    Winters noticed the old Dusack''s unusual upset, "It''s not idling away time, serving in the militia auxiliary force is just as legally valid as any other service."


    "I disagree! This is exploiting a loophole! It is opportunism! It is stealing!" Gerard, for the first time since they met, shouted at Winters, "Dusacks are the kind of men who would rob but never steal! When it''s their turn to serve, they should do so honestly, and if they don''t want to serve, well, they might as well rebel! They should never engage in these sneaky tricks! We took a blood oath with the old marshal!"


    Normally cheerful, Gerard suddenly erupted with emotion, and Winters did not know how to respond, "Please be assured, all of this is legally sound."


    "But what about conscience? Our blood oath? God is watching from the clouds!" As he spoke, the old Dusack''s energy deflated, and he muttered to himself, "Nobody wants to send their boy to the battlefield, who am I to tell others how to manage their children? Ah, you young people... do as you please..."


    "I apologize for taking the initiative without consulting you in advance." Winters was moved by the old Dusack''s emotions, "If you feel this is not right, we can pretend this never happened, and I won''t mention it to anyone else."


    "Child, I know you meant well." Gerard grasped Winters''s hand, using the term "son" for the first time, "I will tell the other Dusacks when I get back, they should be very pleased. Ah, you young people... do as you please."


    Gerard, exhausted, mounted his horse and left without a word.


    Winters did not expect that what seemed like a good deed would upset the old Dusack so much; he stood in place for a long time before leaping onto his horse to catch up from behind.


    ...


    ...


    The goods from Wolf Town''s estates were successfully delivered in Revodan.


    The year''s crops were good, which could be described as favorable weather, so there were no breaches of contract.


    Beyond the produce pre-contracted by several large trading companies, Wolf Town''s estates had an additional surplus of crops. These were also brought over and, after some bargaining, purchased by the trading companies.


    Produce like beets would be crudely processed right in Revodan, while the transport from Revodan to the provincial capital and other distant cities was the responsibility of the trading companies'' caravans.


    The harvest season thus came to a complete end, leaving the estate managers with a substantial amount of cash in hand.


    A portion of it was used to procure essential items for the next year''s production in Revodan, such as coal, iron farming tools, timber, etc.


    Another portion needed to be paid to the employees, though the workers'' wages were mainly in the form of grain rather than Gold Coin or silver coin.


    The landowners would take the money back and buy grain from the Dusans, who never lacked land or had an excess cereal production; this would be the most cost-effective approach.


    Of course, as compensation for the hard work during the harvest season, each employee also received a bonus¡ªalthough the amount varied, depending on the employer''s generosity.


    Some ambitious estate managers immediately set out for the garrison, eager to fence in more land before others.


    Take the Bunting family, for example. The Bunting couple raised five sons and two daughters¡ªan almost miraculous achievement in those times.


    Considering future subdivisions among their sons and dowries for their daughters, they too were desperately longing for more land. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    The profits were thus poured back into acquiring more land in a never-ending cycle, with no sign of a finish line.


    From Winters''s perspective, most estate managers immediately converted their money into consumer goods: fine wines, pure white sugar, beautiful furniture, tightly woven striped cotton cloth¡­ a myriad of nice things, which need not be listed one by one.


    Gold Coin and silver coin slipped through their fingers like fine sand, exchanged for material joys.

 Chapter 28 Regulatory Arbitrage_3

    Winters also discovered a very interesting phenomenon: although Wolf Town produces cotton, hemp, and timber, finished goods such as furniture and fabrics still had to be bought from Revodan.


    The estates only produced raw materials, yet lacked the capacity to process them¡ªexcept for tobacco.


    The estate economy was actually particularly fragile, extremely dependent on a developed commercial system. Without external merchants to purchase their goods, the entire economic crop planting cycle of the estates would immediately collapse.


    However, these matters were of no concern to him; he simply drew his own conclusions from the perspective of an observer.


    What he was most concerned about now was the situation in Vineta, so during the convoy''s stop in Revodan these past few days, he visited all the commerce houses in Revodan.


    Xial and Gold set out from Sea Blue quite early and were not very clear about the current situation. Besides, Xial had a limited perspective, while Gold was unwilling to elaborate, resulting in Winters obtaining very little useful intelligence from them.


    But one common sense was self-evident to Winters, coming from a commercial republic: merchants always had the most up-to-date information, no matter the time or place.


    Although the information he received was somewhat inconsistent, it still made Winters deeply worried.


    Various pieces of intelligence indicated that the standoff between The Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªthe twin pillars of the Alliance¡ªnot only hadn''t cooled but was escalating.


    Merchants from Revodan heard that on the Inner Sea, Vineta and The Federated Provinces'' fleets would intercept, inspect, and seize each other''s merchant ships.


    There were even rumors that the navies of both sides were masquerading as pirates to rob the other''s vessels¡ªof course, some merchants said it was because the navies no longer had the resources to deal with pirates, allowing the pirates, who had lain low after the collapse of the Tanilia Federation, to become rampant.


    The result was that today, not a single merchant ship on the Inner Sea dared to fly the Tulip or Blood Red flags. Ships were raising the Empire''s flag for self-protection.


    [The Tulip and Blood Red flags are, respectively, the navigational flags of The Federated Provinces and Vineta.] S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even more merchant ships simply left the Inner Sea or shrank into ports to wait out the storm.


    The once-thriving and busy Senas Bay had now become cold and dim.


    The Senas Inner Sea, once renowned for its golden waters, had now turned into a deadly area that sailors spoke of with dread.


    The land borders had also been sealed off for a long time, with only a few ports remaining open to maintain the scant personnel exchange.


    The Parlatu Congress and Vineta Senate rapidly enacted one embargo act after another, turning what was previously an almost unrestricted internal trade within the Alliance into something where selling anything became illegal.


    Now, trade between Vineta and The Federated Provinces could only be routed through Paratu, which made quite a few Paratu merchants wealthy through transshipment business, much to the envy of the merchants in the remote southwestern city of Revodan.


    Not seeing a sign for Navarre Commerce in the city, Winters also took the opportunity to inquire with the merchants of Revodan, only to find that the Navarre family''s business was "common knowledge".


    According to the warehouses that purchased raw materials such as cotton and hemp, they were selling their goods to Navarre Commerce.


    But the large commerce houses only had branches in the provincial capitals, waiting for smaller merchant houses to transport the goods to them, and would not come down to the smaller cities to collect the goods.


    The reason... well, it''s the same as why the merchants of Revodan have to have the estate owners bring the goods to Revodan. The roads were unsafe¡ªit was all to reduce risk.


    Winters considered sending a message to Navarre Commerce through the merchants of Revodan but after careful consideration, he decided against it.


    He didn''t trust the merchants of Revodan, nor the branches of Navarre Commerce¡ªeven if he were to write a letter, he couldn''t include important information.


    Now that he had already communicated with Sea Blue, he wasn''t in a rush to send a message back. Who knew whether the Paratu People would hand over his letter to the Parlatu Army?


    ¡­


    Time passed quickly in the city of Revodan.


    After living for over two months in the quiet, spacious countryside, Winters felt somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden return to city life.


    In the span of three days, Winters attended to official business, made inquiries at different firms, and on Sunday, followed the congregation into the Revodan Cathedral for mass.


    However, the lieutenant regarded his visit as a sightseeing trip and discreetly avoided taking communion at the end.


    To be fair, the Revodan Cathedral was indeed magnificent and luxurious, and even when compared to Sea Blue''s Saint Marco Cathedral, it had its merits.


    The towering arches seemed poised to crush one''s face from above, making every passerby feel their insignificance.


    What genuinely moved Winters was not the miracles of the divine but the wisdom humans burst forth with in their efforts to please their gods.


    Just looking at the cathedral before him, it was hard to imagine how the craftsmen could create such a majestic structure using simple tools like chisels, hammers, and pulleys.


    To Winters, a Sea Blue native, Revodan could hardly be considered a wealthy city.


    Yet, a city of just one or two thousand people had erected such a cathedral, making it difficult to decide whether to call it extravagant or wasteful, foolish or devout.


    Of course, what Winters found most impressive was the grandiose vestments of the Revodan bishop and the dazzling gold and silver vessels on the altar.


    The lieutenant couldn''t help thinking: Perhaps part of it came from the toll collected by that old man by the bridgehead?


    And so, the three days passed swiftly.


    On the fourth day, it was time to set off again from Wolf Town, heading back to that remote, secluded, yet charming border town.


    However, an hour past the agreed departure time, nearly half the people hadn''t shown up.


    After sending the latecomers'' companions to urge them several times, there was still no sign of them, leaving Gerard and Winters anxious.


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    An irate Winters ordered the companions of the latecomers to lead the way, grabbing his saber and storming off in a fury.


    It wasn''t until he arrived at their location that he understood why the guide hesitated to speak plainly¡ªit was a brothel.


    "Young master, who are you looking for?" A courtesan inside sashayed up to the lieutenant with a smile, even reaching out to wrap her arms around his waist, "Why don''t you stay a while~"


    Winters was not used to this.


    His face ashen, he kicked open each door, flooring the men from Wolf Town with a punch and following up with a lash of his whip, "Great! Earn a few bucks and it all goes to the damn brothel!"


    The bruised and battered Dusack and the workers were rounded up by Winters to the assembly point, where Gerard, with one look, understood everything.


    His face stern, he asked, "Haven''t I said time and time again not to distribute the reward money until we''re home? Have you all ignored my words?"


    He was not addressing the men who had gone off to drink and visit women, but rather the landowners beside him.


    Those caught by his gaze could do nothing but shamefully lower their heads, with the owner of Golden Ear Manor, Vick Hoffman, braving his explanation, "Some of the servants came to me wanting to buy some things to take back, so I didn''t think much of it when I gave it to them. Plus, everyone''s really worn out from the journey, a little relaxation is in order..."


    "Shut up!" Gerard interrupted old Hoffman in a thunderous roar, "I don''t want excuses, those who can''t follow the rules, don''t follow the convoy! You bring this on yourself! Don''t you know that the laborers rely on this one-time bonus to save up some money for the entire year?! Don''t you know that the way back is even more dangerous than the journey here?!"


    Vick Hoffman, frightened by the sudden ferocity in old Dusack''s eyes, trembled and dared not speak again.


    With people and carts roughly accounted for but upon closer inspection still short of members,


    Gerard grabbed a worker by the collar and demanded, "Where''s your master?"


    "Reporting to the lord, master Bunting left for home yesterday," the trembling worker replied, "He wanted to get a jump on securing land and forbade me from telling you all."

 Chapter 29 The Journey Home

    The core of the "Treaty of Torde" is actually only one sentence, "All land acquired by the army beyond the western national borders shall belong to the Republic, with ownership vested in the military."


    This treaty is the cornerstone of the political ecology of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and the source of power for the Kingdom of Galloping Horses'' continuous western expansion. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Therefore, anyone wishing to purchase land in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province needs to buy "acreage" from the army garrison in the county capital first.


    After paying for the land, take the half title deed provided by the garrison to the town under the county, and delimit the unsold land according to the acreage under the supervision and notarization of the town mayor and the Garrison Officer.


    Once the land enclosure is complete, the buyer can begin farming, and the remaining half of the title deed will be completed by the mayor and Garrison Officer and returned to the county garrison.


    The title deed is then confirmed, signed, and sealed at the county garrison, and subsequently sent up to the headquarters of the garrison troops in the provincial capital.


    After the headquarters transcribes, seals, and archives the title deed, it will be sent back the same way, through the county garrison and the town hall, and finally returned to the buyer.


    In this manner, there are four copies of the complete title deed. The original is in the hands of the buyer, and copies are retained at the headquarters, county garrison, and town hall. Any damage or loss in any link will not affect the certification of land ownership.


    However, this process is rigorous but cumbersome, with the title deed taking at least six months to a year to be returned.


    But legally, it''s not necessary to wait for the complete title deed to return; the moment the land is delimited, the buyer already owns it and can dispose of it as they wish.


    ...


    The Paratu Council''s method for judging land prices is also simple and crude, considering only two factors: Is the terrain hilly or flat? Is there a water source within half a kilometer?


    Land near water on flat grounds has a high unit price, while distant water on hilly terrain has a low unit price.


    If it''s forest land, its value and taxes for the timber are also accounted for.


    Roads, rivers, lakes, and all water bodies are the property of the army and are not for sale.


    Land is divided into "surface" and "subsoil" parts. Buyers only own the surface, and the subsoil is also not for sale.


    By stratifying land ownership, buyers can only cultivate, while all minerals beneath the surface remain the property of the military.


    There are also various other restrictive clauses, too many to mention, that block any potential encroachment on the military''s interests.


    ...


    It wasn''t until Gerard carefully explained that Winters understood why Mr. Bunting was so eager to get back to Wolf Town ahead of others.


    The Newly Reclaimed Lands government''s straightforward land pricing model, combined with the rule that whoever encloses the land first gets to own it, is akin to shouting, "Buy quickly, first come first served."


    Quality land is finite, but the number of people wanting to buy land is infinite. Every year, the county garrison sells land, and the good spots only become scarcer.


    Just this year alone, seven estates bought more "acreage" from the garrison. Clearly, Mr. Bunting set out early in order to enclose land before anyone else could.


    "That must be it," Gerard said, spreading his hands, "Now the estates are so close to each other, there''s limited land to enclose around them, especially for the Bunting family. Mr. Bunting probably fears someone else might enclose it first, and then his family''s land would no longer be a complete piece."


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    Gerard and Winters rode side by side at the front of the caravan. Without the cargo, the team moved much faster than on the way there.


    "He doesn''t need to be so petty and sordid, why not discuss it with the neighbors in advance? It seems Mr. Bunting considers others as stingy as he is," Winters commented with some disapproval.


    Gerard replied helplessly, "Mr. Bunting has his difficulties, he has many sons. And who wouldn''t want their own land to be a contiguous whole? Scattered plots are especially inconvenient for farming. There are many such fragmented plots in both Nanxin and Beixin villages, where the villagers don''t have much spare money and can only buy small pieces at a time. In the end, you wouldn''t believe how much land is taken up by just field ridges."


    Agricultural common sense was outside of Winters''s knowledge, the lieutenant did not understand what "field ridges" were, and Gerard had to explain it to him.


    "What about Nanxin and Beixin villages?" After listening to Old Dusack''s explanation, Winters was very curious about the conditions in the Protestant villages with even less arable land per capita.


    Gerard lamented, "Due to the scarcity of land in those two villages, they simply don''t use field ridges. They just use a few stones to mark the boundaries, and there haven''t been any disputes."


    "So if I wanted to buy land, should I turn around and go back to Revodan now?" joked Winters.


    "Do you want to buy land? Great!" Gerard was first surprised, then delighted, happily clutching the lieutenant''s arm, "There''s a piece of unclaimed land just between my family''s property and Dusa Village, a complete plot, and it''s even by the river. If you think it''s too small, I can sell you some more."


    Old Dusack''s eagerness took Winters by surprise, and he repeatedly waved his hands, "I was just kidding, where do I have the money to buy land?"


    "No problem, I can lend it to you."


    Of course, Winters could not agree; he firmly declined, and seeing this, Gerard did not press any further.


    Noticing Old Dusack''s disappointment, Winters tried to change the subject, "It seems like everyone''s not doing well, not as alert as on the way here."


    After spending three days in Revodan, many of the drivers, hired hands, and even the Dusacks were listless.


    Quite a few drivers yawned endlessly, drowsily leaning against their seats, listlessly cracking their whips.


    Some of the Dusacks had yet to sober up from the journey there, completely lacking their previous sharpness and vigor.


    Winters counted in his mind and noted that the frequency of Dusack patrols had dropped significantly; they traveled all morning and saw only two riders come to the front for inspection.

 Chapter 29 Return Journey_2

    "Ah! Farmers hardly see many silver coins in a year, so once they have money in hand, they can''t control their purse strings," Gerard complained angrily. "That''s why I repeatedly ordered not to distribute bonuses and salaries until we return to Wolf Town. Yet, some people still didn''t take my words seriously!"


    Sergei, who had been dozing off in the saddle, suddenly perked up at these words, "Captain, you''ve got it wrong this time. They deliberately distributed the money in the county town! They''re up to no good!"


    "What do you mean?" Winters pressed.


    "How could landlords ever let the tenants save money?" Sergei scoffed with contempt, "If tenants save enough to buy land, won''t they become freeholders? Then who would work for the landlords? With a battle against the Herd Barbarians imminent and lots of cheap land up for grabs afterward, which farmer wouldn''t be tempted? You think they wouldn''t distribute the money in Revodan?"


    Gerard''s expression turned grave: "Don''t think so badly of everyone."


    "Captain, you''re not like them. Even if Dusack''s land is scant, it''s still Dusack''s; no matter how much land a Bumpkin has, he''s still a Bumpkin. Can they compare to us?" Sergei scratched at his graying hair, speaking bluntly.


    The old man glanced at Winters and quickly added, "Lieutenant, you''re different from them too. Your hands hold the hilt of a sword, theirs hold the plow."


    Winters smiled. If he took offense at everything this old Dusack said, he''d have been furious long ago.


    Gerard, frowning, said, "I need to go see what''s going on in the back. How come we''ve seen so few Dusacks on patrol this morning?"


    Having said his piece, he spurred his horse toward the rear of the convoy.


    Winters also found it strange, squeezing his horse''s sides and tugging the reins: "I''ll go have a look too."


    Riding against the direction of the convoy, Mr. Michel nearly burst a lung with anger.


    Many Dusacks weren''t patrolling at all but had tied their Warhorses to the backs of the wagons and lay snoring in the carts.


    Gerard picked up a club thick as a small arm and began beating the lazy Dusacks without mercy.


    Less than two months in Wolf Town, Winters had already dealt with several brawling incidents involving Dusans. As for Dusacks beating their wives or thrashing their sons, that was all too common.


    Violence was not unusual among Dusacks, but it was his first time seeing Gerard strike someone, and so fiercely at that.


    The Dusacks, reeking of alcohol, often only woke up screaming when the club hit them.


    First shocked, then angry, their feelings turned to shame when they realized they were being beaten by Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell.


    The beaten Dusacks would scramble to their feet, taking the blows in silence.


    Gerard went from one Dusack to another, beating as he went, leaving the lieutenant no chance to intervene.


    When he discovered Pierre also lying lazily asleep in a cart, Mr. Michel, enraged, swung his club at Mr. Mitchell''s head.


    Winters rushed to grab the club in alarm, knowing a blow to the head could be lethal.


    But in his rage, Gerard was terrifying; for a moment, Winters couldn''t restrain him, and Gerard let go of the club to throw punches at Pierre.


    Winters saw clearly that the punch was solid, merciless, not at all held back because Pierre was his son, landing squarely on his face.


    Mr. Mitchell woke up in an instant, blood spraying from his nose, having never seen his father in such a state.


    Pierre, both shocked and scared, cried out, "Dad, what are you doing?"


    "[Dusack curse]!" Old Dusack didn''t stop cursing, nor did his hands, as he grabbed his son by the collar and pounded his face, "You begged me to come along with the convoy! And this is how you do it? Do you have any backbone at all? Huh?!"


    "Even mom hasn''t hit me!" young Dusack cried out in tears.


    Winters and other Dusacks rushed to pull the two apart, and it took three strong Dusack men to barely hold back the furious Gerard, who kicked when his punches couldn''t reach.


    Shock, grievance, fear ¨C these emotions all appeared on Pierre''s face, as tears and blood streamed down together.


    Pierre, holding his nose, cried out, "What gives you the right to hit me? I''ll tell mom!"


    "I''ll beat you to death, you worthless brat!" Gerard, forcibly dragged away, was even more furious.


    After the commotion, Gerard called all the Dusacks who had come with the convoy together for a meeting.


    "Is this your first time with the convoy?" Old Dusack''s residual anger hadn''t subsided, "Don''t you know the rules? Don''t you know that returning home is even more dangerous than the journey here? We used to carry goods, now we carry money! Don''t you get it?"


    The Dusacks, usually so arrogant, now hung their heads in shame, none daring to meet the gaze of Captain Michel.


    "From now on, stay alert," said Gerard Mitchell with a vicious stare, "Whoever dares slack off again, I''ll flay his skin!"


    ...


    At night, when they rested, the large four-wheeled wagons formed a circular fortress on a flat stretch of ground. Read latest chapters on My Virtual Library Empire


    Inside the wagon fortress, fires were lit, and the drivers and Dusacks sat around boiling water and warming food, chattering idly.


    A swarm of tiny insects buzzed densely over the meadow, and a slap of the hand left them sticking to it, making one''s scalp tingle with discomfort.


    Some couldn''t bear the insect bites and threw clumps of wet horse manure into the fire. As bluish smoke wafted through the wagon fortress, the irritating insects vanished in an instant.


    S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 29 Return Journey_3

    However, the smoke also hindered visibility, leaving the people inside the vehicle stack unable to see each other clearly.


    Winters sat with Sergei, Vashka, and Pierre next to a warm flame, as old Sergei was setting Gerard''s broken nose. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Uncle, look at this, he hit way too hard. If it weren''t for Winters, I would have been beaten to death," Pierre still harbored grudges about the daytime incident, complaining, "I''m still bleeding from my nose!"


    While holding Pierre''s head in one hand and his nose in the other, Sergei said indifferently, "Enough with the complaints about your dad. Just bear with it and don''t move at all."


    Pierre nodded slightly.


    "I''m going to count to three and then straighten it out," old Sergei smacked his lips. He only got to "one" when he forcefully pinched Pierre''s nose.


    Pierre screamed in pain, falling backward, tears streaming down from the agony.


    It took a long while for him to recover, then he complained, "You only counted to one!"


    "Isn''t it just fine?" old Sergei inspected it again, then clapped his hands, "There, you''re not disfigured. Don''t rub or touch it for half a month, and you''ll still be a handsome young man."


    Having given his medical advice, Sergei yawned and sat back by the fire. He poured a bit of hot soup from the iron kettle on the fire and sipped it in small mouthfuls.


    Pierre gingerly touched his nose a few times and happily said, "It really doesn''t hurt as much as before."


    "Mr. Morozov, you''re quite skilled at this," Winters had observed the whole process and expressed his rare admiration to old Dusack.


    Sergei twirled his silver-grey braid and chuckled, "Nothing much, every old soldier knows how to do it."


    The flickering flames reflected the mood of everyone present.


    Pierre, still resentful, said, "Just watch, when I get back I''ll tell my mom, and she''ll definitely take my side!"


    "Listen, lad, save your father some worry," old Dusack said rather displeased to young Dusack, "Your dad used his fists all the way through. If he had pulled his punches with you, could he still command respect? Ask the lieutenant if that''s not true."


    "That''s true," Winters nodded.


    Sergei earnestly said, "Think about it, who are you? You are the son of Mayor Mitchell. What you do, others will follow. If you laze around and sleep on the wagon, would other Dusans feel content? Could they resist copying you? I''ve escorted wagons with your dad so many times and never saw such a thing. As soon as you''re there, Dusans dare to slack off. Don''t you understand what this is about? That''s what made your dad angry."


    Winters nodded in approval at the side.


    But Pierre, rendered speechless by the argument, still defended himself stubbornly, "But he did hit too hard."


    "He certainly did hit too hard," Vashka, who had not spoken until now, said with a bit of schadenfreude.


    Vashka had slept in the large wagon behind Pierre''s, so he had luckily avoided a beating.


    Sergei''s expression darkened, and he flung the hot soup from his bowl at his son, "You shameless brat, you still dare to talk? Consider yourself lucky I didn''t beat you."


    Vashka yelped as the hot soup scalded him and retorted, "If I''m a brat, then you''re a dog!"


    Old Sergei, fuming with anger, grabbed a flaming stick and was about to strike.


    Winters quickly restrained old Dusack, "Mr. Morozov, it''s not worth getting upset over a kid."


    Sergei sat cross-legged by the fire, puffing with anger and without any appetite for dinner.


    "This is my first time seeing Mr. Mitchell get angry; it gave me quite the scare," Winters strained to lighten the mood, "Has Mr. Mitchell ever been this angry before?"


    Old Dusack snorted and, glaring at Vashka, said, "Nothing strange about that. The leader was just like that when he was younger; he could rage so fiercely it was a matter of life and death. On the contrary, it''s after he married that woman who isn''t a Dusan that his temper changed completely from what it was."


    "Mrs. Mitchell isn''t a Dusan?" Winters asked knowingly, always curious about the mysterious Mrs. Mitchell.


    "No," Sergei stood up, supporting himself with his hands and spat into the fire, "I need to take a piss."


    Before leaving, old Dusack couldn''t resist kicking his son.


    ...


    By a fire on the eastern side of the vehicle stack, Gerard sat alone, smoking a sullen cigarette.


    "Commander, you sure have a lot of space here, one fire all to yourself," Sergei said with a smile, squeezing next to his old comrade after returning from relieving himself outside the camp.


    "Is that lad okay?" Gerard''s eyes were fixed on the bonfire.


    "What could possibly be wrong?" old Sergei wrapped himself in a blanket, the temperature difference on the plateau was extreme at dawn and dusk, "Didn''t we fight much fiercer than them when we were young? The night you broke my two molars with a punch, we still went out to box with the Dusans from the neighboring village."


    Gerard Mitchell sighed, "We have gotten old."


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    "Aren''t the young ones growing up too?" Sergei yawned.


    "No, it''s not the same, they are not like us," old Dusack said sorrowfully to the other old Dusack, "These youngsters may have Dusan skins, but they don''t have Dusan bones."

 Chapter 30 Crossing the Field in Vain

    In the following days, although bearing bruises and resentment, Pierre stayed true to his duties, riding his horse and standing guard without slacking off again.


    The others¡ªwhether coachmen or Dusacks¡ªalso didn''t dare to shirk their responsibilities.


    As they drew nearer to home, everyone was filled with an eagerness to return; the strength with which they cracked their whips unconsciously increased.


    With the rain ceasing upstream, the Panto River had returned to its normal levels. Instead of taking a detour through Shizhen, the caravan stuck to the shortest route, crossing the river at the ford.


    ¡­


    "One!" the veteran coachman shouted hoarsely, "Two!" S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Surrounding the cart, the young men clutched at its frame, struggling to lift it: "Three!"


    With the command, the large cart that was stuck on a rock was forcibly lifted.


    Seizing the opportunity, the old coachman lashed his whip fiercely; the three mules, in pain, dragged the heavy cart rumbling towards the opposite shore.


    Unlike crossing a bridge, wading through the ford was a troublesome and arduous task.


    The riverbed wasn''t a compacted road, but rather smooth cobblestones. Not only did the wheels struggle for purchase, but the animals'' hooves also found it difficult to grip, making injuries especially likely.


    When they reached the edge of the ford, the caravan personnel would unhitch the animals from the shafts and use several horses to pull each cart across the river.


    In addition to the drivers, the younger Dusacks and hired hands also had to remove their shoes, roll up their trousers, and push or pull at the carts while shouting in unison.


    This work was too exhausting for the older folk; only the young men could endure it.


    Pierre had only pushed the carts back and forth in the ford a few times before he was soaked through with a mix of sweat and river water.


    The river''s cold autumn water could instantly sap all warmth from a person''s body. Mr. Mitchell, his feet chilled, felt an unbearable swelling and ache in his lower abdomen.


    The caravan built several fires on the shore, where some coachmen and Dusacks were drying their clothes and warming themselves.


    Pierre longed to go rest, but recalling Mr. Michel''s harsh scolding, his stubbornness rose, and he gritted his teeth to endure the pain and continued to help push the cart.


    After several hours, only half the caravan had crossed.


    After consulting with each other, Gerard and Winters decided that Winters would take a few riders to gather the carts at the front and set up camp to prevent scattering.


    Gerard would take another group to the rear to urge them on, asking them to hasten their pace.


    After crossing the Panto River, it would be less than a day''s journey to Wolf Town. Both Winters and Gerard were concerned that some coachmen, in their rush to get home, might leave the caravan and head back to Wolf Town overnight.


    Not only was it dangerous, but it could also disperse the entire caravan.


    Troops of riders sped towards both the front and the back, and with half the carts already across the river and moving away, the ford became much quieter.


    Fatigue and the cold left those lifting the carts in the river too exhausted to even chant in rhythm.


    Pierre''s pain below his navel grew worse, as if thousands of tiny knives were slicing and stabbing at him, and he leaned on his knees in the river, panting.


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    "Lad, you alright?" Sergei waded over, putting an arm around Michel''s shoulder, "What''s wrong?"


    "Nothing, just stomach pain," Pierre shook uncontrollably.


    "Come, let''s go ashore and warm up by the fire, have some hot soup."


    As they walked towards the opposite shore, Pierre suddenly grabbed old Sergei''s arm, "Uncle, does something seem off on the shore?"


    Even while they were busy working earlier, Pierre couldn''t help but glance repeatedly towards the fire, sensing that something was amiss.


    There were a few unfamiliar faces among those warming by the fire.


    Michel''s memory was like his mother''s, not quite photographic, but he generally retained some impression, an advantage he was well aware of.


    Yet, he had no recollection of those new faces on the shore; he had never seen those few people in the caravan before.


    However, considering that they were out on the roads and it wasn''t strange for passersby to come and ask for some hot soup. Those unfamiliar faces didn''t linger long, sitting by the fire for a while before leaving.


    Thus, Pierre didn''t make a fuss, but he stayed alert.


    But now, Pierre noticed that those "familiar" faces had not only returned to the fireside, but more unfamiliar faces appeared on the banks.


    Pierre spoke swiftly into Sergei''s ear, quickly informing him of everything.


    Sergei''s expression darkened. The old Dusack grabbed his saber and shouted towards the shore, "Hey! You guys there, what are you doing?"


    At first, the unfamiliar faces on the shore pretended not to hear themselves being called out. After several shouts from the old Dusack, they could no longer hide.


    "We are carters," they replied.


    The rest of the people also began to sense the strange atmosphere. A few quick-thinking Dusacks discreetly moved closer to their warhorses.


    "How come I''ve never seen you before?!" Sergei demanded loudly.


    No one responded.


    A dead silence fell over the ford, broken only by the gentle babble of the river.


    "Kill!" one of the unfamiliar faces threw off his cloak and spun around, plunging a knife into the stomach of a nearby coachman.


    The coachman''s eyes widened in horror, and he made a gurgling noise in his throat; he was so stunned that he couldn''t even scream.


    "Kill!!!" With no chance of feigning innocence, the other unfamiliar people also tore off their pretenses, drawing their weapons to strike at the people of Wolf Town around them.


    The abrupt onset of slaughter, bloodshed, and death left most of the coachmen and Dusacks unprepared.


    Shouts and cries of killing sounded like a charge, and from the woods on both sides of the Panto River, more figures swiftly approached the ford.


    "They''re bandits!" Sergei cursed those still dazed from Wolf Town, "Damn it! Go for your weapons! Dusacks! Mount up!"


    As Pierre tried to step forward, a searing pain in his lower abdomen left him immobilized.

 Chapter 30 Crossing the Field in Vain_2

    Sergei, who had run a few meters away, turned back, picked up Michel, and ran toward the spot on the shore where the horses were tied.


    "Mount up! Mount up!" Old Sergei shouted as he ran, with the Dusacks in the river channel dashing towards their warhorses. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Several coachmen lashed their draft horses desperately, trying to force their way through the ford. Others, in their panic, attempted to turn around but found themselves immobilized.


    Inside the ford at that moment, chaos reigned; only a few coachmen and laborers jumped onto their carts in search of weapons, while the rest fled.


    The sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the shrubs on both sides of the riverbank, accompanied by the "whoosh" of arrows flying chaotically over the water''s surface.


    "Archers!" someone screamed in agony.


    "There are crossbowmen in the woods!" another shouted loud.


    A coachman had just found a longbow under the seat, and before he could string it, a short, thick crossbow bolt penetrated his neck. This brave man of Wolf Town clutched at his neck and tumbled into the knee-deep river water off the cart.


    Sergei pointed towards both banks of the river and bellowed, "More thieves are coming!"


    Pierre saw bandits, armed and in tattered clothes, crawling out from the bushes, too numerous to count.


    Some bandits ran toward the great carts to plunder the various fine goods brought back from Revodan. Others went after the Dusacks'' warhorses tied up on the shore¡ªhorses were even more valuable.


    Still other bandits specifically chased after and captured those well-dressed riders. They were manor lords, who not only carried large sums but could also be kidnapped for ransom.


    Even well-trained armies could struggle to organize an effective counterattack when ambushed, let alone the Wolf Town convoy, most of whom were just tenant farmers.


    In the midst of the melee, the command structures of both sides had collapsed.


    But the bandits had a clear objective: they wanted money, goods, and would kill anyone who resisted. Their determination was stronger.


    The people of Wolf Town, however, were utterly disorganized, each fighting for themselves, each with their own plans, with only a few brave souls attempting to fight back.


    But when most were fleeing, the brave became the most conspicuous targets, often being killed by the bandits in a concerted effort.


    The attention of many bandits was drawn to Sergei''s warhorse, Red Sun, and several brutes with long spears had already reached its side.


    In desperation, Sergei let go of Pierre and with a roar, lunged at the spear-wielding brutes.


    "Ah!" The thug lagging behind was caught off guard and was fiercely hacked on the shoulder by Old Dusack.


    Sergei kicked aside the thug whose shoulder was nearly severed, not giving the dying man a second glance. He swung his saber and charged at several other bandits.


    Although Pierre had grown up on stories of war, he never expected his uncle, well into his fifties, to be so ferocious.


    Clenching his teeth against the pain, he picked up a long spear dropped by a thug and charged into the fray.


    The bandits, hearing their companion''s screams, turned and saw Old Dusack coming at them, thrusting their spears toward the old man.


    Seizing the moment, Sergei grabbed the spear with his left hand, holding it firmly. He yanked it towards himself and hacked the enemy to death with his sword.


    But outnumbered, Sergei could not fend off all attacks; while grabbing one spear and killing its owner, another bandit with a spear yelled strangely and jabbed at Old Dusack. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire


    Just as the bandit was about to strike, he was skewered in the flank by Pierre, who had caught up. He fell to the ground, and Old Dusack, turning around, delivered a heavy, powerful chop that cut the bandit''s head off.


    The remaining two bandits, petrified by the god-like slaughter by Old Dusack, dropped their weapons and fled in terror.


    Sergei quickly helped Pierre onto Red Sun: "Go! Get on behind! Find your father!"


    "I''m not leaving!" Pierre yelled.


    Old Dusack had no time for words: "Not leaving? If you won''t leave, stay and fight. Follow me along the shore and let''s take care of those archers and crossbowmen!"


    The scales of victory had completely tipped in favor of the bandits, turning the situation into a one-sided slaughter.


    The archers on the shore shot at the people of Wolf Town with impunity, while the bandits in the ford chased after coachmen. The Dusacks fought for themselves, and those who had reclaimed their horses fled towards the front and back of the convoy.


    Some manor lords, in a blind panic, ran toward the forest, unaware that they were falling into bandits'' traps. There was a sliver of a chance of survival if one dashed down the road, but fleeing into the forest was like walking into a net.


    At this point, anyone still thinking of resisting felt only a profound sense of helplessness and despair.


    An old coachman with graying hair scrambled to the riverbank and stumbled toward Wolf Town.


    The pursuing bandit bellowed viciously, "Stop running! Run again, and I''ll kill you!"


    The coachman, in terror, turned to look at the bandit and, losing his footing, fell hard to the ground. Unable to stand for a while, he was overtaken by the laughing bandit.


    "Please, don''t!" The old coachman knelt on the ground, begging pitifully.


    The bandit walked up, kicked the old man in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain like a shrimp.


    However, as if born without a shred of compassion, the bandit planted a foot on the old man''s chest, grinning wickedly as he raised his spear.


    The old coachman closed his eyes.


    The thunderous sound of galloping hooves approached; a rider arrived instantaneously beside the coachman and the bandit. A scimitar whirled, severing the bandit''s neck and spear shaft in one stroke.


    The warhorse continued at full speed toward the ford, without slowing down.


    Following the leading rider, more Dusacks, brandishing their sabers, swept past the headless corpse of the bandit and the old coachman.


    A thunderous shout exploded in the ford, startling everyone and causing their hearts to stop for a moment.


    Even the convoy hundreds of meters behind heard the angry roar; those within the ford were left dizzy and ringing from the blast of sound.


    A magnificent silver-gray warhorse stood atop the riverbank, and everyone in the ford saw it, as well as the rider upon it.

 Chapter 30 Crossing the Field_3

    "Reinforcements are here!" Pierre recognized the newcomers and couldn''t help but shout, "Hurrah!"


    The surviving Dusack also recognized the newcomers and, raising his saber, roared, "Hurrah!"


    "It''s Lieutenant Montaigne!" the wagon drivers excitedly shouted, "The Garrison Officer is here!"


    The scattered people of Wolf Town inside the wading field finally found their backbone, and their morale surged, completely reversing the situation.


    "No one runs away! The bandits are not as many as us! Come to me!" This time, Lieutenant Montaigne''s voice wasn''t as startling as before, but still resonant enough that everyone in the wading field could hear.


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the people of Wolf Town flocked towards the riverbank, and a few bandits who still wanted to pursue were instead killed by their united effort.


    One by one, the people of Wolf Town climbed up the riverbank, and the wary bandits dared not follow.


    A standoff quietly began between the two sides.


    Of course, the bandits wielding crossbows didn''t fail to notice the leader riding the dapple-gray steed, and several arrows immediately aimed at the rider.


    Very few bandits could draw a hard bow, and the heaviest in the hands of the bandits ambushing Wolf Town were no more than soft bows made of white waxwood or, quite simply, branches with strings attached.


    The arrows flying toward the dapple-gray steed''s rider from the riverbank were feeble and limp, and the man easily deflected them with his sidearm.


    "Hahaha! Is that the best you''ve got?" the rider of the dapple-gray steed mocked the bandit archers, "Come on, then!"


    Seeing the Garrison Officer''s valor, the people of Wolf Town couldn''t help but cheer again. Gradually, they also started to feel that the arrows flying onto the riverbank weren''t as frightening as before.


    "That must be the new military officer from Wolf Town, eh? Quite a figure," muttered the gloomy man in the bushes with an oval-shaped scar on his face, eyeing the rider of the dapple-gray steed, "Bring me the crossbow!"


    This man with the oval-shaped scar was the leader of the bandits, and upon hearing his command, a scrawny bandit immediately handed him a massive steel crossbow.


    The bow was just for show, the bandit leader knew very well. The real killing tools were his crossbows, especially this heavy steel crossbow that needed a crank to draw.


    The bandit leader aimed carefully, yet he made no further move, patiently waiting for the right moment.


    A few more flimsy light arrows flew towards the Wolf Town Garrison Officer, and the rider of the dapple-gray steed deftly deflected every one of them.


    "Now!"


    The bandit leader squeezed the trigger at the moment when the Garrison Officer''s attention was diverted.


    The steel bolt from the heavy crossbow shot across the wading field like a shooting star, aiming for the rider of the dapple-gray steed.


    "What?" The bandit leader couldn''t believe his own eyes.


    The guaranteed bolt traced an arc in midair, making a small turn and passing by the target''s side.


    ...


    Using a voice amplification spell, Lieutenant Montaigne taunted, "The crossbow is good, but the user is not, your shooting is really poor."


    His mocking words spread to everyone''s ears in the wading field, and once again, the people of Wolf Town cheered in response.


    "Right there!" the lieutenant directed with his saber towards the source of the crossbow bolt, "Kill all the archers on the bank first!"


    Even while living in Paratu, Winters Montagne never neglected a single day of spell training.


    Just now, he had executed the first real combat use of the "Christian Huygens version" of the Deflection Spell.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    "W.M''s Book of Spells"


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    Entry: Deflection Spell


    Difficulty: S (original)


    A- (after Christian Huygens'' improvement) Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Note: The focus is not on lateral acceleration but rotation, which Teacher Christian refers to as centrifugal motion.

 Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan

    ```


    The battle at the ford had ended, and two Dusacks dragged a man with an oval scar on his face, not yet dead, to the side of the lieutenant.


    "I will only ask once," Winters, who was sitting on a large rock and wiping his saber, said without lifting his head, "where is your hideout?"


    The four captured bandits knelt before the lieutenant shivering, while the bow-and-crossbow-wielding people of Wolf Town stood angrily around the prisoners.


    With a superior number, the people of Wolf Town could easily deal with the bandit gang of thirty or forty men once they were effectively organized.


    With a single charge led by Winters and his cavalry, the bandits, who had just been acting fiercely, scattered like birds and beasts.


    When Gerard arrived with the rear guard, the battle completely turned into a rout of the fleeing enemy.


    The four surviving bandits were lucky because they were personally captured by the lieutenant who wanted to keep a few alive for interrogation.


    The rest of the bandits were not so fortunate; the people of Wolf Town loathed them, and those captured were killed without hesitation.


    For the severely injured bandits, they didn''t even get a quick end but were left to go to hell amid fear and pain. Stay updated with My Virtual Library Empire


    Without the need for Winters to torture them, the several bandits had already seen how formidable this young officer was and spilled everything they knew like beans from a split bag.


    ...


    This was a premeditated ambush.


    Every year, the estates of Wolf Town would travel to and from Revodan in groups. While safe, it also made them a very obvious target.


    The bandits and robbers had long been covetous, but deterred by the reputation of the caravan and the Dusacks of Wolfton, no one had dared to act.


    Until this year, this time.


    According to the prisoners'' confessions, they had been waiting at the ford for half a month by then, at which time the caravan from Wolf Town had not yet departed.


    However, the people from Wolf Town headed to Revodan just as it began to rain upstream, causing a surge in the Panto River''s water level, and the caravan detoured through Shizhen, accidentally avoiding an ambush.


    But luck always runs out, and on their return, they fell right into the bandits'' trap.


    Strictly speaking, this wasn''t "a group" of bandits, as small bands of thieves did not have the ability to overpower the Wolf Town caravan.


    It took a merger of several bands of bandits to form this large gang of more than forty people, some robbers even purposely came over from the neighboring county to join.


    ...


    In the middle of a hidden clearing in the dense forest, a small black iron pot was bubbling away on top of a fire.


    A bearded man was stirring something in the pot with a long-handled ladle, while another skinny man was slowly peeling carrots.


    Around the fire, there were about a dozen crude tents, looking like a temporary camp.


    "Tommy! You done pissing yet?" the bearded man called out impatiently.


    A young dirty-blond kid with dirty clothes ran back from outside the camp, hitching up his trousers, "I''m coming! I''m coming!"


    The skinny man chuckled and said, "Lazy folks always have more waste."


    The blond kid suddenly stopped halfway and looked back, puzzled.


    "What are you standing there for? Get the hell over here and help!" the bearded man shouted discontentedly.


    "I hear horse hooves over there!" the blond kid shouted back, pointing behind him.


    "Hooves?" The bearded man dropped his ladle and stood up abruptly: "That must be the boss returning!"


    When the blond kid turned back again, all he saw was a dark blur, then a sharp pain struck his forehead and he lost consciousness.


    The bearded man and the skinny man tried to run, but the sound of hooves surrounded them from all sides.


    A fiery red warhorse streaked past the two, and in the blink of an eye, the old rider knocked the bearded man unconscious with a club.


    The skinny man was so frightened he wet himself, knelt on the ground, and began to beg for mercy.


    Another rider threw a lasso, yanking the skinny man to the ground and dragging him away.


    "Stop wasting time, search!" Seeing everyone in the camp was under control, Winters, who was commanding at the rear, signaled the Dusacks not to entangle with the prisoners. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sergei and the other Dusacks began taking down the tents in the camp, one by one.


    "There''s someone here!" a Dusack shouted.


    Sergei immediately dismounted and grabbed the person in the tent by the collar, demanding fiercely, "Speak! Who are you? Speak or I''ll kill you!"


    "Don''t kill me," the man, shackled by iron fetters, begged repeatedly: "The bandits tied me up and brought me here."


    Cries from the Dusacks could be heard in the distance, "There are people from Wolf Town here!"


    ...


    At a bandit hideout one kilometer from the ford, three bandits left to mind the place were captured by Winters and his Dusacks.


    They also rescued several travelers who had been kidnapped¡ªalong with Bunting''s eldest son.


    But old Mr. Bunting couldn''t survive the ordeal and had died.


    On his trip to Revodan, old Bunting had only taken his eldest son, and on the return trip, it was also just the two of them who set out early, unfortunately, they were intercepted by bandits near the ford.


    Finding only deeds on them and no cash, the bandits brutally beat both father and son.


    The younger Bunting, strong and durable, survived, but the elder Bunting was beaten to a breath away from death and passed away that evening.


    The fickleness of fate is truly lamentable.


    ...


    After cleaning up the battlefield, the caravan at the Panto River ford split into two groups.


    Mayor Mitchell of Wolf Town led the main force back to Wolf Town.


    Lieutenant Montaigne, on the other hand, led six Dusacks and four wagons of prisoners and the bodies of bandits back the way they came to Revodan.


    By the time Winters finally returned to Wolf Town, there was less than half a month left until the deadline for submitting the militia roster.


    In past years, every household in the town was beaming with joy when the caravan returned, but this year was unusually sad.


    Mourning, funerals, and conscription had to be carried out simultaneously.


    The drivers and hired hands of the caravan suffered more than twenty casualties, with the severely injured dying soon after as well.


    ```

 Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_2

    ``` Read chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    By contrast, the Dusacks were indeed fierce, with no Dusack dead, only six wounded.


    All the manors in Wolf Town pooled a sum of money together, for funeral expenses and compensation for the injured and the deceased.


    Only when the lieutenant brought the captured bandits and the bodies of the dead to the county garrison did he learn: on the heads of many in the band of thieves who ambushed the Wolf Town convoy hung bounties.


    Especially the bandit chief with an oval-shaped scar on his face ¡ª the bastard was tough, surviving a stab in the back ¡ª was a notorious villain known by the nickname "Horse Palm Ivan."


    "Horse Palm Ivan''s gang roamed and committed crimes throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land; of the eight counties in the province, bounties hung on his head in six counties. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    "Horse Palm Ivan was originally one of the Dusacks," Major Ronald told Winters.


    He was kicked in the face by a warhorse, leaving an oval-shaped horseshoe mark, and hence acquired the nickname "Horse Palm."


    Afterward, he accidentally killed someone in a drunken brawl, fled in fear of punishment, and simply took to a life of robbery and murder.


    With his exceptional strength and military experience, Horse Palm quickly gathered a mob of thugs around him.


    The man was well-versed in military discipline and clearly understood the intricacies between the legion and local authorities.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, only the legionary gendarmerie had the power to pursue criminals across counties, but catching thieves was the responsibility of local jurisdictions.


    Hence, Horse Palm only robbed civilians and never touched the military; when one county became too hot for him, he jumped to another, causing headaches for the governments of each.


    Horse Palm''s crimes multiplied, his notoriety spread, and his nickname evolved from "Horse Palm" to "Horse Palm Ivan."


    "The infamous Horse Palm Ivan," Major Ronald patted Winters on the shoulder, praising him joyfully, "finally fell into the hands of Lieutenant Montaigne, and he was captured alive. Well done!"


    That Horse Palm Ivan was caught in Iron Peak County also gave Major Ronald quite a bit of face.


    Especially since it was a live capture, which implied a "grand" public execution ¡ª Winters did not yet understand.


    In fact, it wasn''t just Horse Palm Ivan alone; several other notorious thieves who had joined forces for the raid also died by the sword.


    However, compared to the infamy of Horse Palm Ivan, the other bandits were barely worth mentioning.


    "It is mainly due to the credit of Town Chief Mitchell and the Dusacks of Wolfton," Winters sighed, "Only now do I understand why mere robbers were able to choose such an opportune moment for their ambush."


    Scouting beforehand, repeated reconnaissance, attacking mid-crossing, seizing the moment when the convoy''s guard was spread thin...


    If Winters hadn''t reinforced in time, and the lieutenant hadn''t happened to be a Spellcaster, it''s very likely that Horse Palm Ivan would have succeeded this time.


    Major Ronald paused momentarily, then said with emotion, "Rebels are always more dangerous than bandits."


    Those with military skills, once they turn to evil, cause harm far beyond what desperate farmers could muster.


    In the Imperial Era, the most destructive thieves were often bankrupt nobles and destitute knights.


    ...


    Major Ronald kept Horse Palm Ivan behind while instructing Winters to take the remaining seven bandits back to Wolf Town.


    "The men were captured by you; by law, they are yours to judge. I''ll keep Horse Palm while you take the others back to Wolf Town to kill," Major Ronald specifically entrusted, "Not only to quell the anger of the victims'' families but also to set an example. Once things are settled here, I''ll send the executioner to your place."


    Having the power to judge life and death of a person, a privilege unthinkable for an officer of a small township in the Vineta Republic, was granted here.


    It was no exaggeration that the Parlatu Army in the Newly Reclaimed Lands wielded a status similar to feudal lords.


    The bodies of the bandits were exchanged for silver coins in Revodan, and the bounty on Horse Palm Ivan''s head posted by Iron Peak County was collected directly at the Revodan garrison.


    Major Ronald also generously paid Winters the bounties on Horse Palm Ivan from the other five counties, based on their posted reward proclamations.


    With bounties in hand and seven bandits in tow, Winters returned to Wolfton.


    Before this, no one had realized that the newly constructed jail at the security station would be put to use so soon.


    The old blacksmith Misha and his assistant Berlion had no choice but to forge shackles throughout the night.


    Winters had intended to leave the seven bandits for Major Ronald to judge, but he realized he had no right to rob the victims'' families of their chance at revenge.


    ...


    The conscription work in Wolf Town was progressing smoothly.


    When Winters brought back the good news that "time served in the militia could count towards a period of service obligation," the Dusans were very pleased.


    Gerard did not agree with "gaming the system" from the bottom of his heart, but he did not openly oppose it, leaving the choice to each Dusan family.


    In the end, 32 underage Dusacks voluntarily enlisted, all between the ages of 15 and 20.


    With a quota of 80 for the century, the remaining 48 unlucky ones would be decided by lottery.


    Among the list of voluntary Dusack enlistees was the name of Pierre.


    While Mr. Michel fiercely opposed, the real decision-maker in the Mitchell family was not him, but Mrs. Mitchell.


    In the end, Pierre still ended up telling his mother about the beating from his father ¡ª he could not conceal the bruises on his face.


    Contrary to Pierre''s expectations, his usually indulgent mother, after learning the cause, not only supported his father but also gave Pierre another lesson.


    When it came to deciding whether to join the auxiliary militia, Pierre and Gerard found themselves on the same side again.


    Gerard loathed acts that broke sworn vows, while Pierre would rather die than be a conscripted civilian.


    ```

 Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_3

    But Mrs. Mitchell thought enlisting in the militia was a good idea, which neither violated the law nor broke any oaths.


    Gerard Mitchell and Ellen Mitchell had a huge fight, and Winters, who was staying with the Mitchells, could hear Gerard''s roaring and Mrs. Mitchell''s crying even from outside the mansion.


    The youngest Mitchell daughter still unwed, Scarlett Mitchell, hid in the gazebo in the backyard with a lieutenant''s arm around her, desperately covering her ears and sobbing.


    "It''s normal for a husband and wife to quarrel, I saw it myself when I was young," Winters had to comfort the terrified young miss: "Haven''t you seen it before?"


    Miss Michel sobbed in response, "They never used to fight... Is my dad going to kill my mom?"


    "No... Don''t worry, he won''t..." The girl''s imagination left Winters dumbfounded.


    After a long time, the mansion quieted down, and Mrs. Mitchell returned to her usual gentle and calm demeanor, although there were still a few strands of tear marks at the corners of her eyes.


    Winters hurriedly stood up to greet her.


    Seeing her mother coming, Miss Michel quickly ran away.


    "Lieutenant sir," Mrs. Mitchell said with a slight curtsy. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire


    "Madam," Winters nodded in return.


    No sooner had Mrs. Mitchell spoken than she was on the brink of tears again, "In your militia... Can Pierre be safe?"


    Winters pondered for a long time, and answered seriously and earnestly, "Madam, once one enters war, no one can be safe, I cannot guarantee that Pierre will come home unharmed. If the war goes well, the chances of survival for support troops are much higher than for combat troops. If the war goes poorly, the support troops would be the first to be abandoned. I cannot make any promises, war is a cruel and sad disaster."


    "If the war goes well, support troops can be safer, right?"


    "Correct."


    "Thank you, Mr. Montagne." After giving a courtesy, Mrs. Mitchell left sadly, murmuring to herself, "Father, brother, I can''t lose a son again. They''ll understand someday... they will..."


    Once the matriarch of the Mitchell family made up her mind, the attitudes of Gerard and Pierre meant nothing.


    Ultimately, Michel signed her name on the register with a bellyful of complaints.


    ...


    The 32 participants had been confirmed, and the remaining candidates were just waiting for the drawing.


    In the past, when drawing conscripts, the people of Wolf Town simply drew lots, each person one lot, and the unlucky one drawn would be it.


    But this time, Winters Montagne, the Garrison Officer, had devised a simple set of rules.


    First, whether laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor family members, all must participate in the drawing;


    Second, families of the militia who had sacrificed themselves during beast disasters were exempted;


    Third, only sons had one lot, while others had two lots¡ªit was too preferential to give only sons complete exemption, but they should still be given some consideration;


    Fourth, the other townspeople not selected would contribute money according to their status as laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor owners, which would be distributed to the members of the militia as compensation.


    This was a very rudimentary scheme, but at least the people of Wolf Town could accept it. Compensating the unlucky ones who were drawn would also reduce the risk of desertion.


    ...


    What Winters didn''t expect was that, upon hearing there was money to be had, the young hunter Bell was the first to come to him.


    "Sir? Is there money for joining the militia?" Bell asked the lieutenant impatiently.


    Bell, of course, was not among the 32 Dusacks who volunteered, although the young stable boy Anglu was listed among them.


    "There is a little," Winters replied without showing any emotion: "Do you need money?"


    Bell didn''t answer directly, but asked eagerly, "Can you advance me the money if I sign up for the militia?"


    Now Winters couldn''t just ignore him; he frowned and asked again word by word, "Do you need money?"


    Bell shivered uncontrollably and nodded without saying a word.


    "For what?"


    Bell didn''t make a sound.


    "For what?!" Winters raised his voice by three decibels.


    "Paying off debts," Bell said softly.


    "What debts?"


    "My father''s debts."


    "Sigh," Winters sighed, "how much do you need? I''ll get it for you. You don''t have to join the militia." S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bell stubbornly said, "No, I can''t take other people''s money."


    "What''s with the affectation, lad? Do you want the money or not?" Winters countered.


    Bell deflated like a punctured ball, and mumbled softly, "I do..."


    ...


    The little fellow didn''t ask for much money, but Winters was still worried.


    Money was not important to him, but he had to make sure that Ralph''s son wasn''t heading down a wrong path.


    That very night, he stealthily followed Bell into the forest, all the way to the hunter''s cabin where Bell returned.


    After the old hunter''s death, Bell was taken to live in town by Winters, and the hunter''s family cabin in the woods had been left idle.


    There was definitely something fishy about the little hunter sneaking back to the old house.


    "What in blazes are you up to, you little rascal!" Winters kicked open the door.


    "Ah!?" Bell stood up in a panic, blocking the way: "It''s... It''s nothing..."


    Winters''s pupils constricted as his breathing accelerated sharply. Pointing at the shadow behind the young hunter, he exclaimed, "What is that thing!"


    Knowing he could no longer hide it, Bell mumbled, "A cat..."


    "Bullshit!" Winters couldn''t help but laugh in anger: "Would a cat''s paws be that big?"


    Laughing, an abrupt realization struck Winters, and he asked in shock, "That... That''s a cub of a giant lion?"


    Behind Bell, the Little Lion let out a milky cry of "Woo-ah".


    ¡ª¡ª END ¡ª¡ª


    "Catalogue of Rare and Exotic Creatures"


    by Bai Ruisi


    "... Cave lions give birth to one or two cubs per litter, and their behavior is more like tigers than lions; the mother raises the cubs alone... Reliable records indicate that cave lions were still sighted in the northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains as recently as the year 580 of the Empire... However, with the constant shrinking of their population and habitat, this living fossil species ultimately went extinct... Today, people can only explore the true nature of the cave lion through legends, stories, and the written word..."

 Chapter 32 Terror Theater

    The town was rarely this bustling, with its usually desolate main thoroughfares now teeming with life.


    Farmers'' wagons lined up one after another along the roadside, and the dirt road was packed with small stalls.


    On the second Monday of each month, Wolfton''s market day attracted villagers from around, along with Protestants who rarely interacted with the Old Believers. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    That''s why Lieutenant Winters Montagne decided to schedule the trial, execution, and militia drafting all on today.


    ...


    Today, the remote town revealed its vibrant side.


    Traveling merchants from nearby towns flocked here to do business, and the town''s farmers brought surplus agricultural products to sell at the market.


    Honest farmers simply spread out a cloth on the ground and arrayed the fruits and vegetables they had picked from fields and gardens, waiting for people to inquire about the prices.


    Meanwhile, the shrewd farmers already had their pretty daughters carrying wicker baskets along the streets, hawking eggs.


    The shouts of vendors, haggling, and arguing were endless.


    Because of the public trial and execution of bandits, which for the farmers was an extraordinary event that could become a talking point for twenty years.


    So even families from neighboring towns dragged their relatives to join in the spectacle, and a troupe of traveling entertainers performing nearby seized the chance to put on their shows.


    Everyone was eager to secure the best spot possible, and the atmosphere in the town center was anything but the solemnity expected for trials, executions, and the selection of militia. Instead, it was like a grand festivity.


    The newly formed Wolfton town guard patrolled the streets, maintaining order. Seven guardsmen, clad in armor and shouldering long halberds, looked imposing.


    The guards'' weapons and armors had just been purchased from Revodan¡ªWinters and Gerard took the opportunity to stock up the town''s Arsenal.


    A visit to the county seat wasn''t frequent, so it made sense to take care of all necessary business in one trip.


    The Wolfton town guard now consisted of seven members, with two full-time guards being the young lads Anglu and Bell, and five part-time guards selected by Winters from the local militia.


    Though not professional soldiers, these farm boys, with their gleaming iron helmets and brand-new leather armors, looked no less valiant.


    They attracted the gazes and whispers of many young women and wives, and also the great envy of their village companions.


    A Dusack lad clapped Vashka on the shoulder and laughed, "Looking good! You certainly look the part in that outfit."


    Out of respect for Sergei, the guard position from Dusa Village had been given to Vashka Morozov.


    "Quit it, I''m on duty," Vashka replied with a smile.


    The Dusack lad sized him up and down: "Did you buy this set from Revodan?"


    "Of course, brand new, the paint hasn''t even chipped off."


    "When we''re done today, let me borrow it to wear."


    "I can''t take it home; after the duty, I have to return it to the Arsenal."


    "Ah, what''s the harm? Just sneak it back home."


    A silver-grey steed parted the crowd and passed by the two men. Vashka, in the middle of his light-hearted conversation, caught sight of the silver pattern on the horse''s belly and immediately tensed up.


    Since the convoy returned from Revodan, there was nobody in Wolfton who didn''t recognize Lieutenant Montagne''s "Fortune."


    Vashka quickly stood at attention and saluted.


    The Lieutenant on horseback nodded and continued on his way forward.


    "Hey, you''ve really done me in now," Vashka lamented to his companion. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What''s wrong with that?" his friend asked, puzzled.


    "Forget it," Vashka urged his friend to move on: "We''ll talk about it later."


    ...


    After patrolling the town center, Winters didn''t find anything suspicious.


    But on the outskirts of the town, he saw Gerard arguing loudly with an unfamiliar young man.


    Seeing Winters, Gerard waved happily: "Lieutenant Montagne!"


    Winters nudged his horse and quickly moved closer.


    "This is our Garrison Officer of the town, Lieutenant Montagne," Gerard told the young man. "The business you wish to conduct must have his approval."


    "Good day, sir!" Before the lieutenant could speak, the young man interjected: "My business, though often unjustly treated and discriminated against, is entirely legitimate. Please look, this is a charter issued by the garrison headquarters of the county."


    The young man handed over a roll of parchment.


    After reading the content on the parchment, Winters looked behind the man:


    Several large tents were set up by the roadside, a sickly old woman sat by collecting money. Ragged men queued up to go in, then walked out adjusting their trousers.


    "Are you... a pimp?" Winters asked, hand on his sword hilt.


    "Sir, please don''t use such ugly words," the pimp replied, with a fawning smile on his face: "I am merely a mediator, facilitating connections between ladies with certain skills and gentlemen in need."


    Winters couldn''t be bothered to converse further with this slick character; he checked the charter again. The wording didn''t seem fake, the seal didn''t appear to be fake, and the signature also didn''t seem to be fake.


    While the lieutenant was re-examining the charter, the pimp''s smile grew even more intense.


    "A piece of parchment, I can''t tell if it''s real or fake," Winters stated flatly.


    The pimp''s smile froze in an instant: "How could that be? This charter was personally signed by Major Ronald of Revodan, please take a closer look?"


    "Then why don''t you go back to Revodan and bring me back a letter of authentication?" Winters suggested.


    "Sir, there is a secret mark on this charter that can verify its authenticity," the pimp wiped the sweat from his brow, pleading: "Please, allow me to show it to you."


    Winters handed back the charter.


    As their hands met, the pimp covertly slipped a bag of silver coins into the lieutenant''s palm. "This should settle it," he thought.

 Chapter 32 Horror Theater_2

    But he had never anticipated that the once infallible "counterfeit-proof mark" would actually hit the wall this time.


    Winters tossed the purse in front of the pimp and asked coldly, "You don''t want your hands anymore?"


    The young man knelt down in panic, pleading continuously, speaking incoherently, "Sir! This license is truly genuine, I was momentarily confused..."


    "Wait here." Winters, observing that his manner did not appear deceitful, took Gerard with him to the peacekeeping department.


    He did not understand Paratu''s laws, so such matters required consultation with a legal expert.


    ...


    The old mendicant monk, Reed, having heard Gerard''s account, placed the license on the table and chuckled, "Paratu does indeed allow brothels to operate legally, this time he really does have the advantage."


    "It''s a corrupting influence!" Gerard was furiously indignant, "And there''s the risk of spreading venereal diseases! Thirty years ago, who knows how many Dusacks were afflicted."


    The old monk, stroking his long beard with a laugh, said, "There are indeed ways to legally shut them down, it''s not difficult."


    "What?" Gerard''s spirits were immediately lifted.


    "They have occupied the town''s land for their operations; their personnel, tents, and vehicles can be seized."


    "That kid is cunning; he deliberately set up the tent outside the town."


    "The entire Wolfton land belongs to the public; what difference does it make if it''s inside or outside?" Monk Reed casually remarked, "Moreover, to operate such a place in Paratu, the workers are required to be regularly examined by a doctor and certified fit for work. With all the procedures scrutinized, missing just one step would be enough to deal with him."


    Gerard was somewhat at a loss for words.


    Winters tried to persuade the old Dusack, "I see that all around the tent are lumberjacks'' men. Those men lead a tough life, surrounded only by men. Allowing them an outlet is safer for the town. Besides, the license doesn''t seem fake; there''s no need for such measures against the pimp. The best approach is to ensure the town''s residents keep their own sons in check."


    Gerard fell silent, and the town hall became quiet.


    Seeing that the old Dusack was persuaded, Winters stood up, "I''ll go talk to that pimp. Only for today, after today he better clear out early."


    Gerard gave a slight nod.


    Monk Reed stopped the young officer on his way to the door, "Have you thought it through?"


    "Hmm."


    "Good."


    The door was pulled open from the outside, and Anglu hurriedly said to the young officer, "Sir, the executioner is ready."


    ...


    In Wolf Town, for crimes less than capital punishment, the Garrison Officer can make the decision alone.


    If it is a serious offense, a triple-judge committee will be formed, consisting of the town mayor, the Garrison Officer, and an envoy sent from the county.


    However, for criminals like "Horse Palm Ivan" and his gang¡ªwho are neither residents of Wolf Town nor are they caught in the act¡ª


    There is no committee, no defense allowed; the crime is already established, Winters just needs to decide the sentence.


    Winters habitually sought counsel from Monk Reed.


    The old monk smiled wryly, "What sentencing? In the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, captured bandits and robbers face the death penalty. The only difference is how you wish them to die."


    "Among the captured bandits, there''s a child, barely over twelve years old," Winters hesitated, "I want to know if Paratu''s laws offer any leniency towards him?"


    "There isn''t, but the power to decide the punishment is yours; you can reduce the sentence as you see fit," the mendicant monk''s calm was like a deep pool, "But to what extent do you want to reduce it?"


    "Exile?"


    "Paratu has no exile. Besides, where would you exile him to? This is already the frontier of the Senas Alliance." Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Corporal punishment?"


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    "To cut off one hand would mean cutting off his chances of returning to the right path, not even farms would employ those who have been punished."


    "Labor? Flogging?"


    "Don''t you think that would be too unfair to the deceased townsfolk of Wolf Town?" said Reed with a hint of sarcasm, "Legally speaking, Paratu does not recognize bandits and robbers as citizens of the Republic; they have no civic rights whatsoever, and anyone can kill them without repercussions.


    A child of twelve doesn''t join a gang willingly but is forced into becoming a bandit. Considering this, any reduction in his sentence is meaningless. In a few years, you''ll see him in a gang on the Newly Reclaimed Land. If you ask the executioner, you''ll know how many of the criminals he''s executed were habitual offenders repeatedly punished."


    "Then what should I do?"


    "What to do? Give him some property, so he can sustain himself, and he won''t fall back into banditry. But don''t you think that would be too unfair to the dead people of Wolf Town?" The old mendicant monk spoke evenly, "You are an officer stationed in Wolf Town, not one for the Horse Palm Gang. Your duty is to protect this land and its people, not to worry about the fate of a bandit!"


    ...


    Once the executioner was ready, solemn bell tolls echoed from the church.


    The Wolf Town guards unlocked the prison doors and escorted the seven bandits all the way to the town square.


    At least a thousand onlookers lined the path: farmers from five villages and Dusans, laborers working in the estates, estate owners on horseback, and their wives and daughters in horse-drawn carriages... Nearly all the people of Wolfton had made their way to the town.


    Seeing this show of force, it was clearly visible that several guards were nervous, with beads of sweat forming on Gerard''s forehead, fearing any mishap might spark unrest.


    Suddenly a woman pushed through the crowd and rushed to the prisoner''s side, savagely hitting the convict with a stone in her hand.


    Vashka and another guard hurriedly stepped forward to separate them. The woman was pushed to the side, falling onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

 Chapter 32 Terror Theater_3

    The bearded prisoner being beaten burst into loud laughter and even spat towards the woman.


    Vashka, seeing this, flew into a rage and landed a hard punch right in the center of the bearded prisoner''s face.


    The prisoner was hit so hard he was lifted off his feet, his nasal bone and two front teeth breaking on the spot. Before he could spit the blood out of his mouth, another guard stuffed it full with a ripped piece of cloth.


    A cheer erupted from the crowd of onlookers. News spread fast like the wind, and people already knew that the woman was the wife of a deceased man.


    The people of Wolf Town, who all lived by hard labor, naturally harbored deep hatred for bandits. Coupled with sympathy for the unfortunate woman, their anger burned even fiercer.


    On the short walk from the security office to the town square, stones mixed with curses flew relentlessly at the prisoners.


    The trial was simple. Several Dusacks recounted the events of the ambush that day. Mr. Bunting also took the stand, tearfully identifying the bandits and demanding blood for blood.


    After the brief proceedings, the town square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as the crowd held their breath, waiting for the Garrison Officer''s final judgment.


    The pronouncement was icy, "Death penalty, for all."


    Cheers spread from the front row of the crowd to the very back. Previously stoic, the prisoners finally couldn''t hold back their tears and began to weep loudly, the childish cries among them sounding the most pitiful.


    But no one cared for their tears. The guards dragged the prisoners from the ground to the execution site, with the crowd swarming behind them.


    In the northwest clearing of the town, the local carpenter had set up a temporary platform a few days earlier.


    The executioner, honorably known as "Master Franz," Franz Schmidt, dressed in ceremonial robes, and his assistant had already been waiting there.


    The closer they got to the execution site, the more the condemned prisoners fell apart emotionally. Some struggled fiercely, some cried out, begging the onlookers for blessings and mercy.


    Bringing the condemned to the edge of the execution site, everything was then handed over to the executioner, Franz, and his assistant. The guards visibly relaxed when they handed over the prisoners to the executioner.


    What followed was the executioner''s ceremonial performance.


    Master Franz, in his sixties with sharp eyes and a spry spirit, had carried out hundreds of executions and had his own methods for dealing with the condemned.


    One of the prisoners struggled furiously, cursing, and Franz''s assistant¡ªFranz''s sixteen-year-old grandson¡ªalmost couldn''t contain him.


    The old executioner stepped forward swiftly and delivered a piercing punch to the prisoner''s Adam''s apple.


    The man, who had just been struggling and cursing, instantly fell silent, clutching his throat and collapsing to the ground, his face turning red.


    As for those prisoners who were merely reciting prayers in desperation for forgiveness, Franz paid them no mind.


    The old executioner gestured his grandson to execute the prisoner who had received the heavy blow to the throat first. The two lifted him onto the execution platform''s "judicial chair" and tied him down with ropes.


    Father Caman stepped forward, allowed the prisoner to kiss the Bible, and listened to his final confession.


    The noisy crowd gradually quieted down, intensely focused on the executioner''s preparations, not wanting to miss a single detail.


    The old executioner was dressed in an outfit that could only be described as striking, bizarre, and flamboyant: pink tight stockings on his lower half with light blue knee-length shorts, and a blue, white-collared bodice on his upper half.


    He took off his hat as a sign of respect.


    Then he put on a leather vest to prevent his shirt from getting stained with blood.


    After the preparations were completed, he nodded to his assistant. The assistant comprehended and respectfully presented the weapon to the executioner.


    The seasoned executioner grasped the hilt, drawing the beheading sword from its scabbard in one swift motion.


    With that, the execution drama reached its climax.


    It was a formidable weapon that could be described as a greatsword, with a blade longer than one meter, weighing over six jin, its edge flat and tip-less, its sides equally wide from front to back, forged specifically for decapitation,


    An inscription on the blade read, "Beware of misdeeds, lest you dig your own grave." sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The execution ground was as silent as death itself.


    Master Franz stood solemnly in position, raised the beheading sword high behind his right shoulder, took a deep breath, and then struck with force.


    The blade traced an elegant arc through the air, severing the condemned''s cervical vertebrae from the right rear.


    The head flew off, rolling to the edge of the scaffold, blood still spurting continuously from the severed neck, drenching the executioner and his assistant.


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    The assistant picked up the head and held it high in the air, parading it around the four sides of the scaffold to show the crowd.


    Accompanied by the screams of several women, the previously silent execution ground erupted into a thunderous cheer.


    Oppressive taxes give rise to rampant banditry, and rampant banditry inevitably leads to harsh punishments and severe laws.


    Brother Reed''s words were merciless yet true: what needed to be decided was not whether the bandits lived or died, but how they should die.


    "How do you want them executed?" The master executioner asked the same question when he met with Winters.


    Burning, hanging, drowning, breaking on the wheel, dismemberment by horses¡­ every method of execution corresponded to a different crime.


    Executions were not just about killing criminals; the executions themselves were grand spectacles.


    Public trials, processions before the execution, and the execution itself, composed the three elements of this horrifying spectacle.


    Honest, hardworking people could barely make ends meet, while thieves, robbers, and bandits could acquire wealth without toil. The commoners despised bandits but also harbored a veiled envy towards them.


    Public executions served not only to intimidate the populace but also to assert the authority of worldly rulers, as well as providing a channel for the hard-living, honest folks to vent their grievances.


    The composed and reliable executioner, representing the power of the state, executed criminals in a procedural and ritualistic manner, maintaining the fragile and delicate balance between the three parties.


    Beheading¡ªthe mode of death chosen by the Garrison Officer of Montaigne¡ªwas not overly painful, quick and clean.


    It was also the only method of execution that considered the dignity of the deceased.


    Master Franz glanced at the remaining six convicts and, when he saw the sobbing child, he thought, "Heinrich [Franz''s grandson] is probably only a few years older than him."


    He gestured to his assistant that the next one should be the youngest convict.


    Every breath on the execution ground was an agony for the convicted, a gesture of the executioner''s mercy.


    "The bearded man who spat at the dead man''s family," Franz thought. "Let him be the last."

 Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion

    "Nanxin Village, Bart Xialing!"


    "West River Village, ''Red-faced'' Philpot!"


    ¡­


    Vashka pulled out small slips of paper with names written on them from the iron pot and handed them to the nearby Panveche.


    The old house steward loudly read the text on the slip while registering the names in the ledger.


    One by one, names echoed across the town square; the farmers whose names were called had ashen faces while those who didn''t hear their own silently rejoiced at having dodged a bullet.


    The pile of slips by Panveche''s right hand grew, and soon the forty-eight slots would be filled.


    Some people in the town square were counting aloud, and the count had reached forty-seven.


    Everyone watched tensely as Vashka drew the last piece of paper from the pot; many believers prayed silently.


    They prayed not to hear their own or a family member''s name next.


    Panveche took the final slip from Vashka''s hand and hesitated.


    "Hurry up and read it!" someone from the square couldn''t help but urge.


    Panveche looked at the young man beside him deeply, then loudly read, "Dusa Village, Vashka Sergeievich Morozov!"


    ¡­


    The selection for military service was now complete.


    Under pitying gazes, eighty young men stepped out of the crowd onto the open ground of the town square for the first full assembly of Wolf Town''s company of one hundred.


    Sergei shouted orders; a few old Dusacks ran through the ranks, arranging the scattered youths into four neat, horizontal lines.


    With the formation of the ranks, these farmer boys finally started to look a bit like soldiers.


    Father Anthony began leading the newly inducted militia in their oath, reciting each phrase for the militiamen to repeat after him. Then, one by one, they approached Father Anthony to kiss the Bible and holy vessels.


    After the oath was finished, the militia reformed their ranks, ready to listen to the lieutenant''s briefing.


    "Desertion is a serious crime, with family punishment as well, do not take undue risks," Winters began with a succinct explanation, "Many of you aren''t even of age yet, and many have never held a weapon before, but after the oath, there are no more children, no more farmers, only soldiers. From this moment on, you are bound by military law. Go home and prepare yourselves, go kiss your parents, your wives, and your children."


    Winters looked over the faces before him and concluded, "Now, soldiers, go home. May you all be blessed."


    ¡­


    Winters thought the lottery marked the end of the conscription process, but things were not as simple as he had believed. The lottery ceremony only marked the end of the first half, and the second was just beginning.


    The crowd at the market hadn''t dispersed when Hoffman and his son approached Lieutenant Montaigne. The Hoffmans were the owners of Golden Ear Manor, considered significant landowners in Wolf Town.


    The piece of paper with Xiao Hoffman''s name had just been drawn from the pot, and it was clear that old Hoffman was reluctant to let his son leave for military service.


    "Mr. Hoffman," Winters blocked off any arguments politely but firmly, "The lottery was entirely fair. Your son was unlucky to be chosen, and I can''t help you with that."


    "Understood, sir, we understand," old Hoffman said, rubbing his hands together, "What I mean is... shall we proceed as in previous years?"


    "What happened in previous years?" Winters asked, his eyebrows inadvertently rising.


    Obliviously, old Hoffman answered, "Sir, the way we''ve always done it in previous years, of course." sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, Winters learned what old Hoffman was referring to.


    The way was an unexpected man.


    "Sir," Berlion¡ªthe young blacksmith stepped forward before the lieutenant, "I volunteer to serve as a substitute for young Mr. Hoffman."


    "Didn''t I ask you before?" Winters glanced at the blacksmith, "You said you were unwilling at that time."


    Winters had asked the blacksmith "whether he was willing to enlist in the militia" when the conscription order was first issued.


    In the army, there was always a need for blacksmiths, especially capable ones.


    A soldier like Berlion, with his own trade, would not only be exempt from heavy physical tasks like digging trenches and building camps but would also earn double pay.


    At that time, Berlion had silently smiled and shaken his head, rejecting the lieutenant''s offer. But now, he was proactively offering to replace young Hoffman for service.


    When challenged by the lieutenant, Berlion calmly replied, "I am still unwilling." Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    "I see," Winters nodded, "How much did you sell yourself for?"


    "Mr. Hoffman has offered a very fair price."


    Winters had heard of such things as draftees paying for substitutes, but he wasn''t certain of the legality.


    After Berlion left, Winters went to Gerard to learn that "substitute service" was a well-known practice in Paratu.


    As long as the Newly Reclaimed Land Garrison got enough manpower, it didn''t care if some were serving as substitutes.


    In previous years, if sons of Wolf Town''s landowners were chosen, they would spend a sum of money to hire someone as a substitute as long as the rosters hadn''t been sent to the garrison yet.


    However, if the substitute deserted, the original draftee would also be implicated, so the substitute had to be trustworthy and reliable.


    There were not a few cases where serfs and laborers served as substitutes multiple times, saving up the money to buy land and become freeholders.


    "Berlion? Misha''s helper? Misha is very fond of him," Gerard thought for a moment and said, "Doesn''t he have a brother working at the Hoffmans''? Looks like he''s doing it to provide a dowry for his brother."


    Winters disapproved of the practice of hiring substitutes, but it also represented a form of indirect fairness. He did not want to disrupt the existing rules of operation.

 Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion_2

    So Xiao Hofman''s name was crossed out from the roll, and "Berlion from Nanxin Village" was added.


    The ink on the register hadn''t dried yet when Bell ran over, beaming: "Commander, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!"


    Winters finally understood how Mr. Michel felt when he grabbed the stick.


    "What mess are you adding to?" he forced down the urge to give the brat before him a beating: "I haven''t decided what to do with your new pet yet!"


    ¡­


    Time rewound to five days earlier, inside the hunter''s cabin.


    Winters, Bell, and a cub¡ªnow barely larger than a cat but certainly destined to weigh hundreds of kilograms one day¡ªwere in the same room.


    Bell quickly picked up the cub from the ground and held it in his embrace. The Little Lion uttered a dissatisfied groaning sound, struggling to climb onto Bell''s shoulder.


    "Sir, please don''t kill it," Bell begged as he held the cub and stepped backward, nearly in tears.


    Silence, which lasted for a good ten seconds.


    Winters sighed and asked, "Has it been weaned yet?"


    "Not yet."


    "Then what are you feeding it?"


    "At first, it was dog milk because there was a family in Hedong Village whose dog had pups. Later, when there wasn''t enough dog milk, I bought sheep''s milk."


    "You needed money for this?"


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    Bell nodded.


    "Why couldn''t you tell me straight?" Winters dragged a chair over to sit: "Put it down. The little thing is uncomfortable being held by you. If I wanted to kill it, you couldn''t stop me."


    Bell wiped away his tears and carefully set the cub down on the ground. The Little Lion, once again free, quickly hid in the corner of the room.


    The pitiable look of the young hunter reminded Winters of Elizabeth, who had found a kitten outside and had pleaded with Cosette to take it in¡ªexcept back then, it wasn''t known as the Little General; it was just a kitten with eyes yet to open.


    The scene before him inadvertently touched a soft spot in his heart. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Don''t rush.] Winters thought to himself, admonishing: [Speak in terms that Bell can understand.]


    Poor Lieutenant Bell wasn''t married yet, but he was already experiencing the troubles of parenting.


    "Male or female?" Winters gestured to the other chair across the table: "Don''t stand there, sit and talk."


    "Male." Bell obediently sat down.


    "When it''s two months old, milk alone won''t be enough. By that time, it''ll need to eat meat. Do you understand that?"


    Bell first shook his head, then quickly nodded.


    "When it needs meat, what do you plan to feed it?" Winters''s question sharpened.


    Bell answered urgently: "I''ll hunt! I''ll hunt rabbits, deer, wild boars to feed it!"


    "With your skills, you should be able to feed it until it''s half a year old. I''ll be generous and assume you can feed it until it''s one year old." Winters tapped the table lightly, his gaze fixed on the young hunter''s eyes: "But do you know how long a lioness rears her cubs?"


    The young hunter stared blankly.


    "At least two years," Winters said coldly. "According to Brother Reed, it''s not unusual for a lion cub to follow its mother for three years. You''ve seen the size of its mother; do you think you can still feed it after it''s a year old?"


    "By then, I can release it back into the forest; it can hunt on its own and eat its fill," Bell argued still.


    "Kid, have you ever raised a cat?" Winters asked an unrelated question.


    The young hunter shook his head.


    "Only kittens raised by a mother cat will catch mice because the mother teaches them how to hunt. A cat raised by people won''t catch a mouse, even if you put one right in front of it. Are you a lioness? If it gets used to the food you feed it, will it still go hunting?"


    "I..." Bell was at a loss for words.


    "Let me ask you another question, why did your father fight to the death to kill its mother?" Winters didn''t give the young hunter a chance to breathe, answering his own question: "Because its mother ate humans. And why did its mother eat humans if not because she couldn''t fill her belly with the prey in the forest? If you send it back to the forest, can it eat its fill? Won''t it just repeat its mother''s tragedy?"


    Another long silence followed, with Bell sobbing, "I don''t care; it just can''t be killed."


    The Little Lion hidden in the corner of the room gradually stopped being afraid. Unable to contain its curiosity, it shakily crept toward the table, drawing near the strange, frightening, upright ape.


    Winters felt something touching his boots and, looking down, discovered the cub had run out at some point and was rubbing and nibbling at his boot tip.


    He scooped up the Little Lion in one go. Its body was fluffy, soft, and warm, indeed feeling like that of a cat.


    Bell was startled. Just as he was about to come forward to grab it, seeing that the Lieutenant was just casually playing with the Little Lion on the table, he sat back in his chair.


    "You don''t want to kill it either, right?" Bell asked cautiously.


    "I''ve never said such a thing. If I think it will endanger Wolf Town in the future, then I won''t hesitate. But now, there are many possibilities," Winters gently rubbed the cub''s plump belly, while the Little Lion discontentedly groaned in a milky voice: "Have you helped it defecate and urinate today?"


    Bell was clearly flustered: "What?"


    "Don''t understand? I guess previously it was the mother dog you found that did the job for you," Winters sighed. "Otherwise, this little guy would have died long ago. It''s also because of its strong will to live that it has lasted this long with you."


    Winters took a handkerchief from his bosom, dipped it in warm water, and gently wiped the cub''s excretory area until the handkerchief was completely soaked with a pale yellow liquid.

 Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3

    The little lion, finally getting to relieve itself after holding it in for several days, yawned contentedly.


    "Kid, haven''t you realized yet?" Winters said as he walked to the washbasin to clean his hands, not even turning his head: "You don''t have the ability to take care of this little guy right now. Leaving it with you will only get it killed sooner or later. It''s a matter of ability, not willingness."


    Although Bell was reluctant to admit it, he couldn''t find the words to argue when he saw the handkerchief soaked with pale yellow liquid on the table.


    "And even if you could raise it, you have no clue what to do once it''s grown," Winters, having washed his hands, sat back down and nodded at the handkerchief on the table: "Wash it and return it to me tomorrow."


    "Then what do you suggest we do..." Bell said, head hung low in dejection.


    "The best fate for this behemoth in the future is probably a life in a noble''s cage," Winters said with a wry smile: "Deliver it to the emperor''s palace, and it will live comfortably from then on. The Vineta Governor''s Office might even be quite happy to buy a lion as a mascot."


    "No way!" Bell stood up fiercely: "That would be an insult to Tengri!"


    The little lion got frightened, stumbled off the table, and scurried back into the corner of the room.


    Winters, stroking his chin, said in an unhurried tone: "But it can''t go back to the mountain woods either. As the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, I won''t allow any threat to the people of Wolf Town. If you insist on putting it back, then it''s either I who will kill it, or someone from another town. Do you want to see that happen?"


    "I will raise it for a lifetime," Bell muttered.


    Winters let out a sardonic laugh: "Setting aside the matter of money. By the time it''s fully grown, the town''s pigs and sheep probably won''t be enough to feed it."


    The young hunter fell silent again.


    "I''m quite curious, though. Why are you so determined to protect it?" Winters asked earnestly.


    "Because it is a spirit of the wilderness, the favored child and mount of Tengri." Bell spoke softly: "That''s what my mother said."


    "Your mother is a Herder, right?"


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    "Yeah."


    "But your father had also killed a giant lion before."


    "The White Lion wanted to kill my dad, and my dad wanted to kill the White Lion; that''s fair," Bell continued softly: "But Tengri doesn''t allow the senseless killing of cubs. My family already owes the gods the life of a cub. I need to repay my father''s debt; otherwise, he won''t find peace or reincarnation."


    "Great, a believer. Now it''s going to be impossible to reason with you," Winters thought.


    Bell called out softly, and the little lion obediently ran over from the corner, showing no signs of the fright it had just experienced.


    It climbed onto Bell''s lap, rubbing its head forcefully against his chin and licking his face.


    Seeing the close bond between the man and the lion, Winters didn''t know what to do: "Sending it to be caged, you don''t want that."


    The young hunter nodded.


    "Sending it back to the mountain might be feasible, but I disagree," Winters said, in a resigned, fierce, self-defeating tone: "You little rascal, you might as well run off to the circus in the future!"


    ...


    Time returned to the present, and Bell ran up excitedly: "Sir, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!"


    "Why are you adding to the chaos? I haven''t yet decided what to do with your new pet!"


    "I''ve thought of what to do!" Bell shouted excitedly, eyes filled with joy: "The White Lion is sacred amongst all the four-legged tribes; we can return the White Lion to the Khan!"


    Winters gave the young hunter a cuff on the head: "I''m going to war with the ''Khan''!"


    [Note: The four-legged tribes is what the Herders call themselves, meaning horse-riding people.] S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 34 Departure

    The roster had been sent to Revodan. While waiting for the dispatch orders, the Wolf Town''s hundred-man troop began conducting some routine training.


    The subjects included formation, weapon use, and marching.


    Winters didn''t expect to turn farmers into qualified soldiers in just a few days. But even auxiliaries needed to understand discipline and obedience to survive in the army.


    This was a typical rural troop, and in its organization, Winters had made sure that the militiamen in each ten-man squad were all from the same village.


    Because not long ago, when there had been a beast infestation, the young and strong men of Wolf Town had all participated in the hunting teams.


    So, who was capable and diligent, who was honest and reliable, who spoke in a way that fellow villagers were willing to listen to... after the ordeal of the beast infestation, Winters had a good understanding of these matters.


    The Centurions he appointed were all capable of commanding respect, and there were no militiamen who felt dissatisfied.


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    Except for Pierre Mitchell.


    "Big brother Winters," at the Mitchells'' dinner table, Pierre was still not pleased, "Why am I not a Centurion?"


    Before Winters could answer, Gerard, with a stern face, scolded, "You''re on duty, you should call him an officer or Centurion. When I was on duty, if you dared address an officer that way, you''d be invited to a full helping of the whip."


    Ever since Pierre had joined the militia, Gerard''s temper had been flaring up.


    Unable to convince his wife, Gerard could only hope that his son would grit his teeth and persist, preferring death to submission. However, it turned out that Pierre was just as spineless in front of his mother.


    Now Mr. Mitchell would get angry whenever he saw Mr. Mitchell.


    "What''s the big deal," Pierre muttered under his breath.


    "No, listen to your father, it''s important," Mrs. Mitchell said gently, squeezing her son''s arm, "You might not think it''s a big deal, but if others hear you, it could undermine Mr. Montaigne''s authority. The lieutenant has already helped you a lot, don''t cause trouble for those who have helped you."


    Pierre was not afraid of his father but was very afraid of his mother. When Mrs. Mitchell spoke, Pierre fell silent.


    Gerard huffed and puffed, "You just wait. Once you''re in the barracks, people like you, I guarantee, will be set straight in a few days."


    After dinner, during the leisure time¡ªalso known as "the gentlemen''s time" among the Mitchells'' maids¡ªthe men, as usual, moved to the living room.


    There were no other guests today, and Gerard lay comfortably on the leather armchair, filling his pipe and pouring himself a drink, casually chatting with Winters. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the past, this room did not include Pierre. Sometimes other leather armchairs would be occupied by visiting priests, old Dusack, and estate owners.


    But ever since Pierre''s name was registered, Mr. Mitchell had tacitly allowed Mr. Mitchell to join as well.


    After holding it in for a long time, Pierre could no longer restrain himself and asked, "Then why can Vasya be a Centurion?"


    His buddy had become a Centurion, while he remained a regular soldier. Why? What for? Mr. Mitchell''s head was filled with these questions.


    Just as Gerard was about to lose his temper, Winters calmed old Dusack down and explained seriously, "Because Vashka is older than you are."


    "That''s the reason?"


    "Everyone in the hundred-man troop, the Dusacks, are relatively young. If you were nineteen, you would be a Centurion too."


    Pierre was left speechless but soon couldn''t resist asking, "Then when can we practice shooting?"


    "What are they practicing now?" Gerard, too, was curious and asked the lieutenant.


    "Formation. I plan to focus on practicing marching over the next few days."


    "It''s just walking around the drill ground, it''s particularly boring," Pierre blurted out, "round and round, like a donkey turning a millstone."


    Girard slapped the back of his son''s head, "Don''t underestimate marching, marching is an art. The old Duke won battle after battle with us thanks to marching."


    [Note: The old Duke refers to the "Butcher" Duke of Alen?on]


    "What''s so artistic about it? It''s just marching," Pierre said, holding his head and speaking in a tone of grievance.


    "Could you lead a hundred-man troop to march sixty miles a day, from Wolfton all the way to Revodan, without a single person falling out of line? Could you manage that?"


    "Yeah, why not? Just follow along, right?"


    "You could do nothing of the sort! You''ve got no skills, yet you talk tough," Gerard became angry once more and slapped his son again, "If you were leading, you wouldn''t make it thirty miles before the front and the rear were two kilometers apart. You wouldn''t even notice if someone slipped away halfway!"


    Old Dusack looked at Winters, "Lieutenant, train him harshly, let the boy suffer a bit; otherwise, he won''t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth."


    "We have been training in the town square these few days," Winters replied with a smile, "Tomorrow I plan to take them for a walk in the fields."


    ...


    ...


    The hundred-man troop of Wolf Town, dressed in various outfits, was progressing through the wilderness in a single file formation.


    Pierre, carrying a musket, was limping forward with each step causing excruciating pain.


    But the formation kept pushing him forward, not allowing him to rest.


    In the morning, the lieutenant had distributed weapons from the Town Armory to the militiamen. Pierre thought they were going to practice shooting that day.


    He rushed to the front and grabbed a matchlock gun, smugly thinking he had got himself a great toy.


    As Pierre was waiting for the bullets and gunpowder to be distributed, the lieutenant ordered everyone to take up their arms and follow him.


    They walked the entire day.


    No one knew when they had left the road; the troop kept marching through the wilds until they reached the banks of the Big Horn River and then continued along the riverbank.


    At first, there were cheerful voices and laughter in the formation, but in the end, only painful silence remained.


    Pierre was now finding it very difficult even to breathe; he only felt the muscles in his legs stiff and sore, his feet, shoulders, and groin seemed as if they were being rubbed raw with iron sand.

 Chapter 34 Departure_2

    He had completely lost any sense of direction, and simply followed numbly.


    The luckiest militiamen only received a bow, and even that was an unstrung single bow that felt like a stick in their hands.


    Those who were assigned fighting swords and pikes were a bit less fortunate, as these weapons were heavier.


    The unluckiest poor souls had to carry muskets. The matchlock guns bought from Revodan weighed sixteen pounds each and did not come with slings.


    Pierre felt like he was carrying a weight of a thousand catties on his shoulder, his flesh sore and numb from the pressure.


    He finally understood the somewhat elusive smile on the lieutenant''s face when he saw him eagerly claiming the musket.


    "That guy," Pierre thought resentfully, "must be comfortably riding on his silver-gray steed, laughing at our suffering."


    Right beside him flowed the turbulent Big Horn River, and Pierre, pushed to his limit, had the thought: Just jump into the river, and I won''t have to endure this any longer.


    He startled himself with this thought and shook his head vigorously.


    A voice in his head kept tempting him, "Why do you put yourself through this? Why not rest for a while? Rest a bit, you''ll feel much better. Don''t worry about what others think. Who are they to judge you?"


    Finally, Pierre abandoned all his self-respect. He sat down on the ground and, as if declaring to someone, he yelled, "I can''t go on anymore!"


    The people behind him simply glanced at him, wordlessly walked around him, and continued to follow the column forward. Everyone did the same.


    Sitting on the ground, Pierre first felt an indescribable pleasure, but soon an endless shame followed.


    He lay on the ground, burying his head in the weeds.


    "Hey? What''s wrong with you?" It was Vashka''s voice.


    "I can''t walk anymore," Pierre said, sniffing. He wiped his face haphazardly, not wanting anyone to see him crying: "I don''t want to walk anymore."


    Vashka picked up Pierre''s musket, "Hang in there a little longer."


    Pierre got to his feet with his hands on the ground and nodded silently.


    Vashka shouldered Pierre''s gun and his pike, while Pierre followed him limping, the two rejoining the column.


    "Vasya," Pierre said softly.


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    "I now know why you can be a centurion."


    Loud trumpet calls came from the front, with someone shouting, "Rest where you are! Rest where you are!"


    Upon hearing the command to rest, the exhausted militiamen dropped their weapons and collapsed to the ground.


    Pierre, unable to wait, yanked off his boots. Both of his feet were swollen like radishes, blistered over.


    "Feels like I''ve chafed down there," Vashka said with a wry smile.


    Pierre didn''t respond; that area between his legs was also painfully burning.


    A man walked up from the front of the formation. The militiamen along his path lowered their heads in a salute¡ªthey simply couldn''t stand up.


    Approaching Vashka and Pierre, the two recognized the newcomer as Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The lieutenant carried a musket as he passed by the two Dusacks, nodding lightly at them.


    "Gentlemen."


    "Officer."


    They brushed past each other and the lieutenant continued his walk towards the back of the column.


    "See?" Vashka nudged Pierre with his elbow, whispering, "He carried a saber and shouldered a gun, walked all the way as if nothing was wrong."


    Only then did Pierre recall: when they set out, Lieutenant Winters Montagne was not on horseback.


    ...


    In the days that followed, Winters led his hundred-strong company through wilderness marches every day.


    The militiamen, mostly of peasant stock, generally had no complaints, for they were fed and paid for the training.


    In strict terms, the intensity of Winters'' training was not very high, roughly fifteen kilometers of cross-country marching per day with only weapons to carry.


    If it were the Standing Army, they would have to march at least twenty kilometers outdoors every day, and that was with a full pack of weapons and camp gear.


    The young Dusacks were still tormented to the point of crying for their mothers. According to Gerard, Pierre even urinated blood. But the youngster never spoke disheartening words, simply going home and falling straight asleep.


    Pierre''s suffering was obvious to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, who felt it deeply in their hearts.


    But Gerard still thumped his chest, assuring the lieutenant, "Grind that boy to dust, and if he dies from exhaustion, blame me."


    Ellen Mitchell, however, was growing increasingly intolerant, with every bruise, swelling, and blister on Pierre''s body tormenting her.


    Winters was surprised to discover a subtle shift in the atmosphere at the Mitchell''s.


    Mrs. Mitchell, who had been adamant about sending her son to join the militia, was now hoping to hire a substitute to serve for Pierre, or to simply have Pierre leave the militia and wait until he was older.


    And Gerard, who had initially been firmly against Pierre''s enlistment, now would not agree to a substitution, nor would he agree to let Pierre leave the militia.


    Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell had another heated argument.


    In the end, it was Pierre himself who made the decision: "Dad, Mom, stop fighting. I''m staying with the militia."


    ...


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    On the fourth Tuesday of October, a day shrouded in thick fog, Winters received his orders.


    The militia assembled in the town square; relatives came to see them off.


    Sons left parents, husbands left wives, fathers left children, brothers left siblings... a scene of bleak sorrow.


    No matter how many times he experienced this, Winters could never grow numb to it.


    Unable to bear the sight, he quietly went to help Gerard load the cart.


    The Newly Reclaimed Land was sparsely populated with vast expanses, and they had to camp in the wild most of the way. Cooking equipment and food were loaded onto four double-team wagons, while the militiamen were responsible for carrying tents.

 Chapter 34 Departure_3

    The horse and wagon were both purchased by Gerard using funds from the town. Gerard Mitchell was not only a good town mayor but also a good man; Winters had inexpressible gratitude towards him.


    Winters additionally bought a double-hitched wagon, outwardly claiming it was for carrying the lieutenant''s baggage while in reality, the lion cub was hidden inside.


    Bell had no more strength to care for the lion cub; Winters retrieved the Little Lion from the hunter''s cabin to the security office, feeding it a mixture of cooked minced meat and sheep''s milk.


    Watching the little guy grow bigger by the day, he had reached seventeen pounds in no time, and holding him felt like cradling a large dog.


    Winters couldn''t help but seriously consider Bell''s suggestion: to hand over the "White Lion" to a certain Hurd tribe on the grasslands. Afterwards, he wouldn''t need to worry anymore since they would surely be delighted to present the White Lion to their Khan.


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    It sounded ridiculous at first, but upon closer consideration, it was actually feasible.


    Unable to bear the thought of it dying by his hand, the sight of the Little Lion affectionately licking him made it impossible for Winters to contemplate killing it.


    At worst, releasing the lion into the wilderness far from Wolf Town seemed like a solution.


    Hence, both Bell and the lion cub appeared in the caravan, with Bell serving in place of Ashley Wilkes.


    What the young hunter didn''t know was that Winters had secretly returned the money paid by the Wilkes family.


    As stated in the official paperwork, Bell was not a substitute but a volunteer, and this could also count towards fulfilling one term of active service required of the Dusans.


    Ralph too probably hoped that his son would be accepted by the Dusans once again.


    No one came to send off Bell, nor did anyone come for the young colt-handler Anglu. The two boys, who had both lost their parents, sat in the wagon, silently watching the militiamen tenderly interacting with their families in the town square.


    Among those who came to see them off was someone who shouldn''t have been there: Franz "the Master Teacher" Schmitt.


    Winters walked to the southeast corner of the town square, to an inconspicuous nook where the white-haired old executioner was saying something to his grandson.


    The executioner and his grandson wore simple grey outerwear, a stark contrast to the flamboyant costumes they wore at the scaffold.


    The old executioner was there to send off his grandson, Heinrich Schmitt.


    Upon seeing the lieutenant approaching, Franz removed his cap and bowed deeply, "Thank you for giving Heinrich a chance, sir."


    "It was nothing."


    No matter how one explains it, an executioner''s role involves killing. It is a cursed profession; "spawn of the executioner" is one of the vilest curses.


    People need executioners yet despise, scorn, and shun them.


    Because no other trade or community would accept them, the role of executioner often becomes a family craft.


    Many executioner families were assigned this role due to tarnished reputations, and the Schmitt family was such.


    The Master Teacher Franz dreamed of restoring his family''s honor and, if not, at least enabling his descendants to escape the executioner''s fate.


    The military draft in Wolf Town was an opportunity. After serving as a soldier, Heinrich would be entitled to priority in purchasing new land from the Republic.


    There, he might hide his name and bury his family''s past, leading the life of an ordinary farmer.


    "Don''t fear hardship, don''t think of home..." Franz kept instructing in a nagging tone.


    Heinrich nodded, but his grandfather''s next move took him by surprise.


    The old executioner retrieved a beheading sword from the wagon and solemnly handed it to his grandson.


    "Take this," Franz said, word by word. "Remember the pain this sword has brought to the Schmitt family, and never forget it."


    "But Grandfather, what about you?" Heinrich awkwardly held the large sword.


    Franz sighed, "It''s time for me to retire."


    ...


    "Winters brother! The wagons are all loaded!" Xial hurried to Winters'' side, panting, "When are we leaving?"


    "Xial," Winters patted Xial''s shoulder, "You must call me Centurion now."


    The Wolf Town century, now fully staffed with eighty soldiers, two constables, and one officer, had all assembled.


    The two constable positions were conferred by Winters to Xial and Heinrich Schmitt.


    The troops formed into two neat columns. Priest Caman presided over the blessing ceremony for their departure.


    After the ceremony, Caman led out two horses from behind the churchyard, one saddled and the other loaded with bags.


    "How can we go without an army chaplain?" the young priest asked with a smile.


    Brother Reed approached from the crowd seeing them off: "Brother Caman, you''re following along?"


    "I can''t rest at ease if I don''t go," Caman said, his tone one of seeking forgiveness.


    "Ah, there''s not much point for me staying here without you," Reed sighed, then turned to the lieutenant, "Lad, are you still in need of a scribe?"


    Winters didn''t waste words: "I''ll have Xial pack your bags."


    "What bags do I have?" The old mendicant monk laughed heartily, "I came with nothing but the clothes on my back, and I''ll leave with the same."


    "Anglu!"


    The young colt-handler came running at the call.


    "Get the chestnut with the mane ready to saddle, for Brother Reed to ride."


    "You little rascal, you just want to see me dead," the old monk glared at the lieutenant, "You expect this old frame to ride a horse? And you''ve got some imagination. Don''t you have a big wagon? I''ll take the wagon."


    With that, the old monk walked off toward the wagon with a carefree stride.


    Winters mounted Strongrunner, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the soldiers, the misty Wolf Town in the morning, the forest in the distance shrouded by thick fog, mountains and the eternally snow-capped peaks.


    "Move out," he nudged the horse''s flanks lightly, the first to exit the town square.


    The Wolf Town Montaigne century was ordered to Maplestone City''s main camp.


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 Chapter 35 The Parachuting Boss

    Before I knew it, it was late December. Comfortable, cool autumn had passed and now even wearing two layers of clothing couldn''t ward off the chill.


    Located in a low-latitude region, Paratu only experienced ice on the coldest days of the year, but on some mornings, one could still see a layer of frost congealed on the ground.


    Outside Shuangqiao City, in a corner of the army camp, Bell was sitting in front of a fire, lost in thought.


    The wood crackled in the blaze, the wind occasionally scattering the flames, but still, they stubbornly radiated light and heat.


    In the damp chill of winter, this small flame was the only thing that could make one feel warm.


    Next to the bonfire stood a military tent, from which Berlion emerged carrying a pot of iron. He placed the pot over the fire, then turned to go back into the tent.


    Seeing the blacksmith coming over, Bell stirred up the fire to make it burn more vigorously. Berlion set the pot on the fire and then turned back to the tent.


    By the tent, Anglu hummed an off-tune melody, cheerfully brushing a chestnut-colored warhorse.


    "You don''t even ride Rejek that often, Lieutenant, what''s with the enthusiastic grooming?" Bell picked up a stone and threw it at the groom: "If you''ve got spare time, you might as well come help the blacksmith and me with the cooking!"


    Anglu turned a deaf ear and continued to busily tend to the horse. Accompanied by the "shush" of the brush, the chestnut mare contentedly snored away.


    The groom only had eyes for the horse and paid no attention to others.


    On the other hand, another person crawled out from under a woolen blanket by the fire.


    "Ready yet?" Pierre, half-asleep, stretched and asked tiredly, "I thought I smelled food?"


    "Food is there, but in an hour," Bell said, leaning on the fire stick, "If you two were willing to help out, we might be able to eat a little sooner."


    "Alright then," Pierre ducked back under the blanket, "Call me in an hour."


    "Lazybones."


    "Let the groom help you; I was on night watch last night."


    "Can you go back and sleep in the tent, then? Don''t be in the way here."


    "The tent is colder than outside, outside there''s the sun and fire," Pierre''s consciousness began to blur, "I''m not you, who can cuddle with a lion for warmth."


    Bell was at a loss for words. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    The little Hunter might deceive others but not the comrades who shared the same iron pot and tent.


    News spread fast in the camp, and now the militiamen of Wolf Town''s hundred man unit all knew the Lieutenant had a pet.


    However, most of them still thought it was a rare hunting dog, only Pierre and a few others knew it was a lion.


    Berlion, Pierre, Anglu, and Bell were all part of Vashka''s group of ten, which, besides the blacksmith, were all Dusacks.


    Because the little Hunter often had to take the young lion to deserted spots outside the camp for exercise, his secret was quickly uncovered by the other members of the group of ten.


    Although they were initially shocked when they found out, in the end, without exception, everyone chose to keep Bell''s secret.


    Firstly, due to the camaraderie of "tent brothers," and secondly, the Little Lion was still at a size comparable to a large dog¡ªa cute rather than frightening stage of life.


    Because they shared the same secret, their relationship grew even closer.


    Of course, there was another reason: as the lion cub was kept in an officer''s tent, it was obvious that Centurion Montaigne was behind it all, and no one wanted to get on the bad side of a direct superior.


    Indeed, Winters had his own reasons for assigning these men into one "mess."


    [Note: A group of ten sharing one tent was also called a "mess" or "tent."]


    Pierre and the little groom were the Hunter''s close buddies, and Vashka along with the other three Dusacks were friends of Pierre. As for Berlion, the blacksmith usually kept to himself and was the least likely to reveal secrets.


    Those in the know kept silent, while others spread rumors, and eventually, the story going around was "the Lieutenant has a dog."


    ¡­


    After grooming the red mane, Anglu led out Sturdy to brush its coat.


    Not wanting to leave the two fine horses in the camp stables, the little groom set up a horse shed on the edge of the camp area.


    The water in the pot was boiling, and Berlion took out wheat flour, meat, and a few vegetables from the tent, beginning to cook noodle soup.


    The sun was at its highest, the warmest time of the day in winter.


    Other soldiers and civilians in the camp took advantage of the good sunlight, also busy preparing something to eat.


    Hunter Bell would occasionally bring back a few rabbits or pheasants from the woods, and blacksmith Berlion''s cooking skills were excellent, making the food of Vashka''s group of ten quite decent.


    The food for the others varied, depending largely on the cooking skills of the soldiers in charge.


    ¡­


    The Shuangqiao Main Camp was divided into areas by hundreds of units, with tents of Wolf Town people surrounding Vashka''s group of ten. Next to the people of Wolf Town were those from Blackwater Town, and then those from Saint Town.


    Auxiliaries from various secondary towns of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province were encamped on the open ground of the eastern wing of the camp, currently nominally under the First Auxiliary Legion of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Most of the wooden barracks on the western wing of the camp were empty, the area reserved for the Standing Army.


    Although not many Standing Army soldiers were in the camp at the moment, auxiliaries had no right to stay in the barracks and could only sleep in tents.


    In the center of the camp, heavily guarded, was a mountain of military equipment and grain.


    Shuangqiao Main Camp, adjacent to the border, was the largest logistical hub for the Parlatu Army.


    A network of roads like blood vessels brought war supplies from every city, town, village of the Republic to this point.


    All supply convoys heading to the front-line troops had to set off from Shuangqiao Main Camp.


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    At present, the Wolf Town hundred man unit was stationed in Shuangqiao Main Camp, responsible for loading and unloading tasks.

 Chapter 35 The Parachuting Boss_2

    ...


    Boiling water, wheat flour, vegetables, meat, sprinkled with a pinch of salt and spices, turn into a pot of fragrant noodle soup.


    Attracted by the smell, Pierre got up, and Anglu also led the draught animal back to the stable.


    Bell, Berlion, Pierre, and Anglu sat around the fire. As usual, Berlion always served everyone else first.


    Pierre pulled out a wooden bowl from his bag, wiped it carelessly with his clothing, and handed it to the blacksmith.


    Mr. Mitchell looked around sleepily, yawned, and asked, "Where are the four of them?"


    "Gone to play," the blacksmith answered curtly.


    "And they haven''t come back?"


    "They just left this morning."


    Berlion handed a bowl filled with noodle soup to Pierre, who took it and stared blankly at the fire, lost in thought.


    After a while, he sighed, "They say we''re militia, but what''s really the difference between us and the laborers?"


    "Of course, there''s a difference, laborers get paid, but you don''t," said Bell without looking up.


    Meanwhile, Anglu slurped the noodle soup with loud slurping noises.


    ...


    On October 27, in the year 558 of the Empire, Montagne''s centurion team reached Maplestone City.


    After receiving their weapons at the main camp of the stationed legion, the centurion team headed straight to Hosencorp to transport supplies without stopping.


    In addition to weapons, the legion also assigned twice as many laborers to the centurion team.


    The experienced conscriptor Gerard was right; so-called militiamen were, in reality, just laborers with weapons.


    Lieutenant Winters Montagne had, nominally, eighty militiamen and one hundred and sixty laborers under his command, but in fact, he had two hundred and forty laborers.


    In the nearly two months that followed, Winters led his men all over the Republic of Palatu, escorting supplies, loading and unloading, building camps, repairing roads¡­


    The Kingdom of Galloping Horses had already come to blows with the Hurd tribes, but it was basically unrelated to the centurion team from Wolf Town.


    When the 6th and 7th legions of Palatu crossed the Border River in mid-October, Wolf Town had not yet been conscripted.


    As the subsequent troops advanced into the territory of the Hurd tribes, the centurion team from Wolf Town was driving wagons on the country roads.


    For the people of Wolf Town, "war" was just hard physical labor, the loudly recited dispatch of good news on the streets, and occasionally news heard from other soldiers.


    Pierre and the other Dusacks sighed; for them, the war was supposed to be about hanging sabers on the wall, adventure stories told by fathers, and the boasts of drunk uncles and granduncles.


    They all harbored some dreams of achieving great deeds and exhibiting the spirit of a hero. Yet now, after two months of service, all they did was two months of physical labor.


    But being spared the risk of combat, Winters was quite satisfied. In camps like the one in Maplestone and Shuangqiao Main Camp, he even had unexpected reunions with many classmates.


    Previously, Lieutenant Vineta was scattered across Palatu, rarely seeing each other. Now that the army was conscripting the local militia, they had the chance to leave their stations and would occasionally bump into each other on the road or in camps.


    During these few months in Palatu, the life of Lieutenant Vineta and his peers was very tough, and they had endless things to talk about.


    After asking around, Winters received bad news: none of the Lieutenant Vinetas had seen Gold, and naturally, none had received the Gold Coins sent through Thor Gold.


    The pirate leader embezzled the money for his own greed?


    Impossible, if that were the case, Xial couldn''t have possibly made it alive to Wolf Town. The only possibility was that Gold had encountered an accident.


    Without other means, Winters reluctantly wrote to Gerard for help, hoping Gerard would use Major Ronald''s connections at the County Garrison to inquire about it. But for now, he had received no reply.


    By mid-December, the material conscription within the borders of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses had come to an end.


    The supplies, which were a mountain of grain, arms, and ammunition, were stored in Shuangqiao Main Camp. The Palatu Army was not short on supplies now but lacked the ability to transport them to the frontline.


    Therefore, starting from mid-December, auxiliary military units from various regions began to converge on Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Montagne''s centurion team had arrived at Shuangqiao Main Camp for over a week.


    ...


    Disappointed as they were, they still had to eat.


    A pot of noodle soup was devoured clean by the four men.


    Scraping the bottom of the pot with his spoon, Anglu praised, "Blacksmith, how come everything you make is so delicious?"


    Berlion smiled, didn''t speak.


    Pierre belched and casually asked, "On duty this afternoon?"


    "No, today it''s the turn of the people from Little Shizhen."


    "Then, shall we play dice?"


    "I can''t," Andre replied while eating, "I have to take Rejek out for a run this afternoon."


    "What about you?" Pierre turned to the Hunter.


    Bell shook his head, "I have something else to do."


    Pierre then looked at the blacksmith, a man he didn''t even need to ask.


    Mr. Mitchell burrowed back into his blanket, "Then I might as well sleep."


    As they were chatting, a man with a military saber in his left hand and a knapsack over his right shoulder entered the Wolf Town camp.


    The man stopped one of the Wolf Town militia and casually asked, "Is this Montaigne''s centurion unit?"


    Inside the army, unit numbers were seldom used; it was customary to refer to a unit by the commander''s last name, such as Montaigne''s centurion unit or Kongtai''er''s battalion, and so on. However, for the militia, they preferred to call themselves after their town.


    The stopped Wolf Town militia was stunned for a moment, then nodded in confirmation.


    "Where are Bard''s centurion unit and Cherini''s centurion unit?"


    The confused Wolf Town militia countered, "What Bard''s centurion unit and Cherini''s centurion unit?"


    "He means the Saint Town and Blackwater Town people," Pierre interrupted, crawling out of his blanket. "They''re over there, those are Lieutenant Cherini''s men, and farther over there are Lieutenant Bard''s men."


    Pierre casually pointed, his gaze inevitably drawn to the man before him.


    This was a tall and strong male, dressed in an old cavalry uniform. His jawline obscured by a thick beard, a prominent nose bisected his features.


    Anyone would remember that face, since a black eyepatch covered the man''s left eye - he was a one-eyed man.


    Yet when he used his remaining right eye to examine someone, it exerted a pressure greater than that of any other person with two eyes combined.


    "Where is Lieutenant Montaigne now?"


    "He should be in the officer''s quarters," Pierre asked as politely as possible. "May I know who you are?"


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    The one-eyed man did not answer, but instead said coldly, "Have Lieutenant Montaigne, Lieutenant Cherini, and Lieutenant Bard come to see me."


    "May I know who you are?" Pierre persisted, asking again.


    "I am John Jeska," the one-eyed man seemed to smile, dropping his knapsack on the ground. He stared intently at Pierre and said, "I am your battalion commander, a major."


    ...


    When Pierre found Winters, the three centurions were having lunch with Priest Caman and Brother Reed.


    Upon hearing someone claiming to be Major Jeska, Winters, Andre, and Bard dropped their utensils and headed for the Wolf Town camp.


    Although the auxiliary legion was indeed an auxiliary force, it had a complete organization with a battalion command layer between the legion and the centurion unit.


    The Montaigne centurion unit was nominally part of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province First Auxiliary Legion, Third Battalion, First Centurion Unit, while Andre and Bard commanded the Second and Third Centurion Units.


    The entire Third Battalion currently had only three centurion units, considered a half-sized battalion. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Previous tasks were carried out at the centurion unit level, so there had been no battalion commander, and Winters received orders directly from the Parlatu Army logistics department.


    It was only yesterday that Winters and his colleagues were informed: Major John Jeska had been appointed as the Third Battalion commander and would soon take office.


    They had just been chatting and speculating about the origins of the new battalion commander at the dining table and hadn''t expected this "Major Jeska" to arrive so quickly.


    No sooner had the three arrived at the Wolf Town centurion unit''s camp, they learned that the major had already gone to the headquarters of the legion. The three centurions, who had just sprinted over from the officer''s quarters in the center of the main camp, had no choice but to turn back.


    Eventually, they met the one-eyed major at the legion archive.


    The one-eyed major stood at the desk of Colonel [Karl Heinrich Angus], commander of archives, with a saber and a rucksack placed on the colonel''s work desk.


    Major Jeska himself was using his only right eye to examine a dossier.


    Seeing the three lieutenants knock and enter the room, Colonel Angus found an excuse to leave, allowing Jeska and his three subordinates to be alone.


    "You three," the one-eyed major leaned on the desk, his tone unfriendly, "how did you end up commanding militia?"

 Chapter 35 The Shack Street

    "Vasya! Where are you?" Pierre rushed through the streets, anxiously shouting, "Vasya!"


    The narrow street was flanked by low and simple shanties, many of which didn''t even have doors, just a piece of torn cloth to block the prying eyes of the passersby.


    The road was narrow and crowded, and Pierre''s shouts were drowned out by the cries of the street vendors.


    "Do you want to buy some tobacco, officer?" A dirty kid followed close behind Pierre, "Want to buy? I''ve got good stuff. Pipe tobacco? Chewing tobacco?"


    "Not buying!" Pierre replied, annoyed.


    The kid was persistent and kept nagging him, "What about booze, officer? Ale? Beer? I also have wine, just tell me what you want to drink..."


    Pierre ignored the kid, striding determinedly through the streets, shouting, and roughly pushing aside the slow-moving pedestrians.


    Innocent passersby were pushed to nearly fall over and were about to curse out loud, only to inadvertently catch a glimpse of the distinctive forehead hair, the small braid, and the Dusack knife at the man''s waist.


    So the vulgar words that reached their lips were swallowed back down, turning into a vicious curse in their stomachs, "Damn Tartar!"


    ...


    Since Marshal Ned built the Shuangqiao Main Camp thirty-one years ago, it has been the Republic of Palatu''s most central logistics hub for every war with Hurd''s tribes.


    Now, the "Shanty Street" between the city walls and the barracks, was a slum in Shuangqiao City thirty years ago.


    Wherever there are people, there are needs. With the completion of the Shuangqiao Main Camp, all sorts of people flocked to this crowded, dirty, and smelly district: vendors, prostitutes, go-betweens, black-market dealers...


    Some scraped a living by providing services to men in the camp, while others waited outside the barracks to sniff out opportunities to make a big score.


    Jingling silver coins were paid out to soldiers and laborers by the logistics officers, only to end up in the pockets of the hawkers and runners of the Shanty Street.


    Invisible veins linked the Shuangqiao Main Camp to Shanty Street, which, under the nourishment of money and sweat, displayed a kind of diseased prosperity.


    ...


    Many soldiers and laborers spent more time in Shanty Street than in the barracks, but Pierre rarely came here.


    Now, as he walked along the noisy street, he was utterly lost. He had no idea which shanty Vashka and the others were in, and shouting their names down the street was useless.


    Having no choice, Pierre began to check each shanty:


    He lifted a door curtain, and a bunch of shirtless men were gambling. He didn''t recognize them;


    He lifted another curtain, where a few laborers were plucking a hen. Not this one;


    He lifted yet another curtain, where a pair of hairy legs were busily moving atop a pair of pale ones, neither upper nor lower belonged to Vashka...


    Pierre hurried along, causing chaos in his wake, with the kid having to run to keep up.


    But the kid, like sticky candy, simply couldn''t be shaken off, incessantly asking:


    "What about women, officer? Do you want women? I know which women in which house are sick, and which aren''t. I''ll introduce you for free, no finder''s fee. Or perhaps, officer, you''d like to gamble? I know a good place, with all sorts of games!"


    A kid not even ten years old, but his mouth was full of "women," "tobacco," "alcohol," "gambling,"¡ªit was both ridiculously comical and profoundly sad.


    But Pierre completely ignored him, well aware that any response would make this little. bastard. even more aggressive.


    The kids on Shanty Street had sharp eyes; they could tell at a glance who wasn''t a regular.


    So, every time Pierre came to Shanty Street, he was endlessly harassed, to the point of irritation.


    These kids running amok on the street also had sticky fingers. Despite calling him "officer," at the slightest inattention, they would ruthlessly steal even a soldier''s underwear.


    After losing a purse once, Pierre made sure to carry a saber whenever he came to Shanty Street.


    Seeing that the Dusack in front of him paid him no attention, the kid who had followed Pierre all the way suddenly had an idea.


    He asked in a mysterious tone, "Officer, do you need money? If there''s nothing you want to buy, selling''s fine too. Leather boots, wooden planks, gunpowder, lead, muskets, armor, anything you dare to sell, we dare to buy, and we guarantee a fair price. No goods? You can sell information too..."


    Already in a state of anxiety and impatience, Pierre finally lost his temper. He turned around, drew his saber, and bellowed, "I''m not buying anything! Not selling anything! If you dare follow me again, I''ll chop you dead with one strike!"


    The kid was at first stunned, then turned tail and ran.


    But after only a few steps, he stopped, pointed at Pierre''s nose, and cursed loudly, "You damned Tartar! Dusack with bowels full of maggots! Devil and donkey''s crossbreed! Your life isn''t worth as much as my balls! When you become a lonely ghost on the battlefield, let the crows peck out your eyes! Let stray dogs eat your balls! Let the devil drag you to hell to be a [luan] boy!"


    After spewing his venom, the kid made a face and disappeared into the crowd.


    "Little bastard, don''t run!" Pierre, red-faced with anger, chased after him. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he stood no chance of catching him and could only watch helplessly as the kid disappeared into the dark alleys of Shanty Street.


    The impotently furious Pierre roared at the sky, causing passersby and street vendors to look his way.


    "What''s the matter here?" Vashka came running out of a shanty with his belt still undone, holding up his pants.


    "Hurry back to camp with me!" Pierre, having finally found him, didn''t have time to be angry. He grabbed Vasya''s arm and urgently said, "A big officer has come! The lieutenant wants everyone to assemble."


    Vashka panicked too, "What? Damn! Where''s my belt?"


    "Where are Toman, Guoquan, and the others?"


    "Hey! They didn''t go with me!" Vasya slapped his thigh. "I''ll go look for them with you."


    "Let''s go!" Pierre lifted his leg to leave, but was held back by a Centurion.


    "Pierre, did you bring money?" Vasya asked awkwardly. "I haven''t paid over there yet."


    Pierre sighed helplessly and reached for his waistband.


    After fumbling for a moment, his expression suddenly changed: "My wallet! The damn little bastard stole my wallet again!"


    Where the wallet should have hung from the belt, there was now nothing but emptiness.


    The leather cord that tied the wallet had been cut with a sharp blade.


    ...


    After finding the other three in the tent street, Vasya and Pierre hurried back to the camp.


    But it was still too late. Colonel Jeska had already returned from headquarters with three lieutenants, and three hundred-man squads stood in neat formations on the field.


    Sneaking in was out of the question, so Vasya and the others had to grit their teeth and approach.


    "Ten lashes each," the one-eyed colonel declared coldly without asking where they had been. "Fall in."


    The five Dusacks breathed a sigh of relief and quickly rejoined their ranks.


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    Truth be told, they''d rather be whipped a few times in plain sight than endure the humiliation of standing there for everyone to see¡ªit felt more straightforward.


    Afterward, other militiamen gradually returned, and Colonel Jeska treated everyone indiscriminately, administering ten lashes to each.


    It took nearly two and a half hours for three hundred-man squads to assemble completely, and the colonel made everyone stand in the small parade ground for the same amount of time.


    Once everyone had assembled, it should have been time for the new commander''s speech, but John Jeska skipped all that.


    "The execution will take place before sunset," the colonel announced, looking at his three Centurions with his one eye. "You three will carry it out personally, take care of your own soldiers. If there''s a Centurion, add five lashes, and replace them."


    Afterwards, he disbanded the three hundred-man squads.


    Even after the dismissal order, the troops still stood in place, not moving an inch. Everyone felt that something was missing and didn''t know whether they should leave or not.


    The militiamen were perplexed, but to the three lieutenants new to the commander''s style, this was no longer surprising.


    ...


    You see, the first thing the one-eyed colonel said after meeting them was "How did the three of you end up commanding militia?"


    "What do you mean? Pretending not to know?" Hearing this, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Winters''s mind. "Is this a show of authority? A provocation? Is he trying to deliberately anger us?"


    The awkward position of Venetian lieutenants in the Republic of Palatu was common knowledge among "orthodox" officers.


    [Note: "Orthodox" refers to officers who graduated from the Land Academy, also known as academy-educated or institutionally trained. This contrasts with emergency wartime officer training and battlefield promotions, with officers from the latter two paths finding it difficult to advance to the level of staff officers.]


    Nevertheless, there was a kind of camaraderie among alumni, so although the Palatu Army in principle never compromised, most seniors still took considerable care of Winters and his peers.


    Objectively speaking, the position of a garrison officer in the Newly Reclaimed Land was actually quite comfortable and pleasant. With great power and little restraint, one could feel like a noble lord locally.


    For non-academy officers to retire in a garrison officer''s role was considered quite generous; sparing them from a fate like Lieutenant Mason''s, who was sent to shovel horse dung, was already showing them favor.


    In the vast Kingdom of Galloping Horses, seniors would pat Winters on the shoulder and comfort him kindly, "Just endure a little longer, hold on a bit, and you''ll be able to go home once things are settled."


    "Why have you ended up commanding the militia?"


    Facing such a question head-on and being bluntly insulted was a first for them.


    The three lieutenants exchanged looks, none of them speaking.


    No need for words; seeing Andre''s flared nostrils and twitching cheeks, Winters understood that Andre was on the brink of exploding.


    Winters bumped Andre''s shoulder inconspicuously.


    Preventing the words "Isn''t this an idiotic question, as if it''s our fault for not being capable enough?" from flying out, Winters managed to shove it back into Andre''s throat.


    But at that moment, the colonel asked again, "Why don''t you speak? You lot are at least Land Academy graduates, so how have you sunk to competing for a job with officers from other schools?"


    [Note: Officers from other academies, in contrast to Land Academy officers, represent professional military officers who didn''t graduate from the military academy of the army.]


    Winters had only one thought: it''s over, Andre is going to blow.


    Lieutenant Montaigne''s thoughts momentarily drifted to "becoming Andre''s second in a duel" and even further afield.


    A deliberate voice rose in the room, "To serve our country, there is no distinction of high or low. As for Colonel, aren''t you also fallen to the point of commanding us?"


    Andre was startled, and Winters was taken aback.


    Unexpectedly, it was Bard, the most even-tempered of the three, who had spoken up first.


    Colonel Jeska was stung by the retort but didn''t get angry.


    "Not a fall, for me it''s a promotion," he said with a hint of a smile, unconcernedly. "I''ve had it worse than you; I just returned from an overseas military district."

 Chapter 378 36 Chapters: Super Long Spear

    For the governments of the countries in the Alliance, and even their military counterparts, stripping an officer of their commission was an almost impossible feat.


    The story begins at the founding of the Alliance.


    At that time, nobles both great and small within the Republics, unwilling to abandon their privileges, raised their banners in armed separatism.


    Smoke from the battles covered the lands around Senas Bay, and the nascent Alliance flickered in the wind, its fate uncertain from day to day.


    It seemed as though the republican government might meet its end no sooner than it had begun.


    But there was still one army in the Senas Alliance, an army led by Ned Smith. At that time, there were no divisions into separate Republics, and the people of Senas simply called this military force "the Allied Army."


    "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun," but at that time, the rebellious nobles had yet to realize this: the Allied Army was in itself the most powerful rebel faction in the land.


    Against the Allied Army, forged in blood and fire, even the "Butcher" Duke Arlian had no choice but to suffer defeat and take his own life¡ªwho else on the shores of the bay could rival the Allied Army?


    Cannon fire leveled towers, and underground tunnels blew apart castles, as the nobles'' fragmented power was easily suppressed and annihilated by the Allied Army.


    As one earl after another who openly rebelled was hanged from the city walls by the army, the remaining old ruling class began to understand that violence was suicide.


    They, relying on their deep-rooted local influence, willingly entered various councils to engage in party politics.


    In those years, the political ecosystem of the Republics was quite comical and absurd.


    Aristocratic powers gradually took over local councils, and the cities, where the new republican government resided, were like isolated islands in a vast ocean.


    The so-called democratically elected representatives were nothing but old nobility in new clothing, while the military ironically became a pillar of democratic republicanism. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Calls such as "Settle the crimes of the Allied Army during the Sovereignty Wars!" and "Put Ned Smith on trial!" reverberated everywhere.


    The atmosphere along Senas Bay bordered on that of a countryside encircling the cities, a peaceful evolution of power, welcoming the return of the emperor.


    Based on the necessity to protect the military and the fear that the old aristocracy might seize power and control the army for a countercoup, the governments of the Republics granted considerable autonomy to their national armed forces during those years.


    The Allied Army from that period did indeed stand as the last bastion for the fledgling Republic.


    The old noble forces tried time and again to turn back history, only to be crushed decisively by the military of the Republics.


    The Supreme Council of Guanglian Province was forcibly dissolved by the military three times, and the story of "bombarding the State Palace" is still told among the citizens of Guidu.


    But this harsh medicine came with many side effects, one of which was the self-sufficient system that the Provincial Army eventually became, leading to today''s intractable situation.


    The constitutional amendment that "officers cannot be stripped of their commission except for treason or espionage" was also passed during the same period.


    As long as an officer wasn''t guilty of treason or espionage, no matter what they did, even if their command errors led to the death of thousands of soldiers, they could not be kicked out of the military for it.


    This was the ultimate protection for officers of the Allied Army.


    But this amendment indirectly led to another result: even if an officer seriously offended a powerful figure, they couldn''t strip him of his military status.


    Therefore, the less favored junior officers by the higher-ups had only two destinations:


    Either they were transferred to some overseas military district and became the honorable overseas garrison,


    or they were assigned to the military historiography department, sitting on a cold bench, revising military histories.


    These two practices became unwritten customs of the Armed Forces of the Republics.


    The overseas garrison was a military institution directly under the control of the Alliance government, not subject to any member state''s jurisdiction. Going there meant losing the identity of a Republican serviceman, and it was always a one-way trip.


    And historians from later generations unfamiliar with the hidden rules would find the military histories of the Allied Army from this period quite bizarre.


    In contrast to the Empire''s military histories full of praises and boasting of martial achievements, the Allied Army''s accounts were written with biting satire, sarcastic tone, and the pages seemed to drip with palpable acidity.


    And our Colonel John Jeska was the kind of officer particularly disliked by the higher-ups.


    So twelve years ago, he was transferred from the Paratu forces to an overseas military department to work on revising military histories.


    ...


    Of course, the three lieutenants had no idea about Colonel Jeska''s legendary "return from oblivion" upon first meeting him.


    But when the colonel said he had just returned from overseas, Bard immediately understood what had happened.


    Bard whispered a reminder, "Sir, Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cellini here are Venetians, while I am a United Provincial."


    "Venetians serving in Paratu?" Colonel Jeska asked in confusion, "Has the Land Academy now abandoned the practice of ''return to where you came from'' in favor of a dispersed distribution?"


    Well, it seems that this officer is truly unaware of the situation, and Bard gave him a succinct explanation of the background.


    "The friction between the Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªI heard of it even while overseas," the colonel lamented after hearing the explanation, "You really are unlucky, getting caught in the middle."


    ...


    After dismissing the formation, the colonel didn''t stop for a moment before setting out to inspect the Arsenal.


    Since combat wasn''t a concern, Winters and the others decided upon arriving at Shuangqiao Main Camp to collect and securely store the weapons and equipment of the three hundred-man units together.


    The temporary Arsenal was set up in a wooden hut, overseen by an experienced Centurion named Malcolm, who with his subordinates was responsible for its guard.


    During the earlier assembly, Malcolm had already noticed that the new battalion commander was not an easy officer to deal with.


    After the dismissal, he hurriedly had his militia men, armed with cleaning tools, rush to the Arsenal, ready to give the storage room a thorough cleaning.

 Chapter 36 The Ultra-Long Spear_2

    Colonel Jeska arrived at the Arsenal with three lieutenants just as the militia in charge of the armory was sweeping up.


    Seeing his subordinates sharpening their weapons at the eleventh hour, Winters and his companions couldn''t help but blush.


    The colonel, however, dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "No need to hustle, the Arsenal is not a banquet hall."


    Winters asked the Centurion in charge of the armory to bring the list: "The spears, halberds, swords, shields, and firearms for three hundred-man squads, as well as the ammunition, are all here."


    "Mixed forces?" Jeska''s eyebrows raised.


    "Yes, mixed forces," Winters nodded.


    Normally, each hundred-man squad in a legion would be equipped with the same weapons. Halberdiers would only have halberds, and musketeers would only have firearms; only at the cohort level would there be mixed forces.


    Such a design is for legion-level battles, where soldiers using different weapons are organized into separate units, making it more convenient for commanders to arrange troops and formations.


    However, militias like the one in Wolf Town, mainly engaged in assorted tasks such as escorting and road maintenance, and operating independently most of the time, could only institute mixed forces at the hundred-man squad level.


    "Spears, firearms, heavy halberds, and swords with shields, in the ratio of four to three to two to one," Winters took the list and handed it to the colonel: "Only Centurions are issued with half armor, everyone else gets a helmet. There''s also sixty kilograms of lead, twelve kegs of gunpowder, and some other assorted items, all here."


    Spearmen, musketeers, and halberdiers are each additionally equipped with a single-handed sword, while swordsmen with shields also have a small iron shield. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The musketeers also have molds for casting lead bullets, which Winters, fearing the militia might not manage them well, had also collected.


    Colonel Jeska, without even looking at the list, directly asked, "Is it higher-ups issuing only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, or are you down to only one kilogram per person?"


    "Each musketeer is only issued one kilogram."


    "Haven''t done any training?"


    "The militia hasn''t undergone training," Winters thought for a moment before answering, "But we have conducted a few training sessions ourselves using the gunpowder and lead brought from the recruiting areas."


    "Alright then," Colonel Jeska''s expression remained unchanged, not revealing much emotion, "Let''s see the goods."


    Opening a wooden crate, the pungent smell of oil hit them, the box was filled with single-handed swords, each oiled and wrapped in cloth.


    "Pretty good," the colonel nodded, "Let''s see the others."


    The other weapon crates were inspected one by one, and everything was well preserved: the metal equipment was oiled, camphor was placed beside the long poles, and the blades were all properly wrapped.


    John Jeska seemed quite satisfied until the crate containing the firearms was opened.


    The one-eyed colonel''s expression was a mix of a smile and not a smile: "Hook guns?"


    "Yes, sir. We were issued hook guns," Winters replied awkwardly.


    The colonel took out a hook gun from the top and couldn''t help but laugh, "This thing, I fear its age might even surpass mine, eh?"


    "I wouldn''t know about that," Malcolm replied in a muffled voice, "But it''s definitely older than any of us."


    ...


    Hook guns, in fact, are matchlock muskets, a type of improved matchlock musket.


    Early firearms did not have stocks until a gunsmith had the inspiration to attach the wooden stock from a crossbow to the firearm, until then, muskets had to be fired by holding them in hand.


    But hand-held firing was unstable, so to dissipate the recoil, gunsmiths began to add a small iron hook to the barrel.


    This way, the user could hook the musket to objects like city walls, wagons, or shields for support.


    Thus, this type of musket was named a hook gun.


    At least in the early stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were still using hook guns.


    But war spurred more advanced designs, which then spread rapidly during the wars.


    With the proliferation of musket stocks, longer barrels, and serpentine firing rods, muskets evolved from the early matchlock "stick and iron tube" to their present form.


    By the later stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were fully equipped with more advanced matchlock muskets and cannons to wreak havoc upon each other.


    No one used or manufactured hook guns anymore; in other words, this type of weapon had been off the historical stage for at least thirty years.


    That''s why the colonel asked such a question.


    The swords, shields, and super-long spears issued to Winters and his hundred-man squads conformed to legion specifications, but the firearms they received were outdated models.


    There wasn''t much to complain about, as the militia mostly operated behind the lines and at most had to deal with a few highwaymen.


    Having a couple of guns that could make a noise was enough to intimidate attackers. For actual combat, a couple of crossbows would be more useful.


    ...


    Shaking his head slightly, the colonel put the hook gun back in the crate and pointing at the kegs of gunpowder said, "Open this and have a look."


    The colonel specifically wanted to check the kegs of gunpowder stacked at the bottom. Malcolm, in charge of the Arsenal, fetched a crowbar made of hardwood and carefully opened the keg.


    Colonel Jeska poured out the entire barrel of gunpowder, revealing lovely black granules without any signs of layering.


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    "Not bad," the colonel rarely patted the Centurion in charge of the armory on the shoulder, "The gunpowder has been well-stored."


    Malcolm scratched his head and said sheepishly, "It was Centurion Montaigne who told me to flip the keg of gunpowder upside down every day."


    Jeska looked at Winters with some surprise and nodded slightly.


    Winters also felt a bit embarrassed, as this trick was something he had learned from the Vineta navy.


    "No need to check further, that will do," the colonel dusted the gunpowder off his hands and said offhandedly, "Take your men to the legion Arsenal, swap the super-long spears for regular spears or halberds. Exchange the hook guns for matchlock muskets."


    Winters was momentarily taken aback, "Uh... we can just go and exchange them?"

 Chapter 36 The Super Long Spear_3

    "Just go exchange them," Winters said.


    "Why exchange?" Andre couldn''t help but question, "If they''re just ordinary spears or pikes, how do we form a formation?"


    "Such trash soldiers are not worthy of using long pikes," Jeska''s tone was very bland, as if he was commenting that the weather was quite nice today.


    Andre suddenly flared up in anger, and not just Andre; the militia in charge of the arsenal showed annoyance on their faces as well.


    "Disagree?" the Lieutenant Colonel looked at Andre, his eyebrows slightly raised, then turned to the militia beside him, "Disagree?"


    Andre snorted coldly and looked to the side. The surrounding militiamen all lowered their heads.


    After a brief exchange, Winters had a bit of an understanding of Lieutenant Colonel Jeska''s personality:


    This officer says whatever is on his mind. Perhaps he has no ill intent, but there is no sound more piercing in this world than the truth.


    "You few, take the long pikes and follow me," the Lieutenant Colonel pointed to a few of the arsenal militiamen. He picked up a long pike himself and led the way out of the arsenal.


    Several militiamen stood foolishly in place, not sure what to do.


    Andre, frowning, urged them, "Don''t be afraid. Go on, do whatever you''re told to do."


    Centurion Malcolm clenched his teeth, carrying a long pike as he walked out, and other militiamen followed, picking up their pikes.


    Eight militiamen stood in a row outside the arsenal, their spear tips pointing to the sky. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Present arms!" the Lieutenant Colonel commanded.


    The militiamen, following the drill taught by the Centurion, competently presented their pikes at an even height with their necks.


    The five-meter-long pikes pointed forward neatly, presenting a somewhat imposing sight.


    "Not bad," Lieutenant Colonel Jeska remarked. "Not completely untrained."


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Lieutenant Colonel also presented his pike in the same posture.


    The next second, the veteran with one eye charged straight toward the militiamen''s formation with his pike.


    Spear tip passed spear tip, drawing close to each other''s chests, and it looked like blood would be shed any moment, but the Lieutenant Colonel did not flinch or dodge.


    Malcolm was startled and hastily retreated.


    The Lieutenant Colonel relentlessly pursued, stabbing his pike down ferociously at Malcolm''s throat.


    In his panic, the Centurion dropped his pike and dodged this lethal strike. However, a gap appeared in the formation, and the Lieutenant Colonel charged into the bristling wall of pikes.


    Ditching his pike as well, the Lieutenant Colonel drew his saber. With his left hand, he grabbed another militiaman''s pike, and with the right hand wielding his blade, he chopped towards him.


    The sudden attack left the Wolf Town militiamen bewildered until the saber stopped an inch above his head, and only then did he regain his senses, stumbling several steps backward and falling to the ground.


    "In ancient times, dropping a pike in battle wasn''t punishable, but dropping a shield was a capital offense," the Lieutenant Colonel sheathed his saber and asked calmly, "Do you know why?"


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    There was silence on the clearing.


    No one responded, so Lieutenant Colonel Jeska answered his own question, "Because the pike is used to kill the enemy, while the shield is meant to protect the comrade beside you. Dropping a pike means one less man to fight the enemy, but dropping a shield can break the entire battle line."


    Winters roughly understood what the Lieutenant Colonel was trying to say, and he saw that both Bard and Andre appeared contemplative.


    "A long pike formation has no shields, so each of your pikes is a shield for your comrades," Jeska picked up a long pike again and said coolly to the few militiamen in front of him, "The retreat of a single coward could cause the collapse of the entire phalanx. Only veterans who receive double the military pay deserve to stand at the front with long pikes in hand. You are not worthy yet. Still disagree?"


    Not a single militiaman responded, and Malcolm lowered his head in shame.


    The Lieutenant Colonel smacked his lips, turned, and tossed the pike to Winters, speaking indifferently, "Once the formation is lost, a long pike is less useful than a dagger. Give them weapons they can use in individual combat; there''s no point in expecting them to fight in formation anyway."


    "Yes, sir," Winters saluted.


    "Oh, and one more thing," the Lieutenant Colonel turned to leave, then looked back offhandedly and asked, "Why are there so many Dusans listed in the roll call?"

 Chapter 37 Muskets and Spears

    At last, the Venetian and United Provincials also experienced what it meant to have "connections" in Paratu.


    When they arrived at the legion''s Arsenal, there was no need for Winters to talk much. The Arsenal readily agreed to replace Jeska''s company''s weapons and equipment.


    The hook spears were changed for brand-new matchlocks and steel crossbows, and the sword shields and extra-long spears were exchanged for ordinary halberds¡ªColonel Jeska thought that with the level of training the militia had, they were unworthy to be sword shield bearers.


    As required by the Colonel, the number of militiamen equipped with guns increased to half of the total number.


    Now each hundred-man team had three tents of musketeers and two tents of crossbowmen.


    The head of the ordnance department made a big gesture and approved over twenty half armors; thus, Winters gained another tent of armored halberdiers under his command.


    Previously, the Arsenal had issued only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, which at most could be melted into thirty-odd lead bullets, not accounting for the gunpowder consumption.


    Although the Standing Army''s shooting practice wasn''t extensive, the paltry reserve of thirty-odd bullets per person and a total of six barrels of gunpowder made the three lieutenants dare not use it.


    Up to now, the only firing practice Winters'' musketeers had was to take turns shooting aimlessly at the ground.


    The purpose was to familiarize these militiamen, who were farmers not long ago, with the sound of gunshots and flashes, so they would not be startled when they really had to fire.


    But this time, the legion Arsenal issued six hundred kilograms of lead and sixty barrels of gunpowder to Jeska''s company in one go, and even seemed to be suggesting they were welcome to ask for more.


    With the new equipment in hand, the lads cheered merrily. Dusack, in particular, scrambled to be an armored halberdier or a musketeer.


    But Winters felt a vague sense of unease.


    Pierre was originally assigned as a sword shield bearer, but now Jeska''s company no longer retained sword shield soldiers. Mr. Mitchell didn''t want to be a spearman, so he came running to Winters, pleading to let him try the musket.


    "What''s wrong, commander?" Pierre, bursting with excitement, found the Centurion only to discover his furrowed brows and stern expression. "We have new guns, new armor, and enough powder and shot. Why do you seem unhappy?"


    "Do farmers feed pigs oats so that the pigs are happy?" Winters asked coldly in return. "Besides, what are you happy about? Don''t you still owe ten lashes?"


    ¡­


    In accordance with the company commander''s orders, the punishment was carried out before nightfall.


    They had just moved the new weapons from the ordnance depot back to the camp when the whipping followed.


    In the Paratu army, the punishment wasn''t with a common riding crop or hemp rope but a nearly two-meter-long soft whip made of leather strips.


    The whip had to be soaked in vinegar before use to ensure that each strike was agonizing for the punished.


    Additionally, four lead balls the size of grapes were tied to the tip of the whip to increase its force.


    When the experienced military police handled the punishment whip, one lash could split skin and flesh, ten lashes could knock a man unconscious, and thirty lashes could kill a man outright.


    The Three Town militiamen, once again, assembled in the small drill ground to witness the punishment.


    Lieutenant Montaigne stepped into the drill ground with the punishment whip in hand. Vashka, who was previously acting tough and comforting Pierre with "What''s the big deal about a whipping?", suddenly realized that his knees were trembling uncontrollably.


    The military camp punishments were simple: physical labor, riding the wooden horse¡ªwith a musket tied to each leg for a march¡ªwhipping, or hanging.


    Winters, holding the whip in his hand, also felt a certain uneasiness.


    This instrument of punishment had been given to Winters on the first day he arrived at the Maplestone City camp, but he had never used it.


    In fact, the harshest punishment Winters had ever meted out to the boys he brought from Wolf Town was physical labor.


    "Let''s start with the Centurion!" Winters bit his teeth and, with a grim face, began the roll call. "Vashka Morozov!"


    Vashka, his face ashen, stepped out of line.


    "Tie him up!"


    Two military policemen from the Monta hundred-man team¡ªXial and Heinrich, sprang to action upon the order.


    They brought Vashka next to a large cart, forcing him to kneel in front of the wheel, his hands tightly bound with hemp rope to the carriage.


    Xial, sympathetically and silently patted Vashka''s shoulder, while Heinrich gave him a towel to bite on. The two military policemen then turned and walked away.


    Now only Vashka remained.


    Before his eyes was only the mud-stained cart board, and behind him the unknown timing of the whip and the eyes of everyone else.


    Immense humiliation and fear engulfed him.


    The sound of the whip tearing through the air came before the strike itself, followed by a pain that pierced to the marrow. Vashka''s breath halted sharply, and before he could recover, the second lash arrived.


    The two-meter-long punishment whip was very cumbersome to use, and Winters, gritting his teeth, delivered lash after lash without the slightest restraint.


    He now finally understood why the one-eyed Colonel had insisted he carry out the punishment himself¡ªJeska intended to whip not just the Wolf Town militiamen but also the Wolf Town Centurion.


    The Colonel was telling him, "Take a good look, this is the troop you lead."


    The whip lashed not just Vashka but his own face. If the militia''s discipline was lax, was it not ultimately the fault of ineffective control?


    During the first three lashes, Vashka managed to keep silent. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the fourth lash, Vashka began to scream inhumanly.


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    By the seventh lash, the screams also gradually weakened, and eventually, all that could be heard on the drill ground was the whip''s tip striking his back.


    After fifteen lashes, Vashka, bloody and unconscious, was carried away from the drill ground by Xial and Heinrich.


    "This is military law! It doesn''t matter if you are a militiaman or a war soldier!" Winters, gripping the whip handle tightly, roared at the parade ground: "Deserting camp, whipping! Theft, cowardice in battle, hanging! Defection, the family is implicated!"


    The ranks fell silent as a tomb.

 Chapter 37 Muskets and Spears_2

    "Next!"


    Another militiaman who had left camp without permission was tied to the whipping post, and the chilling sound of lashing echoed once again.


    Colonel Jeska even didn''t show up, having too many people to meet after twelve years of overseas deployment.


    While Lieutenant Montaigne was vigorously wielding the whip, the colonel was toasting with classmates and friends.


    ...


    ...


    The day after the flogging.


    The sun shone warmly, and the air was slightly cool.


    On the parade ground outside the Shuangqiao Main Camp, the sound of muskets firing in unison could be heard from time to time.


    Sparks flew, and smoke filled the air.


    Winters bellowed, "Stow the fork rests!"


    The musketeers who had just fired hastily pulled the wooden fork rests out of the ground. A fork rest was a sharpened wooden stick with an iron hook at one end to support the gun barrel.


    "Gun on the shoulder!"


    On hearing the order, the musketeers hurriedly stood the muskets upright and shouldered them.


    If a militiaman carelessly pointed his gun sideways at someone else while shouldering his weapon, the supervising sergeant behind him would rush over and land a fierce blow with his stick.


    "Never point your gun at anyone but the enemy!" Winters caught sight of the commotion and shouted, "You never know if that lead ball was fired from the barrel before inspection!"


    The militiamen held their muskets, not daring to move.


    "Lower your guns! Check the barrel!" Winters continued to command.


    The musketeers placed the butts of their guns on the ground and pulled out their ramrods, carefully poking them into the barrel.


    "Sir!" A militiaman reported with a downcast face, "My ramrod isn''t reaching properly, it seems like a misfire."


    A misfire was common for muskets; sparks would fly from the external pan, but the priming charge inside the barrel would not ignite.


    Often, musketeers were too nervous to notice a misfire and would stuff new powder and a lead ball on top of the first one.


    Someone once found a musket on the Vicksburg battlefield with seven unfired lead balls stuffed in the barrel.


    If they loaded repeatedly, at best there would be another misfire; at worst, it could burst the barrel.


    That''s why there was a mark on the musketeers'' ramrods: if the ramrod reached the deepest part of the barrel and the mark was at the muzzle, that meant the lead ball had been fired.


    If there was a finger''s breadth between the mark and the muzzle, the musketeer was in trouble.


    Winters walked over to the muted militiaman, taking the musket, "What''s there to panic about with a misfire? Just reload and fire again."


    He poured powder into the pan, closed the cover, and re-affixed the slow match¡ªwhen the pan burned, the force could knock the slow match flying or even blow it out, which was the trouble with using matchlock guns.


    Then, he opened the cover again and pulled the trigger. The smoldering end of the slow match ignited the powder in the pan, and it was blown off from the serpentine in an instant.


    This time, the priming charge in the barrel ignited successfully, kicking up a small cloud of dust on the distant earth mound.


    "There." Winters tossed the musket back to the militiaman and gave a new order loudly, "Clean the barrel!" Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The musketeers took out pieces of rag, wrapping them around their ramrods and started to scrub their barrels.


    During battle, there was no need to clean the barrel after every shot, but now it was training, so of course the full procedure was necessary.


    Watching the frantic militiamen, Winters sighed to himself.


    In the revised infantry drill manual six years earlier, there were twenty-five steps in the firing sequence of a matchlock, further broken down into forty-two separate moves.


    A complete firing sequence was a lot more complicated than just "load and fire."


    And the longest thing these militiamen had ever memorized in their lives... was probably the Lord''s Prayer.


    Just keeping them from setting themselves on fire was enough to give Lieutenant Montaigne a headache.


    But it wasn''t their fault; two months earlier, they were only diligent farmers, and many of them hadn''t even touched a musket until two days before.


    They were not volunteers; they were simply the unfortunate ones chosen by the draft.


    Winters waved his hand, "Next group!"


    Another batch of militiamen came forward, carrying muskets. Rows of small wooden bottles hung across their chests, filled with pre-measured gunpowder.


    Thank Heaven, Marshal Ned''s concept of "standardized charges" was proposed thirty years ago, along with the epoch-making invention of the ammunition bottle.


    Otherwise, just teaching the militia how much gunpowder to pour for each loading might have vexed Lieutenant Montaigne to death.


    "It seems the old marshal must have been driven to invent the ammunition bottle out of desperation," Winters couldn''t help thinking.


    Compared to the headaches Winters faced at the shooting range, Andre and Bard¡ªwho were responsible for training the spearmen¡ªwere much more at ease.


    The spearmen were simply drilling simple formation changes on the training field, then practicing marching in column and turning, and finally practicing stabbing at wooden stakes.


    Since the five-and-a-half-meter long spears had been replaced with two-and-a-half-meter spears, the militiamen found it much easier.


    The extra-long spears were too long and needed special carrying equipment, which always made moving somewhat inconvenient.


    Carrying a spear, on the other hand, was simple¡ªjust shouldering it was sufficient.


    However, the weight was not much lighter than the extra-long spears, as a section of iron tubing had been added behind the spearhead to prevent the enemy from cutting off the pole.


    Bard and Andre''s biggest hassle was teaching the militia to tell left from right and correcting mistakes in their step while marching.


    Over two days, the spearmen became increasingly more presentable and spirited.


    In contrast, Winters'' side was constantly beset with problems, with every imaginable mishap occurring.


    Some even forgot to remove the ramrod after loading, eventually launching it with the lead bullet.


    Fortunately, no burst barrels had occurred so far; otherwise, the militia would have grown even more fearful of the muskets they held.


    The new militiamen held their muskets tentatively, wishing they could tilt their heads back as far as possible.


    Frustrated, Winters lashed out with his riding whip and exclaimed sternly, "Put your chin on the stock! Aim carefully before you fire! Point the muzzle at the target! Do not close your eyes when you pull the trigger!"


    The process of firing a musket ball is essentially an explosion¡ªnaturally, the further away, the better.


    With an iron tube in hand that no one knew when might explode, hardly any militiamen dared to put their chin on the stock and take careful aim.


    In fact, most people could shoot a musket much more accurately than they could shoot a bow and arrow, similar to how a crossbow is more accurate than a bow.


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    When shooting an arrow, people have to exert force, their arms shake, and the more they shoot, the more tired they get, with only a few exceptional archers able to hit whatever they aim at.


    But compared to the inherent accuracy errors of a musket, even more misses resulted from the gunners'' reluctance to aim properly and their indiscriminate firing.


    "Not bad," Colonel Jeska remarked after watching at the edge of the shooting range for a while, "Those from the Land Academy really outdo those wild rogues I met overseas, so formal and proper they are."


    Hearing this, Winters didn''t know whether the colonel was mocking him or praising him.


    "Sir," Winters suggested helplessly, "how about changing guns instead of men? Let those who dare fire do the shooting, and the rest can handle the loading."


    "No," Colonel Jeska shook his head, "If they''re not firing themselves, they won''t take the loading seriously, and that''s more likely to cause accidents. Moreover, changing guns but not men means letting the brave soldiers take on the most risk. If the courageous ones get shot or blown up, what are we going to do with the ones who are too scared to shoot? We need to make sure every soldier dares to fire."


    Winters was at a loss for words.


    The one-eyed colonel said indifferently, "Keep training, don''t be impatient. You have good skills training troops, better than your two peers."


    After saying this, he turned his head and walked towards the other two lieutenants.


    Although Colonel Jeska had lost an eye, it did not impair his sharp vision.


    On the surface, Bard and Andre''s results seemed far more abundant than Winters''.


    The neat and imposing ranks of the spearmen were a stark contrast to the continual problems on the musketeers'' side.


    But in reality, it''s all a show, as training a spearman is much more difficult than training a musketeer.


    A qualified spearman not only needs physical strength and skill but, most importantly, a tough will and thick nerves.


    When faced with an enemy charge, the spearman first has to dare not to run away, only then is combat a possibility.


    Training a swordsman with a shield is even more difficult than training a spearman.


    After all, long weapons have the advantage of distance, whereas swordsmen must engage in close combat.


    Those who can serve as swordsmen are the bravest of the elite. This is also why Colonel Jeska simply had the militia all switch to using spears.


    Shooting at the enemy from a distance with muskets or crossbows is far simpler and less stressful than killing someone up close with cold steel¡ªboth physically and psychologically.


    The training continued in full swing.


    "Train hard!" Winters admonished with a touch of sorrow, "The sweat you hesitate to shed today is the blood you will have to spill tomorrow!"


    He wondered silently, Does a farmer feed oats to pigs to make them happy?

 Chapter 38 Cavalry

    "Old Bard!" Andre begged pitifully, clutching Bard''s hand.


    Bard neither agreed nor disagreed.


    "Old Bard!" Andre''s voice lowered even further in supplication.


    Bard looked amused.


    "Old Bard!" Andre now had tears welling up in his eyes.


    "Don''t give me that, you think I''d believe it?" Bard sighed, "But this time I''ll let you have it."


    "Consider it a debt I owe you!" Andre beamed with joy, and before he walked out the door, he patted his chest and said, "Old Bard! If you ever need anything, I''m your man to take a blade to both sides!"


    Before his voice had even faded, he dashed off like a streak of smoke.


    "Have you ever counted how many times you''ve owed me?" Bard laughed and cursed.


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    Andre was already far away, but his voice drifted back from outside the shack: "Take a blade to both sides!"


    "If you let him have his way too often, Andre will start to take it for granted," Winters couldn''t help but speak up.


    "Isn''t he already doing that?" Bard replied helplessly.


    ¡­


    Why had Colonel Jeska been deployed to the gulf for twelve years? And how was he able to return from it?


    Winters didn''t know, but he realized that John Jeska still had considerable connections in Paratu.


    After listening to Lieutenant Montaigne''s explanation as to why there were as many as 63 Dusacks among the three squads of the militia, the colonel''s expression remained unchanged, showing little reaction.


    But when Colonel Jeska returned to the Shuangqiao Main Camp that night, he had an extra heavy bag in his hand.


    The colonel marched straight into the officers'' quarters, not caring that three lieutenants were still having dinner, and casually threw the object onto the table.


    The cloth bag hit the tabletop, creating a series of crisp jingles.


    "Sir? What is this?" Winters asked knowingly.


    "Money."


    Andre gently pried open the cloth bag, which was filled with shiny gold coins.


    "What kind of money?"


    "What else could it be?" The colonel, reeking of alcohol, flashed a hint of a smile, "Horse-buying money!"


    ¡­


    What is horse-buying money?


    As the name suggests, when Dusacks are called to active duty, they receive a small sum of money as a subsidy to provide their own warhorses, which is called horse-buying money.


    Of course, horse-buying money is not enough to buy a warhorse; it would barely cover the cost of one leg of a decent warhorse.


    As for the other three legs of the warhorse, it naturally falls on the Dusacks to pay, which is also part of the blood tax.


    ¡­


    "They are militiamen and auxiliary troops, and you want to recruit them as cavalry?" Bard asked, frowning.


    The colonel sat down heroically, leaving the three lieutenants standing, "You few have been having Dusacks serve as militiamen in place of active duty, and the legion doesn''t care to pursue it. But having Dusacks bring their warhorses into service is also the higher-ups'' intention." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre, unable to contain his impatience, asked, "What about their treatment then? I mean, the terms for the Dusacks after they are equipped with warhorses?"


    Jeska played with the dinner knife, answering calmly, "Wages, rations, arms, all according to light cavalry, except they won''t be issued uniforms. I''ve procured a light musket for each of them; if nothing else, they can be used as if they were dragoon cavalry."


    Upon hearing this, Andre''s eyes sparkled with excitement.


    "But my Dusacks aren''t of age yet!" Winters couldn''t help but speak up.


    "So the wage and equipment are already a privilege according to light cavalry standards," the one-eyed colonel stared at the lieutenant, "If you are not satisfied, I can also revert them to the treatment of the militia."


    "Satisfied, how could I not be satisfied?" Andre quickly sided with the colonel, "It''s great, I think! Letting those lads ride into service, they themselves would be the happiest. I''m firmly supportive!"


    Winters glared fiercely at Andre; how could he possibly not understand what Andre was thinking?


    Lieutenant Chelini was already pondering over the command of this troop of cavalry.


    ¡­


    Cavalry units are organized differently than infantry; in theory, the smallest command unit of cavalry is a squadron, which is often divided into two troops for combat purposes.


    The status of a cavalry squadron is much higher than that of an infantry centuria, and a lieutenant can lead as a centurion, while it takes a field officer to command a cavalry squadron.


    According to Paratu''s military structure, a full-strength cavalry squadron has 174 troopers with 6 commissioned officers.


    However, the reality is that there are not enough cavalrymen, but there are more than enough cavalry officers; this is the case in all the republics.


    Therefore, officers with a cavalry background going to lead infantry or take up clerical positions is a common occurrence.


    Bard and Andre, for instance, had been assigned to an infantry battalion as trainees during the Tanilia campaign.


    If Bard and Andre were lucky enough to return to a cavalry unit, they would just be the most junior officers in the squadron''s command hierarchy.


    ¡­


    According to Colonel Jeska''s intentions, the 63 Dusacks amounted to 63 cavalrymen, nearly a troop.


    Winters, being from the infantry branch, was out of the loop on cavalry matters.


    Yet right now, in Jeska''s battalion, there were two bona fide cavalry officers leading infantry.


    "A cavalry troop!" Lieutenant Chelini thought with delight, "Goodness! It has to be a captain at least to lead it, right?"


    In the past, as the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, Winters could make decisions on his own. Now that Colonel Jeska had assumed command, the lieutenant had no choice but to obey.


    Only when subject to another''s will does one truly appreciate the joys of once being the Garrison Officer.


    "Distribute this money to the Dusacks; the legion will arrange for people to retrieve their warhorses from their hometowns," the colonel made arrangements offhandedly as the matter was now decided, "63 Dusacks, take three as my messengers, and the rest make exactly 10 tents."


    [Note: There are only six people in a cavalry tent, while an infantry tent holds eight people.]


    Andre perked up his ears to listen, afraid of missing any words.


    When he heard the lieutenant colonel say, "half of them will be directly under my command," he felt somewhat disappointed, "Only five tents? Well, that''s acceptable, I suppose."


    "Who''s responsible for the remaining thirty cavalry?" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska continued, "The two of you can discuss it."


    Andre and Bard were both stunned on the spot.


    ...


    Unable to resist Andre''s incessant nagging, Bard eventually nodded in agreement.


    Thus, to his wish, Andre took charge of half a division of cavalry. The remaining militia was reorganized, withdrawing four tents of Dusacks under Winters and then reinforcing with five tents of Blackwater Town militiamen.


    Pierre, Vashka, and others, on learning of the lieutenant colonel''s arrangements, were quite delighted.


    They were already tired of the tedious, strenuous manual labor and couldn''t wait to become dragon cavalry¡ªdespite lacking the fancy uniforms.


    Especially Pierre, whose reference for the lieutenant colonel in his mouth had risen from "the one without an asshole" to "that esteemed person," as if it weren''t him who had suffered under the lash.


    It was Anglu who rushed over in a frantic haste to borrow money from the lieutenant, dragging Bell along as well.


    "Sir, I really have no other options," the young horse groom said with a somber face, "Please lend me some money to buy a horse, I will surely pay you back."


    "And you?" Winters looked at the young hunter.


    "I don''t want to be a Dusack at all!" Bell said carelessly, "I don''t have a warhorse, nor do I want one."


    Anglu became agitated all at once, "How can it be that simple? If a Dusack is conscripted without a warhorse, he will be punished!"


    Bell was startled by this but still stubbornly retorted, "Then I''ll run away. If I hide in the woods, no one will find me!"


    "You think you can run away without a horse?" Anglu rebutted immediately.


    The two youngsters, each firing back a sentence, started arguing right in Winters'' headquarters.


    "Stop arguing!" Winters sighed, "How much money did you receive for buying horses?"


    Anglu''s hand emerged from his sleeve, placing eight stacked Gold Coins onto the lieutenant''s desk¡ªnot Ducats, but coins minted by the Paratu government.


    Winters, busy writing documents, asked without looking up, "How much more is needed to buy a horse?"


    The nominal clerk, the old shaman, was adept at avoiding such miscellaneous tasks, so the current clerical work was solely dependent on Winters'' personal efforts.


    "I need at least three times as much," Anglu hummed, "I saw the cheapest riding horses in Shuangqiao City at this price, but they are not warhorses..."


    "Alright, I''ll take the money. You can have Redmane," Winters looked up at the young groom.


    "Um... huh? Hmm!" Anglu could hardly believe what he was hearing, "Redmane? Rejek? Are you saying Rejek is mine now? You''re giving Rejek to me?"


    Winters smiled, "Not giving, selling to you. Isn''t Redmane the one you''re riding now?"


    Ever since the forceful relocation to Paratu, Winters had seldom ridden Redmane. But training for a warhorse could not be interrupted, so on a regular basis, it was the young groom who rode Redmane.


    The young groom was also happy to be riding, and he took great care of Redmane. The two of them were very close, so Winters simply did them the favor.


    Anglu was so excited he didn''t know where to put his hands; he wanted to embrace the lieutenant and give him a couple of kisses, but then realized that wouldn''t be proper. So, instead, he grabbed Hunter and kissed him hard twice and then saluted the lieutenant.


    Bell was dumbfounded and couldn''t help but ask, "What about me? What about me?"


    Winters had planned to tease Hunter a little, but remembering how proud and fragile the self-esteem of boys that age could be¡ªafter all, he had just passed through that stage himself¡ªhe decided not to play coy any longer.


    "Let Anglu pick a good one for you." Winters took out his purse and tossed it to Hunter, then turned to Anglu. "Anglu, also pick out a spare horse for me. It doesn''t need to be a warhorse, but it has to be hardworking and sturdy, and able to travel through the wilds."


    The young groom was taken aback: "You want another horse, sir? Isn''t Strong Runner good enough?"


    "Having an extra horse to rotate with won''t tire Strong Runner too much," Winters replied offhandedly, then frowned. "What''s with all the questions? Do what you''re told."


    The groom took the scolding and replied meekly, "Oh."


    Winters couldn''t help but feel a mix of irritation and amusement at the groom''s simple demeanor. "What are you standing around for? Do you expect me to pick out the horse for you? On your way back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel and pick up the gun I ordered."


    Bell promptly saluted and, pulling his companion along, left the headquarters.


    ¡­


    Everything seemed to be on the right track.


    The militia musketeers gradually grew accustomed to the recoil, the flash, and the noise of firing after letting off a dozen or so shots, and the spear carriers also began to march in a uniform step.


    Warhorses were brought from Wolfton, Blackwater, and Saint Croix to Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Over in Wolf Town, Gerard and Sergei had made a trip there, bringing a lot of food and letters from home for the young men of Wolf Town, which made the militia from the other two towns green with envy.


    But there was no more time left for cavalry training; what was inevitable would come.


    Before he knew it, Winters had already spent six months in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.


    On January 12th of the year 559 of the Imperial Calendar, Jeska''s troops received orders to march.


    When Lieutenant Colonel Jeska read the orders to the lieutenants, none of them were surprised; Winters even felt a clear sense of relief that "the shoe had finally dropped."


    He saluted and accepted the orders.


    At that moment, a convoy was already assembled and waiting at Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Based on the three companies of a hundred men each, the legion had additionally allocated nearly three hundred drivers to Jeska''s troops.


    This was a long-distance supply operation, where the militia was to escort the supply convoy across nearly a hundred kilometers of ''no man''s land'' into the territories of the Hurd tribes.


    Apart from the militia and the drivers, another dozen merchant wagons stood outside the camp, waiting to head west together with the military supply convoy.


    Paratu''s military principle was to prioritize local procurement of supplies; if something must be transported from the rear to the front, it was definitely a resource that could not be gathered on the frontlines.


    "Don''t you have any questions?" Colonel Jeska asked the lieutenants offhand as he neatly folded the order, tucking it into his jacket.


    "If you don''t mind, I do indeed have a question," Winters paused before asking, "why us?"


    "Not you." The one-eyed colonel snorted coldly and pointed at himself with his thumb. "Me."

 Chapter 39 The Butchers Path

    Empire Year 520, spring.


    Drizzling rain fell from the sky, chilling to the bone with a piercing spring cold.


    A gaunt, solemn old man was riding a horse, leaving Worry-Free Palace alone. Although the weariness in his eyes could hardly be concealed, the old man still kept his back ramrod straight.


    He was about to embark on a journey to the mountain frontier, fully charged with the responsibility of quelling the rebellion, purging the traitors, and restoring Imperial authority.


    There, he would face his former attendant, apprentice, and vassal¡ªNed of Tormes.


    Only when choking on thick smoke did people start to ponder: what was that initial tiny spark?


    An insult? A slap in the face? A private vendetta?


    Those no longer mattered; what mattered was that the flames of rebellion had now become an unstoppable blaze.


    Not only was the entirety of the Duchy of Forthland ablaze, but autonomous cities within the Duchy of Vineta were also stirring with unrest.


    The fire had to be extinguished swiftly, or else the lands south of Sheltering Mountain would turn to ashes. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But a daunting problem stood before him: his legions were stationed on the Empire''s northern borders, while the mountain frontier ablaze with war beacons lay at the southernmost end of the Imperial territory.


    Seaborne supply routes were almost strangled. The rebels'' oared ships set sail from the Tanilia Islands, frenetically raiding the Empire''s sea routes.


    And the Emperor''s fleet had been utterly destroyed two years prior in a naval battle against the Sultan of Fleman, yet to recover its vitality.


    His soldiers had no choice but to cross the entire Empire on foot and scale the cloud-piercing Sheltering Mountains to finally face their enemy.


    ...


    On January 12 of Empire Year 559, Jeska''s squadron departed from Shuangqiao Barracks, by that time consisting of only a hundred or so double-team wagons.


    Six days later, the supply train arrived at the border town of Matou Slope, with the number of wagons traversing the dirt roads exceeding two hundred.


    Less than half of these belonged to the military''s supply train; the rest were merchants, porters, and speculators who had joined along the way. Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire


    Distinguishing between them was easy: military supply trains used double-team four-wheeled wagons, while civilian carts varied greatly¡ªtwo-wheeled, four-wheeled, mule carts, donkey carts... even the slow-moving ox carts.


    ...


    Logistics was defined by Duke Arlian as "the practical art of moving troops and ensuring they are supplied."


    The task, seemingly lightweight when referring to "movement" and "supplies," was as difficult as scaling the heavens.


    To transfer his legions from the northern borders to Senas Bay, Duke Arlian meticulously planned a troop transport route that later became famously known as "The Butcher''s Path."


    The Butcher''s Path started from Fortress Panstone at the northern frontiers of the Empire, passing through more than twenty Imperial towns to ensure supplies, and finally crossed Vankush Pass over Sheltering Mountain to reach Senas Bay.


    Duke Arlian sent craftsmen ahead to construct camps, widen paths, and build bridges along the way, and he set up supply stations at distances matching the daily marching range.


    The sounds of military boots squelching in mud, the clanging of spears, and the silent march of exhausted soldiers... many elders can recount these with vivid clarity.


    Normally, soldiers could cover 22 kilometers per day on The Butcher''s Path, and on forced marches, up to 37 kilometers per day.


    In two campaigns, the Empire deployed over one hundred thousand soldiers through The Butcher''s Path to the south, none lost due to supply issues.


    Countless military supplies were also delivered along this route to quell the rebel forces.


    However, The Butcher''s Path''s most significant impact was not military, but on civilian life.


    As it connected more than twenty large cities and was furnished with camps and supply points, many merchants began to use the route for trade.


    A route named "The Butcher" eventually brought prosperity to its adjoining territories, an outcome its original planner had likely not foreseen.


    ...


    Although the militaries of the Republics today are reluctant to admit it, in reality, the Allied Army''s tactics, organization, training, and other systems were all learned from "The Butcher" Arlian.


    There''s no shame in that¡ªbeing able to learn from an enemy is a respectable skill.


    For example, the current square formation tactics were modified from The Butcher''s long pike and heavy halberd square: adding musketeers to compensate for the pike and halberd square''s lack of long-range firepower and retaining a small number of elite swordsmen and shield bearers to counter the cumbersome long pikes.


    In Empire Year 520, Duke Arlian led troops to quell the rebellion; back then, the "Southern Rebels" were but a motley crew of merchants, craftsmen, and farmers.


    However, eight years later, when the "Mad" Richard led his campaign, the mad Emperor faced a legitimate army.


    The Allied Army''s logistical system naturally followed The Butcher''s model, mainly learning two points:


    First, supply as locally as possible;


    Second, establish encampments along the supply line.


    At the same time, they learned a lesson: do not allow non-military followers to accompany the army.


    In wars like the Republic of Palatu against the Herders, the quartermasters would procure supplies from the Herders as much as possible, with both military and private entities responsible for the transportation from the rear to the war zone.


    The military''s supply train had limited capacity and would carry only firearms, gunpowder, and the like, which were difficult to replenish at the front.


    For other supplies like flour, salt, and foodstuffs, quartermasters were quite willing to purchase these at a high price from merchants and pay with spoils of war at a discount, and sometimes even "advance" land quotas.


    Often with just one round trip, a merchant could earn a handsome profit. Even land quotas could be easily resold.


    So every time the military''s supply train set out, a large group of merchants, porters, and speculators would follow. They tagged along with the supply train as much for the herd mentality as for hoping to receive some protection.

 Chapter 39 The Butchers Path_2

    ...


    "Listen up! You are responsible for your own safety! You must also bear all risks along the way!" Winters was announcing policies to the miscellaneous followers, as they were about to cross the Border River tomorrow: "Any wagons other than the supply wagons are not allowed to join the formation! We will lead the way, and you will follow behind. Keep up if you can; if you fall behind, there''s nothing we can do..."


    The second lieutenant stood on a rock, speaking until he was hoarse. The people in front of him listened silently; they all understood these rules.


    After saying a load of unpleasant things, Winters saved the good news for last: "However, Colonel Jeska allows you to rest in the camps along the way! It is strictly forbidden to enter the supply wagons'' camp area during encampment, and violators will be dealt with as if spying on military intelligence!"


    The mood among the crowd fluctuated slightly. Few officers in charge of the supply wagons liked these civilians who freeloaded protection, and in most cases, they strictly forbade them from entering the camp to spend the night.


    It was rare for an officer like Colonel Jeska to allow these miscellaneous people into the camp.


    ...


    Seeing Winters return, Colonel Jeska casually asked, "Did you finish talking to them?"


    Winters nodded.


    Having had the experience of escorting the Wolf Town convoy back and forth to Revodan, Winters was considered quite reliable, so Colonel Jeska gave him all sorts of troublesome tasks.


    "Words alone aren''t enough; those who dare to follow are either brave or greedy, most are both. We need to discipline a few who try to fish in troubled waters to shake the rest up."


    "Then why don''t you just forbid them from entering the camp?" Winters countered.


    "Allowing them into the camp makes it easier to keep them in check," Colonel Jeska replied. "Besides, they have it tough, so we''ll take care of them as much as possible."


    ...


    Winter days are short, so the army must march as quickly as possible.


    The dawn was just breaking when the Centurion on watch struck the copper bell vigorously.


    Berlion was already awake before the bell rang; he had purchased sheep''s milk and eggs in town the previous night.


    When Winters dressed in his military uniform and lifted the tent''s flap, Berlion brought in the warm sheep''s milk, bread, and boiled eggs.


    Berlion was now the second lieutenant''s orderly, and his former tentmates, the Dusacks, had become Cavalry, so the second lieutenant simply kept the blacksmith by his side as both a bodyguard and an orderly.


    The previously quiet military camp came to life. The militia wearily crawled out of their tents, stretched languidly, and began to prepare their food.


    Those who were diligent made some hot soup, while the lazy ones simply ate cold bread.


    It goes without saying that Berlion''s appointment as orderly had greatly improved Winters'' diet. Bard and Andre also benefited, now frequenting Winters for dinner every day.


    While the troops were still bustling around, Andre and his five tents'' worth of Cavalry were already ready to go.


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    With the sponsorship of Gold Coin bars from a good friend, Lieutenant Chelini extravagantly had a Paratu Piaoqi officer''s uniform made for himself¡ªat the best tailor in Maplestone City.


    Despite often calling people "damn sheep lovers," Lieutenant Chelini was quite enamored with the flashy Piaoqi uniform.


    While Winters and Bard were still wearing their Land Academy student uniforms, Andre couldn''t wait to don the Paratu military attire.


    "Cavalry, one never knows when one might die," Lieutenant Chelini would say. "Shouldn''t I dress well? Otherwise, wouldn''t it be a waste?"


    He had specially chosen a red belt and blue trim¡ª the colors of the Vineta military flag. It could be said, "Wearing Paratu uniform, but my heart remains with Vineta."


    Lieutenant Chelini, wearing his fancy jacket and a tall leather hat, stood out conspicuously among the mixed-dressed militia.


    After greeting the colonel, he led his light Cavalry out ahead to scout the way.


    As the offensive side in the strategy, the Paratu military currently uses a fixed supply route, with a fortified camp set up roughly every ten kilometers.


    Ten kilometers is the daily travel distance for large carts.


    Soldiers can march twenty to thirty kilometers on foot in a day, but for large carts to trudge ten kilometers is already the limit.


    The traditional four-wheeled farmer''s carts are extremely cumbersome in themselves. The front wheels are smaller than the larger rear wheels, resulting in a very large turning radius.


    Without differentials, suspension, or bearings, they are very prone to breaking down. Passenger carts can be fitted with leather suspension frames, but cargo carts cannot.


    Andre''s duty was to ascertain the situation within these ten kilometers and notify the camp ahead to prepare for reception.


    By the time the other militiamen had eaten, packed up their tents, and were ready to depart, the day had already brightened.


    Colonel Jeska didn''t waste words and directly ordered the march. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once leaving Matou Slope Town, the Jeska Regiment would cross the Border River and enter the "no-man''s land", inevitably causing some tension in everyone''s hearts.


    Lieutenant Montaigne took the lead, with the double-hitched large carts rolling out of the camp one after another; Lieutenant Bard followed with a team of carpenters and a few empty large carts at the end.


    Matou Slope Town was a very prosperous town, with a permanent population of hundreds of households. As the supply train passed through the town center, it drew many of the townspeople to stand by the road and watch the spectacle.


    Among them, many men and women had smiles on their faces as Winters on horseback and the militiamen carrying weapons waved some kind of paper.


    "What does this mean?" Winters slowed down his horse and asked the old charlatan in the cart, "Waving paper? Is this some local custom?"


    Reed pulled back the curtain and yawned, petting the Little Lion and chuckling, "What kind of damn custom is that? If I had to say, it should be considered a custom of all Paratu People."


    ...


    The old friar sat in a special passenger cart equipped with a leather suspension frame, which didn''t jostle at all. The carriage was fitted with a charcoal stove and the walls were lined with felt. While the outside air was bitingly cold, inside the carriage it was warm and comfortable.


    Having two chaplains with only a hundred men was incredibly extravagant; now, Priest Caman and Friar Reed had officially become the chaplains of the Gerard Regiment.


    Who knows where the old charlatan got his abilities from, but now everyone in the supply train, whether porters, coachmen, or those small traders seeking protection, revered him as a living Saint.


    Winters estimated that if the old man were to pass away one day, the believers in the convoy would fight over his body until the blood flowed like a river.


    However, it was also for this reason that everyone had no objections to the old friar having a cart to himself. The old charlatan was happy to be comfortable, and Winters wanted to hide the Little Lion; the two were in perfect harmony.


    ...


    "What do you mean?" Winters asked, puzzled, "What custom of the Paratu People? I don''t understand."


    "You don''t understand?" Friar Reed raised his eyebrows.


    "I don''t."


    The old friar asked with a smile, "Do you know what they are waving?"


    "What are they waving?"


    "What they are waving is the secret that has allowed the Paratu People to beat the Hurd tribes to a sorry state over the past thirty years."


    "What do you mean?" Winters grew increasingly confused.


    "Kid, that''s bonds! War bonds!" The old friar''s smile was laden with significance: "Your military pay, your weapons, the gold coins burning in this war... all come from there. If you lose, they''re nothing but waste paper. But if you win, the waste paper will turn into land, slaves, real gold and silver! Them waving at you? They''re hoping you''ll win the battle!"

 Chapter 40 Mobilization

    Without the jingle of gold and silver, wars cannot be fought.


    The old Duke Lotar once said to his son-in-law¡ªEmperor Richard IV of the Holy Muro Empire, "Three things are needed to wage war: money! money! and thirdly, still money!"


    With periodic financial bankruptcies, Richard IV lost his finest generals as well as all the territories south of the Sheltering Mountains.


    But essentially, money cannot be used directly for war.


    Gold cannot serve as gunpowder, and turning silver into weapons and armor is economically impractical. War requires money because it can purchase the resources for war. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Monk Reed once told Winters, "The weapon that kills the most people in the world is not swords, but mobilization."


    At that time, Winters did not understand, thinking it was just old priestly gibberish.


    But after seeing the common folk of Horsehead Town waving war bonds and hearing the old begging monk analyze how the Republic of Palatu raised one batch of war funds after another,


    Although Lieutenant Winters Montagne still did not fully grasp the term "mobilization," he sincerely felt a sense of fear.


    The military history courses at the Land Academy revealed a truth: war is a game for the few, at least until it''s time to divide the spoils.


    Wars between kingdoms are, in fact, wars between kings.


    Commoners have to pay taxes and serve in wars for their kings, but that is out of necessity.


    No one is willing to participate in a war for free. Some didn''t believe this, so they didn''t pay their soldiers, and their ends were often terrible.


    Taxes, service, and feudal duties can still be seen as a king''s property; fundamentally, the king still uses his personal wealth, his treasury to support his wars.


    So excessive taxation, onerous conscription, and extreme exploitation of vassals leading to being overthrown is equivalent to bankruptcy.


    Thus, dynasties and empires that held superiority in population, wealth, culture, but were destroyed by barbarian tribes emerging from remote areas are numerous,


    Wealthy nations and bankrupt royal houses are also not rare;


    In terms of population, land, and wealth, the Duke of Forthland''s domain was insignificant compared to the Holy Empire, but in the end, it was the laughingstock of "peddlers and mob" in the emperor''s mouth that had the last laugh.


    Ultimately, war is not about how much gold, silver, or population you rule, but rather about how much gold, silver, and population you can mobilize for war.


    Among all the republics, the population of Palatu ranks second to last, and its wealth is also far inferior to Vineta, The Federated Provinces, and Varn.


    If it was still the Duchy of Palatu, years of campaigning would have already made the duke pack his bags¡ªnot at the hands of the Herders, then the Palatu People would have done it.


    But her territory was the largest, and it was still growing.


    Where on earth did the Republic of Palatu get the money to fight wars?


    The answer: borrowed.


    It is common for monarchs to borrow money for war, but essentially it remains a private loan. The pool of lenders is limited to wealthy merchants, the church, knights, and bankers.


    Most of the time debts were repaid, occasionally defaulted.


    Thirty years ago in Palatu, with royalists causing disturbances from within, and Herders'' Iron Cavalry invading from without, the republicans were holed up in Kingsfort, busy holding public trials and sentencing people to the guillotine.


    Faced with a dire situation of lacking men, food, and most importantly, money, General Ned pioneered another way of borrowing to raise military funds: special war bonds.


    [Note: Ned Smith was still a general at the time]


    These bonds were of small denominations and available to everyone for purchase.


    Without collateral, they were expected to be repaid with all profits during the war, including unclaimed noble private properties, future spoils from fighting the Herders, and so on.


    It sounded like getting something for nothing, but perhaps precisely because of this, the bonds sold at a particularly cheap price.


    Bonds with a face value of four silver shields sold for just one silver shield¡ªyet even then, there were few buyers.


    Then Ned Smith won a small victory and pillaged a knight''s home.


    Valuables, land, houses... all spoils were auctioned off at low prices, but could only be purchased with bonds.


    Because they could be immediately converted into real assets, people gradually began buying bonds, but the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields rose to two silver shields.


    Then Ned Smith fought a moderately significant battle and pillaged an earl''s home.


    As per the precedent, the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields on the market had risen to three silver shields.


    Soldiers under Ned Smith gradually agreed to be paid their wages in the form of bonds¡ªnaturally, at the market rate.


    Bond purchasers became shareholders, and the army became associates.


    War turned into a business, or perhaps, a gamble.


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    Every Palatu citizen who bought bonds prayed for Ned Smith to win more victories and seize more spoils of war.


    After the eighth victory, General Ned announced that all bonds would be repaid uniformly after the war.


    There were two reasons: first, during the war, the largest part of the spoils, the real estate, could not sell at a good price; secondly, he planned to reinvest the movable spoils back into the war, essentially using the profits to expand operations.


    This decision was a significant blow to the confidence in bonds, but Ned Smith had a contingency plan.


    "Open bond trading to the public."


    General Ned also announced that to enable bond purchasers to recover their investments, the Kingsfort "Bond Exchange" would be established.


    If you don''t want your bond, you could sell it off at the trading hall. Whether at a loss or profit, it''s all up to your skill.


    The world''s first [Bond Exchange], just like that, was born three months after the birth of [war bonds].

 Chapter 40 Mobilization_2

    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith mobilized money from the hands of common folk¡ªcraftsmen, merchants, maids¡ªinto war funds.


    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith turned the skirmish between a handful of people into the war of another handful of people against the Republic of Palatu.


    No one wanted to serve without pay, but everyone who bought war bonds voluntarily contributed to the war effort.


    ...


    "Wait, what if we lose the war? Wouldn''t the bonds become worthless?" Winters asked the old soothsayer with a furrowed brow.


    "Simple, just don''t lose," Brother Reed chuckled, "Don''t forget, that''s Ned Smith! The iron man who never loses a battle!"


    ...


    After a year of war, the royalists were purged, and the Herders fled in disarray. The Republic of Palatu was officially established and became the third member state of the Senas Alliance. Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    All bonds issued during the war were redeemed at their face value, and Ned Smith took down the sign for the "Special War Bond Exchange" and returned to The Federated Provinces.


    He received news that Emperor Richard IV was about to lead a campaign in person.


    This time, the emperor swore to crush the rebels thoroughly.


    ...


    "This is mobilization, the ability of a country to invest resources into a war," the old monk said slowly, "Nations at war are like two clumsy drunks wrestling. Even the strongest man, if he can only muster a fraction of his strength, will be overthrown by a weaker man who can harness half of his strength."


    Winters pricked up his ears to listen.


    "The crudest form of mobilization is the conscription of manpower; military service, labor service, your militia are examples of this; a more sophisticated form of mobilization is the allocation of money¡ªyou have money, you have people; that''s what Ned Smith does, and so does taxation; and beyond that? I don''t know. Perhaps it''s about going all out, pouring all resources into the war, forging the entire nation into a weapon."


    "How do you forge it?"


    "If you want to forge the entire nation into a weapon, you need a united will. Hmph, the human heart?" The old monk scoffed with a sneer, "The human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world, I really can''t imagine how to control it."


    Hearing this, Winters couldn''t help but be sarcastic, "The people in the caravan almost worship you as a living saint, and you still don''t know how to control the human heart?" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Things of life and death, you wouldn''t learn if I taught you," the old monk knocked hard on Winters'' head, "If you had the skill of Ned Smith, you''d be invincible in battle."


    ...


    Crossing the surging Border River via the Floating Bridge left no further road to speak of beneath one''s feet.


    All around was a vast expanse, with only the faint tracks of wagon wheels guiding the way across the expansive plains.


    The horses, frothing at the mouth, struggled forward; militiamen armed with muskets and spears walked alongside, occasionally helping to lift wheels mired in the mud.


    More than two hundred wagons meandered across the wilderness, inadvertently forming a column over two kilometers long.


    Those ahead often only had to crest a hill or round a mound of earth to disappear from the view of those behind.


    Winters patrolled back and forth, ensuring the order of the march. Any malfunctioning wagons were swiftly dragged out of line, waiting for Lieutenant Bard to come to the rescue as rearguard.


    Once across the Border River, it was as if they had legally left the Republic of Palatu, and everyone was somewhat tense.


    Fortunately, the journey was free of surprises, save for a wagon that lost a rear wheel.


    The tension quickly dissipated, replaced by fatigue.


    Marching was an exceedingly monotonous labor, essentially a continuous walk. Moreover, the colonel strictly forbade his men from placing weapons or miscellaneous items on the large wagons.


    The militiamen, carrying thirty to forty pounds on their backs, trudged through the wilderness thinking only of rest.


    Colonel Jeska strictly controlled the pace of the march. The hourglass was turned twice¡ªabout an hour¡ªbefore the troops could take a brief respite.


    They marched until noon when the colonel finally ordered the bugle call for an extended rest.


    ...


    The "buffer zone" between the Hurd Tribes and Paratu has existed from ancient times.


    For hundreds of years, they alternated between war and peace: during disasters, the Herders would raid Paratu for food, and when Paratu was strong, they would mobilize troops to raid the Hurd Tribes, capturing livestock and slaves.


    Historian Bonnie Cefiel described it this way, "The people of Paratu are essentially Herders who have adopted agriculture and accepted public teaching. Even in the eyes of the uneducated mountain people of Monta, the people of Paratu are too barbaric."


    Neither the Herders wanted to graze near Paratu nor did the people of Paratu dare to settle near the Hurd Tribes, which naturally resulted in a lawless zone.


    This was formalized thirty years ago when Marshal Ned signed a treaty with the three great Hurd Tribes.


    It was formally stipulated that "within these two hundred miles, Paratu People shall not cultivate, Herders shall not herd," thus giving the buffer zone a formal legal basis.


    According to Ned Smith''s concept, maintaining distance might prevent military conflicts to the greatest extent possible.


    But reality was the complete opposite of his expectations.


    [Note: In the year 526 of the Empire, the Butcher Alion was defeated and died in battle. The following year, a civil war erupted within the Duke of Palatu''s domain. The royalists and republicans killed each other. The Hurd Khan "Xiban-Juye" seized the opportunity to invade from the east. Ned Smith led the Allied Army and smashed their forces, killing Khan Juye in battle. After that, the Hurd Tribes fell into decline.]


    ...


    "No wonder he chose to deploy troops in winter!" A distant voice came, "This wretched land is somewhat passable only in winter. In spring and summer, if you encounter rain, the land will definitely be mired in mud and the wagons won''t be able to move at all."


    Before seeing the speaker, the voice was recognizable¡ªit was Lieutenant Andrea Chelini. Lieutenant Chelini was currently recognized as the loudest voice within Colonel Jeska''s unit.

 Chapter 40 Mobilization_3

    There were also rumors that, although it wasn''t apparent on the surface, Second Lieutenant Montaigne could raise such a shout when angered that it could scare a person to death.


    The origin of these stories was probably a tipsy Wolf Town militiaman who gave a colorful description of how the lieutenant had "roared and scared the notorious bandit Horse Palm Ivan to death."


    Andre strode towards Bard and the others, rubbing his hands with a laugh and asked, "Berlion, what''s for lunch today?"


    Bard, Priest Caman and Brother Reed were sitting on the ground on a large piece of canvas.


    They were all waiting for the meal, and Bard had specially made his way from the end of the convoy.


    Ever since Berlion switched to duty as a service soldier, the number of people dining with Winters for lunch and dinner had been on the rise.


    "The main dish is slow-cooked pork knuckle, sir," the chef replied, holding a pot. "And there''s creamed vegetable soup, though the bread is from yesterday."


    Berlion lifted the lid of the pot, revealing the pork knuckle stewed with sugar and sauce, steaming hot. The meat, which had been stewing throughout the journey, was tender and juicy, and the bone was easily removed with a slight tug.


    "Have you been to the camp up ahead?" Winters asked, jumping down from the wagon with a basket of bread. "You''re back early, aren''t you?"


    Andre kept his eyes on the pot and responded offhandedly, "Twenty kilometers there and back, how long could it take?"


    As they talked, the group huddled around the pot began to serve themselves meat, while Berlion returned to the wagon to bring out another pot of mixed vegetable soup.


    Brother Reed took a small taste and clicked his tongue in praise, "Mr. Berlion, with your skill, I think you could easily serve as the emperor''s chef."


    The blacksmith smiled but said nothing.


    "Which emperor''s court have you been to? The Madman Richard''s? The Oathbreaker''s?" Winters couldn''t resist retorting.


    As a true-blue soldier of the Republic, Mr. Montaigne had the utmost distaste for terms like "royal."


    "I haven''t been to any, but that doesn''t hinder my standards of judgement," the old monk replied contentedly, not at all perturbed.


    ...


    The supply train''s long rest coincided with lunchtime, and most people in the convoy were nibbling on dry rations, perhaps accompanied by a little pickled vegetable at best.


    During a march, dinner was the most important meal because that was the only time to make a fire; the other two meals were makeshift.


    Before Berlion was reassigned to service duty, most mornings and afternoons Winters would also be gnawing on cold bread.


    But since Berlion took charge of the meals, Winters could enjoy hot food for every meal. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    The blacksmith had crafted a special kind of iron stove, half-human-tall and made of pure iron, comprising three sections:


    The middle section was the combustion chamber, suitable for burning wood or coal;


    The remaining ashes fell to the bottom, which had a sliding door for removing debris and adjusting ventilation to control the fire; Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The top was for setting pots, and there was a chimney attached to the back of the stove.


    The best feature of this iron stove was its ability to burn without open flames, use of a stone mat meant it wouldn''t set wood alight, and it allowed for control over the burning speed.


    Berlion placed the iron stove on the wagon, starting to cook something in the morning and keeping it on a low flame. By noon Winters had a hot meal waiting for him.


    Moreover, Winters had noticed that this iron stove was far more fuel-efficient than a bonfire.


    ...


    Without a dining table in the field, Winters and company would spread out a cloth and sit on the ground; it rather felt like a picnic.


    "During the Siege of Gusa, I dreamt of having a sip of hot soup," Bard said with feeling. "If we had this kind of stove back then, our hardship wouldn''t have been so severe."


    "Berlion," Winters chimed in, "if you were to sell such stoves in Sea Blue, you''d make a fortune."


    Andre played devil''s advocate, "Good as it is, did you see how much iron the stove uses? That''s enough to make ten breastplates, right? How many people can afford that?"


    Winters immediately countered, "Are cast iron and steel the same thing? The breastplates also cost labor. It uses a lot of iron because it''s made from good material. This stove could last for decades without any issues. Some people in Sea Blue would be willing to pay a one-off price for something that can be used for a lifetime! When I get back home, I''ll install one in my study."


    The two Venetians bantered back and forth, while Berlion simply kept his head down and ate.


    He too sat within this small circle, dining with the Centurion and the priests¡ªas specifically requested by Second Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The blacksmith had been utterly reluctant, but the lieutenant insisted, "It''s just eating, no need for so many hierarchical formalities."


    Winters didn''t have much of an opinion on this, but he felt uncomfortable when Berlion first transferred to service duty and prepared to serve him meals as a servant would.


    After a while, Winters''s constables Heinrich and Xial also arrived. They both saluted first, then sat down to partake of the food.


    The soldiers of the ten-man squads took turns preparing food, but the constables were directly under the Centurion and not attached to any squad.


    So Winters had Xial and Heinrich join him for meals.


    Other officers might not accept this, but Bard, Andre, Priest Caman, and Brother Reed were not very concerned with notions of rank and hierarchy.


    Sitting together for a meal and casual chat, the atmosphere was quite relaxed.


    However, when Colonel Jeska came round on his inspection and saw them, he said nothing and rode away.


    The supply train arrived at the camp safely, and as usual, Winters and his group had their communal meal, which Colonel Jeska witnessed again, but still, he said nothing.


    It wasn''t until the following night that the colonel stopped the three lieutenants: "Starting today, the three of you will dine with me."

 Chapter 41 Crossing the River

    According to the content of the handbook distributed to the officers, a well-established field camp must include trenches, walls, drainage ditches, stables, toilets, two entrances and exits, must have a readily accessible water source, and must be situated in terrain conducive to defense.


    But the reality was that the quality of the camps along the supply line varied, typically guarded by one to two soldiers, and never more than three.


    Some could accommodate two full-strength legions, complete with robust walls and trenches, built as temporary military camps by the passing army a few months ago;


    the rest were much simpler, deemed complete after digging a circular trench in a flat clearing.


    The selection of camp locations was mostly near rivers, established on the west bank of fords and floating bridges. One reason was to secure a water source; another reason was to ensure the safety of the floating bridges and fords.


    Rivers were the biggest headache for the baggage train during the march.


    Owing to their reliance on the melting of ice and snow for replenishment, the rivers of the Great Wilderness were heavily affected by the seasons.


    During the rainy season, when the precipitation is plentiful, river levels could rise by several meters. In the winter, they would enter a dry period, when most could be forded¡ªthis was one of the reasons for choosing to mobilize in winter.


    Looking at the bigger picture, the river system between two mountains originates from the melting ice and snow of the Sheltering Mountain Range and the Jinding Mountains, forming a characteristic dendritic drainage pattern.


    The geographer Bai Ruisi likened the area between the two mountains to a leaf, with the Torrent River flowing from west to east as the main vein, and the various tributaries as side veins and fine veins.


    According to this analogy, most of the rivers that troubled the baggage train didn''t even qualify as fine veins.


    Yet even a shallow river only deep as one''s calf could be enough to trouble someone wading through it in this season.


    Although winters in Paratu rarely saw ice formation, that did not prevent them from being cold.


    ...


    One by one, the wagons crossed the shallow, ten-meter-wide shallows, and the baggage train arrived at today''s camping site.


    But this did not signify the end of a day''s hard work, as the wagon drivers were busy unhitching the horses while the militia had to reorganize the camp facilities: cleaning the trenches, fortifying the walls, and re-digging the toilets.


    While others were buried in hoeing the ground, those assigned to cook in each tent had to start fires, fetch water, and prepare food.


    As compensation for carrying the iron pots during the march, they were not required to participate in heavy physical labor¡ªthough it was debatable whether cooking was more tiring than digging toilets.


    After the reorganization was finished, and night watch and patrol personnel were arranged, Winters issued the dismissal order.


    He was cold and hungry, and sitting in the saddle all day had made his buttocks painfully sore. He just wanted to drink some hot soup and rest as soon as possible.


    But he was stopped midway by Colonel Jeska, who had also summoned Bard and Andre.


    The colonel''s tone was as usual, neither warm nor cold, "You three will dine with me."


    The three lieutenants looked at each other.


    It had been more than three weeks since Colonel Jeska took charge, but he had maintained a by-the-book attitude and had no personal interactions with Winters and the others, nor did he seem to have any intention to foster personal relations.


    However, when the direct superior invited them to dinner, the lieutenants had no choice but to accept.


    But the colonel did not head directly back to the barracks; instead, he led the lieutenants to the stables, where the baggage train''s horses were kept.


    And so Winters and the others found themselves following the colonel around the stables, watching as he checked the horses'' backs for sweat and occasionally inspected their hooves and legs.


    Centurion Dusa, in charge of feeding the horses, was a man in his thirties and hurried to the stables upon hearing the news. Facing four officers, his expression was extremely tense.


    Colonel Jeska gave the centurion a glance and asked coldly, "The horses haven''t been penned long, have they?"


    "Yes, sir," the centurion wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    The colonel grabbed a handful from the manger, "What is this?"


    "Feed, sir. Guaranteed full quantity, not a bit short."


    "And what is this?" the colonel kicked a bucket beside the manger.


    The centurion became even more frightened, "Water! Just fetched from the river, guaranteed to be clean."


    Colonel Jeska suddenly erupted, grabbing the bucket and throwing it at the centurion. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire


    The centurion didn''t dare dodge, stumbling backward several steps before regaining his balance.


    "You dare to give water and feed to the horses while they''re still sweaty!" The colonel slapped the centurion hard, knocking him to the ground, "Do you want to die?"


    The centurion panicked, pleading repeatedly, "I... I just..."


    "Shut up!"


    The centurion got up, not daring to speak any further.


    "Go to your centurion tomorrow and take ten lashes," Jeska said with a look of disgust, "Get out!"


    As if pardoned, the centurion scurried away.


    "Dismiss him from his post," the colonel said to Andre.


    "Yes."


    ...


    Later, inside Colonel Jeska''s tent.


    The colonel and the lieutenants sat around a small table, still discussing the recent incident.


    "Damned fool!" Colonel Jeska''s anger had not subsided, "It''s not their own livestock, so they don''t care! Look at their warhorses, they waited for them to stop sweating before feeding."


    The baggage train had a hundred or so large wagons, and over two hundred draft horses. Part of these wagons and horses were military property, with the drivers merely workers; the rest were owned by the drivers themselves, who received higher pay.


    The drivers cared for their horses, but the military horses were looked after by a few Dusacks.


    However, it seemed they hardly took it to heart.


    "What about letting the drivers take care of them?" Winters asked.


    "The same, they don''t care about what''s not theirs," the colonel shook his head, "Drivers are even harder to manage than soldiers."


    For a while, everyone was silent, eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.


    After pondering for a moment, the colonel said, "The carts are now fully loaded, which is the most demanding on the horses and must not have any accidents. We only have four spare draft horses, more precious than the soldiers. An officer must be assigned to take charge of this matter to ensure the men beneath him don''t slack off."

 Chapter 41 Crossing the River_2

    The lieutenant colonel first looked at Winters, shaking his head. Then he looked at Bard and Andre, as if deciding between the two cavalry officers.


    Andre immediately avoided eye contact, and seeing this, Bard sighed and said, "I''ll do it."


    "Good, then it''s you," the lieutenant colonel nodded.


    The orderly pulled back the tent flap and brought dish after dish in front of the officers.


    Winters had been so hungry he was numb, but the smell of food made his stomach churn again.


    The four soldiers didn''t have any sort of ritual for saying grace before eating: as soon as the food was on the table, they could begin.


    But Winters barely tasted a spoonful of the mushy substance on his plate when he almost threw up the soup he had ingested the day before.


    It was disgusting: sour and stinky, as if washing rags had been soaked in it.


    If something looked like swill, smelled like swill, and tasted even more like swill, then it must be swill, right?


    Winters looked at Andre in shock, and Andre returned the look with equal shock.


    In contrast, Jeska and Bard seemed unfazed, as if everyone wasn''t eating the same thing.


    "Sir, do you usually eat this stuff?" Andre asked cautiously.


    The lieutenant colonel, busy breaking apart a piece of dehydrated, hard bread, casually responded, "I didn''t invite you to a feast; I''m trying to correct a mistake."


    "What mistake?"


    "The mistake of getting too close to the soldiers!" the lieutenant colonel said coldly. "I understand the sentiment of this kind of local troop, but you are in the military now. Keep your distance from the soldiers, otherwise it will affect your judgment."


    Although the lieutenant colonel didn''t spell it out, Winters knew what he meant, and it irritated him a little.


    Andre chuckled and asked Bard, "Can you even stomach this?"


    Bard glanced at Andre and said, "If you were born into a tenant farmer''s family, you could stomach it too." Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Enough with the complaining," Colonel Jeska said with displeasure. "It''s good enough to have food in the barracks. The soldiers are not chefs; if they can cook something edible, that''s good enough. What does taste matter? You''ve never been to war, otherwise you''d be able to eat pig slop if put on a plate."


    The three veterans exchanged glances silently, with no intention of correcting the lieutenant colonel.


    "It''s not about whether I''ve been to war or not," Andre said slowly, stirring the mush on his plate with a spoon. "It''s just that by comparison, the food here is indeed hard to swallow."


    "Compared to whom?" Colonel Jeska raised an eyebrow.


    "With... Monti''s [Montaigne''s nickname] orderlies."


    Colonel Jeska snorted derisively, clearly disbelieving.


    The next day, the lieutenant colonel believed.


    On the third day, the lieutenant colonel did something that was "just like him."


    The blacksmith Berlion was transferred to the battalion headquarters to work full-time as a cook.


    ... S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although there is a legal "buffer zone" between the territories of the Herders and the Paratu People, the geographical definition of this buffer zone keeps changing.


    The area south of the Ashen Stream River in the buffer zone agreed upon by Ned Smith and the three major Herder tribes is today''s Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    [Note: Ashen Stream River is how the Torrent River is referred to within Paratu territory]


    Generally speaking, the Paratu People steadily encroach upon the territory while the Herders gradually retreat, leaving an undeveloped strip about a hundred kilometers wide between them.


    Though it''s called a no-man''s land, it''s not entirely devoid of human activity.


    The most common sight is Shepherds.


    The original agreement was "no farming by the Paratu People and no herding by the Herders," but it didn''t stipulate that the Paratu People couldn''t herd sheep in this area.


    This wasn''t just playing with words, as nomadic herding in the gaps between powers is a traditional skill of the Paratu People.


    As early as the year 273 of the Empire, Paratu saw the establishment of a national wool guild¡ªthe Mesta Honor Association.


    Even most of the Paratu herding terminology originates from the Herder language.


    Agriculture didn''t bring gold or silver, so before the Republican era, the taxes from Mesta were major financial revenues for the Duke of Palatu.


    After Richard IV inherited the dukedom of Palatu, he would also get an income of over 10,000 pounds of silver from Mesta every year. [Note: equivalent to about 98,000 Ducat Gold Coins]


    The poor Paratu Shepherds, driving their sheep across national and religious boundaries, not only had to migrate with the seasons within the power divides but also had to guard against the predations of the Herders.


    Yet it was these Shepherds at the bottom tier who accumulated wealth for the nobility of Paratu, enabling them to build castles, hire armies, and engage in long wars against the Herder tribes with resilience.


    Had it not been for several critical stands by Palatu against large-scale eastern invasions by the Herders at their pinnacle, Forthland and Vineta would have fallen under the iron hooves long ago.


    The Paratu Shepherds left behind lonely castles on the old border lines and countless stories and legends where they were the main characters.


    For this reason, even though the vast majority of Paratu People make a living from farming, Andre liked to use the derogatory term "day shepherd," and we have reason to believe that this disrespectful description probably did happen.


    ...


    Shepherding in the buffer zone is an industry officially endorsed by the government and was even once a pillar industry of Paratu.


    However, there are also trades that don''t receive Paratu government endorsement.


    For example, stealthily breaking new ground, where some farmers who can''t afford land secretly go to the buffer zone to clear it for cultivation.


    The Paratu government doesn''t actively bring them back, nor does it offer any protection to these stealthy cultivators or recognize their property rights.


    Many bandits and robbers also hide on the other side of the Border River to escape the law.


    Many stealthy cultivators fall victim to these criminals, but the authorities rarely send law enforcement across the Border River. Such cases are often handled by Bounty Hunters.

 Chapter 41 Crossing the River_3

    In addition, there were trade caravans and smugglers.


    The Paratu officials sometimes allowed trade and at other times banned it. The winds of policy were always changing, but the demand was ever-present.


    As the saying goes, "From the east come tobacco, liquor, oil, cloth, and sugar; from the west come cattle, sheep, mules, and horses."


    When trade was allowed, they were trade caravans; when it was banned, they became smugglers, but all year round there were always people driving their teams back and forth between the Hurd tribes and Paratu.


    Most of the time, the government of Paratu turned a blind eye¡ªbut that was regarding animals and miscellaneous goods like tobacco, liquor, sugar, and oil.


    Any caravan daring to smuggle ironware, firearms, or gunpowder was unforgivable. Even if they had already crossed the midway point of the no-man''s land, the Piaoqi of Paratu would hunt them down to the death.


    However, precisely because of this, ironware, firearms, and gunpowder fetched extremely high prices among the Hurd tribes, which led to many risking danger for the sake of profit.


    Apart from the Paratu People, there were also Herders in this "no-man''s land."


    The agreement signed with Ned Smith involved three major tribes: Haidong, Suz, and Terdun; but there were also numerous small and medium-sized Hurd tribes.


    There were always Hurd tribes that after suffering disasters or losing battles for pastures, would enter the buffer zone, and these Herders were also unprotected by the tribal council.


    Sometimes they plundered private settlers from Paratu, and at other times they were slaughtered by settlers, bandits, or even the Piaoqi of Paratu.


    In short, when a person stepped into this "no-man''s land," they were essentially leaving behind all laws, rules, and civilization of the world.


    Herders, Shepherds, stealth cultivators, bandits, smugglers... All sorts of people struggled to survive here.


    Sometimes they cooperated, at other times they fought each other. Apart from the weapons in their hands, nothing could guarantee a person''s life or property.


    The objective of the Republic of Palatu''s current military campaign was to push this area another hundred kilometers further west.


    ...


    After crossing a hundred-kilometer-wide no-man''s land, the supply train took a full twelve days.


    Most people of Paratu grew up hearing stories like "There are bandits across the Border River," and initially, they were understandably very nervous.


    But in the end, not to mention bandits, they barely encountered even a few rabbits.


    It was such an uneventful journey that everyone felt a bit disappointed.


    There was nothing to be done about it; with three companies of a hundred men each in charge of escorting, only bandits with a death wish would dare to attack the supply train.


    ...


    The buffer zone was bounded by a river on the side of Paratu, and likewise by a river on the side of the Hurd tribes.


    And the Herders'' Border River was much more impressive than that of the Paratu People.


    What blocked the caravan was a river nearly four hundred meters wide with rapid currents and unfathomable depths, connected by only an unstable floating bridge between the two shores.


    By crossing the river via the Floating Bridge, the caravan entered a camp at the bridgehead to rest.


    However, the guards refused to allow any outsiders into the camp, so the petty traders had to spend the night outside the camp.


    The guard force at the bridgehead camp was also much larger than the previous camps, with a full-size company of a hundred men completely commanded by a captain.


    After settling the caravan, Winters and the others climbed the watchtower of the camp to take in the view.


    "Look, that river must be what the Herders call ''Kurwalya,'' meaning the river that carries souls away, the river of the underworld," exclaimed Brother Reed, with his face glowing as he pointed at the river: "I''ve long heard of the grandeur of this river, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation!"


    "Kurwalya... Kurwalya..." Winters rolled the word around in his mouth and then realized: "Isn''t Kurwalya a kind of dance? Something like... the Dance to the Styx?" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Brother Reed chuckled: "This is why I say you''re uncultured, you still won''t admit it. That is ''Kurwaleta,'' the root is the same, but the suffix is different."


    Winters had only heard it mentioned once by Hestas, and he couldn''t remember how it was pronounced. Thinking of the old Shaman, he sighed with a touch of sadness.


    "Such a magnificent sight before us, and you sigh? Don''t spoil the mood!" the old monk rolled his eyes.


    Remembering an old friend, Winters smiled: "Old man, you need to live a little longer, don''t just die on me, alright?"


    "Don''t worry! I definitely will be alive until I die!" laughed the old monk, who was not at all superstitious about such talk. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

 Chapter 42 Chance Encounter

    ```


    On the day they crossed the Styx, the supply train camped at the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Late at night, a panicked night-watch scout burst into Lieutenant Montaigne''s tent, "Sir! Wake up quickly!"


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    The lieutenant''s consciousness was hazy, "Ugh... What''s going on?"


    "There''s been a big incident!"


    Sleep instantly gone, Winters leaped from his campaign bed, "What happened?"


    "Salt is falling from the sky!"


    Without even bothering to put on his clothes, Winters dashed out of the tent.


    As he scanned the surroundings, he didn''t see salt being sprinkled, but he was faced with an even more astonishing sight¡ªthousands upon thousands of willow catkins spiraling down from the skies.


    This land, which rarely saw snow, was experiencing snowfall.


    ...


    Two days later.


    West of the Kurvalya River, in unnamed territories.


    Andre and Winters rode side by side, engaging in idle chatter. The sound of horse hooves "squelching" in mud and water could be heard.


    To the Paratu People, snow existed in two forms: in written records and as the perennial snow on the summits of the Jinding Mountains.


    Tangible, touchable snow was quite rare.


    The younger Dusacks had never even experienced a snowfall; their entire concept of "snow" came from their parents'' descriptions.


    Although the ground temperature hadn''t reached freezing point and the fallen snow soon melted into water, remnants of snow still clung to distant slopes.


    While the meadow in front still displayed a tinge of green, the slopes at the horizon were covered with a thick layer of white snow¡ªan unusual scene that seemed almost unreal even to those witnessing it firsthand.


    But the people of the supply train weren''t in any position to appreciate the scenery; they had much more pressing problems.


    The meadows, which were fairly firm during the winter, had now absorbed moisture from the unexpected snowfall.


    Once pressed down by the wheels, the ground inevitably turned to sludge.


    The heavy wagons left behind muddy trails, with mud clogging the wheel axles and making it even harder for the wheels to turn, often causing carts to get stuck in mud pits.


    Normally, the tracks compressed by the leading carts would make it easier for those following, but now, instead, the situation was reversed¡ªthe leading carts had it relatively easy, while those at the back struggled more and more.


    After a day''s travel, Colonel Jeska ordered a change to double column formation the next day, to shorten the length of the queue.


    However, the double column formation didn''t seem to make much of a difference, and Winters guessed that they might have to try a triple or even quadruple column formation in the future.


    "This goddamn rotten land!" Andre cursed, "To think we came all this way to fight the Herders, do the higher-ups have shit for brains?"


    It''s often the absence of something that reveals its importance. Compared to Vineta with its well-developed road network and canals, the grasslands of the Herders truly deserved to be called rotten land.


    The paths were terrible¡ªthere weren''t any to begin with¡ªand human habitation was scarce. Apart from grass, there were trees, and it didn''t look like a place that produced much of anything.


    Brother Reed on the wagon laughed, "You Venetians are like satiated men who don''t know the pangs of the hungry; even barren fields can be productive if used for grazing sheep. You think this land isn''t much, but every year the Herder clans fight each other fiercely over grazing grounds."


    "That''s because the Herders are poor as church mice." Andre immediately retorted. "Surely the Paratu People aren''t poorer than the Herders, are they?"


    "A ripe apple is more tempting to pluck." The old monk recited a Flemish proverb and asked in turn, "Does that mean no one would pick a green apple? Paratu''s desire for land is also your Venetians'' responsibility."


    "What responsibility?" Andre was quite unconvinced.


    "The wool weaving industry in Forthland and Vineta needs more raw material, so Paratu needs more sheep. When the younger sons, youngest sons, and bastards of your noble families come here with money to buy land, Paratu ends up with a great many estates and estate owners. Don''t you understand?"


    Andre was somewhat bewildered, "What does that have to do with anything?"


    "Ultimately, it''s the demand from your coastal regions that drives the Paratu People here," the mendicant monk sighed, a hint of pity in his gaze, as if looking at a foolish child. "If one day Vineta''s textile industry no longer needs wool and shifts to producing cotton fabrics, the Paratu People would slaughter their sheep and use the land to grow cotton. Do you understand now?"


    "We... don''t need cotton now?" Andre meekly asked.


    "This kid here is even dumber than you!" the old monk directed at Winters with a point to Andre.


    "Leave me out of it!" Winters shot back. "Vineta has responsibility, but don''t you have responsibility as well? Do you dare say that the wars between the Paratu and the Herders have nothing to do with religion? Isn''t it about fighting heretic believers?"


    The old monk could only chuckle softly.


    A rider galloped from the rear of the convoy all the way to where the two officers were before pulling at the reins.


    It was Pierre, reporting anxiously to Andre, "Sir! I saw a figure on the northern slopes."


    "A figure? How many?"


    "Just one." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And then? Did they follow us?"


    "No, it was just a fleeting glimpse. The person went back behind the slope, and I couldn''t see them anymore."


    After some thought, Andre frowned and asked, "It''s not another shepherd, is it?"


    ...


    Regarding shepherds, they had already made a farce of themselves before.


    On the first day they entered the buffer zone, the militia spotted what seemed like figures following along the ridges on both sides of the hills.


    With tensions running high, Andre thought they were Herder scouts and immediately led his Cavalry to charge at them.


    The Cavalry waved their sabers, shouting wildly, and charged straight to the figures, only to discover they were just some shepherds.


    Having not caught any Herders but instead scared a few shepherds half to death, Andre was furious.


    During the subsequent days of marching in the buffer zone, they encountered several groups of shepherds each day.


    Tired of being fooled by false alarms, Andre no longer cared to deal with such reports, while Colonel Jeska insisted on sending Andre to make contact with the shepherds.


    ```

 Chapter 42 Encounter_2

    "Lieutenant Winters!" the colonel liked to say, "Go take a look! Take the things over!"


    One of the colonel''s goals was to gather intelligence¡ªbut Andre thought that was pure nonsense. In his view, the real purpose was for the mutton, sheep''s milk, and sheep cheese.


    Shepherds of Paratu primarily tended to the renowned Merino Sheep, known for their soft and smooth wool, which even Winters, Andre, and other Venetians had heard of.


    Merino Sheep were considered a controlled commodity in Paratu, and it had been strictly forbidden to let the breed spread since ancient times, with violators subjected to the death penalty.


    There was another less famous type of sheep called Jura Sheep, whose wool wasn''t as good as that of the Merinos, but whose meat and milk were far superior to their relatives.


    Colonel Jeska was particularly fond of Jura sheep cheese.


    Shepherds wandered the wilderness all year round, leading a monotonous life. Thus, they were quite willing to exchange sheep and milk for consumables like tobacco, sugar, and alcohol.


    The colonel specifically named Andre to go, which meant he was to exchange for meat and milk.


    Having fresh meat and milk every day made everyone in the officer class quite happy. Everyone but Andre, who was annoyed beyond measure. The colonel had singled him out and nobody else could take his place.


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    [Note: The officer class includes officers, clergy, and professional doctors, although a battalion would not have a professional doctor assigned to it]


    ...


    Upon hearing Lieutenant Winters'' question, Pierre scratched his head and said, "I''m not sure if it was a shepherd, but that person did wave at me."


    "Didn''t make out the attire?"


    "Too far to see clearly."


    "Take your tentmates to have a look," Andre instructed. "Take your musket with you, but don''t make a fool of yourself like you did yesterday."


    Yesterday, their first day after crossing "The Styx", Andre received a report once again: there was someone on the ridge.


    Once across The Styx, it was Herder territory, of this there could be no mistake. Andre gathered his men, full of killing intent, and charged over.


    But he had been fooled once more, still by shepherds, and actually by those who had crossed over the floating bridge the other days.


    Shepherds followed the flag of Paratu wherever it went. The western bank of The Styx had the rock salt necessary for sheep, and after the army crossed the river, the shepherds followed as well.


    According to the shepherds, the nearby Herders had already migrated westward long ago, with the nearest battles now happening a hundred kilometers to the west.


    To avoid the Paratu troops, the Herders had moved everything¡ªherds, tents, cattle, and sheep. Now, only Paratu shepherds roamed this land.


    After receiving his orders, Pierre saluted and prepared to leave.


    "Wait." Andre stopped him and after a moment''s hesitation said, "I''ll go myself, you go back and report to the colonel."


    Pierre saluted, pulled on the reins, and galloped away.


    Winters drew a revolver from his gun bag and threw it to Andre: "Take this with you."


    To avoid exposing spellcasters'' identities, besides using spells in public on rare occasions, Winters had deliberately purchased a double-barreled revolver in Maplestone City.


    He felt that even if there were rumors about his ability to shoot without an open flame, it would just be attributed to the revolver.


    "No need," Andre said with a smile and a wave of his hand, "Just a few shepherds, carrying this cumbersome thing is unnecessary."


    ...


    Andre gathered a tent of cavalrymen and galloped toward the northern slope.


    He was reluctant to call these Dusacks cavalry, as in his eyes they were merely horse riders, not qualified to be called proper cavalry.


    The leading Centurion was named Asta, a thirty-four-year-old "old" Dusack¡ªcompared to the young ones, a person from Blackwater Town, unlucky enough to have been chosen by draw.


    The rest, Shego, Kliuch, Margot, Rasov, and Kapu, were all underaged Dusacks.


    Andre thought that Asta, due to his age, might be more reliable, so he appointed him as Centurion.


    Treadmills work harder, Andre led the six riders for quite a while before reaching the top of the slope.


    Standing on the heights of the hill, the men of the baggage train appeared as tiny as beans.


    The column looked like a clumsy snake crawling across the plain, but only half could be seen¡ªthe other half was completely obscured by undulating terrain.


    One often doesn''t feel it when in the middle of it, but only from a high vantage point does one realize the wilderness isn''t flat.


    The rolling hills were like the wrinkles on a blanket; cross a ridge or go around a hillock, and the view is lost.


    "There seem to be animals over there, sir," Asta said, pointing with a riding crop to a gully on the east.


    "Let''s go take a look."


    The riders moved along the ridge, and after a few turns, a flock of sheep suddenly appeared at the bottom of the other side of the valley.


    The pale brown Merino sheep were spread out in the gully, peacefully grazing.


    Two shepherds noticed the cavalry at the top of the slope and waved their hats at them.


    "Did you bring the stuff?" Andre asked the Centurion.


    "Of course, sir," Asta patted the saddlebag, "I knew we''d have to come trade." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre traded with the shepherds for meat, cheese, and fresh milk, while the accompanying Dusacks also took the opportunity to swap for some sheep''s milk to drink.


    "You go trade," Andre said nonchalantly, "Same as usual."


    Asta whistled, taking Kliuch with him as they raced down to the bottom of the gully.


    Andre yawned, "Damn, it''s all mutton and sheep''s milk, I''m starting to smell like a ram."


    "Then I''ll share your worries," the junior Dusack, Shego, joked.


    "Deal," Andre laughed heartily, giving Shego a light flick of his riding crop, "I''ll discuss it with the colonel and look for an opportunity to improve things for everyone."


    "Thank you, sir!" Shego exclaimed joyfully.

 Chapter 42 Accidental Encounter_3

    "What the hell!" That was Rasov, screaming in utter terror, "How the hell... Lord!"


    At the bottom of the ditch, Asta first lazily leaned to one side, then suddenly flung up both hands and fell from the saddle.


    Kliuch, who had gone with him, had already been dragged off his horse by the Shepherd and was desperately struggling and shouting.


    The sudden calamity left the Dusacks speechless with their eyes wide open.


    "Go down and save him!" Andre, spurring his horse fiercely in the ribs, drew his saber, and charged down the slope ahead of everyone.


    The Dusacks fell a few horse lengths behind before they came to their senses, clumsily trying to follow.


    Taking advantage of the terrain, the Cavalry reached the bottom of the slope in the blink of an eye, but that was exactly why the enemy had not killed Kliuch.


    Seeing the Piaoqi officer rushing down the slope, the Shepherd immediately took out his horn and blew it fiercely.


    In the flash of lightning, the Shepherd''s horn and jaw were both chopped off by Lieutenant Cherini. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But it was too late, the muffled sound of the horn had already drifted out of the gully, returning with the thunderous sounds of hooves.


    On the edge of the hill''s silhouette, first appeared the swaying tips of long spears, then the fluttering feathers on their helmets.


    A dozen fierce riders, carrying guns and bows, emerged from the opposite slope, howling as they charged toward the Paratu Cavalry at the bottom.


    "Herd Barbarians!" Shego bellowed with all his might, "It''s the Herd Barbarians!"


    It was a planned ambush. Andre pulled at the reins fiercely and bellowed, "Go!"


    The riders wheeled their horses around and raced back toward the hilltop they had come from. Even those who usually spared their horses were now desperately jabbing their spurs into the animals'' ribs.


    Kliuch had just scrambled up from the ground when the Herders killed to his side. The young Dusack stood frozen in place, a pike piercing through his chest, pinning him to the earth.


    Kliuch did not die immediately, but no one paid him any heed. The Herd Cavalry whooshed by; their target was the fleeing Piaoqi officer.


    The sound of the Herders'' horses'' hooves beat down on Andre''s heart like hail, he kept looking back, seeing bushy beards, dark faces, and adept horsemanship. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire


    "One has a red plume, the rest are white," Andre struggled to calm down, "That guy must be an officer."


    He saw one of the Herders reaching behind his leg to draw something.


    "Arrows!" Andre roared, "Get down!"


    Hearing the Lieutenant''s shout, the Paratu riders hunched over their horses'' backs, pressing their bodies as low as possible.


    Arrow feathers, wrapped in a sharp whooshing sound, chased them from behind; the riders, gritting their teeth, prayed while lashing their Warhorses with their whips.


    Rasov let out a scream, crying out, "I''ve been hit! I''ve been hit by an arrow!"


    "Sound the horn! Warn the main force!" Andre ordered the trumpeter, Kapu.


    The Lieutenant called out three times before Kapu snapped out of his daze. He trembled as he removed the military horn from around his neck, but he simply couldn''t produce a coherent sound.


    The Herders'' horses were not large, but their speed was no less than that of Andre''s tall horse.


    The distance between the fleeing and the pursuing closed rapidly, and everyone could clearly hear the Herders shouting in their own language.


    The burly Herder with the Hong Lingyu feather caught up with Andre and thrust his spear into Andre''s back with force. The spear point pierced through the belt and entered Andre''s back obliquely, about a knuckle deep.


    Andre wasn''t wearing the breastplate issued to officers, only feeling a chill on his back. He swung his saber to block the second spear and let out a desperate roar, "Can''t run! It''s do or die!"


    Andreya reared his horse, chopping down at the back of a Herder who was rushing from the left.


    He was surrounded, a Herd horse crashed into his black warhorse, nearly knocking it down.


    Shego was the first to turn back for the rescue, but a Herder drove him aside.


    Baring his teeth, Shego''s face ashen like a dead man''s, hacked away at the opponent with insane force, his movements lacking any semblance of technique.


    The bugler Kapu didn''t look back, running straight towards the direction of the convoy. But Margot and Rasov, with an arrow in his arm, followed Shego charging back.


    The cavalry packed into a small patch of miserable mud, struggling and killing in confusion. The Paratu People were so frightened they were out of their minds, but the Herders weren''t faring much better.


    Swords clashed against swords, sparks flying, wildly stabbing and slashing, the fighting was incredibly intense.


    The horses, too, were panicked, utterly ignoring the riders'' commands. They blindly ran amok, and in their confusion, they fell to the ground.


    Six Herders encircled Andre, wanting to capture him alive. Andre stood up in the stirrups, using all his might, spinning and turning on the saddle like a whirlwind with his saber.


    The spear tip traced a bloody line on his neck, and he retaliated with a cut deep enough to see bone. The cold glint of steel flashed before his eyes as he again raised his saber to parry.


    A Herder shouted in an unfamiliar language, and Andre mustered all his strength to chop his saber down onto the opponent''s crown.


    The Herder screamed, tumbling off his horse, but Andre''s saber was also knocked flying by the opponent''s iron helmet.


    He immediately snatched a long spear from a Herder cavalryman nearby and began to strike, as though he was on the training grounds.


    Several Herders used their long spears to force Andre back, rescuing the Herder who had just fallen.


    Only then did Andre notice the red feather on the Herder''s iron helmet.


    The unconscious Herder leader was placed on a horse and escaped towards the north. Other Herder cavalry stopped fighting and retreated with their leader.


    A dismounted Herder picked up another wounded comrade, struggling to escape into the valley.


    The Paratu Cavalry did not pursue the kill, and as soon as they broke contact, they headed straight for the convoy.


    Two groups of people, not yet proficient in the art of killing their kin, encountered each other by chance. They fought with extreme fear, hacking wildly for a while, sustaining injuries all over, and eventually fled. That was all that had happened just now.


    Andre carelessly wiped the blood from his face, and only then did he feel the pain of his wounds.


    Shego and Margot''s lips trembled uncontrollably, their clothes showing patches of dark red bloodstains.


    Rasov''s arrow in his arm had snapped off at some point, his face deathly pale, and he wobbled unsteadily on his horse.


    "Rasov! Hold on!" Andre shouted, holding back tears, "There will be a doctor when we get back to the convoy!"


    They galloped along the ridge line, rounded a bend, and the sight of the convoy gradually appeared behind the contours of the hills.


    The convoy had already been overwhelmed by Herder cavalry.

 Chapter 43 Chariot Formation

    The Herders chose an excellent moment to launch their ambush.


    The attack began just as the convoy was passing between two earth mounds at a saddle point.


    To bypass the high ground, the long column twisted into an S-shape. The head and tail lost sight of each other and couldn''t watch out for one another.


    Accompanied by the sound of bugles, a group of Herder Cavalry burst out from the north-facing slope, plunging straight into the middle of the convoy.


    The length of the column, stretching over a kilometer, made communication difficult; Winters at the very front couldn''t see what was happening behind.


    Upon realizing something was wrong, Winters immediately rode his horse up the western slope.


    The full breadth of the battlefield unfolded before him:


    A group of strange cavalry donning mail armor had broken into the middle of the convoy, where the Paratu People were already in disarray;


    The chaos spread as swiftly as a wildfire. A few still-courageous militiamen tried to resist only to be robbed of life by arrows and javelins from behind. Everyone was fleeing, and the brave died even quicker;


    There weren''t many among the strange cavalry, but they didn''t entangle themselves in the fight, driving the routed soldiers forward and back like seasoned sheepdogs.


    "Centurion Montaigne!" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska arrived at the front of the convoy, followed by more than twenty Dusacks.


    "Sir!" Winters galloped down from the slope, "The middle is in chaos, the Herders are driving routed soldiers this way."


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel spat, "Of course they are! Those sons of bitches want to devour us all."


    "They''re not many; I''ll take some men and charge through! There might be a chance!"


    "No! Form the wagons into a circle! We defend right here, gather the troops first."


    Winters panicked, "Half the cargo is gunpowder! If they set fire, it''s all over!" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If they wanted to set fire, would they wait until now? With just a few dozen Herders, they dare to take us on?" Jeska smirked coldly, "Do you only strike at the waist when fighting a man? The Herders are best at divide-and-conquer; they want to swallow us whole!"


    Winters understood the crux and immediately directed the wagons to turn.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska jumped down from his saddle, "The flag!"


    The standard-bearer presented the regimental flag to the lieutenant colonel, who leaped onto a wagon and planted the Paratu cross quadrant flag above it.


    "We hold our ground right here!" the one-eyed lieutenant colonel bellowed standing atop the wagon, "Cowards will be executed without mercy."


    The lieutenant colonel made his stance clear, and Winters also fetched the flag of the centurion unit, planting it into a sack on the wagon.


    The bugler sounded the assembly call, and nearby militiamen and wagoners swarmed towards the flags.


    With two officers as their pillar, the militiamen and wagoners knew what to do. The draft horses were unhitched from wagon after wagon, led into the center of the formation.


    The goods on the wagons were unloaded to allow the musketeers to stand upon them.


    Under Winters''s bellowing orders, the musketeers frantically loaded their ammunition, and the pikemen began to reform their ranks.


    The double-column formation naturally had barriers on the left and right, the wagoners pulled the wagons close together, and the inevitable gaps were temporarily blocked with ropes.


    But four-wheeled wagons were difficult to turn, and in the rush, gaps in the front and rear could only be filled with pikemen.


    Gradually, panicked wagoners and militiamen who fled were herded to the front ranks, most of them having thrown away their weapons.


    The flags waving atop the wagon formation caught their eyes first.


    With the savage Herd Barbarians at their heels and the Paratu People''s courage shattered, the sight of safety ahead made them surge towards the wagon fort en masse.


    "It''s safe over there!" A wagoner shouted as he ran, "Go to the flag!"


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska saw this and cursed loudly, sprung on his horse, and knocked the leading Paratu person, causing him to spit blood. Then, with a terrifying chop, he sliced half the head off the shouting wagoner.


    The remaining Paratu People stood frozen in terror by the one-eyed lieutenant colonel''s brutal actions.


    "Those who attack our formation will die!" Dripping with Paratu blood, Jeska roared at the routed soldiers, "Circumvent the wagon fort!"


    The lieutenant colonel stood before the formation like a wedge, dividing the panicked Paratu People in two, who then circled from the north and south flanks before entering the wagon fort from the west.


    A Herder Cavalry, brandishing a scimitar, chased and slashed his way through until he hit the wagon fort. He stopped about thirty meters away from the wagons, seeming perplexed.


    A musketeer on a wagon shakily pressed the firing lever. The gunshot rang out, but the Herder horseman remained unharmed.


    The sound of one gun provoked more shots; tense musketeers fired indiscriminately, and even Winters couldn''t stop them.


    After a barrage of gunfire, the smoke cleared, and the Herder horseman was still sitting comfortably in the saddle.


    The Herder laughed wildly, and his ear-piercing laughter hammered the militiamen''s courage and spirit.


    "Laugh at your mother!" Winters, unable to endure it any longer, jumped onto a wagon and shot the Herder horseman dead.


    His brain sprayed from the back of his head as he fell stiffly from his horse, dead without understanding why he''d been shot.


    A moment of silence within the wagon fort was followed by deafening cheers.


    Winters emotionlessly tossed the rifled flintlock to Xial, who gleefully reloaded it.


    The weapon was efficient but too expensive and too much trouble to load.


    With the wagon fort temporarily secure, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska immediately ordered the preparation of signal smoke. The militiamen began gathering grass, horse dung, dismantled wooden planks from the wagons, and took down gunpowder. Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Small cavalry raids on supply lines were a common tactic of the Herders; the Paratu People also had countermeasures. Signal smoke would be relayed through camps along the route, nearby Paratu cavalry would converge on this location... to help take vengeance.


    Scattered Herder horsemen charged up to the face of the wagon fort, saw no opportunity, and rode off, going back to continue killing and driving the routed Paratu forces eastward.

 Chapter 43 The Carriage Formation_2

    The Herder cavalry were indeed few in number, but the disorganized spearmen and musketeers were unable to protect each other''s backs and flanks, facing the cavalry was almost a one-sided slaughter.


    "This won''t do," Winters approached the lieutenant colonel, "I''ll take some men to charge."


    Jeska understood what Winters meant; at this rate, they simply couldn''t rally many troops.


    A stalemate was no solution either; they needed to defend and counterattack. The hastily assembled wagon fort, lacking any supplies or reserves, was sure to break first.


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel gave the second lieutenant a deep look and nodded, "Don''t charge too far, come back when you hear the signal shot."


    Winters grabbed a long spear and leaped onto the saddle.


    Looking at the faces of the twenty or so Dusack in the wagon fort, he instructed as calmly as possible, "Don''t be scared, follow me."


    The spearmen made way, and the cavalry charged out of the wagon fort with a roar. Behind them, thick smoke billowed into the sky.


    Catching sight of the Paratu people''s proactive attack, a Herder cavalryman blew the horn.


    Two long, two short.


    The Herder people prowling between the wagons withdrew at once, deliberately avoiding direct combat. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since everyone was on horseback, no one could easily catch up with anyone else.


    The Herders'' advantage in mounted archery became apparent as they maintained a delicate distance and twisted around to shoot arrows.


    Arrows whizzed past the Paratu cavalry, who tried to stay as low as possible. The accuracy of horseback archery wasn''t great, but no one wanted to gamble with their lives on luck.


    Winters'' goal was not to annihilate the enemy; driving them off and covering the Paratu people back into the wagon fort was enough.


    At that moment, what worried him most was the situation with Bard and Andre:


    Andre had gone to trade with the Shepherds and hadn''t been heard from since,


    While Bard, leading the gathering team, was cleaning up at the rear of the caravan¡ªthis included those merchants and speculators seeking protection, and he only had a few soldiers by his side.


    Winters was eager to fight his way to the end of the caravan to confirm Bard''s safety.


    But after running only a few hundred meters, he heard three gunshots coming from the direction of the wagon fort, the agreed-upon signal.


    Winters gritted his teeth and yanked the reins, his horse rearing with a powerful neigh, "Retreat!"


    The Paratu cavalry turned around and headed back toward the wagon fort on the same path, with the pursuing Herder people turning around to follow as well.


    From the west came the rolling sound of hoofbeats: another group of Herder cavalry had emerged from the gully to the west, over forty strong, their blades aimed directly at the Paratu front line.


    But unexpectedly, they found no panicked farmers, only a large circular formation of wagons all around.


    This was supposed to be a coordinated attack, but with poor coordination, it afforded the Paratu people a glimmer of hope.


    The Herder people from the west were not mentally prepared to attack a strong fortification and hesitated for a moment, stopping far away at a hundred meters out.


    The Herder people from the east circled around the wagon fort, the two groups of Herder cavalry converging.


    Winters climbed onto a wagon and counted carefully: nearly sixty riders, some in studded armor, the rest only with iron helmets and leather jackets.


    By rough estimate, more than half of the Herder cavalry who had initiated the attack were here; Bard''s side might have an easier time.


    "A company of a hundred?" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska muttered to herself and ordered with a wave of her hand, "Get the musketeers onto the wagons."


    The Paratu people hastened to unload the wagons, stacking their baggage between the vehicles as barricades, while the musketeers, carrying their matchlock guns, scrambled into the carts.


    "Load your ammunition! Stick your chin to the gunstock and aim!" Winters shouted his command, "On my order, and if anyone dares to fire out of turn, I''ll kill them myself!"


    Suddenly, the distant Herder cavalry began to move. With unfamiliar shouts, the Herders charged towards the wagon fort, bloodthirsty.


    The momentum of six hundred infantry charging couldn''t match that of sixty cavalry.


    In ancient times, a heavy cavalry charge could decide the direction of a battle. Sometimes, well before blood was shed, the mere psychological oppression was enough to collapse a less steadfast line.


    Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the terrifying mass of eight hundred pounds bore down¡ªno one was unafraid.


    At sixty meters, the militiamen''s legs trembled uncontrollably as they shook.


    "Hold steady!" Winters roared using a spell of amplification, "Hands off the firing lever, wait for my command!" The magically augmented shout actually managed to overshadow the sound of horse hooves.


    Fifty meters, the ground itself seemed to tremble with the trampling of horse hooves.


    "Hold the line!" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska, her saber still not dry of blood, commanded, "Whoever runs, I''ll kill him!"


    At forty meters, Winters could make out the Herders'' beards and feathers.


    At thirty meters, the Herders turned.


    Rather than crashing headlong into the wagon fort as everyone expected, the Herder cavalry adjusted their direction at the last moment, starting to circle around the fortification.


    A sigh of relief rose between the wagons.


    A javelin flew over Winters'' head and into the wagon fort, piercing the thigh of a wagon driver.


    Amid the screams, more javelins and arrows were continuously shot at the Paratu people. They lacked accuracy, but still forced the crowd to dodge in panic.


    "Hahaha, is that all?" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska practically sneered, "Lieutenant! Fire a volley and draw them in!"


    "Ready!" Winters didn''t understand the order, but he complied, "Fire!"


    After the thunder and gunsmoke dispersed, four or five Herder cavalrymen fell from their horses, their fate unknown.


    The remaining Herder cavalry immediately charged at the wagon fort, not against the spearmen at the open ends to the east and west but leaping their horses through the gaps between the wagons.


    "Don''t be afraid!" Winters yelled, "Reload!"


    The musketeers on the wagons shakily reloaded their guns, as a young man beside Winters cried while pouring gunpowder into the barrel.


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    The soldiers who had discarded their gear and fled earlier were now of no use; they were already terrified and desperately seeking cover behind others or crawling under the wagons.

 Chapter 1 - 1 - 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition

    Chapter 1 ¨C 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition


    Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Empire Year 557 [26 years after Richard IV withdrew his troops]


    The Federated Provinces Republic [formerly known as the Republic before the Mountains]


    Guidao City


    It was a midsummer afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky. The scorching sun turned the entire city into a steaming cage, draining all living beings of their vitality. Even the annoying cicadas had ceased their chatter.


    ¡°Just a bit longer and victory will be ours,¡± Winters told himself. He was in the third year at the Army Officers¡¯ Academy, biting his lips and desperately trying to resist the urge to breathe through his mouth.


    [Winters Montagne]


    ...


    He tried his best to maintain abdominal breathing, consciously controlling the rhythm, ensuring each breath was as prolonged as possible. Air, heated by his body temperature, streamed out from his nostrils and hit the inner wall of the full-coverage helmet, bringing back a fetid whiff of sweat when it bounced back.


    In the current temperature, it should be time for a bath and some relaxation under the shade. Yet, in this oppressive heat that could make one sweat just by sitting still, Winters was completely wrapped up.


    He was wearing an entire set of cotton martial attire close to his body, over which he donned a set of training armor. The armor he was using was cavalry armor stripped from the bodies of nobility over thirty years ago during the Sovereign War.


    The Army Department hoped to save as much as possible on teaching expenses, so the cadets had no choice but to use these second-hand goods.


    The armor Winters was using, of course, wasn¡¯t the high-ranking nobles¡¯ armors ¡ª the ornate, luxurious pieces were taken home by generals as decorations. Instead, the cadets used the armor of knights who had actually fought on the frontlines,


    These lower-ranking nobles had sold their ancestral properties for warhorses and armor, carrying the lances and treasured swords passed down in their families and following their liege lords to Forthland in the hope of fortune, believing their enemies to be nothing more than traders, farmers, and craftsmen.


    But in the end, it was the traders, farmers, and craftsmen who had the last laugh, leaving the knights buried in foreign lands. Nobody remembered who they were, leaving only suit after suit of armor, pocked with bullet holes and scratches, as evidence that they once existed.


    These armors were modest in appearance, without much adornment, but were constructed of sturdy materials, for they were a matter of life and death for their wearers. The Army Ordnance Department removed all the components below the armor skirt and repurposed them as brand new leg armors, which were then redistributed to the Cavalry Division.


    They then took a batch of left shoulder armors from other captured armors and replaced the original right shoulder armors of these ones ¡ª because these armors had a gap under the right armpit to facilitate handling the lance, and the Ordnance Department did not want to go to the trouble of forging a new set of right shoulder armors. ¡°After all, shoulder armors don¡¯t differentiate between front and back, right?¡±


    Later on, the Ordnance Department registered this batch of second-hand assembled goods as ¡°new premium three-quarter armors¡± and sent them to the Army Officers¡¯ Academy for the cadets¡¯ use, and many armors with bullet hole damage were not even repaired.


    However, a few bullet holes weren¡¯t a significant issue, as the cadets wouldn¡¯t be wearing this armor on the battlefield. What tormented the cadets wasn¡¯t these bullet holes, nor the weight of the armors, but the excellent heat conductivity of the iron armor.


    In the winter, it rapidly stole away your body heat, while in the summer, it efficiently transferred the external heat to the inside of the armor.


    Right now, Winters was soaked as if he had just taken a bath, the cotton martial garments beneath his iron armor drenched in sweat and clinging to his back. Sweat trickled down his forehead, occasionally getting into his eyes, stinging them painfully. With his helmet on, he could not rub his eyes and had to endure the discomfort.


    Every time he donned the training armor, older than himself, during summer, Winters sincerely thanked the Ordnance Department for not patching up the holes, as at least that allowed for slightly better ventilation.


    In fact, during swordsmanship lessons, armors with more holes were always in high demand among the cadets. The officer responsible for handling these armors twenty years ago probably never imagined that his laziness could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.


    These armors had been continuously used from the day the Army Officers¡¯ Academy was established till today, over twenty years, and they would continue to torment Winters¡¯ juniors far into the foreseeable future.


    But at the moment, Winters had no spare concern to pity his juniors. What he yearned for was to strip off this encumbrance and sit on a stone bench at the side of the field, drinking cool water.


    After more than thirty rounds of sparring, all he felt was that the muscles around his shoulders were blazing hot, like red-hot iron, and as rigid as a rusty door hinge that hadn¡¯t been oiled for decades.


    Winters¡¯ upper arm muscles were involuntarily causing his entire arm to tremble, and his hands were almost unable to hold onto the hilt of his sword ¡ª that¡¯s right, this sword in his hands was exactly the reason why he had to wear a full set of iron armor in the blazing summer heat.


    Just as dogs all originated from wolves and are classified in biology as a subspecies of domestic dogs, with such morphological variations that one might question, ¡°Are they really capable of interbreeding?¡± so too has the sword seen a similarly vast divergence.


    Over the millennia, in conjunction with changes in tactics, techniques, and metallurgy, the category of swords has branched out into hundreds of thousands of distinct subspecies, all varied in shape. The sword that Winters held was one of the younger breeds, mentioned in the last few pages of the family tree, so to speak.


    This sword had a total length of 1.3 meters, which can be described another way: for an adult human male standing 1.8 meters tall, when he rests the sword tip on the ground, the pommel at the balance end of the sword is about four fingers below his armpit.

 Chapter 2 - 2 - 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_2

    Chapter 2 ¨C 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_2 sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chapter 2: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_2


    The blade of the sword was 95 centimeters long, with no fuller. Besides its length, another distinctive feature of this sword was the club-like crossguard perpendicular to the blade. This crossguard was much larger than those on ordinary swords, almost as long as the forearm of an adult male. This oversized crossguard was the soul of the weapon, essential for executing many techniques.


    Despite its length, the sword was surprisingly light. The one Winters was using weighed only 1.4 kilograms, which is about the weight of a few potatoes.


    Praise be to the advancements in metalworking that allowed smiths to forge such a light yet tough and resilient blade.


    The sword had a long hilt, requiring two hands to wield effectively. However, it wasn¡¯t categorized as a ¡°two-handed sword¡±, since that term had already been claimed by other predecessors. Although it could be managed in one hand, it certainly wasn¡¯t deserving of being adopted by the ¡°hand-and-a-half sword¡± family.


    Most of the time, the cadets simply called it ¡°the sword¡±. If they needed to distinguish it from other types of swords in conversation, they referred to it as ¡°the sword we practice with¡±; or simply ¡°Longsword¡±, since it was longer than the average sword.


    Do not underestimate those 1.4 kilograms. A forceful swing, even of only 1.4 kilograms, could easily crush a skull or slice open an unarmored enemy. This was why Winters would train in half a set of Cavalry armor even under the risk of heatstroke in the scorching summer days.


    ...


    Winters, and his opponents, wielded blunt Longswords¡ªall genuine articles, despite their blunted edges.


    Winters felt nearly boiled by his own sweat; he just wanted to quickly win the duel, to beat the opponent he hadn¡¯t defeated in six years. And this was his closest chance at victory yet.


    Peering through the visor grid of his helmet, Winters glanced at the scoreboard on the sidelines, his score at 17, his opponent¡¯s at 12. He had never led his adversary by as many as five points before.


    The rule for swordsmanship practice in the Military Academy was first to 20 points wins, and Winters now held match point. He kept reminding himself, ¡°Stay calm, stay calm, just three more points.¡±


    His mind raced with thoughts, ¡°I¡¯m at match point. He has to attack to catch up. I can wait for a slip-up.¡± With his strategy set, Winters entered the dueling area from the waiting zone.


    He tentatively stepped out half a step with his right foot, grounded himself in a stable T-stance, keeping his back straight. His right hand in front and left hand behind gripped the Longsword hilt, both hands lowering to belly-button height, with the sword¡¯s tip angled upward toward his opponent¡¯s throat.


    The swordsmanship Winters and his classmates learned in class originated from the founding marshal Ned Smith. One of the crucial elements of this swordsmanship was ¡°the guard.¡± The guard Winters employed was called ¡°the Plough¡±, suited for both offense and defense, and he favored keeping both his dominant hand and leg forward.


    He knew his strength was at its limit, and his stiff posture must have appeared ludicrous to the onlooking classmates. But he didn¡¯t care about losing face; he consoled himself, ¡°It¡¯s a competition to see who¡¯s less awful. He¡¯s tired too. Winning is what matters.¡±


    Time always seems to pass quicker in the mind. Though he thought of a multitude of things, only a few seconds had actually gone by in the real world. Winters¡¯ opponent was approaching him in a posture similar to Winters¡¯. As expected, holding match point, the opponent opted for a more aggressive and proactive approach, since a single sneak attack from Winters could end the match.


    Winters¡¯ opponent also aimed his Longsword¡¯s tip at his head but took broad steps around to Winters¡¯ right side, trying to gain a flank position. Naturally, Winters was not about to let him succeed, adjusting his footwork accordingly.


    They circled each other for a few steps, closing in the distance, their Longsword tips starting to clash. Winters now didn¡¯t dare to blink; when both using the Plough and their sword tips met, it meant they were both within striking range of the other.


    Winters¡¯ opponent boldly controlled the clash of their Longswords with confidence, as if to provoke him. The blades chimed with a clear clink, these minor clashes not granting any advantage but serving as an effective psychological tactic, putting the opponent under pressure with such an assertive attitude.


    Winters didn¡¯t realize that by deciding to play defensively, his own momentum had already diminished. What he saw as a solid and sensible choice was, in reality, an external show of his lack of confidence.


    Because Winters was acutely aware that his opponent had stronger physical capabilities than himself. He couldn¡¯t figure out how he managed to be five points ahead, so he decided to play it safe. Had his opponent been ahead by five points, the onslaught would have been swift and fierce.


    Seeing Winters firmly defending the centerline, his opponent began to adjust the direction of the attack. Using a counterbalance as a pivot, the opponent turned the Longsword¡¯s tip, originally aimed at Winters¡¯ right side, towards the left.


    Winters immediately perceived his opponent¡¯s intent to attack. His opponent was a ¡°strong-king¡±, often relying on sheer physical strength to knock the opponent¡¯s Longsword off the centerline.


    Then his opponent would quickly step forward, catch the enemy¡¯s blade with the crossguard, and deliver a thrust from above straight toward the chest¡ªa signature move of his.


    Winters instinctively reacted, seeing his opponent¡¯s blade shift to his right side, he too altered his posture, swinging preemptively to the right. It was going to be a head-on collision, where the advantage in the ensuing bind could lead to a point.

 Chapter 3 - 3 - 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_3

    Chapter 3 ¨C 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_3


    Chapter 3: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_3


    ¡°`


    But his opponent¡¯s sword tip drew a circle in the air and returned to its original position, revealing it was all a feint. Winters felt a chill in his chest as a single thought flashed through his mind, ¡°Not good!¡±


    There was never a ¡°battle of three hundred rounds¡±.


    In unarmored swordsmanship, a single move could determine the victor.


    If you fell for a feint, it was all over.


    Although Winters¡¯s brain had ceased to function, his swordsmanship instincts remained. Instinct took over thought, and he switched his swing from right to left, trying to readjust his position.


    ...


    But it was too late, his opponent launched an attack from Winters¡¯s left side. Instead of aiming for Winters¡¯s torso, he first struck Winters¡¯s weaker sword with his stronger one, knocking Winters¡¯s longsword out of position. At the same time, he exploded forward with a powerful thrust from his spring-like left leg, and his right foot took a large step forward.


    The longsword in his hand quickly circled back to the high guard and initiated a fierce overhead chop. The blade traced an arc of light through the air, the speed of the swing generating a whistling sound, as his longsword this time aimed straight for Winters¡¯s neck.


    Without the slightest hint of mercy, the sword hit squarely on the neck armor at Winters¡¯s left clavicle, the whistle sounded! Winters¡¯s opponent did not slacken in the slightest as he rapidly pulled back his longsword and took a horizontal sword position to seal off any possible counter from Winters, leaving no chance for a ¡°post-strike¡±.


    Post-strike, a situation recognized by the military academy where both sides perish together. Should this occur, it is regarded as mutual destruction, with neither side scoring. Winters¡¯s opponent would certainly not leave such an opportunity to Winters.


    But Winters¡¯s opponent was actually overthinking it, for after taking such a powerful ¡°bolt from the blue¡±, it was almost impossible for Winters to counterattack, he was already in so much pain he was close to choking.


    Although his neck and chest armor distributed that force across his entire torso, the spot where he was hit on his clavicle still hurt as if a door had slammed hard on his toe. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The intense pain paralyzed Winters¡¯s body, and for a moment he could hardly move. His central nervous system responded to this severe stimulus by rapidly releasing a large amount of adrenaline and endorphins within his body.


    So, after the brief but intense pain, Winters felt a bit of relief. Enduring the pain, he pointed to his left neck armor, indicating where he was hit. The chief referee did not hesitate to declare ¡°3 points¡±, and the scorer changed the score to 17:15.


    A round of applause broke out in the training room, not as a mockery of Winters, but as a tradition of the military academy, where everyone claps for a beautiful fight.


    In fact, even Winters wanted to applaud his opponent¡¯s attack. It was simply too beautiful: a simple and effective feint, a clean and sharp chop, and a flawless recovery. The entire sequence was just too cool for words.


    Although this round was described with nine hundred characters, in reality, from the moment their sword tips collided to Winters being struck, it took less than two seconds.


    Victory was decided in a single breath; many classmates watching from the sidelines didn¡¯t even see what happened, only seeing Winters taking a hard hit, staggering as he got smashed.


    Beyond the pain, Winters¡¯s mind was filled with frustration, his face burned with shame because he had fallen for a feint.


    Marshal Ned¡¯s swordsmanship theory emphasized the initiative, encouraging simple and direct attacks, praising aggressive tactics to suppress the opponent, opposing flashy but impractical moves, and criticizing any unnecessary feints.


    Because this swordsmanship theory believed that a competent swordsman should never be easily deceived by feints, and when facing a skilled swordsman, using feints randomly was like giving the opponent a free opportunity to strike. For Winters, falling for a feint seemed more humiliating than standing still and taking a beating.


    ¡°Are you okay? Want to take a break before continuing?¡± Winters¡¯s opponent didn¡¯t return to the corner of the fighting area in the waiting zone and, seeing Winters was in quite a bit of pain, he inquired with concern. His voice sounded muffled as it passed from one helmet into another.


    Winters was now past the most painful stage; he tentatively moved his shoulder a few times to ensure there was no bone damage.


    Thus, the fiery and aggressive nature of a young man overcame the pain; although he now felt like sitting at the side to rest, he simply couldn¡¯t surrender his adult male pride. He moved his shoulder and said through gritted teeth, ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s continue¡±.


    ¡°Maybe we should let them go first and then we¡¯ll continue afterwards.¡± His opponent was still not reassured.


    Winters was even less likely to agree to that, and repeated, ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s continue.¡± After that, Winters walked back to the waiting area.


    His opponent sighed and returned to his own corner.


    The whistle sounded once more, signaling the beginning of a new round, as the two once again approached the center of the area. Winters was now fueled by frustration. All he could think was to slap his thirty seconds younger self twice hard across the face; being defensive meant being passive, being passive meant falling for feints, and after falling for a feint to be brutally hit, it was too embarrassing. He must attack! Attack! Attack! Just aim for the head with a thrust, and it¡¯s a win.


    Thus, in this round, as soon as they crossed swords, Winters launched a sneak attack. He started with a wide-step high thrust aiming straight for his opponent¡¯s face. This thrusting technique consisted of raising the sword high after the engagement, using the guard to block the enemy¡¯s line of attack, while threatening the opponent¡¯s head.

 Chapter 4 - 4 - 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_4

    Chapter 4 ¨C 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_4


    Chapter 4: Chapter 1: The Last Swordsmanship Competition_4


    Well, I¡¯ll be damned, the surprise salted fish thrust actually startled Winters¡¯ opponent, leaving him momentarily unable to wrap his head around the sudden change in tactics: ¡°How come this guy, who was so stable in the last round, has suddenly become reckless?¡±


    But the instinctive reflexes of a top fencer overcame the panic brought on by the salted fish thrust. As Winters stepped forward, his opponent deftly retreated one step and quickly positioned his stronger blade against the tip of Winters¡¯ sword, pressing it down with force. He twisted his longsword to block any potential slashes from Winters, keeping his point aimed at Winters¡¯ abdomen. The next moment, Winters crashed into it.


    The whistle blew! Another impressive display, this round lasting less than two seconds, Winters¡¯ opponent easily landed a hit on Winters¡¯ torso, scoring two points as scattered applause once again filled the training room.


    Winters pointed at the spot on his practice armor where he was hit, impatiently running back to the waiting area. The score was now 17:17. The main referee and Winters¡¯ opponent exchanged glances. The student serving as the referee shook his head helplessly; they could all tell that Winters¡¯ mental state had crumbled.


    Still, the competition had to go on. As both returned to their starting positions, Winters¡¯ opponent began to seriously ponder a question, ¡°Should I just throw the match this time and let him win?¡±


    Another round began, and this time when Winters entered the field, he adopted the ¡°fury stance.¡± The fury stance is a posture for accumulating energy, drawing the hilt up to the shoulder. Just as pulling back a fist allows for a more powerful punch, the same applies to swordsmanship. The fury stance delivers a powerful chop with a long reach, but the drawback is that the intention and direction of the attack are all too obvious.


    ...


    At this moment, one thought dominated Winters¡¯ mind: ¡°I definitely can¡¯t match him in raw strength, but I have one more point to score, and my chance to win is to launch a surprise attack and take three points out of nowhere,¡± this was the broken mindset Winters used to convince himself, and it did hold a sliver of reason.


    When everyone thinks someone has lost their mind, that person often has their own twisted logic to persuade themselves, and it might actually be quite convincing.


    There¡¯s nothing wrong with the idea of a sneak attack, but what Winters was failing to realize now was: his intention to attack was so blatant it couldn¡¯t be ignored, and there was no possibility of scoring three points by surprise, so the so-called scoring tactic was just self-deception.


    But when Winters saw his opponent also adopting the fury stance the next second, he immediately recognized the intention: the fury stance was a posture they had both practiced when they first met at the military preparatory school, and they had always started with several routines of fury stance in their six years of swordsmanship classes.


    He could opt for a straight thrust to score three points, as thrusts are always faster than powerful chops. His friend and opponent obviously wanted him to win this time. But now Winters didn¡¯t even want to win ¨C it¡¯s not like he was mad. He realized that his attitude from before had been that of a sore loser.


    This was their final contest in swordsmanship class, and perhaps their last bout ever. After all, graduation meant accepting the possibility that the friends who had been together day and night might never meet again. Winning or losing didn¡¯t matter anymore, and Winters had come to terms with it.


    So this round, neither put on any tricks, and this time, Winters¡¯ opponent used his superior strength to forcibly open the center line and landed a straight thrust, scoring a hit.


    It was an expected outcome, and Winters consoled himself silently, ¡°The guy is taller than you, stronger than you, and has practiced more than you. Wouldn¡¯t it be against all reason if he didn¡¯t win? Isn¡¯t it normal to lose? Scoring 17 points is still something to brag about.¡±


    After being struck, Winters walked towards his opponent, sword in hand. The whistle blew, and Winters suddenly realized something was amiss. It should have been 2 points, his opponent hadn¡¯t aimed for the head ¨C the hit was to the chest. The score was now 17:19; his opponent needed one more point to end the match.


    Winters felt a surge of anger welling up in his throat, as he had intended to end the match with a gracious hug. Now he found himself facing another round, his level of embarrassment comparable to wailing at a funeral next door.


    Luckily, he hadn¡¯t gone in for the hug yet, or he would have lost face. He felt like he had wasted all his emotion, just when he was in the right mindset ¨C continuing for another round would just ruin the mood.


    So Winters, muttering under his breath at a volume only he could hear, shouldered his longsword and trudged back to the waiting area. Another new round began, both starting with the fury stance.


    His opponent slashed diagonally, Winters blocked with his blade;


    His opponent withdrew his sword to change sides, Winters changed direction to block;


    His opponent withdrew his sword again to change sides, and Winters instinctively continued to block with his blade.


    About a second passed in this lightning-fast exchange. Although Winters was fencing by instinct, he had begun to sense that something wasn¡¯t quite right.


    Thus, when Winters realized that the distance between him and his opponent was rapidly closing, he fell into a state of great panic. He understood everything in an instant, swearing profusely, ¡°You [nasty expletive]! You¡¯re going to ¡­ [even nastier expletive] ¡­ ¡±


    But it was too late, his personal attack didn¡¯t quite get through to his opponent. All his adversary could hear was the indistinct wails coming from inside his helmet.


    Winters¡¯ opponent switched to holding the sword with one hand, controlling Winters¡¯ blade, while his other hand grabbed Winters¡¯ shoulder. With a trip at his feet, a simple leg sweep combined with a mountain-flattening move, Winters, along with his armor, was slammed hard to the ground and pinned beneath his opponent, evoking thunderous applause from the training room.


    Yes, if it was a bout of swordsmanship, punching obviously couldn¡¯t score points, wrestling even less so. But taking down the opponent and controlling them before inflicting damage with the sword, that¡¯s valid! One point scored.


    Wrestling is part of swordsmanship, if you don¡¯t like it, don¡¯t play the game. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The whistle blew, and the referee announced loudly, ¡°Winner, Axel of Orange!¡±


    Lying on the ground, Winters had only one thought, ¡°Not stabbing him with that sword just now, I really was a [expletive].¡±

 Chapter 5 - 5 - 2 What Are Spellcasters?

    Chapter 5 ¨C 2 What Are Spellcasters?


    Chapter 5: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?


    ¡°You also want to play at wrestling? Are you still human?¡± Winters and Aike, having just come off the arena, were helping each other remove their training armor.


    Criticism with words was obviously no match for the critique of weapons; Winters was getting more and more worked up, so he threw a punch at Aike¡¯s back. Aike was Axel¡¯s nickname, and friends of Axel generally called him that.


    The fist landed on Aike with a dull thud. Aike didn¡¯t feel much¡ªhe was still wearing his training armor, after all. It was Winters who ended up in tears from the pain.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m not human. Hurry and help me get this encumbrance off. If I wear it any longer, it might actually kill someone,¡± Aike said reluctantly, responding to Winters.


    The training armor they wore was essentially half of a full set of cavalry armor. It was impossible for one person to put on or take off the armor alone, so during swordsmanship class, the sparring pairs would help each other don and doff their armor.


    This kind of insincere self-criticism made Winters even angrier. He punched Aike in the back again. This time, however, he was smarter and removed Aike¡¯s armor first, causing Aike to let out a muffled grunt of pain.


    ...


    After they had taken off their training armor, they hastily stripped off their arming clothes for the upper body, which were as soaked as if they¡¯d just been pulled out of water, completely drenched.


    Swordfighters found summer duels particularly painful, and the cotton clothing had to bear as much blame as the sun itself. The Senas Bay area, where Winters was currently located, had the sea as a natural heat reservoir, providing a warm climate.


    Therefore, in the Gulf Region, such cotton arming clothes could easily serve as winter clothing, but wearing them in the summer became torture.


    ¡°How did those knights in the old times fight wars in the summer wearing stuff like this? They wore an additional layer of chainmail atop this, didn¡¯t they?¡± Aike said with a sigh as he continued to undress.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t fight wars in the summer, and it¡¯s fine. If you must fight, well, the enemy has to wear the whole set too, so it¡¯s a matter of who can endure it longer,¡± Winters replied without much thought, tossing his clothing onto the ground.


    They placed their longswords and armor on the stone bench and, bare-chested, ran to the big water vat in the corner of the training room, where they began to guzzle the brackish water with ladles.


    Where did this brackish water come from? The swordsmanship instructor had prepared a whole vat of it in advance, enough for all the students in the training room to drink their fill.


    People in this era didn¡¯t understand ion balance or water intoxication. But the instructors at the military academy already knew that drinking a large amount of plain water after heavy sweating could be dangerous to life.


    This valuable insight had cost them two lives. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The brackish water of swordsmanship class embodied a profound yet simple truth: using a technology does not require understanding its deep underlying principles. Birds do not understand aerodynamics, yet they can fly.


    Unfortunately, Winters, now gulping down water beside the vat, was far from having any epiphany. His mind was fully occupied with the recent competition.


    After setting down their ladles, the two leisurely walked back to their stone bench where they kept their gear. In the square-shaped arena, the ringing clinks of longswords colliding paused and restarted as the duels continued, now with a different pair of swordfighters.


    Aike still seemed to remember the bearing and manner expected of an officer, while Winters sprawled carelessly on the ground without regard for appearance, finding the frosty touch of the stone floor particularly comforting.


    Once he relaxed, however, the pain returned. Pain from his left shoulder reminded Winters that he had just lost eight points.


    Winters glanced down at his left shoulder. A large area around the shoulder was bruised blue by Aike¡¯s heavy blow, with the contusion spreading to his collarbone. Everywhere in his field of vision was discolored with bruising. One could imagine the places he couldn¡¯t see, like the shoulder socket, were in a similar state.


    ¡°Look at this,¡± Winters said, pointing to his shoulder. ¡°I thought you had broken my bones just now. If I hadn¡¯t been wearing armor, I reckon that strike of yours could have cleaved me in half.¡±


    Seeing the bruising on Winters¡¯ shoulder, Aike spoke apologetically, ¡°Indeed, I didn¡¯t control my strength well. In that situation, I should have pulled my blow. It also startled me when the strike landed on you; I hadn¡¯t expected it to be that solid.¡±


    But did Winters truly blame Aike in his heart? Of course not. He had no grievances against his friend, being well aware that bumps and bruises were normal in swordplay. What was the purpose of wearing all that armor if there was no risk?


    Despite having safer training swords available, the instructors insisted they used blunted real ones to spar, precisely for the occasional small injuries it could cause.


    Deep down, Winters didn¡¯t care about the blow from Aike at all. He didn¡¯t even realize that his relentless chattering was because he was nervous, subconsciously seeking topics to cover the question he was about to ask.


    To ask directly was something he couldn¡¯t do. He would feel shame, fear the awkwardness, and worry that he wouldn¡¯t hear the truth.


    Let a group of boys live together day in and day out, and being tenderhearted gets ridiculed. Everyone tries to present themselves as tough guys who don¡¯t care about anything. Winters was no different.


    Winters¡¯ Adam¡¯s apple bobbed. He deliberately avoided making eye contact with Aike, pretending to focus on the duels happening in the arena, showing only the back of his head to Aike. He asked in the most nonchalant tone he could muster, ¡°You, didn¡¯t you just go easy on me in those last few rounds?¡±

 Chapter 6 - 6 - 2 What Are Spellcasters?_2

    Chapter 6 ¨C 2 What Are Spellcasters?_2 S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chapter 6: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_2


    ¡°`


    Winters couldn¡¯t see Aike¡¯s expression, but he could make out from Aike¡¯s tone that it was quite natural, ¡°Not at all, I¡¯ve never intentionally played poorly or allowed myself to be hit by the sword on purpose. The rounds you had earlier were really good, very stable. When you got to match point, I truly felt I was going to lose. I got anxious, and I couldn¡¯t control the strength in my sword properly. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have hit you so hard.¡±


    Winters was now in great spirits, having confirmed that his lead over Aike was due to his own skills and not because Aike had let him win on purpose. At this thought, he suddenly felt regretful, as it also meant that he really had the chance to win the match, and it was his own final lapse that caused him to lose the advantage.


    However, no matter what he thought internally, he couldn¡¯t show any weakness verbally. Winters chuckled and said, ¡°Bullshit, I think you just planned it out, letting me get to match point before making a cool comeback.¡±


    Aike laughed out loud after hearing this.


    The swordsmen on the field had a round of exciting offense and defense, and Winters and Aike also clapped their hands vigorously in admiration.


    ...


    ¡°I think if you spent more time working out and practicing swordsmanship, you could have definitely won just now,¡± Aike said seriously after looking at Winters¡¯s less defined arms, then at his own more muscular ones.


    Aike began to speak frankly and reasonably, ¡°Look, you don¡¯t practice swordsmanship in your spare time, do you? You only practice during swordsmanship class, not outside of it. And look, you don¡¯t work out for strength either, do you? You haven¡¯t lifted bells or pulled millstones, have you?¡±


    ¡°Even so, you still scored seventeen points. You¡¯re good enough, I think that¡¯s pretty impressive,¡± Aike concluded in the end.


    ¡°Now I really don¡¯t know if you are praising me or mocking me,¡± Winters said with a wry smile after looking at Aike¡¯s sturdy arms and chest muscles.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m praising you,¡± Aike picked up a longsword and swung it a couple of times while sitting on a stone bench, then said to Winters, ¡°Think about it, swordsmanship essentially relies on on-the-spot judgment and your own strength. If you don¡¯t deliberately train your strength and have underdeveloped muscles, you naturally are at a disadvantage when fencing. And since you don¡¯t rigorously practice swordsmanship, then you¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop talking, get up, I need to find something,¡± Winters quickly interrupted Aike.


    ¡°What do you need to find?¡± Aike asked, puzzled, as he stood up.


    ¡°I need to find a crack in the ground to crawl into,¡± said Winters.


    ¡°I¡¯m really praising you,¡± Aike said sincerely.


    Truth hurts more than lies, and Winters couldn¡¯t take it anymore so he quickly begged for mercy, ¡°Please, no more, Master. I¡¯m so ashamed right now I want to hang myself. When I get home, I promise I¡¯ll train extra every day, stick to weightlifting, and develop muscles like yours.¡±


    The ¡°Master¡± Winters referred to was short for ¡°Fencing Master.¡± In the Alliance, this was not a title casually used in flattery among swordsmen, but an official one that required the certification of the smiths¡¯ guild.


    Only those swordsmanship grandmasters whose theories were widely recognized and learned, who had a significant influence, would be certified as ¡°Fencing Masters.¡± To date, no living person had earned this honor; it was only bestowed posthumously.


    Aike had a profound mastery of longsword swordsmanship; during his preparatory school days, no one in his class could match him. Back then, only adults could discipline Aike. When Aike was fully matured after puberty, he became unbeatable in all age groups.


    Everyone from the Military Academy, from instructors to students, had learned longsword in swordsmanship class, but no one could score 20 points against Aike. Winters could say responsibly that the Military Academy was now no match for Aike¡¯s depth, as Aike¡¯s level was a notch above everyone there, making him the academy¡¯s unacknowledged top swordsman.


    So, at some point, Aike acquired the nickname ¡°Fencing Master¡± at school, which quickly shortened to ¡°Master.¡± Even the instructors jokingly called him ¡°Master¡± in light-hearted moments.


    The most memorable incident happened when General Taylor of the Federated Provinces¡¯ Republic¡¯s Army visited the academy to inspect teaching conditions during Winters and Aike¡¯s sophomore year. Upon realizing that the student in front of him was Axel, he blurted out, ¡°Are you the ¡®Master¡¯?¡± shocking all the students around him. From then on, the nickname became even more widely known.


    Although on one hand, the nickname ¡°Master¡± was a recognition of Aike¡¯s swordsmanship by the academy, it also carried an undertone of teasing because no living person had yet earned the title.


    It was a nickname with both commendatory and derogatory connotations, and Aike himself seemed indifferent to it. He never claimed to be a Fencing Master, but he didn¡¯t mind when others called him so.


    However, as Aike¡¯s good friend, unless they were teasing each other in jest, Winters was not willing to call Aike ¡°Master,¡± as he disliked the curse-like implications hidden in the word towards a friend.


    When Winters called him ¡°Master,¡± Aike also teased back, ¡°As if you could develop those muscles. You don¡¯t train at school, how would you suddenly become diligent at home? People claim they¡¯ll study furiously once home after not learning at school ¨C do you believe that? And you¡¯re talking about developing muscles? When you come back from Sea Blue next year, I bet you¡¯ll have lost all your swordsmanship basics.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 7 - 7 - 2 What Are Spellcasters?_3

    Chapter 7 ¨C 2 What Are Spellcasters?_3


    Chapter 7: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_3 S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯ old face turned red as he brazenly said, ¡°In my view, for a prospective officer who will one day take on the responsibility of commanding on the battlefield, a wise mind is more important than well-developed muscles. That¡¯s why ensuring sufficient sleep is my military duty.¡±


    Immediately afterward, Winters began to reason with Aike, ¡°Do the math again¡ªif I practice for a year and still can¡¯t beat you, what then? Since I can¡¯t beat you without practicing, and if I still can¡¯t beat you after practicing, wouldn¡¯t I be at a loss? Therefore, not practicing is like preserving my capital, and preserving my capital is like not suffering a loss.¡±


    ¡°Look, not practicing means no loss for sure, but practicing could lead to a big loss. Therefore, not practicing is akin to a big gain. I¡¯m content with scoring seventeen points, and I don¡¯t think I could beat you even if I did practice,¡± Winters confidently expounded his twisted logic.


    ¡°To practice and still not beat me would be a big loss, so not practicing equals a big gain. You Sea Blue people really are business geniuses,¡± Aike said, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°I was sent here to the Federated Provinces Republic at the age of thirteen to attend the military prep school. You say I¡¯m Sea Blue People, but they probably think of me as a hillbilly,¡± Winters said with a mischievous smile, ¡°Criticizing me is like criticizing yourselves. If there¡¯s anything wrong with me, a person from the Sea Blue Republic, it must be because I¡¯ve been corrupted by you folks from the Federated Provinces Republic.


    The clanking sounds of sword fighting stopped as the group of students practicing behind Winters and Aike finished their match, and they repeated the actions of Winters and Aike: quickly stripping off their training armor and upper body combat clothing, then rushing to the water tanks to guzzle down brackish water.


    ...


    A new group of students went up to suffer, and Aike, watching them fight with longswords, suddenly said with a touch of melancholy, ¡°Sometimes I can¡¯t help but wonder what¡¯s the point of all the sweat we pour into practicing swordsmanship? Think about the owners of those armors; they wear an extra layer of chainmail and spend even more time practicing with weapons than we do.¡±


    Winters was taken aback, but Aike continued, ¡°I only started learning swordsmanship when I entered the military academy for the young, but the owners of these armors have been trained to be warriors from childhood. And in the end? They still get dragged off their horses and stabbed to death, or shot dead with muskets. Does personal bravery truly mean anything in war?¡±


    Winters was nearly choked by Aike¡¯s abrupt change in stance, ¡°Stealing my lines, aren¡¯t you a bit immoral? Are those words even fitting for you to say? At least you should have lost before you have the right to make such remarks,¡± he protested.


    ¡°I¡¯ve actually had this thought for a long time. I can understand why you don¡¯t like practicing swordsmanship. You¡¯re a Spellcaster, after all. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t practice swordsmanship. I might be able to match you in swordplay, but in a real battle, I might be dead after you cast a single spell. For Spellcasters, swordsmanship truly isn¡¯t that significant,¡± Aike looked straight into Winters¡¯ eyes and said earnestly.


    Winters and Aike had known each other since they entered the prep school six years ago; it was no secret among the military academy students that some were Spellcasters. To Winters, Spellcasters were just like any other military academy students but with an additional Spellcaster course.


    The rest of the time everyone was in the same classroom, eating in the same dining hall, sleeping in the same large dormitory¡ªnothing special. But only today did Winters realize that Aike lacked even the most basic understanding of the Alliance Country¡¯s Spellcasters.


    This was actually not surprising, as for most people¡ªincluding trained prospective officers like Aike¡ªthe image of Spellcasters was tied to pointy hats, high towers, old men with white beards, and various supernatural folk tales.


    If Aike hadn¡¯t attended military school, he might never in his life have seen a breathing Spellcaster¡ªand certainly not one who couldn¡¯t breathe.


    Those born with magical talent were rare to begin with. More challenging than having a child with magical talent was the task of identifying and nurturing such gifted individuals from among the masses. So challenging that those who were not magicians wouldn¡¯t even know where to start.


    Known magicians in this world were all Royal Mages/Court Magicians of feudal monarchs. They served as scholars, advisers, bodyguards, and enforcers exclusively for the very top of the feudal hierarchy.


    The magicians roamed the courts of feudal monarchs, and commoners had no chance to meet them¡ªthey should hope they wouldn¡¯t encounter a magician.


    Who exactly were these court magicians with pseudonyms? Were they truly human? At what age were they selected? And how were they trained to be magicians? These secrets were likely only known to the magicians and rulers themselves.


    The techniques for selecting potential wizards, the training programs for magicians, and the means of casting spells¡ªthese were all closely guarded secrets of the ruling elite. Ordinary people¡¯s understanding of magicians ranged from ¡°cry again and the witch will take you away to eat you¡± to ¡°the brave prince receives a magical sword from the reclusive wizard and wins an empire.¡±


    The Gulf Alliance¡ªa nation founded by commoners who overthrew the emperor and nobles¡ªnaturally would not have magicians. Not only were there no magicians, but the Gulf Alliance was also a prime victim of the feudal rulers¡¯ monopoly on magical power.

 Chapter 8 - 8 - 2 What Are Spellcasters?_4

    Chapter 8 ¨C 2 What Are Spellcasters?_4


    Chapter 8: Chapter 2 What Are Spellcasters?_4


    In the war for national independence won by the militia, a large number of officers and soldiers died at the hands of court wizards raised by Richard IV. The mad Richard would cause a bloodbath every time he deployed the court wizards to the battlefield. Moreover, until the Emperor withdrew his troops, the Allied militiamen were never able to capture or kill any court wizard.


    Magic combat power in the Gulf Alliance was born after the war ended. After the Emperor withdrew his forces and the Gulf Alliance was established, ¡°Mage without magical talent,¡± army general, and eminent scholar Antoine-Laurent summarized his experiences of facing court wizards in the war and finally discovered how to identify humans with the talent for spellcasting.


    General Antoine-Laurent immediately invented a corresponding detection tool, and from that moment on, the Allied Army began to screen for children and adolescents with magical talents within the Alliance territories every year, then using reason, bribery, intimidation, and other means to ¡°convince¡± the parents of these children to enroll them in the various levels of schools operated by the army.


    The seedlings were found, but new problems quickly followed. How to train a child with magical talents into a mage like the court wizards? Everyone in the army was in the dark.


    The training system for mages was one of the ruling group¡¯s core competencies and a closely guarded secret. There were no external experiences to draw from. It was still General Antoine-Laurent who took the lead in establishing the Army¡¯s Magic Warfare Bureau to start groping in the dark. Starting from scratch, they struggled to explore ways to train spellcasters and methods to realize spells.


    Today, after 25 years since the establishment of the Magical Warfare Bureau, they have just begun to achieve a little. The Mage Warfare Bureau divided magic into two major disciplines: the School of Spellcraft and the School of Alchemy, and categorized spells into fire-type, acceleration-type, and sound-type, identifying the methods for twelve spells and forming a preliminary ¡°proprietary intellectual property¡± training system for spellcasters.


    ...


    Because mages were traditionally synonymous with court wizards, to distinguish them, the military did not use the term mage but referred to their magic wielders as ¡°spellcasters.¡±


    In fact, even the Magic Warfare Bureau didn¡¯t know if the path they were taking was right or wrong. The military¡¯s higher-ups generally believed that although the Magic Warfare Bureau claimed to be training mages, the level of the spellcasters was far inferior to the court wizards they had seen. The intuitive feeling was also a bit different¡ªperhaps standing too close had robbed them of their mystery.


    But the Alliance¡¯s spellcasters could indeed replicate some of the magical effects they had seen on the battlefield.


    As the saying goes, ¡°If you haven¡¯t eaten pork, haven¡¯t you seen a pig run?¡±


    But now the situation is quite special, as the Allied Army had only been injured by the metaphorical pig; not only had they not eaten the pork, they also hadn¡¯t clearly seen how the pig ran.


    Although the military didn¡¯t know if the path opened by General Antoine-Laurent was right or wrong, based on the simple idea that ¡°having something is better than nothing,¡± they firmly supported the Magic Warfare Bureau to continue moving forward reluctantly.


    Winters was one of the spellcasters, identified as having magical talent only after entering the army¡¯s junior school. Out of 171 cadets in his cohort, 21 were spellcasters.


    This was a quite astonishing ratio; nearly half of the spellcasters in the Gulf Alliance of the same age as Winters were here, while the other half were mainly female and a few males whose physical conditions didn¡¯t suit them for officer roles.


    All these spellcasters were enrolled in either the infantry or cavalry branches, with no one in the artillery branch (the military academy only offered these three disciplines). This was because one of the design goals of the army¡¯s spellcaster training system was to train front-line officers with magical abilities as much as possible.


    The late General Antoine-Laurent believed that for a long time to come, the Alliance Country would not be able to train mages of the level of court wizards. Since they could not take the elitist route like feudal countries, they had to win by numbers. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Compared to the cautious approach of Richard IV using mages in war, the Allied military¡¯s strategy was to deploy magical combat power to the front lines of the battlefield, training as many officers with magical abilities as possible. However, there were some deviations in the execution of this strategy, which we will not mention here for now.


    Winters had assumed that his fellow military academy students would at least have a basic understanding of spellcasters, but even Aike thought he could kill someone with a single spell.


    He shook his head and waved his hands to quickly deny, ¡°I¡¯m not, I haven¡¯t, don¡¯t talk nonsense. I don¡¯t like practicing swordsmanship because I¡¯m lazy, don¡¯t attribute it to being a spellcaster. And so what if I am? Didn¡¯t you just beat me up?¡±


    ¡°But if you used magic, I couldn¡¯t beat you,¡± Aike said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°How am I supposed to explain this!¡± Winters covered his face and let out a long sigh.

 Chapter 9 - 9 - 3 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 1)

    Chapter 9 ¨C 3 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 1)


    Chapter 9: Chapter 3 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 1)


    ¡°Ah, I can¡¯t make it clear, let me demonstrate some magic for you, and you¡¯ll understand.¡± Winters slapped his thigh, feeling that showing is better than telling.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Hearing that Winters would show him real magic, Aike nodded eagerly.


    Spellcasters at school were all very secretive, and the school strictly prohibited asking about them. This was the first time Aike discussed magic and spellcasters with Winters.


    As for Winters, he had studied with Aike for six years at the preparatory school, and this was the first time Winters heard Aike express envy for the identity of a spellcaster. In fact, it was the first time Winters heard Aike express envy over anything at all, which made Winters feel obliged to satisfy Aike¡¯s curiosity.


    So, Winters squeezed a few drops of sweat from his uniform onto a stone bench. He first focused his attention on his longsword to practice concentration, then Winters pressed his left thumb onto his left index finger, trying hard to recall the feeling of casting spells in the past.


    In Aike¡¯s eyes, Winters was just staring motionlessly at these few drops of water. But to Winters, he began to feel a strange pressure and a tingling sensation.


    ...


    This pressure and tingling weren¡¯t coming from anywhere inside or outside his body, not from any part of his skin, any tissue, or any bone, yet he distinctly felt the squeeze and the sting.


    However, Winters was already familiar with this sensation, he endeavored to endure and conquer the pressure and tingling, and soon, a layer of fine sweat beaded on his forehead. Finally, the few drops of water on the stone bench had all but disappeared.


    ¡°All done!¡± Winters clapped his hands and took a comfortable breath.


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Aike asked, utterly confused.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Winters answered matter-of-factly.


    ¡°That was magic?¡± Aike asked, still puzzled.


    ¡°That was magic,¡± Winters assured Aike confidently.


    ¡°How can that possibly be magic?¡± Aike felt truly baffled.


    ¡°That is magic. You don¡¯t understand magic, I show you what magic is, and yet you still don¡¯t believe it,¡± Winters also felt particularly wronged.


    ¡°This (expletive) is just water evaporating, right? This (expletive) is just a few drops of water evaporating when blown by the wind, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aike said, almost laughing in frustration.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, listen to my explanation,¡± Winters cleared his throat and began to give a forced explanation: ¡°The disappearance of these few drops of water in front of you is different from evaporation due to the wind. These were turned into water vapor by my magic, they would vanish even without any wind blowing.¡±


    ¡°First, you must understand that using magic is just a type of ability, no different from other human abilities. Like some people run particularly fast, some people jump incredibly high,¡± Winters shared his direct experience.


    Aike frowned.


    ¡°Like fish can swim without learning and birds can fly without being taught. I can indeed use magic, but I don¡¯t know the principle behind it, I just have the ability to use it,¡± Winters thought but still felt he hadn¡¯t made things clear enough.


    He thought it would be easier for Aike to understand if he related it to his own experiences: ¡°Just like you don¡¯t know why everyone practices swordsmanship and you¡¯re better at it, right? I think the innate talent for swordsmanship and for magic are similar in nature.¡±


    ¡°My swordsmanship comes from my hard work,¡± Aike felt the need to correct Winters¡¯ misunderstanding.


    ¡°If you insist that you have no innate talent for swordsmanship and became the strongest in the school solely through hard work, that would just be irrational,¡± Winters countered: ¡°There are others who practice as diligently as you, or even more so, and still aren¡¯t as good. I don¡¯t deny the role of effort, but you can¡¯t ignore the disparity in talent, can you?¡±


    ¡°Then tell me, who practices swordsmanship more diligently than I do?¡± Aike felt quite indignant.


    ¡°Bard,¡± Winters threw out a name without hesitation.


    ¡°Bard¡­ Bard does work harder than I do, but I think his swordsmanship is lacking because he started too late¡­ Ah, never mind, go on,¡± the mention of that name deflated Aike¡¯s indignation.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say your swordsmanship is all due to talent; talent plus hard work, missing either won¡¯t make you a top swordsman,¡± Winters delivered his verdict: ¡°But you can¡¯t deny the role of talent just because of diligence, that would be an insult to those who are more hardworking but still fall short of you.¡±


    ¡°Now, where was I¡­ Magic is an innate ability, spellcasters only know how to use it but don¡¯t understand the principle,¡± Winters gathered his thoughts, which had been disrupted by Aike.


    ¡°But the effects that magical abilities can achieve are diverse and complex. The drops of water just now did not evaporate, they were turned into mist by me. Notice if there was any feeling of wind,¡± Winters said as he made a gesture with his thumb pressing his middle finger and entered a spellcasting state, using the Wind Control Technique to generate a slight breeze between them.


    ¡°Do you feel this breeze? This breeze was also produced by magic,¡± Winters could only maintain the spell for a short while before he had to stop.


    ¡°I just felt a little wind on my face, is that magic?¡± Aike did indeed feel a breeze against his skin just now.


    ¡°That¡¯s just the effect achieved by magic. When I use magic on you, you won¡¯t feel ¡®magic,¡¯ you can only feel the effects produced by the magic.¡±


    ¡°Just like the Wind Control Technique I just used, did you feel the magic? No, you only felt the wind. You can¡¯t even distinguish whether it¡¯s a natural wind or one produced by magic.¡±


    ¡°Human eyes can¡¯t see magic; people can only observe the effects produced by magic. Because the effects that magic can create are so diverse and chaotic, we need to summarize and deduce, transforming perceptual knowledge into rational knowledge.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are perceptual knowledge and rational knowledge?¡± Aike heard these two terms for the first time.


    ¡°Put simply, at first, spellcasters only knew how to use magic, which is perceptual cognition. Great minds were not satisfied with just knowing how to use it, they attempted to summarize and deduce, to discover the intrinsic laws of magic, and that¡¯s rational cognition,¡± Winters explained, feeling exhausted from speaking, so he shifted from sitting on the stone floor to sitting on a stone stool.


    Winters felt it was better to give examples from something Aike was familiar with, ¡°Like swordsmanship, those who first used swords surely only knew how to flail and hack wildly. After much use, they found several effective techniques, gained what we call experience, which is perceptual cognition.


    If it develops further, and a master of swordsmanship summarizes a theoretical system of swordsmanship, allowing inexperienced people to learn swordsmanship, and even to invent more powerful sword moves based on that system, that is rational cognition. Let¡¯s go back to the example of those drops of water I mentioned earlier.¡±


    ¡°First, think about this, if you put water in an iron pot and heat it on a stove, the water eventually evaporates and disappears, right?¡± Winters started with the reasoning foundation.


    Aike nodded. It was common knowledge that water would evaporate when heated by fire.


    ¡°So where does the water go?¡± Winters gently probed.


    ¡°It turns into steam,¡± Aike replied without hesitation. Water boiling and producing white steam was also common knowledge.


    ¡°The process of boiling water is the water being heated by the fire and then turning into steam, right?¡± Winters continued to inquire.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Aike was getting a little frustrated with Winters¡¯ obvious statements.


    ¡°Here comes the crucial part, listen carefully. General Antoine-Laurent believes that it¡¯s because of the fire that water turns into steam,¡± Winters explained the history of magic in the Alliance seriously.


    ¡°At the same time, the general believes that when magic is used to turn water into steam, even though no flame appears, the same result as boiling water is achieved. Essentially, magic has taken the place of the flame. You didn¡¯t see any flame just now, did you?¡± Winters asked Aike.


    ¡°I indeed didn¡¯t see any flames,¡± Aike was sure he saw no open fire.


    ¡°Therefore, this type of ability where ¡®magic takes the place of a flame¡¯ was summarized by General Antoine-Laurent as Fire-Starting magic. That¡¯s the reasoning process the general followed when summarizing the Fire-Starting spells.¡±


    ¡°Similarly, ¡®the ability to accelerate an object¡¯ has been summarized as Acceleration magic.¡±


    ¡°Abilities related to sound have been summarized as Sound magic. These are the three major categories of spells that the general came up with,¡± Winters exclaimed in one breath.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Aike was completely confused.


    ¡°Think back to the breeze just now, it was wind accelerated by magic, so it¡¯s Acceleration magic, and that spell is called the Wind Control Technique. If what¡¯s being accelerated is a nail, then it¡¯s the Arrow Flying Spell,¡± Winters hurriedly helped Aike review the points mentioned earlier.


    ¡°Before General Antoine-Laurent summarized these three categories of magic, the Alliance was entirely ignorant about what magic was.¡±


    ¡°Furthermore, unlike the usual process where perceptual knowledge comes first followed by rational knowledge, magic was monopolized by the Emperor and the great nobility, and the general himself wasn¡¯t a spellcaster. He started from scratch, and it was entirely through his several encounters with Empire court spellcasters on the battlefield that he managed to summarize the three categories of magic, gaining rational knowledge.


    It was as if someone who had never touched a sword in their life, only been wounded by others using swords, had summarized a set of swordsmanship theory, and it was truly an effective theory.


    It was the general who first constructed the magic theoretical system and then invented magical detection devices based on that system that the Alliance was able to screen people with talent for spells from the populace,¡± Winters said, admiring the feats of General Antoine-Laurent.


    Winters then added, ¡°Without long-term training, those with only a talent for magic are incredibly weak, so weak that neither they nor others would normally notice. If it weren¡¯t for General Antoine-Laurent, the Alliance would not have magicians.¡±

 Chapter 10 - 10 - 4 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 2)

    Chapter 10 ¨C 4 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 2)


    Chapter 10: Chapter 4 Antoine-Laurent and His Magic System (Part 2)


    Winters was clearly enjoying himself, but Aike was already fighting off sleep. Seeing Aike in the same state he usually was during spellcasting classes, Winters figured if he kept reading from the spellcasting textbook, Aike would be asleep in no time.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got to demonstrate some spells with more obvious effects!¡± Winters thought, carefully considering which spells were convenient to demonstrate.


    So Winters plucked a few hairs from Aike¡¯s arm, causing Aike to jolt from the pain and wake up a bit.


    ¡°Watch closely,¡± Winters instructed Aike. He used the gesture of pressing his thumb against his index finger again to enter the spellcasting state, and the familiar yet strange sensations of compression and prickling returned.


    The hairs in Winters¡¯s hand began to change. Just as when arm hairs are accidentally singed by fire, the hairs curled up at a visible pace, leaving only a bit of char behind.


    Aike finally witnessed the magical aspect of magic, as he saw no open flame.


    ...


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t this hair look like it¡¯s been burnt?¡± Winters showed the charred remains to Aike.


    ¡°The kind of magic that turned the hair to char is fire-type magic. This spell is called a Fire Spell, and the one that vaporized the water earlier is called a Vaporization Spell.¡±


    ¡°These two spells are the most basic within the fire-type spells. Now you understand why this kind of magic is called fire-type, right?¡± Winters prompted Aike, leading him to think for himself as a teacher would.


    ¡°No flame, but it had an effect like flame, right?¡± Aike digested the information and responded, beginning to grasp the concept.


    ¡°Correct, for example, if I use the Fire Spell on a lamp wick. Though there¡¯s no visible flame, the wick will light as if it¡¯s touched flame,¡± Winters provided another everyday example.


    He said self-deprecatingly, ¡°To tell the truth, doing small tasks like lighting lamps is, in my opinion, the most practical use of fire-type spells.¡±


    ¡°And that Vaporization Spell, after ten years of spellcaster training, I can only vaporize a little bit of water, so the combat capability of fire-type spells is really poor.¡±


    Thinking about the state of fire-type spells, Winters continued to mock himself, ¡°If one day people can carry a source of fire with them, fire-type spells might just become obsolete.¡±


    Aike¡¯s eyes were nearly closed again, but Winters, completely unaware, kept talking to himself, ¡°I have imagined that if one had strong enough capabilities with fire-type spells, maybe it would be possible to vaporize the blood within an enemy¡¯s body. But I still don¡¯t know which Alliance spellcaster could be that powerful¡­¡±


    ¡°You really did fall asleep!¡± Winters noticed Aike¡¯s eyes had closed and scolded in frustration, ¡°You wanted to see magic, I showed you, and you fell asleep.¡±


    ¡°I explained so clearly and simply, yet you¡¯re still sleepy? You might as well listen to a spellcaster lesson when you have insomnia. I bet your butt will hit the chair and you¡¯ll be asleep in an instant.¡±


    ¡°Wait, this is magic? You don¡¯t have to chant some super long and complicated spell? Aren¡¯t sorcerers in stories always highly powerful only after they¡¯ve learned some ancient chant?¡± Aike suddenly perked up with a thought, lifting his head to look at Winters.


    ¡°Chant my ass, chant for whom?¡± Winters said angrily, ¡°In the Alliance territory, everyone speaks the Empire language, don¡¯t the Sea Blue People and United Provincials have different accents? sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Empire nobles don¡¯t speak the Empire language, they speak an old tongue; Ancient Empire people speak ancient language; the Flemish (Fremen, meaning travelers) speak the Flemish language; Silk Country people speak the Silk Country language (Silk Country, also known as Serica).


    With different languages used all over the world, chanting? If you chant in different languages, who¡¯s chanting it right? Who¡¯s chanting it wrong? Do we also need to invent a language specifically for chanting? You think that a sorcerer from Silk Country and one from the Empire can agree to use one unified chanting language across thousands of miles?¡±


    ¡°What about the staff, then? Sorcerers have to have a staff, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°If I had a staff, why would I practice this?¡± Winters lifted his longsword and gestured, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I have just gone and trained with a staff then? A spellcaster¡¯s abilities all come from within, not affected by external things. Don¡¯t fantasize that acquiring some magical treasure will suddenly make you a great sorcerer, it¡¯s impossible. If you give an ordinary person a great sword, can he become an expert swordsman like you?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t be angry. Think about it, you¡¯ve had ten years of spellcaster training, and I¡¯ve only learned from you what a spellcaster is today. How could I possibly understand it all at once? Let me digest it slowly,¡± Aike appeased Winters with soothing words. He knew Winters¡¯s hot temper and that the mule should be stroked along the grain.


    Winters also felt that he had been too harsh in his words just now, and although he felt guilty, he couldn¡¯t express it, so he thought for a bit and continued to explain to Aike, ¡°However, there might be some truth to those stories of sorcerers¡¯ chants, as if they were not entirely unfounded. General Antoine-Laurent believes that for a sorcerer, chanting may be a form of self-suggestion.¡±


    ¡°The General thinks chanting for sorcerers is just a ritual, ¡®The ritual isn¡¯t important, the sense of the ritual is.¡¯ Use a specific phrase for a specific spell, creating self-suggestion with the sense of ritual.¡± Winters still took examples from Aike¡¯s life, ¡°Just as archers believe certain rituals make their shots more accurate, and before a sword fight, don¡¯t you always lick your palm?¡±


    ¡°Me licking my palm isn¡¯t self-suggestion, it¡¯s just a habit,¡± Aike¡¯s face turned red: ¡°And when did I ever lick it furiously¡­¡±


    ¡°You say it¡¯s a habit, then it¡¯s a habit. Your so-called habit is just another term for self-suggestion.¡±


    ¡°In short, it¡¯s about linking the difficult Action A with the simple Action B, then by partaking in simple Action B, assist with the better accomplishment of the difficult Action A.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be that embarrassed about liking to lick your palm, right? I always wear the same pair of shoes for every exam.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s those old shoes with the worn-out soles!¡± Aike had an epiphany, ¡°I wondered why you were so reluctant to throw them away¡­¡±


    Winters inadvertently revealed his own secret, but his skin was thick enough to ignore Aike and continue educating on magic knowledge, ¡°It is precisely because incantations are just self-suggestion that General Antoine-Laurent invented spellcasting gestures to replace incantations.¡±


    ¡°The general categorized magic into three main classes, each representing a different spellcasting ability. Spells within the same category are quite similar, while spells from different categories are as different as wrestling is from sword fights.¡±


    ¡°Wrestling is a part of swordplay; Marshal Ned¡¯s manual on swordsmanship dedicates a considerable section to wrestling,¡± Aike immediately stood up to refute Winters.


    ¡°Wrestling is a damn part of sword fighting, cut the crap,¡± Winters said frustratedly.


    ¡°This is the gesture used when casting Fire-type spells.¡± Winters raised his left hand and pressed his thumb against his index finger.


    ¡°This is the gesture used when casting acceleration-type spells.¡± He then pressed his thumb against his middle finger.


    ¡°This is the gesture used when casting sound-type spells.¡± Finally, he pressed his thumb against his ring finger.


    ¡°This is you when you¡¯re wrestling.¡± Then he raised his middle finger.


    Winters continued to explain, ¡°Actually, you could use any other action, like pulling hair, rubbing eyes, picking your nose, anything will do, as long as you associate an action with a category of spells.¡±


    ¡°The set of gestures invented by the general is quite simple; all it takes is a finger movement. Therefore, spellcasters from the Alliance generally use this set of gestures.¡±


    ¡°Of course, you can also cast spells without gestures, but if you suddenly switch from using one category of spells to another, your mind won¡¯t be able to keep up.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like being told to fence for a round and then suddenly play a move in chess. Then go back to fencing another round before coming back to continue the chess game. The spellcaster¡¯s magical cognition will get confused.¡±


    ¡°Especially when using composite spells that combine two classes of magic, it¡¯s nearly impossible to switch smoothly without coordinating gestures. If the spellcasting gestures are well practiced, the transition back and forth won¡¯t be as confusing.¡±


    ¡°So we spellcasters from the Alliance don¡¯t chant; we only use gesture casting.¡±


    It was another lengthy lecture, leaving Aike feeling dizzy. After digesting the content for a moment, he earnestly said, ¡°Although I didn¡¯t understand much, I did pick up one thing: General Antoine-Laurent created many things and discovered much knowledge; he¡¯s a truly great man.¡±


    ¡°Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier is the father of the Alliance¡¯s magical system. Although he couldn¡¯t perform magic, I¡¯m willing to call him the greatest spellcaster,¡± Winters also put aside his flippant attitude and said solemnly, ¡°I feel he represents the spirit of our humanity, the courage to explore the laws of everything.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity General Antoine-Laurent died too soon, passing away at just fifty-one,¡±Aike sighed as well, ¡°Do you know how the general died? At that time, I was just starting at the military school and didn¡¯t understand much. I only remember one morning the teacher told us General Antoine-Laurent had passed away and asked us to observe a moment of silence.¡±


    ¡°Head disease,¡± Winters replied succinctly, ¡°It¡¯s said that the general was working on something that would redefine magic, but tragically, his life was cut short, and his manuscripts were also lost.¡±


    ¡°So being able to turn water into steam means having talent for magic? Let me give it a try; maybe I have a talent for magic, too?¡± Aike quickly changed the subject, as he dabbed his hand in water and let a few drops fall onto a stone bench, then he mimicked Winters, trying to focus intently on the droplets.


    ¡°The vaporization of water is very difficult.¡± Seeing Aike attempt to vaporize water, Winters hurriedly reminded his friend, ¡°The abilities of untrained spellcasters are very weak, almost indistinguishable from common people. It¡¯s impossible to vaporize water.


    To draw an analogy, if the essence of magic is fire, then untrained spellcasters are not even a flame; they could only be considered the sparks from striking flint. Only through prolonged training can they gradually become a spark and eventually a flame.


    To test for a little spark, you¡¯d have to use the device invented by General Antoine-Laurent. Besides, haven¡¯t you been tested?¡±


    ¡°When was I ever tested?¡± Aike exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they test you when you entered the academy as a young boy?¡± Winters was also surprised, ¡°Isn¡¯t everyone at Lu You tested upon admission? That¡¯s how I found out during my enrollment.¡±


    ¡°I was only nine years old when I entered the academy; I really don¡¯t remember whether I was tested or not. How do they test?¡± Aike thought hard, but had no memory of being tested.


    ¡°I can¡¯t remember either; it seems it was in a room with several glass instruments,¡± Winters scratched his head¡ªit had been ten years ago, and his memory was hazy.


    ¡°It seems a woman tested me; I did whatever she asked, and then I left. Afterwards, the teacher told me I was a spellcaster, and I ended up with an extra spellcaster course.¡±


    Aike shook his head, expressing regret, ¡°I really don¡¯t have any memory of it. Maybe they didn¡¯t test me, or perhaps they did, and I¡¯ve forgotten.¡±


    But he quickly added with cheer, ¡°Never mind, let me now try and see if I can vaporize this water. Ha ha, what if I¡¯m a neglected genius? Giving it a shot isn¡¯t against the rules.¡±


    Having said that, he dabbed some brine, dropped it onto a stone bench, and then cupped his hands around the water droplet to shield it from the wind. He concentrated hard and stared at the droplet. Winters sat beside him noncommittally, curiously waiting for the outcome.

 Chapter 11 - 11 - 5: The Third Hand and the Fifth Limb

    Chapter 11 ¨C 5: The Third Hand and the Fifth Limb


    Chapter 11: Chapter 5: The Third Hand and the Fifth Limb


    Watching Aike fumble about, Winters remained noncommittal. He felt that given the army¡¯s eagerness for spellcasters, it was unlikely that a cadet with the potential to cast spells would be overlooked.


    But to flatly deny someone¡¯s dream is highly unethical, even if what¡¯s said is the truth.


    Aike strived to ¡°use magic,¡± his face getting closer and closer to the stone bench, his expression increasingly fierce, his eyes nearly glued to the water droplet.


    However, Winters thought that with today¡¯s temperature, whether Aike had the ability to cast spells or not, the water on the stone would surely evaporate.


    ¡°Do you feel anything special?¡± Winters asked Aike.


    ¡°Right now, my eyes feel particularly dry.¡±


    ...


    ¡°That¡¯s what I like about you, your sense of humor.¡±


    ¡°Water can¡¯t be used to test for potential, otherwise there would be no need for special equipment to screen spellcasters,¡± Winters explained why water tests wouldn¡¯t work: ¡°General Antoine-Laurent once mentioned that vaporizing a droplet of water requires more magic power than accelerating an arrow as if it were fired from a hundred-pound hard bow.¡±


    ¡°But the general just mentioned it in passing, without a detailed argument,¡± Winters continued: ¡°However, I can also feel during my regular training that water is the hardest liquid to vaporize. Now do you see why spells of acceleration are recognized as the most lethal?¡±


    ¡°So vaporizing this bit of water seems useless, but accelerating an arrow can take a life?¡± Axel pondered for a moment and tentatively replied.


    ¡°Exactly, the difficulty of the spell does not correlate with its lethality,¡± Winters thought about the awkward status of the current fire magic spells: ¡°Magic wasn¡¯t created for battle, humans simply picked out the spells that are suitable for killing.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what¡¯s there to talk about, isn¡¯t it more frustrating to spend ten years on swordsmanship only to die from a gunshot on the battlefield?¡± Aike accepted the reality quickly and drew a parallel: ¡°Gods didn¡¯t create steel and gunpowder for killing, right? Aren¡¯t they still used to take lives?¡±


    ¡°Spellcasters don¡¯t believe in gods, but I agree with your view.¡±


    The water droplets on the stone bench had all disappeared, but Aike hadn¡¯t experienced any sensation of using magic. He said somewhat dejectedly, ¡°It seems I indeed lack the talent for spells.¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily, but anyway, water can¡¯t be used to test it,¡± Winters said, indicating that regardless of whether Aike had potential, water testing was unsuitable. He consoled Aike, ¡°If you really want to test, after the awarding of ranks tomorrow, I¡¯ll take you to find Instructor Christian. He should have a way.¡±


    ¡°Which Instructor Christian?¡± Aike asked, as Christian meant believer, and it was a common name at the school.


    ¡°Head of the Spellcasters Teaching and Research Office, he should be the most powerful spellcaster in school,¡± Winters assured Aike with confidence: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he has a good temperament, asking for his assistance will definitely be no problem.¡±


    ¡°Forget about it, I was just trying it out, I never really thought I was a spellcaster.¡± While Winters offered eagerly to find someone to test Aike, Aike backed out. It was one thing to test casually with a few drops of water; going to see the head of the Teaching and Research Office and using specialized equipment was totally another matter.


    ¡°Just tell me about the sensation of using magic, don¡¯t talk about the theory of magic, it gives me a headache.¡± Aike was very curious about what it felt like to be a magician.


    ¡°I can¡¯t accurately describe it with language either,¡± Winters said helplessly, feeling no matter how he phrased it, he couldn¡¯t describe it properly: ¡°Let me give you an example, don¡¯t be upset, but can you describe colors to a person born blind?¡±


    This question stumped Aike as well. He thought for a long while and came up with various descriptions but ultimately admitted, ¡°No, how can someone who has never known colors understand them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same with the feeling of using magic. How can you describe the sensation to someone who has never experienced magic?¡± Winters spoke frankly, quickly adding: ¡°I¡¯m just making a comparison, I¡¯m not saying you¡¯re disabled, don¡¯t get upset.¡±


    ¡°I can certainly understand what you¡¯re saying,¡± Aike said with a gentle smile: ¡°It depends on what you consider normal. If spellcasters are the norm, then indeed, we are all disabled.¡±


    ¡°You are normal, spellcasters are the exceptions,¡± Winters quickly changed the subject: ¡°I will still try my best to describe the sensation of using magic, though it won¡¯t be very accurate and is limited to my own experiences.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Sometimes there¡¯s an intense squeezing sensation, as if the entire space is compressing towards me; sometimes there¡¯s a sharp, stabbing pain, as if I were being pierced with a knife; sometimes it¡¯s very cold, and at other times extremely hot,¡± Winters frowned as he reflected on his experience with magic.


    He continued, ¡°The point is that these feelings don¡¯t come from any specific part of my body. It¡¯s like someone else is getting hit, but I feel the pain. Do you know what phantom limb pain is?¡±


    ¡°Is it when amputated soldiers feel as if their severed limbs are still there and even experience pain?¡± Aike recalled content from his health class.


    ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s like phantom limb pain,¡± Winters nodded. ¡°But for me, it¡¯s not about feeling pain where a body part has been amputated; it¡¯s as if the pain comes from a limb I¡¯ve never possessed.


    The source of pain has no flesh and blood but possesses a real sensation. To call it a limb isn¡¯t quite accurate, yet I don¡¯t know how to describe it precisely. Just like I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to describe colors to a blind person,¡± he said.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m beginning to grasp what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Aike replied thoughtfully.


    ¡°That¡¯s why the Alliance spellcasters refer to the gift of magic as the invisible ¡®third hand,¡¯ the ¡®fifth limb¡¯ beyond the four limbs. The numbers three and five hold significant symbolic meaning to the Alliance spellcasters, which is why the Alliance of Spellcasters is also known as the Three-Five Society.¡±


    Winters dipped his hand in water and drew a symbol on the stone bench. He began by drawing a pentagon and then connected one vertex to two others, dividing the pentagon into three triangles.


    ¡°This is the emblem of the Alliance spellcasters. Look at its shape; a pentagon divided into three triangles. It can represent the third hand, the fifth limb, and the three major types of magic,¡± Winters explained to Aike the meaning behind the symbol as he drew it.


    ¡°So this is the emblem of the spellcasters? And here I was thinking you wore this badge every day because it was the insignia of the Sea Blue Fellowship!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know this was the spellcasters¡¯ emblem?¡±


    ¡°You never mentioned it, did you?¡±


    ¡°You never asked, did you?¡±


    This chicken-and-egg cycle could go on endlessly. Aike explained why he hadn¡¯t asked, ¡°The school doesn¡¯t allow us to inquire about spellcasters. Besides, you all attend spellcasting classes on Sundays. While we go to church, you have classes, and we¡¯ve never eavesdropped.¡±


    ¡°It really wasn¡¯t necessary, seeing as you¡¯ll eventually find out in the army. No wonder you had the wrong impression of spellcasters,¡± Winters quickly remembered something else: ¡°But haven¡¯t we taken tactics classes on countering enemy mages?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because of how the instructor in the anti-mage tactics class described it that I thought spellcasters could kill me with just a flick of their fingers,¡± Aike said with a wry smile. ¡°What he described in class is very different from what you¡¯re telling me.¡±


    ¡°I think what¡¯s described in the anti-magic class must be related to Richard IV¡¯s enforcers during the Sovereign Wars¡ªthe court wizards,¡± Winters realized what was being misconstrued: ¡°Court wizards are few and shrouded in mystery. Their training and the methods of casting spells are unknown to outsiders.¡±


    Winters took a moment to recall what he had learned about court wizards in his literature class: ¡°Flemish scholars documented that ancient emperors of Silk Country once summoned meteor showers to destroy hundreds of thousands of rebels. It¡¯s unimaginable. Someone like me, who can barely light a candle, can¡¯t fathom how to perform such super spells.¡±


    ¡°Summoning a meteor shower? If court wizards were really that powerful, wouldn¡¯t the madman Richard have conquered Guidao City?¡± Aike also found it hard to believe.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I think there¡¯s a lot of exaggeration in that part of the ancient records. Anyway, if people are going to exaggerate, they definitely tend to go big,¡± Winters said, laughing.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line of the Starfall Spell¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Book of Later Han ¨C Annals of Emperor Guangwu: ¡°At night, a meteor fell in the camp; during the day, a cloud like a crumbling mountain appeared, falling over the camp and dispersing before it reached a foot above the ground, causing all officers and soldiers to be filled with dread.¡±


    Book of Jin ¨C Annals of Emperor Xuan: ¡°Meeting with Liang at Jisheng, he fought on the plains. Liang was unable to advance and withdrew to Wuzhang Plains. Then a long-tailed star fell on Liang¡¯s rampart, and the Emperor knew defeat was inevitable so he sent troops to attack Liang from behind, beheading more than five hundred and capturing over a thousand prisoners, with over six hundred surrendering.¡±


    Book of Jin ¨C Annals of Emperor Xuan: ¡°At that time, a long-tailed star, white and with a mane-like appearance, streaked from the southwest of Xiangping city to the northeast, falling into the Liang River, shaking the city with terror. Wen Yi, greatly afraid, sent his appointed chancellor Wang Jian and Grand Herald Liu Fu to surrender, requesting to lift the siege and presenting themselves in shackles.¡±

 Chapter 12 - 12 - 6 Mass-Produced Magic Combat Golems

    Chapter 12 ¨C 6 Mass-Produced Magic Combat Golems


    Chapter 12: Chapter 6 Mass-Produced Magic Combat Golems


    After laughing, Winters still kindly reminded Aike, ¡°The descriptions of magicians in ancient books are definitely exaggerated, but since court wizards can be the emperor¡¯s personal enforcers, they must possess real skills.


    If you ever encounter a court wizard one day, be very careful. Don¡¯t lump us spellcasters together with court wizards. We and they are two different kinds of magic users.¡±


    ¡°I think maybe they¡¯re the ones who deserve to be called magicians, while we¡¯re just spellcasters,¡± Winters said in self-deprecation. ¡°I think that¡¯s what the generals at the Department of the Army must think too, which is why they refer to us as ¡®spellcasters¡¯ and not ¡®magicians.¡¯ We¡¯re nothing but mass-produced magical war tools for the Alliance.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t put yourself down, magic must be of great use on the battlefield.¡± Although Aike had never been to a battlefield, it was obvious that he was a firm supporter of the Army¡¯s spellcaster policy: ¡°Otherwise, why would the Army place so much importance on spellcasters? Magicians are the Mad King Richard¡¯s most trusted executioners.¡±


    ¡°That has to be an extremely, extremely powerful magician though, there isn¡¯t a spellcaster in the entire Alliance now that can match the court wizards of the Mad King.¡± Winters cupped his hand by his mouth, making a megaphone shape: ¡°If I really get to the battlefield, I¡¯m just a human megaphone. You know, the kind made from tinplate, shaped into a cone, with the tip removed, the kind the drill instructor holds every morning to yell at people.¡±


    Aike didn¡¯t understand what Winters was talking about, and Winters said bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m not the one who said that, it was General Taylor. He came to inspect last year and spoke to the spellcaster cadets alone.¡±


    ...


    Getting excited, Winters imitated General Taylor¡¯s hoarse duck voice: ¡°The most useful spell in battle is the Amplification Spell! This Amplification Spell is really good for commanding troops. It doesn¡¯t get drowned out by gunfire, even made little drums obsolete. You guys definitely have to practice your Amplification Spell well, and cut down on those other useless, fancy tricks.¡±


    ¡°Just listen to how the top brass of the Provincial Army values spellcasters, useless fancy tricks?¡± Winters suddenly had a ludicrous thought: ¡°If there were portable fire starters, Fire-type spells would be rendered obsolete. And if someday someone invents a device that can amplify voices without magic, army spellcasters might just all be out of a job.¡±


    ¡°What ¡®tool people,¡¯ you guys are the treasures of the military!¡± Aike pondered for a moment before making up his mind to tell Winters: ¡°Have you ever heard of the ¡®Decade Personnel¡¯?¡±


    Winters thought carefully for a moment, then shook his head.


    Aike explained: ¡°It¡¯s normal that you haven¡¯t heard of it, it¡¯s something those of us without magical talents discuss. If army officers want to be promoted, apart from serving time, there must also be a vacancy, right?¡±


    This was common knowledge among all army officers and prospective officers, so Winters replied without hesitation: ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°But there are many officers in the military who, even if they have served enough time, can¡¯t get promoted and just continue to accumulate seniority.¡± Aike¡¯s tone was also uncertain: ¡°However, many people say that spellcaster officers will definitely be promoted once they have served enough time, so within ten years they¡¯re sure to make major, and within twenty, colonel.¡±


    This was the first time Winters had heard about this unwritten rule within the Army, and he was shocked. Naturally, just as nobody discusses a bully in front of the bully, which classmate would talk about spellcasters in front of spellcasters?


    Aike¡¯s words made Winters feel his cheeks burning because he realized he was a beneficiary of an unfair system, while his good friends and classmates were being oppressed by it.


    ¡°If there really is such an unwritten rule, then it¡¯s blatant discrimination and unjust.¡± The education Winters received since childhood emphasized fairness and justice, and such a policy of the Army obviously contradicted the principle of fairness.


    He said sincerely: ¡°Military promotions should be based on ability and merit, I don¡¯t believe that a talent for spells holds any special value for commanding troops, that¡¯s just mismanagement by the Army.¡±


    Aike realized his words had made Winters feel guilty, and he quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t take it too seriously, it¡¯s not a big deal. Officer promotions definitely won¡¯t only look at magical ability, but considering everything, having magical ability as a bonus is reasonable.¡±


    Aike then mentioned another example of even less fair treatment: ¡°What about those officers who come out of ¡®crash courses¡¯ and can¡¯t even become field officers in their lifetime, aren¡¯t they even more discriminated against?¡±


    Seeing the topic veering towards a critique of the Alliance Army¡¯s decision-makers, Aike now particularly regretted bringing up the subject of the ¡®Decade Personnel¡¯ with Winters. He hurriedly brought the conversation back to magic: ¡°You were just saying that Fire-type spells are useless, but how can fire magic be useless? Isn¡¯t controlling fire quite impressive?¡±


    ¡°Fire-type magic isn¡¯t about controlling fire, but using magic to achieve some effects in place of fire. For example, with a non-flammable material like stone, no matter how much magic I use, I can¡¯t make it burn,¡± Winters hurriedly corrected Aike¡¯s misunderstanding about magic.


    ¡°But to tell you the truth, my Fire-type spells might not even be as powerful as just using a torch,¡± Winters said reluctantly: ¡°I can barely vaporize a bit of water at full strength, but with a torch, you could quickly dry out the water.¡±


    ¡°Sound-type spells don¡¯t require casting materials, and the Acceleration-type just needs some hard objects. Whereas most Fire-type spells rely on casting materials. If we really were on the battlefield, you¡¯d have probably taken me down with your sword before I could even get my casting materials out.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? Didn¡¯t you just burn a hair just now?¡± Aike said with a smile: ¡°If we really got into a fight, can¡¯t you just figure out how to light my hair on fire and win?¡±


    The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional. The suggestion struck Winters like a bolt of lightning: ¡°I actually never really thought about using the Fire-type spells to set an enemy¡¯s hair ablaze.¡±


    Winters thought more and more that the idea was interesting. He stood up excitedly and said to Aike, ¡°Your idea is really so dirty, I love it, I¡¯m going to note this spell down in my spellbook.¡±


    ¡°Haha, now you have your own original spell, how about we call it Axel¡¯s Hair Burning Spell?¡± Winters paced and said, ¡°Hair Burning Spell doesn¡¯t sound imposing enough, how about Axel¡¯s Scalp Scorcher? Face Flamer? Hair Annihilator?¡±


    ¡°Is this really considered inventing a spell?¡± Aike said with a wry smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too childish?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t this be considered inventing a spell? You¡¯ve invented a unique usage for fire-type magic.¡± Winters argued earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s all about waving arms and wielding swords, which can be broken down into so many stances and moves. So why wouldn¡¯t inventing a unique usage for a spell be considered inventing a spell? Do you think fire-type magic spells are categorized together because they all follow the same principle, differing only in their application?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s just call it Hair Burning Spell then,¡± Aike answered offhand.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s not tested yet, this approach is really novel. We need to find some actual hair to practice with a few times to see how to make hair burn faster and more fiercely.¡± The more Winters thought about it, the more interesting it became, ¡°I finally understand why the general said, ¡®There are no useless spells, only foolish spellcasters. A spellcaster must first be clever and only then can one be a spellcaster.''¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been too rigid in my thinking, only considering Flash Spell for actual combat, but you¡¯ve opened my eyes,¡± Winters said emphatically. ¡°Aike, you really are a genius. If you had magical talent, you¡¯d definitely be a hundred times stronger a spellcaster than I am.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that amazing, don¡¯t flatter me,¡± Aike felt that Winters was making too much of a fuss, ¡°What if I shaved off all my hair then?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± Winters¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°¡­then I would have to resort to using Flash Spell again.¡±


    Aike burst into laughter, but after his laughter subsided, he spoke to Winters with a sincere and yearning tone, ¡°I really want to become a spellcaster, even if I were the worst one. Even if I could only manage the most basic spell of the fire-type spells you despise. It¡¯s not because of any ¡®ten-years goal¡¯ that I want to become a spellcaster, I just genuinely want to be one. I really want to know what it feels like to use magic.¡±


    Winters could understand the sentiment Aike expressed; who hadn¡¯t fallen asleep with fantasies of becoming a knight or a magician in their younger years? When he¡¯d learned he could study spells, he too was so excited that he could hardly sleep all night.


    It¡¯s a shame though, for the magical abilities of an untrained potential spellcaster were like tiny sparks. But if one wished to make flames roar, one at least needed those sparks to begin with. How could you light a fire without any sparks?


    ¡°Is it so devastating not to be a magician? If you really experienced it, you¡¯d probably think it¡¯s ¡®not a big deal¡¯ and be greatly disappointed. Plus, I¡¯ll tell you, ever since I started my spellcaster training, I¡¯ve been particularly sleepy; I seriously suspect it¡¯s a side effect of learning spells.¡± But Winters still tried to console Aike:


    ¡°If I could, I¡¯d rather trade my spellcasting ability for your swordsmanship prowess. Do you know how painful it is that I¡¯ve never beaten you? Do you know I hide in the bathroom every day, washing my face with tears? Besides, court magicians might be different, but us spellcaster officers, we¡¯re really just tools.¡±


    This absurd rambling brought a smile to Aike¡¯s face, ¡°Your love of sleeping has absolutely nothing to do with being a spellcaster, you just naturally love to sleep in. Enough about the impossible. Tell me more about what it feels like to use magic. Is it just extremely painful when you use magic?¡±


    Winters thought carefully again about the sensation of using magic, his face flushing as he said, ¡°It¡¯s really extremely painful, like being tortured, but besides that, it¡¯s also extremely¡­ exhilarating. It hurts while bringing joy, at least that¡¯s how it feels to me. And I often feel a bit empty after I stop casting, I suspect it might be a sign of addiction.¡±


    ¡°Using magic can also be very exhilarating? Exhilarating to the point of addiction?¡± Aike was stunned.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Winters¡¯s face reddened even more.


    Of course, using magic could be addictive because it was exhilarating, but the spellcasters of this era did not know the deeper reasons. Later researchers, through MRI technology, discovered that when spellcasters used spells, almost their entire cerebral cortex became intensely active, and the activation pattern was very similar to the brain rewarding human reproductive behavior. This kind of cerebral fireworks surely brought intense pain and pleasure similar to the rewards for human reproduction. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without this kind of compensation, humans wouldn¡¯t be able to endure the additional pain brought by casting spells. Later researchers even found that the physical structure of spellcasters¡¯ brains differed from that of regular people, with spellcasters having a thicker cortex and smaller medulla.


    ¡°How exhilarating is it?¡± Aike asked seriously.


    ¡°Very exhilarating,¡± Winters answered earnestly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not because of some particular type of desire you have?¡± Aike asked skeptically.


    ¡°I am not a masochist!¡± Winters retorted angrily.


    ¡°No need to talk any further, let¡¯s not wait until tomorrow, let¡¯s do it today.¡± Aike gripped Winters¡¯s hand tightly, ¡°After class, hurry and take me to see whatever his name was¡­ Christian, the teacher, to get tested. I feel now¡­ that I might very well be a diamond in the rough!¡±

 Chapter 13 - 13: Extra Story: The Protagonist’s Character Card (Up to 6)

    Chapter 13: Extra Story: The Protagonist¡¯s Character Card (Up to Chapter 6)


    Chapter 13: Extra Story: The Protagonist¡¯s Character Card (Up to Chapter 6)


    ¡°`


    (A character sheet similar to the one from ¡°Pillars of Eternity¡± has been created for the protagonist, and it may become interesting as it¡¯s updated throughout the story.


    However, don¡¯t take the attributes too seriously, because spellcasters rely on their brains to fight, not attributes.)


    Name: Winters Montagne/Winters Montagne/Yue Dong


    Gender: Male


    Occupation: Warrior (Level 3) Spellcaster (Level 2)


    ...


    Innate Ability: Never Tear Card


    Handedness: Right-handed


    Height: 1.82 meters (barefoot)


    Background:


    Great Gulf Alliance Country/the Confederate States of Great Sinus


    (Enlightenment: The people don¡¯t need an emperor, it¡¯s the emperor who needs the people. Resolve +1.)


    Sea Blue Republic/Venerable Vineta Republic/ Honorable Republic of Veneta


    (Mercantilism: Everything in the world has a price. Diplomacy +1)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Educational Background:


    Army Junior School of Vineta Branch


    Army Officer Preparatory School


    Army Officer School


    (Ivory Tower Officer: Street Smarts -4 Tactics +3 Strength +1 Constitution +1)


    (The Army¡¯s unhealthy obsession with schooling results in most officer school students being from internal promotions.)


    Standard Alliance Country Spellcaster Officer Training


    (Mass Production Magic War Tool: Unlocks Alliance Spellcaster Skill Tree. Religious Knowledge -4)


    (If you believe wine can turn into blood, bread into flesh, you¡¯re not a qualified spellcaster.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Courses Completed:


    General Studies: Rhetoric, History, Mathematics, Geometry, Law, International Law, Old Language, Ancient Language;


    Military Science: Tactics, Fortifications, Fortress Tactics, Military Map Drawing and Use, Military History, Terrain, Equine Studies, Hygiene, Accounting;


    Military Academics: Horsemanship, Swordsmanship, Weapons, Field Surveying, Field Tactics, Military History Travel, Annual Exercises, Routine Services.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Active Abilities:


    Longsword (A Skilled) (Being routinely thrashed by S-rank swordsmen makes him quite strong in a sense.)


    Matchlock Gun (B Proficient) (Here you go, this is the shooting rod; point the muzzle at the enemy, and you can go to war.)


    Horse Riding (B Proficient) (I like horses, but I¡¯m too lazy to shovel manure, brush them, or feed them carrots.)


    General Weaponry (D Rough Understanding) (Oh~ Ah~ Eh~ So that¡¯s how it is, I get it.)


    Machinery (A Skilled) (Need to add two more sets of gears for balanced force, so the planetary gears don¡¯t break so easily.)


    Blasting (B Proficient) (Art is explosion, what mischievous kid doesn¡¯t love fireworks?)


    Alchemy (E Basic Knowledge) (I hear¡­ maybe¡­ presumably¡­)


    Old Language (B Proficient) (¨ºtre?seul?n¡¯a?pas?d¡¯importance being single is no big deal.)


    Ancient Language (C Unfamiliar) (Ancient language is a dead language, I can manage with a dictionary.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Passive Abilities: (The standard for the average person is 3; passive abilities equal to 3 are not specified.)


    Historical Knowledge 6 (History +1 Military History Class +1 Military History Travel +1) (Obscure historical knowledge)


    Diplomatic Communication 4 (Mercantilism +1) (Trust me, this is to our mutual benefit.)


    Religious Knowledge -1 (Standard Senas Spellcaster Officer Training -4) (Eat shit, charlatan!)


    Street Smarts -1 (Ivory Tower Officer -4) (If I lose my wallet, I¡¯ll go to the guards.)


    Tactical Acumen 6 (Military-school background +3) (Grip your weapon tight! No looking back! No retreat!)


    Outdoor Survival 2 (Highfalutin -2 City Kid -2 Stomach forged in the military school dining hall +3) (Is this wheat? Oh, it¡¯s not wheat.)


    Perception 5 (Military Training +2) (From the tattoo on your arm, I deduce you¡¯re a sailor.)


    Intimidation 4 (Military Status +1) (Let me introduce you to something else: a broad-blade knife!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spellcasting Assessment:


    Fire-based Magic: Medium


    Kinetic Magic: Weak


    Sound-based Magic: Slightly Weak


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spells That Can Be Cast Effectively:


    (Just as a five-year-old could try lifting a hundred-pound barbell, as long as one understands the principles, a spell could be utilized, but the issue is whether it can be used effectively)


    ¡°`


    Antoine-Laurent¡¯s Fire Burning Technique


    Antoine-Laurent¡¯s Vaporization Spell


    Tesla¡¯s Luminosity Spell


    David¡¯s Flash Spell


    The Nameless One¡¯s Iron Melting Technique


    The Flying General¡¯s Arrow Flying Spell


    The Wright Brothers¡¯ Wind Control Technique


    Ludwig¡¯s Sound Amplification Technique


    Axel¡¯s Hair Burning Spell


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Character Traits: S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alliance Country Supporter


    Although born in the Sea Blue Republic, Winters was educated in The Federated Provinces Republic from a young age and has been deeply influenced by Alliance Country ideals, agreeing that the Alliance government should have more power.


    (So is he a patriot or a traitor?)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Genetics of Venetian People


    Fierceness is etched into the DNA of Venetian people.


    (Stop carving everything into DNA, you bastard!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Respect for Professional Knowledge and Skills


    Winters respects people who have professional knowledge and skills, such as mathematicians or swordsmiths.


    (You can do what I cannot.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Atheist


    Spellcasters¡¯ powers come from their understanding of the laws of everything, and Winters doesn¡¯t believe in the existence of deities.


    (Listen up, I¡¯m too lazy to educate you on atheism, and don¡¯t you try to push your religious beliefs on me.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Lawful Good


    Winters is willing to do good deeds, but his military academy education also taught him to respect order.


    (It¡¯s good to thrust a sword into a bad guy¡¯s mouth, but I¡¯d prefer if the judge gave the go-ahead first.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Boys¡¯ Club


    Winters spent ten years in an all-boys boarding school, and he¡¯s very skilled at getting along with males, but relatively poor at dealing with females.


    (What kind of school is this! You have really done some damage here!)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Carefree


    Winters, naturally lively, even in the darkest and most tragic circumstances, likes to joke and the uncertainty of life, favoring those with a sense of humor.


    (Specifically manifests as an uncontrollable desire to make snarky comments)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The World is a Shoddy Performance


    Winters thinks the whole world is a shoddy performance, a world competing to be worse, not better.


    (It doesn¡¯t matter how miserable I am, as long as my enemies are more miserable than me.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Loves Animals


    If heaven doesn¡¯t have cats, then I¡¯d like to go to a place that does.


    (Of course, it would be even better if they didn¡¯t shed.)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Not Very Rigorous Character Attributes: (Added points according to PE rules, plus the skill points provided by character background)


    Strength 12 (Base 11 +1 from military academy background) (Winters loves to sleep and avoids all unnecessary physical labor)


    Constitution 13 (Base 12 +1 from military academy background) (A constitution of 13 means less likely to fall ill)


    Agility 14 (Base 13 +1 from swordsmanship training) (Agility without strength is meaningless, except for running away.)


    Perception 15 (Base 13 +2 from spellcaster training) (Intuition is the thing that¡¯s most accurate after the fact.)


    Intelligence 18 (Base 16 +2 from spellcaster training) (Do you think my extra sleep was for nothing?)


    Determination 14 (Base 13 +1 from Enlightenment beliefs) (Is 14 points of determination really that much?)


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (The End)

 Chapter 14 - 14 - 7: A good soldier is one who can grab a weapon and has saliva in his mouth.

    Chapter 14 ¨C 7: A good soldier is one who can grab a weapon and has saliva in his mouth.


    Chapter 14: Chapter 7: A good soldier is one who can grab a weapon and has saliva in his mouth.


    ¡°On the battlefield, if you can grip a weapon and have saliva in your mouth, you are a good soldier!¡± swordsmanship instructor Richard Nal was giving his last lecture to 55 students of Infantry Class 554 at the Army Officer Academy: ¡°These aren¡¯t my words, but those of the old Marshal.¡±


    When the Army Officer Academy was established, the preparatory committee believed there were too many courses conducted in classrooms and that it was necessary to add a special physical education class. The initial plan was to choose one among swordsmanship, wrestling, and archery.


    Most senior officers of the Alliance Army had attended Marshal Ned¡¯s evening ¡°tutoring sessions¡± organized during the Sovereignty War, so everyone had learned longsword techniques from Marshal Ned incidentally.


    Therefore, the Army¡¯s decision-makers wished to pass on the tradition of the longsword, making it one of the military subjects in the physical education curriculum at the Officer Academy.


    ¡°Classmates, this is your last swordsmanship class. You must have all thought about the significance of practicing longsword techniques for your future military careers,¡± Instructor Nal paused and said without any courtesy:


    ¡°I can tell you now that the chance you will need to draw your longswords to grapple with the enemy in the future is very slim. Many of you might never hold a sword hilt in both hands again after leaving this training room.¡±


    ...


    ¡°What is a longsword to you? What is swordsmanship? Is it really for combat? Outside the Ivory Tower of the military school, there are more agile and portable weapons in vogue. Want to know what weapons work in actual combat? Go watch the Duelists¡¯ Association! Not one of you could win against those guys in a one-on-one fight.¡±


    ¡°In the world of officers, the longsword has become a ceremonial sword used to embellish dress uniforms, and swordsmanship has become a threshold to distinguish officers¡¯ origins.¡±


    ¡°Although we try our best to give you the feeling of actual combat, for you, longsword techniques have evolved from a combat skill into a sporting activity. You must wonder if swordsmanship really matters. I can tell you now, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think just because you¡¯ve trained for many years and each of you is proficient with a sword, you can go out and conquer on the battlefield. Two peasants with pitchforks could take you down!¡± Nal¡¯s swordsmanship class was much more relaxed and enjoyable compared to other cultural and military courses. This was the first time he had belittled his students, not sparing their feelings at all.


    ¡°Because when you truly reach the battlefield and face death, even the noble knights who have been trained to fight from the moment they could walk might find themselves so nervous that their minds go blank and their limbs freeze, unable to move.¡±


    ¡°Although swordsmanship may not be of much significance to you anymore. But please remember what I¡¯m about to say: if there comes a day, at some point in the future when you really need to draw your weapons for self-defense.¡±


    ¡°No matter what you¡¯re holding in your hand, be it a spear, a saber, a club, a hammer, or even if you have no weapons at all and are just bare-handed. Think of my words today, think of the swordsmanship training you¡¯ve had over the years.¡±


    ¡°If you can recall even thirty percent of your ability from today, you might just save your life. If you can recall sixty percent of your ability, then there wouldn¡¯t be many on the battlefield who could stand against you. The principles of martial arts are always interconnected, and many of the philosophies behind the longsword can be applied to other weapons as well.¡±


    ¡°The old Marshal always said, ¡®I fear those whose swordsmanship is versatile in practice but resort to wild chopping with brute force in actual combat¡¯. That¡¯s why he emphasized simple and direct attacks.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°When that day truly arrives, I hope you will remember what I¡¯ve said today. Don¡¯t grip the hilt too tightly! Don¡¯t let your arms become too stiff! Don¡¯t just rush forward blindly, be agile in your steps! And think again about the swordsmanship training you¡¯ve received!¡±


    Another cohort of students was about to leave the school, and Richard Nal, for once, was genuinely emotional, and each sentence spoke from the heart. Yet his students didn¡¯t treasure this emotional display, with most of them just thinking about rushing to have dinner.


    Young people despise the advice from their elders, mostly because a lot of the condescending advice truly is garbage content. But at the same time, they risk missing out on genuinely valuable experiences because of this attitude.


    It would take at least another decade, after they had been battered by the winds and rains of adulthood, for them to know which of the past teachings were nonsense and which were gems of wisdom.


    Only on that day, when they look back on today¡¯s swordsmanship class, will they understand the earnestness of Instructor Nal¡¯s efforts. But now, they are just a bunch of kids who grew up sheltered in the Ivory Tower.


    After saying a lot in one go, regardless of whether his students took it in or not, Instructor Nal simply concluded the speech: ¡°I¡¯ve said my piece. Alright! Dismissed!¡±


    Instructor Nal clapped his hands twice, giving the command: ¡°Dismissed!¡±


    The students bowed in unison: ¡°Goodbye, Instructor.¡± They then ran out as one to return their training armor.


    The training room returned to silence and became empty once more.


    The young men who had sweated and laughed freely here seemed like just a dream of this classroom.

 Chapter 15 - 15 - 8 Night Duty

    Chapter 15 ¨C 8 Night Duty


    Chapter 15: Chapter 8 Night Duty


    The swordsmanship class at the Army Officer Academy was held twice a week, starting right after lunch. The duration of the class depended on the time of the sunset.


    In summer, when the days were long and the nights short, the swordsmanship classes last longer. In winter, as the darkness fell earlier, the classes were shorter. As a principle, students were given an hour to have dinner before dusk.


    This led to a problem: during the long summer days, the sun wouldn¡¯t set until eight or nine o¡¯clock. After eating lunch, the cadets would practice with their longswords, not getting to eat dinner until very late. Therefore, by the last hour of swordsmanship class in the summer, everyone was famished.


    After returning the training armor to the equipment room, Winters and Aike, carrying their longswords and combat clothing, didn¡¯t even have time to change out of their cadet uniforms before they dashed at full speed to the cafeteria, beginning to gobble down food ravenously.


    By the time the two of them had finished eating and taken a quick shower, it was nearly eight o¡¯clock when they got back to the cadet dormitory, and the sun was about to set.


    Lamps had been lit in the cadet dormitory, and Winters could see that those students whose homes were not in The Federated Provinces Republic¡ªnamely, those from Sea Blue Republic, Highland Republic, Monta Republic, and Varn Republic¡ªhad already started to pack their bags, preparing to return home the next day.


    ...


    Aike was a local from Guidao City, just a walk away from home, so he wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He grabbed a washbasin intending to wash his combat clothes and saw Winters sprawled motionless on the bed.


    So he gave Winters¡¯ back a hard smack and reminded him, ¡°Are you going to sleep so early? Aren¡¯t you going to pack your luggage?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I can pack tomorrow, I don¡¯t have much stuff anyway.¡± Winters, full and struck by a fit of drowsiness, responded lethargically.


    Weariness, pain, and sleepiness assaulted Winters one after the other. At that moment, he didn¡¯t even want to move a finger; all he wanted to do was sleep.


    ¡°What about your combat cloth? Aren¡¯t you going to wash it? It¡¯s all sweaty; if you leave it until tomorrow, won¡¯t it stink?¡± Aike asked again with a frown, glancing at the combat cloth lying in a wooden basin by Winters¡¯ bed.


    Winters weighed the options between ¡°getting up to wash the clothes¡± and ¡°continuing to sleep¡± and without any suspense, chose ¡°continuing to sleep.¡± He buried his face in the pillow and said, ¡°Forget it, just toss it. I won¡¯t wear it anymore anyway.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to practice the longsword diligently once you got back to Sea Blue? And now you¡¯re just going to throw away your combat cloth? Besides, saying you¡¯ll throw away such good clothes is incredibly wasteful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aike couldn¡¯t help but laugh at the attitude that preferred sleep over keeping clothes.


    However, Winters couldn¡¯t hear Aike¡¯s words anymore; the sound from Aike was going in one ear and out the other. Then suddenly, Winters remembered something very important¡ªsomething that meant he couldn¡¯t sleep just yet.


    He sat bolt upright, startling Aike into stepping back. Winters frowned and said, ¡°I just remembered, I have night watch duty tonight.¡±


    He took a deep breath and let out a mournful howl from the depths of his chest, ¡°Ah¡­¡±


    ¡°You scared me. But aren¡¯t you just going to sleep during your watch anyway?¡± Aike said, looking helpless.


    Winters quickly got up and dressed while Aike followed up from behind, asking, ¡°What about your clothes then?¡±


    ¡°No help for that, I won¡¯t have time to wash them now. If you want them, they¡¯re yours; if you don¡¯t, whoever wants them can have them. If nobody wants them, just throw them away,¡± Winters replied while hurriedly putting on his trousers. He then grabbed his jacket and hurried out of the dormitory while shrugging into it.


    The Army Officer School had three gates, each manned by two shifts a day. Each shift consisted of six people, two from each the first, second, and third years.


    The Army Officer School had three branches: Cavalry, Infantry, and Artillery, with each year¡¯s population fluctuating between fifty-five and sixty students. This meant that approximately once a month, each cadet would have to serve one day shift and one night shift on guard duty.


    Winters jogged all the way to the school¡¯s north gate. The day guards hadn¡¯t yet left, and the freshmen and sophomores who were to replace them were already waiting there.


    ¡°Good evening, squad leader.¡± The lower-year cadets saluted Winters one after another, which was a small tradition at the Army Officer Academy. During the freshmen¡¯s introductory training, either a second-year or a third-year cadet would be assigned as their deputy squad leader or squad leader, leading them through training. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So at the academy, it was customary for lower-year cadets to call anyone wearing more stripes than themselves ¡°squad leader,¡± whether they knew them or not.


    Winters casually returned the salute and hastened into the on-duty room to meet the other third-year cadet on night duty. He was a robust young man, just over 1.7 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a generous width of hand, and a wide mouth and nose under a pair of thick eyebrows and large eyes.


    To Winters, his roommate¡¯s physical characteristics signaled that he was a kind, unpretentious, and tolerant person. The young man saw Winters approaching, punched him lightly on the shoulder, and, grinning to reveal a double row of teeth, said, ¡°You¡¯re here.¡±


    Winters flinched as he was hit where he had bruised during swordplay that day and sucked in a breath of cool air in pain.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The young man didn¡¯t understand how his light punch could provoke such a strong reaction from Winters.


    ¡°Got hit hard on the shoulder during swordsmanship class today¡ªno big deal,¡± Winters said with a smile.


    ¡°Was it the master who did it?¡± The young man understood instantly and responded with a laugh.


    Winters pulled over a chair, plopped down onto it with a casual air, and said proudly, ¡°You didn¡¯t see it today¡ªI actually scored seventeen points against Aike, got him so flustered. If I hadn¡¯t been so worn out afterward, I would have ended Aike¡¯s undefeated streak.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re not bullshitting me?¡± the young man was surprised because scoring seventeen points against the master was only a notch below beating the master.


    ¡°Why would I lie? There were so many people watching during the class, you can ask anyone,¡± Winters said confidently.


    The young man punched Winters lightly on the other shoulder and burst out laughing, ¡°Seventeen points! That¡¯s impressive! Too bad, if you had won, we could have avenged the beatdowns we¡¯ve gotten from the master over the years.¡±


    Just then, a head peeked in at the door¡ªit was a first-year cadet. The junior saluted and said, ¡°Squad leader, the duty instructor is coming.¡±


    Winters and the other quickly straightened their appearances and left the cadet duty office. Night watch duty is different from day watch. There is no patrol duty during day watch, and six people are on duty for the entire day, with each team taking a four-hour shift. You report to duty before your shift starts and you¡¯re free to go once it¡¯s over.


    But night watch duty is more complicated, as it involves patrol duty. The routine for night watch is that each team stands watch for four hours, patrols for four hours, and sleeps for four hours. This ensures that at any given time, one team is on patrol, another is on watch, and the rest are sleeping.


    Since you can¡¯t return to the dormitory to sleep during night watch, there are two small brick buildings constructed next to the main gate, on the inside of the perimeter wall, serving as the cadet and instructor duty offices, where those on night watch can rest. Those resting in the duty office also serve the function of being ¡°ready to provide immediate support in case of emergency.¡±


    Why is there an instructor¡¯s rest room? Because the instructors also take turns on night watch. The school authorities believe that night duty is complicated, and students alone are not enough¡ªin the event of an emergency, it¡¯s necessary to have an active duty officer present to ensure stability.


    In theory, everyone from the headmaster to the lecturers has the obligation to take night duty. But in practice, it¡¯s the fresh, low-ranking, single instructors living in the staff dormitories who end up taking the shift.


    However, instructors don¡¯t actually have to stand watch; they just need to sleep in the instructor¡¯s rest room.


    The one who came was a short-armed weapons instructor, his face flushed red, his shirt unbuttoned down to the third button below the collar, clearly having had a drink. The two who hadn¡¯t left day watch yet, plus the six on night watch¡ªa total of eight¡ªformed a horizontal line under Winters¡¯ lead.


    Everyone braced themselves and stood at attention, while the instructor on duty nodded without expression¡ªno one was in a good mood on night duty¡ªand began to call roll.


    ¡°Winters Montagne!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Winters answered.


    ¡°Gerard¡¯s Bard!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± the solidly-built young man familiar with Winters replied¡ªthat was his name.


    Bard¡¯s name was unusual because he had no surname. Gerard was his hometown, and calling him ¡°Gerard¡¯s Bard¡± was to distinguish him from any others named Bard.


    In this era, last names were a product of pragmatism, quite different from the orderly naming customs of ¡°given name, surname, clan name, courtesy name, and pseudonym¡± in the people of Silk Country at the time. Even emperors and kings a few hundred years back didn¡¯t have ¡°real surnames.¡±


    Maybe one day Bard will take Gerard as his last name, but for now, he¡¯s just Bard, formally known as Gerard¡¯s Bard.


    Then the instructor called the remaining names, dipped his quill pen in his mouth, and checked off each name on the attendance list.


    He then asked, ¡°Are the weapons accounted for?¡± Winters had been too busy chatting with Bard to check the weapons. But Bard gave him a nudge, and Winters understood; it seemed Bard had done it.


    Now with confidence, Winters answered loudly, ¡°Six halberds, six muskets, all accounted for.¡±


    ¡°Alright, dismissed! Call me if anything comes up.¡± The duty instructor nodded and then went to the instructor¡¯s rest room to sleep.


    The two cadets on day shift said their goodbyes and hurried back to the dormitory. Winters and Bard began their last shift on night watch.

 Chapter 16 - 16 - 9 School Management Enthusiasm

    Chapter 16 ¨C 9 School Management Enthusiasm


    Chapter 16: Chapter 9 School Management Enthusiasm


    Many rules in this world are well executed when they are first established, but as time goes by, they gradually lose their original flavor. Just like when Marshal Ned Smith formulated the ¡°Night Regulations¡± for the Army Officers¡¯ Academy, it stipulated that all instructors, regardless of rank or position, must take turns at night duty.


    When Marshal Ned became Principal Ned, the rule was executed to the letter. Because Ned Smith was not the kind of man who only paid lip service, when he set a rule, he would truly bring a small blanket to the instructors¡¯ duty room to take the night shift. With him setting an example, everyone dutifully took their turn, and no one dared to shirk their responsibilities.


    But after Principal Ned stepped down, this regulation slowly evolved into the current ¡°rule¡±: those assigned to night duty were all newly employed, of low rank and single men living in staff dormitories. Not only had the instructors¡¯ scheduling changed, but the way the students took their night duties also no longer followed the original design.


    The original plan of each person standing guard for four hours, patrolling for four hours, and then catching up on four hours of sleep somehow changed so that third-year students could go into the duty room and fall asleep immediately, while the first and second-year students miserably stood guard for six hours and patrolled for six hours.


    So, before Winters was promoted to the third year, what he hated most was night duty. A great passion of Winters¡¯ life was sleeping; he would become particularly irritable when he was sleep-deprived and would develop a strong self-destructive tendency.


    Thus, when Winters entered the third year, every time he was on night duty, he would lay down in the student duty room and sleep soundly, feeling utterly justified, because in his view, he had already done his share of duty in the previous two years, and now it was his turn to sleep.


    ... S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s precisely this psychology of humans that allows so many blatantly bullying and irrational rules to exist and persist in this world.


    Because these ¡°bullying systems¡± all preserved a channel for advancement, a glimmer of hope, they promised those who were oppressed: ¡°Just endure the pain now, and you will have your day sitting on top of others.¡±


    The saying goes that as long as a daughter-in-law doesn¡¯t die, she will eventually become a mother-in-law; junior single instructors will eventually be promoted and marry; lower grade officer cadets will eventually become upperclassmen in the third year. Therefore, with a little hope in their hearts, everyone clenched their teeth and endured, waiting for their day to bully others.


    But they often failed to realize that the design of this ¡°bully/victim perpetual motion machine¡± actually caused everyone to endure much more unnecessary pain.


    Enduring the torment of three ¡°eight hours of duty, four hours of sleep¡± night shifts was not as much as enduring a single ¡°grueling twelve-hour shift followed by a day of classes.¡±


    A Silk Country sage named Treeman commented on this distorted system: ¡°It takes a generation to endure the hard times of being bullied, yet be noble enough not to bully others, to break this cycle.¡±


    This time on duty, Winters didn¡¯t just dive into the student duty room and fall asleep as before; instead, he picked up a long halberd, ready to patrol. It wasn¡¯t because Winters had an epiphany; he couldn¡¯t possibly think that deeply at this stage. In fact, today was not his turn to be on duty; he had specifically swapped with someone else just to seek out Bard.


    Bard was also from The Federated Provinces of the Republic. Unlike Aike, however, his home was not in Guidao City, but in a small village over a hundred kilometers away from the city¡¯s west gate.


    The military of the Alliance Country¡ªor more precisely, The Federated Provinces of the Republic¡ªhad a fervent hobby of ¡°running schools.¡± This hobby was theoretically supposed to have been inherited from Marshal Ned, the man who started ¡°cram schools,¡± but it seemed to be somewhat different.


    Although the ¡°Army Officers¡¯ Academy¡± was there to train junior officers, this was clearly not enough to satisfy the educational fervor of The Federated Provinces of the Republic¡¯s Army, so they set up the ¡°Army Officer Preparatory School¡± to train cadets for the Army Officers¡¯ Academy;


    Then, the ¡°Army Junior School¡± was established to nurture cadets for the Army Officer Preparatory School.


    Winters entered the Army Junior School, Sea Blue branch school at the age of nine, and from there on embarked on a career path without choices.


    But do you think that was the end of it? Of course not. While other member countries of the Alliance only established junior schools, inside the territory of the Republic, the fanatical education enthusiasts went on to set up Army Enlightenment Schools to cultivate students for the Army Junior Schools.


    If this endless nesting trend continues, one day we will surely see the advent of Army Kindergartens, Army Early Education Classes, and Army Prenatal Education Classes across the lands of the Federated Provinces of the Republic.


    This strange concept of training officers seemingly right from the womb led to a situation: although in theory, the Army Officers¡¯ Academy¡¯s enrolment requirements never included ¡°must be a graduate of the Army Preparatory School¡±, and although the Army Officers¡¯ Academy held unconditional entrance exams every year to recruit students from the Alliance, there were hardly any non-preparatory school graduates who could pass the tests; a single interview would block most external candidates.


    The interviewers believed themselves absolutely unbiased, declaring that the ¡°external candidates were far too lacking¡± and ¡°lacked the slightest military bearing.¡± However, they never considered that external candidates were not military to begin with, so how could they possibly compare with cadets who had come all the way up from the Junior Schools in terms of military bearing?


    In any case, no matter the process, the end result was that the majority of cadets in the military academy were internal promotions, while external entrants were incredibly rare.


    People did not yet know whether this phenomenon was good or bad, nor did they know what impact it would have on the future of the Republic and even the entire Gulf Alliance. What would happen in the future? Who could guess? Let¡¯s return to the subject of Bard.


    There are always some people in this world that can win your trust the very first time you meet them; Bard was one of those people.


    His appearance was not threatening, with broad shoulders, large hands, a wide mouth and broad nose, and his slight strabismus made him appear naive.


    He spoke slowly and his voice was slightly hoarse, his thick lips always tinged with a hint of a smile. He was good-natured, and only when he was hungry would his temper worsen.


    Upon entrance, the school provided each student with a set of summer and winter uniforms. Wealthy students would have tailors make several sets for change. Bard had only one set, but he washed it diligently every day.


    Among the young people keen on dressing up, he wore his uniform that had been washed to the point of fading but was clean and neat without a trace of embarrassment on his face. So, when you saw him for the first time, you¡¯d know he was a reliable person.


    A wise man from the East once said, ¡°Those who find contentment in moderation do not know that the sustenance of body and mouth is inferior to others.¡± Winters did not know whether Bard had truly reached the state of equanimity described by the Eastern sage or was just trying hard to appear composed and self-assured.


    But Winters did not want to guess or investigate because whether it was the former or the latter, it meant that Bard was a person with great self-respect, and Winters respected those with self-respect.

 Chapter 17 - 17 - 10 External Admission

    Chapter 17 ¨C 10 External Admission


    Chapter 17: Chapter 10 External Admission


    Bard was one of only three externally enrolled students in Winters¡¯s cohort of officer candidates, and he was probably the most formidable among them.


    Most external enrollments at the Army Officer Academy were for the artillery branch, granting exceptions to those with mathematical talent. Yet, Bard was studying Cavalry, and before him, the Cavalry department had not had an externally enrolled student for six whole years.


    When the Federated Provinces were still the domain of the Duke of Montefronte, starting with Bard¡¯s grandfather, their family made a living by breeding horses for the House of Earl Menai, from the time of the old Earl to his grandson¡¯s inheritance of the title.


    Whenever they had time, Bard¡¯s grandfather would take his two sons to tend to the family¡¯s dozen or so acres of land. Life was tough, but there was no worry of lacking food and clothes.


    But Bard¡¯s family could never have dreamed of the outbreak of the Sovereignty War. Bard¡¯s grandfather and father didn¡¯t understand why the city folks suddenly wanted to rebel against the Emperor; after all, to them, the Emperor seemed a far and distant figure. In Bard¡¯s family¡¯s eyes, their life was calm and well-provided for, and they never imagined this way of life being disrupted.


    As the Galleon Sect began destroying monasteries everywhere, Bard¡¯s family had a faint premonition of the storm to come. Yet for three generations, as dutiful coachmen who bred horses for the Earl, there was nothing they could do but to continue feeding the Earl¡¯s horses.


    ...


    When the first revolt in Guidao City happened, and the militia took control of the city,


    Bard¡¯s family was feeding the Earl¡¯s horses, while the Earl held his troops back because he was not pro-imperial;


    When the first uprising in Guidao City was suppressed and the army of the Emperor-appointed Governor entered the city,


    Bard¡¯s family was feeding the Earl¡¯s horses, and the Earl held his troops back because he did not support the militia either;


    When the second revolt in Guidao City happened, with militia inside and outside the city collaborating to breach Guidao City and trap the Governor in the castle,


    Bard¡¯s family was feeding the Earl¡¯s horses, while the Earl continued to hold his troops back, choosing to wait and see;


    When the second suppression of Guidao City failed, and after the Battle of the Golden Saddle, the pro-imperial nobles of the Duke of Montefronte were entirely wiped out,


    Bard¡¯s family was feeding the Earl¡¯s horses, while the Earl still held back his forces, intending to observe further;


    Finally, the Emperor unleashed his fierce hound, Duke Arlian, who declared that all nobles who had survived the Battle of the Golden Saddle were traitors. He led his mountain militia through the Duke of Montefronte¡¯s domain, turning it into rivers of blood;


    Bard¡¯s family was feeding the Earl¡¯s¡­ oh, there was no need to feed the horses this time. Because all the horses had been taken by Earl Menai to war. The fence-sitting nobles of the Duke of Montefronte¡¯s domain could no longer sit idly by.


    Bard¡¯s family switched to feeding the Earl¡¯s cattle, sheep, and poultry.


    After Duke Arlian¡¯s defeat and subsequent suicide, Bard¡¯s family thought they could finally go back to feeding horses for the Earl.


    But what Bard¡¯s family did not expect was that the militia and the anti-monarchist noble army, who had fought side by side just moments ago, began to turn on each other once more.


    The knights clad in helm and plate patrolled the royal roads, executing all suspicious passersby without trial, to intercept messengers who were connecting the insurgents of various cities;


    Lone swordsmen wandered the forest paths, their longswords and matchlock guns wrapped in oiled cloth on their backs, lying in wait to assassinate any noble they could find.


    The war within the Duke¡¯s lands in front of the mountains finally ended with the victory of the militia, and no new Duke was elected. Henceforth, this land was renamed the ¡°Republic in front of the Mountains¡± (also known as The Federated Provinces Republic).


    Bard¡¯s family no longer needed to worry about when they could go back to feed horses for the Earl because the militia¡¯s blades were quicker and more ruthless than those of Duke Arling.


    There was no longer an Earl of Menai, as the entire family of the Earl of Menai had been slaughtered. The Federated Provinces Republic would no longer fall into the hands of the nobility, for there were no living nobles left in The Federated Provinces who dared to claim their titles.


    The Bard family thought it was all over: even though they could no longer feed horses for the Earl, at least they could go back and tend to their little plot of land.


    What the Bard family did not expect was Richard IV leading a campaign of all the major and minor lords of the entire Empire. And this was no longer just about The Federated Provinces Republic, the Royal Sea Blue lands, the Highland Duke¡¯s lands¡­ The whole Gulf Region was being dragged into this.


    The originally Earl of Menai¡¯s domain, now Menai Province, was once again ravaged. Crops not yet ripe were trampled and burned, and fleeing soldiers were more terrifying than bandits. In the chaos, Bard¡¯s father lost his own father, brother, sister, and all his children. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Bard family was completely bankrupt, with a small piece of land but no food. Out of desperation, Bard¡¯s father mortgaged their small plot to the Green Heart Monastery nearby, and the couple sought protection from the Monastery, becoming tenant farmers there.


    The Sovereignty Wars came to a definitive end, the Emperor withdrew his troops, and after the Gulf Alliance gained full sovereignty, the couple gave birth to Bard.


    For Bard¡¯s parents, the life of tenant farmers offered no prospects; the farmers could barely feed themselves, doomed never to save enough money to redeem their land. Thus, the only hope for Bard¡¯s parents was for Bard to become a monk at the Monastery.


    But a monk is an officially registered cleric, and Bard¡¯s parents wanted Bard to become a monk? They could wish for it, of course, but it was impossible.


    Because the Monastery would not accept a young man who had nothing. To become a monk, one must bring a contribution to the Monastery. The Monastery welcomed those ¡°brothers¡± who came with deeds and precious metals.


    From the time he could remember, Bard served as a servant in the Monastery, initially responsible for lowly jobs like cleaning toilets. He was diligent, careful in his work, and tight-lipped.


    So, he quickly escaped the lowest menial work and began to take charge of cleaning the Monastery¡¯s scriptorium and library. A kind monk taught him how to read and write in Old Language, and through an Old/Ancient Language dictionary Bard taught himself Ancient Language.


    Ever since he could read, Bard spent all his free time in the Green Heart Monastery¡¯s library. He read a vast number of ancient texts and materials preserved by the Monastery, teaching himself the Ancient Empire scholars¡¯ ¡°Mathematics,¡± ¡°Principles of Geometry,¡± and the Flemish ¡°Medicine Canon.¡±


    Meanwhile, his status within the Monastery kept rising: from cleaning the library to specializing in the cleaning of precious relics and holy vessels, and then he became the personal servant to the head of the Monastery, helping the abbot with the accounts.


    But the more Bard learned about the Monastery, the clearer it became that there was no possible way for him to become a monk, nor did he wish to spend his life as a tenant farmer or servant. By chance, Bard learned from a visitor to the Monastery about the Military Academy, and that there were no conditions for applying to the Army Officer School.


    So, at the age of 16, Bard decided to take a chance. With six small silver coins and three pieces of black bread, he left his home in Gerard Village and walked a hundred kilometers to reach Guidao City.


    Thanks to his ancestral horsemanship skills and outstanding scores in cultural subjects, Bard miraculously gained admission to the Cavalry branch of the Military Academy, and he became the only off-campus student in six years to enter the Cavalry.


    Bard and Winters met in the equine studies class (equine studies and horsemanship were two separate courses). In horsemanship, Bard wasn¡¯t as good as Winters, but when it came to caring for horses, Winters couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Bard.


    When they first met, Winters only admired Bard¡¯s skills in horse husbandry. But as they got to know each other better, Winters increasingly recognized virtues in Bard he didn¡¯t possess, such as being gentle and never losing his temper.


    Winters, lacking these qualities, unconsciously gravitated towards people who possessed them. And Winters¡¯s friendship, free from any sense of condescension, was comfortable for Bard. In time, the two became very close friends.

 Chapter 18 - 18 - 11 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 1)

    Chapter 18 ¨C 11 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 1)


    Chapter 18: Chapter 11 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 1)


    After taking over the shift, Winters and Bard carried their long halberds and patrolled along the military academy¡¯s perimeter wall. They didn¡¯t bring muskets because muskets were far too heavy compared to halberds.


    Moreover, without gunpowder and bullets, a musket was nothing but decoration. If it were up to Winters, he wouldn¡¯t even want to carry this halberd.


    The military academy was no treasure vault; the Army Officer¡¯s Military Academy could be described as extremely poor. The army¡¯s educational philosophy was always to save wherever possible, taking the saved money to establish even more schools.


    In such a place so poor that even a mouse would cry upon entering, it was also filled with strong and vigorous young men.


    Thieves had no business there, let alone ghosts who would also stay clear.


    For the school authorities, the primary purpose of night patrols was to prevent the occasional student from sneaking out after hours. But catching a couple of students trying to sneak out of the dormitory didn¡¯t require weapons. Also, having students catch their peers wasn¡¯t very reliable; Winters himself had slipped out to play multiple times while his classmates stood night watch, returning in the middle of the night. And every time, he walked out through the main gate without the need to climb over any walls.


    ...


    After ambling around for a while, night had fully fallen, and lights-out time had passed. The military academy at night had bid farewell to the daytime¡¯s hustle and bustle, and the silent school shrouded in darkness was like a wild beast lurking in the shadows. Winters often felt this way on night patrol: the academy at night wasn¡¯t an inanimate object; it was constantly breathing rhythmically.


    The nearby neighborhoods, like the military academy, had entered slumber. Only the distant port area was still awake, where they could vaguely see specks of light. That was the territory of revelers and service industry workers still seeking entertainment.


    Outside the military academy walls, close to the residential area, there were a few simple stone tables. The tables were shaded by several broad-leaf trees which provided shelter from the sun on clear days and from the rain. These stone tables were put up by the neighborhood¡¯s residents, who usually set up stalls on them to do business with officer students.


    Seeing those stone tables, Winters thought about resting for a while and suggested to Bard, pointing, ¡°Let¡¯s go sit there for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s sit for a bit. I wanted to have a smoke anyway,¡± Bard agreed, noticing that Winters didn¡¯t want to move anymore.


    The wind tonight was a bit strong, blowing from the direction of the sea onto the land. It brought a lot of moisture, and the skies above Guidao City were already obscured by clouds. The moonlight, weakened after passing through the clouds, barely improved the walkability of the path compared to a night with no moon at all.


    Winters, recalling his geography lessons, frowned and said, ¡°Looking at this wind direction and cloud cover, it might rain tomorrow.¡±


    Rain wasn¡¯t good news for someone about to embark on a journey home.


    As they sat down at the stone table, the wind blowing in from the sea dried the sweat on their bodies and took away a significant amount of their surface heat. The daytime¡¯s dry heat had disappeared, leaving a cool night.


    From his small shoulder bag, Bard pulled out an old pipe. First, he packed it with some shredded tobacco leaves, then he pressed it down, and repeated this ¡°packing and pressing¡± process two more times.


    Once Bard had finished packing the tobacco, Winters¡¯s left hand held a gesture with his thumb pressing down on his index finger and used a fire-starting spell to light the tobacco in Bard¡¯s pipe bowl. This was one of the little perks of being a friend of a spellcaster; with Winters around, Bard never had to worry about finding a light for his smoke.


    ¡°Aike was saying today how he envies me, but if he finds out that the greatest benefit of being a spellcaster is the convenience of lighting a smoke, I wonder if he¡¯d still speak enviously,¡± Winters thought to himself with a touch of self-mockery.


    In that era, a significant portion of men were either smokers or alcoholics, with many possessing both identities. In a time lacking in entertainment options, many who did not smoke or drink didn¡¯t abstain out of choice, but because they couldn¡¯t afford it.


    However, Winters neither smoked nor drank, and he refused to try any potentially addictive stimulants. This was because Antoine-Laurent believed that these addictive ¡°poisons¡± would corrode a Spellcaster¡¯s will, numb their perception, and destroy their Spellcasting abilities. Winters regarded General Antoine-Laurent as a god; he always took Antoine-Laurent¡¯s words as the absolute truth and thus resolutely avoided such things.


    Seeing Bard draw a comfortable puff of smoke and then exhale leisurely, Winters finally decided to ask a question that had been weighing on him. He asked Bard with concern, ¡°Have you found out where you¡¯re going to be assigned?¡±


    Under the dim light of the fire, Bard¡¯s expression remained unchanged, unaffected by Winters¡¯ question.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t inquire,¡± Bard answered calmly after taking a puff of his cigarette, ¡°but it¡¯s easy to guess even without asking ¨C it¡¯ll just be an overseas deployment.¡±


    After this statement, Bard continued to focus on smoking, an activity that harmed his health but which he seemingly enjoyed, appearing totally unconcerned about being sent overseas by the military.


    ¡°An overseas deployment is not such an easy matter,¡± Bard spoke casually, but his words alarmed Winters instantly.


    Yet Bard smiled at Winters as if to say ¡°it¡¯s nothing¡± and continued to quietly smoke his cigarette.


    Winters glanced at Bard, then at the nighttime cityscape of Guidao City, and finally at the sleeping school, before he sighed helplessly. Although Bard himself did not seem to pity his situation, Winters felt distressed for him.


    An overseas deployment, in the strict sense, referred to military academy graduates being sent to major and minor nodes along sea trade routes. The two closest destinations from the motherland were the Holy Rome Empire and the Freeman Empire, both of which had world-renowned capital cities where the Alliance had consulates. Serving as a military officer in the consulates of these glamorous worlds was a coveted easy job.


    However, the ¡°overseas deployment¡± that Winters and Bard referred to was obviously not such a desirable assignment; they meant deployment to places that were both further and more dangerous.


    Tomorrow, Winters would start his journey home. He would be interning for a year in his ancestral Sea Blue Republic. Next year at this time, Winters would have to return to school. Because, strictly speaking, he hadn¡¯t truly graduated yet; this year, he was just interning with the rank of Acting Ensign. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But for those assigned an overseas deployment, once they boarded the ship bound overseas, they could kiss the idea of returning home goodbye. They wouldn¡¯t even be able to attend the graduation ceremony next year, because the time spent on the round trip alone would exceed a year.


    In name, the officers dispatched to the various trade points were there to protect the Alliance¡¯s overseas interests, but oftentimes they were just commanders without soldiers. With no troops or power, they naturally had no chance of distinguishing themselves. The only ways to return home were either in a coffin or after retirement.


    To understand why Bard was targeted for overseas deployment while Winters was not, one must understand the officer assignment system of the Army Military Academy. To understand the assignment system of the Army Military Academy, one needs to start from the beginning of its establishment.


    One of the objectives of the old marshal in founding this military academy was to bridge the gaps between the member states of the Alliance Country, especially the divisions between their militaries.


    Because the Alliance Country is not strictly a ¡°nation¡± but an ¡°alliance,¡± its full name is the Senas Republic Alliance. The political environment of the Alliance could be described with the classic saying of former Alliance Country State Secretary Humphrey: ¡°Nation? Are we even a (expletive) nation? Aren¡¯t we just five primitive tribes with mutual animosity?¡±

 Chapter 19 - 19 - 12 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 2)

    Chapter 19 ¨C 12 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 2)


    Chapter 19: Chapter 12 Graduation package distribution, is there such a good thing? (Part 2)


    ¡°`


    Indeed, as he said, the Alliance government had no real authority to speak of. The five member states within the Alliance governed themselves, each possessing independent personnel authority, their own fiscal budgets, and armies. The only major power they delegated to the official Alliance was foreign affairs, along with a few inconsequential privileges such as the ¡°right to decide the Alliance¡¯s national anthem¡± and the ¡°right to decide the Alliance¡¯s flag.¡±


    The various departments of the Alliance government sounded impressive, with names like the Alliance Army Committee, the Alliance Finance Committee, and the Alliance Judiciary Committee. But, in reality, they were nothing more than figureheads, completely decorative.


    This fragmented state of the Alliance began the moment the United Provincials started their rebellion. Starting with the Guidao City riots thirty-odd years ago which set off the Sovereignty Wars, all the way to the end of the Emperor¡¯s retreat from war twenty-six years ago, no Anti-Emperor factional military in the Gulf Region wanted to be led by another.


    The United Provincials¡¯ militia would not accept command from Sea Blue opportunists, and the Sea Blue militia would not accept orders from the United Provincials¡¯ yokels. While the Anti-Emperor factional nobles were keen on usurping power every day, aiming to take command over all the military forces, they had no attention from the militia.


    The various Anti-Emperor factional forces were mostly independent of one another, fighting their own battles most of the time. In the end, under the military pressure of the Emperor and the charismatic appeal of the old marshal, they were forged into a single army under the command of the old marshal to fight the Emperor.


    ...


    As soon as the fighting was over, everybody disbanded. Armies from the Federated Provinces Republic, Sea Blue Republic, and Highland Republic went home and transformed into the regular armies of their respective states. The newly established Monta Republic and Van Republic, which were carved from the Empire during the Sovereignty Wars, also created independent army departments.


    The old marshal was acutely aware of the dangers that such army allegiances to the member states posed to the internal peace of the Alliance, but he was powerless to change the reality of the member states harboring their own agendas. Thus, the old marshal believed that if it was not possible to unite the armies of the member states at present, the only hope lay in the future.


    It was important to facilitate communication and understanding among the military factions of the member states; lack of communication could lead to misunderstandings, and misunderstandings could lead to bloodshed. Most importantly, it was crucial to cultivate the youth, to ensure that the younger generation of military officers from the member states would not view each other with the same hostility as their predecessors, and to foster friendships among them. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When these young people became the mainstays and leaders of the armed forces in their respective member states, the differences would naturally be bridged, and the integration of the member states¡¯ armies would seamlessly occur.


    Thus, the old marshal voluntarily resigned from his military position to focus on establishing the Army Officer Academy. The management rights of the academy were nominally tethered to the defunct head offices of the Provincial Army, with the old marshal serving personally as the first principal, ensuring impartiality. This prevented any bias toward the Federated Provinces Republic just because the school was located in Guidao City.


    His original plan was for the five member states to each take 10 cadets per year per field of study, totaling 150 cadets per level, who would be randomly assigned to the armies of the various member states upon graduation.


    This move of ¡°mixing sand¡± faced strong resistance from the armies of the member states. The Sea Blue military was the first to stand in opposition; they adamantly refused to send their best prospects to other member states and rejected officers from other member states joining the Sea Blue military. On this point, the militaries of the member states rarely found consensus.


    With no other choice, the old marshal had to put aside the concept of ¡°having a bit of you in me, and a bit of me in you¡± for the time being, only retaining a clause in the school¡¯s constitution that stated, ¡°When conditions permit, the graduates¡¯ post-graduation placements should be reasonably allocated without discrimination based on their origin,¡± with the hope that one day the member states could amicably apply this provision.


    Therefore, the graduates of the Army Officer Academy returned to where they came from. For example, students from the Sea Blue Republic, like Winters, would return to serve in the Sea Blue Army after graduation.


    This was the old marshal¡¯s plan, and though it did not seem very effective, at least today, twenty-six years later, the armies of the member states were still acting independently.


    Nonetheless, it did have some effect. The officer cadets were indoctrinated with the ideology of greater Alliance unity for several years. Even if they did not support it, at the very least, they were sympathetic toward it. Take Winters as an example; he was an advocate for the ideology of greater Alliance unity, albeit more in spirit than in practice.


    ¡°`


    But still, as the saying goes, plans cannot keep up with changes, and the situation shifted after the old marshal stepped down. The Alliance¡¯s influence stretched beyond the ocean, and they began to possess more overseas interests.


    Overseas trade points needed protection, and the military required reliable representatives abroad, so an overseas deployment option was added to the list of possible assignments for graduates.


    At this time, the fixed number of 150 cadets each year was definitely not enough, and no member state¡¯s military would accept their children being sent overseas. Therefore, the Military Academy expanded its enrollment, increasing each subject¡¯s intake by 5 to 10 additional cadets, bringing Winters¡¯ class to 172 cadets.


    By then, actual control of the Military Academy had fallen into the hands of the Army Department of the United Provincials. Naturally, the United Provincials military was not as fair and impartial as the old marshal, so all the expanded enrollment spots were filled by cadets from the United Provincials.


    The United Provincials military also used the expansion as a pretext to change the graduate allocation policy. Each member state still sent 30 cadets yearly, but when it was time to return, there would be 32 or 33. The United Provincials took this opportunity to mix their own into the armies of the other member states.


    Clearly, cadets from the United Provincials would not receive favorable treatment in other member states. But compared to overseas deployment, going to another member state was still an excellent destination.


    At least going to another member state meant staying within the Alliance¡¯s territory; but an overseas posting was standing to sail out and lying to return. In this era, when even a fever or cold could claim lives, traveling to a land rife with unfamiliar epidemics was a high-risk endeavor.


    Therefore, when the practicum season arrived, the concern that occupied the cadets from the United Provincials the most was where they would be assigned¡ªback to the United Provincials¡¯ homeland, to another member state, or to an overseas deployment?


    Cadets from the member states had no worries, since they would return to where they came from;


    Nor did cadets from the United Provincials with deep family connections worry, for their elders would never let them be sent to a member state or overseas;


    But the unprivileged commoner cadets from the United Provincials had to seek connections and beg at every door just to stay in the United Provincials¡¯ homeland. If not, going to a member state was acceptable. Absolutely not overseas, for that would be a road to certain death.


    Bard¡¯s parents were tenant farmers, and they were of no help in this decision that would determine his life¡¯s path. Winters wrote to his own uncle without telling Bard. Winters¡¯ uncle served in the Sea Blue military, and Winters hoped he could help.


    But how could the Sea Blue military intervene when the Provincial Army was allocating its own cadets? Winters¡¯ uncle replied, telling Winters that given the current relationship between the Provincial Army and the Sea Blue military, if he asked for somebody, the Provincial Army would not hesitate to send Bard overseas instead.


    Therefore, regarding this matter, Bard could only wait for others to decide his fate, and Winters could only stand by, watching anxiously.


    Graduation assignments were not all good news, after all.

 Chapter 20 - 20 - 13 Sudden Incident (Part 1)

    Chapter 20 ¨C 13 Sudden Incident (Part 1)


    Chapter 20: Chapter 13 Sudden Incident (Part 1)


    ¡°With your excellent scores in the cultural classes, you shouldn¡¯t be sent overseas,¡± Winters persisted, still harboring a sliver of hope that Bard would stay in the homeland.


    ¡°I applied for an overseas dispatch myself,¡± Bard said calmly, delivering a sentence that shocked Winters.


    ¡°What!¡± Winters stood up startled, looking down at Bard, not understanding why he would choose to walk into the jaws of death, and all the words in his heart culminated into one: ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, being sent overseas isn¡¯t as bad as you think,¡± Bard, pulling Winters by his clothes to sit him down, said, ¡°Sit down, and let me explain it to you slowly.¡±


    ¡°You know the situation of my family,¡± Bard began, speaking unhurriedly from the perspective of his family background.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters nodded, aware that this was a sensitive topic. He knew that both of Bard¡¯s parents were tenant farmers at the Monastery.


    ... S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°My parents are tenant farmers, and they are both hardworking and devout people, I am proud of them,¡± Bard said, his tone soft yet solemn.


    ¡°I know,¡± Winters nodded again, believing that a person¡¯s worth shouldn¡¯t be judged by the volume of their wealth.


    ¡°So, while others were going around giving gifts and pleading for favors, I didn¡¯t. Not because I didn¡¯t want to but because I didn¡¯t have the money to grease the wheels and make connections,¡± Bard stated his reality with a calm that bordered on cruelty.


    In his tone, there was no resentment, ¡°Not having money isn¡¯t my parents¡¯ fault; giving gifts with money isn¡¯t others¡¯ fault either. That¡¯s the reality of this world¡ªI may not be satisfied, but I can only accept it. So, my going overseas was an inevitable outcome.¡±


    ¡°But even if you can¡¯t stay in The Federated Provinces, you could still have a good chance of going to an affiliated country. Assignments don¡¯t just depend on money!¡± Winters still couldn¡¯t accept that Bard had abandoned hope and applied for overseas dispatch on his own.


    ¡°I¡¯m not so outstanding that I can ignore the influence of money, nor am I a Spellcaster,¡± Bard continued to reveal his wounds, ¡°In fact, even those who have spent money to work the system have many who are still assigned overseas. What about me? There always has to be a group sent overseas.¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t give up hope! There¡¯s always a chance; you can¡¯t just resign yourself to fate!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t deny Bard¡¯s harsh truth but believed there was still a chance and one should not give up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not resigning myself to fate, I am actually fighting against it. Ever since I walked out of the Monastery, I¡¯ve been battling fate, and this time I don¡¯t want to wait for others to decide my fate,¡± Bard said decisively, ¡°I don¡¯t have the freedom not to go overseas, I accept that. But at the very least, I want to have the freedom to choose where overseas.¡±


    ¡°After all, there are various destinations for overseas dispatch,¡± Bard added with a faint smile, returning to his measured pace, ¡°If I cling to a slim hope, in the end, I would only be sent to the worst place overseas. By actively applying to go, at least I still have a choice.¡±


    Under the faint light of the moon and the Ignition Spell in his pipe, Bard¡¯s expression was calm and resolute. Winters knew Bard had his reasons for applying for overseas dispatch, but he now felt those reasons were too cruel.


    Yet Winters had to admit that Bard was right; his decision was the best solution in the worst situation. But his chest felt tight, filled with frustration, suffocation, and a sense of powerlessness.


    Winters collapsed onto the stone table, the multitude of words that had reached his lips swallowed back down. Was there any point in cursing those officers who accepted bribes? Was it useful to berate those classmates who gave gifts and pleaded? In the end, Bard was still going overseas, and Winters could only let out a long, powerless sigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel sorry for me. Being able to go from a servant at the Monastery to a cadet at the Military Academy, I¡¯m already more than satisfied,¡± Bard described his future life as an overseas military officer with an upbeat and pleasant tone, ¡°Going overseas is a good thing. I¡¯ve heard that the salary for overseas dispatch is three times what it is at home. Staying here, I can¡¯t even afford a uniform, but overseas, I reckon I¡¯ll quickly save up a bit of money to help my parents redeem their land.¡±


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Winters yelled into the night sky, waking several guard dogs in the nearby houses. Bard¡¯s optimism only made him feel sadder. It was true that overseas dispatch-paid well, but it was money earned in exchange for risking one¡¯s life.


    Bard patted Winters on the leg, signaling that he understood everything, and the two fell back into silence. The only sounds were the chirping of insects, the barking of dogs, and the sputtering of Bard¡¯s smoking.


    After a little while, footsteps suddenly approached from nearby, and a teasing voice reached the ears of Winters and Bard.


    ¡°Well, look at you two, hiding here and smoking instead of patrolling the night watch. Were you the ones howling just now?¡±


    Out of the darkness, two students wielding long halberds emerged, one after the other, the one in front muttering as he walked, ¡°Why the hell were you two howling in the dead of night? Come on, give me a light¡­¡±


    They were two second-year students on night duty at another gate, who had heard Winters¡¯ earlier shout during their patrol and came over to see what was going on, hoping to get a light for their smokes.


    When they got up close to Winters and Bard, they noticed the three stripes on the sleeve of Bard¡¯s summer uniform and realized the two men hiding here smoking were their seniors.


    The military academy¡¯s structure is a mimicry of the army¡¯s structure, and the army¡¯s hierarchy is also the academy¡¯s. Realizing they had run into their seniors, the two second-year students quickly apologized, ¡°Sorry, squad leader. We didn¡¯t know you were on patrol.¡±


    Winters was in a bad mood and could not be bothered with them.


    But Bard, ever generous, waved them over. He didn¡¯t give them a dressing down, and even tried to help them light their smokes. However, Bard¡¯s cigarette was almost finished, and he couldn¡¯t get the tobacco in their pipes to catch.


    With a long sigh, Winters reluctantly took the pipes from Bard¡¯s hands and used the Ignition Spell to light the shredded tobacco inside their bowls. He was adept at this, but the two juniors had probably never in their lives had a Spellcaster use magic to light their cigarettes for them, and their eyes were wide with amazement.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Winters said irritably as he shoved the pipes back into the hands of the juniors. Thankful, they scampered away hastily.


    The two of them were also wondering what had gotten into the two third-year squad leaders, not resting in the duty room and instead wandering about on patrol.


    After the juniors had left, Bard also stood up and straightened his clothes. Feeling he had rested enough, he said to Winters, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we should make a few more rounds, so the juniors won¡¯t laugh at us for doing nothing but skiving off.¡±


    Winters lay on the stone table, legs dangling idly in the air. He was in no mood for patrolling, so he said to Bard, ¡°Let¡¯s sit for a while longer, and then head back to the duty room to sleep. It¡¯s our last night, no more patrols.¡±


    ¡°You rest here for a while longer,¡± Bard said, knowing better than to press Winters. He wanted to have one last look at the school, ¡°Last duty shift, won¡¯t get another chance to come back to the academy for night watch. I¡¯ll take another few rounds and come back for you later.¡±


    With that, Bard, carrying his long halberd, walked away. Bard¡¯s footsteps grew more distant, and Winters said nothing. He was deeply affected because Bard would soon be dispatched overseas. He was now coming to grips with the possibility that he might never again see his good friend Bard after tomorrow.


    He lay back on the stone table, listening to the sounds of the insects around him, his mind feeling empty.


    After a while, the sound of footsteps returned. Hearing Bard had come back, Winters felt it pointless to lie there, thinking he might as well join Bard for another couple of rounds around the academy.


    So he straightened up and sat on the stone table, smiling and about to speak to Bard¡­ Wait! The person approaching wasn¡¯t Bard!

 Chapter 21 - 21 - 14 Sudden Incident (Part 2)

    Chapter 21 ¨C 14 Sudden Incident (Part 2)


    Chapter 21: Chapter 14 Sudden Incident (Part 2)


    The approaching figure was dressed in the military academy¡¯s summer uniform, but this person was slim and of a different build compared to Bard. Winters recognized at a glance that this was not Bard. Moreover, this person was not carrying weapons like halberds, indicating they were not a student on night duty.


    Caught someone sneaking out of bed! Winters couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It was such a coincidence that the patrolling person hadn¡¯t caught the student breaking curfew, but he, the one playing hooky, had caught one.


    The person Winters stopped was also stunned; they had chosen to run from this spot only after seeing the patrol walk away. Little did they expect that half of a body would suddenly sit up from the dark stone table at the side of the road, almost like encountering a ghost.


    ¡°You! What grade are you in?!¡± Winters¡¯s belly was on fire, his tone extremely harsh.


    Unexpectedly, the person across him who wanted to sneak out didn¡¯t respond at all. They ducked and ran past Winters, heading straight for the residential area.


    Winters was momentarily too shocked to react; it took him a moment to realize the little rascal had actually run away.


    ...


    Caught sneaking out by the squad leader, and instead of properly admitting their error and begging for mercy, they dared to run away?!


    This ignited Winters¡¯s fury so much that he chased after them, cursing as he ran, ¡°What the hell are you running for? Do you think you can escape?¡±


    Winters, being taller and more agile, had the edge in this footrace. Despite the head start the curfew breaker gained, they couldn¡¯t outrun Winters. Barely thirty meters in, Winters had caught up to them.


    ¡°Can you outrun the monks, let alone the Monastery?¡± Winters bellowed, grabbed the person¡¯s shoulder from behind, and with a strong pull, brought them to the ground.


    But it wasn¡¯t until he grabbed the person¡¯s shoulder that Winters realized something was off: this person wore a hooded cloak over their face, had slim and soft shoulders, was too light to be a man, and fell over with just a tug¡­ No! This was a woman! There are no female students at the military school! She was a thief!


    The female thief grunted from the rough fall caused by Winters¡¯s tug. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While it was a thief he had thrown to the ground, Winters still felt a pang of guilt for knocking over a woman.


    But in the next instant, the female thief got up swiftly, silent as a shadow, drawing a dagger that glittered with the cold light. She gave Winters no time to react, pouncing on him like a leopard, aiming the dagger straight at his chest.


    Although Winters had the advantages of height, weight, and strength, he was taken completely by surprise by this woman.


    Winters was utterly shocked that this woman would attempt to kill him without a word, dagger aimed straight for his heart. Astonished, he thought: Was tossing you over really a reason for a deadly attack?


    The instincts honed from years of practicing swordsmanship saved Winters. Subconsciously, he swung his right arm and deflected the dagger, which missed his chest but left a deep cut on the outside of his right upper arm.


    Immediately after, the woman¡¯s shoulder slammed hard against Winters¡¯s chest, knocking him off balance and to the ground. But the relentless woman pressed her full weight onto the dagger, stabbing violently towards Winters¡¯s neck.


    Ignoring the intense pain from the knife wound on his right arm, Winters crossed his hands and clamped onto the woman¡¯s arms. This was the preliminary move of a grappling technique, setting him up to twist the dagger away.


    But Winters was merely acting on instinct, forgetting all techniques in his desperation, only blindly pushing the woman away with brute force.


    However, in the moment of standoff between the two, Winters had a flash of inspiration, recalling what Aike had said during the day: ¡°If you can use magic to singe off arm hair, then you can also use magic to ignite hair.¡±


    So without even the time to perform the casting gesture, he went straight into casting mode. Enduring the intense pressure and stinging pain, he poured all his might into the Ignition Spell, channeling his magical energy into the exposed hair of the woman sitting astride him.


    First came smoke, then a spark of flame, and then the woman¡¯s hair burst into fire from Winters¡¯s magical Ignition Spell, her hood following suit, her head ablaze like a torch.


    The female assassin hadn¡¯t realized her hair was alight until after the initial spark lasted for more than a second; only then did she smell the burning scent and feel the sharp pain of the flames searing her skin.


    The woman, who had been silent and straight for Winters¡¯s life a second earlier, now screamed and leapt off him, whipping off her hood and frantically batting at her burning hair.


    With the immediate threat to his life subsided, Winters couldn¡¯t yet focus on pursuing this murderous woman. He struggled to his feet, fumbling for the whistle issued to students on night patrol, and blew it with all the air in his cheeks.


    It was not the sentry¡¯s duty to eliminate invaders, but to signal an alert to comrades in time.


    The piercing whistle shattered the silence of the night; with it, Winters notified Bard and the other students on duty about the situation, hoping they would come to his aid quickly. Despite his opponent being a woman with far less strength and weight, her deadly and ruthless tactics still unnerved him.


    This woman struck to kill without blinking, attacking with no hint of hesitation. Facing such a ruthless killer unarmed, Winters truly felt uneasy.


    The woman, hearing the whistles, ran into the alley of the residential area without fully extinguishing the flames on her head. Winters followed closely behind, only to find the woman flinging her dagger at him as she turned her head.


    Winters quickly dodged; the dagger just missed him by the width of a finger. He had narrowly avoided having another gash to bleed from.


    Winters continued the chase, but after a few steps, severe pain shot through the sole of his foot as if something sharp had pierced it.


    Unable to continue running, Winters, gasping for breath, fumbled to pull a metal object from the sole of his shoe and only then realized what had happened when he saw it up close.


    It turned out the woman had scattered metal caltrops along the way at some point, and he had stepped on one, causing his foot to be injured.


    After several setbacks, Winters was now close to madness due to this troublesome woman.


    When he looked up again, the woman with flames in her hair had disappeared into the pitch-black alley.


    The residential area¡¯s alleys were not the result of planned design but merely gaps left when the houses were built, twisting and turning, extending in all directions.


    Winters knew that once the woman entered the alleys, there was no chance of catching her. He also worried about walking into an ambush by her, so he had no choice but to give up the pursuit.


    A random thought crossed his mind: This woman is utterly immoral. Didn¡¯t she realize that the nearby residents might also step on these when they pass by here tomorrow?


    He didn¡¯t understand why he was even concerned about the living quality of the nearby residents, as their plight could not be worse than his current situation.


    Realizing he could no longer catch the female thief, he turned around and started walking back. After the short yet intense struggle for life, a sudden fear crept into his heart.


    No one faces death without fear, and had his luck or reflexes been a fraction slower, he might well have been lying on the ground, waiting for death.


    Winters could never have imagined that a night shift could nearly result in a fatality¡ªwith him as the victim.


    All of a sudden, Winters felt his right hand wet; under the moonlight, he saw it was smeared with a black liquid. Only then did he realize it was blood.


    The thief had left him injured from the first round when she pulled out her dagger. His right arm had a deep wound, and the right sleeve of his summer uniform was soaked with blood.


    As the adrenaline effect wore off, fatigue and the sharp pain from the wound on his right arm intensified their assault on Winters. With nothing on hand to treat the wound, he clenched his left fist and tucked it under the armpit of his right arm, hoping to stanch the bleeding somewhat.


    As he was walking, Winters noticed the reflection of metal on the ground¡ªit was the dagger. He picked it up, thinking, ¡°This is a war trophy that cost me dearly; I should keep it as a memento.¡±


    Beside the dagger was a small square package the size of a palm. Winters picked it up too. The fabric on the outside of the package felt like silk, indicating it was not mere garbage but something the woman dropped while trying to put out the fire in her hair. Winters stuffed the dagger and the small package into his bag and continued toward the stone table where he and Bard had been resting.


    The sound of heavy running approached; it was Bard running over. Bard was shocked to see Winters covered in sweat, his left hand under his right armpit, and his right arm completely drenched in blood.


    ¡°I heard the whistle¡­ What happened?¡± Bard hadn¡¯t expected bloodshed so soon after he had left.


    ¡°There was a thief,¡± Winters felt slightly dizzy, probably from blood loss, ¡°she came from the school side, armed with a dagger, and a woman at that. I set her hair on fire, and then she ran away.¡±


    ¡°What? A female thief? Where did she come from?¡± Overwhelmed by the flood of information, Bard spoke with a sense of helplessness, ¡°Never mind the thief for now, you need to tend to your arm. Which way did she run?¡±


    With his hands otherwise occupied, Winters could only point with his head.


    ¡°Are you sure it was the thief¡¯s hair you set alight?¡± Bard asked, looking toward the direction the thief had escaped.


    ¡°Unless the hair growing on her head isn¡¯t actually hair,¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand why Bard would ask such a foolish question.


    But immediately, he too was stunned.


    The sky was now stained red with flames.

 Chapter 22 - 22 - 15 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 1)

    Chapter 22 ¨C 15 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 1)


    Chapter 22: Chapter 15 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 1)


    ¡°This really wasn¡¯t me!¡± Winters felt that he had been wronged beyond measure, trudging through the darkness with uneven steps, ¡°Damn! I really only burned the thief¡¯s hair!¡±


    ¡°I know, I know, this definitely wasn¡¯t your doing. The fire started far from here,¡± said Bard, who was carrying two long halberds and leading the way, calmly deflecting the blame for Winters.


    ¡°This is cursed luck!¡± Winters¡¯s entire day had been nothing but misfortune, struck by a bolt from the blue by Aike during the day and targeted by a female thief at night, leaving him with injuries on his left shoulder, right arm, and feet.


    The two hurried back to their duty post at the north gate, where the junior students on guard duty had already heard the whistle and seen the strange occurrence in the sky. They thought it was the patrolling guards blowing the whistle after spotting a fire, and the instructor on night duty had been awakened and was anxiously waiting at the entrance.


    So when they saw Winters return with a bloody arm, they were all shocked.


    ¡°What happened here? Why are you covered in blood?¡± the duty instructor asked in confusion.


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    ¡°There was a thief. Caught her coming out from the school direction. A knife was involved, and she escaped,¡± recounted Winters, having arranged his words on the way back.


    He decided it was wiser to keep quiet about anything related to ¡°fire¡± and not to mention a woman. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, and the need for further explanations.


    ¡°Who dares to wreak havoc on our Military Academy¡¯s ground?¡± The instructor, upon hearing about a thief daring to infiltrate the military academy, was furious.


    Winters thought to himself: Indeed, she has a death wish, and my life was almost lost too.


    However, the thief was long gone, and for the moment, no one could do anything about her. The priority was clearly to treat the wound on Winters¡¯s arm and figure out exactly where the fire was.


    The night-duty instructor immediately took Winters to the faculty duty office. The instructor tried to light a match with flint and steel, but failed several times. Winters sighed inwardly, then used an Ignition Spell to light the oil lamp, and the instructor realized that Winters was a Spellcaster.


    Even with the oil lamp, the light was too dim, so the instructor asked Winters¡¯s juniors to bring a few more oil lamps. At this moment, Winters remembered the dagger from the female thief; as long as it wasn¡¯t rusty, the dagger could be used as a casting material for the Luminosity Spell.


    So Winters pulled out the dagger, using the same casting gesture for the Ignition Spell, he used Tesla¡¯s Luminosity Spell. Magic poured into the surface of the dagger, the metal, infused with magical power, released it in the form of visible light, and the room was immediately illuminated.


    The instructor took advantage of the light to find a pair of small scissors, and swiftly cut the sleeve off Winters¡¯s summer uniform. The blood on Winters¡¯s arm had coagulated, sticking the fabric tightly to the wound.


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to grit your teeth and bear it,¡± the instructor said in a low voice. ¡°This must be torn off, it can¡¯t stay on the wound. Otherwise, your wound will get infected, and you¡¯ll die of a fever.¡±


    Over a decade of Sovereignty Wars had provided the military with extensive experience in dealing with sharp weapon injuries, eventually becoming part of the curriculum in health classes. Instructors at the military school certainly came from a military background, and everyone in the room knew that the fabric must not stick to the wound.


    Winters nodded. The instructor didn¡¯t waste words and, with a stern heart and a forceful pull, tore the fabric stuck to the wound. The pain made Winters gasp for air, and the wound that had stopped bleeding began to bleed anew.


    At that moment, the sound of hooves approached from afar, quickly stopping outside the faculty duty office. A student pushed open the door: ¡°Report! The horses have been brought.¡±


    The students on guard at the entrance had spotted the anomaly in the sky earlier and immediately woke the instructor sleeping in the duty office. The instructor immediately judged that it was a fire at the port and, accompanied by a student, ran along the main road toward the fire to ascertain the situation.


    As he ran, the instructor realized he had made a foolish mistake, the burning location was clearly a good distance from the school, how soon could he get there just by running? So the two of them ran back and dispatched a cavalry student from the school to lead two horses from the stables.


    As the instructor paced back and forth like an ant on a hot pan at the school gate, waiting for the horses to be brought over, Winters and Bard returned to the north gate.


    The instructor paid no attention to the student bringing the horses, he first carefully examined the piece of cloth ripped from Winters¡¯s body under the glow of the Luminosity Spell, and then scrutinized Winters¡¯s wounds. At that moment, Winters no longer had the strength to maintain the Luminosity Spell, and the dagger dimmed, leaving only the oil lamp as the room¡¯s source of light.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, it hasn¡¯t hit the bone. The weapon that caused the wound is very sharp, no shredded fabric has been embedded in the wound. The cut is also very clean; it will heal quickly. If there were a Divine Arts user here, he wouldn¡¯t even scar,¡± the instructor confidently deduced, immediately instructing the other students, ¡°Find some clean water, dissolve some salt in it, and wash his wound, don¡¯t wrap it up.¡±


    The instructor then tore off a long strip of cloth from the bedsheet, wrapped it around Winters¡¯s neck and right hand, tied a knot to form a sling similar to what one would use for a broken arm, and advised Winters, ¡°Don¡¯t move your right arm at random, minimize disturbing the wound so it can heal quickly.¡±


    After treating Winters¡¯s knife wound, the instructor hurried off with a student on horseback to investigate the fire at the port area.


    After the instructor left, Bard quickly arranged for saltwater to clean Winters¡¯s wound, but he also ran into trouble, where to find clean water and salt at this late hour? It seemed only the kitchen would have both these things, so he hurriedly ran out to the canteen to get the saltwater.


    In the room, only Winters and three junior students remained, Winters didn¡¯t recognize these three, and they didn¡¯t know Winters, all gaping at one another.


    ¡°Go to the student duty room,¡± Winters decided to move to another room, they couldn¡¯t stay in the staff duty room.


    ¡°Squad leader, who would be so vicious?¡± A lower-grade officer cadet carefully examined Winters¡¯s wound and said in horror, ¡°Need to use a knife for stealing something? Besides, what is there to steal in the school?¡±


    ¡°I thought it was someone running from bed duty,¡± Winters said with a bitter smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to come at me with a knife.¡±


    ¡°Did you see what she looked like?¡±


    ¡°She was masked, I didn¡¯t see, but I¡¯m certain it was a woman.¡±


    ¡°A woman?!¡± The three juniors were dumbstruck, in their military academy life they rarely encountered other females apart from the kitchen maids and laundry women, let alone a female thief.


    The three juniors exchanged glances and unanimously thought to themselves that this senior must be so desperately hungry for the opposite sex that he imagines every person to be a woman.


    ¡°It really was a female thief, [expletive]!¡± Winters spotted what these little brats were thinking immediately; a female thief indeed sounded like some kind of fantasy, but he was certain that the person who had charged at him with a dagger was definitely a woman.


    He now regretted mentioning to these three brats that the thief was a woman, their attention had been utterly diverted by the word ¡°female.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice anything unusual just now?¡± Winters asked the juniors what they knew.


    ¡°No, I was on my post the whole time. Same as always, didn¡¯t hear any strange sounds or see anything odd,¡± one lower-grade officer cadet shook his head.

 Chapter 23 - 23 - 16 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 2)

    Chapter 23 ¨C 16 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 2)


    Chapter 23: Chapter 16 Awakening the Sleeping Tiger (Part 2)


    The military academy¡¯s surrounding wall was built with bricks, and to save money, it was not even 1.7 meters tall. Winters believed that the female thief must have climbed over the wall. Now that the person had fled, the whole school could only check their belongings to see what was missing in order to know what the thief had taken.


    ¡°Where is everyone! [Expletive]! Where are the guards!¡± A roar came from outside the building.


    Damn it, Winters¡¯s heart skipped a beat, preoccupied with chatting inside, he had forgotten his duty to stand guard. The four cadets hurriedly ran out of the duty office.


    A senior officer riding a chestnut horse dismounted and without a word, lashed the four cadets with a whip, cursing furiously, ¡°Not even [Expletive] standing guard?¡±


    ¡°Report! North gate nighttime guard duty! Six should be present! Only four are present!¡± Winters, confused as to why he had been whipped, felt a burning pain on the spot where he had been struck and a surge of anger welled in his heart.


    But he knew the military academy was no different from the army, and this was definitely not the time to talk back. The lighting was poor, and Winters couldn¡¯t make out who the person was, but the uniform made it clear that it was a senior officer of at least the rank of lieutenant colonel.


    ...


    ¡°Where is the duty officer?¡± the senior officer demanded sternly.


    ¡°Report! Went to investigate the location of the fire!¡± It wasn¡¯t until this moment that Winters could finally see clearly the officer before him.


    He had a face with sword-like eyebrows and piercing eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips; he was the head of the academy, effectively the second in command of the Provincial Army¡¯s Officer College, and the actual individual in charge.


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t there a report about the fire situation!¡± the head of the academy¡¯s anger did not subside.


    ¡°Report! I didn¡¯t know!¡± Winters retorted loudly, discharging his frustration, and indeed he had no idea about it.


    Most of those living in the school were low-level teaching staff with ranks below lieutenant colonel, residing in officer dormitories. Although individual residences were prepared for school officers and higher-ranking military officers, senior officers generally opted to find their own property outside the school. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The reason the instructor on duty tonight with Winters had not reported wasn¡¯t for lack of wanting to, but because he really didn¡¯t know which school leader was staying at the school tonight; he had thought to clarify the situation before making a report.


    ¡°Ring the assembly bell! Emergency assembly! Get everyone up! Have all personnel form up at the north gate training ground!¡± The head of the academy didn¡¯t continue to make things difficult for the four cadets, and immediately issued orders to them.


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Winters and the others accepted the orders and immediately ran to ring the assembly bell.


    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± the head of the academy stopped Winters with his riding crop as he was about to walk away: ¡°What happened to your arm?¡±


    ¡°Report! There was a thief! The thief wielded a knife! I repelled her!¡± Winters replied succinctly, using his most concise language to describe what had happened.


    Facing the infuriated head of the academy, Winters did not dare to say ¡°the thief ran out from the school, I did not stop her, and let her escape,¡± but he also believed he had not lied.


    ¡°Which daredevil dares to run wild on Provincial Army territory!¡± The head of the academy became furiously enraged, his reaction identical to that of the duty instructor: ¡°Come see me tomorrow, give me a detailed report.¡±


    ¡°Dong dong dong dong¡±¡ªthe assembly bell was rung ferociously, and immediately afterwards, the piercing whistles of the nighttime guard cadets sounded. Like a beast awakened from its sleep, the Provincial Army¡¯s Officer College, in slumber, was roused by the assembly bell.


    The nighttime quietude was replaced by chaos, as cadets awakened in their dormitories jumped from their bunks, grabbed their clothing, and quickly pulled it on. With no gear needed to carry along, they hastily made for the door once dressed.


    Outside, someone shouted, ¡°Assemble at the north gate training ground! Assemble at the north gate training ground!¡± These were the nighttime guard cadets who had received orders from the head of the academy.


    In an era without portable fire-starters, the military school¡¯s emergency nighttime assemblies had no time to light lamps. Everything had to be carried out in the dark, as cadets navigated their way to the north gate training ground guided by the faint glimmers of moonlight.


    The crowd moved silently yet in a disciplined fashion, packed together like a school of sardines in the sea, creating a strange yet orderly aesthetic.


    The cadets who rapidly emerged from all dormitories quickly joined the ranks at the north gate training ground. Point leaders formed the head of the line, while others swiftly found their places in the formation.


    Winters had also run back to the formation by now, startling Aike with the wound on his shoulder. However, since idle chatter was not permitted within the military ranks, the two could only communicate with their eyes. Each district¡¯s teams began to count off and report in sequence.


    The instructors came over from the stables, riding horses as they patrolled around the cadets¡¯ square formations. Spellcasters among the instructors brought over a pile of torches from the armory, igniting them with a fire spell before distributing them to various instructors.


    Only then was the entire north gate drill field illuminated by the light of the flames. The cadets stood in well-ordered squares, waiting for orders.


    The Head of the Department, mounted on his beloved horse at the forefront of the parade ground, watched the Provincial Army Military Academy cadets assemble in an orderly fashion amidst the darkness, and with an imperceptible nod of his head, showed no emotion.


    ¡°First-year corps, 174 expected, 174 present!¡±


    ¡°Second-year corps, 175 expected, 173 present!¡±


    ¡°Third-year corps, 172 expected, 172 present!¡±


    ¡°Report to the Head of the Department! Cadet battalion! 521 expected, 519 present! Reporting complete.¡±


    ¡°Attention, everyone!¡± The Head of the Department¡¯s deafening voice echoed through the entire school, evidently using an amplification spell, ¡°Three minutes! Take all your tools! Depart to fight the fire! Dismissed!¡±


    The academy¡¯s formations swiftly disbanded, and Winters hurried to the armory to grab tools. However, he was somewhat puzzled; a fire is just a fire, what does a fire in the residential area have to do with the military academy, and it can¡¯t burn all the way here to the military academy.


    The duty officers who had gone ahead to scout the fire situation also returned at this time, quickly reporting to the Head of the Department.


    After hearing the report, the Head of the Department immediately sent messengers to inform other senior officers of the military academy and the Provincial Army, and at the same time, summoned aid from two infantry battalions of the Provincial Army stationed outside Guidao City.


    The cadets quickly returned and once again formed into neat and uniform squares, only this time each person was equipped with an assortment of tools.


    Without a word, the Head of the Department gave a grand wave, and the entire military academy cadets advanced in six columns along the main road towards the port area of Guidao City.


    ¡°What happened?!¡± It was not until the formation set off that Aike found a chance to ask Winters.


    ¡°Ran into a thief, got stabbed,¡± Winters summarized the whole affair as succinctly as possible.


    ¡°What kind of thief would use a knife?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Are you alright?¡±


    ¡°Just a flesh wound.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± An instructor patrolling on horseback alongside the column of cadets barked at Winters and Aike to stop their whispering, and the two dared not speak anymore, quietly following the column.


    They marched through the outermost circle of run-down slums, past the ruins of the demolished old city wall, past the tanners¡¯ workshops reeking with an awful stench, past the disorderly residential houses in the port area, until finally, they arrived at the site of the fire.


    It was not until then that Winters understood why the military academy had to come out in full force to fight a fire in the residential area.


    Because the first armament factory of the Senas Bay National Alliance Army was ablaze with roaring fire.

 Chapter 24 - 24 - 17: The City Ablaze (Part 1)

    Chapter 24 ¨C 17: The City Ablaze (Part 1)


    Chapter 24: Chapter 17: The City Ablaze (Part 1)


    The Arsenal of Guidao City (also known as the First Arsenal of the Alliance Army) traces its origins to the Royal Weapons Administration of the mountain-front province during the Imperial rule. When it was established, the primary consideration was transportation conditions, hence its location near the coast close to the docks of Guidao City, where ships could directly dock at the small pier of the Weapons Administration.


    Initially, only four blacksmiths were stationed here, essentially operating as a large-scale blacksmith shop. The facility was responsible for storing and maintaining the weapons and equipment allotted to the royal troops stationed in the mountain-front province, without any manufacturing capabilities.


    After the Federated Provinces militia captured Guidao City for the first time, they immediately seized control of the Royal Weapons Administration and emptied its arsenal.


    When Guidao City changed hands for the second time, and the Federated Provinces militia realized that the war was not going to end quickly, they immediately transformed the old Royal Weapons Administration into the new Arsenal of Guidao City.


    The assigned functions of the Arsenal were no longer limited to maintenance and storage, allowing the Arsenal of Guidao City to begin producing cold weapons.


    The prolonged sovereignty war of more than a decade brought about a booming demand for weapons, resulting in the technical capabilities and production capacity of the Arsenal of Guidao City making major leaps forward.


    ...


    At first, the arsenal could only forge weapons using ready-made iron materials. But due to trade blockades, the supply of purchased copper and iron from external sources became increasingly inadequate.


    Therefore, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to recruit iron-smelters and established a smelting department, enabling the arsenal to smelt ore and supply its raw materials independently.


    Latterly, as the war dragged on and soldiers using gunpowder weapons made up an increasing proportion of the militia forces, the Arsenal of Guidao City added a rifle and artillery department, specializing in the technology of gun manufacturing.


    Towards the latter stages of the war, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to produce an unending stream of muskets and cannons, arming a large number of unarmed citizens.


    Marshal Ned once praised this arsenal with the following words, ¡°Without the Arsenal of Guidao City, there would be no victory!¡± From that moment, the nickname ¡°Victory Arsenal¡± spread like wildfire, becoming this arsenal¡¯s affectionate moniker among the Alliance Army.


    Over the span of twenty-odd years, Victory Arsenal underwent expansion after expansion, like an insatiable glutton swallowing up the surrounding land and houses. From a corner plot beside the docks, it evolved into a city within a city that occupied nearly half the port area.


    But right now, there is no longer any Victory Arsenal, just a sea of flames.


    Some fifteen minutes ago, as the cadet battalion marched to the ruins of the old city wall, a faint smoke already permeated the entire street.


    The smoke infiltrated every alleyway by the roadside, every independent courtyard. The residents living at the edge of the district were all awakened, either poking their heads out from their windows or standing by their doorways gazing out, astonished at the sight of the large battalion marching towards the smoke¡¯s origin.


    The further they marched, the denser and more pungent the smoke became; Winters was brought to tears by the stinging sensation, and coughing sounds emerged sporadically from the column.


    The horses ridden by the instructors became increasingly restless and refused to proceed no matter how much they were spurred on.


    With no other choice, the Spellcaster instructors had to continually take turns employing magic, always maintaining two horizontal Wind Control Techniques at the front of the column to blow the smoke into the residential areas on either side of the road.


    Continuing forward, when they could see the glow of the fire, the situation became much worse.


    The flames had already spread from the arsenal to the nearby residences; many inhabitants died from poison smoke without even waking from their sleep. Some citizens who were trying to escape ran towards the direction from which the cadet battalion was coming, crying and screaming.


    ¡°Judgment has come! Judgment has come!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the devils! The devils are spreading through the streets!¡±


    ¡°Run for your lives! There¡¯s nothing we can do! Escape!¡±


    The fleeing people shouted as they ran, clutching tightly the valuables they had grabbed on their way out of their homes. Their houses had been consumed by the fire, and the possessions in their hands were now all that they owned.


    Cries and howls battered Winters¡¯ chest, making him extremely uncomfortable. Facing the fleeing crowds, the battalion of cadets advanced in silence.


    A little further on lay a vision of hell.


    Here, darkness was dispelled by fierce flames. Streets were illuminated by raging fire, the smoke so intense that not even the Wind Control Technique could mitigate it. Bibi babbling wood burning noises and the constant rumble of collapsing houses echoed non-stop.


    A woman was kneeling by the road, hysterically wailing, with no one knowing what had befallen her, nor paying her any attention.


    Those who had narrowly escaped from the fire were terrified, scrambling on hands and feet towards the outskirts of the city. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And for those residents whose houses were but a few meters away from the fire line, despair had set in:


    Some of them had not given up and were struggling to carry whatever valuables they could from their homes;


    Some were beating their chests and cursing the devil aloud;


    Some had gone mad, desperately banging their heads against the ground;


    While others had given up resistance, closing their eyes and muttering prayers.


    But fire and water are merciless, and all efforts were in vain. They could only watch helplessly as their homes were devoured by the flames.


    When Winters first noticed the anomaly in the sky, he had a very bad premonition. A fire that could turn the sky colors was bound to be extensive.


    But it was only when he truly witnessed the scale of the fire disaster that he realized his initial thoughts were far too optimistic.


    The cadet battalion from the military academy couldn¡¯t even get close to the wall of the Victory Arsenal; heat waves and thick smoke stopped them a block away.


    ¡°Sir! Sir!¡± A man dressed in a short brown outfit, holding onto his hat, ran up to the head of the military academy: ¡°I¡¯m the captain of the port fire prevention team. It¡¯s so good you¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°And how may I serve you, my esteemed commander?¡± the head of the academy asked coolly.


    ¡°The fire is beyond extinguishing now. All we can do is tear down the surrounding houses and establish an isolation zone. Your cadets have arrived just in time,¡± the fire prevention captain said hastily, not daring to beat around the bush with his plan.


    ¡°I came here to save the army¡¯s assets. Now that the arsenal is gone, I¡¯m not going to use my valuable officers for firefighting. That¡¯s your responsibility,¡± the head of the academy said before turning his horse to leave.


    ¡°Sir! Please, have a heart!¡± The fire prevention captain grabbed the reins of the head¡¯s horse, pleading.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± the head of the academy snorted coldly.


    ¡°I beg you! Look at the wind direction, the wind is blowing from the coastline inward. The wind feeds the fire, and if we don¡¯t establish an isolation zone quickly, it won¡¯t take long for the entire port area to become a sea of fire, followed by the whole city area,¡± the fire prevention captain urged.


    The head of the academy still had a grim face, saying nothing.


    ¡°Sir, if the whole of Guidao City is burning, can your school alone survive?¡± Seeing a slight shift in the attitude of the highest-ranking person in this military academy troop, the fire prevention captain refused to give up this last straw for salvation.


    ¡°The bigger the fire, the faster it spreads. It¡¯s already getting out of hand. Please, have a heart! Sir! Look at these common folk!¡± the fire prevention captain continued to plea desperately.

 Chapter 25 - 25 - 18: The City Ablaze (Part 2)

    Chapter 25 ¨C 18: The City Ablaze (Part 2)


    Chapter 25: Chapter 18: The City Ablaze (Part 2)


    ¡°What do you need us to do?¡± the head of department suddenly asked.


    ¡°Ah?¡± The abrupt change in the high-ranking official¡¯s demeanor caught the fire prevention team captain off guard, but he quickly regained his composure, ¡°Demolish the houses! The houses here are definitely beyond saving; we need to fall back two more blocks and make a firebreak.¡±


    ¡°All units, attention! About face¡ªmarch! Forward¡ªmarch!¡± The chaotic noise on the outskirts of the fire scene was drowned out by orders amplified using a spell, as the head of department issued direct commands to all the cadets through magic.


    He was decisive and acted swiftly, ¡°Which houses need to be demolished, speak!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you there!¡± The fire prevention team captain nodded frantically and led the way, ¡°My manpower is truly insufficient; your help is really appreciated; God will bless you.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡± The head of department snorted coldly again, clearly not impressed by the flattery.


    ...


    Residents within the firebreak zone designated by the fire prevention team captain realized what the group of soldiers were planning to do. The fire was still two blocks away! Of course, they were unwilling to let the soldiers tear down their homes.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°By what right are you demolishing our homes!¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to demolish my house, you¡¯ll have to step over my dead body.¡±


    ¡°Why demolish ours and not others¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The soldiers are killing people!¡±


    Residents in the designated firebreak zone stood by the streets, brandishing things like door bars and kitchen knives, waving them to keep the military academy cadets from getting close.


    The fire prevention team captain ran back and forth, trying to persuade them with earnest words, but nobody was willing to listen to him.


    Residents living within the inner side of the firebreak also came to their senses, realizing that the creation of a firebreak meant their homes were to be abandoned.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    So they too joined the ranks of those preventing the demolition, resolutely not letting the military cadets come a step closer to the houses.


    Residents living on the outer side of the firebreak, however, were very supportive of the demolition plan, but they merely stood by with their hands in their pockets, watching the commotion.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± The head of department¡¯s shout, infused with the power of magic, startled the previously defiant residents into a stunned silence; he could no longer tolerate this charade, ¡°Third-year students! Infantry division! Fall in!¡±


    Winters, upon hearing the order, reflexively stepped out and stood at the front of the line.


    ¡°Anyone who dares to obstruct, shoot to kill!¡± The deafening voice was still magnified by the spell, ¡°If you want compensation, go to the city government!¡±


    Winters had not expected the head of department to issue an order of ¡°shoot to kill.¡± In his view, the situation had not escalated to the point of killing.


    The residents of the port district clearly did not expect the official to be so ruthless; they trembled, barely able to stand on their own if not for helping each other, no longer possessing the unruly arrogance they had shown before.


    Winters stood face-to-face with the residents who were protecting their homes; he saw fear and terror in their eyes.


    ¡°Do we really have to use force?¡± Winters thought to himself, clutching the iron shovel tightly in his hands, swallowing hard.


    ¡°Take action!¡± came another fierce shout from the head of department.


    Winters steeled his heart, as a sense of duty to obey orders overcame all other thoughts. Ignoring the injury on his arm, he gripped the shovel with both hands and swung it fiercely towards the people opposite him.


    However, Winters deliberately used the wooden end rather than the metal end, thinking to himself, ¡°The wooden handle probably won¡¯t kill anyone.¡±


    The group of minor citizens was no match for these military cadets who had undergone years of training, quickly beaten into crying for their parents and running away in panic.


    ¡°Murder!¡±


    ¡°The soldiers are killing people!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the military academy who started the fire!¡±


    ¡°Demolish!¡± The head of department ordered, completely ignoring what the dispersed residents were shouting, focusing only on executing the original plan.


    This time, nobody dared to obstruct anymore; the residents all turned and ran back home to move their belongings, trying to salvage as much property as possible before their houses were destroyed.


    Guidao City¡¯s port district¡¯s houses could be said to be a typical example of organic, unplanned urban areas.


    Starting from the docks, the city grew naturally without order, with houses enveloping one another like layers of an onion.


    There were houses for all sorts of uses: residential, storage, workshops, shops; houses made from all kinds of materials: wood, adobe, bricks, stone; and houses from various eras. It was truly a melting pot.


    The military academy students secured ropes to the houses that faced the street and pulled down a whole wall of a wooden house with a united effort.


    The fire prevention team captain¡¯s selection of the firebreak location was quite strategic, running along a stinking ditch. After demolishing the houses, the resulting construction debris could be pushed directly into the ditch, greatly improving efficiency.


    ¡°Don¡¯t all crowd here; we can¡¯t spread out! Third-year stay here! First-year, go to the eastern blocks! Second-year, go to the western blocks! Anyone who dares obstruct, shoot to kill!¡± The head of department commanded in an orderly fashion.


    ¡°Montekucoli!¡± The head of department called out another name.


    ¡°Present!¡± The head of the artillery department responded immediately.


    ¡°Go back to the armory to get the explosives; demolish all brick and stone houses with blasting!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The director of the Artillery Academy¡¯s teaching and research office didn¡¯t say another word and left with a subordinate right away. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While all the soldiers on-site were busily dismantling houses, from afar suddenly came the sound of a sermon being shouted at the top of someone¡¯s lungs.


    ¡°Revere! Feel the fiery wrath of God! The glorious day of His judgment has arrived!¡± A mendicant monk dressed in a coarse hemp robe, holding a banner aloft, strode forward; the residents who had been spectating all dropped to their knees before him, many attempting to kiss the hem of his robe and his shoes.


    With both hands raising the banner high, the mendicant monk preached loudly: ¡°The angel of fire has descended upon Sodom! This is the divine fire that punishes your everyday sins! Repent¡­¡±


    ¡°Fuck your mother!¡± The commander lashed out with his whip, knocking over the fanatic.


    ¡°Anyone who comes to help will get a big silver coin! It doesn¡¯t matter if you are man or woman, old or young!¡± Having dealt with the clergyman who was openly preaching defeatism, the commander immediately started recruiting bystanders: ¡°If you don¡¯t help, the fire will get here, and your houses won¡¯t be spared either!¡±


    (Big silver coin: Refers to the large silver coins first minted by The Federated Provinces of the Republic in the year 537 of the Empire, which corresponded to the smaller silver coins with a silver content ratio of 1:20. The value of a big silver coin was roughly equivalent to one month¡¯s wages for a dock worker.)


    Who would pay for this? Certainly not the military academy.


    Following the commander¡¯s line of thinking was: ¡°Go and demand it from the city government.¡±


    The commander didn¡¯t care how much trouble his words might cause the Guidao City Executive Committee; what he was considering was how to demolish the isolation zone quickly and efficiently.


    Through a combination of threats and incentives, along with a bit of bluffing and intimidation, the demolition crew had significantly grown in number.


    The marshal, along with the assembled Guidao City Urban Guard, arrived, timely allowing the Urban Guard to maintain order at the scene.


    The two infantry battalions stationed outside the city (full strength of 960 soldiers and 14 officers) also arrived on-site, and the army soldiers quickly joined the work of tearing down the isolation zone.


    The dull sounds of blasting and the collapse of buildings echoed back and forth, as horses, harnessed with makeshift bridles, were used to pull down the structures. The demolition project was proceeding in an orderly, tense, and race-against-time manner.


    But plans can never keep up with changes, as from nightfall to now, the wind speed of the sea breeze blowing from the ocean to the land had been gradually increasing.


    With the help of the sea breeze, the fire spread faster than anyone had anticipated. The fire line was accelerating towards the isolation zone, while a significant part of the isolation zone still remained to be demolished.


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re not going to make it¡­ We should have set up the isolation zone two blocks further back,¡± moaned the head of the fire prevention team, clutching his hat in his hands, crumpling it into a ball of tattered cloth.


    ¡°I know.¡± The commander¡¯s attitude was still cool as ice, but he was thoughtful, as though he had an idea.


    ¡°Christian!¡± The commander called out loudly.


    ¡°Present!¡± The head of the Spellcasters¡¯ teaching and research office, having heard the commander¡¯s summons, ran over from a distance.


    ¡°If all the spellcasters work together using the Wind Control Technique, could they temporarily change the direction of the wind in a particular area?¡± the commander asked, voicing his remarkable idea.


    ¡°It¡¯s very challenging for spellcasters to contend with the forces of nature,¡± said Christian, feeling that the commander¡¯s idea was far-fetched: ¡°Spellcasters should use their spells in harmony with the forces of nature, not against them¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you if it¡¯s possible or not?¡± The commander didn¡¯t want to hear any excuses.


    ¡°Theoretically, it should be.¡± Christian continued to explain: ¡°But realistically, I think it would be difficult to achieve with the current strength of our spellcasters; we don¡¯t have enough and don¡¯t have sufficiently powerful spellcasters¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The commander heard what he wanted to hear.


    ¡°I said it¡¯s theoretically possible, but in reality¡­¡± Christian hurried to clarify that there was a gap between theory and practice.


    ¡°Doing something is better than doing nothing.¡± The commander made a judgment: ¡°Gather all the spellcasters present, I¡¯ll tell you where to go in a while.¡±


    Winters, who had been focusing on dismantling a house, was suddenly called out. He noticed that all those who were taken out with him were spellcaster students.


    All the spellcasters on the scene were brought together, and Christian repeated the orders loudly: ¡°When you hear the command, use the Wind Control Technique with all your might directly ahead, without holding back. Remember! Straight ahead.¡±


    Winters immediately understood the leadership¡¯s plan, thinking that even with his poor skill in acceleration magic, he was being drafted as a tool, indicating that the commander was really clutching at straws.


    Soon after, the spellcasters were brought to a yet-to-be-demolished area; for even distribution, some spellcaster students were even positioned on rooftops.


    Winters didn¡¯t go onto a roof; he stood on the street, where, through the smoke, he could see the burning buildings about twenty or so meters away.


    ¡°Wind Control Technique, activate at full power!¡± The command came from not far behind him.


    Upon hearing the command, Winters, with his thumb pressing down on his middle finger in his left hand, recalled the feeling of using acceleration magic and entered the casting state with all his might.


    Scorching heat and extreme cold tormented his ¡°third hand,¡± as though thousands of knives were cutting into his ¡°fifth limb.¡±


    He could feel the wind direction changing around him, the breeze from the front gradually weakening, coming to a stop, and then turning into a wind blowing from behind toward the front.


    Winters knew the commander¡¯s plan was working, but he could no longer hold out, so he tried to relax his mind and exit the casting state.


    But to his horror, he couldn¡¯t leave the casting state. The casting state that usually couldn¡¯t be maintained with the slightest distraction was now inescapable, even if he wanted out.


    He even became paralyzed, losing control over his own body.


    To onlookers, Winters simply stood at attention on the street, but in reality, he was being forced to endure an incessant and grueling torment. Eventually, he could bear no more. His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.


    In the final moment before he collapsed, he saw a gigantic flame serpent soaring into the sky.

 Chapter 26 - 26 - 19: Fire Dragon Scroll

    Chapter 26 ¨C 19: Fire Dragon Scroll


    Chapter 26: Chapter 19: Fire Dragon Scroll


    There was no time, no space, no matter, no fluctuation, just boundless darkness¡­ No, even the concept of darkness did not exist here; this was pure ¡°nothingness.¡± It was impossible to know how much time had passed when suddenly, a spark appeared within this ¡°nothingness¡±¡ªWinters regained consciousness.


    The first sense to come back to him was his hearing: the surroundings were noisy, but what were the sounds? Then his sense of touch came back: he seemed to be lying down, was it on a bed? Was it a very hard bed? Finally, his vision began to return; Winters first felt light, and then he struggled to open his eyes, but his vision was blurry, unable to focus.


    After regaining sensation in his body, intense pain followed. This pain was not the normal kind of pain but more like the pain one feels when using magic. The pain was not emanating from any particular part of Winters¡¯ body, yet it was genuinely tormenting him.


    Winters wanted to scream in pain, but he could only weakly open his mouth, and no sound came out from his vocal cords. He tried to lift his arm but did not feel any response. It seemed he had only regained sensory awareness of his body, but not control over his muscles.


    For Winters, this was all like a sudden, deep sleep; he could not even remember when he had lost consciousness. He had no memories, no concept of time, not even dreams.


    The last moment he remembered, he was fighting fires in Guidao City. He closed his eyes, and upon opening them, he had lost control of his body, lying on a hard plank bed somewhere unknown, enduring agony.


    ...


    ¡°He¡¯s awake! He¡¯s awake!¡± Winters heard someone shouting excitedly.


    ¡°Who is it? Where am I? What¡¯s happened to me?¡± Winters¡¯ consciousness was still very sluggish, and thinking was a strenuous task for him. His eyes still could not focus, and it seemed like his vision was filled with a deep brown color.


    A warm liquid flowed into his mouth, seemingly not water, with a hint of bitterness. Swallowing reflexively made Winters subconsciously drink it down. It turned out someone had propped up his upper body slightly and was spoon-feeding him bit by bit. Seeing that Winters could swallow, they continued to spoon-feed him.


    After being fed, Winters was placed back in his original position, lying down. His consciousness began to blur, and soon he fell into a heavy sleep.


    Again, he closed his eyes and opened them. There were still no memories, no concept of time, and no dreams.


    But upon waking up the next time, Winters felt his condition had significantly improved. Although the pain had not gone away, it was no longer so intense that it made him want to roll around on the ground; it had become bearable.


    Indeed, for Winters, the last time he woke up was ¡°just now.¡± He had no real feeling of the passage of time; it felt as if he had just regained consciousness between the closing and opening of his eyes.


    This time, Winters¡¯ eyes could finally focus. He carefully identified his surroundings: the ceiling was very close, it seemed he could touch it with an outstretched hand, and it appeared to be¡­ wood planks??


    His limbs could move as well, and he immediately reached out to feel the bed, which was right next to a wall, seemingly also made of¡­ wood planks??


    Winters could no longer lie still; he sat up with a forceful movement of his waist and abdomen, struggling to discern his environment: a narrow and gloomy wooden room, many ropes, with the whole room swaying rhythmically¡­ was he in a ship¡¯s cabin?


    What? I¡¯m on a ship?? Winters was taken aback.


    ¡°Ah?! You¡¯re awake?¡± A voice like a ringing bell came to Winters¡¯ ear, its loudness causing his ears to buzz: ¡°Go report to the Major! Someone¡¯s awake!¡±


    Hearing this distinctive booming voice, Winters could recognize who it was just with his ears. Without needing to use magic to amplify his voice, there was only one person who could be this loud: his fellow Cavalryman from the Sea Blue Republic, Andrea Cherini, whom everyone called Andre.


    Winters¡¯ own temper was not exactly pleasant, so his friends were usually very tolerant. However, Andre¡¯s temper was cast from the same mold as Winters¡¯, both being typical fiery Venetians. Similar tempers often repel each other, so even though the two were compatriots from the Sea Blue Republic, they weren¡¯t very close.


    However, to Winters, who had just awakened from a deep coma, Andre¡¯s loud voice brought a sense of relief.


    Winters looked around, noticed several unconscious classmates beside him, and realized he wasn¡¯t actually on a bed but simply on a plank with some padding. He was eager to understand his surroundings: ¡°Am I on a ship?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re on a ship,¡± Andre confirmed.


    ¡°Why am I on a ship?¡± Winters was still Very confused.


    ¡°You were carried on. You all passed out, and no matter what, we couldn¡¯t wake you up, so everyone carried you onto the ship,¡± Andre explained, interpreting the question from a rather unique perspective. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I mean, what are we doing on a ship now?¡± Winters asked again, this time rephrasing his question unambiguously.


    ¡°Heading home by ship, back to Veneta (Sea Blue).¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be returning by land?¡± Winters was more baffled than ever.


    ¡°They said the road is difficult to travel this year, so a ship was sent to pick us up.¡± After explaining the current situation to Winters, Andre asked a strange question: ¡°Do you remember what you did?¡±

 Chapter 27 - 27 - 19 Fire Dragon Roll_2

    Chapter 27 ¨C 19 Fire Dragon Roll_2


    Chapter 27: Chapter 19 Fire Dragon Roll_2


    ¡°What did I do?¡± Winters felt this question was incredibly baffling.


    ¡°Have you really forgotten?¡± Andre asked tentatively again.


    ¡°What do you want me to remember?¡± Winters was utterly confused. He struggled to stand up, but Andre quickly reached out to help him.


    ¡°You set Guidao City on fire! On fire! Don¡¯t you remember?¡± Andre¡¯s words hit Winters like cannonballs.


    ¡°Burned? What burned?¡± Winters felt a chill run through his body as the last bit of haziness in his mind cleared, and he asked in shock, ¡°Weren¡¯t we putting out a fire? What do you mean we burned down Guidao City?¡±


    ¡°Yes, originally we were putting out the fire, and the department head ordered us to demolish houses. Then all you Spellcasters were called away, and as soon as you used Magic, a firestorm was summoned.¡± Andre was unaware of the impact his words had on Winters, ¡°After the firestorm appeared, the fire became even stronger. The firebreak was useless, and we all retreated. As we left by boat, the common people were frantically spreading rumors that the military academy¡¯s magicians summoned Hellfire and destroyed Guidao City.¡±


    ...


    ¡°How could this be? We were there to put out the fire! What firestorm?¡± Winters hadn¡¯t expected things to turn out like this. He suddenly remembered the last scene he could recall: a massive flame serpent soaring into the sky.


    ¡°Tell me, what did the firestorm look like?¡± Winters had too many things he wanted to know, he had to prioritize his questions. Speaking while standing was too tiring, so he sat back down on the makeshift bed.


    ¡°Let me think¡­ It was like a rope, connecting heaven and earth,¡± Andre tried his best to describe the scene after Winters had lost consciousness using the limited vocabulary he had, ¡°A swirling flame rope¡­ a fire tornado!¡±


    Pleased with the analogy he had come up with, Andre repeated, ¡°A fire tornado!¡±


    Remembering the last thing he had seen, Winters realized that this fire tornado might indeed be related to him¡­ no, to all the Spellcasters who were present and had used the Wind Control Technique at that time.


    ¡°What is the current state of Guidao City?¡± Winters urgently wanted to know the consequences of the incident.


    ¡°Half of the city district is gone. If it hadn¡¯t been for torrential rain, perhaps the entire city could have burned to the ground,¡± Andre hesitated before voicing his own doubt, ¡°Was it really you guys who summoned the fire tornado?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I really don¡¯t know¡­¡± Intense pain surged through Winters again, and he answered in agony, curled up. He truly didn¡¯t know if the fire tornado Andre spoke of had anything to do with the Spellcasters.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry too much.¡± Seeing Winters in pain, Andre thought he was feeling guilty about the burning of Guidao City and hurried to comfort him, ¡°After all, it¡¯s the Federated Provinces¡¯ territory. If it¡¯s burned, it¡¯s burned. Even if it¡¯s completely destroyed, it¡¯s none of us Sea Blue People¡¯s business! After all, we¡¯re going home.¡±


    Andrea, a native of the Sea Blue Republic, clearly had no empathy for the disaster in the capital of The Federated Provinces.


    Winters now had a bitter grievance he couldn¡¯t express: I didn¡¯t admit it was me who set the fire¡­ I just said I wasn¡¯t sure, and I really am not sure if there¡¯s any connection with the Spellcasters¡­ Besides, it wasn¡¯t me who started the initial fire, so how come it sounds like I¡¯m the prime suspect for arson?


    A series of urgent clacking of military boots against the deck approached, and two people dressed in military officer uniforms stepped into the cabin. Winters clenched his teeth as he got up and, together with Andre, stood at attention and saluted. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re awake!¡± The officer dressed in a general¡¯s uniform was the first to speak. The middle-aged general had a commanding appearance and a tall stature, with a neatly trimmed mustache over his lips. Even without his military attire, one couldn¡¯t mistake his profession, for the military bearing in his movements was too evident.


    The general ended the pleasantries with a single sentence and asked Winters directly, ¡°I need to ask you something, and you must tell the truth. Did the Army Officer Academy intentionally cause your unconsciousness?¡±


    Winters quickly assessed the situation, this high-ranking officer was probably the ¡°Major General¡± Andre mentioned earlier. Winters gathered his energy and honestly replied, ¡°Report to the general, I do not know!¡±


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ response, the Major General frowned, ¡°Then tell me what you do know.¡±


    Winters recalled the situation that night, ¡°At that time, the instructor gathered all the spellcasters together and had us use the Wind Control Technique simultaneously to alter the direction of the winds on the fire front. I only remember using the Wind Control Technique, I don¡¯t have any memory of what happened after that, I woke up and found myself here.¡±


    ¡°When you say all spellcasters, you mean all, right? Not just Sea Blue spellcasters, but also United Provincials?¡± The major general sharply caught the key information he wanted and pressed on repeatedly.


    ¡°Yes, all spellcasters, including those from the Federated Provinces,¡± Winters was certain. Indeed, all spellcasters had been gathered without specifically selecting who would or would not go, naturally, including those from the Federated Provinces.


    Having received his answer, the major general¡¯s expression suggested he was far from satisfied. He didn¡¯t ask further, clearly having lost interest in Winters, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got it, rest well and tell me immediately if you recall anything else.¡±


    With a perfunctory end to the conversation, the major general turned and left the small cabin.


    Winters also vaguely grasped a thread of the issue: it seemed that the major general was quite eager for the United Provincials military to take responsibility for his blackout.


    Only after the major general left did the officer who came with him speak. He was a smiling, handsome young man whose youthful face seemed almost at odds with the officer¡¯s uniform he wore. His smile was so nonchalant and relaxed, it was as if he wasn¡¯t very concerned about anything.


    ¡°Please, take a seat, don¡¯t stand on my account,¡± the officer waved his hand amiably, indicating for Winters to sit.


    When his superior acted so courteously, how could Winters dare to actually take a seat? He merely nodded, his body remaining still.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll sit down first.¡± The officer, devoid of pretense, sat down comfortably on the floor, leaning back against a wooden panel of the cabin.


    Seeing that Winters and Andre still didn¡¯t dare to move, he smiled and encouraged them, ¡°Relax a bit. We¡¯re alumni. I¡¯m just a senior who graduated a few years before you; don¡¯t mind the ranks. It tires me out to look up and talk to you while you¡¯re standing.¡±


    Only when they learned that the man before them was an alumnus did Winters and Andre start to relax a little and sat down, though they kept their backs ramrod straight.


    ¡°Now you¡¯re both warrant officers and entered the officer ranks. There¡¯s only a few years of military service between us.¡± The two cadets were still somewhat reserved, but the officer didn¡¯t press them. He started by introducing himself, ¡°The one earlier was Major General Layton, and I am Major Moritz. You can call me Moritz, senior, or Major, whatever you prefer. By the way, what are your names?¡±


    ¡°Senior, I¡¯m Winters Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Senior, I¡¯m Andrea Cherini.¡±


    The waves and the pattering rain beat against the hull. Amid the sounds of the wind, rain, and waves, the body of the ship swung rhythmically back and forth like a pendulum. The dim cabin¡¯s only source of light was a small ventilation window that was half open.


    ¡°Winters, how do you feel right now?¡± Major Moritz asked a question that seemed perplexing to Andre.


    ¡°What?¡± Winters was a bit confused.


    ¡°You¡¯re feeling, your current feeling.¡±


    Winters understood what Major Moritz was asking, ¡°Pure pain, but it¡¯s at a barely tolerable level. When I woke up last time, the pain was unbearable.¡±


    Winters silently thought to himself: I feel as if I haven¡¯t left the spellcasting state. But this Major Moritz in front of me isn¡¯t wearing the Triad Association¡¯s badge; clearly, he isn¡¯t a spellcaster. So even if I told him, he wouldn¡¯t understand what the spellcasting state is. For that reason, Winters chose to describe it in a way a layperson could understand.


    After hearing Winters¡¯ explanation, Major Moritz took out a silver coin and started toying with it in his hand, deep in thought.

 Chapter 28 - 28 - 20 Muscle Strain

    Chapter 28 ¨C 20 Muscle Strain


    Chapter 28: Chapter 20 Muscle Strain


    Major Moritz seemingly conjured a small silver coin out of thin air and toyed with it in his hand. The coin moved nimbly between his fingers, appearing and disappearing intermittently. Winters didn¡¯t notice this, but Andre was completely captivated by the Major¡¯s magical sleight of hand, thinking to himself, ¡°You definitely shouldn¡¯t gamble with dice against this upperclassman, or you¡¯re sure to lose even your pants.¡±


    ¡°You do have some external injuries, but your coma obviously wasn¡¯t caused by those wounds; other spellcaster cadets without these injuries fell into comas just the same,¡± Major Moritz mused for a moment before sharing his observations.


    It was then that Winters realized that the other unconscious cadets around him were all spellcaster cadets from the same class of Sea Blue. Counting roughly, it seemed like all were present.


    ¡°Did all the spellcasters pass out last night?¡± Winters tentatively asked.


    ¡°Not last night, but the night before. You¡¯ve been unconscious for nearly two days now.¡± Major Moritz unreservedly informed Winters of the current situation, ¡°The Federated Provinces have said that almost all of the spellcasters lost consciousness, but we don¡¯t know if what they say is true or false. I can only be sure of one thing; when we came to retrieve the officer cadets yesterday, all the Sea Blue spellcasters were in a deep coma.¡±


    Major Moritz chuckled as if he had thought of something, ¡°That¡¯s why General Layton was so angry.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yeah, Winters, you didn¡¯t see it, I was quite enlightened,¡± Andre happily added from the side, ¡°It was my first time seeing Chief Cornelius scolded bloody yet unable to utter a single word.¡±


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Cornelius, why would they send a Major General to escort the cadets?¡± Major Moritz was also pleased, clearly, Chief Cornelius being scolded by General Layton was a recent source of joy for Major Moritz.


    Winters remembered the lashing he received while on duty the night before last, and his appreciation for General Layton surged.


    Cornelius was hot-tempered, acted with swift decisiveness, and was aggressive in his dealings. The soldiers respected him but also feared him, and he was certainly not popular in day-to-day interactions. However, his capabilities were strong, and it was rare for him to face a setback. Winters deeply regretted not having witnessed General Cornelius being reprimanded in person.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your current situation,¡± Major Moritz turned the conversation back to Winters, ¡°I¡¯ve seen many injured spellcasters, but I¡¯ve never seen a case like yours.¡±


    Major Moritz pointed at Winters and the other unconscious cadets, ¡°You¡¯re not in a coma because of external injuries, and we¡¯re clueless about the internal injuries you¡¯ve suffered. However, since you¡¯ve regained consciousness, the others should also be able to self-repair.¡±


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t anyone else woken up? I remember waking up once before,¡± Winters hurriedly asked, confident that he had a clear memory of regaining consciousness and it wasn¡¯t an illusion.


    ¡°Some haven¡¯t woken up at all, while others have woken up once just like you. They were fed medicine and went back to sleep,¡± said Major Moritz, twirling the silver coin.


    ¡°Medicine! That¡¯s right, someone fed me medicine!¡± Winters suddenly remembered drinking a liquid that had a bitter taste.


    ¡°Well, that can¡¯t really be called medicine; it¡¯s a sleep aid concoction I mixed. I didn¡¯t know if it would work. Hoping to help you enter a sleep state, I mixed two sleep-inducing agents and fed you a bit,¡± Major Moritz casually explained the sleep aid he had used to the two lieutenants:


    ¡°I suffer from severe insomnia. The Flemish prepare a treatment for insomnia by drying and grinding the rootstock of a plant and consuming it, and I happened to have some of their powdered rootstock here; the natives of the Western Colonies of the Pseudo-Murlo Empire like to chew a certain leaf to enter a calm state, claiming that it allows them to communicate with their ancestors, and I also have some of this dried leaf.


    After your first awakening, you were clearly in great pain. Rather than suffer like that, it was better to let you remain unconscious, so I tried to mix these two things together and fed them to you, helping you return to a sleep state. Thankfully, it worked.¡±


    It was then that Winters knew who had aided him. The last time he awoke, Winters had been in so much pain he wanted to roll on the ground, whereas now he could bear it. He gratefully said, ¡°The concoction you made must have worked, I feel much better than I did when I woke up last time. Thank you, senior.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, you¡¯re mistaken. It wasn¡¯t my concoction that helped you; what I made is not a medicine, just a sleep aid,¡± Major Moritz gently waved his hand, laying out his theory, ¡°My sleep aid can¡¯t repair your body¡ªit¡¯s your body itself that¡¯s repairing you.¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Repairing the body?¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand what the Major was talking about.


    ¡°I believe that the reason you fell into a coma must be due to a severe injury somewhere in your body. Since there¡¯s no external injury visible to others, this invisible damage can only be healed by the body¡¯s self-repair mechanism. When does your body do its self-repair? I guess it¡¯s when you¡¯re unconscious or asleep.


    When you lose consciousness, your body is actually busy repairing itself. And when you are conscious, the severe pain from the injury actually hinders the body¡¯s self-repair process. So by helping you sleep, I intended to give your body more time for self-repair.¡±

 Chapter 29 - 29 - 20 Muscle Strain_2

    Chapter 29 ¨C 20 Muscle Strain_2


    Major Moritz¡¯s explanation was simple and easy to understand, and Winters had no trouble grasping it.


    ¡°So if I want to recover faster, I should sleep more?¡± Winters asked tentatively.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that¡¯s correct,¡± nodded Major Moritz. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then could you give me some more sleeping aid?¡± After all, sleeping was Winters¡¯s favorite sport.


    ¡°I¡¯m out, I¡¯m afraid, I only had a little of both sleeping aids left. They were originally for treating my insomnia, but now they¡¯ve all been used up by you guys.¡± Major Moritz spread his hands helplessly, ¡°But¡­¡±


    In any language of this world, whatever comes before ¡°but¡± can generally be considered nonsense.


    ¡°But¡­¡± Major Moritz said with a smile, ¡°I have another method that can approximate the effect of the sleeping drugs, you can try that.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Uh¡­ Thank you, senior,¡± Winters thanked him, though unclear about the details.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, you should thank the classmate who has been taking care of you these past few days. It was your classmate who stayed with you the whole time,¡± Senior Moritz reminded Winters.


    Winters quickly stood up and gave Andre a deep bow, ¡°I really can¡¯t thank you enough.¡±


    ¡°No, no, don¡¯t thank me¡­¡± Andre also stood up quickly, explaining embarrassingly, ¡°I¡¯ve only covered the shift for less than an hour. It¡¯s been Bard looking after you before. He has been up for an entire day and couldn¡¯t hold on anymore, so he just went to sleep.¡±


    ¡°What? Bard?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The sky was clear and the waves high, as colorful flags fluttered atop the leading mast.


    This fast ship, full of Sea Blue apprentice officers, had already sailed out of the rainy area. The students no longer had to be trapped in the gloomy and damp cabin and rushed to the upper deck for some fresh air.


    Taking advantage of the good weather, Winters and Bard were also on the upper deck, enjoying the sea breeze and drying clothes. Winters was unconscious when they set off so Aike had packed his luggage for him, including washing his military clothing.


    However, it rained the night of the fire rescue, so the clothes were not dried. Winters thought about throwing away the moldy-smelling military clothing, but he felt it would be disrespectful to Aike¡¯s kindness, hence he took advantage of the good weather to air it out on the deck.


    ¡°Did you know you drank back what you vomited into the cup last night?¡± Bard could barely contain his amusement.


    ¡°Stop, please, I feel like throwing up just thinking about it,¡± complained Winters, the hangover making his head throb with pain, different from the ¡°phantom limb pain¡± caused by using magic, but a straightforward headache.


    After truly understanding Major Moritz¡¯s ¡°alternative therapy,¡± Winters realized how unreliable first impressions could be. The major¡¯s gentlemanly demeanor was just a facade; his true nature was that of a heavy drinker.


    The thing Major Moritz suggested as a substitute for sleeping drugs was alcohol, and by approximating the effect of sleeping drugs he meant drinking until one blacked out.


    Moreover, the Major didn¡¯t prefer wine or ale but rather rum, the strong liquor preferred by the lower classes of sailors.


    Ever since sugarcane was introduced from the southern continent, the Gulf Region¡¯s outlying island chain saw a crop of sugarcane plantations spring up like mushrooms after rain.


    Rum, a by-product of the sugar industry, started to become popular in the Gulf Region and somehow became Major Moritz¡¯s favorite at some point.


    Under the pretense of treatment, the Major, who had no one else to drink with, got Winters so drunk that he passed out, indeed fulfilling his promise to help Winters ¡°approximate the use of drugs to aid in sleep.¡±


    ¡°So, how do you feel now?¡± Bard, curious about the effect of Major Moritz¡¯s therapy because Winters had almost drunk himself to death, asked.


    ¡°I have a headache, feel nauseous, and want to throw up,¡± Winters replied weakly, leaning on the ship¡¯s railing.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking about the magic side of things.¡±


    ¡°Well, I think the Major¡¯s theory has some merit. Sleep does indeed seem to repair the third hand,¡± Winters had to admit that the unexplained pain he felt upon waking from sleep was lessening each time, ¡°By the way, have you gotten hold of any gunpowder?¡±


    ¡°Right here.¡± Bard took out a small cow-horn container from his bag, ¡°I asked the captain for some gunpowder, and he just handed me a whole hornful. I¡¯ll give it back to him after you¡¯ve used it.¡±


    Winters took the gunpowder horn, popped the cork, and poured a bit of the powder onto the ship¡¯s railing. Then, remembering the sensation of casting fire-type spells and maintaining the casting gesture, he tried to ignite the small pile of gunpowder with a fire spell.


    Using a fire spell to ignite gunpowder is a skill that spellcasters learn at the beginning of their training and is one of the simplest effects to achieve.


    But the gunpowder did not ignite as Winters had expected; instead, the gradually subsiding phantom limb pain erupted once again.


    Winters trembled with pain, feeling unstable on his feet, so he leaned against the railing, waiting for the pain to subside.


    Bard quickly poured Winters a strong drink, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush to try magic. Relax, your magical abilities are definitely still there. Isn¡¯t the gradual disappearance of your phantom limb pain proof that your magical abilities are recovering?¡±


    ¡°I was just giving it a try; I wasn¡¯t deluding myself into thinking I¡¯d recover so quickly.¡± Winters took the drink in his hand but didn¡¯t drink it, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll just have to slowly heal.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s quite fitting how you guys refer to magical talent as the ¡¯third hand¡¯ and the ¡¯fifth limb,¡¯¡± Bard said thoughtfully, ¡°Look, isn¡¯t what you¡¯re experiencing now just like a muscle strain from overexertion?¡±

 Chapter 30 - 30 - 20 Muscle Strain_3

    Chapter 30 ¨C 20 Muscle Strain_3


    ¡°Hahahaha.¡± This amusing analogy hit Winters¡¯s funny bone, ¡°You¡¯re right, my ¡¯magic muscle¡¯ is strained. It¡¯s not just the muscles; it feels like my tendons are nearly snapped.¡±


    After the laughter, Winters said to Bard, ¡°You see, you mentioned that you were definitely going to be assigned overseas. Look at you now, aren¡¯t you in the Sea Blue Republic?¡±


    ¡°I did indeed apply for an overseas assignment, and I never expected to end up in Vineta.¡± Not being sent overseas, Bard was also in good spirits, ¡°It¡¯s also because this year is unusual, there were no overseas assignments at all, everyone stayed at home. But I always feel something¡¯s a bit off¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, being in Sea Blue is always better than being sent overseas.¡± Winters was still his usual optimist, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Sea Blue army won¡¯t deliberately ostracize United Provincials. Besides, I¡¯m here, there¡¯s no need to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t mind regional discrimination, because no matter where you are, it¡¯s the poor who are discriminated against most.¡± Bard always had a unique perspective, but his attitude remained very calm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so negative, we finally made it from cadets to officers. When we get to Sea Blue City, we must celebrate.¡± Winters patted Bard on the shoulder vigorously, inadvertently pulling at the knife wound on his right arm.


    ¡°Mr. Officer sir, will you still be drinking this?¡± An abrupt voice interrupted the casual conversation between Winters and Bard.


    ...


    The intruder was a sailor. The sailor¡¯s skin had been tanned dark by the constant baking of two suns, leaving only the whites of his eyes exposed. His hair clumped together, as if it hadn¡¯t been washed for a long time. He rubbed his hands together, looking eagerly at the cup of alcohol in Winters¡¯s hand.


    ¡°If you want to drink, just drink it.¡± Winters handed the cup to the sailor. He himself wasn¡¯t fond of alcohol, especially since there was simply no clean freshwater on the boat, ¡°But I¡¯m not a ¡¯sir¡¯, just call me Winters, and this is Warrant Officer Bard. There haven¡¯t been any ¡¯sirs¡¯ on this land for a long time; the noble class was overthrown twenty-seven years ago.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Officer sir, thank you, Mr. Officer sir.¡± The sailor bowed incessantly like he was pounding garlic, took the cup, and drained it in one go, sighing with satisfaction. Although the Alliance had abolished the nobility twenty-seven years ago, many people still clung to the idea of nobles in their hearts.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me ¡¯sir¡¯, just Winters will do. Brother sailor, I actually have a question to ask.¡± Actually, Winters had been puzzled since he woke up today, and now he had a chance to ask a sailor for answers. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You tell me, you tell me.¡± The sailor nodded briskly.


    ¡°Why do I feel like we are heading east?¡± Winters had judged the ship¡¯s direction from the trajectory of the suns and found it a bit strange.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we are heading east.¡± The sailor¡¯s tone was as if someone was asking him whether one plus one equals two.


    ¡°What?¡± Now it was Winters and Bard who were dumbfounded.


    The land around Senas Bay was roughly shaped like a semicircle, with the Federated Provinces occupying the northern half and the Sea Blue Republic the southern half. Sea Blue City was located to the south of Tess City, across the sea, which is common geographical knowledge.


    Yet the sailor before them was saying: the ship was not heading south, but east instead.


    Winters and Bard had been on the ship for two whole days, only to find out that this was not the route home.


    ¡°So where are we going?¡± Winters grabbed the sailor¡¯s clothes and pressed for an answer.


    ¡°Mr. Officer sir, we are of course headed for Tanilia.¡±

 Chapter 31 - 31 - 21 Cargo Ship Brokerage

    Chapter 31 ¨C 21 Cargo Ship Brokerage


    ¡°`


    Four days later, at a dock on the main island of the Taniria Islands, Winters, Andre, and Bard were idly standing at the uppermost level of the ship¡¯s stern castle, competing over who could throw a stone the farthest.


    ¡°You two are blatantly bullying an injured man,¡± Winters complained, as he had injured his right hand and could only participate using his left, currently ranking last.


    ¡°You¡¯re allowed to concede defeat. Do you?¡± Andre said, giving a strong swing and tossing a small stone into a graceful arc, which landed far out on the water.


    Bard didn¡¯t speak. He weighed the stone in his hand, stood sideways with a stable stance, and using the strength of his waist and abdomen, he threw it powerfully. The stone hit the water¡¯s shimmering surface even farther out, so distant that its point of impact was unclear.


    Seeing Bard¡¯s new record, Winters began to look around thoughtfully. He felt that he could only stand a chance at a comeback if he found some material to make a rudimentary catapult.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you from the Monastery? Do monks also practice shot put?¡± Andre asked cheekily, speaking whatever came to mind.


    ...


    ¡°Monks don¡¯t do shot put,¡± Bard replied with a smile, ¡°but I¡¯ve herded livestock for them.¡±


    Winters sighed¡ªthere were no suitable thin ropes nearby.


    Warrant Officer Winters was now practically crippled: the spot on his left shoulder where Aike had struck had turned from green to purple, and every movement caused pain;


    his right foot had been pierced by a caltrop, but given that he had not developed a fever, it seemed it wasn¡¯t too serious. After the wound was cleaned, wrapping it in clean cotton cloth was counted as a solution;


    the most frightening injury was a cut on his right arm left by some crazed woman. After the wound reopened several times despite attempts to stop the bleeding, it just wouldn¡¯t close. The flesh was turned outwards, constantly seeping blood. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The officers all knew that the wound should be stitched up, but no one dared to do it. In the end, it took Major Moritz downing a bottle of rum, and, bolstered by the alcohol, he took a fish hook and some cotton thread to sew more than a dozen clumsy stitches in Winters¡¯ arm;


    The pain from his ¡°third hand,¡± or phantom limb, had considerably lessened, but it had started to itch instead. And itching was even more unbearable than the pain.


    Furthermore, Winters was still unable to use magic. Any attempt to concentrate would trigger intense phantom limb pain, preventing him from maintaining a state suitable for casting spells.


    In the span of one day, Winters had gone from student to warrant officer, in addition to having three injuries and temporarily losing his magical abilities.


    ¡°How long has this ship been here? When are we going to set sail?¡± Winters just wanted to get back home for a good sleep.


    Andre also lacked his usual vigor and leaned against the railing despondently.


    The ship they were on was called the Bandit Gull, a communications vessel within the Sea Blue navy¡¯s inland fleet. The Bandit Gull hadn¡¯t taken the trainee officers straight home but instead carried them east across Senas Bay to the Taniria Islands.


    Once they reached the Taniria Islands, the Bandit Gull first anchored outside the harbor overnight. The next morning, it docked at this pier and had stayed here for a whole day with no sign of action from the captain.


    Since Lieutenant General Layton had strictly forbidden any officer from disembarking, Winters and the others could only watch the bustling world ashore with envy, unable to go down and explore. Eventually, out of boredom, they ended up throwing stones from the ship¡¯s stern castle.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be soon, very soon. The cargo broker will be here any moment,¡± the first mate of the Bandit Gull climbed up to the stern castle and cheerily approached Winters and the others.


    For a moment, Winters and his companions exchanged glances, unsure whether to salute. While Winters racked his brains recalling the naval ranking system, Bard spoke first, ¡°This cargo broker you mentioned, who are they? Are they in charge of regulating who enters and leaves the port?¡±


    The first mate didn¡¯t answer immediately but instead flipped his hand and handed several yellow fruits to Winters and the others, ¡°Try these, a delicacy from Taniria.¡±


    Winters and his companions had never seen these fruits before, and received them with suspicion. They didn¡¯t dare eat them, unsure of how to proceed.


    ¡°Just eat them directly, or you can peel them,¡± the first mate said, taking another fruit and demonstrating how to eat it for the three young warrant officers. He peeled away the outer skin, revealing the yellow fruit underneath, and quickly ate it all.


    Winters followed the first mate¡¯s example and peeled the skin, tentatively taking a bite of the fruit. It was sweet and juicy, extremely delicious. He quickly devoured one of the fruits and wanted another.


    ¡°What is this fruit called? I¡¯ve never eaten it before,¡± Winters said, encountering such a fruit for the first time.


    ¡°It has no name, the locals just call it ¡¯Sweetwater,¡¯ it¡¯s a type of berry from the island.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve also never had this before, I haven¡¯t even seen it,¡± added Andre, while Bard nodded. Clearly, both of them also liked the fruit.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to store. Once picked from the tree, it rots in less than a day,¡± the first mate said nonchalantly. ¡°That¡¯s why besides the island¡¯s locals, only us sailors can taste it.¡±


    ¡°What were you guys asking earlier? What does a cargo broker do?¡± The first mate took more fruits from the pouch he was carrying to distribute to the three, explaining seriously, ¡°A cargo broker helps shipowners sell or buy goods. We don¡¯t have time to slowly sell off the cargo in our hold, nor do we have time to buy slowly, so we look for cargo brokers. They have connections and can clear out a ship or fill one up in one fell swoop.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­¡± Winters keenly sensed a conflict in the information he¡¯d received, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a part of the inland navy? Why would you need a cargo broker to sell and buy goods?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡± Winters¡¯ question set the first mate off into a chuckle, ¡°How could we possibly be navy? Look at me, do I look like a naval officer? Then look at the Bandit Gull, does it look like a warship?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Bandit Gull a navy communications vessel?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°It¡¯s just a nominal title, with the navy being the minor shareholder of the Bandit Gull.¡±


    ¡°Then why is the Bandit Gull the one taking us home?¡±


    ¡°The navy commissioned the work, and besides carrying cargo, we sometimes take on passenger transport like this. Just like now, aren¡¯t we carrying a few other people besides you?¡±


    Winters finally understood what those few people on the Bandit Gull were there for; they were neither army soldiers nor sailors. He had originally thought they were the shipowners, but it turned out they were just passengers.


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I was wondering why a navy ship would be so small?¡±


    In Winters¡¯ eyes, the Bandit Gull indeed wasn¡¯t big; he had seen many cargo ships much larger than the Bandit Gull.


    The Bandit Gull had only two decks, with the topmost being the open deck. Below was another deck, and further down, the bottom of the ship.


    Moreover, because the Bandit Gull¡¯s freeboard was not high, the second deck was already below the waterline, so the cabins under the open deck could at most have a small vent, not capable of having windows, and naturally, they couldn¡¯t be fitted with cannons.


    This small ship not only lacked a dedicated gun deck, but it also had no cannons at all. Winters wandered around the ship a few times, and not to mention cannons, he hadn¡¯t even seen cannonballs, and now he finally understood why.


    ¡°The navy doesn¡¯t actually have that many real warships; they¡¯re all just nominally commercial ships like the Bandit Gull.¡± Upon hearing someone belittle the Bandit Gull, the first mate was somewhat displeased and tried to highlight the ship¡¯s advantages: ¡°The Bandit Gull isn¡¯t that small either, capable of carrying a hundred tons or more¡ªhow is that small? Moreover, the Bandit Gull¡¯s rigging is designed exceptionally well, very easy to control; it only takes about a dozen sailors to handle it well.¡±


    ¡°With only about a dozen sailors needed to handle it, that¡¯s why squeezing in over thirty more people is nearly killing us,¡± Andre fired another shot.


    The Bandit Gull¡¯s cabins were meant for holding cargo, and theoretically, they could also accommodate people, but they lacked ventilation, had poor lighting, and the living conditions were extremely harsh.


    It was for this reason that an extra forecastle and two aft castles were added to improve the sailors¡¯ living environment.


    The second floor of the aft castle was a separate small room. It was originally meant for the captain, but the highest-ranking person on board was clearly Admiral Layton. The admiral naturally took the best single cabin without hesitation.


    The first floor of the aft castle was a large room, given to Winters and the other injured Spellcasters to stay in;


    Major Moritz and the captain shared accommodations in the forecastle;


    The other trainee officers could only squeeze into the cabins with the sailors, and after leaving the rainy area, the warrant officers simply opted to sleep on the open deck, following the example of the sailors.


    Because life at sea was tough, the Sea Blue cadets always traveled by land when returning home in the past, never by ship. Traveling by ship was not only riskier, but the experience was also inferior. If one traveled by land, they could stay at relay stations, enjoying food and drink all the way home.


    This year, however, they were told to take a ship back because ¡°the road is not easy to travel.¡± What was supposed to be a pleasure trip turned into an ordeal, and every time they thought about it, it enraged all the trainee officers.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s a bit cramped, the Bandit Gull is very fast,¡± the first mate persisted.


    ¡°What good is speed if you¡¯re going in the wrong direction?¡± Andre was relentless.


    The first mate conceded defeat, feeling in the wrong: ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do, running a direct route between Sea Blue City and Guidao City doesn¡¯t make much money, so the ships in the Senas Sea all run triangular routes. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll head straight for Sea Blue City as soon as we leave port.¡±


    ¡°Clomp, clomp, clomp,¡± Major Moritz also climbed up to the aft castle; he was there to ask the first mate to help buy some liquor. Because of Admiral Layton¡¯s confinement order, Major Moritz couldn¡¯t leave the ship either. Between his own drinking and supplying the Spellcaster students with ¡°medicinal¡± use, his rum stock had been completely depleted two days ago.


    Without the ¡°water of life,¡± the major¡¯s spirits had clearly been down over the past few days.


    ¡°Mr. First Mate, could you please also replace the ship¡¯s water barrels with new ones? The sides of the barrels are covered in green slime. When I touched it, it felt slick and slimy. Aren¡¯t you afraid of getting sick drinking that water?¡± Major Moritz hadn¡¯t consumed any liquids for two days, having no liquor and being unable to stomach the ship¡¯s freshwater reserves.


    Hearing the major¡¯s description, Winters felt a chill, as he had been drinking the ship¡¯s freshwater these past days.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll have the sailors clean the water barrels right away,¡± the first mate hurried off.


    Vendors on the water near the docks in small rafts were selling local fruits and vegetables to the sailors. The major whistled, signaling one of the rafts to come over.


    The major gestured to take everything. No one saw where he pulled a silver coin from, but with a light flick, the silver coin accurately slipped into the vendor¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You guys go bring his food and drink aboard and share it with everyone,¡± the major, clearly having withdrawal symptoms, commanded, ¡°I¡¯m going to rest for a while. Wake me when the liquor is back.¡±


    Although he had just thrown out a silver coin, now the major had another silver coin in his hand, which he played with absently as he left the aft castle.


    ¡°Is that some kind of magic trick?¡± Andre peered out to glance at the vendor and then looked back at the major: ¡°He didn¡¯t make the silver coin he gave away reappear, did he?¡±


    ¡°How could that be? It¡¯s just one more coin, but I thought the way he tossed the coin into the person¡¯s arms was pretty impressive.¡±


    Later that day, the Bandit Gull emptied its cargo of ironware and leather brought from Guidao City, loaded up with sugar and tobacco in the Taniria Islands, and set sail for Sea Blue.

 Chapter 32 - 32 - 22 Inland Sea

    Chapter 32 ¨C 22 Inland Sea


    After Bandit Gull was loaded with sugar and tobacco in Tanilia, it was cutting through the waves toward Vineta. Its bow stirred up great sprays of water, splitting the waves aside along the hull and leaving a faint trail at the stern, as if it were the only vessel left between heaven and earth.


    Bandit Gull swayed side to side with the rhythm of the sea, the amplitude of swaying greater at higher positions. At the top of the mast, the swaying even exceeded the width of the ship¡¯s body.


    Winters looked up to see the sailor who had asked him for a drink a few days earlier scaling the mast without any protective gear, nimbly like a monkey, and he quickly reached the topmost yardarm.


    ¡°Seems like I don¡¯t have the talent for working on a ship. I couldn¡¯t do that job,¡± said Andre, watching the sailor working high above, with heart pounding.


    ¡°Neither do I,¡± Winters said as he watched the sailor climb so high, his hands and feet tingling. ¡°What¡¯s he going to do up there?¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to tie up the square sails. We will be sailing into the wind on the next leg of the journey, using only the jibs and staysails,¡± the first mate of Bandit Gull enthusiastically imparted some nautical knowledge to Andre and Winters.


    Senas Bay is normally tame, sheltered by land on the west side and shielded by the Tanilia Archipelago on the east, so there usually aren¡¯t any strong winds or big waves.


    ...


    The terrain of Alliance Country slopes from high in the west to low in the east, and the rivers that flow down from the western highlands drain into the sea here, forming many flat and fertile estuarine deltas along the coastline. Cities like Sea Blue and others are situated on typical alluvial plains.


    Therefore, ships that sail in these waters, to be able to enter shallow seas and river mouths, usually don¡¯t have a deep draft.


    Bandit Gull is neither an ocean-going vessel nor a coastal ship; it belongs to a ¡°hybrid¡± breed, adopting whatever design is useful, a prime example of pragmatism.


    Although Bandit Gull has a shallow and flat hull like coastal ships, it is equipped with a keel designed to withstand wind and waves. For the sake of speed, Bandit Gull has three masts on a not-so-large ship, greedily equipped with both square sails and triangular fore-and-aft sails.


    ¡°Does sailing into the wind mean we¡¯ll be going against the wind?¡± Winters took the opportunity to ask a question he had been pondering while there was a naval expert at hand.


    ¡°We don¡¯t say ¡¯against the wind¡¯ or ¡¯unfavourable wind¡¯ on the ship; we call this situation ¡¯sailing into the wind.¡¯ And yes, next we have to sail into the wind,¡± the first mate reminded him of the language taboo aboard the ship.


    ¡°Alright, sailing into the wind. But I don¡¯t understand why the ship can sail into the wind?¡± This question had left Winters completely puzzled.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple,¡± the first mate explained to Winters. ¡°Angle the ship and the sails to the wind, and the ship will move forward at an angle.¡±


    ¡°But why exactly can angling the ship and sails to the wind make it move forward?¡± This was the real question Winters wanted to understand.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± This question actually stumped the first mate: ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know why myself. I just know that doing this allows the ship to sail at an angle into the wind, but as for the specifics, I really don¡¯t know¡ªI¡¯ve never thought about it.¡±


    ¡°Then it seems that you too are a spellcaster,¡± Winters said with a laugh. ¡°You too can wield a power that you can¡¯t explain yourself.¡±


    A few passengers who were taking this ship from Sea Blue to Vineta were also on the deck for some fresh air, standing behind Winters. Overhearing Winters¡¯ comment, one of the men stealthily sized Winters up.


    ¡°What is a spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mage.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha, if I were a mage, I would conjure myself gold that I could never spend in my lifetime.¡±


    ¡°If you could just conjure gold at will, gold would no longer be valuable.¡±


    A series of urgent bell rings interrupted the two men¡¯s casual talk, as the lookout at the top of the mast loudly reported, ¡°Port side, forty degrees! Sails! Port side, forty degrees! Sails!¡±


    The first officer, upon hearing there was a ship to port, quickly ran to the forecastle, and Winters followed.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything,¡± Winters squinted, only to see the sea and sky.


    ¡°When the lookout atop the mast can see the other ship¡¯s mast, we can¡¯t see anything from our position. We have to wait until the lookout can see the hull before we can see their mast,¡± the first officer added, ¡°Not seeing is good, it means the other ship is also circling around us.¡±


    At that moment, the captain of the Bandit Gull also arrived at the forecastle. The captain was a plump middle-aged man, a rarity among seafaring men to have such a round face.


    ¡°Forty degrees to port, the lookout has spotted sails,¡± the first officer briefly reported the situation.


    ¡°The other ship has taken the windward position.¡± Without any hesitation, the stout captain immediately ordered the helmsman, ¡°Turn with the wind! Adjust the mainsail!¡±


    The helmsman immediately turned the wheel to the right, and the Bandit Gull began to list leftward, the wooden frame groaning under the pressure. The ship left an arcing wake as it adjusted to a downwind course.


    ¡°Let¡¯s give them some room, then return to our original course, maintaining a distance from them.¡± The fat captain held considerable respect for the army officers, and seeing that Winters and Andre were puzzled, he took the time to explain: ¡°If the other party doesn¡¯t harbor ill intent, they¡¯ll also be concerned about our intentions and keep their distance.¡±


    This made both Winters and Andre look at each other in surprise.


    ¡°Harbor ill intent? Are there really pirates on the inner sea?¡± Andre found it hard to believe. Senas Bay could be described as the Alliance¡¯s bathtub, fishpond, and backyard, colloquially known as the ¡°Inner Sea.¡± Could there really be pirates in such a place?


    ¡°It might not necessarily be pirates, considering this is a busy shipping route.¡± The fat captain sounded quite relaxed: ¡°But pirates are always around, and because of the inner sea¡¯s busy trade, there are actually quite a few pirates.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°Besides, wasn¡¯t the Alliance Navy originally just a bunch of pirates? If you all helped me rob other ships, then the Bandit Gull would become a pirate ship too.¡±


    ¡°Would anyone bother to rob a small ship like the Bandit Gull?¡±


    ¡°The Bandit Gull is not small. Even smaller ships get robbed. Pirates favor light ships. Large ships have more crew, making them hard targets for pirates and therefore safer.¡±


    ¡°But surely the navy patrols the inner sea with warships?¡±


    ¡°The navy doesn¡¯t have many pure warships; they¡¯re mostly like the Bandit Gull, nominally merchantmen. Shipbuilding has to be profitable, after all!¡± The fat captain began to share some business wisdom with Winters and Andre: ¡°A ship must earn back its building cost for the owner to break even, and that¡¯s after deducting wages and maintenance costs for the net profit. The money made after breaking even is the real earnings for the owner. Warships that don¡¯t carry cargo are pure expenditure, a guaranteed loss.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t the navy fight the pirates, then?¡± To Winters, if there were brigands, shouldn¡¯t they just be dealt with? While the Standing Army wasn¡¯t large, it didn¡¯t hinder the military from clamping down on organized robbery gangs.


    ¡°Merchant ships are all armed. When armed merchantmen have evil thoughts, they become pirates; when they earnestly run ships, they are businessmen. You can¡¯t eradicate them completely.¡± The fat captain seemed to enjoy enlightening these young soldiers and patiently explained: ¡°To truly eliminate piracy, you must start with the fencing operations, which the Alliance can¡¯t control.¡±


    ¡°The Alliance allows pirates to fence their goods on its own soil?¡± The news was more shocking than the last.


    ¡°Not within the Alliance, but in Tanilia. After robbing, pirates fence their goods in Tanilia ¨C it¡¯s a well-established process.¡± The fat captain revealed a meaningful smile: ¡°Who knows? There might even be stolen goods among this cargo. After all, pirates are the source of cheap goods, right?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what if you get robbed?¡± The fat captain¡¯s symbiotic philosophy with pirates left Winters and Andre speechless.


    The fat captain answered composedly, ¡°I just have to not get robbed. Don¡¯t worry too much; it¡¯s not so easy to encounter pirates.¡±


    ¡°Dang! Dang! Dang!¡± The lookout sounded the urgent bell once more, his voice hoarse as he reported, ¡°Aft direction! Hull!¡±


    The people on deck quickly rushed back to the stern castle, and this time, they saw the sails.

 Chapter 33 - 33 - 23 Determination

    Chapter 33 ¨C 23 Determination


    ¡°Hey, they really came?¡± The corpulent captain¡¯s tone was unusually relaxed, seeing that the visitors meant harm, yet he bore an expression as if he had an ace up his sleeve, ¡°Raise the flag, raise the naval flag.¡±


    Sailors climbed up the mainmast, the blue and yellow striped flag symbolizing the Sea Blue Republic was taken down, replaced by a striking red diagonal cross flag fluttering in the wind.


    This flag represented the Vineta Navy; the blue symbolized Vineta, the red symbolized blood, and the meaning of the flag was that the navy had established the Sea Blue Republic with blood.


    But in reality, the true reason for choosing red back then was because the flag¡¯s designers thought it was more conspicuous and could be recognized from afar. The interpretation involving blood came later, eventually turning into a misconstrued fact that became the official explanation.


    The fat captain, with his hands on his hips, boasted to the landlubbers, ¡°On the inland sea, pirates will give the navy some face no matter what. Seeing this flag, any villain harboring ill intentions would retreat on their own.¡±


    The captain¡¯s decisive leadership affected the trainee officers, it seemed they wouldn¡¯t encounter pirates today, and Winters felt a twinge of disappointment in his heart.


    But soon, the situation developed beyond the fat captain¡¯s prediction. Winters watched as the other vessel first revealed its masts, then sails, and then the deck until the entire ship came into view.


    ...


    If he wasn¡¯t hallucinating, that meant the distance between the two ships was shrinking.


    The fat captain remained composed, ¡°They probably can¡¯t see the flag clearly from that far away, give them some time.¡±


    After ¡°some time,¡± Winters could clearly see the bare tops of the masts of the approaching ship¡ªthey weren¡¯t flying any flag. This meant they could also clearly see the Bandit Gull¡¯s flag, and the newcomers weren¡¯t deterred by the sight of the naval flag.


    ¡°Let down all sails, full sail ahead,¡± the fat captain finally got a bit anxious. Sailors obeyed the command and climbed along the rigging up to the yardarms, unfurling the neatly bundled sails, as the Bandit Gull¡¯s main and foremasts were again hung with square sails.


    The sails on the Bandit Gull¡¯s three masts were now full of wind, causing those on the deck to stagger. Even the most obtuse passengers could feel the ship slowly accelerating, and the bewildered trainee officers walked up from the cabins onto the deck, even Major General Layton and Major Moritz came out.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, their sails are small; they¡¯re not fast even at full speed. The Bandit Gull will be able to shake them off shortly,¡± the fat captain said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.


    The sails of the Bandit Gull, inflated by the wind, suddenly started to deflate, the sea being a fickle lover, the power of the wind was waning.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay if the wind has died down, The Bandit Gull has more sails than they do; if we slow down, they¡¯ll slow down even more,¡± the fat captain confidently assessed.


    No sooner had he spoken than under the gaze of everyone aboard the Bandit Gull, the opposing ship¡¯s sides extended a pair of ¡°wings¡± and began beating the water.


    They were oars; the oncoming ship was not only equipped with sails but also with oars. As the wind diminished, but with the rowing of the oars, the oncomer¡¯s speed increased instead of decreasing, and the distance between the two vessels quickly closed.


    Actually, a mix of oars and sails was the standard configuration in Senas Bay at that time; ships sailing in these waters were mostly flat-bottomed with square sails, using sails with the wind, complemented by a set of oars for use against it.


    A ship like the Bandit Gull, rigged with complex tackle and powered solely by the wind, was the outlier in the inland sea. While this type of ship with strong self-reliance and requiring fewer sailors to operate represented the future, when it came to short-distance maneuverability in light winds, it was seriously outclassed by the more traditional oar-and-sail ships. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The distance between the two ships closed even further, so close that Winters could see ant-sized people climbing on the sails of the other ship.


    Someone climbed to the top of the mast and raised a flag divided equally between red and black.


    ¡°Whose flag is that?¡± Layton asked in a heavy tone, having grasped the predicament the Bandit Gull was in.


    ¡°It belongs to no one,¡± the fat captain said with a whimper, ¡°The meaning of that flag is that if we don¡¯t stop and surrender, they¡¯ll kill us all, not sparing a single life.¡±


    There was a sudden flash of red light at the bow of the oncoming ship, followed by a puff of white smoke. ¡°Boom!¡± A cannon shot rang out, a gray object flew from the prow of the other ship to behind the hull of the Bandit Gull, splashing water.


    Oar-and-sail ships kept their sides clear for the rowers, so the main guns were mounted at the bow. This shot was clearly intended as a show of force to the Bandit Gull.


    ¡°Pirates just want the cargo; if we can¡¯t get away, just give them what¡¯s in the hold,¡± one of the passengers aboard the Bandit Gull spoke up; they weren¡¯t willing to risk their lives for the ship owner¡¯s benefit, since the pirates weren¡¯t robbing them specifically.


    ¡°Give it to them, if they only want the cargo, that¡¯s fine,¡± the fat captain¡¯s legs had gone weak and he could barely stand, ¡°I¡¯m afraid they¡¯ll want the ship as well! The most valuable thing at sea isn¡¯t the cargo, it¡¯s the ship!¡±


    ¡°Give them hell! Not even a speck of dirt!¡± A thunderous voice made the fat captain sit abruptly on the ground; Major General Layton was furious. With blazing red eyes, he bellowed, ¡°They rob you and you give? To hell with that! What would that do to my reputation if this got out? Where would the pride of the Sea Blue Army be?!¡±


    Escape being hopeless, the fat captain had already considered surrendering. The prospect of losing everything, both ship and cargo, filled him with grief, better that than to lose his life, right? But seeing Major General Layton¡¯s defiance, he suddenly found a backbone and sensed a glimmer of hope to save both the ship and its goods.

 Chapter 34 - 34 - 23 Determination_2

    Chapter 34 ¨C 23 Determination_2


    ¡°You¡¯re right, General, these pirates may not be a match for us in a real fight,¡± the chubby captain muttered as he started tallying, ¡°We have more than fifty men on this ship, each one a brave soul. The approaching pirate ship isn¡¯t big, they might not have as many men as us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± the chubby captain decided loudly, ¡°Fight a battle, we¡¯re sure to win.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s do it!¡± Major General Layton firmly slapped the ship¡¯s gunwale.


    ¡°Easy there!¡± Some passengers didn¡¯t know how they got dragged into a fight with pirates, ¡°What if they just sink us outright? They have cannons.¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t, pirates are after money, no profit in sinking the Bandit Gull,¡± the chubby captain transformed from a surrender advocate to a hawkish stance, ¡°And we have cannons too, right here in the hold.¡±


    ¡°You have cannons and you don¡¯t mount them on deck, you keep them in the hold for what?¡± Major Moritz, who had been silent, pointed at the chubby captain¡¯s nose and demanded.


    ¡°The Bandit Gull has a shallow draft and high freeboard, the center of gravity isn¡¯t stable, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll capsize with the cannons on deck,¡± the chubby captain licked his lips, ¡°We have four six-pounders and several swivel guns in the ship.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bring them all up!¡±


    ¡°General! Please wait¡­¡± An elegant middle-aged passenger dressed meticulously stood out, ¡°You must understand, you¡¯re risking your officers¡¯ lives to guard the ship owner¡¯s property!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m defending the honor of the Vineta Army!¡± Major General Layton retorted sharply.


    ¡°This has nothing to do with honor!¡±


    ¡°Honor is the lifeblood of a soldier! If my officers value their lives over their honor, then they don¡¯t deserve to be officers! You say I don¡¯t care about my subordinates¡¯ lives? After boarding, I¡¯ll be the first to jump over!¡± Major General Layton¡¯s words left everyone on deck in utter silence.


    ¡°Surrendering doesn¡¯t guarantee safety,¡± the chubby captain was the first to snap back to his senses, earnestly chiming in, ¡°Pirates will strip all the money from you before taking hostages for ransom. If the ransom can¡¯t be paid, you¡¯re sold off as a slave to the plantations of Tanilia.¡±


    The middle-aged passenger of some social standing fell silent; whether cowed by the Major General¡¯s resolve or confused by the chubby captain¡¯s mix of truth and bluster wasn¡¯t clear.


    ¡°Enough talk! Ready the weapons!¡± The Major General slammed his fist against the capstan at the stern.


    He walked to the edge of the quarterdeck, locking eyes with the warrant officers on the deck, and spoke with vehement disdain, ¡°The ship behind us is a pirate vessel; they¡¯ve come for us. Some say you¡¯re worthless, can¡¯t stand up to pirates, and might as well surrender. Any coward who wants to give up, step forward, and I¡¯ll give you a small boat to surrender in!¡±


    He swept his gaze around, and the warrant officers didn¡¯t budge, ¡°Very well, sons of Vineta, how could you possibly surrender to pirates? You are officers trained with great effort by the army; it¡¯s time to see what you¡¯re made of! Are you cowards or heroes? Try and see today! A bunch of (expletive) worthless scum dares to trouble us? Go get your weapons! Follow me and exterminate these bastards!¡±


    The warrant officers roared with excitement, and Winters felt as if a blaze had ignited in his chest; he jumped from the quarterdeck and dashed straight to the hold for his longsword.


    Major Moritz spoke to the chubby captain with a disgruntled tone, ¡°You¡¯re lucky today; this fight looks inevitable now. It¡¯s indeed not right for the proud army to surrender to pirates. But maybe we can devise a reasonable plan¡­¡±


    Winters jumped down two levels from the quarterdeck straight to the hold to search for his luggage; his longsword was with it. Even though his longsword was a blunt practice sword used in swordsmanship classes, it was the only weapon he could think of in such short notice.


    Only when he actually held the sword did he realize it might not be suitable for use on a ship. The longsword was too long; to swing it freely, the surrounding vertical clearance would need to be at least three and a half meters.


    It would be especially difficult to wield it in the cramped, low-ceiling space of the hold, likely hitting the ceiling or the walls. It wasn¡¯t much better on deck, either, because of the ropes lying around, which could easily snag the blade.


    But Winters had no other weapons at his disposal, so he still secured the longsword to his side; having it was certainly better than nothing.


    Suddenly remembering the female pirate¡¯s dagger, Winters hastily searched for his belongings. Aike had carefully wrapped his shoulder bag with his luggage, and he found the dagger quickly. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The dagger, having been used for a Luminosity Spell, had transformed from a common metal hue to a red and black mix. Winters tried it out; it was still very sharp, so he tucked it into his belt as a backup weapon.


    Bard also entered the cabin to get a longsword and, seeing Winters securing the dagger to his belt, hurriedly stopped him, ¡°Look at the state you¡¯re in; don¡¯t even think about boarding. Your arm¡¯s just been stitched up, any strong movement and it¡¯ll rip open, won¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Then stitch it up again!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t possibly let his schoolmates and comrades fight while he played the invalid in the back.


    After clashing with the female pirate, he knew firsthand how dangerous real combat was, potentially lethal, but he was even less willing to be a coward.


    ¡°You go help the artillery crew with the cannons; we won¡¯t miss one man in hand-to-hand combat,¡± Bard said resolutely.


    Winters acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard, and walked straight out of the lower quarterdeck that was set aside for the resting spellcaster casualties. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the first mate and a sailor lifting a barrel filled with swords onto the deck, distributing them one by one to the crew.

 Chapter 35 - 35 - 23 Decision_3

    Chapter 35 ¨C 23 Decision_3


    Winters also hurried to switch to a single-handed curved saber. The blade of the saber was wider, shorter in length, with the center of gravity positioned towards the front, and it had a large guard.


    He often saw sailors carrying this type of saber. Holding it in his hand for a moment, he immediately understood why the sailors favored this weapon.


    Its shorter length made it more convenient to wield on the narrow confines of a ship, less likely to get caught on the ship¡¯s body or cables. The wide blade and forward center of gravity made for more powerful chops. Sailors didn¡¯t wear armor, so the cleaving effect was exceptional.


    ¡°We need a few more men to help move the cannon! Come on!¡± Just as Winters had exchanged for the more practical short saber, he heard a call for help from the cabin and immediately went to assist.


    When Winters climbed down the ladder to the lower deck, several artillery trainee officers were exerting all their strength to move an iron cannon.


    The ship¡¯s cannons were short-barreled, not large in caliber but with thick walls ringed with iron hoops, exceedingly cumbersome. Moreover, the cabin was small and crammed with cargo, giving the warrant officers no good way to apply force.


    Winters looked around and thought that unloading the cargo would make it easier to move the cannons, but it was clear that unloading was not feasible at the moment. So, he could only go over and lend a hand, but the cannon could still only be inch out very slowly.


    ...


    Major Moritz also came down to the lower deck and, seeing the trainee officers moving the cannon, felt like he was going to be driven insane by these youngsters¡¯ stupidity: ¡°Don¡¯t bother with these old six-pounders; can you move them? Is there time? Don¡¯t we have swivel guns? Where are they?¡±


    Spotting the swivel guns equipped on the Bandit Gull, Major Moritz¡¯s eyes brightened up: ¡°Oh, they¡¯re breech-loading swivel guns? Perfect! Just the thing for fighting pirates.¡±


    ¡°Where are the chambers? Get the chambers out first.¡± The major started searching through the lower deck on his own and eventually found the swivel guns¡¯ chambers in a few wooden crates: ¡°Send a few men to load the chambers with powder first, and just carry one swivel gun body up; that will be enough.¡±


    The breech-loading swivel guns on the Bandit Gull were known as culverins or ¡°mother-and-son cannons¡± in the Silk Country. Gunpowder and cannonballs were loaded into a chamber, which was then inserted into the back of the main gun before igniting. The combustion process mainly occurred within the chamber, with the main body of the gun acting as a barrel.


    The advantage was that multiple chambers could be prepared in advance, replacing one after firing quickly without needing to load each shot individually, providing a fast rate of fire.


    The downside, due to limitations of the craftmanship, was that there were serious air leaks at the junction between the chamber and the gun body. Therefore, the guns had very low power and could not shoot far. However, they were entirely adequate for close-range boarding actions.


    Upon the major¡¯s words, Winters and several gunnery warrant officers abandoned the six-pounders and turned to lift the swivel gun instead.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just busy yourself with carrying the gun body; load the chambers with powder, take all the chambers with you,¡± chided Major Moritz, finding it both annoying and funny to see the young men hurriedly move the large cannon and then the swivel guns: ¡°Take it easy, it¡¯s just dozens of pirates, you¡¯ll face much bigger scenes in the future.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, directed by the major, and another gunnery warrant officer hoisted several small swivel gun barrels up to the lower deck.


    By then, the lower deck was in complete chaos, with warrant officers and sailors running back and forth, each unsure of what they were busy with but all appearing very busy.


    Winters stopped the first mate, who was carrying a matchlock gun, and asked him to take two men to fetch gunpowder and lead shot.


    The corpulent captain was stingy, a person of accumulation without dispensation, treasuring everything excessively.


    He had everything a merchant ship should have: large guns, swivel guns, matchlock guns, swords, gunpowder. But he kept everything locked up, carefully stored on the ship and never taken out for the sailors to practice with, lest they get damaged by the rough handling of the sailors.


    In the fat captain¡¯s eyes, the most important thing was to prevent the ship and all its property from depreciating.


    But when the first mate smashed the locks and opened the ¡°treasured¡± gunpowder barrels, Winters was at a loss¡ªhe only knew how to use matchlock guns but had never learned how to handle cannons.


    ¡°How do we load the powder?¡± Winters asked, holding several swivel gun chambers, unsure what to do.


    ¡°Load it just like you would a musket!¡± the gunnery warrant officer replied with reprimand, not looking back as he busied himself.


    ¡°What I mean is, how much? How much powder do we load? And what about the cannonballs?¡± The gunpowder was too little; it wouldn¡¯t be enough, too much, and the gunner would be blown up first.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to find cannonballs, just use lead shot as canister. The amount of lead shot you load, that¡¯s how much powder you use.¡±


    ¡°Are you talking about volume or weight?¡±


    ¡°Enough, you go find some match,¡± the gunnery warrant officer said irritably, snatching the chambers from Winters¡¯s hands and sending him away.

 Chapter 36 - 36 - 24 Switching Sides

    Chapter 36 ¨C 24 Switching Sides


    Captain Gold rested his hand on the curved sword at his waist, gazing from the bow at the distant three-masted clipper.


    The fat captain of the Bandit Gull once said that ¡°merchant ships with wicked thoughts turn into pirates, and honest pirates running ships are merchants,¡± but this time he was wrong. Because robbery was not Captain Gold¡¯s hobby¡ªit was his full-time job. ¡°Good Fortune¡± Gold was a full-time pirate of the inland seas, specializing in the promising industry of maritime robbery.


    The reason why ¡°Good Fortune¡± Gold acquired his nickname was because the Goddess of Luck always smiled at him.


    Many pirate ships would often get caught by the Alliance navy, but he always managed to escape. When faced with tough prey, after a bloody battle where every surviving pirate was wounded, he would come out unscathed every time.


    Sailors said: Bullets would curve around ¡°Good Fortune¡± Gold. There were also whispers spreading quietly in the cabin: Good Fortune Gold had made a deal with the devil, and evil black magic protected him.


    However, Gold¡¯s luck had indeed always been excellent, so much so that he even named his ship ¡°Good Fortune.¡±


    Like now, if it weren¡¯t for the wind stopping, there was no way a galley like the Good Fortune could ever catch up to the three-masted clipper ahead. But just as luck would have it, the wind stopped and thus the ship, no matter how many sails it had, could only become the prey of the Good Fortune.


    ...


    Gold saw that after he raised the black and red flag, the small ship ahead had already lowered the naval flag and raised the white flag.


    The ease of scaring the opponent into surrendering owed much to the large cannon on the bow of the Good Fortune. This large-caliber stone cannon was Captain Gold¡¯s prized possession, acquired through a fortunate coincidence and a high price.


    Nobody on the Good Fortune knew how to use the cannon, but fortunately, it wasn¡¯t necessary for actual combat. Just loading the gunpowder and stone shot and firing a shot was enough; upon hearing the cannon fire, even the toughest prey would surrender.


    A large-caliber stone cannon could dispel any merchant ship¡¯s fantasies of boarding combat.


    The merchant ship on the opposite side raised the Vineta naval flag, not softening at the knees just from a blast of the cannon? As for that naval flag, Gold didn¡¯t care much.


    He was aware of the details of the various Alliance navies; there were many merchant ships registered with the navy. The weaker and less capable a merchant ship was of defending itself, the more it preferred to register with the navy of different countries, paying a protection fee and getting a naval flag in return.


    A naval flag could possibly scare away armed merchant ships with malicious intentions, but it could not scare away Good Fortune Gold.


    In the inland seas, ships come and go, why would I be afraid to rob you just because you hang a Vineta naval flag? Besides, on this vast sea, if I rob you, would the Vineta navy even know? And even if the Vineta navy knew, what could they do to me?


    Moreover, this time, Good Fortune Gold came specifically for the naval flag. Three masts, a light vessel, registered under the Vineta navy, appearing here at this time¡ªall the intelligence confirmed it. No mistake, it was this ship!


    Seeing the opponent had already raised the white flag and surrendered, the corners of Captain Gold¡¯s mouth almost split to his ears, and he was bursting with excitement: ¡°I¡¯ve struck it rich! This time, I¡¯ve struck it rich!¡±


    Gold could hardly wait to board the ship ahead. To him, the Good Fortune¡¯s speed seemed as slow as a turtle, and the rich prize within arm¡¯s reach made him anxious. He called to his first mate, ¡°Do the rowers want to die? Are they not putting in the effort? Why are they rowing so slow? Go make them row with all their might!¡±


    The first mate heeded Gold¡¯s command, grabbed a whip, and walked down to the open deck, starting to lash those wretched rowers on the lower decks.


    Like the Bandit Gull, the Good Fortune had two decks, but both decks of the Good Fortune were above the waterline.


    In fact, rather than saying the Good Fortune had two decks, it would be more accurate to say that the Good Fortune was a flat-bottomed tub with an illegally added layer of a through-deck building acting as an open deck.


    The rowers on the Good Fortune were positioned on the second deck, each with one foot chained next to the oar, without even space to turn around, they could only row.


    The rowers weren¡¯t the pirates of the Good Fortune; no free man would willingly become a rower. The rowers were sailors from the merchant ships that Good Fortune Gold had robbed.


    The cargo was taken, the ship was sold, some of the sailors were sold off, and some were kept to row on the Good Fortune.


    The rowers were shackled, eating, drinking, relieving themselves, and sleeping all next to the oar. Even when the pirates went ashore to rest, the rowers wouldn¡¯t be released. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With poor food, bad sleep, and high work pressure, even a strong man wouldn¡¯t last long in such conditions.


    But luckily, there were always new victims to replace them. The rowers were just replaceable parts of the Good Fortune, needing replacement every so often.


    For the rowers, there were only two ways out: die next to the oar or somehow manage to become a pirate.


    On the Good Fortune, there were ten rows of oars, each oar manned by two rowers, totaling forty rowers. Together with the more than fifty pirates, that was the entire crew of the Good Fortune.


    Almost a hundred crew members for a ship of Good Fortune¡¯s size seemed overly bloated. Thus, the Good Fortune had very poor self-sustainability, and it had to dock again for supplies and rest after only one or two days at sea.


    Ordinary galleys had sailors who doubled as rowers. But on the Good Fortune, with the free labor from human beasts, the pirates naturally didn¡¯t want to also be rowers; they wanted to save their strength for possible hand-to-hand combat.


    The Good Fortune closed in on the Bandit Gull until they were only a few ship-lengths away. Captain Gold directed the Good Fortune to intimidatingly circle around the Bandit Gull.

 Chapter 37 - 37 - 24 Switching Sides_2

    Chapter 37 ¨C 24 Switching Sides_2


    It wasn¡¯t just to intimidate the enemy, but also Captain Gold¡¯s cautious desire to take a closer look at this small boat:


    The fattest one must be the captain; no sailor could have so much flesh, and his clothes were also the finest. This man was standing at the bow, looking absolutely flustered and wiping sweat from his brow without stopping.


    Captain Gold laughed heartily, ¡°We can¡¯t sell this fatso; he must stay and row on the Good Fortune until he drops dead.¡±


    There were seven or eight others left on deck, typical sailor-looking types, with worn clothes and skin darkened and cracked from the sun¡¯s rays. Two years ago, Good Fortune Gold had been such a wretched sailor, but now he was a Hunter.


    There must be more sailors on this ship, definitely some hiding in the dark corners of the boat, praying to escape this ordeal. There was no hurry; they could be slowly sniffed out. No one could get away on the vast sea.


    The Good Fortune retracted the oars on the side close to the Bandit Gull, while the pirates threw grappling hooks with ropes toward Bandit Gull, all the while making wild cries to scare the sailors on board.


    The hooks bit into the Bandit Gull¡¯s side, pulling the gap between the two ships closer inch by inch. Four boarding planks with hooks stretched towards the Bandit Gull, hooking firmly onto the ship¡¯s hull.


    ...


    Done! These boarding planks had hooks on both sides. Once hooked, they were extremely difficult to release. Now Bandit Gull was firmly connected to the Good Fortune, and now not even the fat captain could run away, even if he regretted it.


    Over a dozen anxious pirates didn¡¯t wait for Gold¡¯s order and rushed onto the Bandit Gull¡¯s deck, which greatly irritated Good Fortune Gold.


    Within the pirate democracy to some extent, the captain, aside from a small private room, didn¡¯t have much privilege, and could even be voted off the ship by the sailors if things went wrong.


    The rule for robbery was that all spoils must be evenly distributed, but pirates who boarded the prey¡¯s ship first would definitely grab more scattered silver coins.


    So, every time as soon as the boarding plank was in place, the pirates would rush on board in a frenzy, and Gold was unable to restrain them. If he used harsh measures, his throat could be cut by the pirates and ¡°voted off the ship¡± that very night.


    ¡°The crew¡¯s hearts are too scattered, and the team is hard to lead,¡± sighed Gold, shaking his head, as he also headed towards the Bandit Gull.


    What Bandit Gull faced from Good Fortune Gold, however, was a piercing whistle. Bandit Gull tore off its sheep¡¯s clothing disguise, and what the pirates saw as a fattened lamb showed its fangs and claws, as a large group of young men in military uniforms and armed with weapons poured out from the prow castle, stern castle, and cabins of Bandit Gull.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Line break ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Major Layton threw his whistle fiercely, making true on his promise to be ¡°the first to jump in.¡±


    The major roared, ¡°Follow me, you bastards!¡± and then leapt down from the stern castle, crashing onto the open deck of Good Fortune, making the entire ship tremble upon his landing. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Most of the warrant officers used single-handed weapons together with makeshift small shields from planks, but the major held his own sword in his left hand, and a sailor¡¯s cutlass in his right.


    Upon landing, he delivered a vicious overhead chop to the neck of a pirate before him, the brutal strike slashing through the neck at an angle, cutting halfway through it, and the curved front end of the cutlass inflicting a second wound on the pullback.


    The major, not paying further attention to the poor soul whose neck had been half-severed and now splattered with his blood, ferociously continued to slice through the remaining pirates who had yet to come to their senses.


    Andre and a few warrant officers, infected by the major¡¯s fierce momentum, also roared as they followed the major onto the deck of Good Fortune.


    Major Morris sighed helplessly and also, sword in hand, leapt from the prow castle.


    The major¡¯s original plan was to ambush and deal with the pirates boarding the ship first, then use revolving guns and muskets to weaken the pirates remaining on the enemy ship, and finally board to exterminate the remaining enemies.


    But with the top boss jumping in right away, he had no choice but to follow suit.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Line break ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Meanwhile, at the top of the stern castle, Winters and two gunnery lieutenants together exerted their strength to mount the swivel gun on the ship¡¯s side. The three of them had been lying flat on the deckboards, concealed by barrels and sacks.


    The swivel gun was so named because it was mounted on a stand, allowing it to swivel to aim at different angles.


    Under the iron frame was an iron rod, and the ship¡¯s side had holes drilled during the construction, into which the iron rod could be inserted to mount the swivel gun on the ship¡¯s side.


    Bandit Gull¡¯s side was lower than that of Good Fortune, which was a disadvantage. But don¡¯t forget, Bandit Gull still had the fighting tops.


    In naval boarding actions, whoever had the higher fighting tops had the advantage. From the very top of Bandit Gull¡¯s stern castle, one could overlook the open deck of Good Fortune with an unobstructed view.


    As they say, ¡°From high to low, beat the dumbass,¡± and with Bandit Gull¡¯s long-range firepower at a higher position, they could leisurely shoot at Good Fortune.


    With the gun in place, one gunnery warrant officer grasped the gun¡¯s tail to aim at the enemy, while another quickly grabbed a chamber and stuffed it into the rear cabin of the swivel gun, followed by a wooden wedge to secure the chamber into place, then poured gunpowder into the priming hole.


    While the two warrant officers were busy, Winters was tasked with only one thing: ensuring that the slow match didn¡¯t go out.


    Without a real salt-soaked slow match on board, they had to unravel hemp rope to use instead. The problem was that with hemp rope, if you held it upside down, it would burn quickly, but if you held it upright, it would go out by itself.


    Winters was now like Prometheus, the fire thief, both blowing on it and adjusting the angle, carefully tending to the small flame in his hand.


    ¡°Ready! Light it now!¡± urged the loader warrant officer.

 Chapter 38 - 38 - 24 Jumping Ship_3

    Chapter 38 ¨C 24 Jumping Ship_3


    Without a linstock, Winters directly used his hand to light the powder with the slow match. He didn¡¯t know when to pull away, and as the gases propelled the shot, they also sprayed the powder from the touch-hole, adding a few more burns to his hands, but Winters clenched his teeth and made no sound.


    ¡°Boom!¡± Along with the acrid smoke and a loud bang, six or seven lead balls shot out from the rotating cannon¡¯s muzzle, hurtling towards the pirates on the Good Fortune. The battle was too chaotic to see how many pirates were hit, but certainly, some were crying out for their fathers and mothers.


    The two gunner warrant officers seemed very dissatisfied with the effects of the bombardment.


    In this era, cannons didn¡¯t have anything like a depression angle because the shot was smaller than the bore; if the cannon was tilted down, the shot would simply roll out.


    In a hurry and without proper cannonballs, the warrant officers used musket balls as cannon shot. Wrapped in pieces of sackcloth to prevent the lead from falling directly out when the muzzle was pointed downward.


    But the problem was that the lead shot was still smaller than a cannonball and sealed poorly, allowing the gas from the burning powder to spray out through the gaps. That¡¯s why when gunners used canister shot, they added a sabot.


    But where could they find sabots in such haste? There was no time to carve wood on the spot, so they had to go ahead with thick skin, and naturally, the power of the rotating cannon was greatly reduced, lacking the expected effect of mowing down a row with a single shot.


    ...


    ¡°Keep going! Don¡¯t stop,¡± the gunner warrant officer called off the ongoing damage assessment. Having something was better than nothing, even if it was just for the sound, it was a great deterrent to the enemy.


    After swabbing the bore, a new chamber was loaded and Winters lit it again. Sparks hissed into the chamber, but it only emitted smoke.


    The rotating cannon did not roar; the sound was like a damp fart.


    Misfire?


    The loader warrant officer, unfazed, immediately knocked out the wedge and loaded a new chamber.


    Upon igniting it again, there was still no reaction.


    ¡°(Expletive)! That stingy captain must have stored the powder for too long without use, causing it to separate,¡± the loader warrant officer sent his kindest regards to the fat captain¡¯s entire family. But his hands did not stop; he loaded another chamber. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon igniting it again, this time it sounded.


    All twelve chambers were quickly spent, with only five successful shots; the remaining seven were duds.


    The alarming rate of misfires infuriated the loader warrant officer, who cursed loudly, while the gunner warrant officer said nothing and picked up the slow match gun that was set aside, handing it to Winters and the loader warrant officer.


    From his high position, Winters had a clear view of the situation. The shouting had ceased, now only the dull sounds of blades entering flesh and screams could be heard. The pirates who had leaped onto the Bandit Gull¡¯s deck were all dealt with, and on the crowded deck, one could no longer see the pirates¡¯ filthy hair, only the clean heads of the warrant officers.


    The Bandit Gull¡¯s combined land and sea forces were attacking the Good Fortune¡¯s deck, and even three of the four passengers who had been hesitant were now wielding weapons and fighting pirates on the frontline. But with limited space, only a few in the front ranks were desperately fighting, the rest could only push from behind.


    And at the Good Fortune¡¯s bow hatch, pirates were continuously pouring out, turning what started as an ambush into a bloody tug-of-war, each exchanging blows.


    Winters watched as Andre, along with the fiercely aggressive Major, charged into the Good Fortune¡¯s cabin from the aft hatch.


    He felt tense; with the way things were, there surely were a large number of pirates inside the cabin, and with just Major and Andre entering, the odds were more perilous than not.


    Winters and Andre were originally only acquaintances from the same hometown, but over the past few days, with Winters injured on board, Andre had taken good care of him. Regardless of what Andre thought, at least Winters now considered this loud-voiced fellow a friend.


    Seeing Andre enter the danger, Winters could no longer stay in a safe place to provide support with a slow match gun.


    He threw down the gun, and with a shout of ¡°Eh? What are you doing?¡± from the gunner warrant officer, Winters leaped down onto the aft deck of the Good Fortune, gritted his teeth, and followed Andre¡¯s path into the Good Fortune¡¯s cabin.

 Chapter 39 - 39 - 25: Close Quarters Combat

    Chapter 39 ¨C 25: Close Quarters Combat


    Jumping from the brightly-lit open deck into the dimly-lit cabin, Winters couldn¡¯t see anything at first. Fortunately, no one took this opportunity to ambush him.


    Only when his eyes adjusted to the darkness did he realize that the Good Fortune had apparently divided the lower deck into several areas.


    Winters was used to wielding a two-handed sword, and only being able to grip the sailor¡¯s knife with one hand made him feel a lack of security. He drew his dagger again and, imitating the admiral¡¯s style, held blades in both hands as he explored into the darkness.


    A heavy thud came from behind ¨C Winters tensed and turned, ready to swing his knife, but the person who had jumped down said, ¡°Wait, it¡¯s me.¡±


    The light filtering in through the hatch was too dim to see clearly, but Winters recognized the voice all too well ¨C it was Bard.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go up together,¡± Bard said, following him in a low voice.


    Winters nodded and continued to explore ahead ¨C having someone cover your back was always reassuring.


    ...


    After entering the cabin from the rear entrance, they saw several compartments on the left and right that appeared to be used by those of higher status on the ship. A narrow path was left in the middle, only wide enough for one person to pass through.


    Winters smelled blood, and in one of the compartments, he found a corpse. Clearly, the admiral and Andre had already broken through here.


    Moving forward, he kicked open another cabin door, which led to an open area.


    No longer separated by wooden partitions, the entire cabin was one large room with big holes in the cabin walls. The floor was filled with people dressed in rags like beggars, with the pungent stench of acid and decay hitting their nostrils.


    The admiral and Andre were in the middle of the cabin. The admiral¡¯s movements were not flashy, even somewhat simple: a parry with the left arm, a stab with the right.


    But with the admiral¡¯s extraordinary strength, these simple moves became the most efficient means of killing. He used his left sword to deflect a scimitar coming head-on, then with a stab and a twist of his right hand, a pirate was screaming as he was knocked down.


    No one aboard the ship was a match for the admiral alone. The pirates, lacking spears and not skilled in combined attacks, were forced to retreat repeatedly.


    Andre, standing next to the admiral, hardly had a chance to strike; he struggled to keep pace, protecting the admiral from being attacked by multiple pirates at once. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, several pirates were using the width of the ship to try to circle behind the admiral and Andre.


    Winters and Bard¡¯s arrival was impeccably timed, for if they had truly been surrounded, even with their superior swordsmanship, the admiral and Andre would have been helpless. They could rush to this point because the pirates had been intimidated by the admiral¡¯s ferocity, and both men had been driving pirates before them on the way here ¨C no need to worry about what was behind them.


    Winters let out a roar, drawing the attention of the pirates and signaling to the two ahead that reinforcements had arrived. The pirates who had been circling to get behind the admiral and Andre, hearing Winters, abandoned their targets and rushed toward him instead.


    A single-handed sword often required a small shield or a parrying dagger, but Winters¡¯s dagger lacked a guard and was of no use in blocking; holding it was more a psychological comfort than anything else.


    However, when the pirates charged at Winters wielding his scimitar and dagger, they hesitated, their hearts uneasy, but they steeled themselves and met him head-on.


    The pirates¡¯ attack was simple ¨C a savage chop from upper left to lower right.


    As for Winters, the sailor¡¯s knife was both his weapon and his shield. The deck was crowded with emaciated rowers, leaving no room to dodge, so Winters met the pirate¡¯s blade with his own.


    In that moment, he understood Instructor Nal¡¯s lesson: on the battlefield, nothing was more useful than immense strength.


    As the two scimitars clashed, how could the pirate, who did not eat or train as well as a well-fed, well-trained cadet, compete in strength? He was directly overpowered by Winters¡¯s blade strike.


    Winters instinctively used a longsword technique and cut into the pirate¡¯s center line. The cabin was filled with rowers with no space for Winters to step forward, so he directed his blade at the pirate¡¯s right arm.


    The weapons aboard the Bandit Gull were poorly maintained; the sailor¡¯s knife in Winters¡¯s hand was not particularly sharp, but for this reason, it bit into the flesh even more deeply. When he struck the pirate, Winters resolutely dragged his blade, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone in the pirate¡¯s arm.


    The pirate screamed in agony, dropping his knife and stumbling backward, clutching his wound. If this were a swordsmanship contest, Winters would have scored an elegant two points with that move. But this cabin was a battlefield, and crippling a pirate¡¯s hand didn¡¯t take his life.


    ¡°Hold them! Have you be my crew!¡± a voice cried out with a thick Tanilian accent, ¡°or I¡¯ll kill you all!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t understand who was being addressed, then realized the pirates were coercing the rowers. He surveyed the sorry rowers ¨C some averted their gaze in fear, while others showed desperation and greed in their eyes.


    With at least thirty rowers in the cabin, if even a third were incited to action, the four officers there were in danger.


    Every rower in the cabin was now a potential enemy. Winters shouted back, ¡°The pirates are finished! Those who are not pirates, stay seated! Move, and you will be killed without hesitation!¡± He and Bard stepped over the seated rowers and strode towards the admiral and Andre, trying to move away from that area.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just sit there, you scum! Do you want to die?¡± the voice with the Tanilian accent bellowed again.

 Chapter 40 - 40 - 25 Short-Armed Combat_2

    Chapter 40 ¨C 25 Short-Armed Combat_2


    As soon as the words had left his mouth, Winters felt someone grab his left leg, and Bard was tackled to the ground by three oarsmen. At that moment, another pirate charged at him from the front.


    The last bit of pity in Winters¡¯ heart for these oarsmen was crushed by rage. He too became ferocious, switching his dagger from his right hand to his left, and viciously stabbed it into the neck of the oarsman holding his leg.


    He reminded himself that he was on a battlefield, and this time he didn¡¯t just stab down, he mimicked Major General Layton¡¯s move¡ªa stab, followed by a brutal twist.


    An irreparable, destructive wound appeared on the oarsman¡¯s neck right away, his artery and tendons directly pierced and shredded. In agony, the oarsman covered the wound and let go of Winters¡¯ left leg.


    With his leg free, Winters sidestepped, dodging the straight thrust from the pirate. The next move was completed instinctively by his swordsmanship training, first using the blade to block and knock the opponent¡¯s scimitar off course.


    But this time, he didn¡¯t chop at the man¡¯s arm; instead, he thrust into the pirate¡¯s soft abdomen. Again, a stab and a twist. When he pulled out the scimitar, its curved blade created an even larger opening. That one strike took away the pirate¡¯s ability to move.


    He didn¡¯t bother with the eviscerated pirate any longer and turned to help Bard. By this time, Bard was already pinned to the ground by three oarsmen. One oarsman was desperately trying to pry Bard¡¯s fingers open to seize his knife, but Bard was holding on tightly. Unable to pry the knife free, the oarsman moved to bite.


    ...


    Winters took two steps to Bard¡¯s side, plunging his knife fiercely into the neck of the oarsman attempting to bite, killing him instantly.


    The other two oarsmen were struggling with Bard. Fearing that using his Longsword might hurt Bard, Winters drove his dagger into the back of an oarsman¡¯s neck and, with a punch, drove it through, neatly dispatching the two oarsmen.


    He pulled Bard up from the ground, and the oarsmen no longer dared to meet the gaze of the officer who had just killed three men, hanging their heads in submission. Not a single oarsman was spurred to attack the two by the pirates any longer.


    Seeing reinforcements arriving, the major general no longer led Andre forward. They had numerous wounds, but sheer momentum had carried them this far. Now, with reinforcements, there was no need for a reckless attack, so the major general started a defensive retreat with Andre.


    Winters and Bard advanced, while the major general and Andre fell back; finally, the four of them regrouped, confronting the pirates.


    At this time, sounds of clashing blades came from behind the pirates, signaling that the pirates on deck had also been defeated. The major general and his men had fought from the stern into the cabin, while the ensigns were attacking from the entrance at the bow of the ship. Now, it was the pirates¡¯ turn to be caught in a pincer attack.


    ¡°Surrender! Or I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± The major general, like death incarnate, devoid of any mercy or compassion, suddenly started his psychological warfare, but the dripping blood from his two blades and his blood-stained uniform didn¡¯t seem very persuasive.


    ¡°Surrender my ass! Do you think we¡¯ll live if we surrender?¡± The pirate leader who had earlier spurred on his men to fight, shouted in despair, ¡°If we surrender, this butcher will kill us all! This butcher is an officer; capture him, use him as a hostage, then we can live!¡±


    By the end of his speech, the leader was crying, kicking and beating the other pirates like a shrew: ¡°Go on! Capture him, and we can live! We can live¡­¡±


    ¡°Trash! Truly disgusting!¡± The major general looked contemptuously at the blustering pirate leader, pointing his sword at the man: ¡°Even if you surrender, I would still kill you! Listen up, everyone, I¡¯ll only kill this one. If you don¡¯t want to die, throw down your weapons and surrender!¡±


    On this side, Winters, Bard, and Andre silently faced off against the pirates. Meanwhile, more and more army ensigns leaped down from the entrance to the cabin. The pirates, trapped in the cabin, had nowhere to run and were at a dead end.


    Winters watched as the pirates, uncertain and looking at each other helplessly, seemed to want to surrender, but no one dared to be the first to drop their weapon. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Drop your weapons!¡± The major general commanded with another loud shout.


    One by one, two by two, the pirates began dropping their weapons one after another, declaring the end of the brief but bloody melee.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDividing Line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the deck of the Good Luck, pirates who had surrendered were tightly tied up, kneeling in an orderly row.


    Surrounding them were a flock of fledgling ensigns who had just tasted blood for the first time, holding their knives and watching fiercely.


    One by one, pirate corpses and those on the brink of death were dragged out from the deck and cabin and neatly placed in front of the surrendered pirates.


    Major General Layton sat heroically on a wooden barrel that had been dragged over, while Major Moritz, bolstered by alcohol, was stitching up his wounds.


    There was no one on the ship thick-skinned enough to dare use a fishhook for suturing, so it fell to this man, who became indiscriminate once drunk.


    Even though the instructor had said swordsmanship was a sport, it turned out to be somewhat useful, as at least the ensigns knew how to avoid being stabbed in the vital chest and abdominal area.


    The injured ensigns mostly suffered wounds on their limbs, and if they didn¡¯t develop severe inflammation or fever in the following days, they would survive. Otherwise, they would die.


    In an age without antibiotics and tetanus vaccines, survival from an injury entirely depended on the severity, physical condition, and luck.


    Impatient from waiting, Major General Layton stood up with his sabre as soon as all the dead and dying pirates had been dragged out and approached the captured pirates.

 Chapter 41 - 41 - 25 Short Arms Conflict_3

    Chapter 41 ¨C 25 Short Arms Conflict_3


    ¡°I won¡¯t waste words with you. You, come here first.¡± The Rear Admiral stopped in front of the pirate captain he had said he would kill no matter what, back in the cabin standoff.


    The pirate, who seemed to be the captain, hung his head and dared not meet the Rear Admiral¡¯s gaze. The Rear Admiral placed his sword against his neck, ¡°Speak, which one is the captain?¡±


    Upon hearing the Rear Admiral¡¯s question, the pirate felt a glimmer of hope and mustered his courage to ask in return, ¡°If I tell, if I give up the captain, will the General spare my life?¡±


    Before he finished speaking, the Rear Admiral¡¯s sword had pierced through his left ribcage. Shocked, he looked at the Rear Admiral and then at his own chest where the sword had sliced through his heart.


    As the sword was withdrawn, the pirate fell forwards as if his soul had been drained from him, blood pouring out beneath him.


    Even though Winters had seen bloodshed that day, his heart softened a bit at the sight of the pirate¡¯s death, and the Rear Admiral¡¯s ruthless cruelty shocked him. There¡¯s a difference between killing on the battlefield and executing a bound prisoner.


    But he said nothing, nor did his classmates. The only sound on the deck was the sea, as the young ensigns silently watched and learned from the senior officer¡¯s methods.


    ...


    ¡°Such a waste of words.¡± The Rear Admiral shook the fresh blood off his sword with disgust, and turned to question another pirate next to the one just dead, ¡°Speak, which one is the captain?¡±


    With a body still bleeding next to him, the second pirate called upon felt a coldness in his groin and had already wet himself. He agreed hastily to help identify and pleaded for mercy.


    Rear Admiral Layton did not rush to have this pirate identify anyone but simply lifted him by his shirt collar with one hand as if picking up a chicken. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rear Admiral Layton had the pirate look carefully at the faces of his still-living comrades before smiling at all the pirates, ¡°I will have you turn around, and let this piece of trash in my hand point someone out among you and these bodies first. Then I will bring another person forward, and if you don¡¯t point out the same one, you¡¯ll both die.¡±


    Winters quickly understood why the Rear Admiral was using this peculiar method; it was still about making the pirates betray one another, avoiding casually pointing out a corpse as the captain.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to kill, just kill. Why play with us? These men of mine aren¡¯t so loyal that you would need to employ such tactics,¡± an indignant voice came and Gold could no longer refrain from standing out, ¡°But you promised us, surrender and you spare our lives!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± the Rear Admiral laughed even more joyfully, his laughter extremely discordant amidst the bloody scene, ¡°When did I ever promise you surrender would spare you from death? I only promised I wouldn¡¯t kill you, but if my officers act, that has nothing to do with me.¡±


    The pirates grew restless, Gold stood up even more angrily, spewing a string of sailor¡¯s profanity that Winters couldn¡¯t understand.


    The Rear Admiral tossed the pirate he was holding to the ground and strode over, one hand grabbing Gold¡¯s hair, and the other slamming the sword¡¯s pommel into Gold¡¯s mouth with force.


    Once, twice, three times.


    Everyone on the deck could hear the clear sound of metal crushing flesh and teeth breaking, even Winters felt a bit frightened upon hearing it.


    Winters caught Bard¡¯s eye, feeling his stomach churn, and he saw a flicker of fear in Bard¡¯s eyes as well. No one wasn¡¯t afraid of such a brutal person, even if he was one of their own.


    The crew of the Bandit Gull had long since sought quiet corners to hide, avoiding the bloody scene.


    The Rear Admiral said through clenched teeth, ¡°What do you think you are? To negotiate terms with me?¡±


    Three blows were far from enough to satisfy the Rear Admiral¡¯s anger, and he hammered down a fourth time, ¡°When I ask something, you answer!¡±


    Gold, now unable to speak clearly, could only nod desperately.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you retreat upon seeing the naval flag?¡±


    When Gold opened his mouth, blood mixed with saliva streamed out non-stop. Having been hit by Layton¡¯s four vicious blows, his teeth and tongue were severely damaged, and it was impossible to understand what he was saying.


    Major Moritz couldn¡¯t stand to watch and sighed, offering a solution, ¡°General asks, you nod or shake your head, understood?¡±


    Gold nodded desperately again.


    ¡°Listen carefully,¡± Rear Admiral Layton paused, then asked the question lingering in everyone¡¯s mind on the Bandit Gull, ¡°Did you intentionally come after us?¡±


    Upon hearing the question, Gold nodded heavily.

 Chapter 42 - 42 - 26 The Boat Song

    Chapter 42 ¨C 26 The Boat Song


    The sun was setting, and the Bandit Gull had unfurled its sails and resumed its journey.


    The sailors who had escaped death were happily singing songs, wiping the decks, and tending to the ropes, as if the bloody boarding battle just hours earlier had been an illusion.


    But the newly installed swivel gun at the stern castle¡¯s top deck had not been removed.


    By the side of the swivel gun, Winters, Bard, and Andre sat on the deck, leaning against the railing, lost in thought.


    The excitement from their first battle had passed, and the rationale that had been clouded by bloodlust restored.


    Recalling the battle, other than a sense of pride, the three ensigns felt nothing but relief and confusion, as well as nausea induced by the gruesome memories of close combat where flesh was torn and viscera spilled.


    ¡°Eh, I always feel like what we did wasn¡¯t right,¡± Bard sighed deeply. He did not specify what it was, but there was no misunderstanding between Winters and Andre.


    ...


    The last of the pirates who surrendered were unable to save their lives, as Major General Layton kept his promise, choosing not to kill anyone himself. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead, he arranged for the ensign cadets, particularly those whose blades were not bloodied¡ªmeaning those who did not actually partake in the melee battle¡ªto do the deed.


    On a ship where space is limited and combat had not turned into a free-for-all, it was only the ensigns at the very front who had truly fought with the pirates; the majority of the rest could only cheer from behind.


    ¡°If pirates survive to reach shore, they will be hanged anyway, so there isn¡¯t much difference in the end,¡± Winters felt wrong about killing prisoners too, but couldn¡¯t deny that it was indeed a simple and effective solution: ¡°I think on one hand, the major general really has a bit of a bloodthirsty streak, and on the other hand, this batch of pirates really was troublesome to deal with. The small ship Bandit Gull couldn¡¯t contain so many people. What if they seized an opportunity to take over the Good Fortune? How would we handle that?


    ¡°If they¡¯re killed, they¡¯re killed; what else can we do?¡± Andre yawned and stretched his arms, appearing very tired now.


    More time was spent discussing how to handle the prisoners and wrapping things up after the battle, compared to the enthusiasm the major general showed when he directly decided to engage in battle with the pirates.


    Interrogations of the pirates after the battle unearthed surprising intelligence: The Good Fortune hadn¡¯t captured the Bandit Gull by mere chance; in fact, all the pirates in the inland sea were searching for a three-masted Vineta light warship


    that was rumored to be laden with gold and silver from the ¡°Tanilia Archipelago Captains and Planters Union¡± intended as a bribe for the Sea Blue Republic¡¯s governing committee.


    The Captains and Planters Union of the Tanilia Archipelago operated a noisy, guild-style democracy with a loose structure and weak authority. Nonetheless, it was undeniable that the captains and planters were the true owners of the Tanilia Islands.


    Piracy was rampant above the inland sea, and as Tanilia served as a laundering and supply point for pirates year-round, the relationship with the Sea Blue Republic was always extremely tense.


    The pirates didn¡¯t know why the union wanted to bribe the Sea Blue governing committee, but they were convinced that at that very moment, a three-masted fast ship filled with Gold Coins and silver coins was sailing towards Sea Blue City.


    As for why the union would bribe the Sea Blue governing committee, the pirates had various contradictory theories; there was no accurate story. However, they were certain that such a treasure ship existed.


    Because it¡¯s difficult to deduce the result from the reason, but to infer the reason from the result¡­ isn¡¯t it easy to find a convincing reason for yourself?


    Even up to their execution, the pirates on the Good Fortune were still convinced that the Bandit Gull was the treasure ship, and the ensigns were the soldiers guarding the transport.


    Guarding troops? Or guarding bribes? Winters, Bard, and Andre had never heard of any side task to transport gold and silver on their way home.


    Could it be a secret mission? Only Major General Layton and Colonel Moritz knew what was going on?


    At first, Winters believed this. But when he saw the expressions of the major general and colonel, Winters knew they were just as bewildered.


    But since the pirates spoke with such conviction, it seemed improbable that they were lying, which made the major general, colonel, and ensigns skeptical.


    So, the pressure came down on the portly captain. The portly captain was sweating profusely, swearing heaven and earth that he knew nothing of any treasure ship and there was no union bribery money aboard the Bandit Gull.


    Words were bondless, and oaths did nothing to dispel the suspicions. After all, there was only so much space aboard the Bandit Gull, and whether the pirates¡¯ claims were true or false, a search would make everything clear.


    Therefore, the major general immediately ordered a search of the cargo, and the ensigns meticulously scoured the Bandit Gull, opening every box and bag in the cargo hold and knocking on each plank to ensure there were no hidden compartments.


    In the end, it was proven that the portly captain had told the truth; the ship¡¯s cargo was nothing but sugar and tobacco.


    With this, the situation facing the Bandit Gull became clear: The pirates were convinced that a treasure ship was sailing from Taniria to Sea Blue City, and all the pirates across the inland sea were red-eyed trying to intercept it;


    There might well be such a ship, but it was definitely not the Bandit Gull¡ªthe Bandit Gull held not a single unclaimed Gold Coin; its cargo consisted only of ordinary sugar and tobacco;


    Unfortunately, the silhouette of the Bandit Gull resembled what the pirates thought the treasure ship looked like, or to be precise, the pirates believed the treasure ship to be a fast three-masted light ship of the same type as the Bandit Gull;

 Chapter 43 - 43 - 26 Boat Song_2

    Chapter 43 ¨C 26 Boat Song_2


    Bandit Gull couldn¡¯t prove to the pirates that it wasn¡¯t a treasure ship; surely they couldn¡¯t just stop and let the pirates inspect, could they?


    That was the situation. Currently, Bandit Gull was a high-risk vessel on the inland sea. Usually, maybe a naval flag would be enough to guarantee safety, but now such a flag would definitely not scare the pirates away.


    It seemed the two army officials hadn¡¯t even thought of immediately going ashore to let the officers disembark. And the corpulent captain also hoped the army officers would stay on board to protect Bandit Gull, so he deliberately didn¡¯t suggest this plan.


    Therefore, Major General Layton, Major Moritz, and the corpulent captain unanimously agreed that Bandit Gull must not head directly for Sea Blue City now, and needed to quickly leave the main route, taking rarely traversed waters as a detour back to Sea Blue City.


    Besides that, they could only pray urgently for a strong wind at sea.


    Perhaps the devout prayers of the sailors took effect; by dusk, the previously frail sea breeze began to gradually strengthen.


    Bandit Gull, filled with wind power, resumed its course through the waves at a speed of eight knots.


    ...


    ¡°I think the Major General¡¯s idea is correct. In the current situation, the pirates are like dogs that have caught a scent. Even if we were made of iron, we couldn¡¯t withstand another two close-quarters battles. Speeding back to Sea Blue City is the top priority,¡± Andre said nonchalantly. He was now simply lying on the deck, seemingly intending to take a nap.


    ¡°The oarsmen are innocents, we can¡¯t just slaughter them indiscriminately, can we?¡± Bard clearly disagreed with Major General Layton¡¯s solution.


    There was no disagreement over the order to change course; what really sparked debate was the method of dealing with the Good Fortune.


    Major General Layton¡¯s solution was to kill all the surviving pirates, throw their bodies into the sea, scuttle the pirate ship directly, and have Bandit Gull return to Sea Blue City at full speed.


    The problem was that Major General Layton didn¡¯t distinguish between coerced oarsmen and pirates; he deemed every living person on the pirate ship as a pirate, all deserving death.


    But Major Moritz, for the first time, raised an objection to the high command. In his view, the oarsmen were in a coerced position, essentially innocent sailors who had been captured and enslaved by the pirates. Killing these non-pirate sailors would be a too shocking act and would damage the army¡¯s reputation.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Andre sneered, clearly unimpressed by the notion of innocents, ¡°Who¡¯s innocent? Wasn¡¯t it their rowing that allowed Bandit Gull to be caught up to? And didn¡¯t you suffer at the hands of those oarsmen?¡±


    Bard was momentarily at a loss for words, unaware of what ¡°Stockholm Syndrome¡± was. Indeed, three oarsmen had attacked him, and he couldn¡¯t think of a reasonable defense for those oarsmen who had been incited by the pirates to attack him.


    Winters, listening to the exchange, thought again of the rotten smell in the cabin, the emaciated bodies of the oarsmen, and their desperate eyes, and couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°I think that the oarsmen didn¡¯t really want to help the pirates.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then what did they want?¡± Andre had little patience for this kind of pity for the enemy.


    ¡°They just wanted to die outright.¡±


    This response left Andre momentarily speechless. He scratched his head, his lips parted several times without making a sound, before he returned to his indifferent demeanor, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. If they dare to fight against us, they deserve to die if they¡¯re killed. We¡¯re just a few low-level military officers¡ªnot even officers, just officer cadets. We have no power, and haha, no responsibility either. We just do whatever the top brass tells us to do. They¡¯ll shoulder the sky if it falls.¡±


    Winters thought perhaps it was this kind of mentality that allowed one to sleep well every night, he replied with a bitter smile, ¡°That¡¯s right, just consider yourself a tool.¡±


    Major General Layton¡¯s solution was only half implemented. The surrendering pirates were all slaughtered, the non-surrenderers were finished with a knife, and their bodies were all tossed into the sea as food for the fish. They spared the pirate captain half his life because the Major General wanted to bring him back to Sea Blue for further interrogation.


    The oarsmen were not treated as pirates and executed, which was the result of Major Moritz¡¯s ardent negotiations.


    The Good Fortune was not scuttled, which was the result of the corpulent captain¡¯s insistent efforts.


    We still do not know the name of Bandit Gull¡¯s corpulent captain, but he was no longer aboard Bandit Gull. Now, Bandit Gull¡¯s acting captain was its former first mate, and the corpulent captain had taken over the role of Captain on the Good Fortune Gold, leading a few sailors aboard as its new captain.


    As the corpulent captain had said, at sea¡ªat least on the inland sea¡ªthe most valuable thing wasn¡¯t cargo, but the ship itself.


    Major General Layton wanted to scuttle Good Fortune, and Major Moritz actually didn¡¯t have strong feelings about it. They were both army officers, not familiar with the value or caring for such a decrepit ship.


    But upon hearing Major General Layton¡¯s intent to scuttle Good Fortune, the corpulent captain firmly disagreed and, for the first time, displayed remarkable assertiveness in front of the Major General by slamming the table and glaring.


    The corpulent captain then explained the situation to the two landlubber army officers, counting on his fingers:


    First, although Good Fortune was somewhat old, it was a solid, functional, and sturdy vessel.


    Second, even though Good Fortune was an old-style galley, most ships on the inland sea were of this type; despite having fallen into the hands of pirates, it would be a good merchant vessel again with some repairs after returning to port.


    In short, Good Fortune could fetch a good sum of money! Scuttling it would be a sheer waste. This ship was now legitimate war booty, with ownership belonging to the army officers. Wouldn¡¯t it be nice to sell it and share the proceeds?

 Chapter 44 - 44 - 26 Boat Song_3

    Chapter 44 ¨C 26 Boat Song_3


    Here, the portly captain cunningly omitted any specific price he could sell for, only using vague quantifiers like ¡°a lot¡± to describe it.


    The portly captain also persuaded Major General Layton and Major Moritz from another angle:


    On the Misfortune, there are more than thirty rowers. If we scuttle the Misfortune, what happens to these rowers? Where do we put them?


    The Bandit Gull currently has about fifty people on board and is already overburdened. There really isn¡¯t any more room to accommodate over thirty rowers.


    ¡°To scuttle the Misfortune, it would be tantamount to killing this group of rowers; if we don¡¯t kill this group of rowers, then we can¡¯t scuttle the Bandit Gull.¡± Through this chain of logic, the portly captain successfully tethered Major Moritz onto his chariot.


    The ship couldn¡¯t be scuttled; to scuttle it, they would have to kill the portly captain first.


    But, how to bring the Misfortune back to port became a new problem.


    ...


    All the pirates are dead, so there is nobody left on the Misfortune to handle the sails and helm.


    Leave a few pirates as crew members? Major General Layton won¡¯t agree, and neither does the portly captain dare to.


    Release the rowers to serve as crew? The portly captain firmly disagrees too, arguing: How can one know these rowers won¡¯t harbor ill will? These rowers, influenced by pirates aboard the pirate ships, may well harbor bad intentions, seize the ship, and sell it themselves. Wouldn¡¯t everyone on the Bandit Gull have worked for nothing?


    This is a trust crisis created by the unique survival environment at sea. On the open ocean, there are no communications, no laws, no supervision. Only this ship exists between heaven and earth, and what happens aboard is unknown to outsiders, unreachable by their whips.


    The portly captain didn¡¯t even dare to let his first mate take a few sailors over to the Misfortune to bring the ship back to port. Because one can¡¯t see into another¡¯s heart, who knows if this seemingly honest first mate might harbor some evil intention? If this first mate developed wicked thoughts, tomorrow the inland sea might be home to a new pirate ship named ¡°Misfortune.¡±


    Eventually, the portly captain had a stroke of genius, proposing a brilliant solution:


    He, along with half the sailors from the Bandit Gull, would go aboard the Misfortune. This way, they could just about manage to operate the ship;


    The rowers on the Misfortune wouldn¡¯t be set free right away, but tied down in the cabin as before to prevent them from getting any ideas about seizing the ship and also because their services as rowers were still needed. Once in port, they would fetch a magistrate to release the rowers and let them disembark;


    The first mate of the Bandit Gull, now acting as captain, would choose a few healthy-looking sailors from the Misfortune¡¯s rowers to fill the crew shortfall on the Bandit Gull, so that it too could function normally. With over thirty naval officers on board the Bandit Gull, any trouble could be easily suppressed.


    In the eyes of Major General Layton and Major Moritz, this was a pretty good solution. The only drawback was that the crew on the Misfortune was too few; if the portly captain encountered pirates on the way back to port, they could end up¡­ handing it over for nothing.


    However, the money-hungry portly captain had already decided to take that risk, and considering the attraction of the Bandit Gull to the inland sea pirates, it¡¯s hard to say which ship was actually more dangerous at this point.


    Taking half of the Bandit Gull¡¯s sailors and a letter detailing the Misfortune¡¯s full story, signed and sealed by Major General Layton and Major Moritz, the portly captain excitedly boarded the Misfortune, and the two ships went their separate ways.


    Now, what Winters, Bard, and Andre heard was a chorus between the new and old sailors.


    Andre had been quiet for a while, obviously having fallen asleep.


    Bard¡¯s mind seemed to be preoccupied with many thoughts. He furrowed his brow and said to Winters, ¡°I always feel like something is¡­ odd, every event is baffling. Guidao City sees a few fires every year, yet this time specifically the armory caught fire and it was massive; every year people head overseas, yet this year not a single overseas assignment; and this so-called treasure transport ship¡ªtreasure transport? Do you believe that? Something we don¡¯t know about is definitely happening in the world.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why overthink it? I¡¯m the one who ended up unable to use magic,¡± said Winters. He understood Bard¡¯s anxiety, but believed they should take things as they come: ¡°Even if some earth-shattering change is happening, we can only be swept along by the current. Andre is right, we¡¯re just three junior officers; let¡¯s just focus on being tools, and let those with higher ranks brace for the sky¡¯s fall.¡±


    The first mate of the Bandit Gull¡ªoh, no, now the captain¡ªclimbed up to the poop deck. He was there to deliver some liquor to the three junior naval officers, clearly thrilled even by the temporary assumption of the captain¡¯s duties.


    ¡°Drink up, esteemed officers, drink up. I saw you jump to help today; you¡¯re all exceptionally brave warriors. Even among seafarers who make their living on the ocean, it¡¯s hard to find a few as gallant as you. This round is on me,¡± he said. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters accepted the bottle with a smile and casually asked, ¡°What song are the sailors singing? It¡¯s pleasant to the ear, but I can¡¯t understand with their thick accents.¡±


    The acting captain laughed sheepishly: ¡°Some call these ship songs, but they¡¯re really just vulgar sailor tunes, mostly about women and drink.¡±


    ¡°I think these songs are naturally plain and simple. What¡¯s wrong with talking about women and drink? Aren¡¯t songs supposed to express emotions? It¡¯s a pity I can¡¯t understand what they¡¯re singing about¡­¡±


    ¡°Would you like me to sing it for you in the Vineta accent?¡±


    ¡°That would be wonderful!¡±


    The first mate cleared his throat and joined the sailors in their song. His voice was rough and unrestrained, but the lyrics he belted out were laced with an unspoken sadness:


    ¡°Farewell forever, maidens of the isles.


    Farewell forever, beauties of the isles.


    For we are bound for old Vineta.


    Never again will we see ones as fair as you.


    We roar and laugh wildly, true sailors of Vineta.


    We roar and laugh, amid the briny waves.


    Until we¡¯ve sailed the length of Senas Bay,


    From the isles to Sea Blue, a full two hundred leagues.


    ¡­


    Fill up the glass, drink it all down.


    Fill up the glass, drain it to the dregs.


    We drown our melancholy in alcohol.


    Here¡¯s to the health of every lovesick soul, let¡¯s drink it to the last.


    ¡­¡±


    Amidst the sailors¡¯ singing, Winters grew closer to Sea Blue, where he would obtain his military rank and officially become a probationary officer.


    He wasn¡¯t entirely a novice, but that was just the most basic education. Much, much more remained for him to learn through practical experience.

 Chapter 45 - 45 - 27 Close at Hand

    Chapter 45 ¨C 27 Close at Hand


    Luck is relative. The luck of other pirates on the Inner Sea seemed not so good after all, not every pirate had Gold¡¯s good fortune, or it could be said the Goddess of Luck once again sided with the Bandit Gull.


    In the following voyage, the Bandit Gull, having avoided the main shipping routes, only encountered a few sporadic unfamiliar vessels.


    But with strong winds at sea and sails fully spread, the Bandit Gull swiftly sped along, leaving those unfamiliar ships with only a glimpse of her masts before falling far behind.


    Just like the boastful fat captain proudly claimed, ¡°This is the best clipper on the Inner Sea.¡±


    However, the Bandit Gull¡¯s detour added three days to its journey, leaving the unprepared Major Moritz, who lacked flexibility in his provisions, to run out of his stock of alcohol.


    The warrant officers watched as the once gentlemanly major¡¯s lips grew increasingly chapped and cracked, and his temper became more and more irritable, even his mental state began to become abnormal.


    The major was either stumbling and banging about on the ship every day, or pacing back and forth on the deck in the middle of the night with a ¡°thump thump thump,¡± causing all the warrant officers to suffer insomnia with him.


    ...


    Who isn¡¯t afraid of mental illness? Even Major General Layton began to intentionally avoid Major Moritz, leaving the warrant officers under even greater pressure.


    But fortunately, they finally arrived safely at Sea Blue City, and upon seeing the landmark lighthouse of Sea Blue Port, the warrant officers couldn¡¯t help but shed tears of relief.


    Their reasons were not just the excitement of returning home, but more so the ¡°small fortune¡± of finally being able to get away from the severe alcoholic, Major Moritz.


    The closer they got to Sea Blue Port, the more Winters could feel the prosperity of this, the largest port of the Alliance.


    In the last stretch of the shipping route, the Bandit Gull could no longer intentionally avoid other vessels even if it wanted to. With Sea Blue Port as the center, the routes of hundreds of ships formed a fan shape, all heading to or just leaving the harbor.


    Winters even saw a true warship patrolling the nearby seas, a substantial behemoth. Compared to the towering superstructure and enormous hull of the other vessel, the Bandit Gull was simply a child.


    However, to the surprise of the warrant officers, the Bandit Gull did not proceed directly into the harbor but instead anchored on the open sea outside the port.


    The acting captain was immediately surrounded by warrant officers eager to get home.


    ¡°The gentlemen officers must understand that a major port like Sea Blue Port does not allow small merchant ships like ours to dock at will,¡± the acting captain said with a wry smile, explaining the maritime rules to the land army as he wiped the spray from his face. ¡°Sea Blue Port hasn¡¯t been expanded for over a decade, there is a shortage of berths, and merchant ships must wait at the outer anchorage and queue to enter the port. We¡¯ll anchor here, and soon a customs official will come by boat to inspect the cargo. If the gentlemen officers are in a hurry to go home, you can ask the customs tax collector if they can make arrangements for you to take their boat ashore.¡±


    But the warrant officers soon fell back into disappointment when they realized the ¡°customs boat¡± the acting captain mentioned was really a ¡°small boat.¡±


    This small boat was hardly bigger than a canoe, about the width of two people and less than three meters long. The boat was packed full with two tax collectors and two rowers, and at most, one more person could squeeze in.


    Watching the small boat bob up and down with the waves, Winters truly worried that the next second, the customs officials¡¯ boat would flip over.


    ¡°Is the first mate playing with us?¡± Andre was almost driven mad with anger: ¡°They expect us to take this tiny boat home? I¡¯d rather swim back!¡±


    ¡°Can you swim?¡± Bard asked nonchalantly.


    Andre instantly fell silent and after a long pause, he replied awkwardly, ¡°No.¡±


    But not one to concede, he shot back at Bard, ¡°Can you swim then?¡±


    ¡°I can,¡± Bard replied calmly.


    ¡°What are you bragging about?¡± Andre burst out angrily: ¡°When did the military academy teach swimming? The largest pool there is the practice room¡¯s bathtub. Don¡¯t tell me you learned it at the Monastery?¡±


    ¡°Monks do not teach swimming, nor do they swim,¡± Bard said with a smile: ¡°But monks like to eat fish, and the Monastery has its own fish pond.¡±


    Whether in the Orthodox or Catholic traditions, fish hold a special religious status. During the Ancient Empire era, when the Western Church was still an underground organization intermittently subjected to persecution, it used the symbol of fish and wine cup as a secret sign. So Bard wasn¡¯t just bluffing Andre offhandedly.


    ¡°Even if you can swim, it¡¯s not possible to swim back, the distance to the shore is not short,¡± Winters quickly interjected to end the debate on swimming skills: ¡°Actually, doesn¡¯t the Bandit Gull have a small boat?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Andre instantly perked up.


    ¡°Hanging right behind the sterncastle.¡±


    At the news, Andre ran towards the sterncastle with a surge of excitement, and Winters and Bard reluctantly followed.


    But upon seeing the boat, Andre couldn¡¯t help but be greatly disappointed again, for the Bandit Gull¡¯s small boat was even smaller than the customs¡¯ boat.


    The customs boat could maybe fit five people with some effort, but the Bandit Gull¡¯s was like an oversized bathtub; it looked like if three people got on, there wouldn¡¯t be any room left to stand.


    ¡°This boat is even worse than the customs one,¡± Bard said with a rueful smile. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet Andre began muttering calculations: ¡°It can fit three people at once, including the two officers we have thirty-six, thirty-six divided by three is twelve.¡±


    He slapped his thigh excitedly: ¡°Twelve trips back and forth would get all of us ashore, actually not that troublesome. It won¡¯t take much time!¡±

 Chapter 46 - 46 - 27 Nearly Within Reach_2

    Chapter 46 ¨C 27 Nearly Within Reach_2


    Winters was about to be driven to tears by the foolishness of his dear classmate Andrea Cherini. He finally understood how Major Moritz felt a few days ago during the boarding combat, when he saw him and a few gunnery sergeants huffing and puffing as they moved the cannons.


    He and Bard exchanged a grave look, confirming that they both realized Andre¡¯s intelligence was beyond saving. ¡°Think about it. Three people need to get ashore, and one has to row the boat back. That¡¯s just two people ferried ashore per trip. Consider the longer return trip with only one person rowing, and it¡¯s likely we won¡¯t all be ashore by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, we might as well wait to enter the port. We¡¯ve got luggage too, and if we load that, this little boat can only carry two people.¡± Bard was always thorough in his considerations, adding the luggage Winters had overlooked. ¡°Didn¡¯t the new captain say so? The wait won¡¯t be long, we should be docking by tomorrow at the latest.¡±


    But Andre clearly wasn¡¯t listening to the latter part. He was incorporating the elements of ¡°luggage weight¡± and ¡°rowing back alone¡± into his primitive mathematical model and was lost in thought over a new plan.


    By now, two customs taxation officers had boarded the ship. They wore wide-brimmed hard hats and were draped in black leather armor, its vulnerable parts reinforced with thin iron plates, and chainmail protecting the joints.


    The two tax officers were tall and rugged, with swords hanging from their belts. From their appearance, they seemed less like customs officials from Vineta and more like a band of thieves or mercenaries.


    Had it not been for one of them holding a ledger, Winters might have mistaken them for mere bodyguards of the tax officers.


    ...


    ¡°Is this what customs tax officers look like? Why do they seem tougher than pirates?¡± Winters said to Bard in surprise. He sized up the two tax officers and felt that even in one-on-one combat, he couldn¡¯t guarantee victory.


    Bard laughed softly, leaning relaxed against the ship¡¯s rail, and replied, ¡°Since ancient times, tax collectors have had a more dangerous job than being a soldier. The emperor was gone by the time I was born, but I¡¯ve always heard rumors of United Provincials tax officials found dead in the wilderness.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is your hometown that wild?¡± Winters laughed heartily. As someone raised in the city, he had never heard of merchants or craftsmen rebelling over taxes to the point of death¡ªexcluding sovereign wars, since sheriffs and city guards could handle any citizens who didn¡¯t want to pay taxes.


    ¡°The Federated Provinces Republic was founded by city militias, so the government¡¯s control over rural areas isn¡¯t strong, and they lack interest in the countryside,¡± Bard said, still with a slight smile on his face.


    As someone who grew up in the countryside, attended a military academy in the city, and was well-educated, Bard¡¯s understanding of the political system of the United Provincials was far deeper than Winters¡¯. ¡°For citizens, the Alliance forces broke the emperor¡¯s shackles, allowing cities to develop freely. But in rural areas, the Federated Provinces Republic inherited all the rights of the old nobility¡ªwhat was there before, remains. So for ordinary farmers like my parents, it¡¯s just a change of emperor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still different,¡± Winters instinctively wanted to argue upon hearing his friend seemingly criticize the Alliance Country. To him, the Alliance, the militia alliance army, stood for Marshal Ned, General Antoine Laurent, and was not to be tarnished. But he didn¡¯t understand politics and couldn¡¯t immediately think of any counterargument.


    ¡°Hahaha, indeed, it¡¯s somewhat different,¡± Bard said, seeing that Winters was struggling to find a difference. He began to counter his own point, ¡°After all, the Republic did abolish demeaning noble privileges like the marriage tax, so it¡¯s not without progress. But when it comes to economic rights, the government is uncompromising.¡±


    ¡°Right, there are changes,¡± Winters said, his typically optimistic nature shining through. Being naively unaware of what a ¡°marriage tax¡± was, he added, ¡°Any progress is a good thing, right? What ever happens overnight?¡±


    Hearing the tax officers had boarded, the acting captain of the Bandit Gull hurried out of the cabin, trying his best to imitate his old leader, scurrying forward with a bowed back and shuffling steps to greet the two customs officers.


    ¡°What¡¯s being carried on this ship?¡± one of the tax officers asked curtly, holding the ledger. He had seen too many such sycophantic performances to be affected by them anymore.


    ¡°Tobacco, and sugar,¡± the acting captain answered, while stuffing packets and parcels into the tax officer¡¯s arms. ¡°Try our fine tobacco, and the sugar, white like clouds. Have a taste.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? Trying to bribe me?¡± the tax officer snapped, not accepting the items offered. He thought to himself how clueless this man was, offering a bribe in full public view.


    His demeanor grew even worse, ¡°You dare try to bribe a tax officer, want to lose your hand? Don¡¯t pull this useless stunt! Take me to review the cargo. You do know the tax rates, right?¡±


    Scared sweat poured from the acting captain at the tax officer¡¯s words. Bribery of an officer was legally punishable by amputation of the right hand, but the portly captain had done this every time, and his chubby hand still intact, had something gone wrong on his end? Hearing the tax officer inquire about the rates, he answered hurriedly, ¡°Yes, yes, I know.¡±


    ¡°Sea Blue Port doesn¡¯t take goods in kind, you understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes.¡±


    ¡°Take me to check the cargo.¡±

 Chapter 47 - 47 - 27: Within Reach_3

    Chapter 47 ¨C 27: Within Reach_3


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why are there so many people on the ship?¡±


    ¡°They are His Excellency¡¯s army officers, riding our ship back from Gui Tu City.¡± The acting captain added, ¡°They¡¯re from our Sea Blue Army.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The tax collector raised an eyebrow, scrutinzing the deck where groups of warrant officers were scattered about. The warrant officers were all dressed in military academy uniforms, looking vigorous and spirited, and didn¡¯t look like slaves no matter how one looked at them.


    The tax collector came to a conclusion in his heart, knowing these people were not slaves, but still sneered at the acting captain, ¡°If you dare to traffic humans, you¡¯re as good as dead, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Understand, understand,¡± the acting captain hurriedly nodded. The laws of the member states of the Alliance varied, and attitudes towards slavery were different as well. But in the Sea Blue Republic, bribing a public officer only cost you a hand, while human trafficking cost you your head.


    ¡°Take me to check the cargo.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Explore stories on .com


    The acting captain of the Bandit Gull led the two tax collectors down into the ship¡¯s hold. This original first mate, an old sailor of more than a dozen years at sea, was still going to suffer a social beating due to his lack of social experience.


    What awaited the Bandit Gull was to be a strict and thorough inspection. I wonder if the portly captain still adrift at sea would suddenly feel a pang in his chest?


    ¡°Hey! I¡¯ve got it!¡± Andre suddenly shouted excitedly, dancing around and explaining his latest mathematical theory to Winters and Bard, ¡°I¡¯ve figured out how to get us all ashore the fastest using this small boat. First, send three people ashore, then have it come back and only carry a cargo each time, cycling back and forth.


    Use only one person to row each time, and make sure each person rows only once, so that everyone has enough energy.


    ¡°With only twenty-seven trips, we could get all of us and our luggage ashore¡­¡±


    So, this gentleman had been silent all this time just to ponder over his own mathematical theory.


    Winters and Bard exchanged another pained look, and Winters suddenly felt a phantom limb pain flare up, causing him to sigh deeply as he supported his forehead.


    Bard, with deep seriousness, said to Andre, ¡°I never would have thought you such a mathematical genius. There¡¯s a problem I¡¯ve never been able to figure out, and I must ask for your instruction. An old man had to cross a river with a wolf, a sheep, and a basket of turnips. The boat was too small, so he could only carry one thing at a time. The wolf wanted to eat the sheep, the sheep the turnips; how could the old man get all three across the river unharmed?¡±


    A painful sigh escaped from the deepest part of Winters¡¯ chest, feeling his phantom limb pain intensify.


    Later on, the tax collector counted the goods, collected the money, left a receipt, and then went to inspect other ships in a small boat.


    The Bandit Gull anchored overnight outside Sea Blue Port, waiting to enter the port the next day.


    Major Moritz, a severe alcoholic, continued his sighing and circling on the open deck.


    Winters lay on the deck, unable to sleep as he tossed and turned. Just a few kilometers away lay his homeland, which he had longed for day and night.


    Not far from Winters, Bard seemed to be sleeping sweetly.


    Winters suddenly realized that he was finally returning home, but Bard was leaving his homeland; he must be feeling uneasy as well.


    The night passed without a word.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line between leaving home and returning to it¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    If there are any recommendation votes, could you please cast them for me? Thank you.


    Assuming the luggage of two people equals the weight of one person, and the boat¡¯s maximum load is three people, and there are thirty-six people in all. Can it be guaranteed that each time only one person rows and each person only rows one one-way trip, that twenty-seven round trips can get everyone ashore?


    Actually, it can¡¯t.

 Chapter 48 - 48 - 28 The Dock

    Chapter 48 ¨C 28 The Dock


    Winters wasn¡¯t sure if it was because they had offended the tax collector, but the Bandit Gull had to wait at the anchorage for one evening and the following morning; it wasn¡¯t until the sun was well into the west the next day that they were finally allowed to enter the harbor.


    When the pier was within sight, Winters began to reorganize his gear. Only then did he understand why Instructor Narl had said that people no longer used the Longsword, opting instead for more portable weapons.


    That was because compared to the sabers worn by Major Layton and Major Moritz, the Longsword used at the military academy was just too ¡°long.¡±


    Winters tried to figure it out a few times. Attached to his belt? The bare scabbard didn¡¯t look very appealing.


    Slanted on his belt? The scabbard easily scraped the ground, and it was uncomfortable to have a 1.3-meter iron bar strung around the waist.


    On his back? He wasn¡¯t the silver-haired, scar-faced witch hunter of legend, and it felt strange; he had never seen anyone carry a sword that way.


    In his hand? It probably looked a lot like he was a thug about to get into a brawl with someone.


    ...


    After much consideration, hanging it from a horse might be more convenient.


    The sabers of the major and colonel were one-handed swords, about the size of an arming sword, and could be easily hung from the belt.


    Compared to Winters¡¯s Longsword, their sabers were shorter, lighter, and more ornate. He wasn¡¯t sure about their effectiveness in actual combat, but in terms of portability and aesthetic value, they made Winters¡¯s Longsword look absolutely outdated.


    Winters glanced at Bard and Andre, and suddenly smiled. He laughed at himself for being fearful as he neared home, too nervous from the thought of returning that he became clumsy.


    Having realized this, he stopped fussing over how to wear the Longsword in the most dashing way and instead tied it together with his luggage, carrying it by hand as he stepped onto the deck.


    The Bandit Gull was very close to an available mooring spot. Sea Blue Port was filled with ships, and one careless move could lead to a collision.


    Consequently, the sails of the Bandit Gull had been retracted, and the sailors were using long poles to cautiously prevent hitting other vessels. Discover more stories at .com


    When they felt they were close enough, the acting captain picked up the task of the first mate again, grabbed the rope and threw it with all his might toward the wharf¡¯s mooring spot. The dockworkers who had been waiting there deftly caught the hawser and tied it to the pilings.


    The sailors on the ship then shouted in unison and pushed with force, while a few others with long poles helped to steadily dock the ship at its berth.


    The sailors began to place planks between the dock and the ship¡¯s side. Just as Winters was about to disembark, he was called out by the major by name.


    Winters keenly noticed the major¡¯s unconscious habit of playing with coins was gone, and even his hands were trembling slightly. Clearly, the combination of alcohol withdrawal and dehydration was tormenting him.


    Even the major¡¯s voice sounded a bit hoarse as he listlessly told Winters, ¡°After you disembark, take your classmates and form up first. Don¡¯t disperse right away. Report to the military headquarters first, and then you can go home.¡±


    Winters accepted the order, saluted and turned around to disembark the ship.


    He was a bit puzzled as to why the major called him out. Could it be just because he had shared a drink with him and looked familiar?


    On the pier, the acting captain was exchanging bills with the port¡¯s customs officer.


    As a commercial republic, customs was an important source of revenue for Sea Blue, and successive executive committees placed great emphasis on customs infrastructure.


    In Sea Blue, tax collectors would board the cargo ships before they entered the port to inspect the goods and are responsible for collecting the duty. A set of three identical bills was issued: the tax collector took one copy, while the merchant ship kept two as proof of duty payment and port entry permit.


    After entering the port, the customs staff at the dock would check the goods again and take one of the bills left by the tax collector for reconciliation and inspection. Only after the inspection was confirmed to be correct could the merchant ship begin unloading its cargo.


    This simple and effective system curbed corruption within the customs to some extent and was considered a model of efficient administration in that era.


    After a long walk down the wharf and finally stepping onto solid ground, Winters suddenly felt out of sorts.


    Right after regaining consciousness, Winters nearly vomited his stomach out because of seasickness. But once he had gotten used to the constant rocking of the Bandit Gull, stepping onto dry land actually made him feel seasick again.


    Despite the solid ground under his feet, Winters felt like he was treading on air, swaying uncontrollably.


    However, this feeling wasn¡¯t too intense. Winters gathered his spirits, looked up, and scanned the Sea Blue Port dock, scanning his familiar yet strange homeland.


    Sea Blue had some subtle differences from his memories, but its spirit was the same¡ªbusy, bustling, and crowded with people.


    Everyone was busy with their own affairs, walking their own paths, and no one noticed or cared that a junior military officer who had been away from home for years had returned to his hometown. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A hand landed on Winters¡¯s shoulder. Bard said with a smile, ¡°Is this the Alliance¡¯s premier port? It does seem more vibrant than Guidao City.¡±


    ¡°Ah, Lord Bard!¡± Winters placed his hand over his heart and made an exaggerated bow, then waved toward the bustling crowd on the wharf, smiling at Bard, ¡°Welcome to the heart of the esteemed Republic of Vineta, the gem upon the Inner Sea, the city of commerce, the city of wealth¡ªSea Blue!¡±


    Bard played along with the exaggerated gesture, jokingly saying to Winters, ¡°But why have I heard that Sea Blue is the city of masks, conspiracies, assassinations, and secret societies? Aren¡¯t assassins the most famous thing about Vineta?¡±

 Chapter 49 - 49 - 28 Dock_2

    Chapter 49 ¨C 28 Dock_2


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s all in the past,¡± Winters¡¯s old face reddened, and he didn¡¯t retort because Bard was right.


    Venetians are impetuous like fire, treating life and death lightly and pursuing revenge seriously. Besides their custom of wearing swords and masks, they also have a tradition of secret societies.


    Outsiders don¡¯t understand these customs, but Venetians feel no shame in them; they take pride in these practices.


    However, Winters had lived in The Federated Provinces for six years, so he also felt that the Venetian culture of masks, poisons, and daggers wasn¡¯t very friendly.


    He waved his hands repeatedly and explained to Bard, ¡°That all happened during the Imperial Era, and besides, we Venetians assassinated only the imperialists and the old nobility, those assassins were heroes of The Alliance.¡±


    Thirty years ago, before the church had its second schism, the brutal suppression of heretics provoked the resistance of the Venetians.


    Under their cloaks, Venetians with poisoned daggers roamed the streets and alleys of Sea Blue, assassinating church clergy on the street. With large numbers of clergymen lying dead on the streets, the remaining bishops and judges, shivering in their fortresses, dared not take a step outside.


    ...


    When the noble faction and the militia forces within The Alliance split, the Venetians eagerly assassinated a large number of bay aristocrats. The Duke at the front of the mountain was the last legitimate heir outside of the faux-royal family, assassinated by a Venetian assassin with a single sword strike, directly causing the extinction of the Forthland family, even its sidestreams.


    ¡°Is it in the past? Then why do I still see people on the streets wearing masks?¡± Bard¡¯s eyes curved into crescents as he pointed and said, ¡°Look, over there by the carriage, those people are all wearing masks.¡±


    Winters followed Bard¡¯s pointing and looked over, two black four-wheeled carriages were parked on the cobblestone path by the dock. The carriages, painted black with white wooden trim, were completely enclosed. Small windows on the carriages, curtained, concealed whoever sat inside.


    Standing by the carriage were four individuals wearing black tricorn hats and cloaks, their faces covered with white fool¡¯s masks. These masks provided full coverage, with only the lower part arching upward slightly, resembling a bird¡¯s beak.


    Known for their wealth and extravagance, Venetians consider opulence in both attire and possessions as beautiful. Although these four individuals and two carriages by the dock seemed simple, they stood out starkly against the flashy crowd and other carriages, drawing attention whether one wanted to notice or not.


    ¡°Not everyone wearing a mask is an assassin, wearing a mask is just a custom. You wouldn¡¯t understand, right? Even the ugliest men and women gain some beauty with a mask. Haven¡¯t you seen the carnival? At that time, everyone in the city wears a mask,¡± Winters carefully observed these cloaked figures but couldn¡¯t determine why they were there: ¡°They are probably just servants from some wealthy household here to pick someone up from the dock.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t servants be wearing liveries?¡± Bard, now intrigued, questioned.


    Before Winters could respond, a rough voice barged into their conversation: ¡°What¡¯s it to you? Maybe someone likes to use these outfits as liveries for their servants.¡±


    Without even looking, Winters knew from the gravelly voice that it was Andre. Andre was seen lugging two large suitcases in his hands, both evidently heavy, as he was dripping with sweat from just a short walk down from the ship.


    ¡°Whoa! How much stuff did you bring back?¡± Winters was startled by Andre¡¯s luggage.


    Andre spoke breathlessly, ¡°I brought back everything!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound of metal clashing was heard as Andre placed his luggage on the ground, leaving Winters wondering what it contained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you still have to make another trip? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to split it in two?¡± Winters was bemused by Andre¡¯s stubbornness and recalled the task given by the Major. He then said to Andre and Bard, ¡°Tell those who have already got off to not disband. Wait here in line for the Major. I¡¯m going to the dock exit.¡±


    Bard nodded, and Winters, carrying his baggage, walked to where the dock¡¯s pier met solid ground, conveying the Major¡¯s orders to every classmate disembarking the ship.


    The dock was bustling with merchants, sailors, travelers, and many laborers. A burly porter in short attire passed by Winters, who suddenly felt a strong sense of familiarity with the man¡¯s figure and remembered who it was. He shouted toward the figure, ¡°Benwei? Benvenuto?¡±


    The porter turned around in confusion, then was also swept into joy, rushing over and laughing as he embraced Winters.


    Benvenuto was Winters¡¯s good friend from the Sea Blue branch of the Army Cadet School. After graduating, Benwei did not continue his education, whereas Winters went to a preparatory school in The Federated Provinces. They occasionally corresponded, but it had been a full six years since they had seen each other.


    ¡°Look at you! A real officer now!¡± Benwei, with tears in his eyes, punched Winters¡¯s chest hard.


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    Winters also laughed heartily and punched back: ¡°You¡¯ve gotten taller and stronger, how¡¯s your family doing now?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re doing well! My mother still talks about you all the time!¡±


    The two old friends, who hadn¡¯t seen each other for years, had so much to catch up on that a few words couldn¡¯t suffice; they quickly exchanged updates on their lives. Not far away, Benwei¡¯s workmate was urging him to get back to work, so he had to leave.


    ¡°Your family hasn¡¯t moved, right?¡± Benwei asked reluctantly as he departed.

 Chapter 50 - 50 - 28 Wharf_3

    Chapter 50 ¨C 28 Wharf_3


    Winters hurriedly shook his head, ¡°No, it didn¡¯t move, and your house didn¡¯t move either, right?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t move either. I¡¯m heading back to work first, and after I get off work this evening, I¡¯ll come find you!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a deal!¡±


    After a brief conversation, the two separated again. Winters had never expected that he would run into an old friend and classmate on the docks just after returning to Sea Blue.


    As he was reflecting on the notion that life has encounters everywhere, the four passengers from the Bandit Gull also disembarked and headed toward Winters from the jetty. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As they passed by Winters, one of the passengers adjusted his hat and nodded at Winters with a smile.


    Having fought pirates together before, although Winters didn¡¯t know who these four passengers were, they shared a camaraderie as comrades-in-arms, prompting him to return the nod with a smile.


    ...


    Winters watched the four passengers walk off the jetty and head straight through the bustling crowds on the docks towards two black carriages.


    He immediately looked at Bard and realized Bard was also watching him; evidently, Bard had noticed the passengers too. They exchanged a grin, surprised that the passengers being picked up by the two black carriages were the four from the Bandit Gull.


    Winters¡¯ gaze returned to the passengers, but what he saw next made him gasp.


    One of the passengers seemed to be embraced by a person in a black cloak, yet Winters clearly saw a blade, covered in blood, piercing through the passenger¡¯s back, subtly trembling in the sunlight.


    In the next moment, the person in the black cloak began dueling with the passenger. A sharp scream from a woman pierced everyone¡¯s ears, and the brutal fight unfolding on the docks was noticed by the pedestrians.


    Among the remaining three passengers, one was fighting desperately to prevent the black-cloaked individuals from advancing, while another guarded a more distinguished-looking passenger fleeing back towards the Bandit Gull, who was calling for help repeatedly.


    Seeing all of this unfold, Winters subconsciously decided he had to do something because he couldn¡¯t stand by and watch these ¡°comrades¡± get slaughtered in broad daylight.


    With no other weapon at hand, he drew his blunt training sword and charged forward.


    The incident occurred in the blink of an eye, and the warrant officers were still trying to comprehend what was happening, staring blankly as two black-cloaked individuals chased two passengers with swords drawn.


    The passenger who looked like a bodyguard, realizing he couldn¡¯t escape, turned around to fight, trying to stop the two black-cloaked individuals.


    When that bodyguard stopped, one of the black-cloaked individuals also stopped and pulled out a particularly short musket from within his cloak. Without seeing him laboriously attach a slow match, Winters just saw him point the musket at the bodyguard and fire it directly.


    A flash of red light, followed by a puff of white smoke, and the sound of gunfire resounded through the entire dock. If people were still unclear about what was happening, that gunshot plunged all the dock¡¯s bystanders into chaos.


    Although Winters had no idea how the man in the black cloak fired the musket without lighting it, he knew at such a short distance there was no chance the shot would miss; the bodyguard was undoubtedly doomed.


    However, contrary to expectations, the bodyguard who was hit by the musket at close range not only didn¡¯t die but thrust his sword towards the black-cloaked individual as if he hadn¡¯t been shot at all.


    The more distinguished elderly passenger was shouting for help and scrambling towards the Bandit Gull, and Winters brushed past him to meet another black-cloaked individual head-on.


    With no time to think, Winters instinctively swung his sword with all his might using the furious style. It was Winters¡¯ most powerful strike, and even with a blunt Longsword, he could shatter bones. The opponent would have to dodge if he didn¡¯t want to die. Experience tales at


    Yet, the other¡¯s single-handed sword somehow circumvented the Longsword with agility that was impossible for a Longsword, plunging straight into Winters¡¯ chest like a venomous snake.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the inconveniently carried dividing line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    D¨¹rer¡¯s ¡°Knight, Death, and the Devil¡± illustrates how soldiers of the era carried their weapons. The Knight in the painting has a two-handed Longsword slung diagonally across his waist. Interested readers may wish to seek it out for appreciation.

 Chapter 51 - 51 - 29 Assassination

    Chapter 51 ¨C 29 Assassination


    Winters had never seen such a flexible one-handed sword before.


    Compared to common one-handed arming swords, the longsword¡¯s blade could already be considered slender.


    Yet the one-handed sword in the robed figure¡¯s hands was even more delicate than the blade of the longsword, and despite being a one-handed sword, its length was no shorter than the two-handed sword Winters wielded.


    How could something so long be so flexible? It was utterly baffling.


    Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t a competition; there were no points to score.


    The Winters of old believed that swordsmanship depended on sparring, and that so-called insights into swordsmanship were just useless nonsense. But after clashing with pirates in a boarding fight, he began to ponder anew the teachings of his teacher, Richard Nal.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just charge blindly; your footwork must be agile.¡±


    ...


    Seeing his own strike miss and his opponent¡¯s sword already bypassing his guard, stabbing upwards from below the blade, Winters readily let go of the longsword in his hand and flung it directly at his opponent.


    ¡°In a competition, that would be an instant loss,¡± he thought. Perhaps it was the experience of two consecutive real battles, but he was no longer so nervous, and he even began to mock himself.


    Regardless of what was on his mind, Winters¡¯ body didn¡¯t stop. He took two quick steps back to dodge the tip of his opponent¡¯s sword.


    The assassins from Vineta were especially fond of using poison, and Winters had grown up hearing stories about daggers laced with toxins. So, even if there was only a one percent chance, he didn¡¯t want to risk even a scratch from his opponent¡¯s blade. Discover hidden content at  S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The opponent didn¡¯t expect Winters to have a move that turned a longsword into a throwing axe, and failing to dodge in time, was solidly hit.


    When the robed figure was hit, Winters heard a strange sound. Unfortunately, his longsword was a blunt training sword, and the hit merely caused his opponent to let out a stifled groan of pain without causing any external injury that might incapacitate him.


    Winters¡¯ ¡°sword throwing technique¡± briefly delayed the robed figure, who was furious at being tricked and didn¡¯t bother pursuing the traveler he was originally after but instead charged straight at Winters with his sword.


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected his sword-throwing technique to also have a taunting effect. He snickered internally and then¡­ took to his heels and ran.


    He didn¡¯t know the level of the robed figure¡¯s swordsmanship, but had this been a competition where victory was at stake, the opponent¡¯s blade entanglement earlier would have secured a win.


    However, this was a dock, not a training ground; a fight to the death, not a competition.


    So, if I can¡¯t outfight you, can¡¯t I outrun you?


    Yet, Winters had nowhere to go but the pier behind him, so like the traveler who had scrambled before him, he too stepped onto the pier and headed straight for the Bandit Gull.


    The freight and alarmed passersby on the pier hindered the progress of the three runners, and the robed figure watched Winters get ahead. Despite having run a dozen or so steps, he couldn¡¯t catch up.


    Winters had just seen another robed figure using a gun that could be fired instantly. Since another person had it, there was no reason to think that the robed figure chasing him wouldn¡¯t have such a deadly tool.


    He was constantly on guard against this possibility, so he didn¡¯t dare just run blindly; he kept looking back at the robed figure.


    Sure enough, he glimpsed the robed figure raising his other hand, concealed beneath his robe, toward him, and in it was that strange-looking gun.


    Already prepared, Winters dove behind a stack of cargo about half a man¡¯s height, akin to a short wall, as soon as the robed figure raised his hand, and cursed, ¡°(Expletive)! You resort to a gun in a sword fight! How utterly (expletive) shameless!¡±


    Enraged nearly to the point of spitting blood, the robed figure shot back, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the (expletive) running like a rabbit?!¡±


    But talking spelled the robed figure¡¯s downfall, completely shattering the image of a silent and efficient assassin.


    The robed figure¡¯s retort made Winters realize that this was just an ordinary person capable of anger and joy, and his courage swelled even further.


    As the robed figure approached, Winters peered through the cracks between the crates and saw his opponent¡¯s gun pointing at him continuously, so he did not dare to show himself.


    But struck with a sudden inspiration, he remembered Axel¡¯s Hair Burning Spell that he had used once before. He immediately formed the hand gestures for casting a fire spell, recalling the sensation of igniting the hair of a female bandit the other night.


    Though he couldn¡¯t see the hair beneath the robed figure¡¯s cloak, he pushed his magical abilities to the limit regardless, channeling magical power into the top of the robed figure¡¯s head.


    Familiar pressure and phantom limb pain made Winters tremble, but he gritted his teeth and struggled to maintain the spell until the very last moment.


    On the ship, the continual intense phantom pain in his third hand from fighting fires had gradually diminished.


    However, just to be safe, the Major prohibited any spellcasters with the rank of Warrant Officer from using any magical abilities until they had fully returned to the normal state. Clearly, that caution now had to be disregarded.


    Winters only sustained the use of his magical abilities for a brief period before the agonizing torment made it impossible for him to concentrate. He took deep breaths and stopped casting the spell.


    It seemed as if a few wisps of blue smoke rose from the robed figure¡¯s head, but unlike the female bandit, there wasn¡¯t an immediate intense combustion; the figure continued moving, indicating that Axel¡¯s Hair Burning Spell had seemingly failed.


    Winters knew he was clutching at straws; his spellcasting range was actually about one meter. He could use spells within this range, but beyond that distance, his magical abilities became negligible. Managing to cause a bit of smoke to rise from the robed figure¡¯s head a few meters away was already an overachievement.

 Chapter 52 - 52 - 29 Assassination_2

    Chapter 52 ¨C 29 Assassination_2


    Winters took a deep breath and prepared to use a spell again. He planned to wait for the robed man to come closer before launching out to engage in close combat, then use the Hair Burning Spell once more at close range.


    He comforted himself mentally, ¡°Anyway, after my tricks, that bastard surely can¡¯t catch up with the elderly traveler. If worse comes to worst, I¡¯ll jump into the water.¡±


    The robed man strode to Winters¡¯s front, and Winters, bracing himself for action, waited until the man¡¯s sword tip was about to sweep over his head when, out of nowhere, a thunderous boom resounded on the pier.


    The loudness of the blast was incomparable even to the strongest thunderclap. Winters felt as if he had placed his ear against the muzzle of a thirty-two-pound cannon when someone ignited the gunpowder within.


    The thunderous roar left Winters dizzy and ringing in his ears, and the robed man involuntarily covered his ears as well.


    A faint whizzing sound was followed by a crisp clink of metal from the robed man¡¯s body.


    Turning towards the source of the thunder, Winters saw Major Moritz standing on a plank between the Bandit Gull and the jetty, with blood streaming from his ears, his arm pointing at the robed man.


    ...


    Something in Major Moritz¡¯s hand reflected faintly as another whizzing sound was followed by another crisp metallic clash against the robed man¡¯s body, and something rebounded off him and onto the pier.


    The robed man raised his musket and aimed at the Major, who waved his hand, a shot rang out, and the bullet hit the hull of the Bandit Gull, splintering the wood.


    Deafening thunder, Major Moritz, silver coins, metallic clashes, bullets curving, strange sounds when the longsword struck the opponent¡­ Winters understood, Winters figured it all out: Major Moritz was also a Spellcaster! He just didn¡¯t wear the badge! And this robed bastard was wearing a chain shirt under his cloak.


    ¡°Aim for his head, Major!¡± Winters shouted to alert the Major, ¡°He¡¯s wearing a breastplate under his cloak!¡±


    The Major, as if deaf to Winters¡¯s words, shot two more silver coins with the Arrow Flying Spell, hitting the robed man¡¯s armor with a clang but obviously unable to penetrate.


    Seeing the Major disregard his advice, Winters felt an urgent frenzy. Desperate, he leaped out from behind cover and slammed his shoulder hard into the robed man.


    He was not entirely reckless, for he had seen that the robed man¡¯s musket was empty, so he used both hands to snatch at the man¡¯s longsword.


    The robed man had not expected this petty swordsman, who had been running away, to dare counterattack. He was struck solidly in the chest by Winters and, off-balance, fell to the ground.


    Winters had learned this move from a female thief. If only he had brought a dagger, he could have taken the robed man¡¯s life with this blow.


    The feel of his shoulder striking the robed man confirmed Winters¡¯s estimation; indeed, the man was wearing plate armor under his cloak.


    Winters pinned the robed man down with his body, grasped the man¡¯s right hand and forearm, and used grappling techniques to twist his wrist, forcing him to release his grasp.


    The robed man was tough, enduring the pain while holding firmly onto his single-handed sword. With his left hand, he reversed the musket and hammered down on Winters¡¯s back with the butt.


    A reversed musket was like a warhammer. A dull thud resonated from Winters¡¯s back as if it were a drum, and he thought he could hear his own ribs cracking. No longer caring for decorum, he resorted to the most primal weapon known to animals¡ªteeth¡ªand bit down fiercely on the robed man¡¯s right wrist.


    Humans have a bite force of nearly fifty kilograms, and with one bite, Winters tasted the metallic flavor of blood. The robed man, hurt by the bite, could no longer hold onto his longsword, and Winters wrested it away.


    The robed man wore a breastplate, rendering attacks on his torso ineffective. Seeing the single-handed sword Winters had snatched had a blade at the base of the sword body as well, he directly wiped it across the robed man¡¯s neck. The robed man¡¯s reaction was extremely quick; he guarded his throat with the musket, blocking the blade.


    The two men fought like farmwives in a muddy pond, using the most disgraceful methods to try to kill each other.


    The robed man¡¯s single-handed sword was excessively long, putting him at a disadvantage in close combat. Winters got up, intending to regain his standing position.


    The robed man also tried to get up and was immediately met by a vicious kick to the chin from Winters. The blow drained the robed man of his strength, and he fell back heavily to the ground.


    Wielding the blade, Winters left a deep wound on the robed man¡¯s left arm, and the man¡¯s musket slipped from his left hand.


    Now Winters had the upper hand. As he hesitated between killing the robed man outright or capturing him for interrogation, he heard Major Moritz¡¯s loud warning, ¡°Be careful!¡±


    Looking up, he saw the blade of a trembling sword aimed at him as two more robed men arrived.


    Winters stepped back and parried the thrust. The robed men pushed him back but did not press their attack; one stood with a sword, facing him, while the other knelt down to check on his compatriot.


    One down, two more to contend with.


    Two against one, a dire situation. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Winters fiercely challenged, ¡°Do you have a death wish? How dare you attack an officer!¡±


    The robed man in front of him did not respond. His mask obscured his face, so Winters could not see his expression, only the eyes that stared intently at him.


    The robed man who had been kicked hard in the head by Winters recovered consciousness and, with the help of another robed man, staggered to his feet.

 Chapter 53 - 53 - 29 Assassination_3

    Chapter 53 ¨C 29 Assassination_3


    Winters cursed under his breath, was this guy¡¯s chin made of stone? He was now seriously regretting not having a steel plate fitted into the front of his boots.


    One against two had turned into one against three, making things even worse. Winters pointed his sword at the robed men and slowly stepped backward to regroup with the Major.


    Winters¡¯s brain raced with thoughts: the robed men¡¯s target was obviously the older traveler, and since he had held them off for so long, the traveler had evidently found a safe place to hide. Their plan had already fallen through;


    Under the circumstances of not letting them achieve their goal, there was no need for him to try to kill or capture the enemies by forcibly fighting against greater numbers;


    If the opponents hesitated, unwilling to retreat, then all Winters and the Major had to do was to hold on for a while. Once the other students realized what was happening and came to support them, these few robed men would be trapped like turtles in a jar, unable to escape even if they grew wings;


    Therefore, the top priority was to delay time as much as possible.


    Having realized this, Winters began to ramble nonsense to distract the attention of the robed men, ¡°Take a look behind you, your two carriages have been stolen, what are you still standing here for like fools?


    ...


    ¡­


    Don¡¯t you know that with just a shout, I can summon more than thirty brothers? You dare to attack an army officer in broad daylight, don¡¯t blame us if we fight you with superior numbers.


    ¡­


    Also, it¡¯s supposed to be a sword fight, yet you shamelessly wear armor and use muskets, how despicable is that?


    ¡­


    By the way, your swords aren¡¯t poisoned, right? That fellah who¡¯s down got a nasty cut on his arm with his own blade, you¡¯d better go back and help him out.


    ¡­¡±


    Winters took a step back with each word he spoke, and for a while, the three robed men didn¡¯t seem to know how to respond to an officer who had just been fighting for his life and now was talking nonsense, irritating them.


    But they seemed unwilling to give up their target and leave, so with every step Winters took back, they pressed forward.


    The Major, too, sword in hand, quickly moved to Winters¡¯s side.


    Winters saw that the Major¡¯s ears were still bleeding, the blood streaming down in two long streaks, dripping off his jaw.


    One of the robed men, unable to endure Winters¡¯s meaningless verbal assault any longer, launched an attack first, and another followed suit.


    Winters and the Major began a sword fight with the two robed men. The sword of the other robed man was now in Winters¡¯s possession, so he didn¡¯t join the duel but stood behind his peers, reloading his musket.


    This was the first time Winters had used this type of one-handed sword, with its center of gravity at the guard, making it feel incredibly agile. However, as a result, the effect of slashing was reduced.


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    Winters was not accustomed to this type of sword; he merely managed to parry his opponent¡¯s attacks awkwardly.


    On the other hand, the Major, despite Winters¡¯s impression of his sword as merely ornamental, was holding his own with that very ornament.


    In an armor-less duel, a single round could determine life or death. But after two rounds, neither Winters, the Major, nor the two robed men could defeat the other, and they all returned to a face-off and cautious probing.


    However, a scream drew everyone¡¯s attention.


    The two robed men looked over Winters¡¯s shoulder towards his back.


    While curious, Winters dared not look back easily. He and the Major took a big step back to widen the gap with their opponents before turning to see what had happened. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sight before them was shocking: on the pier, the older traveler who had reached a safe area was stabbed through the heart by a dockworker with a short blade, the tip protruding from his back.


    That dockworker casually pulled out the short blade and, under everyone¡¯s gaze, leisurely lit the fuses of two box-like contraptions with his pipe and then turned and jumped into the sea.


    At the same time, on other moored merchant ships at the pier, a few other dockworkers tossed several packages with lit fuses onto the pier and then also jumped into the sea.


    One landed close to Winters. When he looked back again, the robed men were gone.


    He and the Major exchanged glances; they didn¡¯t recognize what these things were, but they immediately guessed their purpose.


    Hand-held explosive grenades had been used by the people of the Ancient Empire a thousand years ago, and iron-cased hand grenades were definitely not something new in the Sovereignty Wars thirty years ago.


    With the fuses burning rapidly, there was no time to think. Winters and the Major jumped straight into the sea. The shockwave from the violent explosion churned the water, pushing Winters deeper.


    It was only after he choked on a mouthful of water that Winters remembered something crucial: he couldn¡¯t swim.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis line divides gunplay from the skills of swordsmanship¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Expert duelist Michael Hunter¡¯s book ¡°The Artistic New Swift Sword Swordsmanship Compendium¡± details a hundred moves, with the hundredth one stating the following: The world is becoming dangerous, so please don¡¯t use a dagger as a secondary weapon to the Swift Sword anymore, if you have a gun, use a gun.

 Chapter 54 - 54 - 30 A Mess

    Chapter 54 ¨C 30 A Mess


    Three hours after the dockside assassination, in the two-story building of the Sea Blue City Customs General Administration, the air seemed to have congealed into a solid. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Robert Hurd, the Chief Administrative Officer of Sea Blue City Customs, now felt as though his head was splitting.


    One of his piers had been blown to bits, his morgue had several more bodies, and these were not even the most troublesome issues. The most pressing problem at the moment was that his jail was crammed with military officers.


    With a gloomy expression on the face of the big boss, the lower-level clerks naturally trembled with apprehension.


    From the highest-ranked assistant to the lowest-ranked copyist, every customs clerk buried their heads as deep as possible into the files on their desks, not daring to breathe too loudly.


    Inside Hurd¡¯s office, the heads of various departments under the Chief Administrative Officer looked solemn, all silently smoking, no one speaking.


    The office of the highest-ranking official of customs was shrouded in smoke, as if heavy fog had descended.


    ...


    Earlier, right in this office, after Hurd had listened to the reports from the heads of departments about the dock explosion that occurred a few hours ago, an unreachable place inside his skull had started to experience pulsating, severe pain, and his temples throbbed rhythmically.


    Now, seeing that none of his department heads would break their silence, Hurd couldn¡¯t help but inwardly sigh at these incompetents, none of whom were reliable. He stood up and opened the window behind him. Find your next read on


    The fresh sea breeze swept the secondhand smoke from the office. Hurd gathered his energy and asked in a deep voice, ¡°Does anyone have any information that hasn¡¯t been mentioned and would like to add anything?¡±


    The response was a silence akin to death.


    Seeing no one spoke, Hurd frowned and continued, ¡°Then let me summarize. This afternoon, a fight broke out on the dock; a pier was reduced to rubble, several people died, and, moreover, a group of military officers were implicated.¡±


    ¡°We understand that¡¯s pretty much the situation, right? The pressing issue now is how to handle those detained military men¡ªwe need to come up with a solution quickly.¡± Hurd leaned back in his chair, tapping the desk lightly with his fingers before suddenly letting out a cold chuckle, ¡°Is that army what¡¯s-his-name still ranting about slaughtering us?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yes,¡± the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau timidly nodded. The military officers were placed in the cells originally meant for smugglers, which were now under his charge, ¡°General Layton is currently resting in my office¡­ but I think if we continue holding onto his men, he might just charge into the General Administration with his sword.¡±


    ¡°Let him come!¡± Hurd slammed the table hard, causing cups, ink bottles, and other small objects on the desk to jump an inch high, ¡°Is the mighty Customs really afraid of him?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re naturally not afraid, and we definitely won¡¯t be at a disadvantage in a head-on collision,¡± the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau wiped sweat from his forehead and offered a wry smile, ¡°But we can¡¯t just keep the army guys locked up in the Anti-Smuggling cells forever, can we? The situation is not justifiable, and Customs really has no right. I think, why not simply let them go? The army men seem very cooperative with our investigation, they are all officers registered in the military roster, even if we let them go they won¡¯t just disappear. We can call them back for assistance with the investigation as needed.¡±


    ¡°Let them go? Easy for you to say. If the army was behind the explosion, and if you let them go today, how could they ever let us catch them again? If you ask me, we must interrogate each one to clear up what exactly happened today before anyone thinks of leaving!¡± As soon as the head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau mentioned releasing people, the Tax Bureau head protested.


    He strongly disagreed with the suggestion of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau head; the two had always been at odds, constantly at each other¡¯s throats.


    ¡°Then you do the questioning! You¡¯ve been interrogating all afternoon, what useful things have you discovered? Aren¡¯t you still clueless with every question?¡± The Anti-Smuggling Bureau head, his anger stoked, retorted aggressively.


    ¡°Interrogating my ass! Just asking politely, what can you find out? These sons of bitches definitely have something they¡¯re not telling.¡± The Tax Bureau head¡¯s face turned red as he yelled loudly, ¡°Chief, let¡¯s use torture! Just give the nod, and I¡¯ll administer it right now, I guarantee these army scoundrels will spill everything they know.¡±


    ¡°Torture? You want to go to war with the army?¡± The head of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau shouted as he leaped up.


    ¡°Bang!¡± A loud noise erupted as Hurd¡¯s fist created a crack on the oak desktop, ¡°Everyone shut up!¡±


    The two high-ranking customs officials closed their mouths and angrily returned to their seats.


    Hurd¡¯s head now ached even more.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªSeparator¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Hey! Talking to you guys! How long are you going to keep us locked up? What right does Customs have to detain us? Release us!¡± Andre, grasping the bars of the cell, shouted at the two guards by the door, one portly and one slim. He angrily kicked the cell door so hard that it dislodged a chunk of dust from the walls.


    ¡°Mr. Officer, sir, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re keeping you,¡± the slim guard said with a smile, trying to appease in a fawning tone, ¡°Please don¡¯t give us a hard time. We¡¯re just earning our living. Why you¡¯re being kept here, how would we know? We do what our boss tells us to.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t know, call someone who does!¡±


    ¡°The higher-ups are not here right now, this cell is just the two of us. How about I get you some water?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll drink your¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget it, Andre, come over here and sit down.¡± Seeing the slim guard being slippery, Winters didn¡¯t want to watch Andre get mocked by his words, so he called out softly to Andre.

 Chapter 55 - 55 - 30 A Mess_2

    Chapter 55 ¨C 30 A Mess_2


    Andre snorted coldly; he too had realized that, despite his polite speech, the skinny man in front of him was impenetrable. He walked straight back to Winters, lay down on the ground, shut his eyes immediately, and casually grabbed a handful of wheat straw to use as a pillow.


    Winters was now sitting cross-legged on the ground, shirtless, while Bard inspected the area on his back where he had been hit by the butt of the black-robed man¡¯s gun.


    It¡¯s necessary to mention a counterintuitive piece of knowledge: even in a future when humans begin to use lightweight polymers to make firearms, guns still weigh more than cold weapons. An unloaded assault rifle weighs at least five pounds, while Winters¡¯s Longsword weighs only three; let alone in this era where wooden stocks were still in use.


    Therefore, in those days, using a firearm the wrong way around was essentially like using a hammer. Many musketeers who found themselves in close combat didn¡¯t even bother to draw their swords, preferring to swing the butt of their guns to strike their enemy instead.


    The initial hit with the butt of the gun hadn¡¯t hurt Winters too much, but now a dull pain had begun to throb in his back.


    ¡°These assassins struck viciously.¡± Bard smacked his lips as he lamented, pressing gently on the bruised area with his fingers: ¡°Does it hurt when I press like this?¡±


    ¡°How can it not hurt? You¡¯d feel pain if you were hit too,¡± Winters said with a wry smile.


    ...


    ¡°I mean, do the bones hurt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bearable, a bit painful, but I can hold on.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good; the bones should be fine. You probably didn¡¯t get hit too hard because you were wrestling with him.¡± Bard speculated about the situation and gave his medical advice: ¡°In any case, even if the bones were broken, there¡¯s nothing to be done but to let them heal. Regardless, you should rest properly for a month without causing any trouble.¡±


    ¡°That scoundrel was insufferable, secretly wearing a breastplate under his robe.¡± The more Winters thought about it, the angrier he got, his impotent rage flaring: ¡°If I had been wearing plate armor too, do you think he could have injured me?¡±


    As Bard helped a grimacing Winters, who winced in pain when he lifted his arm, put his clothes back on, he casually remarked, ¡°Really? I actually thought those black-robed men had pretty formidable swordsmanship.¡±


    That hit home for Winters. Reflecting on his fight with the assassin, he said earnestly, ¡°Definitely formidable; the black-robed man who hit me with the butt of his gun had very precise control over the distance. And their swords had their center of balance at the hilt, making them extremely agile. In a true one-on-one duel, I probably wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against him; I¡¯d have to call on Aike for a secure victory.¡±


    ¡°I reckon you could search the whole bay and not find more than a few swordsmen as skilled as the master.¡± Bard said with a smile.


    ¡°Ha-ha, that¡¯s just competition. After all, we¡¯ve seen bloodshed. If it was a fight to the death, Aike might not be able to handle us now,¡± Winters said, a smile creeping onto his face as he thought of Aike. He continued with enthusiasm, ¡°I¡¯ve reached a new understanding of swordsmanship. If I were to carry a short gun like those black-robed men¡­ even against Aike, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Hmm, one might not be enough, carrying two would be safer.¡±


    ¡°Then did you figure out how he managed to fire the musket without a match?¡± Bard had been unable to understand this point.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t catch it; it must be some special design.¡± Winters shook his head. He had come into close contact with the black-robed man¡¯s musket and confirmed there was no match lit, but he had been unable to discern the specific mechanism.


    However, Winters recalled subduing the black-robed man on the jetty and said cheerfully, ¡°That guy carried a specially made firearm, and still I knocked him out with a kick. If his companion hadn¡¯t come to his rescue, I might have taken him alive. Once we¡¯re out of here, I¡¯ll reinforce my boot tips with metal plates. Next time I¡¯ll kick his jaw to pieces.¡±


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    He bragged somewhat proudly, ¡°I¡¯m increasingly feeling that the battle we fought during boarding with pirates is very important. Aike truly might not handle the two of us now.¡±


    ¡°What practical experience? It¡¯s merely the art of killing we¡¯ve honed,¡± Bard¡¯s sentiment didn¡¯t carry the same pride as Winters¡¯s; he was bittersweet: ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine what my father and mother would think if they knew I had killed someone.¡±


    This statement struck a chord with Winters; what would his own family think if they knew he had taken several lives? His pride melted away instantly.


    Winters tried to comfort Bard dryly, ¡°Haven¡¯t we spent so many years at the military academy learning this very skill? Cough, it¡¯s a necessity. Don¡¯t overthink it. Like Andre said, ¡¯just think of yourself as a tool,¡¯ that¡¯ll make it easier.¡±


    Just then, a startled yet elated voice came from the other end of the cell, ¡°The major has woken up! He¡¯s awake!¡±


    A few hours earlier, Winters and Major Moritz had jumped into the sea to avoid an explosion, but it wasn¡¯t until he had started choking on water that Winters remembered he couldn¡¯t swim.


    As he panicked, flailed his limbs around, and was on the verge of drowning, a pair of strong arms grabbed him from behind and pulled him back to the surface.


    Even now, when Winters recalled the feeling of nearly drowning, he couldn¡¯t help but shiver all over.


    Winters initially thought it was the major who had saved him, but once he was dragged ashore, he realized it wasn¡¯t the major who had saved him but his old classmate, Benwei.


    What about the major? There was no sign of the major on the sea surface; it turned out the major couldn¡¯t swim either! S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without the time to exchange pleasantries with Winters, Benwei dove back into the water.

 Chapter 56 - 56 - 30 A Mess_3

    Chapter 56 ¨C 30 A Mess_3


    It took quite a while before they saw him emerge from the water, holding the major aloft.


    The major, just dragged back to the shore, was breathless. The dock workers employed every method they could think of, from pounding on his throat to sucking his nasal passages, to revive him from the brink of the netherworld.


    But after briefly regaining consciousness and his breath, the major again fell into a coma. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, the army warrant officers were surrounded by customs guards who had hurried over upon hearing the commotion. The confused warrant officers faced off with the even more confused customs guards.


    Following negotiations, General Layton ordered the warrant officers to ¡°proceed with dignity to the customs office to cooperate with the investigation.¡± Thus, the warrant officers were not searched, allowed to keep their luggage, and were ¡°politely¡± escorted into the rooms of the anti-smuggling department.


    Major Moritz was originally supposed to accompany General Layton to the anti-smuggling chief¡¯s office for a ¡°rest,¡± but since the major was still unconscious, he remained in the cell under the care of the warrant officers. Find more to read at


    The just-awakened major was extremely feeble, barely opening his eyes and half-opening his mouth, with his lips trembling slightly.


    ...


    ¡°Water, get water quickly,¡± the major¡¯s classmate who was supporting him urgently called for help.


    The lean guard hastily poured a cup of water, which was passed hand to hand to the person in front of the major. Everyone was in a flurry to prop the major into a semi-sitting position, carefully feeding the water to him.


    As the water trickled into the major¡¯s mouth, the warrant officers all breathed a sigh of relief.


    However, hardly had their hearts settled when the bit of water they fed the major was spat back out.


    Everyone was dumbfounded.


    Seeing the water he had fed being regurgitated, Winters too was stunned.


    But as he watched the major¡¯s haggard face, a lightbulb went off in his head, and he suddenly had an epiphany about what was going on.


    The major needed a drink!


    Winters shouted at the two guards, ¡°Alcohol! Bring alcohol! Not water! Quickly bring alcohol!¡±


    ¡°Sir, where am I supposed to get alcohol at a time like this?¡± the lean guard said helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t even have alcohol to drink, can¡¯t you just make do with water?¡±


    ¡°(Expletive)! If you can¡¯t find it, go to your superior!¡± Seeing the sly official still trying to be slippery at a time like this, Winters was furious and roared, ¡°Bring alcohol! Or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The two guards were so frightened their faces turned pale, and the lean one quickly left the cell.


    He returned shortly with General Layton and the cell block¡¯s head guard.


    The cell door creaked open, and General Layton briskly walked over to Major Moritz¡¯s side. Seeing that the major had regained consciousness, he too let out a sigh of relief.


    The warrant officers poured the grape wine brought by Layton into a cup and fed it bit by bit to Major Moritz.


    This time, the major didn¡¯t spit it out. His Adam¡¯s apple moved up and down, clearly indicating he swallowed the drink.


    Winters thought he saw a trace of satisfaction on the major¡¯s face, with tears seemingly swirling in his eyes, and his complexion greatly improved.


    The major drank a full glass of red wine before signaling to the cadet that he didn¡¯t need any more.


    Seeing that Major Moritz was markedly better after downing a glass of wine, General Layton bent over and asked with concern, ¡°Major Moritz, how are you feeling now, can you speak?¡±


    Unexpectedly, the major paid no attention to General Layton¡¯s words, completely ignoring him. Layton¡¯s face immediately showed some irritation.


    Winters explained sadly to General Layton:


    ¡°General, the major has lost his hearing.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line of demarcation for having lost hearing in both ears¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    P.S 1: Until the Sino-Japanese War, some of our forebears who were not adept at bayonet fighting still fought against the Japanese army using the technique of wielding their rifles like war hammers.


    P.S 2: If you have any recommendation tickets or such, could you please give them to me? Thank you.

 Chapter 57 - 57 - 31 Old Friend Comes

    Chapter 57 ¨C 31 Old Friend Comes


    ¡°General, the Major has gone deaf.¡±


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯s words, Major General Layton turned pale, his eyebrows arching, his pupils slightly dilated, as he repeatedly asked, ¡°What happened? How did he go deaf?¡±


    What kind of person could make Major Moritz, who was both a spellcaster and a master of swordsmanship, go deaf?


    It was he himself.


    The thunderclap on the dock still filled Winters¡¯s ears with a faint screeching noise; that deafening thunder wasn¡¯t Zeus venting his anger or Thor swinging his hammer, but the effect of the Major¡¯s angry shout amplified by a sound spell.


    Sound spells, including the one that caused the burst of sound, belong to the same category as sound amplification spells, but the former is simply a more powerful, intensified version of the latter.


    Sound amplification spells merely multiply the volume of spoken words several times, mostly used to convey commands; whereas the burst of sound spell endows the voice with the might of thunder, capable of destroying a person¡¯s sense of balance. If a sound amplification spell is a garden hose nozzle, then the burst of sound spell is like the legendary Urbain siege cannon.


    ...


    This incredibly powerful burst of sound spell repelled the black-robed assassin, saving Winters¡¯s life.


    But it also caused Winters to still suffer from tinnitus while directly rupturing the Major¡¯s own eardrums.


    The burst of sound spell is recognized as the most powerful among sound spells, but it¡¯s also the least practical.


    It is an indiscriminate attack; the closer one is to the source of the sound, the stronger the spell¡¯s power.


    And who, generally speaking, is closest to the source? Of course, the spellcaster himself.


    Especially for someone like the Major, who is both a spellcaster and the source of the sound ¨C regardless of the power of the sound spell, the one who suffers the most severe damage is always the caster himself.


    That is why the burst of sound spell is currently considered impractical.


    On the dockside walkway, once Winters realized the Major was a spellcaster and saw him bleeding from both ears, he immediately understood that the Major had, in his urgency to save him, cast the burst of sound spell without wearing any protective gear.


    He explained the principle of the burst of sound spell and the Major¡¯s ruptured eardrums as succinctly as possible to the General and his classmates, who listened and sighed in dismay.


    ¡°We can use paper and pen to communicate with the Major. Right now, he just can¡¯t hear sounds, speaking and reading shouldn¡¯t be any issue,¡± Winters suggested with a furrowed brow, his heart filled with guilt and apology towards the Major, who became this tragic figure in his quest to save him.


    Everyone thought it was indeed a good idea and quickly brought paper and pen.


    While Major General Layton dictated, Winters wrote, the quill scratching against the paper, a line of text flowing from its tip: Major Moritz, Layton D. Castel is speaking with you. Can you make your own judgment as to whether you have regained consciousness?


    The Major stared at the paper and nodded his head.


    Another line was written: Do you still remember who we are?


    The Major nodded again.


    A third line: What does the number 4 represent?


    The Major¡¯s mouth curled into a wry smile as he helplessly chuckled, took the quill from Winters, and scrawled unevenly: My head feels heavy and foggy, and I¡¯m very tired, but my mind is clear.


    Winters took back the quill and continued to translate Major General Layton¡¯s words into text: Can you hear sounds right now?


    The Major gently shook his head.


    Winters continued writing: You might have gone deaf.


    The Major¡¯s expression was as calm as a placid lake, and he nodded lightly, his eyes seemingly saying: I know, I understand.


    Major General Layton asked another question: Can you speak now?


    The resigned smile returned to Major Moritz¡¯s lips. The Major cleared his throat and responded in a voice three times louder than normal, ¡°I can¡¯t hear sounds! I can¡¯t control the volume of my voice! I can speak! But I do not wish to speak right now!¡±


    Major General Layton asked a few more trivial questions, to which Major Moritz responded one by one.


    Seeing that Major Moritz indeed had regained his clarity of mind, Major General Layton¡¯s furrowed brow relaxed slightly. Noticing the Major¡¯s state of fatigue, he asked the Major if he wished to leave this ¡°room.¡±


    After receiving a negative answer, Major General Layton left the Major in the care of the warrant officers and briskly left the cell, apparently to go and have another spat with the customs bureaucrats.


    Winters had wanted to let the weary Major rest properly, but instead, the Major insisted on staying alert and refused to lie down. He signaled to the warrant officers to help him sit up against the wall.


    An official¡¯s rank carried substantial weight; a whole four levels higher was a different story altogether. Even for the Major¡¯s own well-being, Winters had no choice but to offer powerless ¡°advice¡± in writing: You should rest properly.


    The Major took the quill: I am fine, I just need to know our current situation, there are some questions I need answered. Find your next read on


    Winters grabbed another quill: Have you used the burst of sound spell before? Can your hearing be restored?


    Seeing Winters¡¯s worried face, the Major smiled and wrote: I wouldn¡¯t say I¡¯m completely deaf, I can still hear the sound of my teeth clashing, which means it¡¯s just eardrum damage. I have been through this once before, a period of convalescence should restore my hearing; there¡¯s no need to worry. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Relieved that the Major had confirmed his hearing could recover, Winters finally breathed easier, feeling much more at ease.


    The Major¡¯s pen nib danced as he asked in detail about the major and minor incidents that occurred since the Bandit Gull docked.

 Chapter 58 - 58 - 31 Old Friends Arrival_2

    Chapter 58 ¨C 31 Old Friends Arrival_2


    Winters, though wishing to allow the major to rest, could only comply with his will, answering each question with statements as concise as possible.


    The two men engaged in conversation through the use of pens, repeating the process of query and response.


    As more intelligence was gathered, the major¡¯s spirit seemed to improve. He even drank another glass of red wine midway.


    After understanding the information Winters and the other warrant officers knew, the major closed his eyes, rhythmically tapping his fingers on the paper as the warrant officers exchanged puzzled glances, watching the major seemingly lost in thought.


    Your next read is at


    The major appeared to be dozing off, and after a short while, he finally reopened his eyes.


    This time, his eyes regained their former brilliance. He wrote swiftly on the paper: ¡°It seems we¡¯re suffering from an undeserved disaster.¡±


    ...


    The major was indeed correct, Winters wrote: ¡°Yes, those assassins were clearly targeting those travelers. We were just implicated. Now that customs can¡¯t find the assassin, they¡¯re not letting us leave, probably hoping to pin the blame on us.¡±


    A derisive snort came from the major¡¯s nose. He shook his head indifferently and wrote: ¡°Tell everyone to relax; this matter doesn¡¯t concern us, customs can¡¯t do anything to us. Has the military department been notified yet?¡±


    Winters nodded and wrote: ¡°One of the conditions for our ¡®cooperation with the investigation¡¯ is that we must inform the Army Department.¡±


    Despite his pale face, Major Moritz seemed quite relaxed. He wrote with a smile: ¡°Then by tomorrow at the latest, customs will have to let us go. If those high-ranking officials in the military department take it to heart, we might be going home tonight.¡±


    Major Moritz¡¯s confidence inspired the warrant officers, igniting a flame of hope in their hearts. Hope was the most precious thing; with it, even being trapped here wouldn¡¯t be too unbearable.


    The tip of the major¡¯s pen moved subtly: ¡°Let everyone rest, don¡¯t crowd around me, I¡¯m fine. Just eat and drink whatever you like, and wait to go home.¡±


    Receiving the word, the warrant officers dispersed and sat back down in various parts of the cell, finding ways to pass the time.


    Winters was about to help the major lie down on the straw bed to rest when he suddenly recalled something, an intelligence that might be very important, a piece of information he wasn¡¯t sure if he should share with his comrades.


    He scanned the room, noting that the others¡¯ attentions were elsewhere, even Bard and Andre had returned to their luggage. He then picked up the quill again, dipped it in ink, pulled out a new sheet of paper, and wrote quietly to the major: ¡°You¡¯re an army spellcaster, right?¡±


    Major Moritz, puzzled, nodded.


    Winters continued to write: ¡°The assassin shot at you, and if I¡¯m not mistaken, you used a Deflection Spell to turn the bullet away, right?¡±


    The major nodded again.


    Winters went on: ¡°Deflection Spell is a very difficult spell, right?¡±


    Clear-minded, the major seemed to have a slight premonition of what Winters was implying. He pursed his lips and nodded.


    Winters glanced around once more, ensuring that only he and the major could see the paper in his hands. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally resolved to write: ¡°Among those four travelers, there¡¯s also a spellcaster.¡±


    The major¡¯s brows knotted, he lifted his chin slightly, signaling Winters to continue writing.


    Winters wrote quickly, his handwriting becoming sloppy: ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, one of the guards among the travelers used a Deflection Spell at the dock. The musket was fired at close range, yet the bullets hit the ground.¡±


    The major¡¯s expression turned grave; his eyes fixated on Winters. Winters read from those eyes the question the major wanted to ask: ¡°Are you certain?¡±


    With a forthright and determined nod, Winters confirmed; he had seen with his own eyes how the assassin¡¯s musket, aimed directly at the guard, inexplicably struck the stone slabs of the dock. His penmanship grew resolute: ¡°I am certain of what I saw. Others must have seen it too, but I dare not confirm it with them.¡±


    Major Moritz exhaled heavily, clearly convinced by Winters¡¯s expression and attitude. He believed Winters was not lying. The major ground his teeth for a moment and deftly tore off the last two paragraphs Winters had written, ripping them into small pieces and swallowing them, chasing them down with a gulp of wine.


    Winters stared dumbfounded as the major ¡°destroyed the evidence,¡± momentarily stunned.


    Having set down his wine glass, Major Moritz wrote quickly on the paper: ¡°Do not speak of this to anyone, and let no one from customs know. We will discuss this matter after leaving this place.¡±


    The major paused, then added a phrase: ¡°A secret discussion.¡±


    Winters nodded in understanding. In the Senas Alliance, only the army possessed magicians; the spellcaster training system was almost entirely the army¡¯s exclusive domain. If customs found out that one of the parties in the dock confrontation was a spellcaster, they would never let it go easily.


    Smiling, the major penned another sentence: ¡°Just in case, you should eat the rest of the paper as well.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line that obliterates all traces¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Bard stared in surprise as Winters, having returned from the major¡¯s side, was now gulping down the major¡¯s wine. His eyes widened, and he asked Winters, ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t drink?¡±


    Warrant Officer Montaigne belched lengthily, and replied irritably: ¡°I choked.¡±


    ¡°What does choking have to do with drinking wine?¡± Bard was confused.


    ¡°To wash it down.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t water suffice?¡±


    ¡°This wine eases my heart.¡±

 Chapter 59 - 59 - 31 Old Friend Arrives_3

    Chapter 59 ¨C 31 Old Friend Arrives_3


    ¡°Are you drunk?¡± Bard couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at these bizarre responses. He looked up at the other end of the cell and asked, ¡°How is Major Moritz?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s just fine,¡± Winters said with a tinge of annoyance. ¡°He¡¯s gone back to sleep.¡±


    Bard was even more confused, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? You seem to have suddenly taken a strong dislike to the Major.¡±


    Next to Bard, Andre slept soundly with his hat covering his face.


    ¡°Stretching it.¡± Winters pushed Bard and Andre aside and heroically lay down on the ground: ¡°Move your butt over and make some room for me too, I¡¯m going to sleep for a bit as well.¡±


    With the fullness from the plant fibers and the slight intoxication from the alcohol, Winters quickly entered a state between sleep and consciousness; he could still perceive the sounds around him, but his consciousness was almost in chaos, and soon he would fall into a deep sleep.


    At this critical moment, he heard someone shouting, ¡°Which one is Winters Montagne? Who is Mr. Winters Montagne?¡±


    ...


    Winters jolted awake when he heard his name being called. He sat up straight, slapped his head, and spent a few seconds trying to become fully alert.


    Once his brain started working again, Winters responded with a grumpy morning voice, ¡°I¡¯m Montagne, what is it?¡±


    ¡°Please come out for a moment.¡± The door of the cell creaked open, and the head of the cell, in a polite tone, said, ¡°Someone wants to see you alone.¡±


    At these words, Winters¡¯ heart skipped a beat, then raced.


    His mind raced with thoughts, ¡°They want to interrogate me alone? Did the customs people see what I just wrote? Has there been an informant? Are the customs really that sinister? Should I wake up the Major first?¡±


    His mind teemed with frantic speculations, but on the surface, Winters still managed to appear calm. Like someone who had just awoken, he lazily asked, ¡°Who wants to see me? What is it for?¡±


    The cell head did not answer but kindly repeated, ¡°Please come out for a moment; someone wants to see you alone.¡±


    Winters thought to himself morosely, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t escape this ordeal today. How did customs find out what I wrote? Damn sinister!¡±


    But fortunately, the Major was foresighted; all the evidence had been destroyed. Winters made up his mind, either customs would have to cut open his and the Major¡¯s stomachs, or he would stick to his story and refuse to admit anything.


    With a plan in mind, Winters stood up with composure and straightened his clothes.


    Bard furrowed his brow and challenged the cell head, ¡°What, are you going to torture him?¡±


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± Andre shouted as he sprang up from the ground, having not been asleep after all.


    The cell head, still without saying anything extra, simply lifted his arm and gestured for Winters to follow.


    Winters patted Bard and Andre¡¯s shoulders to reassure them, loosened his collar, and with the eyes of his compatriots upon him, he walked out of the cell with a scoff.


    The silent cell head walked ahead to lead the way; each prison cell had two layers of doors. Winters followed him through the double doors and entered a long corridor, with prison doors intermittently lining both walls.


    The prison of the Customs Office was a single-story standalone building, and the large cell where the warrant officers were placed was just one of the rooms used to confine prisoners guilty of minor offenses. The environment could be ranked among the top, so it was made available to ¡°invite¡± this group of army officers for a temporary stay.


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    There were many more cells harsher than this, and customs filled them all up with people.


    The Customs Office was a significant source of revenue for the Republic, having been granted independent enforcement powers to combat smuggling by the Senate.


    Since transborder smuggling was essentially undermining the Customs Office¡¯s authority, they took their anti-smuggling efforts very seriously¡ªso seriously that the Office had a special section of land designated for a prison built to detain the smugglers they caught.


    The hatred of a tax collector for a smuggler runs as deep into the bone as the hatred of a merchant for a tax collector.


    Winters followed the head of the prison ward through door after door, exiting through a small door at the end of the corridor and was led to the deeper parts of the prison.


    Until the head of the ward stopped in front of a small door and made a gesture inviting him into the trap.


    Winters felt a bit scared, but his expression betrayed no sign of panic. He secretly swallowed, pushing open the wooden door with disdain.


    Inside the room, there were none of the torture devices he had imagined, only a square table in the center with four chairs around it.


    Behind the square table sat a middle-aged man, toying with a small knife.


    This person was tall and thin, with large bone structure and eyes, his dragon-like gaze was full of life, and his facial features were of noble appearance.


    Winters recognized this man, not only did Winters recognize him, but he also knew Winters, even when Winters was still an infant.


    Winters¡¯s eyes widened, and his mouth gaped, he was just about to blurt out ¡°Uncle¡± when he swallowed the word back down forcefully.


    But he still couldn¡¯t suppress the surprise in his heart and called out another familiar title:


    ¡°Colonel?!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the line that knows you are an old friend¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Excerpt from ¡°Winters¡¯ Spellbook: Speed Enhancement Spells¡±


    Spell Name: Wright¡¯s Deviation Spell


    Description: An advanced version of the Arrow Flying Spell, it accelerates objects like bullets and arrows through magic towards a lawful direction, causing them to deviate from their original trajectory.


    Difficulty: A (Extremely Difficult), to cast the spell precisely on high-speed moving objects in an instant, demanding high burst strength, precision, and casting range.


    Notes: Once this spell is mastered, projectiles will have difficulty penetrating (but it probably can¡¯t guard against a stab in the back).


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Excerpt from ¡°Winters¡¯ Spellbook: Sound-Based Spells¡±


    Spell Name: Yvede¡¯s Sonic Blast Spell


    Description: A more powerful version of the amplifying spell, it can scare enemies, shatter their eardrums, and disrupt their balance.


    Difficulty: B (Difficult), requires the spellcasters to have extremely strong spell burst strength, otherwise, it is just akin to yelling; the spell¡¯s power increases with the increase of spell burst strength. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Notes: This spell really has more problems than solutions, if one cannot solve the technical challenge of ¡°injuring the enemy a lot but oneself a little,¡± then this spell will never truly be usable in combat.


    P.S. 1: Every spellcaster has their own spellbook for recording learned spells and their own original spells and includes some combat experience and insights;


    P.S. 2: If you have any recommendation tickets, could you please cast them for me? Thank you.

 Chapter 60 - 60 - 32: Visit

    Chapter 60 ¨C 32: Visit


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    The middle-aged man waiting for Winters in this small room was none other than Winters¡¯s uncle by marriage, the husband of Winters¡¯s mother¡¯s younger sister, a military academy classmate who had been through life and death with Winters¡¯s father, and Winters¡¯s close kin¡ªAntonio Serviati.


    ¡°How could customs possibly know everything!¡± Winters cheered in his head, originally thinking he would have to undergo some severe punishment, only to find out that it was just a ¡°prison visit,¡± making him overjoyed.


    The guard leader who had brought Winters here bowed respectfully and left the small room. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The heavy wooden door screeched as it closed, leaving only the uncle and nephew alone in the room.


    Antonio walked over joyfully and hugged Winters tightly, ruffling his hair, and exclaimed with heartfelt emotion, ¡°You rascal, look at you! You¡¯ve truly grown into a man now! You¡¯re the spitting image of your father when he was young. I almost thought the gods had taken me back twenty years, letting me see your father walk in through the door.¡±


    The tone of Winters¡¯s uncle was deep and mellow, filled with six parts joy and four parts sorrow.


    ...


    Winters felt sentimental and affected by his uncle¡¯s emotions, but at the same time, the sudden display of affection made his skin crawl.


    Six years of closed boarding school life had profoundly affected his personality; classmates are not family, and men do not express emotion to each other in such an affectionate manner¡ªin fact, men hardly ever communicated emotions at all.


    Therefore, Winters, out of the Ivory Tower of the military academy, was very uncomfortable with such intimate body language. In Antonio¡¯s eyes, Winters was still the kid who pestered him to learn swordsmanship, but what Winters felt now was mostly embarrassment and helplessness.


    ¡°How are Kosa and my sister? How are the Great General and the junior generals?¡± Winters hurriedly tried to escape his uncle¡¯s ¡°pincer attack¡± with words.


    ¡°They are all fine, all missing you,¡± Antonio let go of his arms, wiped his eyes with his palm, and took in a breath through his nose, seemingly not yet out of the emotional state, ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡±


    Antonio led Winters back to the table by his arm.


    No sooner had Winters¡¯s bottom touched the chair than he eagerly asked in a low voice, ¡°Does the military know we have been detained by customs?¡±


    Seeing Winters¡¯s cautious appearance, Antonio couldn¡¯t help but chuckle with a snort, ¡°Of course they know. It¡¯s not even ¡®the Palace¡¯¡ªonce the docks make a noise, within two hours the whole of Sea Blue City knows. Now the rumors outside are overwhelming. The city is buzzing with tales of the Vineta Army smuggling goods, intercepted by customs resulting in a big fight, with some even saying that hundreds were killed. Everyone¡¯s making it sound so believable.¡±


    ¡®The Palace¡¯ was a colloquial reference to the Vineta Army headquarters, which was built so lavishly that the citizens mockingly compared it to a royal palace. Over time, ¡®the palace¡¯ and ¡®the throne¡¯ became nicknames for the army headquarters among the soldiers.


    ¡°So is my uncle from the army here to get us out?¡± Winters, elated, thought it seemed they would be leaving this dreadful place soon.


    Antonio smiled and gently shook his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m just visiting as a relative right now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters¡¯s smile froze, utterly astonished, ¡°If the army already knows we¡¯re locked up, why don¡¯t they send someone to get us out?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, obviously because those fools at customs have made a big blunder.¡± Antonio snorted with a blend of scorn and contempt in his smile, ¡°Those customs bastards have their brains filled with mud, first detaining you all without explanation. Now they can¡¯t admit their fault and still can¡¯t let go of their pride, they actually want to have a joint meeting to ¡®request¡¯ to take you all back from customs. Do you think ¡®The Throne¡¯ would agree to that?¡±


    As the army headquarters was mockingly referred to as ¡®The Palace,¡¯ the small conference room where the army¡¯s highest authority, the senior officers¡¯ joint meeting, took place was naturally the room with the most power in the palace¡ªand so, the senior officers¡¯ joint meeting also got dubbed ¡®The Throne.¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s shameless!¡± Winters was shocked and angry after learning about the custom authorities¡¯ petty schemes, his eyes wide, nostrils flaring violently, and he abruptly stood up, knocking the chair over.


    Winters, fuming with indignation, said, ¡°What right do they have to do this? We were just implicated.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, don¡¯t rush,¡± Antonio pulled Winters to sit down, his tone light and cheerful, ¡°Haha, you have just the same temper as your dad¡­ Ah, as one gets older, one tends to reminisce about the past too often. Sit down and listen to me explain everything slowly.¡±


    Winters knew he had been inappropriate for shouting at his uncle in a burst of anger, he smiled apologetically at him, and mentally chastised himself yet again to be more restrained and calm in the future, and he set the chair upright and sat down again.


    ¡°Anyway, the situation is like this, customs has made a foolish mistake, but doesn¡¯t want to lose face and expects us to clean up their mess, wanting The Throne to speak up first,¡± Antonio spread his hands in a relaxed gesture, dismissively saying, ¡°It¡¯s delusional¡ªthey think the army will compromise its dignity just to wipe customs¡¯ ass? Now you¡¯re stuck in the middle. But it¡¯s no big deal, customs won¡¯t dare do anything to you, they still have to coddle you.¡±

 Chapter 61 - 61 - 32 Visit_2

    Chapter 61 ¨C 32 Visit_2


    ¡°We¡¯re hardly being catered to,¡± Winters said with a wry smile. ¡°We¡¯ve all been thrown into cells, though at least the conditions are clean. However, there¡¯s one severely injured person who I think would be better off if we could get him out for proper care.¡±


    ¡°Severely injured? Is it a cadet officer?¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s Major Moritz.¡±


    ¡°Moritz van Nassau?¡± Antonio¡¯s eyebrows shot up, and a puzzled expression appeared on his face, clearly interested by the name Moritz.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the Major¡¯s full name,¡± Winters shook his head. In the few short days they¡¯d interacted, he only knew the Major as Moritz and was unaware of any other parts of his full name.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Antonio stroked his chin with a tentative voice, ¡°In the army, I¡¯ve only heard of one person named Moritz, last year¡¯s third place in the army sports meeting swordsmanship event. They said he¡¯s also a spellcaster, is that him?¡±


    Upon hearing his uncle¡¯s description, Winters nodded, ¡°A master of swordsmanship and a spellcaster, then we must be speaking of the same person.¡±


    ...


    ¡°A master of swordsmanship and a spellcaster,¡± Antonio mused with surprise, ¡°he alone could probably handle a full company of a hundred men. Just how many enemies did you encounter to injure such a character so severely?¡±


    ¡°The Major¡¯s main injury was from nearly drowning; he also burst his eardrums due to the impact of his own spells, which led to temporary deafness.¡± Winters explained the cause of the Major¡¯s injuries as straightforwardly as he could: ¡°Additionally¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on a moment.¡± Antonio stopped Winters and pulled out a small notebook from his pocket, then fetched ink and a quill pen from a cabinet in the corner of the room.


    Once he was ready to take notes, Antonio seriously said to his nephew, ¡°That fool Layton sent back only bits and pieces of information, and the palace has received contradictory reports. Rumors are flying everywhere. Tell me exactly what happened at the harbor this afternoon from start to finish.¡±


    Winters started from the moment their ship docked, recounting in detail to his uncle about the four passengers, the assassins, and the explosion. To avoid detracting from the main issue, he briefly mentioned the encounter with the pirates, and to prevent eavesdropping, he did not disclose the fact that among the four passengers was a spellcaster. After all, they were in the territory of the customs; who knew if there were pipes being used for clandestine listening?


    Antonio listened intently to Winters¡¯ account of his experiences with a grave face, his pupils involuntarily shrinking when he heard his nephew was nearly killed. But he remained silent throughout, nodding occasionally and jotting down key points on paper.


    ¡°That¡¯s it,¡± Winters concluded his recount of the assassination and explosion at the dock. He really wanted to speak to his uncle about the skirmish at sea and the great fire in Guidao City. He had many questions and hoped for his uncle¡¯s wise counsel, but clearly, this was not the time.


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    Antonio pondered Winters¡¯ story in his mind, coming to a conclusion.


    He rubbed his temples and said, ¡°Then, this has absolutely nothing to do with the army! Our cadet officers happened to be involved only because they acted out of a sense of justice.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Winters slapped the desk, but then he remembered the passenger who could use the Deflection Spell, quietly thinking to himself that it might have some connection to the army, but definitely none to the cadet officers.


    ¡°What on earth is customs thinking? Instead of going after the assassins, they locked you all up,¡± Antonio put away his notebook, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if it¡¯s unrelated to us, then the customs can¡¯t expect to pin this mess on the army¡¯s head.¡±


    Winters nodded emphatically, bolstered by his uncle¡¯s stance.


    ¡°Tell your peers not to worry; eat and drink as they usually would. Let¡¯s see how long customs intends to keep you under house arrest,¡± Antonio, full of confidence, imparted his strategy to Winters: ¡°You are not criminals. Demand whatever you need, and if customs dares to withhold it, smash through this place. They¡¯re just a few guards; can¡¯t you handle them?¡±


    Winters was about to remind his uncle that walls have ears, but then it dawned on him that perhaps his uncle was deliberately using this opportunity to apply pressure to customs. He thus played along vigorously, agreeing with a series of ¡°Yes.¡±


    However, he was still worried about Major Moritz and asked in a low voice, ¡°What about Major Moritz? He would be best cared for in a tranquil place.¡±


    Antonio thought for a moment and then answered slowly, ¡°Moritz cannot leave just yet. The Throne won¡¯t ask for him proactively; I will have customs arrange for a doctor to treat Moritz.¡±


    He then added with a smile, ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s customs who should be praying for Major Moritz¡¯s health now, praying that he doesn¡¯t die in their cells. If something happens to Moritz, the customs headquarters will get to see what the army¡¯s cannons look like.¡±


    Winters nodded vigorously once more; whether anyone from customs was eavesdropping or not, Antonio¡¯s threat was no idle one.


    The Sea Blue Republic¡¯s various power institutions all have strong independence.


    To be precise, it isn¡¯t that the government oversees various departments of power, but rather that these departments of power compose the government of the Sea Blue Republic.


    Therefore, it¡¯s not uncommon for these powerful institutions to engage in armed clashes over irreconcilable differences. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While to date there hasn¡¯t been any use of firearms, it¡¯s not unimaginable for the army, if pushed too far, to wheel out their cannons and give their brethren a taste of ¡°grapeshot¡¯s breezy touch.¡±

 Chapter 62 - 62 - 32 Visit_3

    Chapter 62 ¨C 32 Visit_3


    As for the neighboring Federated Provinces and the Republic, the situation there was even worse. So much so that Vineta philosophers like Conte once sarcastically commented, ¡°The Provincial Army is not the military of the Federated Provinces; the Federated Provinces is the nation of the Provincial Army.¡±


    As the first regime to overthrow the emperor and aristocracy on this continent after the ancient Muro Republic, each member state of the Federated Provinces was still groping its way in constructing a political system for the post-Imperial Era. To this day, none had been able to satisfactorily answer the simple yet troublesome question, ¡°What do we do without an emperor?¡±


    ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s this.¡± Antonio pulled out a small basket covered with a white cloth from under the table and pushed it towards Winters with a smile, ¡°Take a guess, what¡¯s it?¡±


    Winters leaned in to take a deep whiff and said happily, ¡°Actually, I smelled the aroma when I entered the room, I just never got around to asking.¡±


    He lifted the white cloth and inside were neatly arranged rows of small pies, with another layer of white cloth beneath. Judging by its thickness, there seemed to be a total of three layers in the basket.


    These pies had a unique shape, rolled up from inside out into chubby cylinders. Rather than calling it a pie, it was more like a rolled pastry. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The dough was made from the precious refined white flour, and the meat filling was seasoned beef. It required rolling the white dough thinly, evenly spreading the beef filling, rolling it into a long strip, steaming it until done, and then cutting it into small sections.


    ...


    The ratio of white flour to water, the force used in kneading, the preciseness of fermentation, the seasoning of the meat filling¡ªany slight misstep in these procedures could make a significant difference in the final product¡¯s taste.


    This ¡°dessert¡± was a recipe from Winters¡¯ mother¡¯s family, now the unique skill of Winters¡¯ aunt. Winters would confidently claim that in Vineta, this was the only place you could find it, with no other branches.


    Food is the deepest bond to one¡¯s hometown, and one¡¯s palate has profound connections to their life experiences.


    Winters didn¡¯t care about hygiene, directly grabbing a whole piece and putting it into his mouth. With a moderate salty taste, rich and juicy meat filling, and a properly fermented crust¡­ The familiar flavor finally gave him the true sensation of coming home. Before he could savor it enough, the pie was already gone.


    ¡°I heard yesterday that the ship you came on had already reached the outer harbor. Early this morning, Kosa started preparing this in the kitchen for you,¡± Antonio said affectionately, watching his nephew eat greedily with both hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such an incident¡­ When I heard I was coming to visit you, she insisted I bring it over. Hey, this really turned into a prison visit.¡±


    After eating a few, Winters thought of Bard, Andre, and the others from his same period, so he put the pie he was holding back.


    Seeing his nephew stop, Antonio asked in puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Has it gone bad?¡±


    Antonio knew his nephew¡¯s capacity; just six years ago when Winters was in Shanqian, he could eat two catties of such pies in one go. Let loose, this whole basket wouldn¡¯t be enough to fill him.


    ¡°No, I want to save them to take back for my friends to try,¡± Winters said carefully as he covered the basket again with the white cloth, tucking in the corners.


    Antonio inspected his nephew¡¯s eyebrows, eyes, nose, and jawline carefully, then chuckled, ¡°You¡¯ve grown up so much now. I still remember when you were a kid, you and your sister would fight over these pies¡­¡±


    As his embarrassing past was exposed, Winters¡¯ cheeks flushed, and he hurriedly stopped his uncle from disclosing more old stories, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that. I was wrong back then, and I have deeply reflected on it.¡±


    Antonio laughed heartily, finding joy as middle-aged people often did in revisiting children¡¯s embarrassing histories. But then he suddenly became serious, gazing directly into Winters¡¯ eyes.


    Winters sensed the shift in the atmosphere and listened attentively.


    Antonio asked his nephew earnestly, ¡°Do you want to leave this place now?¡±


    Upon hearing Antonio¡¯s words, Winters¡¯ first reaction was confusion. Then he realized his uncle wasn¡¯t joking¡ªAntonio definitely had a way to help him leave the prison right now if he wished to.


    Winters asked himself: Did I want to leave that prison cell?


    The answer, of course, was yes. No matter how good the prison environment, it was still a prison: low, damp, crowded, with a floor full of pits and uneven mortar, not even a comfortable place to lie down.


    There was also no way to pass the time in the cell, one could only sit withered in the prison room, where every second felt as long as a century.


    But, if I were to leave that cell, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be alone. Everyone else was in prison too, what would it look like if I ran off by myself? If I were to leave, I must leave with everyone.


    Having realized this, Winters shook his head: ¡°When everyone leaves, I will go out too.¡±


    Antonio watched Winters¡¯s eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter, ¡°Good! Such is the spirit befitting of the son of Glavis!¡±


    Antonio forcefully rang the bell on the table and leaned back heroically in his chair.


    Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in a silk customs official¡¯s uniform came through the door. The customs bureaucrat had a radiant smile on his face as he stood beside Antonio, rubbing his hands and asking in a low and obsequious voice, ¡°General Serviati, have you finished talking with your nephew?¡±


    Antonio also smiled, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve finished. There¡¯s something I really must ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course,¡± the customs official nodded eagerly.


    ¡°This matter is truly embarrassing to bring up.¡± Major General Antonio Selviati¡¯s smile was now warm enough to melt ice caps, ¡°My wife has only this precious nephew, spoiled beyond belief. We¡¯ve heard about the hardships this child faces in the customs prison, it¡¯s been causing quite a fuss at home¡­¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, as an esteemed Corps Commanding General personally guarantees him, I will certainly honor this request. I¡¯ll explain to the director and chief ¨C you can take your nephew with you right now,¡± the customs official quickly ascended the ladder of the conversation.


    ¡°That would be really wonderful¡­¡± Major General Antonio¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly turned his tone, ¡°But I have found that the environment of the customs prison is very helpful for young men to temper their minds, Ensign Winters!¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°I order you to stay in the customs prison! Without orders from the Army Department, even if customs asks you to leave, you are not to leave!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The customs official, thinking he had solved a thorny problem for his senior leader, was now dumbstruck, but Major General Antonio did not let him off that easily.


    He grabbed the collar of the customs uniform, dragging the customs official closer, and with a fierce and terrifying voice said, ¡°Listen well to what I¡¯m about to request! Go back and tell that old coot Hurd, the army will ¡¯snatch¡¯ people back, but absolutely will not accept them back passively. If this matter isn¡¯t settled to our satisfaction, I¡¯ll lead my troops and tear down your customs headquarters!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHere¡¯s the divider line for the old coot¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª Find more to read on


    In fact, I think fermented food is the type of food that best reflects the influence of life experiences on personal dietary preferences. It¡¯s hard for adults to get used to unfamiliar fermented foods they didn¡¯t eat as children, because many fermented foods basically just taste like decay, such as the infamous pickled auk.


    Thanks to ¡°Old Wang of Social Justice¡± for the recommendation ticket.


    I used to give myself a recommendation ticket every day, but I always felt that voting for myself was a bit too shameful; recommendation tickets should be praise from the readers, not self-flattery by the author. So, I might as well ask for tickets from all you readers. If you have a recommendation ticket, please cast it for me, bowing in gratitude.

 Chapter 63 - 63 - 33 Treatment

    Chapter 63 ¨C 33 Treatment


    The cell was the same as before, but the environment had slightly improved.


    The guards brought in a lot of wheat straw and hay, covering the uneven mortar floor.


    The cell door wasn¡¯t locked anymore, allowing the warrant officers to freely use the guard¡¯s toilet, instead of having to use a bucket in the cell.


    The message conveyed by Major General Antonio bolstered the warrant officers¡¯ confidence. As he had said, Customs now found itself in a difficult position, not daring to mistreat these army officers, and even trying to accommodate the warrant officers¡¯ demands as much as possible.


    Inside the cell, Winters and his peers were eagerly watching a famous doctor, invited by Customs, diagnose and treat Major Moritz.


    ¡°Don¡¯t all crowd over!¡± The old doctor glared fiercely at the warrant officers and scolded harshly, ¡°With so many of you crowding around, it¡¯s dark and nothing can be seen clearly, move aside! Let some air in!¡±


    This old doctor wore a monk-style robe made of fine silk satin. He sported a handsome goatee and his tone of rebuke was very much like that of a high-ranking officer¡ªcommanding and full of presence, clearly a man of great skill. Read new adventures at


    ... sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon hearing his words, the warrant officers immediately took several steps back obediently to make space, and to avoid blocking the light, they all sat down on the ground. However, they still couldn¡¯t suppress their curiosity and craned their necks to watch.


    The warrant officers left the best spot for ventilation and lighting in the cell for Major Moritz, who lay on the only straw mattress in the cell. However, regardless of the improvements, the location was still a prison, not a sanatorium, and the doctor clearly was dissatisfied with the environment.


    The doctor, reputedly hired by the Smuggling Division of Sea Blue City at great expense, placed his right hand on Major Moritz¡¯s wrist, twirled his beard with his left, and lowered his eyelids, deep in thought.


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing?¡± Winters gently nudged Bard¡¯s leg and whispered.


    Bard narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, ¡°He may be feeling the pulse? Diagnosing illness by sensing the heartbeat. I¡¯ve read about this diagnostic method before, I think it was in ¡¯The Canon of Medicine¡¯?¡± Bard shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t remember clearly.¡±


    ¡°Medicine box!¡± The doctor¡¯s eyes sparkled suddenly, and he transformed back into a live person, evidently having reached a conclusion, ¡°Bring the medicine box.¡±


    The assistant who came with him hurriedly took off the wood medicine box slung across his body and respectfully handed it over to the doctor with both hands.


    The mood of the warrant officers was instantly energized, and the atmosphere in the cell began to get agitated.


    They were simply too bored¡ªa group of lively and restless young men confined without any form of entertainment; even a wooden stick could amuse them for half a day.


    The doctor took off a key that hung around his neck with a thin rope, and with a click, unlocked the golden lock of the wooden box. Although the box was small, inside was an entirely different world; as the lid was lifted, the whole box slowly unfolded like flower petals.


    The warrant officers sitting on the ground all issued sounds of admiration in unison.


    A hint of imperceptible smugness appeared at the corners of the old doctor¡¯s mouth. In Sea Blue City, whether it was nobles and high officials or wealthy merchants and magnates, all were amazed by his meticulously crafted medicine box.


    Winters watched the renowned doctor open his exquisite medicine box and then take from one of the compartments¡­ a knife.


    Wait, a knife?


    Winters¡¯ previously excited smile froze as he watched in horror as the old doctor grabbed the major¡¯s hand with his left and lifted the knife with his right as if to cut the major¡¯s wrist.


    Several gasps were heard throughout the cell.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Winters yelled anxiously, leaping to the major¡¯s side, grabbed the doctor¡¯s wrist firmly, twisting it and snatching the knife away, and demanded sternly, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The doctor¡¯s assistant, seeing his teacher struck, quickly moved to engage with Winters, but he barely lifted his arm before he was pulled down and subdued by Winters¡¯ peers.


    The doctor himself was nearly scared to death by Winters, already in his fifties or sixties, his old arms and legs couldn¡¯t withstand such force, and his wrist was almost twisted off by Winters; he trembled as he retorted, ¡°What, what, what are you doing?¡±


    Winters was both angry and amused as he gestured with the knife in his hand, ¡°I¡¯m asking what you¡¯re doing with this.¡±


    The old gentleman recovered a bit of his composure and angrily responded, ¡°It was you who asked me to treat this gentleman.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right, but what are you doing taking out a knife?¡±


    The doctor, shaken by Winters¡¯ insistent references to the knife, scoffed back, ¡°I¡¯m treating this gentleman; do I need to explain to you?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to explain, of course, I¡¯m very keen to listen,¡± Winters challenged evenly.


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± The doctor laughed in irritation at Winters, ¡°Have you read ¡¯The Medical Writings of Muro¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Have you read ¡¯Aphorisms of Kradi¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Have you read ¡¯On Water, Air, Fire, Earth¡¯? Have you read ¡¯On Trauma¡¯? Have you read ¡¯The Heidegger Notes¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Then do you understand the theory of humors?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    The doctor became furious, ¡°Then what do you want? You don¡¯t understand anything, yet demand explanations from me?¡±


    Winters was also angry, ¡°You wanted to cut the major¡¯s wrist with a knife, and I will not allow it!¡±


    ¡°What do you know?¡± The doctor pointed at Winters¡¯ nose and rebuked, ¡°This gentleman has drunk too much seawater after nearly drowning, resulting in an imbalance in bodily fluids and toxic blood accumulating in his liver. The liver and the right arm are interrelated; it¡¯s necessary to let out the toxic blood from his right arm!¡±

 Chapter 64 - 64 - 33 Treatment_2

    Chapter 64 ¨C 33 Treatment_2


    ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of soldiers bleeding to death on the battlefield, never of bloodletting as a way to save people!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Where did you learn your medical skills to be so presumptuous in front of me?¡± the old man blew his beard and glared.


    Winters replied coldly, ¡°The Army Officer Academy!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the Army Officer Academy meant for teaching how to kill? Since when is it qualified to teach medicine?¡±


    ¡°The military academy doesn¡¯t teach medicine, but I learned a bit in hygiene class¡ªif there¡¯s a wound bleeding, you need to find a way to stop it, but no one ever taught me to draw blood deliberately when there¡¯s no external injury!¡±


    ¡°Can external bleeding and internal toxin accumulation be considered the same?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! The major is very weak now, and I absolutely can¡¯t agree to you bloodletting him. Is that the only treatment you have?¡± Winters didn¡¯t bother arguing with the doctor and firmly refused to allow the bloodletting of the major. All of Winters¡¯ medical knowledge came from the hygiene courses at the military academy, which in turn originated from practical experiences summed up during the Sovereign Wars.


    ...


    The old man was so infuriated by Winters that he was almost having a stroke, and he bellowed resentfully, ¡°You won¡¯t let me bleed him, then I won¡¯t treat him at all! If this gentleman¡¯s condition worsens, it will be your responsibility! Don¡¯t come looking for me!¡±


    With that, he snatched his knife back from Winters, hurled it into his medicine box, slammed the wooden case shut, and stormed off angrily.


    His assistant cast a hateful glance around the cell and then sullenly followed the old man.


    Having driven the doctor away, Winters actually felt a bit guilty, but he believed he wasn¡¯t wrong this time.


    He said helplessly to his classmates sitting on the ground, watching him, ¡°Can bloodletting even be called a treatment method? It really could kill the major.¡±


    ¡°Good job!¡± Andre cheered loudly and started clapping vigorously, ¡°I¡¯ve always found that old pretender annoying!¡± The others joined in the applause, and sporadic claps echoed within the cell. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters nodded in gratitude to Andre, now finding an endearing quality in Andre¡¯s character. The guy had no real sense of right and wrong¡ªor rather, his sense of right and wrong could be summed up in five words: stand by your own. His own people were always right, the enemies always wrong.


    The major couldn¡¯t hear anything, but he saw the doctor and Winters seemed to have started arguing, his assistant was held down on the ground by the other warrant officers, and then the doctor left in a huff.


    He picked up a quill pen and wrote on a piece of paper, passing it to Winters: What happened?


    Winters smiled bitterly and wrote back: That doctor just now said that toxins are accumulating in your blood, in your liver, and wanted to bleed you from the arm. I didn¡¯t agree, so he left.


    After reading this, the major nodded and wrote: It¡¯s normal, the world doesn¡¯t recognize our medical experience, thinking we are just a bunch of executioners, while we merely sum up patterns in practice. Thank you, you did right by not allowing him to use bloodletting.


    Getting the major¡¯s understanding was a big relief for Winters. What he feared most was that the major himself would support bloodletting, which would make his own rush to prevent the doctor turn into a farce.


    Suddenly remembering that the major hadn¡¯t properly eaten ever since, Winters wrote: Do you want to eat something?


    The major shook his head; he had no appetite. Most of the time now, the major was in a sleep state, eager for news updates, and he picked up the pen to write: Any new developments at the customs?


    Winters replied: None at the moment, but the attitude there has softened a lot.


    Looking at Major Moritz¡¯s face, which had become slightly sunken, Winters suddenly remembered the scene at the dock when he had shouted to the major to aim at the opponent¡¯s head, yet the major still fired at the opponent¡¯s chest armor. It seemed comical in retrospect.


    So, Winters wrote with a smile on the paper: If you had aimed at those assassins¡¯ heads back then, it would be the customs awarding us medals now.


    When the major used the Arrow Flying Spell, Winters heard a teeth-gritting sound of metal deformation as silver coins collided with armor; the assassins were even forced to retreat repeatedly to offset the impact.


    Such power wasn¡¯t inferior to arrows shot from a bow of over a hundred pounds. The assassins weren¡¯t wearing helmets, so a hit to the head would certainly be fatal.


    Major Moritz wrote with a resigned smile: Hands were shaking, couldn¡¯t aim, so I aimed for the torso instead.


    Winters didn¡¯t understand the major¡¯s meaning at a glance, but when he recalled the major¡¯s condition before disembarking, he immediately understood.


    Based on Winters¡¯ current understanding of magic, the Arrow Flying Spell essentially involved accelerating an object as much as possible within one¡¯s spell-casting range, in essence, like throwing darts with a ¡°third hand¡±; accuracy was all about ¡°feel.¡±


    The major¡¯s spellcasting material for releasing the Arrow Flying Spell was a silver coin he constantly fiddled with, leading Winters to conjecture that the major constantly practiced coin tricks to maintain his feel for the spell.


    However, during the last days on the Bandit Gull, Major Moritz¡¯s hands shook uncontrollably due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms. He couldn¡¯t even perform coin tricks, let alone expect any accuracy from the Arrow Fying Spell.


    General Antoine-Laurent believed that Spellcasters shouldn¡¯t use any addictive substances, as they could destroy their precious magical abilities.


    Winters had previously blindly followed the general¡¯s teachings to abstain from drinking and smoking, but now the way Major Moritz¡¯s magical abilities had suffered due to his heavy drinking was a real lesson for Winters.


    Winters really wanted to urge Major Moritz to give up drinking for good; he dreamt of becoming a powerful Spellcaster like the major. Your next journey awaits at .com

 Chapter 65 - 65 - 33 Treatment_3

    Chapter 65 ¨C 33 Treatment_3


    A spellcaster attuned to such high levels of magic yet addicted to alcohol was like someone trampling on Winters¡¯ most treasured possessions, a piercing irony indeed.


    But he was well aware that unsolicited advice was a big taboo. Drunkenness was the major¡¯s personal choice, and he had neither the position nor the right to say those ¡®I¡¯m only saying this for your good¡¯ kind of words.


    Seeing Major Moritz begin to grow tired, Winters helped the major lie down and watched as he fell back into a deep sleep.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the same time as Major Moritz slipped into dreams, still within the Customs Administration office, still in Hurd¡¯s office, the same few people, the same stifling atmosphere persisted.


    The directors of Customs were still just burying their heads in smoke, and this time, Hurd joined the ranks of the haze creators.


    The situation now was: everyone from the top to the bottom of Customs knew that these army officer trainees were innocent and had to be let go, but no one dared to be the first to propose it.


    ...


    Whomever broached this solution, the customs leadership would immediately take the out offered, agree amicably, with a big fuss, see off this plague of the Vineta Army.


    But the person who proposed the solution would be labeled as groveling to the Army, a disgrace to the customs¡¯ dignity. This label would be mentioned over and over again in later internal criticism, and the branded person would be stepped on by ten thousand feet.


    The directors thought Hurd was waiting for his subordinates to step up and ease the leader¡¯s worries, the directors were waiting for Hurd to display his leadership qualities and take the thunder for his subordinates.


    Meanwhile, the two chief regiments of the Vineta Standing Army were ready and waiting outside the city, awaiting the Throne¡¯s command to move out and snatch the people.


    It was still the Director of Smuggling Prevention who first spoke up: ¡°We can¡¯t just fall out with the Army over such a trivial matter.¡±


    Expressing weakness didn¡¯t mean he was a defeatist at heart.


    ¡°Afraid of what? Let them come! Who are they trying to scare with their big guns? As if we don¡¯t have big guns ourselves,¡± the Tax Director roared as if spoiling for a fight.


    The one starting with a high pitch wasn¡¯t necessarily a true hardliner.


    Stay updated via .com


    ¡°Can¡¯t make up your mind? Let¡¯s do a minority obeys the majority, how about an anonymous collective vote among the directors and above?¡±


    Oh? Here was someone wanting a piece of the pie, attempting to overthrow the top administrator.


    Hurd sat behind his desk, calmly enjoying his tobacco.


    At fifty-eight, he was considered on in years for this time and age.


    His thoughts were no longer sharp, his body no longer nimble, his temples were grizzled, and his cheeks began to show age spots.


    But his mind was as clear as a mirror. He sat on the chief customs officer¡¯s chair, seeing through everyone¡¯s petty schemes with utmost clarity.


    What was it to falsely capture a few army warrant officers? It was just that they saw he was about to retire, and so even the smallest of issues could make all hell break loose.


    He had long had his decision in mind, he just wanted to calmly finish his tobacco pipe while assessing what his subordinates were really worth.


    The next customs chief administrator, barring any accident, would be chosen by the fifteen-member finance committee from the current directors.


    Hurd had to ensure that the place where he had devoted his life¡¯s work, the Vineta Republic Customs, would fall into the right hands.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± This was a voice rarely heard at director meetings, forthright and calm.


    Hurd gently tapped the tobacco ash out of the pipe bowl.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the helmet-wearing dividing line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Winters had acted as a ¡°medical troublemaker,¡± but this was by no means an encouragement for the readers to compete in medical knowledge against the doctors in the real world. It¡¯s just that in the alternate world where Winters was, compared to some doctors, barbers who treated wounded soldiers were closer to the truth, because practice is the only criterion for testing truth. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Furthermore, it may be hard to believe, but prior to the formation of modern medicine, ancient European physicians also used herbal remedies and pulse diagnosis techniques.


    Herbs need no further mention, most of which were used by monks in monasteries and recorded by them.


    As for pulse diagnosis, the first chapter of Italian Benvenuto Cellini¡¯s ¡°Autobiography¡± mentions his father knowing some Latin and a little bit of medicine, diagnosing his pulse when he was sick, and even using it to assess his moods.


    However, whether this technique was introduced to the Latin region from the Arab region, or if it was a long-standing diagnostic method of the Latin people, is something I don¡¯t know.


    P.S. Thanks to Break-arm Stream and Social Justice Wang for their recommendation tickets, and thanks to Old Wang for his reward. It really pleases me that living people read the stories I write.

 Chapter 66 - 66 - 34: Arriving Home

    Chapter 66 ¨C 34: Arriving Home


    Later that evening, after infuriating the doctor, Winters inexplicably received a small bag jingling with reward coins from the smiling customs boss and a Customs Third-Class Service Medal was pinned to his chest.


    Amid the discordant march played by the makeshift orchestra, Winters and Bard carried Major Moritz on a stretcher as they were escorted out of the smugglers¡¯ prison.


    The heavy prison gate closed with a resounding ¡°bang¡± behind them, leaving thirty-three warrant officers and one seriously injured major dumped at the prison entrance. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Is that it, then? Is the matter resolved?


    Where are we supposed to go now?


    What about Major General Layton?


    The officer trainees looked at each other, at a loss.


    ...


    ¡°Anyhow, let¡¯s get some wagons first! We need to get the major back to the army headquarters,¡± Winters proposed loudly. It was better to act than to stand around idly; they certainly couldn¡¯t take turns carrying the major all the way back to the army headquarters, could they?


    His contemporaries apparently found his proposal sensible. With someone willing to lead, things became easier. Several proactive individuals immediately went to look for wagons.


    ¡°Hey! Why did that scoundrel from the customs give us money?¡± Andre slapped his thigh hard, ¡°I get it, it¡¯s taxi fare they¡¯ve given us!¡±


    The smugglers¡¯ office was quite secluded, unlike the docks where coachmen were always waiting to be hailed. The warrant officers finally managed to stop two proper passenger carriages and also acquired two mule-drawn carts and a donkey cart for hauling hay from nearby farms.


    But when it came time to assign seats, no one wanted to sit in the donkey cart. The mule carts at least had a small cabin; the donkey cart was nothing more than a wooden board with two wheels and no shelter.


    After all, they were all officers; you can¡¯t treat warrant officers as if they¡¯re not cadre. It would be utterly embarrassing to ride in such a petty donkey cart.


    ¡°Alright, folks, stop dawdling,¡± Winters said helplessly: ¡°I¡¯ll take the major in the donkey cart since the stretcher won¡¯t fit in the wagons anyway.¡±


    The warrant officers, in high spirits, rushed to claim their seats, while Major Moritz, still groggy and unaware, was settled quite clearly by Winters and then somewhat confusedly hoisted onto the donkey cart. Bard also got on.


    ¡°You might as well take the wagon too; this donkey cart really is beneath you.¡± Deep down, Winters felt the same shame as his peers at the thought of riding in the donkey cart.


    But he had opened his mouth to suggest finding transport, and now he¡¯d have to swallow the consequences.


    ¡°I¡¯m from The Federated Provinces,¡± Bard laughed heartily: ¡°This isn¡¯t my hometown, and nobody in Sea Blue City knows me.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Winters sighed deeply: ¡°But this is my hometown.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªSeparator¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The guards outside the Vineta Army headquarters watched as five animal-drawn vehicles, four large and one small, pulled up at the military compound¡¯s entrance. As they were about to step forward to reprimand these clueless country bumpkin drivers, they saw a swarm of young men in uniform miraculously emerging from the carriages one after another.


    In this era, shoulder and arm badges hadn¡¯t been invented yet, and the way to distinguish between soldiers and officers was to look at the cut of their clothes, while distinguishing higher-ranking officers involved checking the material and adornments of the uniform.


    Thus, although the army officer trainees were in their summer uniforms, their cut was unmistakably that of an officer¡¯s uniform, and the guards at army headquarters, well-versed and knowledgeable, would certainly not misidentify them.


    A few guards didn¡¯t dare to neglect them and immediately sent one of their numbers to report to the headquarters building.


    The sudden return of these junior cadets threw the army headquarters into disarray. Everyone had vaguely felt that this matter wouldn¡¯t end amicably and feared that it would ultimately lead to a major conflict, with some of the more combative already secretly preparing for a fight.


    No one expected the customs to change their tune so quickly, releasing everyone just like that. The practical and face-saving resolution from the customs caught everyone at the Vineta Army headquarters by surprise.


    However, the efficiency of the army officers was high, and they managed the unexpected event swiftly and appropriately.


    Major Moritz was taken into the care of the medical staff.


    The warrant officers were escorted to complete their reporting process and were registered.


    After reporting, the warrant officers were divided into two groups. Those whose homes were not in Sea Blue City were taken to the officers¡¯ club for accommodation, while those from Sea Blue City went home to their respective families after completing the reporting process.


    Winters and Bard temporarily parted ways as Bard was housed in the officers¡¯ club. At the fourth intersection after leaving the army headquarters, Winters and Andre also temporarily bid farewell, each making their way home.


    Six years had passed, and the city had undergone great changes. The old uneven streets were now paved with new stone, and many of the shopfronts and buildings from his memory had changed signs, but there were still a few unchanged landmarks to guide him.


    Guided by memory, Winters found his way home.


    When he opened the courtyard gate and stood before the familiar, beautiful, two-story stone house, he suddenly felt an inexplicable panic.


    He took a deep breath and knocked on the door knocker.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± A crisp female voice called from inside the house.


    Though the voice sounded different, Winters recognized it. A smile spread across his face, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    The door cracked open, and a small head peeked out. A pair of large eyes, very much like his uncle¡¯s, blinked at him: ¡°Brother! You¡¯re back!¡±


    The door was flung open, and the young girl rushed out, clinging to Winters¡¯s neck, shouting back into the house, ¡°Mom! Brother¡¯s back!¡±

 Chapter 67 - 67 - 34 Arriving Home_2

    Chapter 67 ¨C 34 Arriving Home_2


    Winters once again felt startled by this unexpected affectionate gesture, and, being awkward and unsure of how to respond, he simply gently rubbed the girl¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Ouch, let go of him, let your brother get into the house,¡± a woman in her thirties with high cheekbones, black phoenix eyebrows, and a dignified and graceful demeanor hurried out and pulled the girl from Winters¡¯s neck.


    However, she herself couldn¡¯t help but shed tears, stretching out her arms to tightly embrace her precious nephew.


    She grabbed Winters¡¯s shoulders and pushed him away, taking two seconds to examine him carefully. Then, pulling Winters close again, she kissed his cheeks. Her crying became more intense; she could hardly speak clearly, only murmuring over and over, ¡°You¡¯re back, you¡¯re finally back.¡±


    Now, Winters felt like a doll being playfully manipulated, being moved around at will, and he responded with a grin, ¡°Auntie, I¡¯m back.¡±


    For most people, family members are a gender-neutral presence, rarely described in terms of beauty or ugliness. Although handsome men and beautiful women might attract stares on the street, people seldom examine the faces of their relatives closely.


    Even from the everyday proximity to their relatives, they become too familiar yet too strange, their faces fixed in one¡¯s mind, but many people would struggle to accurately describe them.


    ...


    So Winters did not measure these two women by the standards of beauty or ugliness. Although he was feeling out of his element, this was just the normal reaction of an adult being treated like a child. He simply felt very comfortable by their side.


    ¡°Mom, let go, let my brother come inside,¡± the girl grudgingly pulled her mother¡¯s arm, rescuing Winters from his auntie¡¯s death grip hug.


    ¡°Right, right, right, look at me,¡± Winters¡¯s auntie wiped her tears, laughing as she offered to help Winters with his luggage.


    Of course, Winters couldn¡¯t let the women carry his belongings. His auntie didn¡¯t insist, leading Winters inside instead. The girl wrapped her arm around Winters¡¯s left arm and clung to him once more.


    The older woman was Kasha Serviati, Winters¡¯s aunt, and the girl was his cousin, Elizabeth Selvidi. They named their daughter after Winters¡¯s mother using her name.


    After entering the house, Winters saw a sturdy ginger cat walking out from the sitting room.


    In Sea Blue, the climate is warm, and to facilitate heat dispersal, cats tend to be on the smaller side. But this orange cat had a robust bone structure, thick shoulders and legs, and a stocky build, quite different from the local felines.


    The cat strutted out with its tail held high, the tip bent into a hook, and with a proud look, it walked to Winters¡¯s feet, unabashedly rubbing his cheeks against Winters¡¯s trouser legs, purring loudly.


    ¡°Great General!¡± Winters scratched the top of the cat¡¯s head and stroked its back. Just as he was about to reach for the excess flesh on its belly, the cat coldly shook its head and walked away with a swagger.


    ¡°The Great General still recognizes me,¡± Winters said, undeterred by the cat¡¯s disdain, happily sharing with his aunt and cousin.


    ¡°How could it not recognize you?¡±


    ¡°And where¡¯s the little General?¡±


    After entering and passing through a short corridor, turning right would take them into the sitting room. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. As soon as Winters sat down in the sitting room, a tabby cat that was smaller than the previous ginger cat came running out, meowing ¡°mie mie.¡±


    ¡°Little General!¡±


    The tabby cat jumped right onto Winters, its claws piercing through his clothes and making him gasp from the pain. Winters hastily grabbed the Little General with his right hand to prevent it from scratching him and possibly drawing blood.


    The Little General meowed and rubbed its cheeks against Winters¡¯s collar, licking his chin with its barbed tongue, which Winters found quite painful.


    ¡°Haha, why is the Little General so enthusiastic?¡± Winters looked helplessly at his aunt and said, ¡°But you really should trim its claws.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s missed you so much,¡± his aunt answered affectionately.


    ¡°Get off me,¡± the girl said bluntly, grabbing the tabby by the scruff of its neck and setting it down on the floor.


    However, the tabby was relentless, circling around Winters¡¯s feet and meowing nonstop, like a chatterbox. It didn¡¯t meow like other cats but made a short ¡°mie¡± sound instead.


    ¡°Look at you, look at you, really turning into a strapping young man,¡± Kasha said, sitting to Winters¡¯s right, holding his right hand and speaking with a wealth of emotion, ¡°These eyebrows and eyes really bear a resemblance to your mother. Elizabeth would have been so happy to see you all grown up.¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was already the second time since Winters had gotten home that he¡¯d been told he looked like someone else. Do relatives all have a different take on resemblance?


    Winters wasn¡¯t as sentimental as his aunt. He replied with a smile, ¡°Really? The Colonel said I look like my father.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Kasha glared and raised her eyebrows, ¡°How could that be? Look at this nose, these hair, these eyes, you¡¯ve got the Granashi bloodline. I¡¯ll find your grandfather¡¯s portrait for you, you look just like him when he was young. The Colonel is just talking nonsense! Wait until he gets home tonight, I¡¯ll have to deal with him properly.¡±


    The Colonel is the home nickname for Major General Antonio Serviati, because once during an argument with his wife, he retorted in frustration, ¡°I¡¯m at least a Colonel, and you should give me some respect,¡± and it stuck.

 Chapter 68 - 68 - 34 Arriving Home_3

    Chapter 68 ¨C 34 Arriving Home_3


    From then on, Kelsa called her husband a lieutenant colonel and even forced her nephew and daughter to do the same, so that when Winters met his uncle at the customs prison, he subconsciously called out ¡°Lieutenant Colonel.¡±


    ¡°Ella, take your brother to drop off the luggage first.¡± Kelsa remembered that Winters had just returned home and asked with concern, ¡°Are you hungry? You must not have had much to eat at customs. I¡¯ll cook something for you.¡±


    As she spoke, she stood up and walked towards the kitchen.


    ¡°No need, Auntie,¡± Winters hurriedly stopped his aunt. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry, I¡¯m just a bit tired and would like to sleep for a while.¡±


    ¡°How can you not eat? I¡¯ll make some snacks¡ªquickly,¡± Kelsa said, ignoring Winters¡¯s opinion as she walked towards the kitchen.


    In the military academy, Winters was the junior class leader; in front of soldiers and civilians, he was an officer; on the Bandit Gull, he was a warrior daring to jump ship; among his peers in Vineta, he was vaguely seen as a leader.


    But at home, his family status was still that of a child, slightly higher than his sister and the little general, but much lower than the Great General. So, he could only watch helplessly as his aunt walked through the service door towards the kitchen.


    ...


    ¡°Brother, let me take you to your room,¡± the young girl pulled Winters up from the soft chair in the living room. ¡°After you left, Mom had the servants clean it every day¡ªit¡¯s even cleaner than before you went to school.¡±


    Leaving the living room and crossing another corridor, they went upstairs. With a smile, Elizabeth pushed open that familiar door, and memories, long sealed, tumbled out as the door swung open.


    There was a charred mark on the wooden floor where Winters had burned it playing with fire as a child. The large and small wooden swords he used to learn swordsmanship with his uncle still leaned in a corner, above which hung a dartboard. The bed was covered with a clean white sheet, the desk polished spotless,


    ¡°See? Isn¡¯t it cleaner than when you were here? I¡¯m the one who checks it every day,¡± Elizabeth said proudly. But Winters was immersed in memories and heard nothing.


    Gently touching these familiar old objects, Winters finally opened the wardrobe.


    He had merely opened it casually, wanting to see if the clothes he used to wear were still there. But to his surprise, five or six new outfits, all adult-sized, hung neatly inside. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°These were all made by your aunt,¡± Elizabeth¡¯s voice came from behind. She complained to Winters, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t send back your measurements despite your aunt asking you to, so she had to guess the size. After you left, she made new ones every year, only to throw them away. She would never dare to send them to you, and just put them here, worried you might come home with no clothes to wear.¡±


    ¡°I could only wear the cadet uniform at the academy, so sending back my measurements would have been pointless. The three cadet uniforms I had were enough,¡± Winters said, feeling a warm current in his heart. He gently closed the wardrobe door and smilingly said to his sister, ¡°It¡¯s about you, though. Do we still have home tutors?¡±


    The young girl stuck out her tongue, ¡°I¡¯ve grown past the age of needing home tutors. I¡¯m now learning painting with Madam Anguisola.¡±


    ¡°Learning to paint?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Yup, the lieutenant colonel just can¡¯t stand to see me idle and has to find things for me to do. Now, Mom sighs every day, pondering how to get me married off.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily upon hearing this: ¡°After all, you are a grown lady now.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not worried,¡± Elizabeth said with a twinkle in her eye and a mischievous smile. ¡°With you taking the brunt, as long as you¡¯re not married, the biggest pressure is not on me.¡±


    The sharp retort from the young girl instantly extinguished Winters¡¯s mirth. Sheepishly, he placed his luggage on the table and began emptying it out, item by item.


    First came some everyday items. Then the more valuable ones: his spellbook, some spellcasting materials he¡¯d sneaked out from his magic class, his handwritten manuscripts from the military academy, class notes, and a few genuine printed books.


    To digress for a moment, printing technology had been in Vineta for over a decade, but Winters, like the clergymen in the old church schools, still mainly used manuscripts and copied books himself. Even printed books, which utilized the printing process, were very expensive and mainly used for printing scripture which was always in demand.


    However, compared to past times, this was a significant stride forward, mostly because advances in papermaking improved the quality of paper while lowering its cost. In the past, theologians and priests would rent books page by page¡ªnote, rent, not buy¡ªas a single book could cost as much as a craftsman¡¯s entire annual income. Hence, not only was it expensive to become a priest, but attending a theological college was even more so.


    It was the advancement of papermaking and the introduction of printed books that enabled the Alliance army to emulate the structure of theological colleges and establish tuition-free schools to train officers at a lower cost. The fact that the military academy charged no tuition made it highly attractive to a large number of poor but ambitious young people.


    But let¡¯s get back to Winters.


    Stay tuned to


    After taking out the other small items, Winters finally took out his shoulder bag from the deepest part of the luggage.


    ¡°Brother, is that blood on the cloth bag?¡± Elizabeth exclaimed with her hand over her mouth.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters replied calmly, ¡°it¡¯s red wine.¡±


    This bag was the one Winters had used on the night shift when he encountered the female thief, after which he was taken to fight the fire and then lost consciousness, later being carried onto the Bandit Gull.

 Chapter 69 - 69 - 34: Home_4

    Chapter 69 ¨C 34: Home_4


    So, the shoulder bag had never been washed, covered in bloodstains from Winters everywhere: splatters from the fight, smears from handling the whistle.


    ¡°Really?¡± The girl was skeptical; she was no fool. But her brother¡¯s tone was calm and unflustered, not seeming to be feigned.


    Winters opened the shoulder bag and carefully took out the female thief¡¯s dagger, which he had returned to the bag after their encounter.


    Elizabeth¡¯s eyes lit up, and she reached for the dagger: ¡°What is this? It¡¯s so pretty.¡±


    Winters was startled and lifted the dagger high, out of his sister¡¯s reach: ¡°Be careful, it¡¯s sharp.¡±


    With his height and long arms, no matter how the girl reached, she couldn¡¯t touch the dagger. She simply hugged Winters¡¯s left arm and coaxed him: ¡°Just let me see it, please? I¡¯ll just look, I won¡¯t take it, is that okay?¡±


    Discover hidden tales at


    ...


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters relented: ¡°I¡¯ll hold it for you to look, but be careful, it¡¯s very sharp.¡±


    Before, Winters had either casually stuffed the dagger into the bag or pulled it out to stab someone, so this was, in fact, the first time he had properly examined the weapon he had confiscated.


    The blade of the dagger was about twenty centimeters long, about two fingers in width, double-edged, with a straight edge and no fuller. It resembled a short sword, but it had no guard or quillons, just a sleek, straight hilt.


    There might have been decorative patterns originally on the blade, but since Winters had used it to cast the Luminosity Spell, it had turned red and black, covering everything. However, the red and black patterns on the blade gave it an eerily beautiful look.


    The handle of the dagger had no decorations either; it was wrapped in some kind of leather over a wooden grip. Thin strands of some silver-colored metal were twisted into a cord and wrapped around the handle of the dagger with a one-finger interval, ending in a smooth counterweight sphere.


    Winters speculated that the metal wire on the dagger¡¯s hilt might be silver, and even if it wasn¡¯t, the craftsmanship required to weave three strands into a cord was not something an average artisan could manage.


    Although the blade was not visible at the moment, when he stabbed people on the ship, the dagger slid into the body as if cutting through butter, suggesting the steel was of good quality as well.


    From all the evidence, this seemed to be a rather fine dagger. Unexpectedly, the female thief cared quite a bit about her ¡°dining utensils.¡±


    ¡°This little knife is so pretty.¡± Elizabeth, taking advantage of her brother¡¯s distraction, snatched the dagger and started making gestures in the air with it.


    Watching his sister clumsily wave the sharp weapon, Winters felt his heart leap with fear, worried she might accidentally cut herself, and he kept saying: ¡°Ella! Be careful, that dagger is very quick.¡±


    In truth, the more Winters mentioned the sharpness of the dagger, the more Elizabeth wanted it.


    Winters hadn¡¯t realized, from a male perspective, that the dagger had been originally used by a woman; although its design was simple, its compact and exquisite construction naturally would attract the eyes of a girl. Moreover, since Winters had ¡°colored¡± it with the Luminosity Spell, Elizabeth was even more reluctant to part with it.


    Hearing his words, Elizabeth stopped, blinked, and played hard to get by obediently handing the dagger back to her brother.


    Then she hugged Winters¡¯s left arm again, playing the spoiled child: ¡°Brother, can you give me this little knife? Please? The safety in Sea Blue City has been terrible lately, let it be for my self-defense?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid you might hurt yourself.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve used kitchen knives before, and even craft knives, and I¡¯ve never hurt myself,¡± Elizabeth retorted sharply and quickly. Winters had never been able to win an argument with her since they were young.


    ¡°It¡¯s designed differently, this dagger is really dangerous, and you could very easily hurt yourself with it.¡± Could it not be dangerous? Winters thought. In his hands alone, the dagger had already taken three lives, not to mention its previous owners; it might be the deadliest thing in the house.


    ¡°Then you can teach me how to use it.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words. He had only love and tenderness for his sister, and he couldn¡¯t say things like ¡°What does a girl need with something like this?¡±


    He sighed, finally conceding defeat: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give it to you. But the dagger doesn¡¯t have a sheath now. Wait until I make one for you, okay?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a sheath? I can find some leather and sew one right now.¡± Elizabeth cheered triumphantly, now that she had gotten her way.


    ¡°Fine, make the sheath, and then come get the dagger from me, okay?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the best, brother!¡± Elizabeth planted a kiss on her brother¡¯s face and hurried off to her room to sew the sheath. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters shook his head, the image of his sniffling, tearful little sister who used to fight and cry with him still vivid in his memory. When had she become so¡­


    Astonishing? Not quite right.


    Understanding? Not quite right either.


    Very good at persuading people? Even less so.


    In any case, she had changed; truly, a girl changes eighteen times between childhood and womanhood.


    As he pondered, he emptied the shoulder bag, and a small white silk parcel fell out. Winters picked it up and took a while to remember this too belonged to the female thief.


    But Winters was very tired now, with no interest in what was inside the parcel, so he casually tossed it back onto the table, pulled the white cloth off the bed, and collapsed onto it as if he had lost all his strength.


    He closed his eyes.


    Time to sleep.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    But he couldn¡¯t sleep!


    Curiosity overpowered sleepiness; he still wanted to know what was inside the little parcel.

 Chapter 70 - 70 - 34 Homecoming_5

    Chapter 70 ¨C 34 Homecoming_5


    Winters abruptly stood up, walked to the desk, and unraveled the white silk cloth.


    Inside was something that looked like a small notebook?


    The notebook¡¯s front and back covers were yellow, with a texture that felt like some kind of leather, possibly cowhide?


    There was a clasp on the side.


    Winters opened the clasp, filled with anticipation, and opened the notebook¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    What??


    It¡¯s blank?


    He flipped through the notebook back and forth, only finding a tiny letter ¡®L¡¯ at the lower-left corner of the last page.


    ¡®L¡¯?


    What the hell is ¡®L¡¯?


    Winters tossed the notebook back onto the desk with self-mockery, thinking, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne, what were you expecting? A treasure map? A huge secret? Some unspeakable novel? That female thief probably can¡¯t even recognize letters.¡±


    He sighed and collapsed back onto the bed.


    He hadn¡¯t had a good rest for two days.


    As his mind relaxed, fatigue came knocking at his door.


    On this familiar bed, all his physical pains were soothed away. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sleepiness overtook him.


    He drifted off to sleep.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line for the notebook with nothing written in it¡ª¡ª


    Although marrying one¡¯s cousin was quite normal in this era, I assure you there will be no orthopedic content in this story. I hope to depict independent, intelligent, self-respecting, and admirable female characters, but essentially this is still a man¡¯s story, about steel, gunpowder, and Magic.


    (Although up until now I have yet to let Winters ¡°discover the ultimate secret of Magic,¡± Orz, I promise, it¡¯s coming soon.)


    Elizabeth Serviati is Winters Montagne¡¯s sister, and although they¡¯re cousins, they grew up together and are as close as siblings from the same mother. Their relationship is purely familial, with absolutely no romantic affection involved.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the orthopedic-free dividing line¡ª¡ª


    Moreover, before the invention of papermaking and book printing, books were astoundingly expensive, and ordinary people hardly had any need to read, with most books being copied and consumed by clerics. The early papermaking technique was subpar in quality, so scribes continued to copy texts on parchment, for after all, copying was a tough job, and certainly one would want to write on the best paper available.


    According to the paper ¡°Standards of Living in the Later Middle Ages¡± by Christopher Dyer, published by Cambridge University Press in 1989


    In England of 1397, the University of Oxford spent 113 pounds to purchase 126 books of an average 77 pages each, with ¡®pound¡¯ referring to a pound of 92.5% pure silver. The average cost per book was about 0.830 pounds of silver, and the definition of ¡®pound¡¯ in terms of weight has not changed much over time, approximately 376.482 grams of silver by today¡¯s standards.


    Converted into today¡¯s silver price, one book is nearly 1500 RMB.


    But considering the purchasing power of precious metals at the time, it was a fortune.


    This was because the outflow of precious metals in 14th century England led to a currency shortage, inflating the purchasing power of precious metals;


    At the same time, today¡¯s low silver prices are due to mass mining, which has nearly turned silver into an industrial material, losing its monetary properties.


    Even after movable-type printing was introduced in Europe, book prices remained high due to the limited audience. Like I mentioned before, many swordsmanship masters in the 15th and 16th centuries went bankrupt trying to print manuals and even resorted to embezzlement to fund their printing, only to end up hanged¡­


    Thus, movable-type printing was mainly used to print religious books because only this genre had a broad enough audience to worry not about sales and to spread the cost. During the Protestant Reformation, Protestants were fervent in printing pamphlets and vernacular versions of the scriptures.


    Furthermore, Selika¡¯s widespread use of woodblock printing technology was an impressive achievement in reducing book prices. Yet it might be precisely because of a barely adequate technology that there was less motivation to improve, which is lamentable. In the tenth year of the Daoguang era, when Li Yao printed ¡°Southern Border Chronicles¡± in Hangzhou using movable-type, it actually cost more than woodblock-printed books. Woodblock printing technology suppressed the development of movable-type, eliciting a sigh.


    ¡ª¡ªI am the ¡®blessing in disguise¡¯ dividing line¡ª¡ª


    Thanks to the social justice advocate Old Wang and book friend 20181013204343295 for their recommendation tickets


    Thank you so much, bowing in gratitude. To claim that this story is purely written for oneself would be disingenuous; thank you for the recognition.

 Chapter 71 - 71 - 35: Internship Volunteer

    Chapter 71 ¨C 35: Internship Volunteer


    The early military organization of human civilization consisted of property owners who provided their own weapons, armor, and horses for military service. These politically empowered property owners were known as citizens in the Gumlu Empire and as nationals in the Gusalica Empire.


    From this period on, the ability of a commander to inspire the morale of troops became extremely important.


    In small-scale scuffles involving less than a dozen people, a silver-tongued leader was less useful than one who led from the front.


    But when a thousand people were fighting desperately against another thousand, how to make soldiers willingly follow one into hell became a skill that could determine victory or defeat.


    The crudest and simplest method was ¡°money in place, men in place.¡±


    But money was not the problem; the lack of money was the problem.


    Waging war was burning money, something that military strategists through the ages have repeatedly emphasized as an important consideration.


    ...


    In wars, it¡¯s rare for money to be on time; it¡¯s the norm for it to be late.


    Since ancient times, generals and kings who have lost their lives due to unpaid military salaries are as common as hairs on an ox.


    Not to mention the distant past, let¡¯s just look at the recent events. A symbolic incident marking the full outbreak of the war for sovereignty occurred 38 years ago when Duke Arleans, dubbed ¡°The Butcher,¡± led his troops over the Sheltering Mountain Range to attack the rebels in the Duke of the Mountain Foothill Territories.


    In later generations, historians from the Alliance would find thousands of metaphysical reasons, such as ¡®good always triumphs over evil,¡¯ to explain why Duke Arleans could initially crush the rebels but eventually ended up besieged in a lonely castle, defeated, and dead by his own hand.


    But in this era, when this history was still a living memory and not just words in a book, every member of the Allied Army who had experienced the war for sovereignty knew why they could win: because Duke Arleans had run out of money.


    If King Richard IV could have paid Duke Arleans his military salaries on time, the Federated Provinces Republic might still be the Mountain Foothill Duke¡¯s Territory of the Empire.


    Duke Arleans, the Empire¡¯s most capable and combative land army commander in the past hundred years, did not die by his own sword but rather due to bankruptcy.


    While money cannot buy true die-hard soldiers, in the feudal era, as long as one could ensure that his soldiers were well-fed, warmly clothed, and paid on time, one could be called a great general, inevitably reserving a spot in future history textbooks.


    Most of the time in history, the biggest issue facing officers was not how to convince soldiers to go to battle, but how to persuade a group of soldiers who were hungry, cold, and underpaid to fight, and this was true for both sides of the conflict.


    At this time, an inspiring pre-battle speech was the simplest and most effective method.


    A capable officer, with just a few words, could make his soldiers red-eyed and howling with readiness to charge forward.


    The brigadier general currently speaking at the podium clearly lacked such eloquence. He had earnestly written a speech, but when he spoke, it was in one dull tone with no modulation, like a wooden xylophone with only one string left.


    As soon as the brigadier general opened his mouth, Winters could only feel his head swell and his eyelids begin to fight each other, blinking more and more frequently.


    The sun was westward, and the warrant officers were sitting in pairs or threes in the stuffy little auditorium of the army headquarters, in a meeting.


    This was an introductory session, originally intended to introduce internship positions within the various departments of the army to cadet officers.


    But the person on the stage was so hypnotically boring that Winters struggled to concentrate and only heard some repetitive nonsense. If it weren¡¯t for Bard poking him secretly, he would have fallen asleep long ago.


    One person after another came and went from the podium, each explaining their respective departments. Although a number of senior officers spoke, their prowess was about the same as that of the initial brigadier general.


    Throughout the auditorium, there was a pervasive sense of dullness, and it wasn¡¯t just Winters¡ª all the warrant officers were drowsy and wobbly.


    Winters was really struggling to stay awake; his head gradually drooped, and his eyes closed. This time Bard didn¡¯t wake him up because Bard couldn¡¯t hold on either. As for Andre, he had completely let himself go, and if you listened carefully, you could even hear his quiet snoring.


    Just as Winters was about to fall deeply asleep, a thunderous drum sound suddenly came from the podium.


    According to legend, an ancient wise king, after killing a dragon, made a war drum with the dragon¡¯s hide as the drumhead and the dragon¡¯s bones as mallets. When this drum was played, it could be heard for a hundred miles around.


    This myth was originally told by Selika to Winters as a bedtime story when he was a child, but Winters now felt that the drum might be right there on the podium.


    That drumbeat startled him from his drowsiness, causing him to break out in a cold sweat, instantly dispelling all traces of sleepiness. All the cadet officers in the auditorium immediately perked up.


    Winters looked towards the podium, but instead of seeing any legendary dragon drum, he only saw a smiling person in officer¡¯s uniform glancing around the auditorium.


    This individual appeared to be just over thirty, with sharp eyebrows, deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, and thin lips. He stood at an average height among the tall military officers, yet his presence seemed to tower over everyone else.


    Winters stared at the officer standing in front of the podium, and then there was another drum sound from that direction. This time, Winters saw it clearly.


    There was no drum at all; it was just the officer snapping his fingers. A regular snap could not make such a loud sound, and the answer was obvious: this was a Spellcaster who had amplified the sound of his finger snap with a sonic spell.


    However, Winters was puzzled; in his memory, the amplification spell only worked on the sound emitted by the Spellcasters¡¯ vocal cords. He had never seen Spellcasters amplify external sounds before. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 72 - 72 - 35: Internship Volunteer_2

    Chapter 72 ¨C 35: Internship Volunteer_2


    Seeing that his method had captured the attention of every apprentice officer, the officer smiled smugly and nodded.


    ¡°Are you all awake? Actually, I was almost asleep just now.¡± The officer¡¯s voice was clear and piercing, yet much louder than when ordinary people spoke; everybody in the auditorium could hear him perfectly, which was obviously the effect of a spell to amplify sound.


    Winters thought to himself that amplifying one¡¯s voice was not difficult, but maintaining such stability was. For spellcasters, using a spell wasn¡¯t as simple as pressing a button to achieve a certain effect.


    Spellcasters¡¯ process of using spells is more akin to muscle exertion. Major Moritz¡¯s burst of loud noise was the release of as much magical power as possible in an instant, like throwing a punch with all one¡¯s might, striving for explosive power.


    And this officer was controlling the volume extremely smoothly through his spell, speaking while casting, as if he were tightrope walking while reciting poetry. Ordinary officers might not find this impressive, but for spellcasters, it was nothing short of an outright show of skill.


    Winters found himself interested in this senior spellcaster.


    The officer continued indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste everyone¡¯s time, so I didn¡¯t prepare a speech, and I have very little to say.¡±


    ...


    With one hand, the spellcaster swept over all the apprentice officers in the small auditorium: ¡°You graduated from the foremost military academy on this continent. Did those few say you were the most promising and brightest youths in the Army?¡±


    ¡°The most promising and brightest youths?¡± The officer snorted coldly, raising his voice, ¡°Where? I don¡¯t see any! Every active-duty officer in this auditorium is an alumnus who came before you, and at best you will only become like us!


    Becoming a bureaucratic Army officer who can bore you to sleep like dead pigs, what future and prospects is that? Every one of us has come all the way from where you are standing, so let me give you two pieces of advice as a senior.¡±


    This sudden denigration snapped all the warrant officers to attention, as sharp criticism often attracts more attention than lavish praise.


    The officer raised a finger: ¡°First, everyone here has been singing praises of their department¡¯s work, but let me tell you, it¡¯s none of your concern. You¡¯re just apprentice officers; in the coming year, you¡¯ll only do trivial chores! Copying reports, changing ink¡­ that¡¯s about it.¡±


    Winters and Bard exchanged wry smiles, as the lieutenant colonel slapped every warrant officer¡¯s face resoundingly.


    Then he raised a second finger: ¡°Second, even though you¡¯re only responsible for odd jobs, you¡¯ll be doing them in the most powerful violencer in this continent!


    Listen up! You will have the chance to observe up close how the power center of the Vineta Army operates and makes decisions, an opportunity that officers from miscellaneous backgrounds would die for! If being so close to power doesn¡¯t excite you, then you don¡¯t deserve to be officers; better to take off your uniforms and scram right now!


    Go on! Dismiss! Go run errands for the officers and generals! But if a general¡¯s wife sends someone to ask about her husband¡¯s evening schedule, tell them he has a meeting, got it? I¡¯ve said all I want to say! That¡¯s it, assembly dismissed!¡±


    The warrant officers burst into laughter, and the small auditorium was filled with sustained, enthusiastic applause.


    ¡°Who is this guy? Which department head?¡± Winters, clapping vigorously, asked Bard. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard flipped a page in his notebook: ¡°Lieutenant Colonel Field Drums.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am a lowly line separator¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Late that evening, at dinner time. Aunt Cosha and Cousin Elizabeth were busy in the kitchen, while Antonio and Winters were setting the table.


    The big general, enticed by the aroma, was clamoring at the kitchen door, unable to enter, and could only lie by the door, licking his fur to soothe his craving.


    ¡°How did the meeting go this afternoon? Which department do you want to apprentice in?¡± Antonio asked Winters as he distributed the utensils.


    Every year, the warrant officers returning to Vineta would have such a meeting, aiming to acquaint these new military academy graduates with the basic structure of the Vineta Army and allow them to choose their departments for apprenticeship.


    Although in theory the choice was voluntary, if too many people applied for a certain department, that department would pick a few apprentice officers, and the other applicants would be distributed to departments where no one had applied, preserving a roughly even allocation of apprentice officers to the various departments of the Army.


    ¡°I want to go to Lieutenant Colonel Field,¡± Winters answered earnestly while placing plates, genuinely attracted by the lieutenant colonel¡¯s charisma.


    ¡°Field Drums?¡± Antonio appeared mildly surprised.


    Winters nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Antonio laughed at the name, musing jovially, ¡°He¡¯s a famous troublemaker. Zio is always ranting about tossing him over to the Historical Office. If he weren¡¯t a spellcaster, he would have been shipped overseas a long time ago.¡±


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Winters considered it wiser to listen obediently as his uncle made fun of the lieutenant colonel who might become his superior; he scratched his head and said, ¡°I just feel like Lieutenant Colonel Field is more sincere when he speaks.¡±


    ¡°Someone who dares to say anything, if not sincere, what is he?¡± Antonio¡¯s tone carried no hint of disapproval; he just found the situation amusing.


    After setting the tableware, both men sat waiting for the meal to be served.

 Chapter 73 - 73 - 35: Internship Volunteer_3

    Chapter 73 ¨C 35: Internship Volunteer_3


    Antonio opened a bottle of wine, but Winters, having witnessed Major Moritz¡¯s situation, avoided alcohol as if it were the plague and stuck to water instead.


    Winters carefully reflected on the lieutenant colonel¡¯s performance during the meeting today and said, ¡°Actually, I might not make it, Lieutenant Colonel Field was very popular today, and I expect there will be quite a few people applying to his command.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go?¡± Antonio asked his nephew casually after taking a sip of wine.


    Winters nodded vigorously, ¡°Of course, I do.¡±


    ¡°Then go for it, it¡¯ll be good for some training,¡± Antonio said in a relaxed tone.


    Winters¡¯ eyes lit up; he understood his uncle¡¯s meaning and got a little greedy, ¡°I also have a friend from the cavalry who¡¯s applied to go to Lieutenant Colonel Field¡¯s, uncle, could you possibly¡­¡±


    Antonio didn¡¯t mind at all, smiling as he said, ¡°Then he should go with you. What¡¯s your friend¡¯s name?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bard, Gerard¡¯s Bard.¡±


    Aunt Kosha came out with a basket of cut bread and, seeing the two men in the house drinking and chatting, slapped her brother on the back with an air of indignation, ¡°You two sure have it easy, starting to drink before even setting the table, come and help out.¡±


    Antonio and Winters were herded toward the kitchen by Kosha. Antonio seemed to remember something and cocked his head to ask his nephew, ¡°You do know what department that kid Field is in charge of, right?¡±


    ¡°Something with an M, I didn¡¯t quite catch it; Lieutenant Colonel Field didn¡¯t mention it himself.¡± Winters felt too embarrassed to admit to his uncle that he had almost fallen asleep at the time.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Antonio laughed, patting his nephew on the shoulder, ¡°It¡¯s MP, Military Police.¡±


    ¡°What? Military Police?¡± Winters was certainly familiar with Military Police; weren¡¯t they just the military school inspectors? Hardly a popular role.


    ¡°Dad, you take this, and brother, you take this.¡± Elizabeth assigned tasks to the two men before rushing off to attend to something else.


    Antonio and Winters each carried a deep iron pot, one filled with stewing meat and the other with soup. The aroma of the stewed meat was appetizing, but Winters¡¯ mind wasn¡¯t on it at all, ¡°Lieutenant Colonel Field is in charge of Military Police?¡±


    ¡°To be precise, Field is just the head of the Military Police department at Vineta Army¡¯s headquarters,¡± Antonio carefully explained to his nephew, ¡°The soldiers of a Standing Army regiment are managed by their Military Police unit; any army personnel who commit offenses in Sea Blue City come under the jurisdiction of the garrison command¡¯s Military Police unit; the Military Police department that Field oversees is an empty establishment set up just for that thorn in their side. It has a very narrow jurisdiction and practically doesn¡¯t manage anything.¡±


    After explaining these intricacies unknown to outsiders, Antonio asked his nephew, ¡°So, do you still want to go to Field¡¯s now?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Winters affirmed with a nod.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Antonio seemed puzzled.


    ¡°Lieutenant Colonel Field is a very capable spellcaster, and I want to learn magic techniques from him.¡±


    ¡°Then go for it, go and learn, that will be good,¡± Antonio nodded, his attitude still relaxed, ¡°Although Field has never worked under me, the fact that Zio has been driven half mad by him a few times and still couldn¡¯t bear to send him overseas, setting up a sinecure just to keep him at the headquarters, shows that the man must be capable of something.¡±


    With the food all set on the table, the four people took their seats again. Kosha, clearly delighted, began the prayer before the meal, and the four joined hands to form a circle as Kosha began chanting.


    All spellcasters in the Gulf Alliance are atheists, firmly believing that their abilities come from knowledge and training, not from the grace of any existing deity.


    Winters was naturally no believer; he just played along with Kosha not to hurt her feelings. However, he had his own convictions¡ªnever to recite the prayers, remaining silent every time.


    Winters was now preoccupied with thoughts of his internship; as soon as the pre-meal prayer was over, he couldn¡¯t wait to ask his uncle, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the internship places are all in governmental units? Why aren¡¯t we allowed to intern with the real army?¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Because there aren¡¯t that many armies,¡± Antonio said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Antonio patiently explained: ¡°Where are there so many troops for you to intern with? Otherwise, why would you be thrown into governmental units? These days, most officers work in governmental units, and not many actually lead troops. There are three regimental numbers in Vineta, two of which are Standing Armies; each Standing Army also only maintains half of its troop strength in peacetime, namely one chief company plus four companies.¡±


    Winters was astonished by Antonio¡¯s words. According to his uncle, the entire Vineta Republic, in theory, had three regiments, but only two were Standing Armies, and the actual force was just a little over one regiment, more than five thousand men.


    After the Sovereignty War ended and Richard IV withdrew his troops, scholars began seeking answers from ancient texts to the question ¡°What to do without an emperor?¡±


    Finally, they found the answer they wanted: In ancient times, the people of Muro had also overthrown their king and established the kingless Muro Republic, which thrived for hundreds of years.


    ¡°So, we are not the first to do this,¡± the scholars breathed a sigh of relief.


    Since history had an example of success without an emperor, it meant having no emperor was no big deal.


    Thus, from then on, the Senas Bay Alliance feverishly imitated the Muro Republic in all aspects, from politics and military to even artistic works, fully reviving the Ancient Empire.

 Chapter 74 - 74 - 35: Internship Volunteer_4

    Chapter 74 ¨C 35: Internship Volunteer_4


    This period of history was later known as ¡°reforming through antiquity¡± because these imitations were simply putting new wine into old bottles. They simply borrowed the name of an old system to implement new policies.


    Take politics for example, the Republic of the Muro and the Republic of the United Provincials both call themselves republics, but they are entirely different matters.


    The former was a noble republic; whereas the latter had slaughtered the nobility, creating a republic of the citizen class, with vast rural areas not included within the republic¡¯s jurisdiction.


    In terms of the military, they also imitated the Muro Republic by establishing legions, adopting the structure of squads of ten, centuries, cohorts, and legions. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But now, with matchlock guns having become widespread, their formations aside, in terms of tactics, training, or the balance of melee and ranged weapons, the two are utterly different.


    ¡°How could our forces be so few?¡± Winters hurriedly asked.


    ¡°Is a little over five thousand men considered few?¡± Winters¡¯ naive question left Antonio speechless.


    ...


    He explained to Winters with resignation, ¡°These are over five thousand full-time, standing soldiers! Kid, do you know how much money it costs to support a fully professional soldier who does not engage in any other profession? If you want someone to fully commit to being a soldier, you at least have to pay them an apprentice craftsman¡¯s wages. This means paying the salaries of five thousand craftsmen, plus taking care of their food, clothing, housing, and travel, as well as weapons and equipment. To be honest, if it wasn¡¯t for the need to maintain a deterrent force, I would think even five thousand is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°But what if there¡¯s a war?¡±


    ¡°In the event of a war, we temporarily call up reservists. Reservists also draw military pay, so after the war is over, they must be quickly disbanded. Thirty years ago, during wartime, there were refugees everywhere; you could pull in soldiers with just a mouthful of rice. Now it¡¯s different. Waging war is burning money. For dealing with scattered bandits and a few farmers who refuse to pay taxes, the standing army is enough.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters was thoroughly dumbfounded, ¡°Isn¡¯t the standing army established to resist foreign enemies?¡±


    ¡°Haha, how could that be? The greatest role of the standing army is to deter internal enemies. It would not be enough to rely on these few thousand men against foreign adversaries.¡±


    As the conversations between the two, young and old, became more animated, Elizabeth, seated aside, was also spellbound, but Tess was very angry.


    She had put a lot of effort into preparing dinner, and yet none of the three others at home were eating properly, nor was anyone praising her culinary skills. She felt very wronged at the moment.


    Tess suppressed her anger and knocked on her cup, ¡°Can we not talk about things outside of the dinner table while we eat?¡±


    ¡°Ah, this beef stew is really excellent.¡± Antonio immediately noticed that his wife was in a bad mood, and he hastily signaled to Winters with his eyes, praising his wife¡¯s great cooking skills again and again.


    Elizabeth, another family member of lower status, also got the hint and loudly exclaimed about how fragrant the beef soup was.


    Winters offered half-hearted praise as well; his head was full of the military secrets his uncle had just shared, and he really couldn¡¯t fit anything else in.


    After a few bites of his meal, he couldn¡¯t help but ask his uncle, ¡°So afterwards, once I¡¯m assigned to the office, does that mean I¡¯ll only be doing clerical work for life?¡± He had thought he would be leading troops, but it turned out to be different than what he had expected.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be in a hurry. Once you become official officers, you will take turns leading troops in the units. Right now, there are too many officers and not enough soldiers, so you have to wait your turn.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, was it like that for you when you graduated from the military academy?¡±


    Antonio said proudly, ¡°It was different for your father and me back then; we had wars to fight, so we went directly to the units to lead troops. Nowadays, there are no wars, so there aren¡¯t that many soldiers, but peace is actually a good thing.¡±


    Antonio paused, then added, ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to worry. It might not be long before we need to call up the reservists¡­¡±


    Tess once again knocked on her cup forcefully, ¡°If you want to discuss these matters, go to the study after dinner!¡±


    Even someone as slow as Winters now realized that his aunt, a volcano, was on the verge of erupting.


    Praising the lady of the house once again became the main content at the dining table.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line that only praises the chef at the dining table¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Although weapons and tactical concepts have evolved countless times, the military structure of the Alliance¡¯s various republics still completely copies the Muro legions, as if possessed by the Muro spirit.


    Each legion is primarily composed of infantry, with cavalry and artillery serving as independent support units.


    For infantry, every 8 men form a squad;


    (That¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it common knowledge that a squad has only 8 men?)


    Every 10 squads, totaling 80 men, form a century;


    Every 6 centuries, with 480 men, comprise a cohort;


    9 cohorts of 480 men, plus a prime cohort of 750 men, totaling 5070 men, make up a legion;


    Cavalry and artillery serve as auxiliary legions, used collectively and under the direct command of the legion commander.


    The number of artillery and cavalry corresponds to the actual situation and fiscal policies of each member state.


    For example, since The Federated Provinces backs up to the Victory Arsenal, the legions of the Provinces are equipped with a number of cannons far exceeding those of other member states.


    And the Highland Republic (Republic of Palatu), with its abundance of fine horses, places greater emphasis on cavalry, and consequently, pays less attention to the development of infantry.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the dividing line of legions reborn¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Thank you to social justice advocate Old Wang, book friend 20181013204343295, and longbow expert Li Gong for their recommendation tickets.


    Thank you for the reward from the vampire-slaying Lan Qie.


    A bow in gratitude.

 Chapter 75 - 75 - 36: Field Work

    Chapter 75 ¨C 36: Field Work


    Winters smoothly obtained an internship opportunity at the headquarters of the military police, but he was the only one. Since he learned that the military police was not a good place to go, he felt there was no need to drag Bard into it, especially since Bard was not one of the Spellcasters.


    Bard wanted to go to the Equipment Department¡¯s Horse Administration, and Winters asked his uncle for help. Andre found his own way to the Training Department, and the three friends separated for the time being. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing at the entrance to the military police office, Winters adjusted his collar, smoothed the wrinkles on his uniform, and straightened his belt. After meticulously tidying up his appearance, he gently knocked on the door three times.


    ¡°Come in.¡± A voice slightly lacking in vigor emanated from inside the room.


    Carrying his cap under his left arm, Winters pushed the door open and entered. Immediately to the right upon entering was a square table, behind which sat a golden-haired young man in his early twenties who was writing something on paper.


    He smartly saluted, and the golden-haired young man, in a fluster, hurriedly stood up, attempting to return the salute. Just as he raised his hand, he hesitated and put it down again, opting instead to bow deeply.


    Blushing, the golden-haired young man explained, ¡°I am not an officer, just a scribe. There¡¯s no need for you to salute me.¡±


    ...


    Winters also felt a bit nervous, he even hadn¡¯t noticed earlier that the golden-haired young man was wearing civilian clothes rather than a uniform. He smiled and extended his hand to the golden-haired youth, who shook it shyly.


    ¡°Are you here to see Colonel Field?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am Winters Montagne, ordered to intern here for a year.¡±


    The golden-haired young man, Morlock, busily came around the table and led Winters further into the office, saying, ¡°The colonel isn¡¯t here right now, please take a seat and wait for a while. My name is Morlock, and I am the clerk of this office.¡±


    Guided by Morlock, Winters sat down on a long bench at the other end of the room, taking the opportunity to carefully observe the office space.


    The room allocated to the military police was situated in a corner on the second floor of the entire Army Headquarters building, clearly someone wanted the colonel to be as far away as possible.


    Although the room was in a remote location, its corner position afforded excellent lighting. The office was very tidy, with only a few desks and chairs and several filing cabinets, devoid of decorative items, it felt refreshingly uncluttered to the eye.


    Besides the door he had entered through, there were two other doors in the office. The space behind the door to the west appeared larger and was obviously Colonel Field¡¯s office. As for the other door, it was unknown what lay behind it.


    ¡°Would you like some tea?¡± Morlock pulled out a set of porcelain cups and placed them on a small table in front of Winters. It seemed the military police hadn¡¯t entertained guests in a long while, as the cups were covered in a layer of dust. Morlock quickly took out a handkerchief and started to wipe the cups.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, I don¡¯t drink tea,¡± Winters hastily stopped Morlock. People in the Gulf Region liked to brew their tea with spices such as pepper and cinnamon along with leaves from the Far East. Winters always found the taste bizarre and never got used to it.


    ¡°Then what would you like? Alcohol? Water?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, but there¡¯s no need to trouble yourself.¡± Seeing Morlock¡¯s frantic manner, Winters couldn¡¯t bear to see him continue to fumble around: ¡°Rather, could you please give me an introduction to the military police office?¡±


    Morlock scratched his head: ¡°I can¡¯t explain very well, as I am just a clerk. Please forgive any inaccuracies.¡±


    ¡°Please go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s not much to say about the headquarters¡¯ military police. There are two officers¡ªyou make the third¡ªand a centurion of military policemen. It¡¯s good for you to intern here; the work is very relaxed, solely responsible for standing guard at the Army Headquarters. Anyway, no one dares to cause trouble here, so usually just arranging the guards¡¯ shifts is enough.¡±


    So that was it. Winters finally understood why his uncle had said that the headquarters¡¯ military police was a department specifically established for colonels. Named military police, but actually guards, it was indeed degrading for a colonel to only lead a centurion.


    Morlock pointed at the door to the large room: ¡°That¡¯s Colonel Field¡¯s office.¡±


    ¡°And what about the other door? Whose office is that?¡± Winters indicated the other door that led to a smaller room.


    Without looking back, Morlock said, ¡°Oh, the officer for that office took leave and hasn¡¯t been here for quite some time. Currently, in the military police, it¡¯s only you and Colonel Field.¡±


    At this point, Winters started to feel slight regret. Bard had gone to the Horse Administration, where he could enhance the family¡¯s traditional horse-raising expertise; Andre had gone to the Training Department, which would presumably be interesting as well.


    From the once noisy group of more than thirty peers, Winters now sat here alone, suddenly feeling a bit lonely.


    As he sat there lost in thought, the door to the military police was violently kicked open, and a dynamic figure burst into the room, ignoring Winters¡¯s presence, and kicked open Colonel Field¡¯s office door with equal force before walking in.


    A loud shout came from the office: ¡°[Expletives capable of making a deaf person cry]!¡±


    After a short while, Colonel Field emerged from his office with a rigid expression, and Winters quickly stood at attention and saluted.


    Field, with a hoarse voice, cut straight to the chase as he asked Winters, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    Winters calmly presented his dispatch letter with both hands, ¡°Interning officer Winters Montagne, reporting as ordered!¡±


    Field took the dispatch letter, glanced over it hurriedly, his attitude neither warm nor cold, ¡°Hmm¡­ Infantry branch?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Colonel Field¡¯s gaze shifted to the insignia of the Society of the Three and Five hanging on Winters¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Spellcaster?¡±

 Chapter 76 - 76 - 36 Outfield Work_2

    Chapter 76 ¨C 36 Outfield Work_2


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Which spell are you proficient in?¡±


    ¡°Uh, the Fire series.¡±


    Hearing that it was the Fire series, Colonel Field chuckled dryly and pointed to Winter¡¯s chest, ¡°Take off that badge. Are you afraid outsiders won¡¯t know you¡¯re a spellcaster?¡±


    It was only then that Winters noticed that Colonel Field didn¡¯t wear the badge of the Tri-Circle Association, and he recalled that Major Moritz didn¡¯t wear a badge either.


    Proud of his spellcaster status, Winters wouldn¡¯t have worn that badge every day at the military academy. However, considering that two senior officers didn¡¯t wear badges, there must be a reason; he swiftly removed his badge and put it in his pocket.


    Colonel Field gazed into Winters¡¯s eyes and said in a grave voice, ¡°I have only two requirements, keep a tight lip and follow orders. Meet these two conditions and we¡¯ll get along very well. Learn them, and you are a qualified officer.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Winters snapped his heels together, standing at attention once again. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How are your horse-riding skills?¡±


    ¡°Decent.¡±


    ¡°Did you come to the palace on horseback today?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Winters¡¯s home was not far from Army Headquarters, just a short walk away, so there was no need to ride.


    ¡°Go to the stables, lead out my horse, and get one for yourself; meet me at the entrance.¡±


    Winters really hadn¡¯t expected that on his first day as an intern, he would be sent on an outdoor task. Wasn¡¯t it said that the job here was easy, just scheduling guard shifts?


    He crisply saluted once more and was about to set out.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Colonel Field stopped Winters again, ¡°Where is your sidearm?¡±


    Winters was stunned, ¡°I don¡¯t have a sidearm, only a longsword.¡±


    ¡°How can an officer not carry a sidearm? Wait here.¡±


    Colonel Field quickly walked back to his office. Soon, he emerged with a saber in hand, tossing it to Winters as he said generously, ¡°This is my Dusack, carry it for the time being.¡±


    Winters caught the saber thrown by the colonel from the air. The weapon, scabbard and all, felt heavy, even heavier than the longsword.


    The blade was slightly curved, about eighty centimeters long, with a simple, curved guard, resembling a cavalry saber. The black wooden scabbard was unadorned, except for the pommel which was carved into the shape of an eagle¡¯s head.


    He drew the sword a handbreadth and saw that it was sharpened on one side, with a thick spine and thin edge, featuring two fullers along the blade that shimmered with a menacing cold light. There was also the scent of oil.


    Without a doubt, this was a well-maintained real deal.


    ¡°You can go now,¡± the colonel gestured with a wave of his hand.


    Winters nodded, gripping the Dusack, and strode out of the Military Police office.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª This is the genuine ¡®catching the blade¡¯ line separator¡ª¡ª¡ª


    He left Army Headquarters.


    Colonel Field rode his black steed up front, while Winters followed behind on his own military mount, keeping half a horse¡¯s length of distance.


    On this mission, Colonel Field had only taken Warrant Officer Winters with him, without any Military Police escort.


    There were quite a few pedestrians on the road, preventing the horses from galloping, so they proceeded with just a brisk walk.


    As they went further and left the city area, where there were fewer pedestrians, Colonel Field no longer deliberately controlled his pace, giving a gentle flick of the whip and nudge of the spurs against the horse¡¯s ribs.


    With just a light signal, his majestic black horse instantly understood his master¡¯s wish, snorted happily, and with a sudden burst of muscular power in its limbs and chest, accelerated rapidly, carrying the colonel at breakneck speed along the suburban dirt road¡ªthe black horse, too, felt stifled in the city and was eager for a good, fast run.


    The little black horse indeed enjoyed this, but Winters was distressed.


    Being naturally taller and larger than the major, even with excellent riding skills, he was not suited to be a jockey.


    His horse, provided for officers¡¯ communal use by the stables of Army Headquarters, was already less superb than the colonel¡¯s black horse and was quite worn from daily use, quickly falling a large distance behind.


    After a few strides, Colonel Field realized Winters had fallen behind. The colonel pulled the reins, and his black horse, just warmed up and not yet satisfied with the run, whinnied discontentedly and slowed down.


    Winters then caught up, feeling embarrassed. He resolved inwardly to find himself a truly fine horse in the next few days to compete with the colonel.


    The two rode the entire way in silence, with the colonel not disclosing their destination and Winters not asking. Yet, the farther they went, the more familiar Winters found the road; he tried hard to remember where he had traversed this route. At last, he recognized it.


    Wasn¡¯t this the way to the Customs Prison?


    Indeed, as Winters had guessed, they stopped at the grand entrance of the Customs Prison¡ªexactly the place Winters had been ¡°invited¡± to leave two days before.


    The colonel handed Winters the reins and walked straight up to the prison¡¯s main gate, kicking it hard. His force was so great that the three-meter-tall, six-meter-wide oak doors shook on their frame.


    A small door on the larger one opened, and several fierce-looking guards, holding long spears, ran out. They were about to start cursing when they saw the military uniforms and swallowed their dirty words back down.


    The leader asked politely, ¡°What can I do for you gentlemen?¡±


    Colonel Field retrieved a sealed letter from his saddlebag and tossed it to the guard, ¡°Give this to the person in charge here; tell him to come out and see me.¡±


    The guards exchanged glances, and one of them quickly went to deliver the message.

 Chapter 77 - 77 - 36 Fieldwork_3

    Chapter 77 ¨C 36 Fieldwork_3


    After a while, the main gates of the customhouse¡¯s anti-smuggling prison swung open, and the warden came out in person to meet Colonel Field, leading him and two military officers into the prison.


    Returning to this place after less than two days, Winters felt slightly emotional. Entering the prison as a guest rather than a prisoner certainly felt different.


    The warden didn¡¯t lead Field and Winters into the main building but took them around the exterior wall to a small stone house.


    Even before approaching the small stone house with a wooden roof, Winters could smell an odor that made one want to vomit. It was clear the warden was prepared, as he pulled out a sachet to cover his nose and mouth.


    The colonel, expressionless, looked with contempt and disdain at the warden who couldn¡¯t help but react to the smell. Winters followed the lead, striving to keep his face straight and trying not to show any signs of discomfort.


    The three of them stopped outside the stone house, with the warden frowning as he said, ¡°The guards from the security department have been waiting at the archive building since early this morning. I¡¯ve sent someone to notify them, they should be here shortly.¡±


    He glanced slyly at the two army officers, smiling as he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s too smelly inside. You¡¯d better wait out here instead of going in to look first.¡±


    ...


    Colonel Field observed the customhouse warden with a deep gaze, and from the deepest part of his nostrils, he let out a cold snort. He kicked the door open and entered, with Winters following closely behind.


    Upon entering the stone house, the stench became even more intense and sickening, almost urging one to vomit out the last bit of content from their stomach. The wretched stench brought to Winters¡¯ mind the most disgusting thing he could imagine in the world:


    It was as if the gas bloated from a skunk¡¯s corpse that had been left to rot in a sealed cave for a hundred years.


    Winters finally understood where they were¡ªthis was the prison morgue.


    Inside the stone house, flies danced wildly as three naked male bodies were laid out on wooden planks, most likely the source of the horrid smell.


    The bodies were covered with a snowflake-like powder which Winters deduced to be salt.


    Using salt to preserve was an ancient method of preservation; certain civilizations used this technique to keep the heads of their enemies. However, it was clear that the pickling had not been very effective on these three, as some kind of liquid oozed from underneath their bodies, dripping from the planks onto the ground.


    Two more people entered from outside, their noses and mouths wrapped with cotton cloths filled with spices, appearing quite surprised to see two military officers entering the morgue without any protective scent gear.


    The leader adjusted the brim of his hat and saluted the two officers politely. Winters returned the gesture in similar fashion, while the colonel just nodded, his face expressionless.


    The leading man quickly introduced himself, ¡°I¡¯m Lop, an officer from the customhouse security department.¡± He pointed to the man behind him, ¡°This here is my deputy, Colonel Naro.¡±


    Colonel Field, however, did not introduce himself. Instead, he went straight to the point, ¡°Are these the three bodies?¡±


    ¡°Not three,¡± the security officer said with a wry smile. ¡°Four.¡±


    With a wave of his hand, his deputy walked to the far end of the room and lifted up a filthy burlap cloth, revealing a fourth body underneath.


    To be precise, it wasn¡¯t a complete body, just several parts of one. It was evident the original owner of the corpse had suffered some unspeakable and tragic fate, leaving only half remaining.


    Winters had killed pirates and had seen them executed on deck by their own mates, most needing more than one chop to sever their heads, a scene utterly bloody.


    He thought his mind was well-trained, but the gruesome sight of the half-corpse still made it impossible for him to look directly. He slightly turned his head away, avoiding the sight. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet, Colonel Field simply nodded, his expression unchanging.


    Understanding the colonel¡¯s demeanor, Lop, the security officer, said, ¡°We¡¯ve seen the bodies. Let¡¯s discuss the rest outside. I know the two of you army officers have seen it all and can disregard it, but I can¡¯t stand another second in this room. Let¡¯s step out, shall we?¡±


    Winters instantly felt a surge of appreciation for the customs officer, but he remained as impassive as Colonel Field.


    The colonel nodded, and the four of them left the house. The warden outside had long since disappeared.


    As they walked, Lop, the security officer, explained in a casual tone, ¡°The prison folks only know about using salt for preservation, but they don¡¯t know you need to remove the innards first. With the weather being so hot, the bodies rot from the inside even though they might look intact outside, which is why they look like this. But you can¡¯t blame them. When prisoners die, they¡¯re kept for a couple of days before being claimed by family, or they¡¯re buried straight away if they have none. They¡¯re not used to dealing with bodies for so long.¡±


    The four men continued walking until they were about twenty meters upwind from the morgue before they stopped.


    Lop handed a dossier to the colonel from his deputy¡¯s hands and began to speak, ¡°Everything we¡¯ve found is in here. The four inside arrived at Sea Blue Port on a three-masted schooner called the Bandit Gull with your cadet officers this year¡­¡±


    What Lop didn¡¯t know was the tumult his words were causing in Winters¡¯ heart. The dim light in the morgue, coupled with the distortion of facial features caused by post-mortem muscle contractions, meant Winters couldn¡¯t recognize any of the deceased.

 Chapter 78 - 78 - 36 Field Work_4

    Chapter 78 ¨C 36 Field Work_4


    So it wasn¡¯t until he heard what the customs official said that he realized the three and a half people lying inside were the four passengers from the Bandit Gull. It seemed none of the four had survived.


    ¡°¡­And then they were all killed on the dock,¡± Lop said, failing to notice the young military officer opposite him had dilated pupils and quickened breath. ¡°These four people, their names, places of origin, occupations are all mysteries. The murderer or murderers made off with the things they carried. Among the personal belongings left behind, not a single item could reveal their identities. As for the perpetrators, they fled the scene immediately and are now untraceable. They blew up one of our customs docks, and now we don¡¯t even know whom to ask for compensation.¡±


    Lop took another dossier from his adjutant and handed it to the lieutenant colonel: ¡°This is the report written by the doctor in charge of the autopsies from our guard office.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel accepted the report, didn¡¯t bother to open it, and handed it to Winters without looking back, along with the previous dossier.


    Lop didn¡¯t take offense and continued calmly: ¡°Among those three whole bodies, one had a fatal injury in the chest that pierced the heart and lungs. The other two¡¯s fatal injuries were on the side and back, likely the result of being attacked by several people.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel listened very carefully, nodding as he did.


    ¡°As for the one blown to pieces,¡± Lop said with a bitter smile, ¡°it¡¯s impossible to tell where the fatal injury was. He might have been blown to death.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Only these four died?¡± Colonel Field asked with a slight frown.


    ¡°A few sailors and dockworkers were also killed,¡± Lop replied with composure. ¡°Some were blown up, others were shocked to death in the water. Their families and workmates identified and took away the bodies. Their names are recorded in the dossier I gave you. Ha, I suspect that the missing part of that half body, if it wasn¡¯t simply not salvaged, then it must have been erroneously claimed by someone.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other valuable information?¡± the lieutenant colonel continued to inquire.


    Lop let out a sigh and spread his hands: ¡°That¡¯s everything I¡¯ve found, all detailed in the dossier.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel still had an expressionless face as he nodded, but his lips parted slightly to say ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to thank me for? I haven¡¯t figured anything out,¡± Lop said with another long sigh, speaking helplessly. ¡°This case is just a mess, completely unclear, and is sure to become an unsolved case. Although I don¡¯t know why the army would take over this homicide¡­ Anyway, you taking over this case is doing me a huge favor, and I owe you one. If you need my help with anything, don¡¯t hesitate to come find me at the customs guard office.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Field tipped his hat in gratitude. The two customs officials also responded politely, and the parties bid each other farewell.


    However, a few dozen meters after the two customs officials had left, Colonel Naro¡¯s adjutant jogged back. He rushed to Colonel Field and Winters, panting as he asked the colonel, ¡°Excuse me, sir. The customs official asked me to inquire what you would like to do with the evidence and the bodies? We can deliver them for you, or even bury them if you prefer.¡±


    ¡°Please send the evidence directly to the Army Headquarters Military Police,¡± Colonel Field readily agreed to take the evidence, but the handling of the bodies posed a dilemma. He pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°As for the bodies¡­ hmm¡­ let me think¡­¡±


    Then the colonel had a good idea. He happily said, ¡°I¡¯ll take the bodies as well, but the Army Headquarters doesn¡¯t have a morgue. Deliver them to the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters instead.¡±


    To ensure the customs adjutant remembered, Colonel Field repeated his instructions, emphasizing ¡°the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters.¡±


    Colonel Naro¡¯s adjutant nodded, saluted in haste, and muttered ¡°the morgue at Sea Blue City Command Headquarters¡± to himself as he jogged off to catch up with his superior, Lop.


    Colonel Field was in high spirits as he led Winters toward the prison entrance. When they passed the morgue again, the colonel suddenly had an excellent idea.


    ¡°You can do the Wind Control Technique, right?¡± Colonel Field asked Winters with a smile.


    Winters nodded; it was the spell that had knocked him unconscious, how could he not know it.


    ¡°Follow my command and use the Wind Control Technique to blow air into this room, understood?¡±


    Winters nodded firmly this time, as he had already grasped what the colonel intended to do.


    Field snapped his fingers and, using the same spellcasting gesture as Winters, they both launched the Wind Control Technique together. Magic accelerated the air in front of them, creating a gust that blew into the morgue.


    During this process, Winters vaguely felt his ability to use the Wind Control Technique had improved a bit.


    The foul smell that had been trapped in the morgue was pushed out by the gust and quickly spread throughout the entire prison, with sounds of retching coming from all over the customs prison.


    Colonel Field laughed wildly as he and Winters strode to the prison gate, both men mounted their horses and galloped away.


    The horses¡¯ hooves thundered, and soon, the customs prison was left far behind, no longer in sight.


    Suddenly, Colonel Field pulled on the reins, and his black horse neighed, coming to a halt.


    Winters didn¡¯t stop in time, rushing past Colonel Field. Seeing the colonel dismount, Winters quickly turned his horse around to rejoin him.


    Without a word, the colonel walked over to a roadside cypress. Winters, puzzled, followed him.


    The colonel shut his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and finally, unable to hold it back any longer, vomited with a ¡°wah¡±.


    Winters, having been trying hard to forget the nauseating feeling induced by the morgue at the customs prison, was reminded of that nightmarish stench upon seeing the colonel vomit. He felt a great force squeezing his stomach, his esophagus involuntarily expanded, and he too vomited with a ¡°wah¡±.


    After vomiting once, the colonel¡¯s urge to retch wasn¡¯t as strong. But when he turned around and saw Winters vomiting, his stomach started churning again, and he vomited with another ¡°wah¡±.


    Winters was the same, barely recovering before seeing Colonel Field vomit again, and couldn¡¯t help but follow suit and vomit once more.


    Colonel Field said, ¡°Stop vomiting, once you do, I can¡¯t keep it under control either, blegh¡­¡±


    Winters replied, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who vomited first, blegh¡­¡±


    The two men emptied the last bit from their stomachs, and finally, after vomiting up to the point of bitter bile, they were at last able to stop completely.


    The colonel spat out his saliva bitterly: ¡°This damn thing, if it ever comes to the palace, I must host him properly.¡±


    Turning around, the two men saw their horses licking and eating their vomit.


    Winters and Field exchanged glances, both seeing despair in each other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Blegh¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDivider¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Military customs have existed since ancient times, with the tradition of touching one¡¯s hat at least present since the eleventh century, and saluting with a raised hand appearing at least as early as the sixteenth century.


    I¡¯ve posted some photos and information of the Dusack given to Winters by Colonel Field on the fan circle, for those interested to see (don¡¯t bother looking now, the image has been broken, as all three-dimensional cold weapons will break).


    Also, horses really will eat human vomit¡­ At least I¡¯ve seen one that does¡­.


    Further, thank you for your recommendation votes. Since such content is not allowed in the main text, the thank you list will be moved to the author¡¯s remarks from now on. Thank you, dear readers.

 Chapter 79 - 79 - 37 Autopsy Report

    Chapter 79 ¨C 37 Autopsy Report


    ¡°`


    Colonel Field, who had vomited all his bile, clearly had no mood to return to the Army Headquarters; he now smelled foul all over and just wanted to rush home for a thorough wash.


    He led his black horse, and while walking, he instructed Winters, ¡°Take these two dossiers back to the Military Police, have Morlock file them, then have him make two additional copies.¡±


    Walking back from the roadside drain to the rammed earth road, the Colonel mounted his horse, took a look at Winters, who appeared just as miserable as he, and said hoarsely, ¡°You did well today, you¡¯ve not disgraced the Army. Send the dossiers to Morlock and then head straight home, have a good wash, and get some sleep¡ªit¡¯s been a truly tough day.¡±


    With that, Colonel Field clamped his legs against the horse¡¯s flanks, cracked his whip, and sped off, seemingly straight for home.


    Although as a pragmatist at heart, Winters believed that earning respect through this sort of brute toughness was meaningless, he couldn¡¯t deny a small feeling of joy from his superior¡¯s verbal praise.


    The career newcomer, Warrant Officer Montaigne, whose threshold was still relatively low, checked the two dossiers in his saddlebag to make sure they were complete, then also mounted and headed directly to Army Headquarters.


    ...


    After returning his horse, Winters went to the Military Police¡¯s office, handed the dossiers to the blond copier Morlock, but did not go straight home. As Morlock was buried in copying the dossiers, Winters picked up the autopsy report and began to read it carefully on the bench.


    Though Winters didn¡¯t know the specific details, through the words of Customs Officer Lop, he deduced that the task of investigating this dockside assassination had apparently been handed over to Colonel Field.


    If that was the case, Field hadn¡¯t asked, but Winters felt it was his duty to learn as much as possible about the incident.


    Another reason why he was eager to know what Customs had discovered was that, as an eyewitness to the incident, he was essentially the first-hand witness.


    The Customs autopsy report was very detailed; the three complete bodies of the passengers all died from sharp weapon injuries, with multiple vital organs punctured, ultimately leading to death from massive internal bleeding. The doctor who performed the autopsy speculated that the sharp weapon wounds were likely caused by a narrow-blade, straight-edged weapon.


    This medical examiner had some skill, Winters thought, recalling the black-robed figure¡¯s single-handed sword, which was indeed narrow-bladed and straight-edged.


    As for the specific weapon, the medical examiner believed the greatest possibility was a Swift Sword.


    Swift Sword? Winters had heard of this type of weapon during his time at the military academy, but he had never seen one in person.


    He continued reading; of the three passengers who appeared to be escorts, only one died from a frontal injury, while the fatal wounds on the other two were from the side or back.


    Winters mused: The one who died from the frontal injury was likely the first to be attacked in the ambush, and the other two succumbed to side or back injuries, which suggests that these escorts were skilled in swordsmanship, and the black-robed figure couldn¡¯t quickly dispatch them one-on-one.


    The rest of the autopsy report contained scattered details, such as height, hair color, etc.


    Based on factors like the wear on the teeth, the medical examiner estimated that the three men were roughly between 25 and 30 years old. Their build was robust and their physiques healthy, indicating that their social class was not low. They must have had meat regularly, as muscles like theirs don¡¯t grow on a flour-only diet.


    The medical examiner concluded, ¡°All three victims had calluses on their palms, which considering these men evidently were not laboring farmers, suggest these calluses are the result of years of weapons training. Hence, it is inferred that the victims likely belonged to a class of people like mercenaries, or were craftsmen and merchants wealthy enough to afford time for weapon practice, or possibly¡­¡±


    The text abruptly ended at ¡°or possibly,¡± with the rest of the sentence obscured by ink.


    Errors are common when manually copying documents, and scratch-outs are normal. Morlock, when transcribing, would naturally ignore the scratched content, and the new copy would end at ¡°craftsmen and merchants.¡± However, this document was obviously the original handwritten by the medical examiner himself. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters could not make out what had been obscured, but he guessed that the medical examiner intended to mention¡ªsoldiers.


    Even the word ¡°soldiers¡± was a bit off; a more accurate term should be ¡°officers.¡±


    The ordinary soldiers themselves had a hard life and would not have the privileged demeanor of those travelers. Officers, on the other hand, match the description of practicing with cold weapons year-round and having good dietary conditions.


    The medical examiner had included the possibility of them being officers in the report, but Customs, clearly not wanting to cause extra trouble, had obscured this part of the content.


    If there was solid evidence, alright, but to state that these three victims were officers without firm proof would certainly infuriate the Army, which was already upset about the unwarranted detention of the trainee officers.


    Winters began to understand why this case had been handed over to the Army.


    If he had not witnessed the entire incident at the first crime scene, Winters would have scoffed at Customs¡¯ speculation that the three might be officers.


    But he kept thinking about the traveler who could use the Deflection Spell. Since muskets were notoriously inaccurate, Winters couldn¡¯t be sure that the missed shot was definitely the result of the Deflection Spell, but it was a suspicion he couldn¡¯t shake off.


    ¡°Should I report this information to Colonel Field?¡± Winters pondered with his hand on his forehead, feeling a headache coming on, ¡°But I¡¯ve already promised to discuss this matter secretly with Major Moritz.¡±


    If that person was indeed a Spellcaster officer from the Army, the nature of the matter became extremely serious.


    Merely being an officer was sensitive enough, but who would dare kill an officer in broad daylight in front of a crowd? And a Spellcaster at that? The case reeked of danger, even more pungent than the stench from the Customs¡¯ morgue.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 80 - 80 - 37 Autopsy Report_2

    Chapter 80 ¨C 37 Autopsy Report_2


    ¡°`


    If that person wasn¡¯t a land force spellcaster officer, this matter would be even graver.


    It would mean that either the fruits of the Magic Combat Department¡¯s research had already been stolen by outsiders who also trained spellcasters capable of using advanced spells like the Deflection Spell;


    or¡­ the dead traveler was one of those legendary court wizards who were said to use magic. But could a court wizard be killed that easily?


    Winters¡¯s headache grew the more he thought about it, and he decided that unless Colonel Field asked, he would keep his mouth shut. After all, he trusted Major Moritz more than Field.


    And since you don¡¯t ask proactively, my not telling doesn¡¯t count as intentional concealment.


    Thoughts brought him to a mild resentment: ¡°Weren¡¯t we supposed to discuss this in secret together? Why has Major Moritz disappeared? When I get home, I must ask Uncle if he knows where the Major is now.¡±


    ...


    Nothing out of the ordinary could be seen about the suspect spellcaster from the autopsy report; these three had neither tattoos nor conspicuous scars.


    And as for that traveler torn to pieces, although the coroner hadn¡¯t determined the cause of death, Winters knew it was due to an assassin stabbing him in the left rib with a short dagger. The explosion only hastened his death and destroyed the body.


    However, for some reason, Winters always felt there was something discordant, like something was off.


    He scrutinized the autopsy report again to make sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything. But he still couldn¡¯t pinpoint the source of this discordance.


    Morlock had long finished copying the customs guards¡¯ investigative records and had been waiting silently for Winters to finish reading the autopsy report. Winters, with an apologetic look, exchanged the documents with the copyist and continued to peruse the investigation records.


    Yet the investigation report was even shorter than the autopsy report.


    The customs guards¡¯ approach was straightforward¡ªimmediately starting to look for the assassin. But the assassins all wore masks and cloaks, and no one had seen their faces.


    If it was temporarily impossible to find out who the assassin was, then where did the assassin run off to? According to the statements of the vendors near the docks, the assassin fled in a black carriage heading east along the main road.


    If one knew the carriage was black and in which direction it escaped, all that was left was to search.


    Venetians liked grand styles, so pure black carriages were not very common, only a few coachmen used such carriages.


    But the customs guards ran into difficulties in their investigation. When they inquired about it along the path of the assassin¡¯s escape, they found that after six or seven blocks, no one remembered such a carriage¡ªwho would pay attention to a mediocre carriage on the street?


    When the customs guards described the carriage in detail and repeatedly inquired, those vendors seemed to ¡°recall¡± this carriage. However, the directions they provided were all over the place. Some even swore they saw the carriage not coming from the docks, but heading towards them.


    In response, Lop from the affairs office believed these statements were not credible; purely because the customs investigators were too detailed in describing the carriage, overly persistent in their questioning, which led to the vendors¡¯ induced testimony.


    If it was not known who the assailant was, then how about investigating who the victim was? But the sailors from the Bandit Gull were completely ignorant about the identity of the deceased.


    Wanting to question the captain, they found this captain was only a stand-in, while the original captain was still drifting at sea with the Fortunate Gull, his fate unknown.


    The final result of the investigation was that the assassin could not be found, the carriage could not be found, and the port had a few extra corpses, but no one knew who the deceased were.


    Winters had to admit, just as Lop said, this case was a tangled mess, almost certainly destined to be an unsolved mystery. Whoever took it over would have a headache, no wonder Colonel Field was furious enough to curse in his office today.


    However, as a witness on the scene, Winters had his own informational advantage. He discovered something the customs people had not yet noticed: the traveler blown to pieces was actually killed by someone disguised as a dock worker.


    And clearly, killers were also among the dock workers. These assassins did not wear masks, perhaps they could become a breakthrough.


    Furthermore, on that day, army lieutenants were all at the docks, with many witnesses. Perhaps other lieutenants might have also noticed some valuable information.


    Having finished reading both files, Winters stood up to stretch his stiff body; he suddenly remembered that he had not properly thanked Benvenuto for rescuing him from the water.


    They had agreed to meet that night back at Sea Blue, but Winters ended up in the customs jail until now, so the meeting never happened.


    Thinking of this, Winters figured he¡¯d take the chance today to go home, change clothes, and clean up a bit. Later, when the dockworkers had finished for the day, he would go find Benvenuto at his place.


    He bid farewell to Morlock and made his way home.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªDivider¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Winters arrived home, where the day-servant, who was not living in, opened the door for him. Kosha was sitting on the parlor sofa, a small basket resting on her knees, busying herself with some embroidery.


    The Great General had been dozing beside her but was startled awake by the sound of the door and sat up alertly, looking toward the newcomer. Recognizing Winters, he settled back down.


    Glad to see her nephew come home, Kosha happily laid down her needlework and rose to greet him: ¡°How was the first day of the apprenticeship, and where did you get this sword?¡­ Oh my, where have you been? Why do you smell so odd?¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Really? Does it smell? I thought it was just my imagination,¡± Winters replied with a smile, skirting around the topics of dead bodies and murder: ¡°Colonel Field lent me the sword, he said a soldier can¡¯t be without a sidearm. Today, I went to a particularly smelly place with the Colonel.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 81 - 81 - 37 Autopsy Report_3

    Chapter 81 ¨C 37 Autopsy Report_3


    ¡°Quick, take off that outfit and have a proper bath,¡± Kosa wrinkled her nose and softly summoned the maid, ¡°Marita Mum, please prepare some hot water for Master Winters.¡±


    ¡°No need to trouble old Marita, I can just take a cold bath. I¡¯m used to cold baths from the military academy,¡± Winters¡¯s nature was not to inconvenience others.


    ¡°The well water is too cold, you¡¯ll get sick,¡± Kosa ignored Winters¡¯s suggestion and gestured for the maid to continue boiling water.


    She suddenly said happily, ¡°How about accompanying me to the Mewah¡¯s after this [a famous tailor in Sea Blue City]? It has been quite a while since my last visit. We need to make you some new clothes; look at you, with nothing but military uniform to wear. That won¡¯t do.¡±


    At the very thought of going to the tailor¡¯s, Kosa¡¯s eyes lit up, and it was unclear why she was so delighted.


    However, Winters subconsciously wanted to refuse, ¡°I¡¯m fine with just this military uniform; it¡¯s enough for me. I¡¯m not comfortable in civilian clothes; I prefer wearing boots.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How can that be? Without appropriate clothes, people will laugh at you,¡± Kosa knew her nephew had never liked dressing up since he was a child, so she had to push him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just come with me. It won¡¯t take too long. Your uncle¡¯s clothes are all chosen by me. Come on, go have your bath.¡±


    ...


    Though Winters found it troublesome, he really couldn¡¯t come up with a reason to refuse his aunt. He estimated the time, with Benwei still working at the docks, and figured a trip to the tailor¡¯s with his aunt wouldn¡¯t take too long. After returning, he could go directly to meet Benwei, so he nodded in agreement.


    Seeing Winters agree, Kosa, fearing he might change his mind, hurried him to the bath while joyfully instructing the servants to have the Coachman prepare the carriage.


    In Winters¡¯s mind, the case at the docks was what occupied his thoughts, and his intuition told him there must be a key point he had missed. Yet, like something covered with a thick layer of leather, it was elusive and indistinct.


    He quickly took a cold shower, changed into a clean military academy uniform. He would continue wearing the cadet uniform until the end of his probation period, and only after he officially received the rank of lieutenant would he be allowed to wear the officer¡¯s uniform.


    After Winters had bathed and changed, he came downstairs to find Kosa was not in the drawing room. Stepping outside, the carriage was waiting at the door, but his aunt was not in the carriage either.


    Where had his aunt gone? Winters was puzzled.


    Winters¡¯s uncle, unlike some senior officers who used soldiers as servants, had always hired help from outside ¨C apart from old Marita ¨C and General Antonio¡¯s orderlies were not allowed inside the yard.


    The stables at the Serviati residence were not large, managed by a highlander over fifty who doubled as Coachman and stableman, a multi-talented individual indeed.


    But Winters did not recognize him. During the time Winters was at the military school in The Federated Provinces, the previous Coachman had left, replaced by this man.


    Suddenly, Winters realized he could inquire about the carriage with the Coachman. He politely greeted the Coachman, who was flattered and tipped his hat in return.


    ¡°May I ask you about something?¡± Winters inquired with a smile.


    ¡°Of course, young master, ask away,¡± the Coachman nodded repeatedly.


    Seated high on the coachman¡¯s box, Winters had to look up to speak: ¡°Do you know other Coachmen in Sea Blue City?¡±


    ¡°I know a few; Coachmen tend to know each other somewhat,¡± the Coachman blinked, adding, ¡°There are many of us Paratu People working as coachmen here.¡±


    ¡°Are there many black carriages in the city? Black with silver trim, are there many?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, such plain carriages aren¡¯t very common, but I suppose there are a few. Some Puritans don¡¯t like fancy decorations, ah, that lot doesn¡¯t like much of anything,¡± the Coachman said, clearly holding little regard for the Puritans.


    Puritans, Winters latched onto a key point, repeating it to himself several times.


    ¡°What if I want to find a black carriage with silver trim now?¡± Winters pressed on.


    The Coachman scratched his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, sir. Are you looking to rent or to buy? If you want to rent, I could ask around at the brotherhood for you.¡±


    ¡°What is this brotherhood?¡± Winters heard a new term.


    The Coachman, realizing his slip, grinned sheepishly, ¡°Did I say something? I meant I could ask a few of the Coachmen colleagues for you.¡±


    Seeing the Coachman evade the question, Winters stared into his eyes and asked, word by word, ¡°If I wanted a carriage to disappear, could this brotherhood you mentioned help with that?¡±


    The Coachman dared not meet Winters¡¯s gaze; he looked away and said with a wry smile, ¡°I really don¡¯t know about that, sir. I¡¯m just a poor man; can we pretend I never said anything, please?¡±


    It was ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± not ¡°we can¡¯t,¡± Winters had gotten the answer he was looking for.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªThis is Fight Club¡¯s break line¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª

 Chapter 82 - 82 - 38 The Mewa Brothers

    Chapter 82 ¨C 38 The Mewa Brothers


    The coachman spoke earnestly, unwilling to continue the discussion.


    Since they couldn¡¯t arrest him and force a confession, it seemed impossible to extricate anything else from him.


    ¡°I was just curious, you don¡¯t have to be nervous, and if you don¡¯t want to talk about it, that¡¯s fine.¡± Winters placated the somewhat flustered coachman, pressing no further.


    The coachman nodded his head gratefully in acknowledgment.


    Kosha walked out from the main entrance. She had changed out of her comfortable home clothing and into a dark green dress decorated with embroidery and lace, topped with a light purple silk shawl and a lavishly adorned hat.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite an elaborate outfit just to visit a tailor¡¯s shop,¡± Winters remarked in surprise as he approached Kosha, ¡°Aren¡¯t you hot? Auntie, you¡¯re not also wearing a corset, are you?¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Silly boy, the tailor¡¯s shop is a woman¡¯s battlefield!¡± Kosha scolded her nephew with a glance, happily taking Winters¡¯ arm and stepping onto the carriage.


    ...


    She gave the driver their destination with demure politeness, ¡°Mr. Bato, please take us to the Mewa residence.¡±


    The carriage glided smoothly over the cobblestone streets, the wheels clacking rhythmically through the gaps in the stones, and the horseshoes rhythmically striking the pavement. The carriage¡¯s compartment was suspended on leather straps from the frame, so the ride was not bumpy.


    Kosha lifted the curtain, enjoying the street scene, seemingly in high spirits.


    But Winters was preoccupied with serious thoughts, his mind occupied by the coachman who appeared to have joined some secret society, and the brotherhood he mentioned.


    Kosha gently tapped Winters¡¯ hand with her folding fan, ¡°What¡¯s on your mind that has you so distracted?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Winters responded with a smile, regaining his composure. It clearly wasn¡¯t appropriate to share his concerns with his aunt in the carriage; that was a conversation for his uncle. He diverted the topic, ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Ella? Isn¡¯t she at home?¡±


    Mention of Elizabeth always gave Kosha a headache; she touched her forehead helplessly, saying, ¡°She¡¯s gone to Lady Angusoraf¡¯s studio. Sigh¡­ Your sister really worries me. She¡¯s already sixteen but still acts like a wild girl, without a trace of ladylike demeanor.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t learning painting a good thing?¡± Winters admired those skilled in painting; although he was not religious, he always lingered in front of the beautiful frescoes in churches.


    Kosha¡¯s mood dimmed a bit, ¡°She¡¯s not there to learn painting, she¡¯s just looking for an excuse to frolic with her little friends. When your mother and I were her age, we had to check your grandfather¡¯s accounts every day, unlike her frivolous behavior now. She can¡¯t sew, can¡¯t manage accounts, she doesn¡¯t have any ability to run a household.¡±


    Winters felt his aunt was underrating his sister too much; Elizabeth was one of the few people he acknowledged as smarter than himself, and he had to defend her, ¡°If you teach her about accounts, I¡¯m sure she could learn very well. I¡¯m quite convinced of her mental arithmetic abilities.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve taught her, of course, I¡¯ve taught her,¡± Kosha¡¯s tone grew heavier, ¡°but your sister lacks any persistence. She starts complaining within two days of learning the accounts. No matter what it is, she loses interest as soon as she learns the basics. How can she get married like this? What good family would take her? Isn¡¯t it just a matter of time before she gets deceived?¡±


    Kosha fell silent for a moment, then suddenly looked at Winters with hope-filled eyes, grasping his right hand, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about your sister, let¡¯s talk about you.¡±


    Kosha¡¯s demeanor turned very formal, puzzling Winters, who sat up straight to listen seriously.


    She spoke very earnestly, ¡°I¡¯ve told you this once six years ago when you went to The Federated Provinces, and now that you¡¯re back, I need to repeat it. After your maternal grandfather passed away, his property was divided into two parts, each as a dowry for your mother and me. My share was taken to the Serviati family, and your mother¡¯s share was kept by me as your guardian because you were not of age. Next year, when you come of age, I will hand over your mother¡¯s dowry to you, relieving myself of this concern.¡±


    Winters had thought his aunt was going to discuss something significant, yet it turned out to be about the inheritance again. Winters was a posthumous child, his father had died in battle with the rank of sub-lieutenant twenty years before, and his mother had also passed away early.


    Although Kosha had always strictly forbidden anyone from discussing the details of her sister¡¯s death with her nephew, merely attributing it to illness, Winters, who was always keen, managed to infer the real answer through indirect inquiries: his mother, Kosha¡¯s sister, had died from complications shortly after childbirth.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too troubled by this; to him, his aunt was his mother, and his uncle treated him like his own son.

 Chapter 83 - 83 - 38 The Mewa Brothers_2

    Chapter 83 ¨C 38 The Mewa Brothers_2


    ¡°`


    Compared to his biological parents, whom he had never met, he cared more for the close family members who had raised him. Since his aunt did not wish for him to know the truth, he had always pretended to be unaware.


    ¡°Auntie, I¡¯ve told you several times, just handle the money yourself, whether you incorporate it into the household accounts or use it as a dowry for Ella, I have no objections.¡± Winters strongly opposed Aunt Kosha¡¯s resolute stance on not using a portion of the property held in his name.


    Kosha might have been worried about gossip from outsiders, but in Winters¡¯s view, no amount of gold could ever repay the effort it took to raise a baby into adulthood.


    ¡°Silly boy, you still have to establish a family and a career, and there will be many occasions where you¡¯ll need money. I exchanged your mother¡¯s dowry for property in the Harbor District, and it has appreciated quite a bit in the past twenty years.¡± Kosha¡¯s eyes became moist as she spoke, and with maternal love, she straightened Winters¡¯s hair, ¡°My dear nephew has grown into a fine young man. Elizabeth [referring to Winters¡¯s mother, who shares a name with Winters¡¯s cousin] must be very pleased to see you all grown up in heaven. When I meet her again, I¡¯ll proudly kiss her cheek.¡±


    During their conversation, the carriage came to a stop, and the coachman informed them softly, ¡°Madam, we¡¯ve arrived at the Merva residence.¡±


    Kosha wiped away her tears and resumed her authoritative tone, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Bato.¡±


    ...


    Winters got out of the carriage first, then assisted Kosha down.


    The carriage stopped in front of a charming storefront which occupied about five meters of width amidst a row of stone buildings.


    The door had been painted black, so clean that it seemed one could smell the fresh paint. A scissors and a sewing kit were depicted in gold paint on the door, with the words [Merva Brothers] written in sweeping cursive below the image.


    The most eye-catching design, however, was not the storefront itself, but the walls to either side.


    Flanking the door, instead of brick walls, were small panes of clear flat glass held in wooden frames. Behind the glass, wooden mannequins displayed elegant readymade outfits. The window primarily featured extravagant women¡¯s attire, with elegant men¡¯s wear as a secondary focus.


    This type of small clear glass pane was not cheap, and most ordinary citizens could only afford to purchase a few for windows, with wooden shutters still being the predominant choice for most households. Using such fragile material for walls was a bold and imaginative move by the designer.


    Using gold paint for the sign was equally lavish, and they had used gold powder, not gold leaf. Winters, although not versed in painting, knew that gold color could not be achieved without using gold powder, a rather expensive material.


    The grandeur of the Merva Brothers¡¯ tailoring shop left Winters speechless. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the owners ever feared that thieves might strip the storefront at night.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it impressive?¡±


    ¡°But won¡¯t all these glass panes and pigments end up being paid for by the customers?¡±


    ¡°Come on,¡± Kosha took Winters by the left arm, dragging him inside the shop.


    The bell above the door jingled as they entered, where several elegantly dressed ladies and young women were picking out fabrics. Compared to them, Winters no longer found his aunt¡¯s attire to be exaggerated. This place was not so much a tailor¡¯s as it was a fashion battlefield.


    An attractive young man with the look of a tailor approached them quickly; he had a tape measure draped over his shoulder and stood out in his uncommonly simple work clothes among the competitive sea of colorful garments.


    Greeting Kosha with an earnest smile and a doff of his hat, he spoke with a faint tone of reproach, ¡°Madam Serviati, it¡¯s been far too long since your last visit to our modest establishment. Without seeing you, my inspiration runs dry.¡±


    If an ordinary person had said this, it might have seemed insincere and nauseating. However, the dashing youth¡¯s expressions, posture, and tone were just right. Even knowing the flattery was merely courteous, one couldn¡¯t feel any aversion.


    Kosha was unmoved, smiling as she retorted, ¡°Then your sources of inspiration must be plentiful. How many ladies have you said that to?¡± She had quite a high tolerance for such bootlicking.


    ¡°But you are the most beautiful among them.¡± The tailor, one of the Merva brothers, undeterred in moving to impress Serviati, shifted the focus of his praise to the young man by her side, ¡°And who is this handsome young man with you? He¡¯s got a natural build for suits.¡±


    Winters blushed at such a comment, but the young tailor managed to say it with a sincere tone, showing just how hard life could be.


    The flattery worked wonders, though, as Kosha beamed with joy, ¡°This is my nephew, fresh out of the Federated Provinces¡¯ military academy, and now working at the Army headquarters.¡±


    The young tailor heaped clever compliments on them, delighting Kosha while Winters, noticing several ladies in the shop casting covert glances his way, felt even more embarrassed and quickly interjected, ¡°Aren¡¯t we here to get some clothes made?¡±


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s start with your measurements.¡± The young tailor led Winters to a quiet, small room at the back of the shop and began taking his measurements.


    Winters, always observant, noticed the shop was mostly frequented by female clients, suggesting that another female tailor likely did the measuring. Yet, there was only one male tailor at the front, with the rest appearing to be apprentices. He heard a faint sound of cloth cutting from inside the shop and mused to himself that perhaps the Merva Brothers was actually Merva siblings. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What kind of suit would you like to have made?¡± the young tailor got straight to the point, asking Kosha instead of Winters.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 84 - 84 - 38 The Mewa Brothers_3

    Chapter 84 ¨C 38 The Mewa Brothers_3


    ¡°Two regular suits, one formal suit,¡± Kosa considered for a moment and then spoke again, ¡°And make one set of officer¡¯s uniforms as well.¡±


    At the military academy, the students¡¯ uniforms were made to measure by the school itself. However, once out of the academy, officers had to pay for their own uniforms.


    The officer ranks of the Allied Army were still inevitably influenced by the old nobility, much like nobles of the old era who came equipped with their gear and attendants, the officers of the new era also had to provide their own military uniforms, horses, swords, and so on.


    These unwritten rules formed an invisible threshold, and Bard wasn¡¯t exaggerating when he said that if he didn¡¯t go overseas, he couldn¡¯t even afford to have his military uniform made.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wear an officer¡¯s uniform yet,¡± Winters hurriedly reminded his aunt.


    But Kosa didn¡¯t seem to mind, ¡°Won¡¯t you be able to wear it next year? It¡¯s better to have it made in advance, so you won¡¯t have to bother later on.¡±


    Winters knew he had no say in domestic matters, so he didn¡¯t oppose further.


    ...


    Kosa sat beside him, flipping through a spread-out book, which appeared to be a design catalogue from the Meva brothers, while a male tailor busied himself beside Winters.


    But Winters thought of the case at the docks, a thought struck him and he asked casually, ¡°Do you make cloaks here?¡±


    ¡°Cloaks? Your Excellency wishes to have a cloak made? If you need, we can take care of it for you,¡± the male tailor replied while measuring Winters¡¯s waist.


    ¡°From what you say, it seems that the Meva brothers don¡¯t usually make cloaks?¡±


    The male tailor answered with a smile, ¡°Our shop usually makes more exquisite garments. Indeed, we haven¡¯t made cloaks before.¡±


    ¡°About how many tailors are there in Sea Blue City?¡±


    ¡°Not many, less than a hundred people,¡± the tailor added, ¡°Many households don¡¯t come to tailors to have clothes made, most buy the fabric and make it themselves.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters understood that trying to find the cloak-wearing man through the tailors was not realistic. The cloaks of those assassins weren¡¯t necessarily custom-made by an external tailor; hiring a maid who was good with needlework could also produce them.


    However, Winters was not willing to give up even if there was just a sliver of a clue, he politely asked the tailor, ¡°Could you help me inquire if any tailor in Sea Blue City has recently received orders to make black cloaks?¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± the tailor replied politely, ¡°Are you looking for someone in particular?¡±


    Winters answered with a faint smile, ¡°I¡¯m seeking a few friends who wear black cloaks.¡±


    ¡°If you are looking for clothes, you might rather look for the fabric,¡± the tailor noted down the measurements in his booklet, saying offhandedly.


    ¡°Looking for fabric?¡±


    ¡°There are over forty fabric suppliers in Sea Blue City, and each one¡¯s materials have slight differences. If you bring the fabric to me, I can roughly identify which supplier it¡¯s from, then ask that fabric merchant who they supply to, and continue to trace from there, which will be much simpler.¡±


    It was indeed a good method, but unfortunately, Winters had none of the assassins¡¯ fabric in hand. He thought back to the situation at the time and couldn¡¯t come up with an explanation.


    ¡°What material? Linen? Cotton? Wool? Silk?¡± the tailor asked.


    Winters tried hard to recall the feel of the cloak when he had grappled with the cloaked figures, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I only know that it should be quality fabric, the weave was very dense, but not as smooth as silk.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s likely wool or cotton,¡± the tailor concluded, ¡°I will ask around for you, but there are many merchants selling wool and cotton fabrics in the city, so don¡¯t get your hopes up too high.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Once the measurements were taken, the next step was to pick out fabric. During this process, Winters became a mere puppet, with Kosa directing the tailor to bring several types of fabric for her to choose from, repeatedly having Winters step onto the small platform and draping the fabric over him to see the actual effect. After selecting the fabric, they moved on to pick out designs.


    Winters originally thought he was just going to the tailor¡¯s to have his measurements taken, which would be quick.


    But by the time an exhausted Winters and a content Kosa returned home, it was already getting dark.


    Inside the mansion, Antonio had been waiting for a long time and was passing the time by playing with a cat in the living room. As soon as Winters entered the front door, Antonio called him over and said seriously, ¡°Come with me, there¡¯s an urgent matter.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    In the eleventh century, a method for making small pane glass appeared in the Germany region, which later spread to the Italian Peninsula. The Venetians improved this technique and by at least the fourteenth century, were able to produce transparent glass; however, at that time, colored glass was more valuable. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The manufacturing of large transparent glass panes came later, not until 1674.

 Chapter 85 - 85 - 39: Strong Luck

    Chapter 85 ¨C 39: Strong Luck


    ¡°Come with me, there¡¯s an emergency,¡± Antonio called out to Winters, then added, ¡°Tell the coachman not to unhitch the horses, and Winters, you go change into your ceremonial attire.¡± Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ceremonial attire? But I only have my military academy uniform right now.¡±


    Antonio looked towards his wife, ¡°Didn¡¯t you make several sets before?¡±


    ¡°But none of those clothes fit, and they haven¡¯t been altered yet. We only took the measurements today,¡± Koshar replied with a tinge of annoyance.


    Antonio didn¡¯t dwell on it, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll change into a military uniform, and we¡¯ll both be dressed the same.¡±


    This time, Winters didn¡¯t have to wait too long. Antonio was a military man known for his efficiency and soon emerged from the house in his officer¡¯s uniform, different from ceremonial dress.


    ¡°Now that we¡¯re both in uniform, what do we need a carriage for?¡± Seeing Winters foolishly waiting by the carriage, Antonio sounded quite helpless. He turned to the coachman and said, ¡°We won¡¯t be needing the carriage. Bato, you¡¯ve had a hard day.¡±


    ...


    With that, he handed a small bag of reward money to the coachman, who took it with profuse thanks.


    Antonio gestured to his nephew and led Winters to the stables behind the house.


    In the stables, there were now three horses. Antonio pointed to one of them, a grey steed with a black mane and white spots, saying reluctantly, ¡°It¡¯s yours from now on. Although Sea Blue City isn¡¯t that large, it¡¯s inconvenient to go anywhere without a horse.¡±


    Winters was instantly overjoyed. He approached the proud and majestic creature, keeping his excitement in check. The horse wasn¡¯t panicked by the newcomer; it chewed its hay calmly. Its pectoral muscles were strong, its legs well-proportioned and powerful, and the lines from its neck to its back and haunches were smooth and elegant. The mane and tail were well-groomed, and its coat was brushed clean, without a single speck of straw.


    Winters gazed into the horse¡¯s eyes, and the horse blinked its moist eyes back at him with a tame and friendly gaze, its ears flicking deftly. Winters tentatively stroked its neck, finding the skin not only smooth and glossy but also warm to the touch. It felt wonderful, and the horse hummed comfortably through its nostrils.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly beautiful.¡±


    An irritated Antonio said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s beautiful. You infantry types just don¡¯t recognize a good thing. This is a top-notch Lucian horse.¡±


    The more pained Antonio felt, the better the horse must be. Winters, rarely seeing his uncle so reluctant, chuckled and asked, ¡°Is it a monk?¡±


    Antonio was furious: ¡°How could it be? There are plenty of people who¡¯d want to borrow this horse for breeding!¡±


    ¡°But if it¡¯s not that, can it be ridden?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it can be ridden. Didn¡¯t you see who trained it? Besides, Lucian horses are naturally gentle.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s its name?¡±


    ¡°I called it ¡®Good Luck.¡¯ Do you want to give it a new name?¡±


    Winters gently scratched the area between the horse¡¯s eyes, and the animal flicked its tongue lightly. Recalling the pirate ship named Good Luck, he said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t like luck? But let¡¯s call it ¡®Strong Luck¡¯ instead. It seems luck doesn¡¯t work on me.¡±


    Seeing how much his nephew fancied Strong Luck, Antonio hesitated but couldn¡¯t help instructing, ¡°Horses are noble creatures, and Good Luck is my treasure. You must take good care of it, don¡¯t wear it out, but don¡¯t let it get too idle either¡­¡±


    Winters kept nodding, then pointed to the other two horses and asked his uncle, ¡°If you¡¯re worried about Strong Luck, how about I ride one of those instead?¡±


    The other two horses in the stable were a white horse and a bay mare.


    ¡°Now I really regret sending you to study in the infantry,¡± Antonio said with a heavy tone. ¡°Do you think those two aren¡¯t good horses?¡±


    Antonio took out a small packet from his pocket and fed each horse a piece of sugar. He then led out the bay horse, and Winters brought out Strong Luck. They saddled up, mounted their steeds, and left the mansion.


    The sky had darkened, and the last rays of the sun were fading away. The daytime heat was gradually replaced by the coolness of the night, and the refreshing sea breeze carried away the excess heat from the two riders. At that moment, riding the streets of Sea Blue City was utterly invigorating.


    Workers along the road were filling the lamps with oil, lighting the street lamps one by one. In Senas Bay, only Sea Blue City was lavish enough to provide public lighting. The flickering flames shone through the soot-stained glass, illuminating the hurried faces of the pedestrians, signaling the start of nightlife.


    In the city streets, Strong Luck could hardly stretch its legs, making Winters eager to take the horse outside the city for a hearty gallop.


    But then he suddenly remembered he didn¡¯t know where his uncle was taking him, so he sped up a little and rode alongside Antonio, ¡°What¡¯s the emergency? Colonel, where are you taking me?¡±


    Antonio looked at Winters with a playful smile and said, ¡°To find you a wife.¡±


    ¡°What? Stop joking!¡± Winters was taken aback, nearly losing his balance and falling off the saddle, ¡°I was planning to see Benwei tonight, and I only followed you because you said it was urgent. If there¡¯s nothing serious, I¡¯m heading to Benwei¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°Benwei? Which Benwei?¡± Antonio scratched his head, trying to remember the name: ¡°Benvenuto?¡±


    Winters was surprised his uncle remembered Benwei¡¯s full name: ¡°You remember him?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he your schoolmate, Lu You? You always loved to scrounge meals at his house when you were on leave.¡±

 Chapter 86 - 86 - 39 Strong Luck_2

    Chapter 86 ¨C 39 Strong Luck_2


    ¡°It¡¯s him.¡±


    Antonio became interested, ¡°How is he now? It seems that I didn¡¯t see his name among the trainee officers who returned this year.¡±


    ¡°Benwei didn¡¯t continue at the military academy, he went to work to support his family after Lu You graduated.¡± Winters said somewhat sorrowfully, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    Leading the way, Antonio and Winters, with their backs to the docks, walked on. As the crowd started to thin out, Winters, who lived in the Harbor District, mentioned his intention to turn back as he redirected his horse.


    ¡°Wait a moment,¡± Antonio called to his nephew, ¡°Don¡¯t go today. Are you planning to go empty-handed? I remember his family has many younger brothers and sisters¡­ How about this, tomorrow I¡¯ll have Marita buy some flour and good meat, and you can take it to Benwei, how does that sound? Besides, I called you here today because I truly have something important.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°To meet a widow.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m really off!¡± Winters, in a huff, yanked the rein to the right.


    Antonio quickly dropped his teasing demeanor and said seriously, ¡°Alright, to business. There¡¯s a small gathering at the Navarre residence tonight, and I called for you because I want you to show your face there.¡±


    ¡°Navarre? Isn¡¯t that the merchant who deals in wool? What does that have to do with me?¡± Of course, Winters had heard of the Navarre surname; it was a well-known merchant family in the city.


    Antonio looked at Winters with a meaningful gaze, ¡°Money is power, and Mrs. Navarre might just be the most powerful woman in this city¡ªalso a widow.¡±


    ¡°Why do you keep bringing up widows?¡± Winters became anxious, hoping his uncle wasn¡¯t suggesting he sell his charms.


    Antonio put on a serious face on purpose, ¡°What? Do you look down on widows? Let me tell you, widows hold up half the sky in Sea Blue City. Without these widows, where would the Governor¡¯s office get the money to pay our salaries?¡±


    Winters began to sweat profusely from his forehead, ¡°When have I ever looked down on widows¡­ besides, what does that have to do with anything?¡±


    Seeing Winters¡¯s naive reaction, Antonio burst into laughter, patting him on the back, ¡°Alright, no more jokes. Actually, there¡¯s nothing much. You¡¯ve been away in The Federated Provinces for six years, during which you didn¡¯t participate in any social activities in the city. Aside from your peers from the military academy, you don¡¯t know a single person your age, do you? Now that you¡¯re back home, I thought it would be good for you to make an appearance in the society hosted by the Navarre family.¡±


    Just as Winters was about to speak, Antonio gestured for him to stop and continued, ¡°I know what you¡¯re going to say, but even if you don¡¯t like socializing, you still need to let people know you exist. Sooner or later you¡¯ll need to get married, but do you know any eligible young ladies right now? This is the consequence of a lack of socializing. At your age, I was going from one dance to the next, everyone was vying to invite me. Anyway, it¡¯s better to get to know a few young ladies, so you have some choices.¡±


    Winters was left speechless by this speech; he felt there was something off about his uncle¡¯s words but didn¡¯t know how to refute them.


    Seeing his nephew¡¯s face turn red, Antonio teased, ¡°And honestly, considering Mrs. Navarre¡¯s wealth, even if you wanted to pursue it, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy.¡±


    ¡°Colonel!¡±


    The two rode on, chatting as they went, and without realizing, they had reached the city walls.


    The rammed-earth walls from the Sovereign War era, after more than twenty years of weathering, were in ruins. Seeds scattered by the wind took root and sprouted on the walls. The walls were lush up and down, resembling a green tapestry. Even a seedling grew resiliently on it, as if an arm was reaching out from the inside of the wall.


    The city moat had also collapsed in many places due to lack of maintenance over the twenty-six years without military disaster. Now, the citizens no longer appreciated these old defensive works that once protected them, finding them a great inconvenience to entering and exiting the city area.


    The capital, Guidao City, of The Federated Provinces had already torn down its walls and filled in the moats. The people of Sea Blue City were restless as well. Why preserve these old fortifications when they had just built the impregnable Bastion outside the city?


    Crossing the wooden bridge built over the moat, Antonio and Winters left the city area. There were no streetlights outside the city; the journey ahead would be illuminated by moonlight. The compacted earth reflected more moonlight than the vegetation did, creating a silvery stream that stretched into the distance.


    Through the intermittent hedges and patchy tree shadows along the way, one could make out brightly-lit mansions in the distance, filled with festive guests and the vigorous sounds of music coming from each estate.


    With the growth of Sea Blue¡¯s population, the city area was becoming increasingly crowded. The wealthy merchants were unwilling to continue living within the resource-limited city walls and began building lavish estates in the suburbs one after another.


    In the past, merchants would not have dared to move outside the city walls.


    The citizens of the old era adored city walls because they protected them from external armed attacks. New era citizens scorned the walls because they no longer needed such passive protection.


    Living in the suburbs, the greatest risk was from bandits and thugs. The Allied Army of the new era was more effective than the old civic militia at suppressing bandits, because although the militia was strong in defending cities, their morale plummeted once they left the city and they typically did not engage in field battles.


    And the noble militias of the old era? If it were just a few greedy peasants robbing on roads, it wouldn¡¯t be dangerous, but the greatest threat came from those well-equipped with weapons, armor, and warhorses, who had received military training their entire lives. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Impoverished knights often became the backbone of bandit gangs, and robbing merchant caravans, extorting, or even raiding cities were long-standing significant sources of income for unscrupulous nobles.

 Chapter 87 - 87 - 39: Strong Luck_3

    Chapter 87 ¨C 39: Strong Luck_3


    Therefore, the citizens of the old era fervently worshipped the city walls, generously donating vast portions of their wealth to their city. For they shared fate with the city, which, to them, was the only safe haven in a perilous world.


    But times are different now, just as Antonio said, the Standing Army is mainly used to deal with internal enemies, and they do it well. Any sizable band of robbers within the Alliance¡¯s territory would be swiftly annihilated by the Allied Army, and a few straggling villains could be dealt with by merely a handful of guards.


    The Navarre family followed the trend and moved out of the urban area, but Winters did not know the address, simply following his uncle forward.


    ¡°What kept you busy today on your first day of internship at the constabulary?¡± Antonio asked casually.


    Winters was about to talk about the day¡¯s events but then he remembered Colonel Field¡¯s admonition, ¡°keep tight-lipped, follow orders.¡± He chewed over his words for a long time before squeezing out, ¡°Pretty busy anyhow.¡±


    ¡°What exactly kept you so busy?¡± Antonio persisted unwaveringly.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t ask, I can¡¯t say.¡±


    ...


    Antonio laughed and lightly tapped Winters¡¯ shoulder with a riding crop, ¡°Field taught you well. Being tight-lipped is a virtue. Usually, you should watch more, listen more, do more, but speak less. Speak less, and others won¡¯t know what cards you hold.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters blushed and nodded.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t tell me, I still know what cards you hold.¡± Antonio¡¯s smiling eyes were like crescents, ¡°When the Throne voted on whether to pin this mess on Field, I cast the only dissenting vote on your behalf.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters exclaimed so unexpectedly that he involuntarily tightened the reins, causing the spirited horse to halt with a snort. ¡°Were you present when it was decided to hand this case to the constabulary?¡±


    ¡°Of course I was there,¡± Antonio gestured, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like a fool, walk and talk.¡±


    Winters lightly squeezed the horse¡¯s belly and trotted forward to catch up with his uncle, ¡°Does the Throne know that even with me included, there are only two officers in the constabulary now?¡±


    ¡°Of course they know,¡± Antonio nodded.


    ¡°And they still handed this case over to the constabulary? With only two officers and eighty guards needing to man posts, how are we two supposed to investigate?¡±


    ¡°Quite simple. If Field wants to close the case, he could write a report today, and by tomorrow this case would be closed,¡± Major General Antonio offered a relaxed solution.


    The case could be closed at any time if they wanted? Winters¡¯ thoughts raced, and in an instant, he grasped the profound implication behind those words, asking his uncle word by word, ¡°Are you implying that the Throne already has a scapegoat prepared for this case?¡±


    ¡°Not bad, a teachable lad,¡± Antonio said with a hint of a smile, praising Winters, who could tell from his tone that his uncle didn¡¯t consider the case a big deal, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about an assassination attempt? Doesn¡¯t Sea Blue have several each year? If the assassin isn¡¯t caught on the spot, how can they possibly find the person? It¡¯s sure to become a cold case. The person who took this case from the customs didn¡¯t care about the truth; they just wanted to pin the blame on someone they chose in the end.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that the army took the initiative to take over the case from the customs?¡± Winters could hardly believe his ears.


    ¡°What else? If the army didn¡¯t want it, could the customs force it upon them?¡±


    Only now did Winters realize that he had comprehended it all wrong; he had initially thought that the customs and the army had reached a secret agreement. The customs discovered that the victim might be a soldier and did not want to meddle in the army¡¯s affairs, so they communicated secretly with the army, leaving them to investigate the case.


    But according to Antonio¡¯s statements, the army was utterly unaware of the victim¡¯s identity; someone just wanted to create an issue, proactively taking over the case.


    One dared to ask, the other dared to give, both believing that a mere exchange of glances was an adequate understanding, yet in reality, their thoughts were entirely different.


    Moreover, from what Winters could see now, both parties had less information about this assassination than he did. In his view, both the customs and the army underestimated the severity of this assassination attempt.


    ¡°So, who exactly does the Throne want to pin the blame on?¡± Winters voiced another doubt.


    Antonio nonchalantly gave an answer that Winters did not anticipate, ¡°Pirates.¡±


    ¡°How could the assassin be a pirate? I¡¯ve fought against pirates, I¡¯ve also fought those assassins, and there is no one among pirates as formidable as those assassins.¡±


    ¡°But can pirates come out to prove they are not assassins?¡± Antonio questioned with an almost mocking smile.


    ¡°Framing pirates¡­¡± Winters¡¯ mind flashed like lightning, as he agonizingly pondered, attempting to connect the fragmented information, to seize the main point from a tangle of confusion.


    Seeing him deep in thought, Antonio kept silent, and the two walked in quiet for a while.


    Suddenly, Winters sighed and asked softly, ¡°Are we going to war?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªDelimiter¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Stallions are temperamental and naturally aggressive, but they are easily attracted by mares in heat. History is replete with instances where mares were used to attract stallions for profit in war; mares are gentle and quiet and can also serve as warhorses. However, sending a mare into battle means one less foal for the following year. Therefore, the final solution was to use castrated stallions as warhorses, which the Teutonic knights called ¡®monk horses¡¯ [M?nchpferde]. Another advantage of using castrated horses was that even if captured by the enemy, the enemy could not use them to improve their own horse bloodlines.


    Horses have a rich emotional life, so I believe that the reason horses cannot become pets is mainly due to their size and digestive issues.

 Chapter 88 - 88 - 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite

    Chapter 88 ¨C 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite


    Winters suddenly sighed and asked in a low voice, ¡°Is war upon us?¡±


    ¡°There must be an enemy for a war, right?¡±


    ¡°The Tanilians, the Republic wants to seize the islands,¡± Winters gave the answer calmly, ¡°I¡¯m really too slow, only coming to realize this now.¡±


    Antonio neither denied nor confirmed, but counter-asked, ¡°Then why would Vineta go to war with its important source of raw materials and trading partner?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the reason, but what I¡¯ve learned from history is that people can find ten thousand reasons to start a war, and ten thousand reasons to stop one. War is not a duel between two, each party in a war has conflicting interests. As for the fundamental reason for a war, that can only be known from historical records after the war ends. I¡¯m just trying to infer the direction of the wheels from the ruts.¡±


    ¡°What ruts?¡± Antonio seemed intrigued.


    ¡°Bits of information, rumors in the military academy, the disputes between the Islands and Sea Blue, the tense atmosphere within the army headquarters, your casual mention of the conscription of reservists¡­ and most importantly, what¡¯s the point of framing pirates? Can the army even control the pirates? It¡¯s simply a way to lead the fire towards the Islands.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Antonio said.


    Winters asked with difficulty, ¡°Must there be a war?¡± This was not a question a soldier should ask,


    ¡°Not necessarily, war is just a means, not the goal. Making grandiose preparations for war is sometimes only for gaining more negotiating chips. Vineta is not a place before the mountains; the final action will be decided by the ruling committee,¡± Antonio said with a clear and calm voice,


    He spoke unhurriedly, ¡°But military deterrence not only comes from force but also the determination to use it. If the wrong message is conveyed, making the Archipelago Confederation think Sea Blue dares not to take military action, then war becomes the only path. Have you seen the Great General and the lesser generals fighting with wild cats in the yard?¡±


    ¡°I have, the lesser generals are smaller in size but more ferocious.¡± Every spring and autumn night, fights between cats would rise to a crescendo around Winters¡¯s home.


    ¡°Wrong, it¡¯s not that the lesser generals are more ferocious, but the wild cats think they can bully the lesser generals and dare to challenge them. And the Great General? As soon as it sees a wild cat on its territory, it rushes to fight a battle to the death. The wild cats nearby are all afraid of it and steer clear of it. In the end, it¡¯s the lesser general who doesn¡¯t like to stir trouble but ends up fighting with the wild cats more often.¡±


    ¡°So has the Republic made preparations for war?¡± Winters mused over this conversation, feeling he knew far too little.


    ¡°Yes and no. Plans have been devised one after another for several years, but if the supervisory government doesn¡¯t make a decision, the plans are nothing but waste paper,¡± Antonio snorted with dissatisfaction, ¡°Only after the governor made that vehement speech in the Senate a month ago did the thirteen-member committee agree to start preparing materials for war.¡±


    [The Thirteen-Member Committee, aka the Vineta Republic¡¯s Military Committee, members are composed of the army and navy high-ranking officials.]


    ¡°I think The Federated Provinces probably won¡¯t just sit back and watch us take control of the Islands.¡± If Sea Blue took over the Islands, it would inevitably disrupt the delicate balance within the Alliance. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°¡®Feilengcui¡¯ has already stood off against ¡®Torrent River¡¯ on the northern Border River, otherwise why do you think this year they didn¡¯t let you travel by land but made you return to Vineta by sea?¡±


    [The Fourth ¡®Feilengcui¡¯ Legion, Sea Blue Republic Army]


    [The Second ¡®Torrent River¡¯ Legion, The Federated Provinces Army]


    Winters felt chills down his back, two of the Alliance¡¯s standing army legions were already confronting one another at the border, no wonder they¡¯d changed to travel by ship this year. But he found the absurdity incredulous, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯ll have to fight with the United Provincials first?¡±


    ¡°How could that be? The Provincial Army, no matter how reckless, wouldn¡¯t dare take such a monstrous risk of starting a civil war,¡± Antonio laughed, trying to comfort his nephew, ¡°Their intent is merely to constrain us, so we can¡¯t give our all, buying themselves time to control the Islands.¡±


    ¡°The Federated Provinces also want to control the Islands?¡±


    Antonio countered, ¡°Sea Blue and The Federated Provinces each occupy half of the bay; whoever takes the Islands can control the inland sea trade. Let me ask you, if you were The Federated Provinces¡¯ Secretary of State, wouldn¡¯t you want to control Taniria?¡±


    In the past, the Taniria Islands were also directly under the royal dominion. Unlike Sea Blue, which became a royal possession due to its wealth, Taniria was deemed a royal possession because it was so desolate that no one desired it¡ªuntil they had to. Before the introduction of sugarcane and other cash crops, it was just a wilderness where only self-sustaining islanders and exiled criminals existed.


    More than thirty years ago, the Alliance navy, with just a few galleons, set out from Taniria and ravaged the Empire¡¯s maritime transport ships with such ferocity that it forced the emperor to bypass the Sheltering Mountains to supply Duke Arian. The Islands, as a place where the Alliance navy disposed of their loot and resupplied, attracted the greediest sailors, mercenaries, and speculators from across the continent, leading to the Islands¡¯ prosperity.


    It was also during this time that sugarcane was introduced to this land. Plantations started to appear throughout the interior of the large and small islands.


    After the madman Richard retreated, the captains and plantation owners¡¯ associations took this opportunity to declare independence from the Empire, turning themselves into a permanent ¡°Neutral Free Port.¡± For over twenty years, they¡¯ve existed as a loose confederation sandwiched between various powers.

 Chapter 89 - 89 - 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_2

    Chapter 89 ¨C 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_2 Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Antonio said without doubt, ¡°Speaking impartially, do you think the tensions between The Federated Provinces and the Archipelago are greater, or are the tensions between us and the Archipelago greater? Who do you think can offer a better deal to the Archipelago, The Federated Provinces or us?¡±


    ¡°The Archipelago Confederation is too loose a political entity, negotiating with the Confederation is like shouting at a hundred ducks at once. If we try to win over each island one by one, Tanilia will sooner or later become the eighth province of The Federated Provinces Republic. It¡¯s not that Sea Blue wants the Archipelago, it¡¯s that Sea Blue does not want The Federated Provinces to get the Archipelago, thus the means must be somewhat drastic.¡±


    After hearing Antonio¡¯s words, although it was the height of summer, Winters felt a chill from within: ¡°Tell me the truth, the Victory Arsenal wasn¡¯t burned down by someone from the Throne, was it?¡±


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Antonio scolded Winters, ¡°The struggle over Tanilia between The Federated Provinces and Sea Blue is merely internal competition within the Alliance. The United Provincials may not get along with us, but we¡¯re still brother allies, not enemies. The Victory Arsenal is an important equipment procurement site for the Sea Blue Army, why would we burn down the Victory Arsenal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief, that¡¯s a relief.¡± Winters let out a sigh of relief, for a moment he really worried that the tension between the various republics had escalated to the point of breaking out into a fight the next second.


    Antonio earnestly advised Winters, ¡°I¡¯m telling you all this so you can go beyond the limitations of a pawn and see what the chessboard looks like. Taking this assassination case from customs is just the war faction trying to make a issue out of it, to pressure the executive committee, to involve public opinion, to advocate for war. These little tricks aren¡¯t meaningful, don¡¯t learn from them. Because whether the assassin is Venetian or a pirate, it won¡¯t affect the decisions of the executive committee.¡±


    ¡°So, are you a war hawk or a peace advocate?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m neither for nor against war, I have only one principle, and that is to prioritize Veneta¡¯s interests. Remember that, you¡¯re a soldier of Veneta, your duty is to protect the interests of Veneta, and not to be hostile for the sake of party allegiances,¡± Antonio said with great emphasis.


    Winters nodded solemnly, ¡°But I still don¡¯t understand, why was this case handed over to the military police?¡±


    ¡°Whoever investigates this case has only two paths to follow. Either to thoroughly solve this headless case; or to follow the war faction¡¯s wishes and pin the blame on pirates. The latter is simple to close, but if it¡¯s not a ironclad case, the consequences could be severe should it be overturned later on,¡± Antonio laughed heartily, ¡°Field is too reckless, and lacks tact, he recently offended some people and there¡¯s a lot of resentment against him. Handing the case to Field is purely to annoy him.¡±


    Antonio added, ¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry, you¡¯re just an intern at the military police, even if the case is overturned in the future it won¡¯t implicate you, but that boy Field will have to go work at the office for War History.¡±


    Winters remembered the ¡°impressive figure¡± of Colonel Field at the internship orientation meeting, guessing it was then he had managed to offend all the senior officers present.


    As soon as the case was mentioned, Winters suddenly remembered the coachman, and he hurriedly said to his uncle, ¡°I think it¡¯s best to replace our family coachman.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Winters explained in detail his discovery that the family¡¯s coachman appeared to be involved in some secret society.


    Antonio didn¡¯t take it seriously, ¡°It¡¯s just a secret society, right? There are plenty of those in Sea Blue City, not just among coachmen, even the porters at the docks are in secret societies, and they belong to several.¡±


    Nevertheless, Winters still insisted on changing the coachman, as the ones who rode in the carriage most were not the two men, but the two ladies of the house, and he felt the coachman had to be someone dependable.


    In the end, Antonio agreed with his nephew¡¯s opinion, and the two concurred that Antonio would have someone talk to the coachman, and if there were no issues, they would give him severance pay to dismiss him. Then they¡¯d hire two honest ex-soldiers from the Third Legion to take up the posts of coachman and groom.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    A hundred beeswax candles illuminated the side hall of the Navarre residence, and the faint aroma produced by the burning beeswax permeated the room, adding a private ambiance to the already elegant sitting room.


    This was a small reception, not many people. The main hall was too large, it might have made the guests feel isolated. Navarre¡¯s lady, of course, would not make such a basic error.


    There was no dance floor in the side hall, but at this moment, Navarre¡¯s lady was the most graceful of dancers.


    She flitted between each small group of guests, wherever there was the hint of a dispute, Navarre¡¯s lady would cleverly use a witty pun to diffuse the tension. If she noticed a guest feeling uneasy, Navarre¡¯s lady would skillfully guide them to a conversation circle better suited to them.


    The men in the living room dominated the conversation, talking endlessly. They craved an audience, eager to attract the attention of others, while Navarre¡¯s lady did not seek to have everyone listen to her.


    With a look, a smile, a glass of wine, a word of wit, she made each guest feel welcomed, comfortably maintaining the pleasant atmosphere of the evening.


    Though the men occupied the stage, the person who truly orchestrated the order here was the considerate hostess.

 Chapter 90 - 90 - 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_3

    Chapter 90 ¨C 40 Tanilia and Aphrodite_3


    However, even Mrs. Navarre, who could effortlessly manage the atmosphere of the soir¨¦e, encountered people who left her helpless. While attending to her guests, part of her attention was always on her daughter, fearing that some chaos might ensue.


    Her eldest daughter was now standing in front of an egg tempera painting of Aphrodite, surrounded by several gentlemen. The people in this small group were all listening to a handsome man with a fine beard critique the painting.


    To this critic, the lovely young girl was probably the most attentive listener in the world. She was seventeen, having shed the naivet¨¦ of a child, yet not possessed of the maturity of a married lady. She was in the most vibrant stage of youth where every frown and smile was radiant.


    What made her an even more valuable audience was that there was not a trace of impatience on her face. Mrs. Navarre¡¯s daughter was seriously appreciating the artwork, listening with a smile bright as a blossom, nodding gently from time to time, humming in agreement.


    The critic thought he had gained an admirer, but Mrs. Navarre had already noticed her daughter¡¯s subtle changes in expression and habitual hand movements, realizing that she was on the verge of an angry outburst.


    ¡°¡­The biggest problem is the artist¡¯s biased understanding of beauty.¡± Encouraged by the beauty at his side, the critic grew more animated in his critique of the painting, ¡°Aphrodite is clearly the goddess of love and beauty, yet the goddess in this painting lacks aesthetic appeal and fails to invoke any thoughts of love in me¡­¡±


    ¡°Anna, come here,¡± Mrs. Navarre called to her daughter, who was standing a little distance away.


    ...


    Anna Navarre offered a gracious smile and a slight nod to the gentlemen, as if apologizing for having to leave, and then walked straight to her mother, passing between the men who moved aside for her.


    Objectively speaking, Anna¡¯s features couldn¡¯t be considered traditionally beautiful. She hadn¡¯t inherited her mother¡¯s soft and graceful countenance, instead taking after her father¡¯s more defined facial lines. Yet even without any overt flirtatiousness, men were involuntarily drawn to her fair shoulders and lustrous hair.


    Mrs. Navarre took her daughter¡¯s hand and squeezed it subtly without showing any emotion, to remind her to always be mindful of her manners. Anna understood her mother¡¯s message, let out a dissatisfied hum, but obediently followed her to another part of the living room.


    Mrs. Navarre placed her daughter in a group mostly made up of young people and then continued fulfilling her duties as hostess, attending to the guests.


    Meanwhile, Antonio and his nephew had just arrived at the Navarre residence.


    Winters had not had his fill of riding and reluctantly handed the reins of the spirited horse to a livery-clad servant. Guided by the butler, he followed Antonio into the grand side hall.


    ¡°General Serviati, how are you?¡± Mrs. Navarre greeted Antonio with effusive warmth, playfully chiding him, ¡°Why are you so late? I thought you weren¡¯t going to show your face.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? I am your most loyal servant,¡± Antonio bowed his head graciously and gently kissed Mrs. Navarre¡¯s hand.


    Mrs. Navarre smiled behind her fan and said, ¡°You, not loyal at all. Now introduce me to this handsome young man.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize him? My nephew, Winters Montagne, just returned from the Military Academy this year.¡±


    ¡°Elizabeth¡¯s son?¡± Mrs. Navarre exclaimed softly. She measured up to Winters¡¯s waist with her hand and said with a sigh, ¡°Good heavens, he¡¯s all grown up now. But in my memory, he was only this tall as a child.¡±


    It seemed Mrs. Navarre had seen Winters before, but he had no recollection of it. One can¡¯t remember everything from childhood, so Winters merely smiled politely without speaking.


    ¡°Ah, the academy has turned him into a blockhead, you will have to take good care of him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your precious nephew you should be worried about, lest he be spirited away by one of these ladies,¡± Mrs. Navarre said casually as she affectionately linked arms with Winters.


    Winters felt the lady¡¯s soft body and warmth on his left arm. He had never been so close to a woman outside of his family, and this sudden closeness made him stiffen up and his face flushed red.


    ¡°Your friends have been waiting for you for a while,¡± Mrs. Navarre said to Antonio, ¡°I will take care of this young man.¡±


    Antonio nodded with a smile and left the bewildered Winters by Mrs. Navarre¡¯s side before departing from the evening party.


    ¡°Elizabeth and Kosa are both my friends, just consider yourself at home here,¡± said Mrs. Navarre, finding the young man¡¯s reaction amusing. She took a glass of wine from a waiter¡¯s tray for Winters, ¡°Does being with elders make you feel constrained? Let me introduce you to some people your own age. Have a drink and don¡¯t be so tense.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, madam, but I don¡¯t drink,¡± Winters replied earnestly. ¡°Um¡­ do you have anything to eat here?¡±


    Mrs. Navarre could not help but chuckle at Winters¡¯s words; it was her first time encountering someone looking for food at such a reception. This kind of gathering was neither a banquet nor a buffet; there was no food, just drinks.


    But Winters was truly famished and feeling dizzy. He had accompanied Colonel Field to the customs prison that afternoon and ended up throwing up everything he had eaten for lunch. After returning home, Kosa took him to the tailor¡¯s shop, and it wasn¡¯t until nightfall that they returned, only to immediately rush with Antonio to the Navarre residence. He had been too hungry to eat earlier, but now, for some reason, his stomach began to churn again.


    Winters¡¯s expression was straightforward, and his tone was sincere. Mrs. Navarre knew he wasn¡¯t putting on an act but was genuinely hungry. She found the young man¡¯s social inexperience charmingly naive and explained to Winters, ¡°We don¡¯t have food here, but the kitchen will have some. I¡¯ll have someone take you there.¡±


    Mrs. Navarre called her daughter over in a soft voice and introduced her to Anna, saying, ¡°This is Mr. Montagne. Anna, take Mr. Montagne to the kitchen and ask the chef to prepare something Mr. Montagne likes.¡±


    She then turned to Winters and introduced her, ¡°This is my daughter, Anna. She will take you to the kitchen.¡±


    Mrs. Navarre¡¯s daughter smiled, lifted her skirt in a curtsy, and said softly, ¡°Mr. Montagne, please follow me.¡±


    As Winters beheld Anna¡¯s smooth forehead and her graceful neck, his face grew even redder. But as a Spellcaster, his keen senses made him realize that Miss Navarre was actually very displeased.


    She was smiling, but there was no hint of joy in the corners of her mouth or eyes, which made Winters feel like she was a doll. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Just call me Winters,¡± he replied, bowing back to her. He didn¡¯t like to trouble people and said to Mrs. Navarre, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble the young lady; a servant can take me instead.¡±


    ¡°You are an honored guest; how could I let a servant accompany you?¡±


    Mrs. Navarre was adamant, and Winters had to accept her kindness.


    Under Anna¡¯s guidance, Winters passed through groups of guests and left the reception room through another door.


    Before leaving, Winters¡¯s gaze involuntarily shifted to a fresco of Aphrodite¡ªhow could it not attract his attention? The goddess in the painting was nearly naked, boldly displaying her delicate body while covering only the slightest bits.


    Poor Lieutenant Montagne had mostly seen military maps and church murals, where saints were wrapped up tightly, and any nude figures, if at all, were male. He had never seen artwork that portrayed the female form so unabashedly.


    Anna noticed Winters standing transfixed by the painting and paused. Winters, deeply embarrassed, hurried to catch up.


    The two left the reception room, walking down the corridor in silence, one after the other, until they reached the kitchen door.


    Before pushing the kitchen door open, Anna suddenly turned her head to lock eyes with Winters and asked seriously, ¡°What do you think of that Aphrodite painting?¡±


    ¡°What? Was that the goddess of beauty?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªI am the precise line of awkwardness¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Because basically no readers are telling me their thoughts¡­ Nonetheless, I also feel these chapters have been a bit too draggy, so I will move the main story along quickly after Anna Navarre¡¯s entrance¡­

 Chapter 91 - 91 - 41 Anna

    Chapter 91 ¨C 41 Anna


    ¡°What? That was a goddess of beauty?¡± Winters asked in slight surprise, for he had actually only seen a nude female figure.


    Anna smiled sweetly and nodded her head. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the girl in front of him was all smiles, Winters clearly saw two faint wrinkles form between her eyebrows. He also noticed that Anna¡¯s left hand, which was holding a candlestick, had become pale at the joints from gripping too hard, while her right hand was twitching slightly, unconsciously.


    Did I say something wrong? Winters was a little puzzled. He also found it hard to understand why Lady Navarre¡¯s daughter, clearly very angry, still masked it with a bright and sunny exterior.


    Those admired in the military were men like Layton and Field, men of strong character, bold and unrestrained. Even if Winters didn¡¯t like Major General Layton very much, he was willing to follow him onto the battlefield.


    Although Winters wanted to remedy the situation, he was not one of those art connoisseurs who spoke eloquently. The painting conveyed to him only the most straightforward visual impression, so he honestly shared his thoughts, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t told me that was Aphrodite, I would have thought it was Athena.¡±


    ¡°Why would Athena be presented naked to the viewers?¡± Anna blinked in slight confusion.


    ...


    ¡°Is that so? Then I am superficial.¡± Winters blushed with embarrassment, searching hard for the right words to describe his direct impressions: ¡°But the goddess in the painting feels to me more like a¡­female warrior, a female knight. Yes, that¡¯s it!¡±


    His thoughts suddenly became clear, and he explained with gestures: ¡°Although the figure in the painting is female (her breasts feature secondary sexual traits), she is very fit, valorous, and well-proportioned; even I don¡¯t have such beautiful abs¡­ I feel she would look more harmonious with a shield and a spear in her hands, so I mistook her for a goddess of war.¡±


    Anna covered her face and smiled heartily: ¡°Mr. Montaigne, I have never heard such comments before; they¡¯re quite refreshing.¡± Her brows were no longer furrowed, her fists no longer clenched, and her eyes resembled crescent moons, reflecting a smile that came from her heart this time.


    Winters said embarrassingly, ¡°I don¡¯t understand painting, these are all my wild thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Such interesting thoughts, Mr. Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps there will be a chance to ask the painter himself what he thinks.¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, even the painter doesn¡¯t know what he wanted to convey.¡±


    ¡°Who exactly is the artist who created this masterpiece?¡±


    ¡°Not any known artist; it was bought by my mother from some obscure little painter.¡±


    ¡°But I think it¡¯s beautifully done.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing more than a clumsy imitation of classical art. Many statues of goddesses from the classical era are just as fit and brave. Many are even male statues converted into female figures,¡± Anna said as she removed the bolt and pushed open the kitchen door leading to the living room. ¡°Come on, Mr. Montaigne, you can tell the cook whatever you want to eat; please don¡¯t be shy.¡±


    But the spacious kitchen was empty, with only a faint glow emanating from the oven. The door to the backyard was open, indicating the servants who worked there had all sneaked out.


    Anna stood motionless in the doorway to the kitchen, her back toward Winters.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late; it seems the kitchen has already closed for the day. Let¡¯s not trouble them then, and head back,¡± Winters said, somewhat concerned that the young lady of the house might find it hard to step down.


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Anna entered the kitchen and lit the oil lamps with the candlestick: ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll prepare something for you.¡±


    Winters was flattered: ¡°I¡¯m not hungry anymore; how could I trouble you to personally make something?¡±


    ¡°There are some ready-made ingredients; it¡¯s quite convenient, as long as you don¡¯t mind,¡± Anna¡¯s tone was gentle but left no room for Winters to decline: ¡°Please stoke the fire in the oven a bit more.¡±


    Winters subconsciously obeyed, and began to add more wood to the oven.


    Anna found two pieces of wheat bread left over by the servants, and cut off the hardened crust that had formed from sitting too long.


    Then she sliced thin pieces from a large block of dry cheese and smoked meat, layering them onto the bread. Lastly, she fished out a pickled cucumber from a jar, cut it in half lengthwise, and placed half on each slice of bread.


    Winters wanted to help but found he couldn¡¯t do anything; he could only watch as Anna, in her dress, bustled about the kitchen.


    The bread, having been processed a second time, was placed by Anna into the oven to bake; the cheese began to melt, seeping into the crevices of the bread. After a few minutes, Anna took out the baked bread, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and led Winters out of the kitchen to a secluded gazebo in a corner of the garden.


    The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of a certain rose species, and the sound of cicadas ebbed and flowed around them. The bright moonlight eclipsed the radiance of most stars. Through the neatly trimmed shrubs, one could vaguely see the light from the windows of a nearby side hall.


    ¡°Please enjoy.¡±


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected things to turn out this way; he had casually asked for something to eat, but it ended up with the young lady personally cooking for him.


    He said apologetically to Anna, ¡°You can leave me here alone; I¡¯m truly sorry to have taken up so much of your time. Lady Navarre must be getting anxious.¡±


    But the girl did not leave; instead, she sat down lightly on the stone bench, lifting her dress slightly, and smiled at Winters, ¡°I should thank you, Mr. Montaigne, for giving me an excuse to escape from that tedious party. I didn¡¯t want to attend such gatherings at all.¡±

 Chapter 92 - 92 - 41 Anna_2

    Chapter 92 ¨C 41 Anna_2


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, didn¡¯t you enjoy the party?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to enjoy at a party? Aren¡¯t parties just about listening to the most powerful men boast?¡±


    ¡°Well said, Miss Navarre, well said!¡± This witty summary made Winters laugh and applaud in approval, and no one could empathize with that sentiment more than a soldier.


    Anna stopped maintaining her ladylike smile and began to giggle. In that moment, Winters truly felt that the Miss Navarre before him became a living, breathing person, no longer a puppet.


    ¡°Please, have a seat, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Anna gestured for Winters to sit down.


    Winters tasted Anna¡¯s culinary efforts¡ªthe combination of smoked meat, cheese, pickles, and bread was wonderful: ¡°Although the bread is a bit dry, it¡¯s really, really delicious.¡±


    ¡°When I was a child, my grandfather used to make this for me. It tastes a bit better with fresh bread because it¡¯s moister.¡±


    ...


    Winters was truly famished, and the best way to compliment a chef¡¯s skills was to eat; Winters tried his best to express his admiration for Anna¡¯s cooking.


    While he was busily wolfing down his food, Winters caught Anna staring at him out of the corner of his eye.


    Winters stopped and asked with his eyes: What¡¯s the matter?


    ¡°I actually haven¡¯t eaten anything since this afternoon either,¡± Anna said, sounding forlorn.


    ¡°Then, shall we split the food between us?¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t eat.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Only married ladies have the right to eat freely, burp, and fart in front of gentlemen.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, why do you say that?¡± Winters found Miss Navarre to be quite the character¡ªnot only did she have a unique perspective on the world, but she was also articulate and witty.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne, do you have sisters?¡±


    ¡°I have one sister.¡±


    ¡°Then haven¡¯t you heard your mother and your sister say ¡¯Girls who show their appetite can¡¯t find a man¡¯?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment: ¡°I¡¯ve never really heard my sister¡¯s mother say that.¡±


    ¡°If you were a lady, your mother would tell you ¡¯Men want girls with appetites as tiny as sparrows, preferably without any insight, who only know how to say how amazing you are. If men find out you¡¯re more insightful than they are, they won¡¯t marry you.¡¯¡± Dropping her fa?ade, Anna no longer maintained her smile, her expression one of dismay.


    ¡°So the ladies have to play dumb?¡± Winters had never even held a young lady¡¯s hand before, let alone considered marriage, so this was a new concept to him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But one can¡¯t pretend to be dumb forever, right?¡±


    ¡°After they¡¯re married, it¡¯s too late for the men to regret it.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny, Mr. Montaigne?¡± Anna said crossly, letting out a sigh of frustration: ¡°It¡¯s just the way things are, you can eat without a care at the party, and people will commend you for your composure. But what about me? I¡¯m very hungry too, yet if I were to do the same, my reputation would be ruined, and all of Sea Blue would quietly gossip about me. Do you think that¡¯s fair?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s indeed unfair, but that¡¯s a big issue, beyond what you and I alone can solve. We can only solve a small problem,¡± said Winters thoughtfully, with a smile he asked Anna, ¡°Do you plan to marry me?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Anna stood up in a panic, her eyes wide as she looked at Winters. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Since you don¡¯t plan to marry me, and I don¡¯t plan to marry you, why would you worry about maintaining appearances in front of me?¡± Winters calmly explained to Anna: ¡°It¡¯s just the two of us here; even if you ate an entire cow in front of me, it wouldn¡¯t reach the ears of the man you fancy. If you seek fairness, then all the more you should not oppress yourself even when alone.¡±


    Winters pushed the tray of bread towards Anna: ¡°Eat if you¡¯re hungry; don¡¯t worry about me. I won¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡±


    ¡°Even if you told someone, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid!¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks turned red for the umpteenth time that evening: ¡°Come here!¡±


    ¡°What for?¡± Winters was somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°I want you to come over! Stand next to me,¡± Anna repeated.


    Winters, bewildered, slowly walked over to Anna¡¯s side, a bit worried that he was about to receive a slap.


    The girl looked at Winters for a few seconds, then turned around, presenting him with the graceful lines of her back: ¡°Undo it for me.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t, I¡¯m not considering marriage right now!¡± Seeing Anna¡¯s beautiful nape, Winters quickly spoke out in refusal. His mind was in turmoil; he couldn¡¯t figure out why suddenly they were talking about undressing?


    Anna was both angry and flustered, punching Winters hard on the back and stamping her feet: ¡°What are you thinking? I want you to help me loosen my corset; I can¡¯t eat with this thing constricting me.¡±


    That scared the life out of me, I thought she wanted to sleep with me, Winters thought. Upon realizing it was just the corset, he let out a sigh of relief and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the corset?¡±


    Anna was dressed in a blue long dress with ruffled edges, the ruffles trimmed with white velvet ribbon. Overall, the dress was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, with an exaggerated skirt supported by a crinoline from the waist down.


    It was at this moment that Winters noticed the girl¡¯s waist was incredibly slender, thinner than even a sixteen-pound cannon. Such a waist was an affront to normal human anatomy, evidently compressed by external forces to this degree.

 Chapter 93 - 93 - 41 Anna_3

    Chapter 93 ¨C 41 Anna_3


    Having just admired the unconstrained display of feminine beauty in the painting of Aphrodite, Winters found the painfully cinched waist before him to be a cruel and pathological treatment of women.


    ¡°You unbind the cords at the back of the skirt first, then undo the ribbons inside the corset, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest,¡± Anna blushed, not knowing what had come over her to allow a man to unlace her corset.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Anna said, and Winters immediately understood, expertly unfastening the ribbons of the skirt and gradually loosening the crisscrossed slender cords.


    ¡°Why are you so adept at this?¡± Anna asked, alarmed to find that Lieutenant Montaigne could untie the cords faster than her own maid.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t these just like shoelaces? I¡¯ve worn boots for over a decade¡ªtying and untying laces, I could do it with my eyes closed,¡± Winters answered with pride.


    Once the corset¡¯s knots were undone, Anna wouldn¡¯t allow Winters any further assistance and slowly loosened the remaining part herself. This wasn¡¯t about removing the corset, rather, like loosening shoelaces, it was about not letting it constrict too tightly anymore. Read exclusive content at empire


    Free from the confines of the corset, Anna took several deep breaths with relief, as evident that the garment had not only tightened around her waist but also compressed the space for her lungs. She glared at Winters, sat back down on the stone bench, and ate her food with a sort of vengeful vigor.


    ...


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit sorry for the young lady and pushed the remaining food towards Anna. One silently ate while the other silently watched; they sat this way for a while until Anna finished off all the remaining bread in one go.


    ¡°I hardly had a few bites,¡± Winters joked. ¡°It seems all to have gone into your stomach.¡±


    ¡°If you wanted to eat, why didn¡¯t you make some yourself?¡± Anna quickly retorted.


    With no more food, Winters found it pointless to continue sitting around and thus suggested, ¡°Shall we return to the party then?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going back, and you¡¯re not allowed to either. If you go back, mother will certainly send people to look for me.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words, so the two sat silently for a while longer.


    The sound of boot heels knocking against stone grew louder from a distance, clearly someone was approaching. Anna immediately dropped her relaxed posture, sitting up straight with her back erect on the stone bench.


    Winters stood to look in the direction of the footsteps and saw a familiar figure emerge from behind the neatly trimmed bushes, taller than one man¡ªAntonio.


    ¡°So here you are. You can¡¯t just hide away because you dislike social gatherings,¡± Antonio said to Winters with a smile. He then caught sight of another figure at the stone table, and his expression became complicated, with a playful smile spreading across his lips.


    As soon as Winters saw Antonio¡¯s expression, he knew his uncle had gotten the wrong idea. Before he could explain, Antonio had already greeted Anna, ¡°Good evening, Miss Navarre!¡±


    Anna rose politely and returned a curtsy: ¡°Good evening, General Serviati.¡±


    ¡°I hope this young fellow Winters here hasn¡¯t troubled you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all? Mr. Montaigne has been very polite.¡±


    Antonio then turned to Winters, cheerfully asking in the old language, ¡°[Old Language] Have you kissed her tonight?¡±


    The Old Language, known as the high tongue or noble tongue in the Northern Empire, is deeply rooted yet distinct from the Empire¡¯s language. In the past, it was mainly used by the noble class and the clergy.


    After the overthrow of emperors and nobility by the Alliance, the terms high tongue and noble tongue were discarded, and it was henceforth referred to as the Old Language.


    While the Empire¡¯s language came to be called the common tongue or continental tongue.


    The Old Language and the common tongue share only a few words, but most pronunciation and grammar differ significantly, so speakers of the common tongue might understand individual Old Language words but certainly not the whole sentences.


    During the Imperial Era, knowledge was monopolized by the clergy and the nobility, and most books were written in the Old Language.


    In the modern Republics, only the learned class studies the Old Language as they need to read past literature. The vast majority only speaks the common tongue, which is enough for daily life and work. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Above the Old Language is the ancient tongue, whose original pronunciation is lost.


    Only researchers needing to read books from the Ancient Empire era¡ªand clergy, as the official scriptures recognized by the church are written in ancient tongue¡ªstudy the ancient tongue.


    Since the three languages use the same alphabet system, people today can ¡°hard read¡± the ancient tongue using current grammar.


    The church also has a unique system of pronunciation for the ancient tongue, known as ¡°ecclesiastical pronunciation,¡± believed to have been passed down orally since ancient times and generally only learned by clergy.


    The military academy offers courses in Old Language and ancient tongue, enabling Winters and Antonio to speak the Old Language.


    When Antonio suddenly switched languages, Winters didn¡¯t understand at first and was startled when he realized what had been said.


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected his uncle to dare to say something so rude in the presence of a lady, which would have earned him a harsh slap from even the most gentle of women. He turned to look at Anna, who, tilting her head in confusion, watched the two men and showed no sign of anger.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, since Anna evidently didn¡¯t understand the Old Language, and he replied to his uncle in the same tongue, ¡°[Old Language] Can you please not stir up trouble?¡±


    ¡°[Old Language] Alright, alright, young people have their own ideas,¡± Antonio said with a smile, still misunderstanding the situation, ¡°[Old Language] I¡¯m done with my business. When you want to leave, just find me. I¡¯m in no hurry.¡±


    Having said his piece, and before Winters had a chance to clarify, Antonio nodded farewell to Anna and strode off.


    As Antonio¡¯s figure disappeared behind the bushes, and his footsteps grew fainter, Winters was at a loss for words. Antonio had already jumped to conclusions, and to explain now would be troublesome.


    He sighed, turned to Anna, and took his leave: ¡°Miss Navarre, it has been a pleasure spending time with you today. But I must head home now, please allow me to take my leave.¡±


    Anna¡¯s smile beamed brightly as she said to Winters, ¡°[Old Language] Then, would you like to kiss me?¡±


    After she spoke, she gave Winters a slap and stormed off huffily.

 Chapter 94 - 94 - 42: The Hitman

    Chapter 94 ¨C 42: The Hitman


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to move so fast, now I can rest assured,¡± said Antonio with considerable relief to Winters on the way home.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, as soon as you left, I got slapped,¡± Winters said gloomily. He subconsciously touched his cheek where he had been hit; although the physical pain had long since disappeared, the mental wound had not. Your journey continues with empire


    ¡°Slapped? Were you too hasty?¡±


    ¡°Miss Navarre and I aren¡¯t what you imagine, she can understand Old Tongue.¡±


    ¡°Huh? A woman also knows Old Tongue?¡±


    ¡°Anna is not an ordinary woman; I think her education level is higher than mine.¡±


    Antonio¡¯s tone was full of the frustration of iron not turning into steel, ¡°How can you be so naive? You were only with her once, and you¡¯re already head over heels?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why won¡¯t you believe me? I really have no intention of pursuing Miss Navarre,¡± Winters was at a loss for words with Antonio already having a prejudice: ¡°And I feel that Miss Navarre¡­ is very sincere.¡±


    ¡°Of course she¡¯s sincere! If she didn¡¯t make you feel that way, how could she manipulate you?¡± retorted Antonio. But he then changed his tone and laughed, ¡°However, a man has to be deceived by a woman; you only mature after being cheated on.¡±


    Winters had now lost all desire to speak. He simply shut his mouth tightly, looked straight ahead without a sideways glance, and kicked his horse¡¯s flank with his boot heel. The steed received the command and happily took off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be mad, what can¡¯t we talk about?¡± Antonio shouted at Winters¡¯s back: ¡°Don¡¯t ride so fast in the middle of the night, be careful not to break the horse¡¯s hoof.¡±


    Winters initially didn¡¯t want to pay him any heed, but when he heard that the horse¡¯s hoof might break, he slowed down anyway, and Antonio caught up from behind: ¡°Hey, what are you shy about? In our youth, we took these matters as matters for pride.¡±


    ¡°Please stop, I really don¡¯t have the kind of thoughts about Miss Navarre that you think I do.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, no more about that,¡± Antonio said kindly, but his tone sounded like he was pacifying a shy young man.


    Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to explain and the two rode in silence for a while until Antonio suddenly said with a sigh, ¡°Ah, it seems that the one thing I worried about the most has come to pass after all.¡±


    He deliberately extended the tone, waiting for a cue, but Winters didn¡¯t pick up on his line at all.


    Antonio smacked his lips in boredom and continued, ¡°Do you know what the Army Officer Academy was modeled after?¡±


    Winters thought to himself, ¡°Isn¡¯t it based on a university?¡± But he didn¡¯t feel like engaging with Antonio and kept silent.


    ¡°If you think it¡¯s a university, then you¡¯re wrong,¡± Antonio answered his own question: ¡°Universities are places for young people to study, get drunk, and brawl. Have you experienced that? The Army Officer Academy was directly modeled after the Monastery; in the military academy, you¡¯re essentially Ascetic Monks with a military status. With little communication with the outside world, the military school is everything to you.¡±


    Antonio went on, ¡°When the academy was first established, this wasn¡¯t a problem. Your father and I were sixteen and seventeen when we attended, almost adults. But the United Provincials later established preparatory and juvenile schools. Now, by your generation, you¡¯re sent to the military school at nine years old and work your way up. After ten years of life in the ¡¯Monastery,¡¯ you have almost no social experience. I¡¯m not sure if this model is good or bad, but one thing I¡¯ve confirmed now is, once you meet a Judith, all of you become Holophernes.¡±


    Judith used her beauty to get close to Holophernes, the general of the army lusting after her, and cut off his head while he was drunk, leading to a great Assyrian defeat. Although Winters was not a believer, he was familiar with this famous story from the scriptures.


    But Winters didn¡¯t want to listen to a word of it, he whipped his horse and sped toward home.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The next morning before going to the gendarme, Winters greeted Bard and Andre.


    Bard walked around the steed three times, clicking his tongue in praise. Upon seeing the steed, Andre couldn¡¯t take his eyes off it and insisted on riding it.


    After Winters and his two companions showcased their new ¡¯toy,¡¯ they arrived at the entrance of the gendarme. He saw the clerk Morlock anxiously pacing back and forth in the corridor like an ant on a hot pan.


    ¡°Good morning, Mr. Morlock? Don¡¯t have your keys?¡± Winters greeted him jokingly.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here, Captain Montaigne,¡± Morlock sighed with relief upon seeing Winters: ¡°The people from the Commandant¡¯s Office are about to go mad. They sent someone to cause a ruckus yesterday afternoon. But with both officers not present, I couldn¡¯t explain. This morning they sent someone again, and he¡¯s sitting inside.¡±


    To get rid of the four stinking corpses, the customs prison worked at an astonishing speed. No sooner had Field and Winters left than the warden immediately got some thin wooden planks to make four crude coffins, placed the bodies inside, and sent them to the Sea Blue Commandant¡¯s Office.


    Half of Colonel Field¡¯s words were true, but the other half was not entirely false. He was right when he said the Army Headquarters had no morgue. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when he told customs to send the bodies to the ¡°morgue of the Sea Blue Commandant¡¯s Office,¡± his phrasing became ambiguous because the Commandant¡¯s Office also had no morgue.


    Seeing the customs¡¯ cart carrying bodies stopped at the door, the officers of the Commandant¡¯s Office exchanged puzzled glances, not knowing what was going on.

 Chapter 95 - 95 - 42 Hitman_2

    Chapter 95 ¨C 42 Hitman_2


    Upon learning that the Military Command Headquarters had no morgue, the customs officials brazenly placed the coffins directly beside the entrance of the Headquarters, claiming they were ¡°sent by Colonel Field,¡± and then they strode off.


    The personnel at the Military Command Headquarters were thoroughly disgusted, and I mean that quite literally. When the coffins were opened, many officers vomited on the spot, and the coffins were hastily nailed shut again.


    Even with the coffins closed, it only reduced the stench from vomit-inducing to merely sickening.


    Now, these four corpses had become a problem for the Military Command Headquarters; there was no place to store them, and they didn¡¯t have the courage to dump the four coffins at the doorstep of the Army General Headquarters.


    The chief of the Military Police Section, upon hearing that it was these four toxic gas coffins that Colonel Field had ordered to be sent, flew into a rage. He mustered his men and stormed over to the Army General Headquarters to have a ¡°discussion¡± with Field.


    But at that time, Field was not in, and Winters had already gone home after reading the report, leaving only Morlock there. With no one directly responsible, a group of burly officers had nothing they could do to this frail scribe; after all, they couldn¡¯t just beat the life out of this earnestly smiling clerk, right? Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The frustrated officers from the Military Command returned empty-handed, their anger futile against cotton. The next day, they sent a lieutenant colonel over, insisting that Field offer an explanation and get rid of the four bodies quickly.


    ...


    The Winters of yesterday might have felt guilty for inconveniencing the Command, but today¡¯s Winters had already learned the true nature of the case was political struggle, and giving it to the Military Police was just a way to annoy Colonel Field. So now, Winters felt no psychological pressure, and for the first time in his life, he found the advantages of being a low-ranking officer.


    Imitating the attitude of the svelte jailer from the customs prison, he saluted and, no matter what the Command¡¯s lieutenant colonel said, he replied with ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not clear on that,¡± or ¡°I¡¯m just a trainee; I have no authority.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel from the other side was livid but powerless against him, after all, a mere trainee officer wasn¡¯t in charge of anything. Just as Winters was leisurely sipping the sugared water Morlock had poured for him, going over the customs autopsy report, Colonel Field entered the room.


    The two lieutenant colonels started quarreling the moment they met, neither listening to the other, each just shouting and yelling.


    In this mode of argument, the victory goes to the one with the louder voice and greater presence. So, of course, it was Spellcaster Colonel Field who had the upper hand, effortlessly drowning out the other with a spell that amplified his voice.


    Colonel Field screamed one sentence after another, spitting in the other¡¯s face:


    ¡°Those four corpses are important evidence!¡±


    ¡°You hand over the dirty work to me, and you can¡¯t even look after evidence?¡±


    ¡°The headquarters has no morgue, so what¡¯s wrong with temporarily storing them at your place?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not satisfied, then take the case back!¡±


    As he yelled, he banged the table so loudly that the entire Army General Headquarters could hear him clearly.


    What is the might of magic if not beyond the reach of mere mortals? The lieutenant colonel from the Military Command couldn¡¯t outshout Field and, realizing his disadvantage here, stormed off in a huff.


    Colonel Field, seizing the opportunity to kick someone when they were down, shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare bury them! If the evidence isn¡¯t preserved properly and the case can¡¯t be closed, it¡¯ll be your fault!¡±


    It felt good to release some anger, but the case still needed to be investigated.


    Field called in four squads and, along with Winters and the military police, headed straight for the docks.


    Upon seeing the Lucian horse Winters was riding, Colonel Field looked rather surprised, ¡°Isn¡¯t that ¡¯Good Luck¡¯?¡±


    Winters patted the horse¡¯s long neck, ¡°It¡¯s now called ¡¯Strong Luck¡¯.¡±


    Field nodded, his thoughts inscrutable.


    Once they reached the docks, Winters realized that Colonel Field¡¯s investigative approach was not much different from that of the customs guards¡¯. It was all about searching for witnesses, questioning, and investigating along the way.


    The enforcers of the law had always investigated cases in this way: first look for witnesses; without any, they would investigate bit by bit, then apply torture to the suspects, and finally close the case.


    Winters felt that since Officer Lop had not obtained any results with this method, Colonel Field would certainly not obtain any more useful information. But he said nothing, simply working silently.


    In essence, the military police from the Army General Headquarters were guards; they had their regular duties ¨C to stand guard. By having his men come to the docks for the investigation, Colonel Field had actually encroached on their time to rest.


    Therefore, the morale of the soldiers was low, their attitudes passive, and they lazily inquired among the residents and merchants near the docks. Their lackadaisical appearance indicated that even if there were any valuable clues, they would surely be missed.


    Seeing the soldiers¡¯ condition, Colonel Field realized that continuing the investigation in this manner would be meaningless. So, he dismissed the military police before noon.


    ¡°Continuing like this won¡¯t work; we need to think of a new strategy,¡± Field said to Winters across the table, while eating lunch at the Army Officers¡¯ Club.


    Winters swallowed the bread in his mouth and boldly said, ¡°If you want to close the case, isn¡¯t it quite simple?¡±


    ¡°Humph, they push the dirty work onto me thinking I¡¯ll let them manipulate me. But I refuse to play into their hands, and I¡¯m determined to get to the bottom of this,¡± Field stated, unsurprised and unopposed. He glanced at Winters and asked, ¡°So why would you jump into this fire pit, knowing what it is?¡±

 Chapter 96 - 96 - 42: Henchman_3

    Chapter 96 ¨C 42: Henchman_3


    ¡°The things you said at the introduction meeting were very enlightening,¡± Winters admitted frankly, ¡°I have never seen anyone who could control the output of the amplification spell so steadily. I came to the gendarmerie because I wanted to learn your magic techniques.¡±


    ¡°Just say what you want, that¡¯s somewhat interesting,¡± Field poured Winters a little light beer, ¡°But, Lieutenant Montaigne, you need to think carefully about whether what you want to learn is magic techniques or the skills to kill enemies.¡±


    Winters understood what the colonel was saying; the difficulty of a spell wasn¡¯t linked to its lethality. Precisely controlling the output of the amplification spell was unquestionably a lot harder than booming spells capable of rupturing eardrums.


    The former was like walking a tightrope, while the latter was like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. The latter only required strength, but the former demanded fine skills.


    ¡°Can¡¯t I learn both?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, think about why you guys who are good at fire-based spells are far inferior in actual combat to those who specialize in acceleration spells,¡± Field said as he served himself some light beer.


    ¡°Acceleration spells are inherently better for combat.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Wrong! It¡¯s because you¡¯ve learned too haphazardly. The training philosophy of the Magic Combat Bureau is deeply flawed. To train a spellcaster skilled in slaughter, just teaching a single spell is enough,¡± Field slammed the table, ¡°There are seven spells in the fire series now, and only three in the acceleration series: the Arrow Flying Spell, Wind Control Technique, and Deflection Spell. The only one with lethal power is the Arrow Flying Spell, and spellcasters who specialize in the acceleration series use only this spell to kill.¡±


    ¡°But I think the Vaporization Spell is clearly more difficult and yet far less powerful than the Arrow Flying Spell.¡±


    ¡°You could also practice the Arrow Flying Spell.¡±


    ¡°I am not very good at acceleration spells, even with a lot of practice I don¡¯t make much progress.¡±


    Field burst into loud laughter and leaning back in his chair, said, ¡°This is exactly what I want you to think about: whether you want to learn the spell you have more talent for, or the one more suited for killing.¡±


    Winters pondered over this statement; the colonel¡¯s meaning was simple: If the purpose was actual combat, then practice the spell best suited for battle, even if he had no talent in that area.


    ¡°Think about it yourself,¡± Field said while pouring himself more light beer, ¡°I can teach you my spell techniques. If your starting point is actual combat, then it¡¯s better to go learn from my adjutant. However, he¡¯s recently been ill at home and will take some time before coming back.¡±


    Having said that, the colonel put his knife and fork down on the plate and downed the rest of the light beer. There was still quite a bit of food left on the plate, but the colonel didn¡¯t seem to have much appetite. He said to Winters, ¡°After we finish this meal, let¡¯s go and find some dockworkers and cart drivers to see if there are any leads.¡±


    Upon hearing the word ¡¯cart driver¡¯, Winters thought back to the Paratu driver from his home. He immediately reported to Colonel Field the secret society of cart drivers and shared his speculation, ¡°I think the ¡¯brotherhood¡¯ the driver mentioned might have helped the assassin dispose of the carriage, or at least from what the driver said, they have the capability to do so.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s rather interesting,¡± Field rubbed his chin, lost in thought. After a while, he spoke up, ¡°Your line of thinking is good; maybe those scum from the gutter might know something of value.¡±


    He grabbed his hat and stood, urging Winters, ¡°Stop eating. Let¡¯s go to Qianmin Street, but we need to find someone before we head over there.¡±


    ¡°Who are we looking for?¡± Winters hurriedly finished the last few sips of his soup.


    ¡°A fighter. You, a fire series spellcaster, and I, a sound series spellcaster, what use would we be in actual combat? In a place like Qianmin Street, if four or five people trapped us from front and back, we¡¯d both be done for,¡± Field spoke bluntly, demeaning both of them, ¡°So, we need to find a fighter to come along. I¡¯ll take you to the Army Headquarters to find the fiercest one! If you want to learn about killing, you¡¯d have to learn from him.¡±


    The two hurriedly left the officers¡¯ club, and led by Field, they rode towards the eastern district.


    Field eventually stopped in front of number 122 on Shell Street in the eastern district, a row of beautiful brick-and-stone houses. A kind old woman dressed in a gray cloak and wrapped in a green floral scarf opened the door for Colonel Field. She was not surprised to see the colonel, which suggested Field was a familiar face here.


    Colonel Field bowed in greeting, not one for small talk, and asked directly, ¡°Is he at home?¡±


    ¡°He might be sleeping,¡± the lady indicated upstairs.


    Field nodded slightly and entered. Winters followed, also bowing to the elderly woman as he passed.


    Entering the house, the first thing that caught his eye was a short, narrow hallway. His boots squeaked on the wooden floor, a clear indication that the support structures below needed repair.


    Following the stairs straight up to the second floor, at the end of the staircase there was a small window, and on the right hand side lay a spacious living room. The dark red wall cloth bore no decorations, not even the shrines or statues of the Virgin commonly seen in ordinary households. A lounge chair was set in front of the fireplace, which swayed gently with the wind. Other than a few wine glasses, the desks and coffee table were littered with empty bottles of alcohol.


    Colonel Field seemed all too accustomed to such scenes as he walked directly to a door on the side of the living room and knocked heavily a few times.


    No response.


    He knocked even harder.


    Still no response.


    He tried to push the door.


    It wouldn¡¯t budge.


    The Colonel took a few steps back and then kicked the door down with force.


    The room inside was completely dark, and a strong smell of hangover wafted from within. Field stepped in, adeptly pulling back the curtains and opening the wooden window.


    The sunlight came in, along with fresh air, allowing Winters to finally get a clear view of the room¡¯s interior.


    It was a bedroom, not very large, with a single bed in the corner of the room. A wardrobe stood against the wall alongside the bed, and opposite the bed was a desk. Several pieces of clothing hung over the back of the chair in front of the desk.


    There was still a person lying on the bed, deep in sleep, unaffected by the loud noise Field had made by kicking down the door. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Field opened the window and light poured in, the person on the bed simply pulled the blanket over their head.


    ¡°It¡¯s already noon, and you¡¯re still sleeping?¡± Field said to the person in the bed.


    But the person on the bed didn¡¯t react.


    Field picked up a wine bottle from the nightstand, looked at it against the light, and saw that only a small amount of liquid remained.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting to drink in broad daylight?¡± the Colonel said, a bit angrily.


    The person on the bed still gave no response.


    Field yanked off the blanket, and all the remaining liquid in the bottle was poured over the head of the person lying on the bed.


    The room¡¯s occupant woke up abruptly from sleep, reaching for the sword on the floor. Not until seeing Field standing beside the bed did they relax and toss the sword back on the ground.


    The person lifted their arm, sniffed themselves, and with a frown asked, ¡°You didn¡¯t pour urine on me, did you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your own stuff anyway,¡± Field shrugged.


    The room¡¯s occupant pointed to their ear and said loudly, ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything right now.¡±


    Winters got a clear look at the person¡¯s face and a name slipped out:


    ¡°Major Moritz?¡±

 Chapter 97 - 97 - 43: Qianmin Street

    Chapter 97 ¨C 43: Qianmin Street


    Field pointed at Winters, ¡°This is the new apprentice.¡±


    Then he pointed at Moritz, ¡°This is my lieutenant, but it looks like you¡¯ve met before¡­ Ah, so it was Moritz who secretly took leave to meet you?¡±


    ¡°Major Moritz, and Major General Layton.¡±


    The elderly woman who had opened the door downstairs heard the sound of the door being dismantled upstairs and came up to see what was going on.


    ¡°Mrs. Warren, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to bother you to have the door repaired again.¡± Field handed Mrs. Warren a few small silver coins, which she accepted without asking any questions, clearly used to such occurrences.


    The major handed Mrs. Warren a small bag of money, asking her to buy some old clothes and boots to match the sizes of the three officers from the neighbors.


    Meanwhile, Major Moritz got out of bed and rummaged through a desk drawer for paper, pen, and an ink bottle. Winters acted as the scribe while the three of them discussed and wrote things down simultaneously.


    ...


    Field was unaware that his lieutenant had been sent on a business trip to The Federated Provinces, for the army regarded it as a secret mission; he had thought Moritz had been at home sick all along.


    When the major learned that Moritz¡¯s eardrums had been ruptured by his own spell, he laughed till he bent over backward.


    However, when he realized that Winters and Moritz were actually eyewitnesses to the event and had kept him in the dark, his expression became very complex.


    His face bore an astonished look that seemed to say, ¡°You actually formed a small clique behind my back.¡±


    This was all because of Major Moritz¡¯s mention of a ¡°secret discussion.¡±


    However, at the moment, Field had no time to ask for details, for he had more pressing matters to attend to.


    ¡°Do you still have the skill?¡± Field asked.


    Major Moritz sleepily reached under the mattress and produced a silver coin. The next second, alongside a sharp whistling sound, the silver coin in his hand disappeared, and a bottle of wine on the desk shattered in response, leaving a hole in the wooden wall behind it.


    ¡°Get up and come with me.¡±


    Major Moritz rubbed his neck and yawned widely, ¡°Sure, but can I take a bath first?¡±


    ¡°No need. We¡¯re heading to Slum Street, where your scruffy appearance will fit right in.¡± Major Field said with a sneer, ¡°Any cleaner and you could only pass for a male prostitute.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Slum Street might sound like a single street, but it actually covers an area no smaller than the Sea Blue City district.


    The history of Sea Blue City dates back to the Ancient Empire, and the name Sea Blue [Venetus] comes from the ancient language.


    This city has been destroyed several times by war and natural disasters, only to be rebuilt. Underneath the surface of today¡¯s Sea Blue City lie the ruins of the old city.


    The ancients left behind two legacies for this city: a water supply system and a sewage system. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The water supply system has lost its original function, leaving only remnants of aqueducts as relics of the ancient civilization, standing alone in the outskirts.


    But the sewage system still faithfully fulfills its original purpose today.


    Even though the city has changed hands time and again, the position of Drainage Commissioner, responsible for clearing blockages in the sewage system, has been preserved. The old sewage system of Sea Blue City has been maintained and has not been abandoned and blocked like the old sewage system of Guidao City.


    Moreover, whenever knowledgeable rulers held the city, they added to and repaired the ancients¡¯ old sewage system to accommodate the growing population of Sea Blue City.


    After numerous modifications, the sewage system of Sea Blue City turned into a labyrinth; no one knows how many forgotten paths and passages are inside, or where this complex network might lead.


    Thus, the sewage system designed to ¡°contain filth¡± for Sea Blue City became a literal hiding place for all kinds of filth. Thieves, smugglers, murderers, devil worshippers¡ªall sorts mixed and mingled here.


    Goods that could never be sold openly on the market were traded here, and humanity¡¯s ugliest desires could be satisfied within its confines.


    The ruling council of Sea Blue City was powerless to deal with this; when the guards were dispatched to clean up, the rats would scatter, vanishing into off-the-map paths and pipes. As soon as the guards retreated from the sewage system, the rats would emerge from the gutters again, gathering back in this place.


    Therefore, the sewage system of Sea Blue City was also known as Slum Street, where the public authority under the sun and the rats that could only live in the dark established a subtle dynamic balance.


    Winters donned a dirty sackcloth robe and cloak, wore a cat-face mask, and holding the Dusack saber that Major Field had lent him, he followed the two senior officers.


    Major Field, being detailed, not only had gotten clothes from Moritz¡¯s landlady, but he also had her find some shoes. The presence of the three officers together was eye-catching enough; wearing military boots would have given them away instantly.


    However, shoes found in a hurry couldn¡¯t possibly fit well; the boots Winters was wearing were too small and pinched uncomfortably.


    The three left their horses at Major Moritz¡¯s residence, and under Major Field¡¯s guidance, they descended from the Carpenter¡¯s Bridge in the eastern district to the dry riverbed and arrived in front of a drainage pipe nearly as tall as a man.


    The major lit a torch with a fire spell and took the lead entering the tunnel.


    Major Moritz saw Winters gripping the handle of the saber nervously and reassured him in a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Slum Street isn¡¯t so dangerous, and there are even some good bargains to be had. Relax a bit; the way you walk right now screams soldier.¡±


    With that, Major Moritz was the second to enter.


    Winters loosened his shoulders and entered the drainage pipe with as natural a gait as he could muster.

 Chapter 98 - 98 - 43 Qianmin Street_2

    Chapter 98 ¨C 43 Qianmin Street_2


    The drainage pipe was about two meters wide and built with bricks and stones. Most of its width was occupied by the watercourse, its waters appearing pitch black in the torchlight, its depth indiscernible.


    Along the edge of the pipe, a narrow path just wide enough for a person to walk on had been constructed, probably intended for the maintenance workers to clear the sludge.


    The trio walked in silence, turning left and right, having no idea how long they¡¯d been walking. But after Winters had counted twelve intersections, he began to vaguely hear footsteps ahead; there seemed to be flickering firelight as well.


    Moving forward, Colonel Field suddenly turned right with Winters, entering a hidden passage in the wall of the pipe. After a few dozen steps, the space suddenly opened up.


    It was no longer the stooped drainage pipe they had to walk through but an approximately two-and-a-half-meter-high twisting tunnel that seemed endless. There were quite a few people inside, creating a somewhat bustling atmosphere. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some, like Winters, using masks and capes to hide their identities, had set up small tables at intervals of one or two meters, lit oil lamps, and seemed to be selling things there.


    Most of the items on their tables were unrecognizable to Winters, with some merely displaying a few small wooden placards.


    ...


    Others wearing masks occasionally stopped by the tables, gesturing to communicate with the vendors. It was unclear what counted as a transaction and what didn¡¯t.


    This underground cavity struck Winters as peculiar, with parts of the space appearing freshly excavated, the walls rough and uneven, still moist with mud, and awkwardly placed wooden columns supporting a few planks.


    Yet other areas subtly revealed to Winters the ancient history of this place: scattered old bricks on the ground, stone arch sauctures, and traces of faded paint barely visible on some plastered walls.


    Colonel Field kept his eyes straight ahead, walking along the tunnel. Winters followed closely behind, accidentally kicking a white stone caked in mud. The stone rolled a few times, revealing three holes.


    That was when Winters realized what this place truly was¡ªthe white rock wasn¡¯t a rock at all, but a human skull.


    The underground space which the Sea Blue City¡¯s street merchants used as a market was originally a tomb. Winters couldn¡¯t tell from what era the tomb dated, but it likely wasn¡¯t from the time of the Ancient Empire, nor from the last few centuries.


    Ancients wouldn¡¯t have built their burial chambers next to their sewage systems, and the tombs from recent centuries wouldn¡¯t have been dug so deep. Sea Blue City had several layers of ruins buried underneath, how many times it had been destroyed and rebuilt was anybody¡¯s guess.


    Probably someone had stumbled upon this tomb by chance, looted its grave goods, and then repurposed the chamber, turning it into a commercial street.


    As the original tomb space became insufficient, the people of Sea Blue City¡¯s subterranean streets continued to dig into the walls. Thus, some walls were made of plaster, while others were still mere soil.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but ¡°admire¡± the reckless spirit of these Sea Blue City¡¯s underground rats, daring to make unlawful constructions in what might be a thousand-year-old underground structure. The tomb¡¯s wall supported arches above; knocking them out, they didn¡¯t fear that the earth on their heads might cave in the next second.


    Winters¡¯s mind was full of wild thoughts, but his feet didn¡¯t stop; he followed Colonel Field¡¯s lead closely.


    However, Major Moritz was attracted to something on one of the tables and stopped, gesturing to negotiate with the street merchant from Sea Blue City. Continue reading at empire


    After walking a bit ahead, Colonel Field turned to find Moritz bargaining with someone. Annoyed, he strode back and kicked the major in the rear.


    But the major remained unperturbed, as if the kicked butt didn¡¯t belong to him, continuing his leisurely exchange of gestures.


    Once their transaction was complete, the major pulled out a few Gold Coins, and the Sea Blue City merchant took a few paper packs from under the table.


    Money exchanged hands for goods, and the major opened the paper packs to check them. After confirming they were correct, he nodded at the vendor and tucked the paper packs into his jacket.


    Although Winters couldn¡¯t see Colonel Field¡¯s face because of the mask, he could imagine Field¡¯s expression with his knees. But Major Moritz just shrugged nonchalantly as if to say, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You know this is just how I am, right?¡±


    Colonel Field sighed helplessly and continued to lead the way. The trio left the underground market through another secret door.


    Exiting this underground market and heading deeper, they encountered another such market. However, this one had far fewer people than the previous one.


    Leaving the second underground market and walking on, the ground began to flatten and dry. The passage seemed to turn into a carefully maintained corridor, with holes in the walls spacious enough for a person to pass through occasionally.


    Winters peered curiously into these holes, which were either covered with black gauze or concealed by wooden doors, leading to unknown places.


    Colonel Field stopped in front of one hole, nodded at Major Moritz, then pushed open the wooden door and entered. Winters had thought that this would be their destination, but to his surprise, it was still a tunnel.


    This structure of tunnel within a tunnel had completely disoriented Winters, and he marveled at how Colonel Field managed to navigate.


    They traveled about a few dozen meters down this tunnel when they saw flickering lights ahead at the bend.


    Turning the right-angle corner, they were confronted by a burly man with a sledgehammer sitting on a barrel, blocking their path like a wall. The man had bulging muscles at the base of his neck, broad shoulders, and thick limbs, a veritable human bear.

 Chapter 99 - 99 - 43: Qianmin Street_3

    Chapter 99 ¨C 43: Qianmin Street_3


    A sinister voice came from behind Winters, ¡°We noticed you guys the moment you entered and kept heading further inside; do you no longer wish to live?¡±


    From the narrow passage behind, seven or eight masked thugs wielding short knives and wooden clubs studded with iron spikes had emerged, eyeing Winters and his two companions with ill intent. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Behind that human-like bear, several secret doors were pushed open, and another four or five thugs emerged.


    Field, Moritz, and Winters also drew their weapons. Winters counted quickly in his mind and estimated that there were around fourteen people in total. They were at a severe disadvantage in numbers, but in the confined space, the enemy might not be able to fully exploit their advantage. The most challenging to deal with was the muscular man; a war hammer like his would render even a full suit of plate armor useless.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to risk your lives for those rich people in the senate,¡± the malevolent voice spoke again, and this time Winters could see clearly that it came from someone wearing a jester¡¯s mask behind him, ¡°Throw your weapons on the ground, and I¡¯ll let you go back the way you came, sparing your lives. Otherwise¡­¡±


    The thugs juggled their weapons, closing in with malicious laughter, attempting to put psychological pressure on Winters and his companions.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field nodded at Major Moritz, who sighed and plunged his sword into the ground.


    ...


    Continue reading at empire


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it, see how clever your companion is¡­¡± The man with the jester¡¯s mask abruptly stopped speaking as his eyes sprayed out a mist of blood and he fell backwards to the ground, dead.


    It was then that Winters understood why Antonio had said, ¡°Even a hundred men wouldn¡¯t be enough for Moritz van Nassau to kill.¡±


    An archer needs to draw a bow to shoot an arrow, a musketeer needs to load his gun to fire, but Major Moritz didn¡¯t need any preparatory actions to cast the Arrow Flying Spell.


    Not only did he not require any preparation, but his method was also extraordinarily covert. There was no sound of bowstrings or gunfire, only the whistling of the arrow cutting through the air. And unlike bows or firearms, he didn¡¯t need to aim holding the weapon¡ªWinters didn¡¯t see Moritz lift a finger towards any enemy.


    With his hand casually at his side, silver coin after silver coin shot out from Moritz¡¯s right hand, his posture reminiscent of a child playing marbles. Yet every silver coin he fired resulted in an enemy falling to the ground with a bloody hole in their head.


    Silver is not a very hard metal, but when Moritz accelerated the silver coins with magic to speeds close to that of a musket ball, even the blunt coins could easily slice through skin, tissue, and bone, turning the soft brain into mush.


    This was the simplest and most efficient killing spell Field had talked about; it required no fancy techniques, no complex variations: only to accelerate a silver coin to two hundred meters per second and then aim it at the enemy¡¯s head¡ªthat was all it took.


    In the brief span of six seconds, most of the enemies in the tunnel had already been taken down by Major Moritz.


    That included the man holding the war hammer; a silver coin struck him right between the eyebrows, and the bear-like strong man fell flat onto the ground, motionless.


    A few thugs, seeing the turn of events and trying to run, were hit accurately in the back of the head.


    ¡°Leave one alive!¡± Colonel Field advanced with his sword drawn.


    With a thought, the Major hit the last enemy¡¯s knee; the escaping thug¡¯s legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Is this all Dusa has to offer with his men?¡± Colonel Field sounded genuinely regretful, and as he spoke, he planted his sword in the neck of each thug, whether motionless or still twitching, then asked without looking back, ¡°The youngest of you gentlemen, could you take care of the few back there?¡±


    The Colonel didn¡¯t call Winters by name nor did he specify what he wanted Winters to do, but anyone with sense would understand his meaning.


    Winters was no longer that fledgling who had just left the Ivory Tower, his last bit of naivety had disappeared after that ambush battle, or to be more precise, when he plunged his dagger into the neck of that unfortunate oarsman.


    Bearing a slight sensation of discomfort, he began to use his Dusack to finish off each of the thugs from Sneak Alley one by one.

 Chapter 100 - 100 - 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell

    Chapter 100 ¨C 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell


    Alliance Magic Combat Bureau¡¯s research shows that a spellcaster¡¯s magical talent is an indivisible whole. The three major types of spells are artificially divided post-hoc; those with magical talent can use all types of magic.


    In simple terms, humans can only be divided into ¡°those with magical talent¡± and ¡°those without.¡± There is no such case as someone possessing only a partial talent for magic.


    For example, during tests, even if a subject only displayed talent for fire-type spells, while the other two types remained latent, after prolonged training, they could still learn to use sonic-type spells and acceleration-type spells.


    Take Winters, for instance. Although his specialty is fire-type spells, he is equally capable of using acceleration-type and sonic-type spells. it¡¯s just that his progress in the latter two is slower, which is why he prefers to devote his time and energy to fire-type magic.


    But Moritz van Nassau wasn¡¯t like that. He was a unique case among the thousands of spellcasters trained by the Magic Combat Bureau over the years. He only possessed talent for acceleration-type magic and could only use high-level acceleration-type spells.


    As for sonic-type and fire-type magic, even after years of arduous practice, he could only manage the most basic spells and was unable to perform any advanced applications.


    [The Sonic Blast Spell is, to put it plainly, a louder version of an amplification spell, not considered a higher-level application] (Thanks to the book friend with the screen name ¡°Black Computer Accessories¡± for pointing out the plot bug, I¡¯ve come to debug it.)


    ...


    When Moritz was taking spellcaster courses at the military academy, his instructors and classmates jokingly referred to his rare condition as a ¡°natural disability.¡±


    However, those desperados lying in the underground passages would probably disagree with that term.


    In just a few short breaths¡¯ time, the only ones left standing in the tunnel were Colonel Field, Major Moritz, and Warrant Officer Winters.


    The smell of rust mixed with the scent of earth assaulted Winters¡¯ nostrils. The flickering torches lit up the tunnel walls, splattered with red and white everywhere, making it seem not like a passageway ten meters beneath Sea Blue City but rather the backyard of a bustling butcher shop.


    Field shook the blood off his knife and quickly caught up with the individual he had ordered the Major to keep alive.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t kill me¡­¡± the masked man with his knees smashed crawled on the ground, scraping at the earth with his hands, trying to move forward.


    ¡°Shh, quiet.¡± The Colonel crouched next to the masked man, spoke kindly, and asked, ¡°Where is the cripple?¡± Stay updated via empire


    ¡°He¡¯s up ahead, right up ahead.¡± The masked man hastily pointed deeper into the tunnel, then suddenly bowed his head to kiss the Colonel¡¯s boots: ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    Field distastefully stepped back a pace.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± The masked man struggled to stand up but couldn¡¯t maintain his balance. Barely managing to stumble forward half a step, he fell to the ground again. His wound was disturbed, and curling like a shrimp from the pain, he began to wail miserably.


    ¡°Enough, enough. Since he hasn¡¯t moved, there¡¯s no need for you to lead the way.¡± Field walked toward the masked man with his sword drawn in a backhand grip.


    The masked man, who had been wailing on the ground just a moment before, suddenly sprang up. He seemed to be arching from pain, but in reality, it was a ploy to extract a weapon from his bosom, and now he held a gleaming dagger, thrusting it towards the Colonel¡¯s abdomen.


    Whoosh, another sharp whizzing sound, and a silvery light struck the back of the masked man¡¯s head accurately. The force of the silver coin caused the masked man¡¯s entire body to lurch forward, and he fell face-down in the dust, breathing no more.


    ¡°Interesting, he even wanted to take someone down with him,¡± Field muttered, sinking his sword into the masked man¡¯s back to ensure he was utterly dead.


    Then he nonchalantly wiped his sword on the dead man¡¯s clothes and, without looking up, asked Winters, ¡°Have you dealt with the rest behind us?¡±


    Winters noticed how the Colonel, though he seemed rough, was in fact quite cautious. He answered as calmly as possible, ¡°Neck, chest, I doubled-check each.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± Field, sounding slightly surprised, didn¡¯t expect this trainee to work so efficiently. The Colonel leisurely sheathed his sword: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The trio encountered only that one group blocking their way; after that, they encountered no more obstructions as they moved forward.


    Passing a storeroom stacked with wooden crates and barrels, Field led Winters through a securely shut wooden door into a small room.


    In Seacrawler Street, which mainly used tombs and sewers as its infrastructure, this small room could be considered refined. It had not only a bed and a desk but also a stone floor. The most eye-catching things in the room were two large bookshelves loaded with rolls of documents. Had it not been for the underground gloom, Winters would have believed it was a scribe¡¯s dwelling.


    The torch¡¯s flame flickered from side to side, indicating the presence of hidden ventilation or a secret passage.


    ¡°Where is he? Escaped?¡± Field, seated heroically on the bed, said, ¡°Cripple, if you don¡¯t come out now, I¡¯ll burn all your stuff outside.¡±


    No one responded to him.


    ¡°An old friend visits, yet you hide away. Then I¡¯ll just have to hand your ledger over to the Security Committee and see how many gentlemen involved themselves in your grand enterprise,¡± Field continued talking to the empty air.


    Though he mentioned looking for the ledger, Field didn¡¯t even glance at the files on the bookshelves. He stood up and took the stack of blank papers from the desk into his hands, shaking them before Moritz and Winters: ¡°Found it.¡±

 Chapter 101 - 101 - 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_2

    Chapter 101 ¨C 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_2


    But what he was holding in his hand was clearly a blank sheet of paper.


    Field dipped his hand into a basin of water and explained unhurriedly to his two subordinates, ¡°Some people who shun the light of day use invisible means to write content that can¡¯t stand the light of day. This technique is called secret writing. In fact, it¡¯s simply using alum water as ink, which turns the paper back to white when it dries. Only by applying water can the writing appear.¡±


    He spread the water evenly over the blank sheet, but nothing appeared on the paper.


    Major Moritz coughed awkwardly.


    Field, however, didn¡¯t seem the least bit embarrassed and said with interest, ¡°Oh, they¡¯ve improved the technique? That¡¯s interesting.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel held up a sheet of paper to the light and said with certainty, ¡°Secret writing is just like a riddle; the party meant to read it only needs to know the solution, and the process of retrieving the information should not be difficult. The usual methods involve nothing more than water or fire. If not water, then fire, perhaps?¡±


    As he spoke, the lieutenant colonel took a sheet of paper and held it near a torch to heat it. After more than a dozen seconds, rows of pale yellow writing really appeared on the white paper.


    ...


    ¡°I thought it was some novel trick, but it turns out to be the same old trick of lemon juice mixed with ink,¡± the lieutenant colonel said, his tone filled with disappointment as if a toy he had enjoyed was broken.


    The creaking sound of a wooden axle turning arose, and suddenly, a hidden door appeared on the wall.


    Winters instinctively drew his weapon, for he had not noticed the hidden door in the wall at all. The designer had cleverly concealed the door¡¯s seams using the uneven surface of the mud wall, which would likely require one to feel along the wall inch by inch in the dim underground light to find it.


    An indignant voice came from behind the hidden door, ¡°That¡¯s not a ledger, just a few receipts. Besides the secret writing, I also used encryption. Just unlocking the secret writing won¡¯t reveal what¡¯s written.¡±


    A bald grey-robed man limped out from the door. Winters had expected that the leader of those thugs would be a fierce and terrible figure, but this grey-robed man looked just like an ordinary person, even thinner than most.


    He must not see the sunlight very often, as his skin was an unhealthy shade of white. But he had a set of neat teeth, uncommon among the lower classes. His hair and beard were well-groomed, and though his robe was made of unremarkable cloth, it was clean. Despite being underground, there was not a speck of dirt under his nails.


    And his baldness did not seem natural, but rather as if it had been shaved intentionally into a pattern resembling male pattern baldness.


    The grey-robed man gave Winters a feeling that matched his perception of the room. Had he encountered this person on the street, Winters might have thought him a cleric from the public church.


    Field gestured with his eyes for Winters to sheathe his sword and waved the stack of papers at the grey-robed man, ¡°So, do you want to see if I can crack your code?¡±


    The grey-robed man limped over to Field, snatched the stack of white papers aggressively from the lieutenant colonel¡¯s hands, and tucked them into his chest. He didn¡¯t seem the least aware that his men had just been wiped out.


    Dragging his leg, he sat back on the bed and said impatiently, ¡°If you have something to ask, just send someone to pass on a message. Is it necessary to make such an ordeal every time? Do you think it¡¯s easy for me to gather such scum?¡±


    ¡°I sent someone because I fear I wouldn¡¯t get clear answers,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field replied with a smile.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve got questions, ask them quick and then get out.¡± The grey-robed man¡¯s grammar was polite, but his tone was extremely impatient.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field dragged over a stool and sat in front of the grey-robed man, ¡°The explosion at the docks has the whole city talking. Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t heard a thing.¡±


    ¡°You came to me just to inquire about this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know much about this matter,¡± the grey-robed man said, frowning. ¡°I only know that someone on the black market ordered a batch of spring-loaded guns from the north, specifying that they needed to be short-barreled guns that can be used with one hand. Spring-loaded guns are rare goods. When I heard someone was buying them, especially short-barreled ones, I knew that probably another big shot was in trouble, so it left an impression on me.¡±


    ¡°Someone was buying spring-loaded guns made in The Federated Provinces?¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, they specifically wanted ones crafted by artisans of The Federated Provinces, urgently, and they were willing to pay a high price for it.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible to find out who the buyer was?¡±


    The grey-robed man grinned silently and gave a cynical laugh, ¡°What do you think? Why do you think they come to the black market to buy these things?¡±


    ¡°Then who was the seller?¡±


    The grey-robed man snorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you asking the obvious? Subterranean Street is not my back garden. I am just running a small business here. It wasn¡¯t me selling. Even if you find out, it¡¯s useless; in this place, the seller wouldn¡¯t know who the buyer is.¡±


    The man spoke brusquely, but the lieutenant colonel was not angered. Resting his chin on his hand, he asked, ¡°Any other useful news?¡±


    The grey-robed man thought for a moment, then looked up and replied, ¡°Nothing else, at least not that I know of.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t tell whether the grey-robed man was telling the truth or lying, but Lieutenant Colonel Field appeared to have no doubts.


    ¡°Then do me another favor and keep your ears open for any news or movements, and inform me promptly,¡± Field stood up, clearly ready to take his leave.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t come here in person next time. Just send someone to pass on the message,¡± said the grey-robed man with a wry smile.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    An hour later, Major Moritz¡¯s living room.

 Chapter 102 - 102 - 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_3

    Chapter 102 ¨C 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_3


    Field climbed up from downstairs, holding three freshly washed goblets in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.


    He placed the goblets on a small table, first poured himself half a glass and drank it, then poured half a glass each for Moritz and Winters.


    The lieutenant colonel still cared quite a bit about the mental state of Winters, the rookie fresh out of the gate. As he handed a goblet to Winters, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t feel any guilt about today¡¯s events; half of those scum in the slums have one murder on their hands, and the other half more than one. Killing them actually just saves the Parliament the money it would¡¯ve spent on hangman¡¯s ropes.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t say that, after all, we didn¡¯t go through any trial process,¡± Major Moritz sipped his wine and methodically offered a counterpoint.


    ¡°They attacked officers in the line of duty; there¡¯s no need for a trial,¡± the lieutenant colonel said with marked ill temper as he poured himself more wine. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that this scum can never be completely wiped out. Kill so many today, and tomorrow cripples will find even more people; heaven knows how many rats are hiding in those slums.¡±


    ¡°Who was that bald man, and why was he sporting a clergyman¡¯s hairstyle?¡± Winters asked, holding his goblet.


    ¡°Cripple¡­ Cripple is the scum of the slums who somehow doesn¡¯t quite seem like scum. With him keeping them in check, those beasts commit fewer foul deeds,¡± Colonel Field didn¡¯t directly answer Winters, but deftly shifted the topic, ¡°Ensign Montaigne, do you still want to learn practical spellcasting? If so, you have someone who can teach you right before your eyes.¡±


    ...


    Having said that, Field pointed at Major Moritz with his hand.


    ¡°I want to learn,¡± Winters said, standing up excitedly.


    Today, the extraordinary magical abilities showcased by Major Moritz had impressed him. That day at the docks, when Moritz was suffering severe withdrawal symptoms, was far from a true representation of the major¡¯s capabilities.


    ¡°What are you going to learn from me? I can¡¯t use anything but acceleration spells. Spellcasters like me are the freaks among spellcasters ¡ª congenitally disabled,¡± the major said with a wry smile.


    ¡°Bullshit! The approach of the Magic Combat Bureau is utterly wrong,¡± Colonel Field slapped his thigh forcefully, ¡°The Magic Combat Bureau wished spellcasters could master every spell, bombarding us with over a dozen spells to learn all at once. I understood too late, it was only after meeting Moritz that I realized how completely wrong this approach was. A spellcaster, mastering a single spell in their lifetime is enough.¡±


    Although Moritz himself seemed to take no pride in his magical abilities, Winters¡¯s resolve to learn from the major was firm. He had been troubled by the lack of lethality in fire-type spells, and now that he had the opportunity to seek guidance from a more skilled spellcaster, he was unwilling to give up easily.


    Seeing that the younger student genuinely wanted to learn, Moritz shrugged his shoulders. He went into his bedroom and rummaged through his desk for a long time until he emerged with a small leather pouch.


    ¡°Catch.¡± The major threw the little leather bag to Winters.


    Winters untied the binding cord, and inside the pouch were ten metal rods. He took one out, and from the sheen and weight, the material appeared to be steel or iron. The rods were of uniform quality, smooth on the surface, with one end pointed and the other flat. They were two sizes thinner than his little finger, about as long as his middle finger, and felt neither too light nor too heavy in his hand.


    ¡°Is it iron?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s steel, good quality steel. This is the training equipment I¡¯ve devised myself,¡± Major Moritz said as he settled back into his lounge chair, slowly explaining, ¡°In the military academy, the practice for the Arrow Flying Spell involves accelerating heavy objects, the heavier the better. But I find that practice meaningless. I believe when practicing the Arrow Flying Spell, it¡¯s essential to ensure the ¡¯arrows¡¯ used have the exact same weight each time, only after a prolonged period can one develop a good feel for it. The ten steel spikes here, five with blunt ends and five with sharp points, have been adjusted to the same weight using the most precise scale.¡±


    Winters took out all ten steel spikes, five with curved blunt ends and five with sharp tips. He took two and weighed them in each hand, indeed, he could not distinguish the lighter from the heavier.


    ¡°Ever played darts?¡± Moritz asked Winters.


    ¡°I have, but I¡¯m not very good.¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moritz then went into the bedroom again, and this time he dragged out a round target from beneath the bed. The wooden target wound with a coil of straw rope, at the center of which was nailed a silver coin.


    The major hung the target up above the fireplace and turned back to Winters saying, ¡°Take one of those blunt-ended steel spikes as the material for the Arrow Flying Spell and aim for that silver coin.¡±


    Winters held the steel spike in his hand, aimed at the silver coin in the center of the target, recalling the sensation of casting the Arrow Flying Spell, and entered the spellcasting state. He endured the intense stabbing and burning sensations as he magically accelerated the spike in his hand.


    The originally stationary steel spike was magically accelerated in a short time, flying out of Winters¡¯s hand, beyond the reach of Winters¡¯s third hand. It hit lazily at the edge of the fireplace, not even touching the edge of the target.


    [Both ¡°third hand¡± and ¡°fifth limb¡± refer to magical abilities]


    Winters¡¯s face felt hot with embarrassment, but no emotion could be seen on Major Moritz¡¯s face.


    ¡°Aim a bit higher next time,¡± the major said.


    Winters nodded, adjusted his breathing, and shot out a second steel spike.


    This time the spike hit the target, but it was at the upper right corner, still some distance from the silver coin at the center.

 Chapter 103 - 103 - 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_4

    Chapter 103 ¨C 44 Spring-Wheel Gun and Arrow Flying Spell_4


    ¡°Are you still practicing spells every night?¡± the major asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters replied. At military academy, nightly spell practice was mandatory for all spellcaster cadets. Apart from the days on the ship when phantom limb pain made spell practice impossible, Winters hadn¡¯t missed a night of spell practice even after returning home.


    ¡°Switch all your training to this one, and stop practicing other spells. Use the blunt ones for practice, and the pointed ones for actual combat,¡± Major Moritz explained while drinking his liquor: ¡°Think of the Arrow Flying Spell as throwing darts with an invisible third hand, the explosive force of the magic determines the dart¡¯s power, and the feel of the magic determines its accuracy. Both can be improved with persistent practice. Once you get home, focus on this. Continue using the Arrow Flying Spell without stopping as long as possible, until the phantom limb pain makes it impossible to enter the spellcasting state. At night, if you can¡¯t sleep because of the phantom limb pain, steep this in water and drink it.¡±


    Major Moritz then tossed Winters a paper package, which Winters recognized as something the major had bought on the black market on Submerged Citizen Street. He opened the package and saw it appeared to contain some kind of herb.


    ¡°Steeping this in water can help you enter a sleep state¡ªjust a small amount each time, don¡¯t steep too much. Sleep enables self-repair; after a good sleep, the phantom limb pain will be gone.¡±


    ¡°But it took us several days of rest on the ship before the phantom limb pain went away,¡± Winters cautiously asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen phantom limb pain as severe as you had on the ship. It won¡¯t be that bad with the training I¡¯m prescribing, don¡¯t worry,¡± the major curled back into the lounge chair and murmured with confusion: ¡°I am also quite puzzled about how the United Provincials managed to get you in that state.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The major had gone from sipping his drink bit by bit to gulping it down: ¡°In the end, it all comes down to long-term training. Your spellcaster courses ended when you left the military academy, but the training of a spellcaster never ends. When I first graduated, my skill with the Arrow Flying Spell was just a bit better than yours. Don¡¯t rush; you¡¯ll gradually get there with practice.¡±


    Winters carefully memorized the major¡¯s words, but he still had an unanswered question: ¡°Then, sir, if you have these specially made steel spikes, why still use silver coins?¡±


    ¡°Too much money is uncomfortable, what else?¡± Field, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up.


    The major laughed heartily: ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ easier to carry?¡± This was the only reason Winters could think of, yet using silver coins still seemed too extravagant, something he himself would hate to do. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Moritz nodded in approval: ¡°Think about it, carrying a hundred silver coins when you go out is commonplace, but carrying a hundred steel spikes is cumbersome. Moreover, these spikes are specially made, and once you run out, hastily switching to a new ¡¯arrow¡¯ can dramatically change the feel, leading to inaccuracy. Later, I found that silver coins are more practical. Even if you¡¯re at the ends of the earth, you never worry about running out of ammunition.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit! Silver coins have different weights. Do you think the coins minted by Oathbreakers weigh the same as those minted by Sea Blue? I know plenty of crooks who shave flakes off silver coins, taking a little off every coin they handle,¡± Colonel Field clearly had little regard for Major Moritz¡¯s reasoning.


    [Oathbreakers, referring to Henry III of the Holy Moro Empire]


    Still, the major replied lazily: ¡°It¡¯s not much of a difference, and besides, with enough practice, even a slight difference in weight doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    While the colonel and major were still debating, Winters had already decided to have someone make him several hundred steel spikes all at once when he had time; he didn¡¯t think carrying a hundred spikes was cumbersome at all.


    After all, turning the Arrow Flying Spell into a ¡°coin scattering¡± spell seemed a bit too profligate for Winters.

 Chapter 104 - 104 - 45 Accident

    Chapter 104 ¨C 45 Accident


    After returning from Qianmin Street, Lieutenant Colonel Field held the first full officers¡¯ meeting of the Army Headquarters Military Police at Moritz¡¯s apartment.


    Number of attendees: three;


    Chairman: Lieutenant Colonel Field;


    Secretary: Warrant Officer Montaigne.


    [Because Major Moritz¡¯s hearing has not yet recovered, the conversations with Major Moritz in the previous chapter and this chapter were all transcribed by Winters and then shown to Major Moritz, and will not be reiterated.]


    ¡°Senior, there are only three of us, and the Major can¡¯t hear anything. Do we need to be so serious?¡± Winters said with a mix of laughter and helplessness as he buried his head in writing the meeting minutes, having already started addressing the others as ¡¯senior¡¯. A trip to Qianmin Street had brought him a bit closer to the two official officers of the military police.


    ¡°This is the first full officers¡¯ meeting of the Military Police, of course, we need to be formal,¡± Field said with a beaming smile. ¡°To hold a full officers¡¯ meeting, we need at least three officers. Before, there were only Moritz and me in the Military Police, so we couldn¡¯t hold this meeting. Now with you, we have exactly three¡­ Hey, don¡¯t put this in the minutes.¡±


    ...


    Winters quickly began to scratch out the text he had just recorded: ¡°Does a warrant officer count too? I¡¯m not a formal officer yet.¡±


    ¡°The ¡¯Regulations¡¯ do not specify that warrant officers do not count, don¡¯t be so rigid. As a trainee, you¡¯re just going through the process.¡±


    ¡°If I may ask, before me, hadn¡¯t there been any trainee officers here?¡±


    ¡°Haha, no.¡±


    Huddled under a thin blanket on the lounge chair, Moritz snored inopportunely. Although the Major had temporarily lost his hearing and could only sense vague sounds through bone conduction, it actually improved the quality of his sleep.


    Field discontentedly tossed his cap at Moritz¡¯s face.


    The Major woke up startled, wiped the drool from his mouth, and sat up, asking in confusion, ¡°Is the meeting over?¡±


    ¡°[The kind of curse that would make the saints in the paintings cover their ears]¡­ Don¡¯t put the curse in the minutes either!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Winters quickly scratched out the text he had just written down.


    After some sorting, the first full officers¡¯ meeting of the Army Headquarters Military Police finally began in an atmosphere of unity, tension, seriousness, and liveliness.


    Beyond giving the Lieutenant Colonel a chance to indulge, there was one serious matter for the meeting: to save the careers of the two field-grade officers. To prevent them from being kicked from their current cold bench to an even colder one someday in the future¡ªlike to the War History Division.


    In the Senas Alliance, the military made it almost impossible to discharge an officer outright. Therefore, officers who made mistakes were usually demoted a few ranks and then kicked to a ¡¯cold bench¡¯. This indirectly led to the histories of the wars of various Republics military being quite sour to read.


    Winters didn¡¯t need to worry; he was just a trainee officer, and even if things were reversed in the future, it wouldn¡¯t involve him. But Field and Moritz had treated him well, so he also wanted to do his part for the careers of his two seniors.


    The Lieutenant Colonel ordered Moritz and Winters not to form any more cliques and to report everything they saw and heard at the dock that day fully and without any omissions.


    The whole mix-up was really Moritz¡¯s fault. The Major told Winters he wanted to discuss something secretly, so Winters kept his mouth shut and waited for the Major to approach him. But after leaving the customs prison, two bottles of strong liquor made Moritz forget about the matter entirely.


    So it was only now that Field was hearing the specifics of what happened at the docks from the two key eyewitnesses.


    ¡°You mean one of the dead might have been a spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be certain, but I think that person may have used a Deflection Spell.¡±


    ¡°If one of the dead is a spellcaster, then things get interesting,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field¡¯s expression grew serious. ¡°There are only about a hundred or so spellcasters in the Sea Blue Army, and if one goes missing, it would be easy to find out. I¡¯ll look into this¡­ There were assassins mixed in among the dockworkers?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Without masks?¡±


    ¡°None.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember what they looked like?¡±


    The faces of those assassins disguised as dockworkers were just too ordinary, so nondescript that they lacked any distinguishing features. Winters tried to describe them for quite a while but couldn¡¯t make it clear, ending up helplessly saying, ¡°If those assassins were standing in front of me, I could recognize them, but I really can¡¯t make it clear just through words.¡±


    ¡°The dockworkers are all familiar faces; they should remember something. Humph, that place on the docks is controlled by a few groups of people, and you need more than just brute strength to become a dockworker. We¡¯ll find out who introduced them, who vouched for them with a little investigation.¡±


    Winters suddenly remembered the Swift Sword he had snatched: ¡°I took a sword from one of the assassins. It ended up in the water when the assassin blew up the dock. Should we have someone dive for it?¡±


    ¡°You go hire a few sailors who are good swimmers tomorrow to dive for it,¡± Field suggested as his right hand fingers subconsciously tapped on his glass. After thinking for a while with furrowed brows, he said, ¡°We can try, but I think it was probably carried away by the tide.¡±


    ¡°And a gun, I kicked one of the assassins¡¯ guns into the water too. Their gun was strange, it could fire without a match cord. It was also short, usable with just one hand.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the cripple tell you? Someone paid a high price for several spring-loaded guns,¡± Field said as if it were obvious. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was surprised: ¡°What¡¯s a spring-loaded gun? This is the first time I¡¯ve heard of it.¡±

 Chapter 105 - 105 - 45 Unforeseen Events_2

    Chapter 105 ¨C 45 Unforeseen Events_2


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of normal. The spring-loaded gun is a new type of gun invented up north that uses a mechanical contraption instead of a match to ignite. It only arrived at Sea Blue a few days ago, and it¡¯s still a rare item; I don¡¯t have one either.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field tried to draw a diagram with his finger dipped in alcohol on the table, but failed: ¡°You would understand if you saw the actual object.¡±


    After much study, they finally determined two directions for investigation. One was to look into the recent disappearances and deaths among the Sea Blue Army spellcasters; the other was to start with the dock workers, investigating the assassins disguised as porters.


    There were also two leads Field wasn¡¯t very hopeful about: the sword and gun the assassin dropped into the sea; and the possibility that the Carters¡¯ Brotherhood helped the assassin handle the carriage.


    Although there was no real progress, the situation was at least no longer as clueless as before, which was a cause for celebration.


    Major Moritz¡¯s sick leave was cancelled by Colonel Field, whose words were, ¡°Keep taking leave and you¡¯ll sooner or later choke to death on your own vomit, so roll back to headquarters and be on duty.¡±


    Armed with ten steel spikes and a target board given by the major, Winters returned home eager to start practicing the Arrow Flying Spell.


    According to Major Moritz, the target board should be hung ten steps away initially, and only when one could hit a silver coin eight out of ten times with the Arrow Flying Spell while ensuring its potency, should the target board be pushed back another five steps, gradually increasing the distance.


    ...


    But then he remembered he still had to visit the Benwei family, so he packed up the training equipment again. With the flour and meat Marita Granny had bought as gifts, he rode straight to the Benvenuto house.


    Back in his junior school days, Winters often went to the Benwei house for ¡°dock meal¡±. Dock meal, as the name implies, was the food eaten by dockworkers, high in oil, salt¡ªand later, when sugar became cheaper, high in sugar too. Not everyone could stomach it, but the workers needed such meals to have the energy to work.


    Winters particularly enjoyed this kind of food high in oil, salt, and sugar, but Kosha usually wouldn¡¯t cook such dishes and wouldn¡¯t allow Winters to eat a lot of it. Therefore, Winters would sneak off to the Benwei house for his guilty pleasure, and Benwei¡¯s mother never minded fixing an extra plate for him.


    The Benvenuto house was not far from the docks, but in comparison to the bustling docklands, the street where the dockworkers lived was less attractive. Low wooden houses clustered together, and roads paved with coal cinders turned into a muddy mess whenever it rained.


    The Benwei¡¯s family of twenty-two¡ªif they hadn¡¯t increased their number during the years Winters was away in The Federated Provinces¡ªlived in two small, adjacent houses. Originally separate, they had knocked through the walls to connect them. As the children grew, the small courtyard behind the houses had been converted into sheds, and an extra level had been added on top of the bungalows.


    The elder Benweis were Vaughan People, who had fled war and taken refuge in Sea Blue over thirty years ago. The Vaughan People generally had a strong sense of family, liking to cluster together when times were good, and even closer when times were bad.


    It was hard to say this was due to a strong bond of kinship, but rather a valuable lesson learned from hard times¡ªthat a family must be united to survive.


    So the Benwei family was not just his parents and siblings, but also his uncles, aunts, and cousins. Although it was crowded living together in two houses, there was a unique warmth to it.


    But Winters, who had arrived at the Benwei¡¯s home cheerfully, was shocked to find the place deserted, the usually bustling house now completely empty of people.


    ¡°Moved out?¡± Winters was bewildered, thinking, ¡°No way, Benwei clearly said they hadn¡¯t moved.¡±


    Both houses had locks on the doors, and peering through the cracks, he could see only darkness inside; nothing was visible.


    Winters knocked at the neighbor¡¯s door of Benwei, and an old man opened a crack, eyeing Winters warily.


    ¡°Sir, may I ask where the family next door has gone?¡±


    The old man looked at Winters¡¯s sword and then his boots, and with a hoarse voice said, ¡°I don¡¯t know anything, and don¡¯t ask me.¡±


    At this time, Winters had only changed back into his boots, still wearing the clothes he had put on for his visit to the civilian streets. He thought: Could it be the old man has taken me for a bad guy?


    After speaking, the old man moved to close the door. Winters hurriedly blocked it with his foot, clarifying, ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Benvenuto.¡±


    ¡°A friend? Do you take me for some old fool?¡± scoffed the old man, ¡°How could Benwei have friends like you wearing military boots.¡±


    A stick poked out from the gap in the door; Winters stepped back to avoid it, and the old man took the opportunity to shut the door. No matter how much Winters knocked after that, he refused to open it again.


    The atmosphere in the street also began to change, and Winters keenly sensed it. No pedestrians could be seen on the cinder road between the rows of houses; the women quickly secured their doors and windows, herding the playing children back into their homes. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters could feel wary eyes watching him from behind the wooden windows.


    He knocked on the door of another neighbor. The knocking echoed down the corridor of the house. No one answered, but Winters was certain someone was at the door.


    In a soft voice, he said to the gap, ¡°I¡¯m an old schoolmate of Benvenuto from the Army Junior School. Could you please tell me if their family has suffered some misfortune? I would do everything I could to help.¡±

 Chapter 106 - 106 - 45 Misfortune_3

    Chapter 106 ¨C 45 Misfortune_3


    No one answered still.


    ¡°Then please pass these items to Benwei for me,¡± Winters said, placing the meat and flour he had brought at the neighbor¡¯s doorstep before mounting the strong and turning to head home.


    ¡°Something must have happened at Benwei¡¯s home; perhaps they are hiding from someone,¡± Winters pondered. ¡°Judging by the neighbors¡¯ reaction, Benwei doesn¡¯t seem to have come to harm. That old man said ¡¯you folks¡¯ and ¡¯those wearing army boots¡¯? Could it be that some military personnel are troubling Benwei? Maybe I could ask that cripple from Qianmin Street to look into it?¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Enduring the pain of phantom limb, Winters picked up the steel awls used for practice from the ground. After self-testing, he concluded that he could only use the Arrow Flying Spell twelve times at full strength with awls of such weight before the power of the launched awls would significantly diminish.


    Pushing to his limits without considering the strength, he could use the Arrow Flying Spell twenty-nine times. Any attempt to continue beyond that would cause the phantom limb pain to become so intense that Winters could not enter the spellcasting state.


    This was probably the limit state that Major Moritz talked about.


    ...


    However, Winters found that after the fire at the Victory Arsenal, his proficiency with acceleration-type spells had somewhat improved compared to before. He had no solid evidence, only a faint feeling.


    Could it be that using spells beyond one¡¯s limits could more effectively improve one¡¯s magical abilities?


    This question might have to be directed to the other spellcasters who lost consciousness like Winters that day to get an answer.


    Moreover, Winters considered that if it were just his solo practice, the current extent was already his limit. His phantom limb pain was not intense enough to make him lose consciousness, but it was sufficient to prevent him from continuing the spellcasting state.


    Winters recalled the day of the Arsenal fire; it was usually difficult to maintain a spellcasting state with even a slight lapse in concentration. However, on that day, he had reached his limit, and the phantom limb pain was intense enough to be deemed torture, yet he remained in a spellcasting state.


    He couldn¡¯t help wondering, ¡°Could it be that the simultaneous use of spells by a large number of spellcasters might trigger some uncontrollable effect, like a chorus?¡±


    He thought about it, and to confirm this hypothesis, he would need to gather a large group of spellcasters to recreate the scene from the Arsenal fire. The chance to utilize so many spellcasters at once was rare; he could mention this idea to his uncle, but even Antonio would have to apply to the Council of Thirteen to use so many spellcasters.


    And if this conjecture were true, it would be of significant meaning to spellcasters. The more valuable the information, the more cautiously it should be treated. If there were a potential gold mine somewhere, it would be best to confirm it quietly before deciding what to do next.


    So, instinctively wanting to keep it secret, Winters decided to refrain from discussing the idea with anyone until he had gathered more information.


    By this time, it was already evening, and Winters had set up his practice room in the basement. He discovered that target practice in his bedroom, clinking and clanking, would disturb the entire household. Practicing magic in the yard was also quite odd. So, he had no choice but to ¡°hide¡± in the basement to practice the Arrow Flying Spell.


    Back in his bedroom, Winters drank a cup of bitter herbal tea made from the herbs Major Moritz had given him.


    The Major was right; the herbs did have a sleep-inducing effect. Less than a moment after drinking it, Winters felt warm all over; although he still had a slight phantom limb pain, his eyelids began to fight each other.


    He lay down on the bed, ready to rest.


    But just as he closed his eyes, a series of spine-chilling sounds came from outside the door. Winters reluctantly got out of bed to open the door, only to find Great General and Little General squatting at the entrance.


    Cats are creatures with obsessive-compulsive disorder; many of their actions don¡¯t serve any purpose, they do them merely for the sake of doing them.


    If a cat wants to enter a room, it will keep scratching at the door until someone opens it for them.


    But after the owner opens the door, the cat may lose interest.


    Great General, who had been making a ruckus just moments ago, swaggered away as Winters opened the door. Little General, on the other hand, meowed joyfully, leaping onto Winters¡¯ bed.


    Winters was lost for words. He closed the door again and lay back down.


    Little General curled up next to his pillow, seeming to have decided to sleep there.


    No one knew when they fell asleep; under the influence of the medicine, Winters soon lost consciousness.


    In his dream, Winters seemed to float in a pitch-black sea, with a dark sky above. He couldn¡¯t swim, but in this ocean, he wouldn¡¯t drown or sink.


    He just floated, and floated, as if he could float to the end of time.


    Until someone with a hammer smashed it hard against his chest.


    The pain caused Winters to groan involuntarily.


    The person who struck him with the hammer spoke:


    Find more adventures on empire


    ¡°Meow-wow!¡±


    Winters¡¯ consciousness had already awoken, but his eyelids would not open. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was quite familiar with this situation and was certain it was Little General jumping onto him from the top of the wardrobe again.


    Perched on Winters¡¯ chest, Little General let out a second deep roar of ¡°Meow-wow.¡±


    This was the sound Little General made only before fighting with a stray cat.


    Winters opened his eyes, ready to get up and take Little General out of the bedroom.


    He saw a humanoid creature climbing into his bedroom through the window.

 Chapter 107 - 107 - 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)

    Chapter 107 ¨C 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)


    Startled awake from deep sleep, he saw a human-shaped creature crawling through the window into his bedroom.


    It¡¯s described as a human-shaped creature because the intruder was cloaked in black, moving in an odd posture, and under the moonlight, one could barely discern its limbs and head.


    This humanoid also noticed that the bedroom¡¯s owner was awake and turned its head to look over.


    As their eyes met, Winters¡¯s sleepiness vanished in an instant.


    He immediately leaped from the bed to grab the Dusack saber hanging on the closet door.


    He had only an instant to think, it didn¡¯t matter whether the intruder was human or monster, getting a weapon was the priority.


    Winters drew his combat sword and lunged at the humanoid figure, who was forced back into a corner, meanwhile drawing a short gun from its waist and aiming it at Winters¡¯s head.


    ...


    Not a matchlock, but the kind of short gun with strange mechanisms used by assassins on the docks, what the cripple called a ¡¯wheel-lock gun.¡¯


    Winters recognized the firearm and abruptly halted his advance.


    Just as the humanoid was about to pull the trigger, seeing that Winters had stopped, it loosened its finger and threatened in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯t move. Make a sound, and I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    With that, the intruder revealed her own information: not a monster, merely a woman. Although she tried to lower her voice, she couldn¡¯t hide the feminine tone.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot, guards live downstairs. If you fire, you won¡¯t escape,¡± Winters feigned panic.


    In reality, only Marita the housekeeper lived downstairs, the only domestic servant in the entire house apart from the four family members, brought from Sea Blue by the matriarch. The housekeeper was nearly fifty, virtually without any capacity to fight; Winters was simply bluffing.


    ¡°By the time the guards get here, you¡¯ll already be dead.¡± The woman in black, face masked, only her eyes visible, gripped the wheel-lock gun with both hands, the muzzle never straying from Winters¡¯s head, ¡°Put your weapon down.¡±


    Winters found that the more perilous the situation seemed, the clearer his thoughts became. The intruder spoke a second time, exposing more information.


    The existence of guards didn¡¯t seem to bother her, implying she knew about the family¡¯s military background. However, she didn¡¯t know that the Serviati estate had no guards, indicating her intelligence wasn¡¯t in-depth, perhaps only the kind available through public channels.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, there¡¯s some money in the pouch on the table, take it all if you want,¡± Winters obediently threw the Dusack knife to the ground. He presented himself as weak and compliant, yet never ceased contemplating a counterattack.


    He desperately recalled the mechanics of firearms: there¡¯s a short delay from the trigger pull to the ignition of gunpowder, and another short delay from the ignition to the bullet leaving the barrel. Timing the opponent¡¯s movement, he would sidestep early, avoiding vital areas. As long as the first shot missed, he would immediately close in and subdue her with his superior strength.


    But unless absolutely necessary, Winters didn¡¯t want to resort to this method as it was far too risky. It would be best to find a way to divert her attention first.


    What could divert her attention?


    The Arrow Flying Spell? But all ten steel spikes were on the desk, right beside the woman.


    Was there any other way? Winters racked his brains.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize me, Mr. Montaigne?¡± The woman in black changed her tone, as if flirting. Yet, she held the wheel-lock gun very steady. Experience tales at empire


    Winters shook his head; he realized that she had figured out his name.


    The woman in black said bitterly, ¡°Half a month ago, you set my hair on fire.¡±


    ¡°It was you?¡± Winters exclaimed, never expecting that the female thief from that night would have followed him to Sea Blue.


    ¡°Yes, me,¡± the thief said with a cold laugh.


    Winters felt bewildered, ¡°You broke into the military academy to steal. It was my duty to patrol and stop you. There is no personal vendetta between us, is there?¡±


    ¡°Who are you calling a thief? I was merely retrieving my family¡¯s property from another thief!¡± The woman in black was obviously stung by the word ¡¯steal,¡¯ her emotions flaring.


    After blurting this out, she realized her slip of the tongue, and tried to cover it up with feigned anger, ¡°You haven¡¯t settled the score for burning off my hair.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°So you want to set my hair on fire too?¡± Winters spread his hands, ¡°Besides, you were trying to kill me then. Aren¡¯t I allowed to defend myself? That stab you gave me in the arm still hasn¡¯t healed.¡±


    ¡°All of you in the Allied Army deserve to die,¡± the woman in black hissed. She realized she had been drawn into revealing too much by Winters and got straight to the point, ¡°Return my belongings, and I won¡¯t kill you. We¡¯ll be even.¡±


    ¡°What belongings?¡± Winters¡¯s heart sank, but he lied without changing his expression.


    ¡°Where¡¯s my dagger?¡±


    ¡°What dagger?¡± This was really troublesome, Winters had already given the dagger to Elizabeth, but he couldn¡¯t involve his sister now. Elizabeth was sleeping in a room just a few meters away; who knew what this madwoman was capable of.


    ¡°Stop playing dumb. I searched thoroughly when I got back, but it was gone. You must have picked it up,¡± the woman said.


    ¡°You lost the dagger yourself and you¡¯re asking me for it?¡± Winters noticed the inconsistency in the woman¡¯s logic, the night she ran away, she threw her dagger at Winters to buy time. If she valued the dagger so highly, why would she use it as a throwing knife?

 Chapter 108 - 108 - 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_2

    Chapter 108 ¨C 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_2


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne, you seem to misunderstand the situation. It¡¯s not me begging you, but you needing to hand over my belongings in exchange for your life.¡± The woman in black¡¯s tone began to turn icy, ¡°If you don¡¯t cooperate, I don¡¯t mind killing you first and then searching manually. Hand over my dagger!¡±


    With the experience of last time, Winters had no doubt that the woman in black could kill him without hesitation. This woman seemed to have no psychological barrier to taking a life; that night¡¯s encounter was filled with strikes aimed directly at Winters¡¯s vital points.


    But Winters¡¯s reason was warning him: even if you return everything to the woman in black, she will still shoot you in the head and then vanish.


    The key was what the woman in black truly wanted. Was it the dagger? Obviously not. If she really cared about the dagger, she wouldn¡¯t have thrown it away.


    Ask for the dagger? Winters shook his head inwardly and muttered, ¡°But I really didn¡¯t pick up the dagger¡­ I only picked up something else.¡±


    The bait was set.


    ¡°What thing?¡± The woman in black¡¯s intonation was very detached.


    ...


    The fish had taken the bait.


    ¡°A small notebook.¡± Winters had seen through the woman in black¡¯s intentions¡ªwhat she truly wanted was that blank notebook.


    The dagger was merely a ruse; if Winters obediently handed over the dagger, he wouldn¡¯t refuse to hand over another item. The woman in black could just casually mention she wanted the notebook back;


    if Winters refused to return the dagger, the woman in black wouldn¡¯t expose what she truly sought.


    Ignorance isn¡¯t the greatest barrier; arrogance is.


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    The woman in black underestimated Winters; she thought concealing her real agenda from this naive young man would be effortless, and she would pay the price for it.


    ¡°Where is it? Show me.¡± The woman in black¡¯s tone was still cool, but Winters heard something different in it.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the bag on the table behind you,¡± Winters said nonchalantly.


    The moment the woman in black heard this, she wanted to turn around to search, but she suddenly hesitated. Her hands remained firmly on the revolver pointed at Winters, giving him no chance to suddenly attack. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She tilted her head to indicate to Winters, ¡°You go get it for me.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you get it yourself?¡±


    ¡°No nonsense.¡±


    Winters reluctantly walked to the desk, dragging his feet, while the woman in black kept the gun trained on him at all times.


    But in reality, this was exactly what Winters had hoped for; he never expected to distract her in this manner.


    Winters reached his right hand into the bloodstained messenger bag and quickly touched the notebook, but he didn¡¯t take it out.


    The woman in black, watching Winters reach into the cloth bag then freeze, urged impatiently, ¡°Hurry up and find it.¡±


    ¡°Is this what you want?¡± Winters asked the woman in black with a loud laugh, pulling out the notebook from the messenger bag.


    Under the firelight, Winters¡¯s smile appeared crazed, accompanied by the smell of burning leather and smoke. The blank notebook that the woman in black risked her life to obtain was blazing fiercely.


    The moment Winters got his hands on the notebook, he immediately released his magic without reservation and ignited it with a fire spell.


    The woman in black¡¯s eyes widened, emitting a shrill scream.


    Now was the moment!


    Winters crouched and pounced toward the woman in black like an arrow released from its bow.


    The woman in black¡¯s attention was no longer on Winters. It wasn¡¯t until his hand touched the barrel of the gun that the trigger was pulled.


    A loud ¡°boom¡± resounded through the room, and immediately a bullet hole appeared in the wooden ceiling.


    At close quarters, Winters pushed the revolver¡¯s barrel up and, using the momentum, knocked the woman in black off balance. He used his weight to pin her down, restraining her.


    But at this moment, the woman in black had lost her previous ferocity and cruelty; she was like a helpless little girl, struggling, crying, shouting, ¡°Fire¡­ put out the fire¡­¡±


    Winters, however, had no time to notice the emotional shift in the woman in black. He vividly remembered her sudden murder attempt, so he dared not be careless at all, carefully searching for all the weapons the female assassin had on her.


    After searching her, Winters pulled down the bedsheet and tied up the female assassin tightly.


    The woman in black let out heartbreaking screams; even Winters could hear the despair and resentment in her voice. She muttered like a madwoman, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you¡­ I¡¯m going to kill you¡­¡±


    Antonio, awakened by the gunshot, hurried to Winters¡¯s bedroom with his sword, pushing the door open to see his nephew clutching a bedsheet and riding atop a dark figure, doing who knows what. There was also a fire on the floor, which he quickly stamped out with his foot.


    After putting out the fire, he realized that the dark figure on the floor was actually a person.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Antonio asked with uncharacteristic calmness.


    A sweat-drenched Winters, panting heavily, said, ¡°A thief, a thief and an assassin, followed me all the way from The Federated Provinces to my home.¡±


    The female family members were also awakened by the noise. Elizabeth¡¯s eyes widened as she saw her brother carrying a person in black onto the bed, while Tess delayed a bit in lighting a candle.


    When Winters¡¯s room finally had light, Tess clearly saw the figure of the person in black and exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s a woman!¡±

 Chapter 109 - 109 - 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_3

    Chapter 109 ¨C 46: Falling into an Ice Cave (Foreshadowing Recollection)_3


    ¡°Thief, pickpocket, assassin,¡± Winters answered.


    The bound assassin suddenly screamed shrilly, ¡°I will kill you!¡±


    Kosha and Elizabeth were terrified by this piercing curse.


    ¡°Save your breath,¡± Winters took a pillowcase and stuffed the assassin¡¯s mouth tightly.


    Now the woman in black could only make muffled sounds. She struggled desperately, but her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were also bound; she was just flailing around ineffectively.


    Antoine quickly sorted things out and took command calmly, ¡°Elizabeth, go back to the bedroom with your mother. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a burglar in the house.¡±


    Once the women were taken care of, Antoine pointed at the woman in black and said to Winters, ¡°Let¡¯s carry this thief down to the basement first, so she won¡¯t disturb your aunt and sister on the second floor.¡±


    ...


    Marita, who lived on the first floor, was also awakened by the commotion. Seeing Antoine and Winters carrying a fiercely resisting woman in black downstairs, she kept exclaiming, ¡°Oh my, oh my, what happened¡­¡±


    ¡°Marita, please hold the lamp for us and go to the basement,¡± Antoine interrupted her.


    The shaken Marita walked ahead with the oil lamp, still muttering, ¡°Oh my, oh my.¡±


    The black-clad thief was carried into the basement storage room, where Winters succinctly explained the situation to Antoine. After discussing it, both men agreed that though many questions remained about the whole affair, it was best to hand the woman over to the sheriff for now. They would lock her in jail and then question her at leisure.


    Since Winters, who had returned to Sea Blue only a few days ago, knew no one, it was decided that Antoine would ride to fetch the sheriff while Winters stayed home to guard the female thief.


    The woman in black was no longer struggling futilely, but rage blazed in her eyes as she glared at Winters. If looks could materialize, Winters would now be riddled with thousands of holes.


    ¡°Who is this person?¡± Unable to curb her curiosity, Elizabeth sneaked down to the basement. The girl had an astonishingly bold spirit and tiptoed past Winters, peeking covertly at the woman in black.


    Winters pushed Elizabeth out of the storage room, ¡°Just a thief¡­ What¡¯s there to look at? Weren¡¯t you supposed to stay with Kosha?¡±


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    ¡°Does Aunt Kosha need me to keep her company? It¡¯s more like she¡¯s keeping me company,¡± Elizabeth pouted discontentedly. ¡°I just came to bring you something.¡±


    Elizabeth handed Winters the woman¡¯s revolver, but honestly, she wasn¡¯t really there to give him anything; it was just an excuse to leave her mother and see the excitement in the basement.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got it. Now go back upstairs,¡± Winters said helplessly.


    ¡°There¡¯s also this.¡± Elizabeth handed Winters a small, charred book, ¡°It¡¯s almost burned up.¡±


    It was the little notebook the thief had wanted. The pages were layered thickly and hard to burn through. Despite Winters¡¯s full use of the ¡°Spell of Ignition,¡± only about half of it was left after burning for a long time.


    Winters shook his head ruefully, ¡°I really can¡¯t figure out what this woman wants with a blank notebook.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Randomly flipping through the mostly charred notebook, Winters was surprised to find blue writing appearing where there had been no words before.


    Colonel Field¡¯s words echoed in his mind: There are ways of writing information invisible to some, known as steganography¡­ Steganography is a riddle¡­ Common methods involve nothing more than water, fire¡­


    So that was it!


    The contents of this notebook were written in invisible ink, which only became visible after being exposed to the flame.


    Winters flipped to the first page of the notebook, where the smoke-tainted paper bore these words:


    ¡°To my dear Mary


    You are the flame that warms my skin


    You are the clear water that quenches my thirst


    You are my light


    You are my everything


    After you left, my life lost all its meaning


    ¡ªAL.D.L¡±


    It was a sad love poem, seemingly written by a man mourning the departure of his beloved.


    But at that moment, reading the poem made Winters feel as if he had fallen into an icy pit.


    It was midsummer, but his limbs felt chillingly cold, and the breath he exhaled seemed to freeze into ice.


    Never had he felt such fear, not even when a dagger was a mere inch from his neck, not when he was caught by an oarsman in a cabin, nor when a musket was pointed at his head.


    He flipped two more pages with shaking hands.


    This page showed a simple diagram with the title:


    ¡°Fourth Improved Prototype of the Spell Talent Testing Device¡±


    A few pages further:


    ¡°Analysis on the Essence of Sound-based Spells¡±


    Winters reached for Elizabeth; he felt dizzy and needed to hold on to her to keep from collapsing.


    There was no mistake.


    AL.D.L was the abbreviation for Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier.


    And Mary de Lavoisier was the wife of General Antoine-Laurent.


    The letter ¡¯L¡¯ he had seen at the end of the notebook stood for Lavoisier.


    This little notebook was the lost research notes of Antoine-Laurent.


    And Winters had burned it with his own hands.


    ¡°What have I done¡­¡± Winters murmured to himself.

 Chapter 110 - 110 - 47 The Madman

    Chapter 110 ¨C 47 The Madman


    ¡°`


    In a hurry, the sheriff who rushed to the Serviati estate realized he had made a pointless trip. It turned out to be a mere misunderstanding; a young man of the Serviati family had secretly brought a woman home tonight, and when spotted by other family members, she was mistaken for a thief.


    Although it caused a fuss, the weighty gold coins from the Major General¡¯s wife dissolved all of the sheriff¡¯s chagrin, and the Major General¡¯s wife, her face clouded with worry, earnestly beseeched him not to let word of tonight¡¯s scuffle spread.


    The sheriff could understand Mrs. Serviati¡¯s concerns, for a young man not yet married associating with disreputable women and even bringing them home would not be looked upon favorably by the city¡¯s respectable households when considering a match for their daughters.


    ¡°Such an imprudent rascal,¡± the sheriff thought, ¡°to have such a beautiful lady troubled.¡±


    His protective instincts roused, the sheriff thumped his chest and swore on the graves of his father and grandfather that he would forget about tonight¡¯s events as soon as he went to sleep and wouldn¡¯t let a whisper of it slip.


    While Kosha was outside helping Antonio cover up, Winters ¡°invited¡± the woman in black back to the guest room on the second floor¡ªof course, by carrying her.


    ...


    Winters placed the woman in black onto the bed and, worried she might be uncomfortable, found her a pillow.


    The woman in black was silent and made no struggle throughout, only staring at Winters with a chilling gaze.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about earlier,¡± Winters negotiated with the woman in black, ¡°I¡¯m going to remove the object from your mouth, but please stay quiet.¡±


    The woman in black didn¡¯t react.


    ¡°Your lack of opposition I¡¯ll take as consent.¡±


    Winters had been unmerciful when he initially gagged her. When the woman in black had shouted, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you,¡± Winters didn¡¯t hesitate to stuff a handkerchief in her mouth. During the struggle, he used so much force that the black cloth she used to cover her face was also stuffed in.


    So, when he removed the gag, the black cloth that had been veiling her face was also pulled off. This was the first time Winters had the opportunity to take a good look at the face before him.


    He had assumed the female burglar to be between thirty and forty years of age, as her decisive and ruthless approach indicated considerable experience and combat skill.


    But upon lifting the black cloth, Winters realized she was far younger than he had imagined, likely just over twenty, barely older than himself. With delicate features and thin lips, it was hard for Winters to believe that such a petite lady had pointed a coil gun loaded with ammunition at him just moments before.


    Once her mouth was free, the woman in black didn¡¯t scream or shout; instead, she slowly exercised her stiffened jaw.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been misunderstanding all along; you and I are not enemies,¡± Winters said with utmost sincerity.


    ¡°Hmph, with me tied up like this, those words aren¡¯t very persuasive,¡± the woman in black replied coldly. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If I released you, wouldn¡¯t one of us end up dead right away?¡± Winters dragged a chair over and sat beside the bed, ¡°We should have a proper talk first, Miss Lavoisier.¡±


    This name evidently touched a sensitive nerve in the woman in black, who, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, said with red-rimmed eyes and clenched teeth, ¡°I am not a Lavoisier, and you must not call me that!¡±


    After the woman in black had calmed down a bit, Winters asked, ¡°Then how would you like me to address you?¡±


    She suddenly fell silent.


    ¡°Does the name Salome Blue mean anything to you?¡±


    The woman in black¡¯s eyes widened, yet her pupils contracted sharply, clearly startled by Winters¡¯ words. She scoffed, ¡°You don¡¯t need to probe me in this manner. It¡¯s not Salome Blue; it¡¯s Salomiya.¡±


    Anyone with even a slight understanding of military history knows that Lavoisier was the surname of General Antoine-Laurent, but only a very few knew that Salomiya was the middle name of the General¡¯s wife.


    Winters knew this because, as an admirer of Antoine-Laurent, he had once entertained the idea of writing a biography on him.


    So, during his years at the military academy, he had read through all the public and classified dossiers on Antoine-Laurent that he could get his hands on from the archives.


    The behavior of the woman before him largely confirmed Winters¡¯ suspicions; even if she wasn¡¯t a descendant of Antoine-Laurent, she must have had some intricate connection to him.


    That would then explain the deep-seated hatred she showed towards the Allied Army.


    Because Antoine-Laurent had indeed been sentenced to death by the military court of the Federated Provinces Army¡ªmore precisely, the army military court of the Republic. The euphemism that Antoine-Laurent died of a ¡°head illness¡± referred to his execution by the guillotine.


    Sixteen years ago, a decade after the Sovereignty Wars had ended, the radicals in the Federated Provinces rose to power, wielding the military and political control of the Federated Provinces. Shouting ¡°Anything less than absolute loyalty is absolute disloyalty,¡± they initiated a brutal purge within the Serviati front lines.


    Accused of treason and involving military secrets, Antoine-Laurent was beheaded after a secret trial, and his research manuscripts consequently lost.


    The Marshal, Ned Smith, lamented, ¡°A mind like Antoine-Laurent¡¯s comes once in a hundred years, and yet it was chopped off just like that.¡± However, Marshal Ned was also in danger at the time, narrowly escaping the guillotine himself.


    ¡°You claim this notebook belongs to your family; how can you prove it?¡± Winters presented the half-burnt notebook to the woman in black for a moment before placing it on the bed.


    ¡°Why should I prove anything to you?¡±


    ¡°Because this notebook is worth a fortune, and I hope you can prove you are not a thief.¡±


    If Winters recalled correctly, this woman in black detested the word ¡¯thief¡¯ particularly.


    Sure enough, the woman in black flew into a rage: ¡°Whom are you calling a thief? It¡¯s you soldiers who are the thieves, stealing my father from my mother¡¯s hands! Then stealing his research from his hands! And finally, even his life was taken!¡±


    ¡°Calm down; since you¡¯ve used the words ¡¯father¡¯ and ¡¯mother,¡¯ are you the missing daughter of General Antoine-Laurent?¡±


    ¡°`


    The woman in black scoffed disdainfully.


    ¡°I¡¯m not your enemy. If you can prove your identity, I¡¯m willing to hand over these notes to you,¡± Winters said seriously, ¡°and this dagger as well.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters took out the dagger belonging to the woman in black and placed it on the bed.


    It had taken quite an effort for him to get the dagger back from Elizabeth.


    ¡°Or should I also thank you for your generosity? For so generously burning my father¡¯s notes before returning them to me?¡± the woman in black said with a sneer.


    Winters awkwardly said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s still almost half of it left.¡±


    ¡°Then come closer and I¡¯ll prove my identity to you,¡± the woman in black suddenly said calmly.


    Winters subconsciously stood up and approached the bedside, but noticing the slight excitement in the woman¡¯s eyes, he realized something was amiss and quickly retreated.


    But it was too late; the woman in black leaped from the bed and charged at him.


    After all, Winters was an educated Gentleman; he couldn¡¯t possibly repeatedly check a woman¡¯s sensitive areas¡ªso he had missed a few small silver coins with sharpened edges that the woman in black had hidden on her.


    Just now, while she had been seemingly talking to Winters, she had actually been secretly taking out a sharp object to cut through the bedsheet that bound her hands, waiting for Winters to let down his guard.


    The woman in black grabbed the dagger beside her and lunged at Winters¡¯s left rib. She seemed to calm down on the surface, but in reality, she had not stepped out of her hysterical state; it was all a facade.


    If she wanted to escape, she could simply wait for another opportunity to be alone, but at this moment, all she could think about was revenge.


    But Winters was no longer the same person he had been on the night of the patrol. A rookie in real combat becomes stiff all over due to nervousness and fear, but a veteran soldier can respond calmly and collectedly. If the woman in black couldn¡¯t kill Winters that night, of course, she couldn¡¯t this time either.


    The pillowcase used to gag the woman in black was still in Winters¡¯s hand. He used his left hand, cushioned with the pillowcase, to grab her weapon hand. Just as he was about to punch her fiercely in the face with his right hand, he stopped and instead turned it into a struggle to disarm her.


    In a fight, grabbing the blade or body of an opponent¡¯s weapon is extremely dangerous and is a tactic born of desperation. Even if one only intends to grab the wrist, it¡¯s very possible to grab the blade instead.


    The dagger didn¡¯t have a crossguard, and Winters missed the wrist and grabbed the palm instead. Fortunately, the pillowcase was there as padding; otherwise, the area in contact with the blade would have bled immediately.


    The woman in black wouldn¡¯t let go, twisting her wrist in an attempt to slice Winters¡¯s arm. Winters, now a bit angry, used a wrestling move to throw her down.


    The essence of one-on-one combat is ultimately a battle between two people. The woman in black might be a formidable assassin, but no matter how ruthless she was, she was just a woman with far less strength and weight than Winters. Even her close-quarters combat skills were inferior to Winters¡¯s, and she was promptly subdued by him on the ground.


    ¡°Calm down!¡± Winters said, pressing one hand on the woman in black¡¯s weapon hand and the other on her shoulder.


    ¡°All of you in the Allied Army deserve to die,¡± the woman in black struggled violently.


    ¡°What does your father¡¯s wrongful case have to do with me?¡±


    ¡°Pah.¡±


    ¡°The remaining content is also very valuable.¡±


    The woman in black said sarcastically, ¡°Do you think I care about what¡¯s written in the notes? Magic, Spellcasters, they are worthless to me.¡±


    Winters was completely at a loss for words; he found that it was utterly impossible to reason with this woman: ¡°Then why did you want these notes?¡±


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    ¡°To take back my family¡¯s property.¡±


    ¡°So, if I return these notes to you?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve already burned them!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t care about their contents?¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you can burn them!¡±


    ¡°Then what will satisfy you?¡±


    ¡°I want them restored to their original state.¡±


    ¡°But the original has already been burned.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Are you insane?¡± Whether or not the woman in black was crazy, Winters was close to losing his own sanity: ¡°You! Need! To! Calm! Down!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t waste any more words and bound her again swiftly.


    He pushed the door open and found Elizabeth eavesdropping at the doorway.

 Chapter 111 - 111 - 48 Negotiation

    Chapter 111 ¨C 48 Negotiation


    Winters was at a complete loss with this irrational madwoman; this time he had securely tied the woman in black¡¯s fingers to ensure she wouldn¡¯t slip out of her bonds a second time.


    As he stepped out the door, Winters found Elizabeth eavesdropping at the doorway.


    ¡°You¡¯re really pushing your luck,¡± Winters felt a shiver of fear, wondering what would have happened if he hadn¡¯t managed to subdue the woman in black and she had encountered Elizabeth.


    ¡°Let me talk to her,¡± Elizabeth said confidently, ¡°You two were just shouting at each other. I¡¯m sure I can get more out of her than you did.¡±


    Then Winters, gripping Elizabeth by the arm, locked her in her own bedroom.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    After sending the sheriff away, Antonio listened expressionlessly to Winters recounting the recent events and the whole story. How to deal with the woman in black would ultimately be a decision for the head of the family, as this matter had surpassed the scope of Winters¡¯ personal affairs.


    ...


    ¡°So, you¡¯re suggesting she might be Lavoisier¡¯s daughter?¡±


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    ¡°That¡¯s what the signs point to, but there is no concrete evidence.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your opinion?¡± Antonio asked out of the blue.


    ¡°If she truly is the daughter of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier. The Lavoisier family has suffered enough, Antoine-Laurent¡¯s orphan should be treated kindly. But right now¡­ she¡¯s mad, completely irrational,¡± Winters confessed, his thoughts muddled, instinctively relying on his foster father, ¡°I just don¡¯t know what to do. I¡¯ll follow Uncle¡¯s lead.¡±


    ¡°Follow my lead?¡± Antonio¡¯s gaze was icy: ¡°Then you and I should take her out to the countryside, shoot her dead, and bury her in a ditch.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit extreme?¡± Winters was dumbfounded.


    In Winters¡¯ eyes, Antonio was a gentle husband and a kind father, making it easy to forget his other identity. This was the first time Winters had seen his cold and ruthless side.


    ¡°My boy, this is the permanent solution. Lavoisier¡¯s daughter and the notebook, do you have any idea what kind of trouble that would bring? If people found out you have that notebook, Korsa and your sister would both be living in danger. It doesn¡¯t matter whether she¡¯s Lavoisier¡¯s daughter or not, we¡¯ll interrogate her first, eliminate her, and then we¡¯ll only have the notebook to deal with,¡± Antonio sighed, ¡°but you won¡¯t agree. Your sense of justice is still intact. Come on, let¡¯s go meet the lady.¡±


    Having said that, Antonio headed up the stairs.


    Winters, recovering from his shock, muttered softly as he followed Antonio, ¡°Just give the order, Colonel, and I¡¯ll get the horse ready at once.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s meet her first, hopefully, it won¡¯t come to that,¡± Antonio said without looking back.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Upon opening the door to the guest room, there was an unexpected person inside; Elizabeth was sitting on the edge of the bed, happily chatting with the woman in black.


    ¡°Dad, brother, don¡¯t tie up Sofia anymore.¡± Seeing the two men enter the room, Elizabeth cheerfully ran to Antonio¡¯s side to report her success: ¡°Sofia isn¡¯t a bad person, she just wanted to retrieve her father¡¯s belongings. Now she knows we¡¯re not bad people, so you shouldn¡¯t fight anymore.¡±


    Winters was astonished; she even knew her name? Could there be some special way women communicated?


    ¡°Ella, go back to your room,¡± Antonio ordered his daughter deliberately.


    Normally, Elizabeth would ignore anything Antonio said out of indulgence, but this time she sensed the threatening atmosphere and immediately fell silent, obediently leaving the room.


    Antonio sat on a chair at the bedside, with Winters standing behind him. Winters held a steel awl in his hand, the sharp kind.


    ¡°I am Antonio Serviati. May I know how you wish to be addressed?¡± Antonio started with a polite exchange.


    The woman in black, who just moments ago seemed to be enjoying her conversation with Elizabeth, snorted coldly but didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°May I ask what General Antoine-Laurent is to you?¡± Antonio got straight to the point.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡± the woman in black replied rudely.


    ¡°Because if you¡¯re the daughter of General Antoine-Laurent, then you¡¯re a guest here.¡±


    ¡°Seems like you enjoy tying up your guests, don¡¯t you?¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If I untie you, can you guarantee you won¡¯t resort to violence again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a madwoman.¡±


    ¡°Madam, please listen carefully,¡± Antonio said to the woman in black, serious yet earnest, ¡°General Antoine-Laurent is a military man and scholar whom I admire, and his family shares a distant kinship with my wife¡¯s family. It¡¯s for this reason alone that I consider you a guest.


    I understand your hatred, but remember, there¡¯s a debt for every wrong, and it was The Federated Provinces Republic that executed General Antoine-Laurent. This is the Venetian Republic, and we are all Venetians. The injustice against Antoine-Laurent has nothing to do with us Venetians.


    I¡¯ve said my piece. This is my home, and I won¡¯t tolerate any threat to my family. So, if you commit any violent act against my family again, no matter whose daughter you are, regardless of your circumstances, I will kill you on the spot.¡±


    Antonio¡¯s tone was not fierce; his composure resembled that of a Shepherd counting his sheep, but no one in the room doubted his threat.


    After finishing his speech, Antonio took out a small knife, first cutting the ropes around the woman in black¡¯s legs, then the ones binding her hands.

 Chapter 112 - 112 - 48 Negotiation_2

    Chapter 112 ¨C 48 Negotiation_2


    Winters clutched the steel awl tightly in his hand, not daring to relax his vigilance for a moment. He had made up his mind that if the woman in black made any move to harm Antonio, he would drive the steel awl into her skull with the Arrow Flying Spell.


    Fortunately, the worst did not happen. The woman in black merely moved her wrists and silently removed the remaining bindings herself. Now free, the woman in black did not lash out to harm anyone; she simply sat quietly on the bed.


    Winters felt both annoyed and amused, and he couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°Does this woman only respond to force and not kindness? Or did Elizabeth cast some kind of magic on her?¡±


    ¡°It seems for the moment we have reached an agreement,¡± the woman in black did not take the opportunity to take him hostage, which seemed to disappoint Antonio slightly, ¡°Could you please explain why you have visited my humble abode in such a manner this evening?¡±


    Before the woman in black could speak, Elizabeth burst through the door, loudly saying, ¡°If you keep asking like this, you¡¯re just going to start arguing again! Dad, Sofia just wants to retrieve her father¡¯s heirlooms. She doesn¡¯t want the person who killed her father to occupy her father¡¯s property; those are her only two demands.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Antonio of the woman in black.


    The woman whom Elizabeth called ¡°Sofia¡± gave a slight nod.


    ...


    ¡°Then it¡¯s very simple, as long as you can prove your identity, that notebook can be immediately returned to you. Neither Winters nor I have any intention of occupying your father¡¯s property.¡±


    ¡°I have a birth certificate, baptism certificate, and letters, seals, jewelry, and documents brought from home that can prove my identity,¡± the woman in black finally opened up, no longer disdainful of the request to prove her identity. But she pointed at Winters and said, ¡°However, my father¡¯s notebook has already been destroyed by him.¡±


    ¡°Miss Sofia, you are being too severe. Books are actually quite difficult to ignite. Even if they do catch fire, only the outermost parts get burned in a short time; the insides would not be damaged. The contents recorded in your father¡¯s notebook did not suffer much loss. What I mainly burned was the leather cover,¡± Winters felt he had to defend himself.


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, brother,¡± Elizabeth glared at Winters, ¡°That notebook was a precious memento left by her father, one of the few possessions he left behind. She went to the military school to retrieve it because she didn¡¯t want the person who killed her father to continue possessing it. Sofia wanted the notebook itself, not its content, understand? You destroyed her father¡¯s keepsake.¡±


    The notional worthlessness of Antoine-Laurent¡¯s notebook content contrasting with the physical value of the notebook itself left Winters dumbfounded.


    However, Antonio coldly asked from the side, ¡°Miss Sofia, do you not think you also bear some responsibility for the burning of this notebook?¡±


    ¡°Why should I bear any responsibility?¡± Sofia laughed in anger. Experience tales at empire


    ¡°If you hadn¡¯t sneaked into my house with weapons tonight, would that notebook have been burned? You threatened Winters¡¯ life, so any reaction from him was justified. If he had killed you outright, I wouldn¡¯t have blamed him. If you had approached him openly with documents proving your identity to demand it, would it still have ended this way?¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Would he have given it to me if I asked for it?¡± Sofia asked furiously.


    ¡°He would have,¡± Antonio replied nonchalantly.


    Sofia was left speechless by Antonio¡¯s response.


    ¡°However, as the one who burned the notebook, Winters should also bear some responsibility. As compensation, I have a proposal,¡± Antonio¡¯s tone shifted as he spoke earnestly, ¡°I can help vindicate your father, help restore the Lavoisier family¡¯s honor, and pursue those who were once responsible.¡±


    Antoine-Laurent had been executed for treason after a secret trial sixteen years ago, his property confiscated, his statues toppled, his contributions omitted from the war histories, and to this day, the father of the Alliance Spellcasters had not been vindicated.


    Antonio¡¯s words left Sofia, who had been in a state of anger, stunned, but she quickly regained her composure and sneered back, ¡°Restore my father¡¯s honor? With your help?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I can¡¯t do it alone,¡± Antonio was not angered by Sofia¡¯s scornful retort, ¡°But your father¡¯s research notes can. The Military Committee and the Supreme Pentarchy would be very willing to restore General Antoine-Laurent¡¯s honor in exchange for the fee of the notebook.¡±


    Sofia screamed, ¡°I would rather die than let the Alliance possess my father¡¯s achievements!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve said it before; it was the United Provincials who executed your father and still refuse to vindicate him, but this is the Venetian Republic. Your enemies are the United Provincials, not us Venetians. You should not hate the Alliance as a whole; if you see humanity as a whole, then aren¡¯t all of humanity the murderers of your father?¡±


    ¡°You said it yourself, this is Vineta; what right does Vineta have to overturn the judgment of the Federated Provinces?¡± Sofia¡¯s attitude softened slightly, but she still found it hard to trust Antonio.


    ¡°Antoine-Laurent¡¯s treason was pinned on him by the Federated Republic, but we can overturn that judgment at the level of the Alliance. After all, the Senas Alliance consists of five member states, and it only takes the affirmation of three to vindicate General Antoine-Laurent at the Alliance level. The Federated Provinces may stubbornly refuse to accept it, but outside the Federated Republic, Antoine-Laurent will no longer be seen as a traitor. Please believe, we Venetians can still do this much.¡±

 Chapter 113 - 113 - 48 Negotiation_3

    Chapter 113 ¨C 48 Negotiation_3


    Sofia seemed somewhat tempted.


    Antonio spoke persuasively, ¡°Moreover, we don¡¯t need the original notes; we only require their content. The original will still belong to you personally as a precious relic of General Antoine-Laurent.¡±


    ¡°I need to think it over,¡± Sofia shook her head, unable to make a decision.


    ¡°Miss Sofia, this is just a proposal, and you can consider it yourself,¡± said Antonio softly. ¡°However, our previous promise still stands; as long as you can provide documentation proving your identity, the original notes can be returned to you. Winters should not be held responsible for tonight¡¯s accident, and it is your own fault that the original got burned. If you truly value the sentimental significance of the original, even a burned one is still a precious relic.¡±


    After a long silence, Sofia finally asked, ¡°Then how can I get the documents that prove my identity? Will you let me go?¡±


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    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, I cannot let you go, but I won¡¯t keep you in my house either. I would like to ask you to stay temporarily at the Third Legion¡¯s quarters. Just give me an address for the necessary documents, and I can send someone to retrieve them,¡± Antonio replied politely, his tone returning to that of the party.


    ...


    Sofia huffed in dissatisfaction, ¡°What if I am the only one who can retrieve my documents? What if my documents are in Guidao City?¡±


    ¡°Then, I can also let you go, but only after I have handed these notes over to the Military Committee will you be free, and the rest will be an issue between you and the Military Committee,¡± Antonio answered tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but these notes are of great strategic value, and even letting outsiders know that the notes appeared in this house is a threat to my family.¡±


    Antonio paused and then said firmly, ¡°Please understand something, it was you who dragged us into this, and I have maintained the utmost respect for you.¡±


    Sofia looked at Antonio and then at Elizabeth, her defiant energy dissipating. She said, sounding dejected, ¡°I still have to think about your proposal. The documents proving my identity are at St. Jeannie¡¯s Convent; you¡¯ll find my personal belongings stored with Mother Tess.¡±


    St. Jeannie¡¯s Convent is located on a hillock southwest of Sea Blue City, about half a day¡¯s journey from Sea Blue.


    ¡°You can¡¯t stay here, I would like to invite you to stay at the Third Legion¡¯s barracks, would that be alright?¡±


    Sofia nodded silently.


    ¡°Before the soldiers arrive to escort you, your freedom of movement will need to be temporarily restricted, as neither of the two ladies in this house is a match for you. Please, understand,¡± Antonio stood up, signaling the end of the conversation. ¡°Winters, please tie Miss Sofia up again, but try to make her as comfortable as possible.¡±


    Antonio assured Sofia, ¡°Once we have the documents, I will release you immediately.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to tie Sofia up again?¡± Elizabeth spoke out loudly on behalf of her ¡°new friend,¡± but she fell silent after seeing the look on Antonio¡¯s face and looked at Sofia with sad eyes.


    Sofia didn¡¯t resist or ridicule, seemingly accepting easily Antonio¡¯s reasons for ¡°protecting his family.¡± Her body language was submissive, but her eyes were fixed on Winters.


    Truthfully, Winters hadn¡¯t expected to tie up a woman three times in one night. He nodded apologetically, but he didn¡¯t put away the steel awl; he kept holding it. The psychological shadow Sofia had cast on him was too large, and he dared not let down his guard for an instant.


    This time, her hands were bound in front, not behind. Then Antonio took Winters and Elizabeth out of the room, leaving Sofia alone in the guest room.


    Still uneasy, Antonio had Kosha take Elizabeth and Marita to the neighbor¡¯s house for temporary shelter.


    In the house, only Antonio, Winters, and Sofia, left alone in the guest room, remained.


    ¡°Do you think she is Antoine-Laurent¡¯s daughter?¡± Winters asked Antonio.


    ¡°Now I¡¯m eighty percent certain that Sofia is Antoine-Laurent¡¯s daughter,¡± Antonio poured some spirits for himself and his nephew. ¡°If she wants to retrieve the documents herself, it shows she doesn¡¯t care about these notes. She seems very confident in her decision to stay. But it could also be a deception tactic, so we must not become complacent.¡±


    ¡°Should I stay and watch over her in the guest room?¡±


    ¡°No need, I have something else for you to do. Now, go to the neighbor¡¯s house as well, protect your sister and Kosha. Take some paper and transcribe the remainder of these notes. I¡¯m going to the legion¡¯s quarters to call up the troops,¡± Antonio calmly delegated the task to Winters.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to return the notes to her?¡± Winters said with a bitter taste in his mouth. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The original can be returned to her, but Antoine-Laurent¡¯s research notes are a valuable asset to the Republic of Vineta. In the interest of Vineta, our personal honors are insignificant,¡± he replied.


    ¡°Just leave her alone in the guest room?¡±


    ¡°If she escapes, then all the better!¡±

 Chapter 114 - 114 - 49 The Essence of Magic

    Chapter 114 ¨C 49 The Essence of Magic


    The next two days passed with calm and tranquility.


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    Antonio was quite disappointed to find that, although he had given ¡°Sofia¡± several opportunities, not only did she not take the chance to escape, but she calmly accepted life under house arrest in the military camp.


    A sister from St. Jeannie¡¯s Convent, Sister Teresa, personally delivered a small box, which contained, as Sofia had said, her birth certificate, baptism certificate, and some other items from the Lavoisier family.


    Sofia herself matched the eye color, hair color, and birthmark listed on the birth certificate. At this point, Antonio had almost completely believed in Sofia¡¯s identity.


    The next step would be to obtain copies of the birth certificate and baptism certificate from the church where Antoine-Laurent¡¯s daughter was baptized through the channel of the church, to compare the two sets of documents. If they were consistent, it would be possible to fully verify her identity.


    Reputable guarantors, birth documents, and tokens¡ªthese were the methods of the era to prove that ¡°a person¡± was indeed ¡°that person.¡±


    ...


    In other words, no matter who it was, as long as they had a full set of documents that matched the description therein, she would legally be Antoine-Laurent¡¯s daughter.


    While there were many loopholes to exploit, this was the most rigorous method people of the era could have.


    Sofia agreed to Antonio¡¯s proposal to treat the research content in the notes as a reward for the Republic of Vineta to restore Antoine-Laurent¡¯s honor. This was a perfect solution, and Sofia inadvertently protected the honor of both Antonio and Winters. Because Antonio had already decided that he would keep the contents of the notebook in Vineta, even if it meant breaking his promise.


    In the Military Police division of the Army Headquarters, these two days had been hectic; Lieutenant Colonel Field had confirmed that no spellcaster officers in the Vineta Army had taken leave, gone missing, or died in the past few days.


    At the second full officers¡¯ meeting of the Military Police division, Winters brought up a possibility: that man was indeed a spellcaster, but not from the Vineta Army. He wasn¡¯t returning to Vineta, but was heading there, and he was a spellcaster of the Provincial Army.


    However, the three men of the Military Police division currently had no means to verify this, and they could only send an official letter to the Provincial Army. But considering the tense relationship between the two sides, it was expected that the letter would be like a stone sinking into the sea.


    But the salvage operation did yield some unexpected findings. Sea Blue Port is a natural deep-water harbor, with coral reefs and rocks mainly at the seabed, and not much silt. Four skilled sailors managed to retrieve both guns and swords within a day.


    The problem was that neither the guns nor swords bore any marks or crests that could prove the assassin¡¯s identity, rendering them essentially meaningless.


    The biggest gain was actually the retrieval of Major Moritz¡¯s dress sword by the salvaging sailors. Moritz had lost his dress sword the day he drowned, and he had been using a simple old sword since, so finding his original, costly ceremonial sword was a pleasant surprise.


    These past few days, however, Winters¡¯s mind wasn¡¯t on the assassination case, but on Antoine-Laurent¡¯s notebooks.


    At the military academy, all spellcasters had heard their seniors mysteriously talk about a story: over a decade ago, the executed father of the spellcasters of the Alliance¡ªAntoine-Laurent¡ªhad been conducting research in the final stage of his life that could overturn the magic system, touching the essence of magic itself. After his death, his manuscripts were lost, and his achievements disappeared with them.


    No one knew where the story originated, but it was certain that the story became more like a myth over time. Winters personally witnessed two variations of this story during his three years at the officers¡¯ academy.


    The contents of Antoine-Laurent¡¯s research became more and more exaggerated and mysterious in the retelling among the spellcasters, transforming his manuscripts into artifacts that could empower spellcasters to become legendary mages of destructive power, according to legend.


    As a spellcaster, Winters certainly didn¡¯t believe that anything could instantly elevate a spellcaster¡¯s spell-casting abilities out of thin air. As he said to Aike, ¡°Does giving a child a good sword make him a top swordsman?¡±


    Still, being steeped in such stories over the years had given him a mysterious imagination about Antoine-Laurent¡¯s research notes: although not as miraculous as the stories claimed, they must have contained very important information.


    However, when he actually finished transcribing the notebook, his feelings were quite complex.


    The contents of the notebook were a mess, something between a diary, a collection of inspirations, and a record of experiments.


    Many parts seemed to be written on a whim; some were fragmented thoughts, some were results of experiments. With hasty scribbles, erasures, and modifications, and some rough sketches in the corners that seemed to have been doodled when he hit a dead end in his thoughts.


    Did Antoine-Laurent¡¯s notes contain important information? sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course.


    But for the Republic of Vineta, the most useful thing recorded in this notebook was probably the sketch of the ¡°Fire-type Spell Potential Testing Instrument.¡±


    Although crudely drawn, Winters had figured out what it was. The instrument was essentially a sophisticated scale. Two glass spheres were placed at either end of the balance, connected by a glass tube.


    The sketch was rudimentary, and the glass spheres in the drawing seemed to contain some kind of liquid.

 Chapter 115 - 115 - 49 The Essence of Magic_2

    Chapter 115 ¨C 49 The Essence of Magic_2


    Winters speculated that the two glass spheres and the glass tube connecting them should form a sealed whole, and the liquid inside the glass sphere was likely some kind of highly volatile substance.


    As a spellcaster, Winters quickly figured out the principle behind this testing instrument. Simply put, this device could detect even the faintest magical ability.


    The magical ability of an untrained spellcaster is as weak as the tiny sparks from a fire sickle, and this clever instrument could detect the presence of those sparks.


    First, by balancing the scale to achieve equilibrium, if the subject possesses even the weakest fire-type spell ability, just enough to vaporize a little bit of the liquid in the glass sphere, the balance of the scale would be disturbed.


    Even Winters couldn¡¯t help but applaud the ingenious design of this invention. It is known that the hardest part is not training a spellcaster but finding those with magical talent from among the masses. Read latest stories on empire


    Just like ordinary people, spellcasters have two eyes and a nose. Before being tested, even the spellcasters themselves might not be aware of their own magical talent. Their magical abilities are so weak that even if they use magical power unconsciously, the effect is so insignificant that neither others nor themselves can perceive it.


    Thus, individuals with magical potential are buried in the crowd. A sudden headache in their lives or an inexplicable shiver could actually be phantom limb pain caused by the unconscious use of magic. But they themselves might not notice these signs, which are quickly forgotten. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Yet with this testing device, even the weakest of magical abilities could be detected.


    The selection of individuals with magical potential has always been a closely guarded secret of the Federated Provinces of the Republic. Through exclusive control of this technology, all the Republic¡¯s spellcasters, regardless of gender, are sent to the Federated Provinces for training.


    Getting hold of these blueprints meant that the Vineta Republic could break away from the Federated Provinces and independently carry out the screening of spellcasters. They could even shove the Federated Provinces aside and independently train their own spellcasters. After all, the training content for spellcasters is no secret; Vineta has hundreds of spellcaster officers who have all undergone complete training courses in military academies.


    As for the rest of the content in these notes¡­ it overturned Winters¡¯s understanding of magic.


    But whether before or after reading these notes, Winters¡¯s magical ability remained at the same level.


    However, the contents kept Winters up for two sleepless nights.


    In these casually recorded notes, Antoine-Laurent wrote:


    ¡°People of ancient times believed that the entire world was composed of four elements: fire, air, earth, and water. The people of Selika thought the world consisted of metals, plants, fire, earth, and water, while naturalists classified everything in the world into plants, animals, and inanimate objects. But I find their view of the world unattractive, too chaotic, too disordered. So I take it further by dividing everything that exists in the universe into two categories: matter and energy.¡±


    ¡°Everything tangible is matter; water, gases, stones are matter.¡±


    ¡°Everything intangible is energy, such as light and heat.¡±


    On this basis, Antoine-Laurent proposed a hypothesis: the conservation of matter.


    Meaning, magic does not create matter out of nothing, nor does it annihilate matter into nothingness.


    The Vaporization Spell does not make the water disappear but turns it into a gas.


    ¡°Water Creation Spell¡± does not create water from nothing, but condenses the moisture in the air into liquid.


    Antoine-Laurent recorded an experiment he designed: in an extremely dry room, a spellcaster using a Water Creation Spell at full strength could only ¡°create¡± a few drops of water. However, in a humid outdoor environment, using the same spell at full strength, the caster could quickly ¡°create¡± a cup of water.


    In addition, he conducted another experiment, the metal powder combustion experiment, which ultimately confirmed that metal powder gains weight after burning because the matter from the air enters the metal. When heating metal powder in a closed system, although the powder gains weight, the mass of the entire system does not change.


    Antoine wrote on the first page of his notes: ¡°What is magic? Is magic some kind of trick? Creating an apple? A rabbit?¡±


    ¡°If magic could create matter, wouldn¡¯t all the sorcerers in the world eventually flood all the lands by continually creating water?¡±


    ¡°Certainly not, the essence of magic should be summarized in a beautifully poetic sentence: it can, and only can, change the energy state of matter.¡±


    ¡°However, I do not have enough evidence to prove this yet.¡±


    The rest of the notes are devoted to verifying this speculation, with Antoine overturning his own established magical classification and rebuilding the three major categories of spells.


    In the section on the analysis of the nature of sound-type magic, Antoine-Laurent confirmed that the essence of sound is a kind of vibration. The so-called ¡°sound¡± is the vibration of the source spreading into the surrounding medium.


    The nature of sound-type magic is the ability to change the vibrational energy of matter. Hence, sound-type magic was renamed by Antoine-Laurent to vibration-type magic, and from this he proposed a new spell concept ¡°Resonance Spell.¡±


    In his thoughts on acceleration-type magic, the father of Alliance spellcasters believed that accelerating objects was just the superficial aspect of acceleration-type magic. He considered that the state of motion of matter is essentially a form of energy, which he called kinetic energy. Acceleration-type magic was therefore summarized by Antoine-Laurent as the ability to change the kinetic energy of an object.

 Chapter 116 - 116 - 49 The Essence of Magic_3

    Chapter 116 ¨C 49 The Essence of Magic_3


    As for Fire-type Spells, there was nothing revolutionary. Nonetheless, the Father of Spellcasters had some new thoughts, he believed that fire is a material releasing stored energy within. Both light and heat are forms of energy release. Fire-type Spells replace flames to accomplish energy transmission.


    Later on, Antoine-Laurent felt it was necessary to establish a mathematical system for magic, however, the content of the notes ended abruptly, as if some unexpected event had interrupted his research.


    Winters read and copied these notes in a state of complete bewilderment.


    The content of this notebook should be accurately categorized as magic philosophy and magical principles. The majority of it consists of Antoine-Laurent¡¯s conjectures and explorations regarding the essence of magic.


    Practical information, such as how to improve a spellcaster¡¯s level of expertise in spells or which training methods are more effective, is not mentioned at all.


    But perhaps this cannot be blamed on Antoine-Laurent, for the Father of the Alliance Spellcasters himself was not a spellcaster and lacked magical abilities. His research was entirely theoretical, with almost no focus on practical applications.


    In the entire notebook, the most practically valuable item might be only the hastily sketched diagram of a magical talent testing device by Antoine-Laurent.


    ...


    ¡°The essence of magic is altering the energy state of an object.¡±


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    After finishing the notebook, Winters remembered this one line. He didn¡¯t know whether it was right or wrong, but even if it was correct, his spellcasting level wouldn¡¯t skyrocket simply from knowing the ¡°essence¡± of magic.


    Winters, with tears streaming down his face, said, ¡°General Antoine-Laurent was indeed not deceiving, ¡¯The power of a spellcaster comes from knowledge and diligent practice.¡¯ There are no shortcuts, so what if one knows the essence of magic? Doesn¡¯t one still have to earnestly practice the Arrow Flying Spell at night?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Antoine-Laurent¡¯s analysis of sound-related Spells did bring Winters great benefit; he had originally thought that sound-related Spells only worked on sound itself.


    It was after Antoine-Laurent specifically pointed out that the essence of sound is vibration that he opened a new door for Winters by suggesting sound-based magic should be called vibrational magic.


    He even tried practicing the ¡°Resonance Spell¡± a few times as recorded in the notes. Antoine-Laurent was not a spellcaster himself; the ¡°Resonance Spell¡± was merely a spell concept he recorded, just like the blood vaporization spell Winters had imagined, never tested in reality.


    The so-called Resonance Spell was inspired by an accidental discovery from Antoine-Laurent¡¯s military career. When marching over a small bridge, the synchronized trotting of the warhorses caused the entire bridge to tremble violently, eventually collapsing and causing many casualties.


    After observation and consideration, Antoine-Laurent concluded: the bridge was already vibrating leisurely, and the rhythm of the warhorses¡¯ steps overlapped with the bridge¡¯s natural vibration frequency. It was akin to swinging the bridge like a pendulum, leading to its collapse.


    Therefore, he hypothesized that if a spellcaster¡¯s abilities were strong enough to enhance the natural vibrations of structures like bridges, they could destroy such structures. However, achieving this effect would require magical abilities beyond imagination, so this remained only an idea Antoine-Laurent put down on paper.


    Winters certainly didn¡¯t have the magical ability to demolish bridges or buildings, but he cleverly validated the feasibility of the spell in another way.


    He bought some thin glassware for experimentation and had Elizabeth tap the glass with a spoon while he attempted to use sound-based Spells at full force to amplify the sound produced when the glass was struck.


    After dozens of failed attempts, the glassware finally shattered with a brittle sound magnified many times over by magic. This meant that Antoine-Laurent¡¯s statement was correct¡ªthe essence of sound-based magic is altering the vibrational state of an object, and such spells should indeed be renamed as vibrational magic.

 Chapter 117 - 117 - 50 New Ideas

    Chapter 117 ¨C 50 New Ideas


    ¡°The docks aren¡¯t that big, and the dockworkers all know each other. You¡¯re saying you don¡¯t know who¡¯s missing after the explosion?¡± Winters slammed the table hard.


    ¡°There¡¯re too many people on the docks, and anyone with the strength can become a dockworker, how could we remember everyone?¡± The man being interrogated answered flawlessly, ¡°Your Honor, the constable, why don¡¯t you ask someone else?¡±


    Winters asked various other questions from different angles, but the man stuck to his story that he knew nothing.


    ¡°Get out,¡± an exhausted Winters waved his hand, ¡°Send in the next one.¡±


    The man left, and another short, stocky man took his place in the chair.


    This little man sat uneasily on the stool, lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing.


    ¡°May I have your name?¡± Winters politely broke the silence.


    ...


    Before he finished speaking, the stout man sprang up as if stung in the buttocks, shouting, ¡°I know nothing!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking for your name¡­¡±


    ¡°I know nothing!¡±


    ¡°Your name¡­¡± Continue reading at empire


    ¡°I know nothing!¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡°I know nothing!¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters grabbed a cup from the table and smashed it to pieces on the ground.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    ¡°The dockworkers are all tight-lipped, they won¡¯t say anything,¡± Winters reported to Colonel Field helplessly about the inquiry results of the dockworkers.


    In the officers¡¯ club lounge, Field, Moritz, and Winters sat around a small table in a circle.


    ¡°The dockworkers are scared to be seen as informers. A few gangs control all the dockworking business, and they¡¯ve put a gag order in place, so naturally, the workers don¡¯t dare fart,¡± Field¡¯s mood was foul, holding a wine glass for a long time without having a sip, ¡°We can¡¯t protect the dockworkers¡¯ families, they won¡¯t side with us.¡±


    There were no leads on the assassination case, leaving Field and Winters with grim expressions.


    Major Moritz, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected and merrily poured his own drink. Winters couldn¡¯t help but wonder if Major Moritz was truly deaf or was just pretending not to hear so he could dodge the irksome work.


    Under the calm surface of the docks, an undercurrent was brewing; the Benvenuto family¡¯s house was still empty to this day. The cripple on Hidden People Street had some news, explaining why all the dockworkers were keeping their mouths shut, and why the entire Benvenuto family had disappeared.


    The dockworkers in Sea Blue City were roughly divided into several groups by region; they often got into violent conflicts over work competition, occasionally breaking an arm or a leg.


    On the night of the assassination, the Montan people found their leader lying in a pool of blood in an alley behind the Pine Forest Tavern, killed by a stab wound beneath the left rib.


    Just a few days earlier, the Montan people had a fierce fight with the Vaughan People, leaving one severely injured and several others with minor injuries. The one who was seriously injured died shortly after being carried back.


    Monta Republic is located in the mountainous area, where the environment is harsh. As the land can¡¯t sustain them, the men have to join the army to earn money. Therefore, Montans are known to be fierce and tenacious; braving death, Monta has been an important source of soldiers since ancient times.


    The Montan people now believe the Vaughan People are the murderers, swearing to repay blood with blood. That means they won¡¯t cease until they¡¯ve spilled the blood of their enemies.


    The Vaughan People, while denying they killed the Montan leader, regretted only that someone had taken their chance for revenge.


    For the family-oriented Vaughan People, when one dies, a part of the community seeks revenge. The entire Vaughan community is interconnected by complex familial ties, like a pot of soil teeming with plant roots.


    The Vaughan People, having suffered a great loss, were also licking their wounds and preparing to strike back.


    In the bustling shadows of the port area, both sides were gearing up, accumulating strength for what might become a full-blown fight.


    According to the cripple, both sides have been buying up real weapons and a lot of gunpowder on the black market. Even the Paratu People, uninvolved in the matter, were preparing in secret. The final outcome could be very ugly.


    The Vaughan man who had died of severe injuries in the previous violent conflict was Benvenuto¡¯s own uncle. In Vaughan culture, blood-revenge by relatives is a praise-worthy action. Therefore, the Benvenuto home was now a primary target for Montan retaliation, and according to the cripple, their house had likely been protected by the Vaughan community.


    Would the different groups of dockworkers fight to the death?


    Field couldn¡¯t care less about such matters.


    In his view, even if the sea at the port turned red with the blood of dockworkers, that was a problem for customs and the city guard.


    But it was precisely because of this absurd reason that the dockworkers remained silent, refusing to speak.


    ¡°These bastards, they¡¯re certain we can¡¯t torture them without evidence,¡± Field said angrily yet dejectedly, ¡°Damn it! Lock them up and beat them, and they¡¯d surely spill everything.¡±


    But Field could only talk tough; although torture was a common method used by Alliance law enforcement to obtain evidence, Alliance laws strictly regulated the conditions for its use. The Church also strictly forbade the use of torture on believers¡ª in theory.


    Today, if Field dared to imprison and torture the dockworkers without any evidence, he wouldn¡¯t have to wait for a future reversal in the case; he¡¯d have to pack up and leave to write war histories right now.

 Chapter 118 - 118 - 50 New Ideas_2

    Chapter 118 ¨C 50 New Ideas_2


    ¡°Use money?¡± Winters proposed another straightforward method.


    ¡°We can¡¯t offer a price high enough to warrant their lives, the dockworkers¡¯ association doesn¡¯t go easy on rats,¡± Field shook his head: ¡°Besides, ordinary workers wouldn¡¯t know anything valuable, we need to look for those in charge, but right now they definitely won¡¯t tell us where those leaders are.¡±


    In these past few days, Winters had a new thought in his mind but prudently didn¡¯t rashly propose it. Now, seeing the investigation had hit another deadlock, he felt it was time to share his new idea.


    ¡°I got my hands on a wheel-lock gun these days, almost identical to the one fished up,¡± the wheel-lock gun Winters referred to was actually Sofia¡¯s: ¡°After experimenting a few times, I first noticed that this gun is far from ordinary, and the gunner even more so.¡±


    After Sofia was taken into custody at the military barracks, the wheel-lock gun she carried was left behind at the Serviati residence. Winters, unable to resist his own curiosity, dismantled the gun, then spent three times as long reassembling it.


    Being a person with a natural intuition for mechanical structures, Winters quickly figured out the construction and principle of the wheel-lock gun. The essence of the gun¡¯s firing mechanism is a friction wheel connected to a coiled spring; it requires winding up the friction wheel ¡°tight¡± before use. When pulling the trigger, the rotating friction wheel scrapes against the flint to produce sparks, igniting the gunpowder.


    In Winters¡¯ view, the advantage of this design was that, unlike matchlock guns, it did not require careful attention to keep the slow match lit, and there was no open flame.


    ...


    One should know that matchlock guns are quite dangerous weapons, both to the enemy and to the gunner themselves. Since the match, although slow-burning, is still an open flame, it poses a risk to gunners who carry a large amount of gunpowder and are covered in powder residue; just not igniting oneself already qualified one for a salary.


    Another advantage was that it could be used with one hand, as the shooting process of a matchlock gun requires two hands; hence there were no one-handed matchlock pistols. Wheel-lock guns, however, could be shot by holding the gun and pulling the trigger with one hand, which is how dock assassins could wield a gun in one hand and a sword in the other.


    However, at the same time, Winters also noticed the danger in this design¡ªthe wheel-lock mechanism was far too complex, too fragile, and not reliable enough.


    Trigger, sear, coiled spring¡ªif any one component came loose, the gun could discharge unintentionally. How could an assassin dare to carry such a gun at their waist, not fearing it might discharge and blow apart their own thigh?


    ¡°What¡¯s so special about it?¡± Field lay back on the sofa with lackluster interest.


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to handle! The person who made the gun didn¡¯t even consider the reality of using it one-handed, still using a long gun barrel. Essentially it¡¯s just a sawn-off long gun, shooting thirty-gram lead bullets. With such caliber, the difficulty of one-handed use is tremendous; if I were to design it, I¡¯d make the caliber smaller,¡± Winters confidently shared his thoughts: ¡°The gun we fished up has an even larger caliber than the wheel-lock gun I have on hand. Whoever could shoot accurately with that gun must be proficient in firearms.¡±


    Field lay back on the sofa, softly humming a response: ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°The customs autopsy report gave me an inspiration; the coroner infers their identity and social status from the cadavers¡¯ physique, appearance, and calluses on their hands. I believe we can also speculate on what type of person the assassin is based on the evidence we have.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said Field, sitting up slowly: ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Four assassins, with at least two proficient in firearms, able to use these large caliber wheel-lock guns single-handedly; there are also insiders within customs, so they knew when the Bandit Gull was docking and were waiting at the docks in advance; the four passengers approached them on their own initiative, thinking the assassins were there to meet them, which is quite strange¡­ And yes, their horses, those draught horses pulling the cart didn¡¯t panic at the sound of gunfire¡­ Hah, untrained draught horses probably couldn¡¯t manage that.¡±


    Field¡¯s expression turned extremely serious; even Moritz noticed the change in the atmosphere and quietly put down his wine glass, and the colonel said to Winters in a grave voice: ¡°Speak your mind directly.¡±


    ¡°Those assassins also left a very, very, very deep impression on me with their swordsmanship expertise, especially their familiarity with Marshal Ned¡¯s Longsword techniques.¡±


    Winters used three ¡°very¡±s to express his thoughts, and he continued, ¡°It¡¯s as if they have sparred thousands of times, knowing exactly how to counter the Longsword with the Swift Sword. The moment I crossed swords with the first assassin I encountered, I nearly got my belly slashed open. It definitely wouldn¡¯t have been that close if it had been an ordinary swordsman. Major Moritz also fought with one of them, and you could ask for his opinion as well.¡±


    ¡°Experts in the military academy¡¯s Longsword technique, proficient in firearms, and horses trained to be unafraid of gunfire¡ªthere aren¡¯t many who fit this description in Vineta,¡± Winters gritted his teeth as he came to his conclusion: ¡°This is my own thinking, but the assassins we are looking for likely include a few alumni¡­ one of whom had his jaw kicked off by me.¡±


    ¡°Alumni,¡± which alumni? What Winters meant was clearly army officers, but the accusation was so serious that he still used the term alumni, yet Field would not have any misunderstanding.


    ¡°Are you very skilled in swordsmanship?¡± Field asked abruptly.


    ¡°Not bad, but there aren¡¯t many swordsmen who can put me in such a tight spot.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, there are training swords in the club,¡± Field stood up, grabbing his uniform coat: ¡°Talking won¡¯t do, a spar will show us.¡±


    Half an hour later, on the second floor of the officers¡¯ club.


    Field took off his helmet and wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting, ¡°You rascal really have something. I didn¡¯t expect a newcomer would make me the one with the worst swordsmanship¡­¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without training armor, just the helmets and a stop at touch, Winters scored 20-0 against Field. Winters had thought about giving the Colonel a few points, but as soon as he held the Longsword in his hands, all he could think about was winning. Colonel Field¡¯s sword skills were far inferior to his skills in Magic.


    ¡°Your turn,¡± Field called to Moritz, gesturing with a hook of his finger and tossing the helmet to the Major.


    Facing Moritz, the pressure on Winters surged. True to his reputation as one of the top swordsmen in the army competitions, the Major¡¯s reaction time and control in a sword exchange were much sharper than the Colonel¡¯s.


    But¡­ still a notch below Aike. Even though Winters routinely got beaten by Aike, Aike was a true master of swordsmanship. Through countless defeats, Winters¡¯ own swordsmanship also kept accumulating, and he even came close to beating Aike in the end.


    Major Moritz was a strong swordsman, but he was still just top tier. Not only was he unable to suppress Winters, but it was Winters who grew stronger the more he fought, ultimately winning the duel.


    Colonel Fidel watched with shining eyes from the side.


    ¡°This year¡¯s competition is relying on you to bring honor to the Military Police, Moritz doesn¡¯t have the drive, you must train hard,¡± Field came forward and firmly shook Winters¡¯ hand: ¡°Make sure to take down all the bastards from the Security Headquarters.¡±


    Winters, flattered, nodded again and again.

 Chapter 119 - 119 - 51: The Giant Rat of the Business Firm

    Chapter 119 ¨C 51: The Giant Rat of the Business Firm


    For the cultured young ladies of Sea Blue City, they appeared fragile and ignorant before marriage, evoking pity, and were as beautifully delicate as artificial flowers arranged in a tall celadon vase.


    But upon getting married, they transformed into the respected mistress of the household: managing the servants with impeccable order, ensuring the living room, study, bedroom, and the master¡¯s attire were spotless, and also guaranteeing the kitchen could provide decent food, among other things.


    Could marriage really possess such magic to turn an ignorant girl into a competent mistress overnight?


    Of course, that was impossible.


    In truth, the pretense of premarital ignorance was merely a disguise. In that era, every well-born woman had received extensive training before reaching the age suitable for marriage, in order to take on the duties of a mistress in the future.


    From a young age, they followed their mothers, learning through observation and participation how to manage an entire estate. When they got married, they would bring along servants, dowries, and sufficient capabilities to take over another household.


    The gentlemen thought women were weak and ignorant, while the ladies cleverly used this to their advantage, manipulating the men, a little secret among ladies unknown to the gentlemen.


    ...


    The deceived men should blame society, for after all, it was society that set the unified goal for unmarried ladies to find a husband of equal social status.


    The Navarre family was naturally the same, and like every respectable family in Sea Blue City, Anna Navarre had been raised by her mother from an early age to become an excellent wife and mistress.


    Indeed, compared to ordinary noble ladies, Lady Navarre held even higher expectations for her eldest daughter.


    An ordinary noble lady would bear offspring after marriage, raise children, and manage everything inside the house quite well. Your adventure continues at empire


    But that was all. Matters outside of family life were deemed the responsibility of the gentlemen and were not to be meddled with by the ladies.


    For a lady, working outside like a man was considered highly improper, attracting criticism and gossip from all around, unless¡­ unless she was a widow.


    And as a respectable widow, Lady Navarre not only expected her eldest daughter to become a qualified mistress, but she also hoped Anna would possess a business acumen superior to that of men, capable of assuming responsibilities traditionally not expected of women, and someday take over the management of Navarre Commerce¡ªensuring the property would not be lost due to an incompetent heir.


    So every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon, when Lady Navarre came to the large office of Navarre Commerce to work, Anna would sit quietly beside her mother¡¯s large peach wood desk, using a small knife to help her mother open one letter after another, assisting Lady Navarre in checking the accounts, listening to reports from employees, and silently observing her mother¡¯s decision-making process.


    ¡°Mr. Lodovico,¡± Lady Navarre asked in a gentle and magnetic tone, unhurriedly, ¡°Could you explain why, despite my written orders two months ago, to this day you have not even reached half the planned purchase volume?¡±


    The chair of the employee was two meters away from Lady Navarre¡¯s desk, located in the very center of this spacious office. The chair was not comfortable to sit in, completely exposed at the front and with nothing around it, the whole office arranged in such a way that the person sitting there felt completely seen through.


    However, the middle-aged man sitting opposite Lady Navarre did not display the same discomfort and nervousness as the younger employees. He sat upright, holding his hat in hand; his hair, threaded with strands of silver, was meticulously groomed. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lodovico answered calmly, ¡°Madam, the prices of sulfur, saltpeter, lead, and iron are climbing, and many competitors are vying with us for supplies on the market. Our current stock is the result of our best efforts to procure these materials. Moreover, if we were to fulfill the quantity you requested at the current prices, it would deplete most of the liquid assets on our balance sheet. Our main focus is not these bulk goods, and I cannot agree to your speculative actions.¡±


    ¡°Your points are well-made,¡± Lady Navarre nodded with approval on her face, tapping the bell on her desk. The maid waiting outside the office door came in.


    ¡°Summon all the senior partners here,¡± Lady Navarre ordered in a clear voice.


    The maid nodded and then closed the door.


    Anna faintly sensed a change in the atmosphere, growing more solemn. Lodovico¡¯s soft hat was now misshapen in his hand, but he still maintained an air of composure, his face as calm as ever.


    The senior partners above the level of head of Navarre Commerce filed in, silently communicating with their eyes, roughly forming a line, with only Lodovico remaining seated.


    ¡°Good afternoon, gentlemen,¡± Lady Navarre nodded as a greeting.


    The senior partners also touched their hats to their chests and bowed in response.


    ¡°Now that everyone is assembled, Mr. Lodovico can explain these two sets of ledgers for us,¡± Lady Navarre said as she took out two ledgers with black covers from the drawer.


    Upon seeing the two ledgers, Lodovico¡¯s face turned ashen, and he fell silent, bowing his head.


    The senior partners were all experienced businessmen; they immediately knew what was up when they heard about the sets of ledgers. The office fell so silent that one could hear a pin drop, everyone holding their breath and listening intently to what Lady Navarre would say next.

 Chapter 120 - 120 - 51: The Magnate Rat 2

    Chapter 120 ¨C 51: The Magnate Rat 2


    ¡°What is the difference between these two ledgers? The difference lies in the fact that one of the ledgers recorded all the transactions of bulk purchases of goods like sulfur and saltpeter by Navarre Commerce over the past two months, while the other has had most of the transaction records erased, leaving only a small portion of the content.¡±


    Lady Navarre slammed the ledger onto the desk, ¡°Mr. Lodovico, your idea was perfect. You handed over the goods purchased by Navarre Commerce to your brother-in-law, intending to profit handsomely by selling them off with the fake ledger if the price of these bulk goods rose. If the price fell, you would present the real ledger and let the firm bear the loss.¡±


    Anna noticed Lady Navarre was signaling her with her eyes. Understanding her mother¡¯s intent, she obediently took up the ledgers and offered them to the senior partners present, but no one dared to take a closer look. She completed a circuit and brought the ledgers back.


    ¡°What exactly have I done to be treated with such disrespect by you?¡± Lady Navarre¡¯s tone was icy: ¡°You have worked in the Navarre family for over a decade and are the most senior partner. I trusted you, yet you betrayed my trust. Do you have anything else to say?¡±


    Ever since Lady Navarre took out the two ledgers, Lodovico had kept his head deeply bowed, with no one knowing what the eldest employee was thinking.


    Moments later, he raised his head and regained his composure and calm, ¡°The ledgers are not about truth or falsity, one is merely my projection. The goods purchased by Navarre Commerce only amount to what is in the warehouse, which corresponds exactly with the actual ledger. I haven¡¯t misappropriated any of the firm¡¯s money for personal gain. Since you no longer trust me, please allow me to resign.¡±


    Lodovico calmly adjusted his clothes, put on his hat, and stood up intending to leave. In this moment, he became the principal partner in Navarre Commerce, second to none and above all others.


    ...


    ¡°Why are you still stubbornly denying everything? Do you hope Mr. Yano will continue to take your side, and once you leave here, you can dispose of the goods to cover the deficit?¡± Lady Navarre asked slowly and methodically.


    The senior partners erupted into an uproar, not expecting Lady Navarre to point out yet another major rat. Another tall and lean senior partner was pushed out of the crowd, bowing awkwardly to Lady Navarre, his mouth opening and closing. In the end, he chose to play mute and said nothing.


    ¡°You are now complacent, simply because you believe your accounts are impeccable, not a single silver coin missing from the firm¡¯s funds. But you mortgaged the inventory of cloth as the capital to purchase these bulk goods, do you think I wouldn¡¯t find out?¡± Lady Navarre then drew several documents from her drawer, asking with a smile.


    Lodovico replied politely, ¡°Mortgaging the firm¡¯s inventory without permission was Mr. Yano¡¯s personal action, I fail to see what this has to do with me. You should hold Mr. Yano accountable.¡±


    ¡°Madam! I never thought of embezzling the firm¡¯s money! It was Lodovico who said he needed some money to tide over, that¡¯s why I did it!¡± Yano, realizing he had been betrayed, shouted, ¡°Lodovico lured me! He¡¯s the devil!¡±


    Yano charged at Lodovico, ¡°You devil¡­¡±


    Lodovico met him head-on with a punch that knocked the tall and lean Yano to the ground, who then clutched his face and moaned in pain as blood flowed from between his fingers. The sight made Anna cry out in shock.


    ¡°How embarrassing,¡± Lodovico said, graciously taking off his hat, bowing to the people in the room as if he was truly sorry for losing his composure in public, ¡°Mr. Yano is not my partner, there is only a creditor-debtor relationship between us, with a promissory note as evidence. As for where the money Mr. Yano lent me came from, haha, I personally had no knowledge.¡±


    Having said this, Lodovico put his hat back on and turned to leave the place.


    A round of applause came from behind the desk.


    ¡°Splendid, truly splendid, Mr. Lodovico,¡± said Lady Navarre as she clapped and smiled, ¡°You¡¯ve crafted a complete narrative that clears you of all charges on a legal basis. Even if I were to accuse you, you could use this as your defense in court. But you¡¯ve made one mistake¡­¡±


    Lady Navarre¡¯s tone shifted, ¡°I may be unreasonable.¡±


    Lady Navarre pressed the bell on her desk, and under the command of an army officer, several fierce-looking soldiers emerged from the adjacent room.


    The soldiers immediately approached and grasped Lodovico, who shouted and resisted briefly before one hit him hard across the face with a lead-filled baton.


    Lodovico, half-dead from the blow, was then tightly bound.


    Lady Navarre gracefully walked up to Lodovico and, looking down at him with cold disdain said, ¡°Navarre Commerce had already signed a trade agreement with the army two months ago. You were not selling off my goods, you were trading military supplies. So, take your reasoning to a military court, Mr. Lodovico!¡±


    The army officer nodded to Lady Navarre and took Lodovico and Yano away.


    Having witnessed the widow¡¯s prowess, the remaining senior partners of Navarre Commerce were now silent as chickens.


    ¡°Mr. Leo,¡± called Lady Navarre, pointing to another senior partner.


    Unease spread through the crowd, could it be that Lady Navarre was taking this opportunity to reshuffle the deck?


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    A portly man of average height stood up, bending at the waist to pay his obsequious respects to Lady Navarre with a sycophantic smile.


    ¡°You will take over Lodovico¡¯s responsibilities, while middle partner Piero will take over your current position. The rest of you may leave, Mr. Leo, please stay behind.¡±


    The crowd breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed this matter was, for the moment, closed.


    After the other partners left, the portly Mr. Leo tentatively asked, ¡°Madam, shall we then continue with the original plan to purchase sulfur, saltpeter, and the like? The prices are already very high.¡±


    ¡°Continue, the future prices will be even higher,¡± Lady Navarre replied wearily, leaning back in her chair and resting her forehead on her hand.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°I think there was no need to treat Mr. Lodovico that way, it was too cruel¡­ After all, he has been a friend of our family for many years, and he has even held Kate¡­¡± Anna said in a soft voice inside the carriage on their way home.


    ¡°You¡­ After all these years of teaching, do you still not understand?¡± Lady Navarre sighed, ¡°The world outside the family is a man¡¯s world, thus a woman needs to be more masculine than a man to avoid being looked down upon. If your father were still here, would Lodovico dare to do such a thing? Therefore, I must be even more ruthless and heartless than your father, in order to protect our family¡¯s wealth. Remember this in your heart.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you teach Catherine instead?¡± Anna muttered under her breath, ¡°She really likes doing business. You took me to the commerce house, and she was nearly green with envy. I think it¡¯s not too late to start teaching her now, she¡¯d be very willing. Why does it have to be me? I don¡¯t even like looking at ledgers. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to let the right person do the right job?¡±


    Lady Navarre sighed again, ¡°What your sister likes is the feeling of being able to order people around. When your two sisters get married, I will prepare a very large dowry for each of them, making them the wives with the most generous dowries in Sea Blue City, but I cannot let Kate manage the commerce house.¡±


    Anna pouted and huffed softly. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing her daughter still very unconvinced, Lady Navarre seriously warned Anna, ¡°Listen well, managing Navarre Commerce is not a power, but a responsibility. It¡¯s a parent¡¯s responsibility, and once you take it on, you have to take care of your two sisters for life.¡±


    Lady Navarre fell into memories and continued, ¡°When you were young and fought with your sister, it was you who got scratched, but it was Catherine who came crying to me. You didn¡¯t shed a single tear. I realized then that your sister is a flower that can only bloom in the full summer; if the times turn bad, Catherine won¡¯t survive on her own. That¡¯s why I chose you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to take care of Catherine for life,¡± Anna said defiantly, ¡°Taking care of Olivia is one thing, Catherine¡­ Catherine doesn¡¯t need my care, and she never saw me as her sister.¡±


    Lady Navarre adjusted her daughter¡¯s hair and said with a smile, ¡°When you both grow up, you will look back at the fights with your sister as beautiful memories.¡±


    The carriage drove out of the suburbs and returned to Navarre Manor.


    The butler helped the lady and young miss out of the carriage, and reported in a soft voice, ¡°General Serviati and Mr. Montaigne are waiting at the residence¡­ It seems Mr. Montaigne is here for Miss Anna.¡±

 Chapter 121 - 121 - 52 Giovanni’s Request

    Chapter 121 ¨C 52 Giovanni¡¯s Request


    In the quiet parlor of Lady Navarre, Antonio was lounging on the sofa, comfortably enjoying the paintings on the wall as if he were in his own home.


    Winters, on the other hand, maintained an erect posture¡ªeyes on his nose, nose in line with his mouth, mouth following the heart¡ªsitting upright in the chair like a statue.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so stiff,¡± Antonio cheerfully passed a small plate of nuts to Winters, ¡°Right now, you look just like an Ascetic Monk, the only thing missing is a flail in your hand to scourge your own back.¡±


    ¡°Whose fault is that?¡± Winters retorted, irritated at the main person responsible acting as if the matter was none of his concern.


    Antonio carelessly picked up a fig from the small table and slowly peeled the skin, ¡°Haven¡¯t I accompanied you here?¡±


    Why had Winters and Antonio come to the Navarre mansion? The reason was rather convoluted.


    Major Moritz only had ten steel awls, which were far from enough. Therefore, Winters sought help from his uncle¡ªAntonio¡¯s younger brother, Giovanni Serviati.


    ...


    The Serviati family¡¯s history in Sea Blue City was not long; it was only from Antonio and Giovanni¡¯s father, Cavalier, that the Serviati family began to flourish in Sea Blue.


    Cavalier, a big-nosed, hot-tempered Venetian, had been forced to leave his family behind due to a vendetta when he was young.


    His mother placed two Gold Coins in his hand, kissed his cheeks, and said in tears, ¡°My dear son, do not spend these two Gold Coins. Keep them with you but do not spend them. The red streaks in the coin¡¯s design are the blood of Saint Novellata. Carry them with you, and Saint Novellata will bless you. And I shall pray for you at every moment.¡±


    His father silently handed him a sharp sword.


    And so, with a sword, two Gold Coins, and his mother¡¯s blessing, Cavalier came to Sea Blue City from the City of Flowers¡ªalone.


    He first pawned the fine sword, then spent the two Gold Coins and lived comfortably for a while. But, within days, once the money was spent, Cavalier¡¯s new ¡°friends¡± in Sea Blue abandoned him at twice the speed they had approached him.


    Penniless and desolate, Cavalier lived miserably until a kind-hearted goldsmith took him in as an apprentice. After surviving a tough apprenticeship, he became a full member of the Sea Blue City Guild of Precious Metal Craftsmen.


    By the time Cavalier¡¯s eldest son, Antonio, was born, he had already made a name for himself as a gold and silversmith in Sea Blue City, owning a rather fine workshop. And he had redeemed the heirloom sword and the two Gold Coins said to be touched by Saint Novellata¡¯s blood.


    Cavalier Serviati¡¯s eldest son, Antonio, passed the entrance exams to the Military Academy, becoming a military officer. His younger son, Giovanni, inherited his father¡¯s craft and took over the workshop after Cavalier passed away, becoming a gold and silver craftsman. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Antonio held a fatherly position in Winters¡¯s heart, then Giovanni, though his uncle in name, was actually more like a brother to him.


    The progeny of Cavalier was fragile, with five children dying young. It was many years after the birth of the eldest son that a second healthy son grew up. Antonio was fourteen years older than Giovanni, and Giovanni was only nine years older than Winters.


    So, compared to his much older brother, the fun-loving Giovanni was much closer to Winters. Most of the major misdeeds Winters committed growing up were led by Giovanni.


    If Winters accidentally set the house on fire, he wouldn¡¯t tell Antonio or Kosa, but he would tell Giovanni. If Giovanni killed someone, he wouldn¡¯t tell his brother either; he would ask Winters to help him move the corpse.


    Of the ten steel awls Moritz gave Winters, only five sharp-tipped ones could be used in combat, which was obviously insufficient. Winters wanted someone to make a batch just like the ones the Major had provided.


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    As the job was metalwork-related, Winters immediately thought of his uncle Giovanni. Even though Giovanni was a precious metals craftsman, Winters believed that he must also know some highly skilled blacksmiths.


    Apart from forging a batch of awls, Winters had another objective: to create a sheath for Elizabeth¡¯s dagger.


    The dagger, which Elizabeth had pestered from Winters, had initially been returned to Sofia, but somehow, Elizabeth persuaded Sofia to gift the dagger back to her.


    The leather sheath Elizabeth had made was hardly usable, quickly becoming full of holes from the dagger¡¯s pokes. Thus, Winters had another mission, to ask Giovanni to fashion a silver sheath for Elizabeth. Of course, the sheath would only be silver on the outside, lined with softwood padding inside to prevent the dagger¡¯s blade from becoming dull.


    Winters had thought making a few hundred identical steel awls would not be difficult, but it was only after speaking with actual blacksmiths that he understood the complexity involved.


    To maintain consistency in shape and weight purely by handcraft was challenging. The steel awls made by Major Moritz were cylindrical, and hand-forging could not craft cylinders. They had to forge prisms and then painstakingly file down the edges before smoothing them out. And it would be even more time-consuming and labor-intensive to work with steel.


    Meanwhile, ensuring each awl had the same weight would multiply the difficulty of production.


    Using Giovanni¡¯s most precise scale, designed for weighing Gold, even that could not detect any weight difference between the ten steel awls Moritz had given to Winters.

 Chapter 122 - 122 - 52 Giovanni’s Request_2

    Chapter 122 ¨C 52 Giovanni¡¯s Request_2


    These ten steel spikes left Giovanni¡¯s blacksmith friend utterly astonished, admitting that he didn¡¯t possess such skill, and even if he exerted great effort to make them, each steel spike would cost more than a silver coin.


    According to Giovanni, ¡°The materials aren¡¯t expensive, but the craftsman¡¯s dedication far exceeds the value of the material itself. The value of craftsmanship is severely undervalued, which is why so few would expend so much effort on a base metal. These little items are like engraving patterns into iron.¡±


    It was only then that Winters began to understand why Major Moritz used silver coins as casting materials¡ªthat the cost to produce these specialized steel spikes was even higher than that of a silver coin.


    It would be better off just using silver coins as arrows, since the coins from the Vineta Mint are uniformly minted and readily available materials of equal weight and similar shape.


    Compared to the troubles encountered in custom-making the steel spikes, crafting a sword sheath for Elizabeth was much more straightforward.


    Winters brought the dagger as well. After Giovanni took the measurements and made a wax mold, all Elizabeth had to do was wait at home for Uncle Giovanni to deliver the sheath to her.


    ¡°By the way, did the little girl mention wanting any particular patterns as decoration on the sheath?¡± Giovanni asked casually as he handed the dagger back to Winters.


    ...


    Winters was stumped by the question; he did not dare to decide for Elizabeth. He had no choice but to ride back home without rest to ask Elizabeth herself.


    Elizabeth did not immediately reply to Winters, but after visiting the studio once, she handed Winters two paintings.


    These two paintings were different from the common religious style, leaning more towards freehand painting, not concerned with perspective, and with delicate, exquisite strokes outlining a rich and splendid scene. Yet, they were not overly complex, making good use of negative space techniques.


    Giovanni was amazed when he saw the two paintings and delivered the finished sheath the very next day. The patterns provided by Elizabeth were replicated by Giovanni using the embossing technique on the sheath.


    The embossing technique involved using a small chisel to hammer out hand-symmetrical patterns on the back of a thin metal plate, resulting in shallow relief patterns on the front side. Details were then carved by hand to enhance the clarity of the relief lines. This ultimately created beautiful relief patterns on the metal surface.


    These embossings on the sword sheath served not only a decorative purpose but also made the sheath more secure to grasp to a certain extent.


    Elizabeth was so pleased with the sword sheath that she excitedly went to show it off to Tess and Antonio.


    However, Giovanni had another matter in mind when he came to see his young nephew. He laughed heartily as he hooked his arm around Winters¡¯ neck: ¡°Where did those two patterns come from? Do you have any more?¡±


    It turned out that Giovanni had shown the two patterns to another wealthy merchant¡¯s wife and immediately received orders for two silver salt cellars.


    Compared to base metal craftsmen, the valuation of skills for precious metal craftsmen is somewhat higher. Even if a lot of effort is expended, iron can hardly sell for the price of silver. However, after precious metal craftsmen have elaborately carved and polished, the price of gold and silver artifacts can far exceed the value of the material itself.


    Therefore, unlike base metal craftsmen who pursue mass production, precious metal craftsmen have taken a different path: investing more effort into a small number of exquisite gold and silver items to make money.


    The keen-nosed Giovanni realized that wealthy female patrons were very fond of these patterns. This new style presented to Giovanni an opportunity akin to a new vein of ore, and he was eager to acquire more patterns.


    Winters explained, ¡°The patterns were given to me by Ella, she¡¯s always going to Lady Angusola¡¯s studio, aren¡¯t she? She must have painted them herself.¡±


    Giovanni said regretfully upon hearing this, ¡°That girl Ella, if I ask her, she¡¯s definitely going to extort me.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing I can do,¡± Winters spread his hands.


    ¡°But has Ella not always listened to you?¡± Giovanni seemed to have had a plan in mind, ¡°You help me request a few more patterns from her, and I¡¯ll help solve your steel spike issue, how about that?¡±


    For the steel spikes Winters wanted to customize, Giovanni had the following solution: the cylindrical shape required too much manual labor time and was not considered; therefore, he proposed using a triangular prism, which could be directly forged on an anvil with a V-groove; after the blacksmith made the roughly equi-weight blanks, they would be sent to Giovanni¡¯s workshop for a secondary process called ¡°precision grinding,¡± a technique used in precious metalwork. Though it could not achieve the exact precision of the ten steel spikes Winters had, it would ensure uniformity of shape and weight to the greatest extent possible.


    More importantly, the cost would be acceptable to Winters.


    Winters couldn¡¯t refuse the proposal, but he did not expect that his uncle had changed, and now wanted to trade with him in this manner. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the look of grievance in Winters¡¯ eyes, Giovanni agreed to make an additional silver saddle head as compensation for the patterns. Moreover, whether or not Winters could bring more patterns, he would still help Winters with the steel spikes.


    However, much to Winters¡¯ and Giovanni¡¯s surprise, Elizabeth told Winters that she was not the artist of those patterns.


    She mentioned a name that Winters was least willing to hear at the moment: Anna Navarre.


    Not only did Elizabeth know Anna, but their relationship was also very close. Anna, Elizabeth, and several other female friends were learning together in Lady Angusola¡¯s studio. Those two patterns were ones Elizabeth had requested Anna to draw.


    Pride is a subtle thing; it drives people to perform noble acts but can also prevent communication between them.

 Chapter 123 - 123 - 52 Giovanni’s Request_3

    Chapter 123 ¨C 52 Giovanni¡¯s Request_3


    Out of pride, Major General Layton honored his first promise to defect, and Winters rushed into the enemy¡¯s cabin ignoring the knife wound on his arm;


    It was also out of pride that Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to explain to Miss Navarre, much less wanted to see her again. After all, that unexplained slap still stung quite a bit.


    But Elizabeth smirked, refusing to agree to help Winters get the designs from Anna. Clearly, she already knew through her own channels that Winters had been slapped by Anna. This was probably one of the few joys in her mundane life, and she definitely wasn¡¯t going to let it go easily.


    ¡°Your friend has a particularly bad impression of me, I¡¯d rather not see her if I can help it. Is this how you want to see me get slapped again?¡± Winters grabbed Elizabeth to stop her from running away.


    ¡°Winters, I¡¯m doing this for your own good,¡± Elizabeth argued with a twisted logic, feigning seriousness, ¡°You¡¯ve almost angered Anna to death, and now all my lady friends think you¡¯re a very indecent man¡­ Apologize to Anna, she will forgive you.¡±


    ¡°Why should I apologize?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at the same time, seeing through Elizabeth¡¯s thoughts, ¡°You¡¯d be happy to see me get slapped again, huh?¡±


    Elizabeth could no longer hold back and burst into unrestrained laughter. Just then, Antonio came home, and Elizabeth quickly sought her father¡¯s help.


    ...


    Antonio¡¯s attitude was generous, ¡°I originally thought they were just going to Lady Anguisola¡¯s studio for fun. So they are pretty good at painting, huh? Since Giovanni needs to ask for Miss Navarre¡¯s assistance, I¡¯ll take you to Navarre Manor myself.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be easier for you to go ask Mrs. Navarre yourself to take a few of her daughter¡¯s paintings?¡±


    ¡°Giovanni is asking for your help, not mine. You should go yourself; I¡¯m going to Navarre Manor to apologize for my own rude behavior to Miss Navarre.¡± Antonio¡¯s smile was just like Elizabeth¡¯s, and Winters confirmed once more that Ella¡¯s penchant for mischief was definitely inherited from Antonio. Continue reading at empire


    Upon returning to Mrs. Navarre¡¯s small parlor, Antonio and Winters were greeted by Mrs. Navarre and her daughter.


    Antonio and Mrs. Navarre were old acquaintances. He briefly explained the purpose of their visit, hoping to obtain several of Miss Navarre¡¯s works on behalf of his brother Giovanni. Before Anna could speak, Mrs. Navarre agreed on her daughter¡¯s behalf.


    Afterward, Antonio cheerfully started conversing with Anna in the old tongue, then switched to speaking with her in ancient language.


    Anna responded fluently, while Mrs. Navarre felt somewhat at a loss on the side.


    Winters could understand them, but the conversation between Antonio and Anna was casual small talk with no substantial content.


    After confirming that Anna could indeed use the old and ancient languages, Antonio stood up and bowed deeply to Anna, saying sincerely, ¡°[Old Language] Miss Anna, I apologize for any offense I previously caused, having mistakenly seen you as a common woman; please accept my apology.¡±


    Anna, Mrs. Navarre, and Winters were all taken aback.


    In any case, in this era, men held a far higher status than women; not to mention that even if Anna were male, the social status of Navy Admiral and Standing Army commander Antonio Serviati was still far above hers.


    It was rare in any era or country for someone of higher status to apologize to someone of lower status. Most high-status individuals, even if they should apologize, act as if nothing happened.


    Seeing this, Winters began to admire his uncle¡¯s magnanimity, because Antonio was sincerely apologizing for his actions to Anna without any reluctance.


    Anna, seeing Antonio bow deeply to her, was also a bit panicked. She quickly stood up, clumsily returning a curtsy.


    Without saying anything more, Antonio turned his head to Mrs. Navarre and said with a smile, ¡°Then please have Miss Navarre bring out a few of her artworks.¡±


    Mrs. Navarre was utterly confused, not understanding what had happened, and she hadn¡¯t grasped a single word of the conversation between Antonio and Anna.


    Finally, Antonio switched back to the common language, and Mrs. Navarre, gracefully leaning back in her armchair, responded, ¡°Let the two children go together. You and I have endless topics to discuss.¡±


    Winters followed Anna, and the two walked in silence all the way to Anna¡¯s studio.


    The studio was furnished with several easels, the tables covered with canvases and papers. Many completed works covered with white cloth leaned against the walls. Countless papers with sketches lay carelessly on the floor.


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Anna, with her back to Winters, rummaged through the table, annoyed, she spoke first, ¡°Mr. Serviati still deeply looks down on women, ¡¯I mistakenly viewed you as a common woman,¡¯ does this mean he can be so frivolous with any common woman?¡±


    Winters was left speechless.


    The more Anna thought, the angrier she became, and she turned to Winters with a burning question, ¡°What do you think, Mr. Montaigne?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, speaking slowly, ¡°As a guest, I should not have been treated this way.¡±


    Two rolls of paper were thrown at Winters, but since the thrower wasn¡¯t strong, and the papers were no javelins, Winters easily caught them.


    ¡°A guest can demand my work after insulting me?¡± Anna came over holding several more rolls, shoving the papers at Winters, ¡°Take them all!¡±


    ¡°Others can¡¯t represent me; I¡¯ve never entertained any indecent thoughts towards you. On the contrary, you¡¯ve been quite rude to me.¡± Winters replied with neither humility nor arrogance, ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to gift your paintings to me, I am also prepared to purchase them. But to be honest, compared to before, I now hold you in less respect.¡±


    Anna was truly about to lose her mind with anger now.


    ¡°Or perhaps, would you like to slap me again?¡± Winters asked wistfully.


    His words were so full of mockery that Anna was driven to utter fury, and then she¡­ she started to cry.


    Yes, Anna was cried out of anger.


    She crouched on the ground, burying her head as she sobbed heavily.


    Winters was stunned.


    He stood there agape, completely at a loss.


    ¡°Eh? Why are you crying?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not faking it, are you?¡±


    The other party cried even louder. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here? I¡¯m innocent.¡±


    ¡°If your servants hear this, I¡¯ll be smeared¡­ so will you.¡±


    Still no effect.


    Winters also crouched down, tentatively asking, ¡°Or¡­ perhaps if I slap you back we call it even?¡±


    ¡°You hit me!¡± Anna lifted her head, sobbing and hiccuping, small, helpless, yet fierce.


    Finally, there was an effect.


    ¡°I don¡¯t hit¡­ ladies.¡± Winters intended to say he didn¡¯t hit women, but then he thought of Sofia, and among women, there were fierce assassins like Sofia, so he chose to replace ¡¯women¡¯ with ¡¯ladies.¡¯


    Anna stopped crying, her eyes red, and asked Winters with no ladylike image at all, sniffling, ¡°You said you want to buy my painting, right?¡±


    ¡°I can buy it, you name the price.¡±


    ¡°It better not be extortionate,¡± Winters thought to himself, ¡°I still have to get reimbursed from Uncle Giovanni.¡±


    ¡°You will know the price.¡± Anna glared at Winters and pushed him out of the studio.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the way home, Antonio remarked to Winters with emotion, ¡°Miss Navarre is indeed remarkable; I think if she weren¡¯t a woman, she would surely achieve even more.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me just a few days ago that widows hold up half of Vineta?¡± Winters retorted.


    ¡°Exactly, I was talking about widows.¡± Antonio replied with a smile, ¡°If Miss Navarre becomes a widow, she would also achieve even more.¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Inside Navarre Manor, Anna buried her face in Lady Navarre¡¯s bosom, her face showing no trace of having cried just before.


    ¡°Are you very familiar with that young man named Winters?¡± Lady Navarre asked casually.


    ¡°No, this was only the second time we met.¡± Anna replied absentmindedly.


    ¡°What do you think of him?¡±


    ¡°Not good!¡±


    Lady Navarre said seriously to Anna, ¡°I know his mother, I¡¯ve seen his father. He carries Northern blood, and our family does not intermarry with Northerners, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Mom, what are you talking about! I¡¯m not Katelyn, who thinks about getting married all the time!¡±

 Chapter 124 - 124 - 53: Honor Guard

    Chapter 124 ¨C 53: Honor Guard


    In the morning light, a beautiful three-masted ship appeared on the sea. Hanging from the ship¡¯s mainmast was the flag that represented the emperor of the Muruo Empire, and on the second tallest mast hung the unfamiliar noble emblem of some noble that Winters did not recognize.


    Although also with three masts, this ship was certainly not a small vessel like the Bandit Gull. The ship before him was an imposing warship, with three-story high aft and fore castles that stood like dual humps on the deck.


    The Bandit Gull, being a smaller vessel, was like a dwarf before a giant, easily crushed with a mere flick of the finger.


    ¡°Finally, they¡¯ve arrived. They really made us wait,¡± Andre complained under his breath to Winters.


    Winters yawned, ¡°All mysterious, yet we don¡¯t know which big shot it is.¡±


    As temporary members of the Honor Guard, Winters and Andre had been waiting on the naval dock outside Sea Blue City since before dawn, and now they were dead tired.


    Bard, being slightly shorter, was lucky to miss out. Winters, Andre, and the other eighteen apprentice officers were not so fortunate, currently holding long halberds and clad in armor, they served as the Honor Guard for the Vineta Army to present a splendid front.


    ...


    Once the investigation shifted toward the interior of the Vineta Army, Winters found himself with quite a bit of free time. As all the official officers ranked higher than him, an apprentice officer was not qualified to question any official officer.


    Although, in theory, the military police were a tool the army used against their own, the military police department overseen by Field was different.


    The essence of the Army Headquarters Military Police was akin to a gatekeeper, with the boundary of their jurisdiction being the surrounding wall of the headquarters. The ¡°military police¡± were only responsible for standing guard at the gates on ordinary days, having never arrested anyone.


    So, Winters spent most of his time recently on office duty, doing menial tasks like handling documents and scheduling duties for the gate guards, chatting with the copier Morlock over tea to pass time when idle. He also had lots of time to attend to his personal matters, such as ordering steel spikes, making scabbards for Elizabeth, and requesting designs from Giovanni.


    Meanwhile, two staff officers were out working hard on the investigation.


    There weren¡¯t many army officers who matched the conditions of being proficient with firearms, skilled in Swift Sword, having an injury on the chin, and lacking an alibi on the day of the assassination.


    Most army officers were merely competent in using firearms; they were the commanders of the musketeers, not musketeers themselves. And as Instructor Nar had said, many officers dropped swordsmanship after leaving the military academy because they hardly used it. For example, Warrant Officer Montaigne had not practiced swordsmanship since he sailed home; he only managed to win against Major Moritz by relying on his past experience.


    A hundred years back, even kings and dukes had to be in armor, riding warhorses, and charging into the front lines.


    However, with the change in military philosophy and the growing scale of armies, being an officer became a technical profession. Although the northern Empire already had a tradition of military nobility, in recent years, they have also started establishing military academies, following the example of the southern Alliance.


    Personal bravery was no longer the main criterion for evaluating a commander, so only those who were genuinely passionate about swordsmanship and shooting would continue to practice these skills.


    Major Moritz, who had always shunned duty, could no longer feign ignorance, as the description Winters gave reminded him of a small group¡ªthe Duel Club.


    The Duel Club was a small association within the Army, primarily composed of army officers who enjoyed combat techniques with melee and ranged weapons. They would meet and compete regularly. It wasn¡¯t a secret society; any army officer with an interest could join.


    Moritz thought they ought to start the investigation with the Duel Club¡¯s members and, rarely volunteering, took on the task of obtaining the Duel Club¡¯s membership list¡ªsince the major himself was also a member.


    But after only two days of leisure, another task came his way. The headquarters had picked twenty of the tallest apprentice officers of the year. Winters was informed that he had honorably made it into this year¡¯s Venetian Army officer Honor Guard.


    Only then did Winters learn that every year, twenty tall apprentice officers were selected to form the so-called ¡°officer Honor Guard.¡± Simply put, they were to dress impressively and then serve as decorations during various important Army events.


    Because virtually no significant or minor event would go by without being called to stand as human statues, the official officers hated this duty. In the end, they had to choose from among the apprentice officers, replacing them yearly.


    Andre and Winters were both unlucky enough to be selected, so they had been standing dumbly at the dock since early morning, their armor frosted with dew, unsure who they were even there to welcome.


    As they passed the outer circle of naval artillery fortifications, the guns and gun ports on the approaching vessel¡¯s gun deck and stern castle opened one after another, the dark muzzles poking out.


    From Winters and Andre¡¯s vantage, the warship¡¯s hull emitted puffs of blue smoke, which were quickly followed by rolls of thunder over the sea.


    The warship was firing a salute.


    Gun loading took time, and for short-barreled thirty-two pounders used at close quarters to destroy enemy ships, sailors even had to be hoisted outside the hull to load the guns. When warships entered a foreign port, firing blanks was a way to show lack of hostile intent, and over time, it evolved into a special gesture of etiquette.


    The naval artillery fortresses also fired salutes in response.


    Only when the ship got closer did Winters notice that its hull was lavishly decorated with paint, wood carvings, and gilding. These extravagant decorations served no purpose in combat and were purely to showcase royal grandeur and majesty, eliciting a deep disdain in Winters for the ostentatious style of the northern Empire, which he considered all flash and no substance.


    Guided by the pilot boat, the magnificent and mighty warship slowly retracted its sails and deftly docked at the navy¡¯s pier.


    ¡°First gun crew! Ignite!¡±


    At the command, the army¡¯s cannons were also fired.


    For more than two decades, the Venetian Army and Navy had given no quarter, contesting everything from military budgets to the seats in the Council of Thirteen to the pettiest of trifles. Any contestable matter was an excuse for struggle. Explore more stories at empire


    The gun salute from the bastion was a gesture from the Navy, and with the Army present, of course, they couldn¡¯t let the Navy exclusively represent Vineta. Consequently, the Army brought over a dozen large cannons for a saluting ceremony.


    The passengers had yet to disembark when two figures circling in the sky started to loom larger. These figures, initially the size of seagulls, were actually much larger but appeared small because of their height. As they approached the ground, everyone on the dock realized these were two monstrous creatures.


    The two birds resembled eagles, but ordinary eagles would never be this large. The wingspan of these giant eagles was wider than the warship, casting shadows like dark clouds as they soared above. The two behemoths dove down, scattering the terrified gunners, who couldn¡¯t be called back even by officers shouting themselves hoarse.


    The two giant eagles gracefully landed on the dock, stretching their wings as if to show off, letting out a sharp screech and surveilling their surroundings with indifferent yellow eyes. Winters estimated the wingspan of the giant eagles to be at least ten meters long, standing taller than a single-story building, appearing like two high walls on the dock.


    Winters, of course, didn¡¯t run like the gunners. The officer Honor Guard remained still, knowing what these creatures were. However, had Winters not seen the giant eagles with his own eyes, he wouldn¡¯t have believed such beings could truly exist.


    ¡°[An expletive under breath]¡± Winters exclaimed in a low voice, ¡°The Pretender Emperor actually has such giant eagles; I thought it was just a bunch of bullsh*t in the war history.¡±


    But Andre didn¡¯t respond, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and his teeth chattered involuntarily. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One couldn¡¯t blame Andre; the fear instilled by these beasts was overpowering, as if legendary monsters had ripped through the pages of a book and emerged into reality. That Andre didn¡¯t flee with the gunners was bravery enough.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Winters jabbed Andre, whispering, ¡°As long as it¡¯s alive, it¡¯s afraid of cannons. They are just oversized turkeys. The Pretender Emperor can only scare people with such impractical things.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned if I¡¯m scared,¡± retorted Andre angrily, though his body language suggested otherwise.


    Two not-so-tall figures dismounted from the eagles, causing another stir among the soldiers. These two giant eagle riders were not in armor, but clad in black soft leather suits.


    One of them stood in front of both the Army and Navy officer Honor Guards and declared loudly, ¡°On behalf of the supreme Muruo Emperor, Full Minister with the Seal, Earl Narzia, offers greetings to all!¡±


    The man was not tall, but his voice was incredibly loud, reverberating clearly across the entire navy dock.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a show of force to intimidate us Venetians? Who do they think they¡¯re scaring?¡± Andre said discontentedly, making out the situation clearly.


    Winters snorted coldly, ¡°This inbred bunch of imbeciles loves to engage in such useless pageantry.¡±


    Having arrived before dawn to stand by at the navy docks, the two were disgruntled to be subjected to such a display, especially since they were standing at the back of the formation. This left them even more uninhibited to chat idly. A group of soldiers dressed in black half-armors with swords by their sides disembarked first, forming an equidistant line along the entire gangway that extended to the dry shore.


    ¡°So this is the infamous Legacy Army of the Oath Breaker?¡± Winters eyed the black-armored soldiers, ¡°They aren¡¯t as formidable as their reputation suggests. Deploying the Legacy Army for protection suggests the Oath Breaker does take this so-called Full Minister with the Seal quite seriously.¡±


    The Legacy Army was established by the incumbent Muruo Emperor, Henry III, upon his accession to the throne. As the name implies, this force was recruited solely from the orphans of fallen soldiers and royal officials who died in the line of duty, mainly responsible for guarding the palace and protecting Henry III himself. They were the only troops allowed to bear arms within the palace and were deeply trusted by the Oath Breaker, touted as the Empire¡¯s most elite forces.


    Andre sarcastically remarked, ¡°The Oath Breaker broke his own vows, so he¡¯s particularly worried about others betraying him, resulting in this farce. The father dies, and then the son continues to slog for the Oath Breaker. ¡¯Legacy Army,¡¯ more like ¡¯End of Legacy Army¡¯.¡±


    The black-armored Legacy Army couldn¡¯t hear Andre¡¯s mocking tone, but Winters felt a bitter taste in his mouth. Essentially, he too was part of a ¡°Legacy Army,¡± belonging to the Vineta branch.


    Many fellow cadets at the Army Officer Academy were like Winters, progeny of fallen officers. As Andre had put it: the father dies, the son continues the toil.


    Realizing his faux pas, Andre slapped himself hard on the side of his helmet, ¡°My damn mouth¡­shit¡­really is¡­don¡¯t mind me¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Winters reassured Andre with a smile, knowing full well it was just a slip of the tongue.


    The task of the Honor Guard was simple, to stand on either side of the road with the Navy officer Honor Guard and stare down each other. Once the VIPs had all ridden away in their carriages, the Honor Guard was dismissed.


    Just as Winters, contemplating returning to the Army headquarters, a stranger blocked his way.

 Chapter 125 - 125 - 54: Reunion with Benwei

    Chapter 125 ¨C 54: Reunion with Benwei


    Experience tales at empire


    The visitor was wearing a large hat and kept their head low as they entered the stables where the officers tethered their horses. Along the way, they inquired about the name Winters Montagne and were led to Winters¡¯s side.


    Winters didn¡¯t recognize the face, but the visitor was able to accurately state his surname.


    ¡°Are you Mr. Montagne?¡±


    ¡°Do I know you?¡± Winters became alert.


    ¡°I¡¯m a friend of Benvenuto; I have a verbal message for him from me.¡±


    Hearing the name Benvenuto, Winters hurriedly led the visitor away from the stables to a secluded area.


    ...


    According to the cripple, a group of Montans were turning the place upside down looking for Benwei, but this friend had just announced Benwei¡¯s name in front of others.


    ¡°What message? Go ahead,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but remind the other, ¡°Someone is looking for your friend, so don¡¯t mention his name casually. If the wrong person hears that name, they could follow you and find him.¡±


    ¡°No way, the Montans can¡¯t be that formidable. I¡¯ve delivered many messages and never made a mistake,¡± said Benvenuto¡¯s messenger, who, believing in his own vast experience, was quite dismissive of Winters¡¯s caution.


    Seeing the messenger¡¯s unconcerned smile, Winters roared inwardly, ¡°The Vaughan People have no sense of confidentiality at all!¡±


    Countless military operations in history had successfully deceived the enemy¡¯s spies and scouts, only to be ultimately undone due to the intelligence leaks from shepherds and woodcutters.


    One should never underestimate the intelligence capabilities of the public¡ªthis was an important lesson Winters had learned in his military history classes.


    But discussing this with the messenger seemed pointless, so Winters went straight to the point, ¡°What message did he send me?¡±


    ¡°Benwei says he¡¯s doing well, very safe, and you shouldn¡¯t worry about him. He¡¯ll find you after the storm passes.¡±


    ¡°Where is he staying now?¡± Winters¡¯s mind raced.


    Without a second thought, the messenger replied, ¡°He¡¯s staying at my place.¡±


    ¡­


    Two hours later, on the edge of a small village in the suburbs, Benvenuto was splitting firewood in a small courtyard.


    His shirt was hung aside, his upper body bare and darkened by the sun from his years of working on the docks. He was lean but lacked the thick muscular build, yet when he wielded the axe, the strength contained within his sinewy body became apparent.


    Benvenuto was responsible for wielding the axe, chopping the wood with each powerful swing. Another young boy was tasked with setting the sawn logs on the block. The two had a clear division of labor and worked seamlessly together, stacking the split firewood neatly under the eaves into a wall.


    ¡°Benvenuto, look who I¡¯ve brought you,¡± the courtyard¡¯s gate creaked open to reveal the happy voice of the property¡¯s owner. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following the messenger, Winters entered, leading his horse.


    ¡°What brings you here?¡± Benvenuto was indescribably surprised.


    Winters strode over and gave him a bear hug, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    The enthusiastic owner who was also Benvenuto¡¯s messenger and the little yard¡¯s owner welcomed Winters warmly, instructing his wife to prepare food and drink. Although the Vaughan People were not adept at secretive plans, they were generous, hospitable, and loyal to family and friends.


    Most of the villagers had been Vaughan People who had fled to Vineta to escape the war more than twenty years ago, so it was no wonder that Benvenuto was hiding here.


    ¡°Is it just you here?¡± Winters asked. The small courtyard didn¡¯t seem large enough to house Benvenuto¡¯s entire family.


    ¡°I live here with my brother,¡± Benvenuto said flatly as he moved a stool for Winters, ¡°We¡¯ve sent the elders to relatives far away.¡±


    The two sat under the shade of a tree in the corner of the courtyard. The owner kindly took his son inside the house to give them privacy, leaving only Winters and Benvenuto in the yard.


    The rain had just stopped last night, and as the sun came out, the accumulated water slowly evaporated, making outside as humid as a steamer. Under the mottled tree shade, Benvenuto held a large jar and poured water for Winters to drink.


    ¡°Actually, you¡¯re not safe here at all. This friend is a good person but also an awful messenger. He¡¯s too careless, and your enemies could easily track you down following his leads,¡± Winters said, getting straight to the point.


    There was no time for small talk as Winters, from a military officer¡¯s perspective, reviewed the defense arrangements of the small courtyard, ¡°The walls of this courtyard are too low, plus it¡¯s on the edge of the village, and you don¡¯t even have a dog. What will you and your brother do if someone sneaks in at night?¡±


    Benvenuto handed Winters the cup of water, ¡°It¡¯s alright. The Vaughan People in the village are all connected to my family. If outsiders show up in the village, I¡¯ll be informed immediately. With their protection, I¡¯m safe. Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°The safer you think you are, the more dangerous it actually becomes,¡± Winters said, deeply concerned, fearing that Benvenuto might be lulled into a false sense of security, ¡°This courtyard isn¡¯t inside the village; it¡¯s on the edge. If I were leading a raid, we could be in and out before the villagers could even react.¡±


    Benvenuto laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t overestimate those Montans. Whether Montans or Paratu People, they¡¯re just like us Vaughan People, a bunch of dockworkers with a bit of strength, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°The more you think like that, the more danger you¡¯re in,¡± Winters said worriedly.


    ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll switch to a house further inside the village with my brother,¡± Benvenuto seemed unconcerned.


    Winters sighed, knowing that if the person involved wasn¡¯t worried, there was little point in others getting worked up. However, moving to a different house would at least be safer. He added, ¡°It¡¯d be best to change your location every day to keep others from pinpointing where you are.¡±

 Chapter 126 - 126 - 54: Reunion with Benwei_2

    Chapter 126 ¨C 54: Reunion with Benwei_2


    ¡°`


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Benwei responded to Winters helplessly.


    There was a moment of silence between the two, only interrupted by the constant croaking of toads in the small pond outside the courtyard,


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the dock situation.¡± It was Winters who broke the silence, ¡°Since when did working at the docks require forming gangs?¡±


    Leaning lightly against a tree trunk and gazing into the distance, Benwei said, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been that many years. Anyway, back when my dad worked there, it wasn¡¯t like this¡­ Essentially, it all boils down to fighting for work. More and more people have been flooding into Sea Blue City over the years. Despite the hard labor, if you have the strength, you can work at the docks, so the competition has become fiercer. Maliciously undercutting others is the least of it; it¡¯s common to beat people half to death in the alleys. If you don¡¯t band together, you¡¯ll get bullied by those who do, forcing you to form your own group.¡±


    ¡°You are creating an oppressor for yourselves, this kind of¡­¡± Winters bit his lip, struggling to find the right word, ¡°¡­gang, organization, club, whatever you call it. Although now it¡¯s just to avoid being bullied, it will inevitably corrupt and become a monster that feeds on you through violence.¡±


    Explore more adventures at empire


    ...


    ¡°You¡¯re right, there are signs of it starting already,¡± Benwei said with a self-deprecating laugh. ¡°But after the docks were divided into territories, the malicious underbidding among the porters came to an end. Outsiders aren¡¯t allowed to just come to the docks and take our jobs anymore, and the porters are earning more. Even the order imposed by thugs is better than no order at all, right?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s drop it, why should we care so much about this? It¡¯s the customs office¡¯s problem, not mine.¡± Winters dropped his smile and asked Benwei seriously, ¡°How do you Vaughan People intend to resolve this situation? Are you going to keep hiding? Is there anything I can help with?¡±


    Benwei burst into laughter and patted Winters on the shoulder, ¡°No worries, you¡¯re taking this too seriously, it¡¯s not like two countries at war. The Montans bark louder than they bite; they raise a lot of noise, but it¡¯s really just to occupy more territory. Once this cools down, I won¡¯t need to hide anymore.¡±


    Winters frowned and said, ¡°From what I know, the Montans have purchased quite a few real weapons, including over a dozen matchlock guns; they seem intent on exacting revenge.¡±


    According to the cripple¡¯s words, the usual dockside brawls involved sticks and bats, not edged weapons, and certainly not firearms.


    Dock workers are not soldiers; their fights are over work, not to kill, and they certainly don¡¯t want to escalate matters. The cripple thought that this time the Montans meant business and their intentions were far from simple. It was likely they intended to make a big move to smash the other two factions and monopolize the docks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve got guns too. Actually, showing guns is just for intimidation; we don¡¯t even load them with bullets,¡± Benwei said angrily, punching his thigh. ¡°Those Montans have screws loose! Blaming their own man¡¯s death on us Vaughan People and insisting my family killed their guy, it¡¯s just¡­¡±


    ¡°Uh, so it wasn¡¯t you and your brother who did it?¡± Winters suddenly noticed a blind spot. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the Vaughan People denied it, everyone¡ªwhether it be the cripple, Field, Moritz, or Winters¡ªbelieved that it was Benwei and his brothers who had killed the Montan leader.


    Because¡­ it made too much sense. Almost two hundred homicides happen in the city each year, with revenge killings accounting for a third of them.


    Enemies encountering each other and drawing swords is far too common in Sea Blue City.


    Revenge is one of humanity¡¯s most primal emotions, and a culture of revenge is universally acknowledged. Although the law has monopolized the right to revenge within the ruling class, in the ¡°wild lands¡± south of Sheltering Mountain, blood feuds are still highly revered by most.


    Benvenuto seeking revenge for his uncle¡¯s death, despite breaking the law, would still be cheered by the citizens of Sea Blue City.


    But just now, in the past few seconds, the implication in Benwei¡¯s words didn¡¯t seem to be the case.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Benwei¡¯s tone was extremely exasperated, ¡°My brothers and I had indeed planned to avenge our uncle, but Big Scar¡¯s death really had nothing to do with us. Sigh.¡±


    ¡°Not you?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Nor your brothers?¡±


    ¡°On the night Big Scar died, my entire family was attending my uncle¡¯s wake. It definitely wasn¡¯t my brothers.¡±


    ¡°Then how¡­¡±


    Benwei sighed, ¡°That¡¯s the biggest problem. Everyone thinks my family killed Big Scar for revenge. It¡¯s not just the Montans; even Vaughan People are convinced, including distant relatives of mine. No matter how I try to explain, it¡¯s useless.¡±


    Benwei had no reason to lie to Winters, especially not about this matter. Although Winters had initially thought Benwei was responsible, he still stood by Benwei¡¯s side, and Benwei was aware of that.


    So, since Benvenuto claimed it wasn¡¯t him who killed the Montan, in Winters¡¯s view, it truly wasn¡¯t him.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this going to become an unsolvable issue then?¡±


    Benwei snorted, ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. Even if Big Scar hadn¡¯t died, I would still have had to avenge my uncle. It actually makes no difference, it just saves me some trouble.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a big difference!¡± Winters objected frantically, ¡°If this gets pinned on you, you could at least be sentenced to exile.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t get pinned on me,¡± Benwei smiled crookedly. ¡°My neighbors are my alibi. Since the constables can¡¯t just take me in for trial, the Montans are so eager to seek revenge on me. Besides, I didn¡¯t do it, and I will never admit to it.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 127 - 127 - 54: Reunion with Benwei_3

    Chapter 127 ¨C 54: Reunion with Benwei_3


    ¡°Is there anything I can help with?¡± Winters asked, ¡°Anything at all.¡±


    ¡°No need, I¡¯m not lacking anything right now, and I don¡¯t have to go to work, I¡¯m good.¡±


    Winters looked into Benwei¡¯s eyes and said with earnest solemnity, ¡°If you hadn¡¯t saved me at the docks that day, I would have drowned. I owe you my life. If there¡¯s anything¡­ anything I can do, just say the word, friend.¡±


    Winters emphasized the word ¡°anything¡± heavily.


    Benwei understood what Winters meant; he chuckled and playfully punched Winters¡¯s knee, ¡°Do we even need to talk about repaying favors between us? You just go be a good officer and don¡¯t worry about my trivial matters. Speaking of which, I do have a favor to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Name it.¡±


    ¡°Is your family¡¯s workshop still running?¡±


    ...


    ¡°It is, my uncle is running it now.¡±


    ¡°Can you help me secure an apprenticeship spot?¡± Benwei asked somewhat awkwardly.


    ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll vouch for you, my uncle will definitely agree,¡± Winters declared, patting his chest.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for me to be an apprentice, I want it for my younger brother,¡± Benwei hurriedly explained, ¡°He has also graduated from Lu You, and this year finished his studies, but unfortunately, he can¡¯t go to Guidao City. I don¡¯t want him to work at the docks, so if you could secure an apprenticeship for him, that would be perfect.¡±


    Skilled artisans represent the middle-income class in this society; they earn money through their craft, neither dependent on the weather like farmers nor scorned and criticized like merchants. They are the envy of most manual laborers.


    However, becoming an artisan isn¡¯t something one can just decide to do. In Vineta, guilds in various trades have since ancient times monopolized entry qualifications by paying large sums in taxes.


    A person who only knows carpentry can¡¯t become a carpenter; they can at best make furniture for their own home. Only official members of the Carpenters Guild are allowed to publicly sell carpentry products and provide carpentry services to others.


    The same is true for other industries as well.


    Through this method, artisans limit the number of people entering the market, thus avoiding excessive competition. In fact, not only artisans do this, but merchants also carry out the same practice through commerce guilds.


    And to become an official guild member, one must first be an apprentice to an official member, and after a five to seven-year apprenticeship, one can automatically become an official guild member with the tools given by their mentor upon completion.


    The apprenticeship is extremely tough, as many craftsmen have bad tempers, advocate corporal punishment, and are easily provoked to hit and scold; moreover, apprentices do not get paid. However, this is the necessary path to enter a lucrative industry, and many people are desperate for it.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you join my family¡¯s workshop too? The work at the docks is very hard on the body and can¡¯t be done for a lifetime,¡± Winters sincerely suggested, considering Benwei¡¯s well-being. Benwei, at nineteen, was the same age as himself, and it wasn¡¯t too late to start an apprenticeship at that age.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pass,¡± Benwei said with a light smile, ¡°Apprentices don¡¯t earn wages, and I have a whole family to support. It¡¯s enough for my brother to become an apprentice. I am just worried that the kid can¡¯t handle the hardships of apprenticing.¡±


    Explore stories at empire sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will ask Giovanni to look after your brother,¡± Winters remembered something important to ask, ¡°Right, I wanted to ask you something. You were there the day the dock¡¯s pier was blown up, right?¡±


    ¡°I was there.¡±


    ¡°The people who blew up the pier weren¡¯t the men in black robes, but dressed like dockworkers. Do you remember?¡±


    Benwei nodded with a cold smile, ¡°Of course I remember, it was those Montans.¡±

 Chapter 128 - 128 - 55 Assassin

    Chapter 128 ¨C 55 Assassin


    ¡°Wait, what did you say? Montan?¡± Winters was surprised, his breathing quickened.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Benwei replied matter-of-factly.


    ¡°The Montan working at the docks?¡± Winters pressed repeatedly, ¡°Do you mean the ones who blew up the docks are members of the Montan gang?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Benwei spread his hands, ¡°It was Scarface¡¯s new help, they just recently started hanging out with those Montan.¡±


    Winters took a deep breath, becoming extremely serious, ¡°Benwei, if you want me to take care of those Montan for you, you just have to say the word, and I¡¯ll definitely help you. But, never make unfounded accusations because you have a grudge against the Montan. This assassination is complicated, the identity of the deceased remains a mystery until now and could lead to some serious trouble¡­ I need you to answer me honestly, are you sure you didn¡¯t see it wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure, I¡¯m sure I didn¡¯t see it wrong,¡± Benwei answered earnestly, meeting Winters¡¯ gaze, ¡°And we haven¡¯t reached a point with the Montan where it¡¯s a matter of life and death. You¡¯re thinking too seriously.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Tell me everything you know about those people.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Where should I start?¡±


    ¡°From the beginning.¡±


    Benwei took a sip of water to moisten his throat and began his story six years ago.


    In the last year of the Naval Academy for young students, Benwei¡¯s family lost two breadwinners due to a tragic accident ¨C Benwei¡¯s father and uncle. So, after graduating from the Naval Academy six years ago, to support his family, Benwei went to work at the docks just like his forefathers.


    At that time, there was no established order at the docks, and with a massive influx of dispossessed peasants into the city, the competition became brutal.


    ¡°You want three silver coins to unload a ship?¡±


    ¡°We will do it for two.¡±


    Dockworkers undercut and outbid each other, leading to endless violent conflicts.


    Soon, as the conflicts intensified, organized groups began to emerge among the dockworkers. The power of one was nothing against a group, and without joining one, dockworkers would be intimidated, beaten, and driven away.


    Small gangs were oppressed by larger ones; either they would join the opposition or they had to band together into an even larger gang. Eventually, all the dockworkers became members of some large gang.


    For these people from all corners of the land, regional origins were the most common form of identity, and it was inevitable that they would band together based on them. In the end, outsiders like the Montan, the Vaughan People, and the Paratu People ended up expelling the locals from the docks, seizing control of all the cargo handling work.


    These three groups controlled the number of dockworkers, refusing outsiders from working at the docks at will, avoiding excessive competition. To some extent, it had a similarity to the artificial entry thresholds set by merchants and craft guilds.


    But they didn¡¯t form a tight organization, and fundamentally they united only to avoid being bullied. Even the gang leaders were regular porters on a daily basis, only taking charge during conflicts when everyone would side based on their place of origin.


    Things were relatively peaceful until some were no longer content with the status quo. About half a month ago, Benwei noticed some new faces among the Montan. This wasn¡¯t unusual, as dock work had a high turnover rate with new people always coming and going.


    However, the Montan soon instigated conflicts with the other two groups. Previously, the three groups were evenly matched as they were all just porters who dared not fight too fiercely. But the new faces among the Montan were exceptionally ruthless. It was they who seriously injured Benwei¡¯s uncle, who died shortly after being brought home.


    Scarface, the leader of the Montan, boasted while drunk that he had specially found these bruisers, intending to crush and subdue the Vaughan and Paratu completely this time.


    And on the day of the dockside assassination, Benwei himself saw those new Montan throw explosives onto the pier. There were several other porters with those Montan, but they were silenced on the spot, only Benwei escaped by hiding in a ship¡¯s hold.


    Winters thought, ¡°Those silenced porters must be the ones mentioned by the customs that were claimed by their families.¡± The pieces of information corroborated each other, increasing their credibility.


    What followed was an earth-shattering explosion, with Benwei rescuing the non-swimmers Winters and Moritz from the sea. Winters and his contemporaries were invited to ¡°rest¡± in the customs prison, and whatever happened outside was of no concern to them.


    For Benwei, though, one bad thing followed another. The customs were in such chaos after the explosion that Benwei couldn¡¯t find anyone willing to listen to a mere porter.


    With no other choice, he went home first, planning to find the customs guard the next day. But before he even had dinner, several distant relatives knocked on his door, breathlessly telling him: Scarface was dead, and the Montan were gathering people to take revenge on him.


    Overnight, Benwei and his family had to leave their home; women and the elderly were sent to distant places, while Benwei, his uncle, and his brother hid on the outskirts of the city until today.


    ¡°Those hired by the Montan aren¡¯t bruisers, they are assassins in disguise, just masquerading as bruisers to infiltrate the Montan gang,¡± Winters furrowed his brows, ¡°I guess by now they¡¯ve already run off without a trace.¡±


    Benwei sighed lightly, ¡°I also figured those unfamiliar faces weren¡¯t ordinary folks; they were the type that treated other people¡¯s lives like nothing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m actually a bit puzzled; if they had already infiltrated the docks, why cause such a big commotion? And that carriage, could it be they also planned to kidnap someone alive?¡± Winters stroked his chin stubble, sneering, ¡°I¡¯m getting more curious about the identity of the deceased by the minute. Who could be worth all this trouble? I bet the Montan¡¯s boss was also silenced by them.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, those people must have already run off without a trace.¡±


    ¡°Wherever one goes, one leaves traces. If we follow the footprints, we¡¯ll surely find them. Do you know where the core members of the Montan are now? The dockworkers won¡¯t tell us anything.¡±


    Benwei shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know, just like they don¡¯t know where I am, we¡¯re all hiding. If I find them, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±


    ¡°Alright, but don¡¯t have this friend deliver messages for you anymore,¡± Winters said with a wry smile, ¡°He really is a terrible messenger. Also, move to a new place to live quickly; this house is too unsafe.¡±


    Benwei nodded with a smile and agreed.


    After chatting about the times they had shared and those they hadn¡¯t, the two said goodbye.


    ¡°How will I find you if you move?¡± asked Winters.


    ¡°Go to the docks and find George Gap, tell him you want to see me, and I¡¯ll contact you.¡±


    Winters nodded, without wasting words, and rode back to the city.


    Pushing open the door of the gendarmerie, Winters found that Colonel Field and Major Moritz were waiting for him.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Field asked with some dissatisfaction.


    ¡°I went to see a dockworker and got some important information,¡± Winters, who had been absent from his friends, answered without blushing or skipping a beat, ¡°The docks shouldn¡¯t be monolithic anymore, the Varn People will support us.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What information?¡±


    Winters relayed what he had heard from Benwei about the relationship between the assassins and the Montan gang.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your classmate Lu You trying to use us to eliminate the Montan?¡± Field looked skeptical.


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± Winters said, trusting Benwei but not committing entirely.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for now,¡± Field said with a wave of his hand, ¡°There¡¯s an important task for you¡­ ever stolen something?¡± Find your next read at empire


    It turned out that Colonel Field and Major Moritz had spent several days searching according to a list provided by the Duelist Club, only to discover that the Duelist Club had provided a list that was half true and half false.


    On one hand, it was a very detailed list, filling up seven pages. But many of the names were just signatories on a guestbook, also included in the list. And many who weren¡¯t military officers appeared on it¡ªthe Duelist Club seemed to have a fair number of non-officer members.


    However, the gendarmerie was looking for someone familiar with Ned Longsword¡¯s swordsmanship and proficient in Swift Sword. There might be many civilians proficient in Swift Sword, but few were familiar with Longsword, which had long since gone out of style; there were no swordsmanship schools in Vineta that taught Longsword. Only officers returning from the Army Officers¡¯ Academy had systematically studied this swordsmanship.


    The real core members of the Duelist Club were scarcely present on the list. There were only a handful of field-grade officers on the entire list, which was impossible.


    Although Major Moritz was a formal member of the Duelist Club, his character was consistently casual, and he was seldom sober after eight o¡¯clock in the evening. So the few times he went to the club were just for eating and drinking, never involving himself in the management of the Duelist Club.


    Moritz had gone to demand the list, but the other party wouldn¡¯t sincerely give it, and the major was helpless.


    No, the major actually had a way¡ªhis method was to steal.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Winters shook his head vigorously, waving his hands again and again, ¡°You can have me rob someone, but stealing, I really can¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Stealing is easy, mainly you need to have good psychological quality. Like horse thieves, as long as you act calmly like the horse¡¯s owner, then no one will suspect you. I think your psychological quality is strong and you have a lot of potential,¡± Field praised Winters, the Montaigne Ensign, to the skies.


    ¡°Senior, I really can¡¯t do it. I am, after all, an officer. If I get caught stealing¡­¡±


    Field scolded, ¡°You¡¯re thinking about failure before we even start. Can you succeed with that attitude? You just have to think about success, and you won¡¯t slip up.¡±


    He added, ¡°Besides, we¡¯re on official business, conducting a legitimate investigation. How could the gendarmerie¡¯s actions be considered stealing? This is called using flexible methods to obtain evidence.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s so legitimate, we should go with guns and kick down doors to seize it! If it¡¯s a raid, I¡¯ll definitely go!¡± Winters was anxious.


    ¡°Alright, Montaigne Ensign, I order you to seize the evidence¡ªwithout being detected.¡±

 Chapter 129 - 129: 56 Chapter: Duelists Club

    Chapter 129: 56 Chapter: Duelists Club


    The Dueling Club usually held its activities at the suburban residence of Colonel Bozuhof, whose reputation was quite significant. Winters had heard of this famous playboy and dueling expert from the army ever since he joined up.


    In Sea Blue City, where merchants abound, the military salary was nothing to boast about. However, Colonel Bozuhof, an officer who hailed from a wealthy merchant family, had inherited a large fortune, which allowed him to indulge in his hobbies lavishly.


    Because of his warm-hearted nature and superior swordsmanship¡­ and a generous inheritance, Colonel Bozuhof became the manager and organizer of the Dueling Club, and he generously provided his suburban residence as a venue for its activities.


    It was he who had provided a partially false list to Major Moritz, forcing Winters to replace the two officers to ¡°retrieve¡± the real list.


    ¡°Moritz has already been exposed, and I have never participated in any activities of the Dueling Club, Bozuhof will be very wary of the two of us, but no one will notice a junior officer like you, and nobody cares where a warrant officer is stationed.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field explained why the mission could only be assigned to Winters, ¡°Moreover, you have just come back from The Federated Provinces, you like swordsmanship, so it makes perfect sense for you to attend the activities of the Dueling Club.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Field patted Winters on the shoulder and said emotionally, ¡°You are the person that Moritz and I trust the most, apart from you, there isn¡¯t another officer in the entire army that we would trust. Are you going to let us down?¡±


    Time returned to the present, and the sun had already set. Most parts of the city were plunged into darkness, but Colonel Bozuhof¡¯s residence was brightly lit.


    ...


    Winters and his party of three had just arrived at the entrance of the residence.


    ¡°I am such an idiot,¡± Winters cursed himself silently, ¡°Why did I agree to this on impulse?¡±


    It¡¯s common for newcomers in the workplace to be semi-forced into doing something they¡¯re reluctant to do because they don¡¯t know they can say ¡°no.¡± That was the situation Winters found himself in now.


    ¡°Wow, quite the opulence.¡± Andre marveled, casually handing the reins to the servant at the gatehouse, ¡°This Dueling Club must be pretty rich.¡±


    Although rich families do not necessarily light many lamps, those that do are certainly wealthy¡ªa simple and crude method of distinction.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the club that¡¯s rich, but the sponsor,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er said with a smile to Andre.


    The best way to gain rightful entry to Colonel Bozuhof¡¯s residence to ¡°take¡± something was to attend the Dueling Club¡¯s activities every Wednesday and Friday evening. Your journey continues with empire


    It¡¯s clear that Colonel Bozuhof had become wary of Major Moritz, so of course, Winters could not possibly join the club through Moritz¡¯s introduction.


    Thanks to his connection with Antonio, he sought out Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er of the Third Legion to serve as his referee, and he also dragged Andre along to provide cover. As for Bard? Outside entrants like Bard had mediocre swordsmanship skills and were also very disinterested in dueling.


    Winters took two pieces of sugar from a small bag and fed them to Strong Run, his horse, who happily snorted twice and, with lingering enjoyment, licked Winters¡¯ hand.


    ¡°Please tie this horse apart from the others; don¡¯t mix it with other horses,¡± he instructed Bozuhof¡¯s servant as he handed over the reins.


    The servant dressed in striped livery nodded and led the three horses away.


    ¡°What¡¯s with Strong Run?¡± Kongtai¡¯er asked curiously.


    Winters sighed and replied helplessly, ¡°He seems to have caught the scent of a mare the other day and started fighting with the other horses in the trough, ending up with a mouth full of hair from their manes.¡±


    Andre laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s the trouble with young stallions.¡±


    The three chatted and laughed as they made their way into Bozuhof¡¯s residence.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters actually entered the Dueling Club that he first noticed the atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed and natural. There were no introductions, oaths, or fraternity ceremonies. After registering in the guestbook at the entrance, one could move about freely.


    No wonder Major Moritz said he just drank and chatted at the Dueling Club, as most people there were eating, drinking, mingling, with quite a few bringing their female companions along.


    This was far from the stern gathering of men Winters had imagined in secret rooms fiddling with firearms and swords.


    ¡°Ha, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, it¡¯s been a while since you came around,¡± said a voice before the man was seen.


    A man with a ruddy complexion, tall stature, and curly brown hair came over, laughing and giving Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er a bear hug.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t just come here myself, but also brought two bits of ¡¯fresh blood¡¯ with me¡ªWinters and Andrea,¡± said Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, pointing at Winters and his companion and introducing them, ¡°Both are pure Venetians, this cohort of warrant officers returning from The Federated Provinces.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er then patted the curly-haired man on the arm, ¡°This hairy bear right here is the host of this place, the organizer of the Dueling Club, Colonel Bozuhof.¡±


    Kongtai¡¯er deliberately stretched the word ¡°Colonel,¡± causing Winters and Andre to instinctively salute, but Bozuhof stopped them with a gesture, punching Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s shoulder and said boisterously, ¡°Salute? Me and Kongtai¡¯er just happened to be born a few years earlier. This place is where friends who enjoy swords come to have fun, rank doesn¡¯t matter here, only swordsmanship. How about it? Feel like going up for a match tonight?¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 130 - 130 - 56: Duelists Club_2

    Chapter 130 ¨C 56: Duelists Club_2


    ¡°What¡¯s this for? Putting freshmen on the field for a sword fight on their first visit¡ªisn¡¯t that taking advantage of the newbies?¡± Kongtai¡¯er said to Bozuhof, ¡°At least let them get used to the atmosphere first, right?¡±


    ¡°Haha, swordsmanship skills are always strongest right out of the academy; don¡¯t you know that? As their introducer, it¡¯s your responsibility to show them around.¡± Bozuhof replied to Kongtai¡¯er and then turned to Winters and Andre, ¡°Make yourselves at home, and if you need anything, come find me.¡±


    With that, Bozuhof nodded to the three men and returned to the living room.


    ¡°Come on, let me show you around the manor¡ªit¡¯s quite a task to find the restroom here. If you find this place interesting, feel free to come on your own in the future¡­ and you¡¯re welcome to bring a female companion.¡± Colonel Kongtai¡¯er grabbed two glasses of wine for Winters and Andre and led the two warrant officers around the first floor of the manor.


    Kongtai¡¯er wasn¡¯t exaggerating; Bozuhof¡¯s guesthouse really did have a well-hidden restroom.


    Winters noticed that Kongtai¡¯er was very familiar with the place and silently speculated that the colonel must also be a core member of the dueling club.


    In the hall, Colonel Bozuhof tapped a silver key against a glass wine goblet, drawing everyone¡¯s attention with a few crisp sounds. The guests in the club instinctively cleared a space in the middle of the hall, forming a circle.


    ...


    Two swordsmen in full armor walked out and stood in the cleared space in the center of the hall.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to introduce tonight¡¯s first pair of competitors,¡± Bozuhof stood between the swordsmen and announced the two competitors aloud.


    Winters wasn¡¯t paying attention to Bozuhof¡¯s words. As all eyes focused on the center of the room, he knew his opportunity had come.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the restroom,¡± he whispered to his friends.


    ¡°Can you find the way?¡± asked Colonel Kongtai¡¯er with raised eyebrows.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to get lost.¡±


    Major Moritz hadn¡¯t shown up at all that evening so as not to raise any suspicion. He had drawn a complete floorplan of Bozuhof¡¯s manor for Winters, including not just the first floor, but also the second floor.


    The first floor of the guesthouse was used as a reception and activity area, where all guests could move around freely. However, the second floor, separated by a floorboard, was off-limits. The staircases leading to it from the hall below had been rebuilt and sealed off.


    While the downstairs was a city that never sleeps open to all guests, the upstairs was Bozuhof¡¯s private space. There was a reception room, Bozuhof¡¯s office, and several bedrooms¡ªthough Bozuhof did not live there.


    Winters¡¯ target was Bozuhof¡¯s office, where all the documents of the dueling club were stored.


    The reason Colonel Field opted for the ¡°steal without being detected¡± approach was that Bozuhof¡¯s manor was purely functional with no valuables. The security was similar to a private residence, or even worse, it was almost undefended.


    Winters left the hall without drawing attention to himself, muttering Colonel Field¡¯s words in his mind: ¡°A third-rate thief wears dark clothes to steal, a first-rate thief wears a suit to steal. The more composed and natural you seem, the safer you are.¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After repeating it three times in his head, he grabbed the protruding wood on the exterior wall of the house and climbed up.


    ¡°Nonsense! If someone sees me climbing the wall, I¡¯ll still get caught, even if I¡¯m wearing a crown,¡± Winters inwardly cursed Colonel Field.


    After renovations, the only entrance to the manor¡¯s second floor had a servant guarding it, and only guests very close to Bozuhof could pass. Therefore, Winters had no choice but to climb the wall.


    Overthinking was futile. Regardless of whether he was being watched or not, Winters clenched his teeth and exerted all his strength to climb. This was the most dangerous part of the entire plan; if he were discovered halfway, it would be over for him.


    Fortunately, no one exclaimed in surprise by the time Winters reached the balcony.


    Everything was going smoothly, but Winters¡¯ heart was still beating furiously, and he could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat. He took a few deep breaths and carefully examined the balcony.


    Everything was as Colonel Field had predicted; the balcony¡¯s wooden door was locked from the inside. Following the plan, Winters pulled out a thin, short knife from his boot, slid it into the crack of the door, and easily unlatched it.


    Recalling the floorplan Major Moritz had drawn for him, Winters crossed the corridor and reached Bozuhof¡¯s office. The office door had a metal lock hanging on it, which Winters forcibly pried open.


    Colonel Field didn¡¯t expect Winters to rapidly become adept at lockpicking like a burglar, nor did he plan for a stealthy copying of the list. The colonel¡¯s intent was to show Bozuhof that they got what they wanted, whether he gave it or not.


    So Winters forced his way through the locks and finally pried open the drawer of Bozuhof¡¯s file cabinet. The dueling club didn¡¯t have a real ¡°core member list;¡± Bozuhof wouldn¡¯t just copy the names of those core members onto parchment.


    Field wanted the dueling club¡¯s financial statements, donation records, meeting minutes, and any documents that recorded the names of people closely involved with the club.


    Winters took out a polished, shiny copper plate and, under the pale green light of the Luminosity Spell, started sorting through the documents, packing up anything that seemed useful.


    The job was going too smoothly, and Winters felt his fingers twitching with excitement.

 Chapter 131 - 131 - 56: Duelists Club_3

    Chapter 131 ¨C 56: Duelists Club_3


    The items had been secured; now the remaining task was how to leave.


    Three minutes later, at the second-floor entrance to Bozuhof¡¯s separate compound, the watchful servant courteously opened the door for Winters, who nodded his head in acknowledgment and stepped out.


    This was the part of the plan that most tested luck and audacity. Field had determined that such gatekeepers only paid attention to people entering, not those leaving. As long as Winters maintained a calm and natural demeanor, he could walk out openly and unhindered.


    Winters, emerging from the door, turned into the garden and picked up a bundle of documents from the bushes. He took all the related documents with him, but the stack was too thick to conceal on his person, and carrying it in his hands was too conspicuous.


    In a stroke of ingenuity, he tied the documents into a bundle and threw them through the window into the shrubs of the garden.


    Everything had gone according to plan perfectly. Winters slipped quietly into the stable, where the Coachman was nodding off at the entrance and didn¡¯t notice him. He found Strong Run; he placed the documents into the saddlebag and even gave Strong Run a piece of sugar as a treat.


    Now all Winters had to do was return to the ground floor hall with a casual demeanor, and explain his lengthy time away as having ¡°popped by to check whether the horses were tied up,¡± linger a bit longer with his two companions and then leave, thus taking the documents away without anyone being the wiser.


    ...


    Just as he whistled and left the stable, a man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and brown hunting attire entered the stable. The man kicked the Coachman¡¯s leg to wake him up as if he was there to retrieve a horse.


    Winters sized up the man almost instinctively. The person was shorter than Winters and the hat concealed the upper part of his face, allowing Winters to only see the part below his nose.


    The man¡¯s beard on his lower jaw was unkempt, not the kind that was intentionally grown out and trimmed, but rather looked as if it had been left unshaven for seven or eight days.


    Winters found the chin peculiar, but it wasn¡¯t until he had walked about twenty paces away that he realized what was wrong: the color didn¡¯t match.


    The front part of the man¡¯s lower jaw was an abnormal color, not because of dim lighting or because it was unshaven. It was a color all too familiar to Winters, having seen it many times on his own body; it was the purplish hue of a bruise from a powerful blow.


    Swiftly, Winters turned around and went back to the stable, striding up to the man in the hunting attire. He patted his shoulder and asked with a smile, ¡°Friend, how¡¯s your chin. Healing up?¡±


    A normal person being patted on the shoulder would turn around to look, but that man simply shuddered, silent without acknowledging Winters or turning to look at him. Stay connected through empire


    Winters continued with a smile, ¡°Your sword and gun are with me, do you want me to bring them over to you?¡±


    Winters kept a close eye on the man¡¯s hands, and after he finished speaking, the man clenched his fists.


    Initially, Winters couldn¡¯t be sure of the man¡¯s identity and was merely probing, but seeing his reaction, he understood everything.


    Without further words, Winters swung his long arm and landed a heavy punch on the back of the man¡¯s head, now certain that this person was the assassin whom he had kicked in the chin.


    The assassin hadn¡¯t expected Winters¡¯ sudden aggression; struck hard in the back of the head, he was instantly dizzy. However, he had his own countermove; he turned around and hurled what was in his hand at Winters¡¯ face with force.


    Winters, about to follow up on his advantage, was hit with a face full of chaff and straw fragments. Foreign objects got into his eyes, and tears streamed down, blinding him instantly.


    While Winters was speaking, the assassin had quietly picked up a handful of debris from the manger, pulling a fast one on Winters.


    The Coachman watched in horror as the two gentlemen went from speaking barely a word to grappling with each other.


    Now unable to open his eyes from the intense pain and with tears flooding out, Winters¡¯ blood was up. He lunged towards the assassin, hoping to grapple at close quarters, but came up empty.


    Someone grabbed his arm, and Winters immediately pushed them down and threw a punch.


    ¡°Ouch, I¡¯m the Coachman, the Coachman,¡± cried the person being hit, pleading for mercy.


    Winters had heard the assassin¡¯s voice before, which was different from the one pleading. Breathing heavily, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the other man?¡±


    ¡°That gentleman left.¡±


    ¡°Where did he go?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know where he went¡­ You better blow your eyes out, don¡¯t rub them, else it could be serious.¡±


    The Coachman ran to fetch water, helping Winters rinse his eyes while babbling, ¡°No bleeding, no serious trouble as long as there¡¯s no blood. You absolutely must not rub your eyes if there¡¯s straw in them, the small sharp edges are like knives once you rub¡­ it¡¯s over¡­¡±


    Once the foreign objects were washed out, Winters¡¯ vision finally returned. With his eyes still red, he asked the Coachman, ¡°Which way did that man run?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Coachman spread his hands, ¡°I just saw that gent running out of the stable.¡±


    ¡°Did he ride a horse?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters dashed out of the stable without another word, heading straight for the hall.


    Bozuhof¡¯s compound was in the suburbs; without a mount, one couldn¡¯t get far. The man was still inside the compound.


    Kongtai¡¯er and Andre looked on in surprise as Winters came back from supposedly visiting the restroom, now with wet hair and reddened eyes.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Andre asked bluntly; ¡°Did you fall into a manure pit?¡±


    ¡°I¡­,¡± Winters nearly died of irritation, ¡°I¡­¡±


    A loud bang interrupted him; the main door to the hall was violently burst open, and a man rushed in, shouting frantically, ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±

 Chapter 132 - 132 - 57: Dong Da Camp

    Chapter 132 ¨C 57: Dong Da Camp


    A man burst into the hall, shouting, ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±


    ¡°The villain plays victim!¡± Winters, hearing someone bellow that they were under attack, stormed angrily towards the shouter with large strides.


    The bewildered Colonel Kongtai¡¯er and Andre followed behind.


    It was only when Winters was a few steps away from the man that he realized he was not the chin-injured assassin who had run away. The newcomer was dressed in the uniform of a military officer, while the assassin had been in a deep green hunting outfit.


    Colonel Bozuhof reached the uninvited guest first, offering him a cup of wine and speaking gently while clutching his arm, ¡°Don¡¯t panic, speak slowly. What¡¯s attacked us?¡±


    The man with hair glued by sweat grabbed the wine cup and drained the full glass of sweet beer down his throat. After finishing the drink, he caught his breath, widened his eyes, and, gasping for air, said to Bozuhof, ¡°The naval dock! The Duck Mouth Battery has fallen! General Zio has ordered all military officers who receive this message to immediately assemble at the Eastern Camp.¡±


    A few gasps of shock rose from the surrounding crowd, and a lady almost fainted.


    ...


    Colonel Bozuhof tightened his grip on the man¡¯s shoulder and demanded, ¡°Who has attacked us?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± the messenger roared back. He repeated, ¡°General Zio¡¯s order: All army officers and soldiers who hear this command must immediately proceed to the Eastern Camp for assembly! There must be no errors!¡±


    Bozuhof released the messenger and, scanning the crowd of onlookers, asked loudly, ¡°Who can confirm this gentleman¡¯s identity?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s from my batch, the 13th Artillery Class, a man from the Ordnance Department. Those from the 13th should all recognize him.¡± Another man stood up.


    Having confirmed the man¡¯s identity, Bozuhof nodded to the man who had stepped forward and called out to everyone, ¡°The naval dock has been attacked, the battery is lost, and the enemy is unknown. Gentlemen not serving in the army, please take care of the ladies present. Gentlemen with military positions, follow me to the Eastern Camp!¡±


    The entire hall erupted into a frenzy as officers scrambled for their coats and swords, and the ladies panicked, asking what was happening.


    ¡°Holy communion, dammit to hell.¡± Kongtai¡¯er cursed a dirty word and strode towards the exit, ¡°Come with me, let¡¯s get our horses first.¡±


    Andre did not hesitate to follow Colonel Kongtai¡¯er. Winters had returned to the hall to find the assassin but was suddenly met with the urgent rally order, which left him unsure of what to do.


    After hesitating for a few seconds, Winters kicked a nearby stone pillar furiously and cursed, ¡°That son of a bitch got lucky!¡± Then he hurried to catch up with Kongtai¡¯er and Andre.


    The small stables of Bozuhof¡¯s villa were now crowded with people, and officers had to crane their necks over other people¡¯s shoulders to identify their warhorses. People were leading horses out and trying to get in through the stable door, causing a complete blockage.


    The neighing of horses and the clamor of voices merged, creating a dizzying cacophony. Every now and then, someone would yell, ¡°Why are you taking my horse?¡±


    In a foul mood, Winters simply kicked open a fence, creating a makeshift side door and leading the strong Warhorse out through it.


    In the front yard, many people were already waiting, gathered in small groups and talking. Bozuhof sat on a tall blue horse with a sullen face, chewing tobacco and silently counting the number of people in his mind.


    Mounted on that spirited Warhorse, he was in communion with his master¡¯s impatience, scraping at the lawn with his front hooves.


    The viscous tobacco lees were spat onto the ground by Bozuhof, and the colonel couldn¡¯t wait any longer. He said to the officers who were ready to depart, ¡°We¡¯re not waiting any longer. Let¡¯s go ahead. The rest can follow from behind.¡±


    With that, he charged out of the guesthouse first. Winters and Andre exchanged a glance and followed out, just like everyone else.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    On the eastern outskirts of Sea Blue City, the army camp known colloquially as ¡°East Camp¡± was also in chaos, with its gates wide open. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Bozuhof didn¡¯t slow his horse and led the officers straight through the gates of the camp. Normally, charging through the camp gates would be a severe crime punished by fifteen lashes, but clearly, this wasn¡¯t the time to be concerned about that.


    East Camp could house six to seven thousand people, exactly the number of a fully staffed legion plus auxiliary Cavalry units.


    Shaped like a rectangle, the camp was surrounded by three-meter-high walls and moats. Inside, two main roads, one horizontal and one vertical, intersected perpendicularly, with the main roads ending at the four main gates along the walls.


    The closer to the center of the camp, the more important the buildings, with the outermost ring being the soldiers¡¯ barracks, followed by the stables and officers¡¯ barracks. At the very center, where the two roads crossed, were the residences of the high-ranking officers, the warehouses, the council hall, and the legion¡¯s treasury.


    East Camp was the base for the 4th ¡°City of Flowers¡± legion, but the 4th legion was currently stationed to the north, facing off against the United Provincials, so the camp was nearly empty except for a few maintenance personnel.


    Bozuhof hurried straight to the center of the camp. At this moment, only this central area was lit, while the rest of the barracks were pitch-dark.


    An old soldier with graying hair, wearing an officer¡¯s uniform, stood on his horse at the most conspicuous spot at the crossroads, with a few guards by his side. Further back, many officers, having heard the news, had hurried over, and the crossroads were filled with shouts and the neighing of horses.


    Bozuhof approached and gave a military salute, and the two exchanged a few words. Then Bozuhof came back and told the officers who had come with him loudly, ¡°Go find your superiors at the back and assemble according to your units.¡±


    The officers dispersed, and amidst the chaos, Winters looked around until someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned to find Colonel Field.


    The colonel nodded at him and led him to the back of the council hall. Most of the HQ personnel were resting here. The officers were grouped into clusters by department, chatting in low voices while smoking.


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    Winters followed Field to sit under the eaves where a man was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall, a hat covering his face, dozing off. It was undoubtedly Major Moritz by his build.


    All three members of the military police were present. Field took a seat on a stone and asked Winters, ¡°Did you also receive the orders?¡±


    ¡°Someone ran to Bozuhof¡¯s villa to deliver orders.¡± Winters also sat on the ground, ¡°I got the stuff; it¡¯s in my saddlebag.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Colonel Field stood up, opened the sturdy saddlebag, and pulled out the documents, exclaiming, ¡°How much did you take?¡±


    ¡°I took everything that might be useful.¡± Winters scratched his head, a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°We¡¯ll look at it slowly tomorrow.¡± The colonel stuffed the documents back and scrutinized Winters, ¡°You didn¡¯t bring a weapon?¡±


    ¡°I came directly from the Duelist Club; I didn¡¯t take any weapons.¡±


    ¡°Come with me to get one.¡± Colonel Field led the way, ¡°I reckon Zio is waiting for two battalions from the third legion. As soon as those battalions arrive, we¡¯re going to set out immediately.¡±


    ¡°Who attacked the naval dock? We¡¯re not at war with anyone, are we?¡± Winters followed behind the colonel and said, ¡°I bumped into a dock assassin at the Duelist Club tonight¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Field stopped in his tracks and turned around, astonished.


    ¡°I had a face-off with a dock assassin in the stables.¡±


    Field, frowning, asked, ¡°Are you sure you weren¡¯t mistaken?¡±


    ¡°His built and stature were very similar to that assassin, and he had a scar on his chin. I tested him a bit, and he immediately started fighting me,¡± Winters said through gritted teeth, ¡°Unfortunately, he got away. The bastard played dirty, throwing soil and chaff in my face to blind me.¡±


    ¡°You encountered him at Bozuhof¡¯s villa?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°Are you certain?¡±


    ¡°Positive!¡± Winters stated emphatically.


    Field patted Winters on the shoulder, ¡°No matter if he got away, since they appeared at Bozuhof¡¯s villa, it means they have significant ties to the Duelist Club, proving we¡¯re on the right track. But remember, if you encounter them again, don¡¯t act rashly alone. They will truly fight to the death with you, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°That assassin wouldn¡¯t have won if he hadn¡¯t resorted to underhanded tactics,¡± Winters said, still seething.


    Field sighed and resumed walking, speaking slowly and deliberately, ¡°Fine china doesn¡¯t clash with pottery, understand?¡±


    With a dissatisfied ¡°Hmph,¡± Winters got to his feet and followed the colonel.


    The key to the armory at the eastern camp was taken by the quartermaster from the fourth legion, so the three heavy locks had been forcibly broken open.


    Since most officers had rushed to the camp unarmed in response to the sudden emergency assembly order, riding in on just their horses, a senior officer took charge here with a few people, distributing weapons and armor to those officers in need.


    Winters received a breastplate, a helmet, and a saber, and only then did he realize he might actually shed blood tonight.


    He hurriedly asked Colonel Field, ¡°Who exactly is attacking the naval dock¡­ What¡¯s there at the naval dock? There¡¯s no money.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know; I was also roused by a knock at the door, and they didn¡¯t tell me anything,¡± said the colonel, kicking Major Moritz awake, ¡°Stop sleeping, get your armor on.¡±


    Yawning, Major Moritz stretched his shoulders and stood up, leisurely loosening his joints.


    Seeing the major¡¯s sluggishness, Field could barely contain his irritation. He kicked the major again, ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    After Winters assisted both Colonel Field and Major Moritz with their breastplates, the colonel picked up Winters¡¯s armor and beckoned him to stand in front of himself.


    Attendants would assist knights with their armor, and junior officers helped senior officers with their armor. But a higher-ranking person would not assist someone of lower rank; this was a traditional custom.


    Winters was somewhat flattered, ¡°I can wear it myself.¡±


    ¡°No more nonsense.¡± Colonel Field roughly pulled Lieutenant Montaigne over and, while fitting the breastplate over Winters, said, ¡°There are more officers than soldiers in Sea Blue City. Right now, only two battalions from the third legion are available, and their garrisons are all in the western part of the city; who knows when they will be able to come over. I¡¯m now worried that Zio will get impatient and start using us as the frontrunners.¡±


    ¡°How could the people from the third legion be slower than us?¡±


    Colonel Field snorted, ¡°Because the officers all have warhorses. As soon as they heard the news, they directly rode over. Great, now all you infantry fellows will get to be dragoons for the night.¡±


    The colonel skillfully finished helping Winters into his breastplate and carefully checked all the belt buckles, ensuring they were securely fastened. After confirming everything was tight, he slapped the iron plate on Winters¡¯s back, ¡°All set. Move around and see if anything feels uncomfortable¡­ how¡¯s your sword swinging from horseback coming along?¡±


    ¡°Not so good,¡± Winters honestly replied, ¡°The infantry course doesn¡¯t have horseback slashing lessons anymore.¡±


    ¡°Just aim for the head when you slash,¡± Colonel Field mounted his horse and demonstrated a few cuts, ¡°Keep your legs tight, circle the saber back to position by your side after a slash, keep it tight. Don¡¯t engage too long; you¡¯re cavalry now, with four legs. If you can¡¯t beat them, run.¡±


    Another rider galloped into the camp gates and swept into the crossroads. The horse reared up, and the rider jumped off, striding toward the old soldier in general¡¯s uniform, the chairman of the Council of Thirteen, the member of the Council of Five, and the governor-general, General Zio, to report in a low voice.


    Five minutes later, all officers in the eastern camp received orders: to set out for the naval dock immediately and retake Duck¡¯s Beak Fort.

 Chapter 133 - 133 - 58 Duck’s Beak

    Chapter 133 ¨C 58 Duck¡¯s Beak


    The Duckbill Battery earned its name because it was situated on Duckbill Cape at Haidong Bay. The shape of the cape closely resembled a duck¡¯s bill and acted as a natural breakwater, like an arm extending from the land sheltering Haidong Bay. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By establishing a battery on Duckbill Cape, offensively, it controlled the narrow entrance and exit of Haidong Bay; defensively, every ship in the port fell within the range of its guns. If necessary, a chain could be stretched from Duckbill Cape to the opposite shore to block any maritime enemies.


    It was precisely because of Haidong Bay¡¯s unique geographical advantages that the Vineta Navy constructed a dedicated dock here, making Haidong Port the home base of the entire Vineta Navy.


    But now, the port had fallen. Heavy cannons atop Duckbill Battery were being rotated to bombard the naval ships moored within the port.


    And the army officers had received orders, ¡°Take back this place.¡±


    In the cover of night, a troop of cavalry galloped wildly. Over a hundred officers had received the news, assembled at the eastern encampment, where Admiral Zio had dispatched them all in one breath, led by a colonel racing toward Haidong Port.


    Winters lay close to his horse¡¯s body, tightly following Lieutenant Colonel Field in front of him. The imposing momentum of hundreds of warhorses charging together was astonishing, their hoofbeats thundering like war drums.


    ...


    But Winters was not affected by the fervor. At that moment, the moon was veiled by clouds, and the road was pitch black, making it nearly impossible to see anything. Galloping on this night road was extremely risky¡ªa small misfortune could cause a horse to stumble.


    From time to time, someone fell off their horse and was carried to the side of the road to wait for rescue from those following.


    After what felt like an eternity, the distant sounds of gunfire began to faintly reach them, indicating that Haidong Port lay ahead. Just then, Winters saw someone ahead waving torches, so he slowed down his horse and stopped.


    In a clearing by the road, officers who had arrived earlier were resting.


    Although the cavalry troop numbered just over a hundred, they had extended to a kilometer long when running at full speed. Several leading lieutenant colonels decided to set this location, from where the sound of gunfire could be heard, as the attack point, dispatching three officers to reconnoiter ahead while waiting for the rest of the group to assemble.


    From the assembly point, the sounds of gunfire directly ahead could be heard clearly. Boom, boom, boom¡ªthe air carried heavy, dull sounds, roars that only heavy artillery could produce.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field handed a water-skin to Winters, ¡°Take a drink, follow me later, and don¡¯t stray off.¡±


    Winters pulled out the stopper, was about to drink, but noticed a pungent smell, ¡°Is this alcohol?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s alcohol.¡±


    Winters nodded, resealed the stopper, and decided not to drink. He didn¡¯t think numbing his nerves with strong liquor would be any good in battle.


    The wait before the fight was long and agonizing. The officers neither knew who the enemy was nor the number of the enemy forces. Yet, at the command, they would have to fight these unknown enemies¡ªa fact that made everyone uneasy.


    Field and a few other officers huddled into a small circle, smoking their pipes and chatting in low voices, occasionally erupting in laughter. Winters didn¡¯t smoke and couldn¡¯t join in, so he just found a rock to sit on, silently fiddling with two throwing spikes in his hand. He had initially planned to spend the evening at the club, so he had only brought three throwing spikes as a backup.


    Moritz, however, slept on a felt blanket he¡¯d pulled from his saddlebag, not bothered by others. The major wouldn¡¯t miss any chance for a nap.


    A man approached with a torch, passing on orders one by one, ¡°The scouts have returned, Colonel Kara wants everyone at the meeting.¡±


    Over a hundred people gathered in a large circle; conveying commands to this many people simultaneously was no easy task. Colonel Kara, not being a spellcaster, had to stand on a large rock amidst the crowd and shout at the top of his lungs:


    ¡°Duckbill Battery has been confirmed lost, and now the attackers are using the cannons to strike at the navy¡¯s ships. The fiercest fighting is happening at the dock, with the remaining navy personnel desperately combating the attackers at the dockside.¡± Colonel Kara laughed coldly, ¡°But this has nothing to do with us. Our orders are to retake Duckbill Battery. Now that the navy has drawn the enemy¡¯s attention, it¡¯s our perfect chance. Silently advance straight to the battery¡ªeveryone keep close to your commanding officers, dismissed!¡±


    The officers scattered to look for their horses. They had never trained together, and not all of them were cavalry, making it difficult to form any complex formations.


    Therefore, Colonel Kara¡¯s tactic was to take advantage of the enemy¡¯s distraction and charge headlong on fast horses, engaging in close combat once inside the battery. For this group of military academy graduates, who also included several spellcasters, melee fighting was an area where they could leverage their advantage over firearms.


    The officers loosely formed two columns, with Winters in the middle section, Major Moritz in front of him, and further ahead, Lieutenant Colonel Field. At the very front was Colonel Kara, who had to lead the charge in order to command this purely officer-made cavalry troop.


    The charge began at a walking pace until they opened up a two or three-meter gap between each cavalryman. That¡¯s when Colonel Kara issued the command to trot.


    Winters didn¡¯t know which direction he was going, and he didn¡¯t need to. Although a column charge has weak impact, it is agile and can quickly adjust direction. As long as each cavalryman follows the one in front of them, they can maintain formation.


    The trotting cavalry troop left the road and entered the forest, where branches lashed against them like whips. After several minutes of navigating through the trees, shafts of light began to pierce through the gaps.


    It meant they were about to leave the woods. Winters took a deep breath, used his knees to hold the sheath and drew his sabre.


    After passing through the deliberately cleared line of trees, the view suddenly opened up. Less than a kilometer straight ahead was the Duckbill Bastion, where the navy and attackers were engaged in fierce combat on the dock to the left.


    Major Moritz in front of Winters suddenly accelerated, charging at the bastion like an arrow released from its bow. Winters, following behind, spurred his mighty horse for the first time, initiating the charge.


    This charge was silent, without shouts or bugles. The officers silently drove their warhorses. Winters witnessed his strong horse fully demonstrating its running prowess for the first time, overtaking Major Moritz¡¯s horse, and eventually running neck and neck with Field¡¯s black steed.


    The distance of one kilometer was covered in the blink of an eye. A dozen attackers heading from the bastion to support the dock hadn¡¯t realized what was happening when they were abruptly struck down by the whistling cavalry.


    The officers in front didn¡¯t leave any chance for those behind to swing their sabres. Winters only saw a body with its head chopped off.


    Killing these dozen or so enemies was just incidental; the entire cavalry didn¡¯t slow down and continued their straight line toward the bastion.


    The Duckbill Bastion was not a star fort; it was constructed to defend against enemies on the water, not on land. It was just a square bastion made of stone and mortar, clumsy yet sturdy. Half-moon outposts were later added at the four corners, but the overall structure hadn¡¯t changed, still with a single gate for ingress and egress, and no moats.


    This was actually a gamble. If the attackers had closed the gate, then these one hundred cavalrymen, being a temporary light cavalry unit without any siege tools, would have been helpless against the eight-meter-high stone walls of the bastion, able only to swarm and climb like ants.


    Colonel Kara was betting that the attackers wouldn¡¯t expect a quick reinforcement, nor would they predict that the relief troops wouldn¡¯t head to the port but straight to the Duckbill Bastion instead.


    From the moment Haidong Bay was attacked, Admiral Zio received the message and gathered the troops to provide support, all in under three hours. In three hours, before the attackers could even finish off the Haidong Bay garrison, this cavalry formed purely of officers had already reached the site.


    The gate of the Duckbill Bastion was closed.


    But not barred!


    The dozen or so who had left earlier had only closed the gate without securing it, and the attackers simply didn¡¯t have enough manpower to defend the Duckbill Bastion.


    The people at the front pried open the gap and pushed the gate open with great effort. The following cavalrymen streamed in, pouring into the open space within the bastion.


    And at that moment, the attackers inside the bastion were still completely unaware, preoccupied with operating the cannons.


    Colonel Kara dismounted, shouted, ¡°Take a few alive,¡± then kicked open the wooden door from which the sound of cannon fire was emanating, and charged in holding his sabre high.


    Winters hadn¡¯t anticipated such a lax defense from the attackers. It was a blind spot in their thinking; they only considered how they would attack others, never imagining they might be attacked themselves. With the element of surprise on their side, they had already won half the battle.


    Leading the way, Colonel Kara and about a dozen officers, without hesitation, also charged in with their sabres. From inside the door came screams and the dull thumps of metal striking bone wrapped in flesh.


    But Winters remained still, as did Moritz, both waiting for Lieutenant Colonel Field¡¯s orders.


    ¡°No need to follow them; it seems there aren¡¯t many enemies here,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field made a calm assessment, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the powder magazine. I¡¯m worried these guys might be desperate enough to risk everything and blow us all up.¡±


    As he spoke, Lieutenant Colonel Field intercepted two officers in lieutenant uniforms: ¡°You two, guard the gate. Once our men are in, bolt it shut. Don¡¯t open it for anyone without an order from an officer of at least colonel rank.¡±


    The two lieutenants had originally wanted to join Colonel Kara in getting some real action and letting off steam, but they were stopped mid-way by Lieutenant Colonel Field. Rank has its privileges, after all.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, leading Moritz and Winters, didn¡¯t follow the main troop but went in a different direction.


    ¡°You still remember where the powder magazine is located here?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field grunted, ¡°The location of a bastion¡¯s powder magazine is always the same ¡ª the farthest spot from the cannons.¡±

 Chapter 134 - 134 - 59: Cannon Rampart

    Chapter 134 ¨C 59: Cannon Rampart


    ¡°`


    The entire raid was astonishingly smooth, as the officer Cavalry unit took the artillery battery gate without suffering any casualties.


    In fact, the Cavalry in the second half of the charge were almost just running along, giving Winters the illusion that this was all some farce.


    Field, with two subordinates, entered the battery from another direction, and to prevent open flames from igniting the gunpowder, the three Spellcasters took turns maintaining the Luminosity Spell.


    Field led the way, cautiously checking each storeroom. He would first open just a sliver of the door to determine if there was any light inside. However, the Colonel found no gunpowder stores, only empty warehouses and panicked rats.


    Winters had been somewhat skeptical of the Colonel¡¯s theory that ¡°the gunpowder store must be located at the point farthest from the cannons,¡± and after inspecting a row of storerooms without seeing even a shadow, his vigilance had waned a bit.


    But Field remained alert, carefully opening the second to last door. The wooden door creaked open a fraction, and the Colonel froze on the spot.


    ...


    Turning his head, he gave Moritz a slight nod, and the Major, who was maintaining the Luminosity Spell, got the message and stopped casting. He pulled out a silver coin from his pocket and flashed it at the Colonel.


    Field nodded again, took a deep breath in front of the door, and kicked it open vigorously. He then quickly ducked to the side and used the Amplify Sound Spell to give a loud shout.


    This magically augmented shout wasn¡¯t as deafening as Moritz¡¯s Sonic Burst Spell but still startled Winters, and clearly, it also caught the people inside off guard.


    Elite Musketeers can suppress their instinctive fear, remaining unblinking and awaiting the commander¡¯s order to fire, even as the enemy charges at them.


    But the people inside clearly didn¡¯t possess this ability.


    Gunshots rang out, and two lead bullets flew from the room, shattering against the artillery battery¡¯s stone walls.


    Upon seeing the people inside open fire, Major Moritz swiftly moved to the doorway, launching three silver coins in rapid succession with his unadorned yet lethal Arrow Flying Spell.


    The sounds of heavy objects dropping to the floor came from inside the room.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say we needed to take captives? Couldn¡¯t you aim for the shoulder or something?¡± Field chided the Major, retrieving a copper rod to activate the Luminosity Spell.


    Moritz just shrugged, saying nothing.


    The room¡¯s cold weapons and armor reflected the green light from the Luminosity Spell; it must be the arms store of the Duckbill Battery. Winters saw two bodies lying over a pair of matchlock guns, with neat stacks of barrels behind them and cannonballs piled high on racks.


    ¡°Naval management is really poor,¡± the Colonel remarked, not missing the chance to criticize: ¡°An armory and gunpowder store together? Aren¡¯t they just asking for accidents?¡±


    By now, Winters had grown accustomed to Colonel Field¡¯s tendency to critique everything, knowing the Colonel meant no harm and was just outspoken. Ignoring him as usual, he and Moritz acted as if they were deaf.


    Accustomed to this cold shoulder, the Colonel clicked his tongue disinterestedly and began to check the bodies on the ground.


    ¡°Notice anything?¡± Moritz asked, a rare utterance for him.


    ¡°No uniforms, filthy fingernails, rotten teeth¡ªthough these are all common enough features, they don¡¯t indicate anything specific,¡± the Colonel replied offhandedly, his attention suddenly caught by the weapon carried by the deceased: ¡°But this knife¡­ isn¡¯t this a cutlass?¡±


    Waving the short, curved knife he¡¯d pulled from the body, the Colonel mused, ¡°This is a sailor¡¯s cutter¡­ Huh, interesting. Let¡¯s go see if we¡¯ve caught any survivors.¡±


    The attackers, locked in hand-to-hand combat, were no match for the officers, and even outnumbered, the officers managed to quickly secure the entire battery at the cost of only four light injuries¡ªfewer than the number who were hurt falling from horses at night.


    The remaining few surviving enemies were dragged out to the battery¡¯s central open area like chickens, shivering as they knelt. The staff officers sat on the side bragging, while the junior officers were tasked with the dirty work of dragging out body after body.


    ¡°That little bastard didn¡¯t even realize what was happening; I just went up and chopped off half his shoulder with a single swing, and even bent the blade¡­¡± Colonel Kara was obviously very pleased with the raid, laughing and boasting about his bravery with his peers.


    What do warriors do after a victorious battle? They brag. It¡¯s human nature. There was no doubt this was a splendid victory, and as the commander, Colonel Kara was entitled to boast.


    Seeing a subordinate approach him, Colonel Kara dropped his jovial expression, lifted his head towards his men, and asked, ¡°Are we done tallying?¡±


    The young officer nodded, ¡°We¡¯ve counted forty-seven bodies, but some are the local garrison, hard to separate them¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Colonel Kara interrupted, ¡°Let the Navy sort it out. We¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, a sound like a hammer smashing a boulder interrupted him. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Accompanied by the whistle of cannonballs and the dull thuds of iron projectiles striking stone, the outer walls of Duckbill Battery started to crumble under the cannon barrage.


    Chunks of broken stone even flew into the open area at the center of the battery, and several cannonballs screamed overhead.


    From the sound of it, at least a dozen cannons were firing at Duckbill Battery.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 135 - 135 - 59 Artillery Bastion_2

    Chapter 135 ¨C 59 Artillery Bastion_2


    ¡°Who¡¯s firing at us?¡± Colonel Kara asked angrily.


    ¡°There is a warship in Haidong Bay firing at us,¡± an officer, clutching his hat, ran over and reported: ¡°It should be a navy ship; they probably don¡¯t know we¡¯ve recaptured Duckbill Fort. Should we go inform them?¡±


    ¡°Inform my ass!¡± Colonel Kara glared at him: ¡°Let them fire. The navy¡¯s ship bombing the navy¡¯s fort, what¡¯s that got to do with us? Can their fire even reach us on the reverse slope?¡±


    He loudly ordered: ¡°Listen up, no one is allowed to get close to the guns. If you get hit, go ask the navy for medical expenses. Our mission is already complete. I command, everyone! Guard the gate! Wait for reinforcements to rendezvous.¡±


    Another artillery colonel pulled Kara to the side and asked in a low voice: ¡°There¡¯s still fighting at the docks, is it really okay for us to just watch from the sidelines?¡±


    ¡°Brother, all of us here are officers, who can I command?¡± Colonel Kara said helplessly: ¡°You are a colonel, and so am I. Could I command you without Admiral Zio¡¯s orders? The admiral¡¯s command was to recapture the fort, and we have accomplished that. The admiral treated us like disposable soldiers, and it¡¯s already lucky no one died. There¡¯s no need to throw our juniors into the fray for the navy¡¯s sake, right?¡±


    ¡°I get your point, sacrificing ourselves for the navy is definitely not worth it, but we could support them in a safer way,¡± the artillery colonel explained: ¡°I checked the gun positions at Duckbill Fort, and actually, by adjusting the angles, some of the heavy artillery could cover the docks. The admiral¡¯s command was to recapture the fort, but after recapturing it, we should utilize it. Otherwise, what was all our effort for? Just for these broken stones?¡±


    ...


    Unable to argue with him and unable to command him, Colonel Kara could only nod. Being of the same rank, it was already a great respect that the artillery colonel came to discuss with Kara. However, he still had his worries and cautioned: ¡°The navy¡¯s ship is still firing at us, you must be very careful.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    After the night watch schedule was arranged, Colonel Kara, along with two other staff officers, took the prisoners into the kitchen for interrogation, which probably wouldn¡¯t be a pretty scene. The artillery colonel, along with some officers specialized in artillery, went to fiddle with the big guns. A few officers were standing night watch, and the rest of the men rested.


    The warship drifting in Haidong Bay continued to fire several volleys at Duckbill Fort before it too realized something was amiss, as the previously firing Duckbill Fort had suddenly gone silent. Assuming something had happened, they ceased firing at Duckbill Fort.


    Of course, it could also be because they lost the guidance of the firelight from Duckbill Fort¡¯s guns in the dim moonlight, unable to see where Duckbill Fort was.


    Duckbill Fort suddenly returned to tranquility. First, Winters went to make sure Warhorse was well accommodated, as Warhorse had recently developed a liking for fighting with other stallions, which wasn¡¯t mere fabrication. Other officers¡¯ horses were no match for Warhorse, terrified by the fierce stallion, desperately trying to get away, breaking several reins in the process.


    Since Warhorse had a bit in its mouth, it couldn¡¯t bite the others and was also very agitated. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had no choice but to hammer a stake into a corner of the clearing, tethering Warhorse away from the other horses.


    ¡°You troublesome little rascal!¡± Winters slapped Warhorse on the forehead. The Lucian stallion felt no shame for causing his master to be scolded by several staff officers, blinking its large eyes at Winters and sticking out its long pink tongue, asking for treats.


    Winters, both annoyed and amused, fed Warhorse a few sugar cubes: ¡°Eat, eat, eat, that¡¯s all you think about.¡±


    Winters had planned to remove Warhorse¡¯s gear to make it comfortable, but noticing that the other officers hadn¡¯t taken their horses¡¯ gear off indicated everyone was prepared for an emergency. Therefore, Winters only removed Warhorse¡¯s bit and provided it with some hay and water.


    ¡°Montaigne!¡± someone was calling Winters; it was Andre. He stood by the door enthusiastically waving at Winters.


    ¡°Keep it down,¡± Winters walked over: ¡°What¡¯s making you so happy?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask, just follow me,¡± Andre mysteriously answered.


    He led the way, with Winters trailing behind him, and after making a few turns, Andre bowed, presenting a host¡¯s gesture: ¡°Please allow me to present to you¡ª the navy¡¯s treasure!¡±


    Having said that, he lifted a wooden board on the ground, revealing an underground space.


    The underground space was brightly lit, echoing with laughter and chatter. In the cramped space, about a dozen people were squeezed in. Winters recognized quite a few familiar faces, seeming to be fellow warrant officers.


    ¡°You found a wine cellar?¡± Winters understood what was happening and asked Andre with a smile.


    Andre boasted proudly: ¡°Of course, my nose is better than a dog¡¯s. I followed the scent and found it. Alas, it¡¯s a pity ¡¯The Chaplain¡¯ isn¡¯t here; otherwise, we¡¯d definitely have to drink him under the table tonight.¡±


    ¡¯The Chaplain¡¯ was the nickname Andre had given Bard. Bard didn¡¯t join tonight¡¯s operation since he didn¡¯t have a horse, and even with the news, he couldn¡¯t have made it to the East Camp gathering in time.


    ¡°You guys have fun; I¡¯ve got to stand night watch,¡± Winters found an excuse to leave; in truth, he didn¡¯t drink or enjoy such revelry.


    The night¡¯s raid felt like a farce to Winters, inexplicably summoned to the East Camp, bewilderingly setting off to face an unknown enemy. He hadn¡¯t even done anything throughout the battle. He really wasn¡¯t in the mood to celebrate.

 Chapter 136 - 136 - 59: Cannon Rampart_3

    Chapter 136 ¨C 59: Cannon Rampart_3


    Winters paced to the top of the battery, where heavy guns were arrayed inside the sturdy fortress, and smaller caliber cannons were exposed to the elements here.


    He sat on the low wall, and the sea under the moonlight appeared a deep black, with a solitary warship adrift on the waters. That very warship was the one that had just bombarded Duckbill Fort, yet for some reason, it hadn¡¯t joined the battle at the docks.


    The docks were ablaze by now, as Haidong Port served as Vineta Navy¡¯s home base, not only a supply harbor but also the location of the Vineta Navy¡¯s shipyards.


    Buildings inside the harbor had been engulfed by flames, and Winters could only spot one ship berthed, burning fiercely. The attackers were in the shipyard, setting fire to the laid keels and the ships under repair.


    Gunshots emanated from the shipyard as Winters watched the navy sailors attempt several times to recapture the docks, only to have their formations scattered by volleys of gunfire and forced into retreat.


    There was bloodshed in the shipyard, while just six hundred meters away in Duckbill Fort¡¯s battery, the warrant officers were indulging in a drunken revelry, with most officers having found a place with a roof to rest. The fight was over, and the entire battery rested in an eerie quiet and tranquility.


    Andre, carrying two bottles of wine, also came up to the top of the battery, nonchalantly speaking to Winters, ¡°It was no fun alone there; I came to keep you company.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    He bit off the cork and handed a bottle to Winters. Then, biting open another, he took a huge swig, ¡°This officer¡¯s cellar wine doesn¡¯t seem anything special.¡±


    Winters took the bottle but didn¡¯t drink, pointing towards the shipyard, ¡°The battle over there is fierce. If we go and support them, attacking from both fronts, do you think we could win?¡±


    Andre scrutinized the situation at the docks and said with a sneer, ¡°If these attackers were of the same caliber as the folks in this battery, the navy men wouldn¡¯t be needed. A hundred or so of us could rout them with a single charge. But having spent so many years in military school, would you be content to die like that?¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words, as Andre bluntly and cruelly voiced everyone¡¯s selfish thought¡ªit wasn¡¯t worth it.


    A stray bullet, a flying arrow, a long spear could easily claim a life. It wasn¡¯t death they were afraid of¡ªanyone afraid to die wouldn¡¯t have assembled at the eastern camp tonight. Leading the soldiers to die on a charge was one thing, but to die like an ordinary trooper, hardly worth it.


    ¡°Stop worrying, we are just two warrant officers, the least valuable of the officers. We do what we¡¯re told, no need to overthink,¡± Andre said, introducing his ¡¯tool man¡¯ theory once again. He excitedly nudged Winters, poking him in the side and asked with a manic tone, ¡°How many for you tonight?¡±


    ¡°How many what?¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand what Andre was getting at.


    ¡°Come on, you don¡¯t get it?¡± Andre gestured with a chopping motion, ¡°This, how many?¡±


    Realizing what the madman was asking, Winters replied helplessly, ¡°None.¡±


    Andre burst into laughter and held up three fingers, ¡°Three for me tonight, now we¡¯re tied at five each¡­ but truth be told, my five are of a higher quality. The chaplain, zero, hahaha.¡±


    Montaigne, the warrant officer, sighed deeply, ¡°Brother, no matter what you¡¯re talking about, you¡¯ve won.¡±


    Andre replied, but Winters only saw his lips move; the roar of the heavy guns drowned out Andre¡¯s words.


    The thirty-two-pounder cannons of Duckbill Fort unleashed their fury for the first time that night, targeting the invaders.

 Chapter 137 - 137 - 60 Vineta

    Chapter 137 ¨C 60 Vineta


    Although they had recalibrated twice, in Winters¡¯ and Andre¡¯s view, the several heavy cannons aimed toward the bay were still lobbing thirty-two-pound iron balls into the shipyard with no accuracy at all.


    Rather than providing fire support for the sailors, it was more like they were firing off cannons to cheer. The main purpose was to make some noise and incidentally notify everyone that the fort had changed hands.


    After a period of silence, when the artillery at the Duckbill Fort roared back to life, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel commanding the sailors assaulting the shipyard acutely sensed that the tide of battle seemed to be changing. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Duckbill Fort¡¯s guns, which had originally fired at the water, now turned to start firing at the Navy shipyard.


    Although the shells were hitting attackers and Navy sailors alike, making it seem like the assailants¡¯ poor marksmanship might be to blame, there was another possibility¡ªthe reinforcements had arrived and recaptured the fort.


    The morale of the over four hundred hastily assembled sailors was on the verge of collapsing, and had it not been for the thirty plus boarding party members retained by the Navy Lieutenant Colonel as a supervisory team, this ragtag bunch would have long thrown away their weapons and scattered.


    The Navy Lieutenant Colonel knew all too well that this disorganized group could only fight when they were winning; now that they had lost confidence in victory, they would turn tail at the slightest resistance.


    ...


    Sailors are not soldiers. First and foremost, they are sailors and only then, members of the Navy. Their usual workload aboard a ship is extremely demanding, leaving them no time or energy to undergo land combat training. That¡¯s why ships have specialized boarding parties for close-quarters combat.


    Likewise, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s job was that of a captain, and rallying the sailors amidst the chaos for a counterattack was already playing way out of his league; he truly lacked the ability to lead this motley crew to recapture the shipyard.


    Thus, the sailors¡¯ several attempts to storm the shipyard ended in immediate routs; one person turned to flee, and everyone else followed suit, running back. The Navy Lieutenant Colonel, watching from behind, was filled with anxiety, yet helpless to act.


    Realizing that the fort might have been retaken by the reinforcements, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel was overjoyed. Leaving a captain in charge of the supervisory team to watch over the dispirited sailors, he took a few guards and headed straight for Duckbill Cape, bypassing the shipyard.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Atop the high wall, the officers on night duty noticed a horseman approaching the fort gate from the darkness, the sound of hooves particularly clear in the night.


    Without a word, a highly tense officer yanked a red-hot iron spike from the brazier and thrust it into the cannon¡¯s touch-hole.


    A cannonball roared out of the barrel, flying into the night unknown.


    Before the sound of the cannon faded, the gunner received a resounding slap to the face.


    ¡°Who the [expletive] told you to fire? Can¡¯t you discern the sound of hooves? Just one person! Why would you fire?¡± the officer on duty cursed angrily and dealt the gunner another fierce slap.


    Winters and Andre, drawn by the noise, stayed silent as mice, not wishing to draw fire upon themselves.


    The horseman, however, was not deterred by the shot and soon arrived at the gate. But instead of declaring his identity, he simply clamored to see the person in charge of the fort.


    The rider clearly didn¡¯t look like a messenger from the East Camp, and exchanging glances, the officers on night duty unanimously grabbed their muskets and began to load them, while Winters reached for his bayonet.


    ¡°We are the Vineta Army, declare your identity!¡± the officer on duty called out to him.


    Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the horseman outside the fort turned his horse around and fled without a word. This left the army officers on the wall feeling utterly bewildered.


    A few minutes later, the same horseman returned to the fort gate with the Navy Lieutenant Colonel.


    It turned out that as the outline of the fort became clearer and clearer, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s heart had grown more and more anxious. In the end, he decided to be cautious and sent a guard to scout the situation first. As soon as he knew it was the Vineta Army that had retaken the fort, he quickly came over to ask for help.


    But the overjoyed Navy Lieutenant Colonel didn¡¯t even make it through the fort gate.


    The duty officer refused to open the gate for him without orders from a higher-ranking officer. When Colonel Kara arrived at the wall after being informed, he bluntly told the Navy Lieutenant Colonel, ¡°Whatever your business is, say it from outside.¡±


    Left with no choice, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel explained his purpose while looking up, only to be immediately rejected by Colonel Kara, ¡°The orders from Admiral Zio were to recapture the fort, and we must hold here until further orders. I¡¯m sorry, but I cannot spare men to support you.¡±


    ¡°The pirates won¡¯t come to Duckbill Fort anymore; their ships have fled. This is just a rock, a dead rock!¡± the Navy captain shouted in anguish, ¡°Are you going to just watch as the pirates burn all of our warships?¡±


    Standing behind Colonel Kara, Winters caught a few key words: pirates, fled. Winters doubted his ears. ¡°What pirates would dare attack the Vineta Navy¡¯s home port? Did I hear wrong, or does ¡¯pirates¡¯ mean something other than what I think it does?¡±


    However, Colonel Kara remained unmoved. Pointing to the lone ship on the sea, he replied to the Navy man, ¡°The sailors on your ship, along with the people now present, are enough to retake the shipyard.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not our ship! It belongs to oath-breakers! They won¡¯t help us.¡± The Navy Lieutenant Colonel retorted angrily, then pleaded desperately in a lowered voice, ¡°Please help us. Pirates have already taken four of our large ships; if we let them burn the ships in the shipyard as well, the fleet won¡¯t recover for years.¡±

 Chapter 138 - 138 - 60 Vineta_2

    Chapter 138 ¨C 60 Vineta_2


    His words were so sorrowful that even the stony-hearted Colonel Kara couldn¡¯t remain indifferent to him, ¡°My cavalry unit is too small; it¡¯s not of much use. Two battalions of infantry are on their way here, they will arrive soon and help you crush the enemy.¡±


    ¡°By the time they get here it¡¯ll be too late!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already too late! Whatever is in your shipyard, it¡¯s now all burnt to charcoal, and I won¡¯t let my officers die for charcoal. Please go back.¡±


    After speaking, Colonel Kara turned his head sharply and left without compassion.


    The Navy Lieutenant Colonel stood dazed outside the fortress for a moment, then rode away on his horse, his spirit crushed. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Watching the retreating figure of the diligent Navy Lieutenant Colonel, a bitter taste rose in the throats of the officers atop the fortress. The joy of victory was also diluted, and everyone turned away in silence.


    ¡°What¡¯s that over there?¡± Andre suddenly shouted.


    ...


    At the sound, the officers turned their heads. On the mainland connecting Sea Blue City with Haidong Port, the black shrubs were moving¡ªit was a marching column. With the beat of a drum, the soldiers advanced in an eight-row column, uniform in their steps. From a distance, the exceedingly long lances looked like a forest on the move, orderly and ominous.


    Major General Antonio Serviati, with the Third Legion¡ª¡±Da Weineta,¡± had arrived!


    A single black dot broke away from the formation, circled past the shipyard, and approached the battery. The cavalry officer spurred his warhorse urgently, galloping to the battery¡¯s gate.


    The warhorse frothed at the mouth as the messenger bellowed, ¡°Where is Colonel Kara?!¡±


    ¡°Here I am!¡± Colonel Kara rushed back to the watchtower.


    ¡°Orders from Major General Serviati: Command your unit to coordinate with mine in attacking the enemy entrenched in the shipyard!¡± With that, the messenger jerked the reins and again galloped off without stopping.


    There was no explanation, just a command. The officers in the battery were somewhat stunned, their gazes involuntarily focusing on Colonel Kara.


    Colonel Kara hesitated for a moment but quickly regained his stern composure. He scanned the area: ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear the order? Wake everyone up! The lightly wounded stay here, the rest of you, to the attack!¡±


    The north side of the naval shipyard connected to the sea, and its land portion was separated by a ring of stone walls and other port structures. The attackers had used this wall to repel several assaults by the navy sailors.


    The attackers had set up numerous gunmen along this breastwork and had even dragged down several short cannons from ships undergoing repairs.


    Once navy sailors came within fifty paces, they would be harshly shot at by matchlock guns, and once the leading men were downed, the more cowardly would turn and run.


    The behavior of individuals fleeing in the face of combat could not be stopped, and it spurred others to run as well. Then the attackers barraged them with a round of grapeshot from short-barreled cannons, completely breaking the assaulting side¡¯s morale.


    In the end, the navy sailors only dared to stand over sixty paces away, exchanging inconsequential gunfire with the attackers from a distance.


    But those arriving this time were not sailors; they were the most elite troops of the Vineta Standing Army.


    Since the end of the Sovereign Wars, the Alliance army¡¯s equipment and tactics had not undergone significant changes. Marshal Ned improved the square pike formation tactics of Duke Arian and retained a part of the sword-and-shield men to counter Duke Arian¡¯s squares, also replacing crossbowmen and archers with gunmen.


    In the Battle of Butchers, Marshal Ned utilized this improved pike square formation to crush Duke Orlean¡¯s forces in field combat. The combined system of extra-long pikes, sword-and-shield men, and gunmen had been used until today.


    However, squares were obviously unnecessary against the current enemy. Amidst the drumming, two battalions of infantry smoothly deployed into horizontal lines. The pikemen rested their long pikes on the ground and drew their swords, lining up behind the sword-and-shield men.


    The gunmen took positions at the forefront of the ranks with a two-step interval, drawing out ramrods and beginning to load their matchlock guns.


    The enemies inside the shipyard felt unprecedented pressure; those now advancing to attack were not a motley crowd wielding sailor¡¯s knives and yelling to bolster their courage.


    The Third Legion¡¯s infantrymen stood a hundred meters away, their formation as neat as a cut by a knife but silent as the grave. All that could be heard on the battlefield, aside from the wind, was the sound of lead bullets being pushed into the barrels.


    The gunmen poured in the gunpowder, inserted the lead bullets, returned the ramrods to the slots beneath the barrels, and then filled the priming pans with powder, closing the covers. Lastly, they attached the smoldering match to the serpentine, and in the enemy¡¯s sight, they calmly completed the entire loading process.


    The officer in charge of the gunmen swept past the front lines, and once he confirmed that all gunmen had finished loading, he stood on his stirrups and waved the battle flag hanging from the pike three times.


    Antonio, in the rear of the formation, saw the flags wave and nodded at his ensign.


    The Spellcaster officer rode forward, his voice amplified by a spell as he roared, ¡°Da Weineta!¡±


    The soldiers roared back, ¡°Kazar! [Hooray]¡±


    ¡°Da Weineta!¡±


    ¡°Kazar!¡±


    ¡°Da Weineta!¡±


    ¡°KAZAR!¡±


    Three war cries, each more thunderous than the last. Not only the enemies within the shipyard were intimidated, but even the navy sailors behind them trembled with fear.


    Startled by the war cries, a gunman behind the stone wall involuntarily pulled the trigger, firing a shot. The lead ball gouged a hole in the ground. Then a dozen more gunshots rang out as others instinctively fired their guns.


    The officers lined up outside the battery heard these three war cries and understood that the Third Legion was about to attack.

 Chapter 139 - 139 - 60 Da Weineta_3

    Chapter 139 ¨C 60 Da Weineta_3


    Time waits for no one. Colonel Kara drew his sabre and commanded loudly, ¡°Arrowhead formation, officers in front, young men to the back, I¡¯ll stand first.¡±


    ¡°What wishful thinking do you have?¡± Colonel Bozuhof rode forward and whipped Kara¡¯s back with the back of his sword, laughing and scolding, ¡°What makes you think you can stand in the front alone?¡±


    After three battle cries, Andre turned his head to his aide-de-camp and whispered, ¡°Begin.¡±


    Accompanied by a command of ¡°Advance!¡± the beat of drums began, and with the musketeers at the forefront, the Third Legion started to move forward.


    The soldiers of the Third Legion, like an unstoppable tsunami, step by step they approached the shipyard. At a distance of more than sixty paces, a musketeer within the wall, unable to bear the psychological pressure, fired his gun at the approaching army.


    This time not just a dozen, but all musketeers with powder in their guns pulled the trigger. Gunshots burst forth like popping beans, and even a few short-barreled cannons fired.


    Dozens of grapeshot the size of grapes sprayed out of the cannons, forming a barrage.


    ...


    Amidst bullets and cannonballs, over twenty musketeers were struck down, their bodies acquiring four or five bloody holes.


    Being killed outright was actually a mercy, as most deaths were accompanied by cruel pain. A musketeer whose lungs were pierced, blood poured into his trachea, and air sacs squeezed out of his mouth. Yet, he still hadn¡¯t breathed his last, lying on the ground with helpless whimpers.


    But the soldiers of the Third Legion continued to advance resolutely, the musketeers keeping eyes fixed on what lay ahead, not even glancing at their fallen comrades. Not just the musketeers, but also the sword and shield bearers and the spearmen behind them did the same.


    The soldiers, treating the bodies on the ground and the dying as though they were invisible, stepped over them as if stepping over a log lying on the ground.


    Advancing to about fifty paces, accompanied by the command ¡°Halt!¡± the human wall stopped moving.


    ¡°Fix bayonets!¡±


    The musketeers planted their support rods into the ground and readied their matchlock guns.


    At this time, their enemies were frantically reloading.


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    The musketeers gently blew on the fuse and opened the lid of the powder pan.


    ¡°Aim!¡±


    They rested the guns on their shoulders, lining up their targets through the sights.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    They pulled the lever, the smoldering match cord drew an arc, igniting the powder in the pan. With a flash of light and the sound of gunfire, a volley of lead shot flew towards the stone wall, and screams came from behind the wall of smoke.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    Behind the ranks of musketeers, the officers leading their subordinates jabbed their horses¡¯ flanks, charging to the front. Sword and shield bearers followed, shouting as they rushed towards Haidong Port¡¯s shipyard.


    On the other side of Haidong Port, the officer¡¯s cavalry completed their formation, galloping towards the docks at a ¡°quick march¡± pace.


    The four colonels were at the very front of the entire charge, leading the assault. Behind the four colonels, the width of the formation gradually increased.


    The charging formation was shaped like an arrowhead, known as the arrowhead formation or chevron formation. Just as a red corner does not make one move faster, forming the chevron does not increase the penetrating power of the charge.


    The true purpose of the chevron formation was that as long as every cavalryman followed the one in front, a single person at the forefront could guide the direction of the entire charge, while under this premise, they maximized the width of the formation.


    At less than a hundred meters away from the shipyard wall, Colonel Kara bellowed his charge command. All officers drew their sabres, leaned in, and accelerated to full speed.


    It was expected that this distance would have to be crossed under a hail of gunfire, but no gunshot sounded from within the stone wall. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The cavalry met no resistance and quickly reached the stone wall. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Colonel Kara spurred his horse into a leap, gracefully clearing the chest-high wall.


    Seeing Kara leap so caught the other officers off guard. Take Winters, for instance, who had never trained in such vaulting. Seeing Colonel Kara jumping the breastwork, the warrant officer¡¯s heart skipped a beat.


    He had no idea if his horse would suddenly stop at the wall¡¯s edge and throw him off to break his neck. But if his seniors ahead of him all jumped over, he too had to bite the bullet and jump.


    Fortunately, the others were not as reckless as Colonel Kara. Colonel Bozuhof pulled the reins at the wall¡¯s edge and stopped. The rest followed suit and stopped as well.


    Cursing under his breath, Colonel Bozuhof led the other two officers to climb over the breastwork and opened the gates.


    The cavalry charged into the shipyard only to halt in their tracks. There were no enemies inside, only people scattering in flight.


    ¡°[Expletive]!¡± Colonel Bozuhof cursed, ¡°The Third Legion has done all the work! Leaving us crumbs.¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean what do we do?¡± Bozuhof glared fiercely at the person who asked the question, ¡°Are we not going to eat the crumbs? Kill every non-uniformed person!¡±


    He then slapped the side of his horse with the flat of his sabre and charged at the enemies fleeing to the seaside.


    Winters saw Andre gleefully following Colonel Bozuhof, chasing after the fleeing enemies.

 Chapter 140 - 140 - 61 The Guard Corridor

    Chapter 140 ¨C 61 The Guard Corridor


    ¡°Wow! It¡¯s the statue of a Sabine woman! How did the ancients manage to carve the texture of light gauze from stone?¡± Anna, with a comical little mustache stuck to her lips, wandered happily through the mercenary colonnade, ¡°And this one here, look at the lines of her body, so beautiful!¡±


    However, Winters seemed somewhat distracted at the time, responding with noncommittal ¡°hmms¡± whatever Anna said, his hand on the hilt of his sword, protecting this girl dressed as a man by her side.


    The Guard¡¯s Colonnade was a section next to the Parliament Square, constructed during the imperial era. In the past, the emperor¡¯s messengers would read out decrees from atop the colonnade, and meet petitioners within its confines.


    Because this colonnade symbolized the emperor¡¯s majesty, it was not only built very high, but also housed several statues created by famous artists. Next to the colonnade was the former residence of the royal guards, hence the name Guard¡¯s Colonnade.


    After the Sovereignty Wars, the Republic of Vineta inherited this colonnade. Although some major public ceremonies¡ªsuch as the swearing-in of administrative officers¡ªstill took place here, usually it served merely as a spot for citizens to relax and cool off, no longer the inviolable sanctuary of the royal domain.


    Elizabeth, who loved stirring up trouble, happily became the messenger relaying messages for Anna. As a reward for providing her with the patterns, Anna had asked Winters to meet her precisely at nine o¡¯clock that morning outside Lady Anguisola¡¯s studio, with two horses in tow.


    And so Winters waited for Miss Anna, who had arrived dressed as a man and sporting a small mustache.


    ...


    ¡°I skipped class!¡± Anna¡¯s eyes were full of excitement, ¡°Take me to the Guard¡¯s Colonnade! Did you bring the horses?¡±


    ¡°I have, but I didn¡¯t bring a lady¡¯s side-saddle,¡± Winters said, apologetically, ¡°Shall I find a carriage for you?¡±


    Riding astride was considered very unladylike; hence the special side-saddle for women. But Anna happily mounted the horse, ¡°No need. I¡¯ve been wanting to try riding astride for a while now.¡±


    In that moment at the Guard¡¯s Colonnade, Winters watching Anna admire the statues, suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if the horrific battle at Haidong Port the night before had been just a dream.


    On the street, laborers pushing wheelbarrows argued noisily with merchants driving mule carts; a lady curiously peeked through the curtains of a rattling carriage; and impeccably dressed gentlemen, indifferent to the commotion, rode past leisurely on their horses.


    While passersby bustled about their daily lives, Anna lost herself in the world of sculpted art. It was another ordinary day in Sea Blue City, yet soldiers could already taste the increasingly pungent odors of gunpowder and blood.


    When cleaning up the battlefield the night before, over six hundred bodies were tallied. The attackers, entrenched in the shipyard, tried to escape to the sea in small boats, but the majority were caught by the cavalry and cut down from behind.


    Without need for torture, the captives gave up a name: Captain Drake. A notorious member of the combined council of captains and plantation owners of Tanilia, and a dreaded pirate of the Inner Sea. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a well-planned surprise attack; the pirates took advantage of the high tide to come ashore in small groups, hiding in the forests to the east of Haidong Port. Two days later, on a night when the south wind howled, they launched their assault.


    A gang of pirates mounted a noisy feint attack on the pier, and when the defenders at Duckbeak Bastion went to support the pier, another gang of pirates hidden outside the bastion seized the opportunity to capture it.


    Following that, the two groups of pirates pinched the defenders between them, overwhelming the guards.


    Then the pirates began setting fires at the docks and seizing the warships anchored in the harbor.


    After returning to home port, most of the sailors from the warships had already gone ashore to rest. With only a few crew members left on guard, there was no organization strong enough to mount an effective resistance.


    The brave sailors aboard three of the warships repelled the pirates, attempting to navigate their ships out of the harbor. Two of them were sunk by the heavy cannons of Duckbeak Bastion at the narrowest exit of the bay, while the third vanished after passing the bay, ambushed by pirate ships waiting outside in the sea.


    The sailors of another warship held fast in the cabin; they couldn¡¯t sail away, and the pirates dared not go down. In cruelty, the pirates eventually set fire to this warship.


    In the shipyard, two warships that had been hauled ashore for cleaning their hulls from barnacles could not be dragged back into the sea by the pirates, who simply burned them as well.


    The sailors aboard the remaining four warships were killed by the pirates, who, riding the strong southerly wind, drove these four warships away from Haidong Port.


    In just two hours, the Vineta Navy had lost four of its ten warships anchored in Haidong Port, while the remaining six were burned.


    The last intact warship in the harbor turned out to be the imperial warship ¡°Virtue¡± that Winters was responsible for welcoming that day. A few dozen loyalist soldiers aboard the Virtue fought off the pirates attempting to seize the ship, breaking their teeth in the attempt.


    Meanwhile, the captain of the Virtue coolly assessed the situation, choosing not to blindly leave the bay. Since the bastion had changed hands, most of its cannons must have been aimed at the entrance and exit of the bay, leaving few pointed toward their own harbor. The captain of the Virtue determined it was better to deal with the bastion in the bay than head into the sea with unknown enemy positions.


    Indeed, by the time the cavalry from the eastern camp arrived at Haidong Port, most of the pirates had already fled. To have captured a real warship was a major coup; any pirates who managed to board a naval warship had only one thought: to get the ship out.


    Ultimately, the pirates left hunkering down in the shipyard were those who had not managed to board the ships; they continued looting and setting fires in the port until they turned around to find all the ships gone. Most of them were trapped in the shipyard, with only a few left at the bastion.

 Chapter 141 - 141 - 61 The Guard Corridor_2

    Chapter 141 ¨C 61 The Guard Corridor_2


    That was what Winters saw: a lone battleship in the bay exchanging fire with Duckbill Fort; a battleship next to the docks ablaze, its sailors fiercely battling with the enemies from the shipyard.


    ¡°War is only a means, not an end,¡± Antonio said to Winters.


    But now, besides war, there was no longer a second option.


    The entirety of Sea Blue City had already learned of the naval harbor attack. Soon, the whole of Vineta, and even the entire Alliance Country, would know of this news. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Overnight, Vineta¡¯s navy had lost half of its ships. It was an undeclared attack, and whether or not the Tanilia Federation had instructed Captain Drake, the Vineta regime had already determined that the Tanilia Federation had stealthily attacked Haidong Port.


    For the first time since the War of Sovereignty, Vineta convened a full assembly of citizen representatives. Messengers galloped along the highways, delivering news, with the representatives of the various cities converging on Sea Blue City.


    The Consul would speak at the full assembly of citizen representatives, but everyone already knew what he would say.


    ...


    ¡°War!¡±


    The prices of iron, copper, sulfur, and saltpeter soared, each minute bringing a new price;


    The navy was press-ganging all the armed merchant ships they could find, offering high daily wages to recruit sailors, and conscripted all the criminals they could lay their hands on.


    The army reserves had received their mobilization orders, with officers previously placed in various sinecure positions being allocated new posts within the troops.


    The Third Legion was swiftly brought up from half-strength to full complement; a reserve legion already had its officer framework set up, just waiting for the reserve soldiers to fill the ranks.


    The war faction had originally wanted to use the dockside assassination to pressure the governing committee, but now there was no need. The responsibilities of the dockside assassination and the headquarters¡¯ guard were transferred en bloc to the Sea Blue City Public Security Headquarters, and the Military Police Office at the army headquarters was disbanded.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, Major Moritz, Warrant Officer Winters, and many other sidelined officers were reappointed to new duties. Lieutenant Colonel Field and Major Moritz were sent to lead troops in the reserve legion, while Winters was assigned by Antonio to train with the Third Legion.


    Vineta¡¯s war machine had begun to turn, and all officers were merely cogs in this machine. No one could control their own destiny, at least not a mere warrant officer.


    As the vortex began to spin, Winters found he could only be dragged along by the current. He had expended so much effort investigating the dockside assassination, but it was suddenly rendered useless. Perhaps for the bigwigs, it was just a round of political games.


    He suddenly began to envy Andre¡¯s carefree nature, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, we do what we¡¯re told,¡± Andre would say. Perhaps compared to himself, Andre was more suited to being a soldier.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Anna waved her hand in front of Winters¡¯ face, breaking his train of thought, ¡°Were you listening to what I said?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Winters, the warrant officer of Montaigne, came back to his senses and changed the subject without missing a beat, ¡°Did you ask me to come out here just to accompany you to the guard colonnade? Haven¡¯t you ever been to the guard colonnade before?¡±


    The guard colonnade was considered a landmark of Sea Blue City. Winters had often played there with friends since childhood or arranged to meet there. He didn¡¯t understand why there was such a fuss about just strolling around the square.


    ¡°How could a lady come to such a place? All these statues are¡­ they¡¯re all¡­ that sort of thing¡­¡± Anna blushed, her voice getting softer and softer, until her last few words were barely audible.


    Winters looked at the marble and bronze statues around him; the male statues¡¯ primary sexual characteristics were overtly displayed in the public space, ¡°Naked?¡±


    Anna softly murmured a ¡°hm¡± in affirmation.


    ¡°Knowing they¡¯re naked, you still came to look?¡±


    Anna, who had been bashful just a moment ago, kicked Winters¡¯ shin hard.


    Winters, the Montaigne warrant officer, nimbly dodged, ¡°Why are you so barbaric?¡±


    Anna said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m here as a man.¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t think that by wearing that outfit, people won¡¯t recognize you as a woman?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t treat me as a woman right now.¡±


    Winters gave a slight bow, ¡°Mr. Navarre, please enjoy your time here. I have other matters and must leave first.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Anna quickly grabbed Winters¡¯ sleeve, ¡°How could you leave a woman¡­ anyway, it¡¯s not safe here¡­ You promised to model for my painting in exchange for me being your guard, are you going back on your word?¡±


    ¡°This is the parliamentary square,¡± Winters laughed, ¡°This is probably the safest place in Vineta, what¡¯s unsafe about it?¡±


    Anna let go and sat down on the stone plinth of a statue base, saying softly, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand, you¡¯re a man, you¡¯re safe wherever you are.¡±


    Saying that, Anna buried her face in her arms, lost in thought.


    Winters sighed and walked away.


    A few minutes later, he returned, carrying two large cups.


    Anna looked up to find herself alone in the guard colonnade, nearly panicking. Seeing Winters return, she kicked the Montaigne warrant officer¡¯s shin again in anger, ¡°You really left? Where did you go?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a man now? I¡¯m offering you a man¡¯s drink,¡± Winters casually sat down on the stone plinth of the statue base and handed a cup to Anna.

 Chapter 142 - 142 - 61 The Guard Corridor_3

    Chapter 142 ¨C 61 The Guard Corridor_3


    Anna paused for a moment, then sat down beside the stone platform and took a small sip, ¡°Sweet?¡±


    ¡°Sweet beer, it¡¯s not hopped, so it can¡¯t be kept for very long, it¡¯s always brewed and sold on the spot.¡± Winters took a large gulp himself, ¡°When I was at Lu You, I always came here with friends to drink sweet beer. I didn¡¯t expect that six years later, that beer lady would still be selling this stuff.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters took another gulp and smacked his lips, ¡°It just tastes a bit different, though. In my memory, it was always tastier.¡±


    ¡°Do you still come here to drink sweet beer with your friends?¡± Anna, holding her cup with both hands, sipped it gently and asked Winters.


    Winters thought of Benwei, who was hiding out in a farmstead on the outskirts, and shook his head, ¡°Not now, my friend is¡­ quite busy.¡±


    A gentle breeze blew as the two sat silently in the corridor, drinking the sweet beer.


    Anna suddenly mimicked Winters¡¯ carefree way of sitting, no longer keeping her legs primly together, but stretching them out comfortably instead. She leaned back against the statue¡¯s pedestal, stretching languidly.


    ...


    Winters extended his beer cup toward Anna. She stared for a moment and then laughed as she clinked cups with him.


    As she looked toward the direction of the parliamentary square, she said softly, ¡°Thank you, this might be the only time in my life that I¡¯ve come to the Guard¡¯s Corridor in person to enjoy these sculptures.¡±


    ¡°You give me the design, I do you the favor, a fair trade.¡± Anna¡¯s sudden niceness caught Winters off guard, and he took a small sip of beer to hide his embarrassment.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m very envious of you,¡± Anna whispered, ¡°Because I¡¯m a woman, I can¡¯t go watch dissections, I can¡¯t go see models, I can¡¯t look directly at nude statues. No matter how well I paint, I can only hang them in my own bedroom; no art dealer would take a female artist¡¯s paintings. Even Lady Angui Sola can only paint portraits for others. I used to only see these sculptures in paintings. Even though they are right there in the parliamentary square, I¡¯ve ridden past here several times, but I have never gotten off the carriage to walk here.¡±


    ¡°Actually, just like now, you can come here anytime you like,¡± Winters retorted.


    ¡°That¡¯s only because I have¡­ a guard with me, then I dare to come here,¡± Anna said a bit irritably, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, you still don¡¯t understand! For ladies, there¡¯s no safe place outside their homes.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s been telling you this?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh.


    ¡°My mother! And other respectable ladies!¡±


    Winters thought that Anna was simply a contradiction, possessing an unrestrained side, yet constantly bound by her own constraints.


    He finished the rest of the sweet beer in his cup and then took Anna¡¯s cup. Anna stood there, stunned, watching as the man before her guzzled the sweet beer from her cup in one go.


    After that, Winters returned the cups and, leading the horses, guided Anna through a few twists and turns in the narrow alley next to the parliamentary square. They arrived at a small clearing.


    Anna, led by Winters through a haze to this grassy space between houses, was puzzled.


    ¡°Okay, here we are. This is where we used to play with swords,¡± Winters said, happy as he drove a stake into the ground to tie up the two horses.


    ¡°What did you bring me here for?¡± Anna asked, her arms crossed protectively over her chest.


    Winters waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Relax, I¡¯m not interested in men.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Annoyed and embarrassed, Anna made as if to kick Winters.


    Winters unfastened the sword in its sheath, pulled out the blade, handed it to Anna, and kept the sheath in his own hand.


    This was a typical ceremonial straight sword, short, light, and narrow, but also a real sharpened weapon.


    But Anna didn¡¯t reach out to take it.


    Winters said seriously, ¡°Miss Anna, I agree with what you said. There¡¯s a natural physical gap between men and women, and although there are frail men and robust women, in this world, most men, if they want to harm you, you really wouldn¡¯t have much of a good method to defend yourself. But I can teach you some swordplay for self-protection in a crisis, hoping there will never be a day when it¡¯s needed.¡±


    He then pushed the ceremonial sword into Anna¡¯s hands.


    ¡°There¡¯s only one thing I want to teach you¡ªcourage,¡± Winters pointed at his own chest, throat, and eyes, ¡°Many times, it¡¯s not about skill, it¡¯s about bravery. If you dare to stab powerfully toward these parts, stabbing deep enough, it¡¯ll cause serious injury if not death. Come on, try stabbing me.¡±


    With that, Winters stood in front of Anna, holding the sheath in his right hand.


    ¡°What are you thinking? Get on with it!¡± Winters adopted the tone of Drill Instructor Nal, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to stab me.¡±


    Anna was close to tears, ¡°I¡­ I can practice on a dummy when I get home, can¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Can a dummy fight back? Can a dummy bleed?¡± Winters rebuked sternly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you paint that warlike Aphrodite? When it¡¯s your turn, you get scared?¡±


    ¡°You¡­ you knew?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a [profanity a gentleman should never utter in front of a lady]!¡± Winters scolded loudly, ¡°Stab it!¡±


    Anna closed her eyes and stabbed out.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In Lady Angui Sola¡¯s atelier, Elizabeth, seeing Anna with red-rimmed eyes, expressed her surprise, ¡°What¡¯s happened now? My brother is not a bad man, there must be some misunderstanding¡­¡±


    Anna shook her head but was thinking about what Winters said when he escorted her back.


    ¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s with the tears every time something happens¡­¡±


    Anna, sitting on the horse, just wiped her tears, not saying a word.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just that I knocked the sword out of your hands? It¡¯s a common occurrence in sword practice.¡±


    Anna remained silent.


    Winters carefully asked, ¡°After today, does that mean we¡¯re even with the designs?¡±


    ¡°I gave you ten drawings, and you provided half a day¡¯s guard duty, how can we be even?¡±


    ¡°Sigh, what else do you need me to do, then? Tell me all about it at once,¡± Winters said in resignation, ¡°Actually, I still suggest you have them changed into silver coins, I could simply pay you.¡±


    At these words, Anna asked angrily, ¡°Do you want to avoid seeing me that badly? I don¡¯t want to see you either!¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not like that, Miss Anna,¡± Winters said with a bitter smile, ¡°I¡¯m off to war. If I don¡¯t come back, you won¡¯t be able to collect your debt¡­ You see, although men are safer than women, sometimes men have to go to the most dangerous places too, don¡¯t they?¡±

 Chapter 143 - 143 - 62 General Assembly

    Chapter 143 ¨C 62 General Assembly


    ¡°¡­Remember this day of disgrace! Vineta was deliberately attacked by the Tanilia Federation. Until a week ago, the governing committee was still in talks with the Federation to maintain peace in the inland sea.


    But history will testify that the Tanilia Federation had long premeditated and carefully planned this attack. They deceived Vineta with their hypocritical statements and posturing of maintaining peace.


    Our fleet suffered heavy losses, our naval ports were burned to ashes, and many brave Venetians lost their lives.


    The fact is self-evident: the enemy has launched an attack against us. As an official of the Venetian Republic, I have ordered the army and navy to take all necessary measures.


    The sea remembers forever, and Vineta will always remember Tanilia¡¯s undeclared war. Under the watch of the gods, I swear: no matter how long it takes, no matter how much blood is shed, even if the entire inland sea is dyed red, we will uphold our justice!


    Believe in our military! Believe in our people! May the gods bless Vineta, and we shall prevail!


    I demand that the Citizens¡¯ Representative Assembly of Vineta declare: from the moment the Tanilia Federation launched their despicable sneak attack on Haidong Port, the esteemed Venetian Republic and the Tanilia Federation are officially in a state of war.¡±


    ...


    In the center of the parliamentary hall, this spirited old man fiercely slammed his hand on the podium, sweeping his gaze around, and declared indisputably, ¡°The Tanilia Federation, must be destroyed!¡±


    The spacious parliamentary hall was filled with citizen representatives from all over Vineta, who had rushed to Sea Blue City. A special acoustics design meant that the official¡¯s words could be clearly heard by everyone in the room.


    With every statement made by the official, the citizen representatives would shout back in response.


    When the official finished his last sentence, the impassioned citizen representatives all stood up, waving their fists, and let out a roar like a tsunami: ¡°Destroy the Federation! Destroy the Federation¡­¡±


    On the observation deck of the second floor, Antonio put his tricorn hat back on and turned to Winters, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Winters. There¡¯s nothing more to see.¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Those without the status of citizen representative or lawmaker were not permitted to attend meetings on the first floor of the hall. Thus, the hall¡¯s designer had specifically included the second-floor observation deck for the general citizens to listen in.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to watch the voting process?¡± Winters got momentarily distracted by the atmosphere of unanimous animosity among the hundreds of lawmakers: ¡°We don¡¯t even know what proposal the official wants to pass.¡±


    The other people on the observation deck made way for the two officers, and one of them clapped Winters on the shoulder, saying to him, ¡°Take out those damned pirates from the Federation!¡±


    Winters responded with a polite smile and followed Antonio off the observation deck.


    Once outside, Antonio spoke to Winters, ¡°We don¡¯t need to know the official¡¯s proposal; knowing the official¡¯s attitude is enough.¡±


    Winters nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Governor Debela is quite skillful.¡± Antonio suddenly said with some emotion: ¡°Actually, there are some lawmakers in the parliament who do not agree with linking Drake¡¯s attack to the Tanilia Federation, but Debela directly convened the entire Citizens¡¯ Representative Assembly. With the current atmosphere in the hall, I believe even the highest war budget would easily be approved with three shouts.¡±


    ¡°How could Drake, a mere pirate captain, possibly organize such a sneak attack? The Federation must be supporting him from behind,¡± Winters said, perplexed: ¡°But I can¡¯t figure out why the Federation would dare to provoke us? Clearly, we were going to attack them, yet they struck first. Do the Tanilians think by destroying the Venetian Navy, we would be unable to retaliate against them?¡±


    Antonio raised an eyebrow and instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t consider the Federation as a whole, just as you shouldn¡¯t see Vineta as a monolith. There¡¯s no need to consider the thoughts of the Tanilians; all hopes for a peaceful resolution have been shattered, leaving only the path of war. And our duty is to win this war for Vineta¡­ Are you getting used to working under Kongtai¡¯er?¡±


    ¡°Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, he¡­ I feel like he¡¯s taking too much care of me. The colonel put all of us cadet officers into his prime cohort, we hardly have anything to do,¡± said Winters, a tad embarrassed.


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er was in charge of commanding the primus pilus [Cohort Prima] of the Third Legion, which normally maintained at half strength but was quickly brought to full strength with reservists after the Haidong Port attack and was now intensely training at West Camp. However, Winters, currently training with the standing forces, found himself not very busy.


    ¡°Speak less, do more, observe more,¡± Antonio reached out to straighten Winters¡¯ military cap and patted his back, ¡°Some will curry favor with you, others will despise you, but none of that really matters. Just do your job.¡±


    Winters silently nodded his head.


    He understood: to deny the help that came from his family would be hypocritical; if he and Benwei were to switch places, Benwei might not do better than him, but he definitely couldn¡¯t manage what Benwei did, working on the docks to support his family at a young age, nor could he do what Bard did ¡ª and it was precisely for this reason that he respected both Benwei and Bard.


    But he still wanted to avoid any allegations of nepotism, so Winters had actually wanted to join Colonel Field in the reserve legions, but Antonio had managed to get him sent to ¡°Da Vineta.¡± Although few knew about the relationship between Warrant Officer Montaigne and the legion commander, it still made Winters somewhat uncomfortable.

 Chapter 144 - 144 - 62 General Assembly_2

    Chapter 144 ¨C 62 General Assembly_2


    Antonio was still consoling Winters, telling him how he should respond: ¡°Fulfill your duty.¡±


    As they rode back home from the parliamentary hall, close to the entrance to their house, Antonio casually mentioned, ¡°The navy is clearing the nearby seas. Once they¡¯ve cleared the shipping lanes, the Third Legion will be striking out. Get ready and sort out any outstanding business.¡±


    ¡°What? We¡¯re sending out troops so soon?¡± Winters suddenly became alert, ¡°This is too hasty, the warships, gunpowder, shells, provisions¡­ Are we prepared yet?¡±


    ¡°We are not ready, but we must respond,¡± Antonio said with a slight bitter smile, ¡°The anger of the people is a fire that can burn both the enemy and ourselves. If we don¡¯t retaliate when attacked, public opinion will crush the government. The Politburo needs a victory now more than ever to establish its authority.¡±


    ¡°Monarchs should not start wars in anger, and generals should not launch attacks out of resentment. This is chaos, you should firmly oppose such reckless orders!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve read ¡¯The Art of War: The Volume of Blazing Fire¡¯ too,¡± Antonio shifted the conversation, ¡°but let me ask you a question. Do you think there is a better commander in Vineta than me right now?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    ...


    Although it sounded like flattery, this was Winters¡¯s honest opinion. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Vineta Republic named the Third Legion after itself, which spoke volumes about the troop¡¯s combat capability. And the Commander of the Grand Vineta was undoubtedly the most excellent commander in the whole Republic.


    ¡°Yes, I think so too.¡± Antonio sounded self-promoting, but there was not a trace of arrogance on his face, as calm as if discussing the weather, ¡°So if I oppose, will the Quintet give up on seeking a swift victory?¡±


    ¡°They would consider your opinion.¡±


    ¡°I have already voiced my opposition, but the Quintet asked me to obey the orders. If I continue to firmly oppose, they will replace me and have someone else command the attack.¡±


    ¡°Then let someone else do it.¡±


    ¡°And then what? Watch the Third Legion suffer unnecessary losses due to a change in command right before battle? Smugly boast about having foresight?¡± Antonio pulled the reins tightly and stopped, speaking seriously to his nephew, ¡°Listen well, Winters, never say ¡¯I told you so,¡¯ even if you did. We are soldiers of Vineta, and as long as we¡¯re being paid, we have to serve the interest of the Republic to the best of our ability!¡±


    Antonio rarely spoke to the children with such severity, whether it was to Winters or to Elizabeth. It was Kosa who was the stricter parent, while the colonel was the one who covered for the children.


    Chastised, Winters lowered his head, and Antonio realized that he had been a bit too angry, and gently said, ¡°The Politburo has made up its mind, and all a soldier can do is to try their best to win the war. The interests of Vineta must come first; the Alliance has eradicated the nobility, but we officers are the Knights guarding her.¡±


    Winters grunted an acknowledgment. In his view, most officers simply regarded their military position as a job and did not elevate loyalty to the level of a Knight¡¯s fealty to their liege. Although he admired Antonio, Winters did not think himself capable of such nobility.


    The parliamentary hall was not far from their home, and they arrived shortly. A grubby little beggar wearing an oversized hat was peeking through the fence.


    Seeing the two officers return, the little beggar ran away in panic. With a large number of dispossessed farmers flooding into the city, Sea Blue City had many more beggars than before. The street where the Serviati Residence was located was under tight security, being a priority patrol area for the police headquarters, but even so, it was not unusual to see people begging.


    ¡°Go after him and find out who he is. If he¡¯s just a beggar, give him some money. Tell him not to come near our house again,¡± Antonio instructed, pointing at the retreating figure of the little beggar.


    Winters nodded and spurred his horse to follow.


    Antonio took care of his bay horse in the stable first, and then entered the house through the back door.


    As soon as he entered, Elizabeth came running over anxiously and grabbed his arm, ¡°Dad, are you and my brother going off to fight in a war?¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Antonio asked with a smile.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s talking about it, the whole Sea Blue City is discussing the war, even my female companions at the art studio are talking about it, and the old ladies are telling stories about the wars from over twenty years ago. Where are you going to fight? Is it dangerous? Why does my brother have to go too?¡±


    Antonio ruffled his daughter¡¯s hair, speaking in a light tone, ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous. Your brother and I just have to take a boat to a small island at sea, take a turn around, and this war will be over.¡±


    ¡°If you play dumb with Elizabeth, she¡¯ll grow up to be a foolish woman,¡± Kosa walked over and said discontentedly to Antonio, ¡°Have some faith in the children we¡¯ve raised. Ella is sixteen now, and she¡¯s strong enough to understand what¡¯s going to happen.¡±


    Kosa took Elizabeth into the living room, had her sit down squarely on the sofa, and sat down on either side of her with Antonio.


    Clasping Elizabeth¡¯s hands, Kosa explained earnestly to her daughter, ¡°War is the most violent way to resolve disputes, with two groups of people slaughtering each other until one side gives in. That¡¯s why we have soldiers. If soldiers go to war, then others don¡¯t have to bleed. Your father and brother are soldiers, so even though they will miss you terribly, they have to leave home to go to war. Do you understand? They¡¯re not leaving home because they don¡¯t love you.¡±

 Chapter 145 - 145 - 62 General Assembly_3

    Chapter 145 ¨C 62 General Assembly_3


    Elizabeth asked with red-rimmed eyes, ¡°Is war dangerous? Could you¡­ never come back?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Antonio quickly consoled his daughter, ¡°War isn¡¯t as dangerous as you think. There¡¯s even a song that goes, ¡¯If every bullet hit a man, who would the king have to serve as his soldiers?¡¯¡­¡±


    But Ella glared at Antonio and seriously said to Elizabeth, ¡°War does kill people, and many families¡¯ sons won¡¯t return. Your father and brother might not come back either. We pray for their safety, but if they can¡¯t return, you have to be strong enough to face it.¡±


    Upon hearing her mother¡¯s words, and imagining the terrible scenarios, Elizabeth couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears.


    ¡°She¡¯s still a child, isn¡¯t this a bit too cruel?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s already sixteen, she must learn to accept all of this. Only in this way, if she truly loses you both, she won¡¯t collapse into insanity like my sister did!¡±


    Just as the two were about to argue over their child-rearing philosophy, Winters pushed open the door and came in.


    ...


    Seeing Winters return home, Elizabeth ran over and threw herself into her brother¡¯s embrace, sobbing, ¡°Winters, I don¡¯t want you to go to war! I don¡¯t want you to never come back! Please don¡¯t go¡­¡±


    Winters, having no idea what had transpired, awkwardly held Ella. He could only gently pat Ella¡¯s back while looking to the parents with a questioning glance, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    However, the usually strong and resolute Ella couldn¡¯t help but wipe away tears at this moment.


    Antonio sighed helplessly, pulled his wife into his embrace, and exchanged a look with Winters.


    After a long silence, the expressionless Sofia came down from upstairs.


    Indeed, Sofia was now residing at the Winters¡¯ household. The Third Legion¡¯s base was now brimming with soldiers, and it was clearly inappropriate for a lady to continue staying there.


    Sofia¡¯s identity had also been confirmed. The messenger had ridden tirelessly to The Federated Provinces, copying the original documents stored in the church. These were cross-checked without error against the documents Sofia carried.


    The Governing Council and Sofia reached an agreement. In exchange for her notes, Governor Debela would expedite the proposal to rehabilitate Antoine-Laurent, while Sofia would temporarily stay in Vineta waiting to attend a hearing.


    Originally, Sofia wanted to stay at a Monastery, but Elizabeth eagerly invited Sofia to their home. Although Antonio and Winters were resolutely opposed, Elizabeth succeeded in convincing the real head of the household¡ªElla.


    Ella agreed to let Sofia stay for a simple reason: the two families were actually related.


    Ella¡¯s grandfather¡¯s sister had married into the da Ravassy family, that sister¡¯s grandmother was Antoine-Laurent¡¯s grandmother, making her Sofia¡¯s great-grandmother.


    That is to say, Winters and Elizabeth had to call Sofia ¡°Cousin.¡±


    Due to the natural geographical barriers of ¡°two mountains flanking a valley¡±, the aristocracy of the Senas Bay region tended not to intermarry with outsiders, while inner-community marriages were very frequent. United Provincials with a ¡°de¡± or ¡°la¡± in their surnames sitting in a tavern could chat and surely find a familial connection between them.


    Winters¡¯ maternal grandfather, being the youngest child, had no rights to inherit the title and lands, so he turned to business. But he fortuitously avoided the Federated Provincials¡¯ purge of the old aristocracy during the Sovereignty Wars. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [In feudal states, it¡¯s quite common for the younger sons of minor noble families to lose their nobility and become commoners.]


    Sofia, with a cold expression, walked up to Winters, who while sharing a roof with her, had never been on the receiving end of any pleasantness from her. Winters empathized; if someone had first burned Winters¡¯ hair and then his beloved family heirlooms, Winters wouldn¡¯t be quick to forgive either.


    But this didn¡¯t mean Winters forgave Sofia for breaking into his home at night, attempting to kill twice. [Understanding but not forgiving], Sofia felt the same, and that was the awkward state between them.


    Winters awkwardly smiled and nodded to Sofia. Sofia gave him a stern look, took Elizabeth into her arms, and helped the inconsolable girl back upstairs.

 Chapter 146 - 146 - 63 Unexpected Guests

    Chapter 146 ¨C 63 Unexpected Guests


    The minor disturbance had rendered the atmosphere within the household somewhat somber, the eaves no longer echoed with joy and laughter. The several servants in the house also keenly sensed the shift in mood, with even Marita showing extra caution.


    After dinner, as night fell, Antonio led Winters into the study, claiming there was something he needed to give him.


    Winters had thought that Antonio was simply making an excuse to call him over and avoid Vineta, but Antonio did indeed find a box and, after opening three nested wooden cases, handed a sheathed sword to Winters.


    ¡°This sword of yours is too¡­¡± Winters racked his brain for a long time, but couldn¡¯t come up with a complimentary adjective, ¡°¡­tacky, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    The design of the sword was that of a typical single-handed ceremonial sword, somewhat resembling the Swift Sword, but it was shorter and lighter. However, the emphasis of this sword was not on its blade, but on its hilt and scabbard.


    A ceremonial sword naturally seeks opulence due to its decorative purpose, but there are different levels of opulence. Major Moritz¡¯s ceremonial sword was opulent with taste, while the one in Winters¡¯ hands was a prime example of tasteless opulence.


    All the metal on the sword, aside from the steel of the blade itself, was gold. Not only was the entire handguard made of gold, but even the sheath was encased in gold.


    ...


    The sheath and the end of the hilt were also inlaid with gems that Winters did not recognize, but since they could be set in gold, their value was definitely higher than that of the gold.


    The whole sword blatantly proclaimed an aesthetic typical of the nouveau riche, with the sheath costing more than the blade itself, a perfect embodiment of lavish material stacking, reaching the pinnacle of buying the casket rather than the pearl.


    ¡°Tacky? It¡¯s the fashion of the times,¡± Antonio blushed, ¡°A ceremonial sword is meant to be extravagant. When I was young, everyone competed to wear their entire fortune on them. If you went out with a plain sword, you¡¯d be laughed at. Do you think it¡¯s different now? Keep it safe, this sword is yours now.¡±


    Winters imagined himself wearing the sword and couldn¡¯t help but get goosebumps.


    He quickly placed the sword back on the table and refused, ¡°Wearing this golden sword would be too shameful; it would be like declaring to everyone, ¡¯I¡¯m all for show¡¯. I¡¯d rather simply wear a bar of gold around my waist. If you¡¯re embarrassed to wear this sword, how could I possibly have the nerve to wear it out?¡±


    ¡°Be politely spoken,¡± Antonio knocked Winters on the head, ¡°This was your father¡¯s ceremonial sword; he gifted it to me, and today I am passing it on to you. It¡¯s an inheritance, take care of it.¡±


    ¡°That only proves that both of you had questionable taste,¡± Winters commented as he drew the sword and tested the flexibility of the blade, which snapped back into shape after being bent into a large arc, still perfectly straight, ¡°The blade itself is quite good, though.¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s made from the finest steel,¡± Antonio affirmed.


    Interactions between men rarely involved emotional exchanges, even between father and son. However, affected by Elizabeth¡¯s sentiments, Winters also became somewhat emotional.


    He carefully put away the ceremonial sword, lowered his head, and for the first time expressed his true feelings, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t care who my biological parents are, I don¡¯t know them, and they have never seen me. To me, Vineta is my mother, and you are my father, and I will serve and protect Ella like a son.¡±


    Antonio, too, was moved, and embracing Winters¡¯ shoulders, he spoke softly, ¡°What are you talking about, you fool? The fact that you have grown up is already enough for Vineta and me. Of course, you are Vineta¡¯s and my child. You always have been, and you always will be.¡±


    A knock on the door interrupted the rare moment of warmth between the two men.


    ¡°Sir, a carriage has stopped outside the door, and the person inside asks for you, but refuses to reveal his identity,¡± the voice of Marita came through the study door. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°He is the guest I was expecting, please let him in through the back door, straight to the study,¡± Antonio replied loudly.


    Marita responded and walked away.


    ¡°A guest? Then I¡¯ll excuse myself,¡± Winters said.


    ¡°You should make your excuses but also eavesdrop,¡± Antonio replied as he opened a secret door in the corner of the study, ¡°The visitor would surely expect you to leave, but I want you to listen to what he has to say.¡±


    Behind the secret door was a spiral staircase leading directly to the upstairs master bedroom, a ¡°secret passage¡± known to the entire household. But the door was so well-made that its edges were hidden in the wall¡¯s contour lines, with no visible door seam in sight.


    Winters got the hint and slipped behind the door, peering through an observation hole hidden in the shelves at the study.


    Two figures clad in black cloaks, a master and a servant, entered Antonio¡¯s study under Marita¡¯s guidance, the servant carrying a finely crafted wooden box.


    Only when the room was left with the three of them did the cloaked person remove his hood, revealing his identity to the person he brought with him.


    Seeing the face beneath the hood, Winters behind the secret door almost cried out in surprise. Winters not only recognized who it was, but there was no way he could be mistaken, for this person had left a very deep impression on Winters.


    Luxurious warships, elite loyalist troops, and the legendary Eagle Knights¡­ Days ago, at Haidong Port, which had not yet been burned to ashes, Winters and Andre had waited for hours to welcome this person.


    Earl Narzia¡ªthe head of Chancery and plenipotentiary envoy for traitor Henry III¡ªhad secretly arrived at the residence of Vineta Army Major General Serviati.

 Chapter 147 - 147 - 63 Unexpected Guests_2

    Chapter 147 ¨C 63 Unexpected Guests_2


    ¡°`


    Although the Sovereignty War had ended twenty-six years ago, many within the Empire still regarded the Senas Alliance as southern rebels. The clandestine meeting of the Vineta Army¡¯s powerbroker with the Emperor¡¯s favorite was enough to spark endless speculation with a simple sentence.


    Yet Antonio wasn¡¯t surprised by the identity of the visitor. Without even a cursory word of greeting, he just nodded at the other party and casually pointed to the chair in front of the desk, saying indifferently, ¡°Please sit.¡±


    Despite the cold reception, Earl Narzio didn¡¯t appear angry. Instead, a fawning smile spread across his face, ¡°His Majesty sends his sincerest regards.¡±


    Antonio chuckled dryly, but offered no reply.


    However, Earl Narzio took the exquisite wooden box from his servant¡¯s hands with diligence, placing it respectfully on Antonio¡¯s desk, ¡°This is a gift from His Majesty for you and your esteemed wife.¡±


    But Antonio didn¡¯t even glance at it, leaning back in his chair with impatience, ¡°If you are here to deliver gifts and greetings on his behalf, I have received them, you can go now. Otherwise, speak plainly.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bringing a gift from His Majesty is indeed the main purpose of my visit. He doesn¡¯t wish to obtain anything from you, merely to extend well-wishes to an old friend,¡± Earl Narzio said with a smile, but then his tone shifted, ¡°Of course, there is another matter¡­¡±


    ¡°Speak directly.¡±


    ¡°I am here to convey His Majesty¡¯s stance¡­ Of course, to convey a stance, not to give directions,¡± Earl Narzio said politely.


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°Our side¡­ that is, His Majesty and the government representing his authority, do not wish to see war break out between Vineta and Tanilia,¡± Narzio spoke warmly.


    Antonio scoffed, ¡°Too bad he doesn¡¯t have the final say.¡±


    ¡°You misunderstand, His Majesty has no intention of imposing his will onto the southern¡­ nations, only asked me to relay some facts,¡± Narzio maintained his courteous demeanor, ¡°A new warlord has unified most of the Norman tribes and gained the loyalty of the Tatars. The Empire will not stand by as a new barbarian regime emerges on its borders. Our northern armies will initiate a preemptive offensive to eliminate this threat.¡±


    The previously impatient Antonio fell into thought, while Narzio waited silently.


    After a while, Antonio asked, ¡°When do you plan to commence the war?¡±


    ¡°Four days ago,¡± Earl Narzio replied with a smile, ¡°The war has already begun. According to plan, the borderland armies have already set out from White Mountain fortress four days ago. The news should reach here in a few more days.¡±


    ¡°You are taking preventive measures indeed.¡±


    ¡°This is necessary. If one doesn¡¯t extinguish the fire at its beginning, wouldn¡¯t the end be just as we see before us?¡± Narzio said, smiling and gesturing around, ¡°This is the lesson the southerners like you have taught us.¡±


    Antonio laughed as well, ¡°Why tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Sir, you must understand what I am saying,¡± Earl Narzio spoke smoothly, ¡°The Empire and your Alliance have close commercial ties; traders carry their goods wherever they fetch a higher price. Our war against the Norman barbarians has already driven up the prices of bulk commodities. If Vineta and Tanilia were to go to war now, the prices of military supplies would skyrocket.


    This continent¡¯s supplies cannot support two wars at once. If we both bid for military assets, it would only benefit the merchants. With the current prices, your side could not possibly procure enough supplies. Moreover, Vineta isn¡¯t self-sufficient; saltpetre and sulphur rely entirely on imports, let alone hoping to secure supplies through trade embargoes.¡±


    Narzio paused for a moment, then added more weight to his words, ¡°Moreover, when the campaign against the Norman barbarians consumes most of His Majesty¡¯s attention, the power balance in the south will be disrupted, and inevitably some will become restless¡­¡±


    Antonio snorted, interrupting him, ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    ¡°Someone wants to know your stance.¡±


    ¡°I have no stance; the stance of the Executive Committee is my stance.¡±


    ¡°No, your stance is very important,¡± Narzio insisted firmly, ¡°Within the Vineta military, you are the one the sensible look to for direction. Your stance is very important.¡±


    ¡°Says who?¡±


    ¡°I say so.¡± The servant who had been standing silently behind Narzio stepped forward, lifting his hood.


    Winters didn¡¯t recognize the man, but now it was Antonio¡¯s turn to be shocked.


    Antonio stood up abruptly, his voice low with astonishment, ¡°The Secretary of State, Your Excellency?¡±


    The highest position in the Vineta Republic was that of the Consul, but the title of Secretary of State was only used by The Federated Provinces. The Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces held a status equivalent to that of the Consul of Vineta.


    Startled by Antonio¡¯s words, Winters was taken aback as well.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. In my capacity as the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces, I request your help,¡± Secretary Lionel took a few steps forward, speaking earnestly to Antonio. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that moment, the Emperor¡¯s favorite, the head of state of The Federated Provinces, and the general of Vineta, three individuals who should never have been in the same room, were all within Antonio¡¯s study.


    Of course, that included a Vineta Army lieutenant eavesdropping behind the secret door.


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Antonio looked at Earl Narzio.


    ¡°It was I who requested Earl Narzio help me get here; without Earl Narzio¡¯s protection, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to reach Sea Blue City,¡± Secretary Lionel of The Federated Provinces explained quickly, ¡°I¡¯ve arranged everything properly in Guidao City; no one knows I¡¯ve come to Sea Blue City.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 148 - 148 - 63 Unexpected Guests_3

    Chapter 148 ¨C 63 Unexpected Guests_3


    ¡°`


    Lionel was now visibly anxious, showing none of the composure expected of the Chief Civil Servant of the Federated Provinces Republic.


    ¡°So, what is the real reason you¡¯ve gone to such lengths to come to Sea Blue?¡±


    ¡°The reason is complex, but I¡¯ll keep it short.¡± Lionel leaned towards Antonio and said, ¡°I can no longer suppress the young faction within the Provincial Army. As soon as you send troops to Tanilia, the Provincial Army will use it as a pretext to move against Vineta.¡±


    ¡°On what grounds?¡±


    The Secretary of State was almost frantic: ¡°What reason do those mad dogs need? The Provincial Army has always wanted to turn the Alliance into a real state, aren¡¯t you aware of that? And aren¡¯t pretexts easy to come by? The diplomatic rights of the republics have been handed over to the Alliance government, Vineta doesn¡¯t even have the power to declare war! You¡¯ve already violated the ¡¯Sovereignty Charter¡¯!¡±


    ¡°Please, hold on.¡± With a leisurely demeanor, Earl Narzia said, ¡°Based on my understanding of your Alliance, whether the member states have the power to declare war is a matter of dispute, and the ¡¯Sovereignty Charter¡¯ does not stipulate in detail¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°A dispute is enough!¡± Lionel rudely interrupted the other party.


    With a smile, Earl Narzia spread his hands and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.


    The Secretary of State hastily added, ¡°Furthermore, Tanilia is now divided into several factions, with one of them being very close to the Provincial Army. What would you do if, after your intervention, the Tanilia Islands became the eighth province of the Federated Provinces? Could the Vineta Executive Committee tolerate that? By then, the situation would be uncontrollable.¡±


    Antonio frowned and said, ¡°The idea of a Greater Senas Nation was originally Marshal Ned¡¯s, the Provincial Army certainly inherited this concept, but they wouldn¡¯t go mad enough to start a fight with Vineta over it.¡±


    ¡°Naive! Don¡¯t you know what the Provincial Army is like? A state within a state! There are indeed rational factions within the Provincial Army, but the greater the friction between Vineta and the Provinces, the weaker the voice of the rational faction becomes, and the louder the voice of the war faction. Therefore, Vineta needs to give us rationalists some room to maneuver. If Vineta goes to war with Tanilia, the rational voices in the Provincial Army will vanish completely,¡± Lionel said excitedly.


    ¡°But what¡¯s the point of telling me this? Unlike the Provincial Army, the command of the Vineta Army lies with the chief executive. You should go to Governor Debela.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely the problem! The war faction in the Provinces is in the army, but your Vineta¡¯s war faction is in the government! The Provinces have people who want to turn the Alliance into a centralized state; don¡¯t you think there are people in Vineta who want to split from the Alliance and make the Vineta Republic independent?¡± Lionel launched into a passionate oration with the eloquence of a Secretary of State, ¡°There are people in both our countries who want to solve problems through civil war, and what¡¯s more dangerous, they all think they have a good chance of winning!¡±


    Once again, with his unhurried manner, Earl Narzia interjected, ¡°I think the Secretary of State is very right. In fact, without the military pressure from your king, there would probably have already been fighting within the Alliance. Now that we are tied up by the Normans to the north, some see it as the perfect opportunity.¡±


    Antonio bluntly asked Lionel, ¡°Secretary of State, what exactly is your purpose in coming to me?¡±


    ¡°To avoid a civil war!¡± Lionel answered unequivocally.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s beyond my power.¡±


    ¡°You can.¡±


    ¡°How could I possibly do that?¡±


    Lionel¡¯s next words were shocking, ¡°The best course of action would be for you to lead a military coup, strip Governor Debela of her powers, dissolve the assembly, and establish a temporary military government. Your legion is the only force near Sea Blue City; no one can stop you.¡±


    Antonio stood up abruptly: ¡°What madness are you talking about!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a second way,¡± said Lionel, his eyes bloodshot, his emotion verging on hysteria, ¡°Vineta sends troops to purge the Provincial Army, restructure the army¡¯s command, and take back command power to the Provincial Assembly. With my support, the pro-war faction in the army won¡¯t be able to stir up any trouble; you could wipe them out in one fell swoop! To cut off the risk permanently.¡±


    ¡°The more you talk, the more outrageous it gets! Isn¡¯t that just civil war?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°Better a moment of pain than a lifetime of suffering, better a minor civil war than a major one, better to shed some blood today than rivers of it later!¡±


    Antonio grabbed the arm of the secretary of state and led him out, ¡°Please leave, I don¡¯t want to hear this madness anymore, I¡¯ll pretend you never came today.¡±


    However, nobody expected that Lionel, the secretary of state, a man even taller than Antonio, suddenly began to cry out loud. Even the count of Narzia, who had been watching as if it were a play, was stunned, to say nothing of Antonio and Winters, who was behind a secret door.


    ¡°I have no other choice! Do you understand? I have no choice! I¡¯m watching the Republics drown in a sea of blood, and I¡¯m powerless! The Senas Alliance is doomed! The Federated Provinces are doomed! You Vineta are doomed too! If there were another way, why would I seek help from the lapdog of the Pretender Emperor!¡± Lionel hysterically pointed at the count of Narzia: ¡°I hid in the ship¡¯s cabin and smuggled myself from Guidao City to Sea Blue City to see Debela, because there¡¯s still a glimmer of hope in Vineta. But it¡¯s too late, after Haidong Port was burned, it¡¯s all too late! Done! It¡¯s all over!¡±


    This chief civil servant of the Federated Provinces collapsed on the ground, his face covered in tears, crying helplessly.


    Winters, who had been watching everything from behind the secret door, suddenly felt pity for him, but also thought he was a madman.


    ¡°Mr. Serviati, what happened in the study?¡± Kosha¡¯s voice came from the door of the study, apparently the earlier commotion had disturbed her.


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Antonio replied: ¡°Tell the servants to go home, and have Miss Ella and Miss Sofia called upstairs.¡±


    Kosha did not ask any further, simply responding softly, ¡°Okay.¡±


    After exchanging glances for a moment, Antonio and the count of Narzia watched as Lionel suddenly stopped crying. Shortly after, he stood up, appearing to have become another person.


    The excitement and madness had disappeared from his face; as the secretary of state, he now showed no emotion, as if he were a cold stone statue.


    The contrast from moments before was so striking that one couldn¡¯t help but wonder whether someone had extracted his original soul and inserted a new one. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lionel looked emotionlessly at Antonio and said in a stern tone, ¡°Major General Serviati, you are a qualified soldier, but you lack the resolve to sacrifice everything to change the course of history, nor do you have the courage and determination to drive change, and you lack the wisdom to see through fate.


    I met with the Governor Debela yesterday, and with you today. You and Debela are of the same kind, driven by public opinion and you by duty. I knew what kind of person you are, so I knew what the outcome would be before I came to see you. Still, I came, because if you can remember what I said today, maybe the destruction can come a little later.¡±


    If it were any other situation and someone spoke to Antonio like this, he would surely want a duel. But there was no hint of attack or insult in the secretary¡¯s tone now.


    No sooner had the words been spoken, regardless of whether Antonio understood them or not, Lionel put on his hood again and walked straight toward the door of the study.


    As he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said calmly and steadily to Antonio, ¡°My assistant and dear friend, Mr. Mara, came to Vineta as my secret envoy to see Governor Debela, but has vanished without a trace, obviously dead. When you find him, please send his ashes to me.¡±


    After saying that, without turning back, he opened the study door and walked out, leaving Antonio and the count of Narzia bewildered. After a moment of confusion, the count nodded apologetically at Antonio and followed out.


    Only after the two of them had gone far did Winters emerge from the secret door.


    ¡°That man is the secretary of state of the Federated Provinces?¡± Winters asked incredulously.


    Antonio nodded silently.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he just a madman?¡±


    Antonio was silent for a moment before he replied, ¡°Perhaps¡­¡±

 Chapter 149 - 149 - 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell

    Chapter 149 ¨C 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell


    ¡°How could General Serviati possibly mutiny over a few mad words? Your Excellency is well aware of that,¡± said Earl Nalzia as he took two cups out of a cabinet, pouring wine with a casual tone, ¡°I just can¡¯t understand why you would say those things to him.¡±


    After the honey-colored liquid filled the cups, Nalzia added a few ice cubes from a cotton-covered iron can into the wine and handed one to Lionel.


    Lionel looked completely different from how he appeared in Antonio¡¯s study; now, he seemed more like the Chief Civil Servant of The Federated Provinces ¨C renowned for his shrewdness and boldness in handling affairs.


    The Secretary of State swirled his glass gently and said calmly, ¡°Not being able to persuade Debela meant that I had already failed. Everything else was just patching holes, inconsequential and expected¡­ But the corrupt ways of you nobles always manage to surprise me a little. Using court mages to make ice just for drinking ice wine, isn¡¯t that a bit too luxurious?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not really about luxury, since I¡¯m also one of His Majesty¡¯s most trusted ¡¯lackeys,¡¯¡± Earl Nalzia replied with a smile.


    The day after the Secretary of State¡¯s unexpected visit, Virtue set sail from Sea Blue City with the Emperor¡¯s delegation. It would stop in Guidao City for supplies, then head straight back to the Empire. Vineta¡¯s march on the Taniria Islands was a foregone conclusion.


    When Virtue left the dock, a high-level military officer meeting was taking place in the Throne Hall at the army headquarters in Vineta. The atmosphere was extremely tense ¨C they had been in session since the morning without reaching any conclusions.


    ...


    ¡°¡­Mobilize three more legions, clear the outer islands in a month, take down Golden Harbor in two, and pacify the Taniria Islands in three¡­¡± Major General Layton, appointed as the commander of the First Reserve Legion, was spitting enthusiastically at his colleagues, his face glowing red.


    ¡°Bullshit! If you can¡¯t deal with the Federation in three months, will you commit suicide to apologize?¡± Another officer sitting opposite Layton retorted unceremoniously, ¡°Just opening your mouth about mobilizing three legions, that¡¯s five in total, are you digging up the money from your ancestral grave?¡±


    Layton was so infuriated that he sprang up, drawing his sword. The officer opposite was not to be outdone, pulling out his own military saber. As the council hall almost turned into a battleground, the surrounded officers hurriedly restrained the two men.


    The senior officers sitting further away were already accustomed to such scenes; in more than thirty years since the establishment of Vineta, more generals had died in duels than in battle. Watching the army fight amongst themselves, the navy officers were unperturbed and watched the drama with relish.


    ¡°Disgracing yourself in front of allies!¡± Admiral Zio, the military governor, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and scolded, ¡°Take away their swords!¡±


    With their superior officer truly angry, Layton and his rival did not dare to cause more trouble. They handed over their swords and sat down on the chairs, trying to burn each other to death with the fury in their eyes.


    Another army officer began to speak, ¡°Layton is not wrong. If we don¡¯t fight, so be it, but if we do fight, we should crush the Federation. Deploying five legions all at once is better than sending one legion at a time. The longer it drags on, the more likely things are to change.¡±


    ¡°Five legions¡¯ worth of troops is enough to resolve the Federation in three months?¡± someone else contested.


    ¡°The Federation is like scattered sand; why can¡¯t we?¡±


    The objector sneered, ¡°The Pretender Emperor thought the same, claiming he could annihilate us before the Spring Festival, yet the Sovereignty War dragged on for eleven years!¡±


    ¡°How can you compare those pirate and slaver scum of the Federation to us?¡± the one supporting Layton was also riled up, ¡°Besides, it was the Federation that chose war, not Vineta!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Admiral Zio stopped the two, calling another person by name, ¡°Antonio, your thoughts!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what our other comrades think first.¡±


    ¡°When it¡¯s your turn to speak, speak! Your Third Legion is the main force attacking Taniria.¡±


    Antonio cleared his throat, ¡°Then I will share my thoughts.¡±


    The room went suddenly quiet. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I agree with the point made earlier. The longer the war against the Federation drags on, the worse it is for us,¡± Antonio said in a deep voice. ¡°But I absolutely do not support the idea of a quick victory. Once the war starts, the most important thing is how to end it. But I don¡¯t know at all how the Executive Council wants to end this war.¡±


    As he spoke, Antonio left his seat and walked to the large map of the inner sea hung on the wall of the council hall. Pointing to the Taniria Islands, he said, ¡°Where can this battle end? By capturing Golden Harbor? With the Federation surrendering? Conquering the entire archipelago? Turning Taniria into a province of Vineta? Our current task is to clarify our strategic objectives.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t the Governor Debela say ¡¯The Tanilia Federation must be destroyed¡¯?¡± someone interjected.


    ¡°Right, but how exactly can the Federation be considered destroyed?¡± Antonio countered, ¡°Strangle the leaders of the Federation? Dissolve the Federation? Arrest and execute all members of the Federation? And after destroying the Federation, how shall we deal with Taniria? Maintain its independent status? Take over governance from the Federation? Or turn the islanders into Vineta citizens?¡±

 Chapter 150 - 150 - 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_2

    Chapter 150 ¨C 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_2


    ¡°Finally,¡± Antonio concluded, ¡°Different strategic objectives call for different tactics. Without clear strategic objectives, there is no true victory. Moreover, Vineta must prepare for a protracted war no matter what. War is of the utmost importance in determining the life and death of a nation, and there absolutely should not be any opportunistic mindset for a quick victory.¡±


    At this point, Antonio thought of the deranged words spoken by Secretary of State Lionel and added heavily, ¡°Because our greatest threat isn¡¯t from the Tanilia Federation but rather other¡­ potential enemies.¡±


    At three o¡¯clock that afternoon, an order signed by the Governor Debela and four members of the Board of Supervisors was delivered to the Thirteen-Person Military Committee:


    ¡°The war budget has been fully approved;


    The Second Army Reserve Corps begins conscription, prepare for the establishment plans for the Third and Fourth Reserve Corps;


    Authorize the Navy to attack any and all ships of the Tanilia Federation; S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Organize a retaliatory strike against the Tanilia Federation as soon as possible.¡±


    ...


    Accompanying this order from the Board of Governors was a public declaration:


    ¡°The noble Venetian Republic and the Federation are now in a state of war, all treaties, contracts, and agreements are hereby null and void.


    Any Venetian supporting or assisting the Federation will be regarded as a traitor.


    Any Tanilian supporting or assisting the Federation will be regarded as an enemy.


    The Tanilian captains and plantation owners¡¯ Federation will be destroyed.


    Victory belongs to Vineta.


    That same evening, Winters, Bard, and Andre, who were also apprentice officers under Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, received formal orders: to arrive at the West Camp at eight o¡¯clock in the morning the day after tomorrow, with all their equipment.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    The next night, in Major Moritz¡¯s residence.


    The half-drunk Major Moritz clung to Winters, insisting on teaching him the ¡°Deflection Spell¡± as a goodbye gift no matter how much Winters tried to decline.


    Three officers from the former Army Headquarters¡¯ Military Police Section gathered once again at Major Moritz¡¯s residence, but this time it wasn¡¯t for a meeting. Instead, Field and Moritz were there to see off Winters.


    ¡°What ability do I have to use the Deflection Spell?¡± Winters said with a wry smile, seeking help from Colonel Field.


    However, Field was so drunk that his eyes were glazed over and he couldn¡¯t understand what Winters was saying.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ don¡¯t worry¡­ The training method I am going to teach you is one I created myself,¡± Moritz burped long and loud, ¡°The¡­ The Deflection Spell doesn¡¯t need much explosive power; the key is precision¡­ precision, understand?¡±


    The Major let go and turned to search for something, ¡°Where¡¯s the chair? Where¡¯s the chair?¡±


    Bemused, Winters quickly handed his own chair to Major Moritz, although he still didn¡¯t see how a chair could be used to practice the Deflection Spell.


    Moritz took the chair and unsteadily stood on it. Winters hurriedly went to support this inebriated man, but Moritz reached up and took down a thin rope from the beam.


    What began as a lesson on the Deflection Spell suddenly turned into a lesson on hanging, frightening Winters to quickly pick up the Major from the chair.


    The rope was long, hanging from the beam down to the height of the table. Moritz tied a dinner knife to the end of the rope and then instructed Winters to step back¡ªuntil the rope was taut and the tip of the knife was still a finger¡¯s width away from Winters¡¯s nose, no closer.


    ¡°Stand still, and don¡¯t move.¡± After Major Moritz said this to Winters, he let go of the dinner knife.


    Winters watched as the knife before his nose swung away like a pendulum and then swung back toward him.


    The glinting knife tip carved an arc through the air, seeming like it would stab into Winters¡¯s eyes, which prompted Winters to dodge to the side with a turn of his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, it won¡¯t hurt you,¡± Major Moritz explained. ¡°The dinner knife won¡¯t swing higher on the return; don¡¯t believe me, watch.¡±


    With that, Major Moritz demonstrated it himself. He held the knife close to his nose, retreated until the rope was tight, and then released his grip.


    The dinner knife tied to the rope swung out and then back again like a pendulum. Moritz didn¡¯t flinch, and the knife came back only a tiny distance from his nose but did not hit him.


    As the knife swung back the next time, it didn¡¯t head straight for Moritz as before, but instead veered off and swung toward his shoulder.


    ¡°See what I mean?¡± Major Moritz asked with a twinkle in his eye.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m starting to understand now,¡± Winters hadn¡¯t expected Moritz to be serious rather than foolishly drunk: ¡°Senior, you¡¯re really a genius!¡±


    The principle of the Deflection Spell is fundamentally simple; it¡¯s a lateral Arrow Flying Spell.


    The real difficulty of this spell lies in its demand for precision.


    The Spellcasters must accurately target a high-speed moving object with the spell; they must also be able to change its horizontal velocity in the instant before it would hit them, causing it to deviate from its original path.


    Yet the problem bigger than the difficulty of the spell itself is that the Deflection Spell lacks a safe and effective training method.


    The Deflection Spell itself is a high-risk spell, used for life-saving in critical moments. But even the most skilled Kinetic Mages wouldn¡¯t fully trust this spell because a slipup could mean taking a bullet.


    Practicing with a musket was of course suicidal, and the existing training plan involved using bows and arrows. They would shoot arrows from a light bow towards the trainee, allowing the Spellcasters to practice deflecting the arrows as a way to learn and then gradually switch to a stronger bow.

 Chapter 151 - 151 - 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_3

    Chapter 151 ¨C 64 New Practice Method for the Deflection Spell_3


    But even with arrows that had their heads snapped off and were wrapped in cotton, accidents still occurred frequently. A larger problem was that spellcasters themselves found it hard to discern whether their arrows had gone awry or had been deflected by a spell.


    Using a spell itself is akin to ¡¯feeling¡¯ one¡¯s way in archery; the process of practicing spells is about deepening that feel. If archers don¡¯t know whether their shots hit the target each time, how can they find their feel?


    Major Moritz¡¯s method of training was particularly ingenious:


    Objects tied to a rope wouldn¡¯t swing back higher than their original height, so the trainees, positioned in an absolutely safe spot, wouldn¡¯t experience any additional psychological pressure;


    As the swinging object on the rope moved closer to its original position, its speed decreased, making spellcasting less difficult and allowing practice to progress step by step;


    The most brilliant aspect was that spellcasters could clearly know whether they had successfully used the Deflection Spell. If the pendulum deviated from its trajectory, it was a success. Otherwise, it was a failure;


    They only needed to improve their success rate; once they remembered the feel of the spell, they could then switch to practicing with a bow and arrow, which was much easier than starting directly with archery.


    ...


    ¡°Genius? More like inherently flawed, it¡¯s just some tricks,¡± Major Moritz waved Winters over. ¡°Try it yourself.¡±


    This time, when the dinner knife flew towards the tip of Winters¡¯s nose, he suppressed his fear and didn¡¯t dodge. As expected, the knife did not touch Winters; it reached its limit very close to him and swung back out again.


    When the dinner knife swung back towards him, Winters attempted to cast the Arrow Flying Spell sideways at it. However, the fast-moving knife in the air and the stationary awl in his hand were not of the same difficulty level, and he failed several times in a row.


    ¡°Know what¡¯s happening, go back and practice more, it¡¯s not that easy to master the trick,¡± Moritz stopped Winters. ¡°Better to stick with drinking!¡±


    He patted Colonel Field, who was slumped on the table without any response. ¡°Has one gone down already?¡±


    Winters quickly propped up the already asleep Field onto the couch. Concerned that the colonel might choke on his vomit, he adjusted him into a side-lying position.


    Watching Winters adjust Field¡¯s sleeping position, Major Moritz chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re considerate.¡±


    After speaking, he lay back in the wobbly lounge chair, stared at the ceiling, and said with a breezy tenor, ¡°You¡¯re a good lad, but be sure not to end up like me¡­ ha ha, nor like Field here.¡±


    The statement was a bit too weighty, and Winters didn¡¯t know what to say for a moment.


    After a long silence, Winters asked a question he had always wanted to ask but never did out of politeness, ¡°I don¡¯t understand, a powerful spellcaster like you, why would you turn to drinking¡­ You¡¯re the most powerful spellcaster I¡¯ve ever seen, bar none¡­ Why? Have you forgotten what Antoine-Laurent said?¡±


    ¡°Any substance that causes addiction is poison to a spellcaster, I remember well,¡± Moritz sniffed, clutching a bottle of alcohol, his eyes glistening. ¡°But Winters, you still don¡¯t understand, the only thing that can keep a rational soul from falling into the abyss is a bad habit. Answer me, do you believe in God?¡±


    ¡°No, spellcasters should be atheists.¡±


    ¡°Neither do I. I¡¯ve visited miracles, studied scriptures, sought proof of the existence of gods. But the more I understood about various religions, the less I could bring myself to believe in the existence of deities. Winters, one more question for you, have you ever lost someone close to you?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Parents he had never met obviously didn¡¯t count as close.


    ¡°This is a good thing. Have you ever thought about where people go after they die?¡±


    ¡°¡­No.¡±


    ¡°Normans believe that after death they can feast with the gods; Catholics think they will go to paradise; Selika people believe in entering a cyclic system after death, becoming newly born animals. Do you know why all these religions paint pictures of the afterlife?¡±


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know.


    ¡°Because people are afraid of death, because humans hope that their death is not a true ¡¯death¡¯, hoping their souls can continue to exist. But for us spellcasters, us atheists, us rationalists, death is a total dissolution of consciousness, and whatever happens in the world afterward has nothing to do with you, you won¡¯t feel it¡­ no, death means even the feeling itself is gone. Whether the world spits on you, mourns you, commemorates you, it¡¯s all meaningless to you¡­ even the meaning itself is gone. When you die, there is nothing left¡­ do you understand?¡±


    Overwhelmed with too much information, Winters had some trouble grasping it.


    Moritz murmured, ¡°One day you¡¯ll understand, everyone dies, and one day you too will lose someone important to you, and you won¡¯t be able to help but wonder where they¡¯ve gone? In the end, you get a cruel answer, they haven¡¯t gone anywhere, they just cease to exist, gone¡­¡±


    Winters sorted out his thoughts and asked back, ¡°Aren¡¯t those who believe in God the same when they die? Haven¡¯t believers been deceived?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯ve been deceived,¡± Moritz replied softly. ¡°But what does it matter to someone whose consciousness no longer exists? They won¡¯t be angry, regretful, or unwilling. Since everything dissolves completely after death, it¡¯s better to be deceived and have peace while you¡¯re alive.¡±


    ¡°Then why are you still an atheist?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Moritz curled up on the chaise longue and said with a laugh, ¡°There¡¯s no point in pretending to believe when you don¡¯t, one cannot deceive oneself. I am too rational to be fooled by religion, but not brave enough to accept death. I live now just to live, without any meaning. But I don¡¯t want to die, so I just muddle through. You still have someone very important which means your life still has meaning. Take good care of them, don¡¯t end up like me¡­¡±


    Major Moritz¡¯s voice grew fainter and then he started to snore lightly, having fallen asleep.


    Winters took the bottle of wine from Major Moritz¡¯s hand and found a thin blanket to cover him. After confirming that Colonel Field and Major Moritz were both asleep, he went into Moritz¡¯s bedroom.


    Opening the backpack he had brought, Winters took out a beautifully crafted revolver. After confirming that the flint could spark, Winters began to load the ammunition efficiently.


    Among the gifts from Earl Narzio were a pair of finely crafted, lavishly decorated revolvers. The inside of the barrels was polished as smooth as a bronze mirror, ensuring accuracy within thirty steps.


    Antonio had given Winters one, and Winters was now loading it.


    After loading the bullets, Winters quickly changed into a set of tight-fitting black clothes; he had deliberately chosen not to wear army boots today, opting instead for a pair of soft leather shoes.


    He slipped the revolver into the holster on his right leg and strapped a long dagger to his left leg, finally slinging a belt studded with steel spikes diagonally over his shoulder.


    Having confirmed once more that the two other officers in the living room had passed out drunk, Winters opened the window of Moritz¡¯s bedroom and climbed onto the roof.


    He hadn¡¯t fully understood what Major Moritz was saying, but he knew, without needing the major to tell him, that he would protect the people he cared about at all costs.


    [Winters Montagne¡¯s alignment has changed from Lawful Good to Neutral Good]


    S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 152 - 152 - 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns

    Chapter 152 ¨C 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns


    ¡°`


    Having climbed out the window, Winters swiftly scaled the rooftop.


    During the Sovereign War, the district where Major Moritz now resided had been used to accommodate noble families that had fled from The Federated Provinces to Vineta.


    At that time, the militias of The Federated Provinces had already openly raised their banners in rebellion, but the flames of insurgency hadn¡¯t reached Vineta. Officially, autonomous cities like Sea Blue City and City of Flowers were still direct territories of the royal family.


    Keen-sensed Vinetan merchants spotted an opportunity: even as refugees, the nobles desired more dignified housing.


    Thus, they built rows of stone houses in that district.


    Ingenious merchants constructed these houses with two stories, and placed one right next to the other, with a single wall shared between two homes. This design of double-layered, side-by-side units not only saved on materials but also maximized the use of the land.


    ...


    While homes directly next to each other were not considered very respectable, at least they had roofs, four walls, and were made of stone; most importantly, they were much cheaper than individual stone houses.


    Eventually, the idea was a great success, as the refugee nobles outdid each other in handing out the few Gold Coins they had brought with them from The Federated Provinces. Terraced rows of stone houses sprang up throughout the district, and even some of the less affluent nobles began to commission the construction of houses in this style.


    The buildings in the Benwei district were constructed with the same design concept. The noble refugees still had some money, so they used stone. But the fleeing commoners were penniless, so the living areas of the dock workers were primarily made of wood.


    When the houses were connected, the rooftops connected too. Although subsequent occupants had modified their rooftops somewhat, it posed no impediment to the agile Winters.


    At this moment, Winters was like a silent black cat, stealthily moving across the rooftops. Two night watchmen passed below with a lantern, oblivious to the shadow that leaped across the gap between two rows of houses above them.


    Shortly, Winters crossed the entire district and arrived at his destination.


    It was a house that could be found anywhere in the district, with an ordinary design. The doors and windows on the first floor were tightly closed, and faint lights shone through the windows of the second floor. It looked like an ordinary household, with nothing particularly noteworthy.


    Using the moonlight, Winters checked the features of this house against those of the surrounding ones. Once sure he hadn¡¯t made a mistake, he drew the wheel-lock pistol from its holster, sprinkled gunpowder on the firing mechanism, and snapped the flint into the frizzen.


    The pistol was now ready to fire.


    Unlike regular wheel-lock pistols¡ªHenry III¡¯s gunsmiths were indeed worthy of being the royal gunsmiths¡ªthis firearm had an ingenious design: there was a small cap over the priming pan that was linked to the trigger. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only when the trigger was pulled would the cap open, igniting the gunpowder in the barrel, significantly reducing the risk of accidental discharge.


    Winters had to trust that the design was effective as he slid the ready-to-fire wheel-lock pistol back into its holster.


    The pistol was his last resort. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn¡¯t want to use this loud weapon.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Let¡¯s rewind to two days earlier, when Winters was returning home from the council hall with Antonio.


    ¡°Follow him, find out who he is. If he¡¯s just a beggar, give him some money. Tell him to not come near our house again,¡± Antonio said, pointing at the little beggar¡¯s retreating figure.


    Winters nodded and set off at a brisk pace.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Winters to catch up with the little beggar. Once he did, Winters stepped in front of the boy, who didn¡¯t turn to run but stopped and stared blankly at Winters.


    ¡°Why are you running?¡± Winters dismounted and approached the little beggar, hand on the hilt of his sword, and demanded in a stern voice.


    Unexpectedly, the little beggar¡¯s nose turned red, and he burst into tears, clutching Winters, ¡°Brother, please save my big brother¡­¡±


    Winters instinctively wanted to dodge but froze in place upon hearing the voice, allowing the little beggar to embrace him. Although the boy¡¯s voice was changing, Winters couldn¡¯t mistake it.


    Winters took out a handkerchief and wiped the little beggar¡¯s face, ¡°Are you Benwei¡¯s brother? Are you the third one?¡±


    The little beggar nodded.


    ¡°What happened to your brother, tell me slowly¡­¡± Winters led the younger Benwei to a back alley where there were no passersby.


    Back in the Army Junior School, Winters often went to play with Benvenuto. Benvenuto was the eldest son with several younger brothers and sisters. At that time, Winters and Benvenuto were only as old as the current third Benwei, and Benvenuto¡¯s younger brothers liked to follow the two older boys like tails, with both the second and third Benwei calling Winters ¡°Brother.¡±


    ¡°The Montans came looking for us last night¡­¡± Benwei¡¯s third brother sobbed, using a mix of words and gestures to explain to Winters what had happened. Although the child was young and his speech was punctuated with sobs, his thoughts and narrative were clear, and Winters quickly understood the situation.


    Last night, a group of men had broken into the farmhouse where Benwei was hiding. After a struggle, they took Benwei and his second brother away and severely beat the owner of the house.


    Benwei¡¯s third brother had been living with the son of the house owner. By lying and saying the third brother was his own son, he had narrowly escaped the same fate.


    ¡°And then what?¡± Winters tried to keep his breathing controlled, a voice in his head shouting non-stop: The Montans found Benwei because they followed you!


    ¡°`

 Chapter 153 - 153 - 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_2

    Chapter 153 ¨C 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_2


    ¡°`


    Benwei¡¯s youngest brother, who had already stopped crying, suddenly burst into tears again, ¡°And then, my second brother died.¡±


    The group that had kidnapped Benwei quickly mounted the carriage and left the farm. Benwei¡¯s youngest brother immediately gave chase and caught up with them.


    Unexpectedly, after not going far, the two carriages suddenly stopped for a while and then moved on.


    Benwei¡¯s youngest brother ran to the spot where the carriages had stopped and found his second brother¡¯s still warm body. The clothes below the torso were completely soaked with fresh blood.


    The image of Benwei¡¯s second brother began to surface in memory, a round-faced, honest child, somewhat clumsy, but especially obedient to Benwei and Winters. Even when his mother beat him with a stick, the silly boy never betrayed Benwei and Winters.


    The child was dead? The kid who had followed behind with a silly smile was dead?


    ...


    Winters suddenly felt a sense of unreality.


    Wiping away his tears, Benwei¡¯s youngest brother continued with the rest of the story, ¡°And then¡­ then I had no choice but to hide my second brother in a ditch by the side of the road¡­ and continue to chase those Montans.¡±


    That night, Benwei¡¯s youngest brother quietly followed the carriage into the city and watched as the group dragged Benwei into a house.


    Winters had a rough understanding of what had happened. He felt sweat forming on his forehead, and his breathing became uncontrollably rapid. But he constantly reminded himself in his heart, ¡°Panic is of no use¡±; the priority was to clarify the situation, and there were still some doubts that had to be cleared up.


    ¡°Xial, don¡¯t be anxious. I have a few questions to ask you.¡± Winters tried to ask as calmly as possible, ¡°How do you know that those who kidnapped Benwei were Montans?¡±


    ¡°Their accent; they all had the Montan accent.¡± Benwei¡¯s youngest brother didn¡¯t even have to think before responding.


    ¡°Have you gone to your eldest brother¡¯s companions¡­ those dockworkers, or have you been to the sheriff?¡±


    The eyes of Benwei¡¯s youngest brother moistened again, and he sobbed as he said, ¡°It¡¯s useless, the sheriff won¡¯t care about us. The Montans have bribed the sheriff. My brother¡¯s coworkers were killed by the Montans, several of them, and the sheriff didn¡¯t even show up. We are not Venetians; the sheriff will not bother with us¡­¡±


    Everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the war with the Tanilia Federation, and the Montans chose a good time.


    ¡°You mean there was another brawl at the docks between the Vaughan People and the Montans, and the Vaughan People lost, right?¡± Winters caught on to some information.


    ¡°Yesterday during the day, the Montans attacked my brother¡¯s group and killed the leaders. I went to them, but they had already knelt in submission, too afraid to rescue my brother. It was they who told the Montans where we were hiding!¡± Benwei¡¯s youngest brother gripped Winters¡¯s arm, weeping, ¡°I¡­ I really had no other choice, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have come here¡­ Winters, I beg you, please save my brother. If you get my brother out, my life is yours from here on!¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Stop crying! A man sheds blood, not tears.¡± Winters took out a handkerchief to wipe Xial¡¯s tears, ¡°Do you remember where they took your brother?¡±


    ¡°I watched all through the night, and as soon as the sun came up, I wrote down the address of that house.¡± Benwei¡¯s youngest brother hurriedly unfolded his clothing and tore off a piece of fabric from his undergarment, handing it to Winters.


    The fabric was inscribed with an address in blood.


    ¡°Are you sure about this address?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Does anyone else know that you came to find me?¡±


    ¡°No one! I haven¡¯t told anyone.¡±


    ¡°How many people took away your brother?¡±


    ¡°About a dozen.¡±


    ¡°Is your brother still there?¡±


    Benwei¡¯s youngest brother shook his head while crying, ¡°I stood guard outside all night long, and they didn¡¯t take my brother out. Today, during the day, I went to my brother¡¯s companions and couldn¡¯t keep watching them¡­ Please save my brother quickly, the longer we delay, the more likely they are to take my brother elsewhere¡­¡±


    There was nothing else to ask. Winters grabbed Xial¡¯s shoulders and asked, ¡°Your other family members were sent to relatives by your brother, do you know where they are?¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Benwei¡¯s youngest brother dried his tears and nodded.


    Winters took out his Spellcaster¡¯s insignia and placed it in Xial¡¯s palm, then withdrew all the money he had on him and said to Xial earnestly and seriously, ¡°Leave your brother¡¯s matter to me. Now, go to your other family members. Take this insignia and find Warrant Officer Bard at the Army Officers¡¯ Club, Gerard¡¯s Bard. Tell him I sent you, but don¡¯t mention your brother¡¯s situation. Ask him to arrange a horse to take you to your family. Did you understand?¡±


    Benwei¡¯s youngest brother seemed to want to say something, but seeing the look in Winters¡¯s eyes, he swallowed his words and nodded firmly.


    ¡°Repeat it.¡±


    Benwei¡¯s youngest brother repeated Winters¡¯s words.


    ¡°Your brother is alive; I will get him out. If your brother is dead, I will avenge him. Go to your family and don¡¯t tell anyone that you¡¯ve seen me, go now.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Time returns to the present.


    After confirming that there was no light seeping from the wooden door on the balcony, Winters grasped the parapet and iron bars and gently landed on the backstreet-side balcony of the house.


    Even though he did his best to reduce the height of the drop, being a man of normal weight, he still made a slight sound upon landing.


    He held his breath, drew his dagger, leaned against the wall, and listened intently.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 154 - 154 - 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_3

    Chapter 154 ¨C 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_3


    ¡°`


    Fortunately, only snoring could be heard behind the door, and no one seemed to notice the unusual noise.


    Winters was acting alone tonight, not seeking help from anyone. Although he was certain that Bard would have helped him without hesitation, and Andre might have too. But he didn¡¯t ask for help, nor did he tell anyone his plan.


    Benvenuto was a good friend of Winters¡¯s and had saved his life. However, since Bard and Andre didn¡¯t know him, Winters didn¡¯t want to involve others.


    From elementary school to officer¡¯s academy, ten years of military education had forged Winters Montagne into a ¡°keeper of order¡±.


    He could have gone to the sheriff, but he knew what would happen if he did: the Montan would get a tip-off in advance, slit Benwei¡¯s throat and bury him in a pit outside the city; he could ask for Antonio¡¯s help and have the gendarmerie search the place, but that would expose Kosa and Elizabeth, putting them in danger.


    So Winters decided to take matters into his own hands.


    ...


    Using a method Colonel Field had taught him, Winters slid the thin blade of his dagger into the gap in the door and unlatched it.


    Over the past two days, Winters had carefully scouted the house and kept watch for a long time. The house was not as simple as it seemed; Benwei¡¯s younger brother had said about a dozen men had kidnapped Benwei, but in reality, Winters had counted at least twenty-two different faces entering the house without leaving.


    One house certainly couldn¡¯t house that many people; the only explanation was that the adjacent house also belonged to these Montan. They had broken through the walls, turning two houses into one. And perhaps it was more than two houses.


    He had two plans: if the enemy moved Benwei, he would intercept them en route; if Benwei hadn¡¯t been taken away, he would execute his original plan, which is what he was doing now.


    Using the Luminosity Spell to emit a dim glow, Winters counted three men lying on the floor, asleep.


    He silently approached one of them, identified his vital spots, and without hesitation, plunged his dagger into the man¡¯s neck. As he thrust into the neck, Winters pressed his knee into the man¡¯s chest and covered his mouth and nose with his left hand.


    The Montan woke up from the intense pain of his dream, but with his throat severely injured and his mouth and nose covered, he couldn¡¯t make a sound, only flailing his arms about.


    But Winters was unmoved, continuing to slash forcefully, feeling a strange resistance as he cut through tendons, the windpipe, and blood vessels, leaving a gruesome gash on the man¡¯s neck. The Montan quickly lost his strength and stopped moving altogether.


    As the man struggled, Winters inexplicably remembered Major Moritz¡¯s words. He thought, according to the major, even if I am hanged one day for this, it has nothing to do with you. You won¡¯t feel the satisfaction of revenge; your existence will be entirely obliterated.


    Killing an enemy on the battlefield was different from executing a citizen without trial. Vineta was not a place outside the law; Vineta had order and law, the state had monopolized the right to take life. No matter how the law was actually enforced, murder was a first-degree felony without question.


    But Winters¡¯s purpose tonight was not to rescue Benwei; he was there to thoroughly resolve Benwei¡¯s problem. Destroying the body might not solve the problem entirely, but it would take care of most of it.


    Winters could use the Arrow Flying Spell to drive a steel spike into the forehead of his opponents, sparing them pain, making a clean kill without blood.


    But he didn¡¯t possess the advanced knowledge of Kinetic Magic that Moritz had. If it were Major Moritz, he could have brazenly walked through the front door and nailed everyone inside one by one, only worrying about anyone escaping. Winters didn¡¯t have that ability; he had to conserve his magic for the enemies to come. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He continued in the same manner, dealing with the other two men in the room.


    ¡°Three,¡± Winters counted silently in his mind, ¡°at least nineteen more to go.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªSlash¡ª¡ª


    In a room on the first floor of the adjacent house, Benvenuto was jerked awake from unconsciousness by a bucket of cold water poured over his head.


    His left eye was throbbing with piercing pain, sealed shut by clotted blood. Ever since he had been brought here, he had been tightly tied to a chair and brutally beaten.


    Benvenuto laboriously lifted his head and, by the dim light of the oil lamp, he made out the person in front of him.


    He licked his dry lips and said weakly, ¡°I stand by what I said; I have nothing to do with Big Scar¡¯s death. If I had killed him, I would never deny it. But it wasn¡¯t me, and you won¡¯t force me to confess.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter. If you confess, you live a few more days before being hanged. If you don¡¯t, you¡¯ll be beaten to death right here.¡± The man beside Benwei answered, bringing a cup to Benwei¡¯s lips, ¡°Here, have some water.¡±


    The man was skinny and pale, with sparse brown hair, giving the impression he was not accustomed to physical labor, not a dockworker.


    But Benwei refused to drink, turning his head away to ask, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just kill me outright?¡±


    ¡°Because they dare not. They can accidently beat a man to death in a group, but they lack the courage to execute you while looking into your eyes. You won¡¯t admit to killing Bal [Big Scar], so they don¡¯t know what to do with you; they just keep you locked up waiting for you to die.¡± The effeminate man explained, taking a big gulp from the cup, ¡°Are you afraid the water is poisoned? It¡¯s just water, see, I¡¯m drinking it too.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 155 - 155 - 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_4

    Chapter 155 ¨C 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_4


    ¡°`


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The frail man put the cup aside, seemed tired from standing, and dragged a chair to sit in front of Benwei: ¡°I am Bal¡¯s son.¡±


    Benwei was silent for a moment before saying, ¡°Believe it or not, your father¡¯s death had nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve said it doesn¡¯t matter whether it was you or not. Bal¡¯s death is actually a good thing. Your death will be the same. These are all inevitable bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Benwei shook his head in confusion.


    Propping his chin with one hand, the frail man said, ¡°You can understand. Your family has been at the docks for many years; you know better than anyone what it was like in the early days. Chaotic competition, violent scrambles for work, and as a result, no one had enough to eat. Only after our three factions took over the docks did we first establish rules, and life got a bit better for everyone. But the struggle between us continued, costing so much blood. Every year, the docks saw a few more widows, a few more beggars.¡±


    ...


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to split into three groups; having just one group at Sea Blue Port¡¯s docks is enough. I¡¯m not trying to drive you and the Paratu People out of the docks; I want to turn you into my people. Only by uniting the three factions can we truly eliminate internal strife. I will establish a dockworkers¡¯ guild like the blacksmiths, and when the dockworkers are united, then we will have a say¡­¡±


    Benwei interrupted him: ¡°Wait a minute¡­ What did you say? You will? The Montan are listening to you now.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the frail man nodded. ¡°Now it¡¯s just the Montan, but soon it will be all the dockworkers.¡±


    ¡°What if the Vaughan People and the Paratu People don¡¯t want to listen to you?¡± Benwei asked with a cold laugh.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we need some people who can use force, whose purpose is to make everyone listen to me,¡± the frail man replied softly.


    Benvenuto spoke with disdain: ¡°So your thugs are your military aristocracy, and you still want to be the emperor on this tiny dock, huh?¡±


    The pupils of the frail man dilated, and he said excitedly, ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Benvenuto, this is for the benefit of all dockworkers! Have you ever seen a fifty-year-old dockworker? No! Because they¡¯re either dead or their bodies have been worn down. Dockworkers are trading their lives for money, and the money they earn is getting less and less! In ten years, the price of food has increased by twenty percent, yet the wages for dockworkers have barely changed. Due to the devaluation of currency, their earnings have actually dropped by ten percent. Without a voice, we will never have bargaining power! The docks don¡¯t lack workers; they¡¯ll chew us all up and drain us of blood and flesh, spitting out only the dregs!¡±


    This passionate speech seemed to exhaust the frail man¡¯s strength; his chest heaved as he gasped for breath.


    Benvenuto was left speechless by the rebuke; it took him a while before he asked again, ¡°You aren¡¯t a dockworker either, are you?¡±


    ¡°I am not, but I was born in a dockworker¡¯s family just like you and have seen their suffering,¡± the frail man replied through gritted teeth.


    ¡°Have you shared your grand ambitions and your ¡¯military aristocrats¡¯ with them?¡±


    The frail man shook his head: ¡°They don¡¯t understand yet; what drives them now is hatred. They only want to avenge Bal and some are after territory. I will guide them step by step. Eventually, they will understand; in the end, everyone will.¡±


    Benwei asked with a smile, ¡°Then what¡¯s the use of telling me all this?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The frail man lowered his eyes to Benwei¡¯s feet and replied softly, ¡°Because you¡¯re going to die soon, I want you to die with some understanding, to let you know your death isn¡¯t in vain.¡±


    Suddenly, the wooden door behind the frail man was pushed open. Before the frail man could turn around, a flash of cold light streaked by, and the frail man¡¯s body stiffened unexpectedly.


    The next second, the frail man who had been speaking eloquently slid powerlessly off the chair and fell to the ground. Something had penetrated his skull from behind, and a pointed tip emerged from his mouth.


    A bloodied, masked figure in black clothes immediately entered the room.


    Everything happened so abruptly that before Benwei could cry out in shock, the masked figure rushed over to cover his mouth: ¡°Don¡¯t shout, it¡¯s me.¡±


    Hearing the familiar voice of the masked figure, Benvenuto¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief, and a muffled sound emerged from his covered mouth: ¡°Winters?¡±


    The masked figure nodded, let go of his hand, and quickly began to check the entire room. After confirming there were no other living people in the room, he hastened back to Benwei¡¯s side.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, you¡¯re still here, thank goodness! I was afraid they had moved you¡­¡± Winters removed the black cloth covering his face, revealing his own visage. Winters¡¯ eyes were surrounded by splattered blood, but the area below his eyes was clean, giving off a bizarre appearance.


    The initial surprise faded from Winters¡¯ face, replaced by anger and sorrow: ¡°What have they done to you, what happened to your eyes?¡±


    ¡°What? What do you mean?¡± Benwei didn¡¯t understand what Winters was talking about.


    ¡°Never mind that now.¡± Winters drew his dagger and swiftly cut through the ropes binding Benwei¡¯s limbs and body.


    Benvenuto, freed at last, attempted to stand using the chair but fell back down, his arms and legs too weak after being tied for nearly three days without proper circulation.


    Now with only his eyes able to move, Benwei watched in astonishment as Winters grabbed the frail man¡¯s hair with one hand, and with the other, took a dagger and smeared the corpse¡¯s neck again.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 156 - 156 - 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_5

    Chapter 156 ¨C 65: Daggers, Steel Spikes, and Revolver Guns_5


    Then he reached into the corpse¡¯s mouth, not knowing what he was doing. It seemed to take a great deal of effort before he pulled out an object a finger length long with a sharp point from the corpse¡¯s mouth.


    Winters wiped the bloody object clean on the frail man¡¯s clothing and put it back into his belt. Only then did Benwei realize that the belt was lined with a row of triangular steel spikes, with several places empty.


    Once he had finished with his task, Winters pulled out a revolver and handed it to Benwei. ¡°If someone else comes in, you shoot, no need to use the firing pin, just aim at them and pull this little lever,¡± he said.


    After speaking, he picked up his dagger and walked toward the door.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Benwen Nutuo hurriedly asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s number twenty, there are at least two more,¡± Winters said without turning back, exiting the room and closing the door behind him.


    Benwei slumped in his chair, holding the strange gun that Winters had given him, pointed at the door, his mind blank, the too sudden twists and turns leaving him not understanding what had happened at all.


    ...


    Gradually regaining strength in his limbs and the ability to control his arms, Benwei¡¯s first instinct was to give himself a sharp slap on the face.


    It hurt.


    It wasn¡¯t a dream.


    He slapped himself again.


    It hurt just the same.


    He was certain it wasn¡¯t a dream.


    Benwen Nutuo picked up the water glass that the frail man had left on the table and drank the remaining water. His long-thirsty throat was finally moistened, and he couldn¡¯t help but glance over at the frail man who had given him water to drink. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The frail man¡¯s body was lying on the ground with its head to one side, a pool of fresh blood expanding from where his throat was slit. The face of the young and frail big boy, already pale, had become even paler, covered in a muddy mix of blood and dust. Whatever dreams he had ended along with his life.


    Benwei knelt beside him, gently closed those dilated eyes with his hand, and then took the man¡¯s hand, silently reciting the Lord¡¯s Prayer for him.


    The door opened again, not with the quick and noiseless manner Winters had used, but violently shoved open with a shoulder.


    Benwen Nutuo immediately grabbed the gun again, pointing it toward the door, but the person who entered was Winters.


    ¡°Twenty-five! They¡¯re all taken care of, let¡¯s go,¡± Winters panted, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Seeing that it was Winters who entered, Benwei took the frail man¡¯s hand again, continuing his murmured prayer.


    Winters became anxious. ¡°What are you thinking, conducting religious rituals at a time like this?¡± he asked.


    But Benwen Nutuo insisted on finishing the entire Lord¡¯s Prayer for the frail young man before standing up, limping and following Winters outside.


    ¡°How did you know I was here?¡± Benwei asked.


    Just as they left the small room that had been his confinement, Benwei saw another body lying in a pool of blood in the hallway.


    ¡°Xial came looking for me,¡± Winters replied.


    ¡°Where is Xial now, do you know how my younger brother is?¡± Benwei quickly asked.


    ¡°Xial went to your mother¡¯s place,¡± Winters said with difficulty. ¡°Laine¡­ is dead.¡±


    Benwei¡¯s vision darkened, the world seemed to spin, and he almost fell to the ground.


    Winters quickly steadied Benwei, silently squeezing his arm.


    Benwei took a deep breath, gathered his spirits, and said, ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll take care of things here.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about this place. Come with me, I have a place where we can hide you,¡± Winters responded.


    After making sure the street was empty, Winters led Benwei away from the Montan hideout. Benwei limped slowly, so Winters, taking the gun back and slipping it into its holster, simply hoisted Benwei onto his shoulders.


    Carrying Benwei, he ran to the nearby Yangchong River, finally setting him down. The two found a gentle slope and made their way down to the riverbed, walking until they reached a drainage pipe.


    A bald man dressed in a rough monk¡¯s robe had been waiting for quite some time. Upon seeing Winters approaching, the lame man complained, ¡°What took you so long?¡±


    ¡°Ran into some trouble on the way, thanks for the help this time,¡± Winters replied.


    ¡°Stop with the bullshit,¡± the lame man said impatiently, then gestured to Benwei, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    With that, he limped into the drainage culvert.


    ¡°The Montans might continue seeking revenge, and if the Montans don¡¯t get you, the sheriff will. Follow him, no one will be able to find you, heal from your injuries first,¡± Winters told Benwei, handing him a bag of money.


    Benwei intended to refuse the money, but in the end, he accepted it. Clutching Winters¡¯ arm, with tears in his eyes, he managed just a few words: ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    ¡°Do we really need to say these things to each other?¡± Winters gave Benwei a bear hug.


    ¡°What about you? Over there¡­¡± Benwei asked worriedly again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no one but you saw me there. After tonight, I¡¯ll be off to war, and then no one will be able to find me!¡± Winters laughed as he spoke, then his voice dropped a bit, ¡°If by chance neither of us men return¡­ help me look after my family.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Benwei squeezed Winters¡¯s hand tightly, followed the lame man into the dark tunnel, and the two figures, one limping, vanished into the darkness.


    Winters covered his face and returned to the Montan stronghold; he still had a few steel spikes embedded in a Montan body that he hastily hadn¡¯t pulled out, so he needed to go back and retrieve them.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Senior? Major?¡±


    Moritz, in his sleep, vaguely heard someone calling him, and then he got on a boat, swaying back and forth.


    Finally, when he looked up to see who was calling him, he woke up.


    Winters¡¯s face was before him.


    ¡°Did I fall asleep? How long was I out?¡± Major Moritz asked, puzzled and groggy upon awakening.


    ¡°Not for long, we¡¯ve been drinking together, and as we drank, I noticed you dozed off, so I woke you up.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ what time is it now?¡± Major Moritz, head throbbing painfully, felt a hangover kicking in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know, it¡¯s very late. You kept making me drink and wouldn¡¯t let me go.¡± Winters replied with a wry smile, ¡°But now it¡¯s really late, and I truly need to head home.¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­ sorry¡­ what about Field?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s also asleep.¡±


    ¡°Wake him up. His wife won¡¯t stand it if he doesn¡¯t come home at night.¡± Moritz said, clutching his forehead. He sniffed forcefully: ¡°What¡¯s that smell on you?¡±


    ¡°What smell? Have you forgotten you just spilled your drink on me?¡± Winters pointed to the still-wet spot on his clothing. He had deliberately doused himself with half a bottle of drink before waking Major Moritz to mask any lingering scent of blood.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I really drank too much.¡± Major Moritz apologized, rubbing his temples with both hands.


    When Field and Winters left Major Moritz¡¯s place, Moritz¡¯s landlady personally saw the two men out.


    After walking a distance, half-drunk Field, riding on horseback, pointed at the sky and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on over there?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Winters sounded puzzled.


    ¡°In the sky, look,¡± Field yawned, ¡°Is that a fire over there?¡±


    Winters yawned as well, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s none of our business.¡±


    Field laughed, ¡°True¡­ bullets don¡¯t discriminate; you be careful. After this war is over, I¡¯ll treat you to a drink at Golden Harbor.¡±


    Winters answered cheerfully, ¡°Then I¡¯ll expect the good stuff, not the cheap swill you gave me today.¡±


    The two laughed heartily as they rode away from that part of town.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Kosha pressed her ear against the door and turned to Antonio, ¡°He¡¯s going upstairs, he¡¯s going upstairs.¡±


    Antonio lifted his gaze from the book in his hands, glanced at his wife, and sighed.


    ¡°He¡¯s gone back to his room.¡± Kosha returned to the bed and complained to Antonio, ¡°Where has that child been? Why is he coming home so late without telling me?¡±


    ¡°How is this late?¡± Antonio lightly said, still looking at his book, ¡°The child has grown up, he should have his own nightlife. When I was Winters¡¯s age, staying out all night was quite normal. You shouldn¡¯t worry so much.¡±


    Kosha, irate, spun around and thumped Antonio twice forcefully.


    ¡°All right, he¡¯s back, now you can go to sleep in peace.¡± Antonio put away the book and blew out the candle.


    In the darkness, Antonio hugged Kosha from behind, took his wife¡¯s hand, ¡°After I leave Sea Blue with Winters, you and Elizabeth go stay at Giovanni¡¯s place. With the men gone from the house, it¡¯s not safe.¡±


    Kosha simply replied, ¡°After you both leave, I will light two votive lamps. And every day until you and the child return, I will pray for you.¡±


    Antonio silently squeezed his wife¡¯s hand.


    The room was filled with the low sound of Kosha¡¯s weeping.

 Chapter 157 - 157 - 66 Expedition

    Chapter 157 ¨C 66 Expedition


    ¡°`


    ¡°Having such morale immediately after assembly is impressive,¡± Admiral Zio said as he rode past the formation, speaking to Major General Antonio.


    It had been ten years since the Third Legion had been at full strength.


    This was also the first time that ¡°Da Weineta¡± had fully assembled with all its equipment, standing in formation to be inspected by Admiral Zio and Major General Antonio.


    A chief infantry battalion and nine infantry battalions, totaling over five thousand infantrymen, and two cavalry battalions with over six hundred cavalry¡ªthis was the entire fighting force of the Third Legion.


    Among them, aside from the five infantry battalions consisting of temporarily conscripted reservists, the rest of the soldiers were all members of the Standing Army, drilled daily.


    There was no artillery, as it would greatly slow down the marching speed, so the Venetian Republic¡¯s auxiliary artillery units were formed into separate troops.


    ...


    Winters, Bard, and Andre were now three junior officers-in-training within the chief infantry battalion. They could stand proudly at the front of the infantry lines, but they also had to humbly stand behind the official officers.


    After the inspection, Admiral Zio did not waste words; he simply saluted Antonio solemnly.


    With a grave expression, Antonio returned the salute and stepped into the ranks of the legion. At his command, Antonio led the entire legion out of the camp in formation, four columns abreast.


    No one knew where they were going, but the atmosphere was somber, and no one dared to whisper. The soldiers mechanically followed the person ahead, and the officers did the same¡ªonly they were on horseback.


    New n????vel chapters are published on .c¦Ò?.


    The three junior officers also had no idea where they were headed, and based on Winters¡¯s observations, several formal officers were also exchanging glances, evidently also in the dark.


    Silently, the Third Legion left its station, bypassed Sea Blue City, and headed east.


    As they marched further, Winters felt increasingly familiar with the road. He exchanged a knowing look with Andre, who had also recognized the route¡ªit led to Haidong Port.


    Eventually, the nearly six thousand officers and soldiers of the Third Legion arrived at the Haidong Port docks.


    The battle had long since ended, but it would be a long time before Haidong Port¡¯s wounds would heal. Everywhere one looked, there were charred ruins.


    This military wharf had now essentially lost its function, and neither officers nor soldiers knew why Antonio had brought the Third Legion here.


    Antonio leaped atop a high position where all the soldiers could see him.


    He surveyed his troops and spoke loudly, ¡°It was here that the Tanyria Confederacy launched a shameful sneak attack on us. They fought without declaration, they burned our warships, they massacred unarmed civilians. The despicable islanders thought they could scare off the Venetians, thought they could delay the judgment.¡±


    With each sentence he uttered, the Spellcaster adjutant beside him would repeat it using a spell to amplify the voice, the augmented sounds echoing throughout Haidong Port.


    The legion¡¯s formation was deathly silent, all eyes focused on the figure of the legate on the platform.


    ¡°For this reason, I have gathered you, the bravest, the finest sons of Vineta. The Republic has trained you, transformed you from ignorant children into real men. And now, the Republic needs you; she anticipates that each one of you will fulfill your duty.¡±


    The soldiers below could not help but grip their weapons tighter, and even Winters could not help but clutch the hilt of his sword.


    Antonio paused for a moment before bellowing, ¡°Today! This moment! I will lead you from here! To Tanyria for vengeance! Blood debts must be paid in blood; we will not forgive! The Tanyria Confederacy must be annihilated! Annihilate the Confederacy!¡±


    ¡°Annihilate the Confederacy!¡±


    ¡°Annihilate the Confederacy!¡±


    ¡°Annihilate the Confederacy!¡±


    ¡­


    In the midst of thunderous cries, a colossal warship, flying the flag of Vineta¡¯s navy, sailed into Haidong Bay, its sails unfurled like white clouds floating on the sea. Behind it, one after another, large ships followed the behemoth into Haidong Bay.


    Antonio raised his hands downward, and the legion¡¯s formation fell silent again.


    Antonio issued his first command with a fierce tone, ¡°No unnecessary burdens for a long voyage. The supply line is a matter of life and death for a cross-sea expedition! All surplus transport must be used for food and gunpowder. All officers, heed my command! Dismount!¡±


    After speaking, Antonio was the first to leave the saddle, standing on the ground. Led by him, everyone in the Third Legion, from generals to warrant officers, dismounted.


    ¡°Officers¡¯ warhorses will be cared for back at the station; we can still fight without mounts. The entire Third Legion is ordered! Except for weapons, ammunition, tents, and cookware, nothing else is to be brought. Everything else, leave it in Haidong Port!¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Taking advantage of the rising tide in the afternoon, sailors staying behind in Haidong Port to cooperate with the army¡¯s actions had moved out prepared planks and small boats, erecting two temporary floating bridges to enable the Third Legion to embark.


    This was a joint operation of the army and navy, with the navy extending the utmost courtesy. They sent the flagship of the off-shore fleet¡ªThe Glorious. The presence of this ship at Haidong Port signified that the off-shore fleet commander had also arrived.


    Besides The Glorious warship, there were also twenty-one other ¡°volunteer conscripts¡± of large armed merchant ships to act as troop transports.


    According to the plan, this detachement would first transport the Third Legion, and then the remaining warships of Vineta¡¯s navy would join this detachement, ultimately forming a powerful fleet with more than thirty large sailing ships and over a dozen oared warships.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 158 - 158 - 66 Expedition_2

    Chapter 158 ¨C 66 Expedition_2


    Theoretically, this fleet with over forty large ships combined with the Third Legion on board was enough to handle any enemy on the inland sea.


    However, some small slips occurred at the very beginning¡­


    The navy liaison sent ashore looked at the position of the sun in the sky, then at the level of the seawater, and said to Antonio with resignation, ¡°Your Excellency, your men need to speed up the boarding process. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to be very troublesome after the tide goes out. We can only wait for it to rise again in the middle of the night.¡±


    Antonio had also been worried about this issue. He pointed to the floating pier and said, ¡°This kind of low-floating pier means climbing onto the ship, my soldiers can¡¯t go any faster. Relying only on these two piers is definitely not enough. Let the big ships lower their boats, and row people up in the smaller boats. There needs to be coordination when transporting people in the smaller boats; my troops¡¯ organization must not be disrupted.¡±


    The navy liaison, who held the rank of colonel, felt Antonio had a point. He nodded at Antonio, hurried to the shore, rowed a boat back to The Glorious, and passed on the message. Since the Vineta Army and the Navy did not use a common system of ranks, the soldiers from both branches did not need to salute each other.


    Antonio watched as the navy liaison officer left, leaving only a few army field officers by his side. Looking at Colonel Kongtai¡¯er who seemed hesitant to speak, Antonio patted Kongtai¡¯er on the shoulder, ¡°If there¡¯s something on your mind, just say it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit too hasty to deploy the troops now?¡± Kongtai¡¯er asked with a concerned expression, ¡°We¡¯ve only just completed rallying today. Shouldn¡¯t we at least give the reservists a week of drills?¡±


    ...


    Antonio looked at the other field officers beside him. These few field officers, including Kongtai¡¯er, were Antonio¡¯s trusted subordinates. If they also had doubts about Antonio¡¯s strategy, he would have to provide clear explanations.


    Antonio countered, ¡°The key to this war isn¡¯t how thoroughly we prepare but the gap between the enemy¡¯s preparedness and our own. Those five reservist battalions are not of much use now, but I still have five elite Standing Army battalions with you. Meanwhile, the Tanilians have nothing. They are still each led by individual captains and plantation owners with their small bands of men. Drake struck first and destroyed Haidong Port, so we must also seize the opportunity.¡±


    Kongtai¡¯er still looked worried, ¡°But after all, we only have five battalions of the Standing Army, whereas each of the main islands of Tanilia has a population of around a hundred thousand. Our numbers are still too few.¡±


    ¡°Of course, we can¡¯t expect to conquer an archipelago with just one legion. Our current objective is to win a battle and boost the morale of the Republic, to tear open an entry for the subsequent offensive.¡± Antonio added, ¡°If even you think I shouldn¡¯t deploy the troops now, what would the Tanilians think? If we can take them by surprise, we¡¯ve already gained the upper hand.¡±


    ¡°But can we really catch them unawares?¡± Kongtai¡¯er pointed to the colorful figures on the dock of Haidong Port, ¡°Sea Blue City has no secrets, you know!¡±


    A force of nearly six thousand troops couldn¡¯t possibly keep their departure from their base secret. By the time the Third Legion was marching towards Haidong Port, the news that Da Weineta would be leaving Haidong Port by ship to embark on a campaign had already reached the ears of the officers¡¯ families.


    Once one officer¡¯s family member knew of it, all the military families soon did. There was always a special channel of communication among military families; even though it was essentially word-of-mouth, the speed and efficiency of their information spreading was astonishingly high.


    The military families, upon learning the news, hurried to Haidong Port. No one would pass up the opportunity to say farewell. After all, this might be their last glimpse¡­


    And so arose the scene before them: children clutching at their fathers¡¯ sleeves, refusing to let go; wives who had arrived a step too late kneeling on the docks and weeping bitterly, desperately waving towards the ships; even several trembling elderly women had been carted over, these who likely lost their husbands in the wars thirty years ago were now sending off their sons.


    Even though the boarding process continued tense and orderly, the solemn and grandeur of departure began to turn into sorrow and despair, a sight which would moisten the eyes of any onlooker.


    Antonio couldn¡¯t bring himself to order the dispersal of the relatives who had come to see their loved ones off. These women, children, and the elderly were sapping the Third Legion¡¯s morale, something Antonio didn¡¯t want to see. But if he ordered their dispersal, he would lose his soldiers¡¯ respect and trust forever, which was even worse than a weakened morale.


    Moreover¡­ for many, this really could be their last chance to see their families. As long as it did not delay the embarkation, all Antonio could do was sigh and let it be.


    ¡°The inability to keep it a secret was already discussed by the thirteen-member committee,¡± Antonio turned away, no longer looking at the scene on the dock, ¡°As soon as we mobilize, complete secrecy is impossible. Still, we can hit the Tanilians with a time difference. The faster we act, the less time the Confederation has to react. So the key is not secrecy, but how quickly we can reach the archipelago.¡±


    The lieutenant colonels appeared reflective.


    Antonio said somberly, ¡°After all, Sea Blue City has no secrets.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    While the Third Legion was busy embarking, a Sea Blue City law enforcement officer was leading a patrol team, busy pulling corpses out from the ruins of a house destroyed by fire.


    One, two, three, four¡­


    A total of twenty-five bodies were found in the burnt-out building, with the charred corpses laid out on the street like some heretic ritual, quickly drawing a crowd of onlookers.


    S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 159 - 159 - 66 Expedition_3

    Chapter 159 ¨C 66 Expedition_3


    ¡°Arson?¡± a patrol officer asked, shivering.


    The sheriff also felt a pang of fear, but he still sternly reprimanded his subordinate, ¡°Do you think an arson could leave not a single one of the twenty-five people able to run out? All these bodies have fatal wounds, it must have been murder followed by arson.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Look at this person, the cut on his neck was enough to kill him, yet his head was also split open.¡± Another patrol officer¡¯s lower teeth uncontrollably chattered against his uppers, almost crying out, ¡°Who exactly were the deceased? Does one need to be killed twice in order to die? Have we encountered a cult?¡±


    A patrol officer struggled through the crowd and handed a letter to the sheriff.


    The sheriff broke the seal and briefly scanned the contents of the letter, then suddenly his face broke into a smile, ¡°We don¡¯t need to worry about this case anymore. The sheriff of the dock district is willing to take over this case; he says it¡¯s a family feud.¡±


    ¡°Do you think this was a family feud?¡± the shivering patrol officer asked.


    ¡°Would a family feud result in the extermination of an entire family? And would only the men die?¡± the sheriff said indifferently, ¡°But since someone is willing to help us out, I wouldn¡¯t care even if they claimed they roasted themselves.¡±


    ...


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Not until they arrived at the docks did Winters, Bard, and Andre realize that they were actually setting off today.


    Andre was eagerly hoping to see his family one last time before departure, but Winters and Bard had no such expectations.


    Bard wasn¡¯t Venetian, and Antonio had strictly forbidden Kosa and Ella from seeing them off. Antonio had always strongly disliked such acts that could dampen the military¡¯s morale.


    It was just as well that they didn¡¯t come; Winters didn¡¯t know how to face the farewell anyway.


    Finally, it was time for Winters¡¯ hundred-man troop to board the ship, but a strange woman stopped Winters just as he was about to step onto the makeshift gangway.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne, please wait,¡± said the strange woman politely.


    ¡°Do you know me?¡±


    ¡°Someone wants to meet you, please follow me.¡±


    ¡°Who is it? All so mysterious.¡± Winters shook his head and followed her.


    As long as it wasn¡¯t a sheriff with a group of patrol officers coming to arrest him, Winters wasn¡¯t worried about anything else.


    The strange woman led Winters to a carriage, all black with silver trim, gesturing that the person wanting to see Winters was inside.


    Seeing the carriage, Winters gasped and quietly took out a steel spike, grasping it in his hand.


    With his other hand, he opened the carriage door, and simultaneously, Winters prepared to use the Arrow Flying Spell, with the steel spike poised and ready.


    However, sitting inside the carriage was someone he didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°Miss Anna? Why is it you?¡±


    Anna, somewhat nervously, retorted, ¡°Why can¡¯t it be me?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Are you talking about the same thing I am?¡± Winters realized he might have misunderstood.


    ¡°What are you talking about? Come in quickly, close the door,¡± Anna pulled Winters into the carriage with both hands: ¡°Don¡¯t let others see¡­ I¡¯m not married yet.¡±


    The two sat in the carriage, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.


    Winters quietly stuffed the steel awl back into his pocket, the tension in his nerves easing to the point of fatigue. He joked, ¡°If you¡¯ve come to pay me for the painting, it¡¯s not the best timing. I¡¯m about to take a ship to Tanilia.¡±


    In fact, since Xial located Winters the day before yesterday, Winters had been on edge. Last night, the tension had reached its peak as he repeatedly planned, checked his route, and prepared contingency plans. Yet, when it came time to act, it was still fraught with danger. Now, suddenly relaxing, a strong sense of fatigue washed over Winters, and he especially wanted to sleep.


    Anna¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°Why are you always like this? Why do you treat me this way again?¡±


    ¡°I was just kidding.¡± Winters quickly apologized and sighed, ¡°The first time we met, you were angry and slapped me. Now why do you burst into tears so easily?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re holding a grudge over that slap! You spiteful little man! I knew it all along, you remember everything but pretend to forget.¡±


    ¡°If you say so, then so it is.¡± Winters didn¡¯t have the energy to argue now.


    This attitude made Anna even angrier. She suddenly leaned back in her chair and turned her head away from Winters. ¡°Just go.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Winters stood up. As he looked at Anna¡¯s neck, profile, and hair, an unbidden thought crossed his mind: Anna¡¯s profile might be my last memory of peace, representing the wonderful imagination of another path in life.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±


    ¡°I want to look at you one more time.¡± For some reason, Winters really wanted to touch Anna¡¯s hair. So, he reached out and tousled Anna¡¯s slightly curly hair, ¡°Because the carefree and vibrant you is very beautiful.¡±


    Then he opened the carriage door and stepped out.


    Arms from behind Winters embraced him. Anna, hugging Winters¡¯ back and crying, said, ¡°I just want you to do one thing for me, just one thing¡­ you need to come back, just come back.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too easy, does it count if it¡¯s my ashes coming back?¡±


    Anna broke into laughter through her tears, pounding on Winters¡¯ back. ¡°You¡¯re really annoying¡­¡±


    Then Anna took out a thumb-sized wooden carving of a goddess, holding a shield and a spear, from her handbag. The details of the tiny statue were fully realized and lifelike.


    Anna placed the wooden carving in Winters¡¯ palm, ¡°No matter how far or difficult, Athena will guide those who¡¯ve left their homeland back home.¡±


    ¡°When did you learn wood carving?¡±


    ¡°I never learned wood carving.¡± Anna said shyly, ¡°It¡¯s not good, right?¡±


    How could I have been so stupid not to notice? Winters thought to himself. Anna¡¯s left and right index fingers had multiple new wounds, already red and swollen at the edges.


    ¡°This is the most exquisite carving I¡¯ve ever seen. I¡¯ll trade you the most valuable thing I have for it.¡± Winters searched himself but found nothing of value, so he took off his ceremonial golden sword and handed it to Anna, ¡°This sword was my father¡¯s, but it doesn¡¯t really have any sentimental value¡­ Anyway, it¡¯s the most expensive thing I have on me.¡±


    Winters wore the ceremonial sword today as only an inspection had been scheduled.


    Anna, flustered and incoherent, said, ¡°You can¡¯t, that sword is too valuable, I can¡¯t accept it¡­ Why would you give your father¡¯s sword to me¡­ Could it be as a betrothal gift? No, no, I¡­I¡­I¡­ We¡¯re not that kind of relationship yet¡­ Oh right, my family doesn¡¯t intermarry with northerners [people from the Empire]!¡±


    ¡°When did I say I wanted to marry you?! And why do you always say I¡¯m from the Empire?¡± Winters was on the verge of passing out from frustration, ¡°My mother¡¯s family is from The Federated Provinces, and my father¡¯s family has always been in Venetia; how did I become a person from the Empire?¡±


    ¡°You might be tall, but even if you¡¯re not from the north, it won¡¯t work¡­ I don¡¯t want to get married yet¡­¡± Anna said weakly.

 Chapter 160 - 160 - 67: The Avenging Angel

    Chapter 160 ¨C 67: The Avenging Angel


    The sun tilted to the west, and the southeast wind was gradually weakening.


    Accompanied by the sound of bells, The Glorious turned direction, sailing against the wind to lower its sails and drop anchor, waiting with other warships that had arrived at the anchorage earlier for the ships lagging behind.


    Although Vineta¡¯s army officers and navy officers had never seen eye to eye, after spending two days on a ship, even the most prejudiced army officer had to admit: Fleet management was absolutely a technical job.


    To command fifty soldiers, a loud voice sufficed, but to lead fifty hundred-man units into battle, one needed an effective command system.


    The third ¡°Da Weineta¡± Legion consisted of fifty-nine hundred-man units, totaling just over five thousand men, a modest force compared to the legions of the Ancient Empire in historical stories, which routinely numbered in the hundreds of thousands.


    (For the composition of fifty-four hundred-man units and five chief hundred-man units, please refer to previous chapters for the legion¡¯s structure)


    Yet, just to mold these five thousand plus men into an army, it required the concerted effort of seventy-six officers, one hundred and eighteen military police, sixty-two standard-bearers, forty buglers and drummers, thirteen barber-surgeons, and three chaplains.


    ...


    Thank heavens, the soldiers were responsible for cooking their own food, or else this list would have needed to include several dozen more cooks.


    However, the difficulty of managing a fleet was a notch above managing a legion.


    The vengeance fleet Winters was in included the offshore fleet¡¯s large sailing ships and oar-and-sail warships, commandeered merchant ships, and some supply ships specially used for carrying materials.


    These ships varied in model, age, draft, and seaworthiness. The navy¡¯s warships could cut through the waves at speeds over ten knots, while it would be a miracle if the cumbersome merchant ships didn¡¯t capsize at the same speed. Flat-bottomed oar-and-sail ships could not withstand strong winds and waves, but deep-draft merchant ships and warships couldn¡¯t venture into shallow waters either.


    This medley of ships couldn¡¯t sail in a column for long, with one closely following another, as gaps naturally formed between them, with the less seaworthy ones lagging behind.


    That¡¯s why during these two days, when Winters was on deck for fresh air, he couldn¡¯t see where the other ships were at all. The sea was too vast, and only occasionally could he spot a sail on the horizon.


    Therefore, the navy headquarters had planned the course and anchorage for the vengeance fleet in advance. Departing from Haidong Port, after sailing sixty to seventy nautical miles, the fleet would regroup at the anchorage before heading to the next one.


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er told Winters, ¡°To think that not a single ship fell behind after two days and nights of non-stop sailing, it seems the navy people are really getting serious.¡±


    Coming from Kongtai¡¯er, who often said, ¡°The navy has only sailors and captains, no officers,¡± Winters thought the navy officers should take this as the highest compliment.


    At this very moment, Winters was lying half-reclined on a bed in a cabin at The Glorious¡¯s stern, focusing intently on the cabin door. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This ¡°bed¡± was more of a wooden box than a bed, with two-foot-high guardrails on all sides; lying inside felt like being in a coffin. Such design was due to the ocean¡¯s rocking waves, preventing a soundly sleeping person from being thrown off the bed.


    Above his head and beneath him was the wooden hull, just as close.


    To save space, the beds were arranged in bunk style. This small cabin fit four beds, leaving only an arm¡¯s breadth of passageway in the middle, making it extremely cramped.


    The accommodations were rather spartan, but this was actually a special favor by navy standards. The conditions of life at sea were very harsh, with navy sailors having to curl up in hammocks, inevitably waking with aching bodies.


    Even so, this was better than the lot of many merchant ship sailors. The crew of the Bandit Gull simply slept on the deck, not only suffering from severe dampness and potential skin diseases but also from restless sleep. When the waves were high, people would roll up and down the deck with the rhythm of the sea.


    The Vineta navy showed their utmost sincerity by streamlining The Glorious¡¯s crew, dispensing with even the gun crew, and keeping only the sailors needed to maintain the operation of the warship. They converted all available space temporarily into cabins¡ªeffectively turning this flagship of the offshore fleet into a command center and dormitory for the army officers.


    To ensure smooth communication, the navy even placed the quarters of the commander of the third legion next to the commander of the offshore fleet. Just as Colonel Kongtai¡¯er said, they really wanted to give the Tanilians a thorough beating, even if it meant starting to win over their old rivals.


    Because they were anchoring against the wind, The Glorious remained steady, merely undulating slightly with the waves.


    Andre had evidently fallen asleep, as snoring of varying volume came from Winters¡¯ bunk above.


    Bard was in the bunk opposite, once again buried in his book that was nearly falling apart from overuse.


    Feeling the motion of the ship, Winters seized a moment when the ship rose to its highest point and became momentarily still to use the Arrow Flying Spell.


    A steel dart flew from his hand and nailed into the cabin door.


    Drawing a satisfied breath, Winters pulled out another steel dart.


    In the middle of the door, within a small circle carved with a knife, there were now over a dozen steel darts, with not a single one outside the circle, only holes from earlier practice.


    The burst strength of a spellcaster¡¯s spells and their skill could only be improved with persistent practice. One must practice when conditions are right, and create the conditions for practice when they¡¯re not.


    From his hand to the door was about two and a half steps; Winters had already begun practicing six-step targets in the basement of his home. Such a short distance he could now hit with unerring accuracy, and in truth, the practice wasn¡¯t particularly meaningful.


    But the ship¡¯s space was indeed limited, and there was no suitable practice area. And with so many senior officers around, Winters didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly. He could only play around in the cabin, treating it as a game.


    ¡°Remember to remind me never to play darts with you,¡± Bard said with a laugh, sticking his head out of his bunk and glancing at the steel darts stuck in the door.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Winters responded playfully, adopting the posture of dart throwing, aimed briefly, and threw the steel dart towards the door.


    However, just as the steel dart left his hand, someone outside opened the door.


    ¡ª¡ªsnip¡ª¡ª


    While three warrant officers were idly whiling away the time in The Glorious¡¯ cabin, a nimble sailboat docked at Sea Blue Port.


    The sailors on board were all haggard and exhausted. They worked in shifts, day and night without rest, maneuvering the nimble sailboat as they hurried towards Sea Blue Port. They had even encountered headwinds and storms on the way, but these challenges failed to defeat the resilient sailors.


    The sailors didn¡¯t yet know that they had just broken the record for the fastest journey from Golden Harbor to Sea Blue Port and had established a significant lead over the second-place finisher. Although this episode remained unknown to others, the sea would remember it forever.


    Their record would stand for hundreds of years, until it was broken by trans-era clipperships.


    However, they were still too late; The Republic of Vineta had already dispatched their avenging angels.


    After learning this news, Captain Kenway¡ªone of the leaders of the Tanilia Captains and Planters Council¡ªdidn¡¯t make another attempt to meet with the Debela Governor but instead went straight back to his ship.


    War had arrived and would not end until one side succumbed.


    Kenway had tried to prevent all of this, but his efforts were proven to be in vain.


    Now, he needed to convey the news that the Third Legion of Vineta had already set out to the other captains as quickly as possible.

 Chapter 161 - 161 - 67: The Golden Lion’s Oar and Sail Warship

    Chapter 161 ¨C 67: The Golden Lion¡¯s Oar and Sail Warship


    As soon as the person outside the cabin opened the door, the steel spike left Winters¡¯s hand. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No one expected someone to open the door at that moment, Winters and Bard shouted out at the same time.


    If the person outside had waited to hear their warning before dodging, it would certainly have been too late. The person acted just before they yelled out, leaning to the side to avoid the flying implement, averting the danger.


    This sharp little thing flew out the door and embedded itself in the wooden partition opposite the cabin door. The person outside reached out and pulled it down, holding it as he walked into the cabin, smiling, ¡°Well, you land ducks are trying to go up against us sailors in a fight?¡±


    Winters jumped down from the bed, stepped over to the other man, and steadied his shoulder, saying with relief, ¡°Lucky you reacted quickly, Cage, very lucky. I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re not hurt, I won¡¯t play like this in the cabin ever again.¡±


    Cage, the cadet officer of The Glorious, handed the steel spike back to Winters and said with a smile, ¡°If you¡¯re trying to hurt a naval officer, a little toy like this won¡¯t do the job.¡±


    ¡°Okay, whatever you say it is, it is,¡± Winters also said, smiling as he lay back down on the bed.


    ...


    After Bard exchanged greetings with Cage, he asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you on duty?¡±


    ¡°We switched shifts after anchoring. It¡¯s my turn to rest now.¡± Cage yawned tiredly and lay back down in the bunk below Bard¡¯s.


    There were four bunks in the room, three of which were occupied by the army warrant officers Winters, Bard, and Andre, and one by a naval cadet officer.


    However, a naval cadet officer like Cage was a very different matter from an army cadet officer like Winters. Cage had much more seniority than his three roommates.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre were fresh out of military school, while Cage had been a cadet officer on The Glorious since he was twelve and had already spent eight years on board. An army officer with the same experience would have been promoted to lieutenant long ago, yet Cage was still just one of the eleven cadet officers on the ship.


    The reason was that the naval and army officer systems were two entirely separate entities, not corresponding to each other at all.


    Compared with the strict hierarchical structure of the Alliance army¡¯s rank system, the navy¡¯s rank system was very flat. There were only three officer ranks on a ship: Captain, Lieutenant, and Midshipman.


    Among them, only the Captain and the Lieutenant were formal officers, with Midshipmen, like Winters and the army warrant officers, ranking above sailors and soldiers but below formal officers.


    In the army, both Captain and Lieutenant are junior officers, with the former being the third level and the latter the second level. Officers of these two ranks usually command a company of eighty men at most.


    But in the navy, the Captain commands the ship, holding supreme authority. The Lieutenant acts as the Captain¡¯s second-in-command, subordinate only to one and above all others.


    The power a Captain can wield depends on the ship. The Glorious, with its thirty cannons and crew of over five hundred, would equate its Captain to at least a colonel in the army.


    The rotund Captain of the Bandit Gull is also a Captain, yet with a meager crew of about twenty sailors, he wouldn¡¯t even qualify as a warrant officer in the army.


    Yet in the navy¡¯s view, the Captains of The Glorious and the Bandit Gull are theoretically of the same rank, neither having to salute the other first.


    Because of this substantial disparity, the land and naval forces of Vineta simply ignored each other¡¯s rank systems, each going their own way. An army warrant officer like Winters didn¡¯t have to salute even a naval general, and the same held true in reverse.


    To become an officer in the Vineta navy, one firstly had to come from a good background and secondly needed a guarantor. With these two requirements met, one could board a ship as a cadet officer. After that, they would have to painstakingly build up seniority until the naval headquarters approved their promotion to warrant officer. As for when one could become a Captain? First, there had to be a ship without a Captain.


    Although Cadet Officer Cage was much more seasoned than the three army warrant officers, he never put on airs as the senior, and his personality was very amicable. He imparted a great deal of knowledge about ship life to Winters and the others. Furthermore, with their ages being similar, they quickly got to know each other and got along very well.


    ¡°By the way, after we leave this anchorage, we should be docking at Lighthouse Port for a day,¡± Cage said, covering his head with a pillow and speaking listlessly. ¡°Then you guys can take a break as well.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters suddenly sat up. ¡°Get off the ship?¡±


    Life on board was like being in prison, with seasickness to boot. Yet when he heard about disembarking, Winters¡¯s tone showed no hint of joy.


    ¡°Yeah, disembark for a rest. We¡¯ll probably dock for a day or two.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve just set sail for two days and we¡¯re already docking for a rest?¡± Bard poked his head down from the top bunk, puzzled, ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to be heading non-stop for the Taniria Islands?¡±


    Winters teased, ¡°The bunch of us land ducks haven¡¯t even started to complain, so why are you sailors the first ones needing to dock for a rest?¡±


    ¡°How are you suffering in your officer¡¯s quarters?¡± Cage, unable to sleep, got up with a wry smile, ¡°Besides, you still get to enjoy hot meals. How is that suffering?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t get any rest for a day when we took the ship back from Guidao City to Vineta.¡±


    ¡°What ship did you take?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t know what kind of ship it was,¡± Winters admitted, then recalling the Bandit Gull, he said, ¡°It was called the Bandit Gull, a smallish ship with three masts.¡±


    ¡°I see, how many people were on the Bandit Gull?¡±


    ¡°About twenty crew members, plus us, making over fifty in total.¡±


    ¡°If it were just The Glorious, she could make the voyage without docking once straight to the islands. A large sailing ship can do that, but a galley cannot.¡± Cage lay back down wearily, ¡°If you want to know why, when the other ships gather and I go to deliver the sea charts, I¡¯ll take you to have a look, and you¡¯ll understand.¡±

 Chapter 162 - 162 - 67: The Golden Lion’s Oar and Sail Warship_2

    Chapter 162 ¨C 67: The Golden Lion¡¯s Oar and Sail Warship_2


    ¡ª¡ªThe Cut¡ª¡ª


    The navy had carefully selected an anchorage sheltered by an unnamed island, with each ship maintaining a safe distance, scattered across a natural harbor.


    A small boat was lowered into the water from The Glorious, and Winters followed Cage down the rope ladder onto the small boat.


    Cage tightly clenched a wooden chest containing sea maps and the fleet¡¯s next destination.


    To ensure the secrecy of their course, the captains of the other ships, except for the high-ranking officers aboard The Glorious, only received the location of the next anchorage when the fleet regathered. This way, even if individual ships were captured, the enemy wouldn¡¯t know the entire fleet¡¯s route.


    Although the Retribution Fleet had a massive target, accurately intercepting this fleet in the vast ocean wasn¡¯t that easy.


    Four sailors paddled vigorously, accompanied by the sound of oars slapping against the water. The small boat left The Glorious, gliding over the undulating waves towards the galley ¡°Golden Lion.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    As the afterglow of the sunset lingered, Winters sized up the galley before him.


    The Golden Lion wasn¡¯t purely an oared vessel or a sailing ship but a product of pragmatism. Whether oars or sails, I want them both.


    Compared to the ¡°broad-shouldered,¡± The Glorious, the Golden Lion had a more narrow and slender hull to accommodate more rowers. The entire ship was relatively low, with only one deck, and both the bow and the stern also had only one deckhouse.


    There were no gun ports on the hull¡¯s sides, just dense arrays of oar openings. Remembering the layout of The Lucky, Winters speculated that the Golden Lion¡¯s cannons were likely arranged along the ship¡¯s length at both bow and stern.


    ¡°Why is the freeboard of this ship so low?¡± Winters patted Cage on the shoulder from behind and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a disadvantage in combat?¡±


    Although he had only experienced one naval encounter, Winters had understood that in a fight, higher was better, and the side with the taller ship held an advantage. That¡¯s why warships¡¯ deckhouses were built taller and taller until they looked like castles upon the deck.


    The Glorious not only had a higher freeboard than the Golden Lion but also had three deckhouses. Sailors on the Golden Lion were akin to facing a wall when up against The Glorious. Attacking The Glorious from the Golden Lion meant having to fight upward, while The Glorious could easily dominate from above.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a disadvantage; that¡¯s why new warships being built are round ships. The Golden Lion is an old ship constructed over a decade ago,¡± Cage explained patiently to Winters, turning to face him.


    ¡°Indeed, sailships are out of luck when there is no wind,¡± Winters remarked, thinking back to the sea battle he had been through.


    ¡°Actually, I think that the design of warships now is too extreme, much like cavalry soldiers who ended up covering both themselves and their horses in iron plates.¡± Engaged in a topic he was fond of, Cage suddenly became animated, gesturing towards The Glorious and critiquing it to Winters, ¡°The Glorious looks powerful but is actually very cumbersome. With such high deckhouses, its center of gravity is unstable, and they dare not place too many cannons there. Besides, high deckhouses have another drawback: they have a large windward side, which makes turning difficult¡­¡±


    ¡°But having high deckhouses gives an advantage in naval combat, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Winters weakly interjected, his confidence low as this wasn¡¯t his area of expertise.


    Cage slapped his thigh, ¡°That¡¯s why I say it¡¯s extreme, just like those full-body plated knights. In hand-to-hand combat, the more solid the armor, the better, so the nobility ended up encasing themselves entirely in metal plates. But what if the enemy switched from hand-to-hand combat to using firearms? It¡¯s the same at sea: in order to have an advantage in boarding actions, they made deckhouses taller and taller. The Glorious is a warship that went to the extreme in boarding combat, but what if the enemy doesn¡¯t board?¡±


    ¡°Not fighting a boarding action¡­ how else do you fight naval battles?¡±


    Never pretending to understand when he didn¡¯t, but instead asking questions, it was one of the good habits Winters had learned from Antonio. After ramming tactics gradually declined, for nearly a thousand years naval battles involved two ships closing in, sailors shooting bows, crossbows, and muskets at each other, and finally, deciding the battle in hand-to-hand combat. Winters genuinely couldn¡¯t think of any other method.


    ¡°With cannons,¡± Cage confidently replied. ¡°Sink those cumbersome ships from a long distance.¡±


    Winters snorted with laughter, ¡°Aren¡¯t there already cannons on board? And with the accuracy of cannons, on the heaving sea, let alone at a distance, it¡¯s hard to hit another ship even fifty meters away.¡±


    ¡°The cannons on the ships, other than the large caliber short guns, are swivel guns, which can only be used at close range,¡± Cage explained hurriedly. ¡°Think about it, equip mobile and agile ships with long guns, firing only from a distance without boarding. Big ships like The Glorious can neither catch up nor hit the target; they can only take the hits helplessly. It¡¯s a pity that all the old stubborns at the navy¡¯s headquarters aren¡¯t innovative. They just like mighty and imposing big ships like The Glorious, and all the funding goes into building these high-rise round ships!¡±


    Cage punched his thigh angrily.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about naval battles, but on land, there was a similar battle. In the Battle of Calais, the infantry of the Ancient Empire couldn¡¯t catch up with Palati¡¯s cavalry, were worn down by archery until their morale collapsed, and were finally harvested by the heavy cavalry,¡± Winters joked. ¡°If I ever become the military governor, I¡¯ll allocate the entire naval budget to building the ships you want.¡±

 Chapter 163 - 163 - 67: The Golden Lion’s Oar and Sail Warship_3

    Chapter 163 ¨C 67: The Golden Lion¡¯s Oar and Sail Warship_3


    Cage laughed as well, smiling as he said, ¡°If I ever become a military inspector, I will take your army¡¯s funding to build ships for our navy.¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s a deal¡­ In fact, I have always admired people like you who have fresh ideas. I can¡¯t do it, I can only learn from you guys.¡±


    Cage shook his head repeatedly and waved his hand, ¡°No, no, no, it wasn¡¯t my idea. All these are Captain Spire¡¯s theories. I¡¯m just parroting them¡­ Captain Spire is the captain of the Golden Lion. You¡¯re just in time to meet him on this trip with me.¡±


    As they talked, their small boat reached the side of the Golden Lion. A rope ladder was thrown down, and Winters followed Cage aboard the Golden Lion.


    The conversation on the way nearly made him forget the purpose of his visit here. But after boarding the ship, Winters immediately remembered why he had come to the Golden Lion.


    He instantly understood why Cage said, ¡°The galley needs to make land every two days; you¡¯ll understand once you take a look on board.¡±


    Before his eyes, the open deck of the Golden Lion was densely packed with people, leaving no space to even set a foot down.


    ...


    The open deck had been divided into two levels, roughly convex in shape. In the middle was the upper platform, obviously for the navy soldiers who, lacking space to lie down, could only rest while huddled together.


    The decks on either side near the ship¡¯s sides were the lower part of the convex structure, sitting more than a meter lower than the middle deck. This was where the oarsmen sat. This structure allowed the oarsmen to be lower than the soldiers in the middle, so they would not block the soldiers¡¯ use of long-range weapons.


    The haggard and emaciated oarsmen were chained next to their oars, with three or four oarsmen manning each oar. They didn¡¯t even have space to move, looking no different from the slave oarsmen on The Glorious.


    Even though the deck was open to the air, Winters could still smell an odor. The Golden Lion, crammed with people, resembled a cattle transport ship, where humans were packed together like animals, unable to move. On this ship, there was no dignity left for a man.


    Winters couldn¡¯t have lasted an hour in a place like that.


    ¡°Why are there so many people? How many does this ship hold?¡± Winters asked Cage in shock.


    Cage countered, ¡°How many were on The Glorious?¡±


    ¡°About two to three hundred?¡± Winters wasn¡¯t too sure.


    Cage said expressionlessly, ¡°The Glorious originally had over five hundred crew. To make it comfortable for you, now even with you added, there are less than four hundred. The Golden Lion carries about the same as The Glorious now, around four hundred people.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ This ship is so much smaller than The Glorious and it holds four hundred people? How can they stand it?¡± Winters was shocked by the appalling living conditions of the Golden Lion¡¯s crew. The Glorious was not only larger in size but also had multiple decks. Meanwhile, the vast majority of people on the Golden Lion were crammed into the open deck.


    Cage, seemingly long accustomed to the cruelty of life at sea, said coldly, ¡°They¡¯re not people, they¡¯re sailors. But even for sailors, they can¡¯t last many days on such a ship, so every two days they must go ashore to rest. Essentially, a galley is a floating fortress with very poor self-sustenance. More than half of our fleet consists of such galleys, and for us, capturing a supply port is far more important than destroying the enemy¡¯s ships.¡±


    ¡°What about when it rains? There¡¯s nothing above to shield them.¡±


    ¡°They endure.¡±


    ¡°And these oarsmen? Why are they chained up?¡±


    ¡°They are all criminals; no free men are willing to be oarsmen.¡± Cage walked ahead without turning back as he answered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to pity them; it¡¯s their crimes that led to this fate. And if they survive the battle without dying, they can be pardoned, which is better than dying in a cell, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Winters fell silent as he followed Cage, navigating through the oarsmen¡¯s limbs to find footing, heading toward the sterncastle, which should be the best environment on the ship. The captain always resides in the best part of the ship.


    Suddenly, a pair of hands clutched at Winters¡¯s legs, a seemingly delirious oarsman begging in a slurred voice, ¡°Have mercy, give me some water to drink, please.¡±


    Cage, walking ahead, turned around and saw an oarsman grabbing Winters¡¯s leg and instantly flew into a rage, ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve! Are you looking for death?¡±


    With that, he drew his naval cutlass and turned back, the oarsmen in his way scurrying aside desperately, making way for him.


    The others were also startled, navy soldiers from the upper platform poking their heads out to watch, whispering amongst themselves, yet no one intervened. Under such deplorable living conditions, the only reason there was no mutiny aboard was military discipline. As a criminal, an oarsman attacking an officer allowed Cage to execute him.


    ¡°Stop¡­¡± Winters raised his hand to stop Cage, who was approaching with his cutlass to help him, ¡°This man¡­ I know him.¡±


    Cage froze in place.


    Winters looked at the face of the oarsman and uncertainly asked, ¡°Gold, Lucky Gold, captain of The Lucky, is that you?¡±


    Gold, who had been struck nearly toothless by Layton with the butt of his sword, trembled as he heard the words ¡°captain of The Lucky¡± and burst into uncontrollable weeping.

 Chapter 164 - 164 - 68 Good Luck

    Chapter 164 ¨C 68 Good Luck


    ¡°Do you recognize this man?¡± Cage¡¯s demeanor softened somewhat, but he still gripped the navy cutlass tightly.


    ¡°Can¡¯t really say I know him¡­ He was originally a pirate captain, planning to rob our ship, but we caught him and brought him back. As for how he ended up on your navy ship, I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°In the interest of launching our assault as quickly as possible, the magistrate allowed us to press all serious criminals into service.¡± Cage sheathed the navy cutlass, ¡°This fellow got lucky. Being a pirate is punishable by death, but rowing for a ship is certainly better than hanging, right?¡±


    Lucky Gold was no longer the spirited figure who had once dominated the inner seas. Layton had knocked out half his teeth, and the flesh on his cheeks had sunken in, leaving his lips crisscrossed with bloodied fissures. His shoulders and arms were nothing but bone, and the man looked completely wasted. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters felt some pity for him and said to Cage, ¡°Get him some water to drink.¡±


    Cage glanced at Gold and whistled to the sailors watching the spectacle from above, and a water skin was tossed down.


    The man who had been shouting in grief at the sight of the water skin, couldn¡¯t be bothered to feel sorry for himself anymore. He lunged forward to snatch back the water skin and clutched it to his chest, then, wiping away a tear, eagerly pulled out the stopper and tilted his head back to drink deeply.


    ...


    Winters said nothing more and turned to leave with Cage.


    What more was there to say? In Winters¡¯s view, Gold had brought this fate upon himself¡ªthe moment he became a pirate, he should have been prepared to face the gallows. He felt the same about himself, the moment he donned the black uniform and slid the spring-loaded pistol into its holster, he was prepared: if this affair led to the gallows, he would not cry out in protest.


    He wouldn¡¯t sympathize with Gold, but neither did he enjoy kicking someone already down. Nor did he feel like a saint for giving Gold a bag of water.


    Winters thought the matter was settled, not expecting that somebody had already taken notice of the commotion here at the stern of the ship.


    In the center of the deck on the high podium, several people clad in navy officer uniforms advanced from the stern castle, as the sailors made way for them.


    The leader wore a navy uniform with generous cuts, a deep blue coat, a white shirt, and breeches. Gold lace decorated his collar, cuffs, and lapels. Amidst the grimy ship, this officer was pristine, memorably so.


    Even the least observant could tell the captain had arrived.


    Unlike army officers, naval officers didn¡¯t wear boots, yet Captain Spire¡¯s footsteps still produced a ¡°thud, thud¡± sound as he walked.


    Several officers with unadorned tricorn hats followed him; Winters surmised these men were likely lieutenants from the Golden Lion since the naval cadet Cage never wore a tricorn hat.


    As Captain Spire drew near, Cage immediately stood at attention and saluted, while Winters just nodded in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Mr. Bastille, please inform me of what transpired here?¡± Captain Spire¡¯s voice was slightly hoarse, but when he spoke, the entire Golden Lion fell silent instantly.


    ¡°Yes, sir. One of the rowers impeded this gentleman from the army.¡±


    Captain Spire shifted his gaze away from the water skin in Gold¡¯s hand, already discerning what had happened here.


    The captain of the Golden Lion ordered, pointing to Gold, ¡°At the thirteenth bell, give him ten lashes. Mr. Delong, I leave the task to you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Cage shook his head slightly and exchanged a look with Winters, signaling him not to plead on the man¡¯s behalf.


    After resolving this episode, Captain Spire turned and strode away. The lieutenant and several sailors jumped down, unlocked the irons, and carried Gold away.


    Once Captain Spire was out of sight, Cage began to speak to Winters, ¡°Only giving him ten lashes is already considering your face. Had it been another rower, cutting off an arm would have been considered light punishment.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ did not intend to plead for him,¡± Winters realized he had been misunderstood and said with a wry smile, ¡°How could I, a mere army warrant officer, presume to meddle in ship¡¯s affairs? Besides, I hold no affection for that man, quite the opposite.¡±


    Cage let out a light laugh, ¡°Then he¡¯s lucky, managed to save an arm.¡±


    After delivering the nautical chart to Captain Spire, Cage and Winters left the Golden Lion.


    Before leaving, Winters took a careful look around the stern castle of the Golden Lion. The ship hadn¡¯t set aside separate cabins for officers in the stern castle; Captain Spire¡¯s ¡°private quarters¡± were merely a small space temporarily partitioned with thin planks at the stern.


    Several hooks screwed into the posts seemed to be for hanging hammocks. A few sticks propped up a board on which a slide rule and an ink bottle weighted down maps; this was the captain¡¯s desk. There was no chair, just an overturned wooden bucket.


    Next to the desk stood a large cannon, and Captain Spire resided beside the stern cannon of the Golden Lion. It seemed the captain¡¯s quarters became a gun deck only when not engaging the enemy, turning back into sleeping quarters once the threat was gone.


    ¡°A captain living in such a modest place? It seems to be even worse than where we¡¯re quartered,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but ask Cage as they embarked on the small boat returning to The Glorious.


    With a sigh, Cage replied helplessly, ¡°There¡¯s no helping it, space on a galleon is limited. These ships are meant to attack by day and rest ashore by night. They mustn¡¯t stray too far from port and are not designed for long voyages. Ah, if there had been other ships available, these coastal vessels wouldn¡¯t have been called to action.¡±

 Chapter 165 - 165 - 68 Good Luck_2

    Chapter 165 ¨C 68 Good Luck_2


    Everyone was talking about how the Tanilia Federation¡¯s shameful surprise attack had dealt a heavy blow to the Vineta Navy, but most people did not understand just how great the loss to the Vineta Navy was. In contrast, the Vineta Navy quickly assembled a fleet for retaliation so large that many, including Winters, felt ¡°the Navy seemed to have hardly suffered a scratch.¡±


    It was not until this moment that Winters truly realized the extent of the Navy¡¯s loss. The Navy was merely putting on a brave front; they had even incorporated coastal ships into the fleet meant for a long-distance sea expedition, with sailors and officers on the galleons enduring harsh living conditions.


    ¡°It seems the Tanilians have truly struck a vital blow¡­¡±


    Cage, however, was unwilling to show weakness in front of the Army. He cheered up and said spiritedly, ¡°No worries, the men are still there. If the ships are gone, we¡¯ll just build more. Out with the old, in with the new, it¡¯s time to build new ships.¡±


    Winters nodded, but the thought of the revenge expedition grew dimmer in his heart.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Not only along the coast of the Senas Sea, even when looking at the entire world, there were very few ports that could supply a fleet as large as the Vineta retaliation fleet.


    ...


    There were about four hundred small towns in the Vineta Republic, each with around a thousand residents, and fifty-eight mid-sized cities with around five thousand inhabitants. But there were only nine towns with more than ten thousand residents, each one a historically significant and well-known stronghold. Including the suburban population, Sea Blue City had about seventy thousand people, making it one of the most prosperous cities on the continent.


    The fleet consisted of forty-three large ships and more than twenty small vessels, carrying over twenty thousand sailors, soldiers, and officers¡ªeffectively, the population of an entire city floating at sea.


    Only a few major ports like Sea Blue Port and Golden Harbor could dock so many ships at once. The residents of most harbors were not as numerous as those of the fleet, and they could only offer limited fresh water and food.


    Lighthouse Port could not accommodate so many people at once, and its docks were not large enough. It would take two days for everyone to disembark at Lighthouse Port, and an equal amount of time to get back on the ships.


    In the Navy¡¯s original plan, only the twelve antiquated galleys with poor self-sufficiency and tough conditions could dock and rest for a day.


    Since the large sailing warships and requisitioned merchant ships carried enough supplies to sail continuously for more than a month, these vessels would remain at anchor off the coast without going ashore.


    But just as Winters and Cage returned to The Glorious on a small boat, Rear Admiral Nalesho, who was in charge of commanding the entire fleet, suddenly discovered that the Navy¡¯s headquarters had not consulted the Army when developing this plan.


    The sailors could endure the cramped and poor conditions on the ships for a long time, but the more than five thousand Army soldiers of the Third Legion might not be so tolerant. Especially since many of them were suffering from seasickness and seeing Navy personnel going ashore while they could not, it was inevitable that they would feel resentful. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, General Serviati.¡± Rear Admiral Nalesho sought out the highest-ranking man in the Third Legion and explained the fleet¡¯s actual situation to him truthfully.


    ¡°Just call me by my name, Admiral Nalesho,¡± Antonio said with a polite smile.


    The gray-templed Rear Admiral leaned forward anxiously and said to Antonio, ¡°Please trust me, I had absolutely no intention of treating your side differently. It¡¯s truly out of necessity. Some of the old galleys don¡¯t even have a cargo hold; the sailors only have their personal provisions, so they must go ashore to resupply. If any Army officers want to rest ashore, I can send small boats to take you there. I will stay on the ship myself, and as long as there is one Army ¡¯Gentleman¡¯ who does not disembark, I will not disembark. The other naval men on the warships will also stay on board. Would that be acceptable?¡±


    Action and reaction between the Vineta Navy and Army had always been confrontational, and the Navy Rear Admiral had already mentally prepared himself, expecting to be drenched with verbal spittle. But to his surprise, he found that the Army Major General across from him had set aside the Army¡¯s domineering demeanor and had become understanding and reasonable.


    Antonio reached out and grabbed Admiral Nalesho¡¯s arm, saying earnestly, ¡°Admiral Nalesho, there¡¯s no need for concern. In the face of a great battle, we must be united and forbearing. Since such are the actual needs, you need not consider what the Army might think. My opinion is that of the Third Legion. I have no objections, and the Third Legion will not either.¡±


    Rear Admiral Nalesho grasped Antonio¡¯s hand with joy and nodded his agreement again and again.


    However, Antonio suddenly changed his tone and said, ¡°I do have one small suggestion.¡±


    The smile on the lips of the Navy Rear Admiral sagged. He thought to himself: So, this is where he was waiting for me. Expecting the Army to be forgiving was indeed a mistake.


    Antonio seemed oblivious to Nalesho¡¯s change in mood, earnestly voicing his proposal, ¡°The Vineta Army and Navy are going their separate ways, Your Excellency must be very clear about this. The Army has one chain of command, the Navy another. The result is what we have now, the Navy treats the Army like cargo on a ship, and the Army sees the Navy as mere transport vessels.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Nalesho asked with a level tone.


    ¡°But my soldiers can also defect from the ships, and your sailors can take to the land. We should establish a joint command for wartime, uniting the two chains of command into one. This is how we can maximize our fighting force. Military actions should not be mixed with political disputes; we must do our utmost to secure victory for Vineta. The Tanilia Federation has hundreds of islands, both big and small, totaling up to a population of several hundred thousand, definitively not the feeble structure that the parliament imagines it to be. If we act separately, we¡¯ll give the Federation the chance they¡¯re looking for.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Nalesho, unmoved, asked coldly, ¡°A joint command that can direct my ships and your troops. Would this joint command be led by your Army or by our Navy?¡±


    ¡°Establishing a joint command is to resolve the discrepancies between the Army and Navy; it¡¯s pointless if we continue to quibble.¡± Antonio paused, then said sincerely, ¡°If Your Excellency agrees, I am willing to follow your orders and have you serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the joint command!¡±


    ¡­


    Nalesho¡¯s aide had been waiting outside Antonio¡¯s cabin and, seeing the Navy Rear Admiral come out, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Did the Army disrespect you? Why¡­ Why would you be so accommodating?¡±


    Without a word, Nalesho paced back to his own cabin.


    The aide, who had accompanied Nalesho for many years, followed behind, becoming more irritated as he thought, muttering under his breath, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be so courteous; the uncouth soldiers of the Army respect force, not kindness. Why let them disembark at all? Next time I will¡­ ¡±


    Nalesho gestured with his hand, signaling his aide to stop, and the aide wisely closed his mouth.


    The Navy Rear Admiral slowly sat down in a chair, supporting his knee, and took off his hat, saying with some emotion, ¡°You¡¯re mistaken, I was mistaken¡­ There are Gentlemen in the Army after all.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    After the Revenge Fleet arrived at Golden Harbor, an officer from The Glorious read a joint letter drafted by both Generals to all the fleet¡¯s personnel¡ªregardless of Army or Navy affiliation.


    The letter mainly spoke of three things:


    First, it clarified to all sailors the fleet¡¯s current situation and the insufficient mooring space at Golden Harbor, announcing that only twelve galleys would be docked for supplies, while other vessels must anchor offshore. It also declared that at any port unable to accommodate the fleet, the galleys will still be resupplied first, with no further notice.


    This was a plan initially devised by the Navy.


    Second, the Generals thanked all the officers and soldiers of the Army and Navy for their resilience and determination, many of whom had endured poor living conditions and still fulfilled their duties. Though the large ships could not dock, small boats could still transport supplies and personnel in limited quantities. The Generals decided to draw lots for twelve individuals from each vessel to go ashore for a day of rest as a reward. This drawing of lots would also occur at other ports in the future without any separate announcement.


    This was a solution offered by Antonio, the Major General of the Army, who said, ¡°Hope must be given to people. With hope, one can persevere.¡±


    However, neither of these points shocked the officers as much as the third.


    Navy Rear Admiral Nalesho and Army Major General Serviati announced the establishment of a joint command committee. The command of the Fleet and the Third Corps had been transferred to the joint command committee. All military actions against the Tanilia Federation will henceforth be the responsibility of the joint command committee, effective immediately.


    The committee was comprised of three voting members, with Nalesho and Antonio each occupying one seat. Both Generals had sent messengers back to the Vineta Military Committee, with the third member to be appointed by the Group of Thirteen.


    Army and Navy officers alike were stunned by the news: What, we¡¯re all one family now?

 Chapter 166 - 166 - 69: The Banquet

    Chapter 166 ¨C 69: The Banquet


    The lighthouse port bustled with extraordinary activity, as twelve oars-and-sails warships were docked at the wharf, with laborers transporting dry food and barrels of fresh water onto the ships. The sailors disembarked and pitched tents on the open ground of the harbor, made fires for cooking, and rested.


    Ever since leaving Vineta, the oars-and-sails warships¡¯ sailors could only drink cold water and eat dry hardtack that had lost its moisture. It was only after arriving at the lighthouse port that they tasted hot soup and fresh bread for the first time.


    Other lucky ones from the ships selected by lot also pitched camps and made fires on the shore, but they were strictly isolated from the oars-and-sails sailors and were not allowed to intermingle.


    It was the same with the sailors from the oars-and-sails ships; each ship¡¯s crew set up their own camp, and the lieutenants and midshipmen took turns patrolling, forbidding any sailor from leaving their ship¡¯s encampment on their own.


    All these measures were for epidemic prevention. Vice Admiral Nalesho, who had lived at sea his entire life, saw it as only a matter of time before a contagious disease broke out on the filthy, crowded oars-and-sails ships, and that it was inevitable no matter how hard one tried to avoid it.


    The only thing the vice admiral could do was prevent the spread of disease from the sailors on the oars-and-sails ships to the large sail ships.


    Outside the harbor, the rest of the fleet anchored.


    ...


    The entire fleet seemed irregularly moored at the anchorage, but actually followed an internal pattern.


    The Glorious and supply ships anchored on the innermost, the large merchant ships carrying the third legion¡¯s infantry anchored near The Glorious, and the navy¡¯s main force of large sail warships in the outer circle, protecting the merchant ships carrying infantry.


    The other light vessels of the fleet were placed by Vice Admiral Nalesho at the position farthest from the flagship, serving as the outermost layer and sentinels of the entire fleet.


    As night fell, the bustling port gradually quieted down, but the atmosphere aboard The Glorious gradually heated up as a grand banquet was being held on The Glorious.


    The temporary bulkheads on the gun deck had been torn down, and square tables were put together to form one long table, spanning from the prow to the stern.


    Antonio and Nalesho, the two admirals, sat side by side at one end of the long table near the prow, with other navy and army officers seated face to face, roughly placed in descending order of rank towards the stern.


    Using small boats, the navy transported freshly slaughtered cows, pigs, and poultry, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits, and fine wine from the harbor.


    The cooks on the ship truly outdid themselves that night, continuously presenting one dish after another from the ship¡¯s small kitchen to the long table.


    The preparation of these dishes was quite simple, involving only roasting and boiling. The meat was speared and roasted, while the vegetables and fruits were washed and served in dishes.


    But having fresh meat and vegetables on a ship was a rare treat, and everyone at the banquet was very happy, lavishing praise on the head chef for his skill, making the burly sailor blush with embarrassment.


    While the officers dined inside the cabin, the sailors on deck received double the usual ration of strong spirits in accordance with the Victory Festival standards and enjoyed roasted meat and vegetable soup delivered from the kitchen. Although they had no tables and chairs, their joy was no less than that of the officers.


    Winters had never attended such an interesting party; the venue was so dim, low, and simple: Winters¡¯s chair was backed against The Glorious¡¯s cannons, and the deck was not far above their heads, with dozens of candles on the table providing the only light in the cabin.


    There were no doily tablecloths, no fine porcelain, no silver and gold cutlery¡ªin fact, they didn¡¯t even have enough tableware. The Glorious had never hosted so many officers before, and by regulation, the officers could not use the sailors¡¯ eating utensils, so those sitting in the latter half of the long table had to eat their meat with their hands.


    Yet the atmosphere in the cabin was so warm and cheerful. To Winters, this seemed countless times more enjoyable than the pretentious receptions held by the Navarre family or the serious dining gatherings of the land forces.


    Who would have thought that the navy, so rigorous with its rules, would cast aside notions of hierarchy when it came to the dining table?


    Aboard The Glorious¡¯s gun deck, army and navy officers converged joyfully, and it was impossible to tell they were groups that normally looked down on each other.


    The officers didn¡¯t drink much, but their faces were flushed with happiness. Antonio was particularly witty, and from his end of the table near the prow, bouts of hearty laughter erupted frequently.


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and other warrant officers were seated at the far end of the table. They couldn¡¯t hear what the higher-ranking officers were saying, only the waves of laughter and thumping on the table.


    But being far away had its advantages; no one minded the manners of these low-ranking officers in training, and since all the dishes came from their end of the table, the few warrant officers could eat to their heart¡¯s content without regard for decorum.


    Andre passed his plate to Winters, piled high with meat like a stack of blocks. With his cheeks full, he chewed vigorously while speaking indistinctly, ¡°Eat¡­ eat this meat, it¡¯s cooked deliciously¡­¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t hesitate to push half of the roasted meat onto his own plate, raising his glass with a smile, ¡°To the cooks! To the flames in the stove! And to this pig!¡±


    Andre, grinning ear to ear, reached out with his glass for a clink.


    Bard, too, silently raised his glass for a touch, as he preferred not to talk while eating.


    Opposite the few army warrant officers, sat four or five youngsters who appeared to be only in their teens.


    One of them, with golden curls, struggled to break off a rib but lacked the strength, and the rib was unusually tough; no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn¡¯t budge.


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 Chapter 167 - 167 - 69 Banquet_2

    Chapter 167 ¨C 69 Banquet_2


    Winters stood up at the sight, took out a small knife, and pried off a rib along the seam of the bone to place it on the blond child¡¯s plate.


    The kid, dressed in a blue naval officer¡¯s uniform, stood up and said politely in a child¡¯s voice, ¡°Thank you, Your Excellency from the Army.¡±


    Watching these children, Winters thought of Benwei¡¯s brother, Xial, and thus he rolled up his sleeves and began to tear off pieces of meat from the roasted pig to distribute among the few children.


    Each of these children dressed in naval uniforms was very polite, rising to give thanks every time Winters placed meat on their plates.


    Although they were only eleven or twelve years old and hadn¡¯t even reached puberty, they belonged to the same military rank as Cage, as navy officer candidates, and Cage had been just their age when he first came aboard.


    This was Vineta¡¯s method of training officers, with the Army running military academies, while the Navy sent these eleven or twelve-year-olds directly onto warships. To the Navy, a warship was the best kind of military academy.


    These children left their parents at the age of eleven or twelve to live on ships. As trainee officers, they learned by the captain¡¯s side how to use sextants and nautical charts, how to navigate the wind and waves at sea, and how to earn the respect of sailors.


    ...


    By the time they reached twenty¡ªif they managed to endure the hardships of life at sea¡ªthey would become tough, tenacious men.


    Then they would be eligible to undergo the Naval Committee¡¯s assessment, and after passing, they would step into the true ranks of naval officers as lieutenants.


    But for now, these trainee officers before Winters were just children.


    ¡°Do you want anything else to eat?¡± Winters asked after he had filled each child¡¯s plate with meat.


    The blond curly-haired child exchanged glances with his companions, stood up again, and bowed slightly, saying, ¡°This is plenty, thank you.¡±


    Winters found the child even more endearing and reached out to pat his head, smiling, ¡°No need to be formal.¡±


    But this affectionate gesture only angered the little officer. The golden-haired child, who had been nothing but polite, swatted away Winters¡¯ hand in annoyance, ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like a child, I am a naval officer!¡±


    Winters laughed heartily. He was not only not offended, but he also found this little grown-up even more adorable.


    Andre stood up laughing too, lifting his wine glass and saying, ¡°On his behalf, I apologize to you, gentlemen of the Navy.¡±


    After speaking, he downed his entire glass of wine in one go.


    The blond curly-haired naval candidate officer, not to be outdone, poured himself a full glass of wine and drank it all in one tilt of his head.


    Winters punched Andre lightly, then bowed sincerely to the young naval cadets, ¡°I was presumptuous just now, my apologies.¡±


    Then, from the direction of the dinner tables at the bow, there came another round of raucous laughter. The Navy and Army officers were laughing so hard they were gasping for air, pounding the tables with their hands.


    The admiral stood up with a beaming smile, raising his glass high, and toasting aloud, ¡°To our lovers and wives¡ªmay they never meet!¡±


    This witty remark set off a fresh wave of hearty laughter in the cabin, and all officers raised their glasses in unison, ¡°To our lovers and wives¡ªmay they never meet!¡±


    Then everyone drank it all down.


    Suddenly, there came the sound of singing from above; the sailors on deck, having had their fill of wine and meat, began to sing a shanty in harmony:


    ¡°Back in the quiet homeland,


    Let the ocean roar, my friend!¡±


    Admiral Nalesho, caught up in excitement, followed the sailors¡¯ song:


    ¡°After countless storms,


    We¡¯ve safely reached the shore!¡±


    All the navy officers smiled at each other and stood up, joining in the singing:


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget your old shipmates!


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    La la la la la la la, aye-oh!¡±


    Antonio also stood, clapping his hands to the beat of the navy officers¡¯ chorus. Inspired by him, all the army officers stood up to clap along.


    ¡°We manned the guns together,


    We scrubbed the decks side by side,


    I cleaned the cannon while you loaded,


    And triumphant we returned from the fight!¡±


    After a few seconds of pause, the sailors on deck and the navy officers in the cabin sang together:


    ¡°After countless storms,


    We¡¯ve safely reached the shore!


    Don¡¯t forget your old shipmates!


    La la la la la la la, aye-oh!¡±


    Everyone refilled their glasses, waiting for the two generals to make the toast.


    But suddenly, as if from the distant sea, there came a sound like thunder.


    The festive atmosphere of the feast cooled rapidly, and the previously noisy cabin fell silent in an instant. The officers knew all too well what that sound was.


    ¡°Thunder, or cannon fire?¡± Winters suddenly realized, trying hard to discern the origin and direction of the sound.


    Then came a succession of thunderous booms.


    It was cannon fire, Winters was certain of it, and it was coming from the sea. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why would there be cannon fire? Could it be that the Tanilia Federation was repeating an old trick?


    The silent cabin became noisy again in an instant, the officers cursing as they searched for their swords and coats.


    ¡°Quiet!¡± Admiral Nalesho bellowed.


    All the officers in the cabin froze in place and turned to look at Admiral Nalesho.


    ¡°The Falcon and the Amelia reported that since the day before yesterday, two fast ships had been trailing us at a moderate distance. Therefore, General Serviati and I thought it better to create an opportunity for them to decide the battle with us than to go looking for pirates!¡± Admiral Nalesho said calmly, ¡°Tonight, the wind, the tide, and the formation are all disadvantageous to us. The pirates from the Federation must think they¡¯ve grabbed a godsent opportunity, and tonight we will take back the first blood debt!¡±

 Chapter 168 - 168 - 69: Banquet_3

    Chapter 168 ¨C 69: Banquet_3


    ¡°I declare Joint Command¡¯s First Order: Annihilate the enemy that comes tonight,¡± Major General Nalesho announced loudly, then he raised his glass, ¡°To victory!¡±


    Having said that, he finished his drink in one gulp and smashed the glass to pieces.


    Apart from a few senior officers, most of the officers only now realized what had happened. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Antonio also followed, raising his voice, ¡°To victory!¡± and drained his glass.


    Under Antonio¡¯s lead, all the officers lifted their glasses, and with expressions of worry, alarm, or calmness, they toasted.


    Major General Nalesho calmly said to his adjutant, ¡°Mr. Kalaman. Signal to beat the drums and prepare for battle!¡±


    The urgent beat of the drums began, and The Glorious entered battle readiness.


    ...


    The navy officers donned their uniforms, strapped on their swords, and rushed to their posts.


    The sailors poured into the ship¡¯s cabin, while tables, chairs, and dinnerware were quickly cleared from the gun deck. Andre held a plate with a gloomy expression, ¡°I haven¡¯t finished eating yet.¡±


    ¡°Throw it away, look at those few youngsters,¡± Winters said, pointing at the young naval officers.


    Though they had barely had a few bites of meat, they stood up and left the cabin without hesitation as soon as the war drums sounded.


    The sailors threw whatever was uneaten out of the gun ports into the sea, clearing the gun deck in less than a minute.


    Every officer and sailor on the ship returned to their posts and prepared for battle in an orderly fashion, while the army officers just stood there, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Centurions, go back to your ships and find your troops. The battalion commanders stay on The Glorious, awaiting assignments,¡± Antonio called the army officers over and ordered, ¡°Carry out the orders of the Joint Command.¡±


    Like waking from a dream, the army officers quickly left the cabin. At sea, the army had an officer on duty on each ship in rotation, while the other officers usually rested on The Glorious.


    The three warrant officers immediately ran back to their quarters in the stern castle to fetch their weapons, then found Captain Wilson of the lead battalions¡¯ hundredth.


    The sailors lit torches all over The Glorious¡¯s deck. Four small boats were lowered, taking the navy and army officers who had attended the banquet back to their own ships.


    Again, two signal cannon shots were fired, this time from The Glorious.


    The entire fleet was awakened by the sound of the cannons, and other ships also lit torches in succession, firing signal cannons in response to The Glorious.


    In the distant harbor, where the sailors had gone ashore to rest, they too heard the sound of the signal cannons. The port springs to life, with the sailors¡¯ encampment gradually transitioning from a few specks of firelight to brightly lit.


    Major General Nalesho stood on the forecastle, his hands clasped behind his back, silently counting the answering signal guns.


    An aide clambered up to the forecastle, excitedly saying, ¡°General, Drake really did come!¡±


    Major General Nalesho kept counting up to thirty before he replied, ¡°I¡¯ve waited for him a day and a half; if he didn¡¯t show up, it would mean I had overestimated him. The entire bay is swarming with spies, no matter who it is or where they make landfall, they can¡¯t hide the news, let alone that our ships have already spotted them.¡± Stay updated with empire


    Antonio also climbed onto the forecastle, shaking hands with Major General Nalesho in excited congratulations, ¡°Your Excellency, to think you could sway the enemy to act according to your plan across the vast ocean. Had you not informed me in advance, I would have thought you were improvising to reassure the troops.¡±


    ¡°It is indeed about reassuring the troops, the situation is still against us, and I wasn¡¯t sure before if Captain Drake would actually come,¡± Major General Nalesho replied with a wry smile. ¡°Captain Drake is a fanatic gambler, he doesn¡¯t miss any opportunity to bet small for big returns. Having acquired four of our warships, he had more to wager, but I had no certainty whether he would dare to come down and gamble.¡±


    ¡°Please don¡¯t be so modest, your grasp on Drake¡¯s mindset is beyond my imagination,¡± Antonio said with admiration.


    ¡°Because I am a gambler myself, and only a gambler understands what another is thinking,¡± Major General Nalesho said, his face devoid of any sense of joy. ¡°I am also betting the fleet against Captain Drake.¡±


    ¡°So, what do you need our army to do tonight?¡± Antonio asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± replied Major General Nalesho, somewhat embarrassingly. ¡°I will not call upon these twenty-one troop ships unless absolutely necessary. It¡¯s not that I underestimate your subordinates¡¯ combat power, but the sea is different from the land. If I can avoid using the Third Legion, I will try my best not to use it.¡±


    Antonio nodded and conveyed his understanding with a look.


    Major General Nalesho also nodded back appreciatively.


    In the distance, a light flickered over the sea.


    It was the outlying patrol boats. Nalesho had dispatched two light sailing ships, each under a hundred tons, to patrol the perimeter of the fleet¡¯s anchorage. They had just spotted the enemy fleet and fired a warning shot.


    The patrol boats were transmitting information to the flagship by means of light signals.


    The pattern of the light¡¯s shining and dimming represented a few scenarios that had been agreed upon in advance.


    The patrol boats repeated the message incessantly: Enemy ships, northwest, twenty to twenty-five vessels.


    The moonlight was dim, but on the dark sea surface about two kilometers away, one could still make out the vague shapes of ships.


    The enemy had arrived.

 Chapter 169 - 169 - 70: The Gambling Table

    Chapter 169 ¨C 70: The Gambling Table


    What is the most important quality for a gambler?


    Some may say it¡¯s ¡°luck¡±, while others may assert it¡¯s the wisdom to ¡°quit while you¡¯re ahead¡±.


    But a true gambler only loses because of bad luck, not because of good luck. If they win, they credit their own skill.


    As for ¡°quit while you¡¯re ahead¡±? Such people hardly qualify as gamblers at all. A true gambler stakes the winnings again as capital, until left with nothing.


    Self-declared gamblers believe that seizing the moment is the most crucial ability at the table. A shrewd gambler can grasp fleeting opportunities and must own the courage to bet it all, to sweep the prize pool.


    As one of the master sail makers of the Tanilia Federation, Frank Drake might be a hopeless gambler, but even his enemies would applaud his knack for seizing the moment in battle.


    And tonight¡¯s opportunity was truly once-in-a-lifetime. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The rowing battleships, constituting half the Vineta Fleet¡¯s main force, were resting in the harbor, while outside the anchorage lay only eleven large sailing ships, a few small and swift sailboats, and twenty-one merchant vessels carrying army officers and soldiers.


    To the east of the Haidong Port anchorage lay miles of treacherous reefs and shoals. Unless the navigator knew these dangerous waters like the back of his hand, the entire fleet risked being annihilated once inside.


    At this moment, strong northwest winds were blowing in from the sea. The tide turned, the evening tide surged toward the coast, and darkness fell. Drake¡¯s fleet, riding the northwest wind, firmly held the upper hand, benefiting from both time and place.


    But if the avenging fleet faltered slightly, they could be swept by wind and waves into the eastern waters. Once driven there, they wouldn¡¯t need Drake¡¯s fleet to act¡ªthe ocean itself would teach the Venetians about its dangers.


    Land officers like Winters knew nothing of this; when they heard the drumbeats rising from the ships and saw all sailors preparing for battle in an orderly fashion, they just felt their blood boiling, eager for a fight.


    But naval officers¡ªespecially senior officers like captains¡ªunderstood the sea and were keenly aware of nature¡¯s mighty force.


    The very survival of the fleet now depended on Vice Admiral Nalesho. The palms of all captains were sweaty with anticipation, hoping the vice admiral was not all talk and actually had a clear plan.


    Aboard the flagship The Glorious, everyone gradually fell silent, turning their gaze toward the quarterdeck, where the fleet¡¯s supreme commander stood.


    Vice Admiral Nalesho atop the quarterdeck had an inscrutable look on his face, his hands tightly gripping the ship¡¯s rail, head unturned as he commanded, ¡°Mr. Kalaman?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± the first officer snapped to attention reflexively.


    ¡°Relay my orders to all ships, with The Glorious as the lead. Set course due north, weigh anchor and set sail!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°You all heard the vice admiral¡¯s orders!¡± Kalaman shouted across the deck: ¡°Lower the boats! Set course due north! Hoist the staysails! Move it!¡±


    The previously still deck buzzed back to life with Nalesho¡¯s orders.


    The boatswain¡¯s whistle sounded, sharp and clear, two short then two long¡ªnow even the sailors who hadn¡¯t heard the first officer¡¯s orders understood what the whistle meant.


    Signal lanterns at the stern lit up, transmitting commands to the entire fleet through established sequences of flashes.


    About two dozen sailors deftly climbed the rigging, securing block and tackles. On deck, sailors raised the staysails between the masts with coordinated effort.


    Winters recognized this kind of sail; the first mate on the Thief¡¯s Seagull had taught him that with this triangular sail, a ship could sail against the wind.


    But the sailors¡¯ next moves puzzled him as two small boats were lowered from the side into the sea, and the deck crew busily tied ropes between the ship¡¯s bow sprit and the boats.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Winters asked Cage, puzzled.


    ¡°Heavy warships must be anchored into the wind for stability,¡± Cage explained. ¡°But to raise anchor, boats must first be used to adjust the ship¡¯s direction, or the wind could spin it around uncontrollably.¡±


    ¡°Row, lads! Pull hard!¡± bellowed the flushed-faced boatswain.


    The sailors aboard the small boats rowed vigorously, gradually turning the bow of The Glorious to the north, roughly at a right angle to the wind.


    Twelve sailors pushed the capstan with fierce determination, their faces contorted, muscles taut, and bodies nearly tilted onto the deck. Accompanied by a grating noise, the anchor, sunken in the seabed, was slowly lifted.


    When the anchor left the bottom, the ship jerked forward. Previously, the anchor and sails had been locked in a tug-of-war; suddenly released, the sailboat began to steadily gain speed.


    ¡°The vice admiral is taking us north, avoiding the eastern reefs,¡± Cage swallowed nervously. ¡°This is too dangerous¡­ too dangerous¡­¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the danger?¡±


    Pointing to the wind-billowed sails, Cage said, ¡°The wind and waves are both driving us east. At night, it¡¯s impossible to discern direction. We may think we¡¯re heading north, but find ourselves drawn closer to the east. The Glorious is the guide; if its course is wrong, it could lead the entire fleet to catastrophe.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t know what Nalesho¡¯s plan was, but he had studied the assault on Haidong Port thoroughly. The Tanilian commander had used diversionary tactics to concentrate forces and defeat the port¡¯s defenders, moving swiftly, ripping off a piece and withdrawing, leaving Vineta Army¡¯s reinforcements grasping at air. Experience more content on empire

 Chapter 170 - 170 - 70 Gambling Table_2

    Chapter 170 ¨C 70 Gambling Table_2


    Such a splendid example of battle is seldom seen even in military school textbooks. And the man who commanded this battle is now leading his fleet toward The Glorious. Does he intend to give the Vineta Fleet a chance?


    As the Revenge Fleet was anxiously weighing anchor to set sail, the Tannilian Fleet to the northwest had already closed to within a kilometer of the Vineta Fleet, and at this time, the anchor of The Glorious had not yet been raised from the water.


    The silhouettes of the Tannilian vessels were becoming increasingly clear, five imposing ships at the center, with smaller ones flanking them. Unlike the brightly lit Vineta Fleet, Drake¡¯s ships did not have even a hint of light, and the twenty or so shadowy warships advanced in a crescent formation toward the Vineta Revenge Fleet.


    Cage counted the Tannilian warships: ¡°I count twenty-one. Five big ones, probably the ones we lost at Haidong Port, and the rest look like armed merchant ships.¡±


    ¡°We have more than forty ships, they only have twenty, if we can¡¯t win this, the navy might as well disband,¡± Andre said disdainfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Cage shook his head. ¡°The galleons are ashore for repairs, and the troop transports are useless now. It¡¯s not forty against twenty, but ten against twenty-one. Our warships are of better quality, but the wind and environment are against us. If we can get alongside, we might stand a chance¡­¡±


    Winters cut Cage off and pointed to the enemy¡¯s ships, asking, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they lighting their lanterns?¡±


    ...


    ¡°To maintain concealment,¡± Cage answered.


    ¡°But obviously we have already spotted them!¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡± Cage was also puzzled; he looked at the approaching enemy fleet, and his expression suddenly changed: ¡°No, no! Is there something in front of the big ships?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yells from Admiral Nalesho also came from the bow: ¡°No time to weigh anchor now, cut the anchor cables! Signal all ships to cut their anchor cables! Let your men climb the masts and set all the sails!¡±


    Winters also saw what the dark shadows in front of the Tannilian warships were:


    They were small boats and skiffs, numerous small boats and skiffs.


    From a distance, the shadows of these small boats overlapped with those of the big ships, and only as they drew closer could their true forms be seen.


    The central large ships of the Tannilian fleet suddenly furled their sails, but the ships on both wings continued on, six on each side undeterred.


    Stay tuned with empire


    ¡°Sound the alarm gun to inform the port! Have the caravel sailing ships go over¡­¡± Admiral Nalesho¡¯s tone was rushed, lacking his usual calm and steadiness.


    On the sea surface to the northwest, a spark first appeared, followed by a blaze of light across the sea. These small boats, filled with pitch, firewood, and straw, and temporarily fitted with masts and sails, all caught fire at once; the pitch-dark sea turned blood-red from the flames, like hell itself.


    The two wings of the Tannilian Fleet, the suddenly emerged six large ships, also burst into flames. The six blazing ships, laden with raging fire, along with the smaller arson vessels, formed a wall of fire on the ocean. Pushed by the strong winds and waves, they drifted toward the Vineta Fleet relentlessly and unmercifully.


    The Tannilian warships lowered their topsails and followed the sea fire wall leisurely.


    ¡°The Tannilians are bloody [sailor¡¯s curse] mad! [Curse] using their big ships as fire ships!¡± Cage cursed furiously, ¡°The most precious thing at sea is the ship! The ship¡­¡±


    The Glorious fired the alarm gun three times in succession, with the ships paying no attention to their sequence of movements and directions anymore.


    There was no time to raise anchor; the anchor cables were cut directly. The sailors climbed the masts hurriedly, releasing all the sails, wishing to even tie their handkerchiefs to the yardarms.


    The fire wall advanced menacingly; the three fast sailing ships stationed on the fleet¡¯s outer edges didn¡¯t avoid it. Instead, they set up red flags and moved aggressively towards it.


    They headed for the wall¡¯s right flank, with the sailors enduring the scorching heatwaves as they cast grappling hooks, originally meant for boarding operations, at the three large fire ships on the right flank.


    After the grappling hooks latched onto the fire ships¡¯ hulls, the three caravel sailing ships immediately adjusted their sails, trying to direct the fire ships toward the northern open sea to buy time for the fleet. The hooks, burning hot from the flames, made the ropes smoke and then burn. The sailors doused the ropes with seawater and cast more grappling hooks.


    The Tannilians would not simply watch these few small ships disrupt their plan, and the bow guns of the Tannilian warships immediately opened fire on the small vessels.


    Wood chips flew aboard the caravel sailing ships, and cannonballs gouged bloodied furrows through them. Nevertheless, the valiant Vineta sailors gritted their teeth and stubbornly dragged the three large fire ships off course.


    Admiral Nalesho gripped the ship¡¯s rail tightly, looking out to sea, his hands a network of bulging veins.


    The three large fire ships on the right were being dragged away, but the other three on the left and the smaller boats in the center were still heading straight for the Vineta Fleet. The escort ships had exhausted all their strength, yet the massive and sluggish fleet remained within the fire ships¡¯ path, with the distance shrinking to less than a hundred meters.


    The Day of Judgment for the Vineta Revenge Fleet had arrived, and it was inevitable.


    On the bow deck of the Tannilian Fleet¡¯s central warship, Captain Frank Drake looked out at the distant and formidable Glorious.


    He gazed at the bow of The Glorious, knowing that Nalesho had to be there.


    ¡°Mr. Nalesho, I¡¯ve shown my hand; now it¡¯s your turn,¡± Drake murmured to himself.

 Chapter 171 - 171 - 70 Gambling Table_3

    Chapter 171 ¨C 70 Gambling Table_3


    On the deck of The Glorious, Kalaman¡¯s first mate pleaded anxiously with Admiral Nalesho, ¡°General, please take refuge on the Siren; leave this to me.¡±


    Nalesho¡¯s facial muscles twitched slightly as he shook his head.


    ¡°You are the commander of the fleet, your duty is to direct the entire fleet, not to share the fate of the flagship.¡±


    Nalesho said through clenched teeth, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Mr. Drake to come up with such a large scale of fireships, it was my oversight. Such a number of ships couldn¡¯t possibly have been gathered at the last moment, he must have been preparing from long ago¡­ but since I dared to sit at this gambling table, I also have my stake.¡±


    Kalaman¡¯s first mate, sweating profusely with urgency, said, ¡°Now is not the time to be thinking about gambling¡­ ¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of war drums thundered over the sea.


    Nalesho let out a manic laugh of turning the tables. He laughed hysterically like a gambler who, left with just one silver coin, had hit a thirty-six fold on the roulette. Pointing crazily toward the southwest part of the sea, he exclaimed, ¡°My stake is here! Hahaha, my stake has arrived! Signal the fleet, lower the square sails, steer west, break through the fireships, and head straight for the enemy!¡±


    ...


    From the southwest, accompanied by the earth-shaking sound of war drums, twelve paddle sail warships burst forth from the Lighthouse Harbor.


    ¡°Push harder! Beat it with all your might! Row with all your strength! Let everyone know, Spire has arrived!¡± Captain Spire, standing at the bow of the Golden Lion, drew his sword and roared, ¡°All hands! At my command! Three cheers!¡±


    ¡°Huzzah!¡±


    ¡°Huzzah!¡±


    ¡°Huzzah!¡±


    The sailors on deck roared along with the captain, each shout louder than the last.


    When the captains of the other paddle sail warships heard the battle cry from the Golden Lion, they issued the same order.


    For a moment, cries of valor broke through the skies as the twelve paddle sail warships charged with formidable momentum toward the flank of Tanilia¡¯s fleet.


    The wind was not in their favor, but it didn¡¯t matter, for the paddle sail warships were not using any sails at the time.


    The waves were against them too, but that also didn¡¯t matter, because the paddle sail warships had oars.


    The oars on both sides of the paddle sail ships, like the wings of a bird, ceaselessly flapped on the water¡¯s surface, slapping the waves with each stroke.


    The Golden Lion¡¯s first mate personally took up the drumsticks, using all his strength to beat the large drum of the size of a round table, dictating the rhythm of the rowers¡¯ strokes. Armed with a whip, the second mate and officers patrolled below decks, severely punishing any rower who dared to slack off at this moment.


    Three paddle sail warships split off from the charging line and headed for the three large fireships on the left flank.


    As they neared the fireships, the drum beat on the paddle sail ships abruptly changed to a rapid sequence.


    The rowers, hearing the drumbeat, thrust their oars into the water and held them firmly in place, increasing the resistance of the ship and causing a sudden deceleration. When close enough to the fireship, the sailors at the bow strenuously threw grappling hooks.


    Then, the drumbeat on the paddle sail ships changed again, this time to a slow rhythm at half beat. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon hearing the drumbeat, the oarsmen began to row in reverse. Accompanied by the splashing oars, the galley slowly backed up, dragging the fire ship to one side.


    The entire process was smooth and swift, leaving Winters aboard The Glorious dumbfounded; he had never imagined that cumbersome galleys could perform maneuvers as agile and delicate as horsemanship.


    Rear Admiral Nalesho also revealed his trump card.


    Indeed, galleys were not suited for long voyages or combat on the high seas amid fierce winds and waves. However, this anchorage outside the lighthouse harbor was the perfect place for them to show their prowess.


    The Confederation¡¯s spies saw the galleys anchored in the harbor, with the oarsmen remaining on board and the sailors going ashore to rest. They assumed that these warships could not be readied for battle in a hurry and would need several hours to regroup.


    Little did they know that the sailors had strictly camped according to their assigned warships, prohibiting any personnel movement. In case of an emergency, they could quickly assemble and board by ship.


    All of this was not only to give the sailors rest but more importantly, to feign weakness and unpreparedness to the enemy, creating an opportunity for Drake.


    In Drake¡¯s view, Nalesho had only ten warships at his disposal. If he could defeat these ten ships, the twelve galleys in the harbor could not escape either.


    The remaining troop transports would be like meat on the chopping block, ready to be eaten as desired.


    These two dozen or so warships were Vineta¡¯s last assets; by devouring this fleet, the Inner Sea would belong to the Tanilians. Without ships, the Venetians¡¯ dreams of crossing the sea for an expedition would be mere wishful thinking.


    Rear Admiral Nalesho never believed that just transporting the army to the islands was enough; he never considered himself a mere transporter. His core strategic idea had never changed¡ªit was encapsulated in the phrase ¡°fleet decisive battle.¡±


    The mere existence of the Tanilian fleet was a threat to the Venetians. In Nalesho¡¯s opinion, a decisive fleet battle was necessary to resolve the issue. Rather than chasing the shadows of the Tanilian fleet across the sea, it was better to find a way to make them come to him. Stay connected via empire


    The viper had now slithered out of its nest, coiling around his arm, but it had to be killed.


    ¡°Captain, what do we do?¡± asked Drake¡¯s first mate, panic-stricken.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Even with a few more galleys, we still have no fewer ships than they do,¡± Drake kicked a chair flying: ¡°Raise the flag! Vineta¡¯s main force is now being tugged by the fire ship; let¡¯s deal with these galleys first, then we¡¯ll turn to Nalesho!¡±


    Drake drew his cutlass, walked to the edge of the forecastle, and looking at the sailors in disarray on deck, he roared: ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Our ships are still more numerous than theirs! If you¡¯re scared now, your descendants will become slaves to the Venetians! For freedom! For gold! Tonight, I¡¯ll lead you to earn more money than you could in a lifetime!¡±


    The morale of the sailors aboard the ¡°Revenge¡± had nearly collapsed with the appearance of the galleys, but spurred on by Drake¡¯s words, they found their fighting spirit reignited, returning to their stations with eyes blazing and shouting.


    Sailing ships can¡¯t go directly into the wind, but they can sail at a sharp angle with the wind direction.


    The wind blew from the northwest; The Glorious had initially sailed north for a distance before, upon receiving Rear Admiral Nalesho¡¯s orders, the helmsman put all his strength into pushing the rudder in the opposite direction.


    With inertia, The Glorious turned ninety degrees into the wind, heading westward with its bow aimed straight at Drake¡¯s flagship.


    In the chaos, it was difficult to pass the orders to all the ships, but The Glorious¡¯s actions served as the best command¡ªthis was the significance of a flagship.


    Seeing the flagship turning to charge into the center of the enemy¡¯s formation, the other warships also turned their bows. They no longer avoided the fire ships but instead charged through the flames toward the Tanilian fleet.

 Chapter 172 - 172 - 71 Sea Battle

    Chapter 172 ¨C 71 Sea Battle


    On board Revenge, Drake bellowed orders, ¡°Signal all ships to turn about, follow Revenge! We¡¯ll devour these galleons first! Do not board, shoot to sink them with cannons!¡±


    Revenge was one of the five warships Drake had seized from Haidong Port; the Venetian navy thought there were only four, but actually, the fifth had escaped to the sea and was also captured by the Tanyrians.


    Even though it was clear that warships with higher freeboards and castles held an advantage in boarding combat, Drake knew all too well that his pirate crew lacked the capability to endure casualties in brutal close combat¡ªthey could only fight with the wind at their backs.


    Once the enemy boarded their ships and turned naval combat into brutal hand-to-hand combat, the pirates¡¯ morale would collapse immediately.


    The Tanyria fleet turned about and charged towards the Venetian galleons.


    The captains of the Venetian galleons also attacked the Tanyria fleet, and the distance between the two sides rapidly closed.


    The characteristic of galleons was like a wolf: iron prow and brass stern with a weak midsection.


    ...


    Because of the oars on the sides, the galleons could only attack head-on from their bows, where the hardest timbers, largest-caliber cannons, and boarding ramps were placed.


    The gunwales were the most vulnerable part of the galleon, with only a few small-caliber swivel guns. This area was not only the weakest in firepower but also in structural integrity. A single fierce ram from a large sail ship aimed at this area could snap a galleon in two.


    As the two fleets sailed head-on, the pirates impatiently fired the bow cannons at the galleons as soon as they were within range.


    Your journey continues at empire


    A cannonball, hitting at a steep angle, bounced off the sturdy fore castle of the Golden Lion.


    Another galleon, White Eagle, wasn¡¯t so lucky. A cannonball shot straight from the prow into the deck. It passed through four sailors and stopped only when it hit a fifth. The cries of agony from the fore castle of this ship could be heard by nearby ships.


    A sailor with a terrifying hole torn through him did not die immediately, but cried out heart-wrenchingly. Those beside him embraced him but were at a loss for what to do. The White Eagle¡¯s first mate immediately drew his knife and mercifully ended the sailor¡¯s suffering. The cries ceased, and there was no other sound from the fore castle of the White Eagle¡ªapart from the beating of the drum.


    Despite sustaining a round of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons did not return fire. The drums roared, and the Venetian galleons steadily approached their enemy.


    Spire stayed by the side of the cannons at the bow of the Golden Lion, not in the safer stern castle like other captains, his hand gripping the iron spike that was heating in the brazier.


    The Golden Lion had only one chance to fire its cannon, and Spire trusted only himself.


    The warships drew ever closer, and the Venetian galleons entered musket range. The Tanyrians¡¯ larger ships crackled with gunfire, but the Venetian galleons still did not fire their cannons.


    ¡°To the right! See that ship with the black flag?¡± Spire, practically lying on the cannon¡¯s recoil bed, didn¡¯t blink as he stared down the barrel and said to his first mate, ¡°I hate ships with black flags the most.¡±


    The flag on the right side of the castle was hoisted, and upon seeing it, the helmsman immediately turned the rudder to the right.


    By now, the distance between the Golden Lion and the black-flagged large ship was less than twenty meters and the Venetian sailors could make out the beards of the Tanyrians.


    At the cannon¡¯s recoil bed, muzzle, and black-flagged large ship¡ªthree points in a line.


    ¡°Now!¡± Spire plunged the red-hot iron spike into the touch hole.


    The two-ton cannon, pushed back to the end of the slide by the recoil, made the ship tremble. Accompanied by an ear-ringing roar, the bow was shrouded in smoke.


    A massive stone projectile left the cannon muzzle and flew towards the black-flagged ship.


    With scant cannon positions, the galleons made up for their lack of numbers with firepower, often fitting three to five heavy cannons on the bow.


    But the Golden Lion mounted only one cannon, with a caliber so large it was astonishing. Spire insisted that it was better to have one significantly larger cannon than three smaller ones. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This huge cannon positioned on the Golden Lion¡¯s bow was no ordinary cannon but an old-fashioned stone-thrower used in sieges. Not only was it extremely heavy and tedious to load, but it also had poor accuracy, capable of missing even targets as large as city walls.


    Therefore, Spire had to get close enough¡ªso close that ¡°the muzzle could press against the enemy¡¯s forehead,¡± close enough to ensure he would not miss¡ªbefore firing.


    With countless drawbacks, this cannon had only one advantage: power.


    What were warships compared to a wall it could demolish?


    The nearly two-hundred-pound stone projectile, like an angel of death, whistled as it shattered all wood and flesh that stood in its path. The black-flagged ship was smashed at the waterline, a gaping hole upon entry and another as the projectile left.


    Seawater rushed into the hold, and amid the pirates¡¯ screams, the black-flagged ship began to list.


    The sailors on the Golden Lion let out a deafening cheer.


    The Golden Lion¡¯s initial cannon fire was a signal; the bow cannons on the other galleons roared in unison.


    Cannonballs shot into the Tanyrians¡¯ bows, reaping lives in the holds. Another large sailing ship was breached below the waterline, sinking at the bow, and sailors scattered, leaping into the sea to flee.


    After a volley of cannon fire, the Venetian galleons and the Tanyrian fleet charged into each other¡¯s formations, engaging in close-quarters battle.


    Although the Venetians dominated the initial exchange with their bow cannons, the low profile of the galleons exposed a critical disadvantage in the boarding combat that followed.

 Chapter 173 - 173 - 71 Naval Battle_2

    Chapter 173 ¨C 71 Naval Battle_2


    The tall ship¡¯s superstructure was like a wall to the galleys, with the Tanilia raining shots down on the galley from on high.


    On the crowded decks of the galleys, the Venetian sailors had no protection and nowhere to hide, only able to return fire with muskets and crossbows amidst enemy lead.


    The deck became a battleground, and the sailors became musketeers, as a duel of projectile weapons unfolded upon the high seas.


    The Venetian captains all knew that their only hope of victory was boarding. To continue this fight, morale on the galleys would surely collapse first.


    Officers on the galleys urged the rowers to row furiously, trying to approach the enemy¡¯s large ships from the front, where the firepower was weakest.


    Meanwhile, the Tanilia tall ships tried to maintain their distance as much as possible, bombarding the galleys with the cannons mounted along their sides.


    A Tanilia armed merchantman was caught off guard and ensnared by grappling hooks thrown by the White Eagle. The Venetian sailors pulled hard on the ropes, drawing the vessels ever nearer.


    ...


    The hooks bit deep into the hull and couldn¡¯t be dislodged. The Tanilia sailors tried to cut the ropes, only to discover that behind the hooks trailed two-meter-long chains.


    The Venetians, to prevent their grappling hooks from being cut, had replaced the two meters of rope behind the hooks with riveted chains.


    A brave sailor climbed the chain, intending to cut the rope behind it, but as soon as he showed his head, he was shot dead by a musketeer from the White Eagle. Other Tanilia sailors hacked frantically at the bulwarks, trying to chop off the iron hooks and the railings together.


    But it was too late; the boarding plank from the bow of the White Eagle was lowered, its hook biting into the merchantman¡¯s side, locking the two ships together.


    A piercing whistle blew, and the Venetian sailors charged onto the merchantman, initiating a gruesome melee.


    At the same time, on the western side of the battlefield, a galley was being attacked by three Tanilia ships.


    The Venetian galleys were at a disadvantage not only in their design but also in their numbers.


    The cannons on the sides of the tall ships roared and snarled, sending one cannonball after another flying out of their barrels, splintering the galley with wood shards and sending flesh flying. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The captain and first mate of this galley had both died, and the remaining junior officers were unable to reorganize the sailors amidst the chaos.


    The living stacked corpses into a wall, with only a few brave souls continuing to fire back.


    The rowers ceased following orders and sought any tool they could to unshackle the chains binding them.


    Some jumped into the sea, intent on abandoning ship, but the people on the big ships showed no mercy, shooting at them with muskets relentlessly.


    Outside the Lighthouse Port, a bloody and fierce melee raged. Amid the smoke produced by burning gunpowder, the sounds of gunfire and battle cries were intermixed, with limbs, bodies, and wooden debris floating everywhere on the sea. Discover hidden content at empire


    Spire had no interest in those armed merchantmen, only warships were worthy adversaries for the Golden Lion. The sea glowed red with fire, and in the night, the silhouette of a tall warship was especially distinct.


    A few armed merchantmen fired at the Golden Lion, but Spire paid them no heed.


    He immediately ordered the Golden Lion to change course, leveraging the galley¡¯s powerful close-range maneuverability, to find a path through the chaotic battlefield and pounce on that tall warship.


    The lookout on the Revenge noted the galley rapidly approaching, and Drake immediately ordered a turn to the southeast, dropping full sails, ready to meet the enemy with the right broadside.


    The cannons thundered, a dozen cannonballs flying towards the Golden Lion.


    Wails of agony arose from the ship, but the Golden Lion simply beat the drums louder, and its speed somehow increased even more.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    At the same time, on another side of the battlefield.


    No one could have imagined Nalesho recklessly leading the charge through the fireships, not Tanilia, and certainly not the Venetian navy.


    The small ship carrying flames rode the wind, pulling up a firewall between the two fleets.


    A normal captain at the sight would steer clear of the fireship, sailing southeast first, then circling back to the battlefield when a safe distance had been established.


    This was also the original plan, to force the Vineta Fleet towards the dangerous waters to the east using the fireships, with their own fleet in pursuit to eliminate any escapees.


    Even if an unexpected twelve galleys sallied out from Lighthouse Port, the Vineta Fleet would still be driven towards the shallows under fire, while Drake would pick them off one by one¡ªthe galleys first, then strangling the Vineta¡¯s main force ships that might escape from the deadly waters, if they could.


    But Nalesho was not normal, and he was also the biggest gambler in the Venetian navy. He chose the shortest route, aiming directly for Drake¡¯s flagship, the Revenge.


    The roaring blaze was frightening, but it was even more terrifying to see someone marching into the inferno willingly. From a dozen meters away, everyone on the deck of the Glorious felt the scorching heat wave.


    ¡°God, save me!¡±


    ¡°This is hell! We¡¯re going to hell!¡±


    On the deck, some prayed fervently, while others knelt, mumbling profanities.


    ¡°Get back to work, you cowards!¡± the surly boatswain blew his whistle, slapping and prodding the praying sailors back to their posts with slaps and sticks: ¡°Never see you praying at other times! What¡¯s the use of feigning piety now, you dogshit! Just do your job! Old Nick never loses!¡±

 Chapter 174 - 174 - 71 Sea Battle_3

    Chapter 174 ¨C 71 Sea Battle_3


    Captain Wilson of Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s 100-man squad also exchanged a look with three warrant officers. Winters and Bard picked up the trembling, chanting soldiers from the ground. Andre was even more brutal; whenever he saw soldiers praying with their weapons dropped, he struck their faces hard with his fists.


    As the navy and army were busy regrouping their morale, The Glorious closed in on the fire ship. The sails, dried out by the heatwave, caught fire from the sparks rising with the hot air even before touching the fire ship.


    The sailors, shouting aloud, rushed towards the bow, throwing sea water prepared in advance onto the burning sails.


    ¡°Pour water on the sails quickly! Don¡¯t stop!¡± the boatswain screamed at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°The 100-man squad! On my command, assist the navy with water retrieval!¡± At Wilson¡¯s order, the three warrant officers and all the soldiers set to work fetching water. The ship was already stocked with stacks of empty buckets, which just needed to be lowered into the sea with ropes to draw water up.


    The Glorious plunged into the inferno, smashing headlong into a sampan. Accompanied by the grating sound of breaking wood, the burning sampan was crushed into the sea by The Glorious, leaving only a few charred planks behind.


    The sailors at the bow let out a cry of joy.


    ...


    But soon after, no one could laugh anymore.


    The fire ships, which had sidled up to The Glorious from the bow, had not been swept under the ship; instead, after hitting The Glorious, they clung tight to its hull, not moving an inch even when slapped by the waves.


    The bows of these fire ships were half buried with one-foot-long sharp iron nails so that once they hit a warship, the nails would penetrate the hull, firmly fixing the fire ships to the warship.


    The Glorious hit three fire ships in succession, its resistance greatly increased with the burden of three ships, causing her speed to falter.


    A smell of charred wood drifted through the air, and terrifying crackling and popping sounds came from below the bow. It was unclear whether it was the sound of the sampans burning or if The Glorious¡¯s hull had caught fire.


    First Mate Kalaman sprinted to the stern, no longer caring to use honorifics: ¡°Midshipman Cage! Take men down with you!¡±


    Cage saluted and, without a moment¡¯s hesitation, tied a rope around his waist. The sailors beside him, disregarding rank and status, picked up buckets of water and drenched him from head to toe. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After getting soaked, Cage led a dozen sailors down the ropes at the bow and scooped up sea water with their buckets to douse the flames on the sampans. The guns at The Glorious¡¯s bow had also been moved, and the sailors leaned out of the gun ports to pour water onto the fire ships.


    Following the lead of The Glorious, three other forward ships also broke through the wall of fire, attacking the Tanilia fleet with the fire ships stuck on them.


    The sea wall made of fierce flames and wood was forcibly breached, and the ships behind decisively turned and passed through the opening at this ¡°maritime impasse.¡±


    ¡°General! The fire at the bow can¡¯t be put out! We can barely keep it under control,¡± reported First Mate Kalaman, gasping for breath.


    ¡°If it can¡¯t be extinguished, then it can¡¯t be extinguished! Even if it¡¯s the fires of hell, it will take time to consume my ship completely,¡± Nalesho said, his face flushed with excitement, gripping Antonio¡¯s arm. ¡°General Serviati, The Glorious may not make it, but there¡¯s a new ship right in front of us.¡±


    The Navy Rear Admiral pointed to Drake¡¯s flagship: ¡°The Vengeance is right before us, The Glorious is gone, we¡¯ll seize Drake¡¯s flagship for ourselves!¡±


    Your journey continues with empire


    ¡°The Vengeance has lowered all sails, General! Drake seems to be running away!¡±


    ¡°No, Drake won¡¯t run, and neither will I!¡± Nalesho sneered. ¡°Do you think a gambler would leave the table to cut his losses? No, they wouldn¡¯t. A gambler would bet everything he has left to turn the tide! We and Drake have both put all our chips down, winner takes all! Raise the flag of no return! All hands prepare to board!¡±


    A giant red triangular flag was hoisted up the mast of The Glorious.

 Chapter 175 - 175 - 72 Boarding

    Chapter 175 ¨C 72 Boarding


    Pirates on the inland seas would tell each other that there were three things on the high seas that were the most terrifying:


    sea fortresses equipped with heavy artillery, wind blowing from the bow, and oar-sailed ships during windless conditions.


    There was actually an implied meaning in this saying, although oar-sailed ships were fearsome during windless conditions, they were only really feared when there was no wind.


    That¡¯s because large sail ships would be immobilized during windless or weak wind conditions.


    But if there was a good wind, then the oar-sailed ships were nothing to fear. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the quarterdeck of The Revenge, Drake swung his cutlass and bellowed commands, ¡°Lower full sail! Move with the wind!¡±


    At least a quarter of the cannons hit their target, and the sailors on The Revenge could even vaguely see the mist of blood spewing from the enemy ship.


    ...


    However, the oar-sailed ship closing in seemed like a monster impervious to pain, unaffected, with the rhythm of its drums not faltering, only growing louder.


    The drumsticks struck not only the drum skins but also the fragile nerves of the pirates.


    The Golden Lion made its final sprint.


    The helmsman on The Revenge put all his might into pushing the helm while sailors climbed the masts, cutting the ropes directly with their cutlasses without bothering to untie them.


    All the sails were unfurled on the three masts, catching the full wind, and The Revenge began to accelerate.


    Trying to intercept The Revenge, the Spire missed its target, and the ships dangerously brushed past each other, with the Golden Lion almost colliding at full speed with the side of The Revenge, getting within three or four meters at the closest point.


    Now, The Revenge had turned to starboard of the Golden Lion, where the firepower was weakest.


    And the Golden Lion had fallen astern of The Revenge, where the heaviest artillery was located.


    Drake sprinted to the interior of the quarterdeck, gathering all his gunners there.


    Under the stern yelling of the master of rigging, the pirates on The Revenge frantically reloaded the stern cannons.


    The tables had turned, the prey had become the hunter, and the wise move should have been to maintain speed, to pull away from the enemy by moving in opposite directions.


    But Spire, his vision red, refused to give up. Under his command, the oarsmen on the right of the Golden Lion rowed forward, while those on the left rowed backward, turning the oar-sailed ship with a small radius on the water and continuing the relentless pursuit.


    With shouts, the sailors raised two triangular sails. The oar-sailed ship had not only oars but sails as well. With the addition of two more sails, the speed of the Golden Lion also began to increase.


    ¡°Captain! We can¡¯t chase any longer!¡± Seeing the situation spin out of control, the first mate of the Golden Lion, who was supposed to be on the quarterdeck, left his post in desperation and rushed into the forecastle, ¡°The wind is too strong, even with sails, we can¡¯t catch a full-rigged sail ship¡­¡±


    He hadn¡¯t finished speaking when he was interrupted by the thunderous cannon fire from The Revenge.


    A cannonball skimmed low over the forecastle, boring into the rowers¡¯ benches. The thirty-two-pound cannonball knocked down a row of rowers after gliding halfway through them before smashing a large hole in the wooden hull.


    In an instant, screams of agony filled the Golden Lion.


    ¡°Good shot! Reload quickly!¡± Drake pulled out a Gold Coin and rewarded each gunner on the position with two apiece, causing the surrounding sailors¡¯ eyes to bulge with desire.


    Drake, now invigorated, raised the Gold Coin in his hand and asked the surrounding sailors, ¡°Want it?¡±


    The sailors greedily eyed the gold in Drake¡¯s hand, and nodded vigorously.


    Yet, Drake raised his hand and threw all the gold coins through the gun port into the sea.


    The sailors gasped, but Drake snarled, ¡°You bunch of wastes! What¡¯s this bit of gold? Blown on a bottle of good wine, a couple of wenches, then you¡¯d still have to come back to scrub the deck! Ever seen the finest whores in Golden Harbor? Big tits, big asses, but faces like the Virgin Mary! Have you wastes ever been with one?! Can you afford it?¡±


    The cabin fell silent, with only the heavy breathing of the sailors audible.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking you lot to earn not this small change, but big money! Money beyond your wildest dreams!¡± Drake shouted hysterically, ¡°Money enough to last a lifetime! Money to take as many whores as you want! Win this battle, take the Venetian ship, sell it off, and I¡¯ll lead you to buy all the booze in Golden Harbor! Now, man the cannons and blast those Venetians to hell!¡±


    The pirates roared back to their stations, red-eyed, exerting twelvefold strength to clean the barrel and reload the ammunition.


    ¡°Captain, we can¡¯t chase anymore! If we go forward, we hit the fireships! This ship has been driven off the battlefield; it¡¯d have to take a long way around to rejoin the fight. Let¡¯s pick another target!¡± The first mate of the Golden Lion wracked his brains to find an excuse for Spire, trying to convince the stubborn captain to give up his current prey.


    Another succession of heavy cannon shots rang out, narrowly missing, and shooting up several meters high water spouts.


    Everyone on the Golden Lion heard a ¡°thump¡± from below the waterline, as if the hull had been hammered hard.


    A cannonball had struck the hull below the waterline, and the sailors listened in terror to the noise below the deck, but nothing happened, as the cannonball failed to penetrate and was repelled by the hull.


    If the cannonball had been a little faster or the angle a bit sharper, the Golden Lion would have had a large hole below the waterline, and everyone would have had to abandon ship.


    They were lucky this time, but could they be this lucky again?


    Spire punched the bow gun, ¡°Trim the sails, turn right, we¡¯re going back!¡±


    The first mate received the order and immediately ran to the quarterdeck.


    Spire glared at the flagship of the Tanilia fleet, his eyes filled with unwillingness to give up.


    Just as the first mate was about to change course at the quarterdeck, he heard the captain from the bow roar, ¡°No turning! Charge straight at the enemy ship!¡±


    The first mate looked ahead and saw a terrifying warship emerge from the fiery sea and thick smoke.


    Its sails were adorned with fire serpents, its prow topped with flames, like a warship returned from hell, charging straight toward The Revenge.


    Nalesho stood at the prow, his features contorted, howling, ¡°Raise the desperado¡¯s flag! All hands prepare to board!¡±


    On the mast of this fiery warship, a huge red triangular flag was hoisted.


    It was the red flag once raised by the ¡°Sea Beggars¡± of Venetia when they made surprise attacks on the Empire¡¯s supply ships.


    This was the red flag hoisted by the nascent Venetian navy as it charged toward the madman Richard¡¯s fleet blockading Guidao City.


    This battle-worn, tattered red flag, riddled with bullet holes and scorched marks, was the Venetian navy¡¯s relic, a privilege solely reserved for the flagship of the open-sea fleet.


    When this red flag was raised on the flagship, it signified that the fleet commander believed the final moment had come, that the fleet¡¯s existence hung by a thread, and that the Venetians would never retreat, even unto their last drop of blood.


    Even the most cowardly of sailors would be spurred into courage upon seeing this banner.


    This was more than just a flag; it was also the spirit, hope, and backbone of the navy.


    The first mate pounded the drum hard as Golden Lion powered forward, flanking Tanilia¡¯s flagship together with The Glorious.


    A sharp whistle rang out on the deck of The Glorious, where the fierce boatswain distributed weapons to the sailors, shouting, ¡°Prepare to board! Grip your weapons! Wait for the captain¡¯s order!¡±


    Aside from the boarding crew, who also served as the ship¡¯s marines, it was not permissible for other sailors to carry arms during a normal voyage; only before boarding combat were sabers and spears distributed.


    Antonio found his subordinates: ¡°Officers from the gunnery department, take men to the gun deck! There are no gunners on board now.¡±


    Several officers saluted and turned to descend into the cabin.


    Antonio then called another name: ¡°Captain Wilson!¡±


    The commander of the first cohort of the chief brigade stood at attention and saluted.


    ¡°Which cohort is under your command?¡±


    ¡°Reporting to the general, the spearmen!¡±


    ¡°Switch your men to daggers, and lead your cohort to board!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Other officers stay on The Glorious, suppress the enemy ship¡¯s deck with your matchlock guns!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The situation was urgent; Rear Admiral Nalesho ordered The Glorious to take the enemy flagship directly, but he had forgotten that The Glorious was not its usual self, as the ship had been temporarily converted into a command vessel. Stay updated through empire


    The Glorious, ordinarily manned by over five hundred thirty sailors, now had fewer than two hundred on board. To make more room, The Glorious had neither brought along gunners nor the boarding crew, keeping only the deck sailors necessary to keep the warship operational.


    Fortunately, there were more than one hundred fifty army soldiers from the first hundred of the third legion¡¯s chief brigade on board,


    Winters, Bard, and Andre assisted Captain Wilson in mustering the soldiers of the first hundred. The army¡¯s long pikes were impractical to form phalanxes on the cramped ship.


    The distance to the Revenge grew closer, and the figures of the pirates on Revenge¡¯s deck became distinctly visible.


    The sailors and soldiers on The Glorious ran around the deck like headless flies, shouting aimlessly. They felt the need to do something, but didn¡¯t know what they were supposed to do.


    Three warrant officers, each holding a bundle of sailors¡¯ knives, handed out weapons wherever they saw an unarmed sailor amidst the chaotic deck.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re an officer or a soldier, anyone with a matchlock gun must go onto the platform by the mast!¡± Antonio calmly distributed tasks to his subordinates: ¡°Wilson! Rally your men on deck! Everyone else get to the gun deck and load the cannonballs!¡±


    At this point, the Revenge was being cornered from two sides by The Glorious and the Golden Lion. Drake had not expected Nalesho to actually carve a path through the fire ships.


    ¡°Hard starboard! Turn southward!¡±


    Frustrated by the helmsman¡¯s slow response, Drake seized the helm himself.


    He intended to turn south and leave the two Venetian ships behind, but it wasn¡¯t going to be easy.


    The Revenge¡¯s speed was too high, resulting in a very large turning radius, and the full starboard turn caused the ship to list severely. High-speed turning was extremely risky, especially for a warship with a high center of gravity, which could capsize if not handled carefully.


    The hull of the Revenge creaked loudly as it began to list to the left during the swift starboard turn.


    ¡°All hands to starboard!¡±


    Upon hearing the order, the sailors all moved to the starboard side, gradually stabilizing the ship.


    Drake exerted all his skill to maneuver the Revenge¡¯s turn, but the ship¡¯s large windward side, strong winds, and waves kept moving it southeastward.


    The distance between the two ships had shrunk to barely over twenty meters, and it was closing even more.


    At this moment, the soldiers and sailors on The Glorious clenched their weapons, standing stiff in anticipation.


    Captain Wilson¡¯s knuckles had turned white from gripping the hilt of his knife too tightly. Andre, with a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile, watched Winters and Bard and gestured with his chin toward Wilson¡¯s right hand.


    For the three warrant officers, who had experienced a boarding battle before, their hearts and breaths still accelerated uncontrollably, but they were not as nervous as they had been the first time.


    The boatswain, bearing a grim expression, carried a machete in his left arm and a bucket, cursing as he scattered something unknown across the deck. Any sailor who got in his way received a kick.


    It wasn¡¯t until what was being thrown about landed near Winters that he realized the bucket contained sawdust and sand. After a moment of thought, he understood the purpose of the two substances.


    Sawdust could absorb blood, and sand could increase friction. Scattering these on the deck would prevent people from slipping on too much spilt blood.


    At that moment, it seemed that only this ill-tempered boatswain knew what to do.


    The two ships drew closer, side by side. As the helmsman pushed the wheel, The Glorious steered to ram into the Revenge.


    Grappling hooks were thrown, and cries of battle erupted.


    The boarding battle commenced between the flagships of the two fleets.

 Chapter 176 - 176 - 73: Loss of Control and Fury

    Chapter 176 ¨C 73: Loss of Control and Fury


    When The Glorious launched its grappling hooks, the two warships immediately commenced a long-range exchange of fire. Heavy muskets, light muskets, harquebuses, fuse-lock muskets, and even steel crossbows and stones¡ªwhatever was available was used.


    The sound of gunfire popped like exploding beans, with both sides desperately trying to send more bullets and arrows onto the enemy¡¯s ship.


    The army officers who had climbed onto the platform had received orders from the legion commander, ignoring those enemies with muskets and instead focusing on suppressing the opponent¡¯s swivel guns.


    Several arms stretched out from behind the hull of The Revenge, attempting to cut the grappling hooks. However, as the distance between the ships narrowed, for every hook that was cut, two more latched onto The Revenge¡¯s gunwales.


    Venetian sailors chanted cadence as they pulled on the ropes, dragging The Revenge closer to the side of The Glorious.


    A few extraordinarily strong sailors hurled iron bombs onto the deck of The Revenge like discus throwers; after several consecutive explosions, agonized screams erupted from The Revenge¡¯s deck.


    Winters crouched behind the gunwale, dodging stray bullets and arrows, waiting for the command to board. Several stray bullets even struck the hull in front of him, but could not penetrate the two-inch-thick oak boards.


    ...


    Suddenly, all sounds from The Revenge ceased in a mysteriously silent way.


    The gunfire, battle cries, curses¡ªall sounds disappeared, even the screams.


    Crouched behind the gunwale, Winters noticed that the enemy ship¡¯s long-range fire also ceased along with the silence.


    He peered out and saw that all the lights on the opposing ship had been extinguished. With the firelight from The Glorious, he couldn¡¯t see anyone on the deck of The Revenge.


    This quiet, dark ship exuded an eeriness as if it were a ghost ship.


    More and more people on The Glorious realized something strange about the adversary¡¯s ship; an excited sailor shouted, ¡°We¡¯ve killed them all!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The fierce boatswain rushed over and slapped the sailor across the face, then immediately ordered the other sailors, ¡°Extinguish all the lights on the ship! Move quickly!¡± S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since they couldn¡¯t see the enemy, The Glorious¡¯ gunners also ceased their firing. The two ships slowly approached each other in this sinister, eerie atmosphere.


    When the ships were only a few meters apart, Kalaman, the first mate, loudly commanded, ¡°Lower the gangplanks!¡±


    Gangplanks protruded from the bow, waist, and stern of The Glorious, resting on the gunwales of The Revenge, securing the two warships together.


    Kalaman stood up, drew his saber, and roared, ¡°Long live Wildcard Nick!¡±


    [Huzzah for Wildcard Nick!]


    [Wildcard Nick was Nalesho¡¯s nickname.]


    The sailors let out a thunderous cheer.


    Kalaman charged first, and the sailors surged behind him onto the deck of The Revenge.


    Wilson, the captain, called out the battle cry of the 3rd Corps: ¡°Long live Great Vineta!¡±


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and all the soldiers yelled ¡°Kazar!¡± in response to the captain, following Wilson onto the deck of The Revenge.


    Yet the deck of The Revenge was still deserted, deathly silent.


    That same sailor, unconvinced, said, ¡°We really did kill them all!¡± Read chapters at empire


    A massive ¡°boom¡± resounded, with dozens of grapeshot creating a storm of flesh and blood on the deck of The Revenge.


    The Tanilians pushed the heavy cannon into a position facing their own deck, and with one shot took the lives of a dozen Venetians.


    With the thunderous sound of the heavy cannon as the signal, gunfire erupted, and The Revenge launched a full counterattack.


    From the gun and cannon ports in the forecastle and quarterdeck, dark muzzles extended, sloping their ammunition onto the deck where the Venetians were.


    At the gun deck of The Revenge, cannons fired at close range into the hull of The Glorious. Since The Glorious didn¡¯t carry gunners and skipped the process of cannonade exchange in favor of boarding, The Revenge¡¯s gunners were right on the ship.


    This close-quarter combat was the moment when the warship¡¯s short-barreled cannons could unleash their maximum destructive power, with sixteen and thirty-two pounders roaring and blasting terrifying holes into the hull of The Glorious.


    ¡°What are your men doing?!¡± Antonio furiously yelled at Colonel Kongtai¡¯er from The Glorious¡¯s poop deck: ¡°Not attacking the quarterdeck, just hiding behind cover waiting to die?¡±


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, ¡°Suddenly attacked, it¡¯s human instinct to hide in a safe place.¡±


    The deck of The Revenge was in chaos, sailors and soldiers felt innumerable bullets heading their way; the land and naval forces mixed together, both sides losing organization.


    ¡°They¡¯re in the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck! Attack the quarterdeck!¡± Captain Wilson, furious at the sight of his men hiding behind cover, began dragging those crouched behind debris on the deck, ¡°Don¡¯t fucking hide here! Go attack the¡ª¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, a lead ball pierced his neck from the left side, shattered his vertebrae, and created a horrific wound on the right side of his neck.


    Wilson¡¯s body slumped, falling onto the deck of The Revenge.


    ¡°First, shoot all those dressed in officers¡¯ uniforms!¡± Drake laughed heartily from within the quarterdeck: ¡°Reload, reload quickly!¡±


    In land combat, officers would be protected within the ranks, but in the close-quarters fighting on the deck, those dressed in fine uniforms were exceedingly conspicuous.


    The crew of The Revenge felt an odd sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, as this tactic of cowering inside the ship¡¯s decks was clearly invented by the navy.

 Chapter 177 - 177 - 73: Out of Control and Frenzy _2

    Chapter 177 ¨C 73: Out of Control and Frenzy _2


    In the past, when pirates on the Inner Sea attempted to join up with the Venetian navy, even if the pirates had a numerical advantage, as long as the navy holed up inside their ship towers, the pirates could do nothing about it.


    Fortified within the sturdy ship towers, the Venetian navy could fight two or even three to one and defeat the pirates of the Inner Sea.


    But now, the situation was completely reversed; the pirates were ensconced in the ship towers, while the navy was getting battered on deck.


    Winters saw a spray of blood burst from Wilson¡¯s neck, and despite the lead flying about, he rushed to the captain¡¯s side. However, it was to no avail; the captain was already dead.


    With the Centurion fallen, the command system of the hundredth squad had collapsed, and someone needed to step forward to replace Wilson.


    Amongst the cacophony of musket fire, cannon fire, wails, and cries on the deck, where nothing could be made out clearly, a deafening voice drowned out all others.


    ¡°Attack the ship tower! Everyone attack the ship tower!¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    For the first time, Winters used all his magic power to cast a spell amplifying his voice, bellowing, ¡°Third legion to the aft! Sailors attack the bow!¡±


    General Taylor was right! The most useful spell on the battlefield really was the amplifying spell!


    Killing spells were of little effect in a battle of hundreds or thousands. How many could a spellcaster kill? Ten? A hundred? Five hundred? However, an amplifying spell could organize soldiers on a chaotic battlefield to kill for you.


    ¡°First hundred! Follow me up!¡± Bard roared as he grabbed two soldiers crouching behind barrels and charged toward the stern tower.


    Andre, sword in hand, followed him, shouting, ¡°Kill them!¡±


    Winters repeated himself three times, having used all his magical power to amplify his voice for the first time, the intense phantom limb pain making him feel as if his body had been inflated like a skin bag three times.


    He could barely stand, his hands shook uncontrollably, and his skin all over his body secreted sweat uncontrollably.


    Fortunately, all the Venetians had already heard the three undeniable orders, and heard them very clearly. Sailors and soldiers needed someone to tell them what to do, and they heard Winters¡¯ command.


    At first, a few took the lead, but the majority followed the instructions. Sailors rushed toward the bow tower, the first hundred toward the stern tower.


    ¡°It¡¯s sorcery! Witchcraft! Black magic!¡± An enraged Drake, grabbing the collar of the cannoneer beside him, shrieked hysterically; he had just witnessed the Venetian soldiers on the deck, who had been on the verge of a morale collapse, find their backbone again.


    Drake pushed the cannoneer back to the cannon, ¡°Fire the cannon! Fire! Kill those witches!¡±


    Winters smashed his thigh hard with the handle of his knife, using the real physical pain to suppress the phantom limb pain. After regaining a semblance of lucidity, he got up and ran towards the stern tower.


    At that moment, in the vicinity of the stern tower, the attack by the hundredth squad had met with frustration. The ship towers on warships were fortresses on the sea, and the soldiers of the hundredth squad, armed only with daggers, had no siege weapons.


    Andre was banging on the ship tower¡¯s door with another tall soldier, but the wooden door didn¡¯t budge.


    Meanwhile, on the second and third floors of the ship tower, people kept shooting down at the army soldiers with muskets. Bard had no idea from which corpse he had snatched a matchlock gun and was struggling to load it.


    ¡°Stop banging! It won¡¯t open! They must have barricaded it inside!¡± Winters grabbed Andre.


    ¡°Then what do we do? Do you hold me up and I climb through the second-floor window?¡± Andre asked, not knowing what else to do.


    ¡°Looking to die? The pirates would chop off your hand the moment you climb the muzzle!¡±


    ¡°Well, what the hell do we do?¡± Andre was completely out of options.


    Winters thought hard about the structure of The Glorious. This ship was a warship seized by the pirates, and its structure must be much like The Glorious¡¯. ¡°Find the entrance to the ship¡¯s hold! The hold and the ship tower are connected!¡±


    ¡°Sir! Over here!¡± a soldier shouted, ¡°It won¡¯t open¡ªit¡¯s been blocked from the inside.¡±


    Winters strode over; on the deck was a square entrance about a meter and a half on each side, with a wooden board firmly propped against it, sealing off the ship¡¯s hold entrance.


    ¡°Anyone weighing over 160 pounds, get on! Hurry!¡± Winters stood on the board covering the hold entrance, pulling Andre up as well, while other tall and sturdy soldiers were also hauled onto the board by him.


    Bard, leading a few soldiers who knew how to use muskets, suppressed the shooters above, covering Winters and the others.


    ¡°Follow my count of one and two, everyone jump together! Jump hard, jump high!¡± The situation was urgent and Winters couldn¡¯t afford to explain. He shouted the order, ¡°When I say two, jump!¡±


    ¡°One, two!¡± The men jumped at different times, and the board creaked.


    Understanding Winters¡¯ intention, Andre sternly scolded, ¡°Whoever XX doesn¡¯t jump in sync, I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°One, two!¡± The board groaned in pain, and it seemed like there were sounds of snapping from below as well.


    ¡°One, two!¡± The men¡¯s jumps became more coordinated, almost landing simultaneously.


    ¡°One, two!¡± With a loud crash, the board and the beams supporting it from below snapped altogether, and everyone standing on the board fell into the hold.


    ¡°Ah! Ah! My arm!¡± One of the soldiers cried out in pain.


    There was no time to check his injury, as Winters got up and looked inside the hold.


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    The pirate gunners on the lower gun deck, hearing noises from the hold entrance, approached confusedly; suddenly, they saw six or seven soldiers fall from above and were stunned.

 Chapter 178 - 178 - 73: Out of Control and Frenzy_3

    Chapter 178 ¨C 73: Out of Control and Frenzy_3


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters, weaponless, lunged at the Tanilian facing him.


    The pirate gunner was bowled over by Winters¡¯ tackle at the waist. Winters, disregarding other enemies nearby, desperately pounded his fists into the man¡¯s face and throat.


    The other soldiers, coming to their senses, charged the enemies on the gun deck and the fight ensued.


    The gun deck, less than two meters high, saw other soldiers one after another jumping down, sparking a bloody battle aboard.


    The slender pirate beneath Winters, his nose and throat smashed by several punches, was bloodied and dazed. Instinctively, he reached for Winters¡¯ face and neck, frantically trying to gouge out Winters¡¯ eyes.


    Dirty hands left bloody trails across Winters¡¯ face¡ªthis was not battle, just two desperate men struggling to survive.


    The violent side of Winters¡¯ nature was ignited. He ignored the hands attacking him, pinned the pirate down with his knee pressed against the man¡¯s chest, pulled out the curved knife from the pirate¡¯s waist, and slit the pirate¡¯s throat.


    ...


    The poorly maintained knife made the sensation of cutting flesh all the more intense. Holding down the spine of the blade, he dragged the edge from base to tip, the wound deep enough to reach the spine, almost severing the pirate¡¯s head.


    The pirate gunner instantly gasped for air. Winters delivered another chop to the neck, breaking the bone. Stepping on the torso and pulling the hair, he tore the last bit of flesh between head and shoulders, decapitating the pirate.


    Winters, drenched in blood like a Blood Man, held the pirate¡¯s head in his left hand, and the curved knife in his right, roaring as he searched for a new opponent. The pirates on the gun deck, scared witless by this demonic slayer, scrambled towards the lower decks in complete terror.


    ¡°Damn! You¡­ I¡¯m going to have nightmares for a month!¡± A deep male voice rang out as a pair of large hands took the pirate¡¯s head from Winters and tossed it aside.


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    The speaking officer took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Winters¡¯ face, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to carry an unflattering nickname for life, you little rascal, best do less of this in the future.¡±


    Regaining his composure, Winters recognized the face¡ªit was one he had seen only briefly before, Captain Spire of the Golden Lion.


    It turned out that after the Golden Lion drew alongside the Revenge, they encountered a predicament: the Revenge¡¯s gunwales were too high for the Golden Lion¡¯s boarding plank to reach.


    Helpless, Spire ordered the plank hung from a gun port, and he had just led his men through the cannon embrasure into the Revenge¡¯s gun deck when he witnessed the scene before him.


    Winters looked around, and saw soldiers and sailors lowering their heads in fear, not daring to meet his gaze.


    He breathed heavily, struggling to suppress the turbulent bloodlust in his chest.


    Bard came over, put an arm around Winters¡¯ shoulder, patted his back, and signaled him that it was okay.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation on the ship now?¡± Spire asked directly, without mincing words.


    ¡°Tanilians are holding the cabin. I¡¯m thinking of attacking from the hold,¡± Winters replied succinctly.


    ¡°You take your men to clear out any remaining enemies in the hold. Leave the enemies in the cabin to my men,¡± Spire looked Winters in the eye and asked, ¡°Any problems with that?¡±


    Andre was somewhat reluctant, but Winters had no interest in competing for glory with Spire at that moment. Since the other was willing to chew on the tough bone, all the better. He signaled to Andre that it was fine, and Andre grunted but said no more.


    ¡°Then the deck is yours,¡± Winters nodded to Spire.


    Spire glanced at the young man in front of him, saluted a land officer for the first time in his military career, ¡°Stay safe, after this fight I¡¯ll buy you a drink.¡±


    Having said this, he turned and led his crew towards the ladder to the cabin, shouting to his men, ¡°A Gold Coin for each head! But leave that bastard Drake to me!¡±


    The crew of the Golden Lion continued to emerge from the gun ports, and one sailor, passing by Winters, handed him a water skin.


    Winters didn¡¯t see who it was. He felt incredibly thirsty but resisted the urge to drink, instead handing the water skin to his soldiers.


    Warrant Officer Montaigne of the Third Legion, First Company, Hundredth Squad, temporarily in command, wiped the blood off his knife and addressed his men, ¡°Come on! Follow me and let¡¯s finish off the rest.¡±


    S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 179 - 179 - 74 Conclusion

    Chapter 179 ¨C 74 Conclusion


    The sea had returned to calm, with the waves sweeping away planks and severed limbs, leaving hardly a trace of the fierce battle that had raged just the night before outside Lighthouse Harbor.


    Only on the sandy beaches along the port, the charred keels of two fire ships were still smoking.


    ¡°¡­in the name of God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit, we commit their bodies to the deep, waiting for the sea to resurrect them in death, to enjoy eternal peace and tranquility in heaven,¡±


    aboard The Glorious, Centurion Nalesho was giving the final eulogy.


    After a brief memorial service, the bodies of the sailors were sent into the sea from a plank covered with the military flag.


    Such was life on board, where everything was frugal and rudimentary, and the rituals and moral concepts of land didn¡¯t apply. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without coffins or graveyards, the fallen sailors were sealed in burlap sacks filled with stones, then ¡°delivered¡± to the sea. The living had to be busy with living, continuing their struggle on the harsh and perilous seas.


    ...


    At this moment, Winters was outside Lighthouse Harbor City leading the remaining soldiers of the hundred-man squad in digging graves.


    Antonio, who had always given way, refused to budge at the funeral and would not accept the time-saving and more efficient sea burial, insisting on burying the bodies of the Third Legion¡¯s fallen soldiers on land.


    Army men weren¡¯t sailors; sailors were used to all this and could calmly accept the sea as their final resting place. But Antonio couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t tolerate anyone throwing his soldiers into the sea to feed the fish.


    After the death of Captain Wilson, Winters temporarily took over as the centurion of the hundred-man squad.


    The position of centurion could only be held by a formal officer, so Winters was only standing in until the army headquarters sent a new official to replace him.


    Although as the beneficiary of the situation it was difficult for Winters to voice criticism, he still perceived a severe flaw in the current military officer system¡ªthe lack of redundancy.


    In a hundred-man squad with only one officer, the entire squad would lose organization if that officer fell, and the man taking over had to wait for a replacement from the army headquarters, making the entire command system delicate and fragile like an egg carving.


    However, considering himself just a lowly warrant officer, Winters thought it was better to let those above worry about these matters; he just wanted to quickly finish digging these dirt pits.


    A mere tens of hours prior in the sea battle, the Vineta Navy had had the last laugh.


    After The Glorious engaged with Revenge, the other naval warships following The Glorious did not come to aid the flagship.


    The captains made a cool judgment that there were more pressing places for them on the battlefield, and they could only trust that The Glorious would triumph over Revenge in their duel.


    As the Vineta main fleet broke through the fire ships, the oar-sail warships were trapped in a tough fight.


    Being outnumbered, when a Vineta oar-sail ship laid its boarding ramp onto a Tannilian warship, one or more other Tannilian warships would fire their cannons at her.


    This resulted in the oar-sail ships not only having to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Tanyria warships directly ahead but also suffering cannon fire from behind.


    The arrival of the Vineta main battle fleet completely changed this situation, as their oar-sail ships no longer had to fight two-on-one, and the warships started to engage in one-on-one duels.


    When the sea battle turned into a seesaw fight on crowded decks, trading blow for blow, the side with thicker nerves and more immunity to pain won the victory.


    In the end, the Tanyrians could no longer bear such bloody combat¡ªthey were not navy men; they were just a fleet cobbled together from pirates, adventurers, and speculators.


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    With dreams of plunder and rewards, they¡¯d taken to the sea, but when they realized they could not win this fight, all Tannilian warships began a desperate race to escape.


    Revenge had not yet given up its resistance when the Tannilian fleet had already completely collapsed.


    The pirates that could flee dropped their full sails recklessly, using strong winds and waves to push their speed to the limit as they blindly fled toward the dangerous waters to the east.


    However, Spire did not get his wish fulfilled, for Drake had escaped.


    Time returned to tens of hours before.


    On the fiercely battling Revenge, the lower level of the sterncastle had been overrun by sailors from the Golden Lion, but the way to the second level could only be accessed through a narrow ladder that would not allow the sailors to advance easily, stalling their momentum.


    At the ladder entrance to the second level, Drake swung his cutlass, chopping into the neck of a Vineta sailor, then kicked the now limp body down the stairs, laughing wildly, ¡°Stop sending your pathetic underlings up to die, Spire! If you¡¯ve got the guts, come up here and fight me one-on-one!¡±


    Spire below, of course, wasn¡¯t going to trust Drake¡¯s bluffs, and since he was steadily gaining an advantage, he became even more unhurried, ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush; in fact, I relish the idea of slowing down time to enjoy your despair a bit longer! Hahahahaha! But don¡¯t you dare jump down yourself¡ªI won¡¯t duel you even if you do!¡±


    Drake¡¯s voice grew increasingly frantic, ¡°Coward! Weakling! [Incoherent vulgarities]!¡±


    The dirtier the insults from above, the louder Spire laughed, as if he were enjoying Drake¡¯s final moments of madness.


    However, silently, he gestured to his crew, instructing them to dismantle two of the swivel guns on the gunwales and carry them into the cabin of the Golden Lion.


    Spire carried on trading barbs with Drake; meanwhile, he swiftly loaded the swivel guns with ammunition.


    ¡°Just you wait, I¡¯m coming up!¡± screamed Spire as he aimed the swivel guns at the stairwell.

 Chapter 180 - 180 - 74 Finishing Up_2

    Chapter 180 ¨C 74 Finishing Up_2


    ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you! [Swear word]!¡± Drake cursed viciously as he lit the fuse of the iron pot filled with gunpowder in his hand; he had been stalling Spire with talk precisely to buy time to make this makeshift bomb.


    As the hissing iron pot was thrown down the staircase, the two swivel guns loaded with grapeshot that Spire had brought over also fired, sending dozens of nut-sized pellets flying into the second deck, where immediate screams ensued.


    In the moment the swivel guns fired, Spire also noticed the object hurled down from above; he immediately ran towards the lower decks, and as he shouted, ¡°Run!¡± the iron pot exploded, its force clearly felt even by those aboard The Glorious nearby.


    ¡°You¡­ you XX are really despicable!¡± Amidst the smoke-filled sterncastle, Spire cursed for the first time during the exchange.


    ¡°Hmph, aren¡¯t you the same?¡± Drake replied with a sneer.


    ¡°Too bad your iron bomb exploded in halves and wasn¡¯t very powerful; it was just a loud noise.¡±


    ¡°Your cannons hit the wood and hardly injured anyone.¡±


    ...


    Deep down, these sworn enemies knew all too well that they were essentially the same: Drake was Tanilia¡¯s Spire, and Spire was Veneta¡¯s Drake.


    Silence fell in the sterncastle, with only the sounds of combat echoing from elsewhere on the ship.


    ¡°Surrender, Drake. You¡¯re at a dead end, and you certainly won¡¯t live, but I assure you a swift end without the indignity of capture,¡± Spire said, genuinely sincere this time.


    Above decks, Drake, pressing on the wound in his arm caused by the swivel gun, instinctively wanted to utter some harsh rebuttal, but suddenly felt disheartened.


    Spire was right: aboard the Revenge, the Venetians were unstoppable, and the Tanilian fleet on the sea was crumbling¡ªDrake had been utterly defeated. For the first time in his life, he truly understood what it meant to be at the end of his rope.


    Drake gripped his cutlass once more, grinding his teeth as he said each word, ¡°You¡¯ll never capture me alive!¡±


    In the moment the cutlass touched his own throat, Drake heard one of his men shouting, ¡°A ship! It¡¯s ramming us!¡±


    Into the deep night, a large, black-sailed ship silently entered the battle scene from the northwest. It didn¡¯t join the melee, instead heading straight for the Revenge¡¯s starboard side, and collided at full speed with the Golden Lion.


    With the force of the violent collision, the large ship brutally struck the middle of the Golden Lion. The huge inertia caused the ship to mount right atop the Golden Lion, its bow raised high, the weight of the entire ship transferred to the keel and ultimately to the body of the Golden Lion.


    The Golden Lion was desperately groaning as it broke in two amidst the painful creaking of its hull.


    A group of boarders swung from the large ship onto the Revenge¡¯s deck, and the leader, armed with four revolving pistols and wielding twin cutlasses, swept through the Venetians on deck like a tempest. Discover more content at empire


    Drake recognized this uniquely shaped large sail ship, and even more so the berserker dancer of twin blades. He laughed wildly, as if saved from certain death and shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the Phoenix! Captain Kenway is here! Hahahaha! You¡¯re all going to die!¡±


    Drake¡¯s remaining men, upon hearing the name Phoenix, reignited their will to fight and followed Drake down to the decks below.


    However, Spire and the crew of the Golden Lion had already been driven back into the cabins by the Phoenix¡¯s boarding team. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Drake, grasping the shoulder of the boarding team¡¯s lead man, said crazily, ¡°In the end, you still came to my aid! Nalesho is right there on that ship, let¡¯s go obliterate them all! We haven¡¯t lost this battle yet!¡±


    The man removed his hood, revealing none other than the legendary captain and master of rigging, Edward James Kenway, who had tried to stop the war until the very last moment.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to back you up,¡± Edward said, dispensing with pleasantries and knocking out Drake with a fierce punch.


    Taking Drake with them, the Phoenix¡¯s boarding team quickly returned to their own ship and sailed away.


    The entire assault was as swift as lightning, and by the time the officers on The Glorious could react, the Phoenix had already rescued Drake.


    Warships pursuing the fleeing enemy reported sighting a black ship entering the reef-strewn waters. No ship dared to follow the Phoenix into the reef area; to the Venetian sailors, a ship entering the reef was as good as sunk, and there was no point chasing further.


    The battle was a resounding victory: at the cost of losing seven Venetian galleys and three large sail ships, the Vineta Fleet captured four warships including the Tanilian flagship Revenge, five armed merchant ships, and sunk or burned one warship and three armed merchant ships. The remaining Tanilian ships fled into the Dead Sea area east of the Lighthouse Port, their fate unknown.


    The warships stolen by the Tanilians from Haidong Port had all been recaptured or sunk.


    The Tanilians could no longer muster a fleet capable of confronting the Venetian navy head-on.


    It was indeed a grand victory.


    The loss of three large sail ships resulted from being ignited when breaking through fire ships; the flames couldn¡¯t be controlled, leading to the entire crew abandoning ship.


    Fortunately, The Glorious was not burned down. The Revenge¡¯s gunners targeted The Glorious¡¯s waterline with heavy cannon, causing The Glorious to take on water and sink.


    As the hull began to sink, the panels nailed to the bow also sank into the water, extinguishing the fire on the fire ship. The Glorious¡¯s sailors, fighting for their lives, plugged the holes below the waterline and snatched the fleet flagship from the brink of sinking.

 Chapter 181 - 181 - 74 Conclusion_3

    Chapter 181 ¨C 74 Conclusion_3


    And so, The Glorious miraculously avoided disaster by a twist of fate, prompting a sigh of reflection.


    Just as Nalesho had said, those twenty-one troop transports watched the entire naval battle from a distance, serving no practical purpose.


    The evening following the Lighthouse Port naval battle. Discover hidden tales at empire


    ¡°There really was no helping it.¡± Cage sprawled out on the bed, speaking carelessly, ¡°We didn¡¯t count on them from the start. When those troop transports were requisitioned, they came with their original captains and sailors, who of course preferred to save their own ships.¡±


    Cage now had a bald head with a startling gash on his scalp, stitched with more than a dozen sutures.


    As expected, with the merits from this battle, he would smoothly be promoted from officer candidate to lieutenant¡ªthe navy had lost a batch of officers and urgently needed to fill the gaps.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s more to it than that,¡± Bard said thoughtfully, ¡°I think for your navy, the captain¡¯s initiative is very important. Army officers are used to obeying orders, while navy captains often make their own decisions. Last night when The Glorious engaged with the enemy, not a single warship came to rescue; they all headed straight for the main battlefield. This shows that the captains on all the ships had made a judgment, deeming the frontal battlefront more important than rescuing the flagship.¡±


    ...


    Cage cracked a smile, ¡°That¡¯s a fresh take¡­ but on second thought, it¡¯s not wrong. Just like that. A lone ship on the vast sea, surrounded by water, a ship is a kingdom, the captain is the king.¡±


    ¡°I still think it¡¯s because of the lack of unified command. The merchant captains wanted to fight, but the army officers aboard might have been waiting for orders. The army officers were keen to fight, while the merchant captains probably wanted to save their ships. If there was a supreme commander on each ship with full authority to command, we might have fought more easily.¡±


    Andre¡¯s bunk made an untimely snoring sound; he always got sleepy listening to these armchair military discussions. He was a man of action, understanding only through personal involvement.


    ¡°How could that be possible? When have the army ever listened to navy officers? And the navy wouldn¡¯t want to be commanded by army officers either.¡± Cage yawned as well.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t we now all under the command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? The Joint Chiefs should have the authority to appoint officers who can command both the army and the navy,¡± Winters pondered, resting his arm under his head.


    ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not talk about that. If that were the case, you army officers shouldn¡¯t be here but rather on board a sailing vessel. And the sailors from the sailing vessels should be transferred to those requisitioned merchant ships. That would be the most logical arrangement, allowing the whole fleet to utilize its full combat power. But in the end, wasn¡¯t it all to cater to the army¡¯s preferences, placing you on the big ships?¡±


    Cage¡¯s blunt words left Winters and Bard at a loss for words. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let¡¯s drop that subject, I heard something interesting.¡± Cage, sensing the awkward atmosphere, quickly changed the topic, sat up, and patted Winters¡¯s bunk, grinning mischievously, ¡°I hear you scared the sailors on the Golden Lion so much they wet their pants.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an exaggeration, it wouldn¡¯t be to that extent.¡± Bard immediately defended his friend, ¡°Who told you that nonsense?¡±


    Cage slapped his thigh, ¡°Do I need someone to tell me? It¡¯s spread throughout the entire fleet. I bet you¡¯ll have a nickname soon. If you¡¯re worried about it being unflattering, think of a nickname yourself and I¡¯ll help spread it. Ah, I¡¯ve been wanting a nickname myself¡­¡±


    Ever since Cage was wounded on the head, he seemed to have unlocked a chatterbox personality.


    Winters sighed, turned away from Cage, curled up on his side, and just felt a pang in his stomach.

 Chapter 182 - 182 - Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea

    Chapter 182 ¨C Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea


    ¡°Please provide the goods as listed on this paper.¡± Bard pressed the supply list onto the table, his voice emanating from within the helmet with a buzzing quality, ¡°They must all be delivered to the dock by noon tomorrow, where someone will be responsible for receiving them.¡±


    Winters and Andre stood imposingly behind Bard, donned in full military regalia. Especially Andre, who rested his left hand on the hilt of his sword, eyeing the middle-aged man behind the desk with a menacing look.


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    Although Bard¡¯s tone was as polite as possible, their stance clearly left no room for refusal.


    The slender and gaunt mayor of Sea Spring Port bowed his head, not daring to meet the eyes of the three towering and majestic officers, and quickly took the list from the table with both hands to inspect it carefully.


    After scrutinizing the list thoroughly, the previously worried brows of the Sea Spring Port mayor relaxed slightly.


    Major General Nalesho¡¯s quartermaster knew the ins and outs of Sea Spring Port well. This list would cause the mayor some pain, but with gritted teeth, he could definitely procure the items.


    ...


    Moreover, the Revenant Fleet was only demanding supplies like grain, firewood, cloth, etc., not enough to cripple the small commercial port.


    But the merchant by nature, the mayor of Sea Spring still attempted to haggle, his face troubled as he said, ¡°Honorable officer, this town doesn¡¯t even have a thousand households. Where can we find so much of these goods at short notice? For example, this¡­ ten thousand kilograms of twice-baked wheat cakes? I¡­ I¡­ where am I supposed to find so many wheat cakes? And¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters emitted a long, threatening hum from the depths of his nose with an unpleasant expression.


    The lanky mayor immediately fell silent.


    ¡°You said it yourself¡ªyou can¡¯t gather these items,¡± Andre said with a mocking sneer, ¡°Since you¡¯re unwilling to hand them over, we¡¯ll just take them ourselves, hahaha, all the better.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than he pushed the door to leave. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Desperate, the mayor of Sea Spring leapt three feet in the air and hurriedly ran to block Andre. His instincts told him that while the other two officers might be difficult to deal with, this tallest officer was truly capable of carrying out violent plunder without any prick of conscience.


    ¡°Please, sit, sit, no need to rush.¡± Seeing that the timing was right, Bard helped the grey-haired mayor back to his chair, speaking in a warm and gentle tone, ¡°My colleague might be a bit hot-headed, but he¡¯s telling the truth. We need to collect these supplies one way or another, either through your voluntary donation or by our own retrieval. Frankly, us coming to you for them is already a courtesy¡­ If I were you, I¡¯d already be making the cakes.¡±


    Beads of sweat formed on the mayor¡¯s forehead as the well-traveled old merchant clearly understood the game these young men were playing.


    But the dozens of warships moored outside the harbor were real, as were the gaping cannons on board, and the bloodthirsty aura emanating from these young men, not much older than his grandsons, was certainly not faked.


    Under immense psychological pressure, the kind and gentle demeanor and tone of the officer beside him felt unusually congenial and trustworthy.


    The mayor of Sea Spring swallowed hard, nodded with difficulty, and seemed to age a decade in an instant, ¡°I will pay, I will pay.¡±


    ¡°Take your time, just have them dockside by tomorrow noon.¡± Bard bent down to pick up the list that had dropped to the floor, placing it back on the mayor¡¯s desk, ¡°Oh, and where is the town¡¯s water source? We¡¯ll draw freshwater ourselves, no need for you to supply that, saving the townspeople some effort.¡±


    ¡°Freshwater¡­ Freshwater¡­¡± The old mayor appeared dazed, not yet recovered from the previous conversation, when he suddenly shouted, ¡°Cannons! How many cannons do you have?¡±


    Andre strode over to the old mayor, grabbed him by the collar, and hoisted him up, asking viciously, ¡°Spying on military intelligence, looking to die? You must be a spy for the Confederation!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t treat the elderly that way! He¡¯s nearly the age of your grandfather.¡± Bard immediately intervened to stop Andre, with Winters rushing to assist as well.


    The scared witless old mayor hastily explained, ¡°I¡¯m not trying to spy, no¡­ Can your fleet fire a round from the dockside?¡±


    Winters and Andre exchanged glances, unsure what exactly the old man was scheming, but Bard seemed to understand.


    The more the mayor spoke, the more animated he became, ¡°That¡¯s right! Fire a round! Let the whole fleet fire a round! Blank rounds are fine, if you could fire a round for me, I could prepare all the goods you need overnight!¡±


    Bard and Andre looked to Winters.


    ¡°Mr. Mayor, gunpowder is a precious military resource, and the fleet cannot waste it just to scare the townspeople for you,¡± Winters said, frowning, already grasping the old man¡¯s intent.


    The mayor now understood that the medium-height officer was the leader of the three. He grabbed Winters¡¯s arm and said, ¡°Gunpowder is manageable, I can supply you from the town¡¯s arsenal. Without you showing force, not only can I not continue as mayor, but the townspeople won¡¯t willingly give up the supplies. If they intend to stall, it will also delay the preparation of the supplies!¡±


    Winters was pondering, while Bard and Andre didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°I can also provide a sum of money to compensate the esteemed officers,¡± the old mayor pleaded further.

 Chapter 183 - 183 - Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_2

    Chapter 183 ¨C Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_2


    ¡°The entire fleet wouldn¡¯t bombard just to intimidate a small town, and it certainly wouldn¡¯t look good for the noble Vineta navy to be threatening civilians,¡± Winters mused. ¡°However, I can find a way to bring over a main battleship to fire a salute. No need for money, just hand over all the gunpowder from the town armory.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± the old mayor nodded vigorously, then remembered something else, ¡°Would you three officers please leave me a letter of explanation saying that if Sea Blue Town doesn¡¯t surrender the supplies, we will use the cannons to blast Sea Blue Town to rubble?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t possibly write such a thing for you; it¡¯s a donation, not a robbery, get it?¡± Winters said with a big laugh. ¡°But I can write you an equivalent document with roughly the same idea.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Holding a threatening letter that read ¡°If Sea Blue Town does not pledge allegiance to the Republic of Vineta, the Vineta navy will bombard Sea Blue Town to ruins,¡± the mayor of Sea Blue Town hurriedly rang the bell to call a town meeting. Read the latest on empire


    After completing the mission, Winters, Bard, and Andre strolled leisurely toward the dock.


    ¡°I can¡¯t figure out why they call it Sea Blue Town, I didn¡¯t see any well in the town square,¡± Andre casually said.


    ...


    Bard answered unhurriedly, ¡°The sea near this island often sees whales surfacing and spouting water. Ancient people saw it from afar and thought it was a sea fountain, hence the name Sea Blue Town.¡±


    ¡°How did you know that?¡± Andre asked, feeling somewhat unconvinced.


    ¡°Because I read books,¡± Bard smiled and said.


    Winters undid the buttons under his jaw and took off his plumed helmet. His heavy helmet was steaming with sweat, and his hair was soaked.


    ¡°Ah, after all those years at the military academy, now I¡¯ve ended up doing a pirate¡¯s job,¡± Winters sighed and said with remorse, ¡°Thank you both for helping me with this disgusting task.¡±


    ¡°Hey, why talk about that?¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To keep the military in check and prevent them from becoming too powerful within the Republic, the logistical aspects of the Vineta military were handled by the civilian departments of the Governor¡¯s office.


    With the plates in someone else¡¯s hands, it was inevitable that things wouldn¡¯t be quite to the military¡¯s liking.


    Moreover, for this hurriedly launched overseas expedition, the Avenger Fleet had already emptied Vineta¡¯s war readiness storehouses. Nalesho and Antonio had no confidence in whether subsequent supplies could be provided, so the joint command unanimously agreed not to miss any chance of resupply. Better to throw the supplies into the sea later on than to leave the storerooms empty now.


    That was why the ¡°coerced donation¡± just now had occurred.


    Collecting military contributions was theoretically not difficult; the tricky part was doing it elegantly. It had to be done without looking too ugly, yet still managing to secure the supplies. This was why Winters reluctantly sought help from Bard and Andre.


    In theory, such dirty work would not be something any honorable officer would willingly do, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t call for a mere acting ensign to step in.


    But who made Winters stand out in capturing the Avenger, and with the death of the leader, he, an acting ensign, became a Centurion?


    And not just any Centurion, but the Centurion of the chief cohort.


    A regular cohort had only 80 men, while the chief cohort had 150 men, practically the strength of two regular cohorts.


    All coming from the military academy, the seniors hadn¡¯t yet managed to become the Centurion of the chief cohort, and here you are, a mere junior officer fresh out of the academy, landing this position¡ªeven if temporarily¡ªhow could you not be envied?


    Even Andre felt a bit of unease, not to mention others.


    Only Bard privately advised Winters with concern, ¡°You¡¯ve not been placed in a good spot, but rather in a viper¡¯s nest!¡±


    So Winters became even more unassuming, his demeanor even more humble, saluting his superiors from a distance for fear of others saying, ¡°This young man has become arrogant after becoming the Centurion of the chief cohort.¡±


    Fortunately, few knew that Serviati¡¯s legion commander was Montaigne Acting Ensign¡¯s maternal uncle. Winters bit his lip and endured when people gossiped behind his back. But if anyone dared to sling mud at Antonio, Winters would challenge them to a duel.


    Speaking of which, since leaving Sea Blue City, Winters hadn¡¯t met with Antonio alone. Once in the barracks, there were no blood relatives, just superiors and subordinates. That was better, at least Winters felt more at ease. He would have been uncomfortable if given special treatment.


    So during the days of rest after the Lighthouse Port naval battle, what Montaigne Acting Ensign looked forward to most was the military headquarters quickly sending someone to replace him as the temporary Centurion.


    He also couldn¡¯t understand why a mere acting ensign like him was temporarily acting as the Centurion of the chief cohort; it made more sense to transfer a senior warrant officer from another cohort.


    But when Winters sought out Kongtai¡¯er, the colonel said, ¡°The legion has no personnel authority; commission of officers must be appointed by the army headquarters. Temporarily moving a warrant officer from another cohort to the first cohort would break the combat power of two cohorts. Having you act as Centurion would at most disrupt the combat power of one cohort.¡±


    Kongtai¡¯er Colonel patted Winters on the shoulder, comforting him, ¡°This is a great opportunity for experience; you should cherish it. Others would long for such a chance. Besides, you won¡¯t act for too long, just hang in there. Don¡¯t be afraid of what others say; it¡¯s only mediocrity that goes unenvied.¡±

 Chapter 184 - 184 - Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_3

    Chapter 184 ¨C Seventy-Five: Spring in the Sea_3


    With the higher-ups saying as much, Winters could hardly decline any further.


    However, Warrant Officer Montaigne, who had eagerly awaited a formal officer to relieve him, instead received orders to set sail once again.


    After burying the dead, repairing the warships, salvaging weapons and supplies from sunken ships, and transporting the prisoners back to Sea Blue City, a series of post-battle wrap-up tasks were completed.


    On the third day after the Sea Blue City naval battle, the Vineta Fleet of Vengeance set sail again.


    The outcome of the grand sea battle outside of Sea Blue City was already spreading throughout Senas Bay and even further abroad through the comings and goings of merchant ships.


    This is exactly why Admiral Nalesho went to great lengths, even daring to put the Vineta Fleet in jeopardy and create opportunities for the enemy, to engage in a decisive fleet battle.


    Admiral Nalesho firmly believed that a large-scale naval battle would determine the course of the war and even its outcome¡ªthe victor of the fleet battle would have it all.


    ...


    The Vineta navy not only broke the Tanilian fleet in the battle but also shattered the Tanilian¡¯s will to fight.


    On the shipping routes from Sea Blue City to Golden Harbor, aside from a few nearshore ports directly governed by Vineta, farther ports only nominally belonged to Vineta and were usually cozy with the Tanilia Federation. Ports like Sea Spring Port, which were closer to the Taniria Islands, were actually within the Federation¡¯s sphere of influence. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the news of Vineta¡¯s victory over Tanyria spread across Senas Bay, the places visited by the Fleet of Vengeance that had been eager to stir after Haidong Port¡¯s catastrophic loss, turned compliant overnight. Ports like Sea Spring Port, territories of the Federation, didn¡¯t even have the courage to resist and surrendered one by one at mere sight of the threat.


    Commanding the Fleet of Vengeance, Nalesho swiftly cleared each obstacle from their path, steadily approaching the main island of the Tanilia Islands.


    ¡°So, look at what you¡¯ve done! You¡¯ve directly sent the bravest and best captains and sailors of Tanyria to their deaths. Ships flying the Vineta flag now roam unopposed in the inner seas, and ports that were once loyal to us are surrendering one after the other,¡± Edward Kenway said with a stern face in the cabin of The Phoenix.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t blame me for that!¡± Drake lay in the swaying hammock with a cynical smile, his head and shoulders bandaged from wounds treated: ¡°Whether I win or lose, just a couple of cannon shots from the Venetians are all it takes to scare those islanders; they¡¯d probably love nothing more than to hoist their underwear up the pole as a white flag. And don¡¯t you dare tell me those islanders have any real loyalty, do you even believe your own words?¡±


    ¡°Even if they had the courage to resist Venetians before, your crushing defeat has dissipated it,¡± Captain Kenway suppressed his anger: ¡°You gambled twenty of Tanyria¡¯s finest ships for your personal vendetta, do you think it was worth it?¡±


    Captain Drake¡ªno, he no longer had a ship¡ªsighed, smacked his lips and said with indifference, ¡°Fighting a fleet battle was the right call. If I had won, the Venetian war plans would have utterly collapsed there and then. What would you have said in that case? So the only mistake is that I lost.¡±


    ¡°Have you forgotten why the Venetians started the war with us in the first place?¡± Captain Kenway sneered: ¡°If you hadn¡¯t raided the Venetian home port, this war would never have started.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong again, whether I razed Haidong Port or not, the Venetians would have declared war. Debela has repeatedly advocated for military action, and the calls for war in the Venetian parliament have grown louder each time. As long as Venetian territorial ambitions remain, war is inevitable. I simply expedited its arrival, and I gave the islands an advantage,¡± yawned Drake, slowly closing his eyes: ¡°Stop talking nonsense. You rescuing me already shows which side you¡¯re on, doesn¡¯t it? If you¡¯re not satisfied and need to vent, why don¡¯t you cut me?¡±


    Without a word, Kenway drew his curve blade.


    ¡°Hey! What are you doing? You really going to cut me?¡± Drake broke into a cold sweat, struggling to rise from the hammock.


    A flash of cold light passed, and the ropes holding the hammock were cleanly severed, sending Drake crashing heavily onto the deck, moaning, ¡°Ugh¡­ my old back¡­¡±


    ¡°You still don¡¯t understand, or you refuse to. As long as your fleet existed, it was a sword hanging over the Venetians¡¯ heads. They wouldn¡¯t dare sail freely on the inner seas as long as your fleet wasn¡¯t destroyed,¡± Kenway said.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of saying all this now?¡± Drake struggled to his feet, clutching his back: ¡°If you were unwilling to attack The Glorious at the time, then you should¡¯ve left me on The Revenge to die!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still of use alive,¡± said Captain Kenway coldly: ¡°Even without your fleet, you are still a sword hanging over the Venetians¡¯ heads. Your plan has failed, so I want you to fully support my plan within the Federation!¡±


    Kenway wrinkled his nose and said, ¡°And I wouldn¡¯t leave my friend to die on a ship.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    As the setting sun cast long shadows, the pint-size battery at Sea Spring Port slowly raised the Vineta Flag to the booming salutes from a Venetian capital warship¡¯s guns.


    Not far from there, in the town square, the old town mayor was saying something to the gathered townspeople.


    Standing on the fortifications, Andre scoffed at the sight of the town square and spat on the ground.


    ¡°Actually, I think it¡¯s good for you to get involved in this kind of dirty work. It¡¯s a form of care, a very astute arrangement,¡± said Bard while hoisting the flag and speaking to Winters.


    Winters remained silent. Discover stories with empire

 Chapter 185 - 185 - 76: Red Sulphur

    Chapter 185 ¨C 76: Red Sulphur


    ¡°What does the signal flag on that ship say?¡± Winters asked Cage, pointing at the warship that was gradually moving away.


    ¡°¡¯Wish,¡¯ ¡¯good luck,¡¯ ¡¯victory,¡¯ ¡¯goodbye,¡¯¡± Cage read the signal flags, squinting his eyes.


    Six main warships left the fleet and scattered across the entire sea area.


    ¡°I can¡¯t understand why your navy would do something like dispersing its forces,¡± Winters sighed.


    Moving his joints, Cage answered, ¡°The sizable Tanilia fleet has already been destroyed, there is no need for the fleet to stay clumped together anymore; spreading out will allow us to control this sea area¡­ We should be close to Red Sulfur Island, right?¡±


    Red Sulfur Island is the fifth largest island of the Taniria Islands, named for its red soil and the abundant sulfur produced on the mountains in the middle of the island.


    The entire island is roughly an irregular oval shape, its area nearly 700 square kilometers, about one hundred and forty times smaller than the territory of Vineta, or about a quarter the size of a Vineta county.


    ...


    If you calculate based on the speed of a field march, it would take about two days to go from the southern end of the island to the north, over fifty kilometers. From the west end to the east, it would take about a day, over twenty kilometers.


    Later generations discovered that this island was actually a small part of a giant underwater volcano that surfaced, but people of this era did not know this. However, as long as there was sulfur to be mined, they didn¡¯t care about living on the edge of a volcano.


    This island controls the southern gateway of the Taniria Islands, and Red Sulfur Harbor is the best deepwater natural harbor on the Sea Blue¡ªGolden Harbor shipping route,


    Unlike Sea Spring Port, which swayed indecisively between two major powers, Red Sulfur Island is one of the main islands of the Taniria Islands, a core territory of the Federation, with sugarcane plantations crowding the island, which spoke volumes.


    Therefore, after the Consul of Debela declared war, this important sulfur-producing area quickly cut off its sulfur exports to Vineta.


    In Nalesho¡¯s step-by-step battle plan, capturing Red Sulfur Harbor was a critical link. The docks of the large harbor could accommodate the entire fleet, the rich island could provide supplies for the Expeditionary Force, and they could also seize the sulfur mines on the island.


    Using this island as a base and springboard, there would be a solid rear for the assault on the main island of Taniria.


    Later that afternoon, atop The Glorious¡¯s castle, Winters could already see the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island; likewise, the observation post on the southern cliffs of Red Sulfur Island had noticed the Vineta Fleet.


    The sentinel in the observation post gaped, stunned as he spotted sails on the sea surface thirty sea miles away.


    One ship, two ships, then dozens; an imposing fleet was sailing towards Red Sulfur Island, with the flags of the Vineta Navy clearly visible at the top of their masts.


    Even though the outcome of the battle at Lighthouse Port was already known, the efficiency and speed of the Vineta Fleet still left the sentinel dumbfounded.


    ¡°What are you staring at?!¡± The watch commander angrily kicked the sentinel: ¡°Light the beacon!¡±


    From the ship, Winters saw a plume of thick smoke rise from the southern coast of Red Sulfur Island, reaching hundreds of meters into the sky before dispersing. The beacon spread the news of the Venetians¡¯ arrival across the island, and the Venetians were aware of this too.


    The fleet steered eastward, bypassing the southern tip of Red Sulfur Island, sailing beneath the basalt cliffs, and by evening, they had anchored at a sheltered spot from the wind. A small troop on the shore had been following the fleet closely, keeping a close watch on the Venetians¡¯ movements.


    Since embarking on the campaign, the soldiers of the Vineta Army felt the tension of impending battle for the first time.


    For dinner that night, the soldiers of the Third Legion didn¡¯t eat the usual dry biscuits, but fresh fish, salty meat soup, and freshly baked bread.


    By special command of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each infantry soldier also received a small cup of strong liquor. Find adventures on empire


    Every spellcaster officer received two basic units of standard casting materials¡ªsomething the army wouldn¡¯t normally be so generous with.


    The soldiers retrieved their weapons¡ªthese had been collected and managed centrally upon boarding. Veterans in the centurion¡¯s unit were all issued with half-armors.


    Musket soldiers began to inspect each lead bullet, polishing away the poor-quality ones that wouldn¡¯t fit into the barrels. The sound of weapons and armor being honed was incessant throughout the fleet.


    The gun deck of The Glorious was temporarily transformed into the Legion¡¯s command tent, and all officers of the Third Legion, who attended the military council, packed the not-so-large gun deck.


    ¡°The Tanilia Federation is merely a loose political alliance with no standing army. Their main armed force consists of plantation owners¡¯ private troops and the militia guards from various towns, aside from the peace-keeping forces,¡± explained the deputy legion commander, standing in front of the map: ¡°Apart from Red Sulfur Harbor, there is a small town inland called Tachi. Red Sulfur Harbor has about ten thousand inhabitants, Tachi less than five thousand. Outside the cities, there are four villages, and numerous plantations.¡±


    A guard began distributing maps to the officers present. As the acting centurion of the first hundred-man unit, Winters also received a spread-out map of Red Sulfur Island.


    The detail of the map astounded him¡ªit was less than two handspans in size, but meticulously marked the roads, villages, water sources, and large plantations of Red Sulfur Island, and certainly not something that could be produced hastily.


    The deputy legion commander briefly explained the topography of Red Sulfur Island with reference to the map, and then began assigning combat tasks.


    Finally getting to the heart of the matter, all officers present perked up.


    S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 186 - 186 - 76: Red Sulfur_2

    Chapter 186 ¨C 76: Red Sulfur_2


    ¡°Red Sulfur Island is surrounded by dense reefs, with only Red Sulfur Harbor as a natural deep-water good port. Tomorrow morning, the fleet will head toward Saint Hiliary Beach. After the tide rises, the lead squadron will take small boats to land first on the Saint Hiliary Beach and establish a temporary camp. If the enemy on Red Sulfur Island thinks to attack us at this opportunity, the second and third battalions¡¯ troop transports will directly run aground on the beach; the strength of three battalions should be enough to resolve¡­¡±


    Before the Vice Admiral could finish, a messenger came running from the cabin with a thump thump thump, interrupting him.


    As per military law, anyone who barges into a military council without permission is to be hanged.


    The messenger, trembling with fear, lowered his head to avoid the unfriendly gazes of the ship¡¯s officers and hurried forward to hand Antonio a piece of paper.


    Antonio, who had been silent throughout the entire military council, glanced at the paper, slightly arched his brow, and said indifferently to his subordinates, ¡°The Red Sulfur Island Council has surrendered.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    In the midst of the scorching sun, a warship with all its cannon ports open slowly moved toward Red Sulfur Harbor, firing a round of blank shots at the bastion guarding the entrance to the bay in a display of might.


    ...


    Along with the thundrous sound of cannons that echoed across the entire bay, a white flag was raised at the top of the bastion.


    Immediately, a deafening cheer burst from within the Vineta Fleet.


    The soldiers and sailors were, of course, overjoyed that they didn¡¯t have to fight to the death.


    However, the land force officers had a sour taste in their mouths; from the beginning of the campaign until now the armies had virtually no chance to showcase their prowess. The Navy took all the credit, even the surrender of Red Sulfur Harbor without a fight¡ªobviously, this was also due to the great victory at the battle of Lantern Harbor and had nothing to do with the army.


    Along the coast of Red Sulfur Island, cliffs and hidden reefs were everywhere, with only Red Sulfur Harbor being a natural good deep-water harbor.


    However, the bay itself was shaped like a gourd with a narrow entrance which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Tanilians had even built a formidable cannon bastion at the entrance to the bay, which was why the initial battle plan didn¡¯t consider a direct naval assault on Red Sulfur Harbor at all.


    ¡°Why would they surrender just like that?¡± Andre cursed angrily, frustrated with the Red Sulfur Island Council, ¡°Block the entrance to the harbor with an iron chain, what ship could enter then? Relying on their natural defenses, they should at least put up a fight, right? How could they just surrender like this?¡±


    ¡°Enough, isn¡¯t it a good thing no one has to die?¡± Bard said helplessly. Explore stories on empire


    Winters nodded in agreement; although he also felt it was somewhat baffling, not having to fight was always a good thing.


    ¡°The Navy fought the battle, the Navy took the glory, we¡¯ve become the Navy¡¯s dependents¡­¡± Andre continued to grumble dissatisfied.


    From inside the prow cabin of The Glorious, General Nalesho politely inquired with Antonio, ¡°General Serviati, shall we dock now?¡±


    ¡°Please wait.¡± Antonio, for once, voiced a differing opinion. He signaled one of his lieutenants: ¡°You lead my guard to that bastion, invite all the Tanilians out, and nail shut all the cannons inside that face the water.¡±


    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡± Nalesho was slightly taken aback, ¡°The cannons in the bastion will still be needed to defend Red Sulfur Harbor in the future, won¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency General, although we have no intention of resistance, must you humiliate us like this?¡± The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council was also somewhat indignant.


    Antonio said with a smile, ¡°Just to be cautious. If we need these cannons in the future, we can drill them open again, even if it¡¯s a bit of trouble.¡±


    Nalesho hesitated, but in the end agreed to Antonio¡¯s arrangement.


    The entire fleet waited outside the bay, watching as The Glorious lowered a few boats, carrying dozens of soldiers slowly rowing toward the bastion.


    The originally exuberant atmosphere began to quiet down, as the soldiers and sailors, confused by the flagship¡¯s actions, began to grow restless.


    After nearly an hour of fuss, someone finally waved the army flag on top of the bastion. Seeing the agreed signal, Antonio¡¯s solemn expression eased a bit.


    General Nalesho sighed and waved to Kalaman, his first officer. The order spread from The Glorious to the entire fleet, and the ships pulled up their anchors and entered the bay.


    ¡°Why make such a fuss for so long?¡± The second officer, stationed at the helm, asked Kalaman in confusion.


    Kalaman snorted coldly, ¡°What else could it be for? Isn¡¯t it just that the army is jealous of us? They want to swipe some credit too, it¡¯s an old tradition of greed for the army¡­¡±


    Because the entire bay was nearly gourd-shaped, after entering it, the water became much more expansive. However, the shore was still rugged with boulders, and there was no place for large ships to dock.


    Proceeding further, the leading ships could already see the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor and the bastion next to it when Antonio once again called a halt to the fleet.


    Kalaman, furious, left the prow cabin to issue the order for all sails to be taken in.


    ¡°General Serviati, I can understand your concerns, but you really needn¡¯t worry so much,¡± Nalesho resignedly shared some naval secrets with Antonio, ¡°The Red Sulfur Island Council and the Navy had extensive communications prior to this, and both sides did not wish for Red Sulfur Island to be destroyed by war, which is why the Council chose to switch allegiances.¡±


    ¡°Do you truly intend to switch allegiances?¡± Antonio asked the Council Envoy seriously, particularly obstinate today.


    ¡°Otherwise, why would I be here?¡± The envoy from the Red Sulfur Island Council retorted sharply. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fine, then let one of my hundred-man teams occupy the bastion at the harbor first,¡± Antonio said, word by word.


    The envoy responded angrily, ¡°What do you mean by this, Your Excellency? We¡¯re switching allegiance, not surrendering!¡±

 Chapter 187 - 187 - 76: Red Sulfur_3

    Chapter 187 ¨C 76: Red Sulfur_3


    ¡°You heard what I said.¡± Antonio no longer spoke much to the messenger and directly turned to General Nalesho, ¡°I ask that you provide ships for my soldiers. Once the Third Legion has been stationed in Bastion, the fleet can dock.¡±


    ¡°Lord Serviati, we in the navy have indeed already reached an agreement with the council¡­¡±


    But Antonio remained unmoved, ¡°Please dispatch ships for my troops. Since the council has decided on a change of flag, what harm is there in letting my soldiers garrison Bastion ahead of time?¡± Find exclusive stories on empire


    Ignoring the messenger¡¯s stern protests, Nalesho helplessly nodded his head.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre, who had already stripped off their armor, received the orders: the first hundred-man squad to assemble immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s finally our turn!¡± Andre excitedly fastened his helmet.


    The three lieutenants quickly helped each other don their officer-issued cuirasses and began to gather the hundred-man squad¡¯s sections.


    ...


    Every eight army soldiers formed a group, sharing one tent and one pot, thus they were called a ¡°section¡± or a ¡°mess¡± ¨C the smallest unit in the army.


    As the temporary centurion of the first hundred-man squad, Winters still couldn¡¯t recognize everyone; he now only knew each section¡¯s person in charge.


    Just as the nineteenth section of the hundred-man squad was mustered, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er walked onto the deck with his flag officer. The operation to take Bastion was to be personally commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, which also made it more convenient for negotiating with the council.


    The boats from various ships began to converge towards The Glorious.


    Aboard another warship next to The Glorious, commotion arose. Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er and the three lieutenants explained, ¡°The navy is not willing to let us garrison Bastion alone; they also want to send a team there.¡±


    Winters, Andre, and Bard sat in one boat, with Andre holding the centurion¡¯s banner high.


    Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, with his guards, took another boat, flying the flagship battalion¡¯s banner.


    A naval officer from another warship descended, flying a naval banner Winters did not recognize.


    The three boats flying banners led at the front, followed by another thirty or so boats, heading towards the docks at the bottom of Red Sulfur Harbor.


    ¡°Hey¡­ ho¡­ hey¡­ ho¡­¡± The soldiers clumsily rowed, entering the second wide expanse of the gourd-shaped bay. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters sat at the bow of the boat, looking around. The shore at the bottom of the gourd seemed also mostly rocky, with the jetty of Red Sulfur Harbor extending from the coast.


    There was not a single ship by the docks, not only no large ships but also no small ones. A hexagonal bastion lay quietly by the dockside, utterly devoid of any sign of life.


    Atop the prow of The Glorious, Antonio and Nalesho silently watched the small boats slowly drift away from the fleet.


    ¡°I will report exactly what has occurred today to the gentlemen of the council. How Venetians treat Red Sulfur Island¡­ will anyone wish to bow their heads in the future? You¡­¡± The council¡¯s messenger, filled with anger, pursued the matter.


    ¡°Alright, alright. After we dock, I will personally apologize to the gentlemen of the council,¡± Nalesho placated the council¡¯s messenger with a generous tone: ¡°The Venetians¡­¡±


    His words were interrupted by the roar of heavy artillery.


    The cannonball caused a huge splash, plunging the Vineta Fleet into chaos.


    ¡°Where is the firing coming from?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nearby!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fortress artillery!¡±


    Following three more booms of heavy artillery fire, cries of agony and the sound of boat hulls being shattered echoed simultaneously. A galley began to slowly list, and the sailors on board scrambled to abandon ship, while the rowers, chained to their seats, screamed, begging for someone to unlock their chains.


    This time, everyone saw the position of the cannons. Frighteningly close, situated at the narrow section in the second part of the gourd-shaped bay.


    The camouflaging layer of shrubs and vines was removed, revealing yet another battery.


    ¡°It¡¯s not on the map!¡±


    ¡°When did they build another battery?!¡±


    Accompanied by the thunderous sound of the call to arms, at the narrowest point of the second part of the bay, by the battery, a chain was raised from the seabed,


    With the firing of the heavy cannons as a signal, the harbor bay of Red Sulfur Harbor revealed its fangs.

 Chapter 188 - 188 - 77 Waves

    Chapter 188 ¨C 77 Waves


    ¡°Cannon fire! Where is the firing coming from?!¡± Winters suddenly realized, standing up in the rocking boat and looking back.


    But the situation deteriorated too rapidly for him to think. Shouts rose from the shore, deafening. The chains being dragged clanked loudly, and a red and black line slowly rose from the seabed, forming a natural arc blocking the waist of the gourd-shaped bay.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but curse under his breath. The soldiers sitting in the small boat had also noticed the anomaly behind them, stirring a commotion.


    The blocking chain had divided the Venetians into two groups. Red Sulfur Island was feigning surrender!


    Turn the boat around? Attack the second bastion? Speed up towards the dock? What to do?


    Everyone in the hundred-man squad distributed across the small boats looked to Winters, even Bard and Andre awaited his command, looking forward to the Centurion¡¯s orders.


    Winters¡¯ forehead broke out in a cold sweat. Most of his life he had followed orders, but now he suddenly had to take responsibility for hundreds of lives, which made him panic. Each option had its pros and cons, he really didn¡¯t know which was the best.


    ...


    However, the panic lasted only as long as a breath. Winters regained his composure, his sense of duty overwhelming all unease. Better to have foolish commands than none at all! He gritted his teeth and decided to abandon the mission, bellowing, ¡°Turn around¡­¡±


    ¡°Charge forward!¡± The voice of Kongtai¡¯er came from a small boat nearby. The lieutenant colonel waved his arms frantically, repeating loudly over and over, ¡°Charge forward! Charge forward¡­¡±


    With the superior officer assuming command, Winters felt some relief that he no longer needed to ponder. He activated the amplification spell, projecting Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s order across the sea: ¡°Charge forward!¡±


    The waiting soldiers seemed to have had their spirits rekindled. Andre lifted the battle flag high above his head and waved it desperately, while Bard grabbed an extra oar, joining the rowing soldiers.


    The disconcerted sailors instinctively obeyed Winters¡¯ magically amplified voice. The leading naval officer shouted in anger, but he was not a spellcaster, and his voice was drowned out by the gunfire.


    The larger the caliber of the cannon, the more cumbersome it was to load, yet after eight roars of heavy artillery, the concealed bastion did not fall silent. The sound of more light cannons began to ring out. The ambushed Vineta Fleet also began to retaliate.


    Now Winters couldn¡¯t concern himself with the intense battle behind him. A squad equipped with muskets and crossbows rushed to the shore and began firing at the Venetians in the small boats.


    The boat carrying three warrant officers was at the forefront, flying the military flag, with three others aboard donning polished armor, making them the most exposed and conspicuous.


    Most of the musketeers and crossbowmen on the shore noticed this boat, and projectiles came flying incessantly. The others on board crouched down with all their might.


    But Andre, far from being intimidated, provocatively raised the flag even higher and vehemently cursed the Tanilians on the shore.


    Merely shouting profanities was not enough for him, and as if worried the Tanilians couldn¡¯t hear his greetings from so far away, an enraged Andre even started to undo his trousers to urinate towards the shore.


    Winters pulled him down roughly: ¡°Are you insane? Don¡¯t court death!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Andre laughed wildly at Winters, ¡°The Tanilians¡¯ aim is terrible, they can¡¯t hit me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mad!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you aren¡¯t scared, and neither am I! The soldiers sure aren¡¯t!¡±


    Winters looked to the other five soldiers on the boat. Andre¡¯s boldness and disdain for the Tanilians had infected them. They stopped trying to hide beneath the gunwales and leaned out to row vigorously.


    ¡°Cannons!¡± shouted a sailor from another boat.


    A large group of Tanilian soldiers was seen laboring to bring two light cannons closer to the shore. The Vinetan boats were less than seventy meters from the coast, and grapeshot could turn the surface of the water into hell.


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    ¡°Now we¡¯re sitting ducks!¡± Andre shouted fiercely, punching his thigh, ¡°Row, for God¡¯s sake, row!¡±


    Winters also saw the two cannons, but his breathing rate decreased instead, and his thoughts became clearer.


    Instinctively, he entered into spell-casting mode, his concentration at its peak. Yet he did not use magic; instead, he pulled out the spellcasting materials pouch.


    The standard-issue spellcaster officer¡¯s pouch was designed uniformly, so Winters immediately found what he was looking for.


    A few small containers with metal shells and glass inners.


    Now was not the time to be thrifty with spellcasting materials. Winters took out all four containers.


    All spells of the Alliance spellcasters were, at their core, reverse-engineered from the magic of the Muruo Empire¡¯s court magicians.


    The ¡°Poisonous Smoke Spell¡± had caused militia in the Sovereign Wars much suffering. The Empire¡¯s army had often used this tactic of employing poisonous smoke to kill the bastion defenders and non-toxic smoke to obscure the vision of the cannons before launching assaults to capture the bastions.


    While the Department of Magic Warfare had yet to decipher the poisonous smoke spell, the non-toxic smoke spell had already been successfully replicated.


    Removing the stopper from a metal container, Winters entered his spell-casting state and fully unleashed the fire spell on the container¡¯s contents, a spell he hadn¡¯t practiced in a long time.


    First, a wisp of blue smoke, then, increasingly dense white smoke billowed from the container. The white smoke wasn¡¯t deadly but still caused incessant coughing among those on the boat.


    Winters, the closest to the smoke, should have been the most affected, yet he seemed to not feel it at all, repeating the same process three times.


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 Chapter 189 - 189 - 77 Wave_2

    Chapter 189 ¨C 77 Wave_2


    Winters then grabbed a small bucket onboard, placing four metal containers that were emitting thick smoke inside and used all his strength to push the barrel into the water and towards the shore.


    Through the standard spellcasting materials provided by the Magic War Department of the Alliance, the Alliance¡¯s spellcasters could reproduce the ¡°Smoke Spell¡± effects of the Imperial Court Mages.


    Winters didn¡¯t know what was inside those metal containers, which contained precious alchemical products. He only knew that releasing a fire spell on the substance inside could create thick smoke, and that was enough for him.


    Swordsmen don¡¯t need to know how to forge swords, and spellcasters don¡¯t need to understand alchemy. Users don¡¯t need to know the principles; they just need to know how to use it.


    The full name of these metal containers was ¡°Trigger-type Portable Activated Alchemical Substance Smoke Generator,¡± but the officer spellcasters simply called them ¡°Smoke Grenades.¡±


    This was the Senas Alliance version of the Smoke Spell. Although they didn¡¯t know how the court mages¡¯ original spells were cast, the effect was the same, which was enough for the Magic War Department.


    The billowing thick smoke drifted with the wind toward the east coast, pulling up a smoke screen between Tanilia on the shore and the Venetians on the ship, blocking the range of long-distance weapons.


    ...


    The small boat behind the smoke was but a blur, and the Tanilia on the shore could only fire wildly, greatly reducing the pressure on Winters¡¯s small boat.


    ¡°You should have used it earlier!¡± Andre exclaimed, excitedly thumping Winters on the back with a punch.


    ¡°I¡¯ve used up all four Smoke Grenades at once; I won¡¯t know what to use against the Bastion later,¡± Winters said with bloodshot eyes, uncontrollably tearing up from the smoke as he forced a bitter smile.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t the cannons on the Bastion started firing yet?¡± Bard, who had been silently rowing, suddenly spoke up.


    The oarsmen exerted themselves as if their lives depended on it, and the thirty-odd small boats swiftly glided over the surface of the bay. Winters estimated that they were less than four hundred meters from the dock, well within range of a pound or larger cannon directed at them.


    Yet the Bastion remained silent.


    Winters¡¯s heart sank a little more. The commander of the Bastion was either terrifyingly calm, waiting to punish the Venetians severely when they got closer, or the Tanilia had enough forces not to waste gunpowder.


    It was also possible that they had moved the cannons to the newly built battery¡­ Could that really be the case?


    Winters looked toward the small boat carrying Colonel Kongtai¡¯er; what was going through a commander¡¯s mind when he led his men toward certain doom?


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    After the concealed second battery revealed its fangs, the situation at the battery guarding the entrance to the bay, occupied by Antonio¡¯s guards, was also hanging by a thread.


    The battery was designed mainly to combat enemies from the sea, not to defend against attacks from land. Continue reading on empire


    The Tanilia, who had seemingly retreated from the battery, turned around and launched a fierce attack. Outnumbered, the guards began a bloody melee in the battery, with the flagman on the top desperately waving the military flag for help.


    ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± Nalesho, a gentlemanly figure, grabbed the messenger from Red Sulfur Island by the collar, rarely swearing.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know either!¡± The messenger turned pale, drenched in sweat, his expression full of terror: ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding.¡±


    Furious, Major General Nalesho smashed a punch down onto the messenger¡¯s nose bridge: ¡°Is this a misunderstanding?¡±


    Then came an even harder punch: ¡°Is this a misunderstanding?!¡±


    The messenger was almost knocked unconscious, with blood rushing back into his windpipe, coughing up blood continuously.


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡± Antonio stepped in to stop the enraged Nalesho. There was not a trace of ¡¯I told you so¡¯ satisfaction on his face now, only calm and restraint: ¡°Spare his life; we have more pressing matters! Provide boats for my troops to land; we must take this battery quickly!¡±


    The deck of The Glorious was in a state of chaos, with officers ordering sailors back to their positions, midshipmen scrambling to get the gunpowder, and a few cannons already retaliating, a choking cloud of smoke enveloping The Glorious.


    The entire fleet was plunged into disorder; some ships wanted to turn and leave but were blocked within, others wanted to return fire with their cannons but were obstructed by friendly ships.


    Nalesho, gasping for breath, stared at the deck below and said, ¡°No good! There are no boats left.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean there are no boats?¡± Antonio was also becoming somewhat impatient.


    ¡°The teams sent to occupy the Bastion just now took most of the small boats. The few remaining small boats can carry at most two hundred men. If two hundred can¡¯t take down the battery, the fleet will be trapped here!¡± Nalesho said, panting: ¡°The wind is against us; the remaining small boats have to be used to tug the big ships out of here.¡±


    Then, the Naval Vice Admiral regained his usual commanding composure: ¡°Mr. Kalaman!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Commander!¡±


    ¡°Release all the remaining small boats! Tug the big ships to turn around; we¡¯re leaving this place!¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, Commander!¡±


    ¡°Send the galley out first! Have The White Eagle¡¯s sailors swim to the battery at the mouth of the bay!¡±


    ¡°Yes, Commander!¡±


    Kalaman saluted and left the bow with swift efficiency.


    ¡°Why not let the troop transports beach?¡± Antonio struggled not to question him in front of Nalesho¡¯s subordinates.


    ¡°No, Saint Hilary has a sandy beach, but here the shore is all reefs. The ships would run aground before reaching the shore; we have no choice but to swim, making us sitting ducks!¡± Nalesho explained rapidly.


    Antonio fell silent.


    ¡°The battery at the mouth of the bay cannot be held either. There surely is another chain there!¡± Nalesho said through clenched teeth: ¡°The Tanilians are going all out; they¡¯re not just after your hundred-man team! If we don¡¯t leave now, the whole fleet will be trapped in the bay! We must save the fleet!¡±


    ¡°General Serviati!¡± For the first time, Nalesho used the highest form of address for Antonio, who was more than a decade his junior. The naval vice admiral said sorrowfully, ¡°Your men cannot be saved, and neither can mine. This is my responsibility, which I will not shirk. But right now, I have no selfish intentions; the fleet must leave immediately.¡±


    Antonio understood that the vice admiral was right; the priority was to escape the ambush as soon as possible. As the leader of the legion, he had to place the survival of his force above all else.


    The commander of the great Vineta legion reluctantly agreed to the vice admiral¡¯s retreat order.


    In the midst of continuous cannon fire, the fleet began to rescue sailors from the wrecked ships, turning around with the aid of smaller boats, ready to leave.


    The Tanilians brought out dozens of fire ships made from modified canoes, and Venetian sailors, biting on daggers, leaped into the sea; both sides engaged in a brutal struggle on the water.


    Inside the battery at the bay¡¯s mouth, a bloody melee continued.


    Antonio watched as the one-hundred-man team¡¯s boat rowed towards Red Sulfur Harbor, drawing ever closer to the dock.


    The waters inside the bay, initially calm, began to churn.


    On the boat, Winters also noticed this change; the mood of the ocean seemed to shift, causing the boat to become unsteady.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± Winters asked, puzzled as he watched the increasingly turbulent water.


    Under everyone¡¯s gaze, the unbelievable happened: the waves changed direction, surging from the shore towards the open sea.


    The boats approaching the dock suddenly stalled in their advance, caught by the waves and pushed back rather than forward.


    Yet the anomalies did not cease; inside the harbor, which should have been calm, the tidal waves grew higher with each swell, all rolling from the direction of the dock out to sea.


    ¡°My God, what is that!¡± One sailor yelled in terror.


    In front of them, the turbulent water formed into a wave as high as three meters, the raging surf thundering and roaring, lifting thousands of whitecaps as it struck the Venetians¡¯ boat.


    Several large ships from the Vineta fleet, a kilometer away from the small boat, also lost control, pushed and bashed together by this massive wave.


    After the wave passed, even the seawater along the coast retreated three meters from its original position.


    The sea then mysteriously returned to calm, and the water surged back to its original place.


    The Venetians¡¯ small ships, all capsized.


    Winters was thrown into the sea, the salty water stinging his eyes shut; his heavy armor and weapons dragged at him, pulling him down into the depths.


    The pressure of the water grew more intense, squeezing out the last bit of air from his lungs. He desperately told himself not to inhale, not to inhale, but a surge of seawater still flooded his nostrils, followed by even more.


    In the merciless ocean, Winters struggled to remove his helmet, fumbled to unfasten his breastplate, and cast his sword and sidearm into the depths.


    But it was no use; he kept sinking.


    Then it dawned on him, ¡°Right, I can¡¯t swim¡­ so what am I struggling for?¡±


    He could no longer think, as the severe lack of oxygen deprived him of his ability to reason.


    When he ceased to struggle, a pair of strong hands grabbed his clothes, pulling him toward the shore.

 Chapter 190 - 190 - 78 Fleeing

    Chapter 190 ¨C 78 Fleeing


    ¡°`


    As if a flame was rekindled in an extinguished hearth, Winters regained a trace of consciousness. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could vaguely sense that he was being dragged, as well as the sensation of floating, the waves, and cries for help.


    Another pair of hands joined, and two men propped Winters up, dragging him from the waist-deep sea onto the pebble beach.


    One person quickly cleared the water from Winters¡¯ nose and throat, forcefully slapped his back, and then began to press on his chest.


    The remaining seawater was expelled from his trachea. Fortunately, he had not been underwater long, and his instinct to breathe remained, the air re-entered his lungs, and through alveoli, capillaries, arteries, in his weak heartbeat, it was pushed towards the organs throughout his body.


    His brain again supplied with oxygen, Winters¡¯ thoughts flickered back to life like the flame that had nearly gone out, and his consciousness was restored. He struggled to open his eyes to the light, and before him was an all too familiar, yet surprising face, one with a gap-toothed smile, ¡°¡­Gold, is it you?¡±


    ...


    Before they could exchange pleasantries, a loud shout came from the distance, ¡°Over here!¡±


    This was followed by a series of gunshots, battle cries, and screams of agony.


    ¡°The Tanilians are coming!¡± someone nearby shouted in terror, ¡°The Tanilians are coming! Run!¡±


    Winters struggled to get up from the ground, reminding himself that he must stay calm. The situation gave him no time to think¡ªhe needed to quickly assess the current state.


    He took a quick survey of his surroundings: beneath his feet was a pebbly beach, ahead twenty or so meters was the boundary line between the forest and the stones. Looking to his right, Bastion, the docks¡ªRed Sulfur Harbor. Looking behind him, the sea.


    He realized then that the small boat had been capsized by a huge tide, and Gold had pulled him to shore. According to their relative positions, he should now be on the coast to the west of Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The sound of gunfire and battle cries came from the front right, which meant the forces clearing the remnants were coming from Red Sulfur Harbor!


    Winters grabbed Gold¡¯s arm, ¡°Into the forest!¡±


    He stood up and shouted at the others on the beach, ¡°Into the forest! Head for the trees.¡±


    Remaining on the pebble beach would make them sitting ducks; they had to find a way to shake off this wave of pursuers first.


    Winters ran stumbling towards the broadleaf woodland at the edge of the coast, ¡°Follow me! Everyone, follow me! Into the forest!¡±


    On the beach, aside from Winters and Gold, there were around twenty-odd soldiers and sailors who had narrowly escaped death. The chain of command had been destroyed, but the disoriented Venetians subconsciously obeyed the ¡°officer¡¯s uniform¡± orders.


    Regardless of whether they were sailors or soldiers, all Venetians started running towards the forest to retreat.


    A voice with a heavy Tanilian accent called from a distance to the right, ¡°Don¡¯t let them escape! Five Vinets for a prisoner!¡±


    A non-human-like scream followed from the same direction, ¡°Help! Save me!¡±


    Winters fled into the tree line, the resilient branches hit him as though he was being whipped, but he gritted his teeth and pushed deeper into the forest.


    Once inside the woodland, their view obstructed by vegetation, they could not see each other¡¯s whereabouts, only hearing rustling sounds everywhere, intermittently interrupted by gunshots and cries of pain.


    No Venetians dared to stop and identify friend from foe; they had lost their leadership and direction, and could only run desperately to save their lives.


    ¡°Which way to run? Red Sulfur Harbor is to the northeast. The pursuers started from Red Sulfur Harbor, searching from north to south, so there should be no enemies to the south now.¡± Having realized this, Winters stopped and used a spell to amplify his voice and shouted in the Venetian dialect, ¡°[Venetian dialect] South! South! To the left!¡±


    Before he could run south, suddenly a powerful force hit him around the waist, and Winters was knocked down.


    An excited voice shouted, ¡°Here! Here! I¡¯ve caught an officer!¡±


    The two rolled around in the muddy forest, the Tanilian trying to use all his strength to pin Winters to the ground, while Winters struggled to fight back, attempting to rise.


    This was a grappling match without any honor or etiquette, one driven by bounty and greed, the other fighting for his life.


    The Tanilian was not as strong as Winters but clung to him from behind, taking the blows without letting go, just continuously shouting, ¡°Here!¡±


    The human body is not designed to exert as much strength backwards as forward, and being gripped from behind around the waist, even a stronger Winters couldn¡¯t manage to free himself.


    Whether hitting back with fists or elbows, he couldn¡¯t exert force, and the Tanilian¡¯s shouts were drawing more pursuers.


    Winters suddenly realized this was no contest with rules to follow. He stopped flailing his fists futilely and instead traced the man¡¯s arms to find his fingers.


    Found them! The man¡¯s fingers were tightly clasped around Winters¡¯ waist; Winters slid his hand between the man¡¯s fingers and his own clothing, grasping the Tanilian¡¯s two fingers tightly and pulled back with all his strength.


    After two snaps, the Tanilian screamed and let go. Free once more, Winters flipped over, pressed the Tanilian beneath him, and clasped his hands tightly around the man¡¯s neck.


    But the Tanilian did not rapidly lose the ability to resist; he struggled fiercely, his throat emitting a deep, intermittent growl. His right hand clawed up a rock from the ground and smashed it hard against Winters¡¯ head.


    Winters only felt a sharp pain followed by numbness on his head, and he loosened the grip on the man¡¯s throat.


    The Tanilian, who could finally breathe again, moaned as he drew a deep breath.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 191 - 191 - 78: Escape_2

    Chapter 191 ¨C 78: Escape_2


    However, before he could exhale that breath, a rock almost as big as his head smashed ruthlessly onto his skull.


    Accompanied by a terrifying crack, the Tanilian convulsed once and then lay motionless.


    Winters¡¯s hands still didn¡¯t let go of the rock; he summoned strength in his waist and lifted the rock above his head again, swinging it down in a full circle.


    Once, twice, thrice.


    Only after the opponent was thoroughly dead did the exhausted Winters release his grip, gasping for breath as he got up.


    The mud patch in the forest seemed like it had just hosted a bloody sacrifice, with splashes of red and white everywhere.


    ¡°Help! Help!¡±


    ...


    The cries for help carried a Venetian accent.


    Winters took the dagger that the now-deceased Tanilian wore and, using both hands and feet, climbed out of the muddy area and headed toward the source of the sound.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s situation was now precarious.


    A dozen Venetians had fled toward the south until they were stopped by a low cliff in front of them. The ground in front abruptly rose two to three meters, and the cliff was made of limestone, offering no handholds whatsoever.


    A tidal wave coming from the northeast had capsized the Venetians¡¯ small boat, and the western beaches of the bay were nearly covered with Venetians who had been washed ashore, some alive, others dead.


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er was among those who were alive when they were washed ashore.


    He immediately gathered the other surviving Venetian soldiers around him and led this small band of stragglers into the forests in the island¡¯s interior.


    ¡°Colonel, we can¡¯t run anymore; if we do, the soldiers¡¯ morale will collapse. While we still have the strength, let¡¯s turn around and fight them,¡± Andre said, carrying a wooden stick as he found Colonel Kongtai¡¯er.


    Warrant Officer Andrea Cherini, leading a few soldiers, had joined up with Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s group during their escape.


    ¡°We don¡¯t even have weapons; a direct confrontation would be a dead end,¡± Kongtai¡¯er said, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. ¡°Head southwest to the coast. Figure out a way to set sail back to the fleet; there¡¯s still a chance to live.¡±


    In the group, which included the two officers, there were a total of fourteen people, not one of them had a piece of iron. Those who refused to abandon their armor and weapons drowned at sea; during the escape, they only found the things they carried too cumbersome.


    The soldiers wished they could throw away everything disposable, only Andre had picked up a thick tree branch as a club.


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest here in this clearing for a moment, then we¡¯ll walk along this cliff to the west to find a gap to climb up,¡± Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, drenched in sweat, clearly couldn¡¯t run any further, as high-ranking officers who usually rode horses had no stamina for this. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing the colonel¡¯s order to rest here for the time being, the soldiers collapsed onto the ground one by one, running through the forest had left them utterly drained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t sit! Get up! Once you sit for a rest, you won¡¯t be able to run anymore,¡± Andre, holding the stick, moved among the soldiers, ordering them not to sit: ¡°Stand up, all of you, stand up.¡±


    The utterly fatigued soldiers could hardly attend to all this; the authority of an officer meant nothing to them at this point. They just kept their heads down, sitting on the ground, neither answering nor obeying orders.


    Andre, seething with rage and gritting his teeth, however, did not dare to force the soldiers to act at this moment.


    Sounds of snapping branches came from the woods, growing quickly closer, and a figure dashed out of the dense forest and into the clearing.


    Not wearing Venetian uniform, it was a Tanilian!


    The Venetian soldiers did not expect the pursuers to catch up so quickly, and the Tanilian hadn¡¯t expected to stumble upon so many Venetians.


    They stared at each other, eyes wide, for a second.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± Andre scooped up the stick and charged.


    At the same moment, the Tanilian turned tail and ran back into the dense forest, shouting as he ran, ¡°They are here!¡±


    The lean Tanilian was agile like a monkey, disappearing in a flash. Andre chased him a few steps, but seeing he couldn¡¯t catch up, he stopped, defeated.


    ¡°Move, move!¡± Andre shouted loudly, urging the soldiers as he dragged them up from the ground.


    But just as he had warned, after a strenuous activity, not resting was one thing, but once they sat down to rest, their bodies completely lost energy.


    The soldiers stood up, swaying, and shuffling their feet; even knowing the pursuers were behind them, they could no longer run.


    Just a little rest, just a little longer, even just a moment would do. The voice of the devil whispered in the soldiers¡¯ minds.


    ¡°I can¡¯t run anymore; I¡¯d rather die than run! Just let them kill me!¡± One soldier simply sat back down on the ground, succumbing to despair and resignation.


    Andre couldn¡¯t suppress his fury any longer; enraged, he raised his stick and roared, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡±


    The soldier who had sat back down was startled into action, scrambling to his feet.


    However, it was already too late; the Tanilians had caught up with them.


    About a dozen Tanilians emerged from the dense woodland, encircling the small band of stragglers led by Kongtai¡¯er and Andre.


    The Venetians had the advantage in numbers but had no weapons at all, not even enough stones for each person to have one.


    Although the Tanilians had cutlasses and short spears, they were outnumbered, so they did not dare to strike first.


    The sides stood in a standoff, the Tanilians slowly pushing the Venetians back to a small space by the low cliff until the Venetians with their backs against the cliff had nowhere to retreat.


    The spark that ignited the brawl came from two more Tanilians who ran over from the woods carrying matchlock guns.

 Chapter 192 - 192 - 78 Escape_3

    Chapter 192 ¨C 78 Escape_3


    When he saw two enemies carrying ranged weapons approaching, Andre realized he couldn¡¯t delay any longer, he should have acted the moment the Tanilians appeared.


    ¡°Follow me! Kill!¡± Warrant Officer Andrea Cherini bellowed, swinging a stick as he charged at the tallest of the Tanilians.


    The Tanilians surrounding them hadn¡¯t expected these cornered beasts to fight back. Confronted by an officer wielding a club, the muscular Tanilian in front of them froze in place, instinctively raising his saber to block the attack.


    Years of swordsmanship training enabled Andre to intuitively use the stick in his hands as if it were a longsword. He knocked the enemy¡¯s weapon away with one swing and swung back hard, striking the other¡¯s right ear. Blood instantly poured from the man¡¯s nostrils, mouth, and eyes, and his body collapsed limply to the ground.


    In the blink of an eye, Andre had floored the Tanilian strongman.


    The sight of this officer¡¯s fierce courage shocked the Tanilians, while it inspired the Venetians, who brandishing stones, charged at the enemy with cries.


    However, the dire situation only deepened Andre¡¯s despair as seven or eight more Tanilians were drawn by the noise, and he saw the number of Tanilians in the clearing steadily increase.


    ...


    ¡°Come on! Come and kill me!¡± the young warrant officer roared in desperation, searching for another opponent. Yet the Tanilians avoided him, and a small vacuum unexpectedly appeared in the chaotic battlefield. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thud,¡± a dull gunshot rang out.


    Andre closed his eyes, but realized there was no particular pain in his body, and immediately opened his eyes again.


    At the base of the short cliff, Colonel Kongtai¡¯er clutched his abdomen and collapsed to the ground.


    A Tanilian chieftain reached the edge of the clearing and immediately noticed the conspicuous officer in the midst of battle. Under his continuous commands, several spear-wielding Tanilians surrounded Andre.


    If stones were effective, humans wouldn¡¯t have resorted to iron weapons to slaughter each other.


    One after another, the unarmed Venetian soldiers, armed only with stones, were struck down. Seeing this, Andre let out a roar of despair. He grabbed the longspear aimed at him and smashed the stick in his hand together with the spearman¡¯s head.


    The other spearmen, out of fear, didn¡¯t dare approach him, but two arquebusiers on the edge of the clearing had him in their sights.


    ¡°This Venetian doesn¡¯t look much older than twenty, does he?¡± the Tanilian chieftain leading the men thought as he watched the young officer in the battlefield, ¡°He is indeed a brave warrior, shame he¡¯s a Venetian.¡±


    The next moment, he felt a hot surge at the back of his head, and his consciousness extinguished.


    The captain beside him collapsed to the ground with a thump, and the arquebusier nearby, completely bewildered, hurriedly crouched down trying to wake the captain, but the captain had already breathed his last.


    More sounds came from the dense forest. The arquebusier looked in the direction of the noise, his legs weakened instantly, nearly unable to maintain his crouched position.


    From the forest emerged a person dressed in Venetian military uniform, which looked as if it had been washed in mud and sludge, the mud encrusted with bloodstains, and the traces of some white fluid that had congealed were even more conspicuous.


    Before the arquebusier could cry out for help, the person raised his hand and the powder flask at the arquebusier¡¯s waist exploded instantly, the force blowing him in two.


    The other arquebusier yet to grasp what was happening had his powder flask explode as well, leaving a huge gap in his abdomen, as if half his stomach had been bitten off by a giant beast.


    The slaughter in the battlefield was interrupted by these two loud blasts. Both the Tanilians and the Venetians stood bewildered, looking towards the edge of the woods.


    A blood-covered Venetian officer charged into the battlefield, slashing at the Tanilians like a violent storm. Every time he lifted his left hand, a Tanilian spasmed and fell.


    Six or seven men wielding sabers followed him into the fray, and another Venetian officer armed with a bow stood at the edge of the forest, supporting the attack.


    ¡°The Centurion is here! The reinforcements have arrived!¡± Andre cried out in manic laughter, ¡°Kill them all! Don¡¯t let a single one escape!¡±

 Chapter 193 - 193 - 79: A First-Class Thief

    Chapter 193 ¨C 79: A First-Class Thief


    About an hour after the Vineta Fleet withdrew from the bay, on the grand road connecting Red Sulfur Harbor with the entrance of the bay, a group of Tanilian was swaggering towards Red Sulfur Harbor with a line of prisoners in tow.


    Less than twenty people were stretched out in a column along the packed dirt road, half of them being the Tanilian sailors responsible for the escort, the rest bound at the wrists and chained together were Venetian. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A gaunt pirate with missing teeth held a long spear aloft at the head of the procession, the spear¡¯s tip pierced through the head of someone wearing a Venetian military cap. The face beneath the cap appeared unnaturally pale, the result of having been drained of blood.


    Among the group was even a large cart, its pitiful mule foaming at the mouth from exhaustion. Several Venetian corpses were covered with a casually thrown straw mat, revealing only their lower halves, and were tossed brazenly onto the cart.


    Aside from the corpses, many heads were piled up. The cart creaked along its way, and a trail of blood dripped behind it.


    There were almost no civilians on the road; a few passersby who spotted the group from a distance quickly scurried into the neighboring woods to hide.


    The island of Red Sulfur had long been under martial law, and the locals were aware that the Venetians were coming to raid Red Sulfur Island. But more than the Venetians, the locals feared the pirates who had converged on Red Sulfur Island from every direction.


    ...


    At this moment, the island¡¯s defenders included not only the militia guard and plantation private soldiers but also mercenaries and irregulars recruited by the Confederation with generous bounties¡ªpirates.


    These pirates touted themselves as defenders of Red Sulfur Island, finding it perfectly rational to demand some additional fees. Not daring to provoke the large plantations, the pirates specifically victimized the civilians.


    Within just a couple of days, there had already been several clashes between the militia and the pirates, with both sides suffering casualties. If the Venetians didn¡¯t arrive soon, Red Sulfur Island might well descend into internal strife.


    Now, having won a great battle, the pirates¡¯ arrogance had swollen even further.


    The ones escorting the prisoners didn¡¯t bother paying any mind to the onlookers hiding in the woods, simply proceeding along the road toward Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The scrawny lead pirate, suddenly in high spirits, broke into a raucous sea shanty:


    ¡°Feast on the rib, the choice part of meat~


    Marry a bandit, with him life¡¯s complete~


    Midnight awakes to the sound of steal clashing~


    Sister in silk while brother¡¯s head smashing!


    ¡­¡±


    The ghastly song broke through his windy mouth, and in a thick Tanilian accent at that, so thick it was almost indiscernible to anyone but the singing pirate himself.


    The few farmers hiding in the woods looked at each other in dismay, unsure if the pirates with heads on their spears were more terrifying or the donkey-like clamor of the song.


    Another group of pirates, heading to support the battery, appeared from the opposite direction. The two parties brushed past one another, and those pirates who hadn¡¯t gotten a chance to fight or take captives enviously eyed the prisoners and severed heads on the cart that their comrades were escorting.


    ¡°Hey mate, a fine haul!¡± called out a pirate half in envy, half in admiration to those escorting prisoners, ¡°You lot have struck it rich; spare me a few heads, will you?¡±


    ¡°Plenty of heads up front, chop ¡¯em off yourself!¡± retorted the toothless skinny pirate with a hearty laugh: ¡°Don¡¯t you XX think about touching my merchandise.¡±


    ¡°Mate, I reckon there might be heads of the old island farmers among those, huh?¡±


    ¡°[Crude sailor jargon]!¡±


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    The two groups passed each other and quickly left each other behind. The road meandered and, after a bend, the others were out of sight behind the trees.


    ¡°Those damn donkey¡¯s turds, they must¡¯ve chopped a few farmers from the nearby homesteads to make up the numbers,¡± said the pirate who had shouted at the skinny, toothless one, jealously, to his companion: ¡°How many even managed to get ashore? I reckon there¡¯s at least fifteen heads on that cart!¡±


    The adjacent pirate nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Ah! Why don¡¯t I have that luck?¡± lamented the shouting pirate, full of self-pity, ¡°We also need to think hard about where to get a couple of heads ourselves.¡±


    Time rewound to a little earlier.


    Accompanied by two explosions, a strike force burst out from the dense forest, and the Tanilian, caught between attackers from front and rear, immediately lost all morale.


    A few quick-witted ones on the edge of the battlefield turned tail and ran, triggering a chain reaction; the outnumbered Tanilian scattered in every direction.


    The Venetian officer holding the bow didn¡¯t bother with any Tanilian attempting to counterattack but aimed only at the sailors trying to flee.


    ¡°Chase! Don¡¯t let them escape! If they get away, we¡¯re all dead,¡± Andre shouted harshly, urging on the weary Venetian.


    Running all the way to the low cliff, the Venetian who had been fighting on pure adrenaline found their opponents turning tail to flee, and they literally didn¡¯t have the energy to give chase.


    Instead, the reinforcements who had rushed out were desperately trying to intercept the fleeing pirates, and the Venetian officer with the bow took down several men in quick succession.


    Nevertheless, two pirates managed to slip into the dense forest, their figures quickly vanishing among the leaves and bushes.


    ¡°We¡¯re finished!¡± Andre thought desperately in the middle of the battlefield, ¡°The second wave of pursuers will slaughter us all.¡±


    But the bloodied and muddied officer who had led the reinforcements into the fray followed the footprints of the pirates into the broadleaf rainforest.


    How much time had passed was hard to tell; it felt short yet simultaneously endless.


    Footsteps and the rustling of branches were heard once more from the woods, and the officer reemerged carrying two heads.


    The clothes and shoes of the two fleeing pirates, along with their heads, were tossed to the ground with a thud.

 Chapter 194 - 194 - 79: A First-Class Thief_2

    Chapter 194 ¨C 79: A First-Class Thief_2


    Andre had a multitude of words he wanted to say, but once they reached his lips, he swallowed them all back down again, his thousand words condensing into a hug and a teasing remark, ¡°Winters¡­ do you have some sort of peculiar penchant for chopping off heads?¡±


    Winters looked at the complexions of the Venetian soldiers behind Andre and inwardly sighed that his reputation was now thoroughly ruined.


    ¡°The pirates want to exchange our heads for money; they have to take our clothes and shoes as proof,¡± Winters explained with a bitter smile, to prove that his mental state was very normal. ¡°Leaving a headless corpse, they can¡¯t tell who¡¯s dead.¡±


    The Venetian soldiers relaxed a bit upon hearing this. Even Venetians would feel chills seeing Winters in action in battle. The man now offering a helpless explanation was once again the normally amiable Lieutenant Montaigne.


    ¡°How did you find us?¡±


    ¡°With all the noise you were making, it would have been hard to miss,¡± Bard stepped over and said with a smile.


    Andre also excitedly gave Bard a bear hug.


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    Others were cleaning up the battlefield, the trio of lieutenants from the hundred-man squadron quickly held a meeting.


    Winters briefly and concisely recounted how he had gathered the scattered troops, encountered Bard, and captured and interrogated two enemies.


    ¡°These Tanilians are all pirates, the Federation has put a bounty of two Gold Coins per head on them, alive and officers double,¡± Winters said gravely. ¡°Every long-legged pirate on Red Sulfur Island has started to cast their net to hunt us down, the ones who weren¡¯t drowned.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re now the highest-ranking officer in the chain of command; we¡¯ll do whatever you say,¡± Andre said, relieved that he no longer needed to ponder the situation.


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er was not dead; the pirates¡¯ powders for their guns were not very powerful, and had only caused a hole the size of a fingertip in his abdomen. The blood had stopped on its own, but the lead bullet was still inside, creating uncertainty about the situation within the abdominal cavity, and the colonel had already fallen into shock.


    Winters and his companions were also at a loss; having soldiers who were half-dead was troublesome, and Bard had already arranged for soldiers to make a temporary stretcher.


    ¡°No choice, we have to run. The key question is, where do we run to?¡± Winters found a stone to sit on: ¡°Moreover, we¡¯re carrying wounded, which means we can¡¯t move fast.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do then?¡± After a moment of silence, Andre said in a strained, low voice, ¡°Otherwise¡­¡±


    He made a gesture.


    ¡°No,¡± Bard said calmly, pressing down on Andre¡¯s hand. ¡°The soldiers are all watching; if we abandon the wounded, their morale will break. We either carry the wounded with us, or we abandon everyone.¡±


    Five had died in the recent skirmish, and four were seriously injured¡ªthose needing to be carried were considered severely injured.


    Winters was very clear in his mind: not only did the small group of survivors have to deal with the drag from the injured, slowing down their marching speed, but a larger group also made for a larger target. If only the three lieutenants moved, they would have a much greater chance of escape.


    The soldiers who were clearing the battlefield were almost all wounded, but nobody dared show signs of injury, fearing they¡¯d be left behind. A grievously injured soldier was crying softly, while others remained silent; everyone was acutely aware of how things would unfold.


    All of the wounded would be abandoned, and with some luck, they might receive a quick end. Those whose strength failed would fall behind one by one, until only a few managed to reach the western shores of the island, still hoping they could find a boat to take them out to sea.


    ¡°Are my soldiers destined to only get this far?¡± Winters thought grimly. ¡°Even if there is such a thing as fate, I refuse to surrender without a fight!¡±


    All the living Venetians present were summoned to the side of Lieutenant Montaigne, including soldiers of the hundred-man squadron and sailors from the navy.


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard, Lieutenant Cherini, and I have decided not to abandon a single wounded soldier,¡± Winters declared straightforwardly.


    In the eyes of his men, Winters saw gratitude and also anxiety and bewilderment.


    ¡°Look at this map; we¡¯re roughly here. If we flee southwest, we could possibly make it to the coast,¡± Winters, who had carefully wrapped the pre-battle map of Red Sulfur Island in oilcloth and kept it in his chest, was fortunate it hadn¡¯t been soaked: ¡°But I¡¯ve decided that we won¡¯t flee southwest; we¡¯re going to advance northeast, towards Red Sulfur Harbor. Listen well, we¡¯re not fleeing, we¡¯re advancing!¡±


    ¡°Heading towards Red Sulfur Harbor will be much safer, even safer than running southwest. The pirates¡¯ net will tighten, but the area behind the net is comparatively weak,¡± Winters reiterated Colonel Field¡¯s teaching to the astonished soldiers: ¡°Third-rate thieves wear black to skulk in the night, but first-rate thieves wear suits. Follow me, I will lead you in your finest attire through the net!¡±


    Time returned to the present.


    Fully liberated, the resolute Winters led the ragtag group of Venetian survivors in pirate clothing, crashing into a nearby farmhouse for a hearty meal, and even commandeered a large cart.


    Venetian who could not speak the dialect of Tanilia¡ªincluding three officers¡ªhad all become ¡°captives¡±.


    His original plan was for everyone to dress up as pirates, but the three officers impersonating pirates could only fool the peasants. Anyone with a discerning eye could spot the ruse, so they were forced to go half pirate, half captive.


    The ¡°prisoner escort¡± team swaggered down the main road of Red Sulfur Island, attracting curious glances but arousing no suspicions.


    The Bastion outside of Red Sulfur Harbor was in sight, however, there were fewer and fewer Tanilians around, apparently, most of them were preoccupied with capturing prisoners.


    ¡°Whose men are you?¡± asked a rider as his group and a large wagon came to a standstill, blocking the road just outside Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The wagon couldn¡¯t make way, and the driver, unabashedly pushing forward, forced the riders to reluctantly move aside.


    ¡°Hailerdin!¡± the lead toothless thin pirate boldly announced a prominent name.


    ¡°Oh¡­ one of Redbeard¡¯s men. No wonder,¡± the rider in charge muttered thoughtfully. He glanced at the load in the wagon and asked with a smile, ¡°What¡¯s with the mix of odds and ends?¡±


    ¡°Are you blind? Those are alive!¡± scoffed the toothless thin pirate with a sneer. ¡°A dead one is worth two, a live one three. Do you even understand?¡±


    The spear-wielding pirate was skinny, but his sharp tongue spared no one. Mixing rough sailor¡¯s slang with the Tanilian dialect, he was obviously not saying anything pleasant, and it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying.


    ¡°Oh¡­ I see,¡± the rider in charge responded calmly.


    Winters, who had been keeping his head down, couldn¡¯t help but be curious about the identity of the rider, so he discreetly raised his head for a glance, only to lock eyes with him.


    Winters knew instantly that this was not good and quickly lowered his head.


    But it was already too late. The leader of the riders immediately ordered his men, ¡°Bring that Venetian out from the middle, I want to question him!¡±


    ¡°You sons of bitches! What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± the toothless pirate interposed fiercely, protecting the captives.


    ¡°I need to interrogate this prisoner,¡± the leader of the riders said impatiently, not wanting to waste time arguing with the lowlife pirate. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just going to trade him for money? I¡¯ll give you the money directly¡ªhow about that?¡±


    ¡°You think just because you want to question him, I¡¯ll let you? You¡­¡± The insult-spewing pirate¡¯s rant was cut short as he suddenly noticed the rider fumbling and showing difficulty, quickly realizing he hadn¡¯t brought money. He decisively changed his tune, ¡°¡­Can you cough up the cash?¡±


    ¡°Hand him over to me, then go collect your money at Gott Guild Hall, tell them Captain Kidd sent you,¡± Captain William Kidd, rummaging through his pockets and finding no purses, could only suggest another solution.


    ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn who you are! You want the man, bring the money!¡± cursed the toothless pirate. ¡°Five Venetian coins! If you can¡¯t pay up, then piss off!¡±


    [¡°Venetian¡± referred to the gold coins minted by the Republic of Veneta, short for Venetian ducats.]


    ¡°Does anyone else have money?¡± Captain Kidd turned and asked his fellow riders.


    Unfortunately, no one had brought money that day, and the other riders could only scrape together a handful of large silver coins. Find more to read at empire


    ¡°Just go,¡± Captain Kidd said, disinterested in haggling with the despicable pirate before him, waving them off. ¡°He¡¯ll end up in my hands eventually. I¡¯ll interrogate him later.¡±


    With that, he led his men away.


    The anxious group finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°We might have just run into the commander of Red Sulfur Island,¡± Bard whispered. ¡°Did you see their horses? All top-notch warhorses.¡±


    Andre nodded in agreement, ¡°We¡¯re lucky they didn¡¯t bring any money.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the skinny pirate grinned widely, showing his uneven and missing teeth, ¡°I¡¯m ¡¯Lucky¡¯ Gold, after all!¡±

 Chapter 195 - 195 - 80 Find a Way to Survive

    Chapter 195 ¨C 80 Find a Way to Survive


    ¡°We¡¯ve found out that the council took all the boats on the island away days ago, and now the peasants don¡¯t even have large planks of wood,¡± Gold brought back the bad news.


    The Vineta Remnants, having escaped the dragnet, transformed themselves into pirates, never stopping as they skirted the harbor and moved eastward, with Winters even sending Gold into Red Sulfur Harbor to risk his neck for a bit of money.


    Most of the enemy were searching for Venetians in the southwest of the island, while Winters¡¯s group had already reached the east side. The situation was temporarily safe, but the next step was to figure out a way to get a small boat to sea. Stay connected with empire


    Stroking the stubble on his chin, Bard mused, ¡°As expected, the Red Sulfur Island council has gone to great lengths to prepare such a gift, they certainly didn¡¯t want to let any word slip out. Even if some islanders have hidden boats, they absolutely wouldn¡¯t hand them over.¡±


    ¡°Can we trust this man? Wasn¡¯t he also a pirate before? And one that we captured at that?¡± Andre¡¯s focus was completely off the boat.


    Winters, pouring over the map of Red Sulfur Island, responded without lifting his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know why he decided to side with us, but if he wanted to betray us, we¡¯d be dead by now, so I choose to trust him.¡±


    It was only after marching on the main road and then turning onto a smaller path for a while that Winters finally ordered a halt to rest.


    ...


    The team stopped by a small stream where the taut nerves of the escaped Venetians just started to relax a bit; sleepiness immediately took them. Even the sentries were nodding off, while the others were snoring as soon as their backs hit the ground.


    ¡°Fourteen people still able to walk, plus a large cart,¡± Winters mused while looking at his subordinates sleeping under the shade of the trees, ¡°This is what¡¯s left of my hundred-man squad.¡±


    He tried not to think about what the outcome might have been if he had ordered ¡°to turn back¡± instead of ¡°charge forward.¡±


    But as the linchpin of these remnants, he couldn¡¯t afford to think about ¡°what ifs¡± nor could he rest. Lieutenant Montaigne told himself, ¡°You must find a way for these people to survive.¡±


    ¡°You two, come look at the map,¡± Winters called Bard and Andre over to his side, ¡°This map¡¯s scale is 1:10000. I¡¯ve been counting steps; after leaving Red Sulfur Harbor, we walked over four thousand four hundred steps on the main road and then another three thousand two hundred or so on the smaller path¡­¡±


    The steps Winters referred to were marching steps, one with each foot alternately counting as one step, approximately one point two meters per step.


    Bard quickly did the math, ¡°So from noon until now we¡¯ve walked almost nine kilometers, quite fast, almost at forced march speed.¡±


    ¡°With not even a pot to eat from, how could we not be fast?¡± Andre rolled his eyes, turning to Winters, ¡°It¡¯s no use, knowing how far we¡¯ve walked doesn¡¯t help. Do you have a soft tape measure?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t bring one, but I have this,¡± Winters said with a cunning smile, pulling out a steel awl, ¡°This awl is exactly fifteen centimeters long, neither more nor less.¡±


    The three lieutenants fiddled with the map for a while, picking up their past skills in mapping, and finally pinpointed their current location on the map based on their walking distance and the nearby streams and roads.


    They had followed the road and were now nearing the eastern coast of Red Sulfur Island, with the straight-line distance on the map being only about three to four kilometers.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go blundering around like headless flies now,¡± Winters put away the map, and said to the other two lieutenants, ¡°The team will rest here for the time being, and Bard and I will scout to the east¡­¡±


    ¡°I want to go, too!¡± Andre immediately protested, not wanting to be left behind.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere,¡± Winters pushed him back down, ¡°If all three of us are gone, won¡¯t the rest think we¡¯ve run off? You stay behind.¡±


    When the sun was sloping west, Winters who had returned to the resting place called a meeting for everyone.


    The situation was quite special at the moment, with the team¡¯s composition being complex and his own authority uncertain, so he had to use this kind of military democracy to get the soldiers to follow orders more willingly.


    ¡°We¡¯re just behind the eastern hills at the coastline, less than four kilometers away,¡± he didn¡¯t beat around the bush and looked directly at the few naval sailors in the group, ¡°Do any of you know how to make a raft?¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t work if you¡¯re thinking of making it to sea on a raft,¡± one bold sailor spoke up to explain, ¡°Rafts not only have poor load capacity but they also capsize at the slightest sign of wind and waves, and besides¡­ we don¡¯t even have the tools to make one, do we?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What if we had tools?¡± Winters counter-asked.


    The sailor counted on his fingers for a while before answering, ¡°To carry all of us, we¡¯d need to chop at least fifty logs, and we would also need plenty of rope, and preferably tar as well.¡±


    ¡°Do you know anything about shipbuilding?¡± Winters asked again.


    ¡°I used to work in a shipyard,¡± the sailor scratched his head.


    ¡°Everyone heard it, the enemy has scavenged all the boats, and it¡¯s going to be very difficult to make temporary rafts,¡± Winters gazed into the soldiers¡¯ eyes and spoke up, ¡°And both Lieutenant Bard and I have scouted toward the seaside, there are enemy sentries everywhere, it¡¯s absolutely impossible for us to chop wood and build boats under their watch.¡±


    The soldiers¡¯ eyes grew dim.


    ¡°However, there is still one way out,¡± Winters¡¯s aim was not to demoralize, he firmly outlined his plan, ¡°Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s plan was to find a way to the seaside to look for a boat. But my plan is the opposite, we¡¯re not only not going to the seaside, we are going northwest, we are heading further inland on the island.¡±

 Chapter 196 - 196 - 80 Find a Way to Survive_2

    Chapter 196 ¨C 80 Find a Way to Survive_2


    ¡°`


    The temporary meeting place was as quiet as the grave, with only the gentle murmur of the creek. Although the soldiers were surprised and confused, none spoke a word; instead, they listened intently.


    They formed a circle, with Winters placing the map in the middle, He explained using a branch as a pointer, ¡°Although we¡¯re trapped on the island, the Tanilia¡¯s ambush has actually failed. Our main forces are unharmed and will soon land again. This is why, along the coastline, Bard and I found so many Tanilia sentries; their primary defense is directed towards the coast. The further inland we go, the fewer enemies we¡¯ll encounter.¡±


    Winters looked at everyone and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you the empty words of ¡¯conserve strength and wait for victory.¡¯ Right now, our goal is to do whatever it takes to survive, to live until Vineta conquers this island. And in my opinion, our best chance of survival lies in advancing into the heart of the island.¡±


    The soldiers of the Third Legion¡¯s prime squad were career soldiers, within Winters¡¯ small group, there were a few Centurions who had served for over a decade, much longer than the three warrant officers.


    But whether they were veterans or new recruits, never in their service had an officer explained to them the ¡°why.¡± Winters actually underestimated his own authority; with the bloody battle in the forest and his leading the team out of the encirclement, he had already earned the soldiers¡¯ respect.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne, we¡¯re all with you! Just give the order, and we will follow!¡±


    ...


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    Dawn.


    The tranquility of the village Tadong was shattered by cursing and wailing.


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    The small farming settlement, nestled in the heartland of Red Sulfur Island and home to just over forty families, had been intruded upon by unwelcome guests.


    A group of fierce-looking men, dressed as sailors and wielding curved swords, kicked in the gate of a homestead on the eastern edge of the village. They first beat the resisting homeowner, then herded the entire household into the courtyard.


    ¡°We¡¯re Captain Kidd¡¯s foraging party!¡± The gap-toothed pirate boasted as he brandished his curved sword with a whooshing sound, yelling shrilly, ¡°Bring out anything valuable quickly. If I find it myself, don¡¯t blame me for not warning you.¡±


    ¡°The cellar¡¯s here!¡± An exultant voice came from the backyard.


    ¡°Move it!¡± The gap-toothed pirate gestured broadly with his hand.


    Several pirates emerged from the backyard carrying smoked meats, pickled vegetables, and fine flour. These pirates had an eye for quality, selecting only the best goods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be upset, we¡¯re paying,¡± the gap-toothed pirate mockingly shouted at the farmer¡¯s family, then pressed his curved sword to the dazed homeowner, ¡°Tell me, where does the village chief live?¡±


    The women and children, initially sobbing softly, burst into louder cries. The old grandmother of the family, while trying to grab the leg of the gap-toothed pirate, wailed, ¡°You killed my son, you murderer, just kill me too¡­¡±


    Taken aback, the gap-toothed pirate hastily stepped back to avoid the old lady.


    The old man of the house quickly pulled his wife back and stood, arms extended like a mother hen protecting her chicks, between his family and the pirates, his expression rigid, ¡°Don¡¯t harm my son, I¡¯ll take you to the village chief¡¯s house.¡±


    ¡°Alright, patriarch. Tell your women to stop crying; we¡¯re not here to kill,¡± the gap-toothed pirate laughed and sized up the family, his eyes lingering on the women and children huddled together, ¡°Your women are quite pretty, is she your daughter-in-law or your daughter¡­¡±


    The old man angrily stepped in front of the gap-toothed pirate, containing his anger as he said bluntly, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re a guest in my home, take what you will¡­ But you must not touch my women, unless you kill me first.¡±


    Another tall pirate behind the gap-toothed one grabbed his shoulder, ¡°Captain Kidd sent us to gather provisions, not to fool around with women. Work first, when it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll treat you to the expensive ones.¡±


    ¡°Patriarch, you¡¯ve got quite the temper. I just saw your women crying pitifully and thought to cheer them up,¡± the gap-toothed pirate raised his hands, stepping back, ¡°If you¡¯re not keen on the idea, forget it, patriarch, lead us to the village chief.¡±


    Outside the courtyard, a cart stood ready. Seeing the goods loaded aboard, the gap-toothed pirate rummaged through his belt and pulled out a handful of inscribed paper, shoving several ¡°military notes¡± into the old man¡¯s hands, ¡°Don¡¯t say we don¡¯t pay. This is called military notes. Keep it safe, and after the war, you can redeem it for money at the Red Sulfur Harbor Gott Guild Hall.¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man took the ¡°military notes¡± with humiliation and followed the gap-toothed pirate out of the courtyard, looking back three times with every step.


    The tall pirate was the last to leave. He tossed a silver coin into the air, and with a precise arc, it fell into the old grandmother¡¯s bosom, ¡°Take this, don¡¯t say we don¡¯t pay.¡±


    After that, he left and even closed the door behind him.


    Being in extreme terror, the family failed to notice that the tall pirate spoke with the eloquent accent of Sea Blue.


    ¡°`


    But in the community of pirates, there are all kinds of people, so it¡¯s not strange for Venetians to become pirates.


    The village chief¡¯s house was the second to have its doors kicked open.


    The pirates repeated the process of ¡°beating anyone who resists¡ªdriving the whole family into the yard¡ªdemanding food supplies.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen, our village of Tadong has already paid its dues,¡± the village chief said, head bowed, in a fawning tone.


    ¡°Bullshit, if you ate yesterday, do you not eat today? Just because you paid the quota before, means you don¡¯t have to pay this time?¡± the toothless pirate slapped the chief¡¯s face with the back of his machete, ¡°Flour, oil, meat, salt, we want everything. Oh, and carts, we need six carts. I¡¯m not asking for too much, just fill three carts for me, I¡¯ll get the other three filled in other villages.¡±


    Looking at his son¡¯s bruised face, the Tadong village chief bitterly said, ¡°Where am I supposed to find six carts for you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know who has carts?¡± the toothless pirate¡¯s brows shot up as he pressed the machete against the other¡¯s neck, sneering, ¡°Seems you¡¯re not afraid of Captain Kidd, right? Good, come with me, William Kidd likes to slowly torment tough nuts until they turn into jelly¡­¡±


    The village chief trembled in fear at his terrible laughter, begging for mercy and swearing that every time he thought of Captain Kidd he would wet himself, promising Kidd could have anything he wanted.


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    The toothless pirate nodded satisfyingly and casually asked, ¡°By the way, where does your village barber live? Is there a doctor nearby?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°My name is Captain Kidd


    As I sail the open seas


    I commit all manner of deeds


    I¡¯m endlessly wicked


    I killed William Moore


    I killed William Moore


    ¡­¡±


    The carts creaked away into the distance, along with the pirates¡¯ ghastly, howling song. The village chief¡¯s and a few other wealthy farmers¡¯ carts, along with their draft animals, had been requisitioned, leaving the Tadong villagers with ¡°military notes¡± in hand, crying without tears. Several women discovered that these vicious pirates had even taken iron pots.


    ¡°Now we¡¯ve really become bandits,¡± Winters sighed dejectedly, riding on the cart and swearing, a rarity for him, ¡°I wonder if this¡¯ll land us in a military court later on?¡±


    Bard, who was driving the cart, said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s not that bad, really. We mostly took non-staple foods, not much staple food, no one will starve to death. During sovereign wars, things get much worse, the histories just note them down as ¡¯Years of famine, people ate each other,¡¯ and that¡¯s it. Haven¡¯t we discussed this already? If we want to move undetected in the countryside, our only option is to pose as a grain requisitioning party. What kind of grain requisitioning team would we be without carts?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the future when it comes,¡± Winters sat up suddenly, saying with a headache, ¡°It¡¯s unbelievable there¡¯s just one doctor capable of bloodletting within miles, and he¡¯s a plantation owner, too. This is going to be tough.¡±


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er had incredible vitality, and thanks to the careful attention of three warrant officers, his condition stabilized. However, another problem arose; the unconscious Kongtai¡¯er began to run a fever.


    Clearly, the fever was due to foreign bodies in the wound. Upon examination, they found a musket ball had even carried a piece of cloth from his clothing into Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s body.


    But even Bard, the one most versed in ¡°Medical Classics¡± and with the best grades in health class, didn¡¯t have the skills to operate and remove the musket ball.


    If they helped Colonel Kongtai¡¯er remove the musket ball, he might still die. But if they did not remove it, he would undoubtedly die.


    To watch Colonel Kongtai¡¯er die, to give him a quick end, or to find a doctor and make the utmost effort.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre were faced with a difficult choice.

 Chapter 197 - 197 - 81 Red Pine

    Chapter 197 ¨C 81 Red Pine


    On the winding dirt road, two riders were galloping, kicking up a trail of dust behind them.


    The rider in the rear suddenly slowed down, and the rider in the front sensed something was wrong and also reined in his horse.


    The lagging rider dismounted and, walking with an unnatural waddle, led his horse to catch up with the front rider: ¡°Ow, my lord, I truly can¡¯t ride anymore, let¡¯s rest for a while. My backside feels as if it¡¯s been speared by a red-hot iron rod; the flesh on my inner thighs is nearly rubbed raw.¡±


    ¡°You lazybones, where do you think you can rest in this wilderness?¡± the rider in front scolded his personal servant: ¡°Stop dragging your feet; when we get back to the manor, you can rest all you want. Mount up, we must get home before dark.¡±


    The old servant detected a softening in his master¡¯s tone and seized the moment to lament persistently: ¡°My lord, we¡¯ve already come this far; even if we walk, we¡¯ll definitely make it home before dark. I truly can no longer ride. Ow, my backside is really burning with pain¡­ How about you ride on ahead, and I will slowly walk back?¡±


    ¡°Hey, you sluggard.¡± As a personal servant, Bok had loyally served Kalman for over twenty years, and both had turned from hale young men into grizzled middle-aged men. Although Kalman, the master of Hongsong Manor, was scolding verbally, his attitude had softened: ¡°Look at this wild land, where do you think you can rest?¡±


    The old servant Bok was overjoyed and pointed in the distance: ¡°Look over there, behind the woods where the smoke rises, there must be a noble resting from the hunt. Let¡¯s go ask for some water to drink, and who knows, they might even reward me with some meat.¡±


    ...


    ¡°You rascal, craving meat, aren¡¯t you? Have I been mistreating you?¡± Kalman said with a mix of laughter and scolding.


    Old servant Bok realized he had misspoken and quickly changed the subject, slapping his chest as a guarantee: ¡°Let¡¯s just go and ask for water to drink. After that, we¡¯ll head home straight away, without a second of delay.¡±


    After walking through the woods to where the rising smoke was, master and servant realized they had made a big mistake.


    On a small clearing between the woods and a stream, several wagons had been arranged in a circle around a campfire, and a few people wrapped in cloaks were dozing off on the ground.


    Two iron pots were set up over the fire, bubbling with their contents. The smoke that the two had seen was rising from here.


    At first glance, it appeared to be nothing but an ordinary caravan, but the problem was not with this, but with the people around the campfire.


    Walking around the small camp were stout men, each sporting a sailor¡¯s cutlass. Several long spears and muskets were carelessly propped against the wagons; the dark red blood on their tips had not yet dried.


    From their attire, Kalman judged: These men were godforsaken pirates.


    Red Sulfur Island¡¯s Council tacitly permitted pirates to fence their loot, and this was an open secret. The pirates¡¯ loot brought prosperity to Red Sulfur Island, but the island¡¯s residents also suffered greatly at their hands.


    Most pirates were desperados who, if circumstances allowed, certainly did not mind dabbling in side jobs on land. Moreover, after committing crimes on land, they could directly board their ships and escape, which was most convenient.


    Red Sulfur Island had frequent homicides, and eight or nine out of ten remained unsolved, but the island¡¯s residents all knew well that the murderers were the godforsaken pirates.


    The Council repeatedly declared it would crack down on heinous crimes committed by outsiders on the island. However, the pirates did not rob these high-ranking council members. In contrast, fencing loot for the pirates made them a fortune. Consequently, the banditry on Red Sulfur Island was never resolved. Stay tuned to empire


    And now, with the pirates brazenly entering Red Sulfur Island, the civilians were even more terrified.


    Bok¡¯s face turned deathly pale, and Kalman sharply glanced at his old servant, signaling him to keep quiet and sneak away.


    However, it was already too late; the pirates in the camp had spotted the master and servant.


    ¡°Hey! You two, stop right there!¡± someone in the camp yelled at the master and servant.


    Kalman leaped onto his saddle and spurred the horse¡¯s flanks, disappearing into the woods in the blink of an eye. Bok, however, was not as agile as his master; his slower movements resulted in someone from behind rushing out and grabbing the reins of his mount.


    The rest in the camp immediately surrounded them; meanwhile, those who were napping were jolted awake and their first action was to grab their weapons.


    Kalman, having run a distance away, saw his old servant being caught and, with regret, turned his horse and rode back.


    Realizing they couldn¡¯t escape, Kalman boldly dismounted and said loudly, ¡°We¡¯re just passersby, looking for some water to drink.¡±


    Another pirate snatched the reins from his hand and pushed Kalman next to Bok, as the rest of the pirates began to enclose the master and servant subtly.


    The pirates paid them no heed, and a tall pirate sternly scolded the one who had caught Bok: ¡°What kind of lookout are you keeping? They almost reached the camp!¡±


    The scolded pirate hung his head in shame.


    Seeing this, Kalman guessed that the tall pirate must be their leader and gathered his courage to say, ¡°We¡¯re just passersby, looking for some water. We didn¡¯t mean to intrude; please let us go.¡±


    The tall pirate gazed deeply at Kalman, then turned silently and walked towards the campfire, signaling them to follow.


    Bok was trembling with fright, clenching his jaw so tight that the muscles on his cheeks bulged out.


    Kalman patted the back of his old servant, reassuring him: ¡°It¡¯s OK.¡±


    ¡°My lord, I¡¯m sorry, I will never be greedy again,¡± Bok finally broke down, crying with a mix of snot and tears.


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 Chapter 198 - 198 - 81 Red Pine _2

    Chapter 198 ¨C 81 Red Pine _2


    The servant and master were coerced into an encampment formed by large wagons, where a gap-toothed pirate who had run down from atop a wagon saw the two men and walked over to the tall pirate with murderous eyes, gesturing a ¡°chop¡± with his hand.


    The tall pirate neither agreed nor disagreed, but bent down to pick up two cups from beside the campfire and handed them to the men.


    ¡°This¡­ What do you mean by this?¡± Kalman was somewhat dizzy.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the ones asking for water to drink?¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you, thank you.¡± After thanking him repeatedly, Kalman took the cup but dared not drink. The terrified old servant Bok, however, took the cup and gulped it down in one go.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± the tall pirate asked with an expressionless face.


    ¡°Passers-by.¡± Kalman cautiously answered, ¡°We¡¯re just farmers from around here.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Do farmers ride fine horses?¡± The tall pirate said with a half-smile.


    ¡°We are¡­ slightly wealthier peasants with a bit more land.¡± Seeing that the other party didn¡¯t seem bloodthirsty, Kalman bit his lip and asked in return, ¡°May I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The tall pirate laughed, ¡°I am part of Captain Kidd¡¯s grain requisition team.¡±


    As his tension eased somewhat, Kalman¡¯s thinking gradually got clearer, and he instinctively tried to glean more information from the physical features of the pirate leader before him.


    Although his face was smeared with some black soot, his voice indicated that the man was quite young. His hands were slender and clean, untouched by rough work. And then, his teeth, skin, figure¡­ If the gap-toothed pirate was what one expected a pirate to look like, then this young man didn¡¯t resemble a pirate at all; rather, he looked more like a monk or someone of that ilk.


    The focus was his eyes; they were a pair of stern, profound eyes.


    As their four eyes met, Kalman averted his gaze, explaining to himself: Would someone so young be a pirate leader if they didn¡¯t have some skill?


    Under his scrutinizing gaze, both Kalman and Bok lowered their heads, and just as Kalman was mustering the courage to say something.


    ¡°You can go now.¡± The pirate leader waved his hand at his subordinates, ¡°Let them go.¡±


    The other pirates seemed reluctant, but at the young pirate¡¯s command, they returned the reins to the servant and master and cleared a path for them.


    Kalman mounted his horse in disbelief, hastily made a hat-tipping gesture to the pirate leader, then fled with his old servant as if they were running for their lives. The pair looked back as they ran, fearing they were being chased.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re worried about.¡± After watching the two strangers go far away, the pirate leader said to his subordinates, ¡°But we¡¯re not pirates.¡±


    Kalman rode hard and fast back to Hongsong Manor, not daring to slow the horses down even the slightest, fearing pursuit.


    He strictly ordered his old servant not to mention today¡¯s events to anyone; given how Bok was already scared out of his wits, he wouldn¡¯t dare speak of it even without the order.


    The gentle Mrs. Kalman noticed that her husband was preoccupied after he returned home, but since Kalman refused to talk, she didn¡¯t ask any more questions.


    But even back at home, the feeling of life being in someone else¡¯s hands still left Kalman shaken. He summoned the captain of the manor guard, inquired about any unusual activities near the manor lately, and repeatedly admonished him to be vigilant against pirates in the coming days.


    The captain of the guard affirmed the order verbally but didn¡¯t really take it to heart. In his opinion, pirates at most would rob people on the road; they wouldn¡¯t have the nerve to attack a guarded plantation.


    The sky gradually darkened completely, and Hongsong Manor fell into slumber.


    After cleaning his matchlock gun and short sword, Kalman blew out the candle and climbed into bed.


    ¡°Why have you dug out the gun again?¡± asked Mrs. Kalman uneasily, and couldn¡¯t help but inquire, ¡°What exactly happened to you today? You¡¯ve been restless since you came back.¡±


    ¡°I came across the grain requisition team from the Council today, and the team was full of pirates,¡± Kalman sighed, ¡°With war raging outside, our home is no longer safe.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep, sleep.¡± Not knowing what else to do, Mrs. Kalman held her husband¡¯s hand and drifted off to sleep.


    Madam Kalaman, sleeping soundly, was unaware that a small squad of people and horses lay in ambush outside Hongsong Manor, waiting to attack.


    Originally, the three sergeants thought that as one of the two pillars of the Confederation, the plantation would surely have high walls and deep moats, elite private soldiers, and be highly vigilant¡ªa veritable fortress.


    However, the intelligence brought back by Bard and Andre showed that the defense of this plantation was laughable, so weak that it even amused the three sergeants.


    The outer wall was just a wooden fence less than a man¡¯s height, and Bard and Andre didn¡¯t even count up to the sixth guard with weapons.


    Winters led the Vineta Remnants in an ambush outside the manor for half a day without encountering any patrol, and the nighttime guard seemed to be just a dog.


    ¡°It looks like there are no nighttime patrols,¡± Andre said in a low voice, ¡°With just five guards, he couldn¡¯t possibly organize a night shift.¡±


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected the renowned plantation to be so lax in defense; he felt both aggravated and amused, having taken great pains to devise an elaborate plan for the assault.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to work,¡± Winters cautioned one last time, ¡°Stick to the plan, if anyone resists, kill them on the spot. But the plantation owner¡¯s family must be taken alive.¡±


    Bard shot an arrow tied with poisoned meat towards the nighttime guard.


    The nighttime guard barked a few times, then began to feast on the meal.


    After quite a while.


    The nighttime guard of Hongsong Manor was still bouncing around lively.


    Andre cursed Gold in a suppressed voice, ¡°F***, didn¡¯t you say this method was supposed to work really well?¡±


    ¡°It does work! Truly! But I always used rat poison before, I¡¯ve never used poisonous mushrooms,¡± Gold replied in self-pity.


    Andre then turned the gun barrel towards Bard, ¡°What the hell is going on? Didn¡¯t you say those mushrooms were highly toxic?¡±


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    Bard sighed, stood up, drew his bow fully, and shot down the nighttime guard of Hongsong Manor.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t we have just done this from the start?¡± Andre said with frustration, ¡°What was the point of us lying on the ground all this time?¡±


    ¡°It was you who wanted to use poison, wasn¡¯t it? Let¡¯s focus on the task at hand,¡± Winters said resignedly, ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone escape.¡±


    Bard led some men to stand watch outside to prevent escapes, while Winters and Andre led the remaining men to sneak into the guard¡¯s dwelling.


    After swiftly taking care of the five guards, the Venetian soldiers lit torches and brazenly broke into the main house. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kalman was awakened by the footsteps downstairs, but before he could react, the bedroom door was kicked open, and several men brandishing machetes and torches burst in.


    The firelight was so bright that Kalman couldn¡¯t open his eyes, but the intruders were laughing and shouting, ¡°My lord, what a coincidence, the sparrow we let go has flown back into our hands.¡±


    ¡­


    The owner of Hongsong Manor, Kalman, was brought before Winters and stared angrily at the pirate leader, asking bitterly, ¡°You followed me here, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°No, we were actually coming to find the owner of Hongsong Manor.¡±


    ¡°So my household was doomed from the start,¡± Kalman said, as if the strength had been drained from him, aging significantly, ¡°Money, jewelry, food¡ªyou can take whatever you want, but please, do not harm my family.¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t come to rob,¡± Winters sheathed his machete, ¡°You are a doctor, right? I¡¯m here to ask you to save someone, and I need to inquire about some matters. If you fulfill my two requests, your family, your manor, your money, none of it will be harmed.¡±


    ¡°There are many good doctors in Red Sulfur Harbor, why come looking for me? What do you need to ask a plantation owner from such a remote place? You¡­¡± Kalman suddenly had a realization, the Sea Blue accent, the appearance unbecoming of a pirate, the strange grain requisitioning team, he understood it all, he understood everything.


    Kalman¡¯s eyes widened, his pupils constricted sharply, and pointing a trembling right hand at Winters¡¯s nose, he stuttered, ¡°You¡­ you¡­ you are Venetian¡­ you are a Venetian officer¡­¡±


    Winters nodded slightly, ¡°Da Weineta Legion, First Centuria, Centurion, Winters Montagne. Pleased to meet you, Doctor Kalman.¡±

 Chapter 199 - 199 - 82 The Enslaved Freeman

    Chapter 199 ¨C 82 The Enslaved Freeman


    The decision to raid Hongsong Manor was made after discussion among the three warrant officers, not just because Colonel Kongtai¡¯er had an extra lead bullet in his abdomen that required a doctor, but also because they urgently needed a channel to acquire information from the outside world.


    The biggest problem for the group was their complete lack of knowledge about the battle situation. Had the Third Legion launched a second attack? Where was the direction of the attack?


    Particularly Winters and Andre, both of them believed that it was not an option to keep hiding in the Tanilia people¡¯s vacuum zone. Even if they needed to remain under the radar, it should be an ¡°active¡± concealment, meaning they should gather intelligence and move flexibly, instead of burying their heads in the sand like ostriches, praying that the Tanilians would not stumble upon them.


    Therefore, Hongsong Manor became the perfect target. The manor owner had a high social status and was well-informed; moreover, the location of Hongsong Manor was remote and not easily exposed; most importantly, Kalman was a doctor¡ªthough it was said his main method of treatment was bleeding.


    Before Winters and Kalman could say anything, a Centurion hurriedly walked in and whispered in his ear, ¡°Something¡¯s gone wrong, we¡¯ve lost three of our men.¡±


    Winters, without changing his expression, left Kalman with Andre and strode towards the door. Your next chapter is on empire


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters only asked after leaving the residence, maintaining a very calm attitude.


    ...


    But his Centurion was somewhat panicked, ¡°One went to check the house on the west side, and after he went in, he didn¡¯t come out. Two more went in to find him and ended up the same.¡±


    The Centurion, a seasoned sergeant with over a decade of experience, was Winters¡¯s trusted assistant and had the confidence of the warrant officers, but even he was sweating profusely and looked panicked.


    ¡°Take me there,¡± Winters said, frowning.


    Outside the row of wooden houses on the west side of the residence, the remaining soldiers stood a few meters from the doorway, craning their necks to look inside, but didn¡¯t dare to approach.


    The house was pitch dark, as if it was hiding predatory beasts in the shadows, devouring every particle of light.


    Upon seeing Warrant Officer Monta approaching, the soldiers saluted. Bard, seeing that the raid team had succeeded, also hurried over with two musketeers.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Bard asked quietly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, only that three of ours went in,¡± Winters turned to the Centurion, ¡°Did they light torches when they entered?¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The second group did,¡± the Centurion explained anxiously, ¡°But after they entered, there was a shout, and then it went dark again. Centurion, there¡¯s definitely something wicked in here.¡±


    ¡°Is there a back door?¡±


    ¡°No, just this one entrance. One door in, one door out.¡±


    ¡°Torches!¡±


    A torch was handed to Winters; he drew his saber and led two other soldiers into the pitch-black wooden house.


    The firelight reflected back at them; the entrance was curtained off, dividing the wooden house.


    Winters used his saber to lift the curtain, and behind it was another curtain, with no one in sight.


    He cut down the rope holding the curtains and continued to explore deeper into the room with his men. The wooden house was divided into even smaller spaces with curtains.


    Suddenly, Winters heard a creaking noise from above, indicating the wood was under stress. He knew something was wrong and immediately stepped back.


    However, the attacker moved extremely fast, leaping down from the beam, using momentum to flip him over. It was then that Winters realized it wasn¡¯t any sinister creature, but a person.


    The two soldiers who had entered with him cried out twice before falling silent, their torch extinguished.


    Winters lay on the ground, his torch snuffed out by a hand that reached from behind the curtains. The attacker who had leaped down was on top of Winters, wrestling with him, twisting Winters¡¯s right wrist almost 180 degrees.


    But the saber was still firmly in Winters¡¯s grip. Suddenly plunged into darkness, his eyes hadn¡¯t adjusted, and he couldn¡¯t see anything. More people came out from behind the curtain, trying to pin down Winters¡¯s limbs.


    In his desperate situation, Winters headbutted the attacker viciously. His forehead collided with something hard, causing agonizing pain in his skull.


    But clearly, he had hit the right spot, striking a heavy blow on the attacker, who cried out in pain and released his grip on Winters¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°Attack!¡± Winters shouted the code word, and with his right hand free, he thrust the saber into the darkness towards the enemy.


    But there was no sensation of piercing flesh; the adversary agilely put distance between them and Winters.


    ¡°[Language Winters didn¡¯t understand]¡± A hoarse, elderly voice came from deeper inside the house, ¡°[Still language Winters couldn¡¯t understand]¡±


    The others who had tried to restrain Winters withdrew their hands, and Winters, now completely free, pushed himself up from the floor.


    By then, Bard had also led the rest of the soldiers into the wooden house.


    In the glow of the firelight, Winters finally saw who was in the room.


    A group of people with iron chains on their hands huddled in a corner of the wooden house¡ªthe women and some children were tucked away in the furthest part of the corner, with the other men shielding the women and children on the outside.


    This group of people was vaguely led by an old man with a deeply lined face, leaning on a withered wooden staff, trembling as if a breeze could blow him over.


    Yet his eyes were sharp and alert.


    ¡°We don¡¯t want to shed blood,¡± the old man looked at Winters, his voice like crushed glass grating against each other, and said in a hard, strangely accented Common tongue, ¡°Uninvited guests.¡±


    ¡°Where are my men?¡± Winters demanded in a deep voice.

 Chapter 200 - 200 - 82: The Enslaved Freeman_2

    Chapter 200 ¨C 82: The Enslaved Freeman_2


    The old man spat out another incomprehensible sentence, and several skinny black men responded. They carried out Winters¡¯ subordinate, who had disappeared after entering the house earlier.


    Bard immediately bent down to check, pressing his hand to the soldier¡¯s neck.


    After the examination, Bard nodded at Winters to signify that the man was just knocked out but still had a pulse.


    A half-grown boy of about fifteen or sixteen was supporting the old man, and Winters noticed the boy¡¯s injured chin and blood at the corner of his mouth, realizing what had happened.


    Having nearly been taken down by such a youngster, Winters felt a complex mix of emotions. He pointed his curved knife at the boy and asked, ¡°It was you who sneak-attacked me, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°If I had a knife too.¡± The boy with chains on his hands spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and answered in a stiff lingua franca, ¡°Would it be your turn to ask questions now?¡±


    Seeing the chains on these people and their dwelling, Winters had a rough idea of their situation. He sheathed his knife and asked with detached coolness, ¡°Are you slaves of this plantation?¡±


    ...


    The skinny, black boy took great offense at the word and was about to erupt when the old man held him back.


    ¡°We¡¯re not slaves, we. are. enslaved. free. people,¡± the old man solemnly and earnestly corrected Winters, then counter-asked, ¡°As for you, who exactly are you?¡±


    ¡°We are free people who have not been enslaved,¡± Winters replied, not keen on revealing too much.


    ¡°You¡­ you are Venetians, aren¡¯t you?¡± the old man, squinting his eyes, pierced through their identity: ¡°The free people enslaved by Gold by the sea.¡±


    Winters let out a dry chuckle.


    ¡°So it seems, your Republic has taken over Red Sulfur Island?¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯ eyelid twitched. The slave elder was surprisingly well-informed. He smiled, saying nonchalantly, ¡°You¡¯ll find out.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Hearing Winters¡¯ reply, the old man sighed softly, his expression dimming before quickly livening up again: ¡°I understand, no need to worry, we will go about our work as usual tomorrow. For now, please leave, we need to rest.¡±


    The old man then spoke a few words in a foreign language to the other slaves, and the men, women, elderly, and children in the corner of the room began to move. Ignoring the presence of Winters and his men, they started to re-bind the curtains that had been cut and spread mats on the ground, preparing to sleep in all seriousness.


    The Venetians stood dumbfounded, bewilderedly ¡°escorted out¡± of the slaves¡¯ wooden hut.


    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s another wooden hut to the north with some people living there,¡± the old man added as he sent them off at the door.


    Entering and leaving in such a baffling manner, the Venetians were all somewhat at a loss.


    Ever since entering the house, Bard had been silent. Only upon leaving did he say to Winters, ¡°Judging by their physical features, these people appear to be Herders.¡±


    The soldiers beside them were even more puzzled upon hearing ¡¯Herders,¡¯ but the Centurion looked thoughtful.


    ¡°Herders? How would Herders end up as slaves on the islands?¡± Winters, recalling what he had read in books, was also surprised: ¡°Aren¡¯t Herders located far to our west, even further west than the Republic of Paratu?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because they are next to Paratu that Herders can end up as slaves in Tanilia. The Paratu People have a tradition of selling captives as slaves, even going as far as raiding specifically for that purpose,¡± Bard briefly explained.


    Winters and the other soldiers suddenly understood.


    ¡°Those Paratu shepherds, they indeed do anything.¡± A soldier scoffed softly, disdainfully saying, ¡°Taking believers as slaves, they¡¯re not afraid of going to hell!¡±


    ¡°Herders don¡¯t believe in our god; they are heretics,¡± Bard corrected the soldier, furrowing his brow then added, ¡°However, we really are in a difficult position now. Enslaving heretics could exploit a loophole in the law of The Federated Provinces, but Venetian law prohibits slavery in any form. So strictly speaking, if we continue to detain them, we¡¯d be breaking the law.¡±


    ¡°If we release them, we might as well sign our death warrants. This is an island; we¡¯re surrounded by the sea on all sides, where could they possibly go?¡± Winters muttered gloomily: ¡°Humph, that old man is shrewd. Even if we break their chains, they won¡¯t run; he has already seen through us.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do¡­ There are at least three or four dozen slaves on this estate of nearly a hundred acres, and we¡¯ve killed the guards responsible for watching them¡­¡± Bard said with difficulty: ¡°Does that mean we need to split up some of our men to take over their duties?¡±


    Winters took a deep breath: ¡°First pirates, then bandits. And now, acting as guards for a slave master really does seem a legitimate occupation¡­ Assign five men to watch them. Make sure they don¡¯t escape.¡±


    The soldiers snickered.


    ¡°That old man said there are more slaves elsewhere?¡± Winters said languidly to Bard: ¡°Take some men and have a look.¡± Enjoy exclusive content from empire


    Bard nodded and led several soldiers towards the north.


    But not long after,


    another soldier came running to report to Winters: ¡°Centurion, Warrant Officer Bard is calling you over again.¡±


    In a shanty further north, the slaves living inside looked very different from the Herders, bearing a closer resemblance to Winters and Bard.


    The slaves here were people from Senas Bay.


    There, the two warrant officers unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance.

 Chapter 201 - 201 - 82: The Enslaved Freeman_3

    Chapter 201 ¨C 82: The Enslaved Freeman_3


    Winters arrived to find someone clutching Bard¡¯s leg, weeping with snot and tears.


    ¡°You¡­ you are¡­¡± Winters recognized the person at once, but couldn¡¯t recall his name, ¡°You are¡­ You¡¯re the fat¡­ That captain of the Bandit Gull?¡±


    ¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª


    The following day.


    Morning, a light breeze.


    The once bustling Red Sulfur Harbor no longer exhibited its past liveliness; the docks, usually noisy with people, now stood eerily quiet, with not a single ship in the bay.


    Only a few seagulls remained on the pier, staring blankly at the rolling waves.


    ...


    The master of Hongsong Manor, Kalman, brought a cartload of meat, vegetables, wine, and water, along with his nephew, to ¡°comfort the troops¡± at Red Sulfur Harbor.


    To say ¡°comfort the troops¡± was actually to check on his own laborers. A medium-small plantation like Hongsong Manor employed fewer than fifty slaves in the fields and only seven armed guards.


    Outsiders thought the guards were private soldiers, but in reality, the plantation guards were essentially laborers. Unlike slaves, they received pay and carried weapons. Catching runaway slaves was part-time; usually, the guards did lighter tasks, and during the busy farming season, they also worked in the fields.


    After all, a small plantation couldn¡¯t afford full-time soldiers. But being on an island with nowhere to run meant slave escapes were rare, and those who did flee didn¡¯t get far.


    The council of Red Sulfur Island was, of course, fully informed about the situation of small plantations like Hongsong Manor. Thus, the manor¡¯s contributions were mainly in the form of money and grain, not manpower.


    Even so, Hongsong Manor still had to provide two men who could handle their weapons and ammunition well, skilled in using muskets, aged between twenty and forty, and also cover their salaries and any potential compensation fees.


    In the noisy tavern, two laborers unlucky enough to draw the short straws were drinking and complaining bitterly with their boss. Kalman was at once consoling them and making promises.


    Kalman¡¯s nephew sat quietly beside his uncle, never interrupting, just humbly listening. Whenever someone¡¯s cup was empty, he would promptly pick up the bottle and fill it up.


    Both guards found this modest and mild-mannered young man very agreeable. The older of the two thought to himself: ¡°The master¡¯s nephew was quite the rascal as a child. Who would have thought, who would have thought, he¡¯s turned out to be something these six or seven years later.¡±


    ¡­


    The carriage clinked along the cobblestone road, heading away from Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Kalman showed the pass sealed with the council¡¯s wax stamp, and just like on his way in, he passed through the checkpoint without trouble. Red Sulfur Harbor was now under strict martial law, and civilians could only enter or leave with a pass.


    On the edge of the town, hundreds of conscripted laborers were working vigorously, widening and deepening the existing moat and using the excavated dirt to build an embankment around Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Winters observed all these things and took mental notes. Explore hidden tales at empire


    But what he saw was more than just this.


    On the main road of Red Sulfur Harbor, a stake was erected every ten meters or so, each with a human head nailed on top. The weather was hot and humid, and the heads had begun to rot, releasing waves of stench, attracting crows pecking at them.


    These heads were all taken from the corpses of Venetians.


    The Red Sulfur Harbor council used this method to declare victory to everyone on the island.


    They were also intimidating the islanders, for not only ¡°enemy¡± heads were spiked on stakes, but also those of ¡°traitors.¡±


    Winters looked at these stakes, unable to describe the extreme rage he felt at that moment, shaking all over, nearly biting his teeth to shards.


    ¡°I have done everything you asked of me, and the council will never let me go,¡± Kalman implored in a subdued voice. ¡°Please let my wife and daughter leave, let them go to my father-in-law¡¯s house. They won¡¯t let a single thing slip, I assure you, I can stay as a guarantee.¡±


    Through careful questioning, Winters had already learned about the state of the war. After leaving the ambush site, the Vineta Fleet immediately blockaded Red Sulfur Harbor, trapping Winters and his small team inside, and now the Tanyrians were being surrounded by the Vineta Fleet.


    The Red Sulfur Island council had built forts at several possible landing sites, and the Third Legion had launched several probing attacks from the northern beaches, none of which were successful.


    Winters surmised that the Third Legion¡¯s losses were small, because although the Red Sulfur Harbor council claimed a significant victory, no new heads had been put on stakes in the last few days, and they had produced no other tangible evidence of their military prowess.


    This proved that the Third Legion took their fallen with them; even when attacks failed, they retreated in order.


    The main forces that had fought the Third Legion recently were mostly militia and the Tanyrian Confederation guards; the council had realized that pirates were not suitable for major combat, so the majority of pirate forces were sent to less critical defense segments.


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t do anything that threatens our security, the safety of your family is completely guaranteed. We are not bandits; we are trapped here.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡± After thinking hard and hesitating, Kalman finally made up his mind. He spoke haltingly: ¡°Perhaps I have a way¡­ to get you out.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 202 - 202 - 83 Kulxit Ritual

    Chapter 202 ¨C 83 Kulxit Ritual


    It was already night.


    Fires blazed in the open area in front of the main house of Hongsong Manor, and shadows flickered around them. By the light of the flames, one could see several goats hanging from an oak tree on the edge of the clearing, waiting to be slaughtered.


    In a room on the second floor of the main house, Winters sat by the window, fiddling with a steel awl and watching the busy people in the courtyard.


    After several knocks, Kalman entered the room.


    ¡°Have you brought the smelling salts?¡± Winters asked indifferently. His gaze lingered on the bonfire, avoiding any eye contact with Kalman.


    ¡°I have,¡± Kalman stood awkwardly in front of Winters, swallowing hard. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t recommend waking the injured man. Although the lead bullet has been removed, his condition is still very dangerous. Forcibly waking him from his coma would be¡­ unwise, and might instead exacerbate his injuries.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not your concern; just wake him up. I have my reasons,¡± Winters said, his gaze fixed on the bonfire, still not making any eye contact with Kalman.


    ...


    Stymied by Winters¡¯s response, Kalman muttered as if reassuring himself, ¡°How you handle your people is none of my business, but I have fulfilled my duty as a doctor.¡±


    On the small bed in this guest room lay Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, still unconscious.


    Kalman approached the bed and took out a small glass bottle. He uncorked it and waved the bottle under the nose of the unconscious colonel.


    The foul odor wafted out from the bottle, and Colonel Kongtai¡¯er immediately reacted to the irritating gas. His nostrils flared, his chest heaved, and with a bout of instinctive coughing, Kongtai¡¯er struggled to open his eyes.


    Kalman looked towards Winters, and Winters subtlety turned his head toward the door, signaling Kalman to leave.


    The room was now left with only Kongtai¡¯er and Winters.


    Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s consciousness was still unclear as he emerged from his coma, and he made several pained, guttural sounds from his throat.


    Winters picked up a cup from the table and slowly helped Kongtai¡¯er drink some water.


    Moistened by the clear water, Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s parched lips and throat recovered slightly, and he looked at the person before him, asking with difficulty, ¡°Montanye¡­ Lieutenant?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Where¡­ where am I?¡±


    ¡°Red Sulfur Island.¡± Explore hidden tales at empire


    ¡°Have we been¡­ captured?¡±


    ¡°No, neither of us has been captured. This place is still safe for now.¡±


    Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s consciousness became clearer, he groaned and reached towards his abdomen.


    Winters stopped Kongtai¡¯er, ¡°Don¡¯t touch, that¡¯s where the wound is. Do you remember? You were shot, and the doctor here removed the bullet; he did a clean job, and the rest is up to you now.¡±


    Suffering from acute pain, Kongtai¡¯er couldn¡¯t stop shaking.


    ¡°The doctor said the coma was a form of self-protection for you. I made him wake you up.¡±


    ¡°Why¡­ why?¡± Kongtai¡¯er managed to utter with great effort.


    ¡°Because there are some things I must ask you.¡± Winters¡¯s tone was devoid of emotion. ¡°In a few hours, I¡¯ll have to leave this place. If I don¡¯t get the answers now, I fear there will never be another chance.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to ask¡­ ask about?¡±


    Standing by the bed, Winters leaned down close to Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s ear. His voice was soft but crystal clear and devoid of any emotion, ¡°Why did you (plural) attempt to assassinate the envoy of the Federated Provinces¡¯ Secretary of State Affairs?¡±


    Struck as if by lightning, Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s shock even overwhelmed the pain of his wounds. He gasped, his eyes involuntarily bulging.


    After a long silence, the colonel closed his eyes and slowly answered, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [In continental language, the second person singular and plural are the same word.]


    As if he had heard the funniest joke, Winters burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he pounded on his chest and stamped his feet. After he finished laughing, wiping away tears, he said, ¡°We may not live until tomorrow. Is there really a need for such word play? Whether it was you who acted, or your accomplices, what difference does it make?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I was opposed to the assassination from the start,¡± Kongtai¡¯er insisted, looking at Winters and asking with difficulty, ¡°And you¡­ how did you find out?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Winters sighed, ¡°It would be better to ask why it took me so long to figure it out.¡±


    ¡­


    Kalman waited anxiously at the stairwell, unsure how much time had passed until he heard the sound of a door closing upstairs, followed by footsteps approaching him.


    ¡°The patient is asleep again,¡± Winters said softly as he approached Kalman, taking a small waxed paper packet from his belt and placing it in Kalman¡¯s hand. ¡°If he wakes up again, use warm water to dissolve this medicine and let him drink a little at a time.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°A sleep aid, it helps one enter a deep sleep,¡± Winters explained patiently, adding with a smile, ¡°I might not need it after today, so I might as well leave it all with you.¡±


    Kalman opened the waxed paper packet, layer upon layer, and carefully picked up a piece of processed herb to examine closely, ¡°This is quite fresh; I¡¯ve never heard of a medicine that can induce sleep.¡±


    Kalman¡¯s eyes were nearly glued to the herb, as if he had discovered a new world.


    ¡°These plants aren¡¯t from our region; these things are specialties from the new world, from the Empire¡¯s colonies,¡± Winters said with a smile, watching Dr. Kalman until he put the herb away, and then sincerely said, ¡°Mr. Kalman, sorry to have troubled you.¡±

 Chapter 203 - 203 - 83 Kulxit Ritual_2

    Chapter 203 ¨C 83 Kulxit Ritual_2


    Kalman was startled and waved his hands repeatedly, ¡°No, it¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not going to silence you,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Since you¡¯ve kept your promise, I will fulfill mine. This is a sincere apology from the heart.¡±


    Only then did Kalman let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°However, from the standpoint of your own interests, I still wouldn¡¯t advise you to report us immediately,¡± Winters added.


    ¡°No, no, no¡­ How could I possibly report you? I won¡¯t say a thing,¡± Kalman, face reddening, shook his head vehemently. Find exclusive content at empire


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be afraid, Mr. Kalman. This is not a threat, but my heartfelt words. Even if you were to denounce us, I would bear no grudge against you, let alone seek revenge. We invaded your home, so nothing you do would be excessive,¡± Winters said, looking into Kalman¡¯s eyes with sincerity. ¡°But I suggest you wait and see, be prepared for both outcomes. If I fail, you can immediately turn over the severely injured to dissociate yourself from us. But if I succeed¡­ Keeping these injured men will earn you the gratitude of the Venetians.¡±


    Winters, not minding Kalman¡¯s complex expression, walked straight from the main house towards the bonfire.


    ...


    After a moment of stupefaction, Kalman hurriedly followed.


    The old servant Bok, with a mournful face, ran over to complain to Kalman, ¡°Master¡­ our home is ruined¡­ I couldn¡¯t stop them¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Bok,¡± Winters said politely, ¡°I will compensate you for anything the Herders took, at fair value.¡±


    Hearing Winters speak, Bok shivered involuntarily, not daring to respond, just muttering under his breath, ¡°And what about the slave? A strong slave is worth more than ten sheep¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha,¡± Winters laughed, ¡°Mr. Bok, throughout history, when slaves bought their freedom, it was always with the blood of their masters. So I think freedom given freely is much better, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡±


    ¡­


    A Herder, a small knife, and in less than ten minutes, they could strip off an entire sheepskin without a tear.


    ¡°Waste nothing¡± was the principle of the Herders.


    The blood of the sheep was carefully collected in wooden barrels, and the entrails were not discarded. Herder women cleansed the sheep¡¯s offal, boiling it to remove the blood before slicing it finely to make a white, thick mutton broth.


    Nothing else was wasted either, whether boiled or roasted, everything was put to use.


    The freed Herders busied themselves, and in that moment, they seemed transported back to their faraway homes.


    Low tables beside the bonfire were joined to form a long table, heaped with large and small plates, and still more food was being brought out freshly prepared.


    Seeing his soldiers seated on the ground like the Herders, gorging themselves, they only realized Winters had approached when he was right beside them, and they hurriedly got up to salute.


    Winters called the soldiers over, ¡°Let everyone eat more meat, but no drinking alcohol.¡±


    The Centurion nodded and returned to the table.


    Not far away, at the end of the long table, Andre beckoned eagerly to Winters.


    Sitting with Andre were Bard and an elderly Herder.


    As Winters sat down, a Herder woman immediately offered him a bowl of white soup and brought forward a platter with a sheep¡¯s head that, although split in two and put back together, had been cooked whole¡ªthe sight was quite grisly.


    ¡°Dig in, we¡¯ve been waiting for you to join us,¡± Andre said to Winters, making a playful wink, ¡°This is what the Herders give to their most honored guests.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    The eye sockets of the sheep¡¯s head were gaping, staring straight at Winters, which considerably added to his pressure. He tried the mutton soup, which was actually delicious. It seemed to have pepper in it, and after one sip, his body felt warmly suffused.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne, I have another impertinent request,¡± the Herder elder, who had been talking with Bard, turned to Winters.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Winters asked, his tone neutral as he continued to sip his soup, unable to bring himself to like the old man.


    ¡°Mustas would like to conduct the ¡¯Kulxit Ceremony¡¯ with you,¡± Bard explained, ¡°He enlisted my help to explain, and from what I gathered, it seems to be a kind of bonding ceremony.¡±


    ¡°This ceremony is probably some kind of oath,¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just an oath, not only an oath,¡± said the Herder elder, speaking in a strange accent with the common tongue. ¡°¡¯Kulxit Xi¡¯ is a covenant witnessed by the heavens, an unbreakable vow.¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that still an oath?¡± Winters said while sipping soup.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s different.¡± The Herder elder initially wanted to continue explaining but after some thought, he gave up on the effort to elaborate with the foreigners, ¡°If you think it¡¯s an oath, then it¡¯s an oath.¡±


    ¡°Do we have to cut open our palms and bleed or something? Actually, we don¡¯t need to engage in such formalities.¡± Winters reluctantly put down his soup bowl. ¡°I¡¯m a Spellcaster, I believe in nothing, and I detest self-harm. No ceremony can bind a person¡¯s will, what I pledge to you is my honor.¡±


    ¡°[Old language] I think it¡¯s necessary,¡± Bard suddenly switched to the old language, mused, ¡°[Old language] The other Herders do not trust us, they simply obey Mustas¡¯ orders. If a ceremony can earn the trust of the other Herders, then it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    ¡°[Old language] I certainly don¡¯t want to cut myself and bleed,¡± Winters grumbled. ¡°[Old language] If you like it, you go ahead.¡±


    ¡°[Old language] But they have set their sights on you,¡± Bard said with a smile.


    ¡°[Old language] Exactly, exactly,¡± Andre chimed in happily.


    The Herder elder quietly watched the three lieutenants converse in the old language.


    ¡°Elder, I have a question for you,¡± Winters asked, plucking up the courage, ¡°What about that ceremony you mentioned? Does it use one¡¯s own blood?¡±


    ¡°It does,¡± the Herder elder¡¯s face was full of smile lines, ¡°but the blood of a sacrifice will do as well.¡±


    ¡­


    The firelight reflected on Winters¡¯ face, as well as on the face of the Herder elder.


    The two stood face to face.


    The Herder elder Mustas cut open his own left hand and grabbed Winters¡¯ left arm, and Winters also seized the other¡¯s left arm.


    A Herder man knelt and offered a bowl of sacrificial blood.


    The Herder elder dabbed a bit of the sacrificial blood on his lips, and Winters followed suit.


    The Herder elder then took oil and smeared it on both of their left arms.


    As Winters wondered about the meaning of such a ceremony, the Herder elder began chanting some sort of song in an odd tone of voice. Suddenly, the oil smeared on both of their arms ignited, and in an instant, a flame rose between the two men.


    Winters was shocked and tried to pull back abruptly, but the Herder elder¡¯s arm held onto his like a vice.


    The next second, the flame extinguished, as if what had just happened was an illusion.


    But the burning sensation on his left arm told Winters that the fire had been real.


    The Herder elder took some hearth ash and sprinkled it over their heads, and then he finally released his hand.


    Throughout the entire ceremony, the Herders surrounding the two men suddenly picked up horns and started to blow.


    ¡°Just who are you?¡± Winters demanded, grabbing the Herder elder¡¯s arm with a serious tone.


    ¡°They are your soldiers now,¡± the Herder elder did not respond directly, only speaking wearily, ¡°They will trust you as much as they trust me. As long as you lead them, even into the fires of hell, they will follow. Please uphold our promise; after your soldiers set foot on this island, send the women and children back to our homeland.¡±


    The elderly man, looking utterly exhausted, was helped back to his seat by other Herders.


    From the outskirts of the crowd, Bard and Andre pushed their way in.


    ¡°Was that fire just now? Where did the fire come from? Was it fire?¡± Andre asked, shocked.


    Winters¡¯ eyelids twitched incessantly, ¡°It was fire, definitely fire, the oil would never burst into flame without reason, nor extinguish¡­ Are there Spellcasters among the Herders, too?¡±

 Chapter 204 - 204 - 84 The Dance to the Styx

    Chapter 204 ¨C 84 The Dance to the Styx


    The night was deep, yet the Hongsong Manor had not fallen silent.


    The Venetian people had finished their meals and went to rest, but the celebration of the Herders would not end just like that.


    After one last check of his preparations, Winters, weary to the bone, collapsed onto his wooden bed. He desperately wanted to grab some sleep, but sleep eluded him completely.


    It wasn¡¯t because he was nervous, but because it was too noisy¡ªthe Herders seemed unsatisfied with just eating and drinking, and had begun to beat their drums and sing.


    Winters was a light sleeper, unable to fall asleep with even the slightest noise¡ªa common affliction among spellcasters¡ªlet alone the continuous noise pollution from the Herders.


    Tossing and turning in bed for a long while, he simply couldn¡¯t fall asleep. Just as one foot would cross the threshold of dreamland, he would be yanked back by the drumming and singing outside.


    Woken repeatedly by the rowdy sounds in his semi-conscious state, Winters¡¯s anger grew. He thought to brew some sleep-inducing herbal tea, but after fumbling around, he remembered he had given all his herbs to Kalman.


    ...


    Infuriated, Winters hurled his pillow to the floor, ¡°[Inarticulate cursing of impotent rage]! What the hell are they playing at, not sleeping in the dead of night!¡± Discover more content at empire


    Deciding not to sleep, Winters donned his coat, kicked open his door, and stormed off to find the seemingly spiritual leader of this bunch, the elder Hestas.


    ¡°Will you join our feast as well, Mister Montaigne?¡± Hestas sat by the bonfire, content and smiling, as he looked towards the scowling Winters. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the Herder elder only served to fuel Winters¡¯s anger. With his nerves frayed, he could no longer contain his impulse to curse out loud, ¡°What the hell are you doing not resting properly before our departure?¡±


    Hearing Winters¡¯s coarse language, Hestas did not get angry, but maintained his smiling demeanor, ¡°The feast must go on. In our Herder language, the word ¡¯feast¡¯ is composed of the words ¡¯eat¡¯ and ¡¯laugh¡¯; merely having a big meal is not enough. A feast is an important part of a Herder¡¯s life. These children have not been able to attend a feast since they were sold here.¡±


    It¡¯s hard to hit a smiling face, and Winters, feeling somewhat ashamed, refrained from any further foul language.


    By the bonfire, several Herder men began to dance, with Hestas intently watching the dancers by the firelight.


    This dance was vastly different from the Venetian social dance. The dance the Herders were performing was fierce and unrestrained. To Winters, it seemed less like a dance and more like a display of physical prowess.


    The Herder men stamped the ground and swung their arms, slapping their chests and shins. They squatted and leaped, executing a succession of complex dance moves.


    Even Winters, who had arrived in anger, had his attention captured by the unrestrained and fierce dancing.


    ¡°This is ¡¯Kurvaleta¡¯,¡± said Hestas, transfixed, ¡°the dance to journey to The Styx.¡±


    ¡°The Styx? What¡¯s that?¡± Winters asked, uncertain.


    ¡°It¡¯s the river that separates the living from the dead. In our legends, once the dead cross The Styx, they cannot return to the world of the living,¡± Hestas explained calmly. ¡°These young people are dancing the dance leading to death. We have resolved to face death, but you must keep your promise to return the women and children back to Herder land.¡±


    Winters was silent, ¡°I never trust promises or oaths, but all I can give you is my promise. If I am still alive, I¡¯ll arrange for them to return home myself. If I¡¯m dead, Commander Serviati will take care of it; I¡¯ve left him a letter.¡±


    ¡°I trust you because I know you are a man of honor,¡± sighed Hestas with emotion. ¡°Just ensure the women and children are sent back. For a tribe, there is nothing more important than women and children. Even if all the men die, as long as the women and children survive, the tribe can quickly regain its prosperity.¡±


    ¡°But can the tribe survive without men to protect them?¡±


    Hestas smiled, ¡°The Herder people here come from different tribes, many of whom were originally enemies. Once they are back on the grasslands, they will naturally return to their own kin.¡±


    ¡°Who are you, really?¡±


    ¡°Me? I¡¯m just a shaman without a tribe,¡± Hestas said, shifting his position and ceasing to look Winters in the eye. ¡°However, on the land of foreigners, I have found my tribe once again.¡±


    Winters felt a stir in his heart and sat down to continue, ¡°When you say shaman, do you mean a magician?¡±


    ¡°No, a shaman is merely one who communicates with the gods. As for magicians you speak of¡­ we Herders have no magicians.¡±


    ¡°But you indeed can do things that others cannot, right?¡± Winters pressed, ¡°I saw it. You made the oil combust on its own. Without significant mastery of the fire-making spell, that would not be possible.¡±


    ¡°Some shaman priests can indeed do things that others cannot,¡± Hestas said calmly. ¡°But it¡¯s all a gift from the gods. We can use these powers only because the gods have chosen us.¡±


    Winters slapped his thigh vigorously, his voice trembling in encountering a different system of divine arts for the first time, ¡°Then what¡¯s your training model? I mean¡­ how do you select those children who are bestowed with divine gifts, and how do you help their powers grow?¡±

 Chapter 205 - 205 - 84 The Dance to the Styx_2

    Chapter 205 ¨C 84 The Dance to the Styx_2


    Hestas looked at Winters with a smile that was not quite a smile, yet said nothing.


    In this world, there exist practitioners of the Divine Arts, and many within the Church are such practitioners. The Spellcasters of the Alliance do not acknowledge the existence of these gods, yet the effects of the Divine Arts are undeniably real, which leads to the inconsistency of the Alliance Spellcasters¡¯ atheistic theories.


    In response to this, the Magic Combat Bureau circulated a hypothesis: that practitioners of the Divine Arts are also spellcasters, merely using a different system from that of the Alliance Spellcasters.


    But this hypothesis remained just that, a hypothesis, as the Divine Arts were sacred secrets of the Church, beyond the reach of the Magic Combat Bureau; they could neither understand the system of the Divine Arts nor procure the bodies of priests for dissection.


    However, Winters now discovered that outside of ¡°civilization,¡± the alien tribes also possessed a similar system of Divine Arts. People who prided themselves on civilization did not believe that the barbaric nomads could have practitioners of both the Divine Arts and magic, but the elder before him clearly also wielded abilities akin to the Divine Arts.


    Perhaps this foreign Divine Arts could provide insights into the Church¡¯s system of Divine Arts, and at this thought, Winters was almost trembling with excitement.


    But the lean, dark-skinned elder before him just smiled at Winters, remaining silent. Experience tales with empire


    ...


    Seeing the elder¡¯s mocking smile and his amused eyes, Winters deflated. Since the Church was so protective of the secrets of the Divine Arts, so were the Herders¡¯ Shamans.


    ¡°You can¡¯t speak of it, right?¡± Winters sighed.


    ¡°I could tell you, but could you keep a secret for me?¡±


    Suddenly energetic, Winters nodded eagerly, ¡°Yes, of course I can.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, so could I.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­ do you find playing this game fun?¡± Winters, struck speechless, stood up, dusted off the soil and grass from his pants, and said irritably, ¡°Go ahead then, I¡¯m going back to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Young man, why sleep long before death, when after death comes eternal sleep?¡± Hestas now looked very amused.


    ¡°Yeah, if you don¡¯t sleep well while alive, naturally you¡¯ll soon end up buried and sleeping in the ground forever.¡± Winters immediately shot back. He then considered something further, asking the elder with a curious expression, ¡°Say, you all ate the meat, drank the wine, danced the dance, in this atmosphere, is what comes next really¡­?¡±


    He didn¡¯t specify what it was but made a few pumping motions with his right-hand middle finger into his half-closed left fist.


    The normally restrained Winters would never have made such an obscene gesture, but he was not only mentally exhausted but in a very bad mood. His rational dam had burst, and he now just wanted to disgust the old bastard before him.


    Hestas laughed briefly and replied calmly, ¡°I suppose it might.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯re facing down the Tanilians in a fight to the death, and your people won¡¯t rest well tonight? They¡¯re drinking, dancing, and fucking around ¨C do you have the energy for battle tomorrow?¡± Winters grew angrier at the old man¡¯s attitude.


    Unperturbed, the old Shaman replied openly, ¡°The men are going into battle tomorrow; wouldn¡¯t it be unacceptable to deny them a final moment of warmth with the women? They might not return tomorrow, so naturally, they want to ensure their bloodlines continue. The same goes for you, if you die tomorrow, your lineage ends. Wouldn¡¯t you regret that? Hmm¡­ If you want, I can help set you up. I think there are women who would appreciate your fine physique.¡±


    If it were the normally chaste young Winters, he would have blushed to the tips of his ears. But the sleep-deprived Winters, now possessed by an ill-tempered personality, spitefully retorted, ¡°Do your Herders¡¯ Shamans also take on the role of pimps?¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s as normal for a woman to be attracted to a man as it is for a man to be attracted to a woman. If a girl is interested in you, it means you are attractive ¨C that¡¯s a compliment to you,¡± said the old Shaman Hestas with a natural demeanor.


    Winters suddenly realized that either the old man¡¯s skin was incredibly thick, or his spiritual level was several levels above his own ¨C whatever vicious words he said simply couldn¡¯t hurt him.


    ¡°You¡¯re tall and look strong, seemingly a Chosen One. Bringing the bloodline of a Chosen One into my tribe would be a great boon. Is it wrong to pass on a better lineage?¡± the old Shaman asked seriously, ¡°When breeding horses, do you not pick the best stallions for the mares, or would you use a nag instead?¡±


    The old man¡¯s righteous sounding nonsense and series of flatteries left the venomously tempered Winters speechless. Winters, with a flushed face, argued back, ¡°Humans are people! Not animals!¡±


    ¡°Humans and animals are not so different,¡± Hestas said with a light smile. ¡°Good people are the best animals, and bad people are the worst. Stallions in the herd are constantly fighting for the right to mate, and men in the tribe also want to pass on their bloodlines. Humans are animals, not much different.¡±


    ¡°Humans are different from animals.¡± Winters wanted to argue further but suddenly felt that this statement wasn¡¯t strong enough.


    Consider the living conditions of these Herder slaves and the Senas indentured slaves; are they truly seen as human by the Kalman family? They¡¯re human, but they¡¯re also bipedal beasts whose ownership doesn¡¯t even belong to themselves.


    ¡°Humans have animal instincts, but unlike animals, people can restrain those instincts.¡± Winters knew such words wouldn¡¯t convince his opponent. He thought for a moment and then spoke with a smile, ¡°I have a good friend, taller and stronger than me. With long arms and legs, a broad back and narrow waist, and a top-notch master of swordsmanship. If there¡¯s a chance in the future, I¡¯ll introduce him to you for breeding.¡±

 Chapter 206 - 206 - 84 The Dance to the Styx_3

    Chapter 206 ¨C 84 The Dance to the Styx_3


    The old shaman nodded with satisfaction.


    Remembering Axel, Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a long sigh. Just a month and a half had passed, yet the days at the military academy already seemed like a dream.


    Two months prior, he would never have guessed that two months later he would be hiding on a small island owned by the enemy, leading a small group of enslaved soldiers and crippled warriors to fight to the death.


    What was Axel doing now?


    Winters had lost his temper, and even the thought of anger had dissipated, replaced only by a sense of fatigue.


    He bowed to Mustas, and the old shaman straightened his back to accept it gracefully.


    Winters turned and left, returning to his temporary dwelling. Stay updated through empire


    ...


    With a kick off of his boots, he collapsed onto the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.


    Time passed unknowingly, and not knowing where he came from, Winters found himself in a combat arena, carrying a shield and spear, while someone beside him was rubbing olive oil on his body.


    The olive oil was spread starting from his feet, then his waist, and then his chest. The thing rubbing the olive oil¡­ were they hands? They were hands¡­ warm and soft¡­ not a man¡¯s hands, were they a woman¡¯s?


    In his sleep, Winters jolted awake and pushed away the strange woman on top of him¡ªthere really was a Herde woman who¡¯d sneaked into his room!


    Woken up for the second time, Winters was both shocked and furious, and his just-awakened temper completely overwhelmed any sexual desire. Enraged, he didn¡¯t hesitate to use the Sonic Blast Spell to curse loudly, ¡°Get out!¡±


    The strange woman who fell to the floor was so startled by the thunderous blast that she screamed and ran out. The entire estate probably heard this angry shout, and the singing and drumming of the Herders outside ceased.


    Exhausted, Winters fell back onto the bed with a ringing in his ears, falling into a sweet sleep. This time, no one dared to disturb him again.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    In Guidao City, across the great sea in The Federated Provinces of the Republic¡¯s Army Headquarters.


    Axel, who was on night duty, was startled awake by a knock on the door.


    An upperclassman stood at the door of the duty office, panting and said, ¡°Passed unanimously with three to zero¡­ condemnation¡­ mobilization order¡­ war budget¡­¡±


    After swallowing hard and catching his breath with some difficulty, the upperclassman grabbed Axel¡¯s arm, ¡°We¡­ we are being deployed too.¡±


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    In the Herders¡¯ longhouse, the boy who had ambushed Winters was serving Hestas as he lay on a meadow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t follow them tomorrow, the Venetians will send you back to the steppes. Take care of your sister and go find your brother,¡± Hestas said still using the stiff Common Tongue, even when they were alone.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I¡¯m not a child anymore, I can kill,¡± the boy protested.


    Hestas knocked on the boy¡¯s head with his withered hand, ¡°Speak the language of the two-legged, not our language. When you get home, you must also practice the language of the two-legged¡ªsadly, by that time I won¡¯t be there to practice with you.¡±


    ¡°[Common Tongue] Those two-legged beings just want to use us,¡± the boy said, shifting to the awkward Common Tongue as well, ¡°I can¡¯t understand why you would make a deal with them, and even¡­ even conduct the Kulxit ceremony with that man¡­¡±


    ¡°Foolish boy, do you want to be a slave on this island for the rest of your life? Do you remember what the steppes are like? If you have children, they will be utter slaves,¡± Hestas said as he ruffled the boy¡¯s hair. ¡°This is your best chance to return to your homeland. If we don¡¯t pay blood-money, even if the Venetians conquer this island, they won¡¯t grant us freedom.¡±


    The boy uttered an ¡°oh.¡±


    ¡°I know you are not convinced, you can¡¯t stand the two-legged,¡± Hestas said earnestly, ¡°but there¡¯s nothing to be dissatisfied about. We have truly lost, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t have ended up here. I taught you their language so you could learn their knowledge. Only by learning from those who defeated us can the defeat not be in vain and your children avoid being enslaved like us¡­¡±


    Outside, the Herders extinguishing the last of the fires.


    The feasts have ended, leaving only blood and fire.


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 Chapter 207 - 207 - 85 Iron Melting Technique

    Chapter 207 ¨C 85 Iron Melting Technique


    At the break of dawn, a caravan set out from Hongsong Manor. Mules and oxen heaved as they pulled the large carts behind them, moving languidly towards Red Sulfur Harbor on eight four-wheeled wagons.


    ¡°Halt, what business do you have? What¡¯s loaded on these carts?¡± A patrol team stopped the caravan on the road.


    ¡°The carts are filled with grain,¡± the cart driver replied. ¡°We are from Hongsong Manor, delivering the levied supplies to the town.¡±


    Using the excuse of the war, the council of Red Sulfur Harbor demanded that all plantations and villages on the island set aside grain as military provisions, which the islanders referred to as a levy.


    A soldier from the patrol team climbed onto a wheel and peered into the wagon, only to see sacks of hemp neatly piled up. Cutting one sack open carelessly, wheat spilled out.


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    Seeing that it was indeed grain, the patrol team did not make further difficulties for the caravan.


    ...


    As they were about to leave, the patrol team¡¯s captain jokingly said to the young man next to the cart driver, ¡°You¡¯re tall and sturdy¡ªbeing a laborer suits you little. How about joining the army? We¡¯re short on hands, and with a daily silver coin, you¡¯d make in a month what you earn in a year.¡±


    The young man cracked a smile but said nothing.


    ¡°Eh? I¡¯m talking to you! Are you dumb? Can¡¯t you speak?¡±


    The tooth-gap cart driver hurried to smile and explain, ¡°Brother, you¡¯ve actually hit the nail on the head. This fool is indeed mute; our master took pity on him, that¡¯s why he¡¯s allowed to drive the cart with me.¡±


    The young man also gesticulated wildly with his hands and feet babbling.


    Seeing that the other party was mute, the patrol team¡¯s captain no longer insisted, merely muttering regretfully, ¡°So he¡¯s a mute, and here I thought he was good soldier material.¡± He waved them off, letting the caravan go.


    After shaking off the patrol team, Gold, who was driving the cart, laughed and said to Winters, ¡°My lord, that guy has quite an eye, spotting you as soldier material instantly.¡±


    Winters managed a wry smile and waved his hand, ¡°That almost got us trapped into conscription¡­ thanks to you. Never mind that now, continue teaching me the islanders¡¯ dialect¡­¡±


    Winters led the caravan onwards, the oxen pulling the carts maintaining a slow pace. From early morning until evening, they were finally close to reaching Red Sulfur Harbor. Along the way, they encountered only one patrol team and the occasional passerby.


    At the last fork in the road leading to Red Sulfur Harbor, the caravan turned onto a small path that did not lead to the harbor, driving until they reached a secluded spot.


    Winters had modified these large carts, adding secret compartments beneath the carriage that were high enough to fit an adult lying flat. From the outside, the carts appeared to be simple transport vehicles, and unless all the sacks of wheat were unloaded, no abnormalities could be detected.


    And beneath these compartments hid the men of Hongsong Manor¡ªHerders.


    After positioning lookouts, Winters led the remaining Venetian soldiers to start unloading the carts immediately.


    The Herder men, who had been suffering in the hot and pitch-black compartment for almost a day, were pale and could hardly stand upright.


    Yet they uttered no complaints, just helped each other down from the wagons and silently went to find a place to relieve themselves.


    ¡°Have we arrived?¡± Hestas asked Winters, gasping for air. He had come along too; there was no helping it since among the herders, only he knew the common tongue.


    Staying in such a cramped space, with no room to even turn around for a whole day, would be unbearable even for a middle-aged man, let alone Hestas, a man in his sixties.


    ¡°Not yet, we have to walk the remaining distance.¡± Winters handed his water flask to Hestas, using a respectful tone for the first time, ¡°Elder, are you all right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± The old Shaman was in poor condition, yet he laughed as if nothing was amiss, ¡°It¡¯s much easier than riding a horse.¡±


    Inside the carts, not only were people hidden, but weapons as well.


    After counting the numbers and distributing weapons, the Venetians and Herders cooperatively reloaded the grain back onto the carts.


    Bard led some of the men to drive the carts to a concealed location for hiding.


    Winters and Andre penetrated the dense forest with another group.


    Their target¡ªthe two forts that stood at the throat of the Red Sulfur Harbor bay.


    ¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª


    In the early hours of the morning.


    Cloudless.


    Full moon.


    Along the coast of Red Sulfur Harbor bay.


    The bright moonlight scattered over the surface of the water and the coastline, exposing anyone and anything attempting to hide.


    A soldier of the Tanilia Federation, Dain, was stationed on the coastal watchpost, his eyelids constantly fighting a battle to stay open.


    Above the sea, an iron chain as thick as a man¡¯s arm spanned from east to west, setting up an impassable barrier at the throat of the bay.


    Any ships that attempted to force their way through this barrier would shatter their hulls and sink.


    This was a man-made natural hazard, a wall upon the sea.


    And the weakest spot of this formidable obstruction was not the chain itself, but where it was anchored.


    The Tanilia residents had foreseen this and extended the chain from the forts on the shore, where a winch in the fort could raise and lower it, and the other end was a bastion.


    Both ends were guarded by the most trusted troops of the Council, and in the event of an alarm, Red Sulfur Harbor could send rapid reinforcement.


    To sentry Dain, this was just another commonplace day of the siege.


    With the harbor¡¯s entrance firmly secured by two forts and two chains, the Venetians couldn¡¯t get in. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Venetian warships patrolled outside the bay, preventing ships from Red Sulfur Harbor from getting out.


    This was a sea blockade; those outside wished to break in, and those inside wished to break out, yet neither side could fulfil their desires.


    The Venetians concentrated their main force on the northern coast, while Red Sulfur Harbor¡¯s council matched them in a standoff there.

 Chapter 208 - 208 - 85: Iron Melting Technique_2

    Chapter 208 ¨C 85: Iron Melting Technique_2


    In Dain¡¯s view, his job as a night watch might be boring, but it was safe. Even if the enemy were to attempt a forced landing, they would only attack from the northern coast. Only if the Venetians had lost their minds would they attack the impregnable Red Sulfur Bay.


    At this moment, Dain was just hoping that the next shift would come quickly to relieve him, as he was unbearably sleepy.


    As he was about to doze off to the sound of the waves, a faint sound of footsteps came from behind him, and the groggy Dain asked loudly, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡±


    ¡°Relief for the watch.¡±


    ¡°Hey, what time is it now? Why are you so late?¡±


    The newcomer did not answer, only approaching closer.


    When they were only six or seven steps away, Dain finally saw the other¡¯s face smudged with black, and he exclaimed in surprise, ¡°You¡­¡±


    ...


    Before he could finish speaking, the person raised their hand, and a flash of cold light passed, a steel spike pierced Dain¡¯s eye and protruded from the back of his skull. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The one who had thrown the steel spike was none other than Winters.


    Having hit his mark with one throw, Winters did not stop there but used the Arrow Flying Spell to continue to shoot the other two steel spikes he held towards the sentry.


    Now he was not concerned with conserving magical power, so he shot all three spikes in one go to ensure the kill.


    After three sounds of bones being shattered, the veteran of the Tanilia Federation didn¡¯t even manage to cry out, only let out a stifled ¡°uh¡± before slumping down softly.


    Winters rushed over and caught the body.


    After disposing of the sentry, he picked up two stones and tapped them against each other in a pattern of three short and one long, twice.


    Upon hearing the signal, the other Venetians emerged from the shadows of the distant thicket and scurried low to the ground towards Winters.


    Language barriers with the Herders made it impossible for them to execute any complex tactical commands.


    So Winters simply split the team into two groups: he and Bard, along with the Venetians, would stealthily eliminate the enemy sentries along the coast, while Andre and Hestas, together with the rest of the Herders, would deal with the patrol team.


    If the surprise attack turned into a frontal assault, then the Herders would be responsible for blocking reinforcements coming from the bastions.


    ¡°Did you bring my gear? My gear, give me my gear.¡± The tension and excitement almost made Winters speak incoherently.


    When the sentry had questioned him, Winters had almost thought the surprise attack had failed. The moonlight was too bright tonight, offering no place to hide, yet his plan had to be executed on the night of a full moon.


    He had never expected that the few phrases of Tanilian he had hastily learned would actually be useful.


    ¡°Your gear is right here with me, right here, don¡¯t worry,¡± Bard said with a smile, swiftly removing the standard spellcaster¡¯s kit he was carrying.


    Bard himself had not expected that taking out the sentry would go so smoothly. No one could have imagined that a Tanilian covert scout would actually change shifts, revealing the location of the coast¡¯s watch positions with one change of guard.


    Winters immediately took the kit, opened one layer of padding after another, and carefully extracted silver, black, and white powders, each contained in a glass vial.


    These were the key elements for tonight¡¯s operation and the reason the plan was feasible.


    Winters knew what the black powder was¡ªthe alchemists called it copper essence, obtained by grinding and refining pure copper.


    The silver and white powders were also products of alchemy; the alchemists named the white powder as a combustion aid, while the silver metal was expensive and rare, known to alchemists as activated metal, also known as¡ªaluminum.


    The Tanilians had set up sentries along the coast to prevent the Venetians from landing by boat at night, but this sentry position was right next to the iron chains, which was why Winters had to take out this sentry.


    Tonight, Winters would destroy these two artificial obstacles, the sea-blocking iron chains.


    Winters first mixed the aluminum powder with the copper essence powder and then started stirring.


    Both the fresh recruits and veterans of Veneta watched with awe as Montaigne Warrant Officer mixed the spellcasting materials; they all knew that this officer was a legendary mage, and in their eyes, magic was no different from witchcraft.


    The iron chains that blockaded Red Sulfur Bay were made up of iron rings as thick as an arm, some of which lay on the shore. Winters intended to destroy the iron rings on the shore.


    First, he took out a small iron plate prepared earlier, roughly forming an iron box with the plate and isolated a short middle section of the shoreline iron ring.


    Then he poured nearly two kilograms of spellcasting materials into the iron box, burying the isolated section of the iron ring with spellcasting materials. Lastly, Winters added the combustion aid.


    ¡°The canvas!¡± Winters ordered in a low voice.


    The soldiers beside him immediately propped up the canvas they had prepared in advance, shielding Winters thoroughly.


    ¡°Listen well, no matter what happens, never retreat,¡± Winters repeated the order he had issued before the action because he knew the terrifying prowess of the spell, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, there¡¯s nothing to fear.¡±


    Then he took a deep breath, held his breath, and entered the spellcasting state.


    The spell he was about to use was one of the most powerful in the fire-based magic arsenal, the Iron Melting Technique.


    Fire-based spells rely heavily on spellcasting materials; the caster¡¯s own power is like a source of fire, with the spell materials acting as fuel. The more spell materials there are, the greater the power of the spell.


    Originally, the Iron Melting Technique was just one of the basic spells for the composite spell ¡°Melting Flow Technique,¡± and no spellcasters thought this technique had any other use. But Winters realized that with enough spellcasting materials, the Iron Melting Technique could burn through anything.


    [Melting Flow Technique: A composite spell consisting of the Iron Melting Technique and the Arrow Flying Spell, with the effect of shooting out a stream of molten metal.]


    Winters had never had the luxury of using two kilograms of spellcasting materials in one go to cast the Iron Melting Technique. He had no idea what kind of quantitative effect so much material would produce.


    But there was no turning back now. Gritting his teeth, he poured all of his magic into the accelerant.


    The spell required extremely high explosive force, outputting a sufficient amount of energy in an instant to activate the Iron Melting Technique.


    It was only a second, yet Winters felt as if he had been drained of his essence.


    A hissing sound began in the iron box, and Winters knew he had succeeded. He quickly took a few steps back, retreating behind the canvas.


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    At first, there was just a hissing noise, followed by a glimmer of fire.


    In the blink of an eye, a light burst forth from the iron box, a searing brilliance too intense for human eyes. Never had the sun itself emitted such scorching light.


    Sparks flew in all directions as if Thor¡¯s hammer had struck the anvil.


    The burning was so intense that it made a ¡°whoosh¡± sound.


    Even behind the canvas, every Venetian could feel the scorching heat. The high-temperature sparks pierced the canvas, creating numerous holes.


    Winters felt fortunate to have prepared the canvas to block the light; the mere intensity of the Iron Melting Technique would have sufficed to draw the attention of the enemy within the battery.


    However, even the thickest canvas could not hide the dazzling light, which shone through the canvas. Winters could only hope that no one in the battery noticed the commotion on the coast.


    Fortunately, although the Iron Melting Technique was fierce, it lasted only a brief moment.


    After a mere dozen seconds, the light rapidly diminished, dwindled, and died out.


    As soon as the light disappeared, Winters ignored the scorching air, swiftly picked up the crowbar, pushed aside the canvas, and took a few steps toward the iron box.


    Now there was no iron box to speak of. The entire iron box, the middle section of the iron hoop, and the spellcasting materials had all turned into a magma-like viscous liquid.


    At this moment, the iron hoop, having been softened by heat, had lost its original properties and could no longer withstand the heavy force exerted by the weight of the iron chains. It was visibly being stretched bit by bit.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there holding the canvas!¡± Seeing that the crowbar was now of no use, Winters turned his head, lowered his voice, and urged sternly, ¡°Saws!¡±


    Bard, who had prepared the saw in advance, also stepped inside the canvas tent. No extra words were needed; the two understood each other perfectly well.


    Winters and Bard each took hold of one side of the large crosscut saw, typically used for sawing wood, and placed it atop the iron hoop.


    Once, twice, three times.


    After a few back-and-forths, the softened mid-section of the iron hoop was completely sawn through by the two of them.


    That is the most interesting aspect of chain structure; breaking just one link can destroy the whole chain.


    The previously balanced force structure of the sea-blocking iron chain was disrupted, and the chain began to plummet toward the seabed. As the chain itself was massive, the weight of it pulling downward made the chains on the East Bank of Red Sulfur Bay slide into the sea like an escaping serpent.


    Winters and Bard exchanged excited glances, elation unmistakable on their faces. The Venetian soldiers looked at their Centurion with awe.


    They had succeeded! One of the sea-blocking iron chains had been destroyed!


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there gawking,¡± Winters looked around at his subordinates, ¡°Follow me, there¡¯s another chain up ahead!¡±

 Chapter 209 - 209: 86th Chapter: Earthen Fortresses

    Chapter 209: 86th Chapter: Earthen Fortresses


    The artillery emplacement at the entrance of Red Sulfur Bay was situated on the west coast of the bay, with a small fortification located across the water on the East Bank.


    The two ends of the sea chain that blocked the entrance to Red Sulfur Bay were anchored at the emplacement and the fortification, respectively.


    The structure of the fortification was very simple; it was essentially a square shape roughly enclosed by walls packed with earth on all four sides. The base of the square fortification was over a dozen meters wide, and the walls stood just over six meters tall, roughly the height of a two-story building.


    In the defense systems of the old era, this fortification wouldn¡¯t even be considered significant, being nothing more than walls of earth. It wasn¡¯t steep enough, nor tall enough, and didn¡¯t even have loopholes for shooting on the parapet.


    In the new era¡¯s defense systems, such structures with blind spots, lacking artillery, and purely relying on height for defense, had become obsolete.


    However, for Winters¡¯s group of light infantry who lacked siege equipment, this fortification was still a hard bone to chew on.


    Atop the fortification, the Tanilian sentries were also dozing off. To prevent the enemy from approaching stealthily through the forest, trees within thirty meters of the fortification had been cleared long ago. Under the bright moonlight, nothing could hide.


    ...


    For the Tanilians defending the fortification, the excitement and tension from the day¡¯s ambush of the Venetians had long since dissipated, leaving them with nothing but the wearying duties of standing guard, standing guard, and standing guard.


    Suddenly, a few dull sounds rang out, waking the half-asleep sentry with a start. He shivered, held his breath, and listened, then heard a few more thumps.


    This time, he was sure it wasn¡¯t his imagination¡ªthe noises were coming from right beneath his feet, neither too close nor too far.


    The sentry drew his sword and tread lightly to the edge of the parapet, carefully peering down below. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had he stuck his head out than a pitch-black hand suddenly reached over from outside the wall, grabbed his collar, and in the next moment, the sentry felt a great force at his neck, dragging him over the wall.


    The sentry screamed as he was thrown from the high wall, head over heels, breaking his neck upon impact, and died.


    Immediately after, two Herders, with shaved heads, stripped bare, and smeared from head to toe in ash and black mud appeared atop the parapet. To conceal themselves in the darkness, they carried nothing reflective on their bodies, even their only short knives were blackened to a dull finish.


    Winters, with the remainder of his men, lay in wait at the edge of the forest, watching the movements of the two Herders. These two were brave warriors handpicked by Hestas from all the Herders for their exceptional climbing skills.


    No Venetian could climb a six-meter wall with bare hands, not even one of packed earth. But the only way for the remaining crippled soldiers and slaves to breach the fortification without siege weapons was to send someone in to open the fort gates.


    Winters silently watched as the two ghostly Herders approached the fortification unnoticed and began to climb. At that moment, even Winters, the atheist, suddenly felt an urge to pray.


    But he still heard the sound he least wanted to¡ªhear a scream followed by a thud. He didn¡¯t know whether it was a Herder or a Tanilian who had made the noise, as the two Herders had already vanished from Winters¡¯s sight.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been spotted, switch to the backup plan!¡± The scream in the silent night, clearly audible even from over thirty meters away to Winters, was surely even clearer to the garrison inside the fort. Seeing that the stealth attack had failed, Winters immediately ordered, ¡°Follow me, even if we die here, we must destroy this chain!¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Winters burst out of the crowd, with the Spellcasters carrying tools, and strode towards the shore. The others, after a moment of hesitation, also rushed out of the woods.


    Everyone started running at full speed, turning the night attack into a frontal assault, foregoing the need for stealth. Explore new worlds at empire


    The fortification was located on elevated ground by the shore, with the end of the chain secured inside the fortification, extending from holes in the wall all the way to the surface of the water.


    Unlike the artillery emplacement in the middle of the bay, this fortification was less than ten meters from the sea; the shore-end of the chain was entirely within range of the fort¡¯s projectile weapons. Attempting to sabotage the chain under the eyes of the garrison and go undetected was an impossible task.


    But since the plan to seize the fortification had failed, they had no choice but to press on hard.


    Then, against all expectations, a sliver of light appeared at the fort¡¯s gate, growing wider as the gate slowly began to open.


    When Winters saw a gap form in the gate, he didn¡¯t have time to think; he waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Take the gate!¡±


    The gate creaked open less than a meter, those inside shouting in alarm as they tried to close it again, but it seemed to be stuck on something.


    The distance of thirty meters was covered in strides, and with his battle sword drawn, Winters roared and leaped through the gap between the two wooden doors of the fort.


    Inside were six or seven Tanilian soldiers who were startled by the shadow that darted in. But Winters, experienced with numerous life-and-death fights, viciously cut down the enemies around him without giving them a moment to react.


    It was only when Winters nearly cleaved a Tanilian in two that the soldiers realized what was happening.


    They yelled and lunged at Winters with their knives and spears. Winters was about to parry with his sword, but his scimitar had become lodged in the bones of a corpse, and he couldn¡¯t pull it free.


    The Winters of now was no longer the naive young man fresh out of military academy; he had been forged in iron and blood.


    Realizing his scimitar was stuck, Winters didn¡¯t hesitate to drop the sword and back away. He also discarded any distracting thoughts and entered a spellcasting state.

 Chapter 210 - 210 - 86 Dunpu_2

    Chapter 210 ¨C 86 Dunpu_2


    The next moment, a Tanilian soldier¡¯s powder keg suddenly exploded. The force of the explosion did not only blow a large hole in the waist of the soldier carrying the keg, but also injured the soldiers around him, and even Winters was pushed against the gate by the blast wave.


    This was Winters¡¯s first original Spell, an improvement on ¡°Axel¡¯s Hair Burning Spell.¡± During the fight on the landing day, Winters realized that if the fire spell could ignite the enemy¡¯s hair, it could also detonate the gunpowder on their bodies. After several attempts, he found that the spell was unexpectedly effective.


    An entire keg of gunpowder detonated in the narrow gate, like a bomb was thrown in. The interior filled with gun smoke, and blood, flesh, and intestinal content splattered on the walls and ground, with those not yet dead screaming in horror.


    The explosive blast hit Winters in the chest like a sledgehammer, making his chest feel stuffy. But he struggled to stand up, spat out a chunk of flesh that had flown into his mouth, picked up a spear from beside him, and stepped back into the smoke.


    It wasn¡¯t until that moment that the other Venetians and Herders caught up with Winters. The Vineta soldiers and Hurd slaves who broke into the blockhouse gate trembled at the sight of the gruesome scene, with nobody daring to step into this corridor of blood and flesh.


    ¡°Fuck! What are you staring at? Kill!¡± Bard came to his senses, cursing extraordinarily, and ran into the blockhouse with a curved knife.


    With an officer leading, the others also mustered their courage and charged into the interior of the blockhouse, shouting.


    ...


    The blockhouse only had a dozen or so defenders, and Winters had killed half of them at the entrance; the remaining defenders lost the will to fight and hid shivering in concealed, dark corners, but they were all eventually found by Winters¡¯s men.


    The Tanilian soldiers who were still alive were dragged out from cabinets, baskets, and storerooms and pushed into the open space in the center of the blockhouse. Some cried and begged, while others closed their eyes and began to pray.


    Both Vineta soldiers and Herders surrounded the prisoners.


    ¡°We have no one to guard them, kill them all,¡± Winters ordered the execution of the prisoners impassively, as he found a clean towel to wipe the blood off his face.


    The Herders could not understand what Winters was saying, and the Vineta soldiers were at a loss.


    Seeing this, Winters said nothing else, snatched a spear and stepped next to the prisoners, grinding his teeth and saying, ¡°This is for my soldiers nailed to stakes¡­ I haven¡¯t forgotten a single one.¡±


    After he spoke, he swiftly and cleanly stabbed a prisoner to death.


    The other prisoners scrambled to flee, only to be pushed back by the Venetians and Herders nearby.


    Bard, also expressionless, grabbed a prisoner¡¯s hair and drove the curved knife into his collarbone, executing a prisoner.


    Once the two officers took the lead, the other soldiers clenched their teeth and acted against the remaining prisoners, and none of the Tanilian people inside the blockhouse were left alive.


    ¡°Two of our men are injured but not dead. No Herders died¡­ except for those two,¡± Bard and Winters reported the casualty situation: ¡°One of them fought to the death to open the door, and the other destroyed the warning bell¡­ Had it not been for them, we¡¯d likely be getting shot at on the coast right now.¡±


    Winters turned his back to Bard, said nothing, and started loading a matchlock gun found in the blockhouse.


    ¡°Time is running short, you¡¯d better get to the beach with the signal flares. Leave the rest to me,¡± Winters said without turning his head, ¡°If we both go down, who will deliver the message to the legate? Go now.¡±


    Bard sighed, but didn¡¯t leave.


    Winters sighed too, put down the firelock, turned around, and said helplessly, ¡°I know killing prisoners isn¡¯t good, but if given another chance, I¡¯d do the same.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not opposed to executing the prisoners, after all, we truly have no spare people to guard them,¡± Bard sincerely said, ¡°I just hope you won¡¯t obsess over revenge, and you shouldn¡¯t blame yourself for the decimation of the century team.¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    Bard stood at attention and gave a military salute, Winters also stood up and returned the salute solemnly, then Bard turned and left.


    Bard led two Vineta soldiers away from the blockhouse and headed towards the southern beach.


    Winters used up the remaining material for the Iron Melting Technique in one go, and the chain across the entrance of the bay was cut on the East Bank and sank to the seabed.


    Winters saw the brave Hurd who fought to the death to open the gate. He finally understood why the Tanilian couldn¡¯t close the door, as the Herders had jammed the door hinge with his body.


    His tribesmen retrieved his body and laid it flat on the ground. There were three knife wounds in his abdomen, and half of his body was almost crushed.


    Winters saluted the body of the fallen Herder, and the soldiers of Vineta did the same.


    ¡°Do not grieve for him, for he¡¯s already waiting for us by the Styx,¡± said Hestas calmly. ¡°He departed as a free man to the Styx, and we will join him as free men.¡±


    The old Shaman squatted beside the body, placing a silver coin into the palm of the deceased, and began to sing the Herder¡¯s song to calm the soul.


    Amidst the Herder¡¯s quiet chorus, Winters led the remaining soldiers and Herders away from the bunker, advancing toward the artillery fort in the middle of the bay.


    An ambush a few days earlier, though it had failed to completely destroy the Vineta¡¯s avenging fleet, had brought an unexpected bounty.


    One seafaring strategy involved blocking enemy harbors by scuttling ships, trapping the enemy¡¯s fleet inside.


    Continue reading stories on empire


    Such a blockade prevents ships inside the harbor from getting out, but also stops outside ships from getting in.


    Three sunken Vineta warships lay across the channel into the bay, creating a swath of artificial reefs. Even without the chain blockades, ships passing through these reefs could smash their hulls, and even capsize or sink.


    For this very reason, the council of Red Sulfur Island believed Red Sulfur Bay to be as impregnable as a fortress. Even without the two chain blockades, the sunken ships and the pair of artillery forts were deemed sufficient to repel the Venetians.


    If the Venetians stubbornly forced their way in and more of their warships were sunk, they would only serve to completely block the bay.


    However, tonight was unlike any other.


    A near full moon hung in the sky, hindering Winters¡¯ surprise attack. But it would compensate the Venetians in its own way.


    Tonight was the seventeenth of the lunar month, the time of the spring tides!


    Since nightfall, the tides within Red Sulfur Bay began to surge and rise. According to Bard¡¯s calculations, the tide would reach its monthly peak between one and two o¡¯clock.


    By then, even the sunken ship reefs could not obstruct the Vineta fleet¡¯s warships. Once the two iron chains were destroyed, the Vineta Fleet would drive straight through, heading for Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Kalman claimed he could smuggle Winters off Red Sulfur Island, using a secret smuggling route known to traffickers, taking two people at a time.


    But Kalman told Winters only to undermine the unity of the Venetians from within. He didn¡¯t expect Winters to use this smuggling route to establish contact with the Vineta Fleet. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once the fleet at sea, poised and ready, received Bard¡¯s signal, they would immediately rush into Red Sulfur Bay.


    Winters could now find a safe place to hide, waiting for the Vineta Army to conquer Red Sulfur Harbor and return. His mission was already complete; in the original plan, he just needed to destroy the two chains.


    But he understood there was still one thing he could do¡ªdestroy the cannons in the East Bank¡¯s artillery fort.


    The defenses of Red Sulfur Bay consisted of two artillery forts; the West Bank fort guarded the entrance to the bay, while the East Bank fort covered the middle section.


    The West Bank fort was beyond his reach, but if he could destroy the East Bank fort, many Venetians would be spared.


    Winters himself didn¡¯t know what was driving him. It wasn¡¯t for military honors or a sense of glory; this war had no honor for him.


    After much thought, the only reason he could convince himself was, ¡°If those cannons can be destroyed, many Venetians will be spared.¡±


    Perhaps he just couldn¡¯t bear to see any more Venetian corpses.


    ¡°Our target is the artillery fort on the East Bank,¡± announced Winters Montaigne, Warrant Centurion and acting Commander of the First Century, rallying the last of his soldiers: ¡°We are outnumbered, and our only hope for victory is a fierce and swift assault. Before the enemy can react, we¡¯ll storm in, destroy the cannons, and immediately withdraw.¡±


    ¡°You have already done so much for Vineta, but we must fight for Vineta one more time.¡± He looked over the soldiers who had followed him in sneaking around Red Sulfur Island. Under the bright moonlight, everyone¡¯s eyes shone brightly. Without further ado, he drew his saber: ¡°Follow me!¡±


    Ahead lay the artillery fort of Red Sulfur Island.

 Chapter 211 - 211 - 89: Forcible Attack

    Chapter 211 ¨C 89: Forcible Attack


    Although it was a frontal assault, a frontal assault did not mean recklessly charging head-on.


    Before attacking the bastion, Winters arranged for soldiers to return to the watch post beside the bastion, lighting torches to signal for reinforcement from the bastion.


    Those remaining were ambushed between the bastion and the watch post, ready to ambush the defending troops coming out of the bastion at the right moment to seize the gate.


    On this continent, no one understood siege tactics better than officers who graduated from the Senas Army Officers Academy, for it was in siege after siege during the sovereign wars that the elite forces of the Empire were decimated by the Senas allied forces.


    Thus, siege warfare was the most important subject at the military academy. With the assistance of fortress works, even the most cowardly and weak civilians could replace three elite enemies.


    For this reason, in Winters¡¯ view, attacking the enemy within a fortified bastion was the worst of the worst strategies, and even if a frontal assault was sometimes inevitable, it was best to lure the enemy out of the bastion and fight on open ground.


    The sentries on the bastion saw the waving torches of the coastal watch post but had not yet noticed that the chains had been cut.


    ...


    After several shouts went unanswered by the coastal watch post, the commander of the bastion decided to send a few men to see what was happening.


    After a bout of commotion, the bastion¡¯s gates swung open, and five soldiers walked out with their torches.


    As they were still about a dozen meters from the coast, the Herders hidden in the grassy mud by the path pounced on them, while Winters, who was closer to the bastion, led the Venetian soldiers towards the bastion¡¯s gates.


    The five Tanilian soldiers were suddenly ambushed and overrun before they even had a chance to flee.


    The bastion commander saw from atop the wall that the soldiers he had sent out had been killed by men crawling out of the bushes and an indeterminate number of other men were rushing towards the bastion.


    He immediately realized what was happening and urgently ordered the soldiers downstairs to close the gate.


    This makeshift bastion had no moats, and when the Venetians reached the gate, the gap between the two doors was less than a finger¡¯s breadth wide. A Venetian soldier, quick of hand and eye, thrust his spear through the gap in the doors.


    The hardwood spear shaft groaned under the pressure of the doors, but it did not break. At this point, a few other Venetian soldiers with spears inserted their weapons through the gap as well, effectively jamming the doors shut.


    The bastion¡¯s doors opened outward while the bastion¡¯s doors opened inward. The Tanilians inside pushed outwards with all their might, while the Venetians outside pushed back just as desperately.


    A few long knives stabbed through the gap at those outside. The Venetian soldier closest to the gap was struck by four blades in the arm, ribs, and thigh, screaming as he staggered back two steps and collapsed to the ground.


    The Tanilians inside continued to thrust outwards. One knife was extended too far, and the hand holding it was also exposed. A Venetian soldier armed with a hatchet, who was responsible for breaching the gate, viciously chopped down, severing the knife-wielding hand at the wrist.


    Both sides switched to longer weapons, jabbing each other through the gap less than a finger¡¯s width wide, and commenced a clumsy, comical, yet incredibly bloody and brutal fight.


    As soon as the Tanilian commander within the bastion saw someone attempting to take the gate, he immediately ordered the alarm bell to be rung.


    The alarm bell rang desperately, and three pyres were lit atop the bastion ¨C the agreed-upon signal for reinforcements.


    Hearing the alarm bell, Winters realized there wasn¡¯t much time left; the enemy from Red Sulfur Harbor would soon be aiding their allies. Frantically and furiously, he shouted, ¡°Where¡¯s the gunpowder? Where are the men with the gunpowder?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s coming, sir, it¡¯s coming,¡± gasped the soldier tasked with carrying the gunpowder, who had fallen behind during the initial rush.


    The Herders who had dealt with the enemy also arrived at the gates of the bastion and, seeing the standoff, several brave Herders began climbing the earthen walls with short knives in their mouths.


    The defending troops inside the bastion had also regained their composure after the surprise attack and began using long-range weapons to kill the Venetians outside the wall.


    The Venetians, armed with matchlock guns and bows and arrows, began to retaliate, while the Herders broke off long spears seized from the blockhouse to use as javelins, hurling them at the enemy above. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the attack was woefully ineffective from below, while the Tanilians on the wall held the high ground advantage. With the distance too close, the fall of every bullet or twang of bowstrings meant someone outside the wall would plummet. Melon-sized rocks thrown from the wall landed on the heads of Venetians, who couldn¡¯t dodge in time, smashing their skulls into their chests.


    Grabbing a pot filled with gunpowder, Winters plopped it by the door and stuck a fuse into it, yelling, ¡°Fall back.¡±


    He then used a fire-starting technique to ignite the fuse. Find more chapters on empire


    The gunpowder had been found in the blockhouse, but there were no sealed containers, only gunpowder; so, they had to make do with iron pots and kettles.


    Seeing the fuse lit, everyone hastily scattered. A dull thud was heard when the fuse burned out by the door, completely lacking the effect of an explosion. On closer inspection, not just the door but even the iron pot remained undamaged.


    Although Winters had used a narrow-mouthed pot and had attempted to seal it with a makeshift wooden plug as best as possible, it was still not airtight. The method of igniting the fuse and the successive burning meant the gas from the burning gunpowder on the surface blew the powder underneath away, making a whole pot of gunpowder fizz like a firework, less powerful than even a blast from a gunpowder flask.


    Enraged, Winters abandoned the idea of blasting the gate and instead switched to a gunpowder sack tied with iron nails.


    The gunpowder sack, also part of the equipment of the blockhouse gunners, was not made from cow horns but sewn from leather to increase its lethal potential. Winters wrapped several coils of iron nails around the outside of the gunpowder sack.

 Chapter 212 - 212 - 89 Strong Attack_2

    Chapter 212 ¨C 89 Strong Attack_2


    Winters directly stuffed the soft pouch through the slits of the door; he no longer used a powder fuse but instead fully unleashed a fire ignition spell.


    Unlike the layer-by-layer ignition of the powder fuse, the fire ignition spell acted directly on the entire bag of black gunpowder. The black powder, having absorbed a massive amount of energy, breached its energy barrier and exploded instantaneously.


    With a ¡°boom,¡± the powder pouch exploded violently, the iron nails bound to its exterior propelled by the burning gas of the gunpowder, shooting out in all directions.


    An iron nail shot through the slit in the door, carving a bloody furrow over Winters¡¯ head. And inside the door, the situation had to be even grimmer¡ªthe screams of agony coming through the slit were evidence, and the force pushing against the door from the inside drastically diminished.


    ¡°On my command! All together, ram the door!¡±


    The Venetians put all their strength into ramming the gate, and at last, the barricade door was breached.


    The Tanilians on the wall realized that the barricade door had been broken through, and they shouted hoarsely.


    ...


    ¡°Centurion, you take two men and destroy the door hinges; the rest, follow me!¡± Winters drew his combat knife and was the first to rush into the barricade.


    The Venetian soldiers and Herders, with their left arms exposed, charged into the barricade and would kill anyone they saw whose left arm was not bared.


    The corridor leading to the second level of the barricade was too narrow for any dodging. The men pushed against those in front of them, who had no place to escape but to thrust and parry blade for blade.


    Not just the Venetians and Herders, but even the Tanilians had gone red-eyed with killing frenzy. Those at the very front screamed with inhuman howls as they stabbed toward the enemy or were stabbed down.


    As the men at the front fell, those behind immediately took their place.


    The soldiers of the Ancient Empire used phalanx tactics to constantly replace the front-line soldiers, but the soldiers nowaday no longer received such training.


    In this bloody melee, they could only fight to the death; and if the battle continued this way, everyone would perish. As the front line fell, one by one, the relatively safe rear ranks would become the new front.


    As the battle reached this stage, victory was no longer decided by tactics, but by willpower and numbers. It was a matter of who had thicker nerves, who could hold out for just one more minute. And if neither side feared death, it boiled down to which side had more men.


    However, in the corridor wide enough for only three men abreast, Winters¡¯ sword was already notched and when he struck an enemy it felt like swinging a metal club.


    He had acquired multiple cuts on his limbs, and if not for the instincts honed by years of swordsmanship, he would have been dead already.


    Winters was becoming numb. He was no longer excited, no longer tense, not even afraid anymore. He just mechanically parried the oncoming weapons and counterattacked towards the enemy¡¯s shoulders and necks.


    Spellcaster, officer¡ªall these identities meant nothing. No officers were needed in this meat grinder, nor spellcasters, only flesh.


    This tiny corridor swallowed those who were alive and kicking, only to spit out mutilated corpses.


    Winters did not know how many men he had cut down, but he could indeed feel they were making progress and that the enemy was gradually retreating.


    An enemy in front of him swung a club overhead at Winters. Mechanically, Winters ¡°blocked¡ªchopped.¡±


    But the now-numb Winters failed to notice that the ¡°club¡± was not a club at all, but rather a flail.


    He blocked the ¡°club,¡± but the striking head, attached to a chain on the end of the club, swung around the blade and smashed half a circle before brutally striking Winters on the head.


    Stay tuned to empire


    Winters only felt his consciousness suddenly go dim, his vision darkened, and for the first time during combat, he dropped his weapon.


    The Tanilian wielding the flail was about to follow up on his advantage with another fierce blow to Winters. However, the Venetian soldiers and Herders quickly protected Winters, lifting the nearly unconscious Winters to the rear of the corridor. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Half-dazed, Winters heard the sound of a gong. He shook his head trying to clear his mind, but there was an indescribable severe pain inside his skull.


    His diaphragm squeezed his stomach, and he retched involuntarily a couple of times, but nothing came up.


    ¡°Is that a gong?¡± The pale-faced Winters grabbed the soldier supporting him; he wasn¡¯t sure if he was hallucinating and with effort asked the soldier, ¡°Do you hear the gong?¡±


    ¡°Officer, it¡¯s a gong. You heard right; it¡¯s a gong,¡± the soldier replied.


    Upon hearing the soldier¡¯s answer, Winters¡¯ expression suddenly relaxed, he let out a breath as blood ran from the top of his head down to his chin, making his smile look somewhat fierce, ¡°Retreat! Retreat now! Lieutenant Cherini has succeeded!¡±


    In the tactical courses at the Military Academy, Private Winters Montagne had only learned four things: position the reserves on a reverse slope; if the front won¡¯t break, flank from the sides; backup plans will eventually come into play; and¡ªbefore launching the real attack, make sure to feint in other directions.


    [At the Military Academy, cadets automatically obtain the rank of Private upon enrollment.]


    There were at least a hundred enemy soldiers in the fortress, and Winters had never imagined that he could break through the Tanilians at the main entrance with his small band of thirty-odd crippled soldiers and makeshift slave troops.


    Every attack at the main gate was a feint; the louder and fiercer, the better.


    After the battle at the main gate drew the attention of all the Tanilians, Andre Cherini would lead four of the most capable Venetian soldiers and Herders from another direction into the fortress.


    Forging a cannon is difficult, but destroying one is easy. Andre came equipped with enough nails and hammers to seal the touchholes of every cannon on Red Sulfur Island.

 Chapter 213 - 213 - 89 Assault_3

    Chapter 213 ¨C 89 Assault_3


    The gong was the signal that Andre had made it. Experience exclusive tales on empire


    The still-living Venetian soldiers and Herders carried Winters and quickly withdrew from the artillery bastion. The enemy inside the bastion, uncertain of what was real, dared not pursue.


    Leaning against a tree trunk, Winters sat on the ground and silently counted the remaining men. There were only eleven of them left with him, and each of the survivors was injured.


    Adding the three from Bard¡¯s side and the five from Andre¡¯s, tonight Winters had lost twenty-three men under his command, half of his force.


    Hestas, who had stayed behind at the assault position, was treating Winters¡¯ wounds. The old Shaman first cleaned the wound, then washed it with warm salt water. Finally, he began chanting in a strange tone.


    An amazing scene unfolded as the deep, bone-visible, bleeding wound on Winters¡¯ left shoulder began to slowly shrink. Under the gaze of everyone present, this wound, over two and a half fingers in length, healed at a visible speed until it turned into a shallow red line.


    The still-living Herders, disregarding their injuries, knelt to the ground and pressed their foreheads into the mud, also chanting ceaselessly.


    ...


    The Venetians, whether they were Catholics or Protestants, were profoundly shaken upon witnessing the miracle of the healing wound.


    This was the Divine Art that could ¡°revive the dead and mend broken bones,¡± and the reason why the Catholic Church rose from a banned and persecuted heretic religion to replace the polytheistic religion of the Ancient Empire and become the state religion of the Ancient Empire.


    Whoever witnessed such divine arts, how could they not bow down before the Catholic altars?


    ¡°Old man, don¡¯t waste the Divine Art on me,¡± Winters grabbed Hestas¡¯ hand. ¡°Go save the others.¡±


    Hestas nodded and moved on to treat the others.


    The Herders, when their wounds were cleaned by the old Shaman, felt immense pride and honor to have Hestas himself treat them, an honor unmatched for the Herders.


    The Venetian soldiers, on the other hand, dreaded the ¡°sorcery¡± of Hestas, the heretic, and even those with severe injuries who had no choice but to receive divine healing, trembled as they recited the Lord¡¯s Prayer and the Rosary.


    The Herders glared angrily at these reluctant Venetians.


    ¡°Fucking exhilarating! I nailed all their damn gun ports shut! [Andre¡¯s poor vulgar language]! Where did those Tanis get such good cannons from? But they all got nailed by me!¡±


    Winters heard Andre¡¯s coarse and breathless voice before he saw him. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°After destroying so many cannons, won¡¯t they have to grant us at least a one-kilogram medal? Can they? Huh¡­¡± Andre¡¯s tone was filled with excitement as he shouted boastfully about his achievement.


    In the Vineta Army regulations, nailing enemy cannons during combat was equivalent to capturing them; officers below the rank of colonel were promoted one rank, and soldiers were given money and land to retire as small landowners.


    However, upon seeing the miserable state of the Venetians and Herders who had been assigned to feint at the main gate, he could no longer laugh.


    Andre walked over to Winters, crouched down to look at the knife wounds and almost blood-soaked outer garments on Winters, and said with a trembling voice, ¡°Brother¡­ are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, they¡¯re all minor wounds,¡± replied Winters with lipless pale smile, asking, ¡°Are the cannons taken care of?¡±


    ¡°Taken care of, nailed down dead,¡± Andre nodded, and after thinking for a moment, added, ¡°The heavy cannons in the bastion were all thirty-two-pound bronze cannons with long barrels. The Tani people shouldn¡¯t have the ability to cast such large cannons. I really don¡¯t know where they got them from.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good they¡¯re destroyed,¡± Winters¡¯ last lingering worry dropped, and he said in a relaxed tone, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where they got the cannons from, let the higher-ups worry about that. We¡¯ve done our job.¡±


    Then, another set of footsteps came from the south, as Bard also returned to the designated rendezvous point with two other Venetians.


    ¡°How did it go? Did you make contact?¡± Winters saw Bard return and anxiously tried to stand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t move, just sit there,¡± Bard quickly held Winters down, speaking softly, ¡°We made contact, our warships have set out.¡±


    Bard pointed in the direction of the bay, ¡°Look, they¡¯re already here.¡±


    The sound of the cannon fire came faintly from the direction of the entrance to the bay, and behind the hazy trees, warships entered Red Sulfur Bay one after another.


    The Venetian soldiers shouted and yelled with excitement.


    The Herders, realizing they were about to go home, teared up with emotion as well, hugging each other and weeping openly.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre also exchanged smiles with a sense of relief.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Then came the sound of cannons again, and this time it was heavy artillery, the thunderous boom of which made the leaves tremble.


    Winters¡¯ expression became panicked¡­ something was wrong¡­ the direction was wrong¡­ the cannon fire was not coming from the entrance of the bay, but from the second bastion at the waist of the bay, the very one they had just attacked.


    Winters and Bard widened their eyes at Andre.


    Andre was almost in tears with anxiety, ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I fucking nailed shut all the damn gun ports!¡±

 Chapter 214 - 214 - 88 Destroying

    Chapter 214 ¨C 88 Destroying


    With the iron chains blocking the sea now gone, Venetian warships charged into Red Sulfur Bay, their murderous intent palpable as they headed for the docks.


    In the moonlight, one after another, the warships, bearing torches, resembled a long dragon within the bay.


    These warships were not the ¡°big fellows¡± from the revenge fleet; they were all Fustas.


    [Note: Fusta refers to a light galleon with a complete deck, manned by only around thirty rowers. Gold¡¯s Good Fortune was such a ship. These light galleons might be small, but they had a shallow draft and were highly maneuverable.]


    The vanguard warships had already breached the docks, where Venetians were engaged in fierce combat with the harbor¡¯s defenders. The direction of Red Sulfur Harbor echoed with the roaring of guns, shouts of killing, and the surrounding docks were ablaze with fire.


    In the middle of the bay, two Fustas below the waterline were blasted open by heavy artillery from the battery, sea water churning as it poured in and the warships spiraled down while sinking.


    To prevent the sunken ships from blocking the channel, nearby warships threw out hooks and ropes, striving to drag the sinking vessels away. Other warships veered around the wrecks and raced toward Red Sulfur Harbor at full speed.


    ...


    Both attackers and defenders knew the outcome of the battle depended on speed, on how quickly the Venetians could land their troops.


    While the Venetian ships were frantically clearing the channel, the heavy artillery in the battery continued its relentless bombardment, and cannonballs, one after another, created plumes of spray around the Venetian warships.


    Another Venetian warship sank, crewmembers scattering in all directions to abandon ship. The warships that followed didn¡¯t even stop to rescue those in the water, sometimes sailing directly over their heads.


    The survivors among Winters¡¯s men, watching from the shore, felt a deep agony not just for the Venetians but even the Herders felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on their chests, suffocating them.


    So many had died assaulting the battery, yet the heavy artillery within was left unharmed, still firing one lethal cannonball after another.


    What was the fierce fighting for? What did those sacrifices amount to? Did they die in vain?


    Andre¡¯s face was ashen as he shivered, muttering curses under his breath.


    A sense of despair, depression, and bleakness spread among those who were still alive.


    What to do?


    Everyone looked to Centurion Montaigne for guidance.


    Winters remained silent, staring fixedly in the direction of the battery and Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Finally, a young Venetian soldier couldn¡¯t hold back his tears and cried out.


    Among sobs, Winters turned to face everyone, his eyes wide, breathing heavily, and shouted fiercely, ¡°Saber!¡±


    His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked utterly terrifying.


    The crowd was stunned, unsure of what Warrants Officer Montaigne intended to do.


    A gaunt figure with a missing tooth squeezed to the front, and Gold stepped forward, presenting a curved sword to Winters with both hands respectfully.


    Only then did they understand that the Centurion¡¯s weapon was lost in the battery and Montaigne was requesting a weapon.


    Winters tore off the sling fixing his right arm, threw it to the ground, took the curved sword, and issued his command, word for word, ¡°Attack again!¡±


    ¡°Have you gone mad?¡± Andre exclaimed in alarm, forgetting the presence of others, immediately objecting to Winters, ¡°There must be at least fifty people in that battery. We couldn¡¯t breach it even with the advantage of a surprise attack, going again would be a death sentence, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Attack again.¡± Winters repeated firmly.


    ¡°I understand how you feel, but we¡¯ve done our best, we can¡¯t just go and die, can we?¡± Andre was frantic. He looked at Bard, ¡°Bard, say something to him!¡± Your next chapter awaits on empire


    ¡°Actually, I think¡­¡± Bard narrowed his eyes, pondering, then said, ¡°¡­we could attack once more.¡±


    ¡°XX! Why can¡¯t I make you two understand?¡± Andre pounded his head with his fists in frustration.


    ¡°Look, Red Sulfur Harbor is in chaos now. The reinforcements that left from the harbor are turning back. There are only the original defenders in the battery.¡± Winters pointed with the curved sword towards the turning torches outside the harbor and sneered, ¡°The defenders in the battery know we are few and could only mount a sneak attack. They would never expect us to dare to return. Additionally, a significant portion of the defenders who are still alive are manning the cannons. We might actually have the advantage for a surprise assault.¡±


    Andre seemed to understand the situation though his instinct was still to object, ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Winters, however, didn¡¯t give him a chance to speak further, shouting out loud.


    The Venetians looked at each other; no one responded.


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°Report, sir, the old sergeant died¡­ took a knife to the belly¡­¡± a Venetian soldier replied softly.


    Winters paused for a few seconds before asking again, ¡°I ordered him to destroy the battery gate hinge. Is the gate hinge destroyed?¡±


    ¡°Destroyed.¡± The same soldier who had spoken before replied, ¡°I was with the sergeant when we destroyed it.¡±


    ¡°From now on, you are Centurion.¡± Winters pointed at the speaking soldier, then addressed the rest, ¡°Are you afraid now?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The surviving Venetian soldiers lowered their heads, no one speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! Those Tanyrians are more afraid!¡± Winters declared fiercely, ¡°Their courage just now was nothing more than the advantage of numbers! And now they are afraid, they¡¯re trembling while cleaning up the bodies! Just recalling our bravery will make them shiver! The gate to the battery is broken, and this is our God-given opportunity! Enter through the gate, kill anyone you see! Catch them completely off guard!¡±

 Chapter 215 - 215 - 88: Destruction_2

    Chapter 215 ¨C 88: Destruction_2


    Andre¡¯s face turned from green to red, and with gritted teeth, he made up his mind and shouted, ¡°Do it! Kill those Tanilian bastards! Slaughter them all!¡±


    ¡°After we charge in, we need to make a lot of noise, make our voices heard,¡± Bard added. ¡°Even though there are only a dozen or so of us, we must appear like a squad of a hundred men.¡±


    ¡°Old man, your Herder people have kept their promise, you don¡¯t have to follow us,¡± Winters earnestly said to Hestas. ¡°But I hope you can help us this one time, we will be forever grateful, as will Vineta.¡±


    Including three officers, the Venetians only had eight men left, and they needed the strength of the Herders no matter what.


    ¡°Our pact was that we entrust our lives to you for the safety of our women and children back home,¡± Hestas laughed heartily, also picking up a scimitar. ¡°To get our women and children safely to our homeland. As for our lives, you can use them however you like.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said, nodding in gratitude, then he looked towards the Venetian soldiers, ¡°How about you? Are you willing to fight one more battle with me?¡±


    ¡°Sir! Wherever you lead us, we will follow!¡± Gold was the first to cry out, and the other Venetian soldiers also agreed in unison.


    ...


    ¡°After this battle, I¡¯ll find you a good place. You won¡¯t need to fight any more battles in this war.¡±


    ¡­


    With the roaring of the cannons as cover, Winters and his dozen men stealthily approached the battery.


    With the exception of Hestas, all were lightly wounded. There were no severely injured men; those who were severely injured had died in the battery.


    ¡°Old man, you don¡¯t have to risk your life with us,¡± Winters whispered to the lean old Shaman.


    ¡°What? You doubt my capabilities?¡± Hestas coughed twice and mumbled, ¡°I was fighting in battles before you were even born!¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The group crawled to the nearest cover from which they could approach without being seen; any further crawling would expose them on the cleared land around the battery, with no place to hide.


    Hestas grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, lifted it to the height of his forehead, and, in a special guttural tone, he began chanting like he was using ¡°Healing Arts,¡± slowly opening his hand.


    As the dirt from Hestas¡¯s hand gradually fell back to the ground, Winters felt his fatigue and fear fade away. He felt fearless and was filled with a furious excitement.


    He glanced at Hestas in amazement; could the Divine Arts work even on a non-believer?


    Under the influence of Hestas¡¯s shamanic magic, even the most cowardly among the group radiated boundless courage. Your next journey awaits at empire


    Winters realized that the time was now. He let out a great shout, raising his sailor¡¯s cutlass and leading the charge towards the battery.


    The two doors of the battery opposite each other and their connection to the wall had been destroyed, laying haphazardly on the ground. Three Tanilian soldiers were busy trying to repair the gate with tools.


    One of the Tanilian soldiers moving the wooden door heard footsteps and turned his head to see a line of figures dashing out from the bushes.


    The Tanilian soldier was first stunned, then frantically screamed a warning.


    But within the short distance of a dozen meters, Winters had nearly reached them in the blink of an eye.


    The three Tanilians trying to repair the gate turned to flee inside the battery; in his urgency, Winters hurled his cutlass like a throwing ax at them.


    The spinning cutlass pierced through the back of one of the Tanilians, pinning him to the ground.


    The other two Tanilians screamed as they ran into the battery.


    Winters strode to the door, pulling the cutlass out of the Tanilian lying on the ground.


    The Tanilian impaled by the cutlass was not yet dead, moaning in pain, clutching the dirt with his hands and spitting blood bubbles from his mouth.


    Winters bit his lip and delivered a mercy stroke to the Tanilian.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scatter! First, find the powder magazine! Let the enemy run if they want to, but kill anyone who resists!¡± After speaking, Winters was the first to charge into the battery, ¡°Kill!¡±


    The Venetians and Herders, yelling their battle cries, followed Winters into the battery.


    The corridor, which had just seen bloody combat, was strewn with bodies from both Venetians and Tanilians, all unremoved.


    The tens of meters long corridor was horrific, filled with corpses from both sides, leaving no room for foot placement, only allowing passage by stepping on the bodies.


    Winters remembered what Colonel Field had said, ¡°The powder magazine is always as far from the cannons as possible.¡±


    He led everyone in the opposite direction from the gun positions, attacking fiercely.


    The Tanilians inside the battery were caught off guard; they had never imagined such a small group of enemies could be so fiercely aggressive, daring to launch a counterattack.


    In their panic, the battery¡¯s garrison was unable to organize an effective resistance and were overrun by Winters¡¯ assault into the eastern building.


    ¡°Find the powder magazine!¡± Winters ordered loudly, searching each storeroom.


    However, at that moment, a disciplined group of guards collided with the attackers head-on.


    When the battery commander learned the enemy had broken into the eastern building, he immediately realized their target was the powder magazine. He swiftly organized the nearby garrison to intercept them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them near the powder magazine!¡± the battery commander drew his command saber, ¡°Exterminate them!¡±


    This group of guards was armed with two and a half meter-long spears. Though spears were cumbersome in the narrow corridor, the walls protected the flanks of the spear formation, making it an unstoppable force from the front.

 Chapter 216 - 216 - 88 Destruction_3

    Chapter 216 ¨C 88 Destruction_3


    In this situation, much like two rats fighting in a sand burrow, there wasn¡¯t much to say¡ªthe fiercer one would win.


    Two Herders immediately hurled their javelins. In the narrow corridor, there was almost no room to dodge. Propelled by the muscular strength of the Herders, the javelins pierced through human bodies as easily as a hot knife through butter.


    Yet when one Tanilian fell, another immediately took his place, with spear points like a forest advancing towards the Venetians and Herders.


    Seeing reinforcements arrive, Winters understood he had found the right spot. He shot a steel spike at the enemy commander, which missed the head and hit the chest, but made a crisp sound¡ªthe target was wearing armor.


    The spears advanced, and there was simply no room to wield short weapons. The Venetians and Herders were forced to retreat.


    If they retreated any further, there would be nowhere to go. Winters grabbed a barrel lid close by and squeezed to the very front. With clenched teeth, he used the barrel lid to deflect spear points upwards, charging forward towards the enemy amid the forest of spears.


    In the violent melee of long spears, soldiers would sometimes crawl under the shafts to reach the dead angles of the long weapons and attack the enemy¡ªthis kind of battle was known as ¡°rat warfare.¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    What Winters did was exactly that; although the long spears left several wounds on his body, he finally managed to barge below them.


    Without hesitation, he thrust his curved blade fiercely into the enemy¡¯s soft belly. The long spear men, taken by surprise, hurriedly dropped their spears and drew daggers to defend themselves.


    But once the spear formation broke, the other Venetian and Herder soldiers immediately charged in.


    The scene was extremely chaotic and bloody, with people in the back pushing those in the front, the latter squeezed tightly like in a vice, with even no space to swing their weapons.


    Pressed from above, Winters could not tell who or how many were in front of him; he just kept stabbing, twisting, stabbing, twisting in the direction of the enemy, with gritted teeth. Continue reading stories on empire


    Finally, the Tanilian soldiers¡¯ morale collapsed, unable to bear the bloodiness of the fight any longer. The Tanilians in front wailed, begging to flee, and those behind them turned deserters outright.


    The commander of the bastion, furious, tugged at the soldiers attempting to escape, personally killing two of them. However, everyone wanted to flee, and he could no longer control nor stop the rout.


    As the bastion commander was about to kill a third deserter, Winters knocked him over with a body check. Straddling the bastion commander, Winters stabbed at his chest with the curved blade, but the screeching sound followed by the blade sliding off reminded Winters¡ªthe man was wearing armor.


    Blocking the commander¡¯s arm as he tried to counter-attack, Winters slammed the butt end of the curved blade hard against the bastion commander¡¯s face, ¡°Just because you¡¯re wearing armor, you think I can¡¯t deal with you?!¡±


    The bastion commander¡¯s head was impaled on a spear, but inside the bastion, the Tanilians still heavily outnumbered the others.


    ¡°Sir! There are only two barrels of gunpowder in the armory,¡± reported a Venetian soldier frantically to Winters.


    ¡°Take it out and start a fire,¡± ordered Winters, not having time to wipe the blood from his face, ¡°Spread out the fires. Don¡¯t let the Tanilians regroup!¡±


    Following Winters¡¯ orders, everyone began to clear the bastion¡¯s first floor while starting fires.


    The main structure of the bastion was rammed earth, but there was also a considerable part made of wood. With the assistance of gunpowder and pitch, the wooden structures quickly ignited, and the inside of the bastion was suddenly filled with smoke.


    Gold, following Bard¡¯s instruction, held up the head of the bastion commander on a spear and shouted at the top of his lungs in Tanilian dialect, ¡°Defeated! Defeated! There¡¯s a fire! Captain Kidd is dead! The captain is dead! Run for it¡­¡±


    After clearing all the enemies on the bottom floor of the bastion, Winters shouted, ¡°Andre! Lead us to the gun decks!¡± The roar of the heavy guns from the top of the bastion increased Winters¡¯ impatience.


    This was a two-tier bastion, and to ensure a clear field of fire, the heavy guns were on the third tier, at the very top of the rammed earth building.


    But there was no answer.


    ¡°Stop shouting. It¡¯s just the two of us; who knows where the others have scattered off to,¡± Bard said with a bitter smile.


    Winters suddenly realized a problem; he shouldn¡¯t have set the fire. The swirling smoke and fierce flames not only destroyed the Tanilians¡¯ cohesion but also his men¡¯s.


    Winters¡¯ orders couldn¡¯t be conveyed to his soldiers scattered throughout the bottom floor, and he was forced to use amplification magic to bellow, ¡°Everyone! Attack upwards! To the gun decks!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not lose each other,¡± Winters said, not bothering about the effectiveness of his command, as he and Bard groped their way towards the upper floor.


    On the second floor, the smoke was thicker, choking them as they struggled to breathe.


    Amidst the chaos, they finally reached the top of the bastion.


    Because it was the uncovered top of the rammed earth building, the smoke was not as thick. The thirty-two-pound heavy guns were positioned here, and at the side of a thick and imposing bronze cannon, several gunners were busy reloading.


    Winters and Bard, wielding their curved blades, charged up, and the gunners scattered like birds and beasts.


    Standing beside the cannon, Winters looked at the gun¡¯s touch hole, which to his surprise, was spiked shut!


    ¡°Andre didn¡¯t lie, this cannon was spiked shut,¡± Bard said, puzzled, ¡°But how exactly is this cannon fired then?¡±


    At that moment, the sound of the heavy cannon firing came from the other side of the wall.


    The two exchanged glances, Winters gripping his curved blade tighter, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Sticking close to the wall beside the watchtower, Winters and Bard reached the corner and carefully peered around it.

 Chapter 217 - 217 - 88 Destruction_4

    Chapter 217 ¨C 88 Destruction_4


    Additionally, three heavy cannons were positioned here.


    The gunners were busily engaged beside the cannons.


    However, apart from the gunners, there was a person wearing a mask by the cannons.


    Once a cannon had been loaded, the masked person walked over to it; no linstock or red-hot poker was in sight. The person simply held a hand above the cannon. Enjoy more content from empire


    The next second, with a roar, the cannonball hurtled forth.


    The gunners repositioned the cannon, quickly began to clean the bore, and reloaded.


    ¡°With just the two of us against over a dozen gunners, it simply won¡¯t do,¡± Bard whispered to Winters. ¡°Wait for the others to get here.¡±


    ...


    Winters, with a grave expression, drew out a steel spike to clutch in his palm. He said to Bard with difficulty, ¡°It¡¯s not the dozen or so gunners I¡¯m worried about¡­ we might have encountered¡­¡±


    From around the corner of the attic came the battle cries in a familiar Venetian accent, obviously signifying that their own men had attacked up another passage to the roof.


    Bard immediately gripped his sword, ready to charge out and attack the gunners on the roof from both sides.


    But Winters grabbed Bard, gesturing for him to be silent.


    On the roof, the gunners wanted to flee, but in the presence of the mask wearer¡¯s tyranny, they dared not. The masked person seemed unconcerned with the enemies before him.


    Several Venetians and Herders surged from the stairwell, with one Venetian soldier at the front charging at the masked person with his sword raised.


    However, the masked person stood motionless, simply standing with hands clasped behind his back, watching Winters¡¯s men.


    Before even reaching the masked person, the Venetian soldier collapsed, blood flowing from all orifices.


    Next, the masked person turned his gaze toward the other Herders. Simply by looking, the Herders dropped dead one by one, blood oozing from their orifices.


    The whole process took just a few blinks, as if the masked person¡¯s gaze severed the threads of life of those he looked upon.


    The cruel, efficient, and ruthless process of life being snuffed out sent shivers down Bard¡¯s spine.


    Bard noticed that Winters¡¯s knuckles had turned white from clenching so hard, his chest heaved, and his eyes were blood red. The fury in his chest almost ignited his hair.


    The last Herder didn¡¯t even get close to the masked person. Yelling in the Herders¡¯ tongue that Winters couldn¡¯t understand, he threw his javelin at the masked person.


    This time, however, the masked person did not dodge as composedly as before, avoiding the javelin with an ungainly maneuver.


    Winters narrowed his eyes.


    Just at this moment, a raspy voice with a Tanilian accent shouted from the stairwell, ¡°Defeat! We are defeated! The captain is dead! Captain Kidd is dead! Red Sulfur Harbor is gone! Run for it¡­¡±


    This cry was the final straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. The gunners, who were already wanting to flee, didn¡¯t see who took the lead, but scattered in every direction.


    The masked person shouted angrily, ¡°Come back!¡±


    But speaking in Common, whether the gunners understood or not, they ran without looking back.


    Some of the gunners even ran toward Winters¡¯s position.


    The masked person, however, did not chase in their direction but followed the sound of Gold¡¯s voice down the stairwell.


    Winters and Bard immediately followed with long strides, but as they were halfway there, the masked person returned from the stairwell.


    Winters cursed loudly and flung a steel spike at the masked person.


    As soon as the masked person saw Winters, Winters also caught sight of the masked person.


    The moment the masked person¡¯s gaze fell upon Winters, Winters felt an intense pain in his skull, his consciousness blurred, and the steel spike missed by two inches, flying past the masked person¡¯s ear.


    Bard charged with his sword raised, but the masked person turned his gaze toward Bard.


    With the last of his strength, Winters pulled Bard back.


    ¡°Run! Bard! Run!¡± he struggled to spit out the words.


    Just as the threads of life for Winters and Bard were about to be cut, suddenly a gloomy guttural sound echoed across the top of the parapet.


    The masked person screamed, as if suffering immense pain, and Winters, on the brink of death, was pulled back from the line of death. Struggling, he drew another steel spike from his belt.


    The masked person, in agony, chanted in the ancient language of the Ancient Empire, ¡°Gather flames to blaze!¡±


    ¡°Pu.¡± That was the sound of something bursting open.


    The masked man¡¯s expression instantly relaxed, his agony having greatly subsided.


    The next second, a steel spike was driven into the back of his head, bursting out of his eyes.


    Before the masked man could fall, Winters had already roared and charged to his side. He thrust his sword into the masked man¡¯s heart, violently stirring it, then pulled out his curved blade and left a deep, bone-deep cut on the masked man¡¯s neck.


    After doing all this, Winters who confirmed that the masked man was dead beyond any doubt, went downstairs panting heavily.


    The very thing he least wanted to happen still occurred, amid the swirling smoke, several Herders were weeping loudly around a corpse with a dreadful death expression.


    The corpse¡¯s head was completely blown open, much like a watermelon burst from within.


    It was impossible to recognize the deceased, but Winters knew who lay there.


    Feeling as if all his strength had been drained, he knelt beside the body, tears streaming unstoppable: ¡°Old man¡­¡±


    ¡°It was Hestas who saved us, right?¡± Bard also came down, asking with difficulty. His condition was even worse than Winters¡¯s, he could hardly stand steady.


    Winters didn¡¯t speak, only took off his clothes to cover the upper body of the old Shaman and picked up his body: ¡°We need to take him home.¡±


    In the smoke, another group of people quietly approached; seeing it was Winters and Bard, they breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°It¡¯s almost collapsing! Let¡¯s go! It¡¯s fucking too late if we don¡¯t leave now!¡± Andre coughed as he urged.


    Winters carried the body of the old Shaman, the old man was so thin, so light, it was almost weightless. The remaining Venetians and Herders used cloth to cover their noses and rushed out along the same path they came in.


    Without a moment¡¯s delay, they ran all the way to the coast.


    Behind them, the fortifications in the middle of Red Sulfur Bay were ablaze.


    ¡°They really can not refuse to give us a one-pound medal now!¡± Andre laughed heartily and then asked with some confusion, ¡°Who are you holding¡­ ¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, several shots rang out from the water, the stones next to Winters were splashed by the lead bullets.


    ¡°XX! These XX are treating us as the enemy!¡± Andre cursed loudly, angrily yelling at the Venetian warships on the water: ¡°Friendly forces! Friendly forces! Assholes!¡±


    Along with his shouts, more gunfire was heard.


    ¡°We need to find a way to tell them we¡¯re friendly, or get out of here.¡± Bard frowned, ¡°You¡¯re shouting at them, they think it¡¯s a provocation.¡±


    ¡°A token, yes, I have one!¡± Andre¡¯s eyes lit up, suddenly laughing maniacally, and as he laughed, he began to cry: ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping it safe since the day I landed!¡±


    With that, Andre took out a cloth bag from the innermost layer of his clothes, and when he unfolded the cloth, a blue flag with golden embroidered double-winged lions appeared before everyone.


    It was the battle flag of the First Hundred Men Team of the Third Legion¡¯s Chief Brigade.


    The battle flag, Andre had held high on the day of the landing.


    Andre attached the flag to a long spear, just about to wave it toward the ships on the water, but stopped.


    He walked over to Winters, handing the flag to him: ¡°Montaigne commander, the honor of displaying this battle flag should belong to you.¡±


    Winters took the battle flag, clutching the spear shaft tightly, a thousand thoughts running through his mind.


    ¡°Did I do the right thing? We¡¯ve sacrificed so many people, did I do the right thing?¡± he asked Bard.


    ¡°That¡¯s not important. What¡¯s important is, we followed you voluntarily, even if it was heading into hell.¡±


    Winters raised the battle flag, and as the sea breeze blew, the flag unfurled naturally. Illuminated by the fierce fire, the golden embroidery shone brightly.


    More gunfire rang out.


    ¡°Who XX fired the shots? Are you blind? That¡¯s our own!¡± A magically amplified voice thundered across the sea, a voice very familiar to Winters, the voice of Colonel Field: ¡°It¡¯s Warrant Officer Montaigne who destroyed the sea-blocking chains and cannons for us! All of Second Battalion! On my command! Three cheers for Warrant Officer Montaigne!¡±


    ¡°Urrah!¡±


    ¡°Urrah!¡±


    ¡°Urrah!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the earth-shaking cheers erupted, no one knew what exactly Winters was thinking.

 Chapter 218 - 218 - 89: Conclusion

    Chapter 218 ¨C 89: Conclusion


    After a night of chaotic combat, the Vineta forces breached the Red Sulfur Harbor City, and the remaining Tanyrian troops huddled into the bastion on the southwestern corner of the town.


    Lacking siege weapons, the Vineta troops made several probing attacks but failed to succeed and did not press on, leading both sides into a delicate standoff.


    The Venetians had a numerical advantage, but they were not in a rush to attack the bastion. Light sail oar ships were salvaging the sunken ships in the bay and clearing the waterway so heavy warships could enter.


    The Tanilians also did not launch a counter-attack; their cannons on the bastion could cover both the docks and the entire town¡ªthe design of this small bastion at the edge of the town was not just to defend against external enemies but also to deter the city¡¯s own citizens.


    However, for some reason, the big guns in the bastion fell silent, letting Vineta¡¯s light warships come and go at the docks unchallenged.


    At dawn, Winters led the last of the living men as victors into Red Sulfur Harbor for the first time. Andre proudly raised the military flag, and their party proceeded unobstructed.


    The earthen walls and ditches around the town¡¯s perimeter were beginning to take shape, yet the Tanilians never imagined that Red Sulfur Harbor would be broken through from the sea, making the encircling fortifications and trenches futile.


    ...


    Crossing the trench, the doors of houses within the city were tightly closed, and the bodies on the streets had not yet been dragged away. Constables armed with long spears patrolled to maintain military discipline and ordered scattered soldiers to rejoin their units.


    After the capture of Red Sulfur Harbor, chaos ensued. Not only were Tanyrian remnants stirring trouble, but many Vineta soldiers also attempted to seize the opportunity for plunder. Under the control of the constabulary, a semblance of order was still barely maintained.


    Above the council hall, the Tanyrian Red Dragon Flag was torn down and replaced with the Golden Lion Flag¡ªthe symbol of Saint Marco, the patron saint of Vineta, and the flag of the Vineta Army.


    It was here that Winters encountered Colonel Field. Explore more stories with empire


    ¡°Hahaha, didn¡¯t expect it to be us, did you?¡± Field laughed heartily, giving a bloody and sooty Winters a bear hug.


    ¡°Indeed, I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡± Winters, who had intended to salute, was hugged so tightly that he struggled to breathe, ¡°¡­My contacts mentioned the Third Legion¡­ I¡¯m afraid the Tanilians also didn¡¯t expect you to arrive so quickly.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Da Weineta¡¯ is still floating in the northern seas off Red Sulfur Island, so this piece of meat was left for us ¡¯Saint Marco¡¯ to devour.¡± Colonel Field said triumphantly, laughing, ¡°Haha, but thanks to your Third Legion indeed. If they hadn¡¯t held back the Tanyrian forces, Red Sulfur Harbor wouldn¡¯t have been so easy to take.¡±


    After the declaration of war, Colonel Field was transferred from the constabulary to command a battalion in the ¡°Saint Marco¡± Reserve Legion. When Winters had set out with the Da Weineta Army, the Saint Marco Legion was still being reorganized, and not even Winters had expected this newly conscripted reserve legion to be deployed so quickly.


    [Note: Following the constitutional assembly after the War of Sovereignty, to prevent military arms racing within the Senas Alliance, each member state was allowed to maintain no more than two standing legions.


    Because the sequence numbers for the standing legions came from the Alliance, Vineta¡¯s two standing legions were respectively the Third and Fourth Legions.


    However, militias and reserves outside of the standing army exploited a loophole in the covenant, falling under the domestic affairs of the Republic and thus were unrestricted. Hence the Reserve Legion ¡°Saint Marco¡± got the number ¡°First Reserve Legion.¡±]


    ¡°And Major Moritz?¡± asked Winters. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Out on patrol.¡± Field responded with a rueful smile, ¡°I reckon you wouldn¡¯t have guessed, but Moritz is still in charge of the constabulary after joining the legion. Once he¡¯s back, you will see him.¡±


    Before Field could finish, boot steps were heard coming from outside the council hall, followed by a sharp command of ¡°Attention!¡±


    Field and Winters unconsciously stood straight.


    A group of senior officers entered the hall, led by a general officer in uniform, and before he even stepped through the door, Winters heard his gruff voice, ¡°What the hell are we waiting for? Waiting for the Tanilians to react? As soon as the Fifth Battalion comes ashore, attack directly with the force of four battalions!¡±


    This general happened to be one Winters recognized; it was Major General Layton, the one responsible for commissioning them as officers. Layton frowned and thought for a moment before remembering that he had heard Major General Layton was now commanding a newly formed reserve legion.


    Field and Winters immediately saluted.


    ¡°Field, how are your troops shaping up?¡± General Layton asked in his usual blunt manner, not waiting for Field to answer, he turned to Winters, ¡°And who are you?¡±


    While Winters remembered General Layton, evidently Layton no longer remembered the small Ensign Winters.


    ¡°This is Ensign Winters Montagne of the Third Legion! The man who destroyed those two sea chains! The man who destroyed the bay¡¯s batteries! The man who brought us victory! Without him, Red Sulfur Harbor would still be in Tanyrian hands.¡± Field proudly introduced Winters, and then he answered Layton¡¯s question, ¡°All six of my hundred-man squads have regrouped.¡±


    Suddenly there was a hush in the hall; all the officers looked in astonishment at the ensign next to Field, whom they had assumed was just one of Field¡¯s soldiers.


    They had seen the battle flag raised high beside the burning battery, but they never thought the man beneath the flag would be so¡­ youthful, looking like nothing more than a big child. Yet the uniform on the ensign, almost soaked with blood and scorched by fire, silently told everyone of the cruel battles he had endured.

 Chapter 219 - 219 - 89 Ending_2

    Chapter 219 ¨C 89 Ending_2


    ¡°Montaigne¡­ Oh, I remember you,¡± Layton looked at Winters thoughtfully. He threw out a line that baffled the other officers, ¡°You did well on the ship too.¡±


    Winters saluted in acknowledgment.


    ¡°Son, I wasn¡¯t as capable as you are when I was your age.¡± Layton made an unexpected move¡ªhe took off his own Oak Leaf Lion Medal and pinned it on Winters¡¯ bloodstained coat: ¡°Without you, Red Sulfur Harbor would still be in Tanilian hands. Keep up the good work, you¡¯ll surely outdo me in the future.¡±


    Winters still just saluted in acknowledgment. He wasn¡¯t proud, nor did he feel honored; he hadn¡¯t fought the Tanilians for a medal, and a medal couldn¡¯t bring back the lives that had been sacrificed.


    Layton, looking at Winters¡¯ calm expression, rated the young warrant officer even more highly. He pointed at Winters, ¡°You will stay for the military council.¡±


    Without any pomp and circumstance, a table was dragged over, a map was spread out, and the officers formed a circle around it to begin the meeting.


    The content of the meeting was simple¡ªMajor General Layton couldn¡¯t stand the sword hanging over his head and was determined to capture the Bastion at Red Sulfur Harbor.


    ...


    ¡°I took people to check it out just now; it¡¯s a small four-pointed star fort, not even a triangle fort,¡± Layton leaned over the map, marking it with charcoal as he spoke: ¡°The fort is bordered by water on the south, so we can only attack from the other three sides. The first contingent will control the city defenses of Red Sulfur Harbor, while second, third, and fourth contingents will attack from the other three sides, and the fifth contingent will be in reserve. Tanilian morale must be brittle; as soon as we storm the trench, they¡¯ll be too scared to do anything but surrender!¡±


    Another officer, clearly not in agreement with Layton¡¯s perspective, raised an objection. Vineta Army¡¯s military councils weren¡¯t about rank: ¡°The trench is at least ten meters wide and filled with water, how are we going to cross it?¡±


    ¡°Drag small boats ashore to make a temporary Floating Bridge,¡± another officer who supported an aggressive assault suggested.


    ¡°Setting up a Floating Bridge under the fort¡¯s artillery?¡± Field also joined in, clearly not in support of an assault: ¡°I think we can present an aggressive stance to intimidate the Tanilians, but don¡¯t actually squander lives in an attack. The Tanilians in the fort probably also want to surrender; otherwise, why haven¡¯t they bombarded us by now?¡±


    ¡°If they wanted to surrender, they would have done so by now,¡± the officer who had proposed setting up the Floating Bridge quickly countered: ¡°But the Confederation¡¯s flag is still flying over the Bastion.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s highly likely that the Tanilians inside are also wavering, or waiting for adequate terms of surrender,¡± Field insisted that persuasion was called for: ¡°There¡¯s still Tanilian main forces on the island, and we need to reserve our troops to face them, not waste our strength on attacking fortified positions.¡±


    Every officer present held at least the rank of lieutenant colonel. With a general leading a group of field officers in a meeting, Winters certainly didn¡¯t plan to interject.


    However, Layton¡¯s attention stayed with the silent Winters. He specifically asked, ¡°Warrant Officer Montaigne, you know this island better than anyone here, what¡¯s your take?¡±


    All eyes suddenly focused on Winters.


    ¡°The Bastion was refurbished three months ago. It has new cannons, a water reservoir, and both its ammunition and food stores are full,¡± Winters spoke without hesitation, having been called upon. ¡°But the Confederation¡¯s main forces are engaged with the Third Corps. The Bastion is mostly defended by the militia of Red Sulfur Harbor, meaning the defenders¡¯ families are all in the city.¡±


    In the presence of high-ranking officers, Winters didn¡¯t offer suggestions, merely stating the intelligence he had acquired. However, his thoughts were clear as day.


    ¡°This is a military council, don¡¯t be scared; speak your mind!¡± Layton, always hot-tempered, chastised Winters, not pleased with the half-spoken suggestion: ¡°Don¡¯t talk in half-truths!¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Bastion¡¯s garrison might be open to negotiation,¡± Winters, chastened, now spoke frankly. He added, ¡°Also, there are thirty-two-pound cannons in the battery in the bay. Whether we want to negotiate or attack, we could start by bringing over those cannons.¡±


    Having heard Winters¡¯ words, Layton made a decision, ¡°That¡¯s settled, then. Find someone from the city to carry a message to them. We¡¯ll talk if they¡¯re willing; if not, we fight. The first contingent will move the heavy cannons Montaigne talked about, and the rest of the contingents will prepare to attack.¡±


    ¡°What about the trench?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°If the Tanilians don¡¯t surrender,¡± Layton snorted coldly: ¡°Let the Tanilians inside Red Sulfur Harbor fill it! Dismissed!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Outside the council hall, people who had been waiting for a long time finally saw Winters emerge.


    Continue your journey on empire


    ¡°Why did it take so long?¡± Andre had grown extremely impatient.


    Winters pulled something off his chest and tossed it into Andre¡¯s arms: ¡°Kongtai¡¯er, Layton, they¡¯re all the same.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Andre caught it clumsily and suddenly widened his eyes: ¡°A Victory Medal?¡±


    Looking at Andre¡¯s excited expression, Winters somberly said to him, ¡°You¡¯re becoming just like them.¡±


    ¡°Where did this Victory Medal come from?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes gleamed, not hearing what Winters had said: ¡°Is this¡­ is this a real Victory Medal?¡±


    ¡°If you want it, keep it.¡±


    ¡°Really? You¡¯re giving it to me? You won¡¯t regret this later? Is this really a Victory Medal?¡± Andre was already so thrilled that he was nearly incoherent.

 Chapter 220 - 220 - 89 Ending_3

    Chapter 220 ¨C 89 Ending_3


    ¡°Did you manage to get some help?¡± Bard¡¯s focus was on something different than Andre¡¯s at the moment.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters cursed. ¡°Layton came in for a meeting in the middle, and I forgot what I went in there for.¡±


    He turned to go back to the conference hall but ran into Colonel Field, who was coming out.


    Field grabbed Winters. ¡°The Federation forces are still on the island. Rest here with me for a bit until the Third Corps lands, then you can rejoin them.¡±


    ¡°Colonel, please lend me ten men. It would be best if you could lend me a few horses as well.¡±


    ¡°What do you need the men for?¡±


    Winters was silent for a moment, his eyes reddening, he said, ¡°My men are still lying out there, I need to bring them back.¡± Enjoy exclusive content from


    ...


    Bard and Field were told about what happened after landing on the island and the agreement with the Herders.


    ¡°Go,¡± Field¡¯s expression grew heavy. ¡°I¡¯ll give you two squads of ten¡­ Be careful, there are still Tanis soldiers outside.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    When the wagon carrying the bodies returned to Hongsong Manor, all Winters could hear was weeping.


    The Herder women struggled to identify the mutilated, charred beyond recognition bodies, ending in nothing but tears.


    ¡°What are you crying for? Don¡¯t cry!¡± The half-grown boy who had previously been by Hestas¡¯s side wiped his tears and scolded the weeping women and children. ¡°If you cry, the boat that carries them across The Styx will capsize¡ªyou must not cry!¡±


    Kalman looked helplessly at the bodies on the wagon; the scene before him had greatly shocked the doctor as well.


    He grabbed the hand of the half-grown boy, trembling as he questioned, ¡°Why? Why? Have I whipped you? Have I mistreated you? Have I torn your families apart? I have treated you as kindly as I can, yet why did you still have to go and die for the Venetians? Dead, all dead¡­¡±


    ¡°Mr. Kalman, you have been kind to us. You are the only slave owner on Red Sulfur Island who treats Herders well,¡± the half-grown boy stared intently into Kalman¡¯s eyes, asking every word. ¡°But even so, are we not slaves? Are our sons and daughters not slaves? Are our grandson¡¯s sons, our granddaughter¡¯s daughters not slaves? I would also like to be kind to you, would you be willing to be my slave?¡±


    Kalman was rendered speechless by the half-grown boy and walked away in a daze.


    Winters approached the half-grown boy and said softly, ¡°I will take you to Red Sulfur Harbor, and as soon as the Third Corps lands, I will send you home immediately.¡±


    The half-grown boy sobbed and gave a nod.


    ¡°Hestas¡­ I hope you can take him back to his homeland for burial.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the burial rites of your people, the Herders. Right now, it¡¯s easy for plagues to spread, so it¡¯s best to cremate the bodies before taking them back. Is that okay? If Herder burial rites do not permit cremation, we can think of another way.¡±


    ¡°Cremation is fine,¡± the half-grown boy wiped away his tears, his eyes red as he said, ¡°You are Hestas¡¯s ¡¯Kulxit¡¯, whatever you say about his funeral goes.¡±


    ¡­


    In a secluded clearing of Hongsong Manor, torches ignited the pyres, burning away the last of human flesh and sinew.


    The Herders softly began their song, farewelling the deceased.


    The Venetian soldiers¡¯ bodies were not cremated, as for Venetians, cremation meant waiting till the end of days for resurrection.


    Winters and the others swung their shovels and hoes, digging out graves one after another, laying the Venetian soldiers to rest.


    He suddenly remembered Major Moritz¡¯s philosophy on life and death: only the living hold meaning, and whatever the dead have sacrificed for bears no significance to them.


    He shuddered and dared not think any further.


    Field¡¯s advice echoed in his ears, ¡°Don¡¯t get too close to your soldiers, keep a distance, or else you¡¯re not fit to be an officer.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters added the last handful of earth, ¡°Maybe I¡¯m really not cut out to be an officer.¡±

 Chapter 221 - 221 - 90 Tachi

    Chapter 221 ¨C 90 Tachi


    ¡°Sir! This isn¡¯t right! It¡¯s the Confederation that wants to war with Vineta, us ordinary civilians didn¡¯t take part in this¡­ And there¡¯s not just militia from Red Sulfur Harbor in that bastion, but also the Confederation¡¯s mercenaries. We people from Red Sulfur Harbor have no say in the matter¡­¡± A local gentleman of Red Sulfur Harbor, highly respected for his integrity and influence, was pleading with General Layton with tears streaming down his face.


    Layton¡¯s threats were never hollow. When he heard that the locals sent to negotiate surrender claimed, ¡°The garrison within the bastion are also arguing incessantly, begging for a day¡¯s respite before giving an answer,¡± he immediately made good on his threat.


    Soldiers from the Saint Marco Legion burst through the doors, following a list they found in the council hall, they searched door to door, capturing the garrison¡¯s family members and relatives. Any Venetians from Red Sulfur Harbor who refused to identify garrison relatives were also taken away.


    The old, the weak, women, and children were tied up with hemp ropes in a line like livestock and herded before the bastion to dig tunnels. Meanwhile, Saint Marco soldiers began to bind firewood, collect small boats, and construct components for floating bridges.


    Layton¡¯s message to the garrison inside the bastion was clear and explicit: If you do not surrender, I will fill the moats with your families¡¯ corpses.


    Finally, when the Saint Marco Legion hauled their heavy artillery from the ruined bastion of the bay to the front of the Bastion, the garrison¡¯s morale collapsed.


    Wishing to surrender, the Red Sulfur Harbor militia knocked down the Confederation¡¯s red dragon banner, lowered the drawbridge, and the Saint Marco Legion soldiers immediately rushed into the bastion, slaughtering every remaining Confederation soldier who had not given up the fight.


    ...


    Winters noticed that surrounding Saint Marco officers all let out sighs of relief when they saw the red dragon banner fall.


    These officers, far more experienced than Winters, of course understood the price the Saint Marco Legion would have to pay if the garrison had adamantly resisted.


    The Confederation¡¯s main forces were still entrenched in the inland of Red Sulfur Island. If the Saint Marco Legion had suffered great losses at this bastion, being pushed into the sea by the Confederation seizing the opportunity was not impossible.


    The one who understood this best was probably General Layton, but it seemed he did not particularly care, and neither did the other officers.


    Now that the garrison had surrendered, it was undeniably great news for the Saint Marco Legion.


    With no effort at all, the Saint Marco Legion not only captured a sturdy bastion and took full control of Red Sulfur Harbor but also obtained the garrison¡¯s gunpowder, weapon stores, and food supplies.


    Winters suddenly remembered Marshal Ned once saying, ¡°The key to siege tactics is to break the garrison¡¯s morale.¡±


    Watching the Saint Marco Legion soldiers cheer and leap for joy, Winters couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡°Did Layton just put on a show to pressure the garrison, or was he indifferent to casualties and really going to attack? Hmm¡­ Maybe it¡¯s both.¡±


    Anyway, General Layton took down Red Sulfur Harbor¡¯s bastion smoothly, so he must be clever.


    With the security of Red Sulfur Harbor now ensured, Layton dispatched two battalions, one to attack the bastion guarding the bay¡¯s entrance and the other to repair the middle bastion of the bay. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The defensive situation of Red Sulfur Harbor had shifted, and the fortifications Winters and his men had destroyed, the Saint Marco Legion now had to rebuild.


    Winters and the other two sergeants followed Colonel Field, assisting him in conscripting labor from the local population of Red Sulfur Harbor and nearby villages to continue to reinforce the city¡¯s defenses.


    The scouts cast out soon clarified the enemy¡¯s movements. When the Confederation¡¯s main forces learned that Red Sulfur Harbor had been breached by the Vineta Army, they immediately fractured.


    The Confederation¡¯s main forces, the local militias of Red Sulfur Island, and a few pirates abandoned their coastal defenses, instead seeking refuge in Tachi, an inland city of Red Sulfur Island. These fleeing troops made up the majority.


    A small part, mainly composed of loosely organized pirates who had once been part of the main Confederation forces, broke away and fled toward Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Without waiting for the Saint Marco Legion¡¯s scouts to act, these pirates, displaying white flags, surrendered to the Venetians of their own accord. Each claimed to hold important information, hoping to exchange military intelligence for amnesty and, preferably, a reward as well.


    However, Layton scorned the intelligence offered by these people, showing no interest whatsoever. The pirates that surrendered to the Saint Marco Legion were all drafted into the Death Camp, sent outside of Red Sulfur Harbor to dig trenches, engaged in the most grueling work.


    These surrendering pirates already belonged to the category of the most scheming individuals; they quickly foresaw their dismal future. Some pirates claimed to have essential intelligence and insisted on meeting with the supreme commander of the Vineta military forces.


    Enjoy exclusive adventures from


    ¡°They want to see me? Someone in that pack of mongrels wants to see me?¡± General Layton laughed with rage, his smile chilling to the bone: ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s meet.¡±


    The hall of Red Sulfur Island¡¯s council, formerly used for negotiations, had been transformed into the headquarters for the First Reserve Corps, usually only frequented by military personnel. Now, over a dozen disheveled pirates were being escorted into the corps¡¯ headquarters.


    Under the collective gaze of the legion, including Winters, the dozen trembling pirates stood in front of Layton.


    ¡°I am the legion commander,¡± Layton said coldly as he sat in his chair, resting his hand on his sword: ¡°You¡¯ve seen me now. What do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency¡­ Sir,¡± the leading pirate licked his lips, suddenly knelt down, and summoned his courage to speak: ¡°We were coerced into serving the Confederation; it wasn¡¯t voluntary¡­ We are willing to switch sides, to become your vanguard against the Confederation¡¯s bandit forces. Please spare our lives! And we also have crucial intelligence about the bandit chief, Kidd!¡±

 Chapter 222 - 222 - 90 Tachi_2

    Chapter 222 ¨C 90 Tachi_2


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear it!¡± Layton stood up impatiently and waved his hand, signaling the guards to take these people away.


    Like wolves and tigers, the guards grabbed the pirates and dragged them toward the door, with the lead pirate crying and shouting, ¡°My lord¡­ my lord, spare my life¡­ Captain Kidd said reinforcements are coming¡­ He plans to hold Tachi, sending people to gather food around¡­ My lord, spare my life¡­¡±


    Layton¡¯s originally impatient expression turned into one of annoyance, disdain, and extreme impatience, as he strode towards the lead pirate.


    Thinking he was saved, the lead pirate pleaded even more frantically, swearing that he was forced into the confederation¡¯s army.


    Experience tales at


    Layton chuckled, and the lead pirate also squeezed out a stiff smile. The next second, Layton¡¯s sword plunged into the lead pirate¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°I said I didn¡¯t want to listen, who allowed you to tell me?¡± Layton asked.


    ...


    The lead pirate died on the spot, the other pirates were petrified, several of them instantaneously wetting themselves.


    The officers of the Saint Marco Legion also showed shock, but Winters, Bard, and Andre were not surprised at all.


    In the minds of the three warrant officers, who had witnessed Major General Layton¡¯s cruel tactics and volatile nature, such an act was all too normal. To Winters, the pirates were marked for death the moment they entered the hall.


    ¡°These spineless wretches, living is just a waste of food.¡± Layton, without a trace of emotion, flicked the blood off his sword. He didn¡¯t scold the pirates but rather bellowed at the officers around, ¡°Soldiers must have backbone! Traitors will never deserve respect!¡±


    All the officers of Vineta shuddered.


    The guards dragged out both the living and the dead pirates, leaving behind dark red and pale yellow streaks on the floor of the hall.


    ¡°Scum is scum, no matter where they are,¡± Layton snorted coldly and called out the name of a military police captain: ¡°Moritz!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Major Moritz, who had been lazily watching the spectacle from the back row, answered immediately, not expecting his name to be called.


    ¡°You are in charge of dealing with this pirate scum. Let the islanders identify them, then find a place with lots of people and hang them all.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Winters noted Major Moritz rolling his eyes, subtly enough to go unnoticed, as he casually continued to ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t we keeping them for labor?¡±


    Layton¡¯s eyebrows shot up, and he said sternly, ¡°Pirates are only good at cheating and being slippery, they won¡¯t work honestly. Hang all of them, and do the islanders a favor. Any future prisoners are to be handled by your military police force, and anyone identified as a pirate is to be killed.¡±


    This was a reasonable enough reason, and Major Moritz couldn¡¯t argue. He saluted and left the hall.


    After dealing with this farce, the military council of the Saint Marco Legion continued. It was an expanded meeting of officers, not only including battalion commanders but also centurions.


    Layton sat at the head of the table, with his battalion commanders seated in a circle around the map table and the centurions standing.


    ¡°The confederation¡¯s troops have retreated to Tachi and are still gathering food, they must be pondering a long-term defense. Nice thought, but they¡¯re up against me,¡± Layton set the tone for the council by pointing at the map, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to strike first and attack Tachi. Let¡¯s hear your thoughts.¡±


    Though he asked for the officers¡¯ ¡°thoughts,¡± his decision to attack had already been made, so they could only work within that context.


    The commanders began discussing specific action plans, the centurions getting no chance to speak. Soon, a detailed plan was formed:


    The chief battalion of the Saint Marco Legion was to stay behind to guard Red Sulfur Harbor, while the second, third, fourth, and fifth battalions would move out lightly equipped to drive away the small confederation units gathering supplies near Tachi, compressing the confederation troops¡¯ operational space.


    The remaining five battalions would advance on Tachi after all the baggage was unloaded from the ships, with the force of nine battalions attacking Tachi. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Relax. Those Tanis are rubbish at war, give them fortresses and cannons and they still can¡¯t hold them,¡± Layton ended the council with a smile, ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll surrender without us having to lift a finger. Meeting adjourned!¡±


    Winters followed the others out of the council hall.


    Outside the headquarters, Field asked the three warrant officers, ¡°What do you think? Do you want to join me in the vanguard, or stay in Red Sulfur Harbor with the third corps?¡±


    Winters, Bard, and Andre exchanged glances; Andre seemed eager to go, but Winters shook his head, laughing, ¡°I¡¯ve had my fill of war, I won¡¯t join you in earning more laurels. Ask the other two.¡±


    ¡°I would like to rest in Red Sulfur Harbor as well,¡± Bard answered leisurely.


    Andre initially wanted to follow but, seeing his two peers choosing to stay, he regretfully changed his mind, ¡°Then I won¡¯t go either.¡±


    Field did not press the three warrant officers and laughed, ¡°The combat merits you three earned the other night are enough for many soldiers to covet for a lifetime, you deserve a good rest¡­ Don¡¯t worry, although Layton has a bad temper, he won¡¯t steal your glory.¡±


    It was now afternoon, and as Field turned to mount his horse, Winters, Bard, and Andre silently saluted him.


    Just as Field was about to return the salute, the roar of cannon fire suddenly erupted from Red Sulfur Harbor.


    Field instantly became alert, ¡°Where¡¯s the firing coming from?¡±

 Chapter 223 - 223 - 90 Tachi_3

    Chapter 223 ¨C 90 Tachi_3


    On the waters outside the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor, a large fleet was slowly sailing in, led by big sailships and heavy galleons. The size of the Fuste warships boarded by the Saint Marco Legion seemed insignificant in front of the incoming large warships.


    The large warships stowed their sails and were nearing the docks. Plumes of white smoke spurted from the sides of the ships, followed by the thunderous sound of cannons that reached Winters¡¯ ears.


    This fleet firing salutes was all too familiar to Winters; it was the reinforcement he had longed for, day and night.


    One day after Red Sulfur Harbor had changed hands,


    The Vineta Revenge Fleet had arrived.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    Meeting after meeting, the endless meetings.


    Bureaucracy is indeed the cancer of mankind.


    Field hadn¡¯t even left before he was called to attend a joint senior officers¡¯ meeting between the Saint Marco Legion and the Da Weineta Legion. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was not qualified to attend such a high-level meeting, and he was more than happy to have his leisure.


    Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was very awkward.


    Even without recognizing the subtle differences in uniform decorations between legions, one could clearly tell from their facial expressions which officers belonged to the Saint Marco Legion and which were from Da Weineta.


    With the battle achievement of capturing Red Sulfur Harbor in hand, the officers of the Saint Marco Legion were beaming with pride, their backs ramrod straight. Especially Major General Layton, who, having sat on the sidelines for many years, finally had his moment of satisfaction; even the volume of his voice had risen by a notch.


    On the other hand, the officers from Da Weineta Legion looked on with disgruntlement and sat in silence. They had done the grunt work, but others claimed the victory. Seeing the triumphant demeanor of their allies, the officers of Da Weineta had a mix of sourness and irritation in their hearts.


    However, Major General Serviati had tremendous prestige within his legion, so the officers of Da Weineta refrained from sarcasm or strange remarks, maintaining an outward sense of harmony.


    Legionnaire Antonio Serviati first exchanged greetings with Layton before moving onto the main subject, ¡°Now that Red Sulfur Harbor has been captured and our two legions have united, we should consider how to clear out the enemy within Red Sulfur Island as soon as possible¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, the haughty Layton interrupted Antonio, ¡°The Confederate troops were so scared by us that they ran into Tachi. Leave it to our Saint Marco Legion; within a week, I¡¯ll take Tachi!¡±


    ¡°I understand the situation in Tachi quite well, and relying on one legion might be difficult to make substantial progress in a short time,¡± Antonio replied mildly, ¡°We¡¯d be better off not launching an assault and instead trying to persuade the garrison to surrender.¡±


    ¡°Tachi, such a tiny place, can their city defenses be as solid as Red Sulfur Harbor¡¯s Bastion? I took down the Bastion of Red Sulfur Harbor in one day; how could I not take Tachi?¡± Layton, full of confidence, slapped Antonio¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You don¡¯t trust us, do you? Don¡¯t worry, you can rest well in Red Sulfur Harbor while we take Tachi.¡±


    Antonio instinctively wanted to dodge, but he restrained himself and let Layton pat his shoulder grandly, his face still wearing a polite smile.


    Seeing Layton¡¯s disrespect, several hot-tempered officers from Da Weineta were about to explode on the spot, but upon seeing Antonio¡¯s composed demeanor, they gritted their teeth and endured.


    ¡°The situation in Tachi is quite complicated; we should first scout the area,¡± Antonio pondered for a moment before adding more diplomatically, leaving Layton some dignity, ¡°Even if an assault is necessary, we can¡¯t let just your legion do it¡ªgive Da Weineta a chance to earn merit as well.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Layton laughed heartily, and with a slap to his forehead he said, ¡°Then what are we still gabbing about here for? Let¡¯s go! Directly to Tachi, I want to see what¡¯s so special about this little Tachi!¡±


    He dragged Antonio along and rushed off eagerly; however, upon arriving at the scene, he could only utter three words, ¡°Eh? My grass! This¡­¡±


    What happened?


    A natural barrier with mountains on both sides, positioned high and looking down.


    A narrow front that made it impossible for the attacking troops to fan out.


    An outer wall nearly ten meters tall, encased in volcanic rock, imposing and formidable.


    Outside the wall, a swarm of people, like ants, busily dug a moat around the city.


    Layton dismounted and dug into the soil; beneath a less than an inch-deep layer of dirt was the same tough volcanic rock¡ªthere was no digging through this cursed place. Explore new worlds at


    Although Layton was recognized among the land army officer academy graduates of his year as a reckless man, he was not lacking in intelligence.


    Although Tachi was small, it was undoubtedly a hard nut to crack¡ªno, not a nut, granite.


    This¡­ how the hell can we attack this?

 Chapter 224 - 224 - 91: Secret Societies

    Chapter 224 ¨C 91: Secret Societies


    Realizing that the garrison of Tachi was racing against time to fortify the city¡¯s defenses, the two legion commanders who had gone to scout returned to Red Sulfur Harbor immediately.


    The two legion commanders rode back to Red Sulfur Harbor by nightfall. Not bothering to fight for command, Layton, upon his return, immediately ordered the Saint Marco Legion to hand over the city¡¯s defenses to the allied forces, and then led his troops to Tachi lightly equipped under the cover of darkness.


    The Third ¡°Da Veneta¡± Legion would rest for a day in Red Sulfur Harbor before setting out to join forces with the Saint Marco Legion, carrying the baggage trains of the two legions.


    Fire basins and torches illuminated the central square of Red Sulfur Harbor, where Antonio and Layton, mounted on their horses, watched as the urgently assembled Saint Marco Legion distributed hemp ropes.


    In this era, many people suffered from night blindness. Even with the moon shining brightly, they were as blind as bats at night. Therefore, competent officers generally avoided night operations wherever possible. But in urgent situations like this, the Venetians couldn¡¯t afford to be choosy.


    One end of the hemp rope was tied around the waist of the soldier in front, and the other end was grasped by the soldier behind, ensuring that no one would fall behind, lose their way, or desert during the march. It was a clumsy method, but an effective one. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once ready, the Saint Marco Legion set out from Red Sulfur Harbor in four columns.


    ...


    With a solemn expression, Antonio saluted Layton, who, equally solemn-faced, did not return the salute, but merely waved his hand before spurring his horse and departing without exchanging a word with Antonio, who had come to see him off.


    The civilians of Red Sulfur Harbor hid in their homes, peering through cracks in doors and windows at the actions of the Venetian army. They still vividly remembered how the ferocious Venetian soldiers had gone from house to house seizing people just a few days before and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the Venetian troops marching out of the city.


    However, the sight of a new king¡¯s flag on the city walls indicated the departure of one Venetian force and the arrival of another. No one knew what the next day would bring; the people of Red Sulfur Harbor went to sleep amidst gnawing unease.


    Winters, however, got no rest, anxiously waiting in a room at the camp of the Third Legion.


    The door was pushed open, and Antonio entered. Winters stood to salute, but Antonio pressed down on Winters¡¯ arm, patted his shoulder, and said nothing.


    How does a man react when he sees his son drowning? He would jump into the water to save him, regardless of whether he could swim.


    What about a commander faced with the situation of ¡°a viper biting the hand¡±? Even with a guilty conscience, he must ¡°take drastic actions for survival.¡±


    But when these two identities overlap, things become very complicated.


    The Third Legion was ambushed on the day in question, and Antonio had abandoned Winters and his hundred-man squad. Winters did not know what went on in Antonio¡¯s heart at that time; he knew it couldn¡¯t have been easy.


    It was an unavoidable situation; war always results in casualties. He harbored no resentment against his adoptive father. Having been tempered as a true officer on Red Sulfur Island, he had let go of any bitterness that might have lingered in his heart.


    Yet he didn¡¯t know what to say to Antonio, so he said nothing, and neither did Antonio. It is difficult for men to communicate their feelings openly, so in most cases, they simply do not communicate at all.


    Besides, there were more pressing matters at the moment.


    ¡°I have already located the person that the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces asked you to find,¡± Winters stated straightforwardly, believing it urgent to convey this information to Antonio as soon as possible.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Obviously, Antonio was caught off guard and was momentarily stunned.


    ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s a body,¡± Winters added, biting his lip.


    ¡°Lionel¡­¡± Antonio struggled to recall, ¡°¡­ is he the one who asked me to look for that person before he left? The name seems to be¡­¡±


    ¡°Mara, the special envoy of the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces,¡± Winters reminded. ¡°Before Secretary Lionel left, he asked you to send Mr. Mara¡¯s ashes to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m getting old, my memory really isn¡¯t what it used to be,¡± admitted Antonio with a wry smile, confusedly asking, ¡°You found that man on Red Sulfur Island? He died there?¡± Continue your journey on .com


    Winters took a deep breath and spoke softly, ¡°No, not on Red Sulfur Island¡­ but in Sea Blue City, in the morgue at the commandant¡¯s office¡ªthe person assassinated at the docks, he was the special envoy of the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces.¡±


    Initially puzzled, Antonio then gasped sharply, soberly asking Winters, ¡°Are you certain?¡±


    ¡°Positive, the accomplice of the assassin confessed to me personally.¡±


    ¡°Who is it?¡±


    Grinding his teeth, Winters spat out a name: ¡°¡­ It¡¯s Colonel Kongtai¡¯er.¡±


    ¡°Kongtai¡¯er?¡± Antonio¡¯s face turned stormy: ¡°He¡¯s got some nerve! Where is he now?¡±


    ¡°Lying in the infirmary, unconscious, uncertain to survive. On the day we attacked the harbor, Colonel Kongtai¡¯er was shot in the abdomen, and his intestines were ruptured. I found a doctor on the island who removed the bullet for him, sewed up his intestines, and cleaned out his abdominal cavity. He confessed to me while he was conscious. I don¡¯t think he was lying; there was no need for him to lie about this matter,¡± Winters explained.


    Learning of Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s critical condition, Antonio¡¯s emotions slightly settled, and after exhaling, he asked, ¡°Why would Kongtai¡¯er assassinate the special envoy of the Secretary of State of The Federated Provinces?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, but others in his group who acted,¡± Winters articulated, explaining, ¡°According to their claim¡ªbecause Veneta needs the Tanilia Archipelago.¡±

 Chapter 225 - 225 - 91: Secret Societies_2

    Chapter 225 ¨C 91: Secret Societies_2


    Subsequently, Winters meticulously recounted all the information he knew to Antonio.


    The special envoy from The Federated Provinces, Mara, had not arrived at Sea Blue City by chance; he brought with him a treaty concerning the Tanilia Archipelago.


    The Venetian desire for the Tanilia Archipelago was common knowledge.


    Seven years earlier, the Freman people had begun a brutal tug-of-war with their eastern neighbors. To raise more military funds, the Freman Sultan, who controlled half the Eastern trade route, had started levying higher commercial taxes.


    Therefore, since Debela took office as governor, Venetian tax revenue had plummeted, the current prosperity had begun to decline, and merchants who had grown wealthy from the Eastern trade route were going bankrupt one after another.


    Meanwhile, within the internal trade circle of Senas Bay, the status of Venetia¡¯s central transfer station was facing a formidable challenge¡ªfrom the Tanilia Archipelago.


    The Tanilia Archipelago was no longer the savage islands it had been thirty years ago; amidst major powers¡¯ struggles, the islands had rapidly prospered as neutral ports and accumulated vast wealth.


    ...


    Because tax revenue was reduced, tax rates had to be increased. But after the tax hike, merchants fled to the Tanilia Archipelago, where tax rates were lower. With fewer merchants, the tax base shrank, necessitating another tax increase to maintain the existing revenue.


    As a result, a vicious cycle had set in.


    ¡°Veneta needs the archipelago,¡± were Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s exact words. It wasn¡¯t because of some damned pirates; piracy in the Senas Sea had been rampant for decades, yet it had been emphasized repeatedly in recent years for one reason¡ªVeneta needed the archipelago.


    Whether it was the need to eliminate competitors, to find new sources of raw materials and markets for dumping goods, or more importantly, new ports¡ªocean ports.


    The harbors along the coast of Senas Bay were too small, too shallow. But scattered across the Tanilia Archipelago were deep-water good harbors, with the Storm Ocean to the east of the islands.


    Securing Tanilia meant gaining new land and also a new possibility, the possibility of a new trade route, a possibility of a new route through the Storm Ocean straight to the Spice Islands.


    The Freman Sultan¡¯s exorbitant taxes on merchant ships had damaged trade but had also caused prices of goods from the East to surge, making Eastern goods more profitable¡ªthe catch was to bypass the Flemish¡¯s control.


    The Tanilia Archipelago represented this possibility. After decades of surveying, Venetian navigators had realized that if the Earth were a sphere, a straight line could be drawn from the Tanilia Archipelago directly to the Spice Islands.


    To achieve all this, they needed to navigate through the tumultuous, wave-tossed Storm Ocean, an ocean that devoured the lives of numerous explorers.


    And to traverse the Storm Ocean, they needed sturdy, seaworthy ships, large enough dry docks, and deep-sea ports.


    For a myriad of reasons, more and more Venetians were recognizing the immense value and potential of the Taniria Islands, especially within the Venetian military.


    Young Venetian militarists reached a consensus in heated debates over the future of their nation: Veneta must take the archipelago. To further this aim, at least one secret society had been established within the Venetian military.


    The dying Kongtai¡¯er refused to reveal more secrets of the group to Winters, attempting only to make Winters accept his ideology and recruit him into the secret society.


    It was during this process that Winters obtained more information about the group.


    However, it wasn¡¯t just the Venetians who saw the potential and strategic value of Taniria; the United Provincials had also recognized it. The Republic of The Federated Provinces had acted on the archipelago sooner and laid out plans earlier. Before the Venetians began to emphasize the island as a haven for pirate loot, the United Provincials were already striving to penetrate the Taniria Islands, intending to turn them into the eighth province of The Federated Provinces.


    Even the political structure of the Republic enabled it to offer more generous terms than the Venetian Republic could. Becoming the eighth province of The Federated Provinces was certainly better than becoming another county of Veneta. Continue reading on .com


    For this very reason, Veneta had become more aggressive. Governor Debela brought up the Taniria Islands in every parliamentary speech he gave, with his language becoming more intense each time.


    But the Secretary of State for The Federated Provinces, Lionel, proposed a new possibility, one that could prevent conflicts within the Senas Alliance.


    His special envoy came to Veneta in secret to conclude a treaty, a treaty that Debela and Lionel had been discussing secretly for a long time: turning Taniria into an overseas territory of the Senas Alliance, maintaining its semi-independent status, governed jointly by Veneta and The Federated Provinces.


    This was bound to be a treaty that satisfied neither party, and also the reason why the special envoy from the Secretary of State for The Federated Provinces was assassinated.


    Honestly speaking, Winters was not opposed to Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s rhetoric that ¡°everything was for the benefit of Veneta.¡± Securing Taniria could bring great advantages to Veneta, and Winters agreed.


    However, from the moment Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s confederates assassinated the special envoy from the Secretary of State for The Federated Provinces because the political resolution did not meet their expectations, everything they said could no longer be trusted by Winters.


    In Winters¡¯ view, while these people spoke of ¡°everything for the benefit of Veneta,¡± their actual actions served only their own political ambitions.


    S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 226 - 226 - 91 Secret Society_3

    Chapter 226 ¨C 91 Secret Society_3


    The army is the weapon of the state, and military academies have always instilled this into officer candidates. However, when the weapon develops its own thoughts and even attempts to influence the actions of its wielder, this is fundamentally an act of rebellion. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldiers who drowned at sea, were nailed to stakes, or perished burnt in the gun emplacements¡ªthey all died because of the ambitions of Kongtai¡¯er and his ilk.


    ¡°That¡¯s all I know,¡± Winters concluded. ¡°The secret society of Kongtai¡¯er is probably using the Duelists¡¯ Club as a cover for their periphery. These people are already very dangerous. They¡¯ve tasted the sweetness of manipulating politics with violence; I can hardly imagine what they dare to do next. But according to Kongtai¡¯er, they weren¡¯t the ones who blew up the docks. It was another group¡­ Who knows if that¡¯s true or not.¡±


    He had originally left all this information in a letter, but since he had survived, there was no need for the letter anymore. He was eager to find Anniuo and explain everything to remind Antonio that a secret political faction had infiltrated the Vineta Army.


    Read the latest on .com


    No one knew which officers were members of this secret faction, even within the Third Legion itself. There could very well be others like Kongtai¡¯er. The most dangerous aspect was that this political faction was becoming more violent and radical, ready to eliminate anyone who stood in their way with lethal force.


    Antonio pondered without speaking.


    ...


    After a long moment, he said, ¡°¡­ I have heard a bit about secret societies. There are many within the army, but this is the first that dares to kill¡­¡±


    ¡°If you want to investigate them, I can infiltrate them. Kongtai¡¯er tried to recruit me. If he survives, I¡¯ll use him as a stepping stone. If he¡¯s dead, then it¡¯s even simpler.¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s no need for you to investigate. It¡¯s too dangerous for you. We should deal with such covert matters in an open manner, but now is not the right time. War has already broken out with Tanilia, and we need every capable person we have. If we bring this to light now, the military council will only deal with it lightly. If we try to handle it too harshly, it could damage the army¡¯s combat power.¡± Antonio frowned and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about this issue anymore. I will go to General Zio and handle it from the top down.¡±


    Winters caught the subtext in Antonio¡¯s words, and said unwillingly, ¡°Are you saying there¡¯s no way to deal with Kongtai¡¯er and his group because they¡¯ve become intertwined with Vineta? We can¡¯t act against them?¡±


    ¡°Once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back. The battle has begun, and the priority now is to figure out how to end the war. They will be dealt with, but the timing is not right. We need to find a proper way, one that does not weaken the army¡¯s fighting strength.¡± Antonio¡¯s brow furrowed deeply: ¡°Leave this matter to me to manage; you should not get too involved.¡±


    ¡°You need to be careful of these people as well. They dare kill a delegate from the office of the Federated Provinces¡¯ Secretary of State. Their knives are already stained with blood, which will only make them more frantic. They might even¡­ turn on their own.¡± Although reluctant, since Antonio had decided to take over, it was probably the best solution for now.


    Suddenly, Winters remembered something and hesitantly said, ¡°There¡¯s another matter, possibly even more significant than Kongtai¡¯er¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What is it?¡± Antonio rubbed his temples, looking somewhat fatigued.


    ¡°I¡­ I think I¡¯ve killed a court mage.¡±

 Chapter 227 - 227 - 92: Siege

    Chapter 227 ¨C 92: Siege


    When the sentry on Tachi¡¯s city walls saw the Golden Lion Flag on the horizon in the dawn light, he could hardly believe his eyes.


    The Tanilians clearly didn¡¯t expect the enemy to arrive so quickly. Red Sulfur Harbor had just fallen, and the Venetians, still in the midst of reorganizing, had forcibly marched thirty kilometers overnight, cutting through the countryside that was, in theory, still under the Federation¡¯s control, and headed straight for them.


    Now, most of the foraging teams sent out by Captain Kidd had not yet returned, and the Saint Marco Legion had already reached the base of Tachi¡¯s walls.


    Layton didn¡¯t rush to attack the city; instead, after cutting off Tachi from the outside world, he divided his forces to start purging the Federation¡¯s small units from behind.


    After several minor skirmishes, the foraging teams sent out by Kidd were completely routed. The remnant soldiers scattered like birds and beasts, yet most of them were captured by farmers in the fields, wielding farm tools as weapons.


    The Federation soldiers, horrified to discover that the farmers, who were once timid and subservient, begging for everything, now had the courage to resist.


    The farmers, long harboring resentment, had some of the bolder ones slaughter the Federation soldiers and buried them quietly. Those less bold tied up the captured Federation soldiers and delivered them to the Venetians.


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    When Antonio saw the scattered prisoners brought to Red Sulfur Harbor by the island¡¯s farmers, he understood that everything went well for the Saint Marco Legion. The farmers received their reward money and went home delighted.


    Meanwhile, on Layton¡¯s side, the Saint Marco Legion quickly compressed the Tanilians¡¯ range of activity to within Tachi¡¯s city walls.


    However, the defenders did not surrender obediently, nor did they send emissaries to contact the Saint Marco Legion, creating an eerie silence on the battlefield. Seeing this, Layton still resorted to the old method¡ªsending emissaries to persuade surrender.


    The local gentry of Red Sulfur Island, coerced into delivering the letter of persuasion to the defenders, was shot dead by a volley of arrows before he could even speak.


    The defenders expressed their resolve in this way¡ªthey would never surrender. They killed the envoy before he had a chance to speak, to avoid his words of persuasion weakening their morale.


    Layton was furious, but also impotently enraged. If the Venetian commander attacked out of rage, it would have been more than ideal for Captain Kidd.


    Expecting the defenders to surrender was nothing but a pipe dream. Layton ordered the construction of ramparts around Tachi, and the war fell into a deadlock.


    ¡ª¡ªCUT¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Give me some fatty pieces¡­ Ah, man, don¡¯t give me the ones with bones, more fatty ones,¡± a short soldier said, giggling as he stood in front of the cutting board with his pot.


    Behind him, a long line of soldiers waited to receive their meat.


    This was a corner of the camp, where the volcanic soil was turned into mud by the blood flowing everywhere, squelching underfoot.


    ¡°Everyone wants the fatty cuts, who wants the lean?¡± the man distributing the meat retorted unhappily, his hands moving quickly. He sliced off two large chunks of fat from the pork skin and threw them into the short soldier¡¯s pot: ¡°Here¡¯s a bone-in piece for you and two more chunks of fat. Get going, there are others waiting behind you, don¡¯t hold up the line.¡±


    The short soldier, satisfied with his pot full, walked away, and the next soldier with his pot stepped forward: ¡°Give me two pieces of fatty as well¡­¡±


    The legions of the Ancient Empire were exceedingly good at building ramparts and roads; most of the hard-surfaced roads leading to Muro were built by the military, which were crucial to the prosperity of the Ancient Empire and remnants of which still exist today.


    The military organization of the Republic was said to inherit from the ancients, although in reality, it was modernized under the guise of the ¡°Legion¡± name, but it had also adopted the Ancient Empire¡¯s expertise in engineering and masonry.


    On the third day after the Saint Marco Legion arrived at Tachi, the Da Veneta Legion joined forces with the Saint Marco Legion, also contributing to the construction of the fortifications.


    Thin soil layers not conducive for digging? The Venetians gathered wicker and branches from the dense woods to make baskets, filling them with soil to form wall foundations. Tachi was flanked by mountains on two sides, narrowing the attack front. This also made things easier for the Venetians, as a narrow attack front meant a similarly narrow sortie front.


    The two legions quickly erected two-meter-high earthen walls around Tachi, completely isolating the city from the outside¡ªbut without moats, for basalt was simply too difficult to dig through.


    For soldiers who undertook heavy physical labor every day, bread alone was insufficient to sate them; they needed meat and salt.


    Winters was now at what was quite literally a slaughterhouse. In front, soldiers were being distributed meat, and in the back, pigs were still being butchered. Such places, prone to breeding epidemics, were located in the corners of the camp, strictly isolated from the living quarters.


    Winters watched with interest as the butchers worked: slaughtering the pigs, singeing off the hair with straw, gutting them to remove the organs, then using sharp knives to cut the whole pig into large pieces of pork.


    The processed pork was carried to the cutting board, where another butcher cut and weighed it to distribute to the soldiers. Discover exclusive content at


    In Veneta Legion organization, a ten-man squad had eight soldiers, sharing a pot and a large tent. Pork was distributed by squad, hence the soldiers came with pots to collect it.


    The butcher responsible for splitting the pork was extremely efficient, turning a whole pig leg into a skeleton in the blink of an eye. Six butchers working behind him could barely keep up with his pace of meat distribution.


    ¡°I could watch this all day,¡± Winters said to Andre by his side.


    Andre, also fascinated, said, ¡°So could I.¡±


    The two warrant officers were not idly wandering here; like distributing meat and wine, it was prone to fights. So, Winters and Andre were in charge of supervising the meat distribution process. With two officers present, the soldiers dared not disrupt the order.

 Chapter 228 - 228 - 92 Siege_2

    Chapter 228 ¨C 92 Siege_2


    Winters was no longer acting as a Centurion; he, along with Bard and Andre, had been reassigned to the logistical unit for a rotation internship.


    Less than a day into the rotation, Winters and Andre were almost driven insane by the tedious and onerous paperwork, so they decided together to volunteer for the dirty work no one else wanted to do¡ªsupervising the division of meat at the bloody, filthy slaughterhouse.


    Bard, on the other hand, was in his element among the mountainous piles of archives and documents. His writing skills, honed from years of transcribing scriptures at the Monastery, proved to be of great use in the logistics department. The head of logistics finally found an officer proficient in shorthand and quick calculations, a treasure indeed.


    As for why the three warrant officers were transferred to the logistics unit, starts with what happened the day after the Third Legion arrived at Red Sulfur Harbor. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The day after the Da Weineta Legion was stationed at Red Sulfur Harbor, another supply fleet set sail from Sea Blue City and reached Red Sulfur Harbor.


    This supply fleet not only brought reinforcements, ammunition, and provisions for the Third Legion but also carried a member of the 13-person military commission and an officer who was officially appointed to command the Hundred-Man Squad.


    However, this officer, theoretically the centurion of the Hundred-Man Squad, was shocked to find that the Hundred-Man Squad, in effect, no longer existed¡ªafter two bloody battles, out of the original 150 soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad, only five remained, plus three officer cadets.


    ...


    Not only the Hundred-Man Squad didn¡¯t exist anymore, even his superior officer was gone¡ªthe Chief Company Commander, Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, wasn¡¯t dead but had been sent back to the Vineta mainland due to injuries.


    The new centurion sadly realized that until the next wave of reinforcements arrived, he was just an officer without a single soldier under him.


    With no Hundred-Man Squad left, continuing to intern there was pointless. Besides, Winters had lost his appetite for combat. He felt it was not worth risking his life for the ambitions of people like Kongtai¡¯er.


    Experience tales at


    At Winters¡¯ request, Antonio reassigned him and Bard and Andre to the logistics unit for a rotation internship, and he also moved the few remaining soldiers of the Hundred-Man Squad to the logistics unit for light duty¡ªfulfilling Winters¡¯ promise: ¡°After tonight, you won¡¯t have to risk your lives anymore.¡±


    Thanks to Antonio¡¯s arrangement, the Herders had already embarked on the sailboat leaving Red Sulfur Island. They were to be taken to Sea Blue City first and then escorted to the Republic of Palatu before finally returning to their homeland.


    So now Winters, Bard, and Andre were relieved, simply waiting for commendations.


    There was no doubt that their contributions in destroying two sea-blocking chains and the artillery bastion were significant achievements. If the three had not been officer cadets, just for destroying the artillery alone, they would have been instantly promoted.


    However, they were not even formally commissioned officers, which made things rather awkward. It wasn¡¯t feasible to promote a warrant officer to a lieutenant, was it? What would happen when they did get formally commissioned? Commissioning isn¡¯t the same as a promotion, so would they be made lieutenants all over again?


    In the end, the solution the senior officers of the Third Legion came up with was to defer the commendations until the three warrant officers were formally commissioned next year, so that the process would be orderly.


    That meant as soon as the three became commissioned officers next year, they would not have to toil through seniority and would immediately be promoted to the rank of lieutenant.


    In Bard¡¯s opinion, it was fortunate to be able to avoid the limelight by going to the logistics unit. Already being the subject of envy because of their significant achievements, it was wise to give up the chance to earn more honors on the frontline to others.


    Although Andre felt somewhat reluctant to leave combat behind, the memory of bloodshed during the full moon at the artillery bastion made him somewhat fearful, and he, too, was glad for the chance to take a rest.


    As for Winters¡ªhe didn¡¯t think as much as Bard, nor did he cling to the opportunity for frontline combat like Andre. He simply didn¡¯t want to die for the ambitions of a few or command soldiers to do so. Yet, he couldn¡¯t change the course of the world, so he could only step aside and pretend not to see.


    A butcher at the edge of the cutting board knocked on his knife unsatisfiedly; they were out of meat to cut and urged the butcher behind to hurry up and provide more.


    ¡°I think you shouldn¡¯t have one person deal with a whole pig. If each person only handles one part of the process, like one person solely responsible for scalding, another for removing the entrails, the slaughtering efficiency would be higher,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but interject.


    Upon hearing someone meddling in his work, a butcher immediately responded, neither too softly nor too forcefully, ¡°My lord, my family has been butchers for generations. I know how to slaughter pigs.¡±


    Seeing Winters hit a snag, Andre snickered and poked Winters in the lower back. Winters also gave a wry smile and shook his head¡ªthe butchers were hired from outside and not military personnel, naturally oblivious of the strict hierarchical order of the military.


    ¡°Fine, do your work any way you want,¡± Winters said helplessly. ¡°But I have to correct you on one thing¡ªI¡¯m not ¡¯my lord,¡¯ and in Vineta, there are no ¡¯my lords.¡¯ The nobility throughout Senas Bay have been toppled and purged, there are no ¡¯my lords¡¯ anymore.¡±


    ¡°Alright, my lord.¡±


    Winters was rendered speechless by the retort, while Andre burst into loud laughter, beating on his thighs uncontrollably.


    ¡­


    After completing his duty, Winters didn¡¯t head straight back to his tent like Andre, but took a detour to the armory instead.


    A legion is a microcosm of society, not only filled with soldiers but also with various artisans, like blacksmiths.


    These artisans all held military status, some were full-time craftsmen, such as the armory¡¯s blacksmiths and gunsmiths, responsible for repairing weaponry.

 Chapter 229 - 229 - 92 Siege_3

    Chapter 229 ¨C 92 Siege_3 sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some soldiers possessed specific skills, such as carpentry or masonry, which allowed them to avoid heavy labor and receive higher wages than ordinary soldiers.


    Therefore, at any time, skilled individuals are more valuable, even within the army.


    When Winters approached, the armory¡¯s gunsmith immediately took out a strange-looking short blunderbuss from the cabinet and reverently handed it over with both hands, ¡°Commander, I have modified the gun you requested.¡±


    The exquisite wheel-lock pistol Antonio had given Winters, along with Winters¡¯s armor and sidearm, had all fallen to the bottom of Red Sulfur Bay before they ever saw combat.


    After Winters and his party returned, he hired several people to dive and salvage them. However, his luck was not as good as before, as the skilled divers found nothing after a day underwater.


    The beautiful and opulent wheel-lock pistol was lost for good, which pained Winters whenever he thought about it. After hearing about the incident, Antonio gave Winters the other pistol from the pair of wheel-locks.


    But Winters had a new idea, one that was even more convenient than the wheel-lock pistol.


    ...


    He took the short blunderbuss, which looked like an ordinary short gun, but there was nothing next to the flash hole¡ªno matchcord lever and no wheel-lock mechanism.


    Bare, with only the flash hole and the powder chamber.


    This was the inspiration Winters got from the battle with the man suspected to be a court mage.


    The reason he was ¡°suspected¡± was that nothing could prove the man¡¯s identity. Winters was convinced that the masked man who chanted in Ancient Empire language must be a magician, very likely one of the legendary court mages.


    However, after inspecting a charred corpse for several minutes, Antonio and Winters realized the burned body proved nothing.


    There were no tokens, marks, or distinctive features, only an iron mask that had not been damaged by fire.


    In the sovereignty war, the Senas Allied Army had not managed to kill, capture, or persuade any court mage to defect. Even if Antonio believed his nephew was not lying, he could not point to this body and declare it a court mage.


    Antonio could only ask Winters to keep quiet about it for the time being and send the body to the Magic Combat Bureau for dissection, while he would try to uncover the anonymous magician¡¯s identity through other channels.


    It was only upon retrospect that Winters understood how the man managed to fire the nailed-down cannon¡ªhe had used some kind of powerful fire-starting spell to ignite the gunpowder within the gun barrel.


    In this way, the cannonball could be fired without an open flame.


    He had tried it himself, finding igniting gunpowder through closed metal to be extremely difficult, as magic seemed to hardly penetrate metal. However, it was not impossible¡ªit could be done with sufficient magical power.


    With this thought, an idea struck Winters¡ªmaybe this concept could be applied to firearms. It wasn¡¯t necessary to light the gunpowder through the barrel; magic could replace the open flame.


    Therefore, this customised short blunderbuss was created, but its actual performance was yet to be tested by Winters.


    After confirming the gunsmith had followed his instructions, Winters placed a bag of silver coins on the gunsmith¡¯s table.


    ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t take this, I already receive a salary,¡± the gunsmith refused, trembling with fear.


    ¡°Your salary is for the work you do for the legion; this gun was custom-ordered by me, privately. This money is not just for your labor, but also for the gun materials. Keep it.¡±


    The gunsmith finally accepted the money bag, and with a sheepish expression, said, ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t much trouble, just sawing off a regular gun barrel and making a lighter stock. But without even a firing mechanism, I really can¡¯t imagine how you¡¯ll use this gun¡­¡±


    Winters smiled and said, ¡°I have my uses for it.¡±


    He wrapped the gun in burlap and returned to his own tent.


    Outside the tent, a dark, thin man was waiting for him. It was Gold, ¡°Lucky¡± Gold, the former pirate captain, death-row oarsman, and Winters¡¯s key to survival on Red Sulfur Island.


    In times of emergency, the Vineta Navy could release prisoner oarsmen and arm them. Provided they fought and returned to their posts without fleeing, their crimes would be expunged at the end of the war, allowing them to regain their freedom.


    Gold¡¯s freedom was restored after the Lighthouse Port sea battle, and the Golden Lion sailor who handed a bag of water to Winters was him.


    Now, he came to say goodbye.


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m leaving this damned place, taking the next messenger ship to Sea Blue City,¡± Gold said, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth¡ªthose knocked out by Layton had all been replaced with gold, and he added with a smile, ¡°Thanks to the commendation letter you wrote, the Vineta Navy restored my freedom early. I¡¯ve come to bid you farewell.¡±


    ¡°Leaving now? Where will you go?¡± Winters was surprised and quickly invited Gold into the tent to talk.


    Gold didn¡¯t enter, standing respectfully outside the tent and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m going. Now that I¡¯m free again, I¡¯ll just take it one step at a time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good to leave this place; you don¡¯t need to be involved in this war,¡± Winters said, somewhat sentimentally. He took a piece of paper, wrote down an address, and handed it to Gold, ¡°Do you remember that fat captain we found? You know, our old acquaintance, the one who sailed your Lucky back to Sea Blue City and ran into pirates again, ending up sold as a slave at Hongsong Manor? Remember him?¡±

 Chapter 230 - 230 - 92 Siege_4

    Chapter 230 ¨C 92 Siege_4


    Gold took the slip of paper, somewhat puzzled, ¡°Hmm, seems like¡­ I kind of remember¡­¡±


    ¡°I said I¡¯d give you a ship, didn¡¯t I?¡± Winters said with a big laugh, ¡°That fat man owed me a huge favor, so he sold his Bandit Gull to me for a cheap price. Just so happens my mother left me a small inheritance, enough to afford it. Go find him at this address. The Bandit Gull is yours now, Captain Gold¡­ Just don¡¯t go back to being a pirate this time.¡±


    Gold was stunned, the slip of paper in his hand almost fell as he couldn¡¯t hold it steady. He stood there at a loss, his eyes slightly reddened.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say ¡¯thank you,¡¯ and definitely don¡¯t cry, you deserve this.¡± Winters got goosebumps and quickly made a joke, ¡°But if you go back to being a pirate and run into me again, then we¡¯ll have to fight another battle.¡±


    ¡°Sir, what do you think of my luck?¡± Gold didn¡¯t respond to the joke but asked a seemingly unrelated question.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± This question stumped Winters, and it took him a while to reply, ¡°To some extent, your luck is very good¡­ It¡¯s unfortunate to encounter Layton and us, but even so, you¡¯re the only pirate from the entire ship that survived, that¡¯s also a tremendous stroke of luck¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s what I think too. My luck has always been good, so I¡¯m Lucky Gold. However, there¡¯s someone whose luck is even better than mine, so when I came across this person, my good luck was useless. Who do you think that is?¡±


    ...


    ¡°¡­You¡¯re not talking about me, are you?¡± Winters was a bit perplexed.


    ¡°Exactly, sir, it¡¯s you. I thought about it a lot on the deck of the Golden Lion and finally realized that luck is relative, one person¡¯s fortune could be another¡¯s misfortune. When encountering someone luckier than me, my good luck turns into bad luck. You are that person luckier than me, which is why I followed you on Red Sulfur Island,¡± Gold stated decisively, ¡°So if I run into you again in the future, I¡¯ll just surrender.¡±


    After finishing, Gold nodded his head in respect, turned around, and walked away with a swish.


    Winters was dazed for a moment, then went back to his tent and continued to write a letter that he hadn¡¯t been able to finish the beginning of in two days.


    The supply ship from Sea Blue City didn¡¯t just bring provisions, it also brought family letters¡ªof course, only for officers, the soldiers didn¡¯t get this treatment.


    Inside Elizabeth¡¯s envelope, Winters unexpectedly found another letter, Anna¡¯s letter.


    He couldn¡¯t wait to open Anna¡¯s letter, which didn¡¯t say anything particular: She and her sister had another big fight, she wanted to learn sculpture but her mother absolutely forbade it, an old servant in the house had left, and there was a new fabric from the north that was becoming fashionable in Sea Blue¡­ S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These contents were not particularly special, just Anna¡¯s everyday trifles, but for some reason, Winters felt like they were from another lifetime as he read them.


    Although his hands were covered in blood, Winters had never been troubled by the people he had killed, not even once. To him, those who died at his hands had brought it upon themselves.


    However, the soldiers from the First Hundred Squad, those nailed to wooden stakes, those who followed him fleeing in the dense forest, those who fought desperately in the cramped corridors¡ªWinters would always remember their faces in his dreams.


    ¡°Saint Marco Cathedral is undergoing renovations, they hired many painters and sculptors. When you come back, shall we go see it together? Mr. Montani, where are you now? What are you doing? Why aren¡¯t you writing to me? Please write back to me, I hardly know anything about you, please write back.¡± Anna wrote this at the end of the letter.


    Winters really wanted to tell Anna everything, to tell her how he was constantly gripped by fear while trapped on Red Sulfur Island yet still had to appear confident in front of everyone, to tell her about the anger he felt when he saw those desecrated bodies, to tell her about his rage towards Kongtai¡¯er and those behind him, to tell her about the ghosts that invaded his dreams¡­


    He thought a lot but couldn¡¯t write a single word.


    In the end, he picked up his pen and wrote, ¡°I¡¯m fine, eating well, sleeping well, maybe I really am just that lucky.¡±

 Chapter 231 - 231 - 93: The Defense of the Old City

    Chapter 231 ¨C 93: The Defense of the Old City


    ¡°According to the locals we¡¯ve found, the walls of Tachi have been around for some time. The exact construction date is unknown, but they are at least fifty years old¡ªthis place was once the duchy of Red Sulfur Island. After the Alliance seized power, it gradually fell into disuse, until it was repaired again two years ago, with no major alterations,¡±


    The atmosphere inside the temporary military camp¡¯s strategy tent was exceedingly oppressive. Most of the senior officers were silently smoking their stale cigarettes, listening to the intelligence chief¡¯s briefing without uttering a word.


    The officer who was speaking flipped a page in his small notebook, licked his lips, and continued, ¡°The main body of the wall isn¡¯t lime mortar, but volcanic ash concrete, which is the material used in the dome of Saint Marco Cathedral, made by mixing volcanic ash with lime and seawater to create artificial stone. The outer wall is covered with volcanic rock quarried nearby. In simple terms, the core of the wall is one massive stone, with another layer of stone wrapped around it.¡±


    A staff officer cursed under his breath, and the expressions on the others¡¯ faces also turned grim. The officers at this meeting each had at least fourteen years of military experience; the more solid the walls were, the greater the cost the attackers would have to bear.


    Seeing that the mood was growing somber, the intelligence chief hurriedly continued to explain the disadvantages of the wall: ¡°However, the biggest problem with Tachi¡¯s defensive system is its antiquity; it¡¯s an outdated model, still relying on height for defense and an earthen slope below the high wall to counter siege ladders.¡±


    ¡°Due to the expense of stone walls, the main body of Tachi¡¯s wall is rather thin, only barely two meters in thickness, which makes it difficult to deploy cannons. During that renovation two years ago, those Tani bastards realized this problem, but they didn¡¯t undertake a comprehensive overhaul. They only added a protruding demi-lune on each of the eastern and western walls to mount enfilade cannons,¡±


    The intelligence chief took a breath, turning another page in his notebook: ¡°Because digging is difficult, there is no moat in Tachi. After Alliance troops fled into Tachi, they thought about digging one temporarily, but gave up after less than a meter and a half. However, they used the excavated earth and stone to build another breastwork below the city wall and covered the city gate with a temporary rammed earth trilateral bastion¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Somewhat methodical. William Kidd is just a mere pirate; I doubt he has the ability. Who is really defending the city?¡± Antonio interrupted the Third Legion¡¯s intelligence chief.


    Sweat immediately appeared on the intelligence director¡¯s forehead; he did not dare retort, but had to say, ¡°¡­We don¡¯t know that yet.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to discuss the defensive issues; we can all see them. Tell us some other more important information,¡± Antonio continued to ask, ¡°Is there a water source in the city? How many civilians? What about the food supplies?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The officers¡¯ thoughts began to waver upon hearing Antonio¡¯s questions, suggesting that Major General Serviati was already considering a long siege rather than a forceful assault.


    The intelligence director hurriedly flipped through his notebook again: ¡°The civilian population of Tachi mainly consists of sulfur mine workers and their families, not amounting to more than three hundred households. The Alliance did not establish a granary in Tachi, so there should only be the food stores of the sulfur mine workers¡¯ households and the food they have collected from nearby villages in recent days. There are no wells in the city; it mainly relies on stream water flowing down from the mountains, with two to three water storage reservoirs. According to locals, there is a volcanic crater lake higher up behind Tachi, but the water there is brackish due to the proximity to the sulfur mines.¡±


    Antonio, holding his forehead, ordered, ¡°Send a few men into the mountains to find out exactly how many streams there are and whether we can somehow cut them off.¡±


    The intelligence director promptly acknowledged the order.


    The air in the council chamber grew heavy once more.


    Layton, unable to contain himself, slapped his thigh and cursed, ¡°[Army swear word]! [Army swear word]! These Tani bastards have stolen all our stuff! [Army swear word]!¡±


    Though Layton¡¯s words seemed somewhat nonsensical, they indeed voiced the inner thoughts of the gathered officers.


    Ever since the Republics broke away from the Empire, they had always been on the defensive in strategic terms. The Empire, though defeated, still retained a strength far greater than the Senas Alliance.


    Although there had been no more fighting between the Empire and the Republics after the end of the Sovereignty Wars, relations under Henry III had become increasingly close.


    However, strategic pressure is strategic pressure; on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain range lies the most powerful empire on the continent. Even the friendliest of giants remains a formidable threat.


    Thus, the military doctrine of the Republics¡¯ armies was primarily defense and counterattack, which had been the successful experience of the Sovereignty Wars. They used fortified towns to deplete the aggressors¡¯ forces and morale, while the field armies sought opportunities for decisive battles.


    In the strategic thinking of the Alliance, no fortress was impregnable; as long as sufficient casualties were inflicted and enough time was won before its fall, the fortress would¡¯ve achieved its strategic goal.


    The Tani inside Tachi were clearly intent on this. It was a doomed lone fortress¡ªten thousand troops from two legions besieged a small city defended by less than three thousand men, with no reinforcements for the defenders.


    Normally, in the face of such inevitably doomed combat, the defenders would¡¯ve surrendered by now. At most, during negotiations, they might propose some conditions, such as being allowed to leave with their arms. However, the Alliance defenders simply refused to surrender, not showing even the slightest intent to negotiate.


    The Tani behind the city walls had accurately targeted the weaknesses of the Republics¡¯ military system: the political system determined that Vineta couldn¡¯t mobilize armies counting in the hundreds of thousands, regardless of the cost, like feudal kings could.

 Chapter 232 - 232 - 93: The Defense of the Old City_2

    Chapter 232 ¨C 93: The Defense of the Old City_2


    During times of peace, Vineta had a total of just six thousand troops in its Standing Army, and to save money, they were dispersed to be stationed in various cities since supplies could be provided by the cities where they were based.


    Therefore, Antonio and Layton could not afford to waste Vineta¡¯s elite soldiers at the gates of Tachi, but they also could not afford to leave an Alliance army poised to strike in their rear.


    That was the reason Layton cursed the Tanyrians for stealing their own secrets. It was an era where ¡°tactically, offense overwhelmingly beats defense, but strategically, defense overwhelmingly beats offense.¡± When your own trump card for victory was used against you by others, it would frustrate anyone.


    However, there was nothing to be done about it because humans learn everything else slowly but pick up the art of warfare exceptionally quickly.


    The Barbarian tribes on the fringes of the Empire may not have been able to master poetry or literature, but when they saw ironware, catapults, gunpowder, and cannons, they could immediately assimilate and digest those technologies.


    That¡¯s also why ¡°barbarians¡± were able to conquer ¡°civilizations¡± time and again¡ªbecause, in this era, the military technology of the ¡°barbarian tribes¡± was not inferior to that of ¡°civilized nations,¡± and their mobilization capabilities were even better.


    But I digress, back to the siege of Tachi.


    ...


    The officers pondered long and hard but could find no good solution.


    Actually, the best solution was clear to all: don¡¯t attack, just surround the city. There were less than three thousand troops in the defending army of Tachi, and they were already scared witless; they would certainly not dare to sally forth to battle.


    Thus, if either the Great Vineta Legion or the Saint Marco Legion left just one legion behind to lay siege, they could wait for the defending troops to run out of food and surrender on their own.


    If the defenders didn¡¯t come out, then it would just be a waiting battle; after all, the Venetians had the whole of Red Sulfur Island as a resupply base and could wait out the Tanyrians until the end of the world.


    If the defenders dared to make a sortie for a field battle, that would be even better. A full-strength legion of over five thousand men attacking their three thousand rabble would certainly smash Tanyrian¡¯s brains out.


    The other legion could then be freed from the siege to continue attacking the other main islands of the Tanilia Archipelago.


    Everyone was fully aware of this plan; it was sound, but the problem was¡­ who would stay? Who would go?


    Who would be willing to remain for the siege? Who knew how much food the Tanyrians inside had? Richard IV had besieged Guidao City for two years without being able to breach it. If they were unlucky, perhaps by the time the war ended, the legion left here would still be staring down the Tanyrians inside the city.


    The soldiers might be very content with that prospect, but none of the officers seated here felt the same way.


    Without war, an officer¡¯s chances for promotion depended solely on seniority. And the military system of the Senas Alliance meant that officers not only had to wait for seniority but also had to wait for a vacancy.


    Any officer worthy of a seat in the military council, unless they came from a wealthy family or had a rich father-in-law, had battled their way through the ranks, starting as ¡°begging sub-lieutenants, impoverished lieutenants, scrimping captains, until finally becoming majors.¡±


    Having finally gotten the chance to fight, which officer would be willing to waste time here? Who wouldn¡¯t want to advance further?


    Outside the small but tough Tachi, the problem with Vineta¡¯s military command system became apparent.


    If one were to speak from a standpoint of rationality, of course the reserve legions should lay siege here, while the elite Standing Army legions should leave Red Sulfur Island to continue conquering and plundering. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the problem was that Serviati was a Major General, and so was Layton. Moreover, even if the former¡¯s rank could outstrip the latter¡¯s by a head, he still could not command the latter.


    The military system of the Venetian Republic determined that each legion operated independently because they were directly subordinate to the Military Commission, with each legion commander answerable only to the Council of Thirteen. Even if a sub-lieutenant were appointed as the commander of the Saint Marco Legion, he could ignore Antonio¡¯s orders.


    This structure prevented the military from becoming a power unto itself within, ensuring that the government commanded the army, rather than the army hijacking the government, thus avoiding the pitfalls that befell the Federated Provinces Republic.


    Moreover, if it were domestic operations, there would be no issue with each legion acting independently under the command of the Thirteen People¡¯s Council. However, the current problem was this: between the two legions and Sea Blue City lay a vast sea. To communicate with the Thirteen People¡¯s Council, ships would have to travel the great distance back to Sea Blue and then again to Red Sulfur Island.


    Even with favorable winds, a round trip would take at least three weeks. If luck were to be slightly worse and they constantly faced headwinds, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible to receive news from Sea Blue City only after a month. In the unluckiest scenario where the communication ships all sank, the two legions might foolishly wait here for a reply while Sea Blue remained ignorant of the situation on Red Sulfur Island.


    Moreover, even if everything went smoothly, it would still take three weeks to receive a message from the Thirteen People¡¯s Council, so it might be better to simply launch a strong attack, as taking Tachi could potentially be achieved within a week if the siege went well.


    The senior officers in the military tent were all too aware of the current situation; however, decisions about whether to advance or attack, who should go and who should stay, were not theirs to make.


    Decisions could only be made by the two legion commanders, and no one else had the right to participate ¡ª of course, theoretically, there was one more person with the right to be involved, and that was another member of the Thirteen People¡¯s Council sent from Sea Blue City.


    This general, who came to Red Sulfur Island aboard the supply fleet, arrived at the request of Major General Antonio and Rear Admiral Nalesho to act as the third member of the temporary military committee for the Revenge Fleet.


    However, as luck would have it, he was yet another navy rear admiral¡­ With high rank in the navy, he had no say in the affairs of the army.


    Antonio had previously suggested the establishment of a joint command in order to avoid this kind of internal consumption between the army and navy, but who would have expected that while the cooperation between the Third Legion and the navy went smoothly, the problem arose within the army itself.


    So, in the end, it was still necessary for the two legion commanders to reach a consensus, and the officers were all waiting for the final decision of the two major generals.


    Major General Layton obviously had no desire to stay behind and endure a siege. Having sat on the bench for many years and finally getting a chance to command troops again, he would surely want to make a decisive move, not waste time on the tiny Red Sulfur Island.


    Even if Antonio agreed to stay and besiege Tachi, the officers of the Da Weineta Legion wouldn¡¯t accept it.


    Winters made contact with the Da Weineta Legion through Kalman¡¯s smuggling channels, which meant that the credit for capturing Red Sulfur Harbor should have originally belonged to the Third Legion.


    However, in order to ensure victory, Antonio decided the Third Legion should continue feint attacks on the northern coast to draw the enemy¡¯s main forces, while assigning the recently arrived Saint Marco Legion the task of attacking Red Sulfur Harbor.


    In other words, this credit was a gift from Antonio to the Saint Marco Legion. The officers of Da Weineta were filled with resentment, suppressed only by Antonio¡¯s authority. Words like ¡°tolerance for the country¡¯s sake¡± and ¡°making compromises for the greater good¡± had little persuasive power to officers dreaming of earning commendations and promotions.


    Moreover, they had already endured once, so why couldn¡¯t the Saint Marco Legion endure this time? The officer corps of Da Weineta firmly believed that it was both logical and fair that it should be the ¡°reserve forces¡± that stayed behind; they would rather scale the city walls than be responsible for besieging Tachi.


    ¡°How about drawing lots? Or maybe each legion leaves half behind¡­¡± As a certain officer was lost in wild thoughts, Antonio abruptly declared the meeting adjourned.


    At noon that day, Antonio, Layton, and Nalesho, along with Rear Admiral Compton, who had just arrived from Sea Blue, the four highest commanders of the army and navy, held a closed-door meeting.


    No clerks were allowed into the tent, so no one knew what kind of conversation took place between the four.


    That afternoon, Andre burst into Winters¡¯ tent, where Winters was taking his midday nap, and shook him vigorously awake.


    Winters, who always had a severe case of morning anger, barely managed to restrain the urge to curse: ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got work!¡± Andre shouted excitedly, ¡°The chief has ordered the two of us to follow the engineer officer in charge of the road construction! Finally, no more clerical work! Copy! Copy! Copy! I¡¯ve been writing so much these past few days that I¡¯m almost forgetting what the letters look like¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!? Road construction?¡±

 Chapter 233 - 233 - 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road

    Chapter 233 ¨C 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road


    The proverb says, ¡°To get rich, build a road first.¡±


    But the Venetians¡¯ purpose in building a road on Red Sulfur Island would certainly not be to stimulate local economic growth.


    ¡°Build a road?¡± Winters, just awake, was still a bit groggy, ¡°What road?¡±


    ¡°A standard Guzhi Road, from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi,¡± Andre said cheerfully, ¡°A joint order from the two major generals, no mistake. Hey, no matter what road we¡¯re building, at least we¡¯re not stuck being clerks!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters rubbed his eyes, trying hard to think about the true purpose of the road construction. Suddenly, he sighed and said, ¡°I think I¡¯ve figured out what¡¯s going on¡­ It looks like the higher-ups have made up their minds to besiege the city.¡±


    Red Sulfur Island is a typical volcanic island; the island itself is a huge volcano. Thus, from the coast of Red Sulfur Island, the elevation increases as one goes inland.


    Located in the center of the island, Tachi is backed by the volcano on the volcanic island, thus occupying a naturally formidable terrain.


    ...


    The environment where Tachi is situated was not originally suitable for forming a natural settlement; however, the place is replete with rich volcanic sulfur mines.


    The former Duke of Red Sulfur Island, in order to keep the sulfur mines in his grip, did not set up his administration in Red Sulfur Harbor but rather established New Town here.


    The sulfur mining industry and political reasons eventually led to the creation of Tachi, which is also named for the high tower castle built there by the former Duke of Red Sulfur Island.


    There is no direct road between Tachi and Red Sulfur Island, not even a decent one.


    The neglected dirt road leading out of Red Sulfur Island winds through several villages and plantations before it finally reaches Tachi.


    Thinking of all this, Winters sees the reason why Antonio and Layton would prioritize road construction over besieging the city as rather obvious.


    Winters had also observed Tachi¡¯s defense structures from a distance; though they were of the outdated old-fashioned kind of city walls, they were still quite daunting.


    In the old days, towering walls were considered impregnable and insurmountable, symbolizing wealth and military might.


    However, no one builds those kinds of walls anymore for a simple reason: they cannot effectively withstand artillery bombardment.


    Funds are limited, and if walls are built high, they inevitably become thin. In the past, this wasn¡¯t an issue, as wooden scaffolding could be constructed behind the walls to temporarily increase their width so that more defenders could stand on them.


    After the maturation of artillery technology, however, the advantages of high walls became their disadvantages:


    The taller the wall, the larger its front silhouette and the easier it is to be hit by cannonballs;


    And if the wall is not thick enough, it can¡¯t accommodate artillery, as the defenders of Constantinople discovered during its siege: the recoil from heavy guns mounted atop the walls caused more damage to the high walls than did the attackers¡¯ siege artillery;


    The towers on the original walls became a problem too, as the towers on old-fashioned walls were much higher than the walls themselves. This design allowed defending troops to continue holding the towers even if the enemy scaled the walls;


    However, the presence of high towers on the wall made it difficult for defenders to rapidly move artillery along them¡­


    The various disadvantages are numerous. In short, when faced with such high walls, bombard them with artillery, and that¡¯s the end of it.


    In the Venetian military structure, the artillery unit is an independent force separate from the regular legions, so the legions have only infantry and cavalry.


    But now, Antonio and Layton have ready-made cannons:


    The thirty-two-pound cannons pulled from the ruins of the Red Sulfur Bay bastion are basking in the sun on the docks; if these aren¡¯t enough, there are also four-pound and eight-pound guns from the bastion in Red Sulfur Harbor; if those aren¡¯t sufficient, the cannons from the warships can be disembarked.


    What about the lack of gunners? That¡¯s even easier to manage, because artillerymen and engineers are two of a kind.


    The graduates from the Artillery branch of the Army Officer School, those who do well join the artillery, those who do less well end up in the engineering corps.


    Although Antonio and Layton don¡¯t have artillerymen, they do have engineers, and officers who are now doing clerical work after graduating from the Artillery are plentiful. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s unlikely they¡¯ve forgotten all their book knowledge so quickly, so Layton slapped his forehead and said, ¡°What clerical engineers? Get them all back to being artillerymen.¡±


    Additionally, the gunners from the naval warships can be temporarily deployed to assist with the siege.


    The enemy has gifted them with a batch of heavy cannons, and the military isn¡¯t short of gunners; the biggest problem is actually how to move the big guns from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi.


    The roads on Red Sulfur Island are too poor and circuitous, and the Venetians lack heavy draft horses and oxen needed for hauling, plus transporting the artillery from Red Sulfur Harbor to Tachi involves an uphill journey due to the terrain, making it a challenging task.


    If they were to rely on the island¡¯s original poor roads, moving these dozen cannons to the front lines would be harder than simply waiting for the defenders to run out of food and surrender, which would save some energy.


    So¡ªthey need to build a road.


    When Winters first heard this order to build a road, his first thought was: it must be yet another one of Major General Layton¡¯s spur-of-the-moment ideas.


    However, after setting aside his biases and thinking rationally, Winters found that it might indeed be a good method.


    As the saying goes, ¡°Lathering up doesn¡¯t delay the shave.¡±


    The Da Weineta Legion, as a Standing Army, is very proficient in civil engineering and has ready-made techniques. There are plenty of farmers and slaves on Red Sulfur Island, providing ready labor. In addition, there are quarries on the island, supplying ready materials.


    Building a Guzhi Road connecting Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi would not only make it easier to transport cannons but would also greatly benefit the logistical support of the besieging army.


    It would also allow Venetian troops to quickly maneuver between Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi, enabling them to rapidly support Red Sulfur Harbor in the event of a change in battle conditions or retreat to their ships.

 Chapter 234 - 234 - 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road_2

    Chapter 234 ¨C 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road_2


    Even after the battle was over, they could continue to collect tolls¡­ because the Vineta Army had the right to impose tolls on the Guzhi Roads they constructed, partly using the fees for road maintenance and partly as additional income which went straight into the army¡¯s treasury.


    This law was originally intended to encourage the Army to engage more in infrastructure construction. As a result, the Guzhi Roads between the major cities of Vineta had become one of the most important sources of revenue for the Army¡­ The most wonderful part was that this income was not included in the military budget, allowing the Army to use it as they pleased¡­ Therefore, the splendid Army headquarters could actually be said to have been built on the sweat of the soldiers working on the roads.


    ¡°Where is my mind wandering to¡­¡± Winters shook his still somewhat groggy head, hastily straightened his attire, took the newly issued sword from the rack, and said to Andre, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two mounted their warhorses and galloped toward Red Sulfur Harbor.


    The warhorses of the Third Legion were left at Sea Blue City, and the Saint Marco Legion did have some warhorses, but only as mounts for the officers. The Saint Marco Legion, being a reserve force, did not have a cavalry unit.


    However, it was quite inconvenient for the officers of the Third Legion to move around without warhorses, so the logistics department initially got some mules. As a result, they faced strong resistance from officers with cavalry backgrounds; some even claimed they would rather ¡°swallow a bullet before suffering the indignity of riding a mule.¡±


    It was Winters who came up with an idea. He had noticed that the plantation owners on Red Sulfur Island generally kept horses. The logistics department of the Third Legion immediately acted, forcibly buying up all the horses from the plantations on the island. Naturally, the plantation owners dared not express their anger, as they were already lucky not to have been liquidated.


    ...


    Through this coerced buying and selling, the Third Legion¡¯s logistics department managed to issue a warhorse to every officer in the Legion.


    The military acts swiftly and decisively, so once the two Regimental Commanders decided to build a Guzhi Road, their subordinates only needed to focus on how to carry out the order.


    The Red Sulfur Island Road Construction Strategy Headquarters was established five minutes after the order was issued, drawing officers from both legions to manage the construction of the Guzhi Road, with Antonio assuming the role of Chief of the Department himself.


    The Strategy Department immediately dispatched engineer officers responsible for surveying and mapping, starting the preliminary plan on paper right away.


    These tasks that required advanced expertise, of course, had nothing to do with Winters and Andre, two junior second lieutenants; their assignment was well-considered based on their abilities.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s that? You¡¯re saying we should lead a group to conscript laborers?¡± Winters looked at the order with a grimace.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Andre seemed unfazed, laughing, ¡°After all this hassle, it turns out we still have to deal with farmers, don¡¯t we?¡± Continue reading at


    ¡°Alas, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The order from the Road Construction Strategy Department only specified how many laborers were needed and said nothing else. In addition, Winters and Andre were allotted forty fully armed soldiers.


    The superiors¡¯ intentions were elusive but clear: By any means necessary, just get the manpower.


    In the following days, while Winters and Andre were busy recruiting villagers on the island to work on the road at a daily wage of five silver coins, a small-scale skirmish broke out outside of Tachi.


    The garrison, noting that the Venetians outside were not undertaking any significant actions besides wall construction, grew bolder and dared to send men out of the city at night to continue deepening the moat.


    This, of course, could not be concealed from the Venetians outside as the Venetian Army¡¯s siege lines were less than four hundred meters from the city walls.


    The sound of stone clinking in the moat could be clearly heard on the siege lines, four hundred meters away.


    Antonio and Layton, of course, could not simply watch the defenders strengthen their fortifications. Since they lacked cavalry, two hundred-man teams from the Third Legion were mobilized on short notice.


    There was no time for talk. Antonio ordered Captain Doria and Lieutenant Juan to lead a hundred-man team each and strike with light equipment from the east and west sides, aiming to approach the moat as quickly as possible.


    If they could drive the fleeing soldiers into the city, the assault teams only needed to hold the city gates until the two large legions launched a full assault. If there was no chance to seize the gates, the assault teams were to inflict casualties and then quickly retreat.


    Ten minutes later, two teams of figures silently left the Venetian barricades and approached Tachi from both flanks.


    The light infantry moved swiftly, covering the less than half a kilometer distance in no time. Just as the defenders on the walls sounded the alarm bell when they spotted the enemy, the two leading Centurions had already leaped into the trench with their swords, slashing frantically.


    Right behind their officers, Venetian soldiers poured into the moat like a tidal wave. The Tanilians in the trench, armed only with tools, tried to climb out and flee but were grabbed by the ankles by Venetian soldiers and dragged back into the trench to be killed. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The one-sided slaughter in the trench, which was less than two meters high and wide, unfolded quickly, as the two Centurions began to lead their men from the east and west towards the center city gate.


    As they advanced, they pushed the Tanilians in the trench toward the city gate.


    ¡°The honor of taking Tachi first is mine!¡± Captain Doria shouted inwardly, eyeing the mass of Tanilians crowded at the city gate.


    However, no matter how desperately the Tanilians at the city gate beat and pleaded, the gate remained unmoved.


    The defenders in the outer bastion were the first to react, and gunfire erupted from above. Musket and crossbowmen began firing at the Venetian soldiers in the moat.


    The defenders on the city walls were also stirred by the counterattack from the bastion, starting to use their ranged weapons to suppress the enemy.

 Chapter 235 - 235 - 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road_3

    Chapter 235 ¨C 94: Want to Siege? First Build the Road_3


    Arrows and lead shot rained down upon the Venetian soldiers in the moat like a storm, halting the momentum of the assault team.


    ¡°Sound the horn, signal retreat!¡± Antonio bellowed from the ramparts, and the trumpeter promptly sounded the horn for retreat.


    Juan, the lieutenant responsible for the eastern attack, immediately led his soldiers to climb out of the moat and sprinted towards their own ramparts. Muskets and crossbows from the city walls struck down several men, but the majority of the hundred-strong unit retreated safely.


    However, Captain Doria, who was in charge of the western assault, was unwilling to give up. His vanguard was less than twenty meters from the city gate, and the opportunity seemed too good to miss; maybe they could capture Tachi in one fell swoop.


    He roared, ¡°Advance! If the enemy opens the gate, we charge in! Victory is within reach!¡±


    But the city gate didn¡¯t open, and the roar of cannons crushed his valiant dreams.


    The cannons installed on the triangular forts were reloaded and began firing at the enemy troops in the moat. The triangular forts, which covered the city gates and spanned the moat, provided a ruthlessly lethal side fire to the besiegers.


    ...


    The projectiles from the city walls were no significant threat to the Venetian soldiers in the moat, but those in front of the triangular fort¡¯s volley were utterly exposed.


    A four-pound iron cannonball entered Captain Doria¡¯s left chest and exited through his back. Then it pierced the body of the soldier behind him, and then another soldier¡­ With just one cannon shot, a bloody trench was ploughed through the moat.


    Captain Doria was killed on the spot, and his hundred-man team were first bewildered as the soldiers behind the moat had no idea what had happened; they then completely collapsed.


    First one soldier took the lead, then two, three, and finally, all soldiers started crawling out of the moat and running back.


    The centurion ¡°Big Beard¡± and another sergeant ¡°Buck Teeth¡± lifted Captain Doria¡¯s body, attempting to take it back. However, they hadn¡¯t gone far when a thick, short crossbow bolt shot from behind, nailing Sergeant Major ¡°Big Beard¡± to the ground.


    Sergeant ¡°Buck Teeth,¡± holding the captain¡¯s lower leg, let go in a panic and ran towards the Venetian camp without looking back.


    At this moment, the gates of Tachi creaked open at last.


    In the midst of the noisy, chaotic battlefield, Antonio suddenly caught a hint of an unusual sound, and he shouted orders, ¡°Musketeers! To the western parapet! To the western parapet! Guns at the ready, follow my command!¡±


    Amid curses and warhorse neighs, over thirty Cavalry burst through the crowd, streaming out from the city gate. They leaped over the moat and charged towards the escaping Venetian soldiers heading for their own ramparts.


    Lagging behind, Sergeant ¡°Buck Teeth¡± heard the horse hooves getting closer. He gritted his teeth, turning around to fight back, when all he saw was a flash of cold steel. A saber, propelled by the speed of a Warhorse, cleaved through Sergeant ¡°Buck Teeth¡¯s¡± shoulder, slicing him into two, flesh and bone, in an instant.


    This terrifying clean cut didn¡¯t even slow the Cavalry¡¯s pace by a bit ¡ª the saber arced up over his head, and the rider continued his chase, slashing at new prey.


    The soldiers who fell behind were cut down like wheat after a stormy pass, and Antonio watched intently as the cavalrymen from the Confederation reached the forefront, shouting sharply, ¡°Hold your fire without my command!¡±


    Above Tachi, Captain Kidd did not wish for the Cavalry to chase too deep. Seeing his own Cavalry had crossed the middle line, he quickly ordered the sounding of the horn for a recall.


    As the horn sounded from the battlements, Antonio roared, ¡°Now! Fire!¡±


    On the ramparts, the musket fire erupted like popping beans, and a volley of lead shot targeted the chasing Confederation Cavalry.


    The Cavalryman who had killed Sergeant ¡°Buck Teeth¡± was at the forefront, thus many musketeers aimed at him. One lead shot exploded in his right shoulder, causing him so much pain he almost fainted. His Warhorse beneath him took four shots and died instantly.


    The cavalryman screamed inhumanly as he was rolled under his horse, which also broke his left leg. He struggled to crawl out from under the warhorse.


    However, his left foot was trapped in the stirrup, and his leg was pinned down by a six-hundred-kilogram weight; he was immobile.


    A few other cavalrymen who had charged too close to the Venetian fortification walls were also killed on the spot.


    The gates of the Venetian fortification burst open, and a troop of halberdiers rushed out with cries to aid their own soldiers.


    Seeing that he had already killed many Venetians, the commander of the cavalry unit was no longer keen on fighting. He blew a sharp whistle, leading the remaining cavalry to retreat quickly.


    The Venetian halberdiers pursued for a distance. When one of the halberdiers passed the rider trapped under the dead horse and saw he was still alive, he quickly ended the rider¡¯s suffering.


    The cannons on the triangle and semi-circular forts began firing at the Venetian halberdiers to cover the retreat of their cavalry.


    Several iron balls flew over, but they were not very accurate and posed little threat to the dispersed soldiers.


    One cannonball flew at such a high angle that it even soared over the fortification walls of the Venetian army.


    The walls constructed by the besieging force were between 400 and 600 meters away from the city walls, a distance already within the range of the cannon. But this was the first time the defending army fired at the walls, and they knew the threat at this distance was minimal.


    Having seen plenty of bloodshed today and with the halberdiers having completed their mission, Antonio ordered the troops to withdraw. Your journey continues on .com


    At the break of dawn, a horseman bearing a white flag approached the Venetian fortification wall, claiming to have a verbal message from General Serviati.


    ¡°I am Antonio Serviati. What do you wish to say?¡± Hearing that the messenger wanted to see him, Antonio, who had just lain down for a moment, hurriedly went up to the fortification wall.


    ¡°Honourable General Serviati,¡± the rider proclaimed loudly, ¡°General Kidd extends his highest respects to you. Following last night¡¯s battle, with much blood already spilled, General Kidd hopes that our side and yours can collect the bodies of the fallen without interference today, prepare them properly, and bury them.¡±


    Antonio pondered for a moment, then replied, ¡°Alright, those who are in charge of collecting the bodies will tie white cloths around their left arms. If your side does not attack our people, then we will not attack yours.¡±


    When the messenger heard the reply, he removed his helmet, bowed deeply, and said, ¡°Once more, my respects to you, General Serviati. With that, our sides have reached an agreement.¡±


    Having said that, he rode off without looking back.


    ¡°Huh, who would have thought that pirates and slavers could still possess a shred of decency,¡± muttered Lieutenant Sara, who was on watch duty, as he watched the rider leave.


    Antonio gave Lieutenant Sara an impassive glance and said, ¡°Mr. Sara, do you think they are proposing to retrieve the bodies out of decency?¡±


    Startled by the sudden attention from the legion commander, Sara was a bit flustered: ¡°Yes! Sir! I don¡¯t know, sir!¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Antonio patted Sara¡¯s shoulder, saying gently, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. As an officer, you should think more from the enemy¡¯s perspective. William Kidd¡¯s request to collect the bodies undisturbed merely aims to buy an additional day¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ then why did you agree to it?¡± asked Lieutenant Sara hesitantly.


    ¡°Why? Because time is not on their side,¡± Antonio sighed lightly, ¡°Besides, if it means not leaving the soldiers to rot in the wilderness, then let him have the extra day.¡±

 Chapter 236 - 236 - 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer

    Chapter 236 ¨C 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer


    On the day following the minor skirmish at the moat, both the attacking and defending forces sent people to collect the bodies, with neither side taking any further action.


    The second day, the defending army sent men out to dig the moat again.


    However, this time they were not working under the cover of night but openly during the day, with clanging and banging.


    Clearly, the defenders had keenly sensed the Venetians¡¯ weakness: no artillery, too few expendable troops, and a lack of cavalry.


    Therefore, there was no need to work at night like thieves trying to muffle the bell, which would just allow the Venetians to approach under the cover of darkness.


    So they brazenly worked during daylight when those on the city walls could have a clear view of the Venetians¡¯ every move from above. Continue reading at


    The defenders were as if spreading their legs open and taunting the Venetians, ¡°Come on, you come now. Don¡¯t you not come.¡±


    ...


    On the city walls, the half-moon and triangular forts, the Federation soldiers were ready for battle, with cannons and muskets loaded, crossbows strung, and bundles of arrows stacked by their sides.


    It was obvious that if the Venetians were willing to risk bullets and arrows to fight for the moat, the Tachi defenders would be more than happy to oblige.


    Atop the Venetian ramparts, Layton was so angry he was close to smashing the battlements with a slap, cursing vehemently, ¡°Fucking hell! To be underestimated by these Tanilian bastards! Send a battalion there! This time we must massacre them until they dare not step outside again!¡±


    ¡°If we send troops to inflict casualties on those in the moat, I fear we would be playing right into William Kidd¡¯s hands,¡± Antonio said with a smile, ¡°Rust [Layton¡¯s nickname], who do you think are in the moat right now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t beat around the bush! Always speaking in riddles every day, it¡¯s annoying. Just speak plainly!¡± Layton did not play along, glaring fiercely at Antonio.


    Unperturbed, as he was accustomed to his old classmate¡¯s temper, Antonio answered his own question, ¡°William Kidd would definitely not send his own soldiers out there. Those in the moat are probably miners who originally lived in Tachi. For every miner we kill, that¡¯s one less mouth for him to feed. To exchange those spare mouths for the lives of our soldiers, William Kidd sure knows how to make a good deal.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do then?¡± Layton glared again.


    Antonio rhythmically tapped his fingers against the parapet, ¡°This is an overt scheme. They come out during the day to more effectively inflict casualties on our assault teams. Estimate the distance from here to the city wall.¡±


    ¡°About half a kilometer, I guess.¡±


    ¡°That distance is already within the effective range of the cannons, not to mention the advantages the Federation¡¯s elevated artillery positions provide. Why haven¡¯t the half-moon and triangular forts bombarded us yet? Why watch us build siege works without taking action?¡±


    Layton¡¯s nostrils flared in anger, berating, ¡°Still playing guessing games? When will you ever stop?¡±


    ¡°Think, my friend, think. The juniors are watching; don¡¯t be so impetuous,¡± Antonio urged.


    ¡°Get lost.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Layton about to explode, Antonio patted his arm, explaining, ¡°The enemy must be running low on gunpowder. That¡¯s why they¡¯re waiting for an opportunity to inflict maximum casualties on our forces. Otherwise, they would have bombarded us with cannons by now. Our numbers are few; we cannot afford to waste lives. William Kidd, on the other hand, is short on gunpowder and cannot afford to waste it either. These maneuvers are nothing but an attempt to bait us closer to the walls¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough talk; get to the point,¡± Layton said impatiently.


    ¡°Whatever William Kidd wants us to do, we¡¯ll do the opposite. We currently lack heavy artillery, and since the enemy¡¯s gunpowder is scarce, there¡¯s actually no difference,¡± Antonio brushed dust off his hands, ¡°There¡¯s no need to send troops to kill the miners in the moat. Forced to labor after last night¡¯s battle, whether it¡¯s them or anyone else, none would work with any enthusiasm. Moreover, these miners, who now harbor resentment towards the Federation, may prove quite useful to us.¡±


    Layton¡¯s eyes bulged like a bull¡¯s, ¡°So we just watch while the Tanilians fortify their defenses?¡±


    ¡°Since William Kidd can have people digging moats, we too can engage in engineering works,¡± Antonio stated nonchalantly, ¡°Let the enemy do whatever; we¡¯ll do the same. We certainly won¡¯t follow their plans. Let¡¯s see who scares whom.¡±


    That afternoon, as the guards on the Tachi city walls began to tire from a morning of vigilance, the Venetians¡¯ fortification began to inch closer to the city walls, several hundred meters away.


    A sentry on the triangular fort spotted the unusual activity of the enemy opposite and hurriedly called his superior. After several reports up the chain of command, Tachi¡¯s supreme commander, William Kidd, made his way to the triangular fort in front of the city gate¡ªthis location being the closest to the Venetian earthworks.


    After careful observation for quite some time, Captain Kidd ultimately figured out what the Venetians were up to. He slammed his hand against the earthen wall of the triangular fort, cursing loudly, ¡°Son of a bitch!¡±


    Directly opposite the city gate and the triangular fort, the Venetians had made an opening in their earthwork wall and were constructing an angled passage at 45 degrees to the line connecting the gate, the triangular fort, and the opening itself.


    This was why the first sentry to notice reported that ¡°the enemy¡¯s earthwork is approaching us.¡±


    On the Tachi side, the Tanilians were energetically digging trenches.


    Meanwhile, outside the city, the Venetians were busily building walls.


    The greatest defensive feature of Tachi was not the city walls, but the foundation. The entire city was situated on a large slab of volcanic rock, with soil created from weathered rock swept away by strong sea winds to lower-lying regions.


    As a result, the soil around the city was extremely thin, too thin even for farming, with the hard volcanic rock lying just beneath the surface layer. This made it impossible for attackers to dig trenches to approach the walls or use mining and blasting tactics to destroy them.

 Chapter 237 - 237 - 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_2

    Chapter 237 ¨C 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_2


    The siege troops must cross the open ground in front of the city walls, a hard and open area where they are completely exposed to the long-range firepower of the defenders, vulnerable to ricocheting cannonballs and the whizzing of bullets, arrows, and darts.


    However, when people are pushed to the brink, they can come up with all kinds of methods.


    Sebastian Volbon, the engineering lieutenant colonel called to the road engineering headquarters, barely had time to settle into his seat before he was summoned back to the siege frontline. Cornered by two major generals, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon racked his brains and came up with an alternative plan: if digging trenches wasn¡¯t possible, then build walls ¨C construct entrenchments on the ground surface.


    In simple terms, this meant constructing corridors between two walls. Although this was far more labor-intensive than digging entrenchments, it was the only method available for the time being.


    Upon hearing Volbon¡¯s plan, Layton immediately gave his approval, ¡°Do it!¡±


    In Rost Layton¡¯s eyes, ¡°It¡¯s better to progress with an idea than to halt in hesitation¡± ¨C doing something was far better than just watching the enemy dig trenches.


    Yet, the plan decided on a whim proved to be extremely difficult to implement in practice, leading to numerous engineering challenges.


    ...


    Firstly, the corridors would be built right under the enemy¡¯s eyes. The enemy might tolerate the Venetians encircling the city from half a kilometer away, but they would never allow them to continue constructing corridors closer to the city. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Digging trenches offered a natural barrier to direct fire, but building walls didn¡¯t ¨C and the efficiency of ramming earth for walls was too slow.


    No one had the nerves of steel required to tamp down earth for walls while being bombarded by enemy cannons.


    Luckily, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon, in a stroke of inspiration born from urgency, innovated a new method of wall construction from his experience with dam engineering.


    Volbon utilized local resources, weaving dense vines and pliable branches from the island¡¯s forests into roughly cylindrical cages, first filling the cages with large stones, then filling the gaps with smaller ones, and finally packing them tight with mud.


    Laying the cages flat on the ground and stacking them layer by layer allowed for the rapid construction of temporary walls.


    The length of the cages determined the thickness of the walls: a one-meter-long cage was enough to withstand the fire of muskets and light cannons.


    Although such crudely constructed walls were bound to collapse over time, no one expected them to last forever; as long as they held until the end of the siege, it was sufficient.


    To ensure the soldiers could work more safely, Lieutenant Colonel Volbon invented a ¡°moving wall¡±.


    That is, by loading farm carts with mud and pushing them in front of the working area to lock the axle in place to form a temporary shielding wall.


    These moving walls were used not only to block enemy cannonballs but also to obscure the enemy¡¯s view while the sappers quickly constructed the corridor behind them.


    Once a section of the corridor was completed at the current position, they would push the cart forward and continue work at the next spot.


    When William Kidd realized what the Venetians were up to, he immediately ordered artillery to fire upon the Venetian fortifications extending towards Tachi.


    The Venetian fortifications were only about five hundred meters from the city walls, a distance at which even three-pound or four-pound light cannons could achieve near precision.


    The four-pound cannons on the triangular bastion fired first. The four-pound iron balls flew over the Venetians¡¯ heads in a parabola, landing far behind the makeshift walls without hitting anything but air and ground.


    The gunner immediately adjusted the wooden wedge under the barrel of the cannon. After reloading, the four-pound cannons roared a second time.


    This time, the cannonball hit the mud-filled farm cart directly, breaking through the cart¡¯s plank and burying itself deep in the mud.


    The cart shook, the axle and spokes groaning under the impact, and one of the wheels¡¯ spokes, unable to withstand the pressure, snapped off.


    The farm cart toppled to one side, with the other end sticking up abruptly, and the mud spilled out¡­ But that was all that happened ¨C the Venetians simply dragged the cart away and pushed another one into place. Experience new stories on .com


    The gunner adjusted the angle once again, and this time the cannonball flew just beneath the cart¡¯s body, theoretically able to kill a few Venetians hidden behind the cart.


    However, the enemies seemed like bloodless stones, unshaken, continuing the construction of the corridor.


    William Kidd, infuriated, punched the earthen wall of the triangular bastion.


    After one ranging shot and two effective hits, the skill and luck of the gunner were beyond question. But the Venetians seemed¡­ impervious to pain.


    William Kidd ordered the use of eight-pound cannons, yet it seemed that the previous two hits had exhausted their luck. The eight-pounder¡¯s shots were either too low or too high.


    One eight-pound cannonball hit the cart directly, but it didn¡¯t cause much trouble for the Venetians.


    Seeing that the Venetians had managed to construct a section of the corridor, William Kidd then ordered the eight-pound cannons to bombard the walls on either side of the finished section of the corridor.


    However, shooting at the corridor walls was even less effective because Lieutenant Colonel Volbon had intentionally designed the corridor to zigzag towards the wall like a snake.


    Although this increased the workload, it also made it impossible for the cannons on the city walls to fire directly into the corridor.


    The eight-pound cannons set up on the triangular bastion could only fire at the corridor walls from a high angle, and all were deflected off the walls.


    William Kidd, observing this, went to the eastern side of the city to the demi-lune, where the cannons, though further from the corridor, had a shallower angle of fire.


    Indeed, shooting from the demi-lune at the corridor resulted in an even worse hit rate. William Kidd simultaneously regretted wasting gunpowder and prayed that the next shot would hit the corridor wall directly.


    Finally, an eight-pound iron ball traced a beautiful arc through the sky and struck the side wall of the corridor hard.

 Chapter 238 - 238 - 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_3

    Chapter 238 ¨C 95: The Engineer Lieutenant Colonel and the Pot Repairer_3


    The immense momentum of the cannonball directly toppled a large section of the side wall, and the long-suppressed defending army on the wall burst into a thunderous cheer.


    However, their laughter quickly faded because the Venetians brought out more baskets filled with dirt and stones and rapidly repaired the demolished wall to its original state.


    In frustration, William Kidd halted the cannonade; he couldn¡¯t afford to waste gunpowder on bombarding a dirt wall hundreds of meters away.


    On the Venetian side, Major General Layton hearty laughed and patted Volbon¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Gold will eventually shine. Given your capabilities, it¡¯s obvious a reservist corps¡¯ engineering major is beneath you. Do well, and if we take Tachi, I¡¯ll promote you to colonel!¡±


    ¡°The closer the tunnel gets to the wall, the more difficult the construction becomes,¡± Colonel Volbon said with a wry smile, shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m just a patcher, fixing whatever problem there is. I only hope that if one day we can¡¯t advance further, you won¡¯t send me to the martial court.¡±


    ¡°Each meter your tunnel advances reduces many casualties in the subsequent combat,¡± Antonio said gently. ¡°We understand the difficulty of this plan; just do your best. After the battle, General Layton and I will jointly recommend you for recognition.¡±


    Engineer Lieutenant Otto Skorzenny hurriedly came running, saluted the three senior officers, and then anxiously reported, ¡°Sir, it seems we¡¯ve built the wall too high. I¡¯ve observed that the lowest layer of baskets can no longer bear the weight of the stones above and is about to snap!¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Volbon, Antonio, and Layton immediately rushed to the spot where Lieutenant Otto had found the compromised wall. After a thorough examination, Colonel Volbon confirmed, ¡°Indeed, it won¡¯t do. The weight on top is too much for the lower baskets to withstand.¡±


    Antonio asked, ¡°Then, should we remove a few layers and have the soldiers move in a crouch?¡±


    ¡°The height of the wall is what I calculated,¡± Colonel Volbon explained reluctantly. ¡°If we lower the wall, the corner won¡¯t sufficiently shield the tunnel.¡±


    ¡°So what do you suggest we do?¡± Layton asked impatiently.


    Volbon pondered silently for a moment, then slowly said, ¡°I see that the third layer from the bottom isn¡¯t cracked, which suggests removing two layers of baskets would ensure the stability of the wall structure. After removing two layers from the top of the wall, we can dig a shallow trench as deep as two layers of baskets between the walls. This effectively raises the wall¡¯s height. Moreover, the dirt and stones we dig up can be used to fortify the wall, saving us the time of transporting them from the rear ¨C killing two birds with one stone.¡±


    Layton, hearing Volbon¡¯s solution, was overjoyed, his face quickly brightening from gloom to delight, and he playfully punched Colonel Volbon¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ve got some quick wit there.¡±


    The slender-bodied Colonel Volbon gasped from the hefty punch of the burly Layton, saying bitterly, ¡°Maybe don¡¯t rush to praise me just yet. If we dig trenches, any rain will cause them to fill with water. Digging trenches on rock is not only troublesome, but unlike in soil, it¡¯s hard for the water to seep away¡­ These are desperate measures. I think we¡¯d better just pray it doesn¡¯t rain.¡±


    Antonio and Layton were left speechless.


    ¡­


    While officers at the Tachi frontline were busy with engineering works, in a village in the interior of Red Sulfur Island, Andre was furiously bellowing, ¡°These damn troublemakers! Troublemakers! Troublemakers! I¡¯ll kill them today! Whoever doesn¡¯t go to repair the road, I¡¯ll slaughter them! I want to see who dares not go!¡±

 Chapter 239 - 239 - 96: Six Silver Coins

    Chapter 239 ¨C 96: Six Silver Coins


    Winters and Andre had already canvassed all the villages on the island.


    The process was much the same everywhere, first finding the village chief, gathering all the villagers for a meeting, promoting the work recruitment policy (daily wages of five silver coins, paid at the end of each day), and then moving on to the next village.


    However, after two days had passed, only a sparse number of farmers had come to Red Sulfur Harbor to apply.


    Following intense surveys, several engineer officers from the road construction headquarters had come up with a plan for the first five kilometers of road, with the remaining plans to be dealt with while construction progressed.


    Work was imminent, yet the workers were not in place; a fruitless Winters and Andre were hauled over by the deputy minister for strategy and scolded profusely.


    The two, faces splattered with spit, returned to the field camp dejectedly and summoned Bard to discuss strategies¡ªBard hadn¡¯t been transferred to road construction because he was too good at working, and the supply department chief was reluctant to let him go.


    ¡°[Obscenities learned from a sailor], [Repeats the obscenity]¡­ I think these bumpkins are just asking for it!¡± Andre, who had just been berated, became more infuriated the more he thought about it, his features twitching in anger as he struggled to speak clearly: ¡°Tomorrow I¡­ I¡¯ll take troops and sweep through each hamlet, [Sweet Nectar Brew]! I¡¯ll see XX who dares not to come! [Swear words too vulgar for even the roughest soldier to utter]!¡±


    ...


    ¡°If we can avoid using force, we should. It¡¯s dishonorable, and who knows if someone will take advantage of that in the future. You wouldn¡¯t want a black mark on your file, would you?¡± Winters, looking extremely tired, said while washing his face: ¡°Otherwise, why do you think they didn¡¯t assign someone else? Why put it in the hands of us two junior warrant officers?¡±


    Having spent some time together, Winters now understood exactly how to persuade Andre. He realized Andreya Chelini and the two cats he kept at home were quite similar: he was like a semi-solitary wild animal, only caring about ¡°his own people¡± and lacking empathy and kindness towards others.


    So to convince him, it was best to appeal to his own interests.


    Sure enough, after hearing Winters¡¯ words, Andre fell silent.


    Bard, resting his chin on his hand, said: ¡°This matter really is in a gray area; the key is how the governor defines the civilians on Red Sulfur Island. Are they now considered enemy nationals? Or do they automatically obtain Vineta citizenship? If the former, they aren¡¯t protected. If the latter, then forcibly recruiting citizens would mean facing a military court by Vineta¡¯s laws.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Andre stood up agitatedly: ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Sit down and save some energy,¡± Winters pulled Andre back into his seat: ¡°If you think about it, if I were a farmer on the island, I¡¯d be afraid to work for a foreign military¡­ Maybe we could raise the daily wages a bit more? To one small silver coin a day?¡±


    Eight silver coins could be exchanged for one small silver coin, which was more commonly used in everyday life than gold coins and large silver coins. Small silver coins and simple coins were what civilians encountered most often.


    Because the Saint Marco Legion had seized the treasury of Red Sulfur Harbor¡¯s council, the Vineta military forces on the island were now quite flush with funds, and could indeed afford to pay one small silver coin a day.


    ¡°No way!¡± Bard said with determination: ¡°A daily wage of five silver coins is already far beyond normal wages. If we raise it to one silver coin a day, even fewer people will come. If you ask me, not only should we not raise the pay, but we should actually cut it. It¡¯s the off-season for farming right now, two silver coins plus meals should be enough to satisfy the island¡¯s farmers.¡±


    Both Winters and Andre grew up in Sea Blue City and went to study in Guidao City as teenagers. Put them in a field, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell malt from weeds.


    In the eyes of these two city boys, ¡°money¡± seemed the most persuasive language, yet on the small Red Sulfur Island, this compelling language hit a wall.


    In contrast, the farmer¡¯s son Bard knew the farmers¡¯ minds better than anyone else.


    ¡°So what do we do? Offering more money doesn¡¯t make these bumpkins willing to come; offering less makes them willing?¡± Andre glared angrily once more.


    ¡°Stop using the term ¡¯bumpkins¡¯; they are people, just like you and me. If you were in their place, you wouldn¡¯t come either,¡± Bard said, frowning: ¡°The key issue between the island¡¯s civilians and us is a lack of trust. Once trust is established, all problems can be easily solved.¡±


    ¡°Oh, ¡¯Bishop,¡¯ quit your sermonizing. Just spit it out if you have a solution, and don¡¯t give us this equality education crap,¡± Andre retorted irritably.


    Bard was nicknamed ¡°Bishop¡± by his peers because he had only one scripture and two Gospels when he started school, along with his experience at the Monastery¡ªso the troublemakers among his contemporaries dubbed him ¡°Bishop¡± behind his back.


    This nickname carried a severe insult because a farmer¡¯s son could never become a bishop¡­ For an outsider suddenly thrown into a group of boys who had known each other for years, it was only natural to be bullied.


    But Winters had never called him that nickname, nor did he allow others to say it around him. He might have used the ¡°Swordsmanship Master¡± nickname a few times in jokes, but he had never uttered ¡°Bishop.¡±


    This was the first time Winters had heard Andre call Bard that nickname to his face, and he immediately nudged Andre, signaling that he had gone too far.


    Andre knew he had spoken out of turn and fell silent, sheepishly.


    Bard didn¡¯t get angry; rather, he smiled and said slowly, staring at Andre: ¡°How about we make a bet? If I manage to resolve this issue, then you¡¯ll never use the term ¡¯bumpkins¡¯ again, deal?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 240 - 240 - 96: Six Silver Coins_2

    Chapter 240 ¨C 96: Six Silver Coins_2


    ¡°By the Host! It¡¯s this late already, just stop quarreling,¡± Winters had also cursed for the first time using expletives reserved for the faithful, feeling exceptionally weary¡ªemotionally.


    ¡°Well, do you dare to bet with me?¡± Despite Winters¡¯s words, Bard kept his gaze fixedly on Andre, ignoring Winters.


    Andre felt the stare prickling him, but his mouth remained defiant: ¡°Fine, if you can recruit enough people to build the road, I will never say ¡¯rustic¡¯ again in my life!¡±


    ¡°Agreed, it¡¯s a deal.¡±


    Bard and Andre clapped hands to swear on their bet.


    After the clap, Bard spoke calmly: ¡°I¡¯ve already said, what lacks between the commoners of the island and us is trust. And trust¡­ it can be bought with money.¡±


    ¡°Buy trust? How does one buy it?¡± Winters was intrigued, leaning involuntarily towards Bard.


    ...


    He felt inspired by Bard¡¯s words but still couldn¡¯t see through the haze, like an itch out of reach, making him desperate to know the solution. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, just purchase some firewood,¡± Bard didn¡¯t keep them in suspense, explaining in detail: ¡°To build a foundation of trust, start from somewhere harmless. We¡¯ll buy firewood at a high price on the island, and when the farmers receive the money immediately after the sale, a fundamental trust is established between us.¡±


    ¡°Buy firewood¡­ and they will come to build the road?¡± Andre stood dumbfounded, bewildered.


    ¡°Just buying firewood of course isn¡¯t enough. After buying the firewood, we then hire people from the village to transport it to Red Sulfur Harbor¡ªalso paying a high salary.¡± Bard¡¯s mouth held a confident smile: ¡°Most farmers won¡¯t enlist, only a few daring ones will dare to come. But, as long as the farmers transporting the firewood return home safely with their pay, the others in the village will grow envious and regretful.¡±


    Bard of Gerard paused, gazing into the eyes of Winters and Andre, speaking gravely: ¡°Thus, a foundation of trust is built. When you go back to the villages to recruit, those boldest and most avaricious farmers will apply. And as long as a small group of these road-building farmers return home safely, the others will understand we don¡¯t intend to enslave them. By then, heh heh, every able-bodied farmer on the island will be your road worker!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it this way! I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t bring people in!¡± Winters slapped his thigh, laughing: ¡°I say, not only should we pay those who transport the firewood, but also give each of them two pieces of cloth! Money in the pocket is invisible to others. Confer two pieces of fine red cloth to take home, and anyone with eyes can see it clearly!¡±


    ¡°You sure do have a lot of sly ideas¡­¡± Bard was amused into laughter as well.


    ¡°Eh? Wait a moment, I¡¯m a bit confused,¡± Andre, rubbing his temples, asked hesitantly: ¡°So what do we need the firewood for?¡±


    ¡°What for? Didn¡¯t Bard just say? To buy trust,¡± Winters patted Andre¡¯s arm.


    ¡°No, no, no, what I mean is¡­ we have to buy something anyway, so what do we need the firewood for?¡± Andre asked as he sorted out his thoughts: ¡°Why don¡¯t we buy something useful? Like some grain or live pigs or something.¡±


    ¡°If we wanted to buy grain, the farmers wouldn¡¯t sell it to us. Without grain, people would starve, but without firewood, they could simply go chop more,¡± Bard immediately clarified his deeper considerations: ¡°Right now, what the farmers on this island are most afraid of is us taking their grain, so if we were to buy grain, it would be like drawing snakes out of their nests. We have to buy firewood, and specifically dry firewood. Dry firewood, even though it¡¯s something the farmers have at home, they won¡¯t have too much of it. Plus, even if they sold it all to us, they wouldn¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s the consideration¡­¡± Andre felt somewhat dizzy.


    ¡°However, just to be safe, we better find a ¡¯proxy¡¯ as well,¡± Bard said, smiling gleefully: ¡°A proxy that not only we can trust but also the commoners on the island, and who would never be suspected as a ¡¯proxy¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Hongsong Manor¡ªKalman!¡± Winters and Andre exclaimed in unison.


    The three sub-lieutenants looked at each other and burst out laughing.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    This was the second day after the three sub-lieutenants had agreed on the plan.


    It was now sunset, with the sun slanting to the west.


    In Tri-leaf Village, near Hongsong Manor.


    Farmer Boris was peeking from behind the gate, anxiously waiting for his wife¡¯s return.


    Under the eaves of Boris¡¯s house, where there used to be a pile of firewood as tall as a man, was now completely empty.


    Suddenly he heard footsteps, which made Boris shiver with fright.


    The footsteps grew nearer, and Boris recognized them not as the heavy steps of a man but as the light footfall of a woman; he was then able to relax.


    It was his wife, Maria, coming back.


    Upon hearing the footsteps reach the gate, Boris didn¡¯t wait for the woman to knock; he rushed to open the door and hastily asked, ¡°Have you returned?¡±


    ¡°Good heavens, you scared me to death! Yes, yes, I¡¯m back,¡± Maria was startled, catching her breath as she complained, ¡°Why don¡¯t you let me in first?¡±


    Boris quickly let his wife into the house.


    The farmers in the village had been walking on eggshells these past few days, and Boris was no different.


    A few days earlier, two gentlemen on horseback had come to the village with dozens of fierce-looking guards, calling the farmers together and announcing they were recruiting people to build a road.


    Boris hadn¡¯t dared to go to the village square when the gentlemen had arrived, and he certainly didn¡¯t dare to ¡°build roads.¡±


    Even though the offer of five silver coins a day was tempting, who knew if it was a trap? The men were worried that if they went, they might never come back, so no one dared to go.

 Chapter 241 - 241 - 96: Six Silver Coins_3

    Chapter 241 ¨C 96: Six Silver Coins_3


    Although Boris had never been to school, he was not foolish. He knew very well that since no one from the village had gone to Harbor City, those two aristocrats on horseback would certainly not let the matter drop so easily.


    Because of this, Boris had spent the past few nights with his pillow being a bag of dry food.


    Right now, inside the house, by the door, the packed dry food and clothes were placed there. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had prepared to flee at any moment, ready to run into the woods on the island and hide until the danger had passed if his wife brought back bad news.


    But who would have thought that those two aristocrats would come again today, this time without any guards, and only wanting to purchase dry wood?


    And they offered a price for the dry wood that a peasant couldn¡¯t even dream of.


    Boris was tempted, but he stayed cautious and didn¡¯t go to sell it himself; instead, he had his wife sell it.


    ...


    The six silver coins he received for the dry wood were now in his breast pocket, right against his skin, the hard feeling of the silver coins against his ribs reminding Boris that he was not dreaming.


    A large amount of dry wood had been bought that couldn¡¯t simply be carried away by the two aristocrats¡ªand of course, it was unimaginable for them to do such menial work themselves. So, the aristocrats wanted to hire several carts from the village to transport the wood back to Harbor City.


    This made many people in the village hesitate. It was one thing to sell firewood in the village, but quite another to follow the aristocrats to Harbor City.


    Seeing no one volunteering, the two aristocrats offered an unimaginable price for this job and only wanted to hire five carts, no more.


    Boris was tempted again. His family owned a cart¡­ and a mule¡­ but still, he was afraid and dared not go.


    Enjoy new chapters from


    In the end, the two aristocrats hired two carts from nearby Hongsong Manor, where Lord Kalman even sent his personal servant to drive them.


    Seeing that even Lord Kalman was not afraid, some of the men in the village became more interested.


    Two bold peasants and an old cripple who had once been treated by Lord Kalman mustered up the courage, brought out their own carts, made up the required five carts, and set off for Harbor City with loads of dry wood.


    Boris looked down on those three villagers; he did not believe in pies falling from the sky and was certain that the aristocrats were only buying the wood as a ruse to lure people away.


    Watching the carts disappear at the end of the road, Boris thought, ¡°I¡¯m the smart one, not greedy, I¡¯ll take the bait and run. Hmph, those three fools, I doubt they¡¯ll come back.¡±


    Yet, he felt both relieved and anxious, as if there was a thorn in his heart, making him itch in a way he couldn¡¯t scratch. He couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡°What if this time it really was a pie falling from the sky¡­ What if¡­ I mean, what if it was? What if the aristocrats were not deceiving us?¡±


    So for the entire afternoon, Boris was restless, uneasy in his own home, hoping for either good news or bad news.


    He didn¡¯t even know what he was waiting for.


    As dusk fell, he heard the creaking sound of carts on the road.


    Boris was eager to know what had happened but remained cautious, having his womenfolk go out to gather information.


    The women had their own exclusive channels of information, and they were very efficient.


    Boris stayed at home, ready to flee over the fence the instant Master came with soldiers to capture people.


    ¡°Is everyone back?¡± Boris gripped his wife¡¯s arm tightly and asked with glaring eyes.


    ¡°Ouch, you¡¯re hurting me,¡± Maria shook off her husband¡¯s hand and answered, ¡°Everyone¡¯s back, the old cripple, the two sons from the Kriv family at the west end of the village, all of them.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Boris asked incredulously.


    ¡°I saw them with my own eyes, didn¡¯t I? The old cripple couldn¡¯t have been more pleased. Both masters personally escorted them back and rewarded each with two Gold Coins¡­ My God, I¡¯ve never seen a Gold Coin before. They also gave them an extra bottle of fine wine and two bolts of red cloth,¡± Maria stretched her arms wide and said, ¡°Really good red cloth, so very nice, I¡¯ve never seen anyone in the village wear such fine fabric¡­¡±


    As his wife enthusiastically talked about the cloth she saw, Boris felt a chill in his chest as though he had lost something exceedingly important.


    The joy from exchanging firewood for six silver coins became insignificant, swallowed by a much larger and heavier sense of defeat.


    Boris felt his steps falter, nearly collapsing to the ground.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, my husband?¡± Maria noticed her husband¡¯s odd behavior and looked at him cautiously, her voice filled with concern.


    ¡°Damn it! Damn it!¡± Boris, in frustration, pulled out the six silver coins from his embrace and flung them to the ground. The young farmer tugged at his hair, hitting his chest and thighs hard: ¡°Damn it! Damn it!!¡±


    Maria hastily picked up the six silver coins from the dirt. Simple as she was, she vaguely understood what was happening and hugged Boris to stop him from beating himself: ¡°My husband, don¡¯t be like this. We still have six silver coins, right? When do such good fortunes fall from the sky? I don¡¯t need the red cloth, these six silver coins are enough for me, I am content¡­¡±


    Yet, Boris continued to repetitively express his annoyance: ¡°Damn it, damn it.¡±


    It quickly became completely dark outside.


    Lamp oil was expensive, and nightlife was a luxury in those times, so once it got dark, the farmers would all rest.


    Boris, who usually snored as soon as his head hit the pillow, was unusually silent tonight.


    Maria lay in bed, listening to her husband¡¯s heavy breathing, knowing he clearly hadn¡¯t fallen asleep.


    She purposefully changed the subject and asked, ¡°Hey, my husband, why do you think Master Kalman also sent a large carriage along? The Kalman family sure has a lot of money.¡±


    Boris was irritable, and upon hearing his wife¡¯s question, the man who considered himself the smartest in Tri-leaf Village figured out why. He answered impatiently, ¡°The Kalman family has been raided, don¡¯t you know? The slaves from Hongsong Manor were all taken by Master Vineta. Ha, now Master Kalman has no money either¡­ Okay, let¡¯s just sleep, sleep.¡±


    Maria gropingly held her husband¡¯s hand, softly saying, ¡°We don¡¯t need to envy others, isn¡¯t it great that we have a house to live in and food to eat? And didn¡¯t we get six silver coins for free today? When have we ever had so much money? I have you, and that¡¯s enough for me, what use is that red cloth anyway?¡±


    Boris grunted and said nothing.


    ¡°Those two masters from Vineta said they want to hire people to repair roads in Harbor City, though this time they¡¯ll only pay two silver coin pieces a day, but they include meals,¡± Maria prattled on, her voice getting quieter until it turned into the mutterings of someone half asleep, half awake: ¡°¡­ it¡¯s still¡­ really nice red cloth¡­¡±


    Boris pulled away from his wife¡¯s hand and turned over, facing away from her in anger.

 Chapter 242 - 242 - 97: Counteracting Every Move

    Chapter 242 ¨C 97: Counteracting Every Move


    While Winters and Andre racked their brains to build credibility on Red Sulfur Island, several small-scale battles erupted around the tunnel entrance as the two opposing armies at Tachi clashed.


    William Kidd only had light artillery, which was not powerful enough to destroy the tunnel entrance from a distance. Once he discovered its ineffectiveness, the defending troops quickly ceased the bombardment.


    That night, nearly a hundred Cavalry from the Federation assembled quietly outside the city under the cover of darkness.


    When the Federation Cavalry led their warhorses out of the city gates, the Vineta sentinels a few hundred meters away were completely unaware, as their view of the city gates was obscured.


    The people of Tanilia had constructed a temporary triangular fortification in front of the city gate, which hindered the view of the Vineta forces, preventing them from seeing whether the city gate was open or closed.


    It was only when the thundering sound of hoofbeats reached their ears that the Vineta sentinels realized the Tanilians were attacking.


    Barely had the Vineta sentinels rung the alarm bell when the Federation Cavalry had already charged to the forefront of the tunnel entrance. Instead of entering the tunnel to attack the Vineta camp, the riders stayed at the edge of the tunnel and hurled grappling hooks toward the walls.


    ...


    They were not there to raid the camp, but to dismantle the wall.


    The grappling hooks used by the riders were modified from those used in boarding battles at sea, one end featuring a metal claw like an eagle¡¯s talon, and the other end tied to the breastplate of a warhorse. With a quick pull from the warhorse, they easily dragged down baskets filled with soil and stones from the wall.


    However, as the riders were working hard to dismantle the wall, William Kidd, who was watching the battle from atop the triangular fort, noticed something amiss¡­ It seemed as though there were bushes shifting vaguely on both the east and west sides.


    ¡°Sound the cannon! Get them back! Quickly!¡± William Kidd suddenly realized his mistake, shouting frantically, ¡°Get them back!¡±


    The cannoneer by his side promptly pulled a red-hot iron rod from the charcoal furnace and inserted it into the touch hole.


    In the silent night, the roar of the cannon was clearly audible even from a great distance.


    By the time the sound of the cannon reached the Vineta encampment, Layton could hardly catch his breath for laughing; he ordered with glee, ¡°Why the hell hide anymore? We¡¯ve been spotted! Signal the flanks! Have the large units move in immediately!¡±


    A Spellcaster officer, following orders, raised his hand and shot a signal flare dozens of meters into the sky. The green flare exploded midair, a much more efficient means of communication than firing a canon.


    On the eastern side of the battlefield, Colonel Field, who was moving covertly, saw the signal flare and leapt onto his warhorse. Enhanced with a spell to amplify his voice, he shouted, ¡°No need to hide anymore! Second unit, follow me!¡±


    Having said that, he buckled on his helmet and charged at the head of the Cavalry units from the Federation, shouting the name of the patron Saint of Vineta as he led the charge, ¡°Saint Marco!¡±


    The soldiers of the second unit of the Saint Marco Legion hesitated at first, but then with cries of ¡°Saint Marco,¡± they followed Field and charged towards the enemy. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The same happened with another unit on the left flank.


    The two infantry units from both flanks were enveloping the Federation¡¯s Cavalry like encircling arms.


    In the meantime, a large group of Halberdiers poured out from the main tunnel entrance, dragging down and killing several Cavalry from the Federation who had not untied their ropes, so panicked they even forgot they could cut the grappling hooks with their swords.


    ¡°William Kidd is too dumb. Not only is he dumb, but he also thinks everyone else is as dumb as he is¡­¡± Layton, still not having caught his breath, wiped away tears of laughter as he said to Antonio, ¡°¡­are we really at war with this kind of opponent?¡±


    For seasoned military professionals like Antonio and Layton, William Kidd¡¯s strategy was as transparent as clear water.


    If bombardment didn¡¯t work, then attempt a night attack¡ªsuch logic was far too straightforward, and naturally, Antonio and Layton were prepared for it.


    Layton had initially thought the Tanilians wouldn¡¯t cause trouble that night, considering, ¡°Surely William Kidd wouldn¡¯t be so foolish that after failing to bombard us, he¡¯d try to sneak attack the same evening, right?¡±


    But the Federation Cavalry really did come.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit puzzled myself,¡± said Antonio, shaking his head with a mix of confusion and resignation, ¡°as if we¡¯ve changed opponents.¡±


    ¡°If you ask me, that¡¯s just William Kidd¡¯s level. He¡¯s just a pirate, what else do you expect? Just keeping these thousands of men together without falling apart is already him punching above his weight,¡± Layton dismissed Antonio¡¯s doubts, though it was unclear whether he was deriding Kidd or praising him.


    Antonio thought it over and actually found Layton¡¯s words to make sense.


    Over thousands of years of evolution, war had transformed from a brutal contest between primitive tribes to a precise technical profession.


    A fool, given systematic officer training, could learn how to allocate troops and arrange formations, whereas an untrained bright person, no matter how intelligent, could not intuitively organize a large army.


    That is the purpose of training, not to make smart people smarter, but to make the foolish appear less foolish.


    From Antonio and Layton, to Field and Moritz, to Winters, Bard, and Andre, they had all undergone comprehensive military command training. They haven¡¯t become smarter, but they know how not to make mistakes. Discover more content at


    And tonight, the commander of the defending forces at Tachi had made a big mistake: he underestimated his opponent.


    The infantry units from the left and right flanks were coordinating smoothly with the Halberdiers at the front, rapidly closing in the encirclement.


    Upon hearing the retreat signal, the Cavalry of the Federation started fleeing toward the city walls in disarray. Field, noticing this, immediately redirected his charge to intercept the gap between the Federation Cavalry and the city walls.

 Chapter 243 - 243 - 97 Countermeasures_2

    Chapter 243 ¨C 97 Countermeasures_2


    Again, cannons roared, as William Kidd had prepared the artillery on the city walls earlier to fire at Field¡¯s troops, attempting to cover his own cavalry.


    But Field¡¯s troops ignored the flying cannonballs and resolutely cut into the escape route of the coalition cavalry.


    The fleeing coalition cavalry had already lost command, with each person only thinking of getting back into town as quickly as possible; in this situation, officers could not get orders to every man¡¯s ears.


    Seeing a large number of pikemen blockading ahead, a portion of the cavalry, in panic, wheeled their horses, heading east and west to escape. Stay connected via .com


    This was exactly the outcome Field wanted. His own troops had become totally disengaged; he was in the vanguard, and the last of his soldiers were still three hundred meters behind. He did not wish to annihilate the cavalry here but to drive these disheartened riders to flee in a scattered fashion east and west.


    This kind of disorganized infantry actually posed no threat to cavalry, if the coalition cavalry¡¯s command system had not broken down, they could¡¯ve just taken a turn to bypass Field¡¯s troops, and might have even directly crushed Field¡¯s team.


    But it was too late for that now. The riders only intent on getting back to the city had lost their reason, leaving only the instinct to survive, which was driving them to flee where there were fewer people.


    ...


    The majority of the riders turned their horses towards the east or west, and the further they ran, the farther away from the city gates they became. The Venetians had Tachi under tight siege, and they would soon realize they had nowhere to flee to, as other infantry units of the Da Weineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion were waiting for them.


    Not knowing whether it was out of cunning or folly, there remained some who neither dodged nor evaded, and charged straight towards the gates of Tachi.


    As the two forces clashed head-on, Field lay low on his horse, stretching his cavalry sword straight ahead with all his might.


    In the fleeting moment of their crossing, he struck an oncoming rider, nearly unhorsing him, while agilely dodging another swung scimitar.


    However, after the collision, apart from the enemies Field had taken down, the majority of the fleeing riders still managed to break through Field¡¯s blockades.


    Since Field¡¯s formation had broken down in the running, without coordination, few on two legs could stop a four-legged horse.


    Field only ordered a retreat when they were within firing range of the musketeers in the triangular fortress, watching the enemy¡¯s retreating figures. Field couldn¡¯t help thinking regretfully, ¡°If only I had a cavalry unit¡­¡±


    The fighting continued elsewhere, as the coalition cavalry fleeing east and west encountered more Venetian soldiers. Except for five or six who escaped to the outskirts of the city moat and made their way back to Tachi along it, the other scattered coalition cavalry were either captured or killed on the spot.


    The result of the night¡¯s chaotic battle was that the Venetian soldiers had horse meat to eat the next day, and incidentally took a few prisoners.


    After interrogating the prisoners, Antonio and Layton confirmed that the highest commander of the city¡¯s defenders was the former captain William Kidd ¡ª now General William Kidd (Layton snickered disdainfully at this title).


    There were now about four thousand Tanilia soldiers in the city, a number that surprised both Antonio and Layton. They had originally thought there were no more than three thousand defenders in the city, but according to the prisoners, a group of coalition mercenaries had already been stationed in Tachi three weeks before the Venetians arrived.


    Layton was skeptical of this intelligence, but after questioning several prisoners separately, their stories were all roughly consistent.


    Antonio summarized at the officers¡¯ intelligence meeting, ¡°That means either they¡¯re telling the truth, or they also don¡¯t know the real situation.¡±


    As for how much food was left in the city, the prisoners had no idea. They only knew that William Kidd had confiscated all the food reserves in the city to the Earl¡¯s Tower, guarded by his most trusted soldiers, forbidding any unauthorized persons from approaching.


    A strict food rationing system was being implemented in Tachi, and the morale of the soldiers was generally somewhat low.


    ¡°Without the warhorses, there will be food in the city for a few more days.¡± At the intelligence meeting, Layton stroked the stubble on his chin and said jokingly, ¡°The fools have had some unexpected gains; it¡¯s just a pity that horse meat tastes so bad.¡±


    In the following days, Volbon began supervising the construction of more tunnels, with earthen pathways extending towards the city walls from the siege embankments like tendrils.


    The fastest progressing tunnel had even reached about two hundred meters from the city wall, where the defenders¡¯ beards could be clearly seen from inside the tunnel.


    But the defenders were not idle either. Though their first large-scale nocturnal sortie ended in painful failure, the Tanilia people seemed not to be discouraged but instead began to frequently send out smaller assault teams to sabotage the tunnels.


    As the tunnels gradually approached the city walls ¡ª even closer to the walls than to the Venetians¡¯ embankments ¡ª the difficulty of defending these tunnels also increased.


    The defenders of Tachi tried various methods: first, they sent small groups of soldiers with gunpowder to blast the tunnels, but Antonio was quite willing to exchange the earthen walls for the defenders¡¯ gunpowder, as walls could be rebuilt, but the defenders¡¯ gunpowder would diminish with use.


    The defenders¡¯ blasting operations only lasted a few times; then, they started to install rudimentary catapults on the bastions, using the catapults to toss burning sulfur into the tunnels. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sulfur mining was a pillar industry of Tachi, so it was not hard to imagine that William Kidd now possessed a large quantity of sulfur ore.

 Chapter 244 - 244 - 97: Counteracting Every Move_3

    Chapter 244 ¨C 97: Counteracting Every Move_3


    Don¡¯t mention it, the first use of this tactic indeed caught the Venetians off guard.


    The working Venetian soldiers could only see objects wrapped in blue flames whistling towards them. Once these blue fires hit the ground, they splattered, capable of burning through flesh and skin upon contact. The ensuing smoke made it unbearable to breathe.


    Like demons crawling out of hell, the smell of sulfur was everywhere, and it sent Venetians fleeing in panic.


    It was Colonel Volbon who urgently addressed the crisis. After taking samples on the spot, he quickly figured out what this ¡°blue fire¡± was¡ªsimply sulfur.


    The defenders in the city first broke sulfur ore into fragments, ignited them, and then packed them into clay jars before launching them into the tunnels with counterweight trebuchets.


    The gas produced by the burning sulfur was particularly choking and denser than air. So when a ¡°blue fire¡± struck a tunnel, the resulting smoke would settle and linger, making it impossible to breathe.


    When a blue fire hit, a whole section of the tunnel became uninhabitable.


    ...


    Even Antonio and Layton, both of whom had many years of military experience, had never seen such a bizarre chemical weapon.


    Seeing its effectiveness, the Tachi defenders immediately started throwing more blue fire into the tunnels to disrupt the Venetians¡¯ progress.


    However, the blue fire quickly lost its effectiveness. William Kidd, if he thought he could stop the Vineta Army with such tactics, was underestimating the Venetians who had once defeated the Emperor¡¯s Guards.


    Lieutenant Colonel Volbon swiftly found a solution to the problem. He drew inspiration from the section ¡°Effects and Countermeasures Against Toxic Smoke¡± in the ¡°Army Tactical Manual,¡± applying tactics previously used by the Republic militia in the Sovereignty Wars against ¡°Mad Richard¡¯s¡± court mages, to Tachi.


    Colonel Volbon¡¯s response was simple and effective:


    First, he improved tunnel ventilation by leaving a vent every meter at the bottom to ensure the smoke could naturally dissipate;


    Second, the militia had previously discovered that the court mage¡¯s toxic smoke dissolved easily in water, so Volbon similarly flooded the interior of the tunnels, maintaining about five centimeters of standing water in the shallow ditches and sprinkling quicklime into it. This way, the toxic smoke that settled to the bottom would be quickly absorbed by the water, and the poison¡¯s potency neutralized by the quicklime;


    Finally, Volbon distributed a large quantity of damp bedding to the engineers. As soon as a tunnel was hit by the blue fire, they immediately covered it with the bedding to prevent the smoke from forming. And if anyone was unlucky enough to be ignited by blue fire, they could be quickly wrapped in the damp bedding to extinguish the flames.


    The more Layton observed Volbon¡¯s brilliant work in the siege, the more he appreciated him. This subordinate had earned him a great deal of prestige, allowing Layton to speak with a much louder voice in front of Antonio.


    Other officers believed that after Tachi was captured, it was all but certain that Lieutenant Colonel Volbon would become Colonel Volbon.


    However, at the military conference, Volbon reported with concern to the two Major Generals, ¡°But even with all these countermeasures, the ¡¯blue fire¡¯ still poses significant trouble for the Venetians, slowing down the progress of the works.¡±


    Volbon even admitted somewhat fearfully, ¡°Fortunately, the geological conditions of Tachi don¡¯t allow for the digging of underground tunnels, as this weapon, capable of instantly turning air into poison gas when used in tunnel warfare¡­ I dread to think how many would die¡­¡±


    But no matter what, each day the tunnels crept closer to the city walls.


    Soon enough, the defenders realized that the blue fire was losing its effect and the Venetians were gradually mastering how to counter it. When blue fire flew into the tunnels, the Venetians no longer fled but instead rapidly extinguished it using some method.


    By then, the tunnels had generally been repaired along the centerline.


    In other words, the distance from which Tachi¡¯s defenders could attack the tunnel was now shorter than the distance the Venetians needed to cover to reinforce it.


    The fight reverted back to hand-to-hand combat as William Kidd frequently sent small elite squads to attack the Venetian engineers and laborers working on the tunnels. Meanwhile, Antonio also laid numerous ambushes to counter any Federation soldiers emerging from the city.


    After several clashes, Antonio confirmed that the defending army¡¯s morale was still high; otherwise, the soldiers William Kidd sent out from the city would have already mutinied.


    Both sides continued to adapt to each other¡¯s moves, engaging in a battle of wits on the open ground before Tachi¡¯s walls, but a full-scale siege had not yet broken out.


    The Venetians had never attempted to attack the walls, but the Tanilians were also firmly trapped within Tachi.


    William Kidd might have thought his efforts had given the Venetians a significant headache. Some Venetian officers thought the same, such as Lieutenant Sara from the Third Legion¡¯s Fifth Battalion. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But it wasn¡¯t long before Lieutenant Sara understood why their commander claimed ¡°time was not on their side.¡±


    The Venetian artillery had arrived at the front lines of Tachi.

 Chapter 245 - 245 - 98: Triangle Fort

    Chapter 245 ¨C 98: Triangle Fort


    It was a moonless night, and for the Federation soldier Zeke Delbrook standing night watch at the triangular fort, it was just another common night of the siege.


    Zeke Delbrook was the youngest son in his family, and his father loved this youngest child so much that he beseeched the priest to give his son a saint¡¯s name as a baptismal name.


    However, the name was overly long and cumbersome, with hardly a few people able to pronounce it smoothly. Because his face was full of freckles, the other Federation soldiers simply called him ¡°Freckles.¡±


    As the son of a subsistence farmer, Freckles¡¯ reason for choosing to become a soldier was simple¡ªhis father¡¯s land was little, yet his father had many children.


    Freckles had four older brothers and three older sisters, and his parents had only lost two children. This was an unusual stroke of luck, but also an unusual misfortune.


    So until Freckles turned sixteen, his eldest sister Zhuoya had still been unable to marry.


    Not only was Zhuoya skilled in her chores, she was also beautiful and gentle in disposition, and the number of young men her father chased off with a stick was beyond count.


    ...


    However, the few marriage discussions for her all fell through because Freckles and Zhuoya¡¯s father could not afford a dowry for his daughter.


    Freckles¡¯ father had only a dozen or so acres of land, scattered in bits and corners, not even contiguous.


    Because of this, Freckles¡¯ parents worked from dawn to dusk, turning to odd jobs for extra money when the grain was scarce. Even with such toil, they barely raised eight children, and his father truly had no extra means to save for a dowry for his daughter.


    Eldest sister Zhuoya became an old maid, always secretly wiping her tears in the yard; the parents were distressed all day long, sighing and blaming each other.


    All of these things, Zeke Delbrook saw with his own eyes.


    So, two weeks before turning sixteen, Zeke Delbrook handed over his nesting fee to his sister for her dowry, then left home with a Federation recruiting officer, becoming ¡°Freckles.¡±


    Although the direct purpose of enlisting was to provide for his sister¡¯s dowry, it was also because Freckles did not want to eke out a living in the soil all his life like his father, whose land was not enough to be divided between Freckles and his brothers; Freckles also wanted to see the world beyond.


    But now, on the triangular fort just outside the walls of Tachi, amidst the Venetian army¡¯s siege, Freckles found himself missing home especially. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are my parents doing now? They should be sleeping, right?¡± Freckles tried hard not to doze off as he thought hazily, ¡°I wonder who Zhuoya married, and my eldest brother is probably getting a wife soon too¡­¡±


    As Freckles struggled to remember his family¡¯s house and roads, suddenly ¡°whoosh,¡± ¡°whoosh¡± several sounds came from the front. He startled awake, but before he could react, three short, thick crossbow bolts had already flown toward him.


    Two bolts clanged off Freckles¡¯ breastplate with ¡°ding¡±, ¡°ding¡± as the arrowheads penetrated the armor but did not go all the way through.


    The third bolt struck Freckles squarely in the face, piercing through his eye and bone, the arrowhead lodged in the soft brain, causing a fatal wound.


    Freckles slumped to the ground limply, his consciousness quickly snuffed out, his memories along with everything in them vanished completely.


    ¡°Good shot!¡± Field, lurking not far in front of the triangular fort, excitedly punched his own knee, but before he could issue an order to attack, the night was pierced by the shrill sound of whistles and alarm bells.


    The other sentry at the triangular fort first heard the unusual sound, then saw Freckles fall straight back, and immediately sounded the alarm.


    ¡°[Furious expletives]!¡± Seeing success slip away, Field cursed angrily and then barked, ¡°Anyway, we never expected to sneak attack! Blow the whistle! Assault!¡±


    Inside the triangular fort, the Federation soldiers awoke from their sleep and fumbled for their weapons in the pitch dark, rushing to the fort upon grabbing them.


    The defending army inside Tachi also heard the alarm bells, with watchfires being lit one after another on the city walls, and the guard troops resting all over the city hurried to the walls.


    As the low-intensity siege standoff lengthened, the defenders inside the city developed a certain complacency and disdain for the Venetian outsiders.


    The initial panic and fear when surrounded by the large army gradually dissipated, and quite a few Federation soldiers began to feel that ¡°what¡¯s the big deal? Venetians are nothing special, all they can do is build walls.¡±


    The Venetians stopped advancing the tunnel when it was about two hundred meters from the city walls, rather, they started extending it parallel to the walls, seemingly content to erect a closer siege barricade.


    Some experienced Tanilian veterans claimed profundity to the recruits, ¡°The Venetians¡¯ fervent wall-building is good for us soldiers.¡±


    The clueless recruits would ask, ¡°What¡¯s good about that?¡±


    The old soldiers would smugly answer, ¡°The more they busily build that wall, the less they want to assault; they just want to starve us out. With the current situation, if the grain runs out and the higher-ups don¡¯t want to surrender, they¡¯ll have to anyway. Isn¡¯t not having to fight a good thing?¡±


    Yet the complacent Federation defenders never anticipated that the Venetians would choose this night for a sudden, thunderous offense.


    In the darkness in front of the city walls, there was first one sharp whistle, followed by hundreds of whistles blowing simultaneously.


    Upon hearing the attack signal, Venetian officers in the tunnels and barricades started blowing their whistles and ordering torches to be lit.

 Chapter 246 - 246 - 98: Triangle Fortress_2

    Chapter 246 ¨C 98: Triangle Fortress_2


    In an instant, hundreds of torches were lit in front of the city walls, as if an entire army was moving in the darkness. Accompanied by the swaying of the torches, the Venetian soldiers¡¯ shouts of killing rose and fell like waves, battering the defenders¡¯ morale.


    In their panic, the defenders fumbled as they loaded their muskets and cannons, strung their crossbows, and searched senselessly for arrows.


    The officers of the Confederation could no longer spare a thought for conserving gunpowder, urgently urging the artillerymen to fire as soon as they were loaded.


    In that moment, the defenders fired countless bullets and arrows toward the distant torches and shadows, relentlessly repeating the process of loading and firing.


    Fear is contagious, and the thunderous presence of the Venetians plunged the defenders into terror; only firing at the enemy gave them a semblance of security.


    Under the cover of shouting, the glow of fire, and the sound of gunfire, a large number of Venetian soldiers were pouring out of the tunnel directly facing the city gate and the bastion, these soldiers neither shouted nor carried torches; in groups of three, carrying ladders and led by officers without night blindness, they rapidly advanced toward the bastion.


    Field Colonel and a few other crossbowmen who had quietly approached near the bastion were waiting for them.


    ...


    The defenders on top of the bastion immediately noticed something was amiss; the fire basins by their side blinded them from seeing the open space ahead, but the sound of footsteps was clear and getting closer.


    While the noise from the east and west was deafening, from the perspective of the bastion, it was clear: the torches were not nearing the city walls, but moving back and forth.


    Sanogaila, the captain in charge of defending the bastion, realized that the movements on the east and west sides were only feints. He shouted in desperation to warn those on the city walls, but the defenders had already succumbed to a frenzied state; even the few who noticed him were of no use.


    Helpless, Sanogaila had no choice but to send runners back to seek reinforcements via the drawbridge between the bastion and the city walls.


    But it was too late, a large number of Venetians surged out of the mist-like darkness, making Sanogaila take a sharp breath of cold air


    The defenders shot and killed the front row of Venetians, but for each one that fell, more emerged from the night.


    Like the city walls, the temporarily constructed bastion in front of the gate lacked the protection of a moat. Its main material was earth to resist cannon bombardment, with a height of only around five meters.


    The triangular structure eliminated any blind spots for firepower, and the back wall could provide full-coverage fire support. The low and thick main structure not only absorbed the force of cannonballs but also allowed the city walls behind it to conduct enfilade fire.


    This was a fortress of the new era, which Antonio aimed to breach tonight using the tactics of the old times.


    Without the protection of a moat, the ladder-bearing Venetian soldiers carried their ladders to the base of the bastion in one fell swoop and began to climb.


    The Venetians¡¯ reckless determination chilled Sanogaila to the bone. He shouted loudly, commanding the defenders to counterattack.


    The defenders on the bastion dropped their muskets and hurled large stones down on the Venetians. Those hit by the stones were killed on the spot.


    The pitch had not had time to boil before it was poured down the walls. The Venetians doused in the scalding pitch let out ghostly howls as torches were subsequently thrown down from the city walls, turning them into burning men.


    The four-pound and eight-pound cannons, loaded with a dozen walnut-sized iron shots, fired at the Venetians, each shot stirring up a storm of flesh and blood.


    The cannons and matchlock guns roared incessantly; the dying shrieked with chilling despair amid the thick smoke and raging flames, as if the whole world was on the verge of destruction.


    But even with their stubborn resistance, the defenders could not stem the tide of the Venetian assault.


    Tonight, Antonio and Layton deployed two large battalions to simultaneously attack both flanks of the bastion.


    The two battalions tasked with the main assault were selected elites from two legions. The colonel leading the battalions was now stationed under the bastion¡¯s wall, commanding the troops, while the centurions, biting down on their daggers, were the first to climb.


    After a considerable number of casualties, a small portion of Venetian forces quickly scaled the bastion and engaged in close combat with its defenders.


    Field, seeing this unfold, was frantic with urgency. He had missed out on the main assault task tonight; his duty was to command the musketeers in providing covering fire for the assault battalions.


    However, due to the limited speed of deploying troops through the tunnel, two hundred-man musketeer squads were lagging behind. By the time the Venetian soldiers had already climbed the bastion, the musketeer squads arrived unhurriedly.


    ¡°[Expletive]! What the hell took you so long! [Expletive]!¡± Field cursed furiously at the centurions of the musketeer squads with bulging eyes.


    Lieutenant Leyman and Captain Philip, the centurions of the musketeer squads, did not dare to retort, nor did they have the time to do so.


    Both centurions commanded their units to quickly deploy in front of the bastion and began using their matchlock guns to suppress the defenders atop the bastion. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The long-ranged weapons had an immediate effect; several Tanilian soldiers peeking out to throw stones or pour pitch were shot indiscriminately and fell screaming from the walls.


    The remaining Tanilian soldiers were too frightened to show themselves, only reaching out their hands from behind the parapet. The momentum of the bastion¡¯s defenders was broken, their lethality began to decline, and the pressure on the climbing Venetian soldiers drastically reduced.


    However, at this moment the defenders on the city walls of the Confederation finally came to their senses. Receiving the bastion defenders¡¯ call for assistance, William Kidd dispatched numerous signalmen to pass orders along the city walls.


    Upon receiving the orders, the defenders immediately rushed to the city gate to support the bastion.

 Chapter 247 - 247 - 98: Triangle Fortress_3

    Chapter 247 ¨C 98: Triangle Fortress_3


    The cannons atop both semi-moon bastions adjusted their firing angles and began shooting at the Venetians below the walls of the triangular fortress.


    The design of the new-era fortress finally bared its fangs, as the shape of the triangular bastion meant that projectiles fired from the rear two sides of the walls were unobstructed, without any blind spots¡ªeach cannonball was a terrifying side-shot firepower.


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    A cannonball fired from the east semi-moon bastion killed all the Venetian soldiers in a straight line, and finally, bouncing off the hard volcanic rock, it smashed two ladders and lodged into the wall of the triangular fortress.


    Upon seeing this, Colonel Field reassigned two squads of musketeers to suppress the enemy marksmen on the rear walls of the triangular bastion. However, he knew that suppressing the enemy musketeers was of little use; the real killers were the side-firing cannons placed on the semi-moon bastions.


    Field roared in his heart, ¡°Fire the cannons! Fire the cannons!¡±


    The god of artillery heard his call. ¡°Boom,¡± ¡°boom,¡± ¡°boom,¡± ¡°boom,¡± the dull roar of the cannons resounded across the entire battlefield.


    ...


    But this time, it wasn¡¯t the big guns on the walls that were roaring¡ªthe Venetians¡¯ cannons finally showed their might.


    Several stone shots flew out from behind the newly built defensive walls of the Venetians; most of the projectiles were misdirected, only one cannonball hit its target, crashing heavily onto the east semi-moon bastion.


    Rock and wall collided, debris flew, dust rose everywhere. All the Tanilian gunners on the semi-moon bastion were killed or injured by the flying debris, and the main gunner¡¯s chest was so concavely smashed by the stones that he died on the spot.


    The cannons on the east semi-moon bastion fell silent at once.


    ¡°Cannons? Where did the cannons come from?¡± Atop the walls, William Kidd, with a fierce expression, gripped an officer beside him and roared, ¡°When did the Venetians bring up the cannons? Why didn¡¯t you tell me when you saw the Venetians setting up cannons? [Pirate swear] I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    With that, he reached for his sword.


    ¡°Sir¡­ no¡­ we didn¡¯t see¡­,¡± the officer grabbed by William Kidd was so scared that he was nearly crying, trembling as he replied, ¡°We didn¡¯t see anything¡­ Nobody saw the Venetians transporting the cannons.¡±


    ¡°Argh!!!¡± Enraged, William Kidd fiercely struck his sword on the parapet, sending sparks flying.


    About two hundred meters away from the city wall, parallel to the wall and behind the Venetian defensive wall¡ªthese defensive walls were extensions built horizontally after the tunnels reached two hundred meters from the city wall¡ªMajor, now Colonel Volbon of the Engineers, while observing where the cannonballs fell, commanded, ¡°First battery, second battery, adjust one quarter right. Third battery, fourth battery, reset.¡±


    By his side, the gunners were bustling around four squat and stubby cannons, loading them.


    The cannons were behind a defensive wall, hidden from the sight of the Tachi garrison on the city wall, who could not see the actions of the Venetian gunners. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    These four cannons were Volbon¡¯s secret weapons, secret weapons that could be deployed right under the noses of the garrison without being detected. They were not ordinary barrel cannons, but¡ªmortars, dismantled from warships.


    Ordinary cannons needed a battery, a firing embrasure.


    High above on the city wall, the cannons would be a target as soon as the garrison found out the Venetians were deploying their own cannons, and the Venetian positions would be bombarded immediately.


    But mortars have a high-arcing trajectory; they provide indirect fire rather than direct fire, so they can be positioned behind the defensive wall to inflict casualties on the enemy atop the wall.


    Although their accuracy was somewhat lower, it was the only way to achieve an element of surprise. Moreover, the Guzhi Road connecting Tachi and Red Sulfur Harbor was not yet fully repaired, heavy artillery could not be brought up, so the Venetians had to temporarily move a few light mortars for emergency use.


    When Colonel Volbon¡¯s four mortars suppressed the cannons of the east semi-moon bastion, at another tunnel exit, Winters, who had been waiting with horses, finally got the signal to attack.


    There were few people around Winters, including him, the small team of riders totaled only sixteen.


    And leading this small group of cavalry was none other than Winters¡¯ old acquaintance, Major Moritz.


    That¡¯s right, all sixteen riders were spellcaster officers. And except for Major Moritz, they were all junior officers.


    Major Moritz, discarding his usual languid demeanor, watched the group of junior officer spellcasters and commanded sternly, ¡°Do not linger, do not dawdle, move fast, get in and out, and retreat immediately after completing the task!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the fifteen spellcaster junior officers responded in unison.


    Moritz glanced at Winters, nodded, and shouted, ¡°Mount up!¡±


    The sixteen riders dashed out from the eastern side of the battlefield, with Winters not sparing his warhorse and driving it at full speed towards the direction of the triangular fortress.


    As they reached the side of the triangular bastion, Moritz bellowed, ¡°Throw!¡±


    Fifteen junior officer spellcasters removed the smoke grenades hanging in front of their chests, activated them with a fire spell, and hurled them with all their might toward the space between the bastion and the city wall.


    A few particularly skilled spellcasters also used the Arrow Flying Spell to throw the smoke grenades even further.


    Upon detonating in midair, the ¡°Activated Portable Alchemic Material Smoke Generators¡± blanketed the east side of the city wall with thick smoke, obscuring the defending Tanilian troops¡¯ view and preventing them from seeing the Venetian soldiers climbing up the bastion behind it.


    Once they completed the task on the east side, the spellcasters then moved to the west side and threw out all the remaining smoke grenades.


    Winters had never used casting materials as lavishly in his life, as both legions had handed over half the armory¡¯s smoke grenades to them. Antonio and Layton were determined to take this small bastion no matter what.


    The smoke wall tightly covered the field of vision of the Tanilians on the city wall, and with no wind tonight, the smoke wall lingered for a long time.


    William Kidd yelled furiously, yet he was out of options.


    Although the angles of the cannons on the bastion had been set, the accuracy of these artillery pieces was greatly reduced without direct visual aiming and correction; the gunners didn¡¯t know if they were hitting or missing, let alone how to correct their aim.


    Not to mention the musketeers on the walls, who could now only blindly shoot into the smoke.


    After completing their mission, the spellcaster riders quickly retreated back to their strike position.


    Lieutenant Colonel Field, commanding the musketeer squad in front of the bastion, saw what he had been praying for¡ªa Venetian battle flag had been planted on top of the bastion.


    ¡°Urrahhhh!!!!!¡± Field roared with fervor.


    Realizing what had happened, the musketeers also shouted excitedly, ¡°Urrahhhh!!!!!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha! We broke through!¡± Layton, watching from the rear, laughed wildly and punched the breastwall, ¡°Well done!¡±


    ¡°As planned, the engineer company and the reserve troops will now move out,¡± Antonio commanded the other officers with calm.


    More and more Venetian soldiers were crowding atop the bastion while the Tanilian defenders kept being forced into a retreat by the climbing enemies¡ªtwo climbed up for every one that the defenders managed to kill. Regardless of Sanogaila¡¯s attempts to stop them, the defense couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and they began retreating into the city.


    When the earth-shaking battle cries filled the bastion, the Tanilians¡¯ morale completely collapsed, and they began to flee into the city along the drawbridges between the bastion and the city walls.


    The joint Confederation elites sent to support the bastion were blocked by the fleeing soldiers at the end of the bridge and couldn¡¯t move forward.


    During the pre-battle briefing, Layton and some senior officers believed that if the enemy didn¡¯t cut down the drawbridges, they would charge across them directly onto the city walls and breach the city at once.


    However, Lieutenant Juan, who had climbed up the bastion, suddenly realized that because the Venetians could never deploy troops as quickly as the Tanilians, not only was the drawbridge of no use to them, but it became an uninterrupted way for the enemy to send reinforcements to push the Venetians off the bastion.


    Realizing this, Lieutenant Juan shouted to his hundred-man team, ¡°The drawbridge! The drawbridge! Cut the drawbridge!¡±


    Hearing the order, Juan¡¯s hundred-man team, who were chasing and slashing the routed soldiers, began to attack the drawbridge.


    William Kidd, who had rushed to the battlements, saw the escaping soldiers running into the city, the reinforcements going toward the bastion, and both groups stuck, unable to move, and flew into a furious rage. He cursed, ¡°Waste! Push the fleeing soldiers down! Hurry to the bastion!¡±


    Upon receiving the order, the armored Confederation soldiers began to push the retreating bastion troops off the bridge.


    On the bridge, caught in the crowd, the commander of the bastion, Sanogaila, shouted in anger and despair, ¡°Why? Why?!¡±


    No one paid attention to him, and one by one, the bastion¡¯s defenders were pushed from the bridge, screaming as they fell to the ground. Some who did not die on impact continued to emit terrifying wails of agony.


    Lieutenant Juan had already charged to the edge of the drawbridge and began to hack at the bridge¡¯s cables with his raised saber.


    A few soldiers rushed over to help as well.


    Finally, the drawbridge was severed.


    With one end of it detached, the fleeing troops, reinforcements, and Sanogaila all tumbled down from the bridge.


    After suffering heavy casualties, the bastion now belonged to the Venetians¡­ for the moment.

 Chapter 248 - 248 - 99 Engineers

    Chapter 248 ¨C 99 Engineers


    After the fixed end of the drawbridge on the triangular fort was severed, all the people on the bridge tumbled down onto the open ground between the triangular fort and the city gate.


    Fearing a Venetian assault, the defenders dared not open the city gate to rescue them.


    This hastily constructed triangular fort was actually just an earthen mound, without even an entrance or exit, save for the drawbridge connecting it to the city wall.


    After destroying the drawbridge, the Venetians temporarily cut off the defenders¡¯ support and turned to focus on annihilating the remaining Tanilia Federation soldiers inside the fort.


    About a dozen Federation soldiers fled into a storage room deep within the triangular fort¡ªa space so cramped that the Venetians couldn¡¯t handle them for the moment.


    Juan, seeing his own men standing at the door with none daring to enter, felt a surge of rage and cursed out loud, ¡°Cowards! What are you staring at? Take off your armor and give it to me!¡±


    An army sergeant immediately stripped off his armor, and the others clumsily helped the Centurion to strap it on.


    ...


    Don Juan, with another layer of armor over his original military gear, looked particularly bulky and awkward.


    He pulled out a dagger from his boots and, without saying another word, fiercely kicked open the wooden door.


    The Tanilians inside were also startled and instinctively pulled the trigger. With two ¡°thud¡± sounds, one was the gunshot, and the other was the lead bullet hitting Juan¡¯s armor.


    The lead bullet penetrated the outer breastplate but changed its trajectory as a result and was deflected by the inner breastplate, flying out from under his ribs.


    Juan felt as if a huge hammer had struck him, his insides churning, almost suffocating, but he still managed to stab at the nearby enemy with sheer willpower.


    The soldiers behind him, seeing the Centurion act so boldly, also surged forward, and the Tanilians were quickly slaughtered in close combat.


    Meanwhile, the soldiers on the city wall came to their senses, clamped their heavy matchlock guns to the parapet, and began firing at the enemy atop the triangular fort.


    The city wall was three to four meters taller than the triangular fort, giving the Tanilians a height advantage, and their hail of lead bullets made it impossible for the Venetians on top of the fort to stand their ground.


    [The height of the triangular fort in front of the city gate was 5-6 meters, while the height of the Tachi city wall varied from 8-9 meters depending on the terrain.]


    But what happened next left the officers and men of the Tanilia Federation on the city wall dumbfounded as a group of peculiar soldiers charged up from in front of the triangular fort.


    They were called soldiers because they all wore grey military uniforms. They were strange because instead of weapons, they carried various tools.


    The second group sent out by Antonio and Layton were the engineer companies from two legions.


    Chanting their cadence, the engineers braved the storm of enemy gunfire to break down the pointed angle of the triangular fort, which faced directly toward the Venetian position, using shovels, picks, and explosives, reducing the original earthen mound that was five to six meters high to a gentle slope.


    Then the Venetian engineers used the slope to bring up buckets of earth and bundles of firewood onto the triangular fort; akin to the djinn from the tales that could build a city overnight, they used sacks, dirt, and wood to construct a temporary bastion atop the triangular fort, unlike the original structure, this new one faced the city wall.


    The Venetians¡¯ position on the triangular fort was rapidly solidified, making it very difficult for the city wall defenders¡¯ ranged weapons to harm the Venetian soldiers inside the fort.


    And all this was achieved under the muzzles of the Tanilian guns.


    That night, for the first time, the officers and soldiers of the Tanilia Federation truly understood what military technology overpowering meant.


    Military technology wasn¡¯t just about better muskets and cannons, it was also about superior ideas, training, and tactics. Discover hidden tales at


    The Tanilians could muster the courage to fight to the death against the Venetians, yet they would never be able to execute the tactics displayed by the Venetian army that night¡ªa resolute and swift offensive combined with highly efficient engineering work.


    The siege lasted nearly half a month, William Kidd began to feel a hint of despair for the first time.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The first day after the brief yet fierce struggle for the triangular fort.


    The Venetian army began their true, large-scale bombardment of Tachi for the first time.


    The heavy cannons had not yet been brought up, and those roaring on the front lines were light cannons of six pounds or less. These cannons could hardly inflict substantial damage on the city walls, as their shots only left white marks on the hard granite exterior.


    Nevertheless, the bombardment had been continuous since the break of dawn, without stopping until now.


    There were two reasons for this: first, although light cannons and mortars had difficulty in destroying the city walls, they were extremely effective against the ramparts atop the walls. The Venetians focused their bombardment on both the demi-lunes and the city gates, aiming to knock down those ramparts, leaving no place for the defenders to hide or escape from their shooting position.


    Secondly, it was to exert pressure on the Tachi defenders, making them incapable of launching counterattacks on the triangular fort.


    Because the location of the triangular fort was simply too crucial, being too close to the city walls; even now, for the Venetian soldiers wishing to go to the triangular fort, they had to cross a stretch of exposed ground that Tanilian guns could cover.


    Engineer battalions were toiling desperately, endeavoring to extend a passageway to the triangular fort, but they were still short of a hundred meters as of now.


    The triangular fort was only seven or eight meters from the city wall. If the Tanilians decided to recapture the fort, they could simply use a long enough ladder to cross over.


    But for the Venetians to support the triangular fort, they had to cross through a ¡°killing zone¡±¡ªthe designation the officers used for the exposed area covered by guns and guns.¡±


    If the Tanilians were determined to retake the triangular fort, a mere two battalions of infantry inside would definitely not be enough to hold it.


    Thus, they had to rely on artillery fire to suppress the defending forces at the city gate, preventing them from daring to stand there, thereby inhibiting them from organizing a counterattack. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 249 - 249 - 99 Engineers_2

    Chapter 249 ¨C 99 Engineers_2 S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same time, the two battalions inside the triangular fortress were frantically raising its height, continuing to stack a high wall on top of the triangular fortress with sacks of sheepskin and burlap filled with earth.


    The logistics chiefs of both the Da Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion were bleeding inwardly ¨C for some of the less affluent civilians, sheepskin and burlap could be used as clothing, yet now they were being used generously for wall construction.


    With time pressing, cost was no longer within the scope of consideration for Antonio and Layton.


    Meanwhile, as the work was ardently proceeding at the front, Winters hesitated in the field camp of the two legions, wondering whether or not to knock on the door.


    ¡°Smack!¡± The crisp sound of a slap was so clear that even Winters, outside the door, could hear it distinctly.


    An angry roar emanated from the command center in the middle of the field camp, Major General Layton bellowed, ¡°Dammit! Why chop down the drawbridge?! Who gave you the audacity to take matters into your own hands?!¡±


    ¡°Smack!¡± Another slap, even louder, followed immediately.


    ...


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Ensign Tang Juan, reeling from the blow, answered with a tone full of defiance, ¡°At the time, a troop of armored soldiers was about to cross the drawbridge! If we hadn¡¯t destroyed it in time¡­¡±


    ¡°Smack!¡± Juan had not finished speaking when he was struck down with another forceful slap.


    ¡°Did I allow you to speak?! Did I permit you to speak?!¡± Layton¡¯s rage escalated, ¡°What were the orders I gave you before the sortie?! Tell me! What orders were given to you?!¡±


    Tang Juan struggled to quickly stand upright again and loudly responded, ¡°Yes, sir! The primary objective, to drive the enemy out of the triangular fortress! Secondarily, if conditions allowed, to control the drawbridge, sweep the ramparts, and control the gates!¡±


    ¡°Which order allowed you to chop down the drawbridge? Who allowed you to issue orders on your own!¡± Layton cursed violently, ¡°F**k! You¡¯ve botched the whole operation!¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Despite having been slapped three times, Juan was still full of resentment.


    ¡°Enough! You¡¯re not brought here to make excuses!¡± Antonio interrupted Ensign Juan sharply.


    In Antonio¡¯s view, this young ensign actually hadn¡¯t done anything wrong ¨C the battlefield situation changed in the blink of an eye, how could they know the urgency from the rear. But since Juan was Layton¡¯s subordinate, Antonio couldn¡¯t undermine Layton¡¯s authority in front of everyone.


    He frowned at Juan, saying, ¡°No matter what you saw, you have no right to make such a decision. Your battalion commander was on the front line, it¡¯s his responsibility to decide whether to chop down the drawbridge, not yours! Understand? Like to argue, do you? Roll back and submit a self-defense report¡­ General Layton and I have a meeting soon, off with you!¡±


    Hearing the words of Colonel Serviati, Juan glanced back at Layton.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Layton, his anger not yet subsided and his chest heaving violently, spat out a word impatiently.


    Ensign Juan snapped his boot heels together, paid a military salute, and left the colonel¡¯s office.


    But as he exited the headquarters, he came face to face with Winters, who had been waiting outside.


    Seeing his senior Juan¡¯s cheeks swollen high, Winters hurriedly saluted, while Tang Juan merely nodded, nonchalantly wiping the blood from his nose with his sleeve and striding away with his head held high.


    When Winters delivered the Road Construction Department report to the legion commander¡¯s office, the two colonels were still discussing Juan¡¯s case.


    ¡°¡­This little bastard, stubborn mule, still won¡¯t concede! Just a f**king insubordinate!¡± Layton cursed vehemently.


    ¡°Come on. Weren¡¯t you just like that when you were twenty?¡± With only the two of them in the office, Antonio bluntly brought up his colleague¡¯s past indiscretions.


    Layton snorted coldly but said no more.


    A knock on the door sounded, and Winters brought the report inside.


    The two high-ranking officials of the legion were very concerned about the progress of Guzhi Road and demanded daily updates.


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    In the known world, there might be armies more valiant in battle than the Standing Army of the Republic, but none more adept at engineering works.


    The Road Construction Department¡¯s plan for the road was ingenious, neither starting from scratch nor drawing a straight line between Red Sulfur Harbor and Tachi on the map.


    The engineers were losing their hair by the day, yet the project plan was excellent: they made the most of the island¡¯s existing compacted earth roads while avoiding hills and streams to minimize construction effort.


    The thirty-three kilometers of Guzhi Road were designed with a base of large stones and clay, a second layer of broken stone and mortar, a third layer of sand, lime, and clay, and finally, a top layer of paved stone for a hard road surface.


    However, this road did not use the better-quality volcanic ash concrete, nor even waited for the mortar to fully set before it was put to use.


    As the road was still under construction, cannons were already being transported over the sections completed. As the road extended forward, the cannons were pushed ahead.


    According to the engineers, there might be concerns about the lifespan of the road, yet they assured with a slap on their chest that there would be no issues using it temporarily for a few years.


    While Colonel Volbon and the defenders of Tachi matched each other move for move, the road between the two points was progressing rapidly.


    Yet up to the day they assaulted the triangular fortress, the construction front was still four kilometers away from Vineta Camp. But the celestial timing waits for no one; after these few days when the moonlight was dimmest, waiting would mean another month.


    Therefore, Antonio and Layton made a decisive call, not to wait for the heavy artillery to arrive, but to transport light cannons to the front line using animals in an emergency, resulting in four mortars suppressing the eastern demi-lune ¨C the western demi-lune was equipped with four two-pounders, but attacking the wall-mounted cannons from below was ineffective; it was the cumbersome mortars that proved successful.

 Chapter 250 - 250 - 99: Sappers_3

    Chapter 250 ¨C 99: Sappers_3


    Antonio leafed through the report without any casual conversation with his nephew, and Winters stood at attention, obediently waiting for orders. In the barracks, there was only the Legion Commander and the Trainee Warrant Officer, no private identities were involved. Experience exclusive tales on .com


    Sitting to one side, Layton had no idea of the familial relation between the two, and after staring at Winters for a few seconds, he suddenly stood up, walked over to Winters, and exclaimed with surprise, ¡°Hm? Aren¡¯t you the Warrant Officer who broke the chains at Red Sulfur Bay? Is that you? Am I mistaken? It¡¯s you, right?¡±


    Winters¡¯s face felt a little hot as he stood at attention and replied, ¡°Report, General, it was me!¡±


    ¡°Kid, why did you end up working on a road?¡± Layton asked with a somewhat strange expression. He squinted his eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, ¡°Winters¡­ your name is Winters, right?¡±


    This question was one Winters couldn¡¯t answer; he certainly couldn¡¯t reveal that he didn¡¯t want to be on the front line. He could only reply, ¡°Report, General, because I received transfer orders!¡±


    Layton was clearly satisfied with this answer, and he turned to Antonio, laughing as he said, ¡°I tell you, General Serviati, you¡¯re really not doing your job as Legion Commander. Such fine steel is being wasted in your hands. You let such a fine frontline officer go repair roads?¡±


    After criticizing his old classmate, Layton looked back at Winters, slapped him on the shoulder in a hearty manner, and said, ¡°Do you, lad, want to lead troops under me? I tell you, after this battle with the Tannies is over, who knows how long until the next one. If you don¡¯t think of ways to distinguish yourself now, the highest you¡¯ll ever reach is Colonel. You¡¯re still in training, right? Once you¡¯re officially commissioned, come to my legion, and I¡¯ll give you a position as Centurion of the first company! What do you say? Will you come? Your name is Winters¡­ uh, Winters Montaigne, right?¡±


    ...


    Antonio, sitting behind the desk, spoke without lifting his head, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, feel honored. General Layton remembered your name after only seeing you twice. When we were in the military academy, he couldn¡¯t remember my full name for two months.¡±


    ¡°Montaigne¡­ Montaigne¡­¡± Layton mulled over the surname, furrowing his brows for a while before his face broke into a smile, saying, ¡°I like this surname, Montaigne is a good name! I had a Montaigne in my time too, but he was in the cavalry¡­ you¡¯re in the infantry, aren¡¯t you? It doesn¡¯t matter¡­ this means we¡¯re fated! Come lead troops under me, kid!¡±


    Winters recalled the swollen cheeks of Senior Tang Juan and thought to himself that he didn¡¯t want to get slapped every now and then. He played a bit of a word game: ¡°Report, General! I¡¯ll go wherever the orders send me, right?¡±


    ¡°Good! Good!¡± Layton thought the young lieutenant was agreeing with him. He slapped Winters¡¯s shoulder hard twice, joyfully saying, ¡°Good! Work hard under me! One day, you could be sitting where I am now.¡±


    Although Layton was nearing forty, he was still very strong, and his slaps left Winters in pain.


    Winters saluted, and Layton said no more.


    After finishing the report, Antonio scribbled the command for the construction headquarters on a piece of paper, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Winters.


    ¡°The road is almost finished, and the remaining heavy artillery can be deployed on the front line the day after tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Great!¡± Layton was thrilled to hear the heavy artillery was finally ready.


    Antonio looked out the window and sighed softly, ¡°The order for slaughter has been issued, and the warhounds will ravage the Tanilians, along with us.¡±


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 Chapter 251 - 251 - 100 The Crow is Singing

    Chapter 251 ¨C 100 The Crow is Singing


    When the road connecting Tachi and Red Sulfur Harbor was finally penetrated, Antonio sent an envoy to the defending army for the last time. Based on ¡°the last of mercy and honor,¡± he demanded that the defenders hand over their weapons and open the city to surrender.


    Serviati and Layton jointly guaranteed that no Tanilian would be executed or tried after surrendering.


    But when the envoy with a shield shouted towards the city walls, the only response he received was over a dozen lead bullets.


    The attitude of William Kidd was made abundantly clear.


    Heavy cannons capable of firing thirty-two-pound iron shot were placed on large carts and dragged little by little to the front of the city walls.


    Even from a great distance, the Venetian soldiers atop the walls could hear the ruckus of their approach: the castrated oxen and draft horses bellowed as they were whipped; the Venetian drivers shouted as they lashed with their whips; and the squealing cart axles emitted a monotonous, incessant, grating sound.


    If the Angel of Death could also sing, then surely this cacophony was the Angel¡¯s song to the ears of Tachi¡¯s defenders now.


    ...


    After the heavy artillery arrived at the front lines, the Venetian engineers spent a whole day using lifting machinery to unload the cannons from the carts. They were then positioned on pre-constructed forts and had their angles adjusted.


    All light and heavy cannons in the Venetian army were divided into eight groups, each group anchored by the heaviest cannon and complemented by lighter ones.


    The Venetian soldiers affectionately called these groups ¡°wolf packs,¡± with each being likened to a lead wolf followed by a brood of cubs.


    With the city gates as the dividing point, four groups of cannons were placed on either side of the walls, targeted at the wall¡¯s weak spots.


    As the Venetian deployed their heavy artillery, the defenders on the city walls tried their best to destroy the enemy¡¯s large guns with their lighter ones at hand.


    However, these attempts were largely fruitless; the Venetian protected their big guns with wooden fences and earthen barriers, making it hard for the defenders to find a suitable angle for their shots.


    Moreover, the Tanilian cannons were vastly outnumbered and continuously suppressed by light artillery positioned at the base of the walls.


    The Tanilians could only watch in despair as one after another, cannons were positioned in front of the walls while they desperately reinforced them.


    The next morning, as the sun began to shine on the walls of Tachi, a broad barrage of artillery fire kicked off the proceedings.


    Before the heavy cannons made their presence felt, the defenders on the city walls were first subjected to a volley of musket fire and light cannons loaded with grapeshot.


    Especially the matchlock gunners and cannons on the bastions, being closest, didn¡¯t even need to aim.


    In the past two days, the Venetians crazily worked, continually raising the height of the bastions with bags of soil. Now, the tips of the bastions were level with the city walls.


    The cannons that the Tanilians had deployed on the bastions were now being employed by the Venetians against their own defenders.


    Tanilians peering from behind the battlements were struck down on the spot. Iron and lead rounds shattered upon stone, sending shards flying and dust billowing; the soldiers on the walls huddled behind the parapets, not daring to raise their heads.


    And most of the defenders had taken cover below the walls; William Kidd was no fool, and it would have been a deadly folly to force his soldiers to remain on the walls under such bombardment.


    Therefore, he had the majority of soldiers take shelter in the Armament Cave behind the wall, leaving only a few sentries on the walls to keep watch.


    once the defenders on the walls were suppressed, the eight heavy cannons began to roar.


    The sound of the cannons was like the dreadful trumpets signaling the apocalypse: iron cannonballs flew out of the barrels and smashed into the city walls, the immense force causing the entire structure to tremble.


    The previous two-pounders had left only a few white marks on the walls, but the heavy cannons directly destroyed the volcanic rock covering the outer surface of the walls.


    Even if the stone did not crumble, the huge stress caused by the impacts surpassed the limit of the mortar binding the volcanic rocks together.


    At the points of impact, the external rocks of the walls fell off, revealing the inner wall made of volcanic concrete. Continue your story on .com


    And the firm inner wall, too, was gouged with a vast conical breach by the iron shots.


    The Venetian forces outside the walls let out cheers louder than the booming of the cannons.


    But for the defenders inside the Armament Cave behind the walls, it was like hell.


    The massive noise, the choking dust, and the vibrations transmitted to the Armament Cave every time the walls were hit by artillery made even the most battle-hardened soldiers shiver with dread.


    Nothing conveyed the damage to the walls by the cannons more clearly than the Terror of the Tanilians hiding in the Armament Cave; a panicked recruit exclaimed, ¡°The walls are shivering!¡±


    Indeed, the colossal force borne by the cannonballs made the entire city wall tremble, and the defenders felt it as if it were their own bodies.


    When the cannons were still firing stone rounds, the walls of old could already be seen tiring. Stone-throwing cannons were like massive hammers, smashing one side of the wall after another, crushing the will of the defenders at the same time.


    And now, the cannons unleashing their fury on Tachi were arguably more potent than the stone-throwing cannons. Advances in material and manufacturing techniques allowed cannon-makers to cast lighter, thinner, sturdier cannons with longer barrels.


    The stone-throwing cannon¡¯s rounds had a weight ratio of twenty to twenty-four parts to one part of gunpowder, whereas the eight thirty-two pounders outside the city could be loaded with sixteen pounds of gunpowder per shot, achieving an astonishing weight ratio of two to one. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even though iron cannonballs were lighter than stone ones, their penetrating power was incomparably greater.


    The city walls that the Tanilians had trusted were now disintegrating before the new era¡¯s cannons.


    Inside the Armament Cave, Tanilian soldiers praying to ¡°get through today¡± heard the sentries ring the alarm bell.

 Chapter 252 - 252 - 100 The Crow is Singing_2

    Chapter 252 ¨C 100 The Crow is Singing_2


    Accompanying the cannon fire was the task of filling in the trenches.


    Antonio and Layton had chosen two points of attack on the eastern and western sides of the city wall, both identified as weaker sections of the wall from intelligence reports.


    Each legion was responsible for one direction of attack, tasked not only with destroying the wall but also with filling in the trenches at these locations.


    Amid the loud shouting of Captain Hoffman, the defending troops hurriedly ran up to the city wall, and the sentries on the ramparts screamed with all their might, ¡°The triangular fort! They¡¯re coming from the triangular fort!¡±


    A large number of soldiers pushing carts poured out from the triangular fort occupied by the Venetians; they rushed into the trenches, filling them with soil and wood from their carts.


    ¡°Shoot them! Shoot them!¡± Captain Hoffman on the city wall roared, snapping his stunned subordinates out of their daze.


    The defenders, regaining their senses, immediately used crossbows and muskets to shoot at the Venetians below. The distance between them was so close, and there were so many Venetians, that firing at random would bring one down.


    ...


    Following a few more huge bangs of stones shattering, the light cannon outside the city fired again to suppress the defenders on the city walls. Flying debris filled the air, its force comparable to arrows,


    and Captain Hoffman, who had just been giving orders, screamed and waved his arms frantically, his face covered in dust, with blood streaming from his tightly shut eyes.


    The shards had flown into Hoffman¡¯s eyes, plunging the strapping man into a frenzy amid severe pain and darkness. Hoffman¡¯s men tried to hold him down, but he roared, drawing his sword and swinging it wildly, forcing everyone around him to give way.


    Hoffman could no longer hear what people around him were saying; he shouted and swung at the imagined enemy, stepping backwards. His men watched helplessly as their captain fell backward from the breached parapet and plummeted to his death below the city wall.


    Meanwhile outside the city, Venetian musketeers had also arrived. Using the trench walls for cover, the Venetian matchlock gunners fired fiercely at the defending soldiers on the city walls.


    The trench outside the city wall, hastily dug, was shallow, less than two meters deep, about the height of a man. Standing in the trench, the musketeers could just rest their guns on the edge.


    The merlons atop the city wall had been battered during the previous days¡¯ cannon fire and were now in ruins, offering scant protection to the Tanilian soldiers atop the wall. Any attempt to peek over would meet with volleys from several matchlock guns.


    Yet the Tanilians on the wall knew that once the trench was filled in, the wall would be next, and then everyone would die.


    The ferocity of the defenders was ignited; the Tanilians howled to embolden themselves, leaning out to use crossbows and muskets to kill the tightly packed Venetians below.


    From their high vantage point, they looked down at the Venetian musketeers in the trench, who were almost completely exposed.


    The two sides engaged in a brutal exchange of lives at a distance nearly close enough to ¡°put a musket to the forehead.¡±


    The crossbowman Stave suddenly thought to use ¡°Greek fire¡± to burn the Venetians. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Stave ran down the city wall. Soon, he returned carrying a jar spouting blue flames.


    He shouted, ¡°Greek fire! Greek fire!¡± as he rushed to the parapet. Just as he was about to throw the Greek fire into the enemy-filled trench, a lead bullet shot from below hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to fall backward onto the city wall.


    The burning sulfur from his jar spilled all over him, and his screams, mingled with the smell of charred flesh, even reached the Venetians below.


    However, Stave¡¯s actions reminded the others that the trench was seven or eight meters from the base of the city wall; boiling oil and pitch couldn¡¯t be thrown that far, but they could be if placed in jars.


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    While the defenders were looking for jars on the city wall, William Kidd arrived at the east side of the wall with reinforcements, bringing two short-barreled cannons.


    ¡°Here! Don¡¯t bloody line them up straight! Fire from the side!¡± Seeing the gunners absurdly trying to carry the cannons straight over, an infuriated gun commander Berta kicked the gunners who were carrying the cannon and cursed, ¡°Idiots! Get lost!¡±


    The two short-barreled cannons were brought by Berta to a slightly curved section of the city wall, positioned diagonally towards the Venetians below.


    The gunners frantically assembled the gun carriages and loaded the ammunition. Berta aimed personally and lit the fuse.


    With two booming blasts, the short-barreled cannons unleashed a storm of grapeshot that tore through the bodies below.


    ¡°Good! Good! Good!¡± The gun commander bellowed three times, his voice harsh as he urged his men on: ¡°Reload! Keep firing!¡±


    As the Tanilian cannons slaughtered the Venetians below, the Venetian cannons outside were cleansing the city walls of Tanilian soldiers.


    The Venetian gun crews 200 meters away, seeing the smoke and flash from the city wall cannons firing, immediately adjusted their aim towards the two short-barreled cannons.


    A four-pound cannonball hit one of the short-barreled cannons, sending the cast iron cannon flying off its carriage, severing the arm of a gunner.


    Berta immediately moved the other short-barreled cannon to a new position.


    One side atop the wall, the other below, the Tanilians and Venetians were essentially aiming guns at each other¡¯s heads.


    Everyone would die here; it was only a matter of time.


    Before today, the Tanilians had understood the importance of the triangular fort, but it was only now that they truly realized they had still underestimated its significance.


    Losing the triangular fort was tantamount to ceding control of the trench. Had the triangular fort still been in Tanilian hands, the Venetians would not dare rush into the trenches like they were doing now, since the cannons positioned at the fort would have pulverized them.

 Chapter 253 - 253 - 100 The Crow is Singing_3

    Chapter 253 ¨C 100 The Crow is Singing_3


    Moreover, once the Venetians connected the triangular fortress to the siege barriers through the trenches, they no longer needed to traverse the killing fields in front of the city walls but could directly enter the ditches from the triangular fortress.


    Not to mention the long-range firepower on the fortress exerted suppression on the troops defending the city walls.


    But the biggest problem with losing the triangular fortress was more than just that¡­


    While both attackers and defenders were slaughtering each other around the ditches, behind the city gates, William Kidd¡¯s most elite Montani guards were assembling.


    These heavily armored brave warriors were the best fighters and the most reliable troops within the Tanilia Federation. If placed within the Empire, the Montani Guard would equate to the Emperor¡¯s personal bodyguard. They were not subordinate to William Kidd but instead, the highest council had temporarily given William command over two of their companies.


    William Kidd had always regarded these two hundred-plus Montani guards as his personal guard and supervisory force; the Montani Guard was the key to his command over the military.


    However, due to the urgency, he was forced to deploy these elite reserve forces.


    ...


    Without any warning, the double gates of Tachi suddenly swung open.


    The Monta warriors let out a chilling war cry, bursting forth from the gates. Splitting into two groups, they plunged straight into the ditches, slashing at the Venetians inside like legendary berserkers.


    Captain Zenus, brandishing his battle-axe, led the charge, cleaving the top of a Venetian soldier¡¯s head with an overhead strike. When the axe blade fully sunk into the skull and Zenus could not dislodge it after two pulls, he simply dropped the battle-axe and drew his sidearm for close combat.


    No matter the situation, it was impossible for those standing on the walls to stop attackers from filling the ditches. Explore new worlds at


    The only way was to send troops out to hit the enemy from both above the walls and below, slaughtering everyone inside the ditches.


    Therefore, regardless of the situation, the city gates were the most powerful weapon for the defense¡¯s counterattack.


    But now, the triangular fortress before the gates was in Venetian hands.


    As large numbers of armored soldiers burst out from the city gates, the muskets and cannons on the fortress were immediately redirected to fiercely bombarded these heavy-armored foes.


    Two musketeers together hurled a forty-something-pound iron-shell bomb toward the city gate. The Montani guards hit were instantly streaming blood from their eyes and nostrils, dying on the spot.


    Other Montani guards, seeing the hissing fuse, panicked and fled. But it was too late. A thunderous explosion followed as the iron bomb detonated, nearly blowing the Venetians atop the fortress off their feet.


    Between the city gate and the triangular fortress, the narrow space was filled with flying limbs, blood splatter everywhere. Even those Montani guards not struck by shrapnel sat collapsed on the ground, spitting blood in great gushes.


    Before the city gate, it had turned into hell, yet the ordeal was far from over, as the Venetians on the fortress dropped three more iron-shell bombs successively.


    The Monta soldiers, spitting blood, looked at the iron-shell bombs before them, frantically trying to crawl away as their limbs failed to respond. In desperation, he watched the bomb¡¯s fuse burn down,


    ¡°God, forgive me!¡± he cried out in his last moment of life, then was blasted into pieces.


    No one heard his final penance because the battle cry ¡°For Da Weineta¡± drowned out all other sounds on the battlefield.


    Large groups of sword and shield bearers, roaring, poured out from the fortress and trenches in three directions. Two forces jumped into the trenches to engage the Montani guards in close combat, while the third group ignored everything else and headed straight for the city gates.


    The two Lieutenant Generals had prepared a total of six hundred-strong sword and shield troops, poised for the possibility of a sortie from the defenders.


    ¡°Close the gates! Close the gates quickly!¡± William on the city walls, seeing this scene, shouted in panic.


    The troops at the gates immediately chopped the cables, and the massive gates fell sharply, trapping several Venetian sword and shield carriers in between.


    Before the gate, barrels of pitch poured down. There were still Montani guards alive before the gates, but the defenders could no longer afford to care.


    A few torches were thrown down from above the city gates; the Venetians screamed and scattered as they ran. The pitch ignited instantly upon contact, and the defenders burned the Venetians and their own men alive.


    On the other side of the gates, about a dozen defenders descended from the city wall through a passage into the gatehouse. Knowing they faced certain death, the trapped Venetian sword and shield fighters roared as they clashed fiercely with the Tanilians.


    The combat in the ditches grew equally brutal. The Tanilia Council spared no expense on their ¡°Imperial Guard¡±; the Montani Guard were all equipped with three-quarters plate armor. Meanwhile, the Venetian sword and shield fighters were also fully geared with half armor. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the space was too cramped, combat was literally hand-to-hand, and many sword and shield fighters and Montani guards simply discarded their swords and axes, pulling out daggers and stabbing violently at the gaps in the armor, under the ribs, and other less protected areas.


    The soldiers in the rear pushed those in front into a crush, leaving no room to dodge. The only way to avoid the enemy¡¯s stabbing blades was to strike at the enemy first.


    Tang Juan, at the rear of the masses, grew anxious watching the clumsy melee. Glancing at the ditch walls to either side, he yelled, ¡°Up! Get up! Climb up and stab them! Lift me up!¡±


    The soldiers around the Centurion lifted him, boosting him to the outside of the ditch.


    Juan dashed forward, next to the Montani guards at the front, and started stabbing downwards at the necks of Montani soldiers from outside of the ditch.


    Noticing their comrades being stabbed to death, Montani guards clambered out of the ditch one after another. Juan¡¯s company had also arrived, and the two sides commenced a new round of brutal combat just outside the ditch.

 Chapter 254 - 254 - 100 The Crow is Singing_4

    Chapter 254 ¨C 100 The Crow is Singing_4


    Blood flowed like a river both inside and outside the city ditch, as if it were a flesh and blood mill.


    Winters, who was watching the battle from two hundred meters away, could not help but feel his mouth go dry and his heart pound chaotically as he witnessed everything unfold before him.


    By Winters¡¯ side was none other than Colonel Sebastian Volbon, who seemed indifferent to the brutal combat beneath the city walls, muttering to himself in confusion, ¡°Why is this so strange¡­.¡±


    Volbon and Winters were at the most forward artillery position, where one of the eight ¡°Head Wolf¡± heavy cannons was located.


    The reason Winters was here was simple, Antonio had sent him.


    ¡°Sebastian Volbon is an expert in siege tactics, you will benefit from learning a thing or two from him,¡± Antonio had said, so Winters came with twenty soldiers to guard the big gun. Explore more at


    ¡°Uh¡­.¡± Winters, utterly perplexed, asked, ¡°Colonel, what do you find strange?¡±


    ...


    The roar of the big gun interrupted him, another volley fired.


    After the cannon fire, the artillery crew quickly covered the cannon with wooden fences, preventing the garrison on the walls from threatening these weapons.


    The other gunners were busily reloading the ammunition.


    First, the gunners used a long-handled scraper to remove any unburnt powder from the cannon bore, then they stuffed a water-soaked mop in through the muzzle to clean the bore.


    The barrel of a cannon, hot after firing, caused any remaining moisture inside the bore to evaporate quickly, not affecting the next shot.


    If craftsmanship was poor, using water to clean the bore could lead to increased internal cracking, and consequently, a burst barrel. Inferior cannons could only be cooled with oil, but that was very cumbersome.


    After the temperature of the cannon had dropped, the gunners began to reload the gunpowder, packed it in tightly with a tamper, inserted a wooden sabot, and finally the cannonball itself.


    Once the cannonball was loaded, the gunners stuffed the gaps between it and the cannon bore with strips of cloth.


    Volbon called a halt to the firing and personally adjusted the cannon¡¯s firing angle.


    A thunderous blast later, the cannonball hit a lower point than previous shots.


    After carefully observing the falling point of the cannonball, Volbon had an epiphany and excitedly said to Winters, ¡°I know what¡¯s going on¡­.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ What are you talking about exactly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve figured out the trick Tanilia¡¯s people played,¡± Volbon slapped his thigh, ¡°They¡¯ve piled up earth behind the walls!¡±


    ¡°Pile up earth? You mean¡­¡± Winters said uncertainly, ¡°you mean they piled up earth behind the walls to absorb the impact of the cannonballs? But isn¡¯t that¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! The effect on the wall from the cannon¡¯s fire isn¡¯t as powerful as it should be from these heavy guns,¡± Volbon analyzed, staring intensively towards the direction of the walls, ¡°I¡¯ve conducted several more test shots, and the conclusion became clearer with each. The Tanilia people inside must have used piling up earth as a way to increase the thickness of the wall.¡±


    ¡°But if they¡¯re piling earth behind the walls¡­¡± Winters mused, recalling his siege tactics course, ¡°won¡¯t the piled earth collapse too once the wall falls? And if it pours out forming a slope, won¡¯t that make it easier for us to mount an attack?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s true,¡± Volbon rubbed his nose, patted the cannon beside him, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if William Kidd doesn¡¯t understand this, or if he¡¯s desperately resorting to any remedy in his illness, or if he has other plans. But in any case, it looks like he is indeed determined to hold out to the very end¡­.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    After hours of fierce fighting, both sides were already too exhausted to continue the struggle.


    The walls still stood, yet the large chunks gouged out and the cracks indicated its destined destruction in the future.


    Nearly the entire Montani counterattacking force perished save for those who hadn¡¯t struck in time and a few who managed to make it to the edge of the walls to be pulled up by the garrison with ropes.


    Three ditches were nearly filled in and were no longer significant barriers to attack.


    But the Venetians also paid a heavy price.


    In just one day of fighting, nearly four hundred were killed or injured, which was more than the combined total of Venetian casualties on Red Sulfur Island up to that point.


    And the majority of the wounded would die in their beds in the following days.


    The day¡¯s bloody combat made the previous sieges seem almost leisurely by comparison.


    And Major General Antonio Serviati¡¯s only order was: ¡°Tomorrow, continue.¡±


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 Chapter 255 - 255 - 101: The Duty Officer

    Chapter 255 ¨C 101: The Duty Officer


    The artillery bombardment of the city walls had not ceased since the deployment of the heavy cannons. It goes without saying that this occurred during daytime, but even at night, the eight artillery units outside the city would sporadically fire a few rounds at the walls.


    This relentless pounding day and night was not only destroying the walls but also intended to break the spirit of the defenders, preventing the Tanilians from resting.


    The walls were on the verge of collapse; each bombardment could signal the beginning of Vineta¡¯s general assault, leaving everyone inside Tachi, civilians and soldiers alike, on edge.


    However, there was a side effect to this tactic: almost all of Vineta¡¯s Spellcaster officers were also suffering from nervous exhaustion due to the nighttime bombings.


    Because their brains were more active than the average person, Spellcasters were more sensitive to their environment. Poor sleep quality was not just Winters¡¯s personal problem; it afflicted all the Spellcasters.


    The intermittent booming of the cannons at night was torturing the Spellcasters in the camp. It was easy now to identify which officers were Spellcasters in Vineta Camp, looking for those with dark circles under their eyes and bloodshot whites.


    Only the Provost Marshal Moritz was unaffected by the bombardment. Major Moritz van Nassau could sleep like the dead every night after consuming his fixed cocktail of strong spirits and herbs, and wouldn¡¯t awaken even if shots were fired next to him.


    ...


    Antonio would shake his head at the mention of Moritz, telling Winters, ¡°If Van Nassau could quit drinking, he¡¯d have been a lieutenant colonel by now. For him, achieving the rank of general in the future wouldn¡¯t be difficult¡­ What a shame, such a waste of talent¡­¡±


    Yet, Moritz van Nassau was not under Antonio¡¯s command; he was a fully capable adult making his own life choices, and Antonio had no reason, nor any intention, to interfere with Moritz¡¯s lifestyle.


    The unceasing bombardment was painful for the Vinetian Spellcasters, and even more agonizing for the defenders and civilians inside Tachi.


    At the start of the campaign, both sides still maintained some virtue and grace. But now, all that had dissipated, and the war plummeted towards its worst, bloodiest, and cruelest depths.


    The night when Montani¡¯s guard made a sally and was annihilated,


    William Kidd sent a messenger with a handwritten letter, hoping for a day of truce like before, so that both sides could send out teams to collect and bury the dead.


    But this time, Antonio rejected the defenders¡¯ request. His cold reply to the messenger was, ¡°If William Kidd truly cared for the dignity of the dead, he could surrender the city. Then, you would no longer have to worry about this problem.¡±


    The defenders¡¯ messenger left dejectedly, and the siege continued.


    During the day, Venetians bombarded the walls, filled in the ditches, and extended the trench works towards the moat, launching probing attacks against weakened points.


    At night, William Kidd led the defenders in desperately repairing the shattered walls: pouring mortar into cracks in the wall, using whatever was available¡ªstones, shrubs, dirt¡ªto fill in minor breaches that had appeared.


    They learned from the Venetians, bringing buckets of soil to the ramparts, using them as a substitute for the parapets, which had been bombarded to rubble.¡¯


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    The Vinetian army was not idle at night, either; the eight artillery groups would suddenly bombard the walls, using light cannons to target those Tanilians desperately fixing the walls.


    Volbon also dispatched small groups of soldiers through the bastion to the ditch, using hook nets to recover precious cannonballs scattered around the ditch and wall base¡ªcontinuous bombardment was rapidly depleting Vineta¡¯s ammunition reserves, and even the cannonballs under the enemy¡¯s eyes had to be retrieved.


    After being woken up by heavy artillery booming nine times in a half-asleep, half-awake state through the night, Winters simply volunteered for the night guard duty on the big cannons.


    He wasn¡¯t currently assigned an official position and was considered a ¡°utility officer¡± in the legion¡ªwherever needed, that¡¯s where he would be sent, making this sort of menial task perfect for him.


    So, the day after the massive bombardment began, Winters became the duty officer for the ¡°West-4¡± artillery unit.


    The legion command assigned two ten-man teams to each artillery unit for night watch, which was the front line and couldn¡¯t spare too many troops.


    But stationed behind the old siege ramparts, 300 meters away, was a full-strength company, ready to rapidly respond if an alarm was raised. The main forces in the camp could also arrive quickly.


    The night watch¡¯s task was actually simple: spot the enemy, sound the alarm bell, wait for reinforcements to arrive, and job done.


    Especially now, with the current state of the war making the night watch¡¯s task incredibly easy: with the bastion captured, the Tanilians couldn¡¯t quietly use the city gates for a sortie. To counterattack would mean sharing the fate of the Montani Guard.


    And Tachi was a small city, not a massive one like Constantinople with many side gates and secret doors¡ªit only had this one gate next to the bastion.


    The Tanilians would have to be incredibly foolish to repeat the Montani Guard¡¯s downfall.


    Therefore, the night watch, with no chance of earning distinction, was unanimously considered the most miserable task by Venetian junior officers. Doing a good job wouldn¡¯t be considered meritorious, but mistakes would lead to a military court.


    When Lieutenant Charles of the West-4 artillery unit heard that Winters was volunteering to replace him, he practically wanted to pick up Winters and call him dad, happily completing the handover.


    Although it was a hard task, since he was there, he had to do it well.


    After taking up his post, Winters did three things. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    First, he issued whistles to all the soldiers under him. Normally, whistles were only given to officers, so providing them to soldiers could lead to confusion on the battlefield.

 Chapter 256 - 256 - 101: Duty Officer_2

    Chapter 256 ¨C 101: Duty Officer_2


    But Winters thought ringing the bell was too slow, once something happened, it was far from being as quick as a whistle.


    The second thing was expanding the angles of the passages to the left and right of the cannon so that two groups of ten could be accommodated. Winters placed his two groups of ten on either side, instead of scattering them throughout the passageway.


    This was the experience he gained after being ambushed several times at night: lone sentries could easily be eliminated; it was essential to arrange multiple concealed and visible sentries.


    The third thing was to request six crossbows. In Winters¡¯s view, issuing matchlock guns to night sentries was pure stupidity, a model of bureaucracy. It was impossible for sentries to keep a matchlock smoldering all night, and even if they were not afraid to die, there wasn¡¯t enough match cord for them to squander.


    It was better to simply use crossbows and blow a whistle if attacked than to fumble with lighting match cords in a panic.


    The Vineta army¡¯s efficiency was extremely high. Winters went to the armory for crossbows and whistles in the morning, and by the afternoon, the passageway had been rebuilt. By evening, Winters, carrying a rifle and a saber, started night shifts again after a long absence since leaving the military academy.


    Around midnight, while on duty, Winters thought about how he used to hate standing night watch, yet now he had to volunteer for it, and he couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    ...


    An abrupt voice interrupted Winters¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°Why are you sighing, Centurion?¡± Halberdier Buba, with something in his mouth, mumbled unclearly while holding his halberd: ¡°My mother says sighing blows away good luck, so after you sigh, you have to ¡¯fan¡¯ the good luck back.¡±


    After speaking, Buba clumsily fanned twice in front of Winters¡¯s nose.


    ¡°Presumptuous! What are you doing?!¡± Centurion Taylor, startled, immediately scolded Buba fiercely.


    Buba tentatively retracted his hand.


    Taylor, with a hint of frost at his temples, pointed at his head and explained to Winters, ¡°Sir, there¡¯s something¡­ off with Buba¡¯s mind. Please do not take him seriously.¡±


    Winters waved his hand, indicating it was fine. He smiled at Buba and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a Centurion, Buba. Do you know how many people are on night watch here tonight?¡±


    ¡°There are two groups of ten.¡± Buba counted on his fingers for a while: ¡°Ten¡­ sixteen people?¡±


    ¡°Does that make a hundred?¡±


    ¡°It does not.¡±


    ¡°So am I a Centurion?¡±


    ¡°Then, you¡¯re not¡­¡± Buba hesitated, ¡°¡­ then you are¡­ a Twenty?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter at Buba¡¯s answer.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Sergeant Taylor, furious, lifted his leg and gave Buba a hard kick in the rear. After kicking, he raised his hand to strike, scaring Buba into cowering and covering his head.


    However, Taylor¡¯s raised arm did not come down, as Winters grabbed his wrist.


    Sergeant Taylor was surprised to find that this seemingly not-so-strong warrant officer had an unexpectedly strong grip, holding his arm as if it were clamped in a vise, immobile.


    ¡°I asked, and he answered. He did nothing wrong, there¡¯s no need for corporal punishment,¡± Winters said, and then let go, allowing Taylor¡¯s right arm to move freely again.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this ¡¯disrespectful speech¡¯? According to military regulations, he should be getting a sound whipping,¡± Taylor glared at Buba, then lowered his head and said to Warrant Officer Montaigne, ¡°But it¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t wrong, though; I am indeed a ¡¯Twenty¡¯ at the moment,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t resist another laugh.


    ¡°Um¡­ you can¡¯t say that¡­¡± Sergeant Taylor found himself at a loss for words.


    Winters patted Taylor¡¯s arm and smiled, ¡°Montaigne, Warrant Officer, Sir, whatever you find convenient to call me, I don¡¯t mind.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all confused¡­ I¡¯ll just call you ¡¯Sir,¡¯ okay?¡± The cause of the commotion, Buba, was completely oblivious, scratching his head and grinning sheepishly.


    Centurion Taylor gave Buba a harsh stare, making Buba lower his head again.


    ¡°Food¡¯s here! The food¡¯s arrived!¡± Excited shouts neared from the distance, and the echo of footsteps resonated through the passageway.


    Private Dan, carrying a small iron pot in his hands with three cloth bags hanging around his neck, ran out from the passageway.


    The personnel guarding the cannon at night had to stay on duty from dusk till dawn, close to twelve hours. Because they had to rest during the day and couldn¡¯t get lunch, there was an extra meal at night.


    Seven hungry soldiers from the group of ten eagerly took the iron pot from Dan¡¯s hands.


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    Lifting the pot lid, they saw steaming soup.


    With his stomach growling, Buba didn¡¯t even wait for Dan to take the cloth bags from around his neck; he was too impatient and stuck his hand inside the bags.


    ¡°Hold on! Don¡¯t mess around! Don¡¯t take the wrong one!¡± Dan guarded the bags tightly and pushed Buba away. After carefully identifying them, he handed two of the bags to Buba: ¡°These are our bread.¡±


    Buba snatched the bags, and pulling out a brown loaf as big as a plate, he quickly broke off a piece and started chewing voraciously.


    This hefty ¡°loaf-shaped¡± bread, weighing almost a pound, was the main staple for Vineta soldiers. Unlike the vegetables and soup made by the soldiers themselves, the bread was baked uniformly by the legion¡¯s logistics bakers and distributed per headcount. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The primary ingredients of the military bread were equal parts wheat, barley, and rye, with salt and water as additives.


    Winters had tried the military bread and found it somewhat sour. But in fact, since wheat flour made up one-third, it was considered quite good rations, affordable only to the yeoman class and above.


    Many poor boys tasted this kind of bread, Maslin, for the first time when they enlisted.

 Chapter 257 - 257 - 101 Star Officer_3

    Chapter 257 ¨C 101 Star Officer_3


    The other soldiers each received a piece of bread and ladled some soup into their cups, eating with alternate sips of soup and bites of bread.


    Dan handed the last cloth bag to Winters, ¡°Commander, this is yours.¡± Continue your adventure at


    ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± Winters took the bag and, like the soldiers next to him, casually found a rock to sit on.


    As soon as he sat down, the soldiers from Taylor¡¯s squad stopped eating.


    In the Vineta army, not only do officers eat differently from soldiers, but they actually never dine with the soldiers. There is no sense of unity between officers and soldiers, only distinction.


    So when they saw Warrant Officer Montaigne taking a seat next to them, the soldiers from Taylor¡¯s squad were all taken aback, exchanging glances, uncertain of what to do next. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why aren¡¯t you eating?¡± Winters found it very strange to see that everyone had stopped eating.


    ...


    The soldiers all looked towards Centurion Taylor, who awkwardly said to Winters, ¡°Well, shouldn¡¯t you be dining at the officers¡¯ club?¡±


    ¡°Officers¡¯s club?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but express his amusement, ¡°With cannons to the side and the city wall in front, where could there possibly be an officers¡¯ club?¡±


    ¡°Still, you shouldn¡¯t be dining with the soldiers,¡± Taylor didn¡¯t know what else to say, ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ not right.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s not right?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s just not.¡±


    The nonsensical reply gave Winters a headache. He asked bluntly, ¡°Okay, just tell me, where did the officer in charge of the night watch dine before?¡±


    ¡°Centurion Charles always went back to the camp to dine,¡± Taylor honestly replied.


    ¡°What? Back to the camp? That¡¯s almost two kilometers away¡­¡± Winters frowned and asked, ¡°If the duty officer goes back to dine, what happens here?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Charles goes back to the main camp to dine,¡± Taylor answered matter-of-factly, ¡°We¡¯ll handle things here.¡±


    Winters understood what was going on and muttered a few complaints to himself. Charles might dare to abandon his post, but Winters had no intention of following suit.


    He reached out for his own food and said in a relaxed tone, ¡°Lieutenant Charles is diligent; I¡¯m lazy. It¡¯s too far to go back; I can¡¯t be bothered to return, so I¡¯ll eat here. You carry on as normal, and if you feel uncomfortable, just pretend I¡¯m not here.¡±


    Since the duty officer had said this, Centurion Taylor didn¡¯t say anything more.


    He saluted, returned to his spot, and began breaking the hard bread into pieces and shoving it into his mouth.


    Seeing the Centurion start to eat, the other soldiers continued to chew vigorously; they had been famished.


    Inside Winters¡¯s bag were two paper-wrapped packages. He unwrapped one, and inside was beef¡ªmany cattle had ¡°tired¡± to death moving the cannons.


    If not for the fact that they would need animals to move the cannons away again, the officers could ¡°tire¡± the remaining cattle to death at a rate of two per day.


    In the other paper package was bread, not the coarse bread eaten by the soldiers, but white bread.


    Removing the outer bran of the wheat, then subjecting it to an extra round of milling and at least three sifts, yielded fine white flour.


    Wheat itself was the best and most expensive grain. The refining process resulted in a significant loss of mass, so white bread had not only a better taste but also bore an intense symbolic significance.


    Buba, who had been devouring his food, suddenly stopped, his hands and mouth motionless, as he stared intently at the beef and white bread in Warrant Officer Montaigne¡¯s hands, his Adam¡¯s apple bobbing as he swallowed hard.


    The other soldiers also saw the beef and white bread in Warrant Officer Montaigne¡¯s hands. They just took a deep look and quickly averted their eyes, quietly bowing their heads to chew more vigorously on their coarse bread.


    ¡°What are you looking at? Eat your own!¡± Centurion Taylor scolded with a stern face.


    Hearing this, Buba quickly hung his head and swallowed again before breaking off a large chunk of his coarse bread and stuffing it into his mouth.


    Seeing this, Winters gained a bit of understanding as to why Lieutenant Charles would go back to the main camp to eat.


    Thirty-one years ago, the Army of the Provinces had fought and killed ¡°The Butcher¡± Earl Arlian, and the provinces had become republics.


    Twenty-six years before, the armies of the republics had repelled ¡°Madman¡± Richard, and the Senas Alliance was formed.


    The forefathers proudly proclaimed ¡°We were compelled to become independent because of an obvious truth: in rights that belong to us as ¡¯humans,¡¯ no one sector should dominate over another. If someone thinks oneself above a segment of people, then they are effectively agreeing to being below another segment.¡±


    At least, that¡¯s what Winters learned in history class, and he wanted to believe that the ancestors had ended the emperor¡¯s rule for this noble cause.


    But now, Buba, who had just been grinning foolishly, buried his head deep into his shoulders. The pleasant mealtime had turned silent and stiff.


    As he watched all this, Winters suddenly found the food in his hands difficult to swallow.


    While eating, Buba kept sneaking glances at Warrant Officer Montaigne¡¯s fine bread and meat. He looked at the fine bread, then took a bite of coarse bread, as if trying to convince himself that the coarse bread in his hands was the fine bread.


    Winters reached out and took Bard¡¯s coarse bread, startling Buba so much that he froze in place.


    ¡°Is it that delicious? Watching you eat so heartily makes me want to try it too,¡± Winters said as he broke off half of Buba¡¯s coarse bread and gave back most of his own alongside it, ¡°Don¡¯t say I stole your bread, eh! I¡¯m trading, not stealing.¡±

 Chapter 258 - 258 - 101: Duty Officer_4

    Chapter 258 ¨C 101: Duty Officer_4


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters stuffed the bread into Buba¡¯s hand that he snapped back to reality. He still stood there, grinning foolishly. But he didn¡¯t move to eat it, just looked at the bread in his hand and then towards Centurion Taylor.


    Sergeant Taylor nodded with a stern face.


    Only then did Buba, as if he had found a treasure, hurriedly stuff all the white bread into his mouth, chewing with a look of joy on his face.


    He was so greedy, he stuffed too much bread into his mouth at once and started coughing, still smiling foolishly even as he coughed.


    The coarse bread, which had been sitting for a few days, instantly sucked all the moisture from his mouth. Winters said with a bitter smile, ¡°Is there a spare cup? I need some soup.¡±


    ¡°Use mine,¡± said Sergeant Taylor, expressionless as he dug out his cup, wiped it with a clean handkerchief, and filled it with hot soup for Winters.


    ¡°I won¡¯t drink your soup for free. I¡¯ll trade with my side dish.¡± Winters crushed the cooked beef leg meat from another paper bag and added it to the soup.


    ...


    The other soldiers in the decuple squad stood there, eyes on the pot but not a single one touched the ladle.


    Old Taylor sighed and nodded again.


    The other soldiers then couldn¡¯t wait to scoop up the soup, scrambling for the beef in the pot.


    Private First Class Dan, responsible for cooking that night, said to Winters, ¡°I¡¯ve always felt the rumors were false. I¡¯ve delivered meals so many times, and aside from you, no officer has ever said ¡¯thank you¡¯ to me. You seem so easy to get along with.¡±


    Winters initially thought Dan was just brown-nosing, but the more he thought about it, the more something felt off: ¡°Hmm? Wait a minute, what rumors ¡­¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing,¡± Dan laughed sheepishly and beat a hasty retreat.


    Buba took a big gulp of the meat soup and said blissfully, ¡°We¡¯ve got fine bread and meat soup; it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve had such a good meal. Montaigne is such a good officer, why did you guys scare me earlier?¡±


    Spotting another breakthrough, Winters immediately pressed Buba, ¡°Scare you with what? Tell me in detail.¡±


    ¡°Nothing, nothing,¡± the other soldiers quickly intervened between Winters and Buba, and Old Taylor grabbed a piece of bread and stuffed it into Buba¡¯s mouth.


    Clearly, it wasn¡¯t anything good, but now Winters wanted to hear it even more. He grabbed Sergeant Taylor¡¯s arm, ¡°Don¡¯t block his mouth, let him talk.¡±


    ¡°¡­Yeah? Why shouldn¡¯t I speak?¡± Everyone was scrambling to cover Buba¡¯s mouth, but he was dodging and weaving, determined to speak: ¡°Officer Montaigne¡­ they said you¡¯re incredibly brutal, like to chop off heads, they call you ¡¯Headhunter¡¯¡­ and ¡¯Blood Man,¡¯ they said you practice black magic of the wizards¡­¡±


    The other soldiers panicked, desperately covering Buba¡¯s mouth with all their might.


    Struggling, Buba said, ¡°¡­and there¡¯s more¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough! Stop!¡± Winters shouted angrily.


    The soldiers from Taylor¡¯s decuple squad froze in fear, dared not to move any further.


    ¡°Let him finish,¡± Winters looked at Buba, ¡°What else did they say? Tell me everything.¡±


    Buba said with a foolish smile, ¡°They said you fight recklessly, that your last century ended with only four survivors¡­ They all think I¡¯m dumb, but I can tell who¡¯s good and who¡¯s bad.


    You¡¯re so nice, how could it be?¡±


    Winters felt a tightness in his chest and took more than a dozen seconds to calm down. He didn¡¯t bother to explain, nor did he want to explain to these people.


    ¡°Captain, we didn¡¯t mean it like that¡­¡± Old Taylor quickly tried to smooth things over.


    Winters looked at Sergeant Taylor, then at the other soldiers, and said calmly, ¡°The rumors are indeed all true. Only four people from my century survived, I¡¯ve chopped off the enemy¡¯s heads, and I do know the wizards¡¯ black magic.¡±


    The atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.


    ¡°How could that be? I don¡¯t believe it.¡± Buba said naively, ¡°You¡¯re a good person.¡±


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    ¡°Maybe I am, maybe I¡¯m not. War only needs soldiers who obey orders, whether they¡¯re good or bad doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Winters felt a touch of melancholy, but quickly regained his usual demeanor, ¡°Continue eating, the soup will get cold.¡±


    Everyone silently returned to their seats to eat.


    After finishing this ¡°main meal,¡± Winters arranged the night patrol shifts for the decuple squad and left the post to go to another decuple squad¡¯s location.


    But Winters thought it best to check the alert system set up in front of the gun positions before heading over.


    Dozens of meters to the east, occasional flashes of firelight were visible, that was ¡°West-One¡± artillery group conducting night firing.


    In the darkness straight ahead, the walls of Tachi were faintly discernible.


    Walking under the night sky, watching the myriad of stars, Winters felt light-footed. The cool breeze, which carried away the day¡¯s heat, was the first hint of comfort he had felt since landing on Red Sulfur Island.


    The first thought that crossed his mind was, ¡°I wonder what Anna is doing now? Is she looking at the same starry sky as I am? What are Cosha and Ella doing?¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The alert system was set up not far in front of the gun positions, and Winters quickly reached it.


    Calling it an alert system was a bit grandiose; it was just a simple trap of thin wires and bells. Simple, but effective; any careless touch would make a sound.


    However, Winters searched in vain for the tripwire, almost thinking he had gone to the wrong place. But after comparing landmarks, he confirmed he was in the right spot.


    Winters began to breathe faster, uncontrollably.


    Crouching down, he took out a bronze rod and concentrated his mind, using the rod as a material to cast a Luminosity Spell. He didn¡¯t cast with full force, maintaining the smallest amount of magic without breaking the flow.


    A faint green glow emanated from the rod, and with the dim light, Winters carefully searched for any trace.


    Finally, he found the tripwire¡ªalready severed.


    Following that were the second, and third cut tripwires.


    Winters methodically put away the rod and drew his sidearm.

 Chapter 259 - 259 - 102 Blood Man

    Chapter 259 ¨C 102 Blood Man


    Resting at his watch post, Sergeant Taylor heard footsteps outside. He called out alertly, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Password!¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Torrent.¡± The person replied with the passphrase, ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    The passphrase matched, and the old Taylor relaxed, responding with the countersign, ¡°Blossom.¡±


    The footsteps approached rapidly. Centurion Montaigne deftly vaulted over the parapet and jumped into the corridor.


    Taylor immediately noticed that Centurion Montaigne was holding a strange short musket¡ªstrange because this musket had no firing device, like those old hook guns that required one hand to hold the gun and the other to ignite it, but it was indeed a firearm.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sir? Enemy attack?¡± Sergeant Taylor hurriedly asked.


    ¡°No enemies spotted.¡± Winters pulled out a bell, ¡°But the alarm tripwires have been cut.¡±


    ...


    ¡°What do we do? Sound the alarm?¡±


    Winters hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Ring the bell! Sound the alarm!¡±


    Seeing the duty officer so resolute, Taylor actually became frightened. He licked his lips and tried to dissuade him, ¡°Should we double-check? The tripwire could¡¯ve snapped on its own¡­ What if it¡¯s a false alarm? It¡¯d be a huge mess. Should we wait?¡±


    Winters wasn¡¯t sure if the tripwire had been deliberately cut either. To be on the safe side, it would be better to wait, to wait until they actually encountered the enemy before sounding the alarm.


    Because if it turned out to be a false alarm afterward, Winters was sure to face severe accountability, and even the other sentries might get into trouble because of it.


    ¡°Ring the alarm bell now! Light the beacon!¡± Winters bit his teeth again, ¡°Better to report in error than miss out! Go sound the alarm, I¡¯ll take the responsibility if something goes wrong.¡±


    Seeing the duty officer¡¯s determination, Sergeant Taylor had no choice but to comply. He rushed to the alarm bell and began to ring it vigorously with the hammer.


    The urgent bell reverberated across the battlefield in front of the city wall, first from the west-four position, then the sentries on the old siege wall behind Winters also rang their alarm bells.


    The camp was shaken from its slumber, officers dashed out of their tents, bellowing ¡°Emergency assembly!¡± Soldiers fumbled for their clothes and weapons in a panic.


    Next to the west-four battery, two beacons were lit on the earthen wall, signaling an alert.


    The other batteries and watch posts lit a single beacon, indicating their positions were still tranquil.


    Winters climbed onto the rampart and counted the beacons again three times carefully. Once he was sure there was no mistake, he called over Sergeant Taylor, ¡°West-three battery hasn¡¯t lit any beacons, there might be trouble there. Which of your men don¡¯t have night blindness?¡±


    ¡°Dan, Weck.¡± Old Taylor named two soldiers without hesitation.


    ¡°Have them grab their weapons and follow me.¡± Winters buckled his helmet, drew his sword, and threw the scabbard on the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re going out too?¡± Old Taylor was surprised, ¡°We just have to hold the cannons and wait for reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°We have to find out what exactly happened at west-three battery,¡± explained Winters. ¡°Cowering in our post is like being blind, not knowing where the enemy is running to.¡±


    Sergeant Taylor grabbed Winters¡¯ arm, ¡°Then let me take men out, and you stay here.¡±


    Winters asked sternly, ¡°Are you as good in combat as me? Besides, I don¡¯t trust others to scout; I need to see it with my own eyes.¡±


    Taylor¡¯s ten-man squad were Halberdiers, it was difficult to use their long weapons in the cramped corridor, Dan and Weck left their polearms and followed Winters along the corridor towards the west-three battery with swords in hand.


    Designed to protect against cannon fire, the corridor snaked like a serpent, with a turn every four or five meters. As they were close to the battery, Winters heard footsteps in the corridor ahead.


    ¡°Password?!¡± He immediately shouted.


    The person approaching didn¡¯t reply, their footsteps quickened.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡±


    Dan and Weck only saw a figure flash out from the corner; then Centurion Montaigne drew his strange short musket and shot the person down with a round to the head.


    Dan saw clearly that the short musket in the centurion¡¯s hand had no fuse, no wheel lock, not even a trigger¡ªjust a stock and a barrel. However, in Centurion Montaigne¡¯s hands, it fired as if it were a normal firearm.


    ¡°A wizard¡¯s dark magic,¡± the thought simultaneously struck the two privates.


    The recoil of the firearm numbed Winters¡¯ palm. It was his first time using this kind of spell-activated firearm in combat and he hadn¡¯t expected it to actually work, yet it was highly effective.


    For Winters, a spell-activated firearm was far more convenient than an Arrow Flying Spell. He wasn¡¯t adept with kinetic spells, but he had a knack for Fire-type magic.


    Before he could take pride in himself, more enemies wielding short daggers rushed out from the corner ahead.


    The disadvantage of a spell-activated firearm was also clear¡ªit had only one shot.


    In a moment of urgency, Winters threw the empty firearm towards the foes.


    An idea suddenly struck his mind, ¡°Perhaps bundling three barrels together?¡±


    But now wasn¡¯t the time for such thoughts. Winters switched to his sword and thrust at the enemy.


    Even a coward, weak and ineffective like Winters, having been forged through several bloody battles, would have long become a fierce warrior, not to mention that Winters was already a long-trained officer.


    Dan and Weck watched in shock as Warrant Officer Montagne efficiently killed¡ªno, slaughtered the oncoming enemy.


    The corridor was narrow, with enemies able to advance only one by one. As each one came up, the warrant officer took them down, none of them proving to be a match for him.


    As a result, it was only Winters, Dan, and Weck who advanced forward, without a need for Dan and Weck to swing their swords. They followed behind Winters, and would thrust a sword into anyone they saw who wasn¡¯t quite dead yet.


    After killing eight or nine men in a row, the will of the Tanilians completely collapsed. The remaining Tanilians, stricken with fear, began to crawl and scramble away, turning and running.


    Winters watched the Tanilians flee over the parapet wall towards the city wall but did not pursue further.


    He picked up the pistol he had dropped from beneath a corpse, while Dan and Weck watched him with awe.


    ¡°Move out, to the western artillery position three,¡± Winters commanded, once he had retrieved his gun, leading the way at the front.


    Dan swallowed his saliva and couldn¡¯t help but whisper to Weck, ¡°I finally understand why they call the warrant officer ¡¯Blood Man¡¯¡­¡±


    Continuing towards the western artillery position three, they began to encounter the bodies of Vineta soldiers. The fallen Vinetans were strewn about in the corridor leading to their artillery position, their bodies still warm.


    ¡°Sir! There¡¯s a centurion here!¡± Weck reported loudly to Winters. Read latest chapters at .com


    A body clad in an officer¡¯s uniform lay sprawled on the ground, arms limply dangling, the eyes no longer showing a spark of life.


    Winters took a good while to recognize him as Lieutenant Dyke, the duty officer of the western artillery position three. There was a terrible wound on Dyke¡¯s neck, which appeared to have been the fatal blow.


    ¡°Dead,¡± Dan summarized succinctly.


    Weck spat out his saliva, ¡°No shit.¡±


    Winters tried to reconstruct the scene of Dyke and his subordinates¡¯ last stand in his mind but there was one question he couldn¡¯t figure out.


    Furrowing his brow, Winters pondered with confusion, ¡°No matter how you look at it, a fierce fight took place here, but why didn¡¯t I hear any noise right next to the western artillery position three?¡±


    The cannons were on their mounts, but the touchholes were firmly nailed shut, rendering them all useless for the foreseeable future.


    Clearly, the goal of the Tachi garrison¡¯s surprise attack was to destroy the Vinetan cannons, and for that reason, the Vinetans had prepared thoroughly. But why didn¡¯t he hear any alarm?


    Winters checked the alarm bell next, which was undamaged.


    A shrill whistle came from the west side, and Dan shouted in panic, ¡°Sir! It¡¯s our artillery position!¡±


    ¡°Move! Let¡¯s go back!¡± Sword in hand, Winters sprinted towards the western artillery position four, leaving Dan and Weck far behind.


    Among the eight artillery positions, the lower the number, the closer to the central axis, with the western position four being the closest to the city wall.


    Tanilian soldiers carrying nails and hammers climbed over the parapet, jumped into the artillery position, and rushed towards the cannon.


    Winters¡¯ two squads of ten tried to stop the enemy, but were vastly outnumbered and had been pushed back into the signal post.


    The two signal posts were positioned like horns in front of the artillery position, structured according to Winters¡¯ specifications: narrow at the entrance but large enough inside to accommodate a squad of ten.


    A ferocious Tanilian swordsman howled as he charged into Taylor¡¯s signal post, only to be impaled in the belly by Buba¡¯s halberd as soon as he entered. The second Tanilian who tried to rush in was also repelled by the halberdiers.


    Seeing no chance to break through from the front, the Tanilians moved to the outside of the signal post, climbing the walls and jumping in. Old Taylor, holding a crossbow, shot a Tanilian climbing the parapet, then pulled out his dagger and turned to cut down another who leapt into the post¡­


    Outside the signal post, a Tanilian archer, bold as brass, simply stood on top of the parapet, firing arrows down at Taylor and his soldiers.


    With a single Arrow Flying Spell, Winters knocked the bowman off the wall. He didn¡¯t stop to check if the archer was dead, drawing his sword and cutting his way toward the signal post.


    The Tanilians had focused all their attention on attacking the Vinetan signal post, not noticing Winters approach from behind.


    Only when screams suddenly erupted from behind did the Tanilians realize they had been flanked by a single man.


    ¡°Fight! Warrant Officer Montagne has come back! Reinforcements are here!¡± Taylor, with a gash on his head, blood flowing down into his eyes, wiped his face haphazardly with his hand, raised his dagger high, and roared, ¡°For Great Vineta!¡±


    ¡°Huzzah!¡±


    The Vinetan soldiers inside the signal post were invigorated and, shouting, counterattacked from within.


    Trapped between attacks from both sides, the Tanilian soldiers collapsed, many jumping the wall to escape. Those who were too slow were dragged back and killed.


    After dealing with the Tanilians in the corridor, Winters leaned on his knees panting heavily and hoarsely asked Taylor, ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡±


    ¡°The cannons! We¡¯ve lost the cannons!¡± Taylor was so anxious he¡¯d forgotten to show respect, ¡°At least a hundred Tanilians! The other signal post has fallen too!¡±


    ¡°What about the reinforcements?¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t arrived yet.¡±


    ¡°Move! To the cannons! Follow me!¡± Winters wiped the blood from his face with the bottom of his shirt and switched to a dead man¡¯s curved sword¡ªbecause his own had become blunt¡ªleading everyone toward the artillery position, leaning against the wall for support.


    Soldiers of the Third Legion rumor: Bloody Montagne is the bravest officer in the legion, and just now, Taylor¡¯s squad of ten have personally confirmed that the gossip is true.

 Chapter 260 - 260 - 103 Execution

    Chapter 260 ¨C 103 Execution


    After a night of fierce fighting, the corridors near each gun position on the western side were now littered with bodies, both Venetian and Tanilian.


    If the Venetians hadn¡¯t taken the unused gunpowder back to camp every day, last night¡¯s losses would have been even more severe.


    When daylight came, the Venetians began cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the bodies of their comrades.


    Winters and Taylor, having hastily tended to their wounds, immediately returned to the West-Four gun array.


    A ghastly wound adorned the brow of Winters, held together by black stitches. If the injury had been two inches lower, Winters certainly would have lost his right eye.


    Taylor¡¯s sword wound was at the top of his head; he had to shave his hair completely off to sew it up.


    However, they were the fortunate ones, for they were still alive.


    ...


    Buba lay before them, his body already stiff. His eyes, already dilated, stared emptily at the sky, his mouth was wide open as if he were still shouting.


    Almost his entire right side of the neck was blown apart by a musket ball from a heavy firearm that killed him. Aside from this fatal gunshot wound, his body had a dozen other wounds, large and small.


    He fought with his injuries until a musket ball took his life.


    In the last moments of his life, Buba still clenched his halberd tightly. So tightly, in fact, that Taylor couldn¡¯t separate his hand from the halberd.


    Winters stood silently behind Taylor, his last memory being of many enemies charging at him, and suddenly, it was as if someone had struck him on the head with a war hammer, blood blurring his vision. Buba roared as he swung his halberd to block the foes, while Taylor and Weck dragged him further and further away from Buba.


    Winters couldn¡¯t recall what happened after that; the blow to his head nearly caused him to faint, clouding his consciousness.


    During the melee at the artillery positions, Tanilian marksmen quickly took notice of the Venetian officer charging in the forefront.


    Three crossbows swiftly aimed at Winters; two of the marksmen missed, but the third one struck true.


    A short, thick iron crossbow bolt hit Winters squarely in the face, knocking him to the ground.


    Had he not been wearing a helmet, Winters would have been killed on the spot.


    Even Taylor and his men thought Lieutenant Montaigne was shot dead until they brought back the ¡°body¡± and found that the lieutenant was still breathing. The crossbow bolt had pierced the helmet but failed to penetrate further.


    In the chaos, the few soldiers still alive fought desperately to protect the semi-conscious Winters, and Buba was killed during this struggle. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Had Buba not covered their retreat and held back the Tanilian soldiers, Taylor and Weck would have had no chance to drag Winters away.


    ¡°So he died like that,¡± Winters thought sadly, ¡°Before dying, he only ate half a loaf of white bread, drank a little beef soup. He said that eating white bread made him happy, and then he just died.¡±


    To die for one¡¯s country is glorious and grand, and perhaps that¡¯s how the messengers would tell Buba¡¯s parents. But Winters knew that Buba didn¡¯t die for Venice; he died due to the inflated ambitions of a handful of ambitious men.


    Those people brought him from his hometown to this island with a piece of coarse bread, and then they let him die here.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t even twenty years old, he only ate white bread once¡­¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡± Old Taylor closed Buba¡¯s eyes with trembling hands, ¡°You gave Buba white bread, gave him meat, isn¡¯t it for this? Isn¡¯t it for him to fight to the death?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± Taylor, suddenly impassioned, turned around, grabbed Winters by the arm, and angrily confronted him, ¡°Is it or isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Old Taylor seemed to age a decade in an instant; the anger faded, leaving only a profound emptiness. He murmured, ¡°Then Buba didn¡¯t die in vain¡­ didn¡¯t die in vain¡­¡±


    Winters was silent for a long time before he said in a low voice, ¡°No, he did die in vain. If it weren¡¯t for the ambition of certain people, he didn¡¯t have to die, Dan didn¡¯t have to die, many people didn¡¯t have to die. We wouldn¡¯t have to be here, fighting the Tanilians with our lives.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been on the military grain since the Emperor was still around. Over forty years have passed, and I¡¯ve long seen through it. The lives of common soldiers are the cheapest thing in this world. Buba¡¯s life, my life, all are insignificant to those big shots,¡± said Old Taylor as he carefully tidied up Buba¡¯s appearance, his back to Winters, ¡°Common soldiers aren¡¯t afraid of death; they just fear dying pointlessly. Buba didn¡¯t die for those high-ups; he died for you, because he was fighting with those bastards from Tanilia. If you¡¯re not using him, then his death was worth something¡­¡±


    Taylor covered Buba¡¯s neck wound with his collar, stood up, and looking into Winters¡¯ eyes, he said earnestly, word by word, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, you possess a kind of magic¡­ a kind that makes common soldiers willingly embrace death. Before you, I had only seen such skill in one person, and that was Ned Smith. Please don¡¯t abuse this magic; remember the kindness in your heart now, and when you become one of those big shots, don¡¯t let us die in vain again.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The Tanilians launched a night raid on three of the eight artillery positions, nailing down two and a half sets of cannons.


    The cannons of the West-Two and West-Three gun arrays were completely spiked, and all the sentry officers and guards were killed in action. Thanks to Winters¡¯ counterattack, most of the heavy artillery positioned further back at the West-Four array were preserved.


    After the reinforcements arrived from the rear, they swiftly repelled the attackers at the West-4 artillery position, and some twenty-odd Tanilian soldiers who hadn¡¯t escaped were all captured.


    The eeriest aspect of this raid was that sentries at the other two positions failed to raise any alarm.


    A post-battle investigation proved that the sentries indeed put up a fierce resistance; however, no sounds from those two positions were heard by anyone. This was true for Montaigne¡¯s squad at the West-4 position and Sokolu¡¯s squad at the West-1 position.


    Rumors spread throughout the camp, with soldiers whispering among themselves that the townsfolk had sacrificed six children to the devil in exchange for some sort of dark magic, which allowed them to silently kill in the night.


    Upon hearing this, Layton flew into a rage, and an infuriated Rost Layton personally took to torturing the captured prisoners.


    The captives claimed that they hadn¡¯t launched their attack from the city gates. A sailor had a stroke of genius and adapted the pulley system used for launching lifeboats from large warships for the city walls; they built a temporary lift with pulleys and planks to quietly lower the soldiers down from the West side of the wall.


    According to the captives, their first sneak attack was on the West-3 artillery unit, and as they prepared to attack the West-2 position, the West-4 unit rang the alarm bell.


    Captain Hernan, who led the night raid, decided to risk splitting his men in half to attack the West-4 unit in a bid to destroy one more artillery unit while he led the assault on the West-2 unit.


    However, no matter how much Layton tortured the captured Tanilia soldiers, they couldn¡¯t explain how exactly they managed to assault the Venetian positions without making a sound.


    On the night of the raid, not only could the Venetians hear nothing, but the Tanilia attackers themselves heard nothing either. Footsteps, battle cries, the clash of weapons ¨C all were silent.


    In hand-to-hand combat, cries of agony and battle shouts are usually all one hears, but this time they could only see mouths opening without hearing any sound.


    All the prisoners claimed that during the night raid they could only hear the sound of their own voices, which sounded as if they were talking with their ears covered.


    According to the captives, Captain Hernan possessed a form of black witchcraft. Whenever he wished, he could take away the hearing of others within tens of meters around him.


    Only one captive remembered that there was a masked guard beside Captain Hernan, who did not engage in the fighting. But since he was a close guard, nobody thought it was strange.


    However, this captive had always been under Hernan¡¯s command, and before tonight, he had never seen this mysterious masked guard by Hernan¡¯s side, nor had he heard about Hernan possessing any black magic.


    Beyond that, they could extract no valuable intelligence.


    With the inexplicable loss of two officers, over sixty soldiers, and twenty-eight cannons, a furious Rost Layton disregarded the advice of other officers and swore to execute all the prisoners in the most brutal way possible in front of the defending troops.


    But when Layton decided to act ruthlessly, no one could stop him.


    The Tanilia soldiers on the city walls watched with trepidation as the Venetians made preparations for the execution: soldiers carried dozens of two-meter-long logs to the front of the position, and carpenters began to sharpen the wood.


    The Tanilia prisoners, many of whom had been tortured to the brink of death, were brought in front of the city walls with shackles.


    After the captives were pinned to the ground, they immediately realized their grim fate, pleading, screaming, praying, yet the executioners remained unmoved.


    The executioners drove the sharpened stakes into the [anus] of the captives who were held down, eliciting screams that could give even the bravest man nightmares.


    Another executioner behind the captive raised a heavy mallet with both hands, striking down with all his might, hammering the stake deep into the body.


    Immediate death was a form of relief for those captives; those who did not die immediately suffered even worse torment.


    Afterward, the executioners raised the poles, embedding them into the ground in front of the city wall. Under the victims¡¯ own weight, the stakes continued to bury themselves deeper into the bodies.


    The victims died quickly, but the stakes kept rising until the sharp end emerged from the captives¡¯ mouths or necks, skewering their bodies on top.


    Some twenty-odd stakes were arranged in a row like that, with the captives dying miserably under the watchful eyes of the defenders.


    Witnessing such a hellish, brutal scene, even the most desensitized person would shudder.


    Not only did the Tanilia soldiers on the walls endure tremendous psychological torture, even the Venetian troops were shocked.


    The chaplain accompanying the army, Leonard, spoke out bluntly to Layton: ¡°General Layton, you are going to hell!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, as long as William Kidd goes down first,¡± Layton dismissed the clergyman¡¯s disdain with indifference.


    Even Andre, who lacked any empathy, couldn¡¯t bear to witness the spectacle and whispered to Winters, ¡°General Layton has gone too far with this; to kill is to kill, but why in such a manner¡­¡±


    Winters responded expressionlessly, ¡°No, Layton didn¡¯t ¡¯kill¡¯ them, he ¡¯executed¡¯ them. This isn¡¯t aimless cruelty, it¡¯s a bloody spectacle.¡±


    ¡°By doing this¡­ you¡¯ll only make the Tanilia men on the walls fight even more tenaciously¡­¡± Antonio sighed.


    ¡°Perhaps so,¡± Layton said nonchalantly. ¡°But I¡¯ve also branded fear into their souls.¡± Find adventures on .com


    In the song of crows, war was spiraling helplessly towards a direction of greater savagery, brutality, and bloodshed.

 Chapter 261 - 261 - 104: Reverse Process

    Chapter 261 ¨C 104: Reverse Process


    Rost Layton executed the prisoners with wooden stakes that nightfall, Winters attended a secret meeting in the camp.


    The secret meeting took place inside the legion¡¯s treasury, which, like the headquarters, was located in the center of the field camp and was one of the most important buildings. It had a semi-underground structure with the best sound insulation, which was why it was chosen for the meeting.


    There were no clerks, no orderlies, not even guards¡ª they were arranged to stand more than five meters away.


    Aside from the two legion commanders, the attendees all held dual roles: they were both the most trusted officers of Antonio and Layton, as well as senior spellcasters.


    Technically, Winters didn¡¯t qualify to participate in such a high-level meeting ¡ª at least the others were majors, and he was just a junior warrant officer.


    But he had to be there. Because¡­ he was the key party involved, the eyewitness, and the witness. Discover hidden tales at .com


    The atmosphere of the meeting was quite solemn, and Antonio warned with a stern face, ¡°I need not say more about the principle of confidentiality. Being called here means that you are the most trusted by me and Rost. The matter we¡¯re about to discuss is of great importance, so even when you¡¯re dreaming, make sure to keep confidentiality tightly wound.¡±


    ...


    The several staff officer spellcasters silently waited for the general to continue.


    Antonio and Layton exchanged a glance, ¡°Then let¡¯s begin¡­ Warrant Officer Montaigne!¡±


    ¡°Present!¡± Winters stood up reflexively.


    ¡°Repeat the encounter you had with a ¡¯suspected magic user¡¯ on the night the Saint Marco Legion attacked Red Sulfur Harbor.¡±


    Antonio¡¯s choice of words was ambiguous, not explicit. But the officers sitting here were the elite of Vineta¡¯s military, and it was impossible they failed to get the subtext of the Major General.


    A suspected magic user? And a battle with our side?


    The implications behind this were enormous.


    In other remote regions, there might exist mages, but unless they lost their minds, they would have to be stuffed to the brim to travel such long distances to this small island to help the Tani people fight their battles.


    Therefore, the magic users appearing on this island, besides the Alliance spellcasters present¡­ could only be the Emperor¡¯s court mages.


    And whether it was one of these two aiding the Tani locals, the deeper meaning behind it far transcended the issue of ¡°a few more mages in the defending army.¡±


    So, after hearing ¡°suspected magic user¡± and ¡°battle,¡± Winters saw the tense staff officer spellcasters begin to grow restless: shifting their collars, touching their noses, shifting their weight to the other leg¡­ subconscious movements that betrayed the turmoil within them.


    Realizing the officers were agitated, Winters organized his thoughts and concisely recounted his encounter with the masked mysterious person during the second raid on Red Sulfur Bay¡¯s battery.


    This time, unlike when he told Antonio, he didn¡¯t outright say, ¡°I think I killed a court mage,¡± but simply described objectively the opponent¡¯s presumed use of spellcasting capabilities, as well as that suspected ancient language spell incantation, ¡°Gather flame into fire.¡±


    After Antoine¡¯s improvements, the Alliance spellcasters all used gestures and silent casting. Since there was no need for ¡°incantation,¡± Winters did not know what spell incantation really was.


    But before killing the old Shaman Hestas, the incantation ¡°Gather flame into fire¡± by the enemy left an indelible impression on Winters.


    It was neither a roar nor a scream. It was a chant, void of emotion, rhythmic, and in ancient language.


    Winters had read in books: during the Sovereign Wars, the soldiers who survived the massacres of the court mages reported that the devils on the battlefield sang hymns to the Lord of Hell while slaughtering.


    The officers called this act of ¡°singing hymns¡± ¡°spell incantation,¡± because they knew those were not devils, but the most vicious lackeys of the madman Richard¡ª the court mages.


    Every time the court mages launched an attack, there were similar reports afterward. Thus, ¡°spell incantation¡± was considered by the Alliance officers as a necessary precursor to the court mages¡¯ use of magic.


    Based on this understanding, during the Sovereign Wars, the Alliance forces tried various tactics aimed at interrupting the enemy¡¯s incantation, such as drowning out the enemy¡¯s voice with noise, devoted believers chanting hymns together, and so on, of course, all failed in the end.


    However, after personally fighting the masked man suspected of being a court mage, Winters realized that it was more appropriate to say the enemy was ¡°casting a spell¡± rather than ¡°chanting.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Imagine this: to the soldiers of the Alliance thirty years ago, who did not understand ancient language, this rhythmic recitation of spells would sound like ¡°singing hymns in the language of demons.¡±


    Therefore, Winters reasonably speculated that the enemy¡¯s phrase ¡°Gather flame into fire [in ancient language]¡± was the so-called spell incantation, or what they called a ¡°spell.¡±


    Though he did not state it outright by the end, only¡­ the court mages of the Emperor up north used incantation to cast spells.


    After Winters concluded his brief account, someone immediately grew restless.


    Major Mag coughed softly twice, frowning as he looked at Winters, ¡°Warrant Officer Montaigne, do you mean¡­ you¡¯ve killed a court mage?¡±


    Having been through recent events, Winters began to feel ¡°maybe I¡¯m really not cut out to be a career officer,¡± he even sometimes involuntarily wondered, ¡°Is being a career officer truly my own intention?¡±


    So he was not eager to take this credit, but he didn¡¯t want others to think he was hogging glory.

 Chapter 262 - 262 - 104 Reversal Process_2

    Chapter 262 ¨C 104 Reversal Process_2


    Winters replied meticulously, ¡°No, I am not certain that the person was a court mage.¡±


    ¡°Then let me rephrase that.¡± Colonel Magr touched his nose, ¡°Did you kill a chanting spellcaster who was a suspected magic user?¡±


    ¡°No, the person was killed by Hurd shaman Hestas, the other soldiers present, and myself,¡± Winters replied without wanting to overstate his role. He knew that if it hadn¡¯t been for Hestas interrupting the enemy in time, he would have been dead.


    ¡°Let me ask it another way.¡± Colonel Magr said somewhat displeased after failing to get a conclusive answer, ¡°How did that suspected magic user die?¡±


    With no way to avoid it, Winters answered upright, ¡°I pierced his head with an Arrow Flying Spell.¡±


    Colonel Magr snorted coldly and stopped asking questions. He leaned back into his chair, resting against the backrest.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, are you aware that we¡¯ve fought the Sovereignty War for over a decade without being able to kill or capture any court mages?¡± Another attendee, Colonel Blythes, could not help himself and offered a reminder.


    ...


    ¡°I am aware,¡± Winters answered tersely.


    ¡°But you killed one?¡± asked Colonel Blythes.


    ¡°I cannot be certain that person was a court mage.¡±


    ¡°Were there other witnesses present?¡±


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    ¡°Warrant Officer Bard was fighting alongside me at the time.¡±


    ¡°Warrant Officer Bard¡­ Warrant Officer? Is he of the same batch as you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then you must be very close, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Winters¡¯s tone remained unchanged, but a spark of irritation was ignited within.


    Colonel Blythes wanted to press on with his questioning, but before Antonio could speak, Layton, unable to restrain his temper, slammed the table and cursed loudly, ¡°You¡¯re soldiers, speak directly! Cut the ambiguous crap! Why are you bullying a kid? Jealous of someone¡¯s achievements? Is this what you were called here to discuss? [a string of expletives].¡±


    With each sentence, Layton added expletives, spittle flying from one side of the table to the other. The rest of the room fell silent, with only Layton¡¯s angry curses echoing through the treasury.


    Colonel Blythes was showered in vitriol, swallowing back the questions he had for Winters. Colonel Magr jolted up as if jabbed by a nail, his body springing up from the backrest. The other officers all shuddered under the barrage of insults.


    All the spellcaster officers sat straight and disciplined, just like new cadets at the military academy, which Winters found immensely satisfying. However, he dared not show any expression on his face and, like the other officers, observed decorum seated in solemn silence.


    After a long outburst, Layton leaned, hands on knees, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. After all, at over forty years old not repeating himself or pausing to breathe while ranting was indeed a strenuous activity.


    Antonio knocked on the table and said indifferently, ¡°Warrant Officer Bard has confirmed Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s account. I trust their testimonies. However, we still lack direct evidence, so Major General Layton and I have decided that this battle will not be recorded as killing a court mage. Lieutenant Montaigne, do you have any objections?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Winters answered urgently, as it was exactly what he wanted.


    ¡°But Major General Layton and I didn¡¯t call you all here to discuss the accreditation of Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s battle achievement,¡± Antonio changed the subject, ¡°Last night¡¯s break of the artillery position confirmed a concern I have long held.¡±


    He softly uttered a statement that startled everyone, ¡°The Tanilians still have a second magic user¡­ perhaps even a third or fourth.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear any sound from the artillery position a few dozen meters away, where all the personnel fought bravely and died?¡±


    Ever since waking from his coma, Winters had been thinking about this question but couldn¡¯t come up with a solution.


    When he got the confession of a captive, he suddenly had a bold idea: If magic can amplify sound, could magic make sound disappear?


    All spells in the Alliance spellcaster system are based on the principle of ¡°energy input,¡± such as speeding up, igniting, or amplifying sound.


    But Winters, who had been exposed to Antoine-Laurent¡¯s revolutionary theory, had gone beyond the understanding of regular spellcasters. Antoine-Laurent¡¯s new theory stated: The essence of magic is to change the state of material energy.


    If inputting energy is changing the energy state¡­ what about drawing out energy?


    Isn¡¯t drawing out energy also changing the energy state?


    If energy could be extracted, then in theory, magic would be able to create an effect of ¡°silencing.¡±


    Given that the essence of sound is vibration, flattening the vibrations in the air would sever the transmission of sound.


    This is why the prisoners claimed they ¡°couldn¡¯t hear other people¡¯s voices but could hear their own, although it sounded a bit strange.¡± That¡¯s because, aside from air conduction, people also hear themselves speak through bone conduction.


    Winters had not yet realized that he had opened a new door, he was simply curious, ¡°If Vibration-type Spells can be reversed, what about Fire-type Spells? If the direction of a Fire-type Spell is reversed, then¡­ isn¡¯t that the Ice Spell that the Alliance hadn¡¯t yet managed to achieve?¡±


    With that thought, he couldn¡¯t help but start to try actively. However, after a long struggle, Winters experienced what Axel felt for the first time.


    What is color to someone who is born blind?


    What is the fourth dimension to someone living in a three-dimensional space?


    How can a spellcaster who has never used an ¡°Ice Spell¡± find the feeling to use one?


    Because the essence of using magic is the feeling.


    The first thing a novice spellcaster must do is to find the feeling of using magic, then become proficient through repeated use, becoming able to easily find that feeling. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters realized he had no idea what it should feel like to use an ¡°Ice Spell,¡± nor how to enter such a state, as if he had to walk a path without any ¡°road.¡±


    After staring for ten minutes, he still couldn¡¯t turn a drop of water into solid ice.


    ¡°This way definitely won¡¯t work¡­ I need to start from the easiest place¡­¡± Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Winters thought.


    But he had more important things to do now; he didn¡¯t have time to ponder how to ¡°reverse a spell.¡±


    He had to inform Antonio that there might still be another spellcaster in Tachi, or even more than one.


    That evening, Antonio and Layton gathered all the trustworthy senior officers and seasoned spellcasters inside the legion for a secret meeting.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Any evidence that there are other mages in the city?¡± Colonel Field, who had been silent, finally asked.


    Colonel Field and Major Moritz were currently inside the legion¡¯s treasury.


    There weren¡¯t many spellcasters in the Saint Marco Legion anyway, so Layton simply called them all. Layton¡¯s reasoning was, ¡°Field is a bit of a smartass, but he¡¯s a good soldier, trustworthy¡­ And bring his little sidekick along.¡±


    Was there evidence of other mages¡¯ existence?


    The evidence had always been in front of everyone; it was just that no one had thought in that direction at the time.


    The huge wave that swept back from the dock towards the Venetians on the day the Da Weineta Legion attacked Red Sulfur Harbor was the best evidence.


    That wave, several meters high, capsized all of Vineta¡¯s small boats, even a large sailboat that was turning capsized directly.


    What kind of wave hits from the shore towards the ocean? It certainly wasn¡¯t a naturally-formed tide.


    Only magic could explain the inexplicable.


    So, if the essence of sound is a vibration, is the essence of a wave also a form of vibration? If you tap on the side of a water glass, doesn¡¯t the water inside form tiny ripples?


    Perhaps with another term, a wave; is it a type of fluctuation?


    If a wave is a type of fluctuation, it can be amplified through magic.


    ¡°That¡¯s too¡­ too absurd.¡± Field¡¯s face turned red, and he even forgot he was speaking to a general: ¡°Do you know how tremendous the magical power needs to be to stir up a wave that can overturn warships?! Not to mention me, search all the Republics and you won¡¯t find such a powerful spellcaster! The power of magic has limits! Because spellcasters have limits! No mage can match the might of nature! What can¡¯t be done, can¡¯t be done! What you¡¯re saying is absurd!¡±


    ¡°Field!¡± Layton picked up a cup and smashed it onto Field¡¯s body: ¡°You unfilial wretch! How dare you!¡±


    Antonio, however, was not angry, he calmly countered, ¡°Then what do you think¡­ How powerful a spellcaster would be needed to make a few hundred square meters of artillery emplacement produce no sound at all?

 Chapter 263 - 263 - 105 The Eve

    Chapter 263 ¨C 105 The Eve


    The enemy ranks contained multiple high-order mages, and although there was no direct evidence, the possibility could no longer be ignored.


    What is the most powerful weapon against a mage?


    To find the answer, one must first understand where a mage¡¯s biggest threat lies.


    It is not their Spell ability. For even the most potent Spells, when deployed on the battlefield, are merely methods of killing.


    What is never lacking within an army is methods of killing; even if mages were allowed to kill without resistance, how many could they kill before their magic is exhausted?


    Are there more kills with swords, bows, spears, and cannons?


    Are the leftovers from swords, bows, spears, and cannons more?


    ...


    After facing the might of magic time and again, soldiers of the Senas Alliance gradually realized that the greatest threat of a mage lay not in their Spell abilities, but in their extreme stealth.


    You can eliminate enemies you see, but how can you eliminate an enemy you can¡¯t see?


    Spellcasters possess no external features, no extra eyes or missing limbs compared to ordinary people.


    If there were any visible differences between mages and ordinary people, identifying those with Spell potential amid the masses would not be so difficult.


    Thus, any enemy could be a concealed mage. It might be the young soldier, barely out of boyhood, or the old man with a face marked by years.


    They could disguise themselves as ordinary soldiers, striking suddenly at the enemy¡¯s front-line commanders during combat¡ªin fact, this was the primary mode of operation for court mages during the Sovereignty Wars.


    They could also disguise themselves as the enemy, sauntering into the enemy camp and silently assassinating high-value targets¡ªGeneral Simmons, a dear friend and comrade of Marshal Ned, met his unexplained end by magic like this.


    In fact, if it were not for the Empire using it as propaganda, the Alliance wouldn¡¯t even know that General Simmons had died by assassination. Everyone thought that a sudden stroke had caused Simmons¡¯s death.


    So¡­ what is the most powerful weapon against a mage?


    The answer is quite simple:


    The most powerful weapon against a mage,


    is another mage.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    War, war, war.


    War is tiresome, not only for the soldiers but also for the people in the rear.


    Within the first week of the outbreak of war, it was the topic on everyone¡¯s lips in Sea Blue City.


    High-ranking officials talked about war, clerks talked about war, coachmen talked about war, traders talked about war, and even prostitutes talked about war. All people discussed was war, war, and war.


    But after a week, the fervor for the topic quickly cooled down.


    Citizens¡¯ attention returned to grain prices, firewood prices, and the private scandals of the ruling elite; merchants resumed the discussion of the trends in bulk commodities; the once-quiet Sea Blue Port bustled once more; gentlemen talked about horse racing and whether to donate a military position for some credit; ladies were besotted with the latest trendy attire from the Republic of Paratu. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No one knew what tortures, battles, and pains the soldiers at the frontlines were enduring.


    In the outskirts of Sea Blue City, within the lavish mansion of the Navarre family, a grand ball was taking place.


    Although night had already fallen, the chandelier hanging from the dome cast the hall in light as bright as day, adding even more romantic ambiance than sunlight.


    Mrs. Navarre, with a deft touch, had transformed the hall supported by twelve marble columns into a spectacle of blooming splendor.


    The air was suffused with the scent of face powder and the burning of laurel candles, as well as the faint aroma of flowers.


    Climbing roses, fancy basil, geraniums, hydrangeas, oleanders¡­ The flowers and brocades cleverly segmented the space, leaving just enough room for guests to hold their glasses and chat casually, while also avoiding any sense of emptiness in the large banquet hall. Read new chapters at .com


    It was hard to imagine how much effort Mrs. Navarre must have invested to turn the ¡°Twelve Pillars¡± from an ordinarily desolate stone hall into such a beautiful and pleasant space.


    The melancholic and beautiful ¡°Lorina¡± echoed under the hall¡¯s dome, with elegantly dressed young people dancing away on the floor.


    Girls were everywhere: their gorgeous dresses with hoop skirts spun around revealing glimpses of beautiful slender legs; embroidered shawls seemed carelessly draped over arms, but deliberately exposing flawless shoulders; peacock feather-fanned fans adorned with gold dangled lightly from delicate wristlets.


    As the dance ended, the girls smiled and curtsied, lifting the hems of their dresses to bid farewell to their partners, but not agreeing to a second dance with the same gentleman.


    Ana Navarre sat alone on a sofa looking lost in thought. Her smile returned, albeit formulaically, when gentlemen invited Miss Navarre to dance the next piece.


    The sudden glimpse of vitality from the ¡°Iceberg Beauty¡± caused the heart of each suitor who came to invite her to dance to skip a beat.


    But Ana graciously declined all invitations, and after the gentlemen walked away with regret, Miss Navarre quickly reverted to her preoccupied state until the next suitor appeared.


    Her sister, another Miss Navarre, Catherine Navarre, came back to Ana, the unique purple dancing shoes tapping a ¡°tap-tap¡± rhythm on the stone floor.


    Catherine¡¯s cheeks were flushed and her forehead glistened with perspiration. The heat from dancing three consecutive dances made her feel warm, and she fan herself gently with her hand as she caught her breath.


    ¡°That Mr. Michel is so greedy. The dance had ended and he was still holding onto my hand, refusing to let go¡ªI was almost scared to death. Humph, he should not expect a second dance invitation from me,¡± Catherine exclaimed with excitement as she sat next to Ana, affectionately linking arms with her sister: ¡°Don¡¯t be so glum, Ana.¡±

 Chapter 264 - 264 - 105: The Eve_2

    Chapter 264 ¨C 105: The Eve_2


    Catherine, with her innocent and lively charm, left the young gentlemen around her completely stunned when she was by Anna¡¯s side.


    Anna was considered a beauty, but next to Catherine, she seemed to pale in comparison.


    Anna¡¯s features inherited some of her father¡¯s stark lines, while Catherine was the spitting image of Mrs. Navarre, even more radiant than the lady had been in her youth. Continue your adventure at .com


    Dressed in a light green dress, Catherine complemented Anna in her blue gown. The sisters outshone all the other girls present, and among them, Catherine made Anna look particularly dim.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Anna sighed, pinching Catherine¡¯s bottom discreetly, ¡°You little rascal, now you¡¯ve done it, you¡¯ve drawn everyone¡¯s attention here. When you dance later, others are going to bother me.¡±


    Catherine laughed and swatted Anna¡¯s hand away, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Well, then you should dance too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel like dancing today.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Come on, Anna, just one dance, just one. It¡¯s not often we have a ball. I¡¯ve been so bored these days. Who knows when the next one will be?¡± Catherine shook Anna¡¯s arm. ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why they can¡¯t hold balls during the war. How can we meet young men if there are no balls? If we don¡¯t meet young men, how can we ever marry? If the war drags on for more than a decade, won¡¯t we all end up old maids?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m certain you won¡¯t become an old maid. I have faith in you¡­¡± Anna covered her face with her fan, her tone full of helplessness.


    ¡°Alas, so many good young men have gone off to war. Without them, the balls just aren¡¯t lively anymore.¡± Catherine sighed gloomily, ¡°Captain Wilson went to war too. He¡¯s the best dancer, and he wouldn¡¯t step on my feet like my partners today. Anna, what¡¯s so good about war? Why must they all go? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if they stayed in Sea Blue, attended our balls, and danced?¡±


    Struck by Catherine¡¯s words, Anna became lost in her own thoughts again.


    Seeing Anna¡¯s demeanor, Catherine¡¯s eyes gleamed mischievously, and she whispered with a giggle, ¡°I know who you¡¯re thinking about!¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Anna¡¯s face drained of color.


    ¡°Humph, mother may not know, but I see it all too clearly.¡± Catherine struggled to contain her laughter, put on a serious face, and mimicked a deep, hoarse male voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine, I eat well, I sleep well, maybe I¡¯m just really lucky.¡±


    ¡°What? Oh! You little minx!¡± Anna blushed furiously, grabbing Catherine and demanding, ¡°You, you, you¡­ You read my letters!?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sneak a peek at your letters,¡± Catherine corrected proudly, ¡°I saw them because you left them on the dressing table, not put away.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as snooping?¡± Anna was both angry and frantic upon hearing her sister brazenly admit it.


    Seeing her sister lose composure, Catherine grew even more smug. She bit her ear teasingly and continued, ¡°Not only do I know about the letter, I also know you¡¯ve hidden a sword in your wardrobe¡­ Ah, ah, ah, a gold scabbard, now that¡¯s truly a tasteless choice.¡±


    Anna¡¯s face now turned completely red as an apple, even her earlobes reddening as she stammered, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ve been through my wardrobe too?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we always share clothes? It¡¯s normal for me to look in your wardrobe, isn¡¯t it?¡± Catherine quickly changed the subject, teasing her sister, ¡°Never mind whether I snooped or not, tell me now, who is W.M.? Using initials¡­ hmm, he must be a stingy fellow.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not stingy at all!¡± Anna snapped back, irritated at her sister¡¯s remark about W.M. Then, suddenly realizing her outburst, she quickly covered up, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡±


    ¡°Oh, to be neglected by a sister who has found a lover breaks my heart,¡± Catherine said with a secretive smile, fanning her mouth.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    Anna was both agitated and embarrassed, but Catherine couldn¡¯t be more pleased with herself.


    Meanwhile, onlookers watching the sisters thought the young women were playfully roughhousing ¨C there could be nothing more delightful, and Catherine looked even more stunning in their eyes.


    The orchestra suddenly began playing a lively introduction, identifiable by anyone as a joyous and exuberant tune.


    ¡°Ah! It¡¯s ¡¯Look! That¡¯s Seaman Johnny!¡¯¡± Catherine exclaimed, her spirits soaring. She pulled Anna up from her chair. ¡°Dance, Anna! Dance with abandon! Keep dancing until you can¡¯t move anymore! We must dance to this song! It would be a shame not to! Come on!¡±


    As the prelude sounded, the gentlemen were at liberty to invite the ladies to dance. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The men who had been eagerly watching the Navarre sisters could hardly wait to extend their invitations to dance.


    The confident or brash men hurried to invite Catherine, but most of them were rebuffed. Those who did not approach Catherine felt that the competition was too fierce¡­ Miss Anna wasn¡¯t too shabby either.


    Catherine quickly chose her dance partner, and before she left, she whispered teasingly to Anna, ¡°Anna, sister, believe me, if a man writes you such a short letter, he¡¯s definitely not very fond of you. The love letters I receive are filled on several sheets of paper and even sprayed with perfume. It¡¯s not worth fretting over someone who dismisses you in a single sentence. There are plenty more fish in the sea! Come and dance!¡±

 Chapter 265 - 265 - 105 Eve_3

    Chapter 265 ¨C 105 Eve_3


    Anna, already a bit out of sorts, was shaken to the core by those words, and she almost fell into a stupor.


    She didn¡¯t know what she had said or to whom she had agreed, but she found herself led onto the dance floor by a gentleman she did not recognize.


    Throughout the entire song ¡°Look! That¡¯s Sailor Johnny!¡± Anna, like a puppet, merely went through the motions subconsciously, making frequent mistakes and stepping on her dance partner¡¯s feet numerous times.


    After the dance ended, Anna¡¯s partner courteously escorted her back to her seat, not minding in the least the number of times she had trodden on his feet, and amiably invited her to dance again.


    However, when he looked up to see Anna¡¯s face, he discovered that Miss Navarre¡¯s cheeks were stained with tears, and she could not stop sobbing.


    Her dance partner got a bit flustered, took out his handkerchief to offer to Anna, but she did not accept it. She buried her face into her fan instead, her shoulders still trembling uncontrollably, obviously crying.


    The dance partner felt somewhat bewildered and keenly aware of the pointing and whispering from others behind him; he quickly excused himself, leaving Anna alone in a corner of the hall.


    ...


    Seeing that the atmosphere of the ball had become sufficiently lively, Councilor Mid from Sea Blue City decided it was time to get to the point. He walked into the dance floor and tapped his glass with a spoon.


    The clear tapping sound traveled across the hall, quieting down the bustling ball in an instant, as everyone awaited Councilor Mid to speak.


    ¡°It has been a long time since Sea Blue was this lively,¡± said Councilor Mid with a smile.


    Everyone applauded, and the hall filled with the sound of clapping and enthusiastic cheers.


    After it quieted down again, Councilor Mid continued, ¡°Watching the children dance, it¡¯s as if I¡¯m back in my youth, when we used to play even wilder.¡±


    Another burst of cheers erupted, and someone shouted loudly, ¡°Mr. Mid., dance one!¡±


    ¡°To get me to dance, it must be with the most beautiful partner, but I have important matters to discuss first.¡± Na Bei Mid cleared his throat and began his speech in a loud voice, ¡°Firstly, we must thank the lady of this place, Mrs. Navarre! It was Mrs. Navarre¡¯s generosity in hosting this fundraising ball that we have the opportunity to gather here, bringing life and vitality back to Sea Blue.¡±


    A round of applause followed, and Mrs. Navarre smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.


    ¡°The Tanilia Federation has shamelessly launched a surprise attack on us, and at this very moment, our finest sons are bravely fighting the enemy on the islands, seeking to avenge us. The young men are making sacrifices for us, and we too hope to do our part in helping them achieve what we can.¡±


    Mid paused for a moment before continuing with emotive arm gestures, ¡°Hence, I stand before you all now, asking, asking you to donate your jewelry. I¡¯m not asking you to make a sacrifice, does Vineta want your jewelry? No! What is being asked here is a minor sacrifice compared to what our brave soldiers at the front are enduring.¡±


    ¡°Earrings dangle beautifully from the ladies¡¯ earlobes, and bracelets look gorgeous on smooth wrists! But this gold and these gems can be exchanged for food, ammunition, and medicine for our lads. Many here have sons, husbands, brothers fighting and bleeding on the front lines. By donating our jewelry, they may bleed a little less. Come now! Let¡¯s start with me!¡±


    The final part of Councilor Mid¡¯s speech was drowned out by a tempest of applause and cheers.


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    Every guest received an invitation that had already explained this was a fundraiser for the front lines, and everyone had come prepared.


    Two servants held up a large silver platter, as Mid removed his own solid gold cufflinks and medals and placed them on the platter, laughing as he approached Mrs. Navarre for a dance.


    Mrs. Navarre smiled demurely, boldly removed her earrings, brooch, bracelet, and necklace, placed her hand on Councilor Mid¡¯s arm, and stepped into the dance floor.


    ¡°Change the tune!¡± Councilor Mid shouted at the orchestra: ¡°Daniela Kupor!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The cheerful, vigorous, and catchy ¡°Daniela Kupor¡± poured out from the instruments like a waterfall.


    Na Bei Mid clapped twice, then began following the rhythm, tapping his feet and twisting into the steps of the Trepak Dance.


    Nobody would have imagined that this nearly sixty-year-old man could dance so well, and the dance he chose was the intense and elaborate Trepak Dance.


    But as Mid¡¯s dance partner, Mrs. Navarre danced even better than Mid did.


    The youth had never witnessed Mrs. Navarre¡¯s dancing skills before, as she had not set foot on the dance floor since her husband¡¯s death.


    Tonight, the dancing duo simply astounded everyone.


    Not just the guests, but even the hall entrance was crammed with the smiling faces of servants. On one side were the male servants, on the other the female ones, all had come to see the joyous Councilor Mid and Mrs. Navarre dance.


    The gentlemen among the guests hurriedly removed their rings, cufflinks, and medals to place on the platter before approaching the ladies they admired to ask for a dance.


    The ladies, in turn, laughed as they took off their earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and hairpins to place in the platter, then paired up with the gentlemen into the dance floor.


    In such an atmosphere, no woman would refuse an invitation, and Catherine happily accepted a gentleman she had previously turned down, leaving others to sigh in resignation.


    Each time an item of donation landed on the platter, it drew cheers and acclamation.


    The dance floor grew increasingly crowded, but no dancing couple was as eye-catching as Mid and Mrs. Navarre.

 Chapter 266 - 266 - 105: The Eve_4

    Chapter 266 ¨C 105: The Eve_4 S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna began to feel restless. As everyone¡¯s attention was focused on Mid, she quietly wiped away her tears.


    She suddenly realized she was only wearing one earring. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t have any jewelry; it was that she simply hadn¡¯t been in the mood to dress up, so she had carelessly put on a pair of earrings.


    But this was her home, where she¡¯d played since childhood, and she knew every corner of the grand hall like the back of her hand.


    Seeing that no one had invited her, Anna quietly slipped away from the crowd and pushed open a secret door in the corner of the hall to leave. She hurried back to her room, planning to fetch some jewelry before returning.


    However, when she opened her wardrobe, she saw the sword Winters had given her, that garish sword with a gold scabbard.


    ¡°If a man writes you such a short letter, he definitely doesn¡¯t love you very much.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s words echoed in Anna¡¯s head like the whispers of a demon.


    ...


    Suddenly, Anna¡¯s tears could no longer be held back and they flowed freely.


    Sobbing, Anna picked up the gold sword: ¡°Why did you do this to me? Saying it was a relic from my father, it was all fake! All deception! You never truly loved me!¡±


    Anger and resentment filled her heart, and Anna slammed the ¡°gold sword¡± onto the ground. The idea of revenge uncontrollably scratched at her heart; she picked up the ¡°gold sword¡± and walked toward the banquet hall: ¡°You gave this to me, now I¡¯ll return it to you, and we¡¯ll be even!¡±


    Anna walked and cried, the angrier she got, the more heartbroken she wept. The music from the banquet hall grew louder and louder, the secret door was right in front of her. In the moment before pushing the door open, Anna hesitated.


    Their first encounter at the banquet, the quarrel over the painting request, bickering in the guards¡¯ gallery with mulled wine, learning swordplay behind the Parliament square¡ªthese memories surfaced one by one before her eyes, and that person¡¯s face began to blur.


    She was starting to forget his facial features, but she vividly remembered him, and missed him tremendously.


    Anna, clinging to the ¡°gold sword,¡± helplessly curled up in a corner behind the secret door, unable to stop sobbing: ¡°You wretch ¡­ why did you do this to me ¡­ where are you?¡±


    So where was Winters Montagne now?


    He was at Tachi¡¯s city gate, in the triangular fort, the Venetian point closest to the city walls.


    He meticulously wiped his matchlock clean, sharpened the awl and his sword to an incredibly fine edge, and then checked the gunpowder to ensure it hadn¡¯t gotten damp or separated.


    After completing all these tasks, he still couldn¡¯t settle down to sleep.


    Major Moritz, on the other hand, was sleeping soundly amidst the loud snores of the regular troops.


    Unable to sleep, Winters wrapped himself in a coat and climbed to the top of the triangular fort. Continue reading stories on


    After continuous efforts to raise its height, the fort had reached the structural limit it could support, level with the city walls.


    Now standing on top of the fort, one could look directly at the city walls. To raise it further would require expanding the base, otherwise, the rammed earth would collapse.


    Interestingly, the garrison wasn¡¯t idle either; they too had built a wooden watchtower at the city gate, raising the height of the wall and at the same time blocking the view from the triangular fort.


    The sentinels atop the fort initially didn¡¯t recognize Winters in his uniform. Upon seeing his face, they quickly saluted him in a panic.


    Winters silently watched the dark city walls, where two lights glowed, seemingly the garrison¡¯s sentinels smoking.


    ¡°Tomorrow, all of this could come to an end.¡± he thought to himself.

 Chapter 267 - 267 - 106: The Final Assault

    Chapter 267 ¨C 106: The Final Assault


    Both the Venetians and the Tanilians could clearly feel it¡ªthe final moments were approaching.


    The grueling siege was a tremendous torment for both attackers and defenders; everyone longed to see the end of it all, yet they also feared the arrival of that final moment.


    The battlefield was quiet for the first time, the previous night¡¯s unceasing thunder of cannon fire had quieted for the first time. But everyone understood that this brief calm foretold the spilling of more blood.


    Grindstone met sword and sparks flew, as the Venetians sharpened their weapons over and over again. The musketeers were also meticulously grinding their lead bullets so they would fit snugly into the barrels of their guns.


    Upon the walls, the garrison busied themselves in frantic preparation, tirelessly moving stones, sulfur, bundles of arrows, and barrels of pitch to the ramparts through the night.


    By dawn the next day, the Venetians had begun to assemble, and meat rations were distributed directly into the hands of each soldier for the first time.


    Every soldier, whether deeply religious or not, knelt to pray and receive blessings before the chaplain accompanying the army. The chaplain moved among them, sprinkling Holy Water over everyone.


    ...


    The intense bombardment had been going on for eleven days.


    In that time, the garrison tried everything they could to reduce the damage to the walls from the cannonballs:


    They smeared the external surface of the wall with a mixture of lime and mud to add a protective layer;


    They hung wood, bags of wool, and even precious tapestries outside the walls, in hopes of absorbing the impact of the cannonballs;


    They piled up earth behind the walls to effectively thicken them;


    They worked through the night to repair breaches with wooden palisades, earth, and stones, using barrels filled with earth as makeshift merlons.


    However, all these measures were to no avail; the walls were inexorably crumbling to pieces.


    The Venetians, taking their cue from the attackers at the siege of Constantinople, improved their artillery tactics, making the impact points form a triangle: first, two horizontal breaches were created about eight or nine meters apart with cannons, then the heaviest artillery delivered the finishing blow.


    When a thirty-two-pound iron ball hurtled into the wall, it triggered a chain reaction, creating a larger breach on top of the damage from the previous two shots.


    This kind of damage caused the still-connected parts of the wall to endure tension beyond their limits, much like a tree with a V-shaped notch cut into it, collapsing thunderously amidst a terrifying sound of fracturing, as if the once impregnable walls had crumbled.


    From the fourth day of the heavy bombardment, the speed of destruction of the walls had already surpassed the repair speed of the garrison. Even if the Tanilians managed to repair the breaches, they couldn¡¯t clear the rubble from beneath the walls under Venetian gunfire.


    Although piling earth behind the walls slowed down their destruction, once the wall collapsed, the mound behind it would too. The spilling earth and rock formed a gentle slope in front of the breach, which inadvertently aided those attempting to scale the walls.


    The Venetian forces also launched incessant probing attacks on various breaches, one of which even managed to plant a battle flag atop the wall, but the attackers at the walls were ultimately driven off by the defending forces that rushed to the site.


    The Venetian soldiers were left wringing their hands in frustration, but the senior officers remained unmoved.


    Given the tenacious spirit shown by the Tanilian defenders, no one expected that such small-scale attacks would capture Tachi, nor did anyone believe that planting a flag on the walls would collapse the Tanilians¡¯ morale.


    None of the probing attacks captured the walls, but Antonio and Layton remained unswervingly determined to launch the next one, using this method to whittle away the defenders¡¯ spirit, energy, and manpower.


    Perhaps it was the cruel spectacle of the stakes execution that had deterred the defenders, or perhaps they simply had no more strength to spare; William Kidd no longer sent men to night-raid the Venetian artillery positions.


    On the sixth day of the massive bombardment, two companies that went around to the rear hill successfully intercepted the stream flowing into Tachi from the crater lake, cutting off the defenders¡¯ water supply.


    By the seventh day of the massive bombardment, the defenders had almost given up on repairing the walls. Venetian soldiers could brazenly walk up to the wall at night, remove the barrels serving as merlons with long poles fitted with iron hooks, and even retrieve the unexploded cannonballs from the wall¡¯s base.


    The Tanilians¡­ seemed completely exhausted.


    On the twelfth day after the massive bombardment, the twenty-eighth day of the siege, and the thirty-ninth day since Winters landed on Red Sulfur Island, the final assault on the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the island was imminent.


    After praying, being blessed, and receiving communion, the Venetians with weapons in hand began to move into their assault positions. The Tanilians, who hadn¡¯t slept a wink on the walls, first heard a cacophony outside the city and then a deathlike silence.


    It was the sign of an impending attack.


    Everyone clenched their weapons tightly.


    At dawn, with the simultaneous firing of all the cannons as the signal, the Venetians launched an all-out assault on the seven breaches in the walls amid the sound of war drums and bugles.


    The terrifying yells of the Venetian charge made every living person inside the city tremble incessantly. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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    Under cover of cannon, musket, and crossbow, the Venetians crossed the trench and rushed to the wall breaches with their Siege Ladders.


    The soldiers in front climbed the ladders onto the parapet, while those behind worked fervently to dismantle the temporary wooden barricades blocking the breaches.


    In the darkness, the two armies clashed in a brutal melee.


    As stones were hurled from atop the wall, the ones that directly hit the Venetian soldiers snatched their lives in an instant. The stones that missed their targets bounced off the slope at the base of the wall, striking the Venetians so hard that they spat blood.

 Chapter 268 - 268 - 106: Final Assault_2

    Chapter 268 ¨C 106: Final Assault_2


    Cannons loaded with grapeshot roared and claimed more than a dozen lives with each blast, the walnut-sized iron balls capable of piercing one person¡¯s body before killing another.


    Boiling oil, burning sulfur, and bubbling pitch were poured down from the city walls, immediately followed by a chilling chorus of agonized screams.


    Atop the triangle fortress, the Venetians too were cleansing the city walls, their cannons and muskets shredding Tanilian soldiers into a gruesome spray of flesh and blood.


    The siege troops extended ladders from the triangle fortress onto the battlements; heavily armored sword and shield bearers leapt onto the city wall, engaging the defenders in brutal melee.


    The cacophony of cannon and musket fire, the warning bells of Tachi¡¯s church, the crisp sound of clashing weapons, and the desperate screams of dying warriors merged into a single horrific symphony.


    Flames from the muzzles of guns flashed like lightning, while the combined roar of sounds thundered like a storm, shocking even the gods with the cruelty humanity exhibited today.


    Great fires erupted in many places; the stench of burning tar and sulfur, along with the terrible charred scent of cooking human flesh, spread throughout the city walls.


    ...


    The smoke from the fires at the front lines and the white smoke from the gunshots grew denser, until the entire city was enveloped in thick smoke, and eventually neither side could see the other, and no one knew whom they were fighting.


    Thus, Venetians and Tanilians were slaughtering each other in a confined space¡ªno, there were no longer distinctions between Venetians and Tanilians, just individuals struggling to survive.


    While the Veneta Army and the defenders engaged in fierce combat, Winters anxiously awaited the signal. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By his side was Major Moritz, along with seven other junior officers. This special squad all shared an additional identity¡ªSpellcasters.


    The best weapon against a mage was another mage, and the generals of the Vineta Army were well aware of this fact.


    The enemy might have legendary court Spellcasters on their side, but the Venetians now also had their own Spellcasters.


    Antoine-Laurent initially believed that Alliance Spellcasters could not quickly achieve the individual level of court Spellcasters, hence he suggested enrolling potential Spellcasters into military academies to cultivate Spellcasting officers for frontline combat support.


    However, this idea ultimately went awry in practice: being a Spellcaster became a stepping stone for officers, and once they had served long enough, they were swiftly promoted to senior ranks.


    So how were these Spellcasters, now removed from the front lines, to provide magical support? And where could busy military commanders find the energy for daily spell practice?


    Your journey continues on


    It resulted in a perverse cycle: the more senior the Venetian Spellcaster, the poorer their Spellcasting skills tended to be¡ªcolonel Spellcasters weren¡¯t even as combat-effective as their junior officer counterparts.


    Antoine-Laurent made an error, which, unfortunately, he no longer had a way to correct.


    That¡¯s why Major Moritz ended up being assigned to lead this ¡°countermeasures¡± squad. After all, they couldn¡¯t just call in commanding officers from every unit, could they? Not to mention how much of their magical ability those officers still retained was questionable.


    Instead, Moritz, who had been benched for many years, saw his Spellcasting skills steadily improve.


    Winters, one of the few Spellcasters with actual combat experience, although not a formal officer, was also drafted into Moritz¡¯s special squad.


    Major Moritz, for various reasons, was not heavily utilized in the military, and he did not care about others¡¯ opinions; on the contrary, he enjoyed his leisure. But at this moment, Antonio and Layton could only rely on the strongest Spellcaster recognized in the military¡ªMoritz van Nassau.


    ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the signal been given yet?¡± Lieutenant Kirk paced back and forth restlessly beneath the parapet.


    Faced with an unknown enemy, everyone in Moritz¡¯s squad became somewhat edgy: Captain Lailo repeatedly checked his weapons over and over; Major Moritz toyed with a steel awl he had borrowed from Winters¡ªtoday the Major was not concerned with portability; Winters was sitting on his seat, hands on knees, trying to clear his mind as much as possible.


    This squad, comprised entirely of officers, was now all dressed in enlisted soldiers¡¯ uniforms.


    Not just them¡ªtoday, all the Spellcaster officers in the Vineta Army had removed their Spellcaster insignia.


    The centurions and commanders on the front lines had also removed their distinctive officer¡¯s armors and helmets, donning soldiers¡¯ gear instead. Although it did reduce the efficiency of the command system, it was a necessary measure in desperate times.


    ¡°No signal is actually a good thing,¡± said Major Moritz, taking off an exquisite silver flask from behind his belt and tossing it to Lieutenant Kirk, ¡°Take a drink.¡±


    Lieutenant Kirk suspiciously pulled out the stopper and sniffed it: ¡°Is this wine?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a special wine; I¡¯ve added some agents to it that can suppress a Spellcaster¡¯s emotions, making it easier for them to enter a Spellcasting state.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Kirk took a big gulp and then handed the flask back to Major Moritz.


    ¡°Winters,¡± Lieutenant Pisani couldn¡¯t help but pat Winters on the shoulder.


    Winters, whose mind had been blank, reflexively stood to attention.


    ¡°Sit, don¡¯t be nervous,¡± Pisani, startled himself, patted Winters on the shoulder again, ¡°I have something to ask you.¡±


    Pisani was only two classes ahead of Winters, and the two were quite close while at Guidao City. Winters naturally answered whatever he was asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re the only one among us who has killed a mage; since we¡¯re idle, come on, share your experience,¡± Pisani said, slinging an arm around Winters¡¯ neck.


    Hearing Pisani¡¯s words, the others also pricked up their ears. It was rare for the more senior to seek advice from the younger, and it was Winters¡¯ first time being asked about his ¡°killing experience.¡±

 Chapter 269 - 269 - 106 Total Attack_3

    Chapter 269 ¨C 106 Total Attack_3


    ¡°But I can¡¯t be sure that person is a magician,¡± Winters said with a wry smile.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s not talk nonsense between us,¡± Pisani said, dissatisfied, and punched Winters lightly. ¡°Just tell me, what¡¯s it actually like when spellcasters fight each other?¡±


    ¡°Let me think¡­¡± Winters pondered for a moment and replied, ¡°If I have to describe it¡­ I think it¡¯s like eggs smashing each other with hammers.¡±


    ¡°Eggs smashing each other with hammers?¡± Major Moritz laughed. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting analogy.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s exactly like that¡­ A battle between two spellcasters is like eggs smashing each other with hammers,¡± Winters said gravely. ¡°No matter how powerful the magic, the bodies of spellcasters are as fragile as any other person¡¯s. A stab would make them bleed, a shot in the head would kill them. Therefore, in the battle of spellcasters, whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies.¡±


    ¡°¡¯Whoever strikes first lives, whoever exposes themselves first dies,¡¯ huh?¡± Pisani mused.


    ¡°And¡­ it¡¯s impossible to capture a spellcaster alive¡ªunless they surrender of their own volition,¡± Winters said resolutely. ¡°My seniors, do not hold back during today¡¯s battle, don¡¯t let your guard down until the enemy is completely dead. Even if they die, we¡¯re only safe once we¡¯ve decapitated them.¡±


    ...


    This was the conclusion Winters had reached after the battle at the artillery stronghold: it¡¯s impossible to capture a spellcaster alive.


    You can bind a warrior¡¯s limbs with ropes and break them, any brave warrior can be subdued if the price is right. But how do you bind a third hand? Or break a fifth limb? Read new adventures at


    Magic stem from consciousness, even if you whittle a magician down to a stick, they could still continue to use deadly spells. Even if you can knock out a magician temporarily, the moment they regain consciousness, they become extremely dangerous again.


    In the battle at the artillery stronghold, that mysterious magician had almost killed Winters. However, he was only distracted by Hestas for a few seconds, and the near-death Winters managed to kill him.


    Eggs taking turns hitting each other with hammers, not crushing the opponent completely could lead to being counter-killed; such is the cruel fight between spellcasters.


    After hearing Winters¡¯ explanation, the officers fell silent.


    ¡°So is that why we need to use this kind of concealed, swift weapon?¡± Lieutenant Lailo murmured to himself, holding the short gun improved by Winters.


    The short gun improved by Winters had become standard issue for spellcaster officers in the legion. Spellcasters who had seen Winters¡¯ demonstration immediately took a liking to this ¡°magic-triggered firearm.¡±


    The biggest challenge with firearms was ignition; fuse cords were dangerous and troublesome, and the wheel lock was complex and unreliable. Using magic to ignite the gunpowder in the chamber was an excellent idea, not only reliable. Moreover, because there¡¯s no need for an ignition mechanism, it also reduces the weight of the firearm. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To address the ¡°single-shot¡± issue, Winters modified a gun barrel to be three barrels, allowing spellcasters to fire them sequentially or all at once. In theory, more barrels could be stacked, but considering the weight, three barrels were already the optimum solution.


    Major Moritz, of course, didn¡¯t need such a thing, but not everyone had the Major¡¯s expertise in kinetic spells.


    Many spellcasters, adept in fire-type magics and vibration-type spells, lacked the ability to fatally subdue an enemy; therefore, this kind of firearm that required only the lowest level of fire-type magic to operate was widely praised.


    Many spellcasters couldn¡¯t help regretting that they hadn¡¯t thought of this idea themselves, which made Winters feel embarrassed, as he had also come up with the idea only after seeing that mysterious spellcaster ignite the cannon through the barrel.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry so much. Maybe that person won¡¯t even show up today,¡± Pisalo patted Winters on the shoulder, smiling. ¡°Whether he acts or not, Tachi is definitely going to fall today. If I were him, I¡¯d just hide among the soldiers and wait to surrender, rather than coming out and seeking death.¡±


    Before he had finished speaking, a panicked sentinel from the triangular fort rushed down from the top, shouting, ¡°Signal flare! Red! East side of the wall!¡±

 Chapter 270 - 270 - 107 Grenadiers

    Chapter 270 ¨C 107 Grenadiers


    The sentry tumbled and scrambled down from the top of the fort, shouting in panic, ¡°Signal flare! Red! East side of the city wall.¡±


    Everyone¡¯s hearts suddenly tightened.


    According to the prearranged agreement, a red signal flare meant that the front line commander had determined that their troop had encountered enemy magic forces.


    ¡°Move out!¡± Major Moritz grabbed his helmet and rose to his feet, followed closely by the momentarily disoriented officers.


    They quickly led their warhorses out of the triangular fort and galloped towards the east side of the city wall.


    The sun had not yet surfaced, but the sky was growing brighter, revealing a deep blue color.


    Sea fog began to waft through the air, mixing with the battlefield¡¯s gunsmoke and sharply reducing visibility.


    ...


    The drummers pounded on their drums with all their might; the sound thudded against people¡¯s chests. Archers, both atop and outside the walls, were firing blindly in the enemy¡¯s direction, and wounded soldiers who could still walk stumbled out.


    The scene was one of extreme chaos, as Major Moritz bellowed ¡°Out of the way!¡± and drove the soldiers blocking his path aside. His horse plowed recklessly through the ranks, with others following in the path he cleared.


    However, as everyone rushed to the eastern side of the battlefield, they suddenly realized: they had no idea where the signal flare had been fired from.


    The breaches in the east side of the city wall were numerous¡ªthere were three in total¡ªand fighting was breaking out at each one. The battle situation was spiraling out of control. The organization of many hundred-man units had collapsed, and wherever there was the sound of combat, officers were leading their soldiers that way.


    After three circular attempts without finding the position, the spellcasters grew increasingly restless,


    Fortunately, another red signal flare burst into the sky, and the riders charged in the indicated direction.


    [The primitive signal flares used by the Venetian army would explode in mid-air, not lingering for long.]


    By the time Moritz¡¯s squad arrived below where the signal flare had been, the Venetians who had been first to scale the wall had already been repelled by the defenders. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lead troops¡¯ organization had collapsed, and they were running out from the breach. However, the soldiers that followed had not yet engaged the enemy and were forcefully squeezing into the breach.


    A group was trying to escape, another was trying to push their way in, and for a time the breach was completely blocked, both groups unable to move.


    Those Venetians who had the misfortune of falling were trampled by the crowd, screams of agony filling the air. The defenders in the city relentlessly chased and cut down those fleeing, not needing to wait for the routed to run out before being killed by their pursuers.


    The sides of the breaches were recaptured by the Tanilians, with more and more defenders appearing on the walls. The Tanilians occupied an excellent position high above, injuring the Venetians at the breach from above.


    Projectiles flew in all directions, the smoke thickened, and the sounds of battle cries and wailing never ceased.


    In the midst of the chaos, since the officers had all switched to wearing the soldiers¡¯ armor today, the spellcasters couldn¡¯t find the field commander for a moment.


    Not until they heard a furious voice roaring, ¡°[Expletive]! Stop bickering here! Disperse to the left and right! Let them come out first! Seventh century squad! Disperse to the left and right! Disperse to the left and right!¡±


    Without the aid of magic, the roar managed to surpass the chaos of the battlefield.


    The soldiers who had been desperately pushing into the breach were stunned for a moment and then actually began to disperse to the sides of the breach, clearly very familiar with the voice of their Centurion.


    ¡°Siege ladders! Onto the walls!¡± the Centurion continued to roar.


    Following the order, the soldiers picked up the siege ladders that had been pushed down and set them against the city wall again. Shield-bearing swordsmen, protected by their shields, climbed the walls on both sides of the breach and fought the defenders, silencing the guns on the wall.


    Moritz spotted the Centurion mixed in with the soldiers at a glance and led the squad of spellcasters through the chaotic crowd with difficulty, grabbing hold of the Centurion¡¯s arm and shouting loudly, ¡°Juan! Did you send the signal flare?¡±


    In the midst of the dire battle, Lieutenant Juan, busy commanding, reacted with fury when a soldier grabbed his arm and called him by his surname without ceremony.


    An expletive reached the brink of his lips, but then Juan recognized that the man in a soldier¡¯s uniform before him was Major Moritz.


    He swallowed the coarse words back down, Tang Juan shook off the Major¡¯s hand and asked anxiously, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°The signal flare!¡± Moritz pointed to the sky, ¡°Did you launch it?¡±


    ¡°Signal flare? Not me!¡± Juan denied hastily, turning to head towards the breach in the wall.


    Moritz grabbed hold of Juan¡¯s arm once again, pressing, ¡°Where is your captain?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Where the hell should I know?¡± Tang Juan lost his temper, not caring that the Major before him outranked him by three grades, and violently broke free from Moritz¡¯s hold.


    The cheers of the Tanilians pierced through the smoke from behind; the defenders were celebrating their retaking of the breach. The Venetians had been driven off the wall, tumbling and scrambling out through the route cleared by Juan¡¯s century.


    Hearing the Tanilians¡¯ cheers, Tang Juan realized the breach had changed hands.


    With a swift move, he planted his sword in the ground and bellowed loudly, ¡°Grenades!¡±


    A dozen tall, muscular soldiers quickly gathered around Centurion Juan upon hearing the order. Explore hidden tales at


    Lieutenant Juan took a metal ball in a rope net from one of the soldiers, and the other soldiers also took out similar objects from their backpacks.


    Winters recognized what Senior Juan was holding; it had no official name yet, but it went by many: bomb, grenade, explosive¡­ users could call it whatever they wanted.


    But whatever it was called, it was an exceptionally dangerous weapon¡ªnot just for the enemy, but even more so for the user.


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    A soldier nearby lit the fuse of the iron bomb in Lieutenant Juan¡¯s hand, and Centurion Juan took a deep breath, swinging the iron bomb above his head by the rope.


    The hissing iron bomb circled overhead, pulled by the rope, making a terrifying whistling sound.


    ¡°Throw!¡± Lieutenant Juan shouted as he released his grip, sending the bomb flying toward the breach in the wall, trailing the hemp rope along its tangential path.


    The other grenadiers followed the Centurion¡¯s lead, sending a dozen more iron-cased bombs flying into the smoke.


    Limited by the level of casting technology, the lightest throwing bombs equipped by the Venetian army weighed four pounds, and could not be used by anyone who wasn¡¯t physically strong; therefore, grenadiers were all carefully selected strong men.


    But even these elite soldiers needed a sling-like rope net to throw the heavy iron bombs far enough.


    Carrying a bomb that could explode at any time was terrifying enough¡ªpeople of this era still didn¡¯t understand static electricity.


    The ¡°throwing¡± method was even more dangerous: no one could stand next to the thrower, and if misguided, the bomb could land among their own ranks.


    Hence, very few people could use this weapon, even fewer dared to; it was simply too dangerous. However, in shoulder-to-shoulder, face-to-face siege warfare, its lethality was also quite astonishing.


    Continuous explosions erupted from behind the smokescreen, and the cheers of the Tanilians were no longer heard, only the inhuman screams and moans.


    ¡°Continue! Don¡¯t stop! Use up all the grenades!¡± Juan¡¯s loud command woke up the soldiers who were still in shock. The grenadiers took new iron bombs from their backpacks, casting them toward the breach in the wall.


    Moritz¡¯s squad was frozen in place, and the noise was so intense that Captain Lailo had to shout into Major Moritz¡¯s ear, ¡°Sir! What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    In front of Winters, a grenadier was shakily striking flint, but no matter what, he could not light the fuse.


    This grenadier hadn¡¯t managed to throw his bomb with Centurion Juan in the first round, and while the other soldiers had thrown at least three times each, he was still struggling to ignite the fuse of his first bomb.


    ¡°Give it to me!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t bear to see the panicked grenadier potentially throw the bomb onto their own men.


    The frantic grenadier had a look of both helplessness and gratitude in his eyes as he let Winters take the iron bomb from his hands.


    Winters lit the fuse with a fire-starting spell and then tossed the bomb into the breach behind the wall as if casting a shot put. Since he hadn¡¯t practiced with it, Winters didn¡¯t dare to use the sling to launch the bomb and simply threw it like a shot put instead. Fortunately, his basic fitness was good enough that even with this method, the throw wasn¡¯t too short.


    The sight of Winters igniting the fuse with a mere gesture shocked the panicked grenadier into freezing on the spot.


    Winters, after throwing the bomb, reprimanded him, ¡°What are you standing there for? Give me another one!¡±


    The grenadier hastily took out another bomb, and Winters repeated the previous action.


    Juan had each of his grenadiers carry six backup bombs, and with this continued effort, Winters had used up all his bombs even faster than the other grenadiers, despite being three rounds behind.


    ¡°If only this thing weighed only one pound,¡± Winters wiped the sweat from his forehead, wishing, ¡°Even at two pounds, it wouldn¡¯t be so troublesome to use.¡±


    He suddenly noticed that Lieutenant Juan, who had thrown his six rounds of bombs, looked at him deeply. In their mutual gaze, Centurion Juan nodded at his junior and then turned around to shout, ¡°The military flag!¡±


    The flag bearer quickly took out the flag from his bosom, affixed it to a long spear, and handed it to the Centurion.


    Lieutenant Juan, holding the Golden Lion Flag aloft, roared, ¡°Follow the military flag! Attack! Follow the military flag! Attack!¡± He led his hundred men headlong into the breach in the wall.


    Seeing this, even the most discouraged soldiers felt a surge of shame. Many Venetians who had fled from the breach also picked up their weapons and followed Juan¡¯s century into the wall.


    Issuing conspicuous armor to officers wasn¡¯t for appearance¡¯s sake, but so the timid soldiers could clearly see their commanders right beside them.


    Swapping an officer¡¯s armor for a soldier¡¯s might reduce the impact of spellcasters, but it also undermined the will of the Venetian army.


    Lieutenant Juan raising the military flag let all the soldiers present know he had not retreated an inch, but it also made him a target.


    ¡°Major, what do we do?¡± Lailo couldn¡¯t help but ask again.


    ¡°Follow Centurion Juan!¡± Moritz drew his sword, taking large strides to catch up, ¡°If there¡¯s a spellcaster among the Tanilians, Centurion Juan is the most obvious target!¡±

 Chapter 271 - 271 - 108 The Tip of the Knife

    Chapter 271 ¨C 108 The Tip of the Knife


    The siege, where those outside the city want to enter and no one knows what those inside the city desire¡­ but one thing is certain¡ªthey do not wish to let those outside in.


    After weeks of attrition warfare, Winters set foot within the city walls for the first time.


    He encountered no adversaries, nor did he step into any traps. The soil underfoot was exceptionally muddy, saturated with a red liquid.


    Limb fragments were strewn everywhere; the six-round barrages had not only shattered the spirits of the Tanilians but also destroyed their bodies.


    Venetian soldiers who stormed the breach had slaughtered all the Tanilians still alive¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t have survived much longer anyway, and a swift death was a special kind of mercy.


    As Colonel Volbon had anticipated, the defenders had packed thick mounds of earth behind the city walls. However, not all sections of the wall were reinforced in this way, and it seemed only those targeted by heavy bombardment were buttressed with earth.


    Low, crude wooden shacks appeared and disappeared in the sea fog, their familiar construction making Winters feel as though he had returned to his hometown.


    ...


    The slums here were no different from those in Sea Blue; impoverished miners had erected barely habitable shanties behind the city walls.


    Many of the wooden shacks had been dismantled, not hard to imagine being repurposed as timber for the defenders. More shanties must have been outside the walls, but those had been cleared out long before the Venetians arrived.


    Some low cottages were set ablaze by other troops that had breached the walls, the damp wood burning and emitting smoke that further reduced visibility.


    Winters could no longer see where Lieutenant Juan was, but could vaguely make out the red base of the Golden Lion Flag. Juan¡¯s company wasn¡¯t advancing towards the city district; instead, they began attacking toward the direction of the city gates, staying close to the base of the walls.


    Tang Juan charged at the city walls ferociously, while Major Moritz and the spellcasters could not catch up no matter what, nearly losing sight of the Golden Lion Flag ahead in the dense fog.


    ¡°Be careful! Don¡¯t get separated! The Tanilians won¡¯t surrender that easily!¡± Moritz warned the spellcasters without looking back, his voice grave.


    A few junior officers unsheathed their swords, staying no more than a step away from each other, advancing in the fog with uneven steps. Winters nearly tripped over bodies several times, and the thick sea fog carried with it an unsettling eeriness, hiding who knew how many enemies.


    Lieutenant Pisani suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s join forces and use the Wind Control Skill to disperse the fog!¡±


    ¡°Conserve your magic power!¡± came the cool reply from the major.


    Then, Winters distinctly heard the sound of disordered footsteps to the front-right, and a peculiar sound¡­ the clashing of armor parts during a run.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Winters immediately bellowed a warning.


    The Venetian soldiers ahead also sensed something amiss but couldn¡¯t be certain of friend or foe; a few sergeants called out, ¡°Who goes there?! Password?!¡±


    The response was several arrows shot toward the sound, and a small squad of Federation soldiers burst from the dense fog in the narrow slum alleys, crashing into the Venetian line.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡±


    ¡°Tanilians!¡±


    First came shouts, and then the battlefield fell into some kind of terrible silence.


    This silence wasn¡¯t absolute; intermittent sounds of gunfire could be heard in the distance, the cries of dying warriors nearby. But apart from this white noise, one could only hear the crisp clang of weapons clashing and the horrifying sound of weapons penetrating flesh.


    The Venetians and Tanilians locked in a deadly struggle made no sound from their throats; they clenched their teeth tightly, every muscle strained, their brains nearly devoid of the capacity for thought, slashing at each other by instinct.


    Without saying a word, Moritz plunged directly into the melee.


    It was evident that if they didn¡¯t deal with these enemies before them, Moritz¡¯s group couldn¡¯t extricate themselves. Although this had deviated from their original mission, Winters and the other junior officers had no choice but to eliminate this Tanilian squad first.


    With the assistance of this small group of officers with superior combat skills, the Tanilians, despite their initial advantage of surprise, not only failed to rout the rear of Juan¡¯s company but were also forced to retreat by the Venetians.


    However, the noise of combat attracted more Federation soldiers from the slums. While Tang Juan had yet to turn back to provide support, another enemy squad had already collided head-on with Juan¡¯s advancing party.


    It was just as the enemies before Moritz and his group fled back into the slums in disarray that another squad of Tanilian soldiers assaulted from behind.


    Moritz immediately took command of the rear, shouting, ¡°Join up with Tang Juan!¡±


    The soldiers didn¡¯t recognize his identity, but they instinctively obeyed his command. Juan¡¯s company fought and retreated, regrouping in the direction of the Golden Lion Flag.


    Yet at the same time, numerous figures appeared on the rooftops of the slums, followed by a volley of crossbow bolts. The defending archers climbed atop the shanties, starting to fire at the exposed Venetians.


    The Venetians jostled each other to avoid the arrows, their formation on the verge of collapsing.


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    Moritz wheeled about and headed back, with steel darts flying from his left hand. It was then that Winters realized the major¡¯s displayed combat prowess had never reached its limit; his iron heart trembled when Moritz unleashed his killing intent without reservation.


    The Federation crossbowmen atop the shanties were wiped out in the blink of an eye, with Moritz ensuring a kill by shooting two steel darts at each person. The crossbowmen hit right between the eyes met with brains splattering, not even having a moment to scream, dying instantly and painlessly. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 272 - 272 - 108 Knife Tip_2

    Chapter 272 ¨C 108 Knife Tip_2


    The Tanilians, who couldn¡¯t see clearly what Moritz was doing, only knew that anyone he pointed to would drop dead on the spot.


    Only the devil could possess such power. The soldiers of the Federation, realizing this, screamed in terror, ¡°The devil! A demon!¡± and fled desperately deeper into the slums.


    Only then did the other junior officers besides Winters understand why some would say this seemingly frail, disheveled man was the strongest magical combat force in the army.


    With his mastery of the Arrow Flying Spell alone, even bundling all the others together would not be enough to contend with Moritz. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Shall we pursue?¡± someone asked the major.


    ¡°Do not pursue!¡± Moritz said decisively: ¡°Go and join up with the forward units!¡±


    Following Lieutenant Juan, Moritz and the others made their way to the city gates, where the disguised spellcasters, posing as ordinary soldiers, killed any enemy attempting to approach Don Juan on the spot.


    ...


    During this period, they saw no other signal flares. Lieutenant Juan¡¯s hundred-man team, in coordination with the forces attacking from the Triangle Fort, overpowered the city gate¡¯s defenders and quickly seized control of Tachi¡¯s gates.


    The process was so smooth it seemed unbelievable, so much so that the spellcaster officers felt a sense of unease.


    But the nature of a magician¡¯s battle is deceptive; bodies don¡¯t talk. It¡¯s possible that Moritz and his men hadn¡¯t killed a single enemy spellcaster, or that they had wiped out all the enemy spellcasters.


    The enemy was dead, and there was no way to verify what had happened. The spellcasters could only suppress their anxiety and continue to stand firmly by Don Juan¡¯s side.


    The day had started to break, the sun climbing higher, and the morning mist was gradually dispersed by the sunlight.


    After more than two hours of fierce fighting, Tachi suddenly became quiet. All Winters could hear were sporadic sounds of gunfire and the groans of the dying in the distance.


    The spellcasters and the common soldiers of Juan¡¯s hundred-man team collapsed on the ground as if they were dead. It was because they acted as the arrowhead and blade that the hundred-man team was able to quickly capture the heavily guarded city gate.


    The Golden Lion Flag flew proudly over the city gate, but the exhausted Venetians no longer had the strength to continue the offensive.


    When the fog completely dissipated, the sight that met everyone¡¯s eyes brought even the most resolute Venetian a hint of despair.


    Winters heard the sentry crying. He didn¡¯t understand what had happened until he also stood upon the battlements and looked out.


    Not far away, a dyke made of earth enveloped Tachi¡¯s ¡°Earl¡¯s High Tower,¡± and the flag of the Tanilia Federation still flew above the castle.


    William Kidd had constructed another wall inside the city walls. The Tanilians had not given up resistance; the battle was far from over.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    For this general offensive, the Venetians had deployed nine battalions¡ªnine fully manned battalions.


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    Two legions combined had only twenty battalions to begin with, not to mention many had already taken heavy casualties in the siege.


    The Venetian military leadership wanted a decisive victory, yet the Tanilians¡¯ tenacity was infuriating.


    Such was the helplessness of the era: tactically, offense overshadowed defense, but strategically, defense overwhelmed offense.


    Even the most battle-hardened troops could only turn warfare into an endless exchange of numbers when faced with fortified structures and a stubborn defense.


    Thirty years ago, the Senas coalition had used dozens of fortified towns to grind down the Duke of Arlion, forcing the Emperor to negotiate peace. Now, the same tactic was being used against them, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of all Venetian officers.


    ¡°Fight! Keep fighting!¡± Layton slammed his fist on the table at the military command meeting: ¡°We lose men, don¡¯t the Tans lose men too? [Fiercely offensive language]! Keep fighting! It¡¯s a matter of who can hold out to the last breath!¡±


    Layton¡¯s rage was nearly palpable, but the attending senior officers had no reaction; the battalion commanders avoided Layton¡¯s gaze and bowed their heads in silence.


    The nine battalions responsible for the day¡¯s general offense were already exhausted. Many had suffered casualties of over thirty percent, and the fact that the troops¡¯ morale hadn¡¯t yet collapsed was a miracle in itself.


    Under normal circumstances, commanders like these would have been praised for their method of governing the army. However, the reason why these brigade commanders are not speaking now is not because they are stingy with soldiers¡¯ lives, but because they clearly understand that their troops have reached their limits. To continue forcibly driving soldiers to attack the city would likely lead to mutiny on the spot.


    The brigade commanders who did not participate in today¡¯s offensive also remained silent, and no one knew what they were thinking¡­ Perhaps the ferocity of today¡¯s battle also left them with a trace of fear.


    ¡°General Layton is right,¡± said Serviati, the commander of the legion, with a grim face, ¡°Victory in battle depends on which side can persevere for one more minute. No matter how much blood we shed, William Kidd¡¯s men will shed even more. We cannot give the people of Tanilia a chance to catch their breath, and I don¡¯t need to go on about this. At this point in the fight, it¡¯s about who has a harder, more ruthless heart. Even if we all go to hell, it doesn¡¯t matter, as long as we send William Kidd there first! Are you¡­ not even as good as William Kidd¡¯s pirates and slave traffickers?¡±


    The atmosphere in the meeting room gradually heated up with the words of Major General Serviati, as the officers began breathing heavily and clenched their fists, looking at the two legion commanders.


    ¡°No rest. We attack the city overnight! I¡¯ll make sure William Kidd doesn¡¯t even have time to urinate,¡± declared Major General Serviati, who, for the first time, did not consult with Layton beforehand and unilaterally ordered both legions, ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold a reserve anymore. The main reserve¡¯s four brigades will lead the attack! Report the centurions from your brigades who still have combat capability, to form temporary brigades responsible for the second wave of the offensive. Move out now! Within one hour I want to hear the bugle for charge! If I don¡¯t, I¡¯ll execute the four brigade commanders!¡±


    Even Layton was taken aback by this statement, but he still held back from saying anything. It was at this moment that the officers realized that General Antonio Serviati, who appeared more rational, may actually be the more crazed of the two legion commanders.


    Since the beginning of the siege on Tachi, the Venetian army always kept four full brigades as reserves. This reserve force was never intended to be deployed for the siege, but rather to defend against possible reinforcements from the Federation.


    You cannot count on the enemy¡¯s failure in war. To commit the four brigades of reserves to the assault means that the two legions have reached the point of no return.


    If the Venetian navy makes a mistake and even a small support force from the Federation lands at Red Sulfur Harbor, it would spell disaster for both the Great Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion.


    But the legion commanders have already made up their minds to spare no expense, and everyone else just needs to obey.


    The numbers of the remaining capable centurions were rapidly gathered, and Lieutenant Tang Juan¡¯s centurion was notably among them.


    ¡°Conti! You lead a temporary brigade!¡± Layton called out to an officer, then signaled to another, ¡°Field! You too! And then¡­¡±


    ¡°Commander¡­¡± someone interrupted Layton, solemnly reminding him, ¡°¡­ Colonel Field, he fell this morning.¡±


    The parchment in Layton¡¯s hand, which had been corrected for the fifth time, dropped to the floor.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Winters and Moritz stood silently in front of Colonel Field¡¯s body.


    The colonel¡¯s face was hidden under the flag, but he would never breathe again.


    ¡°Colonel Field is gone, he will never talk, laugh, or race with me again¡­ Is he just gone like this?¡± Winters felt short of breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Moritz pulled Winters away, ¡°This is just Field¡¯s body, not Field himself.¡±


    The first red flare came from Colonel Field, and the second red flare came from another fallen officer, Colonel Petrach.


    By the time Moritz and Winters arrived at the second red flare, that mysterious magician within the city had already killed Colonel Petrach and most of the witnesses, vanishing into the mist.


    ¡°If we¡­¡± Winters¡¯s eyes felt hot, ¡°¡­ if we had arrived in time, could we have¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about such things! Don¡¯t even entertain a bit of such thoughts!¡± Moritz, furious and gripping Winters¡¯s shoulders tightly, chided sharply, ¡°You, me, Field, we are all going to die, it¡¯s just a matter of time. Field is dead, part of us died with him. But he doesn¡¯t hurt, regret, or feel sad, no matter what you think, it won¡¯t affect him. Got it? Don¡¯t feel guilty for the dead, it¡¯s only self-gratification for the living, and it¡¯s unnecessary.¡±


    Three officers were killed in today¡¯s siege, all dying from organ damage and severe internal bleeding. Autopsy conclusions, on-site investigation, and testimonies all pointed to that elusive magician.


    The strategy to use high-mobility Spellcaster squads to counter the enemy magicians was proven to be an utter failure.


    However, the joint command also discovered that using elite Spellcasters as the spearhead of the offensive yielded astonishing results.


    That afternoon, Moritz and eight other Spellcasters received new orders.


    They were to lead the main attack force, striking at the walls first.

 Chapter 273 - 273 - 109: Breaching the City

    Chapter 273 ¨C 109: Breaching the City sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°My lord¡­ it¡¯s just ahead.¡± The Tanilia soldier, forced to lead the way, stumbled ahead, trembling as he clutched the wound on his head.


    The man behind him instilled a fear so profound, the Tanilian old soldier had never seen such a ferocious warrior¡ªcharging into the crowd amidst musket fire, cutting down an entire squad of musketeers.


    The soldier¡¯s legs trembled involuntarily, unable to stop, and fear made him look back involuntarily.


    Seeing the movement, Winters, in a fury, smashed the butt of his gun hard against the back of the soldier¡¯s head.


    The soldier fell face-first into the mud and scrambled to his feet without daring to delay, choking and praying as he moved forward.


    The Venetians, no longer holding any reservations, had directly blasted open the volcanic crater at the mountaintop, sending water cascading down through the former streams to flood Tachi as the first wave of their assault.


    After several more hours of fierce combat, the Venetian troops rode their momentum to break through the trenches, embankments, and the will of the Tanilia people, leading to the total collapse of the defense within the city.


    ...


    The ¡°siege within a siege¡± had descended into utter chaos, with Tanilian soldiers still resisting from within houses, while bloodthirsty Venetian soldiers killed anyone they saw.


    Winters ignored all of it; he had gotten separated from Major Moritz in the chaos of battle¡ªbut that did not matter, for he was after just one man.


    ¡°This is the place, my lord.¡± The trembling soldier pointed at the former residence of the Earl of Red Sulfur Island, not daring to turn his head. Then, he heard the sound of a weapon being drawn. Instinctively, the soldier shut his eyes.


    ¡°Get lost!¡±


    The Tanilian soldier, as if receiving a pardon, scrambled away in escape.


    Winters burst through the wooden doors of the tower, bellowing, ¡°William Kidd!¡±


    The last of the Federation guards charged down from the staircase, only to be slain one by one by Winters. With each kill, he shouted: ¡°William Kidd!¡±


    His thunderous roars echoed through the tower like a death-curse, and the last guard, terrified by the Grim Reaper-like Winters, threw away his weapon and leapt out the window in a frenzied escape.


    At the top of the tower, he found William Kidd.


    William Kidd sat in a chair, seemingly unsurprised by his arrival.


    Compared to the spirited captain he had first met, the William Kidd before him had been completely worn down: his temples and cheeks were deeply sunken, his eyes tired and haggard, his shoulders thin as leaves, and the bones of his once broad wrists were all that remained.


    But even with only skin left, Winters recognized that face; there was no doubt, it was William Kidd.


    ¡°Ha, Venetians, you¡¯ve won¡­ for now,¡± said William Kidd from his chair, unusually calm. ¡°Kill me and go claim your reward.¡±


    But in the next moment, Winters grabbed him from the chair and slammed him onto the floor.


    Kidd moaned in pain as the furious Winters stepped on his chest and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Do you think I care about that crap?¡±


    After that, he struck William Kidd¡¯s face with two fierce punches.


    William Kidd¡¯s mouth filled with blood, his nose broke, and a red liquid flowed ceaselessly from his nostrils.


    ¡°I¡¯m only going to ask you one thing,¡± Winters said, panting, spitting out a mouthful of blood, pressing the blade of his knife against William Kidd¡¯s neck, asking grimly, ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± Kidd¡¯s response to Winters¡¯s question was a chilling laugh, as if he had heard the funniest joke.


    He laughed so violently he choked on the blood in his mouth.


    His face red with coughing, the features oddly flushed with a morbid redness: ¡°You¡­ you know nothing¡­ right¡­ hahahaha¡­¡±


    Winters wasted no time with words, raised his knife, and chopped off William Kidd¡¯s right index finger: ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°Ah!!!!!!!!¡± As pain surged like heart-piercing daggers from his hand, William Kidd screamed, trying to cover the wound, but Winters kept his arm pinned down, causing him to roll on the ground in agony.


    ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    This time, Kidd¡¯s middle finger was separated from his right hand.


    William Kidd¡¯s body convulsed severely, and he curled up, unable even to let out a full scream; only intermittent, low, broken noises could be heard from his throat.


    ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    William Kidd lost another finger, and his consciousness began to blur.


    ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡± Winters kept asking the same question over and over: ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    Discover stories at


    ¡­


    ¡°Where is your Spellcaster?¡±


    Major Moritz, who led the other surviving Spellcasters to the tower, was shocked by the scene before him.


    ¡°Winters! What are you doing?!¡± Moritz rushed over and dragged Winters away from the nearly unconscious William Kidd: ¡°Calm down!¡±


    ¡°Let go of me!¡± Winters struggled and roared like a frenzied bear: ¡°William Kidd knows who the magician is! He knows! He knows everything! Let go of me! XXX let go of me!¡±


    ¡°Lailo, Joshua, carry William Kidd away!¡± Unable to restrain Winters by themselves, Moritz and Pisani immediately ordered others to move Kidd: ¡°Hurry up and stop the bleeding, General Serviati has ordered him alive!¡±


    William Kidd was quickly carried down from the tower, as the Major and Pisalo desperately held on to Winters, preventing him from following.

 Chapter 274 - 274 - 109: Breach the City _2

    Chapter 274 ¨C 109: Breach the City _2


    ¡°Field is dead, and I¡¯m even more heartbroken than you!¡± Moritz pressed his forehead against Winters¡¯s, ¡°But men always die in battle! Do you understand? Field doesn¡¯t need you to avenge him! Do you understand?¡±


    Winters finally came back to his senses from his rage after an indeterminable amount of time. He suddenly felt extraordinarily tired, as if all his strength had been drained away, and the sword in his hand dropped to the ground.


    Seeing that Winters was no longer out of control, Moritz finally let out a sigh of relief. Continue your saga on


    Observing the blood-stained armor and clothes on Winters, the major hurriedly ordered Lieutenant Pisalo and another lieutenant to ¡°escort¡± Winters to the military doctor to deal with his injuries.


    Looking at the dark red bloodstains on the tower floor, Lieutenant Kirk said to the major with a lingering fear, ¡°This little guy¡­ When he goes mad, he¡¯s totally different compared to normal times! It¡¯s like¡­ It¡¯s like there¡¯s a completely different soul inside his skin¡­¡±


    Moritz watched Winters¡¯s figure walk towards the camp from the top of the tower and also sighed.


    ¡­


    ...


    Outside the military medical office, Winters said to the two lieutenants ¡°escorting¡± him, ¡°Seniors, there¡¯s no need to follow me anymore. Rest assured, I won¡¯t go looking for William Kidd.¡±


    Pisalo observed Winters for a while, and seeing that he really seemed to have returned to normal, he nodded gently, ¡°Alright, come find me if you need help.¡±


    Winters nodded in response and walked into the medical office.


    The military doctor, Kane, was almost scared by Winters¡¯s appearance. Kane¡¯s assistant helped Winters take off his breastplate, which had two horrific dents in the front.


    Pointing at the dents, Doctor Kane asked Winters, ¡°How did this happen?¡±


    ¡°It was from a musket.¡± Winters recalled the previous fierce battle, ¡°Probably because it was from a distance, it didn¡¯t penetrate.¡±


    ¡°Take off your clothes, let me examine you.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t penetrate, and I don¡¯t wear the breastplate against the skin, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you think; just because the musket didn¡¯t penetrate your breastplate doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not injured.¡± Kane insisted, ¡°Take off your clothes, I need to check you.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Kane,¡± Winters said wearily, ¡°Perhaps you should treat my left arm first.¡±


    ¡°Your left arm?¡± Kane looked at Winters¡¯s left sleeve, covered in mud and bloodstains, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°I was hit by an arrow when crossing the trench.¡± Winters replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°The arrow?!¡± Kane exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°I pulled it out myself.¡±


    Kane shouted angrily, ¡°Mr. Montaigne! Do you have a death wish?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead, am I?¡± Winters said with a light laugh, ¡°Just wash the wound and sew it up for me.¡±


    With that, Winters started to take off his uniform.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Kane yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t you move! I¡¯ll cut it open with scissors! Don¡¯t you move!¡±


    Doctor Kane went to get scissors, and suddenly Winters felt his internal organs as if churning, his throat dry, followed by a powerful force surging up from deep within his chest.


    Winters, holding onto Kane¡¯s assistant, couldn¡¯t help but retch violently. The severe retching made him feel as if his organs had shifted, yet he vomited nothing.


    Kane hurried back to Winters¡¯s side and quickly cut the uniform open.


    At the corresponding places to the two dents in the breastplate, bruises bloomed like two purple flowers on Winters¡¯s chest.


    ¡­


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand to this day, Tachi was a city doomed to fall.¡± Antonio sat beside the dying William Kidd, his tone as if chatting with an old friend, ¡°Knowing you¡¯re bound to be defeated, why did you refuse to surrender?¡±


    ¡°How about you?¡± William Kidd, who couldn¡¯t move in bed, spoke with difficulty, ¡°If¡­ you were me¡­ would you surrender?¡±


    Antonio fell silent.


    ¡°If I had¡­ opened the city and surrendered,¡± William Kidd actually managed a faint smile, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it would make you all think¡­ there is no one on the islands¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else you wish to say?¡± Antonio stood up.


    William Kidd refused to be outdone and retorted, ¡°Do you have¡­ anything else to ask?¡±


    After leaving the room where William Kidd was held, Major Moritz was waiting outside for Antonio.


    ¡°Did you find the Tanilian spellcaster?¡± Antonio asked straightforwardly.


    ¡°Sorry, commander, but no,¡± Major Moritz shook his head, ¡°The origins of the prisoners are too diverse to effectively discern. General Layton says we might as well just kill them all.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the last resort. Alright, leave this matter to me and Layton, you don¡¯t have to worry about it anymore.¡± As Antonio walked side by side with Moritz towards the headquarters, he praised, ¡°You and your spellcaster squad did very well, Layton and I will commend you. What do you think about making this type of spellcaster squad a permanent formation?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s difficult to achieve,¡± Moritz shook his head, ¡°General, all the spellcasters in the army are officers, which officer would be willing to be treated like a soldier? There¡¯s actually a conflict between the identity of a spellcaster and a commander. Officers don¡¯t need strong personal combat abilities, and the role of spellcasters would be hindered by command duties. Perhaps¡­ the Empire¡¯s approach to using court mages is the right direction¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Fifteen days after the Vineta army captured Tachi.


    The door to Anna¡¯s studio in Navarre Manor was flung open, and Elizabeth hurried in, in a flurry.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened to you?¡± Anna shifted her gaze slightly away from the canvas.


    Elizabeth Selvidi, hugging Anna and gasping for breath, said, ¡°I¡­ my brother¡¯s back!¡±


    With a clatter, the palette knife in Anna¡¯s hand dropped to the ground.


    ¡°What does his return have to do with me?¡± Anna bent over to pick up the palette knife, feeling guilty, and began fiddling with the paint bottles unconsciously.


    Elizabeth couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Then why is your face red?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Where is my face red?¡± Anna angrily threw down the palette knife and covered her cheeks. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯m leaving!¡± Elizabeth said as she rose to leave.


    ¡°Wait, don¡¯t go!¡± Anna caught the hem of Elizabeth¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Elizabeth asked with a mischievous smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t leave, Ella,¡± Anna asked with a blush, ¡°Mr. Montaigne¡­ where is he now? Has he returned home yet?¡±


    ¡°No, he went to the army headquarters in Sea Blue first to report on duty; he¡¯ll only go home after that¡¯s done.¡±


    ¡­


    Upon leaving the army headquarters, Winters said goodbye to everyone and headed straight home.


    Accustomed to the scent of sulfur, the stench of blood, and the smell of gunpowder from the siege, returning to the bustling, busy Sea Blue, Winters felt a profound sense of alienation, as if he were an outsider from another world. Everything around him seemed normal, yet at the same time, so abnormal.


    A black carriage was parked outside the house, and through the carriage window, Winters saw Ella¡¯s grinning face. Elizabeth beckoned to Winters, signaling him to get into the carriage.


    It wasn¡¯t until he opened the carriage door that Winters realised there was another person inside¡ªAnna was also there.


    Before Winters could react, Elizabeth had already jumped off the carriage and pushed Winters inside. She said, ¡°I won¡¯t disturb you two,¡± then quickly ran into the house.


    Anna was startled as well, and by the time she collected herself, only she and Mr. Montaigne were left in the carriage.


    Recalling that short reply letter, Anna steadied her emotions¡ªshe would still feel saddened whenever she thought of that letter. She took out the ceremonial sword that Winters had given her from the hidden compartment behind her, convincing herself that the reason she came to see Winters was to ¡°return the sword to that bad guy.¡±


    But when she took the sword in hand, ready to utter the most heartless and hurtful words she had prepared during many sleepless nights, she was surprised to discover: the ¡°bad guy¡± in front of her was staring at her, his eyes rimmed red, tears gradually streaming down his face.


    Was he¡­ crying?


    Anna suddenly panicked, the words she had meticulously planned for getting back at this ¡°bad guy¡± slipped from her memory instantly.


    She clumsily reached out to wipe his tears and instinctively embraced him.


    Winters leaned on Anna¡¯s shoulder, sobbing softly. Anna didn¡¯t know what he had been through, nor why he was so sad; she merely gently stroked Winters¡¯s hair, over and over again.

 Chapter 275 - 275 - 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories

    Chapter 275 ¨C 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories


    In the midst of Sea Blue City, a grand parade ceremony was being held.


    Leading the forefront were black-robed monks carrying censers, from which a strange fragrance wafted out with each swing, permeating the entire street.


    Amid the wafting blue smoke, the atmosphere of the parade became mystical and enchanting.


    Four priests followed closely behind, holding aloft the relics of Saint Marco in a golden casket¡ªever since two Venetian merchants stole the saint¡¯s relics from a conquered port and brought them back to Sea Blue three hundred years ago, Saint Marco had become the patron saint of Sea Blue and indeed, all of Vineta.


    Winters was in full Honor Guard armor, riding the magnificent ¡¯Fortune,¡¯ and holding the captured Tanilian battle flag inverted behind Saint Marco¡¯s relics. Other Venetian officers who had returned from Red Sulfur Island did the same.


    Following the knights¡¯ column were notably three prison carts. The Sea Blue People didn¡¯t recognize the prisoners, but without a doubt knew they must be some bigshots from the Tanilia Federation.


    They were right¡ªin the middle cart sat none other than the notorious pirate, captain, and explorer William Kidd.


    ...


    Apart from a few caught on Red Sulfur Island, Generals Serviati and Layton sent all captives back to Sea Blue to participate in the offering of captives ceremony.


    However, the transport ship holding the regular prisoners tragically sank, leaving only a few important captives who were separately imprisoned alive, all now in the prison carts.


    Though the procession of captives appeared somewhat pitiable, it did little to dampen the spirits of the Venetians. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following the prison carts were two elaborately decorated carriages, from which jesters in fine attire grabbed fistfuls of silver coins and fragrance powders from bags and tossed them into the crowd, causing bursts of frantic scrambling.


    It was as if Carnival had arrived early, and the entire city was stirred into action.


    The streets were crowded with people, children ran to rooftops, women leaned out from second-story windows along the streets, waving bouquets and fans. Many civilians joyfully followed behind the procession.


    Cannons fired in salute, bells tolled, people set off fireworks, and held a service of thanksgiving¡ªthe city became a sea of joy and happiness.


    The lengthy parade circled the city and finally returned to its starting point, the Council Square.


    As the captured flags, weapons, armor, and even four cannons were thrown before the guard promenade¡ªone by one, at the feet of Perseus holding the head of Medusa¡ªthe crowd grew more frenetic.


    The exuberant mood infected everyone, and each person swept up in it couldn¡¯t extricate themselves. The gathered Venetians shouted over and over, ¡°Victory! Saint Marco! Victory! Saint Marco!¡± desperately reaching out to touch the golden casket bearing the saint¡¯s relics.


    Continue your adventure with


    The atmosphere was intoxicated and fervent; people thanked the gods and saint for the victory, yearning to receive even a tiny blessing. In a sense, this victory parade had turned into a religious procession.


    Even the officers of the Honor Guard had become the center of the vortex.


    Reservedness was cast into the Senas Sea by jubilant girls and young women as they tossed bouquets and silk fans to the majestic knights.


    Many bold women even threw their masks and veils to the officers¡ªamong the Venetians, this was an extremely, extremely suggestive gesture.


    For a moment, Winters only felt objects raining down on him like drops of rain, never even the Tanilian arrows were so dense. He was just glad to be wearing full plate armor and a helmet, otherwise he would certainly have been bruised all over.


    After seven rounds of the cannon salute, Governor Debela appeared above the guard promenade.


    The governor began a stirring speech, but Winters could hardly hear a thing.


    In fact, it was unlikely anyone in the Council Square could make out the details. Each time Debela said something, the crowd responded with loud cheers. The cheers even interrupted Debela¡¯s speech several times, forcing the governor to wait for a modicum of quiet before continuing.


    But Winters didn¡¯t care what the man on the promenade was saying. According to protocol, as soon as the governor began the speech, the Honor Guard was permitted to disband.


    Fortune was getting restless with all the noise; the three-year-old was snorting in discontent, and Lieutenant Montaigne just wanted to get away from the frenetic atmosphere of the Council Square as soon as possible.


    Taking advantage of the crowd¡¯s diverted attention on the speaking governor, the returning officers communicated through gestures, dismounted, and began the arduous process of pushing through the crowd toward the edges of the square.


    Of course, the Honor Guard couldn¡¯t just leave without notice; along the way, girls eagerly stuffed jewelry, slips of paper with addresses, and handkerchiefs embroidered with family crests and initials into the young men¡¯s arms.


    A small sandalwood fan was even stuffed into the visor of Winters¡¯ helmet. With the foreign object thrusting toward his eyes, Winters instinctively dodged, only to bump into another lady¡¯s arms.


    The officers squeezed their way out of the square in a rather awkward fashion, and once in less crowded areas, were finally able to remove their stifling helmets.


    ¡°Hey? Where¡¯s Tang Juan?¡± asked Lieutenant Pisani, counting heads and realizing they were missing someone.


    ¡°Ah? Someone¡¯s missing?¡± Hearing this, Winters was also startled. After a quick count, he realized it wasn¡¯t just Tang Juan missing: ¡°He couldn¡¯t have been trampled, could he?! I¡¯ll go back and look!¡±


    With that, Winters mounted his horse, ready to ride back into the crowd.


    Captain Lailo grabbed the reins of Fortune, saying helplessly, ¡°You lad, really¡­ If they didn¡¯t follow us out, then they surely have a place to be. Don¡¯t rashly mess up someone¡¯s good fortune!¡±

 Chapter 276 - 276 - 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_2

    Chapter 276 ¨C 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_2


    Winters finally understood what was going on and, with a mix of tears and laughter, dismounted again.


    ¡°Montaigne is too naive to understand,¡± Pisani teased, asking, ¡°But Lailo, senior, how come you came out with us too?¡±


    Lailo and Pisani exchanged a glance, their knowing smiles laden with deeper meaning.


    Not long ago, Winters had been in the hellish siege battlefield. Now, he was a war hero, back in the bustling, crowded, and vibrant Sea Blue, surrounded by friends who only talked about women, women, and women.


    Winters still hadn¡¯t gotten used to this stark contrast in circumstances, the sights before him felt like a dream, not real in the slightest. Stay tuned for updates on


    In the square, the noisy crowd¡¯s voices gradually merged into one name: ¡°Saint Marco! Saint Marco! Saint Marco!¡±


    Hearing the crowd¡¯s chanting, Winters chuckled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t remember Saint Marco personally killing any Tanilians.¡±


    ...


    The officers nearby, hearing Winters¡¯ rebellious remark, smiled awkwardly.


    ¡°We are the hands of Saint Marco! Hahaha, it¡¯s just for fun, to make everyone happy,¡± Pisani immediately burst into laughter, slinging his arm around Winters¡¯ neck, ¡°Do you think the old man likes to spit from the gallery? Who else do Venetians love for this? If he doesn¡¯t cheer everyone up, where would the money to continue the war come from?¡±


    Conscious of his faux pas, Winters also knew that Senior Pisani was smoothing things over for him and nodded along with a few chuckles¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by the grandiose stage, this might be the most cost-effective method,¡± Lailo said somewhat nostalgically, ¡°In a month¡¯s time, the Sea Blue People will forget our names, but even after a hundred years, they will remember this grand victory parade. Old Debela has a real knack for manipulating people¡¯s hearts!¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters spotted familiar faces waving to him from a carriage not far away, realizing they were anxious for him, he excused himself from the others. The officers of the Honor Guard all had places to be and naturally dispersed on the spot.


    Winters tied Strong¡¯s reins to the rear beam of the carriage, then opened the door.


    Anna had been waiting inside the carriage for a long time already.


    She reached out to pull Winters into the carriage, smiling and saying, ¡°It really feels like Sea Blue hasn¡¯t been this lively in a long time.¡±


    ¡°The war hasn¡¯t been won yet, celebrating now might be a bit premature,¡± Winters sighed, a touch of worry surfacing whenever the subject came up.


    But Winters didn¡¯t realize, now was not the atmosphere for such words. The air in the carriage seemed to cool by three degrees because of his buzzkill.


    Anna held onto Winters¡¯ hand without letting go, faintly sensing that he no longer seemed able to be as happy as before.


    She pinched Winters¡¯ hand, pretending to be angry, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, you really should learn how to charm the ladies!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, then may I ask who can teach me?¡± For the first time that day, Winters¡¯ face showed a genuinely heartfelt smile.


    ¡°That would be¡­¡± Anna¡¯s laugh was blooming when halfway through her sentence, her gaze shifted towards the helmet sitting beside Winters, ¡°¡­ Hmm? What is that?¡±


    Before Winters could react, Anna had already released his hand and picked up his helmet.


    Protruding from the helmet was a delicate, exquisite folding fan.


    Winters, oblivious to the crisis before him, answered somewhat puzzled, ¡°Isn¡¯t that a folding fan?¡±


    Anna took the fan from the helmet, examined it, and sniffed the helmet. Convinced, she looked at Winters with a very playful gaze.


    It was only then Lieutenant Montaigne realized that something was amiss, and he cautiously explained, ¡°This was given to me by someone else¡­ I don¡¯t know who did it¡­ I didn¡¯t really want it¡­ that fan almost hit my eye¡­¡±


    Anna played with the folding fan, her lips curling into a faint smile as she listened to Winters¡¯ excuses.


    ¡°If you like it¡­ you can have it?¡± Winters said helplessly. But after thinking about it, he felt it was strange to re-gift this, and corrected himself saying, ¡°Or I¡¯ll buy an identical one for you?¡±


    ¡°No, I want this one,¡± said Anna as she suddenly tucked away the folding fan.


    ¡°Fine, it¡¯s yours.¡±


    Anna suddenly stood up, closing in on Winters. Her hair brushed against his face at such close proximity that Winters could almost feel the warmth from her body.


    Human body temperature should not differ, but at that moment, Winters could distinctly feel that Anna¡¯s body was burning hot.


    ¡°What¡­ what¡­ what are you doing¡­¡± Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s breathing nearly stopped.


    Anna extended her arms, circling Winters¡¯ neck, then¡­ began to unbuckle the straps of Winters¡¯ breastplate.


    The Honor Guard armor Winters wore was not the roughly made chest plate distributed to ordinary swordsmen. This set of armor might not fit perfectly, but it was a finely crafted three-quarter plate armor.


    This armor, particularly the core protection, was meticulous. If encountered in hand-to-hand combat, it could give the most skilled swordsman a headache.


    Yet such tightly fitted armor had been infiltrated by women slipping several handkerchiefs through the gaps under the arms and waist. Winters had not even noticed when they had been inserted¡ªthe crowd had been too vast, too dense.


    Consciously, Winters unbuckled his arm plate and indeed found two handkerchiefs stuffed in there.


    ¡°You seem rather popular¡­ Mr. Monta-gne,¡± Anna leisurely folded the handkerchiefs one by one, articulating each word.

 Chapter 277 - 277 - 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_3

    Chapter 277 ¨C 110 Already Victorious, Currently Winning, Marching Towards New Victories_3


    The handkerchief was sprayed with perfume, making the carriage unusually fragrant.


    Winters helplessly said, ¡°Once this helmet is on, no one can tell if it¡¯s a human or a ghost inside. If there really is something popular, it¡¯s just this armor. If you wear this and take a turn in the square, you¡¯ll definitely get more attention than I do.¡±


    Anna laughed with a snort, placing the neatly folded handkerchief in Winters¡¯s hand, ¡°Alright, alright, keep these handkerchiefs. When you¡¯re old, you can reminisce about your glorious days with them.¡±


    ¡°Do I need them?¡± Winters felt both annoyed and amused, ¡°I¡¯ll show you a magic trick.¡±


    Having said that, he placed the helmet on Anna¡¯s head and, clutching the handkerchief, stuck his hand out of the carriage window, focusing his mind.


    Although Winters¡¯s level of magic had not improved significantly in absolute terms, the skills he used in combat after numerous battles were worlds apart from before. It was as if his strength had not changed much, but his power-release and fighting techniques had been honed day by day.


    Winters smoothly entered the spellcasting state and cast a fire spell, instantly igniting the flammable silk handkerchief.


    ...


    Ana hummed as she took off the helmet, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of you receiving handkerchiefs from others.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to receive them, I¡¯m afraid,¡± Winters said, feeling utterly exhausted.


    Ana looked at him with feigned anger, then suddenly leaned in and lightly touched Winters¡¯s forehead with her lips before nonchalantly throwing the fan engraved with some young lady¡¯s maiden name out of the window.


    The black carriage slowly left the Parliament Square.


    ¡­


    In fact, the speech made by the Governor Debela ¡ª which Winters did not listen to closely, and the people in the square listened to half-heartedly ¡ª was very important.


    Although the war had not ended.


    However, Debela had made the Venetians firmly believe in three things with one grand victory parade: Vineta had already won, Vineta was winning, and Vineta was still on the path to new victories.


    Debela took this opportunity to announce three things.


    First, in the future, they would cast a new statue of Saint Marco from captured Tanyrian cannons and weapons¡ªa traditional Venetian custom, using mostly old cannons and weapons, of course;


    Second, all debtors could receive debt relief by enlisting in military service;


    Lastly, a draft would be executed in the rural areas of Vineta to form two new legions. The war would continue until Vineta¡¯s ultimate victory;


    The second and third announcements were essentially about one thing: manpower.


    The Standing Army consisted of volunteers, elite professional soldiers; whereas the reservists were well-trained citizen-soldiers.


    That meant half of the Da Weineta Legion and the entire Saint Marco Legion were made up of urban residents¡ªmost of them citizens of Sea Blue City.


    These conscripted reservists were the cream of the city. Receiving weapons training and carrying weapons were privileges in Vineta, ones that the lower classes of the city, struggling to make ends meet, did not have the time or money to obtain.


    Thus, the reservist soldiers were essentially ¡°citizen soldiers,¡± affluent merchants and craftsmen in the city. They received military training once a week, and a significant number had purchased their own weapons and armor.


    Because of this, although not as elite as the Standing Army, the reservists showed strong combat abilities in the battle on Red Sulfur Island.


    But the two legions had already drawn nearly ten thousand able-bodied urban laborers¡ªhealthy adult male citizens.


    If they continued to conscript reservists on a large scale, the production and day-to-day life in Vineta cities like Sea Blue would inevitably be affected.


    Thus, the new legions and additional soldiers would be conscripted from rural areas¡­ whether this decision was good or bad, no one knew.


    A week after the victory parade, a new fleet had assembled at Sea Blue Port.


    Before departing, the Debela regent held a grand departure ceremony.


    Drums and bugles filled the air, horns competed in a cacophony, and clergy conducted religious rites to bless the fleet.


    Debela handed over a battle flag to the fleet commander, Cro Zenon. The red background of the flag featured a golden lion with a crown and wings, holding a sword in one paw and a scripture in the other.


    The regent solemnly proclaimed:


    ¡°God has entrusted you with a sacred mission, to defend this republic with your courage and to seek vengeance against those who dare to insult and threaten its security. We entrust you with this victorious, awe-inspiring battle flag, and your duty is to return with it triumphantly, without tarnishing its honor.¡±


    Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the sound of saluting cannons, the fleet slowly departed Sea Blue Port.


    However, the ships were actually only filled with reinforcements and military supplies; two new legions had not yet completed assembly, and even their numbers had not been determined.


    Cro Zenon was merely a naval commodore, far lower in military status than Nalesho, Antonio, and Layton.


    There was no ceremony when the Da Weineta Legion departed, nor when the Saint Marco Legion did; yet, the departure of a small supply fleet was celebrated with great fanfare, which caused those in the know to smirk quietly.


    Winters was also in this fleet.


    The reason he had returned to his homeland was only partially to escort prisoners; his main reason was to heal from his injury. Dr. Kane had sternly warned him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to have an arm amputated, then go home and rest properly.¡±


    But after three weeks of rest, Winters felt that his arrow wound had mostly healed.


    He didn¡¯t want to fight, but Antonio was on the front line, Bard, Andre, and Moritz too; he couldn¡¯t bear to stay safe at home while his friends and family shed blood on the battlefield.


    Therefore, Warrant Officer Winters Montagne requested an early return to duty.


    The faces of those on shore saying farewell had already blurred; Winters returned to his cabin. He carefully opened the delicate locket, which housed portraits of Kosha and Ella¡­ and Anna¡¯s as well.


    In the tiny paper pieces, the soul of the portrayed was captured by delicate brushstrokes, a gift from Anna.


    Ana¡¯s voice lingered in his ears: ¡°Write to me! Mr. Montagne, write me a hundred letters; write every day. Tell me everything, you can tell me everything! I will also write to you every day! I will wait for you¡­ I will write to you every day! Please write to me too! Don¡¯t forget me¡­¡±


    Experience exclusive tales on


    Winters gazed for a while, then closed the locket, snapped it shut, and carefully hung it back around his neck.


    Before leaving, he had promised Anna, ¡°When all this is over¡­ I¡¯ll leave the army, or apply for a safe duty.¡±


    ¡°Retiring with the rank of Major isn¡¯t so bad,¡± Winters mused as he lay in bed, pondering the thought.


    ¡­


    On shore, the silhouette of the ship had slowly disappeared below the horizon at sea.


    Elizabeth supported the tearful Mrs. Serviati, while Sofia held the weeping Miss Navarre in her arms.


    Ella hadn¡¯t expected that she, the youngest, would end up being the strongest in the end. She too wanted to cry, but she firmly believed in one thing: ¡°Winters won¡¯t have any trouble.¡±


    ¡­


    Departing with the soldiers were appointed officials, emissaries for receiving duties, merchants, priests, speculators¡­ the number of non-military personnel was more than double that of the military.


    With dreams of glory and wealth, the Fourth Venetian Fleet set sail for the Tanyria Archipelago.


    S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 278 - 278 - 110 Waves

    Chapter 278 ¨C 110 Waves


    ¡°That idiot Layton, he hasn¡¯t progressed a bit after all these years,¡± a man grumbled at the dining table, ¡°It¡¯s convenient for him to abduct civilians from their homes and take them as hostages, but has he ever considered how the Republic is supposed to govern here after the war?¡±


    This was a confidential dinner held in Red Sulfur Harbor, with two other people at the table¡ªAntonio and Winters.


    Hearing the speaker relentlessly condemn Major General Rost Layton, Winters just kept his head down and drank his soup without saying a word.


    Instead, Antonio put down his cutlery upon hearing this and defended, ¡°The situation was quite special at that time, and he had no other good options. However, that being said, Layton¡¯s reputation among the islanders is now surprisingly good.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. First, he scares the islanders so badly they wet their pants, then he plays the hero who rids them of a scourge. The Tanilians are naturally grateful to him,¡± the man scoffed disdainfully, ¡°But that¡¯s all temporary. The islanders will gradually forget their fear and gratitude, and may even forget Layton¡¯s name. They¡¯ll only remember the Venetians who took their family members to fill the trenches.¡±


    If someone else had made these remarks, they likely would have been taken as exaggeration.


    But the man at the dinner table had the credentials to judge Layton, for he was Gus Lanch¡ªAntonio and Layton¡¯s old classmate, and the newly appointed Governor of Red Sulfur Island.


    ...


    Gus Lanch¡¯s career trajectory was rather unusual; he graduated from the Military Academy in the same class as Antonio Serviati and Rost Layton, with a specialty in the Cavalry.


    After joining the military, Gus rose rapidly through the ranks and seemed poised to become the first among his peers to receive a general¡¯s baton. However, after sixteen years of service, for some unknown reason, Gus abruptly abandoned his promising military career to enter politics, becoming a glorified but humble civil servant.


    Luckily, with the support of influential figures in the administrative system, Gus started as the lowest-rank public notary and rapidly rose to the position of City Administrator of Modong Port, where he earned a reputation for being ¡°efficient and well-disciplined.¡±


    Thanks to his background, birth, and prior experience, Gus still maintained an intricate connection with the military, and he was considered a key bridge between the administrative and military systems.


    This was precisely why the ruling quintet appointed him as Red Sulfur Island¡¯s first Governor.


    Gus and Antonio enjoyed a deep friendship. As for Winters, he was ¡°the uncle who often visited his home as a child.¡± Antonio privately invited Gus to a dinner and also called Winters over.


    ¡°Military men really shouldn¡¯t be concerned with politics,¡± Antonio smiled tolerantly. He frowned, asking, ¡°However, I¡¯m still not clear on what exactly is meant by this ¡¯semi-colony¡¯ mentioned in the resolutions?¡±


    ¡°Semi-colony¡± was the political status given to ¡°new territories¡± such as Red Sulfur Island and Sea Spring Island by the Venetian ruling committee.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s actually quite simple. Think about it, if it¡¯s a semi-colony, what¡¯s the other half?¡± Gus had a smile on his face as if he knew all along. Enjoy exclusive chapters from


    ¡°Half overseas territory?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Gus shook his finger, ¡°It¡¯s half occupied area. But if that term were used, it would imply recognition of the Confederation¡¯s claim to the archipelago. The quintet neither wants to rule the islands as conquerors nor give Tanilians citizenship rights at present, so they made up the term ¡¯semi-colony.¡¯¡±


    ¡°It seems then that the gubernatorial government has no intention of truly integrating the islands as a part of Veneta?¡± The concern on Antonio¡¯s face deepened.


    ¡°The governors have very long-term plans for the islands, I believe they will gradually grant the islands a political status equal to the mainland, but not yet,¡± Gus Lanch said and then walked away from the table towards the window, slowly speaking while looking out at the docks of Red Sulfur Harbor, ¡°If we give the Tanilians citizenship rights now, how is the Republic going to squeeze money out of the islands?¡±


    At those words, even Winters, who had been quietly dining, stopped his movement.


    Gus returned to his seat, laughing heartily, ¡°To put it bluntly, they sent me here to raise funds.¡±


    ¡°Have the finances become that tight?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help asking.


    ¡°I know exactly how much Gold Coin is left in the treasury, but war is certainly an expensive business. The war with the Confederation may profit in the long run, but we still need to fill in the short-term deficit, so here I am.¡±


    Winters felt a pang in his heart, ¡°Fill in¡­ How exactly is it to be filled in?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Since they have chosen to be our enemies, all fixed assets of the Red Sulfur Island Council will be confiscated and liquidated. The possessions owned by the council members will also be seized and auctioned,¡± Gus Lanch explained succinctly, leaning back in his chair with a smile, ¡°The fastest way to create wealth is by building an empire, but even faster than that is by destroying one.¡±


    The council members were essentially all the plantation owners on the island. And the Red Sulfur Island Council¡¯s fixed assets were, in essence, all the common property of the island¡¯s residents.


    ¡°There¡¯s a plantation owner on the island who played a big role in the battle to seize Red Sulfur Harbor, could we give him some leeway?¡± Winters immediately thought of Kalman from Hongsong Manor.


    ¡°That can be easily arranged,¡± Gus answered with a light tone, ¡°Just send a letter of certification from your corps to me, and I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±

 Chapter 279 - 279 - 110 Waves_2

    Chapter 279 ¨C 110 Waves_2


    Winters felt somewhat relieved, but then he thought of the slaves on the island and asked, ¡°What about the slaves in the plantations, how should they be dealt with?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s simple,¡± Gus Lanch had a plan in mind. ¡°Vineta¡¯s laws do not allow any form of slavery, yet slaves are important property of the plantations. So, once the plantations are confiscated, all slaves on the island would be able to redeem themselves.¡±


    ¡°Where would the slaves get the money to redeem themselves?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but give a wry smile.


    ¡°The Vineta government can lend them the money for their redemption,¡± Gus sipped a little wine, stating it matter-of-factly, ¡°The slaves, once freed, can pay off their debt with their labor.¡±


    Having heard Gus¡¯s words, Winters felt as if¡­ there was not much change, but this was not a field he could meddle in, so he said no more.


    It was Antonio, however, who raised his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Doing this is basically wiping out the wealthy class of Red Sulfur Island in one fell swoop. Aren¡¯t you worried about provoking a popular uprising?¡±


    ¡°Do you think there are more poor people or rich people on the island?¡± Gus Lanch spread his hands, smiling as he said, ¡°The main body of an uprising is ¡¯people¡¯. I won¡¯t touch the property of the civilians and the poor. Rich people¡¯s power comes from their wealth; strip them of their wealth, leaving them with only the attribute of ¡¯people¡¯, and I¡¯d like to see how they resist me. Besides, don¡¯t I have you? As long as your swords are sharp enough, I can do whatever I want on Red Sulfur Island. I actually hope they resist, it would be a good opportunity to thoroughly cleanse Red Sulfur Island.¡±


    ...


    ¡°It seems you¡¯ve already had a full plan in place,¡± Antonio said carefully, ¡°You¡¯ve never changed over the years, still so¡­ radical.¡±


    ¡°Otherwise, why would they send me to Red Sulfur Island?¡± Gus Lanch tapped on the table with his knuckles, saying with a satisfied tone, ¡°Who would go after the money of the poor on Red Sulfur Island? Only the rich on the island would do that. Where does the Council¡¯s wealth come from? Isn¡¯t it all squeezed from the poor? I¡¯m different. I can¡¯t be bothered to take money from the poor; I¡¯ll target whoever has it!¡±


    ¡°My duty was to take Red Sulfur Island, and I have completed that,¡± sighed Antonio. ¡°How to govern here is your responsibility. The Governor must have had his reasons for appointing you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this, I know you¡¯re not interested.¡± Gus saw that his old classmate was indifferent to his plans and turned to Winters, who was wrestling with a rack of ribs, ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got quite a good reputation on the island too! Those representatives of the citizenry asked me several times ¡¯if Centurion Montaigne could stay¡¯. How about staying here to help me? I could use some capable hands.¡±


    Previously, Winters and Andre had gone to ¡°buy firewood as a sign of loyalty¡±, not thinking much of it, but after delivering the firewood back to Red Sulfur Harbor, they found that the residents were in desperate need of such living supplies.


    Normally, the surrounding farmers would carry firewood into town to sell to the residents of Red Sulfur Harbor. After the Vineta troops landed, the farmers were too afraid to come, and the residents¡¯ reserves of wood quickly ran out, worrying about what to do next. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the urgent need for fuel among the inhabitants of Red Sulfur Harbor, Winters decided to distribute the few carts of firewood he had bought for free, resolving their immediate crisis. Winters also took the opportunity to visit the villages around the harbor, restoring the supply of firewood for Red Sulfur Harbor.


    After this back and forth, Centurion Montaigne¡¯s reputation among the residents of Red Sulfur Harbor had become very good.


    Two legions were about to depart, but some soldiers still needed to remain stationed on Red Sulfur Island. A force of about a centuria was required, and a Centurion was needed.


    Upon hearing Gus¡¯s proposal, Winters truly felt tempted. After all, staying on Red Sulfur Island and dealing with a few plantation owners might be safer than engaging in combat with the Confederate forces, wouldn¡¯t it?


    He thought of Kosha, Ella, and Anna, who were hoping for his safe return home.


    Winters looked towards Antonio.


    When Antonio heard Gus Lanch¡¯s proposal, at first he was taken aback, then he softly said to Winters, ¡°It¡¯s up to you, if you want to stay here, stay.¡±


    Winters gritted his teeth, but in the end he shook his head, stood up, and bowed to Gus, replying, ¡°I lack the ability, and there are others more suited for the duties on Red Sulfur Island.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then.¡± Gus Lanch didn¡¯t say much more, but with a chuckle, he said, ¡°The army is still as heartless as ever, taking away all the good lads, not leaving me any useful ones.¡±


    ¡°Always mocking the army, aren¡¯t you also from the army?¡± Antonio laughed as well.


    Gus kept a straight face and said, ¡°That¡¯s why when I was young, I was also one heck of a fine young man.¡±


    The two men looked at each other and burst out laughing.


    As Gus Lanch, slightly tipsy, turned his attention back to Winters, he said, ¡°You lad, you¡¯re starting to look more and more like your father¡­ You didn¡¯t resemble him so much when you were smaller¡­ but now the more I look at you, the more you do¡­ Back when I, Andre, and your father were studying at the military academy¡­¡±


    Seeing the middle-aged men¡¯s favorite form of entertainment¡ªreminiscing about the glorious days of youth¡ªbeginning again.


    Winters rolled his eyes inwardly, managed an awkward smile, and continued to focus on his soup, leaving Gus and Antonio to reminisce about their youth, exchanging memories back and forth. Continue your adventure with


    Several hours later, Gus Lanch, thoroughly drunk, was carried into his bedroom by his servants, while Antonio and Winters rode away from the requisitioned Governor¡¯s mansion of Red Sulfur Island.


    ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel,¡± with just his uncle and himself left, Winters no longer held back, ¡°that Uncle Lanch seems to have a personal vendetta with the Confederacy?¡±

 Chapter 280 - 280 - 110: Waves_3

    Chapter 280 ¨C 110: Waves_3 S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`


    Antonio said indifferently, ¡°Because Gus¡­ was originally from Tanyria.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The daunting star-shaped Bastion of Red Sulfur Harbor had held out for only one day, while the old and weakened defenses of Tachi had endured a bitter struggle for an entire month before finally falling.


    The siege exhausted the Venetian soldiers, casting a shadow over the hearts of all the officers. Some even said in private, ¡°If all the Tanyrian defenders were as troublesome as William Kidd, we might as well negotiate peace now, on the basis of our current victories.¡±


    After more than a month of rest, the replenished Da Veneta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion left Red Sulfur Island.


    ...


    The officers¡¯ concerns did not completely materialize, as not everyone possessed William Kidd¡¯s tenacious will.


    Three weeks later, the Federation garrison at Throat-Slit Harbor surrendered to the Venetian forces.


    Another month passed, and the Da Veneta Legion, along with the Saint Marco Legion, seized Santorini Island.


    It was now December, and the climate of the islands during winter was markedly different from the mildness of Veneta. The wintry, cold sea breeze caused skin on faces and hands to crack, revealing blood-red flesh that throbbed with piercing pain at the slightest touch. The temperature had not yet reached freezing point, but even wearing two layers of clothing did not feel warm.


    The waves grew increasingly tumultuous on the ocean, making it difficult for oar-and-sail ships to navigate safely in these unpredictable waters. Only the large round ships were capable of ferrying supplies between the islands and Veneta.


    After their main fleet was destroyed, the Tanyrians changed their strategy and fell back on what they were best at¡ªpiracy.


    The nearby islands, jagged coastal inlets, and miasma-infested lagoons¡­ all these places hid Tanyrian nimble and swift sailing vessels ready to prey on the unarmed Venetian transport ships that lacked protection.


    The Venetian navy was forced to deploy more warships to protect the shipping lanes, sparking brutal raid and counter-raid battles in the wintry Senas Sea.


    Supply efforts became increasingly difficult for the Venetian forces, who had to break from their prior policies and resort to sourcing materials locally. This only fueled further resistance from the Tanyrians.


    Facing an environment unsuitable for combat, Antonio Serviati and Rost Layton still relentlessly pushed their soldiers towards the next Tanyrian city.


    However, when faced with the solid defenses of Gusa, not even the most ruthless officers could drive their exhausted troops to an attack.


    The Battle of Gusa turned into a prolonged and arduous siege. The Venetians were unable to charge, and the defenders of Gusa could not counterattack. Behind three-meter-deep trenches, in the bone-chilling cold, the Venetian army outside the city quietly waited for the people within to starve to death.


    After consuming all their food, mules, horses, dogs, cats, and even rats and leather, the people of Gusa who had been forced to resort to cannibalism, could no longer endure. The civilians and Federation troops began to turn on each other, with the sounds of slaughter and screams so clear that even the Venetians outside could hear them distinctly.


    The next day, when the citizens of Gusa who had killed all the Federation soldiers opened the city gates to surrender, the entering Venetians discovered that this once lively and prosperous city¡­ had completely perished.


    ¡°`


    No Venetian could feel happy, not only because of the hellish scene before their eyes but also because they had received some news:


    The Republic of Forthland army had already been stationed in Golden Harbor and had received a warm welcome from the Tanilia Federation. The Federated Provinces announced: The archipelago had officially become the eighth province of the Federation.


    Lionel, the Secretary of State Affairs, issued a stern demarche, demanding the Republic of Vineta to immediately return the occupied territory of the islands.


    The first ¡°Goddess of Victory¡± Legion of the Provincial Army pointed its spearhead directly at the occupied zone of Vineta, confronting the Great Vineta Legion and the Saint Marco Legion across the river.


    The Goddess of Victory Legion, eager for combat, provoked multiple small-scale bloody skirmishes, clearly intending to exhaust the Vineta army¡¯s old soldiers and take down both legions in one fell swoop.


    The situation within the Alliance was rapidly heating up, and even the most optimistic Senas natives could no longer confidently declare that a civil war would definitely not break out.


    Many critics from the Federated Provinces clamored to ¡¯completely resolve the chronic illness of Alliance Country, a country in name only¡¯ and ¡¯remove the current situation of Vineta Republic¡¯s military independence¡¯. Explore stories on


    Debela also added a new title to the Governor of Vineta¡¯s title in a tit-for-tat manner: the lord of three-fifths of the Tanilia Islands.


    This title, on one hand, was due to the Venetian¡¯s meticulous and keen nature, capable of measuring everything ¡ª indeed, the territory of the islands occupied by the Venetians was precisely three-fifths.


    But it was also a message to the United Provincials: I might not claim the other two-fifths of Tanyria, but don¡¯t even think about making me spit out this three-fifths of the islands that I have consumed.


    Yet, in the end, the Venetians only got three-fifths. This was the result of the continuous wintertime battles of Antonio and Layton.


    The Venetians fought to the death, but in the end, they were simply preparing a wedding dress for the United Provincials. Without any effort, the United Provincials gained the other two-fifths of the islands, including the most elite parts of Tanyria ¡ª Golden Harbor and the main island.


    On the Tanilia Islands, witnessing the military struggles and the political gambits one after another, Winters passed winter and spring and greeted the new year¡¯s peak summer.


    Compared to this time last year when he stepped out of the military academy full of youthful vigor, Winters had lost twenty-six pounds, transforming from robust to lean. His cheeks sank in, and the lines of his cheekbones and jaw became more pronounced.


    One siege after another had tormented him into this state, and all Venetians had endured the same hardship.


    He began to grow a beard on his chin ¡ª in fact, it was because shaving during the winter had cracked the skin on his face, so everyone simply stopped grooming.


    Many officers had died in combat, and even he, an officer-in-training, had now been promoted to Centurion, responsible for a hundred-man squad that was half short of members.


    At Anna¡¯s request, he wrote many letters, each one very detailed. But not a single letter could be sent back ¡ª the coming and going of ships with the mainland was sporadic, and even officers had no special privilege to occupy precious transportation capacity to send letters.


    A year had passed, the trainee period had ended, and Winters, Bard, Andre, and their contemporaries were about to return to Guidao City to obtain their official military ranks.


    (The Wave Volume Ends)

 Chapter 281 - 281 - 1 Back-to-School Season

    Chapter 281 ¨C 1 Back-to-School Season


    ¡°`


    ¡°To the proudest Tanilia!¡± a gruff male voice overpowered the noisy hubbub.


    ¡°To the most honorable Vineta!¡± another part of the hall responded.


    Cups clinked and drinks were exchanged; the banquet hall was lively and cheerful.


    In a deserted corridor of the hall, Andreya Chelini slouched against a windowsill, spitting disdainfully onto the mirror-smooth marble floor tiles.


    ¡°I¡¯m so fucking done with this,¡± Andre drained half a cup of strong liquor down his throat: ¡°The gutsy guys from Tanilia are either killed by us or are thinking about how to kill us. Has Debela¡¯s brain been soaked in donkey piss? Relying on these spineless lapdogs to guard the islands?¡±


    Stay tuned with


    ...


    After a year of struggling on the battlefield, Andre¡¯s speech had completely matched that of the crudest brawlers.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t have thought you could spout some golden words out of that dog mouth of yours,¡± Bard sat against the wall on the floor, sipping on special brew honey wine, and spoke in an indifferent tone: ¡°But you have to use some locals, and there¡¯s not much choice.¡±


    Bard, the child who grew up in the Monastery and once the ¡°Bishop,¡± was now colored by blood and fire.


    Although his demeanor remained as honest and gentle as before, Bard¡¯s expression would occasionally reveal a certain numbness and sharpness that comes with being accustomed to life and death. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre glanced irritably at Winters: ¡°Quit fucking touching it. There¡¯s nothing on your chin. You¡¯ve been rubbing it all afternoon. Watching you do that makes me want to touch it too.¡±


    Winters ignored Andre and continued to stroke his bare chin. Although the beard that had been grown for half a year wasn¡¯t very long, shaving it off completely made Montaigne Warrant Officer feel like something was missing.


    This was a high-status cocktail party, and the warrant officers were already highly honored to be invited; hence nobody came to join them for a drink, and Winters and his companions were happy for the peace.


    Before attending the cocktail party, the warrant officers had thoroughly bathed, tidied their facial hair, and donned starched, brand-new dress uniforms, each looking tall, imposing, and full of vigor.


    Only Bard still wore his academy uniform, which had been washed to the point of fading.


    In fact, after a year of war and sharing the spoils, Bard had saved a small sum of money. But instead of spending it on a uniform, he had found a way to send it all to his parents.


    Therefore, he only had this set of academy uniforms and adamantly refused any loans his friends freely offered.


    But Gerard¡¯s Bard, from his time as a cadet, never cared for admiration when wearing this old outfit among his classmates. Let alone after a year of war and repeated brushes with life and death, he cared even less about these external possessions.


    Winters and Andre had no choice but to let him be.


    A bottle of wine was quickly finished, and Andre beckoned a waiter to bring more wine.


    Bard teased: ¡°You cuss them out so fiercely, but you sure aren¡¯t shy when it comes to their wine.¡±


    ¡°Fuck. That. Drinking when it¡¯s free is the way to go!¡± Andre drained the last bit of wine from the bottle: ¡°This is my humble and glorious defiance. I¡¯m not just going to drink it, I¡¯m gonna take a couple of bottles with me too!¡±


    Bard waved his hand: ¡°Alright, alright. Rest assured, Debela can probably hear your unyielding cries even in his dreams.¡±


    The waiter didn¡¯t come, but Alvis Marcelo did, carrying two bottles of wine. Marcelo pulled the cork and poured half a glass for Andre, jokingly saying: ¡°You guys sure know how to find a quiet spot.¡±


    Alvis Marcelo was also a contemporary of Winters¡¯, a probationary officer, a warrant officer, only he was from the artillery branch.


    People from the artillery branch¡­ were not very close with those from the infantry or cavalry, mainly because they didn¡¯t attend the same classes.


    Whereas infantry and cavalry often shared many of the same classes in a ¡°big course¡± setting. As a result, officers from infantry and cavalry were mostly familiar with each other, while they were merely acquaintances with those from artillery, even though all were from Vineta.


    But after fighting side by side for a year, even strangers became close as brothers, so Marcelo and Winters were now very familiar with each other.


    After pouring for Andre, Marcelo filled Winters¡¯ glass.


    As Winters reached for it, he asked in return: ¡°What are you artillery guys huddled up discussing? Seems pretty lively over there.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Marcelo seemed surprised: ¡°It¡¯s been all over the artillery circles.¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡± Winters was baffled.


    ¡°Hey, I¡¯m saying¡­¡± Marcelo said mysteriously: ¡°¡­do you still remember those heavy cannons on Red Sulfur Island? Those thirty-two-pounders.¡±


    Winters, of course, remembered those behemoths placed on the bastions along Red Sulfur Bay that could sink a galley with one shot.


    ¡°What about them?¡± Winters became even more perplexed: ¡°Didn¡¯t we use those heavy cannons during the attack on Gusa?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, those heavy cannons,¡± Marcelo nodded and went on: ¡°According to the Tanilia defectors, the Union still hasn¡¯t mastered the technology to cast such heavy artillery. The largest they can produce is a twelve-pound cannon weighing two thousand pounds.¡±


    ¡°So they bought them, what¡¯s so odd about that?¡± Andre interjected dismissively.


    ¡°Who would sell them?¡± Marcelo immediately retorted: ¡°Those thirty-two-pound heavy cannons weigh four or five thousand pounds each and have extremely exquisite craftsmanship, smooth bores with scarcely any pits or imperfections. There are only a few foundries around the Inner Sea that can cast such large cannons.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 282 - 282 - 1 Back-to-School Season_2

    Chapter 282 ¨C 1 Back-to-School Season_2 sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre was getting impatient, ¡°Old Ma, just speak plainly, what are you implying? Stop beating around the bush¡­¡±


    Bard held Andre back, signaling him to cool down and frowned as he asked, ¡°Do you mean that to deal with Vineta, someone deliberately provided those cannons to the Tanilians?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Marcelo confirmed. ¡°Kovyrian went to check on them when he heard about it. According to him, those cannons didn¡¯t have any inscriptions. We didn¡¯t notice before, but now it seems obvious they were deliberately erased. Not just the heavy artillery on Red Sulfur Island, but other coastal defense cannons that caused us a lot of trouble and that we eventually captured were the same.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s interesting,¡± Winters mused. ¡°When were those cannons delivered to Tanilia?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact time,¡± Marcelo shook his head. ¡°The Tanili say it was personally overseen by Edward Kenway¡­ but it definitely was before we departed from Haidong Port. Oh, and apparently, William Kidd was also Kenway¡¯s man.¡±


    ¡°Do we even need to think about it?¡± Andre exclaimed angrily. ¡°It¡¯s definitely those United Provincials who gave the cannons to the Tanili! Wasn¡¯t the Victory Arsenal home before we came back here? There must have been someone stirring up trouble! Damn those mud-farmers! Racking their brains to mess with us¡­ uh, Bard, no offense.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not voice unfounded speculations!¡± Winters quickly stopped Andre from continuing, ¡°The United Provincials aren¡¯t stupid enough to burn their own arsenal and half the capital just to supply a few cannons to the Federation, right? We¡¯re catching a ship to Guidao City tomorrow, so don¡¯t say anything like this in front of the United Provincials, or they might find an excuse to detain you¡ªand then you¡¯ll have a hard time.¡±


    ...


    Bard nodded in agreement, while Andre snorted in dissatisfaction but said no more.


    ¡°Old Ma, tell our classmates not to mention this when we get to Guidao City,¡± Winters then said to Marcelo. ¡°Once we¡¯re back from The Federated Provinces, we¡¯ll have all the time to investigate. Isn¡¯t William Kidd still alive? That guy knows a lot, and I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t get it out of him with a good interrogation. Our trip to Guidao City is just for an award ceremony, so it¡¯s best not to cause any trouble.¡±


    ¡°Understood, understood,¡± Marcelo chuckled and nodded, touching his cup to Winters¡¯ before returning to the small circle of artillery officers.


    After Marcelo had walked away, Andre said resentfully, ¡°I could guess with my ass where the Tanilis got their cannons from. Vineta, The Federated Provinces, the Empire, the old military factories are just these few, it¡¯s sure as shit not from us. If it¡¯s not the United Provincials who supplied them, could it be the ¡¯Oathbreaker¡¯ aiding the Tanilis? Damn!¡±


    [Note: ¡°Oathbreaker¡± is a derogatory nickname for the current Emperor Henry III, who, during the war of succession for the throne, broke his promise by executing his own younger brother and all of his brother¡¯s descendants. As a result, Henry III¡¯s mother ¡°Mary of Lotar¡± and grandfather ¡°Duke Winfred of Lotar¡± refused to meet with him until their deaths.]


    [Further Note: The father of ¡°Oathbreaker¡± Henry was ¡°Madman¡± Richard, and not a single ruler of the fervent Sun Dynasty had a good nickname.]


    This time Winters did not stop Andre, simply gazing at the mead in his cup and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who supplied them, the Tanilia Federation has been devoured, the war is over. Once I¡¯m a commissioned officer, I¡¯m finding myself a safer and easy position, and coast to retirement as a Colonel¡ªthat will be enough for me.¡±


    ¡°We had over thirty classmates leave Guidao City together, and only twenty-something returned. So many didn¡¯t even make it to the day of the official commissioning. Fate is really unpredictable,¡± Bard murmured.


    ¡°I now hope that there really is a heaven,¡± Winters whispered. ¡°I hope every fallen comrade is there now.¡±


    ¡°Whether it exists doesn¡¯t really matter, as long as you believe it does,¡± Bard said languidly.


    Andre snorted at this remark.


    Winters emptied the mead from his cup, wiped his mouth, and replied expressionlessly, ¡°If I could fool myself, would I even need to say such stupid things?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The apprentice officers of Vineta departed directly from the archipelago, crossing the inner sea to arrive at Guidao City. After the award ceremony, they would return to Sea Blue, awaiting their official assignments.


    As for Winters, no matter what he thought, he really did benefit from nepotism. Because Antonio had already planned a position for Winters.


    Before leaving, his foster father lovingly said to Winters, ¡°If you don¡¯t wish to be on the front line, then go and teach. Vineta is setting up its own military academy, and the school is anyhow a quieter place.¡±


    Teach? Winters was somewhat puzzled¡­ but maybe it would be interesting?


    With an uneasy heart, Winters descended onto the familiar yet strange docks of Guidao City.


    Everything in sight had changed beyond recognition; the great fire from a year ago that swept through half the city had left nothing but burnt stones.


    Yet, without destruction, there can be no construction; a new city was rapidly rising from the ashes of the old one. Discover stories at


    The Victory Arsenal, which had devoured much of the Harbor District¡¯s land, had been relocated to the outskirts of the city, forming its own little town.


    You have to know, the relocation of the Victory Arsenal was a task that had dragged on for over a decade without success. In the end, like the Conqueror King cutting through the Gordian knot, a single fire solved all the problems.

 Chapter 283 - 283 - 1 Back-to-School Season_3

    Chapter 283 ¨C 1 Back-to-School Season_3


    The firestorm had burned the munitions factory to the ground, and the last of the tools and raw materials were easily taken away by more than a dozen horse-drawn carts.


    The port area no longer had the layers-upon-layers ¡°onion¡± structure, instead, planned building clusters had replaced the wildly grown city. The winding alleys had become straight stone-paved roads with drainage ditches installed as well.


    Winters and his peers could hardly recognize Guidao City, which had changed beyond recognition with each passing day.


    But the joy of returning to their ¡°second homeland¡± quickly faded due to the tense relations between The Federated Provinces and Vineta. As soon as the Venetian apprentice officers set foot on Provincial soil, they were under strict surveillance.


    They were not allowed to move freely, nor were they allowed to visit the ¡°new Guidao City.¡± The Venetians were taken straight back to the dormitories at the Provincial Army Officers¡¯ Academy, and they couldn¡¯t even move around freely on campus. Even Bard, a fellow Provincial, was no exception.


    ¡°Damn it! They¡¯re treating us like prisoners¡­¡± Andre cursed as he paced back and forth in the dormitory.


    Winters didn¡¯t seem to be angry; he comfortably lay back down onto his own bed¡­ It was a curious feeling. He had spent over a thousand nights on this bed and was incredibly familiar with it, the broken wooden planks, the carvings on the headboard, the places that had been stained black by fire.


    ...


    It felt like he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes.


    When he opened his eyes, he saw a familiar face.


    ¡°Aike!¡± Winters yelled out in surprise.


    Axel was delighted and punched Winters in excitement, and the two embraced each other in a bear hug.


    When Axel heard that the Venetian classmates were returning to the academy, he rushed over immediately, and other United Provincials classmates also arrived.


    There might have been friction between the Venetian Republic and the Provincial Republic, but that had nothing to do with the military academy students, nor would it affect the friendship between them.


    It seemed at that moment that Marshal Ned¡¯s vision had become a reality, with Venetian and United Provincials cadets gathering together, laughing and horsing around as if they had returned to their school days.


    ¡°My goodness! What happened to you? You look so haggard,¡± Axel said, clicking his tongue in concern as he looked at Winters¡¯ gaunt face.


    ¡°Really?¡± Winters looked around at his peers in the dormitory.


    The United Provincials classmates looked rosy and vibrant. By contrast, the Venetian classmates appeared tired and haggard but also more mature and seasoned.


    Several names came up, but upon hearing these names, the Venetians¡¯ expressions grew somber¡ªthey had all died in Tanilia.


    ¡°I bet your swordsmanship has gone rusty, hasn¡¯t it?¡± Axel said enthusiastically. ¡°How about we have a match right now?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, I surrender. I really haven¡¯t practiced in a long time,¡± Winters laughed and raised his hand in surrender, thinking to himself: But now I have a much better weapon¡ªmy gun.


    ¡°By the way, how¡¯s Professor Christian? Is he doing all right?¡± Winters suddenly remembered the director of the Spellcasters¡¯ Research and Teaching Department and was eager to consult him on a pressing issue.


    Axel shook his head upon hearing this: ¡°Not good. He¡¯s been dismissed, and he¡¯s not in a good state of mind. The Army Ministry has ordered him to reflect on his actions and stay home. He¡¯s currently under house arrest at the academy instructor¡¯s residence. Want me to take you to see him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to go,¡± Winters said with a wry smile, ¡°but I can¡¯t leave this door.¡±


    The Venetian apprentice officers were confined to their dormitory, but this was not a problem for Axel.


    Because there was a paradox in the surveillance system: There weren¡¯t enough people in the academy, so who was watching Winters and the others now? It was Winters¡¯ juniors¡­


    With a stern glance, the junior officers stationed outside the dormitory obediently made way.


    On their way to visit Professor Christian¡¯s residence, Winters and Axel passed a lifeless two-story detached building.


    Winters stopped in his tracks¡ªbecause it was the former home of General Antoine-Laurent.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Axel also stopped and asked with curiosity.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I just suddenly remembered the former owner of this place,¡± Winters replied.


    Gazing at the somewhat dilapidated house before him, Winters thought, ¡°Yes, it was from this place that Sofia stole the notes.¡±


    Winters approached the small building, wanting to take a closer look, but the doors and windows were all nailed shut with wooden boards, so he could see nothing of the inside of the house and had no choice but to leave, disappointed.


    In the faculty residence, Winters met Christian Huygens.


    From his casual talk with Aike, he had come to understand. Although it was not admitted publicly, Christian had been identified by the Provincial Army as the person ultimately responsible for the ¡°Dragonfire Devastation¡± that occurred a year earlier.


    Even though the order to use spellcasters to change the wind direction wasn¡¯t given by Christian, he was definitely going to be saddled with the blame.


    However, dealing with Christian, a seasoned spellcaster, was giving the Provincial Army¡¯s head a headache.


    Spellcasters¡ªneither could you kill them nor could you punish them.


    The figurative plank was laid on Christian¡¯s shoulders lightly; he was merely dismissed from his position and was reflecting at home. As for whether he should be brought before a military court, it was said that the higher-ups were still considering it.


    But the current problem was that Christian¡¯s mental state also seemed to have some issues.


    At least, that¡¯s what Winters thought.


    The Christian before him no longer looked like a soldier at all; he was unkempt and disheveled. Despite the extreme heat of midsummer, Christian was tightly wrapped in a long robe, wearing a pair of furry slippers. As to what, if anything, he wore under the robe, Winters dared not imagine. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Christian¡¯s residence didn¡¯t seem like a place where a person lived. The small faculty apartment was filled with experimental equipment, and there were drafts covered with handwriting everywhere.


    What was most insane was that these drafts weren¡¯t just thrown randomly on the floor. Instead, they were meticulously laid out, one by one, even carefully trimmed to fit around table legs and corners, as if a layer of paper carpet had been laid on the floor.


    Winters didn¡¯t dare to walk further into the room, fearing he might disturb the neat array of papers.


    ¡°Oh¡­ it¡¯s you guys! Come in, come in,¡± Christian said, heartily welcoming Winters and Axel, though he seemed to be sleepwalking, his eyes unfocused and not looking at the floor as he walked.


    Winters and Aike exchanged glances.


    Winters thought: Instructor Christian may have gone insane.


    Axel thought: Instructor Christian has become even more insane.


    Unable to resist the instructor¡¯s enthusiastic invitation, the two of them still carefully walked into Christian¡¯s apartment.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± Christian said, as he brewed tea for his guests in two cups that had evidently contained something else before, ¡°It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve had guests.¡±


    ¡°Please drink,¡± he said, placing two cups of tea in front of Winters and Axel, then wrapping his robe more tightly around himself.


    Neither Winters nor Aike dared to drink, merely holding onto the handles of the cups and not braving to bring them to their lips.


    ¡°Please drink,¡± Christian urged them repeatedly, ¡°Please drink.¡±


    Winters¡¯s strong instinct to save himself came to the rescue, as he looked at the drafts on the table and suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He put down his teacup and began to read the drafts carefully.


    Seeing Winters engrossed in reading his drafts, Christian stopped speaking and simply wrapped himself tighter in his robe, shivering non-stop on his stool.


    After reading for a while, Winters finally looked up and asked with confusion, ¡°Sir, are you currently researching the true nature of the Dragonfire Devastation?¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Axel said, having an epiphany. He thought to himself, ¡°Being dismissed over the Dragonfire Devastation, Instructor Christian must have been unable to let it go. Holding onto it, it eventually led to his mental issues. He is truly pitiable.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Christian made a startling statement, ¡°That was my research project nine months ago, I already know the truth about the Dragonfire Devastation.¡±

 Chapter 284 - 284 - 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse

    Chapter 284 ¨C 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse


    So, what was the true nature of the fire dragon that razed the city?


    This question had always perplexed Winters.


    If one were to go by the words of the city¡¯s citizens, the fire dragon¡¯s rampage was the masterpiece of some mysterious sorcerer;


    according to religious figures, it was a punishment for the morally corrupt sinners.


    Regardless, there was one point people firmly believed: the fire dragon¡¯s destruction was certainly not a natural phenomenon.


    On one hand, Winters did not believe the incident was related to magic, since the spellcasters had attempted to divert the wind direction out of goodwill that night; on the other hand, he also did not think an ordinary fire could invoke a fire tornado.


    The man sitting before him, wrapped in a robe and shivering on a stool, claimed to have unraveled the truth behind the fire dragon¡¯s destruction.


    ...


    Winters was eager to know the answer.


    Axel was also very curious.


    Christian opened a drawer and began to rummage through it.


    Winters and Axel exchanged glances; the mystery was about to be revealed, and they both felt suddenly nervous.


    What Christian found was merely a smoking pipe. He then carefully filled it with tobacco, lit it with magic, and took a satisfying puff.


    Winters and Axel watched with wide eyes as the instructor completed the entire smoking process.


    However, Christian¡¯s expression was one of complete indulgence, as if he really just wanted to smoke after all.


    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Winters couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and was about to ask.


    ¡°Puff.¡± Christian blew smoke directly into Winters¡¯s face.


    The spicy smoke was inadvertently inhaled by Winters, causing him to cough repeatedly and tears to flow, filling Christian¡¯s not so spacious living room with swirling smoke.


    Winters felt as though he was being mocked and asked somewhat displeased, ¡°What are you trying to do¡­?¡±


    ¡°Shh.¡± Christian placed his index finger to his lips, signaling Winters to be quiet. He pointed to the ceiling and whispered a word, ¡°Look.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters and Aike looked up at the smoke.


    Christian gently waved his fingers, one circle, two circles, three circles¡­ Something miraculous happened:


    Starting from a central point, the aimlessly drifting smoke suddenly seemed to have a life of its own, swirling in mid-air. Following the rhythm of Christian¡¯s fingers, one circle, two circles, three circles¡­


    The smoke spiraled like a tornado, forming a ring-shaped structure. There was no smoke in the center, resembling the calm eye of a storm.


    The smoke rings spun faster and wider, until finally surpassing the limits of Christian¡¯s control and abruptly dissipated.


    Winters was gobsmacked, while Axel was still dazed. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aike pointed to the ceiling in confusion and asked, ¡°Is this¡­ magic?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s magic,¡± Christian replied contentedly, taking another drag of his pipe.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s pretty interesting,¡± Aike said with a foolish grin. ¡°So this is magic, huh? It doesn¡¯t seem like much, does it?¡±


    ¡°Show some respect!¡± Winters grabbed Aike¡¯s arm and swallowed nervously, ¡°This is simply¡­ unprecedented¡­ I¡¯ve never seen magic like this before. It¡¯s incredible, truly incredible.¡±


    Laymen watch the excitement while insiders appreciate the technique.


    Clearly, Christian had used Kinetic Magic. Changing an object¡¯s kinetic energy was not a difficult task for spellcasters.


    Nearly all Kinetic Spells are simply about accelerating something, faster and faster.


    Though simple and efficient, they are also thoughtless, brutish, and lack depth. So much so that some spellcasters who specialize in Fire-type Spells sarcastically call Kinetic Spells ¡°dummy spells.¡±


    Meaning that, much like a club, no matter how big, it¡¯s still a club, with no technical sophistication to speak of.


    Being able to precisely control the formless and shapeless smoke with such ease was an astonishing skill. Winters had only seen this level of magical technique in one person, and that man was Moritz van Nassau.


    What was more incredible was¡ªrotation?


    Rotation?


    There was no such effect as rotation in the existing Kinetic Spells, which are all straightforward.


    Making an object accelerate in one direction was already challenging enough for a spellcaster¡¯s skills, let alone rotation¡­ not blind, random motion, but controlled rotational movement. Winters had no idea how to achieve such an effect.


    Rotation¡­ fire tornado?


    ¡°Is this the spell that summoned the fire tornado?¡± Winters asked excitedly. ¡°Was the fire dragon¡¯s destruction triggered by this spell?¡±


    Axel was also taken aback and turned to look at the instructor alongside Winters.


    ¡°No,¡± Christian exhaled a mouthful of smoke. Oddly, he was no longer shivering while he smoked. ¡°This is the result of my research in recent months; the fire dragon¡¯s destruction has nothing to do with this spell.¡±


    ¡°Then what exactly happened with the fire dragon¡¯s destruction?¡± Aike couldn¡¯t stand the instructor¡¯s roundabout narrative any longer and asked bluntly.


    ¡°Oh, you want to know about that?¡± Christian said in a nonchalant tone. ¡°It¡¯s very simple, the reason for the fire dragon¡¯s destruction is quite simple; I¡¯ll give you a demonstration and you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Christian set down the pipe and started rummaging through his things again, finding a thin-walled glass cylinder and a small candlestick.


    Winters noticed: as soon as Christian¡¯s hands left the pipe, his body began to shiver uncontrollably. Winters grew suspicious but said nothing.


    Christian placed the very short burning candlestick on the table and covered it with the glass cylinder.


    The candle was burned down to a very short stub, and with the candlestick, it was no more than ten centimeters tall. The glass cylinder, half a meter in height and open at both ends, covered the candlestick like a lampshade.

 Chapter 285 - 285 - 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_2

    Chapter 285 ¨C 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_2


    Christian snapped his fingers and lit a candle, asking Winters, ¡°Do you know the Wind Control Skill?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡± Winters was of course adept at using this most basic of Kinetic Spells.


    ¡°Follow my actions and send the wind inside.¡± Christian snuffled arbitrarily, speaking somewhat listlessly, ¡°Gradually apply force, don¡¯t blow out the candle.¡±


    Just as Winters wondered how he was supposed to send the wind, Christian reached out and ¡°opened¡± the glass cylinder.


    It was then that Winters and Aike realized that the glass cylinder on the table was actually composed of two identical half-cylinders, as if a very sharp sword had vertically split a complete glass cylinder into two halves.


    Christian offset the two halves of the cylinder, creating two symmetrical gaps in what had been a seamlessly joined glass cylinder.


    ¡°Wind Control Skill, do it like me.¡± Christian gestured for Winters to follow his spellcasting movements.


    ...


    Cooperating with the instructor, Winters engaged the Wind Control Skill and each directed wind into a gap. Winters exerted himself to control the outflow of magic, gradually increasing his force.


    As the magic-driven wind grew stronger, something astonishing happened.


    The candle began to burn violently, and the flame, which had been stable, now started rotating and extending upwards. Winters remembered Andre¡¯s description of ¡°a serpent of flame ascending towards the sky.¡±


    In the glass cylinder before them, a miniature fire serpent was rising into the air, with the flames at the top even shooting half a meter out of the cylinder.


    Christian waved his hand lazily, ¡°That¡¯s enough; stop now.¡±


    However, when Winters and Christian ceased casting, the fire serpent did not disappear. Within the glass cylinder, there was still a visible red line, until the candle rapidly burned down to nothing at a visible pace.


    ¡°Fire¡­ Fire Dragon Burning the City?¡± Axel stammered in amazement, ¡°But isn¡¯t this too small?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, this is the ¡¯Fire Dragon,¡¯ the same thing that burned down the Victory Arsenal,¡± Christian, the instructor, yawned and then resumed smoking his pipe.


    ¡°You mean to say¡­ the Fire Dragon Burning the City is a natural phenomenon?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Yes, and no.¡± Christian exhaled a ring of smoke, ¡°If anything, it¡¯s a man-made natural phenomenon. Alas, let me get a chart to explain and you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    Before he had finished speaking, Christian began rummaging through his belongings, finally pulling out a dust-covered scroll of parchment from the top shelf. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He spread out the parchment across the desk, and Winters and Axel leaned in to take a closer look, immediately recognizing what it was.


    It was a map, a map of Guidao City. To be precise, it was the old map of Guidao City before the great fire. The Victory Arsenal still occupied more than half of the port area, and the city retained its chaotic, unplanned onion-like structure.


    ¡°By supplying air to the fire source at a specific angle, a fire tornado is formed, basically a tornado plus flames.¡± Wrapped in his floor-length robe, Christian explained while pointing at the map with his pipe. His eyes were listless, but his speech was sharp and clear, ¡°On the day of the fire, the buildings functioned as wind channels. The wind driven by magic mingled with the sea breeze coming from the sea and converged at the fire site, thus forming the fire tornado.¡±


    Winters remembered the events of that day while Axel suddenly had a revelation.


    But Christian wasn¡¯t finished; he continued to muse, ¡°The fire tornado constitutes a positive feedback loop. It sucks in air from its surroundings, and the more air that comes into contact with the flames, the stronger the fire burns. The more fiercely the fire burns, the larger the fire tornado grows, until it consumes all burnable material.¡±


    ¡°So the Fire Dragon Burning the City was just a coincidence! It was an accident that led to the creation of the fire tornado. And yet, they blamed you¡­ Why didn¡¯t you write a letter in your defense?¡± Axel protested, slapping his thigh indignantly.


    ¡°Defend myself? What is there to defend?¡± Christian¡¯s expression was strangely peculiar, ¡°The Fire Dragon Burning the City occurred because the spellcasters changed the wind direction; why would I defend myself?¡±


    ¡°So by that logic, the fire tornado was just a fluke, not replicable?¡± Winters suddenly felt a tinge of regret.


    He had always thought that if he could unravel the secret of the Fire Dragon Burning the City, the spellcasters¡¯ book of spells might include a new ¡°Fire Tornado Spell.¡±


    However, according to Christian, the Fire Dragon Burning the City was merely a coincidence, making the hope for a Fire Tornado Spell seem remote.


    ¡°Replicable?¡± Christian sniffed again and calmly dropped a bombshell of a statement, ¡°Of course, it can be.¡±


    With that, Christian found another candle and lit it.


    He made a spellcasting gesture without even looking at the candle. And the flame on the candle began to rotate and ascend once again, like the miniature fire tornado in the glass cylinder before.


    ¡°Look, there it is,¡± Christian said casually.


    Winters was completely astonished.


    ¡°After figuring out the Fire Dragon Burning the City, I found the motion of rotation very intriguing.¡± Christian yawned again and turned to Winters, ¡°Montaigne, how many types of acceleration magic do you think there are?¡±


    [Note: Christian has not yet encountered the ¡°Antoine-Laurent Notes,¡± hence he still uses the old term, calling ¡°Kinetic Spells¡± ¡°acceleration spells.¡±]


    ¡°Um, isn¡¯t there just one type?¡±


    ¡°No, there used to be one, but now there are two,¡± Christian answered, ¡°One is the acceleration you learned, linear motion, which I call linear acceleration [kinetic energy]. The other is the rotational motion I just demonstrated to you, which I call angular acceleration [rotational kinetic energy]. Do you understand what this means, Montaigne?¡±

 Chapter 286 - 286 - 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_3

    Chapter 286 ¨C 2: Fire Dragon Tornado and Galloping Horse_3


    Christian¡¯s narration shattered Winters¡¯ understanding of magic, completely overturning the existing kinetic spell system of the Alliance. Yet his tone was as if he was saying, ¡°It¡¯s really hot today.¡±


    Axel was utterly dumbfounded; he simply couldn¡¯t understand what the two in front of him were talking about.


    Winters was still digesting his instructor¡¯s words, his brain almost coming to a halt: ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Christian tapped off some ash from his cigarette and continued with his shocking statements, ¡°This means that Antoine-Laurent was wrong, your training methods are wrong, all the Alliance spellcasters¡¯ training is wrong. Angular acceleration and linear acceleration are two abilities, but during training, you treat them as one, as if you¡¯re training a hand and a foot to be one limb. Montagne Cadet, what do you think is the essence of the Deflection Spell?¡±


    ¡°Applying acceleration perpendicular to the object¡¯s direction of motion,¡± Winters reflexively recited the content of the books.


    ¡°Wrong, Cadet Montagne, wrong,¡± Christian patted Winters¡¯ shoulder and said in a lecturing tone, ¡°The essence of the Deflection Spell is to use angular acceleration to rotate an object. You use linear acceleration to release a Deflection Spell, just like using the common tongue to simulate the pronunciation of an ancient language. It¡¯s not clear and has a strong accent. Or to put it another way¡­ it¡¯s like using your foot to scoop soup with a spoon. So, Montagne Cadet, what do you think is the Fire Tornado Spell?¡±


    The barrage of life-and-death questions brought Winters¡¯ thoughts to a complete halt; he felt as though he was back in the classroom, being called repeatedly to answer questions.


    ...


    Christian answered his own question: ¡°The Fire Tornado Spell is actually a composite spell combining a Deflection Spell with a Wind Control Skill. Get it? Go back and practice, and you¡¯ll be able to do it.¡±


    The living room fell into a deathly silence. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It took a long while before Winters began to speak.


    ¡°Teacher, do you realize what you¡¯ve just said?¡± The recovered Winters was even trembling a bit.


    ¡°What, what?¡± Now it was Christian¡¯s turn to be puzzled.


    ¡°You deconstructed kinetic spells! Deconstructed, the true deconstruction, complete and utter deconstruction, finding order and principles amidst chaos. This is an achievement that even Antoine-Laurent couldn¡¯t accomplish! The Magic Combat Bureau¡­ the Alliance should give you a ton-heavy medal!¡± Winters was extremely excited, his speech almost incoherent.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Christian replied casually.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    On the way back to the dormitory, Aike said to Winters in confusion, ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re so excited. It doesn¡¯t seem like much, does it? Being able to make things spin¡­ is that so impressive?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very impressive, and it¡¯s hugely significant,¡± Winters, having left Christian¡¯s house, was still in a state of excitement, ¡°Do you know? Perhaps the Empire¡¯s court mages have long been able to use the Fire Tornado Spell, but they only know how to ¡¯use¡¯ it, they can never understand its mysteries. Our Alliance spellcasters¡¯ abilities come from rationality, we crave to understand the laws of everything. The more we understand the laws that govern the world, the more we can achieve, so our potential is infinite. From Antoine-Laurent to Christian, one day the old-era magicians will be left far behind by us.


    Winters¡¯ visit to Christian today actually had another purpose; everything that happened was an unexpected gain.


    What Winters originally wanted to ask was of even greater significance; he wanted to inquire of the former director of the spellcaster training department: on the night when the Fire Dragon Scorched the City, whether the simultaneous use of spells by dozens of spellcasters led to some unexpected change, like¡­amplification, expansion.


    Upon seeing Christian, Winters even speculated that perhaps it was the spell overload that night that caused his mind to become abnormal, because it was very likely that Christian was the one actually guiding the spells that night. Your next journey awaits at


    But Winters held back and didn¡¯t ask.


    Because he realized that if Vineta wanted to establish its own military academy, perhaps¡­ perhaps now was the best time to ¡°invite¡± Teacher Christian to Vineta.


    But if Winters wanted to bring Christian to Vineta, he mustn¡¯t let The Federated Provinces realize the value of Christian Huygens.


    And if Christian could uncover the answers to Winters¡¯ questions, it might mean more to the Alliance spellcasters than the discovery of angular momentum¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    When Winters and Axel returned to the dormitory, two officers in uniform from The Federated Provinces were standing guard outside with a group of unfamiliar soldiers.


    They were not cadet officers, but actual soldiers, with faces Winters did not recognize.


    ¡°You there! Come here!¡± Seeing Winters and Axel, one of the mustachioed officers questioned harshly, ¡°Are you two from Vineta?¡±


    ¡°I am, he¡¯s not,¡± Winters replied. The term ¡¯from Vineta¡¯ made him very uncomfortable.


    Hearing the answer, the mustachioed officer pointed at Winters and shouted, ¡°That¡¯s him! Seize him!¡±


    Five or six ferocious soldiers rushed over and subdued Winters.


    ¡°On what grounds are you arresting me!¡± Winters was incensed but he did not resist, nor could he, as the soldiers had tied him up.


    Axel, clueless about the situation, asked angrily, ¡°Sir! We were just taking a walk around the school, is there a need to arrest him?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± The small mustache stepped forward and gave Aike a heavy slap, ¡°You took him away without permission, and I haven¡¯t even settled the score with you yet! Get yourself to the military tribunal! I¡¯ll deal with you after I¡¯m done here!¡±


    Aike stood at attention without moving.


    The small mustache gave Aike another slap, ¡°Get out!¡±


    Axel from Orange took a deep look at the mustachioed officer, saluted, and without saying a word, turned and walked towards the direction of the military tribunal, occasionally looking back at Winters.


    Another officer rode up to the front of the barracks and from a distance asked loudly, ¡°Have you found him?¡±


    ¡°Found him!¡± the small mustache snatched the chance to reply, ¡°All present, we¡¯ve found everyone.¡±


    The mounted officer glanced at Winters, and Winters returned the look with eyes full of raging fury.


    The mounted officer sneered and waved his hand, ¡°Take him away!¡±


    The small mustache pushed Winters outside the door of the Army Officer Academy, where several carriages were parked. These were specially made carriages for transporting prisoners, large and pitch-black, reinforced with steel bars, without a single window around.


    Without much thought, the small mustache pointed to a carriage, and the soldiers pushed Winters into it.


    Chaotic noises erupted inside the carriage.


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s come?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Winters!¡± Andre¡¯s irritable voice rang out, ¡°It¡¯s Winters Montagne!¡±


    There was a small window with iron bars on the top of the carriage that let in a sliver of light. Utilizing the dim light, Winters saw there were other people inside¡ªfellow Vineta citizens from his cohort.


    His classmates fumbled in the darkness and quickly untied the ropes binding Winters. Winters asked Andre calmly, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±


    Andre replied irritably, ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Damn. Know¡­ Bloody. Federated Provinces. Hick.¡±


    After the carriage door was shut, several more metallic clanging sounds followed, suggesting it was reinforced with multiple structures.


    Not long after Winters got into the carriage, it began to move.


    Without windows, the Vineta warrant officers had no way of telling where they were being taken.


    Cries for attention, ignored.


    Curses, unanswered.


    The carriage kept moving until night fell, then stopped.


    Winters listened carefully to the sounds outside, which seemed to indicate they were changing horses.


    The small mustache¡¯s face appeared at the carriage¡¯s top window as he supervised the soldiers stuffing water bags and bread into the carriage.


    ¡°I need to pee!¡± Andre shouted angrily.


    ¡°Use the bucket,¡± replied the small mustache.


    ¡°I need to shit!¡± Andre grew even more furious.


    ¡°That too.¡±


    ¡°Mother. Fucker!!!!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll thank you on behalf of my mother.¡±


    ¡°Where are you taking us?¡± Winters asked coldly. He seemed no longer angry, or rather, he was too angry for it to show.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± The small mustache¡¯s face twisted into a sinister smile, ¡°You¡¯re going to Paratu, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.¡±

 Chapter 287 - 287 - 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing

    Chapter 287 ¨C 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing


    The rooftops of the Army Ministry of the Federated Provinces Republic were nearly blown off by the clamor. No sooner had Paratu¡¯s consul in Guidao City stormed out after a furious argument than Vineta¡¯s chief advisor in the Federated Provinces arrived, fuming with anger.


    The military¡¯s actions were secretive, swift, and efficient, with no advance warning whatsoever.


    By the time the Vinetan officials stationed in the Federated Provinces learned that all the Vinetan cadet officers awaiting commission in the military academy had disappeared, it had already been three days since Winters and the others were taken away.


    ¡°[Vineta curse word]! What on earth are you doing! What the hell do you intend to do!¡± Domenico Roye, Vineta¡¯s chief advisor in the Federated Provinces, slammed his hand on the table and cursed, spitting so much that William Balenz¡¯s, the head of the Army Ministry¡¯s external liaison department, face was covered in it.


    In terms of military rank, Balenz actually outranked Roye by one level, but since the Federated Provinces were in the wrong, Balenz had to appease Roye with a smile, ¡°Please, calm down, let me explain. I assure you, Colonel Roye, that we in the Army Ministry were truly completely unaware of this matter¡­¡±


    Roye punched the desk so hard it cracked, ¡°You dare say you didn¡¯t know? Every little thing in Guidao City happens right under the eyes of your Army Ministry, and you still dare say you didn¡¯t know?!¡±


    ¡°We really didn¡¯t know!¡± Balenz said earnestly, ¡°The operations headquarters handled this matter all by themselves, keeping even the Army Ministry in the dark. We only learned of this incident very recently and had no prior hints at all.¡±


    ...


    The separation of the military command and military administration in the Federated Provinces Republic had been a chronic issue since its independence. Vinetan military had only one ¡°palace,¡± while Federated Provinces military had their counterpart ¡°departments.¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Other republics could see this flaw in the Federated Provinces clearly and took it as a warning. Especially Vineta, which feared becoming a second Federated Provinces, controlled the powers of military officers with a large number of stringent laws.


    But Balenz¡¯s excuses couldn¡¯t deceive Domenico Roye. Enjoy new adventures from


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Roye was even more irate, ¡°You can¡¯t control the operations headquarters, but since when can they reach into your Army Ministry?! Since when did the military academy become part of the operations system?! You dare say the military academy isn¡¯t under your military administration?!¡±


    ¡°Correct, the military academy is under the jurisdiction of the military administration,¡± Balenz said helplessly. ¡°But the jurisdiction over the Army Officer Academy is in the hands of ¡¯Alliance Army Headquarters!¡¯¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The carriage travelled on the stone-paved Guzhi Road, the wheels bumping and jostling slightly.


    Winters was feigning sleep with his eyes closed.


    The marks on the wooden planks indicated that the group had spent sixteen days inside the carriage, during which the Vinetan warrant officers could only eat stale bread and drink water that had started to stink.


    A large wooden barrel filled with waste was placed in the corner of the carriage; it was a miracle that it hadn¡¯t been overturned during the journey.


    But the barrel inevitably emitted a foul odor, mixing with the sweat smell in the poorly ventilated carriage, lingering for a long time.


    The Vinetans had become numb; they couldn¡¯t tell whether their own bodies smelled worse or the barrel did.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for the naturally stronger constitution of an officer, this long and painful ¡°journey¡± would have been enough to take down most of them.


    Everyone suffered tremendously. On the first day, the young Vinetans cursed and swore, but by the sixth day, they didn¡¯t even have the strength to talk.


    There were six people in the carriage Winters was in, and only Andrea Chellini still had the energy to speak. Andrea stubbornly tried to sharpen the edge of an iron spoon on the metal plate, cursing hoarsely after a few scrapes.


    When they were locked in the carriage, the soldiers of the Federated Provinces took everyone¡¯s weapons, but Andrea had sneakily kept a spoon on him.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Andrea tested the sharpened edge with his finger, satisfied, ¡°It¡¯ll do.¡±


    ¡°Let me see?¡± Winters opened his eyes.


    ¡°Here.¡± Andrea handed over the spoon to Winters.


    Winters tried it on his face and said with a laugh, ¡°This thing¡¯s hardly good enough for shaving, let alone thinking of other uses.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll do,¡± Andrea laughed too, ¡°They can¡¯t keep us locked up forever¡­ hmph, the moment they open the carriage door, I¡¯ll make my move and kill those mudsuckers!¡±


    Another voice came in the dark, ¡°Fine, leave that little bearded bastard to me. I swear I¡¯ll tear off his beard.¡±


    The Vinetans didn¡¯t know the small-bearded man¡¯s name, so they nicknamed him ¡°Goat Man,¡± based on his beard, which eventually evolved into ¡°Little Beard Man¡± amidst their cursing.


    The men found humor amidst their suffering, and low chuckles filled the carriage.


    However, the carriage suddenly stopped, and the inside of the carriage fell silent.


    Winters listened intently; it sounded as if they were changing horses outside.


    Since setting off, the carriage had been moving night and day, always changing horses without changing carriages. The only possibility to pull this off was by using a courier station system.


    If they were using a courier station system, it meant that the transportation was not a rash act by individuals, but rather had at least some degree of official support.


    Every time they thought of this, everyone in the carriage grew more anxious.


    This time, however, the changing of the horses took unusually long, and the warrant officers only felt the outside grow silent. Locked inside the carriage, they had no sense of time and could only observe the sun¡¯s position through the iron window on the carriage ceiling,


    But then a long time passed, and the carriage did not start moving again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me they¡¯ve left us in the middle of nowhere?¡± Andrea suddenly panicked, pounding on the carriage wall, ¡°Hey! Let us out! Do you hear me?! Let us out!¡±

 Chapter 288 - 288 - 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing_2

    Chapter 288 ¨C 3 Graduation Assignment May Not Be A Good Thing_2


    The annoying face with a little mustache didn¡¯t appear at the iron bars, but Winters heard other sounds: the familiar shouting of his classmates and the same banging on the carriage.


    The Venetians in the other carriages heard Andre¡¯s shouts and responded in the same way.


    Even though they could not see each other, the warrant officers confirmed in this way that there were four carriages, and all twenty-seven warrant officers who had returned to Guidao City from Vineta for the conferring ceremony were there¡ªincluding Bard, the United Provincial.


    But beyond that, the warrant officers received no response.


    The sun outside the iron window set once, then rose again, and only Winters continued to hit the carriage with his spoon.


    Just as Winters, who was beginning to dehydrate, was about to give up, footsteps sounded outside the carriage.


    The iron lock was smashed open, the carriage door was split, and the blinding light made the warrant officers, who had grown accustomed to the darkness, instinctively cover their eyes.


    ...


    Unable to see clearly for a moment, Winters clung tightly to the arm of the person who had come to rescue him and asked eagerly, ¡°Where are we now?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± The person asked was quite puzzled, ¡°Where else could we be? Of course, we¡¯re in Kingsfort.¡±


    [Note: Kingsfort ¨C Hetumoger, the capital of the Republic of Palatu, named for the legend that seven ancient kings had sworn oaths here.]


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In a sense, at the moment Winters was locked in the carriage, Marshal Ned Smith¡¯s last wish was fulfilled.


    Only it was in an unexpected way and for reasons completely contrary to Marshal Ned¡¯s original intentions.


    When Winters learned that he was in Kingsfort, news that Vineta graduates were being sent to the Republic of Palatu had also reached Sea Blue.


    This move by the Provincial Army was absurd, ridiculous, incomprehensible, and even¡­ childish.


    Why would they do this? That was the question looming in the minds of all Vinetan military and political personnel.


    By what right could they do this? That was the fury rising in the hearts of all Venetians who learned of this. Discover hidden tales at


    But the deed was done, and the problem had to be addressed first.


    ¡°This matter is really a bit complicated,¡± Colonel Andro said, puffing on a stale cigarette, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to resolve.¡±


    The Vineta Army Headquarters Throne Room was filled with smoke; the war plan against Tanilia had been decided here a year ago.


    A year later, the senior Vineta Army officials gathered here again. But this time, they were discussing the career of a group of lieutenants, making the officers in attendance feel a sense of dark humor.


    ¡°What¡¯s so difficult about it?¡± Another officer in the meeting room was puzzled, ¡°They sent people to Palatu, can¡¯t we just bring them back?¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Andro glanced at the questioner impatiently and said, ¡°They weren¡¯t ¡¯sent¡¯ to Palatu, they were ¡¯assigned¡¯ to Palatu, understand? Assigned! Their military records went with them! The kids who graduated this year are now officially officers belonging to the Republic of Palatu!¡±


    ¡°What? Why were our Venetians assigned to the highlands?¡± The questioner was shocked and dismayed.


    Andro sighed and had to explain the reasons in detail once again.


    Why could the Military Academy assign Venetians to the highlands?


    Procedurally speaking, the Military Academy indeed had the authority to assign Vineta graduates to the Republic of Palatu.


    Because the military records of the cadets did not belong to the various republics, but to the Senas Alliance.


    Take Winters as an example; when he was enrolled in the Army junior school and the preparatory school, he was still an ordinary citizen. Only after being admitted to the Military Academy did he acquire a military record and became a true soldier with the rank of private.


    So although Winters was born in Vineta, during his time at the academy his military record was not with the Republic of Vineta but with the Military Academy, and his personal file was kept by the academy¡¯s records office.


    The Military Academy was also affiliated with the headquarters of the Provincial Army¡­


    In other words, cadets at the military academy are not ¡°soldiers of the various republics¡± but ¡°soldiers of the Alliance.¡±


    Before cadets are assigned to the various republics, the Alliance Army possesses absolute and complete personnel authority over them.


    The problem arises with this ¡°assignment.¡±


    ¡°From whence you came, to thence you shall return.¡± This rule has been in place for nearly thirty years since Marshal Ned established the academy, and it has never gone wrong.


    Vineta cadets return to Vineta, United Provincials stay in The Federated Provinces; everyone is distinct and keeps to their own side.


    However, the problem is that Marshal Ned also retained a clause in the school charter that reads, ¡°When conditions permit, graduates should be allocated rationally irrespective of their region of origin.¡±


    Marshal Ned Smith had the best intentions, hoping this would bridge the gaps between the republics.


    But what do ¡°when conditions permit¡± and ¡°rational allocation¡± mean?


    No explanation.


    No explanation¡­ which means the interpretation is up to whoever holds the charter.


    Although this power has never been used, in reality, the Alliance Army Committee could assign the military academy graduates however they wished.


    When people like Winters were ¡°rationally allocated¡± to the Republic of Palatu, they legally became soldiers of the Palatu Army.


    ¡°[Expletive]! Isn¡¯t the Alliance Army Committee just The Federated Provinces Army in disguise?¡± Hearing Andre¡¯s explanation, the attending Vineta generals were staggered, ¡°By¡­ By what right?¡±


    All the generals in the meeting room hail from the Army Officer Academy, yet they had never heard of such dealings.


    ¡°Indeed, the Alliance institution is nothing but a puppet of The Federated Provinces. But procedurally speaking, the Alliance Army Committee has complete and absolute authority over the personnel assignments of the cadets. That¡¯s just the way it is, we¡¯ve been played by the United Provincials,¡± Colonel Andre said with a touch of despondency.


    ¡°Have the United Provincials lost their minds? What¡¯s the point of such disgusting maneuvers? Will sending a couple dozen lieutenants to Palatu prevent us from waging war? Isn¡¯t this purely to disgust us?¡± Colonel Boone, in charge of the military police, was infuriated.


    Many officers also started cursing, creating chaos in the meeting room.


    ¡°Have you seen a couple in passionate love?¡± General Zio, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke up.


    The Throne Hall fell suddenly silent, as the abrupt mention of love affairs left everyone somewhat perplexed.


    Zio spoke calmly, ¡°When men and women are in love, they¡¯d walk through fire and water for each other. But once they become enemies, they¡¯d use any means to hurt each other. I believe it¡¯s the same with us and the United Provincials. In love, we couldn¡¯t be closer, but now that we¡¯ve fallen out, things naturally turn uglier.¡±


    His words seemed like a joke, yet not quite. Those present mulled over them, unable to bring themselves to laugh.


    ¡°What meaning was there for the Torrent River Legion to cross the Border River and burn down two of our signal towers? Or, for that matter, sending the kids to the plateau? What meaning does that serve?¡± Zio stood up and faced his subordinates with a frigid expression, ¡°None of it has meaning, yet these actions themselves are highly significant. The United Provincials are simply provoking us with every means they can think of. Whether big or small actions, the goal is the same. For us, there¡¯s only one core issue. If The Federated Provinces go to war with us, can we win now?¡±


    The officers remained silent, as the answer was all too clear.


    Seeing that his subordinates were silent, Zio sat down and continued calmly, ¡°Then we must endure. This is not the end, nor even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. Watch, The Federated Provinces will make more moves¡­ but we can only bear it for now.¡±


    ¡°What about this year¡¯s youngsters, then? Are we just going to leave them on the plateau?¡± Major General Pegoroti couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°If they can send people over, we can bring them back. Just send someone to bring back this year¡¯s newly commissioned lieutenants,¡± Colonel Boone spread his hands, his attitude quite optimistic.


    ¡°Service records can be transferred, but now, they belong to the Republic of Palatu, and we need their approval,¡± Colonel Andre¡¯s expression remained very worried.


    ¡°Then we ask for their consent. Isn¡¯t it only fair for Venetians to return to Vineta?¡± Boone said, as if it were a matter of course.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Highlanders won¡¯t agree easily this time,¡± Andre sighed.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Because their kids have been sent overseas.¡±

 Chapter 289 - 289 - 4 Wolf Town

    Chapter 289 ¨C 4 Wolf Town


    ¡°Alright, that¡¯s far enough,¡± Winters patted Andre¡¯s arm, ¡°It¡¯s not like we won¡¯t see each other again.¡±


    ¡°Who would have thought that these shepherd bastards are even worse than the mud dwellers!¡± Tears welled up in Andre¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°If your family has a way, get them to pull you out of here as soon as possible. Among us buddies, whoever has a connection should take it, it¡¯s not about being dishonorable. We really can¡¯t afford to mess with these shepherd bastards¡­¡±


    Shepherd bastard was a derogatory term for Paratu People. Andre was so emotional that he was speaking without thinking. His cathartic venting might have made himself feel better, but there were others around the two of them.


    Upon hearing the term ¡°shepherd bastard,¡± the Paratu soldiers responsible for ¡°escorting¡± Winters and the others couldn¡¯t help but cast a sidelong glance.


    Winters quickly spoke words of comfort to Andre and persuaded him to leave. As Andre walked towards the town, he looked back repeatedly with reluctance.


    After resuming their journey, Winters apologized to the Paratu cavalry beside him, ¡°Lieutenant Cherini has always been a bit tactless, but he meant no harm. I apologize to all of you on his behalf.¡±


    Lieutenant Voyik, who led the team, forced a faint, cold smile and nodded.


    ...


    The riders sped on their warhorses, the wilderness beside the road laying flat and endless, with the dark green mountain range rising on the horizon in the distance.


    Looking around, the wilderness held nothing but the vastness of green.


    Racing a horse across this vast land was exhilarating. But Winters couldn¡¯t muster any enthusiasm now, as the desolate scenery before him made him acutely aware of where he had been sent.


    This was the frontier of the Republic of Paratu, the farthest western land of the Alliance. If Guidao City was the heartland within the heartland, then this place was the frontier of frontiers.


    The situation had started six days prior when Warrant Officer Vineta and the others finally escaped from the confinement of the wagons, only to be placed under house arrest once again. Only at this moment did they learn two things:


    First, they were now lieutenants;


    Second, they were lieutenants of the Republic of Paratu.


    The Paratu People treated Winters and his companions well, with food, drinks, and the opportunity to bathe. However, their freedom was still restricted, and they were not allowed to meet with the Vineta officials staying in Paratu. Read latest stories on


    When the immortals fight, the mortals suffer. In the eyes of the military of the Federated Provinces, this was merely a trivial provocation, but it completely disrupted the life trajectories of Winters, Andre, Bard, and the other young lieutenants.


    For these young men, the path ahead had been clear: receive commission, take post, accumulate experience, await promotion, retire¡­


    But their path had now been thoroughly scrambled by the sudden ¡°assignment,¡± tangled like yarn played with by a cat.


    In Vineta, they had been promising young men with bright futures, but in Paratu, they were nothing.


    Without connections, without relatives or friends, even without money¡­ Winters and the others were sent to Kingsfort without a single silver coin to their names.


    Strangers in a strange land, cut off from any news. They didn¡¯t know anyone, and understood nothing. They were now merely the lowest-ranked professional officers in the army.


    Unaware of the negotiations taking place above them, but after three days of house arrest, the Paratu People had a new plan for their fates. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a sunny office, a Paratu colonel with a warm smile handed Winters a commission document.


    After accepting the perplexing commission, Winters was promptly ushered out of the office, remembering only the colonel¡¯s words, ¡°¡­the Republic looks forward to your hard work and struggle, with the vast world before you where you will achieve great things¡­¡±


    This uninhabited wilderness¡­ truly is a ¡°vast world¡± my ass!


    Recalling the colonel¡¯s enthusiastic smile, Winters couldn¡¯t help but swear inwardly.


    After galloping for several hours on the rough dirt road, they crossed a shallow ford about a dozen meters wide, and the riders arrived at their final destination.


    Before them lay a small town that could hardly be called a ¡°town.¡± Two dirt roads, each about twenty meters long, crossed each other to form the main thoroughfares; at their junction stood a small chapel.


    Along the roadsides were a few plank-built houses that seemed to be the only shops in the tiny town.


    Winters had thought the places Andre and Bard were sent to were desolate enough, but compared to this small town, where they had gone was practically bustling and vibrant.


    ¡°Here we are, this is Wolfton (Wulfthorpe),¡± Lieutenant Voyik pointed with his riding crop, ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll take you to meet the mayor.¡±


    Winters followed Voyik to the front of a house opposite the chapel. Apart from the chapel, this wooden house was the largest in the town, which seemed to be the town hall.


    Before they even entered, Winters could hear¡­ snoring?


    Lieutenant Voyik also seemed puzzled. He exchanged a glance with Winters before leading the way into the town hall.


    Inside was a small compartment. A wooden wall divided the whole house. Facing the door, on a desk, a lean old man with clean-shaven beard was busily writing and calculating.


    ¡°Are you the mayor?¡± Voyik was straightforward.


    The old man squinted at Voyik, answering slowly, ¡°I am the town¡¯s clerk. May I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°I am Lieutenant Voyik from the military,¡± Voyik introduced himself and pointed with his crop at Winters, ¡°This is Lieutenant Montaigne. We want to see the mayor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, please follow me then,¡± the lean old man spoke in an affected tone that sounded quite strange. He stood up and opened another door in the partition wall, ¡°This is the mayor¡¯s office.¡±

 Chapter 290 - 290 - 4 Wolf Town_2

    Chapter 290 ¨C 4 Wolf Town_2


    Looking through the door, the first thing Winters saw was a pair of shoe soles and¡­ a big beer belly?


    The owner of the beer belly was sprawled out on a bench by the window, fast asleep, emitting deafening snores. His snoring was so loud and unique that each breath seemed as if it would choke him.


    ¡°Sir, wake up¡­ An officer from the city is here to see you,¡± the old clerk attempted to wake the man with thunderous snores.


    No matter how gently he patted the other¡¯s shoulder or arm, the mayor just wouldn¡¯t wake up. The old man gritted his teeth and slapped him hard on the face.


    ¡°Kill!¡± The sleeping man jolted awake, leaping up from the bench and shouting. Explore more at


    After seeing Voyik and Winters, the man paused, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and asked with an embarrassed smile, ¡°Ah? What¡¯s going on? Who are these two?¡±


    The clerk reintroduced Voyik and Winters, and Winters took a closer look at the man before him.


    ...


    The mayor of Wolf Town was a short man, a full head shorter than Winters. But he had a thick neck, an even thicker waist, and, judging from his upper body, one might think he was taller than Winters.


    Propping up his bulky torso were two short, thick bowlegs, not something found on the average person, clearly indicating he was an excellent horseman.


    His dense brown curly hair was interspersed with many silver threads, showing that he was no longer young. Yet his two blue eyes still held the carefree expression of youth.


    Those blue eyes sat on a round face, beneath which were a large nose and a wide mouth. When he laughed, it was hearty and sincere, betraying not a hint of pretense, a spiritedness that was rough around the edges but vibrant.


    With just a glance, Winters felt a strong sense of fondness for this burly man.


    ¡°Haha, my apologies!¡± The mayor of Wolf Town chuckled, scratching the back of his head, ¡°I¡¯m Gerard, Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell. The townsfolk elected me mayor because my house is close to town. Tell me whatever matters you have.¡±


    Voyik didn¡¯t speak but handed a missive to the mayor instead.


    Gerard chuckled, scratched his head again, and passed the document to the clerk, ¡°I don¡¯t recognize many big characters. Panveche, read out what¡¯s written in the letter.¡±


    The clerk¡ªnow we knew his name was Panveche¡ªaccepted the document and read it carefully. Then he looked up at Winters and said, ¡°Sir, this Lieutenant Montaigne is the new Garrison Officer.¡±


    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s great! Finally, a Garrison Officer is here!¡± Gerard slapped his thigh with delight, grabbing Winters¡¯ arm and laughing, ¡°This fine young man! How wonderful! Our Wolfton finally has its own Garrison Officer! Fantastic!¡±


    Gerard then realized that the young man in front of him was not his son and quickly let go. He laughed apologetically, ¡°Sorry, sorry! I¡¯m just too pleased! Wolfton has been lacking a Garrison Officer since its establishment, for many years now. Now that we finally got one, and such a fine young man at that, it is a cause for great celebration!¡±


    Voyik obviously didn¡¯t want to linger. He took out a purse and handed it to Winters, ¡°This is your salary for this quarter. The duties of the Garrison Officer are simple and are all listed in the appointment letter. The army¡¯s couriers will visit periodically; they will be responsible for delivering your future salary.¡±


    Winters accepted the purse wordlessly, saluting in respect.


    Looking at Winters, Voyik seemed somewhat reluctant. He led Winters out of the town hall, sighed, and said, ¡°In the Republic of Palatu, a Garrison Officer is actually just a military representative in the New Reclamation Area. Just oversee law enforcement and the militia, that¡¯s all, it¡¯s quite easy, not much to do. Hang in there, and you¡¯ll be able to go home once the issues are resolved.¡±


    Winters knew this was true, nodded his head, and saluted respectfully once more.


    Lieutenant Voyik patted Winters on the shoulder and left with his Cavalry.


    Three days before, every Lieutenant Vineta had received their appointments. They were assigned as Garrison Officers to various small towns and ordered to assume their posts immediately, without delay.


    Perhaps they meant to scatter the Lieutenant Vinetas in this way or maybe there was another purpose. Winters didn¡¯t know the decision-making process of the Palatu military, but it was clear they had made their stance known: they would not let the Lieutenant Vinetas return home until the people of Palatu were satisfied.


    Most of the postings for the Lieutenant Vinetas were in the ¡°New Reclamation Area.¡±


    If the Republic of Palatu was the furthest edge of the Alliance¡¯s territory, then the New Reclamation Area was the very edge of the Republic of Palatu¡¯s territory. And Wolf Town¡ªwhere Winters had been assigned¡ªwas at the very edge of the New Reclamation Area¡¯s territory. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was now at the edge of the edge of the edge of the Senas Alliance¡¯s territory, possibly even the furthest edge of ¡°civilization.¡±


    Thus, beyond this place to the west lay a vast uninhabited area nearly a hundred kilometers wide, and beyond the uninhabited area to the west was the land controlled by the barbaric Hurd tribes.


    These ¡°towns¡± in the New Reclamation Area were almost all established as ¡°village amalgamations¡± in the last decade, sparsely populated, and cut off from communication. Almost no officer wanted to be stationed in such places, which is why the position of Garrison Officer, including in towns like Wolf Town within the New Reclamation Area, had been vacant for so long.


    It was now conveniently used to house this batch of unwanted Vineta ¡°guests.¡±


    Gazing at the desolate frontier town before him, Lieutenant Montaigne suddenly felt an indescribable sense of loneliness.


    Fifty-six kilometers north from here, Lieutenant Andreya Chellini was experiencing the same feeling.


    At this very moment, in the small towns dotted along the border of Palatu, every Vineta-born lieutenant was thinking about the same thing: going home.

 Chapter 291 - 291 - 4 Wolf Town_3

    Chapter 291 ¨C 4 Wolf Town_3


    But how could he ever get home?


    Run?


    Where to run to? S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To desert was to become a ¡°traitor¡± and a ¡°deserter¡± in the eyes of the law.


    Wait?


    And just how long would he have to wait for an end?


    ¡­


    ...


    While Winters was lost in thought, Gerard came out of the town hall with the clerk Panveche, both beaming with delight.


    As they walked, Gerard instructed, ¡°Go back and tell Eileen to make sure everything¡¯s well-prepared today. On your way, also invite the Wilkes family and the Bunting family. Ask them to bring a couple of bottles of good wine¡­¡±


    Upon seeing Winters upon exiting, Gerard exclaimed excitedly, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne, we must have a good drink tonight! It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve had such a great joy. Oh, do you have a place to stay? Our town is small, with no hotels, so you should stay at my place! Really, although our town is small, the people here are all very kind¡­¡±


    The warm hospitality of Gerard caught Winters off guard, but also brought him a hint of warmth. He smiled, accepted, and expressed his gratitude.


    Old Panveche, seeing that Gerard and Montagne were deep in conversation, headed to the back of the house to fetch the horses.


    However, Gerard seemed to suddenly realize something. He scratched his head and called Panveche back.


    ¡°What else do you need, sir?¡± asked Panveche.


    ¡°Panveche, you go on back.¡±


    With a grimace, Panveche replied, ¡°It¡¯s quite a distance from home, sir.¡±


    ¡°You lazy fellow, just go to the Bunting place and borrow a horse from Frank to ride back home,¡± Gerard chided.


    Muttering under his breath, Panveche reluctantly began his slow trek toward the western end of town.


    Winters didn¡¯t understand at first but being perceptive, he soon realized: Gerard was letting Panveche give up a horse for his own use.


    When Winters came to Wolf Town, he had ridden a government Warhorse, which Voyik had taken with him when he left.


    In this unfamiliar land, he had nothing.


    He had no Warhorse, no sword, no uniform¡ªWinters was still wearing the uniform of a military academy student¡­ If he hadn¡¯t received his salary for the quarter, he wouldn¡¯t have even had a single silver coin.


    In Winters¡¯s brief life, he had never felt so desperate.


    But then he suddenly thought of Bard¡ªBard¡¯s station was forty kilometers north of Andre¡¯s¡ªhe realized that his current predicament was actually the same hardship that Bard had always faced.


    He was just temporarily poor, while Gerard¡¯s Bard had always struggled like this.


    ¡°If someone else can do it, then so can I,¡± Winters Montagne, the lieutenant, thought as he rallied his spirits, ¡°Since I¡¯m here, I need to settle in. I¡¯ll find a way to get home.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Forgive my frankness, but you neither allow me to meet with them nor make their assignments without notifying us first, I see no semblance of sincerity. How do you propose to agree to our officers¡¯ release?¡± Vineta¡¯s chief adviser in Kingsfort, Turanio, asked, struggling to keep his anger in check.


    The head of external relations for the Paratu Army, Marco, replied with a smile, ¡°Your excellency, I must correct your terminology. These lieutenants are not ¡¯your¡¯ Vinetan officers, but rather career soldiers of our Republic of Palatu. Therefore, how we assign them is not for outsiders to dictate.¡± Read latest stories on


    ¡°Enough with these word games!¡± Turanio shook with rage, ¡°We both know what¡¯s really going on. It¡¯s the United Provincials causing all this trouble! We should be united in our enmity, but you side with tyranny. Is it our responsibility that your men were sent to the overseas deployment forces?¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s our fault that your men were sent to Palatu?¡± Marco countered sharply.


    Out of patience, the chief adviser slammed the table, ¡°Enough nonsense, just tell me what it takes for you to agree to release them!¡±


    ¡°What I say won¡¯t be put on the record, and the Republic of Palatu officially won¡¯t admit to it,¡± Marco leaned back in his chair, his tone cold, ¡°When our replacement officers return to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, your replacement officers will be able to go home.¡±


    ¡°Your men left on a ship, do you understand?¡± Turanio argued angrily, ¡°The United Provincials specifically sent their fastest courier ship; they can¡¯t be caught up with! Back and forth, it¡¯ll take at least a year. If your men can¡¯t return for a year, do you mean to detain our men for a whole year?¡±


    ¡°Your excellency, if I were you, I wouldn¡¯t be complaining here, but already on the fastest ship in pursuit,¡± Marco responded.

 Chapter 292 - 292 - 5: Wolf Plague

    Chapter 292 ¨C 5: Wolf Plague


    At the break of dawn on Sunday, the blue-gray sky twinkled with sparse morning stars. The wind blew down from the mountains, stirring up a moist mist. The breath of the earth was cool and comfortable, and the sun remained lazily behind the horizon, unwilling to rise.


    Living in the eastern part of Dusack Village in Wolf Town, old Sergei woke up early. First, he stared blankly at the old saber hanging on the wall of the inner room. Only then did he sluggishly pull on his trousers, slip into his cloth shoes, and while heading outside, he buttoned up his shirt.


    Standing at the entrance of his yard, Sergei silently admired his own small courtyard: the newly built storeroom and livestock shed were covered with neat tiles, the large animals of the house were peacefully chewing hay, the grain stores were full, and the old woman and children of his home were still sound asleep¡­


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    Prosperous, comfortable, carefree¡ªthese were good days that the former Sergei Vladimirovich could not even have dreamed of.


    After looking around for a while and feeling satisfied, the old man headed toward the backyard. Skirting along the wall, he reached the outside of his younger son¡¯s window.


    ¡°Vasya! Son!¡± The old man knocked on the wooden window: ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go up the mountain to check the traps.¡±


    ...


    [Note: Vasya is a term of endearment for Vashka]


    Sergei knocked several times before Vashka, bleary-eyed, got up from the bed. He pushed open the window and asked softly, ¡°Dad, what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go check the trap I set on the mountain the day before yesterday.¡±


    ¡°But today is Sunday!¡± Vashka complained.


    Sergei urged unconcernedly, ¡°It won¡¯t delay your trip to the church. Come on, come on, we can be back before the sun comes up.¡±


    The son, unable to prevail over his father, reluctantly grabbed his clothes and pulled them on.


    Meanwhile, his father had led out two horses from the stable.


    Vashka helped Sergei with the harness, and the two Dusacks led the horses out of the red willow fence and mounted them, galloping toward the forest south of the village.


    If one were to look down from tens of thousands of meters in the air, one could clearly see two tall mountain ranges that run north-south, almost parallel to each other on the southern edge of Senas Bay.


    The north one is Sheltering Mountain, and the south one is Golden Summit Mountain. This natural geographic division inevitably also results in a political divide.


    Thus comes the saying, ¡°Between two mountains.¡±


    And Wolf Town is located at the foot of Jinding Mountain, nestled against the north slope of Golden Summit Mountain, a settlement carved out from shrubs and woodland.


    This small town is not only at the far western edge of the vast Alliance territory but also at its southernmost point, beyond which lies the uninhabited primeval forest.


    Continuing further south would lead to a sharp rise in terrain. The primeval forest is replaced by alpine meadows, where only weeds can grow until reaching the snow line.


    On a sunny day, the millennial snow on the highest peaks of the mountain range glimmers in the sunlight, resplendent like it is made of gold.


    Hence, the name ¡°Golden Summit Mountain Range.¡±


    Naturally, Sergei and his son were not heading that far. The people of the various villages near Wolf Town who ¡°rely on the mountains to live¡± only frequent the periphery of the forest on ordinary days.


    Sergei rode his own old horse, sparing his old companion from being sent to the village pasture. Vashka, on the other hand, rode a two-and-a-half-year-old horse, a robust and strong animal.


    But the old man was an excellent rider, and even in cloth shoes and riding an old horse, Vashka couldn¡¯t catch up to him.


    Sergei rode with great joy, whipping the reins and howling with delight as he filled his belly with the wind.


    Vashka, trailing behind, thought to himself, ¡°Checking the traps? The old man probably just wanted to take the horses out for a run.¡±


    Soon they arrived at the edge of the forest, and Sergei pulled on the reins, cheerfully saying to his son, ¡°Vasya! Isn¡¯t it wonderful! So refreshing! Going for a horse ride in the morning energizes the whole person!¡±


    However, Vashka, whose sweet dreams had been disturbed, merely rolled his eyes inwardly and urged his father to hurry and inspect the traps.


    Following his memory, Sergei led his son deeper into the woods.


    Sergei had quite the luck; the first two traps both contained prey, a rabbit and a pheasant.


    The old man became even happier, joyously saying to his son, ¡°Blessed be! Vasya, maybe we might find a deer today! I dreamt a few days ago that a deer¡¯s antlers had smashed the roof, maybe it¡¯ll be a splendid stag!¡±


    Vashka didn¡¯t respond but hurried his father to find the last trap.


    When they found the last trap, they discovered two men had already squatted beside it. And on the trap¡ªonly a shattered deer leg remained.


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    After coming out of the woods, Vashka didn¡¯t go straight home, but instead, as instructed by his father, he took the rabbit and went straight to the home of Mayor Mitchell.


    Leaving the field ridges, stepping onto the village dirt road, and letting the horses run for a while, Vashka could already see the roof of the mayor¡¯s house.


    Vashka went around a neat row of oak trees, and a beautiful white two-story house appeared before him. The Sergei family had just a wealthy farmer¡¯s small courtyard, but the house in front of him was the estate of a major landowner.


    At the sound of the hooves, two hunting dogs began to bark loudly.


    Gerard Mitchell¡¯s son and Vashka had been playmates since they were little, and Vashka was very familiar with the Mitchell estate.


    But this time, he encountered a strange face, a young officer he¡¯d never seen before, standing with Gerard in the open space in front of the house, both holding sabers, apparently practicing something.


    ¡°Alright, stop barking!¡± Hearing the barking, Gerard saw the visitor and scolded the hunting dogs.

 Chapter 293 - 293 - 5: Wolf Plague_2

    Chapter 293 ¨C 5: Wolf Plague_2


    The hunting dogs recognized a familiar face and ran excitedly ¡°huffing¡± towards Vashka¡¯s horse, eager to bite into the dead rabbit hanging from the saddle.


    ¡°Good morning, Sergei Novich!¡± Gerard plunged his saber into the ground, and from a distance shouted at Vashka, ¡°How is your father doing? Are you here looking for Pierre?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s doing well! He even went horseback riding this morning!¡± Vashka tied up his horse and, holding the rabbit, said with a smile, ¡°I came to bring this to you! My dad asked me to give you this rabbit!¡±


    ¡°Such a fat rabbit! Thank your father for me! Wait here for a moment.¡± Gerard took the game and strode quickly back to the house.


    Outside the house, only Vashka and the unfamiliar military officer were left.


    The strange officer smiled kindly at Vashka, and it was only then that Vashka had the chance to take a good look at the man. Explore more stories with


    Unlike those stern military officers with beards who rarely cracked a smile, Vashka noted that the man before him was quite young, even younger looking than himself, hardly resembling a military officer at all.


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    Yet he was dressed in a genuine military uniform¡ªalthough it looked a bit strange, it was undoubtedly a military uniform. Any Dusack would instantly recognize the garb of a military officer.


    Gerard came striding out of the house and handed Vashka a bag of sugar and tea leaves, ¡°Take this home for the women to use in cooking.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t even finished what you gave us last time,¡± Vashka said with a chuckle, ¡°You should give me some tobacco leaves instead.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get them for you.¡± Gerard hustled up the steps and back into the house.


    Though Vashka had grown up listening to his father¡¯s war stories and had been commanded time and again to respect Praninovich,


    in the eyes of most Dusack children, Gerard was nothing more than a kindhearted old fellow who was generous with his hands.


    To the Dusacks of Wolf Town, everyone in the Mitchell Family¡ªexcept for Gerard¡¯s wife¡ªwere true Dusacks, they just didn¡¯t live in the Dusack village.


    ¡°This is for both you and your old man to smoke,¡± Gerard said, running out with a large packet of tobacco leaves for Vashka. He laughed and said, ¡°Share some with your father, don¡¯t smoke it all yourself.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Vashka replied with a grin, but then he remembered there was something serious he had to mention, and he quickly told Gerard, ¡°Uncle, when my dad and I were in the mountains today, we encountered something strange. My dad told me to let you know.¡±


    ¡°What kind of strange thing?¡±


    Vashka spoke for a while but didn¡¯t get to the point, ¡°¡­Ah, I¡¯m not good with words, I can¡¯t explain it clearly. My dad just wanted me to mention it, he¡¯ll discuss it with you in detail later at church.¡±


    After speaking, Vashka, impatient to get back home for breakfast, bid farewell to Gerard and rode back home.


    Halfway through, it occurred to him, ¡°I still don¡¯t know who that military officer is!¡±


    ¡­


    Sunday is the biggest day of the week in Wolf Town.


    After breakfast, villagers from nearby villages, those who lived close came on foot, those from afar drove carts or rode horses, all heading towards the central church in town.


    Everyone wanted to arrive early, as arriving early meant securing a seat, while being late meant standing for the mass.


    For the villagers, it wasn¡¯t that the church was built at the center of the town, but rather that the town hall was built beside the church. Wolfton Church¡¯s history predates the ¡°combination of villages into a town¡± history of Wolf Town.


    The Sunday mass was not just a religious activity; it was also the main assembly occasion for residents of the villages.


    Before the ceremony began, Vashka finally learned who the mysterious officer was¡ªhe was the new Garrison Officer of the town, Winters Montagne, a young lieutenant.


    Gerard took advantage of the congregation of villagers from three villages to step up to the pulpit and publicly read Winters¡¯ commission, introducing the new Garrison Officer to everyone.


    This was Winters¡¯ first official appearance in front of the townsfolk of Wolf Town, and he conducted himself with decorum. After saluting the congregation from the pulpit, he stepped down.


    To the townspeople, having an additional officer in town had little to do with them, but it was a rare novelty in their mundane lives.


    The crowd inside the church jostled forward to catch a glimpse of the new Garrison Officer, chattering about his uniform, appearance, and age.


    Some unmarried girls didn¡¯t know what they were thinking, but they blushed and sneakily sized up the new lieutenant.


    After all, a uniform lends an air of dignity even to the plainest person, and Winters himself was quite presentable.


    After the introduction of the new Garrison Officer, the official Sunday mass began. The two priests of the church, holding holy icons, slowly made their way onto the pulpit from outside the church.


    Winters awkwardly realized that he was ¡°trapped¡± in the church.


    As a Spellcaster, Winters naturally had no interest in participating in religious activities. However, he felt it would be impolite to leave during the service, and as one of only two public officials in Wolf Town, his seat was at the very front of the church alongside Gerard¡¯s.


    Winters thought to himself, ¡°If I leave now, it would be as if I¡¯ve offended all of Wolf Town¡¯s believers at once.¡±


    In a spirit of pragmatism, Winters decided, ¡°Better to avoid making waves.¡± He remained seated until the sermon was over, gazing at the image of Anna in the medallion, lost in thought.


    The townspeople oblivious to the truth thought the new Garrison Officer was fervently praying.


    After the sermon, Winters discreetly skipped the communion process.


    It all went very smoothly; the elderly chief priest did not notice Winters¡¯ small maneuver, and no one else in the church did either.

 Chapter 294 - 294 - 5: Wolf Plague_3

    Chapter 294 ¨C 5: Wolf Plague_3


    But the young deputy priest saw everything clearly, and Winters¡¯ actions puzzled him considerably. However, he did not stop Winters, just watched as the new Garrison Officer followed the crowd and left the church.


    Actually, Winters also found the presence of the deputy priest quite strange. Such a small church certainly did not have the right to have two official clergymen, yet the Wolf Town church did have two. But Winters was not interested in religious charlatans, so he did not inquire further.


    Outside the church, the weather was clear and crisp, with several layers of light-colored clouds floating high up in the sky.


    Gerard was leading a few people in setting up the targets and the field. The targets, lifted from the church¡¯s backyard, were placed on the meadow beside the church.


    Seeing this, Winters went over to help.


    Wiping his sweat, Gerard said to Winters, ¡°Lieutenant, we never had a Garrison Officer in town before, so I had to fill in. Lieutenant Montaigne, from now on, the Sunday archery training is in your hands.¡±


    ¡°Sunday archery training?¡± Winters asked with an odd expression, ¡°You don¡¯t mean the ¡¯Bow and Arrow Decree,¡¯ do you?¡±


    ...


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    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! The Bow and Arrow Decree!¡± responded Gerard with a laugh.


    The Bow and Arrow Decree was an imperial-era law that required all men to participate in archery training after church services.


    After Gerard¡¯s explanation, Winters learned that this law was never abolished in Paratu.


    The Paratu Grand Council had never passed a specific repeal of the law¡ªsuggesting strong suspicions of governmental indolence¡ªand thus the Bow and Arrow Decree remained in place.


    However, the decree had lost its mandatory force, and for the townspeople, archery had become akin to a recreational activity. After all, shooting a few arrows on a Sunday morning was hardly a chore.


    Winters never expected to find such a ¡°historical relic¡± level of weekend activity in this remote small town. After he and Gerard finished setting up the targets, the archery training officially began.


    Women and children, old men who could not draw a bow, and some men who considered archery beneath their status stood aside as spectators.


    About a hundred young men lined up, waiting for their turn to shoot.


    Some brought their bows and arrows, evidently very confident in their shooting skills, standing in the line like proud roosters, waiting to show off in front of their fellow villagers.


    As for those without their own bows and arrows, they used the cheap poplar practice bows provided by the town hall.


    A farmer brought his homemade sweet beer, pushing barrels and loudly hawking it for sale.


    Some traveling merchants from other regions also took advantage of Sunday to sell small items like needles and thread.


    No one cared about the doctrinal command of ¡°no labor on Sundays,¡± and the usually quiet Wolf Town was now extremely bustling.


    Winters¡¯ duty was quite easy, as long as he watched out for anyone retrieving arrows from the targets being accidentally shot.


    If a shooter missed the target, the spectators would let out jeers.


    If a shooter hit the bullseye, the spectators would cheer loudly.


    The simple joy was infectious, and even Winters, whose thoughts were full of returning home, couldn¡¯t help but wear a light smile.


    At the same time, Winters also keenly noticed a few out-of-place adult men in the crowd, not fitting in with the jubilant atmosphere.


    They were unkempt with disheveled beards and clothes, their faces mostly sullen, neither participating in archery nor mingling in the crowd around the targets.


    Even the common folk of Wolf Town deliberately gave these people a wide berth.


    Only the farmer brewing illicit liquor liked them, as they stood by the barrel drinking cup after cup of beer.


    Although Winters had thought about fleeing countless times, running back to Vineta, as long as he was in office, he had to fulfill his duties.


    Therefore, the Wolf Town Garrison Officer stopped the shooters by his side and pointed to those men, asking, ¡°Who are those people? Are they locals? ¡±


    The young man who was shooting followed the direction Winters was pointing, shook his head, and replied, ¡°Sir, those fellows are from the lumberyard. Hired from outside to chop wood.¡±


    Winters wanted to ask more, but Gerard invited him over.


    Inside the town hall, besides Gerard and Sergei, there were two other men, one old, one young.


    The old one looked to be in his thirties or forties by build, but the scars marring his face were like a spider web. His skin was tanned dark, and his lips were tightly pursed. He was holding a roll of leather in each hand.


    The young one seemed to be only fifteen or sixteen, still at an age of youthful innocence, curiously looking around with big eyes. He was holding an unstrung one-piece bow, about a meter in length, smaller than one for an adult.


    Upon Winters¡¯ entrance, Gerard reintroduced him to the others, ¡°This is the new Garrison Officer of our town, Lieutenant Montaigne.¡±


    Pointing to Sergei, Gerard introduced, ¡°This is Sergei Vladimirovich, the Dusack of Dusa Village.¡±


    Hearing the title of Dusack, old Sergei proudly puffed out his chest.


    Gerard then pointed to the older and younger hunters and introduced, ¡°These two are hunters of our town, Ralph and his son Bell. Ralph, if you have something to say, speak.¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Hunter Ralph first respectfully removed his hat and bowed, then with an anxious expression and tense tone, warned the two Wolf Town officials, ¡°Sirs, the wolf plague is coming!¡±

 Chapter 295 - 295 - 6 Hunter

    Chapter 295 ¨C 6 Hunter


    In the Senas Alliance, mountain ranges span the north and south, with the overall terrain gradually ascending from the east to the west, prompting the coastal dwellers to refer to the Paratu People as Highlanders.


    In the southwestern outskirts of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, the town of Wolfton sits nearly fourteen hundred meters above sea level, nestled in the pine and oak forest belt at the northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains.


    In the forest south of Wolfton, coniferous giants thick enough to require an embrace to encircle, stretch upwards piercing the heavens and blocking out the sun. Only specks and spots of sunlight filter through the gaps in the canopy, nourishing the underbrush and shrubs that grow between the trees.


    For thousands of years, in this uninhabited place, nature¡¯s cycle of growth, death, and decay has resulted in a layer of humus soil several feet deep.


    Located deep within such a dense forest was Hunter Ralph¡¯s cabin, accessible only by a narrow trail blazed by hunters leading to human society.


    After receiving Ralph¡¯s warning, Gerard, Winters, and Sergei immediately followed Ralph and his son to the hunter¡¯s cabin.


    The cabin was rudimentary and ordinary, with several stinking barrels outside, apparently used for tanning animal hides.


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    ¡°Gentlemen, please look.¡± Ralph brought out a piece of animal limb from inside the cabin and presented it to Gerard and Winters, ¡°This was found in a beast trap this morning.¡±


    By now, Winters had stopped trying to correct the villagers for calling him ¡°Lord¡±, and it seemed Gerard had long grown accustomed to it as well.


    The limb appeared to have belonged to a deer, but now only the part from the hoof to the femur remained.


    That was all Winters could discern, and he didn¡¯t think there was anything unusual about it.


    Gerard, equally puzzled, asked, ¡°It¡¯s common for trapped game to be scavenged by wild beasts; though it¡¯s unlucky, it¡¯s a normal occurrence. How is this related to a wolf disaster?¡±


    ¡°It is related!¡± The inarticulate Ralph became anxious and impatient, ¡°Just look at the break on the femur!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is the way you speak? If you can¡¯t talk properly, I¡¯ll fucking sew your mouth shut!¡± Sergei flared up instantly, unwilling to tolerate any disrespect towards his old comrade.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Gerard immediately intervened to diffuse the situation.


    Old Hunter Ralph didn¡¯t retort; he just bowed his head to apologize to the mayor. Meanwhile, young Hunter Bell clenched his wooden bow tightly, glaring angrily at old Sergei.


    Winters took the deer leg and examined the bone break carefully, but indeed he could not see anything amiss, ¡°Mr. Ralph, we are not hunters, things obvious to you are foreign to us. You need to explain to us in detail what the problem is with this deer leg.¡±


    Pointing at the broken surface of the bone, the old hunter explained, ¡°Gentlemen, this bone was bitten through while still alive. The deer stepped on the trap and couldn¡¯t move, and some beast bit the deer to death and then bit through the leg, dragging the remainder into the woods.¡±


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    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that?¡±


    ¡°Common beasts can¡¯t bite through a deer¡¯s femur! They can¡¯t chew through it!¡± Hunter Ralph spoke rapidly and with agitation, ¡°Lord! This was a strong, adult male deer, and its leg bones are exceedingly tough to chew through, yet it was bitten clean through! You can imagine the crushing power between the jaws of the beast!


    Having heard the hunter¡¯s explanation, Winters reexamined the broken leg in his hands ¨C if something could bite through this bone, it could tear off a person¡¯s arm.


    Winters furrowed his brow and asked the old hunter, ¡°Is it a wolf?¡±


    ¡°Wolves can¡¯t do it! Beasts like wolves, weighing about a hundred pounds, might kill the deer and eat it on the spot at most. Wolves don¡¯t have the power to drag away a stag¡¯s carcass, not even a pack of wolves! Wolves hunt the old, weak, sick, and lame. To take down such large animals, it must be a formidable predator like a tiger or a bear!¡±


    Just speaking wasn¡¯t enough; the old hunter ran back into the cabin and returned with two white, smooth femur sticks, ¡°Lord, look, these are handles made from the femur of a deer eaten by wolves. Wolves love to eat marrow and wouldn¡¯t leave it if they could bite through it. But these two bones are intact except for teeth marks!¡±


    ¡°Then why do you say it¡¯s a wolf disaster?¡± Confused by the denial of wolves, Winters was bewildered.


    Old Sergei explained awkwardly, ¡°Officer, around here, any wild beast that harms people is called a ¡¯wolf disaster¡¯.¡±


    It was then that Winters understood; he nodded and then asked the hunter, ¡°You mean there¡¯s a large predator now stalking this forest?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not exactly!¡± The old hunter, vexed, tugged at his hair and muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain it to you, and I don¡¯t know where to start, but something has been very wrong in the forest these days!¡±


    After a year of living amongst the lower ranks, Winters gradually realized: Soldiers without a formal education often have an extreme lack of linguistic ability. Their speech lacks focus, and even repetition is stuttered. Patience is a necessity, as well as the ability to pick out key words from their chaotic narratives.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush; take your time, say whatever comes to mind,¡± Winters patted the hunter¡¯s shoulder and moved a wooden stump, gesturing for Ralph to sit and talk.


    Gratefully glancing at the Garrison Officer, Hunter Ralph took a while to gather his thoughts and then began to babble on.


    Winters listened carefully, striving to discern the critical information amidst the dialogue.


    ¡°¡­So, starting from a while back, it became rare to see deer, roe deer, foxes, and rabbits; they went crazy running out from the deep forest¡­ My son and I set traps along the animal paths, and at first, we caught quite a few good ones¡­ But lately, many of the catches have been dragged away clean by wild beasts, and it¡¯s getting closer to the outside every time¡­ Yesterday, I even found some unfamiliar tracks in the forest¡­¡±

 Chapter 296 - 296 - 6 Hunter_2

    Chapter 296 ¨C 6 Hunter_2


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters¡¯s spirit lifted, interrupting the old hunter, ¡°You found footprints?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Then why are you talking so much nonsense? Winters couldn¡¯t help but criticize inwardly, immediately commanding Hunter Ralph, ¡°Where? Take us to see!¡±


    Under the guidance of the hunter father and son, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei advanced deeper into the forest.


    This was truly a place where few people tread; the deeper they went, the quieter and more profound the forest became. Not even the chirping of birds and insects could break the endless silence of the forest; only the rustling of leaves as the wind brushed through them could be heard.


    Looking back, Winters could no longer discern the path they had taken to come here.


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    ...


    But the hunter father and son were as familiar with this forest as the backs of their hands. Hunter Ralph, who appeared to be at least forty years of age, strode with vigor through the woods, quickly locating the spot he remembered: ¡°This is it!¡±


    It had been sunny since the rain three days ago, and the footprints in the mud were preserved.


    Clearing away the ferns that blocked their view, a terrifying paw print was revealed.


    Upon seeing the paw print, the three men who were not hunters all gasped in shock. With five claws on one paw, the entire print was nearly twice the length of Winters¡¯s shoe.


    Hunter Ralph was right; no beast that could leave such a print could possibly be a wolf. Wolves were merely food in front of such an enormous creature.


    Mere glimpses of the paw print transformed the previously serene and tranquil forest in Winters¡¯s eyes into a place of lurking danger and omnipresent threats.


    The horses began to grow restless. The two terriers that Gerard brought with him tucked their tails and whimpered softly.


    ¡°Vicious beasts will urinate everywhere to warn their own kind,¡± Ralph stated with absolute certainty, pointing to the shaking, tail-tucked hunting fox terriers, ¡°These two definitely smell the stench of urine; they wouldn¡¯t be this scared otherwise!¡±


    ¡°Holy smokes!¡± Sergei exclaimed up close to the paw print, ¡°What kind of creature can grow this big?¡±


    ¡°Are there other footprints?¡± Winters asked.


    Ralph shook his head, ¡°No, this is the only one we found.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s best we don¡¯t linger here; let¡¯s head back to Ralph¡¯s house first.¡± Winters, who had brought no weapons, didn¡¯t want to stay a second longer. He looked at Gerard, ¡°Mayor Mitchell, what do you think?¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, let¡¯s leave this place first.¡±


    Leading the way, the hunter father and son escorted the five men back to the hunter¡¯s log cabin.


    Though Gerard and Sergei were both men in their fifties and had grown somewhat weary from trekking through the woods for so long. In contrast, the hunter father and son remained nimble, their faces unchanged.


    Gasping for breath, Gerard asked the old hunter, ¡°What exactly is it? Can you tell from the footprints?¡±


    ¡°Five claws, by the looks of it, should be a bear,¡± Ralph replied gravely, ¡°But the paw print is too big, so big that I don¡¯t know what it might be.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll have another wolf calamity?¡± Gerard pressed further.


    Ralph pondered for a long time before saying, ¡°Wild beasts usually avoid human activity, let alone come near the forest area close to human habitation. But this big guy¡¯s range of activity has been getting closer to the edge of the forest. I think it¡¯s bound to encounter people sooner or later. Once it tastes human blood, it will definitely start hunting people. But it might turn back into the deep forest instead. Sigh, but Sir, you ask me, and I really don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    After hearing the hunter¡¯s words, Gerard looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, I think we might need to call up the militia.¡±


    Winters was initially taken aback, then came the realization: the handling of militia affairs was part of his duties as the stationed officer.


    ¡°Do you think we need to form a hunting party?¡± Winters asked in return.


    Gerard silently nodded.


    Sergei slapped his thigh in excitement, ¡°Exactly! Screw it, whatever it is, if it can eat a bullet, it can be killed!¡±


    Winters Montagne had never regarded himself as one of the Paratu People, but in that moment, he truly stepped into his role as the officer stationed in Wolfton.


    His brows furrowed, ¡°Calling up the militia would at least give the villages some ability to defend themselves, which I think is feasible. But before dispatching anyone to hunt this wild beast, I would like to hear the opinion of the professionals.¡±


    ¡°Mister Ralph,¡± Lieutenant Montaigne locked eyes with the old hunter, speaking earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what you have to say, I¡¯ll take responsibility for it. But tell me the truth¡­ as a hunter, do you think enlisting the militia to hunt down this beast is feasible?¡±


    Montaigne Lieutenant¡¯s words were heartfelt, and Ralph, after gritting his teeth and mustering courage, replied, ¡°Respected Sir. You honor me, so I can¡¯t refuse. I¡¯ll tell you the straight truth; the forest is simply too vast and we have no idea where that thing is. If we truly wish to kill it, the whole village would have to come out for a concerted hunt, and even then, the slightest mistake could allow it to escape.


    Beasts have a sense of spirit. If we fail to kill it, it will harbor resentment and be even harder to deal with later. Moreover, it hasn¡¯t harmed anyone; there¡¯s even less reason to provoke it. I think it¡¯s enough for everyone to be cautious for now. If it does harm someone, then we can hunt it. And if it retreats back into the depths of the forest on its own, all the better.¡±


    After listening carefully, Winters turned to Gerard, ¡°What do you think?¡±


    ¡°This seems like a prudent plan,¡± Gerard also agreed, ¡°Then let¡¯s leave it at that for now.¡±


    With nothing more to say, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei prepared to leave the hunter¡¯s cabin.


    ¡°Mister Ralph, I think you shouldn¡¯t stay here these next few days either; go to the village and stay with family or friends for a while,¡± Winters specifically advised before leaving, concerned that the hunter father and son might come to harm out of complacency.

 Chapter 297 - 297 - 6 Hunter_3

    Chapter 297 ¨C 6 Hunter_3


    The old hunter nodded gratefully.


    Winters laughed and said to the young hunter, ¡°Kid, come back for archery next Sunday, I¡¯ll have the prize you want ready for you next time!¡±


    Young hunter Bell scoffed disdainfully; the lad¡¯s archery was astonishing, easily winning the prize¡ªa half-dozen feather pens¡ªfrom a group of adults. However, this youngster clearly was not fond of these trinkets.


    Seeing this adolescent in his rebellious phase, Winters found it amusing. He nodded in acknowledgment and lightly spurred his horse¡¯s flank to bid farewell to the hunter father and son.


    ¡­


    On the way back to Wolfton City, Winters, Gerard, and Sergei chatted idly.


    ¡°Why do they call it a wolf plague?¡± Winters still wondered, ¡°Is that a Paratu dialect? What¡¯s the origin?¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s not Paratu; it¡¯s our dialect here. Dusa Village and the villages to the east and west of the river all call it that,¡± Gerard replied with a smile.


    Old Sergei brimmed with gusto when that subject came up, ¡°This place used to be plagued by wolves! In the early years, they really tormented the bumpkins living here. Later, when we Dusacks were settled here, boy, did we slaughter them. We killed lots of wolves, big and small¡ªI still have a pair of wolf-hide knee pads! In the end, we drove the wolves into the mountains and finally had peace. Hey! The local mothers still threaten their crying kids with, ¡¯Keep crying, and a wolf will snatch you away!¡¯¡±


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Sergei, forgive my presumption. If I¡¯m not mistaken, you¡¯re both Dusans, aren¡¯t you?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t resist asking the question that had puzzled him for a long time, ¡°How did you come to settle in the Senas Alliance?¡±


    Ever since he heard the unusual name Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell, Winters had been suspecting that Gerard was a Dusan.


    ¡°Of course we¡¯re Dusacks! Isn¡¯t it obvious at a glance that we¡¯re different from bumpkins?¡± Old Sergei laughed heartily, reminiscing, ¡°You¡¯re asking how we ended up over here? Well, that¡¯s a long story. More than thirty years ago, we were still serving the old Emperor, and then after that, well we were¡­¡±


    ¡°Vladiminovich! That¡¯s enough! Stop talking!¡± Gerard clearly did not want to dwell on the past and interrupted Old Sergei¡¯s recollections.


    Sergei was surprisingly obedient. As soon as Gerard said stop, he stopped talking.


    Seeing that Gerard didn¡¯t want to go into details, Winters changed the subject, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, I¡¯m curious¡­ why do you call Mr. Sergei¡­ Vladiminovich?¡±


    The question apparently was safe to answer, and Gerard explained with a smile, ¡°Sergei¡¯s father¡¯s name is Vladimir, and Vladiminovich means son of Vladimir. He calls me Pleninovich because my father¡¯s name is Plenis, that¡¯s how we Dusans do it.¡±


    Winters laughed and said, ¡°Should I perhaps be called Gravinovich then?¡±


    To his surprise, this remark made Gerard and Sergei¡¯s expressions turn somewhat embarrassed.


    Gerard was reminded of something else and hastily asked Winters, ¡°Did you just arrange for Ralph and his son to stay with family friends for a few days?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think they might be the most in danger right now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid they have nowhere to go,¡± Gerard said with some concern.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the boy is of Herder descent,¡± Old Sergei blurted out bluntly, ¡°Ralph got himself a Herder woman, and then she died. That left just the kid. They wouldn¡¯t even have been part of Wolfton if it weren¡¯t for Pleninovich taking pity on them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, stop it!¡± Gerard reprimanded his old friend.


    Sergei immediately fell silent.


    Gerard scratched the back of his head and continued, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s easy to solve. I¡¯ll just invite the two of them to stay at my home for a while.¡±


    ¡°Afraid they might not appreciate it,¡± Sergei commented coldly.


    Gerard thought for a moment then said, ¡°Even if Ralph doesn¡¯t want to come, he will for the safety of his son.¡±


    Old Sergei snorted but said nothing more.


    Gerard then looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, how do you feel about this arrangement?¡±


    Find your next read at


    ¡°Of course, that would be great,¡± Winters, a bit flattered, replied quickly, ¡°It¡¯s just a bit of trouble for you.¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hey, no bother at all; so many empty rooms in my house make me anxious¡­¡± Gerard was saying when he suddenly slapped his forehead, ¡°Lieutenant, about mobilizing the militia¡­ I can run to the villages east and west of the river and to Dusa Village. But those two Protestant villages¡ªwe have to go together¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªcut¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The content about werewolves recorded in ¡°The Hammer of Witches¡± published by the Holy Inquisition of the Empire in the year 526:


    ¡°¡­Half man, half wolf¡­ Fears silver, garlic, and Holy Water¡­ Immensely strong, fierce, and bloodthirsty, extremely dangerous¡­ Once bitten, even the purest of heart, one who does not forget to pray at night, will inevitably transform into a wolf on a night when the aconite blooms and the moon is full¡­¡±


    An excerpt from the master¡¯s thesis in anthropology titled ¡°Explorations into the Deep Consciousness Behind Mythical Creatures ¨C A Case Study of Werewolves¡± recorded in the Grand Database in the year 1020 of the New Calendar (Empire Calendar):


    ¡°¡­After the fifth century, as the process of internal colonization deepened, humans began to demand land from forests and wilderness, resulting in a large number of wildlife attacks. It was during this period that the legend of the werewolf spread far and wide¡­ The name of Wolfton City in Jire Wodan Province originates from a pack of wolves that settled in this area in the early sixth century, and rural areas of Wolfton City still carry tales of werewolves to this day¡­¡±

 Chapter 298 - 298 - 7 Militia and Warhorses

    Chapter 298 ¨C 7 Militia and Warhorses


    After truly understanding the powers and responsibilities of the Garrison Officer, Winters was astonished to find that in the small domain of Wolfton, the authority of the Garrison Officer was simply boundless.


    In the Republic of Vineta, the ruthless bureaucratic system detested any growth of military ambition and was strictly on guard against the risks of potential military interference in politics, especially forbidding any military personnel from grasping both military and civil administration at the local level.


    Yet, in the Wolfton town of Revodan County, Republic of Palatu, militia, public order, anti-smuggling, border defense, labor service¡­ anything that involved force was under the jurisdiction of the Garrison Officer.


    Moreover, the Garrison Officer and the Mayor had no hierarchical relationship. Their areas of responsibility overlapped to some extent, but their statuses were independent of each other. The Garrison Officer had absolute decision-making authority in the matters they were responsible for.


    So theoretically, no one in the small place of Wolfton could control Winters.


    Only the headquarters of the New Reclamation Area, established in the county capital, could give him orders, and that was at least a hundred and fifty kilometers away from Wolf Town.


    In other words¡­ the Garrison Officer in this small town was practically a semi-emperor!


    ...


    The power of Palatu officers at the local level¡ªor rather, the power of the Palatu military in local areas¡ªleft the young Venetian utterly dumbfounded.


    Shock aside, Winters was not particularly concerned with the grassroots political ecology of the Republic of Palatu because he considered himself to be eventually returning home, and was merely temporarily placed in this position.


    But as long as he was in office, he had to do his job well.


    ¡­


    ¡°See? Just throw like this. You need to use the strength of your waist and abdomen! When releasing, the spear tip should be tilted slightly upward, or else it won¡¯t go far.¡±


    At the threshing ground of East River Village in Wolf Town, Lieutenant Winters Montagne held a makeshift javelin and was demonstrating. A few other javelins were sticking out haphazardly from the target boards nearby, the results of his recent throws.


    The adult men of the village all gathered around Lieutenant Montagne to watch the demonstration of spear throwing techniques.


    The women sat around the threshing ground, chatting and laughing, keeping busy and enjoying the scene. Snotty-nosed children ran wild, throwing sticks and imitating the adults.


    East River Village¡¯s threshing ground was a bustling scene, like a festival gathering, lacking any of the appropriate tension.


    Originally, Winters was annoyed by the presence of the women and children as spectators, considering it a distraction. But he soon discovered it was also a very effective motivator.


    ¡°Practice seriously!¡± Winters purposefully said to the militia, ¡°The ladies are watching you. If you embarrass yourself here, how will you have the face to climb into bed tonight?¡±


    After hearing this, the young and strong men practicing the spear throw from East River Village blushed, each straining to outdo the others.


    Winters was not satisfied with the militia of Wolf Town, because they were far different from the Standing Army he had previously led. But farmers were not professional soldiers, and it was already good that they were willing to partake in the training.


    While correcting the militia¡¯s mistakes, Winters admonished them, ¡°Remember, don¡¯t stand in front, don¡¯t throw at the head. Move to the side or back and aim for places without bone protection, like the stomach!¡±


    Given the size of the paw prints, hoping to kill that massive beast with a single blow was sheer folly.


    Following Hunter Ralph¡¯s advice, if the beast attacked the village, the best strategy was to drive it away with firelight and noise. The second best approach was attrition, wearing the beast down until it was exhausted and covered with wounds before making the kill.


    Therefore, Winters had specifically added barbs to these hastily fashioned javelins, which would tear out a large chunk of flesh once embedded and pulled out. When used, ropes would also be tied to the spears so that they could be dragged and anchored.


    Some of the farm wives voluntarily gathered some blue berries known as ¡°rat arsenic¡± from the fields for Winters, saying that boiling them in water and applying the liquid on the javelins would be useful.


    However, Winters was quite skeptical about the effectiveness of the poison.


    Although those blue berries were toxic if consumed, it was unknown whether their toxicity remained when entering the bloodstream, and whether they could bring down a large beast was also in question. Nevertheless, since it wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference either way, Winters let them proceed.


    ¡°Officers trained by the old Marshal are just different! Everything they do is done so well,¡± Gerard cheerfully told everyone he met, seeing how Winters systematically organized the militia and crafted spears and javelins, ¡°Having Lieutenant Montagne come to Wolfton as the Garrison Officer is truly a blessing from the Lord!¡±


    Under Winters¡¯ coordination, all five villages under Wolfton Town had established their own militia units.


    The farmers were admonished to guard their homes carefully at night and sound the alarm in case of danger, waiting for the militia of their own village to assemble and come to the rescue.


    Winters also specifically borrowed some dogs from two villages that were further away from the forest and distributed them to those villagers whose houses were closer to the woods.


    The problem that was currently troubling Winters the most was the lack of weapons.


    East River Village and West River Village were still in a better situation, as the villagers at least had some bows and arrows in their possession.


    But the two villages inhabited mainly by Protestants were utterly unarmed. They lacked not only swords and spears, but even a good bow, and villagers could only use pitchforks as makeshift spears. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Expecting to take on the owner of those paw prints with pitchforks meant that the Protestants had to show a fearless courage.


    Then again, if the farmers could muster such dauntless bravery, why would Winters need to urgently craft these javelins?


    Just take up the spear and stab! As long as it¡¯s flesh and blood, what cannot be pierced?


    But the reality was: shooting arrows from a distance, the militia could barely manage; but when a ferocious beast got up close, the militia would just end up being chased around.

 Chapter 299 - 299 - 7 Militia and Warhorses_2

    Chapter 299 ¨C 7 Militia and Warhorses_2 sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was precisely because he knew ordinary people didn¡¯t have the courage to fight fierce beasts in close combat that Winters trained the militia to use spears¡ªthe hunting tool of ancient ancestors.


    What caused Winters even more headaches was the undisguised hostility emanating from those two Protestant villages.


    Honestly, before Gerard had mentioned them, Winters hadn¡¯t even been aware that Wolf Town had two Protestant villages under its jurisdiction.


    The Protestants neither attended the Sunday service nor had much interaction with the other three villages.


    In Winters¡¯ view, Wolf Town was already remote and secluded, yet within the edges of this civilized world, the Protestants had formed an even more closed-off and isolated community.


    In the other villages, it was sufficient for Mayor Gerard to read the appointment letter once for the introduction to be complete. The villagers naturally accepted the new Garrison Officer.


    However, in those two Protestant villages, every literate person read Winters¡¯ appointment letter, and the villagers still scrutinized Winters Montagne with suspicious eyes.


    ...


    What infuriated Winters even more was that the Protestants seemed not to believe in the ¡°wolf disaster¡± warning, nor did they take his orders as the Garrison Officer seriously.


    Very few able-bodied men came to the training, and those who did appeared to be going through the motions. A few Protestant villagers even quietly told Winters that the ¡°wolf disaster was just a pretext by the mayor to increase the levy of labor and extort from us.¡±


    They behaved as if stricken with a persecution complex, which almost enraged Winters to the point where he couldn¡¯t contain his fury. Gerard, however, had gotten used to this and even consoled Lieutenant Montagne.


    But neither Mayor Mitchell nor Garrison Officer Montagne had any effective measures for dealing with these obstinate Protestants.


    And it just so happened that those two Protestant villages were the closest to the forest edge.


    Thus, whenever he thought about those two Protestant villages, Winters¡¯ head would split with pain.


    The only thing that gave Garrison Officer Montagne some peace of mind was Dusa Village, the settlement of Dusacks.


    Upon hearing that a large beast was lurking in the woods, the men of Dusa Village were elated and began to prepare their knives and guns.


    Unlike the customs of the east and west river villages and the two Protestant villages, every household in the Dusack community owned weapons.


    Sabers hung on the walls, and spears leaned in the storerooms; these were just the basics.


    Even Dusa Village possessed about twenty matchlocks, both new and old. The new ones were recently purchased for hunting, while the history of the oldest firearms could even be traced back to the Sovereign Wars.


    In Dusa Village, each household also raised horses, and the men¡¯s horsemanship was honed from childhood¡ªWinters¡¯ own riding skills couldn¡¯t compare to theirs.


    With the threat of the wolf disaster approaching, the older men were called upon to teach the young how to use spears and military sabers.


    The idle and energetic young Dusacks suddenly had something to do, so issues like fights and gambling subsided considerably.


    Sergei proudly told Winters, ¡°Officer, could you count on those bumpkins in such a situation? You¡¯d still need to rely on us Dusacks! No matter what comes our way, we¡¯ll kill ¡¯em all!¡±


    Since he had such a brave group of Dusacks at hand, Winters saw no reason not to make use of them.


    Therefore, in high places of all five villages, Winters ordered the construction of signal fire beacons. If any village was attacked, they would use the beacon to sound the alarm, and the horsemen of Dusa Village would immediately gather to support.


    With the signal beacons, the villagers from the east and west river villages were quite happy. But judging from the skeptical expressions of the Protestant villagers, Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel that the Protestants might not ask for help from the Dusacks even if a beast did come.


    Furthermore, including Mitchell¡¯s, over a dozen manor owners from Wolf Town generously contributed funds for the purchase of spears.


    In addition to inspecting the villages and supervising the training, Winters also followed Ralph into the woods multiple times to search for traces of the beast.


    A multitude of matters weighed heavily on Winters, leaving him extremely tired.


    But being busy also alleviated the depression of having his fate manipulated by others¡ªafter all, having things to do meant he had no energy left to contemplate how to return to Vineta.


    However, on this particular morning, Winters pushed aside all other matters; he had a very important task to do¡ªhe was going to¡­ buy a horse.


    In the sparsely populated New Reclamation Area of Paratu, a horse was a necessity; without a mount for transportation, it was inconvenient to go anywhere.


    Lieutenant Winters Montagne was currently eating at Gerard¡¯s, living at Gerard¡¯s, and although Gerard Mitchell didn¡¯t mind, Winters really felt ashamed to continue using Mitchell¡¯s horses.


    So Winters very much wanted to buy a horse.


    Not only for transportation, but he also harbored a dark thought: if he had a horse, he could directly flee back to Vineta.


    But he couldn¡¯t afford it.


    ¡°Poor lieutenant¡± wasn¡¯t just self-mockery among officers; being an officer was an expensive career, with uniforms, horses, and weapons all requiring personal purchase.


    Although the pay in Paratu seemed to be slightly better than in Vineta, it was already good if a lieutenant¡¯s income could cover his basic living expenses.


    Want to buy a horse?


    One could dream.


    Therefore, in this era, if an officer did not come from a wealthy family, it was best that he found himself a wealthy father-in-law. Experience more tales on


    Although there might be a suspicion of overconfidence, Winters still believed that Gerard Mitchell would definitely be delighted to give his daughter in marriage to him.


    Miss Mitchell blushed every time she saw Winters, and when she talked to him, her voice was as soft as a mosquito¡¯s, which made Winters feel quite embarrassed.


    And the graceful and virtuous Mrs. Mitchell seemed to have a fondness for Lieutenant Winters Montagne of Sea Blue origin.

 Chapter 300 - 300 - 7 Militia and Warhorses_3

    Chapter 300 ¨C 7 Militia and Warhorses_3


    Sergei had several times asked Winters indirectly if he had any engagement.


    Since the Sergei family had no daughters, who else could he be asking for?


    Winters insisted that he was already engaged, and his fianc¨¦e was in Sea Blue.


    But Sergei muttered, ¡°We are so far from Sea Blue, even if there¡¯s an engagement, it might not count.¡±


    ¡°Being poor is so painful!¡±


    During the nights of restless tossing and turning, Winters Montagne lamented in this way.


    But it was not possible for him to borrow money from the Mitchell family. On the contrary, the more generous the Mitchells were to Winters, the less he dared to incur their favors. Read latest stories on


    ...


    In fact, Winters was already considering moving out from the Mitchell¡¯s when the time was right.


    All things considered, besides three months¡¯ salary, the only valuable Winters currently had left was¡­ Anna¡¯s pendant box.


    It was pure gold.


    But the pendant box could not be sold; if it were, Miss Navarre would surely tear Second Lieutenant Montagne to pieces with her bare hands.


    ¡°Being poor really is painful!¡±


    In the midst of another sleepless night¡¯s restlessness, Winters Montagne lamented once again.


    In the end, it was the two cufflinks given by Antonio that saved the day.


    The Winters family was very strict with money management, but he himself did not have a strong concept of money since he never had to spend much at the military academy.


    So the two cufflinks that Antonio handed to him without much thought were not taken seriously by Winters. He wore them for important occasions, and even took them with him during his return to Guidao City for the award ceremony.


    When a person is driven to the edge, even the smallest hope is clung to tightly.


    Filled with thoughts of money, Lieutenant Montagne looked at the two cufflinks given by his uncle and suddenly had a bold idea.


    After confirmation from the blacksmith, Winters finally confirmed that the two cufflinks he always thought were made of bronze¡­ were indeed pure gold.


    And so was the belt buckle given by his uncle.


    Even separated by a thousand miles, the wisdom of elders still filled Winters¡¯s empty purse.


    And so the poor Second Lieutenant Montagne suddenly had money. Though not a lot, it was almost enough to buy a serviceable warhorse.


    Buying toys brings great joy, and the happiness of a man is that simple.


    And a warhorse, in some ways, is a big toy.


    All of Winters¡¯s long-held resentment vanished, and he couldn¡¯t wait to inquire with Gerard about which family in Dusa Village had a warhorse for sale.


    Although he was too embarrassed to accept more goodwill from the Mitchell family, the matter of buying a warhorse could not escape Gerard¡¯s notice.


    Instead of avoiding any appearance of impropriety, Winters felt it was better to straightforwardly ask for Gerard Mitchell¡¯s assistance.


    Gerard¡¯s eldest son Pierre, upon hearing that Second Lieutenant Montagne wanted to buy a warhorse, was also excited to join in.


    The public pasture of Dusa Village was located on the flat land south of the village without any fences. Unattended alfalfa and rye grew at will, giving the meadow a beautiful cream-yellow hue from afar.


    In the distance to the south, brown and black spots twinkled as a herd of horses ran toward a water pond. A small figure bouncing up and down on horseback like glue, herding the horses.


    ¡°Hook!¡± Standing up in the stirrups, Pierre waved his hand excitedly towards the direction of the horses and shouted, ¡°Anglu!¡±


    The figure on the horseback in the distance heard the call and waved his hat in response.


    ¡°Come here! Come here!¡±


    The rider put his hat back on and raced towards Winters and the others.


    ¡°That¡¯s the horse-herder from Dusa Village, Anglu.¡± Gerard pointed with his whip to the approaching rider and said with a laugh, ¡°No one knows the horses in the village better than him. Let him pick a decent one for you!¡±


    The horse driver urged the horses to run swiftly, and soon he was drawing near to the group.


    It was only then that Winters noticed the horse driver¡¯s frame was very thin, and although his face was tanned dark, it could not hide his youthfulness.


    ¡°How come it¡¯s a kid?¡± Winters was greatly surprised.


    ¡°Little Hook is already sixteen, isn¡¯t he? He¡¯s not a child anymore.¡± Gerard said with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him because of his young age. He has been managing the horse herd on his own for two years, and he¡¯s done quite well.¡±


    ¡°Two years?¡± Winters was even more surprised, ¡°So he¡¯s been a horse driver since he was fourteen?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Gerard matter-of-factly.


    ¡°He¡¯s not from Dusa, is he?¡±


    Pierre immediately retorted, ¡°Hook is definitely a Dusan!¡±


    It was Gerard who understood what Winters meant. With a sigh he said, ¡°Little Hook¡¯s father died of illness, and his family didn¡¯t have their own land. Hook¡¯s mother brought him to find his father, but not long after they arrived at Wolfton, she also fell ill and died. The kid likes horses, so I had him follow Old Pick to manage the horse herd. Old Pick also passed away from a fall while drinking two years ago, and the boy has managed the horse herd on his own pretty well¡­ Ah, but he¡¯s finally old enough; once he goes to do his service and comes back, he¡¯ll also be able to have his own land.¡±


    In the span of a few sentences, the horse driver had already arrived by their side.


    The teenager on horseback performed a beautiful dismount and ran over to Pierre. Pierre got off his horse too, and the two joyfully started horsing around, even wrestling each other to the ground.


    Having learned of Winters¡¯ purpose, ¡°Hook¡± Anglu led the group towards the horse herd that was drinking water.


    Winters immediately took a liking to a majestic green horse, but the horse driver shook his head, ¡°Sir, that Trell Green is the breeding stud of this herd. It¡¯s got a terrible temper, you can¡¯t ride it.¡±


    As his gaze traveled around, Winters spotted a black horse, ¡°How about that black horse?¡±


    Gerard pursed his lips and smiled.


    The horse driver, whose voice was still breaking, answered in a quacking tone, ¡°Sir, that one is a mare. It was brought over for breeding, just waiting to have a foal next year. How could we possibly sell it?¡±


    The situation became somewhat awkward, as Lieutenant Montagne from the infantry had encountered his weak spot. At this moment, he dearly missed his classmates Bard and Andre. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters gave up thinking, ¡°Anglu, you pick one for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! That ¡¯Rejek¡¯ over there is quite good,¡± the young horse driver pointed at a chestnut horse and said.


    Winters looked where the horse driver was pointing, and the horse perked up its ears, looking over alertly. But judged by the standards of ¡°strong runners,¡± the chestnut horse seemed a bit too short and small.


    In fact, Lieutenant Montagne¡¯s only standard for assessing horses was that they looked good.


    Given they looked good, the bigger they were, the better.


    Looking at that chestnut horse, Winters said with some hesitation, ¡°Isn¡¯t that horse a bit¡­ small?¡±


    Gerard and Anglu both burst out laughing, while Pierre and Winters were a bit puzzled.


    Over fifty years old, Gerard was so amused that he could barely catch his breath; hands on his hips, he said, ¡°Lieutenant, we Dusans judge warhorses not by size, speed, or strength¡­ but by endurance. Only a horse that can run continuously is a good warhorse.¡±


    ¡°Rejek is only three years old, but his stamina is really amazing,¡± Anglu added. ¡°The small horses are both nimble and light, perfect for jumping fences. Once it turns four, its stamina will be even better, and then it can be brought back for breeding.¡±


    Convinced by the two Dusans, one old and one young, Winters was also tempted, ¡°Will the owner be willing to sell?¡±


    ¡°As long as the weather¡¯s fair, good horses are like crops in the field, one yield after another,¡± Gerard laughed. ¡°What can¡¯t be sold? I will go negotiate with the owner for you.¡±


    Since the horse experts said so, Winters was no longer hesitant. Gerard took his son to discuss the price with the horse¡¯s owner, leaving Winters at the pasture to chat with the young horse driver Anglu.


    Looking at the serene horses grazing, Winters asked curiously, ¡°By the way, how do you Dusans name horses?¡±


    ¡°Dusans don¡¯t name horses; we just refer to them by their coat colors,¡± the young horse driver said laughing, showing a mouthful of teeth. ¡°But we Dusans have hundreds of words just for describing the colors of a horse¡¯s coat.¡±


    The young driver added, ¡°Rejek refers to that mix of chestnut and red, with a white spot on the forehead.¡±


    The deal was soon struck.


    The horse¡¯s owner gave a very reasonable price.


    Having borrowed a set of horse tack, Winters Montagne rode off on Rejek, leaving Wolf Town.

 Chapter 301 - 301 - 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete

    Chapter 301 ¨C 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Winters, having left Wolf Town, had more than once entertained the thought of ¡°simply escaping back to Vineta,¡± he never put it into action.


    Not to mention what would become of his military registration after his escape, relying solely on one horse was insufficient to sustain a long-distance trek. Furthermore, as a foreigner, how would he shake off pursuit on this unfamiliar land?


    Escape was highly impractical, so Lieutenant Montaigne could only resign himself to thinking about it.


    Winters had not left Wolf Town intending to flee, but rather to find Andre.


    His new comrade was called ¡°Rejek¡± by the Dusans, meaning a reddish-brown horse. Consequently, Winters also named this three-year-old colt ¡°Red Mane.¡±


    Mounting Red Mane, Winters immediately decided to make a trip to Blackwater Town. To see Andre and, incidentally, to test Red Mane¡¯s mettle.


    The Alliance army¡¯s horsemanship divided warhorse gaits into five categories: walk, trot, canter, gallop, and jump. If one did not wish to exhaust the horse to death, the latter three gaits could not be sustained for long periods.


    ...


    Therefore, the most one would use for daily riding was the trot, and a warhorse making seven or eight kilometers per hour was considered satisfactory.


    Yet Red Mane, trotting and resting intermittently, took only about six hours to bring Winters the more than fifty kilometers to Blackwater Town.


    This speed, considering the negative factor of Red Mane¡¯s unfamiliarity with a new rider, suggested that its pace would improve once it grew accustomed to Winters¡¯ weight.


    It seemed the young horse trader Anglu wasn¡¯t wrong¡ªRed Mane¡¯s legs were indeed exceptional.


    Although Winters knew Red Mane was a good horse, he had not yet realized he had actually stumbled upon a great deal. Because buying a warhorse already trained by an experienced rider was much easier than training a fresh one from scratch.


    The owner had been willing to sell such a fine horse to Winters purely out of respect for Gerard Mitchell.


    Infantry Officer Winters might not recognize a bargain, but Cavalry Officer Andre sure did.


    Just as when he first saw Tess, upon laying eyes on Red Mane, Andre could not look away. His eyes sparkled as he walked around Red Mane, marveling and stroking it, almost drooling with appreciation.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Winters had no other mount to return to Wolfton, Andre would have wanted to borrow Red Mane to ride for a few days by any means.


    ¡°Hey! How can an infantryman like you always get such fine horses?¡± Lieutenant Cherini lamented, stroking the horse¡¯s mane: ¡°It¡¯s a pity Bard isn¡¯t here! He would definitely love this horse.¡±


    The woeful demeanor of his good friend made Winters barely suppress a chuckle.


    Winters patted the horse¡¯s rump and said to Andre, ¡°Then you get me a horse, and I¡¯ll give you Red Mane. We can switch rides, how about that?¡±


    ¡°Get lost!¡± Andre responded more sorrowfully, ¡°Where am I going to get the money to buy a horse?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll talk when you have the money. I came to you for serious business,¡± Winters said, his smile fading as he turned serious. ¡°Has anyone from home been looking for you?¡±


    Truth be told, Lieutenant Montaigne had been quite comfortable living in Wolfton.


    For Winters, who had grown up in the cramped, dirty, and busy atmosphere of a city, the natural conditions in Wolf Town were second to none.


    Located on the remote borders of Paratu, this place was sparsely populated and at a high altitude, hence the air was refreshingly clean. Everywhere he looked, there were no cramped houses, only the boundless wilderness.


    And as one of the only two civil servants in town, he enjoyed almost half the status of a feudal lord. No longer subject to anyone¡¯s commands, Winters found this incredibly comfortable.


    But Wolfton was just too isolated! There was absolutely no channel to glean information about the outside world.


    Since Winters had arrived in Wolfton, aside from a few itinerant merchants, he had not seen a single person from the outside.


    Lieutenant Voyik had said that military mail carriers would visit Wolfton on a regular schedule, but Winters had yet to see a shadow of one.


    Having only stayed for less than a week, Winters was eager to know what was happening in the outside world:


    Had the disputes between Vineta and The Federated Provinces quieted down? How were the negotiations between Paratu and Vineta faring? When could he go home?


    But trapped in Wolfton, Winters was clueless. This isolation was almost a form of torture for him.


    When asked about this, Andre¡¯s expression turned somber, ¡°No! In this godforsaken place, I haven¡¯t seen a single Venetian!¡±


    ¡°I thought Blackwater Town was bigger than Wolf Town and would have more up-to-date news,¡± Winters said, disappointed.


    ¡°How much larger can this dump be? I sent word to Bard to see if he has any news,¡± Andre said with a helpless shrug, ¡°I¡¯m just biding my time here, taking it one day at a time. I¡¯ve come to terms with it¡ªif I can make it until we go home without working though still drawing pay, then that, my friend, is victory!¡±


    The two brethren in misfortune exchanged glances, sighed in unison, and then burst into wry laughter together.


    Although Winters hadn¡¯t received any news, his trip was not entirely fruitless.


    The next day, when returning from Blackwater Town to Wolfton, Winters¡¯ saddle bore two extra heavy matchlock muskets.


    The guns were borrowed from Blackwater Town¡¯s armory. Being far more prosperous than Wolfton, Blackwater Town could afford genuine weaponry.


    The muskets in Dusa Village had very small charges, suitable for hunting, but they lacked the impressive caliber needed for large wild beasts.


    Thus, Lieutenant Cherini, with a grand gesture, lent two of the finest matchlock muskets to Wolfton at no cost. Read new adventures at


    Hearing that large predators roamed the forests around Wolfton, the hitherto bored Andre suddenly became extremely excited.

 Chapter 302 - 302 - 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_2

    Chapter 302 ¨C 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_2


    If it hadn¡¯t been because the Garrison Officer couldn¡¯t leave his station for too long, Lieutenant Chellini would have personally carried his gun into the forests of Wolf Town to ¡°eliminate the beast for the people.¡±


    Even if he couldn¡¯t camp out in Wolf Town, Andre was adamant with Winters, insisting that if there were indeed reliable tracks of the giant beast, he must be notified immediately with a fast horse.


    Andre thumped his chest and promised to bring Blackwater Town¡¯s best Hunter to reinforce the effort.


    Winters knew that Andreya Chellini was just bored stiff;


    he also knew that if it weren¡¯t for the wolf disaster, his own mental state would probably not be much different from Andre¡¯s.


    Winters returned to Wolf Town with two heavy muskets and was surprised to discover that having been gone to Blackwater Town for only one day, Wolfton had been thrown into quite a bit of chaos.


    Since the word spread that there was a ferocious beast in the woods, the villagers now saw every shadow as the beast.


    ...


    Within a single day, villagers repeatedly ran to the town hall, swearing that they had spotted the ferocious beast near their villages.


    But by the time Mayor Mitchell and his men arrived at the sighting locations, there wasn¡¯t a beast in sight, not even a single hair to be found.


    When questioning the eyewitnesses again, the villagers¡¯ descriptions turned into ¡°seeing a black figure¡± or ¡°hearing the roars of the beast.¡±


    Such incidents happened over and over again, and coincidentally with Garrison Officer Winters gone to Blackwater Town, Mayor Mitchell, an over-fifty-year-old man, was exhausted from the turmoil.


    During that period, on one occasion, a villager from the west side of the river was scared silly by what he claimed was a ¡°huge black beastly shadow,¡± and in his panic, he directly lit the signal fire.


    By the time old Sergei and the Dusack people rushed to the west side village, they found the villagers acting as if nothing had happened, back to work in the fields, leaving the old man cursing in anger.


    Having returned to Wolf Town, Winters and the Hunter Ralph went around to each so-called ¡°beast sighting¡± location to investigate, but they found absolutely no evidence, no paw prints or fur.


    Although the villagers swore they really saw the beast, Winters was eighty percent sure they were just scaring themselves.


    On the way back to the town hall, Winters asked the Hunter, ¡°Did you discover anything in the forest during my day trip to Blackwater Town?¡±


    ¡°Sir, in the woods near Protestant Village, I found some trees with peeling bark, and I found dark brown fur on the trees,¡± replied the old Hunter Ralph with restrained demeanor and respectfully, ¡°According to its habits, the beast might be a bear, which likes to scratch its back against trees. But even if it¡¯s a bear, it must be a very big one. However, bears usually eat pine nuts and berries; it¡¯s not certain they would trouble us.¡±


    ¡°Keep observing and be safe. Report to me immediately if anything happens,¡± Winters instructed, then asked the hunter, ¡°How about your son, is he adapting well to living at Mitchell¡¯s?¡±


    For safety reasons, the Hunter and his son temporarily moved out of their cabin in the woods. Gerard had invited them to stay at his place, but Ralph firmly refused to live in the guest room like a visitor, instead opting to live with his son among the farmhands at Mitchell¡¯s.


    ¡°Thank you for your concern, sir,¡± Ralph said with a hint of a smile on his weathered face when his son was mentioned, ¡°Captain Mitchell has always been very kind to me and my son, and I am very grateful.¡±


    ¡°Captain Mitchell?¡± Winters caught a special term of address that only the people of Dusa Village used for Gerard.


    Winters raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled, and asked the Hunter, ¡°Ralph, are you a Dusan too?¡±


    ¡°I was.¡±


    Winters was even more puzzled, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you live with the Dusack people?¡±


    After a long silence, the Hunter Ralph replied with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. I don¡¯t remember why.¡±


    Although curious, seeing that the Hunter was reluctant to speak, Winters didn¡¯t press the matter further.


    ¡­ S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Winters returned to the town center, he first visited the blacksmith¡¯s shop.


    In this era, only cities had professional craftsmen, as full-time artisans could not support themselves in the countryside.


    Farmers do not need tailors, bakers, or builders¡­ They sew their own clothes, bake their own bread, and build their own houses.


    But not everyone possesses the skill to refine metals, heat up iron ingots, or forge and bend red-hot steel. Moreover, blacksmithing is a capital-intensive industry, requiring not only skill but also a variety of tools.


    Therefore, a blacksmith is one of the few professional technicians who can make a living in rural areas. Farmers can do without tailors, bakers, and masons, but they need blacksmiths.


    In rural life, the blacksmith plays an important role; you find a blacksmith to make farm tools, repair pots, and even to pull teeth.


    Of course, the blacksmith¡¯s shop is also an important part of Wolf Town¡¯s commercial street¡ªalthough the town center only consists of two dirt roads laid out in a cross pattern plus a handful of buildings.


    The blacksmith of Wolf Town is also a Dusack, who took up his old trade after being settled in Wolfton. Originally, his shop was in Dusa Village, and it took Gerard a great deal of effort to persuade the blacksmith to move his business to town.


    The shop was extremely simple, without even a storefront, with the forge and anvil openly facing the street.


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    A young man, looking to be in his early twenties, was working shirtless, with his left hand gripping a pair of tongs holding a bright yellow hot iron bar and the right hand wielding a small hammer by the forge.


    The young man had an average build, shorter and more slender than Winters. Judging by his physique, he seemed far from the typically burly and strong blacksmith.

 Chapter 303 - 303 - 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_3

    Chapter 303 ¨C 8 Blackwater Town and the Machete_3


    But the hammer in the young man¡¯s hand seemed to possess a special kind of magic, and with his deft striking, the red-hot steel was gracefully bent into shape, and in the blink of an eye, a horseshoe revealed its form.


    Watching the youth forge the iron billet, Winters suddenly remembered Anna¡¯s comment on the arcade¡¯s stone carving, ¡°It¡¯s not about chiseling the stone into the shape of people, it¡¯s about the people trapped inside the stone being chiseled out.¡±


    The young man¡¯s skill was so exceptional that even an outsider like Winters could see it.


    Only after the youth had finished crafting a horseshoe did Winters speak up and ask, ¡°Is the owner here? Are you his son? I haven¡¯t seen you before when I came here.¡±


    It was only when Winters spoke that the youth, who had been fully focused on forging the iron billet, realized someone had come. He looked up at Winters, smiled, and nodded his head slightly.


    The youth¡¯s face was blackened by soot, which only made his teeth appear whiter.


    The booming voice of the old blacksmith, Misha, came from the backyard, ¡°Ah, I wish! If only my boy had half the character of Berlion, I¡¯d die without regrets, officer.¡±


    ...


    Misha arrived at the front yard and introduced the young man, pointing, ¡°This is Berlion from the Protestant village. He was in the city getting supplies last time you came. Berlion, this is Lieutenant Montaigne, our town officer!¡±


    The blacksmith youth¡ªBerlion¡ªseemed a bit reserved, managing a strained smile as he bowed, but didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Is he your apprentice?¡± Winters also nodded in return and asked Misha with a smile, ¡°His craftsmanship is really quite good.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am Master Misha¡¯s apprentice,¡± Berlion answered stiffly.


    ¡°No need to flatter me!¡± Old Misha laughed heartily and patted Berlion on the back, ¡°I¡¯m not fit to have an apprentice; this lad is much better than I am! Back home, he was a furnace master, but he lost his family business while fleeing! I consider this fine young man as a partner. That no-good son of mine, the forge will be Berlion¡¯s sooner or later. It¡¯s just a pity I don¡¯t have a daughter¡­¡±


    Seeing that old Misha was rambling on and who knew where he¡¯d go next, Winters quickly interrupted, ¡°How about the thing I asked you to handle?¡±


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    ¡°The officer¡¯s request, I certainly take it to heart!¡± Old Misha chuckled as he ran back into the backyard, ¡°Just wait here a moment!¡±


    Not long after, Misha came out with a long object wrapped in red cloth in both hands, ¡°What do you think, do you like it?¡±


    When the red cloth was lifted, beneath it were three blade bars.


    Winters, who had been left empty-handed, got on the horse carriage. Unaccountably, he had been assigned to Wolf Town without a sword or a gun to his name.


    But how could a garrison officer not have a handy weapon? Consequently, Winters approached blacksmith Misha to forge a few blades.


    Winters¡¯ order was: a practice sword in the shape of a longsword, a sharpened longsword, a single-handed side sword, and, finally, a Dusan saber.


    In ancient language, the word ¡°Dusa¡± referred to the special, elongated sabers used by the Dusacks, translating directly to ¡°one who wields a Dusan saber¡±. Whether the terms Dusa and Dusack appeared first is now unknown.


    Since he had the chance to learn the Dusans¡¯ saber techniques, Winters certainly wouldn¡¯t miss out. He was currently learning Dusack saber techniques from Gerard, which is why he added a saber to his order as well.


    But this generous order posed a problem for Misha. According to old Misha, he could forge the blades alright, but in terms of quality¡­ They weren¡¯t as good as the ready-made sword bars from the city, and the price was even higher.


    The bars being sold on the market today are all produced in Solingen City of the Republic of Monta.


    Old Misha claims that in Solingen, a blacksmith is only responsible for one process, and a sword bar must pass through the hands of more than a dozen blacksmiths before it is finished. The blacksmiths there are highly specialized, with even those responsible for tempering belonging to separate guilds.


    Hence, sword bars from Solingen, even with shipping costs, are cheaper than those made by individual smiths elsewhere, and the quality is better. Independent blade smiths are being squeezed out of business, forcing many to switch careers.


    Even within the Republic of Palatu, many blacksmiths have given up on forging blades, turning to simply transporting swords instead.


    Thus, old Misha¡¯s suggestion was: if there¡¯s no urgency, then wait a bit until he could order ready-made sword bars from the city. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only easy thing was the Dusan saber; old Misha said he could collect a few unused bars from the village, as he could make cutlery in his shop.


    The three bars before him were the ones Misha had gathered from Dusa Village over the past few days.


    After carefully inspecting the three bars, Winters asked with some dissatisfaction, ¡°Aren¡¯t these bars a bit too old?¡±


    ¡°Old is good!¡± Old Misha slapped his thigh, clearly holding an opposing view, ¡°A good bar can be passed down through several generations. Old means it¡¯s durable. The bar of my saber was snatched by my grandfather from the barbarians up north; it¡¯s crossed barbarians in the north with my grandad, Herdman with my dad, and still sharp in my son¡¯s hands¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± seeing that old Misha was about to launch into another lengthy discourse, Winters quickly called a halt, ¡°I¡¯ll take this one.¡±


    Winters pointed to the longest of the three bars.


    ¡°Alrighty!¡± Old Misha, grinning, wrapped the other two bars back up, ¡°Berlion, take the officer¡¯s measurements.¡±


    Even though the bars were ready-made, the hilt still needed to be custom-fitted according to the hand size.


    Just as Berlion was measuring Winters¡¯ hand size with a leather tape, Alci, the grocer from the neighboring shop, ran into the smithy in a panic.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Alci panted out of breath, ¡°A signal fire!¡±

 Chapter 304 - 304 - 9: The Unbeliever

    Chapter 304 ¨C 9: The Unbeliever


    ¡°Where is that thing?¡± Winters stopped a villager at the entrance of the village, asking anxiously, ¡°Who lit the smoke signal?¡±


    Seeing a thick plume of smoke rising from the direction of the Nanxin Protestant Village, Winters immediately rushed over with two borrowed fire guns.


    All the way there, he harshly spurred his red-maned horse, fearing he was too late. The horse broke into a frantic gallop, swiftly arriving at Nanxin Village.


    The frightened farm girl he stopped meekly led the way and took Winters to a yard at the south side of the village. A group of villagers had already gathered inside and outside the yard, whispering and discussing among themselves.


    Winters¡¯s heart tightened: Had someone already fallen victim?


    He rode his horse closer to the yard with quick steps, and the villagers around moved aside. Winters asked the village head straight away, ¡°Are there any casualties? Where is that thing? Which way did it run?¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t run, sir,¡± the head of Nanxin Village pointed toward the yard, ¡°We¡¯ve trapped it inside the warehouse!¡±


    ...


    What?


    Warehouse?


    At first Winters was puzzled, then he became a bit irritated, a surge of nameless anger rising within him.


    The warehouse in the yard that wasn¡¯t even two meters tall? That dilapidated boardroom could hold a beast from the forest? What a joke!


    ¡°Mr. Balbi.¡± Montaigne, the lieutenant mounted on his horse, looked down at the village head with a chilling voice, making the air turn suddenly cold, ¡°Are you trying to make fun of me?¡±


    ¡­


    The air inside the warehouse was damp and stuffy.


    Sunlight came through the holes in the roof and landed on the floor, revealing bright paths through the dancing dust, barely lighting up the low boardroom.


    Wheat husks, straw, and some farm tools were scattered around the warehouse, with low growls emanating from the deepest part of the clutter.


    A large, disheveled brown wolf leaned against the corner wall, bracing itself with its front legs. It bared its sharp teeth, its eyes filled with ferocity, growling warnings to keep the enemy at bay.


    There were several bloodstains on the wolf¡¯s body, the injury on its left hind leg was the most severe; the broken bone piercing through the skin could be seen, inflicted by the blows of the farmers¡¯ sticks.


    This wild creature was now at the end of its tether, Winters gave it one last look, then threw the spear in his hand.


    The short spear, thrown with tremendous force, hit the wolf with the severely injured hind leg, the tip entering from one side, piercing through the rib and sticking into the ground from the other side.


    The pinned-down wolf whimpered like an injured puppy. Winters pulled out a short blade and put an end to its suffering.


    After dragging the brown wolf¡¯s carcass out of the warehouse, Winters asked the village head, ¡°Is this the only one? Are there more?¡±


    Surrounded by the yard, the villagers of Nanxin erupted into cheers at the sight of the dead wolf.


    ¡°No more, your lordship,¡± the shaken village head Balbi swallowed his saliva and said with cautious care, ¡°Just this one that got trapped in the board warehouse.¡±


    A dog, three chickens and ducks, half a dozen eggs, and several villagers bitten on the legs, that¡¯s all the loss Nanxin Village suffered.


    About five or six wolves broke into Nanxin Village in search of food, and one was killed on the spot by the gathered militia. Except for one wolf that frantically hid in a farmer¡¯s barn, the rest ran back into the forest.


    The barn was narrow and no villager dared to enter, so that brown wolf was eventually dealt with by Winters himself.


    The villagers of Nanxin Village were very exhilarated. In their view, although the wolf invasion was real, not only had they driven the wolves away but had also killed two, so the wolf invasion wasn¡¯t a big deal at all.


    After getting Winters¡¯s permission, the jubilant Protestants had already begun preparing to divvy up the wolf meat.


    Gerard and Winters rode side by side on their horses, watching from afar as the villagers sharpened knives and boiled water. Gerard expressed his satisfaction, ¡°Lieutenant, it seems that the militia of Nanxin Village has been well trained by you.¡±


    Winters shook his head, not sounding pleased, ¡°I only practiced javelin throwing a few times, there¡¯s hardly any training to speak of. It¡¯s just wolves, something that a few farmers with clubs can handle.¡±


    Hunter Ralph left the villagers who were dealing with the dead wolves and approached the two men.


    ¡°Is there something special?¡± Winters asked the hunter.


    ¡°Sir, except for some gastric acid and a bit of squirrel remains, there were only grass roots in the wolf¡¯s stomach,¡± Ralph reported his findings. ¡°Overall, this pack of wolves still fears humans, and they probably only dared to enter the village because they were starving.¡±


    Winters asked the hunter, ¡°The people of Nanxin Village say the wolves ran west. Do you think we can catch up with them?¡±


    ¡°We can try to follow them. Although two of their companions are dead, the pack knows there¡¯s food here, and in desperation, they might come back. But we¡¯ve arrived late, and the chances of catching up to them are slim,¡± Ralph replied cautiously.


    Winters nodded and ordered, ¡°Go get Dusack assembled, you lead the way, and we¡¯ll give it a try. Killing one more now means less trouble in the future.¡±


    Ralph accepted the order and left to call those Dusack who were watching the spectacle.


    As the riders were regrouping, Sergei came over with two bundles smeared with blood, showing them to Winters with high spirits, ¡°Commander! Look! I got the wolf pelts from the heretics for you.¡±


    The hunter¡¯s skinning skills were very adept; the wolf pelts from claw to tail to head were peeled off completely, even without getting too much blood on them.


    ¡°What do I need this for?¡± Winters felt uncomfortable at the sight of the stripped wolf pelts.


    ¡°It¡¯s the wolf you slaughtered, of course the pelt belongs to you,¡± the old man said matter-of-factly. ¡°We can¡¯t let the heretics get it cheap. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll have Ralph tan it, and make a few sets of gloves, wrist guards and such, wouldn¡¯t that be lovely?¡±


    Gerard also chimed in with a smile, ¡°Wolf pelts are good, more breathable than cowhide or sheepskin.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! The best part of a wolf is its hide, better than two layers of cowhide put together!¡± Sergei asserted confidently.


    The old man glanced disdainfully at the lively scene of the Nanxin villagers dividing the meat, ¡°Heretics don¡¯t know what¡¯s good. What¡¯s so tasty about wolf meat? It¡¯s sour and stinky; I wouldn¡¯t eat it even if it were given to me for free.¡±


    ¡°Enough already. It¡¯s good just to have meat to eat, what¡¯s there to dislike?¡± Gerard joked, giving his old pal a light tap with his whip, ¡°If it were thirty years earlier, you¡¯d be the one pushing to the front to grab the meat.¡±


    Sergei didn¡¯t continue the topic but happily asked Winters, ¡°Commander, I heard you almost made the village chief of Nanxin wet his pants?¡±


    Although running in vain made the old man quite irritated, evidently, the Protestant village chief¡¯s humiliation delighted him more.


    Winters smiled wryly and shook his head; he also hadn¡¯t expected that a simple question could cause such a loss of composure in Chief Balbi.


    ¡°Heresy must be occasionally chastised!¡± the old man said buoyantly, ¡°If you ask me, you¡¯re just too kind to them; they aren¡¯t afraid of you at all¡­¡±


    Winters felt increasingly that something was amiss as he listened, but since he didn¡¯t understand the grudges between the villages of Wolf Town, he just listened and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Gerard immediately interrupted, ¡°Will you ever learn to hold your tongue as you grow older?¡±


    Soon after, the riders from Dusa Village assembled.


    Under Hunter Ralph¡¯s guidance, about twenty riders followed the wolf pack¡¯s trail toward the woods west of Nanxin Village.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    It wasn¡¯t until sunset that Winters and Gerard returned to Mitchell¡¯s.


    The two had led the riders of Dusa Village in pursuit for hours, but they had nothing to show for it.


    Montaigne, the weary lieutenant, hadn¡¯t even caught his breath when an unexpected visitor came looking for him¡­ to be precise, the visitor had been waiting at Mitchell¡¯s. Explore more adventures at


    Looking at the visitor¡¯s clothes and accessories, Winters tried hard to recall the face in front of him.


    He asked uncertainly, ¡°Er, you are¡­ you¡¯re the priest who held the cup in the church, right?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, Garrison Officer,¡± the young man in front of him replied without a hint of annoyance, still smiling, ¡°I am Priest Caman, Anthony¡¯s assistant.¡±


    A tiny church with two priests? Winters found it odd, but he asked in an indifferent manner, ¡°What do you want with me?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, there is something I¡¯d like to ask for your help with,¡± said the young priest with a smile tinged with embarrassment, ¡°You haven¡¯t employed a formal clerk yet, have you?¡±


    Winters had been entrusting his written work to Gerard¡¯s clerk, Panveche.


    Hearing the priest¡¯s question, Winters was both surprised and amused, ¡°I haven¡¯t, but I dare not employ an official priest as my scribe¡ªyou¡¯re not here looking for a job, are you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am indeed here to seek employment with you,¡± Priest Caman¡¯s smile grew more awkward, ¡°but not for myself. Rather, it¡¯s for another respected priest¡­¡±


    ¡°Just wait a second,¡± Winters interrupted Caman, asking with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re not talking about that Priest Anthony, are you? He must be at least sixty years old, right?¡±


    Priest Caman hurried to explain, ¡°Of course not, Brother Anthony is the main celebrant of our church; he certainly wouldn¡¯t be a clerk. I am referring to another clergyman.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Caman,¡± seeing that the priest was serious, Winters asked earnestly, losing his smile, ¡°You¡¯re not joking with me, are you?¡±


    ¡°Certainly not! Absolutely not, I am sincerely here to seek a position for Brother Reed!¡±


    Winters was already tired, and now he felt slightly annoyed, ¡°A formal clergyman wants a position as a clerk? You¡¯re not joking with me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, please let me explain,¡± said Priest Caman earnestly, ¡°Brother Reed is an Ascetic Monk who wanders and practices asceticism all year round, begging for alms. He only arrived at Wolf Town yesterday and plans to spend the winter here. So, I was hoping to find him a temporary haven.¡±


    Ascetic Monks emphasize poverty and purity without a congregation, preaching through their ¡°begging¡± journeys; they are a type of ascetic.


    Winters was even more perplexed, ¡°Is your church by any chance lacking a set of tableware? Even an Ascetic Monk doesn¡¯t need to be a clerk for me, does he?¡±


    ¡°Well, Brother Reed¡¯s theological views are somewhat¡­¡± Priest Caman¡¯s face turned red, and he stammered in a nearly inaudible voice, ¡°¡­quite unconventional, so he is somewhat at odds with Brother Anthony¡­¡±


    The young priest asked with difficulty, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, I really have no other options, hence my request for your help¡­ You¡¯re not a Catholic, right?¡±


    Winters shook his head, replying with a sneer, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Nor an Orthodox or a Protestant, correct?¡±


    ¡°Neither.¡±


    ¡°You are¡­ an unbeliever, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having confirmed that the officer before him wasn¡¯t a believer, Priest Caman¡¯s expression not only didn¡¯t darken, but it also seemed to relax significantly, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking for your help, because you¡¯re the only one in Wolf Town who could tolerate Brother Reed¡¯s theological views.¡±


    Winters was astounded, ¡°Are you telling me you want to push a heretic on me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Priest Caman said with an embarrassed laugh, ¡°But since you¡¯re an unbeliever, you wouldn¡¯t mind heresy, would you?¡±


    Trying to argue with a priest who had received a theological education was clearly masochistic. Winters, utterly exhausted, just wanted to rest and had no desire to waste more words with the cleric before him.


    He yawned, resignedly saying, ¡°Well then¡­ bring the person to meet me first, will you?¡±


    ¡°Certainly!¡± Priest Caman stood up excitedly, ¡°Then it¡¯s settled.¡±


    Having said that, Caman left without looking back, not even saying goodbye.


    Winters tried to call him back but failed, Montaigne, the lieutenant, murmured with a wry smile, ¡°How is that settled?¡±


    ¡­


    The following day.


    The town hall of Wolfton.


    Both Gerard and Winters were dumbfounded.


    ¡°Mr. Caman, are you sure you¡¯re not joking with me?¡± Winters managed to keep his composure, asking in as calm a tone as possible, ¡°This¡­ Brother Reed¡­ he must be at least seventy years old, right?¡±


    Gerard Mitchell couldn¡¯t help but nod along.


    Before them, an old monk with a flowing beard twirled his whiskers and smiled without a word.

 Chapter 305 - 305 - 10 The Mendicant Monk

    Chapter 305 ¨C 10 The Mendicant Monk


    Winters never imagined that the ¡°Brother Reed¡± Caman spoke of would turn out to be such a weathered old man.


    The elder¡¯s hair and beard contained not a trace of black, and his skin sagged, appearing to drape over his bones.


    Due to advanced age, the inevitable loss of bone density made his frame slightly hunched, but the pair of eyes hidden beneath the wrinkles still sparkled brightly.


    The mendicant monk, dressed in a coarse gray robe, calmly surveyed the Wolf Town town hall and the two public officials, almost as if he were the true master of this place.


    In front of this old man, Gerard and Sergei could only be considered young men. Caman addressed him as ¡°Brother Reed,¡± but in truth, the old man was old enough to be his great-grandfather.


    ¡°Sir, how old are you this year?¡± Winters politely inquired. Keeping in mind that elders often have hearing impairments, he deliberately raised his voice by several decibels, ¡°Seventy? Eighty?¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, Your Excellency, I¡¯m not so old as to be hard of hearing,¡± Brother Reed laughed heartily as he spoke, ¡°To be honest, I am ninety-five this year!¡±


    ...


    Father Caman also explained, ¡°Brother Reed was consecrated only after he turned sixty. He took vows as a mendicant monk, and although he is now ninety-five years old, he still travels about preaching.¡±


    ¡°Ninety-five? Am I seeing a living saint?¡± Gerard, fifty-four, was greatly surprised and hurriedly moved his chair for the old monk, ¡°Please have a seat, elder. You do seem young¡­ ¡±


    Brother Reed, not shying away from the offer, sat down graciously.


    Winters was also quite shocked by the ninety-five-year-old mendicant monk, but he noticed something else out of the ordinary: the elder had an awkward accent when he spoke, sounding as if he were imitating the pronunciation of the common tongue in another language.


    ¡°Brother Reed? You¡¯re not a Senas native, are you?¡± Winters frowned in curiosity.


    The old monk replied with a smile, ¡°No, not a Senas.¡±


    ¡°Are you a Selika from the Far East?¡±


    ¡°You are indeed knowledgeable,¡± the old monk said with an amiable smile, ¡°Few can discern that I am from Selika. Most people who recognize that I am not a Senas assume I am a Saracen from the Far East.¡±


    Indeed! Winters thought.


    To the people of this continent, whether they be Senas or Empire, ¡°people from the East¡± generally refers to the Saracens of the Near East, and ¡°the East¡± naturally refers to the territory of the present-day Fleman Empire.


    The East of the East, the turning point of the monsoon trade route, the land of spices, silk, and porcelain, the extreme orient, is referred to as the Far East by geographers.


    However, in this era, most people can¡¯t differentiate between the East and the Far East, nor do they need this knowledge. Apart from scholars, only merchants know there is another powerful empire in the Far East.


    To others, the Selika of the Far East are no different from the Saracens of the Near East.


    But from the moment the mendicant monk entered, Winters felt that this old man was from the Far East.


    Although appearance can vary greatly among individuals, people from different regions have subtle differences in facial features. Even if one can¡¯t articulate these differences, it¡¯s possible to recognize them through intuition.


    The mendicant monk, however, was simply too old, his saggy skin, layered wrinkles, and settled pigmentation obscured the distinctive traits of a foreigner.


    Thus, to those whose discernment wasn¡¯t very sharp, Brother Reed was merely an old man with a strange accent.


    ¡°That¡¯s not unusual, I¡¯ve seen some Selika merchants from the Far East in Vineta,¡± Winters did not accept the compliment, instead he found the old man more suspicious, ¡°I am quite curious, how does a Selika man receive holy orders from the Church? Has the Church already spread to the Far East?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a long story, and if we start from the beginning, three days and nights might not be enough to tell it all,¡± the old mendicant monk stroked his beard, smilingly said, ¡°I converted, received holy orders, and was consecrated on Rhodes Island. As for why a Selika man became a mendicant monk of the Church? I don¡¯t understand myself, presumably it is the arrangement of the Lord above.¡±


    Winters wanted to continue his questioning but was interrupted by Gerard.


    ¡°You¡­ You come from the farthest east in the world?¡± Old Dusack¡¯s demeanor became reverent and respectful.


    ¡°In a sense,¡± the mendicant monk gently stroked his beard and smiled, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Gerard¡¯s expression became even more respectful, almost to the point of kissing the hem of the mendicant monk¡¯s robes, ¡°You¡­ Are you a living saint?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Seeing the way Old Dusack was about to bow on his knees, Winters was almost beside himself with frustration.


    He coughed twice, asking the old monk coolly, ¡°I previously thought Brother Reed that Caman spoke of was a young man. You¡¯re ninety-five years old, and still want to work as a scribe for me?¡±


    Experience tales with


    ¡°What?!¡± Gerard was instantly agitated, jumping up and exclaiming, ¡°How could we make Brother Reed work as a scribe?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Michel, please be calm,¡± the mendicant monk waved at Gerard who immediately quietened down like a trained pup,


    Subsequently, Brother Reed said with a poised demeanor, ¡°I am here to apply for the scribe position. I plan to spend the winter in Wolf Town this year, so I¡¯m looking for a job to support myself.¡±


    ¡°You should not work as a scribe, please come to my house. I am willing to provide for you, for as long as necessary,¡± Gerard said eagerly.


    ¡°Mr. Michel, I am a mendicant monk,¡± Reed smiled and shook his head, ¡°I have taken a vow of poverty, ¡¯no work, no eat,¡¯ I will not accept any free support from others.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 306 - 10 The Mendicant Monk_2

    Chapter 306: Chapter 10 The Mendicant Monk_2


    ¡°`


    Gerard was so moved by these words that he couldn¡¯t help but kneel to lift the hem of the mendicant friar¡¯s robe to his lips, his eyes reddening as if he was on the verge of weeping right there and then.


    Seeing this, Winters felt a chill and rolled his eyes involuntarily. He thought to himself, ¡°Well now, if this old charlatan asked Mr. Michel to jump off a cliff, he¡¯d probably do it without hesitation.¡±


    Looking at the old charlatan before him, Winters¡¯s irritation grew. He asked pointedly, ¡°Brother Reed, the work of a copyist is quite demanding. I fear an elderly man like you couldn¡¯t handle it?¡±


    ¡°Please be assured, Montaigne. Despite my age, my mind is still clear and my hands still capable,¡± the mendicant friar responded with an ever more kindly and gentle smile, ¡°Copying manuscripts, counting money and keeping accounts are no trouble at all; as for medicine, both internal and external, and complex diseases, I have some understanding; celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, baptizing and blessing are my duties; even exorcisms, dream interpretations, divinations, and fortune-telling¡­ I know a thing or two¡­¡±


    The old mendicant friar went on and on, his litany leaving Winters and Gerard dumbfounded.


    ...


    The more Brother Reed spoke, the more reverent and humble Gerard became.


    But the more Winters listened, the less the old man before him seemed like a clergyman and more like a charlatan from the streets.


    Winters looked dubiously at Priest Caman, who responded with an awkward smile.


    With Winters and Caman at a loss for words and Gerard listening devoutly, and the old mendicant friar stroking his beard with a smile, silence fell upon the town hall.


    Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and the panicked grocer brought bad news once again: ¡°Sir! Beacon fires! Another beacon fire has been lit!¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡± Gerard was both shocked and enraged, ¡°Those wolves must be starving mad! How dare they come again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s going on.¡± Winters immediately took his musket and ammunition and, without a moment to spare for farewells, ran to the backyard to fetch his horse.


    Gerard Mitchell stayed in the town hall to receive Brother Reed and Father Caman.


    It was not until Winters, mounted on his chestnut horse, had run out of the town center that he realized something was amiss¡ªthe direction of the rising smoke was from Dusa Village.


    ¡­


    Old Sergei led Winters to the communal pasture where the young stable boy Anglu was kneeling beside a horse carcass, weeping bitterly.


    Recognizing the blue mane, Winters identified the horse carcass on the ground.


    It was Tess, the majestic blue horse, the leader, father, and protector of the herd.


    ¡°It must have happened this morning when the beast broke in and killed Tess, dragging him into the woods,¡± Sergei said with no sign of his usual smile, his expression grim, ¡°Little Hook found a horse missing when he got up and called us to search. By the time we found it, its belly had been gutted.¡±


    ¡°Anglu!¡± Winters dismounted and walked over to the stable boy. ¡°Did you see what did it?¡±


    The stable boy wiped his tears and shook his head.


    Seeing the stable boy kneeling beside the horse carcass and sobbing unrestrainedly, Winters grasped his collar and dragged him to his feet, ¡°Stop crying! Don¡¯t cry if you¡¯re a man! This isn¡¯t your fault, but you should channel the energy from your tears into seeking vengeance!¡±


    After wiping the boy¡¯s tears with his sleeve and remounting, Winters asked Sergei, ¡°Were there any other casualties?¡±


    ¡°Rostov¡¯s youngest son and Yuska¡¯s daughter are also missing,¡± Sergei replied with an even grimmer demeanor. ¡°That drunkard Rostov didn¡¯t even realize his son sneaked out last night¡­ Those kids are always up to mischief together; it¡¯s hard to say if something¡¯s happened to them¡­¡±


    To dare go into the woods at this time for a tryst?!


    Winters grew more anxious and angry, ¡°When did they run off? Did anyone see where they went?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sergei replied in a subdued voice, shaking his head.


    ¡°Where was the horse found?¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°In the woods south of the village.¡±


    ¡°Call all the Dusacks; follow me!¡±


    No rallying was needed, for the Dusacks¡¯ anger and shock had reached a boiling point. Thus, all men who could still mount a horse, young and old, brought out their warhorses and armed themselves with spears and muskets, gathering in the village square.


    In the eyes of the Dusacks, they were the predators, the ones who offered help and protection.


    ¡°`


    No one thought that Dusa Village would be attacked¡ªnot the Dusacks, anyway. They didn¡¯t even have beacon fires prepared.


    It was this blind arrogance that made Dusa Village neglect its defense, allowing the young people to brave the forest for a tryst at such a time.


    Now, it was too late for regrets.


    After dispatching riders to notify Gerard and to assemble the militias from the other four villages, Winters led nearly a hundred Dusacks into the woodland, searching for the missing couple and traces of wild beasts in groups of three, in a dragnet-style operation.


    In the deep and gloomy primeval forest, the riders scrutinized their surroundings with care, vanishing from view amongst the foliage as they bowed their heads.


    The men used sticks and spears to beat the trunks, deterring wild beasts and using the sound to gauge the distance of their companions.


    Winters was grouped with the Hunter Ralph and Sergei.


    Seeing Winters¡¯ grim face, Ralph cautiously offered consolation, ¡°My lord, there¡¯s no need to worry too much, those two kids will probably be fine, perhaps they just got carried away and forgot to return home.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because wild beasts seldom kill for the sake of killing,¡± the Hunter explained cautiously. ¡°Even if you throw a rabbit in front of them after they have had their fill, they won¡¯t bother with it. Whatever killed the warhorse had its fill before abandoning the carcass, and unless provoked, it would likely not attack humans.¡±


    Upon hearing the Hunter¡¯s words, old Sergei¡¯s expression softened a bit.


    The old man slammed his stick against the trunk furiously, ¡°First the wolves, now this thing. Why do these evil beasts seem like they¡¯ve gone mad, running out of the woods?¡±


    Ralph thought for a moment and then slowly answered, ¡°The most likely reason is hunger. Unless they¡¯ve tasted human blood, even the most ferocious beasts fear humans. Also, fierce creatures have their own territories. If an even more vicious creature takes over the territory, the original inhabitants can only flee. I think¡­ it¡¯s quite possible that the pack of wolves was driven out of the woods by whatever we are searching for.¡±


    Winters¡¯ mind stirred, asking the Hunter, ¡°Are you suggesting that the territories of the wild beasts might fall like dominoes, one after the other?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly what I mean. If a wolf is driven into another bear¡¯s territory by a bear, it still can¡¯t defeat the bear,¡± Ralph said, vexed, scratching his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Ah, the secrets of this primeval forest are too many. I actually don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Hey, what¡¯s there to think about? It¡¯s just a wolf disaster, isn¡¯t it? Where have wild beasts not injured people?¡± Sergei scoffed with disdain. ¡°Could it really be that someone exhausted the forest¡¯s rabbits and deer, causing wolves and bears to run out because they have nothing to eat?¡±


    The Hunter was about to say something when shouts came from the depths of the woods, out of sight, ¡°Here! Over here!¡±


    The three men immediately closed in on the source of the noise.


    A Dusack had found fabric scraps hanging from the shrubbery¡­ as well as bloodstains.


    Following the blood, they found the bodies.


    Two bodies.


    One relatively intact male body, with everything above the neck bitten off, the head nowhere to be found.


    Then there was the other body that was unrecognizable as either male or female, and could not even be called a ¡°body¡± anymore.


    Because all that was left were two legs, the rest torn to shreds, with organs and flesh scattered like rain across the forest floor.


    Rostov was overcome with grief, clutching the cold body of his younger son, refusing to let go. For the first time, the man who regularly drowned his sorrows in liquor had sobered up, only to face the agony of losing a child.


    The girl¡¯s father, upon seeing this sight, fainted dead away.


    Sergei clenched his fists, glaring at Ralph fiercely.


    The old man said nothing, but the Hunter wouldn¡¯t misunderstand that gaze, ¡°You said it wasn¡¯t dangerous, didn¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t you say that?!¡±


    After examining the two bodies, Ralph spoke with difficulty, ¡°The beast must have dragged off the girl first. The boy tried to rescue her, so he followed, and ended up being killed by the beast too.¡±


    As the spread-out Dusacks heard the news, they all gathered around. People crowded around the remains; two young lives had vanished like that, leaving behind only endless grief and rage.


    ¡°Leave a few people to help the families bring back the bodies,¡± Winters suppressed his emotions, remounting his horse, ¡°Everyone else, follow me!¡±


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 Chapter 307 - 11: The Beast Hunting Team

    Chapter 307: Chapter 11: The Beast Hunting Team


    At the Mitchell¡¯s dining table, a heated debate was unfolding.


    More accurately, it wasn¡¯t so much a debate as it was a one-sided rout.


    The old mendicant friar Reed was entirely triumphant, while Father Anthony was inching ever closer to dying of rage.


    The priest of Wolf Town Church, with a red face and hurried voice, exclaimed, ¡°¡­The essence of the Catholic Church is personal worship. The Lord truly incarnated as a person, and not in the image of a pharaoh, a king, or an emperor, but as a humble Galilean farmer. This concept is unprecedented, and it¡¯s precisely this that draws more and more people to convert and accept the Gospel.¡±


    However, Friar Reed scoffed in response, ¡°And why don¡¯t you tell your followers that the Son of God is just a lowly farmer from Galilee? See if they are moved or if you end up stoned to death? What¡¯s so special about God becoming human? Travel thousands of miles from here to the east, and you¡¯ll find religions where humans can become gods!¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t our success in supplanting the ancient pagan religions exactly demonstrate the divine mandate of the Catholic Church?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The rise of the Catholic Church only shows one thing, that those in high places know how to get things done. With the Empire¡¯s support, the Western Church went from a church of the poor and the oppressed to a church of the powerful. What I really want to ask you is, in the lands of the Saracens, another heretical religion holds equal status to Catholicism, where the Eastern Church can only be second-class citizens. Do you also acknowledge their divine mandate?¡±


    Father Anthony¡¯s breath hitched, nearly passing out from indignation.


    The old mendicant friar leisurely sipped his wine, with a smile on his face that made Father Anthony suddenly want to punch him square in the nose.


    The pair were speaking in Old Tongue, also mixing in many ancient terms.


    Apart from the two in dispute, only Father Caman and Winters in the Mitchell household understood their words.


    Pierre, the son of the Mitchell family, had gone to find the young groom Anglu, leaving only Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and their unmarried younger daughter, Scarlett, at the dining table.


    Gerard¡¯s young daughter was thoroughly preoccupied with the lieutenant; she kept sneaking glances at Lieutenant Montaigne. Gerard himself didn¡¯t understand why the two priests were arguing, even though he didn¡¯t grasp what they were arguing about.


    However, the Mitchell family should be glad they couldn¡¯t understand the ¡°abominable and shocking¡± remarks of the clergy, which would be deemed heretical in the eyes of ordinary believers; this way, they could continue to respect the two priests.


    Of the two people who could understand, Father Caman showed no expression, while Winters was distracted.


    They had found nothing in their hunt for the beast; the blood trail and scent vanished at a small stream. The creature had traversed some distance in water, erasing its tracks with the flow.


    Winters, leading men, searched kilometers up and down the stream, but the best hunting dogs from Dusa Village couldn¡¯t sniff out where the creature had emerged from the water.


    This vast primeval forest absorbed the search party of over a hundred people like a drop of water in the desert. The search area was extremely limited, like searching for a needle in the ocean.


    As the sun began to set, making it harder for humans to operate at night while the wild beasts thrived, Winters reluctantly ordered the militia to withdraw from the woods.


    What angered Winters even more than the failed hunt was the indifference of the two Protestant villages toward the beast plague.


    Before leading the Dusack into the woods, Winters had sent riders to all four of the other villages to summon their militias. The militias from villages east and west of the river quickly arrived under their leaders¡¯ guidance and joined the hunt.


    However, the villages of Nanxin and Beixin didn¡¯t send anyone from start to finish.


    When Winters questioned the village leaders, both came up with the same excuses, using ¡°We thought the Dusack were pulling our leg¡± and ¡°Our participation wouldn¡¯t have made any difference¡± to shirk responsibility.


    More hateful than an enemy¡¯s attack was betrayal.


    If the two Protestant village heads were not civilians, the furious Lieutenant Montaigne might have executed those two wastrels on the spot.


    If an outsider felt such indignation, imagine what the Dusack must have felt. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old village chief of Dusa, Sergei, almost drew his sword to kill the two Protestant village leaders; he was so enraged that he was held back and, beating his chest, swore oaths that even if all the heretics died out, he would never extend any help to them again.


    In the small village of Wolf Town, the mood was as tangled and indecipherable as a ball of yarn.


    Winters had no intention of meddling in these affairs; he merely hoped that the villages would unite to resolve the wolf plague swiftly. He knew that sooner or later, he would return to Vineta and did not wish to leave a mess behind.


    But now, the beast was yet to be seen, and the villages were on the verge of fighting each other instead.


    Lieutenant Montaigne even began to miss the harsh battles in Tanilia, where at least enemies were enemies and friends were friends, without any of these annoyances causing fresh disdain.


    Winters really had no appetite; he thanked Mrs. Mitchell for her hospitality and left the dining table.


    Shortly after, Father Caman too got up to leave. After exiting the dining room, he went straight to the back of the house.


    There, Lieutenant Montaigne was pacing thoughtfully.


    Startled by Caman¡¯s footsteps, Winters casually asked, ¡°Your Brother Reed sure is bold with his words; he isn¡¯t afraid of being sentenced to the stake. Is that why you placed him with me?¡±


    ¡°Brother Reed is only intentionally provoking Father Anthony; he was merely teasing him,¡± Father Caman replied with a measured tone, nonchalantly sitting on a barrel: ¡°Theologic debates often sound blasphemous to the ears of the faithful, which is quite normal. The Catholic Church does not have a tradition of burning its clergy. Moreover, Brother Reed has a special status which allows him to speak freely.¡±


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 Chapter 308 - 11: The Beast Hunting Team_2

    Chapter 308: Chapter 11: The Beast Hunting Team_2


    ¡°What¡¯s so special about that?¡±


    Father Caman answered indifferently, ¡°The special part lies in the ¡®introducer¡¯. Over thirty years ago, when Rhodes Island was conquered by the Saracens, the head of the Knight Order¡¯s Monastery, Philip, was martyred and later canonized. Brother Reed was originally a monk of the Bodhi Religion, converted to the Catholic faith under the inspiration of Saint Philip, and was personally consecrated by the saint as a clergyman.¡±


    ¡°So even saints have connections.¡±


    ¡°It is said that the recognition of Brother Reed¡¯s holy orders was intended to send him to preach in the Far East, but unexpectedly, he chose to stay here and not leave, which greatly angered the former Pope.¡± Caman said with a smile, ¡°Brother Reed has traveled the world and is widely knowledgeable, drawing from a vast reference in debates. Although his theological views are very dangerous, no one could refute him, and many famous debaters were beaten into a sorry state by him.¡±


    ¡°With such a dangerous person, your church doesn¡¯t confine him and instead allows him to roam around?¡±


    ¡°Who would do that to a powerless mendicant friar? And how many clerics can truly abide by the vows of chastity and poverty within the church? With Brother Reed¡¯s noble conduct, it wouldn¡¯t be excessive for him to be canonized after death.¡±


    ...


    Winters was unimpressed, ¡°That old man has such skills? Then I should indeed invite him to Nanxin village and Beixin village to see if he can settle the farmers there.¡±


    ¡°Haha, if you were to send Brother Reed there, perhaps indeed he could relieve the Bishop¡¯s Council of a worry.¡±


    ¡°A worry?¡±


    ¡°A worry.¡± Father Caman stretched out lazily, and said languidly, ¡°You can¡¯t argue him down, nor can you kill him; if that¡¯s not a worry, what is?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Caman, your current demeanor would probably upset your parishioners if they saw it.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t believe.¡± Father Caman yawned, ¡°So there¡¯s no need for such formalities between us, it¡¯s pointless.¡±


    As he spoke, Father Caman took a tobacco-filled pipe out of his pocket and handed it to Winters.


    Winters was taken aback, ¡°I don¡¯t smoke.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not offering you a smoke,¡± Caman said with a grin, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to light it for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters became wary.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend, Lieutenant Montaigne,¡± Caman asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re a spellcaster, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Winters snorted coldly without confirming nor denying.


    Without waiting for a response, Father Caman continued, ¡°In the south, there are only two kinds of people who are not believers: one is a spellcaster, and the other is a devil worshiper. Are you a devil worshiper, Lieutenant Montaigne?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t respond to him.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re not a devil worshiper, then you can only be a spellcaster.¡± Father Caman jiggled the pipe in his hand, ¡°Lieutenant, I mean no harm.¡±


    Winters took the pipe, silently cast a fire-sparking spell and lit the tobacco.


    Magic and evil wizards are always spoken of interchangeably among the folks, which is why Winters had never revealed his identity as a spellcaster since coming to Wolf Town. This was his first time showing his magical ability in front of someone else.


    ¡°Those who claim to have no ill will often have the most,¡± Winters said as he passed the pipe back.


    Receiving the pipe, Father Caman held it in his hand but did not indulge, ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    ¡°Curious about what?¡±


    ¡°I understand your concern,¡± Father Caman sighed, speaking earnestly, ¡°but rest assured, as long as you don¡¯t harm the parishioners of this diocese, I will not reveal your identity as a spellcaster to anyone, nor will I use this fact to do anything detrimental to you.¡±


    Winters scoffed, ¡°It seems spellcasters are no different from devil¡¯s worshippers in your eyes.¡±


    Laughing heartily, Father Caman retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t clerics all the same in your eyes?¡±


    Suddenly, Winters looked into the distance, faintly hearing the sound of hoofbeats. They grew closer and clearer, and soon Father Caman also heard them. Yes, a rider was galloping toward Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Winters and Caman exchanged glances and swiftly went towards the front gate.


    The rider brought another piece of bad news, the beast had appeared again.


    Upon receiving the news, Winters and Gerard immediately led out the warhorses, fully armed, and rushed to the scene.


    It was already dark, too late to gather the militiamen, but Father Caman volunteered to join them.


    ¡­


    This time, the place where the beast committed its violence was not within the five villages under Wolf Town¡¯s jurisdiction, but a logging camp.


    A lumberjack stepped out of his shack to relieve himself, only to encounter the beast. Hearing the wails and cries for help from outside, the other lumberjacks banged on iron tools to save the unfortunate lumberjack.


    When Winters and company arrived at the logging site, they saw an almost unrecognizable, barely breathing victim lying on a wooden bed. Everything below the victim¡¯s left ankle had vanished, leaving only a gruesome, bloody stump.


    An old logger with some medical knowledge had tied the victim¡¯s calf with hemp rope in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but dark red liquid was still seeping out from the wound, the bed sheet by the victim¡¯s feet already soaked in blood.


    For the poor lumberjack, death was merely a matter of time, and Father Caman was already offering his last prayers.


    ¡°Did he see what it was?¡± Winters asked the foreman, ¡°Did any of you see what it was?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It was a bear!¡± The foreman¡¯s body still shook uncontrollably, ¡°A bear as big as a house!¡±


    ¡­


    The unfortunate lumberjack died during the night.


    The foreman assigned two workers to dig a shallow pit and bury the body, the other divided up the dead man¡¯s shabby belongings, and that was considered the funeral. The whole process was shockingly haphazard.


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 Chapter 309 - 11 Beast-hunting Team_3

    Chapter 309: Chapter 11 Beast-hunting Team_3


    When Winters first learned that there was a timber camp in Wolf Town, he thought it was a small-scale lumber mill with a dozen workers.


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived at the timber camp that Winters realized it was a large lumbering team with a hundred people, not much different from the population of a small village.


    The logging team¡¯s campsite delved deep into the forest, away from human settlements, practically a meal laid out for wild beasts. The foreman had heard about the wolf plague and had long since run back to the county seat, leaving only a few supervisors behind to maintain order.


    Furthermore, the living conditions of the loggers were unimaginably crowded and harsh. Winters didn¡¯t know where the foreman had found workers willing to toil in such a place.


    ¡°I reckon that bear will come again,¡± Winters discussed with Gerard, ¡°These loggers are all able-bodied; can we enlist them in the militia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, they¡¯re not residents of Wolf Town, just hired to chop trees,¡± Gerard said with a wry smile, ¡°Once they¡¯ve cut down these few hundred acres of forest, they¡¯ll be gone. The wolf disaster doesn¡¯t concern them, and we don¡¯t have jurisdiction over them. Even if we asked them to join the militia, the merchants who purchased the logging rights wouldn¡¯t agree, and the workers themselves wouldn¡¯t accept it either.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Weren¡¯t the logging rights sold by you?¡±


    ¡°No, they were bought from the county. This forest, this land, this river¡ªall belong to the county.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try and see if I can persuade them.¡±


    The negotiation with the logging team failed completely, as Gerard had said. The foremen claimed that without the manager there, they didn¡¯t dare to make decisions, and none of the loggers responded to the call to join the bear-hunting team.


    A foreman sought out Winters in private to explain, ¡°My lord, these workers lead a very harsh life. Most of them are Protestants and have not been spared disdain by the villagers. The few Catholics that attend mass in town on weekends even have the Dusans making trouble for them. They would not risk their lives to help the people of Wolf Town catch a bear.¡±


    ¡°Those few villages are outside the forest; your logging team is inside. Wouldn¡¯t that bear, when hungry, come for you first?¡± Winters was somewhat displeased.


    ¡°I understand this, but the workers don¡¯t!¡± the foreman said helplessly. ¡°In their eyes, with over a hundred people here, it¡¯s far safer than the villages outside.¡±


    The idea of recruiting the loggers into the bear-hunting team had failed, but at least now Winters knew that the dangerous beast was a bear, a very large one.


    Immediately upon returning to town from the logging site, Lieutenant Montaigne organized a bear-hunting team, borrowing more heavy muskets and hunting dogs from Blackwater Town.


    The main members of the bear-hunting team were Dusack from Dusa Village. The Dusans had warhorses, weapons, and a great grudge against the bear. Neither Nanxin Village nor Beixin Village sent a single person to join the bear-hunting team.


    In response, the bear-hunters from Dusa Village flatly refused to patrol and search the forests near the Protestant villages.


    Lieutenant Montaigne was powerless in this situation; the militia were not soldiers, and he had no authority over them. His command over everyone relied on trust and respect.


    Winters could only have Hunter patrol the forests near Nan and Beixin Villages more frequently.


    In the following three days, Winters led the bear-hunting team to comb the forests near Wolf Town, but to no avail.


    They didn¡¯t find the giant bear, but the old mendicant friar came knocking on the third night.


    ¡°Speak quickly, if you please,¡± Winters, tired and weary from trekking through the deep mountains and forests all day, had no patience for idle chatter with the old charlatan, ¡°Otherwise, I need to rest.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurry, Lieutenant. I¡¯m here to help you,¡± said the old man, beaming, ¡°I¡¯ve observed you for several days. In terms of fighting, ten of me wouldn¡¯t match you. But there¡¯s one thing a hundred of you wouldn¡¯t match me in.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Winters asked with a cold laugh as he took off his boots.


    The mendicant monk pulled over Winters¡¯ chair, settled himself with dignity, and uttered a single word gravely: S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Politics.¡±


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 Chapter 310 - 11 Politics

    Chapter 310: Chapter 11 Politics


    ¡°Politics!¡±


    Upon hearing the friar utter that word, Winters completely lost interest in the conversation.


    ¡°Bloody politics,¡± the garrison lieutenant said nastily as he tossed his boots, which landed with a thud thud on the floor, ¡°As if there¡¯s any damn politics in this tiny speck of land!¡±


    ¡°Where there are people, there is politics. Even within this very small room, there is politics.¡± Friar Reed stroked his beard and said with a smile, ¡°In Wolfton, you represent military authority, and I am a missionary sent by the Catholic Church to the grassroots. Isn¡¯t that politics? Since there¡¯s politics between you and me, of course there is also politics in Wolf Town.¡±


    Winters subconsciously wanted to argue, but he felt there was some truth in the other¡¯s words.


    ¡°So an old charlatan is giving me a lesson in politics? Laughable.¡± Winters disdained and started making his bed, getting ready to sleep.


    ...


    He didn¡¯t notice that his attitude had unconsciously softened a lot compared to when Friar Reed had first entered the bedroom.


    ¡°Young man, I have to correct one of your views.¡± Such sarcasm clearly didn¡¯t dent the friar¡¯s thick skin, the old man said with a cheery smile, ¡°Although I am a charlatan, I am your charlatan.¡±


    ¡°Since when did you become ¡®my¡¯ charlatan?¡± Winters retorted.


    The old cleric replied matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course, when you hired me. Isn¡¯t it you who pays me my salary?¡±


    ¡°You have the nerve to say that? Have you even done a bit of a scribe¡¯s work?¡± Winters crossed his arms and sat boldly on the bed, deliberately using a respectful term sarcastically, ¡°The Mayor Mitchell wouldn¡¯t dare trouble you, the living Saint. Aren¡¯t all the clerical tasks still being done by Panveche? You eat at Mitchell¡¯s, live at Mitchell¡¯s, and still get a salary for nothing. Frankly, I¡¯d like to swap places with you.¡±


    ¡°Some serve as scribes because that¡¯s all they can do, while I do not serve as a scribe for the exact opposite reason.¡± The old beggar friar was in no way ashamed of shirking work, he said with utter sincerity, ¡°If I were to do scribe¡¯s work, it would mean someone is wasting your resources, and of course, I cannot allow that to happen.¡±


    ¡°You really have the gall to say that!¡± Winters was stunned.


    The old man replied unhurriedly, ¡°Lieutenant, sir, power requires the aid of knowledge to function. Why do officials of the Empire in the Far East hire scholars as staff? Why do the noble lords here employ clerics as advisors? It¡¯s the same principle. For you, my value does not lie in menial tasks like copying and accounting, but in providing the knowledge you lack.¡±


    ¡°What knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Political knowledge.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°Friar Reed, it¡¯s getting late. Please go back and rest.¡±


    ¡°Let me ask you a question, Garrison Officer,¡± said the friar, with no intention of leaving, ¡°Do you know why the highlanders call this place Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment and guessed based on the literal meaning, ¡°Because it is newly reclaimed land?¡±


    ¡°Newly reclaimed?¡± The friar chuckled softly, looking straight into the lieutenant¡¯s eyes, ¡°Then what about the original owners?¡±


    The old man¡¯s eyes were dark and profound, hiding who knows how many secrets.


    ¡°How would I know?¡± As for the history of Paratu, Winters¡¯s knowledge was not deep, ¡°Ownerless land, presumably.¡±


    The old cleric burst into laughter, bending over backwards as if he had heard the funniest joke.


    ¡°Young fellow, I¡¯ll tell you, from the great ocean to the east to the vast desert to the west, there is no ownerless land under the heavens. There is land without people but not a single inch of land without an owner.¡± Friar Reed wiped away the tears from laughing with his palm, ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land of the highlanders was, if we go back thirty years, the grazing grounds of the Herders. The Blackwater River that divides Wolfton and its neighboring towns is what the Herders call ¡®Dakta¡¯, meaning the river with nine bends.¡±


    Winters sat up straight from his half-reclining position, ¡°So¡­ what does this have to do with Wolf Town today?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s related, of course it¡¯s related. Everything today has its reasons found in the past. To understand the ¡®politics¡¯ of this place, you must know its history.¡± Friar Reed asked an unrelated question, ¡°You¡¯ve visited the villages under Wolfton¡¯s jurisdiction, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I have, I¡¯ve been to every village.¡±


    ¡°Then have you paid attention to their land?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t understand what the other was getting at, ¡°Land? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you¡¯ve noticed the abundance, or lack thereof, of farmland in each village.¡± The friar smiled a little, ¡°In other words, the abundance or lack of wealth.¡±


    ¡°Nanxin and Beixin villages seem a bit worse off.¡± Winters recalled his observations from each village and answered, ¡°The villages east and west of the river are better, and Dusa Village is the most prosperous.¡±


    ¡°Wrong!¡± The old man produced a vine stick from nowhere and rapped Winters on the head, ¡°The most prosperous places are right where we¡¯re sitting¡ªthe Mitchells¡¯, the Wilkes¡¯, the Buntings¡¯¡­ these estate owners! Then comes Dusa Village. Next are the villages east and west of the river, and the poorest are the Protestant villages.¡±


    In the moment he was struck by the vine stick, Winters felt as though he was back in the military academy classroom. He covered his head and asked, ¡°So what? Isn¡¯t it normal to have the rich and the poor?¡±


    Friar Reed asked indifferently, ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed anything wrong?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thwack,¡± the friar gave Winters¡¯s head another rap with the vine stick, ¡°Think hard, what do the estate owners grow in their fields? What is grown in Dusa Village? What about the other villages?¡±


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 Chapter 311 - 11 Politics_2

    Chapter 311: Chapter 11 Politics_2


    ¡°How would I know? I can¡¯t even tell wheat seedlings from weeds!¡± If the other person wasn¡¯t a man over ninety, Winters really wanted to snatch the vine stick and give him a thrashing in return.


    ¡°[Celican] A man who does not work with his four limbs will never differentiate the five grains.¡± The mendicant monk muttered something in a language Winters did not understand, no longer attempting to guide Winters to think but instead directly imparted, ¡°The big landlords grow crops like tobacco and sugar beet that can be sold for money, and only a little of their land is used for growing food. Why? Because they are not lacking in food. How much can they eat with their open mouths? The estate owners occupy the best and most land in Wolfton, yet they have the fewest people, so most of their arable land is used for growing cash crops.¡±


    The old man caught his breath and continued, ¡°And Dusa Village, Dusa Village has fewer people than the other villages, but their land is second only to the estate owners, even more so than the other four villages combined, so much that they can apply the three-field system. Do you know what the three-field system is?¡±


    Winters, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, shook his head.


    ¡°The three-field system is crop rotation, dividing the arable land into three equal parts; one for growing staples, one for supplementary crops, and one left fallow as pasture, rotating each year.¡± The old friar thought for a moment and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the communal pasture in Dusa Village, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ...


    ¡°That¡¯s this year¡¯s fallow land, which has become the village¡¯s communal pasture. That¡¯s why the Dusacks can afford horses and use oats to feed pigs, because they are not short of arable land.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What about the other four villages?¡±


    The mendicant monk sneered, ¡°The other four villages? They have to rent draught horse ploughs from Dusa Village every year because they use all their land to grow food and can¡¯t afford big livestock. The villages to the east and west of the river just about make do with their land.


    These two Protestant villages have the most people but the least land; even if they plant every inch with food, it is not enough to eat. Aren¡¯t all of Mitchell¡¯s laborers Protestants? If they could be tenant farmers, which farmer would want to come here to work as a hired hand?¡±


    ¡°The more people, the less arable land?¡± Winters frowned deeply, ¡°How can that be? Why not reclaim more land? I clearly saw a lot of wasteland!¡±


    ¡°Do you think the wasteland here can be reclaimed whenever one wishes?¡± The friar¡¯s smile grew colder, ¡°I already told you, every inch of land, every tree, every river¡­ even the rabbits in the forest, the fish in the river, the birds in the sky all have their owners!¡±


    ¡°Whose?¡±


    The mendicant monk pointed his vine stick at Winters¡¯ nose, ¡°Yours.¡±


    Winters was at first puzzled, then surprised, and finally displeased, ¡°Do you find this amusing?¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps I should put it another way,¡± the old friar¡¯s hand rested on the vine stick, ¡°you are part of the true owner of this land.¡±


    Winters finally caught on, ¡°You mean¡­ the army? The Parlatu Army?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not too foolish,¡± the old monk tapped the junior officer¡¯s shoulder with the vine stick. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the military. Otherwise, what right would a mere hundred-household captain have to hold the power of life and death in Wolfton? Do you think you¡¯re here to manage public safety? No! You represent the authority of the true owners of this land.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ the power of life and death?¡± The young Venetian was confused, ¡°I don¡¯t have an easy job; I was banished here! Wasn¡¯t the position of Garrison Officer in Wolf Town vacant for over a decade before me?¡±


    ¡°The vacancy was because Wolfton is not wealthy, not because the Garrison Officer¡¯s position is not lucrative. In the system you belong to, you were sent here as a punishment. But to the people here, you are a lord descended from heaven.


    The Parlatu Army¡¯s status in the New Reclamation Area is almost equivalent to that of a feudal lord; here, you are half a lord. That¡¯s why the landlords and Dusack welcome you, the villagers from east and west of the river respect you, and the Protestants simply do not trust you.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t they trust me?¡±


    The mendicant monk¡¯s face bore a mocking smile, ¡°The Protestants have people, and Wolfton has wasteland. What¡¯s stopping them from reclaiming it?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ me?¡± The answer was obvious, but Winters did not understand, ¡°Why?¡±


    Monk Reed sneered, ¡°Because if they occupy even a little more land, you will go with the Dusans to chop off their heads¡ªdon¡¯t worry, the Dusans would be very willing to do such a thing. If you are defeated by them, another squad of soldiers will come from the county seat. If one squad isn¡¯t enough, then ten squads, a hundred squads will come, until they are annihilated.


    So, they fear you, they are terrified of you, they are afraid you¡¯ll find the small piece of land they¡¯ve cultivated in secret, they are afraid you¡¯ll find the fish bones and rabbit bones in their homes. You are the Knight of Wolfton, while they are merely despicable farmers, sneaking around hunting and farming on your land. How could they not fear you?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± Winters was still puzzled in some areas, ¡°Does Paratu law prohibit hunting and fishing, or forbidding clearing new land on one¡¯s own?¡±


    ¡°Paratu law doesn¡¯t prohibit it, but the laws of the Newly Reclaimed Land do not allow it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°No reason.¡± The old mendicant monk had already realized that the young lieutenant¡¯s political acumen was notably lacking: ¡°This land is the spoils of war for the Paratu Army, which holds all rights from the heavens above to the earth below.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then, the best land was sold to the wealthy to repay debts, giving rise to these estate owners. As rewards for fighting and compensation for generations of military service, the Dusacks also received land, resulting in Dusa Village. There were also some poor and tenant farmers dreaming of becoming independent farmers, and with their meager savings, they could only afford a small piece of land. The villages on the east and west sides of the river are made up of these people.¡±


    ¡°What about the villages of Nanxin and Beixin?¡±


    ¡°Those Protestants were originally from the Empire, having fled here gradually over the past decade from the north.¡± The old monk¡¯s smile was telling: ¡°The Empire disfavored the Protestants, while the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was in need of people to settle frontiers. So every time the Catholic Church repressed them up north, the number of Protestants in the New Reclamation Area increased. But the Protestants here arrived late. The land prices in Wolfton were already not as cheap as in the early days, let alone with other buyers in the mix.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± The mendicant monk¡¯s eyes sparkled with intensity: ¡°The Dusans are under the land assignment system; they have no worries about land. Small independent farmers can only support their own families; they have no extra money to buy land. So who else could it be? So who has the money?¡±


    Winters fell silent, then after some thought, he said, ¡°To suppress land clearance just to sell land for money seems more damaging than beneficial. Why would the Paratu People come up with such a system?¡±


    ¡°More damaging than beneficial?¡± Brother Reed couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°My boy, you truly don¡¯t understand how powerful this system is. Out of all your republics, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses has the least population, yet it has the most territory, and it¡¯s always growing. What do you think that¡¯s due to?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be telling me it¡¯s just down to making money by selling land?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not that simple.¡± The old monk tapped Winters¡¯ head with a vine stick, chiding as if in frustration: ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what do you think is the deadliest weapon in this world?¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± Winters tentatively answered, ¡°The sword?¡±


    ¡°Wrong! The deadliest weapon in the world is called ¡®mobilization.¡¯ A sword is a person¡¯s weapon, no matter how sharp, it can only kill one person at a time. Mobilization is a weapon of slaughter between nations, capable of raising a country or destroying one.¡± The old monk sighed, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m talking, but you won¡¯t understand. Let me put it in terms you might understand.¡±


    ¡°Please go ahead.¡± Winters sat with his knees together, respectfully attentive.


    ¡°Searching the mountains requires manpower, and just your few dozen Dusacks won¡¯t be enough. The Dusacks are your most reliable manpower, but they are simply too few in number. You must mobilize the other four villages.¡±


    Winters said with bitterness, ¡°The villages of Nanxin and Beixin are unwilling to send militia. The Protestants are particularly hostile toward me, and I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always mingling with the Dusans; it¡¯d be strange if they showed you a good face. Who do you think the Emperor¡¯s Dusacks are meant to fight? Who do you think drove them from their homelands?¡± A subtle smile appeared on the old monk¡¯s face: ¡°But I will help you with that issue.¡±


    Winters was quite surprised, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a member of the Catholic Church? Caman thinks it¡¯d be dangerous for you to go to the Protestants.¡±


    ¡°Politics! My boy! Politics!¡± The mendicant monk tapped the lieutenant¡¯s head twice with his stick: ¡°The essence of politics is not to turn the other party into one of your own but to make them think you are one of them, understand? Tomorrow, come with me to the Protestant village.¡±


    Having said that, the old monk left Winters¡¯ room without looking back, leaning on his vine stick.


    ¡°Please, take care,¡± Winters said as he rose to see him out.


    Long after the old man had left, Winters closed the door before it dawned on him: ¡°[Venetian swear word]! When did I start to really take this old charlatan for a teacher?¡±


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 Chapter 312 - 13: The Chase

    Chapter 312: Chapter 13: The Chase


    Winters had no idea what the mendicant monk actually said to the Protestants of the two villages, but Nanxin village and Beixin village suddenly became enthusiastic towards him.


    Previously resistant to the priest of Wolf Town church, the villagers of both communities began to show reverence towards the old mendicant monk after listening to Brother Reed¡¯s sermons.


    All the able-bodied men from the two villages signed up to join the bear hunting team, and the manpower for the search operation in the mountains suddenly became ample.


    ¡°What did you tell them?¡± Winters asked, quite curious, ¡°You didn¡¯t trick them into thinking that I¡¯m also a Protestant, did you?¡±


    Seeing that the old charlatan still couldn¡¯t garner respect from Winters, the old monk was well aware of this. Because of this, the two could converse without any reservations.


    The mendicant monk did not directly answer, ¡°Are you planning to reclaim the land they¡¯ve cultivated without permission?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Of course not, do I look like I have nothing better to do? In another two months, I might not even be here,¡± Winters said, feeling bewildered.


    ¡°Then whatever I told them doesn¡¯t really matter,¡± the old monk said offhandedly, ¡°As long as they know you mean them no harm and think you are one of their own, that¡¯s enough for you.¡±


    The lieutenant probably understood a bit, but he was curious again, ¡°So how did they come to see you as ¡®one of their own¡¯?¡±


    ¡°For some people, ¡®worship¡¯ is a fundamental need. Thus, the more devout a person is, the easier they are to manipulate because they will convince themselves,¡± Brother Reed said casually, speaking words of profound heresy, ¡°Those two villages belong to the Puritan faction. Once you know what they want to believe in, the rest is simple¡ªjust preach what they want to hear.¡± Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was left speechless by these words, which seemed even more sinister than heretical theology; he couldn¡¯t help but voice the doubt that had been plaguing his mind, ¡°I just can¡¯t understand how a person like you could join the Catholic Church.¡±


    ¡°Having the identity of a clergyman makes traveling easier. A merchant can be extorted, a farmer interrogated, but no one troubles an old, poor charlatan,¡± said the mendicant monk with a smile, who had converted to many religions, ¡°In the East sometimes I am a monk of the Bodhi Religion, sometimes a scholar of the Star Moon Sect, and on this continent, I am a clergyman of the Catholic Church; it¡¯s all the same to me.¡±


    Hearing Brother Reed casually admit that he was a false believer, Winters found it hard to believe.


    After some thought, it didn¡¯t seem all that implausible, but the old man¡¯s tone was just too nonchalant, as if he were commenting on the weather of the day.


    After a long silence, Winters said with a mix of sarcasm and admiration, ¡°You certainly embody a pragmatic spirit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± the old monk laughed heartily.


    ¡­


    Now with more manpower, Winters redivided the search zones and once again devoted all his energy into the operation to hunt down the man-eating bear.


    While the militia scoured the forest inch by inch, knocking on tree trunks and maintaining a distance of about ten meters apart like dragging a net over the forest floor, the two clergymen at the church in Wolf Town opened a bottle of wine and sat by a small table, chatting leisurely.


    ¡°That young fellow must be suffering in the deep mountains and dense forests right about now?¡± Brother Reed said with a smile.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± Father Caman replied respectfully, ¡°Teacher.¡±


    Brother Reed sipped his wine lightly and asked casually, ¡°Do you have any relationship with him? Why did you ask me to help him?¡±


    ¡°No relationship, I don¡¯t know Lieutenant Montaigne,¡± Father Caman replied earnestly, ¡°But I feel he is sincerely trying to do something good for this parish.¡±


    ¡°Many times,¡± the old clergyman said indifferently, ¡°good intentions don¡¯t necessarily lead to good outcomes.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we shouldn¡¯t have helped him?¡± Father Caman asked, puzzled.


    ¡°What do I know? I am just a foreigner who is adrift in a distant land. If I truly possessed wisdom, would I not be able to return home?¡± There was a hint of a bitter smile on the old clergyman¡¯s face, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±


    ¡­


    Although they had gained the full cooperation of four other villages, the bear hunting team still came up empty-handed after three consecutive days.


    The militiamen moved through the dense forest, tapping on tree trunks and spreading out over ten meters apart, scouring the land like casting a net. They found feces, fur, broken trees¡ªevidence that the beast was indeed in the mountains¡ªbut despite all these signs, they could not find the evil bear, not even a glimpse of its shadow.


    A full week had passed since the last attack, and the militiamen were becoming tired, their morale dropping day by day.


    The village heads from both villages, Hedong and Hexi, came together to Winters with a suggestion, ¡°Perhaps the bear has escaped?¡±


    It was indeed a compelling and tempting hypothesis.


    The idea that the search team¡¯s extensive operations had frightened the evil bear back into the deep mountains¡ªsounded logical.


    However, Hunter Ralph firmly objected to this idea, claiming, ¡°Once a wild animal has tasted human flesh, it becomes a man-eater and will never forget the taste of human flesh.¡± And from the evidence, it was clear the bear had not gone far and was lurking near Wolf Town.


    The old hunter abandoned his previous ¡°cautious kill¡± stance, opposed ending the large-scale search, and insisted on ¡°killing the man-eater completely to avoid future troubles.¡± He believed the man-eating bear was nearby and that these fruitless days were simply bad luck. With continued searching, it was only a matter of time before they found the creature.


    Like those commanders faced with a difficult choice throughout history, Winters agreed with the hunter¡¯s view¡ªthe giant bear had definitely not gone far. But he was also acutely aware that his militia had reached the limits of both their physical and mental strength.


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 Chapter 313 - 13. The Hunt_2

    Chapter 313: Chapter 13. The Hunt_2


    ¡°`


    Searching the mountains was a hard task; every meter traversed drained a great deal of strength. Not to mention that the militiamen had abandoned their own farm work to search the mountains, and when they came up empty-handed, it was their wives, children, and elderly who toiled in the fields. Thus, the longer the delay, the more their wills wavered.


    To stop searching the mountains, or to force the militiamen to continue?


    The former Lieutenant Montaigne only needed to follow orders, but the current Garrison Officer Montaigne had to make his own decisions.


    Winters gathered the village chiefs of five villages and said, ¡°As long as the search continues, we can definitely find the man-eating bear. But the manpower from each of the villages is already exhausted and cannot continue the search. Now the only option is to wait for that giant bear to attack again.¡±


    What he did not say outright was that there had been no attacks in a week; the bear was probably starving by now.


    ...


    After hearing the news of halting the mountain search, the militiamen from East River Village and West River Village grumbled, and the villagers had many complaints about Winters; on the other hand, the young and able-bodied from the two Protestant villages obeyed the order without any complaints, as if they truly saw Winters as ¡°one of their own.¡±


    Ralph, the old hunter, after learning of Winters¡¯ decision, left the main troop without saying a word and ventured deeper into the forest alone.


    For the first time, Lieutenant Montaigne felt the pressure of decision-making.


    ¡­


    Three days after the mountain search stopped, Wolf Town welcomed another Sunday. Despite the dark cloud of the wolf disaster overhead, villagers from all three villages rushed to the church in the town center to attend the Sunday service, as usual.


    The church in Wolf Town was not large, but not particularly small either; its layout was similar to other single-nave churches. Two walls with windows formed the central hall of the church, and with a vaulted ceiling, the central hall required no pillars for support. One end of the hall was the narthex, and the other was the altar and ceremonial objects.


    Because revealing the identity of spellcasters in the insular and conservative Wolf Town could potentially cause unnecessary trouble, Winters would also sit in the church with Gerard during Sunday services.


    This time, it was the young Father Caman who was responsible for the sermon; he first led the congregation in prayer for several victims of the wolf disaster, and then used the sayings of saints to deliver an encouraging message to the believers.


    Watching the followers pray earnestly to the deity to drive away the evil bear, Winters somewhat understood them. It was essentially a sense of helplessness¡ªhoping for help from a higher existence when one feels powerless over something seemed to be the natural thing to do.


    The weekly bow and arrow training had been canceled by Winters, so people hurried back to their villages after the ceremony.


    Winters found Father Caman: ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why, I still need to thank you. East River and West River villages have quite the resentment toward me recently.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be done about that,¡± Father Caman spoke softly to console him: ¡°The beast is in the woods, but you are right in front of them.¡±


    Winters chuckled bitterly, ¡°I used to wish for a leisurely position until retirement, but now¡­ now I¡¯d rather go back to the army and be a lowly centurion.¡±


    ¡°Destiny has placed you in this position for a reason.¡±


    ¡°I thought you would use the word ¡®Lord,''¡± Winters joked.


    Father Caman also showed a hint of a smile, ¡°Who told you to be an unbeliever? I changed it to something you can accept.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t believe in destiny either. If everything is predetermined, then what¡¯s the point of human struggle? We might as well just lie down on the ground and wait for destiny to take its course.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the human struggle is also part of destiny.¡±


    ¡°Sophistry,¡± Winters scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t they teach logic in theology school? You are essentially saying that the future is both knowable and unknowable; you are describing a paradox.¡±


    Caman wanted to say something, but an urgent knocking interrupted their metaphysical conversation.


    Caman glanced at Winters and said aloud, ¡°Come in!¡±


    The church handyman pushed the door open: ¡°Father! Something terrible has happened¡­ Ah! The Garrison Officer is here too!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Sir!¡± the handyman swallowed and said, ¡°Beacons!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Which way did it run?¡± Winters, who had been sprinting the whole way, yanked the reins and the warhorse reared before the chief of West River Village.


    The chief didn¡¯t dare delay and pointed westward: ¡°To the west!¡±


    ¡°`


    Winters spoke rapidly, ¡°When did it come? Are there any casualties?¡±


    ¡°It must have been when people were at mass, that thing came in and ate a lot of grain, and bit an old paralytic woman to death!¡±


    Winters wheeled his warhorse, ¡°Call up all the militia, follow me!¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord, yes.¡± The village head remembered something and added, ¡°The hunter has already taken the lead in pursuit.¡±


    The militia of Dusa Village had also seen the beacon fires, and old Sergei immediately led the Dusans to join with the West River Village militia.


    Unlike the previous three violent encounters, this time the beast had just fled, leaving a trail clear and distinct. Following the traces, Winters led the group directly to the southwestern forest.


    Under the shadows of the tree canopy, Winters could see broken shrubs and underbrush. The bear¡¯s enormous size had left a trail among the forest¡¯s underbrush and saplings that resembled a small path.


    Guided by the tracks on the ground, Winters relentlessly gave chase. At this moment, his mind was consumed by a single thought: to kill the man-eating bear. Unintentionally, he even left the militia far behind.


    He spurred his horse fiercely, crashing through a thicket of hazels, crossing the chill stream, and surging over a mound before charging down, racing wildly through the forest.


    On the galloping horseback, the pine needles scraped his skin like the sharpest arrows, each contact leaving a new bloodstain.


    The forest¡¯s complex terrain was even more perilous, but fortunately, his horse¡¯s hooves seemed divinely assisted, for a mere rodent burrow could have caused him to break his neck.


    After vaulting over several mounds, the broken branches and underbrush first led Winters to a hollow, turned sharply, and then suddenly began to ascend. Winters didn¡¯t know how far he had chased but could tell the terrain was rising swiftly.


    The steeper the slope became, the louder the warhorse neighed, exerting all of its strength to push and step, its hooves digging one deep hollow after another in the soft, dark earth.


    The warhorse was at its limit. Seeing this, Winters dismounted. He took two heavy matchlock guns and a powder flask from his saddlebag and began to load them.


    A strange silence pervaded the gloomy forest.


    Suddenly, a rustling noise came from nearby.


    Winters raised his matchlock, firmly bracing the butt against his shoulder.


    ¡°My lord, it¡¯s me.¡± Hunter Ralph emerged from among the leaves and branches.


    Without wasting words, Winters asked directly, ¡°Is it ahead?¡±


    ¡°It should be ahead.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take the horses; they make too much noise,¡± the old hunter explained. ¡°That thing moves incredibly fast in the woods, we can¡¯t catch up even on horseback, and we might startle it. If we scare it off, we can only hope it dies of exhaustion.¡±


    Winters took two javelins out of his horse¡¯s saddlebag, giving one to Ralph, keeping the other for himself.


    Then he pointed his horse in the direction from which they¡¯d come and lashed its hindquarters hard, ¡°Go! Go home!¡±


    Pained, the red-maned horse sprinted away back the way it came.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Winters slung the two guns over his shoulder, took the javelin in hand, and spoke to the hunter.


    ¡°My lord, just the two of us might not be able to kill that thing. It would be best if we leave markers along the way for the reinforcements to follow,¡± Ralph suggested, his weapons being nothing but a hunting knife, a single-shot bow, and the javelin Winters had given him.


    It was then that Winters realized he had lost contact with the other militia.


    ¡°No matter what, let¡¯s find that thing first,¡± Winters drew the Dusa military saber.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ralph nodded and took the lead, but he couldn¡¯t help reminding, ¡°My lord, there is no matchcord on your gun.¡±


    The answer to the hunter was a cold voice, ¡°I don¡¯t need a matchcord.¡±


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 Chapter 314 - 14 Wrestling with a Bear

    Chapter 314: Chapter 14 Wrestling with a Bear


    ¡°`


    Using the javelin as a walking stick, the Hunter Ralph and Winters climbed up the steep slope. After the ascent was a descent, and following the descent was another ascent.


    After continuously traversing several hills along the beast trail, even the seasoned Hunter who often roamed the woods was gasping for breath.


    Wolf Town was located at the northern foot of the Jinding Mountains, and generally speaking, the deeper into the southern forests one went, the higher the terrain became. However, the micro terrain was not a constant uphill but a series of undulating ridges, which were extremely torturous to travel through.


    Winters, carrying a heavy-duty musket that was dripping with sweat, knew this large-caliber matchlock gun was extremely cumbersome. It usually had to be mounted on a support pole during use, weighing close to twenty pounds, and Winters had two of them on his back.


    ¡°Sir, beasts generally circle around the hillside,¡± Ralph said, panting heavily. ¡°That creature must have been scared by the people returning from the church, so it panicked and ran without choosing its path.¡±


    ...


    Winters leaned on his knees, trying to steady his breathing rhythm. He nodded but didn¡¯t say a word, as he was simply unable to speak at the moment.


    ¡°That beast must be even more tired; it can¡¯t have gone far!¡± the old Hunter, leaning on his javelin, moved forward again.


    Winters bit his lip and followed.


    The signs of destruction in the forest were becoming less and less. The giant bear had crashed through the forest upon escaping, and its brutal actions caused damages that even Winters could identify.


    But the deeper they went into the forest, the less broken branches and bushes there were, and the paw prints also became shallower.


    It was clear the pace of the beast was slowing down, and its frenzied emotions were subsiding; it was gradually reverting to its natural behavior patterns¡ªmoving stealthily with a strolling posture.


    The tracking became more and more difficult, but the beast could not escape the Hunter¡¯s eyes.


    Ralph clung tightly to the bear¡¯s trail, chopping notches on the trees with his hunting knife as he went to mark the direction for those who might follow.


    Passing through a stand of white oak trees, the giant bear¡¯s tracks disappeared into a small river. Winters¡¯s heart tightened, but the Hunter crossed the stream to inspect it carefully, then led Winters upstream in pursuit.


    The two of them walked along the riverbank, with one foot deep and the other shallow. Seasonal mountain floods had washed away all the soil along the banks, exposing stones of various sizes and shapes underneath the earth¡¯s layer.


    The forests on both sides of the riverbed were like dark, wide beast dens, lurking with lethal dangers. The power of the water had polished the surface of the stones on the riverbed, making them smooth and hazardous.


    Ralph, leading the way, suddenly stumbled, barely avoiding a fall. But he managed to steady himself with a violent struggle, emitting a painful groan from his throat in the process.


    Winters hurried to catch up with Ralph and saw the old Hunter clenching his teeth, flaring his nostrils, his whole body¡¯s muscles tensely shivering.


    The Lieutenant quickly realized: the exhausted old Hunter had not stepped firmly on the stone underfoot, and he had twisted his ankle.


    A sprain, the most common and troublesome injury. It won¡¯t kill you, but it will prevent you from moving.


    The reason the two of them had managed to track this far depended on the Hunter¡¯s skills, which Winters was well aware of.


    He could no longer discern where the fierce beast had run to. If Ralph could not move, then he could only watch helplessly as the creature disappeared without a trace.


    Supporting Ralph¡¯s arm, Winters gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°Can you still move?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the old Hunter replied through clenched teeth. ¡°Keep pursuing.¡±


    After steadying himself, the old Hunter lifted his leg and proceeded to walk forward, but he wobbled again and nearly fell.


    Winters immediately steadied Ralph, saying helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while.¡±


    The Lieutenant helped Ralph to sit down slowly on the spot and removed the old Hunter¡¯s boots. Ralph¡¯s right ankle had swollen up considerably, the skin underneath turning blue-purple, evidently no longer capable of movement.


    ¡°Stay here and wait for the others to come,¡± Winters resolved. ¡°I¡¯ll go after it alone.¡±


    The old Hunter shook his head vigorously and said breathlessly, ¡°No, it won¡¯t work, not alone. Let me catch my breath, I¡¯ll wrap my ankle with cloth, and we¡¯ll continue the pursuit.¡±


    As he spoke, the old Hunter took a horn cup from his waist, leaned over to scoop up some water from the river to drink. The cup had nearly reached his lips, but then the Hunter suddenly thought of something. He stopped, and offered the water to the Lieutenant first.


    Winters was both annoyed and amused. ¡°What the hell, it¡¯s not the time for this kind of formality, just drink up. I¡¯ll drink after you¡¯ve finished.¡±


    Ralph stopped resisting and drank. After finishing, he scooped another cupful of water for Winters. The Lieutenant, thirsty to the point of a dry throat, downed it in one go and handed the cup back to Ralph.


    Once again, the Hunter leaned out to scoop water. The moment the cup touched the river, the Hunter suddenly froze, and failing to grip it firmly, the horn cup slipped from his hands and was swept away by the swift current downstream.


    Winters was about to reach out and ask when he saw Ralph make a gesture for silence. The old Hunter looked at Winters, slowly shook his head, and then pointed toward the pine trees on the opposite bank of the river.


    In the eyes of the old Hunter, Winters saw a hint of fear.


    He looked in the direction the Hunter was pointing. At first glance, he saw nothing. The next moment, he realized that the very thing he had been desperately searching for was right under the trees on the opposite bank of the river! S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The deep brown fur was a natural camouflage in the woods; the creature was lying in the shadows under the trees, as if it was a huge rock that had stood there for eons.


    The head of the logging team hadn¡¯t exaggerated in the slightest; it truly was a bear as big as a house. The beast¡¯s massive size was truly daunting, so much so that even lying on the ground, it was an intimidating large mass.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 315 - 14 Wrestling the Bear_2

    Chapter 315: Chapter 14 Wrestling the Bear_2


    Winters was not at all surprised why he and Ralph hadn¡¯t spotted it at first, because no one would consider such a huge stone to be an animal. Even though he was very aware he was tracking a giant bear, the size of the thing in front of him far exceeded his mental expectations.


    The beast was so large that it could no longer be called a bear. No words could accurately describe it; only the royal eagles raised by oathbreakers could compare to it.


    Could the two muskets really inflict damage on that thing? The lieutenant felt a flicker of doubt in his heart.


    For many days, Winters Montagne had dreamed of finding this fierce beast. Now he was less than twenty meters away from it, but the lieutenant did not know how to kill it.


    Fortunately, the beast was perfectly still at the moment, appearing to be in a deep sleep.


    What to do? Fight or flee?


    ...


    The hunter and the lieutenant exchanged a wordless glance.


    Winters quietly placed the javelin and the military saber in his hands on the ground, then he took off the two muskets from his body, setting them down just as gently.


    To avoid waking the beast on the opposite bank, every move Winters made was extremely slow and without the slightest noise.


    The sound of flowing water, the chirping of birds, the rustle of wind through leaves¡­ the more noisy the background sounds of the forest, the more terrifying the silence that the hunter and the lieutenant felt.


    After putting down all his weapons, Winters gestured to Ralph not to make a sound. He silently walked over to Ralph, grabbing one of Ralph¡¯s legs with one hand and Ralph¡¯s arm with the other.


    The lieutenant took a deep breath, his abdominal muscles suddenly tense, lifting the old hunter onto his shoulders in one movement.


    As the old hunter was hoisted onto his shoulders, a crisp sound came from his bag.


    Instantly, Winters felt the hairs on his back stand up, and Ralph immediately pressed down on his tool bag.


    The two froze in place, not daring to move. Winters slowly turned his head to look at the giant bear. Luck was on their side; the beast was still lying under the tree, motionless. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lieutenant nodded, carrying the old hunter back in the direction they had come from, moving slowly and steadily. The old hunter held tightly to his tool bag, preventing it from making any more noise.


    Winters counted his steps silently; when he reached five hundred, he found a flat spot to put the old hunter down.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Ralph didn¡¯t even have time to thank him, he knew what the lieutenant was thinking and urged in a low, anxious voice: ¡°Just the two of us can¡¯t deal with that creature, you mustn¡¯t go over there alone. Sir, let¡¯s figure it out when the others get here.¡±


    ¡°What if that thing runs off before the reinforcements arrive?¡± Winters chuckled softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that reckless. I¡¯ll go and watch it, make sure it doesn¡¯t run away again.¡±


    ¡°Then take my foot spikes,¡± the old hunter said, taking a set of shoe studs from his tool pack.


    After a brief explanation of how to use them, Winters took them and turned to leave.


    The old hunter was at a loss, wanting to call Montagne lieutenant back but not daring to raise his voice, he could only watch helplessly as the lieutenant walked away.


    Returning to the previous location, Winters recovered his weapons. The giant bear was still sound asleep beneath the tree, oblivious to the happenings around it.


    ¡°Shooting this massive thing in the body is useless; it has to be shot in the head,¡± Winters estimated silently in his mind. ¡°But perhaps even the head isn¡¯t enough; it would have to be the eyes or some other vulnerable spot.¡±


    At this moment, what Montagne lieutenant regretted most was not having brought a cannon into the mountains.


    With two guns in hand, Winters found a gently flowing shallow where he crossed the river and approached the giant bear without making a sound from downwind.


    Winters was not confident in the accuracy of the muskets in his hands.


    Unlike the two wheellock guns Anthony had given him, which were made by royal gunsmiths and could shoot exactly where they were aimed, their bores as smooth as mirrors,


    the muskets from the Blackwater Town Armory were cheap, and their barrels were not finely polished. He had to get close enough to ensure a hit.


    The closer he was to the giant bear, the more palpable was its immensity. The beast was like the embodiment of the wilderness, as if its sheer existence was to demonstrate the force of nature.


    The lieutenant still had his wits about him and didn¡¯t consider handling such an enormous creature by himself.


    But he also could not allow himself to let the dangerous animal escape. So when he was about fifteen meters away from the giant creature, he found a suitable tree fork and mounted the musket.


    He did not dare, and could not afford, to get any closer.


    What followed was the wait.


    Waiting for reinforcements.


    The distance was too close, and Montagne lieutenant could even hear the bear¡¯s breathing. At some moment, he suddenly had the illusion that the forest itself had come to life, pulsating with the breathing of the giant bear.


    Time seemed to blur, perhaps a second, a minute, a quarter of an hour?


    The heartbeat of the forest, paused for a second.


    The bear under the shade of the trees woke up, as if a giant stone had been endowed with a soul.


    Winters¡¯ breathing halted suddenly, his heart constricting fiercely.


    The bear moved its body slightly and turned its head towards Winters, sniffing with its nose.


    The distance was too short, short enough for Winters to clearly see every detail of the giant beast: its unkempt fur, pronounced back, pointed ears, dark snout, cold eyes, black eye rims.


    He also saw the reddish color of the fur beside the bear¡¯s nose, the fresh blood of a recent victim.


    As the two looked each other in the eye, Montagne lieutenant did not hesitate to use magic to ignite the gunpowder in the musket barrel.


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 Chapter 316 - 14 Fighting the Bear_3

    Chapter 316: Chapter 14 Fighting the Bear_3


    The gunshot shattered the silence of the forest, and the double charge¡¯s recoil nearly knocked the lieutenant to the ground. In the instant that the gun smoke spewed out, he saw the lead bullet graze the giant bear¡¯s cheek, exploding upon its shoulder.


    With no time for regret, Winters immediately switched to another rifle.


    Following the gun smoke came a bone-chilling roar; neither the flash of fire, the deafening bang, nor the smoke scared off the beast. The enraged giant bear charged towards the puny human with a roar.


    So for the second shot, Winters aimed for the gaping maw of the giant bear.


    This rifle did not let Winters down for all the trouble he¡¯d taken to carry it, as the 35-gram lead bullet accurately lodged between the bear¡¯s upper and lower teeth.


    The bear¡¯s head jerked back from the massive impact force of the lead bullet, and blood froth spewed from its mouth. The colossal creature crashed down, whining in agony.


    ...


    With no time for pity, seeing the beast fall, Winters hurriedly started to reload his musket. There was no time to clean the barrel, so to save time, he poured the gunpowder directly into the barrel.


    But before he could even reach for the lead balls, the bear that had just taken a heavy blow staggered back to its feet.


    ¡°Vineta [swearing]!¡± the lieutenant decided instantly, tossing aside the musket and scrambling up a tree.


    In a life-or-death moment, Lieutenant Montaigne, who had never climbed a tree in his life, clumsily ascended, using the ¡°foot treads¡± given by the old hunter, and managed to scamper up the tree¡ªthough in an exceedingly ungraceful manner.


    Just as he reached a height of two to three meters, the bear slammed into the tree trunk. The thick pine, almost as wide as a person¡¯s embrace, swung like wild grass in a violent storm, nearly shaking Winters down.


    The pine tree trembled, but did not fall. Winters, having steadied his position, frantically climbed higher. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bear, after ramming into the tree, shook its head a few times and stood upright, leaning on the tree. It roared and swung its front paws at the human, the swooshing bear claws narrowly missing the human¡¯s ankles.


    The distance between man and bear was a hair¡¯s breadth; Winters could even smell the rancid breath from the bear¡¯s mouth.


    But the human had now climbed five or six meters high; the bear reached out futilely with its front paws, while the man above climbed higher and higher.


    Lieutenant Winters Montaigne had only two wishes at that moment: first, that the bear could not climb trees; second, that the tree was sturdy enough.


    The first wish was granted, for the giant bear showed no intention of climbing. Realizing it couldn¡¯t reach the human in the tree, the bear turned to viciously batter the tree trunk with its back and shoulders.


    And the lieutenant discovered that the tree he had climbed was certainly not sturdy enough.


    With each attack from the beast, the thick pine tree began to tilt. There were no other large trees within several meters for Winters to jump to.


    He couldn¡¯t let it continue to ram¡ªhe realized¡ªor he was certainly doomed.


    ¡°[Incoherent, vicious swearing]!¡± Not caring whether the beast could understand human speech, Winters shouted desperately to distract the bear¡¯s attention in his dire situation.


    However, the beast beneath the tree paid no heed, continuing to pummel the tree with brute force.


    Winters pulled out his saber and, while climbing down, chopped at the pine branches beside him. Branches smashed onto the bear, but even this felt inconsequential to the massive creature, and it was not impeded.


    Winters descended to almost within reach of the bear.


    ¡°Come on!¡± The human roared like a wild beast: ¡°Come and kill me!¡±


    Furiously, the bear stood on its hind legs and lunged toward the man in the tree.


    Winters was waiting for this moment.


    As the bear opened its huge maw, roaring and pouncing towards the man in the tree, the man above also roared and thrust all his might to drive the javelin into the bear¡¯s mouth.


    The man in the tree was smacked hard onto the ground, yet the javelin lodged deeply into the bear¡¯s throat.


    Intense pain nearly paralyzed Winters; he couldn¡¯t even feel which of his bones were broken. He lay on the ground, motionless.


    The bear desperately flailed its head, flicking scarlet blood everywhere. It tried to pull the javelin out with its front paws, but reversed barbs had bitten deeply into the flesh, causing excruciating pain the more it tried to pull.


    With a tremendous effort, the beast snapped the shaft with its jaws, leaving the spear point lodged inside. The beast, gasping, groaning, and snorting, moved closer in the direction of Winters.


    One step, two steps¡ªthe heavy footfalls grew nearer.


    Winters was in utter despair.


    ¡°In this situation¡­ does playing dead still work?¡± A thought tinged with dark humor suddenly struck the despondent Winters Montaigne.


    He chuckled bitterly to himself and closed his eyes to meet his fate.


    He could feel the heat of the beast¡¯s breath.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    A sound of something slicing through the air came.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Another followed.


    Two arrows from a one hundred eighty-pound longbow pierced the bear¡¯s face one after the other.


    The bear, struck by the arrows, stood on its hind legs and roared in pain.


    ¡°Come on, beast! Charge at me!¡±


    It was the old hunter¡¯s voice.


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 Chapter 317 - 15: Duel to the Death

    Chapter 317: Chapter 15: Duel to the Death


    The old Hunter roared as he drew his longbow tight as the full moon, and with a flash of cold light, a heavy arrow whisked across the mountain stream. Guided by the wind, the arrowhead found its mark in the giant bear¡¯s left eye. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Blood and other matter gushed from the socket of the giant bear¡¯s eye. The momentum of the arrow did not stop there but continued to bore deeper, until the shaft sank more than three inches into the left eye.


    Yet even the toughest longbow combined with a weighted arrow hitting directly in the eye could not kill the beast; instead, it only made it more dangerous.


    Driven to frenzy by the agonizing pain, the giant bear let out a roar that made the mountains tremble. It abandoned Winters, who was within easy reach, and lunged towards the opposite bank to tear the old Hunter to pieces.


    The old Hunter, who had twisted his ankle, did not run either but stood his ground, continuing to shoot arrows at the fierce beast.


    He shot quickly and accurately, wielding the nearly two-hundred-pound draw weight bow in his hands as if it were a toy. The twang of the bowstring rang out continuously, each arrow striking the beast¡¯s skull with precision.


    ...


    But the arrows could not penetrate the creature¡¯s hard skull, and the giant bear ignored the arrows sticking out of its head, its charge kicking up thousands of water droplets in the river. The shallow ford six or seven meters wide seemed laughable beneath it.


    With nowhere to run and unable to escape, Ralph roared in fury, firing arrow after arrow at the bear in vain.


    Barely regaining consciousness, Winters struggled to his feet and picked up a rock to throw at the beast. ¡°Don¡¯t run! Come kill me!¡± he yelled.


    In the blink of an eye, the bear covered the thirty-some meters. The old Hunter watched the beast approach, his eyes wide with despair, and then he closed them.


    Less than ten meters from Ralph, at the critical moment, a black high-headed horse charged out from around the bend in the river downstream at breakneck speed.


    Seeing Ralph¡¯s life hanging by a thread, the black horse¡¯s rider did not swerve but crashed fiercely into the giant bear.


    Even such an enormous beast stumbled from the full force of the charging Warhorse.


    But the situation was even worse for the Warhorse and its rider. The Warhorse, with who knows how many broken bones, lay in the river channel, neighing in pain and struggling to get up.


    The rider was flung from the saddle, arcing over the bear¡¯s upraised shoulder blades and crashing heavily into the river.


    Winters, of course, recognized the black horse; it was Gerard¡¯s beloved steed.


    ¡°Mayor Mitchell!¡± he bellowed as he ran towards Gerard¡¯s location.


    The unbalanced bear, now even more enraged, smashed its massive paw down, crushing the skull of the black horse¡ªGerard Mitchell¡¯s treasured Warhorse, instantly dead on impact.


    As the ferocious beast turned to tear apart the human who shot arrows at it, more riders charged out from around the bend downstream.


    Reinforcements had arrived¡ªthe Dusacks were here.


    ¡°Dammit! Does this thing eat shit to get this big?! Dammit!¡± old Sergei cursed loudly, riding past the Hunter on his Red Sun at full speed.


    In the fleeting moment of a horse and man crossing paths, Ralph grabbed Sergei¡¯s outstretched arm and swung himself up onto the horse¡¯s back with acrobatic agility.


    The Red Sun did not slow its pace, carrying the two men a dozen meters away in the blink of an eye.


    The giant bear roared, intent on pursuing Ralph, but two more riders flew by its side. As they passed the bear, the riders threw their javelins, making use of the horses¡¯ speed.


    The javelins, carrying far more kinetic energy than arrows, pierced effortlessly into the giant bear¡¯s abdomen, puncturing its organs.


    Seeing the javelins hit, Dusa immediately pulled hard on the rope tied to the javelin and jerked in the opposite direction of the horse¡¯s momentum.


    Meanwhile, more Dusacks arrived at the scene. Although initially shocked by the bear¡¯s size, they quickly regained their composure and, using the speed of their horses, threw their javelins at the bear, pulling on the ropes in the opposite direction once they hit.


    The riders hunted the beast like a pack of wolves taking down a bear.


    Another rider with an unmounted Red charger rushed to Winters¡¯ side, Gerard¡¯s son Pierre dismounted in a hurry, holding the reins of the Red charger and shouted, ¡°Brother Winters! Rejek!¡±


    This unmounted Red charger was none other than Winters¡¯ Red-maned¡ªRejek, which Pierre had brought for Winters.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! Save your dad!¡± Winters yelled anxiously, ¡°He fell into the river!¡±


    Pierre¡¯s face changed drastically, and he dashed into the river stream.


    With Pierre¡¯s help, Winters dragged Gerard, who was dazed from the fall, towards the shore.


    ¡°We thought you were dead!¡± said Pierre incoherently, ¡°Seeing the horn cup floating downriver, we immediately came upstream.¡±


    ¡°Not dead yet,¡± Winters laughed heartily, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva.


    The people who landed behind Winters were startled to see Rejek return alone; Mayor Mitchell immediately led the Dusacks, leaving the footsoldiers without horses behind, and following the old Hunter¡¯s directions, they pursued at full speed.


    Fortunately, that had enabled the Dusacks to arrive in time to save Winters and Ralph; the militiamen from the other villages still had no idea where they were.


    Winters first scooped the water from Gerard¡¯s tongue root, then leaned over his chest to listen, and checked Gerard¡¯s breath as well.


    Pierre knelt beside them, at a loss.


    ¡°He¡¯s still breathing! Come help!¡±


    Together, they lifted the unconscious old Dusack onto the horseback, and Winters helped Pierre into the saddle, ¡°Go with your father! Quick! Find Priest Caman!¡±


    After speaking, he slapped Pierre¡¯s mount hard on the back.


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 Chapter 318 - 15 Deathmatch_2

    Chapter 318: Chapter 15 Deathmatch_2


    The horse, pained, broke into a run, its hooves beating the ground. Pierre gave Winters a complex look and galloped away, disappearing into the shadows of the trees at the river bend.


    Old Sergei and Ralph crossed the river on a single horse and returned to Winters¡¯ side.


    ¡°My lord! This won¡¯t do! We need to scatter them! Everyone retreat!¡± From a dozen meters away, the old Hunter couldn¡¯t help but shout loudly.


    The giant bear in the river was already impaled with over twenty javelins. The riders pulled on the ropes in all eight directions to the west, rendering the beast seemingly immobile for a time. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The animal has an injury in its mouth, it can¡¯t eat. As long as we tire it out, it will inevitably weaken,¡± the old Hunter said, rushing to Winters¡¯ side, speaking anxiously, ¡°Now this is only drawing out its ferocity!¡±


    ...


    Winters understood the Hunter¡¯s point. He leaped onto his red-maned horse and, under the amplification of a loudening spell, shouted toward the Dusacks, ¡°Let go! Spread out! Spread out!¡±


    But it was already too late¡ªthe inability to move was only an illusion. The giant bear, roaring, thrashed its body. Several Dusacks who didn¡¯t react in time were dragged down from their saddles, and the ropes slipped from everyone else¡¯s hands.


    Without their riders¡¯ control, the Warhorses could no longer resist their instinctual fear of the beast and ran away in panic, leaving their riders behind.


    Winters, seeing a Dusack thrown from his horse, didn¡¯t have time to think. He took a javelin from the saddlebag of a rider nearby, jabbing the horse¡¯s ribs to maintain his grip and charged full speed at the giant bear.


    The combined strength of man and Warhorse converged at the tip of the spear, striking the beast¡¯s flesh. Winters felt as though his right shoulder had been brutally torn off, but the javelin in his hand also plunged deep into the bear¡¯s back.


    The giant bear let out a pained roar, twisting around to swipe at Winters with its front paw. The red-maned horse skillfully dodged the counterattack, and after several stamps, it was back to a safe distance of about a dozen meters.


    While the bear was distracted, the other riders managed to rescue the fallen Dusacks.


    The giant bear did not launch another attack. It stood in the river, panting heavily, surveying the humans around it.


    Steam mixed with blood spurted intermittently from its nostrils and mouth. Over a dozen javelins were stuck in its body, and the blood that flowed copiously from its wounds turned the river beneath it dark red, extending downstream.


    Humans and beast stood in a standoff.


    The bear let out a mournful cry; this wild creature was now at the end of its road.


    In its eyes, there was no anger. In the dim gaze of this creature, Winters saw only despair, sadness, and pain.


    ¡°You ate a human, and this was bound to happen one day!¡± Holding a spear, Winters turned his horse forward, aware that the beast before him could not understand human language, ¡°This ends here! I will put an end to your suffering!¡±


    As if possessing a spirit, the giant bear let out another mournful cry in response to Winters¡¯ words.


    It shook its head twice¡ªthe heavy arrow shot by Ralph was still lodged there¡ªand charged toward the riders downstream.


    The Dusacks in front did not dare to confront the rampaging beast head-on and quickly steered their horses aside. The giant bear, however, did not pursue the riders to tear them apart, but broke free and ran downstream along the river.


    ¡°From the smallest cricket to the largest bear or tiger, no creature, aside from humans, will give up the will to survive,¡± the old Hunter said quietly, coming to Winters¡¯ side, ¡°That animal doesn¡¯t understand your words. To it, everything is just instinct.¡±


    ¡°We pursue! Two on a horse won¡¯t be fast, so we keep only one rider per horse. Those with mounts, follow me; the rest, come from behind. Give a horse to Ralph!¡± Winters organized the troops before him in a collected manner.


    Taking the opportunity, Winters picked up two muskets. The Dusacks who had fallen from their horses dismounted their companions¡¯ horses; several headed upstream to find their own Warhorses.


    Sergei signaled a rider, and the designated Dusack reluctantly handed over his Warhorse to Ralph.


    A troop of riders quickly got themselves in order, following the blood trail downstream.


    Old Sergei suddenly remembered something, his face turning pale as he exclaimed in shock, ¡°No good! Those Bumpkins are behind us; they might run into that beast!¡±


    Premonitions often come true when they¡¯re bad.


    Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Winters led the Dusacks in a full gallop, following the blood trail that never left the river. The riders sped through the mountain valleys.


    After racing about three or four kilometers downstream to a shallow crossing, they lost the trail of the giant bear.


    It was not that there were no bloodstains, but that bloodstains were everywhere.


    Clearly, the militiamen who followed had encountered the wounded giant bear here, some killed, the rest scattered in fear.


    ¡°Damn it! They really fucking ran into it!¡± Old Sergei cursed loudly, ¡°With human blood and bear blood mixed together, how the hell are we to track? If those Bumpkins are incompetent, then they damned well shouldn¡¯t have caused chaos!¡±


    ¡°Those who volunteer for the militia are brave men!¡± Lieutenant Montaigne glared fiercely at Sergei, ¡°Mr. Morozov, refrain from insulting them!¡±


    Old Sergei fell silent, embarrassed.


    ¡°Can you make it out?¡± Winters asked the Hunter.


    Ralph dismounted, studied the ground carefully for a while, then pointed towards the woodland in the southwest direction of the riverbank, ¡°The beast should have gone that way!¡±


    The expressions of the Dusacks were fearful. On the open riverbanks, they could engage the giant bear on horseback, but in the woods, it was the beast¡¯s home ground, and riding would be very cumbersome.


    ¡°Ralph and I will take the lead,¡± Winters said, loading ammunition into the two muskets, ¡°Don¡¯t fight head-on; everyone, be cautious.¡±


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 Chapter 319 - 15 Deathmatch_3

    Chapter 319: Chapter 15 Deathmatch_3


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have gone far!¡± the old Hunter shouted encouragement to everyone.


    Following the blood and signs of destruction, a group of riders, each armed, carefully searched the wooded area.


    The bear¡¯s movements seemed to be slowing, staggering; the trihedral spearhead made the wound difficult to close, and instead of diminishing, the blood trail in the forest was actually increasing.


    However, the dense vegetation seriously hindered the riders¡¯ progress, and it was extremely easy to lose sight, inevitably causing the team to stretch out.


    The normally peaceful forest now felt exceptionally dangerous in the hearts of everyone.


    ¡°Sir! Look! Someone made a mark!¡± Ralph suddenly pointed to a freshly exposed tree trunk.


    ...


    ¡°There might be militiamen ahead of us chasing that thing.¡± Winters took the firelock out of the saddlebag, ¡°Keep chasing!¡±


    Continuing forward, the same kind of mark was still there. It was obviously no coincidence, but someone had carved arrows into the tree bark to indicate direction.


    Without further doubt, Winters and Ralph summoned the other riders to gather and quickly pursued along the direction marked.


    But after passing through a large birch forest, the mark and the blood trail disappeared at the edge of a low cliff. The previous mark had directed them here, but there was nothing on the trees at the edge of the low cliff.


    ¡°The mark is gone!?¡± the old Hunter was both shocked and puzzled.


    ¡°Down below?¡± Winters, frowning, urged his horse closer to the low cliff.


    Their position was about eight or nine meters higher than the ground ahead. It seemed a collapse had occurred here, forming this low cliff.


    Just as Winters brought his horse to the edge of the cliff, a voice, as if from someone with a changing voice, suddenly sounded from behind him, ¡°Watch out!¡±


    What followed was a spine-chilling roar. The giant bear they had been chasing all along burst out from below ground, opening its grotesque mouth to bite at the forelegs of the chestnut horse.


    Only then did Winters realize that there was a large burrow at the edge of the low cliff, which the bear had used as its den. However, due to the angle of view, one could only see this burrow by approaching the edge of the cliff.


    The chestnut horse, startled, violently stamped the ground and leaped to dodge, narrowly escaping the bear¡¯s lethal bite. But Winters, caught off guard, was thrown from the saddle, crashing down to the ground, man and gun together.


    Before Winters could catch his breath, the bear, having missed its first strike, abandoned the chestnut horse and charged roaring directly at him.


    With the sudden outburst of the bear, Ralph, Sergei, and the other Dusacks were too late to come to the rescue.


    At this life-or-death moment, Winters clenched his teeth and rolled off the edge of the low cliff.


    The beast, missing twice, also roared and leaped off the cliff.


    Before the Dusacks could react, a slim figure wielding a long spear dashed out of the woods, shouting and following the bear down.


    As his body uncontrollably fell along the cliffside, tumbling down, Winters clutched his firelock tightly. He knew it was his only chance for survival.


    However, what he had not expected was that the leaping bear would land before him. Its body heavily smashed into the ground, but the ferocious creature just shook its head and stood up again.


    The instant he hit the bottom of the cliff, Winters, enduring the pain, raised his gun to aim at the bear.


    At the same time, the bear also charged at Winters with a ferocious growl.


    Time seemed to stop at that moment.


    If he was lucky enough, he might be able to shoot the 35g lead bullet into the beast¡¯s mouth¡ªbut he knew that wouldn¡¯t kill it, having already tried.


    To shoot? Or to wait? There was only a moment to decide.


    Accompanied by a shrill shout, a thin figure leaped from the low cliff, plunging the long spear straight down towards the bear¡¯s neck.


    On its own, this frail primate could never have penetrated the bear¡¯s hide. But gravity¡ªthough in this era no one knew what was called gravity¡ªlent a hand, making it all possible.


    Height became speed, speed became force, and the spearhead, like a hot knife through butter, pierced the bear¡¯s neck fur, fat, muscle, and through the body, embedding itself into the ground.


    The bear, struck by this heavy blow, was brought to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.


    But the savage beast did not die immediately. It pushed off the ground with its forelimbs to stand once again, swinging its neck to shake off the foreign object and the human on it.


    No matter how much brute strength the bear exerted, it could not shake off the thin figure clinging to the spear shaft. Each shake only inflicted more damage upon itself.


    Winters, who had escaped death by a hair¡¯s breadth, finally saw the face of the fierce and thin spearsman¡ªit was Anglu, the small groom from Dusa Village. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, it was clear what that piercing shout that was too shrill to discern had been¡ªit was ¡°Telqing.¡±


    Winters struggled to his feet. Anglu had created an opportunity for him, and he could not waste it. He sprinted towards the bear, and the moment he inserted the barrel into the bear¡¯s ear, Winters ignited the gunpowder.


    With a ¡°boom,¡± shrapnel flew in all directions, leaving Winters with a ringing in his ears and his vision swimming. The lead bullet did not successfully fire, and the matchlock gun exploded in his hands.


    The heavy matchlock gun had burst its barrel.


    The bear became even crazier, wildly lunging at Winters. Caught off guard, Winters was knocked to the ground by the bear. Seizing a cartridge of gunpowder in desperation, he blocked the bear¡¯s savage bite.


    The next second, he ignited the gunpowder.


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 Chapter 320 - 16 Compensation and Care

    Chapter 320: Chapter 16 Compensation and Care


    Everyone¡¯s heart was in their throats.


    Since Lieutenant Montaigne had led people into the mountains, three consecutive batches of militia followed, but after that there was no news.


    The families of the militia gathered at Rivereast Village, anxiously waiting for news at the edge of the woods, and all they could do was wait.


    But what they got was bad news, first with Mayor Mitchell being rescued in a coma by his son, followed by one militia after another fleeing from the woods. Nearly every militia who escaped to Rivereast Village was injured.


    In the descriptions of the shaken militia, what attacked them were the minions of the devil, terror werewolves as tall as mountains, and giant monsters with spikes on their backs¡­ That thing charged into the crowd like a scythe sweeping over weeds, reaping souls away.


    Some of the militia were seen dead, many more were missing in the woods. The families of the deceased were in utter despair, and the families of the missing could not help but break down in tears.


    ...


    Rivereast Village was struck by sorrow, thankfully Father Caman and Brother Reed rushed to the scene. The two clergymen consoled the bereaved, led the families of the injured in prayer, treated the wounded, prepared medications, and steadied everyone¡¯s spirits.


    As the sun dipped low in the sky and darkness fell, the mood in Rivereast Village grew more anxious.


    Just as Father Caman, Brother Reed, and several village elders were discussing whether to send another party into the woods for rescue, an excited child ran to the village to bring news.


    ¡°They¡¯re back! They¡¯re back!¡± After yelling several times impolitely at the adults, the child raced off to tell others.


    Upon hearing this, Father Caman and the elderly mendicant monk rushed to the village entrance.


    At the western entrance of Rivereast Village, they met the returning bear-hunting team.


    Sergei led Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s Crimson Mane, walking ahead with a lofty stride, looking like a general returning from victory. Winters, on the back of Crimson Mane, showed no signs of pride or joy; his eyes were filled with deep fatigue.


    In contrast, Sergei almost seemed to be the one riding the horse.


    But neither of them were the main focus of this ¡°victory parade¡±; the attention of everyone was captured by the huge bear carcass at the end of the procession.


    The Dusacks had tied together a temporary sled of wood, placing the giant bear¡¯s body on it, displaying it as a trophy and pulled by six horses all the way back to Rivereast Village.


    The people of Wolfton finally had the chance to witness the true face of the man-eating beast. The bear¡¯s size was shockingly massive, with adults standing beside it looking like children, and children appearing as infants. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The giant bear¡¯s yellow-brown fur was almost dyed dark red with blood, and its body was covered in horrifying wounds. Several spears and javelins were still lodged in it¡ªthey couldn¡¯t be pulled out because they were stuck too deep. The bear¡¯s head was mangled and gruesome, and no one knew what kind of immense force could have caused such destruction.


    Merely by seeing the wounds on the bear¡¯s body, everyone understood how tough the fight had been for the hunting team to kill this ferocious beast.


    Even as a carcass, the bear¡¯s lingering ferocity still chilled the villagers. Ironically, the children were not afraid; they ran around the bear¡¯s body, making noise, and threw stones at its head until they were taken away by their parents.


    The Dusacks dragged the bear carcass through the crowd of villagers all the way to Rivereast Village¡¯s threshing ground.


    The atmosphere in Rivereast Village cleared, almost festive; villagers brought out their homemade wine and meat to entertain the warriors who had slain the beast. The Dusacks drank sweet wine and colorfully recounted their own versions of the thrilling tale.


    Winters did not join the ¡°celebration,¡± nor did he rest; for him, there were countless matters to attend to.


    It was already confirmed that four militia had unfortunately encountered the bear in the valley and perished; they were pillars of their families, the main labor force. Their widows and orphans were now in inconsolable grief, facing an uncertain future; how would they be compensated? Winters needed to come up with a solution.


    And there were many injured, the minor wounds were manageable. But what of the severely injured who, even if they were lucky to survive, would lose a significant portion of their labor capacity?


    Compared to these issues, questions like ¡°A part of the militia got scattered in the woods and are still missing¡ªwe need to send people to search and rescue them¡± seemed trifling.


    The greater the power, the greater the responsibility, Winters deeply realized the truth of this saying.


    When he was in the archipelago, all he had to do was fight, without worrying about other issues. But in Wolfton, he exercised authority far beyond that of a normal officer, and his responsibilities were greater. He had to take responsibility not just for the living, but also for the dead.


    He could have easily shirked his duties, considering he could leave it all behind eventually. But Winters Montagne had gradually embraced his role as the garrison officer of Wolfton.


    Although he was a Venetian, he genuinely wished to do something beneficial for this little town in the southwest corner of Paratu, at the very least, not to leave a mess behind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Winters, suddenly awake in the dead of night, felt a twinge of unreality.


    The roaming beast in the woods had been hunted, and the people of the various villages of Wolfton were returning to their normal lives¡­ perhaps that was the case.


    Winters had Hunter Ralph lead a team into the mountains to search and rescue, bringing back all the missing militia¡ªboth the living and the dead.


    The bear¡¯s carcass was paraded around Wolfton by old Sergei and the Dusacks, shown off in each village, allowing the Dusacks to have their moment in the spotlight.


    Afterward, the villagers divided up the bear meat. Its skin, a trophy full of battle scars, was kept by Sergei who respectfully handed it to Winters, who in turn gifted it to the hunter and his son.


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 Chapter 321 - 16 Compensation_2

    Chapter 321: Chapter 16 Compensation_2


    Sergei again presented the bear¡¯s head to the Mitchell Family. Gerard was grateful for his old friend¡¯s generosity but did not display the giant bear¡¯s head as a trophy. However, Pierre clamored to hang the bear¡¯s head on the wall and was scolded by Mrs. Mitchell before he fell silent.


    Most of the bear¡¯s offal was also distributed as meat, except for the bear¡¯s gall which was taken away by the elderly begging monk Reed. It was unclear what use he had for such a bitter thing.


    A small incident then occurred: the drunken old widower Rostov, whose son had unfortunately perished in the beast plague, began to sob uncontrollably when he saw others eating the bear meat. He cried out, ¡°My son¡¯s flesh and blood is in this bear meat too.¡±


    The people of Dusa Village, feeling sorry for the old widower, buried the bear meat they received.


    However, when Hunter Ralph¡¯s son Bell saw this, he asked Rostov, puzzled, ¡°The bear ate your son, and you eat the bear. Isn¡¯t that the rule of the Great Wilderness? Isn¡¯t wasting food the greatest disrespect?¡±


    Winters overheard this but the tearful Rostov did not hear clearly. Ralph¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he hastily dragged his son away.


    ...


    The news quickly spread to the neighboring towns, and when Andre heard that the man-eating bear had been killed and the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town had been injured, he immediately borrowed a horse and rushed to Wolfton. Seeing Winters still lively and kicking, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    To witness the only remaining head of the giant bear, Lieutenant Chelini made a special visit to the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Looking at the bear¡¯s head that was nearly big enough for two people to hug together, Andre smacked his lips and exclaimed, ¡°Goodness, that must weigh about two thousand pounds, right?¡±


    ¡°About that, maybe a bit heavier,¡± Winters replied offhandedly. ¡°There¡¯s no scale here that can measure the weight of this thing.¡±


    ¡°Amazing,¡± Andre said with envy. ¡°I dream of hunting such a big game.¡±


    ¡°If you were knocked down by this thing once, you wouldn¡¯t think so,¡± Winters thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°How about it, do you want to take the bear¡¯s head? Mayor Mitchell is troubled about how to deal with it.¡±


    Andre snorted, ¡°What would I do with it if I didn¡¯t hunt it myself?¡±


    ¡°Right, I broke the gun I borrowed from you. Can I compensate you with money? Can we settle it that way?¡±


    ¡°How did you break it?¡± Andre¡¯s focus was obviously not on the money.


    Winters answered calmly, ¡°The barrel burst.¡±


    ¡°The barrel burst?¡± Andre was astounded, took a careful look at Winters to make sure his old schoolmate wasn¡¯t missing any parts. ¡°You¡¯ve got one hell of a luck! Was it worth risking your life for those shepherds? They¡¯ve never treated us as one of their own!¡±


    Winters sighed, at a loss for words.


    Seeing his old friend¡¯s negative reaction, Andre said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m serious! You need to value your life, you know? I don¡¯t want to have to come to such a godforsaken place to visit your grave in the future. We all have to return to Sea Blue together, and it wouldn¡¯t be the same without any of us.¡±


    ¡°I got it, I got it.¡±


    Andre was helpless, but then something came to mind, and he slapped his forehead, ¡°Right, Bard sent me a message for you.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Winters perked up at the news of Bard.


    ¡°He wants you to come to my place on the Sunday of the first week next month. He¡¯ll be there too. From Blackwater Town, we¡¯ll follow him to meet a senior.¡±


    ¡°Which senior?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t specify, and I don¡¯t know either. Just a message, but it¡¯s always good to meet someone familiar.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll remember.¡±


    After confirming his old classmate was alright and without staying the night, Andre returned directly to Blackwater Town, taking with him the several muskets he had lent to Winters.


    After Andre left the Mitchell¡¯s, the hunter and his son were also preparing to leave.


    Now that the fierce beast had been slain, Ralph could take his son back to their cabin in the woods.


    Ralph¡¯s son Bell, the young stable boy Anglu, and Gerard¡¯s son Pierre, these three lads, all around fifteen or sixteen years of age, had grown close over these days, becoming good friends.


    The departure of Bell from Dusa Village was hard for the other two boys to accept.


    When the old hunter came with his son to say farewell, Winters was at the town hall writing documents and beckoned the young hunter to his side.


    The young hunter approached the desk, puzzled, as Winters opened a drawer, took out something wrapped in black cloth, and handed it to the young hunter.


    It was a dagger, a replica of Sofia¡¯s, previously commissioned by Winters from the blacksmith Misha.


    The young Hunter¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯ve canceled the archery competition this weekend, but you were likely to win anyway. Here¡¯s your prize in advance,¡± said Winters with a smile.


    The young Hunter looked at his father with pleading eyes.


    ¡°Since the lieutenant is giving it to you, take it,¡± the elder Hunter nodded to his son and then looked at Winters with respect, ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    Elated, the young Hunter ran out of the town office to find something to test the blade on.


    ¡°Why such a hurry to get back?¡± Winters watched the young Hunter run off and said to the elder Hunter, ¡°I always feel somewhat restless.¡±


    ¡°I share that feeling, sir,¡± the elder Hunter said slowly, ¡°Which is why I need to return home quickly.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, come to me if anything arises.¡±


    The elder Hunter bowed and left the town office.


    It seemed that everything truly had come to an end.


    ¡­


    With the menace of the bear taken care of, the farmers could sleep without fear at night, the Hunter father and son returned to their cabin in the woods, and village life returned to its usual pace. It seemed the turmoil caused by the animal attacks had indeed come to an end.


    The only remaining issue was how to compensate the victims and the injured.


    On the fifth afternoon following the slaying of the bear, Mayor Mitchell, Garrison Officer Montaigne, and Priest Caman held a serious meeting in the town office to discuss compensation for the casualties.


    Despite his wariness, Winters had to admit the considerable influence religious figures held among the villagers. The farmers always feared hell more than the gallows, and salvation seemed insignificant compared to all the world¡¯s temptations.


    Religion had penetrated deep into all facets of society, and the spellcasters, a distinct minority, were powerless to change this reality.


    An old mendicant monk once told Winters that just three roles held all the power in Wolfton ¨C a county official, a military officer, and a clergyman. They had authority over everything from taxation to conscription, from the land they walked on to the graves they lay in.


    If the mayor, the garrison officer, and the church¡¯s priest worked together in Wolfton, anything could be accomplished.


    So, although Winters was very displeased with the clergy meddling in public affairs, he ultimately held his nose and accepted it, ensuring nothing went awry.


    After discussing with Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman, all three agreed not only to provide a one-time compensation for the militiamen who died or were disabled, but also to extend long-term assistance to them.


    Knowing he wouldn¡¯t stay much longer, Winters knew he must enlist the help of the mayor and the church to maintain this method of compensation.


    For clarity, he used terms the farmers would easily understand: families who lost their labor force due to the bear hunt would have their land cultivated by the entire village, like the lands of the past nobility, until their children came of age.


    The system essentially meant that the land of the militiamen¡¯s families would be prioritized for plowing with communal farm equipment and harvested first by other villagers, with each farmer spending a few days a year working those fields.


    The farmers were all too familiar with these practices, which continue to operate as ¡°commons¡± in the villages even today.


    The system obviously had many flaws and loopholes, but since the nobles had managed to maintain it for centuries, Winters figured Gerard and Caman could maintain it for a decade or two with no issue.


    ¡°The rest is up to both of you,¡± Winters said, standing up and bowing sincerely to Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman after they had settled on a compensation plan for the casualties.


    Priest Caman smiled and nodded his head.


    Gerard found it strange but comforted the lieutenant, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the bear-hunting militiamen died for us all. The villagers will take good care of their families.¡±


    Just as Winters was about to say something, a tempestuous knock interrupted him.


    Young Hunter Bell was banging on the door of the town office frantically; he had run there, looking as though he had been fished out of the water.


    ¡°Help!¡±


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 Chapter 322 - 17 Forever Forget This World

    Chapter 322: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World


    The disordered tracks extended deeper into the forest. Following the marks left by the hunter, Winters spurred on his horse in pursuit.


    The more he moved forward, the more unsettled and agitated his chestnut horse became. It bit fiercely on the bit, shaking its head from side to side to resist the rider¡¯s commands, forcing Winters to use even greater strength to control the reins.


    Winters¡¯s attention was drawn to a fleeting depression in the muddy ground. He immediately yanked on the reins. His chestnut¡¯s forehooves rose high as it charged forward a short distance before stopping.


    Winters dashed back to the muddy patch he had just passed. He confirmed that he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary depression, but a paw print.


    Since the beginning of the beast plague, Winters had followed Ralph time and again to search the mountains and forests. He had seen countless animal tracks, bears, wolves, deer, roe deer, foxes, rabbits¡­ He had almost become a self-taught hunter.


    But the paw print before him was different from any he had seen in this forest before, a strange paw print, yet also a familiar one.


    ...


    Indeed, he felt an eerily familiar sense of the shape of this paw print, only he couldn¡¯t remember where he had seen it before.


    Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind, not in Wolfton, not in Paratu, not in the Taniria Islands, he had seen these types of paw prints, but it was back in his home in Sea Blue¡­ These were cat paw prints.


    A palm with four lobes, pads without claws, the paw prints of Big and Little General were exactly like that, Winters had seen them countless times.


    But a cat¡¯s paw print was no larger than a thumb, whereas the ¡°cat paw print¡± before him was large enough to accommodate his hand.


    A gigantic cat?


    Winters suddenly understood: why did the deer herd flee as if escaping from deeper within the forest? Why were no remnants of clothing fabric found in the bear¡¯s intestines and feces? Why did the wolf pack, taking a risk, break into the village to forage?


    The wolves weren¡¯t migrating, they were fleeing. Top predators leave their territory only because a more powerful predator has arrived. Moreover¡­ there wasn¡¯t just one.


    Suddenly, the chestnut horse tied to the tree whinnied in terror. The three-year-old steed struggled so fiercely that the knot Winters had tied was directly ripped apart.


    A chill wind brushed past Winters¡¯ fingertips, and in that instant, all the hairs on his body stood on end, and a sudden chill ran down his back.


    Instinct drove Winters to roll to his right. Accompanied by a hair-raising growl, a spotted beast pounced on the spot where he had been just a second earlier.


    Winters narrowly avoided the stealthy attack from behind. Suppressing the deep-seated fear in his heart, he drew out the Dusack scimitar as he regained his balance.


    The old hunter had told him, ¡°In the woods, no man can ever outrun a wild animal,¡± never flee, to turn and run was to choose death.


    Spooked, the chestnut ran toward the depths of the forest. The spotted beast chased after for a few steps, then suddenly turned back.


    It didn¡¯t immediately attack but instead kept a fixated glare on Winters, snarling and moving slowly to his side.


    Winters dared not make any sudden movements. He too gripped the cavalry saber, slowly rotating his body to maintain facing the spotted beast.


    Man and beast confronted each other in the forest, like duelists with drawn swords. For this reason, Winters managed to get a clear look at the true face of the spotted beast.


    The creature before him was terrifyingly large, its shoulder height was not much less than the chestnut¡¯s, almost reaching Winters¡¯ chest. Its body was covered in pale yellow stripes, blending into the dappled tree shadows, making it nearly invisible.


    Its shape resembled the lion on the Vineta Flag, with a short snout and a broad forehead, slender facial contours, but it had short mane around its neck, making it look peculiar. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But no matter how odd it appeared, Winters did not want to provoke it. Even if it were a pig, at that size, it was not something Winters could handle alone.


    First the enormous bear, now a giant lion, Winters was becoming numb to the notion that everything in Wolf Town seemed larger.


    The peculiar lion started to slowly crouch, its head nearly touching the ground, shoulder blades protruding from its back.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± flashed through Winters¡¯s mind. He hadn¡¯t seen a live lion, but he did have two cats. When a cat is poised to strike, it adopts this posture.


    The next second, Winters saw the lion¡¯s whiskers on its face slowly turning forward¡ªan omen of a cat¡¯s attack.


    Winters steeled his heart, took a deep breath, and cast a spell he had never used in real combat before: Scare Beast.


    A deep voice originated from his vocal cords, amplified by magic within his mouth, ultimately forming a wave of sound that spread around him.


    The novice spell ¡°Scare Beast,¡± one of the divine arts from the Druid Teachings, inversely reconstructed by the Magic Combat Bureau.


    It was found that animals are extremely sensitive to low frequencies; herbivores can be easily frightened by low-frequency sounds, and ferocious animals emit low-frequency calls to intimidate each other when encountering threats in the wild.


    The principle behind the ¡°Scare Beast¡± spell is to mimic and amplify the low growls of large animals intimidating their foes, and in conjunction with lion¡¯s dung and urine as casting materials, it leads the targeted animal to believe it¡¯s facing a lion.


    This spell is mainly used to scare warhorses or animals such as dogs and wolves; no spellcaster has ever tried it on lions¡ªor rather, no one who has done so has lived to write a report. Winters also didn¡¯t have the feces or urine of a ferocious beast as casting materials.


    But he had no alternative; he could only give it his all.


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 Chapter 323 - 17 Forever Forget This World_2

    Chapter 323: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_2


    ¡°`


    The thunderous low-frequency soundwave detonated in the forest, and the caster himself bore the brunt of the impact. It felt like a cannon had gone off right by his ear, Winters¡¯s skull trembling with it.


    The giant lion was startled by the sudden boom and sprung up from the ground leaping backwards, disappearing into the thickets after a few bounds, vanishing from sight.


    Having just escaped with his life, Winters wanted to laugh, but he couldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t know whether to thank the Magic Combat Bureau or the fact that the peculiar-looking lion had a rather full breakfast.


    Without time to ponder this question, Winters bolted towards the edge of the forest.


    He hadn¡¯t run far when an uncontrollable wave of nausea suddenly erupted in his mind, as if a fist inside his abdomen was hammering his stomach mercilessly; he involuntarily knelt on the ground and began to retch.


    ...


    A gust of cold wind swept past him, and the chaotic sounds of the underbrush behind him rustled loudly¡ªthe giant lion had caught up.


    ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t be so easy!¡± Winters wiped the acidic saliva from the corner of his mouth, got up, and faced the direction from which the lion was coming, his hands gripping the military saber.


    Leaping from the bushes, the giant lion didn¡¯t continue the standoff with Winters. Its brawny limbs stomped on the ground, its tail whirling, claws and fangs exposed, as it roared violently towards Winters.


    This ¡°big cat¡± moved incredibly fast, so much so that Winters was only able to react when it was already soaring through the air, almost instantly upon him.


    The dense woods provided Winters with some cover, and he immediately darted between the trees to his side.


    The swipe from the mid-air lion¡¯s claws was blocked by the trunk of a tree, but the tree, as thick as a man¡¯s forearm, was bent by the lion¡¯s fierce paw, and its claws swept onto Winters, who couldn¡¯t dodge in time, tearing away chunks of cloth and flesh.


    Winters first felt a chill on his back, followed by a searing pain. The cloth on his back was soaked with a warm liquid and stuck to his body.


    At the same time, blood was dripping from his military saber, and the lion¡¯s right front leg had a fresh cut¡ªa wound from a sharp weapon. Winters Montagne did not have the habit of being a sitting duck.


    The injured giant lion did not immediately launch a second attack, giving Winters a moment to catch his breath. It backed off a short distance and, with seeming disregard, began to lick its wound.


    But this behavior didn¡¯t mean it had given up on its prey. On the contrary, the lion had decided the human in front of it would be a fine meal, so it was not in a hurry to kill.


    Seeing that the lion¡¯s wound had stopped bleeding so quickly, Winters let out a bitter laugh.


    The current trade-off didn¡¯t seem profitable at all. He had to find a more effective tactic soon, or else he might as well find a way to end it quickly himself. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Can¡¯t delay any longer,¡± Winters thought. ¡°The longer I wait, the more blood I lose, the slimmer my chances become.¡±


    But a few inches long cut was insignificant for a lion weighing several hundred pounds. Glancing at the military saber in his hand, Winters realized he had only one chance, a single all-or-nothing opportunity:


    To use the Arrow Flying Spell to accelerate the saber¡ªif he could imbue it with enough kinetic energy, he might be able to deal a lethal wound to the beast.


    It was an all-or-nothing gamble, Winters had never cast the Arrow Flying Spell on a sword before. Moreover, the military saber in his hand was his only weapon, and there was only one chance. Should he miss, even a quick death would be at the mercy of the lion.


    But magic was his only chance to kill this giant lion.


    After stopping the bleeding, the giant lion lazily stood up and began circling Winters again. It continuously intimidated Winters, as though trying to force its prey to reveal a gap.


    ¡°Got to hit the head, only a blow to the head will kill it instantly,¡± Winters reminded himself. ¡°Can¡¯t be too close, too close and the speed won¡¯t be enough to penetrate the skull¡ªnor too far, as it can be dodged. My spellcasting radius is only two meters. I¡¯ll have to wait till it¡¯s within three meters.¡±


    But the giant lion kept moving, making it impossible for Winters to find the right moment to strike, and yet, it was closing the distance between them.


    Holding the military saber backward in the posture of throwing a javelin, Winters found his concentration increasingly difficult to maintain as the loss of blood was making him weaker.


    Both predator and prey were waiting for the opportunity to land a deadly strike.


    Suddenly, the lion¡¯s ears perked up. It hesitated for a moment then moved back to a position further away from Winters.


    Winters knew that the beast must have heard something, and soon he heard it too¡ªthe sound of hoofbeats, riders approaching from a distance.


    It must be Gerard with the militia! Winters¡¯s spirits were greatly lifted. After receiving the young Hunter¡¯s call for help, he split up with Gerard, heading out first to survey the situation while Gerard would go to Dusa Village for reinforcements.


    Immediately, Winters struck the tree with his saber, signaling his location to the rider. He soon realized something was amiss, the hoofbeats were too sparse.


    The hoofbeats drew nearer, seemingly just one rider. A familiar warhorse came into Winters¡¯s view, its red mane bursting from the underbrush. Astonishingly, atop the red-maned horse was the old Hunter, Ralph.


    Realizing it wasn¡¯t reinforcements and despite the risk of provoking the lion to attack, Winters yelled out to the old Hunter, ¡°Don¡¯t dismount! Get away fast!¡±


    His shout was like a start signal, and the giant lion, seeing Winters distracted, immediately lunged towards him.


    Ralph ignored the lieutenant¡¯s warning, vigorously whipping the red-maned horse and arrived beside Winters in a flash.


    Jumping from the horse just a few lengths away from the lion, Ralph rolled several times upon landing, while the inertia of the horse carried it straight into the path of the giant lion.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 324 - 17 Forever Forget This World_3

    Chapter 324: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_3


    But the lion was far more agile than the bear, and the massive lion easily dodged the warhorse¡¯s charge. It immediately poised to pounce on Winters again, as Winters bit down hard, ready to throw his scimitar.


    However, the mighty lion suddenly froze in place, and Winters was also stunned. He heard a sound that should not have been there, he heard a tender wail.


    ¡°Beast! Look at me!¡± Ralph yelled angrily.


    Winters saw the hunter¡¯s thigh was wounded, a horror to behold, with blood dripping down from the cuff of his trousers. What surprised him even more was what the old hunter was holding.


    In Ralph¡¯s hand was a lion cub.


    The cub was only the size of a small cat, its eyes freshly opened. Held by the scruff of its neck in front of the old hunter, it called out pitifully to its mother.


    ...


    Only then did Winters realize that the giant lion before him was a lioness and she had recently become a mother.


    The lioness didn¡¯t immediately attack Ralph; it sat with a mournful cry in response to the cub¡¯s call.


    The next moment, the old hunter plunged a knife into the soft belly of the lion cub, slashing down viciously, the newly opened eyes of the Little Lion witnessed its own belly being ripped open.


    Winters felt a buzzing in his skull, a chill from the top of his head to his fingertips.


    The mother lion let out a piercing howl that made all creatures shiver, launching itself at the old hunter like a demon.


    ¡°Come on!¡± the old hunter stood his ground, not dodging or evading.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters threw his military saber. The moment the blade left his hand, he entered a Spell-casting state, pouring all the magic power he could muster into the military saber.


    The lioness didn¡¯t dodge or avoid either, but it was too fast; the military saber failed to hit its head and instead skewered three inches off target into its spine.


    With its spine severely injured, the lioness didn¡¯t hesitate, continuing to pounce towards the old hunter and reaching him in the blink of an eye.


    Ralph pushed his left arm into the giant lion¡¯s gaping maw, and the lion bit down hard, severing the hunter¡¯s arm at the elbow.


    Ralph was knocked down by the mother lion, and as the giant lion ravaged him, stepping on his chest, the old hunter¡¯s left arm was ripped directly from his body.


    However, the hunter achieved his goal; as the giant lion tore off his arm, he also left a terrifying gash in the lioness¡¯ abdomen. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lioness¡¯s entrails spilled out, but it continued to rip into the hunter. The hunter also used his last strength to slice open the lioness¡¯ belly.


    Everything happened too fast for Winters to intervene. He hit the giant lion with all his might, knocking the several hundred kilogram beast off balance. The lioness stepped on its intestines, pulling even more organs from its gaping abdominal wound.


    Winters shielded the old hunter, and the lioness, looking at Ralph who was now lifeless, howled mournfully, picked up the cub¡¯s body with its mouth, and dragged its bowels to disappear into the bushes, leaving behind a trail of blood.


    Blood sprayed from Ralph¡¯s terrible shoulder wound, and through the hole, one could even see his heart in his chest cavity.


    Winters wanted to stop the old hunter¡¯s bleeding but didn¡¯t know where to begin, as the hunter¡¯s chest, shoulders, and neck were fatally wounded. He held the hunter, who was barely breathing, tears unstoppable.


    ¡°My debt¡­ is paid¡­¡± the dying hunter struggled to utter, his lungs spewing from his mouth, ¡°Look¡­ look after my son¡­¡±


    The hunter¡¯s body suddenly went limp, his pupils dilated, his eyes dimming as he died in Winters¡¯ arms, leaving this world forever behind.


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Winters Montagne¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    (This spellbook, being carried around all year round, is worn out and the sides are stained black and yellow. The owner has crossed out and modified much of the content, adding many notes in the margins. In the corner of the title page, there is an abbreviation: W.M.)


    Spell: Startle Beasts


    Type: Composite Spell/Druide Divine Art imitation


    Spellcasting Materials: The dung and urine of large wild beasts


    Description: Mimic the sounds and scents of large beasts to scare herbivores and smaller wild animals.


    Note 1: Mr. L said that when wild animals encounter each other in the wild, they don¡¯t start fighting right away. Most of the time they just roar at each other until one side gives in and withdraws. Perhaps this spell is also effective against larger predatory animals.


    Note 2: It works on lions, tested, but only for a short while.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spell: Arrow Flying Spell Enrichment


    Type: Kinetic Spell


    Description: An Arrow Flying Spell that uses heavy objects as casting materials. It is more difficult, but carries more kinetic energy.


    Note: Not suitable for use on scimitars, perhaps javelins are more appropriate as casting materials.


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 Chapter 325 - 18 Funeral and Militia

    Chapter 325: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia


    The night before, the young men had dug the grave. It lay in the cemetery of the Wolf Town Church, right next to the resting place of other old Dusacks.


    At this moment, those young people who were born and raised here after their parents had settled in the land, were standing behind the grave with shovels, waiting to fill it back in.


    A few pine boards and a handful of iron nails made up the old Hunter¡¯s coffin. Winters, Gerard, and two other old Dusacks carried the casket all the way to the graveyard.


    They placed the casket next to the grave and stepped aside. There were unexpectedly many people who came to see Ralph off, not just Dusans from Dusa Village, but also villagers from the east and west sides of the river. Even Protestants from Nanxin and Beixin, villages far from the town center, had made the journey to attend the funeral.


    It was only when villagers from the other four villages offered their condolences to Bell that Winters learned Ralph, the Hunter, was also a veterinarian, a herbal doctor, and a forest rescuer. All attending villagers from the four other villages had benefited from his services.


    The Priest Anthony, dressed in full black ceremonial robes, presided over the ritual himself. Holding the gospel book, he chanted the scripture with great eloquence, leading all those in attendance in prayer, and then recited the Catholic funeral prayer once more.


    ...


    Having known Ralph for a long time, Winters never thought the respectable Hunter was a Catholic, and neither was his son. The Hunter and his son did not attend Sunday mass, and there were no religious artifacts in their home.


    But when the old Hunter was laid to rest, the funeral held was a Catholic one, which left those who knew the situation unsure how to feel.


    Priest Anthony finished the prayers and looked around before asking, ¡°Would anyone like to say a few words?¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Gerard was about to speak, Sergei stepped forward from the crowd in front of the casket¡ªand it was too late to stop him.


    Gerard Mitchell¡¯s heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    After all, disputes and brawls among Dusans were as likely to be caused by strong liquor as they were by this custom of ¡°saying a few words¡± at a funeral.


    Dusans held funerals and the deceased in high reverence, and they certainly did not have a tradition of speaking only well.


    With immense respect for death, the mourners at the casket would speak their minds, hiding nothing of their true thoughts.


    Such candidness often led to outright shouting matches, followed by hot-tempered Dusacks throwing punches; in some cases, it even escalated to drawing knives, shooting, and consequently, more funerals.


    Gerard now feared that Sergei couldn¡¯t help but say something inappropriate, and any argument or injury was the last thing he wanted to see.


    ¡°Ralph Pradov, the second son of old Yelmo¡­ there¡¯s no need to introduce him, as you all know who he is.¡± The proud chest of the Dusan that could be seen no matter where he went was gone, as tears welled up in the old man¡¯s eyes.


    Choking back tears, Sergei said, ¡°Yelmonovich was one of our old brothers. Every Dusan of age here had worked as a laborer with him. We stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting against Bumpkins and Northerners, and were sent down south to slay Rebels and fight Herdman. I¡¯ve never seen a better archer than him¡­ The battle at Stony Ford, I can¡¯t say how many Dusacks died there. My horse was stabbed to death, and my thigh had a hole gouged by a Rebel spearman. If Yelmonovich hadn¡¯t carried me on his back, I would have died there too.¡±


    As he spoke, the old man broke down into tears. The villagers from the other villages had complicated expressions on their faces, but many of the old Dusacks were already stealthily wiping away tears.


    Ralph, Sergei¡¯s son, ran out to support Sergei, but the old man insisted on finishing his speech, ¡°We old brothers lose one more each time one passes. I regret! I regret not understanding before! Yelmonovich was a true man, a true Dusan. We used to ostracize him, we wouldn¡¯t let him into the village¡ªwe were bastards! But he has paid his debts, and whatever happened in the past should now be crossed out. A Dusan¡¯s son should also be a Dusan, Ralphnovich should be a Dusan too. That¡¯s all I have to say! If anyone disagrees, I¡¯ll be waiting at my house for you!¡±


    After ¡°saying a few words,¡± old Sergei let go of his son¡¯s hand and strode back to his original position. Winters noticed that the other villagers didn¡¯t react much to the old man¡¯s latter words, but the Dusans were clearly very surprised.


    Perhaps because Sergei¡¯s speech was so impactful, no other Dusans ¡°said a few words,¡± but several villagers from the other four villages did speak of the old Hunter¡¯s kindness to them and expressed their gratitude.


    With this final ceremony completed, the old Hunter¡¯s casket was lowered into the grave. Bell, the young Hunter, tearfully cast the first handful of earth, followed by shovelfuls of soil cascading onto Ralph¡¯s coffin.


    The old Hunter¡¯s grave was gradually filled in, and some couldn¡¯t help but cry softly, while Winters too felt profound sorrow.


    The left arm of the old Hunter was hastily sewn onto the body. Because the corpse was ¡°far too incomplete,¡± no lady dared to perform the sewing, and in the end, it fell upon Winters and Caman to do so.


    Following the blood trail, the militia that arrived later discovered the already dead adult lion and its cubs in a cave. In addition, they found a half-eaten fresh corpse and¡­ the head of the youngest son of the Rostov family.


    There were also some scraps of clothing, but those were of no consequence.


    It was clear that a man-eating lion was to blame. That night, Dusa Village was not attacked by one beast, but by two.


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 Chapter 326 - 18 Funeral and Militia_2

    Chapter 326: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_2


    To protect the horses, Er Maziteleqing fought against a giant bear, but was overpowered. When he was found, his internals had already been devoured¡ªa behavior consistent with that of bears.


    The couple secretly meeting in the woods unfortunately became the giant lion¡¯s prey. The giant lion dragged away and ate the girl, and after its feast, it killed the boy who had pursued it.


    This explained Ralph¡¯s long-standing question: Why did the beasts, already satiated with horse flesh, still attack the lovers from Dusa Village?


    The day the old hunter and the giant lion perished together, the giant lion had actually killed a villager from Beixin, dragging the corpse back to its lair to enjoy¡ªthis was the half-eaten body the militia had found.


    When Ralph learned that a girl from Beixin had gone into the mountains to gather wood and had not returned, he immediately set out to search. Upon discovering the tracks of the giant beast, he sent his son to seek help from the garrison officer lieutenant, while he himself continued to follow the tracks.


    What happened next caught everyone by surprise.


    ...


    Having been identified by the worldly-wise Brother Reed, the giant lion that died at the hands of the old hunter was likely the legendary ¡°cave lion.¡±


    Named after its depiction in cave paintings, this kind of giant lion is also known from ivory carvings and clay sculptures that corroborate its existence.


    However, the issue lies in that the cave paintings and sculptures that recorded the cave lion were created by prehistoric humans, some theologians of the proof-seeking faction even believe that those paintings might predate the construction of the Tower of Babel.


    Therefore, even Brother Reed, who had traveled the world, dared not assert that the creature was the so-called ¡°cave lion,¡± because truly no one had ever seen what a cave lion looked like. The existence of such a beast hasn¡¯t even been recorded in the annals of history.


    If that creature was indeed a cave lion, then this species must have a history spanning at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands of years, which is simply unimaginable.


    But the old mendicant brother could be sure of one thing: that creature was definitely not an ordinary lion. Of all the people in Wolf Town, only Brother Reed claimed to have seen a living lion¡ªhimself.


    The old brother adamantly stated that ordinary lionesses do not look like this, nor are they so large. He hasn¡¯t seen such giant lions anywhere, either in the East or the West. Perhaps only the Nemean lion from the ancient myth of the Twelve Labors of the great hero could possess such a size.


    Winters had only seen the image of a lion on military banners, and the old Dusacks too had seen it on the enemy¡¯s banners. The others had not even seen a drawing of a lion, let alone a live one. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, Brother Reed held absolute authority, and although others might be skeptical, they could only accept the old brother¡¯s explanation.


    The old mendicant brother wrote to some natural history scholars, entrusting traveling merchants to deliver the letters to Revodan Cathedral, to be sent out through the church¡¯s channels. But no one knew when they would receive a reply.


    The troublesome means of communication reminded Winters where he currently was¡ªafter living in Wolf Town for a while, he had almost forgotten that this place was on the edge of the ¡°civilized world.¡±


    Winters took this opportunity to also send a letter home, using Brother Reed¡¯s church channels as well. The letter itself was a form of information, and he carefully didn¡¯t write too much, merely inquiring about the welfare of his family.


    But the verification work was not urgent; another weighty matter pressed on the minds of the people of Wolf Town: why would such a gigantic beast come to little Wolf Town?


    Winters contemplated more deeply: this was a mother lion with cubs.


    This meant¡­ there was at least the existence of one male lion.


    And even considering that giant bear, it surely must have had a father and mother, right?


    Could it be that within the depths of the forest, in uncharted regions where humans have yet to set foot, beneath those mountains crowned with gold, there lurked yet more gigantic beasts?


    Could these two encounters just be the beginning?


    At this thought, Winters shivered. He suddenly realized that although the two ferocious beasts had been slain, the Wolf Town militia could not be disbanded. Not only could they not disband, but the militia training must become a regular practice.


    Furthermore, they needed to establish an armory and acquire some ¡°real weapons.¡± Thus, next time they encountered an ancient fierce beast, the people of Wolf Town wouldn¡¯t have to face it with just javelins and cavalry swords.


    Otherwise, when he left his post, if another beast calamity occurred, it would be very difficult for Mayor Mitchell, a man of over fifty, to reorganize the militia completely.


    Moreover, the great hero who had dealt with this beast calamity¡ªthe old hunter Ralph¡ªwas no longer alive. Where could this remote little town find another spellcaster officer?


    After Winters shared his thoughts with Gerard, he obtained Gerard¡¯s approval and strong support. Mayor Gerard Mitchell not only supported the normalization of the militia but also strongly suggested establishing a formal guard force in Wolf Town.


    For a town, a town guard and a guard force are essential law enforcement bodies. The town guard is generally full-time, while the guard force members can be either full-time or part-time, depending on the size of the town and its budget.


    The situation in Wolf Town was somewhat awkward. If you call it a town, it has fewer than ten permanent residents, just two dirt roads crossing each other, and no walls.


    By the way, in the common language, the word for townspeople/citizens [Burger] is derived from the word for city walls [Burg], meaning those who dwell within the walls.


    Revodan City¡¯s Wolf Town had nothing, but legally speaking, Wolf Town was indeed a ¡°town.¡± It¡¯s just that before Winters took office, it had neither a town guard nor a guard force.


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 Chapter 327 - 18 Funeral and Militia_3

    Chapter 327: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_3


    So when Gerard was both the mayor and the Garrison Officer, the town government had almost no enforcement ability.


    Even for minor matters like ¡°lumberjacks fighting with villagers¡±, Gerard would have to personally go out with his saber; otherwise, he would have to seek help from his former subordinates in Dusa Village.


    And in fact, such trivial incidents as ¡°lumberjacks fighting with villagers¡± happened quite frequently, occurring almost once a week, much to the annoyance of Mayor Mitchell.


    Even the newly-appointed Winters experienced it once when several young men from the village east of the river were beaten black and blue. At that time, Winters was busy dealing with the threat of wild beasts and let both parties off with a warning after some admonishment.


    In order to realize his desire to make Wolf Town a truly prosperous market town, Gerard Mitchell was very keen to establish a formal security force.


    In his view, a security force might not be necessary, but it could not be nonexistent. Ensuring public safety was essential to attract more people to reside in the town center. It would be best if the security force members were full-time, but part-time would also do.


    ...


    Mayor Mitchell even actively proposed to help Winters solve the budget issue by directly funding and hiring a security team for the town.


    The authorities granted to officers stationed in the Newly Reclaimed Land were significant, and the powers of a mayor were also considerable. The Paratu Council only cared about taxes; as long as the taxes were delivered, everything else was inconsequential, and the mayor practically had the same powers as the Empire¡¯s tax farmer.


    Moreover, since all property belonged to the army, the common folk in the Newly Reclaimed Land had to pay taxes for almost everything they did. Going into the mountains to chop wood incurred a tax, fishing in the river incurred a tax, and setting nets to catch birds incurred a tax¡ªthese and many other activities were taxed in addition to the basic agricultural and poll taxes. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Take a hunter¡¯s family, for example. Besides paying the poll tax and road tax, they had to pay a hunting tax for their activities in the mountains, providing eight deer skins and eight fox skins annually, or paying three large silver coins.


    As for Mitchell¡¯s, they had a small boat, and whether Gerard Mitchell fished or not, they still had to pay the fishing tax.


    These additional taxes were paid annually, and some were mandatory, such as the firewood tax. Even if a farmer only burned his own straw for a whole year, he still had to pay the tax, which was virtually a form of poll tax.


    When Winters heard Monk Reed casually talk about these ¡°exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes¡±, he could hardly believe his ears. The taxes in the Far East Newly Reclaimed Land were completely different from those in Vineta; one could even say they were worlds apart.


    The ruling class of the Vineta Republic almost left the rural areas to fend for themselves. The merchant Republic was innately skilled in calculations and used to weighing everything on a scale as a business deal.


    What the commercial Republic needed was currency¡ªactual silver and gold, precious metals that could be used for trade. Besides that, the Republic needed manpower and material supplies to maintain its trade fleet and urban crafts.


    And what farmers lacked most was precious metals; small households could not save up much money. Transactions among farmers were commonly conducted via bartering year-round. Even the smallest silver coin was too large in ¡°face value¡± for a farmer; it had to be cut into smaller pieces to be used in the rural areas¡ªthat is, ¡°silver fragments¡±.


    Therefore, in the eyes of the rulers of the Vineta Republic: scraping money off farmers was simply too costly. Every silver coin scraped from farmers would cost two silver coins in maintaining the Standing Army that suppressed them.


    What a loss! Such a huge loss! This business was doomed to hemorrhage money!


    And frequent farmer rebellions would also disrupt the supply of materials and labor to cities.


    Therefore, the rural tax system of the Vineta Republic is primarily in-kind, and the supervising government is only responsible for annual taxation and suppressing bandits (as bandits rob caravans on Guzhi Road, which is very bad for business).


    All the wealth of the noble Commercial Republic of Vineta is in the cities, the cities, and the cities.


    The cities are the key; as long as cities can keep receiving a steady supply of materials and labor, do the farmers live or die? The ruling officials of Vineta don¡¯t really care that much.


    However, it is also for this reason that the farm taxes in the Vineta Republic are among the lowest of the republics; farmers just need to pay their grain quota annually.


    Other times? Don¡¯t cause trouble, and fend for yourselves. [Note: However, the farmers of the Vineta Republic do not enjoy any civil rights, such as the right to carry weapons in the city.]


    ¡°They don¡¯t rebel against this? They can tolerate this?¡± Winters said incredulously to the old mendicant monk, ¡°If such taxes were imposed on the farmers of Vineta, Sea Blue City would have been set ablaze by rebels.¡±


    ¡°Lad, do you think the Dusack is for nothing? There is a Dusa Village in every town in the Newly Reclaimed Land. Why do you think the Paratu council goes to such lengths to arrange this? Why is it Dusan Gerard Mitchell who becomes the town mayor?¡± Monk Reed squinted and smiled, patting Winters¡¯ shoulder, ¡°You! Too young, too simple.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ could it be that the Dusack is especially used to suppress the farmers?¡± Winters was almost too shocked to speak coherently, ¡°But I see that Wolf Town¡¯s Dusa Village has a decent relationship with the other villages, right?¡±


    ¡°Decent?¡± the old monk asked with a beaming smile, ¡°Really decent? Lad, I told you your political sense is dull, and you didn¡¯t believe me. If you could distribute some of your martial skills to politics, you might have some potential.¡±


    ¡°Decent¡­ maybe?¡± Winters stammered, recalling carefully, ¡°The two Protestant villages indeed seem unfriendly toward the Dusans, and now that I think of it, the attitudes of the other two villages also seem a bit subtle.¡±


    The old monk laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s right, politics are very subtle. Do you know what the other four villages call Dusa Village behind their backs?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just called Dusa Village?¡±


    ¡°Wrong! They call it ¡®Barbarian¡¯ village. Barbarians, savages, and blood drinkers.¡± The old mendicant monk chanted some ancient verses with a rise and fall in his voice, ¡°Understand?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Winters was at a loss for words for a moment.


    ¡°The relationship between the several villages of Wolfton is actually quite good,¡± Monk Reed said with a light chuckle, savoring a sip of the Mitchell¡¯s homemade grape wine, ¡°Gerard Mitchell, although he seems brash, is simple on the outside but shrewd on the inside, and knows well the ways of lenient governance. He turns a blind eye to the other villages not paying taxes and rather fishing or hunting rabbits. He also overlooks them secretly cultivating on the edges of their lands.


    With Mitchell¡¯s having a ¡®capable wife,¡¯ naturally, the relationships between the villages are quite harmonious. In Newly Reclaimed Land like Wolf Town, there are plenty of small towns; some govern leniently, while others govern strictly. I have visited every small town in the Newly Reclaimed Land, and speaking of places where governance is too harsh, I have seen massacres. Despotic governance is as fierce as a tiger, from the Far East to the Near East, and here as well, the world over is no different.¡±


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 Chapter 328 - 19 Two Guards

    Chapter 328: Chapter 19 Two Guards


    The words of the old mendicant monk deeply impacted Winters, who countered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Highlands Republic currently akin to sitting atop a volcano?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much, at least that¡¯s the case for the Newly Reclaimed Land,¡± Brother Reed conceded, ¡°Paratu does not restrain amalgamation, and a minority control most of the land. The rich have fields stretching far and wide, like the Mitchell Family; the poor have no place to call their own, not even able to become tenant farmers, only long-term laborers. The landlords¡¯ greed knows no bounds, suppressing the poor to seize even more land for cultivation. If this were in the Far East, chaos would have erupted long ago. In my view, the only reason a peasant revolt has not occurred here is simply due to the ¡®vastness of the land and sparsity of the population¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Old man, you¡¯re not trying to scaremonger, are you?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but defend the Mitchell Family, ¡°You speak of how insatiable landlords can be, yet I think the Mitchells are good people.¡±


    The old monk said serenely, ¡°Gerard is indeed a generous man, but his personal virtues have no bearing on the desires of the entire landlord community. Just as there are good and bad soldiers, but when they are on the battlefield, regardless of their nature, they must fight the enemy. If you look at each individual landlord family, most conduct themselves respectably. But is their consolidation of land untrue?¡±


    When it came to sharp words and endless discourse, how could a green lieutenant compare to a seasoned clergyman?


    Yet Winters remained somewhat unconvinced, ¡°But if these things have existed up to this day, doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s nothing wrong with them?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Kid, it¡¯s not ¡®existed¡¯ but ¡®maintained¡¯ up to this day! Politics are not fixed in stone; they are like building blocks, never unchanging,¡± Brother Reed said with increasing mirth. ¡°No one knows what the future holds. Everything has an end; there¡¯s no immortal monarch, no undying nation. Honestly, I¡¯m very curious to see where this system ultimately leads.¡±


    Winters sighed. The old mystic before him had become whimsical once again, a behaviour to which he had grown accustomed. But the true reason for his late-night visit to the mendicant wasn¡¯t this; he had been inadvertently sidetracked by the old man¡¯s ramblings.


    ¡°Enough already,¡± Winters complained, ¡°I came to ask for your views on establishing a Standing Peacekeeping Force in Wolf Town, but instead of addressing the issue, you went on and on about irrelevant matters.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m offering you advice because I think highly of you,¡± Brother Reed said, feigning anger, ¡°Don¡¯t be ungrateful, boy. An old man¡¯s time is very precious.¡±


    Winters¡¯s original idea was simply not to disband the militia but to keep up with weekly training sessions. However, Mayor Mitchell¡¯s suggestion took a much bigger step forward, causing Lieutenant Montaigne to hesitate.


    If he were in Sea Blue, Winters could discuss any doubts with Antonio, seeking advice from an elder was not a source of embarrassment for him.


    In Wolfton, he had no one to rely on; Bard and Andre were tens of kilometers away. Yet he was eager to hear others¡¯ thoughts on the matter, preferably objective and neutral ones.


    After much thought, he could only seek Brother Reed¡¯s opinion. After all, the old monk, ninety-five years old (or so he claimed), had accrued wisdom ¡ª a fact even Winters had to admit ¡ª and moreover, Reed was a disinterested third party.


    ¡°Alright, enough, drink up and let¡¯s talk business. Is it really feasible to organize a Standing Peacekeeping Force in a small place like Wolfton?¡± Winters glanced at the nearly empty bottle on the table. It was customary to bring a gift when seeking advice, so Winters had brought a bottle of wine with him, not expecting the mendicant monk to become so talkative upon drinking.


    ¡°Done!¡± Brother Reed spread out his hands, ¡°It seems all I said before was for nothing.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Do I have to spell everything out for you?¡± Brother Reed said helplessly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s feasible. In a small place like Wolfton, with Gerard¡¯s support and yours, it will certainly succeed.¡±


    ¡°I think Wolf Town is too small to afford a salaried soldier,¡± Winters expressed his concern, ¡°to force the establishment of a peacekeeping force, isn¡¯t that just adding a burden to the civilians?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. Let Gerard handle the money, and you manage the people,¡± Brother Reed said dismissively, ¡°Military texts say fifteen working-age men can support one soldier. With you and Gerard working together, forming a small squad of constables should be a piece of cake. If full-time soldiers can¡¯t be sustained, then go for part-time farmers and part-time fighters.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be objections?¡±


    ¡°Who dares to object?¡± The old monk¡¯s eyebrows shot up, ¡°What is the peacekeeping force for?¡±


    Winters suddenly remembered the Standing Army of Vineta, which seemed more preoccupied with internal matters than external. His enthusiasm waned, ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll proceed according to Mayor Mitchell¡¯s wishes.¡±


    ¡°No! It must be according to your wishes,¡± Brother Reed said, stroking his beard at a leisurely pace, ¡°The key to the peacekeeping force lies in the selection of its members. You cannot entrust this to anyone else; you must pick them yourself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Consider what would happen if you let Gerard recommend and pick personnel,¡± the old monk chuckled, prompting Winters to think.


    After contemplating for a moment, Winters ventured a guess, ¡°All Dusans?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, if Gerard does the choosing, then the peacekeeping force will definitely be all Dusans,¡± Reed scoffed, ¡°The Dusans are brave and fierce, excellent horsemen, and how could any farmer compete with them even in a fair selection? But you aren¡¯t just the Garrison Officer for Dusa Village; you are for the entire Wolf Town. The structure of the peacekeeping force must be balanced, or the other villages won¡¯t accept it.¡±


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 Chapter 329 - 19 Two Guards_2

    Chapter 329: Chapter 19 Two Guards_2


    The old seer does speak sense, Winters mused with a nod, ¡°So what should we do? Select one person from each village?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, select one person from each village.¡± Brother Reed looked at Winters with satisfaction, ¡°Dusa Village can select two or three. That way, the Dusans won¡¯t have any idle talk. No one will be satisfied, but everyone can accept it. That¡¯s the subtlety of politics.¡±


    This kind of calculation made Winters feel bored, he sighed, ¡°Mr. Reed, there¡¯s something else I would like to ask for your advice on.¡±


    Then, Winters recounted Sergei¡¯s eulogy and carefully described the different reactions of the Dusans and the other villagers. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What exactly does Sergei mean? Who is Ralphnovich?¡± Winters asked, ¡°He seemed to only say a few words of praise, so why were the other Dusans so surprised?¡±


    ¡°Why do you care about the Dusan¡¯s affairs?¡± Brother Reed raised an eyebrow.


    ...


    ¡°Before Ralph passed away, he entrusted me with the care of his son.¡± Mentioning the old Hunter, Winters still felt a bit sad, ¡°I need to understand what Sergei meant and whether he has any ill will towards Bell.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Brother Reed sighed too, ¡°Ralph was indeed a rare good man, a pity.¡±


    The old Brother stroked his beard and said with a frown, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sergei probably means well. Ralphnovich means ¡®son of Ralph¡¯; he¡¯s trying to restore the status of Dusack to Ralph¡¯s son.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Isn¡¯t Bell a Dusan? Half a Dusan?¡± Winters was entering an area of ignorance.


    ¡°Dusans and Dusack, these are two different concepts.¡± Brother Reed explained, leaning on the table, ¡°To be accurate, Dusans aren¡¯t a race but a way of life. Those who follow a specific lifestyle are called Dusans; their bloodlines can be said to be a complete mess, with ancestors of all sorts.


    Moreover, not every Dusan is a Dusack. Ralph must have been stripped of his Dusack status, hence he couldn¡¯t live in Dusa Village. If the father isn¡¯t a Dusack, then naturally, the son can¡¯t be either. Sergei wants to restore the Dusack status for Ralph¡¯s son. This is a good thing for little Bell.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the status of Dusack is tied to the land,¡± Brother Reed countered. ¡°Do you know what the appanage system is?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Brother Reed, who had been sitting for too long and felt stiff, stood up and began pacing, ¡°In the Empire on the other side of Sheltering Mountain, the Dusacks are called ¡®the Emperor¡¯s whip.¡¯ They have a very special way of life; every male Dusack is born to serve for life, and must provide their own warhorse. As a reward, the Emperor grants them bountiful land, enough to make them affluent farmers and small landowners.


    The Emperor gives land to the Dusacks, so when he orders the Dusacks to kill someone, they do it without the slightest hesitation. Therefore, the Dusacks are mostly used to suppress rebellions; they never show mercy when killing farmers, that¡¯s why they¡¯re called ¡®the whip.¡¯ That is the appanage system.¡±


    Winters nodded as he listened, ¡°But if they are serving for life, how can they farm? What use is land to them?¡±


    ¡°Serving for life doesn¡¯t mean being in the army forever,¡± the old Brother smirked, ¡°The appanage system is a very complex one. Dusacks first serve a term of six years, then they can return home to their land. After an interval of several years, they serve a second term of three years. Life service means they are always on the roster, ready to respond to the call-up at any time.¡±


    Winters quietly uttered an ¡°oh.¡±


    Brother Reed continued thoughtfully, ¡°The problem is that the Dusacks¡¯ settlement is within the Empire, and the Dusans are subjects of the Empire. Although I¡¯m not sure how these Dusans ended up in Paratu¡­ But as far as I know, Paratu¡¯s council treats them the same way the Emperor does, exchanging land for loyalty. So for these Dusans, it¡¯s simply a change of master holding the whip, nothing else different.


    And among the Dusans, the men who serve for life are called Dusacks¡ªnaturally, women aren¡¯t. And only the Dusacks can serve, receive land, and start families. The status of Dusack is both a duty and a right. Sergei wants to allow Ralph¡¯s son to serve, receive land, and return to Dusa Village. It¡¯s a good thing for the boy, no need to worry.¡±


    Winters¡¯s biggest worry was that the local toughs would trouble the young Hunter. Now that he understood Sergei¡¯s intentions towards Bell were good, Winters also breathed a sigh of relief.


    As it was getting late, Winters took his leave from Brother Reed.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Over the following days, Winters and Gerard devoted their energies to mundane affairs.


    The wounds of Wolf Town were gradually healing. Life had to go on, and people began to stop bringing up those who had died, as if by this means they could forget the pain.


    The beast calamity began to slowly evolve from a vivid memory in people¡¯s minds into a fading tale recounted by the elders, all of which Winters observed closely.


    He visited every grieving family, encountered cold stares and hostility, but also gratitude. He could never make up for the loss of loved ones to their families, but he did everything in his power to provide comfort to the families of the deceased and injured.


    In comparison, organizing a standing militia was much simpler and easier.


    As the Garrison Officer, Winters changed the Sunday archery training into militia training.


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 Chapter 330 - 19 Two Guards_3

    Chapter 330: Chapter 19 Two Guards_3


    Every Sunday morning, the men from the villages would go to the town center to attend the worship service and then receive military training in the afternoon.


    Since the initial purpose was merely to prepare for beastly disasters, rather than to send the militia into battle, the training program Winters had devised did not include formations or close-order drills. It was simply basic weapon use, plus some tactics against wild beasts that Winters had summarized.


    The old Hunter was no longer there; Winters had originally wanted the militia to patrol the nearby woods once a week.


    However, he realized that patrolling and standing guard were the tasks requiring the most perseverance, something the militia certainly couldn¡¯t sustain in the long run. Therefore, all he could do was to instruct those who went into the mountains to collect firewood to pay extra attention to the situation within the woods. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The preparation for the public order militia was even smoother, as Winters unexpectedly found that money was not an issue at all.


    Although Wolfton only had a permanent population of less than ten, it was, procedurally, an unquestionable ¡°town.¡± Thus, after the villages were merged, two percent of the annual taxation collection was allocated as the town government¡¯s financial budget.


    ...


    And the mayor of Wolf Town was astonishingly incorruptible; Winters had never seen a public official as upright as Gerard Mitchell in his entire life.


    Mayor Mitchell ate and lived at his own home, rode his own horse, the horse¡¯s feed was also his own, and even the position of secretary was filled by Panveche, the butler who came with Mrs. Mitchell when she married.


    Apart from hiring farmers from the surrounding villages to repair the dirt roads in winter, there were no other expenses for Gerard after serving as mayor for more than a decade.


    Oh, there was one recent additional expense¡ªpaying Brother Reed, the clergy scribe, his copying salary.


    Panveche, the butler who also served as the scribe and accountant, kept the accounts very neatly, making the use and surplus of the town government¡¯s funds clear at a glance.


    The surplus from over the years had accumulated into a reasonable sum of money, more than enough to set up a small armory. Winters had no intention of making the public order militia too large; he even thought a ten-man squad [eight-person team] was a bit much.


    [Note: A ten-man squad is fully staffed with only eight men. ¡°Ten-man squad¡± is just the customary term.]


    Moreover, as a ¡°tax-farming official¡± by nature, Mayor Mitchell theoretically had the right to impose an additional ¡°security tax¡± on the people of Wolf Town.


    But considering Wolf Town¡¯s sound financial situation, there was no need for such a measure for the time being.


    After discussing and gaining understanding from the village heads of the five villages, the matters of the Wolfton town public order militia were quickly settled.


    Under Wolfton, there were five villages; Winters would select one person from each village to serve as a part-time guard.


    The part-time guards also received a salary and were not taken away from their normal lives. They provided services only when needed, such as helping maintain order on Sundays.


    On weekdays, the part-time guards lived in their villages like the other farmers and were responsible for the routine public order of each village.


    Winters would also select a few individuals to serve as full-time guards whose membership wasn¡¯t restricted to any single village and whose appointment was decided solely by him.


    The total number of both full-time and part-time guards combined would not exceed one ten-man squad [eight persons], meaning that there could be at most three full-time guards.


    As the old clergyman said: No one is completely satisfied, but everyone can accept it. Thus, in the end, no one opposed Winters.


    Winters actually found even having three full-time guards a bit excessive since he was usually in the town hall. With a Spellcaster officer stationed there, in reality, there was no need for any guards, as Lieutenant Montaigne alone could settle everything.


    Even considering the day he might return to Vineta, having one or two full-time guards in town would be sufficient, and Winters already had a very suitable candidate in mind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Me? You want me to be a guard in town?¡± Anglu, the young stable boy, widened his eyes, the bruises on his face still fresh. His voice was hoarse as he exclaimed, ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t be serious!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± Winters patted the stable boy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You can¡¯t be a stable boy forever, right? Being a guard won¡¯t interfere with your farming duties. You can start working in the town and continue until you¡¯re twenty. After you¡¯ve completed your service, you can take up the post again. I¡¯ve spoken to Mayor Mitchell; he¡¯ll hold the position for you.¡±


    Winters had always taken a liking to this small stable boy, familiar with horses, because he always reminded him of Bard. Not to mention, during the bear hunt, the stable boy had saved his life, which made him even more determined to find an opportunity to express his gratitude.


    Anglu looked down at his toes, humming softly, ¡°Actually¡­ I really like being a stable boy.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters was puzzled. ¡°Why?¡±


    According to Brother Reed, the status of a stable boy in Dusan society was not high, often assigned to punished Dusacks or Dusan men unfit for battle.


    ¡°Because as a stable boy, I can ride horses whenever I want. Being able to ride is enough to make me happy,¡± Anglu murmured. ¡°I don¡¯t own a Warhorse. If I¡¯m not a stable boy, I won¡¯t be able to ride at all, so I don¡¯t want to be a guard in town.¡±


    Winters laughed, ¡°Boy, being able to ride is enough for you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s enough,¡± the stable boy shrugged.


    Thinking it over, Winters decided to persuade him in a different way, ¡°Your Dusack service requires you to provide your own Warhorse, right?¡±


    ¡°When serving, we¡¯re given some money to buy a horse,¡± Anglu answered quietly.


    ¡°Is that money enough to buy a Warhorse?¡±


    Anglu¡¯s head drooped further, his voice even quieter, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°So, what will you do? Without a Warhorse, without gear, you can¡¯t go¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, ¡°¡­serve. Can you still get your allotment of land?¡±


    Anglu fell silent, the adolescent¡¯s immature mind nearly on the verge of tears after just a few words.


    Seizing the moment, Winters pressed on, ¡°You don¡¯t get paid as a stable boy, but being a guard in town comes with a salary. You can save the money you earn and, although you won¡¯t be able to ride freely for a while, by the time you reach twenty, your savings plus the horse-buying allowance should be enough to afford a Warhorse. Then you can serve. Once you return from your service and receive your allotment of land, you¡¯ll be a true Dusack, with your own land, Warhorse, and family¡­¡±


    Anglu burst into tears with a ¡°waah¡± and nodded in agreement to become a ¡°guard¡± in town.


    ¡°Why are you crying, boy?¡± Winters, unable to help himself, ruffled the stable boy¡¯s hair. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll never saddle up again. I can lend you Redmane to ride.¡±


    ¡°My mother¡­¡± Anglu, with sobs in his voice, ¡°¡­she hoped to see me become a Dusack before she passed. I never thought I¡¯d be one in my lifetime¡­¡±


    Winters felt a tinge of sadness himself; he squeezed the boy¡¯s shoulder, saying nothing.


    ¡°And¡­ Sir¡­¡± Anglu wiped away his tears with force, ¡°please don¡¯t wear out Rejek too much, you need to take good care of him. Since Trellgreen is gone, Rejek is the only stallion left for next year¡¯s village herd¡­ but you don¡¯t seem to care for him¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for Redmane¡­¡± Winters laughed in sheer exasperation, smacking the stable boy¡¯s head lightly, ¡°Then you¡¯ll take care of Redmane from now on. Once you¡¯re in town, you¡¯ll be in charge of tending to my horses!¡±


    Winters intended to appoint only two full-time guards in town and the young stable boy Anglu claimed one of the spots. The other had already been decided upon well in advance.


    The young Hunter, Bell, was brought from his cabin in the woods by Winters and became the second official guard of Wolf Town¡¯s watch.


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 Chapter 331 - 20: The Police Station

    Chapter 331: Chapter 20: The Police Station


    This was an ordinary day in early September, and there hadn¡¯t been any more violent animal attacks for over half a month. It seemed the wolf disaster was thoroughly over.


    Life in Wolf Town was gradually returning to normal, but in some ways, it would never be able to return to its original course.


    Winters had been in office for over a month, and he had gradually become familiar with and adapted to life in Wolf Town.


    The days here were bland and quiet, and the people around him were all very friendly. Before he knew it, his ¡°salted fish¡± attributes had stealthily awakened, and he began to entertain the idea: perhaps settling down in this quiet little town wasn¡¯t a bad choice.


    That afternoon, after leaving the carpenter¡¯s house, Winters went straight back to the town hall.


    Pushing the door open, Panveche was still hunched over his table, writing and calculating as always. Nodding in greeting, Winters walked into the office.


    ...


    Gerard wasn¡¯t in the town hall, and the only person in the room was the old mendicant monk Reed, who was comfortably dozing in a recliner by the window.


    Winters, irritated, lightly kicked the recliner. It took a while for the old man to slowly open his eyes.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Perhaps they snuck out to play?¡± Monk Reed replied indifferently.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°The master leads the way, personal cultivation is up to the individual. I¡¯ve always been¡­¡± The old monk yawned and with a sing-song intonation recited a foreign saying, ¡°[Celican] Jiang Taigong fishes, those who are willing will take the bait.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t understand what the old monk was saying in the latter half, but he knew that arguing with a charlatan was a complete waste of breath.


    He stormed out of the town hall, and yelled toward the backyard, ¡°All of you, get over here!¡±


    Soon enough, Bell was the first to come over with his head hung low, followed by Anglu, and then Pierre, the son of Mayor Mitchell.


    The three youngsters didn¡¯t dare to meet Winters¡¯ gaze, trying their best to avoid the lieutenant¡¯s eyes, and Winters rounded them all up and brought them back to the town hall.


    Monk Reed coughed softly and began to lecture with feigned seriousness, ¡°[Celican] I am well-versed and well-travelled, deigning to come enlighten you. Yet you boys fail to appreciate it, little do you know that while you may play today, you will surely regret it later¡­¡±


    ¡°Who understands what you¡¯re saying!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Don¡¯t use a language others can¡¯t understand to lecture!¡±


    After getting to know him better, Winters had discovered that the old charlatan liked to mumble in Far Eastern language whenever he had drunk alcohol or when he wanted to tease someone.


    ¡°I accidentally slipped into my mother tongue, sorry, sorry.¡± There was no hint of an apology in Monk Reed¡¯s expression, ¡°But these youngsters neglecting their studies, Lieutenant Sir, you are also responsible.¡±


    ¡°What responsibility do I have?¡±


    The old monk spoke eloquently, ¡°For something like basic education, Mr Panveche is more than capable. Isn¡¯t it a misuse of your great talent to have me doing this sort of thing?¡±


    ¡°I would be delighted to have Mr Panveche do it,¡± Winters said with a sneer, ¡°How about you take over Mr Panveche¡¯s clerical work and you two switch jobs?¡±


    It was only after bringing the groom and the young Hunter to town that Winters realized how appalling the two boys¡¯ level of education was.


    They could identify individual letters, but when strung together, they didn¡¯t recognize the words. Two boys, fifteen or sixteen years old, couldn¡¯t even write their own names, and they had to use their fingers to add or subtract numbers within ten.


    It wasn¡¯t really their fault, because most people in Wolf Town were illiterate. The Dusacks were even more so, and Mayor Gerard Mitchell himself was also illiterate.


    Winters, who hailed from the Republic, believed that possessing some writing and arithmetic ability would be very useful to Bell and Anglu. At the very least, they would be able to understand the simplest contracts and accounts in the future and not be cheated.


    Therefore, Winters decided to hire a teacher for Bell and Anglu, to teach them the most basic words and arithmetic.


    The most suitable for this job was, of course, Panveche. The middle-aged steward wrote a beautiful script and kept clear accounts. What was most admirable was that he was diligent, serious, and responsible.


    But Panveche was already burdened with multiple roles, including steward, scribe, and accountant, and his work was very busy. Winters really couldn¡¯t bear to add another burden to him.


    The cultural level of the two clerics at the Wolf Town church was also sufficient, and it was said that some great nobles would employ priests as family tutors, and the rest would simply hire someone to read and write for them.


    But Priests Anthony and Caman wouldn¡¯t come to teach two poor lads to read and do arithmetic, even if Winters himself asked.


    As for the other literate farmers and craftsmen in Wolf Town,they could barely read and write themselves, and teaching was probably beyond their ability.


    After much consideration, Winters realized that only Monk Reed was left as an option.


    Although the old mendicant monk was from the Far East, after his conversion and sanctification, he had also studied for several years at the Catholic seminary, so his educational level was beyond doubt.


    And based on Winters¡¯ own impressions: Reed did not have the inherent arrogance that other clerics did. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As ¡°God¡¯s shepherds,¡± even the most humble clerics are arrogant at heart, because they believe themselves closer to God and heaven than anyone else. The metaphor of ¡°shepherd¡± itself is the greatest arrogance.


    But Monk Reed, this old charlatan, did not have this problem. He could apply for a copyist job without a blush, and teaching poor boys to read probably wouldn¡¯t hurt his dignity. It was likely just as the old man himself said, ¡°I became a priest for the convenience of traveling.¡±


    So after some negotiations, Winters agreed to pay an extra salary for a teacher, and Reed agreed to teach Bell and Anglu literacy and arithmetic.


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 Chapter 332 - 20: The Public Security Bureau _2

    Chapter 332: Chapter 20: The Public Security Bureau _2 S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Winters hadn¡¯t anticipated that the old charlatan¡¯s laziness was an ingrained habit. The young Hunter and Horseboy often found excuses to skip out on lessons. Reed didn¡¯t mind; in fact, he was happy for the free time.


    ¡°Earning an extra salary, you should at least do some work, right?¡± Winters sarcastically said to the old charlatan.


    Unexpectedly, Brother Reed casually pointed at Pierre, ¡°If it¡¯s just teaching these two youngsters to read and do arithmetic, then Mr. Mitchell is surely up to the task.¡±


    The reason Pierre was there was because of his mother.


    Upon hearing that Lieutenant Montaigne had requested Father Reed to teach the two little Dusacks, Mrs. Mitchell sent Pierre over too.


    However, Mr. Mitchell was already literate and could do arithmetic. According to Gerard Mitchell, it was his wife¡ªMrs. Ellen Mitchell¡ªwho had personally taught their son when he was young.


    ...


    Winters had no choice but to explain that he had only asked Father Reed to enlighten the two little Dusacks, and that Mr. Mitchell wouldn¡¯t learn anything new.


    But to his surprise, Mrs. Mitchell replied, ¡°It would be beneficial for Pierre to spend more time in the company of Father Reed and Lieutenant Montaigne. The boy is always getting into trouble; we ask that you strictly supervise him for us.¡±


    With Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s reasoning, Winters had no room to object. Moreover, ever since he had arrived in Wolf Town, he was deeply indebted to the generosity of the Mitchell family. Compared to that assistance, adding another desk and chair beside the two little Dusacks was hardly a repayment.


    Thus, Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell became the third student of Brother Reed, who, far from refusing newcomers, did not take the opportunity to ask Winters for a raise.


    Anglu and Pierre were already playmates, and Bell, who had temporarily lived with the Mitchells during the wolf calamity, had also become part of their group.


    Nominally, Anglu and Bell were guards, but in reality, they had little to do. Pierre, as the sole child of the estate owner and mayor, also had nothing to do and was idly mischievous.


    The three little Dusacks, when together, didn¡¯t merely cause three times the trouble¡ªthey caused trouble to the third power.


    Whenever Winters left the town hall, the three boys would sneak away right after him. Old Reed would turn a blind eye, very pleased to have more time for a nap.


    Fortunately, all three had both respect and fear for Winters, so he still had them under control.


    Back inside the town hall, Pierre was caught off guard when Father Reed called on him.


    The old monk, without wasting words, wrote a few sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to Pierre, ¡°Kid, read this.¡±


    Pierre took the note, looking blankly at Father Reed.


    ¡°Read it!¡± The old monk, who knew not where he got the vine stick from, gave Mr. Mitchell a whack.


    Pierre jumped in fright and stammered, ¡°Clumsy, stupid Jinding Mountains. Fuck. Sheep. Herders¡­ is the best description for my friends¡­ Anglu and Bell.¡±


    Anglu and Bell initially struggled to hold back their laughter at the first part, but they were stunned when they heard the end.


    Brother Reed yawned and said indifferently to the other two little Dusacks, ¡°Do you understand now? If you can¡¯t read, you won¡¯t even understand when others are insulting you.¡±


    After that, Reed asked a few mixed operation math problems. Each time, he first asked the other two little Dusacks, and while they were still counting on their fingers, Reed would turn the question to Pierre.


    Pierre quickly gave the answers, but his voice became lower and lower, while the other two little Dusacks became increasingly ashamed and silent.


    Brother Reed yawned again and asked carelessly, ¡°You¡¯re about the same age. Pierre already knows how to read and calculate, what about you two?¡±


    The little Horseboy Anglu hung his head, and the young Hunter Bell clenched his fists tightly, staring at Father Reed. Pierre, at a loss, sought help from Winters with his eyes.


    ¡°Oh well, I won¡¯t be hard on you,¡± sighed Brother Reed, before scribbling something on the paper and passing it to the two little Dusacks, ¡°You two just copy the word I wrote here, and you don¡¯t have to come to class anymore. You can¡¯t fail to do even this, can you?¡±


    Bell was the first to grab a pen and paper, leaning over the table to get to work.


    The young Hunter wasn¡¯t writing; he was tracing. He imitated every curve very carefully, but still, his letters were crooked and twisted, like those of a child just learning to write. After finishing, he passed the feather pen to Anglu.


    Anglu looked pitifully at Winters, who nodded expressionlessly.


    So, the little stable boy also leaned over the table and copied it. However, because he pressed too hard, the tip of the feather pen broke off.


    ¡°No need to rush, write slowly, try to write better,¡± said the old monk, handing Anglu a new feather pen.


    In the end, Anglu also completed the ¡°copy,¡± his handwriting was even more dreadful to behold than Bell¡¯s.


    Monk Reed took the paper back and examined it carefully, then sneered and asked, ¡°Are you idiots? You just write when asked to write? Do you know what this is?¡±


    The two young Dusacks stood there petrified.


    The old monk unfolded the paper¡ªhe had handed out a folded sheet, and on a part Bell and Anglu had not seen, there was additional content.


    Monk Reed shook the paper in his hand and said, ¡°This is a ¡®slave contract,¡¯ and by signing it just now, you are no longer free men but my slaves. I can trade or execute you as I please.¡±


    The two young Dusacks were stunned.


    ¡°Think I¡¯m scaring you?¡± the old monk scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? Let the lieutenant and young Michel have a look.¡±


    With that, he passed the contract to Winters.


    After reading through it carefully, Winters said, ¡°This is indeed a standard personal rights trade contract. Paratu doesn¡¯t allow the use of slaves, but permits the slave trade, and Monk Reed now has the right to sell you elsewhere. However, this contract is not valid in Vineta, because Vineta does not allow any form of slavery. If you escape to Vineta, you¡¯ll be free.¡±


    Pierre took over the paper and, after reading it, also confirmed Winters¡¯s words.


    ¡°It was you who tricked us into signing!¡± Bell yelled angrily.


    ¡°Who can prove that?¡± the mendicant monk said with disdain, ¡°You were the ones who signed this contract in black and white. If anyone¡¯s to blame, it¡¯s you for being illiterate¡ªsigning anything without knowing what it is, not realizing you¡¯re being sold into slavery. Don¡¯t agree? Here! Pierre, you write it down too, just like I did.¡±


    After saying this, Father Reed thrust the contract into Pierre¡¯s hands.


    Pierre stood there dumbfounded, not moving to write.


    ¡°Look! Mr. Mitchell knows what this is and knows not to sign,¡± the old monk taunted. ¡°But what about you two? You know nothing, signing whatever I tell you to. You didn¡¯t learn the shrewdness of the Dusacks, inheriting only their recklessness.¡±


    Anglu was flushed with shame, while Bell¡¯s eyes were filled with fury.


    Monk Reed didn¡¯t waste any more words, tearing the contract in two and stuffing it into the hands of the two young Dusacks.


    ¡°Take it,¡± the old monk said with indifference. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be sold into slavery without warning in the future, go learn all the words on it with Mr. Mitchell. If he doesn¡¯t teach you, then he intends to trap you. Now, out you go.¡±


    Bell was the first to turn and leave the room; Anglu followed him, and Pierre also hastily pursued them after giving a bow.


    Once the three young Dusacks had left the town hall, Winters could not help but ask, ¡°Is it necessary to do this with a few children?¡±


    ¡°Sixteen is not so young. Had they not been Dusacks, they might have already married,¡± the old monk yawned. ¡°And who knows, maybe these kids will hate me for a lifetime, but they might never learn the lesson.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve thrown all the teaching work to Pierre, aren¡¯t you just collecting a salary for nothing?¡± Winters suddenly grasped the crux of the matter.


    Monk Reed laughed heartily, ¡°Teaching someone to read is not worth money; knowing how to teach someone to read is worth a salary.¡±


    While the lieutenant and the monk chatted idly in the town hall, a new wooden house was rising across the road.


    Whole logs were being transported from the logging site by cart, and carpenters, plasterers, and laborers toiled, sweating profusely, with one wall already erected.


    This was the number one event in town recently, an important piece in the puzzle of the prosperity and growth of Wolfton, longed for by Gerard Mitchell.


    This wooden house, projected to be even bigger than the town hall, is the future Wolf Town Security Office, which will have functions like the stationed officer¡¯s office, an armory, jail cells, and barracks for the guards.


    Whether Winters liked it or not, whether the impact was good or bad, he had ultimately left his mark on this land.


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 Chapter 333 - 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig

    Chapter 333: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig


    As dusk set in, two men were still bustling in the blacksmith shop.


    The elder blacksmith, Misha, held a red-hot iron billet while the younger blacksmith, Berlion, swung his hammer. Their shadows danced against the wall, following the flickering flames, as if performing some special kind of dance.


    With every strike from Berlion, Misha would adeptly adjust the angle. The two blacksmiths worked seamlessly together, swiftly forging a curved sword blank from the billet.


    Misha tossed the formed sword blank into an oil barrel and called for his assistant to prepare the hilt.


    Berlion went to the back of the shop to retrieve a wooden hilt made from the resilient and comfortable to hold edge material of oak, which had been pre-shaped to fit the user¡¯s hand.


    The hilt, carved with spiral grooves, was tightly wrapped by Berlion with milky stingray skin, glued together with glue made from fish bladders.


    ...


    After ensuring it was securely glued, the young blacksmith placed a can of black ink near the forge to warm it, and started to lacquer the hilt.


    For Winters, who was watching from the side, the earlier work of the two smiths, while interesting, wasn¡¯t anything special.


    But when the ink-dipped brush touched the stingray skin, he was dazzled.


    Under the effect of the black lacquer, an exquisite and meticulous pattern emerged on the originally unremarkable skin, tempting one to touch it at just a glance. The black ink had become a magical stroke that turned the decayed into the divine.


    The real marvel came afterwards, as Berlion, having completed lacquering and drying, pulled out a spool of silver wire.


    After securing one end of the silver wire to the tail of the hilt, the young blacksmith began to wrap it along the grooves. Soon, the black leather was divided into evenly spaced segments by the fine silver lines.


    There was no use of gold, no embedding of gems. Yet, in Winters¡¯ eyes, this sword hilt was no less exquisite than any royal¡¯s ceremonial sword hung at their waist.


    The black stingray skin contrasted with the bright silver wire, not only looking refined but also practical. The simplicity and elegance made the glittering ceremonial swords seem vulgar in comparison.


    Not only were Winters¡¯ eyes glued to the young blacksmith¡¯s hands, but even the old blacksmith Misha couldn¡¯t help but marvel.


    A door in his memory was flung open, and Winters suddenly recalled where he had seen similar craftsmanship, or rather, a similar style and aesthetic.


    It was on a dagger that had almost claimed his life¡ªthe hilt of Sofia¡¯s dagger was strikingly similar to this sword hilt.


    The wrapping of the silver wire was quickly finished, and the remaining finishing touches were simple, just assembling the various parts onto the blade before delivery. But it seemed to the young blacksmith, these were not yet the final touches.


    After temporarily fixing the sword blank, hilt, and counterweight, Berlion handed the sword to Winters, saying briefly, ¡°Try it for yourself first.¡±


    This was a single-handed sword, one of the weapons Winters had ordered days before. The blade was an off-the-shelf item Misha had someone buy from the city of Revodan, a journey that took nearly half a month for the traveling merchant to complete.


    Winters then pressed the tip of the sword into the ground and pushed downward, bending the blade to the side in an arch. When he let go, the blade sprang back naturally.


    The lieutenant narrowed his eyes to examine it, and the sword remained perfectly straight, showing no sign of warping.


    He hacked on the spherical anvil used for testing swords several times. As he gradually increased the force of his blows, the sword still held firm, experiencing no bends or breaks at the front.


    Winters nodded, pleased.


    Misha, the blacksmith from Dusack, lamented from the side, ¡°Man compares with man ¡¯til one is blue, goods compare with goods ¡¯til one is thrown through! The ready-made blades from the steel fort are much better than my work; if my swords were tested like this, they would have broken already. There¡¯s no comparison, not really.¡±


    ¡°These blades have been tempered again; they¡¯re a bit tougher,¡± the young blacksmith simply said.


    Winters swung the sword in the air a few times, the stingray-skin and silver-wire hilt feeling extremely good in his hand. It was comfortable to grip without being abrasive, and the grooves provided a way to wick away sweat, keeping the hilt from becoming slippery.


    ¡°The balance is a bit to the rear; adjust it a bit forward, to about a foot in front of the blade,¡± Winters returned the sword.


    The current center of gravity on this single-handed sword was near the blade, but Winters preferred it a bit more forward for more power in a swing.


    The advantage of a custom weapon is that everything can be changed, but in reality, there¡¯s not much that can be altered about the weapon itself.


    Special requests from buyers are mostly reflected in decoration, and that¡¯s why Winters was in the blacksmith shop¡ªMisha had invited him to come and pick a decorative style.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to etch any patterns on the blade?¡± the elder blacksmith couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters said with a smile, shaking his head, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that weaken the strength of the blade?¡±


    Misha waved his hands dismissively, ¡°No problem, it doesn¡¯t really affect it. After all, a sword should have some patterns on it to look nice.¡±


    ¡°I prefer simplicity,¡± Winters stated.


    Misha said regretfully, ¡°Etching is a real skill, probably only Berlion is capable of it in the whole region. It¡¯s really a pity not to try. Well, if you ever want to add some decorations to your sword, come back.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters pondered, then casually remarked, ¡°Even as a layperson, I can tell that your sword-making skills are truly impressive.¡±


    ¡°Me, an old guy, make swords? I only know how to forge farm tools,¡± Misha said with a pleased smile, patting the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulder, ¡°This lad is the truly skilled one! The swordsmiths in Revodan can¡¯t even compare to him. The only pity is that he¡¯s in such a small place; if he were in a big city, he would have made a fortune by now.¡±


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 Chapter 334 - 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_2

    Chapter 334: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_2


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± Berlion whispered, his brief words slipping out.


    The young blacksmith was quiet and sparing with his words, spending most of his time immersed in his work without a sound. If there wasn¡¯t any work, he would just sit on the chair in the corner, staring at the furnace.


    ¡°There is no need to be modest. Excessive modesty is a form of arrogance. With your skills, if you went to Sea Blue, you could have orders lined up until next year,¡± Winters said casually. ¡°I still don¡¯t know where your hometown is? Berlion.¡±


    ¡°To the north.¡±


    ¡°The Empire?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Where in the Empire?¡±


    The young blacksmith raised his head to meet Winters¡¯s gaze for a moment before quickly lowering it again: ¡°Solingen.¡±


    ¡°You are from Steel Castle? Little Berlion, I had no idea!¡± exclaimed the old blacksmith, surprised. ¡°No wonder your craftsmanship is so good, coming from the famed blacksmiths of Steel Castle.¡±


    Winters had heard a little about the renown of Steel Castle Solingen. He smiled and asked, ¡°Steel Castle is quite far from here, so how did you end up in Paratu?¡±


    Before the young blacksmith could speak, Old Misha interjected, ¡°The lad is a Protestant; he was not well received in the north.¡±


    Berlion nodded.


    ¡°Sigh!¡± Old Misha slapped his thigh, his voice tinged with sorrow, ¡°Every few years they find an excuse to persecute the Protestants over there. When I was in service of the old emperor, I was also ordered to do such things. Sigh, in those days, I was young and would chop down without distinction, sigh¡­¡±


    The older blacksmith grew increasingly upset as he spoke. The young blacksmith stopped his work and shook his head gently to signify ¡°it¡¯s alright.¡±


    Winters asked further, ¡°Did any family come with you?¡±


    ¡°My brother.¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s not a blacksmith?¡±


    ¡°He works as a laborer for the Bunting family.¡±


    No useful information was gleaned from the conversation. But the source of Sofia¡¯s dagger wasn¡¯t of particular concern to Winters. Sea Blue was a world away; what good would it do to find out?


    ¡°Please come for your sword tomorrow,¡± Berlion said.


    Winters was somewhat surprised, ¡°Isn¡¯t it almost done? Can¡¯t you finish it today?¡±


    ¡°The guard needs polishing, the balance needs grinding,¡± the young blacksmith explained briefly. ¡°I will work through the night; you can come collect it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Polishing is meticulous work, the fees for polishing can sometimes be more expensive than the armor itself,¡± the old blacksmith added from the side. ¡°You should head back now; this lad will definitely get it done for you.¡±


    The sky had darkened, and leaving town alongside Winters was Old Misha. The older blacksmith¡¯s home was in Dusa Village, and he rode back and forth on horseback every day. The young blacksmith, meanwhile, lived and slept at the forge and also looked after the shop.


    ¡­


    When Winters returned to the Mitchell estate, he saw its lights glowing from afar. The normally quiet estate after sunset was bustling with activity tonight.


    As the weather grew cooler, it was the last tobacco harvest season for the Mitchell estate.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, due to climatic reasons, tobacco needed to be harvested in three stages. The first two involved picking only portions of the leaves, while the third harvest involved picking all the remaining leaves.


    For the Mitchell estate, tobacco harvest season was the most important time of the year.


    Apart from a small portion reserved for growing food crops, the rest of the Mitchell¡¯s more than two hundred hectares of land was devoted to tobacco cultivation.


    Taxes, wages, purchasing seeds¡­ the operation of the Mitchell estate relied entirely on tobacco. Therefore, the tobacco yield determined the estate¡¯s income for the entire year.


    The harvest of the tobacco leaves was a backbreaking and tiring task, and speed was of the essence.


    It was now September, and frost could occur at any time. Once the tobacco was frosted over, the year¡¯s crop would be ruined.


    So when the tobacco leaves ripened, harvesters had to work as fast as possible to pick them while they were still perfect.


    The picked tobacco also had to be quickly tied, dried, and stored, otherwise the quality would be affected.


    That¡¯s why during tobacco harvest season, the Mitchell estate operated around the clock. Everyone, from the owners to the servants to the laborers, men and women alike, had to work in the fields.


    Even Pierre, who was usually idle, was dutifully plucking tobacco leaves in the fields.


    It wasn¡¯t just Mitchell estate toilers hard at work in the fields; many villagers from the five villages under the jurisdiction of Wolf Town also came to help.


    Apart from the Mitchell estate, other tobacco-growing estates also mostly harvested during these days.


    To recruit more hands, the estates offered high wages to the helping farmers.


    Therefore, tobacco harvest season was a rare opportunity for the farmers of Wolf Town to earn extra money, with men and women, young and old, pouring out from every village.


    It was already night, but bonfires burned in the fields as people continued to work.


    The division of labor during the entire harvesting process was clear. Those working in the fields would break the tobacco leaves from the plants in one piece, load them onto carts, and transport them to the curing barns.


    Individual leaves were then tied into bundles with thin twine outside the curing barns and hung on wooden racks. Binding tobacco required even more skill than picking it, and only handy women were up to the task.


    Thus, there were virtually no men seen working outside the barns. The speed of the women was incredible, with twine flying between their fingers. Onlookers could not keep up with their movements, as they quickly tied off one row after another.


    Neatly hung tobacco leaves were sent into the curing barns to dry, a process in which copious amounts of coal were used without stint.


    Inside the curing barns, only men were left working as the heat inside was intense. The workers, nearly naked, climbed up and down the ladders, a sight unfit for women to witness.


    Still, even without any clothes, those responsible for curing the tobacco leaves could only stay in the barns for a short while; otherwise, they risked suffocation.


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 Chapter 335 - 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_3

    Chapter 335: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_3


    Winters saw an amusing scene: Mrs. Mitchell and her little daughter were driving a horse cart laden with iron-hooped barrels. It seemed they were on their way to deliver drinks to the people working in the tobacco fields.


    Everyone else was busy, and the two ladies did not appear to be skilled at driving horses.


    The heavy draft horse, with thick skin and flesh, was unabashedly nibbling the wheat in the roadside fields, utterly indifferent to the whip¡¯s lashes from Mrs. Mitchell and her daughter and not showing the slightest intention to move forward.


    Seeing this, Winters immediately went forward to help. He wasn¡¯t skilled at driving either, but he could manage to lead the horse by the bridle and move forward.


    When they reached the tobacco fields, Mitchell¡¯s coachman saw the lieutenant leading the horse and quickly ran over to take over from Winters.


    Mrs. Mitchell smiled in thanks to Winters, while Miss Mitchell nearly buried her face in her mother¡¯s arm.


    ...


    Seeing everyone working hard on the estate, Winters suddenly felt a twinge of shame.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help out with the work, but you must remember to pay me,¡± Winters joked.


    ¡°I actually have a favor to ask of you,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said with a smile: ¡°Mr. Mitchell is on the west side of the smokehouse. Could you please go and assist him? He could use a reliable helping hand.¡±


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am,¡± Winters mounted Redmane and nodded in acknowledgment, then galloped towards the smokehouse.


    Before he even arrived, Winters understood what was happening ahead.


    A tempting aroma wafted through the air; it was the smell of roasting meat.


    A few dozen meters west of the smokehouse, Gerard and his old Dusack buddies were busy at work.


    The ground was covered with several huge arched wooden covers, with the smell and smoke seeping out through the slits in the boards.


    No sooner had Winters seen the construction underneath an uncovered lid: beneath the wooden cover was a pit nearly a meter deep, lined with stones on its walls, and its bottom filled with wood and charcoal fires¡ªit looked like a sort of makeshift oven.


    Seeing Winters approach, Gerard waved at him happily, ¡°Come on over! Give us a hand!¡±


    Only when Winters reached Gerard did he understand why such a big ¡°oven¡± was needed¡ªbecause it was meant to roast an entire pig at once.


    The whole pig, split from snout to tail, lay splayed on an iron frame, looking quite peaceful.


    Gerard filled the pit with charcoal and wood, and it took the combined strength of six men to lift the pig halves and iron frame onto the flames and then cover it.


    From a distance, pig squeals could be heard. Glancing at the traces of blood on the grass and the pig offal in wooden basins, Winters realized they were slaughtering and roasting the pigs right there.


    He counted six smoking pits already on the ground, and at the makeshift pigpen not far away, there were at least twice as many porkers.


    He asked in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t we roasting too many at once?¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If you invite folks over to work, you¡¯ve got to feed them well,¡± Gerard said with a smile all over his face.


    Old Sergei was there too, laughing: ¡°Mitchell¡¯s roast pig is famous far and wide. Not just the captain¡¯s family, but workers from other families too, they¡¯ll all come running when they smell it, abandoning their work.¡±


    ¡°Tobacco harvest season is a rare festival,¡± another familiar voice reached Winters¡¯s ears: ¡°Only at this time of the year do we have enough fuel and time to roast whole pigs. Boy, you¡¯re in for a treat; who knows when you¡¯ll have such a feast again!¡±


    ¡°How come you¡¯re here too?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the old mendicant monk.


    ¡°Came for the meat,¡± the monk answered simply.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you helping to lift the frame just now?¡±


    Monk Reed replied matter-of-factly, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t lift it, can I?¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ve got to go take a nap,¡± Old Sergei yawned: ¡°I¡¯ll come back later to relieve you.¡±


    With that, Old Sergei ran off to a nearby flat spot and lay down.


    ¡°Take a nap?¡± Winters had never seen such preparation: ¡°How long do we have to roast this for?¡±


    Gerard scooped up a cup of sweet wine from a barrel next to him and handed it to the lieutenant: ¡°About ten hours or so.¡±


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 Chapter 336 - 22

    Chapter 336: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test


    The first food processing method mastered by our ancient ancestors, who once ate raw flesh and drank blood, was undoubtedly ¡°roasting.¡±


    Roasting is intimately related to fire, as long as there is fire, there can be roasting. Or rather, it was for the sake of roasting that they sought to control fire.


    For these ancestors, roasting meat wasn¡¯t just a way of preparing food, but also bore the significance of a sacrificial ritual.


    In the times of Winters Montagne, people regarded cooking as the labor of lower classes and women. Men of status would not enter the kitchen, and families that could afford it would hire a maid to handle the cooking.


    But in those primitive tribes that still retained ancient ways, on the lands of the Herders and the people of the north, slaughtering animals and roasting meat was the men¡¯s responsibility.


    Meat distribution symbolized the power of the tribal leader; only the chieftain could wield the knife.


    ...


    This perception even infiltrated the language, where many words denoting power, tracing back through history to modern times, are closely related to slaughter and apportioning meat.


    The strong men standing before the bonfire, distributing precious meat to other members of the tribe, represented a picture of power and honor.


    Knowing this, it would not be surprising why Gerard Mitchell¡ªthe man of highest status in the entire estate¡ªtook personal charge of roasting the pig.


    Gerard¡¯s role in this task was not because roasting meat was easy. On the contrary, it was a more arduous task than harvesting tobacco. It demanded great effort and could only be managed by the most formidable men.


    Taking on the tougher job was not a punishment but a matter of honor.


    If Winters was familiar with the past of the Dusans of Wolf Town, he would be amazed to find that the old Dusans working on the roast with Gerard were all once the most formidable and bravest warriors among the Dusack.


    Only a Dusack who had proven himself on the battlefield was now worthy to stand next to Gerard and help him with the roasting.


    Unconsciously, Gerard, Sergei, and the Dusacks were sacralizing the act of roasting.


    Due to poor air circulation, the charcoal mostly smoldered throughout. Oil dripping onto the charcoal from the roast meat sizzled, and fragrant smoke wafted from the gaps in the lid.


    It was less of a roasting process and more akin to smoking.


    It indeed was a tiresome job. One couldn¡¯t simply throw in too much fuel at once, so those in charge of the roast could not sleep, needing to constantly watch the pit to prevent the fire from going out.


    That night, Winters and the old Dusacks watched over six roasting pits, periodically shoveling in timber and coal into the pit¡¯s bottom, lifting the lid to check the heat, flipping the meat, and sprinkling salt and spices on the golden-brown flesh.


    When there was no need to add more wood, everyone sat on small chairs next to the pits, enjoying drinks and chats while watching the flames leap within the fire basins.


    The atmosphere was leisurely and comfortable, with a bit of a ¡°boys¡¯ club¡± vibe. The old Dusacks happily reminisced about the past, told jokes, boasted, and passed around a bottle of strong liquor.


    Even Friar Reed seemed to have a thorough understanding of Dusack history. He blended seamlessly into the Dusans¡¯ conversation, occasionally dropping clever remarks that caused the Dusacks to burst into hearty laughter.


    Sitting by the fire as the meat slowly cooked was a delightful and pleasant affair¡ªsweet wine, laughter, warm fire, faint smoke, the aroma of roasting meat, and the crackling of wood¡­


    Winters, affected by the atmosphere, couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit tipsy as the wine bottle made a few rounds; even the Spellcaster, who rarely drank, became slightly inebriated.


    Unaware, the young Venetian found himself forgetting for the first time that he was thousands of miles away from home in a foreign land, enjoying everything like an ordinary resident of Wolf Town.


    Time spares no one; the old Dusacks gradually started snoozing, from time to time some couldn¡¯t stay awake and slipped away to the nearby grass to sleep, and then returned upon waking.


    Others came and went, came and went. The only ones who tirelessly stayed by the pits were Gerard, Winters, and Friar Reed.


    Gerard enthusiastically taught Winters the secrets of roasting, with Winters listening while also occasionally voicing his own questions.


    ¡°Why not simply use a big fire then? It would cook faster, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Winters asked.


    Gesticulating, Gerard explained, ¡°For small pieces of meat you can use a big fire. But for roasting a whole pig, if you use a big fire, the outside will burn while the inside remains raw. That¡¯s why you start with a big fire to sear the skin, then the rest of the time you use a low flame.¡±


    ¡°Roasting isn¡¯t as simple as just placing meat over a fire; not just the heat is important, but also the type of wood you use,¡± said the old friar, wide-awake, his eyes shining in the firelight, ¡°Different woods change the flavor of the meat.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Winters looked at Gerard.


    Gerard picked up a log split in half and handed it to Winters, ¡°Father Reed is right. This is walnut wood, take a sniff.¡±


    Winters took the piece of wood and brought it to his nose, the heartwood emitting a faint sweetness.


    ¡°I smell a sort of fragrance,¡± Winters commented.


    Feigning irritation, the old friar said, ¡°Would I lie to you?¡±


    ¡°When you smoke with a low flame, the sweetness of the wood also gets into the meat,¡± Gerard remarked admiringly to Father Reed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much about roasting.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it, I¡¯ve just eaten plenty,¡± the old friar laughed, patting his hands together; he gave Winters¡¯ shoulder a good pat, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate roasting. Mr. Michel¡¯s roasting is such a delicacy that it would be the grand finale on any royal table anywhere in the world, and enjoying such a taste is truly an honor.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh, you flatter me too much,¡± Gerard¡¯s face blossomed into a smile.


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 Chapter 337 - 22

    Chapter 337: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡±_2


    Sergei rubbed his eyes as he came over after a nap, yawning, he asked, ¡°Is it ready?¡±


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s still early,¡± Gerard replied.


    Old Sergei fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a pipe, sitting on a small chair, patiently packing the bowl with shredded tobacco.


    He stuffed, tamped it down, and repeated the process three times before he took a piece of burning wood from the fire pit, lit the tobacco, and began to puff away.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t had your fill of smoke today?¡± Gerard asked with a smile.


    The strong scent of tobacco wafted through the smokehouse, detectable even from a great distance. Whether or not they were accustomed to smoking, everyone at the Mitchell¡¯s estate had their fill of smoke that day.


    ...


    Sergei yawned again, ¡°Otherwise, I get sleepy.¡±


    Winters heard footsteps nearby as Vashka and Pierre approached from the direction of the tobacco fields.


    Sergei chided his son, ¡°Little rascal, have you been slacking off?¡±


    ¡°No, just came to see if the meat was ready,¡± Vashka said with a grin.


    ¡°It¡¯s still early.¡±


    ¡°Then we can help watch the oven too.¡±


    Old Sergei snorted, ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of helping here, you two lads are still a bit green. Get back to work and don¡¯t always be trying to slack off.¡±


    ¡°Then give us some meat to eat,¡± Vashka pleaded.


    Gerard stood up and signaled for two little Dusacks to lift the lid off one of the roasting pits. He drew a small knife and sliced off two pieces of slightly charred pig skin around the pork knuckles, dipped them in salt, and handed them to the two young Dusacks.


    After that, Gerard cut several pieces of meat from the ribs, sprinkled some salt on them, and handed them to a few others.


    For Winters, it was his first time tasting such delicious roast meat. The meat wrapped around the crunchy bones was savory and juicy, melting in his mouth, and despite having quite a bit of fat, it didn¡¯t taste greasy at all. And the only seasoning Gerard used was a bit of salt.


    The two young Dusacks licked their fingers and asked for a few more pieces of meat before they were willing to leave, and Sergei, too sleepy to keep his eyes open, went off to sleep, yawning.


    Then only Gerard, Winters, and Brother Reed remained by the roasting pit.


    The old monk was in high spirits, ¡°Lieutenant, did you know that over two thousand years ago there was a blind poet named Homer?¡±


    ¡°Though I never went to a grammar school, I¡¯ve read ¡®The Iliad¡¯ and ¡®The Odyssey,''¡± Winters said, unable to suppress a wry smile.


    ¡°Do you know what the heroes and demigods in Homer¡¯s work ate?¡± the friar asked and answered himself, ¡°Roast meat. When Odysseus paid a visit to Achilles, the latter served him pork and mutton. Animal flesh was ¡®the repast of the heroes beloved by the gods,¡¯ while ordinary people subsisted on grains. The heroes in the epics tasted the very flavor we are enjoying. Just like the bright moon above us, it¡¯s the same moonlight described by the ancients.¡±


    The old monk was showing off his erudition, Winters didn¡¯t bother to pay attention, but Gerard was listening intently.


    Seeing Gerard interested, the slightly tipsy Brother Reed began to recite large chunks of the epic in a rhythmic fashion. Winters didn¡¯t know where the old clergyman got his memory from, but Gerard grew more and more admiring as he listened.


    ¡°The heroes and demigods of the epics all personally cooked and shared the meat,¡± the old monk said to Gerard with a laugh, ¡°Mr. Mitchell hosting us with fine food is indeed a heroic role model among us¡­¡±


    The excited friar, drunk on the liquor, used a great deal of ancient grammar and pronunciation, not caring whether others could understand. Winters was confused by it all, while Gerard just kept chuckling.


    Suddenly, Winters realized, ¡°This old man¡­ he¡¯s not raving drunk, is he?¡±


    The jovial old monk was talking when he suddenly fell silent. Winters looked back to see another figure emerging from the night.


    Mrs. Mitchell nodded her head in greeting and shook the wine bottle in her hand, ¡°I¡¯ve brought something to drink for the gentlemen.¡±


    Gerard quickly stood up, ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Mitchell.¡±


    This couple still maintained their manners in daily life, referring to each other as Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell.


    Although Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell had the loud voice and quick temper of a Dusack,


    Winters¡¯s gut told him that the true master of Mitchell¡¯s was the gentle and wise Mrs. Mitchell, just as at the Serviati¡¯s, Kosa was the real head of the household.


    Mrs. Mitchell delivered the drinks and then found a small chair to sit down on. Not just Gerard and Brother Reed, but even Winters involuntarily started acting a bit more properly. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Winters¡¯s view, Mrs. Ellen Mitchell was an out-of-place figure in Wolf Town.


    This wasn¡¯t to say she was unwelcome, on the contrary, Mrs. Mitchell was extremely popular. Everyone in town adored her, but everyone was also somewhat afraid of her.


    The emotion was akin to plain mortals facing a beautiful and pure angel, feeling ashamed of their own ugly features.


    Dusack women had a wild, vivacious spirit. They would dance exuberantly with the young men, roll up their sleeves to milk cows, drive large animals like the men, wielding whips, and respond to catcalls with the coarsest of words.


    But Mrs. Mitchell was the complete opposite ¨C Winters couldn¡¯t quite describe it ¨C it was a refined, demure but not arrogant quality that inspired awe and deterred disrespect.


    Even the roughest Dusack would voluntarily remove his cap in Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s presence, and the laziest worker became disciplined before her.


    Mrs. Mitchell always spoke in a gentle and serene tone, her demeanor also always calm and composed. But the words that came from her mouth were more effective than a hundred shouts from Gerard, making everyone willing to obey.


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 Chapter 338 - 22

    Chapter 338: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡± _3


    Tyrants and the wealthy also have a similar talent, but Mrs. Mitchell did not rely on intimidation or bribery, the respect she garnered from those around her was entirely out of respect.


    Not only did the Dusacks respect her, but so did the farmers, and even the Protestants held the same respect for her.


    And respect for Mrs. Mitchell stemmed from her impeccable manners and abilities. Since moving into Mitchell¡¯s estate, Winters had never seen Mrs. Mitchell display a lack of manners.


    Mrs. Mitchell always kept sewing by her side, even when looking at account books; her back was forever straight, as if she had never bent it since birth; her demeanor always calm and indifferent, even when hearing the worst of news, she remained as usual.


    Winters could feel that beneath Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s gentle exterior lay a will of steel. Though a lady, Mrs. Mitchell commanded an involuntary awe.


    So much so, that Winters occasionally entertained a highly offensive thought against Gerard: how did a Dusack manage to marry a lady of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s nobility?


    ...


    ¡°Lieutenant,¡± Mrs. Mitchell nodded to Winters in greeting.


    Winters hastily returned the gesture, ¡°Madam.¡±


    ¡°Father Reed is also here,¡± Mrs. Mitchell greeted the old monk with gentle grace. ¡°My husband and I have a troubling matter and hope to benefit from your wisdom.¡±


    Monk Reed straightened up, saying solemnly, ¡°Please speak.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell looked at Gerard, nodded slightly, and then began to speak. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The affliction of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s heart was none other than Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell, the sole child of the Mitchell couple.


    Before Pierre, the Mitchell family had lost two boys and a girl ¡ª not unusual for the times.


    So when Pierre was born, he almost received all of the Mitchell couple¡¯s love. The solemn and serene Mrs. Mitchell treated her son with full tenderness and love, and Gerard spoiled him even more.


    In front of Pierre, the couple could not take on the strict parent demeanor, and this caused Pierre to grow up almost uncontrollably.


    Mrs. Mitchell certainly did not expect her son to be just a Dusack, but Pierre seemed to have inherited more of his father¡¯s rough, savage, and irritable Dusack nature.


    This became apparent when Pierre was very young, causing Mrs. Mitchell much distress. But Gerard was unconcerned, always laughing as he lifted his son, praising him for having Dusack blood.


    When Pierre was ten, Mrs. Mitchell wanted to send her son to the grammar school in the capital of the Republic of Palatu, Kingsfort.


    Naturally, the young Dusack would rather die than comply, and this time Mrs. Mitchell took on a parental attitude, forcibly sending Pierre to Kingsfort.


    But unexpectedly, in just two months, the grammar school sent Pierre back, stating ¡°We can neither control nor teach this child.¡±


    Because he was called a ¡°Tartar,¡± young Pierre had injured several classmates, broken an arm, and eventually even burned down a barn.


    Mrs. Mitchell scolded her son thoroughly, yet Gerard secretly told his son he did well.


    Thus, over the next few years, Pierre shuffled through each and every grammar school within the territory of Palatu, and even attended seminaries and law schools.


    But whether three or four months at most or one or two at least, the young Dusack would be expelled and sent home. Eventually, in the entire Republic of Palatu, there was no school that Pierre could attend.


    For Gerard, having a son who rode well, was courageous, danced lightly, and drank like a man made for an excellent young fellow, and he had no excessive expectations for his son. But Mrs. Mitchell did not wish for her son to become a Dusack who only knew how to wield a saber.


    As Pierre grew older, Gerard gradually came to understand his wife¡¯s worries.


    Dusan men are bound to a lifetime of service from birth, and Gerard was well aware of the dangers of a military life, as well as the pain of serving Dusacks unable to return home.


    But the Dusacks¡¯ lifelong military service had nothing to do with wealth; no matter how much land one owned at home, even if one had no need to be granted land, a man would still be conscripted when of age.


    The only way to avoid conscription was to obtain a civil or church office, but Pierre had nowhere left to pursue his education.


    In a few more years, when Pierre reached twenty, he would have no choice but to leave Mitchell¡¯s estate to serve a six-year term.


    Having explained the situation, Mrs. Mitchell hesitated before asking, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, forgive my boldness¡­ Do you think Pierre could attend a military academy?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s attitude toward education and culture confirmed Winters intuition: Ellen Mitchell was not a Dusan. Pierre was not a Dusan name, and neither was Ellen.


    However, although he bore a non-Dusan name, Pierre was a Dusack through and through.


    Winters sighed and answered sincerely, ¡°Madam, it might be a bit late for Pierre to apply for the military academy now. Because the vast majority of cadets enter the military preparatory school at nine years old.¡±


    Winters then shared everything he knew candidly, elaborating in detail about the military¡¯s educational system and the difficulty of external admissions.


    These were no secrets to those in the know, but to those unaware, it was as if locked in an iron safe.


    Listening to Winter¡¯s explanation, Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s expression grew increasingly somber.


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 Chapter 339 - 22

    Chapter 339: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡±_4


    ¡°The heart of parents is a deep abyss.¡± the old monk sighed and said to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°If you wish for Pierre to attend the seminary, I can indeed recommend him. However, clergy must take the vows of ¡®poverty, chastity, and obedience,¡¯ and cannot have legitimate offspring¡­ I am willing to help, but you both need to think it over, and it is essential that Mr. Mitchell himself be willing.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell looked crestfallen and politely thanked Brother Winters and Reed, and left somewhat distraught.


    It was the first time Winters saw Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s composure waver; he and the old monk exchanged a glance and simultaneously sighed.


    Gerard also became silent and melancholic, barely managing to perk up to continue tending to the roasting pit.


    And the night continued on. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not until the following morning did the whole roasted pig, smoked throughout the night, finally come out of the oven.


    ...


    The pigskin was roasted to a beautiful orange hue with a hint of char. The succulent juicy meat had separated from the bone. The hock could easily be removed from the whole pig, and the ribs and spine slid out of the pork on their own.


    As Sergei had said, not only did the people working on the Mitchell Estate come, but people from other estates also arrived, drawn by the news, to savor the feast.


    Aside from the roast, the Mitchell Estate also offered an unlimited supply of pickles, fresh fruits and vegetables, sweet beer, and bread.


    Some wrapped chopped meat and sour gherkins in flatbread to eat, while others enjoyed large pieces of pork with beans and vegetables. Everyone had their own way of eating, and everyone who tasted the roast praised it highly.


    Catholics, Protestants, and Dusacks, all of whom had viewed each other with enmity, cast aside their identities and religious differences to sit down and share the meal together.


    For those who had not witnessed this scene firsthand, it was unimaginable.


    Gerard leaned back against a tree, sipping sweet beer, watching everyone enjoying the roast with a look of complete satisfaction on his face.


    Not just Gerard¡ªwhen Winters saw the people joyfully tasting the fruits of their labor from the previous night, he felt a surge of satisfaction and pride swell in his heart as well.


    After eating their fill, the tobacco harvest season continued.


    Having returned to his room, Winters felt as though he had only slept for a short while before being woken up again. He looked out the window where the sun was already sloping westward.


    Miss Michel hesitantly knocked on the door, ¡°Mr. Montaigne! There¡¯s someone here to see you!¡±


    He composed himself and followed Miss Michel to the estate¡¯s main entrance, where a troop of Cavalry was waiting at the door.


    The visitors were not wearing Vineta military uniforms. Winters instinctively reached for his waist, but there was nothing there¡ªhis sword was still at the smithy.


    The leading officer, dressed in a cavalry uniform, saw Winters and rode up to meet him face to face.


    ¡°Are you the officer stationed in Wolfton?¡± the officer asked with a distinctly unfriendly tone.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters replied, neither servile nor overbearing.


    Without a word, the officer lashed his whip viciously on the lieutenant¡¯s left shoulder.


    With a ¡°crack,¡± the unprepared Winters staggered from the blow as Miss Michel let out a scream.


    The officer raised his hand to whip the lieutenant again, but the next second, the whip slipped from his grasp.


    Winters, holding onto the end of the whip, yanked it forcefully out of the officer¡¯s hand.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s eyes were practically shooting flames, unable to contain his anger any longer.


    At that moment, a crazy thought flashed through his mind: kill all the cavalry in front of him and steal their horses to escape back to Vineta.


    ¡°Ha, so you¡¯ve got some spirit,¡± the officer shook his wrist and asked with a sneer, ¡°For allowing smugglers to pass through your area of responsibility, what should your crime be?¡±


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 Chapter 340 - 23 Pursuit

    Chapter 340: Chapter 23 Pursuit


    The mounted officer, towering above, berated loudly, ¡°Worthless! An entire smuggling caravan disappeared within your jurisdiction! Are you neglecting your duty or were you in on this all along? Speak!¡±


    The lieutenant remained silent, flames nearly leaping from his eyes.


    The guard beside the officer noticed the lieutenant¡¯s gaze. He nudged his horse a step forward, subtly positioning himself between the lieutenant and the officer, his right hand gripped tightly around his sword hilt.


    The officer thought he was dealing with an incompetent low-ranking military official; he did not realize that he was facing a spellcaster on the brink of losing control.


    Winters Montagne was on the verge of losing control.


    Since the moment he had been escorted to Paratu, Winters¡¯s negative emotions had been accumulating, and even he had not realized it.


    ...


    Even on the harshest days on the islands, he always had supportive people around him. But in Wolf Town, he was alone.


    This was the moment his will was at its weakest. Any further hostility from the officer might completely evaporate the Venetian¡¯s s remaining sanity, leaving only violent and cruel instincts.


    The warhorse, sensing the searing rage, shuffled its front legs restlessly.


    Lady Michel instinctively clutched Mr. Montagne¡¯s arm.


    The officer noticed the lieutenant¡¯s clenched fists, and a nameless anger rose in him. He was about to continue chastising the insubordinate junior officer in front of him when a certain indescribable intuition stopped him from acting.


    Many figures came running from the direction of the Michel estate.


    Hearing the scream of Lady Michel, the Dusacks grabbed their tools and rushed out. Leading them was Sergei, the old man holding a sickle he¡¯d picked up from who knows where.


    Approaching closer, Sergei realized the gravity of the situation.


    A Dusack, not recognizing his own mother, certainly would not mistake a military uniform. Old Sergei cursed under his breath: They were confronted with a military official, and a high-ranking one at that.


    Sergei Morozov, a Dusack who feared neither heaven nor earth, turned to jelly only at the sight of a military uniform.


    But now, he had no choice but to face the music.


    Mustering his courage, the old man stood beside the lieutenant, swallowing his saliva nervously and shouted defensively yet apprehensively, ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡±


    The officer snorted disdainfully and gestured to the guard beside him, not even sparing a glance at the peasant before him.


    Unbeknownst to him, his attitude somewhat reassured Sergei.


    The other Dusacks also arrived one after another, each startled by the sight of the officer¡¯s uniform. Looking at each other, no one dared to speak.


    The officer¡¯s guard took the silver whistle hanging from his neck and blew it forcefully.


    The cavalry outside the estate noticed that something was amiss. As the sharp whistle sounded, they quickly moved toward their commander.


    While a few cavalrymen charged straight toward the scene along the path, the rest of the cavalry leaped over the fences to flank from both sides. They raced through the bean fields without a care, trampling and smashing the crops under their hooves.


    The smaller group of cavalry somehow ended up surrounding the Dusacks.


    This was a true cavalry unit, not mere horsemen or mounted infantry, but cavalry trained strictly for combat. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their military swords were not loosely hanging at their sides but were instead tucked between the horse¡¯s back and their thighs, ready to be drawn at any moment.


    The cavalrymen edged closer bit by bit, narrowing the space around the Dusacks. Those holding farming tools became somewhat panicked, though not yet out of control.


    Old Dusack Aleksei slowly moved closer to Sergei, whispering to his companion, ¡°Vladimirovich, do you see? That¡¯s at least half a squadron!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting them, it¡¯s not half a squadron,¡± Sergei replied irritably. ¡°Just over thirty horses; that¡¯s just one platoon.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°How the hell would I know!¡±


    As the Dusacks murmured among themselves, several figures hurried over from the estate.


    ¡°I¡¯m the mayor of this town.¡± A path formed in the crowd seemingly on its own, and Gerard approached the front of the officer¡¯s horse: ¡°May I ask what I can do for you in Wolf Town?¡±


    Gerard was out of breath, obviously having run all the way after hearing the news. Seeing Captain Michel arrive, the Dusacks all breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone hanging over their hearts finally dropping to the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re the mayor?¡± The officer glanced at the sturdy man before him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you not know that yesterday a large band of smugglers crossed the Big Horn River from Wolf Town?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I was not aware.¡±


    ¡°Wolf Town¡¯s Garrison Officer has been neglecting his duty,¡± the officer stated coldly. ¡°Have you made any accusations or reports?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s face faltered.


    ¡°Colonel, I must disagree with your statement,¡± another voice tinged with an accent emerged from the crowd. ¡°Everyone here, as well as all the gentry of the town, can attest that Captain Michel and Officer Montagne have always been diligent and responsible in their duties, never negligent, and therefore there was no need for accusations or reports.¡±


    Unknown to them, an old mendicant had come to stand beside Winters. He surreptitiously squeezed Winters¡¯s arm and took the riding crop from his hand.


    The old mendicant walked up beside the officer, handing over the riding crop with a clergyman¡¯s amiable smile: ¡°I¡¯m Father Reed of this parish. How might I address you, Colonel?¡±


    ¡°I am not a Colonel, you may call me Lieutenant Colonel Castor,¡± he replied as he took the riding crop and flipped it a few times, sneering back, ¡°Diligent and responsible? So responsible that they didn¡¯t notice a large group of smugglers crossing the border? Or was it that they were all in on it together?¡±


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 Chapter 341 - 23 Chase_2

    Chapter 341: Chapter 23 Chase_2


    ¡°The Big Horn River stretches over seventy kilometers within Wolfton territory, with vast uninhabited wastelands all along its banks. How could Lieutenant Montagne alone possibly manage such a lengthy riverway?¡±


    ¡°Although the river is long, there are only three fording places.¡±


    ¡°But even those three crossings are at least twenty kilometers apart from each other, with the northernmost one being over forty kilometers away from here. A round trip would take an entire day, though it is closer to Blackwater Town.¡± The old monk spoke with veiled sharpness, ¡°If you believe that Lieutenant Montagne alone can handle this band of smugglers, why then, have you brought your elite subordinates here with you?¡±


    Colonel Castor was at a loss for words. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this moment, a large number of people rushed from the estate. The farmers harvesting tobacco leaves also noticed something unusual at the estate¡¯s entrance.


    Having heard that a group of unidentified individuals had detained Mayor Mitchell and Lieutenant Montagne, the villagers and laborers clamored, carrying their farm tools to help.


    ...


    For these disorganised farmers, their numbers were their confidence, and it was now the busiest time of the year on Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Because of herd mentality, men and women gathered in increasing numbers, all moving towards the estate, and those Dusacks who couldn¡¯t make it at first also rode over on horses.


    In an instant, there was a sea of people, creating quite an intimidating presence.


    Not only were Colonel Castor and his cavalry taken aback, but so were Gerard and the Dusacks; the situation was getting increasingly difficult to control.


    Brother Reed looked toward Gerard, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, please take a few people and persuade everyone to go back. Time is precious. Don¡¯t delay the tobacco harvest.¡±


    Gerard was first stunned, then nodded and hurried off with a dozen or so older Dusacks.


    ¡°Colonel, by your account, the smugglers have already crossed the border. Hence, dwelling on who¡¯s at fault is now utterly meaningless. What¡¯s most important is how to solve the problem, isn¡¯t it? Please, feel free to say what you need from Wolfton,¡± the old monk looked at Castor again, speaking in a relaxed manner, ¡°Bear in mind that we Wolfton folk loathe smugglers intensely. We¡¯d love to eat their flesh and wear their skins.¡±


    Colonel Castor was silent for a while, then spoke with a cold face, ¡°Please provide accommodations for me and my men; we¡¯ll handle our own food. Our horses need a covered area to rest, do not feed them haphazardly, give them quality feed.¡±


    The demands of the Colonel were not complicated, and the old monk readily agreed.


    Castor gathered his cavalrymen together: ¡°Those guys won¡¯t get far. Tonight, we¡¯ll rest up here and rejuvenate, then catch up to them all at once tomorrow!¡±


    After dispersing the farmers who wanted to help, Gerard returned to the main entrance, where Brother Reed meticulously explained the situation to him.


    Gerard listened and nodded, then led Colonel Castor and the cavalry to another estate that had spare rooms to offer them lodging.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Just before leaving Mitchell¡¯s estate, Colonel Castor asked the lieutenant.


    Winters had regained most of his composure, but the anger had yet to subside: ¡°Winters Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Your rank?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember you, Lieutenant Montagne,¡± the Colonel pointed his riding crop at Winters¡¯ nose, ¡°You¡¯re not satisfied, are you? Tomorrow, bring all the manpower you can find and join me in the chase. I want to see how capable you really are.¡±


    Having said that, Colonel Castor strode off without looking back.


    The Colonel¡¯s guard gave Winters a deep look and then rode off as well.


    ¡°According to the officer¡¯s intentions, we¡¯ll be heading out before dawn.¡± Sergei discussed the matter among himself and the other older Dusacks, ¡°We¡¯ve got to notify the Dusacks house by house tonight. Let¡¯s split up to find them, we must inform everyone, and have the young and old masters get the horses ready tonight.¡±


    Aleksei shook his head a few times, ¡°Should we notify the Bumpkins? Call up the militia from the other villages as well, to have more people.¡±


    ¡°Call them my ass!¡± Sergei didn¡¯t spare his old brother any face, ¡°The officer¡¯s men all have four legs, do the Bumpkins have horses? Can they chase on two legs?¡±


    Aleksei meekly shut his mouth.


    Sergei smacked his lips and continued, ¡°The round trip might take more than a day. When you tell the young and old masters, also mention to have their wives prepare some dry food and water to bring along, plan for three days.¡±


    As Sergei was pondering, he suddenly remembered that Lieutenant Montagne was still with them, and it wasn¡¯t his place to make decisions.


    He quickly looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant, I mean no disrespect. Whether or not to call the militia is up to you. If you say we need them, I¡¯ll go and inform them. We¡¯ll follow your orders. But honestly, having the Dusacks is enough. We¡¯ll make sure we do you proud and not hinder the operation¡­¡±


    ¡°No need to notify anyone.¡± Having said that, Winters also left.


    Aleksei looked at the bean field in front of him and sighed, ¡°That officer¡¯s subordinates are really good riders, easily jumping fences over a meter high¡­ It¡¯s just too bad for these beans, they¡¯re almost ripe¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The next morning, at dawn.


    The sky turned from black to gray, gradually beginning to blue.


    ¡°Damn it! What? Escaped?¡± Colonel Castor cursed furiously, ¡°[Expletives in Paratu]!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t exactly say he has escaped.¡± Old Sergei¡¯s expression was awkward, ¡°It¡¯s just that he can¡¯t be found.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as having run away?¡± Castor slammed his fist on a wooden post, seething with rage, ¡°That little¡­ cocky kid¡­ Is he not all guts? And now he¡¯s run away? Run away? Damn it!¡±


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 Chapter 342 - 23 Assassination_3

    Chapter 342: Chapter 23 Assassination_3


    The Dusacks stood aside, their eyes fixed on the ground, none daring to look up.


    Castor swung his military sword and bellowed, ¡°Chase him! Bring him back to me! For neglect of duty, desertion! I¡¯ll execute him myself!¡±


    The lieutenant colonel¡¯s guard cautiously reminded, ¡°Sir, we still need to chase ¡®that thing¡¯¡­ That Venetian won¡¯t get far. Send word to Revodan, let others catch him.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor grew angrier the more he thought about it. ¡°Who was the last to see Winters Montagne yesterday?¡±


    The Dusacks exchanged glances, sharing information among themselves, before calling over the blacksmith Misha. The old blacksmith hadn¡¯t joined the chase due to an injury to his leg.


    ¡°Were you the last to see the deserter Montagne?¡± the colonel asked.


    ...


    The old blacksmith scratched his head. ¡°I report to you, sir, I don¡¯t know if I was the last to see the lieutenant.¡±


    ¡°What did he come to you for?¡±


    ¡°To pick up the sword he¡¯d ordered.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Did he say where he was going?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Castor realized he would get nothing from the blacksmith and, grinding his teeth, asked, ¡°You¡¯re all covering for him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± the old blacksmith said, waving his hands repeatedly.


    Castor let out a roar of fury and chopped a wooden ladder next to him in two.


    ¡°Just wait, once I catch him, not one person who shielded him will get away!¡± Castor glared at the Dusacks hatefully. He forcefully sheathed his military sword: ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Reporting to the sir,¡± the old blacksmith said, scratching his head again. ¡°It seems the lieutenant also bought a bag of nails¡­¡±


    ¡­


    At the Mitchell estate, young Mistress Michel held her mother and wept bitterly, ¡°Mother, did Mr. Montagne really leave?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell gently patted her little daughter¡¯s back and said earnestly, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne was never truly of this place. We shouldn¡¯t be sad; we should pray for him. Pray that he may safely return to his father and mother.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, why did he leave?¡± Sergei led the horse and sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t even know where he went.¡±


    Gerard shot Sergei a look. ¡°Stop talking.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Sergei rarely talked back to his elder brother. ¡°I just wanted to see the lieutenant off, to at least send him on his way.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Brother Reed, has Big Brother Winters truly left?¡±


    The old mendicant monk stroked his beard and spoke indifferently, ¡°You must understand, Pierre. For Winters, leaving like this might actually be a blessing. ¡®What seems to be misfortune can be the ground for fortune, and what appears as fortune may hide impending misfortune.¡¯


    ¡­


    And many others: Father Caman, the young stable boy Anglu, the young Hunter Bell¡­ were still unaware of this news.


    ¡­


    Before departing, Castor chose three of his best riders. He said to the first one, ¡°Take this note to Revodan, see to it that they dispatch their fastest horses to search along the way.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel instructed the remaining two, ¡°That Venetian is definitely heading back to Vineta. You two go directly to all the garrisons on the route to Vineta, have them set up checkpoints along the way¡­ ¡±


    While Lieutenant Colonel Castor was still giving instructions, he and his Cavalry heard an excited shout: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne is back!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Castor erupted in anger.


    ¡°Over there!¡± a Dusack pointed excitedly toward a hill a hundred meters away: ¡°Rejek!¡±


    The colonel looked up to see a red horse leap from behind the hill and dash down like thunder. The rider became clearer in view, reaching Castor in a blink of an eye.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montagne!¡± Castor roared furiously. ¡°You deserted your pos¡­¡±


    ¡°Thud¡±


    ¡°Thud¡±


    Colonel Castor¡¯s words were interrupted by two heavy impacts.


    The lieutenant removed his saddlebag and threw it in front of the colonel.


    A head rolled out of the blood-soaked saddlebag, stopping at Castor¡¯s feet. The colonel looked down to meet a pair of lifeless eyes.


    ¡°The cart is on the west side of Fengping Ferry. Move it yourself.¡±


    The lieutenant wiped his nose; riding all night, sweating and getting chilled, it seemed he¡¯d caught a cold.


    ¡­


    The peace agreement between the Herders and the Paratu People prescribed: The land west of Big Horn River shall not be cultivated by the Paratu People; the land east of the Red River shall not be grazed by the Herders.


    Thus between them, a nearly hundred-kilometer ¡®no-man¡¯s land¡¯ was preserved.


    Big Horn River had thus become the natural boundary on the west side of Wolf Town.


    Thirty kilometers west of Fengping Ferry¡¯s ford, Castor found the smugglers¡¯ caravan.


    The goods were intact, their fully armed corpses scattered everywhere, just minus their heads.


    From the traces at the scene, what Lieutenant Montagne did was simple: He charged into the caravan and killed half the people first, then he started to hunt down the other half.


    The more Castor¡¯s guard saw, the more terrified he became.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the guard said to Castor with dread. ¡°I think that fellow might have really been intent on killing.¡±


    ¡°Dammit!¡± the colonel cursed, slapping his thigh. ¡°That bastard didn¡¯t leave me a single survivor!¡±


    ¡­


    Before Castor¡¯s cavalry left the Mitchell estate.


    Castor found Winters, who was washing his hands.


    ¡°Get ready. Wolf Town is soon to levy troops, forming a hundred-man squad,¡± the colonel said.


    The lieutenant paused, ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°Kid, I¡¯m repaying a favor to you. Now you know, better to be aware before being conscripted. Whether or not today¡¯s events happened, Wolf Town was going to draft troops; that was decided long ago. The sooner you know, the more you can prepare,¡± Castor huffed coldly.


    The colonel left, and the lieutenant continued to wash his hands vigorously, over and over again.


    Winters felt a tinge of fear, not from the killing, but because after the killing, he felt¡­ calm.


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 Chapter 343 - 24 Lieutenant Mason

    Chapter 343: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason


    After Castor¡¯s ¡°unexpected visit,¡± Winters followed the agreement and headed to Blackwater Town to meet with Bard and Andre.


    Since they had been dispersed and deployed, this was the first time the three of them gathered together. After a long absence, their reunion was especially warm, with endless topics to talk about.


    Bard clicked his tongue in wonder as he circled Redmane, examining the horse, even lifting its hooves one by one for inspection, and gave his verdict, ¡°This is a good horse.¡±


    ¡°Like you needed to say it?¡± Andre retorted with a laugh.


    Without spending the night in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard changed to the horses Andre had borrowed from Dusa Village in Blackwater Town, and the three immediately set out to meet the ¡°senior¡± Bard had mentioned.


    ¡°Which class of senior is it?¡± During a pause on the road, Andre couldn¡¯t help but ask Bard, ¡°Do we know him?¡±


    ...


    ¡°You two definitely don¡¯t know him, nor do I. He¡¯s my squad leader¡¯s squad leader.¡±


    The smallest organizational unit in the Alliance Land Academy¡¯s Officer Academy is a ¡°squad,¡± in which officer cadets from the first, second, and third years are simultaneously assigned.


    Thus, an officer cadet in the academy could be exposed to peers from two classes above and below his own.


    Wolf Town and Blackwater Town were so remote that a horseback trip to the county seat city of Revodan and back would take more than four days. And since Revodan itself is a frontier city, Winters and Andre had hardly any visitors.


    However, Bard¡¯s station at Saint Christopher Town, hereafter referred to as Saint Town, was different. Saint Town was located on a thoroughfare between two counties, with very convenient transportation.


    The hardened Guzhi Road ran through the town, and troops often passed through Saint Town when being deployed.


    Some of the seniors from Paratu whom Bard knew well had heard that their junior was assigned to Paratu and visited him several times, either making a special trip or passing through.


    Therefore, Bard was somewhat more informed than Winters and Andre; Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cherini were truly unfamiliar with the place, completely in the dark.


    Bard learned from the ¡°squad leader¡± who was responsible for guiding him when he was a new cadet: Apart from the officers stationed in Revodan city, there were only four Land Academy graduates in the entire county.


    There was no need to mention who the three unlucky ones were. The other one was a senior whose station was just south of the county seat, about forty kilometers away from Blackwater Town.


    According to what Bard¡¯s squad leader said, that person was a squad leader¡¯s squad leader. Meaning, he was four classes senior to Winters, Bard, and Andre and had been serving in Paratu for five years.


    Out of courtesy, Bard felt they should also pay a visit to this senior alumnus. Not to mention, isolated in their closed-off environments for so long, the lieutenants were thirsty for news from the outside world.


    So Bard sent word to his two friends, arranging a time to go together.


    After leaving Blackwater Town, they galloped on dirt roads through forests and wilderness. As they had to return with the same horse, they occasionally had to stop and rest the horse.


    In the sparsely populated Newly Reclaimed Land, they¡¯d often go a long time before seeing a village or scattered farmhouses. With no one in sight ahead or behind, they subsisted only on the dry food and water carried with the horses.


    But the three friends, rarely able to gather, did not mind the hardship.


    The journey was uneventful, but the closer they got to their destination, the stranger Winters and Andre felt. It seemed they weren¡¯t heading to a town but rather in the direction of even less populous areas.


    ¡°You sure we¡¯re not lost?¡± during another break to rest the horses, Andre couldn¡¯t help asking Bard, ¡°There¡¯s not even a place to stay in sight, and we didn¡¯t bring tents. It¡¯s going to be a problem if we made a mistake.¡±


    Andre had been estimating the distance and direction all along, and he realized that their destination should be within a few kilometers. But the surroundings looked even more desolate than before, not at all like the outskirts of a town.


    ¡°It should be right, there weren¡¯t any forks on the road.¡± Bard pulled out a scroll of paper from his saddlebag, on which was a crudely drawn map and description provided by the senior: ¡°The key is I don¡¯t have a detailed map of the areas near Revodan.¡±


    ¡°We should¡¯ve brought a guide,¡± Winters regretted, ¡°I forgot this is Paratu.¡±


    The three studied the map in their hands and carefully recalled the road they had taken, confirming they hadn¡¯t gone the wrong way. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue onward.


    About half an hour later, wooden fences began to appear alongside the road. The signs of human activity gave the three lieutenants a boost in confidence.


    To their surprise, at the end of the dirt road was a town that looked even more rudimentary and dilapidated than Wolf Town.


    Although small, Wolf Town at least had one horizontal and one vertical street as well as a church, and it was vibrant with life.


    But this town in front of them consisted only of a row of low wooden barracks along the road.


    They were called ¡°barracks¡± because the wooden houses resembled the plank houses in military camps and looked quite different from ordinary homes on farms.


    Although farmers¡¯ houses were generally similar in materials and structure, they were filled with the living breath of the inhabitants in their details.


    The wooden houses before them, however, were uniform as if cast from the same mold, giving off a templated aura.


    A row of wooden houses stood abruptly on the land, surrounded by desolate meadows on all sides, appearing very lonely.


    The strangest thing was ¡ª Winters pondered for a while before realizing ¡ª there were no women or children in this little town.


    ¡°Is this the place?¡± Winters asked Bard.


    Bard was also quite puzzled, ¡°It should be here, but it looks a bit off.¡±


    People outside the wooden houses noticed the three officers by the road. A man who appeared to be a guard, carrying a bow and arrows, came over and asked lazily, ¡°Gentlemen, who are you looking for?¡±


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 Chapter 344 - 24 Lieutenant Mason_2

    Chapter 344: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_2


    The man had a large dark red birthmark around his left eye that nearly covered half of his face, making it quite conspicuous.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to see Lieutenant Mason,¡± Bard asked the man, ¡°Is Lieutenant Mason the person in charge here?¡±


    The man answered listlessly, ¡°The lieutenant took some people to oversee the mowing. Please wait here, gentlemen, I will find someone to call the lieutenant back.¡±


    Speaking with a thick Parlatu accent, he shouted loudly, and a short man by the side of the log cabin responded before running toward a dirt slope not too far away.


    ¡°What¡¯s your role here?¡± Andre asked the man, furrowing his brows as he stared.


    ¡°Me?¡± The other man chuckled, ¡°Well, to answer you, sir, I¡¯m the one in charge of watching over the others.¡±


    ...


    Winters sensed something amiss, ¡°Wait, is this a prison?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, sir,¡± the bored guard answered without even lifting his eyelids, ¡°This is a ranch, a labor farm.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Ha ha, what a rare visit, it¡¯s been ages since a fellow alumnus came to see me.¡± Lieutenant Mason pushed open the door and warmly invited the three juniors inside, ¡°Recently been busy cutting the grass for winter, and if I don¡¯t keep an eye out, everyone slacks off¡­ ah, why am I mentioning this! Come in, make yourselves at home.¡±


    The furnishings inside Lieutenant Mason¡¯s room were extremely simple: a bed, a cabinet, two tables large and small, a few stools, a rack for hanging clothes, nothing more.


    In the labor farm, other cabins were shared among several people, only the lieutenant had a cabin all to himself¡ªThis was perhaps the only luxury in this dwelling.


    The plain wooden bed was in the corner of the room, its bedding left in the same state it had been when its user last left it, carelessly rolled into a heap.


    The remains of breakfast were still on the plates on the small table, and two flies buzzed away as the lieutenant walked past.


    The whole room well reflected the typical state of a single, solitary young man without anyone to care for him.


    What piqued Winters¡¯ curiosity was the stack of books and the manuscript papers full of writing on the big table.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a mess.¡± The lieutenant casually tossed the plate from the small table into a wooden bucket outside the door, ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, please sit down.¡±


    He rummaged through the armoire, pulled out a few cups. He dove under the bed and found a bottle of liquor, half-empty¡ªfollowed by finding an unopened one.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had a guest for months,¡± Lieutenant Mason said cheerfully as he busied himself pouring drinks for his juniors, ¡°It¡¯s really rare for someone to visit me. Next time, send me a message in advance so I can prepare properly. The beef here is especially delicious.¡±


    As soon as he heard that there were visitors, Lieutenant Mason rushed back. Upon discovering that the guests were his fellow alumni, his enthusiasm soared even higher.


    Without waiting for Winters and the others to ask, Lieutenant Mason started talking. Once he began, it was like a dam bursting, unstoppable.


    After gulping down a full glass of strong liquor, Lieutenant Mason began to slam the table and curse like a sailor. Interspersed with his profanities were phrases like ¡°me, a proper artillery officer by training,¡± ¡°those maggots who made me raise pigs,¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather head overseas.¡±


    When his emotions reached their peak, Lieutenant Mason, with tears welling up in his eyes, grabbed Winters¡¯ hand and said, ¡°Listen to some advice, leave early if you can. If you can get out of your uniform, hurry back to The Federated Provinces. Us United Provincials in this place shouldn¡¯t even dream of making a career¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡­senior, I¡¯m not from The Federated Provinces, I¡¯m Venetian,¡± Winters said with an embarrassed expression, trying to withdraw his hand but not quite feeling right about it.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Mason was taken aback, then looked toward Andre, ¡°Then are you from The Federated Provinces?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m also Venetian,¡± Andre quickly shook his head, pointing toward Bard, ¡°But he is.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mason¡¯s mood gradually cooled, and he asked in confusion, ¡°What are you two Venetians doing over here? Shouldn¡¯t you be returning to your homeland?¡±


    Winters recounted in detail the unwarranted disaster that befell this year¡¯s Venetian graduates.


    When the tale reached the point where a mustachioed officer had locked the Venetian graduates in a wagon, and when they emerged they found themselves at Kingsfort, Lieutenant Mason let out a contemptuous snort, ¡°Sounds like something the Provincial Army bastards would do.¡±


    When it came to the part about the Parlatu Army forcibly scattering the junior Venetian officers and assigning them to different posts, Lieutenant Mason¡¯s look of disdain intensified, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past those goat-f***ers to do something like that.¡±


    Wounded by a sense of shared misfortune upon hearing Winters¡¯ story, Lieutenant Mason gazed at the three juniors with profound sympathy, ¡°The Federated Provinces sending you here isn¡¯t just a provocation to Vineta; it¡¯s a provocation to Parlatu as well. Those goat-f***ers certainly won¡¯t be nice to you either. We always end up being sacrificial pawns in the battles of the big shots, cough!¡±


    The lieutenant sighed, then offered reassurance, ¡°But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re better off than I am. The highlanders won¡¯t keep you here forever. Just hold on until they send you back. As for me, I can only spend a lifetime here. Feeding pigs, horses, and prisoners, day in and day out, helplessly watching the days go by, the mere thought is despairing¡­¡±


    The topic was too heavy, and Mason¡¯s face grew increasingly somber.


    Andre quickly interrupted, ¡°Senior, are all the people under your command prisoners?¡±


    Mason paused for a moment, then answered, ¡°Except for the guards¡­ but most of my guards were prisoners before.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t your security measures a bit¡­ lax?¡± Winters joined the new topic at once, ¡°It seems it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to escape?¡±


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 Chapter 345 - 24 Lieutenant Mason_3

    Chapter 345: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_3


    ¡°Run? Where to run? The plains are barren in every direction.¡± The lieutenant¡¯s face had a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile as he patiently explained, ¡°Moreover, those who come here are only serving light sentences. A few months of work and they can go home. If they run away, they¡¯ll be wanted for a lifetime. Actually, I¡¯m quite hoping that a few would run every now and then, so I could have a bit more fun.¡±


    ¡°Do Paratu people always replace imprisonment with labor?¡± Bard asked.


    ¡°Those day-sheep bastards are stingy as hell. How could they tolerate convicts eating for free in prison?¡± Whenever Mason spoke of the Paratu People, he always did so with dissatisfaction: ¡°But working for two months for stealing a chicken is still better than having a hand chopped off, don¡¯t you think?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± everyone agreed.


    ¡°But there¡¯s one good thing about those day-sheep bastards¡ªthey don¡¯t meddle much. As long as the required livestock is delivered, they don¡¯t care about the rest. Life here is pretty relaxed for me. These past few years have been good, so I¡¯ve even been able to pay the prisoners wages and give them some meat. Some of the homeless convicts end up not wanting to leave at all.¡± Mason¡¯s face lit up with excitement: ¡°I¡¯ve been improving the breeding stock. Once I find a way to get out of this uniform, I¡¯ll buy a small ranch in Palatu¡­¡±


    The three sub-lieutenants exchanged glances, realizing that despite complaining about being assigned to pig farming, their senior officer had clearly become fully invested in the endeavor.


    ...


    ¡°Senior, have you heard about the conscription that¡¯s supposed to happen soon?¡± Winters asked the lieutenant.


    Visiting Lieutenant Mason, Winters and the others also intended to casually inquire about the outside world.


    But it seemed that Mason was even more cut off from the world than they were, which caught them by surprise.


    Winters had also told his two friends about the ¡°conscription¡± mentioned by Colonel Castor, and they concluded that Colonel Castor had no reason to lie to Winters.


    However, they knew nothing about why the conscription was needed; they didn¡¯t even have a clear understanding of what ¡°conscription¡± truly meant in Palatu.


    Although the lieutenant did not seem to be particularly well-informed, Winters still mentioned it offhandedly.


    To his surprise, Mason answered matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course, I know. It¡¯s probably happening right after the autumn harvest.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve received news too?¡± Winters was taken aback.


    ¡°No, who would send me news?¡± Lieutenant Mason pulled out a few papers from the large table: ¡°Even though no one sends me news, by reading the army post newsletters that the military courier sends, I can guess what those day-sheep bastards are up to.¡±


    Newsletters? Winters had never received any.


    After Mason explained, the three sub-lieutenants learned that the Paratu Army couriers delivered only once a quarter, bringing salaries and newsletters for various stationed officers along the way.


    In the Republic of Palatu, with its vast territory and sparse population, communication between settlements was difficult. To alleviate this issue, the military and administrative agencies distributed newsletters quarterly throughout the country to ensure at least a basic flow of information.


    Winters and the others carefully read the newsletters from the last quarter, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn¡¯t find any mention of a post-harvest conscription or even see the word ¡°conscription.¡±


    ¡°The army has been pushing it for quite a while now. They¡¯re just shy of coming out and saying it directly,¡± Lieutenant Mason said calmly: ¡°Considering the circumstances, they¡¯ll probably conscript after harvest and go to war in the winter. They might even draft prisoners, which is why I¡¯m hurrying to cut the grass. If the prisoners are drafted, then I won¡¯t have enough hands here.¡±


    ¡°Think about it,¡± the lieutenant said with a cold laugh: ¡°Why would The Federated Provinces choose this time to deal with Palatu? They¡¯ve bitten down hard because they¡¯re sure that those day-sheep bastards will tolerate it.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 346 - 25 Guests

    Chapter 346: Chapter 25 Guests


    When the three men said their farewells to Lieutenant Mason, their senior was full of reluctance. He insistently stuffed several large packs of beef jerky and pork into their saddlebags, claiming they were specialties from the ranch. He even insisted on seeing them off, accompanying them for more than a dozen kilometers.


    Just before parting, Mason was almost begging, ¡°You must come to visit me again when you have time, you must.¡± Afterwards, he stood on the roadside embankment, watching until they were out of sight because of the terrain.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre embarked on the journey back to their station with heavy hearts.


    During a break to rest their horses, Andre spoke in a disheartened tone, ¡°If those sheep-herding bastards hadn¡¯t let us go, I¡¯m afraid in a few years we would¡¯ve ended up just like him.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Mason¡¯s situation is even worse than ours,¡± Bard said, as calm and aloof as ever. ¡°He may seem like the warden, but what difference is there really between him and the prisoners?¡±


    ¡°Like boiling a frog in warm water,¡± Winters forcefully threw a piece of quartz into a distant puddle and remarked with a sigh, ¡°Always feeling there¡¯s a way out so you don¡¯t dare to take the risk, and in the end, you suffer the worst possible outcome. If we had just escaped back to Vineta when we first arrived at Kingsfort, we might not have all these troubles now.¡±


    ...


    The white quartz stone arced through the air and plunged into the water with a plunk, disappearing from sight and leaving behind only a few small ripples.


    ¡­


    After arriving in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard switched back to their original mounts and promptly went their separate ways to their respective stations.


    Blackwater Town and Wolfton are separated by the natural boundary of Blackwater River. There is no bridge over the river, but there is a ford where one can wade across.


    When Winters reached the ford, he found Anglu had already been waiting for him at the river crossing for some time.


    ¡°Lieutenant!¡± Anglu couldn¡¯t wait to tell Winters, ¡°You have visitors! Two visitors!¡±


    Waiting for Winters at the police station were two guests he never expected.


    ¡°Gold?¡± Winters could hardly believe his eyes. ¡°You? How did you end up here?¡±


    The thin, dark man in front of him laughed heartily, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth; it was none other than the former pirate, sailor, and marine ¡°Lucky¡± Gold.


    ¡°There¡¯s not just me,¡± Gold laughed boisterously. ¡°There¡¯s another old acquaintance of yours.¡±


    Behind Gold, a young lad rushed out and embraced Winters.


    Caught off guard by the sudden event, Winters froze for a long while before recognizing the youth embracing him as ¡°Xial? Is that you?¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the person who hugged him was Benvenuto¡¯s third brother, Xial. However, it had been a year since they last met, and the boy had grown taller. His face had lost its childlike features and now bore a more adult-like appearance.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, big brother Winters!¡± Xial spoke excitedly. ¡°We finally found you!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ What are you doing here? Did my letter get to you so quickly?¡±


    Winters had never expected to encounter old friends in Wolf Town, let alone Xial and Gold¡ªtwo people with barely any connection.


    ¡°That¡¯s a long story,¡± Gold said, pointing at Xial with a chuckle. ¡°This kid is here to deliver a message to you.¡±


    ¡°Who sent you two to deliver a message to me?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°No, no, no! Not me, just him,¡± the former pirate captain shook his head repeatedly, proudly stating, ¡°I¡¯m not here to deliver a message. Your mother and your fianc¨¦e were worried that this kid wouldn¡¯t manage to deliver the letter, so they hired me to protect him en route.¡±


    Winters was overwhelmed by the multitude of issues in the other man¡¯s response, not knowing where to begin.


    ¡°What are you blabbering about?¡± Xial gave Gold a stare and explained to Winters, ¡°Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre sent me to deliver the letter.¡±


    ¡°The letter? Where is it?¡± Winters¡¯s breath suddenly quickened.


    Xial used a small knife to slit the hem of his clothing and pulled out a scroll wrapped in felt cloth.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of being clever like this? You might as well have just put it in a package,¡± Gold scoffed as he watched Xial withdraw the letter from his clothing.


    Xial immediately retorted, ¡°Who knows if there are bad guys around?¡± As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Gold.


    But Winters¡¯s mind was already completely off the two of them as he eagerly unrolled the scroll and read through it at the fastest speed.


    There were three letters, one from Kosha, one from Elizabeth, and one from Anna.


    The letters didn¡¯t contain anything special, only a few brief lines. Possibly for fear of interception, they didn¡¯t even mention Winters¡¯s name.


    Yet to Winters, these letters were as sweet as the first breath of air for someone who had been drowning.


    After listening to Xial¡¯s story and piecing together his own thoughts, Winters roughly understood what had happened.


    Rolling back the time to a year ago, Benvenuto had been kidnapped by the Monta gang from the docks, and Xial came to Winters for help. To prevent Xial from being retaliated against, Winters had Bard take him to the City of Flowers.


    In the days that followed, Xial hid out at a relative¡¯s home in the City of Flowers, living in fear and listening to news from Sea Blue until the storm had gradually calmed, and he returned to Sea Blue.


    It had been five whole months since the Monta gang had been wiped out, and Xial wanted to thank Winters but found out that Winters had already set off on the second supply fleet to Tanilia.


    Because Winters had previously made arrangements, and because Kosha remembered Xial as Winters¡¯s schoolmate¡¯s younger brother, Xial spent the following half year apprenticing in Giovanni¡¯s [Antonio¡¯s younger brother] workshop.


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 Chapter 347 - 25 Guest_2

    Chapter 347: Chapter 25 Guest_2


    As for that minor disturbance a few months ago, Xial never mentioned it to anyone. No one in the workshop knew he was Benvenuto¡¯s brother, and nobody knew that he had sought Winters¡¯ help.


    After that, the event where the Provincial Army sent graduates from Vineta to Paratu occurred.


    While Winters was constantly thinking about how he could return to Vineta, his family in Sea Blue were also trying every means to bring him back home.


    Due to geographical separation causing communication difficulties, and the deliberate deception by The Federated Provinces, Vineta initially received almost no valuable information.


    The Governor¡¯s Office only knew that the warrant officers who went to Guidao City for the awarding ceremony had gone missing, but had no idea about their whereabouts, and even thought that the Federal military had imprisoned them.


    One after another, messengers dispatched by the consul in Guidao City arrived at Sea Blue, and Vinetians learned that the warrant officers had been sent to Paratu.


    ...


    By then, it was too late for a pursuit, and the Governor¡¯s Office could only start negotiations with Paratu.


    But the Highlanders, having suffered a setback, were even more obstinate and scattered the Vinetian lieutenants. The envoy from Debela hadn¡¯t even reached Kingsfort when the Vineta lieutenants were dispatched to various remote locations.


    Only at that point did the news of the missing officer cadets spread from the upper echelons of Vineta to the common citizens. All at once, the Republic of Vineta was in an uproar and public sentiment was agitated.


    The families of the officer cadets were overwhelmed with grief and staged a public petition in the Parliamentary Square. Upon learning of The Federated Provinces¡¯ treacherous and provocative acts, the ordinary Venetian citizens with no personal connections to the cadets were equally filled with righteous indignation.


    For the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office, the totality of the cities equated to the nation. Vineta¡¯s farmers had almost no political rights, a historical legacy left over from the time of autonomous cities and the Sovereignty Wars.


    As the heart of the Republic, angering Sea Blue equated to angering the Republic of Vineta.


    The rage of Sea Blue City¡¯s citizens was like boiling magma, causing the ruling committee to face immense public pressure for a time.


    The Governor of Debela had to personally intervene to calm the public, publicly promising to ¡°bring back our children.¡±


    Despite Debela¡¯s fervent and impassioned vows, not a single Vinetian lieutenant could return home until the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was satisfied.


    What would satisfy the people of Paratu?


    To give them back their officers that had been sent overseas.


    So, in reality, the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office could do nothing.


    With Winters sent to Paratu, Antonio still stationed in Tanilia, the household in Sea Blue City was left with only Kosha and Elizabeth, along with Sofia who resided temporarily.


    Kosha wrote to Antonio, asking her husband to send someone to bring Winters back to Vineta. But Antonio, unusually, opposed his wife¡¯s idea.


    Antonio¡¯s reply was just one word ¡ª ¡°Wait.¡±


    However, the impatient Kosha couldn¡¯t wait, which is why Xial travelled all the way from Sea Blue to Wolf Town carrying the letter.


    ¡°Did my family receive my letter?¡± Winters felt something was amiss.


    ¡°Letter? What letter?¡± Xial was equally surprised.


    ¡°The one I sent through the church.¡±


    ¡°No, not received; at least I don¡¯t know about it.¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°When did you leave Sea Blue?¡±


    ¡°The month before last, six weeks ago.¡±


    Winters¡¯ letter was sent out only half a month ago, and six weeks ago he was still busy organizing militia.


    ¡°Then how did you know I was in Wolf Town?¡± Winters grew more puzzled.


    ¡°We have Miss Navarre to thank for that,¡± Xial said with a mischievous smile. ¡°Miss Navarre really does like you a lot, big brother Winters.¡±


    Xial went on to explain the connection again, and Winters then learned that it was Anna, through the relations of Navarre Commerce, who had clarified his station in a town under the jurisdiction of Revodan City.


    Anna informed Kosha of this news, and shortly after, Xial and Gold set off from Sea Blue; at that time, Winters¡¯ letter sent through the church hadn¡¯t even been written.


    ¡°When we left, we only knew you were near Revodan City, not in which specific town. So we had to search town by town,¡± Xial said happily. ¡°Thank goodness, we found you after searching just five towns!¡±


    ¡°Hold on, are you saying that Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre both sent you?¡± Winters stressed the word ¡°both¡± quite distinctly.


    ¡°Yeah, I could have come alone,¡± Xial said, casting a dissatisfied glance at Gold. ¡°I don¡¯t know why this pirate had to come along. He took the opportunity to extort a lot of money from the lady!¡±


    ¡°With you? You wouldn¡¯t have made it out of Vineta alive,¡± Gold scorned Xial¡¯s words and looked at Winters. ¡°Sir, it was your mother and your fianc¨¦e who hired me. Although my price was a bit steep, it seems like your family is not short of money anyway.¡±


    Xial huffed softly; he knew about Winters¡¯ family situation but couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct Gold.


    ¡°That means my aunt already knows about Anna?¡± Winters suddenly realized this and felt a wave of dizziness.


    While Winters was still bewildered, Gold discreetly kicked Xial¡¯s foot.


    ¡°Alright!¡± the former pirate boss said gruffly: ¡°We¡¯ve already met Lord Montaigne, and there¡¯s no one else here. Stop hiding it, just take it out.¡±


    Struck by lightning, Xial stood petrified.


    With a sneer, Gold snatched the staff from Xial¡¯s hand and snapped it over his knee. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 348 - 25 Guest_3

    Chapter 348: Chapter 25 Guest_3


    The walking stick snapped in the middle, and over a dozen objects with the thickness of fingers and a dark yellow metallic sheen fell from inside the stick onto the ground, clinking as they land.


    Winters picked up one of them and didn¡¯t need to recognize it to know what it was.


    He raised his eyebrows, ¡°Gold bars?¡±


    ¡°Yes, gold bars, all twelve of them, not a single one missing. The lady and Miss Navarre asked me to bring these to you,¡± Xial nodded as he spoke and then pulled out a small wooden tube from his trouser leg, ¡°Miss Navarre also asked me to bring this to you. She said it contains documents, and you can take them to Albert the goldsmith at Kingsfort to exchange for Gold Coins.¡±


    ¡°This kid, so stupid, still thinks I don¡¯t know,¡± Gold chuckled, ¡°Wherever he goes, he has to carry that broken stick around, even sleeps with it at night. Won¡¯t let anyone else touch it, as if everyone else is a fool? If I had any ill intentions, would he still be alive? Even if I had no ill intentions, did he really think he could travel all the way here safely on his own?¡±


    Xial¡¯s cheeks turned bright red, and he wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t find the words in the moment.


    ...


    ¡°Why are you bringing me money?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°The lady said you¡¯re sure to need a lot of money, you definitely will need it while you¡¯re out and about,¡± Xial repeated honestly, ¡°She also said that when you see the money you would understand what she means.¡±


    Winters was short of money, but he also didn¡¯t quite understand his aunt¡¯s meaning.


    ¡°Could she want me to spend the money to win over the Paratu People?¡± he wondered, ¡°Or does it mean I could use this money to escape? But my military registration is still with Paratu, what happens if I run away?¡±


    There were twelve gold bars, each as thick as a thumb and as long as a middle finger, heavy in the hand.


    Winters took out six of them and handed them to Gold, ¡°Captain Gold, thank you for protecting Xial on his journey here. I cannot express my gratitude enough, please accept my token of thanks.¡±


    Xial¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Although I would really like those gold bars, I can¡¯t accept your money,¡± Gold waved his hands, ¡°I¡¯ve already received payment from your family, and it wouldn¡¯t be right to take money from both sides. Wouldn¡¯t that make me a traitor?¡±


    Winters smiled, ¡°Then, would it be okay if I hired you to escort Xial back?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Xial shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by this pirate! I¡¯m not going back! If you¡¯re not going back, Brother Winters, neither am I! I¡¯ll stay here to help you.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking, lad?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but slap Xial on the head, ¡°You¡¯re not going back to Sea Blue, but staying here?¡±


    ¡°Brother Winters, do you remember what I told you?¡± Xial looked straight into Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I made a vow that if I could save my brother, my life would belong to you from then on. How can you be here alone? I¡¯ll stay and help you. I¡¯ll do anything, be your follower, wash clothes, cook, clean, I can do it all.¡±


    Before Winters could retort, Gold spoke out in agreement.


    The pirate boss said earnestly, ¡°Sir, things are different here compared to Vineta, back thereyou have many connections. But here, you don¡¯t have a single person you can trust, and it¡¯ll be too late when something actually happens. Besides, even if I took the lad away, he¡¯d probably run back halfway through the journey. You should keep him with you.¡±


    At that moment, Winters was at a loss for words.


    From outside the house Gerard¡¯s voice came, followed by Dusack who pushed the door open and laughed, ¡°Where did that handsome horse come from in the backyard? It seems to be a mare too! Winters, do you know whose it is? Eh¡­ do you have guests?¡±


    ¡°What? A horse?¡± Winters looked at Xial and Gold in surprise. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Xial nodded, ¡°I brought Strong Luck to you as well.¡±


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 Chapter 349 - 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery

    Chapter 349: Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery


    Among the currencies circulated in the republics, the most popular are the Ducat Gold Coins minted by the central minting house of Sea Blue.


    [Note: The term ¡°Ducat¡± originally meant ¡°money coined by the Duke,¡± used by many regimes to refer to their own issued currency. However, with the popularity of the Venetian Ducats, the term now specifically refers to Venetian Gold Coins.]


    The Venetian Ducats were almost pure gold, with a stable quality, so their value was the most robust. Large volume transactions were all priced in Ducats, making gold coins minted by other Alliance nations seem inferior by comparison.


    For example, consider the gold coin with a larger circulation volume¡ªthe Gold Coin of The Federated Provinces, usually ten of these coins were only worth seven Ducats, and if used for payment, compensation for the seller¡¯s melting loss had to be provided.


    The value of Gold Coins minted in different years also varied slightly, generally, the newer the Gold Coins, the lower their value¡ªthe Federated Provinces¡¯ mint increased the admixture of base metals in Gold Coins as time went on, and everyone was well aware of this.


    Therefore, using Gold Coins was quite inconvenient, even less capable of challenging the position of Ducats.


    ...


    Not only within the borders of the Senas Alliance but even merchants in the Empire and the Near East were very willing to trade in Ducats. As a result, the large annual outflow of gold coins also caused some trouble for the Republic of Vineta.


    Thus, merchants and craftsmen who traveled among the republics directly called Ducats ¡°Gold [gold]¡±, while other types of gold coins had different names.


    For most people in the Alliance, Ducats were equivalent to pure gold and represented one of the primary forms of coming into contact with gold.


    But the gold that Kexia and Anna brought was an entirely different kind¡ªgold bars weighing close to 200 grams each, so valuable that Winters had no way of using them.


    Each 3.56 gram Ducat rarely circulated in the market due to their high value, let alone these gold bars, one of which was worth 56 Ducats.


    Kexia said that Winters would understand her intentions upon seeing the gold bars, but the only use Winters could think of was for bribery.


    Yet Winters, a stranger in the lands, didn¡¯t even have the means to bribe anyone, nor could he afford to leave his fellow comrades and head out alone.


    Having supported each other during the arduous siege warfare, shared tents and hot meals in the bone-chilling winter of the archipelago, and survived the campaign in Tanilia together, the bonds between this group of Venetian military academy graduates were far stronger than those of their predecessors.


    Though there was currently no place to spend money, making the gold bars as good as lead weights. Suddenly having a large amount of disposable precious metals alleviated Winters¡¯ anxiety and pressure unconsciously by a great deal,


    Money just has that kind of magic.


    ¡­


    Xial got his wish and stayed by Winters¡¯ side, while Gold didn¡¯t stay in Wolf Town for too long.


    The day after, the pirate leader set off, and Winters saw him off all the way to the Blackwater River ferry.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, Captain Gold,¡± Winters said gravely, saluting Gold.


    ¡°No big deal,¡± Gold laughed heartily, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll take the money and run.¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m not worried about,¡± Winters also said with a smile, ¡°Just don¡¯t tell Miss Navarre I gave the gold notes away.¡±


    Gold carried not only Winters¡¯ reply but also the promissory note from Kingsfort¡¯s goldsmith, Albert.


    The goldsmith¡¯s promissory note, brought by Anna through Xial, essentially serves as a receipt that can be exchanged for predeposited gold at the goldsmith¡¯s.


    With various purities, money circulated on the market before, so people needed to take gold and silver to the goldsmith to mint into coins of uniform specifications.


    Goldsmiths had not only safes but also armed guards. Gradually, people realized that gold was safer in the hands of a goldsmith than in their possession.


    Goldsmiths honor the note, not the person, and give gold upon presentation of the note. As a result, gold notes have also evolved into a form of currency, widely used and traded by merchants for being convenient and discreet to carry.


    According to Winters¡¯ request, Gold would first go to Kingsfort to exchange the promissory note for gold coins, then deliver the map and gold coins to Venetian lieutenants scattered throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The Venetians probably weren¡¯t having the best of times. Now that Winters was no longer short of money, he hoped to provide as much help to others as he could.


    It was a difficult assignment since Winters neither knew how many of his peers had been assigned to the Newly Reclaimed Land nor the specific locations of the others.


    For Andre and Bard, Winters had Xial deliver four gold bars to each of them. The remaining Venetians would have to be located by Gold, searching one town at a time.


    ¡°Mr. Gold, I really don¡¯t know how to thank you¡­ truly, thank you,¡± Winters sincerely thanked the former enemy from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, what¡¯s there to thank?¡± Gold showed a gold tooth with a grin, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing this for free, I¡¯m getting paid.¡±


    After saying that, Gold laughed heartily, spurred his horse in the ribs, and took off at a gallop.


    As Winters watched his old acquaintance leave, he suddenly understood the feelings of Lieutenant Mason.


    ¡­


    Just as Colonel Castor and Lieutenant Mason said, a week after Xial and Gold arrived in Wolf Town, in mid-September, a military courier brought three items to Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The newspaper, next quarter¡¯s salary, and a conscription order from the New Reclamation Legion.


    The content of the order was brief and vague about the specific plan, with only a few words explaining the requirements and timing.


    Quoting part of the original text:


    ¡°Issued under the honorable and inviolable ¡®Treaty of Torde¡¯ by Major General of the Republic of Palatu, Legion Commander of the New Reclamation Legion, and recipient of the Violet Medal, Kevin J. Adams.¡±


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 Chapter 350 - 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery_2

    Chapter 350: Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery_2


    ¡°The village of Wolfton under the jurisdiction of the Federated Counties is obliged to provide militia as support troops when the New Reclamation Legion needs them,¡±


    Stripped of its verbose formalities, the specific content of the request was that Wolfton provide a full hundred-man militia, with no weapons required on their part, and conscription limited to able-bodied males between the ages of 15 and 35.


    The muster rolls had to be sent to Revodan town¡¯s garrison by October 15, with the exact assembly location and time to be notified separately.


    The tone of this levying order didn¡¯t seem to come from the Republic; it rather resembled the demands of a noble from the old times, requiring his vassals to fulfill their fealty.


    They were only concerned with taking men, with no regard for anything else.


    It¡¯s known that the less detailed the instructions and the broader the mandate, the more leeway is left to the executors.


    ...


    Apart from quality control in conscription, the order signed by General Adams had no restrictions. In the hands of some with ill intentions, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to ruin ordinary farming families.


    Winters found this surprising, but Gerard and the commoners from various villages in Wolf Town had grown accustomed to it.


    After the orders were read aloud in the villages, the villagers had no objections to the method of conscription; their only concern was the number of conscripts.


    Many villagers murmured, ¡°Last time they only levied forty, why are they taking eighty now?¡± A few literate villagers even plucked up the courage to ask to see the original drafting order.


    However, the commands were clearly written in black and white on the sealed order, and though there was dissatisfaction, people merely complained a few words. In front of Winters and Gerard, no one dared to openly oppose.


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected the people of Wolf Town to accept so naturally the necessity of conscription. The reading of the orders went very smoothly, hardly needing him to say a word.


    Back at the security office, Winters invited Gerard, Father Caman, and Brother Reed to discuss conscription methods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much; Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before, everyone is used to it,¡± Gerard sensed Winters¡¯ unease: ¡°If you ask me, we should stick with the old way, drawing lots.¡±


    Father Caman shook his head: ¡°Drawing lots alone probably won¡¯t do. Previously we only conscripted forty, which wasn¡¯t too many. This time we need to take eighty, all young and strong men from the villages. If a family has two members drawn, the remaining elderly, women, and children will have a hard time. There might be some who desert.¡±


    Gerard, in thought, said: ¡°What about drawing lots, and those not drawn contribute some money as compensation?¡±


    ¡°That might work,¡± Father Caman said, holding his necklace: ¡°But we need to get the compensation amount right. Some families are poor, some are rich, we should take that into account.¡±


    Gerard and Caman discussed back and forth.


    But what Winters was more curious about was what Gerard had mentioned, ¡°Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before.¡±


    ¡°What was the previous conscription like?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Gerard sighed, ¡°Every time we fought with the Herders, be it a large or small skirmish, we had to conscript. Before we had a Garrison Officer here, I was the one leading our men.¡±


    The new lands were not only heavily taxed, but the corv¨¦e was more frequent than Winters had imagined.


    Seeing Winters¡¯ furrowed brow, Gerard quickly added: ¡°They say militia, but actually it¡¯s just laborers, hardly ever having to go into battle. Mostly doing odd jobs, carrying things, escorting supply materials.¡±


    ¡°Fighting the Herders? What do you mean?¡± Winters¡¯ focus was not on what Gerard said: ¡°You¡¯ve fought them many times?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± snorted Brother Reed: ¡°On the east of Palatu lies Vineta and The Federated Provinces, and to the west the Herder tribes. If we don¡¯t fight the Herders, do we make war with our allies instead?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear much about Paratu fighting with the Herders while I was in The Federated Provinces and Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Would everyone buzz with excitement over a dog biting a man?¡± the old monk scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s only notable when a man bites a dog. What¡¯s so special about highlanders and Herders fighting? Especially for you Venetians, what do you care about other than money? Have you ever cared about Paratu, unless, let¡¯s say, Paratu discovers a gold mine one day? I guarantee by the next day every Venetian would know.¡±


    Winters disregarded the old mystic¡¯s sarcastic tone and pursued, ¡°What I mean is¡­ why fight?¡±


    ¡°Why fight?¡± Reed laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke, ¡°You should ask, when have they ever stopped fighting?¡±


    He stood up, dipped his finger in the liquor, and began to trace on the table, quickly sketching the rough outline of the Paratu plateau. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Herders are not a monolith; various factions and the Paratu People fight small battles every three years and large ones every five, with a history of warring back and forth for at least several hundred years. If we go back to the westward expansion of the Ancient Empire, it¡¯s been over a thousand years. Today¡¯s Paratu People are just Empire-ized Herders, originally one of the factions themselves. It¡¯s just that the Paratu People don¡¯t acknowledge it.¡±


    As the old monk drew on the table, he continued, ¡°In the last hundred years, there were times that Paratu People and the Herders had their victories and defeats. The factions even once made it all the way to Kingsfort, with the Duke of Paratu shivering in the castle, letting the Herders burn, kill, and loot at will.¡±


    The old mendicant suddenly stopped, calculated with his fingers, and sighed, ¡°Come to think of it, that was sixty years ago.¡±


    Winters, Gerard, and Father Caman were all listening intently.


    ¡°And then?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Then the Herders played themselves to death. Internal strife, division, disputes over clan leadership, the same old story,¡± the old monk sneered, ¡°while the Paratu People received arms from The Federated Provinces and gold from Vineta. Given the situation, the balance tipped, and of course, the Herders couldn¡¯t hold out. The place where you¡¯re sitting right now used to be the land of the Herder¡¯s Suta Faction, and now it has become the Paratu Newly Reclaimed Land, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    The old monk tilted his head towards Father Caman, ¡°The church in Wolf Town was a chapel built by heretic missionaries who came to the Suta Faction in the early years. That¡¯s why the wall paintings depict Arianism. Didn¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Father Caman was stunned.


    ¡°Go back and have a good look. See if the depiction of the divine child on the paintings gradually changes from beardless to bearded. This implies that the divine child is a man, which is the doctrine of Arianism.¡± The mendicant chuckled, ¡°Those who came to take over the church property didn¡¯t know a thing. They took over as is, and the paintings remained unmodified. I didn¡¯t have the heart to mention it to old Anthony; it would have killed him.¡±


    ¡°Where did the Suta Faction go?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Where else? They¡¯re all in heaven now.¡± The old monk pointed at Gerard, ¡°Mr. Michel here contributed his part as well.¡±


    Gerard, who was initially absorbed by the conversation, jumped, startled at being called out, and after a moment slowly answered, ¡°When we Dusans first arrived in Paratu, the Newly Reclaimed Land was indeed not reclaimed yet.¡±


    Remembering the Herders on Red Sulfur Island who were desperate to return home and were fearless in death, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°You mean the war between the Kingdom of Galloping Horses and the Herder factions has never stopped?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± the old monk blinked, ¡°There¡¯s been fighting and pauses in between. Overall, it¡¯s never really stopped.¡±


    Winters thought of the war between Vineta and the islands, ¡°Are the Herders wealthy?¡±


    ¡°No, on the contrary, the Herders are poor. So in the past, it was always the Herder factions attacking and the Paratu People defending,¡± the old monk explained, pointing at the map on the table, ¡°But now it¡¯s different; now it¡¯s the Paratu People attacking and the Herders defending. The Kingdom of Galloping Horses craves more land and can¡¯t attack The Federated Provinces or Vineta, so naturally, they move westward.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there unclaimed territory further west?¡± Winters had been to the west bank of Big Horn River not long before.


    ¡°I think this time they want that hundred-kilometer-wide unclaimed area,¡± the old monk stroked his beard, ¡°The Paratu People rely on plunder to wage war. The more they fight, the more they need the spoils of war, and the more they need the spoils, the more they have to continue fighting, like rolling a snowball¡­ But this doesn¡¯t concern you. Rest easy, the people of Wolf Town will definitely support the war against the Herders. If the compensation is reasonable, it won¡¯t be hard to put together a hundred-man militia.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters grew more puzzled, ¡°Are there still people willing to fight? I mean, the poor¡­ Even the poor are willing to fight?¡±


    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got it all wrong,¡± Reed narrowed his eyes and spoke mysteriously, ¡°In the Republic of Paratu, those most eager for war with the Herders are exactly the ¡®poor families¡¯ you¡¯re talking about.¡±


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 Chapter 351 - 27 Revodan

    Chapter 351: Chapter 27 Revodan


    Three days after the conscription orders reached Wolf Town, dawn broke on the third morning.


    As the sky began to light up, lines of four-wheeled farm carts streamed out from the estates of Wolf Town, converging in the town center before making their way toward Revodan City.


    Over a hundred carts stretched out in a long line on the road, with the front and rear being a kilometer apart, their squeaking axles audible from a great distance.


    Fully armed and agile riders occasionally dashed past the sluggish carts, patrolling back and forth along the caravan.


    Following the lay of the land, the road meandered and twisted into the distance, with most of the journey crossing through deserted areas.


    The wilderness and meadows dominated the scenery along the route, and whenever the caravan passed through a forest, everyone¡¯s nerves instantly tensed.


    ...


    Even the laziest of drivers would snap to attention, pulling out daggers and crossbows to keep at hand, vigilantly watching the dark woods on either side of the path.


    Only once the caravan had left the forest would the drivers dare to breathe a sigh of relief, kicking their weapons back under their seats and slipping back into their usual listless demeanor.


    The riders patrolling at the very front of the caravan were none other than Winters and Gerard, and the riders were Dusacks hired by the estate owners.


    Although Wolf Town had received conscription orders, life still had to go on. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The farmers¡¯ crops needed to be harvested, and the autumn sowing had to be done; tobacco, cotton, and beets harvested by the estates needed to be sold.


    The output of most estates had already been secured by merchant houses through advance payments.


    But for the merchants, the risk and cost of transport were too high, so the estate owners had to transport their goods themselves to Revodan City for delivery.


    Therefore, every year around this time, the estate owners of Wolf Town would arrange a time to jointly transport their goods to Revodan City, which was why the grand caravan seen now had come into being.


    Band together for warmth, a measure born of necessity.


    Oppressive governance, oppressive as a tiger¡ªthe authoritarian policies of Palatu¡¯s higher-ups in the Newly Reclaimed Land inevitably led to rampant banditry.


    Theft, poaching, tax evasion, unauthorized farming¡­ Any one of these charges could drive otherwise law-abiding farmers to desperate measures, exchanging violence for sustenance and devolving into robbers and bandits.


    If the times turned tough¡ªif temperatures remained low all year, summers were cool and damp, winters were long and icy¡ªcrop failures would occur, and famine would follow.


    Then it wouldn¡¯t just be the Newly Reclaimed Land, the Republic of Palatu, or the Senas Alliance¡­ Across the entire continent, numerous farmers would go bankrupt, starve, and turn to banditry.


    [Note: The people of this era were not aware that they were experiencing what later generations would call the ¡°Little Ice Age.¡±]


    Most of the Newly Reclaimed Lands of the Republic of Palatu were covered by pristine forests and meadows, scattered with sporadic villages and a few small towns with populations of just one or two thousand.


    The only larger city was Maplestone City, the capital of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, where the legion was stationed.


    In such sparsely populated frontier regions, without the protection of city walls or the vigilance of neighbors, any lonely farmhouse encountering a few strong men armed with makeshift weapons could only submit to their mercy.


    As a result, most farmers in the Newly Reclaimed Lands lived in close-knit communities, with few isolated farmhouses far from villages.


    Rural dirt roads, the borders between towns, and the forests near cities¡ªthese places all lay beyond the reach of help and were rife with banditry.


    In Wolf Town, thanks to Gerard Mitchell at the helm, the days were peaceful.


    Gerard ruled with benevolence, supported wholeheartedly by the Dusacks, so Wolf Town itself did not breed bandits.


    Outlaws from elsewhere found no assistance from the locals, ending up like fish out of water. The brighter ones would flee immediately, while the dimmer ones were easily eradicated by Gerard leading the Dusacks.


    After disposing of a group of bandits with some notoriety, few rogue villains dared to cause trouble within the jurisdiction of Wolf Town.


    But there were one hundred and twenty-four administrative regions in the Newly Reclaimed Lands at the same level as Wolf Town; the peace in Wolf Town had little to no effect on the larger environment.


    To the gangs of thieves, the heavily laden, slow-moving, defenseless farm cart caravans were simply an irresistible feast.


    Each year at this time, small groups of bandits would even spontaneously band together to form larger gangs to rob the merchant caravans on their way to the city.


    After paying a bloody price several times, the estate owners of Wolf Town thus banded together for warmth, hiring riders from Dusa Village to protect the caravan.


    ¡°A few years ago, there was a particularly notorious bandit, nicknamed ¡®Bloody Hand Schutte,''¡± Gerard recounted vividly to Winters as they rode side by side, sharing the legends of the robbers of the Newly Reclaimed Land: ¡°That guy didn¡¯t just rob and kill, he would even chop off people¡¯s hands and pickle them in salt barrels. It¡¯s said that when the legion gendarmes caught him, they found over a hundred severed hands, unable to tell which belonged to whom.¡±


    Winters, indignant, said, ¡°It took the murder of dozens before he was caught, what were the gendarmes of the Newly Reclaimed Lands doing? I was a gendarme too, if my old commanding officer Colonel Field were here¡­¡±


    Words stirred memories, and suddenly recalling the fallen Colonel Field and the pacts made over heavy drinking in Golden Harbor, Winters¡¯s voice grew quieter and quieter, until he could no longer continue.


    ¡°It¡¯s the local government¡¯s responsibility to capture thieves, the stationed legions don¡¯t get involved,¡± Gerard sighed, ¡°The legion gendarmes only went after Bloody Hand because he overstepped, robbing the legions¡¯ own supply convoys.¡±


    Sergei, who was nearby, perked up and interjected enthusiastically, ¡°There¡¯s also a joke. It goes like this: a peddler was on his way to the city when he encountered a robber. Just then, a troop of gendarmes happened by. The peddler shouted for help, but the gendarmes ignored him. Desperate, the peddler yelled, ¡®I haven¡¯t paid my taxes,¡¯ and immediately the gendarmes charged over, drove away the robber, and took the peddler all the way to the city.¡±


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 Chapter 352 - 27 Revodan_2

    Chapter 352: Chapter 27 Revodan_2


    Having said that, Sergei burst into laughter.


    Two riders were seen galloping back from ahead, Pierre and Vashka. Gerard, always cautious, had sent out a few horsemen earlier to scout the path.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Pierre called out impatiently from afar, ¡°The Panto River basin is flooding!¡±


    Vashka too looked panicked, ¡°The water is already reaching the horses¡¯ backs, what do we do?¡±


    The drivers in front heard their shouts and quickly pulled on the reins to stop the big wagons. The drivers behind them also hurriedly stopped, and the wagons came to a halt one after another.


    Sergei, seeing his son¡¯s flustered state, rebuked him dissatisfiedly, ¡°What¡¯s all the panic about? Are you even a Dusack? It¡¯s such a small matter, and you¡¯re scared like this?¡±


    ...


    ¡°These two kids are out with the convoy for the first time; they¡¯ve got little experience,¡± Gerard explained to Winters, ¡°This area is downstream, when it rains upstream, the downstream floods. It¡¯s common to not be able to traverse by foot.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    Gerard pointed northwards, ¡°Take a detour, to Wolf Town. There¡¯s a bridge over the Panto River in Wolf Town. It¡¯ll just take a little more time, and we¡¯ll have to pay some extra tolls, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Gerard and his old companion exchanged glances and then nodded at Sergei.


    Sergei turned his mount and sped towards the rear of the caravan, shouting orders as he rode, ¡°Detour! Detour! Head to Wolf Town! Keep up with the front wagons! Keep up with the front wagons!¡±


    ¡°The turn-off for Wolf Town is behind us, we already passed it. But it¡¯s difficult to turn around on the road, keep going and find a good spot to circle back!¡± Gerard commanded the lead wagon¡¯s driver, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The drivers whipped their beasts hard, and with piercing friction sounds, the horses neighing, the wagons were dragged forward as the convoy continued onward.


    Gerard apologized to Winters, ¡°I guess this will delay us by another day on the road.¡±


    ¡°No problem, we¡¯re not in a rush for a day or two,¡± Winters replied with a smile.


    The reason why Winters was also in the convoy was secondary to providing protection¡ªthe massive convoy was not short on men capable of wielding a sword.


    The primary purpose of Lieutenant Winters Montagne was to visit the garrison in Revodan City. The content of the military draft order was too vague, and there were some critical issues that urgently needed clarification.


    Although the draft notice had been distributed for a few days, there was no progress with the conscription work in Wolf Town. No lots had been drawn, no training had occurred¡ªnothing.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters was intentionally dragging his feet, but rather because it was the busy farming season, and drafting men at this time would mean destroying the peasants¡¯ year of hard work.


    The Paratu Plateau has a low latitude and high altitude, where the air currents from both the north and south are blocked by towering mountains. The precipitation mainly comes from the monsoons blowing from Senas Bay to the plateau.


    This is why the crops in Paratu usually follow the pattern of double cropping in a year or triple cropping in two years.


    Right now, in the fields of the villages in Wolf Town, the spring-planted crops needed harvesting and drying, while the fall-planted crops¡ªlike winter wheat¡ªwere waiting to be sown.


    Ordinary peasants were frantic with gathering harvests, drying grains, and sowing seeds while the Dusans had an additional task¡ªgrass cutting. After each household had their assigned pastures, men and women, young and old, had to join forces to cut and dry grass to feed the livestock in the winter.


    Peasants with less farmland finished their own field work and then went to help other households short on labor in exchange for some grain to supplement their household.


    At such a time, drafting peasants was something Winters could not bear to do. Fortunately, there was still some time before the deadline, so there was no need to rush.


    Therefore, it was a good time for Lieutenant Winters Montagne to make a trip to Revodan City and clarify the vague terms in the drafting order, as the lieutenant had many questions for his immediate superior.


    The most critical question¡ªand one that sounded quite absurd¡ªwas whether the drafted militia legally counted as ¡°soldiers¡± or ¡°peasants.¡±


    For the villagers of Wolf Town, this question was downright ludicrous.


    Peasants? Soldiers?


    What¡¯s the difference? Isn¡¯t it all just work?


    If you asked the peasants of Wolf Town, they would unanimously respond, ¡°Whichever allows me to serve less is the one for me.¡±


    But Brother Reed had an exceedingly creative idea. Conscription was a heavy blow to any family, but the old mendicant monk¡¯s idea might turn a misfortune into a blessing.


    As he often said, ¡°Celican proverb: Calamity is where fortune leans, fortune where calamity hides.¡±


    But all this hinged on clarifying whether the ¡°militia really counted as civilians or soldiers.¡±


    ¡­


    If one rode a horse from Wolf Town to Revodan City, covering sixty kilometers per day, it would take roughly two days one way. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But for the slow-moving farmer¡¯s wagons, traveling twenty kilometers a day was already the limit. With the detour through Wolf Town, it took a full seven days to reach Revodan City.


    Gerard and Winters enforced military discipline on the convoy, sending out scouts ahead, positioning rear guards, patrolling back and forth during the day, and taking turns standing watch at night.


    After several days of travel, everyone was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But most of the drivers and Dusacks were not on their first convoy and managed to grit their teeth and bear it silently.


    On the other hand, Pierre, Vashka, and other young Dusacks who were with the convoy for the first time soon lost their enthusiasm and began to incessantly complain. By the last few days, they became too lazy to patrol and simply refused to get off the wagons.


    A few incidents such as broken axles and overturned wagons occurred along the way, but thanks to Winters and Gerard¡¯s capable handling, there were no casualties. Gerard had specifically brought a few empty wagons just to anticipate such accidents.


    Besides these minor hiccups, the journey was safe and smooth, with no ill-intentioned bandits causing trouble, which was fortunate indeed.


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 Chapter 353 - 27 Revodan_3

    Chapter 353: Chapter 27 Revodan_3


    After all, one big cart might be considered prey, but a hundred big carts would make the predator consider the risk of breaking its teeth.


    Luckily, the rain that Gerard was most worried about did not happen, and the caravan arrived in Revodan city without any incident.


    As soon as the bell tower of the Revodan Cathedral came into view, Winters set out ahead to the military encampment, and Gerard enthusiastically offered to accompany him.


    ¡°Is that okay? Don¡¯t you need to follow the caravan?¡± Winters felt embarrassed to trouble old Dusack further.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Gerard said cheerily, ¡°Just need to deliver the tobacco to the warehouse, I¡¯m not needed there. Besides, you don¡¯t know the way to the garrison, let me lead you. I know Major Ronald, I can introduce you.¡±


    With Gerard¡¯s enthusiasm, Winters had no reason to decline, and the two of them left the caravan and galloped towards the center of Revodan City.


    ...


    As the capital of Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and Iron Peak County, Revodan could only be called a ¡°city¡± and not a ¡°town¡± because it had a downtown area but no city walls.


    Just like all naturally formed settlements, from the perspective of modern people, the geographical conditions of this city were exceptionally favorable.


    The downtown area was situated in the middle of a valley, with the land beneath being firm and flat. The St. George River flowed around the city, providing fresh water for the citizens of Revodan and carrying away the filth.


    The most conspicuous building in the whole city was the towering Revodan Cathedral in the center of the downtown area, whose spire topped with a bell tower was visible to travelers from kilometers away.


    ¡°Revodan Cathedral is really something. Big! Tall!¡± Old Dusack, not good with words, turned beet red trying to express himself, and after a while, he found another adjective: ¡°Gorgeous! Oh yes, the grave of Saint Ados lies within the cathedral! It¡¯s said that no matter how severe the illness, one touch can restore health. I haven¡¯t tried it though, firstly because I¡¯m not sick, and secondly, because the priests won¡¯t allow it¡­¡±


    Throughout the ride, Gerard introduced Revodan City to Winters, who listened attentively.


    One spoke, the other listened, and soon, the two arrived at the banks of the St. George River.


    ¡°They say this place is called Lover¡¯s Forest.¡± Gerard pointed to a sparse woodland on the opposite side of the downtown area, to the west of the road, and said, ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s where men and women go to do that thing.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances at the little woodland.


    But it was still daytime, and there wasn¡¯t a soul in the woods; nothing seemed particularly special about it.


    There was only one wooden bridge over the St. George River, where an old man dressed in a coarse friar¡¯s robe dozed off in a pavilion at the head of the bridge.


    Seeing the two riders approach, the old man hobbled to the wooden barrier that served as a block and made a gesture of blessing: ¡°Good day, may God bless you.¡±


    ¡°Good day, father,¡± Gerard returned the gesture: ¡°How much is the toll for the bridge today?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°One silver coin for a horse, a quarter silver coin for each person.¡±


    As Gerard counted out the silver coins, Winters frowned and asked, ¡°Are you a clergyman?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Clergy from the cathedral?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the old man replied puzzled: ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Then why are you collecting money here?¡±


    The old man made another blessing gesture and rambled on in explanation: ¡°This bridge belongs to the Revodan Cathedral, so there¡¯s a toll for crossing. However, city residents, clergy members, and the cathedral¡¯s servants don¡¯t have to pay¡­¡±


    Gerard handed over three silver coins to the old man: ¡°Father, please use the rest to buy some wood for warmth.¡±


    The old man gave thanks for the gesture and moved aside the wooden barrier.


    After the two horsemen crossed, the old man struggled to move the wood back into place.


    Seeing this, Winters turned back, dismounted, and lifted the wood: ¡°You go back and sit.¡±


    The old man expressed his gratitude repeatedly and hobbled back to the pavilion.


    Winters shook his head secretly, thinking to himself that what he had actually wanted to ask was, ¡°How can they make such an old man do this kind of work?¡±


    After crossing the bridge, they entered the downtown area of Revodan, and on the way to the garrison, Winters passed by the great cathedral.


    It was only a fleeting glance, but this towering stone structure was truly majestic and¡­ indeed, brilliant and resplendent.


    The barracks were housed in a two-story stone building with white walls and red tiles, surrounded by a wooden fence that formed a large courtyard. On the other side of the courtyard was a row of barracks, with a flat drill ground in between the barracks and the building.


    The guards at the gate recognized Gerard and waved the two of them in. Instead of going straight upstairs, Gerard led Winters to the stables in the back yard to store the horses first.


    As Winters handed the reins to the coachman, Gerard Mitchell¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment as he said, ¡°Lieutenant, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been thinking about for a long time, and I need to ask for your help. Please, you must help me.¡±


    The sudden request caught Winters off guard. He had a bad feeling about this, but still answered, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t find it abrupt,¡± Gerard became more earnest.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Winters began to sweat even more.


    ¡°I¡¯m really embarrassed, and this is quite presumptuous.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this for a long time before mustering the courage to ask.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Gerard bit his lip, saying awkwardly, ¡°could you let the colt your family sent over mate with my family¡¯s mare?¡±


    Winters almost had a stroke, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it would be for a fee. I know the rules,¡± Old Dusack hastily added.


    The colt Gerard mentioned referred to not Redmane, but Strongwind.


    While Winters had been fighting in Tanilia, Strongwind had stayed at Sea Blue¡¯s house. When Kosha sent Xial to find Winters, she had Xial bring Strongwind along as well.


    Winters guessed that it also meant something like ¡°riding this horse back home.¡±


    From the moment Gerard saw Strongwind, he could hardly take his eyes off him, hanging around Strongwind whenever he had the chance, which made Winters think he wanted to buy Strongwind.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± Winters shook Gerard¡¯s hand sincerely, ¡°Please, use him for breeding, as much as you like.¡±


    Old Dusack was all smiles, rubbing his hands together without knowing quite what to say.


    ¡°However, I¡¯ve heard that the mare might be more important,¡± Winters queried.


    ¡°The quality of the mare is certainly important, but so is that of the colt,¡± Gerard suddenly said with sadness. ¡°After Hanu was killed by a bear, my family hasn¡¯t had a decent colt¡­ anyway, let¡¯s drop it.¡±


    Gerard waved his hand and led Winters into the two-story building.


    To Winters¡¯ surprise, every officer and soldier in the barracks seemed to know Gerard, all greeting Old Dusack.


    Thus, with ease, the two men met the commander of the Revodan barracks, Winters¡¯ direct superior¡ªMajor Ronald.


    Whether it was because of Gerard¡¯s introduction or their alumni relationship, Major Ronald was very friendly to Winters.


    He inquired carefully about Winters¡¯ difficulties, what assistance he needed, and even introduced Winters to the other officers at the barracks.


    ¡°I am only a few classes ahead of you,¡± the Major said with sympathy, patting Winters on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about your situation. For now, just bear with it. We¡¯re in the middle of a manpower shortage, and those higher up won¡¯t let anyone go. Once the war is won, everything will be easier to talk about.¡±


    The Paratu Army, from top to bottom, made Winters feel a stark contrast. Every Paratu-born officer he met was very nice and friendly.


    Yet it was precisely this collective representation of all Paratu officers that was detaining him here, preventing him from going home.


    Of course, Winters had not forgotten the purpose of his visit. He had some important questions that needed clarification.


    In Paratu¡¯s law, were militiamen considered ¡°labourers¡± or ¡°soldiers¡±?


    ¡°They are soldiers,¡± Major Ronald gave a definitive answer, bringing documents to support it.


    Then Winters¡¯ second question:


    Is Dusack¡¯s conscription as a militiaman¡­ also considered service?


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 Chapter 354 - 28: Regulatory Arbitrage

    Chapter 354: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage


    In the eyes of Palatu law, whether militia are considered ¡°common laborers¡± or ¡°soldiers¡± doesn¡¯t matter to other ethnic groups¡ªthey¡¯re all there to do a job anyway.


    But for the Dusacks, the distinction couldn¡¯t be more significant.


    If militia are ¡°soldiers,¡± then Dusacks serving as militia could offset their service time, even though the work they actually do is that of common laborers.


    This was an idea from Brother Reed, who, after a couple bottles of wine, couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut.


    The surviving elders of the Dusacks had all sworn an oath to Marshal Ned thirty years ago, formally aligning themselves with the Republic of Palatu, and eventually settling and multiplying into what is now the Newly Reclaimed Land of the Dusans.


    And their descendants, upon coming of age for service, would swear the oath anew.


    ...


    But within all the oaths, only ¡°eternal loyalty¡± and ¡°service¡± were mentioned, without specifying the form of service, leaving room for interpretation.


    For the Dusacks, serving meant being soldiers, killing, and cleaving down with horse sabers¡ªit was a matter of course.


    They failed to see the significant loophole in the system¡ªthat militia were soldiers too, and serving as militia also counted as service.


    Now, for every day a Dusack joins the militia, in theory, their future period of service could be theoretically reduced by one day.


    Although it¡¯s essentially exploiting a loophole, the Dusacks would be pleased since it lowers the risks associated with their duty;


    The other four villages of Wolf Town would be happy too since they would have fewer people to send;


    Winters would also be pleased, as he turned a bad situation into something of a mixed bag;


    The only one probably not happy would be the Republic of Palatu, but what ruled the Republic was a clumsy, massive, bloated system of power.


    It was so slow to react that it could take a long while to notice a minor cut, and it¡¯s highly unlikely that it would make a fuss over a small advantage taken.


    This ¡°transformation of civilians into soldiers¡± tactic was proudly hailed by the old charlatan as ¡°exploiting the system.¡±


    The old man had even more outrageous strategies: The precondition for the Dusacks to be granted land was to complete a term of service, but the definition of a term of service was equally vague. Serving in militia auxiliary units and automatically concluding service upon their disbandment¡ªdoesn¡¯t that count as ¡°completing a term of service¡±?


    Then there were even more outrageous, utterly shameless strategies: The ¡°Teldorf Accord¡± stipulates that in times of emergency, the Garrison Officer has the right to conscript civilians to form militia units.


    But what constitutes an emergency? The ¡°Teldorf Accord¡± didn¡¯t elaborate, thus the interpretation naturally fell into the hands of the Garrison Officer.


    And a town-level militia unit was still a militia, legally equal to the militia conscripted by a legion, meaning that serving in a town-level militia counted as service.


    So theoretically, Winters could simply declare an ¡°emergency in Wolfton¡± and establish a nominal militia to allow the young Dusacks to serve their term until they were granted land.


    Reed¡¯s continual exploitation of the system left Lieutenant Montaigne dazzled and speechless. The poor lieutenant had attended a military academy from the age of nine and had never seen a ¡°system exploiter¡± like Reed who could push every loophole to its limit.


    Compared to other system-exploiting strategies, the initial method seemed like child¡¯s play, barely counting as taking advantage of the public.


    ¡°But you¡¯ve got to be careful, son. The last two tricks aren¡¯t just bloodletting with a small knife, they¡¯re chopping off toes with a big axe!¡± Brother Reed, even in his inebriated state, didn¡¯t forget to warn Winters, ¡°You¡¯re forcing officials to close the loopholes and you will definitely provoke retaliation from the authorities. So don¡¯t overdo it. Let the Dusacks serve as militia and accumulate some service time, perfectly solving the source of the militia. If higher-ups ever call it into question, you¡¯ll have an excuse.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the old monk was clearly overthinking it, because the mere tactic of ¡°transforming civilians into soldiers¡± had already turned Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s world upside down. As for more aggressive, greedier system exploitation, Winters hadn¡¯t even considered them.


    Not expecting to change the Dusans¡¯ way of life, Winters was content with contributing something modest to Wolf Town. At the Revodan garrison, he received a satisfactory response.


    ¡­


    Major Ronald had some hesitation initially, but Captain Apel, the head of the garrison archives, brought up a case from eight years prior to support Winters¡¯ claim.


    Eight years ago in Dastone Town, which was also under the jurisdiction of Iron Peak County, the town¡¯s military officer urgently called upon the Dusacks to form a militia to suppress bandits. During the process, a young Dusack who was not yet of age unfortunately died in battle.


    It was customary for Dusacks to serve at the age of twenty. But in rural areas, marriages happened early, and many Dusacks already had children before reaching the age to serve and obtain land.


    The young Dusack who died fighting bandits in Dastone Town left behind a son, a daughter, and a widow.


    After the militia disbanded post-bandit suppression, the Dusacks of Dastone Town went all the way up to the headquarters of the garrisoned legion to petition.


    They hoped the legion would recognize the death of the underage Dusack as ¡°fallen in service.¡±


    Because the only way an un-landed Dusack¡¯s son could inherit land until he came of age was through the father¡¯s death in service, otherwise the death was in vain.


    The petition eventually landed on the desk of then-Legion Commander General Ferenc, who was deeply moved upon learning that the deceased Dusack had been pierced by several arrows yet continued to fight the bandits until his death.


    General Ferenc personally approved the fallen as ¡°killed in service,¡± and the injured were also recognized as ¡°wounded in service,¡± to be given commendation.


    This case from eight years ago provided the support for Winters¡¯ claim.


    Even if it came to a debate in military court, to reject Winters¡¯ claim would mean to overturn General Ferenc¡¯s precedent first.


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 Chapter 355 - 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_2

    Chapter 355: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_2


    Winters was completely unaware that such an incident had occurred eight years ago, but since there was already a similar precedent, that was certainly for the best.


    After much consideration, Major Ronald reluctantly said to Winters and Gerard, ¡°This conscription will proceed as you wish, but whether future conscriptions can still be done this way¡­ I¡¯ll have to consult with the legion headquarters.¡±


    All archival materials of the Dusacks in the county were managed by the garrison, and Major Ronald, as the highest military commander of Iron Peak County, had a considerable degree of autonomy.


    He nodded, and with that, the matter was settled. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For a moment, Winters was also very excited, after all, he had never thought about the future, and everyone, including himself, believed that Winters Montagne would not stay in Paratu for long.


    As Major Ronald was seeing Winters and Gerard out, he sighed unintentionally, ¡°A son is not a creditor of his parents, but he can suck their blood even more than a creditor.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hmm? Did the Major agree just to save Mr. Michel¡¯s face?¡± Winters thought to himself.


    He looked at Gerard, only to find that the old Dusack¡¯s face was ashen and he was silent.


    ¡°Senior, thank you for lending a hand today.¡±


    Stepping out of the garrison¡¯s gate, Winters sincerely thanked Captain Apel. If it weren¡¯t for the captain citing the precedent, they would not have been able to convince Major Ronald so easily.


    To his surprise, Captain Apel merely replied indifferently, ¡°I was not helping you, I was just stating facts. But if you ask me, it was really Mr. Michel¡¯s influence that was more effective.¡±


    After this, the captain greeted the two men and turned back to the garrison building.


    Outside the garrison walls, only Winters and Gerard were left, along with two horses.


    ¡°Lieutenant, do you want the kids to join the militia now to idle away their time, so they serve less when they are of age?¡± the moment the captain left, Gerard asked impatiently.


    Winters noticed the old Dusack¡¯s unusual upset, ¡°It¡¯s not idling away time, serving in the militia auxiliary force is just as legally valid as any other service.¡±


    ¡°I disagree! This is exploiting a loophole! It is opportunism! It is stealing!¡± Gerard, for the first time since they met, shouted at Winters, ¡°Dusacks are the kind of men who would rob but never steal! When it¡¯s their turn to serve, they should do so honestly, and if they don¡¯t want to serve, well, they might as well rebel! They should never engage in these sneaky tricks! We took a blood oath with the old marshal!¡±


    Normally cheerful, Gerard suddenly erupted with emotion, and Winters did not know how to respond, ¡°Please be assured, all of this is legally sound.¡±


    ¡°But what about conscience? Our blood oath? God is watching from the clouds!¡± As he spoke, the old Dusack¡¯s energy deflated, and he muttered to himself, ¡°Nobody wants to send their boy to the battlefield, who am I to tell others how to manage their children? Ah, you young people¡­ do as you please¡­¡±


    ¡°I apologize for taking the initiative without consulting you in advance.¡± Winters was moved by the old Dusack¡¯s emotions, ¡°If you feel this is not right, we can pretend this never happened, and I won¡¯t mention it to anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Child, I know you meant well.¡± Gerard grasped Winters¡¯s hand, using the term ¡°son¡± for the first time, ¡°I will tell the other Dusacks when I get back, they should be very pleased. Ah, you young people¡­ do as you please.¡±


    Gerard, exhausted, mounted his horse and left without a word.


    Winters did not expect that what seemed like a good deed would upset the old Dusack so much; he stood in place for a long time before leaping onto his horse to catch up from behind.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The goods from Wolf Town¡¯s estates were successfully delivered in Revodan.


    The year¡¯s crops were good, which could be described as favorable weather, so there were no breaches of contract.


    Beyond the produce pre-contracted by several large trading companies, Wolf Town¡¯s estates had an additional surplus of crops. These were also brought over and, after some bargaining, purchased by the trading companies.


    Produce like beets would be crudely processed right in Revodan, while the transport from Revodan to the provincial capital and other distant cities was the responsibility of the trading companies¡¯ caravans.


    The harvest season thus came to a complete end, leaving the estate managers with a substantial amount of cash in hand.


    A portion of it was used to procure essential items for the next year¡¯s production in Revodan, such as coal, iron farming tools, timber, etc.


    Another portion needed to be paid to the employees, though the workers¡¯ wages were mainly in the form of grain rather than Gold Coin or silver coin.


    The landowners would take the money back and buy grain from the Dusans, who never lacked land or had an excess cereal production; this would be the most cost-effective approach.


    Of course, as compensation for the hard work during the harvest season, each employee also received a bonus¡ªalthough the amount varied, depending on the employer¡¯s generosity.


    Some ambitious estate managers immediately set out for the garrison, eager to fence in more land before others.


    Take the Bunting family, for example. The Bunting couple raised five sons and two daughters¡ªan almost miraculous achievement in those times.


    Considering future subdivisions among their sons and dowries for their daughters, they too were desperately longing for more land.


    The profits were thus poured back into acquiring more land in a never-ending cycle, with no sign of a finish line.


    From Winters¡¯s perspective, most estate managers immediately converted their money into consumer goods: fine wines, pure white sugar, beautiful furniture, tightly woven striped cotton cloth¡­ a myriad of nice things, which need not be listed one by one.


    Gold Coin and silver coin slipped through their fingers like fine sand, exchanged for material joys.


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 Chapter 356 - 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_3

    Chapter 356: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_3


    Winters also discovered a very interesting phenomenon: although Wolf Town produces cotton, hemp, and timber, finished goods such as furniture and fabrics still had to be bought from Revodan.


    The estates only produced raw materials, yet lacked the capacity to process them¡ªexcept for tobacco.


    The estate economy was actually particularly fragile, extremely dependent on a developed commercial system. Without external merchants to purchase their goods, the entire economic crop planting cycle of the estates would immediately collapse.


    However, these matters were of no concern to him; he simply drew his own conclusions from the perspective of an observer.


    What he was most concerned about now was the situation in Vineta, so during the convoy¡¯s stop in Revodan these past few days, he visited all the commerce houses in Revodan.


    Xial and Gold set out from Sea Blue quite early and were not very clear about the current situation. Besides, Xial had a limited perspective, while Gold was unwilling to elaborate, resulting in Winters obtaining very little useful intelligence from them.


    ...


    But one common sense was self-evident to Winters, coming from a commercial republic: merchants always had the most up-to-date information, no matter the time or place.


    Although the information he received was somewhat inconsistent, it still made Winters deeply worried.


    Various pieces of intelligence indicated that the standoff between The Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªthe twin pillars of the Alliance¡ªnot only hadn¡¯t cooled but was escalating.


    Merchants from Revodan heard that on the Inner Sea, Vineta and The Federated Provinces¡¯ fleets would intercept, inspect, and seize each other¡¯s merchant ships.


    There were even rumors that the navies of both sides were masquerading as pirates to rob the other¡¯s vessels¡ªof course, some merchants said it was because the navies no longer had the resources to deal with pirates, allowing the pirates, who had lain low after the collapse of the Tanilia Federation, to become rampant.


    The result was that today, not a single merchant ship on the Inner Sea dared to fly the Tulip or Blood Red flags. Ships were raising the Empire¡¯s flag for self-protection. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [The Tulip and Blood Red flags are, respectively, the navigational flags of The Federated Provinces and Vineta.]


    Even more merchant ships simply left the Inner Sea or shrank into ports to wait out the storm.


    The once-thriving and busy Senas Bay had now become cold and dim.


    The Senas Inner Sea, once renowned for its golden waters, had now turned into a deadly area that sailors spoke of with dread.


    The land borders had also been sealed off for a long time, with only a few ports remaining open to maintain the scant personnel exchange.


    The Parlatu Congress and Vineta Senate rapidly enacted one embargo act after another, turning what was previously an almost unrestricted internal trade within the Alliance into something where selling anything became illegal.


    Now, trade between Vineta and The Federated Provinces could only be routed through Paratu, which made quite a few Paratu merchants wealthy through transshipment business, much to the envy of the merchants in the remote southwestern city of Revodan.


    Not seeing a sign for Navarre Commerce in the city, Winters also took the opportunity to inquire with the merchants of Revodan, only to find that the Navarre family¡¯s business was ¡°common knowledge¡±.


    According to the warehouses that purchased raw materials such as cotton and hemp, they were selling their goods to Navarre Commerce.


    But the large commerce houses only had branches in the provincial capitals, waiting for smaller merchant houses to transport the goods to them, and would not come down to the smaller cities to collect the goods.


    The reason¡­ well, it¡¯s the same as why the merchants of Revodan have to have the estate owners bring the goods to Revodan. The roads were unsafe¡ªit was all to reduce risk.


    Winters considered sending a message to Navarre Commerce through the merchants of Revodan but after careful consideration, he decided against it.


    He didn¡¯t trust the merchants of Revodan, nor the branches of Navarre Commerce¡ªeven if he were to write a letter, he couldn¡¯t include important information.


    Now that he had already communicated with Sea Blue, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to send a message back. Who knew whether the Paratu People would hand over his letter to the Parlatu Army?


    ¡­


    Time passed quickly in the city of Revodan.


    After living for over two months in the quiet, spacious countryside, Winters felt somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden return to city life.


    In the span of three days, Winters attended to official business, made inquiries at different firms, and on Sunday, followed the congregation into the Revodan Cathedral for mass.


    However, the lieutenant regarded his visit as a sightseeing trip and discreetly avoided taking communion at the end.


    To be fair, the Revodan Cathedral was indeed magnificent and luxurious, and even when compared to Sea Blue¡¯s Saint Marco Cathedral, it had its merits.


    The towering arches seemed poised to crush one¡¯s face from above, making every passerby feel their insignificance.


    What genuinely moved Winters was not the miracles of the divine but the wisdom humans burst forth with in their efforts to please their gods.


    Just looking at the cathedral before him, it was hard to imagine how the craftsmen could create such a majestic structure using simple tools like chisels, hammers, and pulleys.


    To Winters, a Sea Blue native, Revodan could hardly be considered a wealthy city.


    Yet, a city of just one or two thousand people had erected such a cathedral, making it difficult to decide whether to call it extravagant or wasteful, foolish or devout.


    Of course, what Winters found most impressive was the grandiose vestments of the Revodan bishop and the dazzling gold and silver vessels on the altar.


    The lieutenant couldn¡¯t help thinking: Perhaps part of it came from the toll collected by that old man by the bridgehead?


    And so, the three days passed swiftly.


    On the fourth day, it was time to set off again from Wolf Town, heading back to that remote, secluded, yet charming border town.


    However, an hour past the agreed departure time, nearly half the people hadn¡¯t shown up.


    After sending the latecomers¡¯ companions to urge them several times, there was still no sign of them, leaving Gerard and Winters anxious.


    An irate Winters ordered the companions of the latecomers to lead the way, grabbing his saber and storming off in a fury.


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived at their location that he understood why the guide hesitated to speak plainly¡ªit was a brothel.


    ¡°Young master, who are you looking for?¡± A courtesan inside sashayed up to the lieutenant with a smile, even reaching out to wrap her arms around his waist, ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay a while~¡±


    Winters was not used to this.


    His face ashen, he kicked open each door, flooring the men from Wolf Town with a punch and following up with a lash of his whip, ¡°Great! Earn a few bucks and it all goes to the damn brothel!¡±


    The bruised and battered Dusack and the workers were rounded up by Winters to the assembly point, where Gerard, with one look, understood everything.


    His face stern, he asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t I said time and time again not to distribute the reward money until we¡¯re home? Have you all ignored my words?¡±


    He was not addressing the men who had gone off to drink and visit women, but rather the landowners beside him.


    Those caught by his gaze could do nothing but shamefully lower their heads, with the owner of Golden Ear Manor, Vick Hoffman, braving his explanation, ¡°Some of the servants came to me wanting to buy some things to take back, so I didn¡¯t think much of it when I gave it to them. Plus, everyone¡¯s really worn out from the journey, a little relaxation is in order¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gerard interrupted old Hoffman in a thunderous roar, ¡°I don¡¯t want excuses, those who can¡¯t follow the rules, don¡¯t follow the convoy! You bring this on yourself! Don¡¯t you know that the laborers rely on this one-time bonus to save up some money for the entire year?! Don¡¯t you know that the way back is even more dangerous than the journey here?!¡±


    Vick Hoffman, frightened by the sudden ferocity in old Dusack¡¯s eyes, trembled and dared not speak again.


    With people and carts roughly accounted for but upon closer inspection still short of members,


    Gerard grabbed a worker by the collar and demanded, ¡°Where¡¯s your master?¡±


    ¡°Reporting to the lord, master Bunting left for home yesterday,¡± the trembling worker replied, ¡°He wanted to get a jump on securing land and forbade me from telling you all.¡±


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 Chapter 357 - 29: The Journey Home

    Chapter 357: Chapter 29: The Journey Home


    The core of the ¡°Treaty of Torde¡± is actually only one sentence, ¡°All land acquired by the army beyond the western national borders shall belong to the Republic, with ownership vested in the military.¡±


    This treaty is the cornerstone of the political ecology of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and the source of power for the Kingdom of Galloping Horses¡¯ continuous western expansion.


    Therefore, anyone wishing to purchase land in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province needs to buy ¡°acreage¡± from the army garrison in the county capital first.


    After paying for the land, take the half title deed provided by the garrison to the town under the county, and delimit the unsold land according to the acreage under the supervision and notarization of the town mayor and the Garrison Officer.


    Once the land enclosure is complete, the buyer can begin farming, and the remaining half of the title deed will be completed by the mayor and Garrison Officer and returned to the county garrison.


    The title deed is then confirmed, signed, and sealed at the county garrison, and subsequently sent up to the headquarters of the garrison troops in the provincial capital.


    ...


    After the headquarters transcribes, seals, and archives the title deed, it will be sent back the same way, through the county garrison and the town hall, and finally returned to the buyer.


    In this manner, there are four copies of the complete title deed. The original is in the hands of the buyer, and copies are retained at the headquarters, county garrison, and town hall. Any damage or loss in any link will not affect the certification of land ownership.


    However, this process is rigorous but cumbersome, with the title deed taking at least six months to a year to be returned.


    But legally, it¡¯s not necessary to wait for the complete title deed to return; the moment the land is delimited, the buyer already owns it and can dispose of it as they wish.


    ¡­


    The Paratu Council¡¯s method for judging land prices is also simple and crude, considering only two factors: Is the terrain hilly or flat? Is there a water source within half a kilometer?


    Land near water on flat grounds has a high unit price, while distant water on hilly terrain has a low unit price.


    If it¡¯s forest land, its value and taxes for the timber are also accounted for.


    Roads, rivers, lakes, and all water bodies are the property of the army and are not for sale.


    Land is divided into ¡°surface¡± and ¡°subsoil¡± parts. Buyers only own the surface, and the subsoil is also not for sale.


    By stratifying land ownership, buyers can only cultivate, while all minerals beneath the surface remain the property of the military.


    There are also various other restrictive clauses, too many to mention, that block any potential encroachment on the military¡¯s interests.


    ¡­


    It wasn¡¯t until Gerard carefully explained that Winters understood why Mr. Bunting was so eager to get back to Wolf Town ahead of others. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Newly Reclaimed Lands government¡¯s straightforward land pricing model, combined with the rule that whoever encloses the land first gets to own it, is akin to shouting, ¡°Buy quickly, first come first served.¡±


    Quality land is finite, but the number of people wanting to buy land is infinite. Every year, the county garrison sells land, and the good spots only become scarcer.


    Just this year alone, seven estates bought more ¡°acreage¡± from the garrison. Clearly, Mr. Bunting set out early in order to enclose land before anyone else could.


    ¡°That must be it,¡± Gerard said, spreading his hands, ¡°Now the estates are so close to each other, there¡¯s limited land to enclose around them, especially for the Bunting family. Mr. Bunting probably fears someone else might enclose it first, and then his family¡¯s land would no longer be a complete piece.¡±


    Gerard and Winters rode side by side at the front of the caravan. Without the cargo, the team moved much faster than on the way there.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to be so petty and sordid, why not discuss it with the neighbors in advance? It seems Mr. Bunting considers others as stingy as he is,¡± Winters commented with some disapproval.


    Gerard replied helplessly, ¡°Mr. Bunting has his difficulties, he has many sons. And who wouldn¡¯t want their own land to be a contiguous whole? Scattered plots are especially inconvenient for farming. There are many such fragmented plots in both Nanxin and Beixin villages, where the villagers don¡¯t have much spare money and can only buy small pieces at a time. In the end, you wouldn¡¯t believe how much land is taken up by just field ridges.¡±


    Agricultural common sense was outside of Winters¡¯s knowledge, the lieutenant did not understand what ¡°field ridges¡± were, and Gerard had to explain it to him.


    ¡°What about Nanxin and Beixin villages?¡± After listening to Old Dusack¡¯s explanation, Winters was very curious about the conditions in the Protestant villages with even less arable land per capita.


    Gerard lamented, ¡°Due to the scarcity of land in those two villages, they simply don¡¯t use field ridges. They just use a few stones to mark the boundaries, and there haven¡¯t been any disputes.¡±


    ¡°So if I wanted to buy land, should I turn around and go back to Revodan now?¡± joked Winters.


    ¡°Do you want to buy land? Great!¡± Gerard was first surprised, then delighted, happily clutching the lieutenant¡¯s arm, ¡°There¡¯s a piece of unclaimed land just between my family¡¯s property and Dusa Village, a complete plot, and it¡¯s even by the river. If you think it¡¯s too small, I can sell you some more.¡±


    Old Dusack¡¯s eagerness took Winters by surprise, and he repeatedly waved his hands, ¡°I was just kidding, where do I have the money to buy land?¡±


    ¡°No problem, I can lend it to you.¡±


    Of course, Winters could not agree; he firmly declined, and seeing this, Gerard did not press any further.


    Noticing Old Dusack¡¯s disappointment, Winters tried to change the subject, ¡°It seems like everyone¡¯s not doing well, not as alert as on the way here.¡±


    After spending three days in Revodan, many of the drivers, hired hands, and even the Dusacks were listless.


    Quite a few drivers yawned endlessly, drowsily leaning against their seats, listlessly cracking their whips.


    Some of the Dusacks had yet to sober up from the journey there, completely lacking their previous sharpness and vigor.


    Winters counted in his mind and noted that the frequency of Dusack patrols had dropped significantly; they traveled all morning and saw only two riders come to the front for inspection.


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 Chapter 358 - 29 Return Journey_2

    Chapter 358: Chapter 29 Return Journey_2


    ¡°Ah! Farmers hardly see many silver coins in a year, so once they have money in hand, they can¡¯t control their purse strings,¡± Gerard complained angrily. ¡°That¡¯s why I repeatedly ordered not to distribute bonuses and salaries until we return to Wolf Town. Yet, some people still didn¡¯t take my words seriously!¡±


    Sergei, who had been dozing off in the saddle, suddenly perked up at these words, ¡°Captain, you¡¯ve got it wrong this time. They deliberately distributed the money in the county town! They¡¯re up to no good!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters pressed.


    ¡°How could landlords ever let the tenants save money?¡± Sergei scoffed with contempt, ¡°If tenants save enough to buy land, won¡¯t they become freeholders? Then who would work for the landlords? With a battle against the Herd Barbarians imminent and lots of cheap land up for grabs afterward, which farmer wouldn¡¯t be tempted? You think they wouldn¡¯t distribute the money in Revodan?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s expression turned grave: ¡°Don¡¯t think so badly of everyone.¡±


    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re not like them. Even if Dusack¡¯s land is scant, it¡¯s still Dusack¡¯s; no matter how much land a Bumpkin has, he¡¯s still a Bumpkin. Can they compare to us?¡± Sergei scratched at his graying hair, speaking bluntly.


    ...


    The old man glanced at Winters and quickly added, ¡°Lieutenant, you¡¯re different from them too. Your hands hold the hilt of a sword, theirs hold the plow.¡±


    Winters smiled. If he took offense at everything this old Dusack said, he¡¯d have been furious long ago.


    Gerard, frowning, said, ¡°I need to go see what¡¯s going on in the back. How come we¡¯ve seen so few Dusacks on patrol this morning?¡±


    Having said his piece, he spurred his horse toward the rear of the convoy.


    Winters also found it strange, squeezing his horse¡¯s sides and tugging the reins: ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look too.¡±


    Riding against the direction of the convoy, Mr. Michel nearly burst a lung with anger.


    Many Dusacks weren¡¯t patrolling at all but had tied their Warhorses to the backs of the wagons and lay snoring in the carts.


    Gerard picked up a club thick as a small arm and began beating the lazy Dusacks without mercy.


    Less than two months in Wolf Town, Winters had already dealt with several brawling incidents involving Dusans. As for Dusacks beating their wives or thrashing their sons, that was all too common.


    Violence was not unusual among Dusacks, but it was his first time seeing Gerard strike someone, and so fiercely at that.


    The Dusacks, reeking of alcohol, often only woke up screaming when the club hit them.


    First shocked, then angry, their feelings turned to shame when they realized they were being beaten by Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell.


    The beaten Dusacks would scramble to their feet, taking the blows in silence.


    Gerard went from one Dusack to another, beating as he went, leaving the lieutenant no chance to intervene.


    When he discovered Pierre also lying lazily asleep in a cart, Mr. Michel, enraged, swung his club at Mr. Mitchell¡¯s head.


    Winters rushed to grab the club in alarm, knowing a blow to the head could be lethal.


    But in his rage, Gerard was terrifying; for a moment, Winters couldn¡¯t restrain him, and Gerard let go of the club to throw punches at Pierre.


    Winters saw clearly that the punch was solid, merciless, not at all held back because Pierre was his son, landing squarely on his face.


    Mr. Mitchell woke up in an instant, blood spraying from his nose, having never seen his father in such a state.


    Pierre, both shocked and scared, cried out, ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°[Dusack curse]!¡± Old Dusack didn¡¯t stop cursing, nor did his hands, as he grabbed his son by the collar and pounded his face, ¡°You begged me to come along with the convoy! And this is how you do it? Do you have any backbone at all? Huh?!¡±


    ¡°Even mom hasn¡¯t hit me!¡± young Dusack cried out in tears.


    Winters and other Dusacks rushed to pull the two apart, and it took three strong Dusack men to barely hold back the furious Gerard, who kicked when his punches couldn¡¯t reach.


    Shock, grievance, fear ¨C these emotions all appeared on Pierre¡¯s face, as tears and blood streamed down together.


    Pierre, holding his nose, cried out, ¡°What gives you the right to hit me? I¡¯ll tell mom!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll beat you to death, you worthless brat!¡± Gerard, forcibly dragged away, was even more furious.


    After the commotion, Gerard called all the Dusacks who had come with the convoy together for a meeting.


    ¡°Is this your first time with the convoy?¡± Old Dusack¡¯s residual anger hadn¡¯t subsided, ¡°Don¡¯t you know the rules? Don¡¯t you know that returning home is even more dangerous than the journey here? We used to carry goods, now we carry money! Don¡¯t you get it?¡±


    The Dusacks, usually so arrogant, now hung their heads in shame, none daring to meet the gaze of Captain Michel.


    ¡°From now on, stay alert,¡± said Gerard Mitchell with a vicious stare, ¡°Whoever dares slack off again, I¡¯ll flay his skin!¡±


    ¡­


    At night, when they rested, the large four-wheeled wagons formed a circular fortress on a flat stretch of ground.


    Inside the wagon fortress, fires were lit, and the drivers and Dusacks sat around boiling water and warming food, chattering idly.


    A swarm of tiny insects buzzed densely over the meadow, and a slap of the hand left them sticking to it, making one¡¯s scalp tingle with discomfort.


    Some couldn¡¯t bear the insect bites and threw clumps of wet horse manure into the fire. As bluish smoke wafted through the wagon fortress, the irritating insects vanished in an instant.


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 Chapter 359 - 29 Return Journey_3

    Chapter 359: Chapter 29 Return Journey_3


    However, the smoke also hindered visibility, leaving the people inside the vehicle stack unable to see each other clearly.


    Winters sat with Sergei, Vashka, and Pierre next to a warm flame, as old Sergei was setting Gerard¡¯s broken nose.


    ¡°Uncle, look at this, he hit way too hard. If it weren¡¯t for Winters, I would have been beaten to death,¡± Pierre still harbored grudges about the daytime incident, complaining, ¡°I¡¯m still bleeding from my nose!¡±


    While holding Pierre¡¯s head in one hand and his nose in the other, Sergei said indifferently, ¡°Enough with the complaints about your dad. Just bear with it and don¡¯t move at all.¡±


    Pierre nodded slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to count to three and then straighten it out,¡± old Sergei smacked his lips. He only got to ¡°one¡± when he forcefully pinched Pierre¡¯s nose.


    ...


    Pierre screamed in pain, falling backward, tears streaming down from the agony.


    It took a long while for him to recover, then he complained, ¡°You only counted to one!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just fine?¡± old Sergei inspected it again, then clapped his hands, ¡°There, you¡¯re not disfigured. Don¡¯t rub or touch it for half a month, and you¡¯ll still be a handsome young man.¡±


    Having given his medical advice, Sergei yawned and sat back by the fire. He poured a bit of hot soup from the iron kettle on the fire and sipped it in small mouthfuls.


    Pierre gingerly touched his nose a few times and happily said, ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt as much as before.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Morozov, you¡¯re quite skilled at this,¡± Winters had observed the whole process and expressed his rare admiration to old Dusack.


    Sergei twirled his silver-grey braid and chuckled, ¡°Nothing much, every old soldier knows how to do it.¡±


    The flickering flames reflected the mood of everyone present.


    Pierre, still resentful, said, ¡°Just watch, when I get back I¡¯ll tell my mom, and she¡¯ll definitely take my side!¡±


    ¡°Listen, lad, save your father some worry,¡± old Dusack said rather displeased to young Dusack, ¡°Your dad used his fists all the way through. If he had pulled his punches with you, could he still command respect? Ask the lieutenant if that¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Winters nodded.


    Sergei earnestly said, ¡°Think about it, who are you? You are the son of Mayor Mitchell. What you do, others will follow. If you laze around and sleep on the wagon, would other Dusans feel content? Could they resist copying you? I¡¯ve escorted wagons with your dad so many times and never saw such a thing. As soon as you¡¯re there, Dusans dare to slack off. Don¡¯t you understand what this is about? That¡¯s what made your dad angry.¡±


    Winters nodded in approval at the side.


    But Pierre, rendered speechless by the argument, still defended himself stubbornly, ¡°But he did hit too hard.¡±


    ¡°He certainly did hit too hard,¡± Vashka, who had not spoken until now, said with a bit of schadenfreude.


    Vashka had slept in the large wagon behind Pierre¡¯s, so he had luckily avoided a beating.


    Sergei¡¯s expression darkened, and he flung the hot soup from his bowl at his son, ¡°You shameless brat, you still dare to talk? Consider yourself lucky I didn¡¯t beat you.¡±


    Vashka yelped as the hot soup scalded him and retorted, ¡°If I¡¯m a brat, then you¡¯re a dog!¡±


    Old Sergei, fuming with anger, grabbed a flaming stick and was about to strike.


    Winters quickly restrained old Dusack, ¡°Mr. Morozov, it¡¯s not worth getting upset over a kid.¡±


    Sergei sat cross-legged by the fire, puffing with anger and without any appetite for dinner. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing Mr. Mitchell get angry; it gave me quite the scare,¡± Winters strained to lighten the mood, ¡°Has Mr. Mitchell ever been this angry before?¡±


    Old Dusack snorted and, glaring at Vashka, said, ¡°Nothing strange about that. The leader was just like that when he was younger; he could rage so fiercely it was a matter of life and death. On the contrary, it¡¯s after he married that woman who isn¡¯t a Dusan that his temper changed completely from what it was.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Mitchell isn¡¯t a Dusan?¡± Winters asked knowingly, always curious about the mysterious Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°No,¡± Sergei stood up, supporting himself with his hands and spat into the fire, ¡°I need to take a piss.¡±


    Before leaving, old Dusack couldn¡¯t resist kicking his son.


    ¡­


    By a fire on the eastern side of the vehicle stack, Gerard sat alone, smoking a sullen cigarette.


    ¡°Commander, you sure have a lot of space here, one fire all to yourself,¡± Sergei said with a smile, squeezing next to his old comrade after returning from relieving himself outside the camp.


    ¡°Is that lad okay?¡± Gerard¡¯s eyes were fixed on the bonfire.


    ¡°What could possibly be wrong?¡± old Sergei wrapped himself in a blanket, the temperature difference on the plateau was extreme at dawn and dusk, ¡°Didn¡¯t we fight much fiercer than them when we were young? The night you broke my two molars with a punch, we still went out to box with the Dusans from the neighboring village.¡±


    Gerard Mitchell sighed, ¡°We have gotten old.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the young ones growing up too?¡± Sergei yawned.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same, they are not like us,¡± old Dusack said sorrowfully to the other old Dusack, ¡°These youngsters may have Dusan skins, but they don¡¯t have Dusan bones.¡±


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 Chapter 360 - 30: Crossing the Field in Vain

    Chapter 360: Chapter 30: Crossing the Field in Vain


    In the following days, although bearing bruises and resentment, Pierre stayed true to his duties, riding his horse and standing guard without slacking off again.


    The others¡ªwhether coachmen or Dusacks¡ªalso didn¡¯t dare to shirk their responsibilities.


    As they drew nearer to home, everyone was filled with an eagerness to return; the strength with which they cracked their whips unconsciously increased.


    With the rain ceasing upstream, the Panto River had returned to its normal levels. Instead of taking a detour through Shizhen, the caravan stuck to the shortest route, crossing the river at the ford.


    ¡­


    ¡°One!¡± the veteran coachman shouted hoarsely, ¡°Two!¡±


    ...


    Surrounding the cart, the young men clutched at its frame, struggling to lift it: ¡°Three!¡±


    With the command, the large cart that was stuck on a rock was forcibly lifted.


    Seizing the opportunity, the old coachman lashed his whip fiercely; the three mules, in pain, dragged the heavy cart rumbling towards the opposite shore.


    Unlike crossing a bridge, wading through the ford was a troublesome and arduous task.


    The riverbed wasn¡¯t a compacted road, but rather smooth cobblestones. Not only did the wheels struggle for purchase, but the animals¡¯ hooves also found it difficult to grip, making injuries especially likely.


    When they reached the edge of the ford, the caravan personnel would unhitch the animals from the shafts and use several horses to pull each cart across the river.


    In addition to the drivers, the younger Dusacks and hired hands also had to remove their shoes, roll up their trousers, and push or pull at the carts while shouting in unison.


    This work was too exhausting for the older folk; only the young men could endure it.


    Pierre had only pushed the carts back and forth in the ford a few times before he was soaked through with a mix of sweat and river water.


    The river¡¯s cold autumn water could instantly sap all warmth from a person¡¯s body. Mr. Mitchell, his feet chilled, felt an unbearable swelling and ache in his lower abdomen.


    The caravan built several fires on the shore, where some coachmen and Dusacks were drying their clothes and warming themselves.


    Pierre longed to go rest, but recalling Mr. Michel¡¯s harsh scolding, his stubbornness rose, and he gritted his teeth to endure the pain and continued to help push the cart.


    After several hours, only half the caravan had crossed.


    After consulting with each other, Gerard and Winters decided that Winters would take a few riders to gather the carts at the front and set up camp to prevent scattering.


    Gerard would take another group to the rear to urge them on, asking them to hasten their pace.


    After crossing the Panto River, it would be less than a day¡¯s journey to Wolf Town. Both Winters and Gerard were concerned that some coachmen, in their rush to get home, might leave the caravan and head back to Wolf Town overnight.


    Not only was it dangerous, but it could also disperse the entire caravan.


    Troops of riders sped towards both the front and the back, and with half the carts already across the river and moving away, the ford became much quieter.


    Fatigue and the cold left those lifting the carts in the river too exhausted to even chant in rhythm.


    Pierre¡¯s pain below his navel grew worse, as if thousands of tiny knives were slicing and stabbing at him, and he leaned on his knees in the river, panting.


    ¡°Lad, you alright?¡± Sergei waded over, putting an arm around Michel¡¯s shoulder, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just stomach pain,¡± Pierre shook uncontrollably.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go ashore and warm up by the fire, have some hot soup.¡±


    As they walked towards the opposite shore, Pierre suddenly grabbed old Sergei¡¯s arm, ¡°Uncle, does something seem off on the shore?¡±


    Even while they were busy working earlier, Pierre couldn¡¯t help but glance repeatedly towards the fire, sensing that something was amiss.


    There were a few unfamiliar faces among those warming by the fire.


    Michel¡¯s memory was like his mother¡¯s, not quite photographic, but he generally retained some impression, an advantage he was well aware of.


    Yet, he had no recollection of those new faces on the shore; he had never seen those few people in the caravan before.


    However, considering that they were out on the roads and it wasn¡¯t strange for passersby to come and ask for some hot soup. Those unfamiliar faces didn¡¯t linger long, sitting by the fire for a while before leaving.


    Thus, Pierre didn¡¯t make a fuss, but he stayed alert.


    But now, Pierre noticed that those ¡°familiar¡± faces had not only returned to the fireside, but more unfamiliar faces appeared on the banks.


    Pierre spoke swiftly into Sergei¡¯s ear, quickly informing him of everything.


    Sergei¡¯s expression darkened. The old Dusack grabbed his saber and shouted towards the shore, ¡°Hey! You guys there, what are you doing?¡±


    At first, the unfamiliar faces on the shore pretended not to hear themselves being called out. After several shouts from the old Dusack, they could no longer hide.


    ¡°We are carters,¡± they replied.


    The rest of the people also began to sense the strange atmosphere. A few quick-thinking Dusacks discreetly moved closer to their warhorses.


    ¡°How come I¡¯ve never seen you before?!¡± Sergei demanded loudly.


    No one responded.


    A dead silence fell over the ford, broken only by the gentle babble of the river.


    ¡°Kill!¡± one of the unfamiliar faces threw off his cloak and spun around, plunging a knife into the stomach of a nearby coachman. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The coachman¡¯s eyes widened in horror, and he made a gurgling noise in his throat; he was so stunned that he couldn¡¯t even scream.


    ¡°Kill!!!¡± With no chance of feigning innocence, the other unfamiliar people also tore off their pretenses, drawing their weapons to strike at the people of Wolf Town around them.


    The abrupt onset of slaughter, bloodshed, and death left most of the coachmen and Dusacks unprepared.


    Shouts and cries of killing sounded like a charge, and from the woods on both sides of the Panto River, more figures swiftly approached the ford.


    ¡°They¡¯re bandits!¡± Sergei cursed those still dazed from Wolf Town, ¡°Damn it! Go for your weapons! Dusacks! Mount up!¡±


    As Pierre tried to step forward, a searing pain in his lower abdomen left him immobilized.


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 Chapter 361 - 30: Crossing the Field in Vain_2

    Chapter 361: Chapter 30: Crossing the Field in Vain_2


    Sergei, who had run a few meters away, turned back, picked up Michel, and ran toward the spot on the shore where the horses were tied.


    ¡°Mount up! Mount up!¡± Old Sergei shouted as he ran, with the Dusacks in the river channel dashing towards their warhorses.


    Several coachmen lashed their draft horses desperately, trying to force their way through the ford. Others, in their panic, attempted to turn around but found themselves immobilized.


    Inside the ford at that moment, chaos reigned; only a few coachmen and laborers jumped onto their carts in search of weapons, while the rest fled.


    The sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the shrubs on both sides of the riverbank, accompanied by the ¡°whoosh¡± of arrows flying chaotically over the water¡¯s surface.


    ¡°Archers!¡± someone screamed in agony.


    ...


    ¡°There are crossbowmen in the woods!¡± another shouted loud.


    A coachman had just found a longbow under the seat, and before he could string it, a short, thick crossbow bolt penetrated his neck. This brave man of Wolf Town clutched at his neck and tumbled into the knee-deep river water off the cart.


    Sergei pointed towards both banks of the river and bellowed, ¡°More thieves are coming!¡±


    Pierre saw bandits, armed and in tattered clothes, crawling out from the bushes, too numerous to count.


    Some bandits ran toward the great carts to plunder the various fine goods brought back from Revodan. Others went after the Dusacks¡¯ warhorses tied up on the shore¡ªhorses were even more valuable.


    Still other bandits specifically chased after and captured those well-dressed riders. They were manor lords, who not only carried large sums but could also be kidnapped for ransom.


    Even well-trained armies could struggle to organize an effective counterattack when ambushed, let alone the Wolf Town convoy, most of whom were just tenant farmers.


    In the midst of the melee, the command structures of both sides had collapsed.


    But the bandits had a clear objective: they wanted money, goods, and would kill anyone who resisted. Their determination was stronger.


    The people of Wolf Town, however, were utterly disorganized, each fighting for themselves, each with their own plans, with only a few brave souls attempting to fight back.


    But when most were fleeing, the brave became the most conspicuous targets, often being killed by the bandits in a concerted effort.


    The attention of many bandits was drawn to Sergei¡¯s warhorse, Red Sun, and several brutes with long spears had already reached its side.


    In desperation, Sergei let go of Pierre and with a roar, lunged at the spear-wielding brutes.


    ¡°Ah!¡± The thug lagging behind was caught off guard and was fiercely hacked on the shoulder by Old Dusack.


    Sergei kicked aside the thug whose shoulder was nearly severed, not giving the dying man a second glance. He swung his saber and charged at several other bandits.


    Although Pierre had grown up on stories of war, he never expected his uncle, well into his fifties, to be so ferocious.


    Clenching his teeth against the pain, he picked up a long spear dropped by a thug and charged into the fray.


    The bandits, hearing their companion¡¯s screams, turned and saw Old Dusack coming at them, thrusting their spears toward the old man.


    Seizing the moment, Sergei grabbed the spear with his left hand, holding it firmly. He yanked it towards himself and hacked the enemy to death with his sword.


    But outnumbered, Sergei could not fend off all attacks; while grabbing one spear and killing its owner, another bandit with a spear yelled strangely and jabbed at Old Dusack. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as the bandit was about to strike, he was skewered in the flank by Pierre, who had caught up. He fell to the ground, and Old Dusack, turning around, delivered a heavy, powerful chop that cut the bandit¡¯s head off.


    The remaining two bandits, petrified by the god-like slaughter by Old Dusack, dropped their weapons and fled in terror.


    Sergei quickly helped Pierre onto Red Sun: ¡°Go! Get on behind! Find your father!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Pierre yelled.


    Old Dusack had no time for words: ¡°Not leaving? If you won¡¯t leave, stay and fight. Follow me along the shore and let¡¯s take care of those archers and crossbowmen!¡±


    The scales of victory had completely tipped in favor of the bandits, turning the situation into a one-sided slaughter.


    The archers on the shore shot at the people of Wolf Town with impunity, while the bandits in the ford chased after coachmen. The Dusacks fought for themselves, and those who had reclaimed their horses fled towards the front and back of the convoy.


    Some manor lords, in a blind panic, ran toward the forest, unaware that they were falling into bandits¡¯ traps. There was a sliver of a chance of survival if one dashed down the road, but fleeing into the forest was like walking into a net.


    At this point, anyone still thinking of resisting felt only a profound sense of helplessness and despair.


    An old coachman with graying hair scrambled to the riverbank and stumbled toward Wolf Town.


    The pursuing bandit bellowed viciously, ¡°Stop running! Run again, and I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The coachman, in terror, turned to look at the bandit and, losing his footing, fell hard to the ground. Unable to stand for a while, he was overtaken by the laughing bandit.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t!¡± The old coachman knelt on the ground, begging pitifully.


    The bandit walked up, kicked the old man in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain like a shrimp.


    However, as if born without a shred of compassion, the bandit planted a foot on the old man¡¯s chest, grinning wickedly as he raised his spear.


    The old coachman closed his eyes.


    The thunderous sound of galloping hooves approached; a rider arrived instantaneously beside the coachman and the bandit. A scimitar whirled, severing the bandit¡¯s neck and spear shaft in one stroke.


    The warhorse continued at full speed toward the ford, without slowing down.


    Following the leading rider, more Dusacks, brandishing their sabers, swept past the headless corpse of the bandit and the old coachman.


    A thunderous shout exploded in the ford, startling everyone and causing their hearts to stop for a moment.


    Even the convoy hundreds of meters behind heard the angry roar; those within the ford were left dizzy and ringing from the blast of sound.


    A magnificent silver-gray warhorse stood atop the riverbank, and everyone in the ford saw it, as well as the rider upon it.


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 Chapter 362 - 30 Crossing the Field_3

    Chapter 362: Chapter 30 Crossing the Field_3


    ¡°Reinforcements are here!¡± Pierre recognized the newcomers and couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Hurrah!¡±


    The surviving Dusack also recognized the newcomers and, raising his saber, roared, ¡°Hurrah!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± the wagon drivers excitedly shouted, ¡°The Garrison Officer is here!¡±


    The scattered people of Wolf Town inside the wading field finally found their backbone, and their morale surged, completely reversing the situation.


    ¡°No one runs away! The bandits are not as many as us! Come to me!¡± This time, Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t as startling as before, but still resonant enough that everyone in the wading field could hear.


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the people of Wolf Town flocked towards the riverbank, and a few bandits who still wanted to pursue were instead killed by their united effort.


    ...


    One by one, the people of Wolf Town climbed up the riverbank, and the wary bandits dared not follow.


    A standoff quietly began between the two sides.


    Of course, the bandits wielding crossbows didn¡¯t fail to notice the leader riding the dapple-gray steed, and several arrows immediately aimed at the rider.


    Very few bandits could draw a hard bow, and the heaviest in the hands of the bandits ambushing Wolf Town were no more than soft bows made of white waxwood or, quite simply, branches with strings attached.


    The arrows flying toward the dapple-gray steed¡¯s rider from the riverbank were feeble and limp, and the man easily deflected them with his sidearm.


    ¡°Hahaha! Is that the best you¡¯ve got?¡± the rider of the dapple-gray steed mocked the bandit archers, ¡°Come on, then!¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the Garrison Officer¡¯s valor, the people of Wolf Town couldn¡¯t help but cheer again. Gradually, they also started to feel that the arrows flying onto the riverbank weren¡¯t as frightening as before.


    ¡°That must be the new military officer from Wolf Town, eh? Quite a figure,¡± muttered the gloomy man in the bushes with an oval-shaped scar on his face, eyeing the rider of the dapple-gray steed, ¡°Bring me the crossbow!¡±


    This man with the oval-shaped scar was the leader of the bandits, and upon hearing his command, a scrawny bandit immediately handed him a massive steel crossbow.


    The bow was just for show, the bandit leader knew very well. The real killing tools were his crossbows, especially this heavy steel crossbow that needed a crank to draw.


    The bandit leader aimed carefully, yet he made no further move, patiently waiting for the right moment.


    A few more flimsy light arrows flew towards the Wolf Town Garrison Officer, and the rider of the dapple-gray steed deftly deflected every one of them.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    The bandit leader squeezed the trigger at the moment when the Garrison Officer¡¯s attention was diverted.


    The steel bolt from the heavy crossbow shot across the wading field like a shooting star, aiming for the rider of the dapple-gray steed.


    ¡°What?¡± The bandit leader couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes.


    The guaranteed bolt traced an arc in midair, making a small turn and passing by the target¡¯s side.


    ¡­


    Using a voice amplification spell, Lieutenant Montaigne taunted, ¡°The crossbow is good, but the user is not, your shooting is really poor.¡±


    His mocking words spread to everyone¡¯s ears in the wading field, and once again, the people of Wolf Town cheered in response.


    ¡°Right there!¡± the lieutenant directed with his saber towards the source of the crossbow bolt, ¡°Kill all the archers on the bank first!¡±


    Even while living in Paratu, Winters Montagne never neglected a single day of spell training.


    Just now, he had executed the first real combat use of the ¡°Christian Huygens version¡± of the Deflection Spell.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    Entry: Deflection Spell


    Difficulty: S (original)


    A- (after Christian Huygens¡¯ improvement)


    Note: The focus is not on lateral acceleration but rotation, which Teacher Christian refers to as centrifugal motion.


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 Chapter 363 - 31 Horse Palm Ivan

    Chapter 363: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan


    ¡°`


    The battle at the ford had ended, and two Dusacks dragged a man with an oval scar on his face, not yet dead, to the side of the lieutenant.


    ¡°I will only ask once,¡± Winters, who was sitting on a large rock and wiping his saber, said without lifting his head, ¡°where is your hideout?¡±


    The four captured bandits knelt before the lieutenant shivering, while the bow-and-crossbow-wielding people of Wolf Town stood angrily around the prisoners.


    With a superior number, the people of Wolf Town could easily deal with the bandit gang of thirty or forty men once they were effectively organized.


    With a single charge led by Winters and his cavalry, the bandits, who had just been acting fiercely, scattered like birds and beasts.


    ...


    When Gerard arrived with the rear guard, the battle completely turned into a rout of the fleeing enemy.


    The four surviving bandits were lucky because they were personally captured by the lieutenant who wanted to keep a few alive for interrogation.


    The rest of the bandits were not so fortunate; the people of Wolf Town loathed them, and those captured were killed without hesitation.


    For the severely injured bandits, they didn¡¯t even get a quick end but were left to go to hell amid fear and pain.


    Without the need for Winters to torture them, the several bandits had already seen how formidable this young officer was and spilled everything they knew like beans from a split bag.


    ¡­


    This was a premeditated ambush.


    Every year, the estates of Wolf Town would travel to and from Revodan in groups. While safe, it also made them a very obvious target.


    The bandits and robbers had long been covetous, but deterred by the reputation of the caravan and the Dusacks of Wolfton, no one had dared to act.


    Until this year, this time.


    According to the prisoners¡¯ confessions, they had been waiting at the ford for half a month by then, at which time the caravan from Wolf Town had not yet departed.


    However, the people from Wolf Town headed to Revodan just as it began to rain upstream, causing a surge in the Panto River¡¯s water level, and the caravan detoured through Shizhen, accidentally avoiding an ambush.


    But luck always runs out, and on their return, they fell right into the bandits¡¯ trap.


    Strictly speaking, this wasn¡¯t ¡°a group¡± of bandits, as small bands of thieves did not have the ability to overpower the Wolf Town caravan.


    It took a merger of several bands of bandits to form this large gang of more than forty people, some robbers even purposely came over from the neighboring county to join.


    ¡­


    In the middle of a hidden clearing in the dense forest, a small black iron pot was bubbling away on top of a fire.


    A bearded man was stirring something in the pot with a long-handled ladle, while another skinny man was slowly peeling carrots.


    Around the fire, there were about a dozen crude tents, looking like a temporary camp.


    ¡°Tommy! You done pissing yet?¡± the bearded man called out impatiently.


    A young dirty-blond kid with dirty clothes ran back from outside the camp, hitching up his trousers, ¡°I¡¯m coming! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    The skinny man chuckled and said, ¡°Lazy folks always have more waste.¡±


    The blond kid suddenly stopped halfway and looked back, puzzled. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are you standing there for? Get the hell over here and help!¡± the bearded man shouted discontentedly.


    ¡°I hear horse hooves over there!¡± the blond kid shouted back, pointing behind him.


    ¡°Hooves?¡± The bearded man dropped his ladle and stood up abruptly: ¡°That must be the boss returning!¡±


    When the blond kid turned back again, all he saw was a dark blur, then a sharp pain struck his forehead and he lost consciousness.


    The bearded man and the skinny man tried to run, but the sound of hooves surrounded them from all sides.


    A fiery red warhorse streaked past the two, and in the blink of an eye, the old rider knocked the bearded man unconscious with a club.


    The skinny man was so frightened he wet himself, knelt on the ground, and began to beg for mercy.


    Another rider threw a lasso, yanking the skinny man to the ground and dragging him away.


    ¡°Stop wasting time, search!¡± Seeing everyone in the camp was under control, Winters, who was commanding at the rear, signaled the Dusacks not to entangle with the prisoners.


    Sergei and the other Dusacks began taking down the tents in the camp, one by one.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone here!¡± a Dusack shouted.


    Sergei immediately dismounted and grabbed the person in the tent by the collar, demanding fiercely, ¡°Speak! Who are you? Speak or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me,¡± the man, shackled by iron fetters, begged repeatedly: ¡°The bandits tied me up and brought me here.¡±


    Cries from the Dusacks could be heard in the distance, ¡°There are people from Wolf Town here!¡±


    ¡­


    At a bandit hideout one kilometer from the ford, three bandits left to mind the place were captured by Winters and his Dusacks.


    They also rescued several travelers who had been kidnapped¡ªalong with Bunting¡¯s eldest son.


    But old Mr. Bunting couldn¡¯t survive the ordeal and had died.


    On his trip to Revodan, old Bunting had only taken his eldest son, and on the return trip, it was also just the two of them who set out early, unfortunately, they were intercepted by bandits near the ford.


    Finding only deeds on them and no cash, the bandits brutally beat both father and son.


    The younger Bunting, strong and durable, survived, but the elder Bunting was beaten to a breath away from death and passed away that evening.


    The fickleness of fate is truly lamentable.


    ¡­


    After cleaning up the battlefield, the caravan at the Panto River ford split into two groups.


    Mayor Mitchell of Wolf Town led the main force back to Wolf Town.


    Lieutenant Montaigne, on the other hand, led six Dusacks and four wagons of prisoners and the bodies of bandits back the way they came to Revodan.


    By the time Winters finally returned to Wolf Town, there was less than half a month left until the deadline for submitting the militia roster.


    In past years, every household in the town was beaming with joy when the caravan returned, but this year was unusually sad.


    Mourning, funerals, and conscription had to be carried out simultaneously.


    The drivers and hired hands of the caravan suffered more than twenty casualties, with the severely injured dying soon after as well.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 364 - 31 Horse Palm Ivan_2

    Chapter 364: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_2


    ¡°`


    By contrast, the Dusacks were indeed fierce, with no Dusack dead, only six wounded.


    All the manors in Wolf Town pooled a sum of money together, for funeral expenses and compensation for the injured and the deceased.


    Only when the lieutenant brought the captured bandits and the bodies of the dead to the county garrison did he learn: on the heads of many in the band of thieves who ambushed the Wolf Town convoy hung bounties.


    Especially the bandit chief with an oval-shaped scar on his face ¡ª the bastard was tough, surviving a stab in the back ¡ª was a notorious villain known by the nickname ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡±


    ¡°Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s gang roamed and committed crimes throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land; of the eight counties in the province, bounties hung on his head in six counties.


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡°Horse Palm Ivan was originally one of the Dusacks,¡± Major Ronald told Winters.


    He was kicked in the face by a warhorse, leaving an oval-shaped horseshoe mark, and hence acquired the nickname ¡°Horse Palm.¡±


    Afterward, he accidentally killed someone in a drunken brawl, fled in fear of punishment, and simply took to a life of robbery and murder.


    With his exceptional strength and military experience, Horse Palm quickly gathered a mob of thugs around him.


    The man was well-versed in military discipline and clearly understood the intricacies between the legion and local authorities.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, only the legionary gendarmerie had the power to pursue criminals across counties, but catching thieves was the responsibility of local jurisdictions.


    Hence, Horse Palm only robbed civilians and never touched the military; when one county became too hot for him, he jumped to another, causing headaches for the governments of each.


    Horse Palm¡¯s crimes multiplied, his notoriety spread, and his nickname evolved from ¡°Horse Palm¡± to ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡±


    ¡°The infamous Horse Palm Ivan,¡± Major Ronald patted Winters on the shoulder, praising him joyfully, ¡°finally fell into the hands of Lieutenant Montaigne, and he was captured alive. Well done!¡±


    That Horse Palm Ivan was caught in Iron Peak County also gave Major Ronald quite a bit of face.


    Especially since it was a live capture, which implied a ¡°grand¡± public execution ¡ª Winters did not yet understand.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just Horse Palm Ivan alone; several other notorious thieves who had joined forces for the raid also died by the sword.


    However, compared to the infamy of Horse Palm Ivan, the other bandits were barely worth mentioning.


    ¡°It is mainly due to the credit of Town Chief Mitchell and the Dusacks of Wolfton,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Only now do I understand why mere robbers were able to choose such an opportune moment for their ambush.¡±


    Scouting beforehand, repeated reconnaissance, attacking mid-crossing, seizing the moment when the convoy¡¯s guard was spread thin¡­


    If Winters hadn¡¯t reinforced in time, and the lieutenant hadn¡¯t happened to be a Spellcaster, it¡¯s very likely that Horse Palm Ivan would have succeeded this time.


    Major Ronald paused momentarily, then said with emotion, ¡°Rebels are always more dangerous than bandits.¡±


    Those with military skills, once they turn to evil, cause harm far beyond what desperate farmers could muster.


    In the Imperial Era, the most destructive thieves were often bankrupt nobles and destitute knights.


    ¡­


    Major Ronald kept Horse Palm Ivan behind while instructing Winters to take the remaining seven bandits back to Wolf Town.


    ¡°The men were captured by you; by law, they are yours to judge. I¡¯ll keep Horse Palm while you take the others back to Wolf Town to kill,¡± Major Ronald specifically entrusted, ¡°Not only to quell the anger of the victims¡¯ families but also to set an example. Once things are settled here, I¡¯ll send the executioner to your place.¡±


    Having the power to judge life and death of a person, a privilege unthinkable for an officer of a small township in the Vineta Republic, was granted here.


    It was no exaggeration that the Parlatu Army in the Newly Reclaimed Lands wielded a status similar to feudal lords.


    The bodies of the bandits were exchanged for silver coins in Revodan, and the bounty on Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s head posted by Iron Peak County was collected directly at the Revodan garrison.


    Major Ronald also generously paid Winters the bounties on Horse Palm Ivan from the other five counties, based on their posted reward proclamations.


    With bounties in hand and seven bandits in tow, Winters returned to Wolfton. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before this, no one had realized that the newly constructed jail at the security station would be put to use so soon.


    The old blacksmith Misha and his assistant Berlion had no choice but to forge shackles throughout the night.


    Winters had intended to leave the seven bandits for Major Ronald to judge, but he realized he had no right to rob the victims¡¯ families of their chance at revenge.


    ¡­


    The conscription work in Wolf Town was progressing smoothly.


    When Winters brought back the good news that ¡°time served in the militia could count towards a period of service obligation,¡± the Dusans were very pleased.


    Gerard did not agree with ¡°gaming the system¡± from the bottom of his heart, but he did not openly oppose it, leaving the choice to each Dusan family.


    In the end, 32 underage Dusacks voluntarily enlisted, all between the ages of 15 and 20.


    With a quota of 80 for the century, the remaining 48 unlucky ones would be decided by lottery.


    Among the list of voluntary Dusack enlistees was the name of Pierre.


    While Mr. Michel fiercely opposed, the real decision-maker in the Mitchell family was not him, but Mrs. Mitchell.


    In the end, Pierre still ended up telling his mother about the beating from his father ¡ª he could not conceal the bruises on his face.


    Contrary to Pierre¡¯s expectations, his usually indulgent mother, after learning the cause, not only supported his father but also gave Pierre another lesson.


    When it came to deciding whether to join the auxiliary militia, Pierre and Gerard found themselves on the same side again.


    Gerard loathed acts that broke sworn vows, while Pierre would rather die than be a conscripted civilian.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 365 - 31 Horse Palm Ivan_3

    Chapter 365: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_3


    But Mrs. Mitchell thought enlisting in the militia was a good idea, which neither violated the law nor broke any oaths.


    Gerard Mitchell and Ellen Mitchell had a huge fight, and Winters, who was staying with the Mitchells, could hear Gerard¡¯s roaring and Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s crying even from outside the mansion.


    The youngest Mitchell daughter still unwed, Scarlett Mitchell, hid in the gazebo in the backyard with a lieutenant¡¯s arm around her, desperately covering her ears and sobbing.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for a husband and wife to quarrel, I saw it myself when I was young,¡± Winters had to comfort the terrified young miss: ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it before?¡±


    Miss Michel sobbed in response, ¡°They never used to fight¡­ Is my dad going to kill my mom?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t¡­¡± The girl¡¯s imagination left Winters dumbfounded.


    ...


    After a long time, the mansion quieted down, and Mrs. Mitchell returned to her usual gentle and calm demeanor, although there were still a few strands of tear marks at the corners of her eyes.


    Winters hurriedly stood up to greet her. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing her mother coming, Miss Michel quickly ran away.


    ¡°Lieutenant sir,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said with a slight curtsy.


    ¡°Madam,¡± Winters nodded in return.


    No sooner had Mrs. Mitchell spoken than she was on the brink of tears again, ¡°In your militia¡­ Can Pierre be safe?¡±


    Winters pondered for a long time, and answered seriously and earnestly, ¡°Madam, once one enters war, no one can be safe, I cannot guarantee that Pierre will come home unharmed. If the war goes well, the chances of survival for support troops are much higher than for combat troops. If the war goes poorly, the support troops would be the first to be abandoned. I cannot make any promises, war is a cruel and sad disaster.¡±


    ¡°If the war goes well, support troops can be safer, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Montagne.¡± After giving a courtesy, Mrs. Mitchell left sadly, murmuring to herself, ¡°Father, brother, I can¡¯t lose a son again. They¡¯ll understand someday¡­ they will¡­¡±


    Once the matriarch of the Mitchell family made up her mind, the attitudes of Gerard and Pierre meant nothing.


    Ultimately, Michel signed her name on the register with a bellyful of complaints.


    ¡­


    The 32 participants had been confirmed, and the remaining candidates were just waiting for the drawing.


    In the past, when drawing conscripts, the people of Wolf Town simply drew lots, each person one lot, and the unlucky one drawn would be it.


    But this time, Winters Montagne, the Garrison Officer, had devised a simple set of rules.


    First, whether laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor family members, all must participate in the drawing;


    Second, families of the militia who had sacrificed themselves during beast disasters were exempted;


    Third, only sons had one lot, while others had two lots¡ªit was too preferential to give only sons complete exemption, but they should still be given some consideration;


    Fourth, the other townspeople not selected would contribute money according to their status as laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor owners, which would be distributed to the members of the militia as compensation.


    This was a very rudimentary scheme, but at least the people of Wolf Town could accept it. Compensating the unlucky ones who were drawn would also reduce the risk of desertion.


    ¡­


    What Winters didn¡¯t expect was that, upon hearing there was money to be had, the young hunter Bell was the first to come to him.


    ¡°Sir? Is there money for joining the militia?¡± Bell asked the lieutenant impatiently.


    Bell, of course, was not among the 32 Dusacks who volunteered, although the young stable boy Anglu was listed among them.


    ¡°There is a little,¡± Winters replied without showing any emotion: ¡°Do you need money?¡±


    Bell didn¡¯t answer directly, but asked eagerly, ¡°Can you advance me the money if I sign up for the militia?¡±


    Now Winters couldn¡¯t just ignore him; he frowned and asked again word by word, ¡°Do you need money?¡±


    Bell shivered uncontrollably and nodded without saying a word.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    Bell didn¡¯t make a sound.


    ¡°For what?!¡± Winters raised his voice by three decibels.


    ¡°Paying off debts,¡± Bell said softly.


    ¡°What debts?¡±


    ¡°My father¡¯s debts.¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°how much do you need? I¡¯ll get it for you. You don¡¯t have to join the militia.¡±


    Bell stubbornly said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t take other people¡¯s money.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the affectation, lad? Do you want the money or not?¡± Winters countered.


    Bell deflated like a punctured ball, and mumbled softly, ¡°I do¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The little fellow didn¡¯t ask for much money, but Winters was still worried.


    Money was not important to him, but he had to make sure that Ralph¡¯s son wasn¡¯t heading down a wrong path.


    That very night, he stealthily followed Bell into the forest, all the way to the hunter¡¯s cabin where Bell returned.


    After the old hunter¡¯s death, Bell was taken to live in town by Winters, and the hunter¡¯s family cabin in the woods had been left idle.


    There was definitely something fishy about the little hunter sneaking back to the old house.


    ¡°What in blazes are you up to, you little rascal!¡± Winters kicked open the door.


    ¡°Ah!?¡± Bell stood up in a panic, blocking the way: ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nothing¡­¡±


    Winters¡¯s pupils constricted as his breathing accelerated sharply. Pointing at the shadow behind the young hunter, he exclaimed, ¡°What is that thing!¡±


    Knowing he could no longer hide it, Bell mumbled, ¡°A cat¡­¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh in anger: ¡°Would a cat¡¯s paws be that big?¡±


    Laughing, an abrupt realization struck Winters, and he asked in shock, ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s a cub of a giant lion?¡±


    Behind Bell, the Little Lion let out a milky cry of ¡°Woo-ah¡±.


    ¡ª¡ª END ¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Catalogue of Rare and Exotic Creatures¡±


    by Bai Ruisi


    ¡°¡­ Cave lions give birth to one or two cubs per litter, and their behavior is more like tigers than lions; the mother raises the cubs alone¡­ Reliable records indicate that cave lions were still sighted in the northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains as recently as the year 580 of the Empire¡­ However, with the constant shrinking of their population and habitat, this living fossil species ultimately went extinct¡­ Today, people can only explore the true nature of the cave lion through legends, stories, and the written word¡­¡±


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 Chapter 366 - 32 Terror Theater

    Chapter 366: Chapter 32 Terror Theater


    The town was rarely this bustling, with its usually desolate main thoroughfares now teeming with life.


    Farmers¡¯ wagons lined up one after another along the roadside, and the dirt road was packed with small stalls.


    On the second Monday of each month, Wolfton¡¯s market day attracted villagers from around, along with Protestants who rarely interacted with the Old Believers.


    That¡¯s why Lieutenant Winters Montagne decided to schedule the trial, execution, and militia drafting all on today.


    ¡­


    Today, the remote town revealed its vibrant side.


    ...


    Traveling merchants from nearby towns flocked here to do business, and the town¡¯s farmers brought surplus agricultural products to sell at the market.


    Honest farmers simply spread out a cloth on the ground and arrayed the fruits and vegetables they had picked from fields and gardens, waiting for people to inquire about the prices.


    Meanwhile, the shrewd farmers already had their pretty daughters carrying wicker baskets along the streets, hawking eggs.


    The shouts of vendors, haggling, and arguing were endless.


    Because of the public trial and execution of bandits, which for the farmers was an extraordinary event that could become a talking point for twenty years.


    So even families from neighboring towns dragged their relatives to join in the spectacle, and a troupe of traveling entertainers performing nearby seized the chance to put on their shows.


    Everyone was eager to secure the best spot possible, and the atmosphere in the town center was anything but the solemnity expected for trials, executions, and the selection of militia. Instead, it was like a grand festivity.


    The newly formed Wolfton town guard patrolled the streets, maintaining order. Seven guardsmen, clad in armor and shouldering long halberds, looked imposing.


    The guards¡¯ weapons and armors had just been purchased from Revodan¡ªWinters and Gerard took the opportunity to stock up the town¡¯s Arsenal.


    A visit to the county seat wasn¡¯t frequent, so it made sense to take care of all necessary business in one trip.


    The Wolfton town guard now consisted of seven members, with two full-time guards being the young lads Anglu and Bell, and five part-time guards selected by Winters from the local militia.


    Though not professional soldiers, these farm boys, with their gleaming iron helmets and brand-new leather armors, looked no less valiant.


    They attracted the gazes and whispers of many young women and wives, and also the great envy of their village companions.


    A Dusack lad clapped Vashka on the shoulder and laughed, ¡°Looking good! You certainly look the part in that outfit.¡±


    Out of respect for Sergei, the guard position from Dusa Village had been given to Vashka Morozov.


    ¡°Quit it, I¡¯m on duty,¡± Vashka replied with a smile.


    The Dusack lad sized him up and down: ¡°Did you buy this set from Revodan?¡±


    ¡°Of course, brand new, the paint hasn¡¯t even chipped off.¡±


    ¡°When we¡¯re done today, let me borrow it to wear.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it home; after the duty, I have to return it to the Arsenal.¡±


    ¡°Ah, what¡¯s the harm? Just sneak it back home.¡±


    A silver-grey steed parted the crowd and passed by the two men. Vashka, in the middle of his light-hearted conversation, caught sight of the silver pattern on the horse¡¯s belly and immediately tensed up.


    Since the convoy returned from Revodan, there was nobody in Wolfton who didn¡¯t recognize Lieutenant Montagne¡¯s ¡°Fortune.¡±


    Vashka quickly stood at attention and saluted.


    The Lieutenant on horseback nodded and continued on his way forward.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve really done me in now,¡± Vashka lamented to his companion.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± his friend asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Vashka urged his friend to move on: ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later.¡±


    ¡­


    After patrolling the town center, Winters didn¡¯t find anything suspicious.


    But on the outskirts of the town, he saw Gerard arguing loudly with an unfamiliar young man.


    Seeing Winters, Gerard waved happily: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne!¡±


    Winters nudged his horse and quickly moved closer.


    ¡°This is our Garrison Officer of the town, Lieutenant Montagne,¡± Gerard told the young man. ¡°The business you wish to conduct must have his approval.¡±


    ¡°Good day, sir!¡± Before the lieutenant could speak, the young man interjected: ¡°My business, though often unjustly treated and discriminated against, is entirely legitimate. Please look, this is a charter issued by the garrison headquarters of the county.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young man handed over a roll of parchment.


    After reading the content on the parchment, Winters looked behind the man:


    Several large tents were set up by the roadside, a sickly old woman sat by collecting money. Ragged men queued up to go in, then walked out adjusting their trousers.


    ¡°Are you¡­ a pimp?¡± Winters asked, hand on his sword hilt.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t use such ugly words,¡± the pimp replied, with a fawning smile on his face: ¡°I am merely a mediator, facilitating connections between ladies with certain skills and gentlemen in need.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to converse further with this slick character; he checked the charter again. The wording didn¡¯t seem fake, the seal didn¡¯t appear to be fake, and the signature also didn¡¯t seem to be fake.


    While the lieutenant was re-examining the charter, the pimp¡¯s smile grew even more intense.


    ¡°A piece of parchment, I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s real or fake,¡± Winters stated flatly.


    The pimp¡¯s smile froze in an instant: ¡°How could that be? This charter was personally signed by Major Ronald of Revodan, please take a closer look?¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go back to Revodan and bring me back a letter of authentication?¡± Winters suggested.


    ¡°Sir, there is a secret mark on this charter that can verify its authenticity,¡± the pimp wiped the sweat from his brow, pleading: ¡°Please, allow me to show it to you.¡±


    Winters handed back the charter.


    As their hands met, the pimp covertly slipped a bag of silver coins into the lieutenant¡¯s palm. ¡°This should settle it,¡± he thought.


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 Chapter 367 - 32 Horror Theater_2

    Chapter 367: Chapter 32 Horror Theater_2


    But he had never anticipated that the once infallible ¡°counterfeit-proof mark¡± would actually hit the wall this time.


    Winters tossed the purse in front of the pimp and asked coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t want your hands anymore?¡±


    The young man knelt down in panic, pleading continuously, speaking incoherently, ¡°Sir! This license is truly genuine, I was momentarily confused¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait here.¡± Winters, observing that his manner did not appear deceitful, took Gerard with him to the peacekeeping department.


    He did not understand Paratu¡¯s laws, so such matters required consultation with a legal expert.


    ¡­


    ...


    The old mendicant monk, Reed, having heard Gerard¡¯s account, placed the license on the table and chuckled, ¡°Paratu does indeed allow brothels to operate legally, this time he really does have the advantage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a corrupting influence!¡± Gerard was furiously indignant, ¡°And there¡¯s the risk of spreading venereal diseases! Thirty years ago, who knows how many Dusacks were afflicted.¡±


    The old monk, stroking his long beard with a laugh, said, ¡°There are indeed ways to legally shut them down, it¡¯s not difficult.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gerard¡¯s spirits were immediately lifted.


    ¡°They have occupied the town¡¯s land for their operations; their personnel, tents, and vehicles can be seized.¡±


    ¡°That kid is cunning; he deliberately set up the tent outside the town.¡±


    ¡°The entire Wolfton land belongs to the public; what difference does it make if it¡¯s inside or outside?¡± Monk Reed casually remarked, ¡°Moreover, to operate such a place in Paratu, the workers are required to be regularly examined by a doctor and certified fit for work. With all the procedures scrutinized, missing just one step would be enough to deal with him.¡±


    Gerard was somewhat at a loss for words.


    Winters tried to persuade the old Dusack, ¡°I see that all around the tent are lumberjacks¡¯ men. Those men lead a tough life, surrounded only by men. Allowing them an outlet is safer for the town. Besides, the license doesn¡¯t seem fake; there¡¯s no need for such measures against the pimp. The best approach is to ensure the town¡¯s residents keep their own sons in check.¡±


    Gerard fell silent, and the town hall became quiet.


    Seeing that the old Dusack was persuaded, Winters stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to that pimp. Only for today, after today he better clear out early.¡±


    Gerard gave a slight nod.


    Monk Reed stopped the young officer on his way to the door, ¡°Have you thought it through?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The door was pulled open from the outside, and Anglu hurriedly said to the young officer, ¡°Sir, the executioner is ready.¡±


    ¡­


    In Wolf Town, for crimes less than capital punishment, the Garrison Officer can make the decision alone.


    If it is a serious offense, a triple-judge committee will be formed, consisting of the town mayor, the Garrison Officer, and an envoy sent from the county.


    However, for criminals like ¡°Horse Palm Ivan¡± and his gang¡ªwho are neither residents of Wolf Town nor are they caught in the act¡ª


    There is no committee, no defense allowed; the crime is already established, Winters just needs to decide the sentence.


    Winters habitually sought counsel from Monk Reed.


    The old monk smiled wryly, ¡°What sentencing? In the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, captured bandits and robbers face the death penalty. The only difference is how you wish them to die.¡±


    ¡°Among the captured bandits, there¡¯s a child, barely over twelve years old,¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°I want to know if Paratu¡¯s laws offer any leniency towards him?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t, but the power to decide the punishment is yours; you can reduce the sentence as you see fit,¡± the mendicant monk¡¯s calm was like a deep pool, ¡°But to what extent do you want to reduce it?¡±


    ¡°Exile?¡±


    ¡°Paratu has no exile. Besides, where would you exile him to? This is already the frontier of the Senas Alliance.¡±


    ¡°Corporal punishment?¡±


    ¡°To cut off one hand would mean cutting off his chances of returning to the right path, not even farms would employ those who have been punished.¡±


    ¡°Labor? Flogging?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that would be too unfair to the deceased townsfolk of Wolf Town?¡± said Reed with a hint of sarcasm, ¡°Legally speaking, Paratu does not recognize bandits and robbers as citizens of the Republic; they have no civic rights whatsoever, and anyone can kill them without repercussions.


    A child of twelve doesn¡¯t join a gang willingly but is forced into becoming a bandit. Considering this, any reduction in his sentence is meaningless. In a few years, you¡¯ll see him in a gang on the Newly Reclaimed Land. If you ask the executioner, you¡¯ll know how many of the criminals he¡¯s executed were habitual offenders repeatedly punished.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    ¡°What to do? Give him some property, so he can sustain himself, and he won¡¯t fall back into banditry. But don¡¯t you think that would be too unfair to the dead people of Wolf Town?¡± The old mendicant monk spoke evenly, ¡°You are an officer stationed in Wolf Town, not one for the Horse Palm Gang. Your duty is to protect this land and its people, not to worry about the fate of a bandit!¡±


    ¡­


    Once the executioner was ready, solemn bell tolls echoed from the church.


    The Wolf Town guards unlocked the prison doors and escorted the seven bandits all the way to the town square.


    At least a thousand onlookers lined the path: farmers from five villages and Dusans, laborers working in the estates, estate owners on horseback, and their wives and daughters in horse-drawn carriages¡­ Nearly all the people of Wolfton had made their way to the town.


    Seeing this show of force, it was clearly visible that several guards were nervous, with beads of sweat forming on Gerard¡¯s forehead, fearing any mishap might spark unrest.


    Suddenly a woman pushed through the crowd and rushed to the prisoner¡¯s side, savagely hitting the convict with a stone in her hand.


    Vashka and another guard hurriedly stepped forward to separate them. The woman was pushed to the side, falling onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.


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 Chapter 368 - 32 Terror Theater_3

    Chapter 368: Chapter 32 Terror Theater_3


    The bearded prisoner being beaten burst into loud laughter and even spat towards the woman.


    Vashka, seeing this, flew into a rage and landed a hard punch right in the center of the bearded prisoner¡¯s face.


    The prisoner was hit so hard he was lifted off his feet, his nasal bone and two front teeth breaking on the spot. Before he could spit the blood out of his mouth, another guard stuffed it full with a ripped piece of cloth.


    A cheer erupted from the crowd of onlookers. News spread fast like the wind, and people already knew that the woman was the wife of a deceased man.


    The people of Wolf Town, who all lived by hard labor, naturally harbored deep hatred for bandits. Coupled with sympathy for the unfortunate woman, their anger burned even fiercer.


    On the short walk from the security office to the town square, stones mixed with curses flew relentlessly at the prisoners.


    ...


    The trial was simple. Several Dusacks recounted the events of the ambush that day. Mr. Bunting also took the stand, tearfully identifying the bandits and demanding blood for blood.


    After the brief proceedings, the town square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as the crowd held their breath, waiting for the Garrison Officer¡¯s final judgment.


    The pronouncement was icy, ¡°Death penalty, for all.¡±


    Cheers spread from the front row of the crowd to the very back. Previously stoic, the prisoners finally couldn¡¯t hold back their tears and began to weep loudly, the childish cries among them sounding the most pitiful.


    But no one cared for their tears. The guards dragged the prisoners from the ground to the execution site, with the crowd swarming behind them.


    In the northwest clearing of the town, the local carpenter had set up a temporary platform a few days earlier.


    The executioner, honorably known as ¡°Master Franz,¡± Franz Schmidt, dressed in ceremonial robes, and his assistant had already been waiting there.


    The closer they got to the execution site, the more the condemned prisoners fell apart emotionally. Some struggled fiercely, some cried out, begging the onlookers for blessings and mercy.


    Bringing the condemned to the edge of the execution site, everything was then handed over to the executioner, Franz, and his assistant. The guards visibly relaxed when they handed over the prisoners to the executioner.


    What followed was the executioner¡¯s ceremonial performance.


    Master Franz, in his sixties with sharp eyes and a spry spirit, had carried out hundreds of executions and had his own methods for dealing with the condemned.


    One of the prisoners struggled furiously, cursing, and Franz¡¯s assistant¡ªFranz¡¯s sixteen-year-old grandson¡ªalmost couldn¡¯t contain him.


    The old executioner stepped forward swiftly and delivered a piercing punch to the prisoner¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple.


    The man, who had just been struggling and cursing, instantly fell silent, clutching his throat and collapsing to the ground, his face turning red.


    As for those prisoners who were merely reciting prayers in desperation for forgiveness, Franz paid them no mind.


    The old executioner gestured his grandson to execute the prisoner who had received the heavy blow to the throat first. The two lifted him onto the execution platform¡¯s ¡°judicial chair¡± and tied him down with ropes.


    Father Caman stepped forward, allowed the prisoner to kiss the Bible, and listened to his final confession.


    The noisy crowd gradually quieted down, intensely focused on the executioner¡¯s preparations, not wanting to miss a single detail.


    The old executioner was dressed in an outfit that could only be described as striking, bizarre, and flamboyant: pink tight stockings on his lower half with light blue knee-length shorts, and a blue, white-collared bodice on his upper half.


    He took off his hat as a sign of respect.


    Then he put on a leather vest to prevent his shirt from getting stained with blood.


    After the preparations were completed, he nodded to his assistant. The assistant comprehended and respectfully presented the weapon to the executioner.


    The seasoned executioner grasped the hilt, drawing the beheading sword from its scabbard in one swift motion.


    With that, the execution drama reached its climax.


    It was a formidable weapon that could be described as a greatsword, with a blade longer than one meter, weighing over six jin, its edge flat and tip-less, its sides equally wide from front to back, forged specifically for decapitation,


    An inscription on the blade read, ¡°Beware of misdeeds, lest you dig your own grave.¡±


    The execution ground was as silent as death itself.


    Master Franz stood solemnly in position, raised the beheading sword high behind his right shoulder, took a deep breath, and then struck with force.


    The blade traced an elegant arc through the air, severing the condemned¡¯s cervical vertebrae from the right rear.


    The head flew off, rolling to the edge of the scaffold, blood still spurting continuously from the severed neck, drenching the executioner and his assistant. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The assistant picked up the head and held it high in the air, parading it around the four sides of the scaffold to show the crowd.


    Accompanied by the screams of several women, the previously silent execution ground erupted into a thunderous cheer.


    Oppressive taxes give rise to rampant banditry, and rampant banditry inevitably leads to harsh punishments and severe laws.


    Brother Reed¡¯s words were merciless yet true: what needed to be decided was not whether the bandits lived or died, but how they should die.


    ¡°How do you want them executed?¡± The master executioner asked the same question when he met with Winters.


    Burning, hanging, drowning, breaking on the wheel, dismemberment by horses¡­ every method of execution corresponded to a different crime.


    Executions were not just about killing criminals; the executions themselves were grand spectacles.


    Public trials, processions before the execution, and the execution itself, composed the three elements of this horrifying spectacle.


    Honest, hardworking people could barely make ends meet, while thieves, robbers, and bandits could acquire wealth without toil. The commoners despised bandits but also harbored a veiled envy towards them.


    Public executions served not only to intimidate the populace but also to assert the authority of worldly rulers, as well as providing a channel for the hard-living, honest folks to vent their grievances.


    The composed and reliable executioner, representing the power of the state, executed criminals in a procedural and ritualistic manner, maintaining the fragile and delicate balance between the three parties.


    Beheading¡ªthe mode of death chosen by the Garrison Officer of Montaigne¡ªwas not overly painful, quick and clean.


    It was also the only method of execution that considered the dignity of the deceased.


    Master Franz glanced at the remaining six convicts and, when he saw the sobbing child, he thought, ¡°Heinrich [Franz¡¯s grandson] is probably only a few years older than him.¡±


    He gestured to his assistant that the next one should be the youngest convict.


    Every breath on the execution ground was an agony for the convicted, a gesture of the executioner¡¯s mercy.


    ¡°The bearded man who spat at the dead man¡¯s family,¡± Franz thought. ¡°Let him be the last.¡±


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 Chapter 369 - 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion

    Chapter 369: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion


    ¡°Nanxin Village, Bart Xialing!¡±


    ¡°West River Village, ¡®Red-faced¡¯ Philpot!¡±


    ¡­


    Vashka pulled out small slips of paper with names written on them from the iron pot and handed them to the nearby Panveche.


    The old house steward loudly read the text on the slip while registering the names in the ledger.


    One by one, names echoed across the town square; the farmers whose names were called had ashen faces while those who didn¡¯t hear their own silently rejoiced at having dodged a bullet.


    ...


    The pile of slips by Panveche¡¯s right hand grew, and soon the forty-eight slots would be filled.


    Some people in the town square were counting aloud, and the count had reached forty-seven.


    Everyone watched tensely as Vashka drew the last piece of paper from the pot; many believers prayed silently.


    They prayed not to hear their own or a family member¡¯s name next.


    Panveche took the final slip from Vashka¡¯s hand and hesitated.


    ¡°Hurry up and read it!¡± someone from the square couldn¡¯t help but urge.


    Panveche looked at the young man beside him deeply, then loudly read, ¡°Dusa Village, Vashka Sergeievich Morozov!¡±


    ¡­


    The selection for military service was now complete.


    Under pitying gazes, eighty young men stepped out of the crowd onto the open ground of the town square for the first full assembly of Wolf Town¡¯s company of one hundred.


    Sergei shouted orders; a few old Dusacks ran through the ranks, arranging the scattered youths into four neat, horizontal lines.


    With the formation of the ranks, these farmer boys finally started to look a bit like soldiers.


    Father Anthony began leading the newly inducted militia in their oath, reciting each phrase for the militiamen to repeat after him. Then, one by one, they approached Father Anthony to kiss the Bible and holy vessels.


    After the oath was finished, the militia reformed their ranks, ready to listen to the lieutenant¡¯s briefing.


    ¡°Desertion is a serious crime, with family punishment as well, do not take undue risks,¡± Winters began with a succinct explanation, ¡°Many of you aren¡¯t even of age yet, and many have never held a weapon before, but after the oath, there are no more children, no more farmers, only soldiers. From this moment on, you are bound by military law. Go home and prepare yourselves, go kiss your parents, your wives, and your children.¡±


    Winters looked over the faces before him and concluded, ¡°Now, soldiers, go home. May you all be blessed.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters thought the lottery marked the end of the conscription process, but things were not as simple as he had believed. The lottery ceremony only marked the end of the first half, and the second was just beginning.


    The crowd at the market hadn¡¯t dispersed when Hoffman and his son approached Lieutenant Montaigne. The Hoffmans were the owners of Golden Ear Manor, considered significant landowners in Wolf Town.


    The piece of paper with Xiao Hoffman¡¯s name had just been drawn from the pot, and it was clear that old Hoffman was reluctant to let his son leave for military service.


    ¡°Mr. Hoffman,¡± Winters blocked off any arguments politely but firmly, ¡°The lottery was entirely fair. Your son was unlucky to be chosen, and I can¡¯t help you with that.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir, we understand,¡± old Hoffman said, rubbing his hands together, ¡°What I mean is¡­ shall we proceed as in previous years?¡±


    ¡°What happened in previous years?¡± Winters asked, his eyebrows inadvertently rising.


    Obliviously, old Hoffman answered, ¡°Sir, the way we¡¯ve always done it in previous years, of course.¡±


    Soon, Winters learned what old Hoffman was referring to.


    The way was an unexpected man.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Berlion¡ªthe young blacksmith stepped forward before the lieutenant, ¡°I volunteer to serve as a substitute for young Mr. Hoffman.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you before?¡± Winters glanced at the blacksmith, ¡°You said you were unwilling at that time.¡±


    Winters had asked the blacksmith ¡°whether he was willing to enlist in the militia¡± when the conscription order was first issued.


    In the army, there was always a need for blacksmiths, especially capable ones.


    A soldier like Berlion, with his own trade, would not only be exempt from heavy physical tasks like digging trenches and building camps but would also earn double pay.


    At that time, Berlion had silently smiled and shaken his head, rejecting the lieutenant¡¯s offer. But now, he was proactively offering to replace young Hoffman for service.


    When challenged by the lieutenant, Berlion calmly replied, ¡°I am still unwilling.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°How much did you sell yourself for?¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mr. Hoffman has offered a very fair price.¡±


    Winters had heard of such things as draftees paying for substitutes, but he wasn¡¯t certain of the legality.


    After Berlion left, Winters went to Gerard to learn that ¡°substitute service¡± was a well-known practice in Paratu.


    As long as the Newly Reclaimed Land Garrison got enough manpower, it didn¡¯t care if some were serving as substitutes.


    In previous years, if sons of Wolf Town¡¯s landowners were chosen, they would spend a sum of money to hire someone as a substitute as long as the rosters hadn¡¯t been sent to the garrison yet.


    However, if the substitute deserted, the original draftee would also be implicated, so the substitute had to be trustworthy and reliable.


    There were not a few cases where serfs and laborers served as substitutes multiple times, saving up the money to buy land and become freeholders.


    ¡°Berlion? Misha¡¯s helper? Misha is very fond of him,¡± Gerard thought for a moment and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have a brother working at the Hoffmans¡¯? Looks like he¡¯s doing it to provide a dowry for his brother.¡±


    Winters disapproved of the practice of hiring substitutes, but it also represented a form of indirect fairness. He did not want to disrupt the existing rules of operation.


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 Chapter 370 - 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion_2

    Chapter 370: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion_2


    So Xiao Hofman¡¯s name was crossed out from the roll, and ¡°Berlion from Nanxin Village¡± was added.


    The ink on the register hadn¡¯t dried yet when Bell ran over, beaming: ¡°Commander, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!¡±


    Winters finally understood how Mr. Michel felt when he grabbed the stick.


    ¡°What mess are you adding to?¡± he forced down the urge to give the brat before him a beating: ¡°I haven¡¯t decided what to do with your new pet yet!¡±


    ¡­


    Time rewound to five days earlier, inside the hunter¡¯s cabin.


    ...


    Winters, Bell, and a cub¡ªnow barely larger than a cat but certainly destined to weigh hundreds of kilograms one day¡ªwere in the same room.


    Bell quickly picked up the cub from the ground and held it in his embrace. The Little Lion uttered a dissatisfied groaning sound, struggling to climb onto Bell¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t kill it,¡± Bell begged as he held the cub and stepped backward, nearly in tears.


    Silence, which lasted for a good ten seconds.


    Winters sighed and asked, ¡°Has it been weaned yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you feeding it?¡±


    ¡°At first, it was dog milk because there was a family in Hedong Village whose dog had pups. Later, when there wasn¡¯t enough dog milk, I bought sheep¡¯s milk.¡±


    ¡°You needed money for this?¡±


    Bell nodded.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you tell me straight?¡± Winters dragged a chair over to sit: ¡°Put it down. The little thing is uncomfortable being held by you. If I wanted to kill it, you couldn¡¯t stop me.¡±


    Bell wiped away his tears and carefully set the cub down on the ground. The Little Lion, once again free, quickly hid in the corner of the room.


    The pitiable look of the young hunter reminded Winters of Elizabeth, who had found a kitten outside and had pleaded with Cosette to take it in¡ªexcept back then, it wasn¡¯t known as the Little General; it was just a kitten with eyes yet to open.


    The scene before him inadvertently touched a soft spot in his heart.


    [Don¡¯t rush.] Winters thought to himself, admonishing: [Speak in terms that Bell can understand.]


    Poor Lieutenant Bell wasn¡¯t married yet, but he was already experiencing the troubles of parenting.


    ¡°Male or female?¡± Winters gestured to the other chair across the table: ¡°Don¡¯t stand there, sit and talk.¡±


    ¡°Male.¡± Bell obediently sat down.


    ¡°When it¡¯s two months old, milk alone won¡¯t be enough. By that time, it¡¯ll need to eat meat. Do you understand that?¡±


    Bell first shook his head, then quickly nodded.


    ¡°When it needs meat, what do you plan to feed it?¡± Winters¡¯s question sharpened.


    Bell answered urgently: ¡°I¡¯ll hunt! I¡¯ll hunt rabbits, deer, wild boars to feed it!¡±


    ¡°With your skills, you should be able to feed it until it¡¯s half a year old. I¡¯ll be generous and assume you can feed it until it¡¯s one year old.¡± Winters tapped the table lightly, his gaze fixed on the young hunter¡¯s eyes: ¡°But do you know how long a lioness rears her cubs?¡±


    The young hunter stared blankly.


    ¡°At least two years,¡± Winters said coldly. ¡°According to Brother Reed, it¡¯s not unusual for a lion cub to follow its mother for three years. You¡¯ve seen the size of its mother; do you think you can still feed it after it¡¯s a year old?¡±


    ¡°By then, I can release it back into the forest; it can hunt on its own and eat its fill,¡± Bell argued still.


    ¡°Kid, have you ever raised a cat?¡± Winters asked an unrelated question.


    The young hunter shook his head.


    ¡°Only kittens raised by a mother cat will catch mice because the mother teaches them how to hunt. A cat raised by people won¡¯t catch a mouse, even if you put one right in front of it. Are you a lioness? If it gets used to the food you feed it, will it still go hunting?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Bell was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Let me ask you another question, why did your father fight to the death to kill its mother?¡± Winters didn¡¯t give the young hunter a chance to breathe, answering his own question: ¡°Because its mother ate humans. And why did its mother eat humans if not because she couldn¡¯t fill her belly with the prey in the forest? If you send it back to the forest, can it eat its fill? Won¡¯t it just repeat its mother¡¯s tragedy?¡±


    Another long silence followed, with Bell sobbing, ¡°I don¡¯t care; it just can¡¯t be killed.¡±


    The Little Lion hidden in the corner of the room gradually stopped being afraid. Unable to contain its curiosity, it shakily crept toward the table, drawing near the strange, frightening, upright ape.


    Winters felt something touching his boots and, looking down, discovered the cub had run out at some point and was rubbing and nibbling at his boot tip.


    He scooped up the Little Lion in one go. Its body was fluffy, soft, and warm, indeed feeling like that of a cat.


    Bell was startled. Just as he was about to come forward to grab it, seeing that the Lieutenant was just casually playing with the Little Lion on the table, he sat back in his chair.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to kill it either, right?¡± Bell asked cautiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never said such a thing. If I think it will endanger Wolf Town in the future, then I won¡¯t hesitate. But now, there are many possibilities,¡± Winters gently rubbed the cub¡¯s plump belly, while the Little Lion discontentedly groaned in a milky voice: ¡°Have you helped it defecate and urinate today?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bell was clearly flustered: ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t understand? I guess previously it was the mother dog you found that did the job for you,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°Otherwise, this little guy would have died long ago. It¡¯s also because of its strong will to live that it has lasted this long with you.¡±


    Winters took a handkerchief from his bosom, dipped it in warm water, and gently wiped the cub¡¯s excretory area until the handkerchief was completely soaked with a pale yellow liquid.


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 Chapter 371 - 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3

    Chapter 371: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3


    The little lion, finally getting to relieve itself after holding it in for several days, yawned contentedly.


    ¡°Kid, haven¡¯t you realized yet?¡± Winters said as he walked to the washbasin to clean his hands, not even turning his head: ¡°You don¡¯t have the ability to take care of this little guy right now. Leaving it with you will only get it killed sooner or later. It¡¯s a matter of ability, not willingness.¡±


    Although Bell was reluctant to admit it, he couldn¡¯t find the words to argue when he saw the handkerchief soaked with pale yellow liquid on the table.


    ¡°And even if you could raise it, you have no clue what to do once it¡¯s grown,¡± Winters, having washed his hands, sat back down and nodded at the handkerchief on the table: ¡°Wash it and return it to me tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you suggest we do¡­¡± Bell said, head hung low in dejection. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The best fate for this behemoth in the future is probably a life in a noble¡¯s cage,¡± Winters said with a wry smile: ¡°Deliver it to the emperor¡¯s palace, and it will live comfortably from then on. The Vineta Governor¡¯s Office might even be quite happy to buy a lion as a mascot.¡±


    ...


    ¡°No way!¡± Bell stood up fiercely: ¡°That would be an insult to Tengri!¡±


    The little lion got frightened, stumbled off the table, and scurried back into the corner of the room.


    Winters, stroking his chin, said in an unhurried tone: ¡°But it can¡¯t go back to the mountain woods either. As the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, I won¡¯t allow any threat to the people of Wolf Town. If you insist on putting it back, then it¡¯s either I who will kill it, or someone from another town. Do you want to see that happen?¡±


    ¡°I will raise it for a lifetime,¡± Bell muttered.


    Winters let out a sardonic laugh: ¡°Setting aside the matter of money. By the time it¡¯s fully grown, the town¡¯s pigs and sheep probably won¡¯t be enough to feed it.¡±


    The young hunter fell silent again.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious, though. Why are you so determined to protect it?¡± Winters asked earnestly.


    ¡°Because it is a spirit of the wilderness, the favored child and mount of Tengri.¡± Bell spoke softly: ¡°That¡¯s what my mother said.¡±


    ¡°Your mother is a Herder, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°But your father had also killed a giant lion before.¡±


    ¡°The White Lion wanted to kill my dad, and my dad wanted to kill the White Lion; that¡¯s fair,¡± Bell continued softly: ¡°But Tengri doesn¡¯t allow the senseless killing of cubs. My family already owes the gods the life of a cub. I need to repay my father¡¯s debt; otherwise, he won¡¯t find peace or reincarnation.¡±


    ¡°Great, a believer. Now it¡¯s going to be impossible to reason with you,¡± Winters thought.


    Bell called out softly, and the little lion obediently ran over from the corner, showing no signs of the fright it had just experienced.


    It climbed onto Bell¡¯s lap, rubbing its head forcefully against his chin and licking his face.


    Seeing the close bond between the man and the lion, Winters didn¡¯t know what to do: ¡°Sending it to be caged, you don¡¯t want that.¡±


    The young hunter nodded.


    ¡°Sending it back to the mountain might be feasible, but I disagree,¡± Winters said, in a resigned, fierce, self-defeating tone: ¡°You little rascal, you might as well run off to the circus in the future!¡±


    ¡­


    Time returned to the present, and Bell ran up excitedly: ¡°Sir, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!¡±


    ¡°Why are you adding to the chaos? I haven¡¯t yet decided what to do with your new pet!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought of what to do!¡± Bell shouted excitedly, eyes filled with joy: ¡°The White Lion is sacred amongst all the four-legged tribes; we can return the White Lion to the Khan!¡±


    Winters gave the young hunter a cuff on the head: ¡°I¡¯m going to war with the ¡®Khan¡¯!¡±


    [Note: The four-legged tribes is what the Herders call themselves, meaning horse-riding people.]


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 Chapter 372 - 34 Departure

    Chapter 372: Chapter 34 Departure


    The roster had been sent to Revodan. While waiting for the dispatch orders, the Wolf Town¡¯s hundred-man troop began conducting some routine training.


    The subjects included formation, weapon use, and marching.


    Winters didn¡¯t expect to turn farmers into qualified soldiers in just a few days. But even auxiliaries needed to understand discipline and obedience to survive in the army.


    This was a typical rural troop, and in its organization, Winters had made sure that the militiamen in each ten-man squad were all from the same village.


    Because not long ago, when there had been a beast infestation, the young and strong men of Wolf Town had all participated in the hunting teams.


    So, who was capable and diligent, who was honest and reliable, who spoke in a way that fellow villagers were willing to listen to¡­ after the ordeal of the beast infestation, Winters had a good understanding of these matters.


    ...


    The Centurions he appointed were all capable of commanding respect, and there were no militiamen who felt dissatisfied.


    Except for Pierre Mitchell.


    ¡°Big brother Winters,¡± at the Mitchells¡¯ dinner table, Pierre was still not pleased, ¡°Why am I not a Centurion?¡±


    Before Winters could answer, Gerard, with a stern face, scolded, ¡°You¡¯re on duty, you should call him an officer or Centurion. When I was on duty, if you dared address an officer that way, you¡¯d be invited to a full helping of the whip.¡±


    Ever since Pierre had joined the militia, Gerard¡¯s temper had been flaring up.


    Unable to convince his wife, Gerard could only hope that his son would grit his teeth and persist, preferring death to submission. However, it turned out that Pierre was just as spineless in front of his mother.


    Now Mr. Mitchell would get angry whenever he saw Mr. Mitchell.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal,¡± Pierre muttered under his breath.


    ¡°No, listen to your father, it¡¯s important,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said gently, squeezing her son¡¯s arm, ¡°You might not think it¡¯s a big deal, but if others hear you, it could undermine Mr. Montaigne¡¯s authority. The lieutenant has already helped you a lot, don¡¯t cause trouble for those who have helped you.¡±


    Pierre was not afraid of his father but was very afraid of his mother. When Mrs. Mitchell spoke, Pierre fell silent.


    Gerard huffed and puffed, ¡°You just wait. Once you¡¯re in the barracks, people like you, I guarantee, will be set straight in a few days.¡±


    After dinner, during the leisure time¡ªalso known as ¡°the gentlemen¡¯s time¡± among the Mitchells¡¯ maids¡ªthe men, as usual, moved to the living room.


    There were no other guests today, and Gerard lay comfortably on the leather armchair, filling his pipe and pouring himself a drink, casually chatting with Winters.


    In the past, this room did not include Pierre. Sometimes other leather armchairs would be occupied by visiting priests, old Dusack, and estate owners.


    But ever since Pierre¡¯s name was registered, Mr. Mitchell had tacitly allowed Mr. Mitchell to join as well.


    After holding it in for a long time, Pierre could no longer restrain himself and asked, ¡°Then why can Vasya be a Centurion?¡±


    His buddy had become a Centurion, while he remained a regular soldier. Why? What for? Mr. Mitchell¡¯s head was filled with these questions.


    Just as Gerard was about to lose his temper, Winters calmed old Dusack down and explained seriously, ¡°Because Vashka is older than you are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the hundred-man troop, the Dusacks, are relatively young. If you were nineteen, you would be a Centurion too.¡±


    Pierre was left speechless but soon couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Then when can we practice shooting?¡±


    ¡°What are they practicing now?¡± Gerard, too, was curious and asked the lieutenant.


    ¡°Formation. I plan to focus on practicing marching over the next few days.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just walking around the drill ground, it¡¯s particularly boring,¡± Pierre blurted out, ¡°round and round, like a donkey turning a millstone.¡±


    Girard slapped the back of his son¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate marching, marching is an art. The old Duke won battle after battle with us thanks to marching.¡±


    [Note: The old Duke refers to the ¡°Butcher¡± Duke of Alen?on]


    ¡°What¡¯s so artistic about it? It¡¯s just marching,¡± Pierre said, holding his head and speaking in a tone of grievance.


    ¡°Could you lead a hundred-man troop to march sixty miles a day, from Wolfton all the way to Revodan, without a single person falling out of line? Could you manage that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why not? Just follow along, right?¡±


    ¡°You could do nothing of the sort! You¡¯ve got no skills, yet you talk tough,¡± Gerard became angry once more and slapped his son again, ¡°If you were leading, you wouldn¡¯t make it thirty miles before the front and the rear were two kilometers apart. You wouldn¡¯t even notice if someone slipped away halfway!¡±


    Old Dusack looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant, train him harshly, let the boy suffer a bit; otherwise, he won¡¯t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth.¡±


    ¡°We have been training in the town square these few days,¡± Winters replied with a smile, ¡°Tomorrow I plan to take them for a walk in the fields.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The hundred-man troop of Wolf Town, dressed in various outfits, was progressing through the wilderness in a single file formation.


    Pierre, carrying a musket, was limping forward with each step causing excruciating pain.


    But the formation kept pushing him forward, not allowing him to rest.


    In the morning, the lieutenant had distributed weapons from the Town Armory to the militiamen. Pierre thought they were going to practice shooting that day.


    He rushed to the front and grabbed a matchlock gun, smugly thinking he had got himself a great toy.


    As Pierre was waiting for the bullets and gunpowder to be distributed, the lieutenant ordered everyone to take up their arms and follow him.


    They walked the entire day.


    No one knew when they had left the road; the troop kept marching through the wilds until they reached the banks of the Big Horn River and then continued along the riverbank.


    At first, there were cheerful voices and laughter in the formation, but in the end, only painful silence remained.


    Pierre was now finding it very difficult even to breathe; he only felt the muscles in his legs stiff and sore, his feet, shoulders, and groin seemed as if they were being rubbed raw with iron sand.


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 Chapter 373 - 34 Departure_2

    Chapter 373: Chapter 34 Departure_2


    He had completely lost any sense of direction, and simply followed numbly.


    The luckiest militiamen only received a bow, and even that was an unstrung single bow that felt like a stick in their hands.


    Those who were assigned fighting swords and pikes were a bit less fortunate, as these weapons were heavier.


    The unluckiest poor souls had to carry muskets. The matchlock guns bought from Revodan weighed sixteen pounds each and did not come with slings.


    Pierre felt like he was carrying a weight of a thousand catties on his shoulder, his flesh sore and numb from the pressure.


    He finally understood the somewhat elusive smile on the lieutenant¡¯s face when he saw him eagerly claiming the musket.


    ...


    ¡°That guy,¡± Pierre thought resentfully, ¡°must be comfortably riding on his silver-gray steed, laughing at our suffering.¡±


    Right beside him flowed the turbulent Big Horn River, and Pierre, pushed to his limit, had the thought: Just jump into the river, and I won¡¯t have to endure this any longer.


    He startled himself with this thought and shook his head vigorously.


    A voice in his head kept tempting him, ¡°Why do you put yourself through this? Why not rest for a while? Rest a bit, you¡¯ll feel much better. Don¡¯t worry about what others think. Who are they to judge you?¡±


    Finally, Pierre abandoned all his self-respect. He sat down on the ground and, as if declaring to someone, he yelled, ¡°I can¡¯t go on anymore!¡±


    The people behind him simply glanced at him, wordlessly walked around him, and continued to follow the column forward. Everyone did the same.


    Sitting on the ground, Pierre first felt an indescribable pleasure, but soon an endless shame followed.


    He lay on the ground, burying his head in the weeds.


    ¡°Hey? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± It was Vashka¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Pierre said, sniffing. He wiped his face haphazardly, not wanting anyone to see him crying: ¡°I don¡¯t want to walk anymore.¡±


    Vashka picked up Pierre¡¯s musket, ¡°Hang in there a little longer.¡±


    Pierre got to his feet with his hands on the ground and nodded silently.


    Vashka shouldered Pierre¡¯s gun and his pike, while Pierre followed him limping, the two rejoining the column.


    ¡°Vasya,¡± Pierre said softly.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I now know why you can be a centurion.¡±


    Loud trumpet calls came from the front, with someone shouting, ¡°Rest where you are! Rest where you are!¡±


    Upon hearing the command to rest, the exhausted militiamen dropped their weapons and collapsed to the ground.


    Pierre, unable to wait, yanked off his boots. Both of his feet were swollen like radishes, blistered over.


    ¡°Feels like I¡¯ve chafed down there,¡± Vashka said with a wry smile.


    Pierre didn¡¯t respond; that area between his legs was also painfully burning.


    A man walked up from the front of the formation. The militiamen along his path lowered their heads in a salute¡ªthey simply couldn¡¯t stand up.


    Approaching Vashka and Pierre, the two recognized the newcomer as Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The lieutenant carried a musket as he passed by the two Dusacks, nodding lightly at them.


    ¡°Gentlemen.¡±


    ¡°Officer.¡±


    They brushed past each other and the lieutenant continued his walk towards the back of the column.


    ¡°See?¡± Vashka nudged Pierre with his elbow, whispering, ¡°He carried a saber and shouldered a gun, walked all the way as if nothing was wrong.¡±


    Only then did Pierre recall: when they set out, Lieutenant Winters Montagne was not on horseback.


    ¡­


    In the days that followed, Winters led his hundred-strong company through wilderness marches every day.


    The militiamen, mostly of peasant stock, generally had no complaints, for they were fed and paid for the training.


    In strict terms, the intensity of Winters¡¯ training was not very high, roughly fifteen kilometers of cross-country marching per day with only weapons to carry.


    If it were the Standing Army, they would have to march at least twenty kilometers outdoors every day, and that was with a full pack of weapons and camp gear.


    The young Dusacks were still tormented to the point of crying for their mothers. According to Gerard, Pierre even urinated blood. But the youngster never spoke disheartening words, simply going home and falling straight asleep.


    Pierre¡¯s suffering was obvious to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, who felt it deeply in their hearts.


    But Gerard still thumped his chest, assuring the lieutenant, ¡°Grind that boy to dust, and if he dies from exhaustion, blame me.¡±


    Ellen Mitchell, however, was growing increasingly intolerant, with every bruise, swelling, and blister on Pierre¡¯s body tormenting her.


    Winters was surprised to discover a subtle shift in the atmosphere at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Mrs. Mitchell, who had been adamant about sending her son to join the militia, was now hoping to hire a substitute to serve for Pierre, or to simply have Pierre leave the militia and wait until he was older.


    And Gerard, who had initially been firmly against Pierre¡¯s enlistment, now would not agree to a substitution, nor would he agree to let Pierre leave the militia.


    Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell had another heated argument.


    In the end, it was Pierre himself who made the decision: ¡°Dad, Mom, stop fighting. I¡¯m staying with the militia.¡±


    ¡­


    Time flew by.


    On the fourth Tuesday of October, a day shrouded in thick fog, Winters received his orders.


    The militia assembled in the town square; relatives came to see them off.


    Sons left parents, husbands left wives, fathers left children, brothers left siblings¡­ a scene of bleak sorrow.


    No matter how many times he experienced this, Winters could never grow numb to it. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unable to bear the sight, he quietly went to help Gerard load the cart.


    The Newly Reclaimed Land was sparsely populated with vast expanses, and they had to camp in the wild most of the way. Cooking equipment and food were loaded onto four double-team wagons, while the militiamen were responsible for carrying tents.


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 Chapter 374 - 34 Departure_3

    Chapter 374: Chapter 34 Departure_3


    The horse and wagon were both purchased by Gerard using funds from the town. Gerard Mitchell was not only a good town mayor but also a good man; Winters had inexpressible gratitude towards him.


    Winters additionally bought a double-hitched wagon, outwardly claiming it was for carrying the lieutenant¡¯s baggage while in reality, the lion cub was hidden inside.


    Bell had no more strength to care for the lion cub; Winters retrieved the Little Lion from the hunter¡¯s cabin to the security office, feeding it a mixture of cooked minced meat and sheep¡¯s milk.


    Watching the little guy grow bigger by the day, he had reached seventeen pounds in no time, and holding him felt like cradling a large dog.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but seriously consider Bell¡¯s suggestion: to hand over the ¡°White Lion¡± to a certain Hurd tribe on the grasslands. Afterwards, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry anymore since they would surely be delighted to present the White Lion to their Khan.


    It sounded ridiculous at first, but upon closer consideration, it was actually feasible.


    ...


    Unable to bear the thought of it dying by his hand, the sight of the Little Lion affectionately licking him made it impossible for Winters to contemplate killing it.


    At worst, releasing the lion into the wilderness far from Wolf Town seemed like a solution.


    Hence, both Bell and the lion cub appeared in the caravan, with Bell serving in place of Ashley Wilkes.


    What the young hunter didn¡¯t know was that Winters had secretly returned the money paid by the Wilkes family.


    As stated in the official paperwork, Bell was not a substitute but a volunteer, and this could also count towards fulfilling one term of active service required of the Dusans.


    Ralph too probably hoped that his son would be accepted by the Dusans once again.


    No one came to send off Bell, nor did anyone come for the young colt-handler Anglu. The two boys, who had both lost their parents, sat in the wagon, silently watching the militiamen tenderly interacting with their families in the town square.


    Among those who came to see them off was someone who shouldn¡¯t have been there: Franz ¡°the Master Teacher¡± Schmitt.


    Winters walked to the southeast corner of the town square, to an inconspicuous nook where the white-haired old executioner was saying something to his grandson.


    The executioner and his grandson wore simple grey outerwear, a stark contrast to the flamboyant costumes they wore at the scaffold.


    The old executioner was there to send off his grandson, Heinrich Schmitt.


    Upon seeing the lieutenant approaching, Franz removed his cap and bowed deeply, ¡°Thank you for giving Heinrich a chance, sir.¡±


    ¡°It was nothing.¡±


    No matter how one explains it, an executioner¡¯s role involves killing. It is a cursed profession; ¡°spawn of the executioner¡± is one of the vilest curses.


    People need executioners yet despise, scorn, and shun them.


    Because no other trade or community would accept them, the role of executioner often becomes a family craft.


    Many executioner families were assigned this role due to tarnished reputations, and the Schmitt family was such.


    The Master Teacher Franz dreamed of restoring his family¡¯s honor and, if not, at least enabling his descendants to escape the executioner¡¯s fate.


    The military draft in Wolf Town was an opportunity. After serving as a soldier, Heinrich would be entitled to priority in purchasing new land from the Republic.


    There, he might hide his name and bury his family¡¯s past, leading the life of an ordinary farmer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fear hardship, don¡¯t think of home¡­¡± Franz kept instructing in a nagging tone.


    Heinrich nodded, but his grandfather¡¯s next move took him by surprise.


    The old executioner retrieved a beheading sword from the wagon and solemnly handed it to his grandson.


    ¡°Take this,¡± Franz said, word by word. ¡°Remember the pain this sword has brought to the Schmitt family, and never forget it.¡±


    ¡°But Grandfather, what about you?¡± Heinrich awkwardly held the large sword.


    Franz sighed, ¡°It¡¯s time for me to retire.¡±


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Winters brother! The wagons are all loaded!¡± Xial hurried to Winters¡¯ side, panting, ¡°When are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°Xial,¡± Winters patted Xial¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You must call me Centurion now.¡±


    The Wolf Town century, now fully staffed with eighty soldiers, two constables, and one officer, had all assembled.


    The two constable positions were conferred by Winters to Xial and Heinrich Schmitt.


    The troops formed into two neat columns. Priest Caman presided over the blessing ceremony for their departure.


    After the ceremony, Caman led out two horses from behind the churchyard, one saddled and the other loaded with bags.


    ¡°How can we go without an army chaplain?¡± the young priest asked with a smile.


    Brother Reed approached from the crowd seeing them off: ¡°Brother Caman, you¡¯re following along?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t rest at ease if I don¡¯t go,¡± Caman said, his tone one of seeking forgiveness.


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s not much point for me staying here without you,¡± Reed sighed, then turned to the lieutenant, ¡°Lad, are you still in need of a scribe?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t waste words: ¡°I¡¯ll have Xial pack your bags.¡±


    ¡°What bags do I have?¡± The old mendicant monk laughed heartily, ¡°I came with nothing but the clothes on my back, and I¡¯ll leave with the same.¡±


    ¡°Anglu!¡±


    The young colt-handler came running at the call.


    ¡°Get the chestnut with the mane ready to saddle, for Brother Reed to ride.¡±


    ¡°You little rascal, you just want to see me dead,¡± the old monk glared at the lieutenant, ¡°You expect this old frame to ride a horse? And you¡¯ve got some imagination. Don¡¯t you have a big wagon? I¡¯ll take the wagon.¡±


    With that, the old monk walked off toward the wagon with a carefree stride.


    Winters mounted Strongrunner, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the soldiers, the misty Wolf Town in the morning, the forest in the distance shrouded by thick fog, mountains and the eternally snow-capped peaks.


    ¡°Move out,¡± he nudged the horse¡¯s flanks lightly, the first to exit the town square.


    The Wolf Town Montaigne century was ordered to Maplestone City¡¯s main camp.


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 Chapter 375 - 35: The Parachuting Boss

    Chapter 375: Chapter 35: The Parachuting Boss


    Before I knew it, it was late December. Comfortable, cool autumn had passed and now even wearing two layers of clothing couldn¡¯t ward off the chill.


    Located in a low-latitude region, Paratu only experienced ice on the coldest days of the year, but on some mornings, one could still see a layer of frost congealed on the ground.


    Outside Shuangqiao City, in a corner of the army camp, Bell was sitting in front of a fire, lost in thought.


    The wood crackled in the blaze, the wind occasionally scattering the flames, but still, they stubbornly radiated light and heat.


    In the damp chill of winter, this small flame was the only thing that could make one feel warm.


    Next to the bonfire stood a military tent, from which Berlion emerged carrying a pot of iron. He placed the pot over the fire, then turned to go back into the tent.


    ...


    Seeing the blacksmith coming over, Bell stirred up the fire to make it burn more vigorously. Berlion set the pot on the fire and then turned back to the tent.


    By the tent, Anglu hummed an off-tune melody, cheerfully brushing a chestnut-colored warhorse.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even ride Rejek that often, Lieutenant, what¡¯s with the enthusiastic grooming?¡± Bell picked up a stone and threw it at the groom: ¡°If you¡¯ve got spare time, you might as well come help the blacksmith and me with the cooking!¡±


    Anglu turned a deaf ear and continued to busily tend to the horse. Accompanied by the ¡°shush¡± of the brush, the chestnut mare contentedly snored away.


    The groom only had eyes for the horse and paid no attention to others.


    On the other hand, another person crawled out from under a woolen blanket by the fire.


    ¡°Ready yet?¡± Pierre, half-asleep, stretched and asked tiredly, ¡°I thought I smelled food?¡±


    ¡°Food is there, but in an hour,¡± Bell said, leaning on the fire stick, ¡°If you two were willing to help out, we might be able to eat a little sooner.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Pierre ducked back under the blanket, ¡°Call me in an hour.¡±


    ¡°Lazybones.¡±


    ¡°Let the groom help you; I was on night watch last night.¡±


    ¡°Can you go back and sleep in the tent, then? Don¡¯t be in the way here.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The tent is colder than outside, outside there¡¯s the sun and fire,¡± Pierre¡¯s consciousness began to blur, ¡°I¡¯m not you, who can cuddle with a lion for warmth.¡±


    Bell was at a loss for words.


    ¡­


    The little Hunter might deceive others but not the comrades who shared the same iron pot and tent.


    News spread fast in the camp, and now the militiamen of Wolf Town¡¯s hundred man unit all knew the Lieutenant had a pet.


    However, most of them still thought it was a rare hunting dog, only Pierre and a few others knew it was a lion.


    Berlion, Pierre, Anglu, and Bell were all part of Vashka¡¯s group of ten, which, besides the blacksmith, were all Dusacks.


    Because the little Hunter often had to take the young lion to deserted spots outside the camp for exercise, his secret was quickly uncovered by the other members of the group of ten.


    Although they were initially shocked when they found out, in the end, without exception, everyone chose to keep Bell¡¯s secret.


    Firstly, due to the camaraderie of ¡°tent brothers,¡± and secondly, the Little Lion was still at a size comparable to a large dog¡ªa cute rather than frightening stage of life.


    Because they shared the same secret, their relationship grew even closer.


    Of course, there was another reason: as the lion cub was kept in an officer¡¯s tent, it was obvious that Centurion Montaigne was behind it all, and no one wanted to get on the bad side of a direct superior.


    Indeed, Winters had his own reasons for assigning these men into one ¡°mess.¡±


    [Note: A group of ten sharing one tent was also called a ¡°mess¡± or ¡°tent.¡±]


    Pierre and the little groom were the Hunter¡¯s close buddies, and Vashka along with the other three Dusacks were friends of Pierre. As for Berlion, the blacksmith usually kept to himself and was the least likely to reveal secrets.


    Those in the know kept silent, while others spread rumors, and eventually, the story going around was ¡°the Lieutenant has a dog.¡±


    ¡­


    After grooming the red mane, Anglu led out Sturdy to brush its coat.


    Not wanting to leave the two fine horses in the camp stables, the little groom set up a horse shed on the edge of the camp area.


    The water in the pot was boiling, and Berlion took out wheat flour, meat, and a few vegetables from the tent, beginning to cook noodle soup.


    The sun was at its highest, the warmest time of the day in winter.


    Other soldiers and civilians in the camp took advantage of the good sunlight, also busy preparing something to eat.


    Hunter Bell would occasionally bring back a few rabbits or pheasants from the woods, and blacksmith Berlion¡¯s cooking skills were excellent, making the food of Vashka¡¯s group of ten quite decent.


    The food for the others varied, depending largely on the cooking skills of the soldiers in charge.


    ¡­


    The Shuangqiao Main Camp was divided into areas by hundreds of units, with tents of Wolf Town people surrounding Vashka¡¯s group of ten. Next to the people of Wolf Town were those from Blackwater Town, and then those from Saint Town.


    Auxiliaries from various secondary towns of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province were encamped on the open ground of the eastern wing of the camp, currently nominally under the First Auxiliary Legion of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Most of the wooden barracks on the western wing of the camp were empty, the area reserved for the Standing Army.


    Although not many Standing Army soldiers were in the camp at the moment, auxiliaries had no right to stay in the barracks and could only sleep in tents.


    In the center of the camp, heavily guarded, was a mountain of military equipment and grain.


    Shuangqiao Main Camp, adjacent to the border, was the largest logistical hub for the Parlatu Army.


    A network of roads like blood vessels brought war supplies from every city, town, village of the Republic to this point.


    All supply convoys heading to the front-line troops had to set off from Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    At present, the Wolf Town hundred man unit was stationed in Shuangqiao Main Camp, responsible for loading and unloading tasks.


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 Chapter 376 - 35: The Parachuting Boss_2

    Chapter 376: Chapter 35: The Parachuting Boss_2


    ¡­


    Boiling water, wheat flour, vegetables, meat, sprinkled with a pinch of salt and spices, turn into a pot of fragrant noodle soup.


    Attracted by the smell, Pierre got up, and Anglu also led the draught animal back to the stable.


    Bell, Berlion, Pierre, and Anglu sat around the fire. As usual, Berlion always served everyone else first.


    Pierre pulled out a wooden bowl from his bag, wiped it carelessly with his clothing, and handed it to the blacksmith.


    Mr. Mitchell looked around sleepily, yawned, and asked, ¡°Where are the four of them?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Gone to play,¡± the blacksmith answered curtly.


    ¡°And they haven¡¯t come back?¡±


    ¡°They just left this morning.¡±


    Berlion handed a bowl filled with noodle soup to Pierre, who took it and stared blankly at the fire, lost in thought.


    After a while, he sighed, ¡°They say we¡¯re militia, but what¡¯s really the difference between us and the laborers?¡±


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a difference, laborers get paid, but you don¡¯t,¡± said Bell without looking up.


    Meanwhile, Anglu slurped the noodle soup with loud slurping noises.


    ¡­


    On October 27, in the year 558 of the Empire, Montagne¡¯s centurion team reached Maplestone City.


    After receiving their weapons at the main camp of the stationed legion, the centurion team headed straight to Hosencorp to transport supplies without stopping.


    In addition to weapons, the legion also assigned twice as many laborers to the centurion team.


    The experienced conscriptor Gerard was right; so-called militiamen were, in reality, just laborers with weapons.


    Lieutenant Winters Montagne had, nominally, eighty militiamen and one hundred and sixty laborers under his command, but in fact, he had two hundred and forty laborers.


    In the nearly two months that followed, Winters led his men all over the Republic of Palatu, escorting supplies, loading and unloading, building camps, repairing roads¡­


    The Kingdom of Galloping Horses had already come to blows with the Hurd tribes, but it was basically unrelated to the centurion team from Wolf Town.


    When the 6th and 7th legions of Palatu crossed the Border River in mid-October, Wolf Town had not yet been conscripted.


    As the subsequent troops advanced into the territory of the Hurd tribes, the centurion team from Wolf Town was driving wagons on the country roads.


    For the people of Wolf Town, ¡°war¡± was just hard physical labor, the loudly recited dispatch of good news on the streets, and occasionally news heard from other soldiers.


    Pierre and the other Dusacks sighed; for them, the war was supposed to be about hanging sabers on the wall, adventure stories told by fathers, and the boasts of drunk uncles and granduncles.


    They all harbored some dreams of achieving great deeds and exhibiting the spirit of a hero. Yet now, after two months of service, all they did was two months of physical labor.


    But being spared the risk of combat, Winters was quite satisfied. In camps like the one in Maplestone and Shuangqiao Main Camp, he even had unexpected reunions with many classmates.


    Previously, Lieutenant Vineta was scattered across Palatu, rarely seeing each other. Now that the army was conscripting the local militia, they had the chance to leave their stations and would occasionally bump into each other on the road or in camps.


    During these few months in Palatu, the life of Lieutenant Vineta and his peers was very tough, and they had endless things to talk about.


    After asking around, Winters received bad news: none of the Lieutenant Vinetas had seen Gold, and naturally, none had received the Gold Coins sent through Thor Gold.


    The pirate leader embezzled the money for his own greed?


    Impossible, if that were the case, Xial couldn¡¯t have possibly made it alive to Wolf Town. The only possibility was that Gold had encountered an accident.


    Without other means, Winters reluctantly wrote to Gerard for help, hoping Gerard would use Major Ronald¡¯s connections at the County Garrison to inquire about it. But for now, he had received no reply.


    By mid-December, the material conscription within the borders of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses had come to an end.


    The supplies, which were a mountain of grain, arms, and ammunition, were stored in Shuangqiao Main Camp. The Palatu Army was not short on supplies now but lacked the ability to transport them to the frontline.


    Therefore, starting from mid-December, auxiliary military units from various regions began to converge on Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Montagne¡¯s centurion team had arrived at Shuangqiao Main Camp for over a week.


    ¡­


    Disappointed as they were, they still had to eat.


    A pot of noodle soup was devoured clean by the four men.


    Scraping the bottom of the pot with his spoon, Anglu praised, ¡°Blacksmith, how come everything you make is so delicious?¡±


    Berlion smiled, didn¡¯t speak.


    Pierre belched and casually asked, ¡°On duty this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°No, today it¡¯s the turn of the people from Little Shizhen.¡±


    ¡°Then, shall we play dice?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Andre replied while eating, ¡°I have to take Rejek out for a run this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Pierre turned to the Hunter.


    Bell shook his head, ¡°I have something else to do.¡±


    Pierre then looked at the blacksmith, a man he didn¡¯t even need to ask.


    Mr. Mitchell burrowed back into his blanket, ¡°Then I might as well sleep.¡±


    As they were chatting, a man with a military saber in his left hand and a knapsack over his right shoulder entered the Wolf Town camp.


    The man stopped one of the Wolf Town militia and casually asked, ¡°Is this Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    Inside the army, unit numbers were seldom used; it was customary to refer to a unit by the commander¡¯s last name, such as Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit or Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s battalion, and so on. However, for the militia, they preferred to call themselves after their town.


    The stopped Wolf Town militia was stunned for a moment, then nodded in confirmation.


    ¡°Where are Bard¡¯s centurion unit and Cherini¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    The confused Wolf Town militia countered, ¡°What Bard¡¯s centurion unit and Cherini¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    ¡°He means the Saint Town and Blackwater Town people,¡± Pierre interrupted, crawling out of his blanket. ¡°They¡¯re over there, those are Lieutenant Cherini¡¯s men, and farther over there are Lieutenant Bard¡¯s men.¡±


    Pierre casually pointed, his gaze inevitably drawn to the man before him.


    This was a tall and strong male, dressed in an old cavalry uniform. His jawline obscured by a thick beard, a prominent nose bisected his features.


    Anyone would remember that face, since a black eyepatch covered the man¡¯s left eye ¨C he was a one-eyed man.


    Yet when he used his remaining right eye to examine someone, it exerted a pressure greater than that of any other person with two eyes combined.


    ¡°Where is Lieutenant Montaigne now?¡±


    ¡°He should be in the officer¡¯s quarters,¡± Pierre asked as politely as possible. ¡°May I know who you are?¡±


    The one-eyed man did not answer, but instead said coldly, ¡°Have Lieutenant Montaigne, Lieutenant Cherini, and Lieutenant Bard come to see me.¡±


    ¡°May I know who you are?¡± Pierre persisted, asking again.


    ¡°I am John Jeska,¡± the one-eyed man seemed to smile, dropping his knapsack on the ground. He stared intently at Pierre and said, ¡°I am your battalion commander, a major.¡±


    ¡­


    When Pierre found Winters, the three centurions were having lunch with Priest Caman and Brother Reed.


    Upon hearing someone claiming to be Major Jeska, Winters, Andre, and Bard dropped their utensils and headed for the Wolf Town camp.


    Although the auxiliary legion was indeed an auxiliary force, it had a complete organization with a battalion command layer between the legion and the centurion unit. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Montaigne centurion unit was nominally part of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province First Auxiliary Legion, Third Battalion, First Centurion Unit, while Andre and Bard commanded the Second and Third Centurion Units.


    The entire Third Battalion currently had only three centurion units, considered a half-sized battalion.


    Previous tasks were carried out at the centurion unit level, so there had been no battalion commander, and Winters received orders directly from the Parlatu Army logistics department.


    It was only yesterday that Winters and his colleagues were informed: Major John Jeska had been appointed as the Third Battalion commander and would soon take office.


    They had just been chatting and speculating about the origins of the new battalion commander at the dining table and hadn¡¯t expected this ¡°Major Jeska¡± to arrive so quickly.


    No sooner had the three arrived at the Wolf Town centurion unit¡¯s camp, they learned that the major had already gone to the headquarters of the legion. The three centurions, who had just sprinted over from the officer¡¯s quarters in the center of the main camp, had no choice but to turn back.


    Eventually, they met the one-eyed major at the legion archive.


    The one-eyed major stood at the desk of Colonel [Karl Heinrich Angus], commander of archives, with a saber and a rucksack placed on the colonel¡¯s work desk.


    Major Jeska himself was using his only right eye to examine a dossier.


    Seeing the three lieutenants knock and enter the room, Colonel Angus found an excuse to leave, allowing Jeska and his three subordinates to be alone.


    ¡°You three,¡± the one-eyed major leaned on the desk, his tone unfriendly, ¡°how did you end up commanding militia?¡±


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 Chapter 377 - 35: The Shack Street

    Chapter 377: Chapter 35: The Shack Street


    ¡°Vasya! Where are you?¡± Pierre rushed through the streets, anxiously shouting, ¡°Vasya!¡±


    The narrow street was flanked by low and simple shanties, many of which didn¡¯t even have doors, just a piece of torn cloth to block the prying eyes of the passersby.


    The road was narrow and crowded, and Pierre¡¯s shouts were drowned out by the cries of the street vendors.


    ¡°Do you want to buy some tobacco, officer?¡± A dirty kid followed close behind Pierre, ¡°Want to buy? I¡¯ve got good stuff. Pipe tobacco? Chewing tobacco?¡±


    ¡°Not buying!¡± Pierre replied, annoyed.


    The kid was persistent and kept nagging him, ¡°What about booze, officer? Ale? Beer? I also have wine, just tell me what you want to drink¡­¡±


    ...


    Pierre ignored the kid, striding determinedly through the streets, shouting, and roughly pushing aside the slow-moving pedestrians.


    Innocent passersby were pushed to nearly fall over and were about to curse out loud, only to inadvertently catch a glimpse of the distinctive forehead hair, the small braid, and the Dusack knife at the man¡¯s waist.


    So the vulgar words that reached their lips were swallowed back down, turning into a vicious curse in their stomachs, ¡°Damn Tartar!¡±


    ¡­


    Since Marshal Ned built the Shuangqiao Main Camp thirty-one years ago, it has been the Republic of Palatu¡¯s most central logistics hub for every war with Hurd¡¯s tribes.


    Now, the ¡°Shanty Street¡± between the city walls and the barracks, was a slum in Shuangqiao City thirty years ago.


    Wherever there are people, there are needs. With the completion of the Shuangqiao Main Camp, all sorts of people flocked to this crowded, dirty, and smelly district: vendors, prostitutes, go-betweens, black-market dealers¡­


    Some scraped a living by providing services to men in the camp, while others waited outside the barracks to sniff out opportunities to make a big score.


    Jingling silver coins were paid out to soldiers and laborers by the logistics officers, only to end up in the pockets of the hawkers and runners of the Shanty Street.


    Invisible veins linked the Shuangqiao Main Camp to Shanty Street, which, under the nourishment of money and sweat, displayed a kind of diseased prosperity.


    ¡­


    Many soldiers and laborers spent more time in Shanty Street than in the barracks, but Pierre rarely came here.


    Now, as he walked along the noisy street, he was utterly lost. He had no idea which shanty Vashka and the others were in, and shouting their names down the street was useless.


    Having no choice, Pierre began to check each shanty:


    He lifted a door curtain, and a bunch of shirtless men were gambling. He didn¡¯t recognize them;


    He lifted another curtain, where a few laborers were plucking a hen. Not this one;


    He lifted yet another curtain, where a pair of hairy legs were busily moving atop a pair of pale ones, neither upper nor lower belonged to Vashka¡­


    Pierre hurried along, causing chaos in his wake, with the kid having to run to keep up.


    But the kid, like sticky candy, simply couldn¡¯t be shaken off, incessantly asking:


    ¡°What about women, officer? Do you want women? I know which women in which house are sick, and which aren¡¯t. I¡¯ll introduce you for free, no finder¡¯s fee. Or perhaps, officer, you¡¯d like to gamble? I know a good place, with all sorts of games!¡±


    A kid not even ten years old, but his mouth was full of ¡°women,¡± ¡°tobacco,¡± ¡°alcohol,¡± ¡°gambling,¡±¡ªit was both ridiculously comical and profoundly sad.


    But Pierre completely ignored him, well aware that any response would make this little. bastard. even more aggressive.


    The kids on Shanty Street had sharp eyes; they could tell at a glance who wasn¡¯t a regular. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So, every time Pierre came to Shanty Street, he was endlessly harassed, to the point of irritation.


    These kids running amok on the street also had sticky fingers. Despite calling him ¡°officer,¡± at the slightest inattention, they would ruthlessly steal even a soldier¡¯s underwear.


    After losing a purse once, Pierre made sure to carry a saber whenever he came to Shanty Street.


    Seeing that the Dusack in front of him paid him no attention, the kid who had followed Pierre all the way suddenly had an idea.


    He asked in a mysterious tone, ¡°Officer, do you need money? If there¡¯s nothing you want to buy, selling¡¯s fine too. Leather boots, wooden planks, gunpowder, lead, muskets, armor, anything you dare to sell, we dare to buy, and we guarantee a fair price. No goods? You can sell information too¡­¡±


    Already in a state of anxiety and impatience, Pierre finally lost his temper. He turned around, drew his saber, and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m not buying anything! Not selling anything! If you dare follow me again, I¡¯ll chop you dead with one strike!¡±


    The kid was at first stunned, then turned tail and ran.


    But after only a few steps, he stopped, pointed at Pierre¡¯s nose, and cursed loudly, ¡°You damned Tartar! Dusack with bowels full of maggots! Devil and donkey¡¯s crossbreed! Your life isn¡¯t worth as much as my balls! When you become a lonely ghost on the battlefield, let the crows peck out your eyes! Let stray dogs eat your balls! Let the devil drag you to hell to be a [luan] boy!¡±


    After spewing his venom, the kid made a face and disappeared into the crowd.


    ¡°Little bastard, don¡¯t run!¡± Pierre, red-faced with anger, chased after him.


    But he stood no chance of catching him and could only watch helplessly as the kid disappeared into the dark alleys of Shanty Street.


    The impotently furious Pierre roared at the sky, causing passersby and street vendors to look his way.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter here?¡± Vashka came running out of a shanty with his belt still undone, holding up his pants.


    ¡°Hurry back to camp with me!¡± Pierre, having finally found him, didn¡¯t have time to be angry. He grabbed Vasya¡¯s arm and urgently said, ¡°A big officer has come! The lieutenant wants everyone to assemble.¡±


    Vashka panicked too, ¡°What? Damn! Where¡¯s my belt?¡±


    ¡°Where are Toman, Guoquan, and the others?¡±


    ¡°Hey! They didn¡¯t go with me!¡± Vasya slapped his thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for them with you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Pierre lifted his leg to leave, but was held back by a Centurion.


    ¡°Pierre, did you bring money?¡± Vasya asked awkwardly. ¡°I haven¡¯t paid over there yet.¡±


    Pierre sighed helplessly and reached for his waistband.


    After fumbling for a moment, his expression suddenly changed: ¡°My wallet! The damn little bastard stole my wallet again!¡±


    Where the wallet should have hung from the belt, there was now nothing but emptiness.


    The leather cord that tied the wallet had been cut with a sharp blade.


    ¡­


    After finding the other three in the tent street, Vasya and Pierre hurried back to the camp.


    But it was still too late. Colonel Jeska had already returned from headquarters with three lieutenants, and three hundred-man squads stood in neat formations on the field.


    Sneaking in was out of the question, so Vasya and the others had to grit their teeth and approach.


    ¡°Ten lashes each,¡± the one-eyed colonel declared coldly without asking where they had been. ¡°Fall in.¡±


    The five Dusacks breathed a sigh of relief and quickly rejoined their ranks.


    Truth be told, they¡¯d rather be whipped a few times in plain sight than endure the humiliation of standing there for everyone to see¡ªit felt more straightforward.


    Afterward, other militiamen gradually returned, and Colonel Jeska treated everyone indiscriminately, administering ten lashes to each.


    It took nearly two and a half hours for three hundred-man squads to assemble completely, and the colonel made everyone stand in the small parade ground for the same amount of time.


    Once everyone had assembled, it should have been time for the new commander¡¯s speech, but John Jeska skipped all that.


    ¡°The execution will take place before sunset,¡± the colonel announced, looking at his three Centurions with his one eye. ¡°You three will carry it out personally, take care of your own soldiers. If there¡¯s a Centurion, add five lashes, and replace them.¡±


    Afterwards, he disbanded the three hundred-man squads.


    Even after the dismissal order, the troops still stood in place, not moving an inch. Everyone felt that something was missing and didn¡¯t know whether they should leave or not.


    The militiamen were perplexed, but to the three lieutenants new to the commander¡¯s style, this was no longer surprising.


    ¡­


    You see, the first thing the one-eyed colonel said after meeting them was ¡°How did the three of you end up commanding militia?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Pretending not to know?¡± Hearing this, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Winters¡¯s mind. ¡°Is this a show of authority? A provocation? Is he trying to deliberately anger us?¡±


    The awkward position of Venetian lieutenants in the Republic of Palatu was common knowledge among ¡°orthodox¡± officers.


    [Note: ¡°Orthodox¡± refers to officers who graduated from the Land Academy, also known as academy-educated or institutionally trained. This contrasts with emergency wartime officer training and battlefield promotions, with officers from the latter two paths finding it difficult to advance to the level of staff officers.]


    Nevertheless, there was a kind of camaraderie among alumni, so although the Palatu Army in principle never compromised, most seniors still took considerable care of Winters and his peers.


    Objectively speaking, the position of a garrison officer in the Newly Reclaimed Land was actually quite comfortable and pleasant. With great power and little restraint, one could feel like a noble lord locally.


    For non-academy officers to retire in a garrison officer¡¯s role was considered quite generous; sparing them from a fate like Lieutenant Mason¡¯s, who was sent to shovel horse dung, was already showing them favor.


    In the vast Kingdom of Galloping Horses, seniors would pat Winters on the shoulder and comfort him kindly, ¡°Just endure a little longer, hold on a bit, and you¡¯ll be able to go home once things are settled.¡±


    ¡°Why have you ended up commanding the militia?¡±


    Facing such a question head-on and being bluntly insulted was a first for them.


    The three lieutenants exchanged looks, none of them speaking.


    No need for words; seeing Andre¡¯s flared nostrils and twitching cheeks, Winters understood that Andre was on the brink of exploding.


    Winters bumped Andre¡¯s shoulder inconspicuously.


    Preventing the words ¡°Isn¡¯t this an idiotic question, as if it¡¯s our fault for not being capable enough?¡± from flying out, Winters managed to shove it back into Andre¡¯s throat.


    But at that moment, the colonel asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you speak? You lot are at least Land Academy graduates, so how have you sunk to competing for a job with officers from other schools?¡±


    [Note: Officers from other academies, in contrast to Land Academy officers, represent professional military officers who didn¡¯t graduate from the military academy of the army.]


    Winters had only one thought: it¡¯s over, Andre is going to blow.


    Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s thoughts momentarily drifted to ¡°becoming Andre¡¯s second in a duel¡± and even further afield.


    A deliberate voice rose in the room, ¡°To serve our country, there is no distinction of high or low. As for Colonel, aren¡¯t you also fallen to the point of commanding us?¡±


    Andre was startled, and Winters was taken aback.


    Unexpectedly, it was Bard, the most even-tempered of the three, who had spoken up first.


    Colonel Jeska was stung by the retort but didn¡¯t get angry.


    ¡°Not a fall, for me it¡¯s a promotion,¡± he said with a hint of a smile, unconcernedly. ¡°I¡¯ve had it worse than you; I just returned from an overseas military district.¡±


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 Chapter 378 - 378: 36 Chapters: Super Long Spear

    Chapter 378: 36 Chapters: Super Long Spear


    For the governments of the countries in the Alliance, and even their military counterparts, stripping an officer of their commission was an almost impossible feat.


    The story begins at the founding of the Alliance.


    At that time, nobles both great and small within the Republics, unwilling to abandon their privileges, raised their banners in armed separatism.


    Smoke from the battles covered the lands around Senas Bay, and the nascent Alliance flickered in the wind, its fate uncertain from day to day.


    It seemed as though the republican government might meet its end no sooner than it had begun.


    But there was still one army in the Senas Alliance, an army led by Ned Smith. At that time, there were no divisions into separate Republics, and the people of Senas simply called this military force ¡°the Allied Army.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,¡± but at that time, the rebellious nobles had yet to realize this: the Allied Army was in itself the most powerful rebel faction in the land.


    Against the Allied Army, forged in blood and fire, even the ¡°Butcher¡± Duke Arlian had no choice but to suffer defeat and take his own life¡ªwho else on the shores of the bay could rival the Allied Army?


    Cannon fire leveled towers, and underground tunnels blew apart castles, as the nobles¡¯ fragmented power was easily suppressed and annihilated by the Allied Army.


    As one earl after another who openly rebelled was hanged from the city walls by the army, the remaining old ruling class began to understand that violence was suicide.


    They, relying on their deep-rooted local influence, willingly entered various councils to engage in party politics.


    In those years, the political ecosystem of the Republics was quite comical and absurd.


    Aristocratic powers gradually took over local councils, and the cities, where the new republican government resided, were like isolated islands in a vast ocean.


    The so-called democratically elected representatives were nothing but old nobility in new clothing, while the military ironically became a pillar of democratic republicanism.


    Calls such as ¡°Settle the crimes of the Allied Army during the Sovereignty Wars!¡± and ¡°Put Ned Smith on trial!¡± reverberated everywhere.


    The atmosphere along Senas Bay bordered on that of a countryside encircling the cities, a peaceful evolution of power, welcoming the return of the emperor.


    Based on the necessity to protect the military and the fear that the old aristocracy might seize power and control the army for a countercoup, the governments of the Republics granted considerable autonomy to their national armed forces during those years.


    The Allied Army from that period did indeed stand as the last bastion for the fledgling Republic.


    The old noble forces tried time and again to turn back history, only to be crushed decisively by the military of the Republics.


    The Supreme Council of Guanglian Province was forcibly dissolved by the military three times, and the story of ¡°bombarding the State Palace¡± is still told among the citizens of Guidu.


    But this harsh medicine came with many side effects, one of which was the self-sufficient system that the Provincial Army eventually became, leading to today¡¯s intractable situation.


    The constitutional amendment that ¡°officers cannot be stripped of their commission except for treason or espionage¡± was also passed during the same period.


    As long as an officer wasn¡¯t guilty of treason or espionage, no matter what they did, even if their command errors led to the death of thousands of soldiers, they could not be kicked out of the military for it.


    This was the ultimate protection for officers of the Allied Army.


    But this amendment indirectly led to another result: even if an officer seriously offended a powerful figure, they couldn¡¯t strip him of his military status.


    Therefore, the less favored junior officers by the higher-ups had only two destinations:


    Either they were transferred to some overseas military district and became the honorable overseas garrison,


    or they were assigned to the military historiography department, sitting on a cold bench, revising military histories.


    These two practices became unwritten customs of the Armed Forces of the Republics.


    The overseas garrison was a military institution directly under the control of the Alliance government, not subject to any member state¡¯s jurisdiction. Going there meant losing the identity of a Republican serviceman, and it was always a one-way trip. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And historians from later generations unfamiliar with the hidden rules would find the military histories of the Allied Army from this period quite bizarre.


    In contrast to the Empire¡¯s military histories full of praises and boasting of martial achievements, the Allied Army¡¯s accounts were written with biting satire, sarcastic tone, and the pages seemed to drip with palpable acidity.


    And our Colonel John Jeska was the kind of officer particularly disliked by the higher-ups.


    So twelve years ago, he was transferred from the Paratu forces to an overseas military department to work on revising military histories.


    ¡­


    Of course, the three lieutenants had no idea about Colonel Jeska¡¯s legendary ¡°return from oblivion¡± upon first meeting him.


    But when the colonel said he had just returned from overseas, Bard immediately understood what had happened.


    Bard whispered a reminder, ¡°Sir, Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cellini here are Venetians, while I am a United Provincial.¡±


    ¡°Venetians serving in Paratu?¡± Colonel Jeska asked in confusion, ¡°Has the Land Academy now abandoned the practice of ¡®return to where you came from¡¯ in favor of a dispersed distribution?¡±


    Well, it seems that this officer is truly unaware of the situation, and Bard gave him a succinct explanation of the background.


    ¡°The friction between the Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªI heard of it even while overseas,¡± the colonel lamented after hearing the explanation, ¡°You really are unlucky, getting caught in the middle.¡±


    ¡­


    After dismissing the formation, the colonel didn¡¯t stop for a moment before setting out to inspect the Arsenal.


    Since combat wasn¡¯t a concern, Winters and the others decided upon arriving at Shuangqiao Main Camp to collect and securely store the weapons and equipment of the three hundred-man units together.


    The temporary Arsenal was set up in a wooden hut, overseen by an experienced Centurion named Malcolm, who with his subordinates was responsible for its guard.


    During the earlier assembly, Malcolm had already noticed that the new battalion commander was not an easy officer to deal with.


    After the dismissal, he hurriedly had his militia men, armed with cleaning tools, rush to the Arsenal, ready to give the storage room a thorough cleaning.


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 Chapter 379 - 36: The Ultra-Long Spear_2

    Chapter 379: Chapter 36: The Ultra-Long Spear_2


    Colonel Jeska arrived at the Arsenal with three lieutenants just as the militia in charge of the armory was sweeping up.


    Seeing his subordinates sharpening their weapons at the eleventh hour, Winters and his companions couldn¡¯t help but blush.


    The colonel, however, dismissed it with a wave of his hand, ¡°No need to hustle, the Arsenal is not a banquet hall.¡±


    Winters asked the Centurion in charge of the armory to bring the list: ¡°The spears, halberds, swords, shields, and firearms for three hundred-man squads, as well as the ammunition, are all here.¡±


    ¡°Mixed forces?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyebrows raised.


    ¡°Yes, mixed forces,¡± Winters nodded.


    ...


    Normally, each hundred-man squad in a legion would be equipped with the same weapons. Halberdiers would only have halberds, and musketeers would only have firearms; only at the cohort level would there be mixed forces.


    Such a design is for legion-level battles, where soldiers using different weapons are organized into separate units, making it more convenient for commanders to arrange troops and formations.


    However, militias like the one in Wolf Town, mainly engaged in assorted tasks such as escorting and road maintenance, and operating independently most of the time, could only institute mixed forces at the hundred-man squad level.


    ¡°Spears, firearms, heavy halberds, and swords with shields, in the ratio of four to three to two to one,¡± Winters took the list and handed it to the colonel: ¡°Only Centurions are issued with half armor, everyone else gets a helmet. There¡¯s also sixty kilograms of lead, twelve kegs of gunpowder, and some other assorted items, all here.¡±


    Spearmen, musketeers, and halberdiers are each additionally equipped with a single-handed sword, while swordsmen with shields also have a small iron shield.


    The musketeers also have molds for casting lead bullets, which Winters, fearing the militia might not manage them well, had also collected.


    Colonel Jeska, without even looking at the list, directly asked, ¡°Is it higher-ups issuing only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, or are you down to only one kilogram per person?¡±


    ¡°Each musketeer is only issued one kilogram.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t done any training?¡±


    ¡°The militia hasn¡¯t undergone training,¡± Winters thought for a moment before answering, ¡°But we have conducted a few training sessions ourselves using the gunpowder and lead brought from the recruiting areas.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s expression remained unchanged, not revealing much emotion, ¡°Let¡¯s see the goods.¡±


    Opening a wooden crate, the pungent smell of oil hit them, the box was filled with single-handed swords, each oiled and wrapped in cloth.


    ¡°Pretty good,¡± the colonel nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s see the others.¡±


    The other weapon crates were inspected one by one, and everything was well preserved: the metal equipment was oiled, camphor was placed beside the long poles, and the blades were all properly wrapped.


    John Jeska seemed quite satisfied until the crate containing the firearms was opened.


    The one-eyed colonel¡¯s expression was a mix of a smile and not a smile: ¡°Hook guns?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. We were issued hook guns,¡± Winters replied awkwardly.


    The colonel took out a hook gun from the top and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°This thing, I fear its age might even surpass mine, eh?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that,¡± Malcolm replied in a muffled voice, ¡°But it¡¯s definitely older than any of us.¡±


    ¡­


    Hook guns, in fact, are matchlock muskets, a type of improved matchlock musket.


    Early firearms did not have stocks until a gunsmith had the inspiration to attach the wooden stock from a crossbow to the firearm, until then, muskets had to be fired by holding them in hand.


    But hand-held firing was unstable, so to dissipate the recoil, gunsmiths began to add a small iron hook to the barrel.


    This way, the user could hook the musket to objects like city walls, wagons, or shields for support. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, this type of musket was named a hook gun.


    At least in the early stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were still using hook guns.


    But war spurred more advanced designs, which then spread rapidly during the wars.


    With the proliferation of musket stocks, longer barrels, and serpentine firing rods, muskets evolved from the early matchlock ¡°stick and iron tube¡± to their present form.


    By the later stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were fully equipped with more advanced matchlock muskets and cannons to wreak havoc upon each other.


    No one used or manufactured hook guns anymore; in other words, this type of weapon had been off the historical stage for at least thirty years.


    That¡¯s why the colonel asked such a question.


    The swords, shields, and super-long spears issued to Winters and his hundred-man squads conformed to legion specifications, but the firearms they received were outdated models.


    There wasn¡¯t much to complain about, as the militia mostly operated behind the lines and at most had to deal with a few highwaymen.


    Having a couple of guns that could make a noise was enough to intimidate attackers. For actual combat, a couple of crossbows would be more useful.


    ¡­


    Shaking his head slightly, the colonel put the hook gun back in the crate and pointing at the kegs of gunpowder said, ¡°Open this and have a look.¡±


    The colonel specifically wanted to check the kegs of gunpowder stacked at the bottom. Malcolm, in charge of the Arsenal, fetched a crowbar made of hardwood and carefully opened the keg.


    Colonel Jeska poured out the entire barrel of gunpowder, revealing lovely black granules without any signs of layering.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± the colonel rarely patted the Centurion in charge of the armory on the shoulder, ¡°The gunpowder has been well-stored.¡±


    Malcolm scratched his head and said sheepishly, ¡°It was Centurion Montaigne who told me to flip the keg of gunpowder upside down every day.¡±


    Jeska looked at Winters with some surprise and nodded slightly.


    Winters also felt a bit embarrassed, as this trick was something he had learned from the Vineta navy.


    ¡°No need to check further, that will do,¡± the colonel dusted the gunpowder off his hands and said offhandedly, ¡°Take your men to the legion Arsenal, swap the super-long spears for regular spears or halberds. Exchange the hook guns for matchlock muskets.¡±


    Winters was momentarily taken aback, ¡°Uh¡­ we can just go and exchange them?¡±


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 Chapter 380 - 36 The Super Long Spear_3

    Chapter 380: Chapter 36 The Super Long Spear_3


    ¡°Just go exchange them,¡± Winters said.


    ¡°Why exchange?¡± Andre couldn¡¯t help but question, ¡°If they¡¯re just ordinary spears or pikes, how do we form a formation?¡±


    ¡°Such trash soldiers are not worthy of using long pikes,¡± Jeska¡¯s tone was very bland, as if he was commenting that the weather was quite nice today.


    Andre suddenly flared up in anger, and not just Andre; the militia in charge of the arsenal showed annoyance on their faces as well.


    ¡°Disagree?¡± the Lieutenant Colonel looked at Andre, his eyebrows slightly raised, then turned to the militia beside him, ¡°Disagree?¡±


    Andre snorted coldly and looked to the side. The surrounding militiamen all lowered their heads.


    ...


    After a brief exchange, Winters had a bit of an understanding of Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s personality:


    This officer says whatever is on his mind. Perhaps he has no ill intent, but there is no sound more piercing in this world than the truth.


    ¡°You few, take the long pikes and follow me,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel pointed to a few of the arsenal militiamen. He picked up a long pike himself and led the way out of the arsenal.


    Several militiamen stood foolishly in place, not sure what to do.


    Andre, frowning, urged them, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Go on, do whatever you¡¯re told to do.¡±


    Centurion Malcolm clenched his teeth, carrying a long pike as he walked out, and other militiamen followed, picking up their pikes.


    Eight militiamen stood in a row outside the arsenal, their spear tips pointing to the sky.


    ¡°Present arms!¡± the Lieutenant Colonel commanded.


    The militiamen, following the drill taught by the Centurion, competently presented their pikes at an even height with their necks.


    The five-meter-long pikes pointed forward neatly, presenting a somewhat imposing sight.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska remarked. ¡°Not completely untrained.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Lieutenant Colonel also presented his pike in the same posture.


    The next second, the veteran with one eye charged straight toward the militiamen¡¯s formation with his pike.


    Spear tip passed spear tip, drawing close to each other¡¯s chests, and it looked like blood would be shed any moment, but the Lieutenant Colonel did not flinch or dodge.


    Malcolm was startled and hastily retreated.


    The Lieutenant Colonel relentlessly pursued, stabbing his pike down ferociously at Malcolm¡¯s throat.


    In his panic, the Centurion dropped his pike and dodged this lethal strike. However, a gap appeared in the formation, and the Lieutenant Colonel charged into the bristling wall of pikes.


    Ditching his pike as well, the Lieutenant Colonel drew his saber. With his left hand, he grabbed another militiaman¡¯s pike, and with the right hand wielding his blade, he chopped towards him.


    The sudden attack left the Wolf Town militiamen bewildered until the saber stopped an inch above his head, and only then did he regain his senses, stumbling several steps backward and falling to the ground. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°In ancient times, dropping a pike in battle wasn¡¯t punishable, but dropping a shield was a capital offense,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel sheathed his saber and asked calmly, ¡°Do you know why?¡±


    There was silence on the clearing.


    No one responded, so Lieutenant Colonel Jeska answered his own question, ¡°Because the pike is used to kill the enemy, while the shield is meant to protect the comrade beside you. Dropping a pike means one less man to fight the enemy, but dropping a shield can break the entire battle line.¡±


    Winters roughly understood what the Lieutenant Colonel was trying to say, and he saw that both Bard and Andre appeared contemplative.


    ¡°A long pike formation has no shields, so each of your pikes is a shield for your comrades,¡± Jeska picked up a long pike again and said coolly to the few militiamen in front of him, ¡°The retreat of a single coward could cause the collapse of the entire phalanx. Only veterans who receive double the military pay deserve to stand at the front with long pikes in hand. You are not worthy yet. Still disagree?¡±


    Not a single militiaman responded, and Malcolm lowered his head in shame.


    The Lieutenant Colonel smacked his lips, turned, and tossed the pike to Winters, speaking indifferently, ¡°Once the formation is lost, a long pike is less useful than a dagger. Give them weapons they can use in individual combat; there¡¯s no point in expecting them to fight in formation anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Winters saluted.


    ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel turned to leave, then looked back offhandedly and asked, ¡°Why are there so many Dusans listed in the roll call?¡±


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 Chapter 381 - 37: Muskets and Spears

    Chapter 381: Chapter 37: Muskets and Spears


    At last, the Venetian and United Provincials also experienced what it meant to have ¡°connections¡± in Paratu.


    When they arrived at the legion¡¯s Arsenal, there was no need for Winters to talk much. The Arsenal readily agreed to replace Jeska¡¯s company¡¯s weapons and equipment.


    The hook spears were changed for brand-new matchlocks and steel crossbows, and the sword shields and extra-long spears were exchanged for ordinary halberds¡ªColonel Jeska thought that with the level of training the militia had, they were unworthy to be sword shield bearers.


    As required by the Colonel, the number of militiamen equipped with guns increased to half of the total number.


    Now each hundred-man team had three tents of musketeers and two tents of crossbowmen.


    The head of the ordnance department made a big gesture and approved over twenty half armors; thus, Winters gained another tent of armored halberdiers under his command.


    ...


    Previously, the Arsenal had issued only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, which at most could be melted into thirty-odd lead bullets, not accounting for the gunpowder consumption.


    Although the Standing Army¡¯s shooting practice wasn¡¯t extensive, the paltry reserve of thirty-odd bullets per person and a total of six barrels of gunpowder made the three lieutenants dare not use it.


    Up to now, the only firing practice Winters¡¯ musketeers had was to take turns shooting aimlessly at the ground.


    The purpose was to familiarize these militiamen, who were farmers not long ago, with the sound of gunshots and flashes, so they would not be startled when they really had to fire.


    But this time, the legion Arsenal issued six hundred kilograms of lead and sixty barrels of gunpowder to Jeska¡¯s company in one go, and even seemed to be suggesting they were welcome to ask for more.


    With the new equipment in hand, the lads cheered merrily. Dusack, in particular, scrambled to be an armored halberdier or a musketeer.


    But Winters felt a vague sense of unease.


    Pierre was originally assigned as a sword shield bearer, but now Jeska¡¯s company no longer retained sword shield soldiers. Mr. Mitchell didn¡¯t want to be a spearman, so he came running to Winters, pleading to let him try the musket. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, commander?¡± Pierre, bursting with excitement, found the Centurion only to discover his furrowed brows and stern expression. ¡°We have new guns, new armor, and enough powder and shot. Why do you seem unhappy?¡±


    ¡°Do farmers feed pigs oats so that the pigs are happy?¡± Winters asked coldly in return. ¡°Besides, what are you happy about? Don¡¯t you still owe ten lashes?¡±


    ¡­


    In accordance with the company commander¡¯s orders, the punishment was carried out before nightfall.


    They had just moved the new weapons from the ordnance depot back to the camp when the whipping followed.


    In the Paratu army, the punishment wasn¡¯t with a common riding crop or hemp rope but a nearly two-meter-long soft whip made of leather strips.


    The whip had to be soaked in vinegar before use to ensure that each strike was agonizing for the punished.


    Additionally, four lead balls the size of grapes were tied to the tip of the whip to increase its force.


    When the experienced military police handled the punishment whip, one lash could split skin and flesh, ten lashes could knock a man unconscious, and thirty lashes could kill a man outright.


    The Three Town militiamen, once again, assembled in the small drill ground to witness the punishment.


    Lieutenant Montaigne stepped into the drill ground with the punishment whip in hand. Vashka, who was previously acting tough and comforting Pierre with ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about a whipping?¡±, suddenly realized that his knees were trembling uncontrollably.


    The military camp punishments were simple: physical labor, riding the wooden horse¡ªwith a musket tied to each leg for a march¡ªwhipping, or hanging.


    Winters, holding the whip in his hand, also felt a certain uneasiness.


    This instrument of punishment had been given to Winters on the first day he arrived at the Maplestone City camp, but he had never used it.


    In fact, the harshest punishment Winters had ever meted out to the boys he brought from Wolf Town was physical labor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the Centurion!¡± Winters bit his teeth and, with a grim face, began the roll call. ¡°Vashka Morozov!¡±


    Vashka, his face ashen, stepped out of line.


    ¡°Tie him up!¡±


    Two military policemen from the Monta hundred-man team¡ªXial and Heinrich, sprang to action upon the order.


    They brought Vashka next to a large cart, forcing him to kneel in front of the wheel, his hands tightly bound with hemp rope to the carriage.


    Xial, sympathetically and silently patted Vashka¡¯s shoulder, while Heinrich gave him a towel to bite on. The two military policemen then turned and walked away.


    Now only Vashka remained.


    Before his eyes was only the mud-stained cart board, and behind him the unknown timing of the whip and the eyes of everyone else.


    Immense humiliation and fear engulfed him.


    The sound of the whip tearing through the air came before the strike itself, followed by a pain that pierced to the marrow. Vashka¡¯s breath halted sharply, and before he could recover, the second lash arrived.


    The two-meter-long punishment whip was very cumbersome to use, and Winters, gritting his teeth, delivered lash after lash without the slightest restraint.


    He now finally understood why the one-eyed Colonel had insisted he carry out the punishment himself¡ªJeska intended to whip not just the Wolf Town militiamen but also the Wolf Town Centurion.


    The Colonel was telling him, ¡°Take a good look, this is the troop you lead.¡±


    The whip lashed not just Vashka but his own face. If the militia¡¯s discipline was lax, was it not ultimately the fault of ineffective control?


    During the first three lashes, Vashka managed to keep silent.


    After the fourth lash, Vashka began to scream inhumanly.


    By the seventh lash, the screams also gradually weakened, and eventually, all that could be heard on the drill ground was the whip¡¯s tip striking his back.


    After fifteen lashes, Vashka, bloody and unconscious, was carried away from the drill ground by Xial and Heinrich.


    ¡°This is military law! It doesn¡¯t matter if you are a militiaman or a war soldier!¡± Winters, gripping the whip handle tightly, roared at the parade ground: ¡°Deserting camp, whipping! Theft, cowardice in battle, hanging! Defection, the family is implicated!¡±


    The ranks fell silent as a tomb.


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 Chapter 382 - 37: Muskets and Spears_2

    Chapter 382: Chapter 37: Muskets and Spears_2


    ¡°Next!¡±


    Another militiaman who had left camp without permission was tied to the whipping post, and the chilling sound of lashing echoed once again.


    Colonel Jeska even didn¡¯t show up, having too many people to meet after twelve years of overseas deployment.


    While Lieutenant Montaigne was vigorously wielding the whip, the colonel was toasting with classmates and friends.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    The day after the flogging.


    The sun shone warmly, and the air was slightly cool.


    On the parade ground outside the Shuangqiao Main Camp, the sound of muskets firing in unison could be heard from time to time.


    Sparks flew, and smoke filled the air.


    Winters bellowed, ¡°Stow the fork rests!¡±


    The musketeers who had just fired hastily pulled the wooden fork rests out of the ground. A fork rest was a sharpened wooden stick with an iron hook at one end to support the gun barrel.


    ¡°Gun on the shoulder!¡±


    On hearing the order, the musketeers hurriedly stood the muskets upright and shouldered them.


    If a militiaman carelessly pointed his gun sideways at someone else while shouldering his weapon, the supervising sergeant behind him would rush over and land a fierce blow with his stick.


    ¡°Never point your gun at anyone but the enemy!¡± Winters caught sight of the commotion and shouted, ¡°You never know if that lead ball was fired from the barrel before inspection!¡±


    The militiamen held their muskets, not daring to move.


    ¡°Lower your guns! Check the barrel!¡± Winters continued to command.


    The musketeers placed the butts of their guns on the ground and pulled out their ramrods, carefully poking them into the barrel.


    ¡°Sir!¡± A militiaman reported with a downcast face, ¡°My ramrod isn¡¯t reaching properly, it seems like a misfire.¡±


    A misfire was common for muskets; sparks would fly from the external pan, but the priming charge inside the barrel would not ignite.


    Often, musketeers were too nervous to notice a misfire and would stuff new powder and a lead ball on top of the first one.


    Someone once found a musket on the Vicksburg battlefield with seven unfired lead balls stuffed in the barrel.


    If they loaded repeatedly, at best there would be another misfire; at worst, it could burst the barrel.


    That¡¯s why there was a mark on the musketeers¡¯ ramrods: if the ramrod reached the deepest part of the barrel and the mark was at the muzzle, that meant the lead ball had been fired.


    If there was a finger¡¯s breadth between the mark and the muzzle, the musketeer was in trouble.


    Winters walked over to the muted militiaman, taking the musket, ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about with a misfire? Just reload and fire again.¡±


    He poured powder into the pan, closed the cover, and re-affixed the slow match¡ªwhen the pan burned, the force could knock the slow match flying or even blow it out, which was the trouble with using matchlock guns.


    Then, he opened the cover again and pulled the trigger. The smoldering end of the slow match ignited the powder in the pan, and it was blown off from the serpentine in an instant.


    This time, the priming charge in the barrel ignited successfully, kicking up a small cloud of dust on the distant earth mound.


    ¡°There.¡± Winters tossed the musket back to the militiaman and gave a new order loudly, ¡°Clean the barrel!¡±


    The musketeers took out pieces of rag, wrapping them around their ramrods and started to scrub their barrels.


    During battle, there was no need to clean the barrel after every shot, but now it was training, so of course the full procedure was necessary.


    Watching the frantic militiamen, Winters sighed to himself.


    In the revised infantry drill manual six years earlier, there were twenty-five steps in the firing sequence of a matchlock, further broken down into forty-two separate moves.


    A complete firing sequence was a lot more complicated than just ¡°load and fire.¡±


    And the longest thing these militiamen had ever memorized in their lives¡­ was probably the Lord¡¯s Prayer.


    Just keeping them from setting themselves on fire was enough to give Lieutenant Montaigne a headache.


    But it wasn¡¯t their fault; two months earlier, they were only diligent farmers, and many of them hadn¡¯t even touched a musket until two days before.


    They were not volunteers; they were simply the unfortunate ones chosen by the draft.


    Winters waved his hand, ¡°Next group!¡±


    Another batch of militiamen came forward, carrying muskets. Rows of small wooden bottles hung across their chests, filled with pre-measured gunpowder.


    Thank Heaven, Marshal Ned¡¯s concept of ¡°standardized charges¡± was proposed thirty years ago, along with the epoch-making invention of the ammunition bottle.


    Otherwise, just teaching the militia how much gunpowder to pour for each loading might have vexed Lieutenant Montaigne to death.


    ¡°It seems the old marshal must have been driven to invent the ammunition bottle out of desperation,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help thinking.


    Compared to the headaches Winters faced at the shooting range, Andre and Bard¡ªwho were responsible for training the spearmen¡ªwere much more at ease.


    The spearmen were simply drilling simple formation changes on the training field, then practicing marching in column and turning, and finally practicing stabbing at wooden stakes.


    Since the five-and-a-half-meter long spears had been replaced with two-and-a-half-meter spears, the militiamen found it much easier.


    The extra-long spears were too long and needed special carrying equipment, which always made moving somewhat inconvenient.


    Carrying a spear, on the other hand, was simple¡ªjust shouldering it was sufficient.


    However, the weight was not much lighter than the extra-long spears, as a section of iron tubing had been added behind the spearhead to prevent the enemy from cutting off the pole.


    Bard and Andre¡¯s biggest hassle was teaching the militia to tell left from right and correcting mistakes in their step while marching.


    Over two days, the spearmen became increasingly more presentable and spirited.


    In contrast, Winters¡¯ side was constantly beset with problems, with every imaginable mishap occurring.


    Some even forgot to remove the ramrod after loading, eventually launching it with the lead bullet.


    Fortunately, no burst barrels had occurred so far; otherwise, the militia would have grown even more fearful of the muskets they held.


    The new militiamen held their muskets tentatively, wishing they could tilt their heads back as far as possible.


    Frustrated, Winters lashed out with his riding whip and exclaimed sternly, ¡°Put your chin on the stock! Aim carefully before you fire! Point the muzzle at the target! Do not close your eyes when you pull the trigger!¡±


    The process of firing a musket ball is essentially an explosion¡ªnaturally, the further away, the better.


    With an iron tube in hand that no one knew when might explode, hardly any militiamen dared to put their chin on the stock and take careful aim.


    In fact, most people could shoot a musket much more accurately than they could shoot a bow and arrow, similar to how a crossbow is more accurate than a bow. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When shooting an arrow, people have to exert force, their arms shake, and the more they shoot, the more tired they get, with only a few exceptional archers able to hit whatever they aim at.


    But compared to the inherent accuracy errors of a musket, even more misses resulted from the gunners¡¯ reluctance to aim properly and their indiscriminate firing.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Colonel Jeska remarked after watching at the edge of the shooting range for a while, ¡°Those from the Land Academy really outdo those wild rogues I met overseas, so formal and proper they are.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters didn¡¯t know whether the colonel was mocking him or praising him.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Winters suggested helplessly, ¡°how about changing guns instead of men? Let those who dare fire do the shooting, and the rest can handle the loading.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Colonel Jeska shook his head, ¡°If they¡¯re not firing themselves, they won¡¯t take the loading seriously, and that¡¯s more likely to cause accidents. Moreover, changing guns but not men means letting the brave soldiers take on the most risk. If the courageous ones get shot or blown up, what are we going to do with the ones who are too scared to shoot? We need to make sure every soldier dares to fire.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words.


    The one-eyed colonel said indifferently, ¡°Keep training, don¡¯t be impatient. You have good skills training troops, better than your two peers.¡±


    After saying this, he turned his head and walked towards the other two lieutenants.


    Although Colonel Jeska had lost an eye, it did not impair his sharp vision.


    On the surface, Bard and Andre¡¯s results seemed far more abundant than Winters¡¯.


    The neat and imposing ranks of the spearmen were a stark contrast to the continual problems on the musketeers¡¯ side.


    But in reality, it¡¯s all a show, as training a spearman is much more difficult than training a musketeer.


    A qualified spearman not only needs physical strength and skill but, most importantly, a tough will and thick nerves.


    When faced with an enemy charge, the spearman first has to dare not to run away, only then is combat a possibility.


    Training a swordsman with a shield is even more difficult than training a spearman.


    After all, long weapons have the advantage of distance, whereas swordsmen must engage in close combat.


    Those who can serve as swordsmen are the bravest of the elite. This is also why Colonel Jeska simply had the militia all switch to using spears.


    Shooting at the enemy from a distance with muskets or crossbows is far simpler and less stressful than killing someone up close with cold steel¡ªboth physically and psychologically.


    The training continued in full swing.


    ¡°Train hard!¡± Winters admonished with a touch of sorrow, ¡°The sweat you hesitate to shed today is the blood you will have to spill tomorrow!¡±


    He wondered silently, Does a farmer feed oats to pigs to make them happy?


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 Chapter 383 - 38 Cavalry

    Chapter 383: Chapter 38 Cavalry


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre begged pitifully, clutching Bard¡¯s hand.


    Bard neither agreed nor disagreed.


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre¡¯s voice lowered even further in supplication.


    Bard looked amused.


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre now had tears welling up in his eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that, you think I¡¯d believe it?¡± Bard sighed, ¡°But this time I¡¯ll let you have it.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Consider it a debt I owe you!¡± Andre beamed with joy, and before he walked out the door, he patted his chest and said, ¡°Old Bard! If you ever need anything, I¡¯m your man to take a blade to both sides!¡±


    Before his voice had even faded, he dashed off like a streak of smoke. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Have you ever counted how many times you¡¯ve owed me?¡± Bard laughed and cursed.


    Andre was already far away, but his voice drifted back from outside the shack: ¡°Take a blade to both sides!¡±


    ¡°If you let him have his way too often, Andre will start to take it for granted,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he already doing that?¡± Bard replied helplessly.


    ¡­


    Why had Colonel Jeska been deployed to the gulf for twelve years? And how was he able to return from it?


    Winters didn¡¯t know, but he realized that John Jeska still had considerable connections in Paratu.


    After listening to Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s explanation as to why there were as many as 63 Dusacks among the three squads of the militia, the colonel¡¯s expression remained unchanged, showing little reaction.


    But when Colonel Jeska returned to the Shuangqiao Main Camp that night, he had an extra heavy bag in his hand.


    The colonel marched straight into the officers¡¯ quarters, not caring that three lieutenants were still having dinner, and casually threw the object onto the table.


    The cloth bag hit the tabletop, creating a series of crisp jingles.


    ¡°Sir? What is this?¡± Winters asked knowingly.


    ¡°Money.¡±


    Andre gently pried open the cloth bag, which was filled with shiny gold coins.


    ¡°What kind of money?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be?¡± The colonel, reeking of alcohol, flashed a hint of a smile, ¡°Horse-buying money!¡±


    ¡­


    What is horse-buying money?


    As the name suggests, when Dusacks are called to active duty, they receive a small sum of money as a subsidy to provide their own warhorses, which is called horse-buying money.


    Of course, horse-buying money is not enough to buy a warhorse; it would barely cover the cost of one leg of a decent warhorse.


    As for the other three legs of the warhorse, it naturally falls on the Dusacks to pay, which is also part of the blood tax.


    ¡­


    ¡°They are militiamen and auxiliary troops, and you want to recruit them as cavalry?¡± Bard asked, frowning.


    The colonel sat down heroically, leaving the three lieutenants standing, ¡°You few have been having Dusacks serve as militiamen in place of active duty, and the legion doesn¡¯t care to pursue it. But having Dusacks bring their warhorses into service is also the higher-ups¡¯ intention.¡±


    Andre, unable to contain his impatience, asked, ¡°What about their treatment then? I mean, the terms for the Dusacks after they are equipped with warhorses?¡±


    Jeska played with the dinner knife, answering calmly, ¡°Wages, rations, arms, all according to light cavalry, except they won¡¯t be issued uniforms. I¡¯ve procured a light musket for each of them; if nothing else, they can be used as if they were dragoon cavalry.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Andre¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement.


    ¡°But my Dusacks aren¡¯t of age yet!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°So the wage and equipment are already a privilege according to light cavalry standards,¡± the one-eyed colonel stared at the lieutenant, ¡°If you are not satisfied, I can also revert them to the treatment of the militia.¡±


    ¡°Satisfied, how could I not be satisfied?¡± Andre quickly sided with the colonel, ¡°It¡¯s great, I think! Letting those lads ride into service, they themselves would be the happiest. I¡¯m firmly supportive!¡±


    Winters glared fiercely at Andre; how could he possibly not understand what Andre was thinking?


    Lieutenant Chelini was already pondering over the command of this troop of cavalry.


    ¡­


    Cavalry units are organized differently than infantry; in theory, the smallest command unit of cavalry is a squadron, which is often divided into two troops for combat purposes.


    The status of a cavalry squadron is much higher than that of an infantry centuria, and a lieutenant can lead as a centurion, while it takes a field officer to command a cavalry squadron.


    According to Paratu¡¯s military structure, a full-strength cavalry squadron has 174 troopers with 6 commissioned officers.


    However, the reality is that there are not enough cavalrymen, but there are more than enough cavalry officers; this is the case in all the republics.


    Therefore, officers with a cavalry background going to lead infantry or take up clerical positions is a common occurrence.


    Bard and Andre, for instance, had been assigned to an infantry battalion as trainees during the Tanilia campaign.


    If Bard and Andre were lucky enough to return to a cavalry unit, they would just be the most junior officers in the squadron¡¯s command hierarchy.


    ¡­


    According to Colonel Jeska¡¯s intentions, the 63 Dusacks amounted to 63 cavalrymen, nearly a troop.


    Winters, being from the infantry branch, was out of the loop on cavalry matters.


    Yet right now, in Jeska¡¯s battalion, there were two bona fide cavalry officers leading infantry.


    ¡°A cavalry troop!¡± Lieutenant Chelini thought with delight, ¡°Goodness! It has to be a captain at least to lead it, right?¡±


    In the past, as the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, Winters could make decisions on his own. Now that Colonel Jeska had assumed command, the lieutenant had no choice but to obey.


    Only when subject to another¡¯s will does one truly appreciate the joys of once being the Garrison Officer.


    ¡°Distribute this money to the Dusacks; the legion will arrange for people to retrieve their warhorses from their hometowns,¡± the colonel made arrangements offhandedly as the matter was now decided, ¡°63 Dusacks, take three as my messengers, and the rest make exactly 10 tents.¡±


    [Note: There are only six people in a cavalry tent, while an infantry tent holds eight people.]


    Andre perked up his ears to listen, afraid of missing any words.


    When he heard the lieutenant colonel say, ¡°half of them will be directly under my command,¡± he felt somewhat disappointed, ¡°Only five tents? Well, that¡¯s acceptable, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s responsible for the remaining thirty cavalry?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska continued, ¡°The two of you can discuss it.¡±


    Andre and Bard were both stunned on the spot.


    ¡­


    Unable to resist Andre¡¯s incessant nagging, Bard eventually nodded in agreement.


    Thus, to his wish, Andre took charge of half a division of cavalry. The remaining militia was reorganized, withdrawing four tents of Dusacks under Winters and then reinforcing with five tents of Blackwater Town militiamen.


    Pierre, Vashka, and others, on learning of the lieutenant colonel¡¯s arrangements, were quite delighted.


    They were already tired of the tedious, strenuous manual labor and couldn¡¯t wait to become dragon cavalry¡ªdespite lacking the fancy uniforms.


    Especially Pierre, whose reference for the lieutenant colonel in his mouth had risen from ¡°the one without an asshole¡± to ¡°that esteemed person,¡± as if it weren¡¯t him who had suffered under the lash.


    It was Anglu who rushed over in a frantic haste to borrow money from the lieutenant, dragging Bell along as well.


    ¡°Sir, I really have no other options,¡± the young horse groom said with a somber face, ¡°Please lend me some money to buy a horse, I will surely pay you back.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± Winters looked at the young hunter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a Dusack at all!¡± Bell said carelessly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a warhorse, nor do I want one.¡±


    Anglu became agitated all at once, ¡°How can it be that simple? If a Dusack is conscripted without a warhorse, he will be punished!¡±


    Bell was startled by this but still stubbornly retorted, ¡°Then I¡¯ll run away. If I hide in the woods, no one will find me!¡±


    ¡°You think you can run away without a horse?¡± Anglu rebutted immediately.


    The two youngsters, each firing back a sentence, started arguing right in Winters¡¯ headquarters.


    ¡°Stop arguing!¡± Winters sighed, ¡°How much money did you receive for buying horses?¡±


    Anglu¡¯s hand emerged from his sleeve, placing eight stacked Gold Coins onto the lieutenant¡¯s desk¡ªnot Ducats, but coins minted by the Paratu government.


    Winters, busy writing documents, asked without looking up, ¡°How much more is needed to buy a horse?¡±


    The nominal clerk, the old shaman, was adept at avoiding such miscellaneous tasks, so the current clerical work was solely dependent on Winters¡¯ personal efforts.


    ¡°I need at least three times as much,¡± Anglu hummed, ¡°I saw the cheapest riding horses in Shuangqiao City at this price, but they are not warhorses¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the money. You can have Redmane,¡± Winters looked up at the young groom.


    ¡°Um¡­ huh? Hmm!¡± Anglu could hardly believe what he was hearing, ¡°Redmane? Rejek? Are you saying Rejek is mine now? You¡¯re giving Rejek to me?¡±


    Winters smiled, ¡°Not giving, selling to you. Isn¡¯t Redmane the one you¡¯re riding now?¡±


    Ever since the forceful relocation to Paratu, Winters had seldom ridden Redmane. But training for a warhorse could not be interrupted, so on a regular basis, it was the young groom who rode Redmane.


    The young groom was also happy to be riding, and he took great care of Redmane. The two of them were very close, so Winters simply did them the favor.


    Anglu was so excited he didn¡¯t know where to put his hands; he wanted to embrace the lieutenant and give him a couple of kisses, but then realized that wouldn¡¯t be proper. So, instead, he grabbed Hunter and kissed him hard twice and then saluted the lieutenant.


    Bell was dumbfounded and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What about me? What about me?¡±


    Winters had planned to tease Hunter a little, but remembering how proud and fragile the self-esteem of boys that age could be¡ªafter all, he had just passed through that stage himself¡ªhe decided not to play coy any longer.


    ¡°Let Anglu pick a good one for you.¡± Winters took out his purse and tossed it to Hunter, then turned to Anglu. ¡°Anglu, also pick out a spare horse for me. It doesn¡¯t need to be a warhorse, but it has to be hardworking and sturdy, and able to travel through the wilds.¡±


    The young groom was taken aback: ¡°You want another horse, sir? Isn¡¯t Strong Runner good enough?¡±


    ¡°Having an extra horse to rotate with won¡¯t tire Strong Runner too much,¡± Winters replied offhandedly, then frowned. ¡°What¡¯s with all the questions? Do what you¡¯re told.¡±


    The groom took the scolding and replied meekly, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel a mix of irritation and amusement at the groom¡¯s simple demeanor. ¡°What are you standing around for? Do you expect me to pick out the horse for you? On your way back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel and pick up the gun I ordered.¡±


    Bell promptly saluted and, pulling his companion along, left the headquarters.


    ¡­


    Everything seemed to be on the right track.


    The militia musketeers gradually grew accustomed to the recoil, the flash, and the noise of firing after letting off a dozen or so shots, and the spear carriers also began to march in a uniform step.


    Warhorses were brought from Wolfton, Blackwater, and Saint Croix to Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Over in Wolf Town, Gerard and Sergei had made a trip there, bringing a lot of food and letters from home for the young men of Wolf Town, which made the militia from the other two towns green with envy.


    But there was no more time left for cavalry training; what was inevitable would come.


    Before he knew it, Winters had already spent six months in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.


    On January 12th of the year 559 of the Imperial Calendar, Jeska¡¯s troops received orders to march.


    When Lieutenant Colonel Jeska read the orders to the lieutenants, none of them were surprised; Winters even felt a clear sense of relief that ¡°the shoe had finally dropped.¡±


    He saluted and accepted the orders.


    At that moment, a convoy was already assembled and waiting at Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Based on the three companies of a hundred men each, the legion had additionally allocated nearly three hundred drivers to Jeska¡¯s troops.


    This was a long-distance supply operation, where the militia was to escort the supply convoy across nearly a hundred kilometers of ¡®no man¡¯s land¡¯ into the territories of the Hurd tribes.


    Apart from the militia and the drivers, another dozen merchant wagons stood outside the camp, waiting to head west together with the military supply convoy.


    Paratu¡¯s military principle was to prioritize local procurement of supplies; if something must be transported from the rear to the front, it was definitely a resource that could not be gathered on the frontlines.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any questions?¡± Colonel Jeska asked the lieutenants offhand as he neatly folded the order, tucking it into his jacket.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I do indeed have a question,¡± Winters paused before asking, ¡°why us?¡±


    ¡°Not you.¡± The one-eyed colonel snorted coldly and pointed at himself with his thumb. ¡°Me.¡±


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 Chapter 384 - 39 The Butchers Path

    Chapter 384: Chapter 39 The Butcher¡¯s Path


    Empire Year 520, spring.


    Drizzling rain fell from the sky, chilling to the bone with a piercing spring cold.


    A gaunt, solemn old man was riding a horse, leaving Worry-Free Palace alone. Although the weariness in his eyes could hardly be concealed, the old man still kept his back ramrod straight.


    He was about to embark on a journey to the mountain frontier, fully charged with the responsibility of quelling the rebellion, purging the traitors, and restoring Imperial authority.


    There, he would face his former attendant, apprentice, and vassal¡ªNed of Tormes. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only when choking on thick smoke did people start to ponder: what was that initial tiny spark?


    ...


    An insult? A slap in the face? A private vendetta?


    Those no longer mattered; what mattered was that the flames of rebellion had now become an unstoppable blaze.


    Not only was the entirety of the Duchy of Forthland ablaze, but autonomous cities within the Duchy of Vineta were also stirring with unrest.


    The fire had to be extinguished swiftly, or else the lands south of Sheltering Mountain would turn to ashes.


    But a daunting problem stood before him: his legions were stationed on the Empire¡¯s northern borders, while the mountain frontier ablaze with war beacons lay at the southernmost end of the Imperial territory.


    Seaborne supply routes were almost strangled. The rebels¡¯ oared ships set sail from the Tanilia Islands, frenetically raiding the Empire¡¯s sea routes.


    And the Emperor¡¯s fleet had been utterly destroyed two years prior in a naval battle against the Sultan of Fleman, yet to recover its vitality.


    His soldiers had no choice but to cross the entire Empire on foot and scale the cloud-piercing Sheltering Mountains to finally face their enemy.


    ¡­


    On January 12 of Empire Year 559, Jeska¡¯s squadron departed from Shuangqiao Barracks, by that time consisting of only a hundred or so double-team wagons.


    Six days later, the supply train arrived at the border town of Matou Slope, with the number of wagons traversing the dirt roads exceeding two hundred.


    Less than half of these belonged to the military¡¯s supply train; the rest were merchants, porters, and speculators who had joined along the way.


    Distinguishing between them was easy: military supply trains used double-team four-wheeled wagons, while civilian carts varied greatly¡ªtwo-wheeled, four-wheeled, mule carts, donkey carts¡­ even the slow-moving ox carts.


    ¡­


    Logistics was defined by Duke Arlian as ¡°the practical art of moving troops and ensuring they are supplied.¡±


    The task, seemingly lightweight when referring to ¡°movement¡± and ¡°supplies,¡± was as difficult as scaling the heavens.


    To transfer his legions from the northern borders to Senas Bay, Duke Arlian meticulously planned a troop transport route that later became famously known as ¡°The Butcher¡¯s Path.¡±


    The Butcher¡¯s Path started from Fortress Panstone at the northern frontiers of the Empire, passing through more than twenty Imperial towns to ensure supplies, and finally crossed Vankush Pass over Sheltering Mountain to reach Senas Bay.


    Duke Arlian sent craftsmen ahead to construct camps, widen paths, and build bridges along the way, and he set up supply stations at distances matching the daily marching range.


    The sounds of military boots squelching in mud, the clanging of spears, and the silent march of exhausted soldiers¡­ many elders can recount these with vivid clarity.


    Normally, soldiers could cover 22 kilometers per day on The Butcher¡¯s Path, and on forced marches, up to 37 kilometers per day.


    In two campaigns, the Empire deployed over one hundred thousand soldiers through The Butcher¡¯s Path to the south, none lost due to supply issues.


    Countless military supplies were also delivered along this route to quell the rebel forces.


    However, The Butcher¡¯s Path¡¯s most significant impact was not military, but on civilian life.


    As it connected more than twenty large cities and was furnished with camps and supply points, many merchants began to use the route for trade.


    A route named ¡°The Butcher¡± eventually brought prosperity to its adjoining territories, an outcome its original planner had likely not foreseen.


    ¡­


    Although the militaries of the Republics today are reluctant to admit it, in reality, the Allied Army¡¯s tactics, organization, training, and other systems were all learned from ¡°The Butcher¡± Arlian.


    There¡¯s no shame in that¡ªbeing able to learn from an enemy is a respectable skill.


    For example, the current square formation tactics were modified from The Butcher¡¯s long pike and heavy halberd square: adding musketeers to compensate for the pike and halberd square¡¯s lack of long-range firepower and retaining a small number of elite swordsmen and shield bearers to counter the cumbersome long pikes.


    In Empire Year 520, Duke Arlian led troops to quell the rebellion; back then, the ¡°Southern Rebels¡± were but a motley crew of merchants, craftsmen, and farmers.


    However, eight years later, when the ¡°Mad¡± Richard led his campaign, the mad Emperor faced a legitimate army.


    The Allied Army¡¯s logistical system naturally followed The Butcher¡¯s model, mainly learning two points:


    First, supply as locally as possible;


    Second, establish encampments along the supply line.


    At the same time, they learned a lesson: do not allow non-military followers to accompany the army.


    In wars like the Republic of Palatu against the Herders, the quartermasters would procure supplies from the Herders as much as possible, with both military and private entities responsible for the transportation from the rear to the war zone.


    The military¡¯s supply train had limited capacity and would carry only firearms, gunpowder, and the like, which were difficult to replenish at the front.


    For other supplies like flour, salt, and foodstuffs, quartermasters were quite willing to purchase these at a high price from merchants and pay with spoils of war at a discount, and sometimes even ¡°advance¡± land quotas.


    Often with just one round trip, a merchant could earn a handsome profit. Even land quotas could be easily resold.


    So every time the military¡¯s supply train set out, a large group of merchants, porters, and speculators would follow. They tagged along with the supply train as much for the herd mentality as for hoping to receive some protection.


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 Chapter 385 - 39 The Butchers Path_2

    Chapter 385: Chapter 39 The Butcher¡¯s Path_2


    ¡­


    ¡°Listen up! You are responsible for your own safety! You must also bear all risks along the way!¡± Winters was announcing policies to the miscellaneous followers, as they were about to cross the Border River tomorrow: ¡°Any wagons other than the supply wagons are not allowed to join the formation! We will lead the way, and you will follow behind. Keep up if you can; if you fall behind, there¡¯s nothing we can do¡­¡±


    The second lieutenant stood on a rock, speaking until he was hoarse. The people in front of him listened silently; they all understood these rules.


    After saying a load of unpleasant things, Winters saved the good news for last: ¡°However, Colonel Jeska allows you to rest in the camps along the way! It is strictly forbidden to enter the supply wagons¡¯ camp area during encampment, and violators will be dealt with as if spying on military intelligence!¡±


    The mood among the crowd fluctuated slightly. Few officers in charge of the supply wagons liked these civilians who freeloaded protection, and in most cases, they strictly forbade them from entering the camp to spend the night.


    It was rare for an officer like Colonel Jeska to allow these miscellaneous people into the camp.


    ...


    ¡­


    Seeing Winters return, Colonel Jeska casually asked, ¡°Did you finish talking to them?¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Having had the experience of escorting the Wolf Town convoy back and forth to Revodan, Winters was considered quite reliable, so Colonel Jeska gave him all sorts of troublesome tasks.


    ¡°Words alone aren¡¯t enough; those who dare to follow are either brave or greedy, most are both. We need to discipline a few who try to fish in troubled waters to shake the rest up.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just forbid them from entering the camp?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°Allowing them into the camp makes it easier to keep them in check,¡± Colonel Jeska replied. ¡°Besides, they have it tough, so we¡¯ll take care of them as much as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    Winter days are short, so the army must march as quickly as possible.


    The dawn was just breaking when the Centurion on watch struck the copper bell vigorously.


    Berlion was already awake before the bell rang; he had purchased sheep¡¯s milk and eggs in town the previous night.


    When Winters dressed in his military uniform and lifted the tent¡¯s flap, Berlion brought in the warm sheep¡¯s milk, bread, and boiled eggs.


    Berlion was now the second lieutenant¡¯s orderly, and his former tentmates, the Dusacks, had become Cavalry, so the second lieutenant simply kept the blacksmith by his side as both a bodyguard and an orderly.


    The previously quiet military camp came to life. The militia wearily crawled out of their tents, stretched languidly, and began to prepare their food.


    Those who were diligent made some hot soup, while the lazy ones simply ate cold bread.


    It goes without saying that Berlion¡¯s appointment as orderly had greatly improved Winters¡¯ diet. Bard and Andre also benefited, now frequenting Winters for dinner every day.


    While the troops were still bustling around, Andre and his five tents¡¯ worth of Cavalry were already ready to go.


    With the sponsorship of Gold Coin bars from a good friend, Lieutenant Chelini extravagantly had a Paratu Piaoqi officer¡¯s uniform made for himself¡ªat the best tailor in Maplestone City.


    Despite often calling people ¡°damn sheep lovers,¡± Lieutenant Chelini was quite enamored with the flashy Piaoqi uniform.


    While Winters and Bard were still wearing their Land Academy student uniforms, Andre couldn¡¯t wait to don the Paratu military attire.


    ¡°Cavalry, one never knows when one might die,¡± Lieutenant Chelini would say. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I dress well? Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste?¡±


    He had specially chosen a red belt and blue trim¡ª the colors of the Vineta military flag. It could be said, ¡°Wearing Paratu uniform, but my heart remains with Vineta.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini, wearing his fancy jacket and a tall leather hat, stood out conspicuously among the mixed-dressed militia.


    After greeting the colonel, he led his light Cavalry out ahead to scout the way.


    As the offensive side in the strategy, the Paratu military currently uses a fixed supply route, with a fortified camp set up roughly every ten kilometers.


    Ten kilometers is the daily travel distance for large carts.


    Soldiers can march twenty to thirty kilometers on foot in a day, but for large carts to trudge ten kilometers is already the limit.


    The traditional four-wheeled farmer¡¯s carts are extremely cumbersome in themselves. The front wheels are smaller than the larger rear wheels, resulting in a very large turning radius.


    Without differentials, suspension, or bearings, they are very prone to breaking down. Passenger carts can be fitted with leather suspension frames, but cargo carts cannot.


    Andre¡¯s duty was to ascertain the situation within these ten kilometers and notify the camp ahead to prepare for reception.


    By the time the other militiamen had eaten, packed up their tents, and were ready to depart, the day had already brightened.


    Colonel Jeska didn¡¯t waste words and directly ordered the march.


    Once leaving Matou Slope Town, the Jeska Regiment would cross the Border River and enter the ¡°no-man¡¯s land¡±, inevitably causing some tension in everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Lieutenant Montaigne took the lead, with the double-hitched large carts rolling out of the camp one after another; Lieutenant Bard followed with a team of carpenters and a few empty large carts at the end.


    Matou Slope Town was a very prosperous town, with a permanent population of hundreds of households. As the supply train passed through the town center, it drew many of the townspeople to stand by the road and watch the spectacle.


    Among them, many men and women had smiles on their faces as Winters on horseback and the militiamen carrying weapons waved some kind of paper.


    ¡°What does this mean?¡± Winters slowed down his horse and asked the old charlatan in the cart, ¡°Waving paper? Is this some local custom?¡±


    Reed pulled back the curtain and yawned, petting the Little Lion and chuckling, ¡°What kind of damn custom is that? If I had to say, it should be considered a custom of all Paratu People.¡±


    ¡­


    The old friar sat in a special passenger cart equipped with a leather suspension frame, which didn¡¯t jostle at all. The carriage was fitted with a charcoal stove and the walls were lined with felt. While the outside air was bitingly cold, inside the carriage it was warm and comfortable.


    Having two chaplains with only a hundred men was incredibly extravagant; now, Priest Caman and Friar Reed had officially become the chaplains of the Gerard Regiment.


    Who knows where the old charlatan got his abilities from, but now everyone in the supply train, whether porters, coachmen, or those small traders seeking protection, revered him as a living Saint.


    Winters estimated that if the old man were to pass away one day, the believers in the convoy would fight over his body until the blood flowed like a river.


    However, it was also for this reason that everyone had no objections to the old friar having a cart to himself. The old charlatan was happy to be comfortable, and Winters wanted to hide the Little Lion; the two were in perfect harmony.


    ¡­


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters asked, puzzled, ¡°What custom of the Paratu People? I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand?¡± Friar Reed raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    The old friar asked with a smile, ¡°Do you know what they are waving?¡±


    ¡°What are they waving?¡±


    ¡°What they are waving is the secret that has allowed the Paratu People to beat the Hurd tribes to a sorry state over the past thirty years.¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters grew increasingly confused.


    ¡°Kid, that¡¯s bonds! War bonds!¡± The old friar¡¯s smile was laden with significance: ¡°Your military pay, your weapons, the gold coins burning in this war¡­ all come from there. If you lose, they¡¯re nothing but waste paper. But if you win, the waste paper will turn into land, slaves, real gold and silver! Them waving at you? They¡¯re hoping you¡¯ll win the battle!¡±


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 Chapter 386 - 40 Mobilization

    Chapter 386: Chapter 40 Mobilization


    Without the jingle of gold and silver, wars cannot be fought.


    The old Duke Lotar once said to his son-in-law¡ªEmperor Richard IV of the Holy Muro Empire, ¡°Three things are needed to wage war: money! money! and thirdly, still money!¡±


    With periodic financial bankruptcies, Richard IV lost his finest generals as well as all the territories south of the Sheltering Mountains.


    But essentially, money cannot be used directly for war.


    Gold cannot serve as gunpowder, and turning silver into weapons and armor is economically impractical. War requires money because it can purchase the resources for war. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Monk Reed once told Winters, ¡°The weapon that kills the most people in the world is not swords, but mobilization.¡±


    ...


    At that time, Winters did not understand, thinking it was just old priestly gibberish.


    But after seeing the common folk of Horsehead Town waving war bonds and hearing the old begging monk analyze how the Republic of Palatu raised one batch of war funds after another,


    Although Lieutenant Winters Montagne still did not fully grasp the term ¡°mobilization,¡± he sincerely felt a sense of fear.


    The military history courses at the Land Academy revealed a truth: war is a game for the few, at least until it¡¯s time to divide the spoils.


    Wars between kingdoms are, in fact, wars between kings.


    Commoners have to pay taxes and serve in wars for their kings, but that is out of necessity.


    No one is willing to participate in a war for free. Some didn¡¯t believe this, so they didn¡¯t pay their soldiers, and their ends were often terrible.


    Taxes, service, and feudal duties can still be seen as a king¡¯s property; fundamentally, the king still uses his personal wealth, his treasury to support his wars.


    So excessive taxation, onerous conscription, and extreme exploitation of vassals leading to being overthrown is equivalent to bankruptcy.


    Thus, dynasties and empires that held superiority in population, wealth, culture, but were destroyed by barbarian tribes emerging from remote areas are numerous,


    Wealthy nations and bankrupt royal houses are also not rare;


    In terms of population, land, and wealth, the Duke of Forthland¡¯s domain was insignificant compared to the Holy Empire, but in the end, it was the laughingstock of ¡°peddlers and mob¡± in the emperor¡¯s mouth that had the last laugh.


    Ultimately, war is not about how much gold, silver, or population you rule, but rather about how much gold, silver, and population you can mobilize for war.


    Among all the republics, the population of Palatu ranks second to last, and its wealth is also far inferior to Vineta, The Federated Provinces, and Varn.


    If it was still the Duchy of Palatu, years of campaigning would have already made the duke pack his bags¡ªnot at the hands of the Herders, then the Palatu People would have done it.


    But her territory was the largest, and it was still growing.


    Where on earth did the Republic of Palatu get the money to fight wars?


    The answer: borrowed.


    It is common for monarchs to borrow money for war, but essentially it remains a private loan. The pool of lenders is limited to wealthy merchants, the church, knights, and bankers.


    Most of the time debts were repaid, occasionally defaulted.


    Thirty years ago in Palatu, with royalists causing disturbances from within, and Herders¡¯ Iron Cavalry invading from without, the republicans were holed up in Kingsfort, busy holding public trials and sentencing people to the guillotine.


    Faced with a dire situation of lacking men, food, and most importantly, money, General Ned pioneered another way of borrowing to raise military funds: special war bonds.


    [Note: Ned Smith was still a general at the time]


    These bonds were of small denominations and available to everyone for purchase.


    Without collateral, they were expected to be repaid with all profits during the war, including unclaimed noble private properties, future spoils from fighting the Herders, and so on.


    It sounded like getting something for nothing, but perhaps precisely because of this, the bonds sold at a particularly cheap price.


    Bonds with a face value of four silver shields sold for just one silver shield¡ªyet even then, there were few buyers.


    Then Ned Smith won a small victory and pillaged a knight¡¯s home.


    Valuables, land, houses¡­ all spoils were auctioned off at low prices, but could only be purchased with bonds.


    Because they could be immediately converted into real assets, people gradually began buying bonds, but the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields rose to two silver shields.


    Then Ned Smith fought a moderately significant battle and pillaged an earl¡¯s home.


    As per the precedent, the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields on the market had risen to three silver shields.


    Soldiers under Ned Smith gradually agreed to be paid their wages in the form of bonds¡ªnaturally, at the market rate.


    Bond purchasers became shareholders, and the army became associates.


    War turned into a business, or perhaps, a gamble.


    Every Palatu citizen who bought bonds prayed for Ned Smith to win more victories and seize more spoils of war.


    After the eighth victory, General Ned announced that all bonds would be repaid uniformly after the war.


    There were two reasons: first, during the war, the largest part of the spoils, the real estate, could not sell at a good price; secondly, he planned to reinvest the movable spoils back into the war, essentially using the profits to expand operations.


    This decision was a significant blow to the confidence in bonds, but Ned Smith had a contingency plan.


    ¡°Open bond trading to the public.¡±


    General Ned also announced that to enable bond purchasers to recover their investments, the Kingsfort ¡°Bond Exchange¡± would be established.


    If you don¡¯t want your bond, you could sell it off at the trading hall. Whether at a loss or profit, it¡¯s all up to your skill.


    The world¡¯s first [Bond Exchange], just like that, was born three months after the birth of [war bonds].


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 Chapter 387 - 40 Mobilization_2

    Chapter 387: Chapter 40 Mobilization_2


    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith mobilized money from the hands of common folk¡ªcraftsmen, merchants, maids¡ªinto war funds.


    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith turned the skirmish between a handful of people into the war of another handful of people against the Republic of Palatu.


    No one wanted to serve without pay, but everyone who bought war bonds voluntarily contributed to the war effort.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wait, what if we lose the war? Wouldn¡¯t the bonds become worthless?¡± Winters asked the old soothsayer with a furrowed brow.


    ¡°Simple, just don¡¯t lose,¡± Brother Reed chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, that¡¯s Ned Smith! The iron man who never loses a battle!¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    After a year of war, the royalists were purged, and the Herders fled in disarray. The Republic of Palatu was officially established and became the third member state of the Senas Alliance.


    All bonds issued during the war were redeemed at their face value, and Ned Smith took down the sign for the ¡°Special War Bond Exchange¡± and returned to The Federated Provinces.


    He received news that Emperor Richard IV was about to lead a campaign in person.


    This time, the emperor swore to crush the rebels thoroughly.


    ¡­


    ¡°This is mobilization, the ability of a country to invest resources into a war,¡± the old monk said slowly, ¡°Nations at war are like two clumsy drunks wrestling. Even the strongest man, if he can only muster a fraction of his strength, will be overthrown by a weaker man who can harness half of his strength.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters pricked up his ears to listen.


    ¡°The crudest form of mobilization is the conscription of manpower; military service, labor service, your militia are examples of this; a more sophisticated form of mobilization is the allocation of money¡ªyou have money, you have people; that¡¯s what Ned Smith does, and so does taxation; and beyond that? I don¡¯t know. Perhaps it¡¯s about going all out, pouring all resources into the war, forging the entire nation into a weapon.¡±


    ¡°How do you forge it?¡±


    ¡°If you want to forge the entire nation into a weapon, you need a united will. Hmph, the human heart?¡± The old monk scoffed with a sneer, ¡°The human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world, I really can¡¯t imagine how to control it.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters couldn¡¯t help but be sarcastic, ¡°The people in the caravan almost worship you as a living saint, and you still don¡¯t know how to control the human heart?¡±


    ¡°Things of life and death, you wouldn¡¯t learn if I taught you,¡± the old monk knocked hard on Winters¡¯ head, ¡°If you had the skill of Ned Smith, you¡¯d be invincible in battle.¡±


    ¡­


    Crossing the surging Border River via the Floating Bridge left no further road to speak of beneath one¡¯s feet.


    All around was a vast expanse, with only the faint tracks of wagon wheels guiding the way across the expansive plains.


    The horses, frothing at the mouth, struggled forward; militiamen armed with muskets and spears walked alongside, occasionally helping to lift wheels mired in the mud.


    More than two hundred wagons meandered across the wilderness, inadvertently forming a column over two kilometers long.


    Those ahead often only had to crest a hill or round a mound of earth to disappear from the view of those behind.


    Winters patrolled back and forth, ensuring the order of the march. Any malfunctioning wagons were swiftly dragged out of line, waiting for Lieutenant Bard to come to the rescue as rearguard.


    Once across the Border River, it was as if they had legally left the Republic of Palatu, and everyone was somewhat tense.


    Fortunately, the journey was free of surprises, save for a wagon that lost a rear wheel.


    The tension quickly dissipated, replaced by fatigue.


    Marching was an exceedingly monotonous labor, essentially a continuous walk. Moreover, the colonel strictly forbade his men from placing weapons or miscellaneous items on the large wagons.


    The militiamen, carrying thirty to forty pounds on their backs, trudged through the wilderness thinking only of rest.


    Colonel Jeska strictly controlled the pace of the march. The hourglass was turned twice¡ªabout an hour¡ªbefore the troops could take a brief respite.


    They marched until noon when the colonel finally ordered the bugle call for an extended rest.


    ¡­


    The ¡°buffer zone¡± between the Hurd Tribes and Paratu has existed from ancient times.


    For hundreds of years, they alternated between war and peace: during disasters, the Herders would raid Paratu for food, and when Paratu was strong, they would mobilize troops to raid the Hurd Tribes, capturing livestock and slaves.


    Historian Bonnie Cefiel described it this way, ¡°The people of Paratu are essentially Herders who have adopted agriculture and accepted public teaching. Even in the eyes of the uneducated mountain people of Monta, the people of Paratu are too barbaric.¡±


    Neither the Herders wanted to graze near Paratu nor did the people of Paratu dare to settle near the Hurd Tribes, which naturally resulted in a lawless zone.


    This was formalized thirty years ago when Marshal Ned signed a treaty with the three great Hurd Tribes.


    It was formally stipulated that ¡°within these two hundred miles, Paratu People shall not cultivate, Herders shall not herd,¡± thus giving the buffer zone a formal legal basis.


    According to Ned Smith¡¯s concept, maintaining distance might prevent military conflicts to the greatest extent possible.


    But reality was the complete opposite of his expectations.


    [Note: In the year 526 of the Empire, the Butcher Alion was defeated and died in battle. The following year, a civil war erupted within the Duke of Palatu¡¯s domain. The royalists and republicans killed each other. The Hurd Khan ¡°Xiban-Juye¡± seized the opportunity to invade from the east. Ned Smith led the Allied Army and smashed their forces, killing Khan Juye in battle. After that, the Hurd Tribes fell into decline.]


    ¡­


    ¡°No wonder he chose to deploy troops in winter!¡± A distant voice came, ¡°This wretched land is somewhat passable only in winter. In spring and summer, if you encounter rain, the land will definitely be mired in mud and the wagons won¡¯t be able to move at all.¡±


    Before seeing the speaker, the voice was recognizable¡ªit was Lieutenant Andrea Chelini. Lieutenant Chelini was currently recognized as the loudest voice within Colonel Jeska¡¯s unit.


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 Chapter 388 - 40 Mobilization_3

    Chapter 388: Chapter 40 Mobilization_3


    There were also rumors that, although it wasn¡¯t apparent on the surface, Second Lieutenant Montaigne could raise such a shout when angered that it could scare a person to death.


    The origin of these stories was probably a tipsy Wolf Town militiaman who gave a colorful description of how the lieutenant had ¡°roared and scared the notorious bandit Horse Palm Ivan to death.¡±


    Andre strode towards Bard and the others, rubbing his hands with a laugh and asked, ¡°Berlion, what¡¯s for lunch today?¡±


    Bard, Priest Caman and Brother Reed were sitting on the ground on a large piece of canvas.


    They were all waiting for the meal, and Bard had specially made his way from the end of the convoy.


    Ever since Berlion switched to duty as a service soldier, the number of people dining with Winters for lunch and dinner had been on the rise.


    ...


    ¡°The main dish is slow-cooked pork knuckle, sir,¡± the chef replied, holding a pot. ¡°And there¡¯s creamed vegetable soup, though the bread is from yesterday.¡±


    Berlion lifted the lid of the pot, revealing the pork knuckle stewed with sugar and sauce, steaming hot. The meat, which had been stewing throughout the journey, was tender and juicy, and the bone was easily removed with a slight tug.


    ¡°Have you been to the camp up ahead?¡± Winters asked, jumping down from the wagon with a basket of bread. ¡°You¡¯re back early, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Andre kept his eyes on the pot and responded offhandedly, ¡°Twenty kilometers there and back, how long could it take?¡±


    As they talked, the group huddled around the pot began to serve themselves meat, while Berlion returned to the wagon to bring out another pot of mixed vegetable soup.


    Brother Reed took a small taste and clicked his tongue in praise, ¡°Mr. Berlion, with your skill, I think you could easily serve as the emperor¡¯s chef.¡±


    The blacksmith smiled but said nothing.


    ¡°Which emperor¡¯s court have you been to? The Madman Richard¡¯s? The Oathbreaker¡¯s?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t resist retorting.


    As a true-blue soldier of the Republic, Mr. Montaigne had the utmost distaste for terms like ¡°royal.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been to any, but that doesn¡¯t hinder my standards of judgement,¡± the old monk replied contentedly, not at all perturbed.


    ¡­


    The supply train¡¯s long rest coincided with lunchtime, and most people in the convoy were nibbling on dry rations, perhaps accompanied by a little pickled vegetable at best.


    During a march, dinner was the most important meal because that was the only time to make a fire; the other two meals were makeshift.


    Before Berlion was reassigned to service duty, most mornings and afternoons Winters would also be gnawing on cold bread.


    But since Berlion took charge of the meals, Winters could enjoy hot food for every meal.


    The blacksmith had crafted a special kind of iron stove, half-human-tall and made of pure iron, comprising three sections:


    The middle section was the combustion chamber, suitable for burning wood or coal;


    The remaining ashes fell to the bottom, which had a sliding door for removing debris and adjusting ventilation to control the fire;


    The top was for setting pots, and there was a chimney attached to the back of the stove.


    The best feature of this iron stove was its ability to burn without open flames, use of a stone mat meant it wouldn¡¯t set wood alight, and it allowed for control over the burning speed.


    Berlion placed the iron stove on the wagon, starting to cook something in the morning and keeping it on a low flame. By noon Winters had a hot meal waiting for him.


    Moreover, Winters had noticed that this iron stove was far more fuel-efficient than a bonfire.


    ¡­


    Without a dining table in the field, Winters and company would spread out a cloth and sit on the ground; it rather felt like a picnic.


    ¡°During the Siege of Gusa, I dreamt of having a sip of hot soup,¡± Bard said with feeling. ¡°If we had this kind of stove back then, our hardship wouldn¡¯t have been so severe.¡±


    ¡°Berlion,¡± Winters chimed in, ¡°if you were to sell such stoves in Sea Blue, you¡¯d make a fortune.¡±


    Andre played devil¡¯s advocate, ¡°Good as it is, did you see how much iron the stove uses? That¡¯s enough to make ten breastplates, right? How many people can afford that?¡±


    Winters immediately countered, ¡°Are cast iron and steel the same thing? The breastplates also cost labor. It uses a lot of iron because it¡¯s made from good material. This stove could last for decades without any issues. Some people in Sea Blue would be willing to pay a one-off price for something that can be used for a lifetime! When I get back home, I¡¯ll install one in my study.¡±


    The two Venetians bantered back and forth, while Berlion simply kept his head down and ate.


    He too sat within this small circle, dining with the Centurion and the priests¡ªas specifically requested by Second Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The blacksmith had been utterly reluctant, but the lieutenant insisted, ¡°It¡¯s just eating, no need for so many hierarchical formalities.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t have much of an opinion on this, but he felt uncomfortable when Berlion first transferred to service duty and prepared to serve him meals as a servant would.


    After a while, Winters¡¯s constables Heinrich and Xial also arrived. They both saluted first, then sat down to partake of the food.


    The soldiers of the ten-man squads took turns preparing food, but the constables were directly under the Centurion and not attached to any squad.


    So Winters had Xial and Heinrich join him for meals.


    Other officers might not accept this, but Bard, Andre, Priest Caman, and Brother Reed were not very concerned with notions of rank and hierarchy. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting together for a meal and casual chat, the atmosphere was quite relaxed.


    However, when Colonel Jeska came round on his inspection and saw them, he said nothing and rode away.


    The supply train arrived at the camp safely, and as usual, Winters and his group had their communal meal, which Colonel Jeska witnessed again, but still, he said nothing.


    It wasn¡¯t until the following night that the colonel stopped the three lieutenants: ¡°Starting today, the three of you will dine with me.¡±


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 Chapter 389 - 41 Crossing the River

    Chapter 389: Chapter 41 Crossing the River


    According to the content of the handbook distributed to the officers, a well-established field camp must include trenches, walls, drainage ditches, stables, toilets, two entrances and exits, must have a readily accessible water source, and must be situated in terrain conducive to defense.


    But the reality was that the quality of the camps along the supply line varied, typically guarded by one to two soldiers, and never more than three.


    Some could accommodate two full-strength legions, complete with robust walls and trenches, built as temporary military camps by the passing army a few months ago;


    the rest were much simpler, deemed complete after digging a circular trench in a flat clearing.


    The selection of camp locations was mostly near rivers, established on the west bank of fords and floating bridges. One reason was to secure a water source; another reason was to ensure the safety of the floating bridges and fords.


    Rivers were the biggest headache for the baggage train during the march.


    ...


    Owing to their reliance on the melting of ice and snow for replenishment, the rivers of the Great Wilderness were heavily affected by the seasons.


    During the rainy season, when the precipitation is plentiful, river levels could rise by several meters. In the winter, they would enter a dry period, when most could be forded¡ªthis was one of the reasons for choosing to mobilize in winter.


    Looking at the bigger picture, the river system between two mountains originates from the melting ice and snow of the Sheltering Mountain Range and the Jinding Mountains, forming a characteristic dendritic drainage pattern.


    The geographer Bai Ruisi likened the area between the two mountains to a leaf, with the Torrent River flowing from west to east as the main vein, and the various tributaries as side veins and fine veins.


    According to this analogy, most of the rivers that troubled the baggage train didn¡¯t even qualify as fine veins.


    Yet even a shallow river only deep as one¡¯s calf could be enough to trouble someone wading through it in this season.


    Although winters in Paratu rarely saw ice formation, that did not prevent them from being cold.


    ¡­


    One by one, the wagons crossed the shallow, ten-meter-wide shallows, and the baggage train arrived at today¡¯s camping site.


    But this did not signify the end of a day¡¯s hard work, as the wagon drivers were busy unhitching the horses while the militia had to reorganize the camp facilities: cleaning the trenches, fortifying the walls, and re-digging the toilets.


    While others were buried in hoeing the ground, those assigned to cook in each tent had to start fires, fetch water, and prepare food.


    As compensation for carrying the iron pots during the march, they were not required to participate in heavy physical labor¡ªthough it was debatable whether cooking was more tiring than digging toilets.


    After the reorganization was finished, and night watch and patrol personnel were arranged, Winters issued the dismissal order.


    He was cold and hungry, and sitting in the saddle all day had made his buttocks painfully sore. He just wanted to drink some hot soup and rest as soon as possible.


    But he was stopped midway by Colonel Jeska, who had also summoned Bard and Andre.


    The colonel¡¯s tone was as usual, neither warm nor cold, ¡°You three will dine with me.¡±


    The three lieutenants looked at each other.


    It had been more than three weeks since Colonel Jeska took charge, but he had maintained a by-the-book attitude and had no personal interactions with Winters and the others, nor did he seem to have any intention to foster personal relations.


    However, when the direct superior invited them to dinner, the lieutenants had no choice but to accept.


    But the colonel did not head directly back to the barracks; instead, he led the lieutenants to the stables, where the baggage train¡¯s horses were kept.


    And so Winters and the others found themselves following the colonel around the stables, watching as he checked the horses¡¯ backs for sweat and occasionally inspected their hooves and legs.


    Centurion Dusa, in charge of feeding the horses, was a man in his thirties and hurried to the stables upon hearing the news. Facing four officers, his expression was extremely tense.


    Colonel Jeska gave the centurion a glance and asked coldly, ¡°The horses haven¡¯t been penned long, have they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the centurion wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    The colonel grabbed a handful from the manger, ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Feed, sir. Guaranteed full quantity, not a bit short.¡±


    ¡°And what is this?¡± the colonel kicked a bucket beside the manger.


    The centurion became even more frightened, ¡°Water! Just fetched from the river, guaranteed to be clean.¡±


    Colonel Jeska suddenly erupted, grabbing the bucket and throwing it at the centurion.


    The centurion didn¡¯t dare dodge, stumbling backward several steps before regaining his balance.


    ¡°You dare to give water and feed to the horses while they¡¯re still sweaty!¡± The colonel slapped the centurion hard, knocking him to the ground, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±


    The centurion panicked, pleading repeatedly, ¡°I¡­ I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    The centurion got up, not daring to speak any further.


    ¡°Go to your centurion tomorrow and take ten lashes,¡± Jeska said with a look of disgust, ¡°Get out!¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As if pardoned, the centurion scurried away.


    ¡°Dismiss him from his post,¡± the colonel said to Andre.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡­


    Later, inside Colonel Jeska¡¯s tent.


    The colonel and the lieutenants sat around a small table, still discussing the recent incident.


    ¡°Damned fool!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s anger had not subsided, ¡°It¡¯s not their own livestock, so they don¡¯t care! Look at their warhorses, they waited for them to stop sweating before feeding.¡±


    The baggage train had a hundred or so large wagons, and over two hundred draft horses. Part of these wagons and horses were military property, with the drivers merely workers; the rest were owned by the drivers themselves, who received higher pay.


    The drivers cared for their horses, but the military horses were looked after by a few Dusacks.


    However, it seemed they hardly took it to heart.


    ¡°What about letting the drivers take care of them?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°The same, they don¡¯t care about what¡¯s not theirs,¡± the colonel shook his head, ¡°Drivers are even harder to manage than soldiers.¡±


    For a while, everyone was silent, eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.


    After pondering for a moment, the colonel said, ¡°The carts are now fully loaded, which is the most demanding on the horses and must not have any accidents. We only have four spare draft horses, more precious than the soldiers. An officer must be assigned to take charge of this matter to ensure the men beneath him don¡¯t slack off.¡±


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 Chapter 390 - 41 Crossing the River_2

    Chapter 390: Chapter 41 Crossing the River_2


    The lieutenant colonel first looked at Winters, shaking his head. Then he looked at Bard and Andre, as if deciding between the two cavalry officers.


    Andre immediately avoided eye contact, and seeing this, Bard sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Good, then it¡¯s you,¡± the lieutenant colonel nodded.


    The orderly pulled back the tent flap and brought dish after dish in front of the officers.


    Winters had been so hungry he was numb, but the smell of food made his stomach churn again.


    The four soldiers didn¡¯t have any sort of ritual for saying grace before eating: as soon as the food was on the table, they could begin.


    ...


    But Winters barely tasted a spoonful of the mushy substance on his plate when he almost threw up the soup he had ingested the day before.


    It was disgusting: sour and stinky, as if washing rags had been soaked in it.


    If something looked like swill, smelled like swill, and tasted even more like swill, then it must be swill, right?


    Winters looked at Andre in shock, and Andre returned the look with equal shock. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In contrast, Jeska and Bard seemed unfazed, as if everyone wasn¡¯t eating the same thing.


    ¡°Sir, do you usually eat this stuff?¡± Andre asked cautiously.


    The lieutenant colonel, busy breaking apart a piece of dehydrated, hard bread, casually responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you to a feast; I¡¯m trying to correct a mistake.¡±


    ¡°What mistake?¡±


    ¡°The mistake of getting too close to the soldiers!¡± the lieutenant colonel said coldly. ¡°I understand the sentiment of this kind of local troop, but you are in the military now. Keep your distance from the soldiers, otherwise it will affect your judgment.¡±


    Although the lieutenant colonel didn¡¯t spell it out, Winters knew what he meant, and it irritated him a little.


    Andre chuckled and asked Bard, ¡°Can you even stomach this?¡±


    Bard glanced at Andre and said, ¡°If you were born into a tenant farmer¡¯s family, you could stomach it too.¡±


    ¡°Enough with the complaining,¡± Colonel Jeska said with displeasure. ¡°It¡¯s good enough to have food in the barracks. The soldiers are not chefs; if they can cook something edible, that¡¯s good enough. What does taste matter? You¡¯ve never been to war, otherwise you¡¯d be able to eat pig slop if put on a plate.¡±


    The three veterans exchanged glances silently, with no intention of correcting the lieutenant colonel.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about whether I¡¯ve been to war or not,¡± Andre said slowly, stirring the mush on his plate with a spoon. ¡°It¡¯s just that by comparison, the food here is indeed hard to swallow.¡±


    ¡°Compared to whom?¡± Colonel Jeska raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°With¡­ Monti¡¯s [Montaigne¡¯s nickname] orderlies.¡±


    Colonel Jeska snorted derisively, clearly disbelieving.


    The next day, the lieutenant colonel believed.


    On the third day, the lieutenant colonel did something that was ¡°just like him.¡±


    The blacksmith Berlion was transferred to the battalion headquarters to work full-time as a cook.


    ¡­


    Although there is a legal ¡°buffer zone¡± between the territories of the Herders and the Paratu People, the geographical definition of this buffer zone keeps changing.


    The area south of the Ashen Stream River in the buffer zone agreed upon by Ned Smith and the three major Herder tribes is today¡¯s Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    [Note: Ashen Stream River is how the Torrent River is referred to within Paratu territory]


    Generally speaking, the Paratu People steadily encroach upon the territory while the Herders gradually retreat, leaving an undeveloped strip about a hundred kilometers wide between them.


    Though it¡¯s called a no-man¡¯s land, it¡¯s not entirely devoid of human activity.


    The most common sight is Shepherds.


    The original agreement was ¡°no farming by the Paratu People and no herding by the Herders,¡± but it didn¡¯t stipulate that the Paratu People couldn¡¯t herd sheep in this area.


    This wasn¡¯t just playing with words, as nomadic herding in the gaps between powers is a traditional skill of the Paratu People.


    As early as the year 273 of the Empire, Paratu saw the establishment of a national wool guild¡ªthe Mesta Honor Association.


    Even most of the Paratu herding terminology originates from the Herder language.


    Agriculture didn¡¯t bring gold or silver, so before the Republican era, the taxes from Mesta were major financial revenues for the Duke of Palatu.


    After Richard IV inherited the dukedom of Palatu, he would also get an income of over 10,000 pounds of silver from Mesta every year. [Note: equivalent to about 98,000 Ducat Gold Coins]


    The poor Paratu Shepherds, driving their sheep across national and religious boundaries, not only had to migrate with the seasons within the power divides but also had to guard against the predations of the Herders.


    Yet it was these Shepherds at the bottom tier who accumulated wealth for the nobility of Paratu, enabling them to build castles, hire armies, and engage in long wars against the Herder tribes with resilience.


    Had it not been for several critical stands by Palatu against large-scale eastern invasions by the Herders at their pinnacle, Forthland and Vineta would have fallen under the iron hooves long ago.


    The Paratu Shepherds left behind lonely castles on the old border lines and countless stories and legends where they were the main characters.


    For this reason, even though the vast majority of Paratu People make a living from farming, Andre liked to use the derogatory term ¡°day shepherd,¡± and we have reason to believe that this disrespectful description probably did happen.


    ¡­


    Shepherding in the buffer zone is an industry officially endorsed by the government and was even once a pillar industry of Paratu.


    However, there are also trades that don¡¯t receive Paratu government endorsement.


    For example, stealthily breaking new ground, where some farmers who can¡¯t afford land secretly go to the buffer zone to clear it for cultivation.


    The Paratu government doesn¡¯t actively bring them back, nor does it offer any protection to these stealthy cultivators or recognize their property rights.


    Many bandits and robbers also hide on the other side of the Border River to escape the law.


    Many stealthy cultivators fall victim to these criminals, but the authorities rarely send law enforcement across the Border River. Such cases are often handled by Bounty Hunters.


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 Chapter 391 - 41 Crossing the River_3

    Chapter 391: Chapter 41 Crossing the River_3


    In addition, there were trade caravans and smugglers.


    The Paratu officials sometimes allowed trade and at other times banned it. The winds of policy were always changing, but the demand was ever-present.


    As the saying goes, ¡°From the east come tobacco, liquor, oil, cloth, and sugar; from the west come cattle, sheep, mules, and horses.¡±


    When trade was allowed, they were trade caravans; when it was banned, they became smugglers, but all year round there were always people driving their teams back and forth between the Hurd tribes and Paratu.


    Most of the time, the government of Paratu turned a blind eye¡ªbut that was regarding animals and miscellaneous goods like tobacco, liquor, sugar, and oil.


    Any caravan daring to smuggle ironware, firearms, or gunpowder was unforgivable. Even if they had already crossed the midway point of the no-man¡¯s land, the Piaoqi of Paratu would hunt them down to the death.


    ...


    However, precisely because of this, ironware, firearms, and gunpowder fetched extremely high prices among the Hurd tribes, which led to many risking danger for the sake of profit.


    Apart from the Paratu People, there were also Herders in this ¡°no-man¡¯s land.¡±


    The agreement signed with Ned Smith involved three major tribes: Haidong, Suz, and Terdun; but there were also numerous small and medium-sized Hurd tribes.


    There were always Hurd tribes that after suffering disasters or losing battles for pastures, would enter the buffer zone, and these Herders were also unprotected by the tribal council.


    Sometimes they plundered private settlers from Paratu, and at other times they were slaughtered by settlers, bandits, or even the Piaoqi of Paratu.


    In short, when a person stepped into this ¡°no-man¡¯s land,¡± they were essentially leaving behind all laws, rules, and civilization of the world.


    Herders, Shepherds, stealth cultivators, bandits, smugglers¡­ All sorts of people struggled to survive here.


    Sometimes they cooperated, at other times they fought each other. Apart from the weapons in their hands, nothing could guarantee a person¡¯s life or property.


    The objective of the Republic of Palatu¡¯s current military campaign was to push this area another hundred kilometers further west.


    ¡­


    After crossing a hundred-kilometer-wide no-man¡¯s land, the supply train took a full twelve days.


    Most people of Paratu grew up hearing stories like ¡°There are bandits across the Border River,¡± and initially, they were understandably very nervous.


    But in the end, not to mention bandits, they barely encountered even a few rabbits.


    It was such an uneventful journey that everyone felt a bit disappointed.


    There was nothing to be done about it; with three companies of a hundred men each in charge of escorting, only bandits with a death wish would dare to attack the supply train.


    ¡­


    The buffer zone was bounded by a river on the side of Paratu, and likewise by a river on the side of the Hurd tribes.


    And the Herders¡¯ Border River was much more impressive than that of the Paratu People.


    What blocked the caravan was a river nearly four hundred meters wide with rapid currents and unfathomable depths, connected by only an unstable floating bridge between the two shores.


    By crossing the river via the Floating Bridge, the caravan entered a camp at the bridgehead to rest.


    However, the guards refused to allow any outsiders into the camp, so the petty traders had to spend the night outside the camp.


    The guard force at the bridgehead camp was also much larger than the previous camps, with a full-size company of a hundred men completely commanded by a captain.


    After settling the caravan, Winters and the others climbed the watchtower of the camp to take in the view.


    ¡°Look, that river must be what the Herders call ¡®Kurwalya,¡¯ meaning the river that carries souls away, the river of the underworld,¡± exclaimed Brother Reed, with his face glowing as he pointed at the river: ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of the grandeur of this river, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation!¡±


    ¡°Kurwalya¡­ Kurwalya¡­¡± Winters rolled the word around in his mouth and then realized: ¡°Isn¡¯t Kurwalya a kind of dance? Something like¡­ the Dance to the Styx?¡±


    Brother Reed chuckled: ¡°This is why I say you¡¯re uncultured, you still won¡¯t admit it. That is ¡®Kurwaleta,¡¯ the root is the same, but the suffix is different.¡±


    Winters had only heard it mentioned once by Hestas, and he couldn¡¯t remember how it was pronounced. Thinking of the old Shaman, he sighed with a touch of sadness.


    ¡°Such a magnificent sight before us, and you sigh? Don¡¯t spoil the mood!¡± the old monk rolled his eyes.


    Remembering an old friend, Winters smiled: ¡°Old man, you need to live a little longer, don¡¯t just die on me, alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I definitely will be alive until I die!¡± laughed the old monk, who was not at all superstitious about such talk. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 392 - 42: Chance Encounter

    Chapter 392: Chapter 42: Chance Encounter


    ¡°`


    On the day they crossed the Styx, the supply train camped at the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Late at night, a panicked night-watch scout burst into Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s tent, ¡°Sir! Wake up quickly!¡±


    The lieutenant¡¯s consciousness was hazy, ¡°Ugh¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been a big incident!¡±


    Sleep instantly gone, Winters leaped from his campaign bed, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Salt is falling from the sky!¡±


    Without even bothering to put on his clothes, Winters dashed out of the tent.


    As he scanned the surroundings, he didn¡¯t see salt being sprinkled, but he was faced with an even more astonishing sight¡ªthousands upon thousands of willow catkins spiraling down from the skies.


    This land, which rarely saw snow, was experiencing snowfall.


    ¡­


    Two days later.


    West of the Kurvalya River, in unnamed territories.


    Andre and Winters rode side by side, engaging in idle chatter. The sound of horse hooves ¡°squelching¡± in mud and water could be heard.


    To the Paratu People, snow existed in two forms: in written records and as the perennial snow on the summits of the Jinding Mountains.


    Tangible, touchable snow was quite rare.


    The younger Dusacks had never even experienced a snowfall; their entire concept of ¡°snow¡± came from their parents¡¯ descriptions.


    Although the ground temperature hadn¡¯t reached freezing point and the fallen snow soon melted into water, remnants of snow still clung to distant slopes.


    While the meadow in front still displayed a tinge of green, the slopes at the horizon were covered with a thick layer of white snow¡ªan unusual scene that seemed almost unreal even to those witnessing it firsthand.


    But the people of the supply train weren¡¯t in any position to appreciate the scenery; they had much more pressing problems.


    The meadows, which were fairly firm during the winter, had now absorbed moisture from the unexpected snowfall.


    Once pressed down by the wheels, the ground inevitably turned to sludge.


    The heavy wagons left behind muddy trails, with mud clogging the wheel axles and making it even harder for the wheels to turn, often causing carts to get stuck in mud pits.


    Normally, the tracks compressed by the leading carts would make it easier for those following, but now, instead, the situation was reversed¡ªthe leading carts had it relatively easy, while those at the back struggled more and more.


    After a day¡¯s travel, Colonel Jeska ordered a change to double column formation the next day, to shorten the length of the queue.


    However, the double column formation didn¡¯t seem to make much of a difference, and Winters guessed that they might have to try a triple or even quadruple column formation in the future.


    ¡°This goddamn rotten land!¡± Andre cursed, ¡°To think we came all this way to fight the Herders, do the higher-ups have shit for brains?¡±


    It¡¯s often the absence of something that reveals its importance. Compared to Vineta with its well-developed road network and canals, the grasslands of the Herders truly deserved to be called rotten land.


    The paths were terrible¡ªthere weren¡¯t any to begin with¡ªand human habitation was scarce. Apart from grass, there were trees, and it didn¡¯t look like a place that produced much of anything.


    Brother Reed on the wagon laughed, ¡°You Venetians are like satiated men who don¡¯t know the pangs of the hungry; even barren fields can be productive if used for grazing sheep. You think this land isn¡¯t much, but every year the Herder clans fight each other fiercely over grazing grounds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the Herders are poor as church mice.¡± Andre immediately retorted. ¡°Surely the Paratu People aren¡¯t poorer than the Herders, are they?¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°A ripe apple is more tempting to pluck.¡± The old monk recited a Flemish proverb and asked in turn, ¡°Does that mean no one would pick a green apple? Paratu¡¯s desire for land is also your Venetians¡¯ responsibility.¡±


    ¡°What responsibility?¡± Andre was quite unconvinced.


    ¡°The wool weaving industry in Forthland and Vineta needs more raw material, so Paratu needs more sheep. When the younger sons, youngest sons, and bastards of your noble families come here with money to buy land, Paratu ends up with a great many estates and estate owners. Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    Andre was somewhat bewildered, ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°Ultimately, it¡¯s the demand from your coastal regions that drives the Paratu People here,¡± the mendicant monk sighed, a hint of pity in his gaze, as if looking at a foolish child. ¡°If one day Vineta¡¯s textile industry no longer needs wool and shifts to producing cotton fabrics, the Paratu People would slaughter their sheep and use the land to grow cotton. Do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t need cotton now?¡± Andre meekly asked.


    ¡°This kid here is even dumber than you!¡± the old monk directed at Winters with a point to Andre.


    ¡°Leave me out of it!¡± Winters shot back. ¡°Vineta has responsibility, but don¡¯t you have responsibility as well? Do you dare say that the wars between the Paratu and the Herders have nothing to do with religion? Isn¡¯t it about fighting heretic believers?¡±


    The old monk could only chuckle softly.


    A rider galloped from the rear of the convoy all the way to where the two officers were before pulling at the reins.


    It was Pierre, reporting anxiously to Andre, ¡°Sir! I saw a figure on the northern slopes.¡±


    ¡°A figure? How many?¡±


    ¡°Just one.¡±


    ¡°And then? Did they follow us?¡±


    ¡°No, it was just a fleeting glimpse. The person went back behind the slope, and I couldn¡¯t see them anymore.¡±


    After some thought, Andre frowned and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not another shepherd, is it?¡±


    ¡­


    Regarding shepherds, they had already made a farce of themselves before.


    On the first day they entered the buffer zone, the militia spotted what seemed like figures following along the ridges on both sides of the hills.


    With tensions running high, Andre thought they were Herder scouts and immediately led his Cavalry to charge at them.


    The Cavalry waved their sabers, shouting wildly, and charged straight to the figures, only to discover they were just some shepherds.


    Having not caught any Herders but instead scared a few shepherds half to death, Andre was furious.


    During the subsequent days of marching in the buffer zone, they encountered several groups of shepherds each day.


    Tired of being fooled by false alarms, Andre no longer cared to deal with such reports, while Colonel Jeska insisted on sending Andre to make contact with the shepherds.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 393 - 42 Encounter_2

    Chapter 393: Chapter 42 Encounter_2


    ¡°Lieutenant Winters!¡± the colonel liked to say, ¡°Go take a look! Take the things over!¡±


    One of the colonel¡¯s goals was to gather intelligence¡ªbut Andre thought that was pure nonsense. In his view, the real purpose was for the mutton, sheep¡¯s milk, and sheep cheese.


    Shepherds of Paratu primarily tended to the renowned Merino Sheep, known for their soft and smooth wool, which even Winters, Andre, and other Venetians had heard of.


    Merino Sheep were considered a controlled commodity in Paratu, and it had been strictly forbidden to let the breed spread since ancient times, with violators subjected to the death penalty.


    There was another less famous type of sheep called Jura Sheep, whose wool wasn¡¯t as good as that of the Merinos, but whose meat and milk were far superior to their relatives.


    Colonel Jeska was particularly fond of Jura sheep cheese.


    ...


    Shepherds wandered the wilderness all year round, leading a monotonous life. Thus, they were quite willing to exchange sheep and milk for consumables like tobacco, sugar, and alcohol.


    The colonel specifically named Andre to go, which meant he was to exchange for meat and milk.


    Having fresh meat and milk every day made everyone in the officer class quite happy. Everyone but Andre, who was annoyed beyond measure. The colonel had singled him out and nobody else could take his place.


    [Note: The officer class includes officers, clergy, and professional doctors, although a battalion would not have a professional doctor assigned to it]


    ¡­


    Upon hearing Lieutenant Winters¡¯ question, Pierre scratched his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was a shepherd, but that person did wave at me.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t make out the attire?¡±


    ¡°Too far to see clearly.¡±


    ¡°Take your tentmates to have a look,¡± Andre instructed. ¡°Take your musket with you, but don¡¯t make a fool of yourself like you did yesterday.¡±


    Yesterday, their first day after crossing ¡°The Styx¡±, Andre received a report once again: there was someone on the ridge.


    Once across The Styx, it was Herder territory, of this there could be no mistake. Andre gathered his men, full of killing intent, and charged over.


    But he had been fooled once more, still by shepherds, and actually by those who had crossed over the floating bridge the other days.


    Shepherds followed the flag of Paratu wherever it went. The western bank of The Styx had the rock salt necessary for sheep, and after the army crossed the river, the shepherds followed as well.


    According to the shepherds, the nearby Herders had already migrated westward long ago, with the nearest battles now happening a hundred kilometers to the west.


    To avoid the Paratu troops, the Herders had moved everything¡ªherds, tents, cattle, and sheep. Now, only Paratu shepherds roamed this land.


    After receiving his orders, Pierre saluted and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Andre stopped him and after a moment¡¯s hesitation said, ¡°I¡¯ll go myself, you go back and report to the colonel.¡±


    Pierre saluted, pulled on the reins, and galloped away.


    Winters drew a revolver from his gun bag and threw it to Andre: ¡°Take this with you.¡±


    To avoid exposing spellcasters¡¯ identities, besides using spells in public on rare occasions, Winters had deliberately purchased a double-barreled revolver in Maplestone City.


    He felt that even if there were rumors about his ability to shoot without an open flame, it would just be attributed to the revolver.


    ¡°No need,¡± Andre said with a smile and a wave of his hand, ¡°Just a few shepherds, carrying this cumbersome thing is unnecessary.¡±


    ¡­


    Andre gathered a tent of cavalrymen and galloped toward the northern slope.


    He was reluctant to call these Dusacks cavalry, as in his eyes they were merely horse riders, not qualified to be called proper cavalry.


    The leading Centurion was named Asta, a thirty-four-year-old ¡°old¡± Dusack¡ªcompared to the young ones, a person from Blackwater Town, unlucky enough to have been chosen by draw.


    The rest, Shego, Kliuch, Margot, Rasov, and Kapu, were all underaged Dusacks.


    Andre thought that Asta, due to his age, might be more reliable, so he appointed him as Centurion.


    Treadmills work harder, Andre led the six riders for quite a while before reaching the top of the slope.


    Standing on the heights of the hill, the men of the baggage train appeared as tiny as beans.


    The column looked like a clumsy snake crawling across the plain, but only half could be seen¡ªthe other half was completely obscured by undulating terrain.


    One often doesn¡¯t feel it when in the middle of it, but only from a high vantage point does one realize the wilderness isn¡¯t flat.


    The rolling hills were like the wrinkles on a blanket; cross a ridge or go around a hillock, and the view is lost.


    ¡°There seem to be animals over there, sir,¡± Asta said, pointing with a riding crop to a gully on the east.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    The riders moved along the ridge, and after a few turns, a flock of sheep suddenly appeared at the bottom of the other side of the valley.


    The pale brown Merino sheep were spread out in the gully, peacefully grazing.


    Two shepherds noticed the cavalry at the top of the slope and waved their hats at them.


    ¡°Did you bring the stuff?¡± Andre asked the Centurion.


    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Asta patted the saddlebag, ¡°I knew we¡¯d have to come trade.¡±


    Andre traded with the shepherds for meat, cheese, and fresh milk, while the accompanying Dusacks also took the opportunity to swap for some sheep¡¯s milk to drink.


    ¡°You go trade,¡± Andre said nonchalantly, ¡°Same as usual.¡±


    Asta whistled, taking Kliuch with him as they raced down to the bottom of the gully.


    Andre yawned, ¡°Damn, it¡¯s all mutton and sheep¡¯s milk, I¡¯m starting to smell like a ram.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll share your worries,¡± the junior Dusack, Shego, joked.


    ¡°Deal,¡± Andre laughed heartily, giving Shego a light flick of his riding crop, ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with the colonel and look for an opportunity to improve things for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Shego exclaimed joyfully.


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 Chapter 394 - 42 Accidental Encounter_3

    Chapter 394: Chapter 42 Accidental Encounter_3


    ¡°What the hell!¡± That was Rasov, screaming in utter terror, ¡°How the hell¡­ Lord!¡±


    At the bottom of the ditch, Asta first lazily leaned to one side, then suddenly flung up both hands and fell from the saddle.


    Kliuch, who had gone with him, had already been dragged off his horse by the Shepherd and was desperately struggling and shouting.


    The sudden calamity left the Dusacks speechless with their eyes wide open.


    ¡°Go down and save him!¡± Andre, spurring his horse fiercely in the ribs, drew his saber, and charged down the slope ahead of everyone.


    The Dusacks fell a few horse lengths behind before they came to their senses, clumsily trying to follow.


    ...


    Taking advantage of the terrain, the Cavalry reached the bottom of the slope in the blink of an eye, but that was exactly why the enemy had not killed Kliuch.


    Seeing the Piaoqi officer rushing down the slope, the Shepherd immediately took out his horn and blew it fiercely.


    In the flash of lightning, the Shepherd¡¯s horn and jaw were both chopped off by Lieutenant Cherini.


    But it was too late, the muffled sound of the horn had already drifted out of the gully, returning with the thunderous sounds of hooves.


    On the edge of the hill¡¯s silhouette, first appeared the swaying tips of long spears, then the fluttering feathers on their helmets.


    A dozen fierce riders, carrying guns and bows, emerged from the opposite slope, howling as they charged toward the Paratu Cavalry at the bottom.


    ¡°Herd Barbarians!¡± Shego bellowed with all his might, ¡°It¡¯s the Herd Barbarians!¡±


    It was a planned ambush. Andre pulled at the reins fiercely and bellowed, ¡°Go!¡±


    The riders wheeled their horses around and raced back toward the hilltop they had come from. Even those who usually spared their horses were now desperately jabbing their spurs into the animals¡¯ ribs.


    Kliuch had just scrambled up from the ground when the Herders killed to his side. The young Dusack stood frozen in place, a pike piercing through his chest, pinning him to the earth.


    Kliuch did not die immediately, but no one paid him any heed. The Herd Cavalry whooshed by; their target was the fleeing Piaoqi officer.


    The sound of the Herders¡¯ horses¡¯ hooves beat down on Andre¡¯s heart like hail, he kept looking back, seeing bushy beards, dark faces, and adept horsemanship.


    ¡°One has a red plume, the rest are white,¡± Andre struggled to calm down, ¡°That guy must be an officer.¡±


    He saw one of the Herders reaching behind his leg to draw something.


    ¡°Arrows!¡± Andre roared, ¡°Get down!¡±


    Hearing the Lieutenant¡¯s shout, the Paratu riders hunched over their horses¡¯ backs, pressing their bodies as low as possible.


    Arrow feathers, wrapped in a sharp whooshing sound, chased them from behind; the riders, gritting their teeth, prayed while lashing their Warhorses with their whips.


    Rasov let out a scream, crying out, ¡°I¡¯ve been hit! I¡¯ve been hit by an arrow!¡±


    ¡°Sound the horn! Warn the main force!¡± Andre ordered the trumpeter, Kapu.


    The Lieutenant called out three times before Kapu snapped out of his daze. He trembled as he removed the military horn from around his neck, but he simply couldn¡¯t produce a coherent sound.


    The Herders¡¯ horses were not large, but their speed was no less than that of Andre¡¯s tall horse.


    The distance between the fleeing and the pursuing closed rapidly, and everyone could clearly hear the Herders shouting in their own language.


    The burly Herder with the Hong Lingyu feather caught up with Andre and thrust his spear into Andre¡¯s back with force. The spear point pierced through the belt and entered Andre¡¯s back obliquely, about a knuckle deep.


    Andre wasn¡¯t wearing the breastplate issued to officers, only feeling a chill on his back. He swung his saber to block the second spear and let out a desperate roar, ¡°Can¡¯t run! It¡¯s do or die!¡±


    Andreya reared his horse, chopping down at the back of a Herder who was rushing from the left.


    He was surrounded, a Herd horse crashed into his black warhorse, nearly knocking it down.


    Shego was the first to turn back for the rescue, but a Herder drove him aside. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Baring his teeth, Shego¡¯s face ashen like a dead man¡¯s, hacked away at the opponent with insane force, his movements lacking any semblance of technique.


    The bugler Kapu didn¡¯t look back, running straight towards the direction of the convoy. But Margot and Rasov, with an arrow in his arm, followed Shego charging back.


    The cavalry packed into a small patch of miserable mud, struggling and killing in confusion. The Paratu People were so frightened they were out of their minds, but the Herders weren¡¯t faring much better.


    Swords clashed against swords, sparks flying, wildly stabbing and slashing, the fighting was incredibly intense.


    The horses, too, were panicked, utterly ignoring the riders¡¯ commands. They blindly ran amok, and in their confusion, they fell to the ground.


    Six Herders encircled Andre, wanting to capture him alive. Andre stood up in the stirrups, using all his might, spinning and turning on the saddle like a whirlwind with his saber.


    The spear tip traced a bloody line on his neck, and he retaliated with a cut deep enough to see bone. The cold glint of steel flashed before his eyes as he again raised his saber to parry.


    A Herder shouted in an unfamiliar language, and Andre mustered all his strength to chop his saber down onto the opponent¡¯s crown.


    The Herder screamed, tumbling off his horse, but Andre¡¯s saber was also knocked flying by the opponent¡¯s iron helmet.


    He immediately snatched a long spear from a Herder cavalryman nearby and began to strike, as though he was on the training grounds.


    Several Herders used their long spears to force Andre back, rescuing the Herder who had just fallen.


    Only then did Andre notice the red feather on the Herder¡¯s iron helmet.


    The unconscious Herder leader was placed on a horse and escaped towards the north. Other Herder cavalry stopped fighting and retreated with their leader.


    A dismounted Herder picked up another wounded comrade, struggling to escape into the valley.


    The Paratu Cavalry did not pursue the kill, and as soon as they broke contact, they headed straight for the convoy.


    Two groups of people, not yet proficient in the art of killing their kin, encountered each other by chance. They fought with extreme fear, hacking wildly for a while, sustaining injuries all over, and eventually fled. That was all that had happened just now.


    Andre carelessly wiped the blood from his face, and only then did he feel the pain of his wounds.


    Shego and Margot¡¯s lips trembled uncontrollably, their clothes showing patches of dark red bloodstains.


    Rasov¡¯s arrow in his arm had snapped off at some point, his face deathly pale, and he wobbled unsteadily on his horse.


    ¡°Rasov! Hold on!¡± Andre shouted, holding back tears, ¡°There will be a doctor when we get back to the convoy!¡±


    They galloped along the ridge line, rounded a bend, and the sight of the convoy gradually appeared behind the contours of the hills.


    The convoy had already been overwhelmed by Herder cavalry.


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 Chapter 395 - 43 Chariot Formation

    Chapter 395: Chapter 43 Chariot Formation


    The Herders chose an excellent moment to launch their ambush.


    The attack began just as the convoy was passing between two earth mounds at a saddle point.


    To bypass the high ground, the long column twisted into an S-shape. The head and tail lost sight of each other and couldn¡¯t watch out for one another.


    Accompanied by the sound of bugles, a group of Herder Cavalry burst out from the north-facing slope, plunging straight into the middle of the convoy.


    The length of the column, stretching over a kilometer, made communication difficult; Winters at the very front couldn¡¯t see what was happening behind.


    Upon realizing something was wrong, Winters immediately rode his horse up the western slope.


    ...


    The full breadth of the battlefield unfolded before him:


    A group of strange cavalry donning mail armor had broken into the middle of the convoy, where the Paratu People were already in disarray;


    The chaos spread as swiftly as a wildfire. A few still-courageous militiamen tried to resist only to be robbed of life by arrows and javelins from behind. Everyone was fleeing, and the brave died even quicker;


    There weren¡¯t many among the strange cavalry, but they didn¡¯t entangle themselves in the fight, driving the routed soldiers forward and back like seasoned sheepdogs.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska arrived at the front of the convoy, followed by more than twenty Dusacks.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Winters galloped down from the slope, ¡°The middle is in chaos, the Herders are driving routed soldiers this way.¡±


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel spat, ¡°Of course they are! Those sons of bitches want to devour us all.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not many; I¡¯ll take some men and charge through! There might be a chance!¡±


    ¡°No! Form the wagons into a circle! We defend right here, gather the troops first.¡±


    Winters panicked, ¡°Half the cargo is gunpowder! If they set fire, it¡¯s all over!¡±


    ¡°If they wanted to set fire, would they wait until now? With just a few dozen Herders, they dare to take us on?¡± Jeska smirked coldly, ¡°Do you only strike at the waist when fighting a man? The Herders are best at divide-and-conquer; they want to swallow us whole!¡±


    Winters understood the crux and immediately directed the wagons to turn.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska jumped down from his saddle, ¡°The flag!¡±


    The standard-bearer presented the regimental flag to the lieutenant colonel, who leaped onto a wagon and planted the Paratu cross quadrant flag above it.


    ¡°We hold our ground right here!¡± the one-eyed lieutenant colonel bellowed standing atop the wagon, ¡°Cowards will be executed without mercy.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel made his stance clear, and Winters also fetched the flag of the centurion unit, planting it into a sack on the wagon.


    The bugler sounded the assembly call, and nearby militiamen and wagoners swarmed towards the flags.


    With two officers as their pillar, the militiamen and wagoners knew what to do. The draft horses were unhitched from wagon after wagon, led into the center of the formation.


    The goods on the wagons were unloaded to allow the musketeers to stand upon them.


    Under Winters¡¯s bellowing orders, the musketeers frantically loaded their ammunition, and the pikemen began to reform their ranks.


    The double-column formation naturally had barriers on the left and right, the wagoners pulled the wagons close together, and the inevitable gaps were temporarily blocked with ropes.


    But four-wheeled wagons were difficult to turn, and in the rush, gaps in the front and rear could only be filled with pikemen.


    Gradually, panicked wagoners and militiamen who fled were herded to the front ranks, most of them having thrown away their weapons.


    The flags waving atop the wagon formation caught their eyes first.


    With the savage Herd Barbarians at their heels and the Paratu People¡¯s courage shattered, the sight of safety ahead made them surge towards the wagon fort en masse.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe over there!¡± A wagoner shouted as he ran, ¡°Go to the flag!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska saw this and cursed loudly, sprung on his horse, and knocked the leading Paratu person, causing him to spit blood. Then, with a terrifying chop, he sliced half the head off the shouting wagoner.


    The remaining Paratu People stood frozen in terror by the one-eyed lieutenant colonel¡¯s brutal actions.


    ¡°Those who attack our formation will die!¡± Dripping with Paratu blood, Jeska roared at the routed soldiers, ¡°Circumvent the wagon fort!¡±


    The lieutenant colonel stood before the formation like a wedge, dividing the panicked Paratu People in two, who then circled from the north and south flanks before entering the wagon fort from the west.


    A Herder Cavalry, brandishing a scimitar, chased and slashed his way through until he hit the wagon fort. He stopped about thirty meters away from the wagons, seeming perplexed.


    A musketeer on a wagon shakily pressed the firing lever. The gunshot rang out, but the Herder horseman remained unharmed.


    The sound of one gun provoked more shots; tense musketeers fired indiscriminately, and even Winters couldn¡¯t stop them.


    After a barrage of gunfire, the smoke cleared, and the Herder horseman was still sitting comfortably in the saddle.


    The Herder laughed wildly, and his ear-piercing laughter hammered the militiamen¡¯s courage and spirit.


    ¡°Laugh at your mother!¡± Winters, unable to endure it any longer, jumped onto a wagon and shot the Herder horseman dead. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His brain sprayed from the back of his head as he fell stiffly from his horse, dead without understanding why he¡¯d been shot.


    A moment of silence within the wagon fort was followed by deafening cheers.


    Winters emotionlessly tossed the rifled flintlock to Xial, who gleefully reloaded it.


    The weapon was efficient but too expensive and too much trouble to load.


    With the wagon fort temporarily secure, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska immediately ordered the preparation of signal smoke. The militiamen began gathering grass, horse dung, dismantled wooden planks from the wagons, and took down gunpowder.


    Small cavalry raids on supply lines were a common tactic of the Herders; the Paratu People also had countermeasures. Signal smoke would be relayed through camps along the route, nearby Paratu cavalry would converge on this location¡­ to help take vengeance.


    Scattered Herder horsemen charged up to the face of the wagon fort, saw no opportunity, and rode off, going back to continue killing and driving the routed Paratu forces eastward.


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 Chapter 396 - 43: The Carriage Formation_2

    Chapter 396: Chapter 43: The Carriage Formation_2


    The Herder cavalry were indeed few in number, but the disorganized spearmen and musketeers were unable to protect each other¡¯s backs and flanks, facing the cavalry was almost a one-sided slaughter.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Winters approached the lieutenant colonel, ¡°I¡¯ll take some men to charge.¡±


    Jeska understood what Winters meant; at this rate, they simply couldn¡¯t rally many troops.


    A stalemate was no solution either; they needed to defend and counterattack. The hastily assembled wagon fort, lacking any supplies or reserves, was sure to break first.


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel gave the second lieutenant a deep look and nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t charge too far, come back when you hear the signal shot.¡±


    Winters grabbed a long spear and leaped onto the saddle.


    ...


    Looking at the faces of the twenty or so Dusack in the wagon fort, he instructed as calmly as possible, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, follow me.¡±


    The spearmen made way, and the cavalry charged out of the wagon fort with a roar. Behind them, thick smoke billowed into the sky.


    Catching sight of the Paratu people¡¯s proactive attack, a Herder cavalryman blew the horn. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two long, two short.


    The Herder people prowling between the wagons withdrew at once, deliberately avoiding direct combat.


    Since everyone was on horseback, no one could easily catch up with anyone else.


    The Herders¡¯ advantage in mounted archery became apparent as they maintained a delicate distance and twisted around to shoot arrows.


    Arrows whizzed past the Paratu cavalry, who tried to stay as low as possible. The accuracy of horseback archery wasn¡¯t great, but no one wanted to gamble with their lives on luck.


    Winters¡¯ goal was not to annihilate the enemy; driving them off and covering the Paratu people back into the wagon fort was enough.


    At that moment, what worried him most was the situation with Bard and Andre:


    Andre had gone to trade with the Shepherds and hadn¡¯t been heard from since,


    While Bard, leading the gathering team, was cleaning up at the rear of the caravan¡ªthis included those merchants and speculators seeking protection, and he only had a few soldiers by his side.


    Winters was eager to fight his way to the end of the caravan to confirm Bard¡¯s safety.


    But after running only a few hundred meters, he heard three gunshots coming from the direction of the wagon fort, the agreed-upon signal.


    Winters gritted his teeth and yanked the reins, his horse rearing with a powerful neigh, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    The Paratu cavalry turned around and headed back toward the wagon fort on the same path, with the pursuing Herder people turning around to follow as well.


    From the west came the rolling sound of hoofbeats: another group of Herder cavalry had emerged from the gully to the west, over forty strong, their blades aimed directly at the Paratu front line.


    But unexpectedly, they found no panicked farmers, only a large circular formation of wagons all around.


    This was supposed to be a coordinated attack, but with poor coordination, it afforded the Paratu people a glimmer of hope.


    The Herder people from the west were not mentally prepared to attack a strong fortification and hesitated for a moment, stopping far away at a hundred meters out.


    The Herder people from the east circled around the wagon fort, the two groups of Herder cavalry converging.


    Winters climbed onto a wagon and counted carefully: nearly sixty riders, some in studded armor, the rest only with iron helmets and leather jackets.


    By rough estimate, more than half of the Herder cavalry who had initiated the attack were here; Bard¡¯s side might have an easier time.


    ¡°A company of a hundred?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska muttered to herself and ordered with a wave of her hand, ¡°Get the musketeers onto the wagons.¡±


    The Paratu people hastened to unload the wagons, stacking their baggage between the vehicles as barricades, while the musketeers, carrying their matchlock guns, scrambled into the carts.


    ¡°Load your ammunition! Stick your chin to the gunstock and aim!¡± Winters shouted his command, ¡°On my order, and if anyone dares to fire out of turn, I¡¯ll kill them myself!¡±


    Suddenly, the distant Herder cavalry began to move. With unfamiliar shouts, the Herders charged towards the wagon fort, bloodthirsty.


    The momentum of six hundred infantry charging couldn¡¯t match that of sixty cavalry.


    In ancient times, a heavy cavalry charge could decide the direction of a battle. Sometimes, well before blood was shed, the mere psychological oppression was enough to collapse a less steadfast line.


    Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the terrifying mass of eight hundred pounds bore down¡ªno one was unafraid.


    At sixty meters, the militiamen¡¯s legs trembled uncontrollably as they shook.


    ¡°Hold steady!¡± Winters roared using a spell of amplification, ¡°Hands off the firing lever, wait for my command!¡± The magically augmented shout actually managed to overshadow the sound of horse hooves.


    Fifty meters, the ground itself seemed to tremble with the trampling of horse hooves.


    ¡°Hold the line!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska, her saber still not dry of blood, commanded, ¡°Whoever runs, I¡¯ll kill him!¡±


    At forty meters, Winters could make out the Herders¡¯ beards and feathers.


    At thirty meters, the Herders turned.


    Rather than crashing headlong into the wagon fort as everyone expected, the Herder cavalry adjusted their direction at the last moment, starting to circle around the fortification.


    A sigh of relief rose between the wagons.


    A javelin flew over Winters¡¯ head and into the wagon fort, piercing the thigh of a wagon driver.


    Amid the screams, more javelins and arrows were continuously shot at the Paratu people. They lacked accuracy, but still forced the crowd to dodge in panic.


    ¡°Hahaha, is that all?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska practically sneered, ¡°Lieutenant! Fire a volley and draw them in!¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand the order, but he complied, ¡°Fire!¡±


    After the thunder and gunsmoke dispersed, four or five Herder cavalrymen fell from their horses, their fate unknown.


    The remaining Herder cavalry immediately charged at the wagon fort, not against the spearmen at the open ends to the east and west but leaping their horses through the gaps between the wagons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Winters yelled, ¡°Reload!¡±


    The musketeers on the wagons shakily reloaded their guns, as a young man beside Winters cried while pouring gunpowder into the barrel.


    The soldiers who had discarded their gear and fled earlier were now of no use; they were already terrified and desperately seeking cover behind others or crawling under the wagons.


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 Chapter 397 - 43: Formation of Chariots_3

    Chapter 397: Chapter 43: Formation of Chariots_3


    Only the militiamen who had initially been rounded up into the wagon fort still dared to fight the Herders, the spearmen fiercely jabbing at people and horses, while Dusack hacked away with his saber without any technique.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Montaigne, dressed in officer uniforms, were the most obvious targets.


    Winters leaped onto the top of the wagon, as a Herder cavalryman screamed and thrust his long spear towards him in a charge.


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Winters killed the man with a spear thrust, at this distance there was no need to aim.


    Seeing this, another Herder charged forward to avenge his comrade.


    ...


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Winters¡¯s revolver was double-barreled.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska swung a heavy halberd in a fierce battle cry, besieged by three Herders and in grave danger.


    ¡°You stay here,¡± Winters said, tossing the revolver to Xial in the carriage, himself gripping a spike in his left hand and a military saber in his right, leaping down from the wagon.


    Xial, startled, cried out in a desperate situation with the name used back in Sea Blue, ¡°Brother [Winters]!¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± The usually reticent Heinrich and Berlion also shouted in alarm.


    Xial swung up a musket and followed Winters into the midst of the wagon fort.


    Heinrich and Berlion also clenched their teeth, jumped down from the wagon, and joined the melee with their own swords and pikes.


    A Herder climbed onto the outside of the wagon, drew his bow, and shot down the Paratu People. This time, not on a bumpy horse, the Herder¡¯s arrows were lethally accurate.


    Winters raised his hand and nailed the Herder archer to the ground. After a year and a half of practice, his requirements for the Arrow Flying Spell were not as stringent as before.


    He reached the lieutenant colonel¡¯s side, grabbed the waist belt of a Herder cavalryman who was attacking Jeska, and stabbed the man in the back. The Herder screamed miserably as Winters dragged him off his warhorse.


    Winters nailed another Herder cavalryman with an Arrow Flying Spell. Lieutenant Colonel Jeska finished the third Herder with the heavy halberd, temporarily breaking free of the encirclement.


    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± The one-eyed lieutenant colonel¡¯s face was drenched in blood droplets, he laughed wildly, ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but roar, ¡°First, just. fucking. survive this battle!¡±


    Once the cavalry¡¯s charge failed to defeat the enemy and they lost their speed advantage in the fight, that was the most vulnerable time for the cavalry.


    The Herders thought the wagon fort was a fortress, that breaking through would lead to victory. But actually, the wagon fort was a trap, once inside it, there was no escape.


    Heavy cavalry might still fight on foot with their armor and sharp weapons, but for these mostly unarmored Herder light cavalry, this was a death ground.


    The cost of a cavalryman was unknown how much higher than that of a Paratu militiaman armed only with a long spear, yet at this moment they were being expended by Lieutenant Colonel Jeska at a two-for-one exchange rate.


    And the numbers of that exchange rate kept falling.


    Major General Layton liked to say, ¡°Whoever can last one more minute wins.¡±


    But for the blood-enraged Paratu People and Herders, it was about who would die off first.


    The number of surviving Herders within the wagon fort was dwindling, and the scales of victory were slowly but resolutely tipping towards the Paratu People.


    ¡°Kill! Waiting to die?¡± Winters, like dragging a sack of slag, pulled a militiaman who was weeping and praying from under the wagon, ¡°You think you can live if we lose?¡±


    But fate always likes to play jokes.


    Again, the rumble of horseshoes came from outside the wagon fort, getting closer and closer.


    The Herders¡¯ morale surged, and they excitedly roared in a foreign language.


    The Paratu People gradually realized what was happening, their expressions growing more and more desperate, the bloody resolve that had sustained them until now was fading.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska felt dizzy, and could no longer hold the halberd in his hands, which fell to the ground.


    The lieutenant colonel tightly grabbed Winters¡¯s arm, smiling sadly, ¡°We¡¯ve lost after all.¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Winters steadied the lieutenant colonel, with tears shimmering in his eyes, ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°I was hoping to resolve them first, then take care of the rest,¡± Jeska said bitterly shaking his head, ¡°But the rest of the Herders have still come, and their unit is a full one hundred men¡­ War is all about one breath, Winters, you¡¯re a fine soldier, I¡¯m honored to have you under my command.¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, ¡°Being under your command is really annoying.¡±


    The long overdue reinforcements broke through the wagon fort with the force of thunder, and the leading man¡¯s war cry shattered the sky:


    ¡°Da Vineta!¡±


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 Chapter 398 - 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman

    Chapter 398: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman


    After the skirmish, the convoy was in complete disarray. The surviving Paratu People were gasping for breath, slumped on the ground in all directions, their spirits and energy completely drained by the fierce battle they had just endured.


    Some militiamen were holding the bodies of the fallen, weeping bitterly. These were their relatives and friends.


    ¡°Who speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡± Pierre, carrying a musket, walked among the wagons. ¡°Is there anyone who speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡±


    He was met only with head shakes or outright silence.


    ¡°Herders¡¯ language? No one understands it?¡± Pierre asked again when he saw a surviving Paratu Person.


    ¡°I do.¡± A lean figure climbed down from a wagon. ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±


    ...


    ¡°You speak Herders¡¯ language, Hunter?¡±


    Bell had taken a blow to the head and his consciousness was still somewhat fuzzy. ¡°A bit. Before my mother passed, our whole family lived in the Bitterwater Tribe.¡±


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Pierre turned to lead the way. ¡°The lieutenant needs a translator.¡±


    ¡­


    As the curved needle threaded with cotton pierced through the flesh, the company¡¯s barber-surgeon Pero was stitching up the wounds on the colonel¡¯s shoulder.


    Colonel Jeska was sitting heroically on a keg of gunpowder, listening to Lieutenant Bard reporting the casualties.


    Over two hundred of the supply train¡¯s militiamen and wagon drivers were killed or injured, mostly from the routed forces. Those who fought at the wagon fort accounted for fewer casualties.


    Dozens more were missing, presumably having run into the wilderness amid the chaos.


    Not to mention a number of horses and wagons that were lost¡­


    ¡°Enough! Stop reading that!¡± the colonel said impatiently, waving his hand. ¡°Just hearing it makes my blood boil. It¡¯s worse than useless innkeepers.¡±


    Bard put away the list and said soothingly, ¡°We can¡¯t help it. The supply train¡¯s goods belong to the state, but an innkeeper¡¯s goods are his own.¡±


    Facing the sudden attack from Herders light cavalry, Jeska¡¯s militiamen and wagon drivers almost offered no resistance. They abandoned their horses and supplies and fled for their lives, resulting in a total rout.


    Conversely, the small tradesmen ¡°hitching a ride¡± for protection fought desperately to protect their wagons, wielding sticks and pitchforks to fight for their lives against Herders Cavalry.


    For many of them, the goods on the wagons constituted their entire wealth; to have it stolen meant financial ruin.


    ¡°What about the Herders?¡± Colonel Jeska took a large swig of strong liquor to dull the pain.


    ¡°A few ran off, Lieutenant Cherini and his men are in pursuit,¡± Bard reported calmly. ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne is tallying up the remaining living and dead Herders.¡±


    Jeska glanced at Bard beside him and rasped, ¡°You did well today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    The praise was rare from the one-eyed colonel, but the cavalry lieutenant remained as unfazed as ever.


    ¡­


    There weren¡¯t many Herders soldiers, and there wasn¡¯t much they could do.


    The number of militiamen and wagon drivers in the supply train was close to six hundred¡ªa sizable force.


    Forget six hundred people; even six hundred pigs couldn¡¯t be killed by the Herders in a short time, not to mention there were over three hundred Paratu traders following behind.


    The advantage of the Herders lay in their surprise attacks and the fact that the escort forces were spread out over a wagon train more than one kilometer long, each fighting for themselves.


    If they had brought incendiaries and set fires aggressively, coming in and out quickly, the Paratu People would have had no way of countering them.


    But the Herders had not chosen to burn the supplies¡ªColonel Jeska explained it as greed. In the Herders language, ¡°fighting¡± and ¡°robbing¡± were the same word; all Herders wanted a piece of the action.


    When faced with particularly stubborn resistance from the traders, the Herders didn¡¯t force a direct confrontation but instead turned to attack the frantically fleeing militiamen and wagon drivers.


    Afterward, the attention of most Herders was drawn away by Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Montaigne, significantly reducing the pressure on the rear of the convoy.


    When Andre returned to the convoy, he found Bard directing the traders to form a makeshift wagon fort.


    After discussion, they decided that Andre would lead the still able Dusacks to strike out and ascertain the situation.


    That set the stage for Andre to lead the charge into the wagon fort, shouting the battle cry of the Third Legion.


    ¡­


    Barber-surgeon Pero struggled to stitch up the cut, but his hands shook so badly that he couldn¡¯t tie the knot.


    Bard patted the barber¡¯s shoulder and took over the tweezers.


    ¡°We need to round up those who scattered,¡± Colonel Jeska pondered aloud.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here long. We must set out as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Bard quickly tied the knot and cut off the thread.


    The colonel took another gulp of strong liquor and, while dressing, bellowed, ¡°Where¡¯s Montaigne? Tell him to hurry up. Does it take this long to clear a battlefield?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was busy treating the wounded, identifying and collecting bodies.


    Militiamen were gradually discovering several Herders who could still move, but Winters, wanting to interrogate, couldn¡¯t understand a word they were saying.


    Colonel Jeska, with his sword in hand, strode over. ¡°What¡¯s with the dawdling?¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters saluted. ¡°Colonel, what should we do with the Herders?¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Colonel Jeska was perplexed. ¡°Finish off the dead ones, kill the living. Hurry up; we¡¯re moving out.¡±


    Winters said nothing, just nodded his head.


    ¡°Gather the troops, get organized. Let those traders clean up the battlefield. Collect the armor and weapons for ourselves; the rest can go to them. They¡¯ll be happy to have it.¡±


    Winters nodded again.


    The colonel added, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t forget to cut off the ears of the dead Herders¡ªtake the ones with earrings.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why? For money!¡± Colonel Jeska laughed, at a loss for words.


    Pierre, dragging the young Hunter along, called from a distance, ¡°Sir, Bell speaks Herders¡¯ language!¡±


    ¡°Someone understands Herders¡¯ language?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyes lit up at once.


    Pierre, noticing the colonel was present, hastily saluted.


    ¡°Which of you speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡± the colonel asked the two little Dusacks.


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 Chapter 399 - 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_2

    Chapter 399: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_2


    ¡°Me.¡± Bell said unhappily.


    ¡°Where did you learn that?¡±


    Staring at his shoetips, Bell answered, ¡°My mother.¡±


    Winters could tell the young Hunter was in a bad mood, but Colonel Jeska obviously did not care about the trooper¡¯s background.


    The colonel barked at the others, ¡°Bring all the surviving Herders over!¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    The Herders who could still speak were bound hand and foot and kneel in a row in front of Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°Tell them I can¡¯t be bothered to waste words with them.¡± The colonel, leaning on his saber, surveyed the prisoners coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll ask, and they answer. Keep silent, and they die.¡±


    Bell translated lacklusterly.


    One of the Herders raised his head and shouted a few words at Bell. Winters did not understand, but he could detect the anger in the tone.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Colonel Jeska pointed at the talking Herder and asked.


    With a complex expression, Bell glanced at the colonel, then lowered his head. ¡°He said ¡®You¡¯re clearly a Herder, why are you helping the bipeds?''¡±


    With a cold sneer, the one-eyed colonel suddenly drew his sword and chopped off the speaking Herder¡¯s head.


    The headless corpse heavily crashed to the ground as blood spurted rhythmically from the severed neck. The head rolled a short distance before coming to a stop, eyes still wide open.


    Bell, the kneeling Herders, the onlooking Paratu People¡­ even Winters was startled; some prisoners were even scared into incontinence.


    ¡°I ask! You answer!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s saber was still dripping with blood. ¡°Translate for them.¡±


    The subsequent interrogation went smoothly.


    The Herder Cavalry, hidden behind iron helmets, spearing, and slashing in battle, seemed like devils and monsters.


    But at the end of the day, they too were human beings capable of pain, fear, and tears. Stripped of their soldierhood, they were nothing but nomads, no different from the militia of the Paratu.


    ¡°Which group do you belong to?¡± the colonel asked.


    ¡°The Dog Soldier group.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of your ¡®Turu Koda¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Aviya.¡±


    Staring with his one eye, the colonel asked word by word, ¡°Then who is your ¡®Haug Koda¡¯?¡±


    The inquired Herder stiffened at the word ¡°Haug Koda,¡± murmuring a few sentences softly.


    Bell translated, ¡°He says the Dog Soldier group is a small tribe that doesn¡¯t have a Haug.¡±


    Colonel Jeska didn¡¯t waste words, immediately cutting down the responding Herder.


    Blood splattered onto Bell¡¯s face, causing the young Hunter¡¯s body to tremble uncontrollably.


    The colonel approached the third Herder prisoner to ask, ¡°Who is your ¡®Haug Koda¡¯?¡±


    Without need for translation, the Herder prisoner shivered and spat out a name.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Colonel Jeska yelled.


    ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Have everyone ready; we are moving out immediately.¡±


    ¡°Continuing forward?¡±


    ¡°About-face to the east!¡±


    ¡­


    Four riders fled for their lives, with the Herders sparing no horse strength, viciously whipping their warhorses.


    Although they couldn¡¯t see, the Herders knew that somewhere right behind them, a group of Paratu Cavalry was doggedly pursuing them.


    The Herders and Paratu People chased each other over the undulating wilderness, only catching sight of each other when both parties were atop hills.


    Their horses frothing at the mouth as they climbed another hill, one of the Herders looked back and exclaimed with surprise, ¡°Look! The bipeds have pulled back!¡±


    [Note: The Herders are all speaking in the Herder language.]


    On hearing this, the other Herders looked back to see the Paratu Cavalry on the plains had stopped pursuing and were now moving away from them.


    A narrow escape brought a sigh of relief from the few Herders.


    With their tense nerves finally relaxing, one of the Herders suddenly cursed at his companions, ¡°[Expletive]! We agreed to attack at the same time; how come you were so late?¡±


    The accused Herders erupted in anger, ¡°It was clearly your group that struck too early!¡±


    ¡°Stop arguing, Aviya and Herhunshi are dead, what¡¯s the point of quarreling now?¡± another Herder shouted, ¡°Where¡¯s Goka? Wasn¡¯t it agreed his men would cut off their path from behind, where are they?¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The others looked at each other in confusion, only then realizing that those responsible for attacking the rear had not appeared at all.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini, on his way back to the supply train cursing and swearing, unaware that it was his heavy blow on ¡°Goka¡¯s¡± head that saved Colonel Jeska¡¯s detachment from falling into an ambush from three sides.


    ¡­


    The moonlight was dim; the convoy lit torches, marching through the night.


    Everyone was on high alert, match cords wound around their wrists, with pike bearers in heavy armor marching on.


    Winters, fully mounted in his armor, inspected the area between the wagons by the light of the torches, which made his half-armor particularly conspicuous.


    Since he had received his officer¡¯s armor, this was the first time he had worn it fully.


    As the silver-grey stallion passed by, the militiamen saluted silently.


    Winters heard someone whispering his name and turned back to see Andre emerging from the night.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t worn it in so long, I¡¯m not even used to it,¡± Andre said, patting the steel plate on his chest, now also clad in armor.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to put on, but hard to take off,¡± Winters said, a bit distracted: ¡°Last time, I wore it for a year, and now, I don¡¯t know how long it will be this time.¡±


    Andre chuckled mischievously, ¡°If Colonel Jeska and I were always armored, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten wounded.¡±


    Although the firearm posed a great threat to armor, having extra plates of iron in hand-to-hand combat was always better.


    According to Winters¡¯ observations, the Herders mainly had only melee weapons, so Andre¡¯s statement wasn¡¯t entirely untrue.


    ¡°Right,¡± Andre asked, ¡°do you have a spare sword?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters didn¡¯t catch that at first.


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 Chapter 400 - 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_3

    Chapter 400: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_3


    ¡°Swords, military swords, straight ones.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a single-handed sword, and a longsword without a sharp edge.¡±


    ¡°Lend it to me.¡±


    Winters was puzzled, ¡°Don¡¯t you have your own weapons?¡±


    ¡°I only have sabers.¡± Andre slapped his thigh, ¡°There are quite a few armored cavalry among the Herders, and I suffered a big loss today. Lend me your swords, you don¡¯t engage in cavalries battles anyway.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you suffer a loss either.¡± Andre said exuberantly, ¡°I got my hands on two Herder scimitars today, the steel is top-notch, I¡¯ll give you one.¡±


    Winters jokingly asked, ¡°Just one?¡±


    ¡°I need to keep one as a spare.¡±


    The two chatted idly for a few moments but then fell into silence without realizing it.


    Andre¡¯s sigh broke this quietness. He looked toward the night behind them and asked with some trembling, ¡°Hey, Winters, do you think there really are a thousand Herder cavalry chasing us?¡±


    ¡­


    In the Herder language, ¡°Kota¡± means a minor chief, ¡°Tulu¡± means a hundred-man team, and ¡°Haug¡± means a thousand-man team.


    The Herders¡¯ organization use the decimal system, with exactly one hundred people in a hundred-man team, above which are the thousand-man teams, and above them, the ten thousand-man teams.


    There¡¯s an extensive attack and defense alliance between the Herder tribes, where in principle, all chiefs are equal. In times of war, each tribe is obligated to provide soldiers to the Warboss.


    Some tribes are too small and can only provide half a Tulu. Even so, the Tulu from small tribes stand equal to the Haugs and even ¡°Naiman¡± of the large tribes.


    Therefore, a Haug certainly contains ten Tulus, but a Tulu does not necessarily belong to a particular Haug.


    It¡¯s for this reason that Herder ¡°Naiman¡± are extremely rare, the last of these formations was thirty years ago. However, whenever a ten thousand-man team appeared in the Great Wilderness, the Paratu People would be in considerable trouble.


    Lt. Col. Jeska did not recognize the ¡°Haug Koda¡± mentioned by the Herders, but it confirmed his suspicion that the hundred-man team which attacked the supply column hailed from a ¡°Haug¡±.


    Even if the thousand-man teams of the Herder tribes were often undermanned, another Tulu would be more than enough to wipe out the supply column.


    Therefore, Lt. Col. Jeska decisively ordered a retreat to the previous camp.


    ¡­


    ¡°Not a thousand, at most nine hundred, as we¡¯ve already taken down one hundred-man team,¡± Winters asked in a falsely relaxed tone, ¡°Scared? Doesn¡¯t sound like you.¡±


    Andre pulled out a pipe from his bosom, and Winters helped him light it.


    Lt. Celini took a puff and asked, ¡°Do you still remember those Herder slaves on Red Sulfur Island?¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t get out of my mind those Herders, stripping naked, smearing peat over themselves, and climbing the rampart with daggers in their mouths,¡± Andre tapped his temple and said slowly, ¡°Even though the Day-Sheep folks are all confident, if all Herders are not afraid to die like that, I think the Day-Sheep folk won¡¯t win this war.¡±


    ¡°Are you really scared?¡± Winters was truly surprised.


    Andre waved his hand dismissively, ¡°It¡¯s not about being scared, I¡¯m just stating the facts.¡±


    After some thought, Winters said earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s different, the Herders on Red Sulfur Island had a reason to face death with equanimity, they dreamed of going home. But most of those fighting the Paratu People probably don¡¯t, neither do the Paratu People. If it¡¯s a competition of who¡¯s worse off, Paratu might still win.¡±


    Andre knocked the ashes out of his pipe on his boot heel and sighed, ¡°True, where can you find that many soldiers unafraid of death?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh as well, ¡°I never thought that we would be playing a game of life and death with the Herders. I wonder if those Herder slaves made it home?¡±


    The two exchanged a few words idly and then went back to their separate patrols.


    The supply column didn¡¯t return to that morning¡¯s camp until late at night. It was a makeshift camp offering little in the way of defences.


    Lt. Col. Jeska allowed the troops only two hours of rest.


    After two hours, the column would continue its journey toward the fortified encampment on the bank of The Styx.


    The Paratu People in the column were preoccupied with filling their bellies.


    Winters walked up to a passenger wagon, pulled open the door, where Father Reed and Little Lion were inside.


    ¡°This is all we have for now.¡± Winters placed a jug of water and two loaves of bread on the seat, ¡°There¡¯s no time to start a fire, make do with these.¡±


    Little Lion, ravenous, let out a dissatisfied howl and begged for food indulgently.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to go hungry for me first!¡± Winters glared at Little Lion, ¡°We¡¯ll find you something to eat once we get there.¡±


    Little Lion buried its head in its forepaws and gave a gentle whine as if to complain.


    Now approaching the size of a grown adult dog, Little Lion¡¯s paws were as large as Winters¡¯ own hands, and he was finding it hard to lift the animal.


    Luckily, the ¡°little¡± creature had protected Father Reed¡¯s safety that day, yet it also meant Little Lion was noticed by everyone in the column.


    Fortunately, the old pontiff devised a quick explanation of ¡°The Lion of God protects his servant,¡± which managed to fool his adoring disciples.


    ¡°This little fellow is perceptive, has a spirit. If it were in Selika, it might even be able to hold an official title like ¡®His Majesty¡¯s Cat,''¡± Father Reed said as he stroked Little Lion¡¯s mane, ¡°It bit someone today, but it¡¯s not a problem, just make sure it never gets a taste for human flesh.¡± Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters nodded and then said solemnly, ¡°Father Reed.¡±


    ¡°You using a title, I find it quite unusual,¡± the old priest seemed flattered.


    ¡°Once we reach the river, you and Father Caman will cross the bridge, and I will send someone to take you back to Wolf Town.¡±


    The old man asked with a smile, ¡°What, can¡¯t you afford to pay a scribe¡¯s wages anymore?¡±


    Winters conveyed his firm stance with his gaze.


    ¡°Caman can leave if he wants,¡± teased the old cleric, ¡°but I can¡¯t, I once swore an oath to only travel westward, never to return East. Aren¡¯t you forcing me to break my word?¡±


    Winters, at a loss, said resignedly, ¡°I am very serious, no jokes.¡±


    ¡°So am I, very serious, no jokes,¡± the old cleric laughed heartily.


    Slamming the door, Winters thought, ¡°I should let Caman handle this.¡±


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 Chapter 401 - 45: Two Choices

    Chapter 401: Chapter 45: Two Choices


    It wasn¡¯t the Herders¡¯ light cavalry who caught up first, but Lieutenant Bard, responsible for rounding up the missing.


    When Bard caught up with the main force with his riders, almost every rider had an extra person sitting behind them.


    ¡°Found more than twenty, couldn¡¯t locate the rest in the pitch dark,¡± Bard reported to the Colonel.


    But what the Colonel cared about was something else, ¡°Any pursuers?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see any.¡±


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s expression was grim, rubbing his stubbled chin, and it took him a while to make up his mind.


    ...


    He commanded, ¡°Tell everyone not to rest, we¡¯re setting off right now.¡±


    The supply train¡¯s militia had lost thirty percent of its men, and the Colonel was forced to distribute the weapons of the deceased to the drivers and the merchants.


    Those civilians who had never undergone military training were temporarily organized into a unit, commanded by Bard¡ªbecause they only trusted Lieutenant Bard.


    All the Dusacks fit to ride were handed over to the Colonel himself to command. Andre returned to his post as an infantry officer, responsible for leading Bard¡¯s hundred-strong team.


    The plan was to rest at a temporary camp for two hours, but in reality, there wasn¡¯t even half an hour to spare. The wagons at the rear had not yet entered the camp when those inside were already having to set off again.


    The militia, drivers, and merchants were full of complaints¡ªand who could blame them?


    The so-called pursuers were nowhere to be seen, yet the brutal one-eyed Colonel was forcing them to march, and right after a bloody battle, too.


    Not only were the living exhausted, but the animals were also struggling.


    Many drivers and merchants begged for a rest, as their beasts were about to collapse.


    But the only answer they got was a refusal.


    Winters occasionally saw dead mules and horses beside the road. While their owners were still in tears, others had already started transferring the cargo to other wagons.


    The supplies of the supply train dared not be abandoned, and the merchants were reluctant to discard their goods. Although the pursuers might well be close behind, no one could be certain if they really existed.


    As a result, the Paratu People wanted to flee but dared not fully let go. Thus they dragged their heavy cargo across the wilderness, evading an unseen enemy behind them.


    The convoy maintained order only thanks to the Dusack sabers and the long-established authority of several officers.


    But even the Lieutenants were having doubts: considering Colonel Jeska¡¯s interrogation methods, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if those Herders said anything.


    ¡°Remember that rabbit?¡± Bard asked. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What rabbit?¡± Andre was puzzled.


    Winters replied, ¡°A rabbit that was beaten to the point it didn¡¯t dare to claim it was a raccoon.¡±


    After discussing, they decided to express their concerns to the Colonel.


    Colonel Jeska turned a wagon into a temporary command post.


    When Winters approached the Colonel, the latter was busy poring over a map.


    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s too dangerous to move in the dark; several horses have stepped into rodent holes and broken their hooves,¡± Winters tentatively suggested. ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait until daylight to move? We could send more scouts to check behind us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent them,¡± the Colonel said without lifting his head. ¡°Rather than worrying about what¡¯s behind, better think about not taking a wrong turn.¡±


    ¡°The forced march has caused too much damage to the mules and horses; the road ahead might not be easy to traverse.¡±


    Colonel Jeska looked up at Winters, raising an eyebrow, ¡°Do you also think I¡¯m being paranoid?¡±


    ¡°I firmly obey your judgment.¡±


    ¡°Small unit harassment of supply lines is a typical Herder tactic,¡± the Colonel bent over and continued working on his map. ¡°But think about it, how many days has it been since we last saw a messenger returning from the front?¡±


    Winters felt a chill in an instant.


    Supply lines were also communication lines; couriers traveling along the route would often encounter the supply train. Occasionally, they¡¯d come to ask for water and exchange some news from the front and rear.


    But in recent days, they had only seen messengers passing from behind and none coming from the front.


    ¡°In any case, returning to the river encampment is the safest option,¡± Colonel Jeska casually handed a roll of parchment to Winters. ¡°I suspect the camps ahead have already been lost.¡±


    Winters unfolded the parchment¡ªit was a map, and he finally understood what the Colonel had been busy with.


    The militia weren¡¯t given much attention, and maps were only distributed to the level of squadron leaders; Centurions didn¡¯t have them, so Colonel Jeska was making maps for his three Centurions.


    The Colonel calmly said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to worry about consequences, I¡¯ll take any responsibility. Just obey the orders with peace of mind.¡±


    ¡°Colonel, we¡¯re the least worried,¡± Winters smiled. ¡°The reason we¡¯re telling you this is because we have doubts.¡±


    ¡°Are there any doubts now?¡±


    ¡°None anymore.¡±


    ¡°Then get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Winters saluted.


    ¡­


    According to the map, there were about sixteen kilometers from the ambush site to the river encampment.


    But those sixteen kilometers were only the distance on the map; due to the terrain¡¯s ups and downs, the actual distance was far greater.


    The convoy had already been marching for most of the day before they encountered the Herder cavalry.


    After the life-or-death struggle, they had no time to catch their breath before turning around and heading back.


    Colonel Jeska mercilessly drove the Paratu People to march at a fleeing pace, covering in one night what normally took two days.


    The cost was thirty-three mules and horses injured or dead from exhaustion, seventeen wagons abandoned, and thirteen wagons lost along the way.


    Throughout the bumpy journey, many of the severely wounded couldn¡¯t hold on and died. Many more were injured in accidents during the night march.


    Finally, as dawn broke on the horizon, the ¡°Styx¡± slowly emerged from behind the hill¡¯s silhouette.


    The silver ribbon-like river snaked through the yellow-green plain, its undulating surface twinkling with countless golden lights.


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 Chapter 402 - 45 Two Choices_2

    Chapter 402: Chapter 45 Two Choices_2


    Brother Reed stood on the hillside with his hands on his hips, admiring the river as he praised, ¡°Look at the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, and the Jade Belt Water in front of the gate; this place is indeed a Feng Shui treasure land! However, this old man has no descendants, so pondering on these is useless, hahaha!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t understand the old man¡¯s ramblings, and he wandered through the caravan shouting, ¡°The riverside camp is just ahead! We are almost there! Wine, meat, bread, warm blankets, we have it all! Hold on!¡±


    As Winters was trying to rally everyone¡¯s spirits, a gunshot sounded in the distance.


    The gunshot echoed through the valleys, and Pierre came running down from the hill behind them, waving a signal flag and yelling hoarsely.


    Winters couldn¡¯t make out what Pierre was shouting, but he didn¡¯t need to hear it to know.


    ¡°The Herders are coming!¡± Winters bellowed, ¡°Pick up the pace! Centuries, assemble!¡±


    ...


    The crowd was startled initially, but then the drivers lashed their beasts, already at their limit, while the militia of Montaigne¡¯s centuries scrambled towards Winters in disarray.


    ¡°They¡¯ve come?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska asked, galloping to Winters¡¯ side on a bay horse.


    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Winters affirmed.


    On the ridge to the west, cavalrymen of the Herd appeared one after another.


    In their eyes, the column of heavy wagons was sluggishly making its way towards the military camp of the Paratu People on the western bank of the Styx.


    They stopped and stood, seemingly awaiting an order.


    Winters silently counted the number of Herd cavalry, ¡°There are fewer than a hundred riders coming.¡±


    ¡°Probably just the vanguard,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska said with a sober face, ¡°There could also be others hidden on the reverse slope.¡±


    The Dusacks arrived one by one beside the lieutenant colonel, gathered in a jumbled group.


    Winters and Andre¡¯s centuries were quickly assembling, while Bard and his ragtag troops remained with the caravan.


    The Dusacks also gathered, assembling behind the lieutenant colonel in disarray.


    At that moment, the Herders made their move. They too realized that they couldn¡¯t allow the Paratu People to form their ranks.


    One rider charged forward, swiftly followed by a hundred more cascading down the hillside,


    The thunderous clatter of hooves reverberated in the valley, the overlapping echoes majestic like thunder.


    All the Paratu People were overawed by the momentum of the Herd¡¯s Iron Cavalry, yet the one-eyed lieutenant colonel appeared completely unruffled.


    ¡°Overestimating the distance can kill the horse on the mountain; let them run a bit first.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s left hand left the hilt of his saber as he calmly gave orders to the lieutenants, ¡°Lieutenant Monta.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the reserve.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Tess.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Cover the cavalry.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The distance between the ridges seemed short, but to reach the other side one had to go down a steep descent and then up a steep ascent.


    The Herders controlled their speed, jogging slowly towards the bottom of the valley.


    There was still an uphill stretch ahead, and they didn¡¯t plan to waste their horses¡¯ strength at the outset.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska cleared his throat and roared at the Dusacks, ¡°Don¡¯t be like headless flies! Form up like spearmen, arrowhead formation! Control your horses!¡±


    In the Paratu cavalry, the young Dusacks, who had never received cavalry combat training, stood in a roughly shaped wedge formation under the scolding of the old Dusacks.


    The lieutenant colonel scanned his riders with icy severity, ¡°The old Marshal once said that the Herders are ferocious by nature, fierce in combat, and skilled with bow and horse, and that two Herd cavalrymen are like slicing through melons and cutting through vegetables when fighting three Paratu cavalrymen.¡±


    The Dusacks showed different expressions, some tense, some fearful, but even more were defiant.


    ¡°Doubt it, do you?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska bellowed, ¡°Let me tell you, when you were still on the teat, Herd children were already carried in saddlebags, roaming the steppes! When you were still crawling on the ground, Herd children had already started learning to ride!¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the formation, Anglu heard Pierre snort coldly through his nostrils.


    ¡°But the old Marshal also said that a hundred Paratu cavalrymen would never fear a hundred Herd Barbarians! A thousand Paratu cavalrymen could easily crush fifteen hundred Herd cavalry! That¡¯s the power of discipline, tactics, and formation!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s breathing grew more rapid.


    ¡°The majority of you have not received complete cavalry training, I know,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska yelled, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s a hundred and some Herd Barbarians? Follow me closely! Cut them down!¡±


    Before the words even completely fell, the Lieutenant Colonel, taking the lead, roared as he charged down the slope: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The Paratu Cavalry were initially stunned but then uncontrollably followed that figure into the charge: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    Winters let out a swear as the highest commander on site charged out first, and he didn¡¯t even have time to stop him.


    Andre was also stunned, but he quickly snapped back to his senses.


    ¡°All units, attention! Run, march!¡± Lieutenant Cherini bellowed as he led his troops to chase after the cavalry.


    In a blink, only Lieutenant Montaigne and his hundred-man team remained on the hill, shivering in the biting western wind.


    ¡°Form a square,¡± Winters ordered helplessly: ¡°Musketeers, ready your matches, load your ammunition.¡±


    In the valley, the distance between the two cavalry groups was closing rapidly.


    The Herders seemed to have no real formation to speak of.


    The Paratu Cavalry were barely maintaining a wedge formation that was about to fall apart, with the Lieutenant Colonel himself acting as the spearhead.


    As the two sides were about to crash into each other with a thunderous collision, everyone on the Paratu slope held their breath and watched intently.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Three gunshots spread throughout the valley.


    Winters looked towards the sound, noticing several Herders on the opposite slope also watching the battle. The gunfire had come from there.


    Following the gunshots, a sudden change occurred in the valley.


    The seemingly formless Herder cavalry suddenly split into two, each going around the left and right sides of the Paratu wedge formation.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Winters cursed inwardly.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Andre also shouted in his mind.


    The advantage of the wedge formation is its agility in turning, as long as everyone follows the person in front, the guiding rider can easily control the direction of the charge.


    However, the Herders clearly didn¡¯t intend to collide head-on with the Paratu; they split their forces into two, flanking the Paratu Cavalry¡¯s wings.


    Of course, the wedge formation can also split into two, but that kind of in-motion formation change is not something these rookie cavalry, who only knew how to charge blindly, could manage.


    The one-eyed Lieutenant Colonel clenched his teeth and yanked the reins with his left hand. The charging wedge formation followed him as he turned, crashing fiercely into the Herder cavalry on the left wing.


    In an instant, men and horses were sent tumbling. The Paratu and Herders who withstood the first wave of the clash began to engage in a chaotic melee.


    The fifty or so Herder cavalry on the right flank chose not to support their comrades but instead bypassed the melee and headed straight for the convoy.


    Near the ridge on the opposite slope, nearly a hundred more Herder cavalry emerged from the back of the incline.


    Herder cavalry with feathers in their helmets and holding long spears cried out as they charged toward the Paratu engaged in battle at the bottom of the valley.


    Andre and his soldiers finally arrived and joined the fray.


    The more than fifty Herder cavalry on the right flank whistled past the small square formation of Montaigne¡¯s hundred-man team.


    Winters¡¯ musketeers opened fire one after another, but not a single Herder cavalryman fell from his horse.


    The Herders didn¡¯t even bother with the militiamen in formation, heading directly for the clumsy convoy.


    A difficult choice was suddenly thrust upon Winters.


    Go back and save the convoy?


    Support the battle in the valley?


    In the convoy were only Bard and civilians, and what awaited them would be a massacre.


    The battle in the valley seemed evenly matched, with the Paratu still having a chance of victory.


    In the blink of an eye, he made his choice.


    ¡°If we lose down there, no one survives!¡± Winters¡¯ roar was as if trying to convince himself: ¡°Square formation, deploy! Everyone! Follow me!¡±


    As for Bard¡¯s side¡­ they had to rely on themselves now.


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 Chapter 403 - 46

    Chapter 403: Chapter 46


    Thirty-one years ago, an Herder baby boy was born in a tent with a cry.


    The mother of the baby died that very night, and according to the customs of the Herder people, the baby who caused his mother¡¯s death should also have been abandoned¡ªthe underlying logic of the custom was harsh and realistic, for a newborn without its mother could not survive.


    The baby¡¯s father was off warring with Queye Khan, and it was his grandmother who took pity on him and brought him back to the tent, placing him in steaming hot sawdust.


    For the first three days, they hired another nursing mother with two cowhides to breastfeed him, and later fed him with cotton cloths dipped in mare¡¯s milk.


    When two months passed and they determined that the dark-skinned child would survive, his grandfather took him to see the Shaman.


    The Shaman named the child, Koshi Hazi¡ªchild raised on mare¡¯s milk.


    ...


    ¡­


    Thirty-one years later, Koshi Hazi, who stayed on the hilltop, was surprised to find that the group of Paratu People on the opposite slope had not been lured away. Instead, they formed up and charged towards the bottom of the gully.


    The male infant who had survived on mare¡¯s milk was now the Turu Koda of the Wasteland tribe.


    The cries and the smell of blood made the warhorses restless, stamping their hooves uneasily.


    A young Cavalryman with red feather asked anxiously, ¡°What do we do, Koshi Hazi? The bipeds are coming down! Call Mangtai back quickly!¡±


    Koshi Hazi¡¯s brows knotted, ¡°Mangtai has already charged over. There are only fat sheep over there, how could he come back? Besides, he never listens to me; I¡¯m not his chief.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    ¡°What to do?¡± Koshi Hazi glared, ¡°Fight.¡±


    ¡­


    The hundred-man unit, still maintaining a rough formation while at full sprint, was the result of training.


    Winters was anxious, but he did not lead them headlong into the fray because more than half of his men were crossbowmen and musketeers.


    The Montaigne hundred-man unit stopped their advance a dozen meters outside the melee.


    ¡°Pikemen! Hollow square! Musketeers and crossbowmen! Two lines abreast!¡± The command from the lieutenant sounded muffled from within the helmet, ¡°Hit the Herders behind!¡±


    Winters knew all too well the poor marksmanship of his subordinates. They aimed for the enemy but were more likely to hit their own.


    They could only be told to fire towards the rear of the battlefield, where there were more Herders.


    Amid the curses of the Centurion, the pikemen formed a small square, only eight men wide, and the shooters hurried to the front row.


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    The shooters held their breath.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The gunshots echoed through the valley as lead and crossbow bolts whizzed through the air, toppling a dozen-plus Herder Cavalrymen. The combatants on either side involuntarily paused.


    After a volley, the musketeers and crossbowmen began to fire at will.


    The enemy noticed the Montaigne hundred and several Herder Cavalrymen broke away from the battle, charging toward the militiamen who were still rearming and drawing their bows.


    Winters drew his revolving pistol from his holster and took aim at the incoming foes.


    The first shot, missed.


    The second shot, also missed. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The enraged Montaigne lieutenant threw his pistol to the ground, drew his saber, and spurred his horse toward the Herders.


    Leading the charge was a burly and fierce Herder. He had long noticed the silver-grey steed and the Paratu officer on the saddle.


    This was a textbook cavalry charge. In the instant of crossing, life or death would be decided.


    The adversaries approached each other from the right-hand side, both reaching desperately forward with their sabers, neither yielding an inch.


    With only two horse lengths left and death seeming certain, Winters suddenly pulled hard on the reins, his horse leaping forward to the right as if it instinctively understood.


    Simultaneously, Winters deftly transferred his saber from the right hand to the left.


    In the Herder¡¯s astonished gaze, Winters¡¯s saber struck his left shoulder.


    This move had been taught to Winters by Gerard Mitchell, a special technique of the old Dusack. For a right-handed swordsman, the left side was an absolute weak point in defense.


    After dispatching the leading Herder, Winters found himself surrounded by several other Herder Cavalrymen.


    The Herd Barbarians were numerous, but the lieutenant was clad in three-quarter armor. They hacked at each other on horseback, swords clashing, sparks flying.


    The musketeers and crossbowmen dreaded hitting their own and refrained from firing. The pikemen, without orders, did not dare to break formation.


    Winters reached for his caltrops, only to find a piece of iron plate¡ªhis pocket with the caltrops was under his armor.


    Outnumbered, Winters fell into a disadvantage. The curved blades came at him from all sides, aiming for the back of his thigh, joints, and other areas where the armor was thin or nonexistent. He barely managed to parry.


    His warhorse, Tess, bit at the neck of the Herder warhorses, kicking furiously with its hind legs.


    Another powerful slash struck across Winters¡¯s back like a fierce whip. The curved blade did not cut through the iron plate, but it still hurt tremendously.


    The next moment, however, his pressure suddenly diminished.


    The Herder Cavalryman in front of him was knocked off his horse by a heavy halberd. Heinrich stepped on the fallen man¡¯s chest. Berlion swung his warhammer down with full force on the Herder¡¯s head.


    The struck Herder Cavalryman twitched a few times, then lay still.


    As Xial, holding a long pike, shouted and grappled with another Herder Cavalryman,


    With the help of his three bodyguards, Winters quickly dispatched the rest of the Herders.


    ¡°Back to the formation,¡± Winters said, panting heavily. The skirmish had lasted only a few minutes but left him feeling utterly exhausted.


    From the hillside came two horn calls, one long, one short.


    More Herder Cavalry broke away from the fray and began to regroup. They skirted the battlefield and cut towards the Montaigne hundred.


    The musketeers and crossbowmen hastily took refuge within the square formation.


    ¡°Fire at will!¡± Winters removed his helmet¡ªthis iron canister was stifling him¡ªand shouted loudly, ¡°Hold the line!¡±


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 Chapter 404 - 46_2

    Chapter 404: Chapter 46_2


    His phalanx was too small, too thin; only a single row of spearmen surrounded it¡ªa charge would scatter them.


    It all came down to whether the Herders feared death, whether they dared to break through and create a breach.


    Would the Herders lose their nerve first, or would the Paratu People collapse?


    ¡°Grip your spears tight! Hold your positions!¡± Winters desperately called forth the militia¡¯s courage, ¡°Running will get you killed just the same! Protect your brothers-in-arms!¡±


    The charge of the Herder Cavalry felt like an unstoppable torrent of floodwater, about to kill at any moment.


    ¡°Lord forgive me,¡± a spearman facing the onslaught trembled and shut his eyes.


    ...


    ¡°Clang!¡±


    ¡°Clang!¡±


    A series of urgent gong sounds came from the hillside.


    The Herder Cavalry who were charging at Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit immediately turned away¡ªnot just them, but other Herders in the valley disengaged from the melee and retreated toward the slope.


    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± Xial shouted excitedly.


    The Paratu People raised their arms and cheered.


    On the hill, a rider from the Red Plumes asked angrily, ¡°Why? Why are we retreating?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Haug Koda to arrive,¡± Kota with the broad axe buckled his helmet, ¡°We can¡¯t win just by ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Who says we can¡¯t win?¡± the Red Plume grew anxious.


    ¡°I say so. If you¡¯re not blind, you¡¯d see it too,¡± Kota replied.


    The Red Plume, furiously said, ¡°Retreating now, wouldn¡¯t our warriors have died in vain? Hold on a little longer, maybe the bipeds will break.¡±


    ¡°Continuing the fight will just use up all of the warriors from the Erdet Tribe, and we still wouldn¡¯t win,¡± Kota said with a glare in his eyes, ¡°Thus, we should retreat even faster! What, you have an objection?¡±


    The Red Plume withered, murmuring softly, ¡°What could I possibly object to¡­ What about Mangtai?¡±


    ¡°You go call him back.¡±


    ¡­


    In the Allied Army, there is a tradition of ¡°using the large to control the small¡±; when two centurion units fight together, the centurion with higher rank and experience takes command.


    The Herders have a similar custom; when two Kotas from the same Haug work together, they choose the most commanding Kota to lead all their forces.


    Two Herder centurion units were catching up to the Paratu People, led by Kota and Mangtai


    Traditionally, Kota would be the supreme commander, but Mangtai from the Ula Department was not convinced.


    Kota gave Mangtai a simple task: feign an attack on the convoy to draw away another unit of Paratu People on the hillside.


    However, the bipeds on the hill didn¡¯t follow; instead, they charged down into the valley to join the fray.


    ¡°Mangtai! What do we do?¡± the Decurion Shulji asked, ¡°Should we go back?¡±


    ¡°Go back for what?¡± Mangtai gritted his teeth, ¡°All of the two-legged folks¡¯ soldiers are down there, and there¡¯s no one guarding the wagons. If they don¡¯t follow us, we turn the feint into a full attack!¡±


    More than fifty Herder cavalrymen crossed the ridge and swooped down upon the unprotected convoy.


    But things didn¡¯t go as the Herders expected; the bipeds didn¡¯t panic or scatter and run.


    The unarmed porters and merchants all ran towards several four-wheeled wagons. It seemed they wanted to use the wagons as a fort to hold their ground.


    In the process of forced march, Lieutenant Bard had improvised modifications to six four-wheeled wagons to cope with emergencies.


    The goods in the modified wagons were cleared out to make room for more people to stand;


    The wooden boards around the wagons were raised higher, creating shapes resembling battlements, for protection against arrows.


    ¡°What now?¡± a Herder cavalryman beside Mangtai panicked.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? You gutless wretch,¡± Mangtai couldn¡¯t help but curse out, ¡°Just because the two-legged cowards aren¡¯t formed up, you¡¯re scared by a few wagons?¡±


    The modification of the large carts was minimal, and there was not enough time to adjust their positions, so they were not linked end to end in a circle.


    Positioned like a plum blossom, the six large carts were surrounded not by other carts, but by the Paratu People who stood around the wagons, encompassing the large carts within a wall of people, creating an unusual ¡°wagon formation.¡±


    The Paratu People holding crossbows stood inside the carts, while those backed against the wagons were armed with a motley assortment of weapons, including just about anything.


    The strangest of all was the middle cart: an old man with a white beard stood on top of it, holding up a golden brocade sutra streamer and shouting loudly.


    Due to the language barrier, the Herders couldn¡¯t understand what the old man was yelling.


    ¡°Look! Those bipeds over there all have matchlock guns!¡± Mangtai pointed out a weakness and pointed towards a large cart with his saber, ¡°Crush them, and the rest of the bipeds will scatter.¡±


    The Herders didn¡¯t have many firearms, but that was due to trade embargoes. Even the Herders knew that matchlock guns were outdated junk discarded by the times.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spot, follow me!¡±


    The Herder Cavalry circled the wagon formation with odd yells, harassing the Paratu People with bows and javelins to apply pressure.


    Suddenly, Mangtai charged at the matchlock gunners, with the other riders close behind their leader.


    The thundering sound of hooves crushed the morale of the matchlock gunners, one of whom, trembling, ignited the match of the matchlock gun tucked under his arm.


    A gunshot rang out, followed by the rest of the matchlock gunners firing their weapons; even the crossbowmen couldn¡¯t help but pull their triggers.


    However, the Herder Cavalry did not charge forward; they only approached within about forty meters before changing direction.


    What seemed like a menacing charge was only a feint, designed to lure the gunners into firing.


    The real attack came afterward, with the Herder Cavalry taking a detour before charging at the matchlock gunners once again.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Slaughter them!¡± Mangtai, raising his saber high, led the charge, roaring, ¡°[Herde Language] A used matchlock gun is just scrap metal!¡±


    However, the Paratu People did not seem panicked and showed no signs of breaking ranks and fleeing.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they afraid?¡± Mangtai thought furiously, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they running?¡±


    In the blink of an eye, just before impact, the last thing Mangtai saw was the bipeds stuffing something that resembled long daggers into the muzzles of their matchlock guns.


    ¡­


    The pursuit by the Herders had been repelled.


    By noon, all the personnel and horses of the baggage train had entered the riverside camp.


    Later that day, three Herders came to the fore of the camp, spears carrying helmets.


    ¡°What does this mean?¡± Andre asked, puzzled.


    ¡°The Herders want to negotiate,¡± Colonel Jeska said coolly, squinting, ¡°If they want to talk, let¡¯s talk. Lieutenant Montaigne, come with me; let¡¯s hear what they have to say.¡±


    The Colonel and the Lieutenant, along with Bell as an interpreter, rode out of the camp gate.


    The Herders dismounted first, laid down their weapons on the ground, seemingly signaling they meant no harm.


    Winters, unfamiliar with the Herders¡¯ negotiation customs, followed Colonel Jeska¡¯s lead and did the same. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nonetheless, the Lieutenant remained vigilant, keeping two iron nails hidden in his hand.


    One Herder, who appeared to be a retainer, took out an entire bear skin and spread it on the grass between the two parties.


    The leading Herder sat down on the bear skin first and gestured for Colonel Jeska to take a seat.


    The Colonel snorted coldly and also sat down heroically.


    Two grown men sat staring at each other on a bear skin.


    Winters stood tense behind the Colonel, ready to spring into action at any moment.


    The Herder spoke, and to their surprise, his Continental language was impeccably fluent, ¡°Gentlemen, surrender your baggage, and I¡¯ll allow you to leave with your weapons and flags. Don¡¯t resist needlessly; General Yanosh is dead, and you have lost.¡±


    [Note: The Continental language is what the Alliance calls it, also known as the Common Tongue. In the Empire, it is called Imperial Tongue. They share the same roots, with only minor differences in dialects and accents.]


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 Chapter 405 - 47 Riverside Camp

    Chapter 405: Chapter 47 Riverside Camp


    Hearing that General Yanosh had died, Winters¡¯s fist clenched unconsciously.


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel was unmoved. He sneered and asked, ¡°You called me out just to tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Surrender the supplies you are carrying, and I will allow you to keep your flags and weapons and leave,¡± the Herder repeated the terms he had offered, looking quite self-assured, ¡°Anyway, you are still alive, which isn¡¯t too bad, is it?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the lieutenant colonel responded blandly, ¡°I¡¯ll go back and think about it.¡±


    The Herder smiled with a mix of politeness and scorn, ¡°Your Excellency, there is no point in delaying. No one is coming to save you, and my mercy and generosity are also limited.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± the lieutenant colonel, casually cleaning the blood from under his fingernails, asked indifferently.


    ...


    ¡°May I know Your Excellency¡¯s full name?¡±


    ¡°John Jeska.¡±


    ¡°I am Alaric, a Chiliarch of the Haug Koda, or what you call a Chiliarch.¡±


    ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I am also honored to have crossed swords with Your Excellency.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska was passive, and the negotiation quickly came to a hasty end.


    Upon standing up from his bear skin, Alaric said coldly, ¡°Gentlemen, as we speak, the grains of sand in the hourglass are falling one by one. There isn¡¯t much time left for you.¡±


    ¡­


    On the way back to the main camp, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska suddenly asked, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, what do you think?¡±


    Winters spoke frankly, ¡°If we hand over the supplies, will they really let us leave? I¡¯m not confident about it. But we do need to be prepared.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong to think that way,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska said disdainfully, ¡°If the Herders are so formidable, why don¡¯t they just come and attack us?¡±


    ¡°They probably just want our things¡­¡± Winters raised his eyebrow: ¡°Hmm, could it be?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what you¡¯re thinking. Do you think I¡¯m the one in a hurry, or are they more anxious?¡±


    The lieutenant pondered for a moment: ¡°It seems like that Herder is more hurried.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, he¡¯s so anxious he¡¯s about to wet his pants! And he has the audacity to ask us to surrender?¡±


    The lieutenant was puzzled, ¡°But didn¡¯t he say¡­¡±


    ¡°You believe him just because he said it?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska burst into laughter, ¡°I might as well say I¡¯m his father!¡±


    Winters, recalling the Herder¡¯s expression and behavior, couldn¡¯t help feeling irritated, ¡°That guy, was he lying to us without batting an eye?¡±


    ¡°In war, no tactic is unusual. Don¡¯t think the Herders are simple-minded, barbarians are the most cunning.¡± The lieutenant colonel instructed casually, ¡°Don¡¯t spread what that Herder said. If anyone asks, just say he was here to persuade us to surrender.¡±


    ¡­


    Beacons had already been lit, and the messengers for help had crossed the bridge early.


    The first thing Lieutenant Colonel Jeska did upon returning to camp was to interrogate the prisoners, while Winters went back to his troops to lead them in strengthening the defensive fortifications.


    The Paratu People, regardless of rank, were all working hard.


    The camp was backed by a large river and already had trenches and earthen walls, although the walls were not high and the trenches not deep.


    But with just a few hundred people in the camp, they could never dig up much earth, even if they worked themselves to death.


    After discussing it among a few officers, they decided not to expend effort on the walls or trenches, but instead to work on some more immediately effective measures.


    That¡¯s why everyone was working frantically to raise the height of the shooting towers and to collect lumber from within the camp to sharpen into stakes to repel Calvary. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Winters returned to his troop, he saw Andre, Bard, and a few others gathered together.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lieutenant Montaigne asked.


    Andre handed a matchlock gun to Winters, ¡°Look at this.¡±


    Winters caught it, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    This was an ordinary matchlock gun with a long wooden handle and a short iron barrel for firing.


    Winters noticed a detail: a long dagger was inserted into the barrel, turning the matchlock gun into a short spear.


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± Winters said thoughtfully.


    The dagger was tightly fitted, and it took some effort for him to pull it out. Holding it, he noticed that the dagger was crudely made, consisting of a strip of iron sandwiched between two pieces of softwood.


    ¡°This little contraption actually saved our lives today,¡± Bard said, patting a young man beside him, ¡°Baronna, tell Lieutenant Montaigne about it.¡±


    Baronna, very nervous, stuttered, ¡°This dagger, back in my hometown, Hunters use it when hunting boars. Sometimes when a boar isn¡¯t killed by a shot, Hunters insert the dagger into the gun, using it as a spear.¡±


    Winters reinserted the dagger into the matchlock gun and tried a few thrusts.


    Bard explained, ¡°There are quite a few merchants in the convoy who only have halberds. I thought this device could be useful, so I had the blacksmith make a few dozen. Normally, after firing a matchlock, all you have is a club, but with this, it can be used as a short spear. Today, it actually gave the Herders a little surprise.¡±


    ¡°Bard and I have been studying it,¡± Andre added, ¡°If we equip each matchlock man with one of these daggers, perhaps they can replace the pikemen.¡±


    Winters smiled faintly, handed the matchlock back to Baronna, and shook his head, ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Winters, who came from the infantry, reminded his two cavalry classmates, ¡°How light is a matchlock gun? How heavy is an arquebus?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The arquebus is heavy; the lighter ones weigh fifteen pounds, the heavier ones can weigh thirty pounds. They require a rest to shoot. How could you use that as a short spear? The weight of a pike is only five to ten pounds.¡±


    Andre, unconvinced, picked up an arquebus to try it out and then said no more.


    Actions speak louder than words; matchlock guns are too cumbersome and ill-balanced for combat, and they also have a short attack range.


    Even though they are held with both hands, one cannot thrust like a speargun, and the effective range is similar to that of a one-handed spear, merely an arm¡¯s length plus half the length of the gun.


    Affixing a dagger to the cumbersome matchlock to use as a short spear isn¡¯t as effective as wielding the gunstock in reverse to bludgeon someone.


    Winters added salt to the wound, ¡°Moreover, a spear is at least two and a half meters long. How long is a musket with a dagger attached? The spearman¡¯s role is to protect the shooter from cavalry charges; using a short spear against mounted gunmen is inherently at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°So this thing is useless?¡± Andre asked reluctantly.


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Winters thought for a moment and said, ¡°If the weight of the musket could be reduced to under ten jins, it would be of great use. Additionally, the musketeers must be brave enough to engage in close combat. Otherwise, I would still prefer to use halberds and spears to protect the shooters.¡±


    Andre couldn¡¯t help but protest, ¡°Then why not just make muskets that weigh under ten jins?¡±


    Winters replied helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you say! To reduce the weight of the musket, you need a lighter barrel. If the barrel is light, the walls are thin. Aren¡¯t you afraid of a bursting chamber? Or loading less powder, which then lacks power.¡±


    ¡°In the end,¡± he summed up, ¡°we need better iron.¡±


    ¡­


    At midnight, under the obscured moonlight, the stars shone bright and clear.


    Only the sentries remained awake; everyone else in the riverside camp had long been asleep.


    Two silent figures, leading horses, quietly slipped out of the northern gate of the camp.


    The men bit on wooden sticks, the horses were fitted with iron bits, and Winters followed closely behind Colonel Jeska, communicating with each other solely through hand signals.


    The colonel insisted on not bringing guards, saying that the more people there were, the more likely that problems would arise.


    The two officers left the camp without a word, and to anyone unaware, it might seem like they were deserting.


    The night was still and quiet save for the sound of insects. Even the slightest noise could travel far.


    Winters and the strong-willed had all their metal objects wrapped in cloth, and so did the colonel. The two did not ride their horses but led them by the reins at a slow pace.


    Since the negotiations, Herder scouts had been roaming near the riverside camp, probing for weaknesses.


    The Herders¡¯ small horses were agile and good at jumping. Shooting them with muskets or crossbows proved ineffective. Send out Cavalry to engage, and the enemy would gallop away.


    Time and again this happened, much to the annoyance of the Paratu People.


    Winters¡¯ rifled gun had problems again¡ªthe rifling scraped the lead, losing accuracy. Thankfully, Berlion said he could fix it, and it had already been handed over to the blacksmith for repairs.


    Ancient laws stated, ¡°An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.¡±


    Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, the colonel, with Lieutenant Montaigne, prepared for a close reconnaissance mission.


    According to the colonel, he only brought Winters because, firstly, he had a good horse, and secondly, because he didn¡¯t suffer from night blindness.


    The Herder camp was separated from the Paratu military camp by a solitary hill.


    Jeska and Winters reached the top of the slope, already within the Herder sentries¡¯ patrol range.


    Beneath the slope, the Herder camp was ablaze with lights, busy with unknown activities.


    ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t as good anymore,¡± said the colonel lying on the ground, ¡°you count. Count how many campfires they have.¡±


    Winters, also prone on the ground, covered his left eye with one hand while focusing intently with his right on the distant fires.


    Jeska whispered to the lieutenant, ¡°When the Herders deploy, they form groups of ten. If it¡¯s really a Chiliarch, there must be at least fifty campfires at the least.¡±


    ¡°Commander, I¡¯ve counted up to eighty already!¡± Winters whispered back, pressing to keep his voice low.


    ¡°Did you count correctly?¡±


    ¡°Now it¡¯s up to ninety.¡±


    ¡°[Swear word related to sheep]¡± Colonel Jeska suddenly cursed, ¡°The steppe couldn¡¯t possibly come up with a ten-thousand-man team again, could it?¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Go, there¡¯s a scout rider coming!¡± The colonel got up, pulling on the lieutenant¡¯s clothes to drag him backward.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters did not budge, his eyes fixed on the distant camp. He, too, suddenly swore, ¡°[Swear word related to a sailor¡¯s mother]! The Herders are building siege engines!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two leapt onto their Warhorses and dashed toward the camp.


    Herder scouts sensed something amiss and gave chase for a while but fell behind, and eventually did not pursue further.


    Back at camp, Jeska asked the lieutenant, ¡°How many riders did we first encounter from the Herder group?¡±


    ¡°Nearly a hundred.¡±


    ¡°And the group outside the camp?¡±


    ¡°About two hundred.¡±


    ¡°Understand now?¡±


    Winters shook his head vigorously, ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Herders aren¡¯t particular about uniform numbers,¡± Colonel Jeska said grimly. ¡°A Tulu might actually have only thirty or forty riders. A so-called Chiliarch might be well off if they have six hundred. But the groups of Tulu we encountered were all at full strength. This Haug, he likely also has full numbers.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Herders are nomadic by family units, and their pastures can only support a limited number of people. When the men increase, they split the household, and so do the tribes. It¡¯s rare for a tribe to be able to send out more than a thousand able men for warfare all at once. If we¡¯re not incredibly unlucky to have encountered a major tribe en masse, then someone is calling the shots among the tribes.¡± Jeska gritted his teeth as he spoke, ¡°The last person with such authority¡­ was Khan Quyale, thirty years ago.¡±


    Winters wasn¡¯t born thirty years ago and wasn¡¯t a Paratu, so he couldn¡¯t fully empathize with Colonel Jeska¡¯s alarm.


    Right now, he was more concerned about the immediate crisis: ¡°Never mind this Khan Quyale for now, sir! The Herders are constructing siege weapons; that¡¯s the real threat!¡±


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 Chapter 406 - 48: Offense and Defense

    Chapter 406: Chapter 48: Offense and Defense


    While the Herders were hastily constructing siege engines through the night, another group of people thousands of miles away was also busy at work.


    On the main island of the Tanilia Archipelago, upstream on the Liujin River on the side controlled by the Venetians, a small fortress was being feverishly built.


    Spanning from west to east, the Liujin River divided the main island in half, with Golden Harbor, known for its prosperity and decadence, located on the southern bank of the river¡¯s estuary.


    The Liujin River served as a boundary, with the Venetians and The Federated Provinces each occupying half of the main island.


    At dawn, the sun had not yet peeked over the horizon.


    While Winters on the west bank of The Styx was anxiously awaiting the Herders¡¯ next move, the shape of the fortress by the Liujin River was already becoming apparent.


    ...


    The construction site of the fortress was only sparsely lit by scattered torches. As far as the eye could see, hundreds of soldiers were absorbed in digging trenches, and armed sentries were vigilantly guarding the area.


    ¡°Lieutenant Roy!¡± Colonel Evans, who was in charge of this operation, found his subordinate, ¡°As planned, after the trenches connect, you all will officially take your posts. Remember¡­¡±


    A piercing and shrill whistle sound interrupted Colonel Evans¡¯s words.


    A figure abruptly leaped out onto a clearing not far from the fortress, without any warning.


    The person roared, ¡°Da Weineta!¡±


    More people rose from the ground shouting, ¡°Kazar!¡±


    The people at the construction site ran for their weapons, and the sentries around the fortress opened fire, but they could not stop the Venetians from charging over the trenches with resounding battle cries.


    The Venetian soldiers, armed with clubs, lashed out at anyone they encountered, with only a few remembering the command to ¡°not hit the head.¡±


    The attackers came prepared, while the defenders were caught off guard. The Venetians swept through with an unstoppable momentum, all the way to the banks of the Liujin River.


    By the time General Serviati arrived at the scene, the fight was over.


    Apart from a few who swam away to escape, most of The Federated Provinces¡¯ soldiers were taken captive.


    The battered soldiers of The Federated Provinces were bound together in a line, squatting in the trenches awaiting their fate.


    Captain Juan, who led the surprise attack, brought a sword¡ªsheathed in sharkskin, with an ivory handle, and pearl decorations¡ªand handed it to the general.


    [Note: Last year¡¯s Lieutenant Juan had been promoted and transferred to the Third Legion.]


    ¡°Well done,¡± Antonio said as he took the sword, and ordered the captain, ¡°Release the prisoners and return their weapons and armor to them.¡±


    ¡°Return the captured weapons and armor as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Captain Juan, unable to accept it, protested, ¡°Sir, we also lost men!¡±


    ¡°Captain, absolute mercy or absolute cruelty¡ªthose are the only two choices,¡± Antonio patiently explained. ¡°We are still brothers in alliance with The Federated Provinces. Now that our goal has been achieved, there is no need to provoke them further. Execute the order.¡±


    Juan saluted and left without saying another word.


    Later, General Serviati met with Colonel Evans.


    Evans no longer possessed his earlier elegant demeanor. Now, disheveled and disordered, he looked utterly dejected.


    As he handed over the luxurious small sword, Antonio gently said, ¡°Colonel, I believe you have crossed the boundary.¡±


    Evans took the sword, avoiding the general¡¯s gaze, and muttered in return, ¡°We¡¯ve never drawn any lines with you. This land is now, and will continue to be, Tanyria province¡¯s territory.¡±


    Antonio did not argue but turned to instruct a guard, ¡°Bring Colonel Evans a horse.¡±


    ¡°No need! I have legs, I can walk,¡± Evans responded defiantly. ¡°Your excellency, I take my leave.¡±


    The Federated Provinces¡¯ colonel raised his hand in salute and strode into the line of prisoners.


    Behind them, Tang Juan¡¯s company of a hundred men took occupation of the fortress, picking up pickaxes and shovels to continue the work.


    ¡­


    The conflict by the Liujin River came to a temporary close, while on the west bank of The Styx, both sides were on the verge of coming to blows again.


    In the morning light, Chiliarch Alaric, clutching his helmet, once again approached the camp¡¯s gate.


    This time, neither side dismounted their horses for the meeting.


    Alaric asked directly, ¡°Gentlemen, what is your decision?¡±


    ¡°Still considering it,¡± Jeska replied, smacking her lips. ¡°But I¡¯ve thought of a solution that won¡¯t harm the atmosphere.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°We follow the ancient rites; a single mounted duel to determine the victor. You can send your fiercest warrior, and we¡¯ll send him.¡± Jeska casually pointed to a young lieutenant behind her, Montaigne. ¡°You see, this lad isn¡¯t some burly muscle-man; very fair deal, right?¡±


    The unexpectedly named Winters was completely astonished. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without a word, Alaric just sneered and rode away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Winters asked, puffing with annoyance.


    ¡°He¡¯s not going to agree. And even if he did, are you afraid of losing? Aren¡¯t you a spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°When did you find out¡­¡±


    Jeska snorted lightly, ¡°You might fool the laborers, but do you think you can fool me? Don¡¯t worry, if all else fails, we¡¯ll just burn the bridge and retreat to the East Bank.¡±


    ¡°Why not burn it now!¡± Winters pressed.


    ¡°Burn it my ass!¡± Jeska lashed the lieutenant with a whip, ¡°There¡¯s only this one Floating Bridge across the river; what would the army up front do if we burned it?¡±


    The chill of winter was grim, and sudden violent winds arose. The howling west wind, laden with dry grass, made it hard to keep one¡¯s eyes open.


    Successive horn blasts came from a distance. Herd Barbarians, pushing various wooden machines, appeared on the horizon.


    In the camp, Father Caman and Brother Reed were leading everyone in their final prayers.


    The usually jovial and cursing old monk had transformed, his expression now exceptionally solemn and serious.


    Father Caman used a small brush soaked in Holy Water to sprinkle it onto the kneeling crowd.


    Moved by the atmosphere, Winters also knelt on one knee.


    As he looked at the image of Anna in the palm of his hand and the wooden carving of Athena, he thought, ¡°When faced with the inevitable, people instinctively seek help. If you can hear my heart, Anna, all I want is to return to your side.¡±


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 Chapter 407 - 48 Attack and Defense_2

    Chapter 407: Chapter 48 Attack and Defense_2


    The prayer ended, Winters buttoned up his pendant box, gently pressed it against his forehead, and carefully placed it back around his neck.


    Miles away in Sea Blue City, Anna Navarre woke up from a dream with tears unexpectedly sliding down the corner of her eyes.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    By noon, the Herders¡¯ third onslaught had been repelled. But they didn¡¯t retreat far, setting up camp just two hundred meters away to regroup.


    More than a dozen wagons lay within thirty steps of the western wall of the camp, riddled with bullet holes and arrows.


    ...


    The anti-cavalry stakes on the west side of the camp had been yanked chaotically out of the ground by Herd Cavalry with lassos.


    The Herders even dragged away the stakes they had pulled out, denying the Paratu People any chance to replant them.


    The central wooden hut of the camp was turned into a medical station, where seriously wounded Paratu People were brought in for treatment, while the lightly wounded were tended to at their posts.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Pierre shouted as he searched among the wounded and the dead, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡±


    ¡°What is it, Mr. Mitchell?¡± Father Caman had just removed an arrow from a soldier and asked with displeasure at Dusack¡¯s ruckus.


    Amon the crowd, only Father Caman had received proper training in surgical medicine. Whether he liked it or not, he had to pick up the scalpel at this moment.


    ¡°The colonel sent me to find Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Pierre exclaimed anxiously.


    As Caman was treating wounds without looking up, he responded, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne has washed his eyes; he¡¯s gone back already.¡±


    At the camp wall, Colonel Jeska had already personally found Lieutenant Montaigne.


    Winters, with bloodshot eyes, listened to the colonel and nodded repeatedly.


    In the previous battle, a panicking musketeer fired rashly just as he extended his gun over the lieutenant¡¯s shoulder.


    The loud bang made the lieutenant dizzy, the flame burned off half of his eyebrows, and the gunsmoke sprayed into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.


    Immediately, Xial and Berlion sent Winters to Caman to treat his injuries.


    Fortunately, there was no external wound, and after washing his eyes, Winters rushed back to the front line as soon as possible.


    The wagons previously abandoned by the baggage train now fell into enemy hands. The Herders nailed planks onto the wagons and filled the gaps with earth, using them for cover from bullets and arrows.


    Shielded by makeshift assault carts, Herd Cavalry switched to longbows and heavy arrows to get closer and exchange fire with the Paratu People, causing heavy casualties.


    The Paratu People, with only three one-pounder swivel guns, were helpless against the dirt carts.


    The officers deeply regretted not simply burning the abandoned wagons since they harbored a faint hope of ¡°picking the wagons back up for use later.¡±


    ¡°We need to burn those wagons.¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyes flashed with fury as he pointed to the big wagons outside the camp wall, ¡°You lead the way, take more kerosene, resin, and I will call the musketeers from other units to cover you.¡±


    ¡°Forget about it.¡± Winters laughed loudly, strapping on his helmet, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about getting killed by your musketeers!¡±


    The others around them burst into laughter along with him.


    Winters genuinely feared being hit in the back by some fool¡¯s bullet, but he had to appear fearless, because ¡°if the officer isn¡¯t scared, the soldiers won¡¯t be either.¡±


    Carrying the incendiaries, Winters led a few Dusack on horseback out of the camp gate.


    The Herders in the distance noticed the defenders¡¯ movements as well, a group of riders quickly mounted their saddles and closed in on Winters and his men.


    The swivel guns fired first, solid shot flying towards the Herd Cavalry and kicking up only a few clouds of dust.


    One of the cannonballs even whooshed over Winters, drenching the lieutenant in a cold sweat.


    The one-pounder cannon was the equipment of the Colins¡¯ company of a hundred men in the camp, which were all breech-loaded shell guns.


    Lieutenant Colin had no designated gunners under him, nor was he from the artillery branch. The three small cannons were purely ornamental and were never intended for actual combat.


    Getting to the wagons, Winters realized the Herd Barbarians weren¡¯t exactly fools.


    Each wagon had been drenched with water, the wood was thoroughly soaked, and even the earth between the planks was wet.


    ¡°These Barbarians are the craftiest!¡± the lieutenant couldn¡¯t help cursing.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Burn them!¡±


    Winters slapped his horse¡¯s hindquarters, and the animal glanced back at its master before conscientiously running towards the camp gate.


    The position was too close to the moat and wall, it made more sense to climb back over than to go through the gate.


    The kerosene and resin ignited upon contact, but the thoroughly soaked wood simply refused to catch fire.


    As the Herd Cavalry closed in swiftly, the musketeers and crossbowmen behind the camp wall opened fire.


    With the wagons within thirty steps from the wall, the Herders dared not approach too closely. Instead, they stood at a distance, firing arrows at the few men beside the wagons.


    The Herders¡¯ arrows were both fast and accurate, forcing the men to lie flat on the ground for cover.


    With eyes wide open, the lieutenant watched the flames on the wagons wane smaller and smaller, while his own fury burned even brighter.


    Winters patted Dusack beside him, ¡°Retreat!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They all ran towards the back, leaped over the trench, climbed the camp wall, and returned to the safety zone.


    ¡°They¡¯ve poured water on them,¡± the lieutenant took off his helmet, panting as he explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Colonel Jeska frowned tightly but didn¡¯t blame the lieutenant, ¡°We will find another way.¡±


    ¡°I have a way!¡± Winters fought to control his breathing, eyes blazing with fury, ¡°Give me the iron bombs!¡±


    Iron bombs were cans filled with black gunpowder, extremely heavy but often effective in siege defense. The camp also had a stockpile.


    The lieutenant asked for iron bombs, but the people in the camp didn¡¯t understand why.


    ¡°Give me the iron bombs!¡± the lieutenant was almost shouting, ¡°And shovels!¡±


    His soldiers hurriedly brought several iron cans tied with rope.


    With a shovel in hand and four iron lumps weighing about twenty pounds in total, the lieutenant climbed back over the wall amidst exclamations of surprise from everyone.


    Not only the Paratu People but this time even the Herders were taken aback.


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 Chapter 408 - 48 Attack and Defense_3

    Chapter 408: Chapter 48 Attack and Defense_3


    ¡°`


    The Herders¡¯ cavalry had already been retreating when halfway through, they spotted an armored warrior scaling the wall and reluctantly turned back.


    Winters swung his iron shovel, digging through the mud between the planks. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Disarmed Herders shot arrows from the ground, relying on their sturdy armor, and Winters ignored them. Gunners behind the rampart and on the shooting platforms also opened fire in support.


    Due to a twist of fate, although the opponent didn¡¯t dodge or evade, the Herders¡¯ archers kept missing by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    The burly leader of the Herders, infuriated by the sight, leapt down from his saddle and pushed the other bowmen aside with a surge of anger.


    ...


    ¡°Bow!¡± the Herder chieftain bellowed.


    A nearby cavalryman with red plumes took out an iron-spined bow and respectfully presented it.


    The Herder chieftain stood his ground, let out a roar, and fully drew the iron-spined recurve bow with a creaking sound as the bow flexed and the string stretched to its limit.


    With intense concentration, he experienced an epiphany at that moment and released the catch.


    This arrow, as if blessed by the gods, flew like a shooting star toward the distant Paratu armored warrior, striking him squarely in the helmet.


    A crisp sound of metal striking metal ensued, and the Paratu armored warrior fell off the carriage.


    ¡°Khosh Hazee! Khosh Hazee!¡± The Herders¡¯ riders burst into exhilarated cheers, shouting the name of the man who shot the astonishing arrow.


    On the other side of the rampart, the Paratu people fell disturbingly silent.


    Khosh Hazee¡ªthe burly man raised on horse milk, laughed heartily, tossed the iron-spined bow to the cavalryman with red plumes and turned to walk to his warhorse.


    The iron-spined bow had been bent out of shape.


    Suddenly, the Herders stopped their chants, and instead, shouts of joy erupted from the Paratu people behind the earthen wall.


    Khosh Hazee turned around, shocked to see the armored warrior climbing back onto the carriage.


    ¡°Go fuck yourself!¡± the armored warrior shouted, discarding his glove and gesturing offensively.


    The warrior¡¯s battle cry echoed powerfully across the battlefield.


    With roaring laughter, the Paratu people also joined in the armored warrior¡¯s shout: ¡°Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself!¡±


    The collective yells of hundreds formed one voice that resounded over the desolate plains, reaching the highest skies.


    Even the birds by the riverbank were startled, taking flight from the reeds in flocks.


    The morale of the Paratu people skyrocketed at that moment.


    Khosh Hazee¡¯s face turned red, then white, and finally a shade of blue.


    He couldn¡¯t understand what the other side was shouting, but the message was clearly conveyed.


    The irate and anxious cavalier with red plumes drew his sword, mounted his horse, and was about to engage in a desperate fight with the armored warrior.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Khosh Hazee, pale as iron, held back the cavalier: ¡°That guy is waiting for you!¡±


    Winters buried the shell casing into the muddy gaps of the carriage, covering it again with soil.


    The fuse of the shell was wrapped in hemp rope, not worried about moisture in the short term.


    He lit the fuse and ran far away.


    After a few muffled blasts, the carriage blew apart. The layered soil where it was filled was completely destroyed, the debris even hurling into the barracks.


    Despite some remaining fragments of the carriage, it was no longer feasible to use it as cover.


    Winters climbed over the trench and wall, flung his dented helmet to the ground, and, gasping for breath, roared, ¡°Bring it on!¡±


    After sprinting back and forth in three-quarter armor, he was on the verge of hyperventilating. The only reason he stubbornly refused to sit was the fear that once he did, he might never stand again.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, you don¡¯t have to go,¡± said Colonel Jeska with a stern face: ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone else to take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°I will take people there,¡± Bard, who had arrived at the scene, offered calmly. After a pause, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s for blasting, there¡¯s no need for shell casings. We can use a whole barrel of gunpowder instead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll work, do it,¡± the colonel decided: ¡°Lieutenant Fulmontane, go rest.¡±


    What Jeska¡¯s supply regiment didn¡¯t lack was gunpowder.


    Berlion and Heinrich carried the Centurion towards the camp.


    Winters tried to shake them off, but the arrow he had taken earlier made him dizzy and nauseous to the point of being unable to break free.


    Soldiers, militiamen, laborers, and traders wordlessly gathered next to Lieutenant Montaigne, reaching out to touch his armor, hair, skin, and extending their salutations.


    The Paratu people shared in the lieutenant¡¯s courage, will, and fortune this way, also using it to express their respect.


    Colonel Jeska murmured with a wry smile, ¡°Is this bravery or recklessness?¡±


    Xial, standing nearby, answered proudly and loudly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s bravery! Lieutenant Montaigne is known as ¡®Blood Man Montaigne¡¯ in Vineta, the most valiant officer in the city!¡±


    The surrounding Paratu people exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°¡®Blood Man¡¯ what a hell of a nickname. It isn¡¯t flattering,¡± Colonel Jeska shook his head and casually suggested: ¡°How about ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯? Looking at him¡­ He really does seem like he has wolf blood surging in his chest.¡±


    [Blood Wolf Montaigne: Wolf Blood Montagne]


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 409 - 49 Reinforcements

    Chapter 409: Chapter 49 Reinforcements


    The enemy was not some mere brave yet foolhardy barbarians¡ªWinters became increasingly certain of this that afternoon.


    With the Styx army camp positioned to the east of the great river, taking the terrain into account, an attack should be launched from the south and north sides.


    The uneven terrain along the riverbanks restricted the defending force¡¯s shooting range.


    The river was still in its winter low-water period; the exposed riverbed was a natural road leading directly to the Floating Bridge.


    Putting himself in the shoes of the Herders, Winters thought that if he were commanding them, he would feign an attack on the western wall while focusing the main attack on the southern and northern walls.


    At the same time, a force of elite troops would be positioned in the dry riverbed, ready to strike a sudden blow through the Floating Bridge and the eastern gate to surround the troops inside the camp once the battle reached its peak.


    ...


    Caught between attacks from inside and out, the defending soldiers would certainly descend into disorder. Considering the disparity in numbers between the two forces, casualties sustained in taking down the camp would not exceed thirty percent.


    Not only did Winters think so, but the other officers thought similarly. Due to similar tactical training, the thought patterns of several officers were more or less identical.


    Consequently, the camp¡¯s defenses were arranged based on this thinking.


    Originally, a hundred-man squad of the Standing Army was stationed in the Styx base camp to defend the southern wall.


    Winters was responsible for defending the north wall, Andre for the west, and Bard¡¯s temporaily armed personnel for the eastern gate.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska led the Cavalry squadron, providing discretionary support wherever needed.


    Above the dry riverbed, Winters and his men dug out over a thousand horse traps overnight.


    The horse traps were about the size of a molehill, deep enough to reach a horse¡¯s shin. Hammer a stake into the ground, pull it out, and a trap was made.


    The effect was incredibly malicious; a horse at full gallop stepping into one would at the very least sprain its hoof, if not break its leg.


    Normally, nobody would use such a tactic because horses were precious spoils of war. But in desperate times one must first ensure survival before considering the extent of the bounty.


    The defending soldiers took up their duties, standing ready for the battle to come.


    However, to the surprise of all the officers, the Herders neither feigned attack nor split their forces, nor did they attack from the south and north. Instead, they focused their ferocious assault on the western wall.


    The west side of the camp featured a continuous downhill slope, which seemed ideal for the charge of the Cavalry. In reality, it was akin to a shooting range.


    The defenders had an unobstructed view with no blind spots.


    The enemies¡¯ attack from the west was precisely what the Paratu People, armed with an abundance of long-range weapons, hoped for.


    Yet the Herd Barbarians stubbornly pushed their shield carts from the west and attacked.


    As soon as the battle commenced, Andre, in charge of defending the western wall, immediately noticed something was amiss.


    The wind!


    The wind was coming from the wrong direction!


    Generally, in the spring and summer, the wind blows from the east between the two mountains¡ªan easterly wind from the Senas Sea toward the inland, bringing precipitation and moisture.


    But with the onset of autumn and winter, the wind would shift direction, blowing from the highlands toward the sea, with westerly winds sweeping over the land.


    The Herders pushed their shield carts all the way to within twenty or so steps of the camp walls, even as close as fifteen steps. Using large carts filled with soil as cover, they shot arrows downwind, both accurate and ruthless.


    Once Andre¡¯s gunmen opened fire, the gunpowder smoke was blown back by the westerly winds. It not only choked soldiers, causing sore throats and stinging eyes, but it also severely obstructed their view.


    With the defending archers suppressed by strong bows and heavy arrows, Herder light Cavalry with lassos came howling in. The caltrops outside the camp wall were lassoed, pulled out, and dragged away one after another.


    The Styx base camp was a field camp that could accommodate tens of thousands of troops; with the defending side short-staffed, Andre¡¯s hundred or so men couldn¡¯t even fill the western wall¡¯s firing platforms.


    Without even dividing their forces or making probing attacks, the Herders savagely tore at a few points, and the Chellini hundred-man team immediately found the pressure unbearable.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska urgently summoned the Colin and Montaigne hundred-man teams for reinforcement at the western wall.


    In the first assault, bold Herder Cavalry scaled the camp walls, only to be quickly surrounded and killed.


    In the second assault, the Herders pushed up several small traction trebuchets and began bombarding the defensive firing positions.


    Winters had never imagined he would witness the return of trebuchets to the battlefield with his own eyes.


    But the defense, with only a few inaccurate rotary cannons, really had no answer to the trebuchets.


    Andre made a charge with his Cavalry but was intercepted by the well-prepared Herders.


    In the third attack, the Herders patiently sniped at musketeers, cleared away all the caltrope stakes, and inflicted casualties on the firing platforms.


    Their composure in advance and retreat was like that of skilled butchers deftly boning meat.


    Although the camp wall had yet to be truly breached, Winters could sense that the morale of his own militia was nearing its breaking point.


    At noon, the military officers held a meeting in the camp.


    ¡°Next time, the Herd Barbarians will get serious,¡± Jeska said with a grim expression.


    ¡°The afternoon will be even harder to fight,¡± Bard calmly pointed to the sun. ¡°The light is against us.¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that in the morning, the Herders had the wind at their backs but the sun in their eyes. After noon, both sunlight and wind direction would be unfavorable to their side.


    ¡°The light and wind are secondary,¡± Winters frowned deeply. ¡°I¡¯m worried that once the Herders break into the camp walls, the morale of the militia and those makeshift armed merchants will collapse.¡±


    Defending a live position was more difficult than defending a fixed position.


    The past two battles had been fought in formation on the vast plains, where there was no escape, and everyone could only fight desperately to survive.


    But now, with the Floating Bridge just behind the large camp, offering a route across the Styx, safety was a stone¡¯s throw away.


    Across the river, destroy the bridge, and everyone is safe.


    A way of survival was laid out right before their eyes, and no one could resist being tempted. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We might as well¡­¡± Andre bit his lip and said, ¡°Just cross the river.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Lieutenant Colin firmly refused, raising his voice. ¡°Whoever dares to touch the Floating Bridge, they¡¯ll have to step over my dead body first!¡±


    Although their time together was brief, Colin Victor¡¯s meticulousness made a deep impression on Winters.


    At the other campsites along the way, which after collecting camping fees paid no mind to the merchants, it was only Lieutenant Colin¡¯s camp to the west of the river that showed no favoritism and strictly forbade any outsiders from entering.


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 Chapter 410 - 49 Reinforcements_2

    Chapter 410: Chapter 49 Reinforcements_2


    However, the typically reticent Lieutenant Colin was now so agitated that his face turned red and his ears reddened.


    [Note: In Paratu naming convention, the family name comes first, followed by the given name. The so-called ¡°glorious tradition¡± of the Paratu People is actually a legacy of the Herders.]


    The lieutenant spoke vehemently, and Andre¡¯s temper flared, ¡°If the floating bridge is that important, then why did they only leave your company of a hundred to guard it? If they¡¯d left a battalion, would we need to fight to the death?¡±


    Colin was temporarily at a loss for words, struggling for a while before saying, ¡°Originally, there was a battalion.¡±


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°The chief tents have already retreated two hundred kilometers to the west! Who could have expected the Herders to appear here, now?¡±


    ...


    Andre glared with anger, questioning resentfully, ¡°You ¡®thought¡¯ the Herders wouldn¡¯t come, so you moved the battalion away?¡±


    Colin shouted in frustration, ¡°Higher-ups were urgently requesting troops, I¡¯m just a centurion, what could I do? I opposed the transfer of the troops, but tell me! What could I do?¡±


    Before the Herders even attacked, it looked as if the defenders would begin infighting first.


    ¡°Enough! Shut up!¡± Colonel Jeska roared.


    Andre and Colin immediately fell silent, sitting back down on their stools and glowering at each other.


    Jeska sighed, pointing at Lieutenant Colin, ¡°Others are fighting for glory at the front, while he¡¯s guarding the bridge at the rear. He¡¯s already in such a state himself, what could he do when orders come down?¡±


    On hearing this, Colin froze, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.


    Andre¡¯s face turned pale, as if he were reminded of the situation of his comrades in Vineta, and his anger dissipated.


    ¡°The bridgehead fortress must be defended,¡± Jeska set the tone, ¡°until it can be defended no longer.¡±


    The meeting fell silent for a moment.


    ¡°The Republic hasn¡¯t treated me that well. I served overseas for twelve years, not a day without resentment,¡± the colonel smacked his lips, his attitude as indifferent as always. ¡°But without it, my family would still be enslaved as serfs for the landowners. Without it, I would be either robbing or had been hanged already. So we have to defend this bridge until we can no longer defend it.¡±


    Lieutenant Colin stood up and saluted the colonel solemnly.


    ¡°As for you few.¡± Jeska looked at Winters and the others with his one good eye. ¡°Paratu has only grievances with you, no favors. Strictly speaking, you owe nothing, but by some twist of fate you¡¯re under my command¡­¡±


    The colonel stood up and bowed deeply to the three lieutenants, ¡°I owe you an apology.¡±


    The lieutenants dared not accept such a gesture, hastily stepping away from their seats.


    ¡°You only need to hold until I fall in battle,¡± Jeska said, pulling a letter from his chest, his expression solemn, ¡°After my death, you¡¯re to return directly to Paratu. This letter will prove you did not desert in the face of the enemy, but retreated following my orders.¡±


    Winters and Andre were at a loss for what to do. Bard took the letter silently, saluting the colonel.


    After arranging for the aftermath, the colonel began to reorganize the defenses.


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s standing army company was reassigned to the west wall, responsible for defending the most critical position.


    Bard was in charge of organizing the wagons, while the others were responsible for covering Colin¡¯s flanks, leaving only sentries on the other three sides of the camp walls.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne.¡± Jeska finally called Winters¡¯ name.


    ¡°Yes.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡¯re in charge of arranging the barrels of gunpowder on the bridge. If it becomes untenable, destroy it,¡± the colonel said coldly, ¡°In any case, the Herder cavalry must not cross the bridge.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen, carry out your duties. Victory or defeat is yet unknown,¡± Jeska revealed a rare hint of a smile, ¡°What if reinforcements arrive after all?¡±


    The door to the plank room burst open, and Xial, breathless from running, yelled out, ¡°Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The West Camp was bustling with activity, men chasing from behind and pigs running ahead, tents being knocked over one by one.


    The free-range castrated pigs were fat and strong, too much for even two adults to hold down. Especially when they were hungry castrated pigs¡­ over a hundred of them.


    Seeing the pigs running amok through the camp, Colonel Jeska¡¯s nose twisted in irritation.


    ¡°Reinforcements?¡± Colonel Jeska seldom lost his composure, seizing Xial and bellowing, ¡°This is your reinforcements?¡±


    ¡°They really are reinforcements from the east,¡± Xial said in his own defense, ¡°but how was I to know they were driving so many pigs over here?¡±


    A man with half his face covered in a dark red birthmark was leading people to catch pigs within and outside of the military camp, with even more pigs crossing the bridge behind him.


    Winters arrived at the floating bridge to investigate and was surprised to find the pig herder was an ¡°old acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Mason?¡±


    ¡­


    As the person responsible for the penal labor ranch, Richard Mason had been ordered to escort the livestock.


    The Paratu People in the West Camp did not receive the long-awaited reinforcements, but instead Lieutenant Mason¡¯s convict laborers and over three hundred pigs.


    ¡°Defend? Defend my ass!¡± Lieutenant Mason turned pale upon learning the situation, ¡°Why wait? Why not run?¡±


    Winters was frantic, ¡°Never mind defending, just get these pigs out first, the camp is in disarray!¡±


    A series of urgent bell tolls rang out, signaling an agreed-upon alert.


    ¡°The Herd Barbarians are coming!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    As the Herder cavalry slowly approached with their siege engines, the oppressive atmosphere made it difficult for the defenders to breathe.


    At the West Camp¡¯s wall at the artillery positions, the exasperated Lieutenant Mason was attempting to gauge distance using the jumping eye method.


    ¡°Will it work?¡± Winters asked anxiously.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Mason snapped irritably, ¡°Or you try it.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you an artilleryman?¡±


    ¡°After spending years with pigs, I¡¯ve damn well forgotten everything! This cannon doesn¡¯t even have a firing chart, what¡¯s the point!¡± Mason cursed as he adjusted the gun¡¯s elevation, ¡°Fire a trial shot.¡±


    ¡­


    The convict laborers, the pigs, and Lieutenant Mason himself were all conscripted by Colonel Jeska.


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 Chapter 411 - 49: Reinforcements_3

    Chapter 411: Chapter 49: Reinforcements_3


    Colonel Jeska flatly rejected Lieutenant Mason¡¯s request to ¡°evacuate the pigs to the other side of the river.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about crossing people now, let alone a single pig. My men will run away if they see that,¡± the colonel fumed with frustration: ¡°Once in camp, no one is allowed to leave!¡±


    The pigs were herded into the dry riverbed, the pig herders turned stretcher-bearers, and Lieutenant Mason became the gunner. Andre stood by the Floating Bridge, ready to strike down anyone who dared to cross.


    ¡­


    The red-hot charcoal was applied to the touchhole, and with a thunderous boom, the cannon shuddered violently.


    The news that the gunner lieutenant was coming to the rescue with pigs had spread throughout the camp, and the defenders eagerly anticipated it, holding their breath as they watched intently.


    ...


    Then they watched the cannonball trace an arc over the Herders¡¯ heads and land on the hillside behind them.


    Behind the trench wall, there was dead silence; the shot had strayed too far, and Winters, too, was shocked as he looked at the gunner lieutenant.


    ¡°What are you dazed for! Switch the Chamber!¡± Mason barked sharply, continuing to prop up the cannon¡¯s breech.


    Before the others could react, the man with the birthmark had deftly removed the spent Chamber and replaced it with a new one.


    The breech-loading cannon might not have the most power, but its firing rate was unquestionably fast.


    Another roar of thunder, and this time the shot was closer to the mark. The cannonball crashed into the back ranks of the Herders¡¯ Cavalry, and it seemed someone was unhorsed.


    ¡°Fire again!¡±


    This time, the cannonball flew directly into the crowd. The defenders¡¯ artillery grew increasingly accurate, and the Herders began to panic.


    Finally, after several trial shots, a cannonball scored a direct hit on a catapult.


    The two-pound iron ball with tremendous kinetic energy shattered the hastily assembled wooden siege engine, putting one of the Herders¡¯ catapults completely out of commission.


    The troops behind the earthen wall vigorously beat their weapons against their shields, shouting cheers of encouragement.


    The three revolving cannons had a total of twelve Chambers.


    With each shot fired by Lieutenant Mason, the Paratu People shouted in unison.


    The twelve Chambers were quickly exhausted, and amid the sound of trumpets, the Herders charged towards the fortification wall.


    ¡°Bring me the lead shot!¡± Mason, his hair and eyebrows filled with gunpowder smoke, shouted exhilaratedly: ¡°Today the Herd Barbarians will taste our grapes!¡±


    ¡­


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s Standing Army company of a hundred men bore the first brunt of the charge.


    The fortification wall was built slightly taller than a man from the earth dug out when creating the trenches, with a half-meter high step behind it for soldiers to stand on.


    The Herders¡¯ Cavalry quickly filled a few trenches with earth.


    Herders climbed over the trenches, while soldiers holding halberds stabbed downward from above.


    It was the first close-quarters combat between the attackers and defenders¡ªshouts, screams, and cries of agony were incessant.


    The militia positioned at the zigzag-shaped fortification walls fired outwards, while the Herders returned fire with arrows.


    The distance was so close that the Herders¡¯ archers aimed for the face; getting hit by an arrow meant certain death or severe injury.


    At this close range, their lamellar armor offered no protection against the defenders¡¯ muskets.


    A Herder who leaped down from the wall landed on the points of halberds, killed on the spot. But more Herders followed, clambering over the fortification wall.


    The fight turned into hand-to-hand combat.


    Only at this moment did the militia understand what ¡°Standing Army¡± meant.


    The soldiers clad in half-armor and wielding halberds looked like iron men from afar; the Herders had to pull them down before they could kill them.


    Lieutenant Colin, distinguished by the special crest on his helmet, drew the attention of the Herders; they were determined to surround and kill this Paratu warrior, staking their lives on it.


    Lieutenant Colin and his soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder, roaring as they slaughtered one Herder after another scaling the wall.


    But the number of halberdiers around Colin dwindled, as more and more Herders amassed.


    Above the gate, Xial asked anxiously, ¡°Should we go help them?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the ensign replied with a stern expression, ¡°The Herders¡¯ advantage lies in their width of attack. If they only knew how to hit hard in one spot, this battle would¡¯ve been won by now. They have to rely on themselves¡­ as do we.¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The defenders were too few, and the camp was too extensive; the troops simply couldn¡¯t control the entire fortification wall.


    Sure enough, a dense mass of Herders¡¯ Cavalry split into two groups, flanking both sides of the fortification.


    Winters muttered to himself, ¡°Now, it¡¯s our turn.¡±


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 Chapter 412 - 50: Breaking the Defense

    Chapter 412: Chapter 50: Breaking the Defense


    Chiliarch Alaric sat on the ground, silently staring at the nearby Bridgehead Fortress.


    One after another, Herder warriors climbed over the camp walls and disappeared from view.


    No one knew what was happening on the other side of the low earthen wall, they could only see puffs of gunsmoke rising and the only sounds reaching their ears were the piercing screams and wails.


    A few blood-covered Herders crawled out from within the walls, and others by the trench began to run back, a defeated Tulu among them.


    Alaric waved his hand, and another Tulu ran towards The Styx, yelling as he went.


    Behind Haug Koda, more than a hundred heavily armored Herder warriors likewise sat on the ground.


    ...


    They were gathering their energy, waiting to strike the final blow.


    ¡­


    The desperation of the Paratu People inside the West Camp grew.


    The savage Herd Barbarians piled corpses to climb the walls, eight centurions took turns in the fight, not giving the defenders any chance to breathe.


    The southwest side of the camp wall had been dug out by the Herders, creating a breach over ten meters wide, only temporarily held by Bard with a barricade of wagons and the support of Montaigne¡¯s troops.


    Paratu soldiers, clutching their weapons, slumped against the walls; as Winters walked past them, those still alive nodded silently to the lieutenant in respect.


    As Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the faces of the young men he had brought from Wolf Town, a thought suddenly took hold: they couldn¡¯t hold out here.


    The fall of a city begins when hope is shattered.


    A mood of despair spread throughout the camp, and the fighting spirit of the Paratu People was rapidly disintegrating.


    But Winters could not blame anyone; to him, the fact that this militia had held out thus far was a miracle.


    A month ago, they were but a group of conscripted farmers, doing grunt work like laborers, earning less than half the laborers¡¯ wages.


    Now, they were trapped in the Bridgehead Fortress, fighting off thousands of ferocious Herd Barbarians in turn.


    Winters clenched his teeth hard, a thought echoing in his mind, ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡±


    The death knell rang out once more.


    ¡°Barbarians!¡± The soldier atop the watchtower yelled hoarsely, ¡°They¡¯re coming to the breach!¡±


    Winters climbed onto the earthen rampart to look out over the wall.


    At last, the Herders, too, had lost patience, and Alaric¡¯s own unit finally mobilized.


    There were only a few hundred cavalrymen, but their charge was like a towering tidal wave. The horse hooves kicked up dust that obscured the sky, and even the ground seemed to tremble.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s cavalry and Lieutenant Colin¡¯s remnants hastened toward the breach in the camp wall.


    However, the breach at the wall became too much for the militiamen to bear; one man threw down his weapon and turned to run, and the rest broke and fled en masse.


    Winters shouted, trying to stop them, but he couldn¡¯t halt the collapse of their will.


    The approaching Colonel Jeska was furious, and Winters heard his roar from afar, ¡°Montaigne! Purge the deserters!¡±


    Winters made no move.


    ¡°Purge the deserters!¡±


    Winters drew his cavalry saber and caught up to the deserter who was running in the lead.


    He recognized the deserter; he knew the man¡¯s father, had seen his mother, his sister. He had sat at the deserter¡¯s family table, warmed himself by a campfire alongside the deserter.


    When the deserter looked back at him, Winters saw Vashka¡¯s face, terror-stricken.


    The moment the cavalry saber swung down, Winters trembled. He twisted the blade, and the flat of the sword struck the back of Vashka¡¯s head.


    Vashka fell to the ground, life or death unknown.


    The harsh action momentarily stunned the fleeing masses. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If you run now, everyone dies!¡± Winters reined in his horse, bellowing out, ¡°Return to the line!¡±


    Colonel Jeska arrived with the Dusacks, and the Cavalry mercilessly drove the deserters back to the breach in the camp wall.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The attack from the Herd cavalry was eventually repelled, leaving dozens of bodies between the wagon barricade and the camp wall.


    The battle lasted from dawn until dusk. Having witnessed the defeat of their elite Tulu, the Herders slowly withdrew.


    But everyone knew that the Herd Barbarians were only retreating temporarily, licking their wounds, regrouping.


    When tomorrow came, nothing could stop them from overtaking the West Camp.


    After the Herders retreated, the merchants with the supply convoy requested to move their carts to the other side of the river; Colonel Jeska refused.


    ¡°It¡¯s not entirely hopeless!¡± Lieutenant Colin murmured to himself during the meeting, his head in his hands, ¡°The Herd Barbarians are just one Chiliarch unit. We have over six hundred people; if we defend the camp and fight two to one, how can we not win?¡±


    Winters, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted angrily, ¡°That¡¯s not six hundred Standing Army men, that¡¯s farmers! Cart drivers! Merchants! Face reality, Lieutenant! If we can¡¯t hold it, we can¡¯t hold it!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jeska looked at his subordinate.


    Winters stood up, after a great struggle with himself, he said, ¡°I want to take my men across the river.¡±


    Colin looked up in surprise; he heard the lieutenant¡¯s tone firm and calm, yet he saw the shadow on the wall flaring like a wild beast in a dance.


    Jeska pursed his lips, leaned back in his chair, and squinted his eyes at the other two lieutenants, ¡°What about you two?¡±


    Winters spoke first, ¡°They have nothing to do with this.¡±


    ¡°They have mouths,¡± Jeska said coldly.


    Bard rested his sword on his lap, speaking at an even pace, ¡°What Lieutenant Montaigne says is what I say.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Andre replied in a muffled voice.


    Colin got up in a daze, the poor honest man wanted to say something, but he couldn¡¯t open his mouth.


    ¡°Thinking of mutiny? Go ahead,¡± Colonel Jeska scoffed, resting his boots on the table, ¡°Kill me.¡±


    The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to freezing.


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 Chapter 413 - 50: Breaking the Defense_2

    Chapter 413: Chapter 50: Breaking the Defense_2


    Colin clutched at Winters¡¯s sleeve, almost begging, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t do this¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± Winters signaled his senior to be silent. ¡°Don¡¯t speak, don¡¯t ask. If there¡¯s blame later, just say I held you hostage.¡±


    The lieutenant¡¯s gaze was piercing as he stared at the captain, ¡°Or would you rather die?¡±


    Colin shivered and groped his way back to his chair.


    ¡°Whatever the obligation, my men have more than fulfilled it.¡± Winters seemed to be speaking to the colonel, but it was more like convincing himself, ¡°They are civilians paid half a ration, not the Standing Army who willingly eats the military¡¯s grain. I won¡¯t let them die for a fort we can¡¯t hold.¡±


    Jeska gently shook her head and said, ¡°I told you long ago not to have personal feelings for your soldiers. To Paratu, this Floating Bridge is more important than ten thousand militiamen¡¯s lives. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡±


    ... S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fuck you! You think I give a damn about the fucking Paratu?¡± Winters suddenly erupted. ¡°I care about this bridge? I care about winning or losing? I¡¯ve wanted to do this for a long time! You think I care about your bullshit?¡±


    He grabbed at his shirt front, hysterically asking, ¡°You think I want to fight for you? You think I care about this uniform?¡±


    In a fit of rage, Montaigne punched the wall, shaking the wooden hut slightly, and breaking the wooden plank in half.


    Jeska was also stunned by the sudden outburst and sighed, ¡°Kill me if you want, it¡¯s all up to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saving both your lives,¡± Winters declared as he unbuckled the colonel¡¯s and captain¡¯s swords and threw them to Bard, ¡°You can blame me for everything afterward, I will not refute.¡±


    Leaving Bard to guard the two, Winters and Andre left the wooden hut.


    After exiting the door, Andre grabbed hold of Winters.


    ¡°If you ask me, we should just¡­¡± Andre made a throat-slitting gesture, ¡°Throw them into the river and explain it however we want.¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Not necessary; after crossing the river, I¡¯m returning to Vineta. I miss home, too.¡±


    ¡°Not going to kill them?¡±


    ¡°Not going to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Andre sighed, resigned, ¡°Fine, when we get back home we can see if there¡¯s any small business to start.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank what?¡± Andre showed a row of teeth, ¡°I would take a knife in the ribs for you.¡±


    ¡­


    That night, Lieutenant Montaigne took command of Jeska¡¯s regiment.


    The army camp on the west side of the river began to retreat in an orderly fashion. The wounded left first, followed by the baggage train, and Winters also took the bodies of the fallen with him.


    To avoid being discovered by Herd scouts, they didn¡¯t light any lamps or start any fires during the entire process. The men and horses moved silently, and any equipment that could reflect light was carefully wrapped in burlap.


    Lieutenant Mason seemed to suspect something, but he didn¡¯t say a word.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to dismantle the Floating Bridge, so they simply used explosives for Blasting. The baggage train was well-stocked with gunpowder, and there were several Blasting Points on the bridge ready to be ignited at any moment.


    Winters led Colin¡¯s decimated hundred-man troop to cover the rear, setting up the final barricade of wagons at the head of the bridge.


    He didn¡¯t rashly destroy the Floating Bridge; this supply line that spanned The Styx was of great importance, and to blow it up could mean sentencing the Paratu People at the front to death.


    Winters waiting for the Herders¡¯ final assault.


    ¡­


    The dawn revealed a blue sky, cloudless and clear.


    It was a good day for slaughter.


    Alaric, who was arranging his troops, gradually sensed something was off.


    Looking down from the western hillside, the Paratu camp was lifeless, and behind the dirt walls, there were no people in sight.


    A ruse? Or had the two-legged fools fled?


    Yet, in the distance, the Floating Bridge remained intact across The Styx. If they had fled, why not burn the bridge?


    The Chiliarch called for cavalry scouts, but the watchtower was just as clueless about the strange happenings in the enemy camp.


    ¡°Regardless of the two-legged fools¡¯ plans,¡± Alaric made up his mind, ¡°Today we must take the camp!¡±


    ¡­


    On the barricade at the bridgehead, Winters saw the Herd men moving down from the hillside.


    They were no longer attacking in turns or separate waves, but all Herd Cavalry charged at once.


    It seemed the Herd men were no longer interested in wearing down the defenders; they wanted a decisive engagement.


    ¡°You guys go first,¡± Winters ordered the others.


    The soldiers saluted and turned to run towards the opposite bank.


    Winters wanted to wait until the last moment.


    The Herd Cavalry was getting closer, and in a blink, they had charged down the hillside.


    Winters jumped down from the barricade, riding a sturdy horse towards the first Blasting Point.


    The reserved fuse had a longer tail, and Winters estimated the time briefly before chopping the fuse in half with his sword.


    As the moment approached, he became increasingly calm and composed.


    The Herd Cavalry had now breached the camp walls.


    ¡°That Herd Barbarian who speaks the mainland language is probably going to die of anger,¡± Winters thought as he lit the fuse.


    The fuse, wrapped in rope, began to sizzle as it burned.


    Winters stepped on the stirrup and vaulted onto the saddle, preparing to move to the next Blasting Point, when he saw Andre charging toward him.


    ¡°What is this about?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    He waved his hand, signaling Andre to leave, but Andre ignored the gesture and continued to approach.


    Winters saw Andre¡¯s mouth wide open as if he was shouting something.


    But with the west wind howling, he couldn¡¯t hear what the other was saying at all.


    Only when the distance closed did the shouting carried by the wind reach his ears in fragments.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Blast¡­¡±


    Winters looked back and his expression changed dramatically. He rolled off the horse and hacked away the hissing fuse with his sword.


    After cutting it, he kicked the unburned fuse into the river, as if to make sure it wouldn¡¯t catch.


    Behind him, the Herd Cavalry that had just breached the camp walls withdrew en masse, reforming back against the encampment.


    Atop the ridge line of the hill, more and more Cavalry silhouettes appeared.


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 Chapter 414 - 50: Breaking Defense_3

    Chapter 414: Chapter 50: Breaking Defense_3


    The newcomers leaped onto the ridge from a reverse slope, as if Dragon Tooth soldiers were emerging from the earth itself.


    Winters couldn¡¯t tell friend from foe, but judging from the Herders¡¯ posture as they faced a great enemy, these newcomers were certainly the Herders¡¯ foes.


    Having assembled in front of their camp wall, the Herder Cavalry initiated a charge towards the unfamiliar cavalry, starting at full speed right from the beginning. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, the unknown riders on the ridge started moving, yet they controlled their horse¡¯s pace, beginning a slow trot.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters returned to the main camp that he got a clear view: the arriving unfamiliar cavalry all wore long-tubed hard boots, black breastplates, and Morion Helmets.


    The Herder Cavalry swarmed forward, soldiers following their Centurions, Centurions following their Chiliarchs, with hardly any formation to speak of.


    ...


    The formation of the strange black-armored cavalry, on the other hand, took shape even as they trotted.


    They faced the enemy with nine rows in a horizontal line, led by five riders at the front.


    Winters had never seen any cavalry able to control their pace with such precision.


    The distance between the black-armored riders was always three times that of the left and right distances.


    Therefore, the overall formation of more than five hundred cavalry was twice as wide horizontally as it was in depth.


    Even though the black-armored cavalry were restraining their horses¡¯ speed, the sense of intimidation they brought far surpassed that of the galloping Herders.


    Alaric raised his spear high and cried out, charging at the forefront.


    Even the most cowardly Herders would feel courage surge in their hearts at the sight of Haug Koda at this moment.


    Alaric had never expected that such a force of enemy reinforcements would arrive at this moment.


    No matter what, this reinforcement should not have appeared here, yet here they were.


    Fortunately, the black-armored cavalry were not numerous. He thought, eliminate the reinforcements first, then turn back to the fort, and he could still achieve a glorious victory.


    ¡°Come on! Come on! Sons of the heavens!¡± Alaric roared, ¡°How could we ever lose a cavalry fight?¡±


    The opposing black-armored cavalry also began to pick up speed.


    In the deafening sound of galloping hooves, two civilizations, two types of cavalry, were about to collide.


    Alaric leaned forward on his horse, extending his spear desperately towards the enemy. In a cavalry clash, the closer the weapons to the enemy, the better.


    The other Herder Cavalry did the same.


    Herders without spears deliberately slowed down, staying in the rear, ready for hand-to-hand combat after the impact.


    With only a few horse lengths between them, it was only then that Alaric was shocked to see that the black-armored riders were not holding spears or swords.


    In their hands, they all wielded two odd-looking short firearms.


    ¡°How can one fire with just one hand?¡± wondered Alaric, puzzled.


    But there was no time left for thought.


    ¡°Click!¡±


    A spark, followed by red flashes, gunpowder smoke, and gunfire.


    A series of gunshots.


    Wheellock guns!


    At a distance too close for any closer, the first two rows of black-armored cavalry pulled the trigger.


    Alaric just felt a heat in his groin and chest as hot blood gushed from two wounds.


    More than half of the Herders in the front row fell from their horses.


    The black-armored cavalry either drew another firearm from their boots or simply discarded the guns to fight with war hammers and sabres.


    Amidst the gunpowder smoke, gunfire, and screams, the two forces engaged in a melee.


    Alaric fell from his horse first and was then repeatedly trampled by Herder Cavalry coming from behind, hovering close to death.


    Even without being trampled, the two wounds in his groin and chest would have been enough to claim his life.


    As his strength and consciousness rapidly faded, his last moments were filled with bitterness and confusion.


    ¡°I became a Chiliarch before I was thirty, how could I die so young?¡±


    Tal Alaric¡ªknown as the most knowledgeable among the Herders about the world beyond the steppe, the Eagle in the Rain¡ªpassed away amidst endless sorrow, aged twenty-nine.


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 Chapter 415 - 51 Cavalry Raid

    Chapter 415: Chapter 51 Cavalry Raid


    The Herders scattered in all directions.


    Black-armored Cavalry encircled a helmet-shining officer as they came before Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s still me saving your little life,¡± said the helmet-shining officer.


    The one-eyed Colonel was far from grateful, ¡°I¡¯d like to know what are you even good for if you could let an entire thousand-man squad slip through?¡±


    ¡°Not even a stint overseas could cure your sourness,¡± the other laughed. ¡°I truly regret pulling you back!¡±


    The officer dismounted, removed his helmet, revealing meticulously groomed facial hair and a pair of wild eyes¡ªit was Colonel Castor Roderick, who had come to Wolf Town months ago to chase down smugglers.


    ...


    Castor and Jeska looked at each other for a long while, then burst into laughter and embraced each other in a bear hug.


    ¡­


    The tides had turned, and everyone was overjoyed.


    Those who survived the ordeal slaughtered pigs and sheep, and drank to their heart¡¯s content, temporarily forgetting death and suffering and celebrating properly.


    The revelry ended and it was time for the aftermath.


    Clearing the battlefield, burying the dead, holding simple funerals.


    Many horses were left behind in the Herder camp, some to make up for the Dusacks that had lost their Warhorses, the rest taken by the Black-armored Cavalry along with the captured Warhorses.


    The remaining spoils followed the customary rules: small items went to individuals, like swords; large items went to the state, like armor.


    Colonel Castor disdained the looted armor and gave it all to Jeska¡¯s company.


    Scattered items like saddle tack were sold directly to merchants accompanying the troops.


    ¡°Everything has a price,¡± the merchants¡¯ desire for profit amazed Winters.


    Someone bought the blood-stained cloaks stripped from bodies; the Herder¡¯s arm rings and silver ornaments found buyers too.


    A merchant approached Colonel Jeska, buying all the horse carcasses in bulk.


    Horse hides could be sold; horse meat cut and salted could be resold to the military; even horse bones had their place.


    There was even a merchant who bought Herder¡¯s left ears at discounted prices to cash in rewards in Paratu, while the soldiers could get cash on the spot.


    A day ago, these people were weak civilians tremblingly holding firearms to protect their possessions.


    A day later, they had transformed into crows feasting on war, scrambling to peck at the corpses of Herders.


    ¡°The fastest way to create wealth is to build an Empire, the even faster way is to destroy an Empire.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t recall where he had heard this saying, but everything he saw now made the words echo in his mind.


    ¡­


    The road ahead had been cleared, so the baggage train was to set off once more.


    Even though Jeska¡¯s company had seen a close call with mutiny, the Colonel did not mention it again, and the lieutenants were also silent, as if nothing had happened.


    After repeated hard fights, some merchants found opportunities, while others decided not to go any further and turned back.


    The wounded from the baggage train returned to Paratu with them, while the more seriously injured who were less mobile stayed in West Camp to recover.


    Many merchants had already fallen under the knife and were buried in the wilderness without even a gravestone to mark their resting place.


    Their belongings were either distributed among others or taken back by loyal partners.


    Some made a fortune, some were unlucky¡ªit was always so.


    ¡­


    Winters stood at the West Camp gate, watching cart after cart slowly leave the military camp.


    The length of the train was much shorter than when they had first crossed The Styx, and it now seemed somewhat empty.


    A passenger cart passed by, its curtains pulled back to reveal the face of Brother Reed in the window frame, the old trickster smiling and waving at Winters.


    Winters had wanted Brother Reed to return to Paratu with the merchants, but the old man fobbed him off with vows and evasions.


    The old trickster refused to return to Paratu and so did Father Caman; thus, the two clergymen continued with the army and moved on with the baggage train.


    Lieutenant Colin also came to see them off, finding Lieutenant Montaigne and said with sincerity, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters simply shook his head.


    The Lieutenant saluted the Ensign and turned to leave.


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s centuria had lost most of its fighting capacity, and Colonel Castor promised to request a relief force from the legion on his behalf.


    All the double-horsed carts of the baggage train finally left West Camp, and Winters mounted his saddle, ready to depart.


    Xial and another person supported each other running out of the camp, shouting as they caught up to the Ensign.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°Stay and heal properly.¡±


    In the brutal battle on the western camp wall, Xial¡¯s right leg had been pierced by a heavy arrow. Fortunately, neither arteries nor bones were hit, but it still impeded his movement, and he was classified as wounded.


    ¡°I want to go with you,¡± said Xial.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters initially hadn¡¯t thought the militia would have to enter battle, and he couldn¡¯t bear to bring Benwei¡¯s brother into danger again.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll just follow behind.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Is it a good place up front?¡±


    Xial stiffened his neck, clearly resolute.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here either,¡± said another bandaged casualty in a low voice.


    It wasn¡¯t until the other spoke that Winters recognized it was Vasyka.


    A heavy blow to the back of the head, whether it was to death or unconsciousness, was all a matter of luck.


    Vasyka was fortunate not to die, but that laughing, mischievous young man had been killed.


    Winters was about to refuse, but suddenly he remembered the old trickster¡¯s words about ¡°fortune and misfortune being intertwined.¡±


    He thought serving in the militia was a good thing, yet many Dusacks were led to The Styx. Fate is a bitch, who knows what the future holds?


    Winters sighed, ¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡±


    Xial and Vasyka nodded their heads.


    ¡°Find a large cart to ride, tell them I allowed it,¡± Winters considered and then added, ¡°Vasyka, go find Lieutenant Bard, ask him to get you a Herder Warhorse.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xial shouted excitedly.


    Vashka supported Xial and hurried to catch up with the large carriage.


    Along the way, the supply train¡¯s horse-drawn carriages were no longer fully loaded.


    Therefore, the Lieutenant Colonel began to allow the militia to place their weapons on the carriages and to take turns resting in them.


    Also departing were the Black Armored Cavalry. Lieutenant Colonel Castor divided three squadrons to pursue the fleeing Herdmen while personally leading one squadron to escort the supply train, a small favor for his old friend.


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s pig-driving team also joined the supply train.


    More than four hundred militiamen and drivers, three hundred pigs, over a hundred horse-drawn carriages, more than fifty convict laborers, five officers, two clergymen, and a lion set out from West Camp.


    ¡­


    The official designation for the Black Armored Pistol Cavalry was the Fifth ¡°Highland¡± Legion, Second Cavalry Regiment, also known as Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment.


    Faced with the Herdmen¡¯s light cavalry, which roamed the wilderness like the wind, dispersing forces to guard the supply lines would tie up a great deal of manpower and be prone to being defeated in detail.


    Hence, a passive defense was never an option considered by the Paratu military.


    Destroying light cavalry with mobile cavalry, targeting the enemy¡¯s maneuverable force, was the persistent strategy of the Paratu military leadership.


    The Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment racing to support West Camp was such a mobile cavalry unit.


    This unit typically patrolled the net along the supply line, rapidly assembling to provide support whenever an alarm was raised.


    There were four squadrons in the entire cavalry regiment, with a standard troop count of seven hundred and twenty.


    However, when battling the Herdmen¡¯s thousand-man unit, the cavalry regiment had just over five hundred men, and now less than four hundred and fifty were fit for combat.


    This was because cavalry was difficult to replenish, often diminishing in number the more battles they fought, which is why cavalry units were never at full strength during wartime.


    Apart from the four combat squadrons, Castor¡¯s Regiment also had a reserve squadron in their structure that was responsible for recruitment, training, and personnel replenishment.


    This was a true elite standing cavalry force, boasting twenty-six officers alone.


    In comparison, Jeska¡¯s supply train had nearly six hundred personnel including militiamen and drivers, but only four officers in total. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Paratu has long been a land of fine horses with a deep cavalry tradition.


    In Vineta¡¯s standing army, cavalry made up only ten to twenty percent. For example, the Third Legion had only one six-hundred-man cavalry battalion, which was not brought along to the islands due to the wasteful transportation effort.


    In contrast, over forty percent of Paratu¡¯s standing army consisted of cavalry, with the Fifth Legion having three cavalry regiments plus several cavalry squadrons.


    The Kingdom of Galloping Horses not only had more cavalry but also invested more heavily in them.


    After Andre roamed around Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment, he came back muttering non-stop, ¡°Now that is what you call real cavalry!¡±


    Even the least among Castor¡¯s cavalry had three horses, one for riding, one for packing, and one warhorse.


    There were specialized gunsmiths with the army, responsible for repairing and maintaining firearms.


    Many cavalrymen even had attendants to care for their daily needs ¡ª the attendants also had mounts to ride.


    Compared to Jeska¡¯s Dusack Cavalry unit, this was downright pathetic.


    Originally, Andre was quite delighted to lead the cavalry squad, but ever since he saw Castor¡¯s Regiment, he began to sigh and lament.


    However, this type of cavalry unit was heavily reliant on supply lines and somewhat sluggish in movement. Yet, their combat strength was enough to compensate for all weaknesses.


    ¡­


    The Supply convoy headed west, and just as Colonel Jeska had anticipated, the first three camps they came across had all been burned to the ground, with the reserved supplies plundered.


    Even the third camp, which had half a hundred-men team stationed for defense and was situated in a terrain easy to defend but hard to assault, had not been spared.


    But the fourth camp was intact, a small camp pitifully guarded by a mere ten-man squad.


    The sergeant in charge of the camp claimed they had not seen any Herd Barbarians; they had only seen the smoke signals from the west and thus relayed the message in turn.


    During the mealtime at the fourth camp, the cavalry officers and supply team casually discussed the oddities they encountered along the way.


    ¡°The supply line is too long,¡± Lieutenant Mason complained. ¡°People are losing weight, let alone pigs. After driving pigs for more than a hundred kilometers, they¡¯ve shed all their fat.¡±


    Captain Galle of the cavalry replied, ¡°There¡¯s no helping it; the Hurds have always been like this. You strike them, they run, slippery as eels. You have to catch them and beat them severely before they¡¯re willing to sign a peace treaty.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the Herders would spare this camp; they¡¯ve taken down harder targets.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t grasp the enemy¡¯s behavior patterns.


    Castor offhandedly explained to Winters, ¡°Herd Barbarians lack siege capabilities; they usually don¡¯t attack camps but rather raid convoys. If they get caught¡ªlike when they attacked your team of Herders¡ªthey end up bleeding heavily once the mobile cavalry arrives.¡±


    Castor was impressed with the officers stationed at Wolf Town and surprised to meet him again in the wilderness, so he was willing to give Montaigne, the young lieutenant, a few tips.


    ¡°If I may be so bold, with the strength of that thousand-man team, I fear no camp would be difficult to take,¡± said Winters.


    ¡°That¡¯s the weird part; the movements of a thousand-man team are too obvious, making it hard to conceal,¡± said Castor with unexpected patience. ¡°Herders usually raid the supply lines with a hundred-man team as the norm. Frankly, I would like to see the Herd Barbarians deploy a thousand-man team.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Castor answered with a cold smirk, ¡°Barbarians are more fun to kill when they¡¯re in a heap. Running around the grasslands after ten hundred-man teams is not as easy as wiping out a thousand-man team in one go.¡±


    Colonel Castor spat viciously, summing up, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the Barbarians coming; I instead hope they come in even greater numbers.¡±


    ¡­


    One day later.


    The fifth camp.


    Castor, Jeska, Winters¡­ everyone stood on top of the camp wall, dumbstruck.


    Outside the walls, countless Herd Cavalry were galloping around the camp.


    The thunderous sound of horse hooves was suffocating, and even the sun was obscured by the dust kicked up by the hooves.


    The small Paratu camp was deep in the sea of Herd Cavalry, like a small boat amid raging waves, ready to be shattered to pieces at any moment.


    This display far exceeded what a thousand-man team could muster.


    After menacingly circling the camp three times, the thousands of Herd raiders headed eastward at a fast pace.


    ¡°How many¡­ could there be?¡± Castor stuttered.


    ¡°At least four thousand,¡± said the one-eyed Jeska, his face pale.


    ¡°What the hell is General Yanosh doing? Waste of space!¡± Castor snarled, cursing vehemently: ¡°How the hell could he miss four thousand cavalry?¡±


    The other people in the camp had yet to recover from the shock, still trembling with fear.


    ¡°This is bad!¡± Winters exclaimed in horror: ¡°The Floating Bridge!¡±


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 Chapter 416 - 52

    Chapter 416: Chapter 52


    ¡°`


    The scouts trailing the Herd¡¯s main force reached The Styx and brought back one piece of bad news and one piece of good news.


    The bad news was that the floating bridge had been burned down.


    Blackened remnants of small boats littered the riverbank. The West Camp across the river had also been set ablaze, with not a single survivor found.


    The wounded, merchants, and Colin¡¯s Centurion who had stayed in the camp had all perished. Even those returning to Paratu probably couldn¡¯t escape their fate.


    The good news was that various signs indicated the enemy had already crossed the river in its entirety, so the supply column was temporarily safe.


    ...


    But¡­ could it really be considered good news?


    The old marshal had once said, ¡°The most difficult thing in war is to guess at the enemy¡¯s intentions.¡±


    An experienced old commander might easily discern the barbarians¡¯ intentions, but not everyone possessed such a skill.


    As the enemy moved their pieces, Winters gradually outlined the big picture: from start to finish, the Herders¡¯ goal had been the floating bridge¡ªthey wanted to bring the flames of war back to Paratu.


    ¡­


    Once the war began, the most important thing was how to end it.


    Paratu¡¯s desire to end the war didn¡¯t lie in conquering cities.


    The wealth of an agrarian nation was concentrated in its cities, but the Herders, being nomadic, had no cities for the Paratu army to attack.


    The real objective for the Paratu People was to hurt, to make the Herd Barbarians cry, and to soften them up through killing their soldiers, capturing their populations, and plundering their livestock.


    As long as the Herders acknowledged defeat and moved westward, the war would end immediately.


    Moreover, Paratu was not at war with all the Herders but fought only the nearest faction each time.


    Sometimes they even exploited the divisions among the factions, hiring Herders to fight Herders.


    Despite the Paratu People¡¯s reluctance to admit their ancestors were a branch of the Herders, there was no denying that both sides¡¯ war patterns were full of nomadic traits.


    For nearly thirty years, the Herders had been disorganized internally.


    In times of conflict, the tribes would often retreat to preserve their strength as the foremost priority.


    At most, they would dispatch small groups of light cavalry to harass supply lines, waiting for the Paratu People to exhaust themselves and naturally withdraw.


    After all, the Paratu People would come and go, while the other tribes residing on the steppe were the real enemies.


    Therefore, everyone, including Winters, assumed that the first encountered Centurion was a vanguard, considering the following day¡¯s arrival of Alaric¡¯s force as the main body.


    However, in reality, the Herders had deployed a substantial army, at least half of a Naiman [ten thousand men squad].


    The thousand-strong Alaric¡¯s Centurion that fought Paratu until the heavens turned dusky was actually just an advanced guard.


    ¡­


    The worst estimation made by the officers earlier was merely being cut off by the Herders.


    When Colonel Castor was informed that thousands of Herd cavalry had crossed to the east of The Styx, he nearly fainted from anger.


    What was on the east side of The Styx? A hundred kilometers of uninhabited land. Yet, beyond those hundred-odd kilometers lay Paratu¡¯s homeland.


    The Herders¡­ were heading towards Paratu, and there was nobody to stop them.


    After thirty years, the hooves of the Herd Raiders would once again tread on Paratu¡¯s soil.


    Colonel Castor immediately dispatched messengers to the forces ahead and behind.


    However, with the floating bridge destroyed, the messengers could only take a detour upstream to cross the river, but it was already too late.


    The news was so shocking that the Paratu People in the ranks were all somewhat dazed, even Winters felt dizzy when he first heard it.


    The Paratu People had been winning battles for so long that they had forgotten the Herders also had teeth.


    The last time the Herders had penetrated into Paratu, Jeska was still a babbling toddler, and most people in the camp hadn¡¯t even been born.


    Over those thirty years, Paratu maintained absolute suppression over the Herd tribes.


    When the Paratu People threw a punch, the Herders retreated; when the Paratu People threw another punch, the Herders retreated further.


    From one victory to another, the Paratu People built an unwavering confidence in their invincibility. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What Winters saw, amidst the wagons and behind the camp walls, no matter how dire the battle, the Paratu People never doubted the ultimate victory in this war.


    Now, Winters was witnessing this confidence begin to crumble.


    More than one Centurion ran to him, subtly or openly asking about retreating back to Paratu.


    But this was not something Winters could decide.


    ¡­


    The cavalry squadron and the supply column¡¯s officers urgently convened to discuss the next course of action.


    The atmosphere of the meeting was heavy, with officers keeping somber faces without speaking a word.


    Seeing no one willing to speak, Colonel Castor angrily exclaimed, ¡°All gone mute? Start with the lowest rank, one by one speak up!¡±


    Another silence followed, and Winters stood up, probably no one there had a lower rank than him.


    ¡°Good, you start!¡± Castor banged the table and pointed, ¡°Then the person on your right.¡±


    Andre¡¯s face immediately turned into the look of a bitter gourd.


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters said as succinctly as possible, ¡°we should head west and find the main force.¡±


    The air suddenly fell cold.


    ¡°Why?¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyelids twitched.


    ¡°The floating bridge is destroyed, and there are only two ways to cross the river. Either detour upstream or build a boat to cross. The detour is too long, and boat building takes time. We don¡¯t know how many Herders are still lurking around here; seeking the main force is safer.¡±


    ¡°How do you know the main force hasn¡¯t been defeated?¡±


    ¡°Because the enemy troops crossing the river still wore lamellar armor and leather coats,¡± Winters replied. ¡°The Herders don¡¯t waste anything. If the main force ahead had been defeated, they would be carrying more than just that junk.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Castor immediately spoke in agreement: ¡°What capability do the Herders have to devour a twenty thousand strong army? They must have played a risky move, placing a gamble on this battle¡ªit hasn¡¯t been lost yet!¡±


    The others looked at Jeska; if he shared the same opinion, there was no need for further discussion.


    ¡°You fight your battle, I¡¯ll fight mine.¡± The one-eyed Colonel suddenly shook his head with a bitter smile: ¡°That was the old marshal¡¯s strategy, when did the Herders learn that?¡±


    ¡°`


    With the tone set, the officers decided to set out immediately and sent out Cavalry to gather the other three companies of Castor¡¯s unit.


    Because most of the supply camps along the route had been plundered, Castor¡¯s Cavalry would travel with the supply trains, procuring supplies while also offering protection.


    The accompanying merchants were scared out of their wits and just wanted to go home, but by now it wasn¡¯t up to them.


    The two Lieutenants-Colonels, fearing that deserting merchants might leak the supply train¡¯s movements, conscripted all of the merchants¡¯ wagons and draft animals, and enlisted the merchants themselves into the militia.


    Unperceived, the mentality of the Paratu People had quietly shifted.


    Before the encounter with Hurd¡¯s army, the Paratu People regarded the supply line as the rear, subject only to sporadic raids.


    Now everything was different; the vast wilderness seemed the same, but in the eyes of those setting out again, danger lurked everywhere, and Herders seemed to be ambushing from behind every hill.


    The supply train changed its route. Castor dispersed scouts twenty kilometers out, with everyone on edge, they even dared not light fires during the day¡ªsmoke was too conspicuous over the open plains.


    Military and civilian personnel alike could only cook at night using earthen stoves.


    However, the advantages of the iron stove crafted by Berlion became evident.


    Iron stoves, without open flames and concealed and safe, do not leave pits. They use less fuel, so they produce minimal smoke.


    The more experienced the officer, the more invaluable they found these iron stoves.


    To soldiers hungry, cold, and exhausted, nothing could boost their morale more than a bowl of hot soup.


    Lieutenant-Colonel Castor thoroughly inspected the iron stove inside and out, marveling without end.


    ¡°Are you a blacksmith?¡± the Lieutenant-Colonel abruptly asked Berlion.


    ¡°Apprenticed for two years.¡±


    ¡°Not married?¡±


    ¡°Sir, no.¡±


    ¡°Come work for me.¡± Castor recruited Berlion straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a Sergeant. You¡¯ll save up for a wife¡¯s dowry in three years.¡±


    Winters, standing nearby, hadn¡¯t expected the Lieutenant-Colonel to recruit directly from his ranks, and to offer such generous terms at that.


    The term ¡®Sergeant¡¯ has slightly different meanings in the various Republics. In Vineta, it is synonymous with Centurion.


    In Paratu, a Sergeant stands between Centurion and Centurion, a very favorable position. A seasoned Sergeant¡¯s salary can even exceed that of a lower-ranking officer.


    Hearing Castor¡¯s words, Winters felt somewhat nervous; he truly did not want to lose such a good cook.


    Berlion hesitated for a moment, then answered woodenly, ¡°My lord¡¯s favor humbles me, but I have a younger brother at home. I can¡¯t leave him.¡±


    Lieutenant-Colonel Castor snorted. Having personally extended the offer was honor enough; he could say no more.


    Before leaving, Castor looked back and asked, ¡°Does this stove have a name?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s called the Soria Stove.¡± Berlion¡¯s eyes reddened a bit, ¡°It was designed by my father.¡±


    That very night, the blacksmith Berlion received the fire iron from a Lieutenant and was gloriously promoted to the exclusive cook for the officer¡¯s mess of the Cavalry and supply train, and thus was relieved from duties and combat.


    He immediately became the most closely guarded individual in the company, even more secured than the two Colonels.


    ¡­


    Proceeding with utmost caution over three days, the leading scouts encountered friendly units.


    Behind the friendly scouts were forty companies of Cavalry, constituting over five thousand light and heavy Cavalrymen.


    Soon after, Major General Alpad rushed to the supply train with his personal guards, urgently enquiring about information from the two Lieutenant-Colonels.


    The large movement of Herder troops could not have gone unnoticed; sensing the enemy¡¯s actions, the Paratu army immediately dispatched all their Cavalry in pursuit.


    They were just a step too late; only after the Herders had crossed the Styx three days earlier did the pursuers finally catch up.


    When Alpad learned that the Herders had already destroyed the Floating Bridge, he was quickly incensed.


    Further learning that Herd Raiders had crossed eastward over the Styx, heading straight for Paratu, Major General Alpad nearly died of rage on the spot.


    The silver-haired Alpad berated both Lieutenant-Colonels until they were soaked in metaphorical blood. If fury had a temperature, Jeska and Castor would have been scorched, inside and out.


    But the bridge was already destroyed; anything said was too late.


    Alpad could only regroup with the main infantry forces before making further plans.


    While Jeska and Castor were being harshly reprimanded by the Major General, their subordinates stood at attention behind them.


    The dressing down of Lieutenant-Colonel Jeska made Winters uncomfortable, and he couldn¡¯t help remarking to the others, ¡°It was clearly the forces ahead who failed to stop the Herders, yet he belabors his point by scolding us!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± said Lieutenant Sutter, waving his hand.


    Having stirred the pot together for many days, the officers of the Cavalry had grown familiar with Winters and the others.


    ¡°How is it then?¡±


    ¡°Major General Alpad has already routed three Herder Centurion units on his way here; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have arrived so late,¡± Lieutenant Sutter quietly explained, adding, ¡°I heard it from someone in the first company.¡±


    Winters¡¯ pupils dilated sharply, ¡°There are three other routed Centurion units, plus the Herders who crossed the river, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Sutter wiped the sweat from his brow, ¡°An actual Naiman, a legitimate force of ten thousand.¡±


    ¡°Over ten thousand Cavalry! How could they hide in the wilderness?¡±


    ¡°What else? Dividing and conquering.¡± Sutter sighed, ¡°The Herders¡¯ signature tactics.¡±


    ¡­


    The impetuous Major General Alpad left the slow-moving supply train behind, leading the Cavalry to meet up with the main force ahead.


    After fourteen more days of grueling journeying, Jeska¡¯s supply train finally reached their destination.


    The setting sun slanted to the west, and the sky was covered in red clouds.


    Winters, riding a sturdy horse at a leisurely pace, climbed the hill and saw the vast expanse of the Paratu encampment completely exposed to his view.


    Only now did he truly understand why this battle had been so delayed.


    In front of the Paratu encampment stood a quiet earthen city, erected on the wilderness.


    The Herd Barbarians¡­ had built a fortress.


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 Chapter 417 - 53

    Chapter 417: Chapter 53


    Mountains and rivers interweave, every turn treacherous or perilous.


    Two rapid rivers like silver snakes merged into one, and the earth fortress of the Herders was built on the high ground at the confluence.


    When the baggage train first arrived at the great camp, Major Bello of the legion¡¯s intelligence unit took the officers to observe the enemy.


    Bello led everyone to cautiously stay half a kilometer away from the city walls.


    The distant earth fortress, apart from appearing slightly crude, seemed no different from common fortresses.


    The earth fortress was situated higher than the surrounding area, keeping its internal movements hidden from outsiders, who could only see figures moving along the walls.


    ...


    Smoke curled up into the sky above the city, as if fires were being made for cooking.


    Major Bello pointed toward the wall with his riding crop, ¡°Gentlemen, that there is ¡®Bianli¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Bianli? What does that mean?¡± asked Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the Barbarians call it; it¡¯s said to mean where two waters meet,¡± Bello explained. ¡°In our language, perhaps we should call it Confluence City.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t see clearly from here,¡± Colonel Jeska lifted his whip, ¡°Let¡¯s get closer.¡±


    Major Bello quickly interjected, ¡°Centurion! No!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take a closer look?¡±


    ¡°The Barbarians in the city have cannons!¡±


    ¡°Cannons?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyebrows shot up, ¡°Where did they come from? Can the Herders cast cannons?¡±


    Bello replied with a wry smile, ¡°The Barbarians probably don¡¯t have that skill yet; it¡¯s assumed someone smuggled them to them.¡±


    ¡°How many Herder troops are there in the city?¡± Colonel Jeska inquired, gently tugging the reins.


    ¡°Many, but the exact number is unknown,¡± Bello sighed, replying, ¡°from many miles around, all the barbarian tribes that didn¡¯t flee west have rushed into Bianli City.¡±


    ¡°How long has the city been under siege?¡±


    ¡°Almost a month and a half.¡±


    ¡°More than a month? The Herders haven¡¯t starved to death?¡±


    ¡°I find it odd too,¡± Major Bello spread his hands. ¡°Perhaps the Barbarians ran out of food long ago, and the smoke is just to confuse us.¡±


    Winters was greatly puzzled and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°If the Herders dare to fortify the city and hold out, can¡¯t they survive on two months of stored food?¡±


    Andre, Mason, and the others pricked up their ears, sharing the same doubt.


    Upon hearing this, Major Bello didn¡¯t answer directly but furrowed his brows and looked at the lieutenant as if asking, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    Jeska scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, ¡°He¡¯s Venetian.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Bello laughed heartily, his frown immediately easing.


    Winters and Andre instantly felt their tempers flare, and Lieutenant Mason¡¯s face also betrayed embarrassment.


    Bard spoke up before anyone else, ¡°Major Sir, we truly do not understand, please enlighten us.¡±


    ¡°The Herders mainly drink milk supplemented by meat,¡± Colonel Jeska began, ¡°They hardly have any capacity to resist risks. That is also why, in the past, when the Herders suffered a disaster, they would raid Paratu.¡±


    Major Bello explained the logic to Winters and the others: The Paratu People could survive on stored grains, but the Herders could not.


    Contrary to the image of ¡°barbarians who drink blood and gorge on meat,¡± the Herders mainly lived on milk, supplemented with wild vegetables and the wild wheat they sowed during their nomadic journeys. Poorer Herder shepherds rarely even ate meat.


    Therefore, the Herders could not hold out in their city. If they chose to bunker down, the livestock without food would die of hunger faster than the humans.


    Without animals, the Herders might initially survive on meat for a while, but once the carcasses were also consumed, they would have to resort to cannibalism.


    Moreover, surviving on animal meat, even if they held out until the Paratu People withdrew, would leave the Herders severely weakened.


    This was why, seeing the Herders fortify their city, the Paratu People marching from afar were not in a hurry; instead, they methodically besieged the city. No matter how long the Paratu People¡¯s supply lines, the Herders would collapse first.


    But now, thousands of Herd Raiders crossing The Styx suddenly reversed the situation.


    ¡­


    When news of the Herder army¡¯s river crossing reached the besieging camp, the Paratu military leadership immediately fell into disarray.


    Officers favoring retreat gathered around Brigadier General Sekler.


    The retreat faction argued that the priority was to reinforce Paratu. With both Standing Army legions deployed, Paratu had no field troops left to face thousands of Herder Iron Cavalry.


    Thinking of the brutal Herder army pillaging Paratu at that very moment made the officers¡¯ hearts wrench.


    Brigadier General Sekler¡¯s voice was thunderous, ¡°Would you have us abandon Paratu to the mercy of the barbarian raiders?! Can any amount of land compensate for the loss of Paratu? If we do not turn back to save it now, the barbarians will breach Kingsfort!¡±


    Another faction, led by Major General Alpad, advocated continuing the siege and even launching an immediate assault on Bianli City.


    ¡°Retreating now would mean all our efforts have been in vain!¡± Major General Alpad gritted his teeth, ¡°The barbarians are about to break! They¡¯ve thrust a knife into us, and we must thrust back harder! How can we retreat now? It¡¯s already too late to retreat! Assault the city! For every Paratu person killed by a Herd Barbarian, we¡¯ll kill ten Herdmen!¡±


    Most high-ranking officers believed they should continue the assault.


    Support for retreat mainly came from majors and officers of lower rank, who, despite their lesser rank, had broader support.


    From the moment the bad news arrived, the two factions had been at loggerheads.


    Yanosh, the general in command of all the forces, also hesitated to make a decision.


    Until Jeska¡¯s baggage team arrived, the Paratu People were still in a standoff with the Herders across the walls, and the army grew increasingly restless.


    For Winters, who was just a minor lieutenant with no standing to participate in strategic debates, the fiery clashes of the high and mighty were beyond his grasp.


    However, he had been promoted.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The sky at dawn was a brilliant blue.


    The ground was covered with white frost, and the fields appeared to be a vast expanse of whiteness in the distance.


    The wilderness had entered deep winter, the time of year when the bitter cold was at its worst.


    Therefore, among the carts Jeska¡¯s squad was escorting, several were loaded with duck down quilts and woolen overcoats reserved for the high-ranking officers. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters finally understood why those wooden crates were nailed shut so tightly and sealed with multiple layers of ¡°Do Not Open¡± tape.


    There were also jams, tobacco, white flour, red wine, and other ¡°military supplies¡± that were transported thousands of miles from Paratu to this desolate wilderness, occupying as much of the precious transport capacity as grain and gunpowder.


    Knowing that what he had desperately saved were these items, Winters regretted not letting the Herd Barbarians burn all the carts down with a fire.


    Now, in front of Lieutenant Montaigne, the militiamen dressed in motley clothing stood in a loose formation, waiting for the new commander to inspect them.


    Many militiamen were wrapped in fur cloaks stripped from the Herd dead, utterly unrecognizable as Paratu People at first glance.


    It was so cold that those militiamen lacking warm clothing simply wore whatever they could.


    When they departed from home, it was still the pleasant days of autumn; no one thought the war would drag on until today.


    After the headcount, it was customary for the officer to say a few words.


    Looking at the shivering militiamen, Winters said, ¡°Your former Centurion, Lieutenant Marcelo, was my friend.¡±


    When the fallen Marcelo was mentioned, the small drilling ground fell silent, and everyone¡¯s eyes grew even more dim.


    Militia squads that had lost members in previous battles were replenished with members of Jeska¡¯s squad, and the camp merchants too were conscripted, likewise integrated into the ranks of the militia.


    Jeska¡¯s squad had not only restored its numbers to full strength but had even received reinforcements.


    Because the militia lacked officers, Winters was promoted to a ¡°Centenarian¡± and took command of two reorganized hundred-man squads.


    In Winters¡¯ view, it was the same old problem: The command structure had no redundancy at all, and if a Centurion died, there was no one to take his place.


    After a moment of silence, Winters spoke again, ¡°Trust me, and I will never abandon you.¡±


    There were looks of mutual confusion, with a lukewarm response.


    ¡°I have finished speaking,¡± Winters knew that platitudes were useless, ¡°Also, for lunch today, we¡¯ll have stewed pork with sauce.¡±


    ¡­


    Forests of significant size were rare on the wilderness, with only occasional patches of woods and shrubbery, mostly meadows.


    The trees near Bianli City had long been cut down by the Herders.


    This led to an acute shortage of firewood among the Paratu People, who even had to dig up the tree roots chopped by the Herders.


    The militiamen could only receive very little fuel for warmth, and since joining the camp, they had been consuming dry bread and drinking cold water.


    The mere mention of the words ¡°stewed pork¡± made many drool uncontrollably.


    By noon, when the constables arrived carrying iron pots, people finally believed that what Centurion Montaigne said was true.


    The aroma of the stewed meat prompted some militiamen to quietly shed tears.


    A bowl of hot soup, a piece of pork, and a piece of bread on this freezing winter day made people ask for nothing more.


    Grabbing his share, a militiaman from Ganshui Town found a wind-sheltered spot nearby and began to savor this precious meal.


    He first took a small sip of the meat soup; the steaming broth flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, making his entire body feel warm and cozy.


    Only then did he truly confirm that he was not dreaming.


    He didn¡¯t take another drink but began carefully tearing the bread into pieces and soaking it in the soup.


    His fellow townsman expressed some regret beside him, ¡°It¡¯s a pity the meat isn¡¯t very fatty; otherwise, it would be truly delicious.¡±


    A stranger from Wolf Town overheard these words and turned around with a sneer, ¡°You should be thankful there¡¯s something to eat at all. Do you know how far this pig traveled? Without Blood Wolf, you wouldn¡¯t even have pig hair to eat, so what¡¯s there to complain about?¡±


    ¡°Who is Blood Wolf?¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf is Lord Montaigne, let me tell you, back in our Wolf Town¡­¡± The militiaman from Wolf Town got carried away, adding embellishments to what he¡¯d seen and heard, as if he had witnessed Lord Montaigne tearing apart a giant lion himself, making the townsman beside Ish gasp in fascination.


    ¡°I had no idea Commander Montaigne was such a¡­,¡± Ish¡¯s townsman struggled to find a fitting adjective, finally saying with awe to the Wolf Town militiaman, ¡°Big brother, serving under Commander Montaigne makes you quite something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, it¡¯s nothing,¡± the Wolf Town militiaman blushed, whether from the cold or some other reason.


    He suddenly leaned in close to Ish¡¯s companion, whispering secretively, ¡°Let me tell you, but don¡¯t tell anyone else, I heard that when Lord Montaigne was on an island across the sea¡­¡±


    This time, the story went from half-true to completely hearsay.


    Ish sipped his meat soup in small bites, quietly listening.


    ¡­


    Unaware that his reputation was being tarnished, Winters was personally handing out meat to his militiamen, watching them eat with relish and feeling a sense of pride well up inside him.


    The pig had been bargained for from Lieutenant Mason, who set off from the ranch with over four hundred pigs, losing some along the way and consuming others.


    In the end, less than half the pigs arrived alive at the front-line camp, but it still exceeded the quota.


    It was only unfortunate that these pigs, after walking hundreds of kilometers, had developed lean muscles, becoming as robust as wild boars and not very fatty indeed.


    While Winters¡¯ centurion squad was feasting, another group was deciding their fate.


    General Sekler could no longer tolerate the endless debates and, leading his men, burst into General Yanosh¡¯s tent.


    He was determined to get an explanation; they must either fight or retreat, but they could not continue wasting time like this.


    But upon bursting into the tent, what Sekler saw was General Yanosh, barely clinging to life.


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 Chapter 418 - 54 Expanding the Meeting

    Chapter 418: Chapter 54 Expanding the Meeting


    The ironclad General Yanosh was gone, the tough man with a voice like a tolling bell and who walked with his head held high was gone, and on the military cot lay only a frail old man, his breath weak as the thinnest of threads.


    Seeing the scene before him, Brigadier General Sekler was so shocked that he lost his speech.


    Major General Alpad, upon hearing the news, rushed into the tent following in Sekler¡¯s footsteps, but the truth could no longer be concealed.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Sekler¡¯s lips trembled.


    ¡°It started with typhoid,¡± Alpad walked to the bedside, neatly tucked in the sheets for the old man, and whispered, ¡°Then it was a stroke.¡±


    Sekler charged at Alpad, clutching the other¡¯s collar fiercely, his rage causing him to lose all reason, ¡°How dare you! Isolating us from the inside out! You¡­ you dared to hide it and not report! You! What exactly are you trying to do?¡±


    ...


    Alpad being disrespected by his junior in such a manner, didn¡¯t get angry at all; he silently met Sekler¡¯s gaze.


    To Sekler, Alpad¡¯s seemingly unconcerned actions were more infuriating than the loss of General Yanosh¡¯s ability to command, and it was no different than a military revolt.


    Sekler¡¯s chest heaved violently, ¡°Hide it for one more day, and we¡¯re besieged for one more? What¡¯s your next move? What will you do on the day you can no longer hide it? Kill us all? Speak up!¡±


    ¡°Are you done throwing a tantrum? Then listen to me,¡± Alpad removed the other¡¯s hand from his collar, ¡°Once the news of General Yanosh¡¯s stroke spreads, the morale of the troops will definitely waver, only giving the Barbarian Chief [Yasin] a chance to exploit.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Sekler couldn¡¯t restrain his fury, ¡°The general is seriously ill, we should retreat immediately! By hiding this news, you¡¯re just trying to continue the battle! Just for another star on your epaulette! For your own selfish desires, you disregard the safety of the entire army, Alpad Duyome! You and I are irreconcilable!¡±


    Major General Alpad let out a disdainful snort, casually dragged over a stool, sat down leisurely and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m doing this for power? For position? For stars?¡±


    Sekler said nothing, his eyes nearly spitting fire were the answer.


    Alpad patted the dust off his riding trousers, and said nonchalantly, ¡°As long as you support me, once the war is over, I¡¯ll apply for retirement and go home to raise horses and plant flowers.¡±


    The only response to the major general was a cold snort from deep within the nostrils.


    The other clearly didn¡¯t believe him, but Alpad did not bother to swear any more oaths; he stared at Sekler, questioning word by word, ¡°Do you know why we are here?¡±


    Sekler was taken aback, his rage somewhat subsiding, but he still did not speak.


    ¡°Let me tell you, this war isn¡¯t about land, slaves, money, power¡ªit¡¯s unrelated to all of that!¡± Alpad gestured toward the direction where the Herdsmen¡¯s earthen city stood, ¡°We are here to take down this very city!¡±


    Alpad paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°The man who built this city, eighteen years ago when he was serving as a scout on an old horse for me, I had already taken notice of him. Fifteen years ago, when he only had fifty households, I already marked him on my list. Over the years, I watched him grow on the grasslands like an avalanche, growing bigger with each roll, and it would even wake me from my sleep in terror.¡±


    Sekler didn¡¯t expect the other party to say such things; for a moment, he felt overpowered by the major general¡¯s momentum.


    ¡°The Republic is now like a drunkard sleeping on a pile of firewood.¡± Alpad¡¯s words were through gritted teeth, ¡°I don¡¯t care about any stars! I came here to flatten the Red River Tribe! I am here to put out a fire for the Republic! General Sekler!¡±


    ¡­


    Nobody knew what agreement Alpad and Sekler had reached, but that very afternoon, all the officers of the rank of colonel and above in the army were summoned to an expanded meeting.


    Though it was called an expanded meeting, no matter how much it expanded, it would not extend to the likes of Winters and other non-commissioned officers.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska did attend the meeting¡ªthough currently part of the lowly militia sequence, he was still a bona fide colonel.


    No sooner had the lieutenant colonel gone off to the meeting than Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason gathered in the tent for their own little meeting.


    Mason and his convicts had officially been assigned to Jeska¡¯s battalion; these brothers in hardship now banded together for warmth, and had someone to watch their backs.


    With no outsiders in the tent, the few gathered around the Soria stove discussed freely.


    ¡°My guess is that neither side can suppress the other, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t resort to military democracy,¡± Mason, clasping a cup of hot water in his hands, smacked his lips, ¡°They might even have to use anonymous voting.¡±


    Winters placed his boots by the iron stove, casually remarking, ¡°Whether to fight or withdraw, making a decision is better than wasting away in a stalemate.¡±


    Andre, who was reaching out to warm his hands, nodded in agreement.


    No one understood the unrest and impatience within the Paratu army better than the lower-ranking officers.


    There had even been incidents of self-harm among the soldiers, and many were quietly packing their belongings.


    ¡°I think we will still fight,¡± Mason yawned, ¡°I heard that they¡¯ve sent four groups of slaves into the city in succession. If we were to withdraw now, wouldn¡¯t that be a huge loss for the nomads?¡±


    Andre perked up with interest, ¡°Sending slaves into the city, what¡¯s that about?¡±


    The others also pricked up their ears.


    ¡°Before we arrived, General Alpad ordered to drive the captured slaves into Bianli City¡ªof course, only the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Those inside, the Herders, though they had backbone, accepted them all.¡±


    The tent fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wood crackling within the stove.


    ¡­


    Driving the old, weak, sick, and disabled into the city was a ¡°highly dishonorable¡± siege tactic.


    Allowing people into the city was equivalent to adding mouths that drain the reserves. Not allowing them in would weaken the resolve of the defenders.


    At times, the defending forces even took the initiative to drive these helpless individuals out of the city, followed by tragic scenes among mankind.


    Winters was well aware of this; he had not just heard of it, but witnessed it with his own eyes.


    In the siege of Gusa, the defenders, lacking supplies, resolutely drove the ¡°useless mouths¡± out of the city, only to have them immediately pushed back by the besieging army.


    With nowhere to go, starving and fearful, those pitiful people wandered for eight full days between the city walls and the siege lines.


    Winters had never seen more desperate human beings than those; not one of them survived.


    The Herder people in the city actually dared to let people in, an unwise act, but Winters couldn¡¯t help feeling a faint admiration.


    ¡­


    Bard suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Tanilia has stopped buying slaves, do the Paratu People still capture them?¡±


    The islands have been divided between The Federated Provinces and Vineta. The Federated Provinces allow the slave trade but forbid keeping slaves within their territory; Vineta has outright banned it altogether.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m not well-informed and wasn¡¯t quite sure,¡± Mason said, slightly dazed: ¡°But even if the islanders aren¡¯t buying, they can still sell to the several duchies south of the Jinding Mountains. Herder slaves are in high demand¡ªthey are all heretics, enslaving them doesn¡¯t carry moral pressure.¡±


    The slave capturing tradition of the Paratu People has long been criticized by other allied nations and is also an important part of the stereotype that ¡°Highlanders are all barbaric.¡±


    ¡°May the Paratu People capture and sell you off as a slave¡± is a classic phrase used by Sea Blue citizens to scare children.


    But it was not until Winters arrived in Paratu that he found almost no Herder slaves within the borders of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses; they were all taken for export. Perhaps because it was too close, they were afraid of the Herders running back.


    After a moment of thought, Mason added: ¡°There¡¯s no need to sympathize with the Herders, they used to capture Paratu People as slaves too. It¡¯s just that in recent years, the battles have been one-sided, and the Herders have been getting thrashed, leaving only the Paratu People to take captives as slaves. It¡¯s said that the Herders themselves would enslave each other too¡­ Hey, this history, when you start to tally it up, there¡¯s no end to it.¡±


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s words caused the others to sigh. The Herders and Paratu People have been locked in a seesaw struggle for hundreds of years, a complicated history likely not even clear to themselves, let alone outsiders¡¯ presumptuous disregard for the whole picture.


    The four of them then chatted around the stove about old days, amusing anecdotes from the military academy¡ªlife in the front-line camp was hard and dull, making this a rare leisure time.


    With two main forces from the Standing Army nearby, even if there was a fight, the militia wouldn¡¯t be called upon.


    Squad Jeska finally took on the real duties of the militia, mainly engaging in manual labor like digging trenches and latrines, and every other day going to cut down trees far away to bring back for firewood.


    Andre and Lieutenant Mason were sullen every day, feeling underutilized, and therefore lacked energy.


    Winters, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mind; he was more than happy to stand behind and cheer for the Paratu People while they fought.


    At one point, Berlion came into the tent to deliver the repaired rifle barrel for the ensign¡¯s inspection.


    This rifled musket had been overused in practice and combat, resulting in lead fouling the bore. Not only had the accuracy worsened, but there was also the risk of the barrel bursting.


    Initially, Winters didn¡¯t have a solution because it should have been handled by a gunsmith, but Berlion said he could fix it.


    The blacksmith¡¯s method was simple and clever. He inserted an iron rod into the barrel, poured lead over it, pulled it out, and then rubbed it with rapeseed oil.


    To maintain the splendor of higher-ranking officers, the logistics department had shipped in a lot of porcelain tableware from Paratu, which inevitably suffered damage during transport and use.


    Berlion collected shattered porcelain pieces, ground them into a powder, screened them, and sprinkled them on the lead rod.


    By rubbing the lead rod coated with porcelain powder back and forth inside the barrel, the fouled parts were soon polished clean.


    Winters inspected the barrel in the light of the furnace and saw the inside bright and shiny, without any burrs. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Its smoothness was comparable even to the two spring-loaded muskets the Oathbreakers had given to Antonio. Plus, those were smoothbore guns, while Winters¡¯ was rifled, making the polishing all the more difficult.


    Polishing has always been the most challenging and expensive part of weapon and armor production.


    Moved by an idea, Winters asked the blacksmith,¡±Mr. Berlion, can you cut rifling grooves?¡±


    ¡°Cut rifling?¡± Berlion seemed troubled, hesitantly said: ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, but I¡¯ve heard it requires a lathe.¡±


    ¡°Can you make a lathe?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen one, never made one.¡±


    Winters understood somewhat, the blacksmith didn¡¯t want to say more, so he didn¡¯t press further.


    The ensign smiled and patted the blacksmith¡¯s shoulder: ¡°Mr. Berlion, it¡¯s a pity for you to stay in Paratu. Come with me to Vineta, you¡¯ll make a fortune. I guarantee, the Sea Blue People would definitely love rifled handguns.¡±


    Andre laughed loudly upon hearing this, but Mason and Bard, both from The Federated Provinces, were a bit bemused.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Bard to figure it out, and he started chuckling, shaking his head. He whispered to Lieutenant Mason to explain, and the lieutenant couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    Inside the tent, only Berlion was left clueless and at a loss.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? Why the laughter?¡± Another person lifted the tent flap and walked in, bringing a gust of cold air.


    The officers, recognizing the familiar voice, all stood up at once.


    Colonel Jeska walked straight to the stove, extending his hands above the stove lid to warm them.


    Seeing this, Berlion prepared to leave.


    Winters pulled out his purse, tossing the rifle barrel and the purse to the blacksmith just before he exited the tent.


    Only a few officers remained in the tent; Lieutenant Mason nervously asked, ¡°Finished that early, sir?¡±


    Colonel Jeska sneered, ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a meeting, just summoning us to set up the battle plans.¡±


    ¡°Have the higher-ups come to an agreement?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what sort of trickery Sekler and Alpad are up to, and General Yanosh doesn¡¯t show his face,¡± Jeska said with a hint of suspicion: ¡°In the end, we¡¯ll have to fight¡­ but we won¡¯t be the ones going into battle.¡±


    All four officers heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Tonight, you¡¯ll get a shovel.¡± The colonel continued: ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll be digging trenches.¡±


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 Chapter 419 - 55: Excavation

    Chapter 419: Chapter 55: Excavation


    The rivers across the Great Wilderness all belong to dendritic drainage systems, with tributaries and the main rivers intersecting at sharp angles.


    The Herders, taking advantage of the terrain, built their city on the narrow high ground where two rivers met. The city was surrounded by water on three sides, making it easy to defend and hard to attack; only the northwest side was solid ground.


    Although the two unnamed rivers were rapid, they were not too wide, allowing for swimming or boating to cross. The land around Bianli City was thus split into three parts by the two rivers.


    Therefore, the besieging Paratu army also split into three, with two flanking forces encamped on the south and northeast sides, across the river, to prevent the Herders inside the city from fleeing across the river.


    The main force crossed the river and set up camp to the northwest of the earthen city, building ramparts and trenches to seal off the land route. Meanwhile, temporary bridges set up by the engineers connected the three areas above the rivers.


    The Paratu army had been besieging the city for nearly two months, and these arrangements had been completed even before Jeska¡¯s battalion arrived.


    ...


    Although they had not launched a direct attack on the city walls, the Paratu people had not been idle during this time.


    Under the suggestion of Major General Alpad, the engineers had continuously tunneled towards the base of the city walls. Most of the timber hauled back by Jeska¡¯s battalion was used by the engineers to reinforce the tunnels.


    However, the progress of the tunnel was confidential, and the officers of Jeska¡¯s battalion were unaware of it.


    As auxiliary troops, their only responsibility was to dig trenches and guard them.


    No one knew the decision-making process at the top, but at least the opinions of the generals were unified.


    Two infantry battalions and one cavalry squadron from the Fifth Legion left the main force and headed east, following the orders of Brigadier General Sekler, they were to return to the west bank of the Styx to rebuild the floating bridge.


    Besides that, there were no more detachments from the Paratu army; they focused all their efforts on attacking Bianli City.


    ¡­


    The Paratu¡¯s attack began after noon, when the daylight was in their favor.


    Several Paratu generals, all experienced military officers, understood the Herders¡¯ arrangements at a glance.


    The ¡°Bianli¡± earthen city was narrow and long, roughly divided into west, central, and east sections.


    Among these, the main city was on the highest ground, with the Herders¡¯ added defensive cities to the east and west of it.


    Because of the erosion caused by the rivers, the south and north sides of the earthen city were steep and had the rivers as barriers, so attacking from these two directions would only result in a bloody nose.


    The west and east sides had gentler terrain, but the Eastern Defense City was surrounded by water on three sides, making it equally difficult to attack.


    Therefore, the west was the most vulnerable part of Bianli, and the Herders would surely deploy their main force in the West Guard City. The struggle for the west wall would determine the outcome of the battle.


    The Herders formed a grand array to invite battle, with no clever strategies to employ, they could only gnaw at the bone.


    When the sun reached its zenith, Alpad sent envoys to persuade the Herders to surrender one last time. The Herders flatly refused but were quite gracious, not attacking the envoys.


    The war drums were beaten loudly; this was the signal for the Paratu to attack.


    The desolate sound of the horn came from afar, and the shadows on the city walls moved. A few city gates also opened with a bang as the Herders started entering the defensive positions below the walls.


    Under the officers¡¯ guidance, the Paratu behind the fortifications all roared in unison. Wave after wave of shouts rose, and hearing this battle cry, no one could help but be stirred with fervor.


    The roar echoed on the wilderness, and the Paratu army marched out.


    Winters peeked out from the trenches prepared against the enemy¡¯s sorties, watching the heavily armored Paratu soldiers push dozens of shield carts, protecting the musketeers as they slowly approached the city walls.


    Alaric¡¯s cohort had once pushed shield carts to attack the Styx military camp; now seeing Paratu employing the exact same tactic, Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry laugh.


    Pressed for time, and considering the Herders¡¯ weak long-range firepower, those above decided there was no need for trench progression. Brigadier General Sekler ordered a direct assault on the city walls.


    Winters¡¯ troops were not part of the siege lineup; Jeska¡¯s battalion was responsible for defending a segment of the blockade line, so Winters could dig trenches according to his own plan.


    This was something he had done frequently on the archipelago.


    He spaced the trenches six meters apart, not connecting them transversely, so as to save on labor.


    Dispensing soldiers like sprinkling salt made them easy to break, so Winters enlarged each angle in the trenches to accommodate two ten-man squads, which he referred to as ¡°salients.¡±


    Beside Winters, the militiamen also peeked out from the trenches, nervously watching the siege troops press towards the city walls.


    Several puffs of white smoke rose from the walls above, Winters tensed up¡ªBello had not lied; the Herders indeed had cannons.


    The cannonball, thundering like a storm, flew toward the trench where Winters was located. The militiamen gasped, scrambling back into the trench.


    Winters did not flinch as the cannonball whistled overhead, four or five meters above, its destination unknown.


    What was the point of firing at the trenches? The cannons atop the city were surely aimed at the shield carts, but the shots were wildly off.


    Winters shook his head; in his view, the Paratu¡¯s siege ability and the Herders¡¯ defensive skills were both poor, third-rate.


    A militiaman beside him, getting to his feet, suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you shaking your head, sir?¡±


    Winters glanced at the questioning militiaman: ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had recently had a large influx of militiamen under his command, and so he still didn¡¯t recognize everyone.


    ¡°Ish from Ganshui Town,¡± the militiaman stammered, unnerved under the gaze of the Blood Wolf.


    The other militiamen in the salient also stood rigid.


    ¡°I¡¯m shaking my head because storming the city like this is nothing but brute force,¡± Winters tried to memorize the appearance and name of the militiaman before him.


    He jumped back into the trench, slapping the dirt off his hands and said, ¡°Stop looking; Bianli won¡¯t fall today. Pick up your shovels, keep digging forward!¡±


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 Chapter 420 - 55 Digging_2

    Chapter 420: Chapter 55 Digging_2


    ¡­


    The shield carriages approached the earthen wall, musketeers suppressing the archers atop it, while sword and shield bearers leaped over wooden fences, low walls, and trenches to fight the Herders.


    The short winter days meant that by afternoon, the Paratu army hadn¡¯t even cleared the fortifications at the base of the city.


    As dusk approached, General Sekler was compelled to order a retreat back to camp.


    After the sun had set, Andre and Mason gathered in Winters¡¯s tent again. This time it wasn¡¯t just the two of them; all the Lieutenant Vineta¡¯s at the frontline camp also hurried to the dinner gathering.


    More than ten people squeezed into the small military tent, so cramped they couldn¡¯t even stretch their legs, resigned to hunching over.


    ...


    Yet the atmosphere inside the tent was vibrant, and someone even brought wine.


    Since dispersing to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, it was the first time so many Lieutenant Vineta¡¯s had assembled together. Schoolmates, fellow countrymen, brothers-in-arms reunited after a long separation, barely holding back tears.


    Outside the canvas, the piercing cold wind howled, but those seated around the iron stove didn¡¯t feel cold at all.


    Bard wasn¡¯t present, for he was on night duty, counting stars in the trench at that moment.


    ¡°Seems like day in, day out these yokels are useless?¡± With only their own people inside the tent, Andre commented without restraint, ¡°With that level of skill, I could do it too! It¡¯s just a matter of using lives to fill the gap.¡±


    ¡°Actually, the savages have some tactics¡ªthe triangle bastion, multiple trenches, crossfire from above and below the city¡ªit¡¯s a headache for anyone who comes. Even with artillery support all afternoon without bursting the chambers, they are not ordinary savages,¡± said Wetter from the artillery corps, swallowing a mouthful of distilled liquor before passing the bottle to his right.


    To Wetter¡¯s right was Winters, who took the bottle but didn¡¯t drink, passing it further to the right.


    He sighed and said, ¡°I spent the entire afternoon digging trenches, not even knowing who we are fighting. Who is the commander of the city¡¯s defense?¡±


    ¡°Seems to be someone called¡­ Yasin,¡± Wetter recalled while rubbing his temples, ¡°Chief of the Red River Tribe, the savages call him White Lion.¡±


    Andre instantly perked up, ¡°White Lion? Winters hunted a giant lion! Its head was as big as a cartwheel! Weighed hundreds of pounds!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Not me, it was a Hunter who killed it.¡± Winters was not inclined to discuss the topic further.


    Berlion lifted the tent flap and brought in a pot of steaming meatball soup.


    With the cold weather, the food would cool quickly, so Berlion set the pot on top of the tent¡¯s central iron stove to keep it cooking, while Winters casually added some more wood to the fire.


    Conversation paused for the food; everyone first fished out the meatballs, then cooked noodles in the remaining broth. In the wilderness at the edge of this ¡°civilized world¡±, the Venetian soldiers found a taste of home.


    After a hearty meal, Cavalry Corp Lieutenant Sanu licked his fingers and said, ¡°I¡¯m curious¡ªwhere did the savages get their cannons? Can they cast cannons now? And gunpowder? Cannonballs? Gunners?¡±


    Picking his teeth, Andre scoffed, ¡°If the Tanilia people can get ahold of cannons, why can¡¯t the Herders? Old Marcelo said the inscriptions on the cannons from Red Sulfur Island were all filed off.¡±


    Mentioning Marcelo, who had fallen in battle, cast a somber mood over the group.


    Winters reminisced about Marcelo approaching him carrying two bottles of wine at the victory celebration, as if it was just yesterday.


    Koner hesitated, then asked, ¡°You mean¡­ someone is deliberately providing cannons and expertise to the savages?¡±


    ¡°No ¡®maybe¡¯ about it¡ªit is so! Now that savages know how to defend a city, do you really believe no one taught them? It¡¯s definitely those United Provincials making mischief! They were against us last year, now against the Paratu People!¡±


    ¡°We cannot jump to conclusions¡­¡± Koner was still conflicted.


    Andre, glaring, blurted out, ¡°Around Paratu, who can cast big cannons? The Federated Provinces, Venetians, and the Oathbreakers to the north. If it¡¯s not us, and not the United Provincials, could it be the Oathbreakers? Stop fooling yourself! It¡¯s the mudslingers bolstering the savages.¡±


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s face turned a bit awkward; without Bard there, he was the only United Provincial in the tent.


    Andre quickly added, ¡°Senior, I wasn¡¯t speaking about you.¡±


    Mason looked even more embarrassed, his smile bitter, ¡°No worries, the United Provincials never saw me as one of their own, and neither do the Paratu People. I belong to neither.¡±


    The mood cooled for a moment.


    ¡°In Paratu, we¡¯re all foreigners,¡± said Winters, trying to steer the conversation back to military matters, ¡°I think it¡¯s quite normal for the Paratu People to not excel at sieging. They¡¯ve always fought the Herders with cavalry dominance; where would they have needed to employ siege tactics? With such high regard for cavalry, infantry becomes suppressed. Isn¡¯t Alpad ranked higher than Sekler?¡±


    In the Paratu military, Major General Alpad was cavalry-bred, whereas the infantry-bred Sekler was merely a Brigadier General, and General Yano, the commanding officer, was also a cavalry commander in the Sovereignty Wars.


    ¡°All the harsh words have been said, I can¡¯t help but speak my mind.¡± Despite being sullen, Andre adamantly sought to bring the topic back, ¡°Since everyone is here, there¡¯s something I want to discuss with all of you.¡±


    All eyes gathered on Andre.


    Andre cleared his throat and said gravely, ¡°I think that regardless of whether the Paratu People can win or not, we need to prepare early¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The first day of the siege went poorly, and on the second day, General Sekler grew ruthless, pushing toward the city walls from early morning, while the tunneling troops also intensified their digging throughout the night.


    The mud walls of the city were not tall, but the Paratu army lacked artillery¡ªand even if they had artillery, it would not be effective against the low earthen walls¡ªso they could only clear the area beneath the walls with mantlets first, then proceed to undermining and blasting operations.


    The Herders had added two bastions on the western wall, dug multiple trenches outside the city, erected wooden fences and low walls, and positioned archers¡ªmainly bowmen and a few with muskets¡ªboth atop and beneath the ramparts.


    The Paratu army¡¯s main focus was on the two bastions; without removing these two bastions first, there would be no way to attack the city gates.


    Sergeant Miller of the Fifth Legion¡¯s chief battalion pushed the mantlet up the hill and finally reached the first parapet, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.


    Due to the terrain, each parapet at the base of the city was positioned higher than the last, ensuring unobstructed lines of fire.


    Arrows struck the mantlet from above and below, producing a series of dull ¡°thumps.¡±


    Miller¡¯s men held their shields high, desperately trying to hide behind the mantlet. Many Herders were still using bone and stone arrowheads, which were ineffective against plate armor, but no one wanted to take their chances.


    Moreover, the sword-and-shield bearers wore only partial armor, and the Herder bowmen aimed specifically for their legs.


    Amid the Whoosh of the arrows, occasionally mixed with the muted boom of muskets¡ªa sound that chilled the sword-and-shield bearers to the bone.


    They were now ten steps from the wall, but everyone hesitated to move forward. Sergeant Miller gritted his teeth and, with a shield over his head, roared as he charged toward the parapet.


    An arrow struck Miller squarely in the chest with a piercing crack, sending a shower of the arrowhead and splinters flying; Miller faltered but continued his charge.


    Seeing the sergeant taking the lead, the other Paratuan soldiers bit down and followed. The musketeers set up their barrels on the mantlet and began firing at the archers on the walls.


    After a fierce struggle, the Herders were defeated, and Miller led his men in clearing that section of the parapet.


    While arrows still rained down from the walls, Miller took an arrow to his right leg, and his tentmate dragged him behind the protection of another side of the parapet.


    The Paratuan soldiers temporarily used the Herders¡¯ parapet to defend against the projectiles.


    Next, they needed to fill in the trenches and attack the next parapet, then fill in more trenches, and attack the subsequent ones to finally reach the city wall.


    While the Paratuan soldiers were engaged in a fierce struggle with the Herders below the city, Winters continued to dig the Z-shaped trench extending towards the city walls.


    In his eyes, the Paratuan soldiers were sufficiently fierce and brave, but the generals were too impatient and underestimated the enemy, always looking for a quick victory.


    Be mindful that shaving foam doesn¡¯t delay shaving, the attack positions of the Paratuan army and the city walls were separated by more than six hundred meters uphill.


    Without finding a way to shorten this distance, how could they mount an effective assault on the city wall?


    Moreover, the Paratuan generals had yet to realize the importance of locking the enemy within the city walls.


    Having closely observed Antonio command sieges, Winters noticed that the elder¡¯s first action during every siege was to find a way to trap the enemy inside the city walls.


    In the mid-phase of the Tachi siege, the Venetian soldiers even sneaked into the city ditch at night to retrieve cannonballs, while the Federated troops were stuck behind the city walls, helpless to do anything but watch. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once the defending army was unable to leave the city walls, the fall of the city wouldn¡¯t be far off.


    But now, as the Paratuan army attacked Bianli City, according to Bard, who was on night duty the evening before, it was the Herders who slipped out of the city gate to retrieve arrows and repair their works.


    If this continued, the siege would turn into an outright war of attrition, definitely not the situation the attackers wished to see.


    So while the half-armored Paratuan sword-and-shield bearers fought against the Herders under the city walls, Winters led his men, diligently digging the trench with heads down.


    Lieutenant Jeska had not given such an order, but he did not stop it either.


    The Lieutenant Colonel went to see General Sekler, and soon more civilians and militia were allocated to Winters¡ªfor digging trenches.


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 Chapter 421 - 56: The Shadow Commander

    Chapter 421: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander


    Fate tormented both sides in a ludicrous manner.


    Once upon a time, city walls were the foolproof method for agricultural civilizations to defend against barbarian tribes, but now they had become the stronghold behind which the nomadic tribes holed up.


    The Paratu People struggled immensely in their siege; it wasn¡¯t until the fourth day that they barely managed to fill the double-layered moat outside the southern wall.


    On the fifth day of the battle, a large troop broke through to the area beneath the southern wall bastion. Shielded by mantlets, the sappers began to excavate the wall, preparing for blasting.


    The most ferocious combat of the siege erupted then and there.


    The Herders atop the bastion poured boiling water and hot oil down the walls in a frenzy, without pause.


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    The main city gate and three side gates burst open as armored Herder elite troops counterattacked in a relentless stream. Some, fearless of death, even leapt down from the battlements, plunging into the crowd to slash wildly.


    With arrows raining down like hail and scalding oil pouring like rain, just a few steps away were comrades and barbarian soldiers locked in combat, their screams, moans, and the sound of weapons piercing flesh incessantly assaulting the ears¡ªthe Paratu engineers dug into the wall with teeth clenched amidst such chaos.


    In the context of Vineta and The Federated Provinces, ¡°frontiersmen¡±¡ªthe Montan and Paratu People are synonymous with rudeness and savagery.


    Yet the courage and ferocity displayed by the Paratu soldiers and their enemies deeply moved Winters.


    The bloody melee had a similar effect on Winters¡¯ auxiliaries and laborers, making their scalps tingle, so much so that they complained less while they worked.


    Although the siege was not progressing smoothly, Winters¡¯ tunneling work was making good progress.


    He had successfully advanced the trench to within two hundred meters of the city walls, with some trenches even less than fifty meters away, where one could clearly hear the voices of the Herders on the walls.


    These trenches greatly reduced the distance of the troops¡¯ charge, now allowing Paratu soldiers to first reach the vicinity of the walls safely via the trenches before launching an assault.


    During retreat, they could fall back to the trenches nearby, then shift further back.


    Winters had estimated that the Herders would launch an attack once the trenches crossed the midline.


    Thus, Winters cautiously prepared countermeasures. He had his most elite squads of ten on full alert, assigned sentries, and arranged chevaux-de-frise and evacuation passages throughout the trenches, among other preparations.


    But his efforts were like winking at a blind man, for the Herder counterstrike never came.


    This made Winters even more certain that, although the Herders had appropriate city defense planning and a will that was strong enough, they lacked practical experience in siege warfare.


    The location and design of Bianli City were first-class, obviously the work of an expert; however, the current garrison seemed to be fighting on instinct.


    They focused on the contention below the walls, and it was very likely that even if some Herders noticed the trenches drawing closer, they could spare no effort to deal with them.


    Or perhaps the garrison deemed the battles at the foot of the wall more critical, thus they neglected the trenches temporarily.


    Whatever the Herders¡¯ thoughts might be, one side¡¯s oversight was an opportunity for the other. Since the Herders underestimated the importance of the trenches, Winters accelerated his tunneling.


    On the fifth day of the siege, in the afternoon, the Paratu engineers finally set the explosives, and Captain Andraleo, covered in dirt, personally lit the fuse.


    Seeing the Paratu People scatter, the Herders, realizing that something bad was about to happen, struck once more, only to be desperately held back by Captain Andraleo and his men.


    The fuse hissed into the earth, and the crowd near the wall involuntarily held their breath, waiting for the earth-shattering explosion.


    Andraleo even closed his eyes, as he was too close to the Blasting Point and had resolved that survival was impossible.


    Yet no one heard an earth-shattering explosion; the blast sounded more like a damp squib.


    When the smoke cleared, a large hole had appeared in the wall. The city wall stood silently in its place, as if nothing had happened.


    The coveted wall-breaching blasting tactic of the Paratu People started off on the wrong foot, with several hundred kilograms of black gunpowder amounting to no more than fireworks.


    ¡­


    On the fifth day of the siege, night fell.


    Colonel Jeska lifted the curtain of Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s tent to see him writing something on a piece of sheepskin.


    Upon seeing the colonel enter, Winters instinctively covered the sheepskin with a map, stood up, and saluted.


    Jeska took in the scene and, standing at the entrance of the tent, spoke in his customary stern tone, ¡°Sekler wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°General Sekler?¡± Winters was taken aback.


    Jeska nodded slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get ready, and then I¡¯ll go.¡± Winters pulled out the sheepskin full of writing from beneath the map, folded it twice, and placed it into a square wooden box.


    As the lieutenant opened the box, Jeska saw it contained stacks of neatly folded sheepskins.


    Following the colonel, Winters headed toward the central command tent in the camp.


    ¡°Sekler is a good man; there¡¯s no need to be nervous,¡± Colonel Jeska said.


    Winters nodded in agreement.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably about tactical matters, so just answer whatever he asks. Sekler likes people who can get to the point. Try to keep it short and to the point,¡± he advised.


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    The colonel hummed lightly, seemingly indifferent to the thanks.


    After another stretch of silence, Jeska suddenly asked, ¡°What were you writing just now? Of course¡­ if you don¡¯t want to say, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°A letter to my family.¡±


    ¡°Family.¡± The one-eyed colonel mulled over the word: ¡°In this godforsaken place, even if you write it, you can¡¯t send it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t send it, but I still write.¡±


    The colonel hummed again.


    Inside a spacious tent, Winters met with Brigadier General Sekler.


    Compared to the size of the tent itself, the interior was spartan: a bed, a desk, a clothes rack, and that was all.


    General Sekler sat on a small stool with a bench in front of him, apparently using it as a table while he ate his dinner.


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 Chapter 422 - 56: The Shadow Commander_2

    Chapter 422: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander_2


    On the bench, there was a plate filled with some mush.


    When Winters entered the tent, General Sekler was pinching a pickled cucumber with his left hand while dipping bread into the mush with his right hand.


    Just by looking at him, he didn¡¯t at all resemble a general commanding large forces, but rather a farmer who had just returned home after working in the fields.


    Paratu officers generally valued pomp and luxury: gold-embroidered waistbands, silk horse cloaks, glittering swords, and complete sets of ceramic tableware¡­


    Especially the Cavalry officers, who were always impeccably dressed, even to a somewhat flamboyant extent.


    Critical critics from Vineta summarized this tendency as follows, ¡°Paratu people always live in scarcity, so for a Paratu person who rarely possesses ¡®enough¡¯, ¡®enough¡¯ means having more than anyone else.¡±


    ...


    In just a second, Winters had an emotional judgment of Sekler: If this man was not a Saint, then he was a fraud; certainly not an ordinary person.


    The General was quite easy-going, ¡°Gentlemen, find a place to sit for yourselves.¡±


    Though he said to find a place to sit, there wasn¡¯t even an extra bench in the tent.


    Colonel Jeska had no qualms about sitting on the General¡¯s bed. The Lieutenant stood awkwardly, neither sitting nor standing, before finally standing straight.


    ¡°I brought the man,¡± Jeska said with a nod, ¡°He is Winters Montagne. He led the digging of those trenches.¡±


    Winters had thought that the Colonel was cold only to his subordinates, but it turned out he spoke to the General in the same tone.


    Sekler took a bite of bread and looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters¡¯s heels clicked together.


    ¡°I know you have been wronged, and you can¡¯t return home, it¡¯s our fault,¡± General Sekler said earnestly: ¡°I promise you, as soon as this battle is over, I will arrange for your return to Vineta.¡±


    Winters had a bad premonition, ¡°Thank you, General.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about this siege?¡±


    ¡°Our army will prevail!¡±


    ¡°How long do you think it will take to take down the Herder¡¯s city?¡±


    Winters found it odd. He really wanted to reason with the General that war was never certain.


    But since the other party asked, he had to answer simply: ¡°Don¡¯t know!¡±


    Sekler exchanged a glance with Colonel Jeska, a wry smile appearing, ¡°Speak boldly, even if it¡¯s just a guess.¡±


    ¡°It could be as short as two or three days, but if it¡¯s longer, it¡¯s hard to say, depending on the reserves of the Herders.¡±


    ¡°Two or three days?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the city could be scaled by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°But our army had a terrible defeat today.¡±


    ¡°An attack on a city isn¡¯t about a single day¡¯s victory or defeat,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help saying: ¡°Today proved that the strategy of tunneling and Blasting is feasible. The Herders¡¯ cannon fire has been getting less frequent over the past few days, they must be running out of gunpowder. Without the cannons, the Herders have no way to deal with shield carts.¡±


    After speaking, Winters paused, adding: ¡°Of course, the Blasting method still needs improvement.¡±


    ¡°How to improve it?¡±


    ¡°Strengthen the sealing. It would be best to use tunnel Blasting, aren¡¯t they still digging tunnels?¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t reached under the city walls yet.¡±


    ¡°The key is still to break the Herders¡¯ morale. If the morale of the Herders isn¡¯t broken, even if the outer wall is breached, there is still an inner wall. After the inner wall is taken, there¡¯s still the fight for the houses.¡±


    Sekler smiled and shook his head, ¡°Do you know who is defending the city? They¡¯re Barbarian Chief Yasin¡¯s own tribesmen, his relatives, direct descendants, guards. As long as Yasin lives, those Herders in the city won¡¯t give up resisting.¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that given the enmity between the Paratu people and the Herders, it was probably difficult to demoralize the enemy with ordinary methods.


    Sekler continued to ask, ¡°You must have encountered those Herd Raiders who crossed The Styx, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who those Herders are?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± To someone unfamiliar with the wilderness, Herders were just Herders, and that was Winters¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°Those are a mix of several dozen tribes called Naiman, but not a single person from the Red River Tribe,¡± Sekler said with a sigh: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this Barbarian! He hooked us with his own tribesmen but sent other tribes to raid Paratu, to feast on the fat. He gnaws bones and lets others have the meat. Just based on this resolve, if we don¡¯t crush him to death in this earthen city today, the Paratu border will not be at peace for the next twenty years.¡±


    Winters listened, absorbed. At first, this battle was just ¡°Paratu people fighting the Herders¡± to him.


    But the more he got involved, the more he realized the deep logic of the war was far more complex than the simple notion of ¡°border people clashing with barbarians.¡±


    This was an ¡°extermination.¡±


    While Winters was lost in thought, General Sekler spoke contemplatively: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The General said something startling: ¡°If you were in charge of coordinating everything, how soon could you take down Bianli?¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters didn¡¯t react for a moment.


    General Sekler repeated his question.


    ¡°Next year,¡± Winters replied.


    Winters began to notice something odd: the General was getting a bit desperate.


    In this siege, Winters had effectively commanded auxiliary troops and civilian workers numbering close to twelve hundred.


    This was the first time he had been responsible for so many people, and it was already causing him some stress.


    Moreover, Winters knew very well that he could command more than a thousand people because the auxiliary troops¡¯ commander was a fellow Vinetan from his entering class. The Lieutenants from Vineta shared a camaraderie and were not adverse to listening to him.


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 Chapter 423 - 56: The Shadow Commander_3

    Chapter 423: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander_3


    The civilians were naturally obedient to military authority and didn¡¯t require much additional concern.


    ¡°If I were in charge,¡± Winters seriously repeated his answer, ¡°next year. No one would listen to me, only waiting for the Herders to starve to death.¡±


    Major General Sekler understood the lieutenant¡¯s point and explained, ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t need to come to the forefront, you can take a position at the legion¡¯s headquarters. Orders would be issued in my name and Alpad¡¯s, so you won¡¯t be made a target.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why the rush?¡± Winters countered, ¡°Even if I were to step up, it would be the same old tactics¡ªtunneling, blasting, artillery bombardment. Today, we can already glimpse the dawn of victory; with patience, Bianli City will be Paratu¡¯s sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sekler said, his eyes intense and expression stern, ¡°It must be fast! The faster, the better!¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    ¡­


    That night, the Paratu army entered the trench positions and tunneled forward throughout the night.


    The next day, the Paratu army blasted open the South Rampart¡¯s wall again.


    This time, the engineers adopted a new tunneling method, not going straight in but instead creating an angled cavity. Although it required more work, the sealing effect was much better.


    The engineering craftsmen in the army also improved the containers used for the gunpowder. Previously, to facilitate transportation, gunpowder was delivered to the mine in separate barrels. The barrels were detonated successively, which dispersed the power of the explosion.


    This time, they used a single ¡°coffin¡± filled with gunpowder, bound tightly with iron hoops, and sealed with pitch both inside and out.


    The second blast was no longer a muffled fart.


    A corner of the South Rampart was directly demolished, the explosion sound even startling the warhorses at the main camp. Earth and splintered wood flew dozens of meters into the air, and there was a rain of mud both inside and outside the city.


    As soon as the South Rampart had been breached, the newly-formed Paratu grenadier battalion rushed into the gap.


    Following Winters¡¯ suggestion, Sekler picked tall, strong, powerfully built, and courageous soldiers from the Fifth and Sixth Legions, equipping them with half-armor, full-face helmets, close-combat weapons, and iron bombs specifically for storming breaches.


    The iron bombs were heavy but had a miraculous effect in siege warfare.


    The Herders fought back desperately, but the Paratu army advanced and retreated three times, eventually securing a firm hold on a corner of the bastion.


    By the time the Herders wanted to push back the Paratu People from the breach, it was no longer possible, because while the two sides were struggling at the gap, Winters had already led his men to connect the last section between the breach and the trench positions.


    The Paratu army could continually reinforce the breach through the trenches.


    As night fell and both the exhausted Paratu and Herders could not best each other, both sides ceased their banners and drums to lick their wounds, and the battle ended for the moment.


    However, in the dead of night, another explosion jolted people, animals, and birds awake for miles around.


    This time, it was a mine blast almost unbounded by the volume of charges; the entire North Rampart of West Guard City was blown sky-high.


    The Herders inside were so terrified they thought it was an earthquake and scattered in all directions.


    The Paratu army, prepared in advance, seized the moment to attack the breach in the North Rampart with two infantry battalions.


    Fighting fiercely from deep night until dawn, West Guard City was conquered. The Herders fled into the main city seeking refuge.


    Paratu¡¯s flanking forces on the south and north banks also took the opportunity to cross the river, erecting siege ladders to attack the Eastern Defense City.


    As the sun rose from the horizon, Winters stood at the watchtower, gazing at Bianli, where Paratu¡¯s quadrant flags were already planted throughout the West City.


    Andre was beaming with joy beside Winters.


    Lieutenant Vineta and others had already heard¡ªthe war would be over, and they could go home, with victory within reach.


    ¡°So vulnerable, so utterly vulnerable!¡± Andre laughed heartily, clapping Winters¡¯ shoulder vigorously.


    ¡°The battle isn¡¯t won yet, don¡¯t rush to celebrate,¡± Winters also let out a hint of a smile, and he beckoned to a messenger, ¡°Go find Major General Sekler. Lieutenant Mason has gathered the Herders¡¯ artillery shells. Have Lieutenant Mason take the shells to the front, turn the Herders¡¯ cannons around, and blow open the main city gates.¡±


    The messenger scrambled down from the watchtower and ran quickly towards the headquarters of the legion.


    Winters felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, the army was at his disposal like chess pieces, and he could plan without restraint, watching his plans unfold¡ªnothing could excite him more.


    Even though he was just an adviser strategizing behind the scenes, he found all this gave him an illusion of omnipotence, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask himself, ¡°Is this what power is like? Dangerous and intoxicating.¡±


    With the dawn, squad after squad of soldiers left the staging area, heading towards Bianli City.


    Winters reached for his pendant box, ¡°The Herders¡¯ morale is already faltering; maybe it is possible to win the battle in one go.¡±


    Behind him, unseen, a rider charged straight into the camp gates. The guards immediately intercepted; the rider fell from the horse, shouting and scrambling toward the headquarters of the legion.


    Five minutes later, Winters received a slip of paper.


    The joy on his face gradually faded, and the wrinkles on his forehead began to appear one by one.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Andre sensed something amiss.


    Within view, the Paratu formations marching in step towards Bianli started to turn around one by one, the green-crested messenger riders galloping towards West Guard City.


    Winters raised the slip of paper in his hand, an unusually calm look on his face, ¡°The Herders¡¯ reinforcements have arrived.¡±


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 Chapter 424 - 57: Forming the Array to Meet the Enemy

    Chapter 424: Chapter 57: Forming the Array to Meet the Enemy


    At dawn, scouts reported that large Herder cavalry forces were rapidly approaching.


    Along with the report of ¡°large Herder cavalry forces rapidly approaching,¡± came a call for help from the encampments on the north bank.


    The skirmishes had already started, causing a split in the leadership of Paratu¡¯s forces.


    Some wanted to call off the siege to prepare for the enemy reinforcements; others demanded a full assault to take the city before the reinforcements arrived; and still, some revisited old arguments, believing that the opportunity to attack Bianli had been lost and that they should retreat and regroup.


    At the emergency meeting, Colonel Laszlo¡ªthe chief commander of the Fifth Legion¡ªwas red-eyed and bellowing, ¡°War is a matter of spirit! Right now we have momentum within the city! Retreat? You tell me, how do we retreat? If we retreat we might never get back in! And if those savages from the city surge out, it will be the Battle of Drelegorbel all over again!¡±


    Cavalry Colonel Haug was equally loud, ¡°What¡¯s the use of taking Bianli if we don¡¯t defeat the reinforcements? If we haven¡¯t taken Bianli and get surrounded from behind, the entire army could be destroyed! Defeat the reinforcements, and Bianli will be ours sooner or later. Don¡¯t defeat the reinforcements, and we¡¯re all done for! It¡¯s that simple!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll fight you right here!¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!?¡± Major General Alpad flipped the table over, shattering a fine porcelain vase.


    The two, who were about to come to blows, instantly fell silent.


    Since General Yanosh had a stroke, there was no one left in Paratu¡¯s army who could make a definitive decision.


    Those who had been in favor of retreating were now pushing for a siege, and those who had pushed for the siege were now advocating for combatting the reinforcements.


    Just like the small part of an iceberg visible above water, the dispute between Laszlo and Haug represented a clash of strategies, directions, and the conflicts between infantry and cavalry factions.


    When General Yanosh commanded the entire army, there was a healthy competition because the general was the faction of all factions, and his prestige and wisdom were sufficient to subdue everyone.


    But when the general was incapacitated, the previously concealed contradictions immediately intensified.


    ¡°The worst strategy is to have no strategy at all. Bickering among yourselves, you might as well just extend your necks for the savages to chop!¡± Brigadier General Sekler coldly stated, ¡°Major General Alpad and I have already made up our minds.¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, the light of morning grew brighter.


    The fate of the battle for West Guard City had been decided. The savages retreated in defeat, with wave after wave of Paratu soldiers flooding into the city walls.


    Desperate, the Herders started to set fire to the city.


    In the dry winter season, filled with straw huts and wooden houses, West Guard City almost instantly turned into an inferno.


    The low-hanging clouds were dyed crimson by the blaze, outshining the morning glow.


    The wind fanned the flames, which quickly spread towards the outer wall, forcing the Paratu troops that had entered the city to withdraw again to the outskirts.


    The great fire temporarily separated both sides; Paratu¡¯s army controlled the exterior city walls, but the main city remained firmly in the hands of the Herders.


    A courier from the legion¡¯s headquarters spent tremendous effort to locate Centurion Barlas within the city.


    ¡°Retreat? Say it to me again! Retreat?¡± Captain Barlas¡¯s gaze seemed ready to devour someone the next second.


    He gripped the courier¡¯s shoulder fiercely, his fingers digging deep into the flesh.


    The poor courier¡¯s legs were weak as he stumbled over the orders: ¡°You are commanded to disengage from combat, rally your forces, return to the staging grounds, and stand by for reorganization.


    Captain Barlas tore off his helmet and smashed it furiously to the ground.


    Due to the northwestern wind, there was still a small area on the northwest corner of the city that the fire had not reached.


    Barlas was leading his men to create a firebreak, constructing makeshift battering rams from roof beams, ready to assault the main city gate as soon as the fire died down.


    Military orders are as unyielding as mountains; the captain looked at the flickering shadows of the inner wall through the smoke and reluctantly uttered the word, ¡°Retreat.¡±


    ¡­


    Just as Barlas¡¯s century received orders to retreat, Winters had just made his way into West Guard City.


    He rode his horse through the breach in the city wall, and a wave of scorching heat immediately hit him.


    The stench of burnt flesh filled the air; his horse, Strong, unhappily shook his head, not liking the place one bit.


    Behind the billowing smoke came sporadic blood-curdling screams¡ªpeople being burnt alive.


    ¡°Have you seen Lieutenant Mason?¡± Winters asked everyone he met, ¡°Where is Lieutenant Mason?¡±


    The five infantry platoons responsible for the initial assault were retreating; the soldiers, like a school of sardines, were blindly following each other out. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A few centurions were leading their men to dismantle the city wall to prevent the Herders from reclaiming it.


    But after exiting, many soldiers merely collapsed on the ground, gasping for air with no strength left even to raise their arms.


    Although the siege was halted, the gains could not be discarded. A full-strength platoon was marching towards the city, with orders to repel any foe attempting to retake the outer wall.


    Winters, moving against the stream of soldiers, kept asking around and loudly calling out using a spell to amplify his voice.


    ¡°Over here!¡±


    ¡°Right here!¡±


    Winters looked up in response to the call and saw Lieutenant Mason on top of the city wall, vigorously waving his hands.


    He hurried up to the wall, where Mason was struggling with a few subordinates to move a heavy bronze cannon.


    ¡°Stop moving it! Come with me now!¡±


    At these words, they dropped the cannon.


    Mason hastily wiped the soot from his face and asked anxiously, ¡°Why is everyone retreating? I heard that Herder reinforcements have arrived? So many that they can¡¯t be counted?¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone is saying!¡±


    ¡°There are Herders coming from the north, but not so many that they can¡¯t be counted¡­ We¡¯ll talk when we get back!¡±


    ¡°And what about this thing?¡± Mason pointed to the cannon at his feet.


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 Chapter 425 - 57: Forming the Battle Array to Meet the Enemy_2

    Chapter 425: Chapter 57: Forming the Battle Array to Meet the Enemy_2


    ¡°Throw this! Can it still be thrown?¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters and Mason hurried back to the main camp, Jeska¡¯s battalion was assembling.


    In the area allocated for the militia support troops, the reprimands of centurions rose and fell in succession.


    One of the keys to forming ranks quickly was for everyone to know their place, and it was obvious that the Paratu militia did not quite grasp this.


    Seeing the two centurions return to their troops only now, Colonel Jeska showed some displeasure, ¡°Where have you been?¡±


    ...


    ¡°If Montaigne hadn¡¯t come for me, I wouldn¡¯t even know there was an urgent assembly,¡± Lieutenant Mason asked the colonel with suppressed anxiety, ¡°Sir, just how many Herders have come?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know yet,¡± Jeska¡¯s expression was grim, ¡°Get your men ready first.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had not been directly involved in last night¡¯s siege. Half of Winters¡¯ subordinates were on trench duty, while the rest were on standby in the camp.


    The camp militia was quickly assembled, while it took some time for the trench militia to gather.


    Luckily, Winters¡¯s centurions were capable enough that he didn¡¯t need to attend to everything personally.


    MMost of the militiamen¡¯s faces could not hide their panic, which made Winters thankful that he still had some ¡°veterans¡± who had seen blood as a core force.


    Mason, who had hurried back, went to the colonel for instructions, then hurriedly left with more men and carts¡ªto move cannons.


    Lieutenant Bard, in charge of arms management, began to distribute weapons, armor, and ammunition to the militiamen.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had captured over a hundred pieces of Herder armor, which were usually kept and repaired by the battalion arsenal, and now all were issued to Winters¡¯s spearman.


    There were also some temporary armors made from modified Herder horse armor also being issued. It was blacksmith Berlion who came up with the idea of changing horse armor into human armor.


    [Note: Herder horse armor and human armor use the same plates]


    Because of reinforcements and supplements, Jeska¡¯s battalion¡¯s strength had reached eight centurion teams¡ªtwo more than a full-strength battalion.


    So the colonel rearranged the teams, turning the ¡°mixed teams¡± of various weapons into ¡°solid teams¡± consisting of only one type of weapon.


    [Note: Mixed teams are centurion teams with a mix of weapons; solid teams are centurion teams with a single type of weapon.]


    Now, Jeska¡¯s battalion had a complex composition, with Winters¡¯s two teams of spearmen and halberdiers being the most reliable, followed by Andre¡¯s two teams of musketeers and crossbowmen.


    Winters and Andre¡¯s subordinates were mainly the old hands of the battalion and newly recruited militiamen.


    Compared to them, the men under Lieutenant Bard and Lieutenant Mason were a more mixed lot: penal laborers, merchants conscripted into service, remnants of other militia squads¡­ all sorts of people.


    In a way, the reason Bard and Mason were leading this ¡°ragtag bunch¡± was because these ¡°ragtag bunch¡± could only be managed by the two of them.


    The Dusack cavalry was led by Colonel Jeska personally.


    Winters walked among the formation, checking weapons and armor one by one.


    Half of his subordinates wore Paratu half-armors while the rest were clad in the awkward-looking Herder armor, and at first glance, it was difficult to distinguish which side the soldiers were on.


    ¡°What in the world are you wearing?¡± Winters stopped in front of a spearman in armor. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anxious, he couldn¡¯t help but speak sharply, ¡°Why did you leave the ties on the outside?¡±


    The spearman swallowed hard.


    ¡°You¡¯re Ish?¡± Winters remembered the spearman¡¯s name, ¡°Is it you?¡±


    Ish from Ganshui Town nodded quickly. He tried to untie the straps, but his movements were clumsy, and he couldn¡¯t find the end of the tie.


    Impatient, Winters directly untied the spearman¡¯s arm armor and deftly dressed him properly, ¡°Tie it like I do! Tuck all the knots inside!¡±


    By the time Ish came to his senses, the lieutenant had already moved on to others.


    Ish tried several times to speak up but only licked his lips, and the words ¡°thank you¡± never left his mouth.


    ¡°Centurions, listen up! Check your tent-mates¡¯ armor!¡± Winters, who was inspecting the line, ordered loudly, ¡°Help each other dress!¡±


    The centurions immediately sprang into action, and unlike the flustered militiamen, these old hands who followed Winters showed a bit more steadiness.


    Xial and Heinrich came running up to Winters with a centurion¡¯s armor: ¡°You should get armored quickly too!¡±


    Winters stood at a clear area, and Xial and Heinrich began dressing him in a three-quarter armor.


    Andre and Bard came over to confer with Winters.


    ¡°Do you know how many Herders have come?¡± Andre asked, frowning deeply, ¡°To put up such a grand posture?¡±


    Winters shook his head


    Bard gestured towards the center of the main camp, saying calmly, ¡°Everyone¡¯s on the move.¡±


    Suddenly, an invisible intense vibration filled the air¡ªit was the thunderous sound of horse hooves trampling the ground, very close by.


    Everyone was startled; some militiamen were even scared enough to drop their weapons.


    ¡°They¡¯re here so soon?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened.


    Winters pursed his lips and listened intently, then soon let out a sigh of relief, ¡°It¡¯s not the Herders coming; it¡¯s the cavalry from the camp heading out, maybe scattering the scouts.¡±


    ¡°No, not scouts,¡± Bard touched his pulse and counted, ¡°Since when are there so many scouts?¡±


    The three lieutenants climbed the nearby watchtower, where the whole camp was visible at a glance from atop the tower.


    At the other end of the large camp, the cavalry campsite kicked up a huge dust cloud that filled the sky.


    At least four squadrons of cavalry had left the camp, and even more cavalry were getting ready to move out.


    Andre squinted, scrutinizing carefully, and suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Almost all the light cavalry are mobilized!¡±


    Outside the camp gates, a long trail of dust stretched northward.


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 Chapter 426 - 57: Forming Up to Meet the Enemy_3

    Chapter 426: Chapter 57: Forming Up to Meet the Enemy_3


    A messenger with green helmet tassels charged toward the militia garrison, bringing official intelligence to the Jeska Squadron:


    A large contingent of Herd Cavalry was pressing in from the north; scouts had been repelled by the enemy¡¯s light cavalry on the periphery and failed to discern the exact strength of the troops, estimating a force of several thousand cavalry.


    The messenger also brought orders for the Jeska Squadron:


    Proceed immediately to North Bridge, fortify and defend the bridgehead encampment.


    ¡­


    The siege was suddenly called off, and rumors of all sorts spread like wildfire, leaving mid- and lower-ranking officers and soldiers in a state of unease.


    ...


    But the command chain of the Paratu army was still operating normally, and the legion headquarters was issuing orders methodically, as if they had anticipated this situation.


    In such times, orders became the ballast of the soldiers¡¯ morale, providing a sense of security in their mechanical execution.


    A sense of honor stirred in the hearts of the Paratu soldiers; they had time and again triumphed despite being outnumbered¡ªthey were the shield of the Alliance, an invincible iron army that never faltered in attack or in battle.


    Like a fierce beast turning its head, the army began to shift its weight, preparing to meet the enemy. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Troops that had not yet engaged in battle changed direction, while the five squads that had been fighting withdrew and regrouped.


    More scouts were dispatched to the wilderness, determined not to be easily driven off again.


    Piaoqi Troops and mounted riflemen poured out of the camp, rushing to aid the camp on the northern shore.


    General Sekler found Alpad who was armoring up: ¡°Just sending light cavalry to the northern camp, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ll take the heavy cavalry,¡± Alpad gulped down a large mouthful of strong liquor, casually stuffing the flat silver flask into his breastplate.


    The major general¡¯s face was flushed slightly from the rush of blood, and if not for the wrinkles and greying at the temples, it would be hard to imagine that this Paratu man was already past fifty.


    Two infantry squadrons were encamped on the northern bank of Confluence River, positioned there to block the ingress and egress to the north of Bianli City.


    Now, facing the enemy reinforcements, they were the first to face the onslaught.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just to deal with the vanguard of the Herders, light cavalry is enough,¡± Sekler paused: ¡°But to stop the reinforcements from entering the city, or to prevent the Red River Tribe from breaking through, the northern camp needs to be reinforced. It¡¯s now of utmost importance and must be overseen by someone.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Alpad raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the men,¡± Sekler said gravely: ¡°I¡¯ll take the reserves that haven¡¯t been committed to the siege to the northern camp. Before, we only had to prevent the Herders from coming out, but now we also have to stop the enemy from getting in, so the southern camp must be also fortified. Let that boy Jeska dig the blockade trenches, his men are good at this.¡±


    Alpad laughed heartily: ¡°Then it should be me taking men to the northern camp. You¡¯ve always been in charge of the central forces, the main camp can¡¯t function without you.¡±


    ¡°No, that was before General Yanosh was incapacitated,¡± Sekler replied with a piercing gaze: ¡°You are now the highest-ranking officer, the commander of an army, you can¡¯t charge around as you please anymore. The Herders are all cavalry, tactically they have the initiative. But if they are to relieve Bianli, strategically they¡¯re at a disadvantage. Our chance for victory¡­ lies exactly there.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The west wind howled, and the clouds obscured the sun.


    Three thousand Paratu soldiers crossed the wooden bridge, advancing toward the northern encampment.


    A thunderous roar of hoofbeats came from the north; a scout waved his helmet, dashing madly toward General Sekler.


    His mouth was agape, but his shouts were completely drowned out by the sound of the hooves.


    Suddenly, a figure of a Herd Cavalry appeared on the slope¡¯s ridge line behind the scout, followed by two, ten, a hundred¡­


    Countless Herd Cavalry leapt from the reverse slope, whistling as they charged toward the Paratu column.


    ¡°Is this an attempt to ¡®surround a point for aid¡¯?¡± General Sekler sneered.


    Military horns sounded, the war drums boomed.


    Right in front of the countless Herd Barbarians¡¯ eyes, six infantry squadrons executed a series of complex formation shifts.


    Backed by the Confluence River, the Paratu soldiers formed up to face the enemy.


    ¡°I am in the formation!¡± Sekler raised his glaive high above from horseback, his voice amplified by the Spellcasters and reaching everyone: ¡°If I retreat a single step¡ªbehead me!¡±


    The soldiers all fixed their eyes on the general¡¯s helmet tassel, falling into sudden silence.


    ¡°Long live!¡± Someone suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Long live!¡± More and more people joined the cheer.


    ¡°Long live!¡± All voices merged into one: ¡°Long live!¡±


    Accompanied by the deafening roar of the battle cry, Sekler dismounted and strode into the square formation.


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 Chapter 427 - 58 Square Formation

    Chapter 427: Chapter 58 Square Formation


    How many soldiers are needed to form a square formation?


    The more, the better, of course.


    Because numbers are courage.


    Fifty-seven years ago, at the Battle of Spurs, the army supporting Richard¡¯s accession to the throne formed only two square formations but used thirteen thousand musketeers and halberdiers.


    Each square formation had more than six thousand men, cumbersome and slow-moving like turtles, but they still won.


    Richard¡¯s uncle, the Earl of Northumberland Philip, who contested the crown with a large contingent of noble cavalry, suffered a crushing defeat.


    ...


    After the battle, Philip the Aspirant was beheaded, and the two-year-long war of succession came to an end.


    In that battle, Ned of Tormes had just turned nineteen and was an inconspicuous attendant, laughed at by his companions for trembling legs when going into battle, and ran off to the river to cry in secret.


    Emperor Richard was a skinny little eleven-year-old called ¡°Little Pea¡± by his mother.


    At that time, Richard was still a child innocent of the world, only wanting to ride horses and play all day, with no one foreseeing the future nickname ¡°The Madman¡± that he would earn.


    As the greatest hero of this battle, Francois of Milborg was appointed the Duke of Arlyon, and for his merciless tactics of leaving no survivors, he was feared and referred to as ¡°The Butcher¡± by both great and small nobles.


    With the impregnable square formation of musketeers and halberdiers, the Butcher Duke henceforth had few defeats in his wars to the south and north.


    The long pikes of the square formation were not afraid of the cavalry¡¯s charge, making infantry become the main force of the army once again.


    While everyone was rushing to imitate the Butcher Duke, a few perceptive military men had already noticed a flaw: the square formation tactic was a serious waste of manpower, and the larger the square, the more severe the waste.


    After every battle, it was common to find that only the soldiers on the outer layer of the square had seen combat.


    As for those inside the square¡­ they were just there to bolster the courage of those outside, serving no other purpose apart from shouting and cheering.


    If the side outside won, those inside would rush out to chase down the fleeing enemy; if the outside was defeated, those inside could only flee as well.


    Thirty years ago, when Ned Smith undertook the reform of square formation tactics, he kept the number of a single square formation to under three thousand. He also reduced the proportion of close-combat soldiers in favor of musketeers and crossbowmen.


    The new composite square formation triumphed over the old musketeer and halberdier square. After this tactical innovation, mathematics became a required course for officers.


    Because in order to arrange a square formation, one must understand geometry and be skilled at mental multiplication, division, and square root calculations.


    And when mathematics became widespread, another new theory was proposed ¨C ¡°Small Square Tactics¡±: when the number of troops is fixed, the smaller each individual square formation, the more soldiers that can engage the enemy.


    But small square formations come with a cost; the smaller the formation, the easier it is to be broken, and the higher the morale requirements for the army.


    At this very moment, the Paratu troops facing the Herders are using small square formations.


    Ambushed on their way, the commanding officers had only a few seconds to make their decisions.


    Colonel Laszlo, the deputy to the brigadier, rode up quickly, speaking rapidly, ¡°I¡¯ll take men to block them! To buy you time!¡±


    ¡°No time!¡± Sekler commanded calmly, ¡°Use small square formations! Buglers!¡±


    Using shrill bugle calls, army drums, flags, and Spellcasters, the Paratu army relied on these four means of command.


    The piercing sound of bugles cut through the roar of horses¡¯ hooves; each battalion responded with the beat of their drums, as the six infantry battalions, marching in columns, swiftly changed formation. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldiers immediately discarded their knapsacks, gear, tents, and other miscellaneous items, holding only their weapons and ammunition.


    In the rapid rhythm of drumbeats, four close-combat centurions gathered under the battalion flag, forming a solid square formation with the spacing of left to right elbows and six steps front to back.


    Long pikes wrapped around halberdiers and sword and shield men, with the battalion flag protected at the very center, while two musketeer centurions were stationed at the four corners of the formation.


    Testy sergeants ran between the rows, cursing at disoriented soldiers; if they saw anyone in the wrong position, they would kick them into place, and that¡¯s how quickly the square formations took shape.


    Right under the noses of the Herders, the six Paratu infantry battalions formed up back to the water, with the small square formations lined up from east to west along the riverbank.


    The enemy cavalry would be upon them in the blink of an eye, and the Paratu musketeers hadn¡¯t even lit their matches.


    Seeing this, Sekler made a snap decision, ¡°Have each battalion bring the musketeers in!¡±


    Upon receiving the order, the bugler blew another tune with all the strength he could muster.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, commander of the Second Battalion of the Sixth Legion, couldn¡¯t hear clearly at first; he closed his eyes to listen carefully, then suddenly shouted, ¡°Roy! Varga! Take your men into the square!¡±


    The two centurions¡ªLieutenant Roy and Ensign Varga¡ªacted immediately.


    Under the leadership of the centurions, the musketeer Pinter retreated into the square formation.


    He stopped between two pikemen, holding the flint and tinder close together, striking hard with his fire steel.


    Usually, sparking a fire was easy, but not now¡ªit was extremely difficult.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± The thunder of horse hooves was ringing in his ears. Pinter was trembling so badly he couldn¡¯t strike a spark, cursing with every unsuccessful strike, ¡°Dammit! Dammit!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Centurion Roy heard him and bellowed angrily, ¡°Silence in the face of the enemy, or be beheaded!¡±


    Pinter shuddered all over, his lips sealing as if glued shut. After a dozen more strikes, the end of the match finally caught a spark.


    Relieved as if he had found a treasure, Pinter hurriedly cupped his hands around the tinder, carefully blew on it, and the faint spark grew stronger, with wisps of blue smoke emerging.


    Seeing Pinter with a lit match, the neighboring musketeers rushed over to borrow fire.


    The vanguard of the Herder cavalry was less than two hundred meters away, closing in with every second that passed.


    The Paratu People could already hear the Herd Barbarians¡¯ war cries and see the fluttering red and white feathers atop their heads.


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 Chapter 428 - 58: Square Formation_2

    Chapter 428: Chapter 58: Square Formation_2


    The five hundred men small square formation of Robert¡¯s brigade was solemn and silent, save for a scar-faced sergeant with a halberd pacing the ranks, sternly repeating military regulations:


    ¡°He who looks around in the presence of the enemy, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who makes noise in the presence of the enemy, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who fires without command, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who advances or retreats alone, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who has vermillion streaks on his back, execute!¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    By Colonel Robert¡¯s side stood a military police sergeant with fierce eyes, holding a short bow, armed with vermillion arrows.


    [Note: This regulation was a tradition inherited by the Paratu army from their nomadic days. Before battle, military police sergeants would carry short bows and line up behind the troops, armed with cinnabar arrows. Anyone who made noise, shrank back, or advanced or retreated alone would be shot with the vermillion arrows. After the battle, those found with vermillion marks on their backs would be executed on the spot.]


    The green-plumed messenger cavalry rushed to the edge of the square formation and shouted, ¡°Colonel Robert! The general orders your unit to seize the opportunity to move closer to the riverbank!¡±


    The six small square formations were lined up in a very poor overall formation. Robert¡¯s square formation was positioned at the eastern end of the entire line, the most perilous location.


    ¡°How can I move now?¡± Colonel Robert, enraged, shouted back, ¡°Let¡¯s survive the first wave and then talk!¡±


    The Herd cavalry were less than a hundred paces away, and the sergeants patrolling outside the formation also began retreating back into the ranks.


    In the face of the terrifying onslaught of several thousand charging cavalrymen, no Paratu person was not afraid.


    From the privates to the sergeants, to the centurions and the brigade commanders, everyone uncontrollably experienced dry mouth, dilated pupils, accelerated breathing, and a softening grip on their weapons.


    Suddenly, a voice magnified by magic echoed across the wilderness, ¡°I stand in formation!¡±


    Upon this call, the Paratu People on the battlefield turned and saw the general¡¯s magnificent plume.


    ¡°If I take one step back!¡±


    ¡°Take off my head!¡±


    Sekler stepped into the square formation with his halberd in great strides.


    At that instant, even the most timid coward felt boundless courage surge from the bottom of his heart, and the morale of Paratu¡¯s troops peaked.


    ¡°Long live! Long live! Long live!¡±


    The cheers even drowned out the thundering sound of hooves.


    ¡°Spearmen!¡± Colonel Robert roared with all his might, ¡°Brace your spears!¡±


    ¡°Long live!¡± The front rank soldiers pushed their long spears into the ground.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The second rank soldiers held their long spears horizontally.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The third rank soldiers raised their long spears high.


    Three ranks of long spears pointed forward at once, their tips gleaming coldly.


    The Paratu square formation and the Herd cavalry collided with a roar.


    Gunner Pinter was no coward, but when the Herd cavalry charged at him, he still closed his eyes instinctively.


    When he opened his eyes again, Pinter found himself unharmed.


    The Herd Barbarians didn¡¯t break through; the enemy pulled their reins at the last moment, grazing past the spearheads in front of the formation.


    Hundreds of Herd cavalrymen charged the square formation, truly like a towering tidal wave.


    But only a few did not dodge or avoid and crashed into the spear forest, while the others veered off at the last moment, or their Warhorses uncontrollably reared up before the spear tips¡ªthough the men might not fear death, the horses did.


    Right next to Pinter, a fearless Herder on a fearless Herd Warhorse charged into the square formation.


    The Paratu People were knocked over, the spearmen facing the charge instantly had their hands ripped open, and were knocked down head-on by the Warhorse, dead or alive unknown.


    The chest of the Herd Warhorse was pierced by a spearhead and only after breaking two more long spears did it fall to the ground.


    The Herd rider was flung from the saddle, crashing heavily into the square formation, as the surrounding Paratu People quickly stepped aside.


    Centurion Lieutenant Roy unsheathed his sword and pounced on the Herd rider, stepping on his chest and finishing the Herder with a stab.


    One Herder charged through the formation at the cost of his life, and immediately, several ferocious Barbarians followed suit, breaking into the ranks.


    ¡°Ukkaha!¡± The Barbarians, shouting incomprehensible Herd language, wildly slashed with their scimitars from their superior position atop horses, with each swing taking large swaths of flesh.


    ¡°Kill them together!¡± urged the scar-faced sergeant as he thrust his halberd toward the Barbarians, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡±


    With the scar-faced sergeant¡¯s lead, other Halberdiers surrounded, dragged down, and killed the Barbarians.


    Some Paratu soldiers looked back in panic at the battle inside the formation; without a second thought, the military police shot a vermillion arrow into the back of the onlooker, sentencing him to death.


    Roy could hardly contain his anger, ¡°Looking around in battle is punishable by death! Everyone, focus on the front!¡±


    Soon, the dozen or so Herders who had surged into the formation either had their necks broken or were collectively taken down by the Paratu People within the ranks.


    The severely wounded and fallen were carried into the interior of the formation, and soldiers from the back rows quickly filled their empty spots; Robert¡¯s square formation once again became a hedgehog of spears.


    Robert¡¯s square formation was like a steadfast stone in the river, parting the tide of Herd cavalry.


    But the thwarted Herders did not give up their attacks; they began to ride around the square formation.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Colonel Robert, seeing the movement of the Herd cavalry, shouted, ¡°Javelins!¡±


    Herders on horseback quickly drew their curved bows and javelins, launching and shooting them at the Paratu hedgehog formation.


    Arrows flew toward the formation from all directions, and the Herders didn¡¯t even need to aim, for the Paratu People, arrayed in formations, had nowhere to hide.


    The outer layer of spearmen bore the brunt of the ranged attacks, but fortunately, clad in heavy armor, most arrows clinked off harmlessly.


    The real killers were the Herders¡¯ javelins; the Herd cavalrymen holding high their javelins charged at the formation, only throwing them when they were too close to avoid. With the added momentum from the horse¡¯s speed, a javelin could penetrate one unarmored soldier and then plunge into the body of another Paratu person.


    ¡°Shake the spears!¡± Robert, frantic, stood on his stirrups, waved his arms, and bellowed, ¡°Shake the spears!¡±


    The Paratu spearmen immediately began shaking their extra-long spears, the blur of over two hundred spears obscuring the formation, and occasionally an arrow would be knocked away by the shafts.


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 Chapter 429 - 58 Formation Array_3

    Chapter 429: Chapter 58 Formation Array_3


    Shaking their long spears could only block a small portion of the arrows, but this was the only defensive measure for the spear formation lacking shields.


    ¡°The Herd Barbarians are scared! Think they can kill us all with arrows? Dream on!¡± Colonel Robert laughed furiously, ¡°Shoot them down!¡±


    The spear formation never relied on passive defense, but rather on proactive counter-attacks.


    Lieutenant Roy yelled, ¡°Musket men! Fire at will!¡±


    Pinter moved to the frontmost layer of spearmen, a position where he wouldn¡¯t shoot his comrades by mistake and was still within the protection range of the long spears.


    Bracing his musket and pressing his cheek tightly against the stock, Pinter aimed at a target and pursed his lips as he pulled the trigger.


    ...


    A flash of red, the sound of gunfire, and the wooden stock left his shoulder aching.


    As the smoke cleared, a Herd Cavalryman raised his arm and slid off his horse.


    When the Herd Barbarians shot arrows at the Paratu People, they also gave the Paratu People the chance to fire back at them.


    Pinter pulled out the iron fork stand, retreated into the formation to load, and another musketeer took Pinter¡¯s place.


    Musket men generally didn¡¯t shoot within the formation, as the crowded formation was dangerous for both muskets and their handlers.


    However, when the situation was urgent, safety was crossed off the checklist.


    The sound of gunfire crackled from within the formation, as, under the cover of long spears, the Paratu musketeers began to shoot in rotation.


    Ensign Varga, holding up the holy emblem, fervently rallied his musketeers, ¡°Kill! Wipe out these Heretic Barbarians! We shall all become immortal!¡±


    Herdmen falling from their saddles one after another as they circled the formation with their mounted archery. Most of their arrows struck the plate armor, and most of those bouncing off.


    And if a Herdman was hit by a Paratu heavy musket, they were either dead or severely wounded.


    Especially between the two formations, any Herd Cavalry passing through there would be shot by crossfire.


    The scales of battle began to tip little by little in favor of the Paratu People.


    The Herd Cavalry gradually couldn¡¯t bear the casualties, breaking off from combat and retreating.


    Positioned at the eastern end of the line, Colonel Robert¡¯s unit faced the most Herd attackers, and the adjacent Mara unit even had the surplus to dispatch a small team of musketeers to support the former.


    Finally, like a tide surging in, the Herdmen receded just as swiftly, leaving behind a ground strewn with bodies and the unbowed.


    The temporarily victorious Paratu People felt as if all their strength had been drained in an instant, collapsing to the ground all around.


    Colonel Robert, equally exhausted, waved to summon the scar-faced sergeant: ¡°Old Scar!¡±


    ¡°Sir? What¡¯s the matter?¡± The scar-faced sergeant approached, carrying a long halberd.


    ¡°Take two squads out, bring back a few alive,¡± Robert¡¯s command was brief.


    But the scar-faced sergeant understood: ¡°Yes.¡±


    Leading a dozen swordsmen and shield bearers out of the formation, the sergeant cut ears from Herd corpses, offered mercy to the dying Herd Barbarians¡ªand ¡°bringing back a few alive¡± meant killing all the remaining Herd Barbarians.


    Robert¡¯s brigade had no time for rest, immediately moving to rendezvous with General Sekler¡¯s formation.


    The Herd People didn¡¯t leave, trailing the Paratu troops from a distance. Because of this, Robert¡¯s brigade had to maintain formation throughout the march.


    When the six brigades had regrouped, the sky had gradually darkened. Marching at night would be equal to giving an opportunity to the Herdmen, so General Sekler ordered to camp on elevated ground by the shore.


    The Paratu People dug trenches and built breastworks, awaiting reinforcements. Their light cavalry were nearby, their heavy cavalry across the river.


    Since the Herdmen could not finish them off in one go, it was now time for the Paratu People to devour the Herdmen.


    The reinforcements arrived quickly, sooner than anyone expected¡ªincluding General Sekler.


    The reinforcements themselves were unexpected¡ªnot Paratu cavalry at all.


    Under the watchful eyes of all, a dozen wooden rafts floated down from upstream Confluence River, carrying loaves of bread, barrels of gunpowder, and several pots emitting enticing aromas.


    Even the Herdmen¡¯s light cavalry watching the Paratu People were taken aback.


    ¡°We¡¯re Jeska¡¯s brigade, ordered to assist. We¡¯ve brought food and drink for everyone.¡± The brawny officer dressed in Piaoqi cavalry uniform spoke nonchalantly, casually pointing to the rafts: ¡°There¡¯s also a Floating Bridge.¡± S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 430 - 60 Contingency Plan

    Chapter 430: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan


    ¡°And bring a floating bridge.¡±


    After saying this, the Piaoqi cavalry officer on the raft waved his torch towards the opposite bank three times, and soon someone on the other side responded with a torch.


    It turned out that there was another group of men and horses moving on the opposite side, facing everyone across the river.


    With troops on both banks, they could pull the cables to secure the floating bridge.


    Sekler rushed over upon hearing the news and looked very annoyed. The general¡¯s face was ashen, and he suppressed his anger as he demanded, ¡°That officer on the raft, state your name and allegiance.¡±


    ¡°Andrea Chelini,¡± the tall Piaoqi cavalry officer said indifferently. ¡°Attached to Jeska¡¯s unit.¡±


    ...


    ¡°John Jeska? Where is he?!¡±


    ¡°They took the land route, set off before me,¡± Andre said, suddenly startled. ¡°What? They haven¡¯t come over?¡±


    ¡­


    In an unnamed ravine on the north bank of the Confluence River.


    The furious Jeska was berating Lieutenant Mason at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°What the hell are you good for? Did you shit out everything you learned at the Land Academy?¡± the one-eyed colonel was so angry he was steaming, barely managing to keep his voice down: ¡°You even get lost leading the way!¡±


    Mason, with his face splattered with the colonel¡¯s spit, managed to complain after a while, ¡°Sir, I¡­ don¡¯t have a map¡­ It¡¯s dark and¡­ besides¡­ I¡¯m actually from the artillery branch¡­¡±


    Colonel Jeska completely lost his temper, not caring anymore about maintaining the dignity of his subordinates in front of the soldiers, and snatched up a horsewhip to lash at him: ¡°You still dare to talk back!¡±


    Mason didn¡¯t dare to dodge or cry out in pain, and he took two solid lashes.


    Just less than a meter behind Lieutenant Mason, a heavily armored soldier was squatting with a long halberd in his arms.


    Behind the halberdier was another musketeer, and further back was an endless line of musketeers, armored pikemen, and halberdiers¡ªa dark mass of people.


    Hundreds of militiamen hid in this narrow, winding ravine, silently waiting for orders.


    Up along the slope of the ravine to the top, Winters was lying in a patch of withered grass, squinting his eyes and straining to find recognizable landmarks.


    Xial was right beside the young lieutenant, speaking in a suppressed voice, full of resentment: ¡°This Lieutenant Mason¡­ where the hell has he brought us?¡±


    ¡°That pig-headed fool is going to get us all killed,¡± the Hunter complained bitterly as well.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Winters hissed softly in rebuke: ¡°If I hear that kind of talk again, even you two will feel the lash.¡±


    About five hundred meters ahead, on a leeward hillside, a few faint campfires could be seen.


    But a closer look would reveal the reflection of weapons in the firelight and the blurry movement of figures.


    The wind carried the whinnying of horses, and if Winters wasn¡¯t mistaken, there were countless Hurd cavalry resting on the hillside¡ªmore accurately, too many to see clearly.


    ¡°Dare we make our move?¡± Winters hesitated, then answered his own question, ¡°We dare not.¡±


    ¡­


    As the closest detachment, Colonel Jeska was the first to receive a request for support.


    Paratu military law was strict; knowing that friendly forces were in danger and yet hesitating to save them meant execution for the commanding officer, demotion for subordinate officers, and the soldiers were to be whipped to death.


    Jeska¡¯s unit was tasked with defending the North Bridge and was not considered ¡°hesitating,¡± thus they were neither obliged nor expected to go for rescue.


    But upon learning that General Sekler was ambushed, Jeska immediately wanted to send troops.


    The one-eyed colonel was determined to go alone, and Centurions Winters, Mason, and the others failed to persuade him otherwise, no matter what they tried.


    Out of options, Winters suggested a solution to the colonel¡ªthe floating bridge.


    South of the Confluence River was under Paratu army control; if they could retreat back to the southern bank, the crisis befalling Sekler¡¯s forces would naturally be resolved. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The material for the floating bridge would be timber rafts, which could be secured with cables strung between the north and south banks.


    Even without pontoons, Sekler¡¯s forces lacked heavy weapons, so the rafts should be serviceable in a pinch.


    ¡°Timber rafts?¡± Colonel Jeska frowned. ¡°Where do we get the timber rafts? Is there time to lash them together now?¡±


    ¡°There is time, we have the materials ready,¡± Winters replied, his expression steady and his tone sincere, only those who knew him well could detect a hint of embarrassment in his eyes: ¡°At worst, we¡¯ll dismantle the wagons.¡±


    Winters wasn¡¯t lying; he was simply being selective with the truth: the army not only had the timber ready but also the rafts.


    A few days prior at a small gathering of Venetians, Andre had suggested that everyone ¡°prepare in advance.¡±


    Prepare for what? To escape.


    At the military academy, Winters had learned just four things, and ¡°always have a contingency plan¡± was one of them.


    The timber rafts were a secondary option in the contingency plan for evacuating via water, with boats being the primary option.


    Because according to Bard, all the rivers in this wilderness would eventually flow into the inner sea.


    Therefore, theoretically, if the Venetians were to get on a small boat and paddle away, they could happily return home.


    That¡¯s why the Venetians were going to great lengths to acquire boats and also practicing swimming diligently.


    However, finding a ready-made boat in this vast wilderness was even harder than building one.


    But crafting timber rafts was simple, and soon they had made several, carrying them along with the army [Note: Jeska¡¯s unit had many large wagons].


    They just hadn¡¯t expected them to be put to use so quickly.


    ¡°Go prepare,¡± Jeska decided immediately, approving the floating bridge plan: ¡°The faster, the better.¡±


    Perhaps the colonel had already caught on to the Venetians¡¯ plan? Winters himself wasn¡¯t sure. But at least the colonel said nothing and did nothing to expose him.


    Once the plan was settled, Andre was responsible for leading the deployment of the rafts, with a reliable small team heading to the southern bank to assist.


    And¡­ Bard was to stay behind in command of the bridgehead camp, with the colonel himself leading the charge.


    Colonel Jeska was still determined to send troops in support, which he referred to as the ¡°contingency plan.¡±


    One hundred men were left to guard, one hundred men to set the rafts, and Jeska took all six hundred of the remaining centurions with him.


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 Chapter 431 - 60 Contingency Plan_2

    Chapter 431: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan_2


    The troops advanced eastward along the riverbank, with Winters leading the way, Lieutenant Mason responsible for bringing up the rear, and Colonel Jeska managing the escort.


    However, they encountered the Herders before they could find General Sekler.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t the enemy¡¯s main force, just scattered light cavalrymen with ill intentions probing Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    Dusack lunged at them, and the Herd light cavalry fled on their horses; when Dusack retreated, the Herd light cavalry reappeared. They avoided combat with the Paratu People, annoying like flies.


    Not long after the encounter with the Herd light cavalry, Colonel Jeska called a halt to the march, and both Winters and Mason were summoned to a meeting.


    As soon as Winters saw the Colonel, the first thing he said was, ¡°The Herders didn¡¯t crush Sekler¡¯s forces. Rear to the front, we¡¯re retreating.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Retreating?¡± Winters was utterly confused.


    ¡°Retreating,¡± Colonel Jeska affirmed with conviction.


    ¡°Why?¡± Mason couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Winters was also a bit annoyed: they had insisted on sending out troops before, and now they were suddenly talking about retreating¡ªwere they playing games with everyone?


    The anxiety Colonel Jeska initially felt upon hearing about Sekler¡¯s ambush had completely dissipated: ¡°The Herders are just a rabble. Their first wave of attack is the fiercest and most vicious, and yet a surprise attack. If Sekler¡¯s forces weren¡¯t broken in their first assault, subsequent attacks are even less likely to succeed. Since Sekler¡¯s forces have already stabilized their front, there¡¯s no need for our support¡ªFloating Bridge is enough for their retreat.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Winters quickly interrupted. ¡°How do you know General Sekler¡¯s troops haven¡¯t been routed?¡±


    ¡°If Sekler¡¯s forces had been routed, would the barbarian cavalry play with us like this? The Herders¡¯ focus is clearly not on preventing us from breaking in; they¡¯re guarding against Sekler¡¯s forces from breaking out! The barbarian cavalry are intercepting messengers, cutting off Sekler¡¯s communication. On the contrary, it shows that Sekler¡¯s forces are holding their ground. Hurry and retreat, if we move forward, we¡¯re going to be caught in a pincer attack!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Colonel Jeska had never been one for military democracy and, aside from one time being usurped, always had the final say.


    When the Colonel ordered a retreat, the team immediately reversed its order, now led by Mason, with Winters at the rear.


    If it was just a matter of retracing their steps along the riverbank, Lieutenant Mason couldn¡¯t go wrong no matter what.


    Although Comrade Mason had dedicated his fervor to pig farming over the years, he still had a bit of his old edge.


    Unfortunately, on the way back, they ran into another group of Herd Barbarians, sparking a small-scale skirmish.


    Worried about being caught in a pincer attack from the enemy catching up from behind, Colonel Jeska ordered them to disengage from the enemy as dusk approached and head north to circle back to the bridgehead stronghold.


    The Colonel was treating Mason as he would Winters, but he forgot that Lieutenant Montaigne was covering the rear.


    By the time Winters, who had been fighting in the rearguard, caught up with the main force, Mason had already led the detachment into a ravine¡­


    ¡­


    At this moment, Winters, lying in the dry grass, was feeling rather conflicted.


    Mason¡¯s luck was terrible in some ways but incredible in others.


    For example, though Mason was lost, he had easily shaken off the pursuers.


    Leading the detachment blindly near the Herder encampment, yet undetected by the Herders¡ªwas this good luck or misfortune?


    Winters realized that the Herders down the slope were completely unaware that a few hundred of the enemy were hidden just a mile away in the ravine.


    It could be an opportunity.


    But could they take action?


    After much thought, Winters decided they couldn¡¯t.


    This wasn¡¯t a defensive encampment but an open field battle. Although he couldn¡¯t see how many Herders there were, they were certainly more numerous than Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    What seemed like an opportunity could very well end in utter destruction.


    Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind; Winters was startled and his right hand already on the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± the voice of Lieutenant Mason.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief and put his steel spike back into his armguard: ¡°What happened to your face?¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it,¡± Mason said, covering his eyes and lowering his voice. ¡°How are things?¡±


    ¡°Not great,¡± Winters replied, his voice hoarse with thirst. He said irritably, ¡°Let¡¯s take the opportunity to retreat while they haven¡¯t discovered us. If we don¡¯t retreat soon, we¡¯ll die of hunger.¡±


    ¡°Gurgle, gurgle,¡± two sounds came from Winters¡¯s belly, exceptionally clear in the quiet of the night.


    Mason looked toward Winters, obviously having heard it too.


    Jeska¡¯s detachment had set out prepared for combat, carrying nothing but weapons and ammunition. Food and drink were limited to what the soldiers carried themselves.


    After continuous marching and a skirmish, everyone was starving.


    ¡°Brother, I have food,¡± Xial said, taking out provisions and a water skin from his chest: ¡°And water.¡±


    Xial had yet to fully change his way of addressing him; when no one else was around, he occasionally referred to his brother as he did when they were little.


    The rations and water skin still had human warmth on them¡ªall the food and drink the men had been carrying were long gone. Winters knew all too clearly that Xial had saved these by not eating or drinking at all along the way.


    Winters licked his dry lips and took a small sip from the water skin. After moistening his throat a bit, he handed the rations and water skin back to Xial: ¡°I¡¯m too hungry to eat¡ªit would just make me feel sicker.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not eating? That¡¯s great,¡± Senior Mason was delighted, reaching for the water skin: ¡°Give me some.¡±


    Winters angrily pressed the food and drink under himself: ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy.¡±


    ¡°Do you even have the face to say that?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional¡­ How can I tell directions at night without seeing the stars?¡± Mason was extremely aggrieved.


    [Note: Today was cloudy with a westerly wind¡ªthis detail about the weather was mentioned in a previous chapter during Sekler¡¯s formation of defenses.]


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 Chapter 432 - 60 Contingency Plan_3

    Chapter 432: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan_3


    Winters sighed helplessly and handed the food and drink to Senior Mason, saying with a tinge of heartache, ¡°Don¡¯t eat and drink it all.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm-hmm,¡± Mason grabbed the water bag and took a big gulp.


    Winters involuntarily swallowed, refocusing his attention on the retreat, ¡°This slope isn¡¯t high enough, we need to find a higher place. As long as we can see Bianli, we can determine the direction.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm-hmm,¡± Mason broke off another piece of dry bread.


    The North Star was obscured by clouds, making it impossible to navigate by the stars. The dark night made it unrealistic to use trees and rocks as landmarks for orientation. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only option was to rely on more distinctive landmarks, and Bianli City, situated on high ground, was the best indicator. Seeing Bianli meant they could determine the south.


    ...


    Patting the others around him, Winters signaled to move back, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s fine to leave just one person here.¡±


    ¡°Creak, creak,¡± two sounds came from nearby.


    The low voices blended into the background noise of the wilderness, but the two ¡°creaks¡± were unmistakably loud.


    Instantly, the hairs on Winters¡¯s back stood on end.


    The noise-making Senior Mason also stiffened, with half a piece of dry bread in his mouth, not daring to chew anymore.


    It¡¯s fine as long as no one notices, Winters desperately comforted himself.


    ¡°Herde Language Who¡¯s there!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    This was absolutely the last sound Winters wanted to hear in his life.


    Someone was approaching, and the rough male voice questioned again in an unfamiliar language, ¡°Herde Language Which one?¡±


    Winters drew his steel spikes, patting the shoulder of the person beside him.


    A figure emerged from among the dry grass, ¡°Herde Language Me.¡±


    The Herder sentry who had come to patrol was so shocked that he drew his curved sword. Only when he saw the camouflage armor on the other person did he put the sword back in its sheath, ¡°Herde Language What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Peeing.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Which group are you from?¡± the Herder sentry became suspicious, ¡°Herde Language Why go this far just to piss?¡±


    The other person¡¯s voice was very young, but his speech was ugly, ¡°Herde Language None of your business? Idiot, just watch yourself!¡±


    The Herder sentry flew into a rage and stepped toward him, ¡°Herde Language You without a father¡¯s teaching! I will teach you a good lesson today!¡±


    The next moment, the Herder sentry saw only a flash of cold light before consciousness was extinguished.


    The first steel spike hit the sentry in the forehead, the second and third hit his head too, killing him so thoroughly that he couldn¡¯t have been deader.


    Three consecutive Arrow Flying Spells without reservation left Winters feeling as if his entire body was being forcibly squeezed into a small box ¨C it hurt that much.


    For a time, his entire body was paralyzed, unable to even speak.


    But without even needing his command, Xial and Bell had already rushed to the sentry¡¯s body, catching it before it fell and gently laying it down.


    The Hunter wore a full set of Herder camouflage armor, which was part of Winters¡¯s contingency plan.


    ¡°Go quickly.¡± The phantom pain came swiftly and left quickly. As soon as Winters regained his ability to move, he immediately led the group back into the valley.


    The sound of the steel spike piercing the skull was equally grating, and they couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that more Herders would notice.


    The four of them crouched on the reverse slope, holding their breath and listening, waiting for other sentries to come.


    There was no other sound, it seemed no one had noticed.


    The group couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Winters patted the Hunter¡¯s shoulder, not knowing what to say.


    He didn¡¯t know how the Hunter viewed the other Herders, as enemies? As his own people? He could only let the Hunter resolve it himself.


    Suddenly, the Herder camp in the distance was alarmed.


    It began with a few shouts, then the sounds of people, horse neighs, and weapon clashes all merged together.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been spotted!¡± Xial glared at Lieutenant Mason in anger.


    Winters immediately ordered, ¡°Go find the Colonel!¡±


    The Hunter stood up and ran to deliver the message.


    The sound of horse hooves started to rise, with more and more of it, the Herder Cavalry was getting ready.


    ¡°Wait a second?¡± Mason tilted his head to listen, furrowing his brows, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too big of a fuss?¡±


    Winters quickly climbed to the top of the hill, the Herder camp far away was brightly lit, and campfires blazed one after another.


    The Herder Cavalry each held a torch, resembling a river of fire. However, the river of fire didn¡¯t rush towards Winters, but sped off towards a more distant location, unknown whom they were heading to battle.


    ¡°The Herders have moved!¡± Winters laughed uncontrollably, punching Mason hard, ¡°You really have the devil¡¯s own luck!¡±


    Now, Winters had an empty camp and five hundred militiamen at his disposal.


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 Chapter 433 - 61 Planning and Changes

    Chapter 433: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes


    Rare opportunities easily lost, such is the nature of time; when the moment arrives, and it does not linger, that is the chance.


    Now, the question wasn¡¯t whether Winters wanted to fight or not, but that the opportunity lay before him, and he could not let it slip by.


    Just as one instinctively slaps at a red, round button when they see it,


    Seeing the throat of a living creature, a predator instinctively wants to bite.


    The Herd soldiers poured out, leaving behind tents, supplies, and spare horses.


    Their vulnerabilities lay exposed before Winters¡¯ eyes, everything like Vineta, Paratu¡­ had all been tossed aside in his mind; at this moment, Lieutenant Montaigne was only exhilarated.


    ...


    Below the hillside, clusters of light one after another disappeared, Herders extinguishing their campfires.


    Seizing the last of the light, Winters quickly memorized the layout of the camp.


    He estimated that at least a thousand Herders remained within the camp, twice their own number, so the battle had to be meticulously planned.


    ¡­


    Outside the Herd encampment, the spirits of the officers from Jeska¡¯s unit were high.


    Inside the Paratu camp, General Sekler was furious.


    ¡°One-eyed Jeska! He¡¯s got some nerve! Ruining my plans!¡± Sekler¡¯s forehead veins bulged, his chest heaving violently, ¡°Who gave him the guts to abandon his post! If North Bridge is lost, I¡¯ll gouge out his other eye myself! I¡¯ll explode him with my own hands!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    The others were silent as cicadas in winter; Colonel Laszlo had no choice but to stiffen his neck and try to alleviate the mood, ¡°So do you want his eye, or are you going to explode him?¡±


    Sekler cursed rarely, ¡°I¡¯ll damn well gouge first, then explode!¡±


    ¡°The situation was too perilous when the first wave of messengers was dispatched. Jeska must have acted out of urgency. Since he¡¯s not here yet, it means he¡¯s encountered the subsequent messengers and has withdrawn¡­¡± Laszlo tried to persuade.


    ¡°Or he could have been completely annihilated, and the Herd Barbarians have taken North Bridge in the process,¡± Sekler said coldly.


    At that, even Laszlo didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Cooling off for a moment, Sekler regained his composure and spoke with restored authority, ¡°It¡¯s too late for words, we must commence Alpad¡¯s attack ahead of schedule.¡±


    ¡°Ahead of schedule?¡± someone asked puzzled.


    Sekler was resolute, ¡°Advance! Bring paper and pen!¡±


    The guard handed over pen and paper, and the brigadier used a stone as a desk to hastily write a few sentences on the parchment.


    He couldn¡¯t even wait for the wax seal to melt, directly using his Land Academy graduation ring as both the seal and signet.


    ¡°Pick a few brave and reliable messengers to cross the river and deliver this letter to General Alpad,¡± Sekler handed the letter to Laszlo, then said to the other commanders, ¡°You all go back and prepare, the Herd Barbarians will be upon us shortly.¡±


    The duty officer struck the alarm bell with might, and the resting Paratu soldiers, gripping their weapons, woke with a start.


    Assembly, marching, fighting, digging trenches, building walls, cutting wood¡ªfrom the moment they left the main camp, the soldiers hadn¡¯t rested. They¡¯d just dozed off and were already being thrust back into battle.


    Three messengers rode towards the riverbank, the letters secured in double-sealed waterproof containers.


    Messengers sent overland were only seen leaving, never returning, clearly cut down by Herders; swimming to the south bank was the only safe route.


    The Floating Bridge was not yet complete; the leading small-statured messenger stripped off his clothes and saddle, embracing his horse¡¯s neck as he stepped into the rushing water.


    Though the river was not frozen, it was bone-chillingly cold. The warhorse only took a few steps into the river before whinnying and struggling, refusing to go any further.


    Seeing this, Andre working on the Floating Bridge threw a rope to the man.


    He grabbed the rope, and the militiamen on the other side pulled him across. When he reached shore, his lips were blue, and the nearby militiamen quickly stripped off their clothes to rub him down.


    The second messenger followed into the river, but midway he suddenly cramped up, and the rope slipped from his grasp. In the blink of an eye, the Paratu man was swept away by the current, vanishing into the dark waves.


    The third messenger also clenched his teeth and entered the water, fortunately without any further mishap.


    ¡°Give them two horses!¡± Andre bellowed across the river.


    The head messenger bowed in gratitude; Andre doffed his helmet in return.


    The two messengers mounted the saddles, and without waiting for their clothes to be delivered across, they immediately galloped towards the main camp.


    Meanwhile, on the hillside opposite the camp, more and more Herd Cavalrymen bearing torches assembled, snake-like trails of fire converging from the distance.


    Gradually, the Herders began to chant in an unintelligible language. The chanting had a rhythmic cadence, evidently some form of poetry or scripture.


    The formless waves of sound lapped at the tiny camp from all directions, as if hidden behind the night were thousands upon thousands of troops.


    Lieutenant Varga leaped atop the parapet and shouted down to his men, ¡°Never fear the Heretics, the Lord himself will ensure our victory!¡±


    He began to recite scripture and more and more of his soldiers joined in; the chaplains accompanying the troops also began to lead.


    The two waves of sound collided, and for a while, neither could overwhelm the other.


    Lieutenant Roy had no interest in engaging in a theological debate across the expanse; he found Colonel Robert, ¡°Why do I feel the Barbarians have a bigger presence than during the day?¡±


    ¡°They are indeed larger than during the day,¡± Colonel Robert said with a worried look, ¡°I¡¯m just concerned¡­ that this is not all of them¡­¡±


    ¡°What do we do then, sir?¡±


    ¡°What do we do? We do as the General commands,¡± Robert patted the lieutenant on the shoulder, ¡°As for now, get your musketeers ready.¡±


    Sekler¡¯s temporary camp was shaped like a hexagram, leaving each side vulnerable to crossfire during an attack.


    Six units each held a corner, with the unit nearest the river doubling as a reserve force. As the unit with the strongest fighting capability, Robert¡¯s unit was tasked with defending the northern corner, directly facing the enemy.


    COMMENT S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 434 - 61 Planning and Changes_2

    Chapter 434: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes_2


    In the distance, on the hillside, the Herders began to extinguish their torches. Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s heart tightened; this was a harbinger of attack.


    Within the Paratu camp, commands to ¡°put out the lights¡± echoed one after another.


    The battlefield quickly turned pitch-dark, and nothing could be discerned.


    Major General Sekler, who was observing the enemy, slammed his fist against the wall, the second assault had come much earlier than he had anticipated.


    The Herd army was a mix of different factions, united in appearance but disjointed in spirit.


    It¡¯s always easy to find eager and brave men when the wind is at your back, but once an attack falters, rallying the morale is no easy task.


    ...


    Sekler had originally thought that the enemy would launch the second assault the following day.


    However, as the militia of Jeska Squadron floated down the river on rafts from upstream, his plans were completely disrupted.


    ¡°Jeska! Damned bastard!¡± Sekler cursed angrily, itching at his teeth, ¡°To think I pulled you back!¡±


    ¡­


    At this very moment, in a gully five kilometers southwest of Sekler¡¯s position, the mastermind responsible for the upset was gleefully preparing a stealth attack.


    Winters, unaware of the general¡¯s fury, didn¡¯t care either way ¡ª outsiders always tend to be so debonair.


    The food and water supplies of his two hundred-man squads were consolidated and then redistributed evenly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    ¡°Gentlemen! I know everyone¡¯s hungry; I¡¯m hungry too!¡± Winters stood on a large rock surrounded by his men.


    ¡°But this is all we have to eat.¡± He held up a piece of hardtack the size of a knuckle¡ªit¡¯s all that each man would get: ¡°I can¡¯t feed you all with five loaves of bread.¡±


    The crowd fell completely silent, the militia uncertain of the lieutenant¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°Though we don¡¯t have food,¡± Winters laughed loudly, pointing eastward, ¡°Everything you could ever want is in that camp over there! Hand-held meat, so fragrant and tender, just sprinkle some salt for a perfect taste! Mare¡¯s milk wine, drink all you want, it doesn¡¯t get you drunk! Roast whole sheep, crispy on the outside and dripping with juices on the inside!¡±


    ¡°That flavor, that sensation¡­ tsk tsk tsk.¡± Winters shook his head in admiration, ¡°It¡¯s truly beyond compare!¡±


    The audience¡¯s throats moved, saliva nearly uncontrollably secreting in a frenzy.


    In reality, Winters had never tasted mare¡¯s milk wine or hand-held meat, and he wasn¡¯t even sure if roast whole sheep was a dish that existed. Everything he described was drawn from Mitchell¡¯s roasted whole pig.


    ¡°And if you don¡¯t like meat, there¡¯s yogurt, cheese, cream puffs, milk cakes¡­ all served in gold and silver vessels, studded with pearls and jewels. The barbarian chieftain Yasin owns a huge gold mine, worked by ten thousand slaves. But his taste is so poor, he only knows how to stockpile, the gold cups and plates are dead heavy.¡±


    The pre-battle rallying had fully entered the phase of unleashing the imagination.


    Luckily, it was too dark for anyone to see Winters blushing or to contradict him: ¡°Each of you can take one home as a souvenir!¡±


    ¡°I have many lads at home, can I take two, sir?¡± Someone suddenly raised a hand to interrupt.


    ¡°Yes! You can have two if you can carry them. No, everyone gets two!¡± Winters shamelessly continued to brag: ¡°But take only two, because the rest are mine!¡±


    The crowd chuckled softly.


    ¡°Gentlemen! Food! Drink! Silver! Gold! They¡¯re all right there!¡± Before his hype could go too far, Winters cut it short while the crowd was at its most excited.


    He flung the tiny portion of hardtack to the ground: ¡°Who the hell wants this crap? Let¡¯s go drink and feast!¡±


    The militia followed suit, throwing their hardtack onto the ground, their eyes glistening.


    ¡°But there¡¯s one thing, listen up!¡± Winters¡¯s tone suddenly changed, becoming deadly serious as he brandished a stick: ¡°If anyone dares to doff their ranks before my command, or if one is missing during the post-battle inspection, they will be executed without mercy! The spoils of war will be evenly distributed, and anyone caught hoarding or fighting over spoils during the battle will be hanged!¡±


    The usually amiable Lieutenant Montaigne had disappeared, and Ishulton felt a chill down his spine.


    In the darkness, he couldn¡¯t see the lieutenant¡¯s figure, but he could sense that what lurked behind the night was not the lieutenant, but the Blood Wolf.


    ¡°Put on your ranks!¡± The command came again from within the darkness.


    Ishulton hurriedly took out his rank¡ªa simple wooden stick¡ªand bit down on it.


    The stick had ropes on both ends, and Ishulton, seizing the ends, tied a knot at the back of his head.


    He suddenly remembered something, fumbled to untie the slip knot, and tied a tight knot instead.


    ¡°Gentlemen! After we deal with the Herd barbarians ahead,¡± Winters scanned his men: ¡°we shall feast heartily!¡±


    ¡°Move out!¡± He swung his arm broadly, biting down hard on the stick.


    Under the cover of night, the two hundred-man squads of spear-bearing soldiers quietly crawled out of the gully and approached the Herd camp below on the hillside.


    The other four hundred-man squads lay in ambush inside the gully, waiting for the agreed-upon signal.


    The two hundred-man squads moved in column formation, with each soldier holding onto the waist belt of the one in front, as many were night-blind.


    Winters, at the front, estimated there were around two hundred meters to go. He pulled out a copper rod and slightly stimulated the Luminosity Spell, waving it above his head a few times.


    The dim green light wasn¡¯t very noticeable in the night, but it was clear to the militia behind him. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The column fanned out into a line, the men slowing down and crouching even lower.


    With about fifty meters to go, the sharp-eyed militiamen could already see the moving Herders in the camp.


    The main force lay prone, ready to move on command, while Winters, with a few Hunters, continued forward.


    Winters had also donned full body armor, wearing a Herd iron helmet, with his face smeared haphazardly with mud. Except for a slightly sordid crouching trot, from a distance, he really looked like one of the Herders.


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 Chapter 435 - 61 Planning and Changes_3

    Chapter 435: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes_3


    Dressed in chain mail, there was a slight ¡°clatter¡± when Winters walked, luckily it was not detected.


    The outermost circle of the Herder camp was made up of wagons, somewhat resembling a wagon fortress.


    However, all of the Herders¡¯ wagons were two-wheeled; Winters deduced from escorting the supply column all the way here that these were all single-harness carts.


    Behind the wagons were tents, and there were none of the things like moats, breastworks, or fences.


    Stepping between the crude tents, Winters immediately switched to a striding walk as if he were returning home.


    Bell followed the lieutenant nervously, continuously swallowing saliva and looking back towards the way they¡¯d come.


    ...


    Winters patted Bell on the shoulder with great composure, signaling the Hunter not to be nervous.


    Right now, Winters kind of missed the old pirate Gold, who was really good at bluffing.


    The two of them made their way unhindered until they reached the inner circle of the camp, where everything suddenly opened up.


    Before them stretched countless horses, either chewing or resting, gathered by the thousands in silence¡ªnot a single neigh¡ªproving truly frightening the Herders¡¯ skill in taming horses.


    For a moment, Winters was taken aback.


    That was the layout of the Herder camp: wagons on the outside, encircling the horses with tents.


    The Herders would lead the herds out of the camp to forage during the day, and if there were enemies nearby, they would drive them back into the camp at night; otherwise, they might stay out.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    ¡°[Herde Language] Hey! What are you doing?¡± a Herder approached, sounding very irritated. ¡°[Herde Language] No touching the horses at nighttime, do you have a death wish?¡±


    Winters raised his hand and an Arrow Flying Spell struck down the Herder. Now that he had gotten this far, there was no need to hide any longer.


    The horses raised their heads at the sound and looked towards Winters.


    Fluttering their ears and blinking, they looked adorable and tiny, their eyes filled with only goodwill and calmness.


    In front of him was a pony with a white star on its forehead. Winters reached out and scratched the pony¡¯s forehead, and it let him rub it submissively.


    ¡°Sorry about this,¡± Winters apologized silently, then crushed the porcelain vial in his hand, unleashing a short, gruff growl from his throat. ¡°Oooaah!¡±


    A composite spell was activated: the Vaporization Spell, Wind Control Skill, and Sound Amplifying Spell.


    The magically enhanced growl exploded in the center of the Herder camp, instantly vaporizing the liquid, which the Wind Control Skill then swept towards the horses.


    Winters felt dizzy and nearly passed out on the spot.


    The star-spotted pony was terrified and started to run.


    All of the Herder horses went wild as if they had lost their minds. No longer gentle, they ran heedlessly into the distance, overturning everything, trampling everything, destroying everything.


    This was a fully powered version of ¡°Startle Beast¡±¡ªWinters now had an unlimited supply of potent animal dung and urine.


    Watching the thousands of horses scatter in all directions, Winters felt an indescribable sense of achievement: this might be the most astonishing result of the ¡°Startle Beast¡± in history.


    Horses, in fact, are quite timid.


    Once frightened beyond their threshold, they enter an extremely agitated state, and even the gentlest horse can become highly aggressive.


    The Herder horses¡¯ innate fear of predators was awakened by Winters, overpowering all their learned training with the impulse to flee.


    All they wanted now was to run, to run for their lives.


    This emotion was contagious; even horses that were not startled would blindly follow the stampede.


    Tents were flipped one by one inside the camp, and the Herders¡¯ cries of horror and despair echoed from all directions: ¡°[Herde Language] The horses are spooked! Run! The horses are spooked!¡±


    A single startled horse could be considered trouble;


    A hundred startled horses were frightening;


    What about a thousand? S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And ten thousand?


    At this very moment, no one was more desperate than the Herders in the camp.


    Bell took out a dozen porcelain vials and spilled their contents clumsily around.


    Winters grabbed the foolish young man and ran: ¡°The spooked horses are coming!¡±


    Some horses broke through the wagons to escape the camp while others, like headless flies, bumped around and charged back in.


    The noise in the camp could be heard distinctly by the militia outside.


    Ish jumped up and yelled, ¡°Wooo wooo wooo!¡±


    ¡°Wooo wooo wooo!¡± two hundred-man units shouted as they charged towards the Herder camp.


    [Note: They wanted to shout the battle cry, but with a gag in their mouth, they could only make a ¡°wooo¡± sound.]


    Behind them, more militiamen climbed out of the trenches and rushed towards the Herder camp.


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 Chapter 436 - 62 Confiscation of Property

    Chapter 436: Chapter 62 Confiscation of Property


    ¡°` S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Spooked horses galloped chaotically through the camp, toppling tents like a raging storm.


    Dog barks, hoofbeats, whinnies, human shouts, and the tearing of fabric¡­ Thousands of sounds erupted together, turning the Herders¡¯ camp into utter chaos.


    Sporadic bonfires were lit, only to be swiftly extinguished, plunging the camp back into darkness.


    Winters dragged the little Hunter along as he ran; several disheveled Herders crashed into them.


    One of the shirtless Herders, furious, bellowed, ¡± What are you running for? Round up the horses! Which one of you is the head?¡±


    ...


    Winters couldn¡¯t understand what the other was saying, nor could he wait for the little Hunter to speak.


    ¡°Close your eyes!¡± He pulled the little Hunter behind him, crushed a glass vial in his hand, and unleashed a Flash Spell at the Herders.


    The container shattered, and the moment the reactive metal powder inside made contact with air, it was ignited by the magic, instantly bursting into blinding white light.


    This light was brighter than lightning, more dazzling than the sun, causing the Herders to scream and shield their eyes in agony.


    The shirtless Herder fell to the ground, still shouting, ¡± Enemies! They¡¯re enemies! Someone come!¡±


    The retinas of the Herders were possibly permanently damaged by the intense light, but they no longer had to worry about that.


    Winters, with sword in hand, charged among the Herders, aiming for their weak points; the Herders, unable to see, were powerless to resist.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    All but one, who scrambled into the tents, were slain.


    ¡°Go!¡± With no time to chase the fleeing foe, Winters led the little Hunter outside the camp.


    The leather of his gloves had been burned through by the Flash Spell, and he could smell a distinct burnt odor. His palm throbbed painfully, but he was unsure whether it was from being cut by the glass or scorched by the alchemical substance.


    At the barricade formed by the wagons, the Paratu spearmen and halberdiers were locked in combat with about twenty Herders.


    There were well-armored Herder sentinels, as well as Herders who had just woken from their sleep, grabbing their curved swords to join the fray.


    A Herd Barbarian, towering like a steel tower, fought ferociously, shouting and swinging two curved swords, completely nude.


    When his curved sword was knocked away, he grabbed a spear instead and surged through the crowd with terrifying momentum.


    In an era where the average height of a farmer was barely over 1.6 meters, this barbarian stood a staggering two meters tall, with a form as sturdy as a tiger¡¯s back and a bear¡¯s waist¡ªit was unfathomable what he ate to grow so big.


    Surrounding Paratu militiamen seemed like dwarfs in his presence; for a moment, no one could get close to him.


    ¡± Come on!¡± The burly barbarian, spinning his long spear, crushed a militiaman¡¯s head, spraying brains everywhere, and roared, ¡± Come on!¡±


    An Ish from Ganshui Town, biting on his bridle, maneuvered behind the giant and struck toward his lower back with his spear at the right moment.


    With a full-force charge, the spearhead sank deeply into flesh.


    The giant turned in disbelief to look at Ish, struggling to lift his arm.


    Seeing his opponent not yet dead, Ish froze on the spot, looking set to meet his end along with the giant.


    Then, six militiamen converged from the west, stabbing at the giant from all sides, joining forces to bring down the formidable Herd warrior.


    The Herders, witnessing this scene, lamented loudly. They were too few in number and were quickly swept away by the militiamen.


    The Herders¡¯ archers, shooting cold arrows from the ramparts, also fell one after another.


    Having dealt with the archers, Winters leapt onto a wagon, tore off his helmet, and raised his curved sword high.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The cheers of the Paratu People soared to the heavens.


    With nothing in their way, they cut the ropes, dragged away the wagons, tearing an opening through the wall.


    Xial ran over to tie a white cloth around Winters¡¯s left arm, marking friend from foe amidst the mix of militia armor.


    When Xial saw Winters¡¯s hand dripping blood, he pulled out a clean cloth, wanting to bandage Winters.


    Winters shrugged off Xial and bellowed, ¡°The flag!¡±


    The gendarme Heinrich handed the flag to the Centurion,


    ¡°Torch!¡±


    Everyone lit their torches in succession.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Winters led two companies into the Herders¡¯ camp, setting it ablaze everywhere they went. They didn¡¯t have much for starting fires, but in this season, everything was flammable.


    The fire grew with the wind, and the flames roared from west to east, engulfing the whole camp.


    The Herders were still desperately trying to drive the spooked horses out of the camp when they suddenly noticed a fire in the west. Chilling war cries echoed throughout the camp, as though an overwhelming force was attacking.


    Night battles are inherently messy and chaotic¡ªthe defenders¡¯ command system finally collapsed completely.


    One person began to flee, and soon every Herder was scrambling for horses, desperately trying to escape.


    Those who still had their wits about them tried to regroup, but no one heeded them; those who still had courage attempted to counterattack but were surrounded and killed by the enemy.


    The Paratu People¡¯s method of communication was simple and crude: the drumming continued, so the battle continued; where the flag went, the soldiers followed.


    Winters tied a torch to the top of the flagpole, leading his men to rampage through the camp.


    Meanwhile, Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Mason led the other four companies, stationed outside the camp, to ambush and kill any fleeing Herders who made it past the encampment.


    Colonel Jeska called it ¡°Hunt Strategy.¡± Montaigne¡¯s squad, like hounds flushing out waterfowl, created chaos and drove the Herders from the camp, while the real ambush lay with the four squads hidden outside.


    Had all six companies attacked the camp, they would not have been able to deploy effectively, and the other four squads were not as capable and reliable as Winters¡¯s men, who moved at his command like an extension of his own limbs.


    The blaze grew fiercer, enveloping the entire camp in thick smoke.


    Winters stood still, surveying his surroundings; around him, no living Herder could be seen.


    When the flag stopped, the militiamen also gradually began to gather.


    Heinrich¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and streaming with tears from the smoke; rubbing his eyes, he said, ¡°Seems like there¡¯s no one left, Sir.¡±


    Winters patted the drummer¡¯s shoulder, and the drumming ceased.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 437 - 62 Seizing the Household_2

    Chapter 437: Chapter 62 Seizing the Household_2


    ¡°Quit rubbing your eyes, endure it a bit.¡± Winters was also shedding tears non-stop as he handed the military flag over to Heinrich and sheathed his sword, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Quickly determining their direction, Winters led everyone to withdraw from Hurd¡¯s camp.


    But before long, once the strength of the fire had lessened slightly, he led his men back into the camp again.


    They couldn¡¯t help but return, famished beyond words. In the commotion of fighting the enemy and setting fires, they hadn¡¯t seen a bit of the meat, mare¡¯s milk, or roasted lamb that the Centurion had promised.


    Winters commanded his men to put out the fire, regretting a bit in his heart.


    In his exhilaration during battle, he had wished he could set Hurd¡¯s camp ablaze three times over, forgetting all else, including the procurement of food and drink.


    ...


    The Paratu People had no choice but to search through the ashes for food and spoils of war.


    ¡°No hoarding! It will be distributed evenly when we get back! Death to hoarders!¡± Winters urged his men, ¡°Hurry up! Don¡¯t dawdle!¡±


    Once a camp caught fire, it could be seen from miles away.


    The earlier deployed Hurd Cavalry would surely return to assist, so the Paratu had limited time to scavenge the battlefield.


    Winters dismantled a cart from the camp wall and harnessed it to Dusa.


    The militia threw their spoils in the cart, which included silver scabbards, weapons, buttons, and such; not much of great value, leaving everyone somewhat disappointed.


    It was Dusa¡¯s first time pulling a cart, and he felt indignant to the utmost, acting stubbornly immobile.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Winters, frustrated, slapped Dusa¡¯s behind.


    Dusa started moving forward sluggishly.


    Winters took out two sugar cubes, gently stroking the horse¡¯s neck with them.


    The horse complained with a snort, licked Winters¡¯s palm with its tongue, and looked expectantly at its master.


    Winters, resigned, shook his head and took out his last two sugar cubes, then turned his pocket inside out to show the horse, ¡°That¡¯s all!¡±


    Only then did Dusa agree to lift its legs. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound of horseshoes approached from behind, and Anglu arrived beside Winters on his red-maned warhorse. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw it was Dusa pulling the cart.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters asked the young horse-handler.


    Anglu nodded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Anglu shook his head again.


    Their exchange was like a silent riddle.


    The most precious spoils were not gold or jewels but the thousands of horses. The herd, frightened by Winters¡¯s ¡°scare beast,¡± had scattered and needed to be corralled once more.


    Herding the horses naturally fell to Dusack, and Winters¡¯s secret order was: select three hundred well-fed warhorses and hide them well.


    ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel has instructed you to clean up the battlefield as soon as possible and to meet up with him,¡± Anglu also delivered a formal order.


    ¡°Alright, I got it.¡±


    Anglu saluted and rode off.


    The fire that started quickly also died quickly, and the campsite was soon cleansed by the flames. The smoke had not yet cleared, and the scorched earth was visible all around.


    Where once tents lay thick, only charred poles remained, still crackling and burning.


    It wasn¡¯t yet dawn, and the militia, some wielding torches and others using the residual glow of the fire, searched through the ashes for food and valuables.


    Occasionally, a militiaman would find leftover dried meat or charred cheese and without much fuss, would wipe it on their clothing and share it.


    Xial came running to Winters, holding a skin bag triumphantly, ¡°Mare¡¯s milk, Captain!¡±


    ¡°Mare¡¯s milk?¡± Winters was quite surprised, he was so thirsty his throat seemed to be on fire.


    But as soon as he removed the stopper, he remembered the promises and boasts he had made before battle and felt too ashamed to start drinking.


    He had indulged himself before, and now it was time to pay back.


    Winters sighed and handed the skin back to Xial, ¡°Share it with everyone, let each person have a sip to moisten their throat.¡±


    Xial¡¯s face showed reluctance.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Winters swallowed compulsively.


    The precious mare¡¯s milk was passed from hand to hand among the militia, each person cherishing their small sip before handing it off to the next person.


    Tess only took a taste, he longed to gulp it down. But since everyone was just moistening their throats, he didn¡¯t want to be a jerk in front of his comrades.


    He walked up to the edge of the tent remains, absent-mindedly sweeping his foot back and forth through the ashes.


    The Blood Wolf had talked about gold cups, silver bowls, pearls, and gems buried here, but so far, they had found none.


    Even though Tess knew it was probably just Blood Wolf boasting, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little disappointed.


    Because if he could only bring back two¡ªno, even half a gold cup home, he wouldn¡¯t have to toil as a laborer anymore. He could buy a patch of land and work for himself.


    Even though Tess didn¡¯t believe in the gold and silver cups, when he charged into Hurd¡¯s camp, he held the deepest and most sincere hope.


    But now Tess no longer harbored any hope and just felt a bit silly.


    He casually swept his foot through the ashes a few more times, and suddenly, he struck something hard.


    Tess¡¯s heart contracted sharply.


    As the embers still glowed red, he couldn¡¯t wait and used his bare hands to clear them away, revealing the unique golden luster of a hard object in the firelight.


    Tess grabbed the scorching gold bowl, ¡°Sir! I found a gold cup!¡±


    Winters, Xial, Heinrich¡­ everyone heard Tess¡¯s excited shout, and the militia gathered around Tess, holding the gold bowl, and walked him over to Winters.


    ¡°Sir, I found this,¡± Tess carefully presented the gold bowl to the Centurion.


    Winters had initially thought his subordinate mistook a copper bowl for gold, but after closer examination, he couldn¡¯t help but gasp, ¡°This seems¡­ to be real gold!¡±


    Tess was so overjoyed he nearly fainted.


    ¡°Tess, this gold bowl has to be contributed to the public,¡± Winters felt a bit apologetic, ¡°but I promise, it will be divided as previously promised. I¡¯ll take only one share, just like everyone else.¡±


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 Chapter 438 - 62: The House Raid_3

    Chapter 438: Chapter 62: The House Raid_3


    Ish¡¯s face turned from red to white, hesitated repeatedly, but in the end, still presented the gold bowl to Winters.


    ¡°I dare not touch it,¡± Winters said with a wry smile. He called a gendarme¡¯s name, ¡°Xial.¡±


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°Register it.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Heinrich.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°You take care of this thing for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Winters thought for a moment, then looked at Ish, the lucky finder of the gold bowl, ¡°Ish, you and Heinrich will supervise the preservation of all the spoils. You pick two more people to guard the loot with you.¡±


    Soon, several prestigious militiamen were nominated.


    The loot was placed on wagons, clearly visible, guarded by three militiamen and two gendarmes, supervising each other.


    ¡°Stop gawking! Move it, we don¡¯t have much time!¡± Winters urged his subordinates to speed up, ¡°No hoarding for yourself, don¡¯t test the military law.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    The militiamen scattered, and the weighty gold bowl was left on the wagon.


    Inspired by this, everyone quickened their pace.


    ¡°I found something too!¡± another person shouted.


    This time it was an enormous gold belt buckle, engraved with beautiful patterns, found on a charred corpse.


    Winters realized with surprise that the owner of the belt appeared to be the bare-chested Herder who had been blinded by the Flash Spell and then killed by him.


    As they continued to search toward the center of the camp, they discovered more gold and silver vessels, as well as ornamental items like gold knife handles and sheaths.


    The further east they went, the more valuables they found.


    The Paratu People¡¯s eyes were turning red, and they wished they could dig three feet into every pile of ashes and every remnant of the tents.


    ¡°Sir! There¡¯s a big tent at the far eastern end!¡± Another militiaman came running to report, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been burnt!¡±


    The camp was becoming increasingly interesting, and the lieutenant was intrigued, ¡°Quick, lead me there!¡±


    At the easternmost edge of the camp, beneath the slope of the hill, stood a large tent. It was indeed ¡°large,¡± at least ten meters wide, not much different from a house.


    The most interesting part was that the large tent was perched atop a huge wagon, seemingly mobile. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Winters arrived in front of the large tent, he understood why his men didn¡¯t dare to enter: the whole camp had been turned into scorched earth, yet this large tent and the small area behind it remained untouched, eerily so.


    ¡°Bring me the ropes!¡± Winters didn¡¯t dare to rush in, ¡°Pull it down for me.¡±


    With hooks attached to the tent walls, the militiamen cooperated and used brute strength to flip the tent over.


    ¡°What is this?!¡± Winters was dumbfounded.


    There was no one inside the tent¡ªno, there was someone, a ¡°person¡± gleaming with golden light.


    A figure made entirely of gold stood in the center of the large tent, silently and calmly watching everyone.


    The golden figure was three heads taller than Winters, with golden eyes, nose, and ears exquisitely detailed, only lacking a mouth.


    All present were stunned.


    At this moment, the militiamen became hesitant, ¡°Sir, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Afraid of what!¡± Winters, refusing to believe it was pure gold, said, ¡°It must be gilded! Give me a knife!¡±


    He viciously scraped off several layers of gold leaf, and if Winters wasn¡¯t mistaken, the inside was also gold.


    In the silent, burned-out camp, some militiamen were even trembling.


    Ish became stammering, ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t this a Heretic Religion idol?¡±


    Winters was silent for a long moment, then suddenly threw the knife aside and burst into laughter, ¡°A Heretic idol, great! If it were a catholic liturgical vessel, I wouldn¡¯t dare to take it! Ha-ha-ha! What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Take it away, take it all away!¡±


    The wagons loaded with spoils were instantly overloaded, and immediately militiamen set out to find more wagons. Winters also sent people to find Colonel Jeska for reinforcements, he needed more horses.


    Besides the golden figure, the tent contained many scattered gold and silver religious objects, all of which Winters packed up.


    Before this discovery, these items alone would have been enough to delight everyone, but now compared to the golden figure, they suddenly seemed unimpressive.


    Colonel Jeska rushed over upon hearing the news and was also shocked.


    Winters noticed even the one-eyed tough guy showing fear, an unprecedented occurrence.


    Jeska pulled Winters aside and said hoarsely, ¡°We¡­ might have just raided the Terdon Tribe¡­¡±


    [Note: Terdon is one of the three major Herder tribes]


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 Chapter 439 - 63: An Iron Shoulder Bearing the Blame

    Chapter 439: Chapter 63: An Iron Shoulder Bearing the Blame


    While Winters was busy helping the Herders move, the battle of the Sekler tribe was reaching a fever pitch.


    The Herder army created a ruckus with a small amount of light cavalry and feigned an attack on the North Wall with fire.


    Yet in secret, they dispatched their elite armored soldiers, without lights or sound, dismounted and armed with bows and blades, they charged on foot directly towards the floating bridge behind the encampment.


    But the barbarians underestimated the Sekler¡¯s keen sense of smell.


    The Brigadier saw through the Herders¡¯ feint and swiftly adjusted his deployment.


    He first sent Robert¡¯s battalion to form a defensive line at the bridgehead, then concentrated the camp¡¯s musketeers along the southern wall.


    ...


    Between Robert¡¯s square formation and the south wall of the camp, the area was completely covered by musket fire, leaving any enemy that passed through exposed to crossfire from multiple directions.


    The Herders were illuminated by fires Sekler had set up in advance, making them easy targets for Paratu musketeers who fired volleys.


    This narrow space, merely a dozen meters wide, became a killing field crisscrossed with lead shot.


    The Herders¡¯ armored infantry charged against the volley of fire, and before they could even get close to the floating bridge, a quarter of them had fallen.


    By the time they engaged the Paratu square in close combat, they were continually bled by the musketeers behind them. They swiftly faltered and began to retreat.


    As Robert¡¯s soldiers watched the barbarians retreat without giving them time to lick their wounds, another wave of armored barbarians charged at them with their curved blades.


    Without a moment¡¯s respite, the sounds of gunfire, war cries, and melee combat continued, making the night destined to be a hard one.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    The Herders thought that the three thousand Paratu infantry wanted to use the floating bridge to retreat, so they selected their elite and repeatedly launched fierce attacks on the bridge.


    But in fact, Sekler had no intention of retreating to the south bank at all; Jeska¡¯s arrival with the floating bridge was pure happenstance.


    The floating bridge had even hastened the Herders¡¯ attack, throwing Sekler¡¯s battle plans into disarray.


    But what¡¯s done was done, and getting angry was useless.


    General Sekler thus went with the flow, using the floating bridge as bait to lure the Herders into the attack, continually inflicting casualties on the enemy¡¯s daring elite with musket fire.


    After four advances and four retreats, the Herders began to realize that something was amiss¡ªthe ¡°two-legged fools¡± were bleeding them out with small cuts.


    The Herders decisively changed their strategy from feigned attacks in front to full-scale assaults, and the pressure on the camp¡¯s defenders drastically increased.


    Sekler had no choice but to redistribute some of his musketeers to support elsewhere.


    After dispersing the Paratu forces, the Herders began using a variety of haphazard tactics in an attempt to achieve surprise and victory.


    The barbarians first brought several dozen warhorses in front of the square formation, with their tails tied with dry grass and smeared with grease.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert was initially baffled until he saw flames rising from the horses¡¯ rumps and realized what the barbarians intended to do.


    The ¡°fire horses¡± neighed and charged at the square formation, with Herder swordsmen and archers following behind to ambush.


    The Herders¡¯ ingenious plan took the Paratu by surprise, but Robert¡¯s square formation was narrow¡ªless than ten meters¡ªmaking it difficult for the fire horses to crash accurately into the formation.


    Lieutenant Roy leaped out of the formation and cast a Sonic Blast Spell at the fire horses. The Paratu musketeers also opened fire.


    While the horses were startled, they were not foolish enough to crash into spears and gunfire. Slightly changing direction, they brushed past the edge of the square formation and fled along the riverbank.


    Without the cover of the fire horses, the Herders were once again exposed in front of the Paratu. After several rounds of gunfire and hard bows, the clearly disadvantaged Herders retreated in disarray.


    The plan to break the square formation with fire horses failed, and the Herders assaulting the camp walls also withdrew.


    Aside from the cries of the dying, the battlefield fell silent for a moment.


    Robert¡¯s battalion had no time to rest; they immediately set to work digging trenches around the square.


    Taking advantage of the lull in the battle, half of the battalion quietly left the camp to reinforce Robert¡¯s battalion.


    They brought with them the gunpowder and lead shot desperately needed by Robert¡¯s battalion and also Sekler¡¯s instructions.


    ¡°Sir, the General has commanded me to relay that the barbarians¡¯ chief is probably impatient and likely to commit his whole army soon. If you can withstand this final assault, you¡¯ll be the night¡¯s greatest hero,¡± Captain William cautiously recited.


    ¡°Greatest hero?¡± Robert scoffed repeatedly, stabbing his iron shovel firmly into the ground, disdainfully saying, ¡°The old man loves to fob people off with such cheap talk! Let¡¯s see if we can hold out first!¡±


    Captain William was at a loss for words and the atmosphere momentarily turned awkward.


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Robert glared at the captain, ¡°Take your men and start digging the trench¡ªquickly!¡±


    The Herders, silent for a while, began to shout in unison again, to bolster their morale.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert spat and continued to dig the trench earnestly.


    In the darkness, one could faintly hear the approaching footsteps of the Herders.


    ¡°Light the fires!¡± the colonel ordered.


    Several soldiers ran out and lit the bonfires, then ran back to the square formation as if fleeing.


    The flames revealed the enemy¡¯s figures, this time the barbarians coming in greater numbers than all previous waves combined.


    But their equipment was shoddy, a mix of leather robes, iron helmets, and armor, far inferior to the earlier elite armored soldiers.


    It seemed the barbarians were indeed committing their entire army, planning to overwhelm Robert¡¯s battalion with sheer numbers.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert prepared his defenses, waiting for the enemy to come within range, and deeply regretted not bringing a few cannons with him.


    Cannons with grapeshot could scatter such a dense and disorderly advance.


    ¡°How nice would it be if I had two cannons right now? Even two-pounders would do. No, even one would suffice,¡± Robert muttered under his breath, criticizing the rigid use of artillery by those above him.


    With each step forward, the Herders had to shout in unison to embolden themselves.


    Lieutenant Roy saw the farthest bonfire get stomped out and loudly ordered, ¡°Musketeers, prepare!¡±


    The musketeers came to the forefront of the square formation, setting up their muskets, their shoulders pressing tightly against the wooden stock.


    Then, the second bonfire was extinguished.


    ¡°Open the pan!¡± Roy amplified his voice with magic.


    The musketeers opened their pan covers.


    The bonfires represented distance. When the third bonfire was extinguished, it meant that the enemy had entered within fifty meters.


    All the Paratu held their breath and clenched their teeth, waiting for the battle to ignite.


    But the musketeers didn¡¯t wait for the lieutenant¡¯s order, what reached their ears was a string of harsh gong sounds¡ªfrom behind the Herders.


    Hearing the gongs, the ferocious Herders turned and ran.


    Colonel Robert¡¯s troop, from the lieutenant colonel down, were all confused for a moment, not understanding what the savages were up to.


    Sekler, standing by the camp wall, watched in dismay as the Herders lit torches and retreated like the tide, nearly vomiting blood in frustration.


    He had been holding back his strength, deliberately showing weakness to the enemy, even allowing the feigned attacks of the Herders to breach the wall several times, all in anticipation of the savages launching their full assault.


    Shortly after, the scouts reported back: There are red clouds to the northwest, likely fire.


    Sekler¡¯s thoughts raced, and he quickly guessed what was happening.


    ¡°Jeska!!!¡±


    ¡­


    Colonel Jeska sneezed.


    Winters, riding alongside the colonel, passed him a handkerchief.


    Jeska looked at the lieutenant surprisingly and took the handkerchief to wipe his nose.


    The colonel suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Why does it smell strange?¡±


    ¡°Does it?¡± Winters took the handkerchief back, suddenly remembering what that handkerchief had been used for.


    Keeping a straight face, he sniffed it a few times and said calmly, ¡°I smell it too, a bit weird. Sweat, perhaps?¡±


    At their side, the militiamen were driving their wagons in a mad rush to their posts, each one gleeful.


    Right now, there were only three things on everyone¡¯s mind: gold, gold, and more gold.


    The golden idol was extremely heavy, extremely heavy; they had to nail two wagons together to make one, and use eight horses to get it moving.


    Winters¡¯ uncle Giovanni was a goldsmith, and Winters knew the rough calculations.


    By estimating the density of gold, he reckoned the golden idol weighed at least two tons.


    Divided among everyone, that was roughly four kilograms apiece. Not to mention two golden cups, if one¡¯s taste was vulgar enough, even a golden toilet could be made.


    The militiamen had no concept of four kilograms of gold. At first, when they heard the amount, their reactions were mild, thinking to themselves: Hmm, that seems like a lot of money.


    So Winters switched to another calculation¡ª1,123 ducats.


    1,123¡­ gold coins?


    Some fainted on the spot.


    ¡°What daydreams are you having?¡± the colonel barked sharply at them: ¡°It¡¯s not ours until we get it back.¡±


    The militiamen snapped back to reality, eyes red, and began to load the golden idol into the wagons.


    While everyone else only saw greed when looking at the golden idol, Colonel Jeska alone looked terrified.


    What worried him was not the gold, but the owner of the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens¡ªthe Terdon Tribe.


    Since the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens appeared here, it meant that the Terdon Tribe had already entered the war.


    The scale of the war¡­ was gradually spiraling out of control.


    Upon learning that the camp they might have raided belonged to the Terdon Tribe, Winters¡¯ first reaction was to leave the golden idol behind and retreat immediately.


    But gold seduces the hearts of men, and looking at everyone now, he feared they would rather die than leave the golden idol behind.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s troop was already out of control, and he and Winters were probably the only two people who still retained their sanity.


    Eight horses pulled the golden idol swiftly across the wasteland, with the drivers heartlessly whipping the animals.


    Now and then, a horse would collapse, foaming at the mouth; the Paratu People ignored it and immediately replaced it with another horse.


    Because they had captured many Herder horses, they could use them so recklessly.


    As they ran, the wagon would break down, and the Paratu People had no time to fix it; they pushed up a new one instead.


    The wagons, the horses, at this moment, were all replaceable parts.


    Yet, even so, they were moving too slowly.


    The further they went, the more anxious Winters became.


    The Terdon Tribe would not let this go easily; their pursuers could arrive at any moment.


    What they were dragging on the wagon might not be gold but a curse that called for their lives.


    The golden idol, originally without expression, now seemed to Winters to be mocking him. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He who hesitates is lost. Winters had made his decision, but he did not know how much weight his authority carried.


    ¡°No! Stop the wagons!¡± Winters called for the convoy to halt and ordered the men, ¡°Unload the golden idol.¡±


    He thought for a moment and added, ¡°Bury it.¡±


    ¡­


    Before dawn, Colonel Jeska¡¯s troop returned safely to North Bridge Fortress with the spoils of war.


    Whether they could ride horses or not, everyone was on horseback.


    About an hour later, in the early morning.


    The sentries of North Bridge Fortress were surprised to find that their small bridgehead fortress was completely surrounded by Herders.


    A red-faced Herder, pointing with a long spear, demanded negotiations, and he even brought a Translator with him.


    Winters, accompanied by the young Hunter, left the camp.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Hand over the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens, and you shall live today,¡± said the red-faced Herder man bluntly: ¡°[Herde Language] An egg struck against a rock will only shatter.¡±


    Winters had received the answer he wanted and he laughed loudly: ¡°You want it? Come and get it yourself.¡±


    With that, he turned his horse and left, no longer engaging in conversation with the Herders.


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 Chapter 440 - 64 Small Improvements

    Chapter 440: Chapter 64 Small Improvements


    The saying goes: Do not disturb a sleeping lion unnecessarily, and do not stir up trouble without reason.


    There¡¯s also a proverb: You shouldn¡¯t touch a tiger¡¯s behind.


    What Jeska¡¯s troops did last night could no longer be simply described as ¡°touching the behind.¡±


    It was like setting a tiger¡¯s behind on fire, gouging out a large chunk of flesh, and then, before leaving, kicking its balls fiercely.


    Atop the watchtower, Winters nonchalantly stuffed steel nails into the leather pouch on his vambrace, casually saying to Bard, ¡°The Herders are quite fiery.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Bard replied irritably, ¡°Why did you steal their statue?¡±


    ... S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I wanted to, you weren¡¯t there,¡± Winters said solemnly. ¡°These guys saw so much gold, their eyes practically glowed green. I said ¡®don¡¯t touch it, leave it there.¡¯ They wouldn¡¯t listen!¡±


    Both men watched as over ten thousand Herder Cavalry¡ªclearly the main force of the Terdon Tribe¡ªsurrounded the Bridgehead Fortress inside and out, seemingly intending to attack immediately.


    With the sacrificial golden statue taken, the Herders were incensed to their core, frantically eager to reclaim it ¡ª that was understandable, but they had chosen the wrong place to start a battle.


    Although Jesska¡¯s Bridgehead Fortress was small, it was by no means an easy bone to gnaw on.


    This earthen and wooden structure was backed against the riverbank, occupying an elevated position.


    It was surrounded by open ground, and the small area of woodland that had existed was completely cleared by Winters and his men. The ground was barren, offering no cover whatsoever.


    The fortress walls were connected to the wooden bridge crossing the Confluence River, allowing the defenders to advance or retreat at will.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ????????????????????.co


    Moreover, the area around the Bridgehead Fortress was narrow, preventing the enemy from deploying in great numbers despite their larger force.


    There were originally two hundred-man units stationed here, and after Jeska¡¯s troops had arrived, they continued to remodel and reinforce the existing fortifications.


    Their prep time far exceeded that of Sekler¡¯s forces, so what stood before the Herders wasn¡¯t the sort of rudimentary defense characterized by low walls and shallow trenches found at Sekler¡¯s camp.


    Instead, there were trenches over two meters deep and wide, continuous anti-cavalry stakes, four large and one small bastions, and a double-layered defensive wall arranged at varying heights.


    Though it couldn¡¯t compare with those intricately designed, costly star forts that strike fear just by looking at them, breaching this defensive system would still cost the Herders hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.


    The horns sounded, and the distant Herder Cavalry stirred noisily before beginning their advance towards the fortress walls.


    ¡°They dare to come?¡± Winters inhaled sharply in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t they afraid to die?¡±


    Bard glared at Winters, jumped down from the watchtower, and headed towards the southwest bastion he was responsible for.


    When Alaric who spoke fluent Common attacked The Styx camp, he at least brought dozens of mantlets for cover.


    The Terdon Tribe Cavalry in front of them now didn¡¯t even have a few shields to speak of, let alone mantlets, yet they dared to attack so boldly, something Winters found hard to understand.


    An idea suddenly struck him, ¡°The Herders couldn¡¯t possibly¡­ be confused about who is the egg and who is the stone, could they?¡±


    Atop the northeast bastion, Mason stared unblinkingly at several red sandstone blocks piled up 750 meters away.


    As soon as the stones became submerged behind the wall of Herder troops, Mason bellowed, ¡°Fire!¡±


    The five six-pounder cannons fired in succession, the solid iron balls accurately flying into the crowd, piercing through bodies, and plowing five deep grooves of blood.


    Clearly, the Herders hadn¡¯t expected the defenders to have cannons. To project power, they had advanced in tight formations at a slow pace.


    But the open ground around them had been marked by Mason, leaving practically no chance for the shots to miss such dense formations.


    Yet after only five limited casualty-causing volleys, the Herder forces were already trembling. Not so much because of the casualties, but because they couldn¡¯t bear the psychological pressure of being helplessly bombarded.


    Finally, someone¡¯s patience broke. A horse charged, and all the Herders followed in a frenzied dash.


    The formation of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s forces was shattered just like that.


    As the Herders came within five hundred meters, two twelve-pounder cannons waiting in ambush roared like thunder.


    The cannonballs rampaged through the crowd, bouncing upon impact with the ground, mercilessly reaping lives as they went.


    ¡°Good shooting!¡± Mason¡¯s frustration vanished, thrilled with the effect of the shelling.


    Leading the way or whatever¡­ What¡¯s more interesting than a cannon? The Lieutenant ordered his men with renewed vigor, ¡°Switch to canister shot!¡±


    Hearing the order, a bunch of ¡°cannoneers¡± started scrambling to load grape shots wrapped in netting and paper bags.


    The cannons which Colonel Robert had desired but lacked, Colonel Jeska not only had¡­ but he had seven of them.


    Mason, a Lieutenant dreaming of returning to his artillery roots, would¡¯ve loved to give Bianli City¡¯s cannons a thorough workout. With Jeska¡¯s go-ahead, he immediately took under his command the best five light, long-range cannons and the two twelve-pounder cannons.


    The former weighed only half a ton each, but with a bore diameter over thirty, their range was outstanding. The latter weighed approximately a ton and had a smaller bore, but their advantage was in firing twelve-pound shots.


    The gunpowder for shooting had been weighed and prepackaged by Mason; the angles for firing had also been personally determined by him.


    The other so-called ¡°cannoneers¡± were complete novices, only responsible for firing, repositioning, cleaning the barrel, reloading, and firing again.


    During the defense of The Styx camp, Mason had already trained several novice cannoneers. Now, using the old ones as a core and supplementing with new ones, he had significantly expanded his artillery crew.


    This was how an academy-trained artillery officer, who had been idly tending pigs for years, led a few dozen rough-and-ready novices using Herder cannons to kill Herders¡ªwith cannonballs that were scavenged from the Herders themselves.


    The cruel tapestry of the battlefield was oddly tinted with shades of magical realism.


    However, Winters didn¡¯t have time to ponder the absurdity of the situation; he was waiting for the Herders to come within fifty paces.


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 Chapter 441 - 64 Small Improvements_2

    Chapter 441: Chapter 64 Small Improvements_2


    If they only had muskets, the Herders could leisurely advance to within a hundred meters, form a line at their leisure, and then lay siege,


    But once the defending army possessed cannons, the Herders had to strike from five hundred meters away.


    Even five hundred meters was not safe, as the extreme range of a six-pounder cannon exceeded three thousand meters¡ªthough at that distance, catching a shot was more likely than hitting the target.


    In less than a minute, the Herder cavalry had charged to within fifty meters; the cannons only had time for one round and were hurriedly reloading.


    Behind the palisade, there was silence.


    Jeska¡¯s squad was no longer the rabble that fired guns to bolster their courage; all the musketeers were waiting for orders.


    ...


    Caltrops, trenches, breastworks, palisades¡ªthe Bridgehead Fortress¡¯s defenses consisted of these four layers from the outside in.


    The Herders stopped at the caltrops, some dismounted to draw bows and notch arrows, while others started to pull up the caltrop stakes.


    ¡°Now! Fire!¡± Winters yelled using a spell to amplify his voice.


    He pulled the trigger in rapid succession, ¡°click, click¡± as the flintlock sparked, and two lead balls flew out of the barrel, taking down a Hong Lingyu Herder leader beside the caltrops.


    After Berlion¡¯s modifications, the double-barreled rifled gun could hit whatever it was aimed at.


    Above the bastion, the musketeers followed Winters¡¯s lead and pressed their firing levers, and a volley of gunfire erupted, with lead balls flying everywhere.


    The closest Herders were killed on the spot, those who weren¡¯t dead were lying on the ground trying to hide, using just arm-thick caltrops as shields.


    After the volley, the battlefield returned to silence.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Stand up!¡± a Herder leader shouted from behind the smoke: ¡°[Herde Language] Their muskets can only be used once! Hurry, pull the stakes!¡±


    The Herders got up from the ground amid scolding; it seemed like the shooting really had stopped, and they began pulling up the caltrops again.


    What greeted them was the second volley, killing the scolding Herder leader with two lead balls.


    ¡°Second squad! Reload!¡± Winters shouted, waving the military flag: ¡°Third squad! Prepare!¡±


    The drummer beside the Centurion beat a frantic rhythm, urging the musketeers to act.


    Those who had finished shooting stepped back to reload, while another team of musketeers hurried to the wall to line up their shots.


    Previously, after firing a volley, militiamen musketeers would fire at will.


    However, Winters noted that many musketeers were afraid to shoot, and once they started firing at will, they would hardly send out a few lead balls during the whole battle.


    Hence, Winters divided all the musketeers into ten squads, taking turns and alternating volleys.


    It was immediately apparent whose gun had fired and whose had not.


    ¡°Third squad! Fire!¡± Winters roared.


    The drums fell silent as Xial swung the mallet, striking it hard against the gong.


    ¡°Gong!¡± The gong sound cut through the noise of the battlefield; it was the signal to open fire.


    The third squad of musketeers pressed their firing levers, releasing another volley of shots.


    Next to each shooting position stood a Centurion taking notes. Military law had been read beforehand: After the battle, those whose guns did not fire would be severely punished.


    ¡°Third squad! Reload!¡± Winters immediately ordered: ¡°Fourth squad! Prepare!¡±


    The drummer played the quick drum again. The sound of the high-frequency drum helped one team of musketeers retreat and the next team take their place.


    This tactic was not simple; each musketeer had to finish reloading within the time of nine volleys, and also be cautious of friendly fire and accidents.


    With drums, gongs, and voices, the ten squads of musketeers clumsily took turns.


    Watching his subordinates in disarray, Winters was not satisfied.


    In his view, the militia were still too clumsy; with more training, this rotating firing tactic would be much smoother.


    ¡°Fourth squad! Fire,¡± Winters¡¯s voice grew hoarse as he thought, ¡°I need to find someone to take over the command shouting for me.¡±


    Centurion Montaigne was still not satisfied, but the feelings of the Herders were completely different. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the past, two-legged humans¡¯ muskets took a long time to reload after firing once.


    But the Herders of the Terdon Tribe were astonished to find that the muskets of the two-legged humans inside the earthen fortress never stopped firing.


    The gunfire continued relentlessly, lead balls falling like rain, volley after volley, pinning the Herders outside the caltrops so they couldn¡¯t lift their heads.


    At last, a large number of Herde archers arrived at the front line.


    These archers, donning double, even triple-layer heavy armor, crossed the caltrops and advanced all the way to the edge of the trenches, shooting arrows at the Paratu people on the wall.


    Immediately, a few gunners who leaned out too much from the parapet were killed by the arrows.


    The hard bows and heavy arrows of the Herders lost their force at longer distances. But the advantage gained in exchange was their ¡°unstoppable¡± power at close range.


    Especially the crescent arrowheads, which could even slice a wrist off an arm.


    Winters wasn¡¯t surprised to see the Herde heavy armored archers approaching.


    In life-and-death battles that had raged ten or more times, Winters knew every tactic of the Herders like the back of his hand.


    Without exaggeration, among the surviving Vineta officers, perhaps no one understood the Herders¡¯ expertise better than Winters Montagne.


    These archers were definitely carefully chosen valiant warriors, capable of wearing double-layer heavy armor, drawing hard bows, and with excellent archery skills, specifically tasked with sniping and suppressing Paratu gunners.


    A smile appeared on Winters¡¯ face.


    Elites? It¡¯s the elites I¡¯m fighting against.


    ¡°Charging horses!¡± Winters bellowed, his shout amplified by magic, instantly drowning out all other sounds.


    Upon hearing the code word, a large number of gunners suddenly stood up from behind the breastwork behind the trench, shouting in unison: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    They had been hiding behind the wall, just waiting for this moment.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The gunners behind the breastwork fired a ferociously vicious volley at point-blank range at the Herde elites, as if the faces were glued together.


    Between the heavy armored archers and the breastwork, only a trench separated them, at a distance not exceeding four meters.


    If they missed at this range, the shooters had every reason to consider swallowing their own guns.


    As agreed, the cannons, which had been holding back, simultaneously fired.


    Innumerable lead bullets danced in a crisscross pattern at the edge of the trench, the Herders had their fill of lead and iron grapeshot.


    Winters felt his cheek suddenly wet, and touching it, he realized it was fresh blood splashed up from below the city.


    As the smoke cleared, one in ten of the Herde heavy armored archers remained at the edge of the trench. Some were still alive, simply because no one had aimed at them.


    The sound of drums and gongs still did not cease, volley after volley was directed at the enemy below the city.


    It was just a small improvement, yet the killing efficiency was greatly enhanced.


    The fighting spirit of the Herders completely disappeared, and they fled in disarray.


    Almost without any casualties, the first assault was repelled.


    Colonel Jeska, who was presiding over the central army, had someone call for Winters.


    Upon meeting, Jeska wordlessly handed a cup of strong liquor to the lieutenant, his face betraying no happiness or sorrow: ¡°Get some reliable men to repair the caltrops and drag away the bodies, don¡¯t let the Herders play their stacking-corpse siege tactic again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already taken care of.¡± Winters didn¡¯t refuse the alcohol and gulped it down in one go.


    There was silence between them for a while.


    Suddenly, Jeska praised, ¡°Well done.¡±


    The colonel rarely complimented people, and although he struggled to conjure a semblance of a kind expression, it turned out to be quite peculiar.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Jeska gave up trying and reverted to his usual cool tone: ¡°This alternating shooting tactic you¡¯ve come up with is interesting.¡±


    Winters wiped his cheek and said, ¡°It¡¯s not my own creation, rotational shooting has existed since ancient times. Ancient javelin throwers did this by taking turns throwing, and archers would also deploy in formations to release volleys sequentially.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s new in this world?¡± scoffed Jeska, shaking his head and pouring another cup of liquor for the lieutenant: ¡°Everything is about improving upon what others have done. Since it¡¯s you who improved this tactic, it¡¯s yours. Montaigne tactics? Montaigne system?¡±


    ¡°Just call it rotational shooting, I don¡¯t want to name it after myself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The old marshal¡¯s improved phalanx is also just called the Great Phalanx, isn¡¯t it?¡± Winters said somberly: ¡°Though it sounds arrogant to say it, I think I understand a bit of the old marshal¡¯s sentiment¡­ I¡¯m pleased, but I¡¯m also afraid. I fear that one day, someone will also use this tactic against us.¡±


    Jeska patted the lieutenant¡¯s arm, saying nothing.


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 Chapter 442 - 65 Three Opportunities

    Chapter 442: Chapter 65 Three Opportunities


    The situation on the battlefield took a sudden and dramatic turn, leaving everyone dumbstruck.


    The Herders were defeated utterly like a collapsing mountain; the routed soldiers from the failed siege swept back through their own formation, actually breaking the central army of the Terdon Tribe.


    Winters looked out upon over ten thousand Cavalry trampling each other in disarray, scattering like birds and beasts, and couldn¡¯t imagine that victory would come so suddenly.


    Since Andre wasn¡¯t in the fortress at the moment, Colonel Jeska had Pierre lead the Dusack light Cavalry to follow and scout the enemy.


    Soon, Mr. Michel, who had been promoted to temporary sergeant, brought back intelligence: the barbarians¡¯ flags were in disarray, and they were no longer an arrayed force, but rather in a chaotic retreat towards the west.


    With the situation clear, the people of Paratu were relieved and rejoiced, even the rough men wiping away tears. The greater the suppression they had felt when surrounded by the Herd Barbarians, the more excited they were at this moment.


    ...


    Winters had no time to celebrate; he was busy gathering the Centurion for questioning.


    A messenger had found him¡ªColonel Jeska wanted all officers to come to a meeting.


    When he arrived at the small plank building that served as the headquarters for the battalion, he found that aside from Jeska, Bard, and Mason, there were also two Centurions who had originally been stationed there: Lieutenant Otiba [from Palatu] and Second Lieutenant Sanu [from Veneta].


    Winters winked at Sanu and pulled over a chair to take a seat.


    The atmosphere was very relaxed; who could have thought that the fierce Terdon Tribe would turn out to be so formidable in appearance yet so ineffective in reality?


    ¡°Do not attribute it to us! Do not attribute it to us! Oh Lord, the glory is Your name!¡±


    Bouts of singing filtered into the room; the people of Paratu were singing hymns in unison.


    For the believers, defeating so many enemies at such a small cost could only be explained as a miracle.


    ¡°If the Herders want to run, let them run,¡± Jeska said, getting straight to the point once everyone had arrived: ¡°Do not pursue them, continue to strengthen the fortifications.¡±


    At first, Winters didn¡¯t understand: the Herder army was in retreat, they should be pursued relentlessly, to prevent them from regrouping.


    But Colonel Jeska wouldn¡¯t make a baseless statement¡­


    After a little thought, Winters figured it out and couldn¡¯t help but laugh at himself: ¡°You mean¡­the Herders are feigning defeat?¡±


    The smiles quickly faded from the other junior officers¡¯ faces, their expressions turned serious, and they leaned forward involuntarily.


    ¡°Pretending to be defeated to lure the garrison out of the stronghold and then seek an opportunity to surround and annihilate them. That¡¯s a favorite tactic of the Herders,¡± Jeska pointed at Lieutenant Otiba, asking, ¡°Are you from Palatu?¡±


    Otiba was somewhat baffled: ¡°Uh? Yes, my home is at Kingsfort.¡±


    ¡°Then you should know how the last Grand Duke died.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it from an instructor¡­ but it was when I was a child.¡±


    Jeska turned to the Venetians beside him: ¡°Tell them about it.¡±


    Lieutenant Otiba scratched his head, stood up, and roughly recounted the well-known story amongst Palatu soldiers.


    The story was simple: another year of great disaster, the Herders invaded from the east en masse, pillaging and slaughtering along the way, eventually reaching the foot of Kingsfort.


    Impenetrable after over ten generations of Palatu Grand Dukes¡¯ construction, Kingsfort held out against the barbarians¡¯ prolonged attack. After disputes over loot caused internal strife among them, the barbarians eventually fled in defeat.


    Seeing this, Grand Duke Bello IV immediately led his troops out to attack, resulting in a pursuit that lasted three days and nights.


    Finally, at the mouth of the Kalga River, the overconfident and depleted Palatu forces ran headlong into the Herders¡¯ counter-charge.


    By the time the slaughter ended, the Kalga River was filled with the bodies of Palatu¡¯s people.


    From then on, no one in Palatu would eat fish from the Kalga River because those fish had fed on the flesh of Palatu¡¯s people.


    ¡­


    An aside, the impact of this battle was profound: the Grand Duke, along with seven earls, were killed, extinguishing the male line of the Hetumoger family.


    The crown of Palatu, after much shifting, finally landed in the hands of Bello IV¡¯s cousin¡ªRichard IV, who at that time was not yet known as the Mad King.


    For Richard IV, who routinely faced financial ruin, receiving the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was like finding a treasure. He treated Palatu like a money bag, ruthlessly drawing more than two hundred fifty thousand Ducats every year.


    As wealth continuously drained away, Palatu began its steady decline.


    The frontier defenses could no longer be maintained, and the Herder tribes raided Palatu every year, calling it ¡°harvesting autumn grain.¡±


    The Emperor, for his part, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.


    From nobility to commoners, resentment and dissatisfaction with Richard IV grew day by day. Beneath the facade of loyalty, deep currents were swirling.


    So much so that when the people of the mountain front rose up, Palatu, which was supposed to staunchly support the crown, not only didn¡¯t exert effort to suppress the rebellion, it actually became a source of troops for the ¡°rebels.¡±


    A large number of the lower nobility of Palatu changed their names and called friends to join the ranks of the Allied Army, funding their own revolt.


    Throughout the early, middle, and late phases of the Sovereignty Wars, the Allied Army relied on the people of Palatu to carry their Cavalry units.


    Ned Smith discovered that among the troops were many curious knights who, under assumed names, claimed to be from the mountain front but spoke with a highland accent.


    These men brought their own Warhorses, weapons, and armor to the army; they disliked taking orders, especially from commanders of commoner backgrounds.


    Yet, each was a skilled warrior, never deserting despite the lack of military pay, fighting desperately in battle as if they had irreconcilable hatreds with the Empire.


    It was precisely because of their distinguished service during the Sovereignty Wars that the Republic of Palatu was able to enjoy a political status on par with The Federated Provinces and Veneta within the Alliance. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Bello IV had lived during the outbreak of the Sovereignty Wars, he surely would have sent troops to help his cousin suppress the rebels, to avoid getting burned himself.


    Under pressure from both sides, the nascent Federated Provinces republic would have been swiftly snuffed out.


    If the United Provincials couldn¡¯t even withstand the initial phase of the conflict, then there would have been no chance for the Venetians to join the fight.


    But history has no ifs; who could have predicted that a reckless decision made on a whim by a young man would ultimately lead to the birth of five republics and a ¡°great¡± Alliance?


    ¡­


    Now back to this meeting.


    Ottiba spread his hands, indicating he had finished speaking.


    Mason hesitantly asked, ¡°If the Herders are only feigning surrender, isn¡¯t that a bit too costly? They¡¯ve lost quite a few men!¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a real defeat or a feigned one, it all comes down to this,¡± Jeska paused for a moment, looking around at the five lieutenants, pronouncing each word clearly, ¡°The tiger doesn¡¯t leave the mountain!¡±


    He went on to explain, ¡°If we hold this bridge, the initiative is in our hands. If he attacks, we inflict casualties; if he runs, we don¡¯t chase. By remaining still, we control the action and give the Herders no opportunity.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel made sense, and naturally, the five lieutenants had no objections.


    Winters was also somewhat uneasy about leaving the fortress to pursue the enemy.


    However, the strategy of ¡°The tiger doesn¡¯t leave the mountain¡± left Winters with a small regret; he originally wanted to take advantage of the Herders¡¯ defeat to unearth the sacrificial golden statue.


    Now it seemed safer to let the golden statue continue to lie buried in the ground.


    Since the internal consensus had been reached, Squad Leader Jeska immediately sprang into action.


    Bard led people to continue broadening and deepening the trenches and restocked the chevaux de frise;


    Ottiba and Sanu took their men to reinforce and raise the height of the fortress walls;


    Mason was rather unlucky. The moment the lieutenant colonel remembered Mason¡¯s wrong turn, he became angry and punished him to clean up the battlefield, collect cannonballs, and drag away corpses.


    Weapons, armor, leather cloaks, cloth garments, boots, ornaments¡­ everything valuable and useful was collected.


    The dead Herders were stripped bare, and then flung straight into the river, ending up naked, empty, and clean;


    Apart from dispatching a few Dusack scouts to survey the enemy situation, no troops were allowed to leave the camp.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska boldly displayed his intentions to the Herders: no matter what cunning plots you have, I won¡¯t even spare a glance. After all, with every second that passes, the number of lives you need to sacrifice for this Bridgehead Fortress increases.


    While the other lieutenants were busy with construction, Winters was busy building morale.


    He gathered the musketeers responsible for the staggered shooting and began calling names from a list:


    ¡°John from Wolfton!¡±


    ¡°Ryan from the Valley of Light!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In the entire Bridgehead Fortress, there were hardly a few who could read.


    This deeply impressed upon Winters the importance of universal education. If the lieutenants could read, they could keep records themselves, and Winters would only need to do the summary.


    But all his lieutenants were illiterate and he had to transcribe the list himself.


    This was also why he divided the musketeers into ten squads, because people have ten fingers. The lieutenants supervising the musketeers were illiterate and could only use their fingers to count people.


    The musketeers whose names were called stepped forward one by one. Amongst the nearly three hundred and forty musketeers and crossbowmen who took part in the staggered shooting, Winters called out only thirty-three names.


    Not knowing what the centurion intended to do, the thirty-three musketeers stood in a row, uneasy.


    ¡°These people,¡± Winters deliberately paused, emphasizing his words as he announced, ¡°are the ones who managed to make their guns fire with every round during the six-and-a-half rotation shooting! Well done!¡±


    ¡°Reward!¡± Winters gestured grandly.


    Xial and Heinrich brought over a bag of clinking silver coins and distributed them from one end of the line to the other, giving three coins to each person.


    Winters then led the crowd in applause. Most of the six-round musketeers blushed with embarrassment, and their eyes dared only to stare at their shoetips.


    Then came the fifty musketeers who had managed five rounds, each receiving a single silver coin, with no cheers.


    The third group consisted of seventy-eight musketeers who managed four rounds, receiving neither bonus nor applause.


    ¡°The rest of you!¡± Winters slapped the paper, staring at the remaining half of the musketeers on the ground: ¡°In six rounds of shooting, you managed at most three shots. Some of you didn¡¯t make a sound at all!¡±


    In the center of the clearing, there was a deadly silence. Many musketeers hung their heads in shame.


    ¡°Look at me! Don¡¯t lower your heads!¡± Winters sternly scolded with a hardened heart, his cold voice amplified by magic echoing through the fortress: ¡°To punish without teaching is to inflict cruelty! That is why I am reasoning with you now. Every round of fire you fail to deliver, you might kill one less enemy. Kill one less enemy, and you might cause the death of a comrade. Everyone was born of a father and mother, you cause death, you must atone!¡±


    The entire fortress was now silent, even the longspear men who were otherwise uninvolved held their breath and listened.


    ¡°Some of you may feel this is unfair. I miss one shot? How could that possibly cause another person to die?¡± Winters raised three fingers: ¡°Three times! That¡¯s why I give you three chances. In three battles, if you can¡¯t even make a single qualifying volley, you deserve to pay with your life! All that awaits you is the gallows!¡±


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look towards the temporary gallows at the edge of the clearing, where the noose swayed in the wind, awaiting its deadly purpose.


    Winters shouted, ¡°Bring the gun!¡±


    Xial handed a matchlock musket to Winters.


    ¡°I will fire six shots, and if three don¡¯t fire, I¡¯ll put the noose around my own neck!¡±


    Xial set up six Herder helmets twenty paces away from Winters.


    With all the eyes of the Palatu people on him, Winters skillfully loaded, aimed, fired, and reloaded.


    Six continuous shots rang out, all six hitting their mark, knocking down each Herder helmet as they were fired.


    Initially, all the Palatu people were silent, but when Winters knocked down the second helmet, some began to cheer.


    After that, with every helmet Winters knocked down, the Palatu people roared in unison, each cheer louder than the last.


    When the sixth helmet was struck and flew off, the cheering reached its peak, and even the one-eyed lieutenant colonel watching from a distance applauded.


    After the sixth shot, Winters casually tossed the musket aside. Xial caught it firmly, his palms red from clapping.


    Six shots fired, all six hitting their mark, no one was unconvinced.


    ¡°I will never force you to do what I cannot do. If I can do it, so can you,¡± Winters¡¯s voice, with the power of magic, overpowered the cheers of the crowd.


    His gaze swept over every musketeer on the ground: ¡°Remember, you only have three chances. And you¡ªhave already wasted one!¡±


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 Chapter 443 - 66 An Introduction to Statistics

    Chapter 443: Chapter 66 An Introduction to Statistics


    The tiger refuses to descend from its lair, a fruitless effort to lure the snake from the hole.


    Seeing no movement from the fortress¡¯s defenders, the Herders slink back, once again completely surrounding the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Just as Colonel Jeska had anticipated, the Terdon Tribe hadn¡¯t lost their order; the pretense of disarray and panicked flight was merely a facade.


    It¡¯s actually more accurate to say that being able to feign such a convincing defeat, without devolving into an actual rout, further proved the Terdon leader¡¯s control over his people.


    Dark clouds hung low, and a deadly winter wind howled as vultures circled in the sky, portending more death and slaughter.


    Watching the barbarian horde return after being defeated, the soldiers and militiamen struggled with disappointment and growing anxiety.


    ...


    No one sang the hymns of praise anymore, and morale was not as high as before.


    The previous tears of gratitude were now extinguished.


    Winters felt some schadenfreude. He really wanted to point out, ¡°It was us who led you to victory, yet you thank the gods instead. How does that make sense?¡±


    But such words were far too blasphemous, so he kept them between himself and Bard.


    Compared to the gloomy atmosphere among the soldiers, the officers were relatively relaxed and at ease.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s first siege had proven the star-shaped fortress¡¯s robust defense.


    Lacking siege weapons, the Cavalry were helpless against the earthen walls and deep trenches; all they could do was fill them with their bodies.


    If the Herders were determined to gnaw on this tough bone, there was an easy solution¡ªthe bridge stood right behind the fortress. If it came down to it, they could retreat across the river and blow up the bridge, leaving the barbarians to stare helplessly from the bank.


    This time, the Herders smartened up and aligned their troops beyond the effective range of the cannons.


    Puffs of smoke rose in the distance, the number of enemies so immense they seemed endless.


    Atop the watchtower, Mason chatted intermittently with Winters.


    ¡°Hey, do you notice something?¡± Mason asked with a puzzled expression. ¡°From leaving to coming back, doesn¡¯t it seem like there are even more Herder Cavalry out there?¡±


    Winters shared the same feeling. ¡°This morning, I saw about ten thousand Herder Cavalry. Now, there have to be at least twenty thousand.¡±


    ¡°Reinforcements?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Winters shrugged. ¡°The colonel said that if the three tribes gritted their teeth, they could muster a hundred thousand archers. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if the full strength of the Terdon Tribe came out, given they even brought the ritual object, the ¡®Golden Man¡¯, to bolster their ranks.¡±


    Mason shook his head with a wry smile, then hesitantly offered some advice to Winters: ¡°Do you mind if I give some pointers?¡±


    Winters was somewhat perplexed but answered earnestly, ¡°Senior, please speak your mind.¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, instead of having your musketeers fire quickly, you should figure out how to make them shoot more accurately.¡±


    Mason took out a sheepskin scroll filled with writing, looking expectantly at Winters. ¡°Do you have statistics classes in your infantry courses?¡±


    ¡°We only have arithmetic and geometry,¡± Winters vehemently shook his head. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let me explain to you the concept of percentages then.¡±


    [Author¡¯s Note: Attentive readers may have noticed that so far, no use of percentages has occurred in this book. Terms like ¡®two-tenths¡¯, ¡®one-fourth¡¯, ¡®half¡¯ have been used instead.


    This is because Winters Montagne has not learned about fractions or percentages. Only artillery officer students take statistics classes.


    The history of statistics is very ancient and can be traced back to Aristotle¡¯s ¡®Constitution of the Cities¡¯. The word statistics is derived from the word state. However, fractions and percentages have a more recent history, only appearing in the eighteenth century.


    In this book, it¡¯s assumed that Ned the Marshal¡¯s friend, the founder of the artillery discipline, General Lionheart Euler, introduced concepts like ¡®fraction¡¯ and ¡®percentage¡¯.


    After being taught by Mason, Winters learned a little about the rudiments of statistics. So starting from here, the notion of percentages and statistics will be officially introduced XD. Knowledge is power, new weapon acquired!]


    After explaining what percentages are, Mason, holding the sheepskin scroll, recited, ¡°Outside the fortress, I counted 347 Herder corpses. However, only 215 of them were near the trenches; the rest were outside the range of musket fire.¡±


    Winters nodded. It had taken over two hundred deaths before the Terdon Tribe withdrew, which showed their tenacity.


    Mason licked his finger and flipped to the next page. ¡°On the walls, you positioned 341 musketeers who fired six and a half rounds, theoretically reaching 2210 shots. However, due to misfires, I looked at the data on your list, and your men actually fired a total of 1147 shots.¡±


    As Mason spoke, Winters listened intently. The image of his pathfinder senior seemed to grow in stature.


    Clearing his throat, Mason concluded, ¡°That means, even if all 215 people by the trenches were killed by your musketeers, the hit rate would only be 18.7 percent, with the remaining 81.3 percent being misses.¡±


    Winters gasped, ¡°There could be cases where one person was killed by two shots¡­¡±


    Mason raised his hand to halt his junior and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, those 215 include the kills by my cannons and the musketeers you positioned below the walls. The actual kill efficiency is much lower than 18.7 percent. I estimate it¡¯s less than 8 percent.


    In other words, for the 1147 shots you fired, less than one hundred hit their mark. 52 percent of your musketeers, on average, fired only 1.51 shots over six rounds of firing, and less than 10 percent of the musketeers carried out all six shots.¡±


    Mason rolled up the scroll and tapped Winters on the forehead, sharply rebuking, ¡°You wastrel! Isn¡¯t this a waste of ammunition? At the rate you¡¯re going, you¡¯re using at least 3.5 times more gunpowder than necessary, and our gunpowder reserves will be depleted in three days.¡±


    Winters was left speechless.


    He took the scroll, read through it carefully, then looked up and said, ¡°A 48 percent misfire rate? That¡¯s too high, it needs to be lowered. An 8 percent kill rate? That¡¯s not bad!¡±


    ¡°Not bad?!¡± Mason said displeased. ¡°Even the cannons are more efficient than that.¡±


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 Chapter 444 - 66 Introduction to Statistics_2

    Chapter 444: Chapter 66 Introduction to Statistics_2


    ¡°Senior, the issue is not about how accurately you hit, but how to fire as many lead bullets as possible in the shortest amount of time. The more you shoot, the better. The faster you shoot, the stronger the suppression. The Herders were even pinned down next to the cheval de frise, not daring to raise their heads. Though the efficiency is reduced, the actual combat results have increased.¡±


    ¡°Musketeers earn half more than spearman because they are technical troops,¡± Mason said regretfully. ¡°If you keep training like this, all your musketeers will only know how to fire randomly in one direction, and not a single accurate shooter will be found!¡±


    Winters blinked, a smile appearing on his face, ¡°The accuracy of matchlock guns is limited anyway.¡±


    ¡°So, you just shoot blindly? Shoot randomly? If you can¡¯t shoot accurately, you should be shooting more carefully! Shoot slowly!¡±


    ¡°Senior, don¡¯t be angry,¡± Winters said, putting an arm around Mason¡¯s shoulder and whispering in his ear, ¡°Regarding accurate musketeers, I have a new idea.¡±


    ¡°What idea?¡± Mason asked with a stern face, looking sideways at his junior.


    ...


    Winters drew his double-barreled rifled revolver, presenting it horizontally to his senior, ¡°This.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Mason¡¯s eyelid twitched as he took the rifled gun, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°For those who can¡¯t shoot accurately, let them volley fire. For those who can, I want to make them even more accurate!¡± Winters said with spirited eyes, his gaze intense, ¡°Volley fire, precision shooting, I want it all.¡±


    This time, it was Mason¡¯s turn to be at a loss for words.


    A sudden shout came from beneath the watchtower, ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡±


    Winters looked out to see the colonel¡¯s messenger below the wooden tower, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°The savages want to negotiate.¡± The messenger gasped for breath, ¡°Lady Jeska wants you and Lord Bard to go.¡±


    ¡°If they want to talk, let¡¯s talk,¡± Winters said as he slid the gun back into its holster, ¡°I¡¯m going to see what devilish idea the savages have.¡±


    Winters rode Warhorse, and Bard rode his bone-penetrating palomino, both leaping onto their horses.


    The two magnificent horses, one gold and one silver, moved in unison and coordination, appearing not like they were on a blood-soaked battlefield, but as if in a parade of formal dance steps.


    The Paratu People on the fortress couldn¡¯t help but cheer.


    The red-faced Herder wasn¡¯t at the negotiation this time, just the Translator.


    Seeing who had come, Winters didn¡¯t feel like talking.


    Without waiting for the other to speak, he frowned and said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk, forget it.¡±


    With that, Winters spurred his horse to leave, and Bard turned his Warhorse without another word.


    ¡°Talk! Talk! Of course, we want to talk!¡± The Translator became flustered, pleading desperately, ¡°Lord, what do you mean by this?¡±


    ¡°Talk?!¡± Winters roared like thunder, ¡°What are you? You dare to talk with us? Get lost! Bring someone with the credentials. That monkey-butt face! Make him come!¡±


    The Translator said awkwardly, ¡°That one, the fire-starter¡­ He is my master, the blood of the Golden, the grandson of the Swift Deer, the son of the Bowless, the great chief of the Terdon Tribe, the war leader and divvied-flesh man.¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, ¡°That monkey-butt face, the fire-starter? Why doesn¡¯t he come?¡±


    ¡°You have cannons, my master doesn¡¯t wish to risk his life,¡± the Translator replied cautiously.


    The negotiation site was only three to four hundred meters away from the fortress, within the effective range of the artillery.


    ¡°Audacious!¡± Winters said angrily, ¡°You doubt our integrity?! Then there¡¯s nothing more to discuss.¡±


    Having spoken, he raised his horsewhip again. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave, my lord, please hear me out,¡± the Translator said with a wry smile. ¡°There really is no trust between the Paratu People and the Herders. There have been many instances where they claimed they wanted to negotiate but then lashed out and killed people.¡±


    The history of feuds between the Paratu and the various Herder tribes was an area that touched upon Winters¡¯ blind spot in knowledge.


    Winters remained unmoved, thundering with rage, ¡°Look at you, a Paratu, actually selling your life to the Herders!¡±


    The Translator, his temples graying, fought back tears, ¡°My lord, I had no choice. Thirty-one years ago, I was captured by the previous chieftain, ¡®Bowless,¡¯ to be a slave. Since then, I¡¯ve been wandering the wilderness, unable to return home.¡±


    ¡°Unable to return home? Then I¡¯ll give you an opportunity,¡± Bard suddenly interjected. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll take you back to the fortress. Once inside, the barbarians won¡¯t be able to harm you. After the battle is over, you can go home on your own, how about that?¡±


    The old Translator hesitated for a long while, then said timidly and shakily, ¡°My lord, there¡¯s no one left of my family in Paratu. I have taken a wife and had children in the Terdun Tribe, I¡­¡±


    ¡°No more nonsense!¡± Bard said coldly, his eyes flashing with a chilly light, ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±


    The Translator¡¯s face went pale, and he shook his head slightly.


    ¡°What did the Barbarian Chief send you to talk about?¡± Bard, usually the epitome of refinement, rarely showed a killing intent, ¡°Speak directly!¡±


    ¡°My lord, the Fire-kindler,¡± stammered the Translator, licking his lips, as cold sweat beaded on his forehead, ¡°wishes to engage your commander in an ancient ritual, a Mak¡¯gora¡ªa duel to the death. If my lord wins, you must hand over the sacrificial golden figure. If your commander wins, the Terdun Tribe will withdraw their troops and no longer participate in this war.¡±


    Even with all kinds of expectations, the enemy¡¯s proposal still left Winters and Bard speechless, exchanging glances, unsure what to say.


    ¡°Your Excellency can trust in the Mak¡¯gora,¡± the Translator continued. ¡°Both your army and ours will certainly respect it. Historically, there have been thirty-six Mak¡¯goras between the Herders and Paratu People, and regardless of who lost or won, both sides have honored their commitments.¡±


    ¡°War is a matter of vital importance to the state!¡± Bard¡¯s brows were tightly furrowed as he rebuked in a deep voice, ¡°How can you decide the critical matters of warfare with a duel? What madness has possessed your flat-ass-faced chieftain?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± the Translator swallowed, ¡°Ned Smith of your forces killed Queye Kahn in a Mak¡¯gora ceremony¡­¡±


    Hearing the name of the old Marshal in such an unexpected place, Winters suddenly perked up.


    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± he asked with interest, ¡°How come I¡¯ve never read about it in the annals of war? Tell me about it. What are the constraints of this Mak¡¯gora? Mounted combat? On foot?¡±


    The Translator wiped the sweat from his brow and said, ¡°The parties can decide for themselves. It can be on foot or mounted, and generally, there is no restriction on weapons¡­¡±


    ¡°Then is it okay to use guns?¡± Winters¡¯ eyes widened.


    Before the Translator could respond, Bard hastily interrupted his exuberant friend.


    Bard extended his hand to seize Winters¡¯ reins and said to the Translator, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go back and tell our commander.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go! I haven¡¯t finished asking yet!¡± Winters shouted as he was dragged away, getting farther and farther from the old Translator but still calling out persistently, ¡°Hey! Translator, is it okay to use guns? To use¡­¡±


    Upon returning to the Bridgehead Fortress, the two were surrounded by other officers.


    ¡°What did the Herders want to say?¡± Colonel Jeska asked.


    ¡°The Herders have gone mad!¡± Winters was overjoyed, ¡°They truly have no solution for this fortress! They have become so desperate that they wish to try anything.¡±


    Bard frowned and said, ¡°If that Translator wasn¡¯t lying, the one leading their forces is the great chieftain of the Terdun Tribe¡ªthe Fire-kindler. That¡¯s not good news. And it seems they are very confident; that Translator even refused to defect to us.¡±


    ¡°They even brought the sacrificial golden figure! How could it not be the Barbarian Chief personally entering the fray?¡± scoffed Jeska with a snort, ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Winters laughed until he had tears in his eyes, ¡°They want to challenge you to single combat!¡±


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 Chapter 445 - 67: Demanding!

    Chapter 445: Chapter 67: Demanding!


    Murderous aura formed battle clouds at the third watch, and a chilling voice transmitted the call for duel for an entire day.


    The westerly winds roared, as if murderous intent had materialized. Iron-like dark clouds pressed down toward the earth, and the sky seemed ever so low.


    The Terdon Tribe was arrayed a mile away, while the Paratu People watched from atop the fortress walls. Everyone held their breath in anticipation, waiting for the champions of the Mak¡¯gora ritual to emerge from the formations.


    Only the crows circling in the sky emitted a series of ill-omened and desolate rasping cries.


    Suddenly, the sound of a low horn came from the distance, echoed by more from all around the fortress.


    The horn sounded as though it heralded the end of the world, as if a third of the sun, moon, and stars were struck, dimming the sky in turn.


    ...


    Twelve brawny Herder drummers flung their arms, fiercely slamming their short mallets onto the round-table-like drum heads.


    The war drums thundered, and a warrior stepped out slowly from the Terdon Tribe¡¯s main formation.


    The warrior¡¯s stature was so towering; it was as if a giant from the edge of the world had arrived on the battlefield.


    All other Herders beside him appeared comical, like dwarves and children.


    Some Paratu People couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in astonishment, for the giant was clad not in lamellar armor.


    The Herder warrior wore a full suit of plate armor¡ªbreastplate, greaves, vambraces¡ªall steel plates, truly like a giant cast from molten iron.


    Only the helmet was in Herder style, topped with three large blue plumes showcasing a pair of eyes.


    Such a suit of armor¡ªlet alone the material and effort¡ªwas such that one couldn¡¯t buy a ready-made one of this size.


    It had to be tailor-made; there was no chance it was a hastily crafted suit of common iron armor.


    A squire then led a Warhorse for the iron giant, which also was no ordinary breed.


    Herder horses were sturdy and resilient, but small in stature, unable to carry such a giant and his armor.


    The giant¡¯s mount was a heavy Warhorse [Destrier], only seen beyond the wilds, its withers even taller than the squire¡¯s head.


    That behemoth could not live on grass alone; it needed fine fodder and beer to drink, and careful attention within walled stables.


    The iron giant mounted the pitch-black Warhorse, raised his lance high, and passed slowly before each Herder formation.


    At each stop, a thunderous cheer erupted. The Herders, beating their weapons with all their might, shouted themselves hoarse to boost their champion¡¯s morale.


    Seeing that steel colossus mounted on the great horse, the Paratu People felt as though an invisible hand was gripping their throats, a suffocating and powerless sensation overwhelming them.


    Atop the fortress walls, Priest Caman couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself:


    [I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.]


    Next to Caman, Mason clenched his fist and smashed it against the battlements, cursing, ¡°The barbarians are most cunning! No wonder they agreed not to use muskets!¡±


    Prior agreements stipulated that this Mak¡¯gora would be a mounted duel, allowing armor, no weapon restrictions, fight to the death, with only bows and muskets prohibited.


    And now, the Herders had sent forth such an impervious iron giant.


    The fortress gates burst open, eight trumpeters puffed up their cheeks and sounded the march, while the Paratu drummers also beat their smaller military drums.


    Yet, against the Herders¡¯ desolate and mournful great drums and horns, the trumpets and military drums seemed feeble.


    A dashing silver-hued stallion galloped out of the fortress, charging into the no-man¡¯s-land between the two armies.


    Colonel Jeska agreed to the Mak¡¯gora ritual but also thought a duel between the commanding generals in front of the armies lacked dignity.


    He suggested both sides select champion warriors to act on behalf of the generals in a one-on-one duel.


    Clearly, that iron giant was Terdon Tribe¡¯s champion. Firelighters came prepared, no wonder they agreed so readily.


    And the champion for the Paratu could only be Winters ¡°Blood Wolf¡± Montaigne.


    As Blood Wolf stepped forward, the Paratu People too struck their weapons and shouted with all their might, to boost their camp¡¯s morale.


    However, the oppressive presence brought by the steel giant was too strong, and the Paratu People¡¯s spirit was ultimately suppressed. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mason, anxious, watched his junior¡¯s retreating figure; he knew Winters was a Spellcaster, but he also knew that Winters¡¯s Arrow Flying Spell wasn¡¯t powerful enough to penetrate plate armor.


    At this moment, he felt an urge to stop the ritual and pull Winters back.


    In the midst of the thunderous drumming, a black and a silver knight stood two hundred meters apart, the Herder champion holding a lance, Winters poised with a spear.


    The Herder giant was entirely clad in steel armor.


    Winters, for the sake of agility, shed his vambraces, shoulder armor, and skirt armor¡ªall of it¡ªand stepped onto the field wearing only a breastplate.


    Under the watchful eyes of all, the Paratu champion dismounted, unhurriedly staked the horse post, and tethered the silver-hued steed.


    Then, the Paratu champion stood with his spear and casually waved his hand at the iron giant, indicating a desire to face the mounted adversary on foot.


    The Herder champion had never suffered such an insult; blood surged in his chest, and he bellowed nonstop.


    The drumming abruptly stopped, and Mak¡¯gora officially began.


    The iron giant bellowed, spurring the flanks of the Warhorse with his boot spikes.


    The all-black Destrier, stimulated, stamped hard on the ground with its hooves, carrying its rider charging toward that small upright ape who stood motionless ahead.


    Atop the walls, every Paratu¡¯s heart clenched in that instant, many even forgetting to breathe.


    The Herders too held their breath, their pupils constricting, as they awaited the destined violent clash.


    The Warhorse accelerated madly, and the Herder champion tucked his lance under his arm, the combined strength of horse and man converging on the lance¡¯s tip, directed at the Paratu champion¡¯s breastplate with unstoppable momentum.


    Such force, even one in full plate armor could not be saved from death.


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 Chapter 446 - 67 Requesting! _2

    Chapter 446: Chapter 67 Requesting! _2


    Winters¡¯ hands were sweating, and the sight of the massive, one-ton creature charging straight at him would make anyone fearful.


    He gauged the distance. When the iron giant on its warhorse rushed within fifty meters, he took a deep breath.


    In just the time it takes to breathe, the pitch-black warhorse closed in another ten-plus meters.


    Now!


    Winters entered his spellcasting state. He gripped the lance in reverse, took a short run-up, and poured all his magic into the lance before hurling it directly at the steel giant.


    [Arrow Flying Spell]!


    ...


    As soon as the lance left his hand, Winters rolled to the left on the spot.


    A thrown spear? The Hurd champion sneered in his heart.


    Though a javelin was powerful, it was slower than an arrow and its trajectory was clear. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to dodge.


    But this javelin was far from ordinary; it was too fast, faster than any human could throw, and the Hurd champion didn¡¯t even have time to react.


    A flash of cold light, a blink of an eye, and the javelin was already at his brow.


    ¡°Clang!!!¡±


    The lights went out.


    The lance struck true to the face of the steel giant, who fell backward, hands raising weakly, slowly toppling from the saddle.


    Few saw the earth-shattering throw, but everyone heard the crisp clash of metal against metal.


    Winters, rolling forward to the left, narrowly avoided the charging warhorse.


    Without its rider, the warhorse didn¡¯t stop its pace, instinctively fleeing towards the riverbank.


    Winters climbed up from the ground without hesitation and drew his dagger, rushing towards the fallen giant.


    The life force of the Hurd champion was terrifyingly tenacious. Over an inch of the lance¡¯s tip had penetrated the helmet, and he was still breathing, though the fierce blow to the head left his consciousness blurred.


    Mak¡¯gora ritual¡­ to the death.


    Winters removed the giant¡¯s helmet and gorget, the man¡¯s face obscured by fresh blood.


    Unwilling to look at his opponent¡¯s face, he pinned the giant¡¯s head to his chest using his iron vice-like left arm.


    The Hurd champion struggled instinctively.


    Winters gritted his teeth and slit the giant¡¯s throat.


    First the skin, the tissue, the artery, and the vein on the left side; the sharp dagger sliced through them effortlessly. Then came the windpipe, protected by cartilage, making his cut laborious.


    Blood splattered into Winter¡¯s helmet, the giant¡¯s struggles diminishing, until they ceased altogether.


    Exhausted, Winters collapsed backward, gasping for breath. The Hurd champion¡¯s throat now bore a grisly wound truly from ear to ear.


    But the giant need not worry about that anymore, for he was already dead.


    Silence fell over the battlefield.


    Suddenly, Winters understood the situation; neither friend nor foe could discern who had won or lost.


    He had to finish the job. Winters got to his feet. Stepping on the giant¡¯s back, he grasped the knife with both hands to cut through the giant¡¯s nape.


    Soon, only the spine and a little flesh remained, connecting the giant¡¯s head to his body.


    The Blood Wolf stood on the giant¡¯s body. With both hands gripping the hair and a fierce shout, he tore the Hurd champion¡¯s head from the torso.


    He held the giant¡¯s head high, his roar amplified by magic, resounding across the wilderness:


    ¡°The enemy leader! Has been vanquished!¡±


    The response was an initially deathly silence, then followed by deafening cheers from the fortress.


    Paratu soldiers screamed, roared, and beat their weapons maniacally. Amidst the tumult, an overly excited gunner thrust a red-hot iron rod into the touch hole. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Every cannon on the fortress roared, and gunners fired their firearms into the air in a frenzy.


    On the other hand, the Herders¡¯ ranks were eerily silent.


    In the world of the Herders, beheading meant they couldn¡¯t return to Tengri¡¯s embrace, signifying eternal and complete death¡ªa fact unknown to Winters.


    And the Mak¡¯gora had been decided; further desecration was considered a dire taboo¡ªan insult among insults, also unknown to Winters.


    The Herders were thoroughly enraged. Two deranged Herder Centurions shot forth from the formation, eyes bloodshot, lances at the ready, and charged towards the Paratu champion in the heart of the battlefield, one from the left and one from the right.


    An agreed duel one-on-one¡ªWinters was furiously angry¡ªwhat was this?p>


    The Herders lacked honor, so Winters wouldn¡¯t be polite.


    He returned to his warhorse, drew the revolver from the saddlebag, stood his ground steadily, and aimed.


    As the two chargers reached within twenty meters.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Both Herder Centurions were shot down, one bullet each.


    The war drums sounded once again. The flamekeepers waving their flags, the Herders charged forth in a frenzy, proceeding to lay siege again.


    Even before the Herders closed in, Winters unhitched his horse from the stake and safely returned to the fortress.


    The Paratu People prepared for battle to the beat of their own drums.


    The wind howled angrily, foretelling another bloody battle.


    Paratu soldiers watched with a mixture of awe and reverence as the rider on the silver-gray warhorse entered the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Bard and Xial waited at the entrance of the fortress. Seeing Winters return, they hurried over.


    Winters dismounted. He raised a hand to signal them to keep their distance: ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me, I feel sick to my stomach right now.¡±


    After a few deep breaths to steady his emotions, Winters solemnly handed the head tucked under his arm to Xial: ¡°This was a brave warrior. Don¡¯t let him feed the fishes, find a good spot to bury him.¡±


    Xial swallowed and carefully asked, ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t want to keep it?¡±


    ¡°Why would I keep this?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    ¡°Oh, oh¡­ All right.¡± Xial bobbed his head like a pecking chicken and disdainfully carried the head off at a quick pace.


    Bard carefully examined the bloodstains on Winters¡¯ armor and said helplessly, ¡°We didn¡¯t need to provoke them like this.¡±


    ¡°We needed to provoke them,¡± Winters blinked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the plan?¡±


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 Chapter 447 - 67: Demanding!_3

    Chapter 447: Chapter 67: Demanding!_3


    Bard sighed, ¡°But there was no need to infuriate them to this extent.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I think it¡¯s not enough.¡±


    The most difficult part of the war with the Herde tribes was never the battle itself, but how to find the Herders to fight.


    Herde Cavalry would come and go like the wind on the wastelands, and most of the time they wouldn¡¯t engage in a pitched battle with the Paratu People.


    If they won, they fought; if not, they fled and continued to look for weaknesses in the Paratu forces.


    The Paratu, unable to catch up and not daring to pursue, could only rely on their cavalry forces for limited success in pursuit battles.


    ...


    Now, there was a rare opportunity to inflict casualties on the Herder¡¯s living forces, so how could they let it slip by?


    Sekler, seeing the Floating Bridge, was not pleased but enraged for the same reason.


    This battle was pointless to flee; it was essential to inflict casualties on the Herders.


    Those who defend must hold firm, for that¡¯s where they shall be surely attacked.


    As long as the Terdun Tribe firmly believed that the Gold sacrifices to the heavens were within this Bridgehead Fortress, this tiny fortress would become the place they must attack.


    Winters took off his helmet, breathing in the fresh air deeply, and asked Bard, ¡°Are the things I requested ready?¡±


    ¡°Berlion managed to make one, but it will give us away if they get too close.¡± Bard also revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°You do have too many crooked ideas.¡±


    Atop the rampart, Mason was holding something that resembled a golden head, showing it to the Herders outside the city.


    For fear that the Herders wouldn¡¯t be able to see it clearly, he arranged for three people to hold torches and accompany it, making the gold gleam in the firelight.


    A few others used spears to brandish the golden and silver sacrificial items seized from the Terdun main camp, following behind.


    ¡°Herde Language Rejoice by the fire! Look over there!¡± a Herde Chiliarch pointed at the golden head on the wall, ¡°Herde Language They¡¯ve chopped off the head of our Gold Man!¡±


    The red-faced rejoicer, eyes split with fury and silver teeth clenched to the point of breaking, hacked through the chariot¡¯s pole and hysterically shouted, ¡°Herde Language If we do not take this city today, slay all its people, then I am no son of Tengri! Whoever dares to retreat, this will be their fate!¡±


    The nearby Paratu People could see clearly that what Lieutenant Mason was holding was no golden head, but clearly a pot roughly shaped into the semblance of a golden head.


    Only the outer layer was made of gold, created by melting down the Herder¡¯s Gold ritual vessels and pouring it over the surface.


    The genuine case of ¡°all that glitters is not gold on the inside if iron rust.¡±


    From afar, it might deceive, but up close, the ruse was obvious.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, that¡¯s enough!¡± Seeing that the timing was just right, Mason signaled everyone to wrap up, ¡°Even if we now say that the Gold Man isn¡¯t here, they wouldn¡¯t believe us.¡±


    ¡°My [Enhanced Arrow Flying Spell]! How is it?¡± Winters, agitated below the rampart and unable to stop talking, grabbed Bard, ¡°I¡¯m so excited; it¡¯s the first spell developed through calculations and experiments! I feel¡­ I¡¯ve finally understood why General Antoine-Laurent insisted on introducing standard metric units. Mathematics! Turning intangible magic into mathematics! This is the path he truly wanted to take¡­¡±


    Contending with a huge lion and realizing the limited power of steel darts made Winters aware that some enemies required a more potent Arrow Flying Spell for effective damage.


    After hundreds and thousands of practices accelerating heavy objects, he gradually discovered that with the ¡°force applied¡± constant, the later the spell materials left the spellcasting range, the greater the impact¡ªthe more kinetic energy it would be infused with.


    And the heavier the spell material, the slower the acceleration, and the later it would leave the spellcasting distance.


    In other words, the heavier the material used in the spell, the stronger the Arrow Flying Spell would be.


    After experiments, analysis, and calculations, Winters roughly formulated an equation: W=K¡¤F¡¤S¡¤M^2


    K is a constant, whose specific meaning he didn¡¯t yet know. F stands for magical burst power, S for the distance of spellcasting, and M for the weight of the spell material.


    This means that, disregarding the force of the throw and the limits of spellcasting ability, the power of the Arrow Flying Spell is directly proportional to the [Magical Burst Power] and the [Distance of Spellcasting], and it increases exponentially with the increase of the [Weight of Spell Material]. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lance he threw was not just any makeshift weapon; its weight was precisely the balance point he had found between ¡°power¡± and ¡°precision¡± after multiple practices.


    ¡°The conditions here are too rudimentary.¡± Winters swallowed a gulp of saliva, ¡°I can¡¯t conduct more precise experiments, and I just want to return to Vineta to tell General Serviati all about this.¡±


    ¡°You want to go home? It looks to me that you¡¯re actually enjoying this war!¡± Bard¡¯s eyes turned solemn, ¡°Have you ever thought¡­ that maybe you don¡¯t know what you want? Or even who you are?¡±


    Outside the fortress, the Herders had once again rushed to the stakes.


    With the sound of a gong, the musketeers fired a volley, signaling the start of the second round of the siege.


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 Chapter 448 - 68: Paper-wrapped Medicine

    Chapter 448: Chapter 68: Paper-wrapped Medicine


    The barbarians are mad¡ªthe Paratu People were certain of it.


    The Terdon Tribe no longer distinguished between a main attack or a feint; they besieged the Bridgehead Fortress from three sides relentlessly.


    More than twenty Centurion squads rotated into battle, with the Barbarian Chief personally leading his guard to supervise the fight.


    The fleeing Herders couldn¡¯t run a few steps before they were shot down by a hail of arrows.


    To advance was to die, to retreat was the same; the barbarians, too, were seeing red.


    With the chevaux-de-frise in the front not yet fully cleared, those at the back brought out crudely made ladders to storm the fortress walls.


    ...


    At first, they tried to fill in the ditch with earth, but that was far too slow.


    So the barbarians simply pushed horse and human corpses into the trenches, using ladders shielded with planks as makeshift bridges.


    After all, this was just a temporary fort, with walls not tall enough and moats not deep enough. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Using their heap-of-corpse tactic, the Herders quickly made ¡°roads,¡± and soon after, siege ladders were propped against the walls.


    With enemies on three sides, the pressure on the Paratu army surged.


    Only thanks to four Centurions, who took turns leading troops out of the fort to counterattack¡ªslaying enemies at the foot of the wall and braving the arrow storm to clear out the trenches of corpses and dirt¡ªdid the Herder army fail to breach the city.


    The results were significant, but the cost was just as enormous, as the Herders would not pass up the opportunity to fight the Paratu people up close.


    Each sortie resulted in more than a fifth of the soldiers not returning, and an equal number wounded.


    Of the four Centurions, Winters and Bard were consecutively injured. If not for their heavy armor, they wouldn¡¯t know how many times they¡¯d have died.


    Ensign Sanu¡ªWinters¡¯ fellow townsman from Sea Blue¡ªwas knocked unconscious by a direct blow from a war hammer, and his men desperately fought to retrieve the insensate ensign, but Sanu was already incapacitated.


    Lieutenant Otiba was unlucky to be pierced by an arrow under the left armpit, and before he could be taken to Priest Caman for treatment, the lieutenant had already passed away.


    With two out of the five fortress officers gone, only the artillery officer Mason remained in the safest place, carefully protected.


    At this moment, Mason was the most valuable human resource within this earthen fort.


    On the four-cornered bastions and the triangular fort in front of the gate, the sound of guns never ceased.


    The faces and hands of the musketeers were blackened with soot, as if they had just crawled out of a coal pile.


    The pre-prepared priming powder was all used up; now the musketeers relied solely on feel for how much gunpowder to pour into the barrels.


    With that being the case, accidents were inevitable.


    During the fight, muskets exploded repeatedly in their barrels, instantly killing the unfortunate musketeers with fragments of the burst barrels.


    The survivors were left with their faces and hands horribly mutilated.


    The soldiers grew increasingly fearful of the muskets.


    The screams of their comrades still echoed in their ears, making them hesitant to aim carefully, and more and more musketeers were simply firing their guns haphazardly to be done with it.


    Winters steeled his heart and withdrew twenty of the most skilled musketeers, assigning them the sole task of preparing priming powder for the others.


    Since the lead bullets had also been exhausted, the battlefield witnessed an extraordinary scene: guns firing non-stop at the front, while at the back people were busy melting lead to cast bullets and packaging gunpowder.


    Thus, the lead bullets came with warmth when handed to the musketeers.


    And due to a shortage of wooden tubes, the powder was hurriedly wrapped in grass paper and delivered to the walls.


    One musketeer, looking for an easy job, disregarded orders to reuse paper packages¡ªbecause paper was limited¡ªand bit a small corner off the paper package to pour the gunpowder into the barrel.


    According to firing procedure, a piece of muslin should then wrap the bullet and be inserted into the barrel.


    But still looking for shortcuts, the musketeer had a stroke of inspiration, wrapping the bullet with paper and pushing it hard into the barrel with a ramrod.


    This saved even the time to cut the cloth.


    These two small improvements significantly speeded up the musket loading process.


    Seeing how fast and convenient it was, this musketeer¡¯s tentmates followed suit.


    Afterward, more and more musketeers began to imitate it.


    When the rear noticed that the amount of paper used for wrapping gunpowder was diminishing, they promptly reported to Lieutenant Montaigne.


    Learning that someone was intentionally destroying paper packages, Winters, who was getting his wound stitched, flew into a rage, grabbed his cavalry saber, and marched towards the ramparts.


    The needles and thread for suturing still hung from his leg, swaying back and forth.


    ¡°Your needle! Sir! Don¡¯t step on the needle!¡± The panicked medic chased after him but couldn¡¯t keep up with the Centurion.


    The incensed Montaigne wanted to see who the damned fool was that dared to destroy ¡°military supplies,¡± so he could personally deal with him.


    But when Winters saw the [paper-wrapped powder] loading procedure, his anger dissipated in an instant.


    Soon, Winters found the musketeer who had first invented the process.


    The terrified musketeer, brought before ¡°Blood Wolf¡±¡ªhe didn¡¯t know the Centurion¡¯s real name, only his nickname¡ªthought he was surely a goner. At best, he couldn¡¯t escape a lashing, but something about the atmosphere didn¡¯t feel right to him.


    The musketeer apprehensively kept his head down, stealthily sizing up Blood Wolf.


    Blood Wolf sat on an empty powder keg, with his left leg propped on another, while the barber surgeon stitched up an arrow wound on his leg.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the other man asked.


    Compared to all the rumors about him, Blood Wolf¡¯s voice was surprisingly gentle.


    Still, the musketeer involuntarily shivered, ¡°Nemi.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not from Wolf Town, are you?¡± Blood Wolf sucked in a breath of cold air, clearly pained by the stitching, ¡°I can name everyone from Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in my centurion¡¯s division either, right? I can almost name all my men.¡±


    ¡°Not in it.¡± Nemi felt like he had gotten his life back, ¡°I¡¯m in Centurion Otilba¡¯s division.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Blood Wolf¡¯s expression dimmed slightly, then he asked, ¡°Were you the first to start using torn paper as wadding, using paper wrappers as cartridge cases?¡±


    Nemi¡¯s heart tightened instantly, he swallowed and stammered, ¡°Reporting to the officer, I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Seeing the other person¡¯s flustered appearance, Winters figured he hadn¡¯t found the wrong person.


    ¡°You did well, I called you here to commend you.¡± Though he said he intended to commend, Winters couldn¡¯t find any money on him after searching from head to toe.


    However, having said so, he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to say ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any money today, I¡¯ll give it to you later¡± and the like.


    Looking around, Winters had a stroke of inspiration and grabbed a cavalry saber to hand to Nemi.


    Seeing Blood Wolf reach for the sword, Nemi shuddered with fear, then he realized Blood Wolf was handing the cavalry saber to him.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Nemi backed away repeatedly, waving his hands frantically.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with taking it?¡± Winters explained, ¡°The sheath is ornamented with gold and the blade itself is of fine quality. I didn¡¯t bring any money today, so take this cavalry saber as a pledge. Once this battle is over, come find me with it. If I¡¯m dead, then keep the saber. That way you won¡¯t be at a loss. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I dare not take it! I simply dare not accept this.¡±


    ¡°Paying a debt requires collateral; it¡¯s perfectly just. Take it,¡± Winters stuffed the cavalry saber into Nemi¡¯s hands, ¡°Take your tentmates with you, teach the other musketeers, get all of them trained up. I¡¯ll go get you some more paper.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Father Caman, clutching a folio, eyed Winters warily and stepped back, ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer.¡±


    ¡°I need to requisition it temporarily.¡± Winters pressed forward, promising earnestly, ¡°When we return to Paratu, I¡¯ll buy you another one.¡±


    ¡°This is a folio!¡± Caman exploded with rage¡ª it was the young priest¡¯s first time to lash out at Winters.


    [Note: A folio is a book made by folding a single sheet of paper in half, forming four pages, and is often reserved for the most important of documents.]


    ¡°Folios are great! They have lots of paper, and the quality is good.¡±


    ¡°Have you lost your mind? This is scripture! Do you dare have your men stuff pages of the scripture down their gun barrels?¡±


    ¡°No problem, if you don¡¯t tell them, they won¡¯t know it¡¯s scripture,¡± Winters replied earnestly, ¡°They can¡¯t read.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this one, this one is a manuscript copy.¡± Caman retreated to the corner of the tent, trapped with nowhere to go, pitifully pleading, ¡°I¡¯ll find you other books, I¡¯ll give you everything, just leave this folio for me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll also give me the scripture?¡¯


    ¡°Even the scripture.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment, then nodded, ¡°Alright¡­ but if need be, I will still come back for it.¡±


    ¡­


    While Winters was frantically looking for more paper, Mason on the rampart identified a serious problem.


    Before this, Mason¡¯s greatest fear was the cannons bursting.


    A musket explosion might kill one or two people, but a bursting cannon could obliterate everyone on Bastion.


    Therefore, Mason strictly controlled the firing frequency of the cannons, personally supervised the cooling process, and all the gunpowder charges were weighed by him personally.


    But now, a bigger issue than bursting cannons was the gunpowder.


    The gunpowder was consumed faster than Mason had anticipated, with reserves visibly depleting.


    They were also running out of cannonballs; solid shot had been depleted long ago and there was no time for recovery.


    They were now using lead as canister shot, a wasteful expenditure that risked ¡®leading¡¯ the guns.


    At this rate, by nightfall, Bridgehead Fortress would be out of powder.


    Without gunpowder, the Herders could just rely on numbers to bury the Paratu People alive.


    The battle had progressed to a point where it resembled a personal vendetta. No one cared about the original cause anymore; both sides were only focused on one thing: total annihilation of the other.


    The small fort held by Jeska¡¯s tribe was like a magnet, firmly holding thousands of Herder cavalry in its grip.


    The will of the Terdon Tribe was astonishingly tough; they attacked the Bridgehead Fortress wave after wave.


    The cheval de frise had been pulled out, trenches were filled, breastworks completely overrun, and siege ladders were now able to be placed against the walls.


    And Mason had no doubt that they could maintain this assault until sunset.


    The few remaining able officers urgently convened, and their conclusion was singular, ¡°The plan must change.¡±


    The back door of Bridgehead Fortress stealthily opened, and a light Dusack Cavalryman galloped out, heading straight for the southern shores of the Confluence River.


    When the light cavalry returned, he came back with Andreya Chelini leading the cavalry troop, each cavalryman¡¯s horse carrying two kegs of gunpowder.


    Among the nearly a hundred cavalrymen, there was one old soldier wearing common soldier¡¯s armor but with graying at the temples.


    As soon as the old soldier entered the fortress, he strode directly towards the battalion headquarters on the southern wall of the fortress.


    The moment he entered the battalion headquarters, the old soldier roared angrily, ¡°Jeska! How big you¡¯ve grown!¡±


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel leaped reflexively from his chair.


    General Sekler had arrived.


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 Chapter 449 - 69: Master of Strategy

    Chapter 449: Chapter 69: Master of Strategy


    The Herders were still besieging the city when the general suddenly arrived, and Jeska was obviously flustered, ¡°You¡­ why have you come?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sekler punched the lieutenant colonel¡¯s left chest, grinding his teeth in fury, ¡°I¡¯m here to present. you. with. an. award!¡±


    It was only after the general removed his hand that everyone saw a glittering gold medal had been added to Jeska¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Gentlemen!¡± Taking the opportunity, Andre shouted as he raised his helmet, ¡°Three cheers for Lieutenant Colonel Jeska!¡±


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    The other soldiers in the command post took off their hats and cheered, shouting in unison.


    Only Jeska himself had a forced smile¡ªbecause the pin behind the medal was painfully sticking into his flesh.


    Mason and Winters were also urgently summoned to headquarters, but Sekler didn¡¯t vent his anger on the centurions, presenting the awards to the two lieutenants with a pleasant demeanor.


    Winters¡¯s ears were buzzing from the cannon fire; he couldn¡¯t hear a word Sekler was saying.


    After accepting the commendation tied with the red string and bowing his head for the general to hang the medal around his neck, he hurried back to the ramparts.


    The Three Swords Medal symbolizing ¡°[bravery and fearlessness]¡±¡ªtwo silver and one gold¡ªwas personally awarded by Sekler in recognition of Jeska¡¯s department¡¯s valiant raid on the Terdon camp.


    Both the gold and silver medals were tied with blue ribbons, and they had pins on the back to attach to one¡¯s clothing.


    Although Jeska didn¡¯t intentionally get close to his subordinates on regular days, he indeed took good care of his centurions through his actions.


    When reporting back to headquarters, the lieutenant colonel was lenient with his subordinates, omitting such details as how ¡°Lieutenant Richard Mason got lost.¡±


    He merely reported that while retreating to shake off pursuers, the team detoured northward and stumbled upon the enemy¡¯s camp by mistake. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, there was a flaw in the story: according to the Herders¡¯ habits, they would don their armor, change horses, and string their bows ten miles from the battlefield, so their camp should be set up at least ten miles away.


    A detour? How could they have detoured ten miles away?


    According to Winters¡¯s thinking, saying they ¡°stumbled upon Herder scouts returning to camp and followed them back¡± would at least make logical sense.


    But the feather pen was in Jeska¡¯s hand, and the lieutenant colonel didn¡¯t want to boast too much.


    In his report, the lieutenant colonel also didn¡¯t mention a thing about the sacrifice of the golden figure¡ªbecause it was still buried in the pit.


    He only mentioned that some sacrificial artifacts and flags were captured and a few were sent to headquarters as proof.


    Sacrificial artifacts and flags were trivial; the true spoils of war were the several thousand Herder horses.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s horses were scattered by a blast of the enhanced ¡°Beast Panic¡± from Winters, and most disappeared into the night, with only a few being recovered.


    The captured horses were brought to the south bank of the Confluence River, in groups of thousands, a fact that could not be faked.


    However, after inspecting the horses, Bard¡¯s evaluation was ¡°unusable.¡±


    Firstly, the best warhorses had already been led away by the Herder cavalry, and those left in the camp were of inferior quality;


    Secondly, the Herder horses were not tall enough by Paratu cavalry standards, and even for light cavalry, these horses were a bit short;


    Lastly, and most importantly, the season was wrong.


    Supported by a large agricultural society, Paratu warhorses could be fed feeds, while the Herder horses living on the steppes mainly grazed on grass.


    Herder horses struggled to find food in winter and had to rely on harvested forage and the fat stored in autumn to survive the cold¡ªthis was also one of the reasons why Paratu chose to wage war in winter and early spring.


    In winter, the horses continued to lose fat, and in spring, the mares were near foaling, a time when the Herder tribes were at their weakest.


    [Note: As horses have an 11-month pregnancy cycle, and the Herder tribes lack warm stable conditions, foals born in autumn and winter struggle to survive, so they try to ensure that mares mate in the warm spring and summer.]


    For the Terdon Tribe to muster and wage war at this season, although it caught Paratu by surprise, they too would suffer greatly.


    It was evident from the condition of these captured Herder horses: their bellies were sunken, ribs protruding, too thin even for the pot.


    ¡°These horses, either find a good place to raise them until next year,¡± Bard held an absolute authority on this issue and suggested it to the lieutenant colonel during the meeting, ¡°or eat them as soon as possible, as their condition will only worsen. Anyway, they are unusable, not even for feed fattening.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t they be fattened with feed?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    For a prolonged siege, Paratu¡¯s army had transported large quantities of grain and fodder from their homeland, or Winters wouldn¡¯t be here.


    ¡°Herder horses have been grazing since young, feeding them directly can easily upset their stomachs,¡± Bard explained. ¡°To keep these horses alive, they need to be allowed to graze freely for at least half of the day.¡±


    Regardless of their usability, capturing thousands of horses was a significant achievement, enough to warrant eating them rather than leaving them for the Herders.


    A medal weighed about 100 grams, of which at least 80 grams were earned by those Herder horses.


    Thanks are also due to Lieutenant Colonel Jeska for passing most of the credit onto his subordinates, otherwise a couple of mere centurions wouldn¡¯t have received the ¡°[Knight¡¯s Cross of the Sword]¡± medals.


    Winters ripped off the medal the moment he stepped outside, hurriedly rolled up the ribbon, and stuffed it into his pocket.


    If he had looked closely, he would have seen the inscription ¡°Pro Patria¡± around the edge of the medal, meaning ¡°[For the Fatherland]¡±¡­


    On the battlefield, all is fair.


    After the brief award ceremony was concluded, Sekler kept Lieutenant Colonel Jeska for a private talk.


    Andre, kicked out of headquarters, ran up to the rampart in two or three steps, and on the northwest bastion, he found Winters.


    Another round of siege had been repelled, corpses littered everywhere outside the walls; Herders were regrouping two hundred meters away¡ªby now, they knew that the garrison¡¯s solid bullets had been used up, so they were brazen.


    Bard led some soldiers quietly into the trenches and started dragging bodies towards the river.


    Winters, meanwhile, urged the musketeers to take the opportunity to clean their musket barrels.


    The gunners were too exhausted to even lift a finger, and despite the centurion¡¯s supervision, their movements were sluggish.


    ¡°Where is the medal?¡± Seeing nothing around Winters¡¯s neck, Andre asked in surprise.


    Winters gave a wry smile and tapped his iron helmet, ¡°There are plenty of divine archers outside the city; wearing something so conspicuous is asking for death. I even swapped out my officer¡¯s helmet.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it.¡±


    Winters dug out a silver medal from his pocket and tossed it to Andre.


    ¡°Wow! A Grand Cross too!¡± Andre was so fascinated he couldn¡¯t let go, his tone full of regret, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I follow along?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it! Mason took the wrong path, nearly leading us straight into the Herders¡¯ den. It was only because the Terdon Tribe suddenly swarmed out that we were able to retreat in one piece.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got two of them now, right?¡± Andre¡¯s mind was clearly elsewhere, not on Winters¡¯ words.


    Winters was baffled, ¡°What second medal?¡±


    ¡°The Victory Medal from Red Sulfur Island.¡± Andre added, ¡°Although I¡¯m keeping it safe for you now.¡±


    Winters snorted softly without taking the bait.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice!¡± Andre returned the Sword of Valor Medal to Winters reluctantly. ¡°Good-looking!¡±


    ¡°If you want one, I¡¯ll have my uncle make you a hundred when I get back! I have something to ask you.¡± Winters pulled Andre aside to a quiet corner by the wall, ¡°What exactly is Sekler up to? Where are the reinforcements?!¡±


    As Winters was interrogating Andre, Colonel Jeska was also enduring a storm from the general.


    Seeing the expressionless one-eyed colonel, Sekler was nearly beside himself with anger.


    The Paratu military¡¯s strategy for the war against the Herders was simply damage, more damage, and even more damage.


    The night before last, the Paratu forces adopted tunnel blasting tactics to launch a strong attack on Bianli. The Bianli defenders set the city on fire.


    Yesterday morning, the camp on the north bank was attacked, the siege was halted, and Jeska¡¯s company was stationed at the North Bridge fortress.


    When Sekler and Alpad learned of the Herder reinforcements attacking the North Rampart, they weren¡¯t panicked.


    The most troublesome factor about the Herder tribes was never a head-on confrontation. They wanted to fill trenches with lives, and the two generals could hardly wish for more.


    The position of the North Rampart blocked access to the north side of Bianli City; if the Herders wanted to break the siege, they had to conquer it.


    Thus, Sekler sent six companies to support the North Rampart, intending to use it as bait to trap the Herder reinforcements and annihilate them in one fell swoop.


    However, Sekler¡¯s forces were ambushed halfway there¡ªa surprise, yet not unexpected, for the Herders were fishing too.


    They used the North Rampart as bait to lure out the main Paratu forces and cut off their support.


    The plan had changed, but for Sekler, the situation was still under control, needing only a technical adjustment.


    Whether it was using the North Rampart as bait or his six companies, there was no difference as long as the strategic objective was achieved.


    Through interrogating prisoners, Sekler had roughly figured out that the Herder reinforcements in front of them were actually composed of two parts.


    The Herder army besieging the North Rampart was led by the uncles and brothers of Yasin, chieftain of the Red River Tribe, considered an outer force of the Red River Tribe.


    And the Herder army coming to their aid was in fact the Terdon Tribe, personally led by the leader known as the Fire-watcher.


    In every past campaign, not only did Herder tribes not come to each other¡¯s rescue, but tribes unaffected by the war would eagerly swallow up those defeated by the Paratu People.


    No one knew how Yasin had managed to persuade the Terdon Tribe to send troops, but it seemed that the Fire-watcher was adamant about fighting the Paratu People.


    However, it wasn¡¯t a problem, as the Paratu military¡¯s combat power was still more than adequate to handle the situation.


    Unlike the brave, fiery, and ever-passionate General Alpad, Sekler was a strategy master¡ªcalm, cautious, and preferring to achieve victory through meticulous prior planning.


    But plans never move as fast as changes. Who could have expected that just last night, a seemingly insignificant pawn suddenly moved to a position surprising to everyone?


    Now that the Terdon Tribe was attacking Jeska¡¯s forces with a frenzy, Sekler¡¯s six companies were left hanging.


    The Herders¡¯ forces were thus dispersed, with the Red River Tribe feigning an attack on the North Rampart, and the Terdon Tribe fiercely assaulting the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Isn¡¯t it good that the enemy¡¯s forces are divided?


    The problem lies in the fact that the Paratu forces are also spread thin.


    Bridgehead Fortress¡ªSekler¡¯s forces¡ªNorth Rampart, these three camps are distributed along the northern bank, forming a shape similar to a long snake.


    The Bridgehead Fortress had the least manpower, just Jeska¡¯s company plus two centurion units.


    The North Rampart had two companies, and Sekler¡¯s forces had six.


    Sekler originally intended to lure the Herders to attack either the snake¡¯s head or midsection but the tail took initiative, striking fiercely at the Fire-watcher¡¯s groin.


    Now, the Herder reinforcements had thrown out two fists, one punching at the head and the other at the tail.


    From Bridgehead Fortress to North Rampart, the straight-line distance was about seventeen kilometers, taking five to six hours for infantry to cover.


    But for the Herders with their many horses, it was only half an hour of forced march.


    The cavalry¡¯s advantage in short-term mobility over infantry was fully displayed across those seventeen kilometers.


    No one can control war; it always controls humanity. The situation was spiraling out of control, for both sides.


    In this game, the Herders had the initiative. Their two forces could quickly join at one place, while the dispersed Paratu army couldn¡¯t support each other.


    ¡°No need for further explanation.¡± Colonel Jeska took off the Sword of Valor Medal, holding it in his palm. ¡°Just speak frankly.¡±


    Sekler was momentarily startled but quickly steadied his mind.


    ¡°No reinforcements will come here,¡± the general informed him.


    ¡°The eight companies from the main camp?¡± Jeska asked.


    ¡°Six companies suffered heavy losses in the siege; they are responsible for surrounding the city. I need the other two companies elsewhere.¡± Sekler fixed his gaze on Jeska, ¡°I¡¯m making a fist to strike the Red River Tribe and will not split my forces. It¡¯s possible the Terdon Tribe will be drawn away, and it¡¯s possible they won¡¯t be.¡±


    Jeska fell silent for a long time, looking at the medal in his hand and said, ¡°This thing¡­ indeed burns the hand.¡±


    ¡°Consider it given to you in advance.¡±


    ¡°Then I must request another thing from you,¡± the one-eyed colonel assessed calmly, ¡°If we hold out today, the Terdon people will never take this place again.¡±


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 Chapter 450 - 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades

    Chapter 450: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades


    After that epic duel at the front, Jeska¡¯s squad had been fighting for six hours.


    The setting sun hung low, with corpses strewn inside and outside the trenches, both human and horse alike.


    Every body was horribly disfigured by solid shot, grapeshot, and bullets, but at least they still had a shape.


    Just a few steps away¡ªthe area between the trenches and the walls¡ªthe scene was completely different.


    In stark contrast to the trenches, the ground beneath the walls was littered with shattered chunks of flesh, scattered limbs, spilled entrails, and horses with eviscerated bellies.


    Those who died here were mostly torn apart by exploding grenades.


    ...


    By comparison, deaths by sword were a more tolerable sight.


    At the edge of the ditch, a Herder, trapped under a horse carcass, was begging for relief from a life he could not cling to and a death he could not reach.


    His intermittent groans, incomprehensible to the Paratu People, made everyone¡¯s skin crawl.


    Finally, a musketeer couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and stood up to shoot the Herder, and the others soon followed suit, granting him a swift end. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon hearing the gunfire, an irate sergeant slapped the musketeer hard across the face for wasting ammunition.


    The Terdon Tribe, having been repelled once again, was regrouping to the west of the Bridgehead Fortress, with the Khan¡¯s symbolic blue horsetail banner moving towards the southwest.


    At the cost of a thousand lives, the Terdon People slowly discovered the weakness of the fortress: not the north or south, but the east and west.


    This Bridgehead Fortress only had gates to the south and the north, with the southern gate pressed against the river and the northern gate protected by a bastion, the strongest points in the defense system.


    Since there were no gates on the east and west walls, the Paratu soldiers had to detour from the southern and northern gates to counter-attack, allowing the besiegers the opportunity for interception.


    Moreover, there were no bastions on the outer sides of the east and west walls, enabling the attackers to strike directly at the walls.


    The fortifications outside the west wall had been severely damaged, with barricades uprooted, trenches filled in, and breastworks overthrown.


    The Terdon People pushed their rudimentary equipment, advancing step by step toward the west wall. This time, there were no divisions, no feints; the pyremen were going for a decisive strike.


    The Paratu soldiers with any fight left in them were also concentrated on the west wall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Winters walked among the soldiers, patting each one on the shoulder and back, ¡°The Herders can¡¯t hold out! This is just the last shiver of taking a piss!¡±


    Corporal Heinrich held the regimental flag high behind the Centurion, with a large medal tied to the tip of the flagpole.


    The faces of the soldiers were caked with a thick layer of gunpowder soot, sweat, and mud, obscuring their features from Winters¡¯s view.


    The wounds of the lightly injured soldiers were hastily wrapped with bandages they made themselves, many of which had been soaked through with blood.


    The Paratu People were exhausted to the point that they couldn¡¯t even muster the energy to speak.


    Only the Centurion¡¯s voice, though hoarse, remained loud and clear, ¡°If that monkey-assed face meets us, it¡¯s his bloody bad luck! When this fight is over, he¡¯ll piss blood in his next life, and it¡¯ll even split!¡±


    A burst of laughter erupted on the ramparts.


    On his rounds, Winters collided with Father Caman at the southwestern bastion.


    ¡°How did you get up here?¡± he quickly pushed Caman towards the stairs, ¡°You¡¯re the only surgeon! Get down!¡±


    Surgeons were already scarce, and with the Church forbidding clergy ¡°to stain their hands with blood,¡± clergy trained in surgery were even rarer than dogs that walked upright.


    The old priest was in the main camp, leaving only Father Caman among the clergy at the Bridgehead Fortress.


    With him in charge of the infirmary, the wounded felt at peace regardless of whether they lived or died. Winters could not afford to lose Father Caman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spill it!¡± Caman protected the silver chalice in his hand, a bag with a holy emblem hanging from his chest, ¡°Everyone should receive Communion, right?¡±


    ¡°Is it Sunday today?¡± Winters paused, only then noticing that Caman was wearing a holy robe.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Caman took out a small biscuit from the bag, dipped it in the wine in the chalice, offering it to the Spellcasters, ¡°Would you like one?¡±


    Winters snorted softly and reached into the bag to pull out a handful of biscuits, ¡°I¡¯ll help myself.¡±


    Amidst the banter, the Herders had closed in to eighty meters, and Mason fired first.


    The seven cannons positioned at the northwestern and southwestern bastions roared in succession.


    Walnut-sized grapeshot swept across the battlefield like hail, tearing Herders to shreds and even blasting several gaps in their formation.


    The cannons were like starting pistols, the battle drums rolled thunderously, and the Terdon Tribe shouted as they rushed toward the west wall.


    The drummers on the fortress also struck their snare drums.


    Musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall, setting up their muskets. Each one chose their target, aiming carefully.


    The drumming stopped abruptly, and the clang of the gong pierced the noise, ¡°Crash!¡±


    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± A volley of gunfire.


    Several Herders fell to the ground, but many more pressed forward.


    The drumming continued, and the second team of musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall.


    After dozens of rounds of live firing, the execution of the rotation tactic no longer required Winters to shout commands.


    But just as the musketeers had fired their third volley, with a ¡°clang¡± and ¡°clang,¡± two ladders had already been placed against the wall.


    The Herders, clenching curved knives in their teeth, quickly climbed towards the top of the wall.


    This was the consequence of losing the works at the base of the wall; the window for ranged weapon fire was greatly reduced.


    Some musketeers were in the watchtowers; though they were in an excellent position, they were continuously shot down by the Herder archers.


    ¡°Sergeant Karl! Take your men to the wooden wall! The rest of you, fire at will!¡± Winters shouted, ¡°Spearmen! Push them down!¡±


    A portion of the musketeers hurriedly ran to the second wooden fortification at the rear, where Colonel Jeska personally commanded.


    The musketeers from the watchtowers should have been effective, but they were continuously taken out by the Herder archers.


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 Chapter 451 - 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_2

    Chapter 451: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_2


    At this time, the defenders should dispatch their elite troops to charge the enemy beneath the city, but Jeska¡¯s squad no longer had the strength to strike out.


    Mason was in charge of the northwestern Bastion, Bard was responsible for the southwestern Bastion, and Winters took charge of the western wall.


    He carried a log with a spearman and knocked down a ladder.


    The Herders on the ladder fell off, dusted themselves off, and climbed up again¡ªthe earthen walls of the Bastion were not high enough to be deadly.


    For every ladder the Paratu People knocked down, the enemy would push up three more. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The enemy also pushed forward two devices resembling seesaws, and others directly scaled the fortress walls by hand.


    ...


    Paratu soldiers, wielding steel blades and clad in heavy armor, surged onto the ramparts, and the battle turned into a vicious, face-to-face slaughter.


    Both Paratu and Herders were clad in armor, making it exceedingly difficult to kill the enemy¡ªfor both sides.


    People blinded by rage desperately stabbed at each other¡¯s faces, armpits, and groins¡ªareas that lacked armor.


    If anyone fell, they would be instantly stabbed to death through the gaps in their armor.


    Winters fought furiously atop the wall, his curved blade having been replaced four times already, yet the number of Herders around him kept growing.


    The Herders also realized that there was a Paratu soldier among them whose ferocity was unmatched, with no one able to stand against him in a single round of combat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The Hailite Squadron, heed my command!¡± a Herder leader with Hong Lingyu feathers shouted from a high position, pointing his saber at Winters and bellowing, ¡°[Herde Language] Quickly surround and kill that soldier!¡±


    ¡°QNMD!¡± Winters raised his hand and cast an Arrow Flying Spell.


    The steel nail hit the helmet squarely, and the Hong Lingyu Herder was knocked over.


    At the same time, two Herder strongmen charged at Winters. He dodged one but was hit squarely around the waist by the other.


    ¡°Release me!¡± Winters, pounding like hammering a nail, smashed the hilt of his knife repeatedly on the Herder¡¯s head, even hearing the sound of bones fracturing: ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    However, the Herder¡¯s arms were like a tiger¡¯s jaws clamped shut, strangling Winters around his waist. Winters¡¯ plate armor creaked loudly, even starting to deform.


    ¡°Ah!¡± With a savage roar, the Herder strongman used his wrestling skills to lift Winters, who weighed over two hundred pounds with his armor, with the intention of slamming him to his death.


    ¡°Release! Me! Now!¡± Winters, suspended in mid-air, roared like thunder, tore off the Herder¡¯s neck armor, and plunged his curved knife deep into his neck: ¡°Die!¡±


    The Herder strongman was killed instantly, but his arms still did not let go, and he fell along with Winters.


    Winters was pinned under the body of the Herder strongman, as more Herders rushed toward him.


    ¡°Save the Centurion!¡± Xial, a dozen meters away, yelled in desperation, swinging his long halberd to carve a path to Winters.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Block them!¡± But that Hong Lingyu Herder leader struggled to rise again, his face covered in blood as he shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] Kill him!¡±


    Several Herders immediately stepped in to block the rescuers.


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    Three consecutive Arrow Flying Spells were cast with no reservations, nearly rendering Winters unconscious.


    The Hong Lingyu only saw flashes of cold light before three of his sharp troops fell in response.


    ¡°[Herde Language] He¡¯s the Chosen One!¡± The Hong Lingyu finally understood, screaming like a madman, ¡°[Herde Language] Kill him! Kill that Chosen One quickly!¡±


    Hearing the Centurion¡¯s words, the Herder soldiers around him hesitated collectively, suddenly too fearful to approach Winters.


    They hesitated for a whole second before they, gritting their teeth, flung themselves at the ¡°Chosen One¡± under the Centurion¡¯s roars.


    That one second gave Winters a chance to catch his breath.


    But he had used up all his steel spikes, and the Herders had already closed in to within a meter of him.


    In utter desperation¡ªand in a flurry of urgency¡ªWinters launched the Arrow Flying Spell directly at a Herder¡¯s head.


    ¡°Puchi!¡±, ¡°Puchi!¡±


    Two eyeballs burst open.


    ¡°Ahhh!!!¡± The Herder let out an inhuman scream. The excruciating pain caused the strong man to roll on the ground; his eye sockets had turned into two indistinct masses of blood and flesh.


    The other Herders were dumbstruck with fright.


    Winters, too, was experiencing unprecedented phantom pain, even more intense than the pain endured by the Herder who had lost his eyes¡ªit felt as if his body was placed under a stone miller, being ground over and over, inch by inch.


    His body convulsed with the intense spiritual pain, having never channeled such a massive amount of magical power in a single breath.


    But at this moment of life and death, he had no time to think.


    If it worked, he would use it again.


    The phantom pain came quickly and left just as quickly. The instant he recovered from the convulsions, Winters unleashed the Arrow Flying Spell towards the head of the second Herder.


    This time, he completely abandoned all restraint and opened all the valves.


    The Arrow Flying Spell taught to him by Major Moritz emphasized precision, but now Winters was casting without any restraint, direction, or control, simply pushing the output power of his magic to the limit¡ªno, beyond the limit.


    The second Herder¡¯s mouth gushed blood ceaselessly, clutching his throat as he staggered and tumbled down from the wall.


    Then came the third.


    This time, Winters had an epiphany. In a state of extreme casting, using the Herder¡¯s head as the medium, he launched the Arrow Flying Spell in two different directions at the same time.


    The third Herder¡¯s head exploded on the spot, red and white splattering like rain.


    ¡°The Chosen One.¡±


    This phrase resounded in the minds of the Herders, and those around Winters who were still alive scattered and raced away.


    The Hong Lingyu Herder leader fell into complete despair, trembling all over as he knelt on the ground, murmuring some scripture as if praying.


    Winters extricated himself from the clasp of the Herder strongman¡¯s arms, leaned on the battlement, and moved beside the Hong Lingyu.


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 Chapter 452 - 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_3

    Chapter 452: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_3


    Hong Lingyu looked up at Winters, his eyes brimming with tears. He reached out as if he wanted to embrace Winters¡¯s legs.


    Winters¡¯s face was pale as he panted heavily, wiping the nosebleed with the back of his hand. Pointing at the head of Hong Lingyu, he entered a casting stance, ¡°Dissolution.¡±


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s head was torn apart by an invisible colossal force.


    ¡°Cavalry!¡± Someone on the lookout tower pointed outside the wall and shouted anxiously, ¡°Cavalry are coming!¡±


    Hundreds of cavalry charged straight towards the city walls¡ªthese horsemen were armored only in barding, without cuirasses, helmets, not even saddles, doing everything they could to reduce weight.


    Only then did Winters understand what the fire-stokers were plotting.


    ... sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The walls of the fortress weren¡¯t rammed earth or hardened clay, but merely piles of soil already on a slope.


    The Herders had only to dig slightly to gentle the slope, and the cavalry could charge straight over the ramparts.


    Now, everyone was at the end of their tether, and these well-rested ¡°light-armored¡± heavy cavalrymen were the fire-stokers¡¯ decisive blow.


    With the speed of a full-on charge, the Herder cavalry stormed up the fortress walls. The horses, whinnying and foaming at the mouth, scrambled upwards.


    One by one¡­ almost a hundred horsemen leaped into the fortress in succession, rampaging along the wall, knocking aside both Paratu People and Herders alike.


    Heavily armored soldiers were trampled to death alive, their screams too harrowing to hear.


    Even Winters couldn¡¯t withstand such a powerful charge. Seeing a heavy-armored warhorse charging at him, he decisively leaped from the wall, tucking and rolling on the ground to absorb the shock.


    At once, the wall was cleared. Herder cavalrymen charged toward the plank houses inside the fortress¡ªthe arsenal, the infirmary, and the command center.


    The Herders that followed immediately planted their flag atop the fortress. The Herders outside the walls cheered joyously, some even overwhelmed, kissing the ground.


    Winters looked towards the second rampart, where Lieutenant Colonel Jeska was positioned.


    The charge horn! The shrill sound of the charge horn reverberated throughout the fortress.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The battle cry of the Paratu People shook heaven and earth.


    Paratu soldiers, clad in plate armor and wielding heavy poleaxes, surged out from the Armament Cave beneath the wall, clamoring as they charged at the Herder cavalry.


    [Deploy the reserve forces on the counterscarp], this was one of the four lessons Winters had learned at the Land Academy.


    But do not forget, John Jeska was taught by the same master as Winters Montagne.


    If the fire-stokers had their decisive hammer, the one-eyed had theirs as well.


    One hundred twenty poleaxemen had been waiting for this moment since the start of the siege assault.


    Before this, regardless of how dire the battle was, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska had not sounded the charge horn.


    If the fire-stoker wanted to smash the Paratu People with one hammer blow, the one-eyed waited to shatter the fire-stoker¡¯s hammer.


    The scattered Paratu soldiers regrouped behind the poleaxemen and launched a counter-charge, dragging the Herder cavalrymen off their horses one after another for the kill.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters took the flag from Heinrich¡¯s hands and led the charge towards the wall.


    The rampart changed hands again, Paratu People stormed the parapet, while the Herders outside were still oblivious to the events inside the fortress, desperately climbing the wall.


    ¡°Grenades!¡± Winters shouted to the soldier beside him, ¡°Do we have any grenades left?¡±


    The besieging force of the Terdon Tribe was particularly vulnerable to grenade attacks.


    The tumult, gunshots, and screams were deafening as Xial yelled into Winters¡¯s ear, ¡°We¡¯ve used them all up!¡±


    Grenades were highly effective in fortress defense battles, but the stock of iron-shelled bombs carried by Jeska¡¯s company had been exhausted long ago.


    Looking around and seeing the studded armor on the dead Herders, Winters had a flash of inspiration, grabbing the breastplate part of the studded armor and strapping it onto a powder keg.


    The soldiers gradually understood what the Centurion intended to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the powder kegs!¡± Xial pulled two people beside him, ¡°You two, come with me!¡±


    Studded armor, powder kegs, and fuses turned into makeshift bombs. Whether they would work, Winters didn¡¯t know.


    He was just about to light the fuse when he suddenly drew a dagger, slicing the leather strap that secured the armor plates into pieces but just barely holding together.


    Then he entered a casting stance, and the fuse began to hiss and burn.


    Winters held onto the powder keg, hesitating to act. As the fuse grew shorter and shorter, the Paratu soldiers around him couldn¡¯t help but close their eyes.


    Only when the fuse was about to burn out did Winters throw the ¡°studded armor grenade¡± over the wall.


    A giant ¡°boom¡± resounded as the powder keg exploded in mid-air.


    Everyone on the wall staggered, their ears ringing and vision blurry.


    The keg was too large, so the explosion was less than ideal¡ªbut it didn¡¯t need to be ideal.


    The studded armor wrapping the keg was torn asunder by the blast wave, with each plate acting like a piece of shrapnel, radiating outwards in all directions.


    Rain of death and steel fell upon the Herders outside the city. Like wheat under the scythe, they fell in swathes, many never standing again.


    Even the Paratu People were stunned speechless by this brutal weapon.


    ¡°Again!¡± Winters, his eyes red, roared.


    The Paratu hurriedly sought more studded armor and powder kegs.


    ¡°What are you doing, Montagne? Go capture the flag!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska on the second rampart pointed to the southwest and yelled at Winters, ¡°Get me the Herders¡¯ flag!¡±


    Following the lieutenant colonel¡¯s direction, Winters then saw the Herder¡¯s banner flapping over the South Rampart.


    The Herders that had reached the rampart were in disarray. Winters led his men, cutting down several and reaching the base of the flag.


    The Herder standard-bearer, confident in his swordsmanship, flamboyantly flourished his sword, poised to meet the challenge from the Paratu champion.


    But Winters¡¯s swordsmanship had been honed by back-to-back bloody battles to a pure and straightforward art.


    He raised his arm, lifting the scimitar high, deliberately exposing his center as bait to the opponent.


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 Chapter 453 - 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_4

    Chapter 453: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_4


    Of course, the Herder standard-bearer wouldn¡¯t pass up this opportunity and thrust his sword directly forward.


    Winters, from above, struck down, knocking the enemy¡¯s saber askew, stepped forward, twisted his wrist and flicked, slicing open his opponent¡¯s neck.


    The Herder standard-bearer¡¯s counterstroke was blocked by the breastplate; he couldn¡¯t believe it as he clutched his wound, staggering back until he collapsed in a corner of the wall.


    A simple smack and a flick, two movements, were all it took to claim the life of the Herder standard-bearer.


    Having dealt with the standard-bearer, Winters leaped onto the parapet, pulled out the horse-tail battle flag, and his voice, amplified by magic, echoed across the battlefield, ¡°Come on! Look over here!¡±


    No matter whether they understood or not, everyone¡¯s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the figure on the city wall.


    ...


    Winters roared and snapped the horse-tail battle flag in two, hurling it down the wall.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The Paratu People shouted fervently, ¡°Victory!¡±


    The morale of the Herders completely collapsed, receding like a tide, with even the enforcers unable to stop them.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Late at night, the temporary camp of the Terdun Tribe.


    Calling it a temporary camp was actually just a wind-sheltered slope.


    The yurts of the Terdun Tribe, horses, food, and drink had been burned down to the ground by the Paratu People¡ªtruly down to the ground.


    Aside from the food and blankets they carried on their person, they now had nothing.


    Those who were indignant just to fight could now taste the bitter fruit.


    Even he didn¡¯t have a tent, and other Herders could only wrap themselves in their cloaks and sleep on the ground.


    Luckily, the Herders were resilient by nature, plus they were exhausted after a day of hard fighting. So without being fussy about their sleeping spots, they all fell into a deep slumber.


    The Fire-Raiser didn¡¯t rest; the rage in his chest not only hadn¡¯t extinguished but had grown even more intense.


    The Chiliarchs of the Terdun Tribe sat around a bonfire, discussing their next move.


    ¡°Herde Language Khan,¡± a sagacious Chiliarch carefully advised, ¡°Herde Language Relying solely on mare¡¯s milk won¡¯t do, why don¡¯t we go to the Red River Tribe to ask for food, then turn back to retrieve the sacral golden idol.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Fire-Raiser, I agree with seeking out the Red River Tribe,¡± another Chiliarch said discontentedly, ¡°Herde Language With all the horses and warriors we¡¯ve lost, the Red River Tribe should make amends!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language We can¡¯t keep fighting anyway!¡± added another Chiliarch, with snow-white temples and a corpulent belly, his tone particularly vicious, ¡°Herde Language If we fight on, we¡¯ll all be done for! Had the old Khan been here, he would never have waged such a wasteful war!¡±


    The Chiliarchs spoke harsher words one after another, but in reality, those who were willing to speak were the Fire-Raiser¡¯s loyal supporters, that snow-white temples, corpulent bellied Chiliarch especially being the Fire-Raiser¡¯s own uncle.


    The allied chieftains had shifty eyes and were reluctant to commit themselves, in fact already considering their next moves.


    The Fire-Raiser stared hard at the dancing flames, silent as ever.


    The sound of hoofbeats approached swiftly, and a messenger found the Fire-Raiser.


    The emissary bowed respectfully and presented a gilded horn, ¡°Herde Language Blood of the Golden Ones, Terdun Fire-Raiser, I bring to you a gift and a message from the Red River Tribe¡¯s Little Lion.¡±


    [Note: The Herders have a custom of presenting gifts, and emissaries never arrive empty-handed]


    ¡°Herde Language The White Lion¡¯s brother?¡± Fire-Raiser took the gilded horn and scoffed coldly, ¡°Herde Language Speak!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language The Little Lion charged me to tell you, with a great battle impending, we shouldn¡¯t be dividing our forces. He invites you to join forces with him, willing to share everything in cup, plate, and bowl. As for previous spoils of war, he is willing to share half with you. Future spoils will all be yours to choose first.¡±


    The Fire-Raiser¡¯s face turned ashen, throwing the horn into the fire, ¡°Herde Language Am I supposed to feel pity from the White Lion¡¯s brother?¡±


    He clenched the scabbard in his left hand tightly, his teeth grinding aloud.


    Seeing the Fire-Raiser¡¯s current expression, the allied Chiliarchs trembled in their boots, buried their heads in their knees.


    Even the Fire-Raiser¡¯s own uncle now dared not touch this hot potato.


    Suddenly, a voice with a slight accent came from beside the fire, ¡°Herde Language The Little Lion is right, with a great battle looming, we indeed should not divide our forces.¡±


    The speaker used a stick to pull the gilded horn out of the bonfire and offered it back to the Fire-Raiser.


    When Fire-Raiser saw who was speaking, his ashen face slowly reddening, he surprisingly refrained from lashing out with his sword.


    If Winters had seen this scene, he would have been astonished, for it was the old Translator who had managed to soothe the Fire-Raiser.


    ¡°Herde Language What do you say we should do?¡± the Fire-Raiser asked respectfully.


    ¡°Herde Language Go find the Red River Tribe, and then¡­¡± The old Translator began but abruptly fell silent.


    He suddenly stood up, listening attentively before glaring at the messenger, ¡°Herde Language You brought men with you! Does the Red River Tribe want to swallow us whole?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language No! Impossible!¡± the Red River Tribe¡¯s emissary denied desperately, alarmed. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, it wasn¡¯t just the old Translator; the other Chiliarchs also heard the sound of hoofbeats.


    And it wasn¡¯t just one or two horses; there were at least a hundred rapidly closing in.


    ¡°Herde Language Enemy attack!¡± the Fire-Raiser kicked over the bonfire and bellowed, ¡°Herde Language Enemy attack!¡±


    The Chiliarchs of the Terdun Tribe immediately ran towards their own people¡¯s resting ground.


    In the distance, a harsh cry mingled with the sound of hooves, ¡°Herde Language Defeated! Defeated! Our army is defeated! The Fire-Raiser is dead!¡±


    The cry in Herde language was very awkward, obviously something recently learned.


    ¡°Herde Language Aaahhhhhhhhh!!!¡± the Fire-Raiser screamed frantically, ¡°Herde Language Two-legged creatures! Despicable! I will kill them!¡±


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 Chapter 454 - 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_5

    Chapter 454: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_5


    And at this very moment, just outside the Terdun Camp, Winters was shouting with great excitement in Herde Language he had just learned: ¡°We¡¯re defeated! We¡¯re defeated! Our army is defeated! The fire-tenders are dead!¡±


    With the enhancement of a sound-amplifying spell, his solo shouts equaled the volume of a hundred-man squadron.


    How could Colonel Jeska possibly let the people of the Terdon Tribe get a good night¡¯s sleep?


    The cavalry detachment that was delivering the gunpowder to the Bridgehead Fortress had been detained by the Colonel, just waiting for this moment to come into play.


    ¡°Hoorah!¡± Pierre fiercely spurred his horse¡¯s flanks, desperately shouting to embolden himself, swinging his saber like a full moon, cleaving off half a Herde¡¯s head with a single strike.


    Anglu, Vashka, and Bell closely followed Pierre, similarly brandishing their sabers slashing left and chopping right.


    ...


    The Piaoqi Cavalry and the Dusacks cut through the Terdun Camp, ramming and killing anyone they saw.


    Winters took out objects the size of a head from his saddlebag, lit the gunpowder fuse on the outside, and hurled them at the panic-stricken Terdon Tribesmen.


    These head-sized objects were ¡°Improved Fragmentation Grenades.¡±


    The original grenades not only wasted gunpowder but also had excessive power and were prone to causing accidental injuries.


    Therefore, the urgently modified second version of the grenades were all switched to small kegs. Just the size of a head, sealed inside and out with pitch.


    While applying the outer layer of pitch, they conveniently stuck the grenade fragments into the pitch to increase lethality.


    Winters rode a robust horse around the outskirts of the Terdun Camp, continuously throwing out fragmentation grenades.


    Flashes of light were followed by muffled explosions, small iron fragments flew in all directions under the night sky, stirring up a storm of blood and flesh.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Retreat!¡± Andre caught up with Winters from behind: ¡°It¡¯s utter chaos! If we keep fighting, we¡¯ll get caught in there too!¡±


    Winters reached into his saddlebag, which was now empty as all eight grenades had been thrown.


    ¡°What a pity,¡± Winters thought, ¡°If I had three thousand riders, we might have been able to crush the Terdun Tribe in a single blow.¡±


    Unfortunately, Winters didn¡¯t have them; he only had a hundred riders¡ªmore than half of whom were lent to Jeska by the Seklers.


    The Terdon Tribe was in disarray, but their camp wasn¡¯t bombed.


    Each Herde Centurion had their own resting area, and most soldiers could still locate their Centurion.


    Once they regained their senses, this hundred riders would be wiped out in an instant.


    If they disengaged from battle now, the people of Terdun would need at least until dawn to regroup, and that was enough.


    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat,¡± Winters nodded.


    The bugler sounded the retreat signal, and the Paratu Cavalrymen upon hearing the call, withdrew from the fray and hurried to the predetermined rally point.


    Andre, mounted on a very majestic black horse, asked Winters smugly, ¡°Do you think this is worth a Grand Cross medal?¡±


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, eight kilometers to the east of the Jeska¡¯s fortress, at the Sekler¡¯s temporary camp.


    Two infantry battalions crossed the Confluence River via the Floating Bridge, joining with the six existing infantry battalions of the Sekler Tribe.


    Within the temporary camp, General Sekler left only a few soldiers and all the military flags.


    Under Sekler¡¯s command, the eight infantry battalions set off overnight towards the northern stockade.


    ¡­


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    Entry: Rupture Spell


    Description: Apply the Arrow Flying Spell to an object in two directions at once, emphasizing explosive force rather than precision.


    Note: I never imagined that the Rupture Spell would actually be in the kinetic series of spells. Once again I am curious, what would be the result if someone could cast the Arrow Flying Spell in more than two directions at once?


    Further Note: If Teacher Christian¡¯s work is not published, this year¡¯s Antoine-Laurent Award is definitely mine. If the Whirlwind Spell, Fire Tornado Spell, and Huygens¡¯ Deflection Spell get published this year, maybe ¡­ I could publish next year?


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 Chapter 455 - 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle

    Chapter 455: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle


    Officers from the Land Academy all memorized a phrase, ¡°The precondition for a decisive battle is that both sides have the intention to fight one.¡±


    The [Herders-Paratu War] is the best footnote to this phrase.


    The Herder tribes, taking all their possessions, would run ahead, with the Paratu army chasing behind, until the boundaries of power were redrawn¡ªthis was the traditional war pattern.


    General Sekler dreamt of engaging the Red River Tribe in a decisive battle, but as long as the Red River Tribe didn¡¯t want to fight, such a battle could not be fought.


    The reason was simple: The side with greater mobility controlled the choice of the battlefield.


    The barbarians were particularly sharp and cunning, accustomed to each rider having several horses, moving like the wind; they would only engage in battles they could win.


    ...


    At the slightest hint of danger, they would not hesitate to flee, and the battle would once again become a tiresome game of chase.


    But now the Paratu People had found the Red River Tribe¡¯s weak spot, which was Bianli City.


    In earlier years, there had also been some city settlements on the Great Wilderness.


    At that time, the Herders were at the height of their power, and they beat the Paratu nobles to the point where they dared only tremble within their castles while the Herder Iron Cavalry looted people, food, and treasures.


    Some tribes even moved their entire clans into Paratu lands, attempting to seize control of Paratu.


    The eagles grew increasingly strong by tearing apart and devouring the flesh of wild horses.


    Prosperous Herder factions started building cities; although most people still roamed in search of water and grass, this did not stop the ruling class from living in cities and enjoying the spoils.


    Decorating palaces with looted gold, silver, and jewels, the Herders had Paratu slaves toil for them, and both minor and major Herder nobles lived lives of extreme luxury.


    Nothing luxurious was produced on the wilderness, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    As long as there was money, there would be Venetians. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Venetian merchants traveled from afar, bringing treasures like fine swords, steeds, spices, silks, and wines to the Herder ¡°khan¡± leaders.


    The chiefs competed in showing off their wealth, sparing no expense.


    If you use cotton cloth for your tents, I¡¯ll use silk. If you use one layer, I¡¯ll use two.


    Even falcons and saddles had to be ¡°imports,¡± or else they would lose face.


    The geographer Baiboluo once recorded, ¡°¡­the chieftain wore double-layered silk clothes, surrounded by eunuchs, with a dwarf responsible for making him laugh¡­ he had someone bring out three jewel-encrusted scimitars for me to choose from, and when I shook my head, he gave all three scimitars to me¡­¡±


    Baiboluo also left such records, ¡°When the chieftains lived lives more luxurious than kings, the poorest of their herdsmen had but a pitiful number of cattle and sheep.¡±


    With the publication of Baiboluo¡¯s ¡°Journey to the West,¡± the term ¡°Herder Chief¡± gradually became synonymous with ¡°luxurious, wealthy, big spender.¡±


    Of course, in Venetian slang, it also referred to those ¡°suckers who don¡¯t bargain and spend lavishly,¡± with a hint of disdain¡­ and a bit of reluctant envy.


    But feasts always end, and those days are gone.


    Since the great defeat of Queye Khan thirty years ago, the tribes have been in decline from their pinnacle.


    The tides switched between attack and defense, and the Herder cities were gradually abandoned.


    Firstly, relying on the output of the wilderness alone was insufficient to sustain the cities; secondly, the rejuvenated Paratu People specifically targeted the city-building Herder tribes.


    Because the cities represented the concentration of wealth, the Herder tribes unwittingly gathered their possessions in one place, saving the Paratu People quite a bit of trouble.


    Some Herder cities were breached, looted, destroyed, others were occupied by the Paratu People, and the rest were abandoned.


    The [Herders-Paratu War] once again turned into a mobile war of chase and escape.


    Therefore, while building cities provided benefits to the Red River Tribe, it also gave the Paratu People a clear target.


    The Paratu army surrounded Bianli City tightly, as if grabbing the Red River Tribe by the balls.


    If the Red River Tribe wanted to relieve Bianli City, they had to break through the Paratu army.


    Sekler only worried about two things: one, that the Red River Tribe reinforcements might simply give up on Bianli City and the White Lion; two, that the Red River Tribe reinforcements wouldn¡¯t dare to fight decisively and would instead switch to harassment tactics to delay the siege.


    The former, now it seems, was an overconcern, as the Red River Tribe reinforcements show a strong desire to attack without any sign of giving up on Bianli.


    As for the latter, it was a gamble between the two sides. The curtain had not yet been lifted, and who was the Hunter and who was the prey could not yet be determined.


    ¡­


    Jeska¡¯s night raid was a huge success.


    According to the original plan of Colonel Jeska, the raid should have had the entire army strike, shattering the Terdon Tribe¡¯s command chain in one blow.


    However, the bitter battles of the day had already exhausted the Paratu People.


    No sooner had the Terdon Tribe retreated than many Paratu soldiers collapsed on the spot, unable to be woken even if shaken.


    Only the cavalry, who did not participate in defending the city, retained the vitality for battle.


    Forty-four Dusack light cavalry, sixty-eight borrowed Piaoqi Troops, plus Winters and Andre.


    In total, no more than one hundred fourteen riders turned the Terdon camp upside down.


    If the Terdon people had all been sleeping in their tents, the victory would have been even more glorious¡ªbecause the tents were highly flammable.


    But the Terdon camp had already been burnt to the ground before, leaving them with barely anything flammable to their name.


    Fortuitously, what could have been a calamity meant that the incendiaries Winters had prepared were hardly of any use.


    Those by the fire likely never dreamed that a camp would be raided on two consecutive nights.


    Roasted on one side, flipped and roasted on the other side.


    Amidst the chaos, some audacious Herders simply took the opportunity to go home. Although they nabbed no spoils, it was better than losing their lives.


    Furthermore, some rank-and-file Centurions and Chiliarchs, along with their respective troops, fled outright. They were not willing to further risk their clan¡¯s assets for the Terdon Tribe¡¯s sacrificial golden figures.


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 Chapter 456 - 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_2

    Chapter 456: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_2


    Next time we meet, they should no longer be of the Terdon Tribe.


    With such scarce military forces, the limitations were destined. Colonel Jeska, dispirited, simply didn¡¯t show up. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Scare the Herders, then come back. I don¡¯t expect you to perform miracles, just make sure they dare not set up camp within ten miles,¡± Colonel Jeska said when assigning tasks to the two Centurions, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t get yourselves killed out there.


    The results were as the colonel had predicted; Winters and Andre¡¯s men were capable of creating chaos, but not enough to completely rout the Terdon Tribe.


    Even if there were twenty thousand pigs, a hundred or so Cavalry couldn¡¯t kill them all.


    ¡­


    ...


    This morning, there was fog.


    The dispatched recon Cavalry reported back that several thousand Herder Cavalry were gathering forces along the way, advancing eastward.


    The recon Cavalry also reported that they saw the blue horse-tail banners among those Cavalry.


    Clearly, the direct forces of the Fire-Worshipers hadn¡¯t been defeated, and the Fire-Worshiper himself hadn¡¯t conceded.


    The battle was far from over.


    ¡­


    A battlefield is like a pile of blocks stacked haphazardly, the removal of any one could lead to unforeseeable changes.


    Last night, Jeska¡¯s troops captured the Sacrificial Golden Man.


    Yesterday, the Terdon Tribe laid siege to the Bridgehead Fortress.


    If these two events still seemed to have a cause and effect relationship, then the chain reactions they triggered propagated in a covert manner to the [Northern Encampment] twenty kilometers away.


    The commander of the Northern Encampment, Colonel Bod Daniel, could never have imagined that the reason for the Red River Tribe¡¯s desperate attack on the city was an accidental detour by a Federated Provinces artillery officer.


    The Northern Encampment had two infantry battalions and one cavalry squadron, plus an auxiliary unit of a hundred men, totaling close to thirteen hundred troops.


    The encampment was small, but it was sufficiently strong and stocked with plenty of food and ammunition.


    The only issue was ¡°water.¡±


    To occupy the higher ground, the encampment was built on a hillside.


    About three hundred meters from the Confluence River, the encampment couldn¡¯t directly access a water source.


    This wasn¡¯t initially a problem, as the encampment was originally set up to prevent the city¡¯s defenders from crossing the river and breaking out, better controlling the riverbank from a higher vantage point.


    But now that the Red River Tribe reinforcements had arrived ¡ª to the Paratu People¡¯s surprise ¡ª the Northern Encampment became the first to be hit.


    The Red River reinforcements were led by the uncles and brothers of White Lion Yasin, and they surrounded the Northern Encampment without attacking, clearly having seen through the weakness of its inability to access water.


    The Red River Tribe outside busied themselves with killing any Paratu soldiers trying to fetch water, while Colonel Bod inside hastened to dig wells, thus the siege became a stalemate.


    But yesterday morning, as if on cue, the Red River Tribe suddenly launched an all-out attack on the Northern Encampment.


    Colonel Bod didn¡¯t know that, twenty kilometers away ¡ª on the other side of the battlefield ¡ª the Terdon Tribe was also laying siege to Jeska¡¯s troops.


    Winters didn¡¯t know that the great fire they set could lead the Red River Tribe to fiercely attack the Northern Encampment.


    No one could see the whole picture of the battlefield, for there was no high ground from which to overlook the thousands of people fighting, suffering, and dying.


    For most people, war only happens within fifty meters around them.


    Pieces can¡¯t see the whole board; the soldiers are pieces, Winters is a piece, Jeska is equally a piece.


    Only a handful of individuals can be called players: White Lion Yasin, Sekler, Alpad¡­ But even they can¡¯t see the entirety of the board.


    Everyone is just struggling within the scope of what their eyes can see, their minds comprehend, and their powers can reach.


    Take Colonel Bod for example, he was only thinking about how to hold the Northern Encampment. The grand plan, he neither understood nor cared about.


    With a sudden exertion of force, the Red River Tribe caused the casualties of the Northern Encampment¡¯s defenders to soar.


    Colonel Bod was surprised to find that the attacking Red River Tribe had a considerable number of musketeers; knowing that some Herder tribes were still using bone arrows, stone arrows.


    Even the Northern Encampment¡¯s defenders didn¡¯t have cannons, yet the besieging Red River Tribe forces had brought out four¡ªthough they were not very accurate.


    The battle raged for an entire day, with the Red River Tribe exploiting the Northern Encampment¡¯s lack of heavy firepower, approaching with shield carts and methodically filling in the ditches.


    Colonel Bod took advantage of the night to lead his men over the wall, digging up the filled-in trenches again.


    When the Red River Tribe army realized the Paratu had left the encampment, they immediately sent cavalry charging.


    Both sides took turns in the darkness, clashing in disarray, each retreating after leaving behind a hundred corpses.


    ¡­


    At dawn today, a thin mist rose from the wilderness.


    Nearly ten thousand Red River Tribe soldiers lined up again outside the Northern Encampment, most of them choosing to fight dismounted.


    Most of the Red River soldiers were carrying horn composite bows, while a minority bore heavy muskets.


    The fog was detrimental to both weapons; the bows could come unglued, and the matchlocks would be more likely to extinguish.


    But thinking about the enemy suffering in the same harsh conditions, the mist became a little less unbearable.


    Through the thin mist, Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t see the enemy¡¯s setup, but he knew what it would be like.


    There would undoubtedly be shield carts, the treasured heirlooms of the Herders.


    There would also be ladders, as the Herders had already leveled several trenches the day before, pulling out quite a bit of the palisade¡¯s wood.


    Spades and picks would be there too, seemingly insignificant, but they spoke volumes.


    The cannons were what troubled Colonel Bod the most, as the opposing Red River general had realized his men were inept at gunnery, posing little threat.


    So, quickly changing tactics, the Red River general stopped lobbing solid shot from two hundred meters away.


    Instead, he mounted the cannons on shield carts, dragging them within forty meters to sweep the walls with grapeshot.


    Inside and out, the encampment was silent.


    ¡°You¡¯re not bad,¡± Colonel Bod, expressionless, stood by the rampart, muttering to himself in his mind, ¡°but I¡¯m not bad either. If you want to take the Northern Encampment, it won¡¯t happen without shedding some blood.¡±


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 Chapter 457 - 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_3

    Chapter 457: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_3


    ¡°Yahachi! Yahachi!¡± the Herders outside the wall began to chant in unison.


    ¡°Yahachi?¡± Colonel Bod grabbed a clump of withered grass and wiped his palms before casually asking the Translator beside him, ¡°What does it mean? Is it the enemy commander¡¯s name?¡±


    Dannel¡ªthe former merchant, now Translator, and bilingual talent conscripted into the army¡ªanswered with a mournful face: ¡°Yahachi probably means ¡®young lion.¡¯ [Hachi] stands for a child, [Ya] is lion, just as Yasin is White Lion. As for whether it¡¯s the name of the enemy commander, I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Young lion?¡± Colonel Bod raised an eyebrow, ¡°Could it be the brother of the Barbarian Chief Yasin? But I¡¯ve never heard that he had a brother¡­¡±


    The sound of horns rang out, and the Herders outside began to advance towards the camp.


    Colonel Bod waved his hand.


    ...


    The military flag fluttered as the Paratu gunners ascended the wall of the encampment, each selecting their position, setting up their muskets, and hanging their matches on the serpentine.


    The Herders advanced to one hundred meters. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The drummers began to beat a rapid rhythm. The gunners gently blew into the glowing embers of their matches, then flipped open the lids of their powder pans.


    Everyone held their breath and focused, waiting for the sound of gunfire to declare the beginning of that day¡¯s slaughter.


    Suddenly, a series of urgent gong sounds came from the outside.


    The Herders, who had surged in like a tide, retreated just like the receding sea.


    The Paratu People looked at each other in confusion, feeling utterly perplexed.


    ¡°Have everyone close their powder pan covers,¡± Colonel Bod ordered the signaler.


    There were commands for horns, flags, and drum beats, but none for ¡°close the powder pan covers.¡±


    The signaler received the order and ran around the walls in a circle, passing the message along.


    ¡°Look to the west!¡± someone exclaimed, ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Silence in the face of battle! Shut up!¡± an instant rebuke came from a soldier.


    But still, everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn their gaze to the west, where it seemed as if a forest was approaching the north encampment.


    A large army emerged from the mist, a real, substantial force.


    The flag bearer on a white horse held the eagle flag high, leading at the very front of the column.


    Behind him, row after row of pikemen emerged from the mist with no end in sight.


    The neat rows of long pikes, moving slowly to the beat of the drums, were like a forest swaying in the wind.


    ¡°The eagle flag! Reinforcements!¡± shouted an excited soldier from the northern fortress, ¡°The reinforcements are here!¡±


    Only a legion had the eagle flag. Its presence on the field meant the legion commander had come to the battlefield personally.


    This time, no one stopped the rash soldier from shouting because everyone was cheering with all their might.


    The Red River Tribe began to act as well. They retreated slightly but didn¡¯t leave the battlefield.


    They merely adjusted their direction, avoiding the position of being caught in a pincer attack, and turned their formation to face the newly arrived Paratu legion.


    More than a thousand cavalry left the main formation of the Red River Tribe and maneuvered towards the flank of the Paratu legion.


    Under the scrutiny of friend and foe alike, the newly arrived Paratu army unfolded their formation with a graceful movement.


    The mist gradually cleared, revealing the wilderness, the Confluence River, and Bianli across the river, all becoming progressively more visible.


    Before everyone¡¯s eyes stood four perfect square formations of a thousand men each, lined up in a row.


    The Paratu army did not enter the encampment but formed their ranks on the wilderness as if inviting the Red River Tribe to battle from afar.


    As the mist lifted, Colonel Bod¡¯s heart tightened all at once.


    The number of reinforcements was much smaller than he¡¯d imagined, a rough count suggesting no more than four thousand men, or eight battalions.


    ¡°What is the old man doing?¡± Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t help but kick the wall fiercely, shouting to the signaler, ¡°Tell all the Centurions to prepare to charge.¡±


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s cavalry held at least twice as many numbers. Despite sending out some of their cavalry to flank both sides, the main formation showed no significant movement, leaving their intentions unclear.


    Meanwhile, the Paratu square formations just stood there, as if certain the Herders would attack.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Those were cannon sounds, but they were quite deep, likely coming from afar.


    Colonel Bod surveyed his surroundings and saw smoke rising from behind Bianli City.


    The white smoke quickly turned black, and thick plumes bellied up from Bianli, piercing the sky.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s pupils dilated as he widened his eyes in shock, ¡°Has the old man gone mad?¡±


    At this moment, in West Guard City.


    The six infantry battalions that were besieging the city had started to hurl iron rings and wooden blocks coated with tar, resin, and licorice into the inner city using makeshift catapults.


    This was an inspiration the Paratu People got from the massive fire the Herders themselves had started¡ªthe outskirts were made of wooden walls with thatched roofs, and the inner city likely wasn¡¯t much different.


    Since it was a dry winter with the west wind blowing towards the inner city, all that was missing was a spark.


    Along with the makeshift catapults, they also brought out cannons, battering rams, and ¡°gunpowder coffins.¡±


    It seemed the Paratu army was determined to breach Bianli in one fell swoop.


    Sekler had already set the chessboard, patiently waiting for the White Lion Yasin to make his move.


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 Chapter 458 - 72: The Battle

    Chapter 458: Chapter 72: The Battle


    At this moment, the Red River Tribe reinforcements were less than ¡°one sheep¡± away from Bianli City in a straight line, with every arrow tower on the reddish-brown rammed earth walls clearly visible.


    [Note: ¡°One sheep¡± refers to the distance within which a flock of sheep is pastured, approximately 1.2¡ª2.5 kilometers. Similarly, there are measurements like ¡°one cow¡± and ¡°one horse,¡± which are Herders¡¯ units of measure.]


    Yet this short distance of one sheep seemed like an insurmountable chasm.


    Because standing in their way were four phalanxes of a thousand men each, one camp, and a river over a dozen meters wide filled with icy cold water.


    Chiliarch ¡°Owl Hawk¡± galloped into their own formation, rushing straight to the red-tasseled banner symbolizing the commander-in-chief before pulling the reins hard.


    The warhorse neighed, rearing up on its hind legs.


    ...


    Owl Hawk dismounted and, seething with anger, strode toward the banner, and demanded loudly, ¡°[Herde Language] Little Lion! Why aren¡¯t we moving?¡±


    [Note: The following speech by the Herders is all in Herde Language; it will not be marked separately.]


    Beneath the banner, the Little Lion referred to by Owl Hawk remained silent. His eyebrows were tightly knitted, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared unwaveringly at Bianli.


    Across the river, the earthen city was now shrouded in thick smoke, and the sounds of shouting, gunfire, and explosions were clearly audible.


    The Herders revered the color green, prizing green horses, green feathers, and green stones. Red, yellow, and blue were secondary, while white was considered the least.


    Several Herders standing next to the banner all had green plumes, indicating they were at least Chiliarchs.


    Little Lion, just like Owl Hawk, had only one green plumed feather on his helmet. However, compared to the other green plumes, he seemed far too young.


    Next to Little Lion stood another leader, whose helmet adorned three green plumed feathers that were longer than anyone else¡¯s.


    This older leader wore a full suit of armor, his face crisscrossed with deep lines, indicating an advanced age.


    Pointing with his riding crop at the ready Paratu People, the old leader said to Owl Hawk, ¡°The two-legged are in hedgehog formation, clearly waiting for us to attack. Knowing there¡¯s a cliff ahead, only a mad, stupid cow would jump off.¡±


    Owl Hawk, enraged, pointed at the old man¡¯s nose and cursed, ¡°Tie Duo, you¡¯re greedier than a wolf, more cunning than a fox¡ªyou just don¡¯t want to put in the effort! From the very start, it¡¯s been us fighting! Has your tribe ever shed blood? You¡¯d love for White Lion to die so you could swallow us whole!¡±


    A Chiliarch from behind the old leader flashed with anger, stepping out to grab Owl Hawk¡¯s shoulder armor.


    Owl Hawk restrained the man¡¯s forearm with his left hand and landed a fierce right hook, knocking the Chiliarch to the ground.


    The Chiliarch got up and was about to re-engage but was forced back by the gleaming tip of a blade.


    Owl Hawk, knife in hand, pointed it at the crowd and bellowed like thunder, ¡°White Lion made a pact with us, to lure the enemy out of their camp and then encircle and annihilate them. Now that they¡¯re here, you hesitate and fear? Is there a better opportunity than this? Or should we wait for them to enter our camp before we fight? Are you saying you don¡¯t harbor treacherous schemes?¡±


    Owl Hawk then roared at Little Lion, ¡°Little Lion, the sound of cannons in the city is like thunder, your blood kin brother is under attack¡ªare you also going to betray him?¡±


    Underneath the red-tasseled banner, everyone fell as silent as cicadas in winter.


    Little Lion ignored Owl Hawk completely, looking instead toward the old leader, ¡°Uncle, there is some truth to what Owl Hawk says. Bianli might not hold out much longer, we have to take the bait, poison or not. Besides, with the Paratu People divided, it is indeed a good opportunity. Defeating the enemy in front of us will cause the besiegers at Bianli to collapse without a fight.¡±


    The old leader of the Red River Tribe, ¡°Tie Duo [Tie Duo the Tooth Beggar],¡± stayed silent for a long while before finally nodding. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He said coldly to Owl Hawk, ¡°If I wanted to engulf White Lion¡¯s people, I wouldn¡¯t have followed you here in the first place.¡±


    Owl Hawk grunted, sheathing his knife.


    ¡°Your anger is like a wildfire.¡± Little Lion looked back at Owl Hawk, ¡°Don¡¯t burn your own people, set the Paratu People alight. I have a task for you.¡±


    ¡­


    The Herders made no significant movements, and the Paratu People weren¡¯t about to take the offensive, so the standoff continued.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert looked like a circus performer straddling the backs of two horses, observing the enemy¡¯s moves.


    His battalion, along with another, formed a thousand-man square on the far eastern end of the overall formation. The most dangerous positions at the ends were naturally entrusted to the most reliable troops.


    In Robert¡¯s view, any commander of sound mind would not mount a frontal assault on a large square formation.


    But Sekler gave the enemy general a reason he couldn¡¯t ignore ¡ª Bianli.


    He clearly informed the enemy commander: I¡¯ve split my forces into two¡ªone marching on Bianli, the other on you. If you defeat this force, the siege of Bianli will be broken; if you do not, you will breach the city today.


    Moreover, including the northern fort¡¯s garrison, Sekler only had about five thousand men at his disposal. In front of him, the vast army of the Red River Tribe looked like at least ten thousand cavalry.


    Five thousand versus ten thousand, foot soldiers against cavalry.


    Although Robert maintained his calm demeanor, he was still sweating bullets on the inside.


    The internal debates and decision-making process within the Herder army were, of course, beyond the Paratu People¡¯s knowledge.


    All Robert saw was the enemy beginning to stir, horses¡¯ hooves kicking up clouds of dust, cavalry flanking from both sides.


    Orders also came from the Paratu central army. The squares began to slowly move, one square advancing while the others closed in.


    The formation spread out in a line transformed into a character ¡°Æ·¡± arrangement.


    The Herder cavalry howled strangely, charging closer and closer, the momentum was indeed astonishing.


    ¡°Musketeers, ready!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert ordered.


    Musketeer Pinter, obeying orders, firmly planted the iron fork and steadied his musket.


    He knew he only had one chance for such a stable shot, so he aimed carefully.


    The flanking Herder cavalry charged to about a hundred meters, then suddenly turned their horses, revealing it to be a feint.


    Pinter¡¯s hand was steady. Such tricks could only scare recruits and clearly wouldn¡¯t fool Pinter or anyone else.


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 Chapter 459 - 72 Battle Meeting_2

    Chapter 459: Chapter 72 Battle Meeting_2


    The Paratu square formation was solemnly silent; no one fired prematurely, as the musketeers quietly awaited the order to shoot.


    The Hurd cavalry retreated to a slightly farther place, no longer charging to probe or dismounting, lingering at a distance.


    Colonel Robert couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips as he estimated the enemy had stopped at about two hundred meters away, neither far nor near.


    Two hundred meters, it would take cavalry twenty seconds at full sprint, at most thirty.


    Yet, this distance was also just beyond the effective range of the muskets.


    It had been said that if a person were shot and killed by a musket at two hundred meters away, it was no different than being struck dead by a meteorite.


    ...


    The Herders had gauged this distance accurately; if it wasn¡¯t a coincidence¡­ it meant that the enemy was well-informed about the capabilities of the Paratu muskets and had come prepared.


    While executing pincer movements on both flanks, the Red River Tribe made other moves as well.


    Over a thousand Herders dismounted and pushed their shield carts towards the square formation from the front.


    Seeing the Herders draw out their treasured shields, Colonel Robert began to change the formation accordingly.


    He clenched his fist, muttering resentfully, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we bring a few cannons? Then we wouldn¡¯t have to be bullied by shield carts.¡±


    Musketeer Pinter received orders and hurriedly ran with his comrades to form lines at the front of the square formation.


    The Hurd shield carts advanced to about two hundred meters and then stopped.


    Colonel Robert was surprised to find that among the Herders by the shield carts, quite a few were carrying muskets.


    First shock, then bewilderment; at a certain moment, Robert suddenly felt cold in his hands and feet.


    Meanwhile, the charge tune abruptly rang out, and the orderlies sprinted from the central army towards the west in all directions.


    ¡°The general commands an attack!¡± shouted the orderly as he ran towards Robert¡¯s formation, ¡°The general commands an attack!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, at attention!¡± roared Robert, ¡°Advance, march¡ªforward!¡±


    The Centurions and sergeants repeated the orders in succession.


    Pinter, carrying his musket, scrambled from the side to the front of the formation. He had just set up his gun and hadn¡¯t had time to fix the match.


    Hearing the sudden order, he was somewhat at a loss.


    Looking up ahead, Pinter saw the Herders lifting the canvas from the shield carts not far away.


    The dark muzzles of the canons were exposed.


    A flash of red light.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Twenty or so iron balls the size of walnuts shot out, scattering in the air like steel hail, sweeping across the Paratu formation.


    Pinter barely felt anything before his consciousness was extinguished. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His comrades only saw Pinter¡¯s body suddenly fall backwards; his musket slipping from his hand to the ground.


    His tent mates rushed to help him up, only to find that he had been hit straight in the forehead by an iron ball and was already dead.


    Four cannons fired in sequence, with the outer ring of musketeers in the formation continuously falling.


    Range is the hardcore truth; if I can hit you but you can¡¯t hit me, then you can only be beaten passively.


    After one round of fire, the Hurd gunners reloaded.


    The Paratu soldiers grew restless, having neither expected the Herd Barbarians to have cannons nor having been trained to ¡°stand and take a beating without response.¡±


    ¡°Advance!¡± Colonel Robert roared at the stunned soldiers around him: ¡°Normal pace! Advance!¡±


    The dazed drummers hurriedly beat the drums.


    Amidst the sound of drumming, the Paratu People quickly recovered from the shock and began to advance.


    They couldn¡¯t just stand there, taking beatings; they had to seize those four cannons.


    But more important than capturing the cannons was to maintain the cohesion of the formation.


    A normal pace of seventy-two steps per minute, with each step about sixty centimeters, it would take about five minutes to reach the two hundred meters to the cannon position¡ªif the cannons didn¡¯t move.


    Seventy-two steps per minute wasn¡¯t slow, but to most Paratu soldiers at this moment, this pace felt agonizingly slow.


    Yet, it was only at this speed that the large square formation could avoid collapsing.


    The Red River Tribe had only four cannons; a single barrage wouldn¡¯t kill many.


    However, with the dead in sight and the dying¡¯s screams in earshot, each round of fire was like drawing lots, where drawing meant death; no one wanted to partake in such a lethal lottery.


    The Paratu soldiers¡¯ throats were parched, their pace involuntarily quickened, and the formation started to become disarrayed.


    From time to time, soldiers would walk into other rows by mistake, or fall and disturb even more men.


    ¡°All Centurions! All sergeants!¡± Colonel Robert, seeing this and anxious at heart, commanded: ¡°Maintain formation!¡±


    The horns blared collectively, and the Herders were waiting for just this moment. The cavalry on both wings suddenly set off, launching a deluge-like charge at the Paratu army.


    The ¡°Cease March¡± tune came from the central army, its brief melody urgently repeated by the horn players.


    ¡°Stop! Everyone stop!¡± Lieutenant Roy, not sparing his magical power, ordered with sound amplification: ¡°Reform the lines!¡±


    The Paratu square halted and began to reorganize on the spot. The musketeers retreated inside the formation, while the pikemen leveled their pikes.


    Seizing the opportunity, the Hurd gunners executed a second volley, then quickly moved the cannons to a farther location.


    The Herders armed with muskets rapidly closed in on the Paratu square, clearly up to something.


    Colonel Robert was furious to the point of tearing at his hair, but his immediate concern was to withstand the Hurd cavalry¡¯s charge; he could only watch as the Herders shed blood.


    The military flag swayed, and the square formation of the central army thunderously unfolded.


    Lieutenant [Laszlo], holding the military flag high, led the way, with a hundred and fifty heavy halberdiers shouting and charging out of the formation, heading straight for the Herders¡¯ four cannons.


    This was a complete suicide mission, but the Paratu People had to eliminate those four cannons; otherwise, they would continue to be subjected to passive beatings.


    The Hurd musketeers retreated in panic, followed swiftly by over a hundred Hurd warriors surging from behind the shield carts to meet the charge of the Paratu heavy halberdiers.


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 Chapter 460 - 72 Battle_3

    Chapter 460: Chapter 72 Battle_3


    The Herders clad in double-layered heavy armor still moved with vigor. The weapons in their hands weren¡¯t the characteristic scimitars, but flails, heavy axes, and war hammers.


    The elite forces of both armies collided with a thunderous crash. As everyone was clad in heavy armor, it became exceptionally difficult to kill one another.


    When the war hammer struck a helmet, the iron was dented inward. Yet the person inside did not die instantly; blood backflowed into their trachea. Choking on blood, the soldier collapsed on the enemy, grabbed a halberd, and stabbed it into the opponent¡¯s mouth, all the way through.


    Almost no one received a clean, swift death. The combat turned into a kind of torture. Most who died did so from internal bleeding caused by multiple blunt force strikes.


    Friend and foe alike, some soldiers had their limbs broken but were not yet dead, and these iron men begged for a quick end.


    In the rear, the encirclement by the Herder cavalry was repulsed by the reformed large phalanx.


    ...


    Dozens of brave Herder cavalry charged into the phalanx, only to be quickly surrounded and killed by the halberdiers and spearmen inside.


    Up front, the Paratu halberdiers and Herder armor-clad soldiers were evenly matched.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What madness has Owl Hawk succumbed to?¡± Little Lion at the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, watching the battle, punched the flagpole: ¡°[Herde Language] I told him to retreat! Why hasn¡¯t he?¡±¡±


    The others fell silent.


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Tie Duo spoke a few words of justice for Owl Hawk: ¡°[Herde Language] With men screaming and horses neighing on the battlefield, how could he see your signal? If he retreats, and others think we¡¯re defeated, then what? Once you charge, you can¡¯t retreat, not even if you wanted to.¡±


    At the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, half of the cavalry still hadn¡¯t engaged in combat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The will of the Paratu People is very resilient; they can¡¯t be broken in an instant. We need to wear them down a few more times.¡±


    Little Lion noticed that the battle in front of the artillery position had reached a stalemate. He gestured to summon one of the Hong Lingyu and whispered instructions.


    A squadron of heavily armored cavalry detached from the main formation and galloped towards the center of the battlefield.


    Lieutenant Laszlo saw this approaching heavy cavalry and suddenly realized that this moment was the last chance to seize the artillery.


    ¡°Advance! Paratu Knights!¡± Lieutenant Laszlo stood on his stirrups and roared as he hurled the regimental banner toward the artillery: ¡°Summon your courage! Advance!¡±


    The regimental banner traced an arc through the air and landed next to the shield carts harboring the cannons.


    In this era, the Alliance¡¯s Standing Army was one of the few military units that possessed a sense of military honor.


    For the Standing Army, losing a regimental banner was equal not only to a court-martial but also to an immense disgrace.


    Throwing the regimental banner was a commander¡¯s last resort. It meant the battle had reached its final moment, and everyone had to fight with a resolve to either retrieve the banner or die trying.


    Ignoring his own safety, Lieutenant Laszlo charged toward the cannons, and the other halberdiers, eyes red with fury, recklessly rushed towards the banner, ultimately shattering the Herders¡¯ formation.


    The Herders¡¯ four cannons were quickly neutralized.


    Colonel Laszlo in the large phalanx felt his heart being torn apart. Watching his son disappear like a pebble into the waves, his vision darkened and he fell heavily from the saddle.


    ¡°Where are the reinforcements?¡±


    All the senior officers were asking this question in their minds.


    Behind a hill on the western side of the battlefield, Winters wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Colonel Jeska, ¡°They should be right ahead, I can hear something.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s battalion and all other auxiliary troops who could ride a horse¡ªmore accurately, who wouldn¡¯t be killed falling off one¡ªwere all present.


    Fortunately, the horses captured from the Herders were well-trained.


    A long ¡°Dragon Cavalry¡± line ended with two eight-horse-drawn wagons carrying two heavy six-pounder long cannons, each weighing 450 kilograms.


    Lieutenant Mason had brought all four of his ¡°daughters¡±¡ªfour light long cannons¡ªinto play.


    However, two of the wagons broke an axle en route, and in the end, only two ¡°daughters¡± made it to the battlefield.


    ¡°The main battle holds everything. Once it begins, all scattered forces must converge towards the central battlefield.¡±


    Thanks to Colonel Jeska¡¯s unexpectedly strong initiative, reinforcements arrived at the battlefield in a way no one had anticipated.


    And there was yet another unexpected development unfolding.


    Inside a huge felt tent at the very center of Bianli City, a dozen Shaman Priests adorned with colored woven garments, totemic bone masks, and decorated all over with bones, feathers, stones, and ribbons, sat around a campfire.


    The siege outside was reaching a fever pitch, with the deafening noise of gunfire, cannon fire, and blasting,


    yet inside the tent, all was eerily silent except for the crackling of the fire.


    A Shaman Priest entered from outside, reverently holding a still-beating horse¡¯s heart.


    The lead Shaman took the heart, and his hands were stained red with blood.


    Another Shaman threw a handful of powder into the flames, and the tent suddenly filled with smoke.


    The lead Shaman placed the heart on a golden tray, raised his dagger high, and plunged it down fiercely.


    The other Shamans, as if awakened from a deep slumber, began chanting in low, strange guttural tones¡ªa scene eerily entrancing and mystical.


    At the same time, a secret door on the northern wall of Bianli City exploded open.


    An agile azure horse was the first to charge through the smoke, its rider clad in striking crimson armor.


    Hundreds of elite Herder knights followed the red-armored rider, streaming out of the breach in the wall, heading straight for the Confluence River.


    All eyes were drawn to this sudden turn of events.


    Seeing the red armor and the azure horse, the morale of the Herders on the battlefield surged, and they shouted in fervor: ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Is that the Barbarian Chief Yasin?¡± Sekler¡¯s pupils dilated suddenly, and he couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself.


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 Chapter 461 - 72 Confrontation_4

    Chapter 461: Chapter 72 Confrontation_4


    ¡°`


    After playing a long-distance game for so long, this was Sekler¡¯s first time facing his opponent directly.


    ¡°Is that the White Lion? Why is he wearing red armor?¡± Winters on the hillside was baffled, ¡°Why is he charging into the river again??¡±


    What did the White Lion want to do? Winters soon understood.


    Although the river water did not freeze in winter, it was still bitterly cold.


    Yet the knight in red armor rode his horse into the Confluence River, intending to swim across while embracing the horse¡¯s neck¡ªand wearing armor.


    ...


    Due to the angle of view, most people on the battlefield could not see what was happening in the river.


    Standing on the western slope, Winters could see everything clearly:


    The river was only a dozen meters wide, but the red-armored knight was washed away by the torrent for at least fifty meters, several times his head was submerged and then he surfaced again, barely making it to the dry bank, a hair¡¯s breadth from death.


    Other Herders on the battlefield only saw the red-armored knight with his green horse disappear on the opposite bank of the river, then suddenly reappear on this side of the bank.


    ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin!¡± The cheering grew even more heated, piercing the sky.


    The elite Herder cavalry following the White Lion also waded into the river, with some being swept away by the undercurrent and others reaching the opposite bank.


    As the White Lion led the elite cavalry towards the battlefield, inside the central tent in Bianli City, the ritual had entered its most crucial part.


    The leading Shaman priest beat the lion-skin drum, dancing a dance that was frenzied, trance-like, yet carried a special kind of beauty.


    The other Shaman priests joined the dance one after another.


    Winters only felt a cold breeze sweeping over his body, making him involuntarily want to wrap his clothes tighter.


    Just as he was about to ask others if they felt the same, a severe phantom pain suddenly appeared for no reason.


    He hadn¡¯t entered a spellcasting state, yet the phantom pain couldn¡¯t be fake.


    Winters clenched his teeth tightly, let out an inhuman scream, and involuntarily curled into a tight ball.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska beside him was shocked and pale, not knowing what to do. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Within Major Robert¡¯s formation, Lieutenant Roy also grabbed his head, screaming as he fell off his saddle.


    Not only Winters and Roy, but all the Alliance Spellcasters within a two-kilometer radius were tormented by intense phantom pains to the point of being incapacitated, and some of the weaker Spellcasters even fainted on the spot.


    Inside the central tent in Bianli City, there were also Shaman priests collapsing during the dance.


    Blood constantly trickled from the corners of the leading Shaman priest¡¯s eyes and nose, yet his dance became even more intense and fervent.


    ¡°No! No!¡± Winters had only one thought left: ¡°No! No!¡±


    He concentrated all his spirit, focusing his consciousness on one point: ¡°No! Refuse! Stop!¡±


    It was like a guitar string snapping, and it almost seemed he could actually hear a ¡°snap¡±¡ªWinters suddenly broke free from the phantom pain, his whole body soaked in sweat.


    The first thing he saw were the concerned and worried faces of others.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Jeska¡¯s brow was furrowed, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Winters felt a chill on his cheek, he touched his left face, water?


    Was it sweat?


    Winters extended his hand to the sky, sharply feeling more cold droplets falling onto his palm.


    High in the sky, within the dense dark clouds, at a place no one could see, countless almost invisible tiny droplets were rapidly forming in the air.


    The more water vapor they absorbed, the bigger the droplets became. Until they were too large to float in the air, they all plunged toward the ground.


    ¡°Rain covers!¡± Winters struggled to get up, he shouted hoarsely, ¡°Rain covers! Get the rain covers!¡±


    The others sensed the anomaly too; Lieutenant Mason sprinted towards the cannons and powder kegs, stripping off his clothes as he ran.


    But for most on the battlefield, it was already too late.


    The transformation from a few droplets to a downpour seemed to happen in an instant.


    The deluge came so swiftly and ferociously that there was no time to react.


    Matchlocks were extinguished, gunpowder was soaked, the blazing fires of Bianli turned to wisps of smoke, and all the gunpowder weapons were rendered useless.


    The six assault squads attacking the city withdrew in disarray under the onslaught of the heavy rain.


    Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Confluence River, thousands of Herder cavalry were launching an unstoppable charge towards the Paratu formation.


    The White Lion in red-armored green horse led the way.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 462 - 73: Charge

    Chapter 462: Chapter 73: Charge


    The torrential rain rendered the gunpowder useless, and half of the Paratu soldiers¡¯ weapons became nothing more than clubs, but the other half of the Paratu soldiers¡¯ weapons remained faithful and reliable.


    For the Paratu army, the blow to morale caused by the downpour was far greater than the actual combat losses it inflicted.


    ¡°Paratu People! Summon your courage!¡± Officers of all ranks strove to maintain order, running through the formations shouting, ¡°Hold the line!¡±


    Sekler was personally waving the eagle flag to boost morale.


    ¡°Hold steady! Children! Hold steady!¡± Sekler urged the musketeers to draw their swords and fight; his voice was so hoarse that it was barely audible as he continued to shout, ¡°Hold your ground! Not a devil can harm a hair on your head! But if you run, it will devour each and every one of you!¡±


    Compared to the astonishing noise of the torrential rain, another blow suffered by the Paratu army seemed minor, but the destruction it caused was no less devastating than the rainfall.


    ...


    Within the four formations, all the spellcaster officers had been incapacitated, and three of them had even lost consciousness.


    Those spellcasters who were unconscious were actually fortunate, because those who remained awake were trapped in excruciating phantom pains, enduring a fate worse than death.


    Lieutenant Roy screamed like a dying beast; he lay in the mud, his body convulsing uncontrollably.


    The men around him searched his whole body but found no wounds.


    Roy himself felt as though he was repeatedly being dipped into a cauldron of boiling oil.


    His consciousness was extremely clear, so clear that he could feel the unbearable severity of phantom pains.


    The others were as frantic as ants on a hot pan, watching Lieutenant Roy suffer, unsure of what to do.


    Robert dashed over and covered the lieutenant with his coat.


    The colonel then used his dagger to cut off a piece of his sleeve and ordered the soldiers around him to pry open Roy¡¯s clenched teeth; he bunched up the piece of sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth.


    It was to prevent Lieutenant Roy from biting his tongue, as well as to prevent him from making any more sounds that could destroy the will of others.


    Roy bit the cloth, moaning in low whimpers, his seven-foot frame huddled into a small ball beneath the cashmere coat.


    ¡°Carry the lieutenant to the center of the formation!¡± Robert, in his one-sleeved shirt, took over the military standard, ¡°Protect him well!¡±


    The Paratu army communicated orders with flags, horns, and small drums, but the information that could be conveyed by flag signals, calls, and drum sounds was limited.


    More refined battle commands heavily relied on the assistance of spellcasters.


    Now, with the spellcaster officers within the formations incapacitated, it was as if an important means of battle communication for the Paratu army had been destroyed.


    The sounds of rain, hooves, and shouting merged into one, making any order Sekler wanted to give impossible to convey with precision.


    The Paratu army¡¯s only remaining spellcaster¡ªWinters Montagne at this point was unaware of this; he was not within the formation.


    Having disconnected the ¡°link¡± very early on, Winters had not ¡°overloaded¡± this time.


    The phantom pain came quickly and left even faster. He was still feeling intermittent stabs of pain, but the intensity was not unbearable; he could grit his teeth and endure.


    When Winters, Mason, and others pushed the two cannons up the slope, the Paratu army was in its most critical moment.


    The four-thousand-man formations were compressed and bent; the northern formation was even on the verge of turning into a triangle.


    But the Paratu people were as resilient as steel bars.


    Under immense external force, the steel bar, although already emitting piercing creaks, stubbornly held on, not yet collapsing.


    Not many warhorses dared to charge into the sharp spear forest, and the Herders were equally hesitant.


    The horses became a nuisance, with some ferocious Herder centurions simply dismounting to fight on foot.


    Depending on their sturdy armor, they used shields and scabbards to fend off spear tips, forcing their way into the spear forest and swinging their scimitars to slaughter the Paratu people.


    Other brave Herder soldiers followed suit; those without armor crawled under the spaces below the spear shafts.


    Sword-and-shield-wielding Paratu soldiers rushed out of the formation to intercept the enemy; the two sides battled within the forest of spear shafts.


    Some Herder cavalry dismounted but kept their distance, instead displaying their signature skills: [powerful bows and heavy arrows, shooting faces from ten steps away].


    Rainwater could cause composite bows to delaminate, but they could still be used with some effort.


    But the Paratu soldiers, now without the cover of muskets, essentially had no means of retaliation.


    They could only watch helplessly as the Herder archers drew their bows and aimed their arrows at unprotected parts like their eyes, armpits, and calves¡ªmost of the spearmen were only half armored.


    Unable to bear the pressure of watching themselves being shot to death, some Paratu soldiers roared as they rushed out of the formation, heading towards the Herder archers.


    Yet once they left the protection of their formation, they were quickly surrounded and killed by the Herders.


    Winters saw the White Lion and several Green Plumed Feathers commanding on the western side of the formation; the crimson armor and iridescent warhorses were particularly conspicuous in the rain.


    Under their command, the Herders breached gaps between the formations, forcing each formation to spread outwards.


    Winters understood at a glance: the White Lion was trying to split up the T-shaped four formations, preventing them from covering each other, then defeating them one by one.


    And the Paratu army¡¯s only hope was to concentrate their forces, bringing the four formations together into one large formation to face the enemy.


    But under the pressure of the Herders¡¯ heavy troops, the Paratu people dared not make any move.


    Both sides were still engaged in bloody combat, with each formation under immense pressure. At this time, changing formation was equivalent to confusing their own deployment, giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit.


    The Paratu people needed time¡­ time to catch their breath.


    Jeska¡¯stroops were assembling on the reverse slope of the hill.


    Colonel Jeska used a few brief and to the point sentences for the pre-battle mobilization


    Rescuing Sekler¡¯s troops was the same as saving themselves.


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 Chapter 463 - 73 Charge_2

    Chapter 463: Chapter 73 Charge_2


    ¡°`


    Defeat in the main battle renders victories on subordinate fronts meaningless. When the main force is annihilated, auxiliary troops will not survive either.


    Mason and Winters were busying themselves around a cannon.


    ¡°Can the ammunition be used?¡± Colonel Jeska came over and asked.


    ¡°The shells are fine! There¡¯s only a little gunpowder left.¡± Mason¡¯s lips were trembling as he cursed, ¡°Damn! What kind of weather is this! It starts raining just like that! And in winter too!¡±


    ¡°Is it still possible to fire?¡± the colonel asked again.


    ...


    ¡°I can.¡± Winters gritted his teeth and answered, ¡°I¡¯ll use magic to ignite it through the tarp, as long as no water gets into the bore.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then fire them all!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s tone remained cool as usual, and with those words left. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His expression was also the usual, impassive, betraying no hint of emotions, with only his remaining right eye fixedly staring at people.


    Yet it was this very face that normally made people avert their gaze, that now brought everyone an odd sense of stability.


    The irritated Mason kicked a carriage fiercely, and sullenly said, ¡°If I can survive and get home this time, I swear I¡¯ll never use this kind of junk carriage again!¡±


    Four cannons set off at the beginning, but only two remained upon arrival at the battlefield.


    For most of the artillery, the barrel and the carriage required separate transportation.


    Some light artillery had their own carriages and could be directly towed.


    But these four six-pounder long cannons meant for defending the fort had none, so they were brought on ordinary horse-drawn carriages.


    Even if there were gun carriages, the [suspensions] and [bearings] were insufficient to support fast and long-distance travel.


    The carriages of the time consisted of wooden wheels on iron axles, moving as if at a snail¡¯s pace, with creaking sounds audible from a mile away.


    They couldn¡¯t even keep up with the pace of foot soldiers, let alone follow Colonel Jeska¡¯s ¡°Dragon Cavalry¡± troops on the march.


    Hence, ¡°my beautiful daughters,¡± as Lieutenant Mason referred to his cannons, used makeshift carriages adapted from passenger horse-drawn carriages.


    For comfortable riding, passenger carriages were equipped with expensive [leather strap suspenders] and even pricier [cage ball bearings]¡ªearly versions of ball bearings.


    Despite having suspensions and bearings, even just transporting light artillery weighing 450 kilograms resulted in two carriages getting trashed along the rough way.


    ¡°What about the shrapnel shells?¡± Winters suddenly remembered, ¡°Have they gotten wet?¡±


    Mason dumped the rainwater from his helmet beside his feet, ¡°No, they¡¯re all fine. But if the rain doesn¡¯t stop, you won¡¯t be able to use them either.¡±


    On the battlefield, people¡¯s vision was obstructed by the rain, temporarily preventing anyone from noticing a squad of Paratu soldiers behind a hill about six hundred meters away.


    Mason set up a tarpaulin over the cannon and began to load it with the gunners.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Mason, ¡°It¡¯s likely we only have one chance to fire¡­ we can¡¯t do it here¡­¡±


    At this critical juncture, five officers from Jeska¡¯s troops drafted a new battle strategy in the rain.


    Mason roared, ¡°Damn it! Double the charge! Two rounds of ammunition! Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    All those able to ride were ordered to retrieve their horses, and amidst the crowd, Winters caught sight of Pierre.


    Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell no longer looked anything like the noble Dusack.


    Now, Pierre¡¯s eye sockets were sunken, his cheeks gaunt, and his cheekbones protruded prominently.


    He was frowning, biting on a tassel, and silently and meticulously arranging his saddle.


    His companions¡ªthe once laughing and frolicking kids from Wolf Town¡ªwere all the same.


    No, to be precise, they were no longer children.


    Winters blinked, and just like that, they had all grown up.


    Noticing the Centurion watching him, Pierre took off his helmet and held it to his chest, nodding in salutation.


    Winters nodded back.


    The two, separated by a dozen meters, thus silently greeted each other.


    The preparations were quickly finished.


    Taking a dozen or so gunners, Winters and Mason pushed the gun carriages down the slope, with the others standing by on the counterslope.


    The vent and the muzzle of the cannons were covered with leather, and the barrel was concealed by tarps.


    All those pushing the gun carriages were temporarily dressed in Herder armor, looking like a troop of Herders from a distance.


    Since it was necessary to be able to fire at a moment¡¯s notice, horses couldn¡¯t be used to drag the cannon, so everyone relied on manpower alone to push.


    First, it was downhill, with Winters clutching the carriage frame, cautiously controlling the speed.


    Afterward, as the slope leveled off, progress became increasingly difficult; everyone chanted in low voices, advancing at walking speed.


    Fifty meters, a hundred meters, two hundred meters¡­


    Although it was still raining, those pushing the cannons were already drenched in sweat.


    There was sweat from the heat and sweat from fear.


    The further they pushed, the more frequently Herder cavalry passed by their sides.


    The chaotic sounds of battle filled the area, and most of the Herder cavalry couldn¡¯t be bothered with the handful of cart-pushers, narrowly zooming past the cannons.


    Occasionally a Herder would speak up, but Winters didn¡¯t let Bell reply, just waved through the curtain of rain and continued pushing forward.


    The closer they pushed the two cannons towards the rider in red armor on a green horse, the nearer they got.


    When they were less than a hundred meters away from the red-armored, green-horse rider, Mason called a halt.


    The artillery lieutenant whispered, ¡°Stop pushing, this distance is perfect. If we push any closer, the killing range will actually decrease.¡±


    Then, Mason crouched behind the cannon, starting to adjust the firing angle.


    Winters, Mason, two gun carriages and a dozen or so gunners were now practically among the Herders.


    Rows of Herder cavalry galloped past them; the slightest mistake in revealing their identity and they would be utterly destroyed.


    But this was the last resort; the Paratu phalanx was disintegrating, and they had to resort to desperate measures.


    The gunners were tense, their heads bowed as they stared at the muddy water on the ground, swallowing saliva continuously.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Winters, gritting his teeth, asked, ¡°Is it set yet?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 464 - 73 Charge_3

    Chapter 464: Chapter 73 Charge_3


    ¡°That guy is making a move!¡± Mason also gritted his teeth in response, ¡°What can I do if he moves?¡±


    The cavalryman in red armor and on a green horse stood atop a mound on the west side of the square formation, pacing back and forth on his horse as if issuing commands.


    Manning the firecannon, Mason followed the adversary¡¯s movements, making slight adjustments to the angle.


    The most dreaded events often happen at the least desired times.


    A Hong Lingyu, accompanied by a dozen cavalrymen, charged over furiously, shouting, ¡°Herde Language] You armoured soldiers dare to falter in battle? Who¡¯s in charge?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language] We did not falter, our leader is Eagle!¡± Bell answered.


    ...


    [Note: Eagle is a commonly used name among the Herders]


    The Hong Lingyu, without slowing down, demanded, ¡°Herde Language] Too many Eagles?! Which one?¡±


    Seeing the Hong Lingyu approaching, Winters steeled his heart, grabbed Mason¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll make him stop; make sure you aim well!¡±


    ¡°How will you get him to stop?¡± Mason responded in utter shock.


    Winters took a deep breath, entering a state to cast spells.


    Despite the lingering phantom pain, he poured all his magical power into a roar, ¡°Yasin!!!¡±


    This roar erupted like thunder, sweeping across the wasteland, audible to every Herder within Bianli City.


    Both sides engaged in the fight even involuntarily paused, the knight on the green horse also couldn¡¯t help but look toward the source of the sound.


    Winters only felt warmth in his left ear; upon touching it, his hand came away bloody.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is not something you¡¯re worthy of calling out!¡± raged the Hong Lingyu who had regained his senses.


    ¡°Is it ready now?¡± Winters stared intently at the man in red armor.


    ¡°This one¡¯s ready!¡± Mason bellowed, leaping to another firecannon.


    Winters abruptly yanked off the cover from the cannon¡¯s muzzle and, through the tarpaulin, invoked a fire spell into the gunpowder at the breech.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    The cannon¡¯s carriage broke under the force of the recoil, sending splinters flying.


    The barrel soared into the air¡ªit was only tied down to the cart with ropes¡ªflying toward the area behind Winters.


    A storm of steel swept across the battlefield; the cavalrymen to the right of the knight in red armor were wiped out, but the rider himself remained unscathed.


    After the first shot missed, Winters shouted, ¡°Again!¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Mason yelled back.


    The cover of the second six-pound bronze long cannon¡¯s muzzle was opened.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Double the powder, double the shot.


    The immense propulsive force of the burning gunpowder instantly sent one hundred and fifty spherical lead bullets flying out of the barrel, with the recoil causing the cannon to roll and bounce.


    The cloth bag filled with lead balls burst at the muzzle, scattering one hundred and fifty bullets into the air, spreading into a disc-shaped cloud of projectiles.


    Like one hundred and fifty arrows, accompanied by the shrieks of death, they flew toward the knight in red armor.


    The sudden turn of events left everyone with no time to react.


    The first cannon was still tumbling through the air and had not yet hit the ground.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion!¡± Only Chiliarch Owl Hawk instinctively lunged toward the blue-gleaming horse, using his body to shield the knight in red armor.


    ¡°Pffft,¡± ¡°Pffft,¡± ¡°Pffft¡±¡­


    A succession of horrifying sounds of lead bullets entering flesh.


    The lead bullets did not distinguish between Hong Lingyu, Red Lingyu, or Green Plumed Feathers.


    Nor did they differentiate between human and horse.


    The lead bullets were equal-opportunity destroyers of all living things.


    Everyone around the knight in red armor¡ªincluding himself¡ªwas struck down.


    The magnificent blue-gleaming warhorse was killed on the spot, along with several horses lying on the ground, wailing.


    ¡°Clang!¡± The first-fired cannon had just hit the ground.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters picked up a spear, knocking down the Hong Lingyu [Herde Constabulary] from the saddle in front of him.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Colonel Jeska stabbed fiercely into the horse¡¯s flank, charging out ahead of everyone from the slope.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Piaoqi Troops, Dusacks, mounted infantry¡­ over four hundred Cavalry followed the one-eyed colonel¡¯s charge from behind the hill.


    The cavalry split into two groups, the left wing following Jeska, and the right following Andre, both sides attacking toward where White Lion Yasin had fallen.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion! Save the White Lion!¡± The Herders beside the mound rushed over frantically.


    Other Herder Cavalry abandoned the formation, throwing themselves recklessly to intercept the Paratu Cavalry. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was blocked by the Herders, watching helplessly as the Herders by the mound carried off their leader in red armor, unconscious, on horseback.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is dead!¡± Bell shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is dead!¡±


    Everyone in Jeska¡¯s unit shouted ¡°White Lion is dead,¡± as they had been taught.


    Fear and hesitation began to spread among the Herders.


    More and more Herders started to leave the battle, heading toward the remote main encampment of the Red River Tribe.


    ¡°Quickly reform the formation!¡± Winters ordered sternly.


    As for whether the White Lion was truly dead, he had no certainty.


    Even if the White Lion were dead, the Herders still held an absolute advantage in forces.


    Unexpected reinforcements had given the Paratu People a moment to breathe; the four square formations, already on the verge of collapse, suddenly had the chance to regroup and rally.


    The Paratu people left behind the corpses, hurrying toward the main formation where Sekler was.


    ¡°All formations! Do not act without orders!¡± A dozen messengers ran among the formations, ¡°Musketeers! Pick up your spears! Anyone without a weapon shall be decapitated!¡±


    Gales do not last all morning, sudden rains do not last all day.


    The rain was quickly lessening, and after a brief skirmish with the Herders, Jeska¡¯s Cavalry retreated back toward the large formation.


    The Paratu army, which had not disintegrated in the previous bloodbath, now verged on breaking down as soon as the fighting paused.


    Sekler dispatched constabulary on the spot to execute more than a dozen people to stop the disorderly rush of Paratu soldiers toward the main formation.


    The officer responsible for arranging the formation was known as the ¡°Formation Leader,¡± and Sekler personally took on the role this time.


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 Chapter 465 - 73 Charge_4

    Chapter 465: Chapter 73 Charge_4


    The spear and halberd units were first concentrated, beginning to redeploy.


    The musketeers stood by where they were, most holding their side swords, while a few had found long spears and heavy halberds from the bodies.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion remained outside, it wasn¡¯t their turn to enter the large square formation yet.


    Winters saw everything, anxious at heart; this was the moment when the large square formation was at its most vulnerable, even more so than before.


    What was worse, the thundering sound of hooves rose again.


    Hundreds of black-armored cavalry charged out from the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, heading straight for the Paratu square formation.


    ...


    Leading the charge was the Barbarian Chief in red armor, only now on an even more conspicuous red warhorse.


    More and more Herder cavalry followed the black-armored cavalry out of their main formation. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s cavalry from the main formation¡ªthe Herders¡¯ reserve forces¡ªalso joined in this charge.


    Finally, all the disorganized Herder cavalry were deployed.


    The Herder general clearly understood that if the large square formation were allowed to form again¡­ whose morale would collapse first was still uncertain.


    Although the Herders were chaotic at the moment, the Paratu army was even more disordered.


    The Herder general intended to fight chaos with chaos.


    Officers could no longer restrain their soldiers, and the Paratu People surged into the large square formation, nearly collapsing the yet-to-be-arranged formation.


    ¡°All who hold long weapons! To the outside!¡± Sekler roared to the sky, ¡°Alpad! If you don¡¯t come now, we are all going to die here!¡±


    The rain stopped completely at this moment.


    Winters felt the earth trembling.


    The Herders were turning around! Something must have happened!


    ¡°Our cavalry!¡± someone shouted with surprise.


    Behind the Herder cavalry, thousands of Paratu cavalry were launching a charge like an avalanche.


    From afar, it looked like a long line constantly moving and pushing forward.


    Rows of warhorses charged at full speed, their manes fluttering in the wind, their heads bowed during the fierce charge, the earth trembling beneath their hooves, as if it might tear apart any second.


    Leading this charge was a squadron of lancers, the Alliance¡¯s last of the heavy armored lancers.


    On the flanks of the lancers were pistol-armed cavalry for protection, followed by light cavalry.


    Thousands of Paratu cavalry formed a huge wedge formation.


    Irresistible, invincible.


    Everyone on the battlefield who saw this would never forget the terror and magnificence of this charge for the rest of their lives.


    At the very front of the spearhead, Major General Alpad raised his lance and yelled with delight, ¡°Come on! Children! Come! Warriors of Paratu! Sekler is still waiting for us to save his ass!¡±


    The clouds parted, and a ray of sunlight shone upon Alpad, his armor gleaming brilliantly as if he were divine.


    The bugler sounded the charge.


    ¡°Long live the Legion! Long live Paratu!¡± The Paratu cavalry roared the battle cry that had brought fear and death to their enemies for hundreds of years: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The main force of the Paratu army¡­ has never been infantry.


    It¡¯s just that the main force¡¯s great flanking maneuver took some time and effort.


    And Sekler¡¯s reliance was never on square formation tactics; it was Alpad who gave Sekler the confidence to face over ten thousand Herder cavalry with a legion standing back to the river.


    Sekler and Alpad.


    [Ice] and [Fire].


    [Anvil] and [Hammer].


    General Yanosh relied on these two weapons, time and again sweeping across the wilderness.


    Now, Paratu¡¯s [Anvil] and [Hammer] were about to smash the Herders in one fell swoop.


    ¡­


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± Inside the square formation, the Paratu People were moved to tears.


    The Herder cavalry instantly fell into panic, some turning to face the charge, while others tried to flee the battlefield.


    ¡°Deploy the square formation!¡± Sekler bellowed, ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    No one cared about formations anymore, the Paratu People picked up any weapon they could lay their hands on and attacked the bewildered Herders.


    Even Jeska¡¯s battalion of mounted infantry were boiling with blood, charging forward with shouts.


    The Herder cavalry instantly fell into panic, some turning to face the charge, while others tried to flee the battlefield.


    The cavalry of both sides collided with a thunderous impact.


    The Herders turning to face battle were like butter sliced by a hot knife, instantly split into two.


    The impact of the Herders¡¯ warhorses was far inferior to that of the Paratu¡¯s heavy warhorses; the ones in front nearly collapsed upon contact.


    The Paratu cavalry charged wildly, like a scythe sweeping through a wheat-field, pistols emptied, lances dropped, they immediately drew their sabers to stab and hack.


    Soon, the momentum of the charge slowed, and the battle turned into a melee.


    Light cavalry, heavy cavalry, Paratu cavalry, Herder cavalry, all chased and fought each other over the vast wilderness, exchanging blows.


    Haug led his squadron of heavy cavalry into the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, straight towards where the standards flew.


    The old chief Tie Duo hurriedly fled after putting the injured White Lion on a horseback. He didn¡¯t even have time to take the horse-tail standard.


    The White Lion was wounded, but not mortally. It was the White Lion¡¯s brother, Little Lion, who had charged in red armor just before.


    Haug pressed all the way to the standard, riding down the flagpole with his warhorse.


    The morale of the Herders on the battlefield completely collapsed, and they scattered and ran in all directions.


    Winters didn¡¯t chase the fleeing enemies; he was very tired and just wanted a good sleep. Besides, his left ear seemed to have gone deaf.


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 Chapter 466 - 74: Entering the City

    Chapter 466: Chapter 74: Entering the City


    In the makeshift medical station, Bard was examining Winters¡¯s left ear injury.


    Understanding the structure of hearing organs involves anatomical knowledge, which probably only Father Caman within a hundred kilometers understands, so Bard couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    ¡°Am I going to be deaf like this?¡± Winters asked with a mix of bitterness and grievance.


    ¡°No,¡± Bard comforted. ¡°Major Moritz recovered completely in the end.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Bleeding means there¡¯s a wound, so don¡¯t touch it. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ...


    After settling Winters, Bard began treating the other wounded.


    According to military regulations, the medical station should be set up at the safe rear. However, Bard found that the sooner the wounded received treatment, the better¡ªeven if it was just the simplest treatment.


    Thus, his temporary medical station was set up on the battlefield: carts served as operation tables, stretchers were made with long spears, and the tools were just small knives, pliers, and sewing needles.


    When Standing Army soldiers were taken back to the main camp for treatment, Jeska¡¯s militia could remove arrowheads, take out lead bullets, and sew up sword cuts in the temporary medical station.


    However, amputation and other surgical procedures needed to be done at the legionary medical station.


    Within three minutes, Bard saw Winters rushing into the medical station again.


    ¡°But Major had both ears, I only have the left¡­¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry,¡± Bard replied while stitching.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Three minutes later.


    ¡°How do you know it¡¯s nothing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Another three minutes passed.


    ¡°What if I can¡¯t recover? Am I really going to be deaf? I¡­¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t, just don¡¯t touch it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another three minutes went by.


    Winters ran into the medical station once again.


    ¡°Give me a break,¡± Bard said with a wry smile.


    ¡°We¡¯re ordered to clean the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to go too?¡±


    ¡°That.¡± Winters scratched his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you come here?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to ask¡­ are you really sure I¡¯m okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡­


    Some say: after a great battle, there comes a great rain.


    But this time was different.


    The rainfall had already been spent in advance, and as the sounds of slaughter gradually disappeared, the long-absent sun finally showed its true face.


    The bright sunshine spread across the earth, bringing a touch of warmth.


    The raindrops on the grass leaves reflected specks of light, making the wasteland seem covered in a sheer veil.


    The beauty of the battlefield made everything seem unreal, only the cold corpses remorselessly reminded people of what had just happened here.


    Paratu soldiers were spaced out in two loose lines, cleaning the battlefield.


    Cleaning the battlefield meant collecting usable items, delivering mercy to dying enemies, and making sure the dead enemies were thoroughly dead.


    General Sekler didn¡¯t even give time for rest, as soon as the fighting within his view had ended, he urged all soldiers who could move to start work.


    Jeska¡¯s militia were also among those cleaning the battlefield, and after several ¡°exercises,¡± everyone was very proficient at this job¡ªperhaps even more than the Standing Army.


    Everyone carried both long and short weapons. Upon encountering enemy corpses, they first used the long weapons to strike, then used short knives to cut off ears for merit.


    Winters, riding strong Fergus, followed behind a single-horse cart.


    From time to time, militia would put bloody armor and weapons onto the cart. There were those of Herders and also their own.


    Andre and Mason rode abreast with him, chatting sporadically.


    As Winters stroked Fergus¡¯s mane, he casually remarked, ¡°There should definitely be a cavalry unit attached to each battalion.¡±


    Andre couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°Assigning a cavalry unit to an infantry battalion? Might as well say assigning an infantry battalion to a cavalry unit. You¡¯re not considering the costs.¡±


    ¡°To put it differently, mixing cavalry and infantry at the battalion level would be useful.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, cavalry is always useful, having four legs is indeed faster than two. But cavalry cannot be dispersed; they must be concentrated. They could be assigned to infantry battalions depending on the situation.¡± Andre summed up, ¡°The reason you have this impression is that we¡¯ve always operated independently.¡±


    Winters looked thoughtfully at Mason, ¡°Senior, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Not enough belts. If the axle is strong enough, maybe we can do without suspension. But the cannons and carriages need to be lighter,¡± Mason said, tossing out a seemingly unrelated sentence.


    With a teasing tone, Andre asked, ¡°Still pondering your daughter¡¯s affairs?¡±


    Mason, without batting an eyelid, shot back, ¡°You two are going on about combining cavalry and infantry, but what about adding artillery into the mix?¡±


    ¡°First, the cannons need to keep up with the marching speed¡ªnot even with the cavalry, but at least they should keep up with the infantry, right?¡± Andre patted his senior¡¯s shoulder, speaking in a carefree manner, ¡°Why are we three little Centurions studying these matters?¡±


    ¡°Right! Why bother studying these? Once back in Paratu, won¡¯t I still end up raising pigs?¡± Mason burst into laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.


    Winters felt sorrowful inside and softly consoled his senior, ¡°True gold always shines in the end.¡±


    Mason just shook his head with a smile without saying a word.


    The loose double lines kept moving forward.


    A militiaman waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Sir! We found a survivor!¡±


    ¡°Can he speak?¡± Andre asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Take him to the Colonel.¡±


    Whether or not a Herder prisoner of war could speak was a dividing line determining their life or death.


    When it came to executing prisoners, Vineta¡¯s military was relatively restrained. They didn¡¯t do it unless necessary.


    As for the Paratu People, they had no psychological burden in executing Herder prisoners. Whether to keep prisoners alive depended entirely on transport capacity, battle conditions, and the mood of the commander.


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 Chapter 467 - 74 Entering the City_2

    Chapter 467: Chapter 74 Entering the City_2


    ¡°`


    Unbeknownst to themselves, Winters and his companions gradually became assimilated into the cruel customs of the ¡°frontiersmen¡±.


    A messenger Cavalry with green plumed feathers approached from afar, loudly asking everywhere, ¡°Where is Jeska¡¯s company?¡±


    Winters beckoned the messenger over.


    The messenger respectfully asked, ¡°May I know which one of you is Officer Montaigne? Which one is Officer Mason?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The general wants to see both of you.¡±


    ¡­


    The messenger Cavalry led the two Centurions at a gallop.


    ¡°General?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speculate wildly, ¡°Alpad? Sekler? What do they want with me?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived that he realized there was a problem with the messenger¡¯s grammar. It wasn¡¯t ¡°the general¡±, but ¡°the generals¡±.


    Alpad and Sekler were both surrounded by a host of field officers, with Lieutenant Colonel Jeska also present.


    Winters felt uncomfortable all over, for he noticed that the field officers were staring intently at him and Mason, some with eyes green with envy.


    He also noticed that the two generals were standing on the small mound that had been shelled where Yasin, the White Lion, had been hit.


    ¡°You two lads, what are you standing around for?¡± General Alpad called out to the two Centurions with a swagger: ¡°Come here!¡±


    The small area looked very tragic, with dead bodies of men and horses scattered about. Combined with the rain and trampling, it had turned into a quagmire.


    Disfigured bodies soaked in the mud, beginning to turn pale.


    Winters¡¯ attention was drawn to an arm.


    The arm was stuck forlornly in the mud¡ªapparently a left hand¡ªpointing towards the sky.


    As for the rest of the body¡­ who knows where it had gone.


    Whether the arm left the body or the body left the arm was also hard to determine.


    Would a butcher be moved by the sight of a slaughterhouse?


    Winters didn¡¯t know, but he did feel something indescribable¡ªnot guilt, but neither joy.


    Alpad leaned on a cavalry saber and pointed at the corpse of a shiny horse, sizing up the two men and asking, ¡°Jeska tells me it was you two lads who fired the shot that killed Yasin?¡±


    Jeska nodded slightly towards Winters.


    ¡°We fired the cannon, general,¡± Winters answered straightforwardly. ¡°But the enemy chieftain Yasin should not be dead.¡±


    Alpad clapped his hands and laughed, ¡°The prisoner confessed that Yasin was severely injured, might well be dead by now.¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Major General kicked a helmet with Green Plumed Feathers at his feet, jokingly saying, ¡°Whether Yasin¡¯s dead or not, your shot made him bleed profusely. You killed four Chiliarchs with one shot! If I hadn¡¯t counted four helmets myself, I would have thought Jeska was drunk.¡±


    ¡°It was due to Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s proper command,¡± Mason gave the standard answer.


    ¡°Jeska comes from a Cavalry background, what does he know about firing a cannon?¡± Alpad scoffed, pointing with his cavalry saber to a body on the ground: ¡°Especially this savage, do you know who he is?¡±


    Winters and Mason naturally did not know.


    The armor on the body was dented and punctured with dense patterns from the lead balls, turning the man virtually into a honeycomb.


    ¡°This man is called [Bogli], meaning [Owl Hawk]. He was Yasin¡¯s [Haug Koda], that is, his personal guard Chiliarch. By killing him, you have effectively severed one of Yasin¡¯s arms.¡±


    Winters had a slight impression; between the first and second cannon shots, it should have been this man who dashed recklessly in front of Yasin to protect him.


    He wanted to see the face of this brave warrior, but the Owl Hawk¡¯s features had been obliterated.


    ¡°You two have made a great contribution, and I want to reward you!¡± Alpad didn¡¯t beat around the bush, he straightforwardly said, ¡°If you were Paratu People, even a three-rank promotion would not be excessive. But you¡¯re foreigners, so I obviously can¡¯t just elevate your military ranks.¡±


    ¡°Bogli¡¯s battle saber is yours,¡± Alpad tossed the curved saber he had been leaning on to Mason: ¡°You are a United Provincial, I will let you return to The Federated Provinces.¡±


    ¡°And you,¡± Alpad took out a shiny object from between his breastplate and chainmail, tossing it to Winters: ¡°This is yours from now on! Catch!¡±


    The thing was heavy in his hand¡ªa finely crafted flask. It was flat and square with smoothed edges.


    A flask? What¡¯s the meaning of this? Winters was somewhat puzzled.


    But he was too lazy to think about it. Since Alpad dared to give, he dared to take.


    And the Major General wasn¡¯t wrong¡ªonly the truth stings like that.


    If they offered a medal, Winters would take it; if it was a flask, he would take it too; if gold and silver were offered, Winters would grab them even more eagerly.


    But if it were a field officer¡¯s position, Winters would rather not accept it.


    ¡­


    The military ranks of the Republics were interconnected and levelled.


    In principle, all military personnel of the Alliance were under one large framework.


    Even the promotion of alliance nation officers had to be documented and sent to the Allied Army¡¯s headquarters for approval, a mere formality.


    By the rules, when military personnel transfer, it¡¯s done laterally. A Paratu field officer going to Vineta remains a field officer.


    Earning merits in Paratu and then returning to Vineta as an officer? Isn¡¯t that akin to being roasted on a fire?


    Instead, the current situation, where Winters felt more comfortable and at ease, was better.


    Although Alpad wasn¡¯t polite in his words, judging by his actions, he was considering it from the perspective of Venetians.


    ¡­


    Winters thanked him and casually pocketed the flask.


    Meanwhile, Mason looked up abruptly and said, ¡°General, please let me stay in Paratu.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Alpad¡¯s eyebrows raised: ¡°You don¡¯t want to go home?¡±


    ¡°I do, dreaming of it,¡± Mason replied word for word: ¡°But in The Federated Provinces, I¡¯m even worse off than a foreigner.¡±


    Alpad laughed heartily, and other Paratu officers joined in the laughter, only Jeska among a few others did not laugh.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 468 - 74: Entering the City_3

    Chapter 468: Chapter 74: Entering the City_3


    The Major wiped away the tears of laughter, then suddenly his face changed, and he asked the officers around him in a cold voice, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone froze in place, silent as cicadas in cold weather.


    ¡°Was he wrong?¡± Alpad looked around and asked with a stern face, ¡°If he were from The Federated Provinces, would he still be sent to Paratu?¡±


    No one knew how to answer.


    Alpad scoffed, took the saber, and personally hung it on Mason¡¯s belt. He then patted Mason¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°From today on, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses is your home.¡±


    The Major turned his head to look at Colonel Jeska, ¡°Your battalion came to our aid through the rain, everyone will be rewarded. Take your men to Bianli, I¡¯ll let you be the first to enter the city!¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The fighting within sight had ended, but the battles outside our line of sight continued.


    The Paratu Cavalry had already set off in pursuit of the retreating enemy.


    The Herder army had collapsed, and it was the moment for the Piaoqi Troops to show their prowess.


    If the Sekler Legion were the ones defeated, not a single infantryman would escape in the vast wasteland.


    But now it was the Herders who were defeated, and they could easily break contact with their short-range mobility.


    When the Herders stick together, they are cavalry; when they flee for their lives, they become herdsmen. Whether we can expand our victory depends entirely on the skill of the Paratu Piaoqi.


    Compared to the heavily armored cavalry, the Piaoqi are unarmored, lighter, and ride swifter light horses.


    The Herder cavalry move like the wind, and the Paratu Piaoqi do the same, only quicker.


    Even before the outcome of the general battle was decided, Alpad had already dispatched men to raid the old camp of the Red River Tribe.


    No wonder the infantry faction within Paratu felt discontent; they did the toughest work, yet the honor, credit, and spoils of war mostly went to the cavalry.


    However, Jeska¡¯s battalion had no such qualms now, for they would be the first to enter Bianli.


    Being ¡°the first to enter the city¡± is a euphemism for being the first to plunder.


    The White Lion had blown a large gap in the city wall, saving the Paratu People a lot of effort.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion assembled outside the breach, rubbing their hands in eagerness for the Colonel¡¯s command.


    Everyone was in high spirits, with some even coming over to ask when the Gold Man would be dug up.


    Only a few people knew the location where the Gold Man was buried, and they were all ordered to keep it a secret ¡ª though it was sure not to remain a secret.


    Previously they were blocked by the Terdon Tribe at Bridgehead Fortress, knowing the Gold Man was just outside yet unable to do anything but stare.


    Now seeing the Herders defeated, the militiamen grew restless and impatient.


    Winters could only placate them, ¡°We¡¯ll dig it up once it¡¯s safe.¡±


    In reality, the officers of Jeska¡¯s battalion were already racking their brains over the Gold Man. There was no need for a reminder from the militia.


    Should they hand it over to the legion? Or divide it amongst themselves privately?


    Handing it over to the legion was the simplest course of action, but they might end up getting only a leg as a reward.


    Dividing it privately risked letting word slip out, and someone might get greedy. Besides, dividing two tons of gold into hundreds of portions isn¡¯t easy.


    And then there¡¯s the question of whether the Gold Man is considered a large or small item. This is a ¡°legal¡± problem.


    According to unwritten rules, small spoils of war go to private individuals while large spoils go to the state.


    Gold and silver are generally considered small items because nobody creates gold and silver objects of exceptional size.


    Items like gold and silver coins, scabbards, arm rings, those who take them keep them ¡ª it¡¯s only fair.


    The definition of the gold and silver ritual objects captured by Jeska¡¯s battalion is more ambiguous.


    The Colonel turned in three pieces, and the rest were handed out to the militia involved in the combat. The legion did not investigate further.


    But who would have thought that the Terdon Tribe would come up with a Gold Man¡­ By the gold¡¯s value, it is a small item. But by size, it is a large item.


    Winters didn¡¯t know what the best decision was, the issue was truly up to Colonel Jeska to decide.


    Let Colonel Jeska worry about the headache! Right now, Winters just wanted to explore the city.


    The battalion was fully equipped and ready, and at the Colonel¡¯s command, the militia carefully ¡°advanced¡± into Bianli.


    But the anticipated resistance and street fights did not occur; Bianli was eerily quiet without a single person on the streets.


    Standing at the breach, they didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°The Herders¡¯ city isn¡¯t much different from ours,¡± Xial commented in a low voice as he surveyed the buildings and streets of Bianli, ¡°It¡¯s just a bit worse for wear.¡±


    The Herders had laid stone pavements in the inner city¡ªquite fastidious of them.


    Both sides of the stone pavements were lined with long houses with adobe walls and thatched roofs. Having been through fire and water, the rooftops and walls of the long houses bore scorched marks.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even know what to rob!¡± Colonel Jeska scolded, exasperated, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like idiots. Head towards the center of the city, look for the most beautiful and luxurious houses. If you encounter an enemy, shout to alert others!¡±


    Then everyone surged in.


    The Dusack riders charged ahead, quickly disappearing at the end of the street, splashing mud on the others.


    ¡°Those little Dusack brats!¡± Jeska chuckled coldly, ¡°Robbery truly is their ancestral skill.¡±


    Winters seemed to get the gist, saying to the Colonel, ¡°I¡¯m afraid the only people from Bianli who could still fight must have broken out with White Lion, probably leaving only the elderly, women, and children in the city.¡±


    ¡°I think so too,¡± Jeska nodded.


    As they spoke, Pierre raced back from the end of the street, nearly colliding with his own people.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters¡¯s face changed as he asked loudly, ¡°Are there still remnants of the enemy?¡±


    Pierre dismounted, panting, ¡°In the city center, there¡¯s a huge tent! Even bigger than the one in Terdon¡¯s old camp!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In the center of Bianli¡¯s main city, a massive and luxurious felt tent stood conspicuously on an open space.


    Space inside the city walls is always limited, yet there were no buildings within twenty meters of the tent.


    Behind the tent, a green horse lay atop a large stone slab.


    The horse¡¯s chest was split open as if something had burst out from within. Other than that, the rest of the body was unscathed, making the scene exceptionally eerie and horrifying.


    Winters, holding a steel nail, cautiously used a curved knife to lift the tent flap.


    Smoke swirled inside the tent.


    They didn¡¯t find the second golden idol they had been hoping for; the tent only contained a pile of extinguished bonfires and bodies dressed in strange and different garments scattered across the floor.


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 Chapter 469 - 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier

    Chapter 469: Chapter 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier


    ¡°`


    Seeing the corpses dressed in the garb of a Heretic Religion, Winters grew even more certain of his earlier speculation:


    The torrential downpour that nearly caused Sekler¡¯s plans to collapse was not a natural phenomenon, but a spell, a spell of such magnitude that it was beyond imagination.


    But he kept this thought to himself.


    He was no longer the naive youngster eagerly demonstrating magic to Aike, keeping secrets was the first rule for spellcasters.


    Gathered around the campfire, Winters counted a total of eight bodies.


    ...


    All were dressed in clothing adorned with animal bones, blue stones, metals, and ribbons, their limbs twisted oddly, their expressions extremely agonized.


    ¡°Hiss,¡± ¡°hiss,¡± the sound of ripping fabric echoed as the tent flaps were slashed open, the wind dispersing the tent¡¯s smoke.


    Jeska, Andre, and other military officers entered the tent with their men, momentarily struck dumb by the horrific scene inside.


    With the flaps gone, the interior of the tent brightened, and Winters was able to make out more details hidden in the darkness:


    Every inch of the tent¡¯s carpet was covered in unfamiliar symbols, ritual vessels, and pennants similarly marked were strung together with fine rope, densely hanging from the tent walls.


    ¡°A Heretic ritual?¡± Colonel Jeska asked with a frown.


    Winters nodded, ¡°That seems likely.¡±


    Xial, with sharp eyes, pointed to an area beside the fire and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that over there?¡±


    Everyone turned to look where he pointed, and saw a golden plate placed on a blue stone slab in front of the fire.


    The plate was filled with half-dried blood and also contained a dagger.


    ¡°That couldn¡¯t be human blood, could it?¡± Andre suddenly felt a wave of nausea.


    ¡°Probably not¡­¡± Bard¡¯s face also turned uneasy: ¡°It could be from that blue horse outside.¡±


    Winters walked over to Colonel Jeska and spoke softly, ¡°Colonel, this place is probably strange, it¡¯s best if everyone else leaves first.¡±


    Jeska pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.


    The militiamen were already reluctant to stay longer than necessary at the eerie, Heretic altar and hurriedly retreated outside the tent upon receiving the command.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters softly called to Xial, who was on his way out, ¡°Bring Bell to me.¡±


    Xial nodded and dashed off to find the young Hunter.


    Only a few military officers remained inside the tent.


    Andre looked around, the normally fearless bruiser suddenly felt his skin crawling with an inexplicable chill.


    Wrapping his arms around himself and hunching his neck, he hummed, ¡°Shall we leave too? Let¡¯s not stay in this¡­ huh? Winters! What are you doing?¡±


    Winters, who was examining the corpses, replied without looking up, ¡°We need to find out how they died, don¡¯t we?¡±


    The others watched as Winters examined one slightly stiff body from head to toe¡ªthough only through the clothes.


    Andre swallowed hard and asked, ¡°Find anything?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re indeed dead,¡± Winters responded, wiping his hands.


    ¡°No kidding!¡± Andre was on the verge of exploding, ¡°I could see that!¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s strange¡ªthere are no other clues,¡± Winters said, his nose twitching slightly: ¡°Not a single external injury.¡±


    Andre inhaled sharply and took several unconscious steps back towards the tent entrance.


    ¡°No external injuries? Could they have been poisoned?¡± Mason also turned pale, looking at Colonel Jeska and asking, ¡°Sir, do Herders still practice human sacrifices?¡±


    Jeska gave a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯m not a Herder, how would I know.¡±


    Concerning spellcasters, Winters didn¡¯t reveal too much¡ªhe simply didn¡¯t say anything and continued examining the other bodies.


    Bard stepped back a few paces and observed one of the bodies, ¡°Why do I feel like this man died suddenly while dancing?¡±


    Only now did the officers realize: the ¡°twisted, odd¡± posture of the corpses¡­ really did resemble a certain dance.


    ¡°What sort of dance kills people?¡± Mason asked, frowning.


    Winters, too, stepped back several paces, as Bard had, trying to view the eight bodies inside the tent from an overall perspective.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right!¡± Winters¡¯s face suddenly changed dramatically.


    ¡°What¡¯s not right?¡± The officers in the tent couldn¡¯t grasp what he meant.


    But Winters had already bolted out of the tent, shouting at his men, ¡°Bell! Where¡¯s Bell?¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Xial came running over, panting, with the young Hunter in tow.


    Winters grabbed the arm of the young Hunter, the force of his grip causing the boy to grimace in pain. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Bell!¡± Winters asked urgently, ¡°What¡¯s the most important number to Herders?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bell was momentarily confused.


    Winters¡¯s impatience grew, ¡°The biggest, the most auspicious, the most solemn number! The number used for rituals.¡±


    ¡°I remember it¡¯s [three], for the offering of three sacrifices,¡± Bell tried hard to recall: ¡°At the most solemn times, three of each sacrifice, that¡¯s¡­ [nine].¡±


    Of course!


    Winters dashed back into the tent, bellowing, ¡°It¡¯s not right! There¡¯s someone missing!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Andre was lost.


    ¡°Look at these people!¡± Winters pulled Andre all the way to the edge of the tent entrance, pointing to the bodies on the ground, ¡°They¡¯re not just standing anywhere! Their positions are patterned! This dance is missing someone! It¡¯s missing a lead dancer! The lead dancer isn¡¯t dead! Find him!¡±


    Winters burst out of the tent, climbed to a high spot, and using a spell to amplify his voice, he shouted to all the militiamen, ¡°Everyone search! Look for a Herder in strange attire! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find him! No! Go and bring me every Herder in the city!¡±


    Bell tiptoed into the tent, startled by the sight before him, he stammered, ¡°Why¡­ so many Priests¡­ how did they die?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 470 - 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier_2

    Chapter 470: Chapter 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier_2


    ¡°¡±¡±


    Winters rushed over upon hearing the words and questioned urgently, ¡°Priest? Are these all the Herders¡¯ Shamans?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bell nodded frantically.


    ¡°Go find them!¡± Winters bellowed again at the militias outside the tent.


    The militias scrambled to carry out their tasks.


    Winters¡¯s emotional swings were too great, and all the officers noticed that something was amiss.


    ...


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Colonel Jeska asked.


    Winters couldn¡¯t answer, finally understanding why the secrets of the court spellcasters could be kept for thousands of years.


    Because no one wanted to share that knowledge.


    Just like Winters wasn¡¯t willing to casually share this knowledge with the Paratu People.


    Capturing a weakened user of Divine Arts was an opportunity that came once in a millennium.


    It was probably the closest anyone had come to breaching the walls of Divine Arts since Antoine-Laurent established the Spellcaster system within the Alliance.


    You see, unless a spellcaster surrendered voluntarily, no one could capture one alive.


    And unless a spellcaster spoke willingly, no one could extract a single word from their lips.


    Even with Winters¡¯s hands and feet bound, he could still cast a splitting spell that would blast his enemies¡¯ heads apart¡­ or his own.


    The same was true for capturing users of Divine Arts alive.


    Capture a mage or priest alive and then interrogate them?


    It would be easier to just kill them outright.


    The only time to capture a user of magical abilities was when they couldn¡¯t use those abilities.


    Winters was almost certain that the leading Herder Shaman had definitely been the one guiding the Spell.


    With the other eight Shamans all dead, the one guiding the Spell couldn¡¯t be faring much better.


    ¡°The resonance of multiple spellcasters can push the power of a Spell to unimaginable levels.¡±


    This thought had been echoing in Winters¡¯s mind for a full year and a half.


    It had started to take root the night that a fire tornado swept through Guidao City.


    At first, it was just an inadvertent thought, like a low chant carried on the wind.


    As Winters¡¯s experiences grew, this thought was not forgotten but instead took root and flourished.


    After witnessing how the Herder Shamans could destroy all gunpowder weapons with a torrential downpour, the low chant in the wind had turned into a rolling thunder.


    A voice roared in Winters¡¯s heart: ¡°It must be so! Find that Shaman!¡±


    But he was too impatient, too out of sorts¡ªhe realized that too.


    Winters didn¡¯t want to play games with Colonel Jeska, but he was also unwilling to divulge the knowledge of spellcasters.


    After steadying his mind a bit, Winters asked in return, ¡°Do you remember when I almost lost consciousness upon arriving at the battlefield?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± was the response.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that was some sort of attack concocted by that group of Herder Shamans. I want to find that Shaman and ask how he did it,¡± Winters speculated.


    ¡°He¡¯s inside the city, you¡¯re outside. How could he attack you from such a distance?¡± the Colonel raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, which is why I need to find him and get some answers.¡±


    After thinking for a moment, Jeska casually suggested, ¡°Have your men start searching nearby. If the eight who died ended up like that, the one still alive must be half-dead.¡±


    Winters nodded repeatedly and turned to run out of the tent, but Colonel Jeska grabbed him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up too high. If this Shaman really matters that much¡­¡± Colonel Jeska began pacing the tent in circles, ¡°¡­he¡¯s probably been smuggled out of the city by the Herders already.¡±


    ¡°Right here!¡± Jeska stopped, flipped a saber forcefully into the ground, its tip embedded almost a palm¡¯s depth.


    With a sudden pull, the Colonel yanked up the rug along with the wooden board underneath, revealing a dark tunnel entrance.


    ¡°Barbarians are the craftiest.¡± Jeska dusted off his uniform, seemingly not surprised: ¡°I taught you that.¡±


    ¡­


    The inside of the tunnel was damp and cramped, only allowing the passage of smaller-statured individuals bent over.


    Winters simply couldn¡¯t enter¡ªwithout armor, he could crawl through the tunnel, but with it on, he would get stuck.


    Colonel Jeska also wouldn¡¯t allow Winters into the tunnel.


    It was uncertain whether it was a passageway or a trap, as there might be enemies waiting within. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the end, the Colonel selected several short but robust militias to scout the tunnel, while Winters anxiously awaited news within the city.


    Meanwhile, unplanned and organized looting was taking place in Bianli.


    ¡°¡±¡±


    War was too harsh, and most spoils of war had nothing to do with the soldiers.


    For the soldiers, plundering after breaching a city was their only way to obtain ¡°compensation.¡±


    If an army managed not to loot after a battle, it must have had something more noble than material goods sustaining them¡ªclearly, the Paratu soldiers lacked such a thing.


    But in Winters¡¯s view, the Paratu People were like gnawing on the meat of a skeletal lamb¡¯s leg.


    The best booty was, of course, portable and valuable items like gold, silver, and jewels.


    However, there was nothing in the longhouses of Bianli; the Herders could be called destitutely poor.


    Bianli City was so poor it clinked, and the wealth of a single street in Sea Blue exceeded that of the entire Bianli.


    Most of the city¡¯s warehouses were empty; the wealth of White Lion wasn¡¯t stored in Bianli.


    ¡°I allow you to be the first to enter the city,¡± Alpad said to Colonel Jeska.


    At the time, Winters didn¡¯t think much of it, but looking back now, it was surprisingly flattering.


    Because the few valuables in the city had already been taken by the first group to enter¡ªJeska¡¯s battalion.


    The troops that entered later almost got nothing; the only property left in Bianli to sell was ¡°people.¡±


    Those who failed to break out with White Lion, the elderly, the women and children, and the wounded were inevitably becoming slaves.


    Winters witnessed the quartermasters imprison, register, and catalog the people of Bianli with extreme efficiency.


    Slave traders who appeared from nowhere spoke various dialects, haggling with the Paratu quartermasters.


    The Paratu People prepared carts, intending to transport the Herder slaves back to Paratu before exporting them¡ªbecause the Paratu People did not use Herder slaves.


    The Venetians and United Provincials were considerably shocked, while Colonel Jeska remained composed.


    Finally, the militia from beneath the ground ran back from outside the city.


    ¡­


    ¡°This is the place! Sir!¡± The militia led Winters and Bard all the way to the northeastern corner outside the city.


    The exit of the tunnel outside the city was protected by double-layered wooden boards, covered with earth.


    Winters noticed that the dirt on the boards had even begun to grow grass, indistinguishable from the surrounding turf.


    This meant that at least by last summer, this tunnel was already opened, which made Winters increasingly anxious.


    The terrain of Bianli was elevated, and the tunnel sloped upwards. About ten meters inside from the exit was a small space with several small boats stacked up.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters turned and rushed out of the tunnel upon seeing the boats.


    The exit was close to the Confluence River, and one could vaguely see traces of boats being dragged on the riverbank.


    Looking into the distance, where were there any signs of the boats?


    ¡°They¡¯ve run?¡± Bard followed Winters out of the tunnel.


    ¡°They can¡¯t have run!¡± Winters bellowed, ¡°Get the boats out!¡±


    The militia hurried back towards the tunnel.


    Winters began to remove his armor, speaking rapidly, ¡°The boats in the tunnel are all small, they can¡¯t carry horses. There are no boats on the opposite bank of the riverbank either, and with White Lion¡¯s crushing defeat, the north bank is all our people. That Herder Shaman must¡¯ve taken a boat downstream.¡±


    ¡°Should we continue the pursuit?¡±


    ¡°Pursue!¡± Winters handed the reins of the sturdy horse to Bard, ¡°You take people across the river using the Floating Bridge and pursue on the north bank. Have Andre lead people to pursue on the south bank. I will pursue by boat. I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t catch him!¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Bard raised an eyebrow, ¡°Can you swim?¡±


    Winters¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Then you go by boat, and I¡¯ll lead the pursuit on the north bank.¡±


    A few cavalrymen galloped from the riverbank, with Andre at the forefront.


    Winters shouted excitedly, ¡°Andre! Your timing couldn¡¯t be better!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good?¡± Andre halted his warhorse in front of Winters and panted, ¡°The colonel wants you back immediately.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters had a bad feeling.


    ¡°The legion has ordered the destruction of Bianli, the disposal of all Herders, and the burning of all untransportable supplies,¡± Andre said with a bitter smile, ¡°The entire army is retreating! Break camp now!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Spellbook¡±


    Entry: Rain Summoning Spell


    Rank: Army scale


    Principle: Unknown


    Method of Casting: Unknown


    Remarks: Bell, that kid, said that during dry seasons, tribe Shamans always hold rain summoning rituals. Some work, some don¡¯t. Isn¡¯t this just typical shaman tricks? But that downpour couldn¡¯t be faked. The Shaman in the felt tent didn¡¯t seem to do anything but chant¡­ only ended up dancing himself to death. Could it be that the Herders¡¯ Rain Summoning Spell is the real deal? That would mean the Rain Summoning Spell is essentially civilian magic converted for military use?


    Additional Note: Requires overcast weather¡­


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 Chapter 471 - 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own

    Chapter 471: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own


    ¡°`


    [Note: The orders received by the field officers contained the word ¡°retreat,¡± whereas the Centurion only received orders for breaking camp, and the soldiers knew nothing at all. The ¡°retreat¡± mentioned by Andre was informed by Jeska.]


    The wounded hadn¡¯t been treated, nor the spoils cleared, when the sudden order to march came, catching everyone off guard.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Lieutenant Colonel?¡± Winters hurried back to Bianli, only to find that Lieutenant Colonel Jeska wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Winters, you¡¯re finally back.¡± Mason¡¯s tense nerves finally relaxed, he quickly explained, ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel and Andre have gone to the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge. He wants you to gather the soldiers in the city and bring them back to the main camp.¡±


    It clicked for Winters, many soldiers and wounded were still at the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge, and the Lieutenant Colonel was there to bring them back.


    ...


    ¡°Where are our people?¡± Winters asked again.


    Mason pointed westward in all directions: ¡°They¡¯re everywhere.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    There was no choice but to search the hard way.


    Bianli City was filled with soldiers, militias from Jeska¡¯s detachment in groups of twos and threes, mingled among them.


    Winters, Bard, and Mason split up to search, going through one house, one street at a time, but even after scouring Bianli, they only managed to find half the men.


    ¡°Let the others find their way back to the camp themselves.¡± Mason consulted with Winters, his voice hoarse from shouting: ¡°I don¡¯t have time to look a second time.¡±


    After a moment of thought, Bard proposed a compromise: ¡°Someone needs to take charge over at the main camp. You two go back, and I¡¯ll stay in the city with a few men to continue the search.¡±


    Winters nodded: ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Having barely managed to gather half the troops, Winters discovered an even bigger problem¡ªthere was no way out.


    Two infantry battalions were escorting Herders out of the city, while the baggage troops were hurrying dozens of carts into the city. All three gates of the inner city were jammed solid.


    Winters ordered a move towards the breach in the city wall, only to find it even more congested.


    Many soldiers who had lost their formations had not received the order to break camp and were desperately cramming into the city, trying to grab something to take with them.


    There was no choice but for Winters to lead his men towards the city gates again.


    They ran into General Sekler, who was rushing over with the military police.


    Sekler¡¯s solution to the problem was simple and violent. He had the military police repeatedly read out the order outside the city gates: ¡°The south gate is for entry only! The north gate is for exit only! The central gate is for vehicles and horses! Those who disobey will be executed!¡±


    Just relying on spoken orders had limited effect. There were still soldiers hoping to sneak through on a wing and a prayer.


    It wasn¡¯t long before their headless corpses were displayed on the city walls.


    Like sediment cleared from a river channel, the city gate immediately became unobstructed, and Winters was able to lead his men out of the city.


    Back at the main camp surrounding the city, there were people running about and horses neighing.


    Scout cavalry were dispatched one team after another, the swift and efficient soldiers were busy dismantling tents and loading carts.


    Only now was Winters certain that the higher-ups were serious. They were not just retreating, but doing so immediately.


    He had very little information, which deeply unsettled him.


    As far as he knew, in the land around Bianli split into three by rivers, there were eighteen infantry battalions, forty-six cavalry squadrons, over six thousand auxiliary troops, and an unknown number of menials ¨C over twenty thousand people in total.


    How were the dispersed troops going to regroup? Just this alone was enough to give Sekler and Alpad a headache.


    Not to mention the possibility that the light cavalry, chasing the Red River Tribe, might have already run dozens of kilometers away. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was only one thing that offered him some comfort: the command chain of the Paratu army hadn¡¯t collapsed, and the soldiers were still following orders. As long as they clenched into a fist, the Paratu People would still be an invincible force.


    Pushing through the noisy and chaotic main camp, Winters finally returned to Jeska¡¯s detachment¡¯s camp area.


    To his surprise, compared to the main camp that seemed like a boiling cauldron, Jeska¡¯s camp area was as tranquil as a silent valley deep pool.


    Not just Winters, but Mason and all the militia were dumbfounded by the scene before them:


    Two lines of wagons stood neatly on the open ground, laden with all the supplies of Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    Each sack, each box, was securely tied down with two ropes.


    There were no horses harnessed to the wagons, because the draft animals were in the stables, calmly enjoying their feed.


    The other soldiers of the camp were frantic, wishing they could pack up all their belongings in an instant.


    Yet the wounded soldiers remaining in the camp were still at work¡ªsome were cleaning the hooves of the draft horses, others were kneading dough.


    Many were busy around more than a dozen rudimentary ovens, seemingly baking something.


    If Winters¡¯s memory served correctly, these ovens weren¡¯t there when he accompanied the army to the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge¡ªthree days ago.


    When they saw their comrades return, the wounded soldiers staying behind quickly served dry food and water.


    The militia just back from Bianli were both tired and hungry, eagerly grabbing the food and gulping it down.


    The remarkable morale of the wounded puzzled Winters. He asked the wounded who stayed in the camp, ¡°Who built these ovens?¡±


    The wounded in charge of the ovens hastily replied, ¡°It was the old Saint who told us to build them, the day you went to the northern campsite.¡±


    Winters nearly choked on blood, what old Saint? Clearly, it was an old shaman! Three days had passed, and it appeared the fanaticism of these old shaman followers had deepened.


    ¡°What are you baking?¡± Winters asked again.


    ¡°Dry food. The old Saint told us to make flatbread first, then bake it into dry food and pack it into bags.¡±


    Winters¡¯s eyebrow rose: ¡°When did you start making the dry food?¡±


    ¡°The day before yesterday, the day you left on the campaign.¡±


    ¡°The wagons? Were they also prepared as Brother Reed instructed?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 472 - 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own_2

    Chapter 472: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own_2


    ¡°Yes.¡± The wounded soldier nodded like a pecking chick, ¡°The old Saint ordered us to pack up and load the vehicles, yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Take me to Brother Reed.¡±


    Beside the carriage, Winters found the old charlatan.


    The old man had eaten well and slept well on the journey, even enjoying petting cats daily.


    Compared to the emaciated alms-seeking monk when they first met, the old charlatan now seemed somewhat corpulent.


    When they met, the old charlatan was holding a small bucket of red paint in his left hand and a brush in his right, busy doodling on the wagon¡¯s sideboard.


    ...


    Seeing Winters approaching, Brother Reed waved happily, ¡°Lad, you¡¯re back?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Winters walked up to the old monk.


    Only upon drawing near did Winters make out what the old charlatan was writing:


    [Property of Jeska Squad of the Fifth Legion]


    [Theft punishable by hanging, military justice will be executed]


    Brother Reed said proudly, ¡°I¡¯m marking all the carriages. This way, there will be no disputes during the march, and if there is a quarrel, we have evidence.¡±


    ¡°Theft punishable by hanging? Military justice will be executed?¡±


    ¡°Good, isn¡¯t it?¡± The old man¡¯s face flushed with more pride, ¡°Concise and powerful, beautifully balanced. Don¡¯t think this slogan is short; I¡¯ve pondered over it for days. One sentence is enough to deter the petty thieves.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use?¡± Winters sneered, ¡°The rank-and-file soldiers can¡¯t read.¡±


    Brother Reed¡¯s face flushed from pride to embarrassment, and he added a Saint¡¯s coat of arms after [Theft punishable by hanging, military justice will be executed].


    The old man huffed, ¡°This should suffice, right? Church property, I¡¯d like to see who dares to steal it!¡±


    After speaking, Reed moved to the next carriage to continue painting slogans.


    ¡°I want to ask you a question.¡± Winters didn¡¯t bother with small talk, ¡°Please teach me, sir.¡±


    ¡°Pretending to be serious.¡± Brother Reed glanced at Winters, ¡°Spit it out.¡±


    Winters licked his lips and asked, ¡°You¡¯re preparing for a withdrawal, and you started three days ago, right?¡±


    ¡°About that.¡± Reed continued painting the coat of arms on the enclosure without looking back.


    ¡°On what grounds did you decide that we¡ªno, that Paratu would be defeated?¡± Winters was relentless in pursuit.


    The old man sighed, throwing the brush to the ground.


    He turned around, looking into Winters¡¯s eyes, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re mistaken. Although I know nothing about military affairs, I have never doubted your prowess in war. Nor have I ever doubted Paratu¡¯s victories.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you prepare provisions and carriages in advance?¡±


    ¡°Because White Lion Yasin has already won. Paratu will win every battle in this war until they lose the war.¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    Brother Reed sighed again, walked over to a nearby stone bench, and gestured for Winters to follow. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting on the stone bench, the old monk coughed and explained, ¡°The victories in battles can hardly compensate for strategic failure. The moment the Paratu People stood firm under the city walls, White Lion Yasin had already won. Tell me, do you really think the Herders are willing to let the Paratu people slaughter them one by one?¡±


    Winters was about to argue: there are many historical precedents for a strategy of gradual encroachment.


    But then he realized: this didn¡¯t mean the party being encroached upon lacked the will to resist. Moreover, Paratu¡¯s actions could no longer be considered gradual encroachment; they were ripping flesh from the Herder tribes in large chunks.


    ¡°As one sympathizes with the deer, so one similarly grieves for the fox. Carts depend on one another just as the lips are cold when the teeth are gone.¡± Brother Reed asked Winters again, ¡°Seeing neighboring tribes facing annihilation one after another, won¡¯t the Herders be afraid? Won¡¯t they harbor resentment? Won¡¯t they worry about their own fate?¡±


    Pointing towards the Great Wilderness, Reed said, ¡°The young and strong lion considers everything on the plain its prey. But once it shows signs of weakness, it will not only be driven away by the lioness but even the hyenas on the plains will dare to provoke it. There¡¯s no other reason but power.¡±


    ¡°Power? What do you mean¡­¡± Winters was confused.


    ¡°You lad, have spoiled my mood entirely,¡± the old man sighed heavily, ¡°I¡¯ll put it in words you can understand. In the past, the Herder tribes were ascending, and Paratu was on the decline; the Herders beat Paratu to a pulp. Thirty years ago, Ned Smith changed the tide with one battle, and Paratu began to climb while the Herder tribes started to fall, with Paratu beating the Herder tribes into a frenzied retreat.¡±


    The old man coughed again, ¡°When you¡¯re on the rise, all conflicts, all mistakes, all problems can be concealed by victory. Once on the decline, they will all erupt. This is also why the Herders were defeated in just one battle yet were battered for thirty continuous years. It wasn¡¯t because Paratu¡¯s national power surged, but because the accumulated fractures within the Herder clans were ignited by a single defeat.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ it was us who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red River Tribe, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you another question,¡± Brother Reed¡¯s gaze sharpened, ¡°If a god bleeds, is it still a god?¡±


    If a god bleeds, is it still a god?


    Winters pondered this sentence.


    Not waiting for Winters to respond, the old monk continued, ¡°Paratu is the lion, the Herder clans are the hyenas. A lion king cannot defeat a hundred hyenas but can chase and bite a hundred hyenas because the lion has ¡®power.¡¯


    For thirty years, the Herder clans have been waiting for an opportunity, for a moment when Paratu shows signs of decline.


    If Paratu could topple the Red River Tribe as if it was rotting wood, then the Tribe¡¯s ¡®allies¡¯ would scatter like birds and beasts, and no one would come to their rescue.


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 Chapter 473 - 76 The Eldest Son Goes All Out_3

    Chapter 473: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Goes All Out_3


    But Paratu at the front lines are halted under the fortified city, while their homeland has been breached from the rear. The White Lion Yasin has turned Paratu from an invincible deity into a mortal that bleeds.


    The hyenas have already smelled the blood; Yasin¡¯s allies will be scrambling over one another to join the feast. They no longer consider themselves prey but rather see you as theirs.


    You might defeat one tribe, two tribes, but when all the Hurd tribes come together to share the lion¡¯s meat, you will be crushed to pieces. If your generals are not fools, they should retreat immediately after winning this battle,¡±


    Winters organized his thoughts and countered, ¡°Do you mean to say that the White Lion Yasin has deliberately sought to prove that Paratu is not invincible? And even though we¡¯ve defeated the Red River Tribe, we are now encircled by all the Hurd tribes?¡±


    ¡°In terms of results, yes, that¡¯s what it means.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the Hurd tribes disunited?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t accept this: ¡°How could any of the tribes help the White Lion?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Well, I have no idea about that!¡± Brother Reed patted Winters on the shoulder: ¡°Kid, if you want to know how the Red River Tribe has been colluding with the other tribes, you¡¯ll have to go ask Yasin himself.¡±


    Winters felt an indescribable taste in his mouth, ¡°Do you think the Paratu People are doomed to defeat?¡±


    ¡°No! Quite the opposite,¡± Reed stated emphatically. ¡°I believe Paratu will achieve the ultimate victory.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters puzzled.


    Reed spoke with emotion, ¡°From what I¡¯ve observed, Paratu is still on the rise. Its people are brave and robust, its ruler is not feeble or incompetent. With the support of the other four nations, one defeat won¡¯t cripple them.


    Paratu¡¯s vitality is far stronger than that of the Hurd tribes; a failure would only serve as a lesson for the Paratu People. The next time they strike, it will be harder, more accurate, and more powerful.


    Over the past decade, I have traveled through all the Republics; it¡¯s not just Paratu that¡¯s on the rise, but the entire Alliance is thriving. Ned Smith has left you thirty years of peace, the future of this Federation is boundless.¡±


    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re at the right age.¡± Reed looked at Winters, a smile creeping through the wrinkles of his face: ¡°You might just experience an entire golden age.¡±


    This time it was Winters who sighed, ¡°A golden age? Let¡¯s not start a civil war first.¡±


    The old man countered, ¡°What of a civil war? A civil war is also a way to consolidate resources.¡±


    The enmity between The Federated Provinces and Vineta is complicated; Winters couldn¡¯t make it clear to the old soothsayer.


    Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he raised his eyebrows to ask the old soothsayer, ¡°If you thought this battle was doomed to defeat, why didn¡¯t you warn me, or Colonel Jeska, or General Sekler?¡±


    Reed glanced sideways at Winters and asked, ¡°If I said ¡®chicken breast¡¯, would you understand?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters was completely baffled.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of a sage named ¡®Fertile Land¡¯?¡±


    Winters shook his head repeatedly, racking his brains he couldn¡¯t recall any sage named ¡®Fertile Land¡¯.


    ¡°How about the book ¡®The Romances of Three States¡¯? Have you heard of that?¡±


    That was even more preposterous; Winters hadn¡¯t even heard of it.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no way I can explain it to you.¡± Reed burst out laughing so hard he began to cough, ¡°Just think of me as an old charlatan, spouting nonsense to you. If you take these words before the general, he wouldn¡¯t believe me, either. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at Army Headquarters, General Alpad¡¯s face was stern as one piece of bad news after another was delivered to his desk.


    The twelve squads of Piaoqi Troops chasing remnants of the Red River Tribe encountered nearly ten thousand enemies in the northwest.


    The enemy was cautious and did not initiate an attack on the Paratu Piaoqi Troops but kept rallying the remnants of the Red River Tribe, with their numbers growing ever larger.


    The twelve squads of Piaoqi Troops, totaling just over fifteen hundred cavalry, seeing no opportunity for advantage, left a few scouts behind and returned to camp.


    They brought back intelligence that described the Barbarian Chief they faced that night as having a reddish complexion and a tall build. Based on physical characteristics, he might be the great chieftain of the Terdun Tribe, the Fire-maker.


    The arrival of the Fire-maker was not the worst of Alpad¡¯s concerns, after all, the Terdun Tribe had already entered the war but had been focusing their attention on the Bridgehead Fortress under Jeska¡¯s command.


    The most troubling piece of intelligence for Major General Alpad was the overnight reports from spies and informants in the Hurd tribes sent to Paratu.


    The Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe were amassing forces, demanding their dependent smaller tribes to ¡°send forth their eldest sons¡±.


    Due to delays on the road, Alpad surmised that by the time he received the reports, it was very likely that the Haidong and Suz Tribes had already deployed their forces. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three great tribes of the Hurd were set to unite.


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 Chapter 474 - 77: Dealing

    Chapter 474: Chapter 77: Dealing


    Time! Time! Time!


    Right now, the most important thing is time.


    No sooner had the baggage train moved out all of White Lion¡¯s belongings than the Paratu army immediately set about destroying Bianli City¡ªmany troops were still on their way back to the main camp at this very moment.


    However, the task of destroying Bianli was soon halted.


    Due to an unexpected twist of fate, the torrential rain not only ruined the gunpowder but also turned the originally dry and flammable Bianli into a sponge soaked with water.


    Choking blue smoke filled the city of Bianli, but in reality, only a few houses caught fire.


    ...


    The houses could still be ignited from the inside, but the problem was that the fire spread too slowly.


    The water drenching the straw roofs and wooden walls had to be completely dried out before the flames could spread to the next house.


    This was a far cry from the earlier situation when fires were stoked by the wind, and the flames were fiercer for it.


    According to the pre-war plans, Bianli was to be thoroughly destroyed: the city walls would be brought down, temples and tombs would be leveled, and all the people would be taken captive to serve as a warning to others.


    But given the current situation, if the Paratu army dared to waste time digging at the literal walls of Bianli, White Lion would wake up laughing from such a dream.


    Sekler and Alpad would not possibly waste precious gunpowder on blasting the walls.


    Therefore, the soldiers tasked with breaking down the walls were quickly withdrawn, and Sekler sent only a portion of the auxiliary troops into the city to set fires.


    ¡­


    Winters dropped a torch down the well, and it did not go out.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Seeing that the well was almost filled, Winters called to his men, ¡°This well is ruined, on to the next.¡±


    The militia picked up their shovels and went running towards the next well.


    Looking into the dark abyss of the well wall, Winters couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°How long has White Lion been preparing for this battle?¡±


    Bianli is adjacent to the Confluence River, so getting water should not be difficult.


    But this is actually a mental trap, for because the acquisition of water is too easy, its importance can be overlooked.


    Once Bianli is besieged, going out of the city to fetch water would mean risking one¡¯s life, or even having the water supply route completely cut off.


    Even Little Lion, when leading troops to attack the northern fort, knew to cut off the water-fetching soldiers.


    Far from ignoring the problem of water, White Lion had prepared accordingly¡ªby drilling wells.


    It was only after entering Bianli that Winters realized there were wells in the city, a dozen or so, evenly distributed across the residential areas.


    Bianli was located on a small hillock with higher terrain, which made well-digging extremely difficult.


    Moreover, with the Confluence River just outside the city, within arm¡¯s reach, no one would be foolish enough to go to the trouble of drilling wells in Bianli¡ªunless he was White Lion.


    Approaching the next well, Winters saw Pierre and Bell butchering a dead horse.


    Two Dusacks swung their axes and split the carcass of the warhorse, flesh and bone. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The dark red blood flowed all the way to Winters¡¯ feet as pieces of the horse were thrown into the well.


    A Ganshui Town militia member, Ish, was also in the well-filling team, muttering with distress, ¡°What a waste! All that meat! And the hide too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Ish,¡± Winters recognized the speaker and reassured him, ¡°General Sekler has already ordered that two horses be allocated to each century. There¡¯s no fear of not having enough to eat, only of not being able to finish it all.¡±


    ¡°We can finish it!¡± Ish¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Guaranteed to finish it, sir.¡±


    Soon, the carcass of a horse, blood and all, was thrown into the deep well.


    According to the officer¡¯s manual, the best way to destroy a well was to use dead livestock.


    But pressed for time, Winters could not find any diseased livestock, so he had to make do with horse carcasses.


    Along with the horse remains, a dozen buckets of human and animal feces were dumped into the well.


    It didn¡¯t sicken the Herders momentarily, but the Paratu People around them and Winters felt nauseated.


    After dumping the dirty stuff into the well, without Winters¡¯ order, the militia began to fill the well with soil on their own initiative.


    After filling in two wells in a row, the militia became adept at this task.


    Pierre took some dirt and rubbed off the blood on his hands, took a small tube of salt from his belt pouch, poured it into the well, and mumbled, ¡°[Ancient Language] From now on, may your livestock never prosper, from now on, may your brides have no color¡­¡±


    The others didn¡¯t understand the ancient language Pierre was using and felt somewhat confused.


    ¡°Throwing salt?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly, ¡°[Old Language] When you take a city, you kill its people; when you destroy a city, you sprinkle it with salt?¡±


    This time it was Pierre¡¯s turn to be baffled, ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    Winters repeated himself in the common tongue and asked Pierre, ¡°[Ancient Language] Do you speak the ancient language?¡±


    Pierre answered proudly, ¡°[Ancient Language] A little, my mother taught me some, and I learned some at school.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Reflecting on Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s demeanor, Winters thought it wasn¡¯t strange for her son to speak the ancient language, ¡°Who taught you to perform the salt-throwing ritual?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a ritual, just a story I heard from my mom when I was a kid,¡± Pierre replied somewhat embarrassedly.


    Winters was caught between amusement and exasperation, ¡°Pierre, why would the Herders fear salt-throwing, when the sheep on the plains fight over salt licks? Salt has always been valuable, the sprinkle of salt is merely symbolic. Don¡¯t waste salt in a place like this, just a pinch will do.¡±


    Pierre scratched his head.


    The militia started by knocking down the walls of the well and then began digging soil into it, quickly filling another well.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters waved his hand to signal, ¡°Next one.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    The army set out, truly innumerable concerns and tasks at hand.


    Not all forces had been assembled yet when two battalions had already set off as advance troops.


    Normally, all equipment would have to be carried by the soldiers themselves.


    But this time was different, to increase the marching speed, Sekler had allocated a single horse-drawn cart to each hundred-man unit for carrying heavy items.


    The carts and horses were all captured from the Herders and how long they could last was uncertain.


    Supply wagons within the military camp were filled one after another, but there were still many supplies left.


    Initially, determined to fight a war of attrition, Paratu¡¯s military had spent two and a half months transporting a large quantity of supplies¡ªeven managing to bring luxury items for the officers.


    The mountains of grain and fodder in the warehouse next to the legion¡¯s headquarters allowed Sekler to dare continue fighting despite the supply lines being cut off.


    Even if Paratu¡¯s army lost their rear supply, the Herders inside Bianli City would surely starve to death first.


    Now these supplies became a burden¡ªthey couldn¡¯t fit in the carts.


    ¡°Take as much as we can,¡± Sekler ordered through gritted teeth, ¡°Burn everything we can¡¯t carry, not even leaving a single grain of wheat or a blade of grass for the Herders. Aside from the food and hay, throw everything else away!¡±


    In Jeska¡¯s battalion area, the lieutenant colonel was also ordering Mason, ¡°Nail the cannon touch-holes shut and push them all into the heart of the river.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely need them later,¡± Mason said dejectedly, standing still without carrying out the order, ¡°They¡¯re all good cannons.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s lieutenant colonel frowned and replied, ¡°Not ¡®they,¡¯ but ¡®them¡¯! The road ahead won¡¯t be easy, better than struggling to carry them, only for the draft horses to collapse one by one and having to abandon them in the end. Better to ditch them at the outset to save the horses some effort.¡±


    Knowing he was in the wrong, Mason saluted and walked out of the tent.


    Seven cannons, four light and three medium, all ultimately disappeared into the waves of Confluence River.


    Along with the cannons, captured armor and weapons were also tossed into Confluence River.


    Luxury items painstakingly transported to the officers by the supply teams were also utterly destroyed.


    Robert and Jeska¡ªboth lieutenant colonels¡ªstood by the river, watching as soldiers smashed ceramic wares with the handles of their knives and dumped entire crates of liquor directly into Confluence River.


    ¡°The old man still isn¡¯t resolute enough,¡± Jeska said with knitted brows, ¡°Speed is our priority; aside from fodder, nothing else is important, everything must be thrown away, even items of combat value. Carrying one extra knife means one less mile traveled.¡±


    Robert sighed, ¡°Have some sympathy for the old man. If he forced the men to surrender their spoils of war, there could be an outright mutiny.¡±


    ¡°Not likely,¡± Jeska shook his head, ¡°Life is most important. We need to stay alive and get home first, then we can worry about the spoils.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember that fable? The one about gold?¡± Robert asked in response, ¡°Only a few were willing to let go of the gold to swim to shore. Most couldn¡¯t bring themselves to release it until the very moment before they drowned, but by then, it was too late. Human nature is such; you, I, and the old man, none of us can do anything about it.¡±


    A thick plume of smoke rose behind the two lieutenant colonels¡ªit was the Paratu camp burning supplies.


    To the south and the north, more columns of smoke rose.


    It was the Paratu People setting fire to fortifications and camps everywhere.


    Inside Bianli City, Winters and Andre also contaminated and filled up all the wells.


    The smoke within the city gradually grew thicker, and Winters and Andre quickly led people out of Bianli.


    Exhausted, the group slumped on the riverbank north of the city to catch their breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters licked his dry, cracked lips and urged his men to move, ¡°Not here, rest back at camp.¡±


    The militiamen slowly rose, shoulders drooping, dragging their tools as they followed the Centurion towards the main camp.


    ¡°There are people coming!¡± a militiaman with keen eyes shouted, pointing ahead, ¡°Looks like Herders!¡±


    Winters¡¯s heart tightened; he stepped on the stirrup and stood up to look.


    ¡°They are Herders,¡± Winters confirmed, and added, ¡°But it¡¯s fine, they¡¯re captured Herders.¡±


    Two infantry battalions marched by, escorting the prisoners past the group.


    Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the Herder crowd. The Herders¡ªnow more accurately Herder slaves¡ªlooked miserable, in pain, and somewhat numb.


    Winters saw Paratu soldiers crudely separating men from women and children, with the cries of Herder women and children filling the air.


    All Herder men capable of riding had already broken through with the White Lion. The men left in the city were either too old or injured.


    Like separating egg whites from yolks, Paratu soldiers picked out Herder men from the crowd, driving them to continue east towards the beach where the two rivers converged.


    The Herder men realized their fate; several injured men shouted in rage and despair, charging at the Paratu soldiers in front of them.


    But battered and unarmed, they were no match for the fully armed Paratu, and all were swiftly killed.


    The Paratu soldiers with bloodied weapons continued driving the remaining Herder men towards the riverside.


    ¡°Dispose of all the Herders.¡± Winters suddenly recalled the order that Andre had relayed.


    The Paratu¡¯s method of ¡®disposal¡¯ was execution.


    Men were being dealt with first; next would be the women and children.


    Winters had ¡®disposed¡¯ of his fair share of prisoners.


    But women and children¡­ he had yet to cross that line.


    Watching the remaining Herder women and children wailing pitifully on the spot, Winters only tasted bitterness in his mouth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Andre, a man normally heartless, also showed a rare sign of mercy, lowering his head and murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s hard to watch, just let them do it.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t go!¡± Winters suddenly spurred the flanks of his horse and galloped toward the riverbanks, where the two rivers met, ¡°I need to speak with the officer in charge of ¡®disposing of the Herders¡¯!¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 475 - 78: Review and Re-evaluation

    Chapter 475: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation


    In the urgent beat of military drums, two large contingents of Paratu troops formed an impenetrable wall, mercilessly driving Herder wounded soldiers towards the Confluence River.


    Throughout his relatively short career, Winters had seen many inhumane atrocities, but the scene before him was still unbearable:


    Men were packed together like animals about to be slaughtered in an enclosure.


    Thousands of Herder wounded were trapped on a small patch of dry shore, spears with fresh blood ahead of them and frigid, rapid river waters behind.


    Too many people, too little space.


    Your shoulder presses against my chest, my back against his. No one could move; bodies were nearly beyond control.


    ...


    The outermost Herders stood knee-deep in water while those inside continued to push them outwards.


    They screamed in desperation, pleaded for their lives, tried to cram onto the shore, only to be swept by the crowd into deeper waters.


    Cries from women and children in the distance shook the heavens, and even battle-hardened Paratu veterans could not bear to look into the Herders¡¯ eyes.


    But the military drums did not cease for a moment, urging the Paratu soldiers to keep moving forward.


    The Herder wounded found their space on the shore further diminished; those who refused to move were stabbed to death, and those who tried to break through the spear wall died even faster.


    A few lucky ones found gaps through the spear wall and hadn¡¯t run far before being cut down from behind by Paratu cavalry.


    Finally, the Herders were completely driven off the dry shore as the Paratu soldiers also stepped into the river, pressing in step by step.


    One by one¡­ Herder wounded continued to scream as they were swept away by the swift currents, while the military drums still rang out.


    Winters finally encountered the highest commanding officers on the scene, Colonel Haug and Colonel Laszlo.


    [Note: Haug is the second-in-command of the ¡°Alpad Faction,¡± and Laszlo is the second-in-command of the ¡°Sekler Faction,¡± the former being a cavalry officer, the latter an infantry officer.]


    ¡°Colonels, with all due respect,¡± Winters got straight to the point without time for introductions, ¡°by dealing with these Herders, all you¡¯re doing is helping the Barbarian Chief Yasin.¡±


    Colonel Laszlo looked numbly at Winters then turned away, silent.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Haug frowned, eyeing Winters from top to bottom; the colonel obviously did not recognize the junior officer before him.


    But Haug then turned to look at the horse, Strongrunner, and let out a cold laugh as if recognizing the steed.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± Haug also turned his head, no longer looking directly at Winters, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Venetian boy whom General Alpad is so fond of? That¡¯s a fine horse you have there, Lucian breed?¡±


    Seeing the colonels¡¯ disinterested attitude, Winters felt both anxious and angry.


    Winters, suppressing his rage and speaking rapidly, said, ¡°Nearly ten thousand captives here, if not wounded, then old men, women, and children. They need to eat! To drink! To be sheltered! And they can¡¯t take to the battlefield. Killing them all, you¡¯d be relieving White Lion of tens of thousands burdens!¡±


    Winters was almost choking by the end, ¡°Colonels! Don¡¯t you understand the principle that [an army angered is bound to win]?¡±


    He emphasized the word ¡°Colonel¡± with particular vehemence, his tone disrespectful.


    Haug was furious, glaring at Winters and scolded loudly, ¡°[Old Tongue] What do you know?¡±


    Winters stood his ground, meeting the colonel¡¯s gaze with a defiant look in his eyes.


    The tension in the air was nearly suffocating, and nearby soldiers instinctively turned away, not daring to get involved in the officers¡¯ dispute.


    The sound of galloping hooves approached from behind, dispelling the tension slightly, as Andre finally caught up.


    Pulling up his horse, he saluted the two colonels and shouted at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne! What are you doing here? Colonel Jeska is looking for you!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! The colonel is getting impatient.¡± Andre rode up to Winters and tugged at his sleeve, ¡°Colonels, please excuse us from withdrawing first.¡±


    Haug huffed uninterestedly and shook his head dismissively, waving his hand, ¡°Get lost.¡±


    Winters brushed off Andre and continued to press, ¡°Is there something wrong with what I said?¡±


    Haug laughed in rage, but before he could act, Colonel Laszlo, who had been silent until now, spoke first.


    Laszlo looked emotionlessly at Winters and said, ¡°No, you do make some sense¡­ Drummer, stop the drums!¡±


    The deathly beat of the drums finally ceased.


    Paratu soldiers, initially dumbfounded, stopped in their tracks and then, guided by the Centurion, retreated back onto the riverbank to reassemble their ranks.


    Haug, caught off guard, stroked his chin before ultimately remaining silent.


    The Herders, spared from calamity, wept and hugged each other. They supported one another, standing in shallow water, still not permitted to come ashore.


    Laszlo summoned a message-bearing Cavalryman and, after giving a few instructions, the messenger galloped off toward the main camp.


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t understand what you said?¡± Haug looked at Winters, his tone instructive, ¡°Wounded can recover, children will grow, women will bear more soldiers. They are all Yasin¡¯s fighters, that¡¯s why there must be no survivors left!¡±


    Winters, not to be outdone, retorted, ¡°The wounded will take at least a month to recover; children will take at least five years before they can fight; women will take at least fifteen years to bear more men. But if I¡¯m not mistaken, Yasin is right on our heels! What¡¯s urgent? What¡¯s not?¡±


    ¡°We have our considerations! How the legion handles Yasin¡¯s followers is none of your concern,¡± Haug paused dramatically, stating conclusively, ¡°Victors take all from the vanquished; such are the laws of the wasteland; you Venetians simply do not understand! If it were us who had lost the battle on the northern shore, would the Herders have shown us any mercy? Your heads would have been hanging on saddles by now!¡±


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 Chapter 476 - 78: Review and Re-evaluation_2

    Chapter 476: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_2


    Laszlo stared at Winters, his expression still numb like that of a puppet: ¡°I have already sent someone to ask for instructions; the two generals will handle this matter. You may leave now.¡±


    Winters was still somewhat dissatisfied, but he indeed had no say in this matter. The Colonel had used the Legion Commander¡¯s authority over him, and he had nothing to retort.


    He saluted and rode away.


    Walking back in a huff, Winters suddenly recalled his days in Wolf Town.


    Though he had encountered dangers twice in Wolf Town, looking back now, he actually had a good time.


    The folks in Wolf Town respected him; he spoke with authority, and no one second-guessed him.


    ...


    Even leading the hundred-man team from Wolf Town as laborers was more comfortable than his current situation.


    He finally understood why the old soothsayer would say, ¡°A Garrison Officer, an emperor in his own right, I wouldn¡¯t trade it for a thousand households.¡±


    Being subject to others was truly the most frustrating thing in the world, especially within the strictly hierarchical military.


    The angrier he thought about it, the more he wanted to vent, and Winters gripped his riding crop, scanning his surroundings, before lashing out at the air with great force: ¡°[Vulgar Language]!¡±


    This was his last bit of calm¡ªhe hadn¡¯t lashed out at Strong Luck, because he couldn¡¯t bear to.


    ¡°When have we ever suffered such indignity? In my opinion, you should have worn your Grand Cross medal just now, and shown it to him!¡± Andre wasn¡¯t adept at consoling others and unusually, he sighed, ¡°Bear with it, endure until we get home, then we won¡¯t have to work for those idiotic sheep-shagging idiots!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention going home.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Every time you mention going home, I get a bad feeling.¡± Winters held the pendant box in his hand, his longing to return home stronger than ever before.


    He didn¡¯t open the pendant box; at this moment, he simply couldn¡¯t face Anna.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t mention going home until we are home,¡± Andre spat on the ground, somewhat annoyed, ¡°Damn it! They want to kill old people and children too! Barbarians! Truly damn barbaric!¡±


    For some reason, the word [barbaric] coming from Andre¡¯s mouth naturally carried a hint of dark humor.


    After a moment of silence, Winters pondered and asked, ¡°That infantry Colonel, called Laszlo? I always felt there was something odd about him.¡±


    ¡°Laszlo?¡± Andre thought for a moment and slapped his forehead, ¡°I heard some big-wig¡¯s son died in battle, surname Lasz¡ªlo, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a long sigh.


    Meanwhile.


    Watching the two Centurions ride off into the distance, Colonel Haug offhandedly said to Colonel Laszlo, ¡°Hmph, who would have thought that those innkeepers from Vineta could be as blunt as highlanders?¡±


    If he were speaking to his own subordinates, this quip might have elicited a round of laughter.


    But Laszlo ignored it, as if he heard nothing at all.


    Colonel Haug inspected Laszlo¡¯s face carefully; his colleague¡¯s features now resembled those of a puppet, devoid of their usual spirit.


    Although they tended not to get along on a daily basis, Haug also had sons and daughters and could hardly bear the thought of the pain of losing a child.


    But Haug was not adept at consoling others, and could only let out a nearly inaudible sigh.


    ¡­


    Time was pressing; they could not wait for the entire army to assemble.


    Early the next morning, four large units that had already gathered set out as the vanguard.


    Since Jeska¡¯s battalion was prepared early, it was also among the vanguard units.


    There was no sense of ceremony, no mobilization, no speeches. Once the orders were given, all units, both the Standing Army and the auxiliaries, led out their carts and left.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had one advantage: as they had been a logistics unit previously, and had also conscripted many merchants¡¯ carts and mules, their rate of possession of horse-drawn carts was much higher than that of other units.


    The more than four thousand Hurd horses captured in the night raid on the Terdon Tribe camp were partly slaughtered, with the majority taken by the Legion.


    There were still over five hundred left in Colonel Jeska¡¯s hands. Although they weren¡¯t fit for use, they were better than nothing.


    Adding the original mules, warhorses, and a few donkeys, they had nearly a thousand large animals, so Jeska¡¯s battalion was not short of horses for pulling carts.


    Bard was worried sick: getting horses to do heavy work required not just hay but also feed. The daily consumption of grass and fodder for nearly a thousand large animals was a terrifying figure.


    When setting out, they had to carry as much as possible, yet they were afraid that the animals wouldn¡¯t hold up.


    Therefore, Bard selected over forty militiamen who had experience with horses, led by Anglu, to supervise the battalion¡¯s use of mules and horses. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mr. Anglu not only understands horses, but he also knows how to pity the beasts,¡± Bard commented to the Colonel during his report, ¡°He pities them even if they aren¡¯t his own.¡±


    ¡°Then let it be him,¡± Jeska agreed with a nod, ¡°Promote him to temporary Sergeant and sort out a few troublemakers. Otherwise, he is too young to command respect from others.¡±


    With the order issued, the militiamen from Wolf Town were saying, ¡°Little Groom Anglu has really turned into a Horse Officer.¡±


    [Note: Anglu means hook, officially a full name, affectionately a nickname]


    In the morning light, the vanguard units crossed the temporary bridge to reach the southern bank of Confluence River, and then marched eastward.


    The situation was as follows:


    Paratu was to the east; to retreat, they needed to head east;


    Confluence River ran from west to east before merging into The Styx; they could go along the south bank or the north bank;


    On the north bank, Hurd Cavalry roamed;


    On the south bank, it was temporarily safe.


    The problem was: [if they took the south bank, the Paratu People couldn¡¯t cross The Styx].


    The closer to the north side, the fewer tributaries flowing into The Styx, the narrower the river, hence the easier it was to cross.


    The engineering battalion and two infantry battalions that had been dispatched earlier had gone north to find a suitable location for constructing a Floating Bridge.


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 Chapter 477 - 78: Review and Re-evaluation_3

    Chapter 477: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_3


    So in the end, they still had to take the north shore.


    It was just that Sekler used a feint, with the vanguard reaching the south shore first, moving thirty-five kilometers downstream, then crossing back to the north shore via a ford.


    That ford was where Alpad¡¯s cavalry unit was to carry out its detour.


    ¡­


    Time rewound to the previous night, and a groggy Winters was called into the tent by Colonel Jeska, where Bard, Andre, and Mason were also present.


    The Colonel announced that he would conduct a war game and review for his centurions.


    ...


    The five of them sat around a small table, the other four looking eagerly as Colonel Jeska pulled out a palm-sized wooden board, which unfolded into a board twice as large.


    Colonel Jeska then took out chess pieces from a faded wooden box to represent the various friendly and enemy units.


    Winters idly picked up a chess piece to fiddle with.


    He couldn¡¯t identify the material; it looked like stone, and it was cool and comfortable to the touch.


    As for the craftsmanship¡ªWinters carefully placed the chess piece back on the board¡ªthe craftsmanship was exquisite.


    The lines were coherent and uniform, the angles smooth and rounded, the surface finely polished; Winters dared not handle it carelessly.


    ¡°Learn something,¡± Jeska set up the chess pieces and said to a yawning Winters, ¡°You won¡¯t always be centurions.¡±


    Based on the known intelligence:


    The Herder alliance practiced encirclement to provoke aid.


    Upon learning that the northern encampment had encountered the enemy, Sekler led his troops to provide support, only to be ambushed en route.


    On the day of the ambush, Sekler sent word to Alpad to move out ahead of time.


    To ensure surprise and to evade Herder detection, Alpad left all his banners at the main camp as a decoy.


    He led the main cavalry force first to the south shore, then moved thirty-five kilometers east to cross the river at the ford and circle behind the Herders.


    Such a wide-ranging detour enabled the final thunderous blow.


    Sekler¡¯s plan was a fierce right hook, the simple yet effective Anvil Hammer Tactic.


    If Alpad¡¯s troops successfully circled behind, Sekler¡¯s frontal Herder forces were sure to be defeated.


    For Sekler, the greatest challenge was how to move without alerting the enemy or scaring them off.


    Colonel Jeska analyzed for the centurions: Initially, Sekler intended to use the northern fort as the anvil; after being ambushed, the plan changed to use the temporary camp as the anvil; and in the end, the main battlefield returned to the northern fort.


    With each variation in the enemy¡¯s setup, Sekler also made three adjustments to his own.


    The main course was just this one dish; as for Jeska¡¯s troop movements, they could only be considered the appetizer.


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it,¡± Colonel Jeska toppled the chess pieces, concluding his review, ¡°and we can¡¯t blame the old man for being angry with us.¡±


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason sat around the table, looking at each other blankly.


    If it were not for Colonel Jeska¡¯s review, Winters wouldn¡¯t even have known what else was happening elsewhere.


    A centurion received too little intelligence, almost no different from what the soldiers saw.


    For Winters, everything within a hundred meters was the entire war.


    It was also because of Colonel Jeska¡¯s review that Winters understood why General Sekler was so annoyed with Jeska¡¯s troop.


    Sekler had painstakingly planned, first using the northern fort as bait, then himself as bait.


    His goal was to ¡°hammer down and shatter both the Red River and Terdun Tribes.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s troop¡¯s torching of Terdun¡¯s old camp, while severely damaging the Terdun Tribe, also caused the Herder alliance forces to be spread thin.


    The Terdun Tribe, desperate from the loss of their sacrificial gold statue, attacked the Bridgehead Fortress with frenzy.


    So in the end, it was only the Red River Tribe that was crushed between the anvil and hammer.


    On the other side, the Terdun Tribe was repelled.


    But Jeska¡¯s squadron was too small to achieve annihilation.


    While the core of the Fire-worshippers remained intact, they collected their dispersed soldiers and moved close to the main battlefield, allowing the remnants of the Red River Tribe to escape with the Fire-worshippers¡¯ help. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Misfortune is where luck depends, and luck is where disaster lurks.


    Realizing that their desperate fight had actually disrupted General Sekler¡¯s plans, the four centurions didn¡¯t know what to feel.


    ¡°Making the right decisions in the absence of information is the mark of a great general,¡± Colonel Jeska fiddled with a chess piece and said indifferently, ¡°It seems none of us are great generals.¡±


    ¡°The opportunity was right in front of us,¡± Winters was both frustrated and amused as he looked at Bard and Andre, ¡°We couldn¡¯t possibly let it pass, could we?¡±


    Colonel Jeska yawned and began to pack up the chessboard, ¡°I only said that we aren¡¯t great generals. As centurions, you fought well.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re just small-time centurions,¡± Andre concluded, ¡°When the enemy sticks their neck out, we chop. If there¡¯s anyone to blame, it¡¯s General Seleuc for not informing us.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking about it,¡± Lieutenant Mason swiftly took on the blame, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    Winters was extremely tired; he curled up in his chair, not wanting to speak. He just wanted to go home as soon as possible, even if it was just back to Wolf Town.


    Colonel Jeska finished packing the chessboard and pieces, then took out several maps and handed them to everyone, asking, ¡°How are you doing with your maps?¡±


    ¡°A+,¡± Winters took the map without even looking up.


    ¡°A,¡± was Bard¡¯s response.


    ¡°B,¡± Andre admitted sheepishly.


    Mason scratched his head and said awkwardly, ¡°I was an A+ when I first left the academy, now I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ve retained.¡±


    The map was a vertical projection map¡ªone of the outcomes of military reform thirty years ago.


    More difficult to understand than a forty-five-degree angled top-down map, a vertical projection map is more precise and can carry more information.


    [Note: There are no contour lines yet]


    Winters recognized at a glance that this was a map of the area around Bianli; he asked the Colonel curiously, ¡°Drawn with a graphite stick? Did you draw this yourself? Did you draw every single one?¡±


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 Chapter 478 - 78: Review and Re-evaluation_4

    Chapter 478: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_4


    The lieutenant colonel nodded three times.


    Winters¡¯s respect for the lieutenant colonel suddenly increased, ¡°You can actually do mapping?¡±


    ¡°Copied from the legion¡¯s large-scale map.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Colonel Jeska asked the centurions, ¡°Do you see the shallows marked downstream on the Confluence River?¡±


    All four nodded in unison.


    ...


    ¡°That¡¯s Alpad¡¯s Department¡¯s crossing point, and we¡¯re going to cross there too,¡± Colonel Jeska announced. ¡°We¡¯re the vanguard, and we¡¯ll set off early tomorrow morning.¡±


    The four centurions responded evenly; it was inevitable they would have to go, and leaving earlier was actually a good thing.


    Mason suddenly became spirited and asked hurriedly, ¡°Then¡­ what about the golden statue? Just keep it buried?¡±


    Winters also perked up, straightened his back, and pricked up his ears.


    ¡°What else can we do?¡± Colonel Jeska answered indifferently, ¡°Continue to keep it buried.¡±


    ¡°Could someone dig it out?¡± Mason asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Then it gets dug out,¡± Colonel Jeska frowned. ¡°Even the artillery is considered cumbersome, why bother with a golden statue? Next time we fight the Red River Tribe, we¡¯ll find an opportunity to dig it out.¡±


    ¡°Next time?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, Bianli is broken, but the White Lion isn¡¯t dead. Just watch, this fight isn¡¯t over.¡±


    ¡°Next time, many militiamen might not be in service anymore.¡±


    ¡°Keep records and logs, they won¡¯t lose out as long as nothing is lost.¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After measuring with a ruler, Bard said with some surprise, ¡°General Alpad raided for a day and two nights, the straight-line distance alone is nearly ninety kilometers?¡±


    Winters took the ruler and calculated it himself.


    If the scale was correct, the straight-line distance was really seventy kilometers.


    A day and two nights without rest, the straight-line distance for the forced march exceeded seventy kilometers. After reaching the battlefield, they smashed the Red River Tribe to pieces with a tsunami-like charge¡­ and still had the strength to continue chasing down the remnants.


    Winters quoted the old field marshal¡¯s praise, ¡°Truly like an iron stream of galloping horses.¡±


    Colonel Jeska also showed a hint of a smile and did not say much more.


    ¡°Don¡¯t neglect the skill of mapping on paper,¡± Colonel Jeska took out several small wooden tubes to pack maps for the centurions. ¡°It¡¯ll be useful sooner or later. It¡¯s said that the old field marshal liked to carry a book of blank pages with him, recording any terrain he liked on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, my aunt also says that the old field marshal likes doing housework, homework, and eating lettuce,¡± Winters yawned, carefully putting away the map, ¡°I¡¯ve found that each republic has its own peculiar versions of the old field marshal¡¯s anecdotes. Once I gather enough, I¡¯ll compile them and publish a book called ¡®The Great Man¡¯s Footprints.¡¯ Make every student at Lu You buy a copy, heh, I¡¯ll make a fortune.¡±


    Everyone shook their heads with helpless smiles..


    Suddenly a voice came from outside the tent, ¡°Excuse me, is Lieutenant Montaigne here?¡±


    The people inside the tent looked at one another.


    ¡°Come in!¡± Winters called out loudly.


    A tall, slender, serious infantry officer pushed aside the tent flap and walked in, ¡°Um¡­ Jeska? You¡¯re here too?¡±


    Colonel Jeska stood up, ¡°Robert? What are you doing here¡­ you¡¯re looking for Montaigne?¡±


    The others also stood up.


    Colonel Jeska introduced the others, ¡°This is Colonel Robert from the Sixth Legion, an old acquaintance of mine and quite the remarkable person.¡±


    The lieutenants hurriedly saluted.


    ¡°Ah, come on, where am I remarkable? Let¡¯s get to the point,¡± Robert waved his hand, anxiously asking, ¡°Which one of you is Lieutenant Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Winters replied, ¡°May I ask what you need me to do, sir?¡±


    Robert squinted, examining the lieutenant from head to toe, but he didn¡¯t see anything special.


    All he saw was a weary young man, slightly emaciated, with a mild and serene demeanor, not at all as exaggerated as the rumors suggested.


    The young man had a faint white scar at the temple, just two inches away from making another one-eyed man under this roof.


    ¡°You spellcasters don¡¯t seem to have anything special about you,¡± Colonel Robert said with a hint of disappointment, and then he promptly asked, ¡°I hear that you¡¯re currently the only spellcaster in the army who can use magic?¡±


    ¡­


    Later in Robert¡¯s battalion¡¯s camp area, Winters met Lieutenant Roy, who was also a spellcaster.


    Lieutenant Roy had a towel stuffed in his mouth, his face deathly pale and his teeth tightly clenched. Curled up under the blanket, his body couldn¡¯t stop trembling.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know why this is happening, there are no visible injuries on Roy, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any internal bleeding,¡± Colonel Robert¡¯s eyes reddened slightly, ¡°But this is how he is now¡­ in unbearable pain, he¡¯s suffering too much, I¡¯ve even thought of putting him out of his misery to end this endless torment¡­¡±


    Winters covered Roy with a blanket and asked, ¡°Is every spellcaster in the army like this?¡±


    Colonel Robert sat on a stool, supporting his forehead and replied, ¡°Some are not as bad, but they also can¡¯t use magic anymore. Roy is still one of the better ones. There are others more lucid than Roy, constantly screaming ¡®kill me kill me,¡¯ in pain until they pass out, then wake up, faint again, wake up again.¡±


    Lieutenant Varga said softly beside him, ¡°It¡¯s as if their bodies are still in this world, but their souls are already dragged into purgatory suffering.¡±


    ¡°Can I talk to those with milder symptoms?¡± Winters asked again.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take you to see them,¡± Colonel Robert said, ready to go right away.


    ¡°Colonel, wait,¡± Winters hastily stopped him, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do either, but the most pressing matter should be to lessen Lieutenant Roy¡¯s pain.¡±


    ¡­


    What was Roy going through? Winters knew all too well because he had been through it, when he accidentally used the Fire Dragon Roll technique, resulting in a [muscle strain].


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 Chapter 479 - 78: Review and Re-evaluation_5

    Chapter 479: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_5


    Winters had a guess: Roy was still in the ¡°strain¡± phase, while those dead Herder shamans had been ¡°snapped.¡±


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t sure whether the ¡°muscle¡± metaphor was appropriate.


    He also wasn¡¯t certain whether the operational mode of the third hand was really like that of a flesh-and-blood arm. It was the only ¡°self-consistent¡± logic he could come up with at the moment.


    So theoretically, as long as one used Moritz-brand sedatives and waited for the third hand to self-repair during sleep, it should be possible.


    Even more, there might be gains to be had after recovery.


    By regularly undergoing ¡°Moritz-style¡± overtraining, Winters¡¯s spellcasting abilities had improved much faster than they had in the past.


    ...


    Therefore, he speculated that the process of ¡°tearing and healing¡± could make the ¡°muscle,¡± even the ¡°bone,¡± stronger.


    But the problem was that Winters didn¡¯t have that kind of sedative herb on hand.


    When those bastards from The Federated Provinces shoved him into the coach, his medicines were still in his luggage.


    The luggage hadn¡¯t been sent to Paratu either.


    So, for the past half-year, Winters¡¯s training mainly focused on [precision control], relying entirely on willpower to sustain overtraining, which resulted in increasingly poor sleep quality.


    Moreover, even if he had those sedative herbs, Winters wouldn¡¯t bring them out.


    The spellcasters of Paratu were not lacking in intelligence; once they recovered, they would sooner or later realize their spellcasting abilities had slightly improved.


    The improvement was actually very subtle. According to Winters¡¯s direct perception, it was less than one percent.


    But the Venetians had a saying, ¡°Even small amounts accumulate over time.¡±


    Assume an improvement of one percent per day, and it would result in a thirty-seven-fold increase in a year; two percent per day would result in a six-fold increase in a year.


    [Note: Exponential functions are the most terrifying in this world.]


    [Further note: The exponential improvement is just Winters¡¯s speculation, but he indeed made a lot of progress.]


    In Winters¡¯s view, such sedative herbs should be classified as strategic resources. Their secret should be kept forever, banning the export of any finished product, seedlings, and seeds. Smugglers should be punished with the death penalty, familial liability, and excommunication from academia.


    However, the problem was that the Alliance didn¡¯t produce this stuff, and neither did the entire continent¡­


    It could only be obtained from the farthest reaches of the known world, the edge of civilization¡¯s edge, unimaginably distant¡ª the Empire¡¯s overseas colonies.


    The natives there used this substance as a sleep aid, chewing gum, and waterpipe tobacco.


    So Winters was even less likely to leak this secret, especially to the Paratu People.


    Without sedative herbs, one could only resort to improvised methods.


    ¡­


    ¡°Do you know how to ease Roy¡¯s torment?¡± Colonel Robert asked, full of expectation.


    ¡°How about¡­¡± Winters suggested tentatively, ¡°trying some liquor? The stronger, the better.¡±


    Alcohol anesthesia was also a therapy, and Winters had used it on the ship. He was originally unwilling to even mention this, but seeing the agony Lieutenant Roy was in, he couldn¡¯t bear it.


    Aside from Lieutenant Roy, who was tormented by phantom pains, everyone else in the tent stood dumbfounded.


    Colonel Robert and Lieutenant Varga exchanged looks; the colonel shook his head slightly and turned away.


    Lieutenant Varga said helplessly, ¡°Winters, do you think we haven¡¯t thought of using liquor? We¡¯ve tried, to no avail. He clenches his teeth tightly; forcing it in would just cause him to choke.¡±


    ¡°If he clenches his teeth, then pry them open. If he chokes, scoop it out and pour again.¡± Winters let his rational side take over, spreading his hands, ¡°Either give him liquor, or knock him out; these are the only two methods I can think of to alleviate his pain. If you don¡¯t control your strength well when knocking someone out, you could kill them. Compared to that, giving liquor is safer.¡±


    Colonel Robert clenched his fist, turned back to Winters, and demanded, ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s no other way?¡±


    Winters hesitated and stammered, ¡°Perhaps¡­ there¡¯s another method¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Colonel Robert pressed eagerly, ¡°What method?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ supposedly suffocation can also cause unconsciousness, so maybe try suffocation?¡± Winters was also very helpless, ¡°It seems better to knock him out than to have him conscious and suffering.¡±


    Colonel Robert slapped his thigh, eyes red, teeth clenched, ¡°Pour it! I¡¯ll do it myself! We have to try everything! If nothing works, I¡¯ll give Roy peace myself. He shouldn¡¯t suffer like this¡­¡±


    Winters also felt that using strong liquor was the most plausible solution. There were no teeth that couldn¡¯t be pried open, only people who weren¡¯t determined enough.


    ¡°As long as Roy can still swallow, there should still be a way to pour it in.¡±


    Varga ran to fetch the wine, but soon hurried back in a panic, ¡°Colonel, there¡¯s no more wine!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Robert exploded in anger, ¡°Didn¡¯t they deliver quite a bit? How could it all be gone?!¡±


    Varga said with a mournful face, ¡°It all got thrown into the river¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you save any wine?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t drink¡­¡± Lieutenant Varga¡ªWinters¡¯ real squad leader¡ªwas truly about to cry.


    ¡°[Expletive]!¡± Colonel Robert cursed, ¡°I don¡¯t drink either.¡±


    Suddenly, Robert and Varga both looked at Winters.


    Winters waved his hands repeatedly, ¡°I don¡¯t either, I¡¯m a spellcaster, I can¡¯t drink.¡±


    The west wind moaned through the tent, and the three of them looked at each other in silence.


    Colonel Robert calmly instructed Varga, ¡°Go ask others for it, just say that I need it. Someone must have a few bottles stashed away.¡±


    Winters had a flash of inspiration, reached into his bosom, fumbled around¡­ and found it!


    ¡°Wine!¡± He pulled out a silver flask with excitement, ¡°This was given to me by that guy Alpad!¡±


    ¡­


    After being forced to consume a substantial amount of strong alcohol, Lieutenant Roy¡¯s consciousness gradually blurred.


    The good thing about spellcasters is they usually don¡¯t drink, so their alcohol tolerance is generally poor.


    Watching Roy fall into a deep slumber, no longer suffering torture as before, the others in the tent finally felt at ease.


    Colonel Robert called over three robust soldiers to help, and it took the strength of six men to pry open Roy¡¯s mouth, pour the wine down his throat, and not choke him to death in the process.


    In the biting cold, Winters was drenched in sweat, panting, ¡°Some poisons can also numb a person, snake venom, scorpion poison¡­ would be much easier than what we¡¯re dealing with now¡­¡±


    Colonel Robert, who was wiping his sweat, kicked Winters and laughed heartily.


    Colonel Robert declared boastfully, ¡°This method works, I must tell the others. Lieutenant Montaigne, I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see those spellcasters with milder symptoms,¡± Winters hastily made a request.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Colonel Robert said with a grand wave of his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    In the medical tent, Winters saw his fellow spellcasters who were suffering from milder symptoms, able to endure the hallucinatory pain.


    Some had almost no hallucinatory pain, just an inability to use magic¡ªit was like the symptoms of a recovering patient, indicating that the tearing they experienced wasn¡¯t severe.


    After a long discussion behind closed doors, Winters gleaned a key term: [vortex].


    According to the other spellcasters¡¯ descriptions, the only word they could think of to describe their feelings at the time was ¡°vortex.¡±


    Bound within a vortex, swirling round and round, plummeting toward the depths, yet unable to break free.


    Only when surpassing the limit of what they could bear, losing consciousness, did they find release.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lose my ability to use magic, will I?¡± Lieutenant Mitch worriedly said.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± Winters consoled, ¡°Although I¡¯m not certain.¡±


    Another spellcaster, Lieutenant Matt, asked curiously, ¡°Why were you unaffected? Any thoughts on that?¡±


    Winters noticed that the unaffected spellcasters were all lieutenants who had just left the academy. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So he speculated, ¡°From what I see, with the Herders¡¯ attack spell, the stronger a spellcaster¡¯s abilities, the more severe the damage suffered. I was almost knocked out instantly, but when I came to, I still had hallucinatory pain, which I was barely enduring but could still manage to cast spells.¡±


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters concluded, ¡°it¡¯s probably because my abilities are the weakest.¡±


    Lieutenant Matt wanted to interject, but Mitch subtly held him back, shaking his head with an almost imperceptible motion.


    Mitch smiled at Winters, saying, ¡°Maybe so.¡±


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 Chapter 480 - 79: One and a Half Spells

    Chapter 480: Chapter 79: One and a Half Spells


    The sky was still dark when the vanguard troops set out.


    Two standing army battalions and another of militia led the way, with Jeska¡¯s battalion doubling as the supply and rearguard units, and a company of Piaoqi cavalry providing support¡ªsuch was the full strength of the vanguard.


    Their responsibility was to confirm the route, construct camps, clear any potential enemies, and prepare in advance for the arrival of the main force.


    The sun had not yet risen, so it was very cold, cold enough to make one¡¯s chest tremble involuntarily.


    Some soldiers with clever hands had sewn hats resembling helmets for themselves, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.


    Those without needlework skills could only endure the cold, their noses, mouths, and ears all red from freezing, the white mist of their breath frosting their eyelashes.


    ... sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Other soldiers cut the Herders¡¯ robes into pieces to improvise as scarves, or haphazardly found some scraps of cloth to use as bandanas.


    Jeska¡¯s camp was now eerily empty, everything that needed to be taken was packed onto carts, hoisted onto shoulders, leaving only mounds of charcoal-gray ashes on the ground.


    The rearguards had yet to depart, the militiamen stood in formation, waiting, rubbing their hands, stamping their feet, whispering idle chatter.


    Winters walked between the ranks, performing his final check before departure.


    Seeing the Centurion approach, the militiamen all saluted promptly, and Winters returned their salute with equal seriousness.


    Many of the militiamen were wrapped in Herders¡¯ robes, for no other reason than that Herder robes were truly warm.


    If it weren¡¯t for fear of setting a poor example, Winters himself would have liked to acquire a robe to wear over his armor¡ªafter all, in this damned weather, one could never have too many layers.


    [Samujin] of Wolf Town, shivering with hunched shoulders, quickly asked upon seeing the Centurion approach, ¡°When can we set out, sir?¡±


    Winters estimated the time for a moment and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it should be soon.¡±


    ¡°Good¡­ that¡¯s good,¡± Samujin sniffled, shivering, ¡°It¡¯ll be warmer once we get moving, freezing just standing here.¡±


    Seeing that Samujin only wore the coat he¡¯d brought from home, Winters was baffled, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gotten yourself a robe to wear?¡±


    Samujin¡¯s voice was as small as a mosquito¡¯s, ¡°Wearing clothes of the deceased, it¡¯s unlucky. I¡¯m fine, sir, it¡¯ll be warm once we move.¡±


    ¡°Then do you want the dead man¡¯s gold?¡± Winters was exasperated, pointing to Samujin¡¯s sheathed knife, he asked, ¡°Was that knife given to you on a platter by a Herder? You¡¯ll take a dead man¡¯s saber, you¡¯ll wear a dead man¡¯s armor. Tell me, what¡¯s the difference with a dead man¡¯s robe?¡±


    Samujin had no counter, muttering with a hung head, ¡°But it¡¯s still not the same.¡±


    Winters was as amused as he was frustrated, ¡°You ignorance! Do you have any idea how costly Herder robes are? If a Herder woman¡¯s dowry contains three sets of robes, that¡¯s no ordinary household. Traders specifically buy Herder fur robes, and you¡¯re refusing even when it¡¯s free?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Samujin was dumbfounded, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡­ but it¡¯s too late now¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got five minutes. Go find Lieutenant Bard at the back and get yourself one,¡± Winters urged. ¡°Go! Run!¡±


    Samujin ran off like a shot.


    ¡°Be sparing with the robe, be careful of moths,¡± Winters advised the others around him, ¡°It might be hard to wear it for a lifetime, but half a lifetime shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    After inspecting his two hundred-men squads, Winters entered the old shaman¡¯s wagon.


    As he opened the door, he found himself eye to eye with Little Lion.


    Recognizing the visitor, Little Lion buried its head back into its embrace to continue sleeping.


    ¡°Move, move.¡± Winters gave Little Lion a smack, pushing it to the side.


    Little Lion made a rumbling noise, grumbling as it made room for Winters to sit.


    Brother Reed smiled faintly, ¡°This little fellow has very good ears. It heard your footsteps from a distance.¡±


    ¡°Little fellow?¡± Winters looked at Little Lion and fretted, ¡°It must be close to eighty pounds by now, right?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with eighty pounds?¡± Brother Reed was unfazed, ¡°It¡¯s still far from adulthood.¡±


    Although still called Little Lion, that was only because Winters had forbidden Bell from naming it.


    In reality, Little Lion was already bigger and heavier than any domestic dog Winters had ever seen, and it was growing larger and heavier every day, with an ever-increasing appetite.


    Luckily, Winters no longer worried about where to find meat; dragging over a horse carcass kept Little Lion fed for a good while.


    Winters, stroking the fur on Little Lion¡¯s back and feeling helpless, said, ¡°It is exactly for this reason that I am anxious. You have never seen its mother¡­ Sigh, I¡¯m considering whether to let it return to the wilds right here.¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Reed warmed his feet on Little Lion and countered Winters, ¡°How to release it? This little fellow can¡¯t even catch a rabbit. If you set it loose in the wild, aren¡¯t you sending it to starve to death?¡±


    ¡°The Herders will be chasing us soon, they ought to capture it.¡±


    Releasing Little Lion to the Herders would be like sending a divine sign to Yasin, bolstering his authority.


    Winters was despairing, ¡°I never imagined Yasin¡¯s father would name him that!¡±


    ¡°Herder names are all chosen by their own Shaman,¡± Brother Reed corrected with a smile.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter!¡±


    Reed chuckled more heartily, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, take it with you to Paratu. If you can¡¯t afford to keep it, I can arrange for the church to take over. ¡®A call from the wilderness as a lion¡¯, ha ha ha!¡±


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 Chapter 481 - 79 A Half Spell_2

    Chapter 481: Chapter 79 A Half Spell_2


    Winters¡¯s headache worsened.


    The image of the lion holds special significance in both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.


    Firstly, the lion is a symbol of King David and also one of the twelve tribal emblems of the descendants who wrestled with God, as there are numerous metaphors and images of lions in the scriptures.


    The Winged Lion is the symbol of Sea Blue¡¯s patron Saint, Saint Marco, and this image is depicted on the banners of the Vineta army.


    Another Saint, Jerome, has an even closer connection to lions. Legend has it that he once removed a thorn from a lion¡¯s paw, and from then on, the lion stayed by his side, which was considered a miracle.


    There are also stories of two other Saints who were accompanied by lions.


    ...


    It was precisely because of Saint Jerome¡¯s precedent that the fact that Reed, a mendicant monk, had a lion by his side was readily accepted by the vast majority of believers without any difficulty.


    ¡°The Little Lion is¡­ is¡­¡± Winters struggled to find the words, and after a lengthy pause, he still couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what the Little Lion was.


    He resignedly gave up: ¡°It¡¯s definitely not a miracle; I¡¯d rather raise it myself than hand it over to the Roman Catholic Church.¡±


    ¡°In fact, you already have the answer,¡± the old monk said leisurely, ¡°Can you stand to separate the two little fellows? Can you bear to part with this little one? Even nurturing a potted plant can breed affection, let alone such a spiritual creature. Just keep it for now, no one¡¯s stopping you. Don¡¯t worry, you can wait until it matures and then train it to return to the forest.¡±


    Winters thought it over and found no better solution.


    Release it into the wilderness?


    Unsafe.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Sell it to the Church or some other big shot?


    Unethical.


    The main issue, separating Bell and the Little Lion?


    He couldn¡¯t bear it.


    The little Hunter and the Little Lion were inseparably close, and although the Little Lion was still far from adulthood, the occasional glimpse of wildness and power it displayed made Winters tense.


    Only with Bell, no matter how they frolicked and played, the boy and the lion never had a single incident.


    Winters vaguely felt that in the Little Lion¡¯s eyes, he and the old conjurer were still ¡°people,¡± while Bell was regarded by the Little Lion as ¡°one of its own.¡±


    Perhaps the old monk¡¯s method was the only way: first ensure that the Little Lion could fend for itself, then let it return to the forest.


    ¡°A lion raised by humans?¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°Can it learn to hunt?¡±


    Of course it can, the old monk said with certainty, ¡°Don¡¯t understand, do you? Look at the cats kept by nobles, they¡¯re well-fed and never hungry. But they still catch mice because it¡¯s instinct. Tsk, tsk, tsk¡­ Young man, you lack experience and have much to learn.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was at a loss for words, his own experience told him that the Great General ignored mice completely, but the young generals indeed sometimes brought mice home, always eliciting screams.


    With the Little Lion¡¯s issue temporarily set aside, Winters casually mentioned to the old cleric about how ¡°Samuqingen¡± would rather freeze than wear dead men¡¯s clothes,¡± as if it were a funny anecdote.


    To his surprise, Monk Reed showed interest.


    Stroking his beard and feigning seriousness, he said, ¡°It seems that he¡¯s not the only one with such concerns, which might affect the combat effectiveness of the troops. After all, once fingers are frostbitten, soldiers can no longer fight.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters also grew worried, ¡°What should we do then?¡±


    ¡°I have a method that should resolve this very well.¡±


    ¡°What method?¡±


    ¡°Simple,¡± Reed smirked, ¡°Next time we have Mass, I¡¯ll use some Holy Water to bless Hurd¡¯s robes, and that¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Winters was silent for a long time before asking the old man, half in admiration and half in sarcasm, ¡°If¡­ I mean if you and your group of fanatics said cow dung tasted good, would they eat it?¡±


    ¡­


    The old cleric Reed slowly transformed from ¡°The Saint of Jeska¡¯s Squad¡± to ¡°The Saint of the entire Paratu Army.¡±


    Even senior officers like Sekler and Alpad did not dare to slight the old cleric, repeatedly inviting him to stay in the more comfortable central army camp, but he declined time after time.


    Hence, Winters witnessed the generals and staff officers¡¯ attitude shift from ¡°not daring to slight¡± to ¡°admiring and venerating.¡±


    When the old monk preached, people from other squads, regardless of whether they were Protestants, Catholics, officers, or soldiers, all came to listen.


    When the old monk gave out cookies, those taking communion lined up all the way from the west wall to the east wall of the camp.


    The existence of the Little Lion far from diminishing the old monk¡¯s sanctity, actually came to be seen by believers as a miracle.


    Seeing a real lion lying at the old monks¡¯ feet as docile as a puppy, many faithful wept and revered the old man even more as a living Saint.


    When the rumor that someone ¡°self-proclaimed sanctity¡± spread, another devout follower, Lieutenant Varga, was outraged.


    With his religious fervor clouding his mind, Lieutenant Varga drew his sword and barged into Jeska¡¯s camp, swearing to kill the heretics.


    Upon learning of the incident, Winters rushed to save the old man without even having time to put on his shirt or boots, clutching a steel nail as he ran.


    By the time a bare-chested and barefoot Winters arrived at the scene, it was too late¡­ Varga was kissing the hem of the old monk¡¯s robe.


    As Lieutenant Varga left Jeska¡¯s camp, he had been ¡°called again¡± and became one of the old cleric¡¯s most fervent supporters.


    ¡­


    After hearing Winters¡¯s ¡°cow dung¡± question, Monk Reed wasn¡¯t the least bit angry.


    Monk Reed looked straight into Winters¡¯s eyes.


    His gaze was intense, his expression solemn, he earnestly said to Winters, ¡°They are devout, not intellectually deficient. Even if the Pope said cow dung tasted good, no one would eat it. Among those around you, aside from you cultivators, everyone else is a believer. You should maintain a shred of respect, at the very least you should not show disdain. If you continue like this, one day you won¡¯t be able to hide your contempt. Then how will you coexist with this religious society?¡±


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 Chapter 482 - 79: One and a Half Spells_3

    Chapter 482: Chapter 79: One and a Half Spells_3


    Winters snorted lightly.


    His words just now had been too presumptuous, and he knew his reasoning was flawed.


    Moreover, the sudden solemnity of the old shaman made him feel as awkward as a naughty child caught in the act.


    Truth be told, Winters was taken aback: Brother Reed¡¯s eyes seemed to see right through him.


    The carriage became quiet, with only the snoring of Little Lion.


    ¡°Cough, but well, you know.¡± The old man revealed a cunning smile, ¡°If I told them bull dung could cure ailments, they might give it a try.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The carriage door was kicked open.


    Winters stormed off in anger.


    The sleeping Little Lion was startled by the sound of the door being kicked, leaping up instantly from the seat, his mane bristling and his claws fully extended as he looked around warily.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, it¡¯s all right.¡± Reed soothed Little Lion gently, ¡°Did you get startled into puffing up too?¡±


    ¡­


    The first three battalions had already left the camp; it was Jeska¡¯s battalion¡¯s turn to depart.


    Carriages passed through the camp, their grating ¡°creak¡± echoing throughout.


    Many people came out of their tents to watch the caravan leave the camp.


    Vineta officers and several senior students from Paratu also came to see off Winters and his companions.


    Lieutenant Mitch and Winters bumped fists, ¡°See you at the next camp, Winters.¡±


    ¡°See you at the next camp, squad leader,¡± Winters replied.


    When Winters had entered the Land Academy, Mitch, a third-year student, had truly been his squad leader and a predecessor in the way of spellcraft.


    Taking one last look at Bianli, Winters put everything behind him and spurred his horse forward.


    He¡¯d come with nothing in his hands, but he was leaving with half a spell.


    [Dissolution Spell], and the rudiment of another spell.


    According to Winters¡¯ conjecture, the large spell that caused the downpour was likely powered not only by Shaman Hurd but also by the spellcasters of Paratu contributing their magic power.


    The spell of Shaman Hurd had triggered a resonance with the spellcasters of the Alliance, their ¡°magic power¡± being sucked away like ships caught in a whirlpool¡ªif there really was such a thing as ¡°magic power.¡±


    Following this principle, the first [Counter-Spell] in the history of Alliance Spellcasters was on the verge of emergence; Winters temporarily named it [Mana Vortex].


    But thinking was not enough; Winters needed more resources for experimentation and practice.


    ¡°The ¡®Antoine-Laurent¡¯ award is mine,¡± Winters thought, ¡°The youngest recipient ever.¡±


    Watching Winters¡¯ figure fade into the distance, Lieutenant Mitch asked Lieutenant Matt who was still waving his hand desperately, ¡°Do you think Winters Montagne is a frivolous person?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Matt, wiping his tears, paused slightly at Mitch¡¯s question, ¡°Winters¡­ he¡¯s a pretty good kid, right? What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Yes or no.¡±


    ¡°¡­No.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so either; I¡¯ve had him for a year. He¡¯s a good kid, I know that very well,¡± said Lieutenant Mitch thoughtfully, ¡°But he deliberately hid something from us yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Matt was still immersed in the sorrow of parting.


    ¡°Someone told me that Winters killed the Terdon Tribe¡¯s premier warrior with a single spear throw. Do you think he has that kind of arm strength?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like it got blown out of proportion to me¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s true.¡± Mitch stroked the stubble on his chin, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that was a specialized version of the Arrow Flying Spell.¡±


    Matt was puzzled, ¡°So? Spellcasters all have their signature spells.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried, and I can¡¯t do it,¡± Mitch said seriously, ¡°Neither the precision nor the power can be replicated by me.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°If a person who is not frivolous does something that seems frivolous, then the information he is hiding must be very important.¡± Mitch stood up straight, looking toward the barely visible figure of Winters and shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°What weakest? He¡¯s the strongest one.¡±


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 Chapter 483 - 80 One Day

    Chapter 483: Chapter 80 One Day


    The vanguard marched a whole day¡¯s journey ahead of the main force.


    On the first day, they advanced along the southern bank of the Confluence River.


    Downstream, the riverbanks were strewn with Herder corpses that had been washed ashore. Every few steps, Winters could see new swollen bodies.


    Many crows and vultures rushed over for a feast, pecking at the rotten flesh with abandon while keeping a close watch on the living passing before them.


    ¡°Looking at what!¡± Xial, unable to bear it any longer, picked up a stone and threw it at the crows.


    The black birds screeched horribly and took flight with a flap, circling above Paratu¡¯s army.


    ...


    The other militia members also started picking up stones and flinging them at crows and vultures.


    Winters did not issue any orders to stop them.


    ¡°Looking at what?¡± he thought somberly, ¡°Food.¡±


    ¡­


    Shortly after the dispute between Winters and Haug had resolved, a messenger returned with the final decision from the two generals.


    A carelessly written word was scribbled on a sealed piece of parchment:


    [The Wheel]


    The Wheel, that meant not sparing any man taller than a wheel.


    The order was executed efficiently, and the remaining Herder women and children were driven across the river to fend for themselves.


    Brother Reed looked down upon General Paratu¡¯s decision.


    Brother Reed asked Winters, ¡°Absolute cruelty or absolute kindness, one must choose one. Killing the fathers, sparing the wives and sons, what does that count as?¡±


    Winters had no answer.


    But Alpad and Sekler had their reasons.


    For the Herder tribes, women were precious resources and property.


    Without women, there are no men¡ªno one knew this better than the Herders who lived in harsh conditions.


    ¡°Let the Red River Tribe deal with that headache,¡± Alpad said carelessly during a senior officers¡¯ meeting, ¡°Let¡¯s see if Yasin can keep those women. He might even have to fight a battle over it.¡±


    ¡­


    Marching in the wilderness where there were no roads, the commander usually kept the daily distance to 20,000 steps.


    One step was counted as the left and right foot moving once, 20,000 steps measuring approximately 24 kilometers, so that the soldiers had the energy left to fight.


    If they were marching on hard-surface roads, they could walk up to 30,000 steps a day, about 36 kilometers. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But on the first day of departure, the vanguard Winters was with only managed to cover a mere dozen kilometers, not quite 15,000 steps.


    The reason was simple: the speed of the wagons could not match the pace.


    The supply camps they had built along the way had been burned down, and Paratu¡¯s army was unable to procure forage on the spot.


    Thus, the wagons carrying the provisions became the shortcoming of the barrel.


    Seeing that the sun was setting, Colonel Bod¡ªthe vanguard¡¯s commander¡ªordered the camp to be set up.


    [Note: Colonel Daniel Bod is the commander who defended the northern stockade]


    A short march did not mean an easy end to the day.


    The soldiers also had to dig trenches and construct a camp large enough to accommodate the main force.


    Standing Army and auxiliary troops alike, everyone had to work.


    Coachmen unharnessed and fed the horses, soldiers responsible for cooking busied themselves with chopping wood and starting fires, while others were buried in digging trenches and building walls.


    The defensive works were divided into sections and assigned to each centuria.


    Winters surveyed and supervised the work in the section his troops were responsible for.


    Every person in the vanguard was given a shovel or a mattock, significantly speeding up the digging process.


    Never underestimate shovels and pickaxes; equipping regular soldiers with tools is a major ¡°renaissance¡± tactic for land forces and part of the [Ned Smith Military Reforms].


    However, due to their size and weight making them inconvenient to carry, a squad of ten only had two shovels, one mattock, one axe, and one saw in its inventory.


    The night before their departure, Sekler concentrated most of the tools in the hands of the vanguard and arranged for their transport by wagon.


    Even with everyone equipped with proper tools, the troops worked into the darkness before the work could be barely considered finished.


    Afterwards, upon Colonel Bod¡¯s personal inspection and approval, the militia under Winters finally heard the command to disband.


    The returning militiamen shoveled a few bites of food and drink hastily and started to pitch their tents.


    Everyone was utterly exhausted and solely wished to sleep and rest.


    Winters too returned to his company¡¯s headquarters, looking for something to eat.


    The headquarters were quiet; Lieutenant Colonel Jeska had finished eating and left, and the other three centurions had not yet returned.


    Inside the tent were only three men: Father Caman and Brother Reed dining, and blacksmith Berlion tending to the stew pot.


    Ever since Lieutenant Colonel Jeska transferred the blacksmith to the company as a cook, Father Caman and Brother Reed had also come to the company headquarters to cook.


    Winters helped himself to a bowl of thick soup and asked Caman, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    Father Caman put down his utensils, made a sign of the cross, and said in a low voice, ¡°Today, five believers have reached their place of rest through the mercy of the Lord.¡±


    Brother Reed sighed, ¡°Just say that five died, no need to beat around the bush. The lad doesn¡¯t understand that.¡±


    Most of the severely wounded would die within seven days, and some of the lightly wounded would also pass away from fever or shock.


    Winters had seen too much and was becoming somewhat numb to it.


    He consoled Caman, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, if it weren¡¯t for you, there would be more dead.¡±


    Caman remained silent.


    ¡­


    The recovery rate for officers was much higher than for soldiers, not only because the officers were stronger physically, but also because injured officers received good care.


    If soldiers received the same treatment, the lightly wounded had a high chance of survival.


    But in reality, the wounded were barely cared for, since the army¡¯s structure was composed solely of combat personnel.


    The few doctors accompanying the army were full-time; the rest were dual-duty soldiers and officers.


    Having someone to stitch up their wounds or remove an arrowhead was all they could hope for; beyond that, it was down to luck for the wounded.


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 Chapter 484 - 80 One Day _2

    Chapter 484: Chapter 80 One Day _2


    Jeska¡¯s squadron was an exception, because with Caman in charge of the medical tent, the injured men in Jeska¡¯s unit had already received the best care they could get.


    But even so, the inevitable toll of the long and arduous journey meant that many of the wounded soldiers would not make it.


    ¡­


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked Caman, ¡°Should I send you a few more hands?¡±


    Caman silently made a gesture of thanks.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll pick a few reliable ones to send to you.¡± Winters sipped his meat soup in small gulps and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll take some men to dig graves in a moment, using the legion¡¯s burial rites¡­¡±


    ...


    Andre burst into the headquarters, his nostrils flaring as he asked the blacksmith, ¡°What¡¯s stewing today?¡±


    ¡°Horse meat,¡± Berlion answered.


    ¡°When is it not?¡± Andre sighed and took a seat at the table.


    Berlion served up a bowl of horse meat soup and placed it in front of Andre.


    Andre started to wolf down his food, and without looking up, he asked Winters, ¡°Have you arranged the night watch?¡±


    Winters nodded and asked with puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Andre gulped down the soup with a ¡°glug glug,¡± and while passing the empty bowl back to the blacksmith with his left hand, he reached for the breadbasket in the middle of the table with his right, saying, ¡°With all this marching and working, who¡¯s got the energy for guard duty? If you ask me, the decurion in charge of the watch shouldn¡¯t have to build camp. Let them rest properly. Otherwise, they¡¯ll be snoozing on guard duty.¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged¡­ but what about those on night watch today?¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s night watch?¡± Andre scoffed, ¡°Tough luck for them.¡±


    Once dinner was done, so was the soldier¡¯s day, but the centurion¡¯s day was far from over.


    The blacksmith¡¯s horse meat soup invigorated Winters, and after filling his belly, he headed towards Jeska¡¯s squadron¡¯s campsite.


    He was not going to sleep, as officers did not bunk with soldiers; his tent was located in a separate camp in the center of the base. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was simply his habit to walk around the camp after dinner.


    Now was the most relaxed time in the camp, with soldiers sitting around the warm campfire, sharing hot food with their tent comrades.


    Warmth, food, fire ¨C these things allowed soldiers to remove the shackles of discipline for a time.


    By walking around the campsite during dinner time, Winters could get a vague, intuitive sense of the soldiers¡¯ condition: Cold? Hungry? Fearful? Angry? Excited? Subdued? War-weary? Eager to fight?


    First, Winters went to the stables where the horses were well taken care of, with feed and water provided.


    At the stables, he ran into Bard and Colonel Jeska, and the young groom, Anglu, was also present.


    A draft horse had its left front hoof tied to a wooden stake, and Anglu was busy picking at the horse¡¯s hoof.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s face was sullen, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand if I told you.¡±


    Winters was used to this; he turned and asked Bard, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Bard motioned with his chin, ¡°The hoof might be ¡®quittor,¡¯ it¡¯s walking with a limp.¡±


    Quittor? Winters really didn¡¯t understand¡­


    ¡°It might have pus inside.¡± Bard added for clarification.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Anglu focused on his task, first prying off the horseshoe, then peeling off layers of the hoof as one would a carrot.


    Finally, the young groom took a drill and made a hole in the left side of the hoof.


    Thick, dark red pus flowed from the hole, plopping onto the ground and making Winters¡¯s scalp tingle.


    ¡°This¡¯ll be tough to handle,¡± Colonel Jeska remarked, arms crossed.


    ¡°Yeah, tough,¡± Bard sighed.


    After draining the pus, Anglu cleaned the hoof, applied medicine, and then wrapped it with clean cotton cloth.


    ¡°This horse can¡¯t work for a while,¡± Anglu said sadly, ¡°Best to let it rest. Half a month should do.¡±


    Colonel Jeska also sighed, a rare trace of sorrow in his voice, ¡°Let it tag along, and if it doesn¡¯t make it¡­ slaughter it, don¡¯t waste the fodder.¡±


    The young groom gently stroked the horse¡¯s mane and murmured his acknowledgment.


    Colonel Jeska then looked at Winters, frowning as he asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Winters quickly excused himself and continued his stroll through the campsite.


    He walked towards the areas with campfires, wrapped in a Herder¡¯s robe, appearing like a regular militiaman.


    Under the deep night sky, everyone was busy filling their stomachs, and no one noticed the centurion passing by.


    They were laughing, cursing, singing bawdy tunes, or gossiping about the embarrassing moments of certain officers.


    These were things they would never discuss in front of Winters, giving him a strange sense of authenticity.


    The army is a whole, the phalanx is a whole, and every individual within is faceless.


    Now, the faceless individuals sat by the fire, gradually becoming flesh and blood people,


    but Winters couldn¡¯t see or hear clearly who was speaking.


    Through the tangible individuals, he gained a vague, intuitive understanding of the ¡°army¡± as a whole.


    This intuitive sense was like touching the ¡°spirit¡± of the army; that¡¯s why Winters had to walk and connect daily, otherwise, he never felt at ease.


    Winters wandered aimlessly, when a voice from behind a campfire reached him, ¡°All blistered up, nearly rotting away.¡±


    ¡°Endure it.¡± Another person sniffled in a low reply, ¡°We can¡¯t have the farm boys think less of us.¡±


    He didn¡¯t recognize other voices, but these two were familiar to him.


    The first belonged to Vashka.


    The second to Pierre.


    Winters approached and asked, ¡°What¡¯s rotting away?¡±


    ¡°What else but feet?¡± Vashka replied irritably, then he stood up abruptly, ¡°Sir¡­ Centurion!¡±


    Next to Vashka, other Dusacks who were warming their feet by the fire stood up at once.


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 Chapter 485 - 80 One Day_3

    Chapter 485: Chapter 80 One Day_3


    ¡­


    To conserve the warhorses¡¯ strength, Colonel Jeska strictly forbade any soldier from riding, even the Dusacks had to lead their horses and walk on foot¡ªunless they encountered the enemy or were on a reconnaissance mission.


    ¡°Even the knock-kneed guys have to walk on the ground now,¡± the other militiamen muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s see if they can endure the hardships that we¡¯ve gone through.¡±


    Seeing that the usually arrogant Dusacks also had to stride out on their knock-kneed legs, there was a hint of satisfaction in the hearts of the ¡°farmers¡¯ sons¡± from the mouths of the Dusacks.


    At first, Winters¡¯ Dusacks would call the sons of farmers ¡°Bumpkins,¡± while the sons of farmers returned the favor by calling the Dusacks ¡°Tartars.¡±


    Both terms were extremely derogatory, their psychological damage to each other was no less destructive than forty-eight-pound cannonballs.


    ...


    If Winters was not present, a light-hearted ¡°Tartar¡± or ¡°Bumpkin¡± could provoke a fight. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, the people of Wolf Town left their hometown under the disdainful gaze of each other.


    What happened afterward does not need to be retold: some were no longer there, while others joined in to fill their places.


    Newcomers also liked to say ¡°Tartar¡± and ¡°Bumpkin¡± at the beginning, but after supporting each other through several brushes with death, no one mentioned those two words again.


    However, the antagonism caused by their different origins subtly persisted, so the derogatory terms also quietly changed.


    ¡°Knock-kneed¡± replaced ¡°Tartar,¡± and ¡°farmers¡¯ son¡± replaced ¡°Bumpkin.¡±


    In Winters¡¯ ears, ¡°knock-kneed¡± and ¡°farmers¡¯ son¡± were still extremely serious insults.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you use some normal terms of address?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but talk to his militiamen about it.


    According to the militiamen, these two terms only had an insulting connotation when heard by the other party; those who said them considered them neutral.


    Discussing this with Bard, Winters was still indignant, ¡°Nonsense! They are just fooling themselves! What does ¡®it¡¯s not insulting when I say it, only when you hear it¡¯ mean? Shouldn¡¯t it be up to the listener to decide whether it¡¯s a slur or not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still better sounding than ¡®Tartar¡¯ and ¡®Bumpkin,''¡± Bard had no other choice.


    ¡­


    Some were waiting for the Dusacks to make a fool of themselves, and the Dusacks also knew that some were waiting for them to mess up.


    So they didn¡¯t complain or grumble, just silently carried on walking.


    Their spirit was commendable, but their bodies could not be fooled; Pierre, Vashka, and other Dusacks had blisters on their feet, some the size of thumbs.


    Winters took one look and understood what was happening, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry, ¡°What good is warming by the fire? Go to the medic and let him prick them with a needle; don¡¯t just squeeze them.¡±


    The Dusacks from Wolf Town were very close to Winters and were bold.


    Pierre said in a low voice, ¡°That barber is a ¡®farmers¡¯ son,¡¯ he will definitely laugh at us.¡±


    ¡°What ¡®farmers¡¯ son¡¯?¡± Winters¡¯ temper flared at that term, ¡°Or do you want me to do it for you?¡±


    Pierre shook his head desperately.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shake your head,¡± Winters reached out to grab Pierre¡¯s leg, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°No need, no need¡­¡± Pierre retreated continuously, nearly falling over, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the medic.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to hear ¡®Tartar,¡¯ don¡¯t call others ¡®farmers¡¯ son,''¡± Winters didn¡¯t know if the Dusacks would take it to heart, but looking at the blisters on their feet, he said, ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll have the medic come over, be polite to him.¡±


    After walking a few steps, he turned back, ¡°Tell the others, to go see Lieutenant Bard in the morning to get shoes¡­ How are you supposed to walk in long boots?¡±


    ¡­


    When the militiamen began to extinguish the campfires, Winters returned to his tent.


    In the war zone, to conserve ¡°magic¡± for emergencies, he had temporarily stopped practicing spells.


    He lit the oil lamp, there was one last thing he needed to do.


    Winters took out paper, a pen, and an ink bottle, thought about what had happened that day, and began to write a letter to Anna:


    ¡°From now on, every moment, I am getting closer to you¡­¡±


    The letter was very short, just a few sentences long. Winters carefully folded the paper and placed it inside a wooden box.


    He pinched out the oil lamp and crawled under the blanket.


    On the small table, inside the wooden box, the neatly stacked pieces of paper numbered in the hundreds.


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 Chapter 486 - 81 Contact

    Chapter 486: Chapter 81 Contact


    Walking, building camp, resting, walking¡­ day after day.


    The exhaustion and monotony of the march can be glimpsed through Winters¡¯ logs:


    On the first day, we marched along the southern bank of the Confluence River, crows were pecking at floating corpses, nothing happened.


    On the second day, we continued eastward, the weather turned cold, nothing happened.


    On the third day, we crossed the river at Alpad¡¯s ford, the water reached up to the horses¡¯ knees; we fortified on the north bank of the ford, nothing else.


    On the fourth day, we continued the march, nothing happened.


    ...


    On the fifth day, we marched, nothing happened.


    On the sixth day, nothing happened.


    On the seventh, eighth, and ninth days, no records were written.


    On the tenth night, Bard, Andre, and Mason quietly slipped into Winters¡¯ tent.


    In the dim light, they began to piece together a large, incomplete map from smaller sections.


    To see a small-scale map of the legion, their ranks were not high enough.


    Fortunately, their immediate superior was John Jeska, Colonel Jeska was used to providing his subordinates with large-scale tactical maps to explain and discuss the terrain.


    The map was the route.


    After looking for a long time, Andre concluded, ¡°We are heading northeast.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No shit, but the key question is why are we heading northeast?¡± Mason supported his chin, his thumb unconsciously rubbing his stubble.


    ¡°The Styx, it¡¯s all because of the Styx.¡± Winters yawned from exhaustion as he pointed to an empty space beyond the map, ¡°The Floating Bridge is gone, we can only go upstream to find a narrower spot to cross the river.¡±


    Andre also yawned. He got up to stretch his stiff muscles, impatiently asking, ¡°How much further do we have to go before we can return to Paratu?¡±


    Winters gently lifted his hand.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Two faint sounds of an object cutting through the air.


    A steel pin was added beside the small circle that represented Bianli on the map, and another steel pin flew off the paper into the ground beyond.


    If they were unfamiliar officers observing this scene, they might think Winters was showing off his skill.


    But the few in the tent understood: Winters was forcing his spirit.


    The more tired he was, the more frequent he used magic for non-combat purposes.


    The phantom pain slightly sobered up the groggy Winters; he propped his forehead and said in a low voice, ¡°From the Styx camp to Bianli, I remember it took us eighteen days on our way here.¡±


    Bard pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°That¡¯s correct, eighteen days.¡±


    ¡°Eighteen days, considering the marching speed of the baggage train, it¡¯s better to overestimate than underestimate, let¡¯s say 200 kilometers.¡±


    ¡°About right.¡±


    Winters fetched paper and pen, speaking as he wrote, ¡°Past the Styx lies a no-man¡¯s land, that¡¯s another 100 kilometers. All in all, a full estimate: 300 kilometers.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go with 300 kilometers, no need to be so precise,¡± Mason also picked up a measuring tape and began to measure with Bard¡¯s help.


    Mason and Bard were in charge of measuring, while Winters took care of the calculations, and Andre was there for the spectacle.


    Ultimately, the few concluded that they were about 210 kilometers away from Matou Slope town and approximately 98 kilometers from the Styx.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t too far,¡± Andre optimistically estimated, ¡°Twenty days?¡±


    The other three¡¯s gaze turned towards the river not included in the map but present right there¡ªthe Styx.


    210 kilometers, with the pace of strong marchers, would not exceed four days, and could be even faster with spare mounts.


    But marching an army was not like racing horses on a track; the issue was not so much the distance as the terrain.


    Rivers, hills, and marshes¡ªwhat were minor pains on the way there turned into major obstacles on the way back.


    Other barriers were manageable, but the Styx¡ªKurwalleya¡ªwas the crux of the problem.


    Jeska¡¯s unit took the supply line on the way there, which was theoretically the shortest route.


    That¡¯s because the Paratu People¡¯s planning of the supply line was brutally simple: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, they simply draw a straight line between Bianli and Matou Slope town on the map, which becomes the principal supply route, and the actual route would be revisions of this straight line.


    The intersection of the supply line and the Styx was where the Floating Bridge once stood.


    Although that junction was not the best location, with early reconnaissance and planning, well-trained engineers, and a large supply of prefabricated components, the Parlatu Army was capable of building a bridge where it was otherwise unsuitable for one.


    However, what was possible then does not mean it is possible now; the retreating Parlatu Army lacked the leeway they once had.


    A few Centurions guessed close to the mark: the original Floating Bridge was destroyed, and with only the current resources, Parlatu engineers were unable to build a bridge of the same scale again.


    Therefore, the Parlatu Army had to go upstream to find shallower and narrower river crossings.


    That meant a detour.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°Where¡¯s the bridge? We don¡¯t know. Is there an enemy pursuit behind us? We also don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Annoying!¡± Andre complained aloud, ¡°Keeping everything hidden, telling us nothing, and leaving us to guess for ourselves!¡±


    Winters too struggled to keep his temper, ¡°They should at least inform us a little. Saying nothing makes people anxious.¡±


    Andre was complaining about the Parlatu Army, but the Vineta Army was not much different.


    To prevent leaks and panic, combat intentions and intelligence were strictly classified. Information was not disclosed to lower-ranking officers until the last moment.


    Most of the time, soldiers went into battle without knowing the full story.


    Military maps were among the deepest secrets.


    If you go back thirty years, the drafting of maps and nautical charts was theoretically the privilege of clergy, because ¡°mortals do not have the right to depict the world created by God.¡±


    The Parlatu Army stipulates that Centurion-level officers are not allowed to use or consult medium and small-scale military maps but can refer to and use large-scale tactical maps.


    However, in practice, Centurions barely saw any maps at all¡ªafter all, strategic maneuvers hardly required the execution of Centurions.


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 Chapter 487 - 81 Contact_2

    Chapter 487: Chapter 81 Contact_2


    The reason Winters and his companions had a map was because it had been drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    And as for drawing maps for subordinates, Colonel Jeska was the only one in the Paratu army to do so.


    ¡°Keeping it secret is only fair,¡± Bard remarked, as he began gathering up the map, ¡°Dismissed, dismissed, everyone hurry back and rest.¡±


    The oil lamp was extinguished.


    In the pitch dark, Andre¡¯s disgruntled voice could still be heard: ¡°Walking, walking, walking, every day it¡¯s nothing but walking; we don¡¯t even know where they¡¯re taking us. I¡¯d rather have some Herders to provide us with a little amusement.¡±


    His wish came true.


    ...


    On the eleventh day, Jeska¡¯s troop encountered the Herd Cavalry.


    Very few people saw the Herd Cavalry, but the majority heard clear gunfire.


    The moment the rearguard¡¯s scout guns sounded, several Dusacks at the tail of the column immediately leaped onto their saddles and galloped toward the source of the gunfire.


    As the closest officer, Winters was the first to reach the rearguard. He could only see the Dusacks¡¯ figures growing more distant.


    ¡°Who went?¡± Winters asked sternly.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± replied a Wolf Town militiaman, ¡°and Vasya. All the Dusacks from their tent went.¡±


    Andre, with a couple dozen Dusacks, quickly arrived as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Andre asked.


    ¡°The scout gun fired, nothing else is known,¡± Winters replied.


    During their conversation, Pierre and the others had already crossed the hill, vanishing from the others¡¯ sight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there gawping!¡± Andre cracked his whip in a circle, commanding loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see! Keep up with me!¡±


    Before his words had finished, Andre took the lead, charging up the hill. The other Dusacks did not hesitate, urging their warhorses to follow closely behind.


    Colonel Jeska was the third officer to arrive at the scene.


    The colonel¡¯s one good eye scanned the desolate surroundings. With a somber voice, he asked Winters, ¡°Herders?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°Lieutenant Cherini has just led his men there.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably just a few scouts; tell your men to keep moving. There¡¯s no need to stop.¡±


    The thunderous sound of hooves approached from the distance, as a squadron of Cavalry assigned to the vanguard sped towards them rapidly.


    The Piaoqi Troops swept past Jeska¡¯s column like lightning, heading straight for the hill behind.


    ¡°Wipe out those Herd barbarians!¡± a militiaman shouted after the Piaoqi Troops.


    Theoretically, his voice should have been completely drowned out by the sound of the hooves.


    However, that shout reached the ears of the Piaoqi Troops.


    One Piaoqi Trooper removed his elegant cap and waved it towards the Jeska¡¯s column¡¯s militiamen as if to say ¡°Watch what we can do.¡±


    Cheers suddenly erupted from the ranks of the militiamen.


    Colonel Jeska murmured softly, moved, ¡°Life and death¡­ life and death.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Winters asked, not quite catching it.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Colonel Jeska glanced at Winters and instructed, ¡°Keep your men moving. No need to set up defenses¡ªthe Herders won¡¯t catch up so quickly.¡±


    Winters nodded, using a spell to amplify his voice to order his troops: ¡°Keep moving! No stopping!¡±


    The elegantly-dressed Piaoqi Troops also disappeared behind the hill. The vanguard didn¡¯t have time to wait for them and continued marching forward resolutely.


    About an hour later, more Cavalry appeared behind Jeska¡¯s column¡ªParatu¡¯s Cavalry.


    ¡°Five men,¡± Pierre reported to Winters, leading three horses, ¡°all taken care of.¡±


    ¡°Well done. Those two horses you¡¯ve seized, keep them for yourself,¡± Winters responded.


    Pierre saluted and left.


    Five Herd light cavalry collided with Jeska¡¯s column and were all killed.


    For the Paratu side, only the signaling scout and the first six Dusacks who had arrived actually engaged in combat; the rest were left trailing behind, eating dust.


    The Piaoqi Troopers chased for a while but soon returned.


    Andre pursued relentlessly, but in the end, he caught nothing but frustration and anger.


    Returning, he poured out his grievances to Winters, ¡°The Herders run like rabbits; five of them scattered in all directions. Pierre, that boy, chased two by himself. I was worried he¡¯d be at a disadvantage, so I followed. And what does he do? Doesn¡¯t even leave one for me!¡±


    ¡°Herder scouts have already closed in on us; their main force won¡¯t be far behind,¡± Winters gently stroked his steed¡¯s mane. Now he understood clearly: ¡°Life and death¡­ Pushed into this position, it¡¯s life and death¡­¡±


    ¡°Eh? What? Did you listen to what I said¡­ I was talking about Mitchell!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Twenty kilometers to the southwest of the vanguard, atop a hill.


    Regardless of cavalry, infantry, or sappers, all of Paratu¡¯s field officers were present, with two generals at the center, surrounded by the officers.


    ¡°Well, well! Terdun, Haidong, Suz¡ªall present! The rest are just rabble, barely worth mentioning. Just perfect for a good fight!¡± General Alpad laughed heartily. He reached into his breastplate intending to grab his flask, but found nothing.


    A bit uneasily, Alpad shook his hand and declared spiritedly, ¡°We still have to fight one more battle to break free. It has to be a fierce one. Knock out the Herd barbarians¡¯ front teeth, make it clear to them who¡¯s the Hunter and who¡¯s the prey.¡±


    ¡°General Alpad and I have already discussed this,¡± Sekler¡¯s voice was steady and articulate, ¡°Our situation now is very similar to when we were outside Bianli City. Without repelling the pursuers, even if we want to retreat, we can¡¯t escape. The ones biting at our heels are just the vanguard of the various Herd tribes, and this is a battle we can fight.¡±


    Sekler pointed to the river valley and woodland in front of them: ¡°This place is good. Let¡¯s engage the Herders right here.¡±


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 Chapter 488 - 81 Contact_3

    Chapter 488: Chapter 81 Contact_3


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    Thirty kilometers west of the main Paratu encampment, inside the central tent of the Haidong Tribe, several men were quarreling.


    The central tent of the Haidong Tribe was exceptionally simple, even more so than the officer tents of the Paratu.


    If a Paratu person entered here, he would surely be utterly disappointed.


    Because the golden wine cups, silver platters, and lewdly dressed beauties that pervaded the imagination of the vast Paratu populace¡­ all those extravagant and corrupt playthings were completely absent.


    ...


    Inside the felt tent, there weren¡¯t even tables or stools.


    The ground was covered in wool blankets, and around twenty men sat on the floor, forming a circle without any distinction of rank or status.


    [Note: The following dialogue is in Herder language]


    Suddenly, the felt curtain of the tent was lifted, and a beam of light shot in, stinging the eyes of those within.


    Two men of similar appearance walked into the felt tent.


    The man who entered first was tall, his steps firm and steady.


    His bones seemed as solid as if they were wrought from lead, he had a pair of large-jointed hands, and he possessed a set of calm brown eyes. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man who came after held within him a vitality that would make others envious, a magical force called youth: no matter what injuries he suffered, a sleep would heal them; no matter what setbacks he encountered, after drying his tears, he could rise again.


    The other men in the tent had once possessed this magical force: unfearful of falls, unafraid to bleed, crying hard, laughing hard¡­ but that was all in the past now.


    Now, every move they made was cautious, as each wound took plenty of time to heal.


    Every time they opened their eyes, they could feel the vitality within them lesser than the last time they had opened them.


    Age brought wealth, exchanged for power, they consoled themselves.


    But deep down they all knew: Nonsense! I would give anything to be young again.


    So they looked on with envy at the younger man¡ªalthough they were unwilling to admit their jealousy.


    The young man also had a pair of brown eyes, which, like two awls underneath short and neat eyebrows, shone brightly.


    As the two men walked into the tent, the inside of the felt tent suddenly fell quiet.


    Those arguing men clamped their lips shut, waiting for the host to break the silence.


    ¡°Mighty White Lion, you have finally arrived,¡± a grey-eyed old man with greying hair stood up and enthusiastically embraced White Lion: ¡°I and the other tribal leaders have been waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Wise Grey Eyes,¡± White Lion also embraced the elder warmly and presented him with a golden eagle statue: ¡°I gift you this spirit of the eagle, may your eyes forever be as sharp as that of an eagle.¡±


    The elder accepted with a smile.


    Afterward, White Lion embraced each leader in turn, and presented gifts.


    Offering gifts was an important custom among the Herders, and although the value of the gifts did not need to be significant, the more expensive the better, of course.


    The more precious the gift, the higher the rank of the giver implied, and the more important the receiver was considered.


    After the whole procedure was completed, White Lion also took his seat within the circle. The young man who followed him¡ªhis brother Little Lion¡ªsat down beside him.


    To sit in this circle meant that anything could be spoken.


    As soon as White Lion opened his mouth, it was as if he ignited an entire arsenal: ¡°The women and children of the Red River Tribe that were captured by the tribes, I want them returned.¡±


    The others¡¯ reactions ranged from indifferent, to disgruntled, to genuinely interested, each wanting to speak.


    ¡°Do not speak yet, I have not finished,¡± White Lion continued: ¡°The women with children, all the tribes must hand over; the women with husbands and brothers, the tribes must also give back; the rest of the women, the tribes may take away.¡±


    [Note: Here the term ¡°brothers¡± refers to the husband¡¯s brothers]


    A broad-shouldered and round-bellied chieftain spoke up: ¡°White Lion, I ask you. If a piece of gold falls to the ground, to whom does it belong?¡±


    ¡°Strong Eater, I answer you, to whoever seizes it, it belongs.¡±


    ¡°A group of women running into the wilderness is the same, to whoever seizes them, they belong. The tribes raid and kill each other, today you take one of my sheep, tomorrow I take one of your cows, to whoever can take it, it is theirs. There is only taking back, no giving back.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± White Lion said as he sat up straight. ¡°I have already begun taking.¡±


    ¡°`


    Once these words were spoken, nearly half of the tribal leaders¡¯ expressions changed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already started taking hostages?¡± The robust eater immediately flew into a rage.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The other chiefs silently watched the two in confrontation.


    ¡°Do you want to start a fight?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t give them to me, we¡¯ll fight.¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east!¡±


    ¡°So what? If the tribes fight each other, whoever can snatch them owns them.¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east, and yet you prey on me?¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east, haven¡¯t you preyed on me?¡±


    Grey Eyes laughed heartily and pacified the two, ¡°Valiant White Lion! Articulate White Lion! It¡¯s just a few women, robust eater, you should return them. Where¡¯s the firemaker?¡±


    ¡°The firemaker is taking hostages.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that? Return the women of the Red River Tribe. We tribes have gathered here not to fight each other.¡±


    The Terdun Tribe and Haidong Tribe cast their votes in favor, and the tense Little Lion slightly relaxed.


    ¡°If the tribes return the women and children of the Red River Tribe, I will offer my share of the war spoils as a reciprocal gift.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± the robust eater also nodded in agreement.


    The Suz Tribe also cast their vote in favor,


    The crowd clapped their hands in oath, and the matter was settled.


    Discussion within the Herder¡¯s tent was for resolving the sharpest conflicts.


    Therefore, tribal chiefs said what they needed to, pulling at collars and swinging fists was common, but killing was forbidden.


    Once out of the felt tent, fighting or killing, each to their own.


    After a moment of silence inside the tent, the host of this place¡ªthe Khan of the Haidong Tribe [Grey Eyes]¡ªspoke, ¡°Chiefs of the tribes, please listen to me. The body should have a head, and clothes should have a collar; that is best.¡±


    This was a serious, important matter, far more significant than the fate of a few women, and the tribal chiefs all pricked up their ears.


    ¡°This is not the grand council meeting, nor are we here to elect a great Khan, but to choose a war chief who will lead us to victory over the bipeds. The tribes are like arrows, each separated and alone; each arrow can easily be broken. If we unite and work together, no one will find it easy to oppose us.¡±


    Alone one is easily snappable, but together we are hard to break. The story of breaking arrows was known to every Herder, but knowing was easier than doing.


    ¡°We must elect a war chief, and once elected, we have to hand over the power of life and death to him; only then can we win this war. Otherwise, we¡¯ll end up like before, with the grass turning green again and again, and the bipeds humiliating us time after time. Our borders have already retreated to The Styx; do we have anywhere else to retreat to?¡±


    To hand over the power of life and death? The tribal chiefs hesitated.


    Only White Lion remained calm.


    In the end, Grey Eyes spoke emphatically, ¡°I am too old, I can no longer wield a sword, I won¡¯t choose. Elect someone else, and I will carry my bow and ride my horse, following him to battle. Don¡¯t worry, we are not electing a great Khan, just until we win this battle.¡±


    The tribal chiefs looked towards White Lion.


    White Lion agreed readily, ¡°My people have suffered many casualties; I also won¡¯t choose.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s there to discuss?¡± the robust eater spoke up, ¡°If White Lion won¡¯t choose, if Grey Eyes won¡¯t choose¡­¡±


    A string of urgent shouts interrupted the robust eater¡¯s words: ¡°Khan! Emissaries from the bipeds have come!¡±


    Grey Eyes¡¯s expression changed dramatically; he struggled to his feet with one hand on the ground and walked outside the tent.


    The other chiefs followed him out.


    ¡°What do they want?¡±


    ¡°They want to negotiate a truce.¡±


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 Chapter 489 - 82 White Lion

    Chapter 489: Chapter 82 White Lion


    Empire calendar year 540, autumn.


    [Note: Winters was two years old, 18 years ago.]


    The Great Wilderness, the Black Sheep Tribe¡¯s pasture, an unnamed river valley.


    The Parlatu 1st Piaoqi Cavalry was ¡°recruiting¡±.


    Two sentries brought a disheveled teenager before Colonel Alpad.


    The teenager¡¯s arms were twisted behind his back, and he was still struggling desperately and shouting loudly; the two adults could barely restrain him.


    ...


    Alpad, annoyed by the noise, gave a look to Lieutenant Haug.


    The lieutenant walked over and delivered a hard punch to the teenager¡¯s stomach.


    The latter curled up in pain like a shrimp, finally quieting the onlookers¡¯ ears.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Colonel Alpad asked.


    ¡°This kid was sneaking around outside.¡± The sentry answered, ¡°He shouted ¡®Alpad¡¯ upon seeing us. We didn¡¯t understand anything else he said, so we brought him to you.¡±


    ¡°He shouts Alpad, and you bring him to me,¡± Colonel Alpad rebuked displeased, ¡°If he shouts out your father¡¯s name, would you bring him to your father?¡±


    The sentry didn¡¯t dare to say a word.


    ¡°Bring the Translator!¡±


    Soon, the Translator rushed over in a fluster.


    ¡°Ask him,¡± Alpad commanded impatiently, ¡°which tribe does he belong to? What was he sneaking around for? How does he know about me? Ask him clearly!¡±


    The Translator leaned down and communicated with the teenager,


    and after a few words, reported helplessly, ¡°Sir, this kid just keeps repeating the same thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°He says if you give him his mother, sister, and brother, he will exchange his life for yours, to become your ¡®Haha¡¯er¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Mother? Sister? What is he talking about?¡± Alpad was confused, ¡°And what is this Haha¡¯er?¡±


    The Translator thought for a long time in pain, unable to find a suitable adjective, ¡°It¡¯s like joining the army but more loyal¡­ much more loyal.¡±


    Alpad raised his eyebrows, ¡°Which tribe is he from?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Say it or die, tell him that.¡±


    The Translator bent down to question the teenager, then reported, ¡°Wenduoer¡ªit means hillock or ridge. He says he¡¯s a person of Wenduoer.¡±


    ¡°The Wenduo Tribe? Hasn¡¯t the Wenduo Tribe been wiped out?¡± Alpad remembered something.


    The Translator listened then translated, ¡°He says the Wenduo Tribe was annihilated like scattered ashes. His father died; his pregnant mother, carrying him and his sister, gathered fruits to eat by the Wolan River, and then she gave birth to his brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop! What is all this nonsense? I didn¡¯t ask for his family tree!¡± Alpad flared up in irritation, ¡°Focus on the main point!¡±


    The Translator scratched his head, asked the teenager a few more questions, and said, ¡°He says his family was plundered by the ¡®Zhar Chikuot¡¯ Tribe, and his mother, sister, and brother were all kidnapped by the people of Zhar Chikuot. He heard that you are going to attack the Zhar Chikuot Tribe, so he came to join you.¡±


    Alpad looked puzzled, ¡°Join me? I was the one who led the troops to suppress the Wenduo Tribe, doesn¡¯t he know that? Doesn¡¯t he care?¡±


    The translator relayed, ¡°He says he only cares about his family.¡±


    Alpad laughed loudly, looking at the teenager, ¡°Wants to trade his life for his family members¡­ at least he has some spirit. Ask him, does he have a warhorse?¡±


    ¡°He does, the old horse he rode in on,¡± the sentry rushed to reply, ¡°Yellow-haired, very old.¡±


    Alpad clapped his hands, ¡°Having a horse is enough. We need men anyway; one more won¡¯t hurt. Issue him a knife and take him along.¡±


    Lieutenant Haug promptly acknowledged.


    ¡°Release him!¡±


    The sentries let go, and the teenager regained his freedom.


    He didn¡¯t run, but stood tense on the spot, warily scanning his surroundings with a pair of brown eyes.


    Alpad approached and asked, ¡°Kid, how old are you?¡±


    The Translator acting as the go-between: ¡°Seventeen.¡±


    ¡°Seventeen? Old enough to bear arms,¡± Alpad asked casually before leaving, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Yasin,¡± the Translator replied, ¡°White Lion.¡±


    ¡­


    Empire calendar year 542, spring.


    [Note: One and a half years later.]


    On a pitch-black night where you couldn¡¯t see your hand in front of your face, a warhorse carrying two people ran desperately east.


    The sounds of pursuing hooves and war cries were faintly audible, and not far behind, flickering flames could be seen.


    One side had underestimated the enemy and pushed forward rashly, while the other was well-prepared.


    The outcome, therefore, was hardly surprising.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet! I haven¡¯t lost yet! I will regroup the routed troops!¡± Alpad, lying on the horse¡¯s back, was uncontrollably furious, ¡°Let me down! Yasin! Let go of me!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The rider with brown eyes answered in a rough common tongue.


    Alpad¡¯s left calf was twisted in an unnatural angle, obviously broken, and roughly set with sticks and hemp ropes.


    His jacket was soaked with blood, and scabs had glued the cuts on his shoulder and back to the fabric.


    Furthermore, Alpad himself was tied down to the horseback, looking utterly disheveled.


    He screamed hysterically, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than suffer this humiliation!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The rider with the brown eyes spurred the warhorse even harder.


    The horse foamed at the mouth, breathing heavily, its belly nearly grazing the tops of the grass.


    ¡°You Herd barbarian! Bastard! Mongrel! Yes! I get it now! You want to betray me! You want to take me to your master for the reward! I¡¯ll kill you! Ah!!!¡±


    Silence was the only response to Alpad.


    Not knowing how far they had run, the warhorse suddenly stopped and collapsed, bending its hind legs to the ground.


    The two men on its back, like sacks filled with grain, tumbled headfirst from the horse¡¯s head to the ground.


    The rider with the brown eyes quickly got up, shouldered Alpad, and continued eastward.


    Alpad, weakened from too much blood loss, mumbled indecipherably, ¡°Give me a knife; I don¡¯t want to be a prisoner, nor do I want to live in shame¡­¡±


    The moment he accepted the fact that he was defeated, he stopped denying reality, stopped being angry; all that was left was shame and despair.


    ¡°You can¡¯t carry me, Yasin. Save yourself.¡±


    With his last bit of strength, Alpad fell into unconsciousness.


    The brown-eyed Herder struggled to step forward, saying word by word, ¡°I am your comrade.¡±


    ¡­


    Empire calendar year 548, summer.


    [Note: Ten years ago]


    At Kingsfort, the headquarters of the Parlatu Army, sat a dozen people in a small conference room.


    Brigadier General Alpad was among them.


    ¡°Here, the Sule Die Tribe.¡± Alpad drew a circle on the map: ¡°The land of the Sule Die Tribe is very close to the buffer zone. A year ago they defeated the Wagan Tribe and began expanding quickly. Now they claim the land from Wolan River to Kurgan River.¡±


    Alpad summarized, ¡°The Sule Die Tribe is dangerous, and they¡¯re becoming more dangerous.¡±


    General Yanosh flipped through the documents and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The chief of the Sheep Enclosure Tribe is senile and not much of a threat. The leader of the Sule Die Tribe is the exact opposite; he¡¯s popular, and many small tribes are even defecting to him in droves.¡± Alpad laid out his plan: ¡°I suggest we maintain the pretense of attacking the Sheep Enclosure Tribe, but the legion should bypass the Wolan River and strike at the Sule Die Tribe.¡±


    ¡°An old wolf, and a cub,¡± General Yanosh said with a smile as he put down the documents. ¡°Then let¡¯s hit the cub first, and the old wolf later.¡±


    Brigadier General Sekler took the documents and casually asked, ¡°Sule Die, what does it mean?¡±


    ¡°Red River.¡± Alpad said emotionlessly: ¡°The chief is called White Lion.¡±


    A month later, the Palatine Army swept through the Great Wilderness; the White Lion barely escaped with his life.


    ¡­


    The time returns to the present: Empire calendar year 559, February.


    The ¡°Allied¡± Herder forces had not combined their camps. Each tribe set up its camp several kilometers apart from the others.


    On the one hand, the horses needed space to forage; on the other hand, the various tribes were keeping a wary eye on each other.


    To the north of the Red River Tribe camp, a dozen riders were speeding towards them, kicking up a trail of brown dust in their wake.


    The guard on the watchtower squinted to make out who it was, then suddenly shouted with joy, ¡°White Lion has returned! And the Little Lion too!¡±


    The people of the Red River Tribe cheered and jumped for joy.


    The guard moved aside the gate, and the riders galloped into camp, stopping only when they reached the large tent.


    Every warhorse was drenched in sweat, as if washed with water.


    The Little Lion watched his elder brother dismount agilely and head straight for the large tent.


    He also hurriedly dismounted, following closely behind his brother.


    The guards all stood outside the tent, while only the two brothers entered.


    No sooner had they been out of sight of their people than White Lion, who had been striding firmly, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Brother!¡± the Little Lion called out softly, rushing forward to help.


    He helped his weak brother up and laid White Lion on the fur blanket.


    ¡°White Lion, what did the grey-eyed say?¡± The tent flap was lifted again, and the elder chief of the Eagle Forest Tribe, Tie Feng, walked into the felt tent.


    [Note: Tie Feng, previously translated as ¡°Tie Duo¡±. Herder language pronunciation ¡°q¨« ti¨§y¨¢¡±, meaning lots and lots of iron, ¡°ch¡± and ¡°ya¡± both indicate plural.]


    Upon hearing of White Lion¡¯s return, Tie Feng immediately came to the large tent.


    He had intended to inquire about the situation, but upon entering he saw his nephew fallen, and hurriedly turned to lower the tent curtain.


    The Little Lion, flustered, untied his brother¡¯s armor and robe to help White Lion breathe more easily.


    Anxious, Tie Feng walked in circles, hitting his thigh and scolding the Little Lion, ¡°You two brothers! The Great Shaman said he could heal bleeding wounds, but your brother still needs to rest for ten days. What now? What do we do now?¡±


    Without a word, tears swirled in the Little Lion¡¯s eyes. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Little Lion heard his brother say weakly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Help me up.¡±


    With Tie Feng¡¯s assistance, the old and the young helped White Lion to a bed.


    White Lion had two light red marks on his left abdomen, looking like birthmarks, or like new, tender skin that had just healed and lost its scabs.


    The two ¡°birthmarks¡± didn¡¯t look very alarming, for White Lion¡¯s body was covered in scars far more terrible than these.


    Bold Palatians disguised as Herders had pushed cannons to within a hundred meters of White Lion.


    In the nick of time, Owl Hawk used his life to shield from most of the grapeshot, but still, two lead balls hit White Lion.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Shamans of all tribes giving their all, White Lion would have perished long ago.


    The Little Lion felt something touch his shoulder¡ªit was his brother¡¯s hand.


    He looked up and saw his brother manage a faint smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± White Lion said.


    The Little Lion nodded and dried his tears.


    White Lion sat up with difficulty and slowly buckled his belt.


    ¡°What did the grey-eyed say?¡± Tie Feng asked anxiously. ¡°What about the other chiefs?¡±


    ¡°The Palatians want to negotiate peace.¡±


    Tie Feng was astonished: ¡°What? The two-legged want to make peace? The Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe won¡¯t be deceived, will they?¡±


    White Lion shook his head.


    To the Herders, negotiation meant a year¡¯s truce, and they understood this all too well.


    Seeing White Lion struggled to speak, the Little Lion spoke up, ¡°My brother brought back the families of our warriors.¡±


    Tie Feng slapped his thigh, ¡°Good! Being able to bring them back means the tribes still consider us their banner.¡±


    The wind swept through the tent, making a wailing sound.


    The Little Lion also sat on the bed, saying indignantly, ¡°The glutton¡¯s greed is bigger than his belly. When he heard that the grey-eyed and my brother didn¡¯t choose the war leader, he swooped like a vulture smelling scent! Aren¡¯t we the ones who contributed the most?¡±


    ¡°The tribes nominated the glutton as the war leader?¡± Tie Feng widened his eyes at White Lion, ¡°You didn¡¯t object? Becoming the war leader is halfway to the Khan¡¯s throne!¡±


    ¡°There are no such foolish dogs in the world that fight over who gets to eat the prey first without having caught it,¡± White Lion said slowly. ¡°There¡¯s no point in fighting a war if you quarrel over the spoils before winning. Let¡¯s defeat the Palatians first; the rest can be sorted out.¡±


    Tie Feng sighed, ¡°We suffered heavy losses, and so did the Terdun Tribe. Only if our two houses stick together do we have the right to share the spoils. I just hope the Fire-tender is on our side.¡±


    ¡°Although the Fire-tender is quick to anger, he is not stupid.¡±


    ¡°What did the glutton say?¡±


    ¡°He wants to fight.¡±


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 Chapter 490 - 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces

    Chapter 490: Chapter 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces


    Winters was utterly unaware of what was happening behind him.


    All he could do was to urge his troops to keep moving, moving, moving.


    The emergence of the Hurd cavalry was like an invisible whip, fiercely lashing across the backs of the Paratu People, and all at once, the speed of the march sharply increased.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne,¡± Colonel Jeska called Winters to his side, his expression extremely serious, ¡°take your centuria as the vanguard. Control the pace, slow it down.¡±


    ¡°Slow it down?¡±


    Colonel Jeska released his right hand that had been checking his pulse and pointed at the column, saying, ¡°The troops are currently marching at a pace of one hundred twenty-six steps per minute. They¡¯re fast because they are afraid. What use is there in hurrying when we still have hundreds of kilometers ahead of us?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Understood.¡± Winters raised his hand in salute, steered his horse, and was about to leave.


    ¡°Bring the speed down, walk at the regular rhythm.¡±


    [Note: A regular pace is seventy-two steps per minute]


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Go.¡± Colonel Jeska lightly flicked Winters¡¯ shoulder with his whip.


    ¡­


    Behind the vanguard, the two armies¡¯ reconnaissance cavalry fought in a chase across the vast wilderness.


    These skirmishes, of a handful of soldiers each, were tests of horsemanship, skill, and bravery.


    The Herders were armed with bows and arrows, while the Paratu had superior warhorses. Both sides suffered casualties, and for a while, it was difficult to tell which side would win.


    On the Paratu side, before the first group of messengers returned, Sekler¡¯s second group set out, closely followed by a third. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Consequently, not long after the White Lion returned to the Red River Tribe¡¯s camp, Grey Eyes summoned him for council again, this time also requesting the presence of the Firekeeper.


    ¡°You go back to the tribes and bring back the women and children, Uncle,¡± the White Lion, fully armed, switched to a fresh horse, and once again became that silent and steadfast leader, ¡°The tribal chieftains and I have an agreement; they will not make it difficult for you.¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°Then you take the Eagle Forest Tribe to escort the women and children north, take them back to the old camp.¡±


    ¡°You want me to leave here? If the Eagle Forest Tribe isn¡¯t here, how can I share in the spoils of war?¡±


    ¡°You escort our kin to the old camp and then return; you should be back in time.¡± The White Lion spoke with calm certainty, ¡°Mark my words, Uncle, there is still much fighting to be done.¡±


    ¡­


    The Paratu People¡¯s stance grew more humble with each visit.


    When the first group of messengers arrived, the conditions they presented for peace were to leave with their weapons and flags¡ªbarely different from retreating.


    Of course, the chieftains of the Herder tribes would not agree.


    The second group of messengers¡¯ conditions had already changed to: The Paratu army would leave with their weapons and flags, and would provide compensation based on the tribes¡¯ losses.


    The conditions of the third group of messengers were to cede territory, pay compensation, agree to ten years of peace, but the Paratu army still had to leave with their weapons and flags.


    The tribes held a great council, with the chieftains arguing incessantly.


    ¡°What messengers! They are clearly scouts!¡± the Firekeeper roared, overpowering the voices of others, ¡°The Paratu take advantage of the fact that the tribes do not kill messengers, and thus they keep sending wave after wave of people to investigate us! Catch those messengers and kill them all!¡±


    ¡°If you want to kill, then kill,¡± the Blackwater chieftain said, visibly displeased.


    [Note: The Herder tribes have a tradition of not killing messengers, the Paratu¡­ used to have the same tradition]


    The Firekeeper glared at the Blackwater chieftain: ¡°Is this only a matter for my Terdon Tribe? You don¡¯t want blood on your hands, yet you want me to do the killing?¡±


    ¡°What else to consider? Are we supposed to agree? Knowing there¡¯s a trap ahead and still jumping in?¡± the newly appointed war chieftain [Eater-Healthy] slapped his thigh and scolded the chieftains, ¡°The thoughts of the two-legged are as twisted as sheep¡¯s intestines. What¡¯s there to discuss with them? They are running away without food or drink, we should be sending troops to attack them, not sitting here idle and inactive!¡±


    A chieftain agreed, saying, ¡°Yes! We sit in our felt tents while our people huddle together for warmth. Along the way, countless horses have died. The sooner we eliminate the two-legged folk, the less our losses will be. The various tribes have at least thirty thousand warriors; if we join forces and attack, how could we not defeat the two-legged?¡±


    The Herder tribes waged war in winter, with warhorses first losing flesh until their ribs were showing, and then dying mysteriously.


    In their hurry to come, they had brought few tents, and huddling together for warmth was not an exaggeration.


    A day or two they can endure, but over a longer time, even iron-clad men would fall sick from the cold.


    The sooner they defeated the Paratu army, the smaller the losses the Herder tribes would suffer.


    The Firekeeper refused to be outdone and immediately retorted, ¡°Eater-Healthy, let me ask you this: Knowing there¡¯s a trap, will you still jump in? You want to act blindly like a blindfolded bull without understanding what the two-legged want to do?¡±


    ¡°The one who lost the golden idol to the sky has no right to speak to me,¡± Eater-Healthy shot back.


    The Firekeeper rose without a word, and suddenly pounced on Eater-Healthy like a bear.


    The two grasped each other¡¯s cloaks, and it took a great deal of effort from the other chieftains to separate them.


    Grey Eyes calmed the two: ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to send a few observant ones to follow the two-legged messengers back, to probe their reality.¡±


    The White Lion sat in a corner, silent.


    The Little Lion sat behind the White Lion, his face full of disdain.


    When Eater-Healthy saw these two, he pointed at the White Lion and asked, ¡°White Lion, you summoned us here. Why do you not speak? Speak!¡±


    ¡°If I speak, the tribes will not listen, it¡¯s better to stay silent.¡±


    ¡°How do you know I will not listen?¡± Eater-Healthy was furious.


    ¡°Very well then!¡± The White Lion patted the Little Lion, ¡°Bring me my tapestry.¡±


    The Little Lion stood up and left, returning to the tent after a short while with a woolen blanket in his arms.


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 Chapter 491 03-25 - 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_2

    Chapter 491: Chapter 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_2


    It wasn¡¯t the type of blanket commonly seen in Herder homes, with fur and hide intact, but a blanket woven from wool.


    The woolen blanket slowly unfurled in the center of the felt tent, as long and wide as a man, with a map embroidered with golden thread on top.


    A map¡ªthis was no trifling matter.


    Nowadays, with the tribal territories limited, maps were memorized mentally; there was no need to transcribe them.


    And the large maps from the era of Khan Queye had always been treasured by the tribal chieftains, hidden away as precious secrets not to be shared with outsiders.


    ¡°Open the roof hole!¡± Grey Eyes ordered the guard outside the tent.


    ...


    The leather covering the tent was removed, and sunlight poured into the felt tent, illuminating the map.


    The chieftains gathered around the map, being very careful not to step on it.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this G¨¡l¨¢n Lake?¡± a chieftain squinted and asked, pointing to a corner of the map.


    G¨¡l¨¢n Lake was situated far to the west, where the tribes living there were deemed savages by the eyes of the Herder tribes and were known as ¡°Wild Herders.¡±


    ¡°This is a map drawn by the Paratu People.¡± The White Lion articulated each word, ¡°To the south, it reaches Golden Summit Mountain, to the north, Sheltering Mountain, to the east, Kingsfort, and to the west, G¨¡l¨¢n Lake.


    ¡°As you fight for power among yourselves, little do you know that the Paratu People have long been contemplating how to exterminate us all. If we do not unite, the day will come when our tribal heartfires will be stamped out by the Paratu, and the heads of our tribes will be scattered like ashes.¡±


    The tribal chieftains fell silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï


    ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say.¡± The White Lion sat back down.


    A robust chieftain stepped on the map, his face flushed with anger, pointing at the White Lion, he asked, ¡°Then what do you propose we do?¡±


    ¡°I have only one thing to say.¡± The White Lion responded calmly, ¡°Since the robust chieftain was elected war leader, then let everyone obey him. If he commands the tribes to wade through a sea of fire, so must they wade. If he commands the tribes to climb the snowy mountains, they must climb.¡±


    Below the tent¡¯s dome, there was an uproar; this was not the answer the chieftains wanted to hear.


    ¡°When the Paratu People go to war, they too argue. But once the military order is issued, no one hesitates¡ªeveryone charges into battle at the command. Even if the order is mistaken, it is followed to the letter. That¡¯s how the Paratu can defeat Herder forces twice, even three times their size. If you and I cannot do the same, we will be doomed to suffer defeat forever.¡± The White Lion spoke firmly, ¡°Since the robust chieftain was elected, we must listen to him, just like that!¡±


    The other chieftains were silent, with Little Lion showing a look of dissent.


    ¡°Very well! Let¡¯s do it this way!¡± the man who stoked the fire roared, ¡°But if you issue an order that sends the Terdon Tribe to their deaths, I won¡¯t follow it! Robust chieftain!¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± nodded Grey Eyes.


    After a noisy discussion, the chieftains chaotically agreed to follow the robust chieftain¡¯s command.


    ¡°If you are willing to listen to me,¡± the robust chieftain said loudly, ¡°then join me in toasting.¡±


    Amongst the Herders, every great council participant would share a drink as a sign they held no further dissent, known as ¡®joining cups.¡¯


    Joining cups marked the end of the great council, and the robust chieftain¡¯s call to do it now was clearly irregular.


    ¡°Agreed.¡± The White Lion stood up, the first to consent.


    Guards brought in strong liquor, the chieftains respectfully saluted the spirits, and began to take turns drinking and swearing their oaths.


    ¡°Robust chieftain, you are not yet the Khan. If you plot against the Terdon Tribe, I won¡¯t obey you,¡± the man who stoked the fire was the last to join cups. He growled these words before drinking the strong liquor to complete the ceremony.


    So, following Herder tradition, the robust chieftain divided the Herder tribes into two wings and a central army.


    The Suz Tribe and Haidong Tribe formed the central force, the Terdon Tribe and the Red River Tribe the right wing, with the other tribes merging into the left wing.


    The robust chieftain also understood that the Herder tribes were a loose collection of forces¡ªone tribe might be commanded but many tribes conglomerated could hardly execute overly complex orders.


    ¡°Pack up tonight and march out when it¡¯s time for the bipeds to embark tomorrow,¡± the robust chieftain ordered the tribal chieftains, ¡°The central army will attack their central force, the right wing their rear guard, the left wing their vanguard. If the tribes unite, they will surely be unable to withstand us.¡±


    While the robust chieftain was still setting the time for the rendezvous, a scout from outside suddenly brought a report: the Paratu People were burning their camp and had escaped into the night.


    ¡°Tribes, hasten back and gather your troops!¡± The robust chieftain made a decisive call, ¡°Catch up with the bipeds, and don¡¯t let them slip away!¡±


    The chieftains dispersed in agreement, stepping out of the felt tent one after another.


    Outside the felt tent, Haidong tribe members were already stringing bows, donning armor, and preparing horses.


    The camp was alive with the cries of men and neighs of horses.


    As lords of this region, the Red River Tribe brought along some tents with the army.


    The Haidong Tribe, having traveled from afar, had brought hardly anything at all.


    Carrying less baggage meant they could move more swiftly.


    Mounting the warhorses, leading the packhorses, carrying bows and swords, the Haidong tribe quickly switched from an encamped state to marching order.


    The tribal chieftains left the Haidong Tribe¡¯s camp to find their respective tribesmen.


    On the way back to camp, Little Lion was still sullen: ¡°How can you listen to that worthless robust chieftain? They are just taking advantage of us! The blood is all spilled by the Red River Tribe! Yet now he acts as if he were the Khan!¡±


    ¡°Every word I said to the robust chieftain is the result of my years of contemplation,¡± the White Lion patiently explained to his brother, ¡°The lion has our throat in its jaws, the wolf has our wrists in its teeth. Do we deal with the lion first, or the wolf first?¡±


    ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    The White Lion cut in directly, ¡°If the robust chieftain can lead us to victory against the Paratu, I am more than willing to endorse him as Khan.¡±


    Little Lion scratched his head: ¡°What if he can¡¯t win?¡±


    The White Lion retorted to his brother in the common tongue: ¡°[In common tongue] What do you think of the robust chieftain compared to me?¡±


    Taken aback, Little Lion replied in the common tongue: ¡°[In common tongue] How could he possibly be better than big brother!¡±


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 Chapter 492 03-25 - 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_3

    Chapter 492: Chapter 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_3


    White Lion sighed deeply, ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing for three years, thinking I could defend Bianli for three months. But once the Paratu People exerted their strength, Bianli couldn¡¯t even hold out for seven days. With the help of the shamans from the tribes, I thought we could at least sever an arm of the Paratu People, but we were still almost utterly annihilated.¡±


    Little Lion, as someone who had experienced it himself, didn¡¯t know how to comfort his brother.


    ¡°I thought I had overestimated the Paratu People enough, but in reality, I still underestimated them,¡± White Lion patted his brother¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We have much to learn. The other tribes look down on us after our big defeat because they haven¡¯t experienced the Paratu People¡¯s strength firsthand. Only when they also hit a snag will they understand what we¡¯ve been through and regain their respect for the Red River Tribe. Only when they also hit a snag will they follow my strategy.¡±


    ¡°Should we¡­ wish for the food gatherers to be defeated?¡± Little Lion asked with confusion.


    ¡°No! I sincerely hope that the food gatherers will win,¡± White Lion replied earnestly, ¡°But they won¡¯t win, because they¡¯re up against ¡®Paratu¡¯s Hammer¡¯ and ¡®Paratu¡¯s Shield¡¯.¡±


    White Lion rarely showed a trace of a smile, ¡°And from Paratu¡¯s Hammer, I¡¯ve learned a very important thing.¡±


    ...


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Contingency plans.¡±


    ¡­


    While White Lion and Little Lion were conversing, General Alpad was giving the Paratu Cavalry their final speech.


    Alpad stood on a carriage, waving a piece of parchment, and bellowed, ¡°Do you know what this is?¡±


    Thousands of cavalrymen holding their reins and standing in front of their horses were silent.


    ¡°This is the withdrawal order from the Paratu Council!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    As soon as these words were spoken, there was a stir among the crowd.


    Not only the soldiers, but even the junior officers were taken aback.


    The lieutenant colonels, however, had normal expressions because they had known about the existence of this order beforehand.


    The colonels weren¡¯t surprised either; not only did they know about this order, but they also knew it was the second withdrawal order.


    In the whole legion, only Alpad and Sekler knew the truth: this was actually the fifth withdrawal order.


    Not long after the Hurd marauders invaded Paratu¡¯s homeland, the Grand Council had issued the first withdrawal order.


    Five consecutive orders, each more sternly worded than the last.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what it says on this order!¡± Alpad picked up the parchment and disclosed the content of the confidential letter to the whole legion, ¡°The Fifth and Sixth Legions, lingering in enemy territory, without any achievements. The order dictates the Fifth and Sixth Legions return to Shuangqiao Main Camp immediately, any delay will be treated as treason! Treated as treason!¡±


    The wind swept through the Paratu soldiers¡¯ formation, bringing with it waves of anger. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Council asks us where the legion is when it¡¯s needed!¡± before everyone, Alpad tore up the Council¡¯s sealed order, shattering it and fiercely throwing it to the ground, ¡°Fat-brained fools of the Council! What do they think we¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°Do they think we¡¯re drinking wine, eating meat, enjoying Hurd women?¡±


    ¡°Do they think we don¡¯t want to return to Paratu?¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t we been fighting bloody battles with the Herd Barbarians with every sword and spear? Which one of you doesn¡¯t have wounds? Which one of you hasn¡¯t buried a comrade-in-arms in the wilderness? Now we¡¯re branded as traitors?¡±


    With the aid of the spellcasters who had regained their magical abilities, Alpad¡¯s voice reached every corner of the Paratu army.


    The suppressed anger and resentment in the soldiers¡¯ hearts gradually fermented; they had been fighting bloody battles, risking their lives in the fray with the Herd Barbarians!


    ¡°Tens of thousands of Herd Barbarians biting at our heels! But the Grand Council treats us as traitors!¡± Alpad was also filled with rage, ¡°We¡¯re now a stranded army! There¡¯s no one to rescue us! Only ourselves! Follow me! Slaughter every last Herd Barbarian! String their ears together with grass ropes! Come with me to demand an explanation from the Grand Council!¡±


    ¡°Long live!¡± a soldier shouted.


    ¡°Long live!!¡± others shouted in unison.


    ¡°Long live!!!¡± Everyone was roaring with anger and resentment.


    Alpad mounted his warhorse and rushed northward, with the eagle flag following behind him.


    The bugle sounded, and the cavalrymen turned around and mounted their horses in unison, following their general under the guidance of the officers.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    However, General Alpad¡¯s inflammatory speech had nothing to do with the vanguard.


    If the old shaman heard it, he might even give Alpad a negative review for ¡®having ulterior motives.¡¯


    For Winters, he was still leading his usual life of marching, fortifying camps, and resting, just more vigilant.


    One and a half days later, a messenger cavalier carrying a blue military flag caught up to the vanguard from behind.


    ¡°A great victory!¡± Winters heard him shouting, ¡°A great victory!¡±


    ¡°General Sekler has crushed the barbarian coalition! General Alpad has broken through ten camps!¡±


    The soldiers of the vanguard cheered and rejoiced. They slapped their chests, screaming, and threw their hats into the air with all their might.


    Winters, brimming with excitement, found Lieutenant Colonel Jeska but noticed Jeska, Lieutenant Colonel Bod, and two other officers gathering together with grave expressions.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Jeska asked Winters.


    Seeing that something was amiss, Winters¡¯s excitement gradually faded and he spoke as calmly as he could, ¡°A dispatch from the rear, it seems like the main forces have crushed the Hurd coalition.¡±


    ¡°What good does that do?¡± spat Lieutenant Colonel Bod, ¡°The bridge has been burned again.¡±


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 Chapter 493 03-25 - 84 Imagination

    Chapter 493: Chapter 84 Imagination


    The main force¡¯s battle with the allied tribal armies took place forty kilometers away and ended there as well.


    The staff officers were still unclear about the specifics, and the information Winters got was even more fragmented.


    Some said that General Alpad had charged in and out of the barbarian lines seven times, slaughtering them so thoroughly that they were scattered and in complete disarray.


    Others claimed that General Sekler killed three tribal leaders with just three spears, making the barbarians flee in utter panic, their morale completely broken.


    Each account was vivid as if it had been witnessed firsthand.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska pulled out a map and after a long search, slapped his hand down, ¡°It should be right here.¡±


    ...


    Winters and Andre leaned in to look.


    The lieutenant colonel pointed twice on the map.


    ¡°A valley?¡±


    ¡°Running east to west, with forests on the north and south sides to provide cover,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska stroked his chin. ¡°The messenger said the old man ambushed the enemy in the valley. In my opinion, he was just picking a place where he wouldn¡¯t be encircled.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then he arrayed his troops and fought.¡±


    ¡°Is it that simple?¡± Andre couldn¡¯t believe it.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°How complicated do you think it should be?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s attitude was indifferent. ¡°Aren¡¯t battles just about attack and defense? The difficulty isn¡¯t in the fighting, but in how to make the enemy engage on the battlefield you¡¯ve chosen.¡±


    Winters pressed, ¡°How did General Sekler manage that?¡±


    ¡°Want to know? Ask him,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll be seeing him soon enough.¡±


    ¡­


    Forty kilometers southwest of the vanguard column lay an unnamed valley.


    To call it a valley was a bit of a stretch; in reality, it was just a low ground between two hills.


    Yet on this piece of ground no more than two kilometers wide, now lay a sprawl of the dead, the wounded, and carcasses of warhorses.


    Paratu soldiers, bloodied and injured, walked through the valley, ruthlessly stabbing any Herders they found still alive.


    Sekler, coughing up blood, sat on his chariot listening to Colonel Laszlo report the state of the battle.


    The fight was incredibly fierce; the most aggressive Herder cavalry had come within five meters of Sekler himself.


    The square formation around Sekler was attacked from all directions, and Sekler himself was hit by three arrows: two struck his breastplate and one hit his helmet dead center.


    Colonel Laszlo recited mechanically, ¡°Fifty-six auxiliary centurion squads¡­ all collapsed, with eighteen centurions killed¡ªsome were from the wild routes, others from The Federated Provinces and Vineta. Another twelve centurions await court-martial. Four cohorts from the left wing of the Sixth Legion were also smashed to the point of losing their structure.¡±


    [Note: ¡°Wild routes¡± refer to non-academically trained officers, including what¡¯s called ¡°Paratu temporary officers.¡± These officers are few in number, not favored, and never promoted to staff positions.]


    ¡­


    Day before yesterday at dusk.


    ¡°Move out,¡± Sekler inspected his entire army for the last time and walked out of the camp without looking back.


    The Paratu army advanced eastward in the cover of night, and the rear guard burnt everything they could not take with them.


    ¡­


    Yesterday morning.


    ¡°The barbarians are retreating!¡± The Paratu soldiers shouted to each other in encouragement as they watched the enemy¡¯s fading figures: ¡°The barbarians are retreating.¡±


    The Herder vanguard caught up with the Paratu army, and after a minor skirmish, the Herder vanguard was routed.


    The Paratu army continued eastward, discarding damaged supply wagons one after another.


    ¡­


    Deep into last night.


    The Paratu army finally arrived at the battlefield Sekler had chosen.


    Sekler arrayed his troops in the valley, positioning them into three lines.


    A small number of light cavalry was placed in the first line, auxiliaries in the second, and the standing army composed the third line.


    The chief cohorts of two legions were stationed atop the hills to the north and south.


    The White Lion was eager for battle; to prove his capabilities and establish his authority, he needed a decisive victory.


    He dispatched troops to stop the infighting among the tribes over loot and urged the tribal cavalry to give chase throughout the night.


    Both sides were willing to engage in a decisive battle, which ignited in this nameless valley.


    ¡­


    Early this morning, the vanguard cavalry from both sides engaged first in combat.


    The Paratu light cavalry were outnumbered and suffered a rout.


    Two centurions retreated without orders and were executed on the spot according to military law.


    As daylight broke and the mist cleared, the Herder light cavalry returned to their main formation, and the allied tribal armies arrived at the battlefield.


    The narrow width of the ground prevented the Herders from deploying fully, but the White Lion still sent his troops to flank and encircle from a distance.


    Around eight in the morning, the Herder tribal allied forces pressed forward from the front.


    The Herder cavalry charged into the auxiliary lines; in the narrow valley, soldiers and horses from both sides were crowded together.


    Blood spattered into the eyes of soldiers from both sides, and those killed couldn¡¯t even fall to the ground.


    In this ghastly combat, the auxiliary units also quickly crumbled, retreating behind the third line.


    The standing army¡¯s grand square formation began to face the enemy.


    The indestructible grand square held firm against the assault of the Herder cavalry.


    Following the advice of the White Lion, the tribal cavalry dismounted and joined the foot battle.


    The chief cohorts on the hillsides were meant to provide fire support, but they were tied down by the flanks of the Herder allied forces.


    Amid the terrible melee, the overall formation of the Paratu army began to crush towards the right flank, leaving an ever-increasing gap on the left.


    The White Lion was waiting for this moment; he led the cream of the Suz Tribe straight into the breach in the Paratu army¡¯s left flank.


    The Suz Tribe¡¯s warriors, unflinching in battle, charged headlong into the forest of pikes.


    Riders and warhorses fell dead on the spot, but a gap was smashed open in the forest of pikes.


    The remainder burst into formation, wreaking havoc; the already faltering left flank square of the Paratu army was instantly overrun.


    The Suz Tribe cavalry began to circle around to the rear of the Paratu central army, while Sekler sent reorganized auxiliaries to resist, but they were no match for the well-rested Suz Tribe cavalry.


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 Chapter 494 03-25 - 84 Imagination_2

    Chapter 494: Chapter 84 Imagination_2


    ¡°[Herde Language] We won!¡± the eater of fine foods laughed heartily.


    The Herde Allied Forces held the winning ticket, with the Suz Tribe cavalry sweeping the lines from south to north.


    ¡°We won,¡± Sekler said, exhausted.


    The Herde Allied Forces had pressed on all fronts, and Sekler finally played the ace he had patiently hidden up his sleeve.


    The piercing charge of the bugle echoed through the valley.


    Four squadrons of heavy cavalry burst out of the woodlands on the south side of the line and charged at the Suz Tribe cavalry from behind.


    ...


    The often reliable tactic of attacking from behind shattered the Suz Tribe cavalry in an instant.


    Inspired by this, Paratu infantrymen roared and pushed back against the Herde Allied Forces.


    The rest of the forces along the line tried to change direction to counterattack but failed to organize effectively and were eventually swept back by the rout.


    When one Herder started to flee, all the Herders began to flee.


    Seeing the bad turn of events, the Herde Allied Forces on both flanks also started to retreat.


    The Herders who had retreated outside the valley received the news that their main camp had been overrun by another group of Paratu Piaoqi cavalry.


    In fact, there was no need for an assault; the vanguard ¡°main camp¡± of the various tribes didn¡¯t even have a wagon fort; it was just an open space protected from the wind, used to store spare horses and a small amount of baggage.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    [Note: Spare horses, that is, horses kept in reserve]


    The remaining courage of the various tribes¡¯ cavalrymen dissipated, and they scattered in a panic, each rushing back to save their own main camps.


    ¡­


    ¡°This is yet another battle where the infantry bleeds and the cavalry is glorified,¡± every officer in the valley can¡¯t help but think.


    The crude gallows were erected, and the execution ground was prepared on the hilltop.


    According to Paratu military law, after a battle, executions would begin¡­ of their own people.


    Twelve Centurions, stripped of their armor, were bound and made to kneel in a row¡ªif soldiers didn¡¯t rout but officers fled the battle, hang them;


    Soldiers with cinnabar stains on their backs were pulled out one by one¡ªif there were stains of cinnabar on the back, behead them;


    More soldiers began to draw lots for life and death¡ªif officers didn¡¯t retreat but soldiers were defeated, draw and execute.


    In the past twenty-odd years, never had Sekler been lenient, because military law was everything to the Paratu army.


    But today, even the iron-hearted Sekler could not kill anymore.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Sekler said softly.


    Laszlo asked expressionlessly, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, forget it,¡± Sekler said in a strong voice, slapping his chest and coughing. ¡°Shave their heads and send them to the Death Camp.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Tell them if they can get back to Paratu, their lives will be given back to them. If they can¡¯t get back to Paratu, then they might as well take a Herder down with them.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Sekler asked again, ¡°Has Alpad returned yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, he¡¯s probably still pursuing the remnants of the enemy.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to wait for him. Take men and go, find the carts we abandoned along the road. I¡¯ll wait for you ahead, one day, just one day. Get back as much as you can.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Colonel Laszlo turned and left.


    Sekler struggled to his feet; he was seven years younger than Alpad but had aged more prematurely than the latter.


    He looked at the valley littered with corpses: a dark red liquid flowed down the slopes, pooling at the bottom of the valley.


    If one hadn¡¯t seen it with their own eyes, nobody would believe ¡°blood¡± could actually ¡°flow into a river.¡±


    A messenger on horseback with a green feather in his helmet rushed into the valley, heading recklessly toward the eagle standard.


    The guards intercepted him with their halberds; the messenger rolled off his mount and stumbled, running towards the eagle standard while holding up a letter. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, the guards around the eagle standard would not let him approach the general easily.


    Two guards seized the messenger while another took the letter and handed it to Sekler.


    Sekler took the letter, tore it open, and was silent for a long time.


    The hand holding the letter was so tense that the knuckles had lost all color.


    After thirty years, the iron hooves of the Herders had once again stepped on the land of Paratu.


    The uncalled for invasion by ¡°savage cavalry¡± had struck terror into the Paratu Assembly.


    The Grand Assembly bypassed the Army Headquarters and issued five consecutive orders, demanding the Expeditionary Force to retreat for reinforcement.


    But now, the Grand Assembly no longer needed to worry about Herde raiders.


    Because they were back.


    And they had destroyed the second Floating Bridge of the Paratu Expeditionary Force.


    ¡­


    One day later.


    The familiar tents, the familiar leaders of the tribes¡ªfewer in number, but the atmosphere was vastly different from before.


    ¡°You carrion eater, you rotten hide! Wrapped in grass, even the oxen won¡¯t eat your putrid flesh!¡± the chief of the Blackwater Tribe could barely contain his anger; had he a weapon in hand, he might have already fought the eater of fine foods to the death.


    Pointing straight at his nose, he rebuked: ¡°You sacrificed the Blackwater Tribe to the bipeds while your Suz Tribe fled quickly! Do you even deserve to lead in war?¡±


    Alpad had led the Piaoqi cavalry on a chase for a full fifty kilometers, targeting small and medium-sized tribes for attack.


    As ally tribes were being hunted down, the Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe turned a blind eye, each only concerned with their own escape.


    In contrast, the Terdun-Red River Allied Forces took in quite a few stragglers.


    ¡°Short Bow! You tailless gelding! How dare you question me? I have questions for you too!¡± the eater of fine foods roared back in rage: ¡°Seeing the centre in dire straits, why didn¡¯t you on the left flank come to support?¡±


    ¡°Go back and suckle from your mother¡¯s teat!¡± the Blackwater Tribe chief cursed: ¡°You lost on your own, and you expect us to step up? I¡¯ll ask you, why did you assign the Haidong Tribe to your own centre and not let the man with grey eyes lead on the left flank?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need to explain to you!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t come up with an answer? I¡¯ll tell you! You¡¯re full of selfish desires, fears that the man with grey eyes will make glory leading alone on one flank, so you put him in the center with you, but left us small tribes on the left flank! We small tribes never listen to each other, how do you expect us to fight?¡±


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 Chapter 495 03-25 - 84 Imagination_3

    Chapter 495: Chapter 84 Imagination_3


    ¡°That¡¯s your problem,¡± the food-forager sneered.


    ¡°You war chief! I won¡¯t accept this!¡± The Blackwater tribe chief had all but resigned himself to a do-or-die stance, determined to topple the food-forager today, or else it would be the end of Blackwater tomorrow: ¡°You¡¯ve never considered the tribes at all! You aren¡¯t fit to command us!¡±


    ¡°If not me, then who is?¡±


    ¡°I nominate White Lion! Haidong, Suz! They all treat our small tribes like animals! Only White Lion treats us like humans! You, I won¡¯t accept! White Lion, I will!¡± The Blackwater tribe chief glared at the other tribal leaders: ¡°Speak up!¡±


    No one responded to him.


    ¡°Speak up!¡± The Blackwater tribe chief roared: ¡°Do you want to be slaves to the Suz tribe?¡±


    ...


    There was another bout of silence.


    The Blackwater tribe chief angrily removed his hat, threw it to the ground, and strode towards the entrance, but another man blocked his path.


    The fire-stoker, grabbing the Blackwater tribe chief¡¯s arm, turned towards the current war leader: ¡°Food-forager, the tribal chiefs gave you a chance, but you have betrayed their trust. Why not let someone else have a try?¡±


    The tribal chiefs conveyed their agreement with their eyes, yet dared not to speak.


    The food-forager stood up, looking around murderously: ¡°White Lion is not a descendant of the Golden God, he has no right to be the Khan!¡±


    The red-faced fire-stoker immediately retorted: ¡°Who¡¯s talking about electing White Lion as Khan? We just want White Lion to lead us in battle!¡±


    ¡°With you! With me! With grey-eyes! And with so many descendants of the Golden God! There¡¯s no reason to let an outsider be the war chief!¡± The food-forager yelled back.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°We don¡¯t need to fight for seats like a pack of dogs scrapping over meat,¡± White Lion spoke calmly: ¡°Let¡¯s follow the rules of the grand council. Extinguish the lights, cover the yurt. If the tribal chiefs agree, they will call ¡®aye¡¯; if the tribal chiefs disagree, they will call ¡®nay¡¯.¡±


    The discussion under a covered tent meant that one could not see another, hearing only voices, a method equivalent to an anonymous vote.


    This method was rarely used in grand council meetings, as the council itself was meant to be open about everything, with nothing to hide.


    ¡°There are really few who dare to openly oppose the food-forager,¡± Little Lion thought: ¡°Otherwise, my brother wouldn¡¯t have requested a secret council.¡±


    The lamps were blown out, and the yurt was covered, the tribal chiefs changed their positions in the darkness.


    White Lion began: ¡°Before reinforcements from the other tribes join us, we cannot directly confront the Paratu People.¡±


    A chorus of ¡°ayes¡± erupted from within the tent.


    The Blackwater tribe chief was the loudest and most distinct. Since he had already offended the food-forager, he might as well be thoroughly defiant.


    ¡°The Paratu People cannot stay in the wasteland forever, we should play to our strengths. Small raids, taking out messengers, seizing stores, but never clashing head-on.¡±


    Again, a chorus of ¡°ayes¡± was heard.


    ¡°Raids?¡± the food-forager couldn¡¯t help but question: ¡°Can raids alone wipe out the bipeds? Once they cross The Styx, we won¡¯t be able to stop them anymore!¡±


    ¡°Then we won¡¯t let them cross The Styx.¡±


    ¡°How can we stop them from crossing The Styx? They¡¯re heading northeast, obviously to find a shallow place to cross the river!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re heading to the shallows upstream, where the Paratu People will run out of food and drink, which is why they prepared the Floating Bridge.¡±


    The food-forager realized: ¡°You want us to destroy the Floating Bridge?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± White Lion answered: ¡°I¡¯ve already sent someone to do it.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Seven days later, early in the morning.


    Winters and the old shaman walked with Little Lion on the western bank of The Styx.


    Little Lion was listless, walking lazily on the riverbank, leaving a trail of paw prints.


    Its mane had yet to grow in, making it look less like a lion from afar and more like a dog with an unusually large head.


    The old shaman wrapped himself tightly in his fur coat and admonished: ¡°Little beast, hurry up and pee! You¡¯re freezing me to death!¡±


    ¡°You still have the mood to walk the dog?¡± Winters was heavy-hearted.


    On both banks of the river, the aftermath of scorched floating crates was everywhere.


    The first Floating Bridge made use of prefabricated elements brought from Paratu.


    The second Floating Bridge was made with wooden planks and tar floats.


    Without planks, they could dismantle carriages, they could fell trees; as for tar, the engineers still had some.


    The problem was, several thousand Herders were still waiting on the opposite bank.


    Indeed, the raiders who had burnt the Floating Bridge¡ªfor the second time¡ªhad not only failed to cross the river. They had set up camp on the opposite bank, facing the Paratu army across the water.


    No matter how skilled the Paratu engineers were, they had no way to erect a bridge with the other bank compromised.


    Monk Reed casually recited: ¡°[In Celican] As Mount Tai collapses before him and his countenance doesn¡¯t change, as a deer rises to his left and his gaze doesn¡¯t falter, only then can one govern gains and losses, only then can one await the enemy.¡±


    ¡°What are you going on about now?¡±


    The old man stroking his beard, glanced at Winters: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, no matter what happens, keep a good attitude. Look at you, frowning like the sky is falling.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°Seeing how unflustered you are, I presume you¡¯ve been prepared since morning for the Herders¡¯ Shaman¡¯s outfit, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, why would the old man feed off two bounties?¡±


    ¡°Does the living Saint have any brilliant plan to teach me?¡±


    ¡°Cough. Caught in enemy territory, with pursuers behind and a river ahead, with the enemy waiting on the other bank,¡± Monk Reed spoke leisurely: ¡°My boy, in every history book I¡¯ve read, your situation is a sure death.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still a way,¡± Winters said softly: ¡°It just requires a bit of imagination.¡±


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 Chapter 496 03-25 - 85 The Real Bridge

    Chapter 496: Chapter 85 The Real Bridge


    The battle of Nameless Valley, Sekler defeated the Hurd alliance.


    The chieftains, each with their respective troops, fled for their lives and were relentlessly pursued by Alpad.


    Just from the ears cut from corpses, they counted over three thousand. The bloodied human ears were strung on grass ropes, filling two entire large carts.


    Paratu¡¯s fifth and sixth legions also suffered heavy casualties.


    Over seven thousand legion infantry, and more than five thousand conscripted auxiliary troops engaged in battle, totaling seven hundred seventy-two dead and nine hundred forty-three seriously wounded.


    Minor injuries couldn¡¯t be counted, because nearly every soldier who survived was wounded.


    ...


    The standard for serious injuries had become whether one could walk on their own.


    After cleaning the battlefield, the Paratu army continued marching northeast without stopping.


    The Paratu People had undoubtedly won a victory.


    In the past, they could already ¡°return with laughter and triumphant songs.¡±


    However, the victory in the battle could hardly make up for the strategic loss.


    Alpad had not managed to scatter the Hurd alliance¡ªbecause the Hurd alliance was already loosely organized.


    Although the various tribes didn¡¯t fight vigorously, they excelled at fleeing. Once Suz Tribe¡¯s cavalry at the rear collapsed, the battle became a ¡°dog chasing rabbits.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    Hunting rabbits with dogs wasn¡¯t a problem. According to past experience, it was enough to hurt the Herders.


    But now, the wolves had decided the foal was faltering, and even if the foal could kick to death one or two wolves, the remaining hungry wolves would still follow the foal closely, licking their wounds.


    Just as there wasn¡¯t an independent will called ¡°Herders,¡± the motives of the Herders in fighting the Paratu People were very complex.


    For the lower-class Herd nomads, on one hand, they were coerced into fighting by violence, and on the other hand, they longed for the class elevation that came with war spoils, rewards, and military achievements.


    Above the lower-class nomads was the professional warrior class of Hurd society.


    Including the chieftains of medium and small tribes, the chieftains¡¯ relatives, friends, and guards.


    To some extent, their motives were similar to those of the ordinary Herd nomads. They drove their tribesmen, and the three major tribes drove them.


    They were not willing to weaken their forces, but they also coveted war spoils.


    Armor, weapons, firearms, ammunition, and craftsmen were resources that were hard to obtain for the tribes on normal days.


    Older chieftains still remembered the good old days, and they truly hoped to destroy Paratu¡¯s Standing Army and then rob Paratu¡ªprovided that their own troops didn¡¯t suffer losses.


    For chieftains with greater ambition and strength, this battle was an excellent opportunity not only to destroy Paratu¡¯s Standing Army but also to establish prestige and control over the tribes.


    Furthermore, for all Herders, there was an intangible collective sentiment that lingered in their hearts but couldn¡¯t be articulated.


    That was the ¡°Herders''¡± hatred and resentment towards the ¡°Paratu People,¡± not connected to any one individual, yet present in every Herder¡¯s heart.


    This emotion might not be as strong as ¡°the tribe across the river stole two of my horses, I hate them so much,¡± but it definitely existed.


    In short, White Lion¡¯s strategy of ¡°not letting go, but also not biting¡± was acknowledged by most Herders.


    Except for the Red River Tribe and the Terdon Tribe, most chieftains only had their trusted troops left; they needed time to regroup their scattered members.


    No one dared to directly confront the Paratu legions anymore, but neither was anyone willing to give up just like that.


    Alpad and Sekler reached their goal; the Paratu army¡¯s retreat became unusually quiet, without any further skirmishes.


    Only the occasional presence of Herd light cavalry reminded the Paratu People: The enemy had not ceased.


    ¡­


    Realizing the second Floating Bridge was also destroyed, the mood of the Paratu army became uneasy and tense.


    Anyone with a sane mind could see that this army had reached a dead end.


    The Paratu People hadn¡¯t lost; they just had nowhere to go.


    That night, two auxiliary soldiers stole horses and tried to run away.


    They were caught by patrolling cavalry on the riverbank and were publicly executed the following morning.


    A decision had to be made quickly¡ªthis was the consensus of all officers.


    At the expanded meeting of senior officers, someone proposed, ¡°Otherwise, let¡¯s continue walking upstream?¡±


    To continue walking upstream, a straightforward method.


    The further upstream you go, the shallower the water and the narrower the river. Just go to a place where you can walk across, right?


    ¡°Go where?¡± Colonel Bod snapped back mercilessly: ¡°Even if you walk another two hundred kilometers upstream, the Styx is still a hundred meters wide! Why not just head into the Sheltering Mountains and circle back from Monta?


    ¡°I was just saying¡­¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was another silence.


    Someone else proposed, ¡°I have seen workers who log in the mountains. They chop trees in winter, transport them to the riverside, and nail them into log rafts. Come summer when the water rises, they float down the river, reaching Kingsfort and even the inner sea.¡±


    ¡°We make log rafts too?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s possible¡­¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen.¡± Colonel Robert had a splitting headache: ¡°The principle of buoyancy!¡±


    The buoyancy of an object is related to the volume of liquid it displaces. Whether or not the officers present remembered, at least all of them had learned this.


    Colonel Robert picked up a pen and paper and began to calculate: ¡°A log raft isn¡¯t a ship; it has no hull, relying entirely on the buoyancy of the wood. Taking the density of wood as half of water, that means 1 kilogram of wood can carry 1 kilogram of load. You can¡¯t actually get a one-to-one ratio, but I¡¯ll calculate as generously as possible for you.


    The entire army now has over twenty thousand people; taking 70 kilograms per person, that makes a total of one million four hundred thousand kilograms, which is 1400 tons! Where do we get 1400 tons of wood? Where do we find it?!¡±


    The more he calculated, the more agitated Colonel Robert became: ¡°This is just the weight of the people, not yet counting our weapons, armor, baggage, ammunition! Oh yes, and the horses! We also have thousands of Warhorses! Besides warhorses, there are draft horses.¡±


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 Chapter 497 03-25 - 85 The True Bridge_2

    Chapter 497: Chapter 85 The True Bridge_2


    The meeting was silent as a graveyard.


    ¡°Release logs into the river? What an idea you¡¯ve come up with!¡± Colonel Robert suppressed his anger, ¡°We might as well each hug a log and jump into the river, tossing our weapons, armor, and warhorses all to the Herders!¡±


    ¡°If not logs, what about building boats?¡± someone retorted, unconvinced.


    ¡°Boats! What boats?¡± Colonel Robert finally lost control, ¡°Don¡¯t we have Venetians in the army? Call them over and ask how many boats it would take to carry twenty thousand men! And don¡¯t forget the warhorses! Even with the largest boats from the Inner Sea, to transport twenty thousand men, you would need an entire fleet!¡±


    Both generals remained silent.


    The atmosphere inside the tent became extremely oppressive.


    ...


    Robert was not usually the type to get easily agitated; on the contrary, he was very rational.


    But the more rational a person is, the more likely they are to break down in the face of absolute despair.


    ¡°What if we hold our ground here and send people to Kingsfort to find boats?¡± Colonel Haugwitz pondered, ¡°There are certainly plenty of boats at Kingsfort. Isn¡¯t the wool shipped there annually by boat before being floated down the river to The Federated Provinces and Vineta?¡±


    [Note: The river referred to by the Paratu People is the Ashen Stream River, which is the Torrent River to the United Provincials and Venetians.]


    A glimmer of hope kindled in everyone¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Kingsfort has boats! Of all sizes!¡±


    ¡°The Styx leads to the great river, all the rivers of the wilderness flow through! Let the boats come to save us.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À?.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Gentlemen!¡± Colonel Robert could not help but shout, ¡°We are upstream! Kingsfort is downstream! Haven¡¯t you ever heard of ¡®buying a boat to go downstream¡¯? Venetian merchants buy boats in Paratu, load them with wool to the Inner Sea, then dismantle the boats to sell the timber, and finally return to Kingsfort on horseback!¡±


    Colonel Bod calmed down Colonel Robert and explained to the others, ¡°From Kingsfort to here it¡¯s upstream. Venetians would rather buy boats and go downstream than row against the current precisely because it¡¯s too difficult.


    Rowing against the current relies on three things: oars, sails, and trackers. It¡¯s winter now, with west winds blowing, so we can¡¯t use sails and have no one to pull the barge lines. To gather enough oar-powered warships, we¡¯d need the Inner Sea fleets of Vineta or The Federated Provinces.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t count on boats!¡± Colonel Bod concluded heavily, he paused, saying, ¡°The only feasible strategy is for us to hold here and send people back to Kingsfort for reinforcements. As long as the reinforcements can crush the barbarians across the river, we can build a floating bridge.¡±


    A floating bridge, having no fixed piers, requires cables and anchors to be arranged on both banks and upstream and downstream to maintain its axial position from drifting off course.


    The Herd Raiders poised on the opposite bank of the river were essentially strangling the Paratu army¡¯s throat.


    Without defeating them, the floating bridge could not be built.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s feasible!¡± a staff officer agreed loudly.


    A concerned staff officer asked, ¡°Hold out? Do we have enough provisions?¡±


    Colonel Bod answered resolutely, ¡°If not enough, we ration! If still not enough, we slaughter horses! We must hold until the reinforcements arrive.¡±


    ¡°What if the reinforcements can¡¯t break the siege?¡±


    ¡°Just on the Newly Reclaimed Land alone, we can muster thousands of Dusacks and militia. How could we possibly lose to the few thousand Herders across the river?¡± Colonel Bod spoke with confidence, ¡°The barbarians have invaded, and the militias from all places must have begun assembling. The Legion headquarters just needs to send them over.¡±


    Colonel Haugwitz crossed his arms, asking, ¡°Relying on reinforcements for relief is too passive; we should find a way to send some men across the river, and eliminate the barbarians on the other side. There are about three or four thousand barbarians across the river; just fifteen squadrons should suffice.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Note: Fifteen squadrons at full strength total about three thousand cavalry; in actual combat, due to difficulties in replenishing troops, there are only about one thousand seven hundred.]


    Colonel Robert countered, ¡°How do you propose to send them across?¡±


    ¡°By boat?¡±


    ¡°Where are you going to find boats that can carry two thousand cavalry!¡±


    ¡°Go upstream, and use small boats to transport them little by little.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Haugwitz! Haven¡¯t you thought about the issue of morale?¡± Colonel Robert glared as he rebutted, ¡°If the Herders can hold the opposite bank, can¡¯t they keep watch on the upstream and downstream? If it fails, the loss wouldn¡¯t just be fifteen squadrons of cavalry, but also fifteen squadrons of warhorses.


    I won¡¯t even address whether you can cross the river. Given the army¡¯s current state, we will collapse here before you even reach the opposite bank! The soldiers will think you¡¯re trying to flee!¡±


    Haugwitz sneered, ¡°You¡¯re underestimating the people of Paratu!¡±


    Colonel Robert flew into a rage, ¡°We¡¯re the ones doing the hard labor, what right do you have to say that?¡±


    Both sides were on edge, ready to explode at any moment.


    ¡°Sit down, all of you!¡± Alpad banged on the table fiercely, ¡°Want to duel? Take it outside. Don¡¯t get blood on me.¡±


    General Sekler sighed, ¡°Holding tight for reinforcements is not a good strategy, but it seems we can only choose the best of the worst options. We need to think of a contingency plan. What if the reinforcements don¡¯t come? Or if they come but can¡¯t relieve the siege?¡±


    The tent fell silent again.


    If the reinforcements don¡¯t come or can¡¯t relieve the siege.


    Then the only fate awaiting the Fifth and Sixth Legions would be¡ªannihilation.


    ¡°One of my Centurions has an idea.¡± The one-eyed Colonel, who had been silent until now, broke the silence; his voice was not loud, but it captured everyone¡¯s attention, ¡°The young man is quite inventive, I think it¡¯s worth a try.¡±


    ¡°Skip the nonsense,¡± General Sekler looked at Colonel Jeska with dissatisfaction, ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°Build a bridge!¡± Colonel Jeska took out the blueprints, ¡°Not a floating bridge, but a real bridge.¡±


    Colonel Robert raised an eyebrow, ¡°A real bridge? How will you build it?¡±


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 Chapter 498 03-25 - 85 The Real Bridge_3

    Chapter 498: Chapter 85 The Real Bridge_3


    Colonel Jeska stepped forward and hung the blueprint on the rack:


    ¡°Build it like Kaisan!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters stood atop a mound of earth, his front facing the bustling military camp that was under construction.


    Beyond that lay the majestic Styx.


    To the left of Winters, there was another mound of similar height.


    ...


    The Legion Command had officially named the two mounds the Southern Highlands and Northern Highlands.


    However, because the two mounds resembled a woman¡¯s breasts, the soldiers all called them¡­ that.


    The camp and the two mounds were triangulated, close to the riverbank.


    This position was not very defensible because the two mounds towered over and overlooked the entire camp.


    The Paratu troops had no choice but to construct fortresses on both the Southern and Northern Highlands and disperse forces to garrison them.


    They had positioned the camp on this unsuitable defensive terrain for two reasons:


    First, half a kilometer northwest from here was a dense coniferous forest;


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    Second, the width of the river here was less than two hundred meters, which was ideal for bridge building.


    Time waited for no one, as the soldiers of the Fifth Legion were still digging trenches and building camp walls, soldiers from the Sixth Legion had already dragged logs back.


    The camp at that moment was a massive open-air woodworking shop and a blacksmith¡¯s forge.


    Blacksmiths, carpenters, charcoal burners, bricklayers¡­ all the craftsmen in the army were gathered in one place, and Berlion was among them.


    Even those who could barely use a plane were drafted.


    The bellows roared with fire as the forge hummed, and the continuous clanging of forging echoed without cease.


    Excess armor and weapons were melted down to forge axes, nails, and anchors, then distributed to those in need.


    Everyone worked selflessly, and in the center of the camp, a giant raft was gradually taking shape.


    ¡°Thump!¡±


    ¡°Thump!¡±


    ¡°Thump!¡±


    At the same time, another giant raft was floating on the water, pounding wooden stakes into the riverbed.


    A few small boats were anchored in the middle of the river, measuring the depth.


    On the giant raft, there was a crude contraption resembling a pile driver: a stone block, a set of lifting gear, and a track.


    The raft carrying this apparatus was at the core of the bridge-building project.


    The soldiers on the raft shouted as they pushed the winch, the ropes creaking. The heavy stone block was lifted bit by bit.


    The rest of the soldiers on the raft worked together to place a log on the track, struggling against the buoyancy to probe deeper.


    When the tip of the log touched the riverbed, the officer on the raft released the brake of the lifting machine.


    The stone block fell heavily on the end of the stake, making the raft tremble.


    The stake was hammered nearly half a meter deep into the riverbed.


    The soldiers shouted their chants again as they pushed the winch¡ªthey had to repeat this two more times until the stake was firmly embedded deep in the riverbed.


    The stakes fixed in the riverbed would serve as bridge piers, extending towards the opposite bank.


    The giant raft, carrying a six-meter-tall pile driver, moved like a mythic giant across the water, stunning the Herders on the opposite bank to stare and run around shouting.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never seen this thing, have you?¡± Winters felt waves of elation in his heart, ¡°Looks like ¡®The War Chronicles of Tall Houses¡¯ doesn¡¯t have a Herder version.¡±


    Brother Reed was also beside Winters.


    The old man stroked his beard and exclaimed, ¡°Ingenious devices, truly astounding.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I¡¯m saying you¡¯re really skillful!¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my invention.¡± Winters scratched his head in embarrassment, ¡°It¡¯s all from ancient texts. There were no physical examples. When I was at the Land Academy, our teacher guided us in trying to recreate them.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± said Brother Reed, smacking his lips, ¡°I fear this bridge might not be very durable.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t expect it to last until the end of the world, once is enough.¡±


    Brother Reed laughed heartily, ¡°True that.¡±


    ¡°White Lion!¡± Winters suddenly shouted towards the Styx, ¡°What other tricks do you have? Bring them all on!¡±


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 Chapter 499 03-25 - 86: Cutting Down Trees

    Chapter 499: Chapter 86: Cutting Down Trees


    Men are not afraid of hard times, they¡¯re afraid of having no direction.


    That¡¯s why the Paratu People need a bridge, even though Sekler has already sent messengers across the river seeking help.


    Building a bridge is not just for ¡°crossing the river,¡± but also to inject hope into every soldier in the army.


    There is nothing in the world more desperate than a dead end.


    The indifferent Styx looms before them, with the Paratu People having nowhere to go, no path to take.


    They want to turn their heads and fight with all their might, only to find that there are no enemies¨Cthe Herders simply do not engage them in direct combat.


    ...


    The White Lion is like a hunter who corners beasts on a cliff, patiently waiting for the enemy to be crushed by hunger and despair.


    If the morale collapses, the Paratu People will fall apart before the rescue troops arrive to relieve them.


    Centurion Montagne¡¯s bridge-building plan is very difficult, but it doesn¡¯t matter.


    Because what the Paratu army urgently needs is not a bridge, but hope.


    Like a drowning person clutching at a plank of wood, in the eyes of the Paratu People there are only three things now: bridge, bridge, and goddamn bridge.


    Carpenters, with the sappers, shuttle through the woods, looking for suitable materials for the bridge project.


    The straightest, longest pieces are marked with red paint; they will serve as bridge piles.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The next-best pieces of timber are marked with black paint and can be sawed into planks for laying the bridge deck.


    As for the underdeveloped saplings and shrubs, they are all taken to be used for charcoal.


    Anyone who has used a hammer and anvil is taken away, and seasoned blacksmiths like Berlion are no exception.


    Jeska¡¯s squad has lost a cook¨CWinters has returned to eating swill, but the Paratu army has gained a master who can lead a dozen laborers.


    Captured weapons are re-heated, folded, and forged anew; surplus armor is melted into molten iron and poured into sand molds.


    The sole charcoal burner in the army has become a precious asset, fortunately, the trade is not hard to learn.


    Apart from proposing the bridge-building plan, Winters has made another small contribution.


    Adopting Winters¡¯ suggestion, the Fifth and Sixth Legions, following the model of the Third [Da Weineta] Legion that built the Guzhi Road on Red Sulfur Island, also set up a [Bridge-Building Command].


    The Command is personally led by General Sekler, where all the resources available in the army are concentrated in this temporary department, which is responsible for coordinating, distributing, and directing them.


    As for Winters, he just has a title at the Command but continues to work with his militia as usual.


    There are many more specialized engineers and artillery officers in the army than him, so Winters refrains from giving unsolicited advice.


    Inspiration is like a layer of tissue paper¨Che has punched a small hole in it, and the rest is for others to complete.


    ¡­


    A small clearing has been made in the not-so-dense forest, with the militia swinging their sharp axes, working to expand the clearing.


    ¡°Thud.¡±


    ¡°Thud.¡±


    These are the sounds of the axe blades striking tree trunks, incessant.


    ¡°Careful whoa! It¡¯s falling!¡± someone shouts at the top of their lungs: ¡°It¡¯s falling!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s falling!¡± Hearing the shouting, the militia also cry out: ¡°It¡¯s falling!¡±


    This is both a reminder and a way of boosting each other¡¯s spirit.


    A fir tree with a crown over a dozen meters tall like a drunkard stumbling in the night, starts to lean slowly towards the clearing.


    Accompanied by a teeth-gritting ¡°creak,¡± the fir tree falls faster and faster until it crashes to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    Three militiamen carrying axes come over to start clearing the branches from the fir tree.


    Eventually, only the clean trunk of the fir tree will be left, to be hauled to the main camp by specialized wagons.


    A dozen meters in height is nothing for towering trees, but on the plains, it¡¯s a rare piece of timber.


    After the fir tree hits the ground, the ¡°thud thud¡± of chopping resumes.


    Chopping trees is extremely strenuous work, not for the weak.


    After a day¡¯s work, the militiamen¡¯s shoulders will swell up the next day.


    It would be somewhat easier with saws, but the army is in short supply of saws, so the axe remains the main tool for logging.


    The rapid ¡°clatter clatter¡± of galloping grows closer, and a green-plumed cavalryman rides into the logging site.


    The militiamen in the woods, all focused on their tasks, pay no mind to this messenger.


    Having looked around and not finding any officers, the messenger calls out loudly, ¡°Centurion Montaigne? Is Centurion Montaigne here?¡±


    ¡°Could he be slacking off somewhere?¡± Disappointed, the messenger can¡¯t help but feel scornful: ¡°What Blood Wolf? He¡¯s nothing special.¡±


    As the Paratu People pour their effort into the bridge-building project, the reputation of the ¡°Blood Wolf,¡± who proposed the plan, has spread through the entire army.


    All Paratu soldiers have heard of this Champion Centurion¡¯s dubious ¡°glorious deeds¡± and are eager to witness the true face of the Blood Wolf.


    This messenger, too, fought for the chance to deliver orders to the Blood Wolf.


    The sounds of chopping drown out the messenger¡¯s calling, and he is ignored.


    He rides to the edge of the clearing, hoping to find someone to speak to.


    The messenger¡¯s eye catches a tall militiaman right away.


    That man stands a head taller than most, dressed in a rough cotton garments, dealing with an oak tree.


    He lifts his axe high and brings it down with force.


    Each time the blade splits the tree, the thick oak trembles violently.


    Even though it¡¯s the chilly winter, billows of white steam rise like boiling water from the man¡¯s sleeves and collar.


    The messenger walks up to the tall militiaman and asks impatiently, ¡°Hey! Where¡¯s your centurion, Blood Wolf?¡±


    The tall militiaman sets down his axe and counters, ¡°What do you want with him?¡±


    The messenger snaps, ¡°Are you qualified to inquire about military affairs? Take me to him!¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf, never seen him.¡± The tall militiaman pulls out a towel from his belt to wipe his face and says slowly, ¡°Winters Montagne, that¡¯s me.¡±


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 Chapter 500 03-25 - 86 Cutting Down Trees_2

    Chapter 500: Chapter 86 Cutting Down Trees_2


    ¡°Thud.¡±


    ¡°Thud.¡±


    ¡°Thud.¡±


    The sound of chopping trees did not cease for a moment.


    The messenger dismounted in haste, hurriedly took out a scroll sealed with lacquer, and presented it with both hands, ¡°This is an order from the bridge construction headquarters for you, Commander.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± The Centurion took the letter, broke the seal, and casually glanced at it.


    ...


    The messenger steadied his mind and covertly sized up the man, finally having the opportunity to witness the legendary Blood Wolf¡¯s true face.


    He didn¡¯t seem particularly special, not especially stout, nor particularly thin, just a bit taller.


    Apart from a fine gold chain around his neck, he wore no other ornaments.


    Yet, he was special in a way the messenger couldn¡¯t articulate. He stood with immense respect.


    ¡°Do you need a receipt?¡± the Centurion asked.


    The messenger waved his hands repeatedly, ¡°No need, no need.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ve received the orders.¡± The Centurion raised the letter in his hand, ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard, you may go back.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The messenger mounted his saddle, saw the Blood Wolf put the letter into his pocket, and picked up the axe again.


    From a distance, a shout came, ¡°Be careful, down it goes!¡±


    The militiamen in the logging camp responded in kind, ¡°Down it goes!¡±


    ¡°Down it goes!¡± The Blood Wolf wielded his axe, striking the tree trunk over and over.


    Just as the messenger had left, two riders stormed into the logging site like a wild wind.


    ¡°Not good!¡± one of the riders shouted, ¡°The Herders are here!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters had continuously used the Splitting Spell that morning to break apart over a dozen trees, and the phantom pain had not subsided by the afternoon.


    No sooner had the messenger rider left than he heard Anglu¡¯s panicked shout, ¡°The Herders are here.¡±


    The militiamen abandoned their work and ran towards the tents that stored their weapons and armor.


    With his red mane flying, Heinrich rushed to Winters¡¯ side, Anglu jumped down from the saddle, and said breathlessly, ¡°Commander, the Herders are here!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, speak slowly,¡± Winters¡¯ head hurt even more, ¡°Where? How many? How is the battle going?¡±


    ¡°The carriage carrying the wood has been hijacked!¡±


    ¡°How many Herders are there?¡±


    ¡°Twenty-some!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Winters shouted internally, ¡°I knew this day would come!¡±


    With an outburst, he buried his axe into the tree, and the oak, finally unable to hold on any longer, trembled and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Winters shouted, ¡°The tree is falling!¡±


    The surrounding militiamen quickly moved out of the way, and fortunately, no accidents occurred. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters ran towards his warhorse, commanded loudly, ¡°Those with warhorses, come with me! The rest stay here on standby! Release the sentries!¡±


    The warhorse sensed its master¡¯s urgency and, though usually stubborn, showed no resistance and allowed him to saddle up without any extra fuss.


    Grabbing his saber, he leaped onto the saddle, ready to depart.


    ¡°Put on your armor!¡± Tess, holding Winters¡¯ three-quarter armor, ran over in a hurry, ¡°You haven¡¯t put on your armor yet!¡±


    Regretfully, Winters dismounted to don his armor.


    He was dressed in coarse clothes meant for labor, all of which had to be changed.


    Silk undershirt, cotton gambeson, chain mail, plate armor, boots ¨C Tess and Heinrich helped Winters layer on his armor.


    If the messenger were to come again, he would certainly not mistake him.


    After preparations, Winters led about twenty Dusacks to the location where the convoy was ambushed.


    On one hand, the Paratu army was felling trees near the outer edge of the forest, while on the other, they dispatched logging teams to delve deeper into the woods to cut down big trees.


    The ambush site was located between the logging area and the main camp, with the force from the main camp arriving before Winters; the Piaoqi Troops had already set off to pursue the Herders.


    The scene was a carnage, as the unarmed transport convoy was completely unable to resist, and all the coachmen were slaughtered.


    The wagons remained in place, but their axles were destroyed, and the draught horses had been taken by the Herders.


    Alpad had already deployed scouts around the area, but still, this small band of Herders had slipped through.


    ¡°Forcing us to split our forces again,¡± Winters thought, ¡°Is this your plan, White Lion?¡±


    ¡­


    Before the transport convoy was attacked, the bridge construction project was progressing exceptionally smoothly.


    Winters had initially been most concerned that the [floating pile drivers] wouldn¡¯t work because they had high centers of gravity, making them prone to capsizing in even slight waves.


    The river flow of The Styx was calmer in winter¡ªbut that was only relative to its turbulent state in spring and summer; closer to the river¡¯s heart, the current became more rapid.


    Luckily, the Paratu engineers had built the rafts large enough, with pontoon stabilizers, so the functioning of the pile drivers wasn¡¯t an issue.


    The floating pile drivers were the core machinery for bridge-building; with them functioning, all other problems were minor.


    The Paratu army constructed two floating pile drivers, advancing them simultaneously from left to right.


    The Herders on the opposite bank tried to harass them with arrows, but the heavy arrows they used couldn¡¯t reach as far as two hundred meters.


    Right, and their arrows were against the wind.


    Even with light arrows, at two hundred meters they lost precision and power.


    Since the arrows didn¡¯t reach, the Herders launched several small boats, trying to engage in river combat.


    They were met with a hail of gunfire from the Paratu musketeers, leaving several floating corpses as they retreated to shore in a miserable state.


    Winters estimated that when the Herder¡¯s arrows could finally inflict effective damage, the bridge would be less than fifty meters away from them.


    Even then, the musketeers could still exchange fire with the Herders across the river, and it was not yet clear who would have the upper hand.


    This time, it was the Herders on the other side of the river who experienced a sense of helplessness.


    No matter what they did, the bridge continued to extend toward the East Bank at a rate of over ten meters a day.


    The greatest factor limiting the speed of the Paratu army¡¯s bridge construction was no longer the Herders, but the timber supply.


    In the wilderness, forests were already scarce, and large timbers suitable for bridge pylons were even rarer.


    The Paratu army could¡¯ve continued north to a narrower part of the river for the bridge, but ultimately they chose the current location because it was adjacent to a coniferous forest.


    Through measurement, the deepest point of The Styx¡¯s water level was about six or seven meters, requiring wood at least ten meters in length.


    For ten-meter-long timber, twenty-meter-tall trees were needed.


    The Paratuan searched frantically but found few suitable materials.


    It was an old carpenter who came up with a solution: if long timber was insufficient, they could splice together shorter pieces and secure them with iron nails and hoops. Although iron would corrode, it would hold up until the bridge¡¯s completion.


    So, the bridge-building headquarters dispatched twenty logging teams at once, including Montaigne¡¯s century.


    ¡­


    The attack on the timber transport convoy meant that the White Lion had spotted Paratu¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel.


    Yesterday, Winters had requested the construction headquarters to build a fortified camp in the forest.


    The timber harvested by each logging team would first be gathered at the camp, then transported back to the main camp under armed escort.


    Today, a messenger brought him a reply.


    The request had been denied by the bridge construction command because it ¡°spread out forces¡± and ¡°the second transfer delays time.¡±


    But now, even if the legion didn¡¯t want to spread out their forces, they had no choice.


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 Chapter 501 03-25 - 501 87 Strong Luck

    ?Chapter 501: Chapter 87 Strong Luck Chapter 501: Chapter 87 Strong Luck Three days.


    From the moment Paratu engineers started shouting their chants while carrying the first pile-driving boat into The Styx to the timber transportation convoy being ambushed, it all happened in less than three days.


    Eighty piles were driven into the ground, and less than twenty meters of bridge deck was laid before the White Lion¡¯s countermeasures arrived.


    The attack on the convoy was like the crack of a starter¡¯s pistol, as the Herders¡¯ Cavalry dispersed and began their unrelenting assaults on the Paratu lumbering teams.


    The Paratu Piaoqi fought nine battles in one day, chasing and clashing with the Herders in a ¡°dog chasing a rabbit¡± fashion, yet still unable to prevent the enemy from penetrating the coniferous forest.


    Winters¡¯s team also suffered an ambush.


    About two dozen Herder light cavalry, guiding their warhorses, crept toward the logging site, only to run into the scouts Winters had dispatched.


    ...


    The sentinels sounded their whistles, sacrificing their lives to buy time for their comrades.


    Seeing their surprise attack had failed, the Herders simply mounted up and charged, only to clash head-on with the raging fury of Centurion Montaigne.


    He had been chopping trees when he heard the alarm, donning just his undershirt, he grabbed his axe, mounted his warhorse, and charged over.


    The leading Hong Lingyu was cleaved to death by one swing of the axe, and the remaining Herders were chased to the edge of the forest, being hacked all the way.


    The Herders didn¡¯t leave a scratch on Winters, but their wild gallop through the woods did mark him up.


    When Winters returned to the logging site, his clothes were torn to shreds by needles and branches, his upper body covered in what looked like scratch marks from a cat.


    Xial hurriedly boiled water, dissolved some salt in it, and used it to clean Winters¡¯s wounds.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The body of the warning sentinel was retrieved; he was a simple and honest farmer¡¯s boy, his head and body separated by a curved blade.


    ¡°Chop them down!¡± Winters was beyond fury, ¡°Chop all the Herders¡¯ heads off for me! Hang their corpses in the trees! Nail them! Nail them all to the trees!¡±


    The militias sprang into action, filled with intense hatred, they chopped off the heads of the Herder dead, burning them with fire.


    They followed their Centurion¡¯s orders to the letter, driving thick iron stakes through the chest spines, nailing their fallen enemies to the trees.


    A row of headless bodies was nailed from the logging site to the forest¡¯s edge.


    After that, Montaigne¡¯s lumbering teams were never attacked again.


    But not every lumbering team was so fierce and skilled in battle.


    Some lumbering teams repelled the Herders;


    Some engaged in chaotic skirmishes that ended with the Herders retreating on their own;


    Others were completely overwhelmed and by the time reinforcements arrived, only the dead were found scattered around. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day, two battalions of infantry and two squadrons of cavalry entered the ¡°bridge forest.¡±


    [Note: The soldiers named it the bridge forest because the wood from this forest was used to build a bridge]


    The commanding officer of this detachment was an acquaintance of Winters¡ªColonel Robert.


    Winters was called over by Robert right away; the colonel wanted to understand the specifics of each lumbering team and also to hear Winters¡¯s thoughts.


    ¡°We should establish a forward camp in the center of the bridge forest, and have each lumbering team set out from the camp, fanning out in all directions for logging,¡± Winters had little to add, essentially repeating what he had said before, ¡°As the teams cut down trees along the way, they will leave a path behind them. In this manner, no matter where an alert comes from, the cavalry can rapidly come to support.¡±


    Colonel Robert nodded repeatedly, asking, ¡°You¡¯ve clashed with them, what about the barbarians¡¯ will to fight?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just how it is. A scale of two squads of ten is ideal for the Herders¡¯ tactics. But ultimately, they¡¯re small in number; as long as the lumbering teams are resolute in their defense, the Herders can¡¯t do much. The key is that the auxiliary troops¡¯ morale was shattered at the battle of Nameless Valley and is now utterly useless. The militiamen who did not participate in that battle, on the other hand, still dare to fight a bit.¡±


    Colonel Robert pondered, then asked, ¡°What about assigning two tents of soldiers to each lumbering team?¡±


    At first listen, Winters found it absurd: wouldn¡¯t this be dispersing their forces?


    But after some thought, maybe it was feasible.


    Compared to the Herder attackers, the lumbering teams had a clear numerical advantage.


    But they needed a backbone to make use of their advantage in numbers.


    There were still eighteen lumbering teams left; assigning two tents of soldiers to each team would not even total a full battalion, and there would still be one battalion left to defend the camp.


    Even if reinforcements were needed, it would be the cavalry dispatched, not the infantry.


    ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s a good idea!¡± Winters expressed his agreement, adding, ¡°Select capable sergeants to lead the soldiers into each team; with them holding the line, the militiamen won¡¯t collapse at the first blow.¡±


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s do it that way,¡± Colonel Robert clapped Winters on the shoulder, his voice solemn, ¡°No matter what tricks the barbarians pull, we¡¯ll meet force with force, fill the breach with earth. We¡¯ll thwart their every move.¡±


    In front of a superior he was fairly familiar with, Winters still couldn¡¯t hold back. He vented his dissatisfaction, ¡°Headquarters should have sent troops over sooner!¡±


    Colonel Robert placated him with good words, ¡°The old man needed to build bridges and also be wary of the barbarian main force. If I were him, I wouldn¡¯t be keen to risk dividing my troops. Different positions mean different concerns. Besides, didn¡¯t he send me here?¡±


    ¡°Any big movements from the Herders?¡±


    ¡°None,¡± Colonel Robert shook his head, ¡°They¡¯ve encamped thirty miles away, very cautiously. Their scouts are spread all over, and our reconnaissance cavalry can¡¯t get through.¡±


    Only Robert and Winters were in the military tent; their conversation was private.


    Winters tried to be as calm as possible¡ªbut he still came off a bit annoyed, ¡°I¡¯m just a Centurion, and a Venetian at that, so nobody takes me seriously. You have clout in the army, there¡¯s something I want to discuss with you.¡±


    Colonel Robert replied earnestly, ¡°Why would nobody take you seriously? Alpad even gave you his wine flask. Jeska, that guy who ¡®offends people with two out of every three things he says,¡¯ can¡¯t stop singing your praises. You can speak freely about whatever is on your mind.¡±

 Chapter 502 03-25 - 502 87 Strong Luck_2

    ?Chapter 502: Chapter 87 Strong Luck_2 Chapter 502: Chapter 87 Strong Luck_2 The branches crackled in the fire pit, bringing a rare hint of warmth in the winter day.


    Was Colonel Jeska praising him behind his back? Winters found it hard to imagine since the one-eyed colonel rarely gave Winters a kind face to face¡ª to be precise, Colonel Jeska rarely gave anyone a kind face.


    But what Winters was concerned about now was something else, so he went straight to the point, ¡°Colonel, your Paratu people do not place enough importance on ¡®water,¡¯ let alone have recognition for ¡®naval forces.¡¯ You¡¯re accustomed to riding horses, but Paratu has many large rivers too. If you had brought a fleet with you, you would never have fallen into the perilous situation you face today.¡±


    What the Venetian said left Colonel Robert confused and deep in thought. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters punched his own thigh hard, speaking rapidly, ¡°The pressing matter is not building bridges, but shipbuilding! The Styx blocks not only us but also the Herders¡¯ movements. The Herders don¡¯t have a single plank, and even if we only have twenty small boats, the Herders on the opposite bank are isolated troops, dead troops! We are trapped on the West Bank, and we are fearful. If the Herders are trapped on the East Bank, wouldn¡¯t they be fearful as well?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the Herders have cannons! The Legion headquarters is now set on building a bridge. But if we can¡¯t control the water, allowing the Herders of the West Bank to get their cannons to the East Bank, what good does it do to build the bridge fast? Then real trouble will arise!¡±


    Colonel Robert blinked in surprise, ¡°Weren¡¯t the barbarians¡¯ cannons destroyed by us already?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Who knows if they have more?¡± Winters grew more agitated, ¡°With a width of less than two hundred meters, even a large musket-like one-pound swivel gun could easily shoot from the East Bank to the West Bank. If I were a Herder, I¡¯d get the cannons to the East Bank at any cost! Place them right opposite the bridge! Bombard the pile drivers day and night, sinking every single one of them! Those rafts, they go down the water, they get sunk!¡±


    The cold wind blew into the tent, and the flames in the iron pan churned violently, just like Winters¡¯s mood.


    ¡°I am now glad that you are not a barbarian,¡± Colonel Robert said with a wry smile, ¡°Haven¡¯t you discussed this with the headquarters?¡±


    ¡°I sent a report to headquarters the day before yesterday, but it sunk without a trace, and there was no response.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you discussed it with Jeska?¡±


    ¡°The day before that, I was assigned to chop trees. If you hadn¡¯t come today, I would be on my way to find Colonel Jeska.¡±


    Colonel Robert supported his knees with both hands and said earnestly, ¡°If the Herders get the cannon across to the opposite bank, there won¡¯t be any need to build the bridge. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go straight to Colonel Bod and have him see the old man.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°With you here, I¡¯m not worried,¡± Winters breathed a little easier, ¡°We have no ships, the Herders have no ships either. We only need twenty oared boats to control the water surface, which should be enough.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pity I know nothing about naval warfare. When there¡¯s a chance, you definitely have to explain more to me about naval warfare and ships.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t understand either,¡± Winters thought of another old acquaintance, ¡°The Venetian Navy has a captain named Spire, and he is the expert in oared-sail combat. If there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯d like to introduce him to you.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Colonel Robert laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡±


    ¡­


    The Paratu People first cleared a space in the woods, then used the felled trees to construct a forward camp¡ªalso known as the Bridge Forest Camp.


    Construction materials were easy to come by, and with the assistance of eighteen logging teams coming over, the construction of Bridge Forest Camp progressed rapidly, almost completing within a day.


    Because of the extensive use of timber, Bridge Forest Camp¡¯s fortifications were even stronger than the earth walls that typically formed the main camp.


    With the logging teams and the two infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions brought by Colonel Robert, there were more than three thousand men and over five hundred horses.


    [Note: Warhorses as well as packhorses and draft horses]


    The camp was built to the standard size of a Legion camp, which more than accommodated these men and horses.


    In addition to the camp itself, Colonel Robert also planned to build a series of watchtowers to provide early warnings.


    But those would have to wait until tomorrow.


    After working hard all day, Winters was exhausted to his limit, only wanting to sleep well.


    Bridge Forest Camp was roughly completed, and the various logging teams moved from the fields into the camp area.


    Although they still stayed in tents, being surrounded by trenches and camp walls provided more security than sleeping in the open fields.


    After making a final patrol around the camp, Winters hurried back to his own tent in long, quick strides.


    By now, night had fallen. Winters, mustering his energy, hastily wrote, ¡°Miss Navarre, I chopped trees for an entire day again today,¡± before quickly burrowing into his blankets.


    No sooner had he lain down than Winters fell asleep.


    ¡­


    Winters walked into a bathroom, where several blurred-faced, shapely classic beauties slowly approached, reaching out to undress him.


    He was startled and clutched his bathrobe tightly.


    Seeing that they couldn¡¯t remove Winters¡¯ clothes, the beauties leaned in to kiss his cheek.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Winters desperately leaned back, but there was a wall behind him, pinning him in place.


    The beauties began to lick Winters, starting from his chin and slowly moving toward his cheekbones.


    The only thought in Winters¡¯ mind was, ¡°My God! How can she have so much saliva?¡±


    He reached to wipe away the saliva and then woke up from his dream.


    The awakened Winters was scared half to death, nearly casting a ¡°Luminosity Spell¡± in a panic.


    Something he couldn¡¯t identify was licking him.


    Winters drew his dagger and activated the Luminosity Spell, only to find himself facing a literal horse face.


    He recognized the face shape, the color of the fur, the star pattern on the forehead all too well.


    ¡°[Language of terror]!¡± Winters was about to collapse, ¡°How did you get into my tent! Fortuna?!¡±


    What kind of beauty? No wonder there was so much saliva!


    The horse gently huffed and nuzzled Winters with its nose.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any sugar! How did you escape from the stable?¡± Winters clambered off his camp bed in distress, ¡°Get out, I¡¯ll take you back to the stable!¡±


    Hearing this, Fortuna neighed and shook his head, lifting Winters¡¯ entire tent.


    The tent pegs were pulled up one by one, and a bone-chilling cold wind swept over Winters¡¯ body, taking with it his precious warmth.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but shiver uncontrollably from his toes to his chest.


    He was genuinely angry.


    ¡°You little rascal!¡± Winters grabbed Fortuna¡¯s mane, ¡°Get back to the stable now!¡±


    But Fortuna seemed relentless, biting Winters¡¯ blanket and dragging him outside.


    The horse¡¯s eyes twinkled, as if trying to communicate something.


    Fortuna continued to drag Winters outside.


    Winters steeled himself, grabbed the blanket to wrap around him, and mounted the horse.


    Without a saddle, he rode on the bare back of the horse.


    ¡°Go!¡± he nudged the horse¡¯s ribs lightly, ¡°Tell me what you want to say?¡±


    Fortuna ran with Winters out of the camp.


    The sentries at the gate saw Centurion Montaigne wrapped in a blanket, riding a saddleless horse, and although they found it strange, they didn¡¯t dare to stop him.


    Fortuna hadn¡¯t run far when Winters understood what he was trying to say.


    A light scent of smoke wafted in with the west wind.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters¡¯ face went pale, ¡°Fire!¡±


    In Bianli, The Paratu army had sent a fire to the White Lion.


    Tonight, the White Lion returned the favor.

 Chapter 503 03-25 - 503 88 Fortune and Misfortune Go Hand in

    ?Chapter 503: Chapter 88: Fortune and Misfortune Go Hand in Hand Chapter 503: Chapter 88: Fortune and Misfortune Go Hand in Hand The silver-gray warhorse charged into the camp, and the alarm bell was rung as if for dear life.


    ¡°Emergency assembly!¡± a shout shattered the night, ¡°Emergency assembly!¡±


    The Paratu People woke from their slumber, scrambling out of their tents.


    Torches were lit one after another, and the soldiers, in disarray, gathered in units of a hundred before rushing to the training field.


    The Standing Army managed to maintain order, while auxiliary troops were in complete disarray.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert arrived beside the alarm bell without even his boots on, barefoot, holding his helmet, wrapped in his sleeping robe.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± he yelled at Winters.


    ...


    ¡°Fire!¡± Winters dropped the clapper, ¡°The Herders are setting fires!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert instantly felt a chill down his spine, ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I smell smoke!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert tore off his sleeping robe and threw it to the ground with force, ¡°Savages¡­ such a vicious tactic!¡±


    Losing control for only a moment, Robert quickly pulled himself together and urged Winters, ¡°No matter what tricks they have, we¡¯ll just have to deal with them! Go back quickly, get dressed, are you not afraid of catching cold?¡±


    The blanket that Winters had wrapped around himself when he left the camp was now lost who knows where; at this moment, he stood bare-chested next to the bell post.


    He had been in such a rush to come back and warn everyone that he had hardly felt anything. But upon hearing the lieutenant colonel¡¯s words, he suddenly felt cold.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    Winters saluted and ran towards his tent.


    ¡­


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s comment of ¡°vicious¡± was something the White Lion couldn¡¯t hear. Even if he could, he would have taken it as a compliment.


    As the alarm bell sounded at the Guidao Camp, the riverside camp as well as the camps on the Southern Highlands and Northern Highlands were simultaneously under attack.


    Calls for help, warnings, various pieces of intelligence came one after another.


    ¡°What madness has possessed Yasin?¡± Alpad was furious, kicking over a stool, ¡°What¡¯s the point of these petty tricks?¡±


    The older one gets, the more precious their sleep. Being woken up abruptly in the middle of the night, Alpad was also in a foul mood.


    Seleuc pressed his forehead, his brow furrowed tightly, ¡°These are all feints to distract our attention. The real moves of the Herders must be somewhere else.¡±


    A messenger barged into the command center, bringing in a gust of cold air.


    ¡°How reckless! Where¡¯s your decorum?¡± Alpad bellowed furiously, ¡°Get out and re-enter properly!¡±


    The messenger, touching his helmet, backed out and then walked back in.


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°The Northern Camp reports, there are fires in the northwest direction of Guidao!¡±


    Sekler smashed his fist onto the table, ¡°Not good!¡±


    ¡­


    The smoke was almost imperceptible at first, detectable only by the livestock.


    The horses were restless, and their neighing was incessant.


    But in the wintertime, the air is dry, and the westerly winds encouraged the fast spread of the fire.


    As the troops from the Guidao Camp set out, they could already see the red glow through the gaps in the tree trunks.


    This fire was like pulling the rug out from underneath them; the Paratu People wanted to build a bridge, so the White Lion was burning all the trees.


    Winters had never seen a forest fire before, a sight drastically different from the fire in Guidao City.


    It was not the trees that caught fire first but the underbrush and the dry grass.


    The flames surged up to the sky, climbing up to the canopy. Once the canopy was alight, the trunks were still intact.


    The flames spread among the treetops, like a red cloud floating above the ground.


    The smoke became visibly thicker before the eyes and increasingly suffocated.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, accompanied by several officers including Winters, went to scout the fire situation.


    Even when the firelight was still faint and indistinct, they could see black ash floating in the air.


    At least two miles from the fire, the officers could no longer proceed.


    The scalding heatwave hit them head-on. The horses were neighing, refusing to move no matter how much they were whipped.


    Snakes, rabbits, deer¡­ wildlife that was usually hard to find were now running frantically towards the human direction.


    The sound of the fire was like ghosts shrieking, or like thousands of people tearing fabric at once.


    And there was the ¡°bang, bang¡± of explosions¡ªthat was the fire causing wood and stone to burst from the heat.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just a single ignition point.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert pulled on the reins, struggling to control his warhorse on the brink of panic, shouting to others, ¡°The savages must have set multiple fires at once, otherwise it wouldn¡¯t burn this fast.¡±


    Tess remained relatively composed, pacing slightly anxiously, saving Winters a lot of worry.


    He covered his mouth and nose, shouting back to the lieutenant colonel, because it wouldn¡¯t carry otherwise, ¡°This fire can¡¯t be extinguished! We need to start digging fire breaks immediately!¡±


    ¡°Retreat first!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert spurred his horse and galloped off.


    The other officers followed suit.


    Retreating to a safe place, the officers dismounted for a meeting.


    Winters pulled out a map¡ªthe map had been drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    When he took the map tube out from his bosom, the other officers¡¯ eyes widened.


    In dire times, there was no time to worry about rank and propriety.


    Winters activated the Luminosity Spell, pointed at the map, and explained, ¡°The lumber teams have already cleared quite a bit of open space and roads in the forest. If we connect and widen the clearings near the camp, we might be able to save some of the forest.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert didn¡¯t waste words, slapping his thigh, ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll do!¡±


    The colonel then immediately added orders, ¡°Every centurion must make ad-hoc decisions¡ªif it¡¯s not manageable, then retreat! We can still use trees after a fire, but no use to risk people¡¯s lives!¡±


    With the onsite commander¡¯s decision, the troops from Guidao Camp immediately sprang into action.


    The efficiency of the Paratu army was beyond question, as the hundred-man units, carrying tools, entered the lumber fields.


    Following the cascading orders, people pulled out wet towels and scarves to cover their mouths and noses, and started digging firebreaks.


    The technique of setting firebreaks was something Winters had learned from the fire in Guidao City.


    Whether it would work, he had no idea, but even if there was only a glimmer of hope, they could not stand idly by and watch the White Lion burn the forest to the ground.


    The warhorses were led to safety, and Winters moved on foot through the forest.


    His voice, amplified by magic, even overshadowed the forest¡¯s tumult, ¡°Take away all the dry grass, branches, pine cones on the ground! Leave nothing that can catch fire!¡±


    Scouting the fire, Winters had a clear sight: it wasn¡¯t the trees that caught first, but the dried twigs and fallen leaves on the ground.


    More than three thousand soldiers and militia spread throughout the forest, already nearly beyond unified command.


    At this moment, the only things to rely on were the will and ability of each Centurion.


    The Paratu People should be grateful for two things: first, they had an extremely robust cadre of junior officers; second, the vegetation in this forest was sparse.


    Fate is such a trickster.


    The trees on the wasteland don¡¯t grow big; only by heading south or north into the foothills can you find dense primeval forests.


    The sparse vegetation and lack of mature timber in Bridge Forest had caused the Paratu People no end of headaches.


    Yet it was precisely this ¡°disadvantage¡± that had now turned into an ¡°advantage.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t long before the reinforcements sent from the main camp arrived on site.


    Upon noticing the fire in Bridge Forest, Sekler immediately dispatched all engineers and auxiliary troops, led by Colonel Bod to provide support.


    Colonel Bod also brought with him General Sekler¡¯s order: ¡°If they can be saved, save them.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert was also infuriated by urgency, ¡°What do you mean ¡®if they can be saved¡¯? Isn¡¯t it a must to save them no matter what?!¡±


    The reinforcements, together with the original troops at Bridge Camp, all worked frantically.


    Trees, regardless of their size, were cut down and dragged away; even the grass on the ground was shoveled off.


    Not just the grass, but the soil had to be turned as well.


    The fire had already formed a line, getting closer every second.


    Winters¡¯ face was scorched by the heatwave, and the scarf covering his mouth and nose would be dried out in a matter of minutes. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He sent people time and again to the river to fetch water, yet the water was quickly exhausted and simply couldn¡¯t be supplied fast enough.


    Two militiamen ran to find the Centurion.


    Their faces blackened by smoke, Winters couldn¡¯t make out who they were.


    It wasn¡¯t until one of them spoke that he recognized it was Ish from Ganshui Town.


    ¡°Sir, this is Old Lalo!¡± Ish pulled the militiaman beside him and said, ¡°He¡¯s from Good Springs Valley, he has a way!¡±


    Winters felt a bitter taste in his mouth and had no energy for pleasantries, ¡°Speak!¡±


    The ¡°Old Lalo¡± mentioned by Ish spoke up, sounding like a middle-aged man, ¡°Sir, how about fighting fire with fire?¡±


    ¡°How do you fight?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for the fire to come to us! Let¡¯s start a fire ourselves and burn towards it! That¡¯s fighting fire with fire! But we have to wait until the firebreak is dug.¡±


    ¡°The wind is blowing east!¡± Winters pointed to the sky, ¡°Start a fire, and it¡¯ll burn us first! How do you fight fire with fire?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that, sir,¡± Old Lalo explained anxiously, ¡°The wind in the burn area is chaotic! It can even form whirls! Fire attracts wind!¡±


    Winters suddenly remembered the fire tornado in Guidao City, realizing that a blaze of a certain magnitude indeed could draw air away and disrupt wind directions.


    ¡°Are you confident?¡± Winters stared at Old Lalo.


    Old Lalo lowered his head, murmuring, ¡°No, I¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡±


    ¡°Sir, when he was telling us, he made it sound so convincing,¡± Ish clamored, grabbing Old Lalo, ¡°You have the Centurion here! What are you afraid of?!¡±


    Winters gritted his teeth, grabbed Old Lalo¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°Any mishaps, and I¡¯ll take responsibility. Any ideas you have, spit them out! I¡¯m going to find Lieutenant Colonel Robert.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters started to search his pockets, but even after patting down his entire body, he couldn¡¯t find anything of value.


    Having no other choice, he made a promise, ¡°I don¡¯t carry gold or silver on me. If your method works, I will have Anglu pick out the best horse for you to take home.¡±


    ¡­


    A twenty-meter-wide firebreak extending from south to north was already taking shape.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert agreed to a small-scale experiment with Winters¡¯ ¡°fighting fire with fire.¡±


    It was a complete gamble, no one knew if it would work, and everyone¡¯s palms were sweaty with anxiety.


    Outside the firebreak under the responsibility of Montaigne¡¯s centuria, Winters personally lit another big fire.


    Gasoline, resin, plus anything the militiamen could find that would burn. Flames soared into the air and began spreading eastward.


    Everyone stood at the ready as the tongues of flame reached the bare firebreak.


    The people watched with trepidation as red embers flew toward their side from the air, fearing that the treetops would be ignited by these fiery ashes.


    The advance to the east was halted, the new blaze began spreading to the west side, and it was getting faster.


    Seeing that fighting fire with fire was effective, everyone cheered ecstatically, tears streaming from their parched eyes.


    In the thickest smoke, where people couldn¡¯t see, two lines of fire collided thunderously, turning everything they touched to ashes¡ªincluding themselves.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The fire burned all night.


    The next morning, the chiefs of the Herder tribes came to observe the enemy.


    The land was still shrouded in dust and smoke, the trees were burnt to a crisp, and the ground that had been passed over by the fire still showed some dark red embers.


    The White Lion pondered silently without speaking.


    ¡°White Lion, it looks like you¡¯ve burnt them all to death,¡± the chieftain of the Blackwater tribe said with a sycophantic undertone.


    The numbers of the Blackwater tribe had suffered greatly, and now its chieftain was a staunch supporter of the White Lion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a good omen, Short Bow. I hope that¡¯s the case,¡± the White Lion responded to the Blackwater chieftain with his usual respect, ¡°But I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be that easy.¡±


    Paratu cavalry scouts spotted this group of enemies on a nearby hillside and raced back to report.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, time to head back,¡± the White Lion gently flicked his warhorse, ¡°Just taking a look, no need for the Paratu People to send us off.¡±


    Before long, a Paratu scout led a black-armored cavalryman out of the smoke-covered forest.


    The chieftains¡¯ bodyguards raised their spears to meet the challenge but were both cut down from their horses by the black-armored cavalryman.


    The black-armored cavalryman ran to a neighbouring hill and shouted a few words at the tribal chieftains.


    Before other guards could surround him, the black-armored cavalryman left, laughing heartily.


    ¡°What did he say, Little Lion?¡± the Fire Tender asked.


    ¡°Want to burn us alive?¡± Little Lion said, watching the retreating figure of the armored horseman, translating without emotion, ¡°Go fuck yourself.¡±


    ¡­


    Bad news: Two-thirds of Bridge Forest burned down.


    Good news: One-third of Bridge Forest remained.


    And another piece of good news: Some of the wood that had been through the fire still had useable value, especially those with larger diameters; the White Lion had inadvertently helped the Paratu People sort their timber.


    ¡°Calamity is the cradle of good fortune; fortune, the hiding place for calamity,¡± Brother Reed twirled his beard with a smile, ¡°The ancients did not deceive me.¡±

 Chapter 504 03-25 - 504 89 Tit for Tat

    ?Chapter 504: Chapter 89 Tit for Tat Chapter 504: Chapter 89 Tit for Tat After the fire swept through the bridge forest, Winters found logging to be much easier.


    The once lush woodland was now scorched black as far as the eye could see.


    Only some bald tree trunks stood lonely on the peat, resembling remnants of broken walls.


    Winters led his men to fell the charred trees on the surface and hauled them away, and the unusable burnt wood was taken back for firewood.


    In the following days, the Herders repeated their old tricks, attempting to set the remaining woodlands ablaze multiple times.


    There¡¯s a saying, ¡°Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me thrice, shame on us both.¡± The Herders obviously didn¡¯t know this.


    The Paratu People, having suffered a great loss, were now wiser.


    ...


    The logging team no longer chopped recklessly, but first created numerous crisscrossing firebreaks within the woods.


    In this way, the remaining parts of the bridge forest were divided by the firebreaks into smaller areas.


    Even if the Herders set fires, the amount of forest they could destroy at one time was limited.


    The firebreaks also served as roads, allowing the Cavalry to provide rapid support through them within the forest.


    Meanwhile, as only a third of the bridge forest remained¡ªwith it shrinking day by day¡ªthe area needed to be defended shrank accordingly.


    Not only did the Herders fail to start another major fire, but they were also ambushed by Lieutenant Colonel Robert outside the forest, suffering heavy casualties among those light riders carrying kindling and fire accelerants.


    All in all, these past few days had been a rare relaxing time for Winters.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    He didn¡¯t need to participate in combat; he just had to lead people out to chop trees every day.


    Xial picked up his blanket for him. The blanket was so badly burnt that it made Winters a bit sad.


    It was a fine thick woolen blanket given to him by Mrs. Mitchell when he left Wolf Town.


    To avoid freezing to death, Winters applied for a new blanket from the logistics department.


    As a result, the logistics department issued him a duck down comforter, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.


    As the bridge forest was divided into smaller sections, the range of movement for the animals therein increasingly became limited.


    During breaks from logging, Winters led his militiamen to give the rabbits, pheasants, roe deer, and such in the forest a ¡°grand reunion¡± of sorts.


    In simple terms, it involved some people forming a circle to drive the animals outwards, while others set up a pocket formation to wait like in a hunt.


    Although the meat distributed to everyone wasn¡¯t much, Winters was quite fond of the activity.


    Furthermore, as a reward for being the first to signal the alert, the legion specially granted Tess four eggs a day.


    The eggs, laid by hens carried with the army, were extremely precious, and even Winters didn¡¯t enjoy such treatment.


    Old Ralo, who proposed the ¡°fight fire with fire¡± strategy, received a splendid warhorse.


    The Dusack lads were green with envy, but Old Ralo wasn¡¯t too happy.


    Winters noticed Ralo was feigning happiness and approached to ask him why.


    After much probing, Ralo finally revealed his true feelings, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m ungrateful. I¡¯m a farmer; what use do I have for a warhorse? It requires feed and care, both of which I can¡¯t afford.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words, realizing that he had indeed not considered the situation properly in the heat of the moment.


    Ralo hesitantly asked, ¡°Then¡­ could you exchange it for a mule for me?¡±


    ¡°Your warhorse is worth far more than five mules!¡± Winters laughed heartily. ¡°I was going to exchange it for two draught horses that could pull a plow. But then I thought, draught horses also need feed. So let¡¯s exchange for two mules and convert the excess value into Ducats.¡±


    Anglu went to the wagon train to pick out a sturdy, beautiful iron-gray mule for Ralo.


    Anglu¡¯s choice was a mule with a strong build, great stamina, and a sleek coat as smooth as silk. Its thighs and hindquarters felt firm to the touch.


    Ralo¡¯s fellow villagers couldn¡¯t stop admiring the magnificent beast, and Ralo himself treasured it immensely.


    But there was only one, for the transportation capacity of the wagon train was also scarce, with few spare draft animals available.


    The remaining money was converted into Ducat Gold Coins by Winters and given privately to Old Ralo.


    This time he thought it through: one mule was still within the range of ¡°envy,¡± but if he added money, that would venture into the realm of ¡°jealousy.¡±


    ¡°The gold coins are sewn inside the belt.¡± Only the two of them were in the military tent when Winters handed the belt to Ralo. ¡°Apart from the weight, you can¡¯t tell from the outside.¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ralo thanked him repeatedly and carefully stored the belt.


    Old Ralo was at least twice Winters¡¯ age with hands full of calluses, a very seasoned and steady person.


    Winters shouldn¡¯t have said more, but recalling those who squandered their hard-earned money on pleasures in Revodan, Wolf Town, he couldn¡¯t help but admonish, ¡°Don¡¯t go gambling¡­ and don¡¯t waste it on women. Take it home, to your family, even buying some new clothes would be better.¡±


    A young man in his early twenties advising a man nearly fifty made for a rather comical and absurd scene.


    But Winters spoke earnestly and from the heart, and Old Ralo nodded profoundly, ¡°Rest assured, Centurion.¡±


    ¡­


    While these days were easy for Winters, Sekler and Alpad were having a not so tranquil time.


    The Herders had given up on using fire, but their harassment of the Paratu army didn¡¯t cease, only intensified.


    Scattered Herder Cavalry, deep in the night, would come near the Paratu camp firing shots, blowing bugles, and shooting cold arrows, causing much vexation.


    The sentries would ring the alarm bell and the Herders would turn tail and run. If the sentries didn¡¯t ring the bell, the Herders would be relentless.


    Sekler set up ambushes outside the camp and arranged for the Piaoqi to stand watch at night, however, the effect was less than ideal.

 Chapter 505 03-25 - 505 89 You come and I go_2

    ?Chapter 505: Chapter 89 You come and I go_2 Chapter 505: Chapter 89 You come and I go_2 Because White Lion was very willing to engage in small-scale battles with the Paratu People, he was even more willing to use this method to wear down their fighting spirit.


    After a night of fighting, the next day White Lion would choose another tribe to continue the onslaught.


    In the end, Sekler angrily realized that the best approach was to completely ignore them.


    Thus, the Paratu defenders in the Southern and Northern Highlands buried themselves in fortifying the camp, disregarding the Herders¡¯ light cavalry that came to harass them.


    When the Paratu People refused to fight, the Herders intensified their efforts.


    In the most excessive instance, several Herders lit a campfire beyond musket range, roasted meat, and sang and danced.


    Upon hearing of this, Brother Reed chuckled and asked Winters, ¡°Are they going to send over some women¡¯s clothes next time?¡±


    ...


    Winters failed to grasp the insinuation and earnestly replied, ¡°Herders¡¯ clothing is unisex; the styles are all quite similar.¡±


    The old sham-man, finding no amusement, sighed and walked away.


    Faced with the Herders¡¯ incessant provocations, both soldiers and junior officers fumed with irritation.


    General Sekler, however, had self-control; he ordered the garrison to dig three trenches, enclosing the area between the Southern Highlands, Northern Highlands, and the river bank, clearly adopting a defensive stance like a hedgehog.


    Knowing that the Paratu People would not launch an attack, White Lion still sent men daily to harass and provoke.


    Through this method, the confidence of the Herder tribes was gradually recovering from the devastating defeat at the Battle of Nameless Valley.


    The Herders paraded their horses just beyond musket range, and the Paratu People could only watch.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    The Herders urinated beyond musket range, and the Paratu People kept watching.


    The Herders wrestled beyond musket range, and the Paratu People still watched¡ªbut rather enjoyed the spectacle.


    So, the Herders stopped the wrestling matches and switched to other more insulting activities.


    Lieutenant Mason sighed daily, regretting not bringing artillery, ¡°or else we wouldn¡¯t have to put up with this.¡±


    However, Colonel Jeska came up with a solution: construct redoubts fifty meters outside the camp, select soldiers of hunter origin to man them, and gather all the rifled muskets in the army to equip the hunters.


    Fifty meters was within the effective killing range of a typical matchlock musket, and the musketeers on the camp walls could provide support for the redoubts.


    Colonel Jeska was also well aware of the potential of the rifled muskets.


    But since such guns were expensive, they were mostly treated as hunting toys by officers and the wealthy.


    Apart from that, only hunters, compelled by their livelihood, would spend a great deal to purchase one.


    Better to try something than just to stare blankly, Sekler agreed to Colonel Jeska¡¯s plan.


    Once the general made the decision, other officers had no choice but to hand over their prized hunting muskets, even Winters¡¯ double-barreled shotgun was collected.


    The Paratu People had a general penchant for competition; they also sought extravagance in their firearms. The officers¡¯ rifled muskets were finely carved, the decorations on the musket bodies being more expensive than the muskets themselves.


    Handing these over for the soldiers to use, the officers were quite reluctant.


    Colonel Jeska inadvertently offended many of his colleagues, but his method proved to be immediately effective.


    The rifled musket marksmen were now able to pose a valid threat to targets within a hundred meters¡ªalthough they couldn¡¯t guarantee a hit with each shot.


    If one shot didn¡¯t hit, then two shots, three shots¡­


    After a dozen or so were killed or injured in succession, the Herders dared not be so reckless anymore.


    Previously, the Herders had even ventured to within fifty meters of the camp walls to provoke and flaunt their presence.


    Since the rifled musket marksmen had been effective, the Herders retreated to beyond two hundred meters.


    Yet the situation at night remained infuriating.


    Because the redoubt¡¯s defensive capabilities were limited and could easily be overrun, the rifled musket marksmen withdrew to the camp at night.


    The Herders dared not act up during the day, but after sunset, they doubled their antics.


    Thus, both sides engaged in this back-and-forth, and the low-intensity conflict never ceased.


    During these vexing days, the Paratu People found solace in only one matter: thanks to the stable timber supply to Shuangqiao Main Camp, the progress of the bridge was very satisfactory.


    The bridge piers extended toward the opposite bank of the river at a rate of at least ten meters per day, having already crossed the middle of the river.


    The Herders on the opposite bank were also racking their brains to destroy the bridge.


    The Herders¡¯ line of thought was straightforward to the extreme: heavy arrows can¡¯t reach? Then I¡¯ll use lighter arrows.


    So, they hurriedly produced a batch of light arrows with bone tips and fine wood shafts, shooting them towards the constructing Paratu People.


    While the arrows became lighter and their range extended slightly, their power was weaker, and they were more severely affected by the wind.


    The Herders shot over a hundred light arrows against the wind, and the hit rate was exasperating.


    The few arrows that did manage to hit the Paratu People were hardly a bother.


    Not powerful enough? I¡¯ll use a stronger bow.


    They then collated three heavy bows to make a ballista, which they hauled to the riverbank to shoot at the pile drivers.


    If they had used specially made heavy bows, they might have threatened the pile drivers.


    But the Herders¡¯ ballista was made with ordinary horn bows, and the Paratu pile drivers were exceptionally robust; the arrows scratching them were like tickling.


    The Herders on the opposite bank then wrapped the arrows with resin, attempting to set the pile drivers on fire.


    Still a failure, as the fires were put out faster than the Paratu People could start them.


    After half a day of shooting, neither the boats nor the bridge were harmed, but the Herders¡¯ ¡°ballista¡± collapsed, injuring several people.


    The desperate Herders then rolled out a trebuchet, with forty-odd people pulling the rope, hurling rocks the size of human heads at the bridge and rafts on the water. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This truly threatened the Paratu People.


    Rocks the size of heads couldn¡¯t sink the rafts, but they could kill or injure people.


    However, by the time the Herders deployed the trebuchet, the bridge was less than a hundred meters from the opposite bank.


    Sekler promptly dispatched musketeers and rifled musket marksmen to the bridge to exchange fire with the Herders on the riverbank.

 Chapter 506 03-25 - 506 89 You Come and I Go_3

    ?Chapter 506: Chapter 89 You Come and I Go_3 Chapter 506: Chapter 89 You Come and I Go_3 And the Herders¡¯ equipment was still the same old problem¡ªcrudely made, shoddy, and not durable.


    The rafts weren¡¯t sunk, the bridge piles weren¡¯t damaged, but the catapult itself fell apart¡­


    The Herders operating the catapult dispersed awkwardly, and thus ended another day of battle between the two sides.


    Winters watched the battle from the riverbank, observing everything closely.


    Watching battles is considered one of the traditional entertainments of the military; many officers who were not on duty came to the riverbank to watch the fighting.


    During the exchange among the officers, most agreed on this view: the closer one gets to the opposite bank, the greater the resistance encountered; if the Herders could field one catapult today, they might bring out five or ten tomorrow; the final beachhead breakthrough was unlikely to be easy.


    All present were seniors and predecessors from the Paratu region, so Winters didn¡¯t want to interrupt and stayed in the back, listening attentively¡ªhe was actually quite shy.


    ...


    On the way back to the bridge forest encampment, Colonel Robert casually asked, ¡°Winters, do you have any other thoughts?¡±


    In front of familiar superiors, Winters was less reserved.


    He stroked Stronghide¡¯s mane, replying, ¡°I think everyone is overestimating the Herders across the bridge. If the bridge extends another fifty meters, I¡¯m afraid the Herders on the opposite bank would turn tail and run.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Colonel Robert asked, interested.


    The other accompanying officers perked up their ears too, as they all knew the younger colleague beside them had clashed with the Herders across the river.


    Winters, feeling embarrassed, nodded and explained, ¡°The Herders on the other side are actually a motley army put together from many small tribes. Their fighting power is far inferior to that of direct descendants from large tribes like the Red River Tribe, the Terdon Tribe, and the Suz Tribe; they easily fall apart.¡±


    His quick-thinking colleagues already grasped what Winters meant, and Colonel Robert slapped his thigh lightly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°They¡¯ve made a haul in Paratu and got their fill. The fact that the White Lion managed to keep them on the opposite riverbank surprised me. This shows that the White Lion has great prestige in their eyes, but well¡­¡± said Winters as he braided a little plait for Stronghide, chuckling, ¡°that¡¯s about it.¡±


    When Winters went to Bianli, Alaric [Tempest Hawk] nearly pushed him to the brink.


    But if Jeska¡¯s squad were defending The Styx main camp now, Winters was confident he could smash Alaric¡¯s Centurion team to the point of them crying for their fathers and mothers.


    Even the slowest of his colleagues reacted at this point:


    The troops on the west bank were all eager to go home;


    Meanwhile, the Herders on the opposite bank had already looted enough, and their will to fight was much less than before they went to Paratu.


    As long as the bridge could be extended to the opposite bank, the remaining tasks shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    Back at the bridge forest camp, Winters followed his routine of having dinner, inspecting the camp, and writing letters¡ªhe actually treated letter writing as keeping a diary.


    Every day he used the Disintegration Spell to blow up trees, which also saved the spellcasters from training.


    After doing all this, he crawled under his down comforter.


    ¡°The down comforter is good in every way,¡± Winters thought regretfully, ¡°but it¡¯s still not as comfortable as my old blanket.¡±


    ¡­


    Horses¡¯ hooves thundered like rolling thunder.


    And there were urgent bells ringing.


    Winters rolled out of his campaign bed and reached for his sword.


    ¡°Is this a dream?¡± he mumbled, slowly turning his head to ascertain the direction of the hoofbeats.


    Not a dream! Real hoofbeats!


    Winters cursed and rushed out of his tent, bellowing, ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡±


    The power of that roar was close to a Sonic Blast Spell, making his own head spin.


    The soldiers scrambled out of their tents and started arming themselves.


    Xial and Heinrich rushed over to help Winters don his armor.


    ¡°[Inaudible profanity]!¡± Winters fumed, ¡°Can¡¯t I get a decent night¡¯s sleep?!¡±


    ¡°This is absurd! Absurd!¡± Xial shouted in panic, ¡°Your armor¡¯s on backward!¡±


    Winters had been angry but suddenly burst into laughter so hard it hurt his stomach: ¡°I wondered why it felt like I was being choked¡­¡±


    The usually silent Heinrich suddenly spoke up, ¡°Sir, the hoofbeats seem to be coming from the direction of our main camp.¡±


    Winters was alarmed, his hairs standing on end: ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ they¡¯re coming from the camp¡­¡±


    Quickly donning his armor, Winters strode briskly to his own district.


    Xial went to fetch the horse, while Heinrich unfurled the military banner and followed closely behind the Centurion.


    The hoofbeats circled the camp.


    The messenger Cavalry wearing green plumes burst into the bridge forest camp, galloping wildly down the main road and yelling, ¡°General Alpad¡¯s orders¡ªanyone who can ride, follow! General Alpad¡­¡±


    Having heard the messenger, Winters finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    For a moment before, he had feared that the main camp had been breached.


    Braziers were lit one after another, and the Shuangqiao camp was awakening.


    Once the ranks were formed, Winters led his troops to the parade ground.


    When Montaigne¡¯s squad entered the parade ground, few people were there, which made Winters feel slightly proud.


    Seeing the familiar Lieutenant Varga, Winters hurried over to ask, ¡°Sergeant, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Lieutenant Varga responded, saluting with a wry smile.


    A rider charged into the parade ground¡ªit was Colonel Robert. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°All Centurions present!¡± Colonel Robert commanded, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    With that, the Colonel sped off.


    Winters and Varga exchanged looks, then spurred their horses to follow.


    Colonel Robert said nothing, leading a few men out of the bridge forest camp.


    In the night, Winters couldn¡¯t discern the direction, but he faintly felt they were heading toward the riverbank.


    Worried about Stronghide stumbling, Winters slowed down a bit, so he was at the back of the group.


    Before they reached the riverbank, under the silver moonlight and through the sparse treeline, he could see something churning in the water.


    ¡°Fire boats! No, not boats! What in the world is that!¡±

 Chapter 507 03-25 - 507 90 Prelude

    ?Chapter 507: Chapter 90 Prelude Chapter 507: Chapter 90 Prelude The patrol boats on the Styx were the first to sound the alarm.


    The objects churning in the water sunk and surfaced intermittently, moving at an astonishing speed and approaching the great bridge after skimming past the small boats.


    The bridge had no fear of the barbarian fire ships¡ªthis was the unanimous conclusion reached by the bridge-building headquarters.


    ¡°Thinking of using fire ships?¡± Colonel Haug mocked at the meeting. ¡°The barbarians need to have ships first!¡±


    Building ships generally requires wood, nails, adhesives, and sealants, with the composition of sealants varying by local products.


    Venetians often use tar, while the United Provincials prefer grass ash tung oil.


    Materials might be easy enough to obtain, but skilled craftsmen don¡¯t fall from the sky.


    ...


    Even the seemingly simplest canoes, which do not require glue or nails, still demand high craftsmanship and consume a surprising amount of labor time.


    Who cannot wield a sword and hack at people?


    But the Paratu Army can smelt iron with furnaces, saw timber using water power, and construct a bridge over the river right under the enemy¡¯s nose.


    As for the Herders¡­ Colonel Haug remarked, ¡°It¡¯ll be good if they could cobble together a couple of rafts.¡±


    This was the gap in engineering capability.


    Winters also maintained an optimistic attitude towards threats from the water surface.


    Shipbuilding was indeed not easy. If it was, the Paratu People would have crossed the river by boat long ago.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    Exerting all their manpower and materials, they had only managed to produce twelve barely watertight rowboats fit for ten each. The soldiers even gave them a nickname, calling them the ¡°Angel Envoy.¡±


    Even to assemble rafts, the White Lion would have to get his hands on some ropes and nails. Most importantly, he couldn¡¯t find any wood.


    Within a fifty-mile radius, there was no forest to be found beyond the woods near the bridge.


    To prevent the White Lion from taking advantage, not a single small grove, no matter how puny, was spared¡ªthe junior officers under Alpad burnt them all to the ground.


    This was also why the Paratu People insisted on building a bridge right here.


    Besides, Sekler had set up three lines of defense on the water.


    Even if the White Lion could manage to make rafts, he would have to break through three lines of defense to even touch the bridge piers.


    The dark shadows in the water sped past the Paratu boats, easily breaching the first line of defense.


    They were so fast that the gunmen from the main camp were not yet in position¡ªonly the sentries along the bank fired a few shots at it.


    Thus, the second line of defense also failed to play its role.


    The objects were like giant snakes weaving through the water, hurtling towards the great bridge.


    Winters squeezed a cold sweat in his palm; now everything depended on whether the third line of defense would be effective.


    The moonlight was hazy, and with the dark shadows submerging and surfacing, Winters could barely make out their proximity to the bridge piers.


    ¡°Thump!¡±


    A dull, heavy sound echoed.


    The dark shadow slammed straight into the ¡°Dragon Slayer Sword¡± in front of the bridge pier.


    Dragon Slayer Sword¡ªthat was what Brother Reed called it.


    The Selikans often likened the river to a dragon, and the name Dragon Slayer Sword was both poetic and imposing. Winters thought it sounded good, and so he adopted the name as well.


    The Paratu engineers, on the other hand, called it ¡°Water Cleaving Pile.¡±


    This meant driving another wooden pile two or three meters upstream from the bridge pile, and attaching an inverted V-shaped water divider to it.


    The turbulent current would be split in two by the Dragon Slayer Sword, which in turn reduced the impact on the bridge pile.


    Usually, the Dragon Slayer Sword¡¯s duty was to lessen the erosion of the water flow on bridge piles.


    In the event of an attack, the Dragon Slayer Sword would serve as a water-borne wall.


    If you were to attack from the surface, you would need to destroy the Dragon Slayer Sword first before you could approach the body of the bridge unobstructed.


    But if you wanted to use ships to dislodge the Dragon Slayer Sword, you would have to endure the gunfire and bullet rain from both the bridge and the shore.


    This was the third line of defense.


    [Note: There are no ropes or iron chains connecting the water-cleaving piles. Otherwise, if one pile were to be pulled out, the others would follow.]


    The dark shadow collided firmly with the Dragon Slayer Sword, which tilted violently, but like a boxer struck head-on, stubbornly refused to fall.


    The shadow was deflected and drifted downstream.


    The Paratu people on the shore¡ªWinters included¡ªregardless of officers or soldiers, all exhaled a collective sigh of relief.


    The third line of defense had served its purpose.


    But soon, Winters¡¯ smile froze at the corner of his mouth.


    He saw the Dragon Slayer Sword that had been struck off-center seemed to be subjected to an immense force, slowly tilting in the direction of the current.


    Accompanied by the exclamations of the soldiers on the bridge, the Dragon Slayer Sword was uprooted and slammed into the bridge piling, before drifting downstream.


    Ensign Varga, with his exceptional vision, pointed upstream and shouted in alarm, ¡°Look! More are coming!¡±


    It turned out that the previous dark shadow was merely a scout, and countless shadows were now rapidly advancing towards the great bridge in formation.


    ¡°Could the barbarians also be harboring monsters in the river?!¡± Colonel Robert exclaimed in shock and rage.


    His subordinates didn¡¯t know how to respond, the bank fell silent, with only the sound of the rushing water to be heard.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it!¡± Winters slammed his thigh hard, startling everyone around him with the force.


    But Winters was oblivious to the pain, grinding his teeth as he stared at the water¡¯s surface: ¡°Log rafts! The White Lion is setting them loose to break the bridge! No wonder¡­ No wonder General Alpad went north!¡±


    ¡°Log rafts? That thing couldn¡¯t possibly be a raft!¡± Colonel Robert frowned deeply.


    ¡°If it were really log rafts, then a couple of boats could kill all those releasing them! I don¡¯t know what to call that thing.¡± Winters grabbed the reins and gestured to his colleagues: ¡°What¡¯s in the river are trees! The White Lion must have connected two or more trees together with ropes or chains and let them loose upstream.¡±


    ¡°[Angry expletive]!¡± Colonel Robert was quick to grasp the implication and rarely cursed out loud: ¡°Underestimated these barbarians! [Vitriolic adjective]!¡±


    Meanwhile, the other officers were still confused, not fully understanding the reasoning.


    Winters grabbed the reins with both hands, using the horse¡¯s neck as a stand-in for a bridge pile to further explain: ¡°A single log coming down might simply drift past between the bridge piles. But trees tied together with ropes and sent downstream from upriver can knock down water cleaving piles and bridge piles if they don¡¯t have the force to dismantle them, dragging them down. It¡¯s like casting a net in the river! This won¡¯t work on a Floating Bridge, it¡¯s meant to target bridge piles!¡±


    By this point, the other officers also came to a sudden realization.


    But seeing through the White Lion¡¯s tactics was useless, they all stood on the shore, only able to worry helplessly.


    Colonel Robert dispatched Varga to report everything Lieutenant Montaigne had said to headquarters.


    Winters also thought of two countermeasures: one, to use small boats to drag a net on the river, pulling away the driftwood; two, to send soldiers who were good swimmers into the water to cut the ropes hanging from the bridge piles¡ªsince the White Lion presumably couldn¡¯t afford iron chains.


    In such a hurry, he could only think of these two methods, and Winters said with little confidence, ¡°Headquarters has probably already thought of what I¡¯ve said.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about these,¡± Colonel Robert said decisively: ¡°Report everything.¡±


    The ever-changing battle situation gave Winters a splitting headache.


    During his apprenticeship with the revenge fleet, everything on a ship, on the sea, was arranged to perfection, and he would be considered qualified as long as he didn¡¯t vomit into the cabin.


    Any of the numerous naval officers from Vineta would be better than him at naval warfare; he was, after all, a landlubber who hadn¡¯t even learned to swim.


    At this moment, Winters missed the faithful enemy of the Vineta Army¡ªthe Vineta Navy.


    If Captain Spire and Deputy Cage were here, would they be able to come up with a better strategy?


    Thinking too much was futile; Winters shook his head, attempting to empty his thoughts. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Colonel Robert tugged at the reins and turned his horse around, ¡°Our responsibility is to guard the camp and not let the Herders take advantage of the chaos. The matters on the water are for others to worry about.¡±


    The officers all followed suit.


    A Centurion complained discontentedly, ¡°If they can¡¯t hold the bridge, our efforts will be wasted¡­¡±


    ¡°One person can¡¯t do everything; you have to trust your colleagues,¡± Colonel Robert said without turning his head: ¡°I trust them, just as I trust you.¡±


    Winters mulled over these words, recalling what General Nalesho had said during the battle at Lighthouse Port, ¡°Vineta expects every man to do his duty.¡±


    An army doesn¡¯t just fight with one man, one Centurion. No matter what, he could still trust his seniors, his superiors, and even his generals.


    With that thought, Winters felt a sense of calm.


    After finding out the situation, everyone rushed back to the camp in the forest of bridges.


    All the centuries were already assembled, the surroundings pitch dark, no signs of Herders lurking about.


    Colonel Robert suddenly let out a deep sigh, ¡°Now¡­ it all depends on Alpad¡¯s skills.¡±


    The Centurions didn¡¯t understand his meaning.


    ¡°The Styx River is tortuous, and the Herders¡¯ placement for the ¡®boom¡¯ upstream can¡¯t be too far. Otherwise, those ¡®things¡¯ will all be washed ashore.¡±


    A Centurion asked, ¡°Did General Alpad lead his troops from the main camp to deal with the Herders upstream?¡±


    ¡°I guess so,¡± Colonel Robert replied with a furrowed brow.


    ¡°Where did the savages get the wood?¡± Winters also couldn¡¯t figure it out: ¡°Haven¡¯t we cleared all the nearby woods?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± The Colonel clenched the rod of his whip tightly, expressing anger, helplessness, and reluctance: ¡°The White Lion isn¡¯t just any savage, we¡­ still underestimated him!¡±


    ¡­


    The Paratu People were fighting desperately to protect the bridge.


    The cold wind howled, as brave soldiers, stripped to their skin with only a hemp rope tied around their waists, leaped into the icy river water.


    They didn¡¯t have much time, every second the water snatched away a great deal of heat from their bodies.


    The pilings, one after another, were dragged down, and those that hadn¡¯t fallen were merely struggling to hold on.


    Due to their own arch-shaped structure, the bridge pillars could bear one or two impacts reluctantly.


    Herders¡¯ ropes were tangled on the bridge pillars, and the Paratu People who dived into the water had to cut through them before becoming hypothermic.


    Bonfires were lit on the bridge to warm the diving soldiers.


    But still, many soldiers were pulled out of the water already so cold that they couldn¡¯t speak, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.


    Some had skin that had turned blue-purple, their limbs swollen like radishes.


    Sekler felt a bitter sadness in his heart; these men leaping into The Styx were his finest boys.


    But he couldn¡¯t show any emotion, only continuing to send more men into the water.


    The Styx¡¯s currents were fierce, and the waters carried massive logs crashing against the bridge.


    The Paratu People were up against the might of nature itself; swords, muskets were all rendered useless at this moment, the only weapons left to humans were courage and will.


    All twelve small boats were sent out, but with no fishing nets to be found in such haste, the soldiers on the boats could only try to stop the driftwood with their long spears.


    A log, half-submerged and thick as a man¡¯s embrace, only surfaced near the bridge pilings.


    The soldiers nearby working on cutting the ropes couldn¡¯t dodge in time and were struck directly by the log, vomiting blood instantly.


    By the time he was pulled from the water, he was already breathless.


    This was a very young, handsome fellow, who now lay naked on the bridge deck, his eyes staring blankly, traces of blood at his lips, a great gouge in his chest.


    Someone was crying softly.


    Sekler removed his cloak and covered the young man¡¯s body, gently closing his eyes.


    ¡°What was his name?¡± Sekler asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, General,¡± Colonel Laszlo replied expressionlessly: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    The Herders on the opposite bank also noticed the unusual activity of the Paratu military, and regardless of whether the White Lion had communicated with them beforehand, they were not going to miss this opportunity.


    Arrows and stones came showering towards the Paratu People on the bridge, with the bonfires serving as excellent markers.


    Hunters carrying rifled muskets hurriedly came to their aid, a symphony of gunshots and the whistling of arrows filling the air. Some fell into the water, others onto the ground.


    ¡°Boats!¡± The Paratu People on the boats cried out in alarm: ¡°Boats!¡±


    On the river surface, a massive object emerged from the darkness, pressing towards the bridge with each passing moment.


    ¡°Where did the boats come from?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not boats.¡± Colonel Laszlo gave it just a glance, answering with a detached calm: ¡°They¡¯re rafts, sheepskin rafts.¡±


    Paratu soldiers on the small boats rowed fiercely, charging towards the gigantic sheepskin rafts.


    And on the sheepskin rafts, Herders were also there, aiming their bows and shooting arrows at the oarsmen on the small boats.


    ¡°Such a large sheepskin raft,¡± Sekler scoffed: ¡°I wonder how long they¡¯ve prepared this¡­ I thought I had already esteemed him highly. In the end, I still underestimated him.¡±

 Chapter 508 03-25 - 508 91 Act 1

    ?Chapter 508: Chapter 91 Act 1 Chapter 508: Chapter 91 Act 1 ¡°`


    After twelve days of probing and harassment, the battle by the banks of the Styx had scarcely begun before it reached its most critical moment.


    It seemed that the White Lion had driven the Paratu people into a desperate situation, but in reality, the Paratu people also had the White Lion by the throat.


    With a great river in front and pursuers behind, there was no way to heaven and no door into the earth. No matter who judged the situation, the Paratu army appeared to be utterly doomed.


    Without the Herders even lifting a finger, hunger and despair were enough to crush them.


    But who could have imagined that the Paratu people would actually manage to construct a bridge over the Styx.


    The Herders were not animals that ate raw flesh and drank blood, they had seen bridges and had their own bridges.


    But to produce a bridge with an unstoppable momentum over a mighty and sacred river like Kurwaleya¡ªthis completely redefined the Herders¡¯ understanding.


    ...


    If the Paratu could reach the other side in an organized manner, then nothing could stop them from going home.


    In that case, the sacrifices made by the White Lion, the people of the Red River, and even all Herder tribes would amount to nothing more than a handful of flying ash.


    Therefore, the determination of the White Lion to annihilate the Paratu people was just as firm as the Paratu people¡¯s determination to return home.


    In their struggle to survive, the Paratu drove the White Lion to burn his bridges as well.


    Colonel Haugwitz said, ¡°Barbarians have no boats, at best they could come up with a couple of rafts,¡± he was only half right.


    Barbarians indeed had no boats, but cats have their ways, dogs have their paths, and the Herders had their unique method of crossing rivers¡ªthe hide rafts.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Peeling off entire cowhides and sheepskins, blowing air into them, and tying up the ends created natural air bladders, and strapping these to a wooden frame made rafts.


    The best bladders were made from the hides of old bulls and rams, the older the teeth of the cattle and sheep, the thicker their skins. The most difficult step was in flaying the hide, as even a minor tear meant the entire skin had to be discarded.


    The peeled hides still had to go through a process of hair removal, oiling, and sun curing in order to be transformed into a ¡°leather bladder.¡±


    Storing the leather bladders was even more troublesome; they had to be preserved against rot, protected from drying and cracking, aired out, soaked, and oiled.


    It was precisely because the structure was simple that the requirement for craftsmanship was even higher.


    Three years ago, the White Lion began secretly preparing the hide rafts. To this day, the stockpile of sheepskin bladders had exceeded three thousand.


    Sekler was right, even though he believed he was overestimating the White Lion, he was in fact underestimating his opponent.


    If it had not been for the bridge, relying solely on the capacity of boats to ferry a small number of people across the Styx, the White Lion could still have pursued them.


    But with the bridge, the situation was completely different. The bridge¡¯s capacity far outweighed that of boats, and the Herders couldn¡¯t even ¡°attack the enemy halfway across.¡±


    If the Paratu army could maintain their formation and cross the river, then even on the East Bank, the Herders would be powerless against them.


    The White Lion must destroy the bridge, or else all his previous efforts would be in vain.


    So the White Lion too had reached a dead end¡ªalthough most Paratu officers hadn¡¯t yet realized this, they would soon understand.


    Haugwitz looked down on the rafts; a raft made of a dozen sheepskin bladders could hardly carry three or four people.


    But what about a hundred sheepskin bladders? Or a thousand?


    The Paratu¡¯s bridge was imaginative, but imagination¡­ the Herd Barbarians had it too.


    If anyone thought that the White Lion relied on driftwood to knock down the bridge pilings, they were sorely underestimating him.


    Driftwood was just for removing the Dragon Slayer Sword. Now that the last barrier had been breached, it was time for the fire ships to take the stage.


    Two thousand sheepskin bladders were tied together to form two giant hide rafts, carrying all the flammable materials that the Herders could gather, and with unstoppable momentum, they crashed towards the bridge.


    The giant hide rafts were like floating castles, making even the pile-driving ships look particularly diminutive.


    Either the Paratu would die or the Herders would die in vain; the White Lion staked everything on this single throw of the dice.


    There was no need for Sekler to give the order, as every drummer in Paratu was vigorously beating their drums.


    The oarsmen on the small boats were exerting all their strength, propelling the boats at high speed towards the ¡°fire rafts.¡±


    The small boats launched grappling hooks, trying to drag the rafts away.


    But on the rafts, there were Barbarian archers and oarsmen too; as soon as a hook caught hold of a raft, it was cut by a scimitar.


    A brave Paratu soldier leaped onto a raft, three gleaming scimitars swung at him and he was sliced down in the blink of an eye.


    But he had bought time for his comrades, and three more Paratu soldiers seized the chance to jump onto the raft.


    Paratu oarsmen swinging their oars and Barbarians wielding their scimitars fought on the unstable hide rafts, while the musketeers on the boats and the archers on the rafts aimed at each other¡¯s foreheads and exchanged fire.


    ¡°`


    Both sides were seeing red; it was a matter of kill or be killed, with no room for reason.


    Only by risking their lives could they hope for a slim chance of survival.


    The curved blades left terrible wounds on the unarmored Paratu soldiers.


    But the armored Herd Barbarians, once knocked into the water, would sink instantly, without even a chance to struggle.


    The musketeers on the shore finally arrived. The lead balls indiscriminately struck everyone on the rafts, and in the darkness, there were only screams of agony.


    ¡°Stop firing! You¡¯re hitting our own men!¡± shouted those on the small boats, their voices hoarse with desperation.


    But the people on the shore didn¡¯t care and kept firing deadly volleys at those on the rafts.


    These two giant rafts were simply too large; bullets hitting them had no effect, and even piercing a couple of sheepskin floats did nothing to sink them.


    On the rafts, half of the Herders and Paratu People were fiercely trying to slaughter each other, while the other half were desperately rowing in different directions.


    The sounds of killing, roaring, and screaming in two languages mixed together, like a wild beast wailing in agony in the dark.


    With the bridge as the center and a radius of one kilometer, at least tens of thousands of Herders and Paratu People were within this range.


    But the actual battlefield was only as big as the two giant rafts and twelve small boats.


    The outcome¡ªif there truly was such a thing¡ªdepended entirely on the battle on the water.


    Water, seemingly harmless, now became an insurmountable obstacle.


    Both the Paratu People and the Herders on the other shore could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded.


    Two armies that had never placed much importance on naval warfare were now staking their victory or defeat on it, and nothing was more absurd, laughable, and deeply frustrating.


    Both sides had lost control of the giant rafts, but this was precisely what the White Lion wanted.


    The Herders didn¡¯t need to control the rafts; letting them drift downstream was enough.


    In the Paratu People¡¯s desperate gaze, the two unstoppable water castles headed straight for the bridge. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Because of the Paratu soldiers¡¯ desperate obstruction, the Herd Barbarians on the first raft didn¡¯t even have the chance to light it up before it solidly struck a bridge support.


    The bridge, like an elderly man burdened with weight, stood trembling yet somehow withstood the impact.


    Meanwhile, the Paratu sappers hurried to dismantle the bridge, swinging their axes and chopping at the lifeline they had just built with all their might.


    It was like cutting off one¡¯s wrist to deal with a viper bite; only by sacrificing part of the bridge could they save the rest.


    The second burning raft crashed into the first one, and several bridge supports were instantly uprooted.


    Those still on the bridge stumbled, and one of the sappers even got thrown off.


    Amazingly, the bridge held once more. The supports directly hit by the impact had dislodged from the riverbed, with the rest beginning to tilt as well.


    It was as if half the roots of a plant had been torn from the soil, with the other half still stubbornly clinging to the earth, refusing to let go.


    Both rafts were now engulfed in flames, and the fire was spreading towards the bridge, causing the sappers dismantling it to flee in panic.


    Colonel Laszlo, ignoring the protests of others, leaped onto the now tilting bridge.


    While everyone else ran towards the shore, Laszlo was the only one moving against the tide, headed onto the bridge.


    He picked up the fallen sapper¡¯s axe and hacked at the bridge, stroke after heavy stroke.


    The fleeing sappers returned, one after another, picking up their axes and joining Laszlo in destroying the bridge.


    The sappers chopped and shouted with each blow, as if trying to drive away all their fears with their voices.


    When the last rigid connection was severed, a forty-meter section of the bridge¡ªthe part that had been hit and set ablaze¡ªbroke away and was pushed downstream by the flaming rafts.


    The sight was like a child being torn from its mother¡¯s arms, and many on the scene swore they heard the bridge sigh.


    While the Paratu People tried with all their might to save their bridge, the White Lion launched an assault on the Southern Highlands and the Northern Highlands encampments.


    Alpad, leading the Cavalry, also encountered an unknown number of enemies, and a chaotic battle began in the darkness. Lance clashed with lance, steel met steel.


    The White Lion had already set off a storm, and ironically, the quietest place was now Winters¡¯ Bridge Forest encampment.

 Chapter 509 03-25 - 509 92 Act 2

    ?Chapter 509: Chapter 92 Act 2 Chapter 509: Chapter 92 Act 2 The forest fell into complete silence, devoid of insect chirps or bird calls, and was thick with the aura of imminent danger.


    Therefore, the series of horse hoof beats in the distance seemed particularly abrupt.


    The soldiers atop the camp walls raised their muskets, aiming in the direction of the hoof beats, their fingers resting on the firing lever.


    The smoldering match cord flickered dimly, and the musketeers¡¯ taut jaws were barely visible, each unconsciously swallowing saliva.


    Three horsemen broke through the night, heading straight for the camp gate.


    Seeing the lead horseman¡¯s black armor and silver warhorse, the soldiers on the walls immediately shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! It¡¯s Centurion Montaigne!¡±


    A chorus of relieved breaths filled the air above the wall as the musketeers replaced their pan covers, unhooked their matches, propped their muskets against the wall, and returned to a ready stance.


    ... sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Open the gate!¡±


    ¡°Creak¡­ Creak¡­¡±


    The heavy wooden barrier slowly rose, and just as the three horsemen entered the threshold, it thunderously crashed down again.


    Two horsemen went to rest their mounts, while the leading one walked straight into the command tent.


    The command tent was quiet, with only a few people inside.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± asked Colonel Robert, propping his chin on his hand and staring at the map without looking up.


    ¡°I headed north from the bridge forest, then west. I ran at least two kilometers before encountering the enemy cavalry.¡± Winters, removing his helmet, marked out the approximate range on the map: ¡°I found no sign of the Herders in the bridge forest; not even a rabbit.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    The barbarians didn¡¯t seem to be attacking the bridge forest camp¡ªat least not from the north. That was the conclusion Winters had drawn from his own reconnaissance mission.


    Footsteps and the clinking of armor plates once again approached from outside the tent.


    ¡°Lieutenant Varga has returned,¡± a guard reported as he entered.


    Soon after, Varga, who had scouted south, entered the tent.


    ¡°The south has erupted,¡± Varga reported bluntly, skipping formalities: ¡°Shouts of battle can be heard from the Northern Highlands, and flames are faintly visible from the Southern Highlands. The main camp is safe for now.¡±


    ¡°What about the bridge?¡± asked Colonel Robert.


    ¡°Half destroyed,¡± replied Varga. ¡°The sappers are trying to repair the rest.¡±


    Paratu¡¯s cavalry had their operational space drastically reduced; the battlefield turned into a dense fog, with no one knowing what the White Lion was planning.


    Despite the tactical advantage of defense, it also ceded the initiative to the enemy as a trade-off.


    The tent fell quiet, and the mood turned somewhat oppressive for a moment.


    ¡°Nothing strange about it,¡± Colonel Robert eventually said, seeing that his subordinates remained silent: ¡°Yasin has been holding it in for over ten days; it¡¯s about time they had a good relief.¡±


    The metaphor was crass, too crass to come from a man of Colonel Robert¡¯s refinement.


    A few accompanying chuckles rose, but Winters couldn¡¯t appreciate the lead¡¯s sense of humor; he felt more alarmed than amused.


    ¡°When the barbarians make a big move, it¡¯s for one of two reasons. Either their reinforcements have arrived, or ours are about to. For better or for worse, we¡¯ll see what happens in the next few days.¡± The colonel said nonchalantly, ¡°Everyone go get some rest. We need to eat well and sleep well to have the strength to fight.¡±


    The colonel arranged a watch schedule, and the officers dispersed.


    That night, everyone was on edge and alert.


    The soldiers on watch strained their eyes wide open, both hoping to spot the enemy emerging from the pitch-black tree line behind them and wishing to see nothing at all.


    The soldiers not on duty also slept restlessly, most without even removing their armor, simply lying down to sleep as they were.


    Gradually, wounded cavalry from Alpad¡¯s Department returned to the bridge forest camp, many bearing injuries.


    When asked about the battle, they couldn¡¯t give a clear account¡ªthey had been separated from the main force during the melee.


    One moment they were brandishing sabers, charging and slashing, and the next they realized their enemies and comrades had vanished; thus, they headed toward the nearest friendly forces.


    It wasn¡¯t their fault; most night battles were chaotic like this: the two sides clashed, fought blindly for a while, then retreated, leaving behind the wounded and dead.


    In such situations, those who come prepared always have the advantage.


    After questioning each one, Colonel Robert gained a clear understanding of Alpad¡¯s situation.


    Clearly, General Alpad¡¯s cavalry had encountered an ambush.


    After a fierce battle, they apparently repelled the barbarians¡ªotherwise, it wouldn¡¯t just be a few wounded stragglers coming back.


    And General Alpad continued northward along the riverbank with the main cavalry force.


    Colonel Robert ordered the scattered cavalry to be accommodated and arranged for hot salt water to be prepared for treating the wounded.


    As time went on, more and more separated and wounded soldiers returned to the bridge forest camp; several officers were unconscious and had been carried back by their warhorses.


    Colonel Robert received increasingly detailed reports: the Herders upriver had been routed, and Alpad continued to advance north, encountering more and more Herder cavalry.


    The fierce onslaught of Paratu¡¯s cavalry ended with a great fire that turned the sky a blazing red.


    The billowing smoke rose high into the sky, clear even to the scouts sent out by Colonel Robert.


    Before this, General Alpad had burned every tree within fifty li of the bridge, excluding the bridge forest.


    In hindsight, the range of fifty li was too conservative and underestimated the White Lion.


    This time, Alpad likely fought even further afield.


    While everyone celebrated Alpad¡¯s victory, Winters had a nagging sense of foreboding. He couldn¡¯t explain why¡ªperhaps it was just because it all seemed too easy.


    It wasn¡¯t just Winters who felt uneasy; Colonel Robert also harbored worries¡ªthough he concealed them well.

 Chapter 510 03-25 - 510 92 Act 2_2

    ?Chapter 510: Chapter 92 Act 2_2 Chapter 510: Chapter 92 Act 2_2 At the same time that dense smoke was seen rising in the north, Lt. Col. Robert ordered the Bridgelin camp to prepare for war.


    The troops at the Bridgelin camp were divided into two parts: ¡°those who could sortie¡± and ¡°those who could not.¡±


    Winters¡¯s hundred-man team was, because of their strong combat power, assigned to the side of the forces that could sortie.


    The premonitions of the two ¡°pessimistic¡± officers soon came true.


    As the sky was just beginning to lighten, an envoy cavalry, who had lost his helmet, brought Alpad¡¯s ring and a verbal message: The Bridgelin camp¡¯s defenders were to move out to meet them.


    ¡°Could this be a fake?¡± objected Lt. Varga, opposed to the idea of a sortie: ¡°Would General Alpad ask us for help?¡±


    Lure the defenders out of their solid camp and then surround and annihilate them. This trick had already been overused by the barbarians, cautioning the Paratu People to be wary.


    ...


    ¡°It has been verified, the ring is real, and so is the person,¡± Lt. Col. Robert put an end to all discussion: ¡°Alpad must have really run into trouble.¡±


    Carrying three days¡¯ worth of dry food and a day¡¯s drinking water, but without any supply wagons, Lt. Col. Robert led twelve hundred soldiers in a light-armed sortie.


    Winters was among them.


    ¡­


    Keep walking, step forward, keep moving without stopping.


    Initially, there were only scattered Hurd light cavalry around; their courage was as tiny as that of sparrows, and they would flee at the slightest scare.


    The further they advanced, the more numerous the barbarians gathered around Robert¡¯s troops became.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    As their numbers grew, the barbarians¡¯ audacity swelled; a lone rider would only stealthily watch from afar, but a group of a dozen or so dared to boldly approach and observe.


    Strong Tess snorted, and Winters gently caressed its neck. Horses snort when they are anxious and when they are excited; only a rider intimate with them can discern the subtle differences.


    ¡°Easy there, little one,¡± Winters fastened his helmet, lifted his gorget, and lowered the visor: ¡°Take it easy.¡±


    Eight hours later, Alpad¡¯s Department finally joined forces with Robert¡¯s troops.


    The barbarian cavalry retreated in defeat, but the Paratu People had only won a Pyrrhic victory.


    Winters saw Jeska of Wolf Town, Dusack; the cavalry of the Jeska squadron had also joined in the battle with Alpad last night.


    He did not see Andre or Bard.


    ¡°Andre! Bard!¡± Winters frantically searched among the wounded, asking everyone he saw: ¡°Have you seen Lt. Bard? What about Lt. Chellini?¡±


    No one could provide an answer.


    Amidst the clamor of voices and the neighing of horses, Winters¡¯s mind was a complete blank.


    ¡°I think I saw Lt. Chellini behind us,¡± mentioned a soldier in a low voice.


    Winters mounted his horse and galloped to the back of the column.


    He did not see Andre, but he did see Andre¡¯s extremely robust black warhorse.


    That horse he could not mistake, for it was the champion of Terdun, found by the river after the battle.


    By the rules, as Winters had defeated the champion of Terdun in combat, the horse belonged to him, but he had then gifted it to Andre.


    Seeing that black horse and, upon closer inspection, recognizing the dirty coachman holding its reins was indeed Andreya Chellini, Winters dismounted and hurried over, gripping Andre¡¯s shoulders tightly. He wanted to cry at first, but upon seeing Andre¡¯s disheveled appearance, he couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter.


    Winters had never seen such a disheveled Andre in his life.


    The latter¡¯s once-immaculate Piaoqi Troops uniform was now scorched, its tassels completely burnt off.


    His bearskin cap was nowhere to be seen, and at the moment, he wore a tattered needle-and-thread cap that he swore he would ¡°never be caught dead wearing¡±¡ªit seemed warmth was more important.


    Winters had a bit of stubble on his chin because he had been too lazy to shave.


    Andre, in contrast, had meticulously grown a very refined beard for the sake of looking handsome, requiring daily grooming. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, that beard was gone, or to be precise, singed and curled.


    Andre¡¯s face was smeared so badly it looked as if he¡¯d washed it with coal¡ªan extreme contrast to his usual appearance, making it so that Winters, at first glance, did not recognize that ¡°coachman¡± as Andre.


    ¡°How did you get here?¡± Andre was initially startled, but recognizing who was before him, he was extremely pleased.


    ¡°We came to support you!¡± Winters quickly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Bard?¡±


    Andre¡¯s face turned ashen as he pointed to the crude sled that the black horse was dragging, and said in a low voice: ¡°He¡¯s in the back.¡±


    The black horse was dragging a rudimentary sled made of branches and straps. Bard lay motionless on the sled, with his head haphazardly wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.


    The words struck Winters like a bolt from the blue; his vision darkened, threatening to buckle his knees.


    ¡°He¡¯s not dead!¡± Andre noticed something was amiss: ¡°He¡¯s not dead!¡±


    Ignoring everything else¡ªalthough he really felt like punching Andre hard¡ªWinters immediately checked Bard¡¯s condition.


    Bard was still breathing but in a deep coma. None of the other injuries on his body were fatal, so that only left the wound on his head.


    ¡°He got hit by a hammer on the head,¡± Andre became increasingly distressed, ¡°Even his helmet was dented in.¡±


    ¡°As long as he¡¯s alive, that¡¯s good,¡± Winters carefully secured Bard¡¯s neck with a piece of clothing: ¡°Alive is good.¡±


    Andre squatted down, grabbing his hair in agony: ¡°What are we doing¡­ what is this?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°We should¡¯ve run; from the very start, we should¡¯ve fled. If we had made up our minds then to escape back to Vineta, now we¡­¡±


    ¡°No, listen to me!¡± Winters yanked Andre to his feet, looking him directly in the eye, and spoke word by word, ¡°What happened in the past doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Now, whether we like it or not, we have to win this war for the Paratu People. Only by doing so will we have a chance to survive.¡±

 Chapter 511 03-25 - 511 92 Act 2_3

    ?Chapter 511: Chapter 92 Act 2_3 Chapter 511: Chapter 92 Act 2_3 ¡­


    The Herder¡¯s reinforcements really did arrive.


    Because the barbarians spared no effort to inform the Paratu People of this fact.


    With the arrival of reinforcements, the Herder¡¯s army morale soared. They arranged their troops on the southern and northern highlands, with the chieftains all but wishing the Paratu People would come down so they could count each head one by one.


    This was, of course, a psychological tactic, crude and simple to the extreme.


    But it was indeed effective, as even the most obstinate Paratu person could no longer deny it: the barbarians¡¯ reinforcements had truly come.


    And the reinforcements of the Paratu People? There was no news of them for the time being.


    ...


    The White Lion burned two-thirds of the bridge forest, and Alpad also set a fire that turned the White Lion¡¯s timber source into ash.


    It is exceedingly difficult for trees to reproduce and thrive in the wilderness; a forest may need centuries of time and various fortuitous coincidences to grow, but destroying them is much easier.


    The fire Alpad set burned for two days and a night.


    If the White Lion wanted to get wood again, they would have to go a hundred kilometers away.


    But the Paratu People suffered heavy casualties as well: half of the cavalry squadrons were beaten so badly that they lost the ability to fight, and almost no one was without injuries; the long-distance raiding caused greater losses of warhorses than of personnel.


    It is said that Alpad has already sent away the cavalry squadrons¡¯ banners and the Fifth Legion¡¯s eagle flag.


    The cavalry that could still fight were reorganized into nine squadrons¡ªthis was a first since the establishment of the legion.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Auxiliaries could be disbanded and reassembled at will, but for the Standing Army, which had a stronger sense of belonging and honor, reorganization was tantamount to the destruction of an honorable collective.


    The Paratu People began to consolidate their forces, and the bridge forest camp also received orders to withdraw.


    All the usable trees were felled by the logging teams, and the remaining shrubs and saplings were set ablaze.


    Afterward, Colonel Robert led everyone to dismantle the bridge forest camp and retreat to the main camp.


    Winters¡¯ team returned to Jeska¡¯s company, and Bard¡¯s hundred-men squad was now commanded jointly by him and Mason.


    Bard regained consciousness, but he began to run a fever again.


    After examining him, Father Caman concluded that Bard had a linear fracture in his skull. His medical advice was brief: rest.


    The entire Paratu army contracted to the camps at the Southern Highlands, Northern Highlands, and the main camp.


    Sekler and Alpad also knew that they could no longer count on the auxiliaries, so all three camps were defended by the Standing Army.


    The auxiliaries were all put to work building bridges, with Jeska¡¯s company also assigned to the bridge construction headquarters.


    The White Lion¡¯s fire rafts had destroyed the bridge, which was originally over 110 meters long, down to less than fifty meters, and the remaining bridge piles also needed to be reinforced.


    The Paratu People were pushed to desperation, almost working day and night to repair old bridge piles and drive in new ones.


    Meanwhile, the White Lion also launched attacks on the fortresses atop the southern and northern highlands.


    There was a siege on the mountain and bridge construction below. Those building the bridge could hear the clash of battle from the slopes, and those on the slopes could hear the sound of the piles being driven.


    The torment in the hearts of the Paratu People was indescribable.


    It was already too late to build the bridge piles, beams, and deck step by step. In a moment of desperation, the engineer officer had a stroke of genius, proposing ¡°No need to erect beams, just use bridge piles to secure float boxes and rafts, creating a ¡®floating bridge¡¯.¡± The idea was immediately adopted.


    The Paratu engineers stopped building beams.


    After driving the wooden piles, they directly secured float boxes, rafts, and boats to the piles. With some roughly laid planks, people could just manage to cross.


    The speed of bridge construction greatly increased.


    And the battle on the slopes once again proved an unbreakable truth: humans learn all things slowly, except the art of killing, which they learn the fastest.


    The Paratu People had never imagined what the White Lion had learned from them.


    The Paratu People had blasted the walls of Bianli City three times, and now the barbarians, mimicking them, had begun to use blasting against the Paratu camps.


    Their first attempt at blasting, unsurprisingly, produced fireworks.


    The second did as well.


    The third, too.


    At first, the Paratu soldiers were mocking the barbarians, but soon no one could laugh any more.


    With practice and continuous improvement, the Herders gradually mastered the knack, and the power of the blasting increased more and more.


    The speed at which the barbarians absorbed military technology was so fast that it instilled fear in the hearts of the Paratu People.


    The spread of military technology was a hundred, a thousand times more terrifying than the mere circulation of weapons.


    Any Paratu who witnessed this scene would no longer question the strategy of suppression that Paratu had employed for the past thirty years. They would only regret not having choked the White Lion¡¯s throat more forcefully.


    The sound of blasting that was heard almost every day was the best whip, harshly lashing on the backs of the Paratu sappers and auxiliary troops, spurring them to give it their all.


    The progress on the bridge was incredibly fast, and it crossed the center of the river again within only two days.


    At this point, it didn¡¯t matter whether one was Venetian or Paratu Person, or if there were regional biases and clan distinctions, everyone was in the same boat. Lose this battle, and nobody would survive.


    Winters also felt as though a blade was pressed against his back, which is why he, just like the lowest-ranking soldiers, picked up an axe and worked feverishly.


    The only thing that brought him solace¡ªBard¡¯s fever had subsided.


    Father Caman had watched over Bard for one night, and by the next morning, Bard¡¯s fever had miraculously broken. However, due to the significant blood loss, he remained very weak and needed rest.


    As the bridge piers were now less than fifty meters from the opposite bank, the last thing anyone wanted to happen, happened.


    Along with the thunderous sound of blasting, tons of earth mixed with human fragments flew into the sky.


    The camp was like hit by a rain of mud, and the bloody mire even spattered near Winters¡¯ feet as he was sawing wood.


    Winters saw first one man fleeing from the Southern Highlands towards the camp, then two, and finally, troops began fleeing in groups down the hillside.


    Even the supervisory forces could not stop this rout.


    Without a word, Winters spit twice into his palm and continued to saw the wood with his head down.


    In the morning, the camp in the Southern Highlands was overrun.


    In the afternoon, the barbarians had pushed their heavy guns onto the Southern Highlands, bombarding the bridge.


    In the evening, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska, Winters, and Andre were called to a meeting at the legion¡¯s headquarters. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Laszlo, Lieutenant Colonel Robert, and the surviving Centurions under their command were also there.


    Colonel Laszlo was still as calm as a dead man.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s cheeks had been pierced by a heavy arrow, three of his teeth knocked out, and his wound was stitched with cotton thread.


    He couldn¡¯t speak, but he nodded at Winters.


    Beyond them, there were two Centurions with their heads shaved and red cloth tied around their left arms¡ªofficers from the Death Camp.


    These were all the troops that Paratu Army had left for one final fight.


    Sekler wasted no words and directly informed all the officers present, ¡°Retake the Southern Highlands fortress, tonight. Win and live, or lose and die.¡±


    ¡­


    In the darkness, Montaigne¡¯s century had fully assembled.


    Under the dim moonlight, Winters looked over each of his warriors.


    Among them were the soldiers he had brought from Wolf Town, boys that had been added from Blackwater Town and Saint Town, as well as farmers and laborers from other Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    He could call each man¡¯s name and recognize every face.


    The battle, the campaign, even the war had reached the moment that would decide life or death.


    Winters didn¡¯t need to say much; he trusted them, and they trusted him.


    Winters¡¯ eyes were sore, but the tears swirled in his eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall.


    ¡°Scatter, darkness. Fall, stars.¡± A phrase echoed in Winters¡¯ mind as he slowly recited, ¡°At dawn, we shall be victorious!¡±


    The cold wind brushed past everyone¡¯s clothing, while the Styx flowed silently.


    Winters was the first to step into the night: ¡°Move out!¡±

 Chapter 512 03-25 - 512 93 The End (Part 1)

    ?Chapter 512: Chapter 93: The End (Part 1) Chapter 512: Chapter 93: The End (Part 1) The stronghold on the Southern Highlands, once belonging to the Paratu People, was now eerily silent.


    The barbarians learned well, lighting no lamps, building no fires, rendering the attackers unable to discern the wall¡¯s layout. Yet they had set fires on the open ground outside the ditch, leaving nowhere to hide.


    The Paratu People were determined to recapture the Southern Highlands, and the Herders knew this just as well.


    Under the cover of nightfall, a dark undercurrent surged.


    A meteor streaked across the sky with a long tail, vanishing in an instant.


    ¡°Kill!¡± A cry of despair from a man echoed from somewhere.


    The war drums thundered, the clarions stabbing at everyone¡¯s eardrums.


    ...


    A group of humans leapt from the dark, carrying crude ladders, roaring as they charged at the stronghold: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The Northern Highlands fortress flickered red, sporadic gunfire sounding.


    But the muskets¡¯ range was insufficient to reach from the Northern to the Southern Highlands; the troops there could only bolster their comrades¡¯ morale.


    Amidst the deafening cries of battle and the drum and horn sounds, the fortress, like a beast lurking in the shadows, remained utterly still.


    In the moment the Paratu People crossed the firelight, the beast revealed its vicious fangs.


    A series of bowstrings thrummed on the wall, and the Paratu in the lead were consecutively shot down.


    The fires were swiftly extinguished, turning everyone in the dark into vague shadows.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Paratu soldiers with shaved heads and red bands tied around their left arms leapt over the bodies of their comrades, shouting as they rushed toward the ditch.


    The battle had begun, yet Winters held his position.


    He lay on the slope, cocking his head to listen to noises from another battle.


    The military police and flagbearer Xial, Heinrich guarding behind Winters, followed by soldiers of two hundred-man cohorts, and farther back, Andre and Mason¡¯s troops.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion was lying in wait two hundred meters from the southeast corner of the fortress, a step further and they would be exposed.


    According to the original plan, the Death Camp would feign an attack on the northeast corner first.


    Only after the barbarians had their attention diverted would it be Jeska¡¯s battalion¡¯s turn to act.


    The shouts of battle gradually faded¡ªthis was normal.


    Because once face-to-face combat began, everyone clenched their teeth, pressed their lips together, and not even the shortest curse could be uttered.


    Replacing the battle cries were the dull thuds of bludgeons on flesh and the screams of agony.


    Winters rubbed the hilt of his sword with his thumb, still nervous, excited, and frightened, but he had learned patience.


    Aside from the musketeers, everyone under his command had swapped to single-handed swords and shields, donning all the armor they could find.


    The long pikes were of no use in a night battle, and the halberds were no different.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska approached, bending at the waist.


    Winters turned his head and saluted briefly.


    The lieutenant colonel gently patted Winters¡¯ shoulder and whispered, ¡°Do you see where the cannon is?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s right there anyway.¡±


    In name, the raid on the Southern Highlands fortress was to be commanded by Colonel Laszlo.


    However, Colonel Laszlo was currently little more than a walking corpse, and so the battle plan was actually drafted by Lieutenant Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Colonel Robert.


    Both lieutenant colonels agreed that taking the Southern Highlands fortress was an impossible task.


    Even if they held it tonight, the Herders could retake it the next day. They could not afford a war of attrition with the forces at hand.


    But a change in perspective was possible: the threat of the Southern Highlands fortress lay not in the fortress itself, but in the cannons on the highlands.


    Upon capturing the fortress, the White Lion would immediately move the cannons up the highlands and bombard the ¡°Floating Bridge¡± across the Paratu main camp.


    Just during dusk¡¯s trials, they sank two pontoons. That was a threat the Paratu could not tolerate.


    Conversely, as long as the cannon could be destroyed, it wouldn¡¯t matter if the highland fortress fell into barbarian hands.


    Right now, what the Paratu needed most was time; just two more days, and the bridge could reach the opposite bank of the river.


    The foremost bridge piles were now less than fifty meters from the East Bank; it really was just a little bit more to go.


    Someone below the hillside waved a torch, then vanished in the blink of an eye. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the prearranged signal; Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Jeska exchanged one last look.


    ¡°Move!¡± Winters commanded in a low voice.


    He removed his shield, crouching as low as possible as he approached the ditch.


    Xial, carrying five backup weapons, and Heinrich, rolling up the military flag, followed closely behind Winters.


    Winters¡¯ move was a silent signal; his soldiers emerged in single file from their hiding spots.


    In contrast to the Death Camp, Montaigne¡¯s troops blew no horns, beat no drums, and shouted no battle cries; they simply strode forward, crouching low.


    Over a hundred infantry spread out in two loose lines on the hillside, their footsteps rustling softly.


    Still, the wall remained silent.


    The quieter it was, the more tightly Winters¡¯ nerves wound.


    With less than ten meters to the fire, they could no longer conceal their figures.


    ¡°Wet blanket!¡± Winters ordered softly, not looking back as he reached out his hand.


    Xial unfurled the wet blanket and, ignoring Winters¡¯ request, stepped forward swiftly to smother the fire.


    Sounds like nails on a chalkboard came from the wall as bows were drawn.


    ¡°Shield up!¡± Winters dashed to pull Xial behind him, yelling with a spell to amplify his voice, ¡°Watch out for arrows!¡±


    Before the words fell, arrows poured down like rain.


    Winters raised his shield to protect his faceplate; three sharp pings resounded, and three arrows were deflected by his shield and breastplate.


    It felt like being hit by stones three times, causing no serious harm.


    The nearby fires had already been snuffed out.


    Winters let out a fierce shout: ¡°Charge!¡±


    No longer needing to skulk, Heinrich unfurled the military flag, and the piercing sound of the charge horn resounded.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The Montaigne troops picked up their pace, yelling as they stormed the wall.

 Chapter 513 03-25 - 513 93 The End (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 513: Chapter 93: The End (Part 2) Chapter 513: Chapter 93: The End (Part 2) The Paratu People had considered the possibility of the fortification being breached, so the walls facing the main camp were shorter and the ditches shallower.


    But it was still a daunting construction, one that demanded lives to fill its depths.


    Twenty steps forward, and another volley of arrows descended.


    This time, Winters only heard a crisp snap; he wasn¡¯t afraid of arrows¡ªhe was waiting for the gunfire.


    The entire Montaigne team was armored, some even wearing chain mail over their plate armor. Unless the arrows struck true by chance or by precise aim, they would not cause harm.


    Less than ten meters from the ditch, Winters saw a flash of red light on the rampart wall in front of him.


    ¡°Shield up!¡± he bellowed instinctively, raising his shield.


    ...


    A burst of gunfire, like popping beans, came from the ramparts.


    ¡°Clang!¡±


    Winters only felt his left arm go numb from the impact as the lead bullet penetrated the outer iron and inner wood of his shield, only to shatter against the plate armor on his left chest.


    Even though the breastplate was not punctured, Winters still felt a tightness in his chest.


    What he feared most had still come to pass: Only the Red River Tribe of the White Lion would be equipped extensively with firearms, and only they had the powder reserves to sustain such armament.


    The presence of gunmen on the ramparts meant they were set to face off against the Red River Tribe that night.


    The Montaigne team, which had taken no casualties from the arrows, had instantly lost over a dozen men to the gunfire.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã0


    ¡°Siege Ladders!¡± Winters¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, but at this moment, there was only the drive to advance: ¡°Grenades!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The warriors carried ladders across the ditch.


    The tops of the ladders were equipped with iron hooks, which once snagged, could not be easily dislodged.


    The Montaigne warriors began to scale the walls shielded by their ramparts.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± Eighteen grenadiers swung their arms, tossing sizzling iron-shelled bombs into the wall.


    A series of muffled explosions erupted within the fortress.


    The grenadiers were selected for their strong physique from the entire cohort, and Winters¡¯s order to them was simple: throw all four grenades within a minute.


    The two-pound iron-shelled bombs flew in arcs over the wall, but they did not achieve the lethal effect on the enemies atop the wall as Winters had hoped.


    Meanwhile, the gunmen and archers on the wall returned fire.


    Lead bullets and arrows flew across, and though Winters¡¯s Deflection Spell had shown some progress, it still couldn¡¯t cope with the abundance of stray arrows and bullets.


    Instead of maintaining the Deflection Spell, he stopped and bellowed with his arms waving, ¡°Scale the wall! Scale¡­¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Xial¡¯s cry of alarm came from behind.


    In the next second, Winters was flipped over by a blast wave.


    Not far from where he had just stood, a grenadier was blown in half at the waist, sending mud, shredded flesh, and blood flying everywhere.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Xial frantically searched Winters for wounds: ¡°Blood!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine! It¡¯s not my blood.¡± Winters felt as though a steel rod laden with lead had viciously struck him in the chest, making it hard to breathe, and even his ears rang, drowning out Xial¡¯s voice.


    What had happened?


    Winters didn¡¯t need to ask; anyone could understand just by looking.


    The grenadier had just lit the fuse when he was shot through the neck by a lead bullet. In the last moment before falling, he exerted his final strength to press the grenade beneath his own body.


    That blood-stained face used to belong to a man from Wolf Town named Mihali. A Protestant, a tenant farmer, nineteen years old, particular about cleanliness, and unmarried.


    Pain, anger, and helplessness were all the emotions Winters could feel.


    He strode toward the wall.


    ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel forbids you from scaling the wall!¡± Xial tried desperately to hold back Winters, but he couldn¡¯t: ¡°You can¡¯t go!¡±


    Heinrich, carrying the flag, silently followed the Centurion.


    The rampart wall was less than three meters high, and the barbarians atop knew this height wasn¡¯t lethal; lacking other defense equipment, they desperately used their firearms and strong bows to wound those besieging the walls.


    Picking up a shield from the corpses, Winters climbed up without a word. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two warriors bracing the ladder at first froze, then held the ladder even more firmly, not allowing it to shake an inch.


    The ladder was slick with blood.


    Archers and gunmen on another wall noticed the conspicuously armored Centurion and turned their muzzles towards Winters.


    Winters strained to maintain his Deflection Spell, climbed with his back covered by the shield, and gritted his teeth as he ascended.


    ¡°How is he going up again!¡± Seeing this, Colonel Jeska was enraged: ¡°Didn¡¯t I give strict orders not to let him scale the wall?!¡±


    No one dared to respond.


    The Colonel ordered the second batch of Chelini troops that had arrived at the scene: ¡°Lieutenant Chelini! Go take the other wall!¡±


    Although rudimentary, the Southern Highlands fortification was still a star-shaped fortress. Attacking any one side of the walls single-handedly would expose the sides and even the back to the other walls.


    Colonel Jeska was sending Andre to put pressure on the other wall, to alleviate the strain on Montaigne¡¯s squad.


    Mason¡¯s squad arrived late, and the musketeers set up their formation amidst Lieutenant Mason¡¯s curses, starting to suppress the barbarians on the wall.


    As Winters was about to reach the top of the ladder, he looked up, only to see the dark muzzle of a gun aimed at his forehead.


    A ferocious barbarian held the firearm, his expression fierce, ready to pull the trigger any moment.


    Winters was in the midst of maintaining his Deflection Spell and had no time to switch to another spell.


    In his urgency, he grabbed the barrel and forcefully pushed it upward.


    The barbarian pressed the trigger, and the bullet whipped past his helmet. Even through his gloves, the impact stung his palm.


    Winters, clutching the barrel, pulled with all his might. The barbarian grew fierce, clenching his teeth, refusing to let go.


    The standoff lasted less than a second before Winters, with a roaring shout, yanked the barbarian hard from the wall.

 Chapter 514 03-25 - 514 93 The End (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 514: Chapter 93: The End (Part 3) Chapter 514: Chapter 93: The End (Part 3) Barbarian gunmen fell heavily beneath the city wall, and in an instant, they were stabbed to death by the chaotic swords of the Paratu People.


    But even until the last moment of his life, he clutched his musket tightly and never let go.


    ¡°Herde Language White Lion!¡± The barbarian squeezed out a tuneless voice from his throat, and then he died.


    ¡°Hurrah!¡± shouted the Paratu People beneath the wall.


    The ¡°heroic deed¡± of Centurion Montaigne was witnessed by everyone below the wall.


    ¡°Hurrah!¡± The musketeers also started to shout desperately.


    Winters was oblivious, he didn¡¯t even know that the crowd was cheering for him.


    ...


    He leaped onto the city wall and drew his sword.


    There was no joy of success in his heart, only endless anger: the fort was teeming with barbarians in its not-so-large interior.


    The White Lion knew they were coming, the White Lion was also waiting for them to arrive.


    His warriors kept climbing onto the fortress wall, one after another, and there was no way for Winters to order them to retreat.


    Their mission was not yet complete, nor could they possibly retreat.


    ¡°Come on!¡± roared Winters as he charged at the enemy on the fortress wall, ¡°Come and kill me!¡±


    There was no reasoning left, only one side could survive.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã?


    A barbarian musketeer saw the Paratu Centurion charging towards him and hurriedly tried to shoot.


    He pulled the trigger only to realize there was no match cord attached, and then he fumbled for the hilt of his saber. Before he could draw his curved sword, Winters¡¯s gauntlet sword had already pierced his chest.


    The blade went through the ribs and into the lung lobes, leaving a terrible wound. Air pushed into his trachea, and the barbarian musketeer coughed up blood-frothing bubbles before slowly collapsing to the ground.


    And the man who killed him had already drawn his sword to kill the next one.


    As more Paratu People climbed up the city, the barbarians¡¯ archers and gunmen suffered heavy casualties, greatly reducing the pressure on the others outside the wall.


    The barbarian bowmen and gunmen wore no armor; none was a match for Winters. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For non-fatal attacks, Winters didn¡¯t even dodge, relying entirely on his sturdy armor to resist.


    A barbarian¡¯s slash on his shoulder armor, arm armor, or breastplate would only cause him severe pain.


    In return, his sword strikes would claim the barbarians¡¯ lives.


    After felling a dozen or so enemies, a vacuum had formed around Winters on the fortress wall, with archers and gunmen desperately scrambling away from him.


    The barbarian chieftain shouted hoarsely, ¡°Herde Language This two-legged man is formidable! Shoot him with the musket! Shoot him with the musket!¡±


    The voice came from below the wall; Winters on the rampart couldn¡¯t see where the barbarian chieftain was.


    He fired three steel nails in the general direction, and that annoying voice did not reappear.


    The Paratu People had already secured an area on the fortress wall, and Andre had climbed up as well.


    Seeing the large number of barbarian soldiers inside the fortress, Andre couldn¡¯t help but swear loudly.


    The barbarian bowmen and gunmen had retreated to other areas of the fortress wall, while the armored barbarian soldiers with swords kept pouring up the stairs.


    Winters looked around; there were only cannon mounts on the fortress wall, no cannons.


    However, the scouts only saw the White Lion bring the cannons into the fortress, not taking them away.


    ¡°Death Camp is silent! We¡¯re the only ones left!¡± Andre grabbed Winters, ¡°Where¡¯s the cannon?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been taken away!¡±


    Andre was anxious, ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s in this fortress!¡± Winters¡¯s face was hidden under his helmet, leaving Andre unable to see his expression, ¡°Fight inside!¡±


    In the midst of their conversation, barbarian soldiers rushed onto the fortress wall again, shouting, ¡°Wu Kaha!¡±


    The strong barbarian soldier at the forefront raised his war hammer high, and brought it crashing down onto Tomas who was in front of Winters.


    Poor Tomas lifted his shield to block, but it only held against the first blow. He tried to counter-thrust with his side sword, but it was stopped by a breastplate.


    The strong barbarian soldier endured a direct stab, and with a round swing of his arms, he smashed Tomas¡¯s skull, causing his brain matter to splatter.


    Watching this unfold before his eyes, Winters shook off Andre and with his sword raised, threw himself at the hammer-wielding barbarian, striking with all his might at the enemy¡¯s neck.


    His sword was already notched, and the barbarian wore a neck guard. Sparks flew, but no blood was drawn.


    The barbarian soldier intended to repeat his attack, but the force of Winters¡¯s strike was so great that it made him stagger.


    Before the barbarian could regain his footing, Winters, grasping the barbarian¡¯s helmet, executed an unrestrained cleaving blow.


    The hammer-wielding barbarian¡¯s head was instantly shredded inside the helmet, with red and white matter oozing out from the gaps in the armor.


    The other surrounding barbarians were so terrified that their legs went weak; not only did they not dare to advance, but they also retreated a few steps.


    Winters reached out to take the barbarian¡¯s war hammer, as his gauntlet sword was no longer serviceable.


    ¡°Please use this.¡± Someone from behind offered him a maul.


    Xial had also climbed onto the fortress wall without Winters realizing when.


    Heinrich, carrying the army banner, had arrived, along with Ish, Samujin¡­ all who were still alive had come.


    Winters accepted the maul and suddenly burst into laughter.


    He tore off the barbarian¡¯s helmet drenched in red and white matter and threw it towards the barbarians inside the fortress.


    ¡°White Lion!¡± Winters Montagne¡¯s roar was thunderous, ¡°So what if you knew I was coming?! I¡¯ll still break through you!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters charged at the barbarians inside the stairway.


    ¡°Hurrah!¡± roared the soldiers of Montaigne¡¯s team in unison.


    The attackers, despite being outnumbered, not only held their ground on the city wall but also pushed the defenders down from the wall¡ªlocally.


    Inside the fortress, the stairwells and corridors were narrow, and no matter how numerous, the people could not unfold.


    The ones in front, making contact with the enemy, had almost no room to maneuver. When a bludgeon swung down, all they could do was to hold up a shield or even their arms to take the blow.


    There were only two lines of attack, one was smashing down from above, the other was thrusting forward, leaving no room for swinging from side to side.

 Chapter 515 03-25 - 515 93 The End (Part 4)

    ?Chapter 515: Chapter 93: The End (Part 4) Chapter 515: Chapter 93: The End (Part 4) Within less than three minutes, Winters, who charged at the forefront, had already been struck countless times.


    His instinctual swordsmanship allowed him to subconsciously dodge vital points, yet he still inevitably grew sluggish and numb.


    He used spells without any reservation, reaping lives like a legendary court mage.


    He no longer used the Iron Melting Technique or other formidable spells, all his ¡°magic¡± was focused on the most efficient and most practiced spell¡ªArrow Flying Spell.


    He triggered the Arrow Flying Spell almost against the target¡¯s forehead, leaving no chance for error or avoidance.


    Though outnumbered, the Paratu People seemed to be subtly overpowering the barbarians with a do-or-die attitude.


    With everyone packed tightly together, the barbarian gunners were afraid of hitting their own and dared not shoot.


    ...


    The barbarians realized this too, and a voice desperately shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t be afraid! Fire! Kill them all! Shoot that leader!¡±


    The barbarian gunners hesitated, and the voice yelled even louder: ¡°[Herde Language] Move aside! I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    A ¡°boom¡± echoed in the corridor of the fortress, making the wooden ceiling tremble.


    A Herder right in front of Winters was killed on the spot, and the voice shouted again: ¡°[Herde Language] Keep going! Shoot him! Shoot those two leaders!¡±


    Under the urging of that voice, a Herder gunner clenched his teeth and fired. The lead shot hit the wooden wall, sending wood chips flying.


    The other gunners, also clenching their teeth, raised their firearms.


    Winters and Andre exchanged a glance, then, understanding each other, they charged forward fiercely.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    With their own men behind them, there was no way to retreat. They could only fight to the death and move forward for a chance at survival.


    Several more shots rang out in quick succession.


    Andre, being tall and strong, charged forward heedlessly, knocking the enemies in front of him all over the place.


    Winters followed closely behind Andre, ensuring that his back and the back of his head would not be hit by a hammer.


    Winters spotted the shouting barbarian. When he was about ten steps away from the barbarian, he clenched a steel spike and raised his hand.


    With a flash of cold light, the eyes of the shouting barbarian turned into bloody sockets. Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down, his head hanging limply.


    The barbarians in the corridor scattered like birds and beasts, scrambling to escape.


    ¡°Haha,¡± Andre leaned against the wall; his laughter sounded muffled coming from inside his helmet, ¡°We brothers are not bad, huh?¡±


    ¡°Always the best,¡± Winters and Andre fist-bumped.


    ¡°Drip, drip.¡±


    It was the sound of fresh blood dripping onto the ground.


    Andre lifted his arm to fist-bump, then tilted his head as if with a bitter smile: ¡°I was wondering¡­ why I felt numb?¡±


    His right arm had turned into a mess of flesh; a thirty-gram lead ball had pierced through his arm armor, exploded inside his muscle, and left a terrible wound.


    Blood flowed into Andre¡¯s glove and then dripped onto the ground.


    Winters frantically removed Andre¡¯s arm armor and used his belt to stop the bleeding.


    ¡°Brother won¡¯t be much help anymore,¡± Andre sat on the ground, saying carelessly: ¡°The rest is all up to you now.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking¡­ stop talking¡­¡± Winters seemed to be crying, but his face was hidden under his helmet, unseen by anyone.


    Blood loss made Andre very tired; he said softly, ¡°I need to rest for a while¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Colonel Jeska also reached the top of the rampart.


    The colonel swept over the fortress with his lone eye, quickly grasping the situation.


    ¡°As expected,¡± the colonel asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the cannon?¡±


    ¡°Not on the wall,¡± replied the wounded soldier beside him.


    ¡°What about Captain Montaigne and Captain Cherini?¡± the colonel inquired further.


    ¡°They¡¯re fighting their way into the fortress.¡±


    ¡°Retaking the Southern Highlands is no longer possible!¡± Colonel Jeska said to the signalman, ¡°Send the signal!¡±


    Obediently, the signalman carefully retrieved a wooden box that contained three signal flares.


    The signalman found a source of fire and held out the flares to light them.


    Three green signal flares screamed into the sky and exploded with a thunderous roar.


    Shortly thereafter, another red signal flare screamed skywards and detonated.


    Not from the east side of the fortress, but from the west!


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The thunderous Paratu battle cry arose, not from the east side of the fortress, but from the west.


    Sounds of hoofbeats, like a landslide or tsunami, approached the Southern Highlands fortress.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± A black-armored cavalryman wielding a pistol leaped into the fortress, not from anywhere else, but precisely from where the barbarians had attacked during the day.


    The breach blown open by the barbarians was hastily repaired with wooden barricades. Since the breach in the west was closer to their main camp, it was perfect for moving troops and artillery.


    The Herders attacked from the west and the Paratu from the east; it was a trap of the mind.


    Yet today, the Paratu chose to break through the western breach.


    The black-armored cavalryman who jumped into the fortress held a pistol in each hand, fired two shots with a ¡°bang, bang,¡± and immediately drew his saber to slash around.


    Following him, more black-armored cavalrymen leaped into the fortress, each firing two shots before drawing their blades to kill.


    The barbarian defenders of the fortress sensed something was amiss, and the musketeers and archers rushed to the western wall. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the forty-some black-armored cavalrymen, about thirty Dusack light cavaliers followed, with Pierre, Anglu, Bell, and Vashka among them.


    After them surged more than a hundred Paratu sword and shield bearers and halberdiers into the fortress.


    The Laszlo Troop had arrived.


    The Death Camp was a feint, and so was Jeska¡¯s troop.


    It was Colonel Laszlo¡¯s Standing Army troop and Major Castor¡¯s pistol cavalry that were the main forces of the assault.


    Captain Robert¡¯s troop was responsible for covering the rear.


    Originally, the plan was for the ¡°Death Camp and Jeska¡¯s troop to attract the enemy¡¯s attention, the main force to ambush from the flank and rear, and to recapture the fortress in one fell swoop.¡±


    But that plan now lay in ruins because the fortress was filled with far too many barbarians, so many that the Paratu couldn¡¯t clear them out quickly.


    And the White Lion¡¯s reinforcements could arrive at any moment.


    The plan had to change to having the main force attract the enemy¡¯s attention, creating the opportunity for Jeska¡¯s troop to destroy the cannons.


    Hundreds of cavalrymen charging into the narrow fortress interior made it extremely crowded.


    The cavalry was impeded and began being pulled from their horses by the barbarians who fought on foot.


    Major Castor realized something was wrong, as the original plan for one charge to crush the defenders failed because there were unimaginably many of them.


    At this point, it was impossible to retreat; the battle had turned into a massive melee, a test of who would break first.


    ¡­


    With the barbarian defenders caught in a pincer movement, Winters felt the pressure on him decrease sharply.


    He led those who were still alive on a reckless charge throughout the fortress.


    ¡°The cannons!¡± Someone suddenly shouted with surprise from behind.


    Inside a large warehouse within the fortress, four golden twelve-pound bronze cannons lay quietly on the ground.


    ¡°Nails! Hammers!¡±


    Xial frantically searched and found six large steel spikes for destroying cannons.


    Each spike was thicker than a thumb, ideal for dealing with the resilient bronze cannons.


    ¡°Nail them shut!¡±


    Without hammers, they used knife handles and stones, and the touch-holes of the four bronze cannons were quickly spiked shut.


    Winters took out his casting materials and added an Iron Melting Technique to each cannon to ensure that no cannonballs could be fit into their bores.


    After doing all this, he felt as if all his strength had been drained in an instant, ¡°Let¡¯s retreat, our task here is done.¡±

 Chapter 516 03-25 - 516 94 Finale (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 516: Chapter 94: Finale (Part 2) Chapter 516: Chapter 94: Finale (Part 2) The harsh gong resounded through every corner of the fortress, signaling retreat, indicating that ¡°the cannons had been destroyed¡±.


    The barbarians inside the fortress were astonished to discover that the bipeds, who had been fighting them to the death just a second ago, turned tail and ran the next.


    The Paratu People, who had flooded into the breach like a tide, receded just as swiftly.


    Run! Run! Run for your lives! Reach the main camp and you¡¯ll survive!


    That was what everyone thought.


    Because the White Lion had come.


    There were already too many barbarians inside the fortress for them to handle; if reinforcements for the barbarians joined in? The surprise attack force would be annihilated in an instant.


    ...


    But the barbarian reinforcements didn¡¯t plunge into the fortress, instead they crisscrossed between the fortress and the main camp.


    Did the White Lion intend to swallow up this isolated force in one gulp, or did he have a grander plan?


    Winters no longer had the energy to think about it.


    He made a makeshift stretcher from a spear and clothes and, along with Heinrich, carried Andre, who was hanging onto his last breath, racing down the slope towards the main camp.


    The moonlight was faint; they could hardly see the path, stumbling deep and shallow as they ran.


    Winters¡¯ legs felt as if they were filled with lead, his armor as if it weighed a thousand pounds.


    He clenched his teeth and moved forward step by step. Those from Jeska¡¯s squad who were still alive followed behind him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Winters suddenly tripped over something and felt as though he had flown into the air.


    He glided for less than a second before crashing heavily to the ground.


    Heinrich cried out in alarm, and the other soldiers helped the Centurion up clumsily.


    The blunt trauma he had just endured began to throb with pain; there wasn¡¯t a muscle on Winters that didn¡¯t hurt, it even itched from the pain.


    He could no longer distinguish which pains were phantom and which were the body¡¯s responses.


    For a moment, he truly wanted to just lie there on the ground and never get up.


    But he struggled to his feet nonetheless.


    ¡°How is Andre?¡± he asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s fine!¡± Heinrich quickly replied, ¡°Captain Cherini wasn¡¯t hit in the fall!¡±


    Winters unhooked his helmet and tore it off.


    Stray bullets, flying arrows¡­ he was too weary to worry anymore; all he wanted in that moment was to breathe a little fresh air.


    From the direction of the main camp came clear cries and gunfire; Winters saw flashes of light near the camp walls.


    Clearly, the encircling barbarian soldiers were engaged in battle with the defenders of the main camp.


    The White Lion was not only aiming to devour the troops attacking the fortress but also hoping to breach the main camp in one fell swoop¡ªor at least to see if there was an opportunity to take advantage.


    Behind them, in the direction of the fortress, came also the sounds of battle cries and clashing weapons.


    That was Robert¡¯s squad, covering the rear, clashing with the barbarians who had charged out.


    With wolves ahead and tigers behind, if there had been a chance of ¡°taking advantage of the enemy¡¯s encirclement not being in place, using the limited time to retreat to the main camp¡± before.


    Now, Winters could be certain: it was too late.


    ¡°It¡¯s too late!¡± Winters spat, ¡°Form up! Fight your way back!¡±


    Winters stopped, and the other soldiers by his side halted as well.


    The militiamen coming up behind them, one by one, had all run out of strength.


    The fully-equipped Jeska squad consisted of six hundred and sixty militiamen and five officers.


    From Bianli, they fought their way back to The Styx, and now less than three hundred men around Winters could catch their breath.


    Colonel Jeska hurried to the front of the column.


    Seeing this scene, the Colonel took the battalion flag from the flag-bearer, ¡°Everyone, form up here around the flag!¡±


    The militiamen dragged their weary bodies, moving step by step toward the flag.


    At that moment on the battlefield, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the west, but clearly, the thundering hoofbeats in front were getting closer.


    Everyone, as if whipped on their backs, squeezed out the last bit of energy to run towards the flag.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion no longer had any formation to speak of, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, everyone desperately squeezing towards the center.


    Even if they formed a square, what then? Without carrying pikes, how could everyone armed only with short weapons and firearms confront the barbarian cavalry?


    The sound of horse hooves got closer, and the people became more and more panicked.


    Man pressed against man, the matchlock gunmen had no way to shoot. Sword and shield bearers couldn¡¯t fight either.


    ¡°Matchlockmen!¡± Winters shouted using magic to amplify his voice, ¡°Get outside!¡±


    Mason was equally frantic, yelling hoarsely, ¡°Matchlockmen! Get outside!¡±


    The crowd was like a headless fly, how could they possibly execute a formation change?


    Shouting was useless, so Winters took action, pulling matchlockmen out of the human wall one by one.


    But the sound of hooves was getting closer and closer, and it was already too late.


    ¡°It¡¯s us! Don¡¯t shoot!¡± the newcomers shouted. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre emerged from the night, followed closely by the Dusacks. Mixed in among the light Dusack cavalry were some pistol cavaliers.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters grabbed the bridle of Pierre¡¯s warhorse.


    After the retreat order was given, the Paratu cavalry were the first to break away from the fight. Winters had thought they were safe back at the main camp.


    ¡°Barbarians are blocking the front! We¡¯ve been separated from Colonel Castor!¡± Pierre replied briefly, ¡°The barbarians are coming this way!¡±


    Behind Pierre, an even more terrifying sound of hoofbeats was closing in.


    In the center of the crowd, Colonel Jeska, holding high the battalion flag, suddenly shouted, ¡°Matchlockmen stand up! Everyone else get down!¡±


    Hearing this command, everyone was at a loss.


    Suddenly, an idea flashed in Winters¡¯ mind.


    ¡°Get down! Everyone get down!¡± he commanded using magic to amplify his voice, ¡°Matchlockmen stand up! Only the matchlockmen stand up!¡±


    The magically amplified voice clearly reached every ear.


    Without understanding, the militiamen instinctively obeyed Centurion Montaigne¡¯s order.


    One person lay down, and others followed, more and more people getting down.


    The crowded formation began to loosen¡ªbecause lying down takes up more space than standing, the formation started to expand outward.


    Mason also grasped what Colonel Jeska meant.


    ¡°Matchlockmen, do not lie down!¡± Lieutenant Mason pulled up the matchlockmen lying on the ground, ¡°Stand up! Cowards will be executed!¡±


    Soon, only the matchlockmen remained standing on the slope, while everyone else was lying down.


    The shooting space that hadn¡¯t existed before was now available.


    ¡°Prepare the matchlocks! Load your ammunition! Fire on my command!¡± Winters shouted as he walked, ¡°Everyone else! Stand up on command!¡±


    The matchlockmen, as if awakening from a dream, each took out their paper cartridges containing gunpowder and bullets and began the loading process.


    ¡°Mr. Michel!¡± Colonel Jeska in the center of the circle shouted to Pierre, ¡°You¡¯re in command of the cavalry! Take them to the back!¡±


    Pierre saluted from afar and blew a whistle, leading the cavalry towards the hillside.


    The thunderous sound of galloping hooves grew closer; this time, it was not their own cavalry but the ferocious barbarians.


    One by one, Hurd¡¯s light cavalry emerged in single file from the cover of night.


    Seeing the Paratu People¡¯s peculiar formation, the leading barbarians were startled and hesitant, unsure whether to advance.


    However, as a Hong Lingyu arrived on the battlefield, the barbarians started to move with more purpose.


    Over three hundred barbarian riders, with about a hundred dismounting, took something from their backs.


    Winters saw clearly that what the barbarians held in their hands were firearms; they were mounted gunmen.


    The barbarian gunmen loaded their ammunition and fixed their fuses, steadily advancing towards Jeska¡¯s troops.


    The remaining two hundred plus cavalry split into two groups, attempting to encircle from the left and right.


    A hundred riders surrounding could envelop ten thousand men.


    The booming hoofbeats from all directions reached the ears of the militiamen on the ground, some of whom desperately buried their heads in the grass as if that could spare them from calamity.


    The barbarian gunmen approached within about sixty meters and began firing at Jeska¡¯s troops.


    Bullets flew wildly, and one after another, gunmen were brought down.


    If they were to return fire against the barbarians, it would fall right into their trap.


    ¡°Aim for their cavalry! Don¡¯t be scared!¡± Winters gauged the distance of the enemy cavalry, ¡°Gunmen! Get ready!¡±


    Fifty meters.


    Some Paratu People shivered with prayer.


    Forty meters.


    The roar of the hooves was deafening.


    Thirty meters.


    Winters could already see the steam billowing from the nostrils of the enemy warhorses.


    He bellowed, ¡°Fire!¡±


    Every Paratu gunman pressed the firing lever without hesitation.


    The sound of over two hundred guns firing was like a single shot.


    The frontmost barbarian riders were mowed down like wheat beneath a scythe.


    The following barbarian cavalry gritted their teeth, ducked low, and continued their charge.


    Colonel Jeska roared, ¡°Stand up! Everyone!¡±


    ¡°Stand up!¡± Winters pulled up the soldier next to him, used a spell to amplify his voice, and commanded sternly, ¡°Stand up!¡±


    The militiamen were incapable of following such a tactical order, and so was the Standing Army.


    But Winters¡¯s soldiers trusted him, just as they trusted their own eyes and hands.


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯s order, Montaigne¡¯s troops unhesitatingly stood up.


    Some militiamen did not dare to rise, but many more followed the example of Montaigne¡¯s troops and got to their feet.


    Like dragons¡¯ teeth sprouting warriors, the Paratu People ¡°burrowed¡± out of the ground.


    No words could describe the shock felt by the barbarians.


    The barbarian riders were within mere meters of Jeska¡¯s troops; they had only one thing to do¡ªcollision.


    The warriors on the outermost edge had already closed their eyes.


    But nothing happened.


    The barbarians¡¯ warhorses neighed, lifting their forelegs high, almost rearing up.


    The leading barbarian riders stopped less than three meters from Jeska¡¯s troops.


    Was it the riders who were afraid, or the warhorses?


    Winters did not know, but he saw an opportunity.


    Only a few barbarian riders were unable to slow down in time and charged into the crowd, the riders flung from their saddles, and in turn, knocking a few slow-reacting militiamen into the air.


    The barbarian charge had not unleashed its full power, nor had the Paratu People broken.


    The battle turned into a fair melee.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters, brandishing his saber, lunged at the enemy.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± Every warrior in Jeska¡¯s troops raised their weapons high, rushing towards the nearest barbarian.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± Even the gunmen swung the butts of their guns, shouting as they attacked the enemy.


    The barbarians quickly regained their senses; though their charge was disrupted, they still possessed the strength to fight.


    The mounted barbarians, from a higher position, wielded their scimitars, with a single slash capable of severing arms and necks.


    Jeska¡¯s warriors grabbed the reins of the warhorses, madly thrusting their swords at the enemy.


    The ¡°bang, bang¡± of gunfire continued unabated. It wasn¡¯t Paratu People firing; it was the barbarian gunmen.


    Bullets flew chaotically, hitting who knows who, as both sides fought their chosen enemies.


    ¡°Ura!¡± Pierre, with the last of the cavalry, charged down from the hillside.


    He did not join the fray¡ªas in the dark the Paratu People could not distinguish friend from foe and would kill anyone on horseback¡ªbut rode around the battlefield, heading for the barbarian gunmen behind.


    Battle cries rose from behind the barbarian gunmen as well; about twenty black-armored cavalry, drawn into a straight line, charged with a momentum that overpowered thousands of troops: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    Those black-armored cavalry did not hesitate, smashing through the barbarian gunmen¡¯s formation without swerving or avoiding.


    Colonel Castor had returned!


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Colonel Jeska pulled Winters out from the frantic melee.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done it!¡± Winters, gasping for breath, couldn¡¯t hide his excitement, ¡°We¡¯ve made it! The barbarians are scared!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not over yet!¡± Colonel Jeska handed the banner to Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne! You will lead the vanguard!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Winters saluted with great sincerity.


    Colonel Jeska seemed to be smiling, fixing Winters¡¯s helmet and giving it a light tap, ¡°Don¡¯t be so reckless in the future.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡± Winters nodded repeatedly, unaccustomed to Colonel Jeska¡¯s newfound gentleness.


    A gunshot suddenly sounded in the distance.


    Amidst the cries, screams of agony, and clashes of weaponry, Winters really shouldn¡¯t have noticed the gunshot, but he distinctly heard it.


    He also heard the sharp whizz of something cutting through the air, and a breeze seemed to brush his face.


    Then a ¡°ping¡± resonated, a sound Winters knew well¡ªthe sound of a lead bullet shattering against armor.


    Pieces of the bullet even splattered against Winters¡¯s faceplate.


    Winters closed his eyes, yet he felt no impact from the bullet.


    He opened his eyes in alarm: ¡°Colonel! Are you¡­¡±


    ¡°Winters¡­¡± Colonel Jeska was unusually calm, even more so than usual, ¡°I¡­ I think I can¡¯t see anymore¡­¡±

 Chapter 517 03-25 - 517 95 Finale (Continued)

    ?Chapter 517: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) Chapter 517: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) ¡°`


    For soldiers, nothing is more tragic than defeat, except victory follows closely behind as a disaster.


    If anyone doubts this saying, just take them to see the wounded soldiers¡¯ camp.


    In order not to affect the morale of the troops with the sight of the wounded, the Paratu army¡¯s medical tent is set up in the most secluded corner of the main camp.


    Late at night, inside the half-open military tent.


    Several surgeons, like butchers, rolled up their sleeves and bustled about the operating table.


    Rather than sharp scalpels and delicate forceps, they used saws and cautery irons even more.


    The wails of the injured never ceased, chilling to the listeners¡¯ bone.


    ...


    Amputated arms and legs piled carelessly outside the tent, some still with remnants of military uniforms attached.


    The night was dark, and some people accidentally stepped on them, mistaking them for discarded wooden debris.


    The medical tent looked like a slaughterhouse, and anyone seeing it for the first time couldn¡¯t help but feel nauseated.


    The medics and their assistants walked through the bloody mire as if accustomed to it.


    Please do not blame them, for the care they were providing was far superior to any contemporary army¡¯s medical treatment.


    The sound of gunfire was not far away, as the barbarians were attacking the southern camp walls.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    The Paratu People raided the fortress, and the barbarians had to fight back.


    The battle was not over, and despite the medical tent operating over capacity, the number of soldiers crying and waiting for treatment grew.


    ¡°Caman!¡± Winters, covered in blood, burst into the medical tent, desperately searching, ¡°Doctor! Priest Caman!¡±


    A team that seemed to have returned from hell followed the Centurion, the lightly wounded carrying the gravely injured, almost no one was without an injury.


    In a tent in the corner of the medical tent, Caman was performing surgery.


    He was pale and weary, with the only trace of his clerical status being the holy emblem hanging in front of his chest.


    The soldier lying on the operating table had his left shin bone smashed by a blunt weapon; amputation was necessary.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡±


    Hearing the commotion outside the tent, Caman asked without lifting his head, his hands never ceasing their movement.


    The sharp scalpel cut through skin, fat, and tendon until the bone was laid bare.


    His assistant held a red-hot iron, periodically cauterizing the bleeding points.


    Three other strapping assistants firmly restrained the soldier who had been given strong liquor, so he could not thrash about.


    Speed was life; the faster the amputation was completed, the greater the chance of the injured person¡¯s survival.


    ¡°It¡¯s Centurion Montaigne!¡± another assistant of Caman exclaimed.


    ¡°Move the remaining patients to the other doctors! Now!¡± Caman dropped the scalpel, grabbed the saw and began sawing the shin bone.


    His hands were steady, and it took just a dozen or so passes to saw through the shin and fibula bones. The assistant promptly cauterized the blood vessels and seamlessly took over the suturing.


    From the first incision to the completion of the amputation, it took less than three minutes total.


    ¡°Over here!¡± Caman stepped out of the tent, waving and shouting, ¡°Mr. Montaigne! Over here!¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing familiar faces being carried into the medical tent one after another, Caman¡¯s complexion turned even paler.


    Caman bluntly asked Winters, ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. Mitchell?¡±


    ¡°At the back,¡± Winters¡¯s eyes watered, ¡°He¡¯s taken an arrow to the neck; he¡¯s not going to make it.¡±


    He watched helplessly as Pierre, who opened the way for the whole troop, was shot down by a stray arrow, while Anglu, Bell, and Vashka desperately dragged their companion back.


    But he had to keep moving, for he bore the flag, and everyone was looking to him.


    Jeska¡¯s company had broken through the enemy¡¯s lines with sheer determination and fought their way back to the main camp.


    ¡°Get Mr. Mitchell on the operating table!¡± Caman then asked Winters, ¡°How about you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Winters¡¯s face remained hidden beneath his helmet, for he didn¡¯t want others to see the tear stains, ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Caman said softly, ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t saw off my arm! No!¡± Andre screamed in despair, ¡°Whoever dares¡­ I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The soldiers held his limbs down firmly, fearing that Lieutenant Chelini¡¯s wound would burst open again.


    Andre struggled to break free, but with so much blood lost, he had little strength left.


    Andre¡¯s consciousness began to blur as he wept and pleaded, ¡°Don¡¯t let them saw off my arm¡­ Winters¡­ don¡¯t let them¡­¡±


    Andre¡¯s voice grew weaker, and soon he fell unconscious again, his previous agitation merely the last burst of energy before passing out.


    Winters felt a pain in his chest as if being twisted by a knife, nearly unable to stand, he listened to the medic¡¯s words like a walking corpse.


    The chief medic told Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Chelini¡¯s wound cannot be stitched up, he must be amputated promptly. Otherwise, Lieutenant Chelini will be in mortal danger.¡±


    The chief medic also told Winters, ¡°The lead bullet fragments can¡¯t be removed, Colonel Jeska¡¯s right eye also needs to be excised.¡±


    Winters approached Colonel Jeska¡¯s bedside, feeling a crushing sadness and helplessness that left him gasping for breath.


    ¡°Is that you?¡± Colonel Jeska reached out, groping towards darkness, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne?¡±


    Winters grasped Colonel Jeska¡¯s hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, ¡°Colonel, it¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Winters,¡± Jeska, who was always stern-faced, had now completely relaxed.


    His demeanor was serene and calm, as if he felt no sorrow for himself, ¡°A clay pot broken at the well, a general dead in battle. Isn¡¯t this quite common?¡±


    The tent was quiet, only soft sobs could be heard.


    ¡°Do you have any liquor on you?¡± Colonel Jeska asked softly.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 518 03-25 - 518 95 Finale (Continued) - Part 2

    ?Chapter 518: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) ¨C Part 2 Chapter 518: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) ¨C Part 2 Winters did not have the habit of drinking, but he could not bring himself to say ¡°no.¡± He suddenly remembered the flask given to him by Alpad, which he had always carried with him.


    Winters immediately took out the flask and placed it in Colonel Jeska¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Oh, this flask.¡± Colonel Jeska felt the shape of the flask, unscrewed the cap, and took a small sip.


    Then, he fumbled from his bosom and took out a twill cotton bag: ¡°I have a gift for you, Winters.¡±


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t accept this.¡± At this moment, Winters couldn¡¯t bring himself to accept the Colonel¡¯s gift.


    ¡°Just open it and see.¡± Colonel Jeska seemed to be smiling.


    Inside the twill cotton bag was an oiled cloth package, and inside the oiled cloth package were maps, many, many maps. From the Great Wilderness to Paratu, all were personally drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    ...


    ¡°I have no use for this thing anymore, it¡¯s yours from now on. The ability to work with maps, don¡¯t let it slide, it will be of great use,¡± Colonel Jeska said calmly as he lay on the military cot, as if to conclude an affair of his heart: ¡°Go now, let me rest for a while.¡±


    ¡­


    Caman found Winters in an uninhabited corner of the medical post: ¡°Is Lieutenant Cherini going to have an amputation?¡±


    After wiping away his tears, Winters turned around: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Take me to see him.¡±


    The medical posts for officers and soldiers were not in the same place; Caman had been in the soldiers¡¯ medical post, while Colonel Jeska and Andre were in the officers¡¯ medical post.


    Winters took Caman and burst into the surgery tent; Andre had already been placed on the operating table and was about to be cut open.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Caman, ignoring the surprised gazes of others, went straight to Andre to examine the wound.


    ¡°Montaigne Lieutenant, what are you doing?¡± the chief medical officer asked discontentedly.


    The chief medical officer, without a military rank, had a status equivalent to a field officer¡¯s and was far more venerable than a Centurion.


    Winters stood silently in front of the chief medical officer, not knowing what Caman intended to do.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them saw off my arm,¡± Andre¡¯s desperate plea echoed in his ears.


    If it really came to amputating Andre¡¯s limb, Winters would rather Caman be the one to operate.


    ¡°Get out! I¡¯m about to perform the surgery!¡±


    Winters did not move an inch.


    ¡°Do you want to kill Lieutenant Cherini?¡± the chief medical officer rebuked sharply. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, Caman spoke up: ¡°Take him to my place!¡±


    Winters nodded, and four fearsome soldiers barged in, lifted the operating table, and headed out of the tent.


    No one dared to block their way.


    Andre was carried back to Caman¡¯s surgery tent, where his vital signs were growing weaker.


    In a haze of consciousness, Andre still murmured pleas: ¡°Don¡¯t saw¡­ don¡¯t saw off my arm¡­¡±


    Caman put down the tent curtain, completely covered the windows, and drove everyone away¡ªincluding his medical assistant.


    Apart from him and Andre, only Winters was left in the tent as an assistant.


    ¡°More lights!¡± Caman demanded.


    Winters ignited a fire spell, lighting all the oil lamps in the tent.


    Caman held out a nondescript black wooden box.


    Upon opening the box, a set of silver surgical instruments glittered under the lamp light.


    This set of instruments was exceptionally delicate, more so than the bloodletting set Winters had seen in the dungeons of Sea Blue City; there were as many as twelve sizes of tweezers alone.


    Caman chose one of them: ¡°Give me light!¡±


    Winters held up an oil lamp, illuminating Andre¡¯s wound for Caman.


    Caman squinted his eyes, beginning to pick bullet fragments out of Andre¡¯s wound with the tweezers.


    ¡°Not bright enough! We need more lamps!¡± Caman¡¯s tone was undeniable.


    Winters picked up another oil lamp.


    ¡°Still not bright enough!¡±


    Winters put down the lamp, took out his spellcasting materials, and unreservedly unleashed a Luminosity Spell.


    Dazzling white light instantly filled the tent, even reaching blinding intensity.


    ¡°Like this! Keep it steady!¡±


    Caman worked swiftly, picking out fragments of lead from the ghastly wound on Andre¡¯s right arm.


    It was an extremely delicate task, akin to carving on a walnut.


    Some fragments were so small that they were no bigger than a grain of wheat. Some were embedded in the flesh, requiring an incision for removal.


    Caman placed the extracted fragments in a dish, roughly assembling them into the shape of a bullet, with only a part missing.


    After checking the wound three times, Caman confirmed there were no remaining bullet fragments.


    ¡°That¡¯s all of them,¡± Caman muttered to himself: ¡°The defects in the lead bullet in the dish should be the parts that shattered when it broke through the arm armor, not entering Mr. Cherini¡¯s arm.¡±


    Winters was at the brink of his spellcasting limit.


    The consumption of the Luminosity Spell was not particularly large, assuming the spellcaster controlled the power output. If driven without reserve, no spell could last very long.


    Hearing Caman¡¯s words, Winters suddenly relaxed his spirit, and the bright orb in his hands dimmed by three shades.


    ¡°Hold it steady! It¡¯s not over!¡± Caman barked.


    Winters clenched his teeth and pushed himself to the brink once more.


    One second Winters felt as if he were thrown into the mouth of a volcano, the next into an ice cellar, the phantom pain making his body uncontrollably tremble.


    The light in his hands grew even more dazzling than before¡ªeven becoming more intense.


    It was not that Winters had broken through his limits in the face of danger, but rather he was no longer able to control the magical power output and could only push it higher in desperation.


    Utilizing the inevitably brief light, Caman rapidly excised the dead, rotten, and scabbed tissues from Andre¡¯s wound.


    The scalpel transformed into a precise carving knife, as Caman shaved away the necrotic parts, preserved the intact parts, and reorganized the muscles along their natural lines.


    ¡°I cannot hold on any longer!¡± Winters yelled.

 Chapter 519 03-25 - 519 95 Finale (Continued) - Part 3

    ?Chapter 519: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) ¨C Part 3 Chapter 519: Chapter 95: Finale (Continued) ¨C Part 3 ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Caman also roared.


    Winters¡¯s vision went dark, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground.


    In a daze, he heard Caman chanting, ¡°[Ancient Language] O my Lord, forgive us our sins, lest we fall into the fires of Hellfire¡­¡±


    Struggling, Winters got up and walked over to the operating table.


    He saw Caman clutching the holy emblem tightly, reciting the scripture in a trembling voice, his face deathly pale.


    He witnessed Andre¡¯s wounds healing at a rate visible to the naked eye, with new flesh budding where muscle had been torn by lead and broken skin gradually knitting together.


    ¡°I understand it all now, no wonder you know medicine, no wonder you are skilled in surgery.¡± Winters¡¯s head buzzed, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re a Divine Arts practitioner!¡±


    ...


    Caman looked exceedingly tired, and he wrapped Andre¡¯s healed wound with a bloodied gauze, ¡°Did I ever say I was not?¡±


    The practitioner of Divine Arts that Winters had longed for was hiding right beside him. Even after being in close company for so long, he hadn¡¯t noticed at all.


    Andre¡¯s broken muscles and skin grew back together, leaving only a dark red bruise beneath the outer layer of skin.


    It was somewhat different from the Divine Arts that the old Shaman Hestas had displayed to Winters on Red Sulfur Island.


    Winters¡¯s wounds healed to the point where only a red line remained. After the scab had fallen off once, the red line disappeared completely, leaving no trace of the external injury.


    However, Andre¡¯s wounds healed very irregularly, resembling a large drop of red ink splashed on the skin, leaving a radial trace.


    ¡°Then you¡­ you¡­¡± Winters trembled, wanting to question.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    He wanted to ask, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you reveal your identity and help?¡±


    He also wanted to ask, ¡°Do you know how many people a Divine Arts practitioner could save?¡±


    But he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask; his conscience told him: Caman had already saved many lives.


    Even without revealing his identity as a practitioner of Divine Arts, he had already saved countless lives.


    He could understand Caman. How many more could a Divine Arts practitioner save by exhausting themselves completely? And what would those who were not treated think?


    Like now, did Caman receive resentment or gratitude?


    ¡°Are you going to tell them?¡± Caman faintly asked, ¡°Tell them that although I could have saved their lives, I remained indifferent?¡±


    Winters bowed his head and fell silent for a while, ¡°No one can save everyone.¡±


    ¡°Only the Lord can save everyone,¡± Caman crossed himself.


    ¡°Thank you, I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°You owe me nothing, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Caman slowly drew back the curtain, ¡°I didn¡¯t come here for you, you don¡¯t owe me anything.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Chelini is still in danger; Divine Arts cannot bring back the dead. If his fever breaks, he¡¯ll live; if not, he¡¯ll die. You go, I¡¯ll take care of him.¡±


    Winters had countless questions in his heart. He wanted to ask Caman: Why did you come to Wolf Town? Why did you join the army with us?


    But seeing the tiredness in Caman¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t ask.


    He wanted to leave but then remembered Colonel Jeska, and a flicker of hope ignited in his heart, ¡°Divine Arts, can it heal eyes?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t tried.¡±


    ¡­


    Colonel Jeska was brought into Caman¡¯s surgical tent.


    Setting aside the surgical knife, Caman took Winters outside the tent, ¡°No¡­ I can¡¯t remove the lead fragments from the eyes.¡±


    Winters punched the wooden lattice heavily.


    ¡°Completely removing the eye and ¡®recreating¡¯ it with Divine Arts, could that work?¡± Winters asked in a low voice.


    ¡°Don¡¯t probe any further¡­¡± Caman replied with difficulty, ¡°Divine Arts¡­ Divine Arts can¡¯t ¡®heal¡¯ organs as complex as the eyes.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Caman averted his gaze, almost pleading, ¡°Please, no more questions¡­¡±


    Winters was utterly baffled, but Caman¡¯s earnest tone made it unbearable for him to press further.


    ¡°Is there no other way?¡± Winters asked, both sad and angry, for there is nothing more despairing than disappointment after hope.


    Caman nodded heavily.


    Winters lowered his head and let out a long, anguished sigh.


    A green-tasseled messenger hurried over, ¡°Gentlemen, where is Colonel Laszlo? Lieutenant Colonel Robert? Captain Castor? And Colonel Jeska?¡±


    ¡°What for?!¡± Winters yelled at the messenger.


    The sudden outburst startled the messenger.


    In his eyes, this centurion, covered in blood, was probably just a foul-tempered jerk.


    The messenger stood to attention and said formally, ¡°General Sekler has summoned the officers.¡±


    Jeska couldn¡¯t go to see Sekler. Laszlo, Robert, and Castor were likewise unable, as they were also injured.


    So General Sekler came to the medical station himself.


    Winters wasn¡¯t qualified to attend the meeting, but Jeska kept him there.


    ¡°This lad is good,¡± Colonel Jeska said, holding Winters¡¯s arm, ¡°He is to take up my flag.¡±


    Taking the flag, in the language of the Paratu People, meant succession¡ªa very serious implication.


    The command of Jeska¡¯s squadron was officially transferred. By tradition, the unit should be called ¡°Montaigne¡¯s Squadron¡± from this moment forth.


    But nobody on the scene cared about that; they had more pressing matters at hand.


    ¡°Gentlemen?¡± General Sekler¡¯s piercing gaze swept over each subordinate, ¡°What was the mission I gave you?¡±

 Chapter 520 03-25 - 520 96 The End (Part 2)

    ?Chapter 520: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) Chapter 520: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¡°Retake the Southern Highlands fortress tonight. Victory means life, defeat means death.¡±


    That was the general¡¯s order.


    The westerly wind cackled as it swept through the tent, a chill passing over everyone¡¯s spines.


    ¡°Has the Southern Highlands fortress been retaken?¡±


    No one answered; the fortress was still in the hands of the White Lion.


    ¡°Take a short rest.¡± Sekler¡¯s tone left no room for dispute, ¡°Your mission remains to retake the Southern Highlands fortress.¡±


    With that, the general turned and left.


    ...


    Colonel Laszlo had been shot in the right leg. He sat on a three-legged stool, expressionlessly packing his pipe as if the matter had nothing to do with him.


    Lieutenant Colonels Robert and Castor had ashen faces, but neither of them spoke.


    The tent was silent as death.


    A hoarse voice rang out behind Sekler, ¡°All the cannons have been destroyed; I destroyed them myself.¡±


    The general did not acknowledge, nor did he stop his steps, simply walking out.


    So many men had thrown their lives away on the mountain, swarming the walls like ants under a hail of bullets, fighting hand-to-hand in corridors too narrow to turn around. Was it all vain because of a casual command from the high-ups?


    ¡°I used the Iron Melting Technique.¡± Winters struggled to suppress his emotions, his body trembling, ¡°The White Lion can¡¯t even cram a cannonball in.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    A military family background, ten years of military academy education, and a year and a half of military life had molded Winters Montagne into a ¡°systemized¡± individual.


    No one saw through it more clearly than Antonio Serviati: the military academies, structured after the Monastery, were ultimately churning out batch after batch of ¡°Ascetic Monks¡± and ¡°Zealots.¡±


    Winters hardly knew anything about the world outside the military. From the moment he was born, he was placed within this system.


    Loyalty, duty, executing orders, respecting superiors¡­ Obedience to authority was practically seared into his marrow.


    This was why he fought so ¡°ardently¡± for the Republic of Paratu¡ªhe wasn¡¯t even aware of it himself.


    A systemized individual actually doesn¡¯t care who gives the orders, as long as there are orders to follow.


    Being part of the greater whole¡ªthis subconscious act gave him an irreplaceable sense of security because it was the life he had always known.


    In fact, it was not that the Paratu military needed Winters Montagne; it was Winters Montagne who needed the military.


    Like a young sapling, he had been fitted into a mold and tied with ropes from the start, guided to grow in a predetermined direction.


    But humans have limits, even those who are systemized.


    The tightly wound strings snapped one by one, and the faces of fallen soldiers emerged in front of Winters¡¯s eyes.


    They didn¡¯t die for Paratu, let alone for Sekler. They trusted him, loved him, and it was for him that they fearlessly risked their lives against the barbarians¡ªthey died for him.


    Winters drew his saber, charging towards the general¡¯s retreating figure while shouting in grief and anger, ¡°What exactly do you want me to do? All for that damned hill! My men have all to die there! All to die there!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert immediately reached out to grab Winters. He had an injury on his tongue and couldn¡¯t speak, letting out anxious mumbling sounds. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor also grabbed Winters¡¯s other arm, ¡°Insolence! You¡­ you¡¯re drunk!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be rash!¡± The voice of Lieutenant Colonel Jeska came from his cot in the darkness, futilely stretching out an arm trying to stop Winters.


    Colonel Laszlo, using the oil lamp to light his pipe, hung his eyelids low, leisurely puffing smoke.


    ¡°Philpot! Mihali! Solt¡­¡± The names of the fallen soldiers were cried out one after another by Winters.


    Sekler, with one leg already outside the tent, paused his steps. He stood silently for two or three seconds, then suddenly turned back towards Winters.


    He looked straight into the lieutenant¡¯s eyes, asking coldly, ¡°Do I need to tell you my plan?¡±


    ¡°Go to hell!!!¡± Winters struggled frantically, anger burning in his eyes.


    Castor and Robert stumbled as he pulled them, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert managed to wrest the saber from his hand.


    ¡°Winters! Don¡¯t be impulsive! Don¡¯t do this!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska almost pleaded. No, he was begging.


    Sekler slowly wiped the spittle from his face and dropped a bombshell, ¡°The bridge, in fact, is already passable!¡±


    Everyone in the tent, including Winters, was shocked.


    ¡°The bridge structure is less than thirty meters from the opposite riverbank. Lieutenant Colonel Alec (an engineer) has a plan to rigidly fix the first fifteen meters of the floating bridge to the foremost bridge piles. For the next ten meters, people are sent to the opposite bank to secure it with cables. The last five meters, they¡¯ll just wade through the water,¡± Seleuc explained, looking at everyone in the tent, speaking slowly and deliberately, ¡°Besides me, Alpad, and Lieutenant Colonel Alec, you¡¯re the only ones who know this.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor muttered softly, ¡°If the bridge is already passable, why don¡¯t we retreat?¡±


    ¡°Can we retreat?!¡± Sekler roared, ¡°The Herders are guarding the camp¡¯s outer ring; can we retreat?! The White Lion has brought at least thirty thousand reinforcements, three major divisions followed by numerous lesser tribes ¡®all putting forth their first-born sons¡¯! Tell me, why hasn¡¯t he launched the final assault yet?¡±


    Sekler did not wait for his subordinates to answer, scolding sharply, ¡°Because he is waiting for the very moment when the bridge is completed! With a way out in front and pursuers behind. Without the White Lion exerting any effort, we will collapse into a rout!¡±


    The logic was too straightforward, and Winters couldn¡¯t refute.


    The bridge was a symbol of hope, the spiritual pillar of the Paratu People fighting with their backs to the river.


    But if the bridge were truly completed, it would not be a final stand but ¡°besieging Wei to rescue Zhao.¡±

 Chapter 521 03-25 - 521 96 The End (Part 2) - 2

    ?Chapter 521: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 2 Chapter 521: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 2 ¡°`


    Waiting for the Paratu People will not be an ¡°escape to heaven,¡± but a ¡°halfway ambush.¡±


    In front of them are tens of thousands of extremely vicious barbarians, and behind them, the only way to survive. If one person throws down their weapons and runs, morale will collapse like dominoes.


    Sekler¡¯s tone was ice-cold, ¡°I need you to recapture the fortress in the Southern Highlands, not just for the cannons, but to block the enemy¡¯s line of sight and clear out the Herders in the trenches. With the Southern Highlands in their possession, the enemy has a clear view of our camp; they know our every move. Tell me, can you walk away?¡±


    No one could answer that question.


    Sekler¡¯s speech sped up, ¡°When you strike, Alpad will lead another force to clear the enemy attacking the camp, and a platoon from the Northern Highlands fortress will move out to reinforce you. A squadron of Piaoqi has already crossed the river by boat downstream, and as soon as your battle begins, I will send people to build a bridge.


    I need you to attract the attention of the Herders and beat the White Lion at the game of timing. Make him think we¡¯re still fighting for the fortress, make him think the bridge isn¡¯t fixed yet. Three hours! Within three hours, everyone must cross the river!


    Survive and live! Fail and die! Do you think I¡¯m speaking nonsense? After the army has been fighting for hundreds of miles, less than half can still wield a sword. You bleed, and you think others don¡¯t?!¡±


    ...


    Silence, only silence filled the tent.


    ¡°Strip him of his duties! If he doesn¡¯t want to go, then he doesn¡¯t have to go! Laszlo, Jeska¡¯s battalion is now under your command!¡±


    Having said that, Sekler turned and left, this time he did not look back.


    ¡­


    After a brief rest and slight reinforcements, the raiding squadron once again set out from the camp.


    This time they did not go directly to the Southern Highlands but first circled northwest.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    There they would join with Colonel Bod¡¯s troops before moving on the Southern Highlands fortress.


    Meanwhile, another force was assembling outside the north wall of the camp, led by Alpad.


    They would strike at the enemy¡¯s flank who were attacking the south wall of the camp, repel these enemies, and prevent them from reinforcing the Southern Highlands fortress.


    A silver-grey warhorse stepped out of the night.


    Anglu led Warhorse over to Winters, and upon seeing his master, the horse cheerfully snorted.


    As he got closer, however, Warhorse twitched his nose in displeasure, clearly not liking the smell of blood on Winters.


    Winters wanted to feed Warhorse a sugar cube, searched around for a while, and then suddenly remembered he had not brought his sugar bag.


    ¡°Do you have sugar?¡± Winters asked Anglu.


    ¡°Sugar?¡± Anglu widened his eyes, searched for a long time, and then apologetically said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any today.¡±


    ¡°Quit your whining.¡± Winters patted Warhorse¡¯s neck and began to check the tack.


    He adjusted the breastplate to the proper fit, carefully inspected underneath the saddle to make sure not a single straw was left; diligently smoothed Warhorse¡¯s skin where it made contact with the saddle, leaving no wrinkle.


    Lt. Col. Castor came over riding his black Warhorse, dismounted beside Winters, and admired Warhorse, ¡°That¡¯s a fine horse. It¡¯s a shame it ends up in the hands of infantrymen like you.¡±


    Winters could not be bothered with Castor.


    Castor was not offended and asked again, ¡°Didn¡¯t Sekler say you don¡¯t need to go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned if I volunteer!¡± Winters snapped back, irritated.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, without you, your men would die even more.¡± Castor chuckled and then got to the point, ¡°Sekler talked about relieving you of your duties, just take it as a fart in the wind. You¡¯re to be in reserve, and we¡¯ll lead the charge.¡±


    ¡°What the hell?¡± Winters asked with his eyes.


    ¡°Laszlo means that if we can win the fight, you follow up. If we get wiped out, you have every right to withdraw.¡± said Castor nonchalantly, ¡°In this war between Paratu and the barbarians, we can¡¯t always let you Venetians steal the limelight.¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    Castor was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and asked, ¡°You always give me that side-eye. You still holding a grudge over that whip in Wolf Town?¡±


    At the Mitchell estate, Castor had lashed Winters with a whip for no reason. While Winters didn¡¯t hold a ¡°grudge,¡± his temperament wasn¡¯t so good as to turn the other cheek after being slapped.


    In short, Winters bore no good feelings toward Castor, maintaining only a reluctant courtesy.


    Fortunately, their paths rarely crossed, and they encountered each other only a handful of times.


    ¡°No answer? So there is a grudge?¡± Castor asked.


    ¡°Damn right!¡± Winters retorted irritably, ¡°What gave you the right to lash me out of the blue?¡±


    Castor¡¯s tone was full of resignation, ¡°You Venetians are so petty! ¡®Revenge is the greatest joy in life,¡¯ isn¡¯t that what you Venetians say?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t bother to argue and turned back to his tack.


    Lt. Col. Castor pushed further, smirking, ¡°How about you give me a punch? That would make us square¡­¡±


    Winters turned, throwing a right hook into Castor¡¯s left cheek.


    Castor was knocked off his feet, stumbled like a drunk, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, ¡°You really dared to hit me!¡±


    Winters shook his wrist, mounted up, and rode off.


    Lt. Col. Castor, holding his cheek, stood up and yelled at Winters¡¯s departing back, ¡°Now we¡¯re even! Square and no debts!¡±


    ¡­


    Colonel Bod and his troops waited in the valley between the Southern and Northern Highlands. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The troops departing from the camp first headed northwest, crossed the trenches, then turned southwest, and finally joined with Colonel Bod¡¯s group.


    As ordered by Lt. Col. Robert, each of the troops departing from the camp carried three torches.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 522 03-25 - 522 96 The End (Part 3)

    ?Chapter 522: Chapter 96: The End (Part 3) Chapter 522: Chapter 96: The End (Part 3) ¡°`


    After the two forces joined, Colonel Bod took over the command.


    The existing troops were no longer sufficient to divide for feint attacks or to conduct an overwhelming siege.


    The only feasible plan was to attack through the breach on the west side, the same location where Colonel Laszlo launched his previous assault.


    The White Lion had not reinforced the defenders; his reinforcements were probing the southern wall of the main camp.


    Outside the southern wall of the main camp, the battle had already begun.


    Alpad led eighteen fully organized companies¡ªincluding the Standing Army, auxiliary troops, and sappers, with the last of the light and heavy Cavalry as the spearhead¡ªthrusting fiercely into the left flank of the barbarians.


    If Alpad could rout or block this section of the enemy, then it would be a fight between cripples at the Southern Highlands fortress.


    ...


    With the addition of Bod¡¯s large unit, the Paratu side still had a chance of victory.


    Seeing the situation of the allied troops, Colonel Bod volunteered to take the lead, with his Sixth Legion¡¯s main company as the first echelon.


    Colonel Laszlo¡¯s Fifth Legion¡¯s main company and Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s Second Company of the Sixth Legion formed the second echelon.


    The troops of Winters were in reserve.


    To ensure the impact, Lieutenant Colonel Castor¡¯s Cavalry also participated in the first wave of the attack.


    Even with the addition of Bod¡¯s troops, the total force for the second wave of the attack was only about a thousand.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡°The battle has started at the camp! There¡¯s no need for us to hide or disguise! We must make our presence known! Strike fear into the barbarians¡¯ hearts!¡± Colonel Bod, mounted on his horse, passed in front of everyone: ¡°Raise the banners! Light the torches!¡±


    First one, then two torches were lit, with flames quickly spreading, looking from a distance like a giant flame serpent emerging from the ground.


    The barbarian sentinels on the Southern Highlands fortress were startled, and for a moment they even forgot to sound the alarm.


    It was only when the serpent of fire slowly crawled forward that Winters heard the horn sounds from the hillside.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s scare tactics were effective; the fortress was now in chaos.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Wake up!¡± a Herder shouted as he ran: ¡°[Herde Language] The bipeds are coming! At least ten thousand!¡±


    A Herder shouted back angrily: ¡°[Herde Language] Nonsense! Impossible ten thousand, at most three thousand! You¡¯re lying!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] My sword! Where¡¯s my sword?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Who took my horse?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Some Herders were frantically putting on their armor, while others, holding on to their warhorses, slipped away quietly.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The chilling war cry came from the west side of the fortress.


    The crude wooden palisade was pulled down, and the black-armored Cavalry stormed into the fort like thunder, followed closely by Bod¡¯s sword-and-shield infantry.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert and Colonel Laszlo observed the battle from a hundred meters away, with their troops also waiting just outside the walls, a hundred meters away.


    Learning from the last lesson, this time the Paratu People didn¡¯t rush in all at once but ascended the walls in batches.


    Colonel Laszlo took a long, hard drag on his last cigarette, as if wanting to inhale everything from the pipe into his lungs.


    Then, he knocked his boot heel against the pipe to clean the bowl and passed the pipe to his junior, Lieutenant Colonel Robert.


    ¡°It¡¯s yours now.¡±


    ¡°For me?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert took the pipe with a muffled voice and asked, ¡°But I don¡¯t smoke. Sergeant Major?¡±


    A rare smile appeared on the corner of Colonel Laszlo¡¯s mouth: ¡°It was a gift from my son; he wanted to learn carving, but I forced him into the military instead¡­¡±


    Robert was astonished and quickly waved his hands: ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ Ah!¡±


    While speaking, he accidentally moved his wound. His mouth was sweet with blood¡ªobviously bleeding again.


    ¡°Charge!¡± Colonel Laszlo pulled out his sword, fiercely spurring his horse in the ribs, charging at the frontrunners toward the fortress.


    The soldiers behind him screamed and charged forward.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, caught off guard, could only shove the pipe into his jacket and spur his horse to follow.


    A hundred meters behind the forces of Robert and Laszlo¡ªbeyond the range of musket fire¡ªMontaigne¡¯s unit was on standby.


    Winters watched the battle, biting his lip anxiously.


    His warhorse Strongrun also sensed Winters¡¯s agitation, pacing restlessly.


    Winters had grown completely weary of this war. He no longer wanted to fight for the Paratu People, but deep down he hoped that Colonel Bod, Colonel Laszlo, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert would prevail.


    At the same time, Winters closely observed his surroundings, having sent out all his Dusacks as scouts.


    Would the White Lion send a second reinforcement? He did not know.


    The previous defenders of the fortress were from the Red River Tribe, but he didn¡¯t know about the reinforcements. Apart from his own forces, whether the White Lion could mobilize forces from other tribes was unclear to Winters.


    The decision-making process within the Herders was an enigma to the Paratu People.


    They didn¡¯t even know who exactly was leading this barbarian army, yet everyone knew of ¡°the White Lion.¡± So much so that ¡°the White Lion¡± had abstracted from an individual into ¡°the leader of the barbarians.¡±


    Suddenly, he heard a succession of hoofbeats from ahead.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡± Heinrich called out sharply. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The approaching rider shouted, ¡°It¡¯s me! Balrog!¡±


    Lieutenant Balrog was one of Colonel Bod¡¯s Centurions.


    ¡°The barbarians can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡± Lieutenant Balrog charged up to Winters, yelling, ¡°Colonel Bod orders your unit to strike immediately! Crush them completely!¡±


    Winters turned around and looked at his warriors: ¡°Do you still believe in me?¡±


    ¡°Long live!¡± Ish from Ganshui Town, the first to cry out, banged on his breastplate: ¡°Blood Wolf!¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf!¡± Even those who weren¡¯t his old subordinates shouted: ¡°Long live!¡±


    Mason said softly, ¡°They¡¯re willing to follow you, even if it¡¯s into hell. Give the order.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 523 03-25 - 523 96 The End (Part 2) - 4

    ?Chapter 523: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 4 Chapter 523: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 4 Winters¡¯s eyes stung, and he pulled down his faceplate, drawing his sabre, ¡°Then follow me! Charge!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The battle inside the fortress reached a stalemate, with the Paratu People gradually taking over the square, but the barbarians of the Red River Tribe still firmly controlled the walls and internal buildings.


    The warriors of the Red River Tribe were far more fierce than those of other tribes. The Paratu forces did not have the advantage, and it was instead the Red River Tribe barbarians who gradually gained a foothold.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Musketeers on the wall! Aim for their leaders!¡± The true commander of the fortress, Chiliarch Swift Hawk, holding a horse-tail standard on the eastern wall, roared orders, ¡°Flame([Herde?] first word is de_here) those most lavishly armored bipeds! Shoot those with the largest plumes on their helmets! Don¡¯t be afraid of hitting your own people¡±


    The pistol cavalry instantly became the most conspicuous targets, one after another falling from their horses, shot.


    Seeing his men continuously shot down, Colonel Castor burst with rage. He raised his scimitar, charged up the steps on his horse, and roared directly at Swift Hawk, ¡°Bastard! Your life is mine!¡±


    ¡°Fire([Herde?] first word is da_or_frequent here) at him!¡± Swift Hawk pointed at Colonel Castor with the horse-tail standard, roaring, ¡°Take down that leader!¡±


    ...


    The black warhorse was about to charge onto the wall, and the musketeers on the opposite wall aimed at Colonel Castor, pressing the firing lever.


    After several shots rang out, Colonel Castor¡¯s body seemed to shudder, and he weakly hurled his scimitar towards the horse-tail standard before his body leaned back and slid off the horse.


    Hit by two bullets, the black warhorse, without its rider¡¯s control and in pain, leaped over the wall and fell into the ditch outside.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Good! Good!¡± Chiliarch Swift Hawk laughed loudly, ¡°Reward! A hefty reward!¡±


    Suddenly, the battlefield outside the castle resounded with the Herders¡¯ dreaded battle cry ¡°Uukhai!¡± once more.


    Chiliarch Swift Hawk, shocked and with a voice raw from shouting, sounded the alarm, ¡°More bipeds are coming! Fight them to the end!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    Montaigne¡¯s silvery grey warhorse leaped up through a gap in the wall, joining the battle.


    Through the smoke and dust, Winters caught sight of the horse-tail standard and the Green Plumed Feathers on the eastern wall.


    Colonel Robert, holding Colonel Laszlo, whose life and death were uncertain, shouted from afar at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne! Scale the wall! Take down the flag!¡±


    Varga, with a hole in his face, lay quietly beside Colonel Robert; the gods hadn¡¯t protected him. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next moment, a hole appeared in Colonel Robert¡¯s breastplate, and he incredulously touched the armor, slowly toppling backward.


    ¡°Scale the wall!¡± Winters¡¯ heart felt as though it was being clenched by an invisible hand, suddenly compressing; with a cry of anguish, he shouted, ¡°Scale the wall! Musketeers! Shoot down the Green Plumed Feathers!¡±


    The Montaigne squad¡¯s sword and shield bearers and musketeers circumvented the melee and attacked the stairway leading up the wall.


    ¡°Shoot the one on the silver horse!¡± Swift Hawk spotted the Centurion on the silvery grey warhorse right away, calling to the musketeers beside him, ¡°[Herde Language] Hit his warhorse!¡±


    The enraged Winters released an Arrow Flying Spell at the Green Plumed Feathers, ¡°Shut up!¡±


    But the distance was too far; the steel dart missed its mark. The Green Plumed Feather, unharmed, watched as more and more musketeers turned their muzzles toward Winters.


    ¡°Little one, stand firm, don¡¯t move,¡± Winters whispered to his warhorse.


    Strung stood immobile, the broken wall beside him splintered with bullet hits, sending dust and wood chips flying.


    Winters kicked off his stirrups, stood in the saddle, and in Xial¡¯s cry of alarm, directly leaped onto the wall from the gap.


    Even the barbarians on the wall looked on dumbfounded.


    Not until Winters swung his warhammer, caving in the skull of a musketeer, did the other barbarians snap out of their trance.


    ¡°[Herde Language] It¡¯s that guy!¡± The musketeers and archers desperately fled, ¡°He¡¯s back again!¡±


    ¡°Him again! Want another turn?¡± Swift Hawk cursed and commanded, ¡°Arrow Quiver soldiers! Surround and kill that knight!¡±


    The tribal leaders had chosen their bravest warriors to guard the great tents, allowing them to carry arrow quivers by their side, hence known as ¡°Arrow Quiver soldiers.¡±


    Twenty Arrow Quiver soldiers, clad in double-layered armor and wielding axes, received the order and, against the fleeing rush of archers and musketeers, charged towards Winters¡ªSwift Hawk had prepared them for this very moment.


    Seeing the ferocious barbarian warriors rushing towards Winters, Xial screamed, his voice hoarse, ¡°Quick, help the Centurion! Human ladder! Get me on that wall!¡±


    The battlefield was chaotically loud, but Winters seemed to be able to hear his own heartbeat. He had only one target in his vision: the horse-tail standard and the Green Plumed Feathers.


    He raised his hand, firing two consecutive Arrow Flying Spells.


    One hit the chest, and the Arrow Quiver soldier staggered momentarily but kept charging forward.


    The other struck dead center on the faceplate; an Arrow Quiver soldier suddenly sported a bloody hole in his face and fell face-first to the ground.


    Winters¡¯s Arrow Flying Spell lacked the power to penetrate double-layered armor at a distance. It was only effective up close by targeting the weak spots like the faceplate.


    The barbarians were well-prepared¡ªso what?


    Winters pulled a glass vial from his wrist guard and, closing his eyes, crushed it.


    A lightning-like dazzling light burst from his hand, briefly illuminating the entire fortress.


    The Arrow Quiver soldiers were first blinded by a wash of white, then plunged into darkness, clutching their eyes and screaming.


    A Flash Spell eradicated the Arrow Quiver soldiers¡¯ vision, and Winters charged into their midst with his warhammer.


    The first Arrow Quiver soldier to face him had his skull crushed by the hammer without a sound, collapsing backward.


    The second Arrow Quiver soldier¡¯s seven orifices bled as he was struck, but he did not die instantly. With his last bit of strength, he shouted, ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±

 Chapter 524 03-25 - 524 96 The End (Part 2) - 5

    ?Chapter 524: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 5 Chapter 524: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 5 Other quiver soldiers, even if their vision had not yet recovered, still rushed over following the sounds.


    A quiver soldier bumped into Winters¡¯ armor and immediately wrapped his arms around Winters¡¯ waist, hugging him as if trying to squeeze him into two.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I¡¯ve got him! Kill him!¡± the quiver soldier shouted.


    After just one sentence, he was blown to pieces by a disintegration spell, brain matter bursting out.


    But more quiver soldiers flocked toward the noise, their sight gradually returning.


    Winters was now surrounded, he knocked down a quiver soldier in front of him, a hammer crushing the opponent¡¯s face.


    As he swung his hammer down, another iron hammer smashed viciously onto his back.


    ...


    Winters fell forward from the blow, landing on the body of a quiver soldier. The force was dispersed through the backplate of his armor, yet it still hurt so much he couldn¡¯t breathe.


    He swung his arm, shattering the knee of a quiver soldier. Twisting his body desperately, he unleashed a disintegration spell on the fierce savage in front of him.


    Warm blood sprayed onto his visor, and even entered his eyes through the bars of the observation slit.


    The dead quiver soldier¡¯s body, out of control, pressed down heavily on Winters.


    ¡°Not good,¡± was the only thought in Winters¡¯ mind.


    Before he could push the corpse off himself, other quiver soldiers threw themselves onto the body.


    Winters¡¯ limbs and internal organs were being crushed bit by bit¡ªnot phantom pains, but real, acute pain.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Under the pile of quiver soldiers, Winters roared and wailed like a dying wild beast.


    He no longer reserved any magic, launching disintegration spells one after another, unaimed and indiscriminate.


    But it was useless, he kept killing quiver soldiers one by one, yet their bodies still piled up on him like a mountain, slowly crushing him to death.


    Many fragments of his life flooded into his mind.


    He remembered going grave-sweeping with his mother as a child, his mother pointing to two unfamiliar grave markers, telling him that¡¯s where his parents were¡ªfrom then on, his mother became his aunt.


    He thought of the ecstasy when he received his first wooden sword from Antonio. But from that day on, he was woken early every day to practice swordsmanship, and he grew to detest that wooden sword. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He recalled fighting with Benvenuto when he first joined Lu You, the kids from the dock district always looking to teach a lesson to the kids from the military housing district. After a few fights, they actually became good friends.


    He remembered Elizabeth, ugly and wrinkly when she was just born, Ella had already grown into a young lady.


    But when Ella was born, he was full of the fear that his ¡°parents¡± would no longer love him unconditionally. Ah, why did he think like that at the time?


    Lastly, he remembered Anna¡¯s hair tips bathed in sunlight, her upturned lips, mischievous gaze, and her calling him ¡°Mr. Montaigne.¡±


    Since when did he start to care about Miss Navarre? He couldn¡¯t say, perhaps it started with that slap.


    ¡°Will you forget me?¡± Winters slowly closed his eyes, truly exhausted. Although reluctant, perishing like this seemed okay.


    He felt his body getting lighter and lighter, and suddenly a strange thought entered his mind, ¡°I¡¯m not actually going to heaven, am I?¡±


    Even he wanted to laugh at the idea.


    No, he was actually getting lighter¡­it was the weight pressing on him getting lighter.


    Outside the ¡°mountain of corpses,¡± Xial plunged his sword fiercely into the back of the head of a still-living quiver soldier, as Heinrich and other fighters frantically pulled away the bodies of quiver soldiers.


    Under the pile of corpses, they found Centurion Montaigne.


    Xial trembled as he removed the helmet, and under the iron helmet, Winters actually seemed to be smiling.


    ¡°Why would you do this?¡± Xial pounded on Winters¡¯ breastplate, his voice breaking with a sob, ¡°You still have us! Why do you always have to go in alone? You have us!¡±


    Winters¡¯ smile grew wider.


    The others clumsily helped the Centurion to his feet.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°I have you all.¡±


    ¡°Bang! Bang!¡± A series of gunshots rang out not far away, both the living and the dead were blasted into a mess of flesh and blood.


    Swift Hawk shouted ecstatically, ¡°[Herde Language] Killed him!¡±


    Winters felt a warmth in his abdomen. Instinctively reaching out, he only touched steel plate¡ªthe wound was underneath the armor.


    He sat atop the body of a quiver soldier, struggling to keep himself upright.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters pointed at the Green Plumed Feathers, ¡°Take their flag for me!¡±


    ¡°You take care of the Centurion,¡± Xial yelled to Heinrich, who nodded emphatically.


    Xial grabbed the military standard, lifted his saber high, and roared, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    The soldiers on the wall let out a thunderous battle cry, following Xial towards the destination of the horsetail military flag, chopping down the flagpole.


    As for the Green Plumed Feathers, having pulled out his plumes, had already disappeared to who knows where.


    The Paratu military flag replaced the horsetail military flag, and the spirits of the Paratu People inside the stronghold surged.


    The barbarians, as if their spines had been ripped out, no longer possessed that fierce momentum.


    ¡°Open the breach, let them out!¡± Colonel Bod roared the order.


    The soldiers guarding the breach moved back to both sides, creating a path for the barbarians to escape. From then on, the barbarians completely lost their will to resist.


    At first one barbarian threw down his weapons and fled, and in the blink of an eye, all barbarians were in rout.

 Chapter 525 03-25 - 525 96 The End (Part 2) - 6

    ?Chapter 525: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 6 Chapter 525: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 6 ¡°Long live!¡± The Paratu soldiers cheered exultantly, ¡°Long live!¡±


    But the cheers died quickly, as even the bravest of the Paratu soldiers now wore a look of fear on their faces.


    The rumbling sound of horse hooves approached from the northwest and the southwest, and everyone knew what that meant. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The barbarians are here!¡± Anglu, riding Rejek, rushed into the fortress, warning everyone, ¡°The barbarians are here.¡±


    A few Dusacks followed Anglu, but their numbers were far fewer than the Dusacks Winters had sent out.


    ¡°Block the gate.¡± Colonel Bod roared hoarsely, ¡°Seal the breach!¡±


    Snapping back to reality, the Paratu soldiers moved everything at hand toward the wall breach¡ªincluding corpses.


    ...


    Anglu found Winters, and seeing the Centurion, tears swirled in his eyes.


    ¡°Why are you crying, I¡¯m not dead yet.¡± Winters glared weakly at the young stable boy and asked, ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    ¡°We were scattered, they must have returned to the main camp. The barbarians attacking the camp were defeated and have been chased out of the trenches by General Alpad.¡±


    Suddenly, the sound of a warhorse¡¯s neigh reached from the gap, a dun-colored warhorse leaped into the still-open breach, followed closely by three more riders entering one after another.


    ¡°It¡¯s the barbarians!¡± A Paratu soldier cried out in terror. More Paratu soldiers picked up their weapons.


    The four reckless barbarian riders were quickly surrounded and killed. The warhorses, too, were impaled and lifted to the breach to serve as a barricade.


    Heinrich helped Winters to lean against the wall, sitting down. He then handed the latter a mouthful of strong liquor from the flask¡ªa common method for pain relief.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Afterward, the two removed Winters¡¯ breastplate, and Xial proceeded to extract the lead bullets. The lead had not penetrated deep, sparing the viscera, and was easily tweezed out with a pair of daggers.


    ¡°How is he?¡± Colonel Bod approached Winters, asking Heinrich and Xial.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Winters tried to muster the faintest of smiles.


    After a quick clean-up, Xial began to stitch the wound. He had never done this before, sewing in a crooked, clumsy fashion, tears streaming down as he worked the needle.


    ¡°Hang in there.¡± Colonel Bod took a gulp from the flask and said to Winters, ¡°Now it¡¯s just you and me left.¡±


    Winters¡¯s head was heavy and foggy, and for a moment, he did not understand what the other was saying.


    Colonel Bod took another drink, passed the flask back to Winters, ¡°And Robert, but he is barely breathing.¡±


    The rumble of horse hooves stopped outside the fortress.


    A soldier came to report to Colonel Bod, ¡°Sir, a barbarian who speaks our language has come outside. He wishes to talk to the ¡®commander.¡¯


    ¡°He wants to talk, just like that?¡± Colonel Bod scoffed disdainfully.


    ¡°He says his name is Yasin.¡± The soldier added, ¡°Just mention this name to him.¡±


    ¡­


    The gate creaked open, and two riders, side by side holding torches, emerged from the fortress.


    Almost every Paratu person knew they faced an enemy known as the ¡°White Lion,¡± but few knew of ¡°Yasin.¡±


    But Colonel Bod knew, and so did Winters.


    Winters insisted on being helped onto his horse; he had to see this enemy for himself.


    Atop the hill, a rider in red armor on a black horse also held a torch, waiting for them.


    In the minds of the Paratu people, ¡°White Lion¡± had gradually become a symbol, representing a figure who was cruel, mighty strong, a barbarian among barbarians¡ªif not so, how would the ¡°White Lion¡± bring Paratu such misery?


    Compared to that image, the rider in red armor on the black horse seemed somewhat¡­ ordinary.


    The red armor was somewhat familiar to Winters because part of it was discolored, clearly recently replaced.


    ¡°Are you the ¡®White Lion¡¯?¡± Colonel Bod asked.


    The rider in the red armor laughed lightly and responded in accented Common Tongue, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then could you lift your helmet and let me see?¡± Winters asked earnestly, ¡°I want to see what the famed White Lion really looks like.¡±


    The rider in red armor laughed again, apparently not offended. He undid the straps, loosened the neck guard, removed his helmet, and said genially, ¡°Just like this.¡±


    The last time Winters met the White Lion in combat, the two were less than a hundred meters apart, with him commanding two cannons.


    Of course, the White Lion probably wouldn¡¯t agree with the term ¡°combat,¡± as he clearly did not even know who Winters Montagne was.


    This was Winters¡¯s first chance to observe the enemy face to face.


    Under the helmet were a pair of brown eyes and a somewhat ordinary face.


    ¡°Disappointed?¡± the owner of the brown eyes asked.


    ¡°A little.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t hide his disappointment.


    The White Lion laughed heartily.


    Suddenly Winters realized that this distance fell within the effective range of his Arrow Flying Spell¡­ and White Lion was now without his helmet.


    But he made no move, for he was too exhausted. The recent battle had drained his ¡°magic,¡± and such an action would have been too mean-spirited.


    Colonel Bod cleared his throat and spoke, ¡°Did you come to persuade us to surrender? If so, please leave.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The White Lion shook his head gently, ¡°I just wanted to see what a Paratu warrior looks like.¡±


    He nodded his head in respect, turned his horse, and left.


    At a distance of a hundred meters, one could see fires gathered up by the Herders, squatting, leaping up, stomping the ground, forcefully slapping their chests and thighs, as if performing an intense dance.


    ¡°Barbarians will be barbarians.¡± Colonel Bod sneered contemptuously, ¡°Beasts.¡±


    ¡°That is¡­¡± Winters said quietly, recognizing the dance, ¡°the Dance for the Styx.¡±

 Chapter 526 03-25 - 526 96 The End (Part 2) - 7

    ?Chapter 526: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 7 Chapter 526: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 7 ¡°`


    ¡­


    The White Lion may have had other plans, but Colonel Bod did not mind, he too only desired to stall for time.


    After this brief encounter, the White Lion did not immediately launch an attack. But whether he attacked was his business, the Paratu People were leaving.


    Upon returning to the fortress, Colonel Bod set about arranging the retreat without delay, ¡°Blow up the ammunition depot! Leave all the torches behind! Light everything that can be lit! The flags¡­ take all the flags. Right! Draw two fake flags and hang them up!¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters stood on the south wall of the fortress, quietly gazing at The Styx.


    It was hard for him to discern whether anyone was crossing the bridge¡ªbecause the moonlight was too dim.


    Although he could make out ant-sized objects moving on the bridge, that did not mean the bridge was open; it could very well be the engineers building it.


    ...


    From the vantage point of the Southern Highlands, one could clearly see the Paratu camp.


    Even though the camp had gone into complete blackout, not a single light was visible.


    But Winters could still vaguely make out the signs of troop movements.


    Sekler¡¯s retreat plan was utterly determined: tents were not taken down, camps were not burned, mules were led away, wagons discarded, and everyone was to take only their weapons, ammunition, blankets, and all the dry food across the river.


    Once across The Styx, it was only a hundred kilometers to the Paratu border, and a light march of twenty kilometers per day was very manageable; even thirty kilometers was not hard if one gritted their teeth.


    The dry food might not be enough, Winters estimated that Sekler was counting on local supplies to deliver some provisions.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    The signs of troop activity in the Paratu camp meant Sekler¡¯s plan had succeeded, and the troops were crossing in an orderly manner.


    There was no need to keep it secret any longer, Colonel Bod stepped onto the south wall and gathered all the officers and soldiers in front of him.


    ¡°I have good news for everyone!¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the crowd, ¡°The bridge has been connected! We can cross the river now!¡±


    The small square in the fortress erupted into a clamor, not just soldiers gaped in disbelief, even the centurions were left dumbstruck.


    Colonel Bod pressed down with his hands, signaling for everyone to be quiet, ¡°Without our fight to the death, the bridge could not have been completed! Had we not retaken the fortress! The bridge could not have been completed! Tonight, every one of you is a hero! Everyone deserves a reward! I will petition the headquarters on your behalf! Money! Land! You will have it!¡±


    The soldiers¡¯ emotions shifted from shock to joy; their morale soared to its peak.


    Colonel Bod waved his hand largely, ¡°Take up arms, raise the flags! We return in triumph!¡±


    The soldiers dispersed in a rush, each preparing for the retreat.


    Winters said to Colonel Bod with a wry smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know whether to admire you or be afraid of you.¡±


    ¡°The final weaving of a basket is in closing it,¡± Colonel Bod replied nonchalantly, ¡°I worry that at the last moment the troops¡¯ spirit will disperse. We have to cheer them up.¡±


    Winters nodded in agreement while coughing.


    ¡°How about your wound?¡± Colonel Bod asked with a smile, ¡°Can you ride a horse? Should I arrange for someone to carry you back?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can ride,¡± Winters had gradually become accustomed to the pain of his wound¡ªit was, after all, somewhat less than a phantom pain.


    Colonel Bod suddenly grasped Winters¡¯s arm affectionately and asked, ¡°Winters, I wonder if you are betrothed? I have a daughter, tender and lovely in character, beautiful in appearance, only a bit young¡ªbut you¡¯re not in a hurry, right? The dowry will satisfy you¡­¡±


    Winters really wanted to protest loudly: What the hell is this all about?


    But Colonel Bod was rattling on, and he could not get a word in.


    Amidst such a hellish scene, he would rather be shot again, lose consciousness, and be done with all this.


    Suddenly, Colonel Bod¡¯s words came to an abrupt halt, and he alertly looked towards the west, his pupils dilating rapidly.


    Winters seized the moment, about to say, ¡°I¡¯m engaged,¡± but then he heard it too.


    The sound of horseshoes, thousands upon thousands of warhorses galloping.


    At first, it was almost inaudible, but it grew clearer and clearer.


    Riding at night was extremely dangerous, and even more so with thousands of horses together unless they had an absolutely necessary reason.


    ¡°Go!¡± Colonel Bod exclaimed alarmed, ¡°Leave now!¡±


    Winters immediately assisted in relaying orders with an amplification spell, ¡°All centurion squads, on the move¡ªimmediately!¡±


    ¡°Let everyone keep close to the flag! No one falls behind!¡±


    The magic-amplified voice echoed throughout the fortress, ¡°Keep close to the flag! No one falls behind!¡±


    The east-side gate of the fortress creaked open.


    Colonel Bod stuffed the flag into Winters¡¯s hand, ¡°Go quickly! You lead the way! I¡¯ll cover the rear! Take everyone with you!¡±


    Winters wasted no time, he summoned his warhorse, stepped into the stirrups, mounted it, raised the flag high, and bellowed, ¡°Follow me! Fight our way back!¡±


    No mistake, the barbarians¡¯ all-out attack was upon them.


    The White Lion probably really just wanted to meet with the enemy who had retaken the fortress.


    When he discovered the movements in the Paratu camp, Winters did not know. It was very possible that the moment he reached the Southern Highlands with the Red River Tribe¡¯s forces, he had already noticed the situation at the bridge.


    The reason he hadn¡¯t attacked the Southern Highlands was that he was waiting for the main force of the Hurd coalition.


    The troops had completely lost their organization; everyone swarmed out of the fortress, Winters charged on horseback, raising the flag high, while others followed the flag in a wild rush.


    The outer trenches had several fill-in points, and the earthen walls were also torn down¡ªthese were where the barbarians had entered before when they attacked the Paratu camp.


    This time, the barbarians were again using those spots.


    The barbarians charged towards the camp, and Winters was also leading the charge to the camp. It looked like a race.


    However, as the barbarian cavalry saw the ¡°two-legged¡± humans rushing from the mountain towards the camp, a few of the Hong Lingyu immediately led their cavalry towards them to attack.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 527 03-25 - 527 96 The End (Part 2) - 8

    ?Chapter 527: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 8 Chapter 527: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 8 The Hurd cavalry let out bizarre howls, wielding sabers and raising long spears as they charged the flank of the ¡°two-legged ones.¡±


    Winters, both anxious and enraged, used a flagpole as a long spear, thrusting at the barbarian riders charging from the right, ¡°Those in my way shall die!¡±


    One of the barbarians was directly unseated and thrown flying off his horseback with force. Winters¡¯ palm split open, and his arm went numb from the vibration.


    Winters continued to jab fiercely into the horse¡¯s ribs, speeding on toward the great camp.


    On the slope less than one kilometer long, the Paratu soldiers ran at varying speeds, eventually stretching out into a line.


    The barbarians attacked from the flanks, scattering the Paratu soldiers almost instantly.


    Paratu soldiers, lacking formation, were like scattered sand, utterly unable to withstand the charge.


    ...


    Paratu People fighting for themselves were being cut down and stabbed to death one after another, their screams of agony and cries for help filling the air.


    Ish from Ganshui Town was separated from the others, now left all alone.


    On a nearby slope about ten meters away, a savage barbarian, with a single stroke, cleaved the entire left shoulder from a Paratu Person.


    Ish couldn¡¯t recognize the person who was being slaughtered; he ran downhill for his life, praying desperately not to be noticed by his pursuer.


    But the barbarian had noticed him, and, with a strange cry, charged towards him, the shiny saber raised high.


    Desperately waving his side sword, Ish closed his eyes as he crossed paths with the barbarian.


    Nothing happened; the barbarian leapt over Ish with a bizarre laugh, circling around before charging at him again. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    He was toying with him!


    Shame, anger, despair¡­ Ish glared fiercely, gripping his side sword and pointing it straight at the barbarian.


    ¡°Come on!!¡± Ish cried out, cursing, ¡°I¡¯m going to fight you to the death!¡±


    The barbarian stopped laughing, shifted the saber all the way behind his back, and charged at the lonely Ish at full speed.


    The hot breath from the warhorse, the barbarian¡¯s helmet plume, the arc of the blade¡­ all were advancing closer and closer in Ish¡¯s vision.


    Ish didn¡¯t dodge. Holding his sword straight at the barbarian¡¯s warhorse, he screamed until he was hoarse, ¡°Lord! Forgive me! Protect my soul from falling into¡­¡±


    The moment the warhorse reached Ish, the barbarian suddenly vanished.


    The warhorse narrowly grazed past Ish and ran off without a trace.


    Ish looked around and saw that the barbarian had been impaled by a military banner, skewered through from the right rib to the left.


    A silver-gray steed broke through the night, followed by a few shadowy figures.


    Seeing just this warhorse was enough for Ish to be overwhelmed with tears, ¡°Centurion!¡±


    Ish pulled the military banner out from the barbarian¡¯s corpse and ran, handing it to the Centurion.


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Winters took the banner and continued to race up the slope.


    Ish dried his tears and followed behind Winters¡¯ silhouette heading up the slope.


    Winters dashed to the edge of the main camp like a bolt of lightning. But when he turned around, he found that all his people were gone.


    The strength of his speed had left everyone far behind.


    He immediately turned back and fought his way down the slope.


    Wherever there were cries for help, he went, and the number of people following him grew.


    He wasn¡¯t skilled in cavalry combat, the military banner wasn¡¯t a familiar weapon, and the tear in his palm was so painful he could hardly grip his weapon.


    After a dozen mounted encounters, he had relied solely on his height, his long arms, sturdy armor, and the speed of the steed to overpower his opponents.


    He heard Ish shouting behind him, ¡°My Lord! Wait for us!¡±


    Winters reined in his horse, leaning on the neck of the steed, gasping for breath.


    He was at his limit, both physically and mentally.


    ¡°The stitches in my belly must¡¯ve torn,¡± he thought. ¡°The blood has already soaked into my trousers.¡±


    Xial, Ish, and other warriors caught up, ¡°Where to now?¡±


    Winters vaguely heard someone shouting from his right side.


    They were shouting, ¡°Centurion Montaigne! Save us!¡±


    Winters pointed the military banner toward the direction of the shouts, ¡°Go there!¡±


    A lightly armed barbarian with a spear was circling two Paratu soldiers who were back to back.


    He was too tired; his reactions had slowed. As he knocked the opponent off his horse, he too was unseated.


    Winters felt like he glided through the air for a brief moment before crashing hard onto the ground.


    His sturdy breastplate was dented from the massive impact.


    His warriors shielded him. Xial pleaded with a sobbing voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s cross the river! Go!¡±


    Winters had burnt out, leaving only a few remaining embers.


    He looked at the faces around him. Tears slid down his cheeks, falling onto the blood-drenched wasteland.


    He seemed to cast off all burdens, saying softly, ¡°Okay, let¡¯s cross the river, we¡¯re going home.¡±


    The warriors clumsily helped him to his feet.


    ¡°The bridge!¡± Anglu, trembling all over, shouted in terror, ¡°The bridge!¡±


    Anglu hugged Winters, wailing, ¡°Centurion! They¡¯ve burnt the bridge!¡±


    The lad from Dusack, who had been enduring hardships all his life, cried as he never had before, with utter despair and sorrow.


    Looking in the direction of the sound, everyone on the scene was almost collapsing to the ground.


    Below the hill, above the Styx, the bridge had turned into a sea of flames.


    There were several explosions; wooden fragments were tossed into the air, and several splashes rose from the Styx.


    The Paratu People who had not yet crossed the river gathered on the riverbank, wailing heartbreakingly.


    So that was it¡­ Winters understood, he understood everything.


    The last embers began to burn; Winters slapped Anglu hard across the face, scolding loudly, ¡°What are you crying for!¡±


    Anglu jolted, stopping his cries, softly sobbing.


    As if chilled to the bone, Winters couldn¡¯t stop shaking. He started to laugh, his laughter piercing and intermittent, and while laughing, he said, ¡°Fuck it all.¡±

 Chapter 528 03-25 - 528 96 The End (Part 2) - 9

    ?Chapter 528: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 9 Chapter 528: Chapter 96: The End (Part 2) ¨C 9 Having said that, he started coughing violently again, as if trying to cough out his lungs. His chest heaved, and each cough brought out blood.


    No one knew what to say, as everyone stood by Winters¡¯ side.


    By the banks of The Styx, the final resistance in the camp had vanished into smoke. The barbarians stormed into the camp, beginning to burn, kill, and plunder.


    Winters and the others were already encircled by the Herd Barbarians.


    Suppressing his cough, Winters gripped Xial¡¯s hand and asked, ¡°Do you remember where we hid the rafts?¡±


    Xial nodded desperately.


    ¡°While we were logging, I made several rafts and hid them in Bridge Woods,¡± Winters informed the others. ¡°We attack towards Bridge Woods, kill anyone who dares to block us! Once we cross the river, we will be safe. If I fall in battle, follow Xial to find them. If Xial also falls, search for them in Bridge Woods.¡±


    ...


    Winters stood up, leaning on the military banner: ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Another Paratu person ran down the slope and, seeing the Paratu military banner in Winters¡¯ hand from afar, desperately pled for rescue: ¡°Colonel Bod has been cut off by the barbarians!¡±


    Winters reached out to grab the bridle of the Warhorse: ¡°I will go rescue Colonel Bod.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll go together!¡± Xial and Anglu helped Winters onto the Warhorse.


    ¡°No! You go and secure the rafts! I will meet up with you. Xial, Anglu, take everyone back!¡± Winters gently patted the Warhorse¡¯s neck: ¡°Little fellow, take me to find Colonel Bod.¡±


    The Warhorse galloped off, carrying Winters Montaigne into the night.


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    It is said, ¡°After a great battle, comes a great rain,¡± but this statement doesn¡¯t always come true.


    This time, there was no great rain.


    The clouds dispersed, revealing the azure sky. The sun shone on people¡¯s bodies, bringing hints of warmth.


    Only the corpses strewn across the wasteland, fragments of the Floating Bridge washed ashore, and the dark red traces of blood on the withered grass were evidence that a great battle had occurred the night before.


    The fighting had ended, and various troops were now scouring the camp for spoils or stripping the dead.


    Gold and silver were prized, as were armor, weapons, and horses. The Herders wasted nothing.


    Little Lion rode across this battlefield, staring absentmindedly at the remnants of bridge piles in the river.


    ¡°Little Lion, hurry up!¡± a guard came running to report: ¡°There¡¯s an excellent young horse down the hill! The fire-tenders are trying to tame it!¡±


    Little Lion smiled and countered, ¡°If the fire-tenders are taming it, why are you calling me?¡±


    The guard cunningly replied: ¡°That young horse has a temper! If the fire-tenders can¡¯t tame it, if we catch it, won¡¯t it be ours?¡±


    Little Lion laughed heartily: ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go see.¡±


    Upon reaching the base of the hill, he saw the horse.


    Little Lion had to admit, it indeed was a fine horse, and he felt some yearning for it.


    The silver-gray steed was circling an area, emitting plaintive whinnies.


    The fire-tender was attempting to lasso the horse; each time he threw the noose, the horse ducked its head to avoid it.


    When the fire-tender tried to approach the horse to grab its bridle, the horse turned and kicked at him.


    Alone, the fire-tender struggled with the horse and was reluctant to call others for help, leading to a stalemate.


    ¡°That is a fine horse!¡± Little Lion said to the fire-tender.


    ¡°Yes, I recognize this horse,¡± the roaster answered. ¡°Its original owner killed my Paratu Child. Given that this horse is here, that man must have also died in last night¡¯s battle.¡±


    [Note: Paratu Child is a term used in the Herd language to honor warriors, similar to the meaning of ¡°champion¡± in continental languages.]


    The number of Herders around increased, and the silver-gray Warhorse grew more restless. It whinnied mournfully, circling a small area.


    Little Lion listened quietly for a while before saying softly, ¡°It seems very sad.¡±


    ¡°Horses are sentient creatures, how could it not be sad if its owner has died?¡± the roaster said dismissively.


    Little Lion asked again, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t it run away?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Little Lion narrowed his brown eyes to observe and suddenly said, ¡°It seems like it¡¯s protecting something!¡±


    After speaking, Little Lion walked forward. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t get kicked by it,¡± the roaster reminded offhandedly.


    The roaster didn¡¯t think Little Lion could tame the horse by himself and was actually quite happy to see someone else getting frustrated.


    Little Lion didn¡¯t respond. He relaxed his body as much as possible, moving slowly while whispering to the horse, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry, I mean no harm.¡±


    The horse eyed Little Lion warily but refused to leave.


    It was only when he got close that Little Lion realized the horse was pacing around a military flag.


    He also noticed two arrows lodged in the horse¡¯s chest, their tails broken off¡ªthis made him very sad.


    Little Lion had approached closer than the roaster ever had, which made the roaster somewhat embarrassed. He slowly lifted the flag, revealing a body.


    A murmur of shock rose from the surrounding Herders.


    There were two bullet holes in the body¡¯s breastplate, one in the abdomen and one in the chest.


    A shot to the abdomen might be survivable, but a shot to the chest was undoubtedly fatal.


    ¡°He¡¯s dead, and you¡¯re very sad, I know,¡± Little Lion said as he approached the horse. ¡°Let me pull out the arrows for you.¡±


    The eyes of the silver-gray Warhorse seemed to weep as it lowered its neck and slowly leaned against Little Lion¡¯s shoulder.


    Little Lion gently stroked the horse with his left hand, grasped the shaft of the arrow with his right, and pulled it out resolutely.


    The horse let out its final cry, then collapsed to the ground with a thunderous fall. Its cry resonated across the battlefield, and every warhorse joined in with a collective mourning.


    Looking at the body on the ground, Little Lion said softly, ¡°Having such a companion, you haven¡¯t lived in vain.¡±


    Suddenly, he wanted to see what the horse¡¯s owner looked like, so he crouched down and began to remove the helmet from the body. He was stunned.


    The surrounding Herders were clueless as to what Little Lion was doing.


    Little Lion could hardly believe his eyes, becoming completely panicked, he exclaimed, ¡°[In the common tongue] How could it be you! Hestas? How could you have died here!¡±


    The others didn¡¯t understand what Little Lion was saying, but they had never seen him so taken aback before.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right!¡± Little Lion muttered. ¡°There¡¯s still breath!¡±


    He placed his hand by the ¡°corpse¡¯s¡± nostrils and confirmed there was a faint breath.


    He quickly removed ¡°Hestas¡¯s¡± breastplate to find the gunshot wound on the abdomen was bleeding, but the ¡°gunshot wound¡± at the chest had nothing¡ªA flask had blocked the potentially fatal blow.


    ¡°Someone help!¡± Little Lion shouted with relief. ¡°Quick, someone!¡±

 Chapter 529 03-25 - 529 97 Ashes

    ?Chapter 529: Chapter 97 Ashes Chapter 529: Chapter 97 Ashes Click, click.


    The sound of a fire sickle striking flint.


    Fireless ashes burned once more, and Winters awoke from his coma.


    His body throbbed with a heavy dull pain, he struggled to open his eyes but his vision was nothing but a blur.


    Blurred vision, blurred consciousness, he smelled a whiff of a pleasant milky fragrance.


    Winters¡¯ nostrils flared, and in his foggy state he thought, ¡°Could heaven truly exist? And it smells like milk?¡±


    His sight gradually returned, and a strange object came into clear view: it was a wheel made of dozens of fine spokes, covered with a cloth that faintly let light through.


    ...


    Truly bizarre.


    Soon, Winters¡¯ cognitive ability gradually returned, and he began to think.


    He concluded that this place was not heaven¡ªunless God also lived in tents!


    What seemed to be a wheel was clearly the dome of a tent, he was lying inside a felt tent.


    Winters instantly became alert, he moved his body, trying to observe his surroundings.


    Suddenly, a tearing pain came from his left calf, causing cold sweat to bead on his forehead.


    Winters bit his lips tightly, not making a sound.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    He was sure he had fallen into the hands of the Herders, and instinct made him want to hide.


    But the pain was too much! So intense as if the lower part of his left leg was no longer attached to his body!


    A filthy infirmary¡­ mud mixed with blood and soil¡­ arms and legs sawn off and piled into a small mound¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t let them saw my arm!¡± Andre was crying and pleading, ¡°Winters!¡±¡­


    These scenes surged in his mind suddenly, and a tremendous fear clamped tightly around his heart: ¡°Could it be I¡­¡±


    Winters had never been so scared, he desperately reached for his left leg, his left foot.


    Fortunately, they were both there. Winters let out a long sigh of relief, and couldn¡¯t help but give a wry smile.


    It seemed like someone outside heard the noise inside the tent, and the tent flap was lifted.


    ¡°Damn.¡± Winters thought to himself.


    A young girl donned in an embroidered Herde narrow robe entered.


    Seeing Winters with his eyes open, the Herde girl revealed a smiling face, her eyes curving, ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    With her smile, the tent turned bright¡ªtruly bright, as someone had drawn back the skylight cover.


    Winters had expected to be greeted by fully armed guards, never did he expect such a girl.


    He remained frozen, unsure of how to react.


    ¡°Are you thirsty? Are you cold? Do you want something to eat?¡± The strange girl came close to Winters, grabbing another blanket to prop up his back, helping him to sit up.


    Winters¡¯ body tensed, his mind on high alert. He did not recognize her, and it seemed to him she was moving around on her own accord.


    He kept his gaze intensely focused on the girl¡¯s eyes, like an injured wild beast that had fallen into a trap.


    Yet, concerning caring for Winters, the stranger seemed quite familiar, quite natural.


    Taking the opportunity while she was turned away, Winters closely inspected the felt tent with his gaze.


    Wooden framework covered with leather¡ªa typical tent structure, just much smaller than the sacrificial tents he had seen. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tent¡¯s ground was covered with thick blankets, and he was lying on top of them; the Herders did not seem to sleep in beds.


    A metal stove stood in the center of the tent, and Winters couldn¡¯t believe his eyes,


    In the center stood a metal stove, and Winters couldn¡¯t believe his eyes¡ª it was a ¡°Soria stove¡± crafted by Berlion.


    Not new, but old, bearing marks from when Winters had used it.


    He and his friends had once surrounded this stove, boiling noodles, passing around a bottle of strong liquor.


    A copper pot sat atop the stove, ¡°gurgling¡± with something inside, and the scent of milk wafted from there.


    The Herde girl carried the copper pot, pouring a bowl of steaming hot milk, placing it on the small table beside Winters¡¯ pillow, ¡°Don¡¯t drink it yet, it¡¯s hot.¡±


    There was also a gold plate on the small table.


    In the gold plate, there was a piece of cooked lamb spine meat, a small dish of salt, and a silver-handled, gem-inlaid small knife for cutting meat.


    A knife!


    The Herde girl turned back to the stove, placing a few pieces of dried cow dung into the stove chamber, stoking the fire to make it burn even more fiercely.


    Winters wanted to grab the knife, but his limbs were too stiff.


    Before he could reach out, the Herde girl suddenly turned back around.


    The Herde girl brought over a stool, sitting next to Winters. She held the bowl of milk, gently blowing on it.


    ¡°Do you like the milk skin?¡± she asked with a warm smile.


    ¡°You¡­ you can speak the common tongue?¡± Winters asked hoarsely.


    The Herde girl spoke the common tongue, with barely any accent.


    The Herde girl nodded slightly.


    ¡°Where did you learn it?¡± Winters asked again. His vocal cords felt as if they were glued together, he hadn¡¯t spoken in so long.


    Just as the Herde girl was about to speak, a hearty male voice from outside interrupted her.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Qing¡¯er, has that boy died yet?¡±


    A brawny man with a ruddy face barged into the tent, bringing in a gust of cold wind.


    The ruddy-faced brawny man locked eyes with Winters, and the pupils of both men dilated sharply.


    ¡°A baboon¡¯s butt face,¡± Winters thought quickly, ¡°Have I fallen into the hands of the Terdon Tribe?¡±


    The face of the fire-maker turned even redder, as if dripping with blood.


    Because he saw that the ¡°Paratu Child¡± was not only alive but had also awoken from his coma.


    Because he saw ¡°Qing¡¯er¡± sitting beside him with a bowl of hot milk.


    The fire-maker moved his hand towards the hilt of the knife.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Mother! Mother! Go call the Little Lion!¡± the strange girl shouted outside the tent, she stretched out her arms protecting Winters, ¡°[Herde Language] What kind of skill is it to bully him at a time like this?¡±

 Chapter 530 03-25 - 530 97 Ashes_2

    ?Chapter 530: Chapter 97: Ashes_2 Chapter 530: Chapter 97: Ashes_2 Winters tried to enter a spellcasting state, but intense phantom pain made it impossible for him to concentrate.


    Such a situation didn¡¯t surprise him; he had mentally prepared for it through the times he pushed himself to the limit.


    Being unable to use magic didn¡¯t mean he would just sit and wait for death.


    While the attention of the firekeeper was divided, Winters discreetly took a small knife from the plate and hid it in the palm of his hand. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Considering the condition of his left leg, it was impossible to dodge the opponent¡¯s attack.


    Winters was prepared to grab the firekeeper¡¯s arm and stab him in the neck with the knife, opening it up, as they pierced his abdomen.


    His only worry was that lying in bed had made his muscles too stiff to mount a counter-attack. So he gently moved his wrists, slowly regaining strength.


    ...


    Winters hadn¡¯t realized it himself: His mindset had undergone a tremendous shift.


    His body had left the battlefield, but his spirit remained there. He considered himself already dead, any exchange would be a gain.


    The firekeeper and the strange girl were arguing fiercely.


    Winters listened carefully, unable to understand what they were saying, but he could tell that the strange girl was protecting him.


    He also heard the girl mention the word ¡°Yahachi.¡±


    ¡°Little Lion?¡± He quickly assessed the situation and concluded, ¡°This must be Red River Tribe territory.¡±


    The firekeeper, losing the argument, grabbed the handle of his knife, kicked aside the tent flap, and stormed out in a huff.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    The Hurd girl sat back down on the small stool, took up the bowl of milk, and gently blew on it.


    As she blew, tears began to fall.


    ¡°Why are you crying?¡± Winters didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± The Hurd girl wiped away her tears and brought the milk to Winters¡¯ lips, ¡°It¡¯s cool enough to drink now, take some.¡±


    Winters raised his stiff arm, anxiously took the bowl of milk, ¡°I can do it myself.¡±


    ¡°Okay, you try.¡±


    Unable to tell how long he¡¯d been in bed, Winters found his muscles unusually stiff and sore. Half the milk didn¡¯t make it into his mouth but was spilled instead.


    The Hurd girl brought a towel to wipe him clean.


    Just then, another person entered the felt tent.


    The newcomer spoke in the common tongue, albeit with a heavy accent.


    They asked with a smile, ¡°Busy, are we?¡±


    When Winters saw the face of the newcomer, his expression gradually became calm, ¡°Is that you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± The newcomer nodded.


    Winters could not mistake him; how could he forget someone who almost killed him?


    Even though the other party had grown taller and stronger and was wearing better clothes, the stubbornness inherent in him had not diminished one bit from before.


    It was as if a clear glass door in his mind was shattered, awakening Winters: the slave boy in the dim longhouse on Red Sulfur Island, also known as Little Lion¡ªWhite Lion¡¯s younger brother.


    ¡°How should I address you?¡± Winters simply lay back down.


    Little Lion sat cross-legged next to Winters, ¡°Whatever you like, ¡®hey you,¡¯ ¡®kid,¡¯ anything is fine.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll call you Little Lion?¡±


    Little Lion scratched the back of his head, ¡°I always feel embarrassed when I hear that name, I¡¯m not worthy of being a lion.¡±


    Winters was eager to know the situation outside, ¡°Where am I?¡±


    ¡°Where else could you be? The great plains.¡±


    ¡°How many days have I been unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Six days,¡± Little Lion added, ¡°since I found you.¡±


    Winters pondered: Six days? Red River Tribe didn¡¯t pursue across the river?


    These questions were too sensitive, and he prudently remained silent.


    Little Lion pointed at Winters¡¯ abdomen, ¡°You were shot here, the original stitches came loose and we sewed you up again.¡±


    He pointed at the back of Winters¡¯ head, ¡°You took a hit to the back of your head too, knocked you unconscious, but the bones are fine.¡±


    A blow to the back of the head? Winters had no memory of it.


    He tried to remember, but his memories only went up to when he met up with Colonel Bod.


    What came after was fragmented and disjointed.


    Little Lion tapped Winters¡¯ left shin, ¡°The bone¡¯s broken, trampled by a hoof. We got you the best doctor for this kind of injury. Don¡¯t move around, rest well. Hey, focus on healing first.¡±


    ¡°Focus on healing first,¡± those words were ambiguous.


    Winters nodded.


    No matter what others were thinking, Winters didn¡¯t plan to stay in the wilderness for long. But this was something he needed to know for himself, there was no need to say it out loud and stir up anyone.


    ¡°The most amazing thing was here.¡± Little Lion pointed interestedly at Winters¡¯ chest, ¡°You were shot in the chest as well, close-range fire, the armor was completely penetrated.¡±


    ¡°Then how am I still alive?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow.


    Little Lion took out an object from his bosom, laughing loudly, ¡°Because of this!¡±


    The object that saved Winters¡¯ life turned out to be the flask given to him by Alpad.


    The lead bullet the size of a thumb was broken in half, with the remaining half embedded in the flask. The flask was completely deformed and punctured.


    Winters covered his face, ¡°This is just too clich¨¦!¡±


    Little Lion¡¯s smile curled up at the edges, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, the main thing is it saved your life.¡±


    ¡°Where did you get this iron furnace from?¡± Winters pointed at the Soria furnace.


    ¡°This iron furnace is a great thing, specially moved here for your use.¡± Little Lion expressed his excitement, ¡°It saves fuel, has no open flame, and it¡¯s easy to transport. It took twenty sheep to trade for it, a pity there¡¯s only one.¡±


    As a Venetian, Winters subconsciously calculated the profit of the trade. He knew all too well how much iron Belon used, even at ten sheep there would be a profit¡ª but the key was the labor cost.

 Chapter 531 03-25 - 531 97 Ashes_3

    ?Chapter 531: Chapter 97: Ashes_3 Chapter 531: Chapter 97: Ashes_3 He looked at Little Lion and with a gaze told him, ¡°You made a bad deal.¡±


    After a few words, both men suddenly fell into silence.


    How could they possibly be happily chatting away in one second when they were mortal enemies fighting for their lives the second before?


    Both were simply trying hard to maintain the conversational atmosphere.


    Once the topics were exhausted, the air became heavy.


    Little Lion restrained his smile and solemnly took out a small iron box from his chest, placing it beside Winters¡¯ pillow.


    Inside the iron box was a bundle of gray mane.


    ...


    Winters¡¯ face was expressionless, as if not the least bit sorrowful: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°According to our customs, nothing is wasted; what can be eaten is eaten, what can be used is used,¡± Little Lion said earnestly: ¡°But he was your close companion, so I buried him properly. I buried him deep, where ravens and vultures can¡¯t peck at him, wolves can¡¯t scratch him out. When you recover from your injuries, I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    Winters still showed no emotion: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Little Lion was somewhat saddened: ¡°He¡­ was protecting you until the very end. Without him, I wouldn¡¯t have found you. He passed away after fulfilling his wish, I¡¯ll tell you all about him in detail later.¡±


    He pointed to the Herder girl and said: ¡°This is my sister, she¡¯s been taking care of you while you were unconscious. Cleaning your wounds, wiping down your body, feeding you drinks. Whatever you need, just tell her. I¡¯m leaving, you rest well.¡±


    After speaking, he nodded his head, got up, and left.


    Winters secured the iron box containing the mighty mane, placing it against his flesh, over his heart. The iron box was ice-cold.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    He had no tears; all his tears had turned to blood and flowed out.


    He couldn¡¯t quite articulate his feelings, for it seemed a part of his emotions had become numb.


    The Herder girl picked up her sewing basket, and while doing needlework, said: ¡°My name is Erhulan. If that¡¯s hard to pronounce, you can also call me Miliya.¡±


    ¡°Erhulan, what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°It means ¡®green¡¯.¡±


    ¡°There are also two pieces of jewelry that are yours.¡± Erhulan took out a gold pendant box and a delicate statue of Athena, gently placing them beside Winters¡¯ pillow: ¡°You¡¯re very safe here, no one will hurt you again.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°But this is mine.¡± Erhulan took a silver-handled small knife from under Winters¡¯ blanket: ¡°You can¡¯t just take a girl¡¯s dagger willy-nilly.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time Winters regained consciousness, the remnants of the Palatu Expeditionary Force finally reached the border.


    Merely catching sight of the Border River brought many to their knees, weeping and praying.


    ¡­


    More than three months ago when the Palatu Expeditionary Force crossed the Border River, they comprised:


    Three generals;


    Infantry of the Standing Army from the fifth and sixth legions, totaling 10,734 officers and men;


    An independent engineer support unit, totaling 1,175 officers and men;


    Fifty cavalry squadrons, 6,172 light and heavy cavalrymen.


    A total of 18,084 people ¡ª just combat troops.


    The conscripted militia that entered the Great Wilderness consisted of 103 hundred-man units, totaling 8,563 officers and men.


    The conscripted militia along with the porters, traders, and auxiliary troops, whose numbers couldn¡¯t be tallied exactly, amounted to well over ten thousand people.


    The troops, along with auxiliary soldiers, totaled over 28,000.


    This was an army that made the Herd Barbarians lose heart upon hearing of its approach, its combat strength unparalleled among all the republics.


    It possessed Senas¡¯s strongest cavalry units, two fully staffed standing legions, an indestructible war hammer, and an invincible shield.


    In fact, for the Republic of Palatu, it was somewhat too large.


    This was originally supposed to be a typical short-term warfare: the army would sweep the Herders on the Great Wilderness, redefine the borders with the tribes, then herd the flocks over. Mission accomplished, promotions, and wealth would follow.


    There might still be sporadic small-scale conflicts afterward, but that was not a big problem, as the Paratu People had a set of mature strategies. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The booming demand from The Federated Provinces and Vineta¡¯s wool textile industry meant that no matter how much wool Palatu produced, it would be snapped up.


    The large number of immigrants from Monta, Varn, The Federated Provinces, and even the Empire allowed Palatu to develop the wilderness at an astonishing rate.


    According to the ¡°cutting sausage¡± overall strategy, Palatu would only slice off a small piece each time. For thirty years, they had sliced and never lost once.


    If someone had told them that this time they would be battered bruised and bloody, the people of Palatu would have laughed heartily and walked away shaking their heads.


    ¡­


    Seven days ago, over a thousand Dusack light cavalry, conscripted from the Newly Reclaimed Land, secretly arrived at the East Bank of The Styx.


    Almost six thousand raiders crossed The Styx, and the day they set foot in Palatu, the Palatine Army Headquarters issued a massive conscription order.


    Before the local militias finished assembling, the bulk of the barbarian forces had already left with their plunder.


    Additionally, over a thousand barbarian cavalry lingered in Palatu territory¡ªperhaps they had not looted enough.


    They engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase with the forces within Palatu¡¯s borders, tying up a significant number of troops.


    The first Herd Cavalry invasion in thirty years also sparked various rumors, causing panic within Palatu.


    ¡°Local councils¡± in every city, market town, and town strove to keep the troops locally for self-preservation.


    The two units of over a thousand Dusack light cavalry were all the mobile forces that the Palatine Army Headquarters could dispatch at the time.


    The deployment of a thousand light cavalry was also a calculated force.


    If the Palatu homeland sent a large army of one hundred thousand at once, there would be no need for the barbarians to act; everyone would starve to death on the Great Wilderness.


    That night, as the Palatu forces on the West Bank forcefully crossed The Styx, the Dusack light cavalry also launched a surprise attack on over four thousand Herd Raiders on the East Bank.


    But crossing The Styx did not mean they were out of danger; beside the two thousand-plus sheepskin bags used to tether and crash their rafts into the bridge, the barbarians still had over a thousand sheepskin bags.


    With these sheepskin bags, the various Herd tribes pursued the retreating Palatu Expeditionary Force.


    Until they joined forces with the troops coming to their aid, the people of Palatu engaged in thirteen battles with the Herd tribes. At worst, they inflicted equal casualties, never once losing.


    However, of the Expeditionary Force that initially numbered over twenty-eight thousand, less than eleven thousand made it to the Border River alive.


    The losses of the standing army approached half, with over eight thousand auxiliary soldiers either killed in battle, captured, or abandoned on the West Bank of The Styx.


    Besides the remaining weapons, armor, mules, horses, and their very lives, everything else was left on the Great Wilderness.


    Was the war over?


    Both sides licking their wounds and retreating, perhaps that was the end of it.


    But for the Republic of Palatu and the Herd tribes, this was not the end; it wasn¡¯t even the beginning of the end.


    It was just the end of the beginning.


    But all of this had nothing to do with Winters anymore; he lay on the Great Wilderness and fell into a deep slumber once again.

 Chapter 532 03-25 - 532 98 Migration

    ?Chapter 532: Chapter 98 Migration Chapter 532: Chapter 98 Migration The weather was pleasantly warm, the wind carrying a slight hint of moisture.


    Winters sat on a wooden box, looking bewildered as the felt tent he lived in was dismantled by others.


    The removal of the hides and the unbinding of the framework turned the cozy felt tent into a pile of sticks and several bundles of leather in an instant.


    Suddenly, many people appeared in the camp, and the pastoralists spread out over several kilometers all came over.


    Strangers speaking unfamiliar languages moved about, swiftly taking apart the entire camp, tying and loading it onto the backs of oxen.


    Although it appeared chaotic, in reality, everyone knew what they were supposed to do, and each was busy with their tasks.


    They were familiar with this routine, no words needed¡ªexcept for Winters.


    ...


    Erhulan was busy taking inventory of items, and for the time being, she couldn¡¯t attend to Winters.


    As for Little Lion, he simply wasn¡¯t in the camp.


    Winters sat there, feeling as if he were a child who had lost his way in a crowded square, surrounded by strangers.


    By coincident, a few children with runny noses stood a few meters away, gazing at him curiously.


    When Winters turned to look at them, the children ran off as fast as their legs could carry them.


    They confidently left Winters among the women, children, and elderly, without even assigning any guards to watch him.


    Women and the elderly passed him by, nodding respectfully and calling him ¡°Hestas.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    The few injured men remaining in the camp watched him with wary eyes and reverently referred to him as ¡°Paratu Child.¡±


    Paratu Child was an honorary title for warriors, usually placed after a name. It embodied the idea of toughness, and perhaps it could be translated as Paratu the Tough.


    Gossip spread rapidly, and now everyone knew that Winters had killed a Paratu Child of the Terdon Tribe during the Mak¡¯gora ceremony and had consequently made enemies with the Fire Starters.


    However, the actual pronounciation of ¡°Paratu Paratu Child¡± was quite a mouthful and soon it was shortened to a loud, two-syllable word: ¡°Batu!¡±


    Erhulan came over with a pot of hot mare¡¯s milk, her crescent-shaped, willow-leaf eyes forming smiles: ¡°Would you like some hot milk?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters shook his head: ¡°Water is fine for me.¡±


    Morning cow¡¯s milk, noon mare¡¯s milk, evening sheep¡¯s milk, and then repeating the cycle.


    Faced with this repetitive consumption, even an officer accustomed to a higher intake of dairy products couldn¡¯t handle such a diet.


    A heaven of milk flavor? This was sheer dairy hell.


    ¡°Have just a little, we won¡¯t have time to make a fire on the road,¡± Erhulan coaxed Winters: ¡°The healer says that drinking more milk will help your wounds heal faster.¡±


    After a fierce inner struggle, Winters took the copper bowl and started to gulp down the milk.


    ¡°That¡¯s good! I¡¯ll get you some milk cake to eat on the road,¡± Erhulan left, turning away with her belt¡¯s bead decorations spinning like flowers.


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Winters asked.


    Erhulan came back, frowning as she explained, ¡°We should be meeting up with the old camp first, then heading to Hanlan River? I¡¯m not really sure either¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters reassured her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as a bad person, I wouldn¡¯t hide anything from you,¡± Erhulan, sensitive as always, immediately understood Winters¡¯ mood.


    Feeling somewhat sad she said, ¡°When I first saw you two years ago, Little Lion and I had just returned to the tribe. We both don¡¯t understand much about migration.¡±


    It was then Winters remembered that Erhulan and her brother had lived in the slave plantations of the archipelago for at least eight years, with Erhulan even speaking fluent Common Language.


    Having been away from home for so long made them almost like strangers. Perhaps she sometimes felt like she didn¡¯t fit in?


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad,¡± Winters said softly: ¡°How could I blame you? I¡¯m only grateful to you.¡±


    Erhulan grew even sadder, her eyes reddening, as she left sobbing.


    In a little while, she returned with a bowl of milk cake for Winters, and then left again in tears.


    ¡­


    Although Winters was not adept at interacting with women, he was not obtuse.


    On the contrary, he was quick-witted and observant, capable of detecting many subtle emotions.


    He was not unaware of Erhulan¡¯s affection for him, yet he chose to feign ignorance.


    Winters had no intention of staying in the wilderness for long, and he did not want to hurt this sincerely kind woman.


    His heart was filled to the brim by Anna, leaving no room for another.


    What was Anna? Anna was a bonfire in despair.


    When he was becoming numb and cold, it was those beautiful memories that protected the last shred of his humanity: family, homeland, and Anna.


    For Winters, Anna represented the most beautiful part of his life. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He dreamt countless times of resting his head on Anna¡¯s lap while she softly stroked his forehead, dispelling blood, death, severed limbs, and the grotesque faces of his enemies¡­


    Sometimes he couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°Is Anna really as good as I remember, or am I endlessly idealizing my memories, creating an unreal person who can¡¯t exist in reality?¡±


    This thought filled him with fear and anxiety, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, when I reunite with Anna, will I be disappointed?¡±


    But setting aside Winters¡¯ anxieties, he was unable to accept another person anyway.


    He even dared not get too close to Erhulan, as she too was very good.


    When he first saw her upon waking up, Winters felt she was as bright and warm as sunlight.


    Although he didn¡¯t know exactly what Erhulan liked about him, this admiration was surprising to him.


    Winters was ¡°winter,¡± and he feared melting.


    In fact, to his own alarm, he realised that he had developed a dependency on Erhulan.

 Chapter 533 03-25 - 533 98 Migration_2

    ?Chapter 533: Chapter 98 Migration_2 Chapter 533: Chapter 98 Migration_2 If Antonio had heard Winters¡¯ thoughts, he would inevitably have chided him, ¡°Naive! A fool blinded by first love! How could you ever head a household in the future?¡±


    However, considering General Serviati¡¯s family status, this remark seemed somewhat pale and powerless.


    ¡­


    The few children there were sat in crates, carried by long-haired cattle.


    There was no ceremony, no acts reminiscent of smashing wine bottles or sprinkling Holy Water for commemoration.


    As if it were a regular walk outside, the camp where Winters was started its ¡°migration.¡±


    The riders led the herd of horses at the front, followed by the long-haired cattle carrying all the household belongings, with the huddled goats and sheep trailing at the end.


    ...


    The adult men and women either rode horses or walked, leading the bulls.


    Winters, with his left leg fixed in a wooden brace, enjoyed the special privilege of sitting in the ox-cart, much like several old grandmothers who were nearly toothless.


    Since Lieutenant Mason took the wrong path, the most frequent command from Colonel Jeska became, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne! Take the lead!¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old shaman therefore teased Winters, purposely teaching him a line of poetry: ¡°To him, the grace of princes cherishes still, a sudden leader in the vanguard thrills.¡±


    Being in an ox-cart ¡°trailing¡± was a first for Winters.


    He felt somewhat ashamed yet couldn¡¯t help wondering: What were the Colonel, the old shaman, and the others doing now?


    But the old grandmothers were delighted. They mumbled unclear words and shakily made room, trying to make him more comfortable.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    From their muttering, Winters could only make out one word: Hestas.


    He still did not understand why the Herders called him ¡°Hestas.¡± Did they see him as the old shaman¡¯s successor?


    He suddenly recalled the blood oath ritual with the ointment, which solved some of his doubts yet brought forth even more.


    Winters had a fiery temper at times, but he rarely showed it to the elderly. Even when faced with the old shaman¡¯s disrespectful behavior, he was mostly the one being bullied.


    So he curled up as much as possible, not wanting to burden the elderly.


    One of the old women, after straining to look at Winters for a while, suddenly grabbed his hand and began to shout.


    Winters couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying, but Erhulan came over at the sound.


    As Erhulan listened to the old grandmother, his face grew paler and paler.


    ¡°What is the old lady saying?¡± Winters asked, turning serious.


    ¡°You won¡¯t want to know,¡± Erhulan said with difficulty, ¡°I¡¯ll find you another cart.¡±


    ¡°No, tell me. It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters felt a sort of readiness for the pain to come.


    He was well aware that he had killed so many of the Red River Tribe and that a day like this would come sooner or later.


    ¡°Grandma Tucha was also once a slave at Hongsong Manor. She has seen you, she wants to ask you,¡± Erhulan¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears: ¡°Were you there the day the Paratu People killed prisoners outside Bianli City?¡±


    ¡°I was there,¡± Winters only answered that.


    I was there, but I didn¡¯t do anything. To Winters, such words had no meaning, and he disdained to speak them.


    ¡°If you seek revenge, then come,¡± thought Winters: ¡°Everyone thinks I have a deep vendetta against Antonio, but my grudge with the Red River is far deeper than mountains, deeper than seas.¡±


    Erhulan translated Winters¡¯ answer truthfully.


    The old woman named Tucha, holding Winters¡¯ hand, tremblingly pressed it to her forehead, then to her chest, muttering something.


    ¡°She said, she knew she saw Hestas that day,¡± Erhulan translated as he listened: ¡°She knew it was Hestas who saved them. Otherwise, they would all have been killed. She said she knew¡­¡±


    Winters withdrew his hand as if scorched by a branding iron, his voice trembling slightly: ¡°No, I didn¡¯t save anyone. You should hate me!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t stay in this cart¡­¡± He struggled to climb out, and in Erhulan¡¯s outcry, he fell to the ground.


    ¡­


    Erhulan found another cart for Winters.


    To call it a cart was an exaggeration; it was more like a plank of wood. One end was fixed to the ox yoke, while the other dragged along the ground. It didn¡¯t even have wheels but was just dragged along.


    Winters lay in the cart, weighed down with heavy thoughts, unable to calm down for a long while.


    When he finally regained his composure, they had already traveled quite a distance.


    He looked around and suddenly realized, ¡°This is what nomadic life is.¡±


    ¡°Herder, a term indicating a pastoralist. The Herders, those who graze large livestock, settle wherever water and grass lead.¡±


    The text in the books was hollow and cold, yet Winters found himself inadvertently living within it.


    Whereas knowledge learned indirectly was one thing, witnessing ¡°nomadism¡± firsthand was a completely different experience.


    On the desolate plains, there was just this one group of living beings; not another soul was in sight.


    The cattle and sheep sometimes scattered, sometimes regrouped, with the riders occasionally prodding with long poles any animal that strayed from the herd.


    Both people and livestock walked with strides as if they all knew where to go, as if they could keep walking like this forever.


    After six or seven hours of walking and stopping, the migrating group halted beside a small lake.


    The livestock were led to drink water, people began reassembling their felt tents, and the Little Lion had been waiting here all along.


    Winters suddenly realized that nomadism was not about boundless horizons and had nothing to do with carefree drifting.


    It was more like a series of carefully planned finite journeys, not at all a matter of wandering without purpose or luck.


    This lifestyle was distinctly different from settled agriculture; migration was an integral part of it.


    Yet this life was no different from the lives of the farmers from Wolf Town that Winters had seen.


    It was hard, simple, and ordinary, not spectacular or interesting, just a group of people striving to live.

 Chapter 534 03-25 - 534 98 Migration_3

    ?Chapter 534: Chapter 98 Migration_3 Chapter 534: Chapter 98 Migration_3 Winters had a strange feeling: perhaps the strength of a person was found in the very act of ¡°striving to live.¡±


    As Winters¡¯s mind wandered, Little Lion came over.


    Little Lion knocked on the carriage panel and asked with a smile, ¡°How¡¯s your first day following us? Getting used to it?¡±


    Winters came back to his senses, ¡°Riding in a carriage is more relaxing than on horseback.¡±


    ¡°Hard to get used to the food? I felt the same when I just got home,¡± said Little Lion, patting his quiver and talking excitedly, ¡°I¡¯ll go hunt you a couple of rabbits. Once your wounds are healed, we can have a real good time hunting with nets!¡±


    ¡°The rabbits can wait, I have something I want to ask you,¡± Winters said, looking serious.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk when I get back!¡± Little Lion laughed heartily and leapt onto the saddle, galloping away.


    ...


    ¡­


    When Little Lion returned, he brought not only the rabbits but also another person, though with evident reluctance.


    The visitor was an older Herder with a weather-beaten face.


    He brought two gifts: a bag of flour and a beautifully made curved knife.


    Without the Red Plumed Feathers or the Green Plumed Feathers, Winters couldn¡¯t distinguish the Herder¡¯s status. But judging by the fabric and embroidery of his robe, he must have been a high-ranking chieftain.


    Little Lion couldn¡¯t be bothered to translate, and the man wasn¡¯t upset; he called over Erhulan for help.


    After a brief introduction, Winters learned that the man was named Tie Feng [Iron Fang], uncle to the siblings of White Lion and chieftain of the Eagle Forest Tribe.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Winters accepted the flour but left the curved knife untouched.


    Tie Feng said something, and Erhulan translated it:


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the seekers of vengeance. The Terdon Tribe and us are bonded by blood. You¡¯re safe with us.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t speak.


    The Herder chieftain didn¡¯t beat around the bush and asked bluntly, ¡°I heard you¡¯re a ¡®Kota¡¯ among the bipeds?¡±


    When Erhulan translated, ¡®Kota¡¯ was rendered phonetically.


    But Winters knew that a ¡®Kota¡¯ was a military noble in Herder society.


    Little Lion had a furious argument with Tie Feng and stormed off angrily.


    Then Tie Feng said something to Winters that made Erhulan freeze.


    Tie Feng urged Erhulan.


    ¡°Uncle asks,¡± Erhulan said quietly, ¡°if you would train our new army. You can have anything you want. That even includes me.¡±


    Winters looked at Tie Feng expressionlessly. He didn¡¯t need to speak; his body language was answer enough.


    ¡°Do you see now? If you truly manage to tie him down, I won¡¯t utter a word,¡± Tie Feng said to Erhulan, ¡°The bipeds look down on us, no matter how hard you try, he simply doesn¡¯t want you. The Fire Roaster has now proposed to White Lion for you for the third time. Red River Tribe is in its most dangerous moment, would you really let your brother lose his most important ally?¡±


    After speaking, Tie Feng didn¡¯t even glance at Winters again but turned and walked out of the felt tent.


    To Winters, it seemed like Tie Feng had severely reprimanded Erhulan before leaving.


    ¡°Why did he treat you like that?¡± Winters asked softly. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really,¡± Erhulan sobbed softly, ¡°Now that we have flour, I¡¯ll make you bread.¡±


    Before long, Little Lion came back, fuming. Seeing his sister crying, he understood everything.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry! Erhulan, you should be happy,¡± Little Lion said, thumping his chest, ¡°As long as me and brother are here, there¡¯s nothing to fear.¡±


    Erhulan dried her tears and went out of the tent with the flour.


    ¡°Do you think that my uncle and I are playing ¡®good cop, bad cop¡¯ with you?¡± Little Lion scratched his head and asked with a wry smile.


    ¡°No, I¡¯ve never thought that,¡± Winters replied honestly, ¡°Because you¡¯ve got an even worse temper than I do.¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you, I genuinely hope you¡¯ll stay and help my brother,¡± Little Lion said sorrowfully, ¡°The situation with our Red River Tribe is probably still unclear to you. Alas, the tribes have won, but our Red River Tribe has lost.¡±


    Little Lion was wrong. Winters was very clear¡ªfor at least a third of the damage to the Red River Tribe could be credited to his ¡®achievements¡¯.


    Looking over the battles of the Great Wilderness, Winters nearly always faced the Red River Tribe head-on¡­ as well as the Fire Roaster¡¯s Terdon Tribe.


    Everyone knew of his feud with the Terdon Tribe because of that battlefield duel.


    But when Winters fought against the Red River Tribe, he was always in full armor, and three-quarters of all the Centurions in the legion looked practically identical.


    Moreover, now that Winters was living among commoners, women, and children, it was even less likely that anyone would recognize him as ¡°him.¡±


    ¡°I want you to stay, but only if you¡¯re willing. I¡¯ll never force you to stay. As long as I¡¯m alive, you¡¯re safe,¡± Little Lion laughed heartily, with boundless pride, ¡°If you stay, you¡¯ll command the infantry, and my brother the cavalry. Which of the tribes could match us then?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight any longer.¡±


    ¡°Then what is it that you want to do?¡± Little Lion asked, puzzled.


    What is it that you want to do? This question struck Winters¡¯s inner world violently.


    A ¡°loyal successor,¡± a man destined to be a soldier since birth, a man who entered the military academy at nine, a man who knew nothing but warfare, a man whose hands were covered in blood.


    Aside from fighting, what else did he want to do? What else could he do?


    He leaned against the pillow, staring straight up at the dome of the tent: ¡°I want to lie down.¡±

 Chapter 535 03-25 - 535 99 Monsoon

    ?Chapter 535: Chapter 99 Monsoon Chapter 535: Chapter 99 Monsoon For several days, the camp first migrated southwest, then turned north.


    The Herders used a lunar calendar, and their method of reckoning years was different from that of the Republics.


    Winters could only estimate the dates himself; he remembered that the supply train had set off from Shuangqiao Main Camp on January 12th.


    Heading westward, crossing the Border River, traversing the unpopulated area, they should have reached the Styx Main Camp by January 30th.


    That evening, snowflakes drifted down from the sky.


    Before that, he had simply been a Garrison Officer temporarily conscripted, leading a small group of militiamen doing laborious work of transferring supplies within Paratu territory.


    Afterward, his world was like a cart dragged by a wild horse, hurtling towards a precipice at breakneck speed.


    ...


    After setbacks, the supply train arrived at Bianli Main Camp on February 24th. Twelve days later, Bianli City fell.


    The next day, as part of the vanguard, he set out on the retreat; he saw the Styx again on March 29th.


    He recalled each day, estimating that he had woken up inside the Erhulan tent on April 16th.


    Another seven days had passed since then, making it April 23rd.


    ¡°Have I really been away from home for so long?¡± Winters felt as if he were in a different lifetime.


    In April, Sea Blue must have already been very hot.


    Men and women on the road would have already changed into lovely, light single-layered clothes, with only the elderly still wrapped in winter attire.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    The docks would be crowded with shirtless laborers; large and small merchant ships gathered in the bay, waiting for the seasonal monsoon to arrive on schedule.


    The Ascension Day of the Lord was also approaching¡ªit was Sea Blue¡¯s most important festival.


    On that day, everyone would dress up and follow the ¡°Consular Gold Ship¡± to Saint Nicolas Island.


    Waiting for them would be Priests holding Holy Water, salt, and olive branches.


    The prayer was unfailing: ¡°Oh, Lord! Please bless us, bless all the people of the sea, that the ocean may ever be calm and peaceful.¡±


    Next came grand celebrations and processions.


    The Ascension Day of the Lord was important because it marked the beginning of the new sailing season.


    After a brief revelry, the Sea Blue People would set sail into the vast ocean. They would either return with riches or disappear without a trace.


    Winters¡¯s thoughts had already drifted to the seaside.


    He spoke absently: ¡°Erhulan?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Erhulan was doing embroidery.


    ¡°Spring has arrived.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it gets warmer every day, and the wind has started to blow from the west,¡± Erhulan said, smiling and looking up, her almond-shaped eyes curved. ¡°The elders say it¡¯s time to take the spirit animals to the highlands.¡±


    ¡°Get me a small knife,¡± he requested.


    ¡°Sure.¡± Erhulan continued to work with her needle. ¡°What kind of knife would you like?¡±


    ¡°Just the most ordinary kind.¡± Winters propped himself up to sit. ¡°Please bring me some branches as well.¡±


    He now knew that for unmarried Herder women, carrying a knife was an important ¡°token.¡±


    A man offers a dowry, and a woman reciprocates with a knife. Therefore, one should not carelessly take an unmarried girl¡¯s knife.


    Erhulan quickly brought Winters a small knife the size of a palm.


    The blade was well-forged, and the knife was made in one piece; without a guard, the handle was wrapped in leather string, coiled round and round; its overall style was simple and unadorned, a reliable tool for pastoral life¡ªWinters was very satisfied.


    Woodcarvers used special chisels, but Winters wasn¡¯t planning to carve statues or flowers.


    He took a piece of branch and slowly peeled the bark, cut it, and sharpened it.


    In this manner, he gradually exercised the stiff muscles of his arm.


    ¡°Are you making wooden spikes?¡± Erhulan asked, puzzled. ¡°Are they for knitting a sweater?¡±


    ¡°Just moving my arm around.¡±


    Erhulan coaxingly addressed Winters, ¡°You¡¯ll get splinters all over the carpet if you whittle inside the tent. How about I help you outside to sit and bask in the sun for a while?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t want to leave the tent or show his face around the camp, but he would not refuse Erhulan.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Winters¡¯s leg injury had reduced its swelling, but he was still some way off from removing the splint.


    Erhulan helped him out of the tent and brought over a wooden chest for him to sit on at the entrance; she also fetched a blanket to cover his legs.


    Another day¡¯s trek, and that day they camped in a sparse coniferous forest.


    The setting sun filtered through the branches, casting a spotty glow.


    Little Lion came over with a deer leg, teasing, ¡°From the neck down, one might mistake you for an old man by a hearth.¡±


    Winters silently chipped away at the wood.


    ¡°Are you making skewers for the meat?¡± Little Lion was also quite curious.


    He stared at the small knife in Winters¡¯s hand, blinking.


    Winters nodded and continued whittling the wood.


    ¡°You¡¯d do better to keep your mouth shut sometimes,¡± Erhulan emerged from the tent, draped a woolen knit blanket over Winters¡¯s shoulders, and took the deer leg from Little Lion¡¯s grasp. ¡°Let Hestas enjoy some quiet time in the sun.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Little Lion mumbled.


    He sat down beside Winters, watching the white core of the wood be sharpened little by little with the knife, asking, ¡°They¡¯ve distributed the spoils of war. Do you still want that set of armor of yours?¡±


    Winters shook his head.


    ¡°When they found you, you had a pack of maps in your arms. Do you still want that?¡±


    Winters set down the wooden spike, thought for a moment, and said, ¡°That belongs to an elder of mine, please return it to me.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Little Lion agreed without hesitation.


    Both fell silent again, with only the sound of the knife shaving wood.


    Little Lion decided to sit on the ground, looking into the distance, and casually remarked, ¡°My brother¡¯s also come back. He¡¯s not joined the main forces yet, but I¡¯ll bring him to meet you when he does.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t commit to a response. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Go rest,¡± Little Lion stood up. ¡°I¡¯m off now.¡±

 Chapter 536 03-25 - 536 99 Monsoon_2

    ?Chapter 536: Chapter 99 Monsoon_2 Chapter 536: Chapter 99 Monsoon_2 These days, Little Lion often came to chat with Winters.


    But Winters became increasingly silent, even less lively than when he¡¯d just awakened, only showing some vitality when with Erhulan.


    After leaving his sister and Winters, Little Lion did not return to his own felt tent. He led his horse out and rode eastward with his guard.


    He crossed the hill slopes, galloped alongside the creek, and arrived at another camp several kilometers away.


    The camp where Winters and Erhulan were was very small, not the real Red River Tribe¡¯s ¡°old camp¡±; it was mostly composed of the elderly, women, and children who had survived from Bianli, along with a few wounded.


    The camp that Little Lion arrived at, however, was occupied only by adult males, with armored guards wielding swords visible everywhere.


    There were also a few robust guards armed with bows and quivers, known as ¡°quiver bearers¡±.


    ...


    People on the road saluted Little Lion as they saw him, some calling him ¡°Little Lion¡±, while others respectfully addressed him as ¡°Hearth Master¡±.


    Beyond the members of the Red River Tribe, there were nearly a thousand men tied up in strings with ropes and iron chains behind the camp.


    These men were not wearing Herder robes but blood-stained Paratu military uniforms!


    They were prisoners¡­ and slaves. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The surrounding Herders threw food at them like feeding pigs. The prisoners scrambled frantically for the food, even coming to blows over it.


    A middle-aged prisoner had just grabbed a wheat cake mixed with dirt and dead grass when another emaciated prisoner snatched it away from him.


    The emaciated prisoner, ignoring the punches and kicks from others, desperately stuffed the wheat cake into his mouth.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Elsewhere someone screamed, ¡°My hand!¡±


    Someone else, unable to distinguish between fingers and wheat cake, had bitten down, swallowing with blood.


    The watching Herders laughed heartily, throwing out more wheat cakes.


    Did the prisoners feel shame?


    They did.


    But they were so hungry, hunger-stricken to the point of desperation.


    For more than ten days, they had trekked day after day, receiving very little food, fed just like pigs.


    If you did not fight, you starved to death.


    The gnawing feeling of hunger constantly questioned them: What¡¯s the worth of dignity? What is shame?


    The number of captured officers among the Herders was very small, and they were confined separately.


    It was not just the officers but even the non-commissioned officers who had been segregated from the prisoners.


    Deprived of their leaders and deliberately broken, their wills had completely collapsed.


    The scent of something enticing wafted into the prisoners¡¯ nostrils, making everyone involuntarily stop their actions.


    The Herders brought the mouthwatering roast sheep in front of them.


    The prisoners lunged for the roast sheep, only to be pulled down by the chains and ropes on their limbs and then forced back by the glinting spears.


    The Herders then pushed several disheveled Paratu people forward.


    A strapping Green Plumed Feathers approached, followed by a skinny Translator.


    The shy Translator translated, ¡°The Fire Starter chief says these few slaves tried to escape and must be punished.¡±


    The Translator was also a prisoner, but because he could speak two languages, his situation was far better than that of the others.


    Green Plumed Feathers scolded coldly, and the skinny Translator repeated it loudly.


    Still dissatisfied, Green Plumed Feathers prompted the Translator, who then yelled it out again, crying.


    At a wave from Green Plumed Feathers, the quiver bearers brought out a brazier.


    They used a red-hot iron spike to pierce under the escaping prisoners¡¯ collarbones, threading an iron ring through them like putting a nose ring on a cow.


    The prisoners¡¯ screams were harrowing, and the air was filled with a burnt meat scent.


    ¡°The Fire Starter chief says that those who try to escape again won¡¯t be this lucky; they¡¯ll be killed outright,¡± the Translator shouted hoarsely. ¡°The Fire Starter chief also says that the wilderness is boundless, and no matter where you run, you will be caught and brought back.¡±


    The prisoners hung their heads, some staring at the Translator with eyes filled with hatred and rage.


    ¡°The Fire Starter chief wants to pick out those with skills among you. Those with skills get to eat the roasted meat, while those without will continue picking up food from the ground,¡± the Translator¡¯s voice was hoarse from shouting. ¡°Who among you can blacksmith? Who can¡­¡±


    Little Lion watched for a while, then silently headed towards the main tent.


    Because there were no enemies nearby, the Red River Tribe¡¯s camp was no longer structured with tents encircling the horses.


    The horses were taken out of the camp to forage, and the smaller tents of ten-man squads wrapped around the main tent at the center.


    On the way, Green Plumed Feathers Stag [Bohan] stopped Little Lion and walked shoulder to shoulder with him towards the main tent.


    ¡°Swift Hawk is dead,¡± Stag whispered, making a throat-cutting gesture.


    ¡°Ah, Swift Hawk was capable; his herds were always more prosperous than others,¡± Little Lion said with some sadness. ¡°But deserting his feathers in the face of battle, he deserved to die.¡±


    Stag sighed. The ¡®arrows¡¯ of White Lion had suffered heavy casualties in this battle.


    For a dishonorable death like Swift Hawk¡¯s, he would be stripped of all his herds, dependents, and slaves.


    However, it was precisely for this reason that many positions had become vacant, allowing Stag to be promoted from Haug Koda [Centurion] to an arrow.


    [Note: ¡°Arrow¡± in Herder language represents a leader with the rank of Green Plumed Feathers, further divided into ¡°near arrows which shoot at close range, and far arrows which shoot at long range.¡± They are both military and civil officials.]


    As Little Lion and Stag entered the main tent, a quiver bearer was emerging with a bloodied Green Plumed Feather helmet.


    That must have been Swift Hawk¡¯s helmet, as the Herders abhorred decapitation. Unless driven by deep hatred, even in the case of execution, beheading was not practiced.


    In the tent, people sat around the campfire. The Green Plumed Feathers were heatedly debating.


    ¡°The Paratu are severely weakened; now is the perfect time to strike down the Grass Valley!¡±


    ¡°Grey Eyes and Well-Feeders are convening their war bands, preparing for this autumn¡¯s raid. We should also raise the great standard; otherwise, the small tribes that depend on us might be lured away!¡±

 Chapter 537 03-25 - 537 99 Monsoon_3

    ?Chapter 537: Chapter 99 Monsoon_3 Chapter 537: Chapter 99 Monsoon_3 ¡°`


    ¡°Damn it! We haven¡¯t plundered the grass valley in thirty years! Are you saying we shed blood but don¡¯t get to share in the meat?¡±


    Due to Paratu¡¯s blockade, there was a shortage of everything in the Great Wilderness.


    Once they defeated their old enemy, everyone couldn¡¯t wait to plunder Paratu.


    Keep in mind, the last time the tribes raided the grass valley was during the era of Khan Queye, thirty years earlier. An entire generation of Herders had never even seen what Paratu looked like.


    ¡°Shut it! You bunch of bastards!¡± Tie Feng jumped up and scolded fiercely, ¡°The fire has reached our eyebrows, and you¡¯re still thinking about raiding the grass valley? Our top priority is to maintain the alliance with the Terdun Tribe! Save yourselves first!¡±


    The crowd of Green Plumed Feathers immediately fell silent.


    Tie Feng turned to White Lion and said in a deep voice, ¡°The Terdun Tribe suffered great losses, and ours were even greater. We should stick together for self-preservation. The grey-eyed ones and the hearty eaters claim they¡¯re going to raid the grass valley, but who knows if they¡¯re actually coming to exterminate us?¡±


    ...


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, the fire tender also has no good intentions.¡± Little Lion sat by the campfire, frowning deeply, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he also harbor thoughts of swallowing us? The three major tribes, they¡¯re all cast from the same mold. All as greedy as wolves, and all equally vicious.¡±


    Tie Feng spread his hands, expressing a sense of helplessness, ¡°What can we do when the three major tribes are direct descendants of Khan Hongyun? What can we do since they are the ¡®golden offspring¡¯ and the ¡®heirs¡¯? They are the only ones who can become great khans, and they¡¯re always dreaming of claiming that title.


    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t understand the fire tender¡¯s mind? But when the lion bites your throat and the wolf bites your hand, should we not strike the lion and fend off the wolf? Just be on your guard, that¡¯s all.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± A Green Plumed Feather immediately got angry, roaring aloud, ¡°Tie Feng! Why are you always trying to please the fire tender? Who said only the major tribes could become Khan? Why can¡¯t White Lion? I think you¡¯re planning to defect to the Terdun Tribe! Using the Red River Tribe as a gift!¡±


    ¡°Talk bloody nonsense!¡± Tie Feng roared furiously, pointing at the other man¡¯s nose and spat out accusingly, ¡°If I had ill intentions, would I bring troops to help you? Ten years ago, the Red River Tribe was flattened like scattered ashes; who helped White Lion gather the tribe? And who lent troops to White Lion? Fine! You think my words are unpleasant, I¡¯ll just take my Eagle Forest Tribe and leave right now!¡±


    Having said that, Tie Feng turned to leave, but Little Lion quickly stopped him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    The opposing Green Plumed Feather was rendered speechless by the rapid fire of words and hung his head in silent frustration.


    ¡°Uncle.¡± White Lion, who had been silent up until then, finally spoke up, his light brown eyes resembling deep pools. He said gently, ¡°I have never doubted you. Please don¡¯t be angry.¡±


    Tie Feng shrugged off Little Lion and sat back down by the fire angrily, saying earnestly to White Lion, ¡°Over a hundred years ago, Khan Hongyun and the tribes swore a blood oath in the presence of nine animals, agreeing that only the ¡®golden offspring¡¯ could be Khan. Although times have changed, this sentiment still resides in the hearts of the people.


    ¡°You mustn¡¯t be in a hurry to claim the title of Khan, nor should you harbor such a desire. The tribes won¡¯t accept it! If one day the Red River Tribe unites the grasslands, and if you wish to become the great khan or the chanyu, I won¡¯t say a word.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± White Lion laughed heartily, his laughter tinged with bitterness, ¡°Do I harbor such ambitions? When I was a child, all I wanted was to have enough food for my mother, brother, and sisters; when my mother, brother, and sisters were gone, and my companions were killed, all I sought was revenge; as more and more people followed me, all I wanted was for them to live securely. If the fire tender could achieve that, I wouldn¡¯t mind leading his horses!¡±


    The surrounding Green Plumed Feathers were also reminded of their sorrows, each one with a grief-stricken face.


    Unlike other clans maintained through bloodlines, members of the latter Red River Tribe came from various clans. Because of scattered tribes and destroyed families, they gradually gathered under the banner of White Lion.


    [Note: The latter Red River Tribe is distinct from the former Red River Tribe, which was dominated by White Lion¡¯s blood relatives and was decimated by Alpad¡¯s forces.]


    For thirty years, the Paratu People continuously attacked the tribes, and as the living space for the tribes was squeezed, they also engaged in mutual combat. Who knows how many tribes were crushed in the turmoil and how many Herders lost their kin?


    Little Lion suddenly leaped up, shouting, ¡°Brother! How can you say such a thing? What is the fire tender? Is he worthy?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not!¡± White Lion pounded his knee emphatically, his tone resolute, ¡°He is too greedy and too ruthless, only considering us as his servants. I am unwilling to hand over the Red River Tribe members to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unwilling as well!¡± the Green Plumed Feathers rose up, echoing in response, ¡°So are we! If the three major tribes want to come and fight us, let them come! We¡¯ll kill them all!¡±


    Tie Feng sat silently in his place, looking very weary.


    ¡°First, we must continue to maintain our alliance with the Terdun Tribe, and it¡¯s not harmful to be their nominal vassals. However, we will not relocate to their grasslands, nor will we join their encampments. We must make it clear to the fire tender, if the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe want to attack us, he doesn¡¯t need to come to our aid, just plunder the enemy¡¯s home camps.¡±


    ¡°Ooo!¡± The Green Plumed Feathers beat their chests and shouted in unison, expressing their agreement.


    ¡°Uncle.¡± White Lion turned to Tie Feng, ¡°The matter with the fire tender, I implore you to be our envoy.¡±


    Tie Feng was momentarily stunned, then, dispelling his fatigue, he said solemnly, ¡°Rest assured. In my opinion, even if we don¡¯t make an arrangement with him, the fire tender would still go and raid the other two tribes¡¯ home camps. They profit while we bleed. He would gladly do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Secondly, the hearty eaters and the grey-eyes are not of one mind. That¡¯s an opportunity to have them check each other. If words are placed correctly, they can be as powerful as ten thousand soldiers. I have already asked the Great Shaman to go to the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe to make them understand the stakes. Our strength may be diminished, but whoever we aid will win and whoever we fight will lose. I am willing to reiterate Khan Hongyun¡¯s oath, acknowledging only the golden offspring as khans.¡± White Lion spread his hands, ¡°I would also swear again that in this lifetime I will never seek to be khan, and if I do, may I die under a thousand arrows.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 538 03-25 - 538 99 Monsoon_4

    ?Chapter 538: Chapter 99 Monsoon_4 Chapter 538: Chapter 99 Monsoon_4 The Green Plumed Feathers exchanged glances, some bewildered, but someone broke the silence, cheerily saying, ¡°The Great Shaman stands with us, what do we have to fear?¡±


    ¡°Third, this autumn, I don¡¯t plan to call up the warbands to advance east into the pastures.¡±


    The tent fell quiet, with some expressing regret, ¡°Can¡¯t we send at least a few? It¡¯s such a waste not to eat meat that¡¯s there for the taking.¡±


    ¡°Not only will we not go, but we will also persuade the three great tribes not to go,¡± White Lion pondered. ¡°The Paratu are already a boiling pot internally, their stress relieved only by continuous victories. Having suffered a great loss, they are likely to face turmoil. If we rashly send troops over, it would only unite them again.¡±


    When it came to strategic matters, everyone had unlimited trust in White Lion. Despite some disappointment, they shouted in unison, ¡°Woo!¡±


    ¡°Fourth, we must think of a way to unite the surrounding medium and small tribes. Although the three great tribes are powerful, if the smaller tribes are bound together, they are no weaker than them. The chiefs of the Dog Soldiers and the Blackwater are willing to do our bidding and persuade the other tribes.¡±


    ¡°Woo!¡±


    ...


    ¡°And there¡¯s one last thing.¡± White Lion said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s distribute the spoils according to the old rules.¡±


    ¡°Woo!!!¡± Cheers erupted, piercing the tent and reaching for the skies.


    For the Herders¡¯ wars¡ªor rather, their raids, as in Herder language the two were one and the same¡ªthe most important thing was the spoils of war.


    Next only to the death penalty was the grave punishment of being deprived of war spoils.


    What exactly were the Herders¡¯ spoils of war?


    Everything.


    Carts? Fine goods!


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Tents? Fine goods!


    Iron tools? Fine goods!


    Armor and weapons? Even better!


    Everything the Paratu People abandoned was considered fine goods to the Herders.


    But the only things that truly counted in the ledgers were three: captives, horses, and armor.


    The war songs of the Herder tribes didn¡¯t sing of the gold and fabrics looted, but they always recorded the number of captives, horses, and armor taken.


    After the battle at The Styx, the allied tribes essentially disbanded.


    White Lion didn¡¯t want to cross the river to pursue the enemy, and without him, the rest had no ability to organize a pursuit. Even if he had wanted to, he lacked the means to do so.


    The Herders failed to capture mules or horses, as they had all been taken by Sekler.


    As for armor, there was plenty, with over ten thousand suits of scale and lamellar armor.


    The lamellar armor belonged to the Paratu army, all previously captured from the Herder tribes by the Paratu.


    There were many cold and hot weapons as well, muskets, blades, more than enough for all.


    For the Herder tribes still in the age of cold weapons, the difference in combat effectiveness between an armored soldier and one without armor was day and night.


    Armor, therefore, was precious; a suit of armor could be passed down for generations, traveling from one tribe to another. Lamellar armor was a treasure among treasures.


    Following the pre-agreed arrangements, tribes returned each other¡¯s armor¡ªthe scale pieces were marked¡ªwhile the Paratu lamellar armor was divided according to the effort contributed.


    Together, the Red River Tribe acquired nearly three thousand suits of armor; they had also shed the most blood.


    The other tribes were envious, but not to the point where one second they were allies and the next, swords were drawn against each other.


    Besides the armor and weapons, there were also slaves.


    Although the Paratu People destroyed the great bridge to temporarily block pursuit, they also stranded those who hadn¡¯t crossed the river, on the west bank.


    The tribes captured more than two thousand six hundred prisoners, mostly auxiliary troops and injured.


    According to the usual rates, Paratu slaves were highly valued because for thirty years, the Herders seldom had the chance to capture Paratu slaves.


    And when the Herder tribes captured Paratu slaves, apart from everyday work, they were primarily used for farming.


    Indeed, even the wasteland had cultivated land, and the Herders also needed crops to supplement their food sources.


    To prevent Paratu slaves from escaping, tribal chiefs would even arrange marriages between Paratu slaves and Herder slave women.


    If the slave had skills like blacksmithing, masonry, or carpentry, their value increased even further.


    However, the season was not in favor; the Herders captured Paratu slaves for farming, but the planting season had already passed.


    Having captured too many at once, the value of Paratu slaves rapidly diminished.


    The Herder tribes simply stopped distinguishing between craftsmen and laborers and shared them out on a per-capita basis.


    The Red River Tribe still had over a thousand sheepskin bags, so White Lion organized a fleet on The Styx, taking captives as a fare for crossing¡ªthere were still tribes unsatisfied with their loot, eager to cross the river to pursue the enemy.


    Each tribal chief was shrewd; they knew that the cream of the Paratu army was on the East Bank.


    Chasing down one person meant one suit of lamellar armor¡ªthe Paratu were certainly too exhausted to carry away the corpses and their armor.


    And precisely because of this, in the hundred-kilometer stretch of no man¡¯s land, the pursuit by the Herders occurred at the tribal level, not as the ¡°allied forces¡± as before.


    Perhaps other tribes didn¡¯t need captives, but the Red River Tribe, having lost many of its own, was in urgent need of replenishing its labor force.


    Thus, the Red River Tribe was allotted about a thousand captives, whom they needed to bring back alive, avoiding deaths during the journey if possible.


    All these allocations were made at the allied level. Within the tribes, the distribution was handled differently.


    Many leaders didn¡¯t share war spoils with their followers, especially when the spoils mainly consisted of military supplies.


    However, the Red River Tribe would distribute the spoils as equitably as possible among everyone, regardless of the amount.


    Each tribe member received their share, and the families of the fallen were compensated.


    This could result in a slave having multiple owners, and by the established custom of the Red River Tribe, one of the owners could redeem the slave.


    If they couldn¡¯t afford the redemption, the slave would be shared by all.


    The will of the Red River Tribe¡¯s armed forces was far more resolute than other tribes¡¯, in part because White Lion dealt fairly, willing to share the spoils of war with everyone. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 539 03-25 - 539 99 Monsoon_5

    ?Chapter 539: Chapter 99 Monsoon_5 Chapter 539: Chapter 99 Monsoon_5 [Note: The concept of war spoils is not limited to combat, as the prey from hunting is also considered spoils. The distribution of war spoils is an important part of Herd society.]


    The Green Plumed Feathers were in high spirits as they counted and calculated the details.


    ¡°What do you want, Little Lion?¡± Tie Feng asked.


    ¡°Me?¡± Little Lion said with a smile, ¡°I just want a Venetian.¡±


    ¡­


    The Venetian mentioned by Little Lion was currently making a pulley system.


    Winters had no other tools, only a small knife.


    The tribal medic said he needed to move his knee and ankle joints a little more each day to avoid any lasting damage.


    So, Erhulan helped Winters with his ¡°rehabilitation¡± every day.


    ...


    But given Winters¡¯s height and weight, just supporting him was a struggle for Erhulan.


    And since she had to take care of Winters¡¯s daily needs, he really couldn¡¯t bear to see her work so hard.


    Winters wanted to make a set of pulleys, to be suspended in a frame, so he could move his knees and ankles independently.


    At the same time, he could also exercise his upper body muscles.


    He had work to do and couldn¡¯t just lie there.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    ¡­


    At the same time, at Kingsfort.


    In the lingering sunlight, Alpad rode into the city, leading two guards on horseback.


    It had been over a week since the remnants of the Expeditionary Force returned to Palatu, currently stationed at the supply distribution center of the Parlatu Army, which was the starting point for Winters¡ªthe Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Even though they had returned to their homeland, the situation was more severe than in the wastelands.


    The Expeditionary Force hadn¡¯t disbanded, neither the Standing Army nor the auxiliary troops.


    Moreover, Alpad had taken over the garrison of the Shuangqiao Main Camp and the conscripted militia.


    His demands were straightforward, ¡°First, solve the problem of the Expeditionary Force¡¯s compensation.¡±


    Before the war, the army headquarters had agreed with the soldiers of the Standing Army that all rewards would be distributed in the form of land.


    The Expeditionary Force had brought back countless Herd Barbarians¡¯ ears; they had fought bloody battles and deserved to be honored.


    ¡°Second, mobilize the troops for war readiness. This war isn¡¯t over yet¡ªthe Parlatu People will fight back.¡±


    Alpad knew very well that the Herd factions were like wolves surrounding a lion.


    Now that the lion¡¯s deterrent power had diminished and its claws had been broken, the wolves had started to get restless.


    Over the past thirty years, the Parlatu People had maintained the frontier¡¯s thriving development. Not through defense, but through offense.


    The two legions of the Standing Army were spread out along the long border like salt sprinkled in a lake.


    If the barbarians were to take the offensive, they could launch raids from various positions, striking swiftly and retreating quickly.


    The Parlatu People would face the same strategic dilemma as the ancient Muruo Empire, with borders aflame everywhere and the Standing Army exhausted from constant engagement.


    The army¡¯s size would have to continue to grow, yet it would not be able to earn enough profits.


    Indeed, the Parlatu Standing Army was now profitable.


    By using loans, mortgages, bonds, and various dazzling ¡°financial instruments,¡± every war against the Herd factions over the past thirty years had been a profitable venture for Palatu.


    By the time the army was deployed, the land in the no man¡¯s land had already been divided, bought, and sold, and served as military expenses flowing into the army headquarters and the grand council¡¯s treasury. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not to mention the consequences of a breach of contract¡ªjust thinking about it gave Alpad a splitting headache.


    Merely shifting from an offensive to a defensive strategy would cause the Parlatu Standing Army to transform from a treasure trove into a bottomless pit.


    In an open letter to the grand council, Alpad wrote explicitly: ¡°To solve the Expeditionary Force¡¯s compensation issue, I am willing to take off my uniform, bind my hands, and assume full responsibility for the failure of this campaign. As for General Yanosh¡¯s position as the commander of the great legion, I nominate Major General Sekler to succeed. He is the only one who can be ready for the next battle.¡±


    Alpad considered that he had done nothing wrong¡ªhe was a man ill-suited for defeat.


    Faced with failure, his first reaction was always, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost, I will fight back.¡±


    His opinion also had the support of the Parlatu Army.


    The army headquarters sent General Adams to the grand council to explain Alpad¡¯s reasoning to all the members.


    But to the grand council, this was betrayal, coercion, this was a ¡°palace coup¡±¡ªand they weren¡¯t wrong because Alpad indeed intended to force their hand.


    Angry, upon learning of the destruction of the Floating Bridge, he had immediately sent for aid.


    But the grand council had only sent him five orders to retreat.


    Recalling this incident enraged Alpad: ¡°Retreat my ass! With the barbarians nipping at our heels, can we leave without a fight?¡±


    In his view, if the grand council could have, as he once requested, ¡°mobilize quickly, respond swiftly, ignore the Herd Raiders, and directly send reinforcements,¡± he would never have ended up in this situation.


    Alpad had made up his mind: he could carry this black mark and accept any punishment, but the war was not over, and everything he did was for Palatu!


    And how did the grand council react?


    To the members sent by Kingsfort, Alpad Duyome had already committed treason.


    The Kingsfort faction, mainly composed of the citizen class, has always advocated for limiting military power and emulating the Venetian Republic by bringing all military authority under the control of the council.


    For the Blue Blood Faction, although General Alpad¡¯s actions were somewhat brash, his intentions were good, and his opinions were correct.


    The Blue Blood Faction traced back to the second phase of the sovereign wars¡ªduring the internal conflict within the Duke of Palatu¡¯s territory, the noble officers who followed the old marshal integrated into the new republic.


    Their base was the vast rural areas, local councils, and the ¡°free men¡± class who gained land through military service.

 Chapter 540 03-25 - 540 99 Monsoon_6

    ?Chapter 540: Chapter 99 Monsoon_6 Chapter 540: Chapter 99 Monsoon_6 The so-called ¡°freemen¡± are citizens who have the right to participate in the election of lawmakers.


    They must be male and possess sufficient property or merit, generally playing significant roles in local life.


    Currently, the number of ¡°freemen¡± in Paratu is less than 5% of the total adult male population.


    Just as White Lion had observed, when things were going well, all internal conflicts could be smothered by victory.


    But once momentum stalled, the fissures became so apparent that one could not ignore them.


    The lawmakers from the two factions argued incessantly; one faction adamantly demanded Alpad disband his army unconditionally, while the other vehemently opposed it.


    Full-scale brawls broke out multiple times within the Grand Council, with lawmakers from the Blue Blood Faction, deeply entrenched in military affairs, decisively beating those from the Kingsfort Faction into a retreat.


    ...


    In the end, both sides grudgingly reached a compromise. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Grand Council decided to agree to Alpad¡¯s demands: to provide for the remnants of the Expeditionary Force¡ªthough it was still unclear where the funds would come from; and to agree to appoint Sekler as the commander of the army¡ªmerely an agreement, with the actual order to be issued by the headquarters of the army.


    Alpad needed to disband the army and report to the Grand Council.


    Riding across the drawbridge, Alpad was filled with countless emotions. He had crossed it many times, triumphantly amidst cheers and flowers.


    Back then he was a hero, basking in the spring breeze, all smiles, splendidly dressed and riding proudly down the street.


    But this time, as he entered Kingsfort, when he would come out, he would be branded a criminal.


    But he would not become a criminal¡ªhe had worn his military uniform his entire life and was too lazy to take it off.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    The small vial of poison was tucked in the secret pocket over his heart.


    Once his report was finished, before the guards could arrest him, he would drink it down in front of all the lawmakers.


    ¡°Poisoned to death? That would be letting me off too easy,¡± he thought.


    He was willing to accept responsibility for the failure of this campaign¡ªyes, it was a campaign, not a war.


    In Alpad¡¯s view, this was just one battle in a war, he hadn¡¯t lost yet, and the war wasn¡¯t lost either; Paratu certainly hadn¡¯t lost.


    ¡°Yasin, you boy,¡± Alpad remembered the past and couldn¡¯t help shaking his head with a bitter smile, ¡°you really did learn quite a few things¡­ but why didn¡¯t you come with me to Paratu? Ah, why didn¡¯t I force him to stay in Paratu?¡±


    He instinctively reached for his flask, only to grasp at thin air once again.


    ¡°That boy¡­ should be dead by now,¡± Alpad suddenly recalled the proud Venetian: ¡°He was so young, and I promised to let him go home, but in the end, I led him to his death.¡±


    He felt as if he was aging rapidly, each breath more exhausting than the last.


    The stone-paved streets were eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.


    Suddenly, a man burst out of the alley, his clothing stained with blood, clutching desperately at Alpad¡¯s reins, ¡°Duyao! Go! Run for it!¡±


    The two guards, shocked and alarmed, ¡°whoosh,¡± drew their swords.


    The sky was dim, but Alpad could still make out who the man before the horse was.


    Because the man in front of him was his own younger brother, the Speaker of the Grand Council¡ªAlpad Kleinheisler.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Alpad was about to dismount immediately: ¡°Why are you covered in blood?¡±


    ¡°Go, quickly! They¡¯re going to kill you! Kill us both!¡± Kleinheisler cried out as he pushed his brother back onto the horse.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    A gunshot rang out.


    Kleinheisler fell silent, his skull shattered, splattering Alpad with his blood, red and white, as he slumped to the ground.


    Alpad stood frozen in place as his brother¡¯s hand slid out of his.


    More gunfire.


    More footsteps and the sound of galloping.


    ¡°Kill on sight!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, Alpad!¡±


    ¡°Dead or alive!¡±


    Alpad roared with frenzy, drawing his sword, ready to fight to the death.


    The two guards stood in front of him, forcing his Warhorse to turn around and then gave a fierce kick to the horse.


    Alpad¡¯s Warhorse, carrying him, galloped wildly towards the city gates.


    His two guards charged at the oncoming enemies.


    The drawbridge was slowly rising; Alpad jabbed the horse¡¯s flanks.


    Before the incline of the drawbridge became too steep to climb, Alpad¡¯s Warhorse jumped off the bridge, soared over the moat, and landed heavily on the ground.


    Straightaway, the Warhorse, with Alpad aboard, vanished into the night.


    Sekler and the leader of the Kingsfort Faction, Grof David, hurried up to the city gates.


    Grof, unable to contain his fury, gave the gate officer a savage slap and bellowed, ¡°How could you let him escape!¡±


    Unexpectedly, the sound of galloping grew closer¡ªAlpad had turned back.


    He reined in his horse before the moat and asked in grief and anger, ¡°Sekler! Are you there too?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Sekler answered expressionlessly.


    ¡°Traitor!!!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sekler¡¯s voice was cold and steadfast: ¡°I am loyal only to the Republic!¡±


    Alpad laughed in desperation, smashed the vial of poison, and charged off on his horse.


    Meanwhile, an envoy sent by Grof, carrying the ¡°Order of the Grand Council,¡± was racing towards Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    The rumbling of thunder echoed across the fields; lightning turned the dark night as bright as day.


    The monsoon had arrived.

 Chapter 541 03-25 - 541 100 The Ball

    ?Chapter 541: Chapter 100: The Ball Chapter 541: Chapter 100: The Ball On the first day of May, a rain mixed with small hailstones fell on the wilderness.


    It was the first rainfall after a long drought, heralding the arrival of the rainy season.


    From this day on, the Herder nomads would gradually take their livestock to higher terrain, which was cooler.


    When the dry season arrived, they would lead their livestock back to the lower winter pastures.


    In this manner, Winters followed the migration of the camp.


    Little Lion often came to talk to him.


    ¡°When it comes to differences, the disparity between us of the Boya Clan and the Jin people is greater than that between the Venetians and the Paratu People. They worship cairns, we revere ancestral spirits. Going further west, tribes of Deer Herders don¡¯t even speak our language.¡±


    ... sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion spoke sporadically, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s only you outsiders who call all the tribes Herders, ¡®Herder¡¯ isn¡¯t even a word in our vocabulary.¡±


    Winters silently whittled wooden spikes, skill growing with practice, his control over the knife becoming ever more precise.


    After setting up camp, he would erect a pulley to suspend his knee and perform simple rehabilitation exercises with Erhulan¡¯s help.


    While journeying in the ox cart, he constantly carved wooden spikes.


    With more grass than trees in the wilderness, the people at the campsite collected wood for him when they heard he was carving.


    Thick, thin, branches, trunks, regardless of quality, all of it was brought to Erhulan.


    Seeing him whittle spikes all day long, Little Lion brought him a set of iron tools.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    Winters began to do some simple carpentry. Though he lacked nails, he still managed to make a few folding stools.


    Little Lion, as if only requiring an audience, casually said while chewing on a stalk of sweet grass, ¡°You know? Most people on the grasslands have never seen the ocean, not even my brother. I don¡¯t even know how to describe it to them.¡±


    ¡°Even if they try to imagine it, the ocean is just a big lake to them. To everyone, the mountains to the south and north, the snowfields to the west, the Paratu People to the east, and this grassland, that is the entirety of the world.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I can¡¯t help but think, it¡¯s absurd and laughable that tribes and the Paratu People kill each other over such a small piece of land from birth to death.¡±


    ¡°And sometimes I wonder, why must we kill each other? For food and clothing? The grasslands have been blessed with good weather these years; everyone is at least well-fed and warm.¡±


    ¡°Is it for hatred? The Paratu capture tribesmen and sell them as slaves across the ocean. Tribes also capture Paratu People as ¡®Tuotiqa,¡¯ chaining them more cruelly than the master of Hongsong Manor.¡±


    ¡°Tribes and Paratu People hate each other, yet they don¡¯t hate each other because everyone is used to it. My brother even served as a bodyguard to the Paratu chieftain, did you know that? Right after the man destroyed my father¡¯s tribe.¡±


    ¡°Tribes also attack one another. We fought with you, then we have to guard against the tribes coming to attack us.¡±


    ¡°Even outside of the grasslands, aren¡¯t you ¡®civilized people¡¯ also constantly killing each other? The wars between you Venetians and the islanders are even more brutal than those between the tribes and the Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Or is it because of greed? I do not know. I can¡¯t figure it out, nor do I wish to live my life in a daze. Beyond the grasslands, there is an endless ocean!¡±


    Little Lion spat out the grass, feigning nonchalance, ¡°These words, only you in this vast grassland would listen to me. If I told others, they¡¯d probably think I¡¯ve gone mad.¡±


    ¡°By the way, did you know? I heard from a singer that beyond the west of the west of the west, beyond the tundra and snow, on the western side of the mountains, there is another land and ocean! Our ancestors migrated here from there. If I had the chance, I¡¯d truly like to go see it, maybe even go with you.¡±


    Winters stopped his work and looked at Little Lion thoughtfully, speaking softly, ¡°You¡¯ve grown up, much more than when you were on Red Sulfur Island.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Little Lion retorted indignantly, ¡°Are you saying that I was an idiot back at Hongsong Manor?¡±


    ¡°I want to meet your brother.¡±


    ¡°I want him to meet you too,¡± Little Lion sighed, ¡°He¡¯s been busy lately. The Zhuirqing people plundered our old camp during a recent battle. Took more than fifty pieces of clothing, killed a dozen people, and made off with quite a few livestock. My brother is leading troops to subdue the Zhuirqing people now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going with them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m minding the stove.¡± Little Lion remembered something else, ¡°Oh, and the Shaman wants to see you. To be precise, he wants to see Hestas. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s a good man.¡±


    ¡°You call me Hestas,¡± said Winters, looking unsurprised, ¡°It¡¯s because of that ceremony, right?¡±


    Little Lion nodded, explaining with distress, ¡°Yes, the Kulxit ritual is a kind of¡­ It¡¯s hard for me to explain, but it¡¯s a very important ceremony. Hestas chose you as his successor¡ªthough I don¡¯t know why either, but now I¡¯m starting to understand a little.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not just inheriting Hestas¡¯s name and title, but also the spirits of all the Hestases before him. They accompany you and protect you,¡± Little Lion continued, ¡°To us, you are Hestas, the bridge connecting us to the ancestors and the myriad spirits¡ªthough you don¡¯t quite look the part now.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± Winters pursed his lips.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know as well,¡± Little Lion said with a wry smile, ¡°If you truly are Hestas, you should be able to ask the previous Hestas yourself. Let¡¯s wait for the Shaman to come, he¡¯ll explain it to you.¡±

 Chapter 542 03-25 - 542 100 Ball_2

    ?Chapter 542: Chapter 100: Ball_2 Chapter 542: Chapter 100: Ball_2 As he spoke, Little Lion picked up two wooden spikes from Winters¡¯ lap.


    Comparing them side by side, he couldn¡¯t help but draw in a cold breath. ¡°I thought you were whittling these sticks for fun, after all, they seem too short even for skewering meat. But now I see, they are all identical, without the slightest difference! Ha, this is indeed a unique skill.¡±


    Winters made no comment and continued to whittle the spikes.


    ¡°Someone has come to see you, Winters.¡± Erhulan said cheerily, leading someone into the tent.


    ¡°Greetings and best wishes, Paratu champion, are your injuries feeling any better?¡± The visitor entered the tent and respectfully presented a small gift package. ¡°My master sent me to visit you.¡±


    The visitor unexpectedly spoke in fluent Common Tongue, which until then only three people in the camp could speak: Winters, Erhulan, and Little Lion.


    When had a fourth person arrived?


    ...


    Winters¡¯ face was expressionless, and he did not accept the gift; he remembered who this person was.


    Little Lion raised his eyebrows high. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The visitor replied meekly, ¡°I am the Translator for the firekeepers.¡±


    Little Lion gave a snort, took the gift, and opened it to see. ¡°Pepper?¡±


    ¡°Yes, pepper.¡± The old Translator¡¯s attitude became even more subservient. ¡°I was worried that this noble lord might not be accustomed to the prairie diet, so I brought some spices.¡±


    ¡°What are you here for?¡±


    ¡°Please allow me to speak privately with this noble lord. I am an old servant, weak and frail; this lord could kill me with a flick of his finger, rest assured.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Little Lion was inclined to refuse outright, but he still sought Winters¡¯ opinion with a glance.


    Winters nodded slightly, and with a sidelong look at the old Translator, Little Lion stepped out of the felt tent with Erhulan.


    Without speaking, Winters and the old Translator simply sat staring at each other in silence for a short while.


    ¡°How are your wounds?¡± The old Translator broke the silence, smiling as he asked, ¡°Is there anything we can do?¡±


    Without uttering a word, Winters conveyed with his eyes, ¡°Speak your mind.¡±


    The old Translator coughed lightly and suddenly changed his tone, demanding abruptly, ¡°Where is the Ritual Gold Figure?!¡±


    Unmoved, Winters replied, ¡°It¡¯s been divided up. Let Monkey Butt Face piece it together himself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± The Translator¡¯s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing Winters¡¯ eyes, face, and fingertips for any tiny movement. ¡°We found no trace of the gold figure! None of the prisoners had it, and it wasn¡¯t in the camp! Nobody knows where it is!¡±


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s your problem.¡±


    Suddenly, the old Translator seized Winters¡¯ wrist. ¡°Where is the Ritual Gold Figure?!¡±


    Winters smirked, his pulse steady as a dripping faucet.


    The next moment, the old Translator faintly saw the shadow of a fist appearing before his eyes.


    Then came the crisp sound of breaking bones as he was struck and sent sprawling onto the ground, tears, blood, and saliva streaming down his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t seek death.¡± Winters¡¯ voice was cold and clear. ¡°Monkey Butt Face wants the Ritual Gold Figure? Tell him to save some money; perhaps he can afford a smaller version.¡±


    The old Translator was about to explode, but Little Lion and Erhulan had already rushed back into the tent upon hearing the commotion. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Little Lion¡¯s hand on the knife hilt, he looked sternly at the old Translator.


    The old Translator cradled his nose, sharply setting it back into place with one forceful motion. He rose from the ground, bowed to the others, and walked away with a darkened expression.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Little Lion asked Winters with concern.


    Winters loosened his wrist. ¡°Collusion of the dishonorable.¡±


    ¡°That old servant has some skill.¡± Little Lion scratched his head, ¡°He didn¡¯t even cry out in pain, just fixed his own nose and walked away.¡±


    ¡°You might not necessarily win against him,¡± Winters reflected on the feel of the old Translator¡¯s palm. ¡°The calluses on that man¡¯s hands¡­ are even thicker than mine.¡±


    Winters¡¯ thoughts went back to the north shore of the Confluence River. ¡°It¡¯s a pity I didn¡¯t realize it back then and kill him on the battlefield. Now, even if I wanted to, it¡¯s no longer possible to kill him.¡±


    Fearfully, Erhulan discarded the bag of pepper the old Translator had brought. ¡°We don¡¯t need this. What if it¡¯s poisoned?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters leaned back on the blanket and spoke languidly, ¡°Right now, the most concerned with my well-being is Monkey Butt Face. I heard they slaughtered a lamb today; why don¡¯t we make lamb offal soup? Just like on Red Sulfur Island, with a bit of crushed pepper.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make you lamb head to eat.¡± Hearing the nickname Monkey Butt Face, Erhulan¡¯s almond-shaped eyes curved with laughter as he took the pepper and left the tent.


    The pepper was crushed and sifted.


    Lamb stomach, intestines, heart, and lungs were cleaned and shredded, blanched first, then boiled to create a white broth.


    Pepper powder was sprinkled into the lamb broth, with a bit of a sauce made from wild chives flowers growing on the prairie.


    A large gulp would make the bitter chill of early spring disappear without a trace.


    In the end, Erhulan brought out noodles he had secretly prepared.


    This was the warmest meal Winters had ever had in the Great Wilderness.


    ¡­


    Winters ate well, but some were frustrated.


    After leaving the camp, the old Translator hurried south without stopping.


    In a hollow sixty kilometers away, the firekeepers were waiting for him.


    If Little Lion saw this scene, he would be furiously indignant.


    The pastures of Terdun lay south of the Great River, nearer to the southern Jinding Mountains.


    The grazing lands of the Red River Tribe lay to the north of the Great River, closer to the northern Sheltering Mountains.


    The ¡°Great River¡± mentioned by the Herder tribes was referred to as Ashen Stream River by the Paratu People, and Torrent River by the Venetians and the United Provincials.


    This river flowed from west to east, nearly bisecting the land between the two mountain ranges.


    Even The Styx would eventually flow into the Great River, which is why the Herders also called it the River of a Thousand Rivers, the Father of Rivers.


    However, before it met with The Styx, the upper reaches of the Great River did not carry more water than The Styx itself.

 Chapter 543 03-25 - 543 100 The Ball_3

    ?Chapter 543: Chapter 100: The Ball_3 Chapter 543: Chapter 100: The Ball_3 The battle at The Styx had not long passed before the Firestarter parted ways with the White Lion, leading the Terdon Tribe¡¯s cavalry back to the ¡°Grasslands South of the River¡±.


    But he had actually not left at all and instead, with five hundred elite riders, hid in a ravine near the Red River Tribe¡¯s camp.


    This was a severe provocation, like a mere sheet of paper separating it from starting a fight.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Seeing the old Translator return, the Firestarter couldn¡¯t wait to ask, ¡°What did that guy say?¡±


    ¡°As calm as wood, as cold as stone,¡± the old Translator said with a grave face. ¡°The last time I saw him, he was shallow like pond water. This time, I couldn¡¯t see through him at all.¡±


    The Firestarter was at a loss, ¡°Then what should we do? Echegke, should we still make a move to snatch the person?¡±


    Not to mention people from the Red River Tribe, even the low-level members of the Terdon Tribe would be startled if they heard their leader call the Translator ¡°Echegke¡±.


    ...


    Echegke, meaning ¡°father¡± in the language of the Hurd.


    Considering the former leader of the Terdon Tribe hadn¡¯t ended up hanging the old Translator from a tree and shooting him with arrows, what the Firestarter meant was probably ¡°foster father¡±.


    The Firestarter¡¯s quiver bearers were accustomed to this, clearly the so-called ¡°Translator¡± was not just a simple translator.


    The old Translator pondered and said, ¡°There¡¯s another possibility, that kid might truly know nothing. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t see through him.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡± The Firestarter panicked, ¡°If he also doesn¡¯t know, where do we look for the Gold Figurine for the Heavenly Sacrifice?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The worst possibility is that the figurine was taken away by traitors,¡± the old Translator sorted out his thoughts. ¡°The head of the figurine was chopped off, so it¡¯s likely the other parts were disassembled too. Broken into pieces, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to take away. Another possibility is that after being disassembled, it was buried or even sunk in the water.¡±


    ¡°What if it really was taken by bipeds?¡± The Firestarter¡¯s voice had already reached a pitch of desperation.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0


    ¡°Why the panic?¡± the old Translator scolded with a stern face, ¡°That gold figurine can neither produce foals nor can it kill; it¡¯s just a lump of gold! In this fight, we acquired one thousand five hundred sets of armor, countless weapons. As long as we can recover, even without the Gold Figurine for the Heavenly Sacrifice, who can do anything to us? If we were weak, having the figurine would still result in it being taken.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do? Do we still snatch the person?¡±


    ¡°No, right now we and the Red River Tribe are as close as lips and teeth. Given the kid¡¯s worth, it¡¯s not yet worth the risk of provoking war with the Red River Tribe by force. It¡¯s best to make the White Lion hand over the person himself, and we must be careful not to let the White Lion get wind of the Heavenly Sacrifice Gold Figurine.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The Firestarter nodded repeatedly.


    ¡°The traitors retreated so decisively, I can¡¯t be sure they didn¡¯t take the gold with them,¡± the old Translator slapped his thigh, ¡°Let¡¯s go! To the banks of The Styx! Send people out, search the traitors¡¯ retreat route. I refuse to believe we can¡¯t find any traces.¡±


    The Firestarter¡¯s five hundred elite riders sprang into action, rolling up their bedrolls, leading their horses, and racing toward the banks of The Styx.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Sea Blue City, Navarre Manor.


    Catherine walked into Anna¡¯s room with high spirits, only to see her sister looking haggard, sitting in front of the dressing table and flipping through a stack of letters, causing her to become somewhat annoyed.


    She lay on Anna¡¯s bed, looking at the embroidered pattern on her canopy, teasing her sister, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, still pining for your lover? While you¡¯re here playing the tragedienne, he might already have forgotten you completely, getting all cozy with some Paratu trollop!¡±


    These were Anna¡¯s two biggest taboos:


    The first was lying on her bed without permission ¡ª of course, she had never given permission;


    The second was malicious attacks on the mysterious Mr. W.M.¡ªthere were no non-malicious attacks.


    Whenever Catherine wanted to infuriate her sister, she would resort to these two tactics, and they never failed.


    But today, for some reason, Anna, who usually would have reacted immediately, was completely unmoved.


    She still sat stupidly in front of the dressing table, flipping through the letters.


    Catherine was nearing the point of insanity with irritation.


    She jumped off the bed, snatched the letters from Anna¡¯s hand without explanation, and scolded her sister, ¡°It¡¯s just a first love, what¡¯s the big deal? Is it worth being so sad and heartbroken?¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Anna said in a weary voice, ¡°Stop it, give them back to me.¡±


    ¡°Watch me burn them all!¡±


    Anna fell silent, burying her face in the dressing table, sobbing softly.


    ¡°The more you give, the greater the hurt,¡± Catherine said, becoming angrier as she spoke, ¡°Only by not giving your heart can you never get hurt. Do you really think you, me, and Olivia will marry for love? Are you a five-year-old? We are the heiresses of the Navarre family; our marriages must be carefully considered. The slightest carelessness can lead to an abyss. Mom even says you¡¯re more mature than me, but how come you hand over your heart to everyone you meet. My God! How can you be so naive!¡±


    Anna¡¯s crying grew louder, and Catherine also started to feel sad.


    She sat next to Anna, hugging her sister¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Alright, alright, stop crying. It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m the wicked witch, and you¡¯re the pure princess. Would Her Highness like to go dancing with me? Mrs. Morlock just sent someone with an invitation, asking for both of us to attend.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s fingers brushed through Anna¡¯s messy hair, clinging to her sister and cooing, ¡°Let¡¯s dress up magnificently today, and we¡¯ll surely overshadow those three dumb girls from the Morlock family. If it helps, I¡¯ll tone it down today and let you be the star, okay? I¡¯ll concede for one day, allowing you to be the most dazzling lady in Sea Blue. Maybe you¡¯ll meet a handsome young man at the dance, and soon you¡¯ll forget Mr. M.¡±

 Chapter 544 03-25 - 544 100 Dance Party_4

    ?Chapter 544: Chapter 100 Dance Party_4 Chapter 544: Chapter 100 Dance Party_4 ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Anna sobbed, kicking the vanity in disarray.


    Catherine was at her wit¡¯s end, she said helplessly, ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s all my fault. You¡¯re a good person, Mr. M is a good person; I¡¯m the only bad person. Mr. M must be thinking of you day and night, his soul not at rest, just wanting to fly back to your side. And he¡¯s absolutely faithful, even if surrounded by a dozen flirty Paratu girls vying for his attention, he remains unmoved and resists temptation.¡±


    ¡°You are really annoying!¡± Anna laughed through her tears, ¡°Where did you learn to talk like that? Which¡­ little¡­ where did you pick up such language?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how men talk.¡± Catherine snorted lightly, ¡°You think they¡¯re all saints?¡±


    ¡°These letters were written by Mr. M in Tanyria.¡± Anna still blushed when she mentioned her lover¡¯s name, so she always referred to him as Mr. M, ¡°He didn¡¯t have the chance to give them to me before he was taken to Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes gleamed craftily, ¡°Then I must take a good look.¡±


    Anna¡¯s face flushed, and she quickly reached out to snatch the letters, but Catherine wouldn¡¯t give them up.


    ...


    The two of them scuffled from the vanity to the bed.


    ¡°Ah, having a Mr. M is quite nice.¡± Catherine exhaled like an orchid, and leaning into Anna¡¯s ear, she gently bit her sister¡¯s earlobe, ¡°Before you met him, I really thought you liked women!¡±


    Anna screamed and swung her fists randomly, pushing her toward the edge of the bed.


    Catherine cried out in a low voice, trying hard to grasp the bedspread, but she was still forcefully pushed off the bed.


    The next second, she climbed back up, undaunted, and lunged at her sister with a big laugh, ¡°Let me see, who is this pure-hearted?¡±


    The sisters tussled for a while, then reconciled as before.


    ¡°The Morlock family¡¯s ball, are you going?¡± Catherine elbowed her sister in the waist.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Come on, come on, come on¡­¡± Catherine hugged her sister, beginning to wheedle and cajole.


    Anna shook her head gently, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well.¡± Catherine finally gave up, with a sigh of lamentation, ¡°I won¡¯t go either.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you go?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not going, I don¡¯t want to go either.¡± Catherine said sternly, ¡°Got to leave some room for other ladies to shine, right?¡±


    Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from the corridor.


    The owner of the footsteps stumbled along, carrying great sorrow and urgency.


    Anna and Catherine exchanged glances and quickly climbed off the bed.


    Elizabeth burst through the door, holding a stack of blood-stained letters, nearly unable to stand.


    Anna¡¯s heart constricted as if wrapped by vines.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it¡­¡± She stepped back in horror, shaking her hands repeatedly, her voice carrying a sob, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    Elizabeth embraced Anna, breaking down into sobs, ¡°My brother, he¡¯s gone¡­¡±


    Anna¡¯s vision darkened, and she fainted, collapsing to the floor with a thud.


    Similar scenes were unfolding everywhere in Sea Blue.


    The tragic news was brought back from Kingsfort by Vineta¡¯s chief advisor on a flying horse, then spread quickly through the military channels.


    Everyone was desperate to know the situation of their own children.


    Unfortunate families¡¯ cries shook the heavens, and even those who were fortunate felt a shared sense of grief.


    Kosha collapsed in Marita¡¯s arms, unable to stop crying.


    Antonio was still on the islands, unaware of this terrible news.


    Marita Momma, who had taken care of three generations of the Da Granashi Family, patted Korsa¡¯s back gently, as if soothing a baby.


    ¡°Poor little master,¡± Momma¡¯s tears couldn¡¯t stop flowing. ¡°Poor miss.¡±


    ¡­


    Kingsfort had just undergone a massacre, and the stench of blood in the streets had not yet dissipated.


    The massacre had started with an accidental assassination attempt.


    It was considered accidental because no one had intended to take Alpad¡¯s life on the spot.


    Initially, they had simply wanted to capture Alpad and the leadership of the Blue Blood Faction in one fell swoop¡ªby arresting them.


    Why resort to assassination when the state has far better means of killing?


    But the situation got out of control, and three people died, including [Alpad Kleinheisler]. The real target, [Alpad Duyome], managed to escape.


    The failed assassination was the catalyst for violence that quickly escalated beyond containment.


    The Blue Blood Faction¡¯s counterattack was ferocious; before the Kingsfort authorities could arrest them, they had already arrived at their doors with swords and private armies.


    Thirty years of grudges exploded in an instant, unleashing a destructive force that far exceeded even the worst nightmares of the instigators.


    The great hall of deliberations nearly turned into a slaughterhouse as the two factions, blinded by bloodlust, hunted each other down in the city, searching house by house for ¡®traitors¡¯.


    Opportunists stirred the pot in the chaos; thugs took advantage of the situation to rob, set fires, rape, and commit all manner of crimes.


    Kingsfort was shrouded in thick smoke, and the fire brigade dared not go out to extinguish the fires.


    Innocent citizens hid in their homes, trembling, desperately praying for all of this to end quickly.


    It took the decisive intervention of Sekler, leading the garrison to quell the unrest and implementing martial law and military control in Kingsfort, for the situation to gradually calm down.


    However, during this melee, the army headquarters firmly sided with the Blue Blood Faction.


    In the eyes of the officer corps, Sekler¡¯s actions were tantamount to betraying the army to the great council.


    Most of the officers from the army headquarters joined the remaining members of the Blue Blood Faction to launch a counterattack out of the city and rallied to General Alpad.


    The remaining officers were a mixed bunch, each with their own reasons.


    Some had always been at odds with the Blue Blood Faction, others were ambitious, some were loyal to Sekler, and still others simply stayed because their families were in Kingsfort.


    Meanwhile, at Shuangqiao Main Camp, Alpad, crying ¡°We¡¯ve been betrayed,¡± charged through the gates and in no time had taken back command of the army.


    The ¡°special envoy of the great council¡± was promptly executed publicly, and Alpad sent the envoy¡¯s head and a letter.


    It was a declaration of war.


    ¡­


    Besides the notification of the death of young Vineta officers, Vineta¡¯s chief advisor in Kingsfort, [Turanio], had just received even worse news.


    Ignoring the guards¡¯ attempts to stop him, Turanio barged into the Speaker¡¯s office, slamming a document furiously onto the desk.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± the chief advisor asked, holding back his anger. ¡°Mr. Grof!¡±


    The former Speaker [Alpad Kleinheisler] was dead, and the new Speaker [Grof Magnus] turned around, smiling as he replied, ¡°It means exactly what it says.¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯m asking about your literal meaning!¡± Turanio roared. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®won¡¯t pay it back¡¯? Do you want to provoke Vineta at a time like this?¡±


    ¡°The great council has declared the Republic¡¯s financial bankruptcy, existing assets will be prioritized for domestic debt repayment, and Vineta¡¯s debts will be restructured. Illegal loans signed by the last session of the great council, this session will not recognize even a penny of them.¡± Grof gradually withdrew his smile, fixing his gaze on the chief advisor¡¯s eyes, and responding word by word, ¡°Won¡¯t pay it back, means we won¡¯t pay it back!¡±

 Chapter 545 03-25 - 545 101 Returning Home

    ?Chapter 545: Chapter 101: Returning Home Chapter 545: Chapter 101: Returning Home The councilors remaining in Kingsfort unanimously passed a resolution: to abolish the old Republic of Palatu and reform the government, establishing the ¡°Second¡± Republic of Palatu.


    The councilors were still those from Kingsfort, and their office location remained in the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    It looked like just changing a nameplate, but the reality was far from it.


    In the early years of the Republic, when the factions representing the interests of the cities of Kingsfort could still suppress the old aristocratic factions.


    However, with the expansion of the class of freemen with military merits, the Blue Blood Faction gradually gained the upper hand and eventually suppressed the Kingsfort faction decisively.


    The Blue Blood Faction had been in power for years, relegating the Kingsfort faction to perpetual opposition¡ªa status that lasted for over two decades.


    Suddenly grafting to power, the Kingsfort faction immediately began a series of radical reforms.


    ...


    The first law passed by the new Great Hall of Deliberation was the ¡°Debt Restructuring Act.¡±


    According to this act, Palatu was about to undergo large-scale debt restructuring.


    The net assets of the Republic would be used to prioritize payment to domestic creditors, while foreign creditors¡¯ debts would be compulsorily paid in a form of [annuity bonds].


    The interest rate for annuity bonds was principally 3%, with a repayment period of forty years, and the Second Republic had the right to redeem the annuity bonds at any time.


    Although Grof spoke firmly, his deputy [Councilor Beck] immediately sought out Vineta¡¯s chief advisor.


    Beck explained the reasons and requested understanding: ¡°There really is no money in the treasury! Far from enough to pay the debts!¡±


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï


    For the past thirty years, Palatu¡¯s campaigns against the barbarians were all financed by borrowing money.


    Not only were the citizens eager to buy bonds, but allied investors were also willing to lend them money because Palatu always won.


    Investors from the allies were mainly Vinetan bankers, with a minor proportion from The Federated Provinces.


    One reason was that United Provincials had previously suffered great losses, and another was that The Federated Provinces had few bankers.


    By leveraging, Palatu only needed to pay a small amount of interest to mobilize a vast sum of capital.


    These funds were transformed into weapons, armor, warhorses, army provisions, and lead bullets fired at the barbarians, bringing thirty years of victory to Palatu People.


    The spoils of war were mainly land, slaves, and livestock; precious metals were rare. How would investors recoup their funds?


    No matter, based on the ¡°tradability of bonds,¡± Vinetan bankers invented a bewildering array of financial instruments: mortgages, second mortgages, bundling, splitting¡­


    They even introduced the concept of insurance from the shipping industry into the bond market to hedge risks.


    Marshal Ned had underestimated human greed; he could never have imagined that the little trick he used to raise military funds would evolve into a monstrous beast on its own.


    In short: when Palatu won, everyone in the chain made money; if Palatu lost, the edifice would collapse like a row of dominoes.


    Those hit first would be the Vinetan bankers and retail investors who had gone bankrupt buying bonds.


    So, Palatu People couldn¡¯t afford to lose; no one had thought Palatu would lose before, but this time Palatu did lose.


    Someone might ask, isn¡¯t Newly Reclaimed Land still full of unpopulated lands that could be used to settle debts? Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Please don¡¯t forget, that land is not the property of the Republic of Palatu, but of the Palatu Army.


    The Palatu Army was not only allowed to engage in commerce but also to own land and maintain a state within a state.


    ¡­


    That¡¯s why the second reform from Grof was introduced: restructuring the government and confiscating military power.


    Due to the historical remnants of the sovereign wars, the Palatine Army Headquarters was, in principle, a ¡°subordinate¡± of the Alliance, ranking only half a level below the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    Strictly speaking, their relationship was cooperative. The Hall of Deliberation couldn¡¯t even decide on military appointments and removals but could only ¡°advise.¡±


    Grof Magnus reformed the [Palatine Army Headquarters] into the [Palatu Military Commission], and the new Military Commission was subordinate to the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    This had long been a political demand of the Kingsfort faction¡ªto change from a state [with an army] to a state [with an armed force].


    The model of a state [with an army] was The Federated Provinces, while that of a state [with an armed force] was Vineta.


    Palatu¡¯s JG ideology was between the two, but over the past thirty years, it had been continuously falling towards the Provincials¡¯ model.


    Beyond that, there were many other reforms aimed at weakening the influence of the old aristocracy in local areas.


    The new Great Hall of Deliberation issued a declaration, the ¡°Republican Manifesto.¡±


    The core idea was to occupy the moral high ground: The Second Republic of Palatu was established! Now everyone could live a better life! Levies, taxes, and corv¨¦es would all be reduced! Land rights will be shared, and land reclamation will be encouraged! Outside of the Second Republic are but false governments! Please support us!


    Of course, there were two other vital commands: to summon the local garrisons to come to Kingsfort; and to send envoys to Alpad to salvage peace to the greatest extent possible.


    ¡­


    Councilor Beck talked a lot with the chief advisor of Vineta; essentially saying one thing: We really have no money.


    The treasury couldn¡¯t even afford the interest, let alone the debt itself.


    The government couldn¡¯t even produce the Expeditionary Force¡¯s pensions because that was an astronomical figure.


    Military assets must be confiscated to fill this vast hole.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± the fiery chief advisor of Vineta cursed in response: ¡°Do you take me for a three-year-old? Prioritizing domestic debt with net assets? Who are the domestic creditors? Isn¡¯t it fucking you councilors?!¡±


    The chief advisor pushed the other away, storming off angrily.


    ¡­


    The news of the debt restructuring sent back to Sea Blue resulted in another outburst of lamentation.

 Chapter 546 03-25 - 546 101 Going Home_2

    ?Chapter 546: Chapter 101: Going Home_2 Chapter 546: Chapter 101: Going Home_2 An elder quickly reacted, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Mad King¡¯s tactic against the United Provincials?¡±


    The previous Emperor of the Empire, ¡°Madman¡± Richard the Fourth, also borrowed money from the banks of The Federated Provinces¡ªback then, they weren¡¯t called The Federated Provinces but the Duchy of Forthland.


    When out of money to pay the debts, the Mad King just spread his hands and issued the ¡°Bankruptcy Decree,¡± declaring debt restructuring.


    The bankers of Forthland were beaten black and blue by this combination of punches.


    On the surface, their claims were not canceled, but in reality, it was as if the Mad King had frozen all their capital with very little money.


    If they wanted to sell these bonds, they would have to take a severe loss.


    Many people from Forthland went bankrupt and even committed suicide, and the financial landscape of this continent changed accordingly.


    ...


    When the news reached Paratu, the bankers of Vineta were furious, ¡°They think they can just not pay?!¡±


    ¡°3% interest? Those fucking bastards sure dare! The Mad King gave 5% interest!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck gives them the right?!¡±


    ¡°[Expletive]!¡±


    ¡­


    Let¡¯s set aside the merchants¡¯ anger for now.


    In the ¡°Throne Room¡± of the Vineta Army headquarters, the officers focused on another matter.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°What exactly is going on? How did the fighting start?¡± someone asked, baffled. ¡°Sekler and I joined at the same time, he¡¯s a sensible man, how could he allow such a thing to happen?¡±


    ¡°What matters is how the battle went, who won, who lost? We sit here doing nothing, knowing fuck all,¡± Layton¡ªnow a lieutenant general¡ªmuttered with irritation. ¡°Alpad used to be my squad leader! I¡¯m not surprised he could pull something like this.¡±


    ¡°What about General Yanosh? Couldn¡¯t General Yanosh control those two?¡± another asked.


    ¡°General Yanosh is said to have suffered a stroke,¡± another voice answered softly.


    General Zio, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up, ¡°Do you know what Alpad and Sekler are?¡±


    The officers looked at each other, unsure how to respond to the military regent¡¯s remark.


    Still, it was Layton, the lieutenant general, who boldly asked, ¡°What¡­ What are they?¡±


    ¡°Alpad and Sekler are two of the best hounds, strong, loyal, fierce. But only Yanosh is the hunter,¡± Zio said slowly, answering his own question. He looked much older compared to when he had been planning the archipelago campaign two years earlier, ¡°Now that the hunter is gone, the hounds will tear each other apart¡­ And no one can pull them apart anymore.¡±


    Only someone of General Zio¡¯s standing could make a comparison between hounds and a hunter; the others at the meeting weren¡¯t in a position to comment.


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Layton said, smoking and speaking gloomily, ¡°The Third Corps faces off against The Victory Goddess in the islands, and the Fourth Corps against the Torrent River, both unable to move. Should we call up the reserves again?¡±


    ¡°Give me a break!¡± someone immediately objected. ¡°We haven¡¯t even fully assimilated Tanyria yet! How can we mobilize the reserves this frequently? Shouldn¡¯t we figure out our goals first before discussing the call-up of reserves?¡±


    Stung by the rebuke, Layton grew heated, ¡°The military attache in Paratu is fucking useless! What kind of intelligence is being sent back? It¡¯s all over the place, can he even understand it himself? How can we make decisions without knowing anything?¡±


    Zio opened his eyes and sat up straight. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The officers in the Throne Room knew the regent was about to speak and all promptly straightened up, adopting a respectful posture.


    ¡°Send an observer officer over.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Pierre Mitchell had become a deserter.


    Anglu, Vashka, and others from Wolf Town had fled with him.


    Pierre didn¡¯t consider himself a coward.


    He had bravely fought his way back to Paratu through the wilderness, never once faltering.


    Pierre just didn¡¯t want to work for them anymore.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he told his companion, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Home, the word seemed to hold magical power, bringing tears to every weary eye.


    ¡°Alright,¡± everyone murmured, ¡°Home.¡±


    When the troop departed from Shuangqiao Main Camp, they seized the opportunity and slipped away.


    Deserters, execution¡­ they didn¡¯t care about any of that anymore; they just wanted to go home.


    The people of Wolf Town deliberately took back roads, avoiding villages and towns, even going through uninhabited areas.


    Thirsty, they drank from streams; hungry, they ate dry rations. After enduring countless hardships, Big Horn River¡ªthe boundary of Wolf Town¡ªfinally came into sight.


    They had made it home.


    They all cheered, rushing toward Big Horn River like madmen. They kissed the river banks and scooped up water from the river to drink deeply.


    Pierre sniffled and softly called out to Anglu, ¡°Hook?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°My dad told me about it when we were back in the north. Dusacks serve the emperor for seven years and then are sent home. They carry their clothes, knives, and belongings on horseback, walking in groups. When they walk all the way to Bowback Bay and the Dusacks see the Don River for the first time¡­¡±


    [The Don River: The Dusans¡¯ homeland within the borders of the Empire]


    The other Dusacks listened quietly.


    ¡°¡­¡¯By the gods! Just look!''¡± Pierre mimicked his father¡¯s tone, ¡°Everyone as if mad shouts and runs to the riverbank, ¡®The Don! Quiet Don! My parents! My benefactors who raised me! Hurrah! Ahhhh!''¡±


    Pierre couldn¡¯t help but laugh, his eyes reddening.


    The non-Dusack people from Wolf Town, hearing this, had wet eyes and sour noses too.


    Pierre continued, ¡°They throw their caps, uniforms, pillowcases, and boots all into the river. They had returned home safely, and so they rewarded the Don with these offerings. The parents, wives, and children downstream, seeing the caps floating like swans from upstream, knew that their loved ones had come home¡­¡±

 Chapter 547 03-25 - 547 101 Going Home_3

    ?Chapter 547: Chapter 101 Going Home_3 Chapter 547: Chapter 101 Going Home_3 Pierre took off his hat and tossed it forcefully toward the Big Horn River.


    The black hat turned several bends along the winding river and vanished behind the reeds.


    The others did the same, shouting at the top of their lungs, ¡°Dad! Mom! I¡¯m home!¡±


    Pierre walked to the riverbank, wanting to wash off the dust on his body.


    Gazing at the reflection in the water, Pierre could hardly recognize the person staring back at him.


    That person had a melancholy look, brows furrowed tightly, eye sockets sunken in, cheekbones gaunt and protruding.


    Pierre touched his own face; he could barely remember what he originally looked like. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    After witnessing the death of comrades several times, not a trace of compassion could fit in his heart anymore. He became hard-hearted, ruthless towards the enemy.


    But he could no longer laugh as he used to, and found it hard to look into the innocent eyes of children.


    Before this, he staunchly defended the glory of the Dusacks, displaying selfless bravery at every opportunity.


    With an indifferent, contemptuous heart, he treated his own life and the lives of others as a game.


    For his courageous fighting, he was awarded commendations four times and received three medals.


    And now, he had become a deserter.


    But none of that mattered anymore, because he was home.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Pierre leaped onto the saddle and galloped toward the Michel estate.


    The brilliant sunlight swept away the gloom of winter, the sky blue and clear as washed.


    The mountains and rivers had already thawed, with the freshness of sprouting grass wafting from the soil.


    The swallows had returned from Vineta and The Federated Provinces, building new nests in pairs in the old places.


    The formation of geese skimmed over this land, flying toward the wilderness.


    As Pierre remembered, by this time of year, the household would be bustling:


    Dad and the coachmen would crack their whips loudly, driving the draught horses to plow furrows into the ground. The other hired hands followed closely behind, carefully sowing the tobacco seeds.


    Mom would fence off a small vegetable garden, scattering seeds of sponge gourds, pumpkins, black beans, and persimmons;


    To the northwest of the house were the wheat fields, where the wheat seedlings had already turned green, ready for weeding and fertilizing.


    Lost in memories, Pierre suddenly realized, behind the oak tree, the Michel estate was eerily silent.


    There were no whinnies of horses, no chants from the laborers at work, no smoke from chimneys.


    The level fertile land was now desolate, overgrown with weeds in disarray.


    A terrible fear gripped Pierre¡¯s heart, and he whipped the warhorse madly, jumping the fence and heading straight for the mansion.


    ¡°Dad! Mom!¡± Pierre shouted, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    Young Dusack dismounted and hurried up the steps, bursting through the front door, crying out as he searched, ¡°Dad! Mom! I¡¯m back!¡±


    With a crash, a plate fell to the ground and shattered.


    In the hallway, Scarlett threw herself into his arms, crying inconsolably.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright! Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Pierre hugged his sister tightly, ¡°Your brother is back.¡±


    Pierre saw his mother¡ªhis noble and elegant mother, wrapped her hair in a kerchief like an ordinary farmer¡¯s wife, wearing coarse clothes meant for labor, crying as she ran toward him.


    The knot in Pierre¡¯s heart loosened, the thing he feared most had not happened.


    He swore he had never seen his mother run with her skirt lifted like that.


    Ellen Michel cradled her son¡¯s face as if holding the most fragile glass, murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re back, it¡¯s good you¡¯re back.¡±


    Mother, son, and sister embraced tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.


    That night, Ellen cooked eggs for her son, warmed some milk, and baked some bread.


    Pierre finally learned about his family¡¯s situation.


    When the news of the Herdman invasion spread, the first to be conscripted were the Dusacks.


    All the Dusacks listed in the Wolf Town were conscripted, including his father.


    The Dusacks armed with weapons and riding warhorses assembled and set out.


    In Dusa Village, apart from the old men and underage children, all the adult men were gone.


    To prepare against the Herdmen, they also conscripted tenant farmers, requisitioned food, and levied livestock.


    Workers fled one after another; farmers hid their animals in the forests and buried the grain in cellars.


    When no tenant farmers could be conscripted, many independent farmers were taken.


    Many of the hidden animals and buried grains were discovered, with peasants hiding supplies receiving lashings.


    Revodan desperately collected resources and conscripted troops for self-preservation, but no one cared about the peripheral villages like Wolf Town in the turmoil.


    Amidst the chaos, bands of Herd Raiders came to Wolf Town.


    Perhaps the Herders thought it was just another undefended small village they could loot and rest in.


    But Wolf Town had militia left by Winters Montagne, and the scattered Herd raiders did not gain an advantage.


    It was like trapping beasts: Six or seven Herd Raiders burst into a village, and with the sound of gongs from all around, they were all speared to death or captured.


    In contrast, the greatest damage to Wolf Town was not caused by the Herders, but by the Paratu People.


    Not long ago, another order came down.


    The Michel estate needed to pay the wartime real estate tax¡ªtaxes levied based on the value of the land owned.


    During grace before the meal, Pierre held his mother¡¯s hand with his left and his sister¡¯s hand with his right, and he sadly found scars on both of their hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± Mr. Michel said softly, ¡°Leave it all to me.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Sea Blue, Navarre Manor.


    The tension was so thick it seemed it might ignite at any second, and the servants scattered, fearing getting burned.


    Anna sat in front of the dressing table, her head hanging low.


    ¡°To the Monastery?¡± The Lady of Navarre clutched her chest, her breasts heaving violently, ¡°What madness has possessed you?¡±

 Chapter 548 03-25 - 548 101 Going Home_4

    ?Chapter 548: Chapter 101: Going Home_4 Chapter 548: Chapter 101: Going Home_4 Anna didn¡¯t say a word.


    This was what Madam Navarre feared the most: Once her eldest daughter showed this demeanor, it meant her mind was made up.


    And once her eldest daughter¡¯s mind was made up, nothing could change it.


    She was a stubborn girl; her soft exterior and resilient interior¡ªat this moment¡ªbecame the biggest problem.


    ¡°Is it worth it? You are still so young; is it worth it?¡±


    ¡°You have given him all your heart, precisely because you spent too little time together. You are in love with the man you imagine, not with who he really is. The real him would disappoint you, disgust you¡ªdo you understand? You¡¯ll meet someone much better!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a man; not one hundred, not ten thousand men are worth a woman giving up herself!¡±


    ...


    The silent Anna suddenly spoke up, ¡°What about you and dad?¡±


    Madam Navarre¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Your father and I are exceptions. And we got married! And we had you lot! And your father would never let me go to the monastery!¡±


    ¡°I do it willingly.¡±


    ¡°You silly girl!¡± No longer composed and elegant, Madam Navarre raised her arm in a high gesture, struggling greatly yet still reluctant to bring it down: ¡°Why are you so foolish?¡±


    From Anna¡¯s face, Madam Navarre could always see the shadow of her late husband.


    Madam Navarre, holding her daughter¡¯s hand, nearly pleaded: ¡°Mom won¡¯t force you to get engaged anymore, not in a hurry to find you a husband, it¡¯s all up to you. You don¡¯t need to become a nun, you don¡¯t need to do it this way.¡±


    Tears slid down the corners of Anna¡¯s eyes, ¡°I just want to pray for him forever.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Tear by tear fell from her chin, landing on the blood-stained letter in her hand.


    She read every word, her hands caressing each letter.


    This wasn¡¯t actually a letter but a diary Winters Montagne wrote to his lover.


    In the diary, it was as if nothing had happened: The wasteland is cold, the sky is blue, I miss you a lot.


    But from these simple and monotonous records, she saw his handwriting tremble; she smelled the burnt scent on the letter.


    The diary¡¯s owner gradually shifted from first person to third person, describing everything from an observer¡¯s perspective.


    His mind grew more and more detached, and his wording became increasingly cold, as if he had lost all feeling.


    Anna felt as though she was touching the soul of Winters Montagne across time and space, seeing him curled up, knees to chest, weeping in the endless darkness.


    ¡°When he died, was it peaceful?¡± Anna wanted to know the answer, ¡°Is he in heaven?¡±


    ¡°Because he is gone, he will always be at his best,¡± Anna sobbed, ¡°If I also forget him, then that best part of him will completely vanish.¡±


    Madam Navarre felt a sharp pain in her chest; the reason could no longer be made clear.


    She leaned back in the chair, her face pale, pleading weakly, ¡°Anna, mom¡¯s heart is not good, don¡¯t stress mom like this, okay? Cool down first, and we can decide slowly later, okay? My heart really hurts right now.¡±


    Anna lowered her head in agony.


    Madam Navarre grew more anxious; if the guilt couldn¡¯t break her daughter, then she was truly out of options.


    ¡°Mom! Stop pressuring sister!¡± Catherine rushed into the bedroom and took Anna into her arms, ¡°Sister wants to stay at the monastery for a few days, let her stay for a few days. I will accompany her!¡±


    Catherine then pleaded with her sister, ¡°If you want to go to the monastery, go, but don¡¯t rush into taking vows, okay? Let¡¯s stay there for a while, shall we?¡±


    Anna nodded lightly.


    Ladies and mistresses temporarily staying at a convent was a common occurrence.


    They could pray with the nuns without taking lifelong vows.


    The crisis was temporarily averted. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± Madam Navarre¡¯s tense spirits relaxed.


    She thought resentfully, ¡°My daughter, my exceptional daughter, should be the one making men lose their minds over her; how did it become the opposite?¡±


    At this thought, Madam Navarre said indignantly, ¡°Let alone the fact that the young man is dead, even if he were alive, I would not allow you to marry him!¡±

 Chapter 549 03-25 - 549 102 The Tibetan Mastiff

    ?Chapter 549: Chapter 102: The Tibetan Mastiff Chapter 549: Chapter 102: The Tibetan Mastiff It was a day in mid-May.


    Dawn was just breaking when Pierre shouldered his hoe and went down to the fields.


    He had been home for some time now, and he didn¡¯t let his mother and sister do the farm work, taking it all upon himself.


    Wolf Town was remote and isolated, and the wars among the great personages were like phrases and fragments from a distant foreign land.


    The Second Republic, the military government, the battle at Kingsfort¡­the people here could only hear broken bits of news, and it was difficult to discern truth from falsehood.


    For farmers, whose lives were dull, a little bit of gossip was enough to get them talking for half a day, let alone the significant matter of war.


    But Pierre didn¡¯t care about the lives or deaths of those great men; he just wanted to farm and eat.


    ...


    ¡°I won¡¯t manage to grow tobacco this year,¡± Pierre thought as he weeded, ¡°but thankfully Dad left a bit of winter wheat. If I plant a few other things, we should be able to get by this year. I¡¯ll go cut some more grass in the afternoon, so Scarlett doesn¡¯t have to herd the cattle and horses anymore.¡±


    Compared to horse riding and swordplay, hoeing was unfamiliar work for Pierre.


    The callouses from holding the sword handle didn¡¯t protect his hands, but luckily new ones would slowly form.


    Row by row, Pierre carefully and patiently removed the weeds.


    When he first began doing farm work, he often hoed down the vegetable seedlings as well.


    The former young master Mitchell might not have cared, but Mr. Mitchell now cherished them greatly.


    Because every one of those plants had been sown, watered, and fertilized with sheep dung by his mother¡¯s hand, each one bore the sweat of Ellen Mitchell and the cuts on her hands.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    The Mitchell estate no longer employed workers; the men had either fled or been conscripted.


    Pierre¡¯s family was sparse, with only his mother, sister, and a few female servants too old or too young at home, including an old nanny who needed care herself.


    Eileen then tied up her hair and rolled up her sleeves, taking on not just the housework but also the tasks in the big fields.


    Nobility lay not in how elegantly one lived when rich but in how steadfast one remained during hard times.


    The farmers from the nearby villages also lent a hand, occasionally bringing a bundle of hay or a bushel of wheat, and some quietly plowed several acres of land.


    Gerard and Eileen had helped them without expecting anything in return, and they hadn¡¯t forgotten. It was just that the past Mitchell estate lacked nothing, so their gratitude stayed silent in their hearts.


    Eileen started a vegetable garden, raised chickens, sheep, and cows; Gerard¡¯s prized thoroughbred mares she hid well, keeping them undiscovered by the foraging troops.


    With her own hard work and the help of neighbors, Eileen managed the Mitchell estate very well.


    The war property tax levied by Revodan had been paid with Scarlett¡¯s dowry a few days earlier.


    While working, Pierre calculated: ¡°Now we have a vegetable garden, a cow with her calf, four goats, and six hens at home.


    The winter wheat planted last autumn can be harvested as early as the end of this month, so we won¡¯t have to worry about food for a while.


    After we harvest the winter wheat, we can fatten the cattle and horses in the wheat field before rushing to plant barley.¡±


    ¡°We still have four horses at home. One warhorse I brought back and three broodmares of Father¡¯s, one of which is a bay already pregnant with a foal.


    Next year, we¡¯ll have five horses!¡±


    Though the Mitchell estate had suffered greatly, it hadn¡¯t collapsed and remained a prosperous family.


    Once circumstances improved, the estate would sprout anew with life.


    ¡°I need to buy a hand-cranked grinding mill to make flour. I also need to get two more piglets! Feed them grass every day, and by winter we¡¯ll have meat to eat,¡± Pierre thought with great enthusiasm as he wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Two horses are enough to pull a heavy plough. Once our family¡¯s fieldwork is done, I¡¯ll help the fellow villagers too. Those who assisted Mother, I will repay you. I¡¯ll save up for Scarlett¡¯s dowry again. I¡¯m going to survive, and I won¡¯t let Mother and Scarlett go hungry. When Father returns, I¡¯ll make sure to give him a big surprise.¡±


    Farm work is hard, but Pierre was young and strong, and there was nothing he feared.


    The only trouble for Pierre was his father¡¯s four hunting dogs.


    He had no time to hunt, nor spare food to feed the dogs.


    Without the ¡°Blood Wolf,¡± the hunting dogs had to catch field mice and rabbits on their own, struggling to survive, almost becoming wild dogs.


    ¡°If only Big Brother Montaigne were here,¡± thought Pierre, who no longer used military titles since becoming a deserter.


    Remembering not being by Blood Wolf¡¯s side in the last moments of his life, a weight pressed on Pierre¡¯s chest like a heavy stone. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Big Brother Montaigne! I will live well!¡± Pierre shouted into the wilderness, his nose tingling as he thought: ¡°You would praise me, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    Hoofbeats sounded across the plain.


    Someone had heard his shout and came galloping toward him.


    ¡°Pierre!¡± the approaching figure cried out breathlessly.


    A visitor at the Mitchell estate was a rare event.


    Stepping out of the vegetable rows, Pierre saw two men riding saddleless on Rejek. Anglu was in front, and Mitchell was behind.


    They ran up to Pierre before reining in their horse.


    Anglu dismounted, hastily grabbing Pierre¡¯s arm: ¡°This is bad!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic,¡± Pierre handed a water flask to Anglu, ¡°tell me slowly.¡±


    Anglu gulped down a big swig and exclaimed, ¡°There are officers in town, along with soldiers! Mitchell saw them. They went into Bunting¡¯s house! ¡±


    ¡­


    Bunting was Old Mr. Bunting¡¯s eldest son.


    Last year, when delivering goods to Revodan, the Bunting father and son left the caravan, hoping to return to Wolf Town ahead of the others.

 Chapter 550 03-25 - 550 102 Tibetan Mastiff_2

    ?Chapter 550: Chapter 102: Tibetan Mastiff_2 Chapter 550: Chapter 102: Tibetan Mastiff_2 The journey was abruptly intercepted by the bandits of ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡± Old Bunting died, and his eldest son was tortured almost to the point of disability.


    Upon Old Bunting¡¯s death, his three sons divided the inheritance, resulting in even smaller and more fragmented lands.


    Due to issues with the division of the family wealth, the three Bunting brothers engaged in a lawsuit, which turned out to be very unpleasant.


    Now, the people of Wolf Town call them Big Bunting, Second Bunting, and Little Bunting.


    After Gerard Mitchell was conscripted, Big Bunting became the acting mayor.


    His ascent to acting mayor was quite disgraceful.


    As news of the draft spread, the hired hands planned to hide. Being landless, they could go anywhere with their feet.


    ...


    Big Bunting gathered all his hired workers, claiming he wanted to treat them to a farewell feast.


    Seldom generous, the stingy host¡¯s unexpected magnanimity raised no suspicion, and the workers ate and drank merrily.


    When everyone was almost drunk, Big Bunting pushed open the gate¡ªand the conscription squad was waiting outside.


    After this incident, Big Bunting became the acting mayor of Wolf Town.


    He acted maliciously, as if seeking revenge against the entire town.


    The villagers who cultivated vegetables in the remote wastelands were also subjected to his demands for land payments and taxes.


    He flatly refused to acknowledge the welfare system for war casualties established by Garrison Officer Montaigne.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã0


    The lives of war casualty relatives became extremely difficult, as they lost their workforce and had to pay back taxes and land fees from previous years.


    A widow of a militia member fallen in a wolf attack, driven to desperation, almost committed suicide with her babbling daughter.


    It was Eileen who took in the mother and daughter at the Mitchell estate and paid their taxes, averting the tragedy.


    But the more respected the Mitchell family became, the more Big Bunting harassed them.


    When collecting the immovable property war tax, Big Bunting specifically appraised the land of the Mitchell estate very high.


    Left with no choice, Eileen and Pierre used Scarlett¡¯s dowry money.


    Scarlett was very understanding and had no objections, which made Pierre love her even more.


    Every night, he dragged his weary body to bed and looked at the saber hanging on the wall, wondering more than once whether he should have a ¡°talk¡± with Big Bunting.


    But he held back, for he had his mother and sister to think about, as well as the Mitchell estate. He couldn¡¯t be rash.


    Now, when the people of Wolf Town mention Big Bunting, they do so with gritted teeth.


    Big Bunting knew this and feared being shot in the dark.


    Somehow, he managed to have eight soldiers sent from Revodan at his disposal.


    With a squad of fierce soldiers to back him, Big Bunting acted more brazenly than ever.


    Those eight soldiers, usual thieves and womanizers, showed outright hooliganism, disrupting the town¡¯s peace.


    Now, rather than Pierre seeking out Big Bunting for a talk, Big Bunting had taken the initiative to come for him.


    ¡­ S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What do they want to do?¡± Pierre¡¯s brows knitted tightly. ¡°Do you know?¡±


    Samukin was quick to reply, ¡°Seems like they¡¯re drafting men again! They came with conscription orders and shackles. They might be here to catch us too.¡±


    ¡°Hook! Go inform everyone,¡± Pierre decided on the spot. This definitely wasn¡¯t just about one family.


    Anglu nodded earnestly, mounted his horse, and headed towards Dusa Village.


    The deserters gathered once again in the Mitchell mansion. Not only those from Dusack but also people from four other villages.


    Old believers, Protestants, anyone who could make it, came.


    Everyone took a horse when they fled, which made their movement swift.


    ¡°We run now! Escape immediately!¡± Anglu shouted urgently.


    Vashka glared at him, ¡°You¡¯re a bachelor, easy for you to leave! We have families!¡±


    ¡­


    As the acting mayor¡ªand acting Garrison Officer¡ªof Wolf Town, Big Bunting relieved Anglu of his guard duties and handed them to his own foolish son instead.


    The horses of Dusa Village were gone, ridden away by the Dusacks.


    Horse boy Anglu was left with nothing.


    He wasn¡¯t good at farming, nor was he willing to eat idle meals at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    So Anglu started wandering on Red Mane around nearby villages, earning his keep by treating large animals.


    ¡­


    Anglu countered, ¡°If we don¡¯t run, what then? We¡¯ll either be conscripted or caught as deserters. Do you think you can hide?¡±


    ¡°If they come for deserters, I¡¯ll just hide across Big Horn River. If I refuse to go¡ªthat¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll force you to go!¡±


    ¡°Let them try. I¡¯m not some calf they can lead by a noose.¡±


    Pierre sighed, ¡°Whether they¡¯re catching deserters or drafting men, I¡¯m not going. Winters Montaigne, such a good man, they killed him without blinking. You think I¡¯d serve their cause? Dream on! Do you want to serve them? We must leave, the question is where.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuss about it. If it¡¯s desperate, we¡¯ll have to squeeze into any gap we can find,¡± Anglu was the most decisive, having been left behind on the western banks of the Styx.


    ¡°Dong dong dong dong!¡± Suddenly a distant bell sounded.


    The bell of Wolf Town church rang out.


    The bell¡¯s peal descended from the tower, traveled over the square, rolled across the green wilderness and black fields, shattered against the trees, and then dissipated.


    Then came the continuous anxious ringing: ¡°Dong¡­ Dong¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Anglu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s a death knell!¡±


    Pierre made up his mind, ¡°Then let¡¯s go! Those willing to leave, follow me; those who aren¡¯t, stay.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Anglu leaped up excitedly.


    ¡°We¡¯ve come through fire and blood shoulder to shoulder,¡± Vashka said with difficulty. ¡°If you¡¯re going, I¡¯m going too.¡±


    They arranged a meeting place and time, and the deserters scattered, each heading home to prepare food and other necessities.

 Chapter 551 03-25 - 551 102 Mastiff_3

    ?Chapter 551: Chapter 102 Mastiff_3 Chapter 551: Chapter 102 Mastiff_3 Pierre found his mother but discovered that she and his sister had already prepared provisions, clothes, and boots for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Eileen gently kissed her son¡¯s forehead, took off the holy emblem, and hung it around his neck, ¡°We will take care of ourselves.¡±


    Scarlett also softly comforted her brother, ¡°Go, Pierre, I will hide the cows and horses well. They won¡¯t find them. When you come back, we¡¯ll have foals.¡±


    ¡­


    The deserters from Wolf Town gathered again to flee their homeland.


    The soldiers who came to catch them found nothing, and it was only then that Bunting and the officers realized they had escaped.


    At dusk, the officer set out from Wolf Town with six Cavalry, following the deserters¡¯ footsteps in pursuit.


    ...


    Night mist rolled across the wasteland and circled the valleys, licking lowlands and cliffs.


    Clouds of fog shrouding the hillocks made them appear much brighter, while birds competed in song among the tender grass.


    The moon stirred in the puddles thick with reeds and hazel bushes, like a blooming water lily. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°They won¡¯t get far!¡± the officer looked back, urging his men, ¡°Hurry! Move quick!¡±


    Suddenly, a tripwire ¡°whooshed¡± up from the middle of the road.


    The officer¡¯s Warhorse tripped on the rope, tumbling forward fiercely, flinging its rider harshly to the ground.


    The officer was thrown into disarray, tumbling three or four times in the dust before coming to a stop.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    The other three Cavalry who couldn¡¯t react in time were also brought down, while the three behind them narrowly managed to rein in their horses.


    About a dozen figures leaped out from the tall grass on both sides of the dirt road.


    They didn¡¯t shout or curse; they just silently subdued the four who had fallen to the ground.


    The other three Cavalry were pulled from their horses before they even had a chance to draw their swords.


    With sabers at their throats, they dared not make a move.


    The officer¡¯s shoulder drooped, clearly broken.


    He had thought they were just a bunch of scarecrow deserters and had never anticipated that they would dare to strike back.


    The officer was eerily calm as he tried to convince the deserters, ¡°If you stop now, it¡¯s still not too late. If I die, your entire families will be implicated. I will speak in your favor.¡±


    Another soldier, however, raged furiously, ¡°You bastards! What nerve!¡±


    The deserters in the darkness remained silent.


    On the deserted plains, only the officer¡¯s trembling voice and the soldier¡¯s curses could be heard.


    ¡°Did anyone get away?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Vashka confirmed.


    ¡°Drag them into the woods,¡± Pierre¡¯s tone was as flat as if he were drinking water, ¡°Don¡¯t leave any blood on the road.¡±


    Realizing what the deserters intended, the officer struggled frantically, becoming uncontrollable, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid for your families? I assure your safety! No! Don¡¯t kill me! I will¡­¡±


    Vashka reversed the handle of his knife and smashed it hard against the officer¡¯s face, silencing him.


    Dusa did the same, and the soldier was silenced in an instant.


    The pursuers were horrified to discover that graves had already been dug beside the trees along the road.


    ¡°Bury them directly?¡± Vashka asked.


    ¡°No, make it quick,¡± Pierre replied.


    Vashka raised his hand and cut the officer¡¯s throat, being very careful not to let a single drop of blood fall outside the pit.


    Then the soldier.


    Then the others.


    One Cavalryman was so terrified he wet his pants, begging piteously, ¡°I¡¯m a Dusack too, don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°I am a Dusack too,¡± Pierre responded expressionlessly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you also coming to kill me? I just want to farm and provide for my family.¡±


    The bodies of the seven pursuers were placed in the pit.


    The deserters refilled the hole, meticulously replaced the sod just like the surrounding area, and stacked it with twigs and fallen leaves.


    Soon life would flourish here again, plants growing more vigorously with the nourishment from the fertilizer. Birds would sing here, and mice would nest.


    ¡°What about the reprisals he mentioned?¡± Vashka asked.


    ¡°No one will see them alive, no one will see their bodies, they¡¯ll just be considered missing,¡± Pierre instructed, ¡°Clean up any tracks on the road, lead the hoofprints far away.¡±


    Anglu came over, his voice filled with regret, ¡°Those four horses are done for; we can only eat their meat. The other three are still usable.¡±


    ¡°Take them with us,¡± Pierre gestured, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The woods were silent as though no one had ever been there.


    Only Anglu¡¯s mournful voice was faintly audible, ¡°Such a pity for those four horses.¡±

 Chapter 552 03-25 - 552 103 Rivers

    ?Chapter 552: Chapter 103: Rivers Chapter 552: Chapter 103: Rivers On June 20th, ten full weeks after his injury was set, the tribe¡¯s healer removed the wooden mold from Winters¡¯ left leg.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Erhulan asked with concern.


    Winters shook his head.


    After two months, the broken leg that had been mended was finally reunited with its owner.


    The owner of the left leg had put on a bit of weight, and his complexion had greatly improved¡ªthe diet of the herders was too high in fats and proteins, and his previously sunken cheeks and eye sockets had visibly filled out.


    But his left leg had lost weight, the muscles atrophied, making it look like a straw compared to its twin brother, his right leg.


    The tribe¡¯s healer pinched Winters¡¯ injury inch by inch.


    ...


    Then he bent down to his leg and gently tapped it with a small wooden hammer.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Edun,¡± the healer respectfully said to Erhulan, ¡°[Herde Language] Batu can walk now.¡±


    Erhulan was overjoyed, presenting the healer with many gold and silver jewels as a reward.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters calmly asked.


    ¡°He said you can walk now.¡±


    Winters propped himself up with his hands and instantly tried to rise.


    After taking just one step, he lost his balance and collapsed heavily to his left side.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Erhulan cried out as she went to support Winters.


    But Winters swung his arms, struggling to regain balance, and wobbled around in circles inside the felt tent.


    Observing Winters¡¯ steps, the healer asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Batu, does your leg hurt?¡±


    Erhulan, wanting to help but not daring to reach out, stood by Winters to translate for the healer, ¡°He¡¯s asking if your leg hurts?¡±


    ¡°It hurts.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] It should hurt!¡± said the healer, taking out an ointment from a cow horn and explaining, ¡°[Herde Language] After two months, even a mastiff doesn¡¯t recognize its owner, let alone a leg, right? Batu needs to slowly adapt to his leg, and his leg needs to slowly adapt to him. Edun must remember to apply medicine and massage it daily. The bones haven¡¯t grown crooked, Batu will recover.¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Erhulan happily saw off the healer and, when she returned to the tent, saw Winters putting on his boots.


    Erhulan asked with a hint of panic, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°The tent is too small; I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡±


    Winters struggled to put on his boots, his left leg stiff and sore, making the process very awkward.


    Erhulan hastily brought a folding chair, ¡°The healer said you need to take it slow, you can¡¯t rush it.¡±


    Winters silently tied his shoelaces.


    The tent flap was lifted, and Little Lion entered.


    ¡°I heard you can walk now?¡± Little Lion said excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll take you for a bath!¡±


    Erhulan shot a reproachful glance at Little Lion, ¡°He¡¯s not completely healed yet!¡±


    Little Lion looked around, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he look pretty well? Nothing¡¯s crooked, is it?¡±


    Hearing Little Lion¡¯s words, Winters stopped what he was doing with his hands.


    For the past two months, he had moved almost exclusively within a three-meter radius of the tent.


    Beyond daily washing up, he kept himself clean with a wet towel.


    Initially, when he had been unconscious, Erhulan had wiped him down; after Winters regained consciousness, he did it himself.


    He truly wanted to take a proper bath, no matter if the water was cold since there was no hot water.


    Winters looked at Little Lion and slowly nodded.


    Unable to persuade the two men, Erhulan silently helped Winters get dressed.


    Now, Winters almost passed for a Herder at first glance: he wore cross-collared robes and leather boots, and his beard and hair had grown naturally for two months without grooming.


    Only his eyes, they were somber, lacking the unrestrained and hearty demeanor of the Herders.


    Little Lion brought over a horse and gently coaxed it to lie down so that Winters could mount the saddle without straining.


    ¡°Are you still comfortable?¡± Little Lion asked with a smile.


    Winters pulled on the reins and nodded slightly.


    The Herders didn¡¯t use iron bits, and luckily Winters hadn¡¯t used them in the past either.


    The two started off at a slow pace, speeding up as they went, until they were almost galloping at full speed, all the way to the riverbank.


    There was a pile of clothes thrown on the shore, while many men in the water were having a water fight.


    The men engaged in the water fight were all adult-sized, yet they played like children.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Little Lion jumped off his saddle, excitedly stripping off his clothes, ¡°We¡¯ll join them.¡±


    No sooner had he pulled off his robe, Little Lion suddenly remembered Winters¡¯ injury and helped Winters down from the horse.


    Winters hesitated a bit, but he didn¡¯t refuse.


    He slowly removed his clothes, carefully folded them, and waded unsteadily into the river.


    The river water was ice-cold, making all one¡¯s hairs stand on end at the touch.


    But once accustomed to the temperature, it wasn¡¯t a big deal; it was actually quite refreshing.


    Winters walked deeper, the buoyancy of the water lessening the burden on his left leg, slightly reducing the soreness he felt.


    Yes, just soreness. He didn¡¯t feel pain, only a sense of fatigue-induced soreness.


    The men in the water hadn¡¯t noticed that two more had joined in¡ªan ongoing occurrence¡ªas they shouted and frolicked in their water fight, wrestling, fishing, and swimming.


    Winters scooped up river water and gently washed his body.


    A laughing man next to him splashed over, throwing water in his face.


    Winters¡¯ muscles suddenly tensed, and he looked up sharply at the other man.


    The man in front of him hadn¡¯t yet realized Winters might react violently, and kept laughing as he splashed water at him.


    Winters, however, was stunned.


    For the man splashing water at him, laughing like a child, was none other than the hero of the plains, the warrior of the tribes, the chief of the Red River Tribe¡ªWhite Lion.


    Two enemies, who had once fought each other fiercely on the battlefield, now stood before each other, naked.


    Winters¡¯ gaze inevitably was drawn to the scars on White Lion¡¯s body.

 Chapter 553 03-25 - 553 103 Rivers_2

    ?Chapter 553: Chapter 103 Rivers_2 Chapter 553: Chapter 103 Rivers_2 White Lion¡¯s body was almost destroyed into a sieve, without a single area larger than two palms intact.


    Most were spots left by arrows, followed by the streaks left by swords, and a few shocking gunshot injuries.


    But what about Winters himself? Like the White Lion, only with fewer scars.


    White Lion noticed something off about the person before him, and while supporting his waist and panting, he laughed and asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Why haven¡¯t I seen you before?¡±


    Winters did not understand what the other was saying, and even if he did, he could not respond.


    It was the first time White Lion had met him, but for Winters, it was the third encounter with White Lion.


    Only that on the previous two occasions, they were sworn enemies, his face hidden beneath his helmet¡ªit was their first time meeting ¡°face to face.¡±


    ...


    Silence spread like invisible sound waves, rapidly diffusing in all directions.


    One by one, the men playing in the water stopped their activities; everyone sensed a change in the atmosphere.


    The riverside that had just been filled with laughter suddenly fell silent as death.


    The air seemed to solidify, everyone¡¯s gaze fixed on White Lion, and the strange man beside him.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I caught a fish!¡± Little Lion¡¯s head emerged from the water, a slimy salmon struggling in his grasp, as he laughed joyously, ¡°[Herde Language] Look what I caught!¡±


    Nobody spoke.


    Little Lion shook the water from his head, his smile growing rigid as he sensed something was amiss.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    ¡°[Herde Language] Bro! Shall we grill the fish?¡± Little Lion, grasping the fish¡¯s tail, flounced over to White Lion¡¯s side, explaining rapidly, ¡°This is the person I told you about.¡±


    White Lion nodded gently toward the stranger, signaling the others, ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a small misunderstanding.¡±


    Only then did the people around relax and continue to play in the water. But the atmosphere had grown strange and couldn¡¯t return to its original state.


    White Lion sighed and nodded to Winters again.


    He slowly walked towards the riverbank and sat down on the sandy shore, letting the wind dry the droplets on his body.


    Little Lion whispered to Winters, ¡°It was thoughtless of me; my brother just got back, and I was eager for you to meet him.¡±


    Winters shook his head and continued cleaning himself.


    The sky gradually darkened.


    Someone brought a few sheep, which were slaughtered and butchered on the shore, and then a fire was kindled.


    Some of the mutton was boiled in a pot, while other portions were skewered for roasting.


    The people of the Red River Tribe, washed free from the dust of travel, ascended the riverbank laughing and joking, naturally engaging in the preparation of the food.


    Some gathered wood, others cut the meat, some tended the bonfire¡ªall bustling with activity, except for Winters, who sat silently on the riverbank.


    The meat was cut into small chunks for roasting, cooking quickly.


    But on the plains where trees were scarce, there were few branches to skewer the meat, so this method was uncommon.


    Fortunately, in the areas where silt from the nearby river bends had accumulated, there were some pitiful shrubs.


    Who knew how many years these shrubs had taken to grow to their present size¡ªthey were all used as fuel and skewers that day.


    Little Lion pulled his brother over to talk with Winters.


    The three sat by the shore, staring at the dark waters of the river under the night sky, all unsure of what to say.


    Suddenly, Winters spoke, ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    Little Lion was startled.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who saved you,¡± White Lion answered.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    White Lion did not respond.


    ¡°Do you know that I am what you call ¡®the Chosen One¡¯?¡± Winters asked intently, staring at White Lion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about it.¡±


    ¡°If I act now, none of the people here will survive.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    Panic appeared on Little Lion¡¯s face; he wanted to stop Winters, but didn¡¯t dare to interrupt.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still not acting?¡±


    Winters asked, word by word, ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When a bird is chased into the bushes by a hawk, the bushes protect it,¡± White Lion lay back, reclining on the slope, looking nothing like the Barbarian Chief who commanded thousands, but rather an ordinary herdsman, ¡°Once we start to see each other as ¡®people,¡¯ it becomes very hard to wish to kill each other.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve killed many of your people¡­ so many.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve killed many of yours as well,¡± White Lion¡¯s brown eyes lowered, ¡°Of course, people will have hatred, and hatred makes one feel comfortable. Hatred doesn¡¯t cause pain, understanding the enemy is what¡¯s painful. If I stab you twice right now, you will feel much better. We would become enemies again, and we need only try our best to kill each other.¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This time it was Winters¡¯s turn to fall silent.


    After a long while, Winters spoke, ¡°Can you understand the Paratu People? Understand why they want to kill you, kill your people?¡±


    ¡°I understand, but that does not mean I agree. I understand, so I am even more resolute.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean, and I know what you want to say,¡± Winters¡¯s speech hastened, ¡°You keep telling me that you are not barbarians, that you¡¯re also human beings who live and breathe. But this is pointless, do you know? It¡¯s meaningless!¡±


    White Lion and Little Lion listened quietly.


    Winters¡¯s emotions grew more agitated, ¡°If I had not been brought to Paratu, we could¡¯ve been friends; I would¡¯ve invited you over to my place! But I came to Paratu, stood in that position, and all of it became meaningless. Whether you are barbarians or not, it¡¯s all meaningless! You¡­¡±


    White Lion raised his hand, signaling Winters to stop; he sighed, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think so much. I want to ask you, if you encounter me on the battlefield, would you hold back?¡±

 Chapter 554 03-25 - 554 103 River_3

    ?Chapter 554: Chapter 103 River_3 Chapter 554: Chapter 103 River_3 Winters shook his head.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t either, but the war is over.¡±


    ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to take each day as it comes.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me, there might come a day when I kill you.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we come to it.¡±


    Winters fell silent once again.


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m not advising you to let go of your hatred, I still harbor the most intense hatred for Paratu People.¡± White Lion looked into Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°Just find a way to ease your own suffering, whatever it takes. You saved my sister and brother, and they saved you in return. That¡¯s just the way it is.¡±


    ¡°Hestas paid blood money, Little Lion and I owe each other nothing.¡±


    White Lion slightly shook his head, ¡°You think it¡¯s a transaction, but I believe it¡¯s a bond. That¡¯s how things happened, who knows what fate has in store for us?


    We never met before, but seeing you reminds me of myself many years ago. One man killed my father; the very same man saved my mother, brother, and sister. What am I to make of him? I don¡¯t know either.


    We¡¯re swept along by the river, our pain, our thoughts, and our struggles are of no consequence to its flow. Everyone gets by like this, only a few ever get the chance to change the river¡¯s course. If one day you have the chance to alter its flow, I hope you won¡¯t forget what you¡¯re thinking and feeling today.


    And for now¡­ you just need to make life a little easier for yourself.¡±


    Winters mulled over White Lion¡¯s words.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    White Lion patted Winters¡¯ arm like an older brother. ¡°Go get some meat, it¡¯s really tasty. Little Lion is wrong, you won¡¯t stay here. Heal your leg, then you should leave.¡±


    After speaking, White Lion got up and walked towards the campfire.


    ¡°What about you! Have you changed the course of the river?¡± Winters shouted at White Lion¡¯s retreating figure.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± White Lion didn¡¯t turn around, ¡°But I never forgot who I was in the past.¡±


    Winters stood in place for a very long time, motionless.


    Little Lion didn¡¯t understand what the two men were discussing; he lightly tugged on Winters¡¯ sleeve, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you to eat some meat.¡±


    Suddenly, Winters strode towards White Lion.


    Little Lion didn¡¯t even have time to stop him; no one did.


    White Lion¡¯s ¡°Nakor¡± and ¡°Nayen¡± were startled, some reaching for their knives, others bare-handedly lunging at Winters.


    But Winters didn¡¯t attack, didn¡¯t hurt anyone.


    He simply stood in front of White Lion and said calmly, ¡°I want to buy something from you.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡± White Lion continued to cut the meat with his head down.


    ¡°Paratu prisoners, all of them.¡±


    ¡°Price.¡±


    ¡°Two tons of Gold.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    By the time Winters returned to Erhulan¡¯s tent, the sky had turned completely dark.


    White Lion didn¡¯t agree, nor did he refuse.


    He just laughed heartily and handed Winters a piece of hand-held meat.


    Dim lights shone through the tent, clearly Erhulan was waiting for him to return.


    Winters lifted the tent flap, and a sudden gust of wind whipped around his body, making his hair stand on end.


    A huge creature lunged towards him.


    Taken by surprise, Winters was knocked down.


    The behemoth opened its gaping jaws, almost bringing Winters to faint with its overpowering stench.


    Then the creature began licking Winters¡¯ face, its tongue as rough as sandpaper with its barbs.


    Winters slapped its head, ¡°Get off!¡±


    The huge creature whined pitifully, huffily tucked its tail, and walked away.


    Inside the tent were three people Winters hadn¡¯t expected to see: Xial, Hunter, and the old Shaman.


    S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 555 03-25 - 555 104 Rose

    ?Chapter 555: Chapter 104 Rose Chapter 555: Chapter 104 Rose The Great Wilderness experiences great temperature differences between day and night, but the felt tent is warm and cozy.


    Brother Reed pointed at Xial, ¡°This kid was supposed to collect your body!¡±


    Then he pointed at the young Hunter Bell, ¡°This kid was supposed to collect your corpse as well!¡±


    Finally, the old man stroked his beard with delight, ¡°Ahem. Heaven values all creatures¡¯ life, and as an old man, I was afraid they¡¯d die on the way, so I escorted them all this way. I have fulfilled my mission without blemish! Now that you are not dead, you can go ahead and settle my salary for the past three months.¡±


    ¡°Cut it out!¡± Xial was annoyed, ¡°Weren¡¯t we the ones driving the carriage? What else have you done besides sleeping on it?¡±


    Although Xial was angry, his eyes were smiling as he clung to Winters¡¯ arm and refused to let go.


    Winters cut to the chase, ¡°How did you find me?¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, we first followed the army back to Paratu.¡± Brother Reed said with a beaming smile, ¡°Once Hurd¡¯s pursuers turned back, these two wanted to collect your corpse.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters nodded slightly.


    Bell spoke softly, ¡°We originally planned to search for bodies by The Styx, but we happened to meet Dajie Shaman, who was comforting the souls of the dead. Brother Reed then talked with Dajie Shaman, and he brought us here to the Great Shaman.¡±


    ¡°Even the head of the Shamans have wisdom, and I got along with him.¡± Brother Reed said with a smile, ¡°He told us that the Red River Tribe had a Paratu champion in their hands. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was you, so I followed him to find you.¡±


    Little Lion had previously mentioned that the Great Shaman wanted to see Winters, but he hadn¡¯t come yet.


    According to Brother Reed, the Great Shaman was probably nearby.


    ¡°Have you seen White Lion?¡± Winters asked.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°We have, when we came with the Great Shaman, we ran into White Lion who was returning from a punitive campaign,¡± Brother Reed changed to a more comfortable reclining position, ¡°The formidable White Lion almost bowed down in respect upon seeing me, unlike you, kid, who always seem to have something to prove against me. Seeing his attitude was not bad, I casually gave him a few pointers.¡±


    ¡°What kind of pointers?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    Since Brother Reed had arrived, Winters began to discuss the matter of the ritual Gold Man with him.


    White Lion neither agreed to his deal nor rejected it.


    Upon learning of Winters¡¯ rash actions, the old Brother was so angry his beard became crooked.


    He scolded furiously, ¡°What were you thinking? What makes you think you can negotiate with White Lion? If you were not a cultivator, White Lion would have plenty of ways to make you talk! If White Lion had any ill intentions, you¡­ do you know what would become of you?¡±


    Not to upset Winters, Little Lion and Erhulan had been very careful not to let any ¡°spoils of war¡± appear around him.


    But Winters knew that the captured Paratu People had become slaves, and among them were likely his own warriors.


    Winters lowered his eyes and said quietly, ¡°I just wanted to make things easier for myself.¡±


    To make yourself feel better? There are plenty of ways! The simplest is to have a black heart and disregard all kin,¡± Brother Reed fumed with bulging eyes, ¡°What about captives? What¡¯s it to you? As long as you don¡¯t care! All you need to do is dust off your behind and walk away. If you can do this, you¡¯re sure to achieve great things in the future.¡±


    Xial and the young Hunter looked at the old charlatan in horror, their expressions changing.


    Winters remained silent.


    Brother Reed gently cajoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about so much, just hurry home. Once back to Vineta, bolster your strength under the protection of your family elders. If the world remains the same, you follow the routine and become an official. If there¡¯s a great upheaval, you can rise quickly. Advance or retreat at will. This is the easiest path, and I¡¯ve pointed it out to you. What are you hesitating for?¡±


    Winters sat there like a stone, still without a word.


    Brother Reed sighed, smiled, and shook his head, ¡°Let me tell you why White Lion neither agrees nor refuses.¡±


    Winters suddenly looked up.


    Brother Reed gestured to all around, ¡°To the south of the Great Wilderness are mountains, to the north are still mountains. To the west is the tundra, and beyond the tundra, more mountains; only to the east is there an exit, yet it¡¯s blocked by the Paratu People. Tell me, what use is your gold to White Lion? What can he buy with it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an important ritual object¡­¡±


    ¡°Ritual object?¡± Brother Reed scoffed, ¡°What¡¯s that worth in soldiers? Take the Great Shaman, is his status not lofty? But how many soldiers does he command? Does his word count for anything? White Lion¡¯s from the Boya Clan, by custom, he can¡¯t be called Khan, so you can¡¯t give the Gold Statue to him either. To put it plainly, you¡¯d have to convince the Gold Man himself to descend from heaven and scold White Lion¡¯s birth mother. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°But he could negotiate with the Fire-Tenders¡­¡±


    ¡°Negotiate?¡± Brother Reed¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Once White Lion gets his hands on the ritual Gold Man, he loses the Fire-Tenders as an ally! The Red River Tribe and the Terdon Tribe are now relying on and wary of each other. To White Lion, the Terdon Tribe without the ritual Gold Man is the most ideal Terdon Tribe. He can leverage their power without fear of being swallowed up.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know these things¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, you child, trapped in this tiny tent, what could you possibly know?¡± Brother Reed sighed, ¡°You¡¯re offering White Lion a volcano that could erupt at any time. But what you want to take away is thousands worth of labor. The Paratu captives are scattered in the hands of the Hurd tribes, is White Lion supposed to go negotiating with each tribe for you?¡±


    Winters¡¯ expression turned grim, ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    Brother Reed countered, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t White Lion just refuse you or simply kill you off? With your death, the ritual Gold Man would disappear and everything would be resolved.¡±

 Chapter 556 03-25 - 556 104 Rose_2

    ?Chapter 556: Chapter 104 Rose_2 Chapter 556: Chapter 104 Rose_2 The wood in the stove crackled and popped.


    ¡°Is there still a chance?¡± Winters¡¯s pupils dilated.


    ¡°Two tons of gold, in the Great Wilderness, are just two tons of stones. But in Paratu, they¡¯re two tons of hard currency,¡± Reed the monk sneered. ¡°If you can bring materials worth two tons of gold, the White Lion will happily hand over the prisoners to you. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Paratu blockading the Herder tribes?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°He wants me to smuggle?¡±


    Reed the monk did not answer; instead, he changed the subject. ¡°Remember I once said that regardless of the outcome of this battle, it wouldn¡¯t affect Paratu¡¯s absolute suppression of the Herder tribes?¡±


    Winters nodded slightly.


    ¡°At that time I thought, although the nomadic tribes often have such nonsense like ¡®unbeatable when numbering less than ten thousand, invincible when they do.¡¯ But as long as settled nations stand firm, they¡¯d surely beat the nomads till they howl,¡± Reed the monk¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits with amusement. ¡°But now¡­ the situation has changed.¡±


    ...


    Winters waited for the old shaman to say the most important thing.


    The old monk smirked, ¡°The Paratu People have started fighting among themselves!¡±


    When the Corpse Collecting Trio set out, the coup at Kingsfort had just ended.


    Upon returning to Shuangqiao Main Camp, Alpad immediately led his troops eastward to attack Kingsfort. As to who won or lost, they did not know.


    Winters listened expressionlessly to the turmoil in Paratu, seemingly unaffected.


    ¡°Father!¡± Xial asked the old shaman discontentedly, ¡°Why does it seem like you¡¯re not worried at all about the civil strife in Paratu, but actually seem quite happy about it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not in a hurry. The soul is a guest of the body, the body is a guest of the world, and I am your guest,¡± Reed the monk laughed heartily, clapping his hands. ¡°Of course, the bigger the chaos, the better the spectacle.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Xial was left speechless, unable to find words to argue.


    ¡°Why did the fighting start?¡± Winters asked.


    Reed the monk twirled his beard, smiling. ¡°The matter is quite simple. It¡¯s like a marriage between a man and a woman with starkly different characters. One side is called the Aristocratic Republic, the other the Citizen Republic. In the honeymoon phase, they could respect each other, as thick as thieves, but as the days passed, and stumbles were had, they became less and less tolerant of each other. Then the endless quarrels turned into violence.


    It was a child named ¡®Victory¡¯ that held this family together. Now that this child is dead, both claim ownership of the family assets. Can¡¯t talk it out? Then fight, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Xial asked in surprise.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Reed the monk knocked Xial on the forehead. ¡°How can politics be so simple? History, buried hatred, deep-seated conflicts, the character of the doers, every facet influences the direction politics will take. To oversimplify political struggles, to boil it down to a metaphor like a divorce, is a grave mistake!¡±


    ¡°Just say it, don¡¯t hit people,¡± Xial complained, covering his forehead.


    Bell, standing to the side, smiled goofily and also received a knuckle rap.


    ¡°However, there is some good news for the Paratu People.¡± Reed the monk sighed, his voice tinged with sorrow. ¡°The White Lion¡­ is a hero.¡±


    Xial and Hunter both froze.


    The White Lion is a hero, how is that good news?


    Winters¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly, and his lips pursed.


    ¡°If the White Lion were a cruel and hypocritical sovereign, he would be much more difficult for the Paratu People to deal with than he is now. It¡¯s a pity¡­ he¡¯s a man with a heart of compassion,¡± the old monk reflected, looking kindly at Winters.


    Winters returned the gaze calmly, the two locking eyes for several silent seconds.


    ¡°Some people think that those with lower moral standards are more likely to achieve great deeds,¡± the old monk suddenly laughed heartily, a rare trace of sadness in his laughter. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to believe that¡¯s true. How wonderful it would be if someone could prove them wrong?¡±


    ¡­


    Even though the brace had been removed, Winters still walked with a limp. And after only a few steps, he would be overwhelmed by aching soreness; his left leg muscles needed time.


    So Xial, Bell, and the old monk settled in the camp, waiting for his full recovery.


    Xial spent most of his time by Winters¡¯s side.


    Bell quickly became familiar with Little Lion, the two of them nearly inseparable.


    And Reed the monk?


    He was often nowhere to be seen throughout the day, sometimes talking with the White Lion, sometimes engaging in theological discussions with the big Shaman, or just loafing around the camp.


    The old fellow had a special ability to take good care of himself, no matter where he was.


    The White Lion, on the other hand, held him in high esteem, and the Herders all respectfully called him Dexe Zen [the Wise One].


    There was also the real ¡°Little White Lion¡±, which had grown as big as a calf, its mane also starting to fill in.


    The ¡°Little Fella¡± had no name yet¡ªBell remembered Winters¡¯s instructions not to name it, so it was still called the Little Fella.


    The Little Fella still remembered Winters, the man who had replaced its scent.


    However, when it approached Winters of its own accord that night, it was met with a slap, so it sulked for days.


    The people of the Red River Tribe revered it as a deity, offering cattle and sheep to feed it. The Little Fella had no worries about food and drink, so the big cat¡¯s lazy nature prevailed.


    It spent its days full and asleep, or asleep and full, and when bored, it lay at the entrance of the felt tent to bask in the sun.


    Bear in mind, Reed the monk and the others had relied on the Little Fella to guard the wagon and chase off wolf packs as they traversed the uninhabited zone.


    Back then, the Little Fella caught its own rabbits, marmots, and even antelopes, never once being fed by others.


    Bell had hoped to take the opportunity to train the Little Fella in wilderness survival, but ever since arriving at the Red River Tribe, it had become even more sluggish.

 Chapter 557 03-25 - 557 104 Rose_3

    ?Chapter 557: Chapter 104 Rose_3 Chapter 557: Chapter 104 Rose_3 ¡­


    Winters had also met the great Shaman.


    Perhaps the closer one gets, the more the aura of sanctity and majesty crumbles away.


    Once the mystique was stripped away, amidst the complex adornments and ornaments, Winters saw that the shaman chieftain of the Hurd tribes was just a weathered old man.


    Erhulan acted as an interpreter, and they conversed briefly.


    ¡°May fortune be with you, Hestas,¡± the great Shaman said kindly to Winters.


    ¡°Have you seen Hestas?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I have and I haven¡¯t,¡± the great Shaman replied, his words carrying hidden meaning, ¡°Since the first note sung by the chanters, it has been the first time someone from outside the prairie has taken up the responsibility to communicate with the myriad of spirits. What about you? Can you see them?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Why would Hestas choose me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, our legacy is a calling. Like the coming of spring and the passing of autumn, it happens naturally. Or to put it another way, it wasn¡¯t Hestas that chose you, but you who helped Hestas. If you hadn¡¯t appeared at that moment, the spirit carried by the name Hestas would have been lost. And you are the Chosen One, you yourself are chosen by the spirits of all things.¡±


    After some thought, Winters said, ¡°Let¡¯s conduct that ritual one more time, and I will return the name of Hestas to you.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush,¡± the great Shaman said with a smile and a shake of his head, ¡°If you truly are Hestas, you will know when the moment comes, just like Hestas choosing you. If you are not, then you have no need to worry, and the ritual would be pointless.¡±


    Winters remained silent for a long time, contemplating the other¡¯s rigorous logic.


    ¡°Your HeHaEr is a rare beast spirit speaker,¡± the great Shaman then asked abruptly, ¡°Would you allow me to borrow him for a while?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡°HeHaEr?¡± Winters frowned, ¡°Bell?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the child named [Bear].¡±


    ¡°What do you want him for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. He is your HeHaEr, I will not take him away.¡±


    ¡°What does beast spirit speaker mean? Speaking with lions?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± the great Shaman laughed heartily, ¡°Can Hunters talk to mastiffs? But Hunters can communicate with and command mastiffs. Mastiffs are willing to do many things for Hunters, not because they are afraid of them, but because they regard the Hunter as family.


    The relationship between spirit beasts and beast spirit speakers is similar. It isn¡¯t about chaining them with iron or whipping them into submission¡ªthe spirit beasts regard the beast spirit speakers as kin. A spirit beast like the White Lion, once it reaches adulthood, becomes very difficult to approach. But when this White Lion was very small, the child named [Bear] was inseparable from it. Such a beast spirit speaker who has grown up alongside a White Lion is also a rare occurrence in the history of the tribes. At least, only one such name is recorded in the chanters¡¯ songs.¡±


    Winters retorted coldly, ¡°You just want to bring the White Lion for the White Lion¡¯s sake, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not only that. If he stays here, I will teach him and help him master the power of the beast spirit speaker. He is your HeHaEr, and I shall not keep him against his will.¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Winters said solemnly to the great Shaman, ¡°Bell is a free man; he can decide for himself where he wants to stay. If he decides to leave, I will take him away. If you exploit him, I will come looking for you again.¡±


    The great Shaman nodded in acknowledgment, and the two parted ways.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    While Winters was meeting with the great Shaman, another celebration was taking place in the great hall of Kingsfort.


    This celebration was to declare victory¡ªthe victory of the Second Republic.


    In the past two months, while Winters had been living quietly in the wastelands, Paratu had been a stage for one dramatic event after another.


    First came the ¡°April Coup,¡± where the Blue Blood Faction and the Kingsfort Faction slaughtered each other in the streets, filling them with blood.


    Then came the ¡°May Siege,¡± where Alpad led all the troops he could find to launch a fierce assault on Kingsfort.


    The assault quickly turned into a siege because the fortifications of Kingsfort were too robust¡ªotherwise, why would she be called a ¡°Fortress¡±?


    As the battle dragged on, the troops under Alpad began to desert.


    In the end, even Alpad, a man who refused to concede defeat, had to admit: the siege of Kingsfort had utterly failed.


    Ultimately, the shield proved mightier than the hammer.


    Sekler, relying on the city guard and the conscripted militia, steadfastly defended Kingsfort while Alpad retreated to the North River province with his remaining loyal forces.


    The North River province was Alpad¡¯s homeland and where the old nobility¡¯s roots ran deepest.


    Now, the Second Republic of Paratu urgently needed to tell everyone that only they could represent the country.


    They proclaimed victory through ceremonies and banquets, thoroughly branding Alpad and his followers as rebels.


    ¡­


    Cynical literati commented thus: Paratu People always live in deprivation, so once they have something, they tend to overdo it.


    The style of the great hall¡¯s banquet reflected this:


    Glittering white walls, arched ceilings, golden hammered door and window frames¡­


    Under the decorated ceiling, intelligence activities were taking place.


    Amidst the clinking of cups and saucers, people exchanged all kinds of information.


    The Paratu People knew this but did not interfere, because they were part of it, too.


    The guests mainly fell into three categories:


    The first category was the parliamentarians of the Second Republic of Paratu.


    Parliamentarians were easy to distinguish¡ªwith their bright eyes, faces full of resolve, and bubbling with excitement as they spoke nonstop while holding their wine glasses.


    They now dominated the place, and they were well aware of it.


    The parliamentarians all wore a red rose on their lapel¡ªstanding in stark contrast to the ¡°blue¡± rose, a defiant expression of their boundary from their enemies,

 Chapter 558 03-25 - 558 104 Rose_4

    ?Chapter 558: Chapter 104 Rose_4 Chapter 558: Chapter 104 Rose_4 The second group is the military.


    Most of the military personnel are in uniform, grouped according to their affiliation, branch, or seniority. They scan the room with a frosty gaze, as if searching for some hidden threat.


    The third group comprises diplomatic envoys.


    The envoys represent the interests of various external entities to Paratu. They carry themselves with dignity, maintaining their practiced smiles and choosing their words with extreme caution.


    The envoys had traveled great distances to Kingsfort, all to confirm outcomes and gather information. As a result, they listened more than they spoke.


    Everyone had their own place in this banquet, except for one figure who seemed out of place.


    He was in a military uniform but did not stay with his colleagues, nor did he converse with others.


    ...


    Instead, he sat at the table, drinking one solemn drink after another.


    Turanio¡ªVineta¡¯s highest diplomatic representative in Paratu¡ªapproached the man, his smile nearly freezing on his face, ¡°Colonel Moritz, what on earth are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°What am I doing? Drinking,¡± responded Moritz, as lean and handsome as ever. He poured and drank by himself, one drink after another, ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to drink here? I¡¯m reminiscing about a friend with the help of Paratu¡¯s alcohol. Alas, they¡¯re all gone.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why they sent you to observe the battle.¡±


    Moritz suddenly laughed, ¡°General Serviati sent me here to bring his son back, but what now? We can¡¯t even find a body. Yet here we are, drinking with the Paratu People. So Sekler won the battle, and that¡¯s that?¡±


    [Note: Moritz only knew that Winters was Antonio¡¯s adopted son. Not just Moritz, most people believed that. ]


    Turanio sighed, ¡°I know about the boys, and I¡¯m upset too. Things certainly won¡¯t end this way, but you don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    He sat next to Moritz and poured himself a drink, ¡°Sekler hasn¡¯t won entirely, and Alpad hasn¡¯t lost completely. The war between the Red Rose and the Blue Rose isn¡¯t over, we need to strategize to garner the greatest benefit for Vineta.¡±


    Colonel Moritz didn¡¯t respond, just tilted his head back and downed another drink.


    Suddenly, a servant announced loudly from outside the door, ¡°Imperial Envoy! Earl of Nassau has arrived!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All eyes turned toward the hall entrance.


    The gilded oak doors opened slowly, and a suave gentleman with an attendant entered the banquet hall.


    The hosts of the banquet¡ªthe Parliament of Paratu¡ªhurried to greet him, along with envoys from all directions.


    Only the military personnel stood still, not moving an inch, watching coldly as the Earl of Nassau greeted everyone.


    After a while, the banquet hall returned to its previous state, with groups of parliamentarians, military, and envoys engaging in idle chatter.


    Yet the Earl of Nassau, holding a drink, approached the bleary-eyed Moritz inconspicuously.


    ¡°Good evening, Earl Van Nassau,¡± the Earl of Nassau greeted warmly, ¡°Or perhaps I should address you as, Major Nassau.¡±


    Moritz snorted lightly, barely glancing at him, ¡°You need to update your files, it¡¯s Colonel now.¡±


    The Earl of Nassau, far from annoyed, inquired with even more warmth, ¡°Good evening, Colonel Nassau.¡±


    ¡°What does the Pretender Emperor want with you? Here to enjoy the spectacle?¡± Moritz asked sarcastically, ¡°Seeing traitors slaughter each other is amusing, isn¡¯t it? An internal conflict in Paratu¡ªnothing delights the Pretender Emperor more, does it?¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that? You think too poorly of us,¡± the Earl of Nassau said with a playful smile, swirling his drink, ¡°His Majesty simply sent me to safeguard his assets. After all, he is also one of Paratu¡¯s creditors.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Ashen Stream River, in a hollow between the hills.


    Alpad stood atop a cliff, his roar thundering across the plains, ¡°They say, I lost!¡±


    ¡°They want to come over and take everything we have!¡±


    ¡°Their troops are encamped just five miles away!¡±


    ¡°You tell me! Have I lost?¡±


    A furious roar erupted from the hollow, shooting straight into the sky: ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Alpad buckled his helmet and charged out of the hollow, leading the charge.


    Thousands of ¡°Free Cavalry¡± followed close behind.

 Chapter 559 03-25 - 559 105 The Traveller

    ?Chapter 559: Chapter 105: The Traveller Chapter 559: Chapter 105: The Traveller ¡°`


    Although Winters could now move freely, Erhulan still accompanied him, even more inseparably than before.


    ¡°I am willing to talk with you in this felt tent,¡± Erhulan said, her expression somewhat sad, ¡°The people in the camp, sigh, they don¡¯t want to listen to me, they don¡¯t need to listen to me.¡±


    The herdsmen had already taken their herds and dispersed, probably because the pasture could only accommodate a limited number of livestock spirits.


    However, the camp was still operational, with many people, tents, and herds left behind; they were all Erhulan¡¯s private property.


    The legitimate wife of White Lion and her children had died in the war years ago, and the children at his knee were still young.


    As the sister of White Lion, it was natural for Erhulan to manage a portion of the old camp. White Lion doted on his sister, giving her many subjects, servants, and herds.


    So Erhulan was indeed the mistress of this camp.


    ...


    But she had been away from the wilderness for a full ten years. At Hongsong Manor, she was a personal maid to Lady Kalman. In the Red River Tribe, she suddenly became the ruler of an Orodos.


    It wasn¡¯t just the people who were uncomfortable with this; even Erhulan herself was not used to it. The situation where servants bullied their master was inevitable.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand Herde society,¡± Winters reflected after some thought, ¡°but I see that when the tribe migrates, the daily striking of camp, walking, and pitching of tents is not much different from fighting in the army. The army, it values rewards and punishments the most. Do well and you are rewarded; do poorly and you are whipped.¡±


    Erhulan shook her head repeatedly, saying softly, ¡°How could I dare to whip someone?¡±


    Winters calmly said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it yourself, just assign someone else to carry it out. But there must be rules, and they must be fair.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Erhulan¡¯s eyes reddened, and she hesitated, ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    Little Lion ran into the felt tent, interrupting their conversation.


    He asked Winters with an exaggerated expression, ¡°I heard from Bell that everyone calls you ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯?¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bell and Little Lion were close in age and had somewhat similar experiences, so they got along well.


    Erhulan wiped her tears and turned to leave the tent.


    Winters sighed and, leaning on his cane, also left the tent.


    ¡°Erhualn? Batu? Why are you going?¡± Little Lion asked, confused, and turned to laugh at Xial, ¡°Why would you call him ¡®wolf¡¯? Wolf is not a good word!¡±


    Xial, who had been feigning deafness until now, questioned in return, ¡°Wolf is a bad word? Don¡¯t your people worship the wolf?¡±


    Little Lion angrily retorted, ¡°That¡¯s a slander by outsiders against the tribes! Wolves are greedy and malicious; how could we possibly worship wolves? We compliment people with words like eagles, stags, thoroughbreds, mastiffs, have you ever heard anyone praised with the term wolf? To insult someone, you would use ¡®wolf cub¡¯. Tribe members would attack a wolf on sight.¡±


    Little Lion laughed and asked Xial, ¡°Then there¡¯s Batu; didn¡¯t he happily accept the nickname ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯? So who actually worships the wolf? Is it you, or us?¡±


    Xial was left speechless; he muttered, ¡°My brother wasn¡¯t ¡®happy¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why do you call him ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯?¡±


    Xial said helplessly, ¡°Because my brother¡¯s previous nickname was even worse.¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Little Lion¡¯s interest was piqued, and he pestered Xial, ¡°Come on, tell me about it.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion¡¯s tongue was indeed nimble; by day he speaks ill of wolves, and by night the wolves come.


    Late at night, Erhulan¡¯s camp suddenly erupted into chaos.


    Someone violently banged a gong and desperately shouted, ¡°In Herde Language: Wolves have breached the pen! The wolves are here!¡±


    Men startled from their sleep, grabbing their wolf-beating sticks and rushing out of their tents.


    Awakened by the commotion, Winters frowned and, leaning on his cane, also intended to head outside.


    Xial, bleary-eyed and seeing this unfold, instantly lost all sleepiness, hastily trying to stop Winters, ¡°Brother your injury hasn¡¯t healed! Don¡¯t go!¡±


    Winters remained silent and walked into the camp.


    The wolves had leapt into the sheep pen, intending to feast, but were startled by the herdsmen and ran off into the distance.


    The men of the camp promptly mounted their horses, calling out to each other and chasing after the wolves, brandishing their sticks.


    The sound of hoofbeats gradually faded away, and the camp returned to tranquility.


    The women who stayed behind lit torches and busied themselves counting the sheep.


    Two pregnant ewes miscarried due to fright, and a few others were bitten on the neck.


    The men returned one by one, some empty-handed, others bearing injuries¡ªriding horses at night was fraught with danger.


    In the crowd, Erhulan desperately sought somebody, asking everyone she saw, ¡°Have you seen Batu?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads.


    More and more people came back, all but Palatu Batu.


    Eventually, Little Lion also returned.


    Erhulan ran forward, grabbing her brother¡¯s arm as tears streamed down her face, ¡°Did you see him?¡±


    Little Lion shook his head.


    Erhulan seemed to have all her strength drained in an instant, collapsing feebly to the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Little Lion tried to help his sister to her feet.


    Erhulan just stared blankly in the direction the man had disappeared, unwilling to leave.


    Little Lion had no choice but to light a bonfire beside his sister, keeping her company.


    The dark night gradually receded, and Erhulan¡¯s tears had also run dry.


    At the break of dawn, Little Lion firmly dragged his sister to her feet, ¡°Come on, he¡¯s not coming back!¡±


    Suddenly, the silhouette of a horseman appeared on the horizon.


    The horseman was moving slowly, but he was indeed heading towards the camp.


    Erhulan¡¯s tears uncontrollably started flowing once more.


    The horseman got closer and closer, and as daylight brightened, the people in the camp could finally see that the horseman was carrying two wolf carcasses on the horse¡¯s back.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 560 03-25 - 560 105 Traveler_2

    ?Chapter 560: Chapter 105 Traveler_2 Chapter 560: Chapter 105 Traveler_2 ¡°Batu! Woo woo woo!¡± The crowd waved their hands in excitement, tossing their hats and beating their chests in cheer.


    Erhulan, however, silently left; she returned to her own felt tent and took out a set of clothes from beneath a wooden chest.


    It was a set of army officer academy uniforms, and she had meticulously mended every tear.


    Clutching the old military uniform, Erhulan wept loudly.


    ¡­


    The day after the wolf attack, someone from the White Lion¡¯s camp came to invite Winters.


    In the White Lion¡¯s camp, Winters saw the recently elusive Monk Reed.


    ...


    Monk Reed had completely changed.


    The former Reed would make you unconsciously overlook his thin arms, sagging skin, white hair, and weathered face.


    He would shout and jest like a young man, talking and laughing.


    But now, Reed was just a candle burnt to its stub, an old man.


    He was still himself, but immensely weak, as if each breath were expelling his life force.


    His complexion had darkened, with only a glimmer of light remaining in his eyes.


    He struggled to live, as if only to see Winters one last time.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Winters¡¯s forehead veins bulged as he grabbed the White Lion¡¯s garment: ¡°What have you done?¡±


    The White Lion merely shook his head.


    ¡°Hey! You lad, cough.¡± Monk Reed chided with a smile, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Only then did Winters release his grip.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I know when my time comes?¡± Monk Reed called out with effort to Winters: ¡°I had you come just for a final meeting. Come here, sit by my side.¡±


    Winters obediently sat down.


    Now it seemed Reed had to expend a lot of energy even to speak: ¡°I called you here because I want you to do something for me.¡±


    ¡°You just say the word.¡±


    Reed smiled faintly and said, ¡°This, you must do. Shave my head for me. I¡¯ve ferried others all my life, and now in the end, someone ferries me, good.¡±


    Winters had never been a barber; he¡¯d only ever shaved his own beard. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he did not refuse Reed¡¯s request. He took the razor handedly and shaved the hair right there in the tent, young and old together.


    Two months of carving practice had made Winters more precise in controlling his strength.


    He was extremely careful not to leave a single cut on Reed¡¯s wrinkled skin.


    Reed¡¯s white hair fell like snow, revealing one round brand after another.


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have much to tell you,¡± Reed said slowly with his eyes closed: ¡°Just one thing. You, my young friend, are standing too low and looking too narrowly, especially at the expense of yourself.¡±


    Winters stood silently behind Reed, meticulously controlling the force of the razor, continuing to shave off the hair bit by bit.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t think about a hundred years from now, you can¡¯t even ensure what might happen in ten. If you don¡¯t consider the entire chessboard, you can¡¯t even hold a corner of it.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard, this world is a great sphere,¡± Reed¡¯s eyes slowly regained vibrance: ¡°Keep heading west, and you¡¯ll return to the east.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, I won¡¯t be able to complete that journey,¡± Reed chuckled and asked: ¡°Do you remember you still owe me three months¡¯ salary?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll not take your money. We Selikans value returning to one¡¯s roots. After I die, you burn my body. Take my ashes, finish this journey, and bring me back to Selika, will you? Bury me in a place called Phoenix City.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I absolutely will.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely what?¡± Reed chuckled and tapped Winters, ¡°That¡¯s thousands of miles away, life and death uncertain. I can¡¯t burden you with such a matter; I¡¯m just talking. After I die, find a river and pour my ashes into it, that will be that.¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    As if remembering something, Reed continued with a wry smile: ¡°But I took an oath, never to return east in this life. So you¡¯ll have to find a river that runs from east to west, don¡¯t try to fool an old man with a little puddle.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no river flowing west between the mountains,¡± Winters¡¯s voice trembled slightly: ¡°Don¡¯t rush, wait for me, I¡¯ll take you back to Selika.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? No westward-flowing rivers, that¡¯s a pity.¡± Reed coughed twice and gently patted Winters¡¯s arm: ¡°Don¡¯t cry, what are you crying for, I¡¯ve lived a full life. I¡¯ve reached the westernmost place I can get to, and for someone my age, death is a happy occasion. You all must send me off with a smile. Don¡¯t think you young folks will necessarily live to my age.¡±


    After completing the head-shaving ceremony, Reed had Winters sit in front of him.


    ¡°Though you¡¯re an unbeliever, let me bless you one last time. This is what Monk Philip said when he consecrated me; now I say it to you.¡± He held Winters¡¯s hand, lightly touched Winters¡¯s forehead and murmured:


    ¡°[Ancient language] You shall not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that lays waste at noon. Though a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, the disaster will not come near you.¡±


    Winters bowed his head in thanks to the old man.


    Reed took a deep breath and suddenly returned to being the lively, bright elder full of wisdom.


    He asked in a loud voice that could split clouds and break stones: ¡°Am I poor?¡±

 Chapter 561 03-25 - 561 105 Traveler_3

    ?Chapter 561: Chapter 105 Traveler_3 Chapter 561: Chapter 105 Traveler_3 ¡°Yes!¡± Winters responded.


    ¡°Am I pure?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°May I return to the east?¡±


    ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Good! Good! Good!¡± Brother Reed laughed heartily, ¡°Now I can depart in peace.¡±


    His head slowly drooped, and he passed away peacefully in the company of Winters and the White Lion.


    ...


    ¡­


    In accordance with Brother Reed¡¯s wishes, his body was cremated.


    Winters and the White Lion dragged logs from afar and built a pyre.


    The Shaman also arrived, dancing before the fire, offering the highest respect.


    In his life, Brother Reed had been a monk, a Taoist, a priest, a preacher, a mendicant monk, and finally, he was sent off with shamanic rites.


    After Brother Reed¡¯s departure, Erhulan also packed Winters¡¯s bags.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Winters¡¯s heart was wracked with pain, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Erhulan smiled and shook her head.


    Guilt almost crushed Winters, but he still had things to do. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Winters stepped out of the felt tent, Little Lion was waiting for him, holding the reins of four horses.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I will see you off,¡± Little Lion said lightly, ¡°These four horses are for you and Xial, you two can take turns riding them. Do you want to name them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Little Lion was slightly taken aback, ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. We won¡¯t name the warhorses, just refer to them by their coat colors.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to name horses ever again.¡±


    Little Lion, leading several guards, escorted Winters and Xial on their long journey.


    Erhulan ran out of the tent, chasing them all the way to the hillside. Watching that silhouette disappear, she cried her heart out.


    The White Lion joined her on the hillside, wiped her tears gently, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Erhulan, let me sing you a song.¡±


    Gazing into the horizon, the White Lion sang softly:


    ¡°The one I love,


    has crossed over mountains high;


    The one I weep for,


    has forded countless streams;


    I cry,


    but he does not look back at me;


    I want to find him,


    but his path I can no longer trace.


    ¡­¡±


    This was a woman¡¯s love song, yet the White Lion sang it.


    The White Lion¡¯s song was haunting, poignant, and sorrowful, drawing birds to circle above and sheep and cattle to stop and listen.


    Only someone who has experienced profound sadness could sing such a ballad.


    When the song ended, the White Lion said softly to Erhulan, ¡°If you miss him, go find him.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Erhulan stopped crying, only to sob softly, ¡°what about the fire-tender?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The White Lion embraced his sister, tenderly fixing her hair, ¡°Big brother will always find a way.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion escorted Winters all the way to the banks of the Styx.


    He first took Winters to pay respects to Strong Fortune.


    Strong Fortune rested on a beautiful little hill, with slopes blooming with red and blue flowers.


    There was no tombstone, Little Lion had only driven a stake into the ground when he buried Strong Fortune, with a few simple cuts depicting a steed.


    Gently touching the wooden stake as if he were caressing Strong Fortune¡¯s neck and mane, Winters felt a connection.


    He had no tears left, as ever since he had regained consciousness, he had not cried once, not even a single time.


    Not even when Brother Reed passed away, nor at the farewell with Erhulan.


    It was as though his ability to cry had been utterly stripped away.


    Little Lion and his guards, carrying sheepskin bags and a frame, quickly prepared the sheepskin raft.


    Two guards went back and forth to ensure the raft was usable, then returned to report to Little Lion.


    The horses were the first to be sent across to the East Bank of the Styx, followed by Xial.


    Little Lion accompanied Winters, finally reaching the East Bank of the Styx.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Little Lion asked curiously, ¡°I only know to call you Batu, but I still don¡¯t know your real name.¡±


    ¡°My name is¡­ the Deep Winter of the Mountains.¡±


    ¡°Is ¡®Mountains¡¯ your surname?¡± Little Lion burst into laughter, slapping his hands together, ¡°My father¡¯s tribe is called ¡®Wenduoer,¡¯ which also means mountains, high mountains.¡±


    Everything had been transported to the East Bank, the horses, food.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get lost, will you?¡± Little Lion asked Winters with a smile, ¡°The grasslands offer no direction, it¡¯s easy to lose your way.¡±


    ¡°I have this.¡± Winters pulled out Colonel Jeska¡¯s map, ¡°I won¡¯t get lost.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±


    ¡°Take this,¡± Winters took out another roll, tossing it to Little Lion, ¡°you might find it useful.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A map, one I¡¯ve drawn,¡± Winters said quietly, ¡°of the great grasslands.¡±


    ¡°Great! Thank you!¡± Little Lion laughed heartily, ¡°Go on then, Deep Winter of the Mountains, head home.¡±


    His farewell was both reluctant and firm, ¡°Never come back!¡±


    Winters flicked the reins and galloped off, with Xial following closely behind.


    One hundred and sixty-four wooden spikes were meticulously stored in the deepest part of his bag.

 Chapter 562 03-25 - 562 106 Blood Wolf

    ?Chapter 562: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf Chapter 562: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf July 1, an ordinary yet extraordinary day.


    A strange military officer visited the workshop of Albert, the Kingsfort goldsmith.


    The officer¡¯s left leg seemed rather inflexible as he walked with the aid of a horse-head cane.


    Another glum-faced constable carrying a sword accompanied him.


    Seeing the uniform on the visitor, the goldsmith Albert felt a ¡°thump¡± in his heart.


    In these times, nothing was bigger than the sword. Soldiers, now, strutted about Kingsfort with impunity.


    The siege by the Rebels was lifted just two weeks ago, and the bones outside the city were still not completely collected.


    ... S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mentioning this siege, the citizens of Kingsfort still felt the shudders.


    As soon as the city was blockaded, the price of flour shot up crazily. Often, the price at weighing was one thing, and at payment, it was another.


    Even if you could buy flour, you couldn¡¯t buy firewood. The trees in the city were quickly chopped down to bareness; many families had to dismantle their furniture to make fire.


    It was wildly rumored in the streets and alleys that Alpad, the leader of the Rebels, had ordered, ¡°On the day the city falls, the rebels may plunder at will.¡±


    Thankfully, thankfully, in the end, it was General Sekler who won.


    On the day the Rebels retreated, the citizens of Kingsfort took to the streets cheering, ¡°Long live General Sekler!¡±


    But soon after, the troops pursuing the Rebels suffered a major defeat in the North River province.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    The war was not over, and who knew when it would end?


    But life had to go on.


    ¡°Is there anything I can assist you with?¡± Albert asked the officer cordially, thinking to himself, ¡°Oh no, could he be here to extort me?¡±


    Actually, Albert was not much familiar with the subtle differences in military uniforms, but based on the fabric, design, and the visitor¡¯s demeanor, he was convinced that this was an officer.


    ¡°I am Lieutenant Moritz of the Military Police,¡± the young officer¡¯s voice commanded an involuntary attention despite his youth.


    He coldly regarded Albert and got straight to the point, ¡°The Military Police have received reliable reports that you¡¯ve been laundering stolen goods for thieves.¡±


    ¡°No! No! No! Absolutely not!¡± Albert pounded his chest and stomped his feet, vehemently insisting he was wronged, his heart crying out, ¡°It¡¯s over, he really is here to extort me!¡±


    Albert was so afraid because he indeed had been laundering goods for thieves.


    Thieves and robbers getting their hands on gold and silver jewelry would usually look for goldsmiths to melt it down and cast it into new coins.


    Once melted and cast, nobody could track it thereafter.


    Some would simply exchange the stolen items for ready-made coins or jewelry.


    The exchange rate was a bit low, but it was convenient.


    Albert often conducted such transactions. He never asked where the goods came from; as long as the price was right, it sufficed.


    The strange officer smiled inscrutably, ¡°Not at all?¡±


    ¡°Never! Honestly! How dare I?¡± Albert shook his head desperately, the gaze of the other man sharp as a razor, making Albert feel as if he was being peeled layer by layer.


    He tentatively counter-questioned, ¡°Perhaps¡­ could you suggest a way to prove my ¡®innocence¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Last September, a robber came to you. Skinny, with a coastal accent, and a mouth full of gold teeth,¡± the military officer said, reclining in a chair, leisurely fiddling with a small knife, ¡°You helped him launder his loot, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The little knife, no bigger than a palm and simply made, had a handle bound in layers of leather string, but its blade was gleaming.


    Each tap of the knife on the table made Albert¡¯s knees involuntarily tremble.


    Upon hearing the officer mention the skinny figure with the gold teeth, Albert immediately recalled who he was talking about.


    He secretly rejoiced and eagerly replied, ¡°Sir, I remember who you are talking about. I really didn¡¯t help him launder anything, I reported him! He¡¯s still locked up in jail!¡±


    Last September, a robber with a foreign accent and gold teeth came to Albert, wanting to exchange a bill for a thousand Ducats.


    The bill signified the client¡¯s pre-deposited Gold, theoretically just under the goldsmith¡¯s custody. The gold was to be given upon presentation of the bill, which was recognized without recognizing the person.


    But all goldsmiths would misuse their client¡¯s deposited gold, either by investing it or lending it out to make more money.


    Albert was no exception.


    Business could lead to a profit or loss, and loans might not be recovered. After a heavy loss at the beginning of the last year, Albert found himself nearly bankrupt.


    When that gold-toothed robber found him, Albert¡¯s vault had barely remained a few more than a thousand Ducats.


    Releasing the Ducats to the robber would mean bankruptcy right there and then.


    As for how Albert was certain he was dealing with a robber?


    The answer was simple: Robbers were people Albert had seen plenty of. With just one word, he could smell the stench of a robber.


    Hearing the robber¡¯s foreign accent, seeing him come alone¡ªunconsciously, Albert conceived a bold idea¡ªto swindle the swindler.


    The rest was simple¡ªAlbert had a cousin who was a low-level officer in the police.


    The gold-toothed robber was arrested and thrown in jail.


    At first, Albert was extremely anxious. That¡¯s why he pleaded with his cousin to spare the robber¡¯s life, just in case the robber¡¯s partners came looking, so he¡¯d have a bargaining chip.


    As time passed, he put the matter out of mind until today, when it was brought up by the strange officer.


    ¡°How did this get out?¡± muttered Albert, cursing inwardly, ¡°Which jealous bastard reported me! Uglaui? Or was it Kovachik?¡±


    But the military officer did not take up the conversation, instead he seized on a loophole in Albert¡¯s words, ¡°That person didn¡¯t, but others did, is that it? Let¡¯s search and prove your innocence.¡±


    Albert made another round of spirited denials and oaths.


    This commotion ultimately ended with Albert losing money to avoid disaster; he needed to make a ¡°donation¡± to the Kingsfort Military Police.

 Chapter 563 03-25 - 563 106 Blood Wolf_2

    ?Chapter 563: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_2 Chapter 563: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_2 Finally, Albert surreptitiously passed a small pouch of Gold Coins to the stranger military officer¡¯s hand.


    The officer¡¯s action, however, gave him a big scare. He shook the pouch, hearing the crisp sound inside, and squinted his eyes to retort, ¡°Bribing a gendarme? Am I also supposed to write you a receipt?¡±


    Albert was startled, and in his moment of helplessness, he sadly thought, ¡°This is outright robbery.¡±


    He had just given his biggest bargaining chip to the other party, but luckily the officer didn¡¯t make things more difficult for him.


    ¡°That will do,¡± the stranger military officer huffed, pocketing the Gold Coins and casually asked, ¡°Where is that gold-toothed robber locked up?¡±


    ¡­


    Under the west city wall, in a secluded corner, stood the silent Kingsfort city guard prison.


    ...


    Though called a prison, it was actually just a few dilapidated bungalows.


    As usual, murderers and other serious offenders would be taken to the Army Gendarmerie prison for custody, where there were stone cells and iron bars.


    In the city guard¡¯s prison, one would find thieves, debtors, and tax evaders and such. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not long after the incident at the goldsmith Albert¡¯s workshop, the city guard prison received an unwelcomed guest.


    An officer accompanied by a gendarme entered the prison with an order from the Deputy Colonel Robert of the ¡°Security Affairs Management Inspectorate,¡± requesting to take away a prisoner.


    The warden didn¡¯t even know what the ¡°Security Affairs Management Inspectorate¡± was and could barely read the string of words.


    However, he recognized the eagle emblem of Paratu on the well-sealed order¡ªeven though he couldn¡¯t read the small print beneath the eagle.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    ¡°Officer.¡± The warden led the officer into the cell area, cautiously explaining, ¡°There¡¯s been fighting recently, and the prisoners were conscripted for hard labor. I¡¯m not sure if the person you¡¯re looking for is still alive.¡±


    The officer grunted indifferently.


    ¡°During the war, many prisoners died or were injured. Really, you can¡¯t blame me, I am also¡­¡±


    ¡°Less talking.¡± The officer frowned, his voice as cold as perpetual snow, ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, right.¡± The warden nodded and bowed, walking ahead.


    The light inside the prison was poor. The air had an indissoluble foul smell, as if many people were supposed to be locked up there.


    But now, many of the cells were empty, clearly indicating that the missing prisoners had died in the preceding siege.


    In the depths of the prison, the officer found the prisoner who had been incarcerated for ¡°theft.¡±


    The gold-toothed ¡°Captain,¡± already thin and dark, had become even thinner, his skin like oiled cloth stretched over bones. His gold teeth were gone too¡ªpulled out by the warden, he was now the gap-toothed Captain.


    ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± the officer nodded.


    The warden hurriedly had the shackles opened, and the gendarme who came with the officer entered the cell and lifted the prisoner.


    ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ cough! Cough cough!¡± The prisoner struggled to lift his head, squinting in the dim light at the newcomer. Before he could finish his sentence, he started coughing violently.


    ¡°Take him away,¡± the officer, leaning on his cane, said without turning back and walked out of the cell.


    The emaciated prisoner muttered in an almost inaudible whisper, ¡°I¡­ I knew¡­ you would come¡­¡±


    The warden, uttering pleasantries, escorted the officer out of the prison and even lent him a prison cart.


    ¡­


    Night fell upon the goldsmith Albert¡¯s workshop¡ªhis home.


    A revenge was underway.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t kill me, the money, I¡¯ll give you everything, anything¡­¡± Albert scrambled toward the vault, crying out, ¡°Help me!¡±


    His two hired guards hadn¡¯t even managed to draw their weapons before they were taken down by the intruders.


    The vault, safety lies within the vault!


    Before Albert could run far, he felt a sharp pain in his knee accompanied by a faint whooshing sound, and he collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.


    Immediately after, someone grabbed him by the hair from behind and yanked him viciously upwards.


    The person who had grabbed Albert punched him directly in the throat.


    Albert curled into a ball, clutching his throat and retching, unable to utter another word.


    ¡°Tap, tap, tap.¡± It was the sound of a cane tapping the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Albert instantly recalled the sound, and that horse-headed cane. He let out a broken voice, ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ ¡±


    Another emaciated figure emerged from behind the cane-wielding officer. He shakily approached Albert and struggled to squat down in front of him.


    The gaunt figure pulled off the mask covering his face, revealed the gaping hole where his teeth should be, and brought his face close to Albert¡¯s, asking delightedly with a laugh, ¡°Hey there¡­do you remember me?¡±


    The light was dim, and Albert couldn¡¯t see the other person¡¯s face clearly, nor recognize who it was. He shook his head frantically, trying to scoot backward.


    ¡°My name is Gold, lucky¡­ Gold,¡± Gold coughed violently, saying each word distinctly, ¡°You don¡¯t remember me¡­ that¡¯s alright, I have never¡­ ever forgotten you¡­¡±


    After saying this, Gold slowly drove a dagger into the goldsmith¡¯s heart.


    His actions were slow, partly because he lacked the strength, and partly because he was savoring the moment.


    The goldsmith convulsed a few times and then lay motionless.


    Having done all this, Gold seemed to have his soul sucked out of him.


    He collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, and two tears trickled from his dry eyes. He looked up at Winters, ¡°Thank you, milord¡­¡±


    Winters shook his head and helped Gold to his feet. The latter was still weak, clearly forcing himself to come for revenge.


    ¡°Upstairs, there¡¯s a woman, some kids.¡± Xial returned, saying softly, ¡°They¡¯re under control.¡±

 Chapter 564 03-25 - 564 106 Blood Wolf_3

    ?Chapter 564: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_3 Chapter 564: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_3 ¡°`


    Winters looked at Gold. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Gold suddenly laughed a few times, ¡°I didn¡¯t die, his life is enough.¡±


    Xial took out another stamped parchment, ¡°Miss Navarre¡¯s promissory note, found on this fellow¡¯s counter.¡±


    Gold took the promissory note, insisting, ¡°I want to cash this note.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters nodded.


    Then he used the keys found on the goldsmith to open the vault.


    Gold counted the Ducat Gold Coins one by one, not even taking an extra silver piece.


    ...


    After counting out exactly one thousand Ducats, Gold placed the promissory note on the goldsmith¡¯s corpse and put fifty gold coins on top of it¡ªthat was the storage fee due.


    Then he spat on the body of the goldsmith.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Winters said, supporting Gold as they left.


    ¡°If I were still living by the knife and the blood, I¡¯d have no complaints about being beaten or killed,¡± the former pirate leader expressed his sorrow and grief. ¡°Why¡­ Why¡­¡±


    Winters had no answer, and he supported Gold all the way outside the house.


    Because of the noise, the workshops were all standalone buildings, far from other residences.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Winters and Xial moved quickly, and no one had yet noticed the revenge killing in the goldsmith¡¯s workshop, nor had the night patrol arrived.


    Winters helped Gold mount the saddle and whispered to him, ¡°Alpad has blown up the southwest corner of the wall, Xial will take you out of the city through there.¡±


    ¡°What about you, sir?¡± Gold realized Winters would not be accompanying him.


    ¡°Me?¡± Winters seemed to be smiling in the darkness, ¡°I still have things to do.¡±


    Gold gripped Winters¡¯s hand tightly, shaking his head desperately.


    ¡°If by dawn I haven¡¯t come to find you, don¡¯t wait for me, take Gold back to Sea Blue,¡± Winters told Xial.


    Xial wiped away a tear and nodded heavily, riding off into the distance with Gold.


    Winters watched their figures disappear into the night.


    He stuck his cane into the saddlebag, hung his sabre on his waist, and pulled out those one hundred and sixty-four wooden spikes from the saddlebag.


    Then he mounted his horse and headed north.


    On the streets of Kingsfort late at night, he walked alone.


    The further north he went, the more frequent he encountered the night patrol.


    Kingsfort enforced a curfew, with citizens strictly prohibited from being on the streets after dark, but the military was not subject to these restrictions.


    Wearing his officer¡¯s uniform, Winters passed without hindrance. The patrol simply saluted and did not question or stop him.


    He walked until he reached the gates of a beautiful two-story stone building.


    This two-story stone building was the office of the Military Commissioner of the Palatine Army, formerly known as the headquarters of the army.


    Winters took his time tying up his horse at the gate.


    The guard curiously watched this officer, wondering why he did not take his warhorse to the stables inside.


    After securing the warhorse properly, Winters picked up his sabre and headed straight for the main entrance, dragging his injured leg.


    His leg injury had not fully healed, and he limped somewhat, but his steps were resolute.


    ¡°Officer, please show your identification,¡± asked a guard, approaching the stranger in an old uniform.


    Winters raised his hand.


    As the sound of a series of explosions rang out, blood gushed from the guard¡¯s helmet, and he collapsed limply.


    The other three guards were stunned, not knowing what had happened or what was about to happen.


    With just a raise of his hand, the attacker before them fell dead.


    Winters continued toward the stone building, looking at the remaining three guards, ¡°Don¡¯t seek death.¡±


    First a sparkle, then a few inches of flame, a fierce fire rose up in the cold hearth, and a blazing rage burned within his chest.


    He had waited too long for this moment.


    One guard snapped out of his shock and reached to ring the bell. Before his hand could touch the rope, he was cut down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Seek! Death!¡±


    The will of the remaining two guards completely crumbled, they had only been militiamen until recently. They retreated, tumbling over one another, and rushed towards the gate in a clumsy escape.


    But the noise at the gate still alerted others, and disheveled guards swarmed out from the duty room, staring in astonishment at the scene before them.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± someone shouted as if waking from a dream.


    The guards fell into chaos, some turning back to grab weapons, some coming out with swords in hand.


    Some, confident in their numbers, intended to capture this lone attacker.


    ¡°I want only Sekler!¡± Winters shouted as he dove into the fray, ¡°Anyone in my way dies!!!¡±


    In the second-floor office of the former army headquarters, Brigadier General ¡ª no, now Major General and Corps Commander ¡ª Sekler, realized something was amiss outside.


    During the siege, Sekler had eaten and slept in his barracks. Once the rebels had fled, he moved his home to the former army headquarters.


    He lived there, right in the heart of the Palatine Republic¡¯s army.


    Hearing the disturbance, he opened his window.


    Thunderous roars spread in all directions from the darkness, like a furious beast devouring men:


    ¡°Sekler!¡±


    ¡°Did you think!¡±


    ¡°This would just end here!¡±


    ¡°I want only Sekler! Anyone in my way dies!!!¡±


    Major General Sekler paused for a moment, and when he recognized to whom the voice belonged, he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and chuckle bitterly, ¡°The Venetian¡­¡±


    Sekler got out of bed, lit a lamp, and meticulously dressed himself in his military uniform.


    He gently ran his hands over his uniform, trying to smooth out every wrinkle. But no matter how hard he tried, a few stubborn creases remained.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 565 03-25 - 565 106 Blood Wolf_4

    ?Chapter 565: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf_4 Chapter 565: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf_4 Sekler gave up trying, he sat in the chair, quietly waiting for the other to arrive.


    The sounds of shouting and clashing weapons grew louder, first at the main entrance on the ground floor, then the staircase, and then the hallway.


    Eventually, Sekler¡¯s door was kicked open forcefully, and a Venetian, looking like a Blood Man, walked into the room carrying a rolled-edge saber.


    His uniform was covered in bloodstains, it was unclear whether it was his own or someone else¡¯s. Dark red liquid dripped steadily from his saber, leaving a trail of blood from outside the room.


    Winters spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, suddenly starting to cough violently.


    ¡°You¡¯ve come,¡± Sekler gestured with his hand, ¡°Please, take a seat.¡±


    Winters threw away the rolled-edge weapon and sat heroically in front of Sekler.


    ...


    By the dim candlelight, they looked at each other.


    ¡°This is Mihali, not even twenty years old, a grenade fell by my side, and he used his body to cover it. I lived, he died¡­¡± Winters took out a wooden peg and placed it in front of Sekler.


    He took out another peg: ¡°This is Tomas, from Saint Town, his skull shattered by a sledgehammer. He didn¡¯t die immediately, instead he struggled in agony for over ten minutes before he died.¡±


    In Winters¡¯s backpack, there were a total of one hundred and sixty-four wooden pegs, representing his one hundred and sixty-four warriors.


    They trusted him, followed him, protected him, they fought bravely all the way, leaving their lives in unnamed corners of the Great Wilderness, ultimately being abandoned on the western bank of the Styx.


    ¡°You don¡¯t care about them,¡± Winters¡¯s voice betrayed no sadness or anger, he seemed to be making a judgment from the perspective of an outsider, ¡°You don¡¯t care about them.¡±


    Sekler sighed, ¡°If there were another chance, I would make the same decision, because¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore,¡± Winters interrupted Sekler, his words surprising, ¡°I can understand you.¡±


    Sekler¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly.


    ¡°If I were you, would I make the same decision? I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters asked himself coldly, ¡°Who knows?¡±


    Sekler shook his head with a bitter smile, a glint of light in his eyes: ¡°This country¡­¡±


    The next second, his head was suddenly torn apart by an invisible force, red and white splattered on the walls and ceiling of the room.


    ¡°I understand you,¡± Winters released his fist, speaking toward the spot where Sekler¡¯s head had been, ¡°But I am still very angry.¡±


    Sekler was dead, whether he was a great man or a pretender, he was dead. Whatever thoughts he had were now dissipated with the wind.


    Was it all over just like that?


    Winters felt a sense of unreality.


    He had carved one hundred and sixty-four wooden pegs with the most resolute hatred; he had intended to use these pegs to nail his enemy to his death, but in the end, he still gave Sekler an easy death.


    Was it really over?


    From the moment he was abandoned on the western bank of the Styx, from when he cried and cursed out ¡°fuck it¡± with laughter, from when he regained consciousness, he had been longing for revenge.


    This feeling took him away from Erhulan¡¯s side, from the Hurd wilderness, leading him all the way to Kingsfort.


    So what if Sekler was killed? The dead cannot be brought back to life ¡ª he understood this well, but he had no option to forgive.


    ¡°It¡¯s over now,¡± he thought.


    He didn¡¯t cry his heart out, nor did he feel the gratification of having his revenge, only mild calm and endless fatigue.


    Suddenly, Winters felt lost: What should I do? Where should I go? Where could I even go?


    Go home!


    I still have a home to return to!


    There are people waiting for me at home!


    With hope reigniting in his cold chest, Winters stumbled toward the doorway. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could go home, he must go home.


    In the distance, the noise of people and the neighing of warhorses suggested someone had noticed the commotion at the old army headquarters and sent reinforcements.


    But it didn¡¯t matter, Winters Montagne wanted to go home, and no one could stop him.


    ¡­


    The darkness of night gradually receded, and the sky began to turn a deep blue.


    Outside Kingsfort, one kilometer to the southwest.


    Xial stood on a large rock, gazing out the road leaving the city, anxiously waiting.


    As the sky grew brighter, Xial could no longer bear the wait: ¡°I¡¯m going to find my brother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Gold said weakly.


    ¡°You¡¯re almost dead, how can you go? Stay here,¡± Xial said, climbing onto the saddle, ¡°If I don¡¯t come back as well, you head to Wolf Town, recover from your injuries, then return to Vineta.¡±


    Gold too wanted to mount his horse: ¡°I¡¯m lucky, I¡¯ll go with you, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± tears spilled from Xial¡¯s eyes: ¡°My brother is coming back.¡±


    A rider came toward them, backlit by the rising sun.


    Xial shouted, jumping up and waving vigorously.


    Even Gold secretly wiped away tears.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters approached that Xial could see the bloodstains and external injuries on Winters.


    ¡°Brother, what happened to you?¡± Xial helped Winters dismount, his voice filled with sobs, ¡°Why are there gunshot wounds?¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± Winters smiled for the first time since the bloody battle at the bank of the Styx, and he said, ¡°It¡¯s just a stray bullet, a flesh wound. Deflection Spell doesn¡¯t guard the back.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, sit down. I¡¯ll treat your wounds,¡± Xial said, choking back sobs as he rummaged through the saddlebag for a sewing kit.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°But first,¡± Winters grimaced in pain, ¡°we need to stop by Wolf Town.¡±

 Chapter 566 03-25 - 566 107 Galloping Horse

    ?Chapter 566: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse Chapter 566: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse Gold was still very weak, hardly able to endure a long journey.


    Winters had been injured as well and needed to find a place to catch his breath.


    As Xial was stitching Winters¡¯ wound, the three had already made their next move: go to Wolf Town.


    If it were solely for healing, it would be best to hide nearby.


    But having no familiarity with the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, even their accent would betray their foreign identities.


    There were no friends or relatives to provide a safe haven for the three¡ªexcept for the folks in Wolf Town.


    Winters could not seek help from the Vineta consulate either; the city might already be under martial law, making re-entry too perilous.


    ...


    The pursuers could arrive at any moment, so they must leave Kingsfort as quickly as possible, the farther the better.


    Of course, there was another crucial reason: Winters wanted to take a look at Wolf Town.


    Without delay, the trio changed clothes and set out immediately.


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ anti-tracking skills were learned from that giant bear in Wolf Town.


    He avoided the main roads, entering fields and detouring to the northwest.


    Upon finding streams and rivers, he would wade through the water to erase their scent; then they¡¯d exit onto hard rocky shores, leaving no hoofprints behind.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Were these methods effective? Winters couldn¡¯t be sure.


    But the giant bear had once eluded the tracking of Wolf Town¡¯s most formidable old Hunter using these tactics; shaking off a few Kingsfort militia shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    After nightfall, the three settled for the night in a forest clearing.


    Since Winters¡¯ wound was still bleeding and Gold needed rest, they did not travel throughout the night.


    They rested until the following night, ensuring no one had followed, before using the cover of darkness to move southwest.


    Newly Reclaimed Land was located at the southwest end of Paratu, with Wolf Town further southwest within Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The sausage-cutting war between Paratu and the numerous tribes of Hurd had left their controlled regions interlocked like jagged teeth, maintaining merely a hundred kilometers of uninhabited buffer zone.


    This no-man¡¯s-land was demarcated by natural divisions such as mountains and rivers, and continued to shift.


    However, since Iron Peak County, where Wolf Town was located, lay too remote at the northern foothills of Golden Summit Mountain, Paratu hadn¡¯t expanded its territory from this position in recent years.


    Winters and his companions traveled at night, rested during the day, and consumed dried meat from the wilderness, avoiding villages and towns as much as possible.


    If they needed to acquire necessities, only Xial would go shopping.


    It wasn¡¯t until they had traveled beyond the jurisdiction of Kingsfort and Westwood Province and confirmed once again that there were no pursuers that Winters and his group resumed a normal routine, returning to the main road.


    Winters even purchased a horse for forty Ducats; although it wasn¡¯t a fine steed, the price had nearly doubled from the previous year due to wartime inflation.


    But Winters urgently needed to acquire another horse. They were three men with only four horses, so he had to buy despite the high price.


    At first, Winters traveled towards Wolf Town with a bit of ease.


    But the further he went, the heavier his heart became.


    The raw destructive power of war was blatantly displayed before him; there were no longer endless caravans, no farmers with fruits, vegetables, and eggs for sale.


    The few travelers on the road would silently wrap their cloaks tighter and grip their weapons until they had walked far enough to breathe a sigh of relief.


    Most cities had erected Red Rose flags, especially in the regions south of Ashen Stream River. They conscripted labor, built fortifications, gathered resources, and blocked roads, rigorously inspecting passersby.


    It was said that not long ago, Blue Rose troops had crossed the Ashen Stream River and mercilessly swept through these areas loyal to Red Rose.


    Winters and his company had to be extra cautious.


    ¡­


    In the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, an unnamed village on the map.


    ¡°No survivors found,¡± whispered Xial as he jogged back. ¡°No food either, and there are a few new graves on the west side of the village. It looks like the surviving villagers buried the dead and fled.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Before them was not a village, but the remnants of a tiny hamlet.


    This had been a very small settlement of only seven or eight families by the look of the courtyards. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps some men and women had toiled year after year on the surrounding farmland, living here with difficulty and tenacity.


    But all was lost now, leaving only the charred skeletons of what had been.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Winters said as he mounted his horse, addressing Xial and Gold. ¡°We¡¯ll try the next village, see if we can buy some food there.¡±


    The three rode off, leaving the scorched ruins to return to silence.


    Winters didn¡¯t know what hardships the people had suffered because he was constantly on the move.


    However, he had a clear sense that there were far fewer traders on the road and far more bandits and thieves than ever before.


    It was getting harder to procure supplies; even the smallest of villages kept their doors shut, refusing to receive strangers.


    Having left the directly administered area of Kingsfort and Westwood Province¡ªthe effective range of Red Rose¡ªWinters encountered highway robbers almost daily.


    Once he entered Newly Reclaimed Land, the frequency increased to two or three times a day.


    Most of the robbers were terrified farmers, their hands shaking while holding pitchforks and sickles, trying to intimidate Winters.


    There were also a fair number of bandit gangs comprising bloodshed-hardened robbers and ragged farmers without even shoes in their company.


    For the former, Winters couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill; he simply knocked their weapons away. For the latter, he only eliminated those who were clearly habitual criminals.


    ¡°Get lost!¡± Winters didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°Go home!¡±

 Chapter 567 03-25 - 567 107 Galloping Horse_2

    ?Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 ¡°`


    The bandits scattered, but they would return.


    ¡°Wolf Town must be alright,¡± Winters told himself over and over: ¡°With Mayor Gerard there, and how remote Wolf Town is, it must be alright.¡±


    He tried his best not to think of the terrible things and hurried along the way.


    ¡­


    The setting sun slanted westward, and it was about to get dark.


    After crossing the Blackwater River and following the rammed earth road over two small hills, he could see the spire of the Wolf Town church.


    Winters was exceedingly familiar with this road, as he had traveled it many times.


    ...


    He had lived in Wolf Town for less than half a year, but for him, the town had a kind of homespun warmth.


    When he left, he was a spirited young man. The lads of Wolf Town sang songs as they followed him to war.


    When he returned, the laughing boys of Wolf Town were gone, and Winters brought back only a body full of scars.


    Having gone through all sorts of hardships, when he once again halted his horse upon the hillside, he couldn¡¯t see the spire sheathed in brass.


    ¡°Have I gone the wrong way?¡± Winters asked Xial, his voice trembling slightly.


    ¡°No mistake, this is Wolf Town.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Winters spurred his horse fiercely and charged down the slope toward Wolf Town¡¯s town square.


    Wolf Town was right in front of him, but he could not recognize it.


    The church had been destroyed.


    The white-painted outer wall had been burnt to a cinder, the bell tower had collapsed, and the large bell was sadly half-buried in the rubble.


    All that remained of the church were the original stone structures. The stone walls stood alone; the wind whistling through the holes in the walls made a mournful sound.


    Old Misha¡¯s smithy, destroyed.


    Alci¡¯s general store, destroyed.


    The town hall and the police station had also been burnt to the ground.


    In the cemetery, many graves had even been dug up, bones scattered around the tombstones.


    ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡± Xial was shocked, angry, and sorrowful; his hands holding the reins trembled: ¡°How could this have happened?¡±


    ¡°Must be bandits,¡± Gold whispered lowly: ¡°Digging up coffins to steal the burial objects¡­ ¡±


    Winters suddenly whipped his horse and galloped towards Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    He remembered the hearty and generous Gerard, the gentle and kind Mrs. Mitchell, and Scarlett, who was about the same age as Ella, like a sister to him, clinging tightly to his arm when the Mitchells argued.


    ¡°Don¡¯t die,¡± Winters prayed: ¡°Please don¡¯t die.¡±


    If there really was a supreme being somewhere, he prayed to Them for the first time.


    The thriving Mitchell estate had completely changed.


    The tobacco fields that once covered the hills were now overgrown with weeds, and the fences surrounding the estate had collapsed under the weather.


    No laborers were in sight, just flocks of birds taking off with a flutter.


    Fortunately, Winters saw a wisp of smoke rising from the Mitchell mansion.


    A flicker of hope lit up in Winters¡¯s heart; he spurred his horse faster, leaping directly into the estate through the damaged fence, heading straight for the house behind the oak tree, startling birds along the way.


    The people inside the house heard the succession of hoofbeats.


    They ran inside and outside, poised and calm, hiding jewelry and poultry, livestock.


    A thin figure ran out of the front door of the house and headed for the barn. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when the thin figure saw who was coming towards them, she froze.


    Winters reined in his horse in front of the steps, dismounted, and the thin figure ran crying into his arms.


    It was only then that Winters realized this boyishly slender figure was actually a soft girl, Scarlett¡ªMitchell estate¡¯s prized jewel.


    ¡°They said you were dead,¡± Scarlett sobbed uncontrollably: ¡°Mother! Mr. Montaigne has returned!¡±


    Unsure of what to do, Winters gently patted Miss Mitchell¡¯s back: ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s all right.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell came down the steps; she too had grown thinner, but her demeanor unchanged, her back as straight as ever.


    Mrs. Mitchell smiled genuinely from her heart, but she couldn¡¯t throw her composure away like her daughter.


    She curtsied to Winters: ¡°Your return¡­ It is truly wonderful.¡±


    Winters also nodded in greeting: ¡°Madam.¡±


    Xial and Gold had been left quite a distance behind by Winters, and now they finally caught up.


    Seeing the Mitchell family safe and sound, they too were overjoyed.


    ¡°Mr. Xial,¡± Mrs. Mitchell curtsied to each in turn: ¡°Mr. Gold.¡±


    ¡°Madam,¡± both men doffed their hats and nodded in return.


    Even the old pirate showed his utmost respect in front of Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Mrs. Madeleine,¡± Mrs. Mitchell called to the others inside: ¡°Please boil some water for the gentlemen to bathe.¡±


    A woman wearing a black veil¡ªsignifying she was a widow¡ªnodded and turned back into the house.


    Gold scratched his head and laughed: ¡°You¡¯ve always been considerate. Now that you mention it, I do start to feel a bit itchy.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, you old uncouth pirate!¡± Xial kicked the old pirate discontentedly: ¡°Show some respect!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a bath,¡± the old pirate said, bewildered.


    ¡°Scarlett, take Mr. Montaigne to his room to settle in,¡± Eileen gave her orders calmly without asking anything further: ¡°I will arrange rooms for the gentlemen. Nanny, prepare supper; I¡¯ll come help you in a moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh no need for that,¡± the old pirate shook his head vehemently: ¡°I¡¯ll bunk with this lad in the servant¡¯s quarters.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, please come with me.¡±


    The mistress of the house always managed to arrange everything meticulously, and everyone got busy.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 568 03-25 - 568 107 Runaway Horse_3

    ?Chapter 568: Chapter 107 Runaway Horse_3 Chapter 568: Chapter 107 Runaway Horse_3 The desolation and loneliness were gone, and the place had suddenly transformed back into the vibrant Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Scarlett wiped away her tears, smiling as she took Winters¡¯s arm, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Winters, your room hasn¡¯t been touched. I¡¯ve cleaned it every day for you.¡±


    Winters felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he were back in Sea Blue¡¯s house, and for a fleeting moment, Scarlett¡¯s face morphed into Ella¡¯s.


    So he was led upstairs, returning to the little nest he had previously lodged in at Mitchell¡¯s.


    Nothing had changed, the setting sun cast its glow through the west-facing window, filling the room. The same bed, the same twill bedding, the same oak table.


    Winters stood at the doorway, hesitant to step inside.


    Ella pushed him in, laughing as she said, ¡°Rest for a bit. I¡¯ll call you when the water is hot, you need a good bath. You¡¯re all sore and need a good scrub.¡±


    ...


    After speaking, Ella closed the door behind her.


    Winters shuffled to the bed and sat down in a daze.


    He smelled the familiar saponin scent, Brother Reed entering the room with a wicker stick in hand, explaining ¡°politics¡± seemed like it had just happened.


    Oh, that¡¯s right, Brother Reed was no longer there either.


    He had brought back Brother Reed¡¯s ashes.


    Winters carefully took out Brother Reed¡¯s urn and placed it securely on the table.


    ¡°Rest easy, old fellow,¡± Winters mused to himself. ¡°I will take you home, sooner or later.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    The east wind tapped lightly on the window, as if the old sage was laughing.


    ¡°Winters!¡± Scarlett called from downstairs, ¡°You can come down for a bath now.¡±


    Winters took off his shirt, laying out the belongings he carried on him, one by one on the table.


    The damaged flask.


    One hundred and sixty-four unused pegs.


    Erhulan¡¯s small knife.


    Anna¡¯s pendant box and wood carving.


    Lastly, he felt a small iron box from the secret pocket in his shirt.


    Winters pried open the iron box, inside was a bundle of silver-gray mane hair.


    He gently touched the mane, and suddenly, he couldn¡¯t stop the tears from streaming down.


    Ever since his escape from death, he hadn¡¯t cried, not even once.


    But at that moment, as if the dam in his heart had finally collapsed, Winters sobbed like a helpless child.


    He leaned against the wall, slowly sliding to the floor, his crying growing louder until he was practically wailing.


    Eileen and Scarlett noticed the unusual noise from upstairs; Scarlett wanted to check but was stopped by Eileen.


    Eileen quietly sent all the servants in the house away.


    Xial and Gold returned to the first floor¡ªXial sobbing softly while Gold sighed and led him to the yard.


    Then, Eileen went for a walk outside with her daughter.


    Mitchell¡¯s mansion became empty, leaving no one behind.


    When Eileen and Scarlett returned from their walk, Winters came down from upstairs.


    His eyes were still red, but otherwise, he was fine, his appearance back to its previous state, though his left leg was a bit unsteady.


    ¡°I can cry again,¡± he said. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll make my specialty stewed chicken,¡± Eileen replied. ¡°After you¡¯ve bathed, please help chop some firewood.¡±


    ¡­


    Another Sunday morning arrived.


    As per the old custom, Catholics would rush to the church in town for the service early in the morning.


    But ever since a group of deserters rendered the town center unrecognizable, no one went there anymore.


    The church¡¯s gold and silver liturgical vessels were plundered, Father Anthony died of sheer exasperation, and the church itself burned to the ground in a fire that did not spare the dead either.


    Coffins were dug up, funerary items taken, and the deceased¡¯s bones scattered all over the cemetery.


    After just three months of war, all the horrors were laid bare.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just struggle to live for now,¡± was what people said. ¡°Live one day at a time.¡±


    In a corner of Mitchell¡¯s estate, a man was chopping wood.


    Bare-chested, wearing only trousers, his body bore terrifying scars on his arms and chest.


    With every chop, his muscles surged like mercury.


    He appeared to exert little effort, but even the logs thick as a man¡¯s embrace split in two before him.


    Beneath the eaves, the chopped wood was piling up into a small mountain.


    Yet the man continued to split wood tirelessly,


    Gold approached him quietly from behind, the old pirate unsure and hesitant but finally addressed the man¡¯s back, ¡°My lord, you needn¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    Winters kept chopping wood without responding.


    ¡°You¡¯ve chopped enough wood for Mitchell¡¯s for a hundred years,¡± Gold said as he sat on a tree stump, rambling on:


    ¡°I¡¯m not good with words, but as long as you get my point. Think about it,


    if you weren¡¯t in Wolf Town, would the battle have ceased? Without you, who would have led Wolf Town¡¯s militia? Wouldn¡¯t it have been Mr. Michel? And could Mr. Michel lead them better than you? Wouldn¡¯t the outcome have been even worse?


    Just like when I was a pirate, I told myself, if I didn¡¯t rob them, wouldn¡¯t they just get robbed by someone else? Damned if you do, damned if you don¡¯t. Meeting me meant God had a plan for them¡­¡±


    Mid-speech, Gold spat out disdainfully, scolding himself, ¡°Heigh! What nonsense am I spouting¡­ As long as you understand my point, there¡¯s no need for guilt. Coming across you was their luck.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming myself, Gold,¡± Winters picked up a log and placed it on the stump. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about other things.¡±


    The wood split in two with a ¡°thud.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± the old pirate stood up, somewhat embarrassed, ¡°We can almost leave now. Let¡¯s leave Wolf Town¡¯s troubles in Wolf Town and head back to Vineta.¡±

 Chapter 569 03-25 - 569 107 Galloping Horse_4

    ?Chapter 569: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_4 Chapter 569: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_4 ¡°Gold,¡± Winters asked without turning his head, ¡°why did you help me?¡±


    ¡°Me? I don¡¯t know either.¡± Gold sat back down on the stump, pondered for quite some time, and then muttered resentfully, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m the youngest son at home, and my parents were tenant farmers. They couldn¡¯t afford to keep me, so they sent me to the ship to be a sailor. Life on the ship was tough; the captain and the sailors bullied people. On that ship, I was the lowest of the low.


    ¡°If the captain had treated me like a human, I would have followed him to the ends of the earth, even at the cost of my life. If the other sailors had been a little nicer to me, I would never have betrayed them. When our ship was seized, the pirates asked if anyone wanted to join them, and I agreed without any hesitation.


    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s about it. I don¡¯t know why I ended up here. Maybe it¡¯s to return your water flask.¡±


    Winters silently chopped wood as Gold sighed and walked away.


    After Winters returned to the Mitchell estate, word gradually spread among the villages that ¡°the Garrison Officer from Montaigne had come back.¡±


    Many villagers came to see him.


    ...


    It was from them that Winters learned about the hardships Wolf Town had endured over the past months.


    When Gerard Mitchell was the town mayor, only the villages to the east and west of the river, along with Dusa Village, respected him; the two Protestant villages often clashed with Gerard.


    But when Gerard was conscripted and replaced by Great Bunting, even the Protestants started to miss Mayor Mitchell.


    First, there were the relentless demands for land payments and taxes, followed by one round of conscription and grain levies after another.


    Landless laborers fled in droves. When not enough people were caught, the self-sufficient farmers were forcibly taken away.


    The men dared not sleep at home; they hid in the forests at night.


    In mid-May, an officer who came for conscription went missing; Great Bunting fled to Revodan overnight, and Wolf Town essentially lost all order.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    The big shots were fighting at the edge of the sky, but deserters were running into the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Without a town mayor, Wolf Town had no more law and order; deserters and bandits came in waves. The villages barely managed to defend themselves, but not the town center, which was burnt to ash during that time.


    April and May were the lean months; the remaining grains were seized, and the farmers were all waiting for the early June harvest of winter wheat.


    They struggled through to June, only to face an even greater disaster.


    Three groups arrived at the Newly Reclaimed Land, to levy grains and conscript people.


    What was more terrifying than the grain levies and conscription was that they harvested the farmers¡¯ wheat fields before the farmers themselves could.


    If any farmer dared to show up and resist, they would be conscripted on the spot.


    The two groups even fought each other when they met, and many wheat fields were burned to the ground.


    To the farmers, whether it was the Red Rose or the Blue Rose, they did not understand the difference.


    To them, it was just one group after another taking their food.


    Even the self-sufficient farmers could no longer survive; some of them boarded up their houses and fled.


    Their shanties lay wide open and deserted, while their dilapidated homesites grew increasingly desolate and were a sorry sight.


    The farmers who stayed did not wish to leave their land. They planted barley, prayed for a harvest in the fall, and struggled tenaciously. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The flames of war had not yet reached the Newly Reclaimed Land, but the devastation caused to its people had not lessened even slightly.


    Because they belonged to no side, no one cared about them even more.


    Hearing the fragmented accounts from the people of Wolf Town, Winters grew increasingly silent.


    The people of Wolf Town had been wounded by round after round of levies, but when they heard that the Montaigne Garrison Officer had an injury on his leg, they still brought him valuable eggs, flour, and even the last small strip of cured meat from their homes.


    Winters could only repeatedly persuade the villagers to take their things back home.


    He still remembered, on the first night back at the Mitchell estate, Mrs. Mitchell had made chicken stew.


    At the time, it just tasted good, but looking back, that was a laying hen from the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Winters could only silently chop wood, tirelessly splitting it.


    He dragged logs from the forest, sawed them into sections, and split them into firewood, which he piled up almost like a little mountain.


    He fixed the broken fences around the Mitchell estate, one after the other.


    He wanted to leave money for Mrs. Mitchell, but did the Mitchell¡¯s lack money? With the world turned upside down, what good was money?


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ new wounds had already scabbed and reduced in swelling, and Gold¡¯s body was rapidly recovering.


    The day of parting finally arrived.


    The Mitchell mother and daughter packed Winters¡¯ belongings and prepared provisions for him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters said to Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak of such things, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Eileen said lovingly as she straightened Winters¡¯ collar, ¡°Had it not been for you, Pierre would not have come back alive. You are a benefactor of the Mitchell family, forever and always.¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes were slightly red with tears, as she stood behind her mother unwilling to part, yet she did not speak a word of entreaty.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters lowered his head.


    Eileen, in a rare gesture, hugged the young Venetian man before turning to instruct her daughter, ¡°My dear, please lead Botayun out.¡±


    Scarlett had already made preparations. She nodded and led out a steed white as clouds from behind the house.


    ¡°The steed of fate¡­ I¡¯m truly sorry.¡± Eileen didn¡¯t need Winters to say anything, she understood everything after seeing that the steed had not returned, and upon seeing Winters¡¯s cane: ¡°Please take this horse back to Vineta. Do not ride it on the way, nor tire it out. It was my husband¡¯s best stallion, and Gerard would have wanted to give it to you as well.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head vehemently. ¡°I can¡¯t accept it.¡±


    ¡°You must take it,¡± said Eileen softly. ¡°It carries the bloodline of fate.¡±


    Winters was completely stunned, his body trembling uncontrollably.


    Scarlett also gave Winters a hug, then wiped away her tears and thrust the reins into Winters¡¯s hands.


    Winters mounted the horse and left the Mitchell estate. He didn¡¯t dare to look back, only continued forward.


    Xial and Gold followed silently behind.


    The three rode on without words, just like that.


    They continued until they reached the crossroads to the village of Dusa and Wolf Town.


    An elderly woman with disheveled hair stood at the crossroads, wrapped in dirty rags.


    She leaned on a wooden stick, gazing fixedly down the road leading to Wolf Town.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, my lord,¡± Gold said in a low voice. ¡°She¡¯s a madwoman.¡±


    Yet Winters recognized the old woman, who once sat by the threshing floor, carrying her little granddaughter on her back, laughing and washing clothes while watching the men practice javelin.


    Winters took out all the money he had, dismounted, and walked to the old woman¡¯s side.


    The old woman, who had been as still as a stone statue, suddenly seized Winters¡¯s arm, staring at his face as if she recognized the person before her.


    A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.


    ¡°My lord,¡± the old woman asked, ¡°have you seen my son?¡±


    Tears burst from Winters¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, my lord,¡± Gold said softly.


    Winters thought of Sea Blue, Kasha, Antonio, Elizabeth, and the Great General and the lesser generals.


    He recalled Brother Reed¡¯s words: ¡°This is the easiest, the simplest path, I¡¯ve shown you the way, why do you hesitate?¡±


    He thought of Anna¡¯s smiling face and her flowing hair.


    He remembered everything about his homeland.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    Scarlett, who was sobbing, opened the door.


    Winters stood outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± he said.


    Scarlett burst into tears and hugged Winters tightly.


    Above the plains, a rider sped towards Vineta, with two extra horses tied to his saddle.


    This rider was ¡°Good Fortune¡± Gold.


    His backpack contained four letters.


    The first three were addressed to Kasha Serviati, Antonio Serviati, and Elizabeth Serviati, respectively.


    The recipient of the fourth letter was Anna Navarre.


    It contained only one sentence.


    ¡°I am still alive, I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t wait for me anymore.¡±


    [End of Volume Two]

 Chapter 570 03-25 - 570 Prologue

    ?Chapter 570: Prologue Chapter 570: Prologue The bandit leader ¡°Guoquan¡± Dixon had recently been living very comfortably, thanks to the addition of a fierce new group of recruits.


    Due to oppressive taxation, the Newly Reclaimed Land had always been plagued by bandits.


    Now the extortion and rapacious demands by the Red Rose and Blue Rose made it very easy for gangs to expand their numbers.


    Offering just a morsel to eat was enough to attract those who had no other choice but to come seeking refuge.


    If that were all, however, it could only attract some clumsy peasants at best.


    But every one of the new recruits under Guoquan was a tough character.


    Not only were they quick and nimble in their tasks, but they also never asked unnecessary questions about unrelated matters.


    ...


    Most importantly, each of them had a Warhorse and was skilled with a saber.


    ¡°Having cavalrymen, good grief,¡± Guoquan thought smugly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that something unique in the entire Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    With the new recruits, Guoquan easily swallowed up another nearby gang of outlaws.


    Now, only ¡°Guoquan Dixon¡¯s¡± gang remained in this forest, he had finally achieved his long-standing career goal: monopoly.


    The only slight disappointment was that these new recruits only listened to a kid named ¡°Pierre.¡±


    Even his own commands as the boss had to be relayed through that kid.


    ¡°I have to find a way to deal with that kid,¡± Guoquan schemed internally, ¡°to completely swallow up this bunch.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    ¡°Boss! Trouble!¡±


    One of his men came running back, tumbling and shouting, ¡°Someone really tough is coming! Really tough!¡±


    Guoquan went up and slapped the man across the face, knocking him over.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about, damn it?¡± Guoquan cursed fiercely, ¡°These days, who the hell struts around outside if they¡¯re not tough?¡±


    The chaos of war had led to rampant banditry, which, in turn, almost halted commercial activity between towns.


    There were hardly any ordinary pedestrians on the roads anymore, and merchant caravans were almost extinct.


    The travelers who still dared to venture outside were either very brave or confident in their abilities, with most possessing both qualities.


    As a result, Guoquan¡¯s ¡°business¡± was becoming increasingly bleak.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too worried; if raiding travelers wasn¡¯t an option, they could still raid farms.


    Now that his gang had acquired these formidable warhorses, and with more manpower, they could easily handle a small village of several dozen households.


    Upon hearing from his subordinate that the oncoming stranger was formidable, Guoquan¡¯s eyes gleamed with a plan.


    ¡°Pierre?¡± Guoquan shouted around the camp, looking for him, ¡°Where has Pierre gone?¡±


    No horsemen paid him any attention; everyone was busy with their own business.


    This made Guoquan even angrier, and he bellowed, ¡°Pierre!¡±


    A scruffy young man emerged from a tent, his eyes bleary as he looked at Guoquan and lazily responded, ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a horseman coming up ahead,¡± Guoquan ordered, ¡°You go around and cut off the rear, don¡¯t let him escape. I¡¯ll block the front with the others.¡±


    After a grunt of acknowledgment, Pierre stretched out his arms to get dressed.


    The other horsemen seemed to have something to say, but Pierre just lightly shook his head.


    Guoquan looked on with envy as Pierre mounted his warhorse and galloped down the forest path with his saber in hand.


    Warhorses were too expensive and troublesome to keep.


    Even Guoquan, the leader, didn¡¯t have a large steed to ride, just a small Hurd horse.


    Seeing Pierre charge away, Guoquan hurriedly called for the rest of his men to follow.


    By the roadside, he caught sight of the stranger who the subordinate claimed, ¡°really was tough.¡±


    At a glance, Guoquan could tell this was a dangerous man.


    The stranger rode his horse at a leisurely pace.


    He appeared young, well-proportioned, with an inconspicuous white mark on his forehead.


    A horsehead cane was tucked into one saddlebag and a sword into the other.


    Gut instinct told Guoquan that this man was indeed very dangerous¡ªperhaps even more so than Pierre and his warhorses combined.


    But for Guoquan, the more dangerous the better.


    Guoquan watched Pierre close in on the stranger from behind¡ªwhichever of them died was not his loss.


    Then, something unexpected occurred.


    Like thunder exploding in the woods, a voice boomed throughout the forest, ¡°Pierre Girardnovich! You really have gained some skills!¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Stunned, Guoquan watched as Pierre dismounted and embraced the dangerous stranger.


    ¡°Damn it, this has gone bad,¡± was Guoquan¡¯s only thought.

 Chapter 571 03-25 - 571 1 Clash

    ?Chapter 571: Chapter 1 Clash Chapter 571: Chapter 1 Clash ¡°Brothers returning from the wasteland need no elaboration from me! Nor do the people of Wolf Town need any empty chatter! Let me introduce the others to you!¡±


    Pierre stood on a large rock, delivering a passionate speech to a gathering of bandits, his earlier languid and decadent appearance gone:


    ¡°This is Captain Winters Montagne! The champion of Paratu! The best Centurion! Centurion Montagne has returned! With our brother back, we have nothing to fear! Centurion Montagne is back! The green¡­¡±


    Pierre spoke with fervor, but Guoquan Dickson¡¯s face grew paler and paler.


    The moment Monta recognized Pierre as the Centurion, Guoquan had the urge to flee.


    But he couldn¡¯t escape; he was being watched too closely, shadowed by two Dusacks even when he went to relieve himself.


    After a brief and not so fierce inner struggle, Guoquan knelt before the Centurion with a plop, pleading, ¡°My lord, I¡¯m just an honest farmer. I only turned to banditry because I couldn¡¯t make a living anymore. Please spare me!¡±


    Winters raised his eyebrows slightly: ¡°Stand up and speak.¡±


    ...


    But Guoquan¡¯s knees seemed nailed to the ground, he even tried to kiss the hem of the Centurion¡¯s cloak.


    Pierre stepped in front of Guoquan with a stern face and declared, ¡°Now that Centurion Montagne is back, these men have nothing to do with you. Get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ can I really go?¡± Guoquan, mixed with joy and anxiety, asked tentatively.


    ¡°Scram!¡±


    This was truly a dilemma; staying meant certain death, but leaving could also mean death.


    With a wave of his hand, Pierre told the other bandits, ¡°Those who don¡¯t wish to stay may leave!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    After hesitating for a long time, Guoquan clenched his teeth and decided to take a gamble: ¡°Thank you for your mercy, my lord. I truly don¡¯t want to be a bandit anymore!¡±


    Guoquan determined that staying meant death. He was accustomed to freedom and didn¡¯t want to take orders from any Centurion.


    Given the chaos in the Newly Reclaimed Land, as long as he could get away, it would be easy to round up another group.


    Seeing Guoquan deciding to leave, a few others also wanted to go, all of them old brothers of Guoquan.


    ¡°Get out of here,¡± Pierre said with a tilt of his chin.


    Guoquan thanked him profusely, backing away a few steps before turning to run.


    However, as soon as he turned around, Pierre¡¯s saber came slashing down.


    The shining steel blade described an arc, cleaving through the left shoulder, pausing only slightly at the bone. In the end, it left a gruesome gash from which blood gushed forth.


    Pierre shook his saber to clear the blood, wiped the blade, and sheathed it.


    The other veterans also sprung up and executed the few who wished to leave.


    Winters was somewhat surprised but said nothing.


    He gathered the twenty-two ¡°bandits¡± together, along with his thirteen warriors who were present.


    Looking at everyone¡¯s grim faces, Winters began his first speech.


    ¡°According to the law of the Newly Reclaimed Land,¡± his tone was even, but his voice clearly reached everyone¡¯s ears, ¡°those who band together to block roads and rob will be broken on the wheel if they are the principal offenders, and hanged if they are accomplices.¡±


    The expressions darkened even further; who didn¡¯t know this?


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, becoming a bandit was a dead end. If they weren¡¯t desperate, no one would join a bandit group.


    Winters spoke again: ¡°However, my appointment as Garrison Officer of Wolf Town is still in effect. Therefore, from this moment on, I conscript all of you as members of the Newly Reclaimed Land Wolfton militia.


    You must submit to my authority and from now on be bound by military law. You are no longer bandits, nor are you farmers; it is now your duty to eradicate banditry.¡±


    Those from Wolf Town had tears in their eyes; they were like rootless duckweeds drifting with the wind, living each day in fear of the future. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The appearance of Captain Montaigne, like a plank to a drowning man, was a remnant of the former world, evoking memories of better times.


    But farmers from other places showed only numbness and indifference on their faces; they didn¡¯t know Winters Montagne.


    To them, Guoquan? Garrison Officer? Centurion? It was all the same¡ªjust switching who would dole out their porridge. What difference could it make?


    Winters met each person¡¯s gaze in turn: ¡°I promise you. One day, you will be able to lay down your weapons, pick up your ploughs, and return to the golden wheat fields, back to your mothers, wives, and children. I promise you this; remember it well.¡±


    His voice was calm but carried a strange power, as if he truly could fulfill his promise.


    Even the most numb of farmers felt a slight pricking in their hearts at this moment.


    The smell of earth, the gold of the wheat fields¡­


    So close yet so unattainable, as if they were memories from long ago.


    ¡­


    Winters reunited with his warriors, and they all had endless things to say to each other.


    The young stable boy, Anglu, clung to Winters¡¯ arm, crying one moment and laughing the next, unwilling to let go.


    Pierre brought a young man to Winters, saying excitedly, ¡°Look who I¡¯ve brought to you, sir!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh at first sight.


    The young man in front of him was the very image of the blacksmith Berlion; nobody could mistake it.


    However, Berlion was quiet and cautious, while the young man had the mischief and vivacity typical of youth in his eyes.


    Winters asked the young man, ¡°Your father is Alexander Soya, right?¡±


    The young man was startled and looked to Pierre, at a loss for what to do.


    ¡°Stop teasing him,¡± Pierre said, patting the young man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I ran into Carlos among another group of people. The moment I saw him, I knew who he was. That¡¯s why I kept him close, to look after him a bit.¡±

 Chapter 572 03-25 - 572 1 Clash_2

    ?Chapter 572: Chapter 1 Clash_2 Chapter 572: Chapter 1 Clash_2 ¡°You know my brother, too?¡± Carlos asked.


    The surrounding soldiers all burst into hearty laughter.


    ¡°How could we not?¡± Winters joined in the laughter and turned to ask Pierre, ¡°Where¡¯s Berlion?¡±


    The laughter stopped.


    Pierre¡¯s expression became somewhat dejected, ¡°Under Alpad¡¯s control, he is a blacksmith, kept under strict watch. My father, and many others, are also under Alpad. But as for their exact location, I don¡¯t know. Are they still alive? I don¡¯t know that either.¡±


    ¡°We need to figure out a way to bring them back,¡± Winters sighed.


    Pierre perked up, slapping his thigh and said, ¡°As long as you are back, we have nothing to fear!¡±


    ...


    The others all nodded in agreement.


    Winters remembered something particularly important and asked Carlos with a serious demeanor, ¡°How about you¡­ How¡¯s your cooking?¡±


    ¡°No good, no good at all,¡± Carlos frantically waved his hands, ¡°I always ate what my brother cooked, I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Winters was quite disappointed and asked with a sense of loss, ¡°Then can you forge iron?¡±


    ¡°I can, it¡¯s a skill I¡¯ve had since childhood, but I¡¯m nowhere near as good as my brother.¡±


    ¡°Pierre, put him in charge of repairing the arms, don¡¯t let him handle swords and knives.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    Upon hearing this, Carlos immediately became anxious, ¡°Why can¡¯t I use swords and knives? I have two arms and two legs too! I¡¯m not worse than anyone else!¡±


    Pierre slapped the back of the kid¡¯s head, ¡°Watch your manners! The captain is taking care of you!¡±


    Carlos didn¡¯t recognize the newly arrived Centurion Montagne, but he respected Pierre greatly and became sheepishly quiet.


    ¡°Since when did I become a captain?¡± Winters was baffled.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Oh¡­ Indeed, you wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Pierre said with a smile, ¡°Posthumously promoted! There was even a grand ceremony. Fallen officers were promoted one rank, something those people in Alpad¡¯s group orchestrated.¡±


    Since Winters Montagne had supposedly died in battle, naturally, there were no limits to contend with.


    When he received the ¡°Knight¡¯s Great Cross Sword Medal,¡± tradition dictated that he could be promoted one rank.


    For sacrificing his life for his country, he was promoted another rank.


    Therefore, the ¡°First¡± Republic of Paratu generously posthumously promoted Winters to the rank of captain¡ªat that time, the Blue and Red Roses had not yet split.


    However, Winters was still alive, which made the determination of his military rank a bit problematic.


    But who cared? Certainly not Winters.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s been happening with you all,¡± Winters pulled Pierre and the others into a circle, ¡°Tell me everything.¡±


    The big guys started talking, each taking turns to recount the perils they faced coming back from the no-man¡¯s land, the agony of being stranded in the Shuangqiao Main Camp, and the journey of escaping back to Wolf Town. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As for the times they ambushed officers and pursuers, Pierre didn¡¯t hide any details from Winters.


    ¡°That bastard Bunting, I wanted to kill him too,¡± Pierre said bitterly, ¡°But that animal has a keen nose, he sensed something was off and tucked tail to run to Revodan.¡±


    Winters remained noncommittal.


    ¡°Then we just moved around among various bandit gangs, never straying too far from Wolf Town. Occasionally, we could go home to see our families, bring them some food,¡± Pierre¡¯s voice grew softer as he continued, ¡°Anyway, we just scraped by, living day by day.¡±


    Everyone fell silent; they had sabers, but they didn¡¯t know where to strike.


    Resist the authority that ruled this land? They didn¡¯t have the courage yet¡ªand besides, that was tantamount to suicide.


    ¡°What do these bandit gangs subsist on? Robbing travelers?¡± Winters asked patiently, ¡°How much can travelers carry on them?¡±


    The others were still confused, but Pierre had already grasped Winters¡¯s point and said helplessly, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by Guoquan¡¯s appearance, that guy is cunning and knows his way around the authorities. He only robs travelers and merchants on the road, at most he extorts from farms, but he never touches the conscription teams from the authorities! Stays far away from them.¡±


    According to the laws of the Newly Reclaimed Land, the responsibility to suppress bandits rested with local town governments.


    If Wolf Town had a bandit problem, Wolf Town was responsible; if there was a bandit problem near Revodan, Revodan managed it.


    The only circumstance in which the New Reclamation Legion would dispatch its gendarmerie was when bandits managed to rob from the legion itself.


    As a seasoned robber, Guoquan never touched conscription teams.


    As long as he didn¡¯t provoke the New Reclamation Legion, with the local law enforcement already near collapse, there truly wasn¡¯t anyone who could hold him accountable.


    But a scoundrel always meets a harsher scoundrel, and Guoquan had already been buried.


    Winters counted and realized that the only ones he could truly rely on were his thirteen ¡°old soldiers.¡±


    Of the other twenty-two, perhaps those from Wolf Town might be trustworthy, but the rest were the sort who would rush forth in a mob and disperse just as quickly.


    Winters had no intention of commanding them, but if he disbanded them, he would see them in another gang of bandits the next day.


    Winters thought, ¡°I need to find a way out for them.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± he could not speak disheartening words, so he said as confidently as possible, ¡°I have a plan.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Creak.¡±


    ¡°Creak.¡±


    Those were the sounds of wagon wheels turning.


    A convoy was moving sluggishly along the road, pulled by beasts of burden including horses, mules, oxen, and donkeys.


    Loaded on the wagons were sacks of wheat and baskets of immature fruits and vegetables, along with all kinds of scavenged food items.


    There were even two squealing piglets and a goat.


    The men escorting the convoy were armed and looked like soldiers.


    But they all appeared listless, with slumped shoulders and hands hanging down, trudging along without a word.

 Chapter 573 03-25 - 573 1 Clash_3

    ?Chapter 573: Chapter 1 Clash_3 Chapter 573: Chapter 1 Clash_3 The carriage drivers were no different; they carelessly cracked their long whips, even the tips of which seemed to move with a hint of reluctance.


    Returning full-loaded from Wolf Town, they were now hurrying toward Revodan.


    About fifty escort soldiers, and a little over twenty drivers, with only one person in high spirits.


    That was the person in charge of this grain requisition convoy, Sergeant Ivan.


    Sergeant Ivan had originally been a member of Revodan¡¯s security forces, notorious for his hot temper and for beating his wife and children when drunk.


    The military commander of Revodan had expanded his troops, and Ivan rode the tide to become a sergeant.


    There was only one reason for his promotion¡ªhigher-ups thought his fiery temper and burly physique could keep the rank-and-file in check.


    ...


    ¡°Farmers have no grain? Bullshit! Farmers are the sneakiest bastards!¡± spat Sergeant Ivan, boasting proudly to the Centurion beside him about his experience with grain levies: ¡°Ask for grain, they won¡¯t give! Ask for wheat, they have none! Open their cellars and look, all flour! Wheat! You¡¯ve got to put a knife to their throats to get them to be honest!¡±


    The Centurion beside him forced a smile and nodded repeatedly in agreement, not wanting to provoke the brute.


    The convoy moved slowly, taking a few days, from one to two at a minimum or up to four or five, to get back to Revodan from various villages.


    Therefore, along the way to the Revodan garrison, military outposts had been set up¡ªthis was also a common strategy of the Parlatu Army.


    ¡°Pick up the pace!¡± shouted Sergeant Ivan at the rank-and-file soldiers: ¡°You can rest once we get to the outpost!¡±


    It was only at dusk that the outpost finally came into view.


    Outpost was a term used rather loosely here; it was just some wooden fences arranged in a circle on a flat ground, with a few huts thrown up within.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    To keep the cattle and horses from running away and provide a place for the levy team to stay overnight.


    Sergeant Ivan walked into the outpost and saw four rank-and-file soldiers gathered around a table, enjoying dinner and chatting away.


    They seemed to be having a great time, bursting into laughter now and then.


    ¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing?¡± the look on Sergeant Ivan¡¯s face turned sour. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A young Centurion stood up to greet him.


    Seeing a bottle of alcohol on the table, Sergeant Ivan became even more irate: ¡°You idiots, you¡¯ve been drinking?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the Centurion scratched his head: ¡°I¡¯ll put it away now.¡±


    ¡°Where are the original people of this outpost?¡± Sergeant Ivan¡¯s brow knotted into a scowl.


    ¡°Gone.¡±


    The direct consequence of forcible soldier conscription was a large number of deserters.


    The New Reclamation Legion was currently maintaining discipline strictly through collective punishment, which led to entire groups of ten deserting together at the first sign of trouble.


    Sergeant Ivan was accustomed to this kind of thing.


    ¡°Keep a sharp eye out tonight,¡± he warned the Centurion coldly: ¡°If I find my men have run off by tomorrow morning, you¡¯ll be held responsible as well!¡±


    The Centurion nodded gravely.


    ¡°Get some water for us!¡± Sergeant Ivan sprawled next to the table nonchalantly: ¡°Leave the bottle.¡±


    There was no need to wait until the next morning, as the grain requisition team was ambushed by Winters that very night.


    Sergeant Ivan had his head covered with a sack and received a good beating before being securely tied up.


    When the sack was taken off again, Ivan found himself surrounded by three masked people.


    These three masked individuals were Winters, Pierre, and Vashka. Due to the accent issue, Pierre was the one who interacted with Sergeant Ivan in the outpost.


    ¡°You sons of bitches have some nerve!¡± Sergeant Ivan cursed loudly: ¡°Do you know who you¡¯re robbing? The gendarmerie will catch you one by one, break your bones inch by inch¡­¡±


    Pierre stepped forward and slapped him hard twice: ¡°Will you shut the fuck up with your nonsense?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Winters patted the sergeant¡¯s cheek: ¡°Look at me, who¡¯s in charge in Revodan now? Speak!¡±


    The sergeant had been so dazed by the slaps that his consciousness blurred. He vaguely heard the young Centurion complaining: ¡°Kid, why don¡¯t you know your own strength?¡±


    Suddenly, a bucket of water was splashed over him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge in Revodan? Speak! Talk or I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    ¡°M-Major Ronald¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing with so much food?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he Red Rose or Blue Rose?¡±


    ¡°Neither¡­¡±


    ¡°Neither?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes narrowed: ¡°Who¡¯s above Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Winters lifted his chin, and Pierre slapped him again: ¡°You fucking don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sergeant Ivan felt something hard in his mouth; his teeth had been knocked out: ¡°¡­I really don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°How many soldiers does Revodan have now?¡±


    Sergeant Ivan¡¯s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Pierre was completely flabbergasted.


    Winters was furious: ¡°Who told you to use your fists?¡±


    ¡°Then what? Wake him up?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, he¡¯s no different from an ordinary soldier, can¡¯t see anything. Take him away.¡±


    ¡­


    Afterward, the still-confused soldiers of the escort team were gathered by the masked men, their weapons already seized, and their hands bound behind their backs.


    ¡°Head north along the road!¡± the leading masked man ordered coldly: ¡°Whoever dares to look back will be slaughtered!¡±


    The soldiers of the escort team were stunned at first but then suddenly scurried northward along the dirt road.


    ¡°We should hurry as well.¡± Winters pulled off his mask: ¡°Don¡¯t wait for the military police to catch up.¡±


    Anglu inappropriately asked: ¡°Does Revodan have any cavalry?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off.¡±


    Twenty carts and the weapons of over fifty men fell into Winters¡¯s hands.


    While harnessing the carts, Vashka excitedly said: ¡°This is really a big deal! Much more fucking satisfying than robbing travelers or farmsteads!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we still just bandits?¡± Samujin was a bit upset.


    ¡°Why care so much?¡± Vashka touched the healed wound on the back of his head: ¡°The sky falls, and the Centurion holds it up; just follow along.¡±


    Ever since deserting in the midst of battle and receiving a slash on the back of his head from Centurion Montaigne, Vashka had always been a bit afraid of Winters.


    Meanwhile, Winters was lamenting: ¡°Aren¡¯t we still just bandits?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Pierre hadn¡¯t heard clearly.


    ¡°I said.¡± Winters enunciated each word: ¡°After this haul, we can finally get the team in proper order.¡±


    Pierre said happily: ¡°Just right! We¡¯re just bandits now! It¡¯s time to get organized. But why not recruit them? Isn¡¯t this fifty men ready for the taking?¡±


    ¡°Are those soldiers?¡± Winters began to educate Pierre: ¡°That¡¯s fifty mouths to feed!¡±


    From the road to the north came a succession of footsteps; Winters and Pierre exchanged a glance¡ªsomeone was coming to the station!


    The veterans quickly drew their weapons and leaped onto their horses.


    Soon, they brought back three Revodan soldiers with their hands tied behind their backs.


    ¡°What are you guys doing back here?¡± Winters pulled his mask back up: ¡°Looking to die?¡±


    ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡± One of the soldiers actually called out Winters¡¯s surname: ¡°Take us with you!¡±


    He explained rapidly: ¡°I recognized your soldiers first thing this morning! When they entered the station, I knew it was them! That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t expose them. I¡¯m not one of your men, but I¡¯ve seen you. I¡¯ve fought alongside you; I¡¯m also from the wastelands! Take us with you! We don¡¯t want to serve Revodan anymore!¡±


    ¡°There we go.¡± Pierre sighed: ¡°Three more mouths to feed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Winters patted Pierre¡¯s shoulder: ¡°We¡¯ve gained three more warriors.¡±

 Chapter 574 03-25 - 574 2 Building the Army

    ?Chapter 574: Chapter 2 Building the Army Chapter 574: Chapter 2 Building the Army Winters now awoke to the food, drink, and bodily needs of dozens of people.


    He had taken in the people and horses from Guoquan.


    He had also experienced the pain of Guoquan.


    Before this, he had never worried about logistics.


    Logistics were a concern of senior officers, and Winters was just a Centurion. Whatever was sent down to him, he would send on down the line.


    Not enough, he would go to the logistics department to ask for more. If they couldn¡¯t give any, there was nothing he could do.


    As long as he did not embezzle or line his own pockets, his soldiers would be extremely grateful.


    ...


    But now things were different, he was an officer without a superior, leading a troop with no rear support¡ªalthough there were only thirty-eight people at present¡ªeverything was up to him.


    Without mincing words, if everyone had nothing to wipe their butts with, Captain Montaigne would be the first on their minds.


    Intercepting the food requisition team solved Winters¡¯s urgent crisis, but it also put this fledgling group before a difficult decision.


    Should they return the food?


    Winters gathered the key members of the group for a meeting beside the fire.


    Pierre, Anglu, Vashka, and representatives from several other villages sat around the campfire in a circle, as Winters laid out the current situation for everyone.


    Twigs crackled and popped in the fire.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    Anglu timidly said, ¡°Give it back to the villagers. This food belongs to them; it was taken from the villagers of Wolf Town.¡±


    Winters nodded, encouraging Anglu to continue. He wanted to hear the others¡¯ thoughts.


    He was currently using the firelight to whittle wood, planning to carve a few chess pieces.


    ¡°Give it back?¡± Pierre sighed, retorting, ¡°Then what would we eat?¡±


    Anglu was at a loss for words. He was naturally gentle and disliked thinking about complicated matters. So he lowered his head and started fiddling with sticks at his feet.


    Pierre bit his lip and said harshly, ¡°Just don¡¯t return it, not a single grain! If any family truly has nothing to eat, we can help them a bit, and they would still thank us.¡±


    Winters¡¯s knife paused, and he nodded, ¡°That¡¯s one solution.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The representatives from the other villages dared not interject, but their expressions showed they agreed with Pierre.


    Although they sympathized with the farmers from Wolf Town, filling their own stomachs was ultimately more important.


    ¡°The food requisition team goes to rob the villagers of their food, then we go and rob the requisition team, how are we any different from them?¡± Anglu suddenly raised his head and said sadly, ¡°Are we to just wait by Wolf Town, and once the requisition team has stripped the villagers bare, we go and rob them? Wouldn¡¯t we then become carrion-eating crows, hyenas?¡±


    This time Pierre was left without a reply. He crossed his arms and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s still different.¡±


    ¡°No need to argue,¡± Vashka stepped in to mediate. He tried to balance the two viewpoints, tentatively asking, ¡°How about¡­ we return half of it?¡±


    Winters nearly cut his hand when he heard that while he was carving his chess pieces.


    For an instant, he truly wanted to pry open Vashka¡¯s skull to see how the lad could come up with such an ingeniously absurd idea.


    But then he remembered Colonel Jeska¡¯s attitude towards the lieutenants¡ªlisten more, speak less, make decisions.


    He mustn¡¯t discourage the others too much, or else no one would dare to speak up again.


    Before Winters could say anything, Pierre shot back, ¡°Return half? Might as well not return anything at all! Return half? Everyone would hate us!¡±


    Vashka also sheepishly closed his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, set the night watch, the rest of you rest. Anglu, stay behind.¡± Winters brushed the wood shavings off his body and pocketed a carved horse-head chess piece, ¡°We¡¯re leaving for Wolf Town tomorrow.¡±


    The Dusack men rose swiftly, having grown accustomed to obeying orders.


    But the representatives from the other villages were a bit flustered. Winters¡¯s troop had still been camping in the bandit camp in the forest these past few days.


    Going to Wolf Town suddenly, they were somewhat unaccustomed.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here any longer.¡± Winters thought to himself, ¡°Otherwise, we¡¯ll really become bandits.¡±


    The bandit camp had no walls, no barracks, no watch posts, not even many tents.


    Even Winters was just spreading a wool blanket by the campfire to use as a bed.


    Living in such a place could even change a person¡¯s mindset.


    As everyone else walked away, Anglu nervously clutched the hem of his clothing, ¡°Did I say something wrong just now?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything wrong, you¡¯re a good kid,¡± Winters whispered to Anglu¡ªactually they were not even four years apart, ¡°I just wanted you to understand that, now get some good sleep.¡±


    Anglu saluted, then walked away in a daze.


    Winters pulled out two blankets, using one as a cover and one as a bed, and quickly fell asleep.


    No sooner had he fallen asleep than Vashka¡¯s excited voice woke him up.


    Winters¡¯s head ached, ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Centurion, I¡¯ve got a great idea!¡± Vashka reported immediately, his voice full of joy, ¡°This time we¡¯ll give it back to the villagers of Wolf Town. Later we can just stay beside some other village, and once the food requisition team has stripped them bare, we rob the team, isn¡¯t that perfect?¡±


    Winters had overestimated his patience. He kicked over Vasya.


    The roar of fury awoke every creature in the forest, ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡­


    The troop of about forty men, twenty or so large carts.


    They haphazardly bundled up everything they could take from the camp and threw it onto the carts, and Winters¡¯s force moved out.


    The convoy stretched out in disarray on the road.

 Chapter 575 03-25 - 575 2 Building the Army_2

    ?Chapter 575: Chapter 2 Building the Army_2 Chapter 575: Chapter 2 Building the Army_2 ¡°`


    If it weren¡¯t for the sixteen old soldiers leading the way, the convoy would have fallen apart on its own while on the move.


    The villages, small towns, and even the bandit gangs in the forests all covertly spied on this troop.


    Is it a conscription team?


    Unlikely.


    For months, they had only seen conscription teams hauling grain to Revodan, it was the first time witnessing a convoy carrying grain on the way back.


    ¡°Lift your heads! Puff out your chests!¡± Winters, on horseback, inspected them from front to back, ¡°You are soldiers, not bandits! Walk with pride!¡±


    Under Winters¡¯ harsh commands, the tense cheeks of the ¡°new soldiers¡± gradually relaxed.


    ...


    They thought: That¡¯s right? I¡¯m already a member of the militia, why should I be scared?


    ¡°Vashka!¡± Winters called out from a distance.


    ¡°Present!¡± Vashka hurriedly rode his horse over.


    ¡°Sing a song for everyone!¡±


    Vashka¡¯s face turned bitter, ¡°Centurion, I only know the songs of the Dusans¡­¡±


    Most military songs had tunes but no words.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    In contrast, there were only a few tunes for folk songs, but the lyrics were incredibly diverse.


    Winters glared at him, ¡°Sing when you¡¯re told to sing! What are you dithering for?¡±


    Vashka shivered with fright.


    He coughed a few times, turned red in the face, and began bellowing:


    ¡°Big brother, as you leave the village gate!


    Little sister finds it hard to make you stay!


    Hand in hand with brother¡¯s palm!


    Escort brother to the house¡¯s front¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Winters chuckled bemused, flinging his whip towards Vasya, ¡°What the hell are you singing?¡±


    The militia also laughed good-naturedly.


    Covering his head, Vashka felt extremely wronged, ¡°But this is our Dusan song! When Dusacks leave home for service, the women go to the village gate to see them off¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine! Then keep singing!¡±


    Vashka continued to bellow:


    ¡°Gripping tightly the sleeve of my brother!


    Streams of tears flow into my gut!


    I only hate that I cannot join you!


    I just hope you return home soon¡­¡±


    Vashka¡¯s singing was dreadful, off-key three out of four lines.


    But as he sang, the militia¡¯s eyes became moist, for everyone was someone who had left home.


    The homeless farmers from the Newly Reclaimed Land and the Dusacks, paying blood tax for a century, suddenly found common ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just listen!¡± Winters stood up and ordered everyone, ¡°All join in and sing! Learn to sing!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Big brother rides away on horse!


    Little sister feels bitter at her core!


    How long will this departure last?


    May you too return with a head of white at last¡­¡±


    Accompanied by wailing song that echoed like ghosts and wolves, Winters¡¯ troops entered Wolf Town.


    Immediately thereafter, with a sweeping gesture, Winters ordered that all the grain be returned to the people of Wolf Town.


    Villagers from around gathered in the town square, even the farmers of Wolf Town, whose grain had not been conscripted, came to see what the fuss was about.


    Every face beamed with smiles, those receiving grain as well as those distributing it.


    Identifying which grain belonged to whom was fairly simple, as the grain was contained in handcrafted straw baskets and a few burlap sacks.


    The baskets and sacks were handcrafted, so each household¡¯s weaving habits varied. To prevent mistakes in everyday life, many farmers even left unique markings.


    ¡°`


    Thus, the restitution work was carried out smoothly.


    Winters even played the role of a temporary judge: when two farmers both claimed a basket of wheat was theirs, he told them to go home and retrieve their own woven reed baskets. Once compared, the truth came to light.


    Ever since the central town was burned down, Wolf Town hadn¡¯t seen such a crowd as it had today.


    Sitting on the hillside outside the town, Winters looked down at the bustling scene of Wolf Town, feeling completely satisfied.


    ¡°Alas,¡± Pierre, sitting next to Winters, still felt a bit of regret, ¡°I think it really would have been better not to return it, just aid those who lack grain. It would also have made them remember your kindness.¡±


    Winters laughed and retorted, ¡°Do you think the people of Wolf Town are fools? Wouldn¡¯t they understand what¡¯s going on? There¡¯s no need for such despicable tricks! Rest assured, I will secure supplies for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Alas, it¡¯s not the supplies I am worried about,¡± Pierre said with distress, ¡°I am worried that they will resent you in the future. You¡¯ve helped them once, what about the second time? The third time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters leaned back against the hillside and patted Pierre on the back, ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡±


    ¡­


    After returning all the food to the people of Wolf Town, the second thing Winters did was to gather the remains in the cemetery.


    The cemetery, located beside the church and surrounded by bushes, used to be a solemn and tranquil place for people to remember the deceased.


    Now it lay in ruins.


    The better the tombstone, the more severely the grave had been desecrated.


    The desecrated graves stood out like wounds on the earth, cruelly exposed to the open air.


    Bones were scattered everywhere, many of them no longer identifiable.


    For those dead who still had living relatives, their bones had already been collected.


    The bones now laying scattered across the cemetery belonged to those who had no further ties to the living world.


    Winters led everyone in reburying the distinguishable remains in their own graves, while the unidentifiable ones were placed together in a newly dug mass grave.


    Many people from Wolf Town also volunteered to help.


    With everyone¡¯s effort, the gaping graves were filled in one by one. Like healing wounds, only shallow scars were left behind. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the distribution of food and the collection of remains, Winters gathered his troops on the ruins of Wolf Town.


    ¡°Here,¡± Winters stamped on the scorched earth and casually drew a circle with his cane, ¡°right here, we will establish our camp. The camp is our home, our rear base. From now on, we are no longer bandits or outlaws.¡±


    The people listened in silence.


    ¡°I know that you stay with me not because you wish to be soldiers, but because you have nowhere else to go,¡± Winters said with a smile, leaning on his cane, ¡°so, I thought we needed a ceremony to make everyone understand: you are no longer farmers. Come on! Bring the things here!¡±


    Anglu came over with a sack that clinked with the sound of Gold Coins!


    Winters took the sack of money, walked in front of the people, and personally distributed a Ducat to each person.


    He said slowly and clearly to the soldiers, ¡°This thing is called pay. Soldiers earn their pay, and once you¡¯ve received your pay, from this moment forward, you are soldiers, and we are mutually obligated to each other. You may not understand yet why you fight, but you will understand in time.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters gently tapped his cane, ¡°take your oath!¡±


    There were no clergy, no sacred emblems, nor any other additional ceremonies.


    One by one, the soldiers stepped forward and swore their loyalty to Winters.


    Taking an oath to an individual is somewhat peculiar within the Republic, and Winters wanted more than this, but at the moment, this army was indeed held together by personal charisma.


    Though it was still small, from that moment on, it was worthy of being called an army.


    After the oath-taking ceremony, this army of fewer than forty people obediently accepted reorganization.


    Like an artist standing before a blank canvas, Winters finally had the opportunity to establish an army according to his own ideals, unconstrained and unrestricted.


    There were only eight men in a squad, too few to handle duties like night watches and patrols conveniently, so Winters increased the number to twelve.


    Twelve men living in one tent would be too cramped, so Winters divided them into two tents.


    Six men in a tent, two tents sharing one pot, they made up one squad.


    A squad of soldiers had a Centurion and a deputy Centurion.


    Due to phalanx tactics, the smallest tactical unit in the current military system of the Alliance was a company.


    However, since companies might also carry out missions independently, an eighty-man company seemed too small for Winters, which he found inconvenient.


    At the same time, the experience of commanding two companies gave him some insight.


    He planned to expand the company size to 120 men, keep the size of the battalion unchanged, and add a middle command level between the company and the battalion, perhaps called a cohort.


    The battalion¡¯s internal structure would be 1:2:4. With three officers for two companies, there would always be someone to take over if one fell in battle.


    However, these were just Winters¡¯ draft plans, and he had no idea what issues he might face during implementation.


    Currently, he had only thirty-eight soldiers, three squads plus two messenger boys, not even enough for one company.


    And the most pressing issue at the moment was: where was he going to find food for everyone?

 Chapter 576 03-25 - 576 3 Encirclement

    ?Chapter 576: Chapter 3 Encirclement Chapter 576: Chapter 3 Encirclement ¡°Take care of this!¡±


    Winters handed an arrow to Vashka, Samujin, and another veteran, Tamas.


    The arrows were engraved with serial numbers.


    These three were the centurions he had chosen.


    Winters had originally wanted to assign personnel based on their place of origin, but he realized this was more trouble than it was worth.


    So he reassigned all the soldiers, making the veterans centurions.


    The three other people he trusted the most: Pierre stayed by his side as an adjutant; Anglu and Xial also stayed by him as messengers and military police.


    ...


    ¡°The arrow is your token. Do not break it. If it breaks, everyone gets whipped,¡± Winters solemnly admonished the centurions, ¡°and do not get separated. If one soldier strays, the rest will share the punishment!¡±


    The three newly promoted centurions nodded emphatically.


    At this moment, Winters¡¯s face did not show his usual mild demeanor but was filled with murderous intent:


    ¡°No noise during the march or battle! Violators will be whipped! Anyone who alerts the enemy will be beheaded!¡±


    ¡°If enemies break through your encirclement, do not chase after them. Just continue to close in and drive the remaining enemies toward the designated location.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Try to take them alive! We don¡¯t want the dead!¡±


    After declaring the discipline, Winters took out four maps, three small and one large.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    He gave the small maps to the centurions and unfolded the large map for everyone to see.


    Winters then took out three horse-head chess pieces, and began to explain the routes to the centurions.


    Vashka, Samujin, and Tamas listened with glazed eyes and furiously nodded, trying to understand.


    Suddenly, Winters noticed something and, looking directly at them, asked coldly, ¡°You three¡­ can you read the map?¡±


    Vashka habitually continued to nod.


    Winters kicked him in irritation, exclaiming, ¡°You know nothing! You¡¯re holding the map upside down!¡±


    Vashka didn¡¯t dare dodge, taking the boot squarely and hurriedly turned the map right-side up.


    Seeing his comrade straightened out, Anglu covered his mouth to hide a snicker.


    ¡°Brother Reed taught you grammar and spelling rules,¡± Winters then turned to Anglu, ¡°How much do you remember?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ uh?¡± Anglu stuttered, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten most of it.¡±


    Winters let out a sigh from the depths of his chest; the pain he felt was like the one Ned Smith had once experienced.


    He slapped his forehead, then his thigh, ¡°After dinner, everyone come to me!¡±


    ¡°For¡­ what?¡± Pierre asked cautiously.


    ¡°Class.¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, as the sun was about to rise,


    Vashka led eleven soldiers through the woods, forming a loose line.


    All of them carried boar spears and hit tree trunks with the shafts as they walked.


    The length of the boar spears was less than two meters and didn¡¯t require formation for use. The spearhead had two side branches to prevent spearing too deeply and not being able to pull out.


    The beasts in the forest ran away long before they got close to the noise being made.


    In the distance, a similar beating sound could be faintly heard.


    Winters, along with Pierre and a few others, waited at the closing point, almost mad with frustration: ¡°Where is Samujin¡¯s team? Where have they died?!¡±


    Pierre, Xial, and Anglu were also anxious, waiting for word.


    Winters¡¯s forces were visibly devolving from an [agricultural settlement mode] to a [hunting and gathering mode].


    The main reason was the lack of food. Ellen Mitchell had helped him gather some, but it was far from enough.


    Winters couldn¡¯t afford to sit and watch their provisions dwindle; his forces also had to participate in production.


    With the natural conditions of the Newly Reclaimed Land, the most immediately productive methods were ¡°hunting and gathering.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters wanted to regress to primitive society; there was simply no other choice.


    After living with the Hurd tribes for three months, he had gained a deeper understanding of different forms of social organization.


    As a part of the Hurd tribes, the Paratu People were gradually choosing farming over herding. Not because farming was easy ¨C it was much harder than herding.


    Now, Winters could only choose the simpler path.


    It was currently July, mid-summer, and not the best hunting season.


    Moreover, most of Winters¡¯s men had been farmers in the past, unaccustomed to the business of hunting.


    Fortunately, Winters and the veterans had accumulated some experience: during the battle at The Styx, Winters had once led his troops to hunt wild animals in the Bridge Woods.


    On second thought, he didn¡¯t want to bring up The Styx again; just thinking about it caused a pang in his chest.


    He now missed the young hunter, Bell, terribly.


    If the young hunter were here, it would save him a lot of trouble. But then he considered that if Bell returned, he would certainly bring the little creature with him.


    Feeding forty people was already difficult for Winters; that little creature¡¯s gaping maw could easily bankrupt him.


    With only forty men, he couldn¡¯t conduct a large hunt, only a small one.


    So when choosing the target, he was very cautious, only aiming for a small group of deer in the forest to the northeast of Wolf Town.


    The three groups of men had entered the forest from three different directions an hour before sunrise, corralling and startling the herd, driving the deer toward the position where Winters was waiting.


    The location where Winters was waiting had already been prepared with pits, and was presided over by the most ¡°ferocious¡± Spellcaster officer from Paratu.


    As long as the beasts were driven into place, success was assured.


    What wasn¡¯t expected was a complication¡ªSamujin¡¯s team had disappeared.


    Winters was furious, no longer caring about stealth, he bellowed, ¡°Anglu!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the little groom replied reflexively.


    ¡°Go find Samujin! Tell him! If he fails to show up on time again and lets the deer escape, I will tie his whole team to trees and whip them!¡±

 Chapter 577 03-25 - 577 3 Encirclement_2

    ?Chapter 577: Chapter 3 Encirclement_2 Chapter 577: Chapter 3 Encirclement_2 ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu leaped onto the horse¡¯s back and galloped toward the direction where Samukin should appear.


    The once peaceful forest was now in complete turmoil.


    Deer, roe, rabbits, foxes, wild beasts panicked and fled in terror, their cries incessant.


    Anglu¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t bear it; he suddenly thought that before humans arrived in this forest, these animals might have been living here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.


    Just like this herd of deer, their history of settlement here was perhaps much longer than that of humans.


    But now humans had arrived¡ªAnglu included¡ªand the deer herd was about to face their doom.


    As he rode, Anglu thought about this and felt a wave of sadness wash over him.


    ...


    ¡°Is this the right thing to do?¡± he wondered.


    ¡­


    ¡°Delicious!¡± Anglu chomped on the roasted deer ribs, his mind filled with one thought, ¡°Delicious!¡±


    The soldiers were eating the less desirable parts of the deer, such as the organs.


    The best cuts, like the legs and belly, had been taken to exchange for grain with the villagers.


    The villagers didn¡¯t want the ribs, deeming there was too little meat, so Anglu got lucky.


    Samukin and his group looked on enviously at others eating and drinking, as they only received half the portion of meat, and it was the worst parts.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    They hadn¡¯t arrived at the designated spot on time, which led to nearly half the deer escaping through the gap in the encirclement.


    Samukin was also really unlucky¡ªthey had run into a black bear on the way.


    Not only did they receive only half a portion of meat, but each of them also bore five lashes as a warning to others.


    A small campfire burned, a pot of meat soup simmering; Winters and Pierre were doing their ¡°post-battle¡± debrief.


    ¡°What about the hides?¡± Pierre asked, clutching a notebook, playing the role of a temporary clerk.


    ¡°Exchange them for grain,¡± Winters replied, taking a sip of the deer soup.


    ¡°And the antlers?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep them for now, see if we can sell them in Revodan.¡±


    ¡°What about the deer blood?¡±


    ¡°Feed it to the dogs?¡± Winters suddenly remembered something and asked Pierre, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your dad have four fine terriers? Where are they now?¡±


    ¡°Gone wild, they only come home occasionally.¡±


    ¡°Find a way to tie them up again, we might need them.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Adhering to the idea of wasting nothing, even the deer bones found a place to go:


    An old man in Nanxin village knew how to make glue from bones, and he was willing to exchange two Malte of wheat for all the deer bones¡ªa Malte is an old measure, about 13 kilograms.


    Winters happily agreed, and the old man was delighted too.


    Did the people of Wolf Town actually have grain? The answer was ¡°yes.¡±


    Those in Wolf Town without grain had already nailed up their windows and doors and fled the calamity.


    But it wasn¡¯t possible to levy it, or rather, the cost of levying it was too high.


    Winters had learned a story from a history class in military school: during the Sovereign Wars, the mad King Richard IV had once decreed a ban on farmers feeding rye to pigs.


    The Mad Richard might have thought that by doing so, he could lower the price of rye and thus acquire more grain.


    But farmers still secretly fed their pigs rye.


    They would rather feed their pigs than let the grain be confiscated by the emperor¡¯s taxmen.


    The history teacher believed that this indicated the Empire¡¯s economy was on the brink of collapse, and Mad Richard was doomed to fail.


    After being enlightened by the old sage, Winters had a different perspective on this: the cost of forcible taxation was too high and not worth it.


    The farmers hid their grain under the pigsty or the pile of firewood, and the levy teams rummaged through everything¡ªthat was the current situation in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The farmers weren¡¯t without grain, nor were they unwilling to provide it. What they wanted was a trade, a fair exchange.


    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t just the farmers; everyone felt this way¡ªWinters thought.


    ¡°I remember Mrs. Mitchell knows how to make sausages?¡± Winters slurped his deer soup, asking Pierre.


    Pierre was busy noting down, ¡°Yeah, my mom does.¡±


    ¡°Can deer intestines be used to make sausages?¡± Winters asked curiously, his Venetian business acumen shining: ¡°If so, all those deer offal have a place to go. Sausages are generally worth more than pure meat, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± Pierre scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯ll ask my mom when I get back.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Pierre then asked, ¡°What about the six deer that are still alive? What do we do with them?¡±


    ¡°Keep them for now? Is it possible to raise them?¡± This was a blind spot in Winters¡¯s knowledge.


    ¡°`


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Pierre was also puzzled; after thinking about it, he responded, ¡°If it¡¯s possible to raise them, why hasn¡¯t anyone done it before?¡±


    Winters mused, ¡°The Herders say that further to the west there are wild Herder tribes that live by deer herding. It should be possible, right? It¡¯s such a waste to just kill them for meat; if only we could raise them.¡±


    ¡°Shall I have someone give it a try?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Winters was sipping his deer meat soup when he suddenly felt something amiss¨Chis Venetian ¡°killer instinct¡± was going off like mad.


    He leaped up and shouted at the other three bonfires, ¡°Who¡¯s making barbecue?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Anglu stood up, bewildered, with a deer rib still in his hand.


    ¡°No grilling allowed! Everyone eat the boiled meat!¡± Winters reprimanded with heartfelt pain, ¡°A pound of meat, once grilled, at most weighs seven ounces left! I¡¯m even eating boiled noodles, yet you dare to indulge in grilled meat! Have you lost your mind?¡±


    The warriors burst into hearty laughter.


    Anglu, looking meek, ran over with two deer ribs, ¡°These are for you.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but take a bite and tears streamed down his face, ¡°Delicious.¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters handed out the three arrows to the Centurions again, everyone understood another attack was imminent.


    This had become an unspoken rule: before combat, hand the arrows to Centurions as a token, and then take the arrows back after the battle.


    ¡°Centurion, the phrases ¡®a group of people,¡¯ ¡®a pot of people¡¯ are really unsightly.¡± Vashka took the arrows, teasingly suggested, ¡°Could we find something nicer to say?¡±


    Winters picked up the map board, his eyebrows slightly raising, ¡°What would you like to change it to?¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How about ¡®an Arrow¡¯s People¡¯?¡±


    Winters nearly choked on his saliva; he couldn¡¯t help but marvel, ¡°Vasya, you¡¯re such a genius.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Vashka¡¯s face brightened with joy, a smile beaming across his features.


    ¡°Not a bit!¡± Pierre smacked Vasya on the back of the head and proposed, ¡°How about ¡®a Quiver¡¯? ¡®A group of people,¡¯ ¡®a pot of people¡¯ do indeed sound bad.¡±


    Winters considered it, finding ¡®a Quiver¡¯ to sound pretty good, so he nodded in approval.


    ¡°We¡¯re raising our banner now!¡± Seeing his suggestion accepted, Vashka wanted to push his luck, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we also come up with a resounding name? One that sounds powerful at first hear?¡±


    The others exchanged glances; they indeed lacked a name for themselves.


    Strictly speaking, they were still called ¡°the Newly Reclaimed Land Wolfton Village Militia.¡±


    Vashka stretched a little, confidently unveiling the mystery, ¡°I suggest, let¡¯s call it ¡®Blood Wolf Gang!¡¯ Oh, no, ¡®Blood Wolf Army!¡¯ Doesn¡¯t it sound formidable?¡±


    ¡°Blood [expletive] [expletive] wolves.¡± Winters kicked Vasya¡¯s backside with a heavy boot, ¡°Are you hoping for Revodan to send troops to attack us, is that it?¡±


    Winters grew furious the moment he heard this nickname.


    After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he explained to his subordinates, ¡°We ambushed the grain levying team; Revodan won¡¯t let this slide. Otherwise, why would we disguise ourselves as bandits to strike? What we need least right now is an infamous reputation. The less attention from Revodan the better. Besides, we are already the Wolfton Village Militia, why change our name?¡±


    Pierre nodded thoughtfully, while the rest were still somewhat confused.


    ¡°Alright, look at the map,¡± Winters unrolled the map on the table, restating the discipline,


    ¡°No noise during marches and combat! Violators will be flogged! Those who alert the enemy will be beheaded!


    If enemies break through your encirclement, do not give chase. Just continue to surround and drive the rest toward the designated location.¡±


    Try to capture them alive! We don¡¯t want the dead!¡±


    In the end, he sternly warned the three Centurions, ¡°If anyone dares to be late this time, there will be no mercy!¡±


    ¡­


    It was the same time as always¡ªdawn, with the sun barely showing a hint of light.


    Vashka led eleven soldiers carrying boar spears, stretched out in a loose line through the forest.


    But this time, they did not bang on trees; they moved silently.


    Upon reaching the predetermined location, they lay in ambush.


    Patience was Vashka¡¯s virtue as he waited.


    Suddenly, the piercing blast of a military horn tore through the night.


    Birds in the forest darted into the sky with a flurry, while beasts scattered in terror.


    The attack order was given.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Vashka leapt up with his spear, bellowing at the top of his lungs, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    The Arrows descended upon the bandit camp in the forest from all directions.


    A gang of more than twenty bandits was subdued in the blink of an eye.


    Those bandits who resisted were speared to death, and those alive knelt on the ground, herded together like a flock of sheep.


    Not a single bandit managed to escape.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Anglu came to report excitedly to Winters, ¡°This was way easier than hunting!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 578 03-25 - 578 4 Contemplation

    ?Chapter 578: Chapter 4 Contemplation Chapter 578: Chapter 4 Contemplation The militia had no trouble capturing the gang of bandits, and Winters was not surprised.


    Armed with three arrows and nearly forty men, if they couldn¡¯t handle a mere twenty or so bandits, wouldn¡¯t that make the hunting expedition he led a complete farce?


    Anglu had unwittingly made a point¡ª¡±Battling bandits is much easier than hunting.¡±


    For the ¡°Fishing and Hunting Tribe,¡± hunting was synonymous with military training.


    Setting up routes, planning timing, dividing and conquering¡ªthis was a typical military operation.


    As Winters followed the migration of the Red River Tribe, he noticed that the camp setup and take down of the Herders during migration wasn¡¯t much different from marching an army.


    Winters took the militia on several hunting expeditions, partly because they truly had nothing to eat and needed to participate in production and partly to train his subordinates.


    ...


    ¡­


    The militia captured the group of bandits, and they took the opportunity to plunder their homes.


    ¡°We captured twenty-two bandits alive. Two who tried to resist got themselves killed,¡± Pierre said, without particular joy or anger, resigning himself, ¡°There are a few broken swords and spears, but only a few bags of wheat and rye for food.¡±


    Winters also sighed, ¡°How can they be so poor?¡±


    ¡°If they weren¡¯t poor, they wouldn¡¯t have turned to robbery,¡± Pierre quietly asked, ¡°Let them go? Or?¡±


    He made a throat-slitting gesture.


    Winters thought for a moment, then said, ¡°If we let them go, they¡¯ll just become bandits again.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take care of them right now,¡± Pierre turned to leave.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t finish speaking! Don¡¯t rush,¡± Winters stopped Pierre, noticing the young man¡¯s increasingly grim hands.


    Pierre waited quietly for Winters¡¯ order.


    Winters was troubled, ¡°Killing them all indiscriminately, what does that make us? These are honest farmers, driven to desperation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Pierre said softly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Winters patted Pierre¡¯s arm, ¡°Pick out the habitual bandits, deal with them. Take the rest back to Wolf Town.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Are you going to recruit them?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°Where would I get that much food? Even if we were to recruit, we would need to select the better ones.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Winters made up his mind, ¡°Give them something to eat, find them some work, let them settle down for now and take it one step at a time. If we don¡¯t have enough food, we¡¯ll just have to buy or trade for it. Let¡¯s hold out until the autumn harvest is in.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ under what name do we hold them?¡± Pierre thought quickly, ¡°If they¡¯re not part of the militia.¡±


    ¡°Convict laborers, how about that?¡± Winters countered, ¡°After all, they¡¯ve been bandits, and by law, they should be hung. We¡¯re sparing them, so it¡¯s only right for them to perform labor. We¡¯ll make it clear to them it¡¯s not for life, and if conditions allow, they can be released to return home.¡±


    ¡°I think that could work,¡± Pierre nodded firmly, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it.¡±


    After speaking, he saluted, turned, and left.


    Winters watched Pierre¡¯s retreating figure, uncertain of his own feelings.


    Pierre was a good young man¡ªintelligent, reliable, and capable.


    Winters could trust Pierre with his life, and Pierre would not hesitate to entrust his life to him.


    But Pierre had changed; he was not the carefree little Dusack he used to be.


    Perhaps it was the world that changed, and Pierre chose to respond with a cold heart.


    Winters felt a brotherly affection towards Pierre and hoped to protect him, to keep him from straying down the wrong path.


    But as for the future, he was no longer certain.


    Winters sighed; what right did he have to worry about Pierre? He had changed as well.


    ¡°Convict laborers?¡± Winters chuckled wryly, shaking his head, ¡°Now we really have become a slave-using Fishing and Hunting Tribe.¡±


    ¡­


    Mid-July.


    Clear skies.


    Outside Blackwater Town, Saint Giles Valley Village.


    A crude two-story round wooden fortress stood alone at the edge of the forest.


    The fortress was small, with a diameter of not even twenty meters.


    Originally, the wooden fortress was a refuge for the villagers of Saint Giles Valley in Blackwater Town to hide from bandits, but it had instead been occupied by a gang of bandits.


    Pierre, using a door as a shield, made his way towards the wooden fortress with rapid strides.


    ¡°Bandits inside, listen up! Surrender now, or we¡¯ll set fire to it!¡±


    While Pierre was attempting reason with those inside, Winters was outside the range of the crossbows, manufacturing a crude siege hammer with three arrows. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In just one week, the militia had cleared out several groups of bandits near Wolf Town.


    As Winters said, militia and bandits were natural enemies.


    Bandits wrought havoc on common folk, their depredations rivalling those of conscription teams.


    Apart from the glaringly obvious reasons, Winters had a more covert idea: he wanted to get some food from the bandits.


    Hunting alone could never fill their bellies. Moreover, the best parts of the game were used to trade for grains, leaving only offal and trim behind.


    No one could stand eating wild vegetable and intestine soup every day.


    However, as it appeared, this plan had already fallen through. Alas, the bandits didn¡¯t have any surplus food either.


    But the bandits still had to be eradicated, without a reason or all the more with one.


    Saint Giles Valley provided Winters with a very compelling reason: two large carts of wheat.


    Not barley, not rye, nor oats.


    It was wheat¡ªthe best grain.


    The news that the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town had returned spread to the nearby villages, and so did the news that he was leading troops to exterminate the bandits.

 Chapter 579 03-25 - 579 4 Contemplation_2

    ?Chapter 579: Chapter 4 Contemplation_2 Chapter 579: Chapter 4 Contemplation_2 The villagers of Saint Giles Valley, left with no escape from a gang of ruthless bandits, heard this news and immediately sent for help. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley rode on a donkey, traveling day and night to reach Wolf Town and requested Winters to enforce the law across the border.


    Moreover, he promised that everything owned by the bandits could be taken by Winters as spoils of war.


    Except for the women¡ªthe women of Saint Giles Valley.


    Indeed, these bandits not only plundered food and money, but they also preyed on women.


    More than a dozen women from Saint Giles Valley were abducted into the bandits¡¯ stronghold, among which five were unmarried, the youngest girl being not even fourteen years old.


    Needless to say, Winters was furious, and so were the militiamen, who itched with rage upon hearing such things.


    ...


    For scum like this, Winters would have dealt with them even without compensation.


    There was no need to whip up morale, everyone armed themselves and rushed to Saint Giles Valley overnight.


    Winters had originally planned to lure out the bandits and ambush them in the open field.


    But the bandits were alert and, discovering their scouts had been eliminated, immediately holed up inside their wooden fortress.


    The battle soon reached a stalemate.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Pierre came running back.


    ¡°What¡¯s the word?¡± Winters asked.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The militia was severely lacking in siege capabilities; Winters didn¡¯t have muskets at his disposal, let alone cannons, and powder was scarce.


    He really did not want to see his soldiers scaling ladders and risking their lives in storming the fortress.


    Pierre¡¯s expression was odd. Licking his lips, he said, ¡°The bandit chief proposed a condition.¡±


    ¡°What condition?¡±


    ¡°He¡­ He wants to duel you.¡±


    ¡­


    The bandit chief was a large, burly man nearly two meters tall, looking as savage as a wild buffalo.


    He wore a set of plate armor, not the common skirted infantry breastplate, but a set of three-quarter heavy plate armor for officers.


    He had also managed to acquire a pair of cavalry leg guards and a boat-shaped helm.


    Although this combination of armor seemed incongruous, it was indeed lavish.


    Because even his opponent, the young Garrison Officer, did not possess such plate armor.


    However, the bandit chief currently had a boar spear sticking out of his face, lying on the ground facing upwards, presumably dead.


    The stronghold that had been abuzz with cheering went instantaneously silent.


    Winters took a deep breath, such requests for duels before the battle lines were something he hadn¡¯t encountered in a long time.


    This feeling¡­ was indeed somewhat nostalgic.


    ¡°Who else is there?!¡± His voice boomed like thunder through the forest.


    Winters asked again, ¡°Who else is there?!¡±


    First a small gap appeared, then the gates of the stronghold burst open.


    ¡­


    After getting the bandits under control, came the sorting.


    Identifying the hardened criminals and sparing those simple sons of farmers, those who had not yet adopted the bandits¡¯ lawless habits.


    For this procedure, the Wolf Town militia were well-practiced.


    The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley had promised two carts of grain, but Winters came with four large carts¡ªexpecting to load up with spoils.


    Everyone worked their assigned roles, with no need for Winters to intervene.


    He stayed by the body of the bandit chief, examining the armor on the corpse.


    After inspecting it, Winters¡¯s eyebrows slightly raised, ¡°This really is an officer¡¯s armor.¡±


    ¡°Probably stolen or looted,¡± Xial said quietly.


    Pierre came out of the stronghold and hurried back to Winters¡¯s side.


    His lips trembling, he said softly, ¡°You¡­ You should come and see this¡­¡±


    Pierre led Winters into the fortress. In the two-story wooden structure, Winters saw more than a dozen women who were tortured beyond recognition.


    Some were still alive, others had already died.


    The bandits didn¡¯t just ravage them; they were slaughtering them.


    A very young girl, younger than Ella and Scarlett, sat in the corner of the room, her hands bound to a wheel, her head hanging low.


    The militia covered the girl¡¯s bloodstained and muddied naked body with their clothes; she was no longer alive.


    One woman was still alive, but when the militia tried to clothe her, she recoiled as if greatly triggered.


    She desperately backed away, flailing her arms, and let out a blood-curdling scream.


    She had gone mad.


    Pride, complacency, the excitement of dueling, the joy of victory¡­ all of Winters¡¯s emotions vanished in an instant.


    All that was left in his heart was desolation, a feeling of powerlessness, and anger, an anger that could burn the world.


    The militiamen also stood silently, fists clenched tightly, teeth grinding audibly.


    ¡°Bring them here!¡± Winters breathed heavily, struggling to say, ¡°Unbind her.¡±


    The bruised and battered bandits were brought before the girl¡¯s body.


    Without waiting for Winters to speak, a gaunt bandit abruptly knelt down, loudly begging for mercy, ¡°My lord! It was all Hammerhead and his accomplices who forced us! If we didn¡¯t do it, they would kill us! Paline was killed by Hammerhead! His body¡¯s buried in the stronghold!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters drew Vashka¡¯s sabre.


    ¡°Truly! We were really coerced!¡± The gaunt bandit was a flood of snot and tears. He pounced toward another bandit with a bulbous, red nose, crying out, ¡°It was him! It was him! He was with Hammerhead! And him and him!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters grabbed the red-nosed bandit by the hair and dragged him like a dead body before the girl¡¯s corpse, forcing him to kneel down.


    The red-nosed bandit was so scared that he was limp, and he had even soiled himself; he desperately pleaded, ¡°My lord! Spare me! Have mercy, please!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters placed the sabre at the red-nosed bandit¡¯s neck.


    The militia all waited for that moment.

 Chapter 580 03-25 - 580 4 Contemplation_3

    ?Chapter 580: Chapter 4 Contemplation_3 Chapter 580: Chapter 4 Contemplation_3 Winters¡¯s motion halted, and he released the rosacea-nosed bandit, tossing the military saber back to Vashka.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you, my lord!¡± The rosacea-nosed bandit did not care about the filth on the ground, desperately trying to kiss Winters¡¯s boots, ¡°I will do anything for you! I¡¯ll be your ox, your horse! I¡­¡±


    Winters kicked fiercely, his iron-plated boot tip shattering the bandit¡¯s jaw.


    ¡­


    The threshing floor of Saint Giles Valley Village had become an impromptu execution ground.


    All the villagers were present.


    Men and women alike, each face etched with sadness.


    The parents who had lost their daughter wept and cursed, yearning for justice.


    ...


    During extraordinary times, procedures were simplified.


    After the accusations and trials, came the execution.


    The rosacea-nosed bandit was tied to a millstone.


    Winters lifted a wagon wheel high and slammed it down on the bandit¡¯s left arm.


    Along with the sound of breaking bones, the bandit¡¯s left arm bent at an unnatural angle.


    Then the right arm, the right leg, and the left leg.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0


    The bandit was still alive when Xial and Pierre untied him from the millstone and fixed him to the wagon wheel.


    An innocent girl had once died upon that wheel, and now one of her killers was bound to the same wheel.


    The rosacea-nosed bandit would be displayed like this, until death.


    In death, he would continue to be displayed, until vultures and crows had pecked away his rotting flesh, until only his bones remained.


    This was breaking on the wheel, one of the most severe and harsh forms of punishment.


    According to the law of the Newly Reclaimed Land, those who banded together to obstruct roads and commit robbery faced the wheel for the ringleaders, hanging for the accomplices.


    After the breaking came the hanging.


    Six habitual criminals were hoisted up and hanged.


    Thirty-three coerced accomplices were flogged.


    The executing militiamen did not hold back, and after twenty lashes, some of the accomplices were whipped to death.


    The surviving culprits would face hard labor.


    The public trial and execution came to a swift conclusion.


    When the Wolfton militia left, the village chief of Saint Giles Valley clutched Winters¡¯s hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, ¡°Thank you¡­ thank you¡­¡±


    The villagers had originally agreed to provide two carts of wheat, but they packed an additional two carts of oats and rye, heaping them high, hoping the militia would take more away.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Winters began but hesitated. Emotionally, he couldn¡¯t accept the food, but he needed it. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He grasped the old village chief¡¯s hand and said, ¡°The Garrison Officer of Blackwater Town, Chelini, is a good friend of mine. If something like this happens again, just come to me. You don¡¯t need to offer food.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters set off on the return journey with a heavy heart.


    After reuniting with old comrades like Pierre, everything had been going well for him.


    Life was hard, and he was forever getting into endless arguments with the ragtag bunch, but Winters was happy.


    Happy in spirit.


    Returning to the military was like a fish returning to water, and he naturally stopped repressing his emotions, laughing when he wanted to laugh, becoming angry when he felt like it.


    While chopping wood at the Mitchell estate, he had more than once pondered, ¡°On that distant hillside, is it possible that Hurd cavalry might charge out at any second?¡±


    But once he made up his mind to stay, to rebuild the Wolf Town militia, such thoughts never came again.


    Winters was not only very happy, he even felt a touch of pride and complacency. He was satisfied with everything he had achieved.


    He was the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, he had fulfilled the responsibilities of a Garrison Officer, he was slowly rebuilding Wolf Town, and he had preserved peace in Wolf Town¡ªeven if just temporarily.


    ¡°Why am I staying here?¡± he asked himself more than once.


    There was only one answer, ¡°My sense of injustice will not rest; I want to protect something, I want to change something.¡±


    But to what extent and how widespread the changes should be, Winters couldn¡¯t figure out.


    Could it be to change Paratu? One man against a nation?


    ¡°That¡¯s too presumptuous¡±. Winters thought to himself. As a rational Spellcaster, he set his goals small and practical, ¡°Maybe just change Wolf Town?¡±


    But his experiences in Saint Giles Valley had brutally shown Winters, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±


    Monk Reed had said, ¡°One who does not plan for the eternal is not capable of planning for the moment; one who does not plan for the whole is not capable of planning for a part.¡±


    Wolf Town is not enough.


    Winters realized he needed to cast his sights further into the future.


    He was thinking.

 Chapter 581 03-25 - 581 5 Business

    ?Chapter 581: Chapter 5 Business Chapter 581: Chapter 5 Business The air was thick with tension and anxiety.


    The militia had just returned to Wolf Town from Saint Gis Valley, and over seventy convict laborers were herded into the old square.


    They weren¡¯t told what was to happen, only watched over by fully armed militia members with vigilant eyes.


    The wait was excruciating, and some of the more faint-hearted laborers had already started wiping away tears.


    The laborers knew about the food shortage in Wolf Town¡ªeach guard was only given two coarse loaves of bread per meal, while the convicts had nothing but a bowl of mixed gruel.


    But at least their lives were stable; they had shelters to live in, food to eat, and did not need to resort to killing or robbery. Their daily tasks consisted of chopping wood, making charcoal, and building houses.


    However, with the current situation, it seemed as though a final solution for them was being contemplated.


    ...


    ¡°My dad once said,¡± one man whispered in fear to the person next to him, ¡°when the Mazhar nobility wants to kill someone, they give him a shovel to dig a pit. When it¡¯s deep enough for a person, they just cover it up from above¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Just watch! Old¡­ I¡¯m not going to just sit here and wait for death!¡± the other man replied, shivering too.


    Someone desperately yelled at the militia, ¡°What the hell do you want with us? Why are you tormenting us? Give us a quick end!¡±


    The militia, expressionless and armed, didn¡¯t answer him.


    The shouting man clamped his mouth shut suddenly, because he saw Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, approaching them.


    Winters stepped into the town square, sensing the odd atmosphere. He gestured for calm, ¡°Everyone, sit. Let¡¯s talk this over sitting down.¡±


    He found a stump to sit on himself, but none of the laborers moved.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Winters repeated the command amiably, ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Like a scythe through wheat, the crowd lowered in unison as they noisily settled to the ground.


    ¡°How many of you are landless hired hands or tenant farmers?¡± Winters disliked beating around the bush and went straight to the point, ¡°Raise your hands.¡±


    One hand after another raised, and among the seventy-or-so present, only two didn¡¯t raise theirs.


    Winters asked the two, ¡°Are you two independent farmers?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± the tall, thin man quickly shook his head, his reply was well-structured, ¡°My brother and I are brickmakers. No one was buying bricks anymore, so we had to flee the famine, and then¡­ we ended up here.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Shaun, the bricklayer Shaun,¡± he replied.


    Winters nodded, taking note of him in his mind, then inquired further, ¡°As I understand, there are more than two hundred households of workers and tenant farmers in Wolf Town alone. Where have all the people fleeing famine gone? Have they all become bandits?¡±


    The convicts were at a loss, some muttering under their breath.


    Finally, it was Bricklayer Shaun who gave a surprising yet reasonable answer, ¡°Revodan.¡±


    Where there¡¯s no food, people follow the grain. Where is the food? Right in Revodan City. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ironically, back in February, Revodan had to send soldiers to conscript labor.


    In the blink of an eye, five months had passed, and Revodan no longer had to worry about a shortage of troops.


    Most of the displaced people had already flocked to Revodan City with their families, begging to join the army just for a meal.


    So, recently, the barracks in Revodan had only sent out teams for grain conscription and had not sent out any new drafts for soldiers.


    Winters then asked, ¡°Aside from these two brickmakers, are all the rest of you originally farmers?¡±


    The host of convict laborers nodded.


    ¡°If I provide you with land,¡± Winters asked earnestly, each word deliberate, ¡°would you be willing to farm in Wolf Town?¡±


    The town square erupted with surprise. The convicts gaped and started whispering furiously amongst themselves.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± Winters said, softly clapping his hands.


    The square instantly fell silent as a grave.


    ¡°Willing, or not?¡±


    An old man with graying hair mustered the courage to stand up and explain, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re unwilling to farm. Even if you give us land, we can¡¯t farm it right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Old man, please sit and talk,¡± Winters said, puzzled, ¡°Why can¡¯t you farm?¡±


    The old man remained standing, taking a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking, ¡°Sir, what farmhand doesn¡¯t dream of having his own land? But the farming season¡­ has already passed.¡±


    He went on to explain with gestures for quite a while before Winters, a Sea Blue man, could understand what he meant.


    In short, the farmers in Paratu typically practiced crop rotation with two agricultural cycles per year.


    The main crop¡¯s planting cycle was from this autumn to early next summer, mainly sowing winter wheat.


    The secondary crop¡¯s cycle was from this spring to this autumn, primarily planting oats, rye, and legumes.


    If there were spare plots, vegetables would be planted to supplement the diet.


    It was now July, perfectly between the two agricultural cycles, missing the farming season.


    Furthermore, crops don¡¯t mature overnight. To start farming, one would need enough grain to last through a full agricultural cycle.


    ¡°Even if we planted winter wheat, we¡¯d all die of starvation before the wheat ripened,¡± the old man continued, his voice filled with sorrow, ¡°The land here is clay-heavy ¨C you need a heavy plow with four horses to break the soil. We have neither horses nor a plow¡­ Even if you gave us land, sir, we wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate it¡­¡±


    The remaining farmers nodded along.


    Winters listened attentively ¨C he would have taken notes if he¡¯d brought paper and ink.


    He had considered this aspect of the issue, but not in such depth¡ªbecause he didn¡¯t know the first thing about farming.

 Chapter 582 03-25 - 582 5 Business_2

    ?Chapter 582: Chapter 5 Business_2 Chapter 582: Chapter 5 Business_2 The old man, having gone on at length, wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.


    Having heard the old man¡¯s words, Winters had made up his mind.


    He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, asking earnestly, ¡°If I give you land, give you oxen and horses, give you ploughs, and food enough to last until next year¡¯s wheat harvest, and everything else you need¡­ how about that?¡±


    The old man was stunned, and so were the other farmers, even the surrounding militiamen were taken aback.


    ¡­


    On the fourth day returning to Wolf Town from the Valley of Saint Giz, around noon.


    In the army camp, Winters was sawing wood.


    ...


    He was shirtless but wore a pair of gloves, which looked rather comical.


    But he had to wear gloves; working without them would cause blisters¡ªthis was Winters¡¯s labor experience.


    He had mastered the trick of sawing wood, pushing lightly forward and pulling back with force.


    Winters¡¯s arms moved back and forth mechanically, as wood chips ¡°swhoosh¡± fell down, and nobody around him could keep pace with his speed¡ªnot even two together.


    Erhulan had taken great pains to put a little flesh on him, and now it was rapidly disappearing again.


    Compared to when he had just left the academy two years ago, his figure hadn¡¯t changed much, had even slimmed down a bit, but his muscle lines had become more even and distinct.


    Pierre rode into the camp and spotted the Centurion amidst the busy workers at a glance.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    He quietly waited until Winters finished his current task before speaking, ¡°My mother invites you to have dinner at our home.¡±


    Winters took off his gloves, smiling as he replied, ¡°Sure, but I have to change my trousers first.¡±


    Winters was wearing a pair of old, rough cloth trousers for work, already soaked with sweat, unrecognizable in their original color.


    ¡°Scarlett also asked me to take your measurements, she wants to make you some clothes.¡±


    Winters shook his head with a smile, walked over to the bucket, and lifted it to drink heartily from the brackish water, ¡°glug glug.¡±


    Just drinking it wasn¡¯t satisfying enough; he poured the remaining water in the bucket over his head.


    ¡°Hoo!¡± Winters wiped his face and, laughing, splashed Pierre with water, ¡°Nothing is more comfortable than drinking water heartily after finishing work.¡±


    Pierre wiped the water droplets off his face, helpless.


    Winters grabbed his shirt, ¡°Samukin! Tamas!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving this to you two!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters called to Pierre, ¡°Let¡¯s check on the blacksmith.¡±


    The army camp in Wolf Town was directly opposite the old church, right next to the town square.


    The camp at the moment resembled a busy construction site, with militiamen and labor convicts everywhere working.


    The seventy-odd labor convicts from before had received special pardons from Winters; the current laborers were the thirty-odd accomplices from Saint Giz Town.


    Wolf Town was rich in forest resources, without a shortage of wood.


    Winters did not lack manpower; he had many ¡°slaves¡±¡ªalthough they were nominally convict laborers.


    He could neither release the prisoners nor wantonly execute them, nor could he afford to feed them for nothing.


    Winters¡¯s solution was to provide food and shelter for the prisoners, in exchange for their labor and loss of personal freedom.


    In name, they were convict laborers, but in essence, they were slaves¡ªat least they still had their lives.


    With enough manpower and resources, all Winters lacked were food and tools.


    That¡¯s why the first person Winters thought of was the old blacksmith, Misha.


    Misha had become crippled in one leg during service and was not part of the draft, thus he became one of the few remaining able-bodied men in Dusa Village.


    Winters personally sought out Misha, asking him to come out of retirement.


    The rubble of the forge had been cleaned up, and any usable tools had been collected.


    A new wooden hut was swiftly rebuilt on the original site, and the extinguished forge was rekindled with flames.


    The young blacksmith Carlos took over his brother¡¯s position, assisting old Misha.


    As the pleasant ¡°ding ding dang dang¡± of hammering resonated, steel swords were forged into axes, saws, and heavy ploughs, while lower quality ironware was made into nails.


    Anyone who witnessed this scene could deeply understand why the blacksmith held an important place in rural society.


    Because human civilization needs tools, and tools cannot exist without blacksmiths.


    The old and young blacksmiths, busy from sunrise till late at night, still couldn¡¯t produce enough tools to meet the demand.


    That¡¯s why the bricklaying brothers were assigned by Winters to assist Misha.


    In Winters¡¯s view, it seemed a waste to have craftsmen with skills working the fields, but since he didn¡¯t need bricks at the moment, he reluctantly had the bricklaying brothers work as junior smiths.


    The remaining displaced people were working hard to clear the land, preparing for the sowing of winter wheat at the end of September.


    All the draft animals Winters had, except for the warhorses, were given to them. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Steel ploughs turned furrows into the compacted earth, while rows of wooden houses sprung up like mushrooms after rain.


    Wolf Town was being reborn from the ruins, gradually regaining its vitality.


    All of these accomplishments filled Winters with genuine pride and joy.


    He was no longer merely a monster capable of destruction, slaughter, and devastation; he had become a builder and creator.


    But at the same time, all of these accomplishments filled him with worry and fear.


    He had set up double-mounted scouts on the road to Revodan, and dispatched three rounds of scouting cavalry to Revodan.


    Wolf Town was too secluded; no matter how hard Winters tried, the information he got from the outside world was severely limited.


    He was even considering whether to make a trip to Revodan himself.


    But right now, another matter occupied his mind.


    ¡°Ah, sawing wood by hand, when will it ever end?¡± Winters complained to Pierre, ¡°The efficiency is too low.¡±


    Pierre, leading a horse next to Winters, suddenly countered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there¡¯s nothing more comfortable than drinking cold water after hard work?¡±

 Chapter 583 03-25 - 583 5 Business_3

    ?Chapter 583: Chapter 5 Business_3 Chapter 583: Chapter 5 Business_3 ¡°This is a different matter,¡± Winters said breezily, changing the subject, ¡°I plan to build a water-powered sawmill.¡±


    ¡°Where will you get the water from?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a river outside of the town center?¡±


    ¡°The water is so shallow, will it work?¡±


    Winters said with pride, ¡°That¡¯s what you don¡¯t understand. First, we¡¯ll use a water wheel to lift the water into the reservoir, then use the reservoir to drive the gears. No problem.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Winters burst into laughter, but suddenly, his laughter turned into a sigh.


    He said with frustration, ¡°Without the caravan, we can¡¯t buy anything, not even graphite. I was drawing the plans for the sawmill last night, using what Colonel Jeska had left me, and there¡¯s only a little bit left. Sigh, I wonder how the Colonel is doing now?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Pierre also heaved a sigh.


    ¡°What do you say, if we find Colonel Jeska and bring him to Wolf Town to retire?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    Thinking of the Colonel made Winters feel melancholic. Clenching his teeth, he said, ¡°I need to make a trip to Revodan.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Pierre said without any hesitation.


    ¡°No, you need to stay,¡± Winters laughed, ¡°If I¡¯m not here, and you¡¯re not here, Wolf Town would fall apart.¡±


    Talking as they walked, they arrived at the blacksmith workshop.


    Misha and the bricklayer Shaun were forging nails, Shaun¡¯s brother was sweating profusely as he worked the bellows, and the young blacksmith Carlos was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Carlos?¡± Winters was puzzled, ¡°Wasn¡¯t he the one who wanted to see me?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Old Misha said helplessly, ¡°That kid and Vashka are up to something secretive; who knows what they¡¯re up to.¡±


    As Winters was putting on his clothes, he casually asked the old blacksmith, ¡°What do you think about the young lad Carlos?¡±


    ¡°The kid¡­ he¡¯s pretty good,¡± Old Misha shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°He¡¯s got skills, but he¡¯s not a patch on his brother. His brother is steady, can sit still. Carlos is smart and lively.¡±


    Winters nodded, cleared his throat, and bellowed, ¡°Vashka!¡±


    Vasya¡¯s voice came back from not far away, ¡°Coming! Coming!¡±


    The clever duo ran back to the blacksmith shop, breathless.


    Both of them were covered in mud on their clothes and trousers, and their hands and faces were, too, looking as if they had just been pulled out of a mud pit, with only their eyes rolling around.


    ¡°Have you two been playing in the mud?¡± Winters didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or to laugh.


    Vashka, full of high spirits and dancing around, said, ¡°We¡¯ve prepared a big gift for you!¡±


    ¡°What gift?¡±


    ¡°Guess?¡±


    The next second, a boot print appeared on Vashka¡¯s rear.


    ¡°What gift?¡±


    Vashka, not daring to dawdle any longer, brought over a plank of wood from outside the workshop, with a hand-sculpted clay cup on it.


    Even the clay was wet, not yet fired.


    ¡°Look! This is it!¡± Vashka said animatedly, ¡°With this, you won¡¯t have to worry about food or clothes for the rest of your life! I thought of bringing it to you first!¡±


    The crowd was perplexed, and Winters¡¯s expression grew more grave.


    Pierre couldn¡¯t help but chide, ¡°Vasya! Stop fooling around! How can you¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Pierre, ¡°Let him speak.¡±


    ¡°Vasya didn¡¯t mean to offend you¡­¡±


    Winters ignored everyone else and looked directly at Carlos, ¡°You speak!¡±


    ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡± Carlos said with a passionate air, ¡°please allow me to present to you ¡ª a blast furnace!¡±


    Without needing Carlos¡¯s explanation, and while the others were still confused, Winters had already recognized that the ¡°clay cup¡± was actually a model of a smelting furnace.


    Though crudely made, it had a bellows, a fill opening, and an outflow, all the essentials.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen blast furnaces,¡± Winters asked Carlos directly, ¡°Have you studied iron smelting?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°Who taught you?¡±


    ¡°My father.¡±


    ¡°Your brother knows how to do that too?¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°He does.¡±


    ¡°Can you build a furnace?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°And you understand the craft?¡±


    ¡°A bit, but my brother knows the most.¡±


    Winters and Carlos were questioning and answering at a rapid pace.


    In the blacksmith workshop, there were a total of seven people. Apart from Winters and Carlos, four were utterly unable to keep up with the conversation, only Pierre could somewhat understand.


    ¡°Where do you get the charcoal?¡±


    ¡°With wood, you can make it.¡±


    ¡°Ore?¡±


    ¡°Allow me to discuss this with you in private.¡±


    ¡°Can you manage on your own?¡±


    ¡°I need my brother.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°We really need to bring your brother back soon.¡±


    Carlos nodded frantically.


    Winters led Pierre, Vashka, and Carlos to a deserted spot outside the blacksmith shop.


    ¡°Tell me, where does the iron ore come from?¡± Winters asked, ¡°Since you brought this up, you must have a plan.¡±


    Carlos did not expect Winters to be so direct; he looked at Vashka.


    Vashka hurriedly continued, ¡°Centurion, do you know why they call it the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters had a foreboding feeling.


    ¡°The Red River is the Hanlan River. During the spring and summer when the torrential rains cause flash floods, the waters of the Hanlan River turn as red as blood¡ªthat¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Red River!¡±


    ¡°Go on!¡±


    Carlos licked his lips, made a decision, and said, ¡°The Republic of Montaigne also has a Red River, which the Montans call the Rose River. The Rose River¡­ is right next to Steelhold.¡±


    Winters snorted coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to say the Red River Tribe is sitting on a mountain of iron ore, and they don¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°Surface mining is different from deep mining!¡± Carlos was getting anxious, ¡°The red color of the Rose River comes from the iron sandstone that the rain washes away. Both the Hanlan and the Rose Rivers originate in the Sheltering Mountains and change color with flash floods; it¡¯s very possible that the upstream of Hanlan River also has iron ore.¡±


    ¡°Deep mining, how do you explore?¡±


    ¡°Go to Steelhold to hire prospectors! You can get them if you pay!¡±


    ¡°How will you mine it?¡±


    ¡°With men you can mine, and we can buy the equipment from Steelhold!¡±


    ¡°Once bought, how will you transport it to Hanlan River?¡±


    Question after question had Carlos pinned against the wall. But hearing this question, he suddenly countered, ¡°My lord, where do you think the Hurd¡¯s iron comes from?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The Hurd wilderness is connected to the Republic of Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°There are mountains in between.¡±


    A subtle smile appeared on Carlos¡¯s face, ¡°Who says¡­ you can¡¯t run caravans through the mountains?¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, spitting fiercely, ¡°Damn!¡±


    Pierre and Vashka were clueless.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Winters asked Carlos sternly.


    ¡°I just want my brother to come back safely.¡±


    ¡°Good! It¡¯s a deal,¡± Winters instructed Vashka, ¡°Call Xial here.¡±


    Soon, Vashka brought Xial over.


    ¡°Xial, you¡¯re to make a trip to the Red River Tribe.¡± Winters made a prompt decision, ¡°Vashka, pick two people to accompany Xial there.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Take a message to White Lion for me.¡±


    ¡°What message?¡±


    ¡°Ask him,¡± Winters sneered,¡± does he want to do business?¡±

 Chapter 584 03-25 - 584 6 Reunion

    ?Chapter 584: Chapter 6 Reunion Chapter 584: Chapter 6 Reunion Visiting the Mitchell estate definitely called for some tidying up.


    Therefore, Winters first took a bath in the river outside the town.


    He had now learned to swim and quite enjoyed it.


    Because in the water, the burden on his left leg wasn¡¯t as heavy as on land, which relieved much of the soreness.


    Cleaning his body, shaving his beard clean.


    Winters took off his ragged lumberjack clothes and carefully retrieved a set of starched and ironed military uniform from the bottom of his trunk.


    This uniform had been patched up in several places, and although the mender was skilled, it was still noticeable.


    ...


    To outsiders, it was a military uniform. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To the knowing eye, it was actually the summer uniform of the Land Academy¡¯s officer cadets.


    These summer clothes were precisely what Winters wore when he was escorted to Paratu.


    Official military uniforms had to be purchased individually, but no Venetian had bothered with Paratu military attire¡ªexcept for the ¡°vain¡± Lieutenant Andreya Chelini.


    Even Andre¡¯s Piaoqi uniform deliberately chose a red waistband and blue trim different from the Paratu Piaoqi.


    When Winters was preparing his winter gear last year, he made a cashmere coat.


    But even under the coat, he still wore his old summer uniform, as a form of protest.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Since returning to Wolf Town, Winters had been wearing hunting attire.


    Hunting clothes were not only comfortable but also had many pockets¡ªwhich, as a Spellcaster, Winters greatly appreciated, and they didn¡¯t expose his identity.


    Because of all this, the old summer clothes were pushed to the bottom of the trunk.


    It was only for today¡¯s dinner at the Mitchells¡¯ that they saw the light of day again.


    It was impolite to visit empty-handed, but Winters didn¡¯t have an appropriate gift¡ªsurely, he couldn¡¯t just bring money, could he?


    After thinking it over, he brought two rabbits and plucked several bunches of wild roses before setting out.


    Amidst the setting sun, the Mitchell estate was serene and beautiful, always giving Winters a sense of warmth.


    Gerard¡¯s four hounds caught the scent of rabbit blood from afar and excitedly ran out to greet him.


    The hounds were not only alive but had birthed a litter of pups. However, because the mother dog was underfed, her teats were shriveled up without milk.


    Eileen, unable to bear it, took the puppies back to the house to care for them, feeding them with sheep¡¯s milk.


    The four hunting dogs thus returned to the Mitchell estate.


    Smelling Winters¡¯ scent, the hounds were extremely excited.


    They didn¡¯t dare to pounce on Winters or snatch the rabbits. They just wagged their tails madly, running circles around Winters, trying to please him by licking his hands.


    The dogs¡¯ enthusiasm always overwhelmed Winters. He held the rabbits high and soothed the dogs, ¡°No snatching¡­ Wait for autumn, and I¡¯ll take you field hunting then.¡±


    But the dogs didn¡¯t understand what Winters was saying and thought he wanted to play with them.


    So they became even more excited, one of them so excited that it started to urinate.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Scarlett came running to Winters¡¯ rescue, shooing the hounds away with a stick, ¡°Naughty guys! Bad dogs!¡±


    The hounds walked away with their tails between their legs, looking dejected.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Mitchell,¡± Winters heaved a sigh of relief: ¡°Is Mrs. Mitchell around?¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s face turned slightly red as she took Winters¡¯ arm, ¡°Everyone is waiting for you.¡±


    Young Miss Mitchell was almost indistinguishable from a boy, her hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing trousers¡ªunimaginable for a ¡°proper¡± lady.


    Eileen waited for Winters on the porch.


    She took the bouquet with a faint smile, ¡°Such beautiful roses, Mr. Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Winters blushed, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t even know they were roses¡­¡±


    He had picked the flowers by the roadside, and they had left him with several small cuts.


    ¡°Then you should be careful, roses have many meanings, not to be given lightly,¡± Eileen invited Winters inside, ¡°The table is set, we were just waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for being late,¡± Winters laughed heartily, discreetly loosening his waistband, ¡°But I smelled the chicken stew from afar.¡±


    Winters handed the rabbits over to the maid and entered the Mitchell house.


    Sitting beside the dining table was another guest; Winters could hardly believe his eyes.


    ¡°Good evening, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Father Caman made a gesture of greeting, courteously saying hello.


    Winters paused for a moment, then quickly walked up to Caman and gave the priest a bear hug.


    This unexpected warm welcome left Father Caman at a loss.


    He stood bewildered, arms held stiffly aloft, looking for help toward Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne is very happy to see you,¡± Eileen smiled with relief: ¡°Father Caman.¡±


    Caman sighed, tapping Winters¡¯ back with disdain, ¡°Alright¡­ enough.¡±


    Scarlett, arm in arm with her mother, watched the touching scene unfold before her, her face brimming with smiles.


    Winters released his arms, grabbed Caman¡¯s shoulders, and asked in surprise, ¡°How did you get back?¡±


    Caman replied with a wry smile, moving Winters¡¯ hands away, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I be able to return?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ how did you manage to come back?¡±


    ¡°I am a cleric,¡± Caman¡¯s tone was light, ¡°Naturally, if I want to return to my parish, I can.¡±


    Winters asked eagerly, ¡°Do you know the whereabouts of the others?¡±


    ¡°I lost contact with some, others have been called by the Lord,¡± Caman¡¯s expression turned gloomy, ¡°I came back alone.¡±


    ¡°What about Mr. Michel? Did you meet him?¡±


    Caman shook his head, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. I have already informed Mrs. Mitchell. I didn¡¯t encounter Mr. Michel.¡±

 Chapter 585 03-25 - 585 6 Reunion_2

    ?Chapter 585: Chapter 6 Reunion_2 Chapter 585: Chapter 6 Reunion_2 ¡°Please sit down and let¡¯s talk,¡± Eileen invited gently, ¡°the soup will get cold soon.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The four of them took their seats at the dining table.


    Mr. Michel wasn¡¯t home, and Mr. Mitchell was on duty in the barracks, so the head of the table remained empty.


    The four sat facing each other, Scarlett sitting next to Winters, and Father Caman and Mrs. Mitchell sat on one side.


    ¡°About Father Anthony¡¯s matter,¡± Winters offered his condolences to Caman, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡±


    Caman made a calm sign of the cross and spoke the customary words of the clergy: ¡°Brother Anthony is not in pain, he is with the Lord now, and has eternal life. As for the gold and silver vessels, they are unimportant.¡±


    At this, Winters didn¡¯t know what else to say.


    ...


    He had a vague feeling: the extent of Caman¡¯s grief over the church in Wolf Town becoming ruins didn¡¯t seem to match his own.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Eileen said with her light blue eyes meeting Winters across the table, ¡°Father Caman and I have discussed something, and we hope you can lend a hand.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me,¡± Winters answered solemnly.


    ¡°Could you send some people to help rebuild the church in Wolf Town?¡± Eileen added kindly, ¡°Of course, we don¡¯t expect you to do it for nothing. Father Caman and I have thought of a plan that would benefit both parties.¡±


    Winters¡¯s face turned slightly red, and he coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, hurrying to explain, ¡°No need¡­ You don¡¯t have to talk to me about a reward¡­ ¡±


    Winters had cleaned up the cemetery, repaired the roads, rebuilt the smithy, the town hall, and the peacekeeper¡¯s station.


    But he hadn¡¯t dealt with the church in Wolf Town, which still lay in ruins.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    He needed to build barracks for the militia and shacks for the refugees; how could he find time to rebuild a church?


    Not only had Winters not taken care of the church, but he had also seriously considered dismantling the remaining stone walls of the church to construct other buildings¡ªstone was a valuable material, after all; how could it be wasted?


    But considering the significance of the building in the hearts of the people of Wolf Town, Winters had very sensibly refrained from tearing down the church¡¯s foundation.


    However, since Mrs. Mitchell and Father Caman had made a request, Winters naturally agreed on the spot.


    He didn¡¯t lack manpower or building materials; rebuilding the church wouldn¡¯t be a difficult task.


    Mrs. Mitchell and Caman only asked for this one thing; afterwards, it was the usual time for dinner.


    The group chatted comfortably, with Mrs. Mitchell skillfully keeping the conversation flowing.


    Father Caman seemed somewhat disinterested, focusing on his food.


    As the excitement of their reunion faded, Winters looked at Caman and suddenly realized he was sitting in front of a user of Divine Arts.


    And it was a ¡°friendly¡± user of Divine Arts at that.


    At least Caman hadn¡¯t silenced him by killing him, and he didn¡¯t seem like he planned to try in the future.


    Winters almost shuddered with excitement, and under the table, his legs trembled.


    The way he stared at Caman even made Scarlett¡¯s expression turn odd.


    But Winters¡¯s reason held, and he carefully refrained from speaking rashly, quietly continuing with dinner.


    ¡°I need to figure out a way, at least to draft an experimental plan first,¡± Winters stirred his bowl of soup unconsciously with his spoon, ¡°Definitely not now.¡±


    He decided then and there that he would draw up plans that very night! Construction on the church would start tomorrow! He would ensure the church was built beautifully for Caman!


    Winters¡¯s thoughts drifted away: ¡°There were a few pages of speculation about Divine Arts in the general¡¯s notebook, what were they about? Why can¡¯t I remember?! Is Divine Arts within the general¡¯s system or outside of it? I need to design experiments to verify! Ah, but I need equipment for that! Where can I get equipment? Make it myself? What can I possibly make with the conditions in Wolf Town? I¡­ ¡±


    Scarlett gently nudged Winters¡¯s leg.


    Winters came out of his reverie, only to realize that he had stirred the soup onto the table.


    He had stained a large part of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s crochet tablecloth.


    Scarlett quietly handed him a napkin.


    ¡°Sorry, I was lost in thought,¡± Winters said with a wry smile as he wiped his hands and then the tablecloth.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, leave it be,¡± Eileen said without any reproachful intention, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it later. But if you don¡¯t start appreciating the white soup I made, I might just get upset.¡±


    ¡­


    The dinner finally ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.


    Winters, leaning on the wall, paced to the living room¡ªwhat the maids in the Mitchells¡¯ household used to call ¡°the gentlemen¡¯s room.¡±


    The Mitchell¡¯s recliner was still in the living room, scrubbed clean.


    In the past, after dinner, Winters and Gerard would come here.


    Gerard would open the windows, settle comfortably in the chair, and carefully fill his pipe.


    He would take a deep drag first, then contentedly puff out wisps of smoke.


    Winters didn¡¯t smoke, but he enjoyed the feeling of lying down idle after a full meal.


    Sometimes other guests came: Gerard¡¯s old buddies, the two priests from the church, other estate owners¡­


    After Pierre¡¯s name was entered into the guestbook, Gerard even began to allow his son to join in the ¡°gentlemen¡¯s time.¡±


    But now, the room was empty, save for a few recliners and Winters.


    Winters sighed, opened the window, and slowly lay down on the chair.


    He was so full that he even felt a twinge of guilt.


    Because his men were still subsisting on coarse black bread¡ªand not even enough of it¡ªwhile he had enjoyed a sumptuous meal at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Ever since he had recovered his old unit, he had always eaten with the troops.


    Whatever the militia ate, he ate the same.


    Talking about sharing in hardships was easy to do but hard to practice.

 Chapter 586 03-25 - 586 6 Reunion_3

    ?Chapter 586: Chapter 6 Reunion_3 Chapter 586: Chapter 6 Reunion_3 The initial passion was soon ground down by the bran scraps in the bread, and after that it was all about persistence.


    But Winters held on. If soldiers could eat it, he saw no reason why he couldn¡¯t.


    Gradually, he adapted to the true face of this world, learning to chew and swallow whole pieces of bran without spitting them out.


    Still, he especially missed Berlion, the blacksmith with a special ability to make unappetizing ingredients taste delicious.


    Whereas most people only had the ability to make unappetizing food even worse.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but consider, ¡°Should there be a separate department set up just for preparing food?¡±


    But then again, that would make the army¡¯s organization bloated.


    ...


    The old marshal¡¯s military reform, a major part of it, was about subtracting from the army: eliminating attendants, getting rid of all unnecessary auxiliary soldiers, and lightening the burden on the baggage trains.


    Soldiers were responsible for carrying tents, military gear, and preparing food, and even without auxiliaries, the army would not lose its combat effectiveness.


    So Winters was undecided.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s worth a try,¡± he thought. ¡°After all, with only three arrows left, a mistake can still be corrected.¡±


    As he mused on his recliner, Scarlett quietly entered the living room.


    ¡°Will you be staying the night?¡± asked Madam Michel, her cheeks flushing slightly. ¡°Your room is all set.¡±


    Winters had been staying with the troops during this time.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°No need to trouble yourself, I¡¯ll stay at the barracks in town.¡±


    Scarlett nodded without insisting, but she didn¡¯t leave either.


    She boldly sat next to Winters, looking into his eyes and said, ¡°Botayun should give birth to a foal by the third or fourth week of August.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Scarlett¡¯s gaze shifted to Winters¡¯ body, making idle chat, ¡°Do you know why she¡¯s called Botayun?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.


    Scarlett had grown from the shy, timid little Tess, who could hardly speak, into Lady Michel.


    He felt a brotherly affection for Pierre, and looking at Scarlett, he naturally saw her as a little sister, always able to see Ella¡¯s shadow.


    But he suddenly realized that she was not his blood sister; Scarlett was not Ella, and her demeanor had even become more mature, resilient, and independent than Ella seemed¡­


    Winters¡¯ body language betrayed him; he subconsciously recoiled in the direction away from Scarlett.


    All this time, he had actually been projecting Ella onto Scarlett.


    For siblings who had grown up freely together, even the slightest thought of desire between a man and a woman can make one feel uncontrollably nauseous.


    Ever since he realized that Scarlett had become a lady, Winters started to feel this nausea.


    Scarlett eyed Winters¡¯ body, ¡°In Dusan tradition, horses are named after their coat colors. ¡®Botay¡¯ was an ancient noble rank. ¡®Botayun¡¯ means a good horse as white as clouds.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Named after coat color? The Herders do the same,¡± Winters coughed lightly, retreating, ¡°Where did you learn these things?¡±


    ¡°Stories my father told me¡­¡± Scarlett leaned forward slightly, ¡°Stay here tonight.¡±


    Winters shook his head frantically.


    ¡°Then here!¡± Scarlett, biting her lower lip, suddenly stood up.


    ¡°What¡­ what are you doing?¡± Winters broke out in a sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to¡­¡± Scarlett grabbed Winters¡¯ trouser leg, slipping off her measuring tape from her wrist, ¡°¡­take your measurements.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Winters breathed a sigh of relief, then cried out in alarm, ¡°Even for measurements, no way!¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes blinked repeatedly.


    Winters earnestly explained, ¡°I don¡¯t need clothes, I¡¯ve troubled the Michel estate too much already, it really isn¡¯t dignified to trouble you further¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I want to sew clothes for you.¡±


    ¡°No, really, it¡¯s not okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll learn the tailoring skills.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about whether you can or can¡¯t¡­¡±


    No matter what Scarlett said, Winters was adamantly refusing.


    Suddenly, Scarlett¡¯s nose turned sour, and she started crying on the recliner.


    If there was anything in the world that could scare Winters, it was surely a lady¡¯s tears.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Scarlett sobbed, ¡°Why do you always reject me? Am I that bad? I¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Winters fumbled, attempting to reason, ¡°You feel this way about me¡­ it¡¯s just because Wolf Town is so isolated, and I¡¯m a fresh face. As you grow up, once you step outside Wolf Town, you¡¯ll meet more, better men, each more gentle and considerate than me¡­¡±


    Scarlett wept even harder, ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m fickle, liking everyone I meet? I¡¯m not! I! Am! Not!¡±


    Winters¡¯ attempts to placate Madam Michel only ended up causing her more harm.


    ¡°I have a fianc¨¦e,¡± Winters sighed softly, telling Scarlett, ¡°She¡¯s still waiting for me.¡±


    This was a sufficient reason, but the first half of it was a lie, because Anna had not engaged Winters.


    The second half might have been a lie before but was even more so now, because Anna would no longer wait for him; he had deeply hurt Anna¡¯s heart.


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes had swollen from crying, ¡°Your fianc¨¦e is in the distant lands, but I am right in front of you. I can become your fianc¨¦e too, I¡¯m willing to take you away.¡±

 Chapter 587 03-25 - 587 6 Reunion_4

    ?Chapter 587: Chapter 6 Reunion_4 Chapter 587: Chapter 6 Reunion_4 Winters was at a loss for words.


    After a long silence, as the sobs gradually weakened, Winters took out a handkerchief and passed it to Scarlett.


    ¡°Do you really have a fianc¨¦e?¡± Scarlett asked between sobs, ¡°Or are you deceiving me? Fobbing me off?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Winters suddenly felt very sad, and his nose tingled, ¡°I¡¯ll show you her portrait.¡±


    He unclasped the locket and carefully opened it.


    Anna was there, her lips curved into a slight smile.


    He hadn¡¯t opened this locket for a long time because he dared not look Anna in the eyes.


    ...


    Scarlett took the locket from his hands, staring at Anna with her tear-reddened eyes, ¡°She is very beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is very beautiful.¡±


    Winters awkwardly attempted to wipe away Scarlett¡¯s tear streaks.


    ¡°I will grow up to be just as beautiful,¡± Scarlett said with pique.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Winters chuckled bitterly, ¡°No one can surpass her.¡±


    Hearing this, the tears Scarlett had stopped started flowing again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry¡­ please don¡¯t cry¡­¡± Winters was at a loss for words, ¡°I¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the Mitchell estate, and Winters looked alertly toward the source of the noise.


    Heavy footsteps were approaching from the corridor¡ªif Winters was not mistaken, they were those of a man.


    Father Caman¡¯s footsteps were not like this.


    And at this moment, in the Mitchell Manor, there should not be a third man.


    Winters gently wrapped his arms around Scarlett, shielding her behind himself.


    His gaze searched the four walls of the living room; he was looking for a weapon.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The door was kicked open.


    ¡°Over here!¡± a familiar voice shouted; it was Gold, ¡°Milord! Look who I¡¯ve brought!¡±


    A slender figure stepped into the living room.


    Dressed in men¡¯s clothing and wearing a hat, but Winters would not mistake her.


    It was Anna.


    It was Anna Navarre.


    Winters¡¯s pupils dilated sharply, his whole body tensed, he even lost sensation in his limbs.


    Scarlett realized the brave knight beside her was trembling¡ªinvoluntarily trembling.


    Winters looked at Anna, the pure white moonlight buried in his heart softly illuminating him at this moment.


    But why was she so sad? So desperate? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters did not understand.


    And Anna Navarre looked at Mr. Montaigne, at the strange girl with tearful red eyes, at the messy chaise lounge, at Mr. Montaigne holding the strange girl¡¯s arms.


    The two of them, as if transcending time and space, were back in the mercenary¡¯s corridor.


    It was still him, still her, he still wore that old uniform, and she was still dressed as a man.


    But everything had changed.


    She had abandoned everything, recklessly coming to the edge of the world.


    Yet this was the outcome.


    Had she not anticipated such a situation? Of course, she had.


    She thought she would be distressed, would leave without a backward glance, would return to Sea Blue, would marry another man, and viciously retaliate against the unfaithful.


    But at this moment, fury was the only thing in her heart. Grief and despair had become fuel for her rage, she was so angry her body shook uncontrollably.


    One word filled her mind, a term she had never uttered¡ª¡±Skank!¡±


    ¡°You, how did you come here?¡± Winters finally regained his senses.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Anna bit her lip almost to bleeding, ¡°I¡¯m! Here! To! Elope! With! You!¡±


    An eerie silence fell upon the small living room.


    A clear and pleasant female voice came from behind Anna, ¡°Hmph, where is the famous Mr. M? I¡­¡±


    Another girl, similarly dressed in men¡¯s attire, resembling Anna but even more radiant, peeked her head out from over Anna¡¯s shoulder.


    Seeing the scene in the living room, her smile vanished instantly.


    Without a word, she took Anna¡¯s right hand and attempted to leave.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Winters stepped forward and grabbed Anna¡¯s left hand. He had an epiphany, but was at a loss for words, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think!¡±


    The unfamiliar girl glared, ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°With the naked eye you see not the truth.¡± Winters ignored her, looking straight into Anna¡¯s eyes. He could never let Anna leave like this.


    Scarlett dried her tears and walked gracefully toward the Navarre sisters, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The unfamiliar girl became even angrier.


    Suddenly, another commotion erupted from the Navarre Manor.


    This time, the noise was even more urgent, more dangerous.


    There weren¡¯t just heavy footsteps, but also the neighing of warhorses, the clinking of spur against the floor, and the sound of swords slapping against clothing.


    ¡°Scouts!¡± Pierre burst into the Mitchell Manor, with Anglu and Vashka following behind.


    Pierre yelled as he entered, looking for Winters, ¡°The scouts! From Revodan!¡±


    Everything was converging at once!


    Winters clenched his teeth, took Anna¡¯s hand, and kissed it gently.


    His eyes wide with an intensity as if he wished to tear out his heart and show it to Anna, his gaze entwined with hers, ¡°Wait for me to return!¡±


    Anna didn¡¯t speak, merely gave a slight nod.


    ¡°Gold!¡± Winters shouted the name of the person responsible for the mess.


    The old pirate, realizing he caused a blunder, shuddered, ¡°Milord?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who brought them here! Take care of them! No one leaves!¡± Winters commanded.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters took the horse-sword handed to him by Pierre and strode to the door:


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! To meet Revodan¡¯s scouts!¡±


    (End of Chapter)


    ¡­


    Special Document: ¡°Letters Received by Lady Navarre¡±


    Material: Parchment


    At the top is a line of beautiful cursive


    A: Sorry, Mother, I have to take a long trip. Your loving daughter.


    Below are several crooked letters.


    K: I¡¯m coming too!

 Chapter 588 03-25 - 588 7 The Temple

    ?Chapter 588: Chapter 7: The Temple Chapter 588: Chapter 7: The Temple At the crack of dawn, the labor convicts of Wolf Town were brought to the ruins of the church, where they cleared the debris under the supervision of the militia.


    The militia were responsible not only for oversight but also participated in the reconstruction work, handling some of the lighter tasks.


    The charcoal mud and black ash had to be shoveled away, the charred wood cleared, and any usable slates or bricks had to be picked out and taken to the river to be washed clean.


    Wolf Town was very small, with so few buildings that they could be counted on one hand.


    The church became abuzz with activity; the town center instantly resembling a bustling construction site.


    The construction of a church was a grand event wherever it took place, and for many believers, it was even more sacred and glorious than constructing water conservancies or laying down roads.


    Thus, everyone worked exceptionally hard, even the ¡°slave laborers¡± who were forced to toil.


    ...


    However, on such a significant occasion, Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, was nowhere to be seen.


    The onsite commander was his deputy, Mr. Mitchell.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters was deliberately avoiding the event, but rather because the fire had reached his eyebrows, and he had more urgent matters to attend to.


    As everyone was engrossed in clearing the rubble, just across the street in the Wolf Town barracks, a man with bloodstained clothes was awakened by a bucket of cold water poured over his head.


    ¡°Name, affiliation.¡± The voice questioning him was very indifferent, hardly resembling a question.


    The man hadn¡¯t regained his senses yet, and his eyes were still adjusting to the light.


    Staring at the questioner in a daze, he briskly received a solid punch to the ribs¡ªonly then did he realize there were two more interrogators in the dim room.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Name, affiliation.¡±


    The man gasped in pain, and with difficulty, he spoke in fits and starts, ¡°I am¡­ I am Sergeant Gulaxi from the Revodan garrison¡­¡±


    ¡°Proof.¡± The indifferent voice continued to question him.


    ¡°Sir¡­ how could you possibly not recognize me?¡±


    The lighting was poor, but Gulaxi could still make out that the other person was wearing a military uniform.


    In fact, he had already recognized the uniform during the skirmish last night.


    Most importantly, after over a decade in the military, Gulaxi could identify the other¡¯s tone, attitude, accent, and demeanor at a glance.


    Having lived for years in The Federated Provinces, the speech of orthodox military officers unconsciously carried a slight accent from the mountain front, something that couldn¡¯t be faked.


    Even Gulaxi hadn¡¯t realized this point; he just knew the other person¡¯s way of speaking was that of a military ¡°intonation.¡±


    ¡°Clothes mean nothing.¡± The officer was unmoved: ¡°Bandits can wear military armor too. Who is the commander of the Revodan garrison?¡±


    A glimmer of hope ignited in Gulaxi¡¯s heart. If the other person wasn¡¯t a bandit, then there was a chance for survival, ¡°It has been Major Ronald, always has been.¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°And Captain Apel! Lieutenant Akos! Lieutenant Alec!¡±


    ¡°Affiliation.¡±


    Gulaxi desperately reported every piece of information that could prove his identity, ¡°Revodan garrison military police squad, my name is Gulaxi, many people know me¡­¡±


    The questioner gestured with a hand, and another person gave Gulaxi a vicious punch.


    Gulaxi almost cramped with pain, and this further cemented his certainty: the other was an officer. A legitimate one, not a counterfeit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask, you¡¯ll answer.¡±


    Gulaxi nodded frantically.


    ¡°You¡¯re military police.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Gulaxi dared not speak further.


    ¡°You¡¯re military police. Why were you running?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Gulaxi was a bit aggrieved, cautiously stating, ¡°You were chasing first, that¡¯s why I ran¡­¡±


    After saying this, Gulaxi involuntarily braced for another punch.


    The anticipated punch never came.


    Instead, the voice continued to ask, ¡°You were skulking around Wolf Town, spying. Why wouldn¡¯t I chase you?¡±


    Gulaxi faintly realized that the other person was actually easy to talk to.


    So, he spilled everything he could, ¡°I wasn¡¯t spying on you, honestly, believe me. More than twenty days ago, a conscription team was robbed, the escort fled back to Revodan, and Major Ronald ordered us to come and investigate. I followed the trail here, saw the town was building houses, and out of curiosity, I wanted to take a closer look¡­ Now that no one¡¯s building anymore, I was simply bemused¡­¡±


    ¡°Us?¡±


    ¡°There have been several grain looting incidents in Iron Peak County these past two months. The Colonel sent out the entire military police squad. We go wherever there¡¯s a case to investigate¡­ It¡¯s all a misunderstanding¡­¡±


    The questioner cut off Gulaxi, ¡°Who does Revodan currently take orders from?¡±


    Gulaxi hesitated for a moment, then quietly answered, ¡°From the Corps, Maplestone City, General Adams.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The questioner stood up, delivering his verdict unhurriedly, ¡°You remain a prisoner for now, held in solitary. I¡¯ll make a trip to Revodan, and once your identity is verified, you can go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Gulaxi, relieved to have kept his life, was too delighted to care about anything else; imprisonment was a trivial matter in comparison.


    Winters left the shack and walked towards the command tent, with Samukin following behind him.


    ¡°Are you really going to Revodan, my lord?¡± Samukin asked anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you.¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters smiled and explained to Samukin the rationale behind his decision, ¡°Whether I go to Revodan or not, we need to stabilize him first. Give him a bit of hope, or else he will certainly try to escape.¡±


    ¡°Then why not just kill him?¡± Samukin asked as if it were the most natural question.


    ¡°He knows something. We¡¯ll keep him for now, he might be useful,¡± Winters explained, ¡°The guy named Ivan is also locked up.¡±


    In fact, a soldier of such rank would know very limited information. Winters wasn¡¯t keen on wanton killing.

 Chapter 589 03-25 - 589 7 The Temple_2

    ?Chapter 589: Chapter 7: The Temple_2 Chapter 589: Chapter 7: The Temple_2 ¡°Then¡­ should we put them to work?¡± Samujin asked.


    A total of six military police cavalrymen had arrived, exactly one tent of cavalry.


    However, their combat ability was worrying. During the battle and chase, three were killed on the spot, and the rest did not escape; they all became prisoners.


    On the way back to Wolf Town, the one who was seriously injured also died, leaving only Gulaxi and another slightly injured military policeman.


    Winters was somewhat troubled, ¡°I don¡¯t want them to come into contact with others.¡±


    ¡°Just keeping them locked up without letting them work,¡± Samujin said with some displeasure, ¡°isn¡¯t that a complete waste of food? I think it would be better to kill them.¡±


    The sensation of hunger had seeped into the marrow of Wolf Town¡¯s militia. After all, even the militia had to work and hunt to have something to eat, and they were still not full.


    ...


    Prisoners, on the other hand, could sit idle, waiting for food to be brought to them¡ªalthough there were only two bowls of wheat porridge a day, it still felt somewhat unfair.


    Looking at Samujin¡¯s naive and unsophisticated face, Winters felt a pang of emotion.


    Less than a year ago, Samujin Priskin was a simple and honest farmer.


    He worked from sunrise to sunset, went to church to worship on weekends, and one day in the future he would marry, have children, and eventually be buried in Wolf Town¡¯s cemetery by his descendants.


    But now, Samujin could very naturally say something like, ¡°If they can¡¯t work, I think it would be better to kill them.¡±


    And it sounded very convincing; even Winters had thought of simply killing them all¡ªhe was very hungry, too.


    In times of chaos, human lives are indeed as insignificant as grass.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    ¡°No,¡± Winters patted Samujin¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We are not bandits; we are an army. Even if we have to kill, we must do it by the book, in broad daylight. The lack of food isn¡¯t a reason enough for the death penalty, much less does it stand up to scrutiny. Anyway, there are only three of them, just keep them locked up for now.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Samujin nodded heavily.


    He didn¡¯t quite understand the Centurion¡¯s meaning, but whatever the Centurion said, he would do without any hesitation.


    Winters was struck with inspiration and said with a smile, ¡°Since we can¡¯t give them iron tools, let¡¯s give them a few bundles of straw and tree branches. Have them weave baskets and straw sandals; no work, no food. If we have to go saw logs and split wood, and they get to eat for free, it¡¯s indeed very unfair.¡±


    Samujin also smiled, revealing a row of uneven teeth, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get it done.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t set the target too high on the first day,¡± Winters advised with a smile, ¡°Take it step by step, gradually build up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, understood, don¡¯t worry,¡± Samujin¡¯s eyes curved into crescents as he happily agreed.


    Once Samujin had gone, Winters was left alone in the large tent.


    His mind was filled with many unrelated yet connected matters that needed to be sorted out one by one.


    A small frontier town that hasn¡¯t seen a new face in months suddenly had three groups of people coming in one day¡ªmore precisely, four groups.


    Each group, taken alone, was enough to give Winters a headache for a long time, yet fate is so merciless that not only had they come, but they all converged at once.


    The most pressing matter was Revodan¡¯s cavalry scouts, who had chased down to Wolf Town from the garrison, fortunately discovered by sentries arranged by Winters.


    There was first a swift battle, followed by a relentless pursuit through the night; in the end, Winters resolved all six cavalry scouts without letting a single one escape.


    Through interrogation, and coupled with previously fragmented information, Winters deduced two points:


    First, the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s political stance was ambiguous, neither choosing the Blue Rose nor the Red Rose. Moreover, the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province remained united under the banner of the New Reclamation Legion;


    According to the news Winters had heard, three forces had previously entered the Newly Reclaimed Land to seize grain and harvest wheat fields. Winters was puzzled at the time, wondering who the third party was¡ªapart from the Red and Blue Roses. Now it seemed, it was General Adams¡¯s New Reclamation Legion.


    Second, Revodan had not noticed the unusual activities in Wolfton and didn¡¯t even know he was still alive, naturally meaning there were no plans to attack Wolf Town¡ªfor now.


    Winters¡¯s actions had been very cautious. Apart from ¡°ambushing the grain requisition team,¡± everything he did did not exceed the ¡°Garrison Officer¡¯s¡± authority and responsibility.


    Militia?


    The Garrison Officer has the right to summon the militia.


    Suppress bandits?


    The Garrison Officer is supposed to maintain law and order, combat banditry.


    Subject bandits to hard labor? Publicly try bandits?


    The local judicial power is also in the Garrison Officer¡¯s hands.


    Cross-border law enforcement?


    Revodan really can¡¯t do much about that. To be involved, Blackwater Town would first need to lodge an accusation, yet Blackwater is more than pleased to see it.


    In the lands controlled by the Paratu military, the Garrison Officer holds a status akin to that of a feudal lord, which is no exaggeration.


    Based on what Winters has done, Revodan shouldn¡¯t punish him, but rather give him a one-ton medal¡ªif that excludes hijacking the grain carts.


    For now, the only point of conflict between Winters and Revodan is this: Revodan wants grain, and Winters doesn¡¯t want to give it, for if he does, the common people will have no way to survive.


    There¡¯s also another subtle point of conflict that doesn¡¯t provoke direct confrontation: the land of the Paratu military which he had distributed to the refugee peasants for cultivation.


    As for when Revodan might discover that the grain requisition party¡¯s robbery was related to Wolf Town?


    Winters believed it was only a matter of time.


    The convoy traveled on the main road; it was impossible not to leave some trace, and the villages along the way were all witnesses. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It¡¯s just that Wolf Town is so remote and Winters was careful in his ¡°crime,¡± so it has not been exposed so far.


    Moreover, it is the time of year when the old harvest is consumed and the new has not yet come in, Revodan has not sent another grain requisition team to Wolf Town, avoiding a second confrontation.

 Chapter 590 03-25 - 590 7 The Temple_3

    ?Chapter 590: Chapter 7: The Temple_3 Chapter 590: Chapter 7: The Temple_3 Moreover, according to the testimony of that gendarme sergeant, the grain requisition team had been robbed not just once, but other cases had distracted Revodan¡¯s attention.


    However, Winters had met the officers stationed at Revodan.


    He had visited Major Ronald¡¯s home, and Captain Apel, along with other seniors, had warmly entertained him.


    Those alumni were all intelligent people who had received the same education and training as him.


    Sooner or later, they would notice something unusual about Wolf Town.


    They might pretend to be confused, they might want to lightly skim over it, or they might strike with a heavy blow¡ªWinters didn¡¯t know what to expect.


    But Winters already had some plans, thanks to Father Caman.


    ...


    The information Caman brought back was extremely valuable; he had been with the remnants of the Expeditionary Force all this time, so¡­ Winters had to make a trip to Revodan.


    As for Father Caman¡¯s church, for now, it seemed slightly more important than ¡°finding some lactation food for the hunting dogs at Mitchell¡¯s,¡± but much less than ¡°the charcoal at the smithy is not enough to burn,¡± so Winters left Pierre in charge of it.


    Just as he thought of Pierre, Pierre came.


    ¡°Something¡¯s needed at the church,¡± Pierre said curtly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters said indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just setting up a wooden shed for Caman to make do?¡±


    Pierre showed a hint of a smile, ¡°The foundation-laying ceremony still requires your presence.¡±


    The camp and the original site of the church were separated by a dirt road, not even twenty meters apart.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Winters and Pierre quickly arrived at the construction site.


    ¡°The first wooden stake has to be driven down by you,¡± Pierre scratched his head: ¡°We aren¡¯t qualified.¡±


    Winters had nothing to say, so he took the mallet and gave the ¡°first wooden stake¡± a hearty whack.


    ¡°Done!¡± Winters discarded the mallet and dusted off his hands, ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    The entire foundation-laying ceremony took less than ten seconds to conclude.


    The militiamen and convict laborers first froze for a moment, then picked up their tools and went back to work. The silent ruins of the old church again buzzed with noise.


    ¡°Ha, if old Anthony knew it was me, a magician, who hammered down the first stake of his church,¡± Winters suddenly found it ironic, ¡°I wonder what he would think.¡±


    This time it was Pierre¡¯s turn to be speechless.


    ¡°I was just thinking of setting up a wooden shed, but it seems there really is an issue,¡± Winters said as he looked at the charred stone walls of the church. ¡°Can the mortar and plaster that have been through the fire still be used?¡±


    The question stumped Pierre, who said with a wry smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know, we need to ask a stonemason about that.¡±


    The old church of Wolf Town comprised two parts, the older stone structure and the recently added timber structure.


    After the fire, the timber had burned away, leaving only the stone walls whose age was unknown; even the plaster and murals on the wall surfaces had been burned off completely.


    ¡°Does Wolf Town have a stonemason?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Wolf Town doesn¡¯t,¡± Pierre shook his head: ¡°We need to go to Revodan, we always ask for stonemasons from there to build big houses.¡±


    A stonemason wasn¡¯t just a stonemason but also an architect and contractor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just put up a wooden shed top for Caman¡¯s use for now,¡± Winters sighed: ¡°Be careful, and let me know immediately if you see any cracks forming on the wall.¡±


    Winters was not in the mood to draw up plans for Caman¡¯s church at the moment; thus, the church went from ¡°nice and pretty¡± to being ¡°an improvised wooden shed top atop the old walls.¡±


    Winters, looking at the ¡°convict laborers¡± working hard on the reconstruction of the church, suddenly had an idea.


    He called out softly, ¡°Pierre?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Pierre slightly cocked his head.


    ¡°Tell me, is hope important or not?¡±


    ¡°It should¡­ be very important,¡± Pierre responded.


    ¡°Very important; one needs hope to survive.¡± Winters sighed, ¡°We also have to give these convicts a bit of hope. Otherwise, they are just scraping by, compelled to labor, and they won¡¯t put in much effort.¡±


    ¡°But these convicts are all from¡­ the Saint Gis Valley criminal gangs,¡± Pierre said with some difficulty.


    The crimes committed by the gangs from Saint Gis Valley were too heinous. If it had been up to the old Winters, all of these bandits would have been executed without exception. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was precisely because he chose to make a public example by executing them that these accomplices were allowed to live.


    ¡°I¡¯m not considering this for their benefit, but for ours. If they work hard, it¡¯s to our advantage,¡± Winters resolved, ¡°We need to give them a glimmer of hope by defining their punishment with a number. Let¡¯s say a thousand days¡ªif they complete a thousand days, we set them free.¡±


    Pierre always understood quickly. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he pondered, ¡°We also need a standard to assess their efforts and distinguish the dedicated from the slackers. Say, a convict works hard for eight hundred days, then we set them free. If someone doesn¡¯t work hard and just idles for a thousand days, then they still owe us a thousand days.¡±


    ¡°Right! Well said. We¡¯ll gather everyone for a meeting tonight to discuss it in detail,¡± Winters thought for a moment and added, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like Lieutenant Mason¡¯s convict ranch? Ha, we need to give these ¡®days¡¯ a name, how about ¡®workdays¡¯?¡±


    Pierre mused, ¡°Workdays isn¡¯t precise; sometimes there are ten-hour days, sometimes just six. Why not get more specific with hours, call them ¡®work hours¡¯? Any convict who completes the prescribed work hours can regain their freedom¡ªprovided they don¡¯t just run out the clock.¡±


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s call them work hours,¡± Winters laughed, clearly excited: ¡°I¡¯ll return to my tent now, write this down, and start drafting a few rules.¡±


    ¡°Please wait,¡± Pierre said with a curious expression, ¡°Sir, did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°Forget what?¡±


    Slowly, Pierre said, ¡°My family¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters exclaimed, realizing his oversight.


    He had left the previous night, chasing Revodan scouts until the early morning light. After returning, he went straight into interrogating the two captives, all the way up to the present.


    Anna was still waiting for him at the Mitchell estate!

 Chapter 591 03-25 - 591 8 Moonlight

    ?Chapter 591: Chapter 8 Moonlight Chapter 591: Chapter 8 Moonlight In the guest room of the Mitchell estate, Catherine paced restlessly between the window and the door, unable to sit still for a moment.


    ¡°Alright now,¡± Anna, originally reading a letter, could no longer continue due to the disturbance, pulled her sister back onto the bed, ¡°Sit quietly for a little while.¡±


    Lady Navarre was so angry that she had insomnia all night, fervently complaining, ¡°He didn¡¯t say a word, gave no explanation, just left two ladies behind and went off, making us wait all night long! And he¡¯s still not back! How rude! Uncouth! Barbarian!¡±


    Anna held the letter in her hand, her expression somewhat sorrowful, ¡°He must have had something very important to deal with.¡±


    ¡­


    There was no need for Winters to defend himself; the misunderstanding was already cleared up.


    Actually, there wasn¡¯t much of a misunderstanding to speak of, as there were neither private feelings nor a tendency to develop a romantic relationship between Winters and Scarlett.


    ...


    Moreover, everyone in the Mitchell estate knew that ¡°the Montaigne Garrison Officer had a fianc¨¦e.¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although Anna¡¯s sudden visit was surprising to everyone, her presence was not unexpected.


    Everyone naturally accepted the fact that Miss Navarre was ¡°the Garrison Officer¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡±


    For her part, Anna did not bother to clarify the matter¡ªperhaps out of a sense of duty to protect her domain, and some complex, subtle emotions.


    After the misunderstanding was clarified, even Catherine no longer insisted on ¡°returning to Sea Blue right away,¡± but she was still unhappy.


    Mrs. Mitchell had prepared two guest rooms for the ladies¡¯ rest, but Catherine adamantly requested only one.


    The Navarre sisters thus lay side by side on a single bed, from nightfall through to the morning.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    ¡­


    Anna clutched the letter, sighed, and looked out the window.


    Catherine often enjoyed teasing her sister. Seeing Anna¡¯s restless demeanor, she immediately sat beside her, wrapped her arms around her waist, rested her head on her sister¡¯s shoulder, and exhaled into Anna¡¯s ear:


    ¡°That liar of a man, proclaiming engagement to you without consent, damaging a lady¡¯s reputation without a second thought. If this news gets back to Vineta, who would marry you then, Miss Fianc¨¦e?¡±


    Catherine elongated the words ¡°Miss Fianc¨¦e,¡± deliberately blowing warm, moist breath into Anna¡¯s ear.


    Typically, such an act would result at the very least in a scolding from the older sister, or at worst a sound beating.


    But at this moment, Anna showed no reaction whatsoever.


    ¡°You can¡¯t really blame him. Frontier women are warm and forthright; if I were him, I¡¯d invent a fianc¨¦e too,¡± Anna said softly, looking at the tips of her shoes, ¡°Besides, having run away from home to Paratu without a care, I¡¯m already not fit to marry anyone else¡­¡±


    When the anticipated response did not materialise, Catherine was both irritated and amused.


    She furrowed her eyebrows slightly and flopped onto her sister, continuing her tirade against Mr. M, ¡°He¡¯s just a man; what¡¯s so good about him? He¡¯s neither handsome nor dashing, falling far short of the courteous military men of Sea Blue.¡±


    Anna¡¯s brows knitted faintly as she quietly explained, ¡°He is a bit handsome; he¡­ has become a lot thinner, almost unrecognizable. He¡¯s quite different from when I¡­ when I last saw him.¡±


    ¡°Miss Navarre, listen to yourself,¡± Catherine said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re already defending him! Weren¡¯t you here to demand an explanation? Where has that righteous indignation gone now?¡±


    Anna leaned on her forehead and murmured, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want an explanation anymore.¡±


    ¡­


    Upon receiving the letter brought back by Gold, Anna¡¯s first reaction was joy, knowing that Winters was still alive. But following that joy, anger seeped into her heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me anymore.¡±


    What did that mean?


    Such a casual line invalidated all her feelings, her waiting, everything.


    A bold idea sprung into Anna¡¯s mind, leaving her thrilled to the point of trembling and scared to the core, ¡°I¡¯m going to find him.¡±


    Thus, Anna, temporarily residing in St. Bino Monastery, promptly began to prepare.


    Lady Navarre, the eldest daughter, was decisive in her actions. She first connected with the fortunate Gold, and then learned that people were headed to Wolf Town to search for Winters, which presented an opportunity for protection.


    No matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t keep it a secret from her sister who stayed by her side.


    Catherine swiftly uncovered her plans, but to Anna¡¯s surprise, Catherine readily agreed not to inform their mother on one condition: she had to be taken along.


    ¡°The monastery is so boring! I was almost bored to death!¡± Upon learning of their elopement, Catherine was more excited than Anna, ¡°How could you keep such a fun adventure to yourself? Take me with you, I¡¯m also curious about what sort of man Mr. M is, to have you so enchanted.¡±


    Under the relentless cajoling and intimidation of her sister, Anna had no choice but to embark on the journey with Catherine.


    Pretending to go on a pilgrimage to St. Bino¡¯s tomb, they left St. Bino Monastery; St. Bino town was en route from Vineta to Paratu and incidentally, where Gold had mentioned resting.


    In St. Bino town, the Navarre sisters met up with those heading for Paratu to find Winters.


    The two ladies slipped away from St. Bino church quietly, leaving behind a letter and a mess that would leave Lady Navarre gasping for air, following their target until they revealed themselves as ¡°the fianc¨¦e¡± when they were discovered.


    By then, they were too far from Sea Blue, and Anna¡¯s will was too firm, even calmly stating, ¡°My reputation is already ruined, if you don¡¯t take me, I¡¯ll have no choice but to take my own life.¡±

 Chapter 592 03-25 - 592 8 Moonlight_2

    ?Chapter 592: Chapter 8 Moonlight_2 Chapter 592: Chapter 8 Moonlight_2 However, the other party was not adept at dealing with women, so he had no choice but to bring along the two ladies and escort them all the way to Wolf Town.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so silly!¡± Catherine hugged her sister¡¯s waist, ¡°Why are you so easy to talk to?¡±


    Anna remained silent, and the room fell quiet.


    Seeing that her sister wasn¡¯t speaking, Catherine had no choice but to continue whisking her complaints and acting coquettishly: ¡°My legs, my beautiful legs, got all chafed! Will it scar? Will they become rough? My back hurts too, and so do my shoulders, and my tailbone¡­¡±


    The two had initially traveled by carriage. After entering the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, the road became rough, and the carriage broke an axle. The ladies had to ride horses, which was indeed exhausting.


    Hearing her sister¡¯s grievances, Anna was unmoved but revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who wanted to come along?¡±


    ...


    Catherine, blushing with shame, bit her sister¡¯s shoulder hard.


    This finally returned them to their usual manner of interacting, with Catherine being pinned down on the bed and taught a stern lesson, screaming and hollering nonstop.


    After they were both completely worn out, Catherine, panting, spoke to Anna in a faint voice, ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve actually come to understand a little.¡±


    ¡°Understand what?¡±


    ¡°I understand why you fell for Mr. M.¡± Catherine pursed her lips and smiled, ¡°Although you¡¯re not as pretty as me, you still have a bit of an eye for men, after all, you¡¯re our mother¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I originally thought Mr. M wasn¡¯t anything special. But after seeing him last night, I realized he has a certain demeanor¡­ different from the gentlemen of Sea Blue¡­ How do I describe it?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    Anna, startled, felt a surge of panic, ¡°I thought you really disliked him?¡±


    ¡°Seeing is believing. I dislike him because he bullied you. But now, I also have a bit of appreciation for him,¡± Catherine observed as her sister¡¯s ears gradually turned red, knowing she was in control of her sister¡¯s emotions. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, she hugged her sister¡¯s waist and elongated her voice, breathing out as softly as an orchid, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t compete with you for a man.¡±


    Anna¡¯s face turned completely red, and she pushed her sister away with effort, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡±


    Catherine was relentless, continuing to cling to her sister and confidently said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this time I¡¯ll let you off.¡±


    ¡°Get away from me!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Catherine changed her tone, puffing up and saying angrily, ¡°We mustn¡¯t let that little flirt Paratu laugh at us for fighting over a Mr. M! Humph, the lowlife from the border! She has no dignity at all! Not sparing even a betrothed man! We are the distinguished daughters of the Vineta family, how could we lose to her!¡±


    Having said that, Catherine laughed joyfully, her laughter clear and pleasant.


    Anna had intended to scold Catherine, but upon hearing the word ¡°little flirt,¡± she couldn¡¯t help but laugh along.


    The two of them ended up lying on the bed, laughing and frolicking, when suddenly there came an urgent ¡°thudding¡± sound from the stairs.


    Someone was coming upstairs.


    Anna and Catherine exchanged a glance, quickly got up, and hastened to tidy up their hair and clothes that had been disheveled during their roughhousing.


    The footsteps stopped at the door.


    What followed was three knocks.


    The knocker seemed eager yet dared not be too impatient, for fear that knocking too hard might displease the person inside.


    ¡°Lady Navarre and Lady Navarre.¡± A male voice came from outside the door, ¡°May I come in?¡±


    It was Mr. M.


    Catherine straightened her body, reined in her laughter, and did not look at all like someone who had just recklessly said ¡°little flirt.¡± Instead, her demeanor carried a trace of Ellen Mitchell.


    ¡°Please come in,¡± Catherine replied steadily.


    Winters pushed the door open, and instead of finding the sisters in disarray on the bed, he was greeted by two respectable ladies.


    His gaze was fixed on Anna¡¯s eyelashes, pencil tip, and lips, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you wait so long.¡±


    ¡°No, you are mistaken,¡± Catherine said with a covered smile, not losing her courtesy, ¡°We weren¡¯t waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°I am truly sorry,¡± Winters said, growing more apprehensive.


    Anna subtly pinched the tender flesh on her sister¡¯s lower back.


    ¡°As the protector and guardian of Lady Navarre, I shall give you two space for a private conversation,¡± Catherine said as she rose elegantly, her expression solemn as the Goddess of Justice, emanating an inviolate air.


    Her gaze seemed to see through Winters to his core, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, even though my sister seeks no recompense, you should be aware of the trials she endured to get here. So, I hope you will respect her and not make any offensive moves.¡±


    Winters nodded vigorously, filled with guilt.


    ¡°I will leave now.¡± Catherine gave Anna a meaningful look and gracefully headed towards the door.


    ¡°Please take your time,¡± Winters stood respectfully.


    The door closed slowly, and the narrow space was left only with a pair of lovers who had once been separated by thousands of miles and yearned for each other.


    But neither knew what to say.


    Anna was still the same, unmarked by time on her face, instead taking on an added air of mature beauty.


    She still had that carefree, naive, and cheerful beauty.


    Winters had changed, though¡ªhammered in spirit and body, he was full of scars.


    The last time they met, they had been very close¡ªso close that Winters could weep on Anna¡¯s shoulder, and Anna would ask no questions.


    But now Winters couldn¡¯t do that anymore; he wanted to embrace Anna tightly, but he was unable to.


    An invisible wall separated them, a spiritual gap more difficult to bridge than the physical distance.

 Chapter 593 03-25 - 593 8 Moonlight_3

    ?Chapter 593: Chapter 8 Moonlight_3 Chapter 593: Chapter 8 Moonlight_3 Winters pulled out a chair, intending to sit across from Anna.


    ¡°No.¡± Anna looked down, her voice soft and calm, ¡°You sit over here.¡±


    Winters awkwardly sat down on the bed, beside Anna.


    They were a little distance apart, yet so close, close enough for Winters to feel Anna¡¯s body heat, close enough that Winters might have been scorched by the moonlight.


    Anna silently placed her hand between them, and Winters instinctively held onto Anna¡¯s slender hand.


    Anna¡¯s hand was very soft, burning hot. But it was thin, skin and flesh wrapping the bones, without the protection of calluses.


    Winters even worried his hand might scratch Anna¡¯s.


    ...


    Anna felt a sense of barrier too, which surprised and saddened her.


    She had come to her lover¡¯s side, yet it seemed to push the distance between them further.


    But at least they could feel each other, sitting silently, holding each other¡¯s hands.


    Anna broke the silence in a whisper, ¡°How¡¯s your leg? Does it hurt?¡±


    Winters¡¯ left leg was healing quickly, he didn¡¯t need a cane to walk anymore, and his steps were no different from a normal person¡¯s.


    Yet the feeling of strangeness was still there, turning sore and unbearable after walking a few steps, all endured by sheer will.


    That¡¯s why he had grown fond of swimming, for in the water, the pain from his old wound could temporarily ease.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Everyone thought he had completely recovered, back to being the invincible Lieutenant Montaigne of the past.


    Winters neither wished nor wanted to explain, he had thought the pain and anguish were known only to himself.


    He didn¡¯t need to seek solace from others either, obstinately believing doing so was pointless.


    Anna was the first to ask him if it hurt.


    ¡°It hurts.¡± Tears filled Winters¡¯ eyes uncontrollably, ¡°It really hurts, it¡¯s been hurting all the time.¡±


    Anna leaned forward, Winters wanted to stop her.


    But Anna firmly told Winters, ¡°I want to look.¡±


    Winters¡¯ trousers were rolled up bit by bit, revealing the left leg that had been crushed by a horse¡¯s hoof and nearly devoid of any external injuries, leaving only a shallow red mark.


    Anna¡¯s fingertips brushed over that dark red mark, ¡°From the outside, it¡¯s almost impossible to tell there was a wound.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°But on the inside.¡± Anna¡¯s forehead rested on her lover¡¯s knee, gently embracing his left leg, ¡°It must be completely different, right?¡±


    Winters choked back his tears, ¡°Mm.¡±


    Anna let go of the rolled-up trouser leg, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles, and sat back beside Winters.


    This time there was no distance between them, tightly against each other.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to stay here,¡± Winters looked at the tips of Anna¡¯s hair, he didn¡¯t dare look into her eyes, ¡°Iron Peak County will become very unsafe.¡±


    ¡°Your hair is turning white.¡± Anna did not directly respond, she gently encircled her lover, ¡°Shall I pluck some for you?¡±


    Winters lay submissively on Anna¡¯s legs, like a little dog.


    Anna gently stroked the traces of pale white on her lover¡¯s forehead, ¡°This wound still hasn¡¯t healed.¡±


    Feeling the warmth and softness of Anna¡¯s body, Winters softly ¡°hmmed¡± in acknowledgment.


    ¡°It might never heal.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Anna¡¯s fingers ran through her lover¡¯s hair, ¡°Anyway, you were never handsome.¡±


    Winters moved his neck uneasily a few times.


    Feeling her lover¡¯s anxiety, Anna gently plucked out a white hair, ¡°However, you are a little bit handsome¡­ someone said you have a good presence.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Winters nodded.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    The two were clinging to each other, Anna searching for the sporadic white hairs in Winters¡¯ hair.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home? You promised me you¡¯d go home.¡± Anna asked gently.


    Winters was flooded with a myriad of thoughts.


    He thought of the piles of severed limbs outside the medical facility, the sensation of blood splattered on his cheeks and eyes, the faces of the soldiers, the Wolf Town farmers living in despair bringing the few eggs they had to visit him, the massacred girl from St. Giles Valley ¨C not even fourteen years old, the smiling faces of everyone, he thought of many, many things¡­


    But he couldn¡¯t tell Anna, he didn¡¯t know why, he couldn¡¯t speak of it, nor knew where to begin.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know either.¡± Winters answered bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Anna hugged her lover, gently kissing his forehead, ¡°You can tell me slowly later, I¡¯m willing to listen. You can take your whole life to tell me.¡±


    In an instant, Winters¡¯ tears broke through. His body shook, tears dripping onto Anna¡¯s clothes, dampening the fabric.


    Without asking why, Anna just held her lover, quietly shedding tears.


    The two clung to each other and wept, Anna involuntarily hummed a lullaby ¨C one her mother used to hum to her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°Why thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being wonderful,¡± Tears slid down Winters¡¯ face, ¡°It¡¯s really good, you¡¯re even better than I imagined.¡±


    Anna laughed through her tears, playfully tugging at Winters¡¯ hair, ¡°You¡¯re really something else!¡±


    Winters also broke into a smile.


    ¡°What about me?¡± Winters asked with concern, ¡°What did you imagine me to be like?¡±


    Anna lay on Winters¡¯ head, gently swaying, tenderly saying, ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot, and yet many things have not. You¡¯re a little different from the you I remember, but I¡­ I still¡­¡±

 Chapter 594 03-25 - 594 8 Moonlight_4

    ?Chapter 594: Chapter 8 Moonlight_4 Chapter 594: Chapter 8 Moonlight_4 The door was kicked open with a bang, and Catherine stormed into the guest room, ¡°Have you two had enough? What¡¯s so great about sweet nothings? Get to the point already! Kiss her! What are you thinking? And you, he won¡¯t kiss you, so you take the initiative! With that attitude, you still want to defeat Miss Paratu¡­ Little Miss? I¡¯m so mad!¡±


    Winters sat up straight in an instant.


    Anna¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment as she reached out to chastise her sister, but she remembered that her ¡°fianc¨¦¡± was still by her side, and that she shouldn¡¯t lose her composure.


    ¡°Miss Navarre, and Miss Navarre, I have come here with another matter to discuss,¡± Winters coughed lightly and apologized to the two ladies, ¡°I must make a quick trip to Revodan, leaving tonight. Iron Peak County will become very dangerous, so please, if you can, follow them back to Sea Blue.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What? We¡¯ve come all this way, and it hasn¡¯t been a day yet, and you¡¯re off again?¡± Catherine was close to losing her mind with anger, ¡°What are you thinking? Do you really care about my sister? She¡¯s given everything to you! You should cherish it!¡±


    Winters also felt heartbroken, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ really sorry¡­¡±


    Anna took hold of her sister¡¯s hand and gently asked her lover, ¡°When will you be able to come back?¡±


    At her words, Catherine became furiously enraged, her chest heaving dramatically, ¡°Great, you two are standing together now! I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss, Kate.¡± Anna calmly soothed Catherine, ¡°I¡¯m talking about something important.¡±


    ...


    Seeing her sister¡¯s expression, Catherine instinctively quieted down.


    ¡°The soonest would be three or four days, the latest six or seven,¡± Winters resolved himself, speaking with pain, ¡°I hope you will follow them back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Be careful on the road, I will wait for your return.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I have already come, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Once the eldest daughter of Mrs. Navarre had made up her mind, there was nothing that could shake her.


    Winters bit his lip, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need, please tell Mrs. Mitchell and Mr. Mitchell.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    Anna curtsied slightly, ¡°I wish you a safe journey.¡±


    Winters turned and left, not looking back as he walked down the stairs.


    In the Michel residence on the first floor, in the drawing-room, another handsome young man sprawled carelessly on the sofa.


    This handsome young man wasn¡¯t a local from Wolf Town; he was dressed in civilian clothes, but the air of a soldier was unmistakably present.


    His belt was carelessly tossed on a side table, a simple, unadorned sword and a gold-handled, silver-sheathed dagger hung from it.


    ¡°Sigh.¡± When the young man saw Winters coming downstairs, he let out a sigh, ¡°I guess I can¡¯t convince you to come with me, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, senior,¡± Winters bowed respectfully.


    The handsome young man in front of him was none other than Lieutenant Juan, Centurion of the Third [Da Weineta] Legion, a direct subordinate of Antonio and a senior and comrade-in-arms of Winters.


    ¡°I brought twelve good men.¡± Lieutenant Juan asked in a carefree manner, ¡°But I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re pretty tough now; twelve men aren¡¯t enough to drag you away by force, right?¡±


    ¡°Not enough,¡± Winters answered seriously, ¡°At least a company of heavy-armored infantry and additional deployment of a large number of musketeers would be needed. And they could only kill me, there is no way someone could capture me alive.¡±


    Lieutenant Juan propped his feet on Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s cherished side table, smacked his lips and said, ¡°Your father has ordered me to bring you back, and your mother pleaded with tears for me to bring you back. If I return to Sea Blue empty-handed, how am I to explain to them?¡±


    ¡°I will write them a letter, carefully explaining everything. I¡¯m really sorry, senior,¡± Winters bowed his head deeply.


    ¡°What about your little sweetheart?¡±


    ¡°I hope you can take her away.¡±


    ¡°No way, I can¡¯t handle her. In my life, I¡¯ve never seen such a fiery woman,¡± Juan recounted with lingering fear, ¡°Her knife was right at her own throat, and she meant business. If she¡¯s willing to go with me, I¡¯ll naturally escort her. If she¡¯s unwilling, I can¡¯t force her.¡±


    Winters grew even more saddened.


    After sizing up his junior, Lieutenant Juan looked around and sighed, asking, ¡°What¡¯s so good about this miserable place? Is it better than a single street in Sea Blue? Why stay here? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen in love with sheepherding?¡±


    ¡°Senior¡­¡± Winters replied weakly, ¡°Please don¡¯t joke like this. I have sufficient reasons; I can¡¯t leave.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lieutenant Juan stood up, circled Winters, and said in a weird tone, ¡°You¡¯re a captain now! A small lieutenant like me, how could I order a captain around, right?¡±


    ¡°Senior, please don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± Winters became more humble.


    ¡°Alright! You just wait!¡± Lieutenant Juan scoffed, ¡°If I can¡¯t handle you, someone else can. On the way here, I already dispatched a messenger, that person will be arriving soon!¡±


    ¡°Who is coming?¡± Winters perceived a hint of danger.


    ¡°Who?¡± Lieutenant Juan laughed heartily, saying triumphantly, ¡°Your old commanding officer!¡±

 Chapter 595 03-25 - 595 9 Ravines

    ?Chapter 595: Chapter 9 Ravines Chapter 595: Chapter 9 Ravines In the Mitchell¡¯s living room, Winters changed into his tattered lumberjack outfit and asked earnestly, ¡°What do you think? Do I look like a refugee escaping famine?¡±


    Anna shook her head with a smile.


    ¡°How long has it been since this outfit was washed?¡± Catherine evaluated while reclining on a chaise, wrinkling her nose.


    Mrs. Mitchell came into the living room, carrying a set of sparkling, translucent teacups.


    Seeing Mrs. Mitchell approach, Catherine immediately let go of her casual posture, sat up properly, and politely accepted the teacup¡ªas if a mouse had seen a cat.


    It was the same with Lieutenant Juan.


    Accepting the teacup with both hands, Juan sneered at his younger comrade, ¡°Come on! If refugees escaping famine had your physique, I¡¯d pack my bags and flee right now.¡±


    ...


    Juan¡¯s mouth was as venomous as it was slick, and both Anna and Catherine covered their lips to laugh lightly, even Mrs. Mitchell couldn¡¯t help but reveal a hint of a smile.


    Winters was neither fat nor thin, his long-term physical labor had made his body well-proportioned and sturdy¡ªhe hardly looked like a refugee who missed meals.


    ¡°Then should I disguise myself as a mercenary? A guard? A bodyguard?¡± Winters frowned slightly, ¡°Caman said the inspection in Revodan is very strict; besides soldiers, there are only disaster victims. Any other identity might be easily suspected.¡±


    ¡°You are yourself,¡± Anna reminded softly.


    Winters appeared thoughtful.


    ¡°Right, what else?¡± Juan scolded as if berating the less experienced, ¡°You are an officer to begin with, so why pretend to be a refugee? Just put on your uniform, mount a tall steed, and enter the city with confidence¡ªwho would dare to suspect you?¡±


    Winters had used this tactic before, entering Kingsfort through the main gate in uniform.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    But it was a bit risky in Revodan. At Kingsfort, many officers came and went, but in Revodan, there were only a few genuine officers, all with familiar faces.


    ¡°However, I¡¯ll have to adapt to the circumstances when the time comes,¡± thought Winters, and his furrowed brow relaxed, ¡°I¡¯ll take the uniform with me.¡±


    The garrison in Revodan wouldn¡¯t be unaware of where their gendarmes were going.


    From the moment the Wolf Town militia intercepted the gendarmerie scouts, it was only a matter of time before they were exposed to the eyes of Revodan.


    So he had to make a trip to Revodan as soon as possible.


    The time for gathering was always too brief; Winters had only reunited with Anna in the morning and had to depart again in the afternoon.


    When seeing him off, Juan sighed and asked, ¡°Do you want me to accompany you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I brought a guard,¡± Winters replied with a smile, shaking his head.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Juan snorted lightly, ¡°You¡¯re so skilled, what need do you have for me?¡±


    Winters was too weary to parry, ¡°Senior¡­ I didn¡¯t mean that.¡±


    Patting Winters¡¯s horse, Juan unusually serious, cautioned, ¡°Listen, be careful in everything. Don¡¯t capsize in a ditch and die in Revodan. I went to great lengths to find you alive; I don¡¯t want to bring a corpse back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured.¡±


    ¡°Get going, don¡¯t waste time.¡±


    Winters looked toward Anna, Pierre, Mrs. Mitchell, and all the others who had come to see him off¡­ Scarlett was there too, with swollen eyes.


    He nodded to each in turn, then gently spurring his mount, rode away.


    His figure grew smaller and smaller until he crested a hill and disappeared from sight.


    ¡­


    For the Navarre sisters, the novelty of arriving in Wolf Town faded in less than three days¡ªmuch like it had for Winters.


    The vast and majestic scenery quickly grew tiresome, leaving nothing but endless horizons and the monotony of day after day.


    Rural life was hard and busy, with women from farming families working like men, and underage girls gathering wood, fetching water, weeding¡ªdoing whatever they were able to.


    Life was equally tedious and dull for families of estate owners because all the hired workers had left, so the women of Mitchell¡¯s also had to work the fields like men.


    Hence, Mitchell¡¯s estate now had only two forms of entertainment: one was housework, and the other was needlework.


    Even in the ¡°good old days,¡± life in the Newly Reclaimed Land plantations was far less vibrant compared to the colorful Sea Blue.


    For the estate owners of Wolf Town, the only respite in their day-to-day life was social gatherings. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the past, the estates would host parties in turn¡ªfine dining, free-flowing drinks, gossip exchange, and unrestrained dancing.


    This was also the only chance for the ladies and misses, aside from going to church, to leave their estates.


    At all other times, an estate owner¡¯s wife and daughter were expected to go beyond neither the main gate nor the secondary gate.


    But now, no one hosted parties anymore because everyone was struggling.


    Estate owners with connections in Revodan had already fled Wolf Town to seek refuge with relatives and friends.


    Several estates lay abandoned, inhabited now by foxes and birds.


    The owners who stayed in Wolf Town did so because they had nowhere else to go or because they had a deep attachment to the land and didn¡¯t want to leave their homes behind.


    In comparison, the average self-subsistent farming family might have had it a bit easier than the estate owners¡ªbut that was only relatively speaking.


    Despite this, Eileen didn¡¯t hesitate to offer the best her house had to host the two Miss Navarres.


    But for the two delicately nurtured ladies, it was still too crude.


    ¡°How can I eat these things?¡± Catherine complained to her sister every night in bed, ¡°I just can¡¯t swallow them. I know we¡¯re not at home, and there¡¯s no dedicated chef. But can¡¯t they at least sift the grass seeds out of the flour?¡±


    Compared to Scarlett, who always cleaned her plate, Catherine would leave quite a bit uneaten each meal.

 Chapter 596 03-25 - 596 9 Ravines_2

    ?Chapter 596: Chapter 9 Ravines_2 Chapter 596: Chapter 9 Ravines_2 It could be said that Miss Catherine Navarre was now surviving entirely on the milk candies and biscuits she had brought from Sea Blue.


    Although Anna also ate very little, she would always gently embrace her younger sister and earnestly comfort her, ¡°Mrs. Mitchell has been very kind and generous already. They are living a hard life now. As a cultured lady, you should be more understanding.¡±


    In truth, Lady Big Navarre was also struggling to adapt, but it was in her nature not to complain and to always bear her burdens in silence.


    Moreover, since Catherine had already shown her immaturity, Anna naturally fell into the role of ¡°the more mature elder sister.¡±


    Catherine grabbed her sister¡¯s hand and cooed, ¡°I¡¯m not complaining about Mrs. Mitchell, she is very nice, and there are few ladies in Sea Blue with her grace. But¡­ you know, I just can¡¯t swallow it.¡±


    ¡°Just endure it a little longer,¡± Anna replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s also that Mitchell¡¯s ¡ª young lady,¡± Catherine corrected herself at the last moment because Anna now strictly forbade her sister from using the words ¡®little slut¡¯ and ¡®little bitch¡¯: ¡°She eats almost everything on the plate at every meal, not knowing the etiquette of a lady at all. How can an unmarried young lady eat up everything on her plate? That is a privilege reserved for married women!¡±


    ...


    Anna¡¯s cheek rested on her sister¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I think Miss Michel is very carefree, genuine and unpretentious, and that¡¯s good.¡±


    At these words, Catherine angrily pushed her sister away, ¡°Go away, don¡¯t hug me, you might as well find that little slut to be your sister!¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop using the word ¡®little¡¯ ¡ª that one,¡± Anna had to put on her elder sister¡¯s air of authority: ¡°And, you¡¯re not much older than her, are you?¡±


    Although Catherine always prefixed Scarlett¡¯s name with ¡®little,¡¯ she was in fact only a year older than Scarlett.


    Catherine was sixteen, Scarlett was fifteen, and Anna was four months shy of nineteen.


    In Sea Blue, at the age of sixteen, ladies were to become the mistress of the house, and the Navarre sisters were soon to verge into the realm of spinsterhood.


    Gossip quietly spread through the living rooms, banquet halls, and small gardens, and the old rivals of Lady Navarre ¡ª the other women ¡ª were all eagerly awaiting to see a laughingstock.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    That was also why for the past two years Lady Navarre had sighed day and night, losing sleep over her hatred for the young Serviati man, grinding her teeth in frustration. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mister M sure left happily, riding off to town and leaving the two of us here,¡± Catherine turned her complaint towards that man.


    She bit her sister¡¯s finger and said, ¡°I can endure not eating well, or the bed being as hard as a rock, leaving me sore all over; I can bear it. But it¡¯s just so boring here, even more boring than the Monastery, and I¡¯m about to be smothered with boredom. Today, I counted the leaves on that big tree outside, and it took all day.¡±


    Even Anna had nothing to say to that; she just sighed softly, because she felt the same way.


    For them, the emptiness of the spirit was even harder to bear than the lack of material resources.


    Of course, Mrs. Mitchell wouldn¡¯t make the ¡°Sea Blue ladies¡± work in the fields, nor would she arrange for guests to do housework.


    Under these circumstances, Anna and Catherine found themselves with almost nothing to do on Mitchell¡¯s estate, while everyone else was busy.


    Scarlett went out every day to herd the cattle and sheep and also to cut hay for the horses.


    Without fine fodder, the horses had to be exercised less and were largely fed on water-boiled straw ¡ª as they had not yet fully adapted to the coarse feed.


    Curious and unwilling to admit defeat, Catherine followed Scarlett for a day.


    When she returned that evening, Lady Catherine Navarre collapsed on her bed and refused to get up the next day.


    To pass the time, Anna tried to learn embroidery from Mrs. Mitchell.


    By the end of the day, Anna¡¯s fingers were pricked and dotted with blood. Even Eileen didn¡¯t have the heart to let her continue, but she still persisted.


    And Catherine? She wanted whatever her sister had from childhood, so naturally, she insisted on learning embroidery too.


    But after pricking her fingers twice, Catherine played the petulant child. She still held her needlework basket while circling around her sister, not really sewing, merely chatting to distract Anna.


    Watching the behavior of the Navarre sisters, in the mouths of the few remaining maidservants at Mitchell¡¯s, the meaning of the term ¡°Sea Blue ladies¡± was rapidly changing from ¡°beautiful young ladies from a distinguished background¡± to ¡°good-for-nothing showpieces.¡±


    Needlework was an essential skill for all ladies, regardless of how exalted their status, and even women of ducal and princely houses had to learn it.


    However, Lady Navarre never forced her daughters to learn needlework because she had higher aspirations for them.


    Upon reaching Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s, Anna began ¡°catching up¡± with her lessons.


    Compared to the Navarre sisters, who couldn¡¯t even leave the estate, Tang Juan spent his days rather comfortably.


    After all, he was a man, and it was convenient for him to go anywhere.


    So, most of the time, Lieutenant Juan stayed in the military camp. When he truly had nothing to do, he would take his men out hunting.


    With its expansive forests and rich natural resources, the Newly Reclaimed Land offered Captain Juan the kind of hunting opportunities he rarely got in Vineta; he was thoroughly enjoying himself there.


    Rabbits, roe deer, gazelles, and stags¡­ Lieutenant Juan¡¯s game grew bigger and bigger. Within days of arriving in Wolf Town, he was already contemplating bear hunting.


    Seeing the giant bear and lion skeletons in the cellar of Mitchell¡¯s estate, Tang Juan too felt the stirrings of competitive desire.


    Lieutenant Juan¡¯s obsession with hunting actually eased the burden on Pierre.


    The lieutenant had brought with him twelve Cavalry soldiers, and with their horses, they added a significant strain to the already limited food reserves of the militia.

 Chapter 597 03-25 - 597 9 Ravines_3

    ?Chapter 597: Chapter 9 Ravines_3 Chapter 597: Chapter 9 Ravines_3 Tang Juan would head out for hunting before dawn every day, and not return until nightfall, which was a form of indirect participation in production, alleviating some of the sweat on Pierre¡¯s brow.


    Until August 11, the second Sunday of the month.


    It was finally possible for the Navarre sisters to leave the Mitchell Estate for a change of scenery.


    For the church in Wolf Town had been restored, and Priest Caman was to resume the weekly mass ceremonies, which was one of the only two reasons that ladies should leave the estate for.


    Early in the morning, Eileen led everyone to head to the town center by carriage.


    As soon as they left the Mitchell Estate, Catherine felt like her breathing became smoother. Like a merry little bird, she was chattering and laughing with Mrs. Mitchell and her sister.


    The old believers of Wolf Town all came, and people traveled from Dusa Village, the villages east of the river, and the villages west of the river to attend the mass.


    ...


    Since the church had been destroyed, this was the first time the town center had gathered so many people.


    Everyone greeted each other with joy, and the usually quiet two streets seemed extraordinarily lively.


    The church had only erected four wooden walls and installed a wooden roof, far more rudimentary than the previous church of Wolf Town.


    But those who came were proud, because they had also contributed to the reconstruction of the church.


    Priest Caman visited every old believer in Wolf Town, persuading them to provide some food to fund the reconstruction of the church.


    This was the meaning behind Caman¡¯s words to Winters: ¡°I won¡¯t let you labor in vain.¡±


    The persuasion process was similar to selling ¡°indulgences,¡± convincing the faithful with the promise of rewards in the afterlife in exchange for their contributions while still alive.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    No one wanted to be levied food by force, but to rebuild the church, the old believers eagerly dug out the grain stored in their cellars.


    The food collected by Priest Caman significantly relieved the urgent needs of the militia.


    What Revodan failed to achieve, and what Winters also failed to do, Caman accomplished.


    Luckily, Winters was not in Wolf Town at this moment, otherwise, it is hard to know what kind of sharp comments he would have made.


    Many things had changed in the Wolf Town church, Father Anthony was gone, and so were the gold and silver liturgical vessels, but Priest Caman was still there.


    Under Priest Caman¡¯s leadership, the ceremony was simple and proceeded smoothly.


    It had always been Father Anthony who gave the sermon, but this time Priest Caman stood before the pulpit.


    Caman¡¯s sermon was also simple; he encouraged everyone not to give up hope or faith during hard times and to persevere for salvation would come eventually.


    Sitting in the front row of the church, Catherine felt somewhat disappointed and quietly asked Anna, ¡°Is that it?¡±


    Anna, listening intently, silently prayed and did not pay attention to her sister.


    Catherine looked around and her disappointment grew stronger. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Compared to the majestic grandeur of the Sea Blue Cathedral, the resplendent temple, the exquisitely beautiful stained glass windows and murals, the elegantly dressed clergy, and the grand and solemn mass ceremonies.


    This small church in Wolf Town was too simple and modest, pitifully so.


    After the ceremony ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.


    In the past, every Sunday was like a small gathering in Wolf Town, where the men would line up to practice archery.


    But now no one organized these activities, and the Garrison Officer Montaigne was not present either.


    With the communion distributed, people chatted outside the church for a while before heading home.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kate,¡± Anna took her sister¡¯s hand.


    Catherine sighed, ¡°I thought it would be fun to come to town, but it wasn¡¯t interesting at all.¡±


    ¡°I do have a fun game in mind, suitable for ladies,¡± Eileen said with a smile, taking Catherine¡¯s arm. ¡°Miss Navarre, do you play cards?¡±


    Anna and Catherine looked at each other and shook their heads vigorously, ¡°Mother said dice and cards are things that only the rudest soldiers play, and she forbade us from gambling.¡±


    A wistful look appeared in Eileen¡¯s eyes, and she chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true. My husband taught me some card games suitable for ladies. Would you like to try? And since we won¡¯t bet chips, it¡¯s naturally not gambling.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please teach us,¡± Catherine immediately let go of her sister¡¯s hand and clung eagerly to Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s arm, her affectionate manner stirring a faint jealousy in Scarlett.


    The ladies of the Mitchell Estate got back into the carriage and started the journey home.


    Not far from Wolf Town, the surroundings once again became uninhabited wilderness.


    Only in such moments could one truly feel the desolation and loneliness of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    People lived in settlements spaced far apart, and beyond that, there was nothing.


    Catherine was still pestering Mrs. Mitchell about the rules of cards while Anna listened carefully.


    Suddenly, everyone heard a ¡°bang¡± from underneath the carriage.


    Followed by several ¡°rumble¡± sounds, the carriage shook violently and quickly leaned to one side.


    The ladies on the carriage were greatly frightened, with Catherine and Scarlett screaming.


    Mrs. Mitchell calmly soothed the two screaming women, while Anna pressed her lips together, gripping her sister¡¯s hand tightly, her face pale, but she made no sound.


    Panveche¡ªEileen¡¯s old servant from her family home¡ªjumped down from the driver¡¯s seat, hurried to help the ladies out of the carriage.


    Old Panveche lay on the ground to check for a while, then stood up and explained to Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Miss, it seems like the axle is broken.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, unhitch the horses,¡± was Eileen¡¯s only solution. ¡°Ride back first, then bring another carriage.¡±


    Though they were master and servant, Eileen still called Panveche ¡°Uncle,¡± and Panveche rarely addressed her as ¡°Madam,¡± rather by ¡°Miss,¡± the way he did when Eileen was a child.

 Chapter 598 03-25 - 598 9 Ravines_4

    ?Chapter 598: Chapter 9 Ravines_4 Chapter 598: Chapter 9 Ravines_4 ¡°What about you staying here? Miss,¡± he asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s very safe around here,¡± Eileen replied with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡±


    Panveche nodded, still somewhat uneasy, but he mounted his horse and left.


    After old Panveche left, only Eileen, Scarlett, Anna, and Catherine, four women, remained by the roadside.


    Left alone in the vast, uninhabited wilderness, looking into the distant horizon, Catherine suddenly felt a trace of fear. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t dangerous here, is it?¡± Catherine clutched her sister¡¯s arm tightly and asked timidly, ¡°Could there be wolves? Or bandits? Criminals?¡±


    ¡°Wolves? No, wolves rarely appear here. Montaigne has taken care of them quite thoroughly,¡± Eileen reassured Catherine gently.


    ...


    Scarlett wasn¡¯t scared at all; feeling a sense of triumph, she proudly informed Catherine, ¡°There are no bandits or criminals either, because Montaigne has also dealt with them quite thoroughly.¡±


    ¡°So there are still wolves, and there were bad people before, right?¡± Catherine grew even more afraid.


    ¡°Yes, but Montaigne has cleaned them all up,¡± Scarlett replied matter-of-factly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here, sister,¡± Catherine cried, hugging her sister. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to Sea Blue, it¡¯s so dangerous here.¡±


    Anna, with nothing else she could do, hugged her sister and gave Lady Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell an apologetic smile, her gaze thoughtful as she looked toward the horizon.


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Scarlett found it inconceivable and said, pointing at the hillside not far away, ¡°Look, isn¡¯t there someone over there?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Right over there.¡±


    Following the direction Scarlett pointed, Anna and Catherine witnessed a strange scene.


    Five bare-chested men and a very thin ox were slowly moving along the sunny side of the hill.


    ¡°Good heavens,¡± Catherine turned away sharply. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they wearing clothes?¡±


    Eileen sighed and replied softly, ¡°Clothes worn out can¡¯t be repaired; skin worn out can grow back.¡±


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Anna asked, watching the five men, puzzled.


    ¡°Clearing land, plowing,¡± was the reply.


    But the two ladies from Navarre didn¡¯t even understand what plowing meant, and Scarlett had to explain it in detail.


    Eileen simply explained to Anna and Catherine the ins and outs of ¡°how the Garrison Officer Montaigne distributed the Newly Reclaimed Land to the refugees.¡±


    ¡°But today is Sunday,¡± Catherine asked, not understanding. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be working on Sunday. Don¡¯t they rest on Sundays?¡±


    Eileen and Scarlett fell silent.


    ¡°They,¡± Anna said softly, ¡°probably have reasons we don¡¯t know about.¡±


    Among the five men plowing, a middle-aged man, panting heavily, said to the old man leading, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s take a break.¡±


    The white-haired old man stopped, turned back to look carefully at the thin ox, its snout dripping with sweat, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while, give the beast a break.¡±


    This old man was the one who had answered Winters in the town square.


    Plowing should have the beast in front and the person behind.


    But among these five men, four grown men stood in front of the beast, leaving only a young boy who had not grown into his strength to handle the plow behind.


    It wasn¡¯t that they were foolish, but that they did not have enough large animals to pull the plows.


    The soil of the Newly Reclaimed Land was sticky. The wilderness that had never been cultivated for thousands of years had become so compacted it was as hard as stone.


    It could only be cultivated with heavy draft horses and plows.


    Winters had few such large animals to begin with, and though he had given what he could to the refugees, it still wasn¡¯t enough.


    Without enough animals, they had to rely on men; men became the beasts of burden.


    ¡°Look, Grandpa,¡± the young lad pointed at the ladies by the roadside, ¡°some women are watching us!¡±


    The old man slapped the young man¡¯s arm away. ¡°Don¡¯t point at people!¡±


    The youth sheepishly turned around.


    The four men pulling the plow were drenched in sweat, sitting on the ground and gasping for air.


    The old man repeatedly admonished his sons and grandsons, ¡°Be careful not to fall. The plow blade can cut off a person¡¯s leg in an instant. If you fall, fall to the side, never towards the blade.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that so many times already¡­¡± the young man who had been slapped was getting impatient.


    Before he finished speaking, he received another slap from his father.


    The middle-aged man nodded to the old man, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad.¡±


    Another young man asked, ¡°Today is Sunday. Is it really okay for us not to go to church and worship instead?¡±


    ¡°The Lord won¡¯t blame us,¡± the old man swallowed. ¡°If we miss the season, we¡¯ll all starve next year. Then our piety will be no good. The Lord won¡¯t blame us. And if he does¡­ we will have no need to believe in him.¡±


    It was now August 11, and they needed to sow winter wheat by the end of September or beginning of October. Missing the season meant waiting until the next year.


    Though Wolf Town had large areas of unused land, those flattest and most irrigable top-quality lands had already been purchased and cultivated.


    What remained were gentle slopes, distant waters, and soil full of stones¡ªjust like the land the old man and his descendants were tilling.


    If the slope of this land had been any steeper, it would have been impossible to grow crops on it.


    They had to exert effort to move the stones first before they could even think of turning the soil with a plow; otherwise, the stones would easily break the plow blades.


    But having such a piece of land already filled the old man with content.


    In the distance, another carriage approached down the dirt road.


    ¡°Enough rest, back to work,¡± the old man said while bracing himself on his knees, struggling to stand up. ¡°And be careful of the plow blade!¡±


    The carriage picked up the ladies by the road and rumbled off towards the distance.


    The rope was again tightened around the old man¡¯s indented shoulders and bony back.


    He moved slowly and steadily, one step at a time.

 Chapter 599 03-25 - 599 10 1 pound

    ?Chapter 599: Chapter 10 1 pound Chapter 599: Chapter 10 1 pound Eileen also noticed that the Navarre sisters ate very little.


    She didn¡¯t say anything, but with six six-week-old chicks, she managed to get a bag of wheat in exchange. She first took great effort to pound off the bran, then ground it into flour.


    Mitchell¡¯s had a mill, but this tiny amount of wheat wasn¡¯t even enough to fill the gaps in the large grindstone.


    So, Eileen used a hand-cranked grinder, working the entire night, and sieved the flour several times until it was fine.


    By the next morning, when the Navarre sisters came downstairs, there was white bread on the Mitchell¡¯s dining table.


    Anna was delighted, thanking Mrs. Mitchell repeatedly for her concern.


    Catherine was also pleased, but still, a lot of food remained on her plate.


    ...


    Even Anna couldn¡¯t help but take her sister back to the room where she asked with suppressed anger, ¡°What? It doesn¡¯t suit your taste?¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s still a bit coarse,¡± Catherine replied with a light smile, not realizing why her sister was so serious, ¡°it¡¯s much better than before. I can barely swallow it.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you leave so much?¡±


    Catherine answered matter-of-factly, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly eat it all, can I?¡±


    Anna sighed, took her sister¡¯s hand, and asked, ¡°Do you think Mrs. Mitchell is good to us?¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    ¡°What about the others?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°They are also quite good, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Why are they good to us?¡±


    Catherine was stumped by this question.


    Anna spoke seriously, ¡°The people here are not being kind to Anna Navarre or to Catherine Navarre. They are being kind to ¡®his¡¯ fianc¨¦e and the sister of the fianc¨¦e. Here, we don¡¯t represent the Navarre family, we represent¡­ him. Our improper behavior will not shame the Navarre family but will diminish the respect others have for him.¡±


    Teasingly, Catherine asked, ¡°You¡¯re not even married to him yet, how do you already have the mentality of the mistress of the house?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh,¡± Anna said, pinching her sister¡¯s palm, then sighed again, ¡°The people here hold him in high regard. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing, nor do I understand why he¡¯s staying here. But at least I shouldn¡¯t damage his reputation by coming here.¡±


    Catherine flopped onto the bed, rolling lazily, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you. Next time I¡¯ll eat it all up like that little girl, won¡¯t that do?¡±


    Anna had no good way to deal with her sister; she gave her sister a light slap, ¡°Our grandfather would go mad if he saw you like this, he detests wasting food the most.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, he doesn¡¯t like me anyway. Grandfather only dotes on you, everyone dotes on you.¡± Catherine felt somewhat hurt.


    ¡°But I love you the most.¡±


    Catherine snorted softly and turned over, giving her sister her back.


    A series of rapid footsteps climbing the stairs was heard.


    The sounds were so violent it was as if someone was bounding up several steps at a time. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without giving the Navarre sisters any time to tidy up, Scarlett burst into the room like a storm, kicking open the door.


    At this moment, Scarlett Gerardovna was completely a little Dusack.


    The gentleness and tranquility inherited from Eileen had completely dissipated, and the wildness, impulsiveness, and fiery temper she got from Gerard were fully ignited.


    Scarlett was uncontrollable with rage, clutching the white bread Catherine had left over, held it up to Catherine¡¯s face, and yelled, ¡°You woman from Sea Blue! Do you think I eat coarse bread? Do you think my mother eats coarse bread?!¡±


    Anna and Catherine were startled, the two sisters stood frozen in place, speechless.


    Scarlett¡¯s expression was even somewhat fierce; her eyes were wide with anger, as if fire were about to spew from her pupils, nostrils, and mouth.


    ¡°I grew up eating white bread too! I had servants taking care of me from a young age! Do you think I don¡¯t understand that a lady¡¯s plate should have leftover food? Do you think I don¡¯t know?¡± The furious Scarlett, like a fierce lioness, screeched, ¡°But have you ever been hungry? Not dieting to fit into a corset dress, but real hunger, with absolutely nothing to eat! So hungry you think about eating your own hands! My mother and I, if we don¡¯t work we starve to death! You just have to sit there, and food is served on the table. How dare you leave leftovers? How dare you leave them!¡±


    Catherine was completely frightened, and even Anna was at a loss.


    But Scarlett grew angrier and angrier; she tore at the white bread, squashing and rending it, her eyes reddened as she loudly questioned, ¡°How dare you leave it? Do you know my mother went without rest the whole night for this flour?! And she has to prepare breakfast for you at dawn! How dare you leave it!!!¡±


    ¡°This kind of white bread, even if it fell to the ground, I¡¯d eat it!¡± Scarlett stuffed a piece of the bread crumbs into her mouth, tears streaming down as she asked, ¡°How dare you leave it?¡±


    With nothing left to say, Scarlett violently threw the white bread at Catherine¡¯s face and left crying.


    It took Catherine a while to recover from the shock; she had never seen such a degree of ¡°argument,¡± a surge of emotions¡ªgrievance, fear, indignation¡ªflooding her heart instantly.


    Suddenly, Anna felt her neck being choked.


    ¡°Why is she bullying me!¡± Catherine clung to her sister, crying heartbreakingly, her tears smeared her light makeup, and bread crumbs still hung in her hair, ¡°Why do they all bully me!¡±


    Anna quickly embraced her sister, comforting her by gently patting her back, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, no one is bullying you.¡±


    Catherine cried even more miserably, ¡°You don¡¯t help me either! You¡¯re bullying me too!¡±

 Chapter 600 03-25 - 600 10 1 pound_2

    ?Chapter 600: Chapter 10 1 pound_2 Chapter 600: Chapter 10 1 pound_2 ¡°I¡¯ll help you, I¡¯ll help you, I¡¯m your sister after all.¡±


    ¡°I want to go home!¡±


    Anna thought for a moment, then nodded, ¡°All right, you can follow Lieutenant Juan back to Sea Blue when it¡¯s time.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s tears were like a flood breaching the embankment, completely beyond her control now.


    She cried and rolled on the bed like a little child, refusing to let her sister come near her, and wouldn¡¯t say what she wanted.


    ¡°Is Miss Navarre all right?¡± Eileen stood at the door.


    Eileen had been picking vegetables in the western garden and had rushed back to the mansion as soon as she received the maid¡¯s message.


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Anna replied to Mrs. Mitchell with a bitter smile, ¡°Just a child.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Miss Navarre.¡± Seeing the scene in the guest room, Eileen immediately understood what had happened, ¡°It¡¯s my failure in teaching, I will discipline Scarlett. Please accept my apology on her behalf for both you and your sister.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna quickly gestured with her hands, ¡°No, Scarlett did nothing wrong, you shouldn¡¯t discipline her, please don¡¯t.¡±


    Without allowing Anna to explain, Eileen lifted her skirt to curtsy and had already turned to leave.


    She kindly closed the door behind her, leaving only the Navarre sisters alone in the room.


    ¡­


    Late that same day, Scarlett reluctantly came to apologize to Catherine.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    Scarlett¡¯s face was still streaked with tears and her eyes were full of defiance; it was clear she was apologizing out of necessity.


    Catherine also looked like a tearful little calico cat, with her chestnut hair in complete disarray.


    She huffily turned her head away, avoiding eye contact with Scarlett.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize, Scar.¡± Anna answered for her sister, comforting Scarlett with a smile, ¡°Catherine just lacks a bit of discipline, I think you were right.¡±


    Catherine angrily punched her sister in the side.


    Scarlett curtsied with no emotion and recited flatly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was wrong.¡±


    After saying this, she turned and left without looking back.


    ¡°What kind of apology is that?¡± Catherine nearly fainted with anger.


    ¡°Come on, what are you unsatisfied with? I was even thinking of having you apologize to Mrs. Mitchell and the young lady.¡±


    Catherine threw herself at her sister, wildly flailing her fists and shrieking with tears, ¡°You go find her to be your sister! You all side with her, you all bully me!¡±


    But before she could do more, she was easily subdued by Anna.


    Anna wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but she was far more powerful than her sister.


    Catherine could neither argue nor fight her way out, feeling extremely wronged, and began to cry again uncontrollably, ¡°Why are you helping outsiders? Mother! Anna is helping outsiders to bully me!¡±


    It took Anna great effort to finally soothe her sister.


    ¡°Seriously, Kate,¡± Anna gently patted her sister¡¯s back, ¡°you should go back to Sea Blue. If Lieutenant Juan leaves, you won¡¯t have a chance to go back. You would have to stay here for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°If I go, what will you do?¡± Catherine asked through her sobs, ¡°You¡¯ll be all alone, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Anna smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Catherine spitefully used her sister¡¯s dress to wipe her tears and snot.


    Anna sighed deeply, ¡°Mrs. Mitchell has a point, this isn¡¯t home, this isn¡¯t Sea Blue. If you don¡¯t work, you starve. Didn¡¯t grandpa start from scratch too? Didn¡¯t he always tell us the story of how he went out to sea as an apprentice at twelve, dealing in fabrics, dying them, and traveling through the streets to sell them?¡±


    Catherine huffed angrily, ¡°Grandpa never told me that! He never told Olivia either, only you! He¡¯s biased.¡±


    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m staying here.¡±


    ¡°Stay here for what? You¡¯ve already met Mr. M, you should bring him back. All you have to do is ask, and he would go back for sure. Trust me, if you ask.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to go, and I don¡¯t want to sway his will,¡± Anna shook her head, murmuring wistfully, ¡°I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s staying here, nor do I know what he¡¯s been through in the past year, nor why people here respect him so much. But I want to touch him, I want to know the real him, not just the one in my memories.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a fool, with your head full of love, but marriage and love are not the same thing, are they?¡± Catherine couldn¡¯t help but remind her sister.


    ¡°Either way, I¡¯m not leaving, but I want you to go back to Sea Blue. You¡¯re sixteen and should be betrothed; you can¡¯t stay away from home too long. What about your reputation?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother is there! She will be able to handle everything,¡± Catherine burst into a tearful smile, ¡°If I go back now, she¡¯ll be furious and definitely punish me severely. Besides, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s hard for me to captivate any man I want, is it?¡±


    ¡°But life here really is too hard, Mrs. Mitchell has already given us her best, and it¡¯s still tough.¡±


    Catherine was silent for a long time, thinking things through, she finally resolved, ¡°I¡¯ll stay¡­ I don¡¯t care about Mr. M or this damn place, but I can¡¯t just leave you here by yourself. Mother said we were like twin lotuses; we can¡¯t be apart. I won¡¯t leave you behind, I¡¯m not that bad guy Mr. M.¡±


    Anna smiled helplessly.


    ¡°As for mother, isn¡¯t Olivia there, the little fool? She won¡¯t be lonely. Olivia finally gets to have mother¡¯s affection all to herself, she¡¯ll be happy.¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes were swollen like peaches as she looked at her sister seriously, ¡°After all, I have to take care of you!¡±


    ¡­


    On August 11th, Wolf Town¡¯s church resumed its weekly proceedings.

 Chapter 601 03-25 - 601 10 1 pound_3

    ?Chapter 601: Chapter 10 1 pound_3 Chapter 601: Chapter 10 1 pound_3 A few days passed, and a staff officer arrived.


    This staff officer always looked half asleep and spent most of his time dozing off on the chaise lounge in the living room. Lieutenant Juan respectfully referred to him as ¡°Colonel Van Nassau.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A few more days went by, and Winters returned.


    Pierre, who went out to meet him, noticed the joy Winters could hardly conceal: ¡°Who did you meet? You seem so happy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in detail later.¡± Right now, Winters could only think of Anna. The impulse to see her after a long separation, followed by another brief one, was almost unbearable: ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to your place first.¡±


    ¡°I have something important to report to you as well.¡±


    ¡°No rush, let¡¯s go to your house first.¡±


    ...


    Winters and Pierre galloped towards Mitchell¡¯s estate, with Pierre hearing the clinking of objects inside the Centurion¡¯s saddlebag.


    When the two stopped at the entrance to Mitchell¡¯s residence, Pierre couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What kind of bottles and jars did you buy from Revodan?¡±


    Winters felt a bit embarrassed and mumbled a word: ¡°Bribes.¡±


    The two dismounted, and Winters didn¡¯t even wait to tie up his horse before he strode into Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    The parlor, no one.


    The living room, no one.


    Winters went upstairs only to find no one in the guest room of the Navarre sisters either.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Winters asked, his eyes wide, turning to Pierre.


    Pierre was equally surprised: ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Hearing the commotion, Eileen came out of the study, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, Pierre, we¡¯re in here.¡±


    There was a study in the Mitchell estate¡¯s layout, but there were few books in the house.


    Gerard couldn¡¯t read, and Eileen did her embroidery while handling the account books in the small living room, so the study was left unused.


    Finally able to relax, Winters laughed as he approached Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Are you seeking refuge here? It¡¯s not safe upstairs. Maybe someday, I¡¯ll dig you a basement.¡±


    Even Eileen joined in the light-hearted moment with a smile, ¡°That might indeed be nice, I¡¯d really like a basement for storage.¡±


    Now it was Winters who was at a loss for words: ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring people over to dig one tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You must be joking.¡±


    ¡°Where are the Misses Navarre?¡±


    ¡°In the study.¡±


    ¡°In the study?¡±


    ¡°The ladies need a bit of space for their work. Their rooms are too small, so I brought them here to the study.¡±


    ¡°Work?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    Eileen answered with a smile yet firmness in her voice, ¡°Yes, work.¡±


    The study¡¯s windows faced south and were well-lit.


    Inside was a large oak table and two rows of bookshelves lined with the estate¡¯s account books and documents from over the years.


    Anna sat in front of the desk, busy at work.


    Catherine leaned against her sister, idly whittling a feather quill out of sheer boredom.


    When Winters entered the study, Catherine¡¯s interest was piqued.


    Before anyone else spoke, and with furrowed brow, Catherine blurted out, ¡°Mr. M, I¡¯ve never seen account books as poorly done as yours since I learned to record them. Did you have those four hunting dogs outside keep them for you?¡±


    Lady Navarre¡¯s voice was soft and her manner graceful, yet her words were unsparingly blunt.


    Anna, maintaining her composure, lightly tapped her sister.


    Pierre coughed softly to hide his discomfort as he had been responsible for the militia¡¯s financial records until now.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad, can it?¡± defended Winters, smiling in support of Pierre.


    Catherine ignored Winters and fixed her apricot eyes on Pierre, ¡°What are you coughing for? Are these your accounts?¡±


    With no escape, Pierre stepped forward and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then please tell me,¡± Catherine, propping her chin and adopting an even lazier pose, asked, ¡°the first line of the account book, ¡®[Wages disbursed, 39 Ducats],¡¯ ¡®[Barley purchased, 12 Ducats].¡¯ Where did this money come from? Did it appear out of thin air? And there¡¯s not even a date.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all Captain Montaigne¡¯s money.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± Catherine then turned to Winters: ¡°Where does your money come from?¡±


    Where does Winters¡¯s money come from?


    There was only one answer: Anna provided it.


    That night in Kingsfort, Winters exchanged a thousand Gold Coins from the goldsmith.


    Between the expenses from Kingsfort to Wolf Town, plus a hundred coins for the old pirate¡¯s travel fee, all the rest remained in Winter¡¯s possession.


    The militia had been sustained solely by that money until now.


    Winters¡¯s cheeks suddenly grew hot, and looking at Anna, he was too embarrassed to speak.


    Anna also felt her lover¡¯s gaze and quickly understood what was going on, her face turning a deep shade of red.


    Catherine glanced at her sister, then at Winters, and had an epiphany.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Catherine stared at Winters, her eyes full of incredulity and her brows furrowed, her tone laced with disbelief, ¡°are you really living off a woman¡¯s charity?¡±


    Out of the five people in the study, Mrs. Mitchell also covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, leaving only Pierre, clueless and awkward, standing still.


    ¡°I have other matters to attend to, if you would please excuse me.¡± Pierre swiftly made his exit from the hotbed of controversy.


    ¡°I won¡¯t disturb you either,¡± said Eileen, heading towards the door.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t go, Mrs. Mitchell, please stay,¡± Catherine quickly hugged Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°If you leave, he will definitely bully us two. How can a single man and woman be left alone without an elder to supervise?¡±


    Eileen looked at Winters curiously, then at Anna, and with a helpless smile, settled back down beside the desk.


    ¡°Actually, your sister lent me this money,¡± Winters explained, ¡°It was a big help, and I intend to repay it.¡±

 Chapter 602 03-25 - 602 10 1 pound_4

    ?Chapter 602: Chapter 10 1 pound_4 Chapter 602: Chapter 10 1 pound_4 ¡°How much did you lend her?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes flickered rapidly.


    ¡°A thousand ducats.¡±


    Upon hearing the figure, Catherine, outraged, walked over to her sister and pinched her sharply on the lower back, ¡°You¡¯re not even married, yet you¡¯ve started keeping a lover? You reckless, bad woman!¡±


    Eileen too was slightly shocked by the amount.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Anna maintained the polite smile on her face, forcefully tapping her sister on the knee.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Miss Navarre¡¯s funding, this business here today wouldn¡¯t exist¡­¡± Winters hesitated for a moment, but still used a concept familiar to the Venetians to describe what he was doing, ¡°¡­this ¡®business,¡¯ so you¡¯re actually my original shareholders already.¡±


    At these words, Catherine became serious, her emotions gradually subdued, and she put on the mask of ¡°Little Lady Navarre¡± once again. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    She shook her head politely but firmly, ¡°No need, I have an idea of what ¡®business¡¯ you¡¯re doing. The Navarre family doesn¡¯t deal in business that involves bloodshed. If one day you achieve fame and success, just don¡¯t forget that my sister has helped you.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Anna, both anxious and embarrassed, pulled her sister behind her and looked seriously at Winters, ¡°Do you mean that your personal wealth and the funds for this¡­ business are mixed together?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment and answered with a bitter smile, ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Catherine spoke up before her sister could, ¡°How can that be allowed? Public accounts, private accounts, how can they be mixed together?¡±


    ¡°Should I keep two sets of books?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Catherine frowned deeply, ¡°Should the expenses of Navarre Manor still go through the books of Navarre Commerce? There must definitely be two sets of books!¡±


    Not only did Winters fall silent, but Eileen, who had been listening, also seemed thoughtful.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°One set of books or two isn¡¯t the main issue.¡± Anna showed the ledger to Winters, ¡°Mr. Michel uses the single-entry bookkeeping system; expenses and income are all recorded together. It¡¯s primitive and makes it difficult to reflect the specific value of assets.¡±


    ¡°For a Venetian, you don¡¯t even understand the double-entry bookkeeping system,¡± Catherine pressed her advantage, relentlessly pursuing Mr. Michel.


    In fact, Winters did understand a bit, but he lacked the energy to handle bookkeeping, so he left it all to Pierre.


    Anna gently pulled Winters to sit at the table and continued to inquire patiently, ¡°I also saw some very odd items, ¡®distribution of one draft animal,¡¯ ¡®distribution of one set of plows,¡¯ are these given away for free?¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°They¡¯re not given for free; they will pay me in grain at harvest time.¡±


    Anna, holding her lover¡¯s hand, said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you do this, but if it¡¯s given away like this now, it shows up as a net loss in the books. A business that keeps losing money, no matter what it is, definitely won¡¯t last long.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    Winters Montagne had been raised from childhood strictly as a soldier.


    Training soldiers, going into battle¡ªthese tasks would never make him feel cowardice or fear. But he was indeed not adept at dealing with the current situation.


    And Winters could no longer think straight now because Anna was holding his hand, his head filled with her warmth, his cheeks uncontrollably reddening.


    ¡°It could be counted as a loan, that way your assets would still be balanced,¡± Anna, not yet noticing the change in her lover¡¯s emotions, explained meticulously, ¡°Even though the net assets on the books would decrease, it¡¯s not a straightforward loss.¡±


    ¡°But they don¡¯t have the money to pay back,¡± Winters replied with effort.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, they can pay back slowly. Over twenty years, thirty years, it¡¯s not a problem, even if the interest rate is set low. For you, you are going to distribute the resources to everyone anyway. But it needs to be reflected on your balance sheet.¡±


    Anna looked tenderly at her lover.


    Suddenly, Anna noticed the change in Winters¡¯ mood as well, and she let go of his hand as fast as if she had touched a hot iron.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, coughing lightly a few times.


    Eileen and Catherine might have noticed or they might not have, but they kept silent.


    Anna picked up pen and paper, beginning to calculate for Winters, ¡°If the debt can be steadily repaid over twenty or thirty years. Even if the annual interest is only 5%, the ultimate interest will exceed the principal. Then, this debt is profitable and it could even be sold. If someone is willing to take it over, you could even use this debt to secure cash.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that make me a tax farmer?¡± Winters suddenly realized.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to use it as collateral; it¡¯s just one way to handle the debt,¡± Anna continued methodically, ¡°There¡¯s another important asset, land. Land is a key and important asset, why would you give it away for free?¡±


    Winters sighed and briefly explained the situation of the Newly Reclaimed Land and the plight of the famine refugees.


    To Winters, with vast wastelands in the Newly Reclaimed Land, why not allow private reclamation? Ultimately, it¡¯s a matter of interests.


    Because of the interests of the manor owners and the New Reclamation Legion, reclamation was restricted, land prices were driven up, and all landless farmers were indirectly forced to become tenant farmers and laborers.


    If private reclamation were allowed, land prices would plummet, and it would be impossible for large manors to recruit laborers and tenant farmers¡ªno farmer doesn¡¯t want to own their land.


    This situation might not be someone¡¯s deliberate action, but it¡¯s not surprising that it evolved into the current state of the Newly Reclaimed Land, given those in power chase profit.

 Chapter 603 03-25 - 603 10 1 pound_5

    ?Chapter 603: Chapter 10 1 pound_5 Chapter 603: Chapter 10 1 pound_5 Anna, Catherine, and Eileen listened intently, especially Eileen¡ªshe was the wife of a major estate owner.


    But Eileen did not defend the estate owners; she just listened quietly.


    This was the first time Winters had shared his thoughts with others; he had not even discussed it with Pierre.


    ¡°Do you think the interests of the farmers are more important than those of the estate owners and the legion?¡± Catherine asked pointedly, although she did not really understand the history of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°I believe everyone¡¯s interests are important,¡± Winters thought for a moment and answered, ¡°But those with power should not exploit the flesh, blood, and bones of those without power; they are also people striving to live.¡±


    After some thought, Anna summarized, ¡°In the end, it all comes down to land, land is always an important asset for everyone. Then you can include all the waste land in Wolf Town into your accounts. That way, your business would have a substantial net asset and capital. You could even do real estate mortgaging.¡±


    Winters thought about it; it was openly usurping the assets of the New Reclamation Legion, but it was exactly what he was doing, so he nodded his head.


    ...


    ¡°Land should not be distributed for free either. If something has no price, it won¡¯t be cherished,¡± Anna suggested softly: ¡°Land debts can also be held over the long term and can also bring profit.¡±


    At first, Winters was pleased, but the more he considered it, the more something felt off.


    Suddenly, he came to a realization and was startled to find he really was gradually starting to think of everything in terms of business.


    ¡°No, this won¡¯t do,¡± Winters was heartbroken as he looked at Anna sorrowfully, ¡°They have just climbed out of the mire of dire poverty; should they be squeezed by me until they have nothing left?¡±


    Anna was surprised as well; the pursuit of profit is human nature, and she never thought there was anything wrong with pursuing profit.


    But altruism is also a spirit celebrated by humans, even the profit-driven Sea Blue People have enthusiastically donated their family fortunes to Sea Blue.


    Anna gradually began to understand Winters¡¯ ideas. She was moved, and her heart ached for him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    She came up with an alternative: ¡°Then you could set the price of the land a bit lower, low enough that even one silver coin would suffice. But don¡¯t give it away for free; at least let everyone get used to the idea of a price and a contract.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment and nodded with difficulty.


    Anna moved closer to Winters¡¯ ear and said with sadness, ¡°My dear, no one can save everyone¡­ but I will be with you.¡±


    This was the first time she had used the term ¡°my dear.¡±


    Winters felt like he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, the shock to his body and spirit indescribable.


    ¡°What are you whispering about?¡± Catherine protested dissatisfied, ¡°There are others here, and you¡¯re whispering in each other¡¯s ears, that¡¯s quite ignoring Mrs. Mitchell and me, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Anna apologized to Mrs. Mitchell.


    Eileen laughed and shook her head.


    Winters suddenly asked seriously, ¡°Anna, would you be willing to help me?¡±


    This was also the first time he had used the name ¡°Anna.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Catherine sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, ¡°My sister is an unmarried lady, how can she show her face in such matters? Have you considered her at all?¡±


    ¡°I am willing,¡± Anna smiled and nodded, but then shook her head, ¡°But it¡¯s not possible, not only because it goes against etiquette and customs but also because it would cause your subordinates and everyone to lose respect for you. We still live in this world and are bound by its rules. I don¡¯t want your reputation to be damaged because of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters showed his teeth in a smile, ¡°I¡¯m the boss here.¡±


    ¡°I can only keep the books, look at the accounts¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still better than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°You want my sister to manage all the accounts for you? Do you want to work her to death?¡± Catherine, anxious inside, came up with a compromise in her quick thinking, ¡°Anna and I can teach others how to keep the books. If you have a general ledger, just leave it to my sister to manage. She doesn¡¯t have to appear in public and attract criticism. Even my mother wouldn¡¯t personally keep track of every single account book.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, he laughed freely and said to the ladies, ¡°Since Miss Navarre arrived here, everything has gone particularly smoothly, like the monsoon winds filling the sails.¡±


    Winters walked out of the study to find Pierre not waiting at the door.


    He searched the first and second floors of the estate but did not find Pierre.


    Eventually, he found Pierre in the attic.


    Mr. Mitchell was intimately embracing another lady.


    Upon discovering someone ascending to the attic, the lady panicked and ran down the ladder, nearly knocking Winters over.


    Winters did not get a clear look at the lady¡¯s face, but he noticed the black veil tied in her hair.


    There were so few people in the Mitchell estate that it was easy to guess who she was.


    To tie one¡¯s hair with a black veil meant she was a widow.


    And there was currently only one widow in the estate¡ªMrs. Madeleine, the widow of a militia man who had perished in the wolf disaster and had been cornered by Bunting previously.


    Eileen had contributed money to help Mrs. Madeleine clear her taxes and hired her as a maid, bringing her and her young daughter to the Mitchell estate for care.


    Mrs. Madeleine was four or five years older than Pierre; as for whether she was attractive, Winters hadn¡¯t taken much notice.


    Caught in a compromising situation by his superior, Pierre awkwardly grabbed his hair and asked with a smile, ¡°Is your business done?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Winters said with a subtle expression, looking at Pierre with a complicated gaze.


    When he was Pierre¡¯s age, he had still been living the life of an Ascetic Monk.


    He would attend classes, perform duties, and serve as Aike¡¯s sparring partner, often coming home beaten black and blue without ever winning once.


    The only women in his life were the cook and the laundry woman, whose arms and thighs were more muscular than his.


    Nothing like Mr. Mitchell¡¯s¡­ colorful life.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to the camp,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°You said earlier there was something very important, what was it?¡±


    Pierre buttoned up and replied, word for word, ¡°Blackwater Town is willing to provide grain and asks you to be their protector.¡±


    In September, the autumn grain would be harvested, mainly barley, oats, and legumes.


    Anyone of sound mind could already predict that when the autumn grain ripened, what awaited the Newly Reclaimed Land would be another ruthless round of ¡°forcibly harvesting¡± and ¡°heavy taxation.¡±


    Through word of mouth, the people of Blackwater Town gradually learned about the deeds of the Garrison Officer of Montaigne.


    They knew about the grain levy team sent to Wolf Town being ambushed;


    They knew about the Garrison Officer of Montaigne cleaning out the bandits near Wolf Town;


    They also knew about the massacre in the Valley of Saint Gis and the trial¡ªthe bandit leader¡¯s carcass still hangs at the entrance of the valley, deterring any criminals with ill-intentions.


    Thus, the people of Blackwater Town conceived a bold idea: to invite the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town to become the protector of Blackwater Town. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not only to protect them from the hands of bandits and robbers but also from the grain levy teams.


    Of course, this was a covert agreement; outwardly, Blackwater Town would still pledge loyalty to Revodan.


    But should the grain levy team be intercepted, then nobody could blame Blackwater Town.


    ¡°That¡¯s the situation,¡± Pierre said hesitantly, ¡°Although we are in dire need of grain, becoming their protector would¡­ almost amount to directly opposing Revodan.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want!¡±

 Chapter 604 03-25 - 604 11 Quicksand

    ?Chapter 604: Chapter 11 Quicksand Chapter 604: Chapter 11 Quicksand In the military tent at Wolf Town, Colonel Moritz sat at a desk, propping up his chin and gently swirling his glass.


    On the desk, there was also a small plate of almonds and green olives, all of which had been brought from afar from Revodan by someone.


    The person who had bought these things was now holding a bottle of wine, carefully recounting to Moritz his experiences over the past year.


    And whenever Moritz¡¯s glass was even slightly empty, he would immediately fill it up again.


    Tang Juan burst into the tent, seeing this scene, he was so angry that smoke seemed to be coming out of his seven orifices, ¡°It¡¯s not even noon yet, and you two have started drinking already?¡±


    ¡°Not him,¡± Moritz took a small sip of the pale gold ¡®water of life¡¯, smiling as he said, ¡°Just me.¡±


    ¡°I asked you to come here, to get rid of him! But look at you, a few bottles of wine and you¡¯re sold? Have you forgotten the general¡¯s orders?¡±


    ...


    Moritz yawned and looked at Lieutenant Juan, answering slowly and deliberately, ¡°His father wanted me to collect his body. I could try to kill him and bring back a corpse, but I can¡¯t guarantee success. If you expect me to twist his will and force him to do something against his wishes, that¡¯s something I can¡¯t do.¡±


    Winters found another cup and invited Juan, his senior, to take a seat.


    Juan gulped down half a glass of strong liquor in an almost venting manner, pouring it straight down his throat.


    ¡°Drink sparingly,¡± Moritz said, a hint of distress in his voice, ¡°I was planning on making it last for many days.¡±


    ¡°Many days?¡± Juan slammed the table as he stood up.


    ¡°Senior,¡± Winters earnestly requested, ¡°there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask for your help with.¡±


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    At the Panto River ford, Winters was seeing off the old pirate.


    ¡°No need to escort me any further, my lord,¡± Gold said, his front tooth still not fixed, which made his smile whist when he laughed, ¡°We¡¯re already at Blackwater Town, please, go back.¡±


    When they had come from Vineta, there was a total of sixteen people including Gold, two ladies, and Juan¡¯s subordinates.


    But on the return trip, there were only three: Gold, one of Juan¡¯s cavalrymen, and one of Winters¡¯s Dusacks.


    ¡°Be careful on your journey,¡± Winters said with apology, ¡°Lieutenant Juan will have to stay here for some time, so only two people will escort you.¡±


    Gold laughed heartily, ¡°I know this road like the back of my hand; I don¡¯t need an escort at all. As long as I¡¯m alive, I guarantee to deliver your letter back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Juan, who had come looking for someone, was instead detained by Winters, and he had to explain the reason to Antonio.


    The only person Winters had at hand who could serve as a messenger and guide was Gold, so he had no choice but to send the old pirate on another journey.


    Winters and Juan selected two capable young men for the old pirate, on one hand as escorts, and on the other, to familiarize more people with the route between Newly Reclaimed Land and Vineta.


    Once others became familiar with the route, the old pirate would no longer have to be on the move.


    ¡°I¡¯m off, don¡¯t worry!¡± Gold laughed loudly, cracked his whip, and spurred his horse, racing away.


    Winters watched them until the three riders disappeared into the woods.


    Then he turned his horse back towards Wolf Town, his will firm, for he still had tasks to accomplish.


    ¡­


    It takes about six months for barley to grow from sowing to maturity; it is sown as soon as the weather turns warm at the end of February or the beginning of March, and harvested in September.


    Oats vary by type, and the Paratu strain of oats is late-maturing, requiring roughly four months of growth. They are usually sown in May and also harvested in September.


    Paratu agriculture generally follows a three-field system. The farmland is divided into three parts: one for winter wheat, another for supplementary grains, and the last left fallow.


    Barley, oats, rye, alongside some legumes and vegetables, are the main crops in the Paratu farmers¡¯ [spring-autumn] agricultural cycle.


    But before September when the grain is fully matured, a new round of collection would have already begun.


    The reason is simple; if one waits until the wheat is completely ripe, what would be left for the collection team? The farmers would have harvested everything clean already.


    ¡°Forced harvest¡± means one must collect before the wheat ripens.


    In the midst of this forced harvesting, the wheat matures.


    These are valuable experiences accumulated during the [Sovereignty War] thirty years prior, and pulling them out now is no less relevant.


    Wheat not yet matured may not be edible, but it is still a valuable commodity, suitable for feeding horses, and considered top-quality fodder.


    Warhorses favor and require this kind of nutritious and moisture-rich fine feed the most.


    As unripe crops are difficult to store due to their water content, the Paratu People invented the ¡°silage¡± technique. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By chopping up the still-green crops, sealing them, and allowing them to ferment, not only is it possible to retain their nutrients and moisture, but it also ¡°detoxifies¡± them.


    The feed remains fresh for long periods without spoiling, and the slightly sour-tasting silage is particularly favored by cattle, horses, and sheep.


    However, creating silage feed requires high levels of expertise and technique from the handlers and is typically found only in large military horse farms.


    No one would be so extravagant as to use unripe grain for silage, for wouldn¡¯t that be a waste?


    Yet, this very thing was indeed happening to the farmers in the Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    The New Reclamation Legion was relatively polite in their approach, given that the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province was their own territory.


    The raiding parties of Red Rose and Blue Rose had no regard for human dignity, and the New Reclamation Legion had no power to stop them.


    As they watched the grain being taken away by the other two factions, the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s collection efforts grew increasingly aggressive.


    Iron Peak County, located at the southwesternmost point of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and the most remote and backwards county, was also affected by this turmoil.


    Maplestone City received a categorical order from Revodan¡¯s garrison, prompting collection teams to set out from Revodan again and head toward various villages and towns.

 Chapter 605 03-25 - 605 11 Quicksand_2

    ?Chapter 605: Chapter 11 Quicksand_2 Chapter 605: Chapter 11 Quicksand_2 However, the conscription effort in Revodan ran into a little problem¡­


    ¡°My lord! Mercy!¡± The leader of the conscription team¡ª[Sergeant Peter]¡ªflung himself down, trying to kiss Winters¡¯ boots: ¡°I had no choice! I didn¡¯t want to leave the city to raid for grain. But my son and wife are in Revodan, and if I disobey military orders, my whole family will be punished! Please show some compassion¡­¡±


    Peter had his arms tied behind his back and was bound together with four other people, clearly unable to move.


    But the sight of the ¡°bandits¡¯ leader¡± approaching, the intense will to live made him drag the four people, still almost rushing in front of Winters¡¯ horse.


    It was Pierre¡¯s saber that quieted Sergeant Peter.


    ¡°Take another step forward.¡± Pierre, his face covered, looked at the sergeant coldly. The second half of his sentence went unspoken, but the blade said it for him.


    Sergeant Peter lay on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, and so did the other Revodan soldiers.


    For a moment, pleas for mercy were everywhere, painfully hard to bear.


    Winters had seen and heard so much that he had become numb, everyone had their difficulties, everyone was compelled.


    ...


    But he hadn¡¯t come to listen to the grievances of these Revodan soldiers.


    ¡°Have all the weapons been confiscated?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°They have.¡±


    ¡°The wagons, the grain?¡±


    ¡°All taken care of.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Tang Juan came galloping over: ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking? Let¡¯s hurry up and go!¡±


    Winters nodded: ¡°Take them all away.¡±


    At the words ¡°take them all away,¡± Sergeant Peter sprang up like a spring from the ground: ¡°Take us away? Aren¡¯t you going to release us? You want to take us away?¡±


    ¡°Who said we¡¯re letting you go?¡± Pierre asked coldly in return.


    ¡°But, but in the past people were released!¡± Peter screamed hoarsely: ¡°We¡¯ve given up our weapons, surrendered our wagons, and didn¡¯t resist. According to the rules, we should be let go! Why kill us? We haven¡¯t done anything! Ah¡­¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Peter shouted, he suddenly burst into loud sobs, wailing with a mix of snot and tears: ¡°If I had known, I would¡¯ve fought you¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    The surrounding prisoners, hearing Peter¡¯s tragic cries, also started to grow restless.


    Winters, who had gone some distance, sensed something amiss and hurried back.


    He jumped down from the saddle and kicked Peter over: ¡°Stop your goddamn crying! Who said we¡¯re going to kill you?¡±


    With teardrops and mucus still on his face, Peter asked in surprise, ¡°Not kill us?¡±


    ¡°Cry again and you¡¯re the first I¡¯ll slay.¡±


    ¡°Then why won¡¯t you let us go?¡± Peter roughly wiped his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed with grief, and cried again: ¡°In the end, you¡¯re still going to kill us? Just somewhere else¡­ Mama¡­¡±


    Winters had no good solution for this rough man who cried so easily.


    He used an amplification spell to announce to the Revodan soldiers around him: ¡°From this moment on, you are all my prisoners. Don¡¯t court death, and you won¡¯t die. Take them all away!¡±


    ¡°Even bandits want prisoners?¡± Peter asked between sobs.


    Sergeant Peter¡¯s grain conscription team was led on their way.


    The more he walked, the more Peter felt that these people, who hijacked the grain carts, were not bandits, as there were never bandits this formidable in Newly Reclaimed Land.


    This group of ¡°bandits¡± had about twenty riders, with the remaining thirty-odd people on foot.


    At a whistle, all the bandits burst out from all directions at once.


    The grain conscription team had no time to respond before they were completely surrounded.


    In such a situation, the temporarily conscripted ¡°soldiers¡± of Revodan instantly lost their will to resist and obediently surrendered their weapons.


    Although the ¡°bandits¡± all wore masks, a few of the riding ¡°chiefs¡± spoke in a way that felt familiar to Peter.


    As they walked on, Peter had an epiphany¡ªthe chief had a distinct ¡°officer¡¯s accent,¡± unintentionally revealing a hint of the Guidao City dialect.


    The further they walked, the more familiar it became: Wasn¡¯t this the road to Wolfton Town?


    The more he walked, the more certain he became, no doubt, it was the road to Wolf Town.


    Why did the bandits not avoid people, still heading towards the town?


    Why was there a military camp in the town?


    Why was there a prison in the military camp?


    Peter exclaimed that he had been tricked: Damn it! What bandits? We were attacked by the militia of Wolf Town!


    Peter felt a bit happy, a bit angry, and mostly confused.


    Happy, because as long as they were not real bandits, there would be no senseless killing, and at least his life was spared.


    Angry, because the militia dared to disguise themselves as bandits and ambush him, the legit Revodan sergeant.


    Confused, because he didn¡¯t understand where the Wolf Town militia got such courage?


    Because he was a sergeant, Peter was imprisoned alone.


    He was taken to a quiet, cramped cell.


    Peter spent some time getting used to the dim light in the cell.


    He saw there were two other men in the cell, their heads unkempt and filthy, beards and hair in disarray, sitting leaning against the corner of the cell.


    To Peter¡¯s astonishment, the two men were¡­ making straw sandals.


    Their movements were swift, the straw as nimble as needles in their hands, and the soles of the shoes visibly extending at a pace visible to the naked eye.


    Peter dared not move.


    In the cramped cell, two disheveled men worked in silence on their straw shoes.


    The sight was too eerie, too terrifying, carrying a mysterious, almost religious atmosphere.


    ¡°Hmm? Another one¡¯s come?¡± One of the men, having finished a sole, glanced up at Peter, unfazed, and knocked on the wall: ¡°Hey! Someone else has arrived.¡±


    A head poked out from the bars on the wall¡ªit turned out there was another cell next door.


    ¡°Another from Revodan?¡± The man in the cell next door asked hoarsely.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Peter from the south of the city.¡± Peter carefully scrutinized the man, suddenly shouting: ¡°Ivan? Aren¡¯t you dead? Killed by bandits?¡±

 Chapter 606 03-25 - 606 11 Quicksand_3

    ?Chapter 606: Chapter 11 Quicksand_3 Chapter 606: Chapter 11 Quicksand_3 In the adjacent cell was the sergeant Ivan from Revodan, infamous for the saying, ¡°drunk men inevitably beat their wives.¡±


    However, Peter could hardly recognize Ivan any longer; the Ivan of the past was a burly, crude, and irascible sturdy man.


    The Ivan of today had become so emaciated as to be almost unrecognizable, and the savage vigor he once possessed had been ground down to nothing. All that remained in his eyes was endless weariness.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Ivan¡¯s lips trembled, his voice even carried a sobbing tone, ¡°you¡­ how did you end up here too¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The officers stationed at Revodan were all gathered in a room for a meeting.


    There was only one item on the agenda: the ¡°bandit problem.¡±


    ...


    The forced conscription leading to bandit uprisings was an inevitable situation.


    The stance in Revodan was to suppress when possible and use it as an opportunity for training; if they couldn¡¯t catch the bandits, then there was no help for it.


    But there was one group of bandits rampaging through the southwest of Revodan, whose actions had forced Revodan to take them seriously.


    These bandits were like the wind in their swiftness, and targeted specifically the grain conscription teams from Revodan.


    Any grain conscription team entering their territory would disappear without a trace, never to return.


    Initially, this group only operated within the vicinity of the three towns: Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, and Wolfton.


    In less than ten days, their reach had quickly extended to Niutigu Valley and Yuanhua Slope, and even Saint Town reported traces of these bandits.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0


    There was even a vague saying that once you crossed the St. George River to the south of Revodan, no place ahead was safe.


    While grain carriages being robbed was not common, it was happening with increasing frequency.


    Because there were so many bandits, and most of Revodan¡¯s soldiers were untrained recruits, even local defense was strenuous, let alone rooting out bandits.


    But unlike other bandit groups, the ones rampaging through the southwest of Revodan didn¡¯t just rob grain carriages; they also took people.


    None from the conscription teams that fell into their hands ever escaped.


    Even though recruiting soldiers was easy nowadays, such ceaseless loss was something Revodan could not afford.


    ¡°We must nip this in the bud. These bandits are not ordinary outlaws; the surrounding villages are sheltering them, they are plotting something big!¡± Major Ronald slammed his hand down, ¡°I suspect they were the ones who ambushed my gendarmes. Their lair must be somewhere in the forest between Wolf Town and Blackwater Town.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other intelligence? Like what the bandit leader¡¯s name is?¡± Captain Apel asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fog of mystery; these bandits have no known leaders,¡± Major Ronald mused. ¡°However, according to my informants, the surrounding villages all call them¡­ the Blood Wolf Gang.¡±


    At this, Major Ronald looked toward Lieutenant Chellini.


    At the mention of ¡°Blood Wolf Gang,¡± Andre boiled with rage, his eyes seething with fury and even hinting at tears, ¡°Blood Wolf Gang? Damn them! Winters Montagne is dead! He died by The Styx! Which bastard dares to misuse his name to play the bandit? I¡¯ll wipe them out myself!¡±


    ¡°You do indeed have to go; my informants say that the Blood Wolf Gang has quite a few horse thieves that only your Dusacks can handle,¡± Major Ronald sighed. ¡°I think they must be Winters¡¯ former soldiers who became deserters and then turned to banditry. Try to recruit them if you can, we are in need of experienced soldiers. I authorize that if they surrender, they will be pardoned and even recruited to serve in Revodan.¡±


    Lieutenant Andreya Chellini set out with his men, brimming with fury, to suppress the bandits.


    A week later, the disastrous news was relayed back.


    Chellini¡¯s hundred-man troop was annihilated.


    The bandits sent a message, demanding ransom from Revodan for their people.


    ¡°Ah, Andre was just too impetuous. He wouldn¡¯t have lost a fair fight; he must have been ambushed due to recklessness,¡± Lieutenant Bard commented with his usual composure. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He summarized to the officers stationed at Newly Reclaimed Land, ¡°The bandits asking for ransom suggests that Lieutenant Chellini is still alive. The bandits wouldn¡¯t have come out unscathed after a direct clash with Andre¡¯s hundred men. This time, Captain Mason and I will go together, ostensibly to deliver the ransom for scouting purposes. We¡¯ll proceed cautiously and ensure the total annihilation of these bandits.¡±


    Next to Bard, Captain Mason nodded eagerly, like a pecking hen.


    Besides their local forces, Revodan¡¯s only mobile military power was these ¡°militia¡± teams sent back by Blue Rose.


    But Major Ronald still felt uneasy, ¡°I don¡¯t underestimate your combat skills, but you are not native to Iron Peak County. I¡¯ll have Lieutenant Akos accompany you as a guide. He¡¯s very familiar with all the towns in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Bard¡¯s smile was earnest, ¡°nothing could be better.¡±


    Six days later, bad news once again reached Revodan.


    Bard¡¯s hundred-man team and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team were both completely wiped out.


    Major Ronald¡¯s hand crashed down upon the table, splintering the surface as he cursed loudly.


    At the same time, Winters finally had his reunion with Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Bard had only one question for Winters, ¡°What, exactly, do you want?¡±

 Chapter 607 03-25 - 607 12 The Hammer

    ?Chapter 607: Chapter 12: The Hammer Chapter 607: Chapter 12: The Hammer Fifty years ago, at a wedding in the territory of the Earl of Menai, in front of the mountains, a few serfs from the Greenheart Monastery, fueled by drink, went wild and hung a ¡°peasant shoe¡± at the top of a tall pole in front of the Monastery.


    As the name suggests, a peasant shoe is the type of shoe worn by peasants.


    Unlike the high boots that represent knights and lords, peasant shoes have no bootlegs but are tied to the lower leg with straps.


    Hanging the shoe was originally just a crude joke, but the abbot of the Monastery, the elderly Earl of Menai, and the local municipal officials took the matter very seriously.


    They came with soldiers and gathered the serfs, proclaiming that hanging the peasant shoe was a grievous insult.


    After the lords¡¯ admonition, the serfs took down the shoe from the pole.


    Why would such dignitaries as the abbot and the Earl be frightened by a pair of shoes?


    ...


    Because they were acutely aware that these serfs were not really serfs; they were freeholder peasants and tenant farmers who had lived on these lands from time immemorial.


    For generations, the abbots of the Greenheart Monastery had resorted to strong-arm tactics, threats, bribes, and even the use of forged documents and false oaths to turn these free men into serfs of the Monastery.


    The peasants had never ceased to resist, through litigation, petitioning, and violence¡­ all of which were suppressed by the Earl of Menai in league with the Greenheart Monastery.


    The peasants lived in hardship and harbored anger, something the lords knew well, which is why they were afraid of a single shoe.


    The shoe in front of the Monastery was taken down, but the shoe in people¡¯s hearts could not be removed.


    The flag bearing the image of a peasant shoe subsequently became the symbol of every secret peasant society and their resistance to tyranny; these secret societies also came to call themselves the ¡°Shoe Society.¡±


    As the burdens imposed by the nobility and the church grew heavier, not only peasants but also city dwellers began to join the Shoe Society enthusiastically.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    Shoe Societies in various places tried to organize uprisings multiple times, which all failed due to leaks.


    Ten years later¡ªthat is, forty years ago¡ªin the territory of the Earl of Menai, another Shoe Society was born in a farmhouse.


    This time, the leader of the Shoe Society learned from past lessons and adopted unprecedented security measures.


    Secret signs, code words, oaths¡­ and merciless and swift execution for traitors.


    By virtue of tight security and the slogan ¡°To overthrow all ecclesiastical and secular nobility and eliminate serfdom,¡± the Menai Shoe Society quickly grew and expanded.


    In this period, the land in front of the mountains was a complete powder keg, with farmers full of rage and lacking only a leader. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the territory of the Earl of Menai alone, more than seven thousand farmers took the oath to join, and their network of contacts even extended to every region of the land in front of the mountains.


    The leader of the Menai Shoe Society devised a whole set of plans for the uprising:


    First, to seize the nearby city of Bruzza, as more than half of its residents either swore allegiance to the Society or sympathized with it.


    By capturing Bruzza¡¯s church treasury, city treasury, and armory and arming themselves, the assembled troops would march without hesitation toward the territory of the Marquis of Denba.


    Afterward, the advance should be relentless, not stopping anywhere for more than twenty-four hours.


    Constant attacks, ever-expanding scales, until the entire region in front of the mountains was brought into the alliance of the Shoe Society, ¡°to realize the Lord¡¯s justice on earth.¡±


    ¡­


    Bard sighed and then asked Winters, ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    Winters and Andre looked at each other.


    ¡°We¡¯ve finally reunited, why be so serious?¡± Andre laughed loudly, pulling out something to show to Winters, ¡°Look at this!¡±


    Andre was overjoyed, he hadn¡¯t been as happy as he was today since returning from the wilderness.


    Winters saw clearly, a Sword Cross Medal in Andre¡¯s palm, identical to the one he had received.


    ¡°One for each of us.¡± Andre sneered coldly, then with some pride, ¡°They think to win hearts with this thing.¡±


    ¡°The matter I¡¯m talking about is very important,¡± Bard stubbornly interrupted Andre.


    Senior Mason, sitting nearby, interjected, ¡°What Bard means is, your actions now don¡¯t look at all like someone preparing for a rebellion.¡±


    ¡°Yes, even the farmers¡¯ Shoe Society knows that rebellion is all about momentum,¡± Bard¡¯s gaze turned steely, ¡°You have to ride the wave forward, either getting smashed to pieces by the huge wave or unleashing a tsunami that destroys the world. But what are you doing? What do you really want?¡±


    Mason scratched his head in frustration and sighed, ¡°Bard and I have discussed this; if you really want to start a revolt, you shouldn¡¯t be putting out fires. Revodan conscripting grain? Not only should you not stop them, but you should also be helping Revodan.


    Only when the peasants are driven to a point where they can no longer live will they be your capital for rebellion. The fiercer and stronger the fire, the better. But what are you doing? Exterminating bandits, allocating land, reclaiming wasteland, attacking grain convoys¡­ this isn¡¯t adding fuel to the fire, but dousing it with water. Do you understand?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t answer; he wanted to keep listening to what Bard and Senior Mason had to say.


    The four were sitting by the riverbank, falling into silence.


    Bard, who was usually silent and reserved, had countless things to say today.


    ¡°To the peasants of Newly Reclaimed Land, you are not the Shoe Society; you are not the towering wave that changes the world. Instead, your actions serve to patch up the old power structure.¡±


    Bard grew increasingly agitated, speaking faster and faster, ¡°The peasants used to pay taxes to the army and the council, now they pay them to your Montaigne lordship, what¡¯s the difference? You¡¯re not a peasant revolution! You¡¯re nobility rebelling! This is [the lord of Wolf Town rebelling against his sovereign]!¡±

 Chapter 608 03-25 - 608 12 Hammer_2

    ?Chapter 608: Chapter 12 Hammer_2 Chapter 608: Chapter 12 Hammer_2 Andre and Mason also noticed the change in Bard¡¯s emotions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up,¡± Andre tried to put his arm around Bard¡¯s shoulder.


    But Bard shook off Andre, staring at Winters, and asked word by word, ¡°So I want to know, what exactly do you want to do by staying here?¡±


    Winters looked at the quietly flowing river and asked in return, ¡°Bard, what happened to the Menai Shoe Society in the story you just told? Did their rebellion succeed?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Bard responded expressionlessly, ¡°A member went to confess to a priest and leaked the secrets of the Shoe Society. The scale of the Menai Shoe Society spooked all the nobles from the foothill lands. They sent out troops together, capturing and killing. A few leaders of the Shoe Society got away, but those who didn¡¯t were executed publicly, and their bodies hung on the castles for all the peasants to see.¡±


    The river still flowed quietly.


    ¡°How do you know about events from thirty or forty years ago?¡± Andre said, somewhat unconvinced.


    ...


    ¡°These incidents, each and every one of them, are recorded in the annals of Green Heart Monastery,¡± Bard said with red-rimmed eyes, staring at Andre, ¡°These incidents, each and every one of them, have been passed on by the mouths of impoverished peasants.¡±


    Andre could only offer a wry smile, ¡°Have the peasants ever¡­ succeeded in their rebellions?¡±


    ¡°Yes! The Sovereign War! After the Menai Shoe Society massacre, came the Sovereign War! Peasants bled in the Sovereign War, a lot of blood was shed. But they never tasted the fruits of the war.¡±


    Andre pressed on, ¡°Before the Sovereign War, was there ever a success?¡±


    This time, it was Bard who fell silent.


    Winters picked up a small stone and threw it onto the surface of the water.


    The stone caused a string of ripples before sinking, and then the water returned to calm.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    After a long silence, Winters finally spoke, ¡°The people of Palatu have wronged me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Andre¡¯s temper flared at the reminder, ¡°When did those sheep-fuckers ever do right by any of us?¡±


    ¡°So when I first got back to Palatu, I actually didn¡¯t think too deeply,¡± Winters shifted to a more comfortable position.


    He looked at the river and said, ¡°I only wanted revenge. I wouldn¡¯t let off any of those who abandoned me and my men on the west bank of The Styx. I wanted them to die painfully, to live a fate worse than death. Those who treated me well, I would also repay them,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°That was my thinking.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Bard seemed unsurprised, his gaze steady, but with a hint of¡­ regret and disappointment.


    ¡°At the beginning, I wanted to go home, dreamt of it. But then on a whim, I stayed. Don¡¯t laugh, it was just a rash impulse. I felt like I could do something, couldn¡¯t just walk away,¡± Winters said softly, yet everyone could clearly hear, ¡°Apart from seeking revenge and repaying debts, I developed other thoughts.¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard, Andre, and Mason waited for Winters to continue.


    But Winters suddenly changed the topic, laughing and asking his companions, ¡°What do you think about Wolf Town? Is it good or not?¡±


    ¡°Good or not in what sense?¡± Andre furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Good? Or not good?¡±


    Andre said loudly, ¡°Good! Haven¡¯t you been managing it well?¡±


    ¡°Good my fucking ass!¡± Winters slammed his fist on the ground, ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land at Wolfton, a total of one thousand two hundred sixty-six households. Sixty-five percent of the farmland belonged to sixteen manors. Most families were landless tenant farmers and laborers. The rich had fields stretching as far as the eye could see, while the poor had no place to call their own. The peasants¡¯ taxation was exorbitantly high; self-sustaining farmers could never save enough money to buy new land, and their sons had to become laborers.¡±


    His expression turned ferocious, he pressed aggressively, ¡°Good? Tell me where is it good? Where? Tell me!¡±


    Andre was taken aback and speechless, even Mason subconsciously swallowed, but only Bard remained calm.


    ¡°She¡¯s not good, she¡¯s very bad, but at least she¡¯s full of life!¡± Winters¡¯s voice grew acidic, ¡°At least there¡¯s something to eat, a place to live, at least people can survive. They respect me here, depend on me. I like it here, I like the wilderness, I like the fields, I like the sweat of labor. I¡¯d be willing to grow old here, build a little house, live out my life.¡±


    In the middle of the river, currents swirled and a flock of crows circled.


    ¡°But now what? She¡¯s dead!¡± Winters shouted, exploding with rage and resentment, ¡°Thirty years! It took thirty whole years to turn a wilderness into a bustling little town. Three months! The bigwigs only needed three months to turn it into what it is now. People nail their doors and windows shut, dragging their families to flee. Those farmers remaining will have their harvests taken away by the grain requisition squads.¡±


    ¡°The bigwigs crush Wolf Town to pieces with a mere flick of their fingertips. And they, they don¡¯t care at all! Not one bit! Not! One! Bit! If they cared, understood, felt the pain of the people of Wolf Town, they would never have done this!¡±


    Andre and Mason¡¯s expressions grew heavy, while Bard pressed his lips tightly together.


    Winters suddenly stood up, directed his fury towards the river surface, furiously venting the anger and unwillingness in his heart, ¡°Fuck your mothers! Fuck your mothers! Fuck you, you bunch of bastards!!!¡±


    He unconsciously entered a spellcasting state, his roar thundering like rushing thunder, scattering the beasts in the forest and causing the crows to flee in panic toward the distance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Paratu that¡¯s wronged me, but those big shots! They have wronged not just me! They¡¯ve wronged many, many people! Those who decide the fate of Paratu, who control the flow of the rivers, don¡¯t deserve to sit in that position!¡±


    Winters gasped violently, his eyes shining as he looked at his companion, ¡°Now, I can only curse at the river like a useless fool. But sooner or later, one day, sooner or later, I will pull those people down! Smash them! Stomp them into the mud!¡±


    ¡°This is what I think! This is what I want!¡± Winters had never spoken these words to anyone because it was tantamount to a declaration of war against a nation.


    But at this moment, Winters Montagne opened up his chest, showing it off without reservation to others: ¡°I stay here to do this very thing! Fuck the Republic of Paratu! I¡¯m going to smash it to pieces and build a new one!¡±


    ¡°To hell with it! Fuck the Republic of Paratu!¡± Andre bellowed, leaping to his feet as well.


    His eyes red, he grabbed Winters¡¯ shoulders, ¡°Do you remember what I told you on the ship back from The Federated Provinces to Sea Blue, that there are tall shoulders to bear the sky when it falls?¡±


    His fingers dug deep into Winters¡¯ skin, ¡°I was wrong! Terribly wrong! It¡¯s not tall people bearing it; it¡¯s tall people using us to bear it! Let¡¯s no longer be tools. If anything, we should be the ones using others to bear it!¡±


    ¡°Fucking donkey-rutting sheep herders won¡¯t let us go home! Fine! They ask us to leave, we won¡¯t leave! We¡¯ll go smash! Even if we shatter into dust, we will shake the earth and the heavens! We¡¯ll smash until it¡¯s cataclysmic!¡±


    Andre pulled out his Sword Grand Cross medal and with a great laugh, threw it into the river.


    That medal he had once longed for traced an arc through the air and with a plunk, sank into the water, disappearing in an instant.


    Bard stared intently at Winters, and asked word by word, ¡°Have you ever considered, if one day you sit in that position, will you become the person you loathe, hate, and desperately want to smash right now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Winters laughed loudly, ¡°Who knows?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s okay.¡± Bard grabbed Winters and Andre¡¯s shoulders, ¡°I¡¯d rather it be you who sits there.¡±


    The river still flowed quietly.


    The three clasped each other¡¯s arms tightly, and from this moment on, they were not only classmates, friends, brothers, but they also began to share the same ideal.


    ¡°We need Revodan.¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°Hell yeah.¡± Andre laughed wildly, ¡°Let¡¯s go take it.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Bard shook his head, ¡°What we need is the whole Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re both wrong.¡± Richard Mason was the last to join in, his voice trembling slightly:


    ¡°Without control of Blackwater Town and Wugou Town, we can¡¯t cover Wolf Town; Without Revodan, we can¡¯t control the three towns; And without occupying Maplestone City, we can¡¯t hold Revodan.¡±


    Winters, Bard, and Andre all looked at their senior.


    Mason¡¯s voice grew firm, ¡°What we need is the entire Newly Reclaimed Land.¡±


    ¡­


    The crow tells me,


    Two young Venetians and two young United Provincials,


    On the frontier¡¯s frontier of Paratu,


    Have sworn to utterly overturn this country,


    That¡¯s what happened today;


    The elk tells me,


    They don¡¯t know how they will do it,


    They don¡¯t know how many difficulties they will face,


    But they swear they will do it,


    That¡¯s what happened today.

 Chapter 609 03-25 - 609 13 Visitors

    ?Chapter 609: Chapter 13 Visitors Chapter 609: Chapter 13 Visitors The sky was just beginning to lighten when Winters stepped out of the military camp and went for a swim in the river west of the town.


    He first warmed up with two back and forth swims and then began to try diving to the bottom of the river.


    By the time he got ashore, he found that Bard was waiting for him.


    ¡°When did you learn to swim?¡± Bard asked with a smile, sitting on Winters¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°I taught myself.¡±


    ¡°Still practicing diving?¡±


    Winters¡¯s heart ached at the mention of it, ¡°Our dear Lieutenant Cherini got so excited he threw the Grand Cross into the river. I¡¯m feeling the riverbed, maybe I can find it.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why bother fishing that thing up?¡± Bard was unconcerned.


    ¡°Why bother?¡± Winters was furious, ¡°That¡¯s gold! If you don¡¯t want it, you can at least exchange it for food! We should really look into Andre¡¯s lineage; I really don¡¯t know what kind of Venetian he is! Such a big piece of gold, thrown into the river in a moment of heat, and here I am, getting up early to fish it out.¡±


    Bard laughed heartily, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.


    He handed the clothes to Winters, ¡°I have a question for you. I heard that at the beginning of July, an assassin broke into Kingsfort Army Headquarters and killed Sekler. Was it you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s been spreading rumors about me?¡± Winters was furious, ¡°When have I ever engaged in assassination?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, good,¡± Bard said reassuringly, patting the assassin¡¯s arm, ¡°As long as you can respond with that attitude to anyone who asks, that¡¯s enough. Also¡­¡±


    Bard was interrupted because Winters hadn¡¯t finished yet, ¡°I marched in through the front gate with my military sabre, and I marched out the same way. How does that become an assassination? When have I ever engaged in assassination? I always act with integrity and openness!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Winters suddenly thought of the Monta gang at the Sea Blue docks.


    With a twinge of guilt, he repeated, ¡°When have I ever engaged in assassination in Paratu? I always act with integrity and openness in Paratu!¡±


    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯ve engaged in assassination elsewhere?¡± Bard sighed. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Winters turned his head away, ¡°Just not in Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Did you leave any survivors?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not some villain. I wouldn¡¯t kill him if he didn¡¯t stand in my way. But it was dark then, and no one could see clearly who was who.¡±


    ¡°Your Spell, nobody would mistake it,¡± Bard sighed heavily, ¡°From what I see, this won¡¯t just end like that. But Kingsfort is thousands of miles away, and even if they knew you were in Wolf Town, they couldn¡¯t reach you. Right now, there are more important things¡ª are you distributing land to refugees to cultivate?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters pointed across the river with a hint of pride, ¡°There¡¯s Newly Reclaimed Land over there. They¡¯re landless tenant farmers and laborers, and I have wasteland, as well as oxen, horses, and ploughs; it¡¯s a perfect match.¡±


    Bard listened intently, then suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know the latest news from Maplestone City?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard a thing. Before I met you all, I could only get bits and pieces of information about Revodan.¡±


    Bard smiled slightly, ¡°Maplestone City has been as busy as you recently.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion is also recruiting refugees for land cultivation?¡± Winters asked, frowning.


    But soon he realized, ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. Without farming, they¡¯d starve. Maplestone City cannot simply give food to refugees for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. In Sea Blue, in Drenthe, there are many ways to make a living, even beggars have a loaf of bread to eat. But for farmers, if they don¡¯t farm, they starve ¨C that¡¯s the harsh truth of their lives.¡±


    Once separated from the land, people gradually forget that food is grown from the soil¡ª this was the case for Winters in the past.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t farm, you starve,¡± he hadn¡¯t understood the deep meaning of this phrase two years ago as he did today.


    Tenant farmers and laborers from all over were fleeing en masse, effectively removing a large labor force from production suddenly.


    The mountain of snow hadn¡¯t collapsed because there was still surplus grain from the previous year, or even the year before.


    But sooner or later, a greater disaster would strike the land, as the farmers still in production could not support so many mouths.


    It would be either famine or rebellion, not a choice between the two, and probably both would occur simultaneously.


    It was seeing this that Winters had made every effort to restore production. He didn¡¯t want to see a famine, nor did he want to see chaos, so he was like dousing fire with water.


    Bard fiddled with a few pebbles in his hand and said, ¡°Disasters are man-made to drive landless farmers to flee. Then recruit them, distribute land for cultivation. Henceforth, the legion suddenly becomes the largest landlord in the Newly Reclaimed Land.¡±


    ¡°Impressive, truly worthy of someone who wields the sword,¡± Bard looked up at Winters, sneered, and said, ¡°But the legion has always been the largest landlord in the Newly Reclaimed Land, so it doesn¡¯t really make a difference.¡±


    Issuing land for refugees to cultivate, something Captain Montaigne could think of, General Adams could too, and probably even more profoundly.


    ¡°Are you saying that all this was intentional?¡± Winters was surprised, yet not surprised.


    Bard stood up and walked to the riverside to skim stones. He spoke calmly, ¡°Not necessarily planned; it might also be just taking it one step at a time. However, since it has happened, we can only analyze the outcome.¡±


    Winters fell into deep thought.


    Wolf Town was too small, the population too low, the potential insufficient, and most importantly, there was no time.


    There was no time for him to accumulate strength. The legion might tolerate corrupt officers, it might tolerate incompetent officers, but it would never tolerate officers who rebelled.


    If the New Reclamation Legion stabilized its footing, it would take only a light punch to reduce Wolf Town to powder.


    That¡¯s why he wanted Revodan.

 Chapter 610 03-25 - 610 13 Visitors_2

    ?Chapter 610: Chapter 13 Visitors_2 Chapter 610: Chapter 13 Visitors_2 ¡°`


    If the Legion¡¯s strategy is effective, then as Senior Mason said, even Revodan wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard sat back down beside Winters, took a stone as a chess piece, and asked, ¡°The landless farmers now have land, the Legion has tenant farmers, and the self-sustaining farmers remain self-sustaining. Whose interests are damaged?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Manor lords.¡± Obvious, Winters responded without hesitation.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°So, the manor lords in places such as Wugou Town and Blackwater Town choose to support you vigorously, offering money and grain, and also providing you with hiding places.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    With a smile, Bard picked up the black stone that represented the manor lords: ¡°Perhaps they do not understand the deeper game, but it is easy to see how their interests are harmed. Without their serfs, what¡¯s left to farm? When the land value plummets, doesn¡¯t that mean their wealth is shrinking?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    It was precisely because of these ¡°local gentry¡± that his troops could appear and disappear like ghosts in the southwest of Revodan.


    ...


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Apart from supplying resources, the manor lords could also provide intelligence. They had widespread local connections and information channels.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°But they are not enough to rely on.¡± Bard tossed the black stone into the river.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°There are too few people,¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    After the sovereignty war, the newly established Republics abolished all forms of personal dependency¡ªexcluding Hurd slaves, of course¡ªwhich was the priceless legacy left by the old Marshal¡¯s generation.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Although the manor lords of the Newly Reclaimed Land were influential, it was just influence.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    They were different from the nobles of the old era who could muster a large force of conscripted farmers when it came to war.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°In my view, the New Reclamation Legion has the right approach, remove the restrictions, recruit disaster victims to cultivate the land. Land prices will fall, but it doesn¡¯t matter to the Legion. If they can create a large group of self-sustaining farmers, we will stand no chance against them. Better return to Vineta early, and I¡¯ll get into small business with you,¡± Bard said, spreading defeatism with a laugh.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Winters tried to defend the Venetians: ¡°We Venetians¡­ aren¡¯t all merchants.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Worse, if we fail, not even a small business could be managed.¡± Bard¡¯s smile brightened: ¡°So we must follow the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s path, but be even more ruthless than they are. We must take larger, more decisive, and more comprehensive steps.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°More decisive?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard pointed across the river and asked Winters in return: ¡°It¡¯s the end of August now, and winter wheat should be sown in September. How many acres have you reclaimed?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°This¡­ I really don¡¯t know.¡± Winters indeed didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°With the few oxen, horses, and hundred-odd people we have, how many acres of wasteland could they possibly clear even if they worked themselves to death? Divided among everyone, it¡¯s barely enough to scrape by. To expect them to provide you with grain next year is wishful thinking! There might even be a great famine next year! Even if it could be cleared, it would be the worst land in Wolf Town! Because all the good land has already been sold off!¡± Bard¡¯s voice grew louder and his eyes brighter: ¡°Yet right before our eyes, thousands of acres of the best farmland¡­ are lying fallow!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Winters was startled: ¡°The lands of the manor lords? That is their private property!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°I know! We are not going to take it for free; we can offer some rent, leasing their land! Then allocate it to the disaster victims. Why doesn¡¯t the New Reclamation Legion dare to do this? Because they themselves are the manor lords! If we want to defeat them, we must follow their path, but be more decisive than they are!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard already had a plan in mind, and he explained patiently: ¡°Even the best land, if left fallow for too long, will go to waste. It¡¯s being wasted anyway, and the manor lords should be happy for someone to maintain the land for them.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What about afterward?¡± Winters asked in return: ¡°We can¡¯t occupy it forever, right? Won¡¯t that just turn them into tenants and laborers again?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°The most critical thing is to cultivate new land! The Federated Provinces is not a place where all wasteland has been cultivated; it has room for further development!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard pointed to the wasteland across the river: ¡°It¡¯s too late to cultivate new land this year, and even next year might not be sufficient! Wasteland won¡¯t magically transform into arable land; it takes time! And where could that time come from? Only by supplementing from existing arable land.


    Farming the land in season and cultivating new land during farmer¡¯s leisure¡ªthat¡¯s what farmers have been doing for thousands of years. It¡¯s just that in the Newly Reclaimed Land, this natural process was artificially suppressed. And we only need to rebuild it.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    For the first time, Winters discovered how eloquent Bard could be.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What about afterward?¡± Winters asked again: ¡°Will we return the land to the manor lords?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Let¡¯s worry about the future when it comes, but I think we can return it,¡± Bard said earnestly: ¡°If we can cultivate enough new land, then we can give the land back to the manor lords. However, by then, it will be difficult for them to recruit enough tenants and laborers, unless there is new migration or we wait for natural population growth.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What if they disagree?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Who disagrees?¡± Bard retorted, laughing as he pressed further: ¡°Who disagrees?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Yes!¡± Winters suddenly remembered the words of Brother Reed, bursting into laughter, ¡°Who disagrees? What¡¯s the army for? In the end, it all comes down to who holds the hilt of the sword. If we can grasp that hilt, no problem is a problem. Let¡¯s do it! As for war, I¡¯ve never been afraid of anyone.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard took over the land cultivation affairs, while Winters focused solely on preparing for the confrontation with Revodan.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    As graduates of the same military academy, everyone was too familiar with each other for things to simply end there.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    On the sixth day after Revodan received the news that Bard¡¯s and Senior Mason¡¯s team of a hundred ¡°had been wiped out¡±¡ªwhich was the twenty-first of September.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 611 03-25 - 611 13 Visitor_3

    ?Chapter 611: Chapter 13 Visitor_3 Chapter 611: Chapter 13 Visitor_3 Xial came back, and he brought Little Lion with him.


    Winters now least wanted to see guests, but guests always seemed to come at times he least wanted to see them.


    ¡°Good luck and great prosperity, Batu.¡± Little Lion offered a saber as a gift, embracing Winters warmly.


    Besides the saber, Little Lion also brought thirty horses, likewise as gifts.


    It had been some time since he had heard the title ¡°Batu,¡± and Winters felt a subtle sensation.


    ¡°Good luck and great prosperity to you too!¡± Winters hugged Little Lion tightly, ¡°How is your brother? And your¡­sister, how is she?¡±


    ¡°Erhulan? She¡¯s fine. My brother, he¡¯s also fine.¡± Little Lion replied casually, ¡°He¡¯s recently been busy with household registrations, otherwise he would have come in person.¡±


    ...


    Winters¡¯s body instantly stiffened.


    He composed himself and asked as naturally as possible, ¡°Oh? Household registrations? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Just household registrations.¡± Little Lion clearly did not wish to elaborate on this matter: ¡°Just like yours.¡±


    With a distant guest visiting, according to the customs of the wasteland as well as Paratu etiquette, family and friends should be introduced.


    Winters took Little Lion to the military camp to meet Bard, Andre, and Mason first.


    Bard and Andre had a deep impression of the slaves from Red Sulfur Island.


    Learning of Winters¡¯s experiences in the wasteland, everyone sighed with emotion.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    Then, Winters led Little Lion to meet Anna, Catherine, Mrs. Mitchell, Scarlett, and other ladies.


    Seeing a ¡°barbarian¡± visitor, the ladies were surprised, but they still extended their utmost courtesy to Little Lion.


    Little Lion could speak the common language and was also respectful to the ladies, except for one impolite act:


    When Winters introduced Anna as ¡°This is my fianc¨¦e,¡± Little Lion raised his eyebrows and sized Anna up thoroughly, making Anna quite uncomfortable.


    The smile on Winters¡¯s face also became somewhat stiff.


    Little Lion let out a long sigh, ¡°Now I know why Erhulan was defeated.¡±


    The ladies keenly sensed the subtle emotion in Little Lion¡¯s words.


    Catherine¡¯s almond-shaped eyes immediately glared at Winters as if she would have caused a scene if there were no guests present.


    Mrs. Mitchell shook her head helplessly, while Scarlett was still somewhat puzzled.


    Anna¡¯s brow furrowed slightly, and she asked Little Lion with a smile, ¡°May I ask who Erhulan is?¡±


    ¡°She is my benefactor,¡± Winters answered before anyone else could.


    ¡°I was asking Mr. Yahachi,¡± Anna¡¯s smile grew even brighter.


    Winters was all too familiar with that smile; the last time he saw it, he ended up with a solid slap on the face.


    ¡°May I ask, who is Erhulan?¡± Anna repeated the question with a smile.


    Little Lion swallowed hard and answered seriously, ¡°She is Winters¡¯s benefactor.¡±


    The matter was temporarily glossed over.


    When Winters left the Mitchell Manor, he tried to impress Anna with a favor, ¡°I¡¯ve made you a particularly beautiful easel, made by myself. Made of pine wood, light and sturdy, it can be carried on a horse¡¯s back and taken outdoors. I¡¯ll bring it to you tonight¡­¡±


    ¡°You should be careful, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Anna leaned on Winters¡¯s shoulder and said kindly, ¡°That golden sword you gave me, I¡¯ve also brought it. If you prove faithless, I¡¯ll just do as you taught me¡ªstab hard.¡±


    Having said that, Anna gently kissed Winters¡¯s cheek.


    Winters, with Little Lion in tow, fled from the Mitchell Manor as if escaping.


    Of course, Little Lion¡¯s visit to Wolf Town wasn¡¯t just for friendship. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He came fully authorized to negotiate a deal on behalf of the White Lion, perhaps a significant one.


    After the formalities of hospitality, it was time to get down to business.


    Little Lion had just arrived in Wolf Town in the morning, and by the afternoon, he was holding a private meeting at the military camp.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Winters got straight to the point.


    Only Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason were in the tent; everyone else was absent, even a clerk.


    ¡°What do we want?¡± The meeting being confidential, Little Lion too was at ease, smiling bitterly, ¡°We want everything.¡±


    Food, iron, cloth, oil¡­ The Red River Tribe wanted everything.


    The Hurd wasteland was surrounded by mountains to the north and south, with a bitter cold plateau to the west, and more mountains beyond the plateau; there was only one exit to the east, which was sternly blocked by the Paratu people.


    Smuggling caravans going to the wasteland were either tools for the profit of the powerful or spies for the Parlatu Army, with most caravans playing both roles.


    The Hurd tribes, fully aware that the visitors were spies, still had no choice but to trade with them.


    Little Lion spread his hands, ¡°The great prairie produces nothing but grass; it lacks everything except for grass.¡±


    His words contained some exaggeration, but they were largely accurate.


    ¡°What is key, though, is what do you have?¡± Little Lion counter-asked.


    Winters flushed slightly, ¡°We also have nothing. Wolf Town has nothing but farmland, nothing but forests. But in the future, we will have everything.¡±


    Little Lion sighed, ¡°I can see that, you are rebelling¡­ What do you want then?¡±


    Bard and Mason smoked their pipes, silent.


    ¡°Captives.¡± Winters replied without hesitation.


    Little Lion nodded.


    ¡°And horses!¡± Andre finally reached a topic of interest.


    Mason spoke slowly, ¡°Horses, cattle, sheep, we need all these livestock.¡±


    Little Lion nodded again.


    Winters straightforwardly took out a quill and started to do the math for Little Lion,


    ¡°Vineta had a saying, [Only gold can be sold ten thousand miles away]. Goods with high profit margins per unit of weight and volume can withstand long-distance transportation. Wolf Town doesn¡¯t produce anything, and the Iron Peak County has only a bit of handicrafts. If your brother thinks of using Iron Peak County as a smuggling window, it¡¯s actually not quite suitable.

 Chapter 612 03-25 - 612 13 Visitors_4

    ?Chapter 612: Chapter 13 Visitors_4 Chapter 612: Chapter 13 Visitors_4 Iron Peak County is not directly connected to the Red River Tribe¡¯s grazing grounds. Transporting goods from other places to Wolf Town and then to Revodan, before transferring them to the Red River Tribe, is like making a big detour.


    Transporting goods from Vineta and The Federated Provinces to Paratu usually takes the water route. It¡¯s challenging enough to sail upstream, let alone overland, which makes the cost of goods surge significantly. Moreover, the road conditions in Iron Peak County are poor, which also increases costs.


    For goods like fabric that have a low unit price, transportation costs are normally one to two times higher than the value of the goods themselves. If there¡¯s a detour, transportation costs could rise to three to four times the value of the goods.¡±


    Winters concluded, ¡°We must strive to produce and process as much as possible within Iron Peak County before sending it to the wilderness in order to make the price affordable. If the Red River Tribe wants to sell raw materials such as leather to regions beyond the wilderness, they should also process it themselves first, transport it to Iron Peak County for further processing, and it¡¯s best to have the goods be finished products when they leave Iron Peak County to be competitive.


    I¡¯ve already sent someone to scout the land route from [Iron Peak County to Vineta]. If¡­¡±


    Winters talked on and on about business, which greatly surprised Andre and Bard.


    Senior Mason might not know, but Andre and Bard knew Winters inside out.


    ...


    Winters Montagne, a man who couldn¡¯t even keep his accounts straight, never counted the cost when spending money.


    When he went shopping, he wouldn¡¯t even bargain. Whatever price the seller asked for, he paid without haggling. If he thought it was too expensive, he would simply walk away.


    His understanding of business came solely from growing up in Sea Blue and Guidao City, absorbing the knowledge by osmosis.


    But to speak as fluently as he had today was completely unprecedented.


    Andre and Bard locked eyes with Winters, asking silently with their gazes.


    Realizing their looks, Winters coughed lightly and explained casually as if it were by chance, ¡°Miss Navarre told me.¡±


    ¡°I get your point. You want to establish forges and smelt iron in Iron Peak County and then sell it to us in exchange for people, horses, and hides. Isn¡¯t that what you implied when you told my brother about the iron mines?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Little Lion slouched back in his chair, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Actually, we also knew about the red iron in the Hanlan River. My brother sent people to explore upstream for mines. The problem lies in the steppe¡¯s lack of fuel for smelting iron and absence of blacksmiths.¡±


    ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land has forests, a vast expanse of them.¡±


    ¡°But according to what you said, the further the transport, the higher the cost. Have you considered the distance of transporting iron ore from the upstream areas of the Hanlan River to here?¡±


    Winters¡¯ pupils dilated slightly.


    The things Little Lion mentioned earlier were all part of a bargaining tactic, but the real message was in his concluding remarks.


    ¡°White Lion has a proposal for you,¡± Little Lion sat upright and spoke earnestly, ¡°Send us the iron smelters you have, the true masters who really know how to establish a forge and smelt iron. My brother is willing to help you ransom back the captives.¡±


    Little Lion fixed his gaze on Winters, stressing slowly, ¡°Not just the captives in Red River Tribe¡¯s hands, but all the captives. You want to start a rebellion? Those captives are all seasoned veterans. If you save them, they will be eager to die for your cause.¡±


    Once these words were uttered, Andre felt somewhat tempted. They were seriously lacking in seasoned soldiers.


    The majority of Bard, Andre, and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team were fresh recruits from Revodan, with veterans from the wilderness serving as Centurions and sergeants.


    ¡°Do you think I could agree to your terms?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°I suspect not, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to try,¡± Little Lion smacked his lips, ¡°Even if you manage to mine the iron ore, have you pondered over how you¡¯d transport it here? The distance is indeed considerable.¡±


    Winters smiled, revealing a row of neat teeth, ¡°By water.¡±


    Little Lion¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°If we can extract iron sand, we¡¯ll use the waterway. From the Hanlan River into the Ashen Stream River, the journey is downstream. It¡¯s upstream to Iron Peak County from Ashen Stream River, but we can use trackers to pull the boats. I¡¯ve seen trackers dragging ships, a dozen men can pull a large ship. Your tribe has plenty of beasts of burden, so there¡¯s no need for manual labor.


    Your Red River Tribe will have to put in some effort too, it¡¯s best if you can take control of the wilderness west of the Newly Reclaimed Land. Although I don¡¯t know who owns that area, it¡¯s certainly not yours. We need to control the entire route first to ensure the safety of the transports.¡±


    ¡°Water transport might be feasible, even if it presents some difficulties,¡± Little Lion suddenly sighed, ¡°But do you know who controls the land to the west of the Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    A sense of foreboding suddenly seized Winters, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The Fire Bakers,¡± answered Little Lion with a complex expression, ¡°West of the Newly Reclaimed Land, past the unclaimed lands, all the way to the far west Ete River, are the grazing grounds of the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    The tent fell silent for a moment.


    Without another word, Winters walked over to the bookshelf, and when he returned, he was holding a map.


    He spread the map in the middle of the table, and the others gathered around it.


    Senior Mason traced the waterway with his fingertip and said, ¡°Taking the route through the unclaimed lands won¡¯t lead us directly through the Terdon Tribe¡¯s territory.¡±


    Winters was also aware of that fact. The critical question was whether the Terdon Tribe would intervene.


    The hundred kilometers of no-man¡¯s-land was a place where Hurd¡¯s light cavalry could pass like the wind, nothing was able to prevent the Fire Bakers from sending troops into that area.


    If the Fire Bakers did not agree, the business deal might fall through.


    ¡°We still need to keep it a secret, as secret as possible.¡± Winters was somewhat irritated, gritting his teeth, ¡°I am determined to make this deal happen, and if the monkeys with their red-butt faces refuse, they can answer to my saber first.¡±


    ¡°Reporting!¡± someone shouted from outside the tent, breaking up the discussion. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters put away the map, glanced one more time at Little Lion, and then stood up to leave the military tent.


    A sentinel was waiting outside.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sir, an officer from Revodan has arrived,¡± the sentinel replied somewhat anxiously, ¡°He¡¯s asking for you by name.¡±

 Chapter 613 03-25 - 613 14 Determination

    ?Chapter 613: Chapter 14 Determination Chapter 613: Chapter 14 Determination Revodan was bound to come eventually.


    Conversely, Winters was also waiting for them to come.


    Outside the town, Winters saw Captain Apel being stopped by sentries.


    The solitary Captain Apel.


    ¡°Just let me stand here then,¡± Captain Apel, with only one escort, saw Winters in the distance and laughed heartily, ¡°This is hardly the way to treat a guest!¡±


    Apel was not a direct senior to Winters, but he had helped Winters greatly with matters during his service in Little Dusack.


    Last time Winters visited Revodan¡¯s garrison, Apel had also welcomed him warmly.


    ...


    Seeing Apel, a smile appeared on Winters¡¯s face, ¡°Sorry, Captain. They¡¯re building houses inside, and with all the dust and dirt flying around, it¡¯s not suitable for receiving guests.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry about?¡± Apel laughed heartily, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a captain as well?¡±


    Having said that, Apel took a silk-wrapped package from his escort¡¯s saddlebag.


    He slowly unwrapped the package in front of Winters, revealing a set of captain¡¯s uniform.


    Apel gently explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t know your exact size, but I thought you¡¯d be about the same build as Asko, so I had this uniform made according to his. The tailor is the best in Revodan, and the material is top-notch.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said, without taking the uniform.


    Apel carefully looked over his junior, feeling somewhat emotional, ¡°Last year at this time, you were about the same size as Asko. Look at you now, the uniform I had made seems a bit large. Wherever it doesn¡¯t fit, just have it altered to suit yourself.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Winters sighed too, and as he took the uniform with both hands, he slowly asked, ¡°I would like to know, who is it that sends me this uniform¡­?¡±


    ¡°The Republic of Palatu,¡± Apel said with a smile.


    ¡°Which Republic?¡± Winters responded with an enthusiastic smile as well, ¡°The first? The second? The third? Or General Adams¡¯s Republic?¡±


    ¡­


    The news that Kingsfort was reorganizing the Grand Council to reform [the First Republic] into [the New Republic] spread like wildfire, creating a huge stir in Paratu and across the Alliance.


    The Blue Blood Faction, situated across the river from Kingsfort, immediately responded with fervor.


    Amidst a barrage of gunfire, the [Provisional Military Government of the Republic of Palatu] was established in the capital of the North River Province, Rainbow River.


    Alpad Duyome took the position of [Marshal of Palatu], controlling all significant and minor affairs.


    The officers who followed Alpad and the Blue Blood Faction legislators became prominent officials of the military government.


    The military government declared: the establishment of the [Pseudo Republic] goes against the ¡°Charter of Sovereignty,¡± and Palatu is thus in a state of war with the Pseudo Republic as the enemy.


    ¡°¡®Under the protection of divine justice and worldly fairness,¡¯ unless we eradicate the Pseudo Republic and purify the filth of Palatu, the provisional military government will not rest.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Second Republic, on the other hand, had little to say on the matter, as they had long branded Alpad¡¯s group as [rebels].


    On the lands of the old Republic of Palatu, there appeared two factions, two governments, two nations at once.


    The situation changed so rapidly it was dizzying.


    Fortunately, the Republic of Palatu was vast in territory; even divided in half, it was still larger than The Federated Provinces and Vineta combined.


    To distinguish between ¡°two nations,¡± people informally referred to the Kingsfort government as [the Second Republic], while the Rainbow River Military Government was addressed as [the Third Republic].


    Of course, whether it was Kingsfort or Rainbow River, they still inscribed the official title [People¡¯s Republic of Palatu] on the crown, excluding descriptors like second or third.


    That¡¯s because the Second Republic claimed it was the legitimate successor to the First Republic.


    While the Third Republic declared that it had been the one and only First Republic from beginning to end.


    In May and June, both sides clashed in the heartland of Palatu, each achieving victories and suffering defeats.


    Eventually, the two exhausted armies vaguely settled into a standoff across the river.


    However, with a steady stream of reinforcements and supplies, the Second Republic was already firmly suppressing the enemy.


    In July, the Kingsfort Blood Night ensued, and General Sekler met his death.


    Grand Speaker Grof of Kingsfort had been gradually usurping Sekler¡¯s military authority, but suddenly faced the collapse of his main pillar of strength.


    Eyeing the opportunity, Alpad launched a counter-offensive, routing Major Roland, whom Grof had personally appointed as the frontline commander, to the point of utter disarray.


    The Second Republic forces north of the Ashen Stream River were swept clean, an incalculable number of corpses floating downriver, even into the moat surrounding Kingsfort.


    But Alpad ultimately failed to break through the Ashen Stream River, and the standoff across the river not only remained but solidified over time.


    All these were matters of the previous September.


    While the two armies were shedding blood in vast quantities, causing another outbreak of vast conflict, Winters was blissfully unaware.


    During that time, all he thought about was ¡°What shall I eat tomorrow? The day after? The day after that?¡±


    It was only when Father Caman brought news of the remnants of the Montagne Brigade in Revodan, and Winters rushed to the county seat to rendezvous with his comrades, that he learned of the events in the outside world after his escape from Kingsfort.


    ¡­


    And now, Winters Montagne, one of the main participants of the Kingsfort Blood Night, asked Apel with a smile, ¡°Which Republic? The first? The second? The third? Or General Adams¡¯s Republic?¡±


    ¡°There is only one Republic of Palatu,¡± Apel did not answer directly.


    He brushed off a small speck of dust from the uniform, but the dust still left a small white mark on the fabric, ¡°You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with these things. Just think of it as a gift from Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°Major Ronald, is he doing well?¡±

 Chapter 614 03-25 - 614 14 Determination_2

    ?Chapter 614: Chapter 14 Determination_2 Chapter 614: Chapter 14 Determination_2 ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Apel laughed heartily, ¡°just in a bit of a bad mood.¡±


    After the laugh, Captain Apel gradually became serious, looking straight into Winters¡¯ eyes and asking, ¡°Andreya Chelini, Richard Mason, and Bard, are they all here with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters admitted plainly.


    ¡°Have them come out for a moment, I¡¯d like to see them.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    The sentry beside him turned and ran towards the barracks to call them.


    ¡°Is Asko still alive?¡±


    ...


    Lieutenant Asko had come to ¡°suppress the bandits¡± with Bard and Mason, naturally also vanishing without a trace.


    ¡°Senior Asko is fine, he hasn¡¯t been injured,¡± Winters said with a light smile. ¡°He¡¯s recently been learning how to weave straw sandals.¡±


    ¡°As long as he¡¯s alive.¡± Apel sighed with relief. ¡°He just got married four months ago, and all the way here, I was afraid, afraid of how to face Asko¡¯s newlywed wife. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    A change came over Apel, and his brows furrowed unconsciously, ¡°Those requisition teams sent south of Revodan, was it you who ambushed them?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters did not hide the fact.


    Apel chuckled lightly, his expression even showing a trace of relief, ¡°I knew it, if bandits had such skill, that would be terrible, wouldn¡¯t it? It had to be one of our own. I had suspected it was you, but everyone said you were dead, and some even insisted they had seen your body, so I dismissed the thought.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    ¡°Many people died, I just happened to survive.¡±


    ¡°Do you know?¡± Apel put his hand on Winters¡¯ shoulder, speaking with emotion, ¡°When we realized it was you, Major Ronald, every one of your seniors, and I, we were not only not angry, we were genuinely glad because you were alive.¡±


    Winters too fell silent, his eyes lowered to the tip of Senior Apel¡¯s boot.


    With a bitter smile, Apel asked, ¡°But what I do find odd is, you¡¯re the Garrison Officer of Wolfton, and you intercept the requisition teams coming to Wolf Town that¡¯s understandable. But why intervene with the teams going to Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, Shizhen, and Niutigu Valley?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ the elders and folks of the five towns asked me to be their protector,¡± Winters said, his face flushing slightly.


    Apel was stunned at first, then burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face.


    Suddenly, he stopped laughing and frowned, ¡°Protector? Are you the Earl of Wolf Town now? You¡¯re an officer, a guardian of the republican system educated for ten years! A protector? Do you really intend to carve out your own domain within the Republic, to dominate a territory, to become a noble lord?!¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to,¡± Winters looked right back into Apel¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t answer but counter-asked, ¡°What are you here to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to bring you dispatch orders!¡± Apel took out four sealed orders, ¡°Captain Montaigne, you can go back to Vineta.¡±


    He then carefully took out a small wooden box, inside was an olive leaf Gold Cross medal.


    Apel¡¯s expression turned reluctant, ¡°We¡¯ve wronged you, and we¡¯re grateful to you. But now, we can only ask you to go home. Go back to Vineta, Winters, go back with this uniform, with this medal.


    You don¡¯t need to worry about your military service, it will be fully transferred. Your military deeds will be recorded accurately, no one has the right to gossip about you. The dispatch orders for Chellini, Mason, and Bard are here too, if they want to leave, they can. Go on, leave.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t take the dispatch orders but took the wooden box instead.


    He pulled out the Gold Cross medal, carefully tucked it into his trouser pocket, and then carelessly threw the wooden box aside.


    ¡°Which Republic are these dispatch orders from?¡± he asked. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Captain Apel¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly.


    ¡°I am an officer of the First Republic, I only obey the commands from Kingsfort Army Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no longer an Army Headquarters at Kingsfort, only an Army Committee.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not my fault either,¡± the smile on Winters¡¯ face was bright.


    Apel simply asked outright, ¡°You don¡¯t want to leave?¡±


    ¡°Not leaving.¡±


    ¡°Well then, come to Revodan,¡± Apel tore the four dispatch orders to shreds, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to leave, you¡¯re most welcome. Major Ronald needs an assistant with rich combat experience.¡±


    ¡°Is Revodan going to continue with forceful levies and exactions?¡± Winters retorted.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Revodan¡¯s will, and Major Ronald doesn¡¯t want it either,¡± Apel explained bitterly, ¡°General Adams has issued a strict order, and the supplies we gather will also be sent to Maplestone City.¡±


    Winters spread his hands, ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to go to Revodan either.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡± Apel glared, shouting.


    ¡°Farm,¡± Winters was not intimidated by his senior¡¯s demeanor, he sighed, ¡°provide food for everyone.¡±


    Apel stood dumbfounded for a while.


    Then suddenly grabbed Winters¡¯ shoulders, speaking so fast he nearly broke into a falsetto, ¡°You foolish boy, do you know what you¡¯re doing? You have just one small town, and you¡¯re going up against Revodan, the Newly Reclaimed Land, the entire New Reclamation Legion, even the whole of Paratu! With a flick of their fingers, you¡¯re done for! We¡¯re saving you! Stop being foolish, go home! You¡¯re Venetian, you don¡¯t need to shed blood for Paratu!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, senior,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I¡¯m a proper Paratu officer, and my service record is still with Paratu!¡±


    Apel released his hands and took a few steps back, because he knew he could no longer persuade the young man in front of him.

 Chapter 615 03-25 - 615 14 Determination_3

    ?Chapter 615: Chapter 14 Determination_3 Chapter 615: Chapter 14 Determination_3 He thought the young man before him was foolish, naive, and too impulsive, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling a measure of respect.


    Bard, Andre, and Mason hurried over from the army camp.


    Apel looked at the three newcomers and asked calmly, ¡°You¡¯re going to follow him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Andre answered loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do this for a long time!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Apel nodded, then asked, ¡°Can I take Asko with me?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, senior,¡± Winters replied somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Asko Senior likes to drink and wants to eat meat. Originally, he only owed fifteen hundred work hours, but now it has increased to two thousand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Without further ado, Apel nodded at the group, stepped into his stirrups, mounted his horse, and galloped away.


    ...


    Winters watched Apel until the senior disappeared behind the hillside, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°And they sent you a new uniform?¡± Andre touched the captain¡¯s uniform and commented offhandedly, ¡°The material is not bad.¡±


    ¡­


    Apel did not go far, stopping after riding about two kilometers.


    He and his guards removed the iron bits from their warhorses and took two bags of corn from their saddlebags, as if they were resting the horses.


    Before long, several persons dressed as peasants in sackcloth shirts, baggy trousers, and straw sandals came out of the woods.


    Upon seeing Captain Apel, the ¡°farmers¡± saluted one by one.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    They were not farmers; they were Revodan¡¯s scouts and spies.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Apel asked.


    The lead scout replied, ¡°The several villages in Wolf Town appear normal, with no soldiers found lodging in the farmers¡¯ houses. But they¡¯ve built a large army camp right in the center of the town, very big, taking up half the area of the town. Plus, the inspections are severe; we couldn¡¯t get in.¡±


    ¡°I saw that army camp too,¡± Apel chuckled, shaking his head, ¡°But I couldn¡¯t get inside to have a look either. My junior brother is quite meticulous.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    Captain Apel re-bridled his warhorse, ¡°You wait here.¡±


    Apel and his guard resumed their journey, hastening towards the ford at Blackwater River.


    They covered the twenty-odd kilometers with only one stop to rest the horses.


    By the time they reached their destination¡ªthe forest on the north bank of Blackwater River¡ªthe warhorses were so exhausted that they were panting white foam, their flanks soaked with sweat as if they had just been pulled out of the water.


    A man dressed as a hunter was waiting for Captain Apel, who immediately led the captain deeper into the woods upon his arrival.


    Deep in the woods, Major Ronald was waiting for Apel.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Major Ronald asked.


    Apel shook his head with a bitter smile.


    Major Ronald let out a heavy sigh, ¡°Then it is settled. Let¡¯s call everyone together, they¡¯ve had enough rest.¡±


    The drill sergeant¡¯s reprimands echoed through the woods, along with the sound of knocking on tree trunks, calling the sleeping men to wake.


    Under the canopy that formed a lid, a dark mass of people stood up.


    Winters, Ronald¡­ Everyone had received the same military training, they knew each other all too well.


    The annihilation of the Chelini Century could have been an accident.


    But after the forces of Bard and Mason were also ¡°completely wiped out,¡± Major Ronald would be a complete fool if he still didn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    Winters¡¯ actions were too obvious, so obvious that Revodan couldn¡¯t possibly have failed to notice.


    Therefore, Major Ronald came, bringing along two battalions as well.


    The negotiations had already broken down, attempts at reconciliation had failed, and Revodan¡¯s only option left was violence.


    Major Ronald intended to quell the rebellion with a swift and decisive blow.


    ¡°We set off now! Quickly! Don¡¯t give him time to react!¡± Major Ronald summoned all the officers, ¡°They haven¡¯t been lodging in the farmhouses; all the rebels are stationed in the army camp in the town center. This is good, we can eliminate them all at once.¡±


    The forest was quiet, the centurions silent.


    ¡°What we are facing is not bandits or marauders, but an organized, disciplined army. This army¡¯s commanders have received the same training as we have, and when it comes to real combat experience, they are even more seasoned than you or me. This is a genuine civil war, fighting among our own, we must be extremely careful.¡±


    The centurions¡¯ eyes grew somewhat dim.


    On both banks of the Ashen Stream River¡ªthe heart of Paratu¡ªhad already become a battlefield, but the flames of war had not yet reached the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    And they were about to fire the first shot of the civil war within the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°Our soldiers lack training and have low morale,¡± Major Ronald surveyed his subordinates, ¡°But there are two pieces of good news: their soldiers are equally poorly trained and low in spirit, and we have an absolute advantage in numbers!¡±


    This was Revodan¡¯s all-out strike, aiming for a clean and decisive kill.


    ¡°Intelligence shows that Winters Montagne is an extremely powerful spellcaster,¡± Major Ronald deployed standard anti-magic combat forces, ¡°Do not give him the chance to join the fray. The moment you spot him, blow the horn and send a message! Captain Apel!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°My best musketeers are at your command, do not fire a single shot unless you see Winters Montagne,¡± Major Ronald¡¯s gaze was stern, ¡°There is no camaraderie now, only a fight to the death!¡±


    Captain Apel nodded emphatically, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Major Ronald gave his centurions one last look. Who would make it back this time?


    ¡°Move out!¡± he gestured grandly with his hand.


    ¡­


    Two battalions from Revodan launched an attack at dawn.


    The town of Wolf Town was eerily quiet at dawn, like a wolf curled up in its den, deeply asleep.


    The new soldiers, on their first battlefield, charged toward the town center from the westward directions, shouting under the officers¡¯ lead.


    The soldiers of Revodan burst out from the forests surrounding the town, one battalion heading straight for the town center, while another encircled from the north side along the town¡¯s river.


    Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, one hundred meters¡­


    The wooden walls of the military camp were now clearly visible.


    But Wolf Town was still eerily quiet, so much so that it was unsettling.


    A new soldier suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the others, frightened, came to a standstill. They stood on the outskirts of Wolf Town, at a loss.


    A centurion¡¯s vine whip lashed down harshly, ¡°Go! Kill! Why the hell are you standing there!¡±


    The new soldiers started running towards Wolf Town again, but this time, they did not dare to run as recklessly as before.


    ¡°Major!¡± Captain Apel found Major Ronald out of breath, ¡°There¡¯s no one!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ronald leaped up in shock.


    ¡°There¡¯s not a soul in the barracks! Nor in the town. There were people here when I came this morning!¡±


    Ronald was first shocked, then puzzled, and finally furious.


    He slammed his fist into a tree with such force that the dry leaves and fruits fell like rain. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ronald cursed aloud, ¡°We¡¯re screwed!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters, Ronald¡­ they had both received the same training, understanding each other¡¯s tactical thinking.


    Ronald understood Winters, and Winters understood Ronald.


    But Ronald made one mistake¡ªhe underestimated Winters¡¯s determination and audacity.


    Meanwhile, at the gates of Revodan.


    ¡°Hey! Open the gate!¡± a soldier banged on the door, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    A head emerged sleepily from the gatehouse, slurring, ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±


    Revodan originally had no city walls or defensive fortifications, as the current earthen walls, wooden walls, and moats were all hastily constructed a few months before.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Ish from Ganshui Town! Ish the sergeant?¡± the soldier outside reported his identity, ¡°Hurry up and open the gate for me!¡±


    ¡°Ish?¡± The person on the gatehouse muttered the name, confusion evident as he asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you dead?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck said I was dead?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ so you¡¯re not dead. We can¡¯t open the gate now, wait until daybreak and then you can come in.¡±


    The soldier outside flew into a rage, cursing, ¡°Bullshit! Open the damn gate for me! It was so hard for me to escape back here, I¡¯m almost starving to death!¡±


    ¡°Sigh, then wait a moment,¡± the soldier in the gatehouse said reluctantly, ¡°I need an officer¡¯s permission to open the gate now. I¡¯ll go find Lieutenant Alec, let him come to open it for you¡­¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, the soldier in the gatehouse suddenly shuddered.


    A steel nail shot into his skull, first causing him to lean back, then slowly collapse forward, and finally, he tumbled down from the city wall.


    Colonel Moritz and Lieutenant Juan emerged from the darkness, the noisy sound of footsteps following them, indicating an unknown number of men hidden behind.


    ¡°Why the hell did you waste words with him?¡± Tang Juan was unusually irritable now.


    Ish from Ganshui Town nodded sheepishly.


    ¡°Come on! Bring the tools over here!¡± Tang Juan bellowed his orders, ¡°Blow this damn gate open!¡±

 Chapter 616 03-25 - 616 15 Civil War

    ?Chapter 616: Chapter 15 Civil War Chapter 616: Chapter 15 Civil War The Revodan troops sent to ¡°quell the chaos¡± found themselves in a dilemma.


    Major Ronald, Apel, and all the Revodan officers still subconsciously regarded Winters as a ¡°bandit.¡±


    Since ancient times, it has always been the officials who suppressed the bandits; when have bandits ever dared to suppress the officials?


    ¡°No matter the situation in Revodan, it¡¯s too late for us to go back to support now,¡± Major Ronald clenched the hilt of his sword, his eyes full of bloodshot veins, ¡°This diversionary tactic by Montaigne couldn¡¯t have been devised in just a day or two¡­ we underestimated him!¡±


    The Centurions were equally dumbfounded.


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s a diversionary tactic?¡± Captain Apel tried to downplay the situation as lightly as possible, ¡°With just that small number of men, can they actually occupy Revodan? At most, they¡¯ll just steal some things.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make excuses for me, I lost this battle with one wrong move,¡± Ronald looked towards Wolf Town, gritting his teeth, ¡°but there¡¯s still a chance. Apel?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Montaigne is in Wolf Town, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.¡±


    ¡°Chellini, Mason, and Bard?¡±


    ¡°They are there, too.¡±


    ¡°Search! Search thoroughly for me, find every footprint!¡± Ronald clenched his fists, resolute in his command, ¡°Capture them, and even if Revodan is razed to the ground, we can still consider it a win. If we let them escape, then this battle is an utter and complete loss!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± all the Centurions responded in unison.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0


    ¡°The news about Revodan must be kept strictly confidential, not a single word can be leaked!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The two battalions brought by Ronald were expanded from Revodan¡¯s city guard; the families of the core soldiers were all in Revodan.


    Upon hearing about the sneak attack on Revodan, what would they feel?


    Ronald didn¡¯t plan to guess, because he chose not to let the soldiers know the news straightforwardly.


    ¡°Lieutenant Istvan!¡±


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°Take all the cavalry with you! Return to Revodan immediately! First, to ascertain the city¡¯s situation; second, to intercept all messengers!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The cavalry under Ronald¡¯s command consisted of only twelve mounted couriers.


    ¡°As for Revodan¡­¡± Ronald let out a long sigh, ¡°they can only rely on themselves now.¡±


    ¡­


    Wolf Town had turned into a sea of fire.


    The Revodan soldiers set fires wantonly. The order had been given: anything and everything in sight was to be burned.


    Wolf Town itself wasn¡¯t large, just a few wooden houses by the roadside and one barracks. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anything that could be taken away had already been removed.


    But even just these simple wooden homes had taken many people and much sweat to build.


    And now, they were burning fiercely.


    Two Revodan soldiers, one tall and one short, with torches in hand, set fires along the way.


    ¡°There¡¯s a house by the river!¡± said the tall soldier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out,¡± replied the short soldier.


    By the river was a makeshift wooden shed, not looking like a dwelling for people, and inside were some oddly shaped items.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± asked the tall soldier.


    ¡°Here? It¡¯s for sawing wood,¡± the short soldier observed the sawdust underfoot, ¡°Seems to be water-powered. But the saw blade and connecting rods aren¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°How do you know this?¡± asked the tall soldier.


    ¡°I was a carpenter,¡± the short soldier replied, ¡°I used to be.¡±


    He walked to the wall and opened a wooden sluice.


    ¡°Gurgle, gurgle¡­whoosh, whoosh¡­¡±


    Sounds likerushing water pounding on large boulders came from outside the shed.


    Underneath the floorboards, a tooth-aching ¡°creak, creak¡± echoed as well.


    A wooden shaft on the wall spun rapidly, trying to drive connecting rods and saw blades that were no longer there.


    A waterwheel by the river began to turn slowly, supplying water to the reservoir.


    Despite no one laboring, the sawmill came to life.


    The simplicity yet cleverness of these devices made it clear to anyone just by seeing how much effort the designers and builders had poured into them.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± the tall soldier swallowed hard.


    Without any expression, the short soldier threw the torch into the sawdust, ¡°Burn it.¡±


    The sawdust caught fire immediately and the flames spread rapidly, quickly engulfing the water-powered sawmill.


    When the flames died down, there would be nothing left.


    At the intersection of two roads in the town center, a Revodan soldier tumbled towards the other soldiers, shouting in terror, ¡°This is terrible! We burned the wrong place! This is a church!¡±


    The other soldiers turned to look at the wooden building ablaze with fire on the side of the road.


    It was simple, with a roof and four walls. Some church characteristics such as the holy emblems could still be made out.


    ¡°It really is a church!¡± another soldier¡¯s knees were shaking.


    But the fire had already started.


    ¡°No matter, it isn¡¯t one now,¡± said a soldier, patting the trembling soldier on the shoulder, ¡°Once it¡¯s burned down, it ceases to be.¡±


    The soldiers were setting fires, while Major Ronald kept asking Captain Apel for confirmation, ¡°Montaigne, Chellini, Mason, and that one called Bard¡ªare all of them in Wolf Town? Can you be sure?¡±


    ¡°I can be certain. I specifically asked Winters to call the other three out to meet me,¡± Apel had answered this question three times already.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right!¡± Major Ronald¡¯s brows furrowed deeply, ¡°If all four officers stayed in Wolf Town as a decoy, then who led the troops to sneak attack Revodan?¡±


    ¡­


    Who led the troops to sneak attack Revodan?


    Of course, it was the mysterious masked man A and mysterious masked man B, along with Pierre Mitchell.


    Among them, the mysterious masked man A [Tang Juan] had just led his troops to blow open Revodan¡¯s gate.


    Revodan originally didn¡¯t have walls; the hastily built earthen fortifications were quite low, not even reaching two and a half meters.


    The gate was not a vertical lift gate, just a regular wooden door.


    The attacking soldiers jammed several small bell-shaped objects against the door hinges and bolts, holding them tightly in place, then lit the fuse on the gunpowder twists.

 Chapter 617 03-25 - 617 15 Civil War_2

    ?Chapter 617: Chapter 15 Civil War_2 Chapter 617: Chapter 15 Civil War_2 ¡°`


    Several booming sounds rumbled, the wooden walls shaking violently.


    As the gunpowder smoke dissipated, the gate still stood in place.


    Tang Juan stepped forward and with a kick, the ruined gate, its fastenings destroyed, crashed down.


    Cheers erupted from outside the city, shaking the heavens and earth.


    No one knew the weaknesses in Revodan¡¯s defenses better than Mason and Bard, for they had been the ones to build them.


    ¡°String up every rapist and plunderer! Don¡¯t you fucking get any funny ideas! Follow your own unit¡¯s flag! The standard-bearers know where to go! Don¡¯t bother with the fleeing enemy, just beat those who dare to resist!¡± Tang Juan roared orders to his soldiers, ¡°Attack!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai! Uukhai!¡±


    ...


    The soldiers shouted in unison.


    Mason and Andre¡¯s hundred-man squads poured through the gate, dividing into left and right flanks to climb the city and pounce on the bewildered foes.


    The strongest troop¡ªWinters¡¯ ¡°Arrow¡±¡ªwas held in reserve by Tang Juan.


    Bard¡¯s hundred-man squad was merely on standby at the gate, not engaged in the battle.


    Across the river, numerous carts waited without having crossed the bridge yet.


    Winters gambled it all, deploying every bit of his available strength.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    The militia from Wolf Town and three hundred-man squads earned from Revodan all came to attack Revodan.


    Bard and Mason¡¯s troops never went to Wolf Town at all.


    The moment they were out of sight from Revodan, the two led their forces by a shortcut back to Saint Town, joining the allies waiting there.


    Winters emphasized his title as the ¡°Protector of the Five Towns¡± with the intention of misleading the Revodan officers.


    His real title was ¡°Captain of the First Republic, Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, and Protector of the Seven Towns¡±.


    The Legion¡¯s brutality and extortion had led to widespread resentment. Saint Town and King¡¯s Bridge Town had long sworn fealty to Winters¡ªto be precise, they had struck a deal.


    After combining forces, the troops had been hiding in Saint Town¡¯s Oak Manor.


    While keeping an eye on Revodan¡¯s movements, Tang Juan led the training and began preparing for the siege.


    The only ones who actually went to Wolf Town were Bard, Mason, and a handful of people.


    Pierre did not have the ability to command three hundred soldiers, and even the masked man B [Moritz] couldn¡¯t.


    Except for the four including Winters, only Tang Juan could command hundreds of soldiers with such composure.


    At this moment, Tang Juan was on the city wall, his brow tightly furrowed as he observed the battle. Lieutenants Pierre and Colonel Moritz were beside him.


    Pierre was just as somber.


    Moritz, on the other hand, was much more relaxed than the others, casually leaning against the parapet, smacking his lips non-stop.


    ¡°Major Ronald has defected! We are from the New Reclamation Legion! We¡¯ve come to quell the rebellion!¡± The soldiers shouted to anyone they encountered: ¡°Surrender and you won¡¯t be killed!¡±


    Like this, many Revodan guards confusedly laid down their weapons.


    Each hundred-man squad had dedicated personnel assigned to disarm, bind, and secure prisoners.


    The city walls were swiftly cleared.


    ¡°Good!¡± Tang Juan clapped his hands sharply, ¡°Sound the horn! Surround the military camp!¡±


    The piercing military horn echoed through Revodan.


    The various units within the city changed direction, rushing together toward the barracks of the defending forces.


    ¡­


    Wolf Town.


    Daylight had long broken.


    ¡°Major, I¡¯ve scoured every corner of the village to the northwest,¡± Captain Apel reported breathlessly, ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone! The houses are all empty! All that¡¯s left are some unharvested crops in the fields.¡±


    The expression on Major Ronald¡¯s face grew even more somber.


    Another Centurion, Lieutenant Adam, rode up on horseback with a person tied on the back.


    ¡°Major! This was the only person I found in the southern village, skulking in a cellar, so I brought him in,¡± he reported.


    ¡°Put him down!¡± Ronald¡¯s spirits lifted.


    The bound man was pushed off the horse, landing heavily on the ground, struggling to stand up.


    Ronald looked closely, seeing before him a seemingly honest and straightforward farmer. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The man¡¯s face and neck were burnt dark by the biting sun. He did not seem old, but premature ageing had taken its toll.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Ronald asked as kindly as possible.


    The farmer did not dare to make eye contact, murmuring in reply, ¡°Koschmar.¡±


    ¡°Married?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Any children?¡±


    ¡°Had one, died young.¡±


    ¡°Why did you stay in the village?¡± the major cajoled gently.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s still wheat to be harvested in the fields¡­¡±


    ¡°Where did everyone from your village go?¡±


    Koschmar¡¯s throat worked with difficulty, ¡°Lord Montagne said bandits were coming to kill us. He told us to hide in the forest. To come back only when he said so. He had us practice it a few times¡­¡±


    Adam instantly slapped the farmer, ¡°Quit your bullshit! Who are you calling bandits? Winters Montagne is the real bandit!¡±


    Adam¡¯s reaction was so swift, Major Ronald didn¡¯t have time to stop him.


    Koschmar staggered from the blow, clutching his face, letting out the repressed anger, ¡°I don¡¯t know who¡¯s the bandit! But that lord has been in Wolf Town for over a year and never once beat me!¡±


    ¡°You fucking asking for death?¡± Adam unsheathed his sword.


    Koschmar backed away in fear.


    He hung his head¡ªnot daring to look at the Centurion, yet he still spat out a mouthful of blood-stained saliva.


    ¡°Put it away!¡± Ronald glared fiercely at his subordinate.


    Adam, with a grim face, sheathed his sword.


    ¡°Keep searching! Keep looking! Keep interrogating!¡± Major Ronald ordered, ¡°I refuse to believe that everyone would just follow him!¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan.


    Dawn was breaking.


    Samuskin led his ¡°Arrow¡± as the first to burst into the Revodan military camp.


    He froze in place after kicking open the gate.


    The modest drill ground was teeming with several hundred soldiers in a state of panic, many not even fully dressed.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 618 03-25 - 618 15 Civil War_3

    ?Chapter 618: Chapter 15 Civil War_3 Chapter 618: Chapter 15 Civil War_3 The garrison at Revodan had a standing force of only eighty soldiers on the books.


    [Note: According to the system, if needed, they could at any time conscript Dusacks and militiamen from the county]


    The Revodan municipal government had a security team of twenty people, and over two hundred armed citizens registered.


    The four current companies in Revodan were expanded based on this core of troops. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A major commanding four companies¡ªan event most unusual on ordinary days?


    But none of the four companies under Major Ronald¡¯s command were at full strength.


    They were either out foraging for grain or had gone foraging for grain and never returned.


    After the ¡°total annihilation¡± of three hundred-man troops and two companies leaving the city to ¡°suppress bandits,¡± the defending force was reduced to less than one company.


    ...


    At this moment, the majority were right in front of Samukin.


    The Revodan soldiers in the camp didn¡¯t even notice Samukin kick open the gate, only a few of them made eye contact with Samukin and stood there just as stunned.


    ¡°Major Ronald has betrayed us! We are the New Reclamation Legion! Here to suppress the chaos!¡± Samukin suddenly bellowed, brandishing his spear and overthrowing a Revodan soldier reaching for his weapon: ¡°Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    ¡°Those without red bands on their shoulders are not one of us!¡± Vashka led his archers into the back door: ¡°Kill!¡±


    Neither the soldiers from Wolf Town nor the Revodan soldiers had uniforms;


    For a time, the Revodan soldiers couldn¡¯t even tell friend from foe.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Vashka, wearing one of the few suits of plate armor, brandished his war hammer as he broke into the barracks.


    He didn¡¯t care who was in front of him, as long as they didn¡¯t wear red bands on their shoulders; he aimed for the head with ruthless blows.


    More and more soldiers joined the carnage in the barracks; the small drill ground was crammed with men fighting to the death in the confined space.


    A Revodan soldier, clutching his stomach, cried loudly; his belly had been slashed wide open, spilling slimy intestines, which he desperately tried to shove back in, to no avail.


    He wailed and stumbled around, and accidentally stepped on his own intestines.


    The new recruits around him, regardless of their allegiance, could hardly resist the urge to vomit up everything in their stomachs at the sight.


    Even the soldiers from Wolf Town had never witnessed such gruesome carnage¡ªnot many of them, being merely farmers fleeing calamity, joined the army just for a loaf of bread.


    But the veteran soldiers who had returned from the wasteland did not utter a word; they didn¡¯t even glance at the man.


    Their lips were pressed tightly together, and their hands showed no mercy, stabbing ferociously at necks and soft bellies.


    One thrust, one twist, one pull, and the blood gushed out like a fountain.


    A voice echoed through every corner of the drill ground:


    ¡°Major Ronald has betrayed us! We are the New Reclamation Legion! Here to suppress the chaos! Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    The Revodan soldiers could no longer bear it and quickly threw down their weapons.


    ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡± a blood-soaked officer screamed with all his might in the drill ground: ¡°They are the rebels! They¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, a metal spike pierced through his skull.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother looking for death.¡± The same voice again.


    Another Revodan officer angrily exclaimed: ¡°You are¡­¡±


    The next second, he too was dead.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Tang Juan grabbed Moritz in a hurry.


    No one understood the true face of war better than Juan, but even he couldn¡¯t accept what was happening emotionally: ¡°Those are our own people! Why kill them?¡±


    Brotherhood, as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a mountain of gold.


    Even Winters had never acted so ruthlessly against his fellow alumni¡ªexcept for Sekler.


    ¡°Do you know what civil war is?¡± Moritz countered in a detached tone, yet he couldn¡¯t hide the pain in his eyes: ¡°Civil war is when your own people kill each other.¡±

 Chapter 619 03-25 - 619 16 New Life

    ?Chapter 619: Chapter 16: New Life Chapter 619: Chapter 16: New Life The farmers of Wolf Town mostly hid in the nearby forest. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were quite adept at this process because when the conscription teams used to come wave after wave, the farmers would always burrow into the old woods.


    Many farmers had even dug hidden cellars in the woods to store their food.


    As for Winters, he knew he was the primary target, so he hid even farther away.


    He crossed the Big Horn River and ran into the uninhabited area.


    The wilderness was vast, and he was not short of horses. Let alone Ronald not knowing where he was, even if he did, there was no hope of catching up to him.


    ¡°So this is what rebellion is?¡± Little Lion was quite curious, ¡°Why do you always end up being chased wherever you go?¡±


    ...


    The two sat side by side on a hillside, which offered the best view within a five-kilometer radius, leaving no place for anyone trying to approach to hide.


    ¡°After all, it¡¯s my first time, I¡¯m not yet skilled at it,¡± Winters said with a smile, then asked, ¡°You mentioned that your brother is organising the people. Can you explain that to me in detail?¡±


    Little Lion handed Winters a stalk of sweet grass, ¡°Reed (Dexe Zen) taught him, and it¡¯s roughly about weaving the commoners together like weaving a basket. I don¡¯t quite understand it myself, and even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t want to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Weaving the people of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°No, my brother subdued the lord of the Kin and captured his people, so he first wove those of the Kin.¡±


    Winters chewed on the stalk of sweet grass, pondering the meaning of ¡°weaving the people together like weaving a basket.¡±


    The first time the term ¡°organising the people¡± was mentioned, he sensed a hint of danger.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Little Lion also chewed on a stalk of sweet grass and lamented, ¡°Rebelling on the steppe is simpler, call your men and horses, and head straight for the enemy¡¯s lair. If you win, you win; if you lose, you run away¡ªsimple and clean.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh; that¡¯s how it is. Steppe society is loose, and everyone follows the strongest, same goes for battles. When war comes, the tribes gather and elect a leader as the commander. If the leader dies or is defeated, the army immediately falls apart.¡±


    ¡°And what if there¡¯s a victory?¡±


    ¡°It falls apart just the same,¡± Little Lion said with a light chuckle, ¡°but everyone feels a bit better about it.¡±


    Winters laughed openly, even startling Bard and the quiver bearer on the other side of the hill.


    After the laughter, Winters turned serious and said to Little Lion, ¡°Since you¡¯ve told me about the steppe, I¡¯ll tell you something from beyond the steppe. I¡¯ll teach you how to do business.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Little Lion¡¯s eyebrows slightly furrowed.


    ¡°Do you know what the most important thing is in business?¡±


    Little Lion answered bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyes were bright, ¡°Capital.¡±


    Little Lion looked in the direction of Wolf Town, ¡°But your capital is gone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ronald has destroyed my capital.¡± Winters, too, gazed in the direction of Wolf Town, then shifted his tone, ¡°But if all goes well, I should¡¯ve already taken Ronald¡¯s capital.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering why there were no soldiers here,¡± Little Lion said with a grin, ¡°I was even thinking of advising you to come find me sooner, at least then you wouldn¡¯t be chased around. Since you have capital, do you intend to do business with my brother?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Little Lion dusted off his hands and pulled out a rope, ¡°We can talk about the price of the captives.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to use this capital to ransom captives. I want to use it for a bigger deal,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°So, I¡¯m actually thinking of asking for credit.¡±


    Little Lion was at a loss for words, his Adam¡¯s apple moving, ¡°This¡­¡±


    Andre interrupted Little Lion with a loud shout, ¡°From the south! Someone is coming this way!¡±


    Winters and Little Lion sprang up and ran for their Warhorses.


    ¡°They have really tracked us down.¡± Andre said indignantly, ¡°Isn¡¯t Ronald tired? Why doesn¡¯t he just go back to Revodan? What¡¯s with dallying with us here? Can¡¯t he save everyone some effort?¡±


    ¡°If it were you, you would have been here even quicker,¡± said Bard while saddling a horse.


    Bard¡¯s pale yellow horse was no more, and neither was Andre¡¯s prized black horse; they were both riding Hurd horses gifted by Little Lion now.


    The people resting on the hillside had, in the blink of an eye, mounted up: Winters, Bard, Andre, and two Dusacks, as well as Little Lion and his six guards.


    Aside from their mounts, each person¡¯s saddle also carried three packhorses.


    Even if Ronald grew two more legs, he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up.


    ¡°I had another gift, which I intended to give you when we departed.¡± Little Lion said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll just give it to you now.¡±


    He blew a whistle.


    A quiver bearer took out a roll of cloth from his saddlebag¡ªno, a banner.


    ¡°Could it be?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened suddenly.


    Winters would recognize what it was.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it,¡± Little Lion laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s the banner you were wrapped in when I found you. My brother told me to deliver it to you.¡±


    Winters accepted the former Jeska squadron, later Montaigne squadron¡¯s military flag, and tucked it into his chest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he said as he gently tugged on the reins.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Andre called to halt everyone. He squinted his eyes towards the newcomers, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s our people. It looks like Heinrich!¡±


    Winters looked intently and saw two riders galloping towards the hillside.


    The rider on the left was the scout he had sent to monitor Revodan¡¯s army, and the one on the right was indeed Heinrich.


    Heinrich had returned to Paratu with Bard, and since he couldn¡¯t find his grandfather amid the chaos of war, he stayed with the army, serving as a constable under Bard.


    When Bard reunited with Winters, he too came back to Winters¡¯ side.

 Chapter 620 03-25 - 620 16 New Life_2

    ?Chapter 620: Chapter 16 New Life_2 Chapter 620: Chapter 16 New Life_2 While others went to fight in Revodan, Winters left Heinrich in Wolf Town.


    The esteemed Franz¡¯s great-grandson, a man of few words, handled matters with steady reliability.


    Winters liked him very much and specially assigned him and Xial to protect the ladies.


    Once Winters saw that it was Heinrich approaching, he immediately raced down the slope to meet him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked, his face betraying no emotion.


    ¡°It¡¯s Miss Mitchell! The other ladies and madams are fine!¡± Heinrich said succinctly, but panic was rarely seen in his eyes: ¡°A pregnant mare at the Mitchell estate is having difficulty giving birth. Miss Mitchell sneaked back while I wasn¡¯t paying attention!¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the city of Revodan.


    The battle had completely concluded.


    All the defenders had been disarmed, bound, and detained.


    The unattended bodies lying on the streets reminded the citizens that the dawn¡¯s battle was not a dream.


    Last night, while attacking the city, Revodan¡¯s citizens heard the attacking side claim to be ¡°the New Reclamation Legion here to quell the chaos.¡±


    At the break of dawn, they realized.


    The invaders were not the New Reclamation Legion at all, but the notorious ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± they had long heard of.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    And the actions of the ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± were nothing less than bandits storming into the city.


    Cart after cart entered Revodan, seemingly determined to take everything before stopping.


    Revodan was in utter chaos at this moment. Winters¡¯s soldiers wore no uniforms, only identified by the red bands tied on their shoulders.


    Many ruffians discovered an opportunity for mayhem and, tying red bands onto their shoulders, began looting and vandalizing.


    The displaced outside the city walls also noticed the chaos within Revodan. They, oppressed and starved, found an outlet for their anger.


    As day broke, streams of refugees poured into Revodan, incited by the ruffians, stealing food and goods.


    The Revodan Cathedral was even assaulted, with thugs from the city leading the outsiders into the cathedral¡ª not even God could keep his sanctuary safe.


    In the midst of the chaos, Anglu led more than twenty carts straight to Revodan¡¯s garrison.


    Pierre came up from behind, yelling angrily, ¡°Dammit! Where are you going? Hurry to the granary, the treasury, the Arsenal!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Anglu stubbornly replied. ¡°Lieutenant Bard was clear. We can forsake gold and silver, but we must take the complete archives of the Revodan garrison.¡±


    ¡°What use are the damn documents! In these times, they¡¯re all just useless papers! To the granaries!¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard ordered me to move the archives!¡± Anglu¡¯s stubbornness flared up as well.


    Pierre could not outstubborn the tenacious young lad: ¡°Fine, you go then. I¡¯ll give you fifteen carts! Not one more!¡±


    The young lad drove the carts towards the garrison¡¯s archives.


    Pierre watched the chaotic scene on the streets: people with red bands on their shoulders¡ªGod knows who they were¡ªbreaking into houses, dragging the owners out into the streets to beat them; ragged refugees also joined in.


    Many sneaky figures ran into alleys, carrying gold, silver, and porcelain, disappearing from sight.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Pierre cursed uncontrollably.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do!¡± Pierre thought. ¡°I need to find Lieutenant Juan!¡±


    As Pierre thought this, a Dusack messenger arrived at a gallop.


    ¡°Pierre Girardnovich!¡± The messenger shouted from afar, ¡°Mr. A and Mr. B want you to see them immediately!¡±


    ¡­


    According to Scarlett¡¯s calculations, Botayun was due to give birth in late August.


    Her calculations were wrong, as mares are often bred multiple times to ensure conception.


    Botayun¡¯s actual due date was early September.


    Yet, until the day before yesterday¡ªSeptember 20th¡ªBotayun showed no signs of labor.


    During this time, Scarlett was so anxious she couldn¡¯t sleep. She stayed up all night beside Botayun, not leaving her side for a moment.


    Then, at noon yesterday, Botayun suddenly began to have contractions.


    At the same time, Mr. Montaigne sent Xial and Heinrich¡ªeveryone in Wolf Town had to hide in the forest immediately, as rehearsed before, because the Revodan bandits were coming.


    To ensure the secrecy of the operation, knowledge of the plan was kept to a minimum; even the women were among the last to know.


    Only the officers were fully aware of the battle plans.


    In anticipation of bandit attacks, Winters had previously led the people of Wolf Town in evacuation drills twice.


    When the real situation arose, it happened to coincide with Botayun¡¯s labor.


    Botayun lay in the straw pile, whinnying in agony, but the foal remained stubbornly unborn.


    Xial and Heinrich had almost to use force to carry Scarlett away.


    But Scarlett had fully inherited her father¡¯s stubbornness; while Xial and Heinrich were distracted, she slipped into the forest and ran back to Mitchell estate.


    And at this very moment, Scarlett was facing a grave crisis.


    Two Revodan soldiers barged into the Mitchell estate, grabbing whatever they saw, smashing anything they couldn¡¯t carry away.


    They wreaked havoc from the ground floor to the second and back again.


    One soldier burst into a room on the second floor and suddenly shouted to the other, ¡°I¡¯ve found the room of the daughter of a wealthy family!¡±


    The other soldier ran over in a panic, stopping in stunned surprise at the doorway.


    After a foolish standstill, one soldier threw himself onto the bed, sniffing it vigorously.


    ¡°If I could take a rich man¡¯s daughter, my life would be complete!¡± he exclaimed loudly.


    The other soldier followed suit.


    Initially they rubbed their faces against the bed sheets and the pillows, but soon this way of venting their desires was no longer satisfying. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of them plunged a knife into a pillow, tearing at it wildly.


    Down feathers danced around the room like a heavy snowfall.

 Chapter 621 03-25 - 621 16 Newborn_3

    ?Chapter 621: Chapter 16 Newborn_3 Chapter 621: Chapter 16 Newborn_3 ¡°Wait!¡± Another soldier grabbed his companion, ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡±


    They heard the neighing of horses.


    Following the noise, the two made their way to the stables and effectively trapped Scarlett inside.


    Scarlett was wearing dirty trousers, an old shirt, and her hair was tied back, making her look a bit like a boy.


    But the delicate features inherited from her mother couldn¡¯t be hidden by clothes.


    The two Revodan soldiers were stunned.


    The older one, since being conscripted into the army, hadn¡¯t touched a woman for a very, very long time.


    ...


    The younger one had never touched a woman.


    Scarlett grabbed a pitchfork, and although panicked, she didn¡¯t scream, ¡°My father is a Dusack, my brother is also a Dusack, if you dare touch me, I¡¯ll kill you and then myself!¡±


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re not a rich man¡¯s daughter! A coachman¡¯s daughter will do!¡± the older soldier shouted, lunging at the girl like a madman.


    ¡°Help!¡± Scarlett screamed, stabbing at the man who had turned into a beast.


    The older soldier ran onto the pitchfork, its sharp tines piercing his abdomen. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You!¡± he exclaimed in panic, ¡°You killed me!¡±


    ¡°You!¡± he shouted angrily, ¡°You killed me!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    ¡°You damned little wench!¡± The soldier, overcome with rage and with the pitchfork still in his belly, drew his saber and roared as he swung at the young girl, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    Scarlett dodged the blow as she screamed, yet she never let go of the pitchfork.


    The younger soldier was too terrified to react.


    The sound of horse hooves grew closer.


    Two officers burst into the stables, one after the other.


    With just one glance, the two officers understood what had happened.


    The younger soldier was so frightened he wet himself, ¡°Ma¡­ Major Ronald¡­ Captain Apel¡­¡±


    Major Ronald¡¯s face turned blue with rage as he pulled down the older soldier and brutally kicked him in the jaw.


    The soldier was knocked out cold.


    Apel knew exactly what to do; he drew his sword to finish off the solider on the ground and took the other soldier, still standing in shock, out of the stables.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Major Ronald asked the girl kindly.


    Scarlett, still clutching the pitchfork, looked at the unfamiliar officer with wide-eyed terror, her chest heaving violently.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away¡­¡± Ronald¡¯s gaze shifted to the white horse in the stall.


    As an officer who came from the cavalry, he quickly connected the dots, ¡°Is it because of her?¡±


    Ronald went into the stall and bent down to check the white horse.


    Seeing the unfamiliar officer approach Botayun, Scarlett, nerve-wracked, screamed as she stabbed at him.


    Ronald quickly knocked the pitchfork aside with the hilt of his sword, ¡°Calm down, young lady. She¡¯s having difficulty giving birth, and I can help you.¡±


    At the word ¡°difficulty giving birth,¡± the fear in Scarlett¡¯s heart was momentarily suppressed.


    What followed was relief, and tears spilled over as she sobbed.


    Major Ronald was at a loss facing the crying girl and quickly turned his attention back to the white horse.


    ¡°When was her due date?¡± Ronald asked.


    ¡°The fourth week of August,¡± Scarlett said through tears, trying to dry her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wipe them, your hands are so dirty, you¡¯ll get an eye infection!¡± Ronald exasperatedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.


    He knelt on the ground to check the cervical opening, ¡°The foal is too big, and the position seems wrong; the mare can¡¯t give birth¡­ Is this her first foal?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Ronald rolled up his sleeves, ¡°We have to pull the foal out! You, go find me two thick ropes! The thicker, the better!¡±


    Once again, the sound of horse hooves approached.


    Shortly after, someone walked into the stable.


    Hearing the footsteps, Ronald smiled with relief and looked up, ¡°Apel, you arrived just in time, come help¡­¡±


    His smile froze, as he was greeted by the face of Winters Montagne.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Apel?¡± Ronald asked.


    ¡°Passed out, not dead,¡± Winters replied.


    Scarlett, crying, threw herself into Winters¡¯s arms.


    ¡°You¡­ and her¡­ are you?¡± Major Ronald found himself at a loss for words.


    Winters gently patted Scarlett¡¯s back and asked, ¡°What happened to Botayun?¡±


    ¡°Difficult birthing. When did her labor start?¡±


    ¡°Last evening,¡± Scarlett answered, wiping her tears.


    ¡°The foal probably won¡¯t make it, the position is incorrect. But if we act now, we can still save the mare.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help,¡± Winters said, as he started rolling up his sleeves.


    Ronald nodded.


    An infantry officer assisted a cavalry officer, and the two tried to help deliver Botayun¡¯s foal.


    Ronald washed his hands and reached into the mare¡¯s cervix, feeling around.


    Stimulated, Botayun kicked furiously, striking Winters.


    Winters grunted softly.


    Scarlett hurriedly knelt beside Botayun, gently stroking the horse¡¯s neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t be afraid¡­¡± she soothed the horse, unconsciously humming a childhood lullaby, ¡°Edelweiss, Edelweiss, greet me in the morning you bloom; small and white, clean and bright¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡± Ronald, with a stern face, suddenly shouted excitedly.


    Clenching his teeth, he began pulling hard.


    As the Major shifted backward bit by bit, a pair of tiny hooves emerged from the cervix.


    ¡°Belts!¡± Ronald yelled.


    Winters quickly undid his belt.


    ¡°And mine!¡±


    Major¡¯s belt was removed as well.


    Ronald, panting heavily, said, ¡°Strap them on! Tie them around the hooves!¡±


    Each belt was secured to one of the foal¡¯s ankles.


    ¡°Pull hard! In one direction! Don¡¯t twist!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters wrapped the belts around his hands, took a deep breath, and started exerting his strength.

 Chapter 622 03-25 - 622 16 Newborn_4

    ?Chapter 622: Chapter 16 Newborn_4 Chapter 622: Chapter 16 Newborn_4 Botayun was in great pain, and it neighed agonizingly.


    Scarlett hugged the horse, crying and humming a lullaby intermittently, ¡°Flowers white as snow¡­ may you be fragrant¡­ forever in bloom¡­ grow¡­¡±


    First came the translucent amniotic sac, then the foal¡¯s legs.


    Suddenly, the foal¡¯s body got stuck.


    Winters had already exerted a lot of strength, but he couldn¡¯t use any more force.


    The little foal¡¯s legs looked so fragile; even a bit more strength could hurt it.


    ¡°Push!¡± Major Ronald helped with his hands, shouting at the clumsy infantry officer, ¡°Push harder! It can take it!¡±


    ...


    Winters clenched his teeth and slowly increased the pressure.


    ¡°The head is out!¡± Major Ronald exclaimed with joy, ¡°Push!¡±


    First a small, delicate nose appeared, and then the foal¡¯s head gradually emerged from the birth canal.


    Major Ronald methodically cleared the foal¡¯s nostrils, supporting its head and neck, assisting Winters in dragging it out.


    The foal¡¯s eyes were open, with a layer of pale white fetal membrane enveloping it.


    Once the head and neck emerged, the pulling resistance felt by Winters through the belt suddenly decreased.


    The foal was smoothly dragged out of its mother¡¯s body.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    With a ¡°pop,¡± the foal¡¯s hind hooves also left the birth canal.


    The pale white fetal membrane, along with the red placenta, followed the foal out of Botayun.


    Botayun¡¯s abdomen deflated, and it lay exhausted in a pile of hay, gasping for breath.


    ¡°We did it!¡± Scarlett kissed Botayun, ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°Is it alive?¡± Winters didn¡¯t dare to look because the Major had said the foal was stillborn.


    ¡°It¡¯s still alive! Oh God! Breathing!¡± Major Ronald tore off his shirt, wiping the foal¡¯s nostrils, head, and body, ¡°Breathe! Just breathe and you¡¯ll live!¡±


    The pale yellow amniotic fluid stained the Major¡¯s uniform, but he didn¡¯t mind at all.


    Winters quickly took off his shirt and handed it to the Major.


    The strong child¡¯s breathing was initially very weak, but it gradually became more robust, and its chest began to heave.


    It was a color between grey and black, completely different from its grey father and pure white mother.


    ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful,¡± Winters kneeled next to the strong child, gently stroking its wet mane.


    ¡°Such a big fellow! By the Holy Body above!¡± Major Ronald joyously wiped the foal¡¯s body, muttering continuously, ¡°Such a big fellow! No wonder the mare had difficulty giving birth! How could it grow so big? Good heavens!¡±


    He lifted the foal¡¯s hind legs and examined them closely.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little colt indeed!¡± Major Ronald laughed.


    Scarlett¡¯s tears turned into a smile, her face blushing with embarrassment.


    ¡°Is the mare yours?¡± Major Ronald asked Winters.


    ¡°No¡­ its father was my companion,¡± Winters suddenly recalled the beautiful gait of the strong runner, ¡°but he¡¯s no longer here.¡±


    Major Ronald¡¯s actions paused, and he said bitterly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about that. Give the little one a name. Don¡¯t worry, it will definitely be a top warhorse.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tears filled Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I hope he never has to go to the battlefield.¡±


    The little foal, almost as soon as it was left alone, tried to stand up.


    It blinked its eyes, stumbled as it propped itself up on its knees, then fell over.


    Scarlett wanted to help the foal up.


    Major Ronald stopped the girl, ¡°Let it stand up by itself.¡±


    After several failures and repeated attempts, the son of the strong runner finally propped itself up on all fours.


    Its legs were still slender, but already nearly the length of an adult horse¡¯s.


    Although it stood shakily, it finally stood tenaciously on the ground by its own strength.


    Winters held the son of the strong runner in his arms.


    The foal didn¡¯t understand why the human in front of it was so gentle¡ªit didn¡¯t even have a concept of humans yet¡ªit just felt that it liked the scent of the ¡°thing¡± before it.


    It gently licked Winters¡¯ cheeks.


    ¡°I have thought of his name.¡± Two tears rolled down Winters¡¯ face, ¡°His name is Changsheng.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters and Ronald, two weary men, sat side by side outside the stable.


    Scarlett was in the stable, helping Botayun feed the foal.


    Major Ronald leaned against the wall, fumbling out a pipe, and slowly packing it with loose tobacco leaves.


    The tobacco was packed tight, but no matter what, he couldn¡¯t light it¡ªhis hands trembled, and he couldn¡¯t strike the flint properly.


    Winters took the pipe, and when he handed it back, the tobacco was lit.


    Ronald took a satisfying drag, slowly exhaling a wisp of smoke, ¡°What breed is its father?¡±


    ¡°A Lucian horse.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, no wonder.¡± Ronald smiled knowingly, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by its current size as a small black colt. Once it grows up, it will fade, gradually turning light gray.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Ronald continued to smoke, and both sat silently.


    ¡°You fought a good fight this time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°How long had you been preparing?¡±


    Winters honestly replied, ¡°Over a month ago, when I went to Revodan.¡±


    ¡°And when did you start considering us the enemy?¡±


    ¡°Earlier.¡±


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Ronald said with a smile, ¡°No wonder you, lad, came to Revodan and didn¡¯t even stop by to see me.¡±


    Winters also smiled.


    The two fell back into silence.


    Ronald let out a bitter laugh, ¡°Calling it a bandit suppression really underestimates you. You have the right to use the word civil war.


    I thought I would be the one to fire the first shot in the Newly Reclaimed Land civil war. But now it seems, no matter how you look at it, that first shot was yours.


    But are you ready for this? Revodan, Maplestone City, Newly Reclaimed Land¡­ even the entire Paratu. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°But I will do my best to carry on.¡±


    Major Ronald let out a puff of blue smoke from his lungs, pointing to the dissipating smoke, he said lightly, ¡°The warmth of this moment is just like this smoke, it will disappear in the blink of an eye. Civil war is very cruel, it might be more brutal than what you or I can imagine at its worst, take care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off,¡± Major Ronald tapped the ash from his pipe against the wall, ¡°Next time we meet, it will be a matter of life and death.¡±


    He stood up and walked towards his warhorse.


    Winters watched the Major¡¯s retreating figure, ¡°Thank you for reaching out today.¡±


    Ronald, without turning back, waved his hand, ¡°Thank you for the mercy of not killing today.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters left with Scarlett, Botayun, and the foal.


    Ronald also rejoined his troops.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the Major looked somewhat dispirited as he called the Centurions together, ¡°It seems we won¡¯t catch Montaigne. He has planned this for a long time and won¡¯t give us such an opportunity. Withdraw, back to Revodan.¡±


    Lieutenant Adam tentatively asked, ¡°There are some crops in the fields of the nearby villages that haven¡¯t been harvested yet. Besides the crops, there are also houses¡­ Should we, burn them?¡±


    ¡°Burn? Why should we burn them?¡± Ronald retorted indifferently.


    Lieutenant Adam braced himself and replied, ¡°The people here are die-hard supporters of Montaigne¡¯s bandits, no different from the bandits themselves. Burning their food and houses would be like cutting Montaigne¡¯s bandits off at the roots.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Ronald laughed miserably, ¡°The peasants would rather follow a bandit than help a legitimate garrison officer like me. Is it our problem or theirs? By burning them, we would be no different from the bandits! Leave them be, consider it as a way to spend fewer days in purgatory after we die.¡±


    The two battalions of Revodan soldiers assembled and set off back to Revodan.


    Meanwhile, two messengers were making a desperate ride to Wolf Town during the night.


    One was Lieutenant Istvan, who would bring Major Ronald a message: Montaigne¡¯s bandits have not withdrawn from Revodan. On the contrary, they have taken the city. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other was Pierre Mitchell, who would bring Winters a message: Execute Plan B.


    ¡­


    Operation Plan A: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, conquer Revodan, take all the materials that can be taken, and continue to accumulate strength;


    Operation Plan B [reserve]: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, occupy Revodan, annihilate Ronald Division, and fully bring Iron Peak County under control.

 Chapter 623 03-25 - 623 17 Food

    ?Chapter 623: Chapter 17 Food Chapter 623: Chapter 17 Food Upon receiving the news that the ¡°Montaigne bandits¡± had occupied Revodan, Major Ronald was not surprised at all.


    Instead, Captain Apel was nearly driven mad, ¡°What on earth does he want to do? With his few men and horses, how does he expect to hold Revodan?¡±


    The other Centurions also looked grim.


    ¡°We need supplies,¡± Ronald muttered, biting his empty pipe.


    To ensure the element of surprise, Ronald¡¯s two battalions had set out lightly equipped, carrying no baggage apart from a seven-day supply of dry rations.


    Reducing their load as much as possible was the only way to march quickly.


    They didn¡¯t even have tents, and Ronald wrapped himself in his cloak to sleep at night.


    ...


    Getting his troops from Revodan to Wolf Town with the regiment fully intact had already made the Major very satisfied with his Centurions.


    But it wasn¡¯t the enemy that would break these raw recruits¡¯ morale¡ªit would take just one heavy rain.


    ¡°We are in no worse shape than Montaigne. If he is not afraid, what are you afraid of?¡± Ronald suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Continue scouting Revodan! The main forces will go to Shizhen first for supplies. Then to Saint Town. If Revodan is vulnerable, we will take it directly. Otherwise, we¡¯ll bypass King¡¯s Bridge Town and head for Hammer Fort!¡±


    Hammer Fort, originally a fortress north of Revodan, had gradually developed into a small town of more than fifty households.


    This small town had always been the gateway to Revodan, controlling the main entry and exit passages of Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Captain Apel.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Present!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Ronald gave his command with emphasis, ¡°Take your hundred-man team and head to Hammer Fort ahead of the others. Spread Captain Apel¡¯s men the dry rations from the other Centurions¡¯ squads.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The Centurions were invigorated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! To Shizhen!¡± Ronald laughed loudly, ¡°I really want to see who truly rules Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    Some time later, Pierre also returned to Wolf Town.


    Winters was in the stable, helping Changsheng find milk¡ªChangsheng was a firstborn, and Botayun not only had insufficient milk but also refused to tend to the foal.


    Hearing the message that Pierre brought back, he was not surprised either, asking only, ¡°Did they explain the reasons to you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Pierre, who had been riding all day and night, could barely stand, ¡°But Mr. A and Mr. B both support the contingency plan.¡±


    Although Paratu and Vineta were at odds, each turning red in the face, and the situation within Paratu was complicated.


    Still, since Vineta had not formally intervened in Paratu¡¯s internal conflict, and to keep the identities of Moritz and Juan as secret as possible, Winters had ordered to refer to them as Mr. A and Mr. B.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Winters nodded to Pierre while holding Changsheng¡¯s small head gently with both hands, ¡°You go rest; leave the rest to me.¡±


    Pierre saluted with his hand and staggered out of the stable.


    Changsheng latched onto the milk again, nursing with determination.


    Eating, growing¡ªit was his instinct.


    On the flip side, to not do so meant death.


    Changsheng was like this, and so was Winters¡¯ faction.


    Seeing Botayun no longer resisting as before, Winters slowly let go of his hands.


    Changsheng sucked on the milk with ¡°slurp slurp¡± sounds.


    Both combat plans had their pros and cons. Of course, it was better to take a city like Revodan.


    But what if they couldn¡¯t hold it?


    What would General Adams, the ruler of Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, do?


    Although the New Reclamation Legion was currently restrained by both Red Rose and Blue Rose, how could they tolerate the fall of an entire county?


    With the troops at hand, could they withstand the thunderous strike from Maplestone City?


    And Plan A: to gradually take control of each township, turning Revodan into an island surrounded by land.


    That strategy was Winters¡¯ favored one, and it was also why he insisted on setting the [Capture of Revodan] as the contingency plan.


    Cities and the countryside depended on each other, but ultimately, it was the city that needed the countryside more.


    Cities required the influx of materials and manpower. Once Revodan became isolated, it would collapse without a fight.


    However, no plan can keep up with change.


    War had taught Winters : sometimes success or failure does not depend on how perfect the plan is, but on whether its execution is resolute enough.


    Moritz and Juan were of sound mind; their judgments must have their own considerations, and Winters trusted them.


    Since they had chosen a path, they just had to walk it.


    ¡°No matter what lies ahead, there will always be a way,¡± Winters thought to himself as he stroked Changsheng¡¯s soft mane.


    ¡­


    Wolf Town, once again struck by war, turned to ashes yet again.


    Amid the ruins, soldiers stood ready.


    All the Cavalry Winters had left in Wolf Town, including himself, amounted to a total of eighteen riders, each with two or even three horses.


    Women such as Anna, Scarlett, Eileen, and Catherine had come to the town center to see them off.


    Some Wolf Town residents from nearby spontaneously arrived to bolster the spirits, and even three wealthier tenant farmers came forward, riding horses and carrying javelins, volunteering to help.


    Bard, Andre, and Mason were absent, for they had already rushed to Revodan at the first opportunity.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters said to Anna, his voice full of guilt.


    In a moment, they were parting again.


    Anna clutched Winters¡¯ hand tightly.


    That night, she too had hidden in the forest with the people of Wolf Town, witnessed their terror and helplessness in the face of disaster, saw Wolf Town engulfed by towering flames, and saw the best and worst of humanity.


    She hugged Winters tightly and, standing on tiptoe, whispered into her lover¡¯s ear, ¡°Go. These wooden houses, the church¡ªthey haven¡¯t harmed anyone, yet they were destroyed. They shouldn¡¯t have done that, and they had no right to do it. Don¡¯t worry about me or anyone else; we can take care of ourselves.¡±

 Chapter 624 03-25 - 624 17 Food_2

    ?Chapter 624: Chapter 17 Food_2 Chapter 624: Chapter 17 Food_2 Having said that, Anna lightly kissed Winters¡¯ cheek and gently pushed him away.


    Winters looked at Anna one last time as if he wanted to capture this moment of her in his eyes.


    Then, he resolutely let go of Anna¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Rest assured, I will take good care of Longevity,¡± Scarlett said softly.


    Mrs. Mitchell, arm in arm with Scarlett, gave Winters a gentle nod.


    In that moment, Catherine, too, abandoned her usual demeanor and simply said to Winters, ¡°You must live, don¡¯t leave my sister alone¡­ don¡¯t forget, you still owe my family a thousand Ducats.¡±


    Winters thanked each of the people from Wolf Town who had come to see him off, and finally, he approached Pierre, ¡°I¡¯m leaving Wolf Town in your hands.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Pierre said, his face still pale as he raised his hand in salute.


    Winters nodded, then mounted his horse.


    His gaze slowly swept over the blacksmith¡¯s workshop, the sawmill, and the church, all burnt to ashes.


    ¡°One day, one day¡­ one day we will rebuild all of this,¡± Winters declared, looking into the eyes of his warriors, his voice stern yet steadfast as everyone listened clearly.


    Winters took the battle flag covered in bloodstains, bullet holes, and scorch marks from Heinrich¡¯s hands. ¡°But now, follow me to reclaim the right to rebuild our home!¡±


    He pulled the reins harshly, charging toward the battlefield.


    Without hesitation, his warriors followed him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Major Ronald¡¯s retreat was incredibly difficult.


    He was unable to secure enough supplies in Blackwater Town or in Shizhen.


    Although Blackwater Town and Shizhen had not been evacuated, hiding their food had become a habit for the farmers.


    Before the soldiers could even enter the villages, the villagers had already fled without a trace.


    Even if they caught some farmers who had not managed to escape, their interrogation would yield nothing but ¡°No,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± ¡°We¡¯re starving too, sir.¡±


    Seeing the farmers¡¯ ¡°simple and honest¡± faces, Ronald ordered them to be coerced into talking with sabers.


    The shining steel blade resting on their necks, those farmers who just moments ago claimed to have no food, now obediently disclosed the location of their grain cellars.


    Yet there were farmers who were exceptionally stubborn, stubborn to the point where Major Ronald began to doubt whether they actually had any food.


    ¡°Regardless, if they won¡¯t talk, kill them!¡± Lieutenant Adam¡¯s thought process was simple and brutal. ¡°We need to set an example for the other farmers. Otherwise, they¡¯ll all follow suit!¡±


    Major Ronald remained silent.


    ¡°Commander, what time is it? Are we still debating whether we¡¯re soldiers or bandits?¡± Seeing that the major didn¡¯t respond, Lieutenant Adam gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Montaigne is in Revodan. We¡¯re bandits whether we like it or not! I¡¯ll handle this! You don¡¯t have to worry, nor inquire.¡±


    Having said that, Lieutenant Adam picked up his sword and left.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Major Ronald bellowed at the Centurion, ¡°Are you the garrison officer, or am I the garrison officer? If I say no, then it¡¯s no! Release them all! How much grain can you squeeze out of one or two stubborn farmers?¡±


    ¡°But what if?¡± Lieutenant Adam was reluctant.


    ¡°What if?¡± Major Ronald glared, ¡°Follow orders!¡±


    After consuming the meager food they had conscripted in Blackwater Town and Shizhen, Ronald led over eight hundred soldiers on the road to Saint Town.


    It was in the wilderness between Saint Town and Shizhen that Winters¡¯ cavalry caught up with this exhausted and starving Revodan troop.


    The Revodan officers and soldiers saw Winters too.


    After all, light traveled in a straight line, and there was little to no cover in the wilderness.


    More importantly, Winters had no intention whatsoever to conceal his presence.


    He stood alone on horseback, carrying a flagpole, at the top of a hill a mile away, openly surveilling the Revodan troops.


    If the Revodan troops moved, he moved with them;


    If the Revodan troops stopped, he stopped as well;


    If the Revodan troops rested, he also planted the flagpole in the ground and dismounted to eat his dry provisions.


    This was blatant insult and contempt.


    ¡°What does he want?¡± Lieutenant Adam roared furiously, ¡°Does he think he can kill us all by himself?¡±


    ¡°Ignore him, just keep marching,¡± Major Ronald explained calmly. ¡°He¡¯s waiting for nightfall. Those who could catch up are undoubtedly elite cavalry, but their number won¡¯t be large. Night is the time when small contingents of elite cavalry can showcase their skills.¡±


    A Centurion could no longer endure such public humiliation and suddenly broke away from the column, charging toward the rider on the hillside.


    ¡°Ferenc, that idiot!¡± Major Ronald was furious, ¡°Bring him back for me!¡±


    Hearing his command, a Centurion and another messenger rider immediately spurred their horses to follow Lieutenant Ferenc.


    Ferenc, enraged, ignored the shouts and galloping sounds coming from behind him and spurred his warhorse even faster.


    ¡°To hell with Spellcasters! I refuse to believe in such nonsense!¡± Ferenc bellowed uncontrollably. The two revolver guns inserted in the holsters on both sides of his saddle were ready to be fired at any moment.


    ¡°Come on, Monta!¡± Ferenc roared like thunder, ¡°If you¡¯re as powerful as they say, try my two guns!¡±


    Ronald, Adam, and all the Revodan soldiers could only watch as Centurion Ferenc charged like a madman towards the rider on the hill.


    A gunshot rang out.


    The rider remained unharmed.


    Centurion Ferenc, on the other hand, swayed and tumbled off his saddle.


    The two who went to his rescue didn¡¯t escape either, as the rider shot them all down.


    A small troop of strange cavalry leaped out from behind the hill, capturing the three dismounted men as if snatching sheep and also taking their warhorses with them. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The hillside returned to peace.

 Chapter 625 03-25 - 625 17 Food_3

    ?Chapter 625: Chapter 17 Food_3 Chapter 625: Chapter 17 Food_3 The rider stood on the hillside, continuing to openly insult the Revodan officers and soldiers.


    ¡°Ignore him,¡± Major Ronald ordered, ¡°keep moving! At least we know he¡¯s not alone.¡±


    Lieutenant Adam was fuming with anger, ¡°Ferenc! You rush to your death if you must! And damn it, gifting away three horses for nothing!¡±


    ¡­


    At nightfall, the Revodan troops rested in a forest.


    Their encampment had no defensive fortifications¡ªsoldiers were too tired and hungry to dig or to bring tools.


    They each formed groups, haphazardly making beds with branches and dry leaves, and promptly lay down to sleep.


    ...


    Apart from a few sentries, there were no additional defenses in the Revodan encampment.


    But deadly threats were hidden in the still of the night.


    This forest terrain was specially chosen by Major Ronald, not only because cavalry could hardly maneuver in the woods, but also because it offered a better layout for ambushes.


    Using tree trunks as stakes, the Revodan soldiers strung up three layers of tripwires around the camp¡ªthey had no iron tools, but they did have hemp ropes.


    The forest deep in the night was pitch-black, the tripwires hidden in the darkness.


    All Revodan soldiers stood ready for action, quietly awaiting their guests.


    ¡°Come on, lad,¡± Major Ronald gripped his weapon tight, leaning against the trunk of a tree, waiting for the sound of horse hooves.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    He thought, ¡°I¡¯ll show you that this old-timer still has some skills, let me give you a lesson¡­¡±


    By the time Major Ronald regained consciousness, it was already daylight.


    He sprang up, ¡°When did I fall asleep?¡±


    Of course, people don¡¯t know when they fall asleep.


    The major didn¡¯t know, nor did the other officers and soldiers, because everyone was sound asleep.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s happening?¡± Lieutenant Adam rubbed the drool from his mouth as he woke from his sleep, ¡°Has Montagne come?¡±


    No, he hadn¡¯t come.


    Nothing happened last night.


    No night raid, no ambushes, no bloodshed; a calm night and everyone slept soundly.


    Major Ronald could only force a wry smile.


    The soldiers were happy there was no fight, but it meant they had to continue marching.


    On the road just outside the forest, Major Ronald received a gift: three men, tightly bound.


    Lieutenant Ferenc, another Centurion, and that messenger.


    All three were alive, and even their wounds had been carefully treated.


    An accompanying note read:


    ¡°They are no good at braiding straw sandals, best you keep them.


    ¡ªW.M, Officer Stationed at Wolfton, Protector of the Eight Towns¡±


    ¡°Eight Towns?¡± A foreboding feeling surged in Major Ronald¡¯s heart, ¡°Eight Towns?!¡±


    ¡°At least he sent back the horses! We just got three burdens returned!¡± Lieutenant Adam cursed loudly, ¡°Damn stingy Vineta miser!¡±


    ¡­


    The day after the failed ambush night, in the afternoon.


    Gedani¡ªthe southernmost small village of Saint Town¡ªwas surrounded.


    About conscription, Major Ronald amassed some experience: one must never take the main road, there are ¡°watchpoints¡± in the villages along the main road, even an inconspicuous child could be a lookout.


    If they see troops coming on the main road, the peasants could run away clean in the blink of an eye.


    One had to take the back roads, detour through the forest, first encircle the village from afar, then slowly tighten the circle to ensure not a single person could escape.


    But this whole tactical maneuver was too difficult for green soldiers, who had no ability to complete such a graceful strike.


    Ronald had good reason to believe that if he dispersed his troops in the forest, at least half of them would disappear by the time they reconvened.


    Luckily, Major Ronald wasn¡¯t striving for perfection; catching half or a third of the peasants was enough.


    So, each squad was still led by a Centurion, forming a net full of holes that closed in on the small village of Gedani.


    The battle plan was executed well, even better than anticipated.


    Major Ronald was satisfied with his Centurions; the encirclement was closing, and the villagers of Gedani remained utterly unaware.


    Even not a single person ran out.


    Wait, not a single one ran out?


    Lieutenant Adam charged towards the Major on his galloping steed, ¡°Sir! There¡¯s not a soul in the farmstead! It¡¯s even cleaner than the previous ones we¡¯ve come across!¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Major Ronald asked calmly, ¡°As clean as the ones in Wolf Town, right?¡±


    Lieutenant Adam hesitated, ¡°Cleaner¡­ cleaner than the farmsteads in Wolf Town¡­¡±


    ¡°The protectors of the Eight Towns? Including Saint Town?¡± Major Ronald heaved a long sigh, ¡°Forget it, no need to waste any more effort, I¡¯m afraid all the farmsteads ahead are the same as Gedani, all deserted. Head straight to Hammer Fort!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Here, this gun is for you,¡± Winters handed a captured revolver to Little Lion, ¡°Consider it a thank you for your help.¡±


    Little Lion and his four quiver bearers were also in Winters¡¯ cavalry ¡ª Little Lion had originally brought six guards, but two had gone back to the Red River Tribe to deliver messages.


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing to fight the Paratu People even without a reward,¡± Little Lion took the revolver with a playful smile, ¡°Just don¡¯t send us on a suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, sure,¡± Winters seemed unfeeling.


    The lack of reaction from Winters left Little Lion quite disappointed.


    ¡°You learn quickly, aren¡¯t you using my brother¡¯s strategy now? Keeping them on the hook, not biting, nor letting go,¡± Little Lion continued to tease.


    But Winters still had little reaction.


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right,¡± Winters answered absentmindedly.


    Little Lion, finding no amusement, went on to fiddle with the revolver by himself.


    In fact, Winters¡¯ thoughts were already occupied with another matter, hence his apparent obtuseness.


    ¡°Strange,¡± Winters kept recalling, ¡°The shot Ferenc fired at me seemed to penetrate the Deflection Spell¡­ Could it have been my imagination?¡±


    He silently took out a small, black notebook and a tiny piece of graphite, making a few cursory notes.


    ¡­


    St. George River diagonally divides Iron Peak County into two parts, roughly North Eight Towns and South Eight Towns.


    South Eight Town is more desolate, while North Eight Towns are more affluent.


    Revodan is situated on the St. George River.


    If Major Ronald wished to reach Hammer Fort, there were only two routes across the river.


    Either through Revodan or King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    With Revodan no longer an option, Major Ronald had no choice but to lead his troops on a longer route, turning towards King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    Hunger, fatigue, and an uncertain future.


    These three formidable challenges nearly crushed the troops; even the officers could not effectively maintain discipline.


    Some soldiers simply sat on the ground, refusing to go any further, no matter what was said to them.


    Others just ran off into the forest, deserting then and there.


    Under such circumstances, if the officers of Revodan¡¯s forces did not enforce military law, they could only watch as their troops slowly but surely fell apart.


    If they enforced military law, the army would collapse immediately.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already lost this war.¡±


    The officers of Revodan could see this truth confirmed in the eyes of their colleagues whenever their gazes met. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Numbly, they marched on, waiting for someone to draw a period at the end of their sentence.


    Eventually, outside King¡¯s Bridge Town, they encountered the very people they least wanted to see, yet also most hoped to meet: the three companies led by Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    Ronald led the remnants of his force to set up camp outside King¡¯s Bridge Town, gathering food, waiting for Winters¡¯ forces to attack.


    But Winters didn¡¯t strike; he merely waited until evening to set up a few fires on the upwind, roast a few pigs, lay out baskets of freshly baked bread, and prepare a few pots of lamb soup.


    He also shouted a few phrases like ¡°Hammer Fort has already surrendered,¡± ¡°Surrender and you will not be killed,¡± ¡°There¡¯s food and drink here,¡± ¡°Ronald is a traitor,¡± ¡°The Sixteen Towns¡¯ protectors put down the rebellion.¡±


    The cohesion of the force Ronald desperately tried to maintain completely collapsed.


    One soldier dropped his weapon and ran out to surrender, and then all the soldiers started running out, they rushed towards the bread, roasted pigs, and lamb soup, stuffing their mouths with the scalding meat and broth without care.


    They were starving! Truly starving!


    The Revodan officers with warhorses made attempts to break out, but not one managed to escape¡ªtheir warhorses were even hungrier.


    Andre led the cavalry in a decisive charge into the enemy¡¯s camp, seizing the military banner.


    From Ronald down, all officers and soldiers garrisoned by Revodan were captured.


    The following noon.


    Winters Montagne rode his horse through the main gate into Revodan.


    The elders of Revodan welcomed him on both sides of the street.

 Chapter 626 03-25 - 626 18 Switching Days

    ?Chapter 626: Chapter 18 Switching Days Chapter 626: Chapter 18 Switching Days Winters entered the city, and Andre immediately dragged him to see the warehouse.


    ¡°Revodan is simply oozing with surplus!¡± Andre was all smiles, riding horses with Winters speeding towards the barracks, ¡°Now we have everything we need!¡±


    The parade ground of the military camp still had many dry bloodstains, only the corpses had been cleared away.


    The granary was in the corner of the barracks, cornered off by walls into a yard.


    Andre kicked open the door of the granary, and a series of widely spaced plank houses and grains appeared in front of Winters.


    It had been a long time since Winters had seen so much food. Although he was somewhat mentally prepared, he was still quite shocked.


    Andre introduced with a beaming face, ¡°I¡¯ve checked, the grains are split equally between miscellaneous grains and wheat, all from this year. Not bad, eh?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Good, I¡¯m happy, and a bit unhappy,¡± Winters looked at the granary with a complex gaze, ¡°With these grains, we won¡¯t have to starve then feast. But we¡¯ve got to know, all this was snatched from the common folk.¡±


    ¡°Why think so much? In our hands, it¡¯s ours!¡± Andre laughed heartily, wrapping his arm around Winters¡¯ shoulder, full of ambition, ¡°And there¡¯s the treasury! The armory! All ours! The city is the place to be!¡±


    After inspecting the granary, Andre was eager to check the treasury and the armory with Winters.


    Wealth tends to concentrate in cities, and just considering the spoils of capturing Revodan, raiding a thousand grain carts couldn¡¯t compare. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bard?¡± asked Winters.


    ¡°Old Bard is in the archives, fussing about who knows what. They¡¯re just scraps of paper, what¡¯s there to care about?¡± Andre dismissed, pulling Winters along, ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s look at the armory!¡±


    Speak of Bard, and Bard would appear.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    He came into the granary with a scroll, and seeing both men there, he asked with a smile, ¡°How is it? Is the granary good?¡±


    ¡°Great! Just fantastic!¡± Andre laughed boisterously.


    ¡°I bring you something even better,¡± Bard handed the scroll to Winters, ¡°Better than ten, a hundred granaries. If you ask me, add up all other spoils of Revodan, none is as valuable as this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Winters took the scroll.


    ¡°Records of all land transactions, tax payments, and population migrations in Iron Peak County for the past thirty years,¡± Bard¡¯s eyes twinkled with a hint of mirth, ¡°All of them.¡±


    Winters unrolled the scroll; he was holding a list of all the archives and records of the Revodan garrison¡¯s possessions¡ªso long it seemed to have no end.


    ¡°Land deeds require triple verification; the archives in each town are kept in the town halls, many of which have been destroyed. The deed held by the buyer is insufficient and unreliable! Only Revodan¡¯s records are the most dependable,¡± Bard¡¯s voice quivered slightly.


    Wolf Town¡¯s deeds had turned to ashes with the old town hall, and many other towns¡¯ deeds were also lost.


    The contracts in the hands of purchasers were hard to tally and could be forged, but Revodan¡¯s deeds were beyond mistake.


    Hearing Bard¡¯s words, even Andre seemed contemplative.


    ¡°Having these, we¡¯ll know which lands are owned, which are not; we could measure the acreage, distribute arable land; we could plan and map out the land as per our wishes!¡± Bard¡¯s eyes reddened with emotion as he asked Winters, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to smash this goddamn world? This is your first cornerstone.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong,¡± Winters grabbed Bard and Andre¡¯s arms, ¡°It¡¯s ours.¡±


    ¡­


    At noon, Captain Montaigne entered the city.


    In the afternoon, the [city councilors] were ¡°invited¡± by ferocious-looking soldiers to attend a meeting at the city hall.


    There were in total twenty-one city councilors in Revodan, twelve selected from within the city, nine from the outside.


    A complete Revodan included not only the city area but also the surrounding villages.


    Some farmers near the city would even go out to farm during the day and return to the city to rest at night.


    Although not ¡°citizens¡± in the usual sense, these farmers too had the civic rights of Revodan city.


    Additionally, now that Revodan had city walls¡ªalthough quite low¡ªit could also be referred to as a ¡°city,¡± not just a ¡°market.¡±


    The city councilors, trembling with fear, arrived at the hall, ready to be intimidated.


    However, what they met was a kind-looking young officer: broad-shouldered, big-handed, with a wide mouth and a high nose, his eyes always smiling, giving off a very sincere appearance.


    This young officer, named ¡°Bard,¡± almost immediately won the trust and favor of the councilors.


    Lieutenant Bard patiently explained the policies to the city councilors.


    Simply put, it was one word: unchanged.


    No additional levies, no apportionment, and no demands for the councilors and citizens to swear allegiance.


    Whatever the former garrison was responsible for, the new one would handle similarly.


    The old garrison collected a certain amount, the new one would collect the same, with consideration given to eliminating some unreasonable charges.


    Yes, even the signboards and office locations would be the same, ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± was now officially referred to as ¡°(New) Garrison.¡±


    If they could stay in Revodan, the ¡°New¡± before [Garrison] would likely soon be omitted.


    The city councilors breathed a sigh of relief; they were well-off, living stable lives, and the last thing they wanted was chaos.


    If it went as Lieutenant Bard said, their lives would be almost unaffected, just a change of personnel managing the garrison.


    Because Revodan was always autonomous, the garrison only managed three things: collecting taxes, selling lands, and dealing harshly with any troublesome bandits.

 Chapter 627 03-25 - 627 18 Change Day_2

    ?Chapter 627: Chapter 18 Change Day_2 Chapter 627: Chapter 18 Change Day_2 Moreover, Revodan was small, with just over five hundred households and a population of fewer than three thousand. There wasn¡¯t much in the way of government affairs.


    The municipal committee only met once a week, and their discussions were mostly about trivial matters like, ¡°The sewers need to be cleaned, let¡¯s all chip in some money.¡±


    Seeing that Lieutenant Bard was easy to talk to, the always bold blacksmith and municipal committee member [Shaoyi] asked, ¡°Lieutenant, previously Major Ronald¡­ no, the Ronald gang of bandits! They¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to put it that way!¡± Bard said with a smile, interrupting him, ¡°We are family with Major Ronald, we just have a little bit of a disagreement. Continue to call him Major Ronald. And I am not ¡®Lieutenant, sir,¡¯ you can just call me Lieutenant or Lieutenant Bard, either is fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Despite the other party¡¯s smile, Shaoyi¡¯s knees still involuntarily trembled.


    He steeled himself and continued, ¡°Lieutenant Bard, sir, previously Major Ronald conscripted the Revodan security forces into enlistment. Without the security forces, all the bad elements came out, theft and robbery went unmanaged. Could you see if you could¡­ ¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, we have taken it into consideration. Public security will be managed by the garrison for now. Former members of the guard will be given priority for screening, and if there are no issues, they will be released. In the future, public security in Revodan will still be the responsibility of the city hall.¡±


    The governing committee members sighed in relief, a stone lifted from their hearts, as many had been worried for the blacksmith Shaoyi.


    ...


    The Revodan guard only had twenty men, with families all in town; releasing them wouldn¡¯t be an issue¡ªthis was the result of a discussion by the group of six.


    ¡°You should have just said so,¡± Bard said to the blacksmith Shaoyi with a smile, ¡°Even though Major Ronald conscripted the city guard, he also tightened up security, doing it very well at that. Our arrival, on the contrary, was not as effective.¡±


    The relieved hearts of the people were suddenly pulled up to their throats again.


    ¡°No, no, not at all¡­¡± Shaoyi¡¯s head shook like a windmill.


    Bard looked at the municipal committee members with a smile, ¡°This is the fact, isn¡¯t it? What¡¯s there to hide? The new garrison has no ulterior motives; all we want is to be honest and open with everyone.¡±


    He smiled shockingly, ¡°I know that what you want the most is the [City Arsenal].¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The breath of every member of the municipal committee halted.


    ¡­


    The warehouse of the garrison and the warehouse of Revodan city are two different matters, just as the garrison and city hall are two separate entities.


    But the impulsive Lieutenant Tang Juan didn¡¯t care about that; upon seeing the warehouse, he first searched for the key, and if there was no key, he would blow the door or tear down the wall, not sparing a single warehouse.


    According to the original plan, the Revodan warehouse should have been emptied. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But Juan and Moritz decided to switch to a reserve plan, hence all the warehouses were sealed and closely guarded.


    ¡­


    Bard reassured everyone with a kind demeanor, ¡°I know the members want to request the City Arsenal, but dare not speak up. You fear we kill without batting an eye, fear that we can¡¯t save face and will secretly seek revenge, fear that being too straightforward will leave no room for negotiation. I promise that none of that will happen. We are a garrison, not bandits.¡±


    Seeing Bard¡¯s serene gaze and sincere tone, not seeming at all deceitful, the members of the municipal committee relaxed a bit.


    Since meeting Lieutenant Bard, their hearts had been like waves, rising and falling.


    It was Shaoyi who gathered his courage, speaking softly, ¡°We indeed wanted to inquire about the City Arsenal, but there was absolutely no intent to demand it¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be frank, there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t discuss. It¡¯s better to be open so we can talk properly.¡± Bard¡¯s voice was rich and deep, comforting to listen to, but what he said was quite the opposite, ¡°I can tell you all clearly right here that the arsenal, we will keep. The granary, we will also keep. We need weapons and food.¡±


    The municipal committee members couldn¡¯t hide their disappointment because Revodan had spent a lot of public funds on both the arsenal and the granary.


    After ruthlessly bursting the bubble of hope, they rather easily accepted the reality.


    After all, how could the other side possibly return the weapons and food?


    ¡°The arsenal and granary are special cases. I hope everyone can understand. But the Revodan Gold Reserve¡­¡± Bard changed the subject with a smile, ¡°The garrison will return it to everyone completely intact, ensuring not even a silver piece is missing.¡±


    The members of the municipal committee all let out a long sigh, their tense cheeks and furrowed brows relaxing.


    Having the Gold Reserve was good, contentment brings happiness.


    Bard continued, ¡°As for the re-established city guard, the garrison will provide them with weapons and training free of charge. Ensuring they can take up the responsibility of maintaining public order.¡±


    On hearing Bard¡¯s words, the twenty-one members of the municipal committee all showed expressions of happiness.


    After all, previously they had only agreed to return personnel, not weapons. It seemed the city hall would have to dip into its funds to equip the guard.


    But now that Lieutenant Bard had agreed to supply the guard with weapons, they wouldn¡¯t have to spend extra money, so let the arsenal be given away then.


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Bard wasn¡¯t finished, he smiled as he declared, ¡°The contents of Revodan¡¯s arsenal and granary will also be compensated for at a fair price. We, the Revodan garrison, will never arbitrarily seize the precious property of the citizens!¡±


    The blacksmith Shaoyi stood up abruptly, clapping his hands vigorously.


    The other members of the municipal committee, some quickly, some slowly, also stood up, joining Shaoyi in applause.


    A thunderous round of applause erupted in the city hall, as if hundreds were in a heated meeting.


    ¡­


    The group of six¡ªWinters, Bard, Andre, Mason, Juan, and Moritz¡ªhad already carefully discussed: food and weapons could not be returned, but the money could be.


    Winters wasn¡¯t short of money, not only did he have money on hand, he also had two tons of gold buried in the Great Wilderness.

 Chapter 628 03-25 - 628 18 Change of Day_3

    ?Chapter 628: Chapter 18 Change of Day_3 Chapter 628: Chapter 18 Change of Day_3 Given the current situation in Iron Peak County, one couldn¡¯t buy food or weapons even with gold or silver.


    So the Six-man Group decided to simply ¡°redeem¡± the Arsenal and the granaries from the town hall.


    The price was negotiable, but as long as it wasn¡¯t too exorbitant, the town hall would happily accept a little loss.


    No one understood better than Winters and his associates: stealing money would enrage a city even more than taking lives.


    Through equal trade and gaining mutual trust, Revodan could be stabilized. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What the Six-man Group most wanted was ¡°stability,¡± and no one wished to see Revodan in flames.


    They did not intend to take over Revodan completely, as long as taxes were paid on time, it was better for Revodan to continue its self-governance.


    ...


    Bard had already obtained all the files from the Revodan garrison and was organizing them.


    The Six-man Group was clear about how much tax Revodan should pay and when; they were not afraid of being bullied by the town council.


    ¡­


    Bard raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.


    The town hall suddenly returned to silence.


    ¡°There¡¯s also good news from the garrison, I¡¯ll tell you all here!¡± Bard continued to announce, ¡°The millstone tax within the territory of Iron Peak County is hereby abolished! There will no longer be a need to pay it! Everyone is free to use and manufacture millstones!¡±


    The town council members cheered and applauded once again.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    But they were merely putting on a show this time, not genuinely clapping as before.


    Because they were people of status, identity, and wealth, they were not very sensitive to the ¡°millstone tax¡±.


    The millstone tax was, in essence, a tax on millstones.


    People couldn¡¯t eat wheat; they needed flour, so the wheat had to go through a millstone first.


    Therefore, taxing the millstone became an obvious choice for the rulers.


    The Republic of Palatu was relatively lenient, taxing millstones just once each quarter.


    And it strictly restricted the number of artisans allowed to manufacture millstones to ensure every millstone was registered.


    During the feudal era in Palatu, commoners had to go to the mills designated by their local lords to have their wheat ground.


    Privately owning a hand-cranked millstone was a grave offense: the first time, five lashes; the second, forced labor; the third, direct amputation of the arm; and those who manufactured millstones were executed.


    You would take a pound of wheat to be ground and only get back seven or eight taels of flour.


    The reduced amount represented ¡°loss¡± that went into the miller¡¯s pocket and then to the lord¡¯s purse.


    The millstone tax was the most hated and direct tax for people still struggling for survival.


    Bard, announcing the abolition of the millstone tax, wore a satisfied and sincere smile.


    Later, he announced another significant matter:


    ¡°This weekend!¡± Bard¡¯s smile grew brighter, ¡°The garrison will hold a [public trial assembly] in the city square. I hope members of the town council will set an example, do their work, and ensure that every citizen of Revodan participates.¡±


    The smiles on the faces of the town council members stiffened.


    ¡­


    The meeting concluded, and the town council members bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways.


    But not even half an hour passed before the twelve members of the committee met again at the home of the sugar merchant [Priskin].


    They sat around the elder Priskin, taking turns recounting the day¡¯s events.


    The elder Priskin was sixty-four years old, still robust, and was once the most esteemed member of the Revodan town council.


    However, he had fallen gravely ill at the beginning of the year and resigned from his position on the council.


    The others had wanted to nominate his second son, young Priskin, as a replacement, but the old man strictly forbade it, and they had to drop the idea.


    After resigning from the town council, the elder Priskin¡¯s health gradually improved.


    Although he had retired, he remained the backbone of the town council, with others still coming to him for advice on important matters.


    ¡°The new lieutenant called Bard, he¡¯s so capable! Truly capable!¡± said the blacksmith, Shao Yi, struggling to swallow his saliva, with a sense of awe: ¡°It¡¯s as if he¡¯s toying with us, leading us to feel joy and fear on his command, completely at his mercy.¡±


    After hearing the account, the elder Priskin furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°That Lieutenant Bard, does he always refer to himself as [the garrison]?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone nodded, and someone mockingly said, ¡°The Rebels enter the city and claim to be officials; quite amusing, really.¡±


    ¡°Foolish!¡± The elder Priskin slapped the table, scolding, ¡°Would you be happier if he didn¡¯t claim to be an officer and instead terrorized us as an outright bandit?¡±


    The one who made the jest was frightened into trembling by the rebuke.


    Elder Priskin¡¯s frown relaxed, ¡°If they don¡¯t want to be officers, we have to coax them to be; now they want to be, we must flatter them even more. Business as usual, life goes on, isn¡¯t that good? Our fortunes and properties are all in Revodan, do you actually wish for them to turn into bandits?¡±


    ¡°What about that¡­ that so-called public trial assembly?¡± Shao Yi licked his lips inquiringly, ¡°Shall we attend? He didn¡¯t say who he would judge, only that there would be a trial.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we go? Not only should we go, but we should also bring friends and family along!¡± The elder Priskin rebuked, exasperated: ¡°Since he claims to be an officer, if we act righteously and sit straight, why would we fear his judgment? We need to support them, understand? Put them high on a pedestal. The higher their stature, the safer Revodan will be.¡±


    Hearing this, the others silently nodded in agreement.


    After a moment of silence, the elder Priskin pondered and queried, ¡°That leader, who is known as [Blood Wolf], did any of you see him this time when you went?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± replied Shao Yi, shaking his head, ¡°We only saw him from a distance when he entered the city, riding a tall horse, dressed in an officer¡¯s uniform, also quite young, but he seemed very imposing.¡±


    ¡°He used to be the Garrison Officer of Wolfton?¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s said.¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf¡­¡± The elder Priskin chewed on the name, asking those present, ¡°Such a dangerous nickname. Does anyone know how it came about?¡±

 Chapter 629 03-25 - 629 18 Day Change_4

    ?Chapter 629: Chapter 18 Day Change_4 Chapter 629: Chapter 18 Day Change_4 ¡°Wolfton,¡± someone said with a toothy grin.


    ¡°No.¡± Old Priskin shook his head, ¡°I think there¡¯s more to it. What¡¯s his name again?¡±


    ¡°Surname¡¯s Montaigne, don¡¯t know the first name,¡± another replied.


    Old Priskin furrowed his brow, ¡°Montaigne¡­ That¡¯s certainly not a Paratu surname.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s from out of province?¡± Shaoyi ventured a guess.


    ¡°Go find out, but be very careful,¡± Old Priskin cautioned, ¡°Do not exhibit any malice, we¡¯re just curious about the origins of the nickname ¡®Blood Wolf.¡¯ Do you all understand what I mean?¡±


    All the city council members nodded in agreement.


    ...


    After thinking for a moment, Old Priskin asked again, ¡°You didn¡¯t see him at the city hall, so where is he now? Does anyone know?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Shaoyi answered eagerly, ¡°My brother-in-law told me that the captain called ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ only stayed in town for a short while. He left the city again before noon had even passed.¡±


    ¡°He left the city?¡± Old Priskin¡¯s pupils dilated, ¡°Which way did he go out?¡±


    ¡°The north gate!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was unaware that someone was investigating him.


    He had been in town for less than an hour when he left again with Andre and Senior Mason, leading a squad of cavalry.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The cavalry, with their secret weapon, hastened to Hammer Fort to meet up with Juan by the river and Moritz.


    Juan and Moritz were laying siege to Hammer Fort.


    Hammer Fort and Hammer Fort Town were not one and the same; Hammer Fort specifically referred to the wooden fort at the town¡¯s center.


    ¡°Hammer Fort has surrendered,¡± was actually a bluff by Winters, just like ¡°Protector of the Sixteen Towns.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was currently only the Protector of the Seven Towns; Forging Village had not struck a deal with him.


    Since Forging Village was right beside Revodan, Winters¡¯s reach wasn¡¯t that far.


    Despite numerous difficulties, Captain Apel had managed to occupy Hammer Fort first¡ª because Tang Juan had no clue that there was such an unremarkable small fortress to the north of Revodan.


    To conceal his movements, Apel took the route through St. George River near King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    Though small and wooden, and suffering from neglect over the years,


    Hammer Fort was indeed a fortress, and a direct assault would be costly and futile.


    So at this moment, the man approaching Hammer Fort with a large door plank, the very Winters ¡°Blood Wolf¡± Montaigne whom Old Priskin was talking about,


    ¡°Senior Apel!¡± Winters called out, ¡°You might as well come out and surrender!¡±


    There was no response from the fort.


    ¡°The bandit leader Ronald has already surrendered! It¡¯s just you left!¡± Winters waved two flags from behind the door plank, ¡°Here are his battle flags, look!¡±


    At the sound of ¡°ding,¡± an arrow pierced the door plank.


    Captain Apel stuck his head out, yelling furiously, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than surrender!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t kill you! Surrender for immunity!¡± Winters replied, poking his head out too.


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Captain Apel shot another arrow.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t surrender,¡± Winters continued his attempt to reason, ¡°then I¡¯ll have to start bombarding you! Once the cannon fires, you all will be turned to ash! Think it over!¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Captain Apel cursed, ¡°Revodan doesn¡¯t even have cannons! Where did you get your cannons!¡±


    ¡°Alright, you just wait!¡±


    Having said that, Winters, carrying a door panel, walked away abruptly.


    His attitude somewhat unnerved Apel.


    Even more anxious were Apel¡¯s subordinates, who peered nervously outside through the gaps in the wooden walls.


    ¡°Senior.¡± Winters returned to Mason¡¯s side. ¡°Senior Apel wants you to bombard him.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell talk to him?¡± Tang Juan was always exceptionally irritable on the battlefield. ¡°Just blow him up, and it¡¯s done, right?¡±


    ¡°If we can persuade him, we still have to try.¡± Moritz sighed.


    Senior Mason was quite cautious. ¡°My cannon can only fire shrapnel, and its destructive effect on wooden walls isn¡¯t really that great.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ ¡± Tang Juan suddenly realized Mason was his senior and struggled hard to hold back the curse words. ¡°You, you don¡¯t even need to load the cannonballs. Just fire two blanks, and those green recruits inside will be scared pissless. The key is for the sound to be loud and the caliber to be big!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Winters laughed as well. ¡°My words weren¡¯t meant for Senior Apel, but for the soldiers inside Hammer Fort.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s give it a try.¡± Mason said with a smile. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve gone through all the trouble to bring it here; it wouldn¡¯t be right not to fire a few rounds.¡±


    He called out to Andre, ¡°Come on! Bring the cannons over!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Andre lifted the tarp.


    He and the other Cavalry spurred their Warhorses and slowly moved four big, black cannons toward Hammer Fort.


    From afar, the calibers of the four cannons looked terrifyingly enormous, and their size was equally astonishing.


    But a closer look would give them away, for they were made of wood.


    This was the secret weapon that Winters, Mason, and Andre had brought from Revodan.


    Because they were made of wood, they could keep up with the speed of the Cavalry. They were transported here, bouncing up and down in the wagons all the way.


    To deceive the enemy, Winters even had someone paint the four wooden cannons black.


    Together with the hastily assembled gun carriages and the method of ¡°two draft horses struggling to drag the cannons,¡± they really looked quite convincing.


    Seeing the cannons draw near, Apel stood frozen on the spot, never having expected Winters to actually possess cannons.


    However, the more he looked, the more he felt there was something off about the adversary¡¯s cannons.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± He cursed loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! Those are freaking wooden!¡±


    But the roaring of the cannons drowned out his curses.


    The four wooden cannons bellowed one after the other, with only one of them loaded with cannonballs¡ªweights, scrap iron, and other pieces of junk iron.


    The wooden cannon barrels, reinforced with iron hoops, cracked from the vibrations, but still withstood the internal pressure.


    The gunpowder gas propelled the contents within the barrels out, sending them flying towards Hammer Fort.


    The ¡°cannonballs¡± caused the outer wall of Hammer Fort to resound with a pinging noise and sent wood chips flying.


    Behind the smoke, a voice thundered, ¡°Surrender now or be blown to smithereens!¡±


    The green recruits inside Hammer Fort panicked, prying open the wood-planked door, tumbling out as they ran, ¡°We surrender! Please have mercy, sir!¡±


    In despair, Apel drew his sword, intending to commit suicide.


    But the blade stopped at his neck, as he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. The more he hesitated, the less he could bear to go through with it.


    He discarded the sword and sat in the corner, crying out of frustration.

 Chapter 630 03-25 - 630 19 Letters

    ?Chapter 630: Chapter 19 Letters Chapter 630: Chapter 19 Letters Ronald Division and Apel Division were successively annihilated, and the New Reclamation Legion had no available soldiers left in Iron Peak County.


    After sweeping through Iron Peak County, Winters first sent a letter to Maplestone City.


    He still used the messengers from the Revodan garrison and followed the communication channels of the New Reclamation Legion.


    The ¡°Rebels¡± had captured the county capital, and it was impossible to keep it a secret from the legion¡¯s intelligence network.


    Moreover, Ronald and Apel had long since sent messengers to request troops and assistance from the legion.


    Therefore, Winters did not plan on hiding anything, and he openly wrote a letter to General Adams.


    Compared to the audacity of sending the letter itself, the words Winters used in the letter were quite humble.


    ...


    He reported to General Adams in the formal tone of a subordinate, ¡°Major Ronald led his troops out of the city to quell the disorder, and they were ambushed on the road, resulting in total annihilation.¡±


    Revodan is currently under the control of his troops, with him acting as the interim garrison officer.


    Lastly, Winters wished General Adams good health and hoped that the legion headquarters would send a new garrison officer soon.


    The recipient of the letter was ¡°the supremely honorable General Kevin J. Adams.¡±


    The sender¡¯s signature was ¡°Captain Winters Montagne of the Republic of Palatu Army.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± the temporary copyist Xial asked with confusion, ¡°why do I feel like you¡¯re deliberately provoking General Adams while also seeming to talk softly?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡¯re improving,¡± Winters said, focused on carving a chess piece with a small knife with a leather handle, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am doing.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Talk softly¡­ so General Adams won¡¯t attack us?¡± Xial stopped writing and looked up to ask.


    ¡°No, the softer I speak, the more likely it is that Maplestone City will send troops to attack us,¡± Winters blew the wood shavings off the chess piece, revealing the form of a horse¡¯s head representing a knight.


    Xial was puzzled, ¡°Then why¡­¡±


    ¡°If I talk tough, will Adams let us off?¡± Winters handed the finished chess piece to Heinrich and picked up a new piece of wood.


    Heinrich took the chess piece and carefully began to color it.


    In front of Heinrich were many [soldiers], [knights], and [cannons] already lacquered and now drying.


    Ronald¡¯s office had now become a woodcarving workshop.


    ¡°Anyway, General Adams is going to attack us no matter what,¡± Xial pondered, making an exploratory guess, ¡°Instead of appearing strong, isn¡¯t it better to appear weak?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Winters coughed and opened the windows, ¡°The smell of varnish is suffocating; we need to go somewhere with better ventilation.¡±


    Heinrich nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Did you find any news about your grandfather?¡± Winters asked Heinrich.


    Heinrich shook his head sadly.


    Heinrich¡¯s grandfather¡ªthe executioner ¡°Maestro¡± Franz¡ªwas untraceable, neither in Revodan nor in Iron Peak County.


    ¡°No matter, keep searching,¡± Winters felt a pang of sadness remembering the silent and resolute old man, ¡°The cavalry will soon scout the neighboring county, and they will help look for information as well.¡±


    ¡°A wandering executioner has no fixed dwelling; he goes wherever there is someone to be killed,¡± Heinrich tried to smile, ¡°Maybe my grandfather just retired. In today¡¯s world, the last thing we lack is executioners.¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters was writing the letter to Adams.


    In Sea Blue, Chief Magistrate Debela and the four satraps were also having a closed-door meeting.


    Apart from the five-member governing group, Antonio and Merser Monte¡ªthe commander of the Fourth Standing Army¡ªwere also present.


    The Third Army is currently stationed in the Tanilia Archipelago.


    The Fourth Army is currently stationed on the southern bank of Torrent River, confronting the second army of The Federated Provinces.


    Secretly summoning the two army commanders back to Sea Blue was to discuss a major issue¡ªhow much military force could the two armies allocate to intervene in Palatu?


    The five-member governing group had already reached a consensus:


    [The noble Republic must punish the ¡°malicious breach of contract¡± of the Paratu People with the most severe measures; otherwise, all of Veneta¡¯s debtors will become restless]¡ªthese were just the overt reasons.


    The governing council was determined to ¡°arm themselves for debt collection,¡± and calling back the two generals was not to discuss ¡°whether to,¡± but rather ¡°how to.¡±


    However, Antonio unusually took a firm stand against the decision of the ruling council.


    ¡°Once our troops enter Paratu, it will be equivalent to declaring war against the United Provincials!¡± Antonio directly questioned the group of five: ¡°Your Excellencies, do you have the resolve to go to war with the United Provincials? Is Vineta ready?¡±


    According to Antonio¡¯s beliefs, military personnel should not be involved in political decision-making.


    But this time, Antonio went against what he had long stood for.


    The most loyal general of Vineta, Governor De Bella, showed great patience.


    He carefully explained the secret agreement with Alpad: ¡°Our forces will serve as mercenaries for the Paratu military government, and we will avoid a frontal conflict with the Republic of the United Provincials as much as possible.¡±


    Grief was evident in Antonio¡¯s eyes: ¡°These are nothing but self-deception! Your Excellencies are all hoping for the best outcome, but reality often takes a plunge in the worst direction. Military intervention in Paratu will inevitably lead to a war against the United Provincials. That would be a real civil war within the Alliance! Brother fighting brother! But we are not ready, far from it!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Zio interrupted his favorite officer, not letting him speak further: ¡°Does the weighing and consideration of the governing council need to be taught by you?¡±


    ¡°Militarily, Vineta may not be ready. But politically, we must respond.¡± De Bella said slowly to the commander of the Third Legion: ¡°What if all of Vineta¡¯s debtors start copying the Paratu People? What if we allow the United Provincials to intervene and take control of Paratu?


    If Monta and Varn are already puppets of the United Provincials, and they gain control over Paratu, can Vineta continue to exist independently in the world? No matter what the cost, Vineta must at least ensure the independence of Paratu, at the very least prevent it from falling to the United Provincials, in order to maintain the internal balance within the Alliance.¡±


    Antonio could not refute De Bella, because he knew De Bella was right.


    The territory of the United Provincials is small, just over one hundred thousand square kilometers, roughly a third of Vineta¡¯s size.


    Although the population of the United Provincials is dense and the cities are wealthy, in terms of war potential, they are far from comparable to Vineta and Paratu.


    It is with their formidable military strength and the two ¡°puppets¡± Monta and Varn that the United Provincials maintain an equilibrium with Vineta and Paratu.


    The three parties are like a triangle, mutually restraining and dependent on each other, barely maintaining balance within the Alliance under external pressure.


    If this triangle were broken, and Paratu were to fall to the United Provincials, then Vineta would be the next to be swallowed up.


    ¡°If Your Excellencies are determined to deploy troops, then I request that the governing council immediately start preparing for a full-scale war with the United Provincials.¡± Antonio clenched his teeth: ¡°[Ancient Language] If you want peace, prepare for war! [Modern Language] I request Your Excellencies to allow me to devise a war plan to take Golden Harbor and annihilate the First Legion.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the State Palace of Guidao City, the office of the United Provincials¡¯ State Secretary Lionel, a fierce argument was also taking place.


    ¡°Mr. Secretary! Are you going to just stand by and watch Vinetians take control of Paratu?¡± General Taylor, the leading figure of the Provincial Army, shouted at the nominal head of state of the United Provincials: ¡°Vineta plus Paratu! The United Provincials will be forced to fight on two fronts! Can you bear the responsibility of the nation¡¯s downfall?¡±


    ¡°General Taylor, you¡¯re getting the cause and effect wrong.¡± The State Secretary suppressed his anger, speaking as calmly and gently as possible: ¡°If your army hadn¡¯t interfered with Paratu, Vineta wouldn¡¯t have acted on their own.¡±


    ¡°By the time they really intervene, it will be too late!¡± the leading figure of the army yelled.


    ¡°By the time they really intervene, it will still be timely for us to get involved.¡± The State Secretary replied calmly and unhurriedly.


    ¡°Mr. Secretary.¡± Taylor asked with a sneer: ¡°Are you a United Provincial, or a Vincentian?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency General.¡± Lionel¡¯s facial muscles twitched, and he asked in a calm and composed manner: ¡°Then are you a United Provincial? Or a person of the Provincial Army?¡±


    ¡°The army has always been for the protection of the United Provincials.¡± Taylor left the words coldly and stormed out.


    The meeting between the army general and the State Secretary ended without reconciliation.


    ¡­


    At the same time, in the heart of the Empire¡ªWorry-Free Palace.


    The returning envoy, Count Narzia, walked through the long corridor and entered a small room at the southwest corner of Worry-Free Palace.


    Not only was the room small, but it was also exceptionally plain, with only one desk and one chair.


    A man sat on the room¡¯s only chair, writing something.


    Behind the man hung a portrait¡ªit was the only decoration in the room.


    In the picture frame, an older man in military attire, bearing a resemblance to the man, gazed down with an authoritative look, overseeing everything in the room.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Narzia approached the desk and helped the man open the letters in the yellow wooden box, which came from the northern border, the southern regions, and even the ends of the colonized world: ¡°The Rebels are about to engage in fratricide again.¡±


    ¡°No rush.¡± The man trimmed the excess part of the letter, folded it, sealed it with wax, and placed it in the red wood box on the desk.


    His movements were quick and clean; the trimmed pieces of the letter were placed in a drawer for future use.


    He personally handled these trifling matters, which others might find unworthy of attention, never delegating them.


    ¡°Just wait.¡± He said.

 Chapter 631 03-25 - 631 20 The Millstone

    ?Chapter 631: Chapter 20 The Millstone Chapter 631: Chapter 20 The Millstone What does it feel like when a new sun rises in the sky?


    The answer is simple: if it¡¯s the same as the previous sun, then there¡¯s no feeling at all.


    That¡¯s exactly how the citizens of Revodan felt.


    They watched in a daze as people left the city and others entered.


    The most widespread and logically sound explanation on the streets and in the alleys went like this:


    The garrison official went out of the city to suppress bandits, died;


    Bandits entered the city, looted at will, chaos ensued;


    The new captain chased away the bandits, became the new garrison official, all was well.


    The ¡°new garrison¡± didn¡¯t bother to correct this perception but reinforced it instead.


    Because Winters¡¯ strategy towards Revodan was ¡°inaction.¡±


    ...


    He only had four legitimate military officers at his disposal¡ªMoritz and Juan were not under his command.


    And among his subordinates, fewer than two dozen could read and write.


    Winters was very clear that he had no capability to take over Revodan, nor did he have the intention or the need.


    All he wanted was stability; as long as there was no added chaos, it was fine.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    The disadvantage of the [unchanged] strategy was ¡°no feeling.¡±


    The citizens of Revodan felt nothing, so naturally, they formed no recognition of the new regime.


    Bread still had to be eaten, work still had to be done, shops still had to open.


    Whatever it was like before, it remained the same now; everyone lived in peace and continued with their lives.


    Not only did the citizens of Revodan feel nothing, but the sixteen towns of Iron Peak County also felt nothing.


    Farmers and townsfolk in South Eight Town at least knew some news; North Eight Town hadn¡¯t even realized that Revodan had changed hands.


    However, after discussing it within the group of six, Winters decided to still notify everyone.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village.


    Three cavalrymen dashed into the village center like lightning, with the leading cavalryman holding aloft a green banner, signifying that he brought important news.


    Following familiar procedures, the three cavalrymen first found the village chief, rang the bell, and gathered the villagers.


    Many villagers, seeing the cavalrymen storm into the village, had already hidden in the forests around the settlement.


    Gathering them all back would require quite an effort.


    The leading cavalryman did not waste this time and, seeing that several dozen people had come to the village square,


    he found a cart to stand upon and read out the announcement to the villagers of Shibi Village.


    After finishing, he posted the announcement on the village square¡¯s noticeboard. Then he immediately mounted his horse and left for the next village.


    After the cavalrymen left, the farmers who had run into the forest gradually returned to the village.


    They gathered in the village square, looking at the announcement on the noticeboard.


    The newly posted announcement was exceptionally large, occupying half of the noticeboard with a single sheet of paper.


    The letters written on it were also particularly large, as if afraid the readers might make a mistake.


    In the bottom right corner of the announcement, there was a huge wax seal, and even the most ignorant villager understood its meaning: whoever dared tear it down would be hanged.


    The few literate individuals in the village squeezed in front of the announcement and squinted their eyes, reading it aloud for the others to hear.


    ¡­


    Winters initially had no intention of writing an announcement, thinking that the farmers wouldn¡¯t be able to read, making it useless.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong there,¡± Bard explained with a smile. ¡°Most farmers can¡¯t read, but there¡¯s always someone in the village who can, and they can read it out to the others. Pamphlets printed with doctrines were once a key approach by the Galen Church to recruit followers. Rest assured, they¡¯ll know what¡¯s on the announcement.¡±


    So Winters personally drafted an announcement.


    After reading it, Bard laughed even more: ¡°You can¡¯t use this kind of grammar, there are literate people in the villages, but they can only grasp the gist of it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this sufficient? I already simplified the syntax as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Writing an announcement is not a simple task; you have to write it so that even an eight-year-old child could understand,¡± Bard¡¯s smile grew wider: ¡°And it needs to be concise, sticking to the main points. Otherwise, by the time you finish listening, the beginning is already forgotten. It¡¯s best if it can rhyme, catchy like a nursery rhyme.¡±


    Standing aside, Andre coughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a good line.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Clearing his throat, Andre intoned, ¡°Bite his mom! Wear his mom! The Blood Wolf comes, no tribute paid!¡±


    ¡°No tribute paid!¡± Winters crumpled the draft into a ball and hurled it fiercely at Andre: ¡°What will you eat if you don¡¯t pay tribute!¡±


    ¡°Political promises, aren¡¯t they meant to be broken?¡± Andre said nonchalantly: ¡°If we really take Maplestone City, would anyone dare to come ask us why we¡¯re collecting tribute?¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop riling him up,¡± Bard knew the issue was actually the name ¡°Blood Wolf.¡±


    Winters felt very wronged, truly wronged.


    He had never called himself [Blood Man] or [Blood Wolf]; he wasn¡¯t one of those soldiers who took pride in a terrifying nickname.


    But for some reason, his nickname kept getting worse, spreading wider and becoming more bizarre as it went.


    Captain Spire had once admonished him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to live with an unpleasant nickname for life, then avoid getting involved in such dirty work.¡±


    He didn¡¯t take it to heart at the time, and now he deeply regretted it.


    On the third day after he entered the city, the various guilds of Revodan suddenly donated a large sum of money.


    Winters was initially very pleased, personally receiving and thanking the guild chairmen.


    Until one of them let slip, saying this was money ¡°for Lord Blood Wolf.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters¡¯ face immediately turned sour.


    The speaker was too timid and even wet himself on the spot from fright.


    In the end, it was Bard who cleaned up the mess for ¡°Lord Blood Wolf¡± and later gave Winters a thorough scolding.


    All in all, the word Winters least wanted to hear was ¡°Blood Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Still, this slogan isn¡¯t bad,¡± said Bard with a smile, taking the paper and pen: ¡°Let¡¯s change it to [Eat his mom, wear his mom, no tax this autumn].¡±


    ¡­


    Yevgeny ¡°Big Eyes¡± from the west end of Shibi Village cautiously lingered in the forest for an extra while.


    He did not step out of the woods until he was certain that the cavalry carrying the green flags had not returned, so he was late getting back to the village.


    When he finally reached the village square, he found the villagers all gathered there, chatting in groups of three or five.


    The announcement had already been read, several times over.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did they say?¡± Big Eyes Yevgeny hurriedly sought his neighbor¡ªIlya, a fisherman and farmer.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quite catch it all,¡± Ilya, scratching the back of his head, said, ¡°It seems like the garrison in town got a new master.¡±


    ¡°Has the village chief been replaced?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Has the town chief been replaced?¡±


    ¡°No, neither.¡±


    ¡°Pah, what does that have to do with us peasants?¡± spat Yevgeny.


    The farmers still left in Shibi Village were all freeholders. They had land and houses, and couldn¡¯t just up and leave like hired hands or tenant farmers.


    In peaceful times, the life of a freeholder was much better off than the bottom-tier landless peasants.


    But now, they were simply struggling to stay alive.


    However, this did not mean they were willing to suffer exploitation¡ªthey just couldn¡¯t escape it.


    ¡°The new master is quite good; he has exempted this year¡¯s autumn grain tax,¡± Ilya muttered, ¡°Eat his mother¡¯s, wear his mother¡¯s, no tax this autumn harvest.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Big Eyes Yevgeny¡¯s eyes widened even more: ¡°We¡¯re almost ready to plant the winter wheat! What¡¯s this about autumn! Besides, didn¡¯t they just send down a grain-levying squad recently to take our wheat?¡±


    Another farmer, Pushkin, interjected, ¡°The new master also said he wanted to eliminate the bandits.¡±


    ¡°Which master hasn¡¯t talked about eliminating bandits? But which one has ever really taken care of it? Aren¡¯t the bandits still bullying us regardless?¡± Yevgeny grew angrier as he spoke, stomping his foot hard, ¡°Damn it! What dogshit new master, he¡¯s still the same old crap, just with his pants¡¯ fly sewn at the back! Fuck!¡±


    Several of the surrounding farmers could relate to this hurtful truth.


    Bandits, taxes, and military calamities plagued the peasants who toiled hard on their lands, made to suffer oppression all year round.


    In Shibi Village alone, several peasant families had been driven to desperation, fleeing their homes. Who knows whether they became soldiers, joined the bandits, or simply died.


    The circle of farmers around fell silent.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Ilya said, brightening as he told his neighbor, ¡°the new master also said we won¡¯t have to pay the millstone tax anymore! Mill as you please, sweep as you please, anyone who wants to build can just build!¡±


    Yevgeny was taken aback.


    After standing dumbfounded for a moment, Yevgeny finally said, ¡°Then the newcomer is a good master.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯s strategy was not just to keep Revodan ¡°still,¡± but also the rural areas.


    ¡°It¡¯s been too chaotic recently,¡± Winters explained his thinking to the others, ¡°Everyone longs for the life we had before, everyone craves for a sense of security. That¡¯s why we should first stabilize Iron Peak County, to stay as still as possible.


    Besides, we have no administrative experience managing a county. If the cart ain¡¯t broke, don¡¯t go banging on it, if Iron Peak County can still function normally, we better not mess with it. Do we really need to interfere with farmers tending their fields?¡±


    However, Winters quickly realized he was preaching to the choir.


    Currently, six people could take part in the decision-making meetings: Winters himself, Bard, Andre, Mason, Moritz, and Juan.


    Juan Senior and Andre simply didn¡¯t care about these issues;


    Colonel Moritz always seemed sleepy during meetings;


    Senior Mason was obsessed with his ¡°horse-drawn cannon¡± concept, his mind filled with ¡°where could we get a couple of real cannons.¡±


    Not to mention that Colonel Moritz and Juan Senior had their own agenda.


    ¡­


    ¡°Do you know what other tasks I have apart from collecting your corpse?¡± Moritz asked Winters.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters replied, ¡°but I guess it has to do with your choice of Plan B.¡±


    Moritz then pointed at Andre and Bard and asked, ¡°Do you know why they¡¯ve been left without Vineta?¡±


    Winters had some idea, but he didn¡¯t want to say it out loud.


    ¡°It¡¯s Vineta that wants them to stay here,¡± Moritz sighed, ¡°Your motherland not only doesn¡¯t want you back, they also want you to stay in Paratu. Back home in Vineta, you would just be a few more junior officers. But if you stay in Paratu, Vineta has many precious leverage points and sources of intelligence.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Winters to Andre. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre nodded, his expression complex.


    ¡°Same as always, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Winters numbed himself, ¡°Neither the Paratu People nor Vineta regard us as human.¡±


    ¡°You seem quite mature,¡± Moritz said with a wry smile.


    Winters pressed him, ¡°So what now? Do you and Juan Senior think that this little venture of mine is a good investment opportunity, that if it grows quickly, we could contain the New Reclamation Legion and even the Red Rose of Kingsfort? That¡¯s why you¡¯ve decided to go ahead with the backup plan? For Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Not quite, I¡¯m helping you because I feel like it,¡± Moritz honestly replied, ¡°I just prefer Plan B. If we can wipe out Ronald Division in one fell swoop, there¡¯s no need to cause more harm than necessary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that for me, I just came to take you back,¡± Tang Juan intervened, ¡°I¡¯m helping you fight because I¡¯ve got nothing better to do. Besides, didn¡¯t you ask for my help?¡±


    ¡­


    In the end, Winters sorrowfully realized that in the small meeting room, the only two who really cared about the peasants were Bard and himself.


    The six-person meeting became a mere formality; eventually, it was just Bard and Winters consulting each other.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Bard agreed, ¡°If the cart isn¡¯t broken, don¡¯t fix it. With our current capabilities, we¡¯re not equipped to control the entire Iron Peak County. So keeping everything as is would be for the best.¡±


    So, the rural areas of Iron Peak County also remained ¡°still¡± for the time being.


    The downside of inactivity is not feeling.


    The benefit of inactivity, also, is not feeling.


    People not feeling, life goes on as usual; that was precisely the outcome Winters wanted.


    Citizens have no feelings, freeholders have no feelings, but that does not mean nobody else has feelings.


    The refugees and disaster victims gathered outside Revodan, and the captives in Winters¡¯s hands¡­ their lives were undergoing earth-shattering changes, leaving them deep feelings of unease, anxiety, and fear.


    Because Winters wanted to ¡°register and organize the households.¡±

 Chapter 632 03-25 - 632 21 Household Registration

    ?Chapter 632: Chapter 21: Household Registration Chapter 632: Chapter 21: Household Registration ¡°`


    ¡°Are you going to kill us or release us!¡± Lieutenant Adam kicked the door fiercely, roaring at the guards with a furious bellow, ¡°Make it quick! Why torture someone like this! Bastard!¡±


    Regrettably, the soldiers outside were like the deaf, turning a blind eye to the raging lieutenant captive.


    This only fueled Lieutenant Lofvensikes Adam¡¯s rage even more as he slammed the door violently, ¡°Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!¡±


    The ceiling quivered with his pounding, fine dust falling and dancing in the sunlight.


    The soldiers outside remained silent, simply propping up the door with several pieces of wood.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Major Ronald from the cell next door scolded the lieutenant, ¡°Save your energy! Don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡±


    At the words of the major, Adam stopped, panting heavily.


    ...


    The captured officers were confined alone in a farmhouse outside of Revodan. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were neither killed nor released; they were simply detained with two meals a day.


    Initially, some believed that Winters intended to persuade them to defect, and they all agreed not to be traitors.


    But the younger brother hadn¡¯t shown his face from the beginning to the end.


    Then, some thought that Winters was using them to exchange for ransom, or as bargaining chips for negotiations.


    But the guards outside never seemed to indicate this; to be precise, they simply didn¡¯t communicate with the prisoners at all.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Thus, the agitation and unease in the hearts of the captured officers grew with each passing day.


    ¡°Senior!¡± Adam approached Captain Apel, ¡°Say something, will you? What¡¯s happening outside? When can General Adams send troops? What¡¯s actually wrong with you?¡±


    The farmhouse was tiny, with only two rooms. One for Major Ronald, the other for the junior officers.


    Among the officers, Captain Apel had been the major¡¯s second-in-command, so naturally, the other officers looked to him as their backbone.


    But ever since the captain had been locked up, he hadn¡¯t said a single word.


    He became like a soulless body that moved but showed no worry, anger, or anything but numbness.


    Despite Adam¡¯s yelling and shouting, Apel didn¡¯t even glance at him, continuing to hug his knees and gaze out the window.


    ¡°Montagn¨¦ that bastard, what exactly did he do to you to make you like this?¡± Adam was heartbroken and angry, rushing to the window and yelling at the guard, ¡°Bring Winters Montagn¨¦ here! What kind of sorcery has he used on senior Apel! [Racially discriminatory remarks against the Venetians]¡±


    ¡°Adam.¡± Apel suddenly spoke up, ¡°Come here.¡±


    Adam was startled at first, then subconsciously walked over to his senior.


    Apel patted the floor, ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Adam obediently sat down.


    Then, Apel returned to his prior state, looking out the window without a word.


    Adam sat for a while, then stood up angrily again.


    ¡°[In old language] I think I have an idea of what Winters is up to,¡± said Lieutenant Istvan, arms crossed, leaning near the window, carefully observing the outside of the farmhouse, ¡°[In old language] Quite interesting.¡±


    When the officers didn¡¯t want the guards to understand their conversation, they would switch to the old language.


    ¡°[In old language] You know what he¡¯s scheming?¡± Adam asked excitedly.


    Istvan exhaled a single word, ¡°[In old language] The Reclamation Decree.¡±


    ¡°[In old language] What?¡±


    ¡°[In old language] The ¡®Reclamation Decree¡¯ from the Legion headquarters ¡ª it¡¯s for recruiting refugees to develop new land. Haven¡¯t you noticed, not a single refugee has been seen around here these past few days?¡±


    ¡°[In old language] Whatever Montagn¨¦ is up to isn¡¯t important,¡± Adam¡¯s mind was entirely on another matter, ¡°[In old language] Senior Apel¡¯s mind has been damaged by witchcraft. You take the lead, let¡¯s figure out a way to escape!¡±


    ¡°[In old language] There¡¯s no escape. We don¡¯t even have horses, how can we flee?¡± Istvan chuckled lightly, ¡°[In old language] But we can try.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was not intentionally leaving the seniors hanging; he was simply too busy, so busy that he had forgotten about them.


    Winters had deployed all his available Scouts toward Iron Peak County and the neighboring counties of Mont Blanc and Vernge, to monitor every move of the New Reclamation Legion.


    Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, Lieutenant Juan, and Andre were leading cavalry patrols day and night, monitoring all the major and minor roads leading into and out of Iron Peak County, setting up nets to intercept scouts coming from Mont Blanc and Vernge Counties into Iron Peak County.


    Winters had issued a [Blockade Order]: Without permission from the garrison, no one was allowed to leave Iron Peak County, nor allowed to enter.


    He wanted to hide Iron Peak County as much as possible in the mist.


    And all of Winters¡¯ energy was now focused on the refugee camp outside the city, where he even ate and slept.


    Most of the time, Bard stayed in the city, handling all matters of Revodan.


    As for Captain Richard Mason, ranked second in military status, Senior Mason disappeared all day, riding out of the city every morning and only returning at night, reportedly looking for a bell maker.


    ¡­


    In the refugee camp, the atmosphere was somber.


    A great number of fleeing peasants arrived in Revodan begging for aid, but Revodan didn¡¯t allow the refugees into the city, only serving congee outside the gates daily, even hastily constructing makeshift walls to block them off.


    The displaced people outside set up their tents with a few sticks and barely settled in; they kept gathering, eventually forming a huge, dirty, and muddy camp.


    This so-called camp had neither camp walls nor any ¡°boundaries.¡±


    But now, it did.


    After Moritz and Tang Juan stormed Revodan, their first move was to take control of the refugee camp.


    When Bard arrived in Revodan, he even tightened the control over the refugee camp.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 633 03-25 - 633 21 Household Registration _2

    ?Chapter 633: Chapter 21: Household Registration _2 Chapter 633: Chapter 21: Household Registration _2 The refugee camp, once without boundaries, was now encircled by two rings of ¡°walls¡± made of wooden stakes and ropes.


    Approximately six meters separated the two walls, and soldiers clad in armor patrolled the space in between.


    Any refugee who dared to enter the open space between the walls would be whipped as punishment, and if they reoffended, they would be hanged¡ªthese were the rules personally established by Bard.


    ¡°No escaping! No shouting! Don¡¯t snatch food during porridge distribution!¡± These were the three rules Bard set for the refugees, and the punishments were monotonous, only two: whipping for first-time offenders and hanging for repeat offenders.


    The corpses hanging from the stakes in the open space served as the most straightforward warning.


    Even Andre and Tang Juan felt that Bard was going too far, not to mention Winters, Moritz, and Mason.


    But Bard was determined to carry on this way.


    ...


    Major Ronald had no good solutions for dealing with the refugees; he selected young and strong men to be soldiers, and the rest were thrown outside the city, receiving some overcooked wheat porridge daily.


    He was only delaying.


    Winters and Bard, on the other hand, wanted to address the issue thoroughly.


    ¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters asked without looking up.


    The trembling refugee farmer in front of him replied, ¡°Peter.¡±


    Behind Peter, disaster victims wearing tattered clothes formed a long queue that seemed endless, stretching deep into the refugee camp.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    They weren¡¯t queuing out of discipline; the pain from the whips and batons was too much.


    Hearing the farmer calling himself Peter, Winters felt a splitting headache, for this was the fourteenth Peter he had encountered that day.


    There was little choice, as commoners and nobles alike repetitively used those typical names.


    Not to mention that some noble clergy even restricted the choice of names, decreeing that their subjects must pick from the scriptures.


    Many farmers never left their small villages in their entire lives; with a limited population, having duplicate names wasn¡¯t an issue.


    But Winters now needed to ¡°assign identities,¡± and the duplication of names became a significant problem that plagued him.


    Fortunately, he had already thought of a solution.


    ¡°Which town, which village are you from?¡± Winters asked the farmer.


    ¡°Qingfeng Town,¡± the farmer answered softly, ¡°Shibi Village.¡±


    He dared not speak loudly because the refugee camp was under military law, which strictly forbade noise.


    Anyone who yelled was immediately seized and whipped.


    Only through such severe methods could the less than three hundred soldiers temporarily suppress the refugees, whose numbers were several times theirs.


    This was not a sustainable strategy, and Winters had to relieve the pressure before an explosion occurred.


    Looking at the farmer¡¯s face, darkened from years of labor, Winters said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re dark-skinned; you¡¯ll be called Peter Black.¡±


    The farmer named Peter was stunned and took a while to nod.


    Winters quickly scribbled a few rough characters on a piece of paper: ¡°You are Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village. Don¡¯t get confused with other Peter Blacks.¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­¡± Peter asked timidly, ¡°Is there another Peter Black?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters hummed lightly. ¡°Plenty. How old are you?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°How old are you?!¡±


    ¡°Thirty-one.¡±


    ¡°Do you have land at home?¡±


    ¡°No, I grow sugar beets for Lord Kvass.¡±


    ¡°Married?¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t have children, right?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Your father, mother, are they still alive?¡±


    Peter¡¯s nose tingled: ¡°They¡¯re both gone.¡±


    ¡°Condolences,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°Keep living well; there will be a way out.¡±


    Peter, not understanding, just nodded blankly.


    Winters then took out a small wooden tag, wrote ¡°Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village¡± on it, and handed it to him.


    ¡°This is your name; you¡¯ll need this to receive food from now on,¡± Winters pointed behind him. ¡°Go over there, show this to that person, and proceed to the Qingfeng Town camp.¡±


    Peter hadn¡¯t come to his senses yet; he stood there dumbfounded.


    ¡°Go!¡± Winters¡¯s eyes unconsciously widened.


    At that, Peter understood and ran forward.


    He couldn¡¯t resist pulling out the wooden tag to look again; it had a line of letters and a string of numbers.


    ¡°Is this my name?¡± Peter thought. Someone had taught him to recognize his name, but he could never remember it.


    He hadn¡¯t run far when another soldier stopped him.


    The soldier roughly snatched his wooden tag, glanced at it, and then roughly stuffed it back into his hand.


    ¡°From Qingfeng Town! To the southernmost camp!¡± the soldier advised gruffly: ¡°Choose wrong, and you¡¯ll get a whipping!¡±


    Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village, continued to the very southern end.


    After his tag was checked again, the soldier guarding the entrance let him into the Qingfeng Town camp area and even gave him a large piece of black bread.


    In the camp, he unexpectedly met a fellow townsman¡ªanother Peter.


    Before that, he didn¡¯t even know that his fellow townsman, known as ¡°Fisheye Peter,¡± was also in the refugee camp.


    ¡°What Peter are you?¡± Fisheye Peter asked eagerly, saying happily, ¡°The lord said Fisheye was unpleasant and awkward, so I¡¯m not called Fisheye anymore. I¡¯m Peter Fisher now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m now called¡­ Peter Black,¡± Peter Black replied with a hint of pride.


    On the other side, another farmer approached Winters.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters asked without raising his head.


    ¡°Peter,¡± the farmer replied softly.


    A groan emanated from the deepest part of Winters¡¯s chest as his head ached even more.


    ¡­


    Separating the refugees was seen as an imperative by the group of six; they could not be allowed to congregate.


    For the refugees, numbers equaled courage.


    A single disaster victim might be timid, but a hundred could raid a village, while ten thousand could plunder a city.

 Chapter 634 03-25 - 634 21 Registration and Household

    ?Chapter 634: Chapter 21: Registration and Household Management_3 Chapter 634: Chapter 21: Registration and Household Management_3 We must separate the refugees, but we cannot spread them too thin, otherwise it would be inconvenient to manage.


    Dividing them into sixteen sub-camps based on their places of origin became the most reasonable strategy.


    Moreover, staying with fellow townspeople, the refugees would feel more secure.


    Winters didn¡¯t know exactly how the White Lion ¡°organized the population¡±, so he could only proceed according to his own thoughts.


    ¡°To organize the population like weaving a basket,¡± he first needed to know how many people there were.


    Winters registered all the refugees outside the city by family, logging their [gender], [age], [place of origin], [physical health], and [family members and property].


    All of his literate soldiers were pulled in to register the refugees, including Winters himself taking to the field.


    ...


    He also borrowed thirty-three accountants and scribes from various businesses within the city.


    When the Blood Wolf spoke, the merchants happily sent over their employees.


    Winters even held temporary classes for some of the sharp soldiers, teaching them to recognize the most basic words.


    For example, the soldier guarding the Qingfeng Town camp, he couldn¡¯t read at all¡ªsending a literate soldier for such a task would be too wasteful.


    Yet he was still able to fulfill his duties well because Winters taught him to recognize the word [Qingfeng Town].


    After leaving the main camp, the refugees went through screening and registration before entering the various town sub-camps.


    This process had its hiccups but was generally orderly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    As everyone gradually became familiar with their jobs, efficiency also increased.


    Moreover, compared to the dirty and grimy refugee camps, the sub-camps, planned like temporary military camps, were obviously more comfortable.


    Winters even personally supervised the digging of latrines for each camp¡ªprevention of epidemics was of utmost importance.


    Upon entering the sub-camps, the first thing was to distribute food to the refugees.


    Not watery porridge, but bread; with full stomachs, they wouldn¡¯t panic.


    After all, the refugees didn¡¯t have much in terms of possessions; everything they owned was either carried on their backs or in their hands, moving wherever there was food to eat¡ªsomewhat like the nomadic Herders.


    Winters hated repetitive labor.


    Registering the refugees until he was dizzy and writing letters until he hardly recognized the words, he couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡°How great it would be if the refugees could read and write! They could do it themselves, and I¡¯d just need to have a look.¡±


    But he quickly dismissed that idea.


    How could everyone read and write? That would be heaven, wouldn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Or should I teach all the soldiers?¡± Winters came up with an alternative plan, ¡°Let them do this work, and I wouldn¡¯t have to.¡±


    While he was thinking this, Xial ran over, out of breath.


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Xial asked, gasping for air and leaning on his knees, ¡°Did you forget who¡¯s coming today?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters asked in return, his movements continuing unfettered, deftly placing a registration paper into one of the sixteen wooden cases.


    ¡°Miss Navarre is coming to Revodan today!¡±


    Winters stood up abruptly, knocking the chair backwards.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters picked up the chair, pushed Xial into the seat, and thrust the feather pen back into his hand, ¡°You take over!¡±


    That said, he leapt onto the saddle and galloped away as if flying.


    ¡­


    Although bringing his family to Revodan in haste before getting settled was very unwise.


    But Winters missed Anna so dearly, and Anna missed Winters just as much.


    So when Pierre came to Revodan to meet them, he also escorted the female family members.


    Winters should have gone to meet them, but when he saw Anna, she was already waiting for him at the officers¡¯ residence in the garrison.


    ¡°The honor you bestow upon me and my sister by taking the time to visit us in the midst of your busy schedule is truly humbling,¡± Catherine said with a sunny smile, curtsying toward Winters. Unwilling to leave her sister behind, she had also come to Revodan.


    Winters could already ignore such a degree of sarcasm.


    He went straight up to Anna and hugged her tightly.


    Catherine let out an exclamation and indignantly kicked Winters on the shin before turning and leaving the room.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come; it¡¯s too dangerous here,¡± Winters held his beloved firmly.


    Anna wrapped her arms around her lover¡¯s neck. ¡°But you are here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters found Pierre and Scarlett in the stables.


    Tess and Botayun were also brought to Revodan; Scarlett was nursing Tess, while Pierre kept his sister company.


    Upon seeing Winters, Scarlett¡¯s first words were, ¡°Botayun isn¡¯t producing milk. I want to feed Tess goat¡¯s milk and cow¡¯s milk.¡±


    Tess already somewhat resembled a little pony, shedding some of the fragility of a newborn.


    Winters stroked Tess. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go look for some.¡±


    ¡°A horse raised on goat¡¯s milk?¡± Pierre joked. ¡°Can it still be ridden? You should find another Dusack mare with a foal.¡±


    Leaving Scarlett in the stable, Winters and Pierre needed to discuss a matter of great importance.


    ¡°There¡¯s a task only you can do,¡± Winters said to Pierre.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Pierre replied without hesitation.


    Winters didn¡¯t mention anything else. Between him and the young Dusack, nothing much needed to be said.


    He didn¡¯t need to explain how important the matter was, or why it had to be Pierre.


    Pierre wouldn¡¯t complain about the exhausting travel back and forth between Revodan and Wolf Town, never having had a moment¡¯s rest.


    ¡°Berlion Soya,¡± Winters said a name. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Blacksmith, cook,¡± Pierre nodded.


    ¡°He¡¯s being held by the Blue Rose, that is, in Alpad¡¯s hands,¡± Winters looked at Pierre. ¡°I need you to confirm his location.¡±


    Pierre nodded calmly.


    Alpad had a large number of Dusack Cavalry at his disposal, so the steady and savvy Dusack, Pierre, was the only one suitable for this mission.


    ¡°Who do you want to take with you?¡±


    ¡°Vashka, and another Dusack who¡¯s a bit older.¡±


    ¡°What else do you need?¡±


    ¡°Gold Coins, a lot of Gold Coins.¡±


    ¡°Go find Lieutenant Bard. Whatever you need, you can ask him.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Be extremely careful,¡± Winters squeezed Pierre¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just confirming the location is enough. There¡¯s no need to force a rescue; I¡¯ll go in person.¡±


    ¡°Please rest assured,¡± Pierre said with a hint of a smile.


    This was one of the rare times Winters said ¡°for me¡± rather than ¡°with me,¡± but he was no longer a Centurion; he had to adapt to letting subordinates work on their own and learn to trust and rely on them.


    Winters wanted to give a few more words of caution.


    But the hasty sound of horse hooves interrupted him as a red-maned warhorse galloped into the courtyard, and upon it was Anglu.


    ¡°Centurion.¡± Anglu dismounted quickly, handing Winters two letters, ¡°Mr. B wants you to have these.¡±


    Two letters, one bearing the seal of the New Reclamation Legion, the other marked with a black cross¡ªsignifying extreme urgency.


    Winters read the letter from the New Reclamation Legion first, his eyebrows slightly raised as he did.


    Then he glanced at the letter with the black cross.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Pierre asked with some concern.


    Winters handed the letters to Pierre.


    The first letter came from Maplestone City, the headquarters of the New Reclamation Legion.


    It did not specify the recipient but used the term ¡°The Garrison of Revodan.¡±


    The content was simple; the legion headquarters was requesting the autumn grain tribute owed by the Garrison of Revodan for that year.


    The second letter was from Major Moritz.


    The content was even simpler: the New Reclamation Legion troops of Mont Blanc County and Vernge County were assembling.

 Chapter 635 03-25 - 635 22 Resistance to Taxation

    ?Chapter 635: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation Chapter 635: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation With the current storage in Revodan, there is more than enough to meet the quota demanded by Maplestone City.


    But¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t give them anything! Damn it! Not a single grain!¡± Andre shouted angrily, ¡°They send a piece of paper over and expect us to obediently hand over grain and money? What if they demand our lives next? Should we give those too?¡±


    Winters fiddled with a small knife, ¡°I think that even if we give them the grain, Adams would still send his troops.¡±


    On the matter of refusing to send grain, the six of them reached a consensus without needing discussion.


    Refusing to give up the grain is easy, but what should they do next?


    The current situation is fraught with internal and external troubles.


    ...


    Outside, in Vernge County and Mont Blanc County, at least eight large enemy squads are gathering.


    Inside, the displaced people are a powder keg that could explode at any moment, and Revodan is similarly rife with undercurrents.


    Winters has no control over North Eight Towns and his influence in South Eight Towns is based on the support of the landowning class.


    Once the rebellion-quashing troops arrive, Revodan will welcome them again with open arms, and the gentry of South Eight Town will quickly prostrate themselves at the feet of the New Reclamation Legion.


    When it comes down to it, only the people of Wolf Town genuinely support Winters with all their hearts.


    The rest are all fair-weather friends, ready to follow whoever wins.


    In the battle to take Revodan, they had bitten off more than they could chew by swallowing a bigger fish. Before they could properly digest it, the Legion¡¯s fist swung their way.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The second person responsible for the current predicament, Lieutenant Tang Juan said carelessly: ¡°The Colonel and I haven¡¯t been without consideration. Empty the granary, give up Revodan, and retreat to Wolf Town. If he wants to come, let him.¡±


    ¡°If he comes, we retreat; if he doesn¡¯t, we hold onto Revodan. At worst, it will just be the original planned outcome,¡± Colonel Moritz wasn¡¯t in a hurry either.


    It¡¯s easy to swallow but hard to spit out.


    Fortunately, they were not so enamored with a frontier city like Revodan that they lost sight of what mattered.


    Andre slammed the table with a bang, saying viciously, ¡°If we can¡¯t hold it, we won¡¯t leave it for them! Burn Revodan to the ground! Take the grain and retreat to Wolf Town and Blackwater Town! Two hundred kilometers of barren land will be enough for their supply line to suffer! If they dare to come, we¡¯ll eat them alive and push into Mont Blanc County and Vernge County.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Senior Mason couldn¡¯t suppress his laughter, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Maplestone City isn¡¯t determined to eliminate us at all costs this time. Not only should we not retreat, but we should also fight. If we hurt them enough, we should be able to remain stable until next May.¡±


    Senior Mason had been downcast since his return today, absent-minded in the meeting, and this was the first time he laughed heartily.


    Andre, irritated by the laughter, said, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Mason propped his chin on his hand, asking in return, ¡°What happens in May next year?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Andre pressed on.


    Winters had already grasped Senior Mason¡¯s meaning, ¡°The wheat ripens!¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Mason said matter-of-factly. ¡°If I were General Adams, I would never launch a major offensive this winter. The Paratu People attack the Herders specifically during winter because the steppe roads are easier to travel, and it¡¯s also when the Herder¡¯s livestock are most vulnerable. On Paratu territory, the opposite is true.¡±


    Seeing the others listening intently, Senior Mason suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.


    He swallowed and explained, ¡°Winter is conducive to defense, not offense. If General Adams still has his wits about him, next May would be the best time for him to move his troops. The wheat ripens, reducing the pressure on supplies. If we abandon the city and retreat, they can harvest our wheat. If we stand firm, they can annihilate us.


    Our soldiers lack training and morale is low, and General Adams¡¯ troops also need training. Instead of rushing to fight us, it¡¯s better for him to train his troops this winter and launch an offensive next year when the wheat ripens. General Adams has greater financial resources, grain reserves, and military strength than us, so no matter how you look at it, time is on his side.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is,¡± Senior Mason said, spreading his hands and smiling awkwardly.


    The conference room was very quiet.


    ¡°Well said!¡± Winters banged the table, cheering for Senior Mason.


    Banging tables, clinking glasses, and stomping feet were common ways to enliven the atmosphere in the Land Academy and the army. Winters had no glass at hand, and stomping feet would be lacking decorum, so banging the table was his only option.


    Bard and Tang Juan responded immediately, followed by Andre and Moritz.


    They banged the table so loudly it thundered like the sound of galloping hooves.


    The soldiers and clerks on the first floor looked up towards the conference room on the second floor, puzzled. Those unaware might have thought the officers were tearing down the house.


    ¡°We are earthen pots, and Adams is a porcelain vase,¡± Winters said, reminiscently quoting the teaching of a predecessor, ¡°Porcelain does not clash with earthenware.¡±


    Moritz lowered his eyelids and sighed softly.


    ¡°Adams, that cunning fellow, definitely doesn¡¯t want to fight us tooth and nail. In my view, he¡¯s preparing for both possibilities. If we collapse easily, he¡¯ll reclaim Revodan. If our ¡°earthen pot¡± turns out to be tough, he¡¯ll wait until next year and bring out a hammer to smash us. The actions this winter, at most, serve as a military exercise.¡± sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters declared definitively, ¡°We can¡¯t surrender Revodan!¡±


    With the goal now clear, the next step was to formulate a battle plan around it.


    Winters brought out a large-scale map that was still a work in progress, drawn based on maps collected by Colonel Jeska.


    As if suddenly remembering something, Colonel Moritz mentioned to Winters, ¡°With that being said, there¡¯s someone you need to meet.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, the one who brought the letter,¡± Colonel Moritz sipped the water from his glass, ¡°I¡¯ve brought him here.¡±

 Chapter 636 03-25 - 636 22 Resistance to Taxation_2

    ?Chapter 636: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation_2 Chapter 636: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation_2 ¡°`


    Winters went to see the messenger from the New Reclamation Legion.


    Tang Juan warmly embraced Senior Mason¡¯s shoulders in the conference room. ¡°Senior, our infantry and artillery are inseparable; we should drink together more often in the future.¡±


    Mason and Winters had a close relationship, and Juan had fought alongside Winters, who was also his direct senior.


    But Tang Juan and Richard Mason weren¡¯t really familiar with each other.


    Mason was from the artillery branch, while Juan was from the infantry; the two were only related as alumni.


    Moreover, with Juan¡¯s naturally awkward disposition and his reluctance to get close to others, it couldn¡¯t be said that they were particularly friendly toward each other.


    Juan¡¯s sudden warmth caught Mason off guard, and he could only nod repeatedly.


    ...


    Juan joked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you count, there are three from the cavalry branch, and just like that, cavalry occupies three votes. We from the infantry and artillery must unite to gather three votes and form a strategic balance with them.¡±


    Mason returned to his gloomy demeanor, nodding absentmindedly.


    ¡°Got a trouble weighing on your mind? Want me to share your worries?¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Mason showed a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Come on, tell me.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I found time to visit the ranch today.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    ¡°The ranch?¡± Juan frowned slightly. ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Damn Ronald!¡± Mason¡¯s voice trembled with sorrow and rage that he could no longer contain, and he cursed while slamming the table, ¡°He slaughtered all the breeding pigs that I raised with all my heart and effort!¡±


    ¡­


    In the garrison¡¯s prison, Winters met the messenger from the New Reclamation Legion.


    To his surprise, the messenger turned out to be a staff officer.


    The man was leaning against the wall, dozing off as if he was not in a damp and dark prison, but just napping in his living room at home.


    Upon seeing Winters, the officer greeted him with composure, ¡°Good day, Captain Montaigne.¡±


    Winters had never seen the man, and presumably the officer had never seen him either.


    ¡°And how should I address you?¡± Winters asked in return.


    ¡°Stiebel Zoltan, Major,¡± replied Major Stiebel with a smile, ¡°No need for salutes, or I¡¯d have to return it.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°Did you receive the headquarters¡¯ documents?¡± Major Stiebel shifted to a more comfortable position.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Good, even though I didn¡¯t personally hand them to you, my mission is accomplished,¡± Stiebel said with a smile, ¡°So what¡¯s your response?¡±


    Winters pulled a chair over and sat down, replying succinctly, ¡°No handover.¡±


    ¡°Captain Montaigne,¡± Major Stiebel brushed dust off his trousers, asking unhurriedly, ¡°Do you aspire to be a warlord?¡±


    ¡°Warlord? A warlord carves out territory, exploits the people, gambles on opportunities. I¡¯ve no desire to become a warlord,¡± Winters scoffed, ¡°In the Newly Reclaimed Lands, isn¡¯t Kevin Adams the biggest warlord?¡±


    The air in the cell grew three degrees colder.


    ¡°Regardless, General Adams has maintained order in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province; he didn¡¯t let the flames of war spread to the Newly Reclaimed Land.¡± Stiebel sighed, ¡°Do you think the people of the Newly Reclaimed Lands are suffering miserably? You should take a look at both shores of the Ashen Stream River¡ªthose were once Paratu¡¯s most fertile lands; you would know what hell on earth is.¡±


    Winters did not respond.


    ¡°General Adams is recruiting refugees to clear the land; he¡¯s pushing things in a positive direction,¡± Major Stiebel stared sternly at Winters, ¡°Pay up your quota, and if you want to play house in Iron Peak County, be my guest.¡±


    ¡°Not a single grain of wheat, not a spoonful of flour, I will give,¡± Winters said, locking eyes with the major, ¡°If General Adams wants them, let him come and get them himself.¡±


    ¡°General Adams keeps the flames of war out of the Newly Reclaimed Lands, yet you wish to start a raging inferno here,¡± Major Stiebel narrowed his eyes, ¡°Do you realize how many people you¡¯ll be killing? The number of people General Adams has killed to date won¡¯t even equal a fraction of those you¡¯ll end up killing.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me this! Without shedding blood, there¡¯s no victory. We both know that,¡± Winters said, his gaze still fixed on the major¡¯s eyes, ¡°If my men aren¡¯t willing to die for me, you¡¯ll come to know. And if they are willing, you¡¯ll find out just the same. What I¡¯d like to know is, how many are willing to die for General Adams?¡±


    Stiebel let out a laugh mixed with a sigh, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t persuade you.¡±


    Winters did not speak. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught Major Stiebel¡¯s left thumb pressing against his ring finger.


    Winters¡¯s body felt as though plunged into icy water, his every hair standing on end.


    Without thinking, he immediately entered a spellcasting state and unleashed a fissure spell with all his might, pouring all his ¡°magic¡± into Major Stiebel¡¯s skull.


    With a ¡°bang,¡± Major Stiebel¡¯s skull was ripped apart.


    Blood and brains splattered all over Winters.


    Upon hearing the noise, Moritz burst into the cell.


    The sight that met his eyes was unnaturally gruesome: the messenger¡¯s skull had been torn to pieces, hanging off his shoulders. The slippery brain was exposed, only half remaining. The man¡¯s heart had not yet ceased to beat, with red fluid gushing out in spurts from the severed arteries.


    And Winters stood before the corpse, motionless.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Moritz frowned as he approached the body, starting to examine the deceased.


    ¡°This man,¡± Winters pondered aloud, ¡°might have been a Spellcaster.¡±


    ¡°Reason?¡± Moritz reached for the hidden pocket on the dead man¡¯s coat, trying to find casting materials.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 637 03-25 - 637 22 Tax Resistance_3

    ?Chapter 637: Chapter 22 Tax Resistance_3 Chapter 637: Chapter 22 Tax Resistance_3 Winters made a gesture¡ªhis left thumb pressing down on his ring finger, showing it to Colonel Moritz.


    His gesture was the standard spellcasting hand sign used by the Alliance spellcasters.


    Moritz stopped his movement, his brow furrowing even tighter.


    Winters had stopped using hand signs for spellcasting, since he fought using only two spells and saw no need for gestures; he was now pursuing speed and explosive power.


    Colonel Moritz had even less need for hand signs in his spellcasting, as he fought using only one spell.


    Perhaps it was precisely this slight advantage in speed that had just saved Winters.


    However, he was now uncertain whether the other party was indeed a spellcaster.


    ...


    Seeing through Winters¡¯ thoughts, Moritz spoke gravely, ¡°Don¡¯t fuss over it; if you killed him, you killed him. You did right¡ªif error must be made, better to kill wrongly than give him a chance.¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    General Adams was doomed not to receive Captain Montaigne¡¯s reply.


    Perhaps the absence of a reply was a clear response in itself.


    In a civil war, there¡¯s not only a complete absence of warmth but also a cruelty that exceeds outright combat between enemies and allies.


    Major Ronald¡¯s warnings were quickly confirmed by Winters.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    Even though the flames had reached the edges of their boots, there were still things that needed to be done one by one.


    The top priority at the moment was dealing with the refugee camp.


    On the day following the delivery of the legion headquarters¡¯ documents, all the refugees outside the city had finally been screened, registered, and based on their region of origin, placed in sixteen small camps.


    Carrying a thick registry, Bard suddenly asked Winters and the others, ¡°Do you know what the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ is?¡±


    Religious matters had always been a blind spot in Winters¡¯ knowledge.


    But even the others didn¡¯t know what the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ was, finding the title quite scary just to hear.


    ¡°About 500 years ago, a king ordered a comprehensive survey of all the estates, tools, livestock, and population across the nation, measuring the area of all grasslands, pastures, farmland, forests, and ponds and estimating their value,¡± Bard said slowly.


    ¡°The final results were compiled into a book, which came to be known as the ¡®Domesday Book.¡¯ Its real name was actually ¡®The Land Tax Survey,¡¯ but it got its name because the king¡¯s surveyors were as stern as the Last Judgment, hence people called it the ¡®Domesday Book.''¡±


    Bard spoke earnestly, and Tang Juan and Andre pricked up their ears to listen closely.


    ¡°Guess how many years the nobles used a ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ for?¡± Bard asked again.


    ¡°A hundred years?¡± Andre ventured.


    ¡°No, it was 500 years. The Empire is still using the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ to this day,¡± Bard said, his rough fingers caressing the thick spine of the registry: ¡°This is our ¡®Domesday Book.''¡±


    The massive effort of the census revealed that the total number of refugees outside the city of Revodan was 22,173.


    Among them, there were 6,873 males over the age of sixteen, making up 31%;


    8,869 females over the age of sixteen, comprising 40%;


    and 6,431 children under the age of sixteen, accounting for 29%.


    This one book represented 22,173 mouths waiting to be fed, 22,173 famished stomachs.


    But it also represented 22,173 pairs of hands capable of labor.


    The key was how to get them back into production.


    ¡°The population census is complete,¡± Winters announced proudly and excitedly, slapping a small knife on the table. ¡°Next, we distribute farmland to them!¡±


    ¡°Distribute land?¡± Bard closed the book, his eyes cold and firm: ¡°No, not a single acre of land will be given away!¡±

 Chapter 638 03-25 - 638 23 Colonization and Farming

    ?Chapter 638: Chapter 23 Colonization and Farming Chapter 638: Chapter 23 Colonization and Farming The sun had just risen when the refugee camp at Qingfeng Town fell into turmoil.


    Soldiers with long spears drawn in a line aggressively drove the refugees out of their tents, forcing them to assemble in the open space.


    Peter Black and Peter Fisher were among them.


    Bard stood on the cart in front of the open space, waiting for the refugees to gather.


    In his hand, he held a flagpole. There was no flag on it, but rather it was covered with a burlap sack.


    The shabbily dressed refugees stood silently, their bellies gnawing with hunger, utterly exhausted, their eyes numb.


    Seeing that all the people in the camp had been brought over, Bard leveled the flagpole and slowly removed the burlap sack covering its top.


    ...


    The refugees couldn¡¯t help but gasp softly.


    The dirty coarse burlap was torn away.


    A large emblem made of gold shone brilliantly in the sunlight.


    Twelve pigeon egg-sized rubies were intricately inlaid on the emblem, reflecting a captivating halo.


    Those with keen eyesight had already recognized what it was.


    ¡°This is the emblem of Saint Ados! The relic fragment is preserved within it!¡± Bard held the flagpole with both hands in front of him, sweeping his gaze over the crowd, his voice demanding, ¡°Those who believe in the only Savior! Kneel immediately to pay homage!¡±


    An elderly woman at the forefront of the crowd was the first to prostrate herself on the ground,


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    and like a great wave passing over, others quickly knelt down one after another, including the soldiers who also knelt on one knee.


    ¡°Our Father in heaven!¡± Bard recited the Lord¡¯s Prayer loudly.


    The people murmured in a soft chorus, ¡°Our Father in heaven.¡±


    Bard continued to recite, ¡°Hallowed be thy name¡­¡±


    He recited a line, and the crowd followed in kind, ¡°Hallowed be thy name¡­¡±


    The voices of the people praying in unison became louder and louder, converging together; many even shed tears.


    Refugees from other camps rushed as well, crowding by their fences, eager to see what was happening.


    ¡°For ever and ever!¡± As Bard finished, he said, ¡°Rise!¡±


    ¡°For ever and ever!¡± The crowd followed suit and stood up.


    Bard handed the [Saint Ados Emblem] to Ish beside him¡ªthe Ish from Ganshui Town.


    The Ish from Ganshui Town, overcome with emotion, grasped the flagpole firmly, not allowing it to tilt in the slightest.


    On the day the city fell into chaos, the Revodan Cathedral was first looted and then set ablaze. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, all the valuable liturgical vessels inside the cathedral had been stolen.


    The Saint Ados Emblem held by Bard was indeed recovered from the hands of the criminals.


    ¡°Those who follow the will of the Lord, you will be saved!¡± Leading the crowd in prayer, Bard naturally began to preach to the people, ¡°Many centuries ago¡­ the Prophet parted the sea, leading the people into the wilderness¡­¡±


    His sermon was simple, merely recounting the scriptural story of ¡°the Prophet parting the sea, leading the people to wander in the wilderness for forty years, and finally reaching the land flowing with milk and honey.¡±


    Bard was not a Protestant, nor was he old church clergy; he had no right to carry out the rituals.


    But when he preached, everyone listened.


    After the sermon, the son of a serf from Greenheart Monastery¡ªBard from Gerard Village¡ªlooked into the eyes of the refugees, his face expressionless as he announced their fate:


    ¡°Yesterday, the military administration of Iron Peak County passed the [Poor Relief Decree]. According to the decree, all refugees are subject to martial law with immediate effect, and the military administration will provide you with food! Housing! Agricultural tools! And land!¡±


    Bard allowed no time for contemplation, his voice cold and merciless, ¡°But from today, you will no longer be completely free people. You will be equivalent to serfs, henceforth farming and clearing land within the settlement farms!¡±


    Even the most uninformed refugees were shocked at this moment. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The crowd began to whisper among themselves, their voices spreading and the camp getting louder.


    Bard bellowed, ¡°Silence!¡±


    People abruptly closed their mouths, and the camp fell suddenly quiet, a testament to the lingering influence of punitive discipline.


    ¡°The Prophet led the people through the wilderness for a full forty years before entering the Promised Land,¡± Bard pronounced to the refugees, unquestioningly, like a sermon: ¡°By the grace of the Republic and the Lord, you only need seven years!¡±


    The refugees were confused; even the soldiers listened carefully.


    The autumn wind swept through the camp, carrying Bard¡¯s voice to every ear: ¡°In the witness of the Lord, the Republic makes a covenant with you. After three years of labor as serfs, you will transition to being sharecroppers, no longer subject to martial law. After another four years of labor as sharecroppers, you will be eligible to redeem the land, regain your complete freedom, and become true freehold farmers.¡±


    Bard opened the [Book of Judgment] and handed it to the proclaimer who had come from Revodan, ¡°As I call each name, step forward. Kiss the emblem, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Swear your allegiance!¡±


    The proclaimer took the [Book of Judgment] with both hands. His usual job was tallying votes in town meetings and reading announcements in marketplaces; he had never experienced a situation like this before.


    His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed as he struggled to read out the first name, ¡°Peter Black from Shibi Village!¡±


    Upon hearing his name called, Peter Black¡¯s legs shook uncontrollably.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to be the first called, nor had he clearly heard what the priest was saying.


    All he vaguely heard was ¡°distribution of food,¡± ¡°distribution of land,¡± and ¡°becoming a serf.¡±


    ¡°Survive, and there will be a way.¡±


    Suddenly, Peter Black recalled the words of the gentleman he didn¡¯t know.


    He swallowed with difficulty, his body stiff as he walked forward, kissed the gold and jeweled emblem, and swore his allegiance.

 Chapter 639 03-25 - 639 23 Agricultural Colonization_2

    ?Chapter 639: Chapter 23 Agricultural Colonization_2 Chapter 639: Chapter 23 Agricultural Colonization_2 ¡°Peter Campbell of Waterside Village!¡± Bard read out the second name.


    No one stepped forward.


    Bard narrowed his eyes and repeated, ¡°Peter Campbell of Waterside Village!¡±


    A young man reluctantly walked out of the crowd; he was lean and gaunt with exceptionally large eyes that were darting about. His mouth was slightly crooked, which was why he was registered as Campbell.


    The young man shuffled to the side of the carriage but was unwilling to kiss the holy emblem. He sneakily glanced at the ¡°father officer¡¯s¡± expression and stammered, ¡°Sir, I am not a peasant, I am from Revodan, I can¡¯t farm.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you claim to be a peasant when you registered?¡± asked Bard, expressionless.


    The young man had no answer.


    ...


    He was an idler from Revodan, who, on the day the city fell, had hoped to profit from the chaos by tying a red string on his shoulder and going out to loot the streets.


    However, the attacking army swiftly turned to suppress the unrest, restore order, and round up the looters.


    Fearful, he followed the refugees out of the city and hid in the refugee camp. He slipped through the screening process, claiming to be a tenant farmer when he registered.


    Seeing that he was silent, Bard asked kindly, ¡°You don¡¯t want to farm?¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± the rogue braced himself and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t farm.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The rogue was overjoyed, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Sir! Thank you¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Bard pointed at him, showing no emotion, ¡°Seize him!¡±


    Ish passed the flagpole to someone else and with one kick, knocked the rogue to the ground, quickly binding him securely.


    Now, the young rascal was completely panicked, ¡°Sir! I am willing to work on the farm! I really am!¡±


    ¡°Shut him up!¡± Bard ordered.


    Ish, wearing iron gloves, delivered a hard slap, knocking the rogue out cold.


    ¡°Anyone who does not accept the Poor Relief Contract is a criminal,¡± Bard decreed mercilessly to the now unconscious rogue, ¡°By the power granted to me under the ¡®Poor Relief Decree,¡¯ I sentence you to twenty years of labour. Take him away!¡±


    Ish dragged the rogue, who had passed himself off as Peter, out of the camp as if he were dragging a corpse.


    ¡°You have only two paths to choose from!¡± Bard looked at the refugees again, ¡°Either go and farm on the military estates, regaining your free status after seven years; or serve a twenty-year labor sentence and gain freedom after that. Choose how you want to live! Next!¡±


    ¡°Peter Fisher of Shibi Village!¡± the crier called out, trembling.


    Peter Fisher, who had just been feeling sorry for Peter Black, was now so frightened he was near soiling himself.


    He clenched his teeth and moved his feet. Not quite understanding what was said, he only caught two words ¡°seven years¡± and ¡°land.¡±


    Being nothing more than a destitute hired hand, even the worst situation could not rob him of much more.


    Peter ¡°Dead Fish Eyes¡± Fisher approached the carriage, bowed his head, and kissed the holy emblem, swearing his loyalty.


    Following the lead of Peter Black and Peter Fisher, the others, whether willingly or not, obediently accepted their fate.


    Even if they wanted to resist, they couldn¡¯t do it.


    The control that Winters and Bard exercised over the refugees was divided into three phases:


    The first phase [encirclement], not letting a single refugee slip away;


    The second phase [screening and registration], identifying those bandits and scoundrels hiding among the peasants, selecting craftsmen and self-sufficient farmers from the refugees, and registering the remaining landless farmhands;


    The third phase [redistribution], splitting up the mass of refugees into smaller groups to prevent any coordinated effort or uprising.


    By the third phase, more than twenty thousand refugees had been divided into sixteen camps.


    Some camps had as many as two thousand people, while others had fewer than nine hundred, with nearly one-third of them being children.


    Although the population of each camp still far outnumbered Bard¡¯s soldiers, with the help of three hundred-man teams, they could easily suppress any dissent in an individual camp.


    Moreover, many of the refugee farmers had families to care for; even if they wanted to rebel, they had to think of their loved ones. They didn¡¯t have the capacity to fight.


    The farmers with families did not oppose this ¡°contract¡±; they were eager to secure sustenance for their wives, children, and elderly.


    Some farmers were reluctant in their hearts, but after being called upon, just like the others, they went to the carriage, kissed the holy emblem, and swore their loyalty¡ªeven they didn¡¯t know why they did so.


    ¡­


    As Bard watched the refugees come forward one after another, he remembered the words he had spoken in the barracks meeting room yesterday:


    ¡°Distribute land? What land to distribute? We are not building a utopia!¡±


    ¡°Self-sufficient farmers need land, from where do we get land for them? All arable land has owners; land without owners is waste land! The self-sufficient farmers need houses, from where do we get houses for them? Self-sufficient farmers need livestock and ploughs, and again, we can¡¯t provide those!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t possibly turn refugees into self-sufficient farmers overnight! Not to mention, I never intended to do such a thing!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about saving the world. Playing the savior is more hated than being simply a villain. The peasants can accept you treating them like the nobility, but they can¡¯t accept you being a good person!¡±


    ¡°They can accept a god as a savior, but they can¡¯t accept a person as one!¡±


    ¡°You distribute land and food to them, they might momentarily see you as a god! But the day they realize you are human, they will immediately spit on you, betray you.¡±


    ¡°So whatever we do, it has to originate from our interests. Only in this way, when one day they betray us, can we accept it without complaint.¡±


    ¡°If someone thinks this is exploitation, then that¡¯s exactly what I am going to do¡ªI will exploit them!¡±


    sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 640 03-25 - 640 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3

    ?Chapter 640: Chapter 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3 Chapter 640: Chapter 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3 ¡°Don¡¯t think about saving everyone; that¡¯s a feat only a god can achieve,¡± Bard said, clenching his fist and looking directly into Winters¡¯ eyes. ¡°If we can save half of the people, we can rest easy in heaven, or in hell.¡±


    ¡­


    All refugees at the Qingfeng Town camp took oaths, and Bard ordered the documents to be posted on the camp¡¯s bulletin board.


    The next day at dawn, [Qingfeng Camp] would set off for South Eight Town in Iron Peak County, and the other fifteen ¡°camps¡± would also depart in sequence.


    Bard planned to take all the refugees to Wolfton Town, Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, Niutigu Valley, and Shizhen.


    These were the most desolate lands at the southwestern tip of Iron Peak County and farthest from the enemy.


    He knew that the vast majority of refugees hadn¡¯t fully grasped what he had said, and he also lacked the time to explain things to them in detail. But that was alright; they would understand in time.


    ...


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bard mounted his horse with a step and took the Saint Ados Emblem. ¡°To the next camp.¡±


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    Compared to the solemn and oppressive atmosphere of the refugee camps, the mood where Winters was seemed relatively relaxed.


    The looming great war meant that Bard and Mason were handling the big and small affairs of the refugee camps.


    Winters was completely focused on reorganizing the military forces.


    Of primary importance was turning the captives from the Ronald Division into his own soldiers.


    Initially, Montaigne¡¯s stationed officers had wanted to select able-bodied refugees for enlistment, but they soon realized there was no need to do so.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Because Major Ronald had already completed that task for them.


    The troops under Ronald¡¯s command were composed of the strongest adult males from among the refugees.


    Moreover, the officers from the former Revodan garrison had provided these ¡°new recruits¡± with basic military training.


    Recruiting, training¡ªthe commendable Major Ronald had taken care of it all, sparing Winters much trouble.


    The four large squads that originally belonged to Ronald now had four different destinations.


    Three centurion teams were led away by Bard, Andre, and Mason;


    A small portion were currently on the ¡°labor farm¡± in Wolf Town¡ªthose caught when Winters ambushed the sortie for food supplies.


    Samukjin was in charge of overseeing them with the militia from various villages in Wolf Town, and as per Winters¡¯ arrangement, they were likely felling trees and building houses.


    An additional small portion had deserted on the retreat route; back then, they were still Ronald¡¯s soldiers.


    The rest were captured by Winters, totaling 1,178 men.


    Winters firstly eliminated all soldiers of Revodan origin.


    Afterward, he added a small number of strong men from the refugees.


    Finally, he appointed his old subordinates as centurions and decurions in the new troops.


    According to Winters¡¯ structure, the new troops were reorganized into one hundred arrows, 1,200 men in total.


    If this were a standing army, such size could already employ phalanx tactics.


    But Winters was short on muskets, so all the hundred arrows were spearmen.


    In the previous Imperial military system, soldiers recruited from different territories, counties, and states were separately organized into regiments.


    A ¡°regiment¡± was not only a military unit but also a recruitment and administrative unit, which suited the current situation of Winters¡¯ forces well.


    The provisional number that Winters gave to these 1,200 soldiers was [Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment], with ten provisional centurion teams under its command.


    In addition, there were three centurion teams of ¡°old troops¡± led by Bard, Andre, and Mason¡ªstructured outside of the infantry regiment.


    Winters had originally planned to mix these battle-experienced soldiers into the new troops, but the counterattack from the New Reclamation Legion came too quickly for the new troops to develop combat effectiveness.


    So rather than spread himself thin, it was better to form a tighter fist.


    Thus, Winters refrained from making major changes to his three most reliable centurion teams for the time being, only drafting some of the veterans to serve as military officers in the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment.


    His troops now had flesh and bones, but the army was still lifeless, hardly even qualifying as an army.


    They were nothing more than a group of refugees struggling for a scrap of bread.


    This army lacked a soul.


    Next, Winters had to ensure his soldiers truly became his ¡°warriors.¡±

 Chapter 641 03-25 - 641 24 Granting Fields

    ?Chapter 641: Chapter 24 Granting Fields Chapter 641: Chapter 24 Granting Fields The troops once stationed by Ronald¡ªnow known as [the newly-formed Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment]¡ªwere led by Commander Montaigne towards the southwest of Revodan.


    They marched on a country dirt road, their sight dominated by desolate wild fields.


    Only Iron Peak stood solitary in front of them, like a friend.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t know where they were headed, which made them somewhat anxious.


    After their surrender, life had been relatively good for them. They hadn¡¯t been beaten nor starved, and no one had been executed.


    So they docilely accepted the authority of the ¡°Montaigne-stationed officers,¡± like sheep acquiring a new master.


    What else could it be? It was just someone else handing out bread.


    ...


    ¡­


    After half an hour¡¯s march towards Forging Village with the [New Iron Regiment], Winters saw some signs of life again.


    Hence, the troop stopped in front of a small hillside.


    The centurions and sergeants ran and cursed among the ranks, shaping the formation into orderly lines.


    Winters, mounted on his horse, inspected his troops.


    Twelve hundred men, one hundred arrows. Not much, thirty times forty.


    But also not a small number; twelve hundred warriors would be a force not to be taken lightly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?0


    Once the formation was complete, it was time for the commander to give a speech.


    Winters dismounted and stood on the hillside where everyone could see him.


    ¡°Among you, those without land,¡± Winters didn¡¯t have to shout, but his words carried well to the soldiers, ¡°take one step forward.¡±


    The soldiers looked at each other, and Tamas¡ªnow the centurion, formerly decurion, one of Winters¡¯s old veterans from Wolf Town, a long-term worker from the Bunting family¡ªstepped forward with an expressionless face.


    The others followed, taking a step forward.


    ¡°Among you, those who have ever tilled the land for others,¡± Winters¡¯s voice echoed on the hillside, ¡°take one step forward.¡±


    Tamas and the other centurions took the lead again, and the soldiers moved another step forward.


    ¡°Among you, those who wish to own and cultivate their own land¡ªtake one step forward.¡±


    All moved neatly forward, as though the forest itself shifted.


    Winters hadn¡¯t rehearsed, nor had he colluded with his old subordinates; for a small scene like this, he didn¡¯t need to prepare in advance.


    The New Iron Regiment was the unit he had poured all his efforts into; each soldier, sergeant, and centurion was carefully selected by him.


    He deliberately shaved off soldiers from Revodan origin, deliberately excluded those from freeholder families, and deliberately didn¡¯t assign any old Dusack veterans into it.


    The New Iron Regiment¡¯s one hundred arrows, its twelve hundred men, all came from landless peasant backgrounds. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had even higher expectations for this regiment than for the three hundred-man units of Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    ¡°Sit,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°sit down to talk. If you all stand, those at the back will be blocked by those in front.¡±


    The old soldiers promptly sat on the ground, followed by the others settling down.


    ¡°Why are you unwilling to cultivate land for others?¡± Winters asked.


    No one answered, which was expected.


    Winters pointed to a soldier in the front row, ¡°You, stand up, you speak.¡±


    The short soldier stood up, baffled.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Peter,¡± the short soldier replied nervously. He hastily added, ¡°Peter Buniel¡­ the one you named¡­¡±


    Winters walked over to him and asked again, ¡°Why are you unwilling to cultivate land for others?¡±


    Peter swallowed, stammering, ¡°Being a long-term worker, you only get¡­ only wages¡­¡±


    Peter¡¯s voice was faint, yet to his surprise, it carried loudly in his ears.


    His voice clearly reached every person¡¯s ear, albeit slightly unstable, fluctuating in volume.


    This was a spell technique once demonstrated by Colonel Field, not to amplify the spellcaster¡¯s voice but to provide a stable amplification for an external source of sound.


    Winters couldn¡¯t quite achieve Field¡¯s finesse, but it was sufficient.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t good wages enough?¡±


    Peter looked down, fixating on the tips of his shoes, ¡°Hired workers can¡¯t save money.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t hired workers save money?¡±


    Peter couldn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°I have seen such a thing happen,¡± Winters let Peter Buniel sit down and spoke to the other soldiers, ¡°A team of hired workers protected a caravan to Revodan. This was their only chance to save up for the whole year, so they willingly risked their lives. The manor lord kept his word, paying them their bounty and wages in Revodan.¡±


    The soldiers listened in silence, hearing of their own experiences.


    ¡°Tell me, what happened next?¡± Winters asked, ¡°Did the hired workers save any money?¡±


    No one responded again.


    When silence fell upon the hillside, Winters calmly began, ¡°No, not a penny. They spent all their money on drink and women.¡±


    As a cloud obscured the sun, some soldiers bowed their heads.


    ¡°Should we blame them for this?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze swept the crowd; eyes looked away wherever his gaze landed, ¡°Of course! Whose fault is it that they couldn¡¯t resist spending the money as soon as they got it?¡±


    An ever more oppressive silence fell on the hillside; one could almost hear the beating of hearts.


    ¡°But you must understand!¡± Winters declared, ¡°This was precisely what the manor lords wanted! They knew the peasants labored all year, longing for even momentary pleasure! And yet, they deliberately settled the wages in Revodan! They intentionally let it come to this and then condemned the peasants¡¯ morality!¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you gone through these things? Haven¡¯t you ever thought about it?¡± Winters pressed, spelling out each word, ¡°What the manor lords want is for slaves to remain slaves generation after generation, for tenant farmers to remain tenant farmers generation after generation. For hired workers to stay hired workers their whole lives until, old and unable to work, they are kicked to the curb for younger, stronger ones.¡±

 Chapter 642 03-25 - 642 24 Granting Land_2

    ?Chapter 642: Chapter 24 Granting Land_2 Chapter 642: Chapter 24 Granting Land_2 All soldiers subconsciously swallowed.


    ¡°You, stand up.¡± Winters forcefully pulled a front-row soldier up from the ground, ¡°You tell me! You don¡¯t have land, why don¡¯t you clear the wilderness?¡±


    ¡°The wasteland¡­ the wasteland belongs to the government¡­ needs to be bought¡­¡± The soldier looked around in panic, seeking help, ¡°Clearing land at will is illegal.¡±


    Winters pressed down the answering soldier and pulled up another one, ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy it?¡±


    ¡°Buy¡­ can¡¯t afford it.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you afford it?¡± This time he asked a third soldier.


    The questioned soldier couldn¡¯t come up with an answer.


    ...


    ¡°Speak! Why can¡¯t you afford it?¡± Winters glared.


    The questioned soldier still couldn¡¯t come up with an answer.


    ¡°Why?!¡± Winters asked a third time, ¡°Can¡¯t afford it?!¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have money!¡± The questioned soldier answered, trembling.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just because you have no money. It¡¯s also because the land is too expensive! Land prices have been pushed so high that even self-sustaining farmers can¡¯t afford new land. Only the manor lords, only they have the money to buy land. So they own more and more land, while others can only labor for them.¡±


    ¡°I will not hide my intentions from you.¡± Winters looked into the eyes of these soldiers of impoverished backgrounds, ¡°I have raised an army in rebellion, to smash the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s unfair dominion over this land, and to establish a new Republic on top of their corpses. A Republic where the majority can survive! This is my ideal, and I can tell you now clearly and plainly.¡±


    The hillside was silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°You may not understand it now, but you will understand it eventually.¡± Winters sighed softly in his heart, smiled, and said loudly, ¡°I brought you here today, not to preach grand principles to you, nor to spout nonsense, empty talk, crap! I brought you here, to let you understand what I am going to do!¡±


    He infused a hint of unease and a hint of anticipation in the crowd.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Winters shouted, ¡°Those who want to own their land, all stand up for me!¡±


    One thousand two hundred soldiers stood up in unison.


    ¡°March! Walk!¡±


    Winters leapt onto his horse and led from the front. The column followed him, marching towards the top of the hill along the road.


    When the soldiers stood on the hilltop, fields of farmland appeared before their eyes.


    Half of the fields were overgrown with weeds, while the soil of the other half had been turned over, presenting two distinct colors: yellow-green and dark black.


    Many warhorses pulling heavy plows with moldboards struggled to walk through the fields, reclaiming more abandoned farmlands, preparing for the planting of winter crops.


    The soldiers looked at the farmland below the hillside with longing¡ªno farmer does not want more land.


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Winters rode in front of them, laughing heartily and joyously, ¡°Each of you¡ªevery single one! From the moment you serve as soldiers for me, each will receive twenty hectares! As long as I am alive, this land is yours, and no one can take it away!¡±


    The soldiers stood still, dazed by the news and also because they did not understand what twenty hectares meant.


    The farmers of Paratu were more accustomed to using the old system to calculate land.


    Twenty hectares? Seems like a lot?


    ¡°Twenty hectares!¡± Winters pointed with his riding crop towards the farmland below, ¡°That¡¯s two Munce! Nineteen Bonnier! Two hundred thousand square meters!¡±


    Munce, a land tax unit, was enough to sustain a peasant family¡ªnot a small family of three to five, but a large extended family of over twenty people.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, owning half a Vergt¡ªfive hectares of land¡ªwas enough to be considered a middle farmer.


    Two Munce? Everyone subconsciously swallowed again. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    The land given to soldiers must be more than what is given to the displaced!


    Very utilitarian, but such is reality.


    Displaced persons only need to work for seven years to redeem the land and become self-sustaining farmers, who would then be willing to serve as soldiers?


    According to Bard¡¯s plan, each soldier would be given ten hectares, roughly one Munce. Upon completion of their service, they would receive this land.


    But Winters determined straight away¡ªtwenty hectares!


    ¡°Am I a Venetian, or are you? The battle hasn¡¯t been won yet! There¡¯s no need to be stingy now,¡± Winters retorted to his companions, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between Dusack and the farmers?¡±


    ¡°No difference!¡± He answered his own question, ¡°It¡¯s just more land! Enough land to afford their warhorses and weapons! Enough land that they are willing to pay the blood tax!¡±


    ¡°And in this world, the most warlike and capable fighters are self-sustaining farmers! Not knights! Nor are they citizens!¡± Winters pushed through the ¡°twenty hectare¡± decree incontrovertibly, ¡°Give twenty hectares!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°Go down and take a look!¡±


    The column moved down the hillside, heading towards the estate below the hill.


    Many people ran out from the fields and houses, rushing toward the soldiers.


    ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s my wife!¡± A soldier shouted with joy, ¡°It¡¯s mine!¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s my family!¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡±


    The decree was twenty hectares for each soldier, but it could not be implemented immediately.


    Moreover, the soldiers were all serving, and giving them the land would mean it lay fallow.


    But Winters wanted them to see a real, tangible twenty hectares.


    So he sifted the soldiers¡¯ families out from among the displaced people, bringing them to Forging Village.


    All the land of the estates in Forging Village was now in Winters¡¯ hands, acquired either through lease, redemption, or intimidation and persuasion.

 Chapter 643 03-25 - 643 24 Granting Fields_3

    ?Chapter 643: Chapter 24 Granting Fields_3 Chapter 643: Chapter 24 Granting Fields_3 The next step was simple: he distributed land to the soldiers¡¯ families, along with farming tools, draft horses, and seeds.


    He needn¡¯t worry about the rest ¡ª did peasants need him to teach them how to farm?


    Lonely soldiers looked on enviously as other soldiers waved their arms frantically to their families.


    They dared not call out because military discipline restrained them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold back!¡± Winters ordered loudly, ¡°Shout it out!¡±


    There was silence in the ranks at first.


    ¡°Jenna!¡± Suddenly, a soldier cried out for his wife.


    ...


    In an instant, countless names were flung in all directions. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldiers¡¯ families also called out their names; some women covered their faces and wept, while soldiers surreptitiously wiped away tears.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Tamas shouted to the sky, ¡°Mom!¡±


    The soldiers watched as the Centurion yelled himself hoarse, but few knew that Tamas¡¯s parents were no longer of this world.


    The Iron Peak County Infantry reformed on the dirt road amid the fields, watched by the families of soldiers.


    Winters read out the ¡°Twenty Hectare Decree¡± to everyone.


    The decree was straightforward: modeled on Dusack¡¯s land grant system, each male was granted twenty hectares, serving a term of seven years;


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Achieve merit, and the term of service is reduced;


    Gain promotion, and be granted more land;


    If killed in action, the land is directly inherited by family members;


    Show cowardice, desert, or violate military discipline, and, in addition to punishment, land grants are partially to completely revoked depending on the severity.


    Afterward, Xial and Heinrich distributed three silver shields to each soldier along with a deed.


    ¡°Three silver shields, that¡¯s your first term of military pay. On the paper, the complete ¡®Twenty Hectare Decree¡¯ is printed.¡±


    Winters rode slowly past the front of the column, inspecting his troops again: ¡°From today on, you are my soldiers. As long as I am alive, as long as I haven¡¯t been defeated, this land is yours, and no one can take it away!¡±


    The soldiers of Iron Peak County Infantry looked at Commander Montaigne, each with a different expression.


    Winters didn¡¯t expect to turn peasants into warriors in the blink of an eye; they would need tempering.


    Only through tempering could they be transformed from raw iron into weapons.


    Winters also didn¡¯t expect to win the soldiers¡¯ loyalty immediately with the ¡°Twenty Hectares.¡±


    Only when the soldiers sweated on their own plots of land, only when they walked the furrows with a plow, only when they personally harvested the heavy heads of wheat.


    Only then could he truly earn their loyalty.


    Winters was well aware that if he failed, all this would vanish like smoke in the air.


    He had to erect an enemy, turn the enemy into something like a ¡°person¡± but not a ¡°person.¡±


    This was a skill Winters learned from the White Lion, a cruel yet realistic Machiavellian tactic.


    ¡°The land, I have given it to you,¡± Winters took a deep breath, his voice demanded an answer, ¡°But what if someone disagrees, what then?!¡±


    ¡°If someone wants to snatch your land back from your hands, what then?!¡±


    ¡°If someone wants to turn you back into serfs, hired hands, tenants, what then?!¡±


    ¡°Will you agree to hand over the land again?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!!¡± Tamas shouted loudly.


    ¡°Only you disagree?¡± Winters sneered, ¡°What about the rest of you? Are you all spineless, deserving to be bullied? Oppressed? Doomed to be laborers generation after generation?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!¡± the soldiers began to speak.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!¡± the soldiers raised their voices.


    ¡°I! Can¡¯t! Hear! You!¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!!¡± The newly independent freehold farmers yelled at the top of their lungs.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters lifted his riding crop, ¡°Then follow me into battle! Defend everything you have gained today! The devils that come to seize your land, slay them all!¡±

 Chapter 644 03-25 - 644 25 Poppy Flowers

    ?Chapter 644: Chapter 25 Poppy Flowers Chapter 644: Chapter 25 Poppy Flowers ¡°`


    Leaving Revodan and trekking two hundred kilometers east along the main road, one would arrive at Falconflower Fort.


    Falconflower Fort is the capital of Mont Blanc County, located on the plains in the heart of the county, named after the iris flowers that blanket the hillsides.


    As Winters was pointing out the enemy to his soldiers, one of the enemy ¡ª Captain Hudson, who oversaw intelligence at Falconflower Fort, entered a mysterious room deep within the fortress.


    Inside and outside the room were like two different worlds: it was crisp and autumnal outside, while inside, mist hung in the air, warm and comfortable.


    This was a single-person bath, and within the roughly two-meter-wide, three-meter-long bathtub, a man was soaking leisurely in the bath.


    However, from Captain Hudson¡¯s perspective, all he could see was a head as smooth as an egg¡­


    People generally consider long, thick, and lustrous hair to be beautiful. Many would even spend a fortune on wigs just for the sake of vanity.


    ...


    Therefore, there was only one scenario that would lead a man to become bald.


    That was if he tragically lost his hair and, in despair, shaved off what remained until his scalp was polished smooth.


    From this minor detail, one could deduce that his heart must be as cold and unfeeling as stone.


    ¡°Colonel,¡± Captain Hudson reported, ¡°the Floating Bridge is ready.¡±


    The bald man referred to as ¡°Colonel¡± nodded, without a word.


    ¡°Lieutenant Woods has selected a few bridge-laying spots, would you like to take a look?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    ¡°Study it amongst yourselves,¡± the bald colonel stretched his shoulders languidly: ¡°By the way, what¡¯s that kid from Iron Peak County up to lately?¡±


    A conflicted expression crossed Captain Hudson¡¯s face: ¡°According to our informants, the rebel leader Winters Montagne has been¡­ extorting wealth recently.¡±


    ¡°Extorting wealth? Tell me more,¡± the bald colonel¡¯s interest was suddenly piqued.


    He turned to face Captain Hudson, revealing to him a face that had half been destroyed.


    A huge dark red scar tissue covered his left cheek, as if someone had blown up his face and then haphazardly pieced it back together.


    No matter how many times Hudson saw that scar, it always filled him with an intrinsic fear.


    How the colonel had survived such a grave injury was even more curious.


    Unfortunately, the bald man never spoke of the incident, and neither did anyone dare to ask.


    ¡°He¡¯s been forcing donations from the Revodan merchants. He¡¯s also issued numerous recorded debts, coercing the merchants from Revodan to subscribe to them. It¡¯s creating quite a stir,¡± Captain Hudson sighed helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s a disgrace to the Land Academy.¡±


    The bald colonel laughed heartily, causing the water to tremble.


    He then made excuses for the rebel leader: ¡°There was no other way, who made Iron Peak County so poor. He needs to fund his troops but has no money, so he has to scrape it off the merchants.¡±


    ¡°Venetian,¡± Captain Hudson let out a chuckle.


    ¡°Got any more intelligence? He can¡¯t just be busy scraping money together all the time, right?¡±


    ¡°Rebel leader Winters Montagne is also repairing walls and digging deep trenches. Looks like he wants to hunker down in Revodan and have a tough fight with us,¡± Hudson informed.


    ¡°Given his fewer men, holding the city is the most logical strategy,¡± the bald colonel smacked his lips and said, ¡°But his determination to retreat into a shell makes things a bit difficult.¡±


    Hudson spoke dismissively, ¡°I don¡¯t think he has what it takes. They say the first thing he did after breaking into Revodan was to bring in his wife. The commander is completely indulgent in pleasures. How can his troops possibly be combat effective?¡±


    ¡°Then how did Ronald lose?¡± the bald colonel asked with a sneer.


    Hudson fell silent, considering his words carefully: ¡°Rash, underestimated the enemy, bad luck¡­¡±


    The bald colonel laughed again, ¡°You might as well just say Ronald is incompetent.¡±


    Hudson looked embarrassed.


    ¡°But Ronald is not incompetent, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been entrusted with the military leadership of a county as a lieutenant colonel,¡± the bald colonel mused, scratching his scalp: ¡°Besides, considering that kid¡¯s anti-tax proclamation, he doesn¡¯t seem like someone greedy for material pleasures.¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think so either. He is from Sea Blue, how could he become so indulgent after entering Revodan? But judging by his actions, he has indeed become corrupt,¡± Hudson remarked.


    A smile crossed the bald colonel¡¯s face, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s doing it to deliberately confuse us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    ¡°Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the bald colonel settled back into the water comfortably: ¡°He¡¯s got just over a thousand soldiers, and what¡¯s more, they¡¯re all captive. Eight battalions striking from two sides; no matter how cunning he is, he¡¯s doomed.¡±


    Hudson nodded.


    Then, he started again, ¡°Moreover, the intelligence indicates that there¡¯s severe power struggle within the rebels. One can assume that their combat capabilities have further weakened.¡±


    ¡°Power struggle?¡± the bald colonel raised an eyebrow: ¡°Already? Are they starting a fight for supremacy now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, power struggle. Rebel leader Winters Montagne has been pushing aside rebel commanders Bard Gerald and Richard Mason. He¡¯s stripped them of their military power and sent them off to relocate refugees.


    Another rebel commander, Andreya Chelini, has been absent for a long time; it is presumed that she died in the internal strife. The rebels are now completely dictated by Winters Montagne alone, young and vigorous, yet not understanding the need to share power, which is to be expected.¡±


    The bald colonel showed no concern for the other information; he furrowed his brow and queried, ¡°Relocating refugees? What¡¯s that about?¡±


    ¡°Our informant reported that Montagne is driving the refugees around Revodan to the southwestern area of Iron Peak County. He has assigned Bard and Mason to oversee this,¡± Hudson explained.


    The bald colonel abruptly stood up from the water, unconcerned about his nudity: ¡°The report, bring it to me.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 645 03-25 - 645 25 Swallowtail Flower_2

    ?Chapter 645: Chapter 25 Swallowtail Flower_2 Chapter 645: Chapter 25 Swallowtail Flower_2 ¡°`


    Captain Hudson had grown accustomed to such scenes and had long since averted his gaze. He took out a copied letter and handed it to the colonel.


    The bald colonel opened the window regardless of the chilly autumn wind, squinting his eyes to carefully read the intelligence report in the light from outside.


    After a while, he closed the window and handed the letter back to Captain Hudson.


    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s eager to send troops in autumn and winter,¡± the bald colonel sighed heavily. ¡°If we don¡¯t act now, he¡¯ll become a real threat.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Hudson.


    ¡°Draft a letter to Colonel Zibeer Zoltan,¡± said the bald colonel, stepping out of the bath. ¡°We must mobilize our forces sooner.¡±


    ¡°Sooner? How much sooner?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The sooner, the better,¡± the bald colonel glared with stiff muscles on his left cheek that made his expression look somewhat grim. ¡°That kid has sent who knows how many scouts over here. He knows our preparations better than we do. If we are to fight, we must do so swiftly, while the weather is still warm, and catch him off guard!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In Revodan, the officer¡¯s quarters.


    Since Winters allowed Major Ronald¡¯s family to continue living in the official military residence, Anna and Catherine only had the option to stay in the bachelor officer¡¯s quarters temporarily.


    Anna sat at a desk with a ledger in front of her, chin propped on her hand, writing and calculating.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Winters was severely short-staffed. He had many capable of manual labor, but very few capable of intellectual work. In fact, he could count them all on two hands.


    He didn¡¯t even have a subordinate who could accurately measure land and calculate its area. The system for distributing land to soldiers was still a broad approach of ¡°divvying up land, livestock, and grain to the military families to farm as much as they can manage.¡±


    So all of Winters¡¯ personal accounts, the new garrison¡¯s accounts, and all the public accounts were currently managed by Anna.


    No one else was capable of managing them.


    Catherine paced the room with a sigh, unsettling Anna as well.


    The Newly Reclaimed Land Province was conservative, and city customs restrained unmarried women even more strictly than those in the countryside.


    Having arrived in Revodan, Catherine felt less at ease than she had in Wolf Town.


    ¡°If you¡¯re idle, Kate, come and help me with the accounts,¡± Anna couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°Alright, Lady Montaigne,¡± Catherine collapsed onto her sister. ¡°You, as a pretend wife, are more attentive than a real wife would be.¡±


    A blush spread across Anna¡¯s cheeks instantly.


    Her current public identity was as Captain Montaigne¡¯s wife.


    Unofficial cohabitation was too scandalous, but nobody found it strange if she was his wife.


    Although officially, not only were they not engaged, they hadn¡¯t even formally met each other¡¯s parents.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m being attentive,¡± Anna said with a flushed face. ¡°It¡¯s just that there are so many accounts to manage, I¡¯m struggling to keep up.¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t manage them,¡± Catherine said coquettishly. ¡°It was one thing for you to handle his private accounts, but managing the public accounts as well, that¡¯s stinginess. Can¡¯t he hire a few accountants?¡±


    Anna sighed softly, ¡°He can¡¯t hire any.¡±


    ¡°Right, who would work for him in a legitimate business?¡± Catherine grew more irritated as she spoke. ¡°He can only rely on you.¡±


    The wind tapped gently against the window panes. Anna laid down her quill, embraced her sister, and said, ¡°You should go back to Wolf Town; it¡¯s safer there.¡±


    ¡°He urged you to go back to Wolf Town too, didn¡¯t he? Why don¡¯t you leave?¡±


    ¡°If I left, things here would become even more chaotic,¡± Anna shook her head. ¡°Everyone treats me as Lady Montaigne, so I have truly become Lady Montaigne. If I were to leave now, everyone would think his resolve had collapsed.¡±


    Catherine huffed lightly, her voice tinged with jealousy as she complained, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you this good to me?¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m not?¡± Anna flicked her sister¡¯s forehead hard, laughing, ¡°Haven¡¯t I always been tolerating you since we were little?¡±


    Catherine sprang up like a cat that had its tail stepped on, asking indignantly, ¡°Tolerating me?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s you who have been tolerating me,¡± Anna conceded.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not leaving, I¡¯m not leaving either!¡± Catherine said petulantly. ¡°You say you¡¯ve always been tolerating me, so keep on tolerating me!¡±


    ¡°You can stay, but you need to find something to do,¡± Anna suggested with a positive example. ¡°You should learn from Mrs. Michel; she leads such a fulfilling life every day.¡±


    ¡°You want me to learn from that wild girl?¡± Every time her sister mentioned Scarlett, Catherine felt particularly aggrieved. ¡°She spends all day in the stables, that¡¯s not how a respectable lady should behave.¡±


    Since their last heated conflict, Catherine no longer used the word ¡°little hussy¡± but instead referred to her adversary as the ¡°wild girl.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°No, she¡¯s doing very well, and I¡¯m actually quite envious of her.¡±


    Catherine fumed, ¡°You, you, you¡­ you have her to be your sister! Then you sisters fight over a husband, that would be great!¡±


    Anna remained unperturbed, deep in thought, suddenly took out a piece of paper, quickly wrote a few lines, folded it, sealed it, and rang a bell, softly calling, ¡°Mrs. Madeleine?¡±


    Not long after, Mrs. Madeleine, her hair bound with a black scarf, pushed open the door: ¡°Miss Navarre?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell remained at the estate, but she was worried about Anna, Catherine, and Scarlett, so she asked Mrs. Madeleine and another nanny to look after the three of them.


    ¡°I have another matter I need to trouble you with,¡± Anna handed over the sealed letter to Mrs. Madeleine: ¡°Please deliver this letter to Xial, Mr. Winters¡¯ guard. And also, could you call for a carriage?¡±


    As a widow, Mrs. Madeleine, by custom, could appear in public and attend to matters unaccompanied.


    She took the letter, nodded, and then closed the door behind her as she left.


    Anna stood up, removed her cuffs, and said to her sister, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get dressed up, we¡¯re going out to see a visitor.¡±


    ¡°Who are we going to see?¡± Catherine was surprised.


    They didn¡¯t have any acquaintances in Revodan, and the nearest branch of Navarre Commerce was in Maplestone City.


    Anna favored quiet, which also meant that Catherine had few opportunities to participate in Revodan¡¯s social events.


    ¡°The volume of these accounts has indeed become more than I can handle. And it will only increase in the future,¡± Anna made up her mind: ¡°Since we can¡¯t hire an accountant, we might as well train one ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± Catherine was scared pale by her sister¡¯s idea: ¡°We are women, how can we just come into contact with men outside? Even Mr. M¡¯s subordinates are off-limits.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t be teaching personally,¡± Anna smiled, soothing her sister.


    Catherine sighed a sigh of relief, then raised an eyebrow: ¡°Then who will teach?¡±


    ¡°We can hire an experienced accountant,¡± Anna patted her sister¡¯s back, ¡°Let¡¯s go visit old Lady Priskin. It¡¯s also about time I made an appearance.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the stables, Pierre was saying goodbye to his sister.


    Scarlett was helping the foal drink milk; Botayun refused to nurse, and even kicked with her hooves when she saw the foal.


    The little foal only had seven days of his mother¡¯s milk before Botayun weaned him completely.


    As a last resort, Winters brought in several ¡°nannies¡± for the little foal: a mare currently with a foal, and two sheep.


    The mare with the foal was extremely temperamental and did not let the little one nurse.


    For now, the little foal relied on sheep¡¯s milk to live, and the ewes that produced milk were not even as tall as he was.


    Therefore, the ewes had to be propped up before the foal could drink, a process that required assistance from someone nearby.


    Winters used to help with this task, but now that he was preoccupied with military duties, the responsibility fell solely on Scarlett.


    ¡°A foal raised on sheep¡¯s milk, can it still be ridden later on?¡± Pierre teased.


    Scarlett frowned, cutting her brother a sharp look, ¡°Why can¡¯t he be ridden? Longevity is doing just fine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Go on then.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s lips moved, and in the end, he managed to say with difficulty, ¡°The Centurion asked me to look for a blacksmith, dad might be there too, we might find dad.¡±


    Scarlett didn¡¯t turn around, tears kept streaming down to her jaw, she tried to sound calm as she said, ¡°Then go. Don¡¯t be sad if you can¡¯t find him, if dad is alive, he will definitely come back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dad is much tougher than me,¡± Pierre said with a smile: ¡°I brought Vasya along with me, maybe we can bring Uncle Sergei back too.¡±


    Scarlett wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, ¡°You guys be careful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m most worried about you,¡± Pierre for the first time adopted a brotherly tone, ¡°You, from now on, stop picking fights with little Miss Navarre.¡±


    Scarlett, annoyed, turned around and hurled the sheep¡¯s milk at her brother.


    ¡°If that fox-eyed girl doesn¡¯t come to provoke me!¡± Scarlett said with grievance, ¡°Would I go out of my way to provoke her? You take her side, you can find her to be your sister!¡±


    With that, Scarlett grabbed a pitchfork angrily.


    And so Pierre was chased out of the stable.


    When he walked out to the yard, he happened to come across Mrs. Madeleine heading out to deliver the letter.


    The two of them walked one after another to a secluded place where they embraced each other tightly.

 Chapter 646 03-25 - 646 26 Tip-offs

    ?Chapter 646: Chapter 26: Tip-offs Chapter 646: Chapter 26: Tip-offs Through an informant, the bald Colonel Gaisa Adonis confirmed that Winters Montagne was in Revodan.


    The four infantry battalions of Mont Blanc County quietly left Falconflower Fort and hastened west towards Iron Peak County.


    At the same time, the rebellion-suppressing troops of Vernge County were also fully equipped and ready to depart.


    With the impending battle and the enemy¡¯s formidable approach, Revodan was equally shrouded in ominous clouds.


    The city councilors were once again ¡°politely¡± escorted to the city hall by the menacing soldiers.


    Trembling, the blacksmith Shao Yi entered the council hall only to be surprised to find the former city councilor and tobacconist, old Priskin, also present.


    Seeing old Priskin, Shao Yi felt his heart drop by two inches.


    ...


    He believed that old Priskin had reached some sort of agreement with the Blood Wolf.


    But the well-informed city councilors knew that this very morning, the gendarmes had barged into Priskin¡¯s home and taken the old man¡¯s grandson, young Priskin whose fate was still unknown.


    Old Priskin sat with his eyes closed, resting and maintaining a calm demeanor.


    Yet his thumb was nearly stripping a layer of paint off his cane.


    The committee was all present, and before anyone could exchange words, the Blood Wolf, adorned in full military attire, entered the council hall carrying his military saber.


    Some of the councilors shook involuntarily.


    To show as much goodwill as possible, Winters never wore weapons when meeting with the city councilors.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    This time, he brought a cavalry saber.


    And the moment he spoke, his tone was filled with lethal intent, ¡°I said we¡¯d have a public trial before, and it hasn¡¯t happened yet. Not because I forgot, but because there are more and more people to deal with. It¡¯s better to save them up for a satisfying reckoning.¡±


    Some of the more cowardly councilors were on the verge of tears.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve enjoyed playing your plots and schemes? Thinking I knew nothing, did you feel very smug?¡± Winters slapped the saber on the table, ¡°Come! Bring him out to me!¡±


    Heinrich escorted a young man into the council chamber.


    Upon seeing this, old Priskin¡¯s cane dropped from his hand.


    The young man was none other than his grandson, young Priskin.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Winters said leisurely, ¡°tell these respectable gentlemen what you¡¯ve been up to recently.¡±


    Although the young man¡¯s clothes were somewhat dirty, there were no bloodstains to be seen, but his face was exceptionally pale.


    ¡°I¡­¡± The young man¡¯s knees shook, and he swallowed hard, ¡°I¡­¡±


    The council hall was dead silent, the heavy breathing of those present echoing clearly.


    Old Priskin suddenly stood up, ¡°What on earth did you do! You¡­¡±


    The old man couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as he broke into a violent cough, and those beside him quickly helped him sit back down.


    Heinrich pushed the young man toward the center of the chamber, where he fell to the ground.


    ¡°Hiding the fake mayor of Wolfton, Bunting, was it you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the young man replied tremblingly.


    ¡°Passing messages to the New Reclamation Legion, was that you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Secretly preparing weapons, intending to seize the city gates surreptitiously.¡± Winters sneered, ¡°I never thought you¡¯d have the audacity to do so.¡±


    The young man¡¯s head hung down almost to the floor.


    The council chamber erupted into a commotion, and old Priskin¡¯s chest tightened so much he nearly fainted on the spot.


    Ever since invading Revodan, Pierre had been looking for Bunting.


    After Winters entered the city, he had people search the entire city for him.


    But turning over every inn, brothel, and tavern in the city, they found neither a living person nor a corpse.


    That meant certainly someone was deliberately hiding Bunting, and it was someone with considerable resources to do so.


    Bunting had neither money nor power; the only thing valuable about him was information on Winters Montagne¡ªaside from Winters¡¯s own people, he was likely the person in Revodan most knowledgeable about Winters.


    Meanwhile, Winters received a report: scouts had found hoof prints indicating someone had tried to cross the blockade.


    Who would want information on Winters Montagne? The names could be written on a piece of paper.


    And who would have the desire and capability to send messages outside? The list narrowed once again.


    Every passage taken leaves a trace.


    Following these traces back, two lines eventually converged on old Priskin¡¯s grandson.


    Winters waited patiently.


    And now, the time had come to close the net.


    ¡°Who else was involved in Mr. Priskin¡¯s lovely plan?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the city councilors, ¡°Step forward.¡±


    Were there others involved? The blacksmith Shao Yi gasped inwardly. He dared not make any movements, for fear of being misunderstood.


    Suddenly, the city councilor sitting next to Shao Yi struggled to his feet.


    ¡°Oh, so it was just him.¡± Winters smiled.


    As soon as he finished speaking, another councilor also stood up.


    With a slight wave of his hand, Winters watched as Heinrich led gendarmes to rush into the midst of the councilors, dragging four others from their seats.


    They didn¡¯t touch the blacksmith Shao Yi, the two men who had stood up, nor old Priskin.


    Shao Yi realized in horror that out of the twelve city councilors from the urban district, a full half were involved in the conspiracy.


    None of the nine councilors from the rural district were taken away.


    Shao Yi was both angry and relieved¡ªangry that such a major matter had not been hinted to him, yet relieved that no hint had reached him. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I have no extravagant expectations of you all. If I win, you continue living as usual. If I lose, you simply become compliant citizens to the New Reclamation Legion.¡± Winters, leaning on his saber, spoke slowly, ¡°This small request, you couldn¡¯t manage it either, could you?¡±


    As if a chilling, invisible wind swept through, Shao Yi suddenly felt very cold, his upper and lower teeth clattering together.


    No one dared to guess what the man known as Blood of the Wolf could do, and the city councilors finally understood the words of old Priskin¡ª¡±Would you be satisfied if he tore off his mask and went on a rampage?¡±

 Chapter 647 03-25 - 647 26 Tip-off_2

    ?Chapter 647: Chapter 26 Tip-off_2 Chapter 647: Chapter 26 Tip-off_2 ¡°`


    ¡°Sir,¡± the elder Priskin rose, his visage seemingly aging in an instant, ¡°please punish my grandson severely. But also please discern that this was only a conspiracy by a small group of people. Revodan will spare no effort to supply you with military funds, and I am willing to donate all of my family¡¯s assets. I beg for your mercy.¡±


    Winters scoffed, ¡°Do you really think I care about your money? Bring them up!¡±


    Xial led his men in, carrying several heavy wooden chests into the council hall.


    ¡°I forced you to subscribe to the bonds, but it was just a loan, not theft. It was merely to make some noise, for the audience to watch.¡±


    Winters kicked over the chests one by one, gold and silver coins spilling out: ¡°Your money is all here, not a single silver coin less. Not satisfied? Well, I will return it to you now.¡±


    Winters forced Revodan¡¯s merchants to subscribe to bonds for three purposes: one was to create illusions; the second was to lure the snake out of its hole; and the third was to raise funds for the redemption of land in Forging Village.


    The third item cost far less than expected; he didn¡¯t have to use the money raised from the bonds.


    ...


    ¡°Please wait until after your victory to repay us,¡± the elder Priskin¡¯s frame bent even more.


    The elder Priskin had not taken part in his grandson¡¯s conspiracy and indeed did not know about it.


    But now these words were meaningless. What prestige did his grandson have to command the allegiance of half the district council members?


    It must have been done under his banner.


    The old man knew very well that all he could rely on now was the mercy of the Blood Wolf.


    He was sitting in the town hall¡¯s council chamber and not by a court or execution ground, which in itself was the greatest act of mercy.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    ¡°Very well! Since you¡¯ve asked for this, I cannot refuse,¡± Winters picked up his military saber, ¡°From this moment forward, Revodan is in a state of martial law. No entry! No exit! The soldiers stationed here will be responsible for transferring supplies needed by the citizens.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen, pray for my victory,¡± Winters said with an amused smile, ¡°If I am defeated, your money will die with me.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s troops advanced rapidly, traveling fifty kilometers in less than two days to reach the east bank of the Anya River.


    The colonel had dispatched supply officers to gather resources from villages and towns along the way, allowing his troops to march lightly.


    Upon reaching the Anya River, the troops from Mont Blanc County started building a floating bridge without delay.


    The Anya River is the natural boundary between Iron Peak County and Mont Blanc County, named ¡°Mother¡± for its gentle, nurturing waters that seldom overflow.


    [Note: Anya, in the Paratu dialect, means mother, translating directly to ¡°Mother River.¡±]


    Towns and villages are scattered along both sides of the river, but in the river section that borders [Iron Peak] and [Mont Blanc] counties, the main way to cross over is still by boat.


    There was originally a bridge over the Anya River, located in Manyun Valley.


    Manyun Valley is only fifty kilometers from Falconflower Fort but one hundred fifty kilometers from Revodan.


    Therefore, after Winters captured Revodan, he immediately sent men to destroy the Manyun Bridge.


    If rebels can destroy bridges, then the loyalist forces can build them.


    After all, it¡¯s about suppression; where there are conditions, suppress, where there are none, create conditions to suppress.


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s temporary command post was set up on the southern hillside of the floating bridge, from where he could have a clear view of both sides of the river.


    ¡°It seems the rebels do not plan to defend the river,¡± the colonel said to his centurions with a note of disappointment, ¡°It¡¯s become a bit more troublesome.¡±


    A chorus of centurions chuckled heartily.


    Captain Hudson brought the colonel a camp chair.


    Hearing this, he didn¡¯t hesitate to retort, ¡°Did you still hope they would defend the river?¡±


    The bald-headed colonel steadied himself on the armrest and slowly sat down.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he stretched out his legs and let out a long breath, the scars on his face quivering, ¡°Defending the river could stop me, but then Zibeer over there could knock them dead with one punch.¡±


    Upon learning of the fall of Revodan, Colonel Gaisa immediately sent troops to seize Manyun Bridge.


    However, he was one step too late, and the bridge had already been destroyed.


    Consequently, Colonel Gaisa deployed engineers to measure the water depth, prepare the floating bridge components, and accumulate supplies in the border villages.


    He had made preparations for this battle even before receiving orders from Maplestone City.


    ¡°I and Zibeer are like two fists in a fight; if our armies meet below Revodan, then the rebels have already lost.¡±


    ¡°`


    Colonel Gaisa spoke lethargically, lecturing the centurions, ¡°His only chance of victory is to concentrate his forces and repel one fist; then the other fist will crumble without attacking.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think he has any chance of winning,¡± Captain Hudson sniffed.


    ¡°There is still a chance,¡± Colonel Gaisa said, watching the soldiers moving the pontoons. ¡°Instead of thinking like that, if you were Montaigne, would you strike at me first, or at the forces in Vernge County?¡±


    ¡°At Colonel Zibeer¡¯s troops first.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because of Colonel Zibeer¡¯s experience, intelligence, and moral standards¡­¡± Captain Hudson chose his words carefully.


    Colonel Gaisa lashed out with a whip at the captain, ¡°You might as well outright say that Zibeer is useless!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk like that,¡± Captain Hudson said with some embarrassment.


    Colonel Gaisa smacked his lips, ¡°I¡¯m far away from him, Zibeer is close. Common sense says one shouldn¡¯t choose the far and forsake the near. So, I need to be fast and fierce, while Zibeer needs to be slow and steady.¡±


    ¡°So you also think he will go after the Vernge County troops first?¡±


    ¡°He has just over a thousand defectors,¡± Colonel Gaisa scoffed, rubbing his scalp. ¡°How can he win by common sense?¡±


    ¡­


    [Nailhammer Town] is located northwest of Revodan, 140 kilometers from Revodan, in the territory of Vernge County.


    The four large battalions of Vernge County currently involved in the rebellion suppression operation are stationed here.


    The ¡°useless¡± Colonel Zibeer Zoltan, mentioned by the bald Colonel, was holding a meeting with his subordinates.


    The tent was filled with a dead silence; most of the centurions stood as they listened.


    Colonel Zibeer toyed with a small spellcasters¡¯ badge, speaking indifferently, ¡°Intelligence reports indicate that the rebel leader Winters Montagne is still in Revodan. Based on the timing, the bald man should have already made his move.¡±


    Communication and coordination have always been key issues in war.


    Revodan, Falconflower Fort, and Iron Cavalry City are the closest at 150 kilometers apart, and at times, as far as 200 kilometers.


    The forces of Vernge County and Baishan County rely entirely on Pegasus messengers for communication, and even the fastest one-way journey takes a day.


    Hence, coordination between the two forces can only rely on understanding.


    No one in the tent spoke out because the centurions all understood that Colonel Zibeer didn¡¯t listen to his subordinates.


    Colonel Zibeer¡¯s interrogative sentences were, in fact, declarative, and his declarative sentences were actually imperatives.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s set out as well,¡± Colonel Zibeer said, pinning the spellcasters¡¯ badge on his chest. ¡°We¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning.¡±


    The gathering of centurions responded in a low voice in agreement.


    ¡­


    The floating bridge was successfully completed, and the Baishan County army crossed the Anya River that very day.


    At night, they lodged in the small town of Manyun Valley.


    Apart from the town residents whose homes were occupied, no one else resisted the arrival of the Baishan County army because they didn¡¯t support any side.


    If anything, the townsfolk leaned more toward the ¡°official army,¡± as they were very dissatisfied with the rebels blowing up the Manyun Bridge.


    The Manyun Bridge was built with funds raised by the town¡¯s people, and the tolls collected each year significantly supplemented public use. Its destruction, without their consent, was a unilateral decision.


    In addition to providing army labor, the mayor of Manyun Valley tentatively asked if they could make use of the military¡¯s floating bridge.


    The villages across the Anya River have a very close relationship with each other. Compared to Revodan, Manyun Valley is more like a family with the villages on the opposite side of the river.


    The destruction of the Manyun Bridge added much difficulty to the lives of the people on both sides of the river.


    Colonel Gaisa denied the mayor of Manyun Valley¡¯s request, but he did some accounting for the old mayor. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bald Colonel used mathematical tools to prove that hiring his troops to build another bridge was superior in both time and money, compared to hiring other builders, stonemasons, and carpenters.


    ¡°I have top-notch military engineer officers and reliable labor at my command, guaranteed to build a bridge that¡¯s sturdy and long-lasting. We can start construction once this battle is over,¡± Colonel Gaisa assured the mayor, slapping his chest while draping his arm around him, ¡°As a middleman, you can also get a salary¡ªof course, it is confidential.¡±


    The mayor of Manyun Valley was overwhelmed with honor and nodded eagerly.


    While the officer of Baishan County was striving to expand his jurisdiction to Iron Peak County, a troop of cavalry was wreaking havoc within Baishan County.


    No sooner had Colonel Gaisa¡¯s four battalions crossed the Anya River than Lieutenant Andrea Chelini lit a fire under him.

 Chapter 648 03-25 - 648 27 Planning

    ?Chapter 648: Chapter 27 Planning Chapter 648: Chapter 27 Planning Shuangxi Town was part of Mont Blanc County, located on the East Bank of Anya River, facing Manyun Valley across the river.


    It was a peaceful agricultural town with only twenty-two permanent resident families.


    Tonight, this tranquility was doomed to be shattered by iron hooves.


    A squad of cavalry approached the town quietly and launched a sudden attack after dark.


    The sound of hooves thundered like a storm, scaring the mayor and his wife so much that they fell out of bed.


    The mayor, ignoring his wife¡¯s attempts to stop him, rushed out the door to ring the bell.


    Barefoot, he had just run onto the street when he heard a whizzing sound behind him.


    ...


    He turned around in fright, only to see the glinting blade coming straight for him.


    The old mayor collapsed in the dust.


    ¡°The army is quelling the chaos! It has nothing to do with you lot!¡± Andre said sternly, wiping the blood off his knife, and warned the townspeople behind the doors and windows, ¡°Step out, and you die!¡±


    The small town was almost crushed by the sound of hooves, and the townspeople had no idea how many cavalry had come.


    If the intruders had broken into their homes, committing murder and looting, they might have been willing to fight to the death.


    But as the intruders merely occupied the streets with a fearsome presence, they simply couldn¡¯t muster the courage to fight desperately.


    Seeing that no one dared to come out onto the streets anymore, Andre finally sheathed his knife.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    His right arm was somewhat unresponsive and took several attempts to aim properly.


    A centurion rode up to him and saluted, reporting, ¡°Sir, the garrison has surrendered.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini coldly spat out a word, ¡°Burn.¡±


    ¡°The warehouses are empty.¡±


    ¡°Burn whatever there is.¡±


    The centurion saluted again and rode off.


    Andre had chosen to raid Shuangxi Town because it was the location where Mont Blanc County¡¯s army stored their supplies.


    He had crossed the river much earlier than the enemy had.


    The garrison of Mont Blanc County was still gathering its forces when Winters had already assembled his warhorses and all the men capable of riding and handed them over to Andre¡¯s command to cross the river by boat from upstream of Anya River.


    As soon as it was confirmed that the army of Mont Blanc County had entered Iron Peak County, Andreya Chelini, the fierce war dog, was let off the leash.


    However, the raid on Shuangxi Town yielded very limited results.


    There was little of value in the warehouses, as the army supplies had already been taken by the Officer of Mont Blanc County, leaving only a ten-man squad to guard.


    Upon the arrival of the cavalry, eight of the defenders promptly surrendered their weapons.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± another centurion came riding fast and called out from a dozen meters away, ¡°We can¡¯t read what¡¯s written on these papers!¡±


    ¡°What are you yelling for?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His old subordinate sheepishly closed his mouth and handed a scroll of paper to the centurion.


    Andre took the scroll and tried to read it in the moonlight.


    His right arm trembled slightly involuntarily, making it difficult for him to read the small print.


    The dim moonlight tired his eyes further.


    Andre, frustrated, threw the scroll back to his subordinate and angrily pressed down on his right arm, saying, ¡°Read for what! Take with you any paper with writing on it!¡±


    The centurion saluted and rode off.


    Andre¡¯s left hand clutched his right arm, the grip so tight that his fingers turned white.


    ¡­


    Winters had only two demands of Andre, the rest he could handle as he saw fit.


    First, don¡¯t damage the property of common folk; burning down the houses of farmers and townspeople wouldn¡¯t harm the Baishan County garrison¡¯s headquarters.


    Second, constantly collect the archives, land deeds, case files, and gazettes stored in each town of Baishan County.


    Therefore, after seizing the supply warehouses, Andre¡¯s cavalry immediately broke down the doors of the town hall.


    After that, however, they faced a problem as none of them knew how to read¡­.


    Fortunately, Lieutenant Chelini had a simple and crude solution.


    Can¡¯t read? Then take any paper that has writing on it.


    ¡­


    The cavalry arrived and departed like a nightmarish howl, like a brief but lucid nightmare.


    They left behind a body in Shuangxi Town, along with the burning warehouses, town hall, and police station.


    When the sound of hooves finally vanished, the townspeople emerged from their homes, their hearts racing with fear.


    They gathered around the mayor¡¯s body, mourning for the old man who had always been so dutiful.


    For Shuangxi Town, the disaster of the night had ended.


    But for Mont Blanc County, the ravaging was far from over.


    Winters had originally gathered a hundred cavalry, but Andre, without a second thought, weeded out more than half, leaving only forty-six, not even a full platoon.


    Each of these forty-six was equipped with a warhorse and four remounts.


    To facilitate water irrigation, settlements on both sides of the river were close to the stream and densely packed, which saved Lieutenant Chelini quite some trouble.


    The cavalry led by Andrea Chelini swept through eleven large and small villages and towns on the East Bank of the Anya River in one night like a devastating gale.


    ¡­


    That evening, Colonel Gaisa learned of the attack on Mont Blanc County.


    The night sky ablaze on the other side of the river couldn¡¯t be hidden.


    Yet Gaisa issued no orders, instead, the messenger who woke him was sternly reprimanded.


    After scolding the messenger, the colonel turned back to bed.


    The soldiers of Mont Blanc County continued to sleep soundly in the civilian houses and tents until dawn.


    The next morning, as soon as reveille sounded, Captain Hudson brought a briefing to Colonel Gaisa.


    Gaisa casually tossed the briefing onto the table and went behind the house to relieve himself.


    ¡°A damn small town, no place to take a bath,¡± the colonel complained as he walked back, yawning, ¡°I ache all over if I don¡¯t bathe.¡±


    Captain Hudson disagreed, ¡°The Anya River is just beside us, you could just wash up there.¡±


    ¡°A bath has to be with hot water!¡± Colonel Gaisa roared furiously, his scalp wrinkling, ¡°Can you call it a bath with cold water?¡±


    ¡°Right, yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Hudson replied perfunctorily, handing the briefing to his superior, ¡°The rebels have made quite a stir.¡±

 Chapter 649 03-25 - 649 27 Plan_2

    ?Chapter 649: Chapter 27: Plan_2 Chapter 649: Chapter 27: Plan_2 But overnight, the East Bank of the Anya River was ablaze with beacon fires.


    In all the villages and towns, they were either already raided by the Rebel Cavalry, or traces of the Rebel Cavalry had been spotted nearby.


    ¡°These little bastards are using Herdman¡¯s tactics,¡± Colonel Gaisa scanned the briefing ten lines at a glance, tossed it back onto the table, stretched his arms languidly, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°White bread, red soup, boiled eggs,¡± Captain Hudson replied rapidly, pressing further, ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to do something about it? Sending a few men back wouldn¡¯t hurt, rather than letting the Rebels have their way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking what the grunts are having for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Coarse bread, mixed vegetable soup.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not too bad.¡±


    ...


    ¡°So, we¡¯re really not going to deal with it?¡± Captain Hudson asked again.


    ¡°Why should we?¡± Colonel Gaisa used a wet towel to wipe his face and scalp as if washing up.


    ¡°The Rebels are pillaging our villages!¡±


    ¡°Let them loot,¡± Colonel Gaisa snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by the emergency calls from twenty or thirty villages at once; it¡¯s actually just a small cavalry team. Even I don¡¯t have many cavalrymen at hand; how much can the Rebels have?¡±


    ¡°Even with just thirty cavalrymen, that¡¯s not something the villages and towns can withstand.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa sat down heroically and motioned for Hudson to bring the breakfast, ¡°That¡¯s where the Rebels are being foolish. They¡¯re using Herd Barbarians¡¯ tactics, but they are not Herd Barbarians. Barbarians kill people, burn villages, steal goods. Given the small number of Rebel Cavalry, if they dare do so, the village militias would drain them dry.¡±


    ¡°You mean to let them loot?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Let them loot! The more they loot, the less likely they are to occupy Mont Blanc County. The Rebels won¡¯t take Mont Blanc County, so what are we afraid of?¡±


    Captain Hudson sighed, ¡°You¡¯re the Officer of Baishan County; it¡¯s your call.¡±


    The Captain turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait a second, I do have a question,¡± Colonel Gaisa, resting his chin in his hand, asked, ¡°The intel says that Rebel Bard and Rebel Mason have been stripped of their command?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Captain Hudson nodded, expressionless.


    ¡°Rebel Cherini dead?¡±


    ¡°Presumed dead.¡±


    ¡°Rebel Montaigne is in Revodan.¡±


    ¡°Right, reportedly still peddling his bonds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± Colonel Gaisa¡¯s smile was full of amusement, ¡°Then who¡¯s commanding this cavalry in Mont Blanc County?¡±


    Captain Hudson gave a light snort, ¡°It could be someone recently promoted by Rebel Montaigne; it¡¯s said he has quite a few Dusacks under his control.¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, there¡¯s a serious problem with your intel.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s intelligence sent by the big households within Revodan City,¡± Captain Hudson furrowed his brow, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t side with the Rebels.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily, ¡°Issue the order to eat well and drink plenty, and continue our march toward Revodan!¡±


    ¡­


    Despite the fire under his rear, Colonel Gaisa was unmoved.


    Leaving two companies of a hundred men each to guard the Floating Bridge, the Mont Blanc County army set out once again.


    Their fist hadn¡¯t changed course, still aimed at Revodan.


    And all of this was witnessed by Winters.


    Because he was in the Manyun Valley.


    More accurately, he was in the forest between Manyun Valley and Tuo Song Street.


    Moreover, he was with the troops of Bard, Andre, and Mason¡ªnow reorganized into the First, Second, and Third Hundred-Men Teams.


    After declaring martial law in Revodan, Winters rushed to Manyun Valley overnight to join up with the three hundred-men teams already waiting there.


    If Andre¡¯s Cavalry could hold the Mont Blanc County army in check, all the better.


    If the Cavalry couldn¡¯t manage it, then Winters would take to the field himself.


    The depths of Iron Peak County were much greater than Mont Blanc County; Manyun Valley was 150 kilometers from Revodan, and less than 60 kilometers from Falconflower Fort.


    If the fire under the butt wasn¡¯t enough to shake the Officer of Baishan County, then it¡¯s time to plunge in another harsh blow.


    So after the Mont Blanc County army had left Manyun Valley, Winters patiently waited a whole day.


    Until Xial, who was tailing the enemy¡¯s scouts, returned.


    ¡°They¡¯ve set up camp!¡± Xial¡¯s voice could hardly contain his excitement, ¡°Just as you predicted, thirty kilometers away, right between Tuo Song Street and Manyun Valley.¡±


    ¡°Move out!¡± Winters grabbed his sabre and mounted his horse, ¡°Follow me and break the Floating Bridge garrison!¡±


    The soldiers hidden in the woods rose to their feet, and military orders forbad speaking, so the warriors pounded their chests.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    The muffled sounds were like the drumbeats of heavenly gods, scattering flocks of birds into the air.


    Entering Iron Peak County meant enemy territory, and Winters had gauged that the Officer of Baishan County would not force a march.


    So they would cover the sixty kilometers between Manyun Valley and Tuo Song Street in two days.


    Now, the Mont Blanc County army was in a delicate position.


    They were approximately ninety kilometers from Falconflower Fort, and about one hundred kilometers from Revodan.


    They were situated halfway between Revodan and Falconflower Fort¡ªslightly closer to Falconflower Fort.


    Choosing this moment to strike, Winters was virtually teasing the Officer of Baishan County.


    Because their location was just right. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If they marched another day to reach Tuo Song Street, perhaps the commander of Mont Blanc County, driven by impulse, would head straight for Revodan without care.


    His gaze swept over his most elite troops, and Winters raised his sabre. The drumming in the woods ceased at that moment.


    Silently slicing toward the direction of the Floating Bridge, Winters Montaigne charged out of the forest in the lead.


    His standard-bearer Heinrich was the second to break through the trees, with the three hundred-men teams close on their heels.


    Three against two, and with a formidable Spellcaster like Winters, the defending forces at the Floating Bridge collapsed at the first blow.


    Winters didn¡¯t have time to pursue the fleeing enemy; after crossing the river, he set the Floating Bridge ablaze till there was nothing left.

 Chapter 650 03-25 - 650 27 Plan_3

    ?Chapter 650: Chapter 27 Plan_3 Chapter 650: Chapter 27 Plan_3 ¡­


    When Colonel Gaisa led his troops back to Manyun Valley, what greeted them were the remnants of the Floating Bridge and the crippled forces left to hold the fort.


    By the riverbanks, they found Lieutenant Matt, who was in charge of defending the Floating Bridge.


    Lieutenant Matt sat on a large boulder, his face deathly pale, his body quivering uncontrollably.


    He stared at the tips of his boots, murmuring, ¡°So powerful¡­ truly so powerful¡­¡±


    Lieutenant Matt had resisted until the very last moment, and seeing the defending army utterly defeated, he had leaped into the Anya River to escape with his life.


    ¡°A blanket,¡± Colonel Gaisa said to Captain Hudson, ¡°and bring some liquor.¡±


    ...


    Gaisa wrapped his Centurion in a blanket and poured a full cup of strong alcohol.


    He scratched the back of his head and asked sternly, ¡°Can you confirm if the one who led the surprise attack last night was Winters Montagne?¡±


    Lieutenant Matt drank the entire cup of strong alcohol in one gulp, his hand holding the empty cup still trembling uncontrollably, ¡°I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa waited for the Centurion to continue.


    Lieutenant Matt¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed, having just drunk a full cup of liquor, his mouth still felt dry, ¡°That man¡­ he kills like he¡¯s target shooting, no emotion at all¡­ kill, kill, kill¡­ blood everywhere¡­ A court Spellcaster couldn¡¯t be much different, right?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s expression grew grave and he silently poured the Centurion another cup of liquor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that man is Montagne,¡± said Lieutenant Matt as he downed another full cup, ¡°but that man¡­ it could only be him¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The lieutenant suddenly grabbed the colonel¡¯s hand, his cup crashing onto the pebbly strand, terror filling his eyes, ¡°You must be careful! You must be careful! That man could break through the formation and kill you! He could definitely do that! You have to be careful!¡±


    Colonel Gaisa patted the Centurion¡¯s hand, ¡°Relax, get some rest, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Lieutenant Matt returned to his own world, his eyes fixed on his boot tips, muttering softly, ¡°So powerful¡­ how can he be so powerful¡­¡±


    Colonel Gaisa stepped aside and let out a sigh he could no longer suppress.


    ¡°What in the world happened?¡± Captain Hudson clenched his teeth, ¡°How could Matt be broken like this?¡±


    ¡°Broken?¡± Colonel Gaisa glared at his subordinate, ¡°When we return to Falconflower Fort, I¡¯ll treat the lad to some good food, good drink, and a nice bath. He¡¯ll naturally recover.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa had previously informed his Centurions: The rebel leader Winters Montagne was believed to be a powerful Spellcaster.


    However, nobody had anticipated he would be so formidable as to terrify a stout man into such a state.


    There, in the clearing by the river, Colonel Gaisa called an impromptu meeting with all his Centurions.


    After briefing them on the latest situation, the colonel, gripping his jaw-beard, analyzed, ¡°Based on the description and the inspection of the battlefield, Montagne¡¯s combat style is quite simple, all direct damage. He is unlikely to use indirect damage spells like poison smoke, so apart from the musketeers continuing to concentrate their fire, all other anti-magic configurations are to be dismissed.¡±


    The Centurions nodded somberly, chilled by the sight of Matt¡¯s wretched condition.


    ¡°Remove all items that could identify officers and sergeants. Stow the regimental flags,¡± Colonel Gaisa squinted his eyes, ordering his Centurions, ¡°Change into civilian clothing and dirty up your faces. From this moment on, orders will only be given by small drums and bugles.¡±


    Mingling officers among the soldiers would inevitably decrease command efficiency but also reduce the likelihood of officers being preferentially targeted by Spellcasters.


    It was a matter of trade-offs, and no Centurion would question Colonel Gaisa¡¯s judgment.


    ¡°Do we continue the fight?¡± Captain Hudson narrowed his eyes, his smile harsh, ¡°Sir?¡±


    ¡°Continue! Montagne might be a decent Spellcaster. But I believe his brain must have been damaged while fighting with the Herd Barbarians. He used this tactic against Ronald, now he thinks he can use it against me as well,¡± the bald man slapped his thigh, laughing wildly, ¡°He really underestimates people, damn it!¡±


    His Centurions, holding onto their swords, also wore smiles with a fierce gleam in their eyes.


    Colonel Gaisa rose abruptly, commanding fiercely, ¡°In this battle, our target is still the sole rebel leader Winters Montagne. Killing him will cause the rebels to collapse. If he escapes, they will rise again. Revodan, don¡¯t bother with it! If he dares enter Mont Blanc County, then he shouldn¡¯t think of leaving!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The Centurions pounded their chest armor, roaring in unison.


    On the west bank of the Anya River.


    The soldiers of Mont Blanc County pulled the tarp off the wagons, and half of the supply wagons weren¡¯t loaded with provisions but with prefabricated components for another Floating Bridge.


    The new Floating Bridge was being constructed at twice the speed of the first, extending towards the East Bank.


    Colonel Gaisa brought two Floating Bridges, just waiting for the rebel leader to fall into the trap.


    Mont Blanc County had become a snare.


    Winters was still unaware of this as he was occupied with seizing state messengers.


    Colonel Zibeer was also oblivious, his path blocked by a fortress.

 Chapter 651 03-25 - 651 28

    ?Chapter 651: Chapter 28 Chapter 651: Chapter 28 As soon as they crossed the river, Winters immediately led his troops straight to Falconflower Fort.


    He took the main road, sang songs of triumph, banners and drums abounded, marching majestically without any desire to hide his tracks.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry also arrived to join him. With both foot soldiers and cavalry, the force was even more imposing.


    However, the situation was not as optimistic as he made it appear.


    The sword still hung over their heads, the thread holding it could snap at any time.


    The battlefield was currently shrouded in fog; the more they could see, the closer they were to victory.


    Winters had already deployed all of his reconnaissance cavalry, and most of Andre¡¯s had been sent out as well.


    ... Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because they kept capturing horses and using them in concentration, Winters actually had a cavalry advantage over the Newly Reclaimed Land garrison troops.


    Apart from the three cavalry scouts leading the way, the rest of the cavalry closely monitored the movements of the Mont Blanc County garrison troops.


    According to Winters¡¯ calculations, if the enemy were to send reinforcements, he would have at least a two-day advantage.


    Firstly, it would take the Mont Blanc County garrison a day to return to Manyun Valley.


    Secondly, they did not have bridges.


    Destroying bridges was easy, building them was hard, and repairing them more troublesome still; this could delay them by another one to two days at least.


    It was a risky move because no one could guarantee how the enemy commander would make his decisions.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    War is the art of gambling, and Winters had made his move; now it was his opponent¡¯s turn.


    How the opponent would respond was up to them; he had no control over that.


    But the situation was as precarious as a pile of eggs; without taking risks, there could be no victory.


    ¡°Turn back to reinforce?¡± Winters mused as he sketched on the map board, ¡°Or clench their teeth and charge toward Revodan?¡±


    With too little information, his understanding of the situation in Mont Blanc County was very limited.


    From Major Ronald, not a word could be wrung. The major simply wouldn¡¯t speak; he refused to have any form of communication with the rebels.


    Winters could only obtain intelligence through public channels.


    He knew that the officer of Mont Blanc County was a colonel named Gaisa Adonis, and that was all.


    As for what kind of person he was, what his combat style was like, or how experienced he was, Winters knew nothing.


    He had only heard that Colonel Gaisa seemed to be quite fond of money and was adept at accumulating wealth.


    ¡°Gaisa Adonis,¡± Winters silently repeated the name of his adversary, pondering, ¡°Adonis? An ancient term meaning ¡®handsome.¡¯ Could he be a handsome man?¡±


    Distracted, he pressed too hard, and the graphite stick ¡°snap¡± broke in half.


    Winters was accustomed to this. He put away the broken piece and took out a new one.


    Drawing with graphite was far more convenient than using a quill pen for quick sketches, except for one downside¡ªthe graphite was too brittle and would break easily if not handled carefully.


    Winters straightened his back, taking in the surrounding terrain by heart, and continued to sketch on the map board.


    The jostling saddle made his lines squiggly.


    Conditions on the march were limited; he would have to redraw a detailed map in the evening.


    After occupying Revodan, Montaigne¡¯s cartographers finally didn¡¯t have to worry about running out of graphite.


    He had cleared out all the graphite from the shelves in Revodan, drawing whatever he pleased.


    So now, wherever he was, Winters always tried to record as much of the surrounding terrain as possible.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s map collection hadn¡¯t been updated in a long time, and he was working hard to fill the twelve-year void left by John Jeska.


    Xial ran back panting and brought news: ¡°Brother! The town of Deer Horn is just ahead!¡±


    Winters sighed and put away the map board: ¡°Any news from the back?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± Xial scratched his head, ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°That will do.¡±


    ¡°So, what about Deer Horn Town?¡± Xial asked excitedly, ¡°Are we attacking?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Winters smiled as he pulled out his baton and tapped Xial on the head, ¡°Having come all this way, who wouldn¡¯t take the opportunity for a meal?¡±


    ¡­


    Newly Reclaimed Lands Province was overall an underdeveloped area, Iron Peak County was even less developed within these areas, a comparative degree of underdevelopment.


    Like other frontier provinces, Mont Blanc County was much richer than Iron Peak County; she was like the better-off small family within a poor large family.


    The most obvious difference was in the roads.


    Upon entering Mont Blanc County, Winters immediately felt the roads were much better than those in Iron Peak County.


    In Iron Peak County, the main roads were simply compacted earth, and in some places, there wasn¡¯t even that¡ªwhere many walked became a path.


    Meanwhile, Mont Blanc County even had paved ¡°Guzhi Roads,¡± clearly the work of the military.


    Winters was surprised that the commander of the enemy¡ªColonel Gaisa whom he had never met¡ªturned out to be a diligent and people-loving officer, which made Winters feel rather ashamed.


    After all, Montaigne as a garrison commander (self-appointed) had not really done anything practically beneficial for the people of Iron Peak County.


    Winters secretly resolved that when he got the chance to breathe, he would pave the roads of Iron Peak County as well.


    Despite his respect for the ¡°handsome¡± colonel, it did not hinder Winters from attacking the towns under his control.


    Having come all this way, he wasn¡¯t about to return empty-handed. The finances of Iron Peak County were a bit tight at the moment, and any subsidy for household expenses was good.


    Therefore, Winters had no qualms about blowing open the gates of Deer Horn Town.


    This was another difference from Iron Peak County:


    Compared to the ¡°bachelor¡± towns under Winters¡¯ control, the towns of Mont Blanc County not only had more people but many had also built walls.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry could do nothing against towns with walls.


    Once they joined forces with Winters, not only would they be able to knock on the door of a walled town but Falconflower Fort as well.


    Winters had twenty ¡°Battering Rams¡± specifically brought for shelling the turtle¡¯s shell.


    Deer Horn Town had built a wooden wall as a precaution against bandits and marauders, never imagining that one day they would face an army.


    The alarm bell had just sounded, the militia were still scrambling to assemble, when ¡°boom¡± the town gate was blown open.

 Chapter 652 03-25 - 652 28_2

    ?Chapter 652: Chapter 28_2 Chapter 652: Chapter 28_2 A cavalry unit charged into Deerhorn Town with a roar, sending the townspeople scattering in panic.


    The militiamen of Deerhorn Town rummaged through their belongings, struggling to find weapons.


    When they stepped out of their homes, however, they discovered that the townspeople had long fled, and the streets were full of unfamiliar soldiers.


    Without a word, they turned around and went back inside to move furniture and barricade their doors.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini was quite experienced with the process of ¡°raid, loot, and leave.¡±


    Breaking morale was a more effective use of cavalry than sword slashing.


    Thirty cavalrymen could drive hundreds of civilians into headlong flight; a hundred riders could encircle and control thousands.


    ...


    Andre¡¯s cavalry first went to seal the supply depot, then took over the town hall and the public security bureau.


    By the time Winters entered the town, the job was already done.


    It was the same old story, the supply depot was empty, not even a mouse to be found. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters and Andre talked it over and felt something was amiss, fearing that the enemy had been well prepared.


    ¡°Think they can starve us out? That¡¯s wishful thinking,¡± Andre sneered. ¡°Can people really be starved to death?¡±


    Apart from weapons, ammunition, and seven days¡¯ worth of dry food, the troop that invaded Mont Blanc County brought nothing else.


    The situation of the troop under Winters was similar to Ronald¡¯s raid on Wolf Town, both sacrificing supplies for speed.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    But Mont Blanc County was far richer than Iron Peak County, and locally recruiting food supplies would be much easier.


    Winters found it odd too; he sent out three cavalrymen once again, scouting toward Manyun Valley for enemy intelligence.


    Xial ran over with a gloomy face, holding several gazettes.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t find anything new; the latest is from last quarter,¡± Xial said.


    The gazette, also known as ¡°Record of Events,¡± was an official communication from the New Reclamation Legion to its subordinate units. It¡¯s usually published once a quarter and sometimes supplemented in case of urgent matters.


    Winters first learned about the information channel of the New Reclamation Legion during his initial meeting with Senior Mason.


    He was desperately in need of intelligence, and the gazette was the best source of open information.


    But the gazettes couldn¡¯t be bought; they had to be seized from the territories of the New Reclamation Legion.


    Winters took the gazettes, scanning them ten lines at a glance: ¡°No matter, take them all. Old gazettes are useful too, take as many as there are.¡±


    Xial saluted, turned around to leave.


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Winters stopped Xial. ¡°I asked you to gather the businessmen of Deerhorn Town, why don¡¯t I see them?¡±


    Xial replied with a bitter face, ¡°The townspeople are all mixed together, and it¡¯s hard to distinguish who is a merchant.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? Take a torch and call them all together, ask from one shop to the next. Understand?¡±


    Unconsciously standing out, all their shops will be burnt down, go with the torches.¡±


    ¡°Understood, understood.¡±


    ¡°Make it clear to them beforehand, just two questions, it won¡¯t cost them their lives.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xial nodded vigorously and left.


    Winters found a brightly lit place and continued reading the gazette.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they all old?¡± Andre asked, with his right hand tucked inside his jacket. ¡°Are they still useful?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re useful,¡± Winters replied without looking up.


    ¡°How are they useful?¡±


    ¡°The contents of the gazette are mainly policies, wars, parliamentary debates, civil and criminal cases, as well as news on religious celebrations,¡± Winters flipped a page. ¡°For now, it seems that the New Reclamation Legion still pledges allegiance to Kingsfort. The gazette refers to Kingsfort as ¡®the supreme Republic.¡¯


    ¡°Adams, a weathervane, is always thinking of hedging his bets depending on the situation,¡± Andre snorted disdainfully and then asked, ¡°But aren¡¯t these all from the last quarter?¡±


    ¡°If the Legion has broken with Kingsfort, there should be supplements, right?¡± Winters said matter-of-factly.


    Andre burst into laughter.


    ¡°We should also publish a gazette,¡± Winters suggested as he read. ¡°It¡¯s quite useful.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s start one when we get back.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°If we manage to hold onto Revodan.¡±


    Winters flipped another page and suddenly his eyes lit up, ¡°Farmers from South Mountain Town secretly cut grass from the military horse farm, military court sentenced two to hard labor?¡±


    Andre¡¯s ears perked up instantly, ¡°Military horse farm?!¡±


    ¡°South Mountain Town,¡± Winters savored the name, pulling out a map: ¡°Seems it¡¯s in Mont Blanc County!¡±


    Both men crouched on the ground, eagerly flipping through maps.


    ¡°It is in Mont Blanc County!¡± Andre exclaimed ecstatically while searching, ¡°Right to the south!¡±


    Winters took the map, first with delight then with confusion, ¡°It¡¯s not marked on the map? Mont Blanc County has a military horse farm, so why haven¡¯t we seen any enemy cavalry?¡±


    ¡°All the military horses must have been conscripted already! Plus, this map is too old; it¡¯s normal not to be marked,¡± Andre clapped his thigh, genuinely happy. ¡°We must visit it no matter what. There might not be any draft horses, but foals and breeding stallions are also valuable goods!¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Winters, infected by Andre¡¯s joy, smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s pay a visit. But it seems no one in Iron Peak County has ever managed a military horse farm; we¡¯ll have to take the horse farm staff as well.¡±


    Andre considered it inconsequential: ¡°Didn¡¯t Senior Mason used to raise pigs and manage a labor ranch? Let him handle it.¡±


    Exchanging glances, they couldn¡¯t contain their laughter, growing more joyful as they laughed.


    Xial, escorting the merchants of Deerhorn Town, saw from a distance Captain Montaigne and Lieutenant Chellini squatting face to face, inexplicably laughing like fools.


    ¡°Captain! I¡¯ve brought the people over!¡± he called out loudly as a reminder.


    Winters and Andre quickly stood up, straightening their appearances.

 Chapter 653 03-25 - 653 28_3

    ?Chapter 653: Chapter 28_3 Chapter 653: Chapter 28_3 Fortunately, the merchants of Staghorn Town were scared to death and didn¡¯t notice the two men¡¯s loss of composure.


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Winters coughed lightly and said kindly to the frightened merchants, ¡°Traders have their ears to the ground. I¡¯ve called you here because there are some questions I need to ask. As long as you answer honestly, I guarantee your lives and property will be safe.¡±


    The merchants of Staghorn Town nodded eagerly as if pecking for grain.


    ¡°You, start.¡± Winters¡¯s cane pointed at the oldest merchant present.


    The other man was puzzled, ¡°You¡­ You haven¡¯t said what you want to ask?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what I want to ask,¡± Winters spoke calmly, ¡°just start talking, and when I hear what I want to know, naturally you¡¯ll be let go.¡±


    The elderly merchant was dumbstruck, after a long while, he gathered his courage to ask again, ¡°Where should I start?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Start with the latest and biggest event.¡±


    The old merchant¡¯s lips quivered. It took him a great effort to finally speak, startling both Winters and Andre when he did, ¡°The Herd Barbarians are back.¡±


    ¡°Continue,¡± Winters maintained a neutral expression as he locked eyes with Andre.


    From Andre¡¯s tense cheeks and surprised gaze, he saw the same emotions as his own.


    The old merchant rambled on:


    In mid-September¡ªabout the same time Bard and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team ¡°perished entirely,¡±¡ªthe Herd looting army once again invaded from the east. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Clearly, the Herd tribes that attacked Paratu at the beginning of the year had grabbed a bounty, causing massive envy among the other tribes.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°The Barbarians came killing from both banks of the Ashen Stream River; you couldn¡¯t even count them!¡± the old merchant¡¯s excitement grew as he spoke.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters nodded nonchalantly, ¡°go on.¡±


    What ¡°coming from both banks at the same time¡±?


    What ¡°unable to count them¡±?


    There was no one present who understood the inner workings of the Herd tribes better than Winters.


    It was clearly two Herd looting squads, entering Paratu separately from the south and north banks of the Ashen Stream River.


    Since the Herd tribes were also attacking each other, the two groups of robbers simply chose to operate separately to avoid bloody conflicts if they met.


    And how could there possibly be ¡°impossible to count¡±? Winters had long guessed roughly how many assets the three major tribes had.


    Which tribe would dare to mobilize in full? Aren¡¯t they afraid of having their home base taken?


    Nevertheless, this information was still very valuable.


    The elder merchant, his enthusiasm growing, continued with the second-hand information he had heard, unsure how many times it had been passed down:


    The Barbarians invaded the North River Province from the northern bank; it was said they fought fiercely with the ¡°Rebels.¡±


    The Barbarians from the southern bank invaded Mirror Lake County and were defeated by the wise and valiant General Adams and the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort.


    [Mirror Lake County belongs to the Newly Reclaimed Land, situated at the northernmost end of the province, adjacent to Mirror Lake. With its advantageous geographical conditions and convenient transport, it is the wealthiest and most densely populated county in the Newly Reclaimed Land.]


    Winters stroked his chin; this half-true, half-false news was becoming more and more valuable.


    Not only did the large-scale eastern invasion and looting by the Herd tribes fail to provoke a new round of war between the Red and Blue Roses, but it also eased the situation.


    Nothing unites the people of Paratu like ¡°a common enemy.¡±


    The most interesting part was ¡°the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort,¡± which was essentially the Red Rose troops advancing into Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°It seems that in the end, it is Adams who has the bigger headache,¡± Winters thought it was rather amusing. He nodded expressionlessly, ¡°Keep talking.¡±


    Other merchants took their turns, talking about various scattered issues.


    Things like ¡°a general from Kingsfort being assassinated,¡± ¡°they said it was over a woman,¡± ¡°Blood Night,¡± they spoke with such detail as though the narrators had been with the assassin throughout the ordeal.


    Merchants dealing in tobacco, ceramics, and wool lamented bitterly. The economic crops of the Newly Reclaimed Land couldn¡¯t be shipped out and were all stockpiling in their hands.


    Import traders followed suit, complaining that goods from outside couldn¡¯t enter, souring their business greatly.


    Both groups became more and more animated as they argued, nearly coming to blows over who was more miserable.


    Newly Reclaimed Land has always relied on selling agricultural produce and buying in what cannot be produced; now both lifelines had been cut off by the war.


    Winters took notes in a little book as he listened.


    The rapid, drumming sound of horse hooves approached. A scout cavalry soldier rushed to Winters, dismounting swiftly, and whispered a report in Winters¡¯s ear.


    The merchants of Staghorn Town witnessed the emotional change of the Rebels¡¯ commander, from calm and indifferent to outright laughter.


    The scout cavalry soldier had only said one sentence, ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    Winters¡¯s reply was just one word, ¡°Good!¡±


    The garrison forces of Mont Blanc County turning back to provide support was a piece of great news.


    If Colonel Gaisa lost his head and charged headlong towards Revodan.


    Then Winters would have no choice but to give up on Revodan and see if he could recoup the losses by taking Falconflower Fort.


    Revodan had too few soldiers, divided loyalties, defenses too feeble to withstand a single blow, and an extreme shortage of military supplies.


    All members of the newly formed infantry were using short spears because they could not find long, straight spear shafts, nor did they have enough steel.


    Only the core soldiers were issued with swords and helmets.


    A few dozen muskets had been captured from Ronald, but with the quality of the troops in the newly formed infantry, they couldn¡¯t be effective.


    They only dared to aim and shoot with their hands, not resting their chins on the musket stocks to fire.


    There were even fewer crossbows, which could be counted on one hand.


    Single bows were indeed confiscated by the hundreds from the Arsenal, but Ronald didn¡¯t use such things, and Winters was even less likely to.


    In Winters¡¯s hands, there were barely any landless peasants who could shoot a bow and arrow.


    Such troops could only fight when the wind was in their favor, a crowd of men shouting and charging forward.


    If they felt they could win, each one was braver than the next.


    If they felt they couldn¡¯t win, they could run away in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind.

 Chapter 654 03-25 - 654 28_4

    ?Chapter 654: Chapter 28_4 Chapter 654: Chapter 28_4 In the situation of Revodan, if it were to be surrounded by two large armies, even the old marshal would be facing certain death in command.


    Moreover, from the beginning, the old marshal would never fight such a battle.


    To win, one must restrain one flank and attack the other, shattering one will make the other too scared to approach.


    Right from the start, Winters¡¯ plan was to hold back Mont Blanc County and strike hard at Vernge County.


    But if he couldn¡¯t restrain the garrison troops of Mont Blanc County and they rushed towards Revodan without a care,


    Then Winters would have to resort to his backup plan:


    Give up Revodan, retreat to the south of St. George River, to Wolf Town, or even further back to the Great Wilderness.


    After all, he didn¡¯t have much in terms of pots and pans in Revodan, nothing worth grieving over if lost or smashed.


    The storages in Revodan had long been emptied. Most of the food was taken away by Bard. Winters had spent all the money.


    ...


    As long as the enemy dares to approach Revodan, he dares to attack Falconflower Fort.


    Both sides would stab each other once, to see who bleeds more, who hurts more¡ªno matter how Winters calculated it, Mont Blanc County would be the one in more pain.


    Anna refused to evacuate early, for this reason, Winters left Little Lion in Revodan.


    If the situation worsened, he asked Little Lion to take the womenfolk directly into the uninhabited area, seeking refuge with the Red River Tribe.


    Little Lion was unexpectedly entrusted with Winters¡¯ family, his nose a bit sour, he rarely gave Winters a big hug.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Fortunately, none of the above happened.


    Winters was willing to give up his ¡°pots and pans¡± in Revodan, it seems Colonel Gaisa couldn¡¯t bear to lose his ¡°pots and pans¡± in Falconflower Fort.


    ¡°Good! Gather the troops and prepare to depart,¡± Winters laughed and patted his hands, saying to Andre and his subordinates, ¡°The rest is up to Mr. A and Mr. B. Let¡¯s think of a way to see if we can get this ¡®handsome¡¯ colonel to take another stroll with us.¡±


    ¡­


    The news of Mont Blanc County¡¯s force turning back to assist spread in all directions.


    Stationed within the borders of Iron Peak County, keeping an eye on Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison, Dusack immediately sent back the intelligence to Revodan.


    Winters also dispatched scouts by boat across the river to bring news back to Revodan.


    As for the Mont Blanc County troops, Colonel Gaisa sent messengers, delivering letters to Colonel Zibeer, the garrison commander of Vernge County.


    In the letter, Colonel Gaisa explained his plan: ¡°The key is not Revodan, the rebels have legs and can abandon the city at any time. The key is to annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, and the key is to kill the rebel leader, Winters Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Eliminating either will ensure the rebels¡¯ inevitable collapse.¡±


    Therefore, Colonel Gaisa urged Colonel Zibeer to ¡°temporarily withdraw from Iron Peak County¡± and continue to ¡°contain the main rebel forces¡± at the border of the two counties while waiting for news from Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°Victory or defeat does not lie in a single moment. If my troops annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, the Revodan proclamation can be settled. If my troops fail to annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, a pincer attack from both sides can be carried out later.¡±


    ¡­


    After dispatching the messenger, Gaisa immediately commanded his troops to march rapidly towards Manyun Valley.


    Because of the inevitable delay in information transmission.


    By the time Winters learned that the enemy was returning to help, Mont Blanc County troops had nearly completed their second Floating Bridge.


    At the same time, Gaisa¡¯s messenger cavalry had also arrived at Vernge County¡¯s garrison camp.


    When the messenger arrived, Colonel Zibeer was in a state of agitation.


    The territory between Vernge County and Iron Peak County was separated by forests and hills, perfect for ambushes.


    Thus, Colonel Zibeer proceeded with extreme caution, fearing to fall into rebel traps.


    Unexpectedly, there were no rebel arrangements, but at the end of the forest, ¡°Hammer Fort¡± blocked their path.


    Intelligence said that Hammer Fort was a wooden fortress in disrepair, low and old.


    But the ¡°Hammer Fort¡± that stood before him was nothing like the one described in the reports.


    The Hammer Fort blocking their way was not large, yet it had deep moats, tall walls, and bastions, a veritable miniature star-shaped fortress¡ªit was clear someone had flattened the old Hammer Fort and raised a new one in its stead.


    The most infuriating thing was that the rebels even had cannons.


    Though they appeared to be wooden cannons, these were not something Zibeer¡¯s green troops could withstand.


    The wooden cannons mounted on the walls fired two rounds of crossfire, causing Vernge County¡¯s new recruits to flee in utter disarray, crying out for their fathers and mothers. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Zibeer was seriously considering bypassing this tough nut and going straight for Revodan.


    ¡°What did the baldy send you for?¡± Colonel Zibeer asked the messenger irritably, ¡°Where is he now? According to the time, I should be seeing him, not you!¡±


    The messenger replied somewhat awkwardly, ¡°Colonel Gaisa, he¡­ he¡¯s gone back to Mont Blanc County.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± bellowed Colonel Zibeer, enraged.


    The messenger hurriedly handed the letter to Colonel Zibeer, ¡°The colonel says to wait in Vernge County for his orders. He tells you to come, then you come.¡±


    The condescending tone irritated Colonel Zibeer beyond measure, but he didn¡¯t want to pick a quarrel with a mere messenger.


    He tore open the envelope and quickly scanned the contents.


    The letter was genuine, its pattern produced by a special process that couldn¡¯t be forged;


    The hidden codes at the beginning and end of the sentences were correct;


    And Zibeer recognized Gaisa¡¯s handwriting.


    Confirming the letter was not fake only fueled Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fury. He slammed the table and bellowed, ¡°He¡¯s a colonel, and I¡¯m a colonel too! What right does Gaisa Adonis have to order me around?!¡±


    The messenger did not dare to reply, keeping his head bowed even lower.


    The other officers in the tent followed suit, no one daring to cross the furious Colonel Zibeer.


    ¡°What else did the baldy say?¡± Colonel Zibeer demanded.


    ¡°The colonel says¡­ says if he kills the bandit leader Montagne, there won¡¯t be a need to attack Revodan.¡±

 Chapter 655 03-25 - 655 28_5

    ?Chapter 655: Chapter 28_5 Chapter 655: Chapter 28_5 ¡°Bravo! Bravo!¡± Zibeer laughed furiously, ¡°He gets the glory, I do the grunt work, right? Is that it?¡±


    The tent grew ever quieter.


    ¡°Order! The First Brigade continues to besiege Hammer Fort!¡± Zibeer bellowed, ¡°The Second, Third, and Fourth Brigades, follow me to Revodan.¡±


    The Centurions of Vernge County were shocked.


    ¡°No!¡± Captain Sale¡ªthe Chief Centurion of Vernge County¡ªblurted out in opposition to his superior in desperation, ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°And why not?¡± Colonel Zibeer clenched his fist tightly and retorted with a cold laugh.


    Although he knew he had angered the garrison officer, Captain Sale felt he had to stop the other¡¯s foolish plan, ¡°Sir, dividing our forces on the eve of battle is a taboo. With just the strength of our four brigades, we don¡¯t have an overwhelming advantage over the Rebels. Please reconsider!¡±


    ...


    Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fist pounded the table, like he was hammering on everyone¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°The main force of the Rebels has already been led away by bandit leader Montaigne.¡± Zibeer ground his teeth and asked, ¡°Are you implying that I can¡¯t handle a bunch of misshapen melons and split dates? Is that what you are saying?¡±


    ¡°I would never mean that, sir!¡± Captain Sale was nearly in tears with anxiety, ¡°If we leave one brigade to besiege Hammer Fort, it¡¯s like letting the Rebels tie up a quarter of our forces with just one-sixth or one-eighth of their strength. We would have no advantage in strength to speak of! We should stick to Colonel Gaisa¡¯s plan¡ªit¡¯s much more reliable.¡±


    Colonel Zibeer suddenly drew his sword and slashed it fiercely onto the campaign table.


    The blade sank deep into the table, and the supports beneath could not hold and shattered into several pieces.


    ¡°Damn baldy!¡± Zibeer gasped furiously, cursing.


    The tent was as silent as death, and not one of the others dared to breathe, leaving only the sound of the Colonel¡¯s heavy breathing.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    It took a while before Colonel Zibeer calmed down.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± he ordered fiercely, ¡°Fall back to Hammer Fort!¡±


    A few officers in the tent breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll notify everyone right away.¡± Captain Sale saluted happily and turned to leave.


    Colonel Zibeer took out a pouch of coins and threw it to Gaisa¡¯s messenger without counting it.


    ¡°Get out.¡± Colonel Zibeer sat back down in his chair, his anger now even greater than before.


    He saw Gaisa¡¯s messenger open the pouch, seemingly counting the coins.


    This only increased Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fury, but he did not want to take it out on a common messenger.


    So he closed his eyes to calm his mind, out of sight, out of mind.


    The next second, a silver coin flashed from the messenger¡¯s hand, flying towards Zibeer¡¯s forehead.


    The silver coin, moving at nearly two hundred fifty meters per second, easily sliced through the skin and collided with Zibeer¡¯s skull.


    The hard skull cracked open a notch, with the silver coin drilling in, tumbling through the soft brain tissue, creating an instant large cavity.


    Finally, it struck the other side of the cranium and rebounded back.


    Zibeer stiffened, then suddenly fell backwards.


    The other officers in the tent had not yet grasped what happened and were successively ¡°called out¡± by gold and silver coins within a few breaths. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The messenger bowed his head in silence for the dead officers.


    The mourning was brief; the messenger grabbed a sword from one of the bodies¡ªhe had been stripped of any weapon upon entering the camp¡ªand then placed the oil lamp next to the tent.


    The fire spread quickly, and the main tent was rapidly consumed by flames.


    The messenger left the tent with the sword in hand, and a roaring sound spread in all directions, ¡°The garrison officer is dead! Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    Chilling bugle calls responded to this Sonic Blast Spell from all directions.


    ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel has done it!¡± Tang Juan¡¯s facial muscles twitched with excitement, he leapt up, drawing his sword and yelled, ¡°Attack!¡±


    ¡°Attack!¡± The soldiers of the Iron Peak County Infantry roared to bolster their courage and, grinding their teeth, charged towards the enemy¡¯s camp.

 Chapter 656 03-25 - 656 29 Contempt

    ?Chapter 656: Chapter 29 Contempt Chapter 656: Chapter 29 Contempt The infantry of the 200th men squadron of Iron Peak County, [Peter Buniel], did not know where to go, and his centurion, [Tamas], would not allow him to ask any questions.


    Bunir in the old language means dwarf, fitting for him as he was born short-statured. Therefore, an officer, who got a headache just from hearing ¡°Peter,¡± registered him angrily with this apt nickname.


    Before setting off, everyone received a stick, and the dwarf got one as well.


    The centurion strictly ordered everyone to bite down on their sticks like horses with bits, not allowing them to fall out. If one did, it meant a whipping.


    There was no pre-battle speech. The centurion¡¯s face was overcast as he spat out one sentence, ¡°Whether you¡¯re worth three hundred acres depends on today!¡±


    With that said, he waved his hand.


    Biting on a stick, the dwarf hoisted his spear and set out.


    ...


    The squad moved through the forest without any real path to speak of; the slightest carelessness could cause dispersal.


    The dwarf¡¯s squadron had followed the centurion through the old woods twice before, not knowing the purpose at the time, which now seemed likely to have been in preparation for today.


    The dense branches of the trees not only made marching difficult, but also provided many with the opportunity to desert.


    The dwarf watched with opened eyes as the comrade ahead dropped his weapon and ran into Chestnut Forest, disappearing without a trace.


    But the dwarf did not run. He did not dare, and besides, he was fixated on those three hundred acres.


    So he quickened his pace, catching up with those further ahead.


    The squad eventually stopped in a piece of forest, unaware of its location or purpose, and the enemy was nowhere to be seen.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The centurion ordered everyone to lie down, one by one whispering into their ears:


    ¡°When the signal sounds, you rush forward for me. If you see someone without a red scarf, kill mercilessly for me! Three hundred acres! Remember, three hundred acres!¡±


    The moment for truth had arrived. The dwarf lay on the ground, his mouth dry, his limbs numb.


    He was merely a cowardly, honest farmer who had lived his life dealing with the land, without even having killed a pig, let alone a man.


    To kill a man was to go to hell!


    But three hundred acres, those were inconceivable even in dreams.


    He longed to hear the signal, yet he also dreaded it.


    After an unknown wait, the life-or-death charge finally reached his ears.


    Loud cries of killing erupted in the woods, and many impulsively charged out with spears gripped tight.


    The dwarf lay motionless on the ground, his limbs refusing to obey him.


    He was genuinely terrified, fearing death itself.


    During his days serving the previous lord, he only received two pieces of black bread a day.


    So when he laid down his arms to surrender, he felt no burden whatsoever.


    On the contrary, not having to fight relieved him immensely.


    Serving under this current lord, he got not only bread but also three silver coins.


    The silver coins were now hidden in a secret pocket close to his body, pressing painfully against his ribs.


    But what worth were three silver coins next to life? War truly was deadly!


    The dwarf was not certain he was heaven-bound; he was not very devout and had never donated money or grain to the church.


    Even if the Lord were merciful and allowed him into heaven, it was better to delay the journey as much as possible.


    After all, he had already pocketed those three silver coins¡­


    He had also received a land grant document, which he cared for as much as the silver coins, placing them together cautiously.


    The dwarf yearned for land, so much so that it drove him mad, but he had not truly taken possession of any yet.


    The three hundred acres existed only in description; the dwarf had neither set boundary markers nor ploughed furrows.


    Nobody had pointed to an actual piece of land and told him in concrete terms, ¡°This land is yours, belongs to no one else but you.¡±


    ¡°What if it¡¯s a lie?¡± a voice inside him desperately tried to convince the dwarf: ¡°Who knows if they¡¯ll really give you the land? When has a lord ever been kind? Hide, just hide here! Wait till the fighting¡¯s done before coming out!¡±


    Another voice incessantly muttered: ¡°Three hundred acres, those are three hundred acres! Go for it!¡±


    Suddenly, a searing pain struck the dwarf¡¯s back.


    He turned to see the furious face of Centurion Tamas looming over him.


    Tamas, holding a vine whip, lashed the small soldier lying on the ground furiously, bellowing like thunder, ¡°Coward! Trash! Charge! Look with your pig eyes! We¡¯re winning! Charge, and we win! A free three hundred acres! Three hundred acres for nothing, and you don¡¯t want it!¡±


    The dwarf screamed miserably, his body curling up into a tiny ball, begging for mercy continuously. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Centurion Tamas lashed out so furiously that the whip could not endure and ¡°snapped¡± into two pieces.


    Tamas¡¯s arm trembled, he tossed the remaining half of the vine toward the small soldier and reached for his sword, ¡°You don¡¯t want your three hundred acres! Fine! Fuck you! I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡±


    The dwarf clawed at the soil, struggling to his feet.


    Pain, shame, greed, fear, hate¡­ His mind was nearly a mushy mess.


    ¡°Ahhhh!!!¡± A chilling scream erupted from the dwarf¡¯s chest, as the simple farmer, eyes bloodshot and unarmed, burst out of the forest, ¡°Kill the devil! Three hundred acres!¡±


    The other cowards, either infected by the dwarf¡¯s frenzy, or scared of military punishment, or muttering about the three hundred acres, or a bit of everything, began to rise, panting heavily.


    ¡°The devils are up ahead! They¡¯re here to steal your land! Kill! Killing devils doesn¡¯t count as killing people!¡± Tamas, brandishing his military saber, bellowed fiercely, ¡°Whoever the fuck doesn¡¯t move, I¡¯ll kill them right here!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡± Their faces twisted fiercely, they filled with roars and charged towards where the devils were.


    ¡­


    [Tang Juan] was never afraid of battle; on the contrary, fighting could get him so excited it was addictive.


    But this time, he felt anxious for the first time.


    The enemy¡¯s arrangement was methodical, with a double-layer wooden fence surrounding the camp, and sentries scattered early on.

 Chapter 657 03-25 - 657 29 Contempt_2

    ?Chapter 657: Chapter 29 Contempt_2 Chapter 657: Chapter 29 Contempt_2 In order to conceal their movements, Juan had no choice but to set up the attack position a mile away.


    But he still ran into the enemy sentries, fortunately, the sentries were also startled and were killed before they could raise the alarm.


    The charge of over a mile, not to mention how much strength the soldiers would have left when they reached the enemy, just running a mile through the forest without deviating from the path is something few could achieve.


    So Tang Juan was taking a gamble, with the disadvantages of a reckless assault on one side of the scale, and the fragile morale of the enemy soldiers and Moritz van Nassau on the other.


    The original plan was to wait for the enemy troops to split up, then ambush them in the open ground between Hammer Fort and Revodan.


    However, the enemy commander was unusually cautious, fighting by the book.


    This made Tang Juan uncertain whether the enemy would still divide their forces.


    ...


    Observing the enemy¡¯s several failed attacks on Hammer Fort, Lieutenant Tang Juan concluded that the enemy soldiers had low morale and lacked the will to fight.


    Therefore, he decided to adopt a more dangerous battle plan¡ªto annihilate them in front of Hammer Fort, regardless of whether the enemy divided their troops!


    Successfully intercepting Colonel Gaisa¡¯s messenger offered him a godsent opportunity.


    Tang Juan had not proposed ¡°taking advantage of the situation to decapitate,¡± perhaps because he hadn¡¯t thought of it or because he didn¡¯t want to.


    But Colonel Moritz himself suggested this perilous plan.


    It was a surprise to everyone that Moritz, with his rank of Colonel, volunteered to risk his life to assassinate the enemy commander,


    Tang Juan was extremely moved.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Do unto them as they have done unto us,¡± Moritz chuckled with his usual casualness, ¡°If they can send Spellcasters disguised as messengers to assassinate, we might as well give it a try.¡±


    Juan, with his military saber in hand, was sprinting through the woods, silently praying, ¡°Don¡¯t let anything happen, Colonel.¡±


    Breaking out of the forest, the view opened up, and just as he expected, there were only a few people who accurately followed him and ran to the side of the enemy camp.


    The formation of the Iron Peak County Infantry had become fragmented after the mile-long cross-country charge.


    Many soldiers ran out of the forest and stood on the road only to find the enemy camp was still three or four hundred meters away from them.


    Some soldiers even ended up behind Hammer Fort.


    ¡°Damn it! What were they thinking?¡± cursed Juan angrily, ¡°Pull out the stakes!¡±


    He was the first to rush to the wooden barrier, followed by the other soldiers like they had just woken from a dream.


    They inserted stakes carried with the army into the ground, spaced two fist-widths apart, with sharp ends pointing outward to form a wooden barricade¡ªtextbook temporary defensive fortifications for a camp.


    The enemy had two circles of wooden barricades, inner and outer.


    Just as Tang Juan was pulling a gap wide enough for two men in the outer circle, enemy troops inside the camp came running over.


    Some of the enemies began firing bows and arrows at Tang Juan and his men. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The enemy¡¯s bows were weak, the arrows flying erratically, but they still scared the Iron Peak County Soldiers into a panic.


    As arrows whizzed past them, they turned and ran.


    ¡°[Vulgar expletive denoting extreme anger and frustration]!¡± Tang Juan cursed furiously, ¡°I¡¯m not running! What are you running for? Where is the disciplinary team?¡±


    The disciplinary team didn¡¯t respond because they too had strayed from the path.


    Tang Juan shouted frantically, raising his military saber and dragging down one of the fleeing soldiers, ready to enforce discipline himself.


    Otherworldly howls came from the woods; the noise startled everyone, friend and foe alike, leaving even Tang Juan momentarily stunned.


    The howling grew closer and louder.


    A short soldier burst out of the foliage, unarmed¡ªnobody would have imagined that such a chilling battle cry could come from such a diminutive man.


    The small soldier broke into the space between the two barricades, crazily pulling up the stakes.


    The enemy shot arrows at him, but he didn¡¯t dodge.


    ¡°Kill the demon!¡± After pulling out a stake, he let out a roar: ¡°Kill the demon!¡±


    Many of the fleeing Iron Peak County Soldiers stopped in their tracks, hesitating.


    Seizing this opportunity, Tang Juan completed what he had to do; he slashed the deserter to death with a sword and commanded fiercely, ¡°Whoever dares to run, execute on the spot!¡±


    More and more Iron Peak County Soldiers emerged from the forest.


    Most of them hadn¡¯t followed Tang Juan¡¯s initial charge and found it easy to drop to the ground, but hard to stand up again.


    So, they lay on the ground, hoping to last until either victory or defeat.


    It was only with the centurions¡¯ curses, whips, and threats of confiscating three hundred acres of their land that the frightened soldiers stood up and joined the fight.


    The fresh troops swept up the would-be deserters and charged toward the enemy camp; with an army lacking resolve, sheer numbers were a source of courage.


    Seeing their comrades by their side, even the most cowardly soldiers suddenly mustered some bravery.


    Iron Peak County Soldiers swarmed toward the wooden barricades, following the short soldier in pulling out the stakes.


    ¡°Shout! Give me a damn shout!¡± Tang Juan bellowed.


    His emotions were extreme, yet Tang Juan¡¯s thoughts were unusually calm.


    He knew that both sides were ragtags, fighting purely on momentum.


    If they could just appear as if they could win, then they would truly win!


    Tang Juan raised his blood-dripping saber high, leading his soldiers to chant, ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers pulled out the outer stakes.


    ¡°Kill!!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers pulled out the inner stakes.


    ¡°Kill!!!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers surged into the enemy camp like a flood.


    ¡°The Vernge County garrison officer is dead!¡± Suddenly Tang Juan realized something was amiss, ¡°Surrender and live!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers, with bloodshot eyes, screamed, ¡°Kill!¡±


    ¡­


    By the time Richard Mason, in charge of defending Hammer Fort, arrived with his artillery team, the Iron Peak County Infantry had already broken through the barricades and entered the enemy camp.


    The two sides were locked in close combat amongst tents and campfires.


    With no uniforms, it was almost impossible to tell friend from foe.

 Chapter 658 03-25 - 658 29 Contempt_3

    ?Chapter 658: Chapter 29 Contempt_3 Chapter 658: Chapter 29 Contempt_3 The vast majority of soldiers fighting each other were without armor; sharp swords drew blood with a light slice, and long spears could take a life with a thrust to the chest.


    In the midst of screams, shouts of killing, and pleas for mercy, someone hoarsely cried out in desperation, ¡°The ones with red scarves are the rebels! Red scarves! Rebels!¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Next to a gap in the wooden palisade, Mason found an anxious Tang Juan.


    The latter had two soldiers holding his legs, lifting him up as he watched the battle with a serious expression.


    ¡°Where is Mr. B?¡± Mason asked as soon as he saw him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Juan bit his lip tightly.


    ¡°How¡¯s the battle going?!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Tang Juan¡¯s handsome features were somewhat distorted as he tightly clutched the hem of his garment, ¡°There¡¯s no way to escape, we¡¯re all trapped inside! It¡¯s turning into a bloodbath!¡±


    Fear can make a person succumb to the ¡®fight or flight¡¯ survival instinct; if it truly escalated to a bloodbath, the outcome would be hard to predict.


    Juan jumped back to the ground and bombarded his senior with questions: ¡°What about your cannons?¡±


    ¡°Brought the ones that can still shoot,¡± Mason pointed to the log-like objects his soldiers were carrying.


    ¡°Good! Wait for my signal, then fire all at once! Aim where there are more people, don¡¯t mind the friendly fire, just bombard them!¡± Juan swung his arms, ordering the soldiers he could still command, ¡°Everyone else, follow me!¡±


    With that, Juan ran north along the palisade, and the soldiers followed without understanding why.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mason yelled at his junior¡¯s retreating figure.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Juan didn¡¯t look back: ¡°I¡¯m going to open the camp gate!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters had deliberately spread the rumor that Captain Mason and Lieutenant Bard were tasked with relocating the refugees and had already left Revodan.


    In reality, only Bard had gone to relocate the refugees while Mason secretly led the troops to build the ¡°new¡± Hammer Fort.


    During this time, Mason had also improved the wooden cannons.


    The original wooden cannons required long, straight, and thick timber reinforced with iron hoops, which proved too cumbersome to build and found to be usable only a few times upon testing.


    So the artillery captain gave up on pursuit and directly made disposable wooden cannons instead.


    Difficult to get large timber?


    Then use smaller ones, makeshift with wood of about a foot in diameter.


    Too troublesome to hoop with iron?


    Then don¡¯t hoop it, since it¡¯s disposable anyway.


    Timber is thin and not hooped with iron, which makes it easy to burst?


    Then reduce the gunpowder.


    The result was these log-like ¡°wooden cannons.¡±


    To call them cannons was a stretch; they were more like oversized wooden matchlocks.


    They didn¡¯t even fire lead or iron shot¡ªthere wasn¡¯t enough lead or iron to waste¡ªbut rather stone fragments.


    Killing the enemy was difficult; the primary purpose was the noise, and to shower the enemy¡¯s face with debris.


    This extreme ¡°corner cutting¡± did result in tragically weak wooden cannons, but the cost was also as low as it could be¡ªafter all, it was just drilling a hole in a piece of wood.


    Therefore, Captain Mason had made hundreds of them in one go and was still continuously producing more.


    Now, what limited the size of Mason¡¯s artillery unit was no longer the number of cannons, but the insufficient supply of gunpowder.


    ¡­


    In the barracks of Vernge County, no high ground could be found suitable for mounting cannons, and the range of the disposable wooden cannons was too short.


    Mason was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.


    He looked around and couldn¡¯t find any place to set up the cannons.


    Clenching his teeth, he ordered, ¡°Fire while holding them!¡±


    The ¡°artillerymen¡± were stunned and motionless.


    Even with reduced gunpowder, these crudely made wooden cannons would occasionally burst.


    Firing while holding the cannons in hand was like drawing lots for suicide.


    Seeing no one move, Captain Mason snatched a wooden cannon from his subordinate: ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    He held the wooden cannon, stepping on something that allowed him to raise his feet, and strained to stand at a somewhat elevated position.


    But holding it was still too low, so Mason simply hoisted the wooden cannon onto his shoulder.


    His subordinates were so frightened they dared not speak. Firing while holding the cannon might result in a lost hand if it burst; hoisting and firing could mean loss of life.


    Juan had already circled to the north side of the camp, had opened the gate, and was frantically waving a flag at Mason.


    ¡°Light the fuse!¡± Mason bellowed.


    The soldiers were too scared to move.


    ¡°Light it for me!¡± Mason roared in anger.


    A ¡°gunner¡± with a large red birthmark on his face silently lit the fuse of the wooden cannon in his hands, pushed his senior officer aside, and stood on a stepping stone with the cannon hoisted on his shoulder.


    There was a loud ¡°boom,¡± and smoke billowed out as the force of the gunpowder explosion far exceeded human strength.


    The people fighting in the camp were startled by the blast.


    Mason dashed through the smoke and saw that his old subordinate with the red birthmark was still alive; he breathed a huge sigh of relief.


    ¡°Red Birthmark¡± was pale, with blood trickling from one ear, his hands trembling uncontrollably.


    He tossed away the still-smoking wooden cannon, squeezed out a smile, and began to cough desperately.


    Mason suddenly realized how foolish he¡¯d been; firing cannons at people was useless, with the range of these wooden cannons, how many could he hit?


    The noise was enough!


    ¡°Fire from the ground!¡± Mason frantically ordered his subordinates, ¡°Everyone, fire from the ground!¡±


    A series of booming sounds erupted outside the palisade, and the melody of the bloody battle paused for a beat.


    With the smoke spreading, soldiers on both sides were unsure where the bombardment was coming from.


    ¡°Vernge County is defeated! The garrison commander is dead!¡± At the gate, Juan commanded the soldiers beside him to yell in unison, ¡°Surrender and you won¡¯t be killed! Run!¡±


    ¡°Victory!¡± Mason also led his subordinates to shout in unison, ¡°Victory¡ªvictory!¡±


    The soldiers of Iron Peak County quickly caught on and fervently yelled along, ¡°Victory¡ªvictory!¡±


    ¡°Run! Run north! Home!¡± Vernge County soldiers pointed at the gate and cried out.


    The ferocity and blood-courage of both sides seemed to have been drained during that pause just before, and the soldiers of Vernge County were fleeing towards the gate, towards home.

 Chapter 659 03-25 - 659 29 Contempt_4

    ?Chapter 659: Chapter 29 Contempt_4 Chapter 659: Chapter 29 Contempt_4 The soldiers from Iron Peak County did not stop them, just now they could madly stab the enemy with spears, but for some reason they could not bring themselves to stab anymore.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet!¡± the chief centurion of Vernge County, Captain Salai, cried out in anger and grief, ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet! Come back!¡±


    Captain Laisa raised his military saber, trying to stop the flood of defeat.


    Suddenly, a soldier from the crowd behind Laisa shot a dark silver coin, hitting Laisa in the back of the head.


    Laisa fell to the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, and his consciousness was extinguished.


    ¡­


    Over at Winters¡¯, he still did not know the outcome of the battle at Hammer Fort.


    ...


    Separated by hundreds of kilometers, he couldn¡¯t possibly remote control his troops.


    At the same time, Winters had ample confidence in the military talents of his senior, Juan.


    The vast battlefield was roughly divided into the Eastern and Western fronts, Winters was in charge of the Eastern front, while Lord Juan had absolute command of the Western front. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mysterious Man A and Mysterious Man B were the most powerful secret weapons Winters had.


    Just as Lord Juan had secured a great victory on his front, Winters had encountered a bit of trouble on his.


    Winters discovered that the enemy from Mont Blanc County was approaching fast.


    In Deerhorn Town, he received the message that ¡°the enemy army has turned back to help.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Before he could leave Deerhorn Town, another scout returned with the news that ¡°the enemy is building a Floating Bridge, and they¡¯re making rapid progress.¡±


    Considering the situation within Mont Blanc County, Winters concluded the enemy had been prepared early on.


    Three hundred-men units quickly assembled in the square of Deerhorn Town.


    Facing his soldiers, Winters ordered without mercy, ¡°Throw away all the plundered goods!¡±


    The soldiers were undersupplied, wore threadbare clothes, endured strict military law, and had to fight for their lives; looting was one of the few outlets they had.


    Or rather, looting after battles had become a ¡°sacred and inviolable right¡± of the soldiers.


    Winters deeply detested this, but he couldn¡¯t eradicate this tradition overnight.


    He could restrain his soldiers from theft, arson, or rape, but as for petty thievery, he chose to turn a blind eye for the time being.


    Entering prosperous places like Deerhorn Town, his soldiers had all made a little fortune.


    Some soldiers had even changed into new clothes and shoes, creating a mix that was both comical and sad with their old garments.


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ order, everyone was very reluctant.


    ¡°Throw it away!¡± Winters repeated the order, a rare occurrence.


    His old subordinates¡ªcenturions and sergeants¡ªhesitated no more, taking out coins, fabrics, silver cutlery, fine little porcelain, and other trinkets from their backpacks and resolutely threw them to the ground.


    With the centurions and sergeants leading by example, other soldiers followed suit.


    But they truly didn¡¯t want to part with their spoils, with some even crying as they threw them away.


    On the other side, Andre was leading a cavalry unit to raid the bakeries, taverns, and all places where food might be stored in Deerhorn Town.


    Andre, wielding a military saber, kicked open the door of the baker¡¯s house and ordered, ¡°Take all the bread!¡±


    The fierce-looking cavalry immediately started looting the baker¡¯s home.


    ¡°Sir! This isn¡¯t my bread!¡± the baker wailed, ¡°I¡¯m baking it for someone else! If you take it, what am I supposed to say?¡±


    Andre indifferently threw a bag of silver coins to the baker.


    The baker weighed the bag and nodded in resignation.


    Back with Winters¡¯ group, after seeing the soldiers clear all the burdensome items, he went through the ranks to inspect personally.


    Six soldiers still had ¡°spoils of war¡± in their backpacks, and he singled them out.


    ¡°Throw it away,¡± he repeated the order for the third time.


    The six soldiers dutifully threw away the items they had looted.


    Returning in front of the troops, Winters told his men directly, ¡°The enemy is coming to kill us, they swear to wipe us out. The speed of the march is life itself. Carry nothing but weapons, rations, and ammunition! Don¡¯t covet these petty profits, the money from the Deerhorn Town treasury is being transported by the horse team, and everyone will get a share after the battle!¡±


    The soldiers turned from sorrow to joy, with the particularly heartbroken ones instantly laughing through their tears.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry unit returned to the town square, distributing the requisitioned bread and salted meat and other portable food and drink to everyone.


    Having shed their burdens and replenished food, Winters waved his hand, and the troops left Deerhorn Town, continuing their march to Falconflower Fort.


    Winters did not know the status of the battle on Juan¡¯s front, but the longer he tied down enemy forces, the more breathing room the Western front would have.


    So even though he knew the enemy had prepared early, Winters chose to stick to the original plan and continue to feint an attack on Falconflower Fort to keep pulling at the enemy¡¯s attention.


    Upon leaving Deerhorn Town, a scout reported, ¡°The enemy¡¯s floating bridge is now in place.¡±


    Winters did not say a word.


    He led his troops less than five kilometers out of Deerhorn Town when another scout reported, ¡°The enemy¡¯s advance guard is fast and lightly equipped, only fifteen kilometers away from Deerhorn Town.¡±


    The speed of Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison was astonishing, like bloodhounds that had caught the scent, hot on Winters¡¯ tail.


    ¡°Right.¡± Andre also figured it out and laughed heartily, ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve been waiting for us to leap into the outer lines and want to devour us whole.¡±


    ¡°No need to go further ahead. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the militias from the various towns of Mont Blanc County have already started to assemble, and wherever we go we¡¯re likely to hit a wall,¡± said Winters, looking at the map with a furrowed brow.


    Andre yawned, completely unconcerned that they were surrounded.


    ¡°The garrison officer of Mont Blanc County¡­ he wouldn¡¯t think I had dashed recklessly into his territory without any preparation, would he?¡± Winters Montagne was utterly dumbfounded.


    He laughed out of frustration, ¡°This guy, he really fucking looks down on people!¡±

 Chapter 660 03-25 - 660 30 The Sound of the Bell

    ?Chapter 660: Chapter 30 The Sound of the Bell Chapter 660: Chapter 30 The Sound of the Bell Hundreds of soldiers marched briskly toward Deerhorn Town.


    Strangely, there were no troops wielding halberds and wearing armor to maintain order, nor officers riding high-headed horses and dressed in splendid uniforms.


    Only soldiers, and nothing but soldiers.


    A rider came from the opposite direction, squinting his eyes, trying hard to find his superior among the soldiers.


    A bald man impatiently waved his arm at the rider.


    Relieved, the rider happily ran to the colonel, saluting automatically.


    Gessa slapped away the rider¡¯s hand in a fit of anger, ¡°How many times have I said it? No salutes!¡±


    ...


    The colonel had also changed into coarse clothes, his face smudged haphazardly with soot.


    But no matter what he wore, his shiny bald head was too eye-catching, so he had also gotten a dirty hemp freedom hat.


    At a glance, this baldy actually did look like a rough peasant¡ªjust a bit too plump.


    ¡°The rebels are on the main road between Deerhorn Town and Falconflower Fort!¡± the rider blurted out urgently, ¡°Lots of flags! At least a thousand men!¡±


    ¡°Fake!¡± Gessa dismissed with contempt, ¡°If the rebels truly had a thousand elite troops, would they need to take such a risky gamble? They would simply deploy and fight us, and that would be that, right?¡±


    The rider scratched his head.


    ¡°However, the rebel¡¯s cavalry is indeed quite formidable,¡± Gessa¡¯s eyes lit up, his voice filled with envy, ¡°If we could capture them, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste of our efforts.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Gessa had concentrated all of the officers¡¯ mounts to strengthen his scouts. Even so, Gessa¡¯s cavalry was far smaller than the enemy¡¯s.


    It was not that Mont Blanc County didn¡¯t produce horses, but the warhorses had long been conscripted away. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°So should I give the order to try and spare the warhorses as much as possible?¡± the rider inquired tentatively.


    ¡°Are you fucking stupid?¡± Gessa fumed, steam almost rising from his seven orifices, ¡°Without killing horses, how are we to deal with the cavalry? You¡¯re thinking of dividing the spoils before even winning the battle?¡±


    The rider just chuckled sheepishly.


    Gessa held his forehead and sighed, ¡°Have the messengers sent to the towns returned yet?¡±


    ¡°Some from the nearby towns have, the ones from farther away have not,¡± the rider stifled his laughter and answered earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the militia from the towns should already be assembling. As for the villages¡­ the peasants are playing ghosts! We couldn¡¯t conscript any grain from them; I don¡¯t believe the rebels could have, either.¡±


    ¡°Is the bridge to Lin County demolished?¡±


    ¡°All demolished.¡±


    ¡°Good! The rebels following the bandit chief to Mont Blanc County are surely all veterans and the main force. Killing one lessens one danger,¡± Gessa sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t let a single one escape.¡±


    ¡­


    Mont Blanc County is naturally enclosed, surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on one.


    Winters was currently located in the heartland of Mont Blanc County¡ªbetween Deerhorn Town and Falconflower Fort.


    Scout reports indicated that the enemy¡¯s vanguard was less than ten kilometers from Deerhorn Town.


    Having carefully considered it, Winters thought that if he were commanding the enemy forces, he would deploy troops after reaching Deerhorn Town and envelop from three or more directions.


    This was the enemy¡¯s territory; if defeated, there would be no escape.


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t very anxious.


    He gathered the acting centurions and sergeants of his three hundred-man squads.


    Twelve of them, standing in line, each received a map from Winters¡¯s hands.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot to learn from this map. This is something Colonel John Jeska told me,¡± Winters gestured for everyone to sit.


    His subordinates sat before him, as if attending an evening class on an ordinary day.


    Winters rested his chin on his hand, making eye contact with each of his former comrades, ¡°The longest among you has known me for over a year; the newest, less than three months. Thinking you can understand the map in just three months is daydreaming.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± his tone shifted as he smiled, ¡°as long as what you¡¯re carrying on your shoulders is a head, not a rock. Using a map to avoid getting lost is more than enough to learn in three months.¡±


    An acting centurion from Wolf Town suddenly laughed out loud, the less seasoned acting sergeants not understanding why.


    ¡°Bart Xialing!¡± Winters raised his arched eyebrows, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡­


    Bart Xialing hailed from Nanxin Village in Wolf Town. He was tall, with a square face that made him easy to spot in a crowd.


    During the militia draft in Wolf Town, he was the first to draw the lot. As a result, Winters remembered this big fellow right away.


    During the Great Wilderness battle, he was promoted to sergeant. Now, he had become an acting centurion.


    ¡­


    Bart Xialing tried desperately to hold back his laughter, his face turning red as he responded, ¡°Report to the Centurion, nothing, sir!¡±


    ¡°Impudent! Do you think I don¡¯t know why you laughed?¡±


    After stopping his subordinate¡¯s disrespectful act, Winters returned to the main topic.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hide the battle situation from you¡ªthe situation is dire,¡± Winters analyzed calmly, ¡°The enemy forces are encircling us, their strength at least six times ours. This is their well-established stronghold; the nearby villages and towns, not one will help us.¡±


    The relaxed atmosphere dissipated gradually, and the expressions of Winters¡¯s newly promoted commanders turned solemn involuntarily.


    ¡°We can¡¯t fight head-on¡ªwe¡¯d be outmatched. Even if we could, all of our resources would be spent,¡± Winters continued, ¡°The objective of containing the enemy forces has been successfully completed. It¡¯s time for our triumphant return.¡±


    He tapped the map in his hand, ¡°Do you understand what this means?¡±


    Bart Xialing spoke up eagerly, ¡°Does it mean we¡¯re retreating separately?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°Even in retreat, there must be order. If we all leave together, it¡¯s too big a target and too easy to be caught. The enemy commander is just waiting for me to gather my troops all in one place¡ªhe wishes!¡±

 Chapter 661 03-25 - 661 30 Bell Sounds_2

    ?Chapter 661: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_2 Chapter 661: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_2 ¡°`


    The crowd burst into laughter.


    ¡°Listen up,¡± Winters said, his eyes gleaming with a cold light, his smile stern yet confident, ¡°An attack usually relies on a coordinated advance, but this time I¡¯m going to do the opposite. We¡¯ll disintegrate and scatter, then regroup as we retreat. The enemy commander underestimates me, thinking that with this old trick he can trap me in Mont Blanc County. I¡¯ll give the old-timer a free lesson! However, the success or failure of this battle ultimately depends on you!¡±


    The twelve newly-minted commanders straightened their backs, ready to receive orders. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Bart Xialing!¡± Winters called the first name.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Winters called Xialing over to his side, handed him an arrow, and explained using the map:


    ¡°You¡¯ll take three squads of ten, following Lieutenant Celeni¡¯s cavalry. Head to Brine Town first, then turn south from here and follow this river all the way to South Mountain Town! Raid Mont Blanc County¡¯s cavalry yard for me!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Humans, livestock¡ªonly take the long-legged ones, burn everything else! After leaving South Mountain Town, head west along the foothills, avoid villages and towns. To here!¡± Winters pointed on the map at [Wooden Flute Town]: ¡°I¡¯ve arranged boats to wait there for you. As soon as you reach the riverbank, someone will receive you and get you across the Anya River.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bart Xialing laughed heartily and raised his hand in salute.


    Winters passed Xialing a horse-head chess piece: ¡°Repeat your route.¡±


    Bart Xialing took the chess piece and retraced the complete route on the map.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters punched his subordinate on the shoulder: ¡°Next!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    Another acting Centurion stepped forward.


    Winters handed down an arrow, a chess piece, and continued to explain on the map: ¡°You too will lead three squads. Just head southwest for me. Take this ravine here and keep going until the end. The area is densely populated with villages, so you¡¯ll need to rush through under cover of night, straight to the Anya River. As soon as you get here, there¡¯ll be boats to meet you¡­¡±


    The twelve acting Centurions and sergeants in turn took an iron arrow from Winters, and he mapped out a route for each of them.


    Before coming to Mont Blanc County, Winters had gathered boats and set up four river crossing points on the Anya River¡ªAndre had crossed the river that way.


    According to the original plan, as long as he could lead his troops to any of those points, he could withdraw all three of his hundred-man squads.


    There were four retreat plans corresponding to the four river crossing points, and now they were all put to use.


    ¡°Each of you was carefully chosen by me, I personally taught you all you know, and I personally devised each of your retreat routes.


    You will lead twenty to thirty soldiers in enemy territory, where one false step could mean a bottomless abyss. I can¡¯t be sure whether you will be able to return to Iron Peak County alive.¡±


    At this point, Winters smiled through tears:


    ¡°But if our army is to grow, you will all sooner or later command more soldiers and undertake more arduous tasks. I can¡¯t always be by your side to supervise and direct you.


    This is your first trial! If you fail, that¡¯s it¡ªthere¡¯s no second chance. If you pass, you prove you¡¯re worthy to move forward! Whether you are gold or mere iron will be known once you¡¯re tested! Dismissed!¡±


    ¡­


    As soon as Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison arrived in Deer Horn Town, Colonel Gaisa was shocked.


    ¡°Gone?¡± Gaisa glared, cursing the Scout: ¡°What do you mean, gone?¡±


    Captain Hudson replied with a pale face: ¡°The Rebels have rolled up their flags and run off.¡±


    ¡°Where did they run to?¡± Gaisa slammed the table and roared, ¡°Can living people just vanish into thin air?¡±


    ¡°The problem is we don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve gone!¡± Hudson gritted his teeth, ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ like they ran off in all directions at once!¡±


    Gaisa immediately led his vanguard directly to Montaigne¡¯s group¡¯s last known location, but, as expected, came up empty.


    Later that day, people from a dozen villages and towns came in simultaneously to report sightings of ¡°Rebel traces¡± or ¡°Rebels right there.¡±


    Fortunately for Colonel Gaisa, he was bald, otherwise who knows how much hair he might have lost.


    The officers of Mont Blanc County gathered around the map, sticking a small flag wherever there was enemy activity.


    In the end, with mixed feelings, they realized that small flags had been placed near almost every village and town, covering every direction.


    Colonel Gaisa was in agony, a moan emanating from deep within his chest as his hands pressed firmly against his skull.


    ¡°It¡¯s all fake, just smoke and mirrors,¡± Lieutenant Woods assessed calmly, ¡°They¡¯re using small units to create illusions, to distract us and cover their main force¡¯s withdrawal.¡±


    The other Centurions nodded in agreement.


    ¡°So where¡¯s his main force?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked with his eyes closed, while the huge scar on his cheek twitched uncontrollably.


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    ¡°Search!¡± another Centurion said, furious, ¡°We have to find them! Men and horses eat and drink, I don¡¯t believe they can stay hidden!¡±


    In the midst of the clamorous arguing, Lieutenant Woods asked quietly, ¡°What if, and I mean just what if, they¡¯re all real?¡±


    Lieutenant Woods was rather short and had come from the artillery. Since Mont Blanc County had no artillery units, he was currently serving in the fortress defense.


    Because Woods was diligent and trustworthy, the Colonel trusted him greatly with any engineering task that came his way.


    But also because he came from the artillery, he seldom spoke up during military meetings.


    ¡°Alerts from over a dozen towns at the same time,¡± Captain Hudson had to dismiss his artillery colleague¡¯s suggestion, ¡°How could they all be real? Unless Monta can split his forces into a dozen pieces?¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 662 03-25 - 662 30 Bell Sounds_3

    ?Chapter 662: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_3 Chapter 662: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_3 Woods bowed his head and said no more.


    Colonel Gaisa suddenly chuckled coldly.


    ¡°This kid may have really pulled off a divide-and-conquer strategy,¡± he remarked with some emotion.


    ¡°Divide and conquer? Isn¡¯t he afraid that once his troops scatter, he¡¯ll never be able to gather them again?¡±


    ¡°If he dares to do so, he must be relying on something.¡± Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily as he stroked his palms. ¡°Young man, truly remarkable!¡±


    Captain Hudson and the other centurions in the tent felt their faces grow hot.


    The colonel¡¯s praise for the enemy was like a knife cut, more painful for the Mont Blanc County officers than being whipped.


    ...


    Someone, unconvinced, interjected: ¡°I still don¡¯t think the rebels can manage to divide and conquer.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked his subordinate calmly. ¡°If I had you lead your own troops independently, would you be able to do it? Could you?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the centurions answered in unison.


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t the rebels?¡± asked the colonel with a smile.


    ¡°Because¡­ we have received comprehensive military education and training,¡± Captain Hudson organized his thoughts. ¡°As commissioned officers, we have the ability to command our troops independently. How could the rebels have so many officers?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was wondering the same¡ªI bet Mad Richard was even more puzzled thirty years ago,¡± Colonel Gaisa said, stroking his chin and smiling mockingly. ¡°Where would the rebels get so many officers?¡±


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Convinced that Montagne¡¯s forces had dispersed, Colonel Gaisa made a swift decision¡ªto pursue them separately.


    He sent pursuit troops in units of a hundred men, wherever there was enemy activity, there they would head.


    ¡°The rebels scatter, and you chase after them,¡± Colonel Gaisa deliberately provoked his centurions: ¡°Mont Blanc County is our turf. If you can¡¯t keep up, then you¡¯re simply outmatched; there¡¯s nothing more to say.¡±


    ¡°Just you wait,¡± Captain Hudson huffed, raising his hand in salute.


    The rest of the centurions, with eyes wide and breathing heavily, also saluted and set out with their hundred-man units.


    ¡­


    Talking big was easy, but when it actually came time to lead troops in pursuit, Captain Hudson realized what an arduous task he was up against.


    The size of the enemy force he was pursuing was quite small; judging from the traces left behind, it couldn¡¯t have been more than thirty or forty men. In a direct battle, he was utterly confident.


    But the enemy didn¡¯t engage in battle at all; they just ran.


    And their cross-country speed was astonishing, as if they were running for their lives.


    One moment they were in the eastern village, and the next, an alarm came from a village a few kilometers to the west.


    Hudson was left confused as to whether it was the enemy¡¯s speed that was remarkable or if it was a different group entirely.


    What drove Hudson crazier was that his enemy seemed to be more familiar with Mont Blanc County¡¯s terrain than he, the rightful stationed captain, was.


    The enemy would often dive into some ravine he didn¡¯t know existed and then reemerge from a mystifying place, leaving Captain Hudson disoriented,


    So he also couldn¡¯t figure out whether the enemy was fleeing aimlessly without a destination or if every step was planned¡­


    The boasting had been made, so Hudson could only grit his teeth and stubbornly follow behind the enemy. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hudson might have been able to endure, but his soldiers could not.


    After a day of traversing forests and hills, the soldiers refused to go another step.


    ¡°Sir, even if you beat me to death, I can¡¯t walk any further,¡± a soldier, on the brink of both mental and physical collapse, said to Hudson with a sobbing voice: ¡°I really can¡¯t do this, just leave me here.¡±


    Hudson was equally exhausted, and surveying his disheveled subordinates, he sighed in agony: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s rest for a while then.¡±


    ¡­


    In a nameless ravine in the southern part of Mont Blanc County, Bart Xialing was also leading three squads of ten men each.


    Lieutenant Cherini¡¯s cavalry had already raced to the South Mountain Town¡¯s military horse farm, and Xialing was to meet up with the cavalry there.


    The small thirty-odd man unit trudged on tormentingly; they too were nearing their limits, each step a huge ordeal.


    One soldier could bear no more and flopped down onto the ground.


    The entire small unit also came to a stop.


    Bart Xialing quickly walked over, wanting to help his subordinate up.


    ¡°Centurion, even if you beat me to death, I can¡¯t walk any further,¡± the other cried. ¡°I really can¡¯t do this; just leave me here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak such disheartening words,¡± Xialing replied, panting heavily. He took out his water flask and passed it over: ¡°Take a small drink.¡±


    The soldier sitting on the ground grabbed the flask and eagerly guzzled from it.


    Xialing was similarly parched, but he could still endure: ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much; it¡¯ll cause problems.¡±


    The soldier nodded in agreement, squeezing out the last drop of water from the flask.


    ¡°How about now, after drinking water, can you walk?¡± inquired Bart Xialing, the acting centurion.


    The soldier looked down and gently shook his head.


    Bart Xialing desperately tried to recall what his centurion would do in such a situation.


    But Xialing sadly realized he couldn¡¯t emulate what his centurion did: his centurion could address hundreds upon hundreds of men without a change in facial expression, his few words were enough to stir everyone¡¯s fighting spirit.


    But Bart Xialing admitted he didn¡¯t have that gift; he would even tremble talking in front of a hundred or so people.


    Bart Xialing wasn¡¯t Winters Montagne, Bart Xialing could only do it Bart Xialing¡¯s way.


    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m not good with words, and I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡±


    Bart Xialing licked his dry lips, struggling to articulate his inner thoughts into coherent words: ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. I¡¯m tired too, I can¡¯t walk another step. But I¡¯ve got three hundred acres of land waiting for me back home, and I haven¡¯t yet pocketed the money we looted in White Mountain County. If we stay here and don¡¯t go back¡­ that would be a monumental loss, as if I¡¯ve let down my grandmother.¡±

 Chapter 663 03-25 - 663 30 Bell_4

    ?Chapter 663: Chapter 30 Bell_4 Chapter 663: Chapter 30 Bell_4 Hearing about land, hearing about money, the soldiers¡¯ eyes shimmered with hope.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Bart Xialing looked at his subordinates, his words meant for everyone: ¡°If we haven¡¯t got the land and money yet and die here, wouldn¡¯t that be like working a whole year without getting paid? Come on, let¡¯s persevere a bit longer.¡±


    With that, Bart Xialing reached out his hand to a soldier sitting on the ground.


    The latter also grasped the acting Centurion¡¯s hand.


    Bart Xialing gave a strong pull, lifting the soldier up from the ground.


    The small detachment of thirty-seven men resumed their march; everyone was still tired, but their steps were firmer than before.


    ¡°Hold on, just a little further,¡± Bart Xialing waved his arms, trying to boost morale: ¡°Once we rendezvous with Lord Chelini¡¯s Cavalry, we¡¯ll have horses to ride.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Centurion!¡± A soldier suddenly remembered something and asked loudly: ¡°What if I can¡¯t ride a horse? What do I do?¡±


    Faced with someone ruining the mood, Bart Xialing was furious: ¡°Why all the nonsense? We¡¯ll tie you to the horse¡¯s back! Or drag you if we have to!¡±


    The soldiers burst into laughter.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Another soldier spoke up: ¡°If I die here, will Lord Montagne give my wife and children the land?¡±


    Centurion Xialing initially wanted to directly answer, ¡°Of course.¡±


    But after mulling it over, he decided to answer differently.


    ¡°Brother,¡± Xialing said to a soldier clearly much older than himself with a smile: ¡°If you have a wife and kids, then you¡¯ve got to live to go back to them. Think about it; if you die here, your wife remarries with the kids, your child calling another man ¡®dad,¡¯ that man sleeping with your wife, hitting your kids, all on the land you died for¡ªdon¡¯t you think you¡¯d be losing out?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The laughter exploded, filling the entire valley with a cheerful atmosphere.


    ¡­


    When Bart Xialing finally crossed the threshold, his Centurion was not idle either.


    Winters Montagne was in a simple grass hut, speaking to a man who was tied up.


    He puzzledly offered water to the man: ¡°Senior, how could you dare come after me with just eighty men? I¡¯m not alone; I have a Cavalry, you know!¡±


    Winters had his Cavalry reassigned:


    Half to Andre, to make a detour and raid the military stables;


    The other half he led himself, looking to create some chaos in Mont Blanc County, to draw the enemy¡¯s attention and make space for the other small units to retreat.


    Washington, the ensign securely tied up, kept drinking as he grumbled resentfully: ¡°I was just unlucky to run into you. Your men won¡¯t be as lucky! The others will definitely catch up to them!¡±


    ¡°Good! That¡¯s right! You are correct!¡± Winters asked helplessly: ¡°Would you like something more to eat?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ensign Washington was famished. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters took out some bread, breaking it into pieces and feeding it to his senior.


    ¡°Got any meat?¡± Washington chewed on the bread: ¡°Give me some more water; this bread is too dry!¡±


    Washington, fellow infantryman, was two grades senior to Winters. While they had not been close at the Land Academy, they recognized each other¡¯s faces.


    Captured by a junior, Washington let himself go, eating what was given and drinking what was available.


    Winters took out his water skin and offered it to Washington: ¡°Senior, eat well and drink well; we¡¯ll be on the road shortly.¡±


    Washington spat out the bread crumbs mixed with water in his mouth, choking on a foreign object that went down the wrong pipe, which caused him to cough violently: ¡°You¡­ you really going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Where did that come from!? Of course not!¡± Winters patted Washington¡¯s back vigorously.


    ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡± Washington became bolder: ¡°Straight out¡ªkill or release, give me a straight answer!¡±


    ¡°An officer is a precious resource in war. Why would I simply kill you?¡± Winters said with a smile: ¡°You¡¯re coming back with me to Iron Peak County, to learn basket weaving.¡±


    After securing a gag in his senior¡¯s mouth and tying him onto the horse¡¯s back, Winters gave a whistle.


    The resting Cavalrymen got up one after the other, silently mounting their horses.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave the prisoners here, it¡¯s time for us to go,¡± Winters laughed loudly: ¡°My guess is, Colonel Gaisa should be rushing to the Anya River by now, trying to catch us on the riverbank!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters guessed correctly; Colonel Gaisa was indeed hurrying toward the Anya River.


    Gaisa had it clear in his mind that no matter how Montagne¡¯s forces fragmented, they would ultimately have to return to Iron Peak County.


    To return to Iron Peak County, they would have to cross the Anya River.


    However, the stretch of river forming the border between Iron Peak County and Mont Blanc County spans over one hundred fifty kilometers.


    With half of Gaisa¡¯s troops in pursuit of the enemy, he had only about a thousand men left¡ªinsufficient to control such an extensive riverside.


    Therefore, Gaisa ordered the local militias of the villages along the riverbank to keep a close watch on the Anya River, while he took his troops to an anticipative yet logical place¡ªManyun Valley.


    To be precise, the opposite bank of Manyun Valley.


    Because after the troops of Mont Blanc County crossed the river, the second Floating Bridge had been dismantled under Gaisa¡¯s orders to prevent Montagne¡¯s forces from using it to cross the river again.


    While Gaisa waited in vain on the East Bank of Anya River, Winters had already crossed the river quietly upstream and paid a visit to Manyun Valley along the way.


    Upon arriving in Manyun Valley, Winters called a town meeting in the square as usual.


    First, Winters declared the rights to the citizens of Manyun Valley.


    Put simply, he told everyone that Manyun Valley would still fall under the rule of Revodan.


    Then, Winters compensated for Manyun Bridge at a fair price¡ªof course, with money looted from the public treasuries of the towns in Mont Blanc County.


    Whether to remain loyal to Revodan or Falconflower Fort was of little concern to the townspeople of Manyun Valley.

 Chapter 664 03-25 - 664 30 The Bells_5

    ?Chapter 664: Chapter 30 The Bells_5 Chapter 664: Chapter 30 The Bells_5 The burning of Manyun Bridge was a painful cut to them, and when they learned that the Garrison Officer, Winters Montagne, would compensate for Manyun Bridge on the spot, the townspeople of Manyun Valley were overjoyed to the point of madness.


    The church bell tower rang twelve times to celebrate.


    However, Winters also cautioned the mayor of Manyun Valley: although the money was compensated to the townspeople, the bridge could not be rebuilt; if it was rebuilt, he would send someone to burn it again; next time, there would be no compensation.


    The mayor of Manyun Valley swore with curses that he would absolutely not use the money to repair the bridge.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s inconvenient for everyone, just bear with it for a bit, and use this money to build some ferries first,¡± Winters patted the mayor¡¯s shoulder, ¡°When conditions allow, I will personally come and build a bridge for you, free of charge.¡±


    The mayor of Manyun ancient town was flattered and nodded repeatedly.


    Having resolved the issue of Manyun Valley, Winters ordered his subordinates to pack up, as he wanted to rush back to Revodan overnight¡ªhe actually felt a bit ¡°homesick.¡±


    ...


    Xial came running with an odd expression, reporting, ¡°Someone wants to see you?¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Which one wants to sue? Which one wants to petition?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters became the nominal master of Manyun Valley, and the nominal obligations also fell on his shoulders.


    With the exit of the old garrison and the Revodan circuit court, Winters had no choice but to personally adjudicate three civil lawsuits for Manyun Valley.


    The more reputable gentlemen in town even petitioned him together, requesting a speedy restoration of the Revodan circuit court operations.


    Although trivial governmental affairs tired Winters, his mood was incredibly uplifted.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    In this battle, he had won.


    He had won the right for the new Iron Peak County regime to survive; as for other problems, they could all be solved slowly.


    Such as¡­ the petty lawsuits and the endless petitions.


    ¡­


    Xial laughed heartily, showing his teeth, ¡°It isn¡¯t someone from Manyun Valley who wants to see you¡­ it¡¯s someone from across the river¡­¡±


    On the west bank of the Anya River, Colonel Gaisa finally met face to face with his adversary.


    Gaisa only brought two people and arrived at the western bank by boat.


    ¡°The rebel leader¡± also only brought two people.


    Gaisa scrutinized his opposite carefully¡ªthe man in front of him was very young, his body bursting with vibrant vitality;


    Rather than saying he was handsome, it was more accurate to say he had a charm that was different from handsomeness; S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although he was in civilian clothes, he was evidently military at first glance;


    On the left side of the saddle hung a saber;


    On the right side was a walking stick, its handle fashioned in the likeness of a galloping horse.


    ¡°Are you Winters Montagne?¡± Colonel Gaisa raised his eyebrows slightly, asking with a smile.


    ¡°I am,¡± the young man in front of him replied with a gentle smile, countering, ¡°And you are Gaisa Adonis?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Gaisa replied, straightening his back with pride.


    The young man in front of him burst into uncontrollable laughter, trying to hold it back, but to no avail.


    Gaisa touched his bald head and said with a hint of grievance, ¡°Don¡¯t judge by how I look now, I used to be quite handsome too!¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± the young man apologized repeatedly.


    The somber air was diluted by laughter, and the atmosphere of the conversation seemed more like two alumni encountering each other on the road and chatting casually.


    ¡°You wanted to see me?¡± the young man asked, ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. Just my own curiosity, I couldn¡¯t help wanting to meet the junior who gave me the runaround,¡± Gaisa chuckled, ¡°Ah, the younger generation surpassing the old, it¡¯s really something.¡±


    The young man nodded slightly, not picking up the conversation.


    ¡°Actually, I was also worried what if you are a malevolent star that¡¯d simply kill me? But I guess I¡¯ve lived long enough, not meeting face to face, even if I could live another thirty years, I wouldn¡¯t be content.¡±


    ¡°For now, it has ended, and enough blood has been spilled,¡± the young man spoke calmly, ¡°There¡¯s no need for bloodshed today.¡±


    ¡°But have you thought about what you¡¯ll do later on?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily, ¡°From your tone, it sounds like things have already been decided over at Revodan, huh?¡±


    The young man nodded slightly.


    Gaisa sighed, then asked with some curiosity, ¡°Your cavalry, it¡¯s commanded by Andreya Chelini, right?¡±


    The young man nodded again.


    ¡°Then who¡¯s commanding the forces of Revodan?¡±


    The young man smiled, offering no answer.


    ¡°Richard Mason, Gerard¡¯s Bard,¡± Gaisa chewed over the two names, shaking his head with a bitter smile, ¡°The younger generation is indeed formidable¡­ formidable!¡±


    The young man continued to smile.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m satisfied and I¡¯ll be going. Allow me a personal question,¡± Gaisa said, pointing to the young man¡¯s walking stick, ¡°What¡¯s with that? Injury to the leg?¡±


    Winters was stumped by a question for the first time in this conversation.


    He now could walk normally without the need for the walking stick, yet he still carried it with him, as if the good luck was still by his side.


    ¡°Thank you for the concern,¡± Winters nodded slightly, ¡°Just a minor injury.¡±


    ¡°From a horse?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve sustained a similar injury,¡± Colonel Gaisa sighed, ¡°It¡¯s bearable in the summer, but quite painful in winter. If it aches and tingles, soaking it in hot water can relieve a lot of the discomfort.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t speak; he slowly raised his hand in salute.


    Gaisa returned the salute, smiling as he said, ¡°If one day we stop fighting, come to Falconflower Fort and I¡¯ll treat you to a hot bath, it¡¯s quite comfortable.¡±


    Winters nodded with a smile.


    Gaisa waved his hands nonchalantly, ¡°Off I go!¡±


    The boat was pushed from the shore, drifting slowly towards the other bank.


    Winters watched this adversary, whom he had just met yet seemed like an old friend, until the figure on the boat grew too small to make out the face, then rode away.


    The riverbank returned to tranquility, the Anya River continued to flow quietly.


    ¡­


    Two days later, at Falconflower Fort.


    ¡°What? The military horse farm at South Hill Town was raided?¡± Gaisa Adonis slammed the table and stood up, the scar on his left cheek nearly turning purple as he yelled skywards, overwhelmed with rage, ¡°Dare to steal my horses?! Montagne lad! I¡¯ll never stand on the same ground as you!¡±

 Chapter 665 03-25 - 665 31 Adaptation

    ?Chapter 665: Chapter 31 Adaptation Chapter 665: Chapter 31 Adaptation Winters didn¡¯t head straight back to Revodan; instead, he made a brief stop on Tuo Song Street to regroup his troops.


    Andre and Bart Xialing, who were herding the horses, were the first to return.


    More than seven hundred Kai horses were divided into several herds, each led by an extremely energetic groom.


    Just by walking briskly, the herds could kick up clouds of dust, and when they ran, the sight was even more impressive, a magnificent spectacle to behold.


    ¡°Damn, we struck it rich!¡± That was the first thing Andre said when he met up with Winters.


    The former, with tears welling up in his eyes, grabbed the latter¡¯s shoulder, as if he was about to break down in tears.


    The spoils from the military horse farm in the southern hills far exceeded Winters and Andre¡¯s wildest imaginations.


    ...


    Mont Blanc County wasn¡¯t famous for its horses; it was the Thunder Group County further east that was known for producing fine steeds¡ªThunder Group, as in ¡°a thousand horses marching, their momentum like thunder.¡±


    So Winters didn¡¯t have high expectations to begin with.


    If he could get a hundred horses, he would be completely satisfied.


    If he managed to get two hundred, then it was time for a grand celebration.


    But Andre brought back more than seven hundred Kai horses in one go, plus several hundred foals of varying ages.


    The larger foals followed the mares while the smaller ones that weren¡¯t able to travel long distances were transported by wagon.


    It wasn¡¯t just horses; even the grooms were bound and brought over by Andre.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Without the grooms, Andre¡¯s people alone couldn¡¯t have handled such a large herd of horses.


    Thus, a curious sight unfolded across the Iron Peak County landscape: nervous grooms herding horses while Iron Peak County Cavalry watched over the grooms.


    Poor bald middle-aged man had saved diligently for years, only for others to reap the benefits overnight.


    ¡°Ugh, this is so boring! They¡¯re all mares.¡± Andre was extremely disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s such a waste to use them for war; there¡¯s not a single proper warhorse among them!¡±


    Look at that¡ªthe terrifying nature of human greed.


    Not long ago, Andre couldn¡¯t stop smiling about capturing three military horses.


    Now that he had taken more than a thousand horses in one go, he started to sigh and lament.


    Winters, on the other hand, didn¡¯t harbor any discontent; he was too busy being ecstatic about the windfall of over a thousand horses.


    But managing such a large herd also worried him: ¡°Winter is coming. We need to quickly prepare a place and forage for the herd to hibernate. Over a thousand horses, big and small¡­ we probably won¡¯t be able to take care of them all.¡±


    Andre remained as optimistic as ever: ¡°Let¡¯s just have Senior Mason take care of them.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini had always been one to ¡°ride, not tend.¡±


    ¡°Just having Senior Mason might not be enough,¡± Winters said with a knowing smile. ¡°Let¡¯s call Bard too.¡±


    Captain Montani was also of the ¡°ride, not tend¡± persuasion.


    And just like that, the burden was lightly pushed aside; the captain and the lieutenant were carefree and went merrily to see the foals.


    ¡­


    After waiting for a day on Tuo Song Street, Winters¡¯ centurions and soldiers gradually came to meet up with him.


    The troops that had been scattered were now reassembled into a whole again.


    The soldiers¡¯ bodies were extremely weary, but their fighting spirit was even stronger than when they had set out.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Winters asked his other centurion, Gail.


    ¡°Want to sleep.¡± The other replied honestly. ¡°Want to eat meat.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Back in Revodan, we¡¯ll slaughter pigs and sheep!¡±


    He had sent out twelve iron arrows and only nine had returned.


    Three arrows might come back, or they might be lost forever.


    Leaving behind some men on Tuo Song Street to remain on standby, Winters took one last long look towards Mont Blanc County, then set out once again.


    Instead of heading straight back to Revodan, Winters led his troops on a detour to Hammer Fort¡ªthe current location of Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry battalion, where they successfully rendezvoused with Mason, Juan, and Moritz.


    It wasn¡¯t because Winters wasn¡¯t in a hurry to return home¡ªhe was practically going crazy thinking about Anna.


    But the chaos after the battle was more troublesome than the fighting itself: injured needed treatment, the battlefield needed to be cleaned, seized materials had to be inventoried, and soldiers¡¯ merits urgently needed recognition.


    All of the above weren¡¯t considered major issues, because the military had its own procedures to deal with them.


    What troubled Winters most at the moment was nothing other than¡ªthe prisoners of war.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say thanks,¡± Lieutenant Tang Juan said, cockily resting his leg on a table. ¡°I didn¡¯t help you fight for your sake, so you don¡¯t have to bother with sending gifts to thank me. A few horses or some gold will do.¡±


    ¡°I really appreciate it, Senior,¡± Winters said, his expression complex.


    The original battle plan was to contain the enemy forces of Mont Blanc County and repel the enemy forces of Vernge County.


    Winters executed the containment mission in the east perfectly. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But in the west, Tang Juan had turned the engagement into a complete encirclement battle.


    Zibeer¡¯s forces were completely annihilated, with some soldiers dying, some escaping, and more than thirteen hundred being captured.


    There might still be a bit of defensive force left in Vernge County, but their field units had been thoroughly wiped out.


    Vernge County was now like an egg stripped of its shell, exposing its vulnerable insides.


    On the surface, Vernge County was completely at Winters¡¯ mercy.


    In reality, north of Vernge County lay the direct jurisdiction of Maplestone City¡ªthe heart of the legion.


    In other words, the road to Maplestone City was now open, and the heart of the legion lay bare to the edge of Winters¡¯ blades.


    And the last thing Winters wanted was to provoke the New Reclamation Legion.


    The New Reclamation Legion was a cumbersome, large, and bureaucratic machine, but once it felt its life was in danger, its retaliation would be swift and fierce.


    ¡°Well, that settles it! It¡¯s all been fought anyway.¡± Winters, now resigned to his problems, laughed and saluted Tang Juan and Moritz, ¡°Senior, Lieutenant Colonel, surrounding a thousand men and defeating two thousand, that was a beautifully fought battle!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Moritz silently sipped his drink.


    ¡°Like you don¡¯t know who commanded it,¡± Juan¡¯s expression was just as cold, but he couldn¡¯t hide the amusement in the corner of his eyes. ¡°That was quite satisfying. Even as a senior officer in Vineta, I would never have the chance to command forces of that scale.¡±

 Chapter 666 03-25 - 666 31 Adaptation_2

    ?Chapter 666: Chapter 31 Adaptation_2 Chapter 666: Chapter 31 Adaptation_2 ¡°If you stay, you can command as much as you want in the future.¡±


    Tang Juan snorted coldly, his handsome features revealing a trace of loneliness, ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for a message from your father. I can¡¯t bind you to stay, neither can the Lieutenant Colonel, let¡¯s see what the Brigadier General can do! Once the new orders come through, I still have to return to Vineta.¡±


    Speaking of home, Winters was filled with guilt; he couldn¡¯t face his family.


    He sighed and said to Senior Mason and Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, ¡°I need to write a letter to the Legion.¡±


    It was Winters himself who put pen to paper, painstakingly choosing his words and reading aloud as he wrote, while the others listened.


    The Legion had a claw chopped off in this battle, but Winters¡¯s tone was even more humble than last time.


    In the voice of a personal letter, he laid bare his heart to General Adams: from the moment he was assigned to Paratu, he had been filled with gratitude for the land, and he never entertained the idea of betraying Paratu.


    ...


    He expressed regret for the accidental harm done to friendly troops in the neighboring county; for the missing Vernge County officers, he was willing to assist in the search; and for the captured Vernge County weapons, he was also willing to return them.


    The letter ended with the signature, ¡°A loyal guardian of the Republic, W¡¤M.¡±


    In short, the letter was written with a plain style and sincere emotions, arguably Winters¡¯s best piece of writing since his school days.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of writing this thing?¡± Tang Juan was very impatient.


    ¡°It¡¯s to save face for General Adams. Of course, it would be even better if he could be fooled by this letter,¡± Winters replied with a smile, passing the draft paper behind him.


    Xial took the draft to copy it¡ªcurrently performing multiple duties for Winters as bodyguard, scribe, gendarme, and communications officer.


    Winters changed the subject, ¡°The Legion¡¯s Spellcaster assassin and Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s¡­ surprise attack have reminded us that we need to establish a ¡®security trench¡¯ to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã?


    ¡°Security trench?¡± Mason was particularly interested in this topic; Moritz¡¯s beheading strike was frightening enough to give him a lingering fear, ¡°How do we set that up?¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°First, commanders should never meet any messengers directly. The collection and dispatch of letters must go through an intermediary to eliminate chances for Spellcasters disguising as messengers to assassinate. And then¡­¡±


    ¡°And then, I haven¡¯t thought it through,¡± Winters said with a laugh, ¡°We need to brainstorm together and identify any shortcomings.¡±


    Mason thought for a moment then added, ¡°Officer uniforms, helmets, sashes, belts, tassels, and hems¡ªthese things are too conspicuous. Placed before you and the Lieutenant Colonel, they are practically live targets.¡±


    ¡°Without being a little conspicuous, how would officers command soldiers?¡± Andre retorted, ¡°Without being a little conspicuous, the grunts might think their officers have fled.¡±


    Winters had also considered this issue, ¡°The dress uniform and the one worn in battle should be completely different. The uniform doesn¡¯t need to be too flashy, but it should also allow soldiers to recognize who the officers are at a glance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a contradiction,¡± Mason spread his hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much. We can worry about what the uniforms should look like when we have the money to issue them to the troops,¡± Andre yawned and waved his hand dismissively, asking Winters, ¡°Are you really going to return the captured weapons?¡±


    Iron Peak County could only manufacture agricultural-grade weapons like spears about two meters long.


    With the prosperity of Steel Fortress¡¯ metal industry, Revodan¡¯s only weaponsmith, [Saosha], had long abandoned the art of sword forging, now relying on trading ready-made Steel Fortress sword blades.


    As for crafting armor and firearms, it was unthinkable.


    The Iron Peak County Military was entirely armed with captured weaponry and armor.


    So when Winters mentioned returning the captured materials, Andre was very sensitive.


    ¡°I would like to return them,¡± Winters said nonchalantly, ¡°If they dare to claim them, then they¡¯ll have them.¡±


    The others started laughing.


    Winters¡¯s smile faded, ¡°There¡¯s another matter, I think the time has come.¡±


    ¡°That matter again?¡± Tang Juan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Winters looked around at the other officers and announced word by word, ¡°It¡¯s time to reorganize the army. Now is the right time.¡±


    ¡°Reorganize the army right after a battle?¡± Andre disagreed, ¡°That seems too hasty.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s precisely because we have just won a battle that it¡¯s a good time,¡± Winters said resolutely, ¡°Reorganizing after several more battles would be worse. Right now, our military is a blank slate, but we already have the semblance of an army. The timing couldn¡¯t be better!¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The organization of the Iron Peak County Military was in complete disarray, which troubled Winters greatly.


    To reduce internal resistance, Winters had taken on the role of garrison commander and operated under the guise of the garrison to this day.


    Theoretically, all units were under the jurisdiction of the garrison, but in reality, the garrison had no power; it was just a shell, and the soldiers listened to their own leaders.


    The cavalry was commanded by Andre, the infantry took orders directly from Winters, and Mason had a small troop of engineers doubling as artillerymen.


    Moreover, the organization of the different units varied greatly.


    Among the infantry, there were old units like Bard, Chelini, and Mason¡¯s hundred-man teams that used the old structure but were the strongest in battle.


    There were also units like the Iron Peak County Infantry, which used a new configuration but had less impressive combat capabilities.


    The cavalry and artillery were entirely Andre¡¯s and Mason¡¯s private forces, with no set organization; the number of men depended entirely on the whims of their commanders.


    The logistics were even more chaotic¡ªdown the ranks, they demanded as needed, and higher up, they distributed as long as supplies were available. Everything depended on virtue and integrity to keep going, with a severe lack of institutional constraints.


    Winters had discussed this issue more than once with others.


    Winters had also pointed out on more than one occasion, with heated words: The reason this chaos could persist was solely because the military was too small. If it continued to grow, they would suffer the consequences inevitably.

 Chapter 667 03-25 - 667 31 Adaptation_3

    ?Chapter 667: Chapter 31 Adaptation_3 Chapter 667: Chapter 31 Adaptation_3 There were a total of six officers who could participate in the decision-making: Tang Juan and Moritz did not express their positions, while Bard, Andre, and Mason were successfully persuaded by Winters.


    The matter of reorganizing the army was already on the agenda, yet the New Reclamation Legion did not provide the opportunity.


    No sooner had Winters drafted the reorganization plan than the forces of Mont Blanc County and Vernge County came bearing down with great momentum.


    ¡°The crisis has been temporarily averted,¡± Winters said with an intense gaze, ¡°but the legions will inevitably come again. If we are to reorganize the army, now is the time!¡±


    The atmosphere grew somewhat tense.


    ¡°When have I not supported you,¡± Andre slapped his thigh, ¡°then let¡¯s reform!¡±


    Mason also nodded, ¡°The current situation is unacceptable; the organization indeed needs to be sorted out. Without clarifying the structure, we will always be the rebels.¡±


    ...


    Lieutenant Tang Juan and Colonel Moritz exchanged glances.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to consider the colonel¡¯s and my opinions,¡± Juan shrugged, ¡°you are Paratu officers; we are not.¡±


    And so, Xial silently wrote in the meeting minutes, ¡°Lieutenant Bard absent, A and B abstained, the remaining three unanimously pass the resolution.¡±


    ¡°A small boat turns easily; there are advantages to having a smaller troop size,¡± Winters pulled out a thick stack of draft papers, excitedly saying, ¡°I propose to restore the legion¡¯s structure!¡±


    Lieutenant Tang Juan nearly choked on his saliva, ¡°Are you trying to be on the same level as your father?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Winters reddened and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a legion commander.¡±


    ¡°Stop being so modest,¡± Andre slapped his thigh again, ¡°the decision is yours; you should be the commander.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã?


    Winters¡¯s face grew even redder, shaking his head again and again, ¡°The legion is only a nominal organization, not set up to truly establish a legion. It¡¯s impossible for the artillery and cavalry to fall under the command system of the infantry corps, so we need a higher-level legion organization.¡±


    ¡°So, leave the position vacant?¡±


    ¡°Just leave it vacant.¡±


    Winters distributed papers with the reorganization content to the others, ¡°Above the legion, there should be formed an officers¡¯ council, responsible for coordinating all military administration and command, just like the current council of six.¡±


    Unofficially, the council of six, which was not documented, changed its signboard to become a formal military council, without any objections.


    If viewed from an organizational standpoint, the members of the military council would have a higher rank than that of a legion commander.


    Only Moritz quietly spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t assign honorary titles to Juan and me; we are still officers of Vineta.¡±


    ¡°Then we continue to call you Mr. A, Mr. B,¡± Winters said nonchalantly.


    Moritz sighed and did not speak.


    ¡°The cavalry and artillery don¡¯t need much reorganization,¡± Winters looked at Andre and Mason, ¡°they only need to have their personnel and equipment standards set and their bylaws written; you two are responsible for writing the regulations.¡±


    Andre grimaced, struck by an idea, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Bard to write it! Wouldn¡¯t that solve it?¡±


    Mason also smiled bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t even have a single cannon in my hands; what personnel should I set?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a legion either, but we¡¯ve also set up a legion structure,¡± Winters comforted Senior Mason, ¡°set the structure first; the cannons will come sooner or later.¡±


    Senior Mason sighed and absentmindedly sketched the lines of cannons on a piece of scrap paper.


    ¡°The infantry really needs a major overhaul,¡± Winters¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°the army will sooner or later fight a proper and hard battle, the existing organization is simply not enough for a true battle, it must change!¡±


    In Winters¡¯s reorganization plan, ¡°regiments¡± as recruitment units would still be tied to regions and retained.


    For ease of troop replenishment and logistics management, hundred-man units would nominally remain directly under the regiment.


    However, from a tactical perspective, hundred-man units should be formed into ¡°battalions¡± for combat.


    The size of a ¡°battalion¡± would be close to that of the current large unit, but slightly different.


    ¡°The minimum standard for a battalion should be its ability to form a square formation independently for combat,¡± Winters¡¯s eyes sparkled when discussing infantry tactics, ¡°A thousand or even three thousand men in a big square formation is too cumbersome. The Paratu Standing Army generally uses five hundred men in small square formations in combat on the plains, which is very effective.¡±


    Tang Juan became interested, ¡°What happens when a five hundred man small square formation encounters cavalry? Can it withstand the charge?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters unconsciously leaned toward Juan, recounting his combat experience on the plains, ¡°a five hundred man small square formation can still prevent Hurd Cavalry from breaking through. And with smaller squares, the musketeers can really demonstrate their firepower. Especially the area between two squares, it¡¯s practically a killing field¡­¡±


    Among the officers present, only Juan and Winters were infantry officers. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When it came to discussing infantry tactics, the two could talk all day sitting on stones.


    The others had less interest in infantry, with Senior Mason idly drawing cannons, Colonel Moritz quietly dozing off, and even Andre struggling to stay awake.


    In contrast, Winters and Tang Juan were so engrossed in their conversation they nearly had their faces touching across the table.


    Caught up in the excitement, Winters grabbed scrap paper to draw maps and used chess pieces to represent the two armies, explaining and strategizing for his senior.


    Tang Juan too was thoroughly engrossed, at times marveling, at times emoting, and at times sighing with regret.


    ¡°You two find time to discuss this on your own some day!¡± Andre burst out in anger, slamming the table, ¡°Let¡¯s finish the important matters first!¡±


    Winters and Juan both glared at Andre, which made him feel somewhat guilty.


    Andre said softly, ¡°I¡¯m so hungry, let¡¯s wrap up this meeting and go have dinner.¡±


    Tang Juan glanced at Andre and let out a light snort with a slight shake of his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m expanding the hundred-man unit to 120 men; if a ¡®large unit¡¯ is still made up of six hundred-man units, it would no longer be appropriate,¡± Winters returned to the subject, ¡°So we will use the battalion structure, with four hundred-man units in each battalion, totaling 480 men.¡±

 Chapter 668 03-25 - 668 31 Adaptation_4

    ?Chapter 668: Chapter 31 Adaptation_4 Chapter 668: Chapter 31 Adaptation_4 ¡°`


    ¡°Only four squads? Then how should we deploy sword and shield troops, musketeers, and spearmen?¡± Juan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°We won¡¯t have sword and shield troops; each battalion will consist of one squad of musketeers and three squads of spearmen,¡± Winters explained. ¡°Sword and shield troops are too difficult to train and require high-quality equipment. Colonel John Jeska simply did without them, and the results were very good.¡±


    ¡°Musketeers and spearmen, a ratio of one to three?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough musketeers,¡± Winters sighed deeply, then smiled. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d like to raise it to one to one, with each battalion comprising two squads of musketeers and two squads of spearmen.¡±


    Doubtful, Tang Juan asked, ¡°Half of the troops as musketeers? What about melee combat?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯s smile grew wider, and he took a piece of white paper, drawing on it while explaining to Juan, ¡°If the musketeers employ rotating firing tactics, they can significantly weaken the enemy before getting to melee combat. Even in close quarters, we can intersperse musketeers among the spearmen like this¡­¡±


    Juan leaned in eagerly to take a look.


    ...


    ¡°Can¡¯t you two ever finish?!¡± Andre, unable to stand it any longer, slammed the table and asked.


    ¡°Alright, alright, back to the main topic,¡± Winters placated Andre, gently patting Senior Juan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you later when we have time.¡±


    ¡°You have my word,¡± Juan said regretfully.


    Winters continued explaining the reorganization, ¡°Simply put, I want to establish the [battalion] as a tactical unit. Each battalion will have four centurion-led squads. Everything else remains the same.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t a battalion just a large squad?¡± Andre was confused.


    ¡°No, the numbers are the same, but it¡¯s a bit different,¡± Winters explained. ¡°A battalion has more officers, but commands fewer troops.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    ¡°Then let¡¯s just get rid of those century and large squad designations from the Ancient Empire,¡± Andre suggested delightedly. ¡°Let¡¯s go with [company] instead. And no more centurion or large squad leader. Just call them company captain and battalion commander.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t centurion sound quite nice?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    Andre scoffed, ¡°Those who don¡¯t even know which way the gates to the Land Academy open dare call themselves centurions? It makes me so angry I could die. Those individuals don¡¯t deserve the title of centurion yet. Just call them company captain, that¡¯s fine!¡±


    Regiments and companies were the organizational names of the mercenary forces of Vineta.


    When Marshal Ned implemented military reforms, he deliberately used the designations of [century], [large squad], and [legion] from the Ancient Empire to differentiate from mercenary units.


    Andre insisted particularly on this matter, and Winters also began to feel that a complete overhaul was in order.


    So he crossed out [centurion] from his draft and wrote down [company captain].


    Winters gathered the papers and concluded gravely, ¡°After all the changes, they don¡¯t really matter. What truly matters is that ¨C I want to say it at the end ¨C [the Military Resolution Council possesses all military powers].¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Andre replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°What I mean is, even if one day, the Military Resolution Council passes a resolution against my wishes, or yours,¡± Winters stared at Andre. ¡°We must still comply. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Do we need to talk about this?¡± Andreya Chelini answered resolutely, ¡°I will always support you.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t the answer Winters was looking for, but he had no reason to be dissatisfied.


    ¡°There¡¯s still something that must change,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°Though, there shouldn¡¯t be much resistance, since our army is still a blank slate, not yet tarnished by those so-called traditions.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tang Juan was puzzled.


    ¡°Enforcing discipline and making confiscations public property.¡±


    Tang Juan shook his head, ¡°It could be difficult, or not difficult at all. It depends on your ability.¡±


    ¡°Senior Mason?¡± Winters called out gently.


    Lost in the world of his doodling, Mason was suddenly brought back to reality.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Mason instinctively covered the drawings of the artillery on the paper. ¡°Is the meeting over?¡±


    ¡°I would like you to return to Revodan ahead of time,¡± Winters said. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the main forces and follow soon after.¡±


    Mason¡¯s eyebrows rose, ¡°Return early? Is something going on?¡±


    ¡°Two things,¡± Winters tapped the table. ¡°After you get back, I want you to construct a gallows in the town square, the kind that can hang a lot of people.¡±


    The other four seated at the table were slightly surprised, even Moritz woke up and looked at Winters, puzzled.


    ¡°A public trial hasn¡¯t been held yet, has it?¡± Winters leaned back, ¡°Let¡¯s accumulate them and settle the total account.¡±


    Moritz blinked and nodded slightly.


    ¡°And the other matter?¡± Mason looked into Winters¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°The other is a piece of good news,¡± Winters laughed. ¡°I would like you to prepare for a triumphal return.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 669 03-25 - 669 32 Trial

    ?Chapter 669: Chapter 32: Trial Chapter 669: Chapter 32: Trial The trumpets sounded the melody of victory, cheers deafening as everyone vied to catch a glimpse of the hero¡¯s noble visage.


    Over fifteen hundred years ago, a grand triumphal procession was taking place in a majestic city on the plains downstream of the Bythos River.


    A triumph, by definition, celebrates someone¡¯s victorious return. And those who could hold a great triumph were known as triumphators.


    The triumph started with a parade, shackled, ragged men and women at the front, in a column so long it seemed endless.


    They were captives, the defeated, the spoils of the victor; some of them were destined for execution while the rest would be sold into slavery.


    The captives looked upon the cheering crowds on both sides of the road with hatred and fear.


    Carts laden with captured weapons, armor, heretic idols, and gold and silver treasures followed the captives.


    ...


    These spoils were also a testament to the triumphant hero¡¯s great deeds.


    Flag bearers holding up paintings, sculptures, and placards came third, proudly recounting the great battles and the triumphator¡¯s glorious victories.


    Members of the senate, dressed in red-bordered white togas, adorned with gold and iron rings, and donning purple sashes, formed the fourth part of the grand procession.


    Even the most powerful senators had to walk on foot at this time, paying their highest respects to the triumphator.


    For in the triumphal ceremony, the triumphator ranked just below the gods, above all others.


    The climax of the great triumph was fast approaching, with the triumphator soon to make his appearance. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    People trembled with excitement, everyone engulfed in an almost frenzied, enraptured celebratory atmosphere.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    At last, lictors clothed in crimson-robed regalia entered the Eternal City, heads held high.


    They wore crowns of laurel leaves, symbols of a victor¡¯s high honor.


    They were the loyal followers of the triumphator, clearing the way before him.


    Everyone involuntarily held their breath, and the noisy square became eerily silent as they awaited the triumphator¡¯s arrival.


    The silence was but a brief moment, shattered immediately by the thundering sound of rolling wheels.


    Four pure white warhorses with not a single blemish pulled a dazzling chariot into the square.


    A man stood upon the chariot, holding the laurel branch symbolizing victory in his left hand, and the eagle-tipped scepter denoting power in his right hand.


    Cheers rose like a tsunami, frenetic shouts bursting forth from every chest.


    The shouts reached the clouds and ascended to heaven, surely awakening even the gods on their high mountain.


    But the triumphator wore no expression.


    He was clothed in a pure purple embroidered robe, each pattern stitched with golden threads, dazzling to the eyes.


    That was the attire of a king, which he could wear only on this day in his life.


    His face was painted red, and the crown of Jupiter, the chief god, rested on his head.


    That was the crown of a god, which he could wear only on this day in his life.


    In this sacred celebration held just for him, he was granted both divinity and kingship.


    At this moment, the triumphator became the king of the Republic, standing shoulder to shoulder with the gods.


    His grand and glorious triumph would be recorded in the ¡°Book of Victories,¡± and as long as the Eternal City endured, his fame would be everlasting.


    And the title of [triumphator] would ultimately become a more revered one than that of king¡ªemperor.


    At his moment of triumph, a slave whispered in his ear, ¡°Remember! Remember! You are but a mortal, and mortals¡ªmust one day die.¡±


    More than fifteen hundred years after that brilliant triumph, in a place far south of the Eternal City, a town named Revodan was preparing for its own triumph.


    The leading figure, naturally, was Winters Montaigne, the returning victor.


    According to custom, a feast should have been held for the whole city. But Winters, known for his frugality, opted not to do so.


    Another tradition required the distribution of gifts to all the city¡¯s inhabitants. But Winters had no money, so that too was forgone.


    In any case, Winters did away with all ostentatious preparations.


    But as Winters rode his horse with head held high into Revodan, his emotions were in line with those of the great triumphators of history.


    The last time he entered Revodan, citizens greeted him to his face, yet no one believed he could last long in the city.


    This time, he entered the city a conqueror, having soundly defeated the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s punitive forces, leaving no one to doubt him.


    And this was precisely what Winters wanted.


    He wished to declare his victory, to tell everyone that the storm had not broken him, but had made his roots grow deeper instead.


    If previously there had been suspicions of theft in Winters¡¯s allocation of the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s land,


    then through this battle, the ownership of Iron Peak County had transferred to his name through conquest, at his disposal to divide and distribute.


    Winters, Andre, Tang Juan, Mason, and all the officers and soldiers were reveling in this moment.


    They were victors entitled to their acclaim.


    Not only did the soldiers enjoy their victory, but they were overwhelmed by ¡°victory.¡±


    The people of Revodan were struck even more deeply than the soldiers.


    Even in the Ancient Empire, which reveled in conquest and celebration, a citizen might never see a triumph in their lifetime, let alone for those living in the far-flung frontier of Revodan today.


    The endless line of captives, carts filled with captured arms, exquisite seized military banners, and the awe-inspiring cavalry¡ªall these firmly held the gaze of the people of Revodan.


    Every single thing in the procession told them¡ª¡±Victory! Beyond a doubt.¡±


    Excitement is infectious. When caught in the whirlwind of fervor, it becomes extremely difficult to remain rational.

 Chapter 670 03-25 - 670 32 Judgment_2

    ?Chapter 670: Chapter 32 Judgment_2 Chapter 670: Chapter 32 Judgment_2 Some Revodanians couldn¡¯t help but cheer, and the cheerers were the poorest citizens.


    Even for the mere millstone tax, they longed for Blood Wolf¡¯s victory.


    Gradually, everyone started to cheer and shout, and Revodan instantly turned into a boiling ocean.


    Anna, Catherine, and Scarlett were also among the crowd.


    Revodan had conservative customs, so the three ladies wore large hats, covering their features with thin veils.


    Even so, Winters spotted Anna immediately among the vast sea of people.


    Their eyes met, and Anna smiled restrainedly, bowing slightly to Winters.


    ...


    Winters yearned to push through the crowd, forcefully kiss Anna, then lift her up amidst her screams and take her away on his horse.


    He also restrained himself and simply winked at Anna.


    The scenes to come wouldn¡¯t be pleasant, and he didn¡¯t really want Anna to witness them.


    ¡°But sooner or later, you¡¯ll have to see my true face,¡± Winters thought sadly, fearful of disappointing, frightening, or even disgusting her; he looked down at his clean hands: ¡°Sooner or later.¡±


    And so, Winters rode his horse far away.


    Anna¡¯s brow furrowed slightly; she detected a subtle change in her lover¡¯s emotions but didn¡¯t understand why.


    Catherine, on the other hand, was completely carried away by the atmosphere of the streets and became exuberant.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Extremely excited, Catherine suddenly embraced her nemesis, Scarlett, as if intending to dance with her.


    This panicked Scarlett, who became both angry and alarmed, disregarding all politeness.


    ¡°Fox eyes!¡± Scarlett struggled to push Catherine away: ¡°What are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Parade! Triumph! Celebration!¡± Catherine laughed happily: ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a celebration! Wild girl!¡±


    The parade continued to the city square, and the people of Revodan also gathered there.


    Soldiers stood in tidy rows, captives were corralled into a small corner, some citizens stood in pairs or groups at the back, while others desperately pushed forward¡ªturning the square instantly crowded.


    Only then did many Revodanians realize: apart from the triumphal ceremony, the new garrison had also prepared an execution stage.


    There was no grand banquet for the whole city, so the ceremony concluded with the presentation of captives and flags. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, Andre, and Mason stepped onto the platform, and the soldiers threw the captured flags one after another in front of the platform.


    The enemy¡¯s revered banners thus fell into the dust, each flag representing at least a hundred-strong unit annihilated.


    With each flag thrown down, the soldiers would shout in unison, each shout louder than the last, splitting the clouds, piercing the sky.


    Following that, the captives were brought forth.


    Traditionally, the higher the status of the captives presented, the better. At least one must be executed to spare the others.


    Winters hadn¡¯t brought the four remaining officers from Vernge County for public humiliation, so the presentation of captives was kept brief, their lives spared, and then they were taken away.


    After the presentation of captives and flags, the mood in the square remained highly elevated.


    Winters signaled to Xial to proceed to the next phase.


    Xial nodded and left quickly.


    Soon after, Xial and Heinrich arrived with a team of prisoners¡ªit was time for an immediate public trial.


    Yet most people were not afraid but even more excited.


    Many Revodanians, although living in the city, had it harder than farmers.


    They didn¡¯t have Revodanian civic rights, having come to the city for work only because they had no land.


    Life was tiring and dull, and watching executions was a rare form of entertainment.


    Whenever an execution took place, even without distinguished gentlemen leading, the square would become as lively as a market.


    Men, women, the elderly, and children would all don their best clothes to watch the execution.


    Ladies, by custom, had to show compassion, so they would watch through the gaps between their covered eyes.


    Not to mention that this time, the city council members exerted great effort to collaborate with Winters.


    Just as an even more thrilling part was about to begin, the Revodanians, excited, suddenly noticed something unusual.


    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that my neighbor?¡± someone shouted: ¡°Bubble eyes?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ the one on the far left! Seems to be my neighbor too!¡± another person shouted.


    Twenty prisoners were brought onto the execution stage, with at least nearly a hundred more below.


    The Revodanians in the square tried hard to recognize them and realized that these hundreds of prisoners were all Revodanians.


    There were idle ruffians who lived by no trade, as well as those who resided in slums, scraping by with petty theft and odd jobs.


    The crowd was abuzz with discussion, some perplexed, some saying ¡°they deserved it,¡± and others loudly complaining.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Following three cannon shots in a row, the crowd suddenly fell silent.


    By the execution stage, a man with a red birthmark on his face kicked the still-smoking wooden artillery and gestured to his men to take it away.


    ¡°Half a month ago, there was a riot in Revodan,¡± Winters announced as he stepped on the platform, gazing into the dense crowd.


    To speak one against thousands, only Winters could do it, and only he was fearless of it.


    The square was vast, and echoes caused severe interference.


    To ensure everyone could hear him clearly, Winters elongated the intervals between his words: ¡°These people had robbed, committed arson, or even murder during that riot, and the evidence against them was conclusive.


    They all wore red ropes on their shoulders, so many believed it was my warriors committing robbery and murder. Therefore, today, they will be tried by military law.¡±


    Winters¡¯s voice was loud and steady, calm yet imbued with authority and strength, clearly audible to everyone.

 Chapter 671 03-25 - 671 32 Judgment_3

    ?Chapter 671: Chapter 32 Judgment_3 Chapter 671: Chapter 32 Judgment_3 The square was silent, many among them victims of the riots.


    On the day Tang Juan led his troops to attack the city, refugees outside the city joined with the ruffians inside to create chaos, plundering many shops, setting ablaze houses, and even Revodan Cathedral was first looted and then set on fire.


    This was why Colonel Moritz insisted on staying in Revodan to quell the violence.


    Winters continued to proclaim to those on the square, ¡°According to the military law of the Republic of Palatu, the military commander has full jurisdiction and authority to judge and decide.


    As the highest military commander of this county, I¡ªWinters Montaigne, Captain of the Republic of Palatu Army, member of the Military Decision Council, make the following judgment.¡±


    ¡°Those who have injured or stolen, flogging and labor to atone for their crimes! Murderers, hang!¡± Winters swept over the square, ¡°Execute them immediately! Gendarmerie! Take them to the gallows!¡±


    Cries of alarm rose from the square; the people of Revodan were mentally prepared, but they had not expected such violent measures.


    ...


    By the City Hall, adjacent to the square, Catherine also gasped softly and instinctively looked towards her sister.


    Anna bit her rosy lips, her expression grave.


    ¡°Justice and judgment.¡± Catherine grasped her sister¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t count as murder.¡±


    Scarlett nodded her head repeatedly by their side.


    ¡°I know, how could I not know?¡± Anna also held her sister¡¯s hand tightly, sadly saying, ¡°I just pity him¡­ his nature is not like this.¡±


    Sentenced to death in a single utterance, some prisoners fainted on the spot, while others lost control of their bladder and bowels and knelt to beg for mercy.


    And there were prisoners who protested loudly, ¡°Sir! I¡¯m not a soldier! Really not!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°We¡¯re not soldiers! We shouldn¡¯t be subject to military law!¡± Immediately, prisoners with quicker wits followed in pleading, ¡°Sir! Let Revodan Court judge us! Please!¡±


    Winters strode over to the prisoners and used an amplification spell to enhance the vibration of the air nearby, thereby magnifying the prisoners¡¯ voices.


    ¡°You are not a soldier?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Not, sir, really not,¡± the prisoner begged with tears and snot.


    ¡°Then why is a red ribbon tied around your shoulder?¡±


    The prisoner, caught red-handed for arson, robbery, and rape, bobbed his adam¡¯s apple but didn¡¯t dare to answer.


    Without Winters¡¯s signal, Heinrich elbowed the prisoner¡¯s chin with force.


    The prisoner¡¯s molars were loosened by the blow, and blood and saliva sprayed from his mouth as he confessed through a flood of snot and tears, ¡°That day¡­ seeing your army all wearing red ribbons¡­ so I also tied one on¡­¡±


    The prisoner¡¯s words were clearly heard by everyone in the square.


    There was a wooden plaque hanging on the prisoner, inscribed with his crimes, so Winters could tell at a glance what sort of scum he was dealing with.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a soldier?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Not! Begging your mercy!¡±


    ¡°I can hand you over to Revodan Court, but you answer whatever I ask you.¡±


    The prisoner nodded desperately.


    ¡°Robbery.¡± Winters asked with a stern face, ¡°Do you admit your guilt?¡±


    The prisoner said nothing.


    Heinrich immediately dragged the prisoner towards the noose.


    ¡°I admit!¡± the prisoner shouted, ¡°I admit!¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Arson, do you admit your guilt?¡±


    The prisoner¡¯s defenses completely collapsed, ¡°Guilty!¡±


    ¡°Rape.¡±


    ¡°Guilty! It was all me!¡± the prisoner cried out sobbing.


    The people in the square were utterly furious; arson and rape were top-tier serious crimes, and death was not as quick as hanging.


    Yet seeing the profoundly evil criminals temporarily cling to life, the citizens felt a choke in their hearts.


    Winters didn¡¯t waste words; he directly ordered all the prisoners, ¡°Those among you who are not soldiers and who admit their guilt, step forward! If you¡¯re not a soldier, you will be handed over to Revodan Court for judgment.¡±


    The prisoners stepped forward in unison, some even taking two or three steps.


    ¡°Good! You will be handed over to Revodan Court for trial!¡±


    The prisoners breathed a sigh of relief en masse, some in a mix of grief and joy collapsed to the ground, their bodies limp.


    ¡°Gendarmerie!¡± Winters commanded, ¡°Please bring up the judges from Revodan.¡±


    Iron Peak County, located on the border of the Republic of Palatu, commonly used customary law. Few written laws existed, most of which related to taxation.


    Therefore, Revodan¡¯s judges were elected by the citizens with municipal rights, with elections every four years, three judges chosen at a time.


    The minor criminal and civil cases outside Revodan were adjudicated by the town mayors and Garrison Officers.


    An emaciated elderly man over sixty trembled as he walked onto the execution platform.


    The old man was dressed meticulously, which showed that he was well-to-do¡ªotherwise, he would not have been elected as a judge.


    ¡°Mr. Haifitz,¡± Winters asked directly, ¡°are you one of the three current judges of Revodan?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the old man answered with a stiff upper lip.


    ¡°Their cases are for you to adjudicate.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Judge Haifitz was also somewhat troubled, ¡°Revodan Court is very small; afraid it will take¡­ take a long time to try.¡±


    ¡°No trouble is needed.¡± Winters narrowed his eyes, ¡°Impersonating a soldier to commit a crime, how should one be judged according to customary law?¡±


    Judge Haifitz was taken aback, he hesitantly replied, ¡°Should be judged by the garrison of the county.¡±


    ¡°Loudly, please.¡±


    The old judge cleared his throat, ¡°Impersonating a soldier to commit a crime! To be judged by the garrison of the county!¡±


    The old judge¡¯s voice reached every corner of the square.


    The criminals on the platform thought they had been saved, but in the blink of an eye, they plummeted back into the abyss.


    ¡°According to military law,¡± Winters scanned the criminals coldly, ¡°those who have committed assault to be flogged and put to labor! Those who have committed murder and arson, to be beheaded! Execute them now!¡±


    The square was first quiet, then suddenly erupted into cheers.


    Several tree stumps were brought onto the gallows, instantly transformed into an execution block for beheading.

 Chapter 672 03-25 - 672 32 Judgment_4

    ?Chapter 672: Chapter 32 Judgment_4 Chapter 672: Chapter 32 Judgment_4 The condemned could no longer hope to be granted the gallows and have a body left intact; those sentenced to flogging and labor could not help but feel relieved, fortunate that they hadn¡¯t committed capital offenses.


    The weeping convicts were forcibly dragged to the stump.


    The man with the red birthmark received the order and lit the fuse.


    With the blast of the cannon, the heads of the prisoners on the platform were separated from their bodies, and then the next batch was dragged up.


    ¡°I want to make a final confession! Have mercy, my lord!¡± one of the condemned wailed desperately, ¡°I want to see a priest! Bring me a priest!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Winters ordered coldly, signaling to fire the cannon, ¡°Confess in hell!¡±


    Another blast, and four more criminals were beheaded. Their bodies were dragged away, and the next batch of prisoners was brought forward.


    ...


    On the execution platform, blood flowed everywhere. The thick blood dripped down through the gaps in the wooden planks, forming lines as it fell to the ground.


    The people of Revodan Square felt their mouths dry, their limbs cold. They were both exhilarated and terrified.


    Where had they seen such a rolling of heads before?


    Usually, one hanging would be talked about for half a year, yet now there were already twelve heads severed on the execution platform, and more convicts were being dragged up.


    In the army¡¯s square formation, the soldiers watched in silence¡ªWinters was executing not just for the public to see, but for his warriors as well.


    On the second floor of the city hall, Catherine, who had just been comforting Anna, had fainted.


    Anna and Scarlett held Catherine, exchanging wry smiles, their faces ashen.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    In the square above, old Priskin was in utter despair¡ªhe had still underestimated the Blood Wolf¡¯s savagery.


    Old Priskin¡¯s eldest son had died at a young age, leaving behind only one son, and his younger son was not up to the task.


    Thus, old Priskin had placed his hopes on his eldest grandson, never expecting the boy to be even more trouble-prone than his younger son.


    The blacksmith, Sasha, supported old Priskin and unexpectedly found that the old man was trembling and felt so light.


    The first batch of prisoners had their heads chopped off if they were to be beheaded, and were flogged if that was their sentence.


    Winters nodded, and the second batch of prisoners was brought up.


    The citizens of Revodan did not recognize the second batch of prisoners, but the soldiers in the square were shocked because they knew these men.


    The second batch of prisoners were deserters, cowards, and soldiers who robbed and raped during the campaign.


    If the first batch of prisoners had been disposed of at Winters¡¯ whim.


    Then their handling of the second batch was a true ¡°public trial.¡±


    Winters, Mason, Judge Haifitz, and a soldier representative formed a temporary tribunal.


    The accused soldiers were allowed to defend themselves, present evidence, just like in a normal trial.


    Killing a few serious offenders was just the appetizer.


    Extending the military court to the ranks of soldiers was the real reason behind Winters¡¯ ¡°public trial¡± in full view of everyone.


    The Military Code was nothing new, but only officers were eligible to be tried by a military tribunal.


    Soldiers did not have the right to a military tribunal; the fate of a soldier who disobeyed orders and committed crimes was entirely up to the commanding officer.


    In times of war, a Centurion could execute a soldier directly; in peacetime, a senior officer could execute a soldier directly.


    There was no trial, no laws to follow, with leniency or severity entirely at the commanding officer¡¯s discretion.


    For Winters to enforce military discipline, there first had to be military law.


    Without proper military law, there could be no real military discipline.


    If they continued to use the customary military laws of old Parlatu Army¡ªwhich many were inherited from the nomadic era¡ªthere would never be a new army.


    Without real military law, no matter how hard Winters tried, what he could achieve was at best a slightly better version of the old army.


    So, the first codified Military Code in the history of the continent was born under the hand of Winters Montagne.


    The most eloquent Bard was not present, and the officers there lacked literary talent.


    Hence, Winters named it simply the ¡°Military Code,¡± while Tang Juan secretly called it the ¡°Montaigne Military Law.¡±


    This fledgling military law strictly defined the boundaries between law enforcement and judicial powers:


    The military police had the authority to enforce the law, and they could arrest soldiers and officers;


    But trials and prosecutions had to be handed over to military tribunals;


    The commanding officer of each battalion also served as the presiding judge of the military tribunal, with other members drawn from various ranks of the army, including at least one soldier;


    Battalion-level military tribunals were responsible for trying misdemeanors, while serious crimes were to be tried by higher-level corps tribunals;


    Only in very few circumstances were commanding officers allowed to execute soldiers without a trial¡ªfor example, cowardice in the face of the enemy or desertion.


    The commanding officers of each company had to read the ¡°Military Discipline¡± to the soldiers at least once a month, and the ¡°Military Discipline¡± roll was the martial discipline closer to the soldiers and also Winters¡¯ original intention.


    In summary: all booty was to be communal; mild punishment for minor offenses; severe punishment for serious crimes such as theft, cowardice, robbery, rape; and others.


    Winters pondered long over the issue of looting after battles. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Most of the time, soldiers robbed because if they didn¡¯t, they wouldn¡¯t survive¡ªthe rations were insufficient, and military pay was chronically in arrears.


    If they didn¡¯t rob, the soldiers would starve. What started as necessity turned into habit.


    And many generals were happy to see such things happen, as soldiers looting relieved the pressure of supplying them.


    However, after discussions with Tang Juan and Mason, Winters unanimously agreed that it was better to abandon this ¡°tradition¡± sooner rather than later.


    The ¡°Penalties¡± section strictly defined the range of mild and severe penalties: anything less than flogging was considered mild, including the most common additional physical labor; there was only one severe penalty¡ªhanging.

 Chapter 673 03-25 - 673 32 Judgment_5

    ?Chapter 673: Chapter 32 Judgment_5 Chapter 673: Chapter 32 Judgment_5 Winters abolished corporal punishments, because he believed preserving the labor abilities of the criminals was better than rendering them disabled.


    And at that moment, on Revodan Square, the public trial was the first implementation of the Military Code.


    One by one, soldiers who had looted amidst chaos confessed and faced the law. Their granted lands were taken away, and they were sentenced to death.


    However, since there had been no written military law explicitly stating ¡°looting equals death penalty¡± during the chaos of the battle at Hammer Fort,


    Their sentences were reduced by one degree, to the loss of granted lands and five years of hard labor.


    Most deserters did not plead guilty, insisting they were not soldiers; but when soldiers from their same unit testified, their sophistry became meaningless.


    Deserters had no room for a reduced sentence: they were hanged.


    This was the first efficacy of the Military Code that Winters had to witness, heart heavy with reluctance, yet he still gave the hanging orders with no expression on his face.


    ...


    One by one, the deserters were pushed to the edge of the execution platform.


    Winters watched as their bodies fell naturally, only to be violently snapped by the noose.


    Their necks could not withstand such force and were instantly broken. Consciousness extinguished, leaving nothing but corpses gently swaying on the rope.


    Within Winters¡¯ knowledge, these were the first bodies of deserters executed after a trial in history.


    From the outcome¡¯s perspective, it was simply a death. But from the process, these deaths might bear extraordinary significance.


    Winters sighed deeply in his heart and faced his soldiers, reading the Military Code to them for the first time. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The soldiers listened intently, not needing to understand fully as they would hear it recited again and again in the future.


    They only needed to know that this harsh yet fair code held inviolable efficacy¡ªas evidenced by the dangling corpses before them.


    The citizens of Revodan also listened in silence.


    They were likely hearing about written military law for the first time, and it was probably the first time they heard of military discipline being enforced so ¡°well.¡±


    That the military did not plunder or disturb civilians was most agreeable to them. Yet, they couldn¡¯t help but wonder: could any army really adhere to the laws as well as claimed?


    Seeing the swaying bodies and the young man on the platform who was reading out the code, a glimmer of hope arose in the hearts of Revodan people¡ªperhaps it was possible.


    The first edition of the Military Code was publicly read in its entirety for the first time. It wasn¡¯t perfect, it had loopholes, yet it already took a small yet significant step.


    Revodan Square was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.


    ¡°For Blood Wolf!¡± Former acting Centurion, now Captain of the first company of the Iron Peak County Infantry, Thomas suddenly flushed red, ¡°Three cheers!¡±


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡± Thomas bellowed, leading the cheer.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± the soldiers roared in response.


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡± Other Company Commanders and non-commissioned officers joined Thomas, thumping their chests to guide everyone.


    ¡°Uukhai!!¡± The cries grew more synchronized and louder.


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!!!¡± Soldiers from all twelve companies used the last of their strength to scream: ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    This was a cheer that not even the triumphant hero from over fifteen hundred years ago had heard.


    And Winters, like that hero from fifteen hundred years before, calmly accepted it.


    ¡°Bring the third batch of prisoners up,¡± Winters said to Heinrich.


    The matter wasn¡¯t finished; there remained a group of people to be dealt with.


    Heinrich, upon the order, escorted the third batch of prisoners out of the carriage.


    Sasha, supporting the elderly Priskin, felt the old man¡¯s body tense up instantly.


    Those who emerged from the carriage were prominent citizens of Revodan, including six members of the city council, and startlingly, Priskin¡¯s grandson among them.


    Heinrich led the third batch of prisoners toward the execution ground.


    Out of the blue, old Priskin dashed towards the execution platform with agility that belied his age, leaving the blacksmith Sasha who never expected such vigor from the elder, quickly following behind.


    Winters also noticed the small commotion up ahead and, seeing the old man running over, thought he was coming to plea.


    Old Priskin, with tears streaming down his face, pulled out a purple sash from his bosom and shouted, ¡°I, John Priskin, on behalf of all the citizens of Revodan, wish to nominate Captain Winters Montagne as the Military Protectorate of Iron Peak County!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry smile.


    However, with the crowd¡¯s emotions running high, people arranged by Priskin ahead of time began to cheer in response: ¡°Protectorate! Protectorate!¡±


    ¡°Protectorate!¡± the soldiers, unwittingly caught up in the moment, began to join the chorus, ¡°Protectorate!¡±


    They actually had no idea what a [Protectorate] was, but since everyone was shouting fervently, it surely must be something good, right?


    Winters heard clearly, Priskin had distinctly said ¡°Military Protectorate,¡± yet eventually everyone in the square was shouting ¡°Protectorate.¡±


    Military Protectorate and Protectorate were completely different things, and Winters didn¡¯t know how to explain to the thousands of cheering people in the square.


    Even Andre and Senior Mason were rowdily joining the shouting.


    Winters raised his hand for silence, and the cheering slowly faded away.


    The title of Military Protectorate was dug up by Priskin from some old documents, clearly with consideration.


    It was a role between a legion commander and a centurion, neither too high nor too low, perfectly fitting for the size of the Iron Peak County¡¯s forces.


    How could he not know the old man¡¯s intentions? By nominating Winters as the Military Protectorate in his name, it was a move to completely strip away the facade of the garrison, to pledge direct allegiance to Winters.


    The motive? Nothing but to exchange his grandson¡¯s life¡ªthat said, Winters had never planned on executing Priskin¡¯s grandson from the start.

 Chapter 674 03-25 - 674 32 Trial_6

    ?Chapter 674: Chapter 32: Trial_6 Chapter 674: Chapter 32: Trial_6 ¡°I¡­¡± Winters slowly began, ¡°I would like to nominate Andreya Chelini as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!¡± people in the square cheered.


    ¡°I would like to nominate Richard Mason as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!!¡±


    ¡°I would like to nominate Bard of Gerard as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!!!¡± The atmosphere reached its peak.


    ¡°Bring up the third batch of prisoners!¡± Winters ordered with a wave of his hand.


    ...


    The smile froze on old Priskin¡¯s face.


    Seventeen noblemen of Revodan were tremulously brought up to the execution platform, where the blood had not yet dried, leaving a trail of bloody footprints as they stepped on it.


    The short journey felt like walking towards an abyss.


    ¡°Kneel,¡± Winters commanded coldly.


    In the blink of an eye, all seventeen knelt down, those standing in blood knelt directly in it.


    Winters drew his sword and rested it on little Mr. Priskin¡¯s shoulder.


    Old Priskin¡¯s vision darkened, nearly fainting.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Winters said slowly, without urgency, ¡°You have been secretly conspiring with the New Reclamation Legion, passing messages, and plotting to attack the city gates to help my enemies take Revodan.¡±


    Little Priskin couldn¡¯t even speak, shaking like chaff and sobbing uncontrollably.


    ¡°I respect loyalty, so I don¡¯t blame you,¡± Winters said without using a voice amplification spell, ¡°After all, at that time, you were loyal to the New Reclamation Legion, and since my appointment as garrison officer, I have never required you to swear fealty to me. But from this perspective, you are still my enemies, and I must still kill you.¡±


    Someone among the seventeen began to cry out loud.


    ¡°So I¡¯ll give you an opportunity,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Swear your loyalty to me.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t planned to massacre in Revodan. It was easy to kill seventeen people, but ruling Revodan afterward would be difficult.


    Little Priskin grasped Winters¡¯ sword and kissed it fiercely, not minding that the blade cut his palm open.


    The others scrambled over and did the same.


    Winters sheathed his sword, picked up little Priskin from the ground, and casually said, ¡°You only get one chance.¡±


    Little Priskin shuddered, tears swirling in his eyes, and he nodded frantically.


    ¡°No crying,¡± Winters patting little Priskin¡¯s shoulder, raised his hand and waved cheerfully to the crowd in the square, ¡°Smile!¡±


    Little Priskin forcefully pushed back the tears in his eyes.


    People in the square couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying, only seeing the newly appointed civil-military tribune lay his sword on old Mr. Priskin¡¯s grandson¡¯s shoulder, then pull him up and wave towards the square.


    They saw little Mr. Priskin smiling, smiling as if he was truly delighted.


    ¡°Centurion, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Peter [the Short] Bunir quietly asked Tamas in front of the execution platform.


    ¡°What centurion? Call me platoon leader!¡± Although Tamas was clueless as well, he put up a front and replied, ¡°Can¡¯t tell? It¡¯s the knighting of a knight!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!¡± Tamas roared again to add excitement.


    He didn¡¯t know what the word meant; he thought it was a new battle cry or cheer.


    After his shout, the soldiers of his platoon started shouting, soon followed by everyone in the square. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cries of ¡°civil-military tribune¡± echoed once again to the heavens.


    In the thunderous cheers, Xial came running, saying with concern, ¡°Brother, looks like we¡¯ll have to treat everyone well today¡­¡±

 Chapter 675 03-25 - 675 33 Land

    ?Chapter 675: Chapter 33: Land Chapter 675: Chapter 33: Land Historical experience tells us that a celebration must always end with feasting and drinking, something inevitable and unstoppable.


    Winters had originally intended to spend less and accomplish more, but the atmosphere in the square had just been whipped into a climax.


    He really couldn¡¯t bear to tell the cheering crowd, ¡°The garrison can¡¯t afford to host a feast for the whole city, everyone should go home, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Watching his purse inevitably bleed out, Winters¡¯s smile grew sadder and sadder.


    Old Priskin tottered up to the scaffold, confirmed his grandson was truly unharmed, and the first thing he did was to give little Priskin a hard slap while tears streamed down his face.


    After the slap, Old Priskin didn¡¯t say a word to his grandson.


    Wiping away his tears and with a smile, he came just in time to relieve the financially strained new Burgher of his worries, ¡°My lord, the guilds of Revodan beg to arrange a great banquet in your name and hope you will grant us this honor.¡±


    ...


    Old Priskin had seen clearly, among the parade were prisoners, military flags, and a good number of captured weapons, but not a single Gold Coin or silver coin was in sight.


    Winters was torn between great sorrow and joy, feeling relieved as he clasped the old man¡¯s hands, ¡°Mr. Priskin, the mayor of Revodan, I think you should do it.¡±


    As a military province, Revodan had no mayor, only a garrison commander. And Old Priskin had wisely kept out of harm¡¯s way, falling ill and resigning even from the municipal council long ago.


    But in this moment, he nodded vigorously without hesitation, ¡°No problem, I will do it!¡±


    And so the feast began right there in the square.


    Pigs and sheep were led directly to the open space for slaughter, with Revodan¡¯s two butchers busier than ever.


    Cows and horses, however, which Winters had ordered to be protected as precious draft animals, luckily escaped this fate.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    In a little frontier town like Revodan, there weren¡¯t exotic delicacies or fine wine, but everyone brought out their best.


    Spits were set up across the square, and the few large iron pots the city had were brought out.


    Cheese and smoked meats were continually brought out, and bread was freely supplied.


    Even more precious was the beer!


    No one knew by what means Old Priskin had managed it, but the typically stingy beer merchant [Widow Airen] had also opened her purse.


    Like rolling hoops, barrel after barrel of beer rolled into the square. Without Mrs. Airen opening the lids, there were already several drunkards waiting respectfully with bottles and jars in hand.


    The people of Revodan contributed tables from their homes, forming long lines across the square.


    Soldiers mingled with townsfolk, and the square could no longer contain them all, so the tables continued along the streets.


    Children ran amok among the adults, while the women exchanged news and gossip.


    Some drunken men dragged their reluctant wives to dance, prompting shouts and laughter.


    And all of this, nominally provided by the new Burgher, was in fact funded by various guilds of Revodan.


    Winters was very pleased, for he had saved a significant sum, successfully achieving the impossible goal of ¡°spending less and accomplishing more.¡±


    Old Priskin and the gentlefolk were at ease, and the citizens of Revodan were also very happy.


    In such a cheerful atmosphere, Winters crossed the bustling square, weaving through the crowd and long tables, to see Anna.


    Standing face to face, it seemed as though another barrier had sprung up between them.


    Winters wanted to embrace Anna, but although he reached out his hand, he dared not touch his beloved.


    Anna threw herself into Winters¡¯s arms, holding him tightly as if afraid he would fly away.


    ¡°The more you understand me,¡± Winters strained to control his emotions, ¡°the more disappointed you might become.¡±


    ¡°I want to know even more about you,¡± Anna murmured against his chest, silently shedding tears.


    Winters hugged Anna tightly, as if trying to merge her into his very being.


    ¡­


    The rooftop of the town hall was the best place to watch this grand feast.


    Winters brought Anna up there.


    The two of them picked the lock, hand in hand, and snuck up to the roof, just like when Winters used to take Anna, who ditched classes, to the mercenary arcade.


    Anna¡¯s heart raced, clueless about where they were going, she just followed along naively and ended up on the rooftop.


    The rooftop was windier and colder without the obstruction of surrounding buildings.


    ¡°Sit down for a moment, I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Winters told Anna as he took off his coat to drape over her shoulders, then ran off fleet-footed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go! What are you doing?¡± Anna asked in a panic, but Winters was already out of sight.


    Lady Navarre was left alone on the desolate rooftop, wearing an officer¡¯s coat, standing in the cold autumn wind.


    Just as she was lost in thought, Winters came back beaming, holding two cups of beer.


    Lady Navarre was truly both angry and annoyed.


    Winters, completely oblivious, extended the beer to Anna with an innocent grin. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Anna caught hold of his arm and bit down hard.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters did his best not to spill the beer.


    ¡°Who told you to take me to drink?¡± Anna felt wronged.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you eighteen already?¡± Winters sipped a little beer, ¡°Wow, this beer is bitter.¡±


    According to church regulations, a girl could marry at twelve, Sea Blue females generally married at fifteen, so having a bit of alcohol at eighteen surely was no problem.


    Before he could finish, another set of teeth marks appeared on Winters¡¯s arm.


    In the time that followed, the two sat on the rooftop, sipping the bitter beer in small mouthfuls.


    ¡°I still prefer sweet,¡± Winters commented.


    Anna responded softly with a ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°Revodan¡¯s beer is bitter because it¡¯s brewed with hops for long-term preservation.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Anna gazed at the crowd in the square.

 Chapter 676 03-25 - 676 33 Land_2

    ?Chapter 676: Chapter 33 Land_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 33 Land_2 ¡°Even these bitter ones are diminishing sip by sip,¡± Winters sighed deeply. ¡°These were all brewed last year. The barley was confiscated by the garrison earlier this year, and then I managed to get it. It¡¯s impossible for me to use grain to brew beer, and the farmers are unwilling to sell their grain. So today is the last day of drinking to our heart¡¯s content; after this, Revodan might go a long time without beer.¡±


    Anna looped her arm through her lover¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯ve already done very well.¡±


    Winters sighed again, deeply. ¡°I could have done better.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t save everyone,¡± she said.


    ¡°That,¡± Winters said with a soft chuckle, ¡°is the third time I¡¯ve heard it.¡±


    ¡°Who were the first two?¡± Anna asked, curious.


    ¡°Bard, and a great sage,¡± Winters took a deep breath, brushed away the gloom, and declared with a chest full of fierce pride, ¡°Watch, Anna. In one year¡ªtwo at most¡ªI will restore Revodan and even Iron Peak County to their former states. I will bring prosperity back to the cities, vitality to the countryside. Believe in me, witness me.¡±


    ...


    Anna gently rubbed Winters¡¯ shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here because of any achievements you might have¡­ I just want you to live well.¡±


    ¡°How do I deserve you¡­¡±


    ¡°Knowing that is enough,¡± Anna huffed slightly, discontented.


    The feast gradually drew to a close, and residents of the square fetched their instruments to play and enliven the atmosphere.


    A citizen cradled a bagpipe and began to play, cheeks puffed.


    The piercing sound of the bagpipe cut through the noisy chatter of the square with its melodious tune.


    A woman¡¯s voice began to hum along, and more and more people softly sing together:


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    ¡°The money I had,


    has all been shared with my mates;


    The harm I¡¯ve caused,


    ultimately only wounds myself;


    The wisdom I sought,


    has long since vanished like smoke and clouds;


    So fill up this cup of Stirrup Wine,


    may joy always be by your side;


    ¡­¡±


    According to Paratu customs, as a parting friend steps into the saddle, the send-off party will hold up one final cup of wine.


    This parting cup is hence termed ¡°Stirrup Wine,¡± and natives of Paratu all know how to sing this farewell song named after it.


    Anna nestled against Winters, quietly listening, watching the life on the square¡ªa painting of such vibrant life.


    She regretted, ¡°I should have brought my easel.¡±


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone paint outdoors like you,¡± Winters teased.


    Anna, however, earnestly described to Winters the scene she accidentally saw in Wolf Town: five men and a skinny ox ploughing the field.


    ¡°The scene wasn¡¯t pretty, but it was very¡­¡± Anna searched anxiously for the right adjective.


    Winters gently took Anna¡¯s hand. ¡°Shocking, sad, yet also peaceful, natural, and serene. Right?¡±


    Anna nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s complex emotion. That¡¯s why it¡¯s also beautiful. I want to paint it, which is why I asked you for an easel.¡±


    Winters was moved too. ¡°Is it finished?¡±


    ¡°Only the draft,¡± Anna blushed slightly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have any paints.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll find you paints,¡± Winters said with deep regret. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Anna clung tighter to Winters¡¯ arm, not speaking, just snuggling up to her lover¡¯s shoulder.


    Suddenly inspired, Winters pulled out a map book and a small bundle of graphite sticks from his pocket. ¡°How about using these for a little sketch in the meantime?¡±


    Anna, puzzled, accepted the two items and beamed in delight.


    ¡­


    Winters returned to domestic life, sweetly and comfortably nestled with Anna.


    But a hundred kilometers southwest of Revodan, in Blackwater Town, Lieutenant Bard was weary.


    Because the courier was still en route, Bard neither knew that he had been elected as both ¡°Military Protector of the People¡± and ¡°Protector of the People,¡± nor was he aware of Winters¡¯ grand feast for the entire city of Revodan.


    In any case, Bard faced the most challenging task of the campaign: ensuring the stability of the refugee camps and bringing them to South Eight Town.


    While Winters fought a visible enemy, Bard sat on a powder keg, trying not to let it explode. And he faced a severe shortage of manpower and resources. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All of Iron Peak County¡¯s resources were being poured into the war effort, leaving very little for the refugee camps.


    Bard had only forty soldiers, ten horses, barely anybody skilled with a knife, let alone those who could read and write.


    And yet he faced over twenty thousand refugees.


    But Bard¡ªa tenant farmer¡¯s son and servant of the monastery¡ªcontinued on without complaint or lament, quietly solving problems as they came.


    He called up militia from Wolf Town and Saint Town to bolster the ranks.


    He selected guards from within the refugee camp, using the refugees to police themselves; he implemented a harsh code of joint accountability and maintained limited autonomy within each of the sixteen camps to balance the pressure.


    Thanks to Bard¡¯s tireless, sleep-deprived efforts, no refugee disappeared without reason, nor did any riots break out.


    During the migration, the refugee camps did no harm to the villages they passed through. Neighboring farms gradually lowered their defenses and even brought food as gifts.


    But there was one problem that Bard himself could not solve¡ªland.


    So once he led the refugee camp halfway between Niutigu Valley and Blackwater Town, Bard camped down and stayed put.


    He ordered the refugees to make farm tools and get plows and harrows ready; where there was no iron, they used wooden ones, and where there were no oxen, they used human strength.


    Rumors spread rampant in South Eight Town, and the landowners were on edge.


    The abandoned fields were all in the hands of the estate owners, and the refugee camp was not breaking new ground¡ªstarting now wouldn¡¯t catch up to the farming season¡ªso it was clear what Lieutenant Bard planned to do.

 Chapter 677 03-25 - 677 33 Land_3

    ?Chapter 677: Chapter 33 Land_3 Chapter 677: Chapter 33 Land_3 But beyond preparing farming tools, Lieutenant Bard made no other moves.


    He did not confiscate the estates¡¯ produce, nor did he order the displaced people to work the fields directly, and he wouldn¡¯t even meet with the visiting landowners.


    As the planting window for winter crops shrank day by day, he still held his forces in check.


    He was waiting, waiting for the outcome at Revodan.


    Finally, after an agonizing wait, the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard!¡± Anglu shouted as he ran into Bard¡¯s tent, ¡°We won! A great victory!¡±


    The young groom was so excited that he trembled, yet Bard¡¯s demeanor remained as calm as usual.


    ...


    He took the letter, read it from beginning to end, and finally could not help but say ¡°Good¡± three times in a row. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What Bard received was the first letter sent to him by Winters after he had met with Tang Juan.


    More victory reports were still on their way.


    ¡°Anglu!¡± Bard bellowed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The groom snapped to attention.


    ¡°Raise the army flag! Go to all the nearby villages and towns, and spread the news of this great victory for me!¡± Bard laughed loudly.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu turned to leave.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Come back!¡± Bard called the groom, ¡°You can delegate the task of spreading the victory news to someone else. I have a more important task for you.¡±


    Anglu¡¯s smile faded, and he looked earnestly into Lieutenant Bard¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You go to Blackwater Town.¡± Bard narrowed his eyes, ¡°Bring all the landowners here.¡±


    The camp of displaced people needed some cavalry for better management, so Winters assigned Anglu to Bard.


    In Winters¡¯ view, the two had compatible temperaments. Having Anglu follow Bard, the young groom could learn a lot.


    And indeed, Bard and Anglu shared many similarities, but Bard was more resilient, more mature, and more determined. The groom¡¯s awe of Lieutenant Bard had gradually turned to admiration, and Bard¡¯s position in his heart was now second only to Winters.


    When Bard gave an order, Anglu had no trace of doubt.


    The groom gave a firm salute and turned to leave the tent.


    ¡­


    Anglu acted swiftly, and the landowners of Blackwater Town, whether willingly or not, were all brought to the camp of the displaced.


    The landowners of Blackwater Town, who could be considered distinguished local families in this small place, waited in terror for the young lieutenant¡¯s judgment.


    ¡°Time is short! I don¡¯t intend to waste words with you.¡± Bard cut to the chase, speaking briskly, ¡°I have twenty thousand people; I can¡¯t support them all. So I need your land to grow food, and I can compensate you with some rent. When we eventually reclaim the wilderness, I¡¯ll return your land to you.¡±


    Even though they were mentally prepared, the landowners of Blackwater Town were still stunned by the bombshell.


    ¡°Sir, may I be so bold as to ask a question?¡± Richard, the largest landowner of Blackwater Town, began, mustering his courage.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    Richard plucked up his courage, ¡°It seems to me, sir, that you are about to turn all the displaced into farmers and tenants for you¡­ or rather, for the new garrison here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just like that.¡± Bard didn¡¯t bother to hide it, ¡°The refugees must work for us for seven years to regain their freedom. In the future, we won¡¯t just hand out land to them; they must redeem it.¡±


    ¡°Then why go through all this trouble, sir?¡± Richard, being a large landowner, proposed, ¡°Why not let the refugees work as tenant farmers for us, and we will supply the provisions for the garrison, wouldn¡¯t that be better?¡±


    Bard clapped his hands and laughed heartily, laughing so hard he doubled over, leaving the landowners puzzled.


    After wiping away his tears, Bard¡¯s face suddenly turned stern, ¡°You wish!¡±


    The landowners in the tent trembled with his angry shout.


    Bard made his stance crystal clear, ¡°Having peasants continue to be tenant farmers for you, tying the labor to your estates, that¡¯s not going to leverage their full potential! They¡¯re going to be squeezed by someone no matter what, and I¡¯d rather do the squeezing than let you fatten up at their expense.¡±


    Even the kind and generous Bard could be intimidating as he glared, making them quiver in their boots, ¡°I¡¯m not scared to tell you that we are at war with the New Reclamation Legion. We need food! We need troops! Without food and troops, we will be wiped out! We will be killed!¡±


    ¡°So, whoever doesn¡¯t supply us with food, whoever doesn¡¯t provide us with troops, is our mortal enemy!¡± Bard¡¯s gaze swept over everyone; the landowners lowered their heads, ¡°This is a matter of life and death, and we will show no mercy! If you agree, we will give you some compensation. If you don¡¯t agree, I will see to the ruin of your homes and families!¡±


    The landowners, who had been involuntarily swallowing their saliva just moments ago, now found their mouths dry and bitter.


    Bard picked up a stack of land deeds, all archives from the Revodan garrison: ¡°We are clear about how much land you have. Whether you have been secretly cultivating more land, you know that better than I do.


    I don¡¯t even need to investigate your secret cultivations! Next year¡¯s property tax, multiplied by five! And if that seems too little, by ten! If you can¡¯t pay it, we¡¯ll confiscate your land and property!


    Let me tell you, in the face of life and death, there is no good or evil, we have ways to deal with you. Right now, the fact that we are negotiating kindly is a show of our mercy.


    Iron Peak County has sixteen towns, and I must get this done in Blackwater Town no matter what, or else wouldn¡¯t the other fifteen towns follow the example? You better think it through. If you agree, come and sign the contract. If you don¡¯t agree, go home and await your death!¡±


    Richard spoke bitterly, ¡°Sir, our family fortunes were accumulated over several generations. We worked hard, bought land, and managed our family businesses; is that also a crime?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡± Bard drew his sword and pointed it at Richard, asking, ¡°This is about life and death. We are not out to kill you, but you¡¯re killing us! Letting labor continue to be tenant farmers for you? Who will provide us with troops? Who will supply us with grains? Without troops and grains, we will die. Aren¡¯t you the ones killing us?¡±


    Richard stepped back repeatedly, shaking his head frantically.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m actually saving you,¡± Bard drove his sword into the ground, gesturing fiercely toward the refugee camp outside, ¡°There are more than twenty-thousand starving people out there, if we don¡¯t let them cultivate the land, the day they eat through their provisions, they will come and eat you! Don¡¯t you understand? Or are you pretending not to understand?¡±


    Richard was left speechless by the question.


    ¡°And it¡¯s not like we¡¯re taking your land for nothing,¡± Bard¡¯s tone became gentle and calm, ¡°Once the wastelands are cultivated, we will return your land to you. That¡¯s why we need to draft a contract with you, to protect your private property. Moreover, isn¡¯t your land lying fallow now anyway? Even the best land, left uncultivated for two years, will become wasteland. We are here to help you take care of the land and even compensate you; where else could you find such a good deal?¡±


    He became more and more affable, nothing like the impassioned man from before, ¡°If we really wanted to rob you, would I have wasted my breath talking to you? Wiping out your entire family, the land without heirs would naturally revert to the garrison. Isn¡¯t that simpler?¡±


    Richard, along with the other landowners, couldn¡¯t tell if the man before them was a devil or an angel.


    ¡°No need to say more,¡± Richard said with difficulty, ¡°The hilt of the knife is in your hands, you call the shots. I¡¯ll sign this contract, but I hope you won¡¯t forget your promise. When the time comes, you still have to return the land to us!¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t trust me, so I¡¯ve brought something.¡± Bard took out a wooden box.


    Upon opening the lid, it shone with the golden luster of the Saint Ados Emblem.


    The landowners were startled¡ªthey recognized what it was.


    ¡°I swear in front of the relic of the true Saint Emblem,¡± Bard placed his hand on the Saint Ados Emblem, ¡°If I break this contract, may I be eternally damned in hell, may my soul be eternally burnt by the fires of Hell! Even the Lord¡¯s forgiveness could not save me!¡±


    The oath was so severe, so ruthless, that probably not even the Pope himself could absolve it.


    Richard, gritting his teeth, went to the table, and signed his name on the document, officially handing over his land.


    With him leading the way, the other landowners also stepped forward to mark their signatures.


    ¡°Gentlemen, you will forever have my gratitude.¡± Bard bowed deeply and, upon rising, asked casually, ¡°Have you ever considered moving to Revodan?¡±

 Chapter 678 03-25 - 678 34 Tiefeng

    ?Chapter 678: Chapter 34 Tiefeng Chapter 678: Chapter 34 Tiefeng The day after the feast, in the early morning, the newly formed three infantry battalions stood in neat rows on the Revodan Military Camp parade ground.


    ¡°Someone said to me the other day, after winning a battle, he wanted to eat meat, wanted to sleep. I promised him, ¡®Back in Revodan, we¡¯ll slaughter pigs and sheep!''¡± Winters stood in front of the podium and asked the entire army, ¡°Yesterday, did we kill pigs?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡± the soldiers answered.


    ¡°Did we slaughter sheep?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡±


    ¡°Then, did everyone eat their fill? Drink their fill? Sleep enough?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡± shouted a soldier.


    ...


    Some soldiers caused a stir, ¡°We want to eat another meal!¡±


    ¡°You want another meal?¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I do too! Sheep offal soup, so delicious! Roast pork, so tasty!¡±


    The soldiers laughed uproariously.


    ¡°But we can¡¯t!¡± Winters suddenly changed his tone, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to eat or drink it! To put on a feast like yesterday¡¯s again, the Iron Peak County Government would go bankrupt!¡±


    Winters took out a money bag, turned it upside down to show to the soldiers, ¡°Look! Not a single silver coin left.¡±


    The situation was actually very serious, but Winters¡¯ relaxed tone eased a lot of anxiety.


    ¡°So,¡± Winters stated emphatically, ¡°we have to farm! If we don¡¯t farm, there will be no bread to eat!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.?¦Ï Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only then did the soldiers realize that they were going to be allocated land, and everyone was excited and nervous.


    ¡°In the first year of land distribution, much is to be recovered! There is a limited number of agricultural tools and draft animals,¡± Winters announced, ¡°Therefore, this year, tools, draft animals, seeds, and rations will all be distributed on a company level, to be used collectively! You were a unit in battle; you will still be a unit in dividing and cultivating the land! A company is a village, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the soldiers shouted in unison.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters laughed boldly, waving his right hand, ¡°Everyone, go farm! Plant as much as you can!¡±


    When Winters disbanded the army, one hundred kilometers southwest of Revodan, Bard was also giving a speech.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about whether it¡¯s a three-field or a two-field system!¡± he stood on a wagon, scattering hope to the hundreds of thousands of cold and hungry people, ¡°This year, there¡¯s no need to fallow! Every piece of land that can be turned over, plant it all!¡±


    ¡°Wheat! Barley! Buckwheat! Plant whatever you have!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make ridges or divide the fields among households! There¡¯s no time to waste!¡±


    ¡°Ploughs, draft animals, uniformly distributed! Men plough! Women and children sow seeds, rake the soil! If you want to eat, you must work!¡±


    ¡°Make it through the winter! Hold on until the summer harvest next year!¡± Bard¡¯s voice was firm and powerful, ¡°Then you can eat your fill!¡±


    The planting of overwinter crops usually takes place between late September and early October.


    It is now October 20, and we must race against time to plant the overwinter crops before the temperatures drop.


    ¡°Letting refugees farm again,¡± though easy to say, Bard knows all too well the difficulty of carrying it out¡ªWinters knows some of it.


    Because everything is in shortage.


    Lack of shovels, rake frames, ploughs, draft animals¡­ anything imaginable is in extreme scarcity.


    Not only is the recovery of agricultural production very difficult, but ensuring the survival of the refugees is also a big challenge.


    Refugees are people; they need to eat, to drink, to have shelter.


    Winter is approaching, and the refugees lack warm clothing; thus, they will need a lot of fuel for heating.


    Such a thorny situation would give anyone in charge a headache.


    Yet a smile lingered on Bard¡¯s lips, for in his view, the key issue that would decide life or death had been resolved by Winters.


    The government had won the right to survive; all other difficulties were minor in comparison.


    And as for solutions¡ªthere are always more than there are difficulties.


    Forty veterans, three hundred militiamen selected from the refugees, that was all the manpower Bard had at his disposal, standing before him at that moment.


    ¡°Montaigne, the civic officer, won the bloody battle! A resounding victory!¡± Bard spoke coldly, ¡°The bloodless battle is up to us to fight. If we don¡¯t win, then the blood of others is spilled in vain.¡±


    The atmosphere was solemn and serious, every person tense.


    ¡°Ish of Ganshui Town!¡±


    Ish was no longer the timid farmer he once was; he perked up, answering loudly.


    Bard ordered, ¡°Take your men, grab the property inventory of Blue Mountain Manor, and go count them for me. Tools, bring them back. Houses, seal them for now! To be allocated later!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go now!¡±


    Ish took the orders, leading a group of men and setting out immediately.


    Because Bard successfully achieved a ¡°peaceful handover,¡± the property of the various manors was well preserved.


    Following the lead of the owner of Blue Mountain Manor, Richard Mata, the manor owners cooperated and provided a list of fixed assets including agricultural tools and houses.


    If a violent seizure had occurred, it would have led to losses; it wouldn¡¯t have gone as smoothly as it did now¡ªthis was why Bard was willing to give money rather than forcefully plunder.


    Houses, agricultural tools, these were all things Bard urgently needed.


    The houses were accommodations provided by the manors for their laborers and tenants, mostly now empty.


    Although these houses were rundown, they were perfect for the refugees to inhabit.


    The agricultural tools of the various estates were likewise precious resources.


    In other words, Bard was going to ¡°use the chicken to hatch eggs.¡±


    Still the same lands, the same tools, the same houses, cultivated to produce grain as usual.


    But the people working the land had to be replaced, and so did the ones collecting taxes.


    One after another, groups were dispatched to check the inventory of items, leaving only the young groom Anglu without orders.


    Anglu waited silently.


    ¡°Anglu,¡± Bard called him over softly to his side, ¡°make a trip to Revodan for me.¡±

 Chapter 679 03-25 - 679 34 Tiefeng_2

    ?Chapter 679: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_2 ¡°Let someone else deliver the message!¡± Anglu said, somewhat anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here to help you!¡±


    Bard sighed, ¡°You have to go. If it weren¡¯t for the circumstances, I would go myself!¡±


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll go!¡± Anglu nodded emphatically.


    ¡°You will deliver a verbal message.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Find your Centurion,¡± Bard said seriously, ¡°and demand things from him!¡±


    Anglu was stunned; his Centurion was Winters Montagne.


    ...


    ¡°Demand what?¡± Anglu whispered.


    Bard gestured for Anglu to sit down and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Demand whatever we need! The old farming tools are far from enough; we must make new ones. Tell that guy to stop focusing on throwing banquets and come help me out instead!¡±


    Anglu didn¡¯t dare to speak and just nodded frantically.


    The more Bard spoke, the more helpless he became. He instructed the young groom, ¡°Remember to tell your Centurion¡ªno more making ploughs! We have enough ploughs; any cleared land can be worked with wooden ploughs. Does he only know ploughs? Make other agricultural tools instead! Even sending me some axes would be good! What am I to do with a pile of ploughs when I don¡¯t have the draft animals? Am I expected to pull the ploughs with people? Is a heavy plough something humans can pull?¡±


    Anglu had never seen Lieutenant Bard complain like this before; these grievances were new to his ears.


    He faintly felt that Lieutenant Bard was treating him as though he were Centurion Montagne himself, hence pouring out all his grievances.


    ¡°Have Forging Village make more small farming tools,¡± Bard continued, ¡°Don¡¯t make them purely of iron! It¡¯s wasteful! Make iron-clad ones! Make do for now, consider durability later.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    Only Forging Village in Iron Peak County could make heavy ploughs; other villages and towns obtained their iron goods from there.


    For example, Misha, the old blacksmith from Wolf Town, whose physical condition no longer allowed him to do heavy work, only repaired tools, not manufactured them, occasionally making small ironware.


    After Winters took over Forging Village, he ordered the blacksmiths to focus solely on making ploughs.


    In his view, what else was needed for farming if not ploughs?


    But the reality was¡ªin the refugee camp, there were more ploughs than livestock.


    Heavy ploughs were for use with horses, requiring two or even three horses to be able to pull them.


    If relying solely on human power, the lighter the plough, the better; such heavy ploughs were completely unnecessary.


    Without Bard, even though some might realize the flaw in Winters¡¯ orders, no one dared to correct him. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The mistake thus perpetuated.


    Meanwhile, Winters was still pleased with himself, believing he had done something right and good.


    ¡°Also, after the war is over, don¡¯t focus the use of horses,¡± Bard rambled on, ¡°Whether warhorses or nags, farming is the top priority now! Distribute the horses, which would also save on fodder. Andre will surely disagree; leave him a few more horses, and he¡¯ll come around in a few days¡­¡±


    Bard had a lot of instructions, all things he had wanted to tell Winters but hadn¡¯t been able to get through to him.


    ¡°Did you get all that?¡± Bard asked Anglu.


    Anglu nodded vigorously, then shook his head just as vigorously.


    ¡°What did I say?¡±


    ¡°Ploughs!¡± Anglu swallowed hard, ¡°And horses!¡±


    ¡°Not the ploughs! We need the horses!¡± Bard sighed deeply, ¡°Alright, off you go.¡±


    ¡­


    The lives of the refugees had begun a new chapter.


    The officer who had them swear loyalty under the Saint Ados Emblem actually distributed land, farming tools, and houses to them.


    They were no longer ¡°refugees¡± but had regained the status of ¡°farmers.¡±


    Just this was something they had never dared imagine in the past.


    Yet, their mode of production was different from that of ordinary tenant farmers and serfs.


    Instead of the common [landlord and tenant] or [government and self-cultivating farmer] models, their much talked-about ¡°new government¡± adopted a brand-new yet outdated system.


    The new government didn¡¯t allocate land per capita. Instead, they collectively farmed a large tract of land called a ¡°farm,¡± using shared tools, draft animals, and seeds in units of ¡°camps.¡±


    This system was considered outdated because it was an outright copy of the feudal manorial system.


    Noble estates were just like the farms of today, where the lord¡¯s and the tenants¡¯ or serfs¡¯ lands were intermingled without clear boundaries marked by ditches and ridges.


    Tenant farmers and serfs had to cultivate both their own allocated land and the lord¡¯s land.


    In this respect, the relationship between the new farmers and the new government closely resembled that of lords and serfs.


    The new farmers¡¯ rights were restricted; whether they liked it or not, they had to labor.


    The land was not divided; it was cultivated as a whole.


    Many elders still remembered working on noble estates, so they readily accepted the new status quo¡ªit was still working the land for the lord, after all.


    But this system was also unprecedentedly novel:


    It meant that a regime had bypassed intermediaries and reached a ¡°deal¡± directly with the lowest class of farmers.


    There were no lords, no tax farmers, no masters, nor masters¡¯ masters.


    Just as there is only one sun in the sky, although the farmers were still working for the ¡°lord,¡± they were working for the largest and only lord¡ªthe new government of Iron Peak County.


    Bard was not unaware of the concept that ¡°only when land is distributed to households will farmers be motivated.¡±


    He also knew very well that ¡°refugees will work hard this year not because they are diligent, but because they are scared of hunger. Once they can eat their fill, the collective farming model will make them lazy.¡±


    But his decision to use this method was also well-considered.


    There was no choice; the refugee camp did not have the conditions to ¡°distribute land to families.¡±


    Resources were too scarce; they had to be used collectively.

 Chapter 680 03-25 - 680 34 Tiefeng_3

    ?Chapter 680: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_3 Chapter 680: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_3 To distribute land to each household, one must first ¡°divide the land.¡±


    Dividing the land requires drawing boundaries, which uses furrows and ridges. There isn¡¯t enough time to rush planting wheat, let alone do all this.


    Moreover, Bard doesn¡¯t have anyone capable of measuring land or calculating areas.


    Measuring land and calculating areas isn¡¯t simple, the terrain is uneven and the shapes aren¡¯t square. Calculating the area of a polygon requires at least a basic knowledge of ¡°Geometry.¡±


    Not to mention that furrows and ridges would take up already precious arable land area.


    Growing up in the Federated Provinces where arable land is tight, Bard had seen farmers whose lands had been carved into disconnected small plots, with ditches and ridges occupying up to one-fourth or even more of the total cultivable area.


    He was also short of livestock and farming tools.


    ...


    To maximize the use of the scarce cattle, horses, and farming equipment, they had to be used collectively.


    Bard wasn¡¯t short of manpower, so ¡°men rest, the plow doesn¡¯t¡± was the ideal situation for the time being.


    After settling some of the migrants in Blackwater Town, Bard led the remaining migrants to continue their migration to Wolf Town and Wugou Town.


    Blackwater Town alone couldn¡¯t accommodate all the migrants.


    Nevertheless, Blackwater Town had set a good precedent for Wolf Town and Wugou Town.


    Why migrate the migrants to such remote places?


    This was also the consensus that Winters and Bard reached after long discussions.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    ¡°The North Eight Towns may be richer, but the people¡¯s hearts aren¡¯t with us, and there¡¯s no defensible position. The eight towns south of the St. George River are our core territory,¡± Winters had concluded, ¡°The farther west and south the migrants move, the better they are away from the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s reach. Even if it means moving closer to the Herders¡¯ sphere of influence, it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    Therefore, Bard prioritized settling the migrants in Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.


    If there was no room left for settlement, they would then be redirected to other towns according to the principle of proximity.


    After a major victory in Blackwater Town, Bard set off on his long journey once again.


    Many challenges lay ahead, and he knew this and was well prepared.


    So at this very moment, what is Winters Montagne doing?


    If Bard knew the answer, he might be infuriated ¡ª Winters was feeding a baby.


    To be precise, Winters was bottle-feeding a little colt.


    ¡°You scamp! There¡¯s no one else competing for it!¡± Winters was nearly driven crazy as he tugged at the colt¡¯s neck, trying desperately to prevent it from plunging its entire head into the bowl of milk: ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of choking to death!¡±


    Scarlett was laughing convulsively at the side, leaning forward and backward.


    Anna was there, too, smiling elegantly¡ªit was the first time she had willingly come to the stables.


    Because it was its first birth and was difficult, the colt¡¯s mother didn¡¯t let it drink milk, and eventually stopped producing milk altogether.


    Winters had no choice but to find two nanny goats to serve as wet nurses for the colt¡ªlater, a cow was added.


    The colt was born on September 21st and was now exactly one month old.


    Colts are born with sixteen teeth, including four incisors, similar to human front teeth.


    By four weeks, the colt had already grown four more incisors and its sucking strength had increased substantially.


    The colt¡¯s suckling was too painful for its three ¡°wet nurses,¡± leading both the nanny goats and the cow to refuse it direct access to their milk.


    Out of desperation, Scarlett had to first milk them and feed the colt from a bucket.


    A new problem arose¡ªthe colt wouldn¡¯t drink milk from the bucket.


    When Scarlett came to Revodan, she also brought two puppies from her hunting dog¡¯s recent litter.


    Due to recent wartime mobilization, Revodan¡¯s horses were conscripted, leaving the colt with only the puppies as companions, playing with them daily. This caused his behavior to resemble a puppy¡¯s more than a colt¡¯s.


    He was also at an age where he needed to drink a lot of milk and was constantly hungry. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So every time Scarlett placed the milk bucket before the colt, it would eagerly plunge its entire head into the bucket.


    It even submerged its nostrils below the liquid surface, often choking while drinking.


    Given that the colt¡¯s ¡°godfather¡±¡ªWinters had returned to Revodan, Scarlett left the daunting task of solving this issue to him.


    Winters wasn¡¯t surprised.


    When Winters was little, Elizabeth once secretly brought home a kitten that was only a few days old from the garden.


    Scared of letting their mother know, Ella pleaded with Winters for help.


    Winters had always been his sister¡¯s ¡°puppet,¡± and he couldn¡¯t bear to see the kitten die, so he came up with all sorts of ways to feed it milk.


    Back then, he found that newborn kittens don¡¯t understand how to lap milk from a dish.


    The kitten could smell the milk and gnawed at the edge of the dish but didn¡¯t know how to drink it.


    Later, he secretly snipped a scrap from his aunt¡¯s silk garment, cut it into soft pieces, and used them to guide milk to the kitten¡¯s mouth, which saved its life.


    Eventually, the kitten naturally learned how to lap milk. Because of the silk garment, Ella was severely punished by their mother, but the kitten stayed with Winters¡¯ family and was named ¡°Little General.¡±


    So Winters confidently took on the task of teaching the colt how to drink milk. When Anna learned of this, she wanted to come and watch.


    ¡°The stables are dirty and smelly,¡± Winters discouraged Anna, ¡°There¡¯s nothing interesting about feeding a foal milk.¡±


    ¡°I want to learn more about you,¡± Anna replied softly.


    Thereby creating the awkward scene before them, where Winters of course failed. The colt continued to drink in its usual diving style, and the ladies¡¯ eyes brimmed with laughter.


    It was only when the colt had drunk almost all the milk, leaving just a bottom layer, that its nostrils finally emerged completely.

 Chapter 681 03-25 - 681 34 Tiefeng_4

    ?Chapter 681: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_4 Chapter 681: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_4 ¡°From now on, give this naughty boy a plate to drink from!¡± Winters said angrily.


    ¡°But what will Longevity do if he can¡¯t drink milk?¡± Scarlett asked.


    ¡°Let him go hungry! If he¡¯s hungry enough, he¡¯ll naturally learn to drink milk.¡±


    Scarlett blinked: ¡°Alright then.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Winters sighed, giving a bitter smile as he looked towards the blacksmith Shaosha beside him: ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself in front of you.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Not at all, Magistrate Sir.¡± Shaosha smilingly replied: ¡°Quite amusing! I used to be a farrier too; I¡¯m very fond of horses!¡±


    Blacksmith Shaosha had been summoned by Winters for a meeting.


    ...


    Winters wanted to revive agricultural production, and the most urgently needed items were iron farming tools.


    Thus, as the most respected blacksmith in Revodan who had not partaken in the previous rebellion conspiracy, Shaosha was heavily relied upon by Winters.


    Winters had previously ordered that if Blacksmith Shaosha sought an audience, no one should obstruct him. Therefore, Xial didn¡¯t think much of it and brought Shaosha directly to the stables.


    The stables housed Winters, Anna, Scarlett, and Longevity, creating a private and intimate atmosphere.


    Shaosha¡¯s accidental intrusion made him quite embarrassed.


    Noticing that Winters and Shaosha were about to discuss official matters, Anna said to Scarlett: ¡°Lady Michel, I have a gift for you, come with me.¡±


    With that, Anna curtsied gently, taking Scarlett¡¯s hand to leave.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Let me introduce.¡± Winters stopped Anna, smiling at Shaosha: ¡°This is my wife.¡±


    He then turned to Scarlett, ¡°And this is my sister.¡±


    Anna¡¯s cheeks suddenly flushed red; while Scarlett¡¯s eyes dimmed somewhat, but she quickly returned to her usual wild and energetic self.


    ¡°My wife¡¯s opinions are very important to me,¡± Winters explained to Shaosha earnestly: ¡°So whatever the matter, you can speak in front of them. It also saves me the trouble of repeating it later.¡±


    Shaosha had never imagined that inside the home of the fearsome ¡°Blood Wolf¡± there would be an even more imposing ¡°She-Wolf¡±.


    Nor could one tell by her appearance that Lady Montaigne, who at first glance clearly came from a distinguished background, had the ability to dominate her husband.


    But Shaosha heard Magistrate Montaigne personally say, ¡°My wife¡¯s opinions are very important to me.¡±


    A competent Paratu man would never listen to his wife¡¯s opinions, unless he couldn¡¯t defeat her in a fight¡ªthinking this, Shaosha felt a trace of pity towards the Master Blood Wolf and a newfound respect for Lady Montaigne, who appeared gentle and caring but possessed astonishing martial prowess.


    Noticing Shaosha¡¯s distraction, Winters brought him back to reality: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Iron Peak County has an iron mine? I asked you to write a report about it, how is it coming along?¡±


    Shaosha hurriedly took out a folded sheepskin from his bosom: ¡°Magistrate Sir, it¡¯s my first time writing a report, so if it¡¯s not well written, please¡­¡±


    Winters smoothly took the sheepskin: ¡°Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve written; go ahead and talk.¡±


    Shaosha cleared his throat and started: ¡°Iron Peak County is called so because of the Iron Peak Mountain to the northwest. And Iron Peak Mountain is named after its iron ore deposits.


    Before the border was opened, this was where the Herders worked the iron. When my father-in-law¡¯s family moved here thirty years ago, that iron mine was still being mined. But now we use the steel produced from the Steel Fortress, and that mine has been abandoned.¡±


    Anna listened intently, while Scarlett was equally captivated.


    ¡°Are there still reserves?¡± Winters asked, most concerned about this.


    ¡°There are,¡± Shaosha nodded repeatedly: ¡°My father-in-law said there are, the vein hasn¡¯t run out, and it¡¯s still rich.¡±


    ¡°Then why stop mining?¡±


    Shaosha scratched his head, speaking honestly: ¡°To be truthful, I don¡¯t know either; I only moved to Revodan fourteen years ago, and by then the Iron Peak Mine had already stopped production. So, all I know are the things my father-in-law told me, please forgive any mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you know,¡± Winters said, his brow involuntarily furrowing.


    Shaosha was frightened by the reaction, nodding his head frantically: ¡°Yes! Yes.¡±


    Anna noticed Shaosha¡¯s change in emotion, kept it in mind, but made no comment or action, just listened quietly.


    Shaosha continued: ¡°My father-in-law said that the ore from the Iron Peak Mine was substandard; the iron produced was brittle and prone to rust. Moreover, the blacksmiths in Forging Village melted iron in small forges, and buying ore and charcoal cost money, so it was time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive.


    It¡¯s simply more cost-effective to buy bar steel directly from Steel Fortress. The bar steel from Steel Fortress is shipped via waterways, very cheap, and of top quality. Items made with bar steel from Steel Fortress can be sold at a slightly higher price, and people are willing to buy them. Thus, no forge master bothered with smelting iron anymore.¡±


    Winters pondered for a moment then said: ¡°Just like with sword blanks, you also only buy them from Steel Fortress, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly like the sword blanks from Steel Fortress. Everyone buys pre-made ones because they¡¯re cheap and effective, so no one bothers to forge swords anymore.¡± Shaosha said with a rueful smile: ¡°To be honest, even my sword-forging skills have rusted away. I used to be a master swordsmith, and now I can only make handsome hilts and scabbards.¡±


    Winters burst into hearty laughter, his laughter both easy-going and pleased.


    He was not laughing at Shaosha but at his stroke of fortune with Iron Peak¡ªwasn¡¯t it cause for laughter when you want to sleep and someone brings you a pillow?


    ¡°Mr. Shaosha, could you please invite your father-in-law to speak with me?¡± Winters asked, his smile fading as he turned serious.


    Shaosha¡¯s expression was complex: ¡°Sir, my father-in-law was crippled by a back injury eight years ago and now he¡¯s bedridden. That¡¯s why he brought me in as his son-in-law, to take over his forge¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear about this misfortune,¡± Winters said as he patted Shaosha¡¯s shoulder: ¡°Then, I¡¯ll pay a visit myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary¡­ really not necessary¡­¡± Shaosha hastily demurred.


    But Winters wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer and after scheduling a time, he saw Shaosha off.


    Anna also left the stables with Scarlett, gesturing to Winters to find her later as she did so.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters called out loudly.


    Xial, who had just seen off Shaosha, ran over in a panic: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Brother?¡±


    ¡°When Miss Navarre is with me,¡± Winters said, frustration evident at Xial¡¯s clueless expression, ¡°do not bring guests straight to me!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Right.¡± Xial saluted comically, standing at attention: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Off with you,¡± Winters said, waving him off with a laugh: ¡°Send Carlos Soya to me!¡±

 Chapter 682 03-25 - 682 35 The Blacksmith

    ?Chapter 682: Chapter 35: The Blacksmith Chapter 682: Chapter 35: The Blacksmith ¡°Can you really forge iron?¡± Winters asked Carlos Soya¡ªbrother of the great blacksmith Berlion¡ªseriously.


    Carlos was somewhat flustered by the sudden query, as he stuttered and stammered, ¡°Yes¡­ my lord, wasn¡¯t it agreed that we would start the furnace only after my brother is rescued?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you, can you?¡± Winters¡¯s brows furrowed slightly: ¡°Or can¡¯t you?¡±


    Backed into a corner, Carlos answered resolutely: ¡°I can!¡±


    Seeing Carlos¡¯s evasive demeanor, Winters guessed that the likelihood was the young man was not well-versed in his craft.


    In fact, Carlos harbored another layer of thought; he neither wanted to show his mettle before his brother returned nor feared proving his worthlessness would mean no one would go to rescue his brother.


    ¡°Ease your mind,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Whether you help or not, I will rescue your brother. I¡¯ve already sent people to look for Berlion, and we should have news soon. You don¡¯t have to be afraid; your brother was one of my men, and the camaraderie between us is far deeper than you think. That¡¯s why Pierre took you in and protected you, and why I won¡¯t trouble you.¡±


    ...


    Carlos felt a surge of emotion and nodded emphatically.


    Of the Soya family¡¯s three brothers, Carlos¡¯s father and older brother were already gone; everything he did was for the sake of his eldest brother¡¯s safe return.


    Winters sighed. Without the little blacksmith, the little blacksmith should be able to manage as well¡­ he supposed.


    Time was of the essence. Taking Carlos with him, Winters immediately picked up a gift and went to visit the father-in-law of the blacksmith Shosa.


    Shosa¡¯s father-in-law, named Poltan, had many honors: one of Revodan¡¯s first settlers, Revodan¡¯s first blacksmith, and the inaugural president of the Revodan Blacksmith Guild Alliance¡­


    Even when Revodan was nothing more than a few grass huts by the St. George River, flames were already licking the inside of Poltan¡¯s forge.


    The history of his forge even predates the name ¡°Revodan.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    True to his self-made roots, regardless of how much property he accumulated, Poltan still worked beside the anvil every day, earning the reputation for being ¡°hardworking, astute, and robust.¡±


    Thanks to his booming voice, sense of responsibility, and decisive action, blacksmith Poltan gradually became one of Revodan¡¯s most prominent figures, his words carrying a weight no less significant than that of another gentleman leader¡ªthe old tobacco merchant Priskin.


    But all that came to an end with an accident eight years ago.


    Poltan, then beyond fifty, was struck in the back by a falling beam, rendering him unable to feel anything below his waist.


    The capable and astute great blacksmith was transformed into a helpless invalid dependent on others for his every need.


    The people of Revodan expressed their regret and pity for him, but even the combined sighs of the entire population, magnified a hundredfold, couldn¡¯t equal the old man¡¯s mental and physical suffering.


    It was around that time that Shosa, a young blacksmith working at Poltan¡¯s forge, was taken in as his son-in-law.


    Blacksmith Shosa became the new master of the forge while old Poltan withdrew from public life, so much so that he was no longer seen even at weekly religious services.


    But today, Poltan¡¯s house received an unexpected visitor¡ªMilitary Governor Winters Montagne. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had not arranged to meet with Shosa at this time, but he had a habit of acting on his impulses, so he arrived early.


    Both Shosa and old Poltan were astonished.


    ¡°To have such an esteemed gentleman come to see an invalid like me who¡¯s close to death,¡± old Poltan tried to prop up his upper body: ¡°is truly an honor.¡±


    The old man was emaciated, like skin draped over bones. Years of being bedridden had caused his muscles to atrophy, and his cheeks were sunken and sagging.


    Seeing old Poltan now, no one would believe he once was a tall, robust blacksmith with a voice like a tolling bell who laughed and cursed loudly.


    Shosa hurried to assist his father-in-law.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for trouble; let the old man be comfortable as he wishes,¡± Winters said frankly. ¡°Actually, I came to seek assistance on a matter.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± old Poltan replied with a calm expression. ¡°I will withhold nothing.¡±


    ¡°I want to know everything about Iron Peak Mine: where are the mineshafts located? What are the reserves like? How is the quality of the ore? Can it still be mined? You are the person most knowledgeable about the history of Iron Peak County and Revodan, so I¡¯ve come to seek your advice without permission. I hope, sir, that you won¡¯t mind.¡±


    When he heard ¡°the person most knowledgeable about the history of Iron Peak County and Revodan,¡± a flicker of emotion crossed old Poltan¡¯s face, but it vanished just as quickly as a ripple disappears on the water.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much to tell, I hardly know where to start,¡± the old man replied.


    Winters simply pulled up a chair and sat down, then motioned for others to do the same: ¡°Then let me ask, and please don¡¯t hesitate to answer. Can Iron Peak Mine still be mined?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the old man nodded. ¡°Iron Peak Mountain is essentially a mountain of iron. The Herders only exhausted the shallow veins; they didn¡¯t know how to mine any deeper. When we arrived here, we dug three slanted shafts on the north side of the mountain, which is what we call Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    Winters nodded, listening, and then took out a small notebook. ¡°Then why was mining discontinued later on?¡±


    Old Poltan sighed deeply: ¡°The ore from Iron Peak Mine¡­ it¡¯s what blacksmiths call ¡®poisoned ore.¡¯ You might not understand, but Shosa and this youngster here probably do,¡± he said, nodding towards Carlos.


    Although Winters had not introduced Carlos, the young blacksmith¡¯s identity was immediately recognized by the old man.


    ¡°Poisoned ore means it¡¯s bad ore,¡± Carlos said, his voice growing fainter. ¡°The iron smelted from it is also bad; it needs to be¡­ detoxified.¡±


    When he heard the compound word ¡°detoxified,¡± a hint of skepticism flashed in old Poltan¡¯s eyes.


    But the old man didn¡¯t press on and continued: ¡°The best iron for forging is red iron, black iron, and magnet iron, and a purer form of spathic iron is passable, brown iron can also be used. But if the ore contains too much pyrite or siderite, the smelted iron is no good. It becomes brittle and easily breaks.¡±

 Chapter 683 03-25 - 683 35 Blacksmith_2

    ?Chapter 683: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_2 Chapter 683: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_2 Winters listened and took notes, barely understanding the blacksmith jargon spouted by the old man.


    But the old man was in high spirits, and Winters thought it best not to interrupt him.


    Old Poltan reminisced about the past, ¡°Iron Peak Mine could be considered a rich mine, but because the ore was too toxic, we only used the ore from Iron Peak Mine to smelt iron during the first few years. Later, when bars of iron from Steel Fortress became available, Iron Peak Mine gradually declined.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible to resume mining?¡± Winters asked seriously.


    ¡°Of course,¡± the old man said with a soft smile, ¡°The ore is in the mountain; what can¡¯t be mined?¡±


    ¡°To be honest with you,¡± Winters confessed, ¡°I want to reopen Iron Peak Mine and start smelting iron.¡±


    ¡°Why bother?¡± Old Poltan, leaning against the headboard, asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it good to buy bars of iron from Steel Fortress?¡±


    ...


    Winters answered truthfully, ¡°We can¡¯t get bars of iron from Steel Fortress anymore, and all the blacksmiths in Iron Peak County are using stockpiles. If we continue like this, I¡¯m just waiting to die.¡±


    As his words fell, the small room suddenly fell silent.


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Steel Fortress of Solingen is located in the Monta Republic, nestled within the Sheltering Mountain range.


    Thus, the transportation of Steel Fortress¡¯s ironware and bars of iron into Paratu was by water, flowing down the stream until reaching Ashen Stream River.


    To reach Iron Peak County, the shipment must set forth from Ashen Stream River, arriving at Mirror Lake, then moving against the flow of Big Horn River, all the way to Shovel Port on Shovel Lake to offload the ships.


    In peaceful times, of course, there would be no issues, but currently, Blue Rose and Red Rose are at war.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The power of Blue Rose stretches between the controlled area of Red Rose and the Monta Republic.


    Want to reach Ashen Stream River?


    At the barrier of Blue Rose, Steel Fortress¡¯s goods cannot pass¡ªAlpad would cut off the iron supply to Red Rose from Steel Fortress as soon as possible as long as he is of sound mind.


    More unfortunate still is that even if one gets past the barrier of Blue Rose, there¡¯s still the barrier of Red Rose. Kingsfort wouldn¡¯t stand idly by watching the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, which is lukewarm in their allegiance, receiving a supply of ironware.


    Even if one could get past the barrier of Red Rose, there¡¯s still the New Reclamation Legion!


    Iron Peak County is currently under a triple blockade, one layer stricter than the next.


    Let alone ready-made bars of iron, not even a single iron scrap can make it through.


    And Winters needs iron for too many things right now.


    Farming requires tools; tools require iron;


    Winters needs to build houses for refugees and soldiers, which requires tools, and tools also require iron;


    He must also rearm his army as much as possible¡ªyou can¡¯t expect soldiers to fight with just spears, right?


    He wants armor, wants swords and spears, wants firearms; all require iron.


    Winters, victorious in battle, found it tragic that this land could make tables and chairs, pottery, grow crops, grind flour, make paper, but couldn¡¯t produce a pound of iron, a yard of woolen cloth, or a single suit of armor.


    Iron Peak County is a thoroughly backward, agricultural frontier county with undeveloped commerce and only small-scale handicrafts.


    A large estate economy leads to poverty among all except the estate owners.


    In the past, Iron Peak County survived by selling crops and then buying goods it could not produce.


    Now, Iron Peak County¡¯s logistics channels with the outside world have been severed.


    Presented with only two choices, Winters can either sit around until depletion and quietly await death, or he can fight vigorously for self-sufficiency.


    ¡­


    ¡°So that¡¯s it,¡± Old Poltan pondered for a moment, ¡°Then I can understand your urgency to restart Iron Peak Mine, but it¡¯s not going to be easy.¡±


    ¡°This is not only about survival,¡± Winters said earnestly, ¡°A sage once told me, ¡®The more times money circulates, the more money there will be.¡¯ Have you ever heard of this?¡±


    ¡°No, shouldn¡¯t money decrease the more it circulates?¡± Old Poltan¡¯s voice was deep.


    Winters seized the opportunity to spread the concept of [Circulation Theory], ¡°For an individual, money decreases with circulation. A dockworker gets his wages and buys bread. The baker earns money and then goes to the mill to buy flour. With each transaction, a little money is lost. In the end, only a small part ends up in the pockets of the farmers.¡±


    He quoted Anna verbatim, ¡°But when the baker earns money, he can support his family. When the mill owner earns money, he too can support his family. Each circulation of money makes the city, even the country, more prosperous; in this sense, the overall wealth is ¡®increasing.¡¯


    Compared to being hoarded and deeply buried by misers and wealthy tycoons. Money should circulate more and more. The more frequent the circulation, the better!¡±


    Young blacksmith Carlos was bewildered, middle-aged blacksmith Tess was thoughtful, and old blacksmith Poltan grew increasingly astonished as he listened.


    The [Circulation Theory] described by the Protector, he too had once vaguely conceived. But he had never managed to sum it up into a clear, concise, and plainly stated theory.


    ¡°To make money circulate more, first, reduce the resistance in the channels of circulation, which is to promote commerce;¡± Winters spoke confidently: ¡°Second, we need to create sources! Money is like water; it needs a source to keep flowing.¡±


    He looked straight into Old Poltan¡¯s eyes, ¡°I want to smelt iron to create a source. I don¡¯t just want to smelt iron; I want to engage in any production I possibly can. Even if ¡®making¡¯ costs more than others, it¡¯s better than buying!


    I have no desire to disguise my thoughts. My primary goal is to save myself, to become stronger. If, in the process, I can seek welfare for the countless people of Iron Peak County, I will do my best.


    Currently, under my authority, Iron Peak County, if not a beneficiary to everyone, will at least not be worse off than the New Reclamation Legion!¡±

 Chapter 684 03-25 - 684 35 Blacksmith_3

    ?Chapter 684: Chapter 35: Blacksmith_3 Chapter 684: Chapter 35: Blacksmith_3 The room fell into a profound silence; neither Sasha nor Carlos dared to breathe.


    ¡°True heroes emerge from youth, and I, an old man, am genuinely a bit scared,¡± Old Poltan said with a bitter smile, shaking his head: ¡°These thoughts of ¡®the more money circulates, the more it grows,¡¯ did you come up with them yourself? The sage, you¡¯re referring to yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t dare take the credit; it was truly a wise person who told me,¡± Winters replied.


    ¡°Who is this wise person?¡± Old Poltan asked with some anticipation: ¡°May I meet them?¡±


    ¡°Another day I will personally bring the sage to visit,¡± Winters said with a hint of red on his cheeks, proudly telling the old man, ¡°These were all taught to me by my wife.¡±


    ¡°Ah? The She-Wolf? The female warrior?¡± Sasha thought in shock, ¡°Could it be that Lady Montaigne is not just good at fighting?¡±


    Old Poltan¡¯s smile grew more bitter, and after the bitterness, it turned into unconcern: ¡°Hahaha! Heroes emerge not only from young men but also from young women!¡±


    ...


    Winters laughed heartily too.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve had similar ideas to what you mentioned,¡± Old Poltan said, sitting up straight: ¡°Back then, I considered why Iron Peak Mine couldn¡¯t compete with the imported Steel Fortress bar iron, and it wasn¡¯t just because of poor quality.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s expensive, the cost is high, right?¡± Winters immediately understood.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Old Poltan nodded: ¡°If it were cheap enough, even if it was slightly inferior in quality, the Steel Fortress bar iron would absolutely not be able to compete with Iron Peak Mine¡ªthe Steel Fortress bar iron has to be transported across the entirety of Paratu to arrive at Revodan, and the shipping costs alone are immense! How could it compete with them?¡±


    The more the old man spoke, the faster his speech became; he reverted to the once booming-voiced Master Ironsmith Poltan: ¡°If the iron smelting of Iron Peak County could turn into a big business like that of Steel Fortress, Revodan would be better off, Iron Peak County would be better off.¡±


    ¡°But buying the mine costs money, buying charcoal costs money, flattening the furnace costs money, hiring people costs money; everything costs money. All these expenses added up end up being more trouble than it¡¯s worth compared to just buying Steel Fortress bar iron!¡±


    Master Ironsmith Poltan cursed with fervor: ¡°Especially the charcoal! You need good charcoal for smelting iron, but the forests belong to the legion. Want to cut down trees for charcoal? Fork over the cash! Money, money, money! That¡¯s all the goddamn garrison cares about! Selling land for money, selling trees for money, selling the mine for money¡ªthe legion has never thought about how important it is to support an industry for us common folk!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Sasha¡¯s face turned pale with fright. Although Iron Peak County had changed hands, openly criticizing the New Reclamation Legion was still unimaginable.


    This kind of insult to the old authority was fundamentally a disdain for authority. It could easily attract the resentment and suppression of the new authority, even if it was criticizing enemies of the new authority¡ªa commoner could not publicly criticize a former duke.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right!¡± Winters found a kindred spirit, unable to hold back: ¡°The New Reclamation Legion doesn¡¯t care about the people¡¯s lives at all. What they want is money, grain, and soldiers. They don¡¯t represent the interests of the people of the Newly Reclaimed Land because they only have their own interests in mind! All their actions are aimed at extracting more and more!¡±


    Left to the side, Sasha and Carlos watched as Winters found an unexpected bond with the bedridden, frail old man.


    ¡°Back in the day, I calculated carefully; using stone coal for smelting iron would greatly reduce costs. Then the iron produced by Iron Peak Mine could compete with the Steel Fortress bar iron.¡± Old Poltan¡¯s pain, sorrow, and despair resurfaced.


    Tears flowed down his face as he muttered, ¡°Those years, not a day went by that I didn¡¯t study how to smelt iron with stone coal. I spent sleepless nights buying charcoal, setting up furnaces, sifting ore¡­ But what did it get me? I ended up a wreck of a man. This is the blessing the gods bestowed upon me; this is the reward fate has given me¡­¡±


    Winters was unaware of such complexities.


    ¡°Please rest assured.¡± Winters could only try his best to console the old man, ¡°The New Reclamation Legion has already screwed off! Iron Peak County is now under my control, iron ore, charcoal, you needn¡¯t pay a dime for them! I hope you won¡¯t hesitate to help me revive Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    ¡°As one grows old, they tend to ramble on,¡± Old Poltan wiped away his tears, striving to straighten his back, and asked Winters seriously, ¡°You want to restart Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The trees and the iron mine are yours?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll also need manpower, lots of it. Do you have that?¡±


    Winters softly coughed once, ¡°Yes, I have more than a thousand captives.¡±


    ¡­


    Tang Juan had captured over a thousand captives from Vernge County; these captives couldn¡¯t be released, killed, or directly granted land to enlist soldiers¡ªbecause there were not enough resources to maintain them.


    Winters had decided to provide the captives with something to eat, but they had to work three years without compensation.


    In name, the captives would perform labor due to their hostility towards Iron Peak County; in reality, they were slaves with a three-year term.


    At present, the captives had already been taken to Forging Village, where under the supervision of the military, they were working with Winters¡¯ soldiers to rush the sowing of winter crops.


    Once the winter wheat and winter barley were sown, Winters planned to group the captives into logging and construction teams to build houses for the refugees.


    Selecting personnel to work in the iron mine from them posed no legal or logical problems.


    ¡­


    ¡°Then we can start working!¡± Old Poltan regained his decisive demeanor: ¡°With the mine, the charcoal, and the people, what¡¯s to fear? If we encounter mountains, we pave the way; if we come across water, we build bridges. Let¡¯s strike the first blow! Whatever problem arises, we solve it then and there!¡±


    The more Winters interacted with the old ironsmith, the more he admired his spirit: ¡°Well said! Let¡¯s strike the first blow!¡±


    ¡°Sasha!¡± Old Poltan reached out for the paper and pen on the table.

 Chapter 685 03-25 - 685 35 Blacksmith_4

    ?Chapter 685: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_4 Chapter 685: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_4 Shaun hurriedly brought the paper and pen to his father-in-law, Winters. On his desk lay a thick stack of parchment, covered with handwriting. There were also many sketches and crumpled draft papers.


    ¡°You go to Forging Village and call Gangchalov over for me,¡± the old man scrawled messily on the paper. ¡°He led the crew that dug the slanted shaft back then, he knows the workings of the mine vein best!¡±


    Shaun¡¯s body trembled, and he swallowed before saying in a low voice, ¡°Old Gangchalov is dead. He died the year before last.¡±


    Old Poltan¡¯s pen paused, and he asked blankly, ¡°How did he die?¡±


    ¡°Of old age,¡± Shaun ventured. ¡°The year before last, Mary and I told you, it was the day before Ascension Day. At that time, you were writing your book and didn¡¯t want us to disturb you¡­¡±


    ¡°What about Paulo? Paulo Vinius?¡± Old Poltan¡¯s lips trembled as he asked, ¡°Is he still alive?¡±


    ¡°Old Mr. Vinius also died, drunk to death,¡± Shaun answered. ¡°His Forge is now run by his youngest son.¡±


    ...


    ¡°They¡¯re all dead! We¡¯re all of age!¡± Old Poltan first cried and then laughed, ¡°I¡¯m going to die soon too! So I can¡¯t waste any more time!¡±


    Struggling at his desk, old Poltan eventually found a map and handed it to the new lord of Iron Peak County, ¡°Your Excellency, this is a map from twenty-eight years ago. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s accurate anymore. You go to Forging Village and just find any old blacksmith. With this map, have him lead you to the mine.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Winters smiled as he took the map. ¡°As long as there¡¯s a map, I can find the way.¡±


    Old Poltan said regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity I¡¯m crippled, or I would certainly go with you! Being stuck in this broken bed, I¡¯ll just stay in Revodan and recruit soldiers and buy horses for you. Cough, I dream of the day when the furnaces of Iron Peak Mine are smoking again! Please, let me see that day before I die! With that, I¡¯ll die with no regrets.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of furnaces,¡± Winters laughed out loud. ¡°I¡¯ve brought something new to Iron Peak County, something that can completely change the Iron Peak Mine, and it¡¯s also my ace in the hole!¡±


    Shaun¡¯s eyes widened, while old Poltan was also tantalized.


    ¡°It¡¯s him,¡± Winters patted Carlos¡¯s shoulder.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Him?¡± Shaun was puzzled.


    Winters said emphatically, ¡°This lad¡ªhe knows how to smelt iron with a blast furnace!¡±


    ¡°Him? He knows?¡± Shaun was astounded, having thought the young boy beside the bailiff was just an attendant: ¡°Such a young master craftsman?¡±


    ¡°Having a blast furnace would of course be best.¡± Old Poltan was somewhat disappointed, clearly not believing that a boy, not yet fully grown, knew about blast furnaces: ¡°But it¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t have one.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man sighed, reminiscing about the old days, ¡°Back then we all used the traditional bloomery to smelt iron. It¡¯s also why the iron from Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t beat the steel bars from the Steel Fortress¡ªthe iron from the Fortress is smelted with blast furnaces, saving time and effort. I¡¯ve also tried to construct a blast furnace, but didn¡¯t succeed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Winters was all smiles. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to try, right?¡±


    Carlos was on the verge of tears.


    As they were parting, Winters asked old Poltan, ¡°I heard you mention earlier that you¡¯ve tried to smelt iron with coal?¡±


    ¡°The coal is toxic, smelting iron with coal, good iron ore was all ruined,¡± Poltan sighed again. ¡°So I¡¯ve always wanted to remove the toxicity of the coal, but I didn¡¯t succeed.¡±


    ¡°Where did the coal come from?¡± Winters asked with a slight lift of his eyebrow: ¡°Does coal come from the neighboring county?¡±


    ¡°Iron Peak County has coal,¡± Poltan replied as if it were obvious. ¡°It¡¯s in Shizhen. Shizhen is really Coal Town, but it¡¯s wet coal, we need to drain it, and mining is a bit difficult.¡±


    With a soft gasp, Winters bowed in farewell to the old man.


    Shaun escorted the bailiff all the way to the door. Winters casually asked Shaun, ¡°Mr. Poltan is writing a book?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, he¡¯s writing a book about the life of a blacksmith,¡± Shaun nodded.


    ¡°When I return, I¡¯ll make a stand for Mr. Poltan so he can write more easily,¡± Winters thought for a moment and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll also need to make a recliner, so the old man can lie down more comfortably.¡±


    ¡°I dare not, I dare not.¡± Shaun hastily declined.


    ¡°When it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll bring it over to you.¡± Winters instructed further, ¡°Hire a servant to massage the elder¡¯s limbs every day. I too once lay in bed for a long time due to an injury, and it was only because someone massaged my limbs that my muscles did not atrophy.¡±


    ¡°Massaging the limbs is useful?¡± Shaun heard of this therapy for the first time.


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°I will arrange it right away.¡± Shaun said with gratitude, bowing his head, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters patted Shaun on the arm and left with Carlos.


    While riding on the road, Winters suddenly spoke up, ¡°Carlos!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Carlos jerked to attention, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked you up quite a bit,¡± Winters said with a benevolent smile, ¡°Don¡¯t let me down.¡±


    Carlos also smiled, an even uglier smile than if he had cried.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just teasing you. I know what you¡¯re made of without weighing you,¡± Winters tapped the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulder with his riding crop, ¡°Just do your best.¡±


    Carlos nodded furiously, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, ¡°To make a high furnace, clay kilns won¡¯t do, we need fire-resistant bricks. You have to find me a brickmaker too.¡±


    ¡°Another brickmaker? Revodan only has stone masons, where am I supposed to find you a brickmaker? If there¡¯s no brickmaker, you¡¯ll have to make the bricks yourself!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Carlos had just climbed out of a deep valley, only to fall back in.


    Memories seemed linked by threads of silk, drawing Winters¡¯s thoughts back to several months ago.


    Contemplating, Winters said to the young blacksmith, ¡°I do actually have a pair of brickmakers.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Carlos was immediately excited.


    ¡°You know them.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The kiln worker Shaun, and his brother Shaun Ping,¡± Winters chuckled softly, ¡°The brothers who helped old Misha and you back in Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re brickmakers?¡± Carlos exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Weren¡¯t they just bellows-pullers?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send for them right away!¡±


    Seeing that the last obstacle to building the high furnace was removed, Carlos looked glum again.


    ¡°No.¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I want to go back to Wolf Town myself!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go just to fetch a brickmaker,¡± Carlos said frankly, ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not only going to fetch the Shaun brothers.¡± The smile on Winters¡¯s face grew wider, ¡°I am also going to fetch a priest!¡±

 Chapter 686 03-25 - 686 36 Chapters School

    ?Chapter 686: 36 Chapters School Chapter 686: 36 Chapters School Winters was always a man of action, and he immediately wanted to set out for Wolf Town to meet up with Caman and the kiln-building brothers. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But after a bit of thought, he decided to depart the next day instead.


    The straight-line distance from Revodan to Wolf Town was nearly three hundred miles¡ªa real journey. Winters had many affairs related to Wolf Town on his hands, and if he could handle them all in one trip, it would save him the trouble of making another.


    ¡°Xial.¡± Having returned to his quarters, Winters began to arrange the trip, ¡°Go find Andre and have him prepare the horses to be sent to Bard. We¡¯ll take them along tomorrow.¡±


    Xial nodded, affirming the instruction, and quickly left.


    From Mont Blanc County, Andre had acquired over a thousand mares and foals, and together with the existing three hundred or so horses from Iron Peak County, the garrison suddenly found itself with a side group of almost fifteen hundred horses.


    Andre and Mason were overseeing the construction of stables and the cutting of hay, preparing for the herd¡¯s winter.


    ...


    Mason was temporarily unaware that he had been ¡°elected¡± as the head of the horse farm¡ªWinters was still seeking a good opportunity to discuss the matter with his senior.


    According to Bard¡¯s suggestion, the horses of Iron Peak County would no longer be raised collectively.


    Only the best warhorses were kept; the second-rate warhorses and riding horses were distributed among the military outposts and farms. Even mares without foals were selected and readied to be sent out.


    In such trying conditions, any horse had to be put to work.


    Andre was less than pleased, but since Winters had approved, he had no objections.


    Mason, on the other hand, was relieved. If the fifteen hundred horses were all kept in Revodan for the winter, surely a large number would die of starvation or freeze¡ªa maintenance they simply could not afford.


    Distributing them, although risky, would greatly reduce the demand for hay and stables.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã0


    ¡°The iron goods meant for Lieutenant Bard will also be taken along this time.¡± Winters called over his taciturn standard-bearer, ¡°Go tally them and load the wagons, Heinrich.¡±


    Heinrich nodded, silently awaiting the next command.


    ¡°Go to the prison,¡± Winters said, with what appeared to be a smile, ¡°and take that rascal Bunting along tomorrow.¡±


    Heinrich nodded again.


    ¡°That¡¯s all, you may go.¡±


    With a salute, Heinrich left without uttering a word.


    Xial was lively and quick-witted; Heinrich was composed. Winters truly liked and trusted these two ¡°children¡± from the bottom of his heart. From the beginning, both had served as his gendarmes, later doubling as his guards, orderlies, messengers¡­


    Winters wanted to send the two boys out to take on greater responsibilities. But he was reluctant; Xial and Heinrich took care of the major and minor matters of his life, significantly improving his work efficiency and life quality.


    But what kind of man could be content being a guard for life?¡ªthis was Winters¡¯ plain thinking.


    He decided to respect the wishes of the two children, to ask their opinions before deciding what was next for them.


    At this thought, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply. He absently fiddled with the small knife, regretful that there were so few competent people at his side.


    What are ¡°competent people¡±?


    They are the ones who, when given the order by the military council to ¡°build stables,¡± depart to fulfill the command and return with the stables completed, all without the need for much oversight.


    Apart from Winters himself, only a few such as Bard and Mason possessed the ability to plan, execute, and make decisions independently.


    Even Andre had been pulled out to serve as the Chief Paymaster¡ªthere was simply a shortage of personnel.


    Even Winters¡¯ personal accounts and the garrison¡¯s ledgers were currently managed by Anna.


    The human resources at the new garrison were not at all comparable to those at the old one. Major Ronald had over twenty officers under him, while Winters had only six in total, and among them, one mystery handsome man always shirked responsibility, while another mystery handsome man was too lazy to care.


    Revodan was not lacking in financial experts; old Priskin was clearly also capable of managing the accounts with precision, but Winters did not trust the old tobacco merchant.


    Those with ability could not be trusted; those Winters trusted did not have such ability.


    In the end, ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± had to take charge.


    ¡°The matter of the accounting school also needs urgent attention.¡± Winters unconsciously etched line after line on the table with the knife, ¡°We have to train and shape trustworthy people into capable ones.¡±


    The establishment of the ¡°Crash Course in Accounting¡± was Anna¡¯s suggestion, which Winters had happily noted, but now it seemed more urgent than he had imagined.


    ¡°So, who should be put in charge of the accounting school?¡± Winters¡¯ headache began anew.


    Thinking it over only led to one conclusion: he had to do it himself.


    ¡°Location, funding, student body, teachers¡­¡± Winters listed on paper the things needed to start a school.


    All at once, he took a deep breath and smacked the desk, ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s all these things, so why not expand the military training classes as well?¡±


    Previously, Winters¡¯ ¡°Military Classroom¡± mainly operated as an evening course.


    As night fell and the other soldiers prepared to sleep after dinner, the soldiers and Centurions selected by Winters would gather to attend his class.


    It was truly a bitter experience; Winters was driven to fury every day. Those who came to the class were utterly ignorant, having to be taught the most basic words on the spot.


    An even bigger problem was their lack of seriousness; they didn¡¯t take it to heart at all. Some even stole many of the chess pieces that Winters used to demonstrate tactics.


    After experiencing just one evening class, Winters completely abandoned the gentle approach to teaching and embraced the banner of stick education without looking back.


    Can¡¯t memorize the alphabet?


    Whack!


    Can¡¯t distinguish north, south, east, west?


    Whack!


    Can¡¯t recognize map symbols?

 Chapter 687 03-25 - 687 36 School_2

    ?Chapter 687: Chapter 36 School_2 Chapter 687: Chapter 36 School_2 Whack!


    The vine whips kept breaking so often that the warriors attending the class secretly nicknamed Xial ¡°Another One¡± behind his back.


    Because every time Winters broke a vine whip, Xial would immediately hand him a new one.


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, Samujin¡­ They were all made into ¡°Centurions¡± by Winters through relentless beatings with the vine whip.


    Since a crash course accounting school could be set up, setting up a crash course military school didn¡¯t seem too difficult either.


    The more Winters thought about it, the more elated he became.


    ¡°We must have an Infantry Department! I¡¯ll be the headmaster,¡± Winters muttered to himself as he wrote on the paper, ¡°The Cavalry Department is a must, too! Andre, well¡­ let¡¯s have Bard do it. Artillery Department, Senior Mason! Even though we don¡¯t have a single cannon right now¡­¡±


    ...


    Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, the classic triad of the Ned Smith military system.


    Winters stared blankly at the three words on the paper, and a bold idea sprang up in his mind, ¡°Maybe¡­ I can break free from the old Marshal¡¯s shackles.¡±


    This thought made him feel guilty¡ªhow dare he compare himself with the old Marshal?


    Yet, the idea thrilled him to the core.


    Winters realized he was starting from scratch, with a blank slate before him. So he could do things any way he wanted!


    He crossed out the words Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry with force. He took a new sheet of paper and, in the most solemn font, wrote first:


    Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    These three categories were fundamental.


    Chewing on his pen, he remembered the sieges one after another in the battle of the islands, the attacks on Bianli in the Great Wilderness, and firmly wrote down a fourth word¡ªEngineers.


    In Ned Smith¡¯s military system, the Engineers and Artillery were not separated; the Artillery Department was responsible for everything other than infantry and cavalry.


    That wasn¡¯t a problem, because back then artillery units were small; for many lords, maintaining an artillery unit was too expensive. So they didn¡¯t establish artillery units and hired artillery battalions from outside when going to war.


    Turning artillery into a regular branch of the military, on a par with infantry and cavalry, was already a leap forward by Ned Smith.


    Winters Montagne planned to take an even bigger step¡ªhe wanted to separate Engineers from Artillery, making it a distinct academic discipline.


    Every siege battle he had experienced reminded him that the role of engineers in war could no longer be overlooked.


    Chances for the ancient style of open-field battles where two armies would line up in formation were now pitifully rare. Siege warfare was the main theme! Engineers deserved their own branch.


    After writing down Engineers, Winters thoughtfully wrote down a fifth word¡ªLogistics.


    In the current military system of the Republic, whoever was appointed by the ¡°Legion Commander¡± to manage logistics would do so. It was mainly people from the Artillery Department, because with so few cannons and so many artillery soldiers, who else would take care of it if not them?


    Some unlucky cavalry and infantry officers would also be assigned to transport logistics, like the once Jeska¡¯s unit.


    Now that engineers had been separated, logistics should also be singled out for specialized training.


    In that case, artillery would simply be artillery. Artillery officers wouldn¡¯t have to be bothered with all sorts of miscellaneous tasks anymore; they only needed to focus on handling the cannons.


    Winters pondered for a moment longer, then carefully folded the white paper and tucked it into his little notebook. This was a big deal, and he needed to consult with comrades like Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    By comparison, the crash course accounting school was a minor issue.


    ¡°Let Anna be responsible for planning the accounting school,¡± Winters thought. ¡°I¡¯ll just implement it.¡±


    ¡­


    Early the next morning, a convoy departed from Revodan.


    Winters set off for Wolf Town with over four hundred horses, seven carts of axes, shovels, rakes, plows, and a death row prisoner. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no special ceremony. Just a few people like Mason, Anna, Shao Sha, and Carlos came to see them off.


    ¡°Safe travels,¡± Anna carefully smoothed out Winters¡¯ collar and lapels. ¡°May the wind be at your back.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± Winters laughed heartily. ¡°Back in the day, I would ride alone, and in just two days, I could make a round trip between Wolf Town and Revodan. Now it¡¯s become troublesome, and not in the least bit free.¡±


    The prospect of getting out of the city and breathing some fresh air made Winters practically radiate with joy. The Little Lion insisted on coming along¡­ He was also dying of boredom.


    Anna gave a light snort and stealthily pinched Winters¡¯ waist with her nail, causing him to sharply inhale from the pain.


    ¡°Come back early,¡± Anna¡¯s smile was as pure and spotless as that of a saint.


    Winters nodded fervently.


    Their movements were subtle; those beside them didn¡¯t understand what had happened. But the brief scene did not escape the blacksmith Shao Sha, who had been sneakily observing. To him, it looked as if the she-wolf gently moved a finger and the Blood Wolf trembled all over, immediately begging for mercy.


    This made blacksmith Shao Sha empathize with the poor Public Protector and admire Lady Montaigne even more.


    Winters approached Shao Sha and Carlos, sensing an inexplicable hint of pity in the middle-aged blacksmith¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Give it your all, you two,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°When I come back, I hope to see at least enough raw ore and charcoal for one trial production.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured!¡± Shao Sha and Carlos nodded vigorously.


    ¡­


    Yesterday afternoon, unable to contain himself, Winters took a map and headed straight for Tie Feng Mountain. Along the road paved with slag, he easily found the abandoned mine shaft.


    Just as the old blacksmith Poltan had said, the entire Tie Feng Mountain was a ¡°mountain of iron.¡± Standing on top and plunging a shovel into the ground, the shovel¡¯s tip would hit the hard bedrock before it was fully submerged in the soil.


    That¡¯s why Tiefeng was bare, not a single tree grew. At the base of the mountain, the situation was slightly better¨Cthe weathered rock debris blown to the foot of the mountain formed soil. As one went higher, Tiefeng became more desolate, with just a few stubborn clumps of grass managing to survive in such harsh conditions.

 Chapter 688 03-25 - 688 36 School_3

    ?Chapter 688: 36 Chapter School_3 Chapter 688: 36 Chapter School_3 Historically, Tie Feng Mountain had changed hands several times. Neither the Herders nor the Paratu People would pass up such a natural iron mine.


    Therefore, the surface outcrop mines on Iron Peak had been exhausted long ago.


    Seventy years ago, the Suta Faction among the Herders once again occupied this place. They followed the ore veins to dig shafts, gradually exploiting the shallow deposits. The remnants of their old smelting furnaces still exist on Iron Peak.


    Then, thirty years later, the land was recaptured by the Paratu People.


    Driven off the land, the Suta Faction sadly sang, ¡°Without Tie Feng Mountain, our swords and blades dull; without Nine Bend River, our livestock lack fence and stall.¡±


    Forced to migrate west after losing Tie Feng Mountain, the Suta Faction was ultimately crushed in the brutal tribal warfare of the wilderness and was swallowed up by the Terdon Tribe. The once powerful Suta Faction was thus swept into the dustbin of history, much to everyone¡¯s lament.


    There is no need to mention the past of the Herders, as the pages of time have already turned.


    ...


    Thirty years ago, the blacksmith Poltan moved here and lived off the mountain. He mined the ore, forged iron, smelted agricultural tools, and then sold them to new immigrants.


    The newly arrived farmers were in dire need of agricultural tools, and ironware was in short supply. Seizing the opportunity, blacksmith Poltan made his first fortune.


    With money came ambition. To obtain better quality ore, blacksmith Poltan led his men to dig a slanting mine shaft two hundred steps into the mountain, then extended the working face to both sides.


    The ore veins here were sandwiched between layers of quartz, making mining even more difficult.


    But compared to the Herders¡¯ method of vertical shafts, baskets, and slave labor as the main workforce, the mining efficiency of old blacksmith Poltan¡¯s era had greatly improved.


    Forging Village became prosperous, and Iron Peak County even started exporting ironware to neighboring counties.


    After that, the winds of change shifted once more¡ªafter years of negotiation and debate, the Senas Alliance was officially declared.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The various Republics reduced tariffs among themselves, beginning to trade on a broader scale. This promoted commercial prosperity, which was good for the Republics but bad for Forging Village and blacksmith Poltan.


    Cheap ironware and bar iron produced in the Steel Fortress were transported through waterways into Paratu, devastating the Paratu blacksmiths who were still at the stage of handcraft workshops, quickly overtaking the Paratu ironware market.


    Old blacksmith Poltan was one among those ¡°routed.¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What Winters saw later was the result¡ªalmost no Paratu blacksmiths were smelting iron anymore, all were buying ready-made bar steel; nobody was forging swords, all were buying ready-made sword blanks.


    This might have been good for the Alliance as a whole, but it was bad for the present Winters, a terrible misfortune.


    He intended to change this phenomenon.


    ¡­


    Winters had already sent people to explore the mine tunnels, and he ordered Sasha and Carlos to mine small-scale ores in preparation for trial building a blast furnace.


    It was impossible to restart the abandoned Iron Peak Mine all at once, but it was not difficult to extract a few hundred kilograms of ore for a trial.


    That¡¯s because the very act of ¡°mining¡± had not seen any significant leaps forward in thousands of years.


    Slaves centuries ago and today¡¯s miners still carried chisels and hammers into the mines, chipping away with their arms ¡°cling-clang.¡± It was simply a matter of changing from bronze chisels to iron chisels, and then iron chisels to steel ones.


    According to old blacksmith Poltan, there was also a ¡°cracking method¡± that involved burning with fire before dousing with water. But in poorly ventilated mines, this method often resulted in fatalities, so few mine owners would use it.


    Finally, Winters stood before Senior Mason, ¡°Senior, I trust Revodan to your care.¡±


    Juan was addicted to hunting, Andre to leisurely horse-runs, and Colonel Moritz to alcohol; with Bard absent and Winters leaving, the only reliable decision-maker left in Revodan City was ¡°Richard Mason, Military Protector of the People.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Mason said with a reluctant, bitter smile, ¡°nothing will go wrong.¡±


    In fact, Senior Mason had recently been carried away by his new cannon carriage and casting plans. However, the Senior had a strong sense of responsibility and was easy to talk to, unlike the other three who, when they said they would disengage, truly did disengage.


    Without a word, Winters saluted the Senior with his hand¡ªan unspoken acknowledgment that of the six people in the military council, three did no work, leaving the pain known only to the remaining three.


    Mason solemnly returned the salute¡ªbut his mind was still on his new cannon carriage.


    ¡°If the axle is strong enough,¡± Mason mused as his thoughts drifted far away, ¡°perhaps it could work even without a shock-absorbing structure?¡±


    After a simple farewell, Winters mounted his horse, nodding a final salute to the others.


    Anna approached Winters with a cup in hand, presenting him with the parting Stirrup Wine before his departure.


    He drained the cup in one gulp, raised his whip, and began his journey.

 Chapter 689 03-25 - 689 37 Harvest Festival

    ?Chapter 689: Chapter 37 Harvest Festival Chapter 689: Chapter 37 Harvest Festival The winter came somewhat late this year.


    It was almost November, yet the evening sun still cast a sliver of warmth over the fields.


    The dreamlike pure blue sky was smeared with a layer of vast twilight, enveloping farmhouses, open fields, rivers, and the distant forests and mountains shrouded in light purple haze.


    Night was drawing near, and the farmers from the villages east and west of the river had long returned home to drink barley porridge.


    But on the land that was once Mitchell¡¯s estate, now the first ¡°Harvest¡± farm of Wolfton town, there were still people laboring.


    An old man with his coat open, stubbornly lifted his wrinkled forehead, firmly holding the plough with both hands, walking barefoot in front.


    Two draft horses struggled to pull the plow, walking ahead of the old man. Moist steam blew from their nostrils, and sweat gathered on their ribs, streaming down in beads.


    ...


    Behind the horses, the deep plow blade dug a long furrow into the soil.


    The subsoil was turned over, large clumps of turf spiraled in the air following the moldboard, eventually lying upside down next to the furrow.


    In front of the plow blade were a pair of wheels, which alleviated the horses¡¯ burden and ensured the blade entered the soil a perfect nine inches deep, no more, no less.


    This was the heavy plow, equipped with a yoke, wheels, and a moldboard fit for turning soil.


    It was cumbersome and slow, requiring significant effort to turn. To minimize the number of times the plow had to be turned while plowing, the smallholder farmers¡¯ plots were narrow and elongated, arranged side by side like zebra stripes.


    Having discussed the disadvantages, let¡¯s move on to the advantages. Simply put, it could cultivate the tough, heavy clay that was otherwise difficult to farm.


    The soil of Paratu was sticky and heavy, with plenty of rocks. Before the invention and spread of the heavy plow, this kind of land was utterly worthless. It was left to grow trees and grass, unfit for settled agriculture and at best used for grazing.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã?


    So, the people of the Ancient Republic disdainfully called the fishing and hunting tribes living here ¡°pig herders,¡± because one of their major food sources was to drive pigs into the forests to forage and then hunt the semi-wild pigs in the autumn.


    It could be said that the history of the Ancient Empire¡¯s expansion into the wilderness was the history of the spread and branching out of the heavy plow.


    The horse-drawn heavy plow had another advantage over the ox-drawn one¡ªspeed.


    The old man managed the plow, and in the blink of an eye, he had already covered a hundred meters.


    Merely turning the soil over was far from enough; it also needed to be ¡°harrowed¡± to make it loose and airy.


    So, behind the old man followed a dozen or so youths. The ones in front wielded sticks and pickheads, shattering the large chunks of hardpan as they went; the others dragged a rake like that of a bed of nails behind them, gently scraping the surface of the earth and further breaking apart the clods, slightly leveling the field.


    Harrowing was usually done by horses pulling a harrow frame. But Harvest Farm had more manpower than animal power, and the valuable horses were harnessed to ploughs, naturally leaving the harrowing to the half-grown youths.


    Following the youths were their parents.


    A short middle-aged farmer shouldered a small basket of seeds, rhythmically swinging his arm. The seeds leaked from his fingers like dripping rainwater from the eves, scattering evenly over the loose soil.


    This was literally ¡°broadcast sowing,¡± completely done by hand.


    It might seem like an easy job, since the short middle-aged farmer was hardly sweating. He walked unhurriedly under the slanted rays of the autumn sun, as if a knight were surveying his estate. Meanwhile, everyone else, old and young, was already drenched in sweat.


    In reality, sowing was the most difficult task, requiring great skill. Only if the seeds were sown evenly could the wheat grow uniformly.


    You might slack off on other farm work, and if done poorly, there was a chance to do it over. But if the seeds were sown unevenly, there was no second chance.


    The sowing had always been supervised by the plow-holding old man himself. But now he was too old, and his hands had grown unsteady, so with mixed emotions, he handed the seed basket to his eldest son and went to man the plow instead.


    Four adult farmers tugged a log roller, walking behind the sower.


    The roller flattened the field the seeds were embedded into the soil, and the ground was appropriately compacted for easier harvesting later on. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lastly, a few women carrying water jugs followed, bending over from time to time to water the ground where the wheat had been sown. Only after tasting water would the seeds germinate and root.


    Watering was another activity requiring patience and precision; over-watering wasn¡¯t okay, and neither was under-watering, so this task was given to the women.


    Two horses, a plow, and a group of diligent people slowly progressed across the open field, with the wheat seeds thus being sown.


    Compared to the desolate, silent land, the seeds were tiny. But they were life, and life could grow. One day, the small seeds would stand tall on the earth in their golden bodies, bearing new life.


    By then, this dead silence of the wilderness would be transformed into a golden ocean.


    Three men sat atop the farm¡¯s fence, watching this ordinary yet grand scene enthralled.


    From left to right, they were Bard, Winters, and Little Lion.


    ¡°Do you know what the easiest crop to grow in the world is?¡± Bard suddenly asked.


    ¡°Rye?¡± Little Lion asked curiously.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s people.¡± Bard sighed softly, ¡°[Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it]. These crops, once sown, will stubbornly grow even if left unattended.¡±


    Winters and Little Lion chewed on these words, falling into thought.


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion has delayed us for too long,¡± Bard lamented, ¡°We simply don¡¯t have enough time to properly tend the fields. Right now, we must plow and sow as widely and quickly as possible, so we can¡¯t afford to be meticulous.¡±

 Chapter 690 03-25 - 690 37 Harvest_2

    ?Chapter 690: Chapter 37 Harvest_2 Chapter 690: Chapter 37 Harvest_2 ¡°Isn¡¯t this meticulous? There¡¯s a vanguard, a central unit, and a rearguard, just like marching into battle,¡± Winters solemnly appraised, ¡°It¡¯s more interesting than slaughtering pigs.¡±


    ¡°Normally, farming isn¡¯t done this way; one only does one task at a time. First, plow the field, and for more careful work, plow it three times. Then rake, seed, and compress. Finally, water it thoroughly,¡± Bard patiently explained, ¡°We¡¯re doing it like this now because we¡¯re short on time and we have plenty of manpower.¡±


    When Winters returned to Wolf Town, Bard took him to see the results at the farm.


    There were several farmers near Winters, digging and trenching.


    Looking around, he could see an additional three sets of plows. They were far off, small like ants crawling on the ground, yet they were also moving slowly but steadfastly forward.


    [First Harvest Farm], the number ¡°First¡± was assigned by Bard, while the name ¡°Harvest¡± was chosen by the refugees themselves, bearing their deepest hopes.


    ¡°What are they doing over there?¡± Winters asked, looking at the nearby diggers.


    ...


    ¡°Digging drainage ditches to prevent waterlogging in the fields.¡±


    The farmers digging the drainage ditches mostly had wooden tools, with only one pickaxe and one spade made of iron; some even used ox scapulae¡ªas shovels.


    Winters sighed, ¡°It would be nice if we had more iron tools.¡±


    ¡°So you brought me thirty more heavy plows?¡± Bard¡¯s smile hid a tease.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I also bring a hundred axes?¡± Winters¡¯ cheeks turned slightly red, ¡°There¡¯s still some iron left in Forging Village, but now there¡¯s a shortage of blacksmiths. Rather than recasting the iron which is time-consuming and laborious, it¡¯s better to make new tools. Besides, they¡¯re already made, it would be a pity to melt them down. If they¡¯re not needed this year, we¡¯ll keep them for next year. Plows are items that will eventually come in handy¡­¡±


    Bard nodded slightly, without saying a word.


    Feeling increasingly sheepish, Winters added, ¡°I¡¯m working on reopening Iron Peak Mine. Don¡¯t worry, there will be pickaxes and spades. In the future, everyone will have two, toss one and keep the other.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Bard continued to smile and nod.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯m an idiot.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Little Lion burst into raucous laughter, nearly falling over the fence.


    ¡°What are you laughing about? Do you understand farming?¡± Winters fumed.


    ¡°I actually do.¡± Little Lion¡¯s eyes curved like crescents¡ªbearing a resemblance to his sister, ¡°I grew sugarcane on Red Sulfur Island for seven years and received awards every year.¡±


    Winters felt his anger rebounding back into his chest, almost to the point of spitting blood.


    It wasn¡¯t just working in the fields; Kosha¡¯s darling nephew hadn¡¯t even planted flowers. Before coming to Wolf Town last year, he had never even touched a plow. Back then, he was only slightly smarter than those who believed ¡°flour grows out of bags.¡±


    Bard, swinging a leg, spoke leisurely, ¡°Actually, I know nothing about farming myself.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Bard said matter-of-factly, ¡°I entered the Monastery of Greenheart to serve when I was very young and never did a day¡¯s farm work. I know a bit about herding sheep and raising horses, but I¡¯m clueless about fieldwork.¡±


    Winters felt truly on the verge of spitting blood, ¡°Then how come you speak with such authority?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Bard replied seriously, ¡°But I ask questions.¡±


    He pointed toward an old man in an open shirt handling a plow in the distance, ¡°Everything I know about farming, I learned from that old man. And he has known you longer than he has known me.¡±


    Winters remembered the old man who had explained to him ¡°what a farming season is¡± in the square of Wolf Town.


    With a sentence, Winters understood what Bard wanted to say and he, too, composed himself, regaining his seriousness.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so solemn,¡± Bard chuckled, ¡°To be honest, no one else could¡¯ve done it better than you. I just wanted to have a casual chat; didn¡¯t we use to talk for ages in the past?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters smiled, but he felt a tinge of sadness because he felt distanced from Bard.


    Little Lion pricked up his ears to listen.


    ¡°You see, it¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t understand farm work,¡± Bard said sincerely, ¡°But could it be that not a single person in Revodan has a clue? The blacksmiths in Forging Village have been supporting their families by making farming tools for decades; surely they understand, don¡¯t they?¡±


    The more Bard spoke, the more earnest he became, ¡°But what about them? Everyone watched you use materials, manpower, and time to build plows, and not one person spoke up to say, ¡®That¡¯s wrong, you should be making smaller farming tools like hoes and rakes.¡¯ Not one person.¡±


    Listening to Bard¡¯s voice, Winters recalled the words Anna had said to him.


    That day, after Anna indicated Winters should dismiss the blacksmith Shosha and come find her, she too had seriously told him in the garden, ¡°When you slightly frowned just now, Mr. Blacksmith was trembling with fright¡ªdid you notice? They¡¯re already frightened enough of you, don¡¯t make them more so. I don¡¯t understand politics, but if a company¡¯s employees only fear their employer, the business won¡¯t last.¡±


    At that time, Winters wanted to explain to his wife that he wasn¡¯t angry, nor did he intend to intimidate anyone.


    ¡°I know, of course, I know,¡± Anna shook her head, her fingertips gently smoothing the furrows on her husband¡¯s brow, ¡°You were just unconsciously frowning; of course, I know you didn¡¯t mean to get angry. But others don¡¯t know that, to outsiders¡ªto the blacksmith, for example¡ªyou appear to be angry. Look, you¡¯re unconsciously frowning again.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± Winters was surprised.


    ¡°Yes. And even with a neutral expression, you look angry. So the first lesson my mother taught me was to smile; a good businessperson must always smile.¡± Anna said with a smile, gently pulling at Winters¡¯ cheeks, ¡°Don¡¯t frown or look stern; smile!¡±

 Chapter 691 03-25 - 691 37 Bountiful Harvest_3

    ?Chapter 691: Chapter 37 Bountiful Harvest_3 Chapter 691: Chapter 37 Bountiful Harvest_3 Winters was indeed smiling then, but at this moment, Winters fell into silence.


    The atmosphere gradually grew colder, and Little Lion couldn¡¯t help but wrap his clothes more tightly around himself.


    Bard waited patiently.


    ¡°Bard, why did you have to speak to me like this?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes were filled with pain, ¡°Why did you have to tell me in such a manner?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just punch me hard and say directly, ¡®You are going against the current now and nobody dares to correct you! Sooner or later you are going to be ruined¡¯?¡± Winters felt genuinely upset, he even felt a sense of betrayal and anger.


    This emotion had been building up in his heart for a long time: ¡°Am I some kind of dictator or tyrant? Are you my vassal, my subordinate? You are my classmate, my friend, my brother in arms! Even you need to beat around the bush to say these things? What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t you trust me anymore? Can a little power really change a person like this?¡±


    It should have been just an advising between friends, only scratching the surface, not cutting deep. Bard never thought that Winters would split open the flesh to expose the bone, S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His eyes shining with tears, he said with equal pain, ¡°Winters Montagne, I tell you! You are a dictator now! And a dictator can easily become a tyrant! If you keep going like this, you¡¯ll end up being emperor in the Republic Valley! I won¡¯t stop you from being an emperor! But I don¡¯t want to see you become one! Not just for the sake of our cause, but for your own good! Do you understand? I¡¯m really worried!¡±


    ...


    Winters, gasping for breath, pushed Little Lion with force: ¡°You! Stay away!¡±


    Little Lion obediently walked away.


    Winters and Bard looked at each other for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing, their laughter mingled with tears.


    Winters, wiping away his tears, asked helplessly, ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    ¡°If I goddamn knew, wouldn¡¯t I have just done it?¡± Bard sniffed, swearing unusually, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to tell you all this.¡±


    ¡°Since we have military governors and civilian governors,¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°should we also set up a Senate? Always using the name of a garrison does indeed feel improper and awkward.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Cut it out,¡± Bard scoffed, speaking irritably, ¡°A tiny, impoverished place that birds wouldn¡¯t even crap in, and you think it¡¯s fit for a Senate? Gathering old farmers from miles around to check you? Isn¡¯t that asking for trouble? Things are fine as they are now; only with you making unilateral decisions can anything get done.


    Emperor, Senate, what¡¯s the use of pondering over these now? If one day the Legion¡¯s troops come, Iron Peak County might just turn into dust. When that day comes, I guess I¡¯ll have to flee with you to Vineta to do some small business!¡±


    Bard settled it decisively: ¡°Take it one step at a time. Who thinks about taking a dump before they¡¯ve even eaten? It won¡¯t do. The New Reclamation Legion could kill us at any moment; let¡¯s survive first before anything else!¡±


    ¡°Agreed! If we ever truly reach the end of the road but somehow survive, let¡¯s run back to Sea Blue to do business!¡± Winters laughed heartily. Suddenly he remembered his little she-wolf and said with a bit of embarrassment, ¡°Actually, even if we were to do some business, it wouldn¡¯t be up to us¡­ Ah, my maternal grandfather was said to be a rather famous merchant¡­¡±


    ¡°As for the garrison¡¯s sign, I think we¡¯d better keep using it for now.¡± Bard interrupted Winters, having too much to say: ¡°With this sign, people can at least make peace with it superficially. If we change it, it¡¯s like forcing others to re-swear their loyalty. I¡¯m afraid many people¨Cespecially those from North Eight Towns¨Cwouldn¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s continue using it,¡± Winters said, chuckling softly: ¡°But some estate owners in North Eight Towns who are building fortresses and attracting refugees, I¡¯m getting ready to deal with them.¡±


    Bard spoke slowly, ¡°Estate owners want the refugees to return home, to continue working for them as hired hands or tenants. This fundamentally conflicts with our needs. They were willing to support you before because you brought order. Once they realize we are undercutting their basis, turning against us is only a matter of time. A confrontation is inevitable, but if we can pacify, it¡¯s best to do so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also reluctant to fight; it would smash all our pots and pans,¡± Winters said, jumping off the fence with a laugh: ¡°What about that old man holding the plough, what if I invite him over to Revodan to be my agricultural advisor? If nobody dares teach me, then I¡¯ll just ask more questions.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Bard said also laughing, ¡°That¡¯s actually what I came to talk to you about today. Who made you drift onto tyrants and dictators?¡±


    ¡°This matter has actually been brewing in me for a long time.¡± Winters sighed, but quickly, his smile returned: ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Come on, let¡¯s head back to Mitchell Estate for dinner!¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯d better not go.¡± Guilt flashed in Bard¡¯s eyes: ¡°Mrs. Mitchell¡­ she even helped me persuade the other estate owners to give up their land. She is genuinely a noble and good person; I dare not face her.¡±


    Not far away, Little Lion, growing impatient, shouted, ¡°Are you done talking? Let¡¯s go! I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s not go,¡± Winters said, pulling Bard down from the fence, ¡°Let¡¯s just grab something to eat at the labor camp.¡±


    The other man gave a wry smile and nodded.


    The three mounted their horses and soon rode off into the distance.


    On the land of Harvest Farm, many more hungry people were still toiling, hoping for a bountiful harvest in the future.

 Chapter 692 03-25 - 692 38 Factory

    ?Chapter 692: Chapter 38 Factory Chapter 692: Chapter 38 Factory Ivan¡ªa former sergeant notorious in Revodan for his alcoholism and domestic abuse¡ªfinally grasped the true essence of life: life was not about peaks and troughs, but troughs and even deeper troughs.


    He was the first enemy captured by Winters during his first engagement with the New Reclamation Legion. In this sense, prisoner Ivan¡¯s existence was a testimony to Winters formally raising the banner of rebellion. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the moment he was captured, Ivan¡¯s experiences could be summarized as: being brutally beaten, interrogated, escorted, imprisoned, and most importantly, forced to make straw shoes.


    There was no coercion; the orders from above were simple and clear: no work, no food.


    Managing the prisoners was handed over to Winters by Samukin, at that time there were only three prisoners.


    To prevent anyone harboring resentment from sabotaging the straw shoes, Ivan and the other two prisoners were required by Samukin to leave a special mark on the shoes they made.


    Samukin earnestly told Ivan, ¡°If there¡¯s a problem with the quality of the shoes, then you will have a problem.¡±


    ...


    Ivan nodded desperately. There was a moment when he truly thought he was going to die; miraculously surviving made Ivan extraordinarily cherishing of his life.


    Samukin brought an old man who knew how to make shoes from Nanxin village. The old man taught the prisoners for a day, then left them with a few frames as well as a big bundle of wicks and flax, shaking his head.


    For the first two days, Ivan survived solely on water. The straw shoes he made would fall apart before they could even be worn, naturally, they couldn¡¯t be traded for food.


    People in desperate situations can occasionally burst with power that astonishes even themselves. On the third day, Ivan, having grasped the trick, successfully made a pair of shoes.


    Although the quality of his shoes still didn¡¯t pass muster, Samukin still gave Ivan two small pieces of black bread as encouragement.


    On the fifth day, Ivan received his normal ration of black bread.


    After that, Ivan¡¯s life consisted of continuously improving his shoemaking skills, while one by one, he was reunited with his former colleagues.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    During that time, Winters focused on destroying the microstructure of Revodan¡¯s garrison forces. Whichever requisitioning squad he ambushed, the new recruits were allowed to depart after surrendering, but he didn¡¯t let go of any of the old soldiers or sergeants.


    The prison in Wolf Town became increasingly crowded, and despite multiple expansions, it was still stuffed to the brim with Revodan¡¯s sergeants.


    Initially, the prison warden Samukin insisted on solitary confinement to prevent collusion. Later on, as the number of prisoners captured was just too many, he relaxed the standards, and stuffing four or five people into a cell became normal.


    This even made Ivan somewhat nostalgic for the days when he had a cell to himself just after being captured.


    As the number of prisoners surged, Ivan gradually moved away from the frontline shoemaking position and began trading his skills in teaching others how to make shoes for bread, significantly improving his living conditions.


    It was during this phase that the ¡°labor camp¡± started producing more straw shoes than needed. Originally, one pair of straw shoes could be traded for a day¡¯s full meal; soon, it became three pairs of straw shoes for two-day¡¯s full meal, then two pairs of straw shoes for one day¡¯s full meal.


    One only has two hands, and there¡¯s a limit to how quickly one can make shoes. Ivan wasn¡¯t a businessman, but he realized if this went on, he would either starve or work himself to death. The demand for straw shoes was saturated; he had to find something new that would be equivalent to more bread.


    It was all ¡°making¡± anyway, and Ivan thought about making baskets, mats, and hampers. He petitioned Samukin, hoping to invite a master basket-weaver to teach them the skill and also requested raw materials like reeds, wheat straw, and thin willow branches.


    He petitioned the day before, and the next day, the prisoners were transferred.


    When Ivan walked out of the barracks, he was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. He thought they were being taken to the execution grounds. Instead, they were just brought to a hidden camp deep in the forest.


    It was in this camp that Ivan met another prisoner¡ªLieutenant Asko¡ªin a state of breakdown.


    Asko had been ordered to assist Bard and Mason in suppressing bandits but got captured just after leaving Revodan. In fact, Asko had been brought to Wolf Town long ago, but because he was held in solitary confinement, Ivan had never seen the lieutenant.


    ¡°How did you get caught too?¡± Ivan¡¯s tears flowed out instantly: ¡°Is Revodan also gone?¡±


    ¡°I was set up,¡± Lieutenant Asko was quite calm: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The fact that the rebels are urgently moving us now indicates that Major Ronald is coming¡ªor he might have already arrived. I reckon if we hold on for a few more days, he will come to rescue us.¡±


    Hearing this, Ivan felt both joyful and slightly regretful.


    He actually wanted to try making baskets and mats; these were the only two things he pursued with hope in his muddled life¡ªthe other being getting married.


    Ivan waited for Major Ronald¡¯s appearance for a very long time.


    He waited until they were brought back to the scorched earth of Wolf Town, until Samukin invited the master basket-weaver, until the willow branches and wheat straw were delivered¡­ but Major Ronald never showed up.


    Ivan began to learn how to make baskets and mats. The once calm and collected Lieutenant Asko nearly lost control of his emotions, and it fell to Ivan to reassure him.


    ¡°You should stop drinking and eating meat. Those are counted as labor hours,¡± Ivan suggested cautiously: ¡°You should come and learn how to make baskets with me. If you make a lot, it can compensate for the labor hours.¡±


    Asko looked at the former sergeant, now novice basket-weaver, through his bleary drunken eyes: ¡°If the rebels win, what¡¯s the point of all this? If they lose, I will naturally regain my freedom. Making baskets? Drink! Drink!¡±


    Food was scarce; where would there be enough alcohol for the lieutenant to drink? Ivan silently wove with the straw, watching the lieutenant trying to drown himself in diluted bootlegged liquor, thereby accruing more ¡°labor hours.¡±


    Ivan didn¡¯t think as much as the lieutenant; he had a simple mind. He was just terrified of hunger and had learned to be wise. The brutish and violent Sergeant Ivan didn¡¯t survive, but the timid, life-fearing prisoner Ivan did.

 Chapter 693 03-25 - 693 38 Factory _2

    ?Chapter 693: Chapter 38 Factory _2 Chapter 693: Chapter 38 Factory _2 Major Ronald eventually appeared before Ivan, but he too arrived at the labor camp as a prisoner. Not just the Major, every living officer from the Revodan garrison had come.


    Ivan had become numb; now, even if General Adams appeared before him in shackles, he wouldn¡¯t have felt the slightest surprise. He was promoted to an instructor, responsible for teaching his former superiors how to weave baskets.


    Lieutenant Asko¡¯s will completely disintegrated. First, he tried to commit suicide and after being saved from the noose, he quit drinking and diligently learned basket weaving from Ivan.


    Depths and even deeper troughs are the reality; days passed just like this, unremarkably.


    That day, as usual, Ivan brought over the straw and distributed it to each cell. Then he went to the warehouse to inspect the products made by each cell the day before.


    To prevent other prisoners from sabotaging the work out of resentment, Ivan firmly insisted on retaining the ¡°marking measure.¡± If any item was substandard, he would follow the ¡°mark¡± back to the responsible person and deduct from their rations.


    Now Ivan could not only eat his fill, occasionally eat meat, but he also received a wage.


    ...


    As the proverb goes, ¡°Though the sparrow is small, it too possesses blood, innards, and bones.¡±


    With its expansion, the Samukin labor camp gradually differentiated into many ¡°organs,¡± resembling a miniature society.


    For example, Ivan now only handled teaching and quality control and no longer worked all day like an ordinary prisoner.


    As basket weaving, shoe making required a large amount of raw materials, Samukin dispatched well-behaved prisoners to cut branches and collect straw as a reward.


    Hard-working prisoners were in charge of light, significant tasks; they occasionally received ale and meat and could have a breath of air within the walls of the labor camp. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Prisoners with poor skills or attitudes were at the bottom of the camp¡¯s social hierarchy, spending their days sitting idly in their cells.


    Unseen, basket production was divided into several processes, each managed by prisoners from different ¡°levels.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    In the labor camp, life was very cheap. If one intended to die, all they had to do was refrain from working, and they would soon starve.


    Samukin, who ran the labor camp, had no fixation on ¡°keeping everyone alive.¡± His attitude had always been, ¡°If you want to die, go ahead,¡± leaving only those who wished to live.


    The initial operation of the labor camp encountered some setbacks, including incidents of prisoners hiding tools in an attempt to kill guards and escape. But it continued to develop in a favorable direction¡ªat least from Samukin¡¯s perspective.


    The output of woven products steadily increased, eventually differentiating into large baskets, small baskets, wide-mouthed, narrow-mouthed, and other styles.


    Samukin hauled the baskets away on wagons to trade with farmers from nearby villages for food.


    At first, the wagons only went to the villages around Wolf Town because they were closer. But the farmers of Wolf Town soon had their fill of baskets, while the labor camp¡¯s basket-making capacity kept increasing, and Samukin had to send the wagons to neighboring towns.


    The two basket-makers of Wolf Town were squeezed out; they couldn¡¯t compete with free materials, labor costs nothing, and the ¡°one person, one task¡± production method.


    One basket-maker was recruited by Samukin to work as a supervisor in the labor camp. The other had land; basket and mat weaving were just a way to supplement their household income.


    The basket-makers from Blackwater Town and Wugou Town were also on the verge of succumbing, much like their counterparts in Wolf Town.


    The reputation of the labor camp spread quickly, and even itinerant merchants from Saint Town came by cart to buy goods.


    Samukin was ruthlessly destroying the ¡°family-based¡± production tradition of the rural regions, but he was not aware of this himself; he was merely trying his hardest to maintain the operation of the labor camp.


    Although Ivan was Samukin¡¯s ¡°accomplice,¡± he couldn¡¯t view the problem from a higher perspective. Honestly, he was merely working for food rations, to offset work hours, and also to earn a little money.


    Ivan inspected the previous day¡¯s products, picking out those with evident quality defects¡ªhe even let pass those that were carelessly done, but some prisoners were just too careless.


    After inspection, as usual, he patrolled each cell. Nowadays, Ivan was less a prisoner and more akin to a half-guard.


    A real guard came over and affectionately patted his shoulder, ¡°Old pal Ivan!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Officer Hamir?¡± Ivan recognized the voice without having to look.


    ¡°Commander Samukin is asking for you,¡± Hamir whispered, adding, ¡°Montaigne is here, and he specifically asked to see you.¡±


    Ivan walked uneasily towards the camp office, his mind racing with anxious thoughts along the way. Finally, he reached the office of Samukin and hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage to knock.


    ¡°Come in,¡± came the voice of Commander Samukin.


    Ivan swallowed hard and pushed the door open. He saw Commander Samukin and ¡°Montaigne¡± engaged in a pleasant chat.


    Winters turned around at the sound, encountering again this soldier from Revodan, infamous for his drinking and wife-beating.


    Winters scrutinized the former soldier¡ªnow emaciated and skeletal, visible neck, shoulders, and wrists were all skin and bone, old clothes hanging on his body like tattered cloth on branches; only the hands remained unusually large, the knuckles swollen.


    ¡°Are you the one who likes to beat his wife, Ivan?¡± Winters asked, frowning slightly.


    Ivan would wake up startled from dreams at this voice, which once belonged to the man who had dragged him out like a dead dog and smashed three of his molars with a punch. He shivered and dared not answer.


    But Ivan was wronging Winters. It was Pierre who had beaten him that night. Winters had only asked questions, even telling Pierre to go easy.


    However, Ivan¡¯s memory was already confused, convincing him it was Winters, and this misunderstanding might never be cleared up until death.

 Chapter 694 03-25 - 694 38 Factory_3

    ?Chapter 694: Chapter 38 Factory_3 Chapter 694: Chapter 38 Factory_3 Seeing the other party¡¯s shivering figure, Winters sighed.


    ¡°Your wife is truly¡­ remarkable,¡± he said with emotion as he addressed the prisoner. ¡°When she heard you were still alive, your wife, holding one child and leading another, blocked the entrance to the garrison every day to petition for your pardon. From morning until evening, she blocked the way every day¡ªI don¡¯t even know what she ate or drank, it was utterly exasperating.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ words, Ivan¡¯s gaze became fixed, his limbs stiff, as though his soul had been shattered.


    ¡°What in the world are you two suffering from?¡± Winters, propping his chin, asked with interest, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that whenever you drink to excess, you beat your wife so loudly that even the neighbors across the street can hear. Despite this, your wife remains unwaveringly loyal. And despite having such a good wife, you beat her every now and then. Are you possessed, or is she?¡±


    Ivan hung his head deeply.


    Winters turned to look at Sopujin, ¡°Is this some kind of peculiar custom among you Paratu People? Alcohol abuse, wife beating, and the other desperately seeking to save?¡±


    ¡°How can you say ¡®you¡¯? I¡¯m deeply aggrieved,¡± Sopujin said. ¡°My family moved here just ten years ago!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters chuckled as he picked up a paper from the table and tapped it against the prisoner, ¡°This is the first list of pardons, and you were not originally on it. In my opinion, you should have continued to be detained, until you had served enough work hours to be released.¡±


    Ivan tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.


    ¡°But Sopujin said you¡¯ve been quite diligent and your attitude is good,¡± Winters picked up a quill, hastily wrote the prisoner¡¯s name at the bottom of the list, and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s also in consideration of your wife¡¯s petition¡ªyou¡¯re free.¡±


    Ivan still stood rigidly in place.


    ¡°What are you still standing there for?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow lightly, ¡°Go on, leave!¡±


    Sopujin stood up, patted Ivan on the shoulder, and escorted him to the door, saying, ¡°The pardon will be officially announced tomorrow, and then a carriage will take you back to Revodan.¡±


    Ivan nodded gratefully.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Go,¡± Sopujin waved his hand, ¡°Go get yourself together.¡±


    Winters watched Sopujin leave and return, his expression calm, but his mood somewhat rippled. His concern was not for the prisoner but for Sopujin.


    Sopujin Sopujin was one of his old subordinates from Wolf Town, one of the ones he trusted most and found most capable. When he had only thirty or so men, Sopujin was already a Centurion, one of the first three Centurions he had picked out.


    The other two Centurions were Vashka and Tamas, the latter now having become the first company commander of the Iron Peak County infantry.


    If Sopujin had gone to Revodan, that company commander position should have been his. But at the time, Wolf Town had a large number of captives needing control, and Sopujin was the only one capable of managing them, so he had been in charge of the prisoners all this time.


    That¡¯s why Sopujin stayed in Wolf Town, missing the battle of Revodan, the battle of Hammer Fort, and the reorganization of the troops.


    For Sopujin, Winters felt guilty.


    He had many things he wanted to do when he returned to Wolf Town. The initial motive to look for the brick-burning Shaun and Shaun Ping brothers became a secondary concern.


    He wanted to see Bard, he wanted to abduct Caman, he wanted to hold a public trial for Bunting in Wolf Town, he wanted to chat with Ronald and the others¡­ And, he intended to take Sopujin to Revodan.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen too much of this kind of thing,¡± Sopujin chuckled as he walked back in, ¡°Everyone in the village knows, if you intervene in a couple¡¯s quarrel, you end up getting scolded by both of them. You really don¡¯t need to speak up for Ivan¡¯s wife. Since that woman sought you out to petition, if she gets beaten to death, she has only herself to blame.¡±


    ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t block the door, it¡¯s fine,¡± Winters gave a wry smile, ¡°Blocking the entrance to the garrison every day, she made me have to climb the wall to get around.¡±


    Sopujin burst into laughter.


    Winters, looking at Sopujin, reflected, ¡°Managing a few hundred people with just a few dozen, and still getting productivity out of them. You really run this labor camp very well¡­ better than I imagined.¡±


    ¡°Just messing about, it¡¯s good as long as you don¡¯t blame me,¡± Sopujin said, scratching his head embarrassingly, ¡°There are things lately that have been troubling me, not knowing what to do about them.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Too many people,¡± Sopujin said, gesturing towards the prison area with resignation, ¡°There are people starting to form cliques¡ªthose from Revodan, North Eight Towns, and South Eight Town. There was a brawl just last week, and I wonder if I¡¯ve been feeding them too much!¡±


    ¡°The fact that you¡¯ve noticed this shows you¡¯re stronger than all the company commanders,¡± Winters was not just satisfied but pleasantly surprised, and he wanted to give Sopujin some advice, ¡°I remember something I didn¡¯t understand before but now can see a bit clearer. Do you know about the docks of Sea Blue?¡±


    Winters went on to tell the story of the competition, undercutting, and strife among the Montans, Vaughan People, and Paratu People on the docks of Sea Blue.


    Sopujin listened attentively and asked, ¡°Do you mean that those above the dockworkers deliberately divided them into three groups so they would fight each other? So here I should also¡­¡±


    Winters flipped the paper over and drew a triangle on the back, ¡°Not necessarily ¡®deliberately¡¯, it might be more ¡®permissive¡¯. Customs doesn¡¯t want to manage all the dockworkers directly and doesn¡¯t want to see the dockworkers form a unified front. So gangs and trade unions filled that space.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters divided the triangle into three layers, writing customs, gangs, and dockworkers on each layer respectively.


    ¡°What are the benefits of doing this?¡± Winters guided the question.


    Sopujin bit his lip, ¡°Uh¡­ it¡¯s easier to manage people when they fight among themselves?¡±

 Chapter 695 03-25 - 695 38 Factory_4

    ?Chapter 695: Chapter 38 Factory_4 Chapter 695: Chapter 38 Factory_4 ¡°The downside?¡±


    ¡°There are fewer people doing the real work.¡± Sopujin thought hard, ¡°And¡­ it¡¯s very dangerous. Small gangs can lose control at any time. Last week¡¯s brawl, two were crippled, and I hanged another two, just like that, four able workers gone.¡±


    ¡°So what do you plan to do?¡± Winters put down his pen.


    ¡°I can manage for now, I think it¡¯s best to make the prisoners understand that there¡¯s only one fist that rules in the labor camp. If it becomes unmanageable, then I¡¯ll think of ways to separate them.¡±


    ¡°Very good, really very good.¡± Winters sat up straight, putting away his smile, and called out, ¡°Sopujin! Sopujin Sopujin!¡±


    Sopujin stood up abruptly, as if he were sitting on a hot iron, ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Pardon of prisoners is ostensibly in response to the petitions from Revodan and North Eight Towns,¡± Winters enunciated each word, ¡°In reality, I couldn¡¯t care less about the prisoners. I am here to set you free!¡±


    ...


    Winters took out an iron arrow from his bosom, his tone solemn, ¡°One iron arrow represents ten little arrows, now called a company, making a total of one hundred and twenty men. This iron arrow¡ªit¡¯s yours.¡±


    Sopujin looked at the iron arrow, his nose tingling a bit.


    ¡°The units are already formed, and it¡¯s difficult to directly integrate into them. So I plan to set up a separate military police company, and you¡¯ll be the company commander.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sopujin choked up, tears swirling in his eyes, ¡°You still remember me, Centurion.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to be the military police company commander anymore.¡± Winters exerted force on his hand, and the iron arrow ¡°bang¡± snapped into pieces.


    Winters slapped the broken arrow on the table, ¡°One hundred and twenty men, that¡¯s too little for you! I am giving you twelve hundred men!¡±


    ¡°Twelve hundred?¡± Sopujin was stunned.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    ¡°That¡¯s twelve hundred men,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°But not twelve hundred soldiers, rather twelve hundred prisoners, from the captives of Vernge County. Revodan has no one, and I must personally take charge of the large labor camp. But now, it seems, you are qualified to take on this burden. Your official position is still company commander, but the men underneath you will be ten times that of other company commanders. Pack up, you¡¯re coming back to Revodan with me the day after tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°What about the labor camp in Wolf Town then?¡±


    ¡°Those not pardoned will be moved, joining up with the twelve hundred prisoners you¡¯re about to take over. They will all be taken to Forging Village, where the troops are stationed.¡±


    ¡°What about the captured officers from Revodan, what¡¯s to be done with them?¡± Sopujin looked troubled, ¡°Take them to Forging Village too? Isn¡¯t that a bit too close to Revodan?¡±


    Winters also felt a headache mentioning it, ¡°They will continue to stay in Wolf Town. You delegate some reliable men to Lieutenant Bard, let Lieutenant Bard take care of them for now.¡±


    Sopujin raised his hand to salute.


    Winters sighed, not intending to hide his true thoughts, ¡°Twelve hundred people, I don¡¯t know if you can manage such a large labor camp. I need to restart the mining at Iron Peak Mine, I need to organize logging teams. There are many tasks depending on these prisoners. Therefore, this position is crucial; I wouldn¡¯t feel confident entrusting it to anyone else.¡±


    Sopujin inclined his body, pursed his lips, his eyes also very tense.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so tight-faced, why so serious?¡± Winters said with an easy laugh, ¡°You¡¯ve fought alongside me the whole way, you¡¯re scared of me too?¡±


    Sopujin forced a smile, but his cheeks were still very stiff.


    ¡°But I can¡¯t personally handle everything. Sooner or later you¡¯ll have to share my responsibilities. I believe you¡¯re ready to take on more significant duties, and you are the first among my old subordinates to shoulder such responsibilities. Go for it, I¡¯ve got your back.¡±


    Winters casually tossed the two pieces of the broken arrow to Sopujin with a resigned smile, ¡°If you don¡¯t do well in the large labor camp, just find a blacksmith to weld this iron arrow back together, and come back to continue as my military police company commander.¡±


    Sopujin held the iron arrow, silent for a long time, then stood up and saluted. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters also stood, returning the salute with solemnity.


    ¡­


    Leaving the labor camp, Winters felt a sense of relief, having resolved another concern.


    He had yet to conduct a public trial for Bunting, nor had he had a chance to talk with Major Ronald, but these were minor issues.


    Having arranged Sopujin¡¯s future, Winters had only one major matter left in Wolf Town¡ªto coax his beloved Father Caman to Revodan.


    He had deliberately left this matter for last; in fact, he had not even spoken privately with Father Caman up until now.


    Because he was well aware that enticing Father Caman to Revodan¡­ the key was not with Father Caman himself.

 Chapter 696 03-25 - 696 39 The Church

    ?Chapter 696: Chapter 39: The Church Chapter 696: Chapter 39: The Church This was Winters¡¯ fourth morning back in Wolf Town, also a Sunday morning.


    Winters enjoyed walking around town, occasionally picking up a nail or two from the scorched earth.


    Those on their way to Mass saw the Garrison Officer from a distance and waved to greet him; Winters also exchanged greetings with the townsfolk.


    When the town was initially formed by merging villages, the center of Wolf Town had only the town hall and a church ¡ª to be precise, it was the church that first established the town center.


    The majority of Wolf Town¡¯s people lived off the land, with the little industry they had scattered across various villages.


    Gerard pulled out all the stops to make Wolf Town grow into what Winters had seen upon his first arrival.


    Take for instance the blacksmith workshop ¡ª Gerard had to get Misha dead drunk several times before he successfully persuaded his old buddy to move the workshop from Dusa Village to the town center.


    ...


    Fate is a cruel mistress; the people of Wolf Town toiled for thirty years, yet a single military calamity reduced everything to rubble.


    Fortunately, Winters came back here, to rebuild her with his own hands.


    Then came another military calamity, and all of Winters¡¯ hard work went up in flames¡­


    As the saying goes, ¡°Don¡¯t spit into the well; you might drink from it someday.¡±


    The main person responsible for the ¡°second destruction of Wolf Town¡± was now atoning for their sins in the labor camp, weaving baskets, while the town Winters so dearly loved was once again brimming with life.


    The cold forge burst into flames, and the crisp sounds of hammering were once again heard from the blacksmith¡¯s shop. Key components and blueprints remained, so the sawmill was quickly back in production.


    The prison rose from the ruins of the barracks ¡ª it would be wasteful to abandon the ground that had been so strenuously leveled.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    Samukin learned from his Centurion and did well.


    Father Caman might be a bit unhappy, though, because his church had just been rebuilt when it was razed by fire once again.


    In theory, there was nothing to it; they could just rebuild. Wolf Town had the tools, the manpower, and the timber. Being burned down was actually an opportunity to build a prettier one.


    The problem was that Caman was formally consecrated as a clergyman of the Old Church, while Samukin¡­ Samukin was a Protestant.


    Therefore, Samukin was able to objectively and calmly assess the importance of the Wolf Town church ¡ª undoubtedly at the very bottom of the reconstruction list, and prone to be bumped even lower.


    Samukin built a temporary shelter without walls for Father Caman, a place for the Old Church followers to hold their services.


    Caman didn¡¯t come to Winters to argue, and Winters didn¡¯t apologize to Caman or offer an explanation either.


    On the first day back in Wolf Town, Winters had sent someone to escort the potter Shaun to Revodan. For the following days, he spent most of his time at Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Father Caman was indifferent to Winters, but Mrs. Mitchell was quite glad that Winters had returned.


    Winters chatted with Mrs. Mitchell about Pierre and Scarlett: Pierre¡¯s experiences in the wilderness? What was Scarlett busy with lately?


    They also occasionally discussed the current affairs of the Federated Provinces and Vineta, as well as interesting anecdotes and the customs and cultures of the Tanilia Archipelago.


    When Winters first met Caman, Caman always had a gentle smile on his face, while Winters was impatient and too busy to pay him any attention.


    Now, the way they interacted had completely reversed: Caman looked anxious and irritable whenever he saw Winters, while Winters would amiably initiate a greeting to the priest.


    But Winters never once brought up the suggestion to ¡°come to Revodan with me.¡±


    The sound of bells from the old church site signaled that the ceremony was about to begin.


    Upon hearing the bells, Winters walked back to the labor camp, where Samukin was waiting at the entrance.


    ¡°Have the captives assembled?¡± Winters asked with a smile.


    ¡°They¡¯re all ready,¡± Samukin saluted.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters handed over the nails he had collected to Samukin, ¡°These can still be used, why not recycle them?¡±


    Samukin, trying not to laugh, realized the Blood Wolf had been digging in the ground like searching for food, just to pick up junk.


    Suppressing a laugh, Samukin answered seriously, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll arrange for someone to pick them up.¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all morning; I probably picked them all up.¡±


    On the other side, Father Caman saw that the congregation was nearly complete and began to preside over the entrance rite.


    Caman was dressed in a long white robe, wrapped in a dark green velvet embroidered chasuble, with the stole hanging in front around his neck, appearing quite sacred and solemn.


    He made the sign of the cross, just about to speak, but saw Winters cheerfully walking into the ¡°church tent.¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Caman took a deep breath and continued to preside over the entrance rite.


    The next moment, the words he had yet to speak were choked back by the chant of ¡°Right! Left! Right¡­¡±


    The captives marched out of the labor camp in columns, forming a long line like a snake crawling toward the new site of the church. They walked up to the wooden shelter and sat down in the dust in turns, directed by the guards¡¯ commands.


    The Old Church followers of Wolf Town were confused and even a bit panicked, looking around at each other.


    Even the usually composed Caman couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.


    He stormed over to Winters, gritting his teeth and asking, ¡°What exactly are you up to?¡±


    Winters was sitting in the front row of the simple church tent, and upon seeing Caman approach in a fury, he thought, ¡°If you initiate a conversation with me, then I¡¯ve won.¡±


    In response to Caman¡¯s question, Winters replied uprightly, ¡°Attending Mass.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a magic user, what Mass could you possibly be attending?¡± Caman¡¯s face turned red with anger.


    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Winters reprimanded, ¡°It¡¯s not nice for the congregation to hear you swearing.¡±


    ¡°Winters Montagne! Do you think just because you¡¯re a magic user, I can¡¯t deal with you? Is that it?¡± Caman was clenching his teeth so hard, his cheeks started twitching, ¡°Do you think you can keep pushing my patience over and over? Is that it?¡±

 Chapter 697 03-25 - 697 39 Church_2

    ?Chapter 697: Chapter 39 Church_2 Chapter 697: Chapter 39 Church_2 ¡°It¡¯s not because I am a Spellcaster,¡± Winters said, putting his hand on Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°it¡¯s because we are friends that you can¡¯t deal with me.¡±


    Caman violently shook off Winters¡¯s arm: ¡°I am not your friend!¡±


    ¡°But I am your friend!¡± Winters tried to muster his most sincere smile.


    ¡°What on earth do you want?!¡± Caman almost snapped.


    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°I intend to pardon most of the prisoners in the labor camp,¡± Winters replied seriously, ¡°Before I announce the pardon, I wanted them to hear a sermon once, to give them some religious admonition, to prevent them from doing evil again in the future.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Caman felt like he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°Truly, that¡¯s all,¡± Winters answered truthfully: ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no second purpose in bringing the prisoners here.¡±


    Caman sneered and turned around, half in doubt, returning to the altar.


    After presiding over the earlier part of the ceremony, it was finally time for the sermon. Caman sighed, set aside the prepared speech, and began to tell the congregation about ¡°The Calling of Saint Matthew.¡±


    ¡°[I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance]¡­¡± In light of today¡¯s unforeseen events, Caman wove together teachings on rebirth, penitence, and salvation.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The green vestments he wore also happened to symbolize ¡°hope and rebirth.¡±


    Winters listened and observed carefully. But he was not listening to the content; he was listening to the voice. He wasn¡¯t observing the altar, but Caman¡¯s demeanor. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound retention in the four-walled tent was very poor, and the prisoners were seated outside the tent, stretching out for dozens of meters.


    Caman had to preach loudly to ensure the followers at the back could hear clearly.


    Caman¡¯s voice was indeed sonorous, clear, sacred, and solemn, even the prisoners seated at the very end were listening attentively.


    However, as an experienced speaker, Winters was certain that such a level of vocal strength could not be achieved without straining, at least not without turning red-faced, hoarse, and shouting until exhausted.


    Therefore, Winters deduced that Caman must be using Divine Arts similar to an [Amplifying Spell] to preach; or conversely, Divine Arts could also achieve the effect of an [Amplifying Spell].


    Winters even felt the urge to jot down this discovery on the spot and had to make a great effort to resist reaching for his notebook.


    And so, the ceremony proceeded smoothly.


    When it was time for the Eucharist, Winters also walked to the altar with a smile, not avoiding it deliberately as he had in the past.


    Winters now thought more thoroughly¡ªthere was no need to willfully display the attitude of a nonbeliever; doing so was actually beneath him. He would eat and drink as needed, considering the host nothing more than a free cracker.


    But when Caman saw Winters approaching to receive communion, he intentionally selected an unconsecrated cracker for Winters and did not offer ¡°the blood of Christ¡± to him. Dismissively, he sent Winters away, which Winters felt was quite unfair.


    After the ceremony, Winters had the prisoners lineup in formation on the open ground, with the followers of Wolf Town watching from not far away.


    The Paratu People have a tradition of enslaving prisoners of war¡ªslavery itself should hardly be considered a tradition, as records of ancient nations all include slavery. It¡¯s just that, while others gradually abandoned slavery, the Paratu People carried it on.


    From a practical standpoint, it is somewhat understandable that the Paratu would enslave Herders. They needed to weaken the Herder tribes without incorporating them as ¡°savages within,¡± so merely killing the men was not meaningful; women and children were the key.


    But the Paratu were equally relentless on their own kind. In past civil brawls among Paratu nobles, prisoners of war without the means for ransom ended up either as serfs or sold overseas. Before the wool textile industry thrived, slaves were Paratu¡¯s main export.


    So even though Winters¡¯s prisoners were reluctant, to a certain extent, they accepted their forced labor fate¡ªafter all, not being sold overseas meant their situation wasn¡¯t too dire.


    Seeing that all the prisoners who were about to be pardoned had arrived, Winters stood up on the makeshift platform of carts and asked loudly, ¡°Do you recognize me?¡±


    His gaze swept across the crowd. The prisoners lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze or answer.


    Who wouldn¡¯t recognize the Blood Wolf? It was the Blood Wolf who captured them and brought them here.


    ¡°Then do you know why I treat you as if you were slaves?¡±


    Still, no one dared to speak.


    Winters paused for a moment, then answered for the prisoners, ¡°Because you lost the battle, right?¡±


    This hit home for most of the prisoners, as the majority of them were members of the later ambushed grain conscription teams. The early ambushed teams, after being screened, mostly had been released.


    ¡°Completely wrong! You labor because you deserve to starve if you don¡¯t work! You stand here, not because you lost a battle!¡± Winters rebuked loudly: ¡°Lift your heads, look at me! You stand here because you once forcefully took the common people¡¯s grain! You made it impossible for them to survive! If we didn¡¯t deal with you, only you would live, while everyone else would starve to death!¡±


    The expressions of the majority of the prisoners were blank and confused.


    How many could understand this rationale? Winters didn¡¯t know, perhaps the logic of ¡°enslaved for losing battles¡± was easier to accept.


    Winters sighed inwardly. Bunting had escaped with his life today and continued to be jailed in Bard¡¯s custody. Bard was utterly opposed to a public trial for Bunting, arguing that as long as Winters still wore the trappings of the garrison, he had no legitimate reason to judge the ¡°dutiful and responsible Mayor Bunting.¡±

 Chapter 698 03-25 - 698 39 Church_3

    ?Chapter 698: Chapter 39 Church_3 Chapter 698: Chapter 39 Church_3 Where exactly does the legitimacy of the regime he wants to establish come from? Divine right? Might? The will of the people? This was the question that Winters agonized over.


    But Winters was not here today to hold a meeting with the prisoners.


    ¡°Among the enemies I have captured, those who have committed heinous crimes such as murder and rape during the levy process.¡± Winters pointed outside the labor camp to the gallows, his voice chilling every captive: ¡°they have all paid with their lives.¡±


    ¡°Among the enemies I have captured, those who have committed lesser crimes such as wounding during the levy process.¡± Winters declared unequivocally: ¡°Continue to serve your sentence.¡±


    ¡°The rest of you! The rest of you mediocre evildoers! I am giving you the chance to regain your freedom, I will give you the chance to return to your families.¡±


    With a grand gesture, Winters had Samukin bring out a brazier with six branding irons inside it.


    ¡°But opportunity, is granted only once!¡± Winters pointed to the brazier, his demeanor cold and commanding: ¡°Those who want it, step forward.¡±


    ...


    The captives looked at each other, but no one dared to move.


    Samukin strode over to a skinny prisoner in the front row: ¡°You! Do you want to go home?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The prisoner panicked and swallowed, hesitatingly mumbling: ¡°I do.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Samukin dragged the prisoner back to the side of the brazier and took out a branding iron. The head of the branding iron was shaped like a holy emblem and was already glowing red.


    ¡°Tear open his shirt.¡± Samukin coldly commanded his subordinates.


    Two burly guards immediately grabbed the prisoner, while a third guard ripped open the latter¡¯s shirt.


    Samukin applied the branding iron without any expression.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    The branding iron ruthlessly pressed into the prisoner¡¯s left chest, and those close by could hear a sizzling sound like fat hitting a hot pan. The prisoner¡¯s screams were unbearable to hear, and the onlookers from Wolf Town unconsciously looked away.


    Samukin was not trying to kill the prisoner, so he only touched the branding iron for about a second before taking it away. A holy emblem brand remained on the prisoner¡¯s left chest.


    The guards dragged the prisoner aside, treating him with a burn paste made of turpentine, egg yolk, and rose oil.


    ¡°Opportunity is granted only once.¡± Samukin issued the most genuine threat on behalf of his Centurion to the prisoners: ¡°Dare to take up arms in rebellion again, and a sword plunged through the emblem awaits you! Those unwilling, return to serve your sentence! Next one!¡±


    The prisoners were shaken, but still, no one dared to be the first.


    From the back came a man¡ªprisoner Ivan stepped out of the line, tremblingly standing by the brazier.


    He didn¡¯t need anyone to hold him, instead, he first swore an oath to the holy emblem iron, then exposed his chest on his own, closing his eyes waiting for Samukin to proceed.


    Samukin nodded without saying anything, touching the iron for only about half a second before releasing it.


    ¡°Follow his example!¡± Samukin pointed to another prisoner in the front row, ordering: ¡°You, the next one!¡±


    With Samukin around, Winters didn¡¯t need to do everything himself. He dismounted from the carriage, saw Caman who had taken off his ceremonial robes and put on ordinary clothes, approaching him.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Caman asked, frowning.


    ¡°A reminder for the prisoners, so they don¡¯t stand against me again. We can¡¯t just release them directly, right?¡± Winters answered honestly, adding with a smile: ¡°I even selected a symbol that is more acceptable to everyone.¡±


    Not far away, the prisoners took oaths, were branded, and were then taken aside for treatment. One scream after another rang out, and the air filled with the sickening scent of cooked meat.


    A symbol that is more acceptable? Caman was perplexed, then he saw the holy emblem brand on the prisoners.


    He was first angry, then helpless, and finally, he sighed deeply.


    ¡°You¡¯re not making them slaves anymore, that¡¯s a good deed no matter how you look at it.¡± Caman rationalized to himself as he watched the prisoners on the ground: ¡°This emblem, it fits well here.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were going to fight with me.¡± Winters said with slight regret.


    Caman snorted disdainfully.


    ¡°Do you want to know how I became the Protector of the Seven Towns?¡± Winters asked suddenly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m willing to tell you.¡± Winters said nonchalantly: ¡°I ambushed the levy team and took the prisoners back to the villages for the common folk to identify. Who committed murder, arson, ravaged women? Who thieved, injured? It was a foolish method to sort out the prisoners, but having done it enough, I became the Protector of the Seven Towns. That¡¯s why the seven towns south of the St. George River are willing to support me, while the eight towns to the north are ambivalent towards me. That¡¯s how it is.¡±


    Caman sighed deeply once more. He looked Winters in the eyes as if trying to see deep into his heart, but Winters met his gaze unflinchingly.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne, I respect you, and I know you¡¯re a good man.¡± Caman told Winters earnestly and solemnly: ¡°But I have taken an oath of secrecy, and I won¡¯t tell you any secrets of the Divine Arts. Even without the oath, I don¡¯t want to tell you. And don¡¯t try to investigate, because it¡¯s not a realm you can touch. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°Why the rush?¡± Winters asked with a smile: ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you anything, have I? Not a single question, right?¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending.¡± Caman became agitated: ¡°You might as well just ask me directly, and let me plainly refuse you. Did you not come back to Wolf Town to pry secrets of the Divine Arts from me? I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s impossible! You can forget about getting anything about the Divine Arts from me!¡±


    ¡°I am indeed very curious about the principles of the Divine Arts. But my return to Wolf Town this time is truly to pick up the potter Shaun and his brothers!¡± Winters protested his innocence.

 Chapter 699 03-25 - 699 39 Church_4

    ?Chapter 699: Chapter 39 Church_4 Chapter 699: Chapter 39 Church_4 He also composed his features, speaking solemnly and seriously, ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe me. I swear on my parents¡¯ graves that I will never ask you about any secrets of the Divine Arts¡ªwithout your permission. How is that?¡±


    ¡°Without my permission?¡± Caman scoffed coldly.


    ¡°Maybe one day you¡¯ll tell me voluntarily?¡± Winters¡¯ smile was suggestive.


    ¡°I can tell you now,¡± Caman said, astonishingly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°Divine Arts come from devout faith in the one and only savior. The Divine Arts do not belong to me, but are actions of the Lord through me. You wouldn¡¯t understand,¡± Caman spoke coldly to Winters, ¡°You, a non-believer, want to use Divine Arts? Convert first.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?!¡± Winters was thrilled, ¡°I¡¯ll convert right now! You teach me!¡±


    ...


    Caman clutched his chest, bent over, and took a while to catch his breath.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Caman looked at Winters, about to speak, then stopped with a complicated expression, ¡°You¡­ you have changed.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to Father Reed¡¯s teachings.¡±


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Caman coughed, ¡°No wonder indeed.¡±


    ¡°Brother Caman, I¡¯m going back to Revodan,¡± Winters said, holding onto Caman¡¯s arm, reluctant to part, ¡°As a farewell, let me give you a gift.¡±


    Caman shook off Winters¡¯ arm vigorously, ¡°No need, just hurry off.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, it took me a long time to think of this gift,¡± Winters said, batting his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a cathedral.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°The Revodan Cathedral, huh,¡± Caman sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve already stripped off the Saint Ados Emblem, there¡¯s nothing you wouldn¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really wronging me this time,¡± Winters first appeared surprised, then wronged to the extreme, and gave a wry smile, ¡°The Revodan Cathedral was looted and set on fire by mobs, it was my men who saved it. The lost artifacts were also recovered by my men.¡±


    His words hit Caman like cannonballs, ¡°Do you know how much I need money right now? It was out of respect for you that I didn¡¯t melt down those gold and silver relics! The Saint Ados Emblem is in Bard¡¯s hands, but it was only borrowed, with a debt note! It was for doing good deeds! This time coming to Wolf Town, it was to bring the Saint Ados Emblem back!¡±


    ¡°Father Caman, we¡¯ve been through fire and blood together. How can you accuse me so seriously without any discernment?¡± Winters covered his chest and concluded with sorrow, ¡°I¡¯m so heartbroken!¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t destroy the Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t take any wealth from the Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t harm any clergy?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡± Winters added, ¡°Although the bishop died, it was because he panicked, ran to the rooftop for refuge, and accidentally fell off. It wasn¡¯t me or my men who killed him.¡±


    Caman stood for a while, struggling to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I am very willing to forgive you,¡± Winters laughed heartily, putting an arm around Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Although the church in Wolf Town is destroyed, I¡¯ve got a bigger one, how about that? Not bad, right?¡±


    ¡°Not impressive,¡± Caman knocked Winters¡¯ arm off again, countering coldly, ¡°A cathedral is the property of the church, not your gift to make. How could you presume to confer a bishopric privately? Moreover, Wolf Town is my parish, how could I just leave? What would happen to the believers in Wolf Town if I left?¡±


    ¡°Then send over another one from Revodan,¡± Winters replied nonchalantly, ¡°As for the bishopric of Revodan¡­ I call the shots there at the moment, I can nominate you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Mr. Montaigne. So you¡¯re not just the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, but also our Pope?¡± Caman retorted sarcastically, annoyed, ¡°You say you nominate, you think your word is law?¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you don¡¯t want this gift, I won¡¯t force you,¡± Winters said with regret, patting Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m returning to Revodan today.¡±


    Caman sneered and waved his hand dismissively.


    Winters nodded in acknowledgment, then walked away without looking back.


    Caman watched Winters¡¯ retreating figure until he disappeared on horseback from sight. Only then did he realize in surprise: Winters really left.


    After a while, Xial ran over, ¡°Father Caman!¡±


    ¡°I knew it wasn¡¯t over!¡± Caman was both annoyed and amused, ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°My brother asked me to tell you, Mrs. Mitchell is also going with us to Revodan. We¡¯re leaving today.¡±


    Blood rushed to Caman¡¯s throat, ¡°What?! Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me?¡±


    ¡°My brother said, if you ask that, I should reply like this,¡± Xial cleared his throat and mimicked Winters¡¯ inexplicable tone, ¡°Who are you? Why should I tell you?¡±

 Chapter 700 03-25 - 700 40 Prison

    ?Chapter 700: Chapter 40: Prison Chapter 700: Chapter 40: Prison Visiting Major Ronald and other seniors was the last concern on Winters¡¯ mind.


    The contemplation on ¡°why should I (we) rule over Iron Peak County¡± made Winters realize: none of these captured alumni would side with him. If there were any, they must harbor malicious intent.


    Winters acknowledged that he had defeated the former ruler with ¡°military force¡± and thereby ¡°conquered¡± Iron Peak County.


    If he were to openly rebel against the New Reclamation Legion and send out battle proclamations in all directions, perhaps one or two ambitious Paratu officers might come to join him.


    However, should he do so, an expeditionary force might come knocking on his door as soon as next week¡ªGeneral Revodan would not be able to stop them.


    General Adams had many troubling issues on his hands, and Winters did not wish to become the most troubling of them for His Excellency.


    Therefore, he showed weakness as much as possible, intentionally adopting an attitude of contentment with his lot. Vernge County¡¯s field forces had been swept clean by Tang Juan, but Winters had not sent any formal troop across the border.


    ...


    On the contrary, he sent a letter to Maplestone City to explain, and symbolically paid a bag of Gold Coins as arrears of tax. To this day, he still displayed the signboard of ¡°Revodan Garrison¡±.


    This mild attitude also had benefits internally: less pressure to rule, the ability to maximize identification, and inheriting the authority of the old garrison.


    Just like North Eight Towns, they did not truly support Winters, and Winters currently had no energy to directly govern North Eight Towns.


    Therefore, Winters issued orders in the name of the garrison. They could maintain face this way, and North Eight Towns tacitly accepted it.


    Of course, there were always those particularly ¡°brave¡± individuals who resisted control. Winters had been busy with autumn farming lately, having no time to pay attention to such annoyances, he simply observed their dance from the sidelines.


    ¡°When things settle down a bit,¡± Winters caressed the hilt of his sword, ¡°we¡¯ll see whose hammer is harder.¡±


    But this ambiguous attitude also had clear downsides; if the enemy looked down on Winters, potential allies would look down on him even more.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.?¦Ï


    Not to mention, from any perspective, the New Reclamation Legion had an overwhelming advantage. In many people¡¯s eyes, it was uncertain whether the Iron Peak County¡¯s new government could last until this time next year, so naturally, they would not easily place their bets.


    The only real support Winters could rely on was his companions, his old troops, and those warriors who had been granted land. Even his old troops and warriors might feel insecure, all held together by his prestige.


    Therefore, he simply gave up on the idea of recruiting the captured alumni and earnestly managed his true foundation.


    As Winters rode on horseback, he couldn¡¯t help feeling melancholic, as he gradually understood why the feudal system had emerged: ¡°To gain the support of the majority, one must benefit the majority, which is too difficult. It¡¯s simpler to only benefit a small group and then conquer the majority with force. Knights? Aren¡¯t knights just ¡®soldiers¡¯ with warhorses, attendants, and estates, like Hammer Chuck?¡±


    Riding along, he arrived at a camp on the north side of Wolf Town, far from villages and farms.


    The guard saw that it was Winters coming and immediately lowered the drawbridge.


    This camp was interesting; its drawbridge faced inward because it was a prison. The soldiers staying at Wolf Town called it ¡°Wolfwood Prison¡±.


    After an unpleasant prison break occurred, all officer prisoners were transferred to Wolf Town. Sarmukhjin did not want the officers to come into contact with ordinary prisoners, so this prison was built specifically to detain officers.


    Major Ronald was writing a letter when he heard the sound of hooves outside. Looking up, he saw Winters approaching the door.


    ¡°What brings you here?¡± Ronald put down his paper and pen, smiling.


    ¡°Winter is almost upon us,¡± Winters said, carrying a package as he entered the cell, smiling back, ¡°Your esteemed wife entrusted me to bring you a coat and a wool blanket.¡±


    He also took out a pipe and a large bag of cut tobacco from the package, apologizing, ¡°This is the best I could find. No one grew tobacco this year, please don¡¯t mind it. There are also two cans of sugar in the bag.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be polite, then,¡± Ronald took the tobacco leaves, took out his pipe from a box nearby, and began to fill it up: ¡°Ha, I ran out of my stock a long time ago.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Ronald finished packing the tobacco, Winters naturally took the pipe to light it for his senior.


    ¡°Your wife still lives in the official residence, and the families of other seniors in Revodan too,¡± Winters returned the pipe to his senior, ¡°Salaries are paid as before, and flour and side dishes are delivered to each family every week. There¡¯s no need to worry.¡±


    Winters spoke without any hint of charity or pity, as if he were chatting with a senior about family matters.


    Receiving the pipe, Ronald took a comfortable puff and exhaled slowly, ¡°How¡¯s Changsheng doing?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started,¡± Winters replied, exasperated at the mention of Changsheng, ¡°Changsheng drinks sheep¡¯s milk, plays with dogs, and bounces around all day wagging his head like a puppy, even wants to learn how to bark, he¡¯s completely been led astray.¡±


    Laughing until tears appeared, Ronald wiped them away and smiled, ¡°Your coming to see me means you have won your battle.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Ronald asked curiously, ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡±


    Winters took up paper and pen, pulled out two chess pieces, and sat down face-to-face with his senior, beginning to demonstrate. The two exchanged words back and forth, the atmosphere very lively.


    In the end, Ronald couldn¡¯t help but admire, ¡°Your battles are getting more and more impressive.¡±


    ¡°You flatter me.¡±


    ¡°You have both a sword and a dagger in your army. Your enemies keep their eyes on your sword but fail to notice the dagger hidden behind your back. No wonder they lose battles.¡±

 Chapter 701 03-25 - 701 40 Prison_2

    ?Chapter 701: Chapter 40: Prison_2 Chapter 701: Chapter 40: Prison_2 Winters thought of Tang Juan and Moritz and said with embarrassment, ¡°I am actually the dagger; it¡¯s the one hidden behind that is the lethal sword.¡±


    ¡°Youth is truly a terrifying force,¡± Ronald said with some sentiment, then asked, ¡°How is Lieutenant Colonel Zibeer from Vernge County doing?¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    Ronald let out a long sigh but comforted Winters instead, ¡°Only the dead do not suffer the calamity of the sword and spear; these things are unavoidable, don¡¯t dwell on them too much.¡±


    The two chatted idly for a few more sentences, but there was nothing more to say.


    Winters stood up, ¡°Do you have any letters that you need me to take back?¡±


    ¡°Just in time, I have three.¡± Ronald carefully took out two letters and hastily finished writing the third one on the table, handing them all to Winters, ¡°Please give them to my wife.¡±


    ...


    Ronald handed over the letters without sealing or folding them.


    Without looking at them, Winters carefully folded the letters and put them into his chest, ¡°I will make sure they are delivered. When I return to Revodan, I will send you some leisure items like chessboards and books.¡±


    ¡°Nothing could be better,¡± Ronald said with a smile and a nod, and gently pointed next door, ¡°Where the junior officers are staying, you should take a look there as well. Lieutenant Adam¡­ is a bit off, and you¡¯ll need to talk to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go right now,¡± Winters turned and walked towards the prison door.


    Ronald was silent until one of Winters¡¯ boots stepped outside the threshold, then softly spoke, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    What exactly was Ronald thanking him for? Was it for the care of his family? For the respect shown to him? For not saying anything about trying to persuade him to defect?


    Winters didn¡¯t know. He nodded in acknowledgement, left, and the door to the cell closed once more.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    The situation with the junior officer POWs was different from Ronald¡¯s. Ronald stayed in a single cell, while the junior officers lived in several large, adjoining cells.


    Winters had actually captured some junior officers from Mont Blanc County and Vernge County as well, but he temporarily left those seniors in Revodan, not mixing them with the captives from Iron Peak County.


    Apel and Asko, who had entertained suicidal thoughts, lived together, silently weaving baskets like skilled craftsmen.


    Istvan and Adam shared a room. The former sat leaning against the wall, eyes gazing out at the blue sky through the window; the latter lay on a straw mat with his head covered, sound asleep. Both wore shackles on their hands and feet, a small memento from a failed escape attempt.


    Most of the other officer POWs were the same¡ªlackluster, leaning against something, casually fiddling with wheat straw and willow branches. Aside from Apel and Asko, no one took basket weaving seriously.


    The ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± of footsteps approached from the corridor, and the officer POWs instantly became alert, with even Adam abruptly sitting up straight. Only Apel continued to weave his baskets with focus.


    They recognized the sound all too well; while the guards all wore straw sandals, wooden clogs, or leather-soled shoes, these were clearly the sounds of a pair of military boots studded with iron nails.


    Then, Adam saw a particularly despicable junior standing before him. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without waiting for Winters to speak, Adam violently rammed the prison door, shaking the wooden bars, ¡°Winters! To kill or whatever else¡ªmake it quick! Don¡¯t humiliate us!¡±


    ¡°Sergeant, good to see you!¡± Winters saluted, ¡°By rank, you should salute me first, but you will always be my sergeant!¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Adam violently shook the prison door, the shackles clanging loudly, ¡°Let me out, and we¡¯ll duel! Let¡¯s settle life and death once and for all!¡±


    Winters dismissed this with a smile and turned to salute the other seniors. No one responded to him, except for senior Apel who nodded his head slightly and continued weaving.


    Silently, Winters placed a paper bag filled with raisins and tobacco at the door of each cell, without a word. He was just delivering things.


    Adam glared at Winters with unrestrainable fury and bellowed, ¡°With these small favors, you think you can buy us off?¡±


    ¡°In your dreams!¡± Adam kicked the paper bag forcefully.


    The paper bag tore open, scattering its contents, and spun to hit the wooden bars on the opposite side of the corridor, flinging dark green raisins and tobacco leaves all over the ground.


    Even though Winters¡¯ patience had grown, he still felt provoked. He glared at Adam, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Adam was stunned at first, then grew even more furious, ¡°You dare to ask me?!¡±


    ¡°The soldiers guarding you don¡¯t have raisins to eat, nor do I,¡± Winters said expressionlessly, picking up a raisin, ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, give it back. Don¡¯t waste things.¡±


    Now in a rage bordering on madness, Adam started banging against the bars again, ¡°[Venetian insult laden with venom and filth]!¡±


    Winters blew the dust off the raisin, wiped it, and ate it. Ignoring Adam, who was like a mad bull, he turned and went to Apel¡¯s cell.


    Istvan, who shared a cell with Adam and also wore shackles, grabbed Adam and asked coldly, ¡°Winters, what exactly do you want by keeping us locked up here?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Winters answered honestly, ¡°I¡¯m keeping you locked up because I can¡¯t let you go. Officers are a valuable resource in war, and releasing you would be like giving aid to the enemy. I cannot release, and I do not wish to kill, so I have to keep you imprisoned.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Adam laughed manically, ¡°You say you don¡¯t wish to kill?¡±


    Winters frowned slightly and retorted, ¡°Sergeant, do you want me to kill you?¡±


    ¡°Come on then!¡± Adam roared like thunder, ¡°Kill me! I won¡¯t make a sound! Open the door! Duel!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Apel, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly shouted.

 Chapter 702 03-25 - 702 40 Prison_3

    ?Chapter 702: Chapter 40 Prison_3 Chapter 702: Chapter 40 Prison_3 ¡°`


    Apel¡¯s voice seemed to have a magical effect. Although Adam was glaring, panting heavily, and his face was blood red, he clamped his mouth shut.


    Among the captive officers, only Apel and Asko could earn a full portion of bread; the other prisoners who refused to work could only get half. When Adam was dizzy with hunger, it was Apel who always shared his bread with him. So when Apel spoke, Adam complied even though he did so reluctantly.


    ¡°Stop disgracing yourself!¡± Apel said sternly, ¡°If you want to die, go kill yourself. If someone truly wants to die, who can stop them? Sit down!¡±


    Adam felt his nose tingle, the tears swirling in his eyes, as he walked back to the corner, defeated, and sat down on the floor. The clinking of his chains made a cold sound.


    ¡°Winters.¡± Istvan leaned against the prison door, asking with a playful smile, ¡°You don¡¯t really expect to subdue us with this sort of method, do you?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? I have never thought of reforming you through labor.¡± Winters smiled too: ¡°I could not possibly use you because I do not trust you. You are like what I once was, and your everything is tightly bound to Paratu. If one day I take Maplestone City, perhaps I will have the standing to ask for your help. Now? Forget it. The reason you are made to work is because my soldiers work hard in the fields, and if you were to get food and drink without laboring, it would be unfair to them.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Istvan laughed, ¡°If you conquer Maplestone City, remember to come find me.¡±


    ...


    Winters just nodded with a smile.


    Still, Adam couldn¡¯t resist asking sarcastically: ¡°Work? So you¡¯re going to have us make baskets?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°[Incoherent expletive of frustration]!¡± Adam suddenly jumped up, ¡°You just want to humiliate us! Making baskets! Making baskets? Making baskets is women¡¯s work!¡±


    Winters raised an eyebrow, countering, ¡°Women¡¯s work? Have you ever seen a basket weaver?¡±


    Instinctively, Adam wanted to say ¡°Yes,¡± but as he searched his memory, he realized he had not indeed seen one. His desire to preserve his dignity tempted him to stubbornly say ¡°Yes,¡± but a deeper sense of self-respect prevented him from lying.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    He fell silent, and his bravado diminished instantly.


    ¡°Basket weavers can be men or women, but it is mainly men who do this work; who says it¡¯s women¡¯s work?¡± Winters¡¯s presence climbed slowly as he continued, ¡°Making you weave baskets is because it¡¯s the simplest, easiest task. Weave one basket a day and you get your bread, sometimes even meat and wine. Where else would you find such a good deal? Go to the labor camps and see. See how many baskets the prisoners have to weave there just to fill their stomachs!¡±


    ¡°Come on!¡± Winters took a semi-finished basket and expertly wove three layers. His weaving was crooked, but he managed to produce a basket: ¡°I would never force you to do something I couldn¡¯t do myself! If I can do it, why can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easily said, but you could give us some carpentry or blacksmith work which is much better than basket weaving,¡± Istvan suggested with a smile still on his face.


    ¡°Carpentry? Blacksmith work?¡± Winters scoffed, ¡°If I give you an axe, will you not strike it upon my soldier¡¯s head? I¡¯ve made it clear, I don¡¯t trust you. My people¡¯s lives are more important to me than your dignity, so you will just weave baskets.


    I also have a question for you that troubled me for a long time¡ªaside from killing and destruction, what else can you do? What else are you capable of doing? What else do you want to do?¡±


    Istvan¡¯s smile gradually solidified. The question made his body stiffen, his chest felt as if it were struck by a hammer, stifling him.


    Those who think more on regular days have a stronger reaction to this question.


    Adam didn¡¯t seem to care as much, as he stubbornly shouted, ¡°Then I refuse to weave baskets too!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to weave baskets?¡± Winters asked coldly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t weave them!¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll find you another task!¡± Winters declared and started to leave.


    Before he left, he paused briefly at the door of Apel¡¯s cell: ¡°Many records from the towns in Iron Peak County are missing, and you used to manage these records. Bard would like to ask for your assistance there. If the Legion were to return to Iron Peak County, they would need these records too.¡±


    ¡°No need to console me.¡± Apel, head down weaving a basket, replied, ¡°Tell Bard to come and talk to me in detail.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Winters left the prison without looking back.


    ¡­


    After visiting Wolfwood Prison, Winters was ready for the journey back to Revodan. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had arrived with a large contingent, and he returned with an even larger one.


    Thus, Winters instructed Samukin to lead the captives on a slow march, while he himself proceeded ahead with the Mitchell Family and the ¡°accounting school preparatory students.¡±


    Bard, following the principles of ¡°honesty, intelligence, and numerical literacy¡± in ascending order, selected thirty young people from the farms across the towns. The youngest was barely sixteen and the oldest twenty-two. The best prospects were both honest and numerate, the least promising merely honest. They were to become the first students of the accounting school¡ªor part of the first cohort, as Winters was also actively recruiting students from among the families of Revodan and the military.


    When Winters helped Mrs. Mitchell into the carriage, Caman, just like during the days when the Hundred Men of Wolf Town set out for battle, led a riding horse and a packhorse and approached the town square.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask!¡± Caman¡¯s eyes blazed with anger: ¡°And I won¡¯t answer.¡±


    Winters nodded expressionlessly, but inside, he was pleased.


    Just what was the relationship between Caman and Ellen Mitchell? Winters was not sure yet, but he was certain it was not romantic. Even assuming such a thing gave Winters a sense of offending two respectable individuals.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 703 03-25 - 703 40 Prison_4

    ?Chapter 703: Chapter 40 Prison_4 Chapter 703: Chapter 40 Prison_4 The two had quite an age difference! Mrs. Mitchell was in her mid-forties. As for Caman? Winters¡¯s first impression of Caman was that of youthfulness, not exceeding thirty years old.


    Winters had limited knowledge, but one thing he could confirm was that Caman had always been silently protecting the Mitchell Family. This desire to protect was so strong, it even reached the level of recklessness.


    Winters noticed this and took advantage of it, which already made him feel guilty. To him, it was enough that Caman could go to Revodan, he did not want to pry into Caman¡¯s privacy. If Caman didn¡¯t want to talk, he would never ask proactively.


    ¡°Pierre and Scarlett are both in Revodan, and the Mitchell estate has been turned into a farm. There¡¯s no point for Mrs. Mitchell to stay in Wolf Town, she might as well have some company in Revodan,¡± Winters explained earnestly, ¡°Besides, I think Mrs. Mitchell prefers city life.¡±


    Caman sneered, without a word.


    Winters was fixing the horse tack and casually said, ¡°Believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you. Whether you go to Revodan or not, I won¡¯t leave Mrs. Mitchell alone in Wolf Town.¡±


    He was telling the truth. Scarlett missed her mother, and Eileen missed her children; it would also be nice to take Eileen to stay in Revodan temporarily.


    ...


    Caman snorted lightly and climbed onto his horse, ¡°I won¡¯t let you learn any secrets about the Divine Arts, so you might as well give up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters replied with a double meaning.


    Winters recalled the great deeds of Antoine-Laurent, the father of Spellcasters, his attitude as optimistic as ever: guarding a cleric and worried about not getting information? Moreover, who said that information had to be given ¡°voluntarily¡± by Caman?


    On the way back, Winters rode side by side with Caman, gently prodding him with a needle, ¡°Isn¡¯t the dispatch of a priest supposed to be approved by the Pope?¡±


    Caman struggled to defend himself, ¡°I was never really part of Wolf Town Church to begin with, the formal chief priest of Wolf Town Church is Father Anthony. My actions¡ªare somewhat more independent.¡±


    ¡°What about the believers in Wolf Town if you leave?¡±


    ¡°I will write to the bishop of the region and have another priest sent from Revodan.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°So, are you planning to take up a position at Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to become the bishop of Revodan¡­¡±


    As the questioning continued, Caman started playing dumb. No matter how Winters prodded him with the needle, he simply ignored him. In the end, Caman outright avoided riding a horse and took refuge in the student¡¯s carriage, thoroughly evading Winters.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to experience the Suppressing Divine Art.¡± Winters wrote regretfully in his book of spells, biting a feather, and added another note: ¡°The Lethal Divine Art¡­ requires a safer method of testing.¡±


    ¡­


    The situation in Samukhin¡¯s area was also interesting. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The prisoners of the labor camp were principally destined for two routes: continue serving their sentences or receive a pardon.


    And within those who were pardoned, there were actually two categories. Those like Ivan and the former gendarme sergeant Gulaxi from Revodan naturally wanted to return to Revodan, back to their families.


    Sure enough, the two had already agreed to travel home together, providing mutual support along the way.


    Many other prisoners were landless peasants; they were not from Revodan and did not know where their families were at present.


    ¡°Take me with you, Officer Samukhin,¡± a prisoner named Leman came to Samukhin, pleading miserably, ¡°I have nowhere to go, and I don¡¯t know where to get food. Winter is coming, I really have nowhere to turn¡­ Please take me with you, let me continue to work for you.¡±


    Samukhin had once been a landless farmer too, he watched in silence as the outline of a holy mark was faintly visible under Leman¡¯s coarse clothes.


    ¡°The Protector Officer Montaigne always used to tell me ¡®there will be a way out,''¡± Samukhin patted Leman on the shoulder, ¡°I will apply to the Protector Officer. Tell everyone¡ªif you have nowhere to go, just stay with me, as free people.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters had left, Samukhin had left, but things at Wolfwood Prison were not yet over.


    The day after Winters left, the former lieutenant Adam was taken to chop wood.


    The autumn wind was cold, and wood chopping was hard work. Adam¡¯s hands and feet were still shackled, and his arms soon swelled up. On the first day of his lumberjack career, he clenched his teeth and persevered.


    Then came the second and the third day.


    On the fourth day, Apel sent word to Bard, asking him to call Adam back to make baskets.


    When Adam started learning basket weaving, Winters had just returned to Revodan.


    ¡°How is it going?¡± Winters greeted Senior Mason with a tight hug, ¡°Anything happened?¡±


    ¡°What could have happened?¡± Senior Mason replied with a laugh, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. They¡¯ve already extracted a few tons of ore at Iron Peak Mine, Carlos and Sasha are busy with something called ¡®roasting¡¯? I think that¡¯s the word. The bricks prepared by the Shaun brothers are also progressing well. If it weren¡¯t for Carlos insisting on waiting for your return before firing the kiln, I would have done the next steps for you.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters almost wanted to kiss Senior Mason in gratitude.


    He hugged Mason again, nearly with tears in his eyes, ¡°I knew you were the only one I could count on!¡±


    Mason coughed from the tight embrace, managed a helpless smile, and said, ¡°However, there¡¯s something you¡¯ll need to deal with yourself¡ªthe people from Mont Blanc County have come over.¡±

 Chapter 704 03-25 - 704 41 Salt and Iron

    ?Chapter 704: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron Chapter 704: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron For safety reasons, Winters should not meet any enemy face to face. However, the envoy from Mont Blanc County was an exception, and Winters could not break the rule¡ªa bald Colonel Gaisa sent a direct subordinate squad leader, Baratz Yussas.


    The last time they had met was at their senior¡¯s swearing-in ceremony, and time had flown by¡ªthree years had already passed.


    After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the senior cut to the chase, ¡°Colonel Gaisa wants his horse back.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters answered succinctly.


    ¡°You probably don¡¯t know,¡± the senior sighed helplessly, ¡°my commanding officer¡­ also likes money very much.¡±


    ¡°Also?¡± Winters detected a hint of regional discrimination.


    ¡°No one dislikes money, so I¡¯m not here to ask you for something for nothing,¡± the senior mentioned casually and then seriously informed Winters, ¡°For the horse in your possession, Colonel Gaisa is willing to provide supplies in exchange¡ªprovided you agree.¡±


    ...


    ¡°A secret deal?¡± Winters thought to himself.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s secret.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the exchange?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± the senior asked in return.


    ¡°What do you have?¡± Winters returned the question verbatim.


    The conversation hit an impasse as neither side trusted the other.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s not keep probing,¡± the senior said straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth. Mont Blanc County cannot exchange grain, weapons, or ammunition with you for the horses. But we have something you need very much.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    Winters remained noncommittal.


    Seeing no reaction from Winters, the senior did not play coy, ¡°It¡¯s nothing else but salt. A person can live without horses, but they will die without salt. Without enough salt, you can¡¯t even take good care of those horses.


    Mont Blanc County will continue to block the Anya River, and Iron Peak County will not receive any salt supply through normal channels. However, we can supply salt specifically to you. With salt in your hands, in Iron Peak County, it can be used as hard currency.¡±


    Winters was surprised but did not show it, ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°We can discuss if you want something else. If you want money, that¡¯s not off the table either.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion¡¯s stud farm,¡± Winters said with a light laugh. ¡°The Legion hasn¡¯t come to me, but Colonel Gaisa is in a hurry.¡±


    Baratz did not respond.


    ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Winters said as he stood up to take his leave. ¡°You stay in Revodan for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Is Lieutenant Washington still alive?¡± the senior suddenly asked.


    Washington was the Mont Blanc County officer who had led a hundred men in pursuit of Winters and was subsequently captured.


    Winters replied truthfully, ¡°He¡¯s alive and well, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡­


    After leaving the place where Baratz was located, Winters headed straight for his residence¡ªthe terraced houses for single officers.


    Entering Anna¡¯s bedroom amidst Catherine¡¯s cries of surprise, Winters asked, ¡°Have we run out of salt at home?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Anna, who was napping, woke up groggily, still in a haze. Recognizing who was beside her bed, she stretched out her arms with a happy expression, ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±


    At that moment, Anna seemed as vulnerable and adorable as a kitten yet to be weaned, a stark contrast to her usual composure and reserve, which could trigger an infinite protective desire in anyone.


    Unable to resist, Winters picked up the little cat and repeated, ¡°Have we really run out of salt?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Anna, leaning on Winters¡¯ shoulder and rubbing her eyes, said softly with a hint of reproach, ¡°You haven¡¯t said you missed me.¡±


    Catherine, witnessing this scene from the doorway, blushed and quickly turned to leave.


    This matter required checking with the relevant person, so Winters called for the officers¡¯ quarters¡¯ cook and asked straight out, ¡°Is there any salt left in the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± replied the cook, a robust woman, plainly, ¡°We still have several jars left.¡±


    ¡°Can salt still be bought in the market? And what price is it?¡± Winters continued, ¡°How much has the price increased?¡±


    ¡°It is still available, but the price has been going up,¡± said the cook, who was strong-looking with a round face and broad shoulders, but her voice grew fainter as she spoke. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna quietly nudged Winters¡¯ boot.


    Understanding the hint, Winters smiled as naturally as he could, ¡°When did the price start to rise? By how much?¡±


    ¡°The price started rising not too long ago,¡± the change in her employer¡¯s expression left the cook a bit confused, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly by how much¡­ I bought several jars in advance.¡±


    Finding no more useful information through further questioning, Anna took a silver ring from her jewelry box to thank the cook, who left beaming with joy.


    Winters¡¯ mood fell. He rested his forehead on his hand, inadvertently frowning, ¡°I still need to go to the market myself to see.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna asked, holding Winters¡¯ hand.


    Winters then told Anna about the Mont Blanc County and the salt issue.


    ¡°We¡¯re out of salt? I¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± Anna was also surprised and said earnestly, ¡°Indeed, we should go to the market and ask directly the people who buy and sell salt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go right away,¡± Winters grabbed his coat and sword.


    ¡°Salt is a big business, I don¡¯t understand,¡± Anna reminded her loved one hesitantly as she saw him out, ¡°But if everyone is afraid of the price going up and stock running out, they¡¯ll likely rush to buy salt, and the shops will be emptied of however much salt they have.¡±


    ¡°I understand the gravity of the situation. Don¡¯t worry, there will be a way,¡± Winters said, gently holding his loved one¡¯s hand before leaving.


    ¡­


    Later that day, Winters met with Mason, Andre, and Moritz in the garrison¡¯s conference room.


    Bard was attending to displaced people elsewhere, Tang Juan had not returned from hunting, and now only the four of them remained from the [Council].

 Chapter 705 03-25 - 705 41 Salt and Iron_2

    ?Chapter 705: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_2 Chapter 705: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_2 Winters informed his companions about the proposal from Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°They¡¯re threatening us?¡± Andre burst out angrily, ¡°Even better if he doesn¡¯t sell! When winter comes, we¡¯ll gather the troops and cross the Anya River! I want to see what that baldy can do!¡±


    ¡°Looting is also an option, let¡¯s keep it in mind as a backup plan,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°Actually, the most interesting part is the fact that Mont Blanc County is willing to ¡®trade¡¯ in the first place.


    It seems that the New Reclamation Legion is not as united as we thought. I suspect General Adams¡¯s fence-sitting attitude has caused some disunity within the counties as well.¡±


    Moritz glanced at Winters nonchalantly, only to find Winters was also looking at him.


    Winters spread his hands and explained helplessly to his former superior, ¡°If we¡¯re really out of options¡­ we¡¯ll have to resort to looting¡­ like the Hurd tribe.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit curious,¡± Moritz smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, please continue with the important matters.¡±


    ...


    Before the meeting, Winters first found Old Priskin and, through him, conducted a survey of Revodan salt merchants; he had come to roughly understand the situation with salt:


    Iron Peak County really doesn¡¯t produce salt; they rely entirely on buying it from neighboring Mont Blanc County. Though only separated by the Anya River, the natural endowments of the two counties are worlds apart.


    Iron Peak County only has what some farmers call ¡°salty land.¡± The soil of the salty land is poor, unfit for crops or salt extraction. Its greatest use is for farmers to take their livestock there to ¡°lick the earth¡± during the agriculture off-season.


    Mont Blanc County, on the other hand, boasts high-quality salt wells; Brine Town¡¯s well salt supplies the entire Newly Reclaimed Lands Province. Salt is called white gold, and Mont Blanc is the mountain of white gold.


    After giving a brief explanation, Winters concluded, ¡°Mont Blanc County is indeed blatantly threatening us.¡±


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Senior Mason, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, ¡°Newly Reclaimed Lands is a military-controlled province, and so is the salt. Salt merchants have to pay taxes to Maplestone City first, and then they are allowed to buy salt from Brine Town. It¡¯s essentially a disguised poll tax.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we buy salt from outside?¡± Andre asked anxiously.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    ¡°The Legion forbids salt from outside to enter Newly Reclaimed Lands,¡± Mason sighed deeply. ¡°The corv¨¦e ranch I used to manage had many smugglers of illicit salt. The lightest punishment was losing an arm¡ªsalt is not just salt, it¡¯s also the Legion¡¯s money bag.¡±


    ¡°Then we must fight them!¡± Andre slammed the table and glared at Winters, ¡°Let¡¯s do this! It¡¯s all or nothing, we¡¯ll take down Mont Blanc County as well!¡±


    Mason sighed again, ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Andre glared at the senior.


    ¡°No food,¡± Mason spread open his notebook, his face clouded with concern, ¡°Most of the storage in Revodan has been given to Bard to settle the refugees. The reserves left in the granary¡ªby my calculations¡ªare not enough to last until next summer¡¯s harvest.¡±


    Andre was stunned into silence.


    Mason asked Andre, ¡°Do you know what ¡®the Hungry Gap¡¯ means?¡±


    Andre shook his head.


    ¡°No matter,¡± Mason patted his junior¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ll find out in a few months.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it said that maintaining ¡®the bare minimum food supply¡¯ would last until next year¡¯s crop?¡± Winters was also surprised, ¡°Why is it not enough now?¡±


    Senior Mason answered leisurely, ¡°It was barely enough before, but it¡¯s not enough with an additional thirteen hundred mouths to feed.¡±


    Winters immediately realized¡ªprisoners, the prisoners from Vernge County.


    ¡­


    The fundamental logic of agriculture is simple¡ªno sowing, no harvest.


    Though lacking statistical data, Winters was confident that the mass flight of hired laborers and tenant farmers had led to a sharp decline in the total grain production of Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    The current situation was still manageable because 1) subsistence farmers were generally still tending their land; 2) estates primarily cultivated cash crops; 3) the stockpile from the last quarter hadn¡¯t run out yet.


    If they continued down this path, a major famine was waiting not far ahead. The famine would further escalate the chaos, and eventually, subsistence farmers would also flee, leading to an even greater famine¡­ utter darkness with not a glimmer of light.


    Driven by the simple idea of ¡°finding ways to survive¡± for everyone, Winters wanted to get the refugees back into agricultural production.


    However, the mad bull had already escaped its cage and was rampaging and trampling the earth. Was it so easy to get it back in?


    Winters could have ignored the refugees and only needed to feed over fifteen hundred soldiers and their dependents; with Revodan¡¯s storages, it would have been more than enough. But he decided to take on a bigger challenge.


    So, from the moment he decided to shoulder more responsibility, the new government¡¯s finances sprinted towards bankruptcy.


    Winters had no choice but to tighten his belt.


    Throughout the army, irrespective of rank, food was rationed strictly per person. Rations were limited, and even the smallest appetites could only be satiated by two-thirds. As for the refugee camp, the amount of food per person there was even less.


    Everyone was in a state of semi-starvation. Refugees and soldiers not only had to till the land and sow seeds but also had to devise ways to find food: digging wild vegetables, picking wild fruits, fishing, hunting¡­


    Thus, Tang Juan would be out hunting for days at a time. Winters also never went home for meals, opting to stay in the garrison with his troops.


    The only piece of good news was that Winters had become completely numb to it all. When he used to wake up to thirty-some people eating and defecating, he was constantly worried; now, waking up to over twenty thousand people doing the same, he felt nothing at all.


    According to Senior Mason¡¯s estimates, by reducing consumption, the current stockpiles should last until next summer¡¯s harvest. Once the summer grain is reaped, the situation will greatly improve.

 Chapter 706 03-25 - 706 41 Salt and Iron_3

    ?Chapter 706: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_3 Chapter 706: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_3 Only when the new government truly began to collect grain taxes could this small, impoverished, but tenacious regime be considered on the right track.


    But plans could never keep pace with changes. Juan had fought a delightful battle, thoroughly enjoying himself, yet inadvertently opened up more than a thousand tiny cuts under the grain storage.


    Prisoners were people, too, and all of them were adult men capable of eating and drinking.


    There wasn¡¯t enough food.


    ¡­


    The atmosphere in the meeting room immediately turned heavy, and even Moritz could not help but look worried.


    ¡°Why all the long faces?¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°We are pushing back the waves with a tsunami bearing down on us. It is normal to face difficulties; it would be abnormal not to. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward! Come next year¡¯s harvest, all of today¡¯s troubles will be solved.¡±


    ...


    Winters grinned widely, ¡°Don¡¯t frown. If we have stern faces and furrowed brows all day, what will the soldiers think? They will only worry more. So smile, we must not be anxious.¡±


    Mason sighed helplessly but then smiled wryly.


    Andre, however, didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, ¡°You could stop smiling¡ªyour smile is scarier than your frown.¡±


    ¡°That being said, we still need to solve the lack of grain, and there¡¯s also the issue of salt,¡± Mason said seriously, ¡°Otherwise, when the time comes between planting and harvest, we¡¯ll be forced to beg.¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How to solve it? Isn¡¯t that fucking obvious?¡± Andre said with a bared-teeth smile, ¡°Steal!¡±


    Moritz began coughing violently, thumping his chest hard.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just dismiss what I¡¯m saying! I¡¯ve thought this through!¡± Andre protested, feeling wronged, ¡°As long as we¡¯re willing to steal, we can solve any problem. Besides, how quickly can we gain through theft? Working hard to accumulate¡­ in the end, we¡¯d only gather a couple of hundred horses. But to steal? You could get thousands in one go! Isn¡¯t that easier and more satisfying than digging and farming?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s correct!¡± Combing through the issues like grooming a fiery steed, Winters was very adept, ¡°I¡¯ll note that down¡ªas a contingency plan.¡±


    Andre sat down huffily.


    Mason fiddled with his quill, pondering, ¡°There are only two ways to address the food issue: increase income or reduce expenses. Reducing expenses is impossible¡ªif we do, we¡¯ll all starve to death.¡±


    ¡°We can still reduce expenses,¡± Winters determined, his decision firm, ¡°After the autumn sowing, we¡¯ll vet the prisoners from Vernge County. Release any who are too old, too young, or too weak, and let the New Reclamation Legion worry about them.¡±


    ¡°Release them?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°I think it¡¯s better to kill them all! They know our internal situation! If you release them now, they will come back with weapons to fight us next year!¡±


    ¡°There are pros and cons. If we kill them all, the enemies that come next year will fight even more desperately. Let¡¯s just give each of them a bit of travel money and release them.¡±


    ¡°Give them travel money?¡± Andre said, incredulously laughing.


    ¡°Releasing prisoners doesn¡¯t necessarily mean doing them a favor. Vernge County is short on food just the same; the old, weak, and sick might just starve even if they make it back there,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I suggest we put it to a vote.¡±


    Andre was clearly impatient, ¡°A vote? Why make it so complicated? If you say to release them, would I even object? Just let them go.¡±


    But Winters insisted on a show of hands to vote.


    The final result: Mystery Man A abstained, while Winters, Andre, and Mason all agreed. The matter was thus settled.


    ¡°As for increasing income,¡± Winters said with a pained expression, ¡°Hunting, fishing¡ªthat¡¯s what every military village and farm is doing. Winter is coming, and there¡¯s little left to forage. When it comes down to it, we¡¯ll still need to buy food.¡±


    ¡°Buy from where?¡± Mason asked, puzzled.


    ¡°From the independent farmers. Buy first from Iron Peak County, then from Vernge County,¡± Winters tapped the table lightly, ¡°Samukin is doing quite well with that scheme.¡±


    Winters explained in detail how Samukin organized prisoner labor to produce shoes, baskets, and traded them with the villages for food.


    Did the independent farmers of Iron Peak County have any grain?


    Yes!


    After the autumn harvest, how could there not be any grain?


    The harsher the old garrisons collected, the better the farmers hid their grain. Those who hadn¡¯t hidden it well had already fled their homes, and the ones remaining inevitably had grain.


    Winters was reluctant to impose levies, and he had no desire to do so. In the past year, the game of ¡°hide and seek¡± between the collection teams and the farmers had pushed the cost of levying to unprecedented heights.


    This autumn, many independent farmers didn¡¯t even work their registered land, instead, they fled to desolate gullies to cultivate¡ªhaving been driven to act like startled birds. Even though Winters had publicly stated he would not impose levies on the grain, the farmers did not believe him.


    If they couldn¡¯t impose levies, then they would have to trade. Farmers had many needs that they were willing to trade for.


    ¡°Salt and iron,¡± Winters said emphatically, ¡°Farmers cannot produce these two things, so these are what they desire the most.¡±


    ¡°Salt?¡± Andre frowned, ¡°Are you going to return the horses?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Winters laughed loudly, ¡°Once it¡¯s in my pocket, how could I possibly give it back? He can dream on! Trading horses for salt is like quenching thirst with poison. He thinks I¡¯m desperate, then I must carve out a new path!¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s no salt, our focus must turn to iron.¡±


    ¡°The Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Winters looked at Senior Mason, his eyes burning with determination, ¡°Senior, there¡¯s no time like the present, let¡¯s start smelting iron tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome, let¡¯s strike the first hammer and see!¡±


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll start preparing right away,¡± Mason, having quietly listened to the younger men¡¯s conversation, could not help but remind, ¡°But have you thought about how to resolve the salt issue? Iron Peak County doesn¡¯t produce salt, after all.¡±

 Chapter 707 03-25 - 707 41 Salt and Iron_4

    ?Chapter 707: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_4 Chapter 707: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_4 Winters said something surprising, speaking lightly, ¡°In fact, regarding the salt issue, I¡¯m really not that worried. I had already resolved it before seeking you out.¡±


    Mason, Andre, and Moritz all looked at Winters, faces a mix of shock and awe.


    ¡°I had a chat with Little Lion,¡± Winters didn¡¯t keep them in suspense, ¡°Andre, senior, do you remember those rock salts on the western shore of The Styx¡­ licked by the cattle and sheep?¡±


    Last year, when the war was raging, as soon as the Paratu Expeditionary Force crossed The Styx, the Paratu Shepherds rushed their herds to the western shores, because there was rock salt there.


    Winters played with a small knife, his demeanor refreshing as he spoke, ¡°When I talked to the Revodan salt merchants, they told me that, aside from buying military salt from Mont Blanc County, there was also a smuggling route for rock salt coming from the Hurd wilderness in the past. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Caravans would take their goods to trade in the wilderness, then carry back salt. Later, when the Parlatu Army cracked down hard and blockaded the various Hurd tribes, that route too was cut off.¡±


    Thanks to Mayor Priskin¡¯s efforts, otherwise the salt merchants would never have disclosed these hidden secrets to Winters.


    ...


    ¡°It turns out that speaking with a smile really works,¡± Winters summarized, forcing out a grin, ¡°One must smile more.¡±


    ¡°Rock salt?¡± Andre was stupefied, ¡°Cattle and sheep can lick it. Can people eat it?¡±


    ¡°The Herders eat rock salt, Little Lion said so,¡± Winters stated matter-of-factly, ¡°If the Herders can eat it, so can we. Salt bricks are even a form of ¡®currency¡¯ among the Hurd tribes.¡±


    Andre took a deep breath, feeling relieved that he wouldn¡¯t have to give up the horses whatever the cost.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe will give us rock salt for free?¡± Mason narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters sighed, putting on a wry smile, ¡°We trade iron for it.¡±


    Mason¡¯s expression turned grave and he asked in a deep voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just like giving the lion steel teeth? The Herders are not on our side. Having occupied Tie Feng Mountain for decades, how could they possibly not know about Iron Peak Mine? But did Little Lion ever mention it to you?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    ¡°I understand, senior. It¡¯s like two cups of poison before me, one kills immediately upon drinking, the other kills slowly,¡± Winters shook his head gently, ¡°We still have to drink the slow poison, for only in living might there be a chance.¡±


    Mason also couldn¡¯t help but sigh heavily, ¡°Yes, survival gives us a chance.¡±


    ¡°Actually, Mr. Poltan, the old blacksmith, has a good idea,¡± Winters said, somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°He mentioned that the iron from Iron Peak Mine is of poor quality, brittle, and difficult to forge into weapons, but it¡¯s just right for casting into pots. There¡¯s no need to sell steel to the Herders, just pots would do.¡±


    ¡°Would the Red River Tribe agree to that?¡± Mason almost laughed in disbelief.


    ¡°When it comes to business, negotiations must be had,¡± Winters shrugged, speaking teasingly, ¡°If their rock salt isn¡¯t sold to us, there¡¯s no other buyer. We ourselves don¡¯t have steel, where would we get steel for the Red River Tribe? That¡¯s the offer, take it or leave it. If we can¡¯t strike a deal, then we may as well go raid Mont Blanc County.¡±


    ¡°We should have just gone on a raid right away!¡± Andre perked up with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Did you tell Little Lion?¡± Mason asked Winters about the pots, ¡°about this matter.¡±


    ¡°Not yet, I just told him we would trade iron with him. He seemed quite pleased anyway,¡± Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°In the end, we still need to smelt iron. Without iron, we might as well change our name to the Iron Peak Tribe, paint our faces, and go looking for baldies to fight in Mont Blanc County.¡±


    Mason also sighed deeply, ¡°Yes, in the end, we still need a mainstay industry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t fret,¡± Winters revealed a smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t we much better off now than when we had only five or six towns? There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    With the issues of salt and iron resolved, they should have adjourned the meeting, but Winters wouldn¡¯t let Andre and Moritz leave, insisting on continuing the meeting.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who used to hate meetings the most?¡± Andre couldn¡¯t help asking Winters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s endure it a bit longer,¡± Winters put on a serious tone, ¡°I feel¡­ that the salt incident has exposed two issues, issues that must be resolved.¡±


    ¡°What issues?¡± Andre retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t the problem simply the lack of salt?¡±


    ¡°The first issue,¡± Winters said slowly and deliberately, ¡°is that at present, Iron Peak County cannot survive independently without external support; many things still need to be imported from outside. The New Reclamation Legion has already started to blockade us, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s been too short a time to show its power.¡±


    Mason sat up straight, his expression turning serious. He thought Winters just wanted to chat casually but hadn¡¯t expected these topics to come up. Andre also stopped clamoring to leave. Even Moritz opened his eyes, listening curiously.


    ¡°For all kinds of goods that Iron Peak County needs, if it is possible to produce them ourselves, we should find a way to do so. For those we cannot produce on our own, then we resort to trade, smuggling, or raiding.¡±


    ¡°A living person can¡¯t be allowed to die from holding in their pee.¡± Andre smacked his lips, ¡°That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    ¡°The second issue.¡± Winters gently brushed the blade, ¡°Our military government doesn¡¯t know what the common people need. Salt prices are rising, but it wasn¡¯t until the enemy reminded me that I realized it. This shows that our eyes and ears are blocked. We need to open them, or even if we solve the salt problem, other issues will emerge.¡±


    ¡°How do we open them?¡± Mason asked.


    ¡°I have a rough idea¡ªgather the merchants from Revodan and the farmers from all the towns to listen to their needs. In the past, when the lords were particularly lascivious and brutal, the common people would petition for a grievance meeting; we could hold one too,¡± Winters said with a smile: ¡°But a grievance meeting doesn¡¯t sound too pleasant, how about we call it a negotiation meeting?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a county council then?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, a county council has power. But I don¡¯t want to delegate power right now. Let¡¯s vote on it.¡±


    As usual, there was one abstention, and three votes in favor.


    ¡°It¡¯s not only about listening to what the common people say.¡± Winters stroked his chin, ¡°We also need to tell the common people what we want to say. Andre, remember the gazette from Deerhorn Town?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the racetrack something we saw in the gazette?¡± Andre replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of starting a gazette in Revodan¡­ It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be called a gazette, just a regular set of announcements, posted to every village and town. Sea Blue has a group of information peddlers who specialize in selling hand-copied ¡®Sea Blue Bulletins¡¯; we could do something similar.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°We must not only achieve victory but also let more people know about our victories. They need to understand that we are fighting for their interests.¡±


    Andre frantically waved his hands, ¡°Suit yourself, just don¡¯t make me write it, suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°Upperclassman.¡± Winters grabbed Mason¡¯s hand, ¡°I know, you are the most reliable person.¡±


    Mason calmly pulled his hand away, ¡°I¡¯m no good with writing and paper work either¡­¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Colonel?¡±


    Moritz had already fallen asleep.


    ¡°All of you?¡± Winters slammed the table, infuriated, ¡°I¡¯m going to find Bard!¡±


    ¡°Bard has enough on his plate, and he¡¯s so far away¡ªhe can¡¯t be bothered with Revodan.¡± Mason patted Winters on the shoulder, ¡°You¡¯d better do it yourself.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion quickly got Winters¡¯s offer.


    ¡°Little Lion, do you want a cast iron pot?¡± Winters pulled Little Lion¡¯s hand eagerly, ¡°I¡¯ll add money, and I can also get you an iron stove!¡±


    ¡­


    Baratz Yussas from Mont Blanc County also quickly got a response from Winters.


    Clutching a saddle, Winters tearfully informed the upperclassman, ¡°You¡¯re right, without salt, it¡¯s indeed hard to raise good horses. So, with a heavy heart, I ordered all the horses to be slaughtered. Take this saddle back for remembrance¡­ oh no, for Colonel Gaisa to keep as a memento.¡±


    ¡­


    A day later, the bald man who had been anxiously waiting on the East Bank of the Anya River finally saw the returning messenger.


    ¡°How are my horses?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked Baratz impatiently, ¡°Does he agree or not?¡±


    Baratz took out a saddle, with a cry and a laugh, ¡°That kid spouted nonsense, but he just wouldn¡¯t agree.¡±


    ¡°I tried to barter and negotiate with him, but he wouldn¡¯t agree.¡± Gaisa was frustrated, ¡°Does he want to force me to take them by force?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it either.¡± Baratz smacked his lips, ¡°The kid asked if you had something else in mind to trade, tobacco, sugar beet, hemp oil, stock is limited, bulk orders preferred.¡±


    Baratz added at the end, ¡°Secret agreement.¡±

 Chapter 708 03-25 - 708 42 The Crucible

    ?Chapter 708: Chapter 42: The Crucible Chapter 708: Chapter 42: The Crucible The weather was turning cool, with life retracting and grass and trees withering into yellow.


    It wasn¡¯t just ordinary people who were gradually reluctant to go out; the battered Red Rose and Blue Rose also each called a truce and returned to their dens to lick their wounds and accumulate strength, waiting for the next year.


    The scarred Paratu finally got a brief respite, as people mended their clothes and prepared for winter storage, enjoying the hard-won peace and tranquility.


    However, in the remote and barren Iron Peak County to the southwest of Paratu, a scene of bustling activity prevailed.


    Cavalry bearing green flags were en route to each village and town, delivering the first issue of the ¡°Communications Bulletin.¡±


    The first Iron Peak County Consultative Meeting was also under intense preparation.


    Refugee farms and military settlements were racing against time to till the land and sow seeds. With winter approaching and the days getting shorter, everyone¡¯s efforts only intensified.


    ...


    If the draft animals were too exhausted to continue, people took turns pulling the plow; and if daylight was insufficient, they lit bonfires at night to carry on.


    The human mindset is always quite wonderful, for as the chance of success dwindles, people become even more unwilling to give up. If one were to talk about sheer enthusiasm, the final days surpassed the initial days of autumn tilling by far.


    The refugees and land-granted soldiers were working furiously, while the old self-sufficient farmers arrived at the most comfortable time of the year.


    The winter wheat, barley, and rye of the self-sufficient farmers, mostly sown at the end of September and the beginning of October, were now growing pleasingly well.


    The seedlings emerged in clusters from the soil, covering the fields in green, resembling recently laid lawns and adding a rare touch of vitality to the autumn-winter season.


    In fact, the wheat fields of the self-sufficient farmers were in great peril. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The problem wasn¡¯t poor growth, but rather that the crops were growing too well. This year¡¯s warm winter had brought on early jointing in parts of the sown fields.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    In a few days, when the real cooling arrives, the seedlings that jointed early would all be frozen to death.


    Elder Falmer¡ªWinters¡¯ ¡°agricultural adviser¡± recruited from Wolf Town¡ªwas very worried about this.


    A solution?


    Winters didn¡¯t have one, but he knew where to find one.


    He had already sent messengers at the earliest opportunity to convene the prominent grain farmers from nearby villages and towns to discuss strategies at Revodan.


    ¡°My lord, what if no one can think of a good solution?¡± Elder Falmer was still deeply concerned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sir,¡± Winters, now heavily in debt, said with a laugh, ¡°If it really comes to a famine, I still have Andreya Chelini.¡±


    ¡­


    October 30, 559 of the Imperial calendar. The day after Winters returned to Revodan, an ordinary yet special day.


    Ordinary, because the sun rose as usual and would set as it always did.


    Extraordinary¡ªperhaps worth commemorating¡ªbecause it was today that Winters would officially start smelting iron.


    After the hard work of Senior Mason, the kiln craftsmen brothers, and the Revodan bricklayers, the blast furnace had been completed.


    The forge was located on a flat terrace atop Tie Feng Mountain, far from residential areas but close to the mine, for convenient access to ore.


    Following Carlos¡¯ requirements, the furnace was built with double layers of refractory bricks and stretched over four meters high. From a distance, it looked like an enormous vase with a long neck placed on the mountainside.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Carlos¡¯ insistence on waiting for Winters to return before lighting the fire, Senior Mason would have moved on to the next step long ago.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already touted your skills for you, go ahead with full confidence,¡± Winters said, laughing heartily and slapping the young blacksmith on the back, ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Stand tall and puff out your chest!¡±


    Carlos¡¯ upper teeth chattered against his lower ones as he swallowed hard and nodded desperately.


    It was evident to everyone that the young blacksmith was on edge.


    Carlos fasted for three days in advance, took a bath this morning, and put on a new set of clothes. He also didn¡¯t allow anyone to utter words like ¡°extinguish¡± or ¡°failure,¡± becoming irate at anyone who did.


    To be honest, Winters didn¡¯t hold out much hope for the young blacksmith¡¯s skills.


    If it had been his brother Berlion who said ¡°it can be done,¡± Winters would not have hesitated to bet everything on it;


    But Carlos Soya¡­ Merely seeing him hit it off with a smart fellow like Vashka gave Winters an ominous intuition.


    However, he sincerely hoped that the young blacksmith would prove his intuition wrong with his actions.


    Firing up the smelter was a truly significant event; the blacksmiths from Forging Village, upon hearing the news, all wanted to come and widen their horizons.


    Not just blacksmiths, but prominent citizens of Revodan and even Little Lion were curious to have a look.


    Winters didn¡¯t agree and fended them all off.


    Especially Little Lion, who was both a friend and a rival and keenly astute¡ªalthough Winters felt a bit guilty, he resolutely insisted that Senior Juan take Little Lion hunting.


    On one hand, he didn¡¯t want to divulge technological secrets; on the other, he didn¡¯t want to lose face.


    As a result, the ¡°lighting ceremony¡± was quite private, with only a few attendees present.


    Senior Mason came with great enthusiasm, and Andre was dragged along by him.


    Moritz was absent, the supply of life water had ceased recently, leaving the colonel listless, often anxious, and he disliked public appearances.


    Besides the four military administrators, only the blacksmith father and son-in-law¡ªPoltan and Soria¡ªwere present.


    ¡­


    Upon returning to Revodan, Winters immediately paid a visit to Elder Poltan, inviting the latter to be his adviser¡ªnot officially, with no title or record, which suited the old blacksmith just fine.


    Also invited as an adviser was Poltan¡¯s longtime rival, the tobacco merchant and elder mayor Priskin.


    Together with Elder Falmer, the farmer from Wolf Town, Winters formed a small advisory group¡­ Of course, the designated chief adviser was none other than ¡°Lady Montaigne.¡±

 Chapter 709 03-25 - 709 42 The Crucible_2

    ?Chapter 709: Chapter 42: The Crucible_2 Chapter 709: Chapter 42: The Crucible_2 ¡­


    The old blacksmith had once wished to see the black smoke rising from the furnace through his window. Winters went a step further, directly inviting the old man to participate in the lighting ceremony.


    The old blacksmith gladly accepted, first by carriage, then by stretcher, taking great effort to reach the foot of Tie Feng Mountain¡ªhis first departure from Revodan in eight years.


    And then there was Caman.


    The young Priest was now reluctantly sprinkling Holy Water on the high furnace, holding a gold bowl in one hand and a small broom in the other.


    The Paratu People have a morbid love for ¡°blessing ceremonies.¡± Men can be blessed, weapons can be blessed, agricultural tools can be blessed¡­ Anyway, splashing some Holy Water never hurts. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So Winters spent quite some time impressing upon Caman the grand principles, dragging him along to consecrate the high furnace.


    ...


    All Caman did was carelessly sprinkle twice; the remaining Holy Water in the bowl he briskly splashed against the furnace wall, then turned back to Winters, ¡°Done, that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to recite a few verses?¡± Winters asked with a twinkle in his eye.


    ¡°Recite verses? Would you like me to carve a holy emblem for you, too?¡± Caman was instantly riled up, ¡°Tell me which scripture or gospel deals with stoking fire.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s leave it at that,¡± Winters did not insist, ¡°If this works out, the people of Iron Peak County will benefit immensely. Thank you, Mr. Caman.¡±


    Caman pursed his lips, staring fiercely at Winters for a while and then, in a huff, turned back to the furnace, leaning against its wall to perform a benediction, muttering under his breath.


    Carlos had already prepared the preliminary work. Charcoal was neatly stacked into a funnel shape inside the furnace chamber, just awaiting Winters to light it.


    Winters was not planning on ¡°saying a few words¡± himself; once Caman¡¯s blessing ceremony was over, he slowly closed his eyes, entering a state of casting.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.??


    When he opened his eyes again, the torch in his hand ¡°pfft¡± flared into flame.


    Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Winters solemnly lit the hopeful flame.


    Two oxen slowly chewed their half-digested fodder, casually operating the bellows.


    As the air was steadily pumped into the furnace chamber, the charcoal gradually heated to white-hot, the heat wave palpable even several meters away.


    Seeing the fire at the right temperature, Carlos fed initial-refined iron ore and limestone into the high furnace from above.


    The raw ore extracted from old mines, after being screened, roasted, crushed, and washed, resulted in what Carlos called ¡°initial-refined iron ore.¡±


    And then?


    And then, there was no ¡°then.¡±


    Amid the long, tedious wait, only the dark red slag and a small amount of golden molten iron fell to the bottom of the furnace. No matter how devoutly Carlos prayed, the iron wouldn¡¯t flow out.


    Carlos was frantic with anxiety, Senior Mason was quite disappointed, and Andre had already grown impatient.


    But Winters felt nothing¡ªhe had never expected success on the first attempt.


    ¡°You lad insisted on waiting for me to come back before starting the furnace,¡± Winters teased the young blacksmith, ¡°Were you afraid Captain Mason would thrash you if I wasn¡¯t here?¡±


    Carlos was about to cry on the spot for Winters to see.


    ¡°Your Excellency, it¡¯s fine to leave Mr. Soria here. In the early years when we used block furnaces, starting it up meant a whole day¡¯s work; it wasn¡¯t this quick,¡± the old blacksmith, Poltan, was very calm.


    He suggested to Winters, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to wait here. How about I accompany you to Forging Village and introduce you to some of my old mates?¡±


    Winters thought the old man made sense. Whether it worked or not, they would know the outcome tomorrow; waiting around was pointless.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble you.¡± Winters nodded with a smile.


    Senior Mason had come with great hopes and heard that they¡¯d only have results by tomorrow, his disappointment written all over his face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back first,¡± Senior Mason said listlessly, bidding his farewell, ¡°They¡¯re organizing people to cut grass at the racetrack, I¡¯ll go check it out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go, too,¡± Andre said, ready to leave.


    Hearing the word ¡°racetrack,¡± Winters quickly held back the Captain, ¡°Join me on a trip to Forging Village. The matters at the racetrack can wait till tomorrow.¡±


    As he said this, Winters gave Andre a meaningful glance without uttering a word.


    Andre understood and immediately changed his tune, ¡°Exactly! Exactly! Let¡¯s go to Forging Village and look around. Maybe someone there knows about cannon casting!¡±


    The reason for not letting Senior Mason leave was that they hadn¡¯t yet dared to discuss the matter of [racetrack steward] with him; now was a perfect opportunity.


    The more Andre talked, the more Senior Mason¡¯s heart ached, ¡°I¡¯ve asked around, no one in Forging Village knows how to cast bells or cannons.¡±


    ¡°But what if they¡¯re hiding something?¡± Winters didn¡¯t let go of the Captain, ¡°With Mr. Poltan accompanying us, their attitude will be different.¡±


    Senior Mason sighed and agreed unwillingly.


    The group set off for Forging Village, leaving Carlos with a few apprentices to watch over the high furnace. With no one to supervise, Carlos finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Forging Village was located at the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, next to St. George River, very close to the high furnace.


    On the way, the old blacksmith, Poltan, chatted with the security officers about various major and minor matters regarding iron smelting.


    ¡°The principle behind iron smelting is actually quite simple¡ªjust place wood charcoal and iron ore together and set it on fire,¡± said the old blacksmith, Poltan, leaning back energetically as he talked about iron smelting, ¡°From the earliest I can remember, that¡¯s what blacksmiths have done.¡±


    ¡°The simpler it sounds,¡± Winters commented wistfully, ¡°the harder it might be to execute.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± the old blacksmith clapped and laughed heartily, ¡°The same iron and charcoal put together to burn¡ªsome can smelt excellent sponge iron, some can smelt steel, yet others can only manage to produce crumbly, charred lumps. Iron smelting isn¡¯t difficult in principle, but in the craftsmanship¡ªthat is, the formula, experience, and process.¡±

 Chapter 710 03-25 - 710 42 Furnace_3

    ?Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Following that, Old Blacksmith Poltan continued to discuss the differences between the ¡°bloomery¡± and Carlos¡¯s ¡°blast furnace.¡±


    The reason why a bloomery is called a ¡°bloomery¡± is that it ¡°smelts a large bloom of iron at one time.¡±


    ¡°Iron doesn¡¯t have legs; it won¡¯t walk out of the furnace on its own,¡± the old blacksmith gestured vigorously. ¡°So with a bloomery, after smelting a batch of iron, you have to take apart the furnace wall to remove the iron and then rebuild it.¡±


    Mason¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Can¡¯t you just melt the iron into liquid¡ªlike bronze and gold¡ªso it pours out on its own?¡±


    Being able to melt iron into liquid would mean being able to cast cannons, Senior Mason¡¯s thinking was very direct.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, the temperature of a bloomery is not enough to melt iron into liquid. Iron is not like gold or bronze; it¡¯s extremely difficult to melt. The forges we common blacksmiths use can only make iron slightly softer. It¡¯s far from being able to melt iron into liquid.¡±


    ¡°The iron isn¡¯t melted during the smelting process? Then how is it smelted?¡± Winters asked curiously.


    ...


    ¡°Err¡­ I actually don¡¯t know,¡± Old Blacksmith Poltan answered somewhat embarrassedly with a wry smile. ¡°Blacksmiths can smelt iron, but why can you get iron by just burning iron ore with charcoal? Nobody knows. Why does iron get soft when heated? Nobody knows that either. Why? Maybe it¡¯s because of magic.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    Old Blacksmith Poltan suggested to Mason, ¡°Casting is much harder than forging. Any blacksmith can forge, but there are very few that understand how to cast. If you want to cast cannons, it¡¯s best to use bronze.¡±


    ¡°But where can I find copper material?¡± Mason was somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°You can¡¯t make a silk purse from a sow¡¯s ear,¡± the old blacksmith admitted, unable to help. ¡°Without straw, you can¡¯t make bricks.¡±


    Mason sighed heavily.


    ¡°There will be a way,¡± Winters consoled Senior Mason. ¡°Worst comes to worst, we¡¯ll buy copper from outside.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°However,¡± Old Blacksmith Poltan¡¯s tone was hesitant. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that the royal blacksmiths in the north have invented a method that allows you to melt iron into water and cast it. Some people call that kind of iron ¡®cast iron.¡¯ It¡¯s just hearsay, though; I¡¯m not clear on the specifics of how it¡¯s done. In my guess, you would need a really powerful smelting furnace.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mason was overjoyed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true¡­¡±


    After remaining silent for a while, Andre spoke up gruffly, ¡°We don¡¯t even know if that furnace from earlier works, so you shouldn¡¯t worry about some cast iron business that we can¡¯t even see. If you ask me, you¡¯d better start thinking about what to do if we can¡¯t smelt any iron¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll research it when we return,¡± Winters said casually, asking the elder for more information, ¡°Please continue telling us about the smelting furnace.¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan earnestly replied, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t understand the blast furnace either, otherwise I would have personally helped you with it. Mr. Soria is methodical and has rules for smelting iron. Even if he isn¡¯t an expert, he¡¯s learned from one. When I first met Mr. Soria, I only had ten percent confidence; now it¡¯s at least fifty percent.¡±


    The old blacksmith lamented, ¡°Although Mr. Soria is still young, his skills have already far surpassed mine. My whole life¡­ sigh, it¡¯s been busy doing nothing.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Winters chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°As far as I see, young Mr. Soria¡¯s smelting furnace has been set up, but the real problems are still to come.¡±


    ¡°After all is said and done, just what is a blast furnace?¡± Andre yawned. ¡°That brick tower from earlier is a blast furnace? It didn¡¯t seem like much.¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan explained it to Andre again.


    To put it simply, a bloomery is like a cup with an opening on top for charging materials. You have to take it apart after each use and put it back together;


    A blast furnace, however, is like a cup with a tap: you charge it from the top and draw off the iron from the bottom, allowing for continuous melting.


    The old blacksmith used a crude but vivid metaphor, ¡°A blast furnace is like a person constantly drinking water from the top and urinating from the bottom. A bloomery is like drinking a large glass of water once a day and urinating once. Naturally, it can¡¯t compare to continuously drinking and urinating.¡±


    Andre laughed so hard the carriage began to tremble.


    ¡°What if we repair the road after the autumn harvest?¡± Winters contemplated, ¡°Build it to the standard of a Legion main road and turn it into a paved Guzhi Road?¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan could only ride in a carriage due to physical limitations. Winters, wanting to consult the elder more, also took the carriage, and he brought Andre and Senior Mason along.


    The carriage was not small, but it was quite crowded with three military officers inside. Winters and Andre had to endure the discomfort of cramped knees.


    Moreover, the road between Revodan and Forging Village was in poor condition, jostling them severely, which reawakened Winters¡¯s obsession with road construction.


    ¡°Road construction in winter?¡± Mason asked instinctively.


    ¡°That¡¯s the only time we¡¯re free.¡±


    ¡°We might not have enough manpower.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start small, fixing the road from Revodan to Forging Village for now. The rest can be slowly repaired when we have time,¡± Winters said, supporting his forehead. ¡°Big and small issues abound like a tangled ball of yarn. Let¡¯s tackle them one at a time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about right,¡± Mason nodded, then suddenly realized something seemed amiss. ¡°Who¡¯s going to do the construction?¡±


    Mason looked at Winters, Winters silently looked out the window;


    Mason then looked at Andre, who also silently looked out the window.


    ¡°Why is it called an Artillery branch?¡± Mason¡¯s expression was complex as he muttered. ¡°It should be called the ¡®Miscellaneous Troops¡¯ Branch!¡¯


    ¡°Senior, you might want to consider this,¡± Winters earnestly flattered, his praise thick as he said, ¡°In the entire army, from top to bottom, who else has the capability, except for you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Andre agreed firmly, ¡°The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.¡±

 Chapter 711 03-25 - 711 42 The Furnace_4

    ?Chapter 711: Chapter 42: The Furnace_4 Chapter 711: Chapter 42: The Furnace_4 ¡°Alright, stop flattering me. I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Mason sighed deeply. ¡°But I have a condition.¡±


    ¡°Please, go ahead,¡± Winters sat up straight with a serious expression, as it was rare for the elder student to actively make a request.


    ¡°Find some copper, I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t scrape together a hundred kilograms of copper material in Iron Peak County.¡± Mason also looked out the window. ¡°If we can¡¯t cast a large one, let¡¯s cast a small one for fun. If I don¡¯t fire a couple of shots soon, my skills will go to waste.¡±


    ¡­


    As Winters rode the carriage to Forging Village, the students of Revodan Accounting School were attending their first class.


    Without paper or pencils, each student carried a shallow square tray sprinkled with fine sand, using a stick to draw in it;


    There were no textbooks¡ªLady Montaigne was still composing them;


    There were no professional teachers, and the lecturer was the most senior accountant from Priskin trading;


    And there was no specialized venue, so the municipal hall¡¯s council chamber was temporarily used as a classroom.


    As arranged by Lady Montaigne, the first class did not teach arithmetic or literacy but rather the logic of ¡°double-entry bookkeeping.¡±


    ...


    ¡°The teacher¡± was a bit restrained, stumbling as he spoke: ¡°¡­Double-entry bookkeeping is actually quite simple, a column on the left, a column on the right¡ªone for expenses, one for income¡­¡±


    This senior accountant was already over fifty, but lecturing in front of dozens of people was a first for him, inevitably he was nervous.


    The council chamber was a two-story building, with the first floor being a place for citizens to debate and conduct affairs, and the second floor for observers to take their seats.


    Anna was sitting on the second floor at that moment, resting her chin on her hands as she listened on the side.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    She didn¡¯t have a deep connection with Wolf Town, Revodan, or Iron Peak County, nor did she feel much for the accounting school. It was for that person that she¡¯d been bustling about without complaint.


    But now, a strange feeling was entangling her thoughts¡­ Pride? Satisfaction? Arrogance? It seemed none of these, yet also a bit of all.


    Anna couldn¡¯t figure it out, which made her slightly distressed and mostly perplexed.


    However, it was indeed interesting: a school founded by a woman, admitting men to study¡ªa first in the history of Iron Peak County, let alone Newly Reclaimed Land¡ªalthough she was hidden behind Winters.


    ¡°¡­In double-entry bookkeeping, each transaction is recorded simultaneously as both an expense and an income in two separate ledgers. Each ledger serves as a check for the others, creating an interlocking system¡­ Double-entry bookkeeping isn¡¯t for convenience, but to restrain greed. Never harbor evil thoughts, remember this! It¡¯s the devil whispering to you¡­¡±


    Anna listened with a scrutinizing gaze.


    ¡°This teacher is not very competent, we need to replace him,¡± Anna thought to herself. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have gone for the most senior accountant, but for the one with the loudest voice.¡±


    Anna put her hat back on, preparing to leave the council chamber. A casual glance at the students¡¯ seats downstairs almost made her cry out in surprise.


    She saw Scarlett dressed in men¡¯s clothes and trousers, her hair cut as short as a man¡¯s, with dirt on her face, quietly sitting in the corner of the ¡°classroom¡± taking notes.


    Although she looked just like a young boy, Anna was certain that the boy was Scarlett Mitchell.


    Anna felt a bout of dizziness; she knew Mrs. Michel was daring, but she hadn¡¯t anticipated it to this extent.


    ¡­


    After class, Scarlett was thinking about sneaking out of the council hall.


    A woman wrapped in a black veil stood in her way¡ªit was Mrs. Madeleine, Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s maid. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Scarlett tried to pretend she didn¡¯t recognize Mrs. Madeleine, but Mrs. Madeleine had clearly recognized her.


    So Scarlett was taken away on the spot.


    Mrs. Madeleine did not take Scarlett back to see Mrs. Mitchell, but instead led her to an officers¡¯ quarters near the garrison.


    Scarlett thought she was going to be reprimanded by Mr. Montaigne, but it was ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± who awaited her.


    ¡°You silly girl.¡± Anna caressed Scarlett¡¯s hair with compassion: ¡°How could you bear to cut it off?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it will grow back,¡± Scarlett sniffed audaciously.


    ¡°Does Mrs. Mitchell know?¡±


    Scarlett instinctively shuddered, begging pitifully, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell my mother, she¡¯ll surely faint from anger.¡±


    ¡°Can you keep it a secret forever?¡±


    ¡°The longer I can keep it, the better¡­¡±


    ¡°Why did you cut your hair?¡± Anna, feeling pity, pain, and bewilderment, asked: ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I want to take classes.¡± Scarlett answered defiantly, ¡°I want to learn accounting.¡±


    Anna was about to ask, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you come directly to me?¡±


    But recalling the awkward scene she had encountered when she first arrived at the Mitchell estate, she had some understanding.


    The early stirrings of a young girl¡¯s heart, a stubborn nature, fragile and delicate pride¡­ Anna felt as if she were looking into a mirror.


    She wasn¡¯t angry, just more sympathetic, and a seed began to sprout in her heart.


    ¡°If you really want to learn accounting.¡± Anna took Scarlett¡¯s hand, asking gently, ¡°Would you let me teach you?¡±

 Chapter 712 03-25 - 712 43 Forge

    ?Chapter 712: Chapter 43 Forge Chapter 712: Chapter 43 Forge ¡°`


    Forging Village had seven forges, a fact that had remained unchanged for over twenty years.


    The ¡°Seven Forges¡± not only referred to the literal, physically existing seven forges but also represented seven workshops.


    Ever since [Mejery Poltan] moved his forge to Revodan twenty years ago, [Peter Ganchalov] had leapt to the position of the wealthiest man in Forging Village.


    The elder Ganchalov had three sons who had grown to adulthood, all of them skilled workers, and the elder Ganchalov was also very good at accumulating family wealth.


    The four of them working together had made their workshop prosper.


    Ten years ago, the elder Ganchalov spared no expense to invite craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to create Forging Village¡¯s first water-powered hammer.


    From then on, the ¡°thud, thud, clang, clang¡± from his workshop never stopped, and the other workshops couldn¡¯t compare.


    ...


    The elder Ganchalov passed away in his sleep the year before last, and now the forge was managed by his eldest son.


    In addition to the three brothers, the Ganchalov family also had nine assistants and apprentices, recognized as the foremost workshop in Forging Village.


    The smallest workshop in Forging Village was the [Vinius] family¡¯s.


    In his youth, Paulo Vinius was also a top-notch blacksmith, with craftsmanship even better than Poltan¡¯s.


    In those years of iron smelting, it was Poltan, Vinius, and Ganchalov who had partnered up to build the first smelting furnace.


    Latter, Poltan moved his furnace to Revodan, while Paulo Vinius began to drink heavily.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The elder Vinius¡¯s body was ruined by alcohol, and his spirit shattered along with it. Five years ago, he died, and everyone said it was the drink that killed him.


    Now, only the young Vinius and two underage apprentices remained, barely keeping the workshop afloat.


    ¡­


    Upon learning that three justices had come to visit Forging Village, all the owners of the seven workshops hurried to the town hall to greet them. This included the Ganchalov brothers and the young Vinius.


    The workshop owners were shocked to discover: Mister Poltan himself had also come.


    It had been nearly ten years since anyone had seen the elder Poltan, many had assumed him dead, but no one had ever attended his funeral.


    The Ganchalov brothers, the young Vinius, and other younger [Forge Masters] all came forward to greet the elder Poltan.


    Poltan had grown old, and so had his peers, all too old to continue the hard work.


    Some had passed their forges onto their sons or sons-in-law, while others had sold theirs away.


    A new generation of Forge Masters had taken over, now all managed by the second or even third generation.


    [Winters] stood by the old blacksmith Poltan, carefully observing each of the workshop owners, especially the Ganchalov family.


    The seven workshop owners of Forging Village all belonged to the same [Guild Alliance], the Iron Peak County Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild.


    Not just them, but other village and town blacksmiths¡ªlike old Misha from Wolf Town¡ªwere also members of this guild.


    The first leader of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild was naturally the elder Poltan, while the current nominal leader was Shosha.


    But Shosha did not have the same level of prestige as his father-in-law, and his forge was not in Forging Village, so the blacksmiths of Forging Village all looked to the Ganchalov family for leadership.


    Winters casually sized up the Ganchalov brothers: the second and third brothers appeared to be hot-headed, but the eldest was quite steady.


    As for the young Vinius¡­ he seemed very tired, his shoulders and back slumped. And he just passed by, leaving no lasting impression on Winters.


    Winters had actually come to Forging Village without any particular business in mind, merely stopping by to have a look.


    After all, Forging Village was the only place in the county capable of manufacturing large ironware, and Winters was quite curious about it.


    He also planned to visit the nearby military settlement to check on the autumn farming.


    ¡°Your Excellency, how is the progress of your smelting furnace?¡± The elder Gancha smiled ingratiatingly as he took the initiative to greet the justice.


    The eldest son of Ganchalov was tall and muscular, with only his small eyes looking out of place, disappearing when he smiled.


    Upon hearing the elder Gancha¡¯s question, the other workshop owners all pricked up their ears for the answer.


    ¡°I¡¯m expecting it to fail,¡± Winters said with a light chuckle.


    At this reply, the atmosphere suddenly chilled.


    Winters¡¯s tone was relaxed, ¡°No big deal, just do it again.¡±


    The elder Gancha flattered, ¡°My father always said, the greater the failure, we are all waiting for your success. Cheaper iron would be a huge boon for us blacksmiths. We are all waiting for your success.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your kind words,¡± Winters replied with a modest smile.


    The workshop owners all joined in the laughter, and the small town hall filled with their mirth.


    Andre stood beside Winters, letting out a cold snort.


    The relationship between Forging Village¡¯s [workshop community] and the new government could be summarized in two words: warm outwardly, cold inwardly, strictly business.


    For Forging Village, which only presided over two villages, having seven forges was clearly excessive.


    As a result, Forging Village¡¯s ironworks relied on consumption from other villages and towns, and Forging Village mainly produced those large pieces that small smithies found inconvenient to make.


    Forging Village needed to sell ironware, Winters needed to buy ironware;


    Forging Village feared the ¡°Rebels¡± would strike hard, Winters didn¡¯t want to see the forges of Forging Village extinguished.


    Thus, a silent agreement of ¡°well water not offending river water¡± was formed between the two parties.


    After a brief conversation, Winters proposed visiting each of the workshops.


    The elder Gancha was reluctant, but still agreed readily. Since he agreed, none of the other workshop owners objected. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Blacksmith workshops were much of a muchness, even the largest Ganchalov workshop and the small shop of old Misha from Wolf Town had no essential difference¡ªboth were filled with men with taut cheeks, working around red-hot metal.


    The workshops contained just a few essentials: the forge, anvil, molds, and various specialized small tools.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 713 03-25 - 713 43 Forge_2

    ?Chapter 713: Chapter 43 Forge_2 Chapter 713: Chapter 43 Forge_2 The only interesting thing was the water-powered hammer.


    Ever since old Gangchalov spent a fortune to invite craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to build the first water-powered hammer ten years ago, water-powered hammers have been blooming all over Forging Village.


    Because the principle and the mechanical structure of this device are not complicated, one glance is enough to understand how it works.


    The biggest problem is the cost; both construction and maintenance require money, which small shops like the one in Wolf Town run by old Misha just can¡¯t afford.


    Before even entering the town, Winters had seen the waterwheels by the river, which is why he took the initiative to ask for a tour of the workshop.


    ¡°My lord, please look. This is the hammer that my father commissioned master craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to make. It has been ten years, but it is still the best hammer in Forging Village,¡± Gangchalov proudly introduced one of the hammers.


    Winters examined it inside and out, ¡°This hammerhead¡­ it¡¯s pretty heavy, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Of course, a three hundred kilogram hammerhead.¡±


    ¡°Wow, three hundred kilograms, that¡¯s impressive!¡± Winters blinked with curiosity, asking, ¡°Can you make it move? It must be even more impressive when it¡¯s in action, right?¡±


    Gangchalov naturally agreed. He led several apprentices in a bustle of activity, and the workshop¡¯s waterwheel outside, three meters in diameter, began to slowly turn.


    The immense force was transmitted through an iron axle, a set of gears for reduction, and a series of cranks and connecting rods.


    In the end, the hefty hammerhead awoke, and with an unstoppable momentum, it repeatedly slammed down onto the iron anvil.


    An apprentice placed a glowing, bright yellow block of steel under the hammerhead, and as it was struck with thudding blows, the bar of metal was first thickened and then gradually flattened.


    ¡°That¡¯s how ploughshares are made,¡± Gangchalov explained, ¡°The bending, drilling, and sharpening all have to be done by hand.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    Winters, with his hands behind his back, nodded repeatedly in wonder. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, he was calculating the time by counting his pulse; his heartbeat ticked seventy times¡ªroughly one minute¡ªwhile the hammerhead repeated one hundred and four up-and-down movements.


    ¡°Quite powerful!¡± Winters casually asked, ¡°How do you adjust the force?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Gangchalov scratched his head, ¡°You adjust the water flow.¡±


    ¡°Does your family only make ploughs?¡± Winters, after touring Gangchalov¡¯s workshop, did not see any plough carts, only ploughshares.


    ¡°Heavy plough carts are too troublesome to make, so each of our seven workshops makes a part,¡± Gangchalov explained cautiously, ¡°Our hammer is better, so we specialize in making steel ploughshares. There are also workshops dedicated to making wheels and frames.¡±


    ¡°What about smaller items, like axes and sickles?¡±


    ¡°Those are individually made by each workshop.¡±


    Having visited all seven workshops, Winters did not linger any longer.


    This was his first meeting with the workshop owners of Forging Village, and both sides had a fairly good impression of each other.


    Time was almost up, and the old blacksmith Poltan was feeling a bit tired and planned to go back to Revodan. Winters, taking Andre and Senior Mason with him, decided to visit a nearby military village.


    Thus, the three parted ways.


    Just after leaving Forging Village, Andre¡¯s face turned grim.


    ¡°These sons of bitches, all with fake smiles plastered on their faces,¡± Andre gritted his teeth, ¡°I think they just don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for them.¡±


    Senior Mason also sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite normal.¡± Winters understood the mentality of the workshop owners; he was uncharacteristically melancholic, ¡°We are the ¡®conquerors¡¯ now; no one will pledge allegiance to us immediately. Besides, they genuinely believe that we won¡¯t last long.


    If that Gangchalov had suddenly knelt down and sworn his loyalty, he would either be insane, or there would be a knife held to his throat.¡±


    ¡°Then damn it, put a knife to his throat!¡± Andre laughed heartily, ¡°Let¡¯s turn around and go back right now, I guarantee I¡¯ll make that bastard sob and kneel to swear an oath.¡±


    ¡°That would work, but it would be pointless,¡± Winters said lightly as he spurred his horse gently, calling out to his horsemen, ¡°Move out! To the military village!¡±


    Back in Forging Village, the workshop owners who had just sent off the unwelcome guests gathered together.


    ¡°I previously thought the leader of the Rebels would be at least thirty or forty years old,¡± one shop owner was still surprised, ¡°To think it¡¯s just a young lad? Barely twenty years old, right?¡±


    ¡°Watch your mouth,¡± Gangchalov cautioned coldly, ¡°You must call him the Lord Protector.¡±


    ¡°Ha! What Lord Protector? It¡¯s like playing house,¡± the shop owner retorted mockingly, ¡°If I make a plaque tomorrow and carve ¡®Duke of Revodan¡¯ on it, does that make me the Duke of Revodan?¡±


    The others laughed recklessly, but Gangchalov neither spoke nor laughed.


    Another shop owner sighed in distress, ¡°But honestly, once the Rebels are exterminated, our days of prosperity will also come to an end.¡±


    At this comment, the other shop owners felt a twinge of regret.


    Ever since the ¡°Rebels¡± had taken Revodan, business in Forging Village had been booming day by day.


    The workshops no longer had to worry about sales, for the Rebels would purchase as many iron goods as they could produce.


    What was even more valuable was the Rebels¡¯ fair trade¡ªalways paying on the spot, never in arrears.


    Each time the shop owners thought that such good days might not last, they sighed heavily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much and don¡¯t gossip about such things,¡± Gangchalov spoke up gravely, ¡°Be careful¡ªwhen the army from Maplestone City arrives, they¡¯ll hang you all as complicit with the Rebels!¡±


    The atmosphere turned cold again, and the shop owners chatted idly for a while before dispersing.


    Mr. Vinius had remained silent on the fringes, not joining in the conversation.


    The shop owners of Forging Village were all part of ¡°Gangchalov¡¯s group,¡± but Vinius¡¯s family had been at odds with the Gangchalov family since his father¡¯s time.


    Seeing others leave, Mr. Vinius also walked out of the town hall. He had barely gone a few steps when he was called from behind by Gangchalov.

 Chapter 714 03-25 - 714 43 Forge_3

    ?Chapter 714: Chapter 43 Forge_3 Chapter 714: Chapter 43 Forge_3 ¡°Chengfu!¡± Gangchalov greeted proactively: ¡°Mr. Vinius!¡±


    The younger Vinius managed a forced smile: ¡°Chengfu.¡±


    ¡°How are you considering it?¡± Gangchalov asked courteously: ¡°About the matter I discussed with you before.¡±


    Vinius looked as if he had been severely stabbed by a needle; his whole body tensed up violently, with rage spewing from his eyes: ¡°Forget it! As long as I am alive, you can forget about buying my forge!¡±


    ¡°Why be so stubborn? Your family is still deep in debt outside, no? If you don¡¯t sell the forge, how do you plan to clear the debts? Even if you sell the forge, you could work as an employee in my house. With your skills, I assure you that you won¡¯t earn less than you do now.¡± Gangchalov persuaded kindly.


    ¡°Gangchalov! You and your son have already taken enough! Why must you fixate on my forge?¡± the younger Vinius exploded in anger: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, your greed knows no bounds, and sooner or later, you will have to spit it out!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to buy your forge either. I have three brothers, but my family only has one forge. I need to provide for my younger brothers, don¡¯t I?¡± Gangchalov smiled, his eyes narrowing threateningly: ¡°If you don¡¯t sell, I have ways to buy. It¡¯s just that the price won¡¯t be the same by then.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± the younger Vinius spat on the ground, leaving in a huff.


    Gangchalov smiled contemptuously, shook his head helplessly, and strolled away.


    The town hall reverted to its silent state, with only the faint sound of hammering coming from afar: ¡°Dong, dong, dong¡­¡±


    ¡­


    After arriving in the military village, Winters felt much more at ease than when he was in Forging Village; he even felt a sense of returning home.


    Upon entering the village, someone immediately took the horse to feed. Knowing the ¡°protectors of the people¡± had arrived, villagers of all ages left their farm work to come and greet.


    The women, particularly fond of the comparatively handsome ¡ª at least relative to the farmers ¡ª Captain Montaigne, sashayed their hips, pushing earnestly towards Winters with square plates, competing to offer salt and bread.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Winters was swamped by women, unable to move.


    As per the protocol for welcoming guests, he had to taste the bread sprinkled with salt. But as he reached out his hand, someone caressed the back of it.


    The scorching touch of a woman made Winters¡¯s body tense up suddenly. Then, another hand touched his thigh from behind.


    If it weren¡¯t for the public setting, he might have been devoured on the spot.


    The innocent Captain Montaigne, who had never encountered such a situation, nearly went into a spell-casting reflex.


    It was Captain Thomas who charged into the crowd and rescued Winters.


    Winters, with tears in his eyes: ¡°What¡¯s all this for?¡±


    Tamas grabbed a piece of bread casually: ¡°Run for it, Centurion!¡±


    After escaping the overly enthusiastic welcomers, Winters and Andre followed Tamas to the fields outside the first village ¡ª unfortunately, Senior Mason had gone missing.


    Because of a lack of expertise in naming, the military villages were unceremoniously named in sequence as [First Village], [Second Village], and so on. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tamas ran off in a puff of smoke, soon returning with two dripping bags, leaving wet trails on the irrigation ridges.


    ¡°Sour curd!¡± Tamas exclaimed, holding up the bags from afar, shouting excitedly: ¡°I¡¯ve brought you some sour curd.¡±


    So the three sat on the ridge, picking at sour curd from their pockets and chatting idly.


    The wheat seedlings in the field in front of them presented an interesting gradient.


    To the west were the earliest sown fields, where seedlings had already broken two feet above the soil, lush and verdant.


    Moving from west to east, with progressively later sowing times, the height of the seedlings decreased accordingly.


    Right to the easternmost side, where seeds were just sown, the fields appeared lifelessly black.


    ¡°How¡¯s the autumn plowing?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°All the land that could be plowed has been turned over,¡± Tamas replied, swallowing the curd and acting subservient: ¡°How much it will yield, we don¡¯t know. Some lands were sown too late; I fear they won¡¯t survive the winter.¡±


    Winters chewed on the curd: ¡°Do your best; that¡¯s all that can be done. I didn¡¯t specify how much land to assign this year because I wanted you to cultivate as much as possible.¡±


    Sugar is expensive, so farmhouse curd is hardly sweetened; the taste is sour and slightly refreshing.


    ¡°Anything unusual in Forging Village?¡± Winters seemed to ask casually.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Tamas responded earnestly: ¡°The workshop owners have been fairly honest thus far; no signs of them trafficking weapons to the North Eight Towns.¡±


    ¡°Any suspicious people lately?¡±


    ¡°None. You can rest easy; we are keeping watch.¡±


    ¡­


    Why were the refugees settled as far from the enemy as possible, yet the military village was established near Forging Village?


    Winters had several considerations:


    Firstly, Forging Village lay south of the St. George River, relying on the river as a natural barrier, blocking much prying;


    Secondly, Forging Village was close to Revodan, allowing troops to assemble rapidly in case of emergency;


    Third, Forging Village had only two natural villages with the rest of the land held by manors, making redemption convenient;


    Lastly, and most covertly thought by Winters ¡ª to control and monitor Forging Village with the military settlers.


    Forging Village, being the county¡¯s ¡°stronghold¡± for ironwork production, could not be left unsecured.


    The twelve military villages now enwrapped Forging Village and Iron Peak Mine, forming a human barrier.


    Whether it be smuggling ironwork or disguising to spy, one would have to get past the military¡¯s watchful eyes first.


    ¡­


    The two bags of sour curd were quickly consumed, and Winters stood up, stretching lazily. ¡°Crack, crack¡± noises came from all his joints.


    ¡°That will do.¡± Seeing that it was getting late, Winters yawned and said to the captain: ¡°I¡¯ll stay at your place tonight. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll take a look at the other villages.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Tamas was overjoyed: ¡°I¡¯ll go arrange the accommodations right away. What would you like for dinner tonight?¡±


    ¡°That depends on what you have.¡±


    Later that day, Winters saw Senior Mason, his clothes disheveled.


    Even later, Carlos brought one piece of bad news and one of good.


    The bad news was that, as expected, Carlos¡¯s blast furnace had failed.


    The good news, Carlos had successfully smelted Iron.

 Chapter 715 03-25 - 715 44 Smelting Furnace

    ?Chapter 715: Chapter 44 Smelting Furnace Chapter 715: Chapter 44 Smelting Furnace When the three Military Settlement Officers hurried back to the smelter, Carlos was leading the apprentices in ¡°dismantling¡± the iron smelting furnace, and Soria was there too.


    Carlos¡¯s face was covered in forge ash, which had mixed with sweat to form a mud-like substance, smearing his face to look like a calico cat.


    Yet the dirt on his cheeks could not hide Carlos¡¯s excitement. The young blacksmith, having shaken off his earlier dejection, rushed over to Winters, gesticulating excitedly, ¡°It worked! Sir! It worked!¡±


    Carlos was so excited that he was tripping over his words.


    ¡°Soria!¡± Winters called over the middle-aged blacksmith, ¡°You tell me.¡±


    When Winters and the old blacksmith Poltan had gone to Forging Village, Soria did not follow but stayed to watch over the furnace.


    It turned out to be a day from dawn to dusk without any ¡°liquid iron¡± flowing out. Carlos was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and Soria was somewhat frustrated as well.


    ...


    For fear of blowing up the furnace, the two decided to put out the fire.


    They plugged all the inlets with wet cowhide to smother the flames inside the furnace and decided to break apart the smelting furnace to see what was going on inside.


    Upon examination, the flow outlet was blocked by solidified iron slurry and slag, a big clump of iron stuck in the bottom of the furnace with slag wrapped around it, like a baby stuck during a difficult birth.


    Carlos had successfully extracted iron from ore, just as the old blacksmith Poltan said, ¡°Just put the charcoal and iron ore together and burn it.¡±


    However, the young blacksmith soon encountered his second challenge: he had the iron, but it was stuck inside the furnace and couldn¡¯t be extracted. What was he to do?


    The answer was only one: Dismantle!


    And so the scene before Winters unfolded: six or seven apprentices were wielding pickaxes and hammers, sweating profusely as they chiseled at the wall; accompanied by the ¡°ding ding dong dong¡± sounds, a massive gap had been broken open at the bottom of the furnace wall.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    After knocking open the slag, the red-hot ¡°iron¡± was exposed¡ªthough at the moment, the large mass of iron was still stuck in the furnace and immovable, the opening needed to be further enlarged.


    ¡°We¡¯d just finished building it and now we¡¯re tearing it down?¡± Mason asked regrettably.


    Seeing the blast furnace he had worked hard to build being forcefully destroyed, the elder apprentice felt a bitter taste in his heart.


    Winters¡¯ brow knitted unconsciously into a knot, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a big lump smelting furnace? Why do I get the feeling¡­ it¡¯s even worse than a lump smelting furnace?!¡±


    ¡°I did it!¡± The young blacksmith, oblivious to what others were saying, kept repeating to himself, ¡°I did it!¡±


    Winters had just fallen asleep when he was awakened, and was in a particularly bad mood.


    Seeing the young blacksmith¡¯s frantic behavior, he couldn¡¯t contain his anger and kicked the latter¡¯s backside, ¡°Successful, you say?!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t kick hard, but at that moment, Carlos was as stable as a post, and toppled over easily.


    It wasn¡¯t until he crashed heavily to the ground that Carlos became lucid, the pent-up stress and emotions in his heart suddenly breaking like a dam, and he lay there on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.


    ¡°How could you kick someone?¡± Mason chided, ¡°He¡¯s not one of your soldiers.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kick hard,¡± Winters said, feeling extremely aggrieved.


    Mason sighed, squatted down, and gently patted Carlos on the shoulder, ¡°You¡¯re almost an adult now, what¡¯s there to cry about?¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh, and also came to the young blacksmith¡¯s side, ¡°Alright, alright, I apologize to you, I shouldn¡¯t have resorted to violence¡­¡±


    It had been a long time since Winters had offered an apology, and he was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.


    Soria, the blacksmith, watched as the Settlement Officer apologized to the young blacksmith, his jaw dropping in astonishment.


    Forty years ago, if a master hit you, that was that. An apology? Did you also want another slap on the face?


    That a Settlement Officer and a young blacksmith could be equals in personality¡ªthis was beyond Soria¡¯s imagination.


    ¡°What kind of master is this? Not a shred of the authority and grace that a master should have!¡± A voice in Soria¡¯s head said with disdain.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it should be! Haven¡¯t the masters been driven away already?¡± Another voice in Soria¡¯s head shouted.


    No one knew the turmoil within the middle-aged blacksmith¡¯s heart, it was but a minor episode.


    Winters and Mason helped the young blacksmith up, who was still sobbing.


    ¡°How about this,¡± Winters thought for a moment. ¡°You kick me as well? Then we¡¯re even?¡±


    Carlos¡¯s tears turned into laughter, and he blew a big bubble from his nose.


    It wasn¡¯t the kick that had made him cry. He had accumulated too much stress and negative feelings, and unable to control it any longer, it all turned into tears, with the boot on his buttocks being just the last straw.


    After all, he was only seventeen.


    And Winters, inadvertently treating him as an adult, had placed too much burden on Carlos¡¯s shoulders.


    Andre sneered, ¡°This kid, is he made of mud? Does he also leak water?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you can laugh,¡± Winters said, holding the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulders, a trace of helplessness in his tone, ¡°You¡­ never mind, let¡¯s talk when your brother comes back.¡±


    After a good crying and a heavy vent, Carlos¡¯s spirits were indeed better than before.


    While wiping his tears with the back of his hand, he stammered, ¡°I¡­ I really can smelt iron, I truly succeeded.¡±


    ¡°What sort of success is this? Don¡¯t wipe with your hand! Watch out for eye styes!¡± Winters pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the young blacksmith¡¯s tears, ¡°You dismantle a furnace for every batch of iron? Only I can afford to do smelting at such a cost. If it were a business, you¡¯d have bankrupted me!¡±


    Coming back to himself, Soria explained, ¡°No need to dismantle the whole thing, just a part of it. Mr. Soria and I thought about it¡ªwe modify this iron smelting furnace for extracting ¡®furnace bottom iron¡¯.¡±


    Listening to Soria gesture and explain for a while, Winters understood what the two blacksmiths meant¡ªthey were making the best of a bad situation.


    To put it simply, Carlos and Soria¡¯s ¡°blast furnace dream¡± was brutally shattered by harsh realities. There was no way they could build the blast furnace now, at least the current iron smelting furnace was definitely problematic.


    Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 716 03-25 - 716 44 Furnace_2

    ?Chapter 716: Chapter 44 Furnace_2 Chapter 716: Chapter 44 Furnace_2 As for where the problem lay? The two blacksmiths hadn¡¯t figured it out yet.


    But the iron smelting furnace that had taken a vast amount of manpower, resources, and time to build couldn¡¯t just be wasted, could it?


    So, after some deliberation, they decided to abandon their dream, embrace reality, and made do with the mistake by transforming the ¡°blast furnace¡± for use as a ¡°bottom-blown furnace¡±.


    The traditional bloomer furnaces usually had air blown in from the top or the middle, while, as the name implies, bottom-blown furnaces introduce air from the bottom. This is because the larger the furnace body, the worse the effect of top blowing.


    The two weren¡¯t planning on letting the ¡°iron¡± flow out on its own, as it was too troublesome. They simply let the smelted iron settle at the bottom of the furnace to be taken out in one go, hence the term ¡°bottom iron¡±.


    Without the ability for the iron to flow on its own, continuous operation was impossible. Therefore, each time a batch of iron was smelted, the furnace had to be dismantled. This kind of drastic step backward also had one advantage: simplicity.


    Winters mused and retorted, ¡°I understand what you two are getting at. Although the original plan was to buy a horse, you are preparing to lead a donkey back to me.¡±


    ...


    Carlos, choking back tears, flattered, ¡°Your analogy is quite apt.¡±


    In fact, according to Carlos¡¯s thoughts¡ªalthough he didn¡¯t mean it, leading back a donkey was better than leading back a horse.


    Tess was very afraid: If he truly succeeded with the blast furnace, Winters wouldn¡¯t save his brother¡ªalas, clever Tess.


    Winters suppressed the urge to kick the young blacksmith again and asked Soria, ¡°You mean to say that we should use this iron smelting furnace as a large bloomer furnace, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly like that, my lord,¡± Soria quickly joined the ranks of flatterers, after all, he was partly responsible for the failure of the iron smelting furnace.


    Soria squeezed out an ingratiating smile: ¡°A bottom-blown furnace is still much better than the old-fashioned bloomer furnaces. If I have to say something, the bottom-blown furnace could be considered the father of the blast furnace. Although we couldn¡¯t ¡®lead¡¯ back a blast furnace, we¡¯ve managed somewhat to ¡®lead¡¯ back the father of the blast furnace to you¡­¡±


    The gap in the furnace wall had opened up large enough for a huge clump of fiery ¡°something¡± to be hooked out from the furnace chamber.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Winters and the others approached to see what it was.


    Winters had never seen an iron-smelting workshop, but this clump of ¡°something¡± was far different from the ¡°iron¡± he knew.


    The thing before him was glowing red at the edges and intensely yellow inside. It appeared loose and porous, with very uneven material. If pressed to describe it, it did indeed resemble heated iron.


    At least there were some black slag scattered on it, resembling sesame seeds sprinkled on bread.


    ¡°Is this iron?¡± Winters frowned.


    Soria bent over and examined it closely for a while, then assured with a strike of his palm, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s iron! It looks a bit like sponge iron, but it¡¯s also not quite like it! Come, give me an axe!¡±


    A small worker hurriedly handed Soria an axe.


    ¡°Gentlemen, please step back a bit,¡± Soria requested, ¡°everyone else too, stand back, Mr. Carlos, you stay!¡±


    Including Winters, everyone consciously retreated about four to five meters away.


    Soria picked a good spot on the lump of iron, placed the axe blade on it, held the handle with both hands, and yelled to Carlos, ¡°Mr. Soria! Come!¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Carlos also dried his tears and briskly picked up a sledgehammer.


    The young blacksmith first tapped lightly three times on the back of the axe. Once the blade was embedded half an inch into the iron lump and could withstand the force, Carlos steadied himself, gathered his strength, and with a grunt, swung the sledgehammer down hard onto the back of the axe.


    Winters, who was watching, thought he saw a hint of two-handed swordsmanship in that powerful hammer blow.


    The loose and porous iron lump was instantly cleaved open, revealing an even hotter, more dazzling core.


    Carlos¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop, he continued to hammer down hard, his strikes accurate, always landing squarely on the back of the axe.


    Sparks flew and slag scattered, but Soria was undeterred, steadying the axe firmly.


    At this moment, Carlos was no longer the crybaby, and Soria was no longer the paunchy, smooth-talking city council member.


    Now they were both just blacksmiths.


    The rhythm and beauty of the sound from the hammer striking the axe were like a metronome, and Winters barely resisted the urge to clap along.


    The middle-aged blacksmith and the young blacksmith worked closely together, quickly cutting the still-burning large lump of iron into eight smaller pieces.


    ¡°That¡¯ll do,¡± Soria wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiling, approached Winters, ¡°Sponge iron is easier to handle when it¡¯s just out of the furnace, as it gets harder when it cools. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gotten my hands dirty. My apologies for any unprofessionalism.¡±


    Soria¡¯s cotton clothes had been peppered with small holes burned by the flying slag, but his smile was carefree.


    It was only then that Winters realized that Soria was a blacksmith who could swing a hammer and bend metal. Until now, he had actually lumped Soria in with the likes of businessmen like Priskin.


    ¡°You did quite well,¡± Winters commended, then followed up with a question, ¡°Cut it into small pieces? Why?¡±


    Soria answered, ¡°A big lump of iron is hard to handle. Smaller pieces are more convenient for forging.¡±


    ¡°Forging? You still need to forge it?¡± Winters continued to inquire.


    Asking when unsure was one of Winters¡¯s good habits; he didn¡¯t care about saving face.


    ¡°There¡¯s slag mixed in the iron, so forging will help clean it out,¡± Soria patiently explained to the young Bailiff, ¡°It involves first forging it into thin plates, from which the slag will naturally peel off. Next, you fold it, then forge it into thin slices again¡­ that¡¯s the meaning of ¡®thousand hammerings, hundred foldings¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Forge?¡± Winters immediately thought of water-powered trip hammers and half-jokingly said, ¡°Are we really going to have to hand this over to the workshops of Forging Village to ¡®forge¡¯ it next?¡±

 Chapter 717 03-25 - 717 44 Furnace_3

    ?Chapter 717: Chapter 44: Furnace_3 Chapter 717: Chapter 44: Furnace_3 ¡°Exactly,¡± Sasha answered as if it were only natural. ¡°Forging Village has water-powered hammers, which are most suitable for this task. Relying solely on manual forging, who knows until what year and month it would take to forge this huge lump of iron.


    Although in recent years we¡¯ve been using steel fortress iron, the skill of forging iron is a blacksmith¡¯s basic skill and shouldn¡¯t be lost so quickly. Worst case scenario, we could still ask my father-in-law¡¯s old brothers to come and give some guidance¡­¡±


    Andre and Mason fiddled with the lump of iron curiously as the young blacksmith proudly explained to the two officers.


    Only Winters and Sasha stood in the cold autumn breeze, discussing the matter of ¡°forging¡± seriously.


    ¡°Forging¡­ isn¡¯t free, is it?¡± Winters narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not free.¡± Sasha introduced the internal rules of blacksmithing to Winters, ¡°The simplest way¡ªgive all the iron ore to the master of the workshops in Forging Village, and you don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. Trade directly with them for forged iron, and you¡¯ll get about half the weight of the iron ore in forged iron.¡±


    ¡°Half?¡± Winters exclaimed in disbelief, ¡°We toil to refine the iron, and just by passing their hands over it they want to take half? Isn¡¯t this fucking daylight robbery?¡±


    ...


    Sasha looked helplessly and whispered, ¡°Getting half is only because of your face. What you¡¯ve refined is not iron but raw iron. It contains a lot of poisonous slag; it¡¯s unusable without proper forging.¡±


    Winters laughed in anger, ¡°Then I might as well build a few hydraulic forging hammers myself! What the hell with the renowned steel fortress¡¯s craftsman hydraulic hammers; I can construct another one after just one look, a hundred if I need to!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s also possible,¡± Sasha nodded, ¡°But think about it carefully¡ªapart from Mr. Soria, you don¡¯t have any other blacksmiths at your disposal. Even if I come to help, just Mr. Soria and myself won¡¯t be able to cope. You still should give the ore to the workshops in Forging Village, and focus on your iron smelting.¡±


    For the first time, Winters discovered that Sasha too had a way with words.


    ¡°I¡¯ve set up an accounting school, I might as well establish a blacksmith school too!¡± Winters pointed at the laborers who were cleaning the furnace, ¡°I¡¯ll train them all to become blacksmiths!¡±


    Sasha became serious, he asked slowly, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, I want to train them all to become blacksmiths.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t do. Those laborers are farmers with their own land, idle in winter. Even if you let them work in the blacksmith shops, they won¡¯t agree. Additionally, apprentices don¡¯t earn money during their apprenticeship.¡±


    ¡°Whoever is willing, I will train. Apprentices don¡¯t get paid? Then I¡¯ll pay apprentices too!¡±


    Sasha¡¯s expression grew even more solemn, and he earnestly warned the sheriff, ¡°If you do this, I can assure you that all the blacksmiths in Iron Peak County will revolt immediately! Even if they don¡¯t revolt, they will definitely not stand by your side in the future.¡±


    Sasha¡¯s words sounded like a threat to Winters, and at first, Winters thought so too.


    But he quickly realized it wasn¡¯t that; Sasha was cautioning him. In a sense, because Sasha already considered himself a member of his faction, he used a blunt warning to his face.


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters asked earnestly.


    ¡°Being able to forge doesn¡¯t make one a blacksmith,¡± Sasha also answered honestly, ¡°Only those who are recognized by the blacksmith guild are blacksmiths. The guild has a complete set of rules for apprentice promotion, and these rules are the foundation of the guild. If you set up a blacksmith school, you¡¯ll be undermining the very foundation of the guild.¡±


    Guild! Winters stroked his chin. Having lived in Paratu for too long, he had almost forgotten what life dominated by guilds in a city was like.


    Sea Blue had hundreds of guild alliances, the guilds of the same industry merged into syndicates, and above the syndicates was the overarching Guild Alliance.


    Before the Sovereignty War¡ªwhen there was no Republic of Vineta, and the ¡°Distinguished Sea Blue Republic¡± influence was limited to Sea Blue City and its surroundings¡ªthe position of president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance was held by the chief executive.


    To be more precise, one automatically became the chief executive upon being elected as the president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance.


    After the Sovereignty War, the small commercial city-states of Vineta and the inland noble lands unified to become the ¡°Distinguished Republic of Vineta,¡± and the president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance continued to be held concurrently by the Republic¡¯s grand chief executive. The revered position of the guilds is evident from this.


    It wasn¡¯t cities that gave birth to guilds, but guilds that built cities. Cities did not belong to the citizens; cities belonged to the guilds.


    Who would have thought that in the impoverished and isolated Iron Peak County on the fringes of the Alliance, they would also play this guild game?


    Winters shook his head, then broke into a smile, asking the middle-aged blacksmith, ¡°How about you becoming my advisor, Mr. Sasha? An honorary one, so even if one day I¡¯m defeated, it won¡¯t come back to you. There are many things I¡¯d like to consult you about.¡±


    Sasha was a bit taken aback by the honor, and he nodded vigorously, ¡°It would be my utmost pleasure.¡±


    Sasha further suggested, ¡°Regarding the matter with the blacksmith guild¡­ you¡¯d better talk to my father-in-law. The iron blacksmith guild of Iron Peak County was founded by him.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Winters chuckled without objection.


    Meanwhile, Mason excitedly pulled Carlos over.


    ¡°If we push a little harder, I see no problem even in manufacturing cast iron cannons,¡± the elder classmate envisioned with boundless enthusiasm, ¡°The Pretender Emperor¡¯s blacksmiths don¡¯t have more eyes or hands than we do!¡±


    Carlos listened in stunned silence.


    ¡°How much ore has been produced?¡± Sasha asked Carlos.


    ¡°The furnace temperature wasn¡¯t high enough, I think what we got is forged iron, not pig iron. Estimating from the materials put in, there should be around four hundred kilograms of forged iron,¡± Carlos added hurriedly, ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t count on it being too precise, even two hundred and fifty kilograms would be good. We¡¯ll need to weigh it to get the exact amount.¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 718 03-25 - 718 44 Smelting_4

    ?Chapter 718: Chapter 44 Smelting_4 Chapter 718: Chapter 44 Smelting_4 ¡°How much charcoal did we use?¡± Sasha asked again.


    ¡°For the initial smelting of ore and charcoal, it¡¯s a three to one ratio,¡± Carlos calculated and answered.


    ¡°What does ¡®three to one¡¯ mean?¡± Winters asked, once again entering a field he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°It means three parts charcoal to one part ore¡ªby volume,¡± Sasha explained, laughing as he said, ¡°That¡¯s actually quite good! My father-in-law mentioned that when they smelt iron, it takes six or seven parts charcoal to smelt one part of ore.¡±


    ¡°When can we fire up the forge again?¡± What Winters cared about was the production capacity. After all, to him, charcoal was free.


    ¡°The furnace walls need to be repaired, and I also want to make some modifications to the smelting furnace with Mr. Sasha,¡± Carlos counted on his fingers, ¡°The day after tomorrow we should be able to fire it up again. But by that time, we will need more people for mining, smelting, and even more for charcoal burning.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll have Samukin prepare them for you,¡± Winters patted Carlos on the shoulder, ¡°And don¡¯t you slack off during this time. Although we failed this time, who knows, maybe next time we¡¯ll succeed?¡±


    ...


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ words, Carlos¡¯ eyes widened in horror.


    ¡°Senior, the site you picked for the smelting furnace isn¡¯t good,¡± Winters turned to Senior Mason, ¡°Look at the blacksmith workshops in Forging Village, each one is situated by the river! Without the river, where would we get the water power?¡±


    Mason was greatly surprised, ¡°Ah? Is there such a thing? Does smelting iron require water power?¡±


    ¡°Water-powered bellows! I also discovered this after a trip to Forging Village,¡± Winters laughed proudly, ¡°All the workshops there use water-powered bellows. Here, however, they use oxen to pull the bellows. Oxen are for plowing, already in high demand. If we keep scaling up, where are we going to find more oxen? We must be near the river.¡±


    Senior Mason nodded thoughtfully.


    Winters led the young blacksmith to the edge of the hill and pointed down towards St. George River, ¡°I¡¯ve found a good spot for you. See that? Right there! Go build me another smelting furnace there! If it doesn¡¯t work this time, it will the next, and if not the next time, then the time after that. We must make the blast furnace work!¡±


    Winters laughed and patted the young blacksmith on the shoulder, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually expect you to be able to smelt iron. In my mind, if you hadn¡¯t succeeded, I would revert to using the old smelting furnace from Mr. Poltan¡¯s days. High-cost or not, we must smelt iron. But since you succeeded, keep it up!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Carlos was dumbstruck, on the verge of tears.


    ¡°My lord, should we tear down this smelting furnace then?¡± Sasha asked abruptly.


    ¡°Why tear it down?¡± Winters asked back with confusion, ¡°We¡¯re after quantity right now, not quality. Isn¡¯t this smelting furnace usable? Can¡¯t we just make do with it?¡±


    ¡°I fear there might be a problem,¡± Sasha explained with difficulty, ¡°The number of forges in Iron Peak County is strictly limited by the blacksmith guild. You can have less, but not more, and every forge has an owner. If you want to start another forge, you¡¯d need to purchase another one.¡±


    Winters¡¯ brow furrowed without him noticing, ¡°Then what¡¯s the deal with this smelting furnace?¡±


    Only then did Sasha reveal the truth, ¡°This smelting furnace of Mr. Soria was built after my father-in-law dismantled his forge, using the quota of my and my father-in-law¡¯s forges. So there¡¯s no problem. There¡¯s no forge left in our workshop now.¡±


    Winters went silent, raising his hand to salute Sasha, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all¡­ Not at all,¡± Sasha hurriedly bowed in return.


    ¡°But mine is a smelting furnace, and yours is a forge,¡± Winters mused, asking again, ¡°Can¡¯t we play some word games here?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sasha smiled wryly, ¡°The guild¡¯s regulations are very strict. Anything [that uses fuel and fire to process iron and ore, be it melting furnace, forge, or smelting furnace] falls under ¡®forge¡¯ and is subject to number limitation. Every forge has its owner. Just one forge quota is worth a lot of money.


    Only a blacksmith recognized by the guild is a blacksmith, and only a forge master registered with the guild can open a workshop.¡±


    ¡°Damn, they¡¯re pretty thorough,¡± Winters said with a mix of frustration and amusement, ¡°Who made these rules?¡±


    The smile on Sasha¡¯s face grew even more bitter and helpless, ¡°My father-in-law¡ªMr. Poltan.¡±


    Andre, who had been silent until now, suddenly spat disdainfully, pulled out his saber, and showed it to Sasha.


    With an expressionless face he asked, ¡°Do you recognize what this is?¡±


    Sasha trembled with fear, nodding desperately.


    Andre snarled with a fierce grin, ¡°Then we¡¯ll start as many smelting furnaces as we want!¡±


    ¡°Put the knife away, Mr. Sasha is a friend. Why are you threatening him?¡± Winters nudged Andre with his elbow. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre scoffed, but obediently sheathed his knife.


    ¡°It seems,¡± Winters sighed, smiling as he told Sasha, ¡°I still need to have a talk with your father-in-law.¡±

 Chapter 719 03-25 - 719 45 Guilds

    ?Chapter 719: Chapter 45 Guilds Chapter 719: Chapter 45 Guilds Twenty-nine years ago, an ordinary day in spring.


    A tired young man entered a nameless settlement in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The young man was tall and thin, with a sallow complexion, dressed in old clothes sewn from burlap sacks.


    He wore no shoes, but that was no problem. The soles of his feet had developed thick calluses, so that even sharp stones did not cause him pain.


    Two pairs of pincers and a hammer were his only possessions, now slung in a knapsack across his shoulder.


    Along the way, the young man made his living by using these few tools to repair things in exchange for food and lodging.


    Though he could twist steel with his arms and shape metal, he was not yet a blacksmith, for he had not completed his apprenticeship.


    ...


    And because he disagreed with extending the period of his apprenticeship, he had fallen out with his master and feared he would never become a licensed smith.


    Without completing his apprenticeship, he was not a certified blacksmith; not being a certified blacksmith, he could not practice the trade; unable to practice the trade, he would starve to death, no matter how much better his skills were than his master¡¯s.


    The young man¡¯s master was certain of this, waiting for him to come back, cap in hand, to apologize, admit his mistake, and continue as an unpaid apprentice for another four years.


    But the young man chose to leave his hometown, traveling across the whole of Paratu to the unknown Newly Reclaimed Land, where he heard that no blacksmith¡¯s guild had yet been formed.


    For this, he journeyed far, braving the elements, enduring countless hardships until finally, he arrived in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Unfortunately, he was a little late¡ªevery settlement he went to already had the figure of a blacksmith at work.


    The young man continued walking further and further into more remote and desolate areas. At last, in this remote and desolate settlement, he found no sign of his peers.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The young man spent his first night under the eaves with his knapsack as his pillow. The next day, he traded one of his pincers for a hot meal and a piece of wood.


    After drinking the last drop of soup from the plate, he solemnly carved onto the wood:


    [Blacksmith Poltan Mejery ¨C repair, forging, and smelting]


    ¡­


    Twenty-seven years ago, an ordinary day in summer.


    Poltan and his two assistants were busy in the backyard of the smithy.


    The three, each with their tools, worked together to dismantle a half-person-tall clay smelting furnace.


    This was the third year since [Poltan Mejery] came to the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The once nameless settlement now had a resonant name¡ªRevodan.


    The once young apprentice blacksmith who had only a wooden board, a pair of pincers, and a hammer now owned a small shop; the residents of Revodan respectfully referred to him as ¡°Blacksmith Poltan.¡±


    After breaking apart the furnace, Poltan carefully extracted a lump of sponge iron from the hearth as though handling a precious piece of porcelain.


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Paulo Vinius¡ªPoltan¡¯s assistant¡ªwas ecstatic, laughing and flailing at the air: ¡°We¡¯ve done it!¡±


    The other assistant, the silent Peter Ganchalov, although not vocal, could not hide the joy in his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not done yet!¡± said Poltan, although a smile was already spreading across his face.


    The three quickly moved the sponge iron onto the anvil; Poltan held the tongs while the other two wielded hammers, starting to forge the sponge iron.


    Accompanied by the rhythmic hammer blows, the porous sponge iron gradually became compact and dense, beginning to take on the appearance of ¡°iron.¡±


    Working from noon until night, repeatedly reheating the iron in the furnace, the three finally forged the small piece of sponge iron into a mature iron ingot.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Poltan wiped the sweat from his forehead and announced to his companions with a smile.


    Paulo Vinius, almost delirious with joy, clapped his friends on the shoulder and laughed: ¡°With iron, we can now get down to business!¡±


    Without iron, a blacksmith could not flex his muscles; without smelting iron, the three men of Poltan could only patch things up, making do with a little bit of scrap iron.


    ¡°We¡¯ve used too much charcoal,¡± Peter Ganchalov said, pursing his lips, the joy starting to fade: ¡°The smelting furnace also needs to be moved; it¡¯s too far from Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Why do you always have to dampen the spirits? Let¡¯s celebrate first!¡± Paulo Vinius was exuberant: ¡°Let¡¯s go! Drinks on me!¡±


    The three didn¡¯t even bother to lock up, strolling out of the smithy with their crude jokes and arm-in-arm antics.


    They bought beer from the young widow Airen across the street and sat comfortably under the eaves, drinking and dreaming of the future.


    Meanwhile, three cavalrymen bearing green flags raced past, kicking up a trail of dust.


    Paulo Vinius, caught off guard, got a mouthful of dust and cursed: ¡°Damn beasts! What, trying to season my food for me?¡±


    Peter Ganchalov watched the backs of the cavalrymen, silent for a long while. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The leading officer among the three cavalrymen headed straight into the town hall, rang the bell to gather the residents, and read aloud the proclamation:


    ¡°According to the resolution passed by the Great Council of Paratu¡­ The Newly Reclaimed Lands Province is officially under military governance¡­ by virtue of the ¡®Tord Agreement¡¯, all forests, rivers, land, and mining rights in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province belong to the military government¡­ The old pioneering policy is hereby null and void¡­¡±


    The blacksmith trio arrived a bit late, and Paulo Vinius, being short, couldn¡¯t see anything from the back of the crowd, and anxiously asked his friends: ¡°Hey? What did he say? Can¡¯t hear clearly!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it to us?¡± Poltan, with his arms crossed: ¡°No matter how cheerfully the birds sing, we still have to earn our bread by our craftsmanship.¡±


    Peter Ganchalov remained silent. ¡°Change is coming,¡± he thought.


    Meanwhile, a thousand miles away at Kingsfort.


    Six somber-faced representatives from the Monta Republic strode into the first chamber of the Great Council Hall, where six representatives from Paratu were waiting, along with observers from The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Varn.

 Chapter 720 03-25 - 720 45 Guild_2

    ?Chapter 720: Chapter 45: Guild_2 Chapter 720: Chapter 45: Guild_2 The representatives in the first meeting room were about to discuss a matter that would change the fate of many:


    Unifying the commercial laws, currency, and measurements of the various republics, abolishing checkpoints, transit taxes, and consumption taxes, to achieve the free circulation of goods within the Alliance, and to reach the ultimate goal ¡ª the establishment of the ¡°Grand Senas Customs Alliance¡±.


    ¡­


    Twenty-one years ago, on an ordinary autumn day.


    At the tavern of widow Airen, Poltan, Paulo Vinius, and Peter Ganchalov were brooding over their drinks.


    ¡°Mejery, you have to come up with a solution!¡± Paulo Vinius broke the silence, slamming the table and shouting, ¡°We all listen to you.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Poltan shook his head.


    Peter Ganchalov silently sipped his beer.


    ...


    This was Poltan Mejery¡¯s ninth year since he arrived at the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Little widow Airen had become widow Airen, and a silver hair or two had crept into Poltan¡¯s temples.


    Six years earlier, Poltan had moved his Forge to a new site at the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, by the St. George River, and since then his business flourished more each day.


    Paulo Vinius and Peter Ganchalov were no longer Poltan¡¯s assistants; they had their own forges, assistants, and apprentices, but the three friends still did business together.


    Specializing in iron smelting, the three men sold the iron directly to other blacksmiths to avoid the hassle.


    At first, blacksmiths from nearby villages and towns traveled a long way to buy their iron. Later, to save on transport costs, some blacksmiths simply moved their forges next to the workshops of Poltan and his friends.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Around Poltan¡¯s workshop, the population gradually thickened. Because there were many forges, the local farmers called this cluster of blacksmiths¡¯ villages ¡°Forging Village¡±.


    Poltan liked the name, but he didn¡¯t know how much longer the name would last.


    He drained his cup and, with a grave face, began to speak, ¡°The iron ingots of Forging Village are not selling in the neighboring counties anymore, and the iron we smelted last month is still lying in the warehouse today. The barrier iron from Steel Castle is about to crush us. If we continue like this, we are just waiting for death.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Paulo Vinius retorted impatiently, ¡°All thanks to that damned treaty!¡±


    Due to the refusal of the various republics to make concessions, the effort to establish the ¡°Grand Senas Customs Alliance¡± ultimately failed. However, the stillborn Customs Alliance plan left behind some legacies.


    For example: Under the strong recommendation of General Antoine-Laurent, the republics agreed to unify measurements at an official level ¡ª of course, unifying currency was out of the question.


    And: The republics, in principle, agreed to lower tariffs and unanimously agreed that for the time being, the ¡°Bilateral Tariff Treaty¡± would serve as a substitute for the ¡°Grand Customs Alliance¡±.


    After Paratu and Monta signed the Bilateral Tariff Treaty a year earlier, Steel Castle¡¯s iron and iron goods flooded into Paratu like a dam burst.


    For the Paratu People, being able to buy cheaper ironware was a good thing. But for iron smelters like Poltan, the situation couldn¡¯t be worse.


    Were the good days from just six years ago over already?


    ¡°If I have a method,¡± Poltan gritted his teeth and asked his two comrades in a deep voice, ¡°Would you be willing to support me?¡±


    Peter Ganchalov blinked but said nothing.


    Paulo Vinius agreed impatiently, ¡°Just tell us!¡±


    ¡°A guild! We need to set up our own Iron Peak County Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild Alliance!¡±


    ¡­


    At this moment, on an ordinary winter¡¯s day.


    ¡°Your Excellency, please allow me to keep you in suspense.¡± Facing the Montaigne Civil Protector who visited late at night, old blacksmith Poltan struggled to sit up, ¡°Do you know what the core of the guild is?¡±


    Winters smiled, not quite smiling: ¡°Monopoly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan sat in the recliner built by Winters, his speech calm and slow: ¡°The core of the guild is democracy within and monopoly without. Then do you know why I dragged the blacksmiths of Iron Peak County to form a guild twenty years ago?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Winters chuckled lightly, ¡°You wanted to monopolize the iron supply of Iron Peak County, keeping Steel Castle¡¯s bar iron out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan did not deny it: ¡°Quite despicable, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No, quite normal.¡± Winters shook his head with a smile: ¡°That¡¯s what guilds are for. If you hadn¡¯t done that, it would have been strange. I¡¯m more curious about why you failed.¡±


    Old blacksmith Poltan fell silent.


    ¡°The fortress is easiest to breach from within.¡± Winters stroked the handle of his knife, ¡°There must have been a traitor.¡±


    ¡°One of my business partners chose to stand on the other side.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan managed a smile, ¡°That¡¯s the guild for you, internal democracy. I didn¡¯t realize this until the vote.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ganchalov?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters laughed lightly.


    Old blacksmith Poltan laid back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and saying, ¡°The problem you¡¯re facing now is really just two methods to solve it: a quick and a slow. You don¡¯t need me to explain the quick method. But I can assure you, not a single blacksmith from Forging Village would dare to openly oppose you. However, the guild is the foundation of the city. If the blacksmith¡¯s guild is moved, the other guilds will feel insecure.¡±


    ¡°If I had wanted to take the quick way, I would not have come to seek your advice. If there is a method, please speak freely.¡± Winters smiled, ready to use the old blacksmith as a weapon against the blacksmith¡¯s guild if he was intent on seeking revenge.


    ¡°May I ask you another question?¡± Old blacksmith Poltan changed the subject, ¡°Do you know why Peter Ganchalov opposed me twenty years ago?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Winters played along with the old blacksmith.

 Chapter 721 03-25 - 721 45 Guild_3

    ?Chapter 721: Chapter 45 Guild_3 Chapter 721: Chapter 45 Guild_3 The old blacksmith Poltan let out a long sigh, ¡°He believed that we couldn¡¯t surpass the steel of Steel Castle, and there¡¯s one simple reason for that¡ªtheir iron is indeed better and cheaper. Monopoly can¡¯t make up for the gap in quality and price. Relying on monopoly to delay failure will only lead to a more miserable defeat in the end, it¡¯s better to admit defeat honestly.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not angry that the ironworking business has been crushed, at worst I could just go back to forging iron.¡± The old blacksmith said wistfully, ¡°What I really can¡¯t accept is the betrayal of a friend. But do you know what¡¯s even more painful than the betrayal of a friend? Old Gangchalov¡¯s betrayal was right.


    The more I think about it, the more I agree with Old Gangchalov. Steel Castle is winning because their iron is truly superior. If we wanted to push out Steel Castle¡¯s steel with the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, we¡¯d have to use large donations to bribe the New Reclamation Legion. In the end, the blacksmiths will earn less money, and the ironware will be sold for more. The money will flow into the pockets of the New Reclamation Legion, so it might as well give up right away.¡±


    Winters was somewhat surprised, he listened quietly, as the old blacksmith¡¯s words were clearly not finished.


    ¡°But over these ten years, I¡¯ve come up with another idea. Old Gangchalov is right, yet he¡¯s also not! What if our iron could also be cheap and good? What if one day we could produce steel like Steel Castle? If we surrender, then there¡¯s no hope at all.¡±


    Old blacksmith Poltan summed up heavily, ¡°This is my thought for the past ten years. Monopoly is not unacceptable, as long as it aims to defeat Steel Castle fair and square! We need to find more efficient mining methods, better furnaces, cheaper fuel¡­ Whatever Steel Castle does, we must learn from them! And eventually, defeat Steel Castle!¡±


    The old blacksmith Poltan got more and more excited as he spoke, and by the end, he was somewhat out of breath.


    ...


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°Is it with this thought in mind that you went to research how to smelt iron using coal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I failed.¡± The old blacksmith sagged into the lounge chair, offering a wan smile: ¡°To arm-wrestle with Steel Castle, the blacksmiths¡¯ guild isn¡¯t up to par. The monopoly over Forge has already satisfied the blacksmiths. The existence of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild isn¡¯t for producing more, but for less. That¡¯s their fundamental difference with Steel Castle.


    The blacksmiths¡¯ guild has neither the desire nor the ability to improve, while Steel Castle gets stronger each day. Sooner or later, the blacksmiths¡¯ guild of Iron Peak County will be completely crushed by Steel Castle. That¡¯s why I gave up hope a long time ago.¡±


    He stared intently at Winters, his gaze burning, ¡°Now, what I don¡¯t know is¡ªcompared to the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, do you possess a stronger will and ability to arm-wrestle with Steel Castle?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Winters retorted with a laugh.


    ¡°You actually don¡¯t,¡± said the old blacksmith Poltan decisively, ¡°You don¡¯t even realize you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters asked, puzzled.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    The old blacksmith asked coldly, ¡°Who mines for you?¡±


    ¡°For now, it¡¯s hired farmers, later it should be captives¡­ that is, slaves.¡±


    ¡°Does the ore cost money?¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What about the coal?¡±


    ¡°That neither.¡±


    ¡°Iron from the outside can¡¯t get in,¡± the old blacksmith asked squinting, ¡°Is there anyone else in Iron Peak County who can smelt iron?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°The raw materials don¡¯t cost money, the labor you use are slaves, and you¡¯ve monopolized the iron materials of Iron Peak County,¡± said the old blacksmith Poltan coldly. ¡°I really don¡¯t see why you would want to change the status quo!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Because I don¡¯t plan to stay in Iron Peak County for a lifetime. I¡¯m going to war! I want to arm the troops! I want to topple the New Reclamation Legion! So, I need a lot of iron, the more the better!¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters returned to his residence, the sky was already dimly lit.


    He had barely rested in the past day and night, spending the morning at the Forge, the afternoon in Forging Village and the military station village, and he had just fallen asleep for a short while at night before being woken up, then hurried non-stop back to Revodan to visit Mr. Poltan.


    Right now, all he wanted was to get some good sleep.


    An unexpected person was waiting for him outside his door¡ªLittle Lion.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you hunting with Juan?¡± Winters¡¯s head was groggy, ¡°You¡¯ve returned early.¡±


    Little Lion flashed a toothy smile, ¡°There was something, so I came back first.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Winters yawned, ¡°Whatever it is, let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow¡ªno, it¡¯s already today.¡±


    Little Lion¡¯s smile grew more mischievous, ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But if I tell you tomorrow, I¡¯m afraid you might regret it¡ªsomeone is waiting for you.¡±


    Touching a hot iron, Winters instantly became alert, he was tensely on the verge of suffocation, ¡°It can¡¯t be that person¡­ has come, right?¡±


    ¡°Which person?¡± Little Lion asked with a smile, deliberately inquiring back.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Cut the nonsense,¡± Little Lion couldn¡¯t help but laugh, entering the room, ¡°Come on, they are waiting for you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s chest tightened, his head throbbed, and a strong urge to flee surged through him.


    After standing for a good while, he clenched his teeth, steeled his nerves, and entered his residence with trepidation.


    A man was sitting in the reception room waiting for him.


    Winters felt like he had received a reprieve, his body went limp as if all strength had been drained from him.


    But the next moment, his spirit and body tensed up again.


    The man sitting in the reception room had changed¡ªbecome gaunt, haggard, and missing a left arm, but Winters would never mistake that face.


    It was Colonel Bod.


    Before anyone else could speak, Winters had already dashed to Colonel Bod¡¯s side.


    He grabbed at the Colonel¡¯s empty sleeve, turned his head sharply to look at Little Lion.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Winters,¡± Colonel Bod said with a smile, his voice a bit hoarse, but still as easygoing as ever, ¡°If they hadn¡¯t helped me amputate my arm, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sit here.¡±


    ¡°What are you staring at me for?¡± Little Lion stared back at Winters, ¡°What Mr. Bod says is right.¡±


    Winters was overwhelmed with emotion, he embraced Colonel Bod, and despite his efforts to hold back, tears still streamed down his face.


    Colonel Bod patted Winters on the back with his remaining right hand, ¡°Hey, no need to cry, it¡¯s all right¡­¡±


    As Colonel Bod said this, tears also trailed down his cheeks.


    Colonel Bod was a ¡°gift¡± from the White Lion.


    The White Lion had sent another gift, a message.


    ¡°The Fire Stoker is coming,¡± Little Lion said.

 Chapter 722 03-25 - 722 46 Autumn Hunting

    ?Chapter 722: Chapter 46: Autumn Hunting Chapter 722: Chapter 46: Autumn Hunting ¡°The Pyromancer is coming.¡±


    A single sentence made the air in the room as cold as ice.


    ¡°Baboon¡¯s butt face?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze was as dangerous as a wild beast, ¡°Does he know I¡¯m in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°He?¡± Little Lion toyed with the tassel of his knife slowly, ¡°He probably doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then why is he coming?¡±


    ...


    ¡°What else would he do?¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°Robbery.¡±


    The affair of the Pyromancer has to be traced back to two months ago.


    During the season when horses grow fat in autumn, September and October are traditionally the Herders¡¯ season for raiding and waging war.


    As early as the beginning of spring, when the Paratu Standing Army returned in a crushing defeat, the tribal chiefs were already contemplating a raid in autumn.


    By June, new news came¡ªthere was infighting among the Paratu People! The tribal chiefs were even more elated and busily prepared their armies, intending to strike big.


    The Haidong Tribe¡¯s [Grey Eyes] and the Suz Tribe¡¯s [Healthy Eater] both organized their own raiding warbands.


    To the Herders, ¡°raiding¡± and ¡°waging war¡± were the same thing. The amount of spoils concerned the chief¡¯s prestige, and distributing spoils was directly linked to one¡¯s status.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    On one hand, the Red River Tribe had just fought a big battle with the Chief¡¯s diligent tribe and had not fully digested their gains; the White Lion declared in advance that it would not participate in the autumn raids, but he agreed to let other tribes pass through.


    On the other hand, the Pyromancer urgently needed a successful raid to restore his reputation; but his influence was not what it used to be, so he pragmatically joined the Healthy Eater warband, combining forces with the Suz Tribe.


    By the end of August, both major warbands had finished assembling.


    In early September, after the warhorses had their last fill of grass seeds and wild beans, both warbands set off to invade the east at the same time.


    Since the most fertile lands of Paratu are along the banks of Ashen Stream River, the two warbands split up, one south and one north. Grey Eyes went along the north bank, and the Pyromancer joined Healthy Eater along the south bank.


    Both sides verbally agreed ¡°not to cross the river with bows and horses¡± to prevent an unpleasant encounter.


    After dividing their raiding territories, the Herders joyfully entered Paratu, and then¡­ they were met with a painful counterattack.


    It turned out that the dozens of mediations and negotiations by the Alliance government were less useful than a Herder¡¯s horseshoe.


    Without waiting for the Herd Raiders¡¯ vanguard to cross the Border River, the previously at-odds Red and Blue Roses had already tacitly turned their guns against the common foe. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At a river crossing in North River Province, Grey Eyes¡¯s warband was intercepted and its center army smashed by Alpad.


    Grey Eyes wisely fled, abandoning their banner, and the smaller tribes naturally scattered in panic.


    Alpad led the Piaoqi Troops on a chase thirty kilometers beyond the Border River, killing until satisfied before returning.


    In contrast, cleaning up the scattered small groups of Herd Raiders, after the battle took more time and was more exhausting.


    Meanwhile, south of Ashen Stream River, the Healthy Eater and Pyromancer warband were ambushed and repelled in Mirror Lake County by the New Reclamation-Red Rose alliance¡ªthe New Reclamation Legion led by General Adams, the commander of the Red Rose troops unknown.


    Because the ambush was exposed too early, the Paratu Alliance could not inflict heavy casualties on the Herd Barbarians; plus, the lack of cavalry in the Paratu Alliance made it difficult to amplify their victory.


    Thus, the Pyromancer and Healthy Eater merely escaped with a bruised nose, retreating back to the Great Wilderness fully intact.


    The Paratu Alliance also did not dare to pursue lightly¡ªfor in such matters of pursuit, they had suffered too many losses in the past.


    Perhaps it was the Barbarians¡¯ fierce advance that prompted a sense of shared enmity in the warring parties. After two battles, the Red and Blue Roses temporarily settled down.


    Without a new round of war breaking out, the lands of Paratu quietly welcomed winter.


    Paratu may have quieted down, but the Great Wilderness had not.


    Not only did they fail to feast on meat, but they also got their teeth knocked out. Just this incident alone was enough to spark countless absorptions and overthrows. Yet no one was overlooked, as everyone was already part of the game.


    ¡°My brother received some interesting news,¡± Little Lion said lightly, ¡°The Terdon Tribe is regrouping again.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°If the Pyromancer hasn¡¯t been kicked in the head by a horse, he wouldn¡¯t go to war with the tribes at this time. His forces are also insufficient to make another frontal attack on Mirror Lake County. My brother thinks he might try his luck nearby, so he asked me to remind you.¡±


    ¡°How does the White Lion know the affairs of the Terdon Tribe?¡± Winters seemingly asked casually.


    ¡°Believe it or not,¡± Little Lion snickered, ¡°The Red River Tribe has its own sources of information.¡±


    Winters solemnly saluted Little Lion, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks. My brother said, if you can hold off the Terdon Tribe, extending credit is no problem; but if you can¡¯t even beat the Terdon Tribe, then let¡¯s just be friends and forget about business.¡±


    Little Lion affectionately draped his arm around Winters¡¯s neck, teasingly saying, ¡°There¡¯s been a lot of miscellaneous things this year, no autumn hunt, so the winter hunt will be a bit bigger. My brother invites you to join the hunt, someone¡¯s looking to meet you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s scalp tingled, neither refusing nor accepting.


    Winters understood what the White Lion meant:


    The offensive-defensive dynamic between Paratu and the Herder tribes had reversed, and although Paratu was still far stronger than the Herder tribes as a whole, they could not afford to be involved now;


    In contrast, the Herder tribes were always yearning for the ¡°good old days¡± of the annual autumn raid;


    This September¡¯s grand raid was just the beginning, and as long as the offensive-defensive situation does not change, more raiding warbands will come to Paratu;


    The agreement on the ¡°hundred-kilometer buffer zone¡± became a mere scrap of paper, as no Herder tribe would continue to abide by an agreement without the backing of force;


    If Iron Peak County can¡¯t hold off the Terdon Tribe this time, then next time the Pyromancer will come with even more raiders.

 Chapter 723 03-25 - 723 46 Autumn Hunt_2

    ?Chapter 723: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunt_2 Chapter 723: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunt_2 ¡°War is coming,¡± Winters thought.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    At the crack of dawn, the orders to prepare for battle had been delivered to every military village.


    Dwarf Peter Buniel from the first village ran to find his platoon leader, asking with a worried face, ¡°Platoon leader, why do we have to go to war again?¡±


    Platoon leader Tamas had already packed his bag and was wrapping his leg bindings. He glanced sharply at Dwarf Peter, ¡°Do whatever you¡¯re told. If you dare to whine again, I¡¯ll strip you of your sergeant rank!¡±


    Because of his outstanding performance in the battle of Hammer Fort, Dwarf Peter had been promoted to sergeant.


    ...


    Hearing the platoon leader¡¯s threat, he actually felt relieved, ¡°Oh! Why not strip it now? Ever since I became a sergeant, no matter where I go, it feels like someone¡¯s watching my back, and I can¡¯t relax. You honored me, and I¡¯ll remember your kindness for a lifetime. But I¡¯m just a farmer; I truly don¡¯t have the ability to be a sergeant!¡±


    Tamas put down the leg bindings and grabbed a vine whip in one hand.


    Dwarf Peter wanted to run but didn¡¯t dare. He closed his eyes tightly, shrank his body, and instinctively leaned in the opposite direction, waiting for the platoon leader¡¯s whip to come down.


    The vine whip, dried in the shadows, was tough and gave a fiery sting with each strike. The wounds Dwarf Peter had received from the vine whip during the battle of Hammer Fort had yet to fully heal.


    Dwarf Peter waited anxiously with his eyes closed for a long time but didn¡¯t hear the sound of the whip cutting through the air.


    Tamas¡¯s arm was raised in mid-air. Seeing his diminutive subordinate¡¯s fearful demeanor, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to strike.


    He threw away the vine whip and continued to wrap his leg bindings, his tone still as cold as ice, ¡°Who do you think you are? To promote or demote as you please. You want to be platoon leader? Why not just go ahead and take the position of Military Civil Official too?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Dwarf Peter didn¡¯t dare speak again and shook his head vigorously.


    ¡°This is the military; promotions and demotions aren¡¯t up to you! Can¡¯t get used to it? Fight a few more battles and you will,¡± Tamas scolded sternly as he finished his leg wrappings. ¡°Let me tell you, not only promotions and demotions, even life and death aren¡¯t in your hands! Do you think you were given three hundred acres of land for nothing? Being a soldier, count yourself lucky if you find a superior who values your life. Just be grateful for that!¡±


    Dwarf Peter scratched his head in thought for a while, then hesitantly asked, ¡°Platoon leader¡­ are you talking about yourself?¡±


    Without a word, Tamas picked up the vine whip again.


    Dwarf Peter shrank back in fear.


    Tamas kicked his subordinate, ¡°I¡¯m talking about lord Montaigne, the Military Civil Official! I¡¯m talking about Blood Wolf!¡±


    Dwarf Peter, kicked to the ground, got up quickly, thinking, ¡°How would I know what Lord Montaigne is like? I¡¯ve only ever seen you.¡±


    ¡°Go back and get ready,¡± Tamas said fiercely. ¡°If you¡¯re late, you¡¯ll get a taste of the whip!¡±


    ¡°But I still have a lot of land to plow and sow!¡± Dwarf Peter begged pitifully, ¡°Platoon leader, can you give me two more days? With two more days, I can get it all planted! Even one day would be enough.¡±


    ¡°Forget the rest; leave it for the women and old men to plant.¡±


    Dwarf Peter said sadly, ¡°My home¡­ has no women or old men, it¡¯s just me¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I a bachelor too? What can I do about it except leave my land fallow?¡± Tamas revealed a rare touch of melancholy. ¡°Never mind! If we can make it back alive, the land we¡¯ve already planted is enough for us to eat our fill. We only have one mouth, how much can we eat? Don¡¯t be greedy over small gains; packing your gear is what¡¯s important.¡±


    Dwarf Peter fidgeted with the corner of his clothes and said desolately, ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Tamas glared again, ¡°Get moving and pack your gear!¡±


    After being chased out of the platoon leader¡¯s home, Dwarf Peter returned to his own. Anyone who saw it would laugh.


    What kind of ¡°home¡± is this?


    A shabby plank house, with drafts on all sides; a huge chunk of the thatched roof had collapsed, looking like an old grandmother¡¯s missing tooth.


    Luckily it was autumn, and there was little rain. If it were summer, well, he¡¯d be watching a waterfall inside!


    Rickety willow branches fenced a yard in front of and behind the plank house, many showing signs of being nibbled by cattle and sheep.


    A wooden sign reading [Iron Peak County Regiment First Platoon | Peter Buniel] was nailed squarely on the gate, proudly proclaiming to passersby¡ªeven if it¡¯s a dilapidated hovel, it has an owner!


    The shack used to be worker¡¯s quarters for Perilla Manor. The houses for workers had poor materials and construction quality and would fall apart in a few months without care.


    Better houses were prioritized for soldiers with families, leaving the run-down shack to the bachelor Peter Buniel.


    The new owner, focused on the land, had no time to renovate it.


    That¡¯s why everything in the house and yard was old, except for the cowshed, which was newly built.


    Inside the cowshed was a very thin six-year-old bull, its ribs sticking out and belly hollow. Endless labor had worn down both the man and the bull.


    The skinny bull was now carefully regurgitating its chewed cud, savoring it bit by bit.


    Dwarf Peter sat silently on his bed.


    Was this courtyard dilapidated?


    It was.


    But to Dwarf Peter, there was no better, more beautiful, or more lovely house and courtyard in the world!


    Because it belonged to him, it truly belonged to Peter Buniel. Since leaving his mother¡¯s womb, this was the first time he had his own land, his own house. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He always felt as if he was in a dream, afraid to wake up, but the wooden plaque nailed to the gate firmly told him: this is yours.


    Dwarf Peter looked around his humble yet comforting house. Everything was fine¡ªit just lacked a woman, missing the flavor of life.


    A single man¡¯s life inevitably became carefree.


    That¡¯s how it was for Dwarf Peter, and so it was for his platoon leader Tamas¡ªafter coming back from the fields, they would just lie on the bed, too lazy to move or eat, and wear sour-smelling clothes all the same.

 Chapter 724 03-25 - 724 46 Autumn Hunting_3

    ?Chapter 724: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunting_3 Chapter 724: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunting_3 If there were a woman in the house, things would be different: someone to wash your clothes, prepare your food and drink, and keep the house and yard clean and tidy.


    Every time Dwarf Peter saw other soldiers¡¯ wives bringing food and drink to their husbands in the fields, and the couples affectionately nestled together at the edge, he was so jealous his eyes almost bled.


    Dwarf Peter sat silently on his bed, hoping that one day he, too, could have a wife. But then he remembered the conscription order that followed.


    Three hundred acres of land were great, and so was the house. He had gained what he never had before, but it was all to be exchanged for his life.


    Dwarf Peter did not want to fight; he was afraid of dying, very afraid.


    Everything in front of him was too good, he hadn¡¯t repaired the roof yet, nor had he properly fenced in the yard. The crops had just been planted and still needed weeding and watering.


    He couldn¡¯t bear to leave, he really couldn¡¯t.


    ...


    But it was also because he couldn¡¯t bear to leave everything behind that he had to go to war.


    If he didn¡¯t go to war, all these things would no longer belong to him. He could still dream of the lifeless eyes of executed deserters.


    Dwarf Peter sighed, took the yoke off the wall, walked slowly to the cattle pen, and harnessed the lean ox.


    ¡°Good buddy, one more hardship.¡± Dwarf Peter stroked the ox¡¯s head and couldn¡¯t help crying: ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you either.¡±


    Dwarf Peter picked up the plowing tools and led the skinny ox out of the house. The thought of the remaining unplowed land made his heart ache like it was being scratched by a cat.


    In the end, his smallholder mentality prevailed, and the platoon leader¡¯s instructions were forgotten.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just work harder; I should be able to finish the rest of the work before departure.¡± Dwarf Peter calculated. ¡°As for the gear, it¡¯s not too late to prepare it later.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    Working on his own land, Dwarf Peter felt incredibly at ease.


    Survival or death? That wasn¡¯t the question at all, because Peter Buniel had already stopped thinking about these things.


    He saw many comrades with the same mindset, also leading their draft animals from home to the fields.


    ¡­


    The first army settlement was a sight to see, while the second army settlement was a different scene altogether.


    Bart Xialing was addressing the soldiers granted farmland in the second company.


    The warriors stood in straight lines, while girls, wives, elders, and children watched from not too far away, whispering to each other and making the small square noisy.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Bart Xialing frowned and scolded the onlooking family members: ¡°You bunch of sparrows! If you want to watch, then watch, but don¡¯t chirp all the time! Whoever dares to make another sound, I will whip your husband, your son! Just try me!¡±


    The crowd immediately fell silent, and the soldiers burst into laughter.


    Bart Xialing had become more comfortable with public speaking. He no longer trembled in his legs, and he dared to speak up without blushing or getting flustered. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After quelling the family members, Bart Xialing addressed the soldiers:


    ¡°The conscription order has come, you all know that. But do you know what¡¯s going on? Do you know why you have to drop your farm work and pick up spears and muskets?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! The Herd Barbarians are coming!¡±


    ¡°When barbarians come, they want to steal your livestock, kill your children, rape your wives!¡±


    ¡°Which one of you wants someone to sleep with his wife.¡± Bart Xialing roared crudely. ¡°Then contribute your wife, let everyone have a turn, and you won¡¯t have to go to war!¡±


    The square fell dead silent, and many warriors showed displeasure. Even if they were willing to fight, they did not want to be subjected to such an insult.


    Bart Xialing had now gradually grown to be able to manipulate the emotions of his audience, seeing the effect he wanted, he changed his tone:


    ¡°Listen up! My words are harsh, but that¡¯s just the way it is!¡±


    ¡°Where do the Herd Barbarians live? They live in the far west! It takes ten days and nights to walk from there to here!¡±


    ¡°Dammit, the barbarians come all this way, do you think they are coming as guests? Are they your second cousins who can¡¯t lift the potlid, who will leave for a couple bags of flour?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re coming to get rich! And get rich off of you! They want to loot, to burn, to kill!¡±


    ¡°Loot you! Burn you! Kill you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe it?!¡± Bart Xialing tore open his shirt, exposing the horrifying scars on his chest: ¡°These were all left by the barbarians!¡±


    Not just the warriors were frightened, but a few gasps also came from the onlooking family members.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop the damn nonsense here!¡± Bart Xialing slowly buttoned up, dismissively disbanding the formation. ¡°Go pack your gear! Prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of dry food! Those willing to join me in killing barbarians, assemble the day after tomorrow morning!¡±


    The warriors saluted silently and the formation quietly dissipated.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the third army settlement, a soldier in his thirties hurried back home.


    ¡°Mother!¡± he called out as he entered: ¡°Prepare some ¡®son¡¯s rations¡¯ for me!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s happened?¡± The soldier¡¯s mother rushed out shakily, asking in alarm: ¡°Is it war again?¡±


    The soldier¡¯s mother was a very thin elderly woman, with wrinkles on her face and arms as dense as a spider¡¯s web, aged prematurely by a hard life.


    ¡°Never mind that!¡± said the soldier, taking a sword from the wall and striding into the bedroom.


    The voice of her son pierced the thin wall into the mother¡¯s ears: ¡°Go prepare my son¡¯s rations.¡±


    Dusack left for service, and his mother stuffed dry food into his knapsack before leaving¡ªthis was ¡°son¡¯s rations.¡± Only Dusack would use this term.


    But all the Able-bodied Dusacks had already been enlisted, and those left were¡­ deserters.


    To avoid going to war, the thirty-something Dusack had left with his mother, changed names, and left his home behind. Yet, fate had it that he had to eat his son¡¯s rations once again, here of all places.


    The elderly mother, with tears streaming down her face, went to knead the dough.


    ¡­


    In the twelve military settlements, many similar and different stories were unfolding.


    The reason was the same¡ªfor war was at hand.

 Chapter 725 03-25 - 725 47 Preparing for War

    ?Chapter 725: Chapter 47: Preparing for War Chapter 725: Chapter 47: Preparing for War The western side of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province is marked by the Big Horn River as a natural boundary.


    Crossing the Big Horn River and traveling a hundred more kilometers to the west, one arrives at the Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing grounds.


    In the past month, tens of thousands of Terdun people had continuously migrated to this area, making the number of tents in the winter grazing grounds unprecedentedly high.


    Yet, no matter how numerous the tents were, one could not witness the spectacle of tens of thousands of horses galloping across the plains, with at most small groups of riders rushing along the horizon.


    Felt tents were distant from each other, herds too kept to themselves, each maintaining a cold distance as if they were isolated islands on a vast yellow-green ocean.


    The reason such a scene presented itself was partly due to the social structure of the Herders, and partly due to the dictates of survival.


    The Herders could roughly be divided into three classes: Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kota¡ªthe unbonded warriors, military aristocracy;


    Haran¡ªmeaning commoners, subjects of the nobles;


    Tiher¡ªslaves.


    ...


    Because the living environment was harsh and dangerous, there was little difference in the standard of living and political status between the commoners and the slaves.


    The slaves of a great noble certainly ate better and dressed warmer than an ordinary commoner, and their status was higher as well.


    At the same time, the flattening of the society meant that there was considerable social mobility.


    After all, a Herder could be a commoner today and be captured as a slave tomorrow, achieving a leap across social classes.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Even the Terdun Tribe, esteemed as one of the ¡°big three¡±, still operated on the organizational mode of ¡°a group of minor military aristocrats loyal to a greater military aristocrat¡±.


    A minor military aristocrat, along with his attendants, guards, subjects, and slaves, constituted a micro-tribe.


    The fireside ruler was not only the object of loyalty of the minor military aristocrats but also the strongest among the military aristocracy.


    There was a limit to the number of livestock the grasslands could support, necessitating Herder families to spread out to graze; the increased distance in turn resulted in skyrocketing costs of rule. This naturally evolved into a loose social structure.


    To Herder society, this was a necessity for survival; but to the rulers, it signified a dispersion of power.


    The fireside ruler wanted to make changes. He had heard that the White Lion was conducting ¡°household registrations for all citizens¡±, and he too wished to reorganize the Terdun Tribe just like the White Lion.


    Yet, his prestige was not as great as before, especially since the loss of the sacrificial golden statue had drawn much criticism. Every time the fireside ruler saw the Kotas whispering among themselves, he felt they were mocking and scorning him.


    The core of the White Lion¡¯s ¡°household registrations for all citizens¡± was to shrink the power gap allotted to the minor military aristocracy¡ªthis much the fireside ruler saw clearly.


    However, there was one characteristic of nomadic life: ¡°A herdsman¡¯s wealth was either on legs or could be carried away by legged beasts, always ready for escape¡±.


    If the Kotas were not happy with the fireside ruler, they could at any moment pack up all their belongings, walk away, and continue to be Kotas in another tribe, or even set up on their own.


    Of course, this kind of ¡°moving house¡± akin to defection certainly came with procedural problems, was quite troublesome to deal with, and could even provoke warfare among the tribes.


    But when it came down to their interests being harmed, the Kotas would not hesitate for a moment.


    Therefore, the fireside ruler dared not act rashly; he had to first stabilize the Terdun Tribe and then gradually squeeze power from the hands of the Kotas.


    To regain prestige, the swiftest method was to win a battle.


    For the Herders, there was no issue that spoils of war couldn¡¯t solve. If not, surely it was because there weren¡¯t enough spoils.


    And the fireside ruler had already spotted a prime target.


    ¡°Warriors of Terdun!¡± The fireside ruler entered the great tent with an imposing presence, ¡°Has everyone arrived?¡±


    The Kotas within the great tent ceased their clamor and paid their respects to the fireside ruler one after another.


    The fireside ruler had summoned the Kotas to discuss matters under the guise of ¡°dividing the winter grazing grounds¡±.


    The agreement with the Paratu People held no binding power now, and the Terdun Tribe no longer needed to maintain a buffer zone of a hundred kilometers.


    As a result, the Terdun Tribe had, as if out of thin air, gained a large expanse of rich winter grazing grounds, and the Kotas were all eagerly waiting for the fireside ruler to distribute the spoils.


    Surveying the great tent, the fireside ruler began with another matter, ¡°In the battle last fall, both you and I were present. We captured few treasures or women, and it only tired our horses. It was my error in command, and you may blame me.¡±


    By pointing out his own shortcoming, the fireside ruler prevented the Kotas from speaking carelessly.


    ¡°The warriors did capture quite a few things, though.¡± A cautious, older Kota spoke up, ¡°This is all thanks to your grace, fireside ruler.¡±


    The fireside ruler sneered, ¡°We missed the truly tender and plump lamb legs. Some bone scraps and offcuts, how can they be enough for the warriors to share?¡±


    The true purpose of the fireside ruler¡¯s great tent council was clear to the Kotas, but none were willing to express their positions.


    It was the fireside ruler¡¯s own uncle who stood up first, bluntly questioning, ¡°Fireside ruler, just speak plainly. We¡¯re all ready to raid, but you need to explain the plan. Just like a herd follows the lead horse, tell us clearly where we¡¯re headed so we can follow you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Despite their defeat, the bipeds are still a tough bone to chew.¡± The fireside ruler said gruffly, ¡°A direct clash of knife against knife, arrow against arrow, we might not win, and even if we do, it could cost many lives.¡±


    The Kotas of the Terdun Tribe nodded in agreement.


    Thirty years of decline could not be overturned with a single victory, and if it came down to setting up for another battle, the Paratu People would surely win.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we must walk the path of our grandfathers and ancestors. Like a wolf pack hunting gazelles, we should first target the small and the weak, avoiding the big and strong,¡± the fireside ruler bared his teeth, ¡°Once the small and the weak are devoured, the big and strong will be ripe for slaughter¡­¡±

 Chapter 726 03-25 - 726 47 Preparing for War_2

    ?Chapter 726: Chapter 47 Preparing for War_2 Chapter 726: Chapter 47 Preparing for War_2 The Kotas all agreed with the statement but also felt that the hearth-keeper would not have come up with such reasoning themselves. Among them, one Kota thought to himself, it must have been the hearth-keeper¡¯s ¡°Echegke¡± who had prepared the words for him.


    Echegke is a term for father, and as the hearth-keeper¡¯s biological father had passed away, the only one who could be respectfully referred to by him as Echegke was the ¡°Translator¡± who had escaped to the wilderness thirty years ago.


    ¡°Just tell us what to do!¡± the hearth-keeper¡¯s uncle interrupted his nephew rudely, ¡°Enough with the reasoning!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± the hearth-keeper didn¡¯t dilly-dally and declared resolutely, ¡°This winter is warm, the pastures have not all withered, the horse herds have not lost much fat, and still have strength for another campaign. The bipeds will definitely not expect us to mount an offensive again.


    ¡°Let every Kota go back and gather their men and horses, this year¡¯s winter pasture will be divided according to contribution, more contribution gets the richer, closer pasture, less contribution gets the poorer, farther ones. There¡¯s nothing else to say, let¡¯s decide by casting beans!¡±


    Having said that, the hearth-keeper slapped the table, and two slaves brought in a gold vase and two bowls, each bowl containing red beans and black beans.


    The hearth-keeper took the lead, taking one bean from each bowl and walking over to the gold vase. With a clang, he dropped one bean into the vase. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Other Kotas, according to their status and power, picked up the beans and cast them into the vase in turn.


    Kotas without sufficient power did not have the right to cast beans, and those who were qualified to cast beans were not allowed to abstain, each Kota had to choose a side. This was the method of decision by casting beans, a simple, crude but highly efficient voting method of the Herders.


    With his back to the gold vase, the hearth-keeper waited until the bean casting was over before turning around.


    He shook the gold vase up and down three times and in one breath, emptied the beans from the vase onto a clay plate.


    The red and black beans were clearly distinguishable; apart from two black beans, the rest were red.


    ¡°Witnessed by the gods!¡± the hearth-keeper bellowed, and with a fierce smash, broke the clay plate, declaring the ceremony complete.


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    As the Terdon Tribe began to assemble their troops, Iron Peak County, a hundred kilometers away, was also mobilizing their forces.


    The assembly order was sent to each garrison village at the earliest opportunity. Horse-drawn carts laden with weapons rumbled out of the Arsenal, closely following the messengers.


    The weapons and armor of Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry regiment were usually centrally stored but were now distributed to individuals.


    To minimize logistical pressure as much as possible, Winters instructed his soldiers to prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of rations themselves.


    Smoke rose from every military village as each household was busy grinding flour, kneading dough, and baking.


    It was at this time Second Lieutenant Bart Xialing discovered a serious problem¡ªthere were simply too many bachelors under his command.


    The infantry regiment of Iron Peak County had been reconstituted from the surrendered Iron Peak garrison. When Major Ronald had recruited the army, he had deliberately chosen the homeless without families to enlist.


    Homeless people without family responsibilities were more dangerous and needed less food because they had no families to burden.


    The new infantry regiment naturally inherited this structure, so the majority of the soldiers had only themselves to feed.


    On ordinary days, they could make do with a meal. But when it came time to prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of rations, everyone was in over their heads¡ªincluded Bart Xialing himself.


    After walking around the village, Bart Xialing immediately called a halt to the one-family-one-household method of military food production.


    He gathered the men, women, the elderly, and children of the whole village. The second lieutenant had seen how old Saint Reed organized the soldiers for baking dry rations and decided to imitate that method, collectively preparing dry rations for all the soldiers of his platoon.


    Muscular tasks such as kneading and grinding were left to the men, while the few women in the second village handled delicate work like baking and water adjustment.


    A temporary oven was set up in the village square, and everyone worked together, sweating profusely¡ªit felt like a festival. However, witnessing the bustling scene, Bart Xialing suddenly felt a pang of desolation.


    While the second lieutenant was frantically busy, Winters was equally occupied.


    Dealing with the blacksmith guild¡¯s matters, Winters left it entirely up to the blacksmith Poltan and his son-in-law, the playwright.


    As the founder of the blacksmith guild, old blacksmith Poltan knew the guild inside and out. Since they had chosen to ¡°play the long game,¡± there was no one more suitable than old blacksmith Poltan to handle the task.


    After discussions with the old blacksmith, Winters¡¯ perspective wasn¡¯t limited to just the blacksmith guild any longer. He arranged for Xial and Tess to work together secretly, to survey all the guilds in Iron Peak County.


    But all these things had to give way to the war. Winters organized the assembly routes for each company of the infantry regiment, collapsed on the bed for less than two hours, and then was woken up by Xial.


    Elders from nearby villages and farmers recognized for their skill in cultivation had been summoned to Revodan, waiting for the Protection Officer to discuss matters.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped; one must eat bread one bite at a time and handle matters one step at a time.


    Although war loomed close, the first issue Winters had to resolve was the agricultural disaster caused by the warm winter.


    In a sense, this matter was even more important than guarding against the Herd Barbarians.


    Warm winters were rare but not unprecedented. Regarding the premature jointing of wheat, the farmers suggested all sorts of strange methods, such as holding a market in the wheat field.


    A farmer from Saint Croix Village earnestly promised that simply holding a market in the wheat field would easily solve the problem of the wheat sprouting early.


    Winters appeared to listen seriously, nodding occasionally with ¡°hmm-hmms.¡± In reality, his thoughts had already flown to the wilderness; his mind was full of the topography of Iron Peak County.


    Compared to governing a county, marching and fighting were his stronger suits, more comfortable and more secure work for him.


    Colonel Bod was also present at this meeting.


    Regarding Winters¡¯ ¡°rebellion,¡± Colonel Bod remained non-committal, and the two got along as harmoniously as ever, as if Winters was still the Centurion of the Expeditionary Force.

 Chapter 727 03-25 - 727 47 Preparation for War_3

    ?Chapter 727: Chapter 47 Preparation for War_3 Chapter 727: Chapter 47 Preparation for War_3 Winters did not take the initiative to ask either.


    In Winters¡¯ view, Colonel Bod must have been struggling with confusion:


    Having lost his left arm and returned to his homeland with a disabled body, he found his homeland dead; it was still disputed which of the two new republics could truly represent Parlatu; Winters Montagne was undoubtedly rebelling, yet it was because of this rebellious former subordinate that he had miraculously survived the wastelands.


    All feelings and grudges were entangled, impossible to separate or make sense of.


    Winters had no ability to offer solace to the colonel and could only leave him to resolve it on his own.


    Winters asked the colonel to attend the meeting, and the colonel did not object. Thus, a silent one-armed middle-aged man joined the corner of the conference room.


    Colonel Bod accompanied Winters like this, first taking part in a civil administration meeting, then listening to Revodan citizens¡¯ petitions, and after that inspecting the storage situation in Revodan.


    Before the warehouse inspection was complete, news came from outside the city¡ªSamukin had just arrived at the suburbs with the labor camp from Wolf Town.


    ...


    Thus, Colonel Bod hurriedly left the city with Winters to hand over the ¡°great labor camp¡± to Samukin.


    Previously, the war prisoners from Vernge County had been disrupted and distributed to various military villages to assist with the autumn farming, also using the power of the villages to monitor the prisoners of war.


    Now that the soldiers of the villages had regrouped, the prisoners could no longer stay in the villages and had to be concentrated again.


    After a flurry of things were taken care of, and Winters returned to Revodan with Colonel Bod, dragging his weary body, it was already nearly dark.


    The colonel had been like a shadow to Winters all day, hardly speaking, just silently observing. Many people even thought that the one-armed middle-aged man was the civil officer¡¯s attendant or guard.


    But the day was not yet over; Andre and Senior Mason were waiting at the station for Winters to have a meeting.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?0


    Colonel Bod followed Winters to the meeting, while Tang Juan and Moritz did not attend¡ªWinters did not want the colonel to know about the presence of the two Vineta officers for the time being. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Moritz was too lazy to attend meetings in the first place, and Tang Juan had already led a light cavalry into the wastelands for reconnaissance. Both always abstained from voting, so their absence did not affect decision-making.


    How should the dispatched warhorses be gathered? Where should the supply depot be located? How to defend nearly three hundred kilometers of riverside? Whether to conscript militia¡­ one issue after another was discussed and decided upon, until only one question remained: should they inform the New Reclamation Legion of the enemy situation?


    ¡°Report my ass!¡± scoffed Andre. ¡°Never mind whether the legion on that side would believe us or not. If they ask us, ¡®How did you know about the barbarian movement?¡¯ how do we answer?


    ¡®Another group of barbarians told us.¡¯


    ¡®Rebels colluding with barbarians! Annihilate them!''¡±


    After playing both roles, Andre concluded, ¡°Damn it, in the end, the legion and the barbarians will join forces to attack us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily like that,¡± Senior Mason retorted weakly.


    ¡°Not like that?¡± Andre sneered. ¡°We are rebels, and the Herders are barbarians. If the rebels fight the barbarians, the legion wins no matter who dies. Just watch!¡±


    Getting more worked up, Andre said, ¡°If you ask me, not only should we not inform the New Reclamation Legion, but we should also find a way to lead the barbarians towards Vernge County. Isn¡¯t Vernge County much richer than Iron Peak County? Let them fight each other! That would be perfect for distracting the legion¡¯s attention from us.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to deliberately lead them to Vernge County; those ass-faced monkeys will go there on their own,¡± Winters mused. ¡°Last time, he came at us with a clenched fist and suffered a loss. This time, he will definitely spread his hand and attack from multiple points, making us worry about one thing and lose sight of another. The border of Newly Reclaimed Land is over seven hundred kilometers long¡­ nowhere is safe.¡±


    Hearing this, Colonel Bod, who had been silently listening the whole time, suddenly spoke up with a sense of lament, ¡°The roles in attack and defense have changed.¡±


    Winters, Andre, and Senior Mason all turned to look at the colonel.


    With a bitter tone, Colonel Bod asked the young people, ¡°Do you know why we have never touched the Terdon Tribe over these years?¡±


    Winters shook his head. How could they, the outsiders, know the decision-making process of the Parlatu Army?


    ¡°Because they¡¯re the most honest, the most obedient,¡± Colonel Bod said bitterly, ¡°To maintain a balance within the Herders, we fight the north bank Herders, let the south bank Herders be. Now it¡¯s their turn to bite back at us.¡±


    ¡­


    As dark clouds hovered over the city and a storm seemed imminent, while Winters, Bart Xialing, and many others were tirelessly preparing for war, a seemingly insignificant event took place in Revodan: a man returned to his home.


    Aksinya, who was soothing her children to sleep, heard someone knocking at the door.


    It was already dark, only the wandering, advantage-seeking drunkards would come knocking on her door at this hour.


    Aksinya thought about pretending no one was home, but the knocks continued at a steady pace.


    Fearing slightly, Aksinya first hid her two children in the wardrobe, then, holding the fire tongs, cautiously moved towards the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± a weary voice responded.


    Aksinya¡¯s heart pounded fiercely, and she flung the door open. There stood her husband¡ªIvan.


    The fire tongs fell to the ground with a bounce and then lay still.


    There were no embraces, no tears, and no smiles, Aksinya just stood there quietly.


    At seventeen, Aksinya had married Ivan. The previous autumn, her father had raped her, and then he was beaten to death with a cart shaft by her brother and mother.


    And so, Aksinya married far off to Revodan from King¡¯s Bridge Town in silence. The day after the wedding, the newlywed husband beat his bride severely. After the children were born, the violence decreased a little, but he still couldn¡¯t forgive her for the shame he felt she had brought upon him.


    During their courtship, Aksinya might have had some affection for the tall Ivan. But now, there was no love left, only a woman¡¯s pity and a numb, habitual attachment to life.


    Aksinya hardly recognized the person outside the door: he was very tall, but oh so thin, like reeds that might be toppled by the wind; unconsciously hunched over, shoulders collapsed.


    The person outside seemed to be her husband, and yet seemed not to be.


    ¡°I¡­¡± the person outside licked his parched lips, struggling to speak, ¡°¡­did you petition the magistrate on my behalf?¡±


    Aksinya didn¡¯t nod, nor did she shake her head, she just stood there quietly.


    The man¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple worked hard to move up and down, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    A few drops of something hot landed on the back of Aksinya¡¯s hand, tears.


    The scalding tears rolled down her cheeks, and the strong Aksinya bit her hand, knelt on the floor, and wept aloud.


    The man outside hugged Aksinya, swearing as if making a vow, ¡°I¡­ I will¡­ I will never hit you again¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that before,¡± Aksinya murmured in pain. ¡°You¡¯ve said it before.¡±


    The man outside shivered all over, tears spilling from his eyes as well. He grabbed his wife¡¯s hand and placed it on the holy symbol scar on his chest.


    ¡°This is the last time I say it,¡± he swore.

 Chapter 728 03-25 - 728 48 Announcement

    ?Chapter 728: Chapter 48 Announcement Chapter 728: Chapter 48 Announcement In the early morning, Shovel Port was awakened by the sound of horse hooves as three unfamiliar cavalrymen carrying green banners charged into the small town like a bolt of lightning.


    They first rang the church bell to gather residents, then affixed three notices to the church door without reading them out¡ªliterate townsfolk would read to the others¡ªand promptly left for the next village.


    ¡­


    Shovel Lake, located to the northwest of Revodan, is the largest lake within Iron Peak County.


    Legend has it that in ancient times, to enlighten the Paratu People, the saint Ados performed a miracle in public, digging out a lake with just one shovel.


    From then on, the local Paratu People converted to the public faith, and the lake thus came to be known as Shovel Lake.


    The port town situated by the lake naturally took the name Shovel Port. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The main livelihood of the people of Shovel Port was farming and fishing, with a portion also engaged in trade and manual labor.


    Goods transported from downstream were unloaded here, and many of the agricultural products sold by Iron Peak County were also shipped from here.


    Thanks to its unique geographical advantages, Shovel Port gradually became the second wealthiest town in Iron Peak County after Revodan.


    ¡­


    After the strange cavalrymen had departed, village folk gradually congregated in front of the notices. An elderly gentleman dressed in nice clothing squinted his eyes and began to read them with feigned profundity.


    The three notices were straightforward and addressed three distinct matters.


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The first notice, ¡°Encouraging Agriculture.¡±


    This year¡¯s winter was warm, and the early wheat had already sprouted. Montaigne, the protector of the people, ordered all town and village heads to immediately organize manpower to ¡°press down the wheat seedlings¡± and arrange for ¡°livestock to lie on the ground,¡± without delay.


    ¡°Pressing down the wheat seedlings¡± meant flattening the sprouts with rollers or logs.


    Overdeveloped winter wheat, after being flattened, would not only remain unharmed but also benefit, resulting in a more robust growth come springtime.


    What the experienced farmer from Saint Town described as ¡°holding a market in the wheat field¡± was based on this principle¡ªa concept Winters had also taken great pains to understand.


    However, holding a market meant trampling the sprouts with foot traffic, while Winters went a step further, directly ordering each town and village to take rollers and logs to ¡°press down the wheat seedlings.¡±


    ¡°Livestock to lie on the ground¡± was a technique shared with Winters by another famed farmer named ¡°Arator.¡±


    When winter wheat first sprouted, it was very delicate and could not withstand any contact or trampling; carelessness would result in uprooting.


    But now was different; after nearly a month of growth, the wheat¡¯s roots had become very sturdy.


    Even if livestock were to graze on it, the root system beneath the soil remained undamaged; grazing off the top sprouts was actually beneficial for the wheat¡¯s development next year.


    Furthermore, grass withers away in winter, and livestock feeding on dry hay tend to lose weight.


    Allowing large animals to feed on the tender wheat sprouts would not only help them overwinter and maintain body weight, but also tread on the wheat field, achieving the ¡°rolling¡± effect.


    Moreover, the dung and urine from the livestock left in the field would lead to vigorously growing wheat next year, truly a trifecta of benefits.


    This farmer named ¡°Arator¡± was forcibly brought to Revodan, traveling in fear and trembling.


    Only when he laid eyes on the Blood Wolf did he realize the protector of the people summoned everyone not for extortion, but truly to ¡°protect the people.¡±


    A sense of relief, as well as gratitude, filled Arator¡¯s heart.


    That was why he no longer kept his farming secrets, spilling every last one of them.


    Properly managed, a disaster where warm winter caused the wheat to sprout could actually become an asset¡ªan unexpected gain for Winters.


    ¡­


    Following ¡°Encouraging Agriculture¡± was the ¡°Preparation for War.¡±


    The content of the ¡°Preparation for War Order¡± was even more straightforward. As the supreme commander of the garrison forces, Winters notified all villages and towns in Iron Peak County:


    The day before, the garrison captured barbarian scouts. The barbarian scouts confessed that due to the warm winter and abundant fodder, the barbarians would attack the Newly Reclaimed Land a second time.


    Part of this information was false, and part of it was true¡ªWinters had no intention of elaborating on the source of the intelligence.


    Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, immediately ordered all town [Garrison Officers] and [Acting Garrison Officers]: to blockade roads, scrutinize suspicious individuals, and arrange sentries.


    Most importantly: to immediately recruit militia and set up beacon towers along the Big Horn River and within every village and town.


    Upon detecting any move from the barbarians, they must instantly light the beacons to signal a warning; Revodan would dispatch troops for rescue. Those who delayed military information would be severely punished without mercy.


    The beacon towers were to be ready within three days, to be inspected by the garrison forces once the deadline arrived. Delayers would face severe punishment as well.


    The militia and beacon towers were emergency measures.


    The Big Horn River acted as a barrier between the wilderness and the Newly Reclaimed Land; defending along the river might be a good strategy.


    But the border was too extensive, and the places Winters was tasked to defend were too many while his troops were too few and lacked the mobility of Hurd¡¯s swift cavalry.


    Could the militia hold off the Terdun Barbarians?


    Winters was not optimistic, but if there was even a sliver of hope, he had to try.


    The plan for recruiting the militia was personally devised by Winters and consisted of two phases.


    The first phase: Each village and town was to form a militia, responsible for local defense.


    Would each village and town comply? Of course not¡ªWinters was prepared for this.


    Towns like Wooden Flute Town and Fuyuan Town, hundreds of kilometers away from the border, wouldn¡¯t feel threatened until the barbarians were right at their doorstep.


    Not to mention, Winters couldn¡¯t provide any weapons or supplies to the militias everywhere.


    The first phase was already troublesome enough to implement, but its difficulties were nothing compared to the plan for the second phase.


    As for what the second phase plan was, the esteemed Montaigne protector of the people didn¡¯t even mention it in the ¡°Preparation for War¡± notice.


    At present, if each village and town could organize militia forces in an orderly manner, Winters would have no further demands.

 Chapter 729 03-25 - 729 48 Notice_2

    ?Chapter 729: Chapter 48 Notice_2 Chapter 729: Chapter 48 Notice_2 ¡­


    Compared to the first two announcements, the third announcement seemed less urgent.


    The third announcement had no title and read as follows:


    [Order for each village and town to select representatives of public opinion, to prepare for travel to Revodan to attend the ¡°Grievance Petition Meeting,¡± with specific times to be notified separately.


    The new government hopes to investigate the hardships of the people of Iron Peak County, and the travel and accommodation expenses of the representatives will be provided by the new government.]


    The announcement essentially contained two points: one was to convene representatives for a petition and grievance meeting, and the other was a guarantee to reimburse food and lodging expenses.


    Talking about consultation meetings, the commoners of Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t understand. But when it came to a ¡°Grievance Petition Meeting,¡± the elderly who had lived under the authority of the emperor all understood.


    The latter point seemed rather silly and laughable, but it was a strong suggestion made by the tobacco trader [Old Priskin].


    ¡­


    ...


    The three announcements were short, and the old gentleman finished reading them quickly, prompting the townsfolk around him to start chattering animatedly.


    ¡°Read it again, good sir!¡± Some latecomers jeered: ¡°We arrived late!¡±


    The old gentleman slightly furrowed his brows, cleared his throat, and began to read from the beginning once more.


    The latecomers listened attentively. The three announcements were brief and straightforward, using simple words and grammar that were so colloquial they bordered on ¡°vulgar.¡±


    To draft these three announcements, Winters had racked his brains. Without Bard around, he didn¡¯t even have a qualified scribe by his side.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    When he had a splitting headache, Winters had a moment of inspiration and came up with an ultimate solution:


    He called over six illiterate old farmers and read the drafted announcements to them; if the farmers couldn¡¯t understand or found ambiguities, he would revise them, continuing until at least five of the six could understand.


    For example, the sentence ¡°Herder scouts of the Terdon Tribe are touching the Iron Peak County border¡± was revised over and over until it finally became ¡°The barbarians are going to kill their way over here.¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the old gentleman read it for the second time, people caused a ruckus once again, asking for another repeat. The old gentleman ignored them and walked away shaking his head.


    The townspeople¡¯s discussions grew even more fervent.


    The farmers were concerned about the wheat jointing, while the fishermen and merchants were concerned about the militia¡ªsince Shovel Port already had a militia, the Grievance Petition Meeting, for the time being, was of little concern to anyone.


    ¡°Mayor Botar is here!¡± Someone announced loudly: ¡°Make way, make way!¡±


    The crowd parted to make a path for a broad-shouldered, tall Dusack man with a somber face to walk up to the announcements.


    Dusack Botar, as both the mayor of Shovel Port Town and the acting Garrison Officer, was in other words, the actual ruler of Shovel Port in the political system of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    He did not reside in the town, but in the fortress-like ¡°Botar Manor.¡±


    Adult Dusacks, regardless of their status, had already been conscripted. However, no one knew what means Mayor Botar had used to keep himself off the conscription list.


    The townspeople held their breath and watched in complete silence as Mayor Botar walked up to the church doors and ripped off the three announcements.


    Botar stood on the steps, crumpled the three announcements into a ball of waste paper, and scolded with glaring eyes:


    ¡°Trampling over the wheat seedlings? It¡¯s all fucking nonsense! It¡¯s the rebel leaders who are trying to harm you!¡±


    ¡°Barbarians coming? Shovel Lake is to the west of Shovel Port! Barbarians coming? Nonsense!¡±


    ¡°A militia? Does it need the rebels to worry about? We in Shovel Port have had a militia for a long time!¡±


    ¡°Fellow villagers, let me tell you! A militia? Bullshit! The rebels want to conscript you into their army!¡±


    ¡°Disperse now!¡±


    The crowd left sheepishly.


    Seeing that his goal was accomplished, Mayor Botar immediately signaled his followers to bring his horse over.


    He carefully tucked the crumpled ¡°waste paper¡± of the three announcements into his chest and leapt onto his horse, dashing towards Botar Manor outside of town.


    As one of the first settlers, when Botar was resettled in Iron Peak County, small bands of barbarians crossing the river to raid were common occurrences; isolated new immigrants were often slaughtered.


    Therefore, Botar Manor was constructed with the feel of a fortress from the beginning¡ªa ditch, walls, and none other than a sturdy stone house that was truly the main keep of a castle.


    Seeing the lord returning, the tenant farmers guarding the manor¡¯s gate hurriedly lowered the drawbridge.


    Botar rode into the manor without breaking pace, and the drawbridge was slowly raised again.


    Compared to other villages and towns that had become dilapidated due to war, Botar Manor was thriving.


    Around the manor, whether it was wasteland or farmland, all had been reclaimed, with wheat seedlings growing lush.


    Early on, when tenant farmers and hired workers from other villages and towns fled, Botar joined with the landowners of Shovel Port to control the landless peasants of their town.


    Latterly, he gathered the refugees from other places, distributing food to them. The refugees respectfully called him ¡°Lord Botar, the Benevolent.¡±


    Botar didn¡¯t spare his horse, galloping all the way to the castle-like house. He asked his eldest son bluntly, ¡°Where is Mr. Alpha?¡±


    ¡°Upstairs,¡± Botar¡¯s eldest son replied anxiously.


    Botar threw the reins to his son and rushed into the house, running upstairs to the small drawing room on the second floor.


    There were no others in the small drawing room, only a young man.


    The young man was leaning by the window, reading a letter. He wore a pale green hunting suit with a plain small sword hanging from his belt.


    Just by his facial features, the young man could not be considered handsome.


    But his smile was so affable that it naturally made people fond of him. Moreover, his physique was impressive¡ªhis fingers were slender and his limbs were both sturdy and well-proportioned.


    Botar¡¯s youngest daughter and several young maids were already smitten with this ¡°Mr. Alpha.¡±


    Upon seeing Botar hurrying upstairs, Mr. Alpha put away the letter and began with a smile, ¡°Tomorrow evening, another shipment of weapons and gunpowder will arrive at Shovel Lake.¡±

 Chapter 730 03-25 - 730 48 Announcement_3

    ?Chapter 730: Chapter 48 Announcement_3 Chapter 730: Chapter 48 Announcement_3 Botar was first taken aback, then elated, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    ¡°You still need to send someone to respond,¡± Mr. Alpha politely added.


    In his excitement, Botar had forgotten the original purpose of his visit to Mr. Alpha and assured with a slap on his chest, ¡°Your Excellency, please rest assured, I will personally lead people there!¡±


    ¡°Is there any movement from Revodan?¡± Mr. Alpha asked.


    Snapping out of it, Botar hurriedly took out a crumpled piece of paper from his bosom, ¡°The Rebels have sent three notices.¡±


    Botar tried to unfold the notices, but his fingers were too clumsy, and he inadvertently tore a big hole in one. Mr. Alpha took over, smoothing out the crumpled trio of papers.


    ¡°This¡­ why is it written like this¡­¡± After reading through the notices, Mr. Alpha couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Why is it written in this manner?¡±


    ...


    Botar immediately echoed, ¡°It shows that the Rebels are unpopular, just a bunch of illiterate hooligans.¡±


    In fact, Botar thought the notices were rather well written. At least he, who only recognized simple words, could understand them.


    ¡°The Rebels might be unpopular, but they are not illiterate hooligans,¡± Mr. Alpha corrected him. He tapped his fingers on the windowsill and narrowed his eyes, asking, ¡°Do you think what the Rebel leader said is true?¡±


    ¡°Which matter? Sending sheep to graze on wheat seedlings?¡± Botar scoffed disdainfully, ¡°Unheard of.¡±


    ¡°About the Herders possibly returning.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ might be true. Indeed, this winter has not been as cold as in the past years. But it could also be false¡­ who knows?¡± Botar replied.


    After thinking for a moment, Mr. Alpha nodded, ¡°Since the Rebel leader wants the villages to form militias, we can use the militia as a cover to train the refugees. As for signal fires, we can set up a few. Since the Herders might come back, we should prepare. Send someone to Revodan for a message, requesting weapons and food from the Rebels, saying the militia needs them.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    ¡°Will the Rebels provide them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good if they can provide; it doesn¡¯t matter if they don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Botar nodded emphatically.


    ¡°Go now.¡±


    Botar saluted and turned to leave.


    Mr. Alpha looked out of the window and let out a nearly inaudible sigh.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, more than a hundred kilometers away in the Blackwater Town office, a messenger Cavalry was handing over a letter personally written by Winters and three notices to Lieutenant Bard.


    Bard broke the seal, carefully read the letter, and then skimmed through the notices.


    He sighed deeply as well.


    Lately, he had been running between the farms, dealing with all kinds of significant and minor issues.


    Over here, he was even more short-staffed than Winters, almost every task requiring his personal attention.


    He had to manage the distribution of farming tools, draft animals, and seeds, as well as supervise and inspect the autumn farming conditions of each farm.


    In less than a month, the settled refugees and local farmers had already broken into several violent fights. It was only due to his mediation and decisions that further escalation was avoided.


    As the weather grew colder, the farms needed to repair houses and gather fuel, and he had to arrange and plan for that as well.


    Bard had visibly become more fatigued and even seemed to age.


    Seeing the farms gradually getting on track, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and take a good rest, but¡­


    Dwelling on it was useless, so Bard calmly accepted reality. After composing himself, he opened the window and called out loudly for the stable boy.


    Hearing the call, Anglu, who had been brushing horses in the backyard, ran into the office, still holding the grooming brush. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Gather the horses that have been sent to each farm,¡± Bard instructed.


    ¡°Gather them?¡± Anglu asked, puzzled, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it said that the horses would stay at the farms for the winter?¡±


    Bard handed Anglu the letter and notices, his heart ached but his tone was flat, ¡°After gathering them, arrange for them to be kept close, on the farms at Blackwater Town. Let the horses graze on the wheat seedlings. I will also allot you some concentrated feed.¡±


    Although Anglu had been learning to read, he still struggled with it. Only after looking at the notices did he understand what had happened.


    ¡°There is too little time,¡± Anglu said bitterly, ¡°The horses won¡¯t be able to put on much fat.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll put on as much as they can. Call Ish over,¡± Bard instructed.


    Anglu saluted and ran out to prepare the saddles.


    Before long, a sweaty Ish walked into the office.


    ¡°You called for me?¡± Ish had been chopping wood. Upon learning that the Lieutenant needed him, he had hurried over.


    ¡°Gather all the adult men from the farms and prepare weapons,¡± Bard said sternly, ¡°It¡¯s time we defended ourselves.¡±

 Chapter 731 03-25 - 731 49 Iron Bar

    ?Chapter 731: Chapter 49 Iron Bar Chapter 731: Chapter 49 Iron Bar A piece of iron bar lay quietly in the storeroom, devoid of thought. But if it had any, it surely must have wondered what life it would lead as a certain object.


    An agricultural plow for tilling the soil?


    Or a sickle for reaping the harvest?


    The door opened, light poured in, and the iron bar was taken out of the storeroom by the craftsman.


    It was thrown into the furnace, buried deep beneath the glowing charcoals. The bellows huffed and puffed, the fierce flames scorching the body of the iron bar.


    After enduring for who knows how long, the iron bar finally escaped the fiery hell. Almost immediately, it was clamped onto the hydraulic forging press by the craftsman, repeatedly hammered.


    Soon, the iron bar disappeared, leaving behind a small arm-length, tapering at both ends, and the thickness in the middle about the size of a human grip¡ªa metal spike.


    ...


    No sooner had the spike taken shape than the blacksmith tossed it at the apprentice¡¯s feet. The craftsman had already gone to fetch another iron bar even before the apprentices moved.


    The spike was then handed over to the apprentices, its core still harboring astonishing heat.


    Its surface was coated by the apprentices with soap: if it turned yellow, back into the forge; if it turned white, buried in hot sand to cool.


    The spike was repeatedly adjusted until its color was somewhere between gold and silver, only then did the apprentices toss it into the oil barrel;


    The moment the burning hot spike touched the cold oil, it hissed sharply.


    In the blink of an eye, it turned from bright yellow to blood red, then the apprentices clamped it out of the oil barrel and hung it in the air;


    The color of the spike continued to fade, the blood-red dimmed, and shades of violet slowly emerged.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    It was once again immersed in oil for a slow cooling.


    While the apprentices were busy with this work, a chubby man, wiping sweat from his brow, his belly protruding, and eyes glaring, patrolled among them, scolding and correcting mistakes.


    Quenching and tempering were always the closely guarded secrets of master craftsmen, with the judgment on timing based entirely on eyesight, experience, and secret techniques.


    If a master was willing to teach these two skills to an apprentice, he was either drunk, or the apprentice was his illegitimate child.


    In all of Iron Peak County, the one most skilled at these two techniques was none other than the swordsmith and municipal council member¡ªShosha.


    Now, Shosha was digging deep into his tricks of the trade. Although the apprentices were scolded, they were secretly overjoyed.


    Merely learning to recognize the three colors of steel could sustain them for a lifetime.


    After completing quenching and tempering, the spike continued to be passed to the newly initiated apprentices for edging. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the strict hierarchy of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, young apprentices had no right to learn more advanced skills; they simply had to earnestly grind the metal.


    The foot-operated grinding wheel spun rapidly, sparks flying in all directions, sharpening the spike to an extreme point.


    Swords were seldom edged with a grinding wheel, as the blade could easily be spoiled without care. But now there was no time for fine work; it was all about speed.


    The spike, which had been through burning, forging, quenching, tempering, and edging, was sent to the town hall where the carpenter was waiting for it.


    What came next was simple: the spike was hammered into a hefty wooden stick, one end deeply buried in the wood, the other sharp end exposed.


    It was hastily secured by the carpenter with nails and ropes, then taken to the town square, joining its kindred spirits.


    At this moment, the iron bar understood its destiny¡ªit was a weapon.


    ¡­


    With the forge aglow and hammers thundering, Forging Village was like a steed being mercilessly whipped by its rider, now running at full capacity.


    Nobody was making plows or sickles anymore; whether craftsmen or apprentices, they were all frantically producing weapons.


    Swords took too much time, axes and halberds wasted too much material. The simpler the weapon for killing, the better.


    The Stinger Hammer became the obvious choice. There was no other reason; it was simply easy to make.


    As the name suggests¡ªa club with the capability to stab.


    No need for high-quality steel or fine wood. An iron spike and a wooden stick used for farm tools, when put together, made a Stinger Hammer. Not as good as a spear, but at least better than a pointed stick.


    The Stinger Hammer itself was one of the most rudimentary of weapons.


    The ones hurriedly produced by Forging Village were the most rudimentary even within the Stinger Hammer family, without a doubt.


    Using rough wooden sticks, sacrificing weight and maneuverability for structural strength; and the spike not firmly fixed in place, further trading structural strength for time.


    There must have been those in Iron Peak County who did not believe the ¡°barbarians are coming to kill,¡± but the blacksmiths had no doubts.


    If it were not an emergency, why would Montaigne, the civic protector, order such crudely made weapons?


    In such urgent and suffocating circumstances, no one would concern themselves with the transfer of ownership of a forge¡ªexcept for Gangchalov.


    Gangchalov had no idea what had happened.


    In any case, young Vinius had made a trip to Revodan, and upon his return, the paperwork was all sorted out.


    Without a sound, Vinius¡¯ forge had been traded to Shosha, with procedures like public notice and voting drastically streamlined.


    Gangchalov got the short end of the stick, after all, the nominal head of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild was still Mr. Shosha.


    And behind Shosha? Even with his knees, Gangchalov could guess who it was.


    At this very moment, that man was standing right in front of him.


    ¡°Civic Protector, sir.¡± Gangchalov approached with a careful smile, ¡°Three hundred Stinger Hammers, six hundred spikes, all loaded onto the carts.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± nodded the military civic protector.


    The young military civic protector, clad in full armor, holding a riding crop, and wearing a long sword at his side, made Gangchalov feel somewhat breathless for some reason.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment, sir. I¡¯m truly undeserving¡­ undeserving.¡±


    ¡°Seven Forge Masters fled, five with their families to Revodan, leaving only you three brothers and young Mr. Vinius willing to stay.¡± The military civic protector revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°You¡¯re really quite good, I hope we can still use you in the future.¡±


    Gangchalov¡¯s forehead was beaded with cold sweat, and his spine felt a chill. Even as he walked away, he hadn¡¯t recovered his strength.

 Chapter 732 03-25 - 732 49 Iron bar_2

    ?Chapter 732: Chapter 49 Iron bar_2 Chapter 732: Chapter 49 Iron bar_2 Winters had no intention of knocking Paratu, just that the latter had performed well, and he casually reminded him.


    As for what Paratu thought, that was Paratu¡¯s business, Winters couldn¡¯t control it, nor did he care.


    In the square of Forging Village, a convoy was ready to depart, with the unit in charge of the escort being Captain Thomas¡¯s First Company.


    ¡°Don¡¯t save the horses¡¯ strength, the faster it reaches Lieutenant Bard the better. Tell Lieutenant Bard, this is the first batch, there will be more being sent continuously,¡± Winters instructed Thomas, ¡°Once there, leave the draft horses. Bring back the horses that are distributed to each farm.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Thomas saluted forcefully. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters helped the company commander adjust his helmet, and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t disgrace me again.¡±


    Thomas felt so wronged that his nose tingled, and he saluted again: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    Just this afternoon, Captain Thomas had been severely criticized by Winters in public.


    If it weren¡¯t for the inconvenience of reassigning units under the new organization, Captain Thomas would now be Captain of the Twelfth Company.


    Because, after Winters¡¯s personal inspection, he found the food preparation situation of each company was a complete mess.


    Especially a short soldier from the First Company, who brought only a piece of bread, which was a far cry from the ¡°two weeks¡± standard.


    Slightly fermented dough, baked twice, was both lightweight and didn¡¯t take up space; that was military food. Bread, a fluffy food, didn¡¯t even count as dry rations.


    Winters didn¡¯t discipline the soldier; he disciplined the company commander, especially the commander of the First Company.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    According to the tradition of the legion, the sequence of each company and its combat strength were closely related. The First Company had the strongest combat power, and that was why he was the commander of the First Company.


    But as a result of his inspection, the First Company¡¯s preparations for battle were the worst.


    On the contrary, Second Company Commander Bart Xialing did an excellent job.


    The Second Company averaged three and a half weeks of rations per person, and there was no situation where ¡°some soldiers had more, others less,¡± which was particularly commendable.


    On the spot, Winters took out a gold cross medal and hung it on the flag of the Second Company.


    [Note: Andre¡¯s medal, and the two medals of Winters, had already been melted down]


    ¡­


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters waved his hand: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Thomas mounted his horse, saluted again, and rode off.


    Winters watched the wagons rumble out of Forging Village, until the convoy vanished into the night.


    He could not spare any troops for Bard, not even a company.


    With Iron Peak County bordered by a river, if the troop strength was sufficient or if there was a fleet, obviously the best strategy would be to defend along the river.


    But he had neither troops nor a fleet.


    He had to clench his fist and punch hard at the noseridges of those by the fire. Even a ten-man team¡¯s difference in strength could determine the success or failure of that punch.


    So, he couldn¡¯t spare any troops for Bard; Bard and the refugee camp could only rely on themselves.


    A one-armed middle-aged soldier stood behind Winters, silently observing all this.


    In a soft voice, the one-armed soldier asked, ¡°Not giving a single soldier, can Lieutenant Bard really manage?¡±


    ¡°He has to manage, there¡¯s no choice,¡± Winters said after a long silence: ¡°I trust Bard, and he trusts me.¡±


    The wind gently blew, bringing with it the distant muffled sounds of hammers from the forge.


    ¡°The last time I saw this level of trust,¡± the one-armed soldier revealed a reminiscent smile: ¡°was between a hammer and a shield.¡±


    Winters burst into loud laughter, grabbed the one-armed soldier¡¯s arm: ¡°Enough. Colonel, don¡¯t jinx us. Let¡¯s head back to Revodan. Have you forgotten that Mrs. Mitchell is hosting you tonight?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m afraid when I see that lady.¡±


    ¡°Are there still women that can make you feel afraid?¡±


    ¡°At least there¡¯s one right now.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Colonel Bod had returned to Paratu three days ago.


    According to the customs of the Paratu People, an occasion as joyous as Colonel Bod¡¯s regaining his freedom and returning to his homeland required inviting family and friends to celebrate with a feast, as a way to signify the break from past misfortunes.


    Although the current situation was special, Winters still wanted to give the Colonel a proper reception.


    After much consideration, he could only ask Mrs. Mitchell for help.


    Winters felt greatly indebted to Mrs. Mitchell. Gerard¡¯s fate was unknown, he had sent Pierre on the most dangerous mission, and he had also taken advantage of Mrs. Mitchell.


    Mrs. Mitchell never showed him the slightest reproach, which made Winters feel even more guilt.


    Therefore, in the end, it was Anna who reached out to Mrs. Mitchell for help.


    Ellen Mitchell graciously agreed, and thus the ¡°family banquet¡± was arranged.


    Mrs. Ellen Mitchell was the hostess, with Colonel Bod Gates as the guest of honor.


    The male guests included Winters, Mason, and Father Caman.


    Andre wasn¡¯t there, as he and Tang Juan were both leading scouts into the wilderness; Lieutenant Colonel Moritz avoided Colonel Bod and did not attend the banquet either.


    The female guests included Anna and Catherine, with Scarlett not present.


    Because Scarlett had taken it upon herself to cut her hair, Mrs. Mitchell didn¡¯t allow her at the dining table.


    However, this suited the little wildcat perfectly, as she was now hiding in the kitchen, indulging in sneaking tastes of the food, no dish had escaped her ¡°poisonous hands¡±¡ªclearly, Ellen had not anticipated this.


    With only six guests, Ellen chose a two-meter-long dining table, neither too distant nor too cramped.


    Ellen also opened two bottles of wine brought from Wolf Town. In Revodan today, wine was a rare commodity.


    The guests toasted and chatted, intentionally avoiding topics like war, politics, and the Herders, creating a pleasant and intimate atmosphere.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s humorous anecdotes followed one after another, and laughter never ceased at the table.

 Chapter 733 03-25 - 733 49 Iron Bar_3

    ?Chapter 733: Chapter 49 Iron Bar_3 Chapter 733: Chapter 49 Iron Bar_3 Of the three gentlemen present, who is more skilled in marching and warfare, or in controversy.


    But when it comes to winning women¡¯s hearts, even if you tied Winters, Bard, Andre, Mason, Tang Juan, and Moritz together, they would still be no match for Bod Gates alone.


    Although the hardship of the wilderness had nearly worn the Colonel down to an old man, it had not crushed his sense of humor.


    As they chatted, it was time for the dessert to be served.


    There should have been seven desserts for one host and six guests, but only six were brought to the table.


    Eileen discreetly passed the desserts to the others while she herself did not take one, ¡°Speaking of desserts, the price of flour in the city has been changing every moment these past few days.¡±


    Winters immediately focused his attention, ¡°Flour prices have gone up?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes, the poor believers can¡¯t even afford gruel anymore.¡± Father Caman coldly retorted, ¡°The increase is quite severe. Is this your responsibility? Can you give an explanation?¡±


    Colonel Bod stopped telling jokes and silently savored his dessert as if he were invisible at the table.


    ¡°This¡­ I will look into it.¡± Winters seriously nodded to Mrs. Mitchell and Caman in thanks, ¡°Thank you both for bringing this to my attention.¡±


    Caman scoffed and looked away from Winters.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple?¡± Senior Mason, who had a low alcohol tolerance, spoke with bleary and unfocused eyes, ¡°I heard the Herd Barbarians are coming to kill us. Every household with a little property in the villages nearby has fled into Revodan! We have city walls! How could flour prices not rise? What do you say? Couldn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°And you just stand by and watch?¡± Father Caman frowned and questioned.


    ¡°What can be done? Cap prices? The prices would rise even higher! Limit purchases? Everyone would rush to buy!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Messily fidgeting with his wine glass and sniffling, Senior blew his nose and retorted unapologetically, ¡°To completely solve the problem, we need to open the granaries and sell grain! But do we have any grain? We don¡¯t have surplus grain! The grain in the storage is getting less by the day, and we still need it to fight the Herders! Do you understand our difficulties, Father Caman?¡±


    Senior did not only have a poor tolerance for alcohol, but his demeanor when drunk was not the best¡­ at least at this moment, Mason was nothing like his usually genteel self.


    Caman was left speechless by the retort, and as a priest, he had no desire to argue with a drunkard.


    And there, Colonel Bod had already finished his dessert.


    ¡°I will discuss a solution with Mayor Priskin,¡± Winters assured Caman and Senior with a smile, ¡°There will be a way, rest assured.¡±


    Seeing that Senior Mason was already quite drunk, Winters had an idea and asked him, ¡°How is that ranch of yours doing now?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± Senior asked, slightly bewildered.


    ¡°The one I visited for the first time,¡± Winters said.


    Winters shouldn¡¯t have mentioned it, as by doing so, he had touched on a sore point for Senior.


    Under the influence of alcohol, pent-up frustrations, and the emotional banquet atmosphere, Senior Mason suddenly broke down crying, making the mood turn delicate.


    Had he overstepped the mark? Winters was a bit panicked himself.


    Winters felt a kick under the table and looked up to meet Anna¡¯s radiant smile.


    Something was wrong!


    With an expressionless face, Winters scratched Anna¡¯s ankle.


    Lady Navarre nearly spilled half her glass due to a careless move.


    Catherine squinted her eyes suspiciously, watching the two of them.


    Soon after, Winters¡¯s shin was kicked even harder.


    Bearing the sharp pain, Winters put an arm around Senior¡¯s shoulder, consoling him, ¡°I just wanted to ask how those breeding pigs of yours were doing?¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°They¡¯re all gone, haven¡¯t I told you?¡± Senior Mason said as he wiped his nose.


    Winters was of course aware, as there was the testimony of the victim, Tang Juan. Last time Senior got drunk and caused a scene, he dragged Juan into a whole night of discussing livestock breeding.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright if they are gone, you can breed them again.¡± Winters guided Senior.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not the same,¡± Senior slurred, ¡°For improving breeds, the fastest way is using boars, but the most direct effect comes from sows. I had both boars and sows, all painstakingly selected through breeding, and now they¡¯re all gone¡­ Ronald¡­ Raising pigs for meat is one thing, but who slaughters breeding pigs for meat? I am so angry¡­¡±


    Winters listened and nodded his head.


    Anna, however, was somewhat annoyed; was this really the time to talk about sows and boars at the dinner table? She had clearly signaled to Winters not to continue the topic, but the scoundrel acted as though he couldn¡¯t hear or see, continuing to lead Mr. Mason further into the conversation.


    Anna suddenly heard her sister speak up, ¡°Can¡¯t you just buy more from outside?¡±


    There was a lady interested in the topic, and Senior Mason became even more enthusiastic, getting his energy back as he explained, ¡°Most pigs are raised separately by families, lacking the awareness and conditions for breeding. Rearing a large number at once offers many more opportunities to select and improve the breed.¡±


    Catherine smiled charmingly, curiously asking, ¡°Then can¡¯t you just start raising a lot again?¡±


    Lady Walei was much sharper than her sister in some aspects¡­ For example, it was clear that Mr. Winters was intentionally leading Mr. Mason into discussing certain matters.


    ¡°Recovering the size of the livestock¡­ that would take many years,¡± Senior said, his gloom and sorrow deepening, ¡°Gestation takes time, and the young need time to grow, alas.¡±


    ¡°What about breeding horses?¡± Winters asked.

 Chapter 734 03-25 - 734 50 The Way Forward

    ?Chapter 734: Chapter 50 The Way Forward Chapter 734: Chapter 50 The Way Forward When the last drop of wine had been drunk, it was time to end the farewell banquet.


    In accordance with Paratu customs, Mrs. Mitchell presented the colonel with a new pair of stirrups and boots as a gift.


    Bod laughed heartily as he changed into the new boots, then forcefully tossed his old shoes out the window, signifying that he had completely rid himself of bad luck.


    Interestingly, Winters hosted the welcome banquet for Colonel Bod in the style of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, yet the only Paratu person present was the colonel himself.


    Captain Mason, his mind blurred, was taken back to his residence by Heinrich, still mumbling about his breeding experiences on the way.


    And Colonel Bod wanted a private word with Winters.


    Leaving the Mitchell residence, the two men strolled along the bank of the St. George River, chatting casually about the anecdotes from the Land Academy.


    ...


    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Colonel Bod said, looking at two large rocks by the shore, ¡°Let¡¯s sit for a while.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters had been longing to stop anyway.


    After sitting down, Winters slowly stretched his left leg and unconsciously let out a grunt.


    ¡°Why do you sound like an old man?¡± Colonel Bod teased, ¡°All groaning when you sit down and get up.¡±


    Winters tapped his left knee and replied casually, ¡°During the battle on the western bank of The Styx, my leg got stepped on by a horse hoof. It was almost healed, but with the recent turn of the weather, it started to feel sore and itchy again for no reason.¡±


    Colonel Bod remained silent for a long while before he spoke, his tone full of remorse, ¡°I haven¡¯t thanked you yet. If you hadn¡¯t turned back to save me that night, I would have been dead.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me,¡± Winters pointed to the back of his head, smiling, ¡°I took a blow here, and I can¡¯t remember much from that night.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters just smiled and said nothing.


    Winters had changed, and so had Colonel Bod.


    The colonel of the past was burly, enthusiastic, laughed loudly, cursed fiercely, like a majestic stallion;


    Now, the one-armed soldier was silent, quiet, gaunt to the point he couldn¡¯t fill out his clothes, his outward appearance aging ahead of his years while his soul aged even more than his appearance.


    Although he still retained a sense of active humor, it was hard for him to come out of his shell¡ªthis Winters understood best.


    The two sat on the large rock, listening to the river water churn in the dark, again without speaking for a long time.


    It was Colonel Bod who broke the silence, his attitude as humorous as ever, jokingly saying, ¡°No wonder back then when I wanted to marry off my daughter to you, you steadfastly refused. Turns out you already had a bridle on.¡±


    Winters¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Please don¡¯t mention this to Miss Navarre.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡±


    ¡°It is not that I¡¯m afraid¡­ never mind, I¡¯m formally asking you.¡±


    ¡°Relax,¡± Bod chuckled, patting his junior¡¯s shoulder, ¡°How could gentlemen¡¯s business be told to a lady?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! You¡¯re right!¡±


    ¡°You kids from juvenile school,¡± Bod¡¯s eyes filled with a hint of pity, ¡°have too little contact with women from a young age, and I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s good or bad.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t attend juvenile school?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even go to preparatory school at that time!¡± The colonel laughed heartily, ¡°I entered the academy at the age of twenty, after my coming-of-age ceremony was already done.¡±


    ¡°Times have changed,¡± Winters defended weakly.


    Colonel Bod laughed even more heartily, as though asking casually, ¡°Do you have any plans for dealing with the Terdon Tribe?¡±


    ¡°If a sword swings at you, block with a shield. If an arrow flies at you, deflect with armor,¡± Winters picked up a few pebbles, launched them with Arrow Flying Spell, and twisted their trajectory with Deflection Spell, ¡°No plans, just ideas.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me about them?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing that can¡¯t be discussed,¡± Winters started drawing a map in mid-air with his finger, smiling, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of dividing Iron Peak County into upper, middle, and lower parts, according to the direction and distribution of the rivers.¡±


    ¡°Dividing by the upstream and downstream?¡±


    ¡°No, by watersheds,¡± Winters explained, ¡°So the lower Iron Peak County only includes Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.¡±


    Colonel Bod softly uttered a name, ¡°Lieutenant Bard.¡±


    ¡°The population is sparse across the vast expanse of the lower Iron Peak County, and over twenty thousand refugees are settled there. Bard is in charge.¡±


    ¡°From that perspective,¡± Colonel Bod pondered, ¡°does the middle Iron Peak County comprise the remaining areas south of the St. George River?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the remaining five towns of South Eight Town make up the middle Iron Peak County. North of the St. George River is the upper Iron Peak County.¡± Conversing with someone as quick-witted was convenient, Winters simply added, ¡°The upper Iron Peak County is the richest and most populous. Strictly speaking, Revodan, situated on the north bank of St. George River, also belongs to the upper Iron Peak County.¡±


    Colonel Bod seemed to imagine a map in the air, smiling as he said, ¡°I see¡­ Your method is like peeling an onion, one layer after another.¡±


    ¡°If up against New Reclamation Legion, it¡¯s indeed like an onion. The outer you go, the more dangerous it is, the inner, the safer,¡± Winters didn¡¯t deny it, but swiftly changed his tone to a more serious one, ¡°However, if up against the Herders, it¡¯s like an onion being sliced open, with the flanks completely exposed.¡±


    ¡°At the lower Iron Peak County, you¡¯re not deploying troops?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters said, expressionless, ¡°That¡¯s left to Bard.¡±


    ¡°What about the upper Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Not deploying there either. North Eight Towns don¡¯t swear allegiance to me.¡±


    ¡°Because of that reason, you won¡¯t deploy troops to help them?¡± Colonel Bod appeared to smile.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters was forthright, ¡°Since they don¡¯t swear allegiance to me, it¡¯s difficult for me to secure supplies and mobilize manpower in the upper Iron Peak County. It¡¯s not suitable for combat, so I won¡¯t deploy troops.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan then?¡± asked Colonel Bod, his expression gradually becoming serious.


    sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 735 03-25 - 735 50 The Road Ahead_2

    ?Chapter 735: Chapter 50 The Road Ahead_2 Chapter 735: Chapter 50 The Road Ahead_2 A pebble flew from Winters¡¯s hand, only to burst into pieces midair, ¡°I want to fight a decisive battle in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°The prerequisite for a main-force battle is that both sides are willing to engage in a main-force battle,¡± Colonel Bod asked curiously, ¡°How do you know the people of Terdun want to fight a decisive battle in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Winters said somberly, ¡°And if I were the enemy chief, I¡¯d do everything to avoid a main-force battle.¡±


    ¡°The barbarian tribes are many, factions are many, and the system is fragmented. The downside is that during major battles, they can easily collapse at the slightest touch. The upside,¡± the colonel sighed deeply, ¡°is flexibility. Just a few dozen light cavalry can constitute an army.¡±


    Winters said cheerfully, ¡°So the focus of this battle is not on commanding my troops, but on commanding Terdun¡¯s troops. I have to make them fight me on the battlefield of my choosing.¡±


    Colonel Bod was first stunned, then his brows furrowed, and finally, he laughed heartily.


    ¡°I now see why Alpad is so fond of you,¡± the colonel slapped Winters¡¯s shoulder hard, ¡°Young people are indeed terrifying, daring to think and act; I truly feel old!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too quick to praise me,¡± Winters said quite helplessly, ¡°I still haven¡¯t figured out how to mobilize the enemy. The outcome couldn¡¯t possibly be worse, so I have nothing to lose.¡±


    Colonel Bod deliberately put on a stern face, ¡°Once the strategy is determined, the process of doing everything possible to approach the strategic goal is tactics. If I were in command, I wouldn¡¯t even entertain the idea of ¡®commanding the enemy¡¯; and even if I did, I would dismiss it with various reasons. Aren¡¯t you already heading in the right direction? Isn¡¯t that good enough?¡±


    Praise from an elder was harder to bear than scolding, so Winters swiftly changed the subject, ¡°You mentioned Alpad? What about him?¡±


    ¡°He thinks highly of you.¡±


    Winters fiddled with the pebble disinterestedly, ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡±


    ¡°He gave you his flask, isn¡¯t that appreciation enough?¡± Colonel Bod raised an eyebrow, ¡°When I was still a warrant officer, I never saw him without that flask.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Winters chuckled, having always thought the flask was something Alpad had tossed to him on a whim.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    ¡°Of course, everyone knows about General Alpad¡¯s lucky flask; it¡¯s his talisman!¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t protect him.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but grin, ¡°It¡¯s ruined.¡±


    ¡°Ruined?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s eyes bulged.


    ¡°It blocked a lead bullet for me,¡± Winters pointed to his left chest, ¡°Right here.¡±


    Colonel Bod laughed boisterously, tears streaming down his face. After his laughter subsided, he wiped his tears and said, ¡°Now that we¡¯ve mentioned Alpad, there¡¯s something else I wanted to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± Winters sighed inwardly.


    ¡°Was it you who killed General Sekler?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s face changed, and his eyes became sharp.


    ¡°I killed him,¡± Winters admitted readily.


    ¡°Why did you kill him?¡±


    ¡°There are many reasons, but in the end, it boils down to one: I wanted to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Killed because you wanted to?¡± Colonel Bod questioned.


    Winters answered calmly, ¡°Exactly, I killed because I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Do you still want to kill others?¡± the colonel asked with a scoff.


    ¡°I used to.¡±


    ¡°And now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s faded.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s faded?¡±


    ¡°The hate has faded,¡± Winters wrinkled his nose, ¡°Besides, I realized that killing one person doesn¡¯t help. Kill Sekler, there¡¯s Tekler. Kill Alpad, there¡¯s Valpad. Kill one, and ten more are waiting to take his place. It¡¯s pointless.¡±


    ¡°Killing one person doesn¡¯t help, so you plan to kill more?¡± Colonel Bod said through clenched teeth, ¡°What exactly are you trying to do?!¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°What do I think?¡± Colonel Bod glared furiously, bellowing, ¡°I think you¡¯re an ambitious man! Eyeing an opportunity, you ruthlessly grab power by any means necessary! You want to trample everyone underfoot, even if it means killing thousands to do so!¡±


    Winters took a deep breath, let out a long sigh, and asked with a smile, ¡°Tell me, if an animal looks like a wolf, howls like a wolf, and walks like a wolf, is it not a wolf?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not a wolf, is it still a dog?¡± Colonel Bod sneered.


    ¡°Exactly. Everyone will treat it as a wolf, and act towards it as they would towards a wolf. Does what it really is even matter?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it matters!¡± Colonel Bod roared like thunder, ¡°Stop beating around the bush with me! I just want to know what you¡¯re up to? If you¡¯re not a wolf, then tell me, how are you any different from a wolf?¡±


    ¡°What do I want to do?¡± Winters said bitterly, ¡°If only I knew that myself.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯ll beat the living daylights out of you, boy!¡± Colonel Bod suddenly stood up, violently swinging his lone arm. The vigorous, wild stallion within him burst forth from his aged body.


    ¡°You can¡¯t beat me,¡± Winters pushed the colonel back onto the stone, ¡°Calm down, calm down, I¡¯ll explain it slowly to you.¡±


    Colonel Bod breathed heavily, coughing violently.


    Once the colonel¡¯s breathing settled, Winters began to speak.


    Gazing at the black river waters beneath the night sky, he reminisced with some longing, ¡°At the beginning, I posed as a robber to ambush the grain levy team, keeping Revodan from forcing grain requisitions on Wolf Town. Back then, I knew what I wanted to do.¡±


    ¡°Posed as a robber?¡± the colonel scoffed.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t really be a robber, right?¡± Winters retorted matter-of-factly, ¡°I¡¯m a commissioned military officer stationed in the town, do I need to be openly hostile against Revodan?¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then I realized that just protecting Wolf Town was meaningless. Although I had no connection to other towns, if the whole Iron Peak County was aflame, Wolf Town would surely turn to ash as well.¡±

 Chapter 736 03-25 - 736 50 The Way Forward_3

    ?Chapter 736: Chapter 50 The Way Forward_3 Chapter 736: Chapter 50 The Way Forward_3 ¡°So your territory keeps expanding¡­¡±


    ¡°So, I started to consider the root of the problem,¡± Winters said, lowering his head and fiddling with the small pebble in his hand. ¡°The problem isn¡¯t with the common folk, nor with the soldiers who follow orders, not even with people like Major Ronald who give the orders directly. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    People hate the soldiers who conscript labor and grain, and by extension, they hate the masters in the city of Revodan, because those are the ones they come into direct contact with.


    But the real issue lies with the higher-level decision-makers, who are hidden behind their agents, so there¡¯s always this illusion¡ªthe duke is good, his servants are evil.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going after General Adams?¡± Colonel Bod narrowed his eyes. ¡°After the war begins, the only important thing is how to end the war. Even if you really manage to defeat General Adams, have you thought about how you¡¯re going to settle it all?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t respond directly but said with a smile, ¡°Not to hide anything from you¡ªdon¡¯t laugh at me. I truly started off with a bit of a ¡®savior¡¯ complex when I took over Revodan and Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Savior?¡± A muffled snort came from the depths of Bod¡¯s nostrils. ¡°What about now?¡±


    ...


    Winters appeared somewhat dispirited, ¡°Now I realize: it was my salvation that led to the people of Iron Peak County no longer needing to be saved.¡±


    Winters simply faced the Colonel, looking him straight in the eyes, ¡°If not for me, if Iron Peak County were still under the control of the New Reclamation Legion, what do you think it would be like now?¡±


    Colonel Bod turned his head to look at the river, not making eye contact with Winters, and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Then let me spell it out for you. The conscription of grain and labor would continue! The conscription of men would continue! Farmers would flee! The fields would become barren! Sooner or later the grain reserves from last year and this year would run out, and then come famine, bandits, and rebellion, followed by an even greater famine!¡±


    Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    ¡°Am I telling any lies?¡± With each word he spoke, Winters¡¯s voice rose higher, ¡°You say I want to kill thousands? Yes, you¡¯re correct! The people General Adams personally killed probably aren¡¯t even a fraction of the number I¡¯ve killed!¡±


    Winters pointed towards Revodan Square in the distance, his demeanor suddenly intensifying, ¡°Right there, I beheaded dozens, hung dozens more. Even further north¡ªnorth of Hammer Fort! Colonel Zibeer, many of my seniors, they all died because of me!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    He glared, questioning Colonel Bod, ¡°Taking life with a sword is murder, but taking life with famine and war is not? General Adams¡¯s hands are clean, and mine are bloody, so he¡¯s more noble than me? Yeah, if General Adams wants to be a hypocrite, there would still be people singing his praises for his compassion for the world!


    Damn! What kind of reasoning is that under the sun? Let me tell you, General Adams is the biggest executioner! The masters who rule over the Republic Valley of Paratu are the biggest executioners! I stain my hands with blood, but they smear blood on others!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve used this statement in my answer before, and I¡¯ll use it again now,¡± Winters stood in front of Colonel Bod, looking him in the eyes and declared, word for word, ¡°Yes! Many will die. But if my men are willing to die for me, my enemies will know it. If my men are unwilling to die for me, my enemies will also know it. I would like to see how many are willing to die for my enemy?¡±


    Colonel Bod subconsciously wanted to defend himself, struggling to speak, ¡°How could the New Reclamation Legion just watch the farmers starve to death? As far as I know, isn¡¯t General Adams also recruiting refugees to cultivate the land?¡±


    ¡°But did he succeed? He didn¡¯t!¡± Winters patted his chest, ¡°Sorry, but I did.


    What Adams cannot do, I do; what he dares not do, I dare; what he¡¯s unwilling to do, I¡¯m willing. If it weren¡¯t for that monkey-faced guy causing trouble, by next May or June, you¡¯d be able to see barren lands turn into golden wheat fields.¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s morale was completely suppressed.


    After a long silence, he acknowledged generously, ¡°You¡¯ve indeed done well. At most, General Adams would recruit the fit men among the refugees to become soldiers and let the remaining refugees reclaim the land.


    As for confiscating the land, houses, and draft animals of the manor lords and redistributing them to the refugees. General Adams can¡¯t, doesn¡¯t dare, and is unwilling to do that¡ªhe and his subordinates are themselves large manor lords.¡±


    But Winters did not have the joy of victory, he quietly sat back on the rock, shooting the pebbles one after another into the river.


    ¡°Violent delights have violent ends,¡± Winters¡¯s voice carried deep disappointment, defeat, and confusion, ¡°but I don¡¯t know what else I can bring to the people.¡±


    The Major listened silently.


    ¡°Now I¡¯ve only managed to restore Iron Peak County to what it was before, which essentially means nothing has changed. That¡¯s why North Eight Towns are cool towards me, lukewarm and distant.¡± Winters propped his forehead, ¡°I not only understand them, but I also think they are completely justified.


    To them, my replacing the New Reclamation Legion just means changing who collects the taxes. That¡¯s what North Eight Towns believes now, and sooner or later, South Eight Town will think the same way.¡±


    The Colonel patted Winters¡¯s shoulder, his words fraught with double meaning, ¡°To live is a gift itself.¡±


    ¡°Assuming one can take a life at any time,¡± Winters¡¯s voice was clear in the quiet night, ¡°Before confronting death, people don¡¯t consider survival a gift but an entitlement. It¡¯s not arrogance; it¡¯s simply their nature.¡±

 Chapter 737 03-25 - 737 50 The Path Ahead_4

    ?Chapter 737: Chapter 50 The Path Ahead_4 Chapter 737: Chapter 50 The Path Ahead_4 He laughed and asked, ¡°If I knew my own death was coming, would I still be here chatting with you? I would have already gone to marry Miss Navarre and had children.¡±


    Colonel Bod laughed heartily towards the heavens.


    These two men, who had faced death directly, could understand best: when death approaches, many things that seem unimportant now will become important; and many things that seem very important now will become unimportant.


    Winters sincerely expressed his confusion to Colonel Bod:


    ¡°The situation now is that I saved Iron Peak County from the legion¡¯s hands, yet I found that Iron Peak County can do very well without me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve reflected seriously¡ªmaybe from the very beginning, I should not have thought about resuming production. I should have just eaten the food from the warehouses, quietly awaiting famine.¡±


    ¡°When everyone starts to feel hunger, we could distribute weapons to every starving person, lead them to attack Mont Blanc County and Vernge County, devour and drink everything like locusts. Then involve more refugees to attack other places, eventually blazing to success or failing spectacularly.¡±


    ¡°That would indeed be exhilarating,¡± Winters said with a wry smile, ¡°much more satisfying than hanging in limbo in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why not do it?¡± Colonel Bod seriously rebutted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to be a savior? Ignite a great fire that consumes the world, and you become the savior of the refugees.¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to,¡± Winters replied disdainfully, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a savior, and I am not one. I¡¯m an executioner¡ªI never deny this.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! But I can¡¯t say this to anyone; it¡¯s like being the one holding a torch at the front of thousands, and if I say ¡®I don¡¯t know where to go anymore¡¯ and then stomp out the torch, what would they do?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell others, but you can tell me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, only you,¡± Winters spread his hands, ¡°after all, you are an observer.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Colonel Bod snorted lightly.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not worried,¡± Winters said with an unconcerned laugh, ¡°Didn¡¯t the old marshal also join the Rebels reluctantly? Did he know where to go back then? Did he know where he would end up? Wasn¡¯t it just a step at a time?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Colonel Bod instantly became agitated upon hearing this. He leaped up from the rock, pointing at Winters, almost beside himself with anger, ¡°Iron Peak County isn¡¯t enough, Newly Reclaimed Land isn¡¯t enough, Paratu isn¡¯t enough? You still want to be a marshal?! Why don¡¯t you become emperor instead?¡±


    Colonel Bod trembled with anger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get worked up; I was just giving an example,¡± Winters pulled the colonel back to sit down, patient and pacifying, ¡°Perhaps by next year, when the Red and Blue Rose have determined the winner, and the victor¡¯s army presses on our borders, I¡¯ll flee back to Vineta to do small business, right? Who can tell for sure about the future?¡±


    Colonel Bod huffily shrugged off Winters¡¯ arm.


    ¡°In any case, I want to stop and think,¡± Winters told the colonel earnestly, ¡°I won¡¯t expand any further until I¡¯m clear about what I can bring to the people, and until I¡¯ve thoroughly won the loyalty of Iron Peak County. If even Iron Peak County won¡¯t completely align with me, what grounds do I have to attack other counties? I want to see clearly where to go before continuing forward.¡±


    Colonel Bod sneered, ¡°At least you¡¯re not blinded by ambition.¡±


    ¡°I also want to ask you, what do you swear allegiance to, care about, are concerned about? The government? The military? The Republican system? Or the people?¡± Winters countered.


    Colonel Bod had no answer.


    ¡°I would like to ask you to stay and help me,¡± Winters bowed deeply to Colonel Bod in earnest request. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Help you?¡± Colonel Bod grunted, ¡°A distinguished colonel of the Republic to join you as a Rebel?¡±


    ¡°If you won¡¯t help, then forget it,¡± Winters straightened up and sat back on the rock.


    Neither the elder nor the younger looked at each other, just sitting in silence.


    They sat for a long, long time, with the river flowing quietly in front of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod suddenly spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a horse for you,¡± Winters nodded briskly, neither surprised nor disappointed, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone to escort you¡ªrest assured, it¡¯s a genuine escort, not to kill you.¡±


    Bod gave Winters a slap out of anger, ¡°You young man, how cruel you¡¯ve become!¡±


    ¡°How can you call me cruel if I¡¯m not killing you?¡± Winters looked utterly aggrieved.


    ¡°Having the thought alone is cruel enough!¡±


    ¡°Alright then, fine. When would you like to leave?¡±


    ¡°Trying to send me away because the recruitment failed?¡± Colonel Bod laughed angrily and gave Winters another slap on the back.


    ¡°It¡¯s all up to you; I was hoping you would stay a few more days,¡± Winters also felt a bit reluctant, ¡°Whenever you decide to leave, I¡¯ll arrange the transportation and escort.¡±


    ¡°In the next few days then.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to Kingsfort.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not like you foreign bachelors; my wife and daughter are still in Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod sighed deeply, ¡°I need to bring them over.¡±

 Chapter 738 03-25 - 738 51 Beacon Fire

    ?Chapter 738: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire Chapter 738: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire The next day, upon learning of Colonel Bod¡¯s decision, Mason was very pleased. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because of a hangover, his head throbbed with emptiness.


    He spoke candidly, ¡°Great! This is wonderful! Now we¡¯re no longer ¡®a handful of foreigners commanding a large crowd of Paratu People¡¯.¡±


    Senior Mason had been truly hoping that the colonel would join them.


    As the new government for Iron Peak County under the Paratu local government, composed entirely of Venetians and United Provincials, their composition was indeed awkward.


    It was only because they currently controlled a small territory, had a small population, and the fearsome reputation of the Blood Wolf still deterred those eager to make a move, that the new government hadn¡¯t been viciously targeted over this point of weakness.


    But with Bod Gates joining, the concentration of Paratu People in the decision-making layer would jump from [0] to [14.3%], which could be described as ¡°a small step for the colonel, a giant leap for the new government.¡±


    ...


    However¡­ the military presence was still one hundred percent.


    Beyond the above reasons, the senior also had a bit of self-interest.


    With Bard absent, Winters not interfering, and others not seeing, all the big and small matters inside and outside Revodan currently fell squarely on Mason¡¯s shoulders, causing his hairline to recede at a visibly alarming rate.


    Having another hand to help with the daily affairs was something the senior longed for.


    But Mason had never actively invited Colonel Bod.


    Who was Bod Gates?


    In terms of status, he was the chief captain of the Sixth Legion, only a half-step away from the position of legion commander; and one day in the future, it would naturally follow that he would hold a general¡¯s baton.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    As for background, he came from a famous Paratu family; the [Bod] family history was as long and prestigious as that of the [Alpad] family, both tracing back to the time of the ancient seven tribes of Paratu.


    To recruit him to join the ¡°rebels¡±? The possibility was next to none.


    Mason didn¡¯t know what means his junior had used to persuade the colonel, and although he was pleased, he always felt a bit uneasy.


    ¡­


    Colonel Bod¡¯s participation in the council required no ceremony, nor did it necessitate an introduction¡ªWinters and the others had once been his subordinates. Adding an extra chair beside the table was all it took to complete the formalities.


    Winters started off, ¡°The council¡¯s total vote count had always been even. With the colonel joining, we will no longer have to worry about tie votes!¡±


    Senior Mason clapped weakly.


    Colonel Moritz was not present¡ªWinters had not yet found the opportunity to inform the colonel of the existence of Mr. A and Mr. B, so there were only Winters, Mason, and Colonel Bod in the meeting room.


    ¡°Wait a minute, I haven¡¯t agreed to rebel with you yet,¡± Colonel Bod leaned back in his chair and mocked, ¡°Don¡¯t count me in so hastily.¡±


    ¡°How can it be called a rebellion?¡± Winters asked puzzledly, ¡°We are all appointed officers of the Republic of Palatu.¡±


    Colonel Bod snorted lightly without engaging with Winters.


    ¡°Winters came to me excitedly this morning to tell me you had joined us,¡± Mason joked, ¡°Was that a false report of military intelligence?¡±


    Colonel Bod raised his eyebrows, ¡°Joined you? What are you, bandits? Do we need to take an oath too?¡±


    ¡°If you want to take an oath¡­ there¡¯s absolutely no problem. I can lend you a holy relic.¡± Winters offered enthusiastically, ¡°How about the Saint Ados Emblem? It¡¯s said to contain a genuine fragment of the true holy emblem.¡±


    ¡°Stop beating around the bush, I wasn¡¯t that drunk last night. I can stay in Iron Peak County¡ªI don¡¯t want to go to Alpad; and I don¡¯t care to serve those foolish MPs sent from Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod abruptly changed his tone, his eyes becoming serious, ¡°But there are two things I must ask clearly.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± Winters replied, sitting upright and fixing his clothes, ¡°I will not lie to you about any question that I can answer.¡±


    Colonel Bod stared intently at Winters, trying to find any clues in his gaze and expression, ¡°What exactly is your relationship with the Herders?¡±


    ¡°A hostile one,¡± Winters spread his palms open.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the Terdon Tribe.¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s body leaned forward involuntarily, ¡°I¡¯m asking about the Red River Tribe! The one that battled us fiercely, took me prisoner, and then let me go!¡±


    ¡°Two years ago I inadvertently saved the younger brother of Yasin of the White Lion, it¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡°Yasin owed you a favor, so he let me go too?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t always try to make me a scapegoat,¡± Winters propped his chin and said with a light laugh, ¡°In Palatu, in Bianli, on the Styx, I have fulfilled my responsibilities. If you¡¯re unsatisfied, you should vent your anger on Yanosh, Alpad, and Sekler. Why go after us few centurions?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t evade the issue! I¡¯m not venting about losing a battle on you; you know what I mean,¡± Colonel Bod pressed.


    ¡°Then let me answer you squarely,¡± Winters dropped his smile and looked directly at Colonel Bod, ¡°The White Lion let me go, perhaps as a favor. Because back then, I was all alone, with nothing. But releasing you was clearly to assist me. The purposes are threefold.


    ¡°First, if I can stand firm, he can trade with the outside world through me; second, Iron Peak County rebelling against the New Reclamation Legion, no matter who wins or loses, is depleting Paratu¡¯s strength; third, Iron Peak County borders the Terdon Tribe¡¯s territory, and since I have a long-standing grudge with the fire-warmers, he can use me to contain them.


    One stone killing three birds, why not do it? And what the White Lion has paid so far is merely one of his slaves. Since he sent you back to me, should I say ¡®no¡¯ and send you back again?¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s complexion turned red, then pale, and finally ashen. His cheeks tensed, and he said nothing.

 Chapter 739 03-25 - 739 51 Beacon Fire_2

    ?Chapter 739: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_2 Chapter 739: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_2 Mason listened from the side, his heart pounding with fear. He gently tugged at Winters, gesturing for his junior brother to not be so aggressive.


    Winters ignored Senior Mason and continued, ¡°I have never betrayed the interests of Paratu to the Herders, nor have I betrayed the interests of the Paratu People. I am open and honest, with a clear conscience.


    But if the Hurd tribes profit from my actions, even though it is against my wishes, I won¡¯t just stand by and do nothing. If the New Reclamation Legion attacks me, surely I can¡¯t just sit back and not fight back because the Herders might benefit?¡±


    Colonel Bod was left speechless.


    After sitting quietly for a while, he let out a deep sigh and asked, ¡°The second question. Since you have contact with the Red River Tribe, those prisoners in the wasteland, do you have a way to bring them back?¡±


    ¡°There is a way! And I will do my utmost to rescue them¡ªthe slaves include my own men.¡± Winters produced a small knife, ¡°I have a verbal agreement with White Lion, to exchange goods for prisoners. Just give me the chance, and I¡¯ll open up trade routes to the Red River Tribe and bring our people back, little by little.¡±


    ¡°Exchange goods for prisoners?¡± Colonel Bod frowned and asked. For Paratu, maintaining a blockade on the wasteland and trading goods for prisoners was essentially smuggling.


    ...


    ¡°If not that, then what?¡± Winters retorted, ¡°Exchange with gold or silver? Not only do I not have gold or silver, but what use is gold or silver in the wasteland? White Lion values tangible benefits and will never trade people for money.¡±


    Colonel Bod was speechless again and, grinding his teeth, warned Winters, ¡°White Lion and the Red River Tribe are more dangerous than all the other Hurd tribes combined.¡±


    ¡°I know, I am well aware. It¡¯s like feeding meat to a lion,¡± Winters admitted frankly, ¡°But exchanging our veterans to make us stronger is also important. In the end, ¡®my¡¯ survival is what matters most.¡±


    The colonel pressed on, ¡°And after you get them back? Continue to let them fight for you?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, that was my initial thought,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°But after meeting you, I realized that they are living people, with families, with loved ones. They are not puppets, weapons, nor are they my tools. So¡­ that¡¯s it.¡±


    Winters, with his mind made up, smiled at the colonel, ¡°They are free to stay or leave. Those who wish to stay can continue to fight for me; those who are injured, I will allocate land to them; those who want to return home, I will provide them with travel expenses. How about that? Are you satisfied?¡±


    ¡°What could I possibly be unsatisfied with?¡± Colonel Bod snorted. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    He straightened his uniform with his remaining right arm, stood up, and saluted Winters with great formality, ¡°If you can accomplish this, on behalf of all the Paratu veterans lost in the wasteland, unable to return home, and my men, I thank you!¡±


    Winters received the salute and returned it.


    Senior Mason, who had been tensely listening up to this point, finally felt a huge weight lift from his heart. After somewhat understanding Colonel Bod¡¯s motives, the senior felt somewhat less uneasy.


    But then, his tension returned.


    Because he heard the colonel say to Winters, ¡°I want to ask you for something.¡±


    ¡°What do you want? Ask for anything you want,¡± Winters first agreed readily, then quickly clarified, ¡°But not money, as finances are tight right now.¡±


    ¡°I want an official position.¡±


    ¡°Which position?¡±


    ¡°The highest official position,¡± Colonel Bod sneered, ¡°Whichever is the biggest, just give it to me.¡±


    The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and Mason instinctively shrank his neck. He was mild-mannered and disliked struggle, especially disputes over power and internal fighting.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± Winters blinked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to do what?¡± Colonel Bod feigned confusion, ¡°I am a dignified colonel; what¡¯s wrong with wanting a high official position?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to consider our future for us. Since we have taken this path, we are ready to bear the risk of not getting out whole.¡±


    The air was no longer scarily cold, but the meeting room remained very quiet.


    ¡°Are you naive or brave?¡± Colonel Bod heaved a deep sigh, ¡°You few junior officers can¡¯t handle this thunder. Use me as a shield, and when times become desperate, hand me over, and you might even manage to become higher-ranking officers, right? Wouldn¡¯t that be nice?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too pessimistic,¡± Winters said with a smile, proposing his backup plan, ¡°If all else fails, you can join us in Vineta. After all, one more partner in doing business doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s anger surged again, ¡°Foolish boy, when that day comes, do you really think Vineta will protect you?¡±


    ¡°Then we flee overseas, to the west,¡± Winters drew a circle in the air, ¡°I¡¯ve heard if you keep going west, you can reach the Far East.¡±


    Colonel Bod, leaning on the table, was unable to speak for a long time.


    ¡°The official position is nothing but a seal. I can carve one out for you, can¡¯t I?¡± Winters explained earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s your demand¡ªfor the highest position, that is a little¡­¡±


    ¡°You yourself said it¡¯s just a seal.¡± Colonel Bod bristled and glared, ¡°Are you even stingy with a seal?¡±


    ¡°The highest rank here is Marshal,¡± Winters asked tentatively, ¡°Shall I carve out a Marshal¡¯s seal for you?¡±


    The colonel¡¯s breath hitched for a beat. Senior Mason stared at his knees, desperately trying to hold back laughter.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s chest felt tight, and he struggled to speak, ¡°A mere thousand men and a territory no bigger than a horseshoe, and you already have a marshal? Does that mean you must also have a legion commander?¡±


    ¡°We have those as well. They are placeholders in the organization,¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°So¡­ would you like to pick a favorite?¡±

 Chapter 740 03-25 - 740 51 Beacon Fire_3

    ?Chapter 740: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_3 Chapter 740: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_3 ¡°Forget it, forget it,¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s face turned red as he struggled to catch his breath, ¡°I¡¯m old and thin-skinned, I can¡¯t afford to lose face.¡±


    In Senior Mason¡¯s eyes, the colonel¡¯s posture and expression had become natural amid their joking, and the previous sense of being an outsider or foreigner had gradually dissipated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about serious matters,¡± Senior Mason steered the conversation towards official business, chuckling as he said, ¡°Shovel Port has sent us an official document.¡±


    Upon hearing ¡®Shovel Port,¡¯ Winters¡¯s attention suddenly sharpened, and he unconsciously furrowed his brow, ¡°What does it say?¡±


    ¡°Mayor Botar says the militia recruitment is complete, but they¡¯re urgently in need of food and arms, and they hope we can allocate some to them.¡±


    ¡°Botar? Asking me for arms and food?¡± Winters stroked his knife hilt, scoffing with laughter, ¡°Does he also want a fissure spell from me?¡±


    ¡°Shall I reply to him like that?¡± asked Senior Mason, smiling.


    ...


    ¡°Tell him to guard the East Bank of Glory River, and if there¡¯s an enemy situation, light the beacon, and reinforcements will naturally go there,¡± Winters snickered, ¡°As far as I can tell, he probably doesn¡¯t even want us to go there!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Senior Mason immediately set about drafting a reply.


    Seeing that Colonel Bod did not speak, Winters explained to the colonel, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to help, but that¡­ Botar, he¡¯s never had good intentions.¡±


    Colonel Bod listened in silence.


    Winters left his chair, retrieved a map, and spread it on the table, inviting the colonel to stand close and study it.


    ¡°The riverbank of Central Iron Peak County is nearly eighty kilometers, and that of Lower Iron Peak County exceeds a hundred kilometers,¡± Winters said of Iron Peak County¡¯s terrain with ease, ¡°Only Upper Iron Peak County has less than twenty kilometers of riverbank to defend. The river is widest and the current fastest there, making it the easiest position to defend.¡±


    ¡°What lake is this?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Shovel Lake.¡±


    ¡°In winter when the water recedes, is the actual size of the lake as big as it¡¯s drawn on the map?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s even bigger, this is an old map.¡± sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Bod stroked his beard, asking, ¡°Since it¡¯s a port, there must be boats. Why not requisition them?¡±


    ¡°They were all confiscated by that damn town mayor,¡± Winters¡¯s brows locked tighter, ¡°Previously, Botar has been hoarding food, attracting migrants, and disobeying Revodan¡¯s directives in secret.¡±


    ¡°As for arms, it¡¯s hard to say. As for food, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s better stocked than I am. I haven¡¯t touched him out of consideration for maintaining town peace.¡±


    ¡°But this scoundrel,¡± Winters sneered coldy, ¡°is becoming less and less honest.¡±


    Colonel Bod bent down to examine the map, muttering to himself, ¡°There¡¯s a lot to learn at the seams of maps¡ªthat¡¯s something I heard from John Jeska. In terms of map work, I¡¯ve never seen anyone better than him, what a pity.¡±


    A thought struck Winters, ¡°Do you know where Major Jeska is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know whether he¡¯s alive or dead,¡± Colonel Bod responded with a wry smile, shaking his head. His fingertips traced the border between Vernge County and Iron Peak County on the map, ¡°Have you considered the seam here¡ªthe riverbank at the junction of the two counties?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve considered it; that area is forested.¡±


    ¡°Forests can still be traveled by horse.¡±


    ¡°But Revodan can¡¯t send troops,¡± Winters felt helpless, ¡°otherwise, we¡¯d end up fighting with the Legion before the Herders even arrive. We can only ask the militia at Shovel Port to be more vigilant.¡±


    Colonel Bod didn¡¯t say anything more, heavily sat back in his chair, and smilingly asked Winters, ¡°Earlier you were discussing whether to report to the neighboring counties, did you report it?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Winters replied with a touch of bitterness, ¡°But I didn¡¯t disclose the source of the intelligence. The Legion didn¡¯t respond to me nor send a reply; they probably don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea,¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s smile grew more profound, ¡°What if¡­ the intelligence came from me?¡±


    Winters straightened up instantly, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, also smiled broadly, ¡°Then we¡¯d need to come up with a good story.¡±


    ¡°Do we need to? Just say I escaped from the Terdon Tribe, bringing back important intelligence that the Terdon people are amassing looters,¡± Colonel Bod laughed heartily, ¡°Perfect, it will also let me shine a little.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll personally take a trip to Vernge County and Mont Blanc County,¡± Colonel Bod said naturally.


    Even Senior Mason, who was in the middle of drafting the reply, stood up abruptly, and Winters even more so grabbed the colonel¡¯s hand, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be in your debt.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a trivial matter, dealing with the Herders is the main event,¡± Colonel Bod waved his hand dismissively, then asked, ¡°Is the chief military officer of Mont Blanc County still Colonel Gaisa Adonis?¡±


    Winters was thrilled, ¡°You know that bald guy?¡±


    ¡°I outrank him, I was his mentor when he entered the academy,¡± Colonel Bod sighed with a trace of melancholy, ¡°Gaisa suffered serious injuries and barely came back with his life, that¡¯s why he looks like that. Originally, he was a very handsome and charming man, such a shame.¡±


    ¡°So, that bald man was telling the truth,¡± Winters thought to himself, showing deep humility as he requested the colonel, ¡°Could you go to Mont Blanc County first? I¡¯ve got a little deal with Colonel Gaisa, and I¡¯d like to ask for your help to facilitate it¡­¡±


    ¡­


    By noon of that same day, Lieutenant Washington from Mont Blanc County, who was currently imprisoned in Revodan, was granted his freedom.


    Colonel Bod had a few words with Washington in private.


    Upon learning that the one-armed colonel before him had crossed a hundred kilometers of uninhabited land alone, surviving great peril to return from the wilderness to Paratu, Washington was so moved that he broke down in tears, his heart swelling with endless respect.


    Upon further learning that Colonel Bod had also returned with important military intelligence, Washington immediately wanted to return to Mont Blanc County.

 Chapter 741 03-25 - 741 51 Beacon Fire_4

    ?Chapter 741: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_4 Chapter 741: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_4 Winters picked out a male stud and a female broodmare from the herd of horses they had acquired to give as a gift, asking Lieutenant Washington to take them back to Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°Please convey a message to Colonel Gaisa for me,¡± Winters sincerely said to his senior Washington, ¡°Just as Adam and Eve started with one man and one woman and ended up with so many people today. With patience, a pair of horses can also turn into a herd again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better tell the colonel yourself,¡± Lieutenant Washington said with a complex expression, ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll beat me up.¡±


    After returning from the wilderness, Colonel Bod merely made a brief stop at Revodan before setting off on his arduous journey again.


    ¡­


    Winters was busy with another matter¡ªbuilding a town.


    To be precise, expanding Revodan.


    ...


    Unlike ordinary farms, once the soldiers were conscripted, the military settlements had no means of defending themselves.


    Winters simply issued the ¡°scorched earth¡± order, relocating the families of the twelve military settlements to Revodan to allow the soldiers to fight with peace of mind.


    Revodan was already quite small, and with the addition of military families and civilians seeking refuge, it became very crowded immediately.


    Luckily, the weather was getting cooler, or else a major epidemic might have broken out.


    Moreover, Winters and old Priskin agreed that more civilians would definitely flood into Revodan¡ªthe towns and villages of Iron Peak County had no walls, making them easy prey for the Herder Cavalry.


    Winters decisively decided¡ªto build a new town capable of accommodating all the refugees.


    Old Priskin suggested expanding the city on the basis of the existing city walls, while Winters insisted on building the new town south of the St. George River.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    Winters¡¯ reason was ¡°building against the riverbank can reduce the construction work as much as possible.¡±


    This reason was sufficient, and Priskin did not object.


    So, while the Terdon Tribe¡¯s wildfire was about to scorch their hair, Winters was busy with civil engineering.


    The new town located on the south bank of the St. George River, instead of being called a ¡°town,¡± it was more apt to call it a ¡°fortress.¡±


    Because it was essentially a half-circle of city walls and moats backed by the riverbank, with no living facilities inside, though the defense works were very solidly built¡ªafter all, the barbarians were coming.


    There was also something interesting: following Winters¡¯ division method of upper, middle, and lower Iron Peak County, the old Revodan town area was entirely north of the St. George River, thus undoubtedly belonging to upper Iron Peak County.


    However, the new town was built on the south bank of the St. George River, meaning that Revodan had one foot stepping back into middle Iron Peak County, like a child straddling a threshold.


    In the morning, there was a meeting, at noon he saw off Colonel Bod and Lieutenant Washington, and in the afternoon, he went to supervise the construction, not until late at night did Winters drag his exhausted body back to his residence.


    He fell asleep on the bed without even taking off his clothes.


    Just as Winters lost consciousness, about forty kilometers downstream from Shovel Port¡ªthat is, at the junction of Vernge County and Iron Peak County, at the seam of the map, the Herders took advantage of the night to launch their sheepskin rafts.


    Men on rafts, horses wading, they crossed over what Winters had said was ¡°the easiest position to defend¡± under the cover of darkness. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For Winters, it seemed like less than a second from the moment he closed his eyes until he was awakened by Xial.


    ¡°Brother!¡± Xial shook Winters anxiously, ¡°Wake up, hurry!¡±


    Winters was in extreme pain, his head ached, and his breathing was not smooth, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? How long have I slept?¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port has lit the beacon fires!¡± Xial said compassionately as he poured water for Winters to drink, ¡°You¡¯ve slept for less than two hours.¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port?¡± Winters asked, supporting his forehead.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s definitely beacon fires! I¡¯ve confirmed it!¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Winters took the cup of water and drained it, then flopped back onto the bed, ¡°Sleep.¡±


    Xial was stunned for a moment, but Winters was already asleep again.

 Chapter 742 03-25 - 742 52 chapters Contact

    ?Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact For Winters, it seemed like less than a second had passed before he was awakened by Xial.


    ¡°Bro!¡± Xial shook Winters anxiously, ¡°Wake up, quick!¡±


    Winters¡¯s head ached, and his breathing was labored, ¡°What is it? How long did I sleep?¡±


    ¡°The beacon fires of Shovel Port have been lit!¡± Xial helped Winters up, ¡°You¡¯ve slept for less than two hours.¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s definitely beacon fires! I¡¯m sure of it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Winters lay back down on the bed, ¡°Go to sleep.¡±


    Xial was stunned for a moment but Winters was already back asleep.


    ¡°Bro!¡± An anxious Xial tried to wake Winters a second time, now both worried and angry, ¡°That mayor might not be a good guy, but Shovel Port is our ally no matter what! If Shovel Port falls, wouldn¡¯t that be like letting the Herders in? Please, wake up¡­¡±


    Roused forcefully twice in succession, Winters sat up from the bed slowly, like a puppet.


    Xial didn¡¯t dare to speak again.


    Winters, supporting his forehead with his knees, let out a pained grunt from deep within his chest, ¡°Water.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Xial hurriedly brought water, and Winters drank it all at once.


    The cold water made Winters¡¯s stomach uncomfortable, but his consciousness became much clearer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the beacon fire at Shovel Port,¡± Winters lit the oil lamp with a flick of his wrist, his voice somewhat hoarse, ¡°It will go out by itself.¡±


    Just as Xial was about to ask, heavy footsteps sounded from downstairs.


    The newcomer strode quickly up the stairs and headed straight for Winters¡¯s room, first knocking and then entering ¡ª it was Heinrich.


    ¡°Commander,¡± Heinrich reported calmly, ¡°The beacon fire in the direction of Shovel Port has just been extinguished! I fear the beacon tower there has been removed.¡±


    ¡°How could it be removed?¡± Winters chuckled helplessly, ¡°That was the people of Shovel Port putting it out themselves.¡±


    Not just Xial, but Heinrich too looked puzzled.


    ¡°Are the beacon towers along the way still there?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°They are.¡±


    ¡°They will be extinguished one by one,¡± Winters leaned against the head of the bed, looking decidedly uncomfortable but with a firm expression, ¡°And next, a messenger from Shovel Port will come to inform us that [the Revodan Barbarians have been annihilated, and Shovel Port is unharmed], rest assured.¡±


    Seeing Xial and Heinrich standing silent and stunned, Winters sighed and pointed to the bed and chair, ¡°Sit.¡±


    They obediently took their seats.


    ¡°Have you seen how a pack of wolves hunts?¡±


    Xial nodded, Heinrich shook his head.


    ¡°In the winter when prey is scarce, wolves must hunt larger animals together to survive,¡± Winters explained patiently to his most trusted ¡®Attendants¡¯, ¡°But the pack doesn¡¯t just recklessly charge in. Instead, they get as close to their prey as they can, then watch and select their target ¡ª usually a weaker, frail individual, and only then do they attack.¡±


    Xial was quick to catch on, ¡°So you mean¡­ Monkey Butt Face is probing us?¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a probe or not, there won¡¯t be many soldiers,¡± Winters yawned, ¡°Otherwise, Andre and Mr. A wouldn¡¯t have no news.¡±


    Xial eagerly countered, ¡°But what if something goes wrong with Captain Cherini¡¯s side? Or worse, if they¡¯ve been annihilated¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible, and good thinking,¡± Winters propped a pillow behind his back, reminding them with satisfaction, ¡°But don¡¯t rush, before thinking about how the Terdun Barbarians fight, think about how they maintain their army. Do you know how the Herders rally their forces?¡±


    This time Xial and Heinrich both shook their heads.


    ¡°No different from the Empire¡¯s nobility, a small Kota with his guards, vassals, and slave attendants goes to look for intermediate Kotas, who then take their men to seek the big Kota ¡ª that is, Monkey Butt Face. How much time does this process take?¡±


    Xial and Heinrich shook their heads again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Winters chuckled.


    Xial caught his breath, and Heinrich¡¯s face went a little red.


    ¡°But it won¡¯t be easy because the Herders have to bring their own provisions,¡± Winters¡¯s expression quickly turned serious, ¡°Now, as the weather cools and the grass turns yellow, the horses will lose condition from eating all day, not to mention during a march. And the drier the grass, the more land each horse needs every day. If you were Monkey Butt Face, would you concentrate many warhorses in one place?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xial shook his head.


    ¡°And you?¡± Winters asked Heinrich.


    Heinrich spoke with some difficulty, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t either.¡±


    Winters guided them, ¡°Then if you were the fire lighter, what would be your best strategy?¡±


    ¡°Spread out the horses to graze,¡± Xial rushed to answer, ¡°The more horses in one place, the less they will eat. And you¡¯d have to move slowly so as not to tire the horses out. Ideally, you¡¯d eat as you move ¡ª like herding!¡±


    Heinrich silently nodded.


    ¡°So do you think the Barbarians encountered by Shovel Port are the main force of the Terdon Tribe?¡±


    Xial hesitantly answered, ¡°They probably¡­ aren¡¯t, right?¡±


    Without agreeing or disagreeing, Winters continued to question his two Attendants, ¡°If you were me, how would you make your first move?¡±


    ¡°Strike at them while they¡¯re scattered, before they can rally, by crossing the river and hitting them first?¡± Xial asked tentatively.


    Winters sighed deeply and knocked on Xial¡¯s head hard, ¡°What did I tell you to think about first? What the Terdun lack most, we make them lack even more!¡±


    Xial covered his head, tears streaming down from the pain.


    ¡°Destroy the grass,¡± Heinrich answered softly.


    Winters sat up suddenly, nodding approvingly, ¡°Good, how to destroy?¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fire.¡±

 Chapter 743 03-25 - 743 52 Contact_2

    ?Chapter 743: Chapter 52 Contact_2 Chapter 743: Chapter 52 Contact_2 ¡°Yes.¡± Winters patted Heinrich on the shoulder, ¡°This is the first step to dealing with the people of Terdun. The enemy has more soldiers, we have fewer; the enemy is strong, we are weak; the enemy attacks, we defend.


    We must first find ways to weaken the enemy before we can have the power to fight. Aren¡¯t you called the fire-maker? Just right to set a fire for you¡ªThe two lieutenants are doing exactly this in the no-man¡¯s land.¡±


    Xial asked with a pained expression, ¡°What about Shovel Port? Are we just going to ignore it?¡±


    ¡°No need to mind it,¡± Winters dismissed with a wave of his hand, ¡°The town mayor of Shovel Port Town is the old soldier Dusack, with thousands of able-bodied refugees under his command. Isn¡¯t he busy training the refugees lately? With two companies of militia at hand, if they can¡¯t even block the river mouth, they might as well die early.¡±


    ¡°If he dies, he dies, but what about the people of Shovel Port?¡± Xial felt uneasy, ¡°Should we not gather our troops first?¡±


    ¡°Even if we need to send reinforcements, we¡¯ll wait until daybreak. Isn¡¯t marching forcibly at night just like delivering meat into the wolf¡¯s mouth?¡± Winters knocked on Xial¡¯s head again, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about tomorrow¡¯s matters tomorrow. Even if we are to fight tomorrow, we still need a good night¡¯s rest tonight.¡±


    Xial rubbed his head and let out an ¡°Oh.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this, the thing Shovel Port fears the most right now is ¡®reinforcements¡¯.¡± Winters sneered, ¡°They¡¯re afraid I¡¯ll take the opportunity to send troops and occupy Shovel Port. With barbarians in front and rebels behind, the war would be difficult to fight. So we might as well stay put and let them focus on dealing with the Herders. How the battle goes, we¡¯ll find out tomorrow morning.¡±


    Xial and Heinrich saluted with their hands.


    Winters began unbuttoning his clothes¡ªhe hadn¡¯t taken them off before sleeping due to exhaustion¡ªand said, ¡°I estimate¡­ the messenger from Shovel Port is on his way to Revodan now. It must be a great victory, the garrison need not worry, and by no means should they come to help, hmm.¡±


    Seeing that Winters was about to sleep, Xial and Heinrich prepared to leave. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters called the two men back, ¡°After this battle, I plan to establish a military school. The students¡­ tentatively would be officers at the Centurion level. Would you be interested in going?¡±


    Xial and Heinrich were both stunned.


    ¡°You two can¡¯t always be my guards,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Do you not want to lead troops?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Xial¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened, ¡°I¡¯ll be your guard, for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush to answer, take your time to think about it. First, we have to deal with this mess from the ¡®fire-maker¡¯.¡± Winters pushed the two Attendants out of the room, ¡°Unless the barbarians break into Revodan, don¡¯t disturb my sleep!¡±


    Xial and Heinrich, unable to recover from the shock, stood at the door looking at each other for a while before tiptoeing softly down the stairs.


    ¡­


    Before dawn, Shovel Port.


    Mr. Alpha dismounted his horse, sword in hand, and walked into the town church. His features concealed under his helmet, his breastplate covered in bloodstains.


    The church was Shovel Port¡¯s tallest and sturdiest stone building, and naturally served as the command post during war, with the great beacon tower on the bell tower.


    Mr. Alpha walked through the altar and entered the spiral staircase, heading straight for the roof.


    Mayor Polta was on the roof.


    Upon meeting, Mr. Alpha immediately confronted Polta, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say, ¡®Do not light the great beacon tower without my consent¡¯?¡±


    His voice, muffled from inside the helmet, sounded somewhat dull.


    ¡°Seeing the beacon fires on the riverbank, the lads in charge got panicked and lit the great beacon tower,¡± Polta pointed to a few young men with sooty faces in front of him, ¡°I was just in the process of scolding them.¡±


    The beacon fires were a system, with large and small beacon towers, each being a part of a whole.


    The small beacon towers were set along the riverbanks, while the large beacon tower was established on the church of Shovel Port.


    If the large beacon tower did not light up, the information would be contained within Shovel Port; if the large beacon tower was lit, Revodan would receive the warning.


    Having dismissed the beacon tower guards, Polta anxiously asked, ¡°How is the battle situation?¡±


    ¡°What could be resolved has been resolved,¡± Mr. Alpha removed his helmet, shaking off the sweat from his hair, ¡°Some remaining enemies fled into the woods while others took advantage of the chaos to break through to the east. Altogether, there are probably about a dozen or so.¡±


    ¡°The barbarians truly came!¡± Polta gritted his teeth and thumped his thigh, genuinely thanking Mr. Alpha, ¡°We owe it to your presence.¡±


    Mr. Alpha shook his head without expression.


    Polta had not been very attentive to the defenses against the barbarians. In his mind, the Herders were severely defeated in September, so how could they dare to come again?


    On the contrary, Mr. Alpha took it seriously; he was personally responsible for arranging the defenses along the Glory River and the beacon towers.


    After receiving the beacon fire alert tonight, it was Mr. Alpha who was first to provide support.


    Time was the key element.


    Time was not on the side of Terdun¡¯s men:


    The waters of Glory River were wide, and each time the sheepskin rafts crossed the river, they were swept far downstream, needing to be carried back upstream by horse, hence wasting a lot of time;


    Time wasn¡¯t on the side of Shovel Port¡¯s men either:


    The crossing point chosen by Terdun¡¯s men was forty kilometers away from Shovel Port. Even if adults walked non-stop, it would take a whole day to cover forty kilometers.


    It was thus a race against time, favoring only the party that was faster.


    Therefore, Mr. Alpha chose to get a head start¡ªtime also favored those who prepared in advance.


    Mr. Alpha divided the Shovel Port militia into six teams, assigned along the river. By careful calculation, he ensured that Shovel Port militia would not be more than two hours¡¯ distance from any point on the riverbank.

 Chapter 744 03-25 - 744 52 Contact_3

    ?Chapter 744: Chapter 52 Contact_3 Chapter 744: Chapter 52 Contact_3 ¡°`


    There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach.


    The benefits need not be mentioned, but the downside is that Shovel Port¡¯s defenses have become extremely weak.


    Now that Shovel Port¡¯s attention is all on the riverbanks, it¡¯s like exposing our backs to Revodan¡¯s blades.


    Keep in mind that Shovel Port is less than forty kilometers from Revodan, and Revodan has cavalry¡­


    ¡°Has the messenger been dispatched?¡± Alpha asked, holding his helmet.


    He had. ¡°I¡¯ve already told Revodan that we¡¯re safe here and that we don¡¯t need any support,¡± Polta said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Otherwise, should we call the troops back? We suffered a defeat tonight, and the Herd Barbarians probably won¡¯t come again. And the more we try to keep the Rebels away, the more likely they are to come. It¡¯s more important to deal with the Rebels right now.¡±


    ¡°Gathering the militia in the first place took great effort, and calling them back would be even harder,¡± Alpha replied, shaking his head. ¡°What if the Herders notice our movement and cross the river again? We didn¡¯t manage to destroy their boats.¡±


    ...


    Polta asked anxiously, ¡°But what if the Rebels come to attack us?¡±


    ¡°The Rebel leader knows what¡¯s at stake,¡± Alpha said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s not a despicable man.¡±


    ¡­


    Before dawn, just outside the north gate of Revodan.


    ¡°Open the gate! Open up!¡± a dust-covered rider shouted, pounding furiously on the gate: ¡°I have urgent military intelligence to report to the garrison officer!¡±


    The walls of Revodan were low, but not so low that one could just climb over.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    ¡°What¡¯s all the noise for?¡± the Centurion on the city¡¯s head scolded the newcomer. ¡°Seek the military protection officer his excellency, and wait till morning to speak!¡±


    ¡°I have urgent intelligence!¡± the rider shouted. ¡°I am a messenger from Shovel Port!¡±


    ¡°Even so, that¡¯s not allowed!¡± the Centurion responded. ¡°Who knows whether you¡¯re a spy for the barbarians?¡±


    ¡°Then lower a basket down, and I¡¯ll climb up!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no basket.¡±


    ¡°Lower a rope, and I¡¯ll send the letter up.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no rope.¡±


    The Shovel Port messenger stood dumbstruck for a while, then suddenly pointed at the city head and cursed: ¡°Are you deliberately refusing to let me in? Can you afford to delay urgent military intelligence?¡±


    Without further words, the Centurion on the head of the city gestured, and seven dark gun muzzles pointed at the rider.


    ¡°Military protection officer Montaigne said,¡± the Centurion looked down at the messenger. ¡°¡®Anyone who disturbs his sleep will be shown no mercy and executed on the spot.¡¯


    ¡­


    Winters slept soundly in the second half of the night, as no one came to disturb him.


    Still, he didn¡¯t get much sleep, as habit caused him to wake up naturally at the crack of dawn.


    After washing up, he went for breakfast at Anna¡¯s residence, full of energy.


    The ¡°Montaigne couple¡± were publicly separated at the moment, and breakfast was a rare opportunity for him to spend time with Anna.


    However, the table was starkly divided: the women¡¯s food was still quite ample, but on Winters¡¯s plate were only two pieces of black bread ¡ª the standard ration for the Iron Peak County Military.


    Catherine, resting her chin in her hand, looked at Winters and said with a tone that was half admiration, half jest, ¡°You really do set an example.¡±


    Winters was particularly bad at dealing with Lady Navarre, so he just nodded with a smile and said nothing. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna gently stepped on her sister¡¯s foot and poured Winters some warm water.


    ¡°Will you still be on the south bank all day today?¡± Anna asked softly.


    Winters replied guiltily, ¡°That should be the case for the near future.¡±


    Xial knocked and came in, whispering to Winters, ¡°The messenger from Shovel Port has arrived.¡±


    ¡°When did he arrive?¡±


    ¡°Last night, and he¡¯s been waiting since then. Do you want to see him?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°He brought a letter.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t accept it.¡±


    ¡°Send him away?¡±


    ¡°Tell him to bring a message back to Polta,¡± Winters said, gnawing on the hard black bread. ¡°¡®Send over twenty heads.¡¯


    ¡°`

 Chapter 745 03-25 - 745 53 Relief

    ?Chapter 745: Chapter 53 Relief Chapter 745: Chapter 53 Relief Several days had passed, and the council members of Revodan had once again gathered together.


    Most of the members were familiar faces, with a few new ones among them.


    The senior mayor Priskin sat in the front row with his eyes closed, resting. His second son had been elected as a council member a few days ago and now sat beside his father.


    The council members were well aware of the reason why the Public Welfare Officer had convened the council meeting¡ªit was none other than to address the issue of flour.


    Though there was no sign of the Herd Barbarians, the price of flour was unmistakably rising. The poor could no longer afford even a paste made of flour, yet the price continued to soar.


    The complaints of the impoverished were ever-increasing, and even the well-off citizens were beginning to feel the strain, the situation having reached a critical level that demanded resolution.


    With the Public Welfare Officer absent and the mayor remaining silent, the members whispered and murmured among themselves:


    ¡°Your mill must be raking in profits lately, huh?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hey! Flour¡¯s so expensive, I can¡¯t even sell it. What profit is there?¡±


    ¡°Come on, cut the act. If it¡¯s too expensive to sell, would you bear to sell it cheaply?¡±


    ¡°There are so many mills and grain shops in the city, why are you picking on me?¡±


    ¡°Just wait, Blood Wolf will definitely use us as an example.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of fixing a price limit. If he tells us to fix a price, then I¡¯ll sell at that fixed price.¡±


    Suddenly, the door burst open, and all the council members fell silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Winters, clad in armor and with a sword at his side, walked into the council hall carrying two round, hairy objects.


    Priest Caman followed Winters with a look of reluctance on his face.


    ¡°Heads of Terdun men.¡± With a casual toss, Winters threw the two heads to the ground: ¡°Shovel Port fought a battle last night, a minor victory.¡±


    The heads rolled on the ground for several turns, eventually stopping by Xial¡¯s feet.


    Glancing down, Xial met the lifeless, hollow eyes of the deceased. Despite the lack of any real odor, Xial sensed an overpowering stench of blood and putrescence. He fought back the urge to vomit and forced himself to look away.


    Xial and Heinrich brought in a box covered in Herdman helmets, scale armor, and curved swords still stained with blood¡ªall requisitioned from Shovel Port.


    After briefly explaining last night¡¯s battle at Shovel Port, Winters politely informed the council members: ¡°There are eighteen more heads, already sent to various towns for display. Those among you who still don¡¯t believe that the barbarians intend to kill us, feel free to take a closer look.¡±


    ¡°We have already seen, Your Excellency,¡± Xial said hastily, not daring to look down at the feet, ¡°Please, take these corpses away.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Very well,¡± ordered Winters to Xial and Heinrich, ¡°Show the helmets and armor to the members, but let¡¯s leave the heads out of this.¡±


    Passing around the armor and weapons amongst the council members didn¡¯t take too long.


    ¡°These items will be displayed to the public in Revodan Square. If you¡¯re interested, you¡¯re welcome to take a look there,¡± said Winters, signaling his men to collect the war trophies. ¡°Today, I¡¯ve called you here not to show you heads but to resolve the flour pricing issue.¡±


    After speaking, Winters patted Priest Caman¡¯s shoulder.


    Caman sighed and moved to the front of the council to bow solemnly to the council members: ¡°It is thanks to your generous donations that the Monastery of Revodan has been able to distribute wheat porridge to the needy believers. Please accept my respects.¡±


    None of the council members dared to remain seated, quickly returning the gesture.


    The clergy managed matters of life after death, and everyone naturally felt a certain awe and respect towards the clerics.


    Priest Caman continued with a grave expression, as if preaching: ¡°But lately, the price of flour and wheat has soared, and the monastery is no longer able to provide relief to the faithful. In the poor districts, it has become common to eat tree leaves and dig up roots to stave off hunger; some believers are even selling their children. Revodan is now like sitting atop a volcano, and it would only take a spark for the refugee riots to happen again.


    [¡®Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.¡¯] I hope the gentlemen here will extend your helping hand in this difficult time.¡±


    Winters followed on Caman¡¯s remark: ¡°I have drafted a law, which we can all look at and discuss. If there is anything inappropriate, please bring it up.¡±


    The draft of the law, written on a sheet of paper, was circulated among the council members. The content of the draft was simple: it was to impose price limits on flour, wheat, barley, and rye.


    Among the council members were mill owners, grain merchants, or stakeholders in the grain business; they all had mentally prepared for price control policies. Now that the shoe had finally dropped, they felt a sense of relief.


    ¡°Sir, my old eyes are dim, I can¡¯t see the text clearly,¡± the elder Priskin trembled as he stood up, asking respectfully, ¡°May I ask, do you intend to fix prices?¡±


    ¡°Please, have a seat, Mr. Priskin,¡± nodded Winters, ¡°Yes, I do intend to impose price controls.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Old Priskin suddenly opened his eyes wide, declaring in a forceful tone, ¡°Price fixing is absolutely out of the question!¡±


    The council members within the hall shivered at the outburst.


    ¡°Explain yourself,¡± said Winters, crossing his arms, ¡°Why not?¡±


    Standing resolute with his walking stick, the old Priskin announced, ¡°The number of people in the city is increasing, the city¡¯s grain is getting scarcer, and price increases are a natural consequence!¡±


    Winters remained silent, and instead, it was Caman who couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°So we just don¡¯t do anything?¡±


    ¡°You can set price controls, but merchants are also free not to sell! The more you impose price controls, the less willing the merchants will be to sell. If it¡¯s not available in the marketplace, flour will flow into the black market, and then the actual grain prices will end up being pushed even higher.¡±


    Priest Caman was at a loss for words.


    ¡°If you want to solve the grain price problem, you can only use my method.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    Old Priskin forcefully spat out a term: ¡°Confiscate!¡±

 Chapter 746 03-25 - 746 53 Relief_2

    ?Chapter 746: Chapter 53 Relief_2 Chapter 746: Chapter 53 Relief_2 The council hall erupted into chaos, councilors expressing shock, doubt, or rage.


    Old Priskin¡¯s words landed with a thud, ¡°With the hoofbeats over our heads and scimitars at our necks, whoever dares to hoard or speculate is a criminal! They should be stripped of their property and have their families wiped out!¡±


    Some councilors turned angry, others panicked, and still others had already left their seats, nearly ready to flee the scene.


    Winters looked around the hall, taking in everyone¡¯s expressions, and suddenly burst into laughter, slamming his hand on the table.


    Caman, Xial, and the councilors were all baffled, not even old Priskin understood.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, let¡¯s not bring up such a method again. If I had wanted to kill someone, I would have done so already; why would I need to call you all to a council meeting?¡± Winters laughed heartily, leaning forward and back, pointing at the people in the hall, ¡°Look, they all think I¡¯ve conspired with you in advance, putting on a show.¡±


    Old Priskin turned to look back, and the other councilors, not daring to meet his gaze, bowed their heads.


    ...


    ¡°I swear to Saint Peter, I never discussed today¡¯s matter with the lord protector in advance,¡± old Priskin glared at the other councilors, ¡°You short-sighted fools. Revodan may be short on grain, but it¡¯s not to the point where one Malte of rye costs one kilogram of silver!¡±


    Old Priskin grew angrier as he spoke, his face turned as red as blood, and the tips of his mustache trembled, ¡°This year¡¯s wheat harvest was already low, and grain prices soared, the poor haven¡¯t been able to afford bread for a long time!


    And look at you! The barbarians haven¡¯t even arrived, yet you dare to raise prices without restraint! If you really push the Lower City¡¯s people to a dead end, you, me, do we still have lives to live? There¡¯s no need for barbarians¡¯ intervention, Revodan will immediately descend into chaos¡­¡±


    The council hall fell silent, only the old man¡¯s thunderous roar could be heard.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Winters gestured for Priskin to stop, ¡°I have other matters today and don¡¯t want to waste time. Please, just state your solution directly.¡±


    Old Priskin gave a deep bow to the protector, ¡°Please confiscate all the property of those speculators, and the grain price issue will resolve itself!¡±


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°find another solution.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Then there¡¯s only one option left,¡± Priskin said.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Winters said.


    Old Priskin, gritting his teeth, said, ¡°Please allocate military rations to relieve the poor.¡±


    Xial glared at Priskin, councilors who had just relaxed tensed up again, and even Father Caman was somewhat surprised.


    Winters was not angered; he asked calmly, ¡°How many days will my military rations last? When the rations run out, what will my soldiers eat?¡±


    ¡°Please establish a relief granary!¡± Priskin pressed his right hand to his chest, ¡°The military and the Revodan city government should jointly supply grain, sharing the responsibility of aiding the poor.¡±


    ¡°Can you represent Revodan?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°I am the mayor of Revodan, of course, I can represent,¡± old Priskin¡¯s hawk-like gaze swept over the councilors, ¡°If anyone thinks I am not qualified, please, stand up now.¡±


    Winters chuckled coldly, ¡°I am willing to supply grain, but are the people of Revodan willing?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯re not willing!¡± declared old Priskin openly, ¡°That¡¯s why we can¡¯t take it for free, it should be bought in the form of a loan, at prices referenced from previous years. The military supplies one Malte, and the Revodan city government two Maltes. All the grain going into the relief granary should be considered a debt of the Revodan city government, to be repaid slowly over time.¡±


    ¡°Where there¡¯s a buyer, there¡¯s a seller,¡± Winters stroked his chin, ¡°Given the current situation, how do you plan to sell? As much grain as you release will be bought up. Meanwhile, the price of flour will not come down. To just give it away? How much grain is there to give out?¡±


    ¡°Gathering grain is only the first step! The key is in the second step!¡± old Priskin once again bowed deeply, raising his voice to petition, ¡°I, Priskin, beg the lord to allow work-for-relief!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Xial, clutching a letter from Colonel Bod sent back from Mont Blanc County, braved the early winter chill as he crossed the church bridge to the south bank.


    What used to be woods, wastelands, and farmlands on the south bank had now turned into a bustling construction site.


    The men and women laboring numbered over three thousand, including more than thirteen hundred captives from Vernge County, and many unemployed people and farmers hired from Revodan and nearby villages.


    On the construction site, every two hundred people were divided into a team, with designated primary and secondary captains, responsible for different work sections.


    Men dug trenches and built walls, women carried soil, and the elderly who couldn¡¯t work were gathered to cook. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were also several teams in charge of leveling land and cutting down trees.


    The last five teams, behind on progress, could only claim half the food, other teams received full rations, and the top three teams even had meat supplies.


    ¡°Team performance assessment¡± was a lazy approach, but it was highly effective in the short term. Like being whipped by an invisible force, every team worked hard.


    Besides ¡°food¡±, the reason people worked so hard was something else¡ª¡±The barbarians are coming to kill us.¡±


    No matter how eloquently Winters spun words, they paled in comparison to the raw impact of the blood-soaked heads from Terdun.


    Confronted with the rotting, stinking, twisted faces of barbarian heads, even the most numb, bravest, and most dismissive of the Iron Peak County people realized, ¡°The barbarians really are coming.¡±


    The impact of Winters¡¯ display of ¡°heads across fifteen towns¡± had its pros and cons.


    The good: he no longer needed to urge and advise, the farmers of Iron Peak County, like squirrels preparing for winter, spontaneously began frantically digging cellars to hide grains and valuables.

 Chapter 747 03-25 - 747 53 Relief_3

    ?Chapter 747: Chapter 53 Relief_3 Chapter 747: Chapter 53 Relief_3 The bad side: people from various villages and towns who had some money all took their families to Revodan for refuge, causing even greater shortages of food and living space in Revodan.


    Therefore, the construction of the southern city had to be not only bigger but faster.


    When Xial found Winters, Winters was discussing with Captain Mason, old Mayor Priskin, and the blacksmith Shao Yi.


    ¡°Lover¡¯s Forest must be cleared quickly,¡± Winters instructed Senior Mason. ¡°If we can¡¯t chop it down, burn it down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for people right away.¡±


    ¡°Lover¡¯s Forest needs to be chopped too?¡± Shao Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.


    Lover¡¯s Forest was a sparse grove on the southern outskirts of Revodan, so named because it was a common spot for lovers to meet in secret.


    ...


    ¡°Use the wood for building the city and the branches for fire,¡± Winters tapped the map gently. ¡°In any case, we can¡¯t leave it for the people of Terdun. Mr. Shao, Forging Village also needs to evacuate immediately.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Shao Yi nodded first and then hurriedly asked, ¡°Evacuate to where?¡±


    Winters revealed a hint of a smile and pointed to the ground beneath his feet, ¡°Just evacuate here, and move everything that can be moved to ¡®South City¡¯.¡±


    ¡°My lord,¡± old Mayor Priskin respectfully asked, ¡°the city walls that have been completed seem to be only two meters high?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just two meters high,¡± Winters answered.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too short,¡± old Priskin¡¯s face showed concern. ¡°If it¡¯s only two meters high, it seems it can be scaled over.¡±


    ¡°There are advantages to low walls. They are quick to build. The city we are constructing is too large. If we built tall walls, the Terdun people would have arrived before we finished.¡± Winters reassured the old gentleman, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have it under control.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    Having heard the Revodan magistrates say this, old Priskin did not say any more.


    Winters picked up a stick of graphite and marked three small stars on the map, pointing to them with a smile, ¡°According to my initial plan, not only do we need walls, but we also need to build three star-shaped fortresses outside the city, each covering one side of the walls. Only then could we be impregnable.¡±


    Senior Mason nodded in agreement, while old Priskin and Shao Yi were confused.


    Winters tossed the graphite aside with a sigh. ¡°However, we don¡¯t have the time, so all these are omitted. I hope the enemy leader is about the same level as last time. If so¡­ my confidence increases by a few more points.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve fought the chieftain of the barbarians who came this time?¡± Shao Yi perked up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve fought him.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Shao Yi asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Back then, I was only a Centurion, so the battle was not commanded by me.¡± Winters laughed heartily and patted Shao Yi on the shoulder, ¡°But in that battle¡ªour army won a great victory!¡±


    Shao Yi also laughed along. Seeing that battle was truly imminent, he didn¡¯t have much confidence, so he desperately sought any piece of good news, even the most trivial.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± Winters casually asked, ¡°how do the municipal committee members and the grain merchants feel? Are they content?¡±


    ¡°Dissatisfied,¡± old Priskin replied submissively, ¡°but given the current conditions, they can still accept it.¡±


    The most ingenious part of old Priskin¡¯s strategy of ¡°work-relief¡± was to clarify the property rights.


    The South City under construction was clearly also a part of Revodan, so it was only right for the city of Revodan to fund this project.


    The relief process became [Revodan incurred debt to buy grain from the army and grain merchants, then used it as compensation to give to the unemployed who came to work].


    The army and the grain merchants gave food in exchange for debt. As long as Revodan¡¯s city government didn¡¯t go bankrupt, the debt could be paid off slowly.


    The city government of Revodan owed a huge debt, but in exchange, they gained a new urban area. Doesn¡¯t seem like a loss, right?


    The unemployed poor got food for work, avoiding the phenomenon of a run that might have been caused by giving away or selling at a low price.


    All three parties took a bit of a loss, but also gained something, and in a way, it seemed to be a happy ending for all involved.


    Unable to help himself, Winters asked old Priskin, ¡°How did you come up with the idea of work-relief?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea.¡± Old Priskin bowed slightly, smiling as he asked, ¡°My lord, do you know how Revodan prospered?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the county capital, naturally it¡¯s prosperous.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Old Priskin gently shook his head. ¡°Revodan first prospered, and then it became the county capital. And the reason for Revodan¡¯s prosperity is the Revodan Cathedral.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters¡¯ curiosity was piqued.


    Old Priskin reminisced, ¡°When there were only a few dozen settlers here, the public church decided to build a large cathedral here as the bishop¡¯s cathedral for Iron Peak County.


    The cathedral took twelve years to build. During those twelve years, craftsmen and merchants from all over flocked here. By the time the cathedral was completed, Revodan had already transformed from an inconspicuous village into the most prosperous town in Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters listened intently, pondering, ¡°What you mean is¡­ a long-term, large-scale project can make a barren place prosper.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my feeling.¡± Old Priskin stroked his beard. ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve traveled far and wide. In many of the towns I¡¯ve seen, their centers are either a castle or a cathedral.


    Projects to build cathedrals or castles lasted for years or even decades. Craftsmen settled nearby, and merchants followed. A village might become a town because of it, a small town might become a bustling large town. It seems to me that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting.¡± Winters¡¯ eyes shone. He laughed and said, ¡°Your ideas are really interesting. After we drive off the Terdun people, let¡¯s have a good talk about this.¡±


    Old Priskin readily agreed.


    Seeing the conversation between the few men come to a break, Xial hurriedly handed the letter to Winters.


    ¡°Colonel Bod¡¯s letter.¡± Xial spoke softly.


    Winters opened the letter without changing his expression, swiftly reading through it.


    ¡°How does it look?¡± Senior Mason asked. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Priskin and Shao Yi did not know who Colonel Bod was, so they discreetly excused themselves.


    But Winters called out to old Priskin and Shao Yi, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the two of you to leave; this letter concerns you both as well.¡±


    Shao Yi looked puzzled, while old Priskin listened quietly.


    ¡°The bald colonel from Mont Blanc County agreed,¡± Winters laughed heartily. ¡°Take inventory of the goods we haven¡¯t had the chance to transport out; Mont Blanc County will trade grain and salt with us.¡±

 Chapter 748 03-25 - 748 54 Blazing Fire

    ?Chapter 748: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire Chapter 748: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire Fire.


    A fire that raged to the horizon.


    The monsoon cheered it on, turning the blaze into a line that swept towards the east, spreading beyond the field of vision in the blink of an eye.


    The wild beasts trapped within the firescape frantically scattered in all directions, while ground squirrels, driven by instinct, burrowed deeper into the ground.


    Billowing smoke surged straight into the sky. The haze, carried by the westerly wind, traveled dozens of kilometers to Iron Peak County.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini spat out the black ash from her mouth, her expression blank as she rode her horse across scorched earth ravaged by the fierce fire.


    The air was scorching, the remaining smoke choking; the horses were nervously snorting due to their restlessness, just like Andre¡¯s subordinates who were also coughing incessantly.


    ...


    Arson didn¡¯t require too many people; Andre divided his subordinates into five teams, each headed to different parts of the desolate areas.


    ¡°The flames are smaller over there,¡± Andre pointed towards a hillside in the northeast, ¡°go and patch it up.¡±


    Two cavalrymen saluted and galloped away.


    Fire outbreaks on the grasslands were not uncommon; a single lightning strike or a moment of negligence could invoke the wrath of the fire god.


    However, for the Herders, deliberately setting a fire to provoke the fury of the heavens was unprecedented and unheard of.


    Unlike the towering infernos of forest fires, grassland fires had low flames that seemed like a low wall from a distance.


    The tall vegetation of forests hindered the flow of wind, whereas the open expanses of the grasslands allowed the fierce winds to sweep the flames across the land unchecked.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Especially on windy days, the speed at which the flames spread was terrifying.


    Panicked animals either got caught up in the explosive front of the fire or collapsed while running.


    Andre¡¯s warhorse stepped on a stone, its charred outer layer scraped off by the hoof, revealing tender, dark red flesh inside.


    Andre focused on the ¡°stone,¡± recognizing it for what it was¡ªit should be a young antelope. The poor creature, born in spring, grown in the height of summer, had not even experienced its first winter before perishing in a sea of fire.


    Gently tugging the reins to steer clear of the young antelope¡¯s body, Andre looked around; the once thriving grassland was now a hellish landscape of death.


    The earth was charred as far as the eye could see, with only a few dark red embers flickering dimly, like the last breaths of the dying.


    The sound of hooves approached from afar; a squadron of cavalry was racing towards Andre.


    ¡°It¡¯s the command of Officer A,¡± a guard hurriedly reported to Andre.


    Tang Juan, leading his squadron, sped all the way to Andre¡¯s side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Juan, with his carefree attitude, said to his junior, ¡°The barbarians are already heading this way.¡±


    Clutching the reins, Andre¡¯s face revealed no emotion; after a long silence, he slowly spoke, ¡°Not enough.¡±


    ¡°Not enough?¡± Tang Juan, puzzled, asked, ¡°What¡¯s not enough?¡±


    ¡°The burning¡ªit¡¯s not enough.¡±


    Tang Juan was first stunned, then burst into laughter, eventually roaring with laughter, ¡°At least several hundred thousand hectares of pasture have been burned, and that¡¯s not enough? The grasslands are vast, how could it all possibly burn to ash? It¡¯s enough already.¡±


    Finished speaking, Tang Juan called out to the Iron Peak County cavalry, ¡°Ahead is the fire, behind us the enemy. Let¡¯s head north, bypass the fire, and go through Vernge County back to Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°Affirmative!¡± replied the cavalry in unison.


    Iron Peak County was upstream, while Vernge County was downstream. The further downstream one went, the larger the water volume of the [Big Horn River-Glory River] became, making it more difficult to cross.


    Therefore, Winters arranged for the squadrons to focus on burning the upstream areas¡ªthat is, the pastures at the border between Upper Iron Peak County and Middle Iron Peak County.


    The cavalry squadron from Iron Peak County was limited in manpower; they could not afford to attend to Upper Iron Peak County and the even further north territories.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Tang Juan, tugging at Andre¡¯s sleeve, said, ¡°Have you become addicted to the burning or what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± Andre said, his gaze icy, ¡°The fire is good, but the wind direction is wrong.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tang Juan let go of him.


    Andre pointed towards the smoke on the fire with his riding crop, ¡°The summer wind blows west, the winter wind east. And we are to the east, with the Herders to the west. Burning like this, we can only burn the pasture, reach Iron Peak County, but not the Herders.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Tang Juan smirked, ¡°Can¡¯t exactly ask the Lord to bless us and change the direction of the wind, can we?¡±


    ¡°Senior,¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°To burn towards the Herders, we need to go even further west of the Herders¡¯ land,¡± Andre¡¯s expression was very calm, ¡°Give me all of your squadron¡¯s warhorses.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Tang Juan¡¯s face hardened, ¡°Have you gone mad?¡±


    Andre didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°West?¡± Tang Juan pointed sharply, demanding, ¡°The barbarians are sweeping in like a net, Herder scouts are everywhere, how will you get through?¡±


    Andre didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Even if you could break through that net, further west is still the domain of the barbarians,¡± Tang Juan, seizing Andre¡¯s collar, pressed, ¡°Without a guide, and language barriers, with enemies all around, how will you survive?¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre remained silent.


    ¡°No rear support, no reinforcement, not even a plan!¡± Tang Juan chastised loudly, ¡°What kind of foolhardy battle strategy is this? One wrong step and the entire army could be annihilated! Reckless, stupid, utterly clueless!¡±


    Casually, Andre asked, ¡°So are you coming with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡±


    ¡­


    The thick smoke from the burning grasslands drifted dozens of kilometers away, shrouding Shovel Port in haze as well.


    Mayor Botar of Shovel Port Town coughed as he walked into the church, complaining loudly, ¡°Damn it! What is this godawful weather? Where exactly did the fire start?¡±


    Mr. Alpha was sitting in a seat in front of the altar, engrossed in reading a notice.


    Hearing Botar¡¯s crude language, Mr. Alpha, without looking up, pointed to the holy symbol, ¡°Watch your language, Mr. Botar.¡±

 Chapter 749 03-25 - 749 54 Blazing Fire_2

    ?Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Mayor Botar hastily made a polite gesture.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Mayor Botar asked with a sycophantic smile.


    ¡°This?¡± Mr. Alpha lifted the notice in his hand, ¡°The ¡®Hostage Preparation Guide,¡¯ Revodan sent it over this morning.¡±


    The severed heads of the Terdun people were distributed to various villages and towns for display, along with the ¡®Communication Bulletin¡¯ and the ¡®Hostage Preparation Guide.¡¯


    Because Shovel Port received a greater number of severed heads, there was no need for ¡®head delivery¡¯; only bulletins and guides were distributed.


    In the special edition of the ¡®Communication Bulletin,¡¯ the Rebels fervently trumpeted their victory at Shovel Port to all the villages and towns in Iron Peak County and even the neighboring counties.


    However, in the bulletin, the author deliberately blurred the lines between the ¡°Shovel Port Government¡± and ¡°Iron Peak County Government¡± ¡­ That¡¯s probably the advantage of having control over the narrative.


    ¡°We fight to the death, and the Rebels take the opportunity to claim credit,¡± Botar cursed loudly, ¡°It¡¯s damn infuriating!¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly claiming credit. Didn¡¯t they also praise the people of Shovel Port?¡± Mr. Alpha gently tapped on the paper, ¡°But this Hostage Preparation Guide is rather interesting.¡±


    ¡°Interesting?¡± Mayor Botar was a bit confused.


    Mr. Alpha took out several previous bulletins and said with a smile, ¡°Although I¡¯m not certain who the scribe is, their skill at creating catchy rhymes is getting better and better.¡±


    Mayor Botar was even more perplexed.


    ¡°[Hide your grain, prepare your gun; when Barbarians come, do not run]; [Avoid them, outmaneuver them, but do not engage in a head-on clash]; [If few Barbarians, encircle them; if many, hide from them] ¡­¡± Mr. Alpha¡¯s smile was nearly impossible to conceal, ¡°Actually, these are tactics from the ¡®Forest Beggars¡¯ during the sovereignty wars, turned into catchy rhymes.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Botar replied, half comprehending.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Botar knew about ¡°Forest Beggars¡± and ¡°tactics,¡± but when these two terms were put together, he was oblivious.


    Yet, he understood the content of the guide immediately; it was nothing more than instructing the farmers to hide their grain and finances well and to flee into the forests when the Herd Barbarians came.


    ¡°Distribute it,¡± Mr. Alpha handed the guide to Botar, ¡°Post it in all the villages.¡±


    ¡°Distribute it? Not intercept it?¡± Botar was shocked.


    Prior notices sent by Revodan were all intercepted and not distributed in Shovel Port unless the Cavalry themselves delivered them to each village or town.


    ¡°No need to intercept this guide,¡± Alpha said with a mild smile, ¡°I could never write something like this.¡±


    ¡­


    The raging wildfire caused panic throughout the Terdun Tribe.


    When the fire had just begun to spread, the people of Terdun, fifty kilometers away, noticed the signs ¡ª the Great Wilderness was flat terrain, and the billowing smoke could not be hidden.


    The firemasters hastily convened all the Kota in the large tent for a meeting.


    The marching style of the Terdun Tribe resembled migration; depending on the number of horses under their command, each Kota occupied an area several kilometers to tens of kilometers in width.


    At this moment, the entire Terdun Tribe lay sprawled out like a long snake over a grassland stretching more than two hundred kilometers.


    As a result, only a few leaders managed to arrive at the large tent in time, mostly the blood relatives and direct followers of the firemasters.


    ¡°Vile! Such a vile heart!¡± The firemaster¡¯s uncle roared as he entered the tent, ¡°Do those bipeds not fear that the fire will consume them too?¡±


    For the Herders, arson was tantamount to cutting off the lifeline of all creatures, a crime as grave as quartering. The soil of the grasslands was inherently thin; once it burned and the winds blew, it would diminish even further.


    The firemaster sat on the ground with a stony face, silent.


    ¡°Tie Chi, what¡¯s the use of saying this now?¡± The old Translator rebuked the firemaster¡¯s uncle, ¡°Sit down first, let¡¯s come to a reasonable decision.¡± S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tie Chi¡ªthe firemaster¡¯s uncle¡ªheld some respect for the old Translator and, upon hearing this, no longer said anything, taking a seat grumpily.


    Seeing that most were present, the firemaster spoke with an ashen face, ¡°In this tent, if you¡¯re not my kin, you¡¯re my companions. You all are my whips, shadows, and arrows. Speak your mind directly; there¡¯s no need to mince words.¡±


    ¡°What else is there to say?¡± Tie Chi bellowed with irrepressible anger, ¡°The grasslands are scorched bare, what good is it to dawdle in our retreat? We either retreat, detour, or charge straight through!¡±


    The other leaders in the tent murmured their agreement.


    Without access to flour or gunpowder, the vitality of the horses was the most precious military resource for the Herders.


    Even more valuable than cattle and sheep, a horse in poor condition could lose nearly a hundred pounds in as little as a week, a frighteningly swift decline.


    To save the horses¡¯ fat, the firemaster carefully controlled the marching speed to ensure that the horses could continue to eat as they travelled.


    The firemaster even went as far as to prohibit the milking of mares¡ªsince milking too could lead to a horse losing condition.


    Without horse milk as a source of food, the Terdun people were forced to drive out thousands of ewes from the winter pastures to follow the raiding troops. Moving with a flock also slowed down the pace of the Terdun Tribe.


    And ewes were also precious livestock; inevitable losses would occur during a long and arduous journey. By taking the ewes out, the firemaster had no intention of bringing them back.


    With thousands fewer ewes, the Terdun Tribe would be short tens of thousands of lambs in the coming years.


    In other words, the cost of raiding at the end of November was far higher than that of raiding in mid-September.


    The firemaster, and indeed the whole Terdun Tribe, were gambling heavily.


    ¡°Retreat, detour, charge,¡± the old Translator raised his voice, ¡°Tie Chi is right, these are the only three options we have!¡±


    The Translator turned the conversation, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about detouring first. Where can we detour to?¡±

 Chapter 750 03-25 - 750 54 Blazing Fire_3

    ?Chapter 750: Chapter 54 Blazing Fire_3 Chapter 750: Chapter 54 Blazing Fire_3 ¡°Circle upriver or downriver.¡± Tie Chi answered without a moment¡¯s hesitation, ¡°Where else can we circle?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve scouted ahead.¡± The old Translator said in a deep voice, ¡°The fire is huge, circling upriver means heading into the mountains!¡±


    ¡°Then we circle downriver.¡±


    ¡°Downriver is marked for other chiefs¡¯ routes.¡±


    Tie Chi grunted, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say, ¡®We can¡¯t circle,¡¯ and be done with it?¡±


    The arsonists had a pre-agreed ¡°marching route¡± that was not merely a route, but also a ¡°plundering range.¡±


    Upriver was obviously easier to cross than downriver, which is why the arsonists had been somewhat self-serving in allocating the marching routes.


    ...


    The arsonists allocated the upriver route to [Bao Wuer]¡ªnamely, their kin, the lineal descendants¡ª;


    And allocated the downriver marching route to [Ah Heita]¡ªnamely, those minor chiefs who were originally independent but forced or willingly attached to the Terdon Tribe¡ª.


    Paratu People set a massive fire in the upriver grasslands, squarely blocking the arsonists and their cronies¡¯ route.


    ¡°Circling won¡¯t do.¡± The old Translator flatly opposed, ¡°We don¡¯t know how long this fire will last, once we detour it might be hundreds of kilometers. Not to mention the delay; what would the Ah Heitas think?¡± S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Heck!¡± Tie Chi threw a fierce punch at his thigh, spewing saliva clear across the tent as he cursed, ¡°How did these bipeds learn our movements? Who¡¯s the rotten meat that crows wouldn¡¯t touch that leaked the information? Find this gut-rotten traitor! Shoot him with a thousand arrows!¡±


    The arsonists clenched their fists, and everyone in the tent shivered with fright.


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss these things later.¡± Seeing the situation, the old Translator immediately spoke to ease the atmosphere, ¡°In any case, the rebels from Newly Reclaimed Land have gotten wind that we¡¯re coming to plunder. However they found out, they know now.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    We are like wolves lying in the grass, discovered by the gazelles before even getting close. The gazelles are about to run, and the wolves only have two choices: either save their energy and watch the gazelles escape, or chase after them and take a gamble. Let¡¯s discuss and decide how to choose.¡±


    The arsonists¡¯ face was ashen, and the others¡ªwhether his own cousins or cronies¡ªdared not speak.


    In the end, it was Tie Chi, the uncle who had supported the arsonist in acquiring the ¡°khan position,¡± who spoke first.


    Tie Chi looked at his nephew, and said bluntly, ¡°Enough, arsonist. If the bipeds to our east know we¡¯re coming, then those in other places surely know as well. A wolf spotted far away by the gazelles shouldn¡¯t waste any more energy chasing them.


    Our losses aren¡¯t too severe; just a few horses and some sheep dead. There¡¯s still time to return to the winter pastures. Let the Ah Heitas go if they wish; we should head back now!¡±


    The other Kotas in the tent murmured agreement.


    While the arsonist might need a great plunder to reestablish his prestige, the other Kotas did not.


    Compared to the elusive spoils of war, the Kotas cared more about their own horses tired to death, their sheep eaten¡ªeven if they were the arsonist¡¯s blood relations and attendants.


    The arsonist gazed down at his fists, silent.


    ¡°Arsonist, what does your silence mean?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s temper flared uncontrollably as he shouted, ¡°If you won¡¯t speak, then we¡¯ll decide by casting beans!¡±


    The atmosphere in the tent plummeted.


    The arsonist raised his head and spoke coldly, ¡°Any of you who wants to decide by casting beans, stand up.¡±


    Naturally, no one dared to stand, including Tie Chi who continued sitting.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already had one decision by casting beans; there¡¯s no need for a second. My mind is made up, cross the scorched earth straight to the bipeds¡¯ territory.¡± The arsonist drew an arrow and held it above his head, snapping it with a fierce movement, ¡°Whoever dares to undermine the morale of our forces, meet the fate of this arrow!¡±


    Tie Chi grunted angrily, turned his head away from the arsonist, and said no more.


    The others in the tent lowered their heads in submission as well.


    ¡°The Kotas needn¡¯t worry.¡± The old Translator smiled and said, ¡°The rebels have only set fire to a few dozen kilometers of grassland; we can cross it in a few strides. Once we cross the river and reach the rebels¡¯ lands, there will surely be plenty to eat and drink. The rebels can set fire to the grasslands where nobody lives, but could they also burn their own land?¡±


    This reassured everyone in the tent somewhat, and all the Bao Wuer rallied, patting their left chests in agreement.


    Meanwhile, in the first military farming village of Forge Village, Iron Peak County.


    Peter Buniel, nicknamed ¡°Dwarf Peter,¡± was held down by four or five soldiers as he cried hysterically, ¡°That¡¯s my house, don¡¯t burn it! Ah! Don¡¯t burn! Please! Have mercy! Ah¡­¡±


    Captain Thomas watched the grass shed before him and, gritting his teeth, ordered, ¡°Burn! The council has decreed it; burn it all down!¡±


    Dwarf Peter¡¯s cries were heartbreakingly shrill, and no one had the heart to do it.


    Thomas snatched a torch and personally ignited Dwarf Peter¡¯s ramshackle wooden house.


    The flames swirled up from the walls to the roof, eventually engulfing the entire shack as Dwarf Peter¡¯s wails became inhuman.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Thomas lifted the torch, ¡°Next, we burn my house!¡±

 Chapter 751 03-25 - 751 55 Confrontation

    ?Chapter 751: Chapter 55: Confrontation Chapter 751: Chapter 55: Confrontation The sparse stars twinkled in the dawn¡¯s blue-gray sky, while a pale white mist swirled and spun over the Big Horn River.


    Without the presence of humans, all this was but a typical early winter morning.


    But beneath the tranquil scene lurked deadly intentions. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Boat.¡±


    ¡°Boat.¡±


    Sounds like the slap of a fish tail against the water echoed across the river¡¯s surface.


    Shortly, the silhouette of a sheepskin raft emerged from the thick fog, then a second, and a third¡­


    ...


    These sheepskin rafts were small, each capable of carrying only five or six people.


    Among the five or six, two were sweating profusely as they paddled. The others, armed with horn bows, knelt still, daring not to move their lower bodies as they looked around.


    Fear, excitement, and greed mingled on each person¡¯s face and in their eyes.


    Without signal fires, battle cries, nor arrows and bullets, eight sheepskin rafts crossed the Big Horn River without any resistance, smoothly making their way into Iron Peak County, within the boundaries of Wolfton.


    ¡°Sweetwater! We¡¯ve made it!¡± A young Herder named Stone Arrow could hardly contain his delight as he whispered to another young Herder, ¡°The Two-Legs haven¡¯t spotted us!¡±


    The young Herder known as Sweetwater, with a scar across his nose, hissed at the speaker to ¡°shut up!¡±


    The former immediately fell silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    Sweetwater moved closer to another elder Herder and whispered his order, ¡°Old Baldtail! Count the men. Sound the horn, and signal for the rest to come over.¡±


    The elder Herder named Old Baldtail, with deep wrinkles etched on his face, nodded. He took out a deer bone flute and gently blew into it at his lips.


    ¡°Wooo¡­ Wooo¡­¡±


    The sound of Old Baldtail¡¯s playing was like the call of a deer¡ªnot very loud, but incredibly piercing.


    Across the river, another young Herder named Green Horse waited anxiously.


    Suddenly, Green Horse heard the sound of a deer call coming from behind the dense fog, signaling that Sweetwater and the others had successfully crossed the river.


    ¡°Drive the horses into the water!¡± Green Horse ran and shouted, ordering slaves and subjects, ¡°Drive the horses into the water!¡±


    The horses began to move, their slow, small steps building up to a thunderous noise.


    ¡°Hurry up! Hurry up!¡± Green Horse lashed out with the sheath of his knife at the sluggish slaves and subjects, his mean, narrow eyes revealing a fierce light, ¡°Don¡¯t let the horses drink! Keep them moving! They¡¯re not made of salt; they won¡¯t dissolve! Move! You sneaky lazybones!¡±


    The chill of the early winter river water pierced to the marrow, and the horses huddled together, reluctantly stepping into the icy currents.


    The Herders shouted, waving their long whips to herd the horse crowd.


    The leader of the horse herd¡ªa large, light chestnut horse with a white stripe down its nose¡ªtook the lead and began to swim.


    This wasn¡¯t the horse leader¡¯s first swim.


    The river¡¯s waters battered its robust body, and the horse leader struggled to breathe, its chest swelled larger than usual, its body floated on the water, with its neck and back emerging above the surface.


    The rest of the horses followed their leader, parting the water and slowly stepping forward until their hooves no longer touched the riverbed, and then they began to paddle and tread.


    About a dozen Herders rode on three sheepskin rafts following behind the horse troop. Each man carried a lasso pole and rope, ready for any emergency.


    But an accident still happened; an old horse with a white forehead ran out of strength and suddenly lost balance while swimming.


    The uncontrolled body of the old white-foreheaded horse turned sideways, and it drifted away from the herd, caught by the river and carried downstream.


    The Herders on the raft hurriedly threw out lassos, but the incident unfolded too quickly; the old horse had already disappeared into the fog in an instant.


    Green Horse, livid with rage, his eyes aflame with fury, shouted, ¡°Blind fools! Don¡¯t paddle forward! Have the herd angle against the current! Don¡¯t let the water sweep them away!¡±


    Not far downstream, the eight sheepskin rafts that had crossed the river earlier rowed back again. During the back and forth, it was inevitable that they drifted downstream by several hundred meters.


    The old white-foreheaded horse just happened to float past them, but it was no longer able to continue.


    The paddling Herders silently watched as the horse rose and fell in the gloomy waters.


    The first trip was for the people, the second for the horses, the third for the horse saddles, weapons, and armor, and the fourth and fifth also for people.


    After five exhausting trips, they had transported around a hundred riders and more than two hundred horses from the west bank of the Big Horn River to the East Bank.


    The leader of this hundred-man troop from the Terdon Tribe was ¡°Helge Grey,¡± meaning Sweetwater.


    The narrow-eyed Green Horse and another young man named Stone Arrow were Sweetwater¡¯s ¡°attendants¡±¡ªthe full-time warriors of this small tribe.


    The rest were Sweetwater¡¯s subjects and slaves, like the old slave Old Baldtail, who had been given to Sweetwater by his grandfather when Sweetwater was still too young to walk.


    By lineage, Sweetwater was of notable heritage. He was the son of his fire-maker¡¯s granduncle¡¯s grandson, his fire-maker¡¯s first cousin once removed.


    But in terms of strength, Sweetwater had only a little over a hundred riders and more than two hundred horses cobbled together, with old and young among his followers, making his combat force rather meager.


    For the Herders, being the vanguard was a great honor, with the custom of receiving a larger share of the spoils. Therefore, by all logic, Sweetwater should not have been the one to lead the charge.


    But who made Sweetwater the fire-maker¡¯s kin?


    The fire-maker took care of his property-less nephew, allowing Sweetwater to become one of the vanguards and arranging his marching route up the Big Horn River.


    The day after the night battle at Shovel Port, Sweetwater quietly arrived at the border of the lower Iron Peak County with his hundred-man troop.


    Crossing from upstream of the Big Horn River was much easier than from downstream of Shovel Lake.


    Sweetwater first found a place with gentler water flow, then promptly prepared animal hide bags and rafts overnight and, the next morning, took advantage of the thick fog to successfully force his way across the Border River.

 Chapter 752 03-25 - 752 55 Confrontation_2

    ?Chapter 752: Chapter 55: Confrontation_2 Chapter 752: Chapter 55: Confrontation_2 Ganquan was the first of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s ¡°Turu Koda¡± to lead an organized crossing of the Border River¡ªhe just didn¡¯t know it yet.


    [Note: Turu Koda is roughly equivalent to a Centurion.]


    Compared to the failed ambush downstream of Shovel Lake, the process of crossing the river was surprisingly smooth; the Paratu People didn¡¯t even raise any alarms.


    After the initial ecstasy, deep confusion followed.


    Ganquan, Green Horse, Stone Arrow, and the old slave Bald Tail had to decide their next move.


    ¡°Is there a need to think about it?¡± Green Horse said impatiently, ¡°The Fire Roaster has ordered us to plunder villages, to disperse the bipeds¡¯ forces. Just saddle the horses and string the bows, and kill any biped in sight, right?¡±


    Bald Tail¡¯s hoarse voice countered, ¡°Green Horse, do you know where the villages of the bipeds are? Do you know where their army camps are? Could we run head-first into them?¡±


    Green Horse was left speechless. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The Paratu People had suppressed the various Herder tribes for thirty years; the Herders were completely in the dark about the internal situation of the Paratu.


    During these thirty years, the only way the Herders learned about the Paratu was through intelligence gathered by smuggling caravans.


    However, most smuggling caravans had backgrounds of Paratu nobility, and the information they provided was a mix of truth and lies.


    Ganquan only knew that they were in the most remote ¡°grassland¡± owned by the bipeds; as for how many people, villages, and towns there were on the grassland, he had no idea.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry so much! If you¡¯re afraid of wolf bites, do you stop building enclosures?¡± Ganquan licked his teeth, with a fierce gleam in his eyes, ¡°We are the vanguard. The Fire Roaster ordered us to make a grand scene. Send someone to inform the Fire Roaster that we have crossed the river. Let¡¯s spread out and find the camps of the bipeds first.¡±


    Seeing Nayen give the orders, Bald Tail didn¡¯t say anything more.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    While Ganquan sent someone with a message for the Fire Roaster, he ordered his men to conceal the goatskin rafts and led over a hundred cavalrymen rushing towards the inhabited areas.


    Once the battlefield expands to hundreds of kilometers in length and width, the ability of individual units to make independent decisions becomes crucial.


    And this is precisely the Herders¡¯ strength.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, as Ganquan was crossing the Big Horn River upstream unharmed and entering Iron Peak County,


    Another Terdon Nayen, ¡°Taltai [Fatso],¡± was also crossing the Big Horn River downstream, entering the Middle Iron Peak County.


    Taltai, a relative of the Fire Roaster¡¯s legitimate wife, was supposed to cross the river downstream of the Big Horn River and upstream of Shovel Port, according to his route.


    In the common language, what is called a ¡°route,¡± the Herders refer to as ¡°Zasahak.¡± In the Herder language, Zasahak also means ¡°military orders,¡± ¡°law,¡± and ¡°command.¡±


    From this, it is clear that for the Herders, the concepts of [route] and [military orders] are one and the same; adherence to the route and punctuality are among the most important concepts in Herder military actions.


    Once the great chieftain sets a route, all the lesser chieftains must strictly follow that route.


    Deviating from the route without permission is severely punished, and so is failing to arrive on time.


    This military custom stems from the Herders¡¯ tradition of surround hunting. During the hunt, any small unit deviating from the route could cause the prey to break out of the encirclement.


    Therefore, during hunts that last a month or even three months, each unit must strictly follow their assigned route.


    The Herders hunt this way, and they wage war in the same fashion.


    The Fire Roaster assigned crossing areas to his forward officers, so the Kotas were to cross in their designated areas because other areas were other Kotas¡¯ ¡°routes.¡±


    Lacking the engineering capabilities of the Paratu Standing Army to fell trees for bridges, the Herders even had few people skilled in constructing Floating Bridges.


    Thus, Fatso Taltai¡¯s method of crossing the river was very similar to that of Ganquan: first, a small team of archers took advantage of the thick fog to reach the East Bank, seizing a ¡°landing area.¡±


    Then the goatskin rafts returned to the West Bank to carry more people across.


    The only difference was that Fatso Taltai was more cautious, more experienced, and commanded a larger force.


    This time, Fatso Taltai had brought out three hundred-man squads, each man handpicked and in his prime.


    For the first crossing, Fatso Taltai set up two leather ropes across both banks of the Big Horn River.


    Using the ropes firmly anchored to both banks, the goatskin rafts could pull them across the river without being swept downstream.


    The first crossing took a bit of time, but the second went quickly.


    As the sun rose and the mists gradually dispersed, the goatskin rafts had already made two round trips.


    His personal slave ¡°Chat Han [White]¡± respectfully reported to Taltai, ¡°Nayen, there are already over a hundred young men on the opposite bank.¡±


    Taltai was so named for his stoutness, which wasn¡¯t seen as a compliment. He detested being called ¡°Fatso¡± the most, so his companions, subjects, and slaves always referred to him as ¡°Nayen [Chief]¡± to his face.


    ¡°Have the scouts been sent out?¡±


    ¡°They have.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Taltai ordered, stroking his soft whip, ¡°Send the horses over then.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye.¡± Chat Han bowed and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t send them yet!¡± Fatso Taltai narrowed his eyes, which nearly disappeared into slits, ¡°First send ten horses over. Launch a light cavalry to scout further afield.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye.¡±


    So ten horses were sent over, causing some further delay.


    The Terdon people on the East Bank did not have time to saddle the horses; they rode off bareback as swiftly as possible.


    Before the sounds of horse hooves could fade into the distance, a chilling war cry suddenly erupted from the thinning mists: ¡°[Common language] Draw your swords!¡±

 Chapter 753 03-25 - 753 55 Confrontation_3

    ?Chapter 753: Chapter 55 Confrontation_3 Chapter 753: Chapter 55 Confrontation_3 ¡°`


    It seemed as if hundreds or thousands of men were roaring at once, ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an ambush! Idiots! The sentry is dead!¡± Fat Taltai cursed nonstop, ¡°Pull the men back!¡±


    But it was too late. Two muffled booms sounded from across the river, and the piercing bugle calls cut through the thin mist, echoing along both banks of the Big Horn River.


    Captain Thomas sprang out of the field path, holding a pig-hunting spear and charging at the very front.


    To Thomas¡¯s surprise, someone was even ahead of him: a short figure holding a pig-hunting spear horizontally charged into the mist, howling.


    Ever since that ramshackle shack was burned down, Dwarf Peter hadn¡¯t said a word. He didn¡¯t cry or laugh, would eat when given food, drink when given drink, living like a walking corpse.


    Even as Captain Thomas repeatedly assured him, promising to help him rebuild his house after they defeated the Herd Barbarians, it failed to spark any light in Dwarf Peter¡¯s eyes.


    ...


    However, at this very moment, Dwarf Peter was howling and charging toward the riverbank like a madman, which shocked his comrades.


    When the shack with a big hole in its roof and leaking walls was burned down, a piece of Peter Buniel¡¯s heart turned hollow as well.


    But now, that missing part was filled with hatred and rage.


    Peter Buniel didn¡¯t dare to hate the ¡°Blood Wolf¡± who had given him his surname, nor did he want to hate the company commander who treated him like a brother. He could only hate the Herd Barbarians. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The damned Herd Barbarians!


    The cursed Herd Barbarians!


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Why did you have to come here?


    I¡¯ll kill you all!


    The hundred or so Terdun people crossing the river huddled together, backs against the water; the mist hadn¡¯t yet lifted, and they could only hear the sound of war cries coming from all directions.


    ¡°Spread out! Don¡¯t bunch up!¡± a red-plumed Hong Lingyu junior leader yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Spread out!¡±


    Apart from Hong Lingyu, not a single person from the East Bank of Terdun was wearing armor¡ªwearing armor on a boat meant sinking if you fell overboard, and their only weapons were horn bows and curved blades.


    Each person was eager to press toward the shore, into the safety of the crowd, leaving no room to even draw a bow.


    Hong Lingyu became fierce, pulling his subordinates out of the crowd one by one, ¡°Spread out and notch your arrows!¡±


    The cries of battle drew nearer and nearer; some Terdun people couldn¡¯t bear the psychological pressure, loosened their bowstrings, and shot arrows into the pale mist.


    The arrows were swallowed by the white fog, and it was unknown whether they hit anyone.


    Other Terdun people followed suit, shooting wherever they heard noise.


    The people on the other bank were frantically paddling, dragging the leather rafts across the river.


    Hong Lingyu watched anxiously.


    The Herders generally believed that a bowman¡¯s first twelve arrows were his ¡°best,¡± and after that, the archer¡¯s strength would gradually wane, thus affecting accuracy, power, and the speed of shooting.


    However, due to the psychological pressure, the Terdun people had already wasted their ¡°best arrows¡± shooting at the mist.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Hong Lingyu, frustrated and angry, lashed at his subordinates with his whip, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot until you see two-legged men! Shoot only when you see them!¡±


    Suddenly, a great force came from behind, and amid his subordinates¡¯ exclamations of alarm, Hong Lingyu, who was standing at the forefront of the crowd, was violently knocked down by a short Paratu soldier charging out of the white mist.


    The pig-hunting spear couldn¡¯t penetrate the breastplate; Hong Lingyu¡¯s ribs were crushed by sheer brute force, and he fell flat to the ground.


    Hong Lingyu struggled to get up, but the small Paratu man, like a madman, kept pounding down on Hong Lingyu¡¯s back, as if he was executing a hated enemy.


    The stunned Terdun people had never seen such ferocity, not even amongst the Herders.


    ¡°Shoot him! Ah!¡± Hong Lingyu spat blood from the beating over his armor and even heard the crisp sound of his spine breaking, ¡°Shoot him!¡±


    The Terdun archers finally came to their senses and shakily drew their bows and notched arrows.


    ¡°Die!¡± Another tall Paratu man leapt out from behind the white mist, lunging at the Terdun people without hesitation.


    The large Paratu man¡¯s pig-hunting spear aimed straight for the throat of the Terdun man in front of him, only pausing slightly as it reached the windpipe before piercing through to the spine.


    The Terdun man screamed, clutching the spear shaft.


    The tall Paratu man tried to pull back his pig-hunting spear, but the Terdun man refused to let go.


    If he had been a new soldier, he might have foolishly played tug-of-war with the Terdun man at this moment.


    ¡°`


    But the tall Paratu soldier was Captain Thomas, and seeing the spear shaft seized, he made a snap decision to let go of the spear and draw his sword without paying any more attention to the barbarian with the long spear in his throat, swinging his blade at others.


    The event happened in an instant, with more and more Iron Peak County Soldiers emerging from the white fog.


    Upon seeing the hundreds of Terdun people on the riverbank, the soldiers of the first company mostly froze in shock before crying out and rushing towards the enemy.


    Both sides commenced a chaotic fight within the thin mist, those in leather coats were Herders, those in cloth were Paratu People, with each face twisted in ferocity, and jaws clenched tight.


    The already crazed Dwarf Peter kept fiercely smashing Blood Wolf with blow after blow, even though the tip of his boar spear had snapped off, he continued to use the broken spear to smash.


    Blood Wolf screamed incessantly, continually scratching at the ground trying to rise, but his lower body wouldn¡¯t respond anymore.


    A strong wind howled in, dispersing the thin mist in an instant.


    With the fog that obscured their view now gone, the plump Taltai on the opposite shore immediately commanded his troops to loose arrows.


    Arrows poured down onto the East Bank like hail, flying indiscriminately at those engaged in the fierce battle.


    It was at this moment that Bart Xialing arrived at the battlefield with the second company.


    Upon surveying the situation at the shore, Bart Xialing cursed in dismay.


    The Herd Barbarians had no way to retreat, and the first company was in high spirits, both sides at the bank had already seen red in the heat of battle.


    And the barbarians across the river were clearly not planning to rescue their comrades but to kill as many Paratu People as possible.


    ¡°Company commander, should we go in?¡± the sergeant, ¡°Nine Fingers,¡± asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.


    ¡°Go in my ass!¡± Bart Xialing roared, ¡°Sound the retreat!¡±


    ¡°Retreat?¡±


    ¡°Just blow the damn signal!¡±


    The melody of retreat began to sound.


    Captain Thomas, although confused, still bellowed the command to the surrounding soldiers, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    ¡°Retreat!¡± echoed the NCO of the first company, repeating the command and pulling the bloodthirsty soldiers next to him away from the battlefield.


    As Thomas passed by Peter Buniel, he noticed the latter still furiously pounding the back of a Blood Wolf.


    The Blood Wolf was barely clinging to life, astonishingly not yet dead.


    Thomas kicked Dwarf Peter aside, lifted the armor flap behind Blood Wolf¡¯s neck, and mercifully ended the suffering of the dying Blood Wolf.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Thomas said sternly, pulling the distraught Dwarf Peter back toward the starting position of the attack.


    The Terdun people on the East Bank fought solely on their will, becoming bewildered when they suddenly lost their enemy.


    ¡°Herde Language rafts!¡± exclaimed one Terdun man, dropping his weapon, shouting with joy, ¡°Herde Language rafts are coming!¡±


    This cry sounded like a starting gun, and the surviving Terdun people scrambled towards the sheepskin rafts that had not yet reached the shore.


    ¡°Herde Language don¡¯t leave me here!¡± cried out a severely wounded Terdun man, beseeching miserably, ¡°Herde Language don¡¯t leave me here!¡±


    But no one paid any attention, and those who were still alive in the desperate situation became utterly selfish.


    ¡°Herde Language It¡¯s over!¡± The incensed plump Taltai threw his riding whip into the river viciously.


    ¡°Herde Language Surrender for mercy!¡± shouted the soldiers of the second company in broken Herde language, forming a loose line as they advanced towards the shore, ¡°Herde Language Surrender for mercy!¡±


    Bart Xialing wasn¡¯t leading at the very front; he remained on the higher ground of the riverbank, frowning as he observed the situation on the battlefield.


    Sergeant ¡°Nine Fingers,¡± following Bart Xialing¡¯s orders, cut the connecting hide rope between the two banks immediately.


    The Terdun people¡¯s sheepskin rafts were carried downstream unexpectedly by the river.


    The Terdun people, having lost their will to resist, dropped their weapons and kneeled to surrender.


    Seeing that all was lost, the Terdun people on the opposite bank fired a few rounds of arrows symbolically, then ceased to waste any more.


    Several bodies floated on the water¡¯s surface, silently carried away by the river.


    The first direct confrontation of the two armies in Iron Peak County ended with a minor victory for the defenders.

 Chapter 754 03-25 - 754 56 Commendation

    ?Chapter 754: Chapter 56 Commendation Chapter 754: Chapter 56 Commendation The sentinel on the watchtower had seen a cavalry troop charging toward the main gate from afar. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The alarm bell rang, and the armed defenders hurriedly made their way to the battlements, while the civilians who were digging trenches outside the fortress swarmed toward the gates.


    This was a small fortress standing just outside of Niutigu Valley, no more than fifty meters in length and width.


    It was surrounded by two layers of earthen walls, with the main wall two meters higher than the inner one, which barely reached one meter, and there were only two gates, front and back.


    For a moment, the soldiers wanted to go out, and the civilians wanted to get in, causing a blockade at the gate that was impassable.


    ¡°Where did the Herders cross the river?¡± Captain Thomas, frazzled and desperate, climbed the battlements and bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t block the gate! Let our men out first!¡±


    The civilians were bent on seeking refuge inside the fortress and ignored him.


    ...


    Thomas stomped his foot hard, ¡°Make way! Let them come in first!¡±


    The soldiers stepped aside, and the crowd flowed into the fortress like a tide, packing the small enclosure to the brim.


    Thomas was anxious, but then he heard the sentinel on the watchtower shout, ¡°Captain! It¡¯s the military council banner of Montaigne, the Civilian Protector!¡±


    Thomas looked toward the approaching riders and saw a blood-red banner fluttering on the tip of a spear, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.


    The legion¡¯s company banners were blue with four quadrants, while the Herders used a green horse-tail banner.


    In all of Iron Peak County, only one person carried a blood-red banner¡ªbrought back from the Great Wilderness, it was a unique personal military flag.


    Thomas jumped down from the battlement and started to reassure the civilians. His forehead was still sweating when he heard a thunderous roar from outside the walls, ¡°What the hell is going on? Thomas! Bart Xialing! Get out here!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    When Winters arrived at Niutigu Valley, it was already midday, the day after the ambush.


    He was very unsatisfied with the condition of the Niutigu Valley fortress. From the time he heard the alarm bells to when he reached the outside of the fortress walls, there were still a large crowd of civilians congested at the gates, not yet accommodated inside.


    With people crammed at both front and back entrances, Thomas was at a loss until he finally climbed over the wall in an embarrassing exit.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bart Xialing?¡± Winters asked with a stern face as he approached Captain Thomas.


    Thomas answered swiftly, ¡°By the riverbank, second company is monitoring the barbarians¡¯ movement.¡±


    Winters pointed at the disordered fortress, his anger barely contained as he questioned, ¡°If I were a Herder, would you still be alive?¡±


    Thomas was at a loss for words.


    Without saying another word, Winters rode around the wall of the fortress.


    Thomas stood there, not knowing what to do, as Xial dismounted sympathetically and patted the captain on the back.


    Xial whispered to Thomas, ¡°The captain is here to commend you. He¡¯s happier about your victory than if he had won the battle himself.¡±


    ¡°Why did the Centurion come himself?¡± Thomas asked softly, ¡°What about Revodan?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Captain Mason is in charge there.¡±


    During their conversation, Winters had completed a circuit around the fortress and returned to the main gate.


    ¡°A hundred paces?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Thomas replied, saluting: ¡°It¡¯s a hundred paces wide and long.¡±


    ¡°Too small!¡± Winters dismounted and pointed out the issue bluntly, ¡°It¡¯s fine for housing two companies, but how could it accommodate all the nearby civilians? Didn¡¯t anyone consider the future when building this fortress?¡±


    Thomas stood there, crestfallen.


    Winters intended to scold him further, but then he remembered none of his captains had received complete military training.


    Constructing a standard military fortress with double walls and a trench was, in fact, an overachievement on their part, after observing, learning by themselves, and putting it all into practice.


    A few more words of reprimand, he feared, might destroy the self-confidence and dignity of these ¡°self-taught¡± commanders.


    ¡°You fought well in this battle.¡± Winters sighed inwardly as he produced a commendation, ¡°Have the fallen soldiers been gathered? Where are the wounded? I have brought Father Caman with me.¡±


    Thomas, with tears he could not hold back, received the commendation.


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ sudden arrival caused a bit of a commotion, but it settled down quickly.


    Thomas and Bard Xialing explained in detail the course of the ambush.


    ¡°We were planning to move after the warhorses were delivered.¡± Bard Xialing lamented, ¡°The barbarians on the opposite bank are cunning, only sending ten horses at a time. Our men were hiding under the riverbank, and they wouldn¡¯t have withstood a careful search.¡±


    Winters studied the map, using a compass to measure, ¡°How many horses do the Herders on the other side have?¡±


    ¡°At least five or six hundred.¡±


    ¡°Five or six hundred? That¡¯s extravagant!¡± Winters cast aside the compass, a trace of regret in his voice: ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t even muster a hundred horses right now.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Thomas asked, puzzled, ¡°Didn¡¯t we just get more than two hundred horses from Lieutenant Bard?¡±


    Just mentioning that gave Winters a headache, ¡°All taken by Lieutenant Chelini and Lieutenant A¡­ without even a word to me.¡±


    Amid complaints between Civilian Protectors, a humble captain dared not say much.


    Andre and Tang Juan, with more than a hundred cavalry and over five hundred horses, had left without looking back, heading west.


    Winters silently accepted the decisions of Andre and Senior Tang Juan. This was not his war alone; everyone had their own duties.


    Winters perked up and asked the two captains, ¡°How did you know the Herders would cross the river at Pangtuo Forest?¡±


    ¡°It was all the second captain¡¯s idea to arrange concealed sentries on the opposite bank,¡± Thomas swiftly replied, ¡°Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have won this battle.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Thomas and Bard Xialing were two captains Winters valued the most. The latter was flexible in thinking, always with unusual ideas; the former was generous and amiable, able to command respect.

 Chapter 755 03-25 - 755 56 Rewards_2

    ?Chapter 755: Chapter 56 Rewards_2 Chapter 755: Chapter 56 Rewards_2 All the company-level commanders under Winters were honed in blood and fire; they just lacked systematic learning.


    Winters drew a line on the map with a graphite stick, ¡°The eleventh and twelfth companies are on their way to Niutigu Valley to reinforce you.


    ¡°Four companies for Niutigu Valley?¡± Bart Xialing asked in surprise.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Winters circled Niutigu Valley on the map, ¡°Your current stronghold is too small. I suggest you build a fort directly around Niutigu Valley and completely enclose Niutigu Valley Town.¡±


    ¡°You just have to give the order,¡± Tamas said with a simple smile, ¡°What¡¯s there to suggest?¡±


    ¡°No, you are the frontline commanders. You need to make decisions based on the situation at hand, I can only offer suggestions,¡± Winters took out two appointment letters from his bosom, ¡°Four companies make a battalion. Starting now¡ªTamas, you are the acting battalion commander of the first battalion.¡±


    Tamas sprung out of his chair like a spring, his lips trembling, not knowing what to say.


    ...


    ¡°Bart Xialing,¡± Winters handed an appointment letter to the commander of the second company, ¡°Starting now, you are the acting deputy commander of the first battalion.¡±


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Tamas suddenly spoke, ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters raised his eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Let Bart be the commander¡­¡± Tamas hung his head, ¡°¡­I don¡¯t have the ability to lead a battalion.¡±


    Winters tossed the appointment letter on the table, crossed his arms and asked, ¡°Are you the military civil officer, or am I the military civil officer?¡±


    ¡°You are¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why the unnecessary words?¡± Winters flung the appointment letter at the commander of the first company, ¡°Whoever I say is in charge, is in charge. Bart Xialing, do you have a problem with that?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?0


    Bart Xialing hastily protested his innocence, ¡°Centurion, how could I possibly be unhappy? I didn¡¯t say a thing!¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t have a problem with it?¡± Winters looked at the commander of the first company, ¡°Mr. Tamas?¡±


    Tamas silently picked up the appointment letter and saluted.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you reinforcements and two more tasks,¡± Winters said while marking the map, ¡°First, evacuate the villages near Niutigu Valley, bury grain and valuables on the spot, gather all people, livestock, and carts in Niutigu Valley Town.¡±


    Tamas and Bart Xialing nodded continuously.


    ¡°Second, demolish the bridges between Niutigu Valley and Blackwater Town and set up beacon towers along the Panto River.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ are we abandoning Iron Peak County?¡± Bart Xialing asked gravely. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°As long as the Herders from Iron Peak County don¡¯t cross the Panto River,¡± Winters answered decisively, ¡°don¡¯t bother with them.¡±


    Tamas pointed at the map and asked, ¡°There¡¯s another bridge by Shizhen, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the third company to evacuate Shizhen, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Winters looked at his subordinates, his heart filled with an indescribable sentiment. He cautioned them, ¡°Revodan is nearly a hundred kilometers from Niutigu Valley, the outcome here will rest on your shoulders. The Herders are poor in engineering and their arms are not sharp; their only advantage lies in mobility. Maintain your resolution, and remember not to be led around by them.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tamas and Bart Xialing saluted solemnly.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t be so serious,¡± a hint of a smile appeared in Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I¡¯m here to commend you.¡±


    Thus, a simple commendation ceremony was held in the square of Niutigu Valley Town.


    Under the gaze of soldiers and civilians alike, a diminutive soldier named Peter Buniel was the first to receive the award.


    The new government was financially strapped, so the rewards were straightforward¡ªgranting more land.


    Because he bravely charged into enemy lines during battle and took down an enemy Hong Lingyu, Peter Buniel¡¯s land grant was increased from three hundred to six hundred mu (note: 40 hectares), simply doubled in a blunt manner.


    On hearing the words ¡°three hundred mu,¡± the onlooking farmers and townspeople were already whispering among themselves¡ªthree hundred mu was enough to make any common farmer envious.


    When ¡°six hundred mu¡± echoed across the square, the crowd gasped in unison, even louder than the magically amplified voice.


    Even Captain Thomas was taken aback when he first learned about the extent of the rewards. Although Dwarf Peter was one of his soldiers, Thomas still earnestly advised Winters to reconsider and exercise restraint.


    Winters countered this by telling Thomas a classic joke from the Land Academy, ¡°It¡¯s said that madman Richard once threatened Marshal Ned with ¡®a hundred thousand troops¡¯ to fight the Alliance. The old marshal replied evenly, claiming the Alliance could also muster a hundred thousand.¡±


    ¡°So madman Richard said, ¡®Then I¡¯ll send two hundred thousand troops,''¡± Winters smiled at Thomas, ¡°Guess what the old marshal replied?¡±


    ¡°The Alliance could also muster two hundred thousand troops?¡± Thomas ventured a guess.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, the Alliance can¡¯t mobilize two hundred thousand troops. The old marshal said¡­¡± Winters patted the commander of the first company on the shoulder, ¡°¡®then we¡¯ll just fire two shots each.''¡±


    Thomas pondered for a long time, then timidly asked, ¡°I don¡¯t understand Sir, could you explain further?¡±


    Winters sighed. Bart Xialing of the second company interjected, ¡°What the Centurion means is, if everyone could take down a Hong Lingyu, we would¡¯ve won the war a long time ago!¡±


    So is six hundred mu a lot? Of course, it¡¯s not much. But for the lonesome Peter Buniel, it could be said to be too much.


    Onlookers looked on in shock; other soldiers with feats of valor were elated, but only the diminutive Peter Buniel showed no hint of joy on his face.

 Chapter 756 03-25 - 756 56 Reward_3

    ?Chapter 756: 56 Chapter Reward_3 Chapter 756: 56 Chapter Reward_3 He numbly accepted the commendation, his movements like those of a marionette.


    Centurion Thomas was so angry he wanted to punch someone; he bit his teeth and scolded his subordinate, ¡°Short Peter, who are you frowning at? Thank the official, damn it!¡±


    Peter Buniel heard the company commander¡¯s words and stiffly saluted the military civil official.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, aren¡¯t you happy about getting the land?¡± Winters didn¡¯t get angry but appeared somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°No,¡± Short Peter shook his head.


    Winters raised his eyebrows, ¡°No what? Happy? Or not happy?¡±


    Short Peter was silent for a long time, then suddenly pleaded in a tearful voice, ¡°Lord Blood Wolf, you promised to help me rebuild my home, you must not go back on your word!¡±


    ...


    If it hadn¡¯t been in front of a crowd, Thomas would have kicked him hard long ago.


    The word ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ was a big taboo, all the old troops of Centurion Montagne knew it, and Thomas desperately prayed in his heart that the Centurion wouldn¡¯t be in a too bad mood today.


    Perhaps the prayers were answered, as Thomas heard Blood Wolf¡¯s loud laughter, ¡°I¡¯ll build you a better one!¡±


    Just as the stone in Thomas¡¯s heart fell, it was hoisted up violently again¡ªsince the small Peter Buniel stubbornly wiped his tears and said, ¡°No! I want the same old one!¡±


    Perhaps the Centurion really was in a good mood today, Thomas thought, as he saw Winters Montagne take out a notebook, write down a promissory note, and solemnly hand it to the soldier Peter Buniel, ¡°You¡¯ll get the same house built, let¡¯s shake on it as a promise.¡±


    ¡­


    While the commendation ceremony was underway with great enthusiasm, the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe were being interrogated one by one in the dungeon of the camp.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    If it was just to deliver the commendation order, sending a messenger would have sufficed. Winters came to Niutigu Valley not only with Father Caman, but also brought Little Lion along.


    With Hunter Bell absent, Little Lion was the only one by Winters¡¯s side who could speak two languages.


    As Winters¡¯s experience grew and his horizon broadened, he placed increased importance on intelligence.


    The battlefield was like being enshrouded in fog; the passive acquisition of intelligence could no longer satisfy Winters.


    In yesterday¡¯s dawn ambush, it was ultimately Iron Peak County¡¯s side that controlled the battlefield. More than half of the hundreds of Terdon people crossing the river were killed or injured, and all those who still had breath were captured.


    The people of the Terdon Tribe from the citizen and slave strata had no staunch loyalty. Without needing torture, a few threats made them spill everything, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once Little Lion had finished the interrogation, it coincided with Winters¡¯s arrival.


    Little Lion got straight to the point, informing Winters, ¡°Your captives are all ¡®Wurus,¡¯ just ordinary members; they don¡¯t know anything useful.¡±


    ¡°How many of them are there in total?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    ¡°Three Tulurs, over three hundred horsemen, plus some servants who wait on them.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that very useful?¡± Winters¡¯s frown slowly eased, ¡°Who is their commander?¡±


    ¡°Belig Taltai.¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°I know this man. He is a blood relative of the chief¡¯s lawful wife, the chief¡¯s ¡®Nakor,¡¯ that is, one of the chief¡¯s own men.¡±


    ¡°His own man?¡±


    Little Lion sighed and began to explain with gestures.


    It was impossible to neatly sort out the social dependency relationships within Herder society because even the Herders themselves were unclear about it.


    Take, for example, the relationship between the chief and Taltai: Taltai was an external relative of the chief, less closely related by blood than the chief¡¯s uncle Tie Chi;


    But Tie Chi was a semi-independent leader, who could choose whether to obey the chief¡¯s commands. Taltai, on the other hand, had almost no independence; the chief could even decide on Taltai¡¯s family marriages.


    ¡°Independence¡± was a flexible indicator, not a fixed value. It changed with the shift in relative strength, closeness of the relationship, and level of trust between the parties.


    In simple terms, the Terdon Tribe is a large faction, and the chief¡¯s faction is the strongest smaller faction within the larger one.


    The [Tie Chi faction] and [chief¡¯s faction] are roughly on par with each other, with the [Taltai faction] being a subordinate branch of the [chief¡¯s faction].


    The Taltai faction itself is also a smaller tribe, and Taltai has his own guards, companions, citizens, and slaves.


    Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to arrange the chief¡¯s genealogy; he cut to the chase and asked, ¡°If Taltai across the river loses the battle, the chief¡¯s control over the Terdon Tribe will be weakened, am I right?¡±


    Little Lion cocked his head and thought about it, ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters clapped his hands, ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±

 Chapter 757 03-25 - 757 57 Triumphal Song

    ?Chapter 757: Chapter 57: Triumphal Song Chapter 757: Chapter 57: Triumphal Song ¡°`


    The night was deep, but Taltai couldn¡¯t sleep.


    Not only Taltai couldn¡¯t sleep, but his close confidants were also restless.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division had a sleepless night not because of the defeat at dawn yesterday¡ªslaves can be recaptured, subjects can be reconquered, and as long as the horses and armors weren¡¯t lost, the Taltai Division wouldn¡¯t be considered to have taken a fundamental hit.


    It was because they were trapped on the riverbank, unable to move.


    As to what to do and where to go, leaders big and small had been arguing for two days.


    ¡°Nayen! Esteemed ones!¡± The old slave Chahan pleaded desperately, ¡°Look at your feet, it¡¯s all black! There¡¯s not a palm-sized patch of turf! This is a death trap! Let¡¯s leave quickly while we still can!¡±


    As Chahan spoke, he bent over to grab a handful of soil, and, with tears in his voice, said, ¡°Esteemed ones, open your eyes! The bipeds have become ruthless, even the grass roots have been scorched dry! In the cold and freezing weather, the children can¡¯t find wood for heating and can burn only wet horse dung! Their eyes are smoked red and sickened, how can we still raid and plunder?¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The old slave Chahan wanted to leave, but the ¡°nobility¡± of the Taltai Division didn¡¯t want to. Their status and wealth, even their life and death, were tied to the success or failure of plundering and raiding.


    Immediately someone scolded the old slave Chahan, ¡°Why does the crow rant so madly? The Fire Maker commands us to cross the river from here, but can we just leave because we want to? The Fire Maker won¡¯t kill you, but he will kill those with quivers!¡±


    Another Hong Lingyu with graying hair and beard spoke up, ¡°We can¡¯t stay, but we can¡¯t just waste away either. Why not take another route, upstream or downstream?¡±


    ¡°Is the route of other tribes something we can take?¡± The man who had spoken earlier became even angrier, ¡°Father, oh father! Don¡¯t be silent! To leave! To fight! Make a decision!¡±


    It turned out the speaker was Taltai¡¯s son.


    ¡°Tuoduoge, don¡¯t be anxious,¡± Taltai glanced at his eldest son and his eyelid twitched, ¡°You both make sense.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Did Taltai want to leave? Not really. To back down now would mean admitting the loss of a hundred-odd subjects and slaves for nothing.


    But he also felt that they couldn¡¯t afford to wait¡ªbipeds had been too vicious, turning the west bank into scorched earth. The Herders relied on livestock for warfare, and the livestock relied on grass for sustenance. Without grass to graze, how could they raid and plunder?


    He had thought commanding the vanguard would be an easy benefit but now found himself in a dilemma, and Taltai deeply regretted it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the bipeds on the east bank, they aren¡¯t as numerous as us. They didn¡¯t come out of yesterday¡¯s battle unscathed either.¡± Taltai looked around, and the jerky in his hand was almost twisted into floss, ¡°Tomorrow divide the young warriors into left and right flanks, each crossing the river upstream and downstream, while my banner remains here as bait for the people on the opposite bank.¡±


    ¡°What if they find out?¡±


    ¡°Even if they find out, it doesn¡¯t matter¡ªcross the river a distance of about a horse away. If they follow us, you continue to draw them. They only have two legs and can¡¯t go far.


    If they don¡¯t find out, you wait for me to feign a crossing here, and then we¡¯ll attack them from behind.¡±


    [Note: ¡°A distance of about a horse¡± refers to the distance a grazing horse would travel in one day, approximately 10 km]


    ¡°What if that still doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, then let¡¯s leave! We have done our utmost, and the Fire Maker cannot blame us.¡±


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division couldn¡¯t think of a better solution, and gradually, they agreed to Taltai¡¯s strategy.


    Chahan was Taltai¡¯s personal slave, and his status was an extension of Taltai¡¯s authority. Although anxious, Chahan couldn¡¯t go against Taltai¡¯s word.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division defined their left and right flanks, and after no further disputes, each returned to their tents to sleep.


    Chahan also returned to his dwelling; he had no tent¡ªthe people below heads of the Terdon Tribe didn¡¯t have tents.


    With the onset of winter, the weather turned chilly, it was cold during the day, and colder at night, the ordinary members of the tribe could only warm themselves with heated stones tucked in their embrace.


    Chahan¡¯s son and grandson had also joined the campaign this time; father and son sat by the campfire without sleep.


    ¡°How is it, father?¡± Chahan¡¯s son asked.


    Chahan shook his head.


    Seeing his son and grandson¡¯s eyes reddened by smoke, the old man sighed deeply and lay down wrapped in his fur robe.


    Chahan¡¯s grandson angrily poked at the horse dung cakes, uttering resentfully, ¡°If the battle is lost, you and I die. If we win, the heads divide the spoils. They¡¯re like wolves that have tasted blood for the first time and will never let go easily.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the middle-aged Herder chided his son in a low voice, ¡°Nayen will cut out your tongue if he hears you!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll hear me every day until he does,¡± Chahan¡¯s grandson stubbornly retorted to his father, ¡°People passing by say that in the Red River Tribe even ordinary members can get a share of the spoils. But the head of the Taltai? Everything goes into his saddlebag; not even a Horse Palm coin is given to the tribespeople!¡±


    The middle-aged Herder couldn¡¯t argue with his son and, frustrated, admonished, ¡°The Red River Tribe is the Red River Tribe; the Terdon Tribe is the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    ¡°The gold is gone! What Terdon Tribe is there to speak of?!¡± Chahan¡¯s grandson¡¯s voice grew louder.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the middle-aged Herder burst out in anger, whirling his arm and striking his son across the face.


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    It was as if thunder exploded by their ears, the slap shaking the earth itself.


    The horses neighed in terror, and old Chahan leaped up, spryly defying his age.


    ¡°What was that sound?!¡± old Chahan¡¯s eyes bulged like a bull¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡­,¡± the middle-aged Herder was at a loss, ¡°¡­I just slapped him¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡± old Chahan shouted vehemently, ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡±


    A flash of red.


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    This time the thunderous explosion occurred right beside Chahan and his grandson, invisible shrapnel whirling through the air, and a blast of air instantly knocked Chahan to the ground.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 758 03-25 - 758 57 The Triumphal Song_2

    ?Chapter 758: Chapter 57: The Triumphal Song_2 Chapter 758: Chapter 57: The Triumphal Song_2 Chatan¡¯s head collided with something hard, and darkness clouded his vision as he lost consciousness.


    Thirty meters from the Taltai Division camp, with his hair still dripping wet, Winters raised his military saber and barked an order, ¡°Ready!¡±


    Behind Winters, hidden in the darkness, crouched eighteen warriors, their lips purplish-blue, bodies shaking.


    In front of Winters stood four stalwart warriors, carefully chosen.


    To evade the Terdun sentries, twenty-two warriors had followed Winters, swimming across the river upstream from two kilometers away, clutching sheepskin bags.


    The Herders would never have imagined that they had unintentionally taught the enemy how to use sheepskin bags to stay afloat.


    The four stalwart warriors each lifted a palm-sized iron-gray grenade to eyebrow height, with a long fuse extending from the top of the iron sphere.


    ...


    Winters walked behind the four, not striking a flint but four strands of gunpowder fuse had already begun to burn.


    ¡°Throw!¡± Winters roared.


    Like ancient athletes throwing the discus, the four stalwart warriors took long strides into a run, spinning a full circle, using all their strength to propel the grenades toward the Taltai Division camp.


    The hissing grenades vanished into the darkness, overpowered by the roar of Winters¡¯ voice, even muffling the dull thuds of explosions, ¡°Again!¡±


    The iron from the Iron Peak Mine smelted by the apprentice blacksmith Carlos was of poor quality, brittle. But Winters found a use for the brittle iron¡ªmaking grenades.


    Through improved techniques, the weight of the grenades produced in Iron Peak County was reduced to under 1kg.


    With the reduced weight, there was no longer a need to use the ¡°chain-ball¡± throwing method¡ªthis was far too dangerous, with a slight mishap potentially sending a grenade onto the heads of one¡¯s own troops.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    Men were running about frantically, and warhorses neighed violently; the Taltai Division camp was in utter chaos.


    The Taltai Division, equipped to ward off the cold, had arranged their horses on the outer circle of the camp with sticks and ropes to block the wind.


    Bright lights, gunsmoke, and loud bangs¡ªany one of these could cause horses to lose control, let alone all three assaulting the horses¡¯ senses simultaneously.


    A horse, overtaken by its instinct to flee, wildly struck the other horses around it, broke through the ropes, and bolted into the night.


    More panic-stricken horses rampaged through the camp, trampling the crowds and spreading panic to more horses and people.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Taltai shouted himself hoarse as he ran about, yelling, ¡°Open the rope barriers! Scatter the horses!¡±


    The deep rumble of military drums drowned out Taltai¡¯s desperate cries, and a single glance at the scene before them was enough to make the Taltai Division¡¯s warriors¡¯ knees go weak.


    Hundreds¡ªno, thousands¡ªof torches burst forth like a monstrous wave from the riverbank, charging toward the riverside, rising above the water, pressing onwards to the West Bank.


    They were determined to force a crossing of Big Horn River!


    ¡°What? How can this be?¡± Taltai grabbed a slave trying to flee at his side, his eyes red, questioning in a confused frenzy, ¡°Watch out for us! The bipeds should be watching out for you and me! Why? Why are they crossing the river?¡±


    The slave, usually subservient, showed a fierce look, shoved Nayen away forcefully, and struggled onto a horse that had neither a halter nor a saddle, and fled without looking back.


    ¡°Father!¡± Taltai¡¯s son, accompanied by two personal guards, spotted Taltai at once amidst the scattering crowd, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fake!¡± Taltai suddenly realized, ¡°The bipeds can¡¯t have that many soldiers; those torches are all fake!¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Draw swords! Mount up! To the riverbank!¡± Taltai roared with a ferocious look, ¡°Kill anyone that comes!¡±


    Meanwhile, on the East Bank of the Big Horn River, Bart Xialing¡¯s throat was already hoarse beyond recognition, but he was still desperately shouting, ¡°Yell! Everyone yell! [Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    The battle at dawn yesterday saw almost equal casualties for both armies.


    That night, Winters took with him the twenty best soldiers and veterans.


    Bart Xialing had just over a company of soldiers left; the great disturbance they created was due to mobilizing every man, woman, and child in Niutigu Valley who could walk.


    The fighters were rowing rafts made of door panels and logs with all their might, heading towards the opposite bank of the river.


    The mobilized civilians, lacking the courage to cross the river and fight, could only shout.


    ¡°Yell! Goddammit, yell for me!¡±


    The disjointed shouts began to rise, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    Within those shouts were the naive voices of children, the muffled tones of the elderly, and the sharp pitch of women.


    ¡°Yell! Yell!¡± Bart Xialing was almost frantic with tears, ¡°If you don¡¯t yell, Blood Wolf will die! One! Two! Three!¡±


    The people gradually raised their voices louder, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    ¡°One! Two! Three!¡±


    The awkward shouting merged into one sound that pierced the sky, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead!¡± Taltai cried out in fury, madly whipping his warhorse, ¡°I¡¯m not dead! I¡¯m right here!¡±


    On the perimeter of the camp, eagle-eyed Winters drew his military saber, pointing directly at a notably conspicuous, corpulent Herder: ¡°There!¡±


    The twenty-two warriors stopped concealing themselves, removed the coverings from their spears, and leapt up.


    ¡°That man is Taltai!¡± Winters seemed to enter another persona, letting loose all the emotions suppressed for so long in this moment, laughing wildly with unrestrained, cruel delight, ¡°Gentlemen! Follow me!¡±


    But before Winters could take his first step, he was halted by someone grabbing him from behind, ¡°No!¡±


    It was Xial.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Winters roared furiously.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go!¡±


    ¡°You have no armor! No horse! You¡¯re not a Centurion anymore! I am!¡± Tamas stood in front of Winters, holding up his long spear and bellowing, ¡°Follow me!¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 759 03-25 - 759 57 Triumph_3

    ?Chapter 759: Chapter 57 Triumph_3 Chapter 759: Chapter 57 Triumph_3 Tamas led the charge towards the enemy camp, without a battle cry or war shout, as twenty brave warriors followed silently behind him, like a pitch-black dagger thrusting straight into the enemy¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Winters roared like thunder, and with a fierce burst of strength, he dislocated Xial¡¯s right shoulder.


    Xial let out a wretched scream but still clutched his right wrist tightly with his left hand, refusing to let go.


    Perhaps awakened by Xial¡¯s scream, Winters slowly quieted down and fell silent, his breathing and heartbeat gradually returning to normal.


    Sensing the subsiding of Winters¡¯ fervent emotions, Xial tentatively relaxed his grip, but remained on guard.


    ...


    ¡°All right,¡± Winters suddenly spoke, ¡°let it go.¡±


    Only then did Xial obediently release his grip, standing with his head bowed, holding his right arm.


    Winters tossed his knife into the ground with a backhanded throw and silently reset Xial¡¯s right shoulder.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± Winters said, looking at Tamas, who was shouting and charging into battle, and spoke dispiritedly to himself, ¡°Will I never get the chance to enter the fray myself again?¡±


    Xial didn¡¯t know how to respond. After some thought, he replied softly, ¡°At least not this time. The company commander is right, we didn¡¯t bring our armor or warhorses when we forded the river¡­ What would we do if something happened to you?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed. Hah, a court mage, no wonder,¡± Winters suddenly recalled an old man, ¡°Let¡¯s forget it this time.¡±


    Xial nodded repeatedly, thinking, ¡°It would be best if you forget it every time.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Give me your spear,¡± Winters flicked his wrist.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Xial hugged his spear warily.


    Without a word, Winters took the spear, steadied his breath, took four running steps, and with the fluidity of flowing water, hurled the spear. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The spearhead shot across the battlefield like a meteor, instantly knocking a mounted Red Feather from the edge of the rope barricade.


    ¡°Count it,¡± Winters declared triumphantly, ¡°In this battle, Winters Montagne has slain an enemy by hand.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Xial cheered towards the tranquil river, ¡°Winters Montagne! Slain an enemy by hand!¡±


    The rafts carrying reinforcements touched the west bank, and the warriors leaped into the knee-deep river water, shouting as they rushed towards the enemy camp.


    ¡­


    The clash on the west bank didn¡¯t last long. Initially, there were still glimpses of firelight, but eventually, even the brightness of the torches completely faded.


    Yet the sound of horse hooves and cries of battle continued intermittently until dawn.


    On the East Bank, Bart Xialing anxiously awaited the outcome of the victory or defeat.


    Not just Bart Xialing, but thousands of civilians from Niutigu Valley also remained on the riverbank, unwilling to leave for a long time.


    Many whispered prayers under their breath.


    Finally, as the first light of dawn began to show, someone excitedly shouted, ¡°The drums of war!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the sound of the drums!¡±


    ¡°The small drums!¡±


    ¡°I hear it too!¡±


    The drums of war! Bart Xialing could hardly contain his excitement as he ran towards the riverbank, stood in the river water, and cheered ecstatically.


    The civilians of Niutigu Valley also ran to the riverbank, waving caps and handkerchiefs, cheering from the bottom of their hearts.


    On the west bank of the Big Horn River, Winters urged the drummer, ¡°March! Hit it harder! Louder!¡±


    The Taltai Division had been defeated, its members scattered and fled, and their chief, Taltai himself, was captured alive by Tamas.


    ¡°What a pity,¡± Tamas, wounded on his left arm and leg, looked somewhat pale, ¡°Many horses ran away; we only managed to round up a little over two hundred.¡±


    ¡°The meadows for miles around have been scorched clean. Let Bart Xialing get some wheat seedlings, clean water, and bring in a few mares in heat. By nightfall, all the runaway horses will be back,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°It seems Lieutenant Cherini was right. Looting is faster than any method.¡±


    The drummer¡¯s face turned red with effort as he vigorously pounded out the march.


    Washing away the dust of the march and traces of blood with river water, the soldiers awaiting their triumphant return hummed along softly.


    Winters always felt something was missing.


    After a moment of thought, he had an epiphany¡ªthe singing was missing.


    The army¡¯s marches, assembly tunes, charges¡­ all had music but no lyrics. The warriors could only hum along, unable to sing out joyfully.


    ¡°Come on! Get up, everyone!¡± Winters, without a second thought, came up with a new ¡®catchphrase¡¯ that began to take shape in his mind, ¡°Some admire Alexander! Sing along!¡±


    The soldiers, unsure of what to make of it, unevenly and stumblingly repeated, ¡°Some admire Alexander.¡±


    ¡°Some revere Hercules!¡±


    ¡°Hector, Lysander!¡±


    ¡°The names of heroes are countless!¡±


    ¡°But even the greatest of heroes¡±


    ¡°Do not compare to the volunteers of Paratu!¡±


    Tamas, following the Centurion, sang enthusiastically, but he didn¡¯t catch the last line clearly, so he substituted his own idea for the final line.


    The cheerful song gradually came together, finally echoing across both banks of the Big Horn River.


    ¡°Some admire Alexander!


    Some revere Hercules!


    Hector, Lysander!


    The names of heroes are countless!


    But even the greatest of heroes!


    Do not compare to the Blood Wolf¡¯s guardsmen!¡±

 Chapter 760 03-25 - 760 58 Part-time

    ?Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Ganquan ¡ª the grandnephew of the Firestarter, Turu Koda of the Terdon Tribe ¡ª did not yet know that the Taltai Division had been utterly destroyed.


    Ganquan was even unaware that the cunning bipeds had lured away the majority of the nearly thousand horses of the Taltai Division with estrus-generating mares, clear water, and wheat sprouts.


    In contrast to the Taltai Division, which had been pummeled from the start, the Ganquan Tribe¡¯s invasion of the lower Iron Peak County was almost effortlessly accomplished because there were simply no defenses upriver along the Big Horn River.


    But Ganquan had his own troubles ¡ª he couldn¡¯t find any people.


    Following the streams that flowed into the Big Horn River upstream, Ganquan quickly found the first village. Continuing down the road, they found the first town.


    But everywhere was dead silent, houses were all abandoned, possessions had been taken, there was no barking of dogs, no sign of human life, the empty villages and towns were eerily quiet.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Ganquan Tribe were all in their early twenties, a new generation who had never witnessed such a scene, and they were at a loss.


    ...


    ¡°Bald-tail, you served my grandfather.¡± Ganquan called his old slave over: ¡°You tell me, what should we do?¡±


    [Note: Ganquan¡¯s grandfather, that is, the father of the Firestarter]


    ¡°The Paratu People cannot migrate like the other tribes,¡± the old slave [Bald-tail] said while clutching his prayer beads, his eyelids drooping: ¡°They are just hiding.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hiding where?!¡± The young Hong Lingyu [Qingma] glinted fiercely in his triangular eyes.


    The old slave Bald-tail did not answer directly but looked at Chief Ganquan¡¯s boots: ¡°You can look for soil that is moist, loose, and darker in color both inside and outside the villages.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The farmers couldn¡¯t possibly have taken all the food and possessions with them; they must have buried them nearby.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The chief ordered his people to search around, and soon they found some clues in courtyards, under cattle sheds, and between ridges.


    Without shovels, the people of Terdon used their hands and wooden boards to dig, uncovering these poorly hidden caches one after another.


    The caches mostly contained food, but also farming tools, ironware, bottles and jars, and cloth¡­ Anything the farmers couldn¡¯t take with them in time was buried there.


    The members of the Ganquan Tribe were grinning ear to ear, delirious with joy.


    The group from Terdon first mixed flour to bake naan and enjoyed a hearty meal. Then they rubbed their hands in anticipation, preparing to work hard and dig deep.


    Everyone was in high spirits, but Ganquan was increasingly dissatisfied.


    Seeing his people quarreling and even fighting over a hemp cloth, a plate, a kitchen knife, Ganquan felt his anger burning more fiercely.


    For the impoverished Terdon people, a nail, a straw mat was valuable; even the things the Paratu People couldn¡¯t be bothered to bury were valuable to them.


    But Ganquan wanted more than these.


    ¡°Ho ya ya¡­ Look what this is?¡± Shi Jian called out excitedly as he ran to Ganquan, holding something carefully in both hands: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a treasure! It¡¯s like stone, but it¡¯s like water too! Transparent!¡±


    The object Shi Jian held was a square foot, crystal clear, its surface as smooth and fine as porcelain. It appeared to be crystal, but it wasn¡¯t quite right.


    ¡°What is this thing?¡± Qingma approached with curiosity, reaching out cautiously to touch: ¡°Where is it from?¡±


    ¡°From the south, there¡¯s this big tent, I took it from the wall of the house.¡±


    ¡°This is glass.¡± The old slave Bald-tail¡¯s eyelids drooped, his eyes as dull as dried-up wells: ¡°The bipeds call it [Common Language] ¡®glass¡¯.¡±


    The old slave Bald-tail¡¯s pronunciation of Common Language was a bit awkward, probably because he hadn¡¯t spoken it in many years.


    ¡°Glass?¡± Shi Jian exclaimed: ¡°Shouldn¡¯t glass be colored?¡±


    ¡°Such transparent and smooth glass, I have also never seen before,¡± the old slave Bald-tail said huskily: ¡°It must be something very precious, it can be presented to the Great Khan of the Firestarters.¡±


    ¡°Very precious?!¡± Shi Jian¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°There¡¯s a whole wall of it in that big tent! I¡¯ll go take it all down right now.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Qingma said happily: ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡±


    Ganquan¡¯s face was ashen as he snatched the glass panel from Shi Jian¡¯s hands and fiercely smashed it to the ground.


    The glass panel shattered against the rocks.


    Shi Jian¡¯s expression changed from shock to heartbreak as he knelt down, picked up a fragment of glass, and asked Ganquan, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°This is something the bipeds use to build walls!¡± Ganquan pushed Shi Jian away, his scarred face was especially fierce as he roared: ¡°And you still treasure it!¡±


    Both Shi Jian and Qingma were stunned by Ganquan¡¯s actions, frozen in place.


    With downcast triangular eyes, Qingma tried to console him: ¡°Haven¡¯t we seized so much food and possessions, easier than catching horses, isn¡¯t that good?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good about it?¡± Ganquan glowered at Qingma fiercely: ¡°The bipeds have taken away the choice meats, leaving us a heap of rotting bones to treasure!¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Shi Jian countered: ¡°Isn¡¯t the grain, the black money, all good?¡±


    [Note: Iron can be used as currency on the frontier, hence the herders call it black money]


    ¡°Then don¡¯t you want slaves? Don¡¯t you want women? Don¡¯t you want gold and silver?¡± Ganquan erupted in fury: ¡°Are you satisfied with just these things now? After the loot is presented to Nayen, to the Firestarter, how much will be left for us?¡±


    Qingma and Shi Jian gradually understood what Ganquan meant, and both fell silent.


    The old slave Bald-tail showed no emotion, bowing at the chest, he asked Ganquan: ¡°Kota, isn¡¯t the plunder enough now?¡±


    ¡°Not enough!¡± Ganquan bellowed: ¡°Far from enough!¡±

 Chapter 761 03-25 - 761 58 Part-Time Job_2

    ?Chapter 761: Chapter 58 Part-Time Job_2 Chapter 761: Chapter 58 Part-Time Job_2 ¡°What does Kota want?¡±


    ¡°Slaves! Gold and silver! More wealth!¡±


    ¡°And after obtaining all these?¡± The old slave, Bald Tail, raised his head, looking into the eyes of the people of the Ganquan Tribe.


    Feeling uneasy under the stare, the man from the Ganquan Tribe scolded, ¡°You old slave! What are you suggesting?¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s burn down the village,¡± suggested Bald Tail, bowing his head. ¡°Divide our forces into two, hide a small group, and have the majority set the fire and pretend to retreat after the blaze. We wait for the two-legged ones to come back to put out the fire before following them. Just like hunting, following their path will lead us to where the prey hides.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow¡¯s eyes shone with excitement.


    After some thought, the man from the Ganquan Tribe decided to go with Bald Tail¡¯s plan.


    ...


    A little over a hundred tribesmen were divided into two wings.


    The left wing, led by more than seventy riders including Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, took most of the horses and plunder. After setting the fire, they left with grand presence.


    The right wing, personally led by thirty riders from the Ganquan Tribe, hid in a depression near the village, leaving only a few outposts on the slopes to blow the horn as a signal.


    The village of the Paratu People was mostly made of wood and straw, and the fire spread quickly once it started. In no time, the whole village was engulfed in flames.


    Black smoke shot up straight into the sky, visible from miles away.


    Like a hunter who had laid a trap, the man from the Ganquan Tribe waited patiently.


    Waiting¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã0


    Waited¡­


    He waited until the farmhouse was burned to the ground, the fire shrank to embers and then died out, and still there was no sound from the outposts¡¯ horns.


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe scarcely held his composure, but Blue Horse and Stone Arrow could not. They sent a rider to inquire about the situation, only to be harshly scolded by him.


    After venting his anger on the messenger, the man from the Ganquan Tribe found Bald Tail: ¡°It was your idea, you tell me, what do we do now?¡±


    Bald Tail shook his head: ¡°The leader of the two-legged ones from this village is very tenacious.¡±


    ¡°Tenacious?¡± The man from the Ganquan Tribe ground his teeth, saying fiercely, ¡°Then burn the forests! I refuse to believe we can¡¯t smoke him out!¡±


    Bald Tail twirled his prayer beads: ¡°Setting fire to the woods is one way to go.¡±


    ¡°Burn!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare the fire-starter now.¡±


    But the man from the Ganquan Tribe wavered slightly: ¡°Are you sure this will drive the two-legged ones out?¡±


    ¡°Not certain. This is Kota¡¯s method,¡± Bald Tail said, straining to open his rheumy eyes and asked, ¡°Does Kota want living slaves or dead ones?¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Fire is the might of the heavenly gods, beyond mortal control. By setting the forest ablaze, maybe before the two-legged ones can run out, they¡¯ll be burned to death.¡±


    ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    Bald Tail spoke calmly: ¡°There are other villages here. If this one can endure, the next one may not be able to. Kota could burn through the villages, one by one.¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe thought it over but still couldn¡¯t decide.


    ¡°Starting a wildfire is not out of the question,¡± Bald Tail said, looking at the toe of the man¡¯s boot, ¡°but has Kota considered that the young of birds and beasts will also be burnt to death? For whatever reason, one who recklessly starts a wildfire will have their spirit wander the wilderness for a hundred years before the spirits will accept them again.¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe wasn¡¯t content: ¡°So I come to this village and obtain nothing?¡±


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t Kota already taken a lot of things?¡±


    ¡°What plunder? Those are mere trinkets!¡± The man from the Ganquan Tribe flew into a rage. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bald Tail lowered his head: ¡°Then please, Kota, continue to wait here. It¡¯s cold and the ground is frozen¡ªthese two-legged ones are not as hardy as the children of the tribes, they will eventually start fires to warm themselves and cook food. Kota can set up outposts on high grounds and head where the cooking smoke rises.¡±


    ¡°What if it still doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll burn the next village,¡± Bald Tail replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Kota is a hunter, and as long as a hunter is patient, the opportunity will come.¡±


    And so the man from the Ganquan Tribe continued to wait, from noon until dusk.


    The men of the Ganquan Tribe, initially high-spirited because of the raid, gradually became yawning ceaselessly. The man himself was no less worn out.


    Just as he was arranging for the men to rest in shifts, an outpost came tumbling and scrambling down from the hill: ¡°Kota! Smoke! There¡¯s smoke!¡±


    Suddenly invigorated, the man from the Ganquan Tribe rushed up the hillside.


    Beneath the dying sunlight¡ªthough faint, plumes of purplish smoke could be seen rising from the treetops in the distance.


    He observed for quite some time until he was certain it was smoke from a fire rather than the evening mist.


    Leaving a few men to mark and direct to the site, the right wing of the Ganquan Tribe burst out of the hollow and galloped towards the source of the smoke.


    Just as they set foot on the charred soil of the village, bursts of horn signals came from nearby.


    An outpost charged towards them: ¡°Kota, there are people sneaking around trying to get close to the village!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°There!¡± the outpost said, pointing to the edge between the farmland and the forest.


    With vicious laughter, the man from the Ganquan Tribe said to Bald Tail, ¡°The two-legged people have tenacious willpower? They couldn¡¯t resist coming out!¡±


    Bald Tail made a gesture of salutation over his chest, bowing his head deeply.


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe checked the bearings: the smoke was to the northwest, the figures to the southwest; the smoke was farther, the figures closer.


    ¡°Go for the closest first,¡± Bald Tail suggested. ¡°The far one is not urgent.¡±


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll go for the closest. Kill the men! Keep the women!¡± the man from the Ganquan Tribe sneered as he turned his horse around, ¡°I¡¯ll reward each of you with a female slave!¡±


    The thirty-plus riders changed direction, charging towards the southwest. Their horses trampled the wheat field, uprooting some of the newly sprouted wheat.


    At the forest edge, a woman carrying a bucket in each hand was walking along the furrows towards the village.


    The sound of horse hooves rang out, the Herdman riders came thundering in, and the woman, in fright, dropped her buckets and ran towards the forest.

 Chapter 762 03-25 - 762 58 Part-time_3

    ?Chapter 762: Chapter 58 Part-time_3 Chapter 762: Chapter 58 Part-time_3 The Herders chased in haste; the woman could no longer bother with modesty. Holding her headscarf, she ran for her life. Her long skirt was lifted by the wind, revealing her fair, smooth legs.


    The Ganquan Tribe members on horseback couldn¡¯t help but swallow their saliva.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill her! Don¡¯t shoot arrows!¡± The sneering laughter of Ganquan echoed loudly, ¡°Play with her! Let her lead you and me to the old camp!¡±


    Like a wildcat toying with a mouse, the members of the Ganquan Tribe scared the woman with strange cries while slowing down their horses.


    At the edge of the dense forest, the sparse vegetation offered no cover for the woman. She fled deeper into the forest, her clothes torn by the brambles, exposing more skin.


    The men from the Terdon Tribe grew increasingly excited, shouting even louder.


    The woman¡¯s strength gradually drained, and she ran slower and slower.


    ...


    Ganquan roared with laughter as he drew a whistling arrow, stood up in his stirrups, and took aim to shoot.


    The whistling arrow flew towards the woman¡¯s back, and while the horse archer¡¯s shooting was imprecise, the arrow landed near the woman, causing the poor woman to fall in fright.


    The woman scrambled to her feet and continued to flee, running faster than before.


    The men from the Terdon Tribe laughed uproariously, all except for the old slave Baldy, who remained silent.


    Most of these men from the Terdon Tribe were also slaves who regularly endured humiliation and oppression. But in the act of violence against a weaker target, all their resentment seemed to be released.


    ¡°Spread out!¡± Ganquan shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t let her escape, surround her from both flanks!¡±


    The members of the Ganquan Tribe behind sped up to the sides, and more than thirty men from the Terdon Tribe slowly fanned out.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Ahead, the woman whose clothes had been torn to shreds lost her footing and fell again, tumbling into a pile of dead leaves.


    Ganquan, impatient with excitement, urged his Warhorse to chase after her.


    ¡°After all, Baldy can speak the language of the two-leggers,¡± Ganquan thought. ¡°I¡¯ll capture her first, then¡­ interrogate¡­¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Ganquan¡¯s excitement reached its peak, he suddenly felt the world spin; he felt as if he was flying through the clouds.


    The other men from the Terdon Tribe saw only their leader¡¯s Warhorse stumbling with its knees bending at unnatural angles before collapsing with a neigh as their leader was hurled from the saddle, cartwheeling through the air.


    Immediately thereafter, they saw a figure leap out of the dead leaves, wielding a big staff and cruelly striking down on their leader¡¯s head.


    The skull broke before the staff snapped.


    Thus ended the life of Ganquan, the direct descendant of the Terdon Tribe, the relative of the fire lighters and the ambitious Helge Grey.


    Like a signal had been given, dozens of figures appeared out of nowhere, like ghosts rising from the ground¡ªin fact, they really did spring from the ground.


    These ghostly figures all held pointed staves, stabbing and smashing anyone on horseback. In an instant, several had fallen from their horses.


    ¡°Ambush!¡± A man from the Terdon Tribe screamed in terror: ¡°Run!¡±


    The Terdon men spurred their horses fiercely, whipping them to accelerate and break through.


    Before they could get ten meters away, the two men leading the charge fell into the same trap as Ganquan¡ªthere were more tripwires in the woods, and who knew where that woman had led them!


    ¡°There¡¯s no escape! Kill!¡± A member of the Terdon Tribe drew his curved sword, slashing wildly in frenzy.


    Another member of the Terdon Tribe took off his horn, attempting to call for aid.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Accompanied by a sharp piercing sound, the man trying to blow the horn cried out in agony as a javelin pinned his left hand and face together.


    Under the intense pain, the horn slipped from his grasp.


    The one who threw the javelin was a majestic middle-aged man, who calmly drew another javelin and said, ¡°[Common language] Beware the savages¡¯ desperate retaliation! Lasso their horses!¡±


    The sound of heavy footsteps grew closer, and a somewhat pale young man emerged from the bushes with a group of men wielding various farming tools.


    The young man saluted the middle-aged man, ¡°Major! We have arrived.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not needed here,¡± the middle-aged man directed him toward the direction from which the Terdon men came, ¡°Circle around the battlefield from the east. If barbarian soldiers follow, engage them.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The young man raised his hand in salute.


    ¡°Mr. Apel,¡± the middle-aged man returned the salute with gravity, despite his trust still unable to shake off his concern: ¡°Take care.¡±


    Apel nodded, raising his Stinger Hammer as a flag and leading the militiamen into the woods.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the northwestern part of the village where the forest was densest, Lieutenant Asko was riding at breakneck speed.


    Following the valley, he charged like lightning into a concealed camp.


    ¡°Who lit a fire!¡± Asko reined in his horse and barked furiously, ¡°Who lit a fire?¡±


    Seeing that the newcomer was not a barbarian, the people in the camp gradually gathered.


    This concealed camp was almost as large as a small town, yet only women, elders, and children were present; not a single able-bodied man could be found.


    ¡°Sir,¡± an elderly woman approached him with trembling steps, ¡°It was I.¡±


    Facing an old woman, Asko had no outlet for his anger and bellowed, ¡°Major Ronald strictly ordered that no one is permitted to light a fire without permission! Did it go in one ear and out the other? Put it out! Now!¡±


    An uncomfortable silence filled the crowd.


    A farmwife in her forties complained bitterly, ¡°I lit a fire too. It¡¯s just too cold! The children are getting sick from the cold. Without fire, we can¡¯t even have a warm meal. You, sir, might endure it, but we cannot!¡±


    As one person took the lead, others also began to complain.


    The women and children had been stationed here, crammed into a single tent¡ªno fire allowed, no leaving, not even loud talking was permitted. Resentment had been brewing among them for a while.


    ¡°Fools!¡± Asko cursed in rage, ¡°You light a fire here, smoke rises! Visible from five kilometers away! This camp is exposed! If we hadn¡¯t diverted the barbarians, they would¡¯ve already killed us! Because of your fires, your husbands and sons are fighting barbarians for their lives!¡±

 Chapter 763 03-25 - 763 58 Part-time_4

    ?Chapter 763: Chapter 58 Part-time_4 Chapter 763: Chapter 58 Part-time_4 ¡°`


    Asko heard a scream, and then he was surrounded by a group of women.


    The women and children asked about the news with a flurry of questions:


    ¡°Is my son safe?¡±


    ¡°What about my father?¡±


    ¡°How are the men doing?¡±


    ¡°Why is the village on fire?¡±


    Asko was so annoyed by the noise that he shouted, ¡°Quiet down!¡±


    No one paid him any attention.


    ...


    Determined, Asko lightly spurred the flank of his horse, squeezed through the crowd, and after dropping the words ¡°Pack up, and wait for orders to change the camp,¡± he hurried off.


    ¡­


    On the other end of the forest, the battle did not last long.


    The bows, fast horses, and scimitars upon which the Terdun people relied could not show their strength in the forest, where the melee depended on numbers and a tenacious spirit.


    The overzealous thirty or so light cavalry were quickly annihilated, and the following seventy or more cavalry were repelled by the militia.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Take away all the horses that can still walk! And take away the living Herders! Leave the corpses,¡± Major Ronald, leaning on a javelin, commanded the Wolf Town militia to clean up the battlefield.


    ¡°What about the horse corpses?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Take away all the meat that you can take, leave the rest here.¡± Major Ronald urged, ¡°Hurry up! We need to leave quickly!¡±


    Second Lieutenant Adam, his clothes torn to shreds, unwound his headband and rolled his skirt up to his waist, exposing his thighs.


    He muttered curses as he butchered the horse corpses with an ax: ¡°Yeah, hurry up. If we don¡¯t drive off the Herders quickly, how are we ever going to go back to basket-weaving?¡±


    The bracing Terdun people, who had been so excited that they trembled earlier, would surely have mixed feelings if they saw that the ¡°barefoot woman¡± was actually a Paratu man cursing like a sailor. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fortunately for them, they didn¡¯t have to see it, because most of them were dead.


    Apel walked past Adam and scolded in a low voice, ¡°Speak less nonsense.¡±


    Adam huffed and shut his mouth.


    The three officers formerly stationed at the garrison led more than two hundred Wolf Town militiamen to quickly clean the battlefield.


    Dozens of Terdun people were stripped naked and lay on the ground; their robes, boots, scimitars, and bows were all reused.


    ¡°Should I cut off the ears?¡± Apel asked Ronald.


    Ronald chuckled and shook his head, ¡°No one¡¯s giving us credit for it now.¡±


    ¡°Cut them!¡± Adam fumed, ¡°One ear reduces one hundred labor hours, isn¡¯t that fair? You can¡¯t let us work for nothing, right?¡±


    Ignoring Adam, Apel continued, ¡°Where are the wounded to be taken?¡±


    ¡°To the women and children¡¯s camp.¡±


    Upon hearing the term ¡°women and children¡¯s camp,¡± a militiaman tentatively asked, ¡°Sir, when can we be reunited with our wives and children?¡±


    The other militiamen pricked up their ears too.


    ¡°As long as the Herd barbarians haven¡¯t left Iron Peak County,¡± Ronald explained with a smile, ¡°we cannot join the camps. Rest assured, as long as the men¡¯s camp is not exterminated, the women and children¡¯s camp is safe, and so are your wives, children, and parents.¡±


    The militiamen¡¯s faces showed disappointment.


    Adam, leaning on his ax, couldn¡¯t bear to see it and rebuked loudly, ¡°If we let you reunite with your wives and children, would you motherfuckers still have the mind to fight? Wouldn¡¯t you all be busy pacifying children and sleeping with your wives? You would be comfortable, but as soon as the barbarians come, you¡¯d all be ready to have your throats slit, right?


    This is war! A matter of life and death! What the fuck do you think it is, a picnic? Until the barbarians leave, whoever dares to sneak into the women and children¡¯s camp, I¡¯ll strangle you in front of your wives and children! Don¡¯t believe me? Just try it!¡±


    The Wolf Town militiamen fell silent.


    ¡°Officer!¡± someone shouted from afar, ¡°We have found a survivor! He can speak our language!¡±


    Major Ronald perked up and walked over briskly.


    An old Herder sat under a tree holding a string of rose prayer beads, resting with his eyes closed. The man¡¯s face was deeply lined, indicating he was of advanced age.


    The recent battle hadn¡¯t reached him because he had dismounted well before he could be enclosed.


    Major Ronald eyed the old Herder, ¡°Can you speak the common tongue?¡±


    ¡°Is that what you call it?¡± the old Herder slowly opened his eyes and said stiffly, ¡°In my youth, we called it the Empire¡¯s tongue.¡±


    ¡°Wow, he really can speak it,¡± Second Lieutenant Adam marveled, ¡°Where did you learn it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t learn it, I just naturally know how to speak it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°The Herders call me ¡®the Horse without a Tail¡¯ ¡ª Baldy. The Paratu people call me¡­¡± The old Herder smiled cryptically, ¡°Father Saul.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 764 03-25 - 764 59 Counting Stoves

    ?Chapter 764: Chapter 59 Counting Stoves Chapter 764: Chapter 59 Counting Stoves In the days following the destruction of the Taltai family, squadrons from the Terdon Tribe killed their way to the west bank of the Big Horn River one after another.


    For a time, the west bank was filled with the neighing of horses and the rising of dust; the civilians in Niutigu Valley all said ¡°it¡¯s thundering in winter¡±¡ªwhich was actually the thunderous rumbling of a myriad of horses trampling the ground.


    Moreover, because of the winter winds, the people of Terdon were upwind, while Niutigu Valley was downwind.


    The smoke from the barbarians burning cattle and horse dung mixed with the dust kicked up by hooves, carried by the westerly wind towards the East Bank, made the people of Iron Peak County cough from morning till evening.


    Just the smoke from the barbarians¡¯ fires was so terrible, what if those barbarians crossed the river?


    The hearts of the people of Niutigu Valley trembled with fear, and not a few civilians even thought about abandoning their homes to flee. Even the willpower of the warriors unavoidably wavered a bit.


    But seeing the blood-red flag flying on the church bell tower, everyone felt reassured¡ªBlood Wolf was still in Niutigu Valley, what were we afraid of?


    ...


    Niutigu Valley was now the front line for both armies, so Winters had stayed.


    As the Terdon Tribe¡¯s large forces killed their way here, the troops under Winters also arrived at Niutigu Valley one after another.


    The first to arrive to provide support were the Eleventh and Twelfth Companies.


    The second batch of reinforcements was the ¡°Volunteer Brigade¡± led by Samukin¡ªthough soldiers from other companies usually called them the ¡°Basket-weaving Brigade¡±.


    Because the Volunteer Brigade was recruited from captives, all of whom were carefully selected by Samukin as the best at weaving baskets¡ªalso the captives with the best obedience.


    The name ¡°Captives Brigade¡± didn¡¯t sound good, so Winters personally bestowed them with the designation ¡°Volunteer Brigade¡±.


    He had already signed a new contract with the captives from Vernge County:


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    [For each Terdon head taken, freedom after the war; for two Terdon heads taken, allowed to be known as a land-grant soldier; for more than two heads, merit accrued according to the standards of active soldiers.]


    Originally, Niutigu Valley was garrisoned by the First and Second Companies, and with the arrival of the Eleventh and Twelfth Companies and the [Basket-weaving Brigade], the total military strength had nearly reached a thousand.


    If the civilians of Niutigu Valley were counted as auxiliary troops, the size of the army could instantly swell to five thousand.


    By the rules of exaggerating a bit, saying that Winters Montagne personally led a twenty-thousand-strong army to stand off against the Terdon Tribe¡¯s hundred thousand Iron Cavalry across the river¡­ obviously, this was very reasonable.


    To monitor the enemy¡¯s movements, Winters mobilized manpower to build a series of watchtowers along the East Bank of the Big Horn River.


    At this very moment, he was standing atop one of them, leaning on the railing and gazing across the river at the Terdon people.


    ¡°What do you think,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, suddenly asked with a laugh to the few people behind him, ¡°are the Herders so poor that they only have horses left?¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone present laughed along.


    Winters wore a tattered hat on his head and a triangular cloth over his face, looking like a highwayman without a trace of the ¡°Honorable Civil Officer.¡±


    The others were dressed similarly, wrapped up tightly, with only their eyes showing.


    It also served Winters right, for the west bank meadow had been burned to the ground by his fire, and even without human activity, the wind would kick up dust storms. Now with the large forces of the Terdon Tribe, the dust storms were even more powerful.


    ¡°Besides horses, they also have cattle and sheep,¡± laughed Bart Xialing, his eyes reduced to mere slits, ¡°Of course, horses are the most valuable! Centurion, the barbarians have sent us a generous gift, we must properly thank them!¡±


    According to the initial estimate by Tamas and Bart Xialing, the Taltai Division had about five to six hundred horses.


    But after the battle, upon tallying up, close to a thousand horses were counted¡ªeffectively a windfall. Poor Taltai Division, their hard-earned assets ended up in Winters¡¯ pocket. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The highly profitable raiding business indirectly caused a tendency towards ¡°nomadization¡± among Winters¡¯ officers.


    Saving and scrimping, they still ended up tight, and Winters couldn¡¯t even muster a hundred warhorses.


    A single victorious battle brought in nearly a thousand horses¡ªsome good, some bad. Why bother breeding any longer? Isn¡¯t it quicker to just take them? How satisfactory.


    Winters felt obliged to correct the Second Company commander: ¡°Indeed, the Terdon people have sent a generous gift, but the most valuable gift is not the horses.¡±


    Bart Xialing bowed respectfully: ¡°I am dull-witted, please enlighten me.¡±


    Winters slightly tilted his chin upward: ¡°It¡¯s that fat man Taltai; his value alone is worth a thousand horses. Tamas, well done.¡±


    Tamas scratched his head with a silly smile.


    In the surprise attack on the Taltai Division, Tamas captured the enemy chieftain, doing even better than Winters¡ªafter all, if Winters had made the move, the chances of Taltai surviving would¡¯ve been somewhat lower.


    ¡°The Terdon people are unaware of our true strength, but we have already grasped the full extent of theirs,¡± Winters pointed at the grand encampment of the Terdon across the river, ¡°No matter how many men or horses they have over there, they are just coming to deliver gifts to us!¡±


    The officers laughed heartily. In addition to officers, the mayor of Niutigu Valley was also present.


    The mayor smiled awkwardly; with the barbarians from across the river, they could trample Niutigu Valley flat with just their horses¡ªhe truly couldn¡¯t laugh.


    ¡°Mayor, don¡¯t look so down,¡± Winters said with a smile to the mayor of Niutigu Valley.


    The mayor¡¯s heart quivered, and his smile grew even more awkward.


    Winters leaned against the fence, smirking: ¡°You think I¡¯m boasting, right?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, sir, not at all,¡± the mayor hurriedly shook his head.


    ¡°Not at all means you do have that thought, huh?¡± Winters¡¯ eyes crinkled into a smile.


    At his counterpart¡¯s question, the mayor of Niutigu Valley was just about ready to burst into tears, clueless as to what had displeased this killing god.

 Chapter 765 03-25 - 765 59 The Number of Stoves_2

    ?Chapter 765: Chapter 59 The Number of Stoves_2 Chapter 765: Chapter 59 The Number of Stoves_2 ¡°Come,¡± Winters beckoned with a hand. ¡°Stand by the railing.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley walked to the fence, trembling. He couldn¡¯t resist looking down and immediately felt the world spinning.


    The watchtower was over five meters high, with a soft riverbank below, but to the mayor of Niutigu Valley, it seemed as daunting as a hundred-meter cliff. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley felt a push from behind, let out a scream, and then realized he was still alive.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters, with his arm around the mayor¡¯s shoulder, asked with a smile, ¡°You gave me a fright.¡±


    The nearly forty-year-old mayor, embraced by Blood Wolf, turned pale and stammered, ¡°Raging¡­ your subordinate¡­ your subordinate is so overwhelmed with emotion¡­ that I yelled out in surprise¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Winters pointed enthusiastically to the horses across the river. ¡°Afraid you might not understand, let me explain to you. See that? Those are people from Terdun watering their horses.¡±


    ...


    ¡°See, see, see, seen it.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve observed, the people from Terdun water their horses three times a day, probably due to a lack of fresh grass,¡± Winters asked with a smile. ¡°Tell me, how many horses are there in the herd by the river?¡±


    The mayor¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears: ¡°This, this, this¡­ Your subordinate truly doesn¡¯t know!¡±


    ¡°Let me tell you, there are about a hundred horses, and each time they water the horses, it¡¯s this number. I speculate that it¡¯s inconvenient for too many horses to drink at once, so the people from Terdun water them in groups of about a hundred, taking turns.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency is wise!¡±


    ¡°Less flattery, listen carefully,¡± Winters said with a twinkle in his eye. ¡°All of this is military secret.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley nodded with a woeful face, as if pounding garlic.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    ¡°Now to the crucial part.¡± Winters put his left arm over the mayor¡¯s shoulder and with his right hand took out a small notebook. ¡°According to the record from the coastal watchtowers, the people from Terdun watered their horses a total of 402 times yesterday¡ªthere may be omissions or repetitions, but the number is roughly accurate. Tell me, how many savages are there across the river now?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley felt as if struck by thunder: ¡°I, I, I¡­ Your subordinate, how would I know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay,¡± Winters reassured the mayor, then added seriously, ¡°I forgot to tell you, though there are rich and poor, statistically speaking, the main force of Terdun has an average of 3.1 horses per person. Want to calculate again?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley shook his head desperately.


    Winters closed the notebook. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you the answer. The military force on the other side from Terdun should be around four thousand. This corroborates with the information provided by their chieftain ¡®Taltai,¡¯ who was captured by our army. Do you know how many of our troops are in Niutigu Valley?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley swallowed and shook his head.


    ¡°Four platoons, plus a company, not even a thousand men. These are military secrets.¡± Winters patted the mayor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mr. Mayor, I¡¯ve told you all this, you must keep it secret for me, okay?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley could no longer hold himself together, his knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground, hugging Blood Wolf¡¯s legs, wailing pitifully, crying for mercy.


    Tamas and Bart Xialing stepped forward to grab the mayor of Niutigu Valley and, together, they lifted him up.


    ¡°Everyone was laughing just now, but you didn¡¯t,¡± Winters¡¯s gaze turned icy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you laugh?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley was crying too much to speak.


    The conversation couldn¡¯t continue.


    Without waiting for an order from Winters, Bart Xialing punched the mayor of Niutigu Valley in the abdomen, effectively stopping his tears.


    The conversation could continue.


    Winters leaned back against the fence, his sword resting on his knee: ¡°You¡¯re not laughing because you¡¯re afraid. Of course, you should be afraid, with the enemy outnumbering us four to one, defeat is certain by any calculations.


    I might as well tell you, the chief¡¯s personal army hasn¡¯t even arrived yet. Once the Hearth-Warmers arrive, it¡¯ll be seven to one. Ho, certain death. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t laugh, and you even find our laughter ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± The mayor¡¯s head shook like a rattle drum as he cried, ¡°Your subordinate has never thought that way¡­¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow, drew his sword: ¡°Come, kiss the blade, swear you¡¯ve never said ¡®defeat is certain, better flee early,¡¯ swear you haven¡¯t been spouting nonsense in the church, swear you haven¡¯t been secretly forming factions against me. Swear, and you can go.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley trembled all over, silent.


    ¡°Hmm, at least you¡¯re honest.¡± Winters sheathed his sword, his expression lightened, and his smile returned: ¡°Of course, you can think this way and even say it at the dinner table. I could forgive you for that. But you cannot say it in public because you are the mayor. In front of the people, you represent my authority and stance.¡±


    Winters sat down with the mayor by the fence: ¡°Mr. Mayor, consider this, if we¡¯re outnumbered, what if I went around crying ¡®this battle is lost¡¯ all day? Or if I looked mournful, what would happen then?¡±


    ¡°The dangers of this battle, I understand them better than you do.¡± Winters gently pulled the mayor¡¯s arm, speaking with a slight smile: ¡°But we must laugh, not cry. If I laugh and you cry, if I cry, wouldn¡¯t you be scared to death?¡±


    The officers roared with laughter, and the mayor of Niutigu Valley also managed a faint smile.


    Winters looked at the mayor, speaking earnestly and kindly, ¡°I laugh to set an example for my soldiers. I hope you can also set an example for the people of Niutigu Valley, and stop forming your little circles against me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay! Okay! Your subordinate dares not anymore!¡± The mayor¡¯s triangular hat was soaked with tears, and he nodded frantically.

 Chapter 766 03-25 - 766 59 Counting Stoves_3

    ?Chapter 766: Chapter 59: Counting Stoves_3 Chapter 766: Chapter 59: Counting Stoves_3 ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree. Didn¡¯t you send your wife and children to Revodan the day before yesterday?¡± Winters said amiably, ¡°I have brought them all back to Niutigu Valley. Weren¡¯t you also hiding three horses ready to flee? They¡¯ve been confiscated as well.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley¡¯s eyes went dark, and it was only with Winters¡¯ support that he didn¡¯t topple down from the watchtower.


    Winters patiently explained, ¡°With the battle looming, sending away your wife and children isn¡¯t good. You are the mayor, and it¡¯s your duty to defend our land. If you run, everyone else will follow to Revodan, and then Niutigu Valley would be indefensible. But as it is now, ¡®if we hold, we live together; if we fail, we die together,¡¯ that¡¯s much better.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley, who had just stopped crying, felt tears well up again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry,¡± Winters comforted the mayor. ¡°Rest assured, facing the Terdon Tribe, I¡¯ve technically been victorious in every battle so far. Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± the mayor of Niutigu Valley said, his eyes swollen from crying: ¡°Victorious in every battle.¡±


    ¡°Good, as long as you understand, tell this to everyone in Niutigu Valley,¡± Winters patted his arm, ¡°You can go now.¡±


    ...


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock until Bart Xialing signaled him, and it was then that he snapped out of it.


    Feeling like he had been granted a reprieve, the mayor left with frequent backward glances. As he stepped onto the ladder, he heard the magistrate¡¯s gentle voice:


    ¡°Mr. Mayor.¡±


    Like being seared with a hot coal, the mayor¡¯s body tensed up, and he felt a chill down his spine. ¡°Present! Your Excellency!¡±


    ¡°After this battle,¡± Winters said with a smile, waving goodbye, ¡°hand in your resignation.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°That son of a bitch, you really didn¡¯t need to waste words on him.¡± Watching the mayor¡¯s retreating figure, Bart Xialing said indignantly, ¡°A duplicitous backstabber who inflates prices and incites townspeople against us. He should be drawn and quartered in public!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°He wanted to flee to Revodan. The better we defend, the less able he is to leave,¡± Winters said, leaning on the railing. ¡°So he tries his best to sabotage our preparations for battle. This is ¡®burning the barn to steal some wheat.''¡±


    ¡°How can there be such people?¡±


    Winters sighed softly, ¡°There are plenty of such people, you might say¡­ they are everywhere.¡±


    A few company commanders became sullen for a moment.


    ¡°But still¡ªthere are more good people after all.¡± Winters saw the mood dip and smiled to lighten the atmosphere, ¡°Humanity is like the vast ocean, though there may be some dirty water, there are still more good people.¡±


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, and Samujin exchanged glances with each other, their expressions somewhat strange.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Winters asked with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t you believe me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t believe you,¡± Tamas said, forcing himself to speak out, ¡°None of us¡­ has ever seen the sea.¡±


    Winters took a deep breath and corrected his metaphor, ¡°Human kindness is like the prairie. Even if it gets scorched to barren land by a fire, it will eventually come back to life.¡±


    ¡°That we understand!¡± Bart Xialing said with a beaming smile.


    Winters gathered the company commanders not just for observation. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How is the collection of wagons going?¡± Winters asked, his smile disappearing.


    ¡°We¡¯ve conscripted all that we can,¡± Tamas immediately responded, adding in a softer voice, ¡°just that the strong-arming of wagons is causing some resentment among the farmers.¡±


    ¡°Make sure to mark them, and register. Tell them, what is borrowed will be returned; what is damaged will be compensated.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Tamas saluted.


    Bart Xialing, gripping his sword hilt, asked, ¡°Should we burn down the villages near Niutigu Valley?¡±


    ¡°No need, there¡¯s no need to burn anything for now,¡± Winters said, shaking his head with a smile, ¡°We can¡¯t burn everything down¡ªthe common folk still need to make a living. If we burn a house now, we have to compensate for one later. The house burns, but the pain is in my heart.¡±


    The company commanders smiled understandingly.


    Then, Winters assigned new tasks to each company.


    That afternoon, four companies of the Iron Peak County Infantry left Niutigu Valley, each constructing small fortifications along the riverbank.


    There was also a logging team cutting down trees nearby Niutigu Valley, to build rafts and boats.


    The fortifications of Niutigu Valley were basically complete, with the new defenses wrapping around the town of Niutigu Valley. What followed was the continuation of fortification¡ªa task delegated to the civilians.


    Samujin¡¯s Volunteer Brigade was stationed in the town of Niutigu Valley. For now, their main job was still¡­ making baskets.


    At dusk that day, a previously unseen cyan horsehair banner appeared on the hillside west of Big Horn River.


    The Revodanians had come.

 Chapter 767 03-25 - 767 60 Intelligence

    ?Chapter 767: Chapter 60 Intelligence Chapter 767: Chapter 60 Intelligence The War-Standard paraded along the river, and wherever it went, the people of Terdon could not help but cheer until their voices broke.


    Only the roar of battle from the opposite bank sounded like muffled thunder, one peal after another, first approaching and then receding.


    The residents of Niutigu Valley ran out of their homes one after another, eager to find out what was happening, but upon learning what the ¡°thunder¡± signified, they were so scared they were beside themselves with fear.


    Some even cried out in alarm, ¡°It¡¯s the horn! The horn of Judgment Day!¡± scrambling and tumbling towards the church for sanctuary.


    ¡°So this is Armageddon?¡± Winters smiled atop the church bell tower, asking Caman beside him, ¡°Isn¡¯t the spectacle a bit too small?¡±


    Honestly, seeing the chaos in Niutigu Valley, even Winters felt it was a bit of a sacrilege.


    Caman sighed softly, making a sign with his hand, and asked coldly in response, ¡°The world is but what mortals can see. Isn¡¯t this battle for them akin to a battle of doomsday?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Not if they survive. But if everyone only wants to save their own skin, then no one will survive. Bard¡¯s approach of separating the men from the women and children has been significantly effective. It ensures the safety of the vulnerable and inspires courage in the men to fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need your help with this.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Caman snorted lightly, expressing a sort of ¡®inevitable¡¯ disdain.


    He gazed at the people fleeing in all directions on the town square, and without lifting his head, he answered, ¡°It¡¯s not for you.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, began to descend the stairs: ¡°By the way, Bard¡¯s side captured a prisoner who claims to be ¡®Father Saul.¡¯ When you have time, help me verify that.¡±


    Caman paid no heed to Winters, but the holy emblem in his hand inadvertently slipped and plummeted to the ground.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À?.§ã¦Ï


    ¡­


    At the church entrance, Xial and Heinrich had prepared their horses and were standing by.


    The fully-armed Samukin saluted with his sword hand: ¡°The Volunteer Brigade is ready to sound the bells for battle at any moment.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty.¡± Winters stepped into the stirrup and mounted his horse, with an easy demeanor: ¡°Even if there¡¯s a battle in the afternoon, the morning is for everyone to rest well, to prepare for the fight. Besides, we won¡¯t be going to war today.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ where are you going?¡± Samukin was slightly panicked.


    Winters pulled the reins and gently nudged the horse¡¯s flanks: ¡°Choma Khan is showing off over there, I¡¯m going to check out the commotion.¡±


    As the Warhorse trotted off, Samukin followed behind, calling out anxiously, ¡°Are you just taking Xial and Heinrich with you? Take some more guards with you! Wait for me, I¡¯ll come along too!¡±


    Winters laughed heartily and spurred his horse away from Niutigu Valley.


    ¡­


    The Green Plumed Feathers War-Standard advanced along the west bank, declaring to both friends and foes the arrival of the ¡°Khan¡± on the battlefield.


    Winters rode near the east bank, continuing until the War-Standard on the opposite bank turned around and the roar of battle subsided.


    ¡°Look.¡± Winters pointed with his whip across the river: ¡°Choma Khan is turning back.¡±


    ¡°Shall we also return?¡± asked Xial.


    ¡°Map.¡±


    Heinrich carefully withdrew a large map from his saddlebag and handed it over to the military commissioner for public welfare.


    Surveying the land, Winters found some landmarks to identify their location, and he laughed, ¡°Ho, we¡¯re almost at Forging Village.¡±


    Xial exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Forging Village? Isn¡¯t that some twenty kilometers away?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s twenty-three kilometers.¡± Winters made a mark on the map: ¡°One round of war cries marks one camp, that¡¯s why I had you two keeping count.¡±


    ¡°A camp? Choma Khan¡¯s camp actually stretches out for twenty kilometers?!¡± Xial was even more astonished.


    ¡°The Herders have plenty of livestock, if they don¡¯t spread out, there would be no room for the horses to graze.¡± Winters rolled up the map, followed by knocking on his left shin several times with his boot:


    ¡°Even though the west bank is scorched ground, without the upcoming battle, the middle-level leaders of the Terdon Tribe still dare not change their marching route. But now Choma Khan has arrived, and this pack of starving wolves from the Terdon Tribe are getting restless.¡±


    Perhaps it was because the river water was too cold, since the day he made a surprise crossing to attack the Taltai Division, Winters¡¯ old leg injury had flared up again, and he had no choice but to walk with a cane.


    ¡°Should we return now?¡±


    ¡°No hurry, let¡¯s go a bit further, past this hill is Forging Village. Come on, let¡¯s go and see.¡±


    Winters leapt onto his horse and galloped away. Xial and Heinrich swiftly followed. The three men crested the hill and set out towards Forging Village.


    ¡­


    In the great tent of the Terdon Tribe, all the chiefs, both great and small, had been summoned for a council.


    The skylight was covered with cowhide, leaving the inside of the tent dim, lit only by the flickering firelight.


    Nayen, Kota, and others sat in a circle around the campfire, indicating that the military council distinguished no rank or status, and everyone could speak their mind.


    ¡°We can¡¯t delay any longer!¡± Tie Chi, the uncle of the pyromancers, bellowed, his voice almost bursting through the tent: ¡°Decide on a forceful attack or a detour, we must take a stand!¡±


    Voices of agreement rose one after another:


    ¡°Tie Chi is right!¡±


    ¡°The little hay we brought has been eaten up. Now, the divine beasts are digging up roots to eat, and how can they get full on that?¡±


    ¡°Roots? A bit of fire from the two-legged creatures and even the roots are charred!¡±


    An elder with white at his temples among the Green Plumed Feathers stood up to speak, ¡°Our young messengers have sent word that the defense upstream is very lax. The warriors from Ganchor and Choma Khan have already crossed the river. If the two-legged creatures are blocking us here, we should avoid them and go around upstream or downstream.¡±


    Once again, the tent filled with voices of agreement.


    The Herders had no qualms about ¡°fleeing without fighting.¡± In Herder culture, there wasn¡¯t even a moral judgment against ¡°running away.¡±


    If it was advantageous they would advance, if not, they¡¯d retreat. What was so strange about running if they couldn¡¯t win?


    However, reality was often more amusing than rational.


    At this moment, the nobles of the Terdon Tribe who were present in the tent were all chiefs who hadn¡¯t been able to cross the river. The reason they hadn¡¯t crossed was because there were defending troops on the other side.

 Chapter 768 03-25 - 768 60 Intelligence_2

    ?Chapter 768: Chapter 60 Intelligence_2 Chapter 768: Chapter 60 Intelligence_2 ¡°`


    Logically speaking¡­ if you¡¯re blocking me downstream, can¡¯t I just go upstream to raid?


    But the Terdon nobles can¡¯t bypass; they can make small detours, but they can¡¯t maneuver over hundreds of kilometers.


    It¡¯s not because they¡¯re stubborn, inflexible, or reluctant to take a detour¡ªin fact, they¡¯re dying to.


    Take Tie Chi for example.


    When he heard others had entered the Newly Reclaimed Land and made a fortune, and then saw his own livestock growing thinner by the day, Tie Chi¡¯s heart ached as if it were being seared on a red-hot iron plate.


    But Tie Chi could not leave due to the military orders of the fire starters; he had to stay here.


    The marching routes of the Terdon people are not merely about ¡°how to walk,¡± they¡¯re also a means of allocating interests.


    ...


    If Tie Chi were to raid elsewhere, it would be like milking someone else¡¯s sheep.


    Only the fire starters, who decided on the marching routes, also have the authority to change them.


    Whatever the Kotachiefs decideis as solid as gold; for matters beyond the Kotachiefs¡¯ decision, any attempt to overstep would incur the severest punishment¡ªthe alpha wolf would not allow any member of the pack to challenge his authority, not even his own uncle.


    The Terdon nobles in the great tent waited eagerly, desperately, for three days, until they finally saw the fire starters.


    Everyone was waiting for the fire starters to speak so they could quickly leave behind this tough nut to crack and gorge themselves somewhere easier to bite.


    When the fire starters finally spoke, his first sentence was a question: ¡°Is Taltai alive or dead, do any of you know?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    No one knew.


    A Kotachief informed the fire starter: ¡°Among the living, there¡¯s none; the dead¡­ the bipeds took all the corpses away.¡±


    ¡°The people of Taltai that you sheltered, give them to me,¡± the fire starter said roughly. ¡°I have questions for them.¡±


    And no one objected, after all, there were hardly any survivors from the Taltai Division.


    ¡°What about Taltai¡¯s horses and goods?¡± asked a Kotachief.


    ¡°Keep those for yourselves.¡±


    Seeing it was only about handing a few people over, there was even less opposition.


    The great tent quieted down once again; everyone was waiting for the fire starter to speak, to talk about something more critical.


    The fire starter mused aloud, ¡°You and I¡­¡±


    ¡°Great Khan!¡± an urgent shout from an arrow tube soldier outside interrupted the fire starter; a military council was in session inside, and the arrow tube soldier did not dare to enter: ¡°The opposite bank has sent a messenger!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The fire starter rose abruptly, and in three strides he reached the tent entrance, kicking open the tent curtain: ¡°Where?¡±


    The tent also erupted into chaos, with the Kotachiefs standing up one after another, whispering and inquiring among themselves.


    ¡°Silence!¡± the fire starter bellowed.


    The tent suddenly fell silent.


    Then they removed the felt covering, opened the skylight, and the tent became instantly bright. The fire starter returned to his seat, while the Kotachiefs sat on either side, and everything was restored to its original state.


    The messenger was brought forward.


    As soon as he entered the great tent, the messenger fell to his knees, almost burying his face in the carpet.


    The fire starter said nothing. The old Translator understood and asked in the common language: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The messenger spoke, but in Hurd¡¯s tongue, and his voice was so faint it was almost indiscernible.


    The Terdon nobles exchanged glances, and ultimately it was Tie Chi who couldn¡¯t contain his temper: ¡°You gelded horse! Speak up!¡±


    ¡°Taltai¡¯s headman! I am Taltai headman¡¯s servant!¡±


    Servant, that means slave. A servant of the house meant a favored and trusted slave.


    The fiestarter¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°Taltai?¡± the old Translator squinted his eyes, asking on behalf of the fire starter: ¡°Is Taltai alive or dead?¡±


    ¡°No no no¡­ I do not know.¡±


    ¡°How did he cross the river?¡± the old Translator asked the arrow tube soldier escorting the messenger.


    ¡°On a raft.¡±


    ¡°Just him alone.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Impatient, Tie Chi slammed the table and demanded from the messenger: ¡°What do the bipeds want you to do?¡±


    The messenger, trembling on the ground, answered shakily: ¡°To deliver a message.¡±


    ¡°What message? Speak!¡±


    The messenger¡¯s adam¡¯s apple bobbed, afraid to speak.


    ¡°Speak!!!¡±


    With a quavering voice laced with a sob, the messenger stammered out a shout: ¡°The chief from the opposite bank¡­ Major Ronald wants to invite the Great Khan to cross the river and fight him¡­ he guarantees he will not obstruct the Great Khan¡¯s crossing¡­¡±


    ¡­


    While the Terdon Tribe was holding a military meeting on one side, Winters was conducting one in the Niutigu Valley as well.


    Compared with the Terdon Tribe, Winters¡¯s meeting was small in scale, consisting of five company commanders plus himself, a total of six people.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found a prisoner to send a message to the monkey-faced bastards across the river,¡± Winters announced with a smile: ¡°In Major Ronald¡¯s name, I¡¯ve invited the monkey-faced chieftain to cross the river and have a decisive battle with me.¡±


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, and other company commanders were first shocked, then utterly baffled.


    Swallowing hard, Bart Xialing asked, ¡°But¡­ will the Barbarian Chief agree?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters said as he unfolded a map on the table. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve promised the monkey-faced chieftain that I won¡¯t intercept him while he¡¯s crossing the river.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tamas exclaimed in surprise: ¡°But what if the barbarian actually crosses the river?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll strike the foe mid-crossing!¡± Winters replied as a matter of course.


    First, there was silence in the small room, which was soon followed by a burst of laughter.


    ¡°Are you trying to enrage the barbarian chieftain?¡± S?mukhin asked, blinking.


    ¡°If that¡¯s enough to enrage the monkey-faced chieftain, it shows he hasn¡¯t made much progress,¡± Winters said, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth: ¡°I want to see his reaction.¡±


    ¡°And if the Barbarian Chief doesn¡¯t respond?¡±


    ¡°No response is a response in itself.¡±


    ¡°`


    S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 769 03-25 - 769 60 Intelligence_3

    ?Chapter 769: Chapter 60 Intelligence_3 Chapter 769: Chapter 60 Intelligence_3 Tamas curiously asked, ¡°Why should it be done in the name of Major Ronald?¡±


    Winters gazed out the window, a touch of helplessness in his voice, ¡°Our grudge with that monkey butt face is just too big. If he learns his opponents are me, or you all, then what he would do next¡­ would be very hard to gauge using common sense.¡±


    The room burst into laughter once again.


    ¡°If you ask me, get a pot, melt some gold and pour it over the top. Take it to the riverbank and hail the barbarians across the way like that,¡± Bart Xialing said with a sly smile, ¡°Who knows, maybe in the heat of the moment the barbarians would charge over recklessly. We could then take the chance to strike them on the head, knocking them all dead on the riverbank.¡±


    Winters was noncommittal, casting a glance at the others, ¡°Do all of you think the same?¡±


    Some nodded.


    Tamas shook his head, speaking softly, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. The Barbarian Chief on the opposite bank suffered a heavy loss at your hands last time. If he knew you were here, he would definitely be more cautious.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    ¡°How could barbarians be that smart?¡± Bart Xialing retorted.


    Tamas fell silent.


    ¡°If you were monkey butt face and knew I was across the river, what would your decision be?¡± Winters put his subordinates to the test, ¡°Think carefully, I want everyone to answer.¡±


    Bart Xialing, quick-witted as ever, was the first to speak up, ¡°If I were the Barbarian Chief, I would recklessly attack. If it were me¡­ I would avoid you and strike elsewhere.¡±


    After Bart Xialing spoke, there was a long silence before anyone else chimed in.


    Seeing his subordinates were not eager to respond, Winters started calling on them, ¡°Tamas, you¡¯re a company commander, you go first.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tamas muttered, ¡°If it were me¡­ I would retreat to the wastelands.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Winters, puzzled.


    Tamas¡¯s voice grew fainter, ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t dare fight you.¡±


    Winters, caught between laughter and tears, without a vine whip to use, picked up his walking stick and gave Tamas a sound thump, ¡°Am I asking for flattery here?!¡±


    Tamas didn¡¯t dare to dodge and took the hit squarely, stammering out, ¡°I meant I¡­ I can¡¯t beat you, so¡­ so if I can avoid fighting, I should¡­¡±


    Before he finished, Tamas took another hit.


    Winters spoke slowly, ¡°Retreating to the wastelands to conserve strength for a future battle is indeed a reasonable decision.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I meant,¡± Tamas quickly agreed, relieved.


    Winters sighed deeply, ¡°Samukin, you tell me.¡±


    Samukin, who had been enjoying the spectacle, was as struck by lightning. After much thought, he finally said, ¡°I think I could leave some troops to pin you down, then attack where our defenses are weak. Alternatively, cross into Vernge County via the river, and then take the land route into Iron Peak County.¡±


    Each unnamed company commander gave their responses, varied only slightly between a direct assault, retreat, or flanking maneuver.


    ¡°Do you understand my point now?¡± Winters leaned on his cane, ¡°The moment the fire baker knows I am here, it will change his decision-making process. Whatever he decides, it won¡¯t be the same as when he knew nothing. What¡¯s the advantage of the people of Terdun?¡±


    ¡°Manpower,¡± Bart Xialing jumped in, ¡°They have many more men than us. They all ride horses, so their mobility is also stronger than ours.¡±


    ¡°Manpower, mobility. Exactly these two things,¡± Winters nodded in approval, then continued to ask, ¡°What are our advantages?¡±


    ¡°Terrain. We¡¯re defending along the river. As long as the river doesn¡¯t freeze over, they can¡¯t cross,¡± Bart Xialing answered again.


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°Supplies,¡± Samukin said softly, ¡°We still have food. The west bank was burned, the longer the Terdun Barbarians drag it out, the less they have to eat. And the weather is getting colder.¡±


    ¡°Right, time is also on our side. The longer it drags on, the more uncomfortable the people of Terdun get,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing where our army has an absolute advantage.¡±


    Bart Xialing pondered hard, suggesting ¡°weapons,¡± ¡°tactics,¡± and a slew of other things, but Winters shook his head each time.


    Tamas carefully ventured, ¡°There¡¯s you. With you in command, our side has an absolute advantage.¡±


    Then the company commander took another hit, Winters hitting so hard that the cane broke.


    ¡°You just wait,¡± Winters slapped the broken stick on the table, saying bitterly, ¡°you wait until I bring a lead-filled cane next time.¡±


    Seeing that no one could come up with the answer, Winters pulled out a box of chess pieces, ¡°The people of Terdun don¡¯t know our true situation, while we know the details about the Terdun people¡ªbesides time and terrain, intelligence is indeed our most important advantage!¡±


    He arranged the chess pieces on the map, using knights to represent the Terdun people and castles to represent the Iron Peak County troops, making the situation of both sides crystal clear.


    On the southern front, the people of Terdun had penetrated Lower Iron Peak County and were wreaking havoc in Wolfton, Blackwater, and the Three Dog Town.


    On the northern front, the Terdun people had failed to take Shovel Port and were now turning towards Vernge County.


    On the central front, the main force of the Terdun Tribe led by the fire baker was blocked on the west bank of the Big Horn River.


    While the main forces of Iron Peak County were stationed in Saint Town, with troops also deployed to guard Niutigu Valley, Little Stone Town, and Forging Village.


    On the map¡¯s circle representing Revodan, there were no chess pieces placed.


    Winters¡¯s smile faded, his expression turning serious. Knowing that he was about to issue orders, everyone sat up straight.


    ¡°Take down my personal flag.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Without my permission, combat plans must not be passed down to commanders below the company level.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°The fire baker has people by his side who can use the common language, so combat plans and troop identifiers must all be encrypted.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Effective immediately,¡± Winters said, bringing his fist down hard on the map, ¡°Operation ¡®Storm¡¯ is officially launched!¡±

 Chapter 770 03-25 - 770 61 Confrontation

    ?Chapter 770: Chapter 61 Confrontation Chapter 770: Chapter 61 Confrontation The eve of the storm wasn¡¯t always peaceful.


    The arrival of the blue tasseled battle flags was like the beating of war drums, stirring the people of Terdun into action.


    Throughout the night, the sentries on the riverbank could hear the clamor of voices, the striking of hammers, and the turning of wheels on the opposite bank.


    At the same time, Terdun¡¯s light cavalry scattered in all directions, sweeping the riverbank inch by inch.


    The scouts Winters had stationed on the opposite bank were either forced to retreat or, unfortunately, perished.


    A supple, invisible, yet impenetrable net stretched across the west bank of the Big Horn River, cutting off any outside view.


    Evidently, the Terdun people were hurriedly assembling river-crossing equipment, possibly hide rafts, perhaps a floating bridge or even warships.


    ...


    No one knew what exactly the Terdun Tribe was constructing, but one thing was clear¡ªthe fire keepers intended to cross the river, and they didn¡¯t care if the people on the other side were aware of it.


    The Iron Peak County Military and citizens were also preparing for battle day and night.


    Reeds, shrubs, and woodlands near the water were all cut down and burned; watchtowers and bunkers rapidly rose from the ground, tightly controlling every inch of the river to deny the enemy any chance to cross unseen.


    The situation resembled that of two fierce beasts confronting each other, without growling or bristling, because both knew full well the other could not be intimidated.


    So the two beasts adopted a truly deadly stance: bodies hunched, muscles tensed, glaring at the enemy, silently building strength.


    Without a sound, the atmosphere became heavy. Even hardened soldiers couldn¡¯t help but grow tense, not to mention the ordinary citizens.


    If anyone could still eat heartily or sleep soundly, it seemed to be only Winters Montagne.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    At least, among the haggard and weary representatives of Niutigu Valley, Winters was the only one to wear a smile.


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Winters got straight to the point, ¡°you are all respectable gentlemen of this town, the true heads of Niutigu Valley. In light of the formidable enemy, I have gathered you here for one thing only.¡±


    Upon hearing this, some representatives turned pale, some had lifeless eyes, and others looked numb.


    What else could it be but more taxes, more conscription?


    The silence in the town hall was so deep you could hear a pulse beating; everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop.


    Winters paused briefly, looking around at everyone, and clearly enunciated one word: ¡°Latrines.¡±


    Half the people in the hall thought they had misheard.


    The other half uncomfortably shifted in their seats, believing the civil protector was going to impose a new type of tax¡ªthe latrine tax.


    ¡°From dawn today, Niutigu Valley is officially under martial law,¡± Winters explained amicably to the representatives, ¡°Martial law requires military discipline. Military discipline strictly prohibits defecating and dumping excrement anywhere.¡±


    He admonished them, ¡°I¡¯ve seen people place two planks across a windowsill and squat directly over it to relieve themselves. Such behavior is henceforth strictly forbidden. Violators will be fined, whipped, or put to hard labor. I hope each of you will set a good example and convey this seriously. Do you understand?¡±


    The temporary meeting was over as quickly as it had started.


    The civic representatives stumbled out of the town hall, standing on the street corner, looking at each other speechlessly.


    Even if Montaigne¡¯s civil protector had ordered taxes to be collected thirty years in the future, they wouldn¡¯t have been as shocked.


    But no matter what, the gentlefolk couldn¡¯t fathom that the civil protector had solemnly convened them just to discuss ¡°digging latrines.¡± S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This, this, this¡­¡± A tall, thin representative¡¯s face turned a beet red as he whispered in complaint, ¡°What is this nonsense? The barbarians are just across the river, and instead of thinking about fighting, he¡¯s teaching us to dig latrines? What kind of general does that? Can you even fight a war like that? I tell you, Niutigu Valley will be destroyed sooner or later! We should think of a way to move to Revodan.¡±


    Another short, fat representative disagreed, ¡°What do you know? Fearless in the face of danger, composed in command¡ªthat¡¯s the mark of a great general. I think Blood Wolf truly has the skill, a reputation well-earned.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, and you do?¡± the tall, thin representative retorted incredulously.


    ¡°I really do,¡± the short, fat representative said proudly, ¡°Back in the day, I was a personal attendant to General Yanosh. If it weren¡¯t for an arrow wound to my arm, who knows, I might have also¡­¡±


    ¡°What rubbish about being a personal attendant! Taking the chance to boast,¡± the tall, thin representative mercilessly burst his bubble. He scoffed, ¡°A servant, that¡¯s all! If you were a personal attendant to General Yanosh, would you still be here?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, I just know more than you,¡± the short, fat representative, face flushing and paling in turn, confronted the taller man, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this! When General Yanosh was at war, he would check every day, above all else, that the laborers had enough to eat. By your logic, you think General Yanosh didn¡¯t know how to fight either?¡±


    The tall and short representatives were long at odds; any chance would lead to an argument, occasionally escalating to a real fight.


    An older and more experienced representative intervened and tried to smooth things over, ¡°Both are right, you both make valid points. And His Excellency the civil protector is also correct; Niutigu Valley originally had fewer than three hundred people, and now? Thousands! If an epidemic broke out, none of us would be able to avoid it. His Excellency wants us to dig latrines, so let¡¯s dig. And latrines can still be used for saltpeter, isn¡¯t that good too?¡±


    ¡°He also wants to separate men and women!¡± the tall man exclaimed angrily, ¡°My family was living well together; why should we live apart? And give our house to someone else to live in? Why should we?¡±


    ¡°Keep it down! Do you have a death wish?¡± the older representative quickly interrupted, ¡°If someone overhears you talking to me like this, I¡¯ll get dragged into it. You may not care about your life, but we do!¡±


    The short, fat representative said resentfully, ¡°Don¡¯t stop him, and don¡¯t reason with him. Let him clash with Blood Wolf and see if Blood Wolf doesn¡¯t sort him out!¡±

 Chapter 771 03-25 - 771 61 Confrontation_2

    ?Chapter 771: Chapter 61 Confrontation_2 Chapter 771: Chapter 61 Confrontation_2 Having said that, the short and plump representative flung his hands and walked away.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± the tall and thin representative suddenly felt afraid¡ªafraid that the other would go to tattle.


    ¡°Cleaning the toilets!¡± the short and plump representative left without looking back.


    The other representatives found the situation dull and also dispersed.


    Samujin, who had come to see Winters, had just witnessed this little farce.


    ¡°Centurion! These guys really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for them.¡± Samujin reported to Winters indignantly: ¡°You teach them disease prevention, yet they dare to complain about you! I used to think these sirs were respectable people, but now I see they are all good-for-nothings.¡±


    Winters smiled and patted Samujin¡¯s arm: ¡°Do you have serious matters to report?¡±


    ...


    ¡®The Centurion is still too soft-hearted.¡¯ Samujin thought to himself: ¡®Wait, I¡¯ll handle this.¡¯


    Thinking this, Samujin stood at attention and replied: ¡°One of my boys, a scoundrel, just came back from a scouting mission across the river.¡±


    ¡°Across the river for scouting?¡± Winters¡¯s brow creased slightly: ¡°I didn¡¯t assign any river-crossing scouting missions to any of you.¡±


    Scouting was a task that could only be entrusted to the most reliable and competent individuals. One false step in gathering enemy intelligence could turn into delivering information to the enemy.


    ¡°He¡­ he went on his own,¡± Samujin¡¯s face was filled with helplessness: ¡°That kid, sigh, is too cunning and a strong swimmer. He floated a basket with a Hurd cloak across to the other side and swam across the river.¡±


    Winters sighed deeply: ¡°It¡¯s good he¡¯s back, bring him to me.¡±


    ¡°That kid.¡± Samujin hung his head down, fiddling with his hat as he spoke: ¡°He¡¯s seriously injured, nearly gone, can¡¯t even speak. He just keeps repeating ¡®wood,¡¯ ¡®wood¡¯.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Is he still alive?¡± Winters braced himself on the tabletop and suddenly stood up.


    ¡°Barely hanging on.¡±


    ¡°Take me to him.¡± Winters, ignoring the stiffness in his left leg, strode towards the door: ¡°Xial!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Xial, who was brushing the horses, quickly ran over.


    ¡°Go find Caman!¡±


    ¡­


    It was a boy who had crossed the river for an unauthorized scouting mission.


    The boy had large eyes, large ears, and also a rather large head, with a small scar on the tip of his nose¡ªan instantly likeable mischievous sprite at first glance.


    Judging by his appearance¡­ he wasn¡¯t even fifteen yet.


    But Samujin said that this ¡°boy¡± was actually already seventeen, just undernourished and therefore small and thin.


    One could tell he had become a qualified man by looking at the calluses on his hands.


    Now, his life might be permanently halted at seventeen.


    Because he had been hit by three arrows, one in the left arm, another in the left leg, both pass-through injuries.


    The arrows in his left arm and leg were not the deadliest, the most fatal was the third arrow that entered from his back and exited through his abdomen.


    The young man on the brink of death still had his lips slightly moving.


    Only by getting as close as possible, could one barely make out the word he was repeating: ¡°wood.¡±


    It was just Winters, Caman, and the injured in the room, no fourth person. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An unprecedented argument had just erupted between Winters and Caman¡ªover the latter¡¯s refusal to use Divine Arts.


    ¡°Listen to me, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help.¡± Caman, though he looked terrible, still patiently explained to Winters: ¡°Divine Arts¡­ Divine Arts can¡¯t achieve everything¡­¡±


    Winters suppressed his anger: ¡°Isn¡¯t the Divinity omnipotent?¡±


    ¡°The Lord certainly is omniscient and omnipotent!¡± Caman, too, lost his temper: ¡°But I have limitations!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to bring back the dead! He¡¯s alive! He¡¯s not dead! He¡¯s still alive!¡± Winters gritted his teeth, even begging humbly: ¡°I¡¯m asking you, I¡¯m pleading you! I¡¯m simply asking you to mend his wounds, just like you did for Andre! I beg you! Please!¡±


    Caman hesitated, struggled, and stared fiercely into Winters¡¯s eyes, searching for any signs that Winters was trying to uncover the secrets of Divine Arts.


    But he found nothing, and it only reinforced his belief that Winters genuinely wanted to save this child.


    Caman struggled, struggled, and struggled, barely managing to articulate: ¡°Andre¡¯s organs weren¡¯t damaged!¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be done with organs?!¡± Winters shouted.


    Caman, nearly losing control of his emotions, shouted back: ¡°It can¡¯t be done because it can¡¯t be done! Organs just can¡¯t be done! Andre received timely treatment for bleeding, this child has already lost too much blood! Forcing Divine Arts might kill him immediately! Do you understand?! Do you understand?!!!¡±


    Winters still had a shred of lucidity left, and he realized that his current actions amounted to exploiting an opportunity to probe into the mysteries of Divine Arts.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask! I¡¯ll ask nothing! Nor will I look or listen!¡± Winters clutched at Caman¡¯s arm: ¡°Just save him, just that! Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    Caman was silent.


    ¡°I know, I know it¡¯s not fair to you! It¡¯s very unfair, the most unfair sort of unfair! But only you can save him now! He is a believer too! He is also one of your flock!¡±


    Caman steadied his mind and said coldly: ¡°Then assume I don¡¯t want to save him!¡±


    ¡°Using Divine Arts might kill him, but without it, he will definitely die!¡± Winters strived to keep his emotions in check, clinging to reason: ¡°We have to try!¡±


    ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t die right away, he might still die within the next few days.¡± Caman pulled his arm away, his eyes cold: ¡°If you really care about him, you would let me prepare him for his last rites. Not ask me to extend his life, to let him struggle in pain for a few more days before he receives the Lord¡¯s grace!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters felt as though he had been betrayed.


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I want to save him for the intelligence in his head?¡± Winters¡¯s shoulders and fingertips were trembling: ¡°Is that what you think?¡±

 Chapter 772 03-25 - 772 61 Confrontation_3

    ?Chapter 772: Chapter 61 Confrontation_3 Chapter 772: Chapter 61 Confrontation_3 ¡°What you think is known only to you,¡± Caman said with a hardened heart, clutching the holy emblem and avoiding Winters¡¯ gaze.


    ¡°The arrow in his thigh was enough to cripple his ability to move! The arrow in his stomach could have killed him instantly!¡± Winters¡¯ emotions erupted like a flash flood as he bellowed furiously,


    ¡°Even so, he struggled to swim across the Big Horn River! The Big Horn River that could freeze a man to death! Why don¡¯t you understand? He wants to live! Even if it¡¯s painful, he wants to live! It is not me who wants him to suffer; it is he who wants to live! Even if there¡¯s just a glimmer of hope, he wants to live! Why can¡¯t you see that?¡±


    Caman, with his back to Winters, couldn¡¯t see his expression.


    The golden chain tied to the holy emblem pressed into the nape of Caman¡¯s neck, leaving a deep furrow. Eventually, the chain couldn¡¯t bear the strain and was violently torn apart.


    Caman whirled around, swinging his arm wide, and delivered a harsh right hook to Winters.


    In the instant the punch came flying, Winters instinctively entered a spellcasting state, but he suppressed his urge to counterattack and defend, clenching his teeth and taking the punch head-on.


    Winters staggered from the blow, gradually regaining his balance and moving his jaw, asking, ¡°Do you want to hit me again? I¡¯ll let you have another punch.¡±


    ...


    Leaning on his knees and panting heavily, Caman ultimately did not throw a second punch. He walked to the bedside, set down the holy emblem, and solemnly cleansed his hands.


    Winters discreetly stepped away.


    The commander and soldiers outside had already heard the intense argument inside the room and had consciously moved even further away.


    So now, outside the door, there was only Winters.


    Winters held his jaw, sitting silently outside the door. The pain gradually subsided, and a hint of swelling began to set in.


    Upon hearing the dispute quiet down and seeing Winters step outside, Tess approached cautiously. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã0


    Seeing Winters¡¯ swollen left cheek, Tess gasped in shock, ¡°What¡­ he¡­ Caman¡­ Priest Caman hit you?¡±


    ¡°Come here,¡± Winters beckoned Tess.


    Tess, without doubting, obediently walked up to Winters, and then received a solid kick from his boot.


    ¡°Hit me?¡± Winters was so infuriated that he began to laugh, ¡°Come on, explain to me, what does ¡®hit me¡¯ mean.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s this¡­ How did you end up like this?¡± Tess was utterly bewildered.


    After thinking for a moment, Winters replied, ¡°Priest Caman¡¯s condition for providing aid was that I take a punch from him without retaliating.¡±


    A trade like this? Tess didn¡¯t believe it, but nodded vigorously, ¡°I see, I understand now.¡±


    Winters held his cheek, slowly moving his jaw, ¡°I hope the kid can pull through, so I didn¡¯t take this punch for nothing.¡±


    Tess stood up straight, his expression serious as he saluted solemnly, ¡°Centurion, I thank you on behalf of that kid.¡±


    Winters returned the salute nonchalantly, ¡°One punch for a chance at life, it¡¯s quite a bargain.¡±


    ¡°To be able to punch you, Priest Caman also is¡­¡± Tess struggled to find the words and finally squeezed out, ¡°Worthy of remembrance for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°If he can save a life, that¡¯s what¡¯s truly worthy of remembrance for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Centurion,¡± Tess assured confidently, ¡°That kid has a huge will to live; he always manages to escape death. He¡¯s tough, like a poplar or a willow, tough enough that even dead branches can sprout when stuck into the ground. He¡¯s also adept at making baskets.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Claude.¡±


    While they were speaking, Caman stepped out of the room, looking at Winters with a cold gaze, ¡°I¡¯ve repaired his organs and treated the wounds on his left arm and leg. I left a small opening in the abdominal cavity to allow the pus and blood to drain out.¡±


    ¡°Repaired the organs?¡± Tess exclaimed with wide eyes. But he was quickly silenced by a look from Winters.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said to Caman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. He was lucky enough not to die on the spot. Even so, I¡¯ve only just barely extended his life. Death is merely postponed, and before the grace of the Lord, he will endure unimaginable torment.¡± Caman stared at Winters, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t regret it,¡± Winters said calmly, meeting his gaze, ¡°and you needn¡¯t either.¡±


    Caman walked away expressionless. He had underestimated the vitality and will to live of this young man named Claude.


    That night, just four hours later, Claude regained consciousness from his coma.


    ¡°Wood.¡± Claude¡¯s voice was faint, ¡°The barbarians are gathering firewood that has been burned, still dragging wood back from farther away.¡±

 Chapter 773 03-25 - 773 62

    ?Chapter 773: Chapter 62 Chapter 773: Chapter 62 The dim moon hung diagonally in the sky, with the stars glittering all around.


    The people of Terdun lifted the sheepskin rafts into the water, quietly paddling towards the East Bank.


    The dead of night was actually not the best time for a sneak attack; in the utter silence, even the smallest sounds of the day could be easily detected.


    Therefore, the people of Terdun chose to strike before dawn.


    The river babbled, birds circled and chirped, and packs of wolves howled in the wilderness. The continuous chopping, hammering, and neighing of horses and men still persisted in the Terdun camp.


    In this way, the sound of the oars blended into the background noise of nature and was almost indistinguishable.


    Before they realized it, the sheepskin rafts had already floated across the heart of the river; the East Bank of Big Horn River was tranquil.


    ...


    Apart from a few crows, the people of Terdun didn¡¯t notice any living creature being disturbed by their presence.


    However, atop the riverbank, there were two pairs of eyes watching everything unfold. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How many rafts?¡± Tamas laid atop the riverbank, squinting to discern the number. ¡°Can you see clearly?¡±


    ¡°Sergeant.¡± Peter [the Dwarf] Bunir lay beside the sergeant, timidly answering, ¡°I am like a bird blinded by the fog.¡±


    ¡°Blinded by the fog? Eat more fish then.¡± Without thinking, Tamas said, ¡°I used to have trouble seeing at night too, but I got over it by following Blood Wolf and eating deer offal for a while.¡±


    Even before the people of Terdun entered the water, the sentries in the watchtower on the embankment had already noticed the unusual activity of the barbarians on the opposite shore.


    The first platoon stationed along this stretch of the river was quickly readied for action, now hiding just behind the riverbank.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    In just a few moments, the rafts drew closer and closer to the shore, and little Peter¡¯s forehead began to sweat more and more.


    ¡°Sergeant, the barbarians are coming ashore.¡± Peter¡¯s voice was dry and his palms cold; he couldn¡¯t help but urge, ¡°Hurry up and let everyone else come up!¡±


    Tamas stopped staring at the river in front of him and turned to look upstream and downstream instead, ¡°Don¡¯t rush, let¡¯s wait for them to land.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late once the barbarians land,¡± Peter said, sweating profusely.


    ¡°What?¡± Tamas glanced at his subordinate. ¡°You want to command the first platoon?¡±


    The dwarf Peter deflated suddenly.


    ¡°We only have two grappling hooks in hand, which are meant for signaling. The barbarians aren¡¯t ashore¡ªcan you reach them?¡±


    Peter sulkily replied, ¡°Oh.¡±


    After lecturing his subordinate, Tamas¡¯s attention returned to the enemy, his eyebrows furrowing ever tighter. ¡°Something¡¯s not right, a little off. Only ten rafts?¡±


    ¡°Ten¡­ is that too many or too few?¡±


    ¡°Few, way too few.¡± Tamas scratched at the whiskers on his temples, utterly puzzled. ¡°They think they can occupy the riverbank with just ten rafts? What are the barbarians up to?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me.¡± Little dwarf Peter spoke as if he were a fly. ¡°I haven¡¯t a clue either¡­¡±


    What happened next took Tamas and Peter completely by surprise¡ªthe barbarians¡¯ sheepskin rafts didn¡¯t even approach the shore.


    At a distance of a dozen meters from the riverbank, the men on the rafts lifted an object and threw it into the river.


    ¡°What on earth is that about?¡± Peter, unable to see clearly, was anxious.


    Tamas could see clearly, but was just as clueless.


    Struggling to understand, Tamas suddenly realized the rafts had stopped drifting downstream¡ªa flash of insight struck him: ¡°It¡¯s an anchor! The barbarians are setting down anchors!¡±


    ¡°Anchors?¡± Peter had an epiphany, then asked with confusion, ¡°Do sheepskin rafts even use anchors?¡±


    ¡°They do now,¡± Tamas said, his eyes growing more severe by the second.


    ¡°So what do we do now, Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit longer, let¡¯s see what the barbarians are up to.¡±


    Nine sheepskin rafts were anchored in the riverway, while one drifted towards the riverbank.


    Tamas began to grasp the situation: the raft floating towards the shore was probably a sentry, but the focus was clearly on the nine rafts in the river.


    Unable to wait any longer and seeing that the enemy had no intention of landing, Tamas decided to take the initiative to strike.


    ¡°Bring the horses here.¡± Tamas whispered to Peter, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the cavalry charge first. Once the barbarians notice me, then the rest will move.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Little Peter panicked: ¡°There are only six in the cavalry, it¡¯s too dangerous! You can¡¯t die! We should all go together, it¡¯s safer.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Tamas scoffed. ¡°The barbarians won¡¯t go head-to-head with us. I¡¯ll see if I can catch a prisoner to interrogate before they can flee.¡±


    ¡­


    After a brief preparation, as the night sky turned a deep shade of blue, Tamas led five riders to leap out from the riverbank and charge towards the landing point.


    Just as the thundering sound of the horse hooves began, the barbarians on the shore immediately pushed off in their sheepskin rafts, fleeing in panic.


    Tamas spurred his horse to pursue them into the river, but the animal refused to move forward once the water reached its knees.


    Tamas watched the barbarians¡¯ sheepskin rafts row into deeper waters and pounded his thigh in frustration.


    The people of Terdun on the other nine rafts drew their bows and took aim at the riders on the shore.


    Arrows screeched through the air heading for Tamas and his men.


    The rafts were unstable, and the Terdun archers, kneeling to shoot and further challenged by the undulating water, could not perform their archery skills to their fullest.


    But Tamas wasn¡¯t willing to test his luck and blew a whistle, leading his men to quickly leave the riverbank.


    When the majority of the first platoon reached the shore, the battle situation became somewhat odd.


    The barbarians in the river couldn¡¯t make it ashore, and the soldiers from the bank could not descend into the water.


    With the two sides separated by a dozen meters of water, they ¡°fought¡± each other, and it was Iron Peak County, despite its numerical advantage, that seemed to be at a slight disadvantage.


    Because Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry were organized into ¡°pure squads¡± and, according to formation, the first platoon was equipped with long spears, the soldiers currently only had lances and javelins at hand.


    Whereas the men of Terdun, even though the stability of their ¡°shooting platforms¡± was terrible, each had a bow in hand.

 Chapter 774 03-25 - 774 62_2

    ?Chapter 774: 62_2 Chapter 774: 62_2 Peter Buniel leveled his boar spear and, shouting haphazardly, charged towards the riverbank.


    During the charge, Peter¡¯s hands and feet were icy cold, and his mind was a blank slate. He mechanically moved his legs, planted his feet, moved his legs again, planted his feet again¡­


    When he came back to his senses, he found himself standing in the icy river with not a single comrade by his side, while the barbarians a dozen meters away were shooting arrows at him.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Peter turned and ran.


    Running was almost instinctual for him; being bullied, swallowing grievances, escaping¡­ He had been living like this for all of his twenty-three years.


    But this time he couldn¡¯t escape, as the warriors who had caught up with him from behind blocked his way.


    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Sergeant Bunir, please show some mercy next time when you charge, slow down a bit,¡± someone panted and complained. ¡°We know you¡¯re ¡®Six Hundred Acres.¡¯ You¡¯re brave, you¡¯re not afraid of death, but you¡¯ve got to wait for us to catch up with you, right?¡±


    ...


    Following the commendation ceremony of the previous days, the soldiers, with a mix of awe, envy, and jealousy, had given Peter Bunir, the sergeant, a new nickname¡ª¡±Six Hundred Acres.¡±


    The new nickname spread like wildfire, not only throughout other units but also among civilians. In just a few days, ¡°Six Hundred Acres¡± had become a household name in Niutigu Valley.


    Everyone said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at Sergeant Bunir¡¯s short stature and his usual listlessness; once he is in battle, he becomes as ferocious as a wild beast.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± A centurion scolded the warrior who was speaking. ¡°Show some respect!¡±


    Another warrior asked Peter in a panicked manner, ¡°We can¡¯t cross, what do we do, Sergeant?¡±


    Probably for the first time since he could remember, someone was asking Peter Buniel, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Peter wanted to swallow his saliva, but his mouth was dry. His lips parted and closed several times, but in the end, he didn¡¯t make a sound.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    The frightened warrior asked again, ¡°What do we do, Sergeant?¡±


    If it were a matter of degree of panic and fear, Peter was more petrified than the warrior asking him, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    The Herders had a habit of using whistling arrows; these arrows would scream as they pierced the air and were utterly horrifying as they whooshed by. The sound reminded the listener: The Grim Reaper¡¯s scythe had missed by just an inch¡ªnext time, you wouldn¡¯t be so lucky.


    Peter was running at the front and was also wearing a helmet. The Terdun saw him as a leader and concentrated their volleys of arrows on him.


    Arrows whistled through the air like hailstones; Peter wanted to run. He wanted to run back to the river embankment, back to Niutigu Valley, back to his little burrow.


    ¡°Will you make a decision?¡± The same warrior asked for the third time.


    He was so frantic he was almost in tears, and the others were all looking expectantly at Peter.


    Peter¡¯s lips quivered, and he struggled to voice the syllables, ¡°Retreat.¡±


    The centurion and the warriors around him immediately raised their arms and signaled to the others, ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡±


    Without ranged weapons like bows, crossbows, or muskets, standing on the shore meant only taking hits, so logically, they should retreat.


    However, Captain Thomas¡¯s whereabouts were unknown, no one was there to lead in battle, and without military orders, no one dared to retreat.


    At a time of such dilemma, a cry of ¡°retreat¡± was as welcome as rain from heaven. The soldiers, helping the injured, quickly followed Sergeant Peter Buniel back to the river embankment.


    Seeing the people on the bank retreat, the Terdun on the sheepskin rafts acted as if they had won a great victory. They beat their chests, howled and screamed wildly, making all sorts of indecent gestures.


    Seeing the barbarians pull down their trousers to urinate at them, a hot-tempered centurion was unable to contain his rage and cursed endlessly.


    ¡°What do we do, Sergeant Bunir?¡± The centurion asked Peter with red eyes, ¡°Are we just going to watch?¡±


    Peter didn¡¯t answer; his full attention was on an arrow.


    It was a trembling arrow, its sharp head deeply embedded in someone¡¯s flesh. The person trembled with pain, causing the arrow to quiver along.


    Peter¡¯s ¡°soul¡± trembled, much like that arrow.


    He realized there were many moments when, if he had just taken one more step or one fewer, there would have been an arrow, or perhaps many arrows, embedded in his flesh.


    ¡°What do we do, Sergeant?¡± The enraged centurion shouted again.


    ¡°Arrows,¡± Peter said vaguely. ¡°Take¡­ take them out.¡±


    ¡°You mean to prioritize treating the wounded?¡± another, older centurion asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Peter repeated numbly. ¡°Prioritize treating the wounded.¡±


    The older centurion saluted and organized the stretcher-bearers to go.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± The centurion from before asked angrily, ¡°Are we going to just ignore the barbarians?¡±


    No one had ever asked Peter ¡°What do we do?¡± before, but today the question kept recurring.


    ¡®What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? Why keep asking me what to do? How would I know what to do?¡¯ Peter Buniel¡¯s head spun; he suddenly thought, ¡°Who do I usually ask ¡®What do we do¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ The captain!¡± Like grasping at a lifeline, Peter hurriedly asked those around him, ¡°Where¡¯s the captain?¡±


    ¡°The captain seems to have been hit by an arrow!¡± someone replied. ¡°I saw the cavalry head north.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡¯re the highest ranking now,¡± another person answered.


    Upon hearing, ¡°You¡¯re the highest ranking now,¡± it was as if Peter Buniel had been struck by lightning.


    The small, timid Peter was cowardly because he himself admitted he was a coward; thus, he resigned himself to his cowardice.


    Peter lifted his head, and nearly a hundred pairs of eyes were looking directly at him¡ªall eyes were on him.


    Nearly fifty pairs of eyes stared intently at him¡ªwith nowhere to hide or escape, no matter where he looked, he would meet someone else¡¯s gaze.

 Chapter 775 03-25 - 775 62_3

    ?Chapter 775: 62_3 Chapter 775: 62_3 It was just a moment, but from Peter¡¯s knees to chest, he was trembling¡ªnot a tremble of the mind, but a physical shaking.


    He bowed his head deeply, not daring to raise his eyes to look at everyone.


    ¡°Wait¡­ wait for the Centurion.¡± Peter stared at the tips of his shoes, fiddling with the corner of his clothing, a certain invisible force almost crushing him: ¡°Wait for the Centurion to return¡­¡±


    ¡°What did you say? Can you speak up?¡± someone asked tentatively. Sergeant Bunir¡¯s voice was too low; no one could clearly hear what he was saying.


    Accustomed to obedience, and ¡°Can you speak up?¡± sounded like a command, Peter instinctively raised his voice and repeated, ¡°Wait for the Centurion to return!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Centurion and soldiers of the company answered in unison.


    Peter was startled.


    ...


    For everyone, waiting for Centurion Tamas to return was the safest approach.


    ¡°So we just stand here and watch?¡± An irate Centurion pointed at the river, his anger boiling over as he asked, ¡°You own six hundred acres! Are you going to let savages shame us for nothing? Shame you?¡±


    The first company had already pulled back to a place beyond bowshot, and it seemed the Terdon people did not intend to waste arrows.


    Some of the Terdon people put away their bows and arrows, apparently busy with something else; other Terdon people remained on guard with their bows, provocatively gesturing at the people of Iron Peak County atop the river embankment, their actions crudely offensive.


    ¡°You¡¯re angry, but do you think we¡¯re not? Isn¡¯t the problem the lack of weapons?¡± another round-faced Centurion couldn¡¯t suppress his irritation, schooling the former, ¡°Or should we run to the shore like dumb donkeys and make targets of ourselves? In my opinion, we¡¯d better send someone back to Niutigu Valley right away to request reinforcements from the Protectorate Official.¡±


    ¡°For just a few dozen savages, calling for reinforcements from the Protectorate Official? You might not think it¡¯s shameful, but damn it, I find it shameful!¡±


    ¡°We should at least get some muskets sent over!¡± the round-faced Centurion asked Peter, ¡°What do you think? Sergeant.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter Bunir nodded subconsciously.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll have someone go¡­ Ah, this way,¡± the round-faced Centurion felt uneasy and decided with a wave of his hand, ¡°Sergeant if you agree, I¡¯ll go myself.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter nodded.


    The round-faced Centurion gave a salute and hurried off toward the direction of the watchtower¡ªto presumably borrow a horse.


    ¡°Even if we managed to get muskets, we wouldn¡¯t know how to use them,¡± another Centurion with grey eyes said with a sneer, ¡°Do any of you know how to use a musket?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads.


    Those in the battalion who knew how to use a musket had been assigned to the musketeer company, and even then, Montaigne the Protectorate Official had not managed to muster a full company of musketeers, adding some more mentally agile folk to barely make the numbers.


    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t need muskets,¡± the grey-eyed Centurion weighed his spear, jokingly suggesting, ¡°We might as well throw these things over there, might nail a savage or two, and it¡¯d save us some effort on the way back to camp.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter nodded.


    The grey-eyed Centurion was taken aback and quickly gestured, ¡°Losing a weapon is cause for a whipping, just a joke.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter mechanically nodded.


    The grey-eyed Centurion¡¯s eyes darted around, his smile taking on a sly edge, ¡°Better to keep the spears.¡±


    ¡­


    The Terdon people on the rafts noticed the two-legged folk on the earthworks once again approaching the riverbank.


    The leading Hong Lingyu hastily called his kin to arms.


    Aside from a few busy with more pressing matters, all the Terdon people took up their bows and notched their arrows, waiting for the command.


    The day had already grown dimly bright, and Hong Lingyu took out a red-fletched arrow, considering the angle as he shot it.


    The arrow traced an arc and stuck in the riverbank, its red feathers visible.


    Instead of running or charging, the two-legged folk formed a loose horizontal line and advanced slowly toward the riverbank.


    The most peculiar thing was¡­ they were not carrying weapons.


    ¡®Could it be they¡¯re coming to negotiate?¡¯ Hong Lingyu puzzled, ¡®Or to surrender?¡¯


    No matter what the two-legged folk were up to, the moment they crossed the red-fletched arrow, Hong Lingyu bellowed a command, drawing his bow and firing an arrow. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rest of the Terdon people followed Hong Lingyu¡¯s lead, the ¡°twang, twang¡± of bowstrings vibrating in chorus as sparse arrows flew towards the loosely formed line of two-legged folk.


    The two-legged folk also started running, using their legs to their fullest.


    A small individual wearing a helmet adorned with mane decoration was at the forefront of the charge.


    Hong Lingyu recognized this person and urgently called his subordinates to target him. Last time, it was this person who had led the charge, clearly a leader among the two-legged folk.


    But that small two-legged individual ran like a wild horse; he had reached the water¡¯s edge before the third volley of arrows could be loosed.


    The sheepskin rafts of the Terdon Tribe were only a dozen meters away from the shore, and that short individual flung his arms with all his might, hurling an object viciously at the sheepskin rafts.


    The object, akin to a grey meteor, skimmed across the water, and Hong Lingyu, unable to dodge in time, was hit squarely on the forehead.


    First there was intense pain, then blood blinded his eyes, Hong Lingyu lost his balance and fell into the river.


    The other two-legged people also reached the riverbank, one after another, swinging their arms to hurl objects at the sheepskin rafts. There were also two-legged individuals waving what seemed to be fabric torn from their clothes, whistling in the air before being thrown.


    ¡°Stones, they¡¯re stones.¡±


    Hong Lingyu had a sudden realization, his last conscious thought before sinking to the bottom of the river.

 Chapter 776 03-25 - 776 63 Testing

    ?Chapter 776: Chapter 63: Testing Chapter 776: Chapter 63: Testing The sun rose to the height of the tree branches as two riders galloped swiftly atop the river embankment.


    Tamas suddenly slowed down in front, and seeing this, Winters also abruptly pulled the warhorse to a halt.


    ¡°Over there, Centurion,¡± Tamas pointed to a bend in the Big Horn River. ¡°The barbarians anchored right there.¡±


    The warhorse shuffled its legs restlessly, as if it could smell the lingering scent of blood in the air.


    Winters gently tugged at the reins, scrutinizing and evaluating the dam, slopes, ditches, and rivers before him.


    After a moment of contemplation, he pulled out a map book whose cover had already turned dark, made a few markings, and then put it back in the saddlebag. ¡°Let¡¯s go down and take a look!¡±


    Winters merely applied slight pressure with his legs, and the sensitive warhorse immediately understood.


    ...


    The mix-blood steed of tan black color, with a white star on its forehead, and a tall, slender body, leaped down from the embankment and raced towards the riverbank, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    Lacking such horsemanship, Tamas carefully slid down the slope at an angle, hurriedly following behind.


    The battlefield had been cleared, birds chirped continuously, and the river flowed quietly towards the north.


    If one didn¡¯t closely observe the red-black bloodstains between the stones, it would be impossible to tell that a fierce battle had taken place here just a few hours ago.


    Question: In a close-range contest between bows and arrows and stones, who wins?


    Answer: The side with more people wins.


    It was unlikely that any of the Terdun people were killed on the spot by the stones, but many were injured. Seeing the battle going poorly, they did not hesitate to cut the anchor ropes and floated back to the West Bank.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    After the battle, a headcount revealed three corpses retrieved from the water, all drowned, including one wearing a helmet adorned with red feathers; downstream, the second cohort reported six floating bodies.


    In total, nine enemies killed, number of wounded unknown, two horn bows captured, and eighty-two arrows recovered; on our side, three seriously injured and a number of minor injuries.


    By the numbers alone, this battle seemed like child¡¯s play.


    However, for the participants, they were actively trying to kill each other with the constant risk of losing their lives at any moment¡ªthis truth could only be comprehended by those who have truly faced the hail of arrows and stones, with trembling knees and clenched jaws.


    So it was a victory, albeit a small one, but undeniable nonetheless.


    It was only after dawn that Winters learned of the first cohort¡¯s small-scale encounter.


    It wasn¡¯t because he overslept, but rather when the messenger returned to Niutigu Valley, he had already rushed to another battlefield.


    It wasn¡¯t just the first cohort that had seen action last night; three battles had erupted in succession, with the other two engagements taking place in the twelfth cohort¡¯s defense area, bigger and fiercer than the first.


    Three forces of Terdun people crossed the river within less than two hours of each other, spanning nearly forty kilometers.


    Winters had changed horses five times just going back and forth, riding more than sixty kilometers.


    Thus, at this very moment, the ever-present Xial and Heinrich were not by Winters¡¯ side¡ªboth were barely able to walk straight when they dismounted and had been ordered by Winters to rest.


    Upon reaching the riverbank, Winters dismounted and strolled along the shoreline. His gaze swept over the water and up the hillside, extending all the way to the horizon of the river valley.


    Seeing the Centurion observing the terrain, Tamas didn¡¯t dare to interrupt. He tried observing the surroundings as well, but all he could see were water, grass, stones, and earth.


    Suddenly, Winters stopped walking. Tamas saw the Centurion bend over, apparently picking something up.


    After examining it briefly, Winters passed the object to the cohort leader, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Bone arrow.¡±


    Tamas looked intently and saw¡ªit was a polished bone arrowhead, though the tip had broken off.


    As a veteran who had experienced the battles of the Great Wilderness, Tamas was aware of some enemy details. Although the Hurd tribes still commonly used stone and bone arrows, at least the Terdon Tribe had iron arrowheads.


    So Tamas was somewhat confused. ¡°The Terdun barbarians also use bone and stone arrows? Don¡¯t they have iron arrows? Is it just to prevent us from using their arrowheads?¡±


    ¡°How many arrows were recovered?¡± asked Winters.


    ¡°Only about eighty with intact heads, and some shafts,¡± Tamas said with a hint of frustration. ¡°The ones with stone and bone heads shot at rocks were all chipped.¡±


    ¡°None of iron?¡±


    After careful recollection, Tamas answered earnestly, ¡°None of iron.¡±


    ¡°Others may not be aware,¡± Winters mused as he paced. ¡°The direct vassals of the Fire-bearers should have iron arrowheads.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying¡­ the forces last night weren¡¯t the barbarians¡¯ elite?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they send the elite as the vanguard to ford the river?¡± Winters countered the question.


    ¡°I¡­ I do not know,¡± Tamas began to sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°You are already acting as the camp commander; you need to think further ahead.¡±


    Tamas hesitated before suggesting, ¡°Maybe it was to test us, or perhaps to wear us down.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters nodded. ¡°On the surface, that seems to be the case.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ what about underneath?¡±


    ¡°I do not know either,¡± Winters¡¯ eyes twinkled with a hint of amusement. ¡°War is, after all, the art of deception, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Tamas was utterly perplexed.


    Winters, however, changed the subject. ¡°The barbarians anchored here last night?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, right here.¡±


    Winters stood precisely at the river bend, where the water flowed in a clockwise direction.


    The outer side of the river bend on the West Bank had fast waters and a deep riverbed, while the inside of the river bend on the East Bank had slower waters and a shallow riverbed.


    ¡°The Terdun people have a good eye, it¡¯s a good crossing,¡± Winters remarked. ¡°From here, there¡¯s no need to send men all the way to the shore; just into the shallow waters will do. The remaining distance can be crossed on foot. Besides anchoring, what else did the Terdun people do last night?¡±

 Chapter 777 03-25 - 777 63 Testing_2

    ?Chapter 777: Chapter 63: Testing_2 Chapter 777: Chapter 63: Testing_2 ¡°I¡¯m not very clear on that.¡± Tamas said, ashamedly, ¡°My horse was hit by two arrows and crazily ran off for several kilometers. Last night¡¯s battle was commanded by Bunir¡¯s soldiers. According to him, it seemed like the barbarians were pulling something out of the water.¡±


    ¡°Pulling something out?¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°I think they first dropped it in and then pulled it up¡ªit must have been a way to measure the depth of the water.¡±


    ¡°Measure the depth?¡± Tamas was taken aback and asked incredulously, ¡°Do you mean the Terdun barbarians are trying to learn on the fly? To build a bridge over the Big Horn River just like us?¡±


    ¡°I doubt those monkey-ass-faced fools would be that dumb.¡± Winters smiled, ¡°If the people of Terdun start driving piles and building bridges across the river, it would be like putting a noose around their own necks.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tamas¡¯s mood was a rollercoaster of emotions.


    ¡°Time,¡± Winters said flatly, ¡°the weather is getting colder by the day, and the food supplies are dwindling; they don¡¯t have much time. But this place indeed is a good crossing point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to keep a close watch on this area!¡± Tamas immediately perked up.


    ...


    Winters asked leisurely, ¡°How do you know they will cross the river here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ uh¡­¡± Tamas found himself at a loss for words.


    ¡°Purely from a terrain perspective, there are over forty places suitable for a forceful crossing in Iron Peak County,¡± Winters patiently explained to the battalion commander and acting camp head, ¡°We might be able to control these forty-plus locations if we stretch ourselves thin, but this mindset could also be exploited by the people of Terdun.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what should we do?¡±


    ¡°War is the art of deception, remember that,¡± Winters¡¯ expression turned serious and his tone formal, ¡°We make every effort to deceive and mislead the people of Terdun, and the people of Terdun are trying their utmost to deceive us. Tell me, are the fire-makers still on the other side of the river?¡±


    ¡°They are?¡± Tamas dared not answer.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°That flag is still there¡­¡±


    ¡°When I was in Niutigu Valley, was my flag raised there?¡± Winters spoke with such calmness it was as if devoid of any emotion:


    ¡°The fire-makers might already be gone from the opposite bank, and Terdun¡¯s elite might have silently broken camp; these recent raids could be smokescreens or perhaps indeed preparations for a forceful crossing; as for the enemy that came last night, they might be elites deliberately using bone arrows, or they could just be a bunch of slave soldiers. Even the intelligence that reaches our mouths could be poisoned meatballs.¡±


    Tamas struggled to keep up with the Centurion¡¯s line of thought: ¡°Then¡­ what do we do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell,¡± Winters said as if discussing the weather, ¡°Intelligence is always incomplete, a mix of truth and falsehoods, complex and messy. The old marshal once said¡ªthe duty of a commander is to make the right decisions based on the limited information, true or false as it may be.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here,¡± Tamas licked his lips and said wholeheartedly, ¡°so I don¡¯t need to think about this kind of thing, or else I would certainly go mad.¡±


    Normally when faced with such blunt flattery, Winters would put on a stern face and give a lecture.


    But this time, he said nothing and merely sighed, casually kicking a small pebble into the river by his boot.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to disappoint you,¡± Winters said somewhat indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t have that ability either. For example, I can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s happening on the other side of the river, nor can I fathom what the fire-makers are planning.¡±


    Hearing such a disheartening comment from the seemingly infallible Centurion sparked a sudden fear in Tamas. His forehead and back broke out in sweat, his heart pounding wildly, and he became involuntarily parched with cold palms.


    But as his unease surpassed a certain threshold, Tamas began to feel completely numb. There was only one thought left in his mind, solid like a foundation.


    ¡°Wherever you point, that¡¯s where I¡¯ll strike,¡± Tamas said with heartfelt determination, ¡°You tell me what to do, and I¡¯ll get it done.¡±


    ¡°Having the mentality of a tool is not right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to be your tool. Just tell me what we should do,¡± Tamas pleaded.


    ¡°What should we do? Since we can¡¯t figure it out, let¡¯s not bother guessing,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Let the storm rage on, for I shall remain unmoved.¡±


    ¡°Let the storm rage on, for I shall remain unmoved,¡± Tamas mused over these words.


    Winters gazed into the eyes of the battalion commander and asked, ¡°What is the first phase of the ¡®Storm Plan¡¯?¡±


    Tamas responded reflexively, ¡°Hold the river! Don¡¯t let a single person cross!¡±


    ¡°Time is not on the enemy¡¯s side,¡± Winters¡¯s words were clear and distinct, ¡°No matter the cost, no matter what tricks and schemes the baboons¡¯ asses have, our only concern is to hold the line along the riverbank of Central Iron Peak County. We cannot be led by them, we must instead force them to take the path we¡¯ve drawn for them, it¡¯s that simple.¡±


    Tamas saluted with his hand.


    He earnestly requested, ¡°In last night¡¯s battle, the first platoon suffered losses because they couldn¡¯t reach the barbarians. Please issue us some muskets and bows and arrows. Even if many more barbarians come, I will hold out until the reinforcements arrive.¡±


    ¡°The losses are my neglect,¡± Winters said with a light laugh, ¡°The old Marshal¡¯s manual states that if sword and shield soldiers lack the covering fire of crossbows and muskets, they should be issued javelins. The manual also says ¡®sword and shield soldiers should carry six stones.¡¯ I used to wonder what the stones were for, thinking it was a typographical error. Now, I understand.¡±


    ¡°If there are no bows and arrows or muskets, some hemp rope would also do,¡± Tamas said urgently, ¡°I¡¯ve already started training the first platoon to use slings.¡±


    ¡°Good, keep training. Have the other platoons train as well,¡± Winters patted Tamas on the shoulder, ¡°Additionally, I¡¯ve prepared eighty archers for you¡ªyou¡¯ll have eighty men per platoon. Whether you can control them, that¡¯s up to your ability.¡±


    ¡­


    With the assistance of Father Caman and the Priest of Niutigu Valley Church, the men, women, and children within Niutigu Valley town were smoothly divided into separate encampments for men and women.


    Winters cordoned off a separate area in the town for women and children to live, even going as far as building a small inner town and strictly forbidding adult males from entering.


    One reason was to ensure the safety of women and children; another was to physically separate the women¡¯s camp from the men¡¯s camp.


    ¡°The barbarians are just across the river. With the great enemy before us, anyone who dares to misconduct themselves, disrupting public order and morals, will be hanged as a traitor,¡± Winters announced publicly to the civilians of Niutigu Valley, ¡°Gentlemen, show your courage. Your sons, wives, and mothers are counting on you. To defend Niutigu Valley is to protect them! Whoever shows cowardice or hesitates in battle betrays everyone.¡±


    If it were the open and enthusiastic Sea Blue, forcibly separating the men from the ladies would certainly cause considerable trouble.


    However, Iron Peak County, located on the edge of Paratu, is insular and conservative in its social mores.


    Winters¡¯ policy of separating men and women actually received praise from everyone¡ªespecially among the ladies and the older men.


    Because soon after the flood of refugees poured into Niutigu Valley, there was a shocking gang rape case in the temporary shanty areas where the refugees had settled.


    The perpetrator was swiftly taken through the entire trial process and publicly hanged.


    According to local customs in Paratu, the victim¡¯s father first stabs each criminal in the chest with a dagger on behalf of the victim¡ªsince it does not cause immediate death, it is not considered murder.


    Then, the Montaigne civic official personally pulled the lever, snapping the necks of the criminals. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although ¡°justice was swiftly delivered,¡± the impact of the horrific case on the people of Niutigu Valley could not be easily calmed.


    For a time, the original residents of Niutigu Valley viewed the refugees as a scourge¡ªthousands of people had suddenly crammed into the small town, resulting in more than just serious criminal cases, but also an increase in petty theft.


    The local residents were even unwilling to let the refugees enter the church to pray.


    And the refugees were equally indignant, being farmers with homes and livelihoods in nearby villages, who had left their homes unwillingly to flee to the town.


    Now living in lowly shanties, eating coarse food, and suffering the cold stares of the town¡¯s people.


    Tensions escalated overnight.


    It started with a few verbal exchanges, followed by several young lads scuffling, and quickly the town¡¯s youth and farmhands went to gather their friends, and more and more people thronged the square.


    Both sides were armed, and it looked like a full-blown fight was about to break out, beyond the control of the town mayor and the village chiefs.


    At that time, Winters was inspecting the river defenses, and in the end, it was Samukin who stepped forward to resolve the situation.


    Samukin, with his considerable experience dealing with mobs, first sent out a cavalry troop; thirty riders managed to separate the two groups with just one charge.


    The riders swung their vine whips like sabres, striking those confronting each other in the square until they were crying for their parents.


    Then Samukin fired a volley of guns¡ªwithout lead bullets, effectively dispersing the crowd.


    After the Montaigne civic official returned to the city, the dispersed people were then rounded up house by house by the gendarmerie.


    ¡°So you like brawling, huh?¡± Faced with hundreds of battered and listless brawlers, Winters issued a cold judgment, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a taste of a real battlefield.¡±

 Chapter 778 03-25 - 778 64 Width

    ?Chapter 778: Chapter 64: Width Chapter 778: Chapter 64: Width The flames rose, and the farmhouses with wooden walls and thatched roofs were engulfed by fire in an instant.


    While Iron Peak County and Upper Iron Peak County still retained their last vestige of peace, it was not the case elsewhere.


    Vernge County, Hammer Town, Oak Village.


    Unarmed men and women were tied up with hemp ropes in chains, mercilessly whipped on their backs as they stumbled away from their homes, a trail of their cries behind them.


    Among the hundreds of captured Paratu civilians, not a single elder could be seen, for those without the ability to work were either left in houses to be devoured by the inferno or were outright killed.


    On the road, besides the captives, there were carriages loaded with grains and utensils, pack horses loaded with clothing and valuables, and¡­the Terdun people, laughing and joking.


    Go a bit further, past the small woods up front, and these Paratu people would be stepping onto the road of no return.


    ...


    Suddenly, a young Paratu man broke free from his bonds. He had hidden a small knife on him and quietely cut the rope while his captors were off guard.


    The young man¡¯s first impulse was to untie the woman behind him, but the woman pushed him away from the road with tears in her eyes.


    The sound of horse hooves and whistles came from behind, and the young man, also with tears streaming down, stumbled toward the woods.


    But two legs cannot outrun four, and the sound of hooves drew ever nearer.


    Fear took over the young man¡¯s mind, and he instinctively looked back to see a dark shadow looming towards him.


    Amidst his mother¡¯s screams, the young man was knocked down by a cudgel.


    The one who had knocked down the young Paratu man was a Herder of about the same age.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Under the urging of other Herders, the young Herder dismounted. He trembled as he pulled the bowstring, aiming at the heart of the person on the ground, his back turned to the others, and released it with his eyes closed.


    With a ¡°twang¡± of the horn bow, the other Herders cheered and applauded.


    The young Herder opened his eyes to see the arrow had veered off course, landing in the ground. He said nothing, silently retrieved the arrowhead, stepped back onto the saddle, and rode off to follow the other Herders.


    This young Herder was the son of Yunguang, the chief of a village with forty households, and Yunguang was a companion and subordinate to Nayen ¡°Hongyue¡± of the Green Plumed Feathers.


    The Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ ¡°Hongyue¡± boasted six hundred households and was considered a minor but influential external tribe within the Terdun Tribe.


    According to the Herders¡¯ tradition of marching and fighting, the Chief Harald arranged the Terdun Tribe into left and right wings.


    The left wing comprised mainly the less reliable external Nayens, amounting to over ten thousand cavalry;


    The right wing was mostly made of directly related Nayens of the Golden Clan, nearly eight thousand strong, commanded personally by the Chief Harald.


    Following the route decided before the war, the Terdun wings would, like the spread of a bird¡¯s wings, separately plunder the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    The left descended the river, generally raiding the Newly Reclaimed Land from Vernge County and Maplestone City.


    The right ascended the river, generally infiltrating the Newly Reclaimed Land from Iron Peak County.


    Another wing of troops feigned an attack on Mirror Lake County, pulling the Paratu forces¡¯ attention.


    On the surface, the upstream was poor and sparsely populated, and the downstream was rich and densely settled, making sending the external Nayens for plundering downstream appear to be a favor.


    In reality, the opposite was true. According to Chief Harald¡¯s plan: though the downstream was richer, crossing the river was also more difficult, and Paratu¡¯s main battle forces were stationed downstream.


    In the great raid in mid-September, not even the allied forces of the southerly Herder tribes could gain much in Mirror Lake County. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sending external Nayens downstream to engage the Paratu People while leading the direct kin to plunder the upstream and then adapt to the situation by moving north, marching east, or pulling back¡ªthat was Chief Harald¡¯s original plan.


    The Terdun people compliantly accepted this plan that clearly favored one over the other, and even the external Nayens found nothing strange about it. Shouldn¡¯t the fat be reserved for kin instead of strangers?


    However, things did not always progress as smoothly as planned.


    When Iron Peak County displayed an extremely tenacious will, staunchly preventing the Terdun right wing from crossing the Big Horn River, it was the Terdun left wing that wreaked severe havoc in Vernge County, even threatening the jurisdiction of Maplestone City.


    Knowing their military strength was inadequate and lacking a leading chief, the left-wing Nayens simply abandoned the notion of ¡°fighting a battle.¡±


    Without even entering the Newly Reclaimed Land, the Terdun left wing scattered. Various Nayens and Kotas acted independently, each showing their cunning in crossing the river, claiming spoils for themselves.


    Some Nayens even quietly turned their livestock around and, without making a sound, headed back home.


    On the other hand, the military commander of Vernge County did not follow the advice of the rebel leader Montaigne¡ªevacuating villages, consolidating forces, and focusing on defense.


    He spread his troops along a riverbank line of over two hundred kilometers, structurally resembling an egg, ¡°hard on the outside, soft in the middle,¡± with a Piaoqi troop squadron responsible for sweeping scattered enemies within.


    It is hard to say whether his decision was bad and that of Winters¡¯ was good.


    Winters made his judgment on the premise that Vernge County was devoid of military strength.


    Lack of strength meant ineffective defense along the river; therefore, Winters suggested Vernge County cede the riverbank, evacuate the villages, garrison the strongholds and towns, and minimize losses as much as possible.


    But the reality was [in preparation for next year¡¯s campaign to suppress the rebels, six infantry battalions were secretly gathering in Vernge County]¡ªsomething Winters was certainly unaware of.


    If arranged properly, perhaps Vernge County could, like Middle Iron Peak County, keep the Terdun barbarians at bay.


    However, the Terdun arrived much faster than the military commander of Vernge County had anticipated; before Vernge County¡¯s troops were in place, the Terdun left-wing vanguard had already crossed the river.

 Chapter 779 03-25 - 779 64 Width_2

    ?Chapter 779: Chapter 64 Width_2 Chapter 779: Chapter 64 Width_2 The people of Terdun, upon bursting into Vernge County, scattered like mercury spilled on the ground.


    The Vernge County¡¯s defense forces, lacking cavalry, were caught in a passive situation where they ¡°could fight but couldn¡¯t chase.¡±


    If it came to setting up a formation and engaging in an upright battle, the numerically inferior Paratu army could still send the people from Terdun scampering in retreat.


    But the Herders had always been ¡°not ashamed to flee¡±; wherever the resistance was fierce, they would simply avoid it¡ªshould reinforcements arrive at one place, they would move to another.


    There were only about a hundred Piaoqi Troops in Vernge County, while the first wave of invaders from Terdun numbered fourteen Tulus¡ªover a thousand cavalry.


    A squadron of Piaoqi could not possibly handle so many enemy riders and might even risk being devoured if they weren¡¯t careful.


    The commander of Vernge County steeled his heart and didn¡¯t redeploy any troops from the river defense line for reinforcement; instead, he urgently pressured all units to rush to their deployment positions.


    ...


    As for the Terdun Barbarians who had already entered Vernge County, the commander¡¯s counterstrategy was to ¡°wait for the enemy to cross the Glory River westwards, and retreat from Vernge County before launching an ambush.¡±


    For a military officer responsible for the safety of an entire county, this was perhaps the most rational decision. For if the riverside defenses were to collapse, many more barbarians would flood into Vernge County.


    However, for the unprotected villages that could not evacuate in time, this was nothing short of a disaster. They were like eggs without shells, at the Terdun¡¯s mercy.


    The tragedy of Oak Village thus unfolded.


    When the Hammer Fort Cavalry arrived at Oak Village, the village had already been erased from the map, leaving only charred ruins and flickering embers.


    As the gateway to Iron Peak County, Winters had left a small detachment of troops stationed at Hammer Fort.


    Seeing the billowing smoke to the north, the commander of Hammer Fort immediately led his cavalry to help, but it was a step too late.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Smelling the stench of death, the warhorses snorted restlessly.


    The commander of Hammer Fort was a sullen man with half of his face covered by a red birthmark.


    ¡°Search,¡± he ordered succinctly and to the point.


    The scouts dispersed, searching separately for survivors and any trace of the enemy.


    ¡°Found some bodies, all burned beyond recognition. No living,¡± reported a veteran soldier, throbbing veins on his angered forehead: ¡°They didn¡¯t spare anyone, killed or taken.¡±


    The man with the red birthmark¡¯s expression grew even darker.


    ¡°There are fresh wheel and hoof prints on the road west of the village!¡± another scout reported: ¡°The barbarians must have headed westward!¡±


    ¡°How many?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell,¡± the scout shook his head: ¡°The tracks of people and livestock are mixed up, at least a hundred men and horses.¡±


    ¡°Pursue!¡± the birthmarked man ordered.


    ¡°Commander, no! Wait!¡± the elder soldier quickly blocked the birthmarked man¡¯s path, his horse rearing: ¡°We¡¯re too few, only eighteen riders in all, catching up will be useless!¡±


    The birthmarked man said nothing, just stared intently at the older soldier.


    The elder soldier was of Dusack origin and the most experienced among the eighteen cavalry present; even he felt unnerved under the birthmarked man¡¯s gaze.


    He persisted, albeit unwillingly: ¡°If the Herd Barbarians have a force of a hundred, it¡¯s not something we can deal with. If they can appear here, they can travel by land into Iron Peak County. The priority should be to send word to Revodan.


    Moreover, this is Vernge County. We¡¯re not even supposed to be here. If someone sees us, we could end up taking the blame!¡±


    ¡°This man¡¯s not dead!¡± another scout shouted from afar.


    The birthmarked man and the elder soldier, hearing the shout, immediately spurred their horses closer.


    They saw a young man lying in the field, his face covered in blood; if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, one could hardly tell him apart from a corpse.


    The elder soldier dismounted laboriously, checking the young man¡¯s neck, and then looked up at the one with the birthmark: ¡°He¡¯s alive. ¡±


    ¡°Take him,¡± said the birthmarked man as he tugged the reins: ¡°Withdraw.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Niutigu Valley.


    Following the orders of the Montaigne Civil Protection Officer, nearly a hundred ¡°chopping posts¡± were erected in the town square, filling the space completely.


    The so-called chopping post is a sturdy log half-buried in the ground with the other half exposed above.


    Whether they¡¯re military nobles or common soldiers, the first lesson in learning swordsmanship is to chop at these posts, practicing one¡¯s power.


    There is a saying ¡°Three days of chopping at posts, and even a fool can go to war.¡± which embodies this idea.


    ¡°Exerting power¡± may sound simple, but it¡¯s difficult to achieve. Just the trivial matter of keeping the blade aligned with its swinging trajectory requires persistent practice.


    If the blade¡¯s posture is off, it¡¯s the same as slapping someone with the flat of the sword, not only failing to exert force but the sword can easily break. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In that case, you might as well use a club¡ªsince a club doesn¡¯t care about angles.


    Therefore, Winters modified the chopping posts by adding a horizontal bar to the plain logs.


    ¡°Many of you have never touched a weapon before,¡± Winters spoke from atop a platform, a Stinger Hammer in his grip, his voice clearly reaching everyone: ¡°This is good.¡±


    Among the adult men of Niutigu Valley, those who could ride, shoot arrows, or handle muskets had already been selected, leaving behind the ¡°know-nothings¡± on the square.


    The weapons distributed to these men were literally ¡°clubs¡±¡ªStinger Hammers.


    ¡°Those who have learned to use weapons usually think too highly of themselves and refuse to accept new knowledge, so you blank slates might be better off,¡± Winters said sternly, sweeping his gaze across the square: ¡°Listen well, in a battle, you don¡¯t need much, just one move will suffice.¡±

 Chapter 780 03-25 - 780 64 Width_3

    ?Chapter 780: Chapter 64 Width_3 Chapter 780: Chapter 64 Width_3 Winters demonstrated the weapon grip first: ¡°Right hand holds the end, left hand in the middle.¡±


    Then he walked over to a chopping block and demonstrated the footwork.


    Finally, he demonstrated how to use it: first, a deflection¡ªknocking the crossbar aside, followed by a step forward to thrust.


    ¡°Just these two movements, practice them.¡± Winters released his hands, the Stinger Hammer deeply embedded into the wooden post, trembling at the tail.


    The civilians from Niutigu Valley at the square were initially clueless but began to practice stiffly under the soldiers¡¯ scolding.


    Winters stepped down from the platform, and Xial ran over to ask, ¡°Is there still time, Centurion?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time, that¡¯s why I¡¯m only having them practice two movements.¡± Winters shook his wrists, retorting, ¡°Believe it or not, if they really had to go into battle, even with just two movements, they would forget them completely. In the end, they¡¯d just swing their maces wildly.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Believe it.¡± Xial chuckled: ¡°When I was in my first battle, I just kept hitting people hard with my spear, never remembering that the spear was pointed. Since there¡¯s no time, is it useful for them to practice these things?¡±


    ¡°Useful or not? There might be a little use, or there might be none. But practicing is more useful than not practicing.¡±


    Xial nodded and then asked, ¡°Some of the Niutigu Valley people, after being issued Stinger Hammers, have come to me saying they have guns and want to join the musket team. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Not allowed.¡± Winters said coldly: ¡°What were they doing earlier?¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Have the scouts that crossed the river returned?¡± It was the fifth time Winters had asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Xial tentatively asked, ¡°If they haven¡¯t come back, do we send more?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Send more.¡± Winters said firmly: ¡°Keep sending more. I will go personally!¡±


    The probing attacks from the Terdon Tribe became more frequent.


    The first day was three times, the second day six times, the third day twelve times, and on the fourth and fifth days, sixteen times each. Each time, they would deploy at least thirty to forty people, and often over a hundred.


    The time was not limited to dawn, sometimes it was morning, sometimes afternoon, and sometimes deep in the night.


    The distance between attack points was also increasing, stretching south to the confluence of the Panto River and north to Forging Village.


    The people of Terdun didn¡¯t just measure the water depth. Seizing opportunities, they would also stealthily transport small groups of troops ashore to probe into the realities of Iron Peak County.


    Just in the first three days, the four companies stationed in Niutigu Valley and the two companies stationed in Forging Village were already exhausted from rushing about. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What the fire-warmer was plotting, Winters was well aware.


    The tactics of the Terdon people were like ¡°bullfighting¡±: waving red flags around the arena to entice the bull to chase and run until the bull was completely exhausted before striking.


    The enemy had many soldiers, all cavalry. Winters had fewer troops, mainly infantry.


    And the battlefield was so vast¡ªjust the Iron Peak County alone had an eighty-kilometer shoreline.


    With the mobility of the Terdon Tribe, if they didn¡¯t take advantage of the width of the battlefield, Winters would actually be uneasy.


    Winters¡¯ counter-strategy was one word: ¡°Reinforcements.¡±


    On the one hand, he began to mobilize another five companies stationed in Saint Town.


    On the other hand, he expanded his forces on the spot.


    Under the authority granted by the ¡°Tord Agreement¡± to the garrison commander, Winters boldly conscripted all the adult males of Iron Peak County¡ªnow, everyone was a militiaman.


    And Winters was quite willing to continue this low-intensity war with the Terdon people.


    The fire-warmer wanted to exhaust the energy of the people from Iron Peak County.


    Whereas Winters was wearing out the fire-warmer¡¯s time.


    The longer the delay, the longer the drag, the more advantageous it was for Winters.


    The situation seemed to be developing in a good direction, but there was a small dark spot on the clean white paper: Where did the people of Terdun, who didn¡¯t even have straw to eat and had to dig for roots, get the confidence to continue the consumption?


    This point was of great concern to Winters.


    The frequent probing attacks also pulled at the resources of the Terdon people, causing their defenses along the river to have gaps.


    According to the records of the watchtowers along the coast, the patrolling frequency of Terdon light cavalry had been significantly decreasing over the past three days.


    Therefore, Winters began sending out Scouts to conduct reconnaissance across the river, sparing no expense in reconnaissance.


    ¡°They¡¯re back!¡± Xial shouted as he spurred his horse forward: ¡°The men are back!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°At the infirmary, with Father Caman.¡±


    In the Niutigu Valley church, which had been temporarily requisitioned as an infirmary, Winters saw the bravely returned, injured Scout.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± It was only upon seeing Winters with his own eyes that the Scout finally spoke: ¡°Empty! The Terdon people¡¯s main camp is empty! The savages¡¯ main force is no longer across the river! Their whereabouts are unknown!¡±


    At these words, all were stunned.


    Only Winters was not surprised at all: ¡°Hmm, then we just need to find out where they went.¡±

 Chapter 781 03-25 - 781 65 Opportunity

    ?Chapter 781: Chapter 65 Opportunity Chapter 781: Chapter 65 Opportunity A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples, shocking cold spread across three counties and nineteen states.


    Messengers sped through the starry night to Revodan, Shovel Port, Vernge County, and Mont Blanc County, conveying the latest military intelligence.


    Within Iron Peak County, order-transmitting cavalry frequently traveled between towns, and the number of patrolling troops on the roads surged.


    As the war¡¯s blockade made the public increasingly thirsty for news from the outside, the temporary military headquarters began posting announcements in the town square every morning since the military control of Niutigu Valley began, reporting on enemy movements, battle outcomes, captures, and casualty lists.


    In an atmosphere of extreme oppression, the men distracted themselves by discussing the war situation, while the women anxiously searched the casualty lists.


    Originally, the announcement had no formal name, but the people referred to it as ¡°War Communication.¡±


    Ever since the inception of War Communication, the town square was always crowded with people, who occasionally requested, ¡°Read it again.¡±


    ...


    Everyone ¡°read¡± the War Communication with an insatiable thirst, eagerly awaiting the next day¡¯s news as soon as they had finished with today¡¯s.


    Today¡¯s War Communication was posted later than usual, which greatly dissatisfied those who had been waiting by the bulletin board since early morning.


    As soon as the notice was put up, the crowd gathered around it.


    Though it arrived late, the notice was also larger than usual; normally it was one and a half sheets, but today there were three full sheets.


    [The enemy chief¡¯s personal army has an unknown destination]¡ªThis first line alone triggered panic among the crowd.


    Like a solid cannonball plowing through a column of troops, the crowd erupted like a boiling kettle. Those at the front shouted and clamored nonstop, while those at the back desperately inquired about what had happened.


    After careful consideration, Winters decided to inform the public of the real enemy situation.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    For bad news is like a bald head: no matter how thick the wig, there will come a day when it¡¯s exposed. Better to face the music and inform the military and civilians uprightly than sit idle and watch rumors spread.


    ¡°Quiet down!¡± an elderly man with hair as white as snow and a walking stick shouted in front of the announcement, ¡°It¡¯s not done being read yet! If you don¡¯t want to listen, I¡¯ll just leave!¡±


    The old man was an esteemed doctor and gentleman from Niutigu Valley, well-known for his kindness in reading letters and announcements to the illiterate every day, commanding great respect among the townspeople.


    Hearing the rebuke from the old doctor, the crowd gradually quieted down.


    The old doctor squinted his eyes at the bulletin board, his upper body unconsciously leaning back.


    ¡°What¡¯s it say, good doctor?¡± an inpatient person couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    The old doctor gripped his cane tightly, a glint in his eye: ¡°The next piece is a personal letter from the protector of the people, Montaigne.¡±


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, Shovel Port, at the church,


    Alpha leaned against a bench reciting word by word, ¡°¡­If you ask what our goal is, I can answer with a single word, victory! At all costs, we must seize victory! In the face of all terror, we must seize victory! No matter how perilous the road ahead, we must seize victory! For without victory, there is only destruction¡­¡±


    The old doctor from Niutigu Valley wasn¡¯t accurate; not only the letter but all the words of War Communication were painstakingly chosen and written by Winters, who had chewed through countless feather quills.


    However, all other communications were issued in the name of the temporary military headquarters. It was only this public letter that bore Winters Montagne¡¯s full name.


    This public letter was also the first ¡°emotional¡± article published in War Communication.


    Previous reports were mechanical in nature, devoid of emotion and warmth, as if a steel automaton were spitting out cold, hard numbers.


    But this public letter was different; one could feel the passionate fervor of the person behind the pen between the lines.


    After listening to the entire text in silence, Mayor Botar asked, ¡°Is that all?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°There¡¯s also a title,¡± Alpha flipped through the earlier pages of the announcements, a barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: ¡°A Letter to All Military and Civilians of Iron Peak County¡ªhis rhyming has improved a lot, but his naming ability remains as lackluster as ever.¡±


    ¡°A Letter to All Military and Civilians of Iron Peak County?¡± Mayor Botar noticed something unusual: ¡°Does that mean every village and town will receive this announcement?¡±


    ¡°Should be,¡± Alpha dusted off the announcement. ¡°If we can receive it, other villages and towns certainly can.¡±


    Mayor Botar¡¯s guess was correct; it was indeed the first edition of War Communication sent to the entire Iron Peak County.


    Previously, due to printing limitations, War Communication was only posted in limited quantities in Niutigu Valley and Revodan.


    It was thanks to Senior Mason¡¯s idea: Winters would write the content the night before, and it would be sent swiftly by horse to Revodan. Making use of Revodan¡¯s printing facilities, they would print overnight and then distribute across the entire county and to neighboring counties.


    Mayor Botar smacked his lips: ¡°Aside from these notices, the rebels also sent us fifty warhorses and three hundred iron-tipped clubs¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re called Stinger Hammers,¡± Alpha corrected him, adding with a chuckle: ¡°But ¡®iron-tipped clubs¡¯ does have a certain ring to it.¡±


    ¡°Right, Stinger Hammers.¡± Mayor Botar¡¯s expression grew subtle: ¡°Previously when we asked them for weapons, they refused. Now they suddenly turn so generous; it¡¯s really unclear what they¡¯re up to¡­¡±


    ¡°They refused before because they could send troops to Shovel Port at any time. Giving us weapons and warhorses now is to tell us¡ªShovel Port must rely on itself henceforth.¡± Alpha let out an almost imperceptible sigh: ¡°Winters Montagne is going to fight with all his might.¡±


    ¡­


    Late at night,


    Winters Montagne stood fully armored with his hand on his sword at the banks of the Big Horn River, a blood-red military flag rustling behind him.


    It was not the East Bank, but the West Bank.


    A floating bridge that spanned across Big Horn River lay quietly before him, hundreds of soldiers and warhorses were crossing the bridge to the West Bank.

 Chapter 782 03-25 - 782 65 Opportunity_2

    ?Chapter 782: Chapter 65 Opportunity_2 Chapter 782: Chapter 65 Opportunity_2 Every person who crossed the Floating Bridge saluted the military civil officer waiting at the bridgehead.


    This fleet had been concealed by Winters for a very long time¡­


    The key to defending Iron Peak County lay in defending the river, and the focus should be on defending the waterway, not the riverbank.


    The water combat capability of the sheepskin rafts was pitiful; to avoid capsizing, those from Terdun would even kneel when riding them.


    The small rafts would flip over at the slightest collision, while the larger ones, although stable, were unwieldy and most vulnerable to fire ships.


    Speaking bluntly, Gold¡¯s pirate ship, ¡°Good Luck¡±, would undoubtedly be the overlord of Big Horn River were it to be placed there.


    Did Winters have ships?


    ...


    No, because the ships of Iron Peak County were all in Shovel Port, confiscated by the mayor, Botar.


    But upon learning that the Terdun Tribe planned to launch a second offensive by taking advantage of the warm winter, he immediately ordered Samujin to start building rafts and small boats.


    The navy was also of great use in Paratu¡ªthis was the painful lesson of the Fifth and Sixth Legions in the battle of The Styx, one he had never forgotten.


    Yet Winters had never used this fleet.


    During the fierce attack on Taltai Division, he deliberately used the rafts, while leaving the small boats idle.


    After the Terdun Tribe¡¯s main forces reached Big Horn River, he deployed defenses along the riverbank, giving up the waterway.


    The Terdun people employed exhaustion tactics, disturbing the west bank more than twenty times in one night, pushing everyone to the brink of breaking. The command to ¡°launch boats into the water¡± almost passed his lips several times, but Winters clenched his teeth and swallowed it back each time.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    This fleet had always been hidden away, concealed with great difficulty.


    Tonight, at last, he could show it to the Terdun people.


    After confirming once again that the blue banner with nine horse tails was merely a bluff, and that the kindled fire was indeed his own advancing troops, Winters immediately ordered the units of Iron Peak County to withdraw from the river fortresses, to be replaced by Samujin¡¯s ¡°Valiant Squad¡± and the ¡°Grown Soldiers¡±.


    The city defense of Niutigu Valley, originally under the responsibility of Samujin¡¯s ¡°Valiant Squad¡±, was turned over to the ¡°Stout Soldiers¡± hastily conscripted from Niutigu Valley.


    By way of deception, Winters freed up a mobile force.


    This unit was not very large, including himself, a total of six hundred forty-seven men.


    There was but one criterion for selection¡ªstay on the horseback without falling off.


    Having seized nearly a thousand Herder horses from the Taltai Division, equestrian training became an urgent addition to the units¡¯ training content.


    This hastily assembled ¡°Cavalry Division¡± looked very strange:


    A small part of the men used the Paratu People¡¯s long-stirrup saddles suited for melee combat;


    Another part used the Herders¡¯ short-stirrup saddles meant for mounted archery;


    And yet another part didn¡¯t have saddles at all, only binding a layer of padding on the horseback, making do with crude iron rings or wooden hoops as stirrups.


    Among these men were both natural riders like the Dusacks, who had grown up on horseback, and foot soldiers forced into service, as well as able-bodied men conscripted from the towns and villages.


    Andre and Tang Juan¡¯s arbitrary removal of the cavalry squadron only added to the plight of Iron Peak County.


    But Winters had never complained; he¡¯d never fought a battle where everything went perfectly to plan.


    Making do with the crudest means¡ªsharpening a spear on both ends for use¡ªwas the norm.


    If there were no warhorses, he would seize them; if there were no cavalry, he would train them; if there were no saddles, he would make do with blankets.


    The ¡°Cavalry Division¡± had already crossed the river, and Samujin began dismantling the Floating Bridge.


    Winters stepped into the stirrup, his other hand on the pommel, and turned to look at the faces of the men¡ªdetermined, calm, fearful, or weary.


    Without any fancy talk, he cut straight to the point, ¡°You all know by now, the Barbarian Chief¡¯s personal troops have started to move. They might be moving north, to attack Shovel Port and Vernge County. If that¡¯s the case, central Iron Peak County is temporarily safe.¡±


    The winter night was very quiet, without even the sound of insects, only the heavy breathing of men and horses could be heard.


    ¡°But it¡¯s more likely that the Terdun people will head south, for the further north they go, the more difficult it is to cross the river,¡± Winters analyzed the predicament of Iron Peak County calmly. ¡°Heading south, they can cross from lower Iron Peak County and take the land route around to the back of Niutigu Valley¡ªa brilliant flanking maneuver.


    By then, we¡¯ll be facing a pincer attack. The Terdun forces on the west bank will hold us in place, and the troops that have circled to the East Bank will smash us like a hammer. The noose is tightening, and our only chance is to strike the Terdun forces on the west bank first.¡±


    ¡°Though the Terdon Tribe is numerous, they are scattered along the river for a hundred miles; their generals are many, yet they are divided in heart, competing in secret schemes; their approach is fierce, but we too have the strength for one battle.¡±


    ¡°Some of you are soldiers recently granted land, some are Dusack warriors with generations of service, some are civilians conscripted, and some were captives just a few days ago. Who you were before doesn¡¯t matter. From this moment on, you, me, he, we are all warriors fighting for our survival and our homes.¡±


    Winters extended his hand toward a small boat on the riverbank, ¡°Whoever lacks the courage to fight this battle, take the boat back to the East Bank¡ªwithout any blame. Because I don¡¯t wish to die with such a person¡ªwho is afraid to die with us.¡±


    No sooner had these words been spoken than a deathly silence fell over the crowd; even the sound of breathing gradually subsided.


    The tall, thin representative and the short, fat representative, who had argued outside the town hall, were both there because they knew how to ride and had therefore been conscripted as ¡°able-bodied soldiers.¡± S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon hearing that they could take a boat back, beads of sweat uncontrollably formed on the forehead of the tall, thin representative.


    He had once mocked the ¡°childish fight¡± combat report in the public notice that boasted ¡°slain nine enemies, wounded numerous others.¡±


    But now that it was his turn to go to battle, his heart was filled not with blood, but with liquid fear.


    Realizing that one could actually die versus reading about deaths in a notice were two completely different matters.


    He wanted to move his feet, but they seemed frozen to the ground. He couldn¡¯t explain why he was paralysed¡ªhonor? Dignity? Not wanting to be laughed at by the fat man? The smiling faces of his daughter and son appeared in his mind, and the cries of his granddaughter in swaddling clothes echoed in his ears.


    A hand grabbed the shoulder of the tall, thin representative, squeezed, and then let go¡ªit was the short, fat representative.


    The short, fat representative was also pale, but he nodded gently to the tall, thin one.


    The eyes of the tall, thin representative became a little moist, and he nodded back. Decades of rivalry melted into a silent empathy.


    ¡°From this night until the end of the world, our bravery shall be forever remembered.¡± Seeing no one step out of ranks, Winters mounted his horse, ¡°Advance!¡±


    The tall darkey chestnut warhorse shook slightly and Winters sat firmly in the saddle, as if he had grown there, and spurred his horse northward.


    The riders quickly mounted their horses and followed.


    ¡°Stick close to me, I¡¯ll look after you,¡± the short, fat representative said hurriedly to the tall, thin one.


    After speaking, he deftly hoisted his bulky body onto the saddle, smoothed the folds of his jacket, and then spurred his horse¡¯s ribs and charged out. The scabbard of his cavalry sword swung with the rhythm of the gallop, reflecting a dim glow in the moonlight.


    The tall, thin representative wiped away his tears and also spurred his horse to catch up.


    ¡­


    The thundering sound of hoofbeats was like muffled thunder, impossible to hide.


    The cavalry rode fast along the west bank, while on the eastern shore, the beacon towers, watchtowers, and Dangbao lit fires in succession, both as a salute and a measure of distance.


    Winters rode swiftly at the very front, with his standard-bearer Heinrich holding high the military flag behind him.


    Many who had just learned to ride didn¡¯t dare to sit up straight; they pressed themselves tightly against the necks of their horses, occasionally someone fell off.


    The riders had to be vigilant not only for potholes in the road but also to avoid trampling fallen comrades.


    Some warhorses carried two people¡ªone who could ride and one who could not, with several lead horses tethered to the saddle.


    In everyone¡¯s heart, there was only one thought: Keep up with that flag.


    When the Terdon people were most ferocious, they harassed twenty-three times in a day and night, with the two furthest river crossings nearly sixty kilometers apart; during several attacks, they even managed to land small groups of light cavalry on the shore.


    The garrison of Iron Peak County was exhausted from constantly responding, but at the same time, the camps of the Terdon people were becoming stretched thin.


    However, as the tides of war change, once the attacker-defender roles are reversed, a rare opportunity arises.


    It was Winters Montagne¡¯s duty to not let the opportunity slip away.


    Winters keenly observed that the number of beacons on the watchtower on the opposite shore had changed from one to two.


    ¡°Spread out!¡± The agreed signal appeared, and Winters drew his cavalry sword, ¡°This is the place!¡±


    As they crested a hillock, a small Terdon Camp came into view.


    Winters charged down on his horse.


    The cavalry shouted and followed.


    And those warriors who had just learned to ride dismounted, drew their weapons, and charged with feet flying towards the scattered fleeing Terdon people.

 Chapter 783 03-25 - 783 66 The Struggle

    ?Chapter 783: Chapter 66: The Struggle Chapter 783: Chapter 66: The Struggle ¡°`


    The war was not only raging through Vernge County and Central Iron Peak County, but also a far more brutal conflict was unfolding in Lower Iron Peak County.


    This war had no shining armor, no fluttering banners, and it was devoid of magnificent and dramatic stories; even less so any etiquette, rules, or mercy.


    There were only a group of ordinary people struggling desperately for survival and their homeland.


    The Terdon Tribe saw them as prey and livestock, taking their properties, freedom, and even their lives at will.


    They were forced to abandon their homes and hide in the mountains and forests, seeking a way to live. Yet, even so, the Terdon Tribe would not let them go.


    They had no reinforcements, no rear guard, and many of them didn¡¯t even have a real weapon.


    Nor were they warriors; they were just farmers, craftsmen, and traders who toiled to fill their stomachs.


    ...


    For them, this war had no honor, dignity, or glory.


    Only survival mattered, for survival was victory.


    As Bard said when he released Ronald and the others, ¡°There are no soldiers, no army here, only farmers. You, me, all of us must fight¡ªand can only fight¡ªin the way farmers do.¡±


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, the town of Wolfton, the wilderness forest on the northern foothills of the Golden Summit Mountain range.


    With his mouth tightly closed and eyes vigilantly scanning, a Terdon warrior named ¡°Stone Arrow¡± was leading a horse with a bow in hand, carefully treading on a forest path.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    There were originally no paths in the forest, but where living creatures often traveled, a path was trampled into existence.


    Unfortunately, this path was not safe, which is why Stone Arrow had a young slave walk ahead.


    The young slave held a long stick, first using it to check for pits before daring to step forward.


    Following behind Stone Arrow were some thirty vassals and slaves, all leading their horses by the reins to minimize noise.


    The terrain of the northern foothills of the Golden Summit Mountain range was undulating and covered with towering trees, greatly obscuring visibility, which made the Terdon people, accustomed to ¡°seeing cattle and sheep beyond the low windswept grass¡±, quite uncomfortable.


    About ¡°one calf¡± distance from Stone Arrow, a warrior named Green Horse and his men were also advancing deeper into the forest, yet neither party could see the other.


    [Note: Since a calf cannot walk far, it is often used metaphorically for distances near tents, approximately one kilometer.]


    After the death of Ganquan, the properties originally belonging to Ganquan¡ªherds of horses, vassals, slaves, and spoils of war¡ªwere divided between Stone Arrow and Green Horse.


    Although Ganquan had a two-year-old son, in the wilderness where the law of survival of the fittest prevailed, a man who couldn¡¯t draw a bow had no rights to inheritance.


    Between the left and right wings led by Stone Arrow and Green Horse was a central army nearly two hundred strong, commanded by Turu Koda ¡°Bald Dog¡±.


    The left and right wings and the central army were quietly advancing in a fan-shaped formation, closing in on their prey.


    This was a hunt with Bald Dog in charge of the arrows, and all the spoils of war were also Bald Dog¡¯s.


    Stone Arrow and Green Horse did not want to come; they were of low status and weak strength, without the privilege to refuse.


    Reluctance in their hearts slowed their steps. Stone Arrow dragged his feet, making sure each step landed in the footprints of the slave ahead¡ªhe was genuinely afraid.


    Ganquan died rather quickly; he was felled by a neat ambush, so he didn¡¯t have the chance to understand what ¡°the way of the farmers¡± meant.


    But Stone Arrow and Green Horse had already ¡°tasted¡± the bone-deep hatred.


    Those who ate in the morning from a ¡°carelessly hidden¡± cellar would show symptoms of poisoning in the afternoon.


    The mild cases would vomit and suffer from diarrhea, while the severe ones would turn red in the face, struggling to breathe until death.


    More terrifying than humans being poisoned was the poisoning of horses.


    Apparently ordinary bits of hay mixed with deadly yew leaves and twigs; just one bite, and the horses would rapidly spasms and die.


    Many horses died without understanding, still chewing their last meal.


    Poisoning, traps, ambushes¡­ The members of the Terdon Tribe gradually became like terrified birds, not daring to feed their horses dry grass anymore, and even their own food had to be tested by captured women first.


    However, these tactics were unlikely to significantly hurt the Terdon Tribe in the short term.


    War dogs ravaged the land uncontrolled; the Terdon people burned villages, trampled fields, violated women, and killed every Paratu man they could find, with the billowing smoke clearly visible even from Central Iron Peak County.


    The people of Lower Iron Peak County also killed, no, tortured, every Terdon person they managed to capture as retaliation.


    Those ambushed by legitimate officers like Bard and Ronald could even be considered fortunate, because Terdon people who fell into the hands of the militia would literally be gutted and beheaded, their corpses discarded.


    Even with orders reiterated thrice by Bard and Ronald, they couldn¡¯t stop the spread of such actions.


    Therefore, as Stone Arrow led the group through the treacherous forest path, with every step he felt as though he was getting closer to another mutilated corpse.


    Just when you fear something, it often happens; a series of flapping sounds and neighs suddenly came from behind Stone Arrow.


    Stone Arrow felt a chill down his spine and instinctively wanted to mount his horse and flee.


    He stiffly waited for a moment, not hearing the terrifying screams of slaughter.


    Looking back, he saw a sorrel horse with a short tail lying on the ground, snorting as it exhaled hot breath.


    The sorrel struggled to rise, but its right foreleg was caught deep in the earth, up to its knee.


    ¡°Pull it out! Get the horse¡¯s leg out!¡±


    ¡°Stand back! Watch out for its kicks!¡±


    The sorrel, agitated from the fright and pain, made the Terdon people around it helpless as they circled the thrashing animal. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, another disturbance occurred.


    A middle-aged slave cried out in agony, seeming to have suddenly shrunk¡ªas with the sorrel, one of his legs had sunk into a pit.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 784 03-25 - 784 66 Competition for Position _2

    ?Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 The other Terdun struggled to lift a man and a horse out of the pitfall.


    An old slave felt around the injured leg and ankle of Gancao Huang, thankfully saying, ¡°It¡¯s not broken, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    The old slave led Gancao Huang forward, the latter whining incessantly, its right front leg not daring to touch the ground at all.


    It seemed that although Gancao Huang had not broken its hoof, it would need some time to recover before it could be ridden again.


    On the contrary, the middle-aged slave who stepped into the pitfall was more severely injured: a sharp wooden spike had pierced through his boot sole, leaving a deep bloody hole in the sole of his foot.


    Seeing a man and a horse in such a sorry state, the morale of commoners and slaves sank even lower.


    At first, the Terdun encountered large pitfalls with spikes and bear traps.


    ...


    These large pits and bear traps were deadly but quite easy to detect.


    Especially the bear traps¡ªwith several jin of good iron, the Terdun were too pleased to care.


    But then, the Terdun could no longer laugh, as the pitfalls they encountered became more concealed day by day, and the materials used became increasingly simple.


    By now it was all ¡°a dirt hole, a wooden spike¡± small traps, and pitfalls hardly larger than rat holes, aimed specifically at horses.


    Perhaps the nobles still thought two-legged people were just docile prey like lambs, but the ordinary members of the tribe were very clear that the Paratu People were definitely not sheep¡ªat least not the ones here.


    Shi Jian looked at the injured slave and the injured Gancao Huang, not only not angry but somewhat pleased.


    Just as Shi Jian was contemplating, three riders came through the forest, led by none other than Turu Koda [Bald Hound] himself.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    Shi Jian and his men hastily paid their respects.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this commotion?¡± Bald Hound asked with a somber face.


    ¡°My man stepped into a pitfall.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about stepping into a pitfall? March quickly.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Shi Jian hesitated: ¡°We need to send some people to take the injured back.¡±


    Bald Hound narrowed his eyes, gripping the gold-inlaid handle of his knife: ¡°Who is injured?¡±


    Hearing this, the middle-aged slave who had stepped into the pitfall scrambled up in a panic. Enduring the pain, he stood straight, blood seeping from the bottom of his boot and into the earth.


    ¡°March quickly,¡± Bald Hound ordered: ¡°If you delay the hunt, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    Shi Jian held back his anger and paid respects.


    For Herders, manly courage is an important part of authority, but Shi Jian had no time for that now.


    Bald Hound had clearly come for him, and any slip of the tongue could result in him being executed on the spot.


    Shi Jian left behind the injured man and horse and continued moving forward. Despite having just encountered a trap, they still had to follow this trail.


    Because there might be traps by the side of the road, and not using the ready-made path to walk through the wild forest would be a waste of time.


    This wasn¡¯t the vast steppe, where one could go in any direction. This was a primeval forest where every step might be deep or shallow, and carelessness could easily lead to getting lost.


    Shi Jian walked forward reluctantly.


    Bald Hound didn¡¯t let it go but became even more demanding. He rode behind the column like the true master of these members, supervising the troops on horseback.


    Following the trail to the end, they came to a river valley.


    The valley ran east to west, with no signs of habitation on either side.


    Bald Hound sniffed against the wind and commanded Shi Jian to lead the men east.


    The dog¡¯s nose was indeed keener than a horse¡¯s, and just after turning a bend, a concealed encampment on the south bank of the valley was exposed to the Terdun.


    The camp was surrounded by walls made of inserted branches. Inside the walls, one could see tents and roofs made of birch bark and wheat straw, and even vague human figures.


    This was the prey, this was the reason the Terdun had come to this place¡ªthe Paratu People¡¯s secret encampment.


    ¡°Ha! A two-legged people¡¯s secret camp!¡± Bald Hound was overjoyed: ¡°Conceal yourselves and wait for the right flank and the central army to arrive. If you startle the two-legged people, I¡¯ll show no mercy in executing!¡±


    After leaving behind a few threats, Bald Hound went to find his own men.


    ¡­


    Hiding in the woods, setting up concealed camps, leaving behind empty villages and towns¡­


    The two-legged people¡¯s acts of survival did not surprise the Terdun at all¡ªbecause that¡¯s exactly what the Herder tribes did.


    Whenever there was a conflict, all adult men in the Herder tribes had to go to battle.


    The leaders would then gather all the cattle and sheep, goods, women, and felt tents and settle them in a remote and concealed place, which is called an ¡°old camp.¡±


    While the men fought, the elderly, women, and children hid in the old camp waiting for news. If it came to abandoning the old camp, the tribal leaders would not hesitate at all.


    So, for the tribes, scouring the old camps was one of the crucial phases of war. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since there was nothing to be gained from fighting on the battlefield, the fat cattle and sheep, beautiful women, and glorious palaces were all within the old camp.


    In Shi Jian¡¯s view, the two-legged people here were simply using many small camps to replace a large centralized old camp that held all their wealth.


    After pillaging the floating wealth of the villages and towns, the Terdun who were not satisfied with their haul naturally turned their eyes toward the forest.


    The Terdun pursued, defined their boundaries like a hunt, tracked shadows, combed the mountains, and dug three feet into the ground.


    Although secret, the camp could not grow legs and escape. A wisp of smoke, a flock of birds, a trail tread by humans or livestock, or even a stroke of bad luck could reveal the encampment.


    As the secret camps were found one after another, some Terdun leaders had already filled their saddlebags with plunder, with no horse left that could carry it all.


    Leaders who returned empty-handed were green with envy¡ªlike Bald Hound.


    ¡­


    Shi Jian had little interest in this ¡°old camp¡± in front of him; he wouldn¡¯t get a share of the spoils.

 Chapter 785 03-25 - 785 66 Competition for _3

    ?Chapter 785: Chapter 66: Competition for _3 Chapter 785: Chapter 66: Competition for _3 The Bald Dog didn¡¯t say it outright, but Stone Arrow was clear that the Bald Dog would share nothing with him, leading to the second reason¡ªthe Bald Dog was crazed with hunger, whereas Stone Arrow had his fill.


    After an indeterminate wait, Stone Arrow heard the sound of horns coming from ahead.


    Hundreds of Terdun light cavalry charged out of the forest and headed straight for the dense camp, with the Bald Dog at the forefront.


    Another horn sounded from a different direction, and the Green Horse also led his men toward the dense camp.


    Stone Arrow ordered the horns blown, stepped into the stirrups, and made his unhurried way toward the dense camp.


    ¡­


    Flashes of swords and shadows of daggers, human cries and horse whinnies.


    Two groups were fighting to the death in a rudimentary camp: one was small, the other large.


    ...


    The smaller group wielded long spears, bows and arrows, and scimitars, drawing bows, riding fast, and charging; the larger group was armed with Stinger Hammers, javelins, and even farm tools like flails and scythes, fighting in a dense formation.


    Without a doubt, the former were the people of Terdun, and the latter the militia from Iron Peak County.


    In this battle of hundreds against dozens, Major Ronald¡¯s commanded militia had firmly suppressed the Terdun people.


    The militia pushed wheels and lifted gates, advancing in a clumsy but unstoppable manner toward the Terdun camp¡ªindeed, this battle was not taking place in the dense camp in the valley but in the Bald Dog¡¯s own camp.


    In the past, the people of Terdun would have long since fled at breakneck speed.


    But now that was impossible, as their spoils of war were stored within the camp.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    The Terdun people were like merchants pushing a cart uphill, bitten in the rear by a wolf that had long been lurking.


    If he let go to fight the wolf, he would lose the cart; but if he continued to push, he would lose his rear.


    Major Ronald¡¯s brows were tightly knit as he watched the small detachment of Terdun armored cavalry on the hillside who had not yet joined the fight¡ªnow, he should be more rightfully called Major Ronald.


    Captain Apel had come up with a peculiar and clumsy tactic, which he called ¡°wheel warfare.¡±


    In simple terms, it involved stringing a wheel with a thick, long spear.


    While advancing, the wheel could be rolled along. As soon as the enemy cavalry arrived, the wheel was dropped.


    The wheel, the long spear, and the ground created a triangular structure, effectively making a movable obstacle for horses.


    If there was a peculiar scene on the battlefield:


    The militiamen, sweating profusely and gasping, ¡°advanced¡± by pushing the cart¡¯s wheels forward;


    The Terdun light cavalry, despite their strong bows and fast horses, could only shoot arrows from outside.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Major Ronald thought.


    ¡°Now is the moment!¡± Hong Lingyu of Terdun drew his scimitar, stabbed his horse in the ribs, and led the charge.


    Lieutenant Adam (formerly), wearing only a single vambrace, roared as he swung around the Stinger Hammer, meeting Hong Lingyu¡¯s scimitar head-on.


    The Stinger Hammer was essentially a club with an iron tip; for strength, very thick wood was used.


    Hong Lingyu was on horseback, Adam on foot. The former had the height advantage and theoretically held all the benefits.


    However, at the moment of impact between sword and hammer, Hong Lingyu felt an unstoppable force traveling back through the weapon.


    His palm went numb, the base of his thumb was torn apart, and even his wrist was twisted.


    What surprised Hong Lingyu even more was that his scimitar had sunk deep into the handle of the opponent¡¯s bizarre weapon, stuck fast.


    The scene surprised Adam as well.


    Normally, the wooden handles of polearms should be oiled, sun-dried, and even reinforced with metal straps to prevent them from being chopped off. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Adam had no time to complain about the quality of the Stinger Hammer; he bellowed and, summoning all his strength, gave a fierce downward yank, and Hong Lingyu¡¯s scimitar flew from his hand.


    Adam followed through with a downward thrusting step, aiming straight for Hong Lingyu¡¯s right rib.


    Sparks flew where the hammer tip met the armor.


    The final impact on the armor left only a dent, but the momentum was transmitted through the armor scales to the body.


    Four of Hong Lingyu¡¯s ribs snapped instantly; he was in so much pain he couldn¡¯t make a sound and fell to the other side of the saddle.


    The crudely made Stinger Hammer also reached its limit, the front end of the wooden handle exploding with a ¡°bang,¡± and the iron spike flew who knows where.


    The warhorse, startled, fled wildly. Hong Lingyu, with his left foot trapped in the stirrup, was dragged away by the warhorse, screaming in agony.


    ¡°What kind of rubbish is this!¡± Lieutenant Adam roared like thunder, furiously smashing the wooden stick with the scimitar hanging from it onto the ground.

 Chapter 786 03-25 - 786 67 The Twins

    ?Chapter 786: Chapter 67 The Twins Chapter 786: Chapter 67 The Twins The night seemed endless, as if there was no end in sight.


    Foam spewed from the mouth of Winters¡¯ black warhorse, its ears pinned tightly back, its long neck thrusting forward, its heart seemingly ready to tear through the ribs and leap out.


    Winters, on the horse¡¯s back, struggled to keep his body steady, gasping for breath, his boots planted deep into the stirrups.


    With each encampment breached, the number of followers behind him dwindled; each hill crossed resulted in a rider¡¯s body swaying, then falling rigidly from the saddle.


    The thunder of hooves by his ears grew sparser, while the rumbling thunder ahead became increasingly deafening.


    Perhaps Winters still held a hint of surprise when he burst into the first two campsites.


    But the farther he moved forward, the better prepared the Terdun people were. They knew what had happened from the mouths of those who had fled. Even without informers, the clash of blades would have reached their ears long ago.


    ...


    There was no more surprise or unguarded attack, only a series of brutal, head-on clashes.


    As he surged over the hill on his horse, a hundred Terdun Cavalry appeared abruptly before Winters¡¯ eyes.


    Heinrich closely followed Winters up the crest of the hill. When the enemy riders spotted Winters¡¯ banner, they charged down from the opposing slope, heading straight for him.


    The Terdun campsites, not fortified with walls or trenches, made a defense tantamount to sitting ducks. Some Kota immediately fled, but the leader of this cavalry chose to confront Winters directly.


    Winters reined in his horse and removed his helmet.


    The cotton and silk lining inside the helmet felt as if it had just been fished out of water. The warhorse, too, was drenched; sweat poured unstoppably from the flanks, dripping steadily to the ground.


    He surveyed to count his men, only twenty-eight remained, nearly all of them wounded. Xial wasn¡¯t among them, Tamas wasn¡¯t there either; many were missing.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Perhaps some others were lagging behind, but it was unlikely they would catch up.


    Representatives from Niutigu Valley, both short and stout, and tall and thin, were there, the only civilians among the twenty-eight riders.


    ¡°You two stay,¡± Winters told the short stout and tall thin representatives.


    Having said this, he shook the sweat from the padding, fastened his helmet, and secured the clasps.


    The short stout representative glanced over Winters¡¯ shoulder and saw the Terdun Cavalry spreading out, surging up the hillside like a tidal wave.


    His parched lips parted slightly, as if to say something, but Winters had already drawn his sabre and spurred his horse down the hill.


    The short stout civilian representative stared at Winters¡¯ receding figure, then suddenly raised his sabre high, struck the horse¡¯s hindquarters hard with the back of the blade, gritted his teeth, and galloped down the hill.


    The tall thin representative followed blindly all the way, not even knowing where he had dropped his sabre. It was not until he was alone on the hill that he came to his senses, awakened as if from a dream.


    A trace of relief surged through him, but was quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of shame.


    He stood dumbstruck for a moment, then suddenly started shouting at the top of his lungs, spurring his horse down the hill. But before he had run a hundred paces, he abruptly reined in his mount, unable to move any further. The middle-aged man, who already had a son, broke down in tears.


    The distance between the two sides closed swiftly; Winters targeted the enemy leading the charge.


    The adversary rode a chestnut warhorse with a high head, brandishing a curved sword with a gold-inlaid scabbard swinging at his side.


    Not all Terdun people had swords; those with long spears charged at the forefront were how Winters identified the leaders of the Terdun.


    The Terdun leader also recognized Winters as a formidable opponent; he pushed his warhorse to speed up, bearing down on Winters.


    The Terdun man lifted off his saddle, his upper body leaning forward, the curved sword held high.


    Winters held his sabre at shoulder height, equally poised to strike.


    The moment the cavalrymen crossed paths was fleeting. Yet in that instant, the full force of man and horse combined¡ªno longer just their own, but also that of the enemy.


    Simply misjudging the angle of the slash could send the sabre flying from one¡¯s grip, and dislocate a wrist. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯ martial skill in mounted combat came not only from his academy training but more so from real combat experience and practice after leaving the Ivory Tower. He had become highly adept at slashing from horseback.


    In the moment they passed, Winters and the Terdun man swung their weapons simultaneously.


    Winters struck first although he moved after, his sabre cutting with precision at the tip of his opponent¡¯s blade. In a single blow, the Terdun man¡¯s palm and arm went numb.


    A chill spread across the Terdun man¡¯s chest; he gripped his curved sword, trying to swing it back in defense while desperately pulling on the reins, hoping to widen the gap.


    But it was too late; they had barely missed by half a horse¡¯s length when Winters¡¯ sabre swung in an arc back over his head.


    Standing in his stirrups, he lunged his body forward, slashing viciously at the back of his foe while pulling the hilt back hard.


    The back of the Terdun man was cleaved open by a hefty wound, and like a sack of lifeless flour, he slid heavily from his saddle.


    Winters didn¡¯t look back at the man; after the charge, both sides clashed on the small hillside.


    His armor made him particularly conspicuous, and a second, then a third Terdun charged at him, senselessly desperate.


    Winters struck the second enemy with a Rending Spell; blood surged instantly from his nostrils, ear canals, and the bottom of his eyes, as he collapsed limply.


    The third enemy hadn¡¯t even realized what had occurred and continued to urge his horse forward, thrusting his spear towards Winters.


    Putting all his strength into the reins, Winters narrowly avoided the thrust aimed straight at his chest.


    Sparks flew as the spearhead grazed his left rib, leaving only a slight dent on his breastplate.

 Chapter 787 03-25 - 787 67 Gemini_2

    ?Chapter 787: Chapter 67 Gemini_2 Chapter 787: Chapter 67 Gemini_2 With his left arm, Winters trapped the spear shaft and slanted his cut toward the opponent¡¯s neck, which was bent down and wrapped in a leather gorget.


    His saber was blunted, so the cut, which should have been fatal, was stopped by the tough leather gorget. Still, the blunt force of the blow struck the foe hard enough to see stars.


    Unable to use his saber effectively, Winters drove the dulled blade into the opponent¡¯s chest. As he did so, he felt no emotion.


    Instinctively, the enemy grabbed the blade and screamed as he fell from the saddle.


    Winters let go of the saber and picked up the enemy¡¯s long spear instead. Using Spell to kill might have been faster, but the night was far from over, and he needed to conserve his magic power.


    The Terdun Cavalry had already realized that this armored warrior was extraordinarily brave, and no one dared to confront him anymore.


    In the chaos of battle, Winters saw a cluster of swaying red feathers. He gripped the long spear and jabbed at the horse¡¯s ribs, charging straight toward the red feathers.


    ...


    The people of Terdun, who were in his way, fled for their lives, not daring to stand in his path.


    The one with the red feathers realized he was alone with the fearsome armored warrior and didn¡¯t hesitate to spur his horse into a run.


    Seeing this, the will of the Terdun people wavered, and they too withdrew from the melee, riding off in all directions. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters spurred on his warhorse, continuing the pursuit. Just then, the Dan-black warhorse with a white star on its forehead let out a heartrending neigh.


    The horse¡¯s front legs could no longer support its body, and with a ¡°thump¡±, it knelt down, its chest harshly slamming into the ground. Its body slid forward a short distance due to inertia, immediately staining the contact area with blood.


    It was as if the ground suddenly collapsed beneath him; Winters sank down and was then thrown from the saddle.


    The world spun as he tumbled several times before coming to a stop. Warmth trickled down his forehead into his ears, a buzzing filled his skull, and pain throbbed everywhere¡ªshoulders, arms, neck¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Struggling to his feet, Winters saw his horse lying on the ground, mouth open, hooves twitching slightly, and looking at him with sad eyes, almost as if to say, ¡°I can go no further.¡±


    The red feather, having fled a distance, saw Paratu¡¯s armored warrior fall and was overjoyed. He loudly shouted and blew his whistle, ordering his men to return.


    Nearly half of the fleeing Terdun Cavalry regained their spirits and turned their horses to come back to the fight.


    Leaning on his long spear, Winters struggled to his horse¡¯s side. He hadn¡¯t named this warhorse, and his emotions were hidden beneath his helmet, unknown whether he was crying, enraged, sorrowful, or numb.


    The battlefield doesn¡¯t need a person with feelings; feelings make one appear weak. It needs a numb, heartless, armored killing machine.


    The Cavalry of Iron Peak County, realizing Winters was in danger, abandoned their current foes and rushed over to protect him, risking their lives.


    The people of Terdun, seeing this unfold, became even more convinced that the downed knight was someone of high rank, and they desperately whipped their mounts to attack Winters.


    Arrows accompanied by whistling sounds flew toward him, either falling into the dirt or ricocheting off armor.


    Winters no longer looked at his horse. Clenching the long spear tightly, he rested it on his knee and with a forceful push, snapped it in two.


    The red feather wondered why on earth the opponent would break the long spear, and then saw something flash by in a blur.


    Pain came to the red feather slower than the realization, a crushing agony as if a bone club had slammed into his chest.


    The red feather too fell from his horse.


    What the surrounding Terdun people saw was the knight breaking the long spear and throwing the upper half with unbelievable force, knocking their leader Kota to the ground.


    More hoofbeats were approaching from afar¡ªthe likes of Xial, Tamas, and others who had lagged behind were reaching the battlefield one after another.


    Nothing could impede the terrible rout of the Terdun forces now. They hunched over their horses and fled like startled birds from this field of death.


    Before losing consciousness, the red feather¡¯s last vision was of the knight approaching with the other half of the long spear, speaking words he couldn¡¯t understand.


    What Winters actually said was, ¡°Now it¡¯s just you and me.¡±


    After crushing this strong force of Terdun centurions, Winters paused briefly to regather his scattered men.


    Tamas brought Winters another chestnut warhorse.


    ¡°Leave the wounded.¡± Winters mounted, his voice cold and clear, ¡°Signal the other side to come for them and clean up the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    After a brief rest and changing horses, the cavalry once again charged toward where the enemy was.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Revodan, Mitchell Manor.


    In front of the house at Mitchell Manor, many iron pots were set up, bubbling and boiling with something inside.


    Inside the house, it almost transformed into a tailor¡¯s workshop as women cut undyed hemp and cotton fabric into strips.


    Behind the house, numerous clotheslines were set up, and the strips of boiled fabric fluttered in the wind like tassels on clothing.


    Tying her hair with a scarf like a married lady, Anna oversaw everything inside and outside the manor¡ªas well as three other similarly sized ¡°workshops.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Montaigne, we¡¯re running out of firewood!¡± A little girl with her hair and cheeks smeared with ash ran over to Anna in a panic.


    The girl was likely rubbing her eyes because ashes had gotten into them while she spoke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, speak slowly,¡± Anna said as she took the girl aside, delicately wiping her with a handkerchief and patiently asked, ¡°How could that happen? Didn¡¯t Captain Mason bring two carts last night?¡±


    Indeed, Captain Mason had sent two carts of firewood last night, but women working here had secretly taken some home.


    Each person only took a handful, but with everyone taking a little, it wasn¡¯t enough for today¡¯s work.


    The girl didn¡¯t dare to say, but Anna, with her keen mind, roughly figured out what had happened.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t dare to come to me and sent you instead, right?¡± Anna asked gently.


    The little girl nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Anna said as she patted the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Go back. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    Obediently, the girl walked away.


    Recently, Revodan had also been trying to implement a system of gender-segregated camps, but progress was not smooth. In Winters¡¯ absence, Mason couldn¡¯t suppress the local gentry and merchants.


    With no other choice, Mason had to settle for a less comprehensive implementation of gender segregation, applying it only among the families that came for shelter.


    Thus, residences like Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s and the Navarre sisters became home to many women and girls.


    Just as Anna thought of Mason, he walked into the yard from outside.


    ¡°Mr. Mason,¡± Anna curtsied in greeting.


    ¡°Lady Montaigne,¡± Mason removed his cap.


    ¡°Is there news of Winters¡­¡± Anna¡¯s eyes brightened with hope as she asked, but feeling shy to speak his name directly, she corrected herself, ¡°Do you have news of Mr. Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, no,¡± Mason shook his head with a trace of regret.


    There was news, but ¡°No word from Winters since he crossed the river for battle¡± was something Mason couldn¡¯t bring himself to say. He¡¯d rather wait until he had definite information.


    Anna¡¯s expression dimmed slightly as she politely requested, ¡°If there¡¯s any news, please inform me right away. Whether it¡¯s good or bad.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, certainly,¡± Mason answered, his voice betraying unease, and he shifted the subject. ¡°How about Mrs. Mitchell and Miss Catherine?¡±


    Anna felt a twinge of fatigue¡ªthe man had departed and since then, there had been no word from him although geographically close, not even a letter.


    She maintained a strained smile, ¡°They are preparing for another fundraiser.¡±


    ¡°You are truly a great help to us,¡± Mason sincerely praised, lavish in his compliments, ¡°If the troops were in charge of preparations, who knows how long it would take and the quality would be uneven. Clean bandages like these, packed three to a bundle, are unheard of.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re only doing what we can.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I can assist you with?¡±


    ¡°There are a few matters,¡± Anna perked up, stepping back into the role of Lady Montaigne, ¡°What restricts this little ¡®shop¡¯ now is not manpower, but rather supplies and tools. We need more pots¡ªfour iron pots are no longer sufficient¡ªand more firewood. The same goes for materials; donated fabrics are limited and relying on them is not sustainable¡­¡±


    Mason took out a notebook, listening and noting, nodding frequently.


    ¡°That¡¯s all for the moment,¡± Anna stated as she held the hem of her dress, curtsying slightly, ¡°I appreciate your attention, Mr. Mason.¡±


    With respect, Mason returned the gesture, ¡°It¡¯s my duty to help. The fabric might be a bit tricky, but pots and firewood are an easy fix; I¡¯ll send a few carts your way first.¡±


    With nothing else to discuss, Mason took his leave.


    Anna gazed towards the horizon, her thoughts drifting far away to the south.


    ¡°Winters, where are you?¡± she wondered.

 Chapter 788 03-25 - 788 68 Eve

    ?Chapter 788: Chapter 68 Eve Chapter 788: Chapter 68 Eve Where is Winters Montagne? This question was also troubling Samujin.


    As dawn was about to break, an anxious Samujin, who had waited the entire night, finally saw a torch waving on the opposite shore. He immediately dispatched a small boat to ferry people across the river.


    Night battles are chaotic; both sides fight recklessly with courage and skill, without any formation.


    Under such circumstances, once the infantry are scattered by the cavalry, all that awaits them is slaughter.


    Hence, Winters issued an order: only upon seeing the signal may the troops guarding the coast be permitted to cross the river. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters did not expect the conscripted civilians to fight tough battles; doing well in treating the wounded, cleaning the battlefield, and gathering stragglers and the dispersed was difficult enough.


    ¡°We won.¡± Carrying boundless joy, Samujin took a boat to the western shore, only to be dizzied by the bad news delivered by Bart Xialing shortly after.


    ...


    ¡°The Centurion is not here.¡± Bart Xialing dismissed the others and whispered to Samujin.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Samujin was startled.


    ¡°Keep your voice down.¡± Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes were solemn, his cheeks tense: ¡°Not many people know about this yet.¡±


    ¡°What on earth happened?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve run through several battlefields on the western shore¡ªcan¡¯t find the Centurion.¡± Bart Xialing maintained his last bit of calm: ¡°But Xial and Heinrich are also missing, probably nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°Where is Tamas?¡± Samujin pressed.


    ¡°With me.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know where the Centurion is?¡± Samujin raged: ¡°What is he good for?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s wounded, quite badly.¡± Bart Xialing said softly.


    Samujin clenched his fists tightly, looked around, and suddenly struck his thigh: ¡°Ah!¡±


    The situation on the western shore was vast disarray.


    Last night, Winters fought through seven battles, successively captured sixteen camps¡ªthe ones he faced were shattered, those he struck were routed.


    The leaders of the Terdon Tribe were also unclear about the exact number of enemies; they only saw defeated groups fleeing in waves. Thus, the thought to preserve their own strength prevailed, and they hastily chose to depart first.


    In the end, wherever Winters¡¯ banner went, the Terdon people crumbled upon sighting it.


    Winters¡¯ forces too had a large number of riders who had fallen behind, scattered. Compared to those killed in battle, there were more injured from falling off their horses.


    After the sounds of slaughter disbanded, the situation became even more unordered.


    Some defeated Terdon people wandered the battlefield like crows, scavenging valuables and stripping clothes from the dead.


    There were also fleeing Terdon leaders who felt there was an opportunity, and so they quietly circled back with their followers.


    The injured of Iron Peak County and the bodies of its riders were scattered in various places along the shore. Those who could make it to the riverbank to wait for the rescue fleet were considered lucky.


    There were riders who broke their legs when they fell from their horses and could not move. Had it not been for the search and rescue teams looking for them along the way, they could only await death in despair¡ªand there was more than one wounded in such a state.


    ¡°An injured man said¡­ the Centurion went after the Barbarian Chief¡¯s tent.¡± Bart Xialing gritted his teeth: ¡°I think it makes sense. Let¡¯s round up those who are still able to fight and send them to reinforce the Centurion. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant!¡± A scout cavalryman came galloping in, barely stopping before Bart Xialing¡¯s nose. The scout quickly dismounted and reported breathlessly: ¡°Six or seven dozen barbarians are riding along the riverbank towards us!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes widened like an eagle¡¯s.


    Samujin looked at the chaotic scene of this temporary ferry port: the wounded being continuously brought back, fathers and sons crying over bodies, and the swords, spears, and armors that were piled up hurriedly without time to be transported across the shore¡­


    ¡°Hold off the Terdon people¡¯s matter!¡± Bart Xialing looked at Samujin: ¡°How many men who can ride do you have at your disposal?¡±


    ¡°No need to go reinforce the Centurion.¡± Samujin made up his mind: ¡°The Centurion always said that everyone has their own responsibilities, and victory relies on everyone doing their duty. Montaigne, the Protector of the People, has his responsibilities; Xialing the Lieutenant has his, and I have mine.¡±


    ¡°Quit using the Centurion¡¯s words to press me!¡± Bart Xialing burst into a sudden fury: ¡°If a real accident¡­ have you thought about what would happen to Iron Peak County if the Centurion truly met with misfortune?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hand over all the brave men under my command to you.¡± Samujin looked directly into Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes: ¡°Still, according to the original plan, it¡¯s up to you to ambush the barbarians trying a counterassault, and leave the battlefield cleanup to me.¡±


    Bart Xialing initially wanted to say something more but suddenly pursed his lips, his eyes fixed.


    Samujin followed his gaze, turning to look back, only to see two columns of smoke rising in the southwest direction, one white and one gray¡ªit was from Lower Tiefeng County.


    Lower Tiefeng County had raised white smoke before, and gray smoke too, but two plumes of smoke, one white and one gray, were unprecedented.


    Bart Xialing subdued his anger, gradually becoming calm: ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Samujin acknowledged, staring at the two columns of smoke: ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡­


    Lower Tiefeng County, by the Big Horn River.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dump it all in at once!¡± The young stable boy Anglu desperately pushed the bellows, shouting loudly: ¡°It will put out the fire! Burn it bit by bit!¡±


    Burning oak would produce white smoke; mixing it with decomposed leaves would turn it into gray smoke.


    The panicked men were running around the two massive earthen stoves, wishing they could pour all their wood and decayed leaves into the furnace all at once.


    The insufficiently burned wood and humus turned into thick smoke. Channeled through two long chimneys, it flew towards the sky.


    This point, less than a mile from the riverbank, had been hidden until today when it was used for the first time. Further to the north, there were many more hidden spots with two beacon stoves each.


    Two columns of smoke would arise only under one condition¡ªthe ¡°crossing of the river¡± by the Terdon people; not a small-scale shallow crossing by a few hundred but the crossing of the Khan Court¡¯s main forces into the thousands.

 Chapter 789 03-25 - 789 68 Eve_2

    ?Chapter 789: Chapter 68 Eve_2 Chapter 789: Chapter 68 Eve_2 ¡°`


    ¡°Captain of ten! Disaster!¡± A rider charged into the camp, ¡°Barbarian light cavalry have seen the signal fires! They¡¯re killing their way here!¡±


    Anglu dropped the bellows, grabbed the newcomer¡¯s collar, and asked angrily, ¡°I sent you to check if the Barbarian Chief¡¯s Khan flag had crossed the river! Has it or has it not?¡±


    ¡°It has! Horse-tail banners! At least a few dozen poles!¡±


    Anglu let go, shouting to the others, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Anglu mounted Redmane, the other men quickly saddled their horses and rode away swiftly, leaving the Terdun people with nothing but an empty camp.


    ¡­


    Below Iron Peak County, in the town of Wolfton, the secret camp of the Ronald Division.


    ...


    Major Ronald was conversing with the mysterious Father Saul.


    The old Herde slave who called himself ¡°Brother Saul,¡± known as ¡°Baldytail,¡± was fluent in Herde Language, Universal Language, Old Language, and the Ancient Church Language, and he was familiar with the customs and cultures of the Paratu, The Federated Provinces, and even the Empire.


    But other than his clergy rank and the name ¡°Saul,¡± he never spoke of which monastic order he belonged to, where and when he was born, or who had ordained him.


    Even with a knife held to his throat, he would only answer, ¡°The Public Church can prove my identity.¡±


    The officers didn¡¯t believe that the old slave before them was the so-called ¡°Father Saul.¡± They still managed him as closely as they would a slave or a captive, and the old slave never resisted, passively accepting their treatment.


    Soon enough, the old slave proved his worth¡ªno one in Newly Reclaimed Lands Province knew more about the insider affairs of Terdun than this ¡°Paratu person.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    From interrogating captives to identifying enemies¡¯ affiliations to the temperament of Kota, and the favorite tactics of the Terdon Tribe, old slave Baldytail knew everything.


    The intelligence on the [Ambush on Bald Dog Tribe] was provided proactively by the old slave and turned out exactly as he described: although there were two other groups of Terdun people near Bald Dog Tribe¡¯s camp, none came to the rescue.


    Because ¡°Bald Dog was formerly a guard to the Fire Lighter, and he abused the Fire Lighter¡¯s trust to lord over others. The other lords of the Terdun were only too happy to see Bald Dog¡¯s demise.¡±


    Old slave¡¯s status in the small force commanded by Ronald rose significantly, and people gradually started referring to him as ¡°Father Saul,¡± even letting him officiate Masses.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t quite understand,¡± Father Saul asked lightly, ¡°Why you, Mr. Apel, and Mr. Adam are fighting to the death for a bunch of countrymen? If you hide in a strong fortress, the people of Terdun would naturally leave after they have looted enough. Many years ago, this is what the nobles of Paratu did.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± Ronald replied as he sharpened arrowheads, not looking up, ¡°There are no longer any nobles in the Republic, my father was a common merchant.¡±


    ¡°When the Lord created the world, He did not create a separate class of people called nobles,¡± Father Saul said, holding his rosary beads and looking down as if gazing into a deep pool, ¡°You were shaped to serve the regime in the form of violence. Not only to repel foreign enemies but to suppress the internal ones, this behavior is consistent with nobility.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we citizens?¡±


    ¡°But there are still slaves beneath the citizens, in this sense, even the freemen who are citizens can be seen as nobles. Their status is lower than some people but higher than others.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying¡­ might have some sense,¡± Ronald put down one arrowhead and picked up another broken one, ¡°But as you said, we were not shaped by emperors, kings, or grand dukes, it was the nation that shaped us. So we don¡¯t pledge loyalty to the crown but to the nation. As for what the nation is¡­ I haven¡¯t figured that out either. I¡¯m just doing all this following my heart¡¯s guidance.¡±


    Footsteps sounded, and Lieutenant Adam, gasping for breath, ran over.


    ¡°Signal fires, two of them,¡± Adam said, panting and swallowing saliva, ¡°One white, one gray, they¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re coming,¡± Ronald ground down on the arrowhead.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, by the banks of Panto River.


    The refugee Bard also saw the two rising signal fires.


    ¡°Get everyone ready.¡± Bard said to Ish, ¡°The people of Terdun are coming.¡±


    ¡­


    The Great Wilderness. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A dozen Terdun Quiver Bearers were frantically urging their warhorses, relentlessly whipping them on without pause.


    A Quiver Bearer looked back in terror, and then with a crying tone shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] They¡¯re still behind us, we can¡¯t escape! Burn it! Burn it all!¡±


    His words were muffled by the wind and hoofs, sounding like sobs.


    The leading Quiver Bearer cursed, ¡°[Herde Language] Burn? Who has time for that? Run!¡±


    The Quiver Bearers had been fleeing for who knows how long, from the night straight into the day.


    They were the guards of the Fire Lighter, originally seventy strong.


    Their pursuers were only three people, but when they first appeared behind them, the Quiver Bearers sent half of their number to intercept, without success.


    Another half was sent, and yet the pursuers kept biting at their heels.


    The Quiver Bearers no longer dared to fight and buried their heads in a mad dash westward.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Split up!¡± another Quiver Bearer shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] Into two wings!¡±


    The leading Quiver Bearer clenched his teeth and nodded.


    ¡­


    Newly Reclaimed Land, Maplestone City, New Reclamation Legion Headquarters.


    The office door of Colonel Chloe, the Legion Administrative Officer, was kicked in fiercely as Colonel Bod stormed in, his imposing frame not even slightly impeded by the two burly guards.


    Colonel Bod skipped any pleasantries, pressing with an unmistakable sense of urgency the moment he entered, ¡°What happened? Have you achieved any results?!¡±


    Colonel Chloe signaled for the two guards to stand down, gave a placating smile to Colonel Bod and replied, ¡°We just finished a military intelligence meeting, and I was about to seek you out to discuss this.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 790 03-25 - 790 68 Eve_3

    ?Chapter 790: Chapter 68 Eve_3 Chapter 790: Chapter 68 Eve_3 ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°Vernge County has become a mess, sending twelve messengers a day to ask for assistance. The border of Mirror Lake County is also unstable¡­¡±


    ¡°Can they do it or not?¡± Colonel Bod slammed the table and bellowed, ¡°Just say it, be quick about it!¡±


    ¡°After the battle in mid-September, a large part of the conscripted defense forces was disbanded and is currently regrouping. The Military Command¡¯s view is that, to be on the safe side, troops should be dispatched from Maplestone City and take the northern route. First, repel the Herders of Vernge County, then move on to subdue Iron Peak County¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the defense forces of Riverside County, Mont Blanc County, and Thunder Group County?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s brows knitted tightly together, ¡°You can¡¯t move, and neither can they?!¡±


    ¡°If necessary, we can take in refugees from Iron Peak County; the provisional battle plan¡­still involves setting up defenses along the Anya River line.¡± Colonel Chloe¡¯s expression was complex, ¡°Senior, the situation in Iron Peak County¡­it¡¯s already at that stage, and if the Herders break through Anya River and enter Mont Blanc County¡­that would truly be like letting the Herders stick a knife right into our belly¡­¡±


    Colonel Chloe went on and on about the reasoning, but Colonel Bod stayed silent.


    ...


    In the end, Colonel Chloe stopped talking as well, and both sat in silence.


    ¡°Right, weren¡¯t you going back to Kingsfort?¡± Colonel Chloe said with a forced smile to Colonel Bod, ¡°The legion has already arranged for your carriage, escort, and credentials. They welcome you back at Kingsfort and even said they want to invite you into the new Army Committee as a permanent member, and there¡¯s also a promotion¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± Colonel Bod suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, his merriment surprisingly carefree and blissful, leaving Colonel Chloe somewhat at a loss.


    ¡°You?¡± Colonel Chloe asked with some concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°In the end¡­¡± Colonel Bod said, still laughing heartily, ¡°¡­you all still have ambition without the capacity, strategy without the talent! Damn it, you¡¯re not even as good as Alpad, that guy whose guts are as straightforward as a fart!¡±


    Colonel Chloe was taken aback.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your carriage, escort, or credentials.¡± Colonel Bod stood up and straightened his attire a bit, ¡°Give me three horses and a bag of army rations; I can manage on my own.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À?.§ã¦Ï


    An hour later.


    The drawbridge of Maplestone City slowly lowered, and an old one-armed soldier galloped out of the city, swiftly disappearing into the distance.


    ¡­


    At about the same time, far to the west of Maplestone City¡ªin the Terdon Tribe¡¯s winter pasture, another story was unfolding.


    The Herders call the winter pasture ¡°winter nest,¡± typically choosing lower ground near rivers or valleys surrounded by hills.


    In short, they would go wherever it was better to spend the winter.


    As one of the three great tribes, the Terdon naturally occupied one of the best winter pastures. Their pasture bordered the Ashen Stream River¡ªprobably the lowest and warmest place in the wilderness during winter.


    Although this year¡¯s winter had arrived a bit late, it had finally come. At a glance, the winter pasture had already turned to hues of withered yellow, with not a hint of green to be seen.


    In this ocean of yellow and green was an unremarkable little hillock, where seven felt tents were pitched against the wind, with wagons encircling them from the outside.


    Seven felt tents, dozens of cattle, around a hundred horses, and several hundred sheep¡ªthis was about the size of a ¡°small tribe¡± in Herder society.


    Such micro-tribes were typically held together by kinship, supporting two or three full-time warriors, as part of a small family within a larger tribe, capable of mustering several dozen subjects or slaves in times of war.


    Because of the practice of spreading out for winter, the freemen of the tribe did not stay here but were scattered throughout the pastures in a radius of tens of kilometers.


    But at this moment, hundreds of horses were quietly grazing on the hillside, far more than the number a family with seven tents should have.


    In the camp, some were slaughtering sheep, and others were heating stones for cooking: putting fresh lamb meat into sheepskin bags, adding a little water and salt, and then placing hot stones inside before tying the bags shut tightly.


    Quietly lying around outside the camp were more than twenty bodies of men and women.


    A man came down from the hillside, cursing under his breath.


    The wind was strong, and the man was wrapped tightly all over, with only a handsome face exposed.


    The man yanked open the tent flap, his delicate features grotesque with emotion, ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ve pissed blood! Are we there yet? Do we need to go further west?¡±


    Another tall man sat inside the tent, silently shaving with a military saber.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there to admire your looks?¡± The handsome man said, unable to contain his irritation, ¡°Is there anyone to see?¡±


    ¡°Just today,¡± the tall man replied, putting down the saber, ¡°No need to go further west.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± The handsome man was overjoyed, ¡°Do you know where we are?¡± sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said the tall man, taking off his ill-fitting robe and carefully extracting a Piaoqi Cavalry uniform from his saddlebag, meticulously brushing off dust and smoothing out wrinkles, ¡°We¡¯ll make do where we are.¡±


    When Lieutenant Andreya Chelini emerged from the tent, he was dressed in the full regalia of a Piaoqi Cavalryman.


    The sound of the bugle resonated from the hillside, as Cavalrymen gathered and formed lines from all around the camp.


    Sometime later, nearly a hundred Cavalrymen rode off, and a great fire rose from the base of the hill.


    ¡­


    Only when the battlefield on the west bank was cleared did Winters return to the side of Big Horn River with Xial and Heinrich.


    The tense look on Samukhin¡¯s face finally broke into a smile, the immense invisible weight on his chest shattering abruptly.


    Without waiting for Samukhin to report the victory, Winters, exhausted to the point of collapsing, pulled a large, blood-stained, woolen mass from his saddlebag and threw it to Samukhin, ¡°Get someone to clean it up.¡±


    Samukhin looked it over several times before figuring out what he was holding in his hands. His eyes widened suddenly, ¡°This¡­ how did you manage to take this¡­¡±


    Before Samukhin could say anything else, Winters slumped over on his horse.


    The people hastened to help the civil guardian.


    ¡°Two beacons, one white, one gray,¡± Bart Xialing reported, ¡°The main forces of the Terdun people have gone around Iron Peak County; they¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± was the response.


    People only heard the civil guardian utter a single word, then realized that the civil guardian had lost consciousness.

 Chapter 791 03-25 - 791 69 Torrential

    ?Chapter 791: Chapter 69 Torrential Chapter 791: Chapter 69 Torrential The battle started without any sense of ceremony.


    The sound of horns and military drums echoed along both banks of the Panto River, as the Terdun Cavalry charged into the shallows, heading towards the Iron Peak County militia on the north bank.


    Bard took a deep breath, pulled out a flat-headed arrow, and nocked it onto his bow.


    He sank his shoulders, extended his left arm, half-turned his elbow, shifted his weight onto his left leg while reaching forward with his upper body, and pulled the bowstring back to his ear in a slightly awkward posture.


    To master his 140-pound longbow, Bard¡¯s arms, back, and abdominal muscles were all exerting force.


    His back muscles bulged, his waist and abdomen tightened, the veins in his arms swelled, and his left hand, which was holding the bow, had turned a painful red.


    The process of shooting an arrow was both long and fleeting: the bowstring and the bow made a delicate sound from the tension, and Bard¡¯s body trembled slightly.


    ...


    Strictly speaking, he wasn¡¯t aiming since his line of sight wasn¡¯t directly aligned with the arrow.


    His target wasn¡¯t a fixed bullseye, but an enemy galloping on horseback.


    He wasn¡¯t even holding the bow so much as bracing the bow against the heel of his hand, using his fingers for assistance.


    At a certain moment, as if his heart suddenly stopped or a cold breeze swept over his spine, Bard followed his instinct and relaxed his right hand.


    The bowstring sounded like a plucked string instrument, propelling the arrow swiftly from the bow.


    The arrow flew astonishingly close to the water¡¯s surface, hitting a Terdun Cavalryman shooting arrows while galloping, ten meters away.


    After a brief delay, the flat, sharp arrowhead pierced through the robe, skin, and flesh, plunging deeply into the lung below the left rib, until its energy was spent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    Air poured into the chest cavity, blood and lung bubbles rushed back into the windpipe, and the struck Terdun man instantly lost his strength. He clutched his throat and tumbled from the saddle, plunging into the knee-deep river.


    The battle¡¯s prologue was heralded by this single arrow, and seeing the enemy fall from his horse, the militia couldn¡¯t help but cheer excitedly.


    Bard didn¡¯t witness this scene because he didn¡¯t care about the battle outcome.


    Only rookies who were new to battle would release an arrow and then eagerly watch its feathery trail, cheering if it hit and fretting if it missed. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While the stricken man was still atop his horse, Bard had already drawn another arrow and readied his bow once more.


    If every member of the militia had even half of Bard¡¯s archery skill, repelling this small group of over a hundred Terdun Cavalry wouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    Unfortunately, most of the militia didn¡¯t.


    As a result, as soon as the battle commenced, the Iron Peak County militia, outnumbering their enemy four to one, were subtly suppressed by the Terdun forces.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fences and chevaux-de-frise Bard had preemptively placed along the riverbank, his men would have been crushed by the Terdun Cavalry¡¯s initial charge.


    The militia archers shot in a way similar to Bard: four fingers on the string, body leaning forward, bundles of arrows stuck in the ground at their feet, shooting one and then grabbing another.


    The Terdun Cavalry, on the other hand, used a completely different shooting method: they stood up in the stirrups, holding both bow and arrow in the left hand, thumb nocking the string; like a gust of wind they swept past the front, loosing several arrows in rapid succession while galloping, breaking away after each shot.


    Hail-like arrows accompanied by thunderous hoofbeats descended¡ªthe intimidation of mounted archery was truly frightening.


    If it weren¡¯t for the stern military discipline of the displaced people¡¯s camp and the presence of supervisory teams, many of the militia would have already fled in panic.


    ¡°Cowards! What are you scared of?!¡± Ish, carrying a rattan whip, walked among the militia, barking harshly.


    He grew vicious, lashing out with his whip at the trembling militia who hid behind their shields: ¡°Think of your wives and children! No hiding allowed! Deserters will be hanged!¡±


    With the encouragement, coercion, and even threats from various non-coms, even the timid militia stood up and shakily fought back against the Terdun men.


    For the militia, bows and arrows were also luxuries; half of them carried only rudimentary slings.


    Slings had one advantage¡ªthere was no shortage of ammunition as stones were everywhere on the riverbank.


    Occasionally, a militiaman was struck by an errant arrow, screaming for help, and immediately someone would carry him to the rear to avoid affecting morale.


    Just as often, Terdun men would fall from their horses, their fate much more pitiful. With no one to help, they were sometimes trampled by passing cavalry, their entrails spread across the field.


    ¡°Full draw! Don¡¯t waste your damned arrows!¡± Ish fumed, seeing some of the militia carelessly releasing their arrows: ¡°Don¡¯t aim at the men! Shoot the barbarians¡¯ horses! Fire two horse lengths ahead of them!¡±


    The shallows the two forces were contesting over had no official name; the people of Iron Peak County simply called it the ¡°Ford¡± or ¡°Panto River Ford.¡±


    There was a time when Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s bandit group ambushed caravans from Wolf Town here.


    Now it was Bard¡¯s turn to defend this spot against the Terdun men.


    The repeated bloodshed at this location was no coincidence.


    Being a tributary, the Panto River didn¡¯t carry as much water as the Big Horn River, but the mountainous forests along its banks were dense, and there weren¡¯t many suitable crossing points.


    For a long time, there had only been two routes to cross the Panto River:


    You could either go through Shizhen, where the terrain was flat and the river narrow, with a bridge spanning the water, or use the shallows between Blackwater Town and Niutigu Valley¡ªthe ¡°Ford.¡±


    From a geographic standpoint, the Ford was the gateway to Iron Peak County. It was inevitable that the Terdun men would attack and the locals would defend, leading to a brutal struggle for control over these shallows.


    After curtly enduring the first few exchanges of arrows, the numeric superiority of the Iron Peak County militia began to take shape.


    Prioritizing firing speed, the Terdun mounted archers¡¯ accuracy and power were limited.


    The precision and force of Iron Peak¡¯s rock-throwing and foot archery weren¡¯t impressive either, but the militia had strength in numbers.


    When the battle became a matter of exchanging casualties, victory¡¯s balance started to tilt toward Iron Peak County.


    Turu Koda, leader of this band of a hundred Terdun horsemen, observed the battle from the south bank, where the situation was clear: the bipeds could only hold on because of the obstacles¡ªthe chevaux-de-frise and palisades. Once it came down to hand-to-hand fighting, the bipeds would immediately collapse.

 Chapter 792 03-25 - 792 69 Torrential Rain_2

    ?Chapter 792: Chapter 69 Torrential Rain_2 Chapter 792: Chapter 69 Torrential Rain_2 Seeing the ¡°Beast Driven¡± tactic had failed, Bard summoned his trusted Hong Lingyu and whispered a few words to her. She immediately led a dozen armored riders around to the edge of the shallow bank from the right.


    As the Terdun armored riders broke formation, it caused a stir among the Iron Peak County militia.


    For these armored riders were clad not in the common lamellar armor of the tribes but in full suits of black three-quarter plate armor.


    With the sound of horns coming from the southern bank, the Terdun light cavalry tightened their formation and focused their arrows on the direction where the armored soldiers were attacking, suppressing the Paratu People.


    The Terdun armored riders dismounted about thirty paces away, carrying shields and ropes as they approached the riverbank.


    They stayed outside the range of long-handled weapons like halberds and spears, looping the ropes around the caltrops and barricades just as one would rope a bull, then used the warhorses¡¯ strength to drag the stakes away, roots and all.


    The stones thrown and arrows shot by the militia were unable to harm the vital areas of the armored soldiers.


    ...


    Relying on their sturdy plate armor, the Terdun soldiers seemed unconcerned about the incoming arrows and stones, storming the militia¡¯s psychological defenses with an unstoppable demeanor.


    The barricades Bard had constructed had no horizontal beams, resembling vertical caltrop stakes; each one stood alone. The downside was that they could be easily toppled, but their advantage was that they couldn¡¯t be removed in rows.


    Bard sighed softly to himself; the last time he had seen such black three-quarter armor, it had been worn by the pistol cavalry under Castor¡¯s command.


    ¡°Sound the horn, the second section,¡± Bard instructed the hornblower beside him, putting down his bow.


    As if in response to the horn¡¯s call, a shrill military trumpet also sounded on the northern bank, even drowning out the deeper horns.


    The Iron Peak County militia¡¯s formation changed, with the separate group of skilled longbowmen shifted to the left wing, beginning to suppress the Terdun bow cavalry.


    A Terdun armored soldier heedlessly removed barricades and caltrops, paying no attention to the sound of the trumpet. He was clad in the best armor available for humans; unless Tengri turned his back, arrows would hardly be able to harm him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    A small gap was all that was needed, just wide enough for three horses to ride abreast¡ªthen the cavalry could charge into the midst of the humans. When that time came, he would earn the distinction of being the first to break through enemy lines.


    Suddenly, the sound of thunder roared in his ears, and a massive force struck from above. Even through his helmet, the blow cracked his skull and left blood flowing from all orifices.


    The Terdun armored soldier¡¯s vision darkened, and he slowly toppled into the river. The blunt force did not kill him instantly; he ultimately died of drowning while unconscious.


    The soldier never understood what had killed him, but Bard, watching from afar, saw everything clearly.


    On the opposite bank, the two-legged beings lifted long wooden poles as used in sky-burying ceremonies, and swatted his elite armored soldiers down like flies.


    [Note: approximately six meters]


    Bard finally understood why the barricades had no horizontal beams¡ªif they had, the long poles couldn¡¯t pass through the gaps to strike.


    The few remaining armored soldiers fled the riverbank in disarray. The reach of the long poles was limited; once they put some distance between themselves and the poles, they would be safe.


    Once the armored soldiers retreated, the battle returned to both sides throwing stones and shooting arrows at each other.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fall back, Kota! Tie Chi sent us to assess the water situation, not to fight to the death,¡± pleaded Hong Lingyu, who followed Bard, ¡°If we delay any longer, all of our tribe¡¯s sons will be sacrificed in vain!¡±


    Bard shook his head.


    The Terdun light cavalry in the fording area, like a swarm of bees, seemed to run chaotically but actually maintained a certain order. Amidst the sound of horns, they once again regrouped.


    Only this time, they didn¡¯t break through from the right flank but concentrated their forces for a charge on the left wing.


    The fording area was about a hundred paces wide¡ªinfantry wouldn¡¯t be easily outmaneuvered by cavalry.


    Bard also adjusted his formation, moving his best longbowmen to his own right wing (which corresponded to the Terdun left flank).


    The Terdun people formed three rows and suddenly charged towards the caltrops like an avalanche, faintly resembling the momentum of a Paratu cavalry group¡¯s charge.


    At least half of the Paratu people believed the Terdun people intended to clear the caltrops with their lives, while the rest of the Paratu people¡ªmainly old soldiers¡ªthought the Terdun people wanted to commit suicide.


    But this impressive charge ultimately just curved in front of the caltrops, and this force of Terdun cavalry turned and ran back to the southern bank.


    Meanwhile, taking advantage of the Paratu people¡¯s attention being drawn to the grand charge on the left flank. A few Terdun riders quietly raced to the right flank and dragged away the bodies of armor-clad soldiers who had been knocked dead.


    The Terdun people retreated to the riverbank like that, disappearing into the woods, as if they had never been there.


    The militia looked at each other, standing there dazed, unable to speak for a long time.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ish slapped his leg hard, swearing, ¡°The barbarians just couldn¡¯t bear to part with those sets of plate armor!¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Next to Ish, a middle-aged farmer asked timidly, ¡°Lord Ish, did we¡­ did we win?¡±


    ¡°Old man, we¡¯ve won!¡± Ish laughed heartily, wrapping his arm around the shoulders of the middle-aged farmer, ¡°Laugh! Sing! Cheer!¡±


    Ish wanted the militiamen to shout the war cry that once struck terror into the hearts of the Herders, ¡°Uu! Uu!¡ªkhai!!!¡±


    He waved his arms, stirring up the crowd¡¯s emotions, shouting until his voice broke, ¡°Come on! Everyone, follow me!¡±


    The Paratu people¡¯s victory cries during celebrations differed from their charges; a charge involved only one [Uukhai], while the victory cry echoed with two [Uu]s and one [khai].


    Ish climbed up the watchtower, yelling to guide everyone, ¡°Uu! Uu!¡ªkhai!!!¡±


    The victory felt so surreal that many realized for the first time that they had just won the first battle of their lives.


    At first no one spoke out, but gradually people began to whisper. As the militiamen¡¯s voices grew louder, the cheers became louder and more synchronized.


    ¡°Uu! Uu!¡± That was Ish¡¯s lead.


    The militiamen raised their weapons high, tears brimming in their eyes as they cried out in response, ¡°khai!!!¡±


    ¡°Uu! Uu!¡±


    ¡°khai!!!¡±


    The roar was deafening and shook the clouds; the river and the forest trembled along. Flocks of birds in the distance were startled and flew into the sky.


    Jaws, who was retreating, and his subordinates also heard this jubilant post-victory war cry. Jaws¡¯s expression gradually darkened, while the eyes of his followers grew dim.


    Amidst the sky-piercing war cries, Anglu galloped up to Bard, pulling out a letter from his bosom, ¡°Lieutenant, a letter from Centurion Montaigne for you.¡±


    Bard took the letter, broke the seal, and quickly scanned it.


    Anglu, looking at the people jumping and cheering around him, said with some emotion, ¡°It feels a bit¡­ like an army now.¡±


    ¡°Win one more battle.¡± Bard put away the letter, sighed, ¡°Then they can go to the battlefield.¡±


    This was how the Terdun Tribe¡¯s first assault on the Panto River line of defense began, with a sudden fierce attack and ended absurdly, leaving behind thirty-something bodies and twice as many wounded.


    The defending militiamen might think they could breathe a sigh of relief, even believing they had already won.


    But that very night, the Terdun people launched a second raid.

 Chapter 793 03-25 - 793 70 Time

    ?Chapter 793: Chapter 70 Time Chapter 793: Chapter 70 Time [The Battle of Terdun in Iron Peak County] will be a significant challenge to verify. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Due to the lack of scribes, the Iron Peak County Military couldn¡¯t leave much in the way of written records.


    The new government also failed to inherit the good practice of the old military officer system of ¡°writing war history.¡±


    The remaining directives, orders, and letters were filled with jargon and ciphers, leaving them incomprehensible.


    As for the people of Terdun? They didn¡¯t have a written language at all.


    For the Herders, memories of war are romantic heroic epics chanted by old Shamans by the bonfire, mixed with a large amount of improvisation, classic tributes, and completely fictional scenes.


    Perhaps in the future, some who witnessed this battle will publish their memoirs.


    ...


    But we all know that memory is the most unreliable record because everyone distorts and embellishes their memories to suit their needs.


    Even those who lie may not necessarily be lying, since they genuinely believe the memories are true.


    Only the issues of ¡°War Communication¡± printed on grass paper can help bystanders sketch a vague outline of the war.


    Skilled propagandists are adept at presenting bad news as regular news, unacceptable news as tolerable, tolerable news as good, and good news as a splendid victory.


    Winters obviously wasn¡¯t skilled in this respect, because he honestly informed all of Iron Peak County in ¡°War Communication¡± that Terdun had taken control of the Panto River ford.


    On the night Bard led the militia to repel the first round of attacks, the second wave of Terdun¡¯s assault followed closely behind.


    Before that, Bard had already fended off several probing attacks by small squads of Terdun light cavalry.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    Unlike Wolf Town, secluded in one corner, Blackwater Town and Wugou Town were separated from central Iron Peak County by only a stretch of water, providing convenient access.


    By the time the people of Terdun invaded lower Iron Peak County, a large number of civilians from Blackwater Town and Wugou Town had been evacuated into central Iron Peak County territory.


    The Terdun raiders who looted Blackwater Town and Wugou Town gained little and hoped to quietly enter the hunting grounds of other tribes¡ªcentral Iron Peak County¡ªto try their luck, but they were easily repelled by Bard¡¯s militia.


    However, when Terdun launched their real offensive, the pressure on Bard¡¯s shoulders increased sharply.


    A handful of sneaky plunderers attempting ¡°poaching¡± were clearly not on the same level as the determined Terdun Cavalry aiming to seize the ford.


    The first offensive was merely a probe by the vanguard.


    In the second wave that night, Terdun not only committed more hundred-cavalry units but also concentrated a group of armored infantry for dismounted combat, viciously attacking the weak points of the chevaux-de-frise and wooden palisades.


    Bows and slings were difficult to use effectively in nighttime battles, and as Terdun persistently attacked a single point, the combat became exceptionally brutal.


    The whistling arrows of the Herd Barbarians, accompanied by terrifying screams, on several occasions even whizzed past Ish¡¯s ears.


    Exhausted, Ish raised his mace high and let out an involuntary groan of pain. With a concerted effort from his waist, abdomen, and arms, he swung the mace downward from above, viciously slamming it outside the palisades.


    He couldn¡¯t see where the barbarians were, just smashing in the direction of any moving shadows.


    The makeshift mace, with a core of oak, had layers of linen cloth wrapped around it to increase tenacity, finished with tung oil and pitch.


    Because there wasn¡¯t enough time to dry the wooden core, the so-called mace was exceedingly heavy, more strenuous to use than pushing a stone roller uphill, but it was also more devastating.


    As the mace was about to hit the ground, the shaft suddenly transmitted a jarring shock back into Ish¡¯s hands, numbing them.


    With a ¡°crack,¡± the mace broke in two.


    Ish thought he heard a scream, the crisp sound of a skull being crushed. It was possibly all an illusion, for the battlefield was too noisy, and he could hardly make out anything at all.


    Many of the chevaux-de-frise had been pulled out, leaving behind only a thin wooden palisade between the two sides.


    The Iron Peak County militia used all their might to batter the barbarians outside the fence, using not only maces but also flails with long handles.


    The flail, originally a tool for farm work, now had its striking bar coated with brains.


    Meanwhile, archers and stone slingers gritted their teeth, hurling arrows and rocks over the fence, most of them blindly targeting the general direction of the enemy, as if firing faster would make them safer.


    The Terdun fighters were doing the same thing¡ªconstantly shooting arrows at any shadowy figures through the fence.


    Ish noticed his mace was broken, yet it seemed not to have broken.


    The linen cloth wrapped around the wooden core barely held the two segments together, leaving the mace looking like a broken arm, with the small section dangling.


    The mace had turned into a large-sized flail, and Ish, out of complaints, lifted it again, panting heavily.


    Another shriek approached from the distance, but this time, instead of soaring into the distance as before, it burrowed into Ish¡¯s left leg.


    Dulled by the fight, Ish paused for a moment before realizing he had been hit by an arrow.


    With his last bit of strength, he swung the shaft against the barbarians outside the palisade, collapsing heavily onto the rocky shore.


    The militia nearby, witnessing the sergeant wounded, chaotically lifted Ish to the rear of the line.


    Seeing more and more injured being brought to the back, while Terdun¡¯s assault showed no sign of weakening, the young horse boy Anglu was sweating profusely with urgency.


    ¡°Send in the reserves! Lieutenant,¡± Anglu urged as he rode up to Bard, requesting again, ¡°This can¡¯t go on, or the line will collapse!¡±


    Bard, who was observing the battle, seemed devoid of any emotion, ¡°It¡¯s not time yet.¡±

 Chapter 794 03-25 - 794 70 Time_2

    ?Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 ¡°They won¡¯t hold out.¡±


    ¡°They can hold on, I know their limit,¡±


    ¡°Then send in the cavalry!¡± Anglu gripped his knife handle tightly, ¡°I¡¯ll lead a charge from the side.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the time yet.¡±


    Anglu wanted to argue more, but Bard gestured for him to be silent.


    Bard narrowed his eyes, listening attentively. Soon, Anglu heard it too.


    The dull sound of hooves grew louder and closer.


    Anglu¡¯s pupils dilated suddenly¡ªThe sound of hooves wasn¡¯t coming from the opposite bank of the river, but from behind them!


    ...


    Was it reinforcements? Or¡­


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Bard shouted, ¡°Reserves! Get into chariot formation!¡±


    There were no reinforcements tonight, only enemies.


    From the southeast direction, on the road leading to Shizhen, groups of cavalry were cresting the hill, charging straight towards the ford.


    Spears glinted with cold light, the sound of hooves was like sudden, fierce rain.


    In the Herde language, ¡°to battle¡± and ¡°to rob¡± are the same word, meaning that war is actually an economic activity.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0


    Therefore, Herders dislike direct confrontation in battle, as even victory would be a losing deal. Flanking, encircling, pulling away, leveraging the advantage of four legs to annihilate the enemy in motion¡ªthat¡¯s the true skill of the Herders.


    If Herders choose to face the enemy head-on, there must be a compelling reason¡ªfor instance, a ¡°surprise troop¡± that had secretly crossed the river upstream.


    The one leading this cavalry was none other than the centurion ¡°Corpse Chewer,¡± who had just confronted Bard.


    Corpse Chewer¡¯s previous mission wasn¡¯t actually to capture the ford, but to scout for intelligence. Attacking the ford with a hundred cavalry was Corpse Chewer¡¯s own initiative.


    A victory would naturally be a great achievement. If they lost, well¡­ then they would have to atone for their failure with their achievements.


    Having been repelled last time, Corpse Chewer had left behind over thirty corpses. This time, while crossing the heavily wooded upstream, many of his men were swept away by the river.


    Without having obtained any spoils of war, about half of his hundred or so men had already perished. Without a substantial profit, it was hard to say what awaited Corpse Chewer.


    It was with this strong motive that Corpse Chewer plunged headfirst into a pitfall.


    Those following Corpse Chewer, the Terdun riders, hurriedly pulled their horses to a stop, but some were too slow to react and heavily trampled Corpse Chewer and his warhorse into the pit.


    It was when his chest vertebrae were crushed by his men¡¯s warhorses that Corpse Chewer finally realized¡ªthe bipeds had also set up defenses behind them.


    With Kota¡¯s life or death uncertain, the other Terdun riders panicked for a moment.


    A red-plumed rider gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°[Herde Language] Corpse Chewer is dead! I am Kota! Quick, go kill the bipeds! Kill!¡±


    Leading by example, the red-plumed rider stepped over Corpse Chewer¡¯s body and warhorse, crossing the pit and attacking the ford from behind. The other Terdun people subconsciously followed the one daring enough to command.


    ¡°Smaller scale than I expected,¡± Bard watched as the Terdun cavalry clashed with the chariot formation again, ¡°Anglu!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu was invigorated.


    ¡°Take the hidden path out, and give me a stab at the Terdun people¡¯s flank!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu¡¯s spirits soared, and he quickly drew his cavalry saber and rushed back to his men.


    Including Anglu, there were only thirty riders in the cavalry unit, each with their saddles prepared, just waiting for the signal to charge.


    ¡°Pantalevich!¡± a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, waving his father¡¯s handed-down Dusack cavalry saber, excitedly asked Anglu, ¡°Is it our turn?¡±


    ¡°You, stand at the very back.¡± Anglu kept a straight face, unusually serious for once and adopting the air of a commander, ¡°Keep close to the formation, and don¡¯t piss your pants in fear later.¡±


    The cavalry unit under Bard was a mixed bag, including the underage Dusacks, well-off farmers who knew how to ride, and even sons from manor owners who volunteered to join.


    Anglu was not eloquent; he didn¡¯t know how to stir morale with words, nor was there time for it.


    He drew his cavalry saber, looked at the faces before him¡ªsome weather-worn, some still youthful¡ªsniffed, and said, ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll be at the very front. If I die, keep charging forward.¡±


    Finished, he gently tapped his red-maned mount with his boot heel and without looking back, plunged into the woodland along the riverbank.


    The fight around the chevaux-de-frise and barriers had reached a critical moment; Terdun people, Paratu people¡­ they were all human, and facing imminent death, they all wanted to turn and flee.


    Both sides were hanging on by a thread, and whoever showed sign of defeat first would trigger a domino effect of collapse, because no one dared to retreat even a step.


    The men gritted their teeth, their eyes wide, breathing heavily, enduring pain and torment as they desperately tried to kill one another.


    The Terdun people heard the sound of battle coming from behind their camp and knew that the encircling surprise flanking soldiers had arrived, boosting their morale.


    A burly Terdun man known as ¡°The Bear¡± bellowed as he rushed towards the barrier, confronting the swinging billhooks and flails.


    The militia of Iron Peak County only saw a figure encased in iron armor, two shields strapped to his shoulders, a bear-like beast embracing the barrier and, with a roar like a bear uprooting a tree, he violently pulled up a wooden stake from the ground.


    The militiamen swung their flails in terror at this humanoid beast, but the enemy, seemingly impervious to pain and without a weapon, simply lifted the wooden stake and roared into the barrier¡¯s defenses.


    ¡°The Bear,¡± relying solely on his brutish strength, swung the over three-meter-long log in his hands. The Iron Peak County militiamen who couldn¡¯t dodge in time had their chests collapsed, and no one could get near ¡°The Bear.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Break the formation! Break the formation!¡± Other Terdun people were incited until their eyes reddened, howling as they squeezed towards the small breach, ¡°[Herde Language] The gods above!¡±

 Chapter 795 03-25 - 795 70 Time_3

    ?Chapter 795: Chapter 70 Time_3 Chapter 795: Chapter 70 Time_3 The sound of hooves thundered, and a succession of warhorses splashing through water came from behind, making the Terdun people by the fence believe some noble was eager for glory.


    A few members of the Terdun Cavalry cursed in fury and desperation, but before the words had fully escaped their mouths, they turned into shrieks of alarm.


    For they saw a chestnut warhorse floating on the surface of the water like Pegasus, charging toward them with irresistible force.


    More and more riders emerged in quick succession from the bushes on the riverbank, their warhorses seemingly unable to sink into the water, storming toward the Terdun people from the side and rear.


    Those besieging the fence tasted once more the classic Anvil Hammer Tactic.


    ¡°§µ§â§Ñ!¡± Anglu roared, his blade rose and fell, slicing off half a head¡ªthe victim never even realizing what happened.


    Equipped with felt breastplates, the red-maned horses charged through the Terdun lines, not slowing in the slightest.


    ...


    The Terdun people scattered in terror, avoiding the red manes only to be met by the yellow and white ones, and other Iron Peak County riders, fiercely spurring their warhorses to charge.


    Terdunden fell, sliced, smashed, trampled; their will to fight evaporated.


    They were a horse-taming clan, ill-prepared for infantry battle, let alone experiencing a full-force side charge.


    The Terdun people scattered, fleeing in every direction as Anglu swung his saber, mercilessly driving them into deeper water.


    The water grew deeper and swifter; the fleeing Terdun people realized too late that the icy river had risen above their knees.


    Barely able to stand, they found even more fierce cavalry herding more Terdun people into the deep water.


    Eventually, one by one, Terdun men¡ªexhausted¡ªlost their balance and were swept away by the river, vanishing after a few bobs.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    With fewer and fewer Terdun men left on the riverbed, Anglu ordered decisively, ¡°No captives! Kill them all!¡±


    Just as Anglu tightened his knees, ready for one last charge, a hail of hoofbeats approached from the south bank.


    The Terdun commanders had dispatched another troop of cavalry aimed straight at Anglu¡¯s backend.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± Anglu pulled the reins, leading his men back along the original route to the north bank.


    The pursuing Terdun Cavalry, attempting to follow Anglu onto the north bank, repeatedly slipped and fell into the water.


    Not until the following morning, when the Iron Peak County militia began removing submerged stakes and dismantling the bridge, would the Terdun people fully understand what had happened. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The incursion of the armored Terdun warriors called ¡°Bear¡± finally faded; Anglu¡¯s charge swept away the remaining Terdun forces.


    No Terdun person crossed the gap in the fence again, except for ¡°Bear,¡± who, panting heavily, leaned against a stake barely supporting himself.


    A militiaman cautiously approached this bear-like brute, who did not react¡­ he simply had no strength left.


    Suddenly, all the militia grew bold, swinging muskets, flails, and clubs from every direction at ¡°Bear.¡±


    ¡°Bear¡± was struck down by a rain of blows, the militiamen pummeling the bear-like brute frantically as if to vent some long-suppressed emotion.


    Many shouted as they swung, having fought in silence earlier, teeth tightly clenched, uttering not a sound.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Bard commanded coldly.


    The militia halted one after another, some standing dumbfounded, others crying.


    Perhaps due to sturdy armor, tenacious vitality, or a last resurgence of energy, ¡°Bear¡± was not yet dead; a sigh-like groan escaped his throat.


    ¡°He too was a brave man.¡± Bard removed his cap, ¡°Give him a quick end, and do not cut off his ears or head.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ish, who had already had the arrow removed from his leg, limped to the dying Terdun man¡¯s side.


    He drew his dagger, made a bow, removed ¡°Bear¡¯s¡± neck protection, and slit ¡°Bear¡¯s¡± throat.


    The sound of throat-cutting was unpleasant, blood gushing out, some militiamen unable to help vomiting.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Ish remarked, wiping his dagger.


    Meanwhile, Bard received a letter, delivered by a green-crested messenger riding at full speed.


    ¡°Prepare for evacuation,¡± Bard handed the letter to Anglu, who had returned to camp, ¡°Captain Montaigne is coming.¡±


    Just under a kilometer to the northeast of the forded field,


    Winters arrived at the ¡°battlefield¡± with the main force.


    But the ¡°battlefield¡± he chose was serene, and most of his ¡°troops¡± were armed not with weapons, but with shovels, picks, and baskets.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Winters reined in his warhorse, looked back at the hundreds of faces behind him, ¡°Begin.¡±

 Chapter 796 03-25 - 796 71 Space

    ?Chapter 796: Chapter 71 Space Chapter 796: Chapter 71 Space ¡°No need for me to say more,¡± Ronald¡¯s voice echoed in the quiet forest, ¡°You¡¯ve come here because on that small river beach lie your daughters! Wives! Mothers!¡±


    Standing before Ronald were hundreds, perhaps thousands of fathers, husbands, and sons filled with rage, old ones in their forties or fifties, young ones but fifteen or sixteen.


    Among them, only a small fraction had knives, spears, bows, and arrows; most clutched clubs with the bark not yet scraped off.


    But without exception, each man gripped his weapon tightly, so tightly his knuckles turned white.


    ¡°The Herd tribes are like clumsy thieves,¡± Monk Saul had once asserted, ¡°setting out full of confidence and insatiable greed. But once they actually seize some valuable goods, they become terrified and skittish, ready to flee at the slightest rustle in the grass. When Terdon people are on their return journey, that is when they are at their most vulnerable.¡±


    Just as Monk Saul said, the elated Terdon chieftains could hardly wait to transport the looted women, livestock, and treasures away.


    Ronald watched the Terdon people select the ford, divide the camp, and gather the sheepskin rafts¡­


    ...


    At the same time, men from the Iron Peak County Military, still willing to fight, continuously flocked to this location from various secret camps.


    Monk Saul urgently advised Ronald to hold back until half of the Terdon people had crossed the river.


    But for Ronald, half of the Terdon crossing meant hundreds of Paratu People were being taken away.


    He couldn¡¯t wait for that moment; he had to strike now.


    ¡°Just beyond that river,¡± Ronald said, his cheekbones marked with two stripes of blood, ¡°your daughters, wives, mothers will be driven into the wilderness like livestock, to become slaves of heretics! Forever, forever, unable to return!¡±


    Red stripes on the face were a custom of the Paratu clan, signifying that the person bearing them carried a great shame. Yet at that moment, men in the forest of all bloodlines, religions, and origins, bore the blood marks.


    After leaving the Land Academy, Ronald had spent years in civil service, and making speeches in front of troops was not his forte.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    He took the lance from Adam¡¯s hand, and ended his mobilization with a short address, ¡°Those who wish to give their wives and daughters to the Herd barbarians, stay here. Those who wish to kill the Herd barbarians, follow me!¡±


    ¡­


    As the men of Iron Peak County bellowed and charged the crossing, a hundred kilometers to the northeast, the Terdon Tribe vanguard, the great Nayen, uncle of the Fire-Starter [Tie Chi], was also fiercely attacking the Fort Via Panto.


    Time and space, how ordinary yet how magical they are.


    They do not shift for anyone¡¯s will, but both sides of the war desperately vie for them.


    Ronald was racing against time; he had to defeat the barbarians at the ford before the enemy reinforcements arrived, otherwise it would be his own annihilation.


    The same was true for Tie Chi; every moment of delay meant a diminution of the great encircling power of the Terdon Tribe; he had to take Fort Via Panto before the Iron Peak County Military could react.


    And seizing time was inherently about gaining space, such was the marvel of war.


    After the first two attacks, Tie Chi had confirmed that the garrison at Fort Via Panto was not elite ¨C four to five hundred men, no armored soldiers, not even a single musket to be found.


    As more troops arrived, Tie Chi¡¯s forces gained an overwhelming advantage.


    Storming fortresses was not a strength of the Herd tribes, but Tie Chi, who had seen much, had also accumulated some experience.


    Facing barricades, fences, and ditches, the horses, which the tribe¡¯s men treated as extensions of their limbs, were not only useless but a hindrance.


    Therefore, Tie Chi concentrated his armored men to dismount and fight on foot, attacking the enemy¡¯s barricades on the left and right flanks, covered by powerful archers.


    At the same time, Tie Chi selected three hundred-man cavalry units to cross upstream through the woods and over the river.


    One part to cut off the retreat from Fort Via Panto, another to feign an attack on the upstream town, distracting the forces of Iron Peak County.


    Tie Chi was determined on his third assault.


    Just as Tie Chi had predicted, the defenders at Fort Via Panto fought valiantly but were simply too few and could not cover all sides.


    Even before the encircling surprise troops arrived, the defenders at Fort Via Panto were already on the verge of collapse.


    But [Bard of Gerard] probably would not agree with the term ¡°collapse.¡±


    As the Terdon people charged fiercely, Bard followed the pre-set plan and organized his men to retreat in an orderly fashion.


    The wounded from the previous day had already been evacuated before dawn, and Bard personally led most of the militia and the newly injured towards the wilderness to the northeast.


    The remaining militia were led by Anglu, covering the rear.


    After the Terdon people broke into the camp, Anglu set fire to both the fortifications and the coastal woods, leading his cavalry laden with non-riding militia along the road toward the direction of Shizhen.


    And what was Winters doing at this moment, having arrived at the battlefield the night before?


    He was killing.


    ¡°Lance!¡± Winters reached out his hand behind him.


    Xial, who was originally holding a short javelin, promptly unhooked the lance and passed it to Winters with understanding.


    Winters raised the lance high and swept it downward fiercely, the swallowtail flag on its head fluttering loudly, ¡°Push them into the river!¡±


    His roar echoed through the mountains and across the river.


    The bugler sounded the charge, and the small drums of the infantry platoons followed in rhythm.


    The soldiers held their spears level, stepping quickly to the urgent beat, and pressed in large strides against the enemy. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The road linking Fort Via Panto and Shizhen was a narrow path squeezed between a mud cliff and the Panto River, aptly described by ¡°mountain and river, inside and out.¡±


    On this narrow path, at its widest less than thirty meters and at its narrowest under ten meters, the three Terdon one-hundred-man cavalry units intent on a flanking maneuver met their doom.

 Chapter 797 03-25 - 797 71 Space_2

    ?Chapter 797: Chapter 71 Space_2 Chapter 797: Chapter 71 Space_2 The battle was like catching a thief in a narrow alley.


    The Fifth Company stationed in Shizhen was blocking the south, while the Sixth Company, personally led by Winters, was blocking the north.


    The surviving Terdun Barbarians were trapped between the river, the earthen cliffs, and two forests of long spears, with their space to move growing ever smaller.


    A trapped beast will still fight; the Terdun Barbarians made several attempts to break through the lines of the Fifth and Sixth Companies, all ending in failure¡ªWinters¡¯s warriors were not so easily shaken by a few daredevil men of Terdun.


    The front-line soldiers and Centurions, clad in armor, were hardly hurt by the bows and arrows of the Terdun people.


    Some of the desperate Terdun people threw themselves into the Panto River, hoping to swim back to the West Bank.


    Others, however, were unwilling to enter the water no matter what; to wade to the East Bank and soak in the icy, bone-chilling river water was an experience no one wanted to taste again.


    ...


    Moreover, a good number of Terdun people had already drowned on their way here. To swim back now? Better to die swiftly under a sharp blade!


    There were also Terdun Barbarians who desperately decided to abandon their Warhorses, scale the earthen cliff on the eastern side of the road, and flee into the mountain forest.


    Winters watched the flustered Terdun people jumping into the river and climbing up the cliff, then turned to give the bugler instructions, ¡°Charge step.¡±


    The bugler was slightly stunned at first but soon snapped to attention, his cheeks puffed out and face turned red as he blew a different tune.


    Upon hearing the charge music, the small drums in each company began to echo back, the rhythm of the drumbeat suddenly accelerating from eighty to one hundred and twenty beats per minute.


    In both the southern and northern frontlines, many soldiers fell out of step due to not being able to react in time, causing the lines to become loose and chaotic.


    However, the fighting will of the Terdun Barbarians, who only wanted to flee, was already gone, and they lacked the ability to take advantage of the opportunity.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    The displaced soldiers quickly caught up with their rows, and the lines became complete and unbreakable once again.


    Winters had no complaints about this. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There are basically two forms of combat:


    One is a chaotic fight with around a hundred people, where there is no formation or order, it¡¯s like a fierce wind and sudden rain, testing courage, martial skill, and the commander¡¯s voice;


    The other is where thousands of troops are deployed in the open field, where the brave cannot advance alone and the cowardly cannot retreat alone, relying on discipline, willpower, and collaboration.


    Winters had only commanded thousands of troops once, and that was under the walls of Bianli City.


    Even then, he was only an adviser; the decision maker and executor were someone else.


    Since the establishment of Wolf Town¡¯s army, Winters hadn¡¯t fought a true ¡°pitched battle,¡± and his troops naturally hadn¡¯t amassed any experience in large-scale battles.


    On the contrary, the company commanders and soldiers under Winters¡¯s command were all battle-hardened veterans¡ªthose with ¡°wild¡± experience.


    They were experts in the former style of combat: a hundred or so men, in a limited battlefield, conducting raids or counter-raids, short in duration but intense.


    Like taking a bucket with a short plank to put out a fire, Winters wasn¡¯t considering how to fix the short plank for the time being, but rather how to better use the existing bucket to carry more water.


    Winters¡¯s encirclement was tightening, and as if some barrier had shattered, the desperate Terdun people began abandoning their Warhorses in droves, climbing towards the low cliff.


    Compared to swimming across, the chance of survival by escaping into the mountain forest was indeed higher.


    The low cliff was less than three meters high, and a thin Terdun slave called ¡°Monkey,¡± true to his name and as agile as one, had already reached the top of the cliff after a few steps.


    Monkey thought he was saved; he hung off the edge of the cliff, fumbling for a spot on the grassy top where he could find leverage to pull himself up.


    Suddenly, an agonizing, bone-piercing pain shot through his hands, followed by a second blow.


    Monkey screamed in terror as he lost feeling in his right hand; amidst the excruciating pain, he could even feel blood spurting from his wrist.


    With a wail of misery, Monkey fell heavily, clutching his mangled wrist¡ªhis right hand remained on the low cliff.


    The one who had severed Monkey¡¯s right hand was a small axe, not particularly sharp.


    Before this, the axe had mostly leaned against the side of an earthen stove, occasionally used to split some firewood.


    Holding the axe was a Paratu boy, of similar age and stature to the monkey.


    Coincidentally, this boy named ¡°Paulo¡± also had a nickname ¡°Little Monkey,¡± which was what his mother called him.


    Little Monkey¡¯s mother had been captured by the barbarians, and his father had sent him to the north bank of the Panto River, then returned to join the militia in lower Iron Peak County.


    And Little Monkey had cut off a barbarian¡¯s hand, chopping twice.


    The barbarian screamed as he fell off the cliff, and Little Monkey saw that dry, mangled, blood-stained hand twitching faintly, as if still attached to its owner¡¯s wrist.


    Aside from the thrill of revenge, Little Monkey¡¯s heart was filled with endless fear.


    He stared wide-eyed, shouting¡ªas if he were the one who had his hand chopped off¡ªand swung his axe down upon the severed hand, hacking at it several times fiercely.


    Until he was awakened by a slap from an older militiaman.


    The older militiaman didn¡¯t have time to say anything to Little Monkey, after giving him a slap, he lifted his Stinger Hammer and smashed it down on the head of a barbarian poking out from the edge of the cliff.


    One after another, Terdun men fell from the low cliff. Either their bodies were pushed down, or they were struck down while still alive.


    Winters was expressionless¡ªthe militia was late, but at last they had arrived.


    If the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment merely lacked experience in large-scale battles, then the hastily recruited militia was completely incapable of front-line combat.


    The militia only knew how to fight chaotically, to beat down drowning dogs.


    While the fifth and sixth companies formed lines to battle on the main road, Winters sent the militia into the mountain forests to cut off the fleeing remnants.


    With no way to heaven and no door into the earth, the will of the living Terdun people completely collapsed as they threw away their bows and long spears, crawling on the riverbank, crying out and begging.


    The Paratu People could not understand what the barbarians were saying, but they were not mistaken in what the barbarians intended to do.


    The bugler looked to Montaigne the Civil Guard Officer, as did the drummer, and many others cast their glances intentionally or unintentionally towards the silhouette beneath the military flag.


    However, Winters pursed his lips tightly, and until the Terdun people were all pushed into the Panto River, he did not say a word.


    Leaving a small portion of the militia to clean up the battlefield and watch over the riverbank, Winters led the fifth and sixth companies, along with other militiamen, rushing non-stop straight to the northernmost end of the mountain path to [Small Stone Town].


    There, another fierce battle was unfolding.


    Upon seeing the corpses floating downstream from the upper reaches of the Panto River, Tie Chi knew the fate of those three hundred cavalry forces.


    For the various Hurd clans, the annihilation of a hundred cavalry was not just the loss of three hundred men, it was nearly the extinction of a family.


    Even though Tie Chi was accustomed to such sights, there was still an indescribable feeling.


    However, now Tie Chi had no time to mourn those three Kota because he had hit a wall.


    That was a wall that spanned east to west, a solid barrier blocking his path¡ªand a moat.


    ¡°Where did this wall and moat come from?!¡± Tie Chi¡¯s rage was explosive, his eyes bloodshot, as he grabbed a Green Plumed Feather scout and bellowed like thunder: ¡°The land beyond Small Stone Town was supposed to be open ground for horses! That¡¯s what you told me! You swore by it! You saw it with your own eyes!¡±


    ¡°Nayen! When I scouted across the river yesterday, here¡­ here¡­¡± The Green Plumed Feather scout turned pale, so anxious that he even had a hint of a sob in his voice: ¡°There really was no wall here! Really, no wall! I swear to the gods! I swear on broken arrows! If I lie, let me be shot to death by chaotic arrows! Let me be trampled to death by ten thousand horses! It must be the two-legged ones! It must be them, they are the ones who built the wall overnight!¡±


    In a fury, Tie Chi swung his massive fist, knocking the Green Plumed Feather scout to the ground: ¡°Nonsense! Mad talk! Do you mean to say that two-legged beings could build a wall in one night!¡±


    The Green Plumed Feather scout swallowed a mouthful of blood, having a sudden realization: ¡°That¡¯s right! Yes! Built in one night! Not just a wall but a fortification! They must have used some sorcery, just like the songs sung by bards! Monsters! The two-legged beings must have summoned monsters, built a fort in one night!¡±


    Tie Chi could no longer tolerate such madness, and with a fierce kick to the Green Plumed Feather¡¯s chin, the scout immediately passed out.


    However, even if Tie Chi had slit the Green Plumed Feather¡¯s throat then and there, the wall in front of him would still be solidly there.


    The wall stood silently, observing this farce, its silent demeanor seemed like the cruelest mockery.


    Just as Tie Chi¡¯s forces struck the wall, a hundred kilometers to the southwest, the battle for the crossing had entered its most brutal phase¡ªclose combat.

 Chapter 798 03-25 - 798 72 Interlude

    ?Chapter 798: Chapter 72 Interlude Chapter 798: Chapter 72 Interlude Raid, the magician¡¯s trick for playwrights, often glossed over by historians in their writings.


    Records and historical materials often focus on the outcomes of raids, while the preparation processes receive only scant mention.


    As if generals only need to give the resounding command ¡°raid,¡± and everything else will fall into place.


    However, the essence of raiding actually lies not in the moment the battle commences, but in the time preceding the strike.


    High-risk military operations need meticulous planning and reconnaissance: What about the fortifications? The terrain? How many sentries? From which direction should we attack to catch them off-guard?


    Raiding the camps of the Herders is even more challenging.


    Because the Herders know their defenses are weak, they often set up a mass of mounted patrols and roaming sentries, with very close communications between the watchmen.


    ...


    Advancing with infantry, unless favored by Lady Luck, would likely expose their tracks before they could get close.


    The only method is to use a large force of Cavalry, to outpace with speed, to strike horsemen with horsemen, breaking the Herders before they can organize effectively.


    Unfortunately, Ronald didn¡¯t have this capability.


    He only had a few dozen horses seized in raiding, most of which were unfit for use. Moreover, to avoid the Terdon Tribe¡¯s patrols, he had set up his striking position two kilometers away from the crossing.


    Two kilometers, too far, a charge would be nothing but a waste of energy.


    So Ronald chose a different form of ¡°raid¡±¡ªto walk there.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as simple as just ¡°walking¡±; more precisely, it was ¡°walking across the riverbed.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Witnessing thousands of Paratu People file out of the forest and slowly advance along the riverbank, Duodai from Green Plumed Feathers instinctively wanted to flee.


    It wasn¡¯t that Duodai was cowardly, but for the Herders, who live a nomadic life, fleeing was almost instinctive.


    An instinct honed from living in an environment perpetually surrounded by predators.


    Like horses. Horses seem very skittish, even bolting at the sight of a rabbit darting from a hole.


    But if it took the time to identify the threat, the next thing might not be a rabbit, but a bear ripping open its belly.


    In any case, fleeing is never wrong.


    If the enemy is strong and we are weak, fleeing is appropriate; if the enemy is weak and we are strong, first flee to clarify the situation, then you can turn around and charge back, right?


    Duodai couldn¡¯t make sense of the intentions of the bipeds, and was more worried about ambushes in the forest.


    The force from the Terdon Tribe at the crossing was about the size of three hundred-strong Cavalry squads, but ¡°three hundred tribesmen¡± does not equate to ¡°three hundred-strong Cavalry squads.¡±


    These tribesmen belonged to over a dozen different families and leaders, disunited in heart and weak in strength.


    If there were a direct confrontation, who would fall was uncertain.


    Conversely, if they fled temporarily, things would be much simpler.


    The Paratu People only had two legs and could neither catch up with them nor carry off any women and wealth.


    Once there was a gap, the Terdon Tribe on horseback could easily seize the initiative.


    By then, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for three hundred Terdon light-horsemen to deal with a group of Paratu People burdened by women and children?


    The ¡°battle plan¡± was lovely, but difficult in practice.


    Perfect, but challenging to execute,


    for one, Duodai couldn¡¯t force others¡¯ kin to move¡ªKotas were already scrambling for sheepskin rafts, each one eager to ferry his own spoils across the river first.


    For another, Duodai couldn¡¯t bear to abandon his plunder.


    He had already experienced the way of the Paratu People¡ªif they couldn¡¯t take it with them, they¡¯d burn it all, ruthless and devoid of mercy, even more so than the Terdon Tribe¡¯s cherish of wealth.


    If Duodai forced the Kotas to leave behind their belongings only to have the bipeds burn everything, then there would indeed be trouble.


    The drama ¡°The Wheelbarrow, The Miserly Merchant & The Wolf¡± was being played out again at the crossing on the banks of Big Horn River.


    Was it to be the flesh on their backs, or the goods in the cart? Duodai of Green Plumed Feathers faced a tough decision.


    Once, a great military strategist wrote this principle: ¡°If you want to win an assault, you must attack where the enemy¡¯s defense is weakest.¡±


    Sometimes, this adage can be applied in reverse.


    For example, the crossing that Ronald led the militia to attack¡ªTerdon Tribe¡¯s defensive strength was not very formidable, but their will to defend was not weak at all.


    His personal guard quickly brought news to Duodai¡ªthe nearby forests had been scoured, and no ambushers were found. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That is to say ¡­ were these Paratu People a standalone force? Duodai suddenly felt confident about a significant victory.


    Elsewhere, Ronald held unwavering faith in victory.


    With both army commanders harboring certain conviction of triumph, a clash was inevitable.


    Just as a shepherd easily sorts mixed sheep herds, the Terdon chieftains arranged their tribesmen.


    Duodai himself took command of the armored elite, dismounting at an elevated position to observe the battle. The armored Terdon soldiers sat on the ground, quietly awaiting their opportunity.


    The unarmored subjects and slaves were led by their leaders, groups of about a dozen.


    They either shot arrows from afar, skirting around the formation, or suddenly charged directly, taking turns probing and pulling at the Paratu People.


    This tactic might disperse a disorganized mob, but it could not shake Ronald¡¯s ¡°Mournful Soldiers.¡±


    It was precisely these men, full of rage and volunteering for battle, that emboldened Ronald to go all out.


    The militia of Iron Peak County formed up by the river, using palisades and barricades to withstand the savages¡¯ assault.


    To their north lay an inward-curving river channel, and to their east, a mound created by the collapse of the riverbank.


    The shape of the mound was somewhat like a terrace, with a height of about a meter. The drop was greater the closer one got to the riverbank, and lessened towards the land.


    The militia of Iron Peak County hadn¡¯t occupied the mound, putting them at a disadvantage.

 Chapter 799 03-25 - 799 72 Interlude_2

    ?Chapter 799: Chapter 72 Interlude_2 Chapter 799: Chapter 72 Interlude_2 In contrast, the Terdun men, riding and shooting from atop the mounds, did hold the advantage of high ground.


    Seeing no signs of the Paratu formation weakening, the observing Green Plumed Feathers [Duodai] withdrew the white horsehair signal flag and raised a red one.


    Like bees dispersing and then regrouping, the Terdun light cavalry reassembled and formed a horizontal line in front of the Iron Peak County farmers¡¯ barricades.


    Although Major Ronald lacked extensive combat experience, he could not fail to recognize what this meant, and he bellowed a warning to his subordinates and militia, ¡°The barbarians are going to use Tykes Tactics!¡±


    In the midst of the somber horn calls, the rightmost flank of the Terdun line was the first to move, with other leaders following in sequence.


    The Terdun light cavalry, like a long serpent, encircled the barricades in a counterclockwise motion, tightly gripping the Paratu people.


    At the same time, the Terdun heavy cavalry, clad in armor, still bided its time.


    ...


    Ronald¡¯s barricades were being ¡°wrapped¡± by the Terdun light cavalry, with the thunderous sound of hooves nearly suffocating everyone.


    From the west, the sounds carried over were not just hooves, but also the piercing screech of whistling arrows.


    A middle-aged farmer holding a door plank silently fell, an unfeathered arrow lodged in his nape, still trembling slightly.


    The Terdun men circled the barricades, firing from all angles, rendering the Iron Peak County people¡¯s shields almost entirely ineffective.


    Circling and shooting from horseback, this was the ¡°Tykes Tactics¡± the Paratu people spoke of.


    The horror lay not only in the lack of any dead angle for shooting but also in keeping the Paratu within shooting range of the Terdun archers at all times.


    The hit-and-run technique of shooting from horseback offered the riders a very brief window to shoot, typically loosing no more than three or four arrows with each pass.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã?


    Yet, the Terdun light cavalry circling the barricades could shoot indefinitely, emptying their quivers.


    Against Tykes Tactics, the best strategy was to armor the warriors and respond with a large volume of projectile weapons.


    Armor and long-range weapons¡­ Ronald was sorely lacking in both.


    The militia fought back with difficulty using hunting bows and stone slings, every fallen Terdun rider costing the lives of ten Iron Peak County residents. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Witnessing the militia fall to arrows one after the other, Major Ronald nearly crushed his teeth in frustration.


    Tykes Tactics meant relentless running, and the Terdun horses¡¯ stamina was being rapidly depleted.


    As the Iron Peak County barricades wobbled on the verge of collapse, the Terdun light cavalry began to show signs of fatigue.


    Finally, Ronald saw more and more Terdun warhorses struggling to even leap onto the knee-high mounds.


    ¡°Bagpipers!¡± the Major roared.


    The militia had no drums, much less bugles, only two bagpipes to serve as signaling tools.


    When the bagpipers heard the command, they took a deep breath and squeezed the airbag tightly. They couldn¡¯t play military tunes, so the Major just wanted them to make noise, the louder the better.


    The tumultuous sounds of galloping hooves, screeching arrows, dying humans¡¯ cries and screams¡­ the sharp, piercing sounds of the bagpipes cut through the battlefield¡¯s chaos, reaching everyone¡¯s ears.


    This sound was so peculiar that no one could mishear it.


    The Terdun people were perplexed, while the Iron Peak County farmers gripped their weapons tightly¡ªthe moment the bagpipes sounded, it was time for a general assault.


    ¡°Lieutenant Adam Ortola!¡± the Major shouted sternly.


    Adam responded with a roar.


    The barricades on one side of the river suddenly opened, and Adam, along with his men¡ªall the militia who had seen blood¡ªcharged out from the barricades, stamping across the beach and water, fiercely thrusting into the flow of the Terdun light cavalry.


    At the same time, another group of militia, carrying sharp stakes, surged out from the barricades, erecting a barrier between the barricades and the river.


    Like an axe splitting heaven and earth, the serpent entwined around the Paratu people was cleaved in two in a flash.


    The Terdun light cavalry outside the row of stakes gazed back in confusion, not understanding what had happened.


    The Terdun light cavalry trapped between the stakes, river, mound, and Paratu people instantly went from encircling the enemy to being encircled, struck with terror.


    Others among the Terdun, too slow to rein in their horses, plunged headlong into this death trap.


    The Paratu people, who had been clashing with the Herders for hundreds of years, understood Tykes Tactics equally well.


    To some extent, as the victims, the Paratu people knew the strengths and pitfalls of Tykes Tactics even better than the Herders did.


    The core of Tykes Tactics lies in ¡°encirclement,¡± and it must be done counterclockwise.


    Since the vast majority of people are right-handed, and even those who could shoot left-handed could not match the strength of their right hand.


    Holding the bow with the left hand and pulling the string with the right, it was naturally more comfortable to shoot on the left side of the horse.


    By the same principle, for cavalry performing hit-and-run shooting, the riders had to encircle clockwise.


    It wasn¡¯t that Ronald was forced to form up here, but that he had chosen this battlefield.


    Forming up by the river compressed the maneuvering space of the Terdun light cavalry.


    The mounds were traps, too.


    It might seem that the Terdun holding the high ground had all the advantages, but once they resorted to Tykes Tactics, this one-meter drop would become a one-way valve.


    The logic was simple: when running counterclockwise, the Terdun leapt down from the higher riverbank and then had to jump up from the lower inland side.


    A one-meter high mound might seem trivial, easy to descend but not so easy to ascend¡­


    The encircled Terdun light cavalry were like that, in normal times perhaps they could have leapt onto the high ground with a horse¡¯s jump.


    But now their warhorses were severely exhausted, let alone a meter-high mound, the horses wouldn¡¯t even attempt a half-meter barrier.

 Chapter 800 03-25 - 800 72 Interlude_3

    ?Chapter 800: Chapter 72 Interlude_3 Chapter 800: Chapter 72 Interlude_3 Adam had already led the farmers in a charge, leaving the barbarians no time to think.


    Half of them wielded Stinger Hammers, and the other half long poles with lassos.


    If one person caught a barbarian cavalryman with a lasso, two or three others would come to collaboratively drag the rider off the warhorse. Once a barbarian was unhorsed, he would immediately be clubbed to death.


    The so-called Terdun light cavalry were not full-time fighting warriors; most of them were slaves and ordinary herders.


    Relying on their warhorses to shoot arrows from a distance was something many could do.


    But face-to-face, blade against blade, exchanging blows up close, that was a different matter.


    Without their warhorses, the Herders were no different from the Paratu People; full of hatred, the Paratu People were braver, more ruthless, and merciless than the Herders.


    ...


    The Terdun people in the west who wanted to come to the rescue were blocked by the farmers of Iron Peak County, stationed beside sharpened wooden stakes.


    The Terdun people on the eastern plateau desperately shot arrows, but no matter how many they fired, they couldn¡¯t save those Terdun trapped in the pitfalls.


    If the Terdun could be dragged into close combat, the people of Iron Peak County, with their greater numbers and higher morale, could not possibly lose.


    The panicked Terdun light cavalry either charged into the river or abandoned their horses and crawled away, with some Terdun trying to climb onto the plateau by stepping on the bodies of fallen men and horses.


    ¡°Move the bodies!¡± Adam roared as he swung his long spear, knocking down light cavalry that stepped on corpses: ¡°Move the bodies away!¡±


    ¡°Blow harder!¡± Ronald, who was watching anxiously, bellowed at the bagpipers with bulging eyes: ¡°Blow with all your might!¡±


    The sound of the bagpipes suddenly increased by a third, straining to accompany this bloody spectacle.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    Ronald looked toward the position of the horse-tail banner, waiting for the Terdun commander¡¯s judgment.


    Would it be a desperate measure, or a gamble of fate?


    On the high ground of the riverbank, Duodai of Green Plumed Feathers again had thoughts of ¡°running away.¡±


    Duodai truly hadn¡¯t expected the enemy to have such tactics; he admitted he lost one round, but he hadn¡¯t lost yet ¡ª because not many of his men had fallen into the traps.


    Ronald¡¯s position offered limited visibility. But Duodai had a clear view of the enemy opening their maw wide, devouring close to a hundred of his men at least.


    The balance of power had already shifted significantly, and Duodai felt it was better to retreat and plan for the long-term.


    Before Duodai could issue the order, six armored warriors had already mounted their horses and were charging towards the chevaux-de-frise with roars.


    Duodai could run because he had not suffered many casualties, but it wasn¡¯t the same for other leaders.


    Those six armored warriors who charged without orders, their followers, relatives, and slaves were all trapped within the chevaux-de-frise. If they ran, they would lose everything.


    Duodai cursed in fury, and the remaining armored warriors looked at each other uneasily.


    ¡°Nayen!¡± an armored warrior confronted Duodai and demanded, ¡°The infantry can barely hold on! What are you hesitating for?¡±


    Among the Herder tribes, an armored warrior was not simply ¡°a soldier in armor,¡± the armor itself symbolized a rank in the hierarchy of power.


    Most of the Terdun who could afford armor were chieftains¡¯ descendants, attendants, and personal guards.


    The armored warriors beside Duodai were not his employees, but his shareholders.


    Torn between retreating and going all in, Duodai struggled to decide.


    Seeing Duodai¡¯s hesitant demeanor, the other armored warriors urged him loudly. Some even mounted their horses indignantly, looking ready to take action on their own.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s charge in and fight! Leave life and death to the gods!¡± Duodai clenched his teeth and stomped his foot, ¡°But don¡¯t just charge blindly! You all follow closely behind me, we¡¯ll cut through those wooden forks and behead the infantry leaders first!¡±


    The armored warriors shouted excitedly, each grabbing their spears and mounting their horses.


    Duodai led more than twenty armored cavalrymen down the slope in a formation sharp as an arrowhead, heading straight for where Ronald was.


    This was a true heavy armored lance cavalry, a unit no longer found in the structure of the Paratu Standing Army.


    Because with the increasing power of firearms, the cost and effectiveness of heavy armored lance cavalry did not match up.


    But on this battlefield, this group of fully armored cavalry, some even equipped with horse armor, was the toughest iron hammer.


    Ronald watched the armored Herders charge down the slope with a roar.


    The decisive moment had arrived ¡ª that thought unexpectedly sprang to Ronald¡¯s mind.


    How to counter the shock of heavy cavalry?


    Use fortifications to block, or fill with human lives.


    With the chevaux-de-frise in tatters, only human lives could fill the gap.


    Fill it with the barbarian armored cavalry, victory; get crushed by the barbarian armored cavalry, defeat.


    ¡°The decisive moment has arrived!¡± Ronald drew his saber and screamed with a martyr¡¯s determination to everyone beside him: ¡°Take up arms! For your families! For your bloodlines! Long live the Republic of Palatu!¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The farmers might have clearly heard what Ronald was saying, or they might not have, and it¡¯s very likely they didn¡¯t care at all about the Republic of Palatu, but everyone roared ¡°Long live!¡± nonetheless, leaning on the chevaux-de-frise stakes, awaiting the moment to decide life or death.


    The Terdun heavy cavalry struck towards Ronald with the force of thunder, and at the last moment¡­


    At the last moment, they suddenly turned and ran away.


    The farmers from Iron Peak County were lost in a fog, not understanding what the barbarians were up to.


    ¡°Rats! Cowards!¡± Having come back to his senses, Ronald immediately hurled insults at the Terdun: ¡°Go back and crawl into your mothers¡¯ skirts!¡±


    Duodai couldn¡¯t hear these words, and Ronald did not shout them for the enemy¡¯s benefit.


    His audience ¡ª the farmers of Iron Peak County ¡ª laughed triumphantly, hurling all manner of foul language at the backs of the barbarian cavalry.

 Chapter 801 03-25 - 801 72 Interlude_4

    ?Chapter 801: Chapter 72 Interlude_4 Chapter 801: Chapter 72 Interlude_4 A frontal collision with the caltrop formation simply meant mutual destruction, and it was clear that Ronald was testing and pulling when the barbarians attacked.


    Facing their first charge, the hot-blooded farmers might have had the courage to fight to the death. But facing the second and third charges, Ronald had no idea what would happen.


    While Major Ronald racked his brains, calling to mind the most virulent curses to insult the enemy and striving to maintain the farmers¡¯ morale from collapsing.


    The barbarian cavalry did not, as he had anticipated, turn around and charge again but instead turned tail and ran, each stride carrying them further away.


    Not only did the horse tails and banners flee, but the other inhabitants of Terdun around the caltrop formation also dropped their bodies and kinsmen and fled.


    At first, the farmers were stunned, silent, then they cheered with all their braying hearts. To them, the battle was already won.


    Ronald¡¯s heart bled, and he could barely stand.


    ...


    To have a chance of rescuing the captured women and children, it was imperative to destroy the organization of the Terdun people at the ford. Without a complete rout of Terdun, this battle could not be considered a victory.


    Likewise, Ronald faced a difficult choice:


    Retreat, the safest option;


    Advance, take the ford, possibly win, but certainly be unable to escape.


    They could only hold fast in camp, otherwise, leading a troop of the old, weak, women, and children, the militia forces would be dragged to death.


    Just as Ronald had made up his mind, the ¡°thud, thud¡± of war drums came from the river.


    Ronald finally realized why the barbarians had fled: a convoy of ships was making its way upstream, and the Terdun¡¯s ford had been taken.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    Terdun only had rafts, not boats.


    A boat meant¡­


    ¡°Reinforcements!¡± The people of Iron Peak County at this moment, with tears streaming down their faces, embraced and cried out, ¡°Reinforcements!¡±


    Sometime later, Ronald met the commander of this fleet¡ªSamujin.


    Coming ashore with him was Captain Apel, whom Ronald had sent to seek reinforcements.


    In the makeshift camp built by the people of Terdun, all the captured Paratu People were rescued, and the reunited families celebrated joyfully and wept bitterly.


    Ronald felt almost oblivious to this atmosphere of jubilation, and he directly asked Samujin, ¡°How many men did you bring?¡±


    Facing Major Ronald, his former ¡°enemy boss,¡± Samujin always felt uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t know how to address him, so he simply opted not to.


    ¡°Just what you see,¡± Samujin pointed towards the ford, where thirty-odd simple boats were moored, ¡°These boats.¡±


    With this answer, Ronald¡¯s expression was pained, ¡°What about Winters?¡±


    Hearing his direct address of the Centurion¡¯s name, Samujin frowned slightly, ¡°I do not know.¡±


    ¡°He just sent you?¡±


    ¡°He just sent me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too few! Too few! What is Winters really doing?! What use is sending so few people?!¡± From the peaks of hope to the valleys of despair, Major Ronald¡¯s emotions erupted uncontrollably as he pointed at the jubilant crowd around him and roared:


    ¡°Look! Look at them! What will happen to them if the Herders return? What if more Herders come back to kill? They have nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! They cannot defend nor escape! Winters! What in the world is he thinking!¡±


    Samujin was startled at first, then quietly waited for Ronald to vent.


    ¡°I do not know what you have to complain about,¡± Samujin, dropping any polite fa?ade, coldly said to Ronald, ¡°The blood Captain Winters Montagne has shed, the tears he has cried, the burdens he has carried, have been far, far more than yours! Do you know of his sacrifice? Could you possibly do better than him? What right do you have to criticize him?¡±


    Confronted face to face by a rebel, not even an officer, and not knowing how to describe his rank¡­ and inwardly admitting that the rebel had some truth in his words, Ronald for a moment felt a tightness in his chest and was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± Captain Apel quickly tried to smooth things over: ¡°Captain Montagne also thought of a way.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡± Ronald asked, unenthusiastically. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer delegated me here, naturally after thorough consideration,¡± Samujin stated proudly, ¡°The Civil Guard Officer, amidst a bloody battle with Terdun at Central Iron Peak County and learning of your call for help, still decided to split his forces. Please understand the significance of that decision.¡±


    Ronald fell silent for a moment, then put away his anger and asked seriously, ¡°What way does Captain Montagne have?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, take all of you¡­¡± Samujin raised his hand pointing to the west, ¡°across to the other side of the river.¡±


    ¡­


    The battle at the Blackwater Town ford thus comes to an end. Although it was a small-scale battle¡ªthree hundred cavalry against more than a thousand infantry¡ªit was, in strict terms, also a frontal confrontation.


    Samujin said that Winters was ¡°fighting bloodily¡± with the Terdun Khan¡¯s tent, his emotions somewhat exaggerated.


    Because in Central Iron Peak County, you hardly see such direct combat.


    Tie Chi indeed very much desired to pick a good spot, set up formations, and have a gong-to-gong, drum-to-drum, legitimate main force battle.


    However, Winters did not give the people of Terdun a chance.


    As Tie Chi was desperate for a main force battle, Winters was still busily building his wall¡ªand weaving more baskets.

 Chapter 802 03-25 - 802 73 Weakening

    ?Chapter 802: Chapter 73: Weakening Chapter 802: Chapter 73: Weakening Twenty-six years ago, on a sweltering summer afternoon.


    In the grand auditorium of the Army Officer Academy, an old soldier was lecturing.


    The auditorium, theoretically able to accommodate all the cadets and faculty, was packed to the brim. It wasn¡¯t just the entire Land Academy that had gathered together; many commissioned officers had also rushed to attend the lecture.


    The identity of the old soldier was self-evident. It was Ned Smith¡ªthe Marshal of the Allied Army, the creator of the Allied Army, and the principal of the Army Officer Academy.


    ¡°¡­People today think that decimation is a barbaric military law. But in the Ancient Empire, decimation was just severe, not barbaric.¡± Principal Ned paused for a moment, ¡°In different eras and societies, the moral standards of war vary. We cannot judge the past by today¡¯s standards, nor can we use the moral standards of the past to excuse today¡¯s actions.¡±


    Perhaps to the disappointment of some who met him for the first time, Ned Smith did not possess the so-called ¡°bearing of a famous general.¡±


    On the contrary, he looked more like an old blacksmith in a dimly lit small shop: with large knuckles, rough, dark hands, and a bit of a hunchback, because his eyes were a bit blurry, so he always unconsciously leaned back slightly.


    ...


    Principal Ned looked at the young faces, ¡°War is moral, and war is unfair. It seeks to overpower the weak with strength, overcome the few with numbers, to win with more against less¡­¡±


    In the silent grand auditorium, a young man suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with the rebelliousness and stubbornness typical of his age, and asked loudly and defiantly, ¡°What if we cannot overpower with strength?¡±


    The faculty sitting in the front row turned to look and see which incredibly bold person had asked the question.


    The questioner¡¯s friend¡ªa handsome young man¡ªwas pulling him hard, trying to get him to sit down.


    But he refused to sit, standing stiff-necked, staring intently at the Marshal of the Alliance on the stage.


    ¡°If the enemy is strong and we are weak,¡± Principal Ned signaled the faculty not to worry and answered sincerely, ¡°it¡¯s best not to fight.


    Years later, some people still remembered this scene in the auditorium, some had forgotten it, and others mistook the questioner for someone else.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    We mention this because, twenty-six years later, that young man¡¯s son happens to be facing a perilous situation where ¡°the enemy is strong and I am weak, yet I must fight.¡±


    ¡­


    What strategy should be adopted when the enemy is strong and we are weak? Winters didn¡¯t know, because the Army Officer Academy didn¡¯t teach strategy.


    When Marshal Ned designed the curriculum for the Army Officer Academy, he divided all courses into two categories: ¡°Military Studies¡± and ¡°General Studies.¡±


    If the time allocated for general education subjects such as mathematics and grammar is [ten], tactical courses are [six], content on war history is only [one], and courses related to strategy are [zero].


    To be precise, as the scale of wars has been limited, nobody has been able to clearly define the differences between ¡°strategy,¡± ¡°tactics,¡± and ¡°grand tactics¡± to date.


    When a single battle can determine the outcome of a war, it is very difficult to distinguish between the subtle differences of strategy, tactics, and grand tactics.


    Winters had an imperfect understanding of strategy and naturally had no strategy to speak of.


    However, facing the entirely cavalry-based Terdun Tribe, Winters developed basic combat principles.


    Winters distilled this into three words: [weaken, limit, annihilate]¡ªsymbolized as ¡°Storm.¡±


    Turning back the hands of time, let¡¯s return to when Winters first learned that the Terdun Tribe was coming to raid the grass valley. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I recalled all the battles I knew of,¡± he explained the Storm operation to his subordinates, ¡°When fighting with fewer against more, with less to win against many, they all relied on terrain.¡±


    ¡°Our side also has the advantage of terrain. Big Horn River is a natural city wall, and the river channels in the lower Iron Peak County are like a sieve. Big Horn River, Wolf Town River, Blackwater River, Whitewater River, Panto River¡ªevery river we cross, the Terdun Tribe¡¯s combat power will be weakened once. For every kilometer they travel, the Terdun Tribe must detach troops to raid the land.¡±


    ¡°Whether we can defend Iron Peak County, even annihilate the Terdun Tribe¡¯s main force, success or failure depends on whether we can force the Terdun people to change their direction of attack, force the Terdun people to take the route we have set for them, force the Terdun people to enter the battlefield we have chosen for them.¡±


    ¡°Weaken, limit, annihilate; this is the Storm operation.¡±


    ¡­


    The hourglass was turned over for the twenty-sixth time, and Xial woke Winters beside the campfire.


    ¡°The seventh company has also arrived,¡± Xial said softly.


    ¡°Time.¡±


    ¡°One-fifteen in the morning.¡±


    ¡­


    Time, time, every second is incredibly precious.


    Under favorable road conditions, infantry can cover 24 kilometers a day, and by forcing a march without any heavy baggage, this distance can be doubled.


    At first glance, 24 kilometers seems close, and 48 kilometers not far.


    However, it is unknown how many undefeated generals have died within this short day¡¯s journey, leading to the loss of their troops and country, disgrace, and a ruined reputation.


    The battle that took place in the central Iron Peak County was fundamentally a struggle for time.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s grand flanking strategy was to take advantage of the defending forces being drawn along the Big Horn River, to circle around to Winters¡¯ rear and attack from both sides.


    Herein lay the opportunity.


    Seizing the time difference, Winters struck a piercing blow towards the opponent¡¯s chest as the fire-warming opponent threw a right hook, repelling the dispersed Terdun fighters, possibly numbering around twenty hundred-man cavalry units.


    Though it was not a rout, and certainly not an annihilation, it temporarily lifted the threat from the western flank and gave the troops a chance to regroup into a unified force.


    The day after Winters repelled the restraining enemies, the Terdun vanguard attacked the fording site for the first time at noon.


    At that point in time, nine of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment¡¯s twelve companies were deployed along the Big Horn River; these nine companies were generally understaffed and exhausted, in the process of regrouping.


    One company was stationed at Shizhen town, and its combat strength was relatively intact.


    The remaining three companies, as a general reserve, were originally stationed at Saint Town and were hurrying to Shizhen town and the fording site.


    The Terdun Tribe, like an arrow, already had its tip pressed against the heart of central Iron Peak County, with the rest of their forces rushing in at full speed.


    If the fording site were to be breached, then Winters¡¯ efforts in crossing the Big Horn River twice would all be in vain.


    His scattered companies would be defeated one by one by the Terdun forces, just as he had repelled their dispersed forces.


    The difference was that the Terdun could escape on horseback, while Winters¡¯ men wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to flee.


    It was Bard leading the refugee camps that held off the enemy¡¯s first and second attacks, securing yet another day for Winters.


    Within that day, Winters had constructed a second line of defense behind the crossing field.


    At the same time, the twelve companies of Iron Peak County Regiment as well as all of the militia from Niutigu Valley, Shizhen, and Saint Town were converging on the crossing field.


    Thus, Tie Chi had actually wronged his Green Plumed Feathers, because Winters indeed had ¡°built a wall overnight.¡±


    As for how bipeds could build a wall more than ten kilometers long overnight, Tie Chi still had no idea.


    What Tie Chi knew even less was that Winters was also building a third wall.


    ¡­


    The warriors of the fifth company marched in silence, in single file, without drums or slogans, even the military flag was rolled up.


    Riding at the very front was the commander of the fifth company, Lannis.


    Tonight the moon was full, a good night for both sides to engage in combat.


    Hoofbeats could faintly be heard in the distance, as if cavalry was approaching the column of the fifth company.


    Lannis raised his hand to signal, the flag bearer unfurled the banner, and the provost marshal immediately took out an arrow, turned around, and handed it to the warrior behind him.


    Each soldier who received an arrow would immediately pass it on to the person behind, while dropping all excess items and gathering toward the flag with only their weapons and armor.


    Without any commands, the fifth company formed a square formation in silence.


    Lannis listened carefully, the sound of hoofbeats grew closer, confirming that they were indeed heading toward the fifth company.


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Lannis broke the silence.


    The rapid sound of the snare drum rose up, signaling to the warriors of the fifth company that their position had been exposed and to prepare for battle immediately.


    The newcomers halted their horses in front of the square formation, just a dozen or so riders.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡± Lannis demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Winters replied.


    Lannis rode out of the formation and solemnly saluted Winters.


    ¡°Are you still fit to fight?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It would be best to rest for two hours,¡± Lannis answered truthfully.


    ¡°Change direction to Niutigu Valley,¡± Winters was not one for courtesy with his old troops: ¡°Tamas is building a third line of defense there, you will temporarily be under his command.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lannis saluted again.


    Winters assigned a guide to Lannis, took one last look at his old subordinate, and rode off.


    The fifth company returned to marching formation, heading now in a southwest direction.


    ¡­


    If it were a head-on confrontation in formation, a five by five-kilometer open space would be enough to accommodate a grand battle of a hundred thousand people.


    The tricky part about the Terdon Tribe and all nomadic tribes was that with their mobility, they could stretch five kilometers into fifty, or even a hundred and fifty.


    Advance when it¡¯s advantageous, retreat when it¡¯s not, not ashamed to flee, strike only when certain of victory; this was the great tactical advantage brought by high mobility.


    For instance, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s grand detour this time, just the straight-line distance on the map was already over a hundred and fifty kilometers.


    Humans might compete with horses in endurance over two thousand kilometers; but if it were a two hundred kilometer race, they could never be faster than horses no matter what.


    Winters had chosen the central Iron Peak County as the battlefield from the beginning, simply because central Iron Peak County was small enough.


    The Terdon Tribe needed to detour a hundred and fifty kilometers, while the Iron Peak County troops fighting on the inside needed to travel only fifty kilometers, using the advantage in distance to compensate for the disadvantage in speed.


    For this reason, Winters abandoned Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.


    The decision sounded easy but was heavier than a mountain of millions of tons of rocks.


    Now, as the Terdon Tribe made a hundred and fifty-kilometer detour, crossing five rivers, they arrived in central Iron Peak County after a difficult journey.


    The first step of combat in a storm, ¡°weakening,¡± had been achieved.


    ¡­


    Unlike the previous battles where the Herders avoided war and the Paratu People sought it out, at this moment, the Terdon Tribe was the one most eager to have a proper fight.


    Tie Chi was crazed with the desire to fight the bipeds with sword against sword, spear against spear.


    A wall stood in their way¡ªmore precisely, two walls.


    One wall was shorter, standing on the mountain road between the crossing field and Shizhen.


    The other wall was long, blocking the Terdon Tribe from entering Niutigu Valley.


    Both walls were rather short, about the height of a man, and an adult male could climb over with little effort.


    The problem was, if people could climb over, what about the horses?


    The people of Iron Peak County called the long wall the ¡°Shield Wall¡± and the short wall the ¡°Dagger Wall.¡±


    The Terdon Tribe simply called both obstructive walls as horse-blocking walls, for those walls were never meant to block people, but to block horses.


    The chiefs of the Terdon Tribe gathered in a military council, determining there were only three methods: breach the wall, pile up soil, or take a detour.


    Taking a detour was immediately ruled out, as another detour would only lead further south, passing through Shizhen to cross the river.


    Not to mention the delay in time, the bridge of Shizhen had already been demolished. Were they supposed to build another bridge upon arrival?


    ¡°Stop hiding your treasures, hand over all the armors and sheepskin bags,¡± spat out Tie Chi viciously: ¡°Without gnawing on bones, there¡¯s no marrow to eat.¡±

 Chapter 803 03-25 - 803 74 Desperate Situation

    ?Chapter 803: Chapter 74: Desperate Situation Chapter 803: Chapter 74: Desperate Situation The essence of the Storm Plan boiled down to just one sentence: force the Terdun people into a battlefield where cavalry could not exert their full power.


    How to accomplish this?


    Winters¡¯s strategy was simple and straightforward¡ªblock all other routes.


    Defense must rely on the dangers of mountains, rivers, and streams. But what to do at the Panto River, where there was no natural terrain to defend?


    The only solution was to create man-made mountains and rivers.


    Walls, that is, man-made mountains.


    Between the two fortifications, the Shield Wall was constructed under the supervision of Bard, having broken ground concurrently with Winters¡¯s mobilization and evacuation of the lower Iron Peak County population.


    ... S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The manpower Bard used came from the refugees of Blackwater Town and Wugou Town.


    Conscripting refugees to build the wall was not solely to meet military needs but also a way of managing and providing relief.


    The total length of the Shield Wall was about 18 kilometers, mostly across uneven terrain difficult for a large army to traverse. The construction method used the traditional ¡°dig trenches and pound earth into walls.¡±


    Bard deliberately left open the roads leading to Niutigu Valley and to the small town of Shizhen¡ªper Winters¡¯s demands.


    So Tie Chi had actually wronged his subordinates.


    The scouts with Green Plumed Feathers did not lie; when they crossed the river to inspect the two main roads, they indeed saw nothing. Not walls or trenches¡ªthe roads were as flat as a pancake, without even a ditch in sight.


    On the night of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s second attack on the fording point, Winters led the main force to the battlefield and used stakes, baskets, mud, and a new method of earthworks to construct nearly 4 kilometers of the Dagger Wall overnight.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    When the Terdon Tribe¡¯s army crossed the river the next day, they were confronted with the sight Tie Chi saw before him: a short wall, not very tall, blocking their way, stretching endlessly to the horizons at both ends.


    Subjects and slaves might feel fear at the rumors that ¡°demons helped the bipeds build a city overnight,¡± but people like Kota and Nayen were somewhat accustomed to such strange occurrences.


    Although the Terdon nobility still had no idea how the bipeds had constructed a wall several kilometers long overnight, they had seen sturdier defensive structures in their years of warfare.


    The real question was, how to breach it?


    ¡­


    Terdun horsemen loaded with soil-filled sheepskin bags took turns charging to the trench side, dropping the soil bags.


    The Iron Peak County militia counterattacked with bows and arrows while hurling fierce fire pottery jugs filled with kerosene, yet they still couldn¡¯t prevent the dirt bags from piling higher and higher.


    The wall was embarrassingly low, low enough that an adult could clamber over it with some effort.


    Of course, the Terdun Barbarians wouldn¡¯t miss this detail.


    While horsemen attacked head-on with soil bags, armored soldiers quietly circumvented to approach the wall, cooperating with each other to scale it.


    The watchtowers on the wall saw this, immediately sounded the alarm bells, and waved flags to signal their location.


    A Terdun armored soldier had just climbed onto the wall when a gust of wind sounded by his ear; the next moment, a flail smashed his skull, sending him tumbling down, his head bloody and broken.


    On the other side of the wall, a simple and honest militiaman couldn¡¯t help but excitedly shout, ¡°I killed one!¡±


    Most of the militia were just ordinary farmers half a month ago. Compared to the brutal hand-to-hand combat, they were braver when swinging flails at ¡°thieves¡± climbing the wall.


    Before the simple militiaman could rejoice for long, consecutively more Terdun armored soldiers vaulted over the wall.


    Having just ¡°claimed a level¡± his courage bolstered, the simple militiaman yelled and swung his flail at the Barbarians.


    However, the Terdun soldier calmly raised his shield, meeting the flail with a slight angle.


    The flail head merely left a scrape on the shield. The Terdun warrior took a large stride forward, raising his curved sword and viciously chopping down.


    The stunned, simple militiaman, slow to react, nearly had his neck split in two, dying instantly.


    Witnessing their comrade¡¯s brutal death, the other militiamen scattered in panic.


    The Terdun soldier laughed ferociously, his personal slave uncontrollably knelt and dry heaved.


    However, the Terdun soldier¡¯s laughter was short-lived, and his slave couldn¡¯t vomit anymore¡ªbecause they were both dead.


    The slayer of the Terdun soldier wielded a cavalry lance. The man holding the lance was Bart Xialing.


    Bart Xialing didn¡¯t linger by the body; he had other Terdun soldiers to pursue.


    Ancient military strategists described the Herders thus: ¡°These barbaric people have short and weak lower limbs, atrophied from years of horseback riding, to the extent that they cannot walk for extended periods, let alone fight on foot.¡±


    Of course, this was a complete misconception. The Herders could, when necessary, fight on foot.


    But the very existence of this misunderstanding illustrates that the Herders would avoid dismounted combat if possible, to the point where their enemies almost never witnessed it.


    Once deprived of their warhorses, the Herders were stripped of their most powerful weapons.


    Take, for example, these first-to-scale Terdun armored elites. They never imagined they would become the bipeds themselves, with the bipeds mounted on horses, spears clasped tight, charging at them.


    Bart Xialing, leading three teams of ten cavalry, overthrew the wall-scaling Terdun soldiers with a single charge.


    Then the Terdun soldiers took to their feet in flight, while the Paratu Cavalry raised bone maces high, smashing down on the back of the Terdun¡¯s heads.


    This scene occurred not only in Bart Xialing¡¯s sector but also simultaneously in three other flat areas suitable for cavalry assault.


    ¡­


    Although it was just a low wall, Winters and Bard had made careful plans:


    On one hand, they adapted their construction to the terrain, minimizing the amount of work; on the other hand, they selected positions difficult for cavalry to traverse, taking advantage of the natural landscape.


    A glance at the map might easily give the impression that Iron Peak County was flat terrain.

 Chapter 804 03-25 - 804 74 Deadly Ground_2

    ?Chapter 804: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_2 Chapter 804: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_2 In reality, Iron Peak County is situated at the northern foot of the Golden Summit Mountain range; it is the last ripple of the mountains with uneven terrain and limited pathways suited for large-scale cavalry movements.


    Based on this, Winters had his main forces deployed in three critical ¡°throat areas,¡± while he, himself, was stationed at [the Dagger¡¯s Wall].


    The second and fourth companies, along with the militia support brigade, were stationed where the cavalry could best be deployed¡ªbecause the main artery of Iron Peak County ran right through here.


    ¡­


    Tie Chi and the other Terdon Nayens couldn¡¯t see what was happening on the other side of the wall.


    This wall not only blocked the warhorses but also obstructed the Terdon people¡¯s line of sight, preventing them from knowing the defenders¡¯ deployment.


    Under the banner of horsetail streamers, a few Terdon Green Plumed Feathers could only see those soldiers who climbed over the wall either crawling out bloodied and with shattered heads or not returning at all.


    ...


    Tie Chi looked around; the faces of the Nayens were more unsightly than one another.


    Even without speaking, Tie Chi knew what the Nayens were thinking.


    In the winter and spring battles at Bianli and The Styx, the Terdon Tribe lost many of their people, with many leaders still not recovered to this day.


    During the full moon when the horses were fattened, the Terdon Tribe had planned to join forces with the Suz Tribe to raid and plunder.


    And the result? They barely gained any advantage.


    Then there was this expedition, which was supposed to be about raiding for grain and slaughtering fat sheep¡ªso why had it turned into a matter of life and death?


    The plundering during the full moon could barely be considered break-even; while in this raid of the slaughter month, if they had to gnaw on every bone bit by bit, then no matter how much they looted, it would be a loss.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    [Note: The full moon refers to the eighth lunar month; Blue moon, the tenth lunar month.]


    It was like a thief suddenly realizing theft had turned into robbery, or like a robber horrified to find out that the heist was too hot to handle. Many Terdon leaders began to entertain thoughts of retreat.


    To understand this mindset, one must remember the fact that in Hurd¡¯s low-productivity society, the motives for war were more economic than political.


    All in all, looting the valleys had become filling the moats, and the Terdon nobles were quite unwilling in their hearts.


    Not to speak of winning, but even if they did, so what? Profit? No, loss!


    Currently, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s right-wing army could basically be divided into two factions. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One faction comprised leaders who had gained their fill and just wanted to quickly send the loot back to their tribe. Consequently, they were lazy in their labor, showing little enthusiasm for filling the moats;


    The other faction included chiefs who had gained nothing and had even lost a considerable number of warhorses and sheep. Naturally, they were eager for a major raid across the river.


    However, the resistance from the bipedals was too fierce, too adamant. Fighting on like this, the Nayens worried that trying to steal a chicken might lead to losing a handful of rice.


    According to what Tie Chi knew, the latter group of leaders were conspiring with each other, wanting the Fire Warmer to intervene and redistribute the spoils of the former group.


    Look at that, under Winters¡¯ rule, Iron Peak County was divided between north and south, and the Terdon people inside were just as fraught with conflict.


    That¡¯s how absurd and bizarre things were; rather than saying this war was a contest of two chess players, it would be more fitting to say it was a scrawny guard dog¡¯s desperate struggle against a lame wolf.


    What the conditions of the battle were on the other side of the wall, Tie Chi didn¡¯t know, but the sack earth siege was going quite smoothly¡ªthe slope piled up with sheepskin sacks was nearly ready for horses to run up.


    ¡°Who wants to climb it first?¡± Tie Chi turned around and asked the Nayens.


    The first to climb would not only receive a rich reward but, according to tradition, also had the first pick of the spoils. However, given the current situation, it seemed the bones would be hard to chew, so no one paid any attention to Tie Chi.


    Tie Chi¡¯s eldest son, seeing his father disrespected, became furiously indignant, plucked up the banner of horsetail streamers, and roared, ¡°Are you all mice or sparrows? So cowardly? Father! I¡¯m going up!¡±


    Some Nayens were annoyed, others laughed coldly, but all remained silent.


    Tie Chi glanced at his eldest son and pointed to another Nayen who often clashed with him: ¡°Wulanghe, go and make a charge.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feather named Wulanghe knew Tie Chi was deliberately picking a fight, yet he said nothing, just thumped his chest in salute before returning to his own people.


    Wulanghe wondered how many bipedals might be on the other side of the wall, not knowing was it not merely gambling with life to rush over so recklessly?


    He thus summoned a Turu Koda subordinate he didn¡¯t particularly like, ordering the other to lead his men over to test the waters.


    Wulanghe specifically instructed him to retreat back if the situation turned dire.


    For the Turu Koda, however, the prospect was exhilarating; to shoot the first arrow on the battlefield was not only a great honor for a Hurd noble, but the rewards were also extraordinarily generous.


    As for the Nayen¡¯s concerns, he dismissed them.


    In his view, the bipedals¡¯ arrows were weak and powerless, obviously wielded by mere farmers and commoners; the only thing that had allowed them to hold out this far was relying on the low walls.


    Once the Terdon Iron Cavalry leaped over the low walls, trampling everything under their hooves, how could the bipedals not flee in disarray?


    With this confidence, the Turu Koda readied his bow in hand, sped on his horse, and with a roar, charged up the wall.


    Then he tried to pull his horse to a stop in terror, because he finally saw clearly what was in front of him.


    Inertia didn¡¯t allow the Turu Koda to do so; his warhorse neighed as it leapt down from the top of the wall.


    With the wall¡¯s height nearing two meters, the Turu Koda¡¯s warhorse still managed to stand firm, truly a remarkable steed.


    Some Terdon riders couldn¡¯t dodge in time and also followed, leaping down and breaking their horses¡¯ legs.


    The quicker Terdon riders promptly steered their mounts away or simply abandoned their horses to jump down the slope, causing chaos among the hundred cavalrymen charging up the ramp.


    Tie Chi wore an expression as unruffled as still water, as if he had anticipated such an outcome.


    Having jumped over one wall, the Turu Koda despaired at seeing another¡ªor, to be precise, three.


    Wulanghe charged before Tie Chi, cursing, ¡°Tie Chi! The bipedals have built a double wall! You knew it all along, didn¡¯t you?!¡±

 Chapter 805 03-25 - 805 74 Deadly Ground_3

    ?Chapter 805: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_3 Chapter 805: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_3 The ¡°clamped wall¡± mentioned by the Herders is what is commonly referred to as ¡°multiple layered city walls,¡± or the ¡°Urn City.¡±


    On the second defensive wall, Bard issued the first musket fire order, ¡°Fire!¡±


    The first row of Musketeers pulled their firing levers without hesitation, followed by the second and the third rows.


    After three rounds of volley fire, Tie Chi had been beaten to a bloody pulp, with very few of the other Terdon Tribe members left alive in the Urn City.


    The losses in men and horses did not surprise Nayen. On the contrary, it was the successive musket shots underneath the cavalry banners that shocked everyone.


    The number of muskets was limited, so they were concentrated into use by Winters. This was Iron Peak County side¡¯s first time deploying the musket squadron.


    Tie Chi listened intently to the sounds of volley fire, then opened his eyes wide, ¡°The two-legged ones¡¯ Musketeers, they fire in well-disciplined volleys!¡±


    ...


    Instead of a scattered popping noise, the air carried an evenly spaced, synchronized firing sound, like the beat of a drum.


    Tie Chi strained to remember the last time he had heard such musket shots, where was it?


    He remembered now, it was at a small fortress in the northwest part of Bianli. Last time too, the Terdon Tribe had bashed their heads bloody against trench and palisade.


    ¡°Is it that all two-legged people understand this firing method?¡± Tie Chi pondered, ¡°Or have they run into an old adversary?¡±


    ¡°A two-legged one with a musket? Not an ordinary one, certainly a guard-like elite.¡± Another of the Green Plumed Feathers inquired, ¡°Continue to fill the trenches? Tie Chi? Perhaps we should retreat first and then decide.¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s face was stoic, ¡°Wait a bit longer.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers looked at each other, none knowing what Tie Chi was waiting for.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other side of the wall, it was Bard who was awaiting Winters.


    ¡°I made a mistake in judgement; we shouldn¡¯t have deployed the musket squadron.¡± Bard said tiredly to Winters, ¡°Once the muskets were fired, the Terdon Tribe was going to retreat, we should have waited.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Winters took off his helmet, took a deep breath of fresh air, and signaled to other cavalry to remove their saddlebags, ¡°Pick these up, let¡¯s show them.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers, the Red Plumed Feathers, and the ordinary Terdon Tribe were shocked to see poles with heads mounted on them being raised one after the other from behind the low wall,


    Not just poles with heads, but also with bloody armor and cavalry banners.


    Other Nayen looked back at Tie Chi, whose face was iron-blue, his hands gripping the reins tightly, his teeth grinding audibly.


    The western riverbank of Iron Peak County stretched about 80 kilometers wide, with both the Dagger Wall and Shield Wall adding up to approximately 22 kilometers.


    After the Terdon Tribe redirected their main offensive, Winters shortened the width he needed to defend.


    But 22 kilometers was still too wide. In some respects, the defense line was full of holes everywhere.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s advantage lay in their mobility, while Iron Peak County¡¯s was in the terrain.


    Thus, Winters focused on defending several strategic chokepoints, while dealing with other areas with cavalry against cavalry.


    The Terdon Tribe could send small elite forces over the mountains and through the valleys to flank, and Winters could deploy cavalry for counter-cleansing.


    Once the surprise troops were destroyed, Tie Chi chose to retreat.


    The other attacking and feinting Terdon forces also returned without achieving anything.


    Winters ordered the militia to collect all the soil bags the Terdon had abandoned outside, for after all, sheepskin is valuable.


    The battle during the day took place at the Shield Wall, while the battles at night were initiated by the Dagger Wall.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the enemy commander defend the riverbanks, and instead give up the riverbanks and establish defenses inland?¡± This question baffled Tie Chi.


    He understood it that very night¡ªat least he thought he did.


    The terrain dictated that the Shield Wall and Dagger Wall were roughly in an L-shaped structure.


    If the [L] was small enough, small enough to fit within the range of muskets and cannons, then the open ground between the two walls would have a term, ¡°killing fields,¡± also known as ¡°kill zones.¡±


    Although the Dagger Wall and Shield Wall were measured in kilometers, their relative positioning still meant a pincer movement.


    The wall was not only a shield to defend against enemies but also a launchpad for attacks¡ªcontent from siege warfare tactics classes.


    That night, upon hearing that a large force was striking out from the ¡°Long Wall,¡± Tie Chi was not surprised; rather, he heartily exclaimed thrice, ¡°Good.¡±


    [Note: ¡°Long Wall¡± and ¡°Short Wall¡± are the Terdon Tribe¡¯s terms for ¡°Shield Wall¡± and ¡°Dagger Wall.¡±]


    He had calculated that the others were bound to attempt a night raid and that it would surely come from the Short Wall; the din of the Long Wall was merely a decoy.


    In any case, once the opposition chose to leave their fortifications for open field battle, it gave the Terdon Tribe an opportunity.


    As per Tie Chi¡¯s arrangement, the scattered camps of various leaders gradually contracted, drawing in the two-legged ones deeper.


    Tie Chi¡¯s own elite troops stayed near the low wall, waiting to ambush the assault troops moving out from the low wall.


    As expected, after the commotion from the Long Wall¡¯s sortie, the low wall stirred as well.


    Torches were lit in succession, with endless shouts of men and neighs of horses, and Tie Chi waited patiently.


    Only when the thunderous sounds of horse hooves rang out from behind did Tie Chi realize something had gone wrong.


    Winters was not launching an attack from the Dagger Wall or the Shield Wall.


    He had set up a Floating Bridge at an upstream position where the Terdon Tribe¡¯s vanguard had previously forded, leading a cavalry unit through the woods, striking at the barbarians from behind.


    After a chaotic night of fighting, the Terdon Tribe withdrew to the south bank of the Panto River, with Tie Chi retaining only a small elite force on the north bank to control the fording field.


    Iron Peak County side ultimately controlled the battlefield, from this point of view, the Terdon had lost.


    But the Terdon¡¯s loss was short-lived, at daybreak, they re-entered the north bank.


    Meanwhile, Iron Peak County¡¯s forces had already contracted back beyond the two walls.

 Chapter 806 03-25 - 806 74 Death Ground_4

    ?Chapter 806: Chapter 74 Death Ground_4 Chapter 806: Chapter 74 Death Ground_4 The second day¡¯s assault was even more ferocious than the first. If the first day involved only earthen bags and flanking, the second day saw Terdun people starting to use brute force to break the walls.


    Winters also held nothing back, committing the reserve troops to defend the Shield Wall steadfastly, while simultaneously making a cavalry charge on the Terdun people¡¯s flank.


    As bullets flew and Warhorses dashed, by the afternoon of that day, the Terdun people who had been fiercely attacking just moments before, suddenly retreated like a receding tide.


    At dusk, a messenger with a pale face brought Winters some bad news.


    ¡°Sir, the barbarians¡­ the barbarians have destroyed the horse-blocking wall on the north bank of the Panto River.¡± The young messenger could barely stand, and said with a sobbing tone, ¡°They went west along the narrow paths through the valley!¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the messenger found Winters, Winters was in the medic tent treating his wounds. Representatives from Niutigu Valley, both cavalry members and both wounded, a tall slender one and a short plump one, were also present.


    ¡°Damn!¡± the short plump representative¡ªcalled ¡°Fatty Nandor¡±¡ªimmediately felt dizzy and grabbed the messenger¡¯s collar, shaking as he asked, ¡°How could the barbarians know about the canyon path? Only locals know it! Who betrayed us?!¡±


    ...


    Tears in his eyes, the messenger shook his head desperately.


    ¡°That path?¡± Fatty Nandor¡¯s emotions were nearing uncontrollable, ¡°That path is so narrow! How could a large army pass through?¡±


    The tall slender representative¡ªcalled Jacob Green¡ªalso turned pale, swaying as if he might collapse.


    Winters spoke slowly, ¡°When the water recedes, more dry banks are exposed, allowing more troops to pass.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be! That path is not visible in summer at all! Even when the water is shallow in winter, it can only allow passage for one person and one horse! How could a large army pass? Sir!¡± Fatty Nandor, as if clutching at a lifeline, violently grabbed the corner of Winters¡¯s clothes, ¡°There must not have been many Herd Barbarians who crossed! There¡¯s still time! We can still make it now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s too late.¡± Winters leaned against a tree trunk, gently shaking his head, ¡°If even the Terdun people¡¯s main force couldn¡¯t pass, why would I be building a dam upstream to block the water?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ was it all in vain?¡± Fatty Nandor was completely disheartened and cried out in sorrow, ¡°All the fighting we¡¯ve done, all the blood we¡¯ve spilled, was it all for nothing? We still couldn¡¯t stop them¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Regaining his composure, the tall and slender Jacob Green grabbed the old rival and respectfully asked Winters, ¡°Sir, what did you mean by¡­ the dam?¡±


    ¡°The dam.¡± Winters, relieved, breathed a sigh of relief and slowly lay down on the pine branches and dry leaves, as if a thousand-pound weight was lifted from his shoulders, ¡°It¡¯s just a dam.¡±


    ¡­


    Eighty kilometers upstream of the Panto River, within the bounds of Shizhen.


    Between the gorges, a rudimentary dam made of wooden stakes, stone cages, and mud had already filled with water, leaving only a small gap to discharge water outward.


    Proceeding from the dam, walking ten kilometers downstream along the river, the river would meet another watercourse.


    Further downstream, that was called the Panto River.


    And the river blocked by the dam was a tributary of the Panto River, the Huiqing River.


    Consequently, the water volume of the downstream Panto River originated from the tributary Huiqing River and the main Panto River.


    The winter was already a season of low water, and with Winters blocking the Huiqing River, the water volume of the Panto River had reached its lowest point in thirty years.


    ¡­


    Niutigu Valley, southwest direction, wilderness.


    Everyone in Niutigu Valley, regardless of gender or age, was mobilized. Under the leadership of Captain Thomas, they worked tirelessly throughout the night to build another wall.


    Here, this was the death ground Winters had chosen for the Terdun people.

 Chapter 807 03-25 - 807 75 Storm

    ?Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm In Iron Peak County, Shizhen.


    Within the mountain path, a messenger holding a red flag hastened on horseback.


    ¡°Red flag!¡± The sentinel on the watchtower saw the rapidly approaching red flag from afar and shouted loudly, ringing the alarm bell: ¡°Red flag!¡±


    The sound of the alarm bell reached the town center ahead of the horse hooves, and the company commander of the Seventh Unit stationed in Shizhen, Li Wei, rushed to the town square.


    Three warhorses frothing at the mouth stopped in the square, the leader, a blue warhorse, suddenly reared up, its hind legs buckling as it collapsed.


    Amidst the gasps of the others, the messenger tumbled off the saddle, nearly crushing his left leg on the spot.


    ¡°Military orders?¡± Li Wei strode meteorically to the side of the messenger.


    ...


    The messenger immediately reached for the saddlebag, but it had been pressed down by the warhorse, and the exhausted messenger couldn¡¯t pull it out no matter what.


    Li Wei pushed the messenger aside, steadied his footing, and with a surge of strength from his waist and legs, he forcibly lifted the several hundred jin horse corpse.


    A nearby gendarme swiftly removed the saddlebag.


    Li Wei snatched the saddlebag, pulled out the military order, and tore open the lacquer seal. There were no letters on the note, just a red cross smeared with blood.


    Li Wei was illiterate, but he couldn¡¯t mistake this symbol.


    Shizhen had no separate town or village districts; everyone who could still walk was mobilized.


    The booming sound of explosions echoed through the canyon. The dam blocking Huiqing River was dismantled layer by layer, and the river water, full of potential energy, roared down to the downstream.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, Revodan New Town.


    As the slanting sun set in the west, the vanguard, Ivan, stood on the arrow tower, watching for any stirrings on the horizon, with moist heat seeping from the palm of his hand.


    He was waiting for news from Panto River.


    Revodan was situated on solid ground in the middle of the valley, surrounded by flat plains; apart from the moat fortification works under construction, there were no natural defenses.


    The main force of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had all rushed to Panto River, and Revodan¡¯s defenses were now entirely taken over by the city guard.


    Whether Ivan liked it or not, as a former city guard sergeant, he once again took up weapons.


    Ordinary people who knew nothing of war could easily develop blind trust in the Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    But Ivan was different; he had experienced the most fickle side of war and feared it deeply.


    Moreover, he was well aware that the outcome of this battle hinged not on Revodan but on the fierce battles a hundred kilometers away.


    However, Ivan didn¡¯t know the situation at Panto River¡ªno one did. Citizens of Revodan and refugees alike were anxiously awaiting the new issue of ¡°War Communication.¡±


    Ivan¡¯s peripheral vision turned toward the central square of the new town. There, men and women who had finished a day¡¯s labor were lining up to receive their pay¡ªfood.


    Richard Mason was also in the square, accompanied by his assistant; he walked past the food distribution stalls, randomly taking bread for inspection.


    At first, following tradition, the people involved in the works were paid with food.


    But the refugees who had come to Revodan had neither mills nor cooking utensils; receiving grain, they had to exchange it for bread, fattening the millers and bakers in the end.


    After much consideration, Mason decided to adopt the method of the Second Unit¡¯s army rations: uniformly producing the bread and distributing the ¡°pay¡± in the form of bread.


    One problem subsided, and another arose.


    The uniform bread production model seemed to benefit the people, but it also gave weevils the opportunity to shirk their duties and engage in fraud.


    Another might have been deceived, but Captain Richard Mason, more proficient in statistics than artillery, was not fooled.


    Mason urgently recruited students from accounting schools to Revodan and began implementing a new, computationally demanding inspection method in bread production¡ªstatistical sampling.


    The increase in scale was an opportunity for the weevils, but it was also a chance for Richard Mason to practice his statistics. The larger the total and sample size, the smaller the statistical sampling error.


    The weevils, ignorant of mathematical tools, were repeatedly exposed, although there might still be some that slipped through the net. But the corpses dangling from the gallows sufficiently deterred the petty criminals for a while.


    Yet another cart carrying baked bread crossed the wooden bridge, and Mason saw who it was and quickly walked over to meet them.


    Mason took the horse by the bridle and apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have you come personally; I¡¯ll send a driver for you.¡±


    Driving the cart were two ladies. Scarlett, dressed as a boy, held the reins, while Anna, wearing a large top hat, sat beside Scarlett.


    Anna nodded slightly, and Scarlett gave Captain Mason a somewhat comical military salute.


    The flames of war had not spread to Revodan, the eye of the storm, enjoying the last peace of Iron Peak County.


    Yet, Revodan ultimately failed to implement a male and female segregation system. However, with the aid of the church, Mason had temporarily placed all the women and children among the refugees in the Old Town.


    Baking bread required a lot of manpower, and the women and children housed in the Old Town also took on a significant part of the baking work.


    Mason knew what Lady Navarre had come to ask personally, and his apology deepened, ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s still no news of Winters.¡±


    A hint of disappointment rose in Anna¡¯s eyes, but she quickly brightened, smiling sincerely, ¡°I think, no news might be good news.¡±


    Scarlett also seemed disappointed, but Michel tried not to show it. She gazed into the distance and asked, ¡°Captain, is the city wall finished?¡±


    ¡°A total of 128 work sections, 113 of which are completed,¡± Mason answered precisely.


    ¡°If the city wall gets finished and the Herdmen ultimately don¡¯t come,¡± Scarlett said with slight regret as she sat back in the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°what a pity that would be.¡±


    Mason smiled faintly and shook his head, ¡°Miss Michel. Preventing the Herders from coming here¡ªthat¡¯s the very purpose of building this new city.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Hammer Fort.


    Hammer Fort town had two Hammer Forts in total, with the Old Hammer Fort being an aged wooden tower fort.


    The New Hammer Fort, constructed under the direction of Captain Richard Mason, served the purpose of fending off the assaults from Vernge County and was situated further north.


    The new and the old Hammer Forts, one in front of the other, stretched across the main thoroughfare between [Vernge County-Iron Peak County], firmly guarding the gateway into Iron Peak County.


    However, both the new and old Hammer Forts had a design flaw: due to the lack of connecting wall structures, the forts could only block the passage of large forces but struggled to fend off smaller groups of enemies.


    At this moment, the commander in charge of defending Hammer Fort, the ¡°Birthmark¡± Lieutenant, crouched beside a pile of horse manure, his brow deeply furrowed.


    ¡°There must have been Herd Barbarians that got through,¡± old Sergeant Dusack poked the horse manure, ¡°It¡¯s frozen solid, definitely from last night. Judging by the hoof prints, not many people or horses, probably Herd Barbarians chased into our territory from Vernge County.¡±


    ¡°Light the beacon fires,¡± ordered the Birthmark Lieutenant tersely, silently thinking, ¡°Even Iron Peak County is no longer peaceful.¡±


    ¡­


    Lower Iron Peak County, beside Big Horn River.


    Samujin¡¯s fleet not only captured the ferry crossing but also seized a large number of sheepskin rafts. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With small boats and the confiscated sheepskin rafts, Major Ronald led the militia and women and children across the Big Horn River, setting up a camp on the West Bank.


    A curious reversal of fortunes unfolded:


    The people of Lower Iron Peak County, who originally lived on the East Bank, were now establishing a camp on the West Bank;


    While the people from Terdun who came from the West Bank, left without boats, were standing on the East Bank, helpless and bewildered.


    After leaving behind a portion of sheepskin rafts, Samujin took his fleet and hurried to the downstream battlefield.


    Before departing, Samujin informed Major Ronald, ¡°The right wing army of Terdun Tribe must have seven to eight Thousand-Men Squads.


    The fire tenders have left at least two Thousand-Men Squads on the West Bank as a constraint, and although this part of the Terdun people has been repelled, they may gather for a comeback at any time.


    Civil Guard Officer Montaigne wishes you to be aware that you must guard not only against enemies from the East Bank crossing the river but also be wary of surprise attacks from the Terdun people on the West Bank.¡±


    ¡­


    Great Wilderness, Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing field.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s fertile and lush winter grazing fields have now turned into a hellish scene of bloodshed and fire.


    In the wilderness, the wind direction is unpredictable on a small scale, yet on a large scale, the rules of the monsoons are inexorable.


    Spring-Summer monsoons blow from east to west, Autumn-Winter monsoons blow from west to east¡ªthis ironclad law between the two mountains hasn¡¯t changed for thousands of years.


    Andrea Cherini and Tang Juan led the Cavalry, initially charging westward with ferocity, slaughtering Terdun cattle when hungry, and milking Terdun sheep when thirsty, seizing Terdun horses when theirs died from exhaustion.


    Then, turning back, they used the power of the seasonal winds to set fire to the grazing lands as they passed.


    Like a spark falling into a haystack, with no rain and dry conditions of winter, once the flames spread, they became uncontrollable.


    Dense smoke engulfed the skies over Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter fields, with the scattered Terdun people desperately herding cattle and sheep, and carrying belongings as they fled.


    But where could they run to?


    If the fire didn¡¯t kill them, the smoke could suffocate them. Even if they luckily escaped the flames, the winter pastures were left charred and barren.


    Watching the infernal scene he helped create from the hillside, Tang Juan¡¯s face was slightly grave, ¡°Maybe we went too far; even if the Herders have nothing to eat or drink, they¡¯ll come back next year.¡±


    ¡°They would come back even if they had food and drink,¡± Andre replied in a subdued tone, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll skirt the fire and head home.¡±


    ¡­


    Central Iron Peak County, Panto River ford.


    The river at the ford was once again stained red with blood, a strategic location that had again changed hands.


    The Terdun people stationed nearly a hundred armored soldiers to defend the Panto River camp, while Winters personally led four main infantry companies along with the militia auxiliary forces to encircle and annihilate them.


    Compared to the Terdun people¡¯s previous strategy of hit-and-run or fleeing if the battle turned, the defenders at Panto River displayed remarkable resilience.


    The nature of the war, no longer a low-intensity conflict quickly resolved with one decisive strike and disengage, was revealing a far more brutal face.


    ¡°We¡¯ll establish a camp here,¡± Winters switched to a fresh Warhorse, calling Lieutenant Bart Xialing to his side, ¡°I¡¯m giving you two companies and four Hundred-Men Squads. Do not let a single Terdun get away, nor allow one to enter.¡±


    Bart Xialing, with his right arm wounded, saluted awkwardly using his left.


    ¡°The water¡¯s rising!¡± Xial, galloping in, shouted excitedly, ¡°The water¡¯s rising!¡±


    Xial rushed up to Winters and Bart Xialing, panting heavily, ¡°The water has exceeded the second stone pillar!¡±


    Twenty years earlier, when the Panto River was regulated, masons placed five stone pillars downstream from Shizhen, to indicate the water level.


    Once the water surpassed the second pillar, it meant that the gorge paths exposed by the dry water level would be sealed once more by the rising water.


    ¡°Have the fourth company reinforce the horse barriers in the gorge!¡± Winters ordered without hesitation, ¡°Since they¡¯ve gone in, don¡¯t let the Terdun people come back out.¡±


    Xial and Bart Xialing looked at each other, unsure in what form to convey this military order.


    ¡°Xial, you go. Just relay my command,¡± Winters donned his helmet again.


    Xial saluted and rode off.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 808 03-25 - 808 76 Dead End

    ?Chapter 808: Chapter 76: Dead End Chapter 808: Chapter 76: Dead End The river water was rising, and the fish in the Panto River were the first to sense it.


    Due to the viscosity of the fluid and its internal resistance, mere kilometers from the dam, the cresting waves were almost invisible.


    But there was no doubt that the water level of the Panto River was rising¡ªin a very unnoticeable way.


    ¡°Look! Nayen! Look at those fish!¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s eyes widened as things like bubbles kept appearing in the river channel.


    The undercurrent stirred up the silt from the riverbed, forcing the fish that hibernated in the deeper waters during winter to constantly surface for air.


    Lacking landmarks and hydrological data, the Terdon Tribe found it difficult to determine whether the rise in water level was a normal fluctuation or¡­


    ...


    ¡°You¡¯re saying the two-legged beings have built a dam?¡± Tie Chi asked sternly, questioning another one of his subordinates, ¡°Why have none of you discovered it?¡±


    The reproached Hong Lingyu was at a loss for words: ¡°Nayen, the upstream area for hundreds of kilometers has been thoroughly searched by our scouts, but indeed no traces of a dam have been found!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Tie Chi shouted angrily: ¡°Could the rising water be due to the two-legged beings peeing into the river?!¡±


    ¡°Nayen¡­¡± Hong Lingyu licked his lips, struggling to speak: ¡°Since the two-legged beings can build a city overnight, perhaps¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Tie Chi lashed out fiercely with his whip across the man¡¯s face: ¡°Silence!¡±


    Hong Lingyu took a solid blow from the whip, the struck area burning with pain as he knelt on his left knee, not daring to speak any further.


    If the enemy were to be broken by the force of the river water, the dam¡¯s location would naturally be as close to them as possible. However, the closer it was, the more easily the dam could be exposed.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Choosing between the two options, Winters eventually decided to build the dam eighty kilometers upstream to intercept the waters of the Huiqing River.


    At such a distance, by the time the water released from the dam reached the downstream, it came as undercurrents, with no waves in sight.


    Sacrificing impact force in exchange for secrecy and suddenness.


    As a tributary of the Panto River, the Huiqing River flowed to the north of the Panto River.


    In other words, for the Terdon Tribe raiding on the southern bank, the Huiqing River was an ¡°invisible river¡± hidden behind the Panto River.


    The side paths of the narrow valley that once allowed four horses to pass side by side were narrowing to barely allow two.


    If the water level of the Panto River continued to rise, this passage would revert to a narrow path that could only accommodate single-file passage.


    Worse news followed: The two-legged beings had taken the ford, defeated the rear guard stationed at the entrance of the valley, and were building new horse-blocking walls, apparently to completely cut off the Terdon Tribe¡¯s retreat.


    At this point, Tie Chi knew they had fallen into a trap.


    ¡°Build a city overnight? Build a dam overnight?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s face was ashen, his eyes glaring with rage, yet he couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Does the leader of the two-legged beings think I am a dull ox or a stupid donkey? He draws a path for you and me, and we are expected to obediently follow?!¡±


    ¡°Should we have the scouts turn back first?¡± An elder Green Plumed Feathers cautiously requested: ¡°Even a rabbit knows to keep several secret passages. At least take back the valley exit first, secure the escape route, and then push forward?¡±


    ¡°Ha! Is there even time left?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son was uncontrollably furious: ¡°This narrow path is not even as wide as a tripwire! How can our scouts maneuver? The only way now is to mount up on fast horses, charge forward with all our might, and break out from the other end of the valley!¡±


    ¡°Charge forward!¡± Tie Chi straightened his riding crop, his decision allowing no rebuttal: ¡°Go to the ¡®Curving River,¡¯ once at the riverbank, there will be a way!¡±


    ¡°But what if?¡± The elder Green Plumed Feathers was reluctant.


    ¡°What ¡®but if¡¯?¡± Tie Chi glared fiercely, looking straight at him: ¡°I have said, once at the riverbank, there will be a way!¡±


    [Note: The ¡®Curving River¡¯ mentioned by the Terdon Tribe is known as ¡®Big Horn River¡¯ among the Paratu People.]


    Seeing the Great Nayen so determined, the other Terdon chiefs all clasped their chests and agreed.


    ¡­


    Below Iron Peak County, Blackwater Town.


    The change of hands at the ford triggered a chain reaction.


    According to the military orders from the Terdon Tribe¡¯s council, those looting ¡°that river¡± to the south were supposed to act as reinforcements, attacking the north bank in the second wave.


    What the Terdon Tribe called that river was the Panto River; it might have had a name in the past, but as time passed, even the elders of the Terdon Tribe could not remember what that river was actually called, so they simply referred to it as ¡°that river.¡±


    Little did they know that as soon as the main forces crossed the river, the ford was taken over by the two-legged beings again.


    The Terdon raiders who had entered Iron Peak County were split into two groups, unable to make contact with each other, and in the lower Iron Peak County among the Terdon people, rumors started to spread.


    Some leaders were watching and waiting, some wanted to run away. There were also leaders who saw this as an opportunity for glory, urging their people towards ¡°that river.¡±


    Among the large and small leaders, [Blue Horse] and [Stone Arrow] could be said to be the most inconspicuous two.


    For in terms of social status, they were not considered true ¡°nobility,¡± they were enforcers for the nobility.


    In the flattened Herder society, they stood between the nobility and the subjects. Better off than the latter, but still lacking compared to the former.


    Right now, these two inconspicuous Terdon people were doing something they had never thought of before¡ªthey were beheading a ¡°Bald Dog.¡±


    The short knives carried by Herders were normally used for cutting meat, and thus were quite inconvenient for beheading.


    Blue Horse and Stone Arrow fumbled with the task, sawing and prying; the two strong men expended much effort to completely separate the Bald Dog¡¯s head from his body.


    The tent was a mess, with plates and bowls turned over during the struggle, wine and blood splattered everywhere, turning the original clean fur rug muddy.


    Gasping for breath, Blue Horse looked at the head of the Bald Dog and suddenly burst into violent sobs: ¡°You bald cur! Gelding! Why did you force me and others!¡±


    Crying, Blue Horse frenziedly used his knife to slash and stab, pouring out his grief and hatred, destroying the already savage visage of the Bald Dog into a pulpy mess.


    Stone Arrow collapsed on the ground, looking at the crazed Blue Horse, utterly exhausted.


    The two had come to bribe the Bald Dog but ended up in a deadly feud.


    Ever since the Bald Dog had crossed the river, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow had been under close scrutiny.


    The Bald Dog made no secret of his greed to swallow up the forces of Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, causing them trouble at every turn.


    Especially after the Bald Dog¡¯s old camp was raided and burned, getting nothing and losing many assets, he blatantly occupied the campgrounds of Blue Horse and Stone Arrow under the guise of a master.


    Green Horse and Stone Arrow were fully satisfied with their haul and wanted nothing more than to return home quickly.


    The Bald Dog¡¯s attempt to drive the two men to ¡°the river¡± escalated the conflict, and his blatant humiliation of Green Horse while accepting a bribe was the spark that ignited the flames.


    In this internal struggle amongst the Terdun People, the temporary victors were Green Horse and Stone Arrow. After all, Bald Dog was decapitated, while Green Horse and Stone Arrow still had their heads firmly on their shoulders.


    Next, without any surprises, Bald Dog¡¯s Nakors would kill Green Horse and Stone Arrow and then divide the belongings of the three deceased.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± exclaimed an exhausted Stone Arrow suddenly. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Green Horse acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard and continued to hold Bald Dog¡¯s hair with one hand while desperately stabbing at Bald Dog¡¯s face with a knife in the other.


    Bald Dog¡¯s eyes had turned into something resembling bloodstreaked cakes, nauseating to behold.


    Stone Arrow stood up and heavily punched Green Horse: ¡°Stop losing your mind!¡±


    Green Horse fell hard into the blood-soaked ground, his normally fierce triangular eyes brimming with despair: ¡°Why did he have to push me! Why¡­¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± Stone Arrow bared his teeth and kicked his companion fiercely: ¡°Don¡¯t alert Bald Dog¡¯s personal guards!¡±


    ¡°Bald Dog¡¯s personal guards?¡± Green Horse¡¯s eyes suddenly turned fierce, grasping at the last straw, ¡°Kill! Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Have you gotten drunk on mare¡¯s milk? Just the two of us, how can we possibly take them on?!¡±


    Green Horse sprung up, intent on heading out: ¡°Kill them one by one!¡±


    ¡°And what then after killing them?¡± Stone Arrow pushed his companion forcefully: ¡°Can you and I escape?¡±


    ¡°Say it was the Two-Legs who killed them!¡±


    ¡°Who would that deceive?¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡± Green Horse cried hysterically: ¡°Then tell me, what do you propose we do?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Stone Arrow forcefully held down Green Horse, biting his teeth: ¡°We must run! Only by fleeing do we stand a chance to live.¡±


    ¡°How can we possibly escape?¡± near breakdown, asked Green Horse.


    ¡°Just the two of us!¡± Stone Arrow racked his brain, planning: ¡°Apart from horses and provisions, take no other goods. Run day and night! If we make it back to the grasslands, we can live!¡±


    ¡°Even if we run back to the grasslands, there¡¯s nowhere for us to go!¡± Green Horse lamented: ¡°The fire tenders won¡¯t spare us!¡±


    Green Horse violently grabbed Stone Arrow, trembling in his shoulders: ¡°Let¡¯s surrender! To the Two-Legs! Better to be slaves or to be riders, the Two-Legs will give us a chance to live.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish!¡± Stone Arrow¡¯s mood gradually cooled: ¡°The Two-Legs won¡¯t give us a way out.¡±


    ¡°We could be picked on poles for a thousand arrows to shoot us to death, or be stuffed in hides for ten thousand horses to trample us to death¡­¡± Green Horse looked at the knife in his hand: ¡°Better to end it quickly ourselves.¡±


    ¡°The Terdun Tribe can no longer accommodate us, and a lone horse cannot survive.¡± Stone Arrow had made up his mind, clutching his companion¡¯s shoulders fiercely: ¡°Red River Tribe! White Lion! Let¡¯s go to White Lion!¡±


    Green Horse¡¯s body went stiff, shock rendering him speechless.


    Somewhat later, the flames consumed the camp, and the remaining Terdun People were too busy salvaging their goods and livestock to notice that Stone Arrow and Green Horse had fled.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, within Niutigu Valley, on the East Bank dam of Panto River.


    Enclosed by hopelessness, Stone Arrow and Green Horse abandoned everything for a slim chance of life.


    And at that moment, Tie Chi could not even see that slim chance of life.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find a way at the riverbank,¡± were Tie Chi¡¯s original words.


    The south of the Terdun People bordered the river, the North was the valley, beyond that the forests, and to the East, their escape route was already blocked.


    Because of Tie Chi¡¯s assurance, the chieftains of the Terdun Tribe suppressed their disquiet and fear, leading their people westward along the river valley.


    The further west they went, the closer they got to the confluence of the Panto River and Big Horn River, the lower the riverbanks on both sides became, gradually enough to climb.


    Tie Chi sent swift riders lightly up the mountains to scout for enemies in the North, while he urged his people to rush westward.


    However, upon reaching the riverbank, Tie Chi had no plan¡ªfor across the waters, a flotilla patrolled back and forth.


    The Terdun People had no boats, only rafts.


    Whose small oared boats were on the river was clear without saying.


    Tie Chi could feel the piercing stares stabbing into his back.


    ¡°A way?¡± Each Terdun chieftain asked with their eyes: ¡°Where is the way?¡±


    ¡­


    Niutigu Valley, the third line of defense.


    Tamas received a letter¡ªa letter sent by the Terdun People.


    The letter was written with charcoal on sheepskin.


    ¡°What¡¯s it written?¡± Tamas handed the letter to the captain of the fifth company, Lannis; he was illiterate: ¡°Looks to me like Common Tongue.¡±


    Lannis took the sheepskin, glanced over it briefly, and raised his eyebrows slightly: ¡°It¡¯s indeed the Common Tongue¡­ There might be¡­ one of our own amongst the barbarians.¡±


    Because of an arrow wound, Tamas¡¯s shoulder was swollen high, and lifting his arm was a struggle. He asked wearily: ¡°What does it say?¡±


    Lannis calmly rolled up the sheepskin: ¡°The Barbarian Chief requests to surrender.


    The letter was immediately sent to Winters and quickly returned.


    No reply was written, only one more word added to the sheepskin:


    ¡°Denied.¡±

 Chapter 809 03-25 - 809 77 Cornered Beast

    ?Chapter 809: Chapter 77 Cornered Beast Chapter 809: Chapter 77 Cornered Beast Bard, who had rushed from the refugee camp to the front line, came to see Winters first, ¡°The people of Terdun want to surrender?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters, hunched over a map, and sketching, took a sheepskin bag with his left hand and handed it to Bard without lifting his head, ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed.¡±


    Comrades in arms didn¡¯t need pleasantries or formalities.


    Bard took the sheepskin bag, took a sip of clear water, and quietly waited for Winters to continue.


    Winters tossed aside his charcoal pencil and called over a runner to take the map away.


    With no one else in the temporary command post, he didn¡¯t need to hide his weariness any longer.


    He walked over to the bucket in the corner of the tent and washed his face vigorously with cold water, ¡°The Herders claim they¡¯re willing to return all the plunder and offer up three thousand warhorses, calling for an end to hostilities¡ªretaining their weapons, flags, a dignified surrender. Humph, now the Herders are playing this game, too!¡±


    ...


    The temporary command post was located on a high ground that overlooked the southeast direction, from which one could see the third line of defense, as well as the forests farther away.


    Messengers would occasionally come galloping in, reporting to Winters verbally and then hurriedly leaving with a reply.


    ¡°The people of Terdun aren¡¯t making any movements?¡± Bard studied the map, assessing the situation of the two armies.


    Winters shook his head slightly, a frown involuntarily forming, ¡°No movements¡­ so I¡¯m somewhat baffled as to what that baboon-faced is up to.¡± Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the moment, Terdun¡¯s right wing had been segmented into three parts:


    One part was on the West Bank of the Big Horn River, having been repelled in the previous battles;


    One part was on the south bank of the Panto River, that is in the Lower Iron Peak County;


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The elite of the Khan¡¯s tent were trapped in the space formed by the Big Horn River, the Panto River, and the encirclement of the third defensive line.


    The situation was very favorable for the Iron Peak County Military, as long as they could annihilate the elite of the Khan¡¯s tent, the rest of the disorganized rabble would collapse without a fight.


    ¡°Even a trapped rabbit will struggle desperately before dying. Baboon-face is cornered and yet he is asking to surrender and showing weakness,¡± Winters voiced his doubts to Bard, ¡°Assuming baboon-face was in my position, do you think he would accept the terms he is offering?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Bard followed up on Winters¡¯s train of thought, helping him to clarify his mind.


    ¡°Which means,¡± Winters toyed unconsciously with a small knife, ¡°baboon-face is attempting something he knows won¡¯t succeed.¡±


    Bard pondered briefly, ¡°Herders have another purpose?¡±


    ¡°Indeed so.¡±


    ¡°Buying time?¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Winters evaporated a few droplets of water on the table as a stimulus to his mind, ¡°The longer time drags on, the higher the walls, the deeper the trenches, the more formidable the defensive line that the people of Terdun will face.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they want to feign weakness to lull us first, then gather all their strength to break through our defensive line.¡±


    ¡°But from what I can see, with the people of Terdun¡¯s cavalry advantage, they should opt for a swift attack rather than wait until our wall and trench system is fully established to strike¡­¡±


    His voice abruptly stopped, and Winters fell silent.


    After a moment, he spoke softly, ¡°Or, the people of Terdun are waiting for reinforcements, inside and out, to annihilate us here.¡±


    Bard didn¡¯t chime in, knowing this was not the time to interrupt Winters.


    Winters sank into deep thought, his hands propped on the table, intently staring at the map, ¡°Reinforcements¡­ reinforcements¡­ If Terdun had reinforcements, where would they come from? The West Bank? The South? The North?¡±


    Bard sighed, patting Winters¡¯s shoulder.


    Winters came back to his senses, looking blankly at his friend.


    ¡°How long have you been without sleep?¡± Bard asked.


    ¡°One day? Two days?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes were full of blood vessels, ¡°I¡¯ve dozed off a few times, I can¡¯t quite remember.¡±


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Bard¡¯s expression grew more stern, ¡°The second precept, [When the commander is utterly exhausted, at the end of his tether¡­]¡±


    For the first time, a smile appeared on Winters¡¯s face, responding to the password-like sequel, ¡°[¡­he will overlook truly important matters.]¡±


    ¡°Go to sleep,¡± Bard handed a greatcoat to Winters, ¡°I¡¯ll watch over this place.¡±


    Winters was about to say something but thought better of it and wrapped himself in the greatcoat heading to the inner part of the tent.


    He made up his mind, ¡°Anyway, respond to every change with unchanging principles. No matter what tricks the people of Terdun are up to, as long as we tighten our grip, we¡¯ll force them out!¡±


    Bard watched Winters¡¯s retreating back, then looked around the command post, his eyes somewhat complex.


    There were only four tents in this command post, which could be described as extremely simple. But at this moment, its issued orders were directing the movements of tens of thousands, and its decisions were critical to the life and death of Iron Peak County.


    To put it bluntly, these four tents were the brain and core of the Iron Peak County Military.


    Yet it faced a severe shortage of personnel: the literate clerks could be counted on two hands, and as for trained professional soldiers besides Winters and Bard, there were none.


    The reason why the Iron Peak County Military was still functioning normally and hadn¡¯t fallen into total chaos was entirely because everything was stored in Winters¡¯s mind, calculating with his mental capacity.


    ¡°This can¡¯t go on,¡± Bard suddenly spoke, ¡°You need assistants.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you here now?¡± Winters unfurled a camp cot and replied leisurely.


    ¡°Many assistants, lots and lots of them.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters lay down heavily and quickly fell asleep.


    Meanwhile, Bard picked up the paper and pen, beginning to compose a list from memory.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, at the third line of defense.


    Four sturdy farmers operated a pile driver.


    The men shouted rhythmically as they cranked the lever, drenched in sweat despite the cold winter air.


    Wrapped around the axle of the turning wheel was a thick rope, the other end of which was tied to a large stone. As the wheel tightened the rope, the stone was slowly hoisted up.


    After the stone was lifted a certain distance, the farmers smashed the trigger.


    The stone plummeted down fiercely, striking heavily upon the wooden stake.


    This process repeated over and over, and it only took six or seven tries to drive a four-meter-long log into the ground, leaving around two meters of stake exposed above the surface.


    Once the stake was in place, the farmers no longer paid it any attention.


    Other farmers moved to the side of the pile driver, where, working together in teams of about ten, they moved the crude piece of machinery two steps over.


    Then another group of farmers took over, beginning to drive in another stake.


    To the southwest, behind a hillside, Tie Chi was watching the primitive but efficient machinery in the distance, his face turning green.


    Where his gaze landed, at least eight pile drivers were working simultaneously.


    One after another, stakes were driven into the ground, creating a continuous ¡°stake wall¡± in the valley with a gap of about two steps between each one.


    Bard¡¯s arrival provided Winters with a brief respite, while at the same time, Tie Chi led his personal guard through the forest to get close and scout out the enemy.


    From a distance of three hundred paces, Tie Chi could finally see clearly how the other side had ¡°built a city overnight¡±:


    First, they would drive in wooden stakes, then fit something like wicker baskets over them;


    They would dig earth in front of the stakes, filling the baskets with it;


    Once a basket was filled with earth, another new basket would be placed on top;


    Like skewering meat onto a stick, the stakes were fitted with six baskets; the first four baskets were fitted before being filled with earth, and the last two were filled with earth before being placed;


    The large gaps between the wooden stakes were filled with earth-laden wicker baskets, and then two-legged men covered the outer surface of the wall with loose soil, seamlessly integrating it so that the inner intricacies were indistinguishable;


    Finally, the earthen wall was completed, and the pits dug for earth also became moats.


    ¡°Do you understand?¡± Tie Chi asked his son through gritted teeth.


    ¡°I understand. The wooden stakes are the spine, the wicker baskets are the ribs, the earth is the flesh and skin,¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son replied, licking his lips. ¡°To take down this wall, you can only drag down the stakes. If the stakes fall, the wall will fall with them.¡±


    ¡°How can you drag them down when the stakes are at least three steps deep into the ground?¡± Tie Chi glared.


    Tie Chi¡¯s son also widened his eyes, mirroring his father¡¯s expression: ¡°If one horse can¡¯t pull it down, use two; if two can¡¯t, use four.¡±


    Tie Chi looked at his son and heaved a bitter sigh. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the two-legged people are just waiting for us to do exactly that.¡±


    ¡­


    The materials for wall construction are nothing more than earth, wood, and stone.


    For something to last for ages, stone is the best material, such as lime mortar or volcanic ash mortar.


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t looking to build a cathedral; he needed to construct field fortifications, and speed was the key. His choices were narrowed down to earth and wood.


    Building a wall from wood is the simplest method: drive logs into the ground, one tight against the next, and you¡¯ve got a wall.


    However, this method requires hundreds of thousands of logs, which Winters did not have. His only choice left was earth.


    The problem with earth is that it¡¯s not sturdy and can slide.


    If you just pile up the earth, it will naturally form a slope. This is why there¡¯s a saying, ¡°a six-foot wall corner and an eight-foot moat, the proper wall should be seven feet tall.¡±


    If the slope is too great, it loses its purpose as an impediment to warhorses. Therefore, the most crucial technique in earth wall construction throughout history has been ¡°bundling earth.¡±


    Tamping earth is one method, but it¡¯s still not quick enough.


    Using sheepskin bags or hemp cloth bags to carry earth and build the wall would be ideal, but Winters lacked both sheepskin bags and hemp cloth bags.


    Without any resources, one must make do with a simple solution, adapting to the materials at hand.


    After much thought, Winters blazed his own trail, improving upon the construction methods Colonel Volbon used on Red Sulfur Island for building galleries.


    Red Sulfur Island¡¯s galleries were ¡°earth bound with cages,¡± while Winters used ¡°earth bound with baskets.¡±


    Because the structural strength of baskets was not as great as cages, and because baskets could not be stacked as neatly as cages,


    Winters added an extra wooden stake as the ¡°mainstay¡± to the basket structure, both to increase the wall¡¯s strength and to firmly secure the earth baskets.


    Such a ¡°wall,¡± though perhaps a challenge to withstand cannon fire, would have no issue stopping warhorses.


    Compared to a regular earth wall, using baskets to bind the earth allowed for a steeper wall to be built, ensuring that warhorses couldn¡¯t even find a place to get a foothold. Moreover, the method wasn¡¯t picky about materials; even mushy mud and broken stones could be used.


    The construction efficiency was slower than using sheepskin bags or hemp cloth bags, but it was much faster than methods like tamping earth or using mortar.


    ¡­


    While Tie Chi was sighing over the wall, on the other side, Winters suddenly awoke from a deep sleep.


    Winters sat up abruptly, his gaze fixed on the tent¡¯s canvas, motionless.


    Bard, hearing the noise, entered the inner tent. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I dreamt of something terrifying,¡± Winters replied.


    Bard was shocked to see Winters¡¯ forehead covered in cold sweat.


    Winters threw off his coat, leaped to his feet, and bellowed outside the tent, ¡°Get me a horse! Gather all the company commanders!¡±


    The small command post was thrown into chaos.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Bard, normally composed, was also taken aback by Winters¡¯ appearance.


    ¡°I think I know what the people of Terdun are planning to do.¡± Winters clenched Bard¡¯s arm tightly. ¡°We can¡¯t delay any longer! We must act fast!¡±

 Chapter 810 03-25 - 810 78 The Dagger Appears

    ?Chapter 810: Chapter 78: The Dagger Appears Chapter 810: Chapter 78: The Dagger Appears The west wind swept through with scorching, poisonous smoke, engulfing the land as terrifying explosions erupted one after another.


    Wildfires spread from the riverbanks inland, roaring flames consuming dry leaves, bushes, and pine and cypress trees until they converged into a sea of flames floating above the canopy.


    No matter what plans the people of Terdun had, those who were trapped did not choose to break out immediately.


    Winters also did not rashly launch a general assault, and the battlefield thus fell into an unsettling silence.


    The silence was broken by a fire, a massive blaze from the surface of the water¡ªSamujin¡¯s fleet, taking advantage of the night, landed and set the forest ablaze, igniting multiple areas along the coastline in one go.


    The execution of a scorched earth policy had destroyed most of the trees along the coast, all except for this patch of forest at the confluence of the two rivers, left deliberately for a surprising effect during a general assault.


    The fire took advantage of the wind, and the wind fueled the fire, quickly connecting the scattered burning areas into one line, illuminating the ten-mile riverbank with a blood-red glow.


    ...


    The camp of Tie Chi was thrown into chaos, the fire not yet reaching there, but the fierce wind already brought with it scorching heatwaves.


    The panicked birds and beasts, terrified out of their wits, fled in droves, even rushing heedlessly into the crowds of people.


    A slave near the forest only heard hooves from behind and before he could see clearly what it was, he was knocked down by a fully-grown stag.


    The stag broke its neck and died on the spot; the unarmored slave too was penetrated by the twelve prongs of the stag¡¯s antlers and quick with his blood flowing out, he soon stopped breathing.


    But at this moment, no one cared about the life and death of a stag and a slave.


    The people of Terdun in the camp were cursing, shouting, and running around, trying to save their belongings and their lives.


    ¡°Prepare the saddles! Quick, prepare the saddles!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    ¡°Take everything!¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no waiting! Move the horses! Move the horses!¡±


    The people were in a panic, and the horses were even more restless. Horses¡¯ senses are far sharper than humans¡¯; they had already smelled the peculiar scent in the wind long ago.


    A warhorse, without any warning, threw off its rider, kicking and thrashing about, while the people of Terdun around it rolled and scrambled to dodge.


    ¡°Catch it! Catch it!¡±


    ¡°Damn beast!¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Amidst the chaos, another Terdun person shouted, ¡°The horses are spooked!¡±


    Another panic-stricken warhorse charged forward, striking a slave who failed to dodge in time, sending him flying out with blood spewing from his mouth.


    The spooked horse also received a great deal of recoil and, neighing loudly, reared up on its hind legs.


    Right at that moment, two lassos, one from the front and one from behind, snared the frightened horse and stopped it in its tracks.


    A man with salt-and-pepper hair and a robust frame pounced forward, wrapping his arms around the frightened horse¡¯s neck, trapping it under his armpit.


    The robust man exerted his whole body, pressing down the horse¡¯s head while pushing heavily against its side.


    Because of their joint structure, horses can resist vertical but not sideways pressure, so the struggle between man and beast lasted less than a few breaths.


    Followed by a thunderous roar, the Terdun strongman ¡°threw¡± the frightened horse to the ground.


    The panicked warhorse wailed as it fell, kicking and flailing about.


    The strongman stubbornly pressed down on the horse¡¯s neck, neither allowing it to get up nor giving it a chance to bite someone.


    The rest of the Terdun people swarmed over, tying up the frightened horse¡¯s legs clumsily with many hands, controlling the crazed animal. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the crowd recognized the strongman who displayed such mastery in handling horses, they couldn¡¯t help but cheer; it was none other than Tie Chi.


    Tie Chi propped himself up with both hands, struggling to lift his hefty body as if to silently say, ¡°What is this? I¡¯ve handled much worse than this when I was young.¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s personal guard¡ªwho had just thrown the lasso that caught the frightened horse¡ªran over to support him, speaking in a gruff voice, ¡°Nayen¡¯s strength remains as strong as in his prime.¡±


    Tie Chi spat out a mouthful of saliva fiercely, ¡°Save the flattering for later; did the people sent to find the other leaders come back?¡±


    The personal guard shook his head.


    ¡°Father! Kota¡ªthey refuse to join us!¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son shouted as he sprinted over, ¡°We must go now! Father!¡±


    Although the camp of Terdun people was located on higher ground, the forest obscured their direct view of the fire.


    The night sky was already burned red, and the choking smoke grew thicker¡ªclearly, the fire was approaching rapidly while they spoke.


    And Tie Chi¡¯s troops were still rushing about, either salvaging wealth or rounding up the warhorses.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to gather them.¡± Tie Chi, fierce, commanded firmly, ¡°Take only the bows, arrows, armor, and provisions! Leave everything else! Come with me quickly to escape the fire!¡±


    The Terdun people were dispersed and camped by family units; in this moment, the only ones Tie Chi could control were his immediate followers.


    Tie Chi¡¯s son first froze, then rushed into the camp, striking at the clansmen rolling up their valuables, ¡°Leave it all!¡±


    ¡­


    Behind the third line of defense, on a hill, Winters and others from the command post were watching the fire.


    The fire was better than he had hoped; seems like Samujin had completed his task beautifully.


    The fire sea, like semi-transparent red mist floating above the canopy, twisted with smoke and flame surging into the sky, as if a light veil fluttering in the wind.


    Thunderous explosions followed one after another, mixed with the occasional screams of those being burned alive.


    The hellish scene caused the civilian-born clerks in the command post to show looks of pity, some turned away not to look, others covered their ears not wanting to hear.


    Winters, having experienced several fire attacks, knew well that being burnt to death was only a small part; most victims died of smoke inhalation¡ªrunning and then collapsing, never to rise again.


    His command post had just undergone a reorganization, incorporating a group of administrative personnel who had originally belonged to Bard.


    These literate and numerate clerks freed Winters from part of the mechanical labor, at least he no longer needed to write every command and memorandum by hand, verbal orders sufficed.

 Chapter 811 03-25 - 811 78 Dagger Appears_2

    ?Chapter 811: Chapter 78: Dagger Appears_2 Chapter 811: Chapter 78: Dagger Appears_2 This made it possible for Winters to concentrate his energy on more crucial matters.


    Bard gazed at the fiercely burning forest, his face showing worry, as he murmured to himself, ¡°We¡¯ve cornered the Terdon Tribe; they¡¯re going to fight desperately.¡±


    Winters pursed his lips and remained silent.


    According to the original battle plan, the fire was to be the signal for the general attack, which should at least have waited until the third and even the fourth line of defense was fully constructed.


    By that time, even if the Terdon Tribe wanted to fight to the death, the troops from Iron Peak County could rely on their fortifications and fortresses to block the enemy, exhausting their vigor.


    If possible, it was even better to delay the Terdon people as long as possible until they were weary and their horses tired.


    But now the cage was not yet secure, and the fierce beast had been startled, leaving the people of Iron Peak County facing a bloody battle, perhaps even a failure to achieve their goals.


    ...


    ¡°If my conjecture is not wrong,¡± Winters clenched his fists tightly, a statuette of a shield-bearing goddess in his palm, ¡°the Terdon tribe¡¯s counterattack won¡¯t be as strong as previously expected¡ªI really hope I am wrong.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about whether you¡¯re right or wrong,¡± Bard said to Winters. ¡°To avoid greater risk, this is a risk that needs to be taken.¡±


    Winters¡¯ warhorse lowered its head, snorting loudly, and continually pawing at the ground. Perhaps it scented the pungent smoke, or perhaps it sensed its master¡¯s anxious mood.


    Leaving Bard in command of headquarters, Winters led Xial and Heinrich down from the hill, galloping along the battle line.


    In the original battle plan, the third line of defense was not just a ¡°wall.¡±


    Walls and trenches formed the basis of all defenses, and on this base could be built bastions, arrow towers, breastworks. With each day¡¯s preparation, this defense line would become stronger, increasing Winters¡¯ confidence.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Winters asked himself; he did not know.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    But he could not let this emotion show, because the soldiers, militiamen, and even women guarding various valleys, narrow passes, and chokepoints placed all their hope in him.


    As the formidable Herdman gradually got trapped in this constrained area, the people of Iron Peak County developed a fervent admiration for Winters.


    Since very few people had seen Winters in person, their fervent adoration shifted to his red flag.


    As Winters rode along the battle line, men and women who saw the red flag passing through the night cheered excitedly, as if its mere sighting signified victory.


    Such enthusiasm could be harmful to some extent¡ªWinters realized this calmly.


    However, he could not only not suppress this fervor, but he had to strive to maintain it.


    In a battle, what was contested was not just armor and stamina, but also courage and will.


    If an army believed they would undoubtedly win, it meant they could endure greater casualties, withstand more pain, persist longer, which meant they could indeed achieve victory.


    Winters had never learned how to be a general; did the old Field Marshal feel the same perplexity when faced with the roar of thousands of troops? He did not know.


    Did the famous generals shining in history books accept such enthusiastic emotions calmly, even naturally considering themselves divinely chosen?


    Or did they feel uneasy, always reminding themselves that ¡°all men must die¡±?


    Growing up, Winters¡¯ role model had been his adoptive father. He looked to Antonio Serviati¡¯s retreating figure, groping his way here in the absence of guidance. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But only when he was about to truly touch his adoptive father¡¯s shadow did he realize that he knew nothing of his adoptive father¡¯s inner world.


    Had Antonio never been confused, or did he simply not show it? Winters did not know; he had never discussed these matters with his adoptive father.


    He longed for Antonio¡¯s guidance, but with thousands of miles between them, he could only emulate Antonio:


    Concealing emotions, silently accepting cheers and salutations, returning them in silence, revealing nothing.


    ¡­


    The fire continued until dawn and had not yet burned out when the Terdon people launched their attack.


    Suddenly, the entire line was in distress, messengers seeking assistance came as frequently as hail, as if every platoon and every defensive line was under full-force attack by the elite of the Terdon Tribe tents.


    This was clearly a specialty of the Herders: to feint or simply divide forces, stretching the defenders¡¯ manpower; as soon as defenders showed a weakness, the dispersed Herder cavalry would regroup and strike forcefully at one point.


    This time, the Terdon people were no longer half-hearted; they had been driven to desperation;


    The people of Iron Peak County were also aware that victory or defeat was at this moment, everyone in Shizhen and Niutigu Valley was mobilized including women and children who were also transporting dirt and stone on the battlefield, collecting arrows, or even wielding weapons themselves.


    Terdon men hung with soot raised crude siege ladders, siege hammers, and broad shields¡ªstaying put did not mean they were idle.


    However, hastily made siege engines were few in number, and more than half had been destroyed by the great fire.


    Thus, most Terdon people still employed the old tactics: shield-bearers advanced on foot, archers dismounted to cover, while others dug and filled trenches or tore down walls, with small groups of cavalry navigating difficult terrain for flanking maneuvers.


    The first and twelfth platoons, stationed on the main road, faced repeated charges by at least four Terdon hundreds squads.


    The Herders might be barbaric, but they were not merely instinct-driven beasts.

 Chapter 812 03-25 - 812 78 Dagger Revealed_3

    ?Chapter 812: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_3 Chapter 812: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_3 The Terdun people, having been frustrated in their assault on the second defensive line, had specifically crafted siege ladders targeting the weakness of the Shield wall¡ªthe low wall height.


    Dozens of Terdun warriors arranged themselves into a shield wall formation, laboriously carrying large shields that could block arrows as they slowly advanced toward the trench.


    Bows and arrows couldn¡¯t penetrate the wooden shields, and even lead shot would get stuck in the wood. Lacking the angled structures of the Bastion, the defenders of the Shield wall could only watch helplessly as the shield wall formation drew nearer to the trench. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When the advance reached within five steps of the trench, the sides of the shield wall formation opened up, and two teams of Terdun warriors, lifting the siege ladders and shouting, charged toward the Shield wall.


    Other Terdun people used the large shields as cover to shoot arrows at the defenders.


    The Shield wall was only two meters high, and the siege ladders easily rested against the wall top, even bridging the trench in one stride.


    The soldiers defending the Shield wall, armed with battle-axes and pushing poles, tried desperately to chop down or topple the siege ladders.


    ...


    The instant the shield wall formation opened, Tamas, commanding despite an injured arm and a high fever, shouted orders: ¡°Throw!¡±


    The grenadiers, having waited for a long time, first lit the fuses, then stuffed the lit end into grenades, and hurled them fiercely at the Terdun people¡¯s shields.


    Winters had always used ¡°insert the fuse first, then light it¡± for grenades. Elite soldiers who had undergone extensive training probably wouldn¡¯t have any issues with this method.


    However, when grenades were distributed to the militia, the tactic of ¡°insert the fuse first, then light it¡± caused a series of accidents.


    Some militiamen, in their panic, even threw grenades that hadn¡¯t been lit, which were picked up by Terdun people and thrown back onto the heads of the Iron Peak County people.


    After a costly lesson in blood, the grenadiers completely changed their throwing procedure to ¡°light the fuse first, then insert it.¡±


    Hissing grenades flew toward the shield wall formation.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    One grenade hit a shield and rolled, gurgling, into the trench;


    A lucky grenade flew through the gaps between the shields into the crowd;


    More grenades were not thrown directly at the shields but targeted the recently opened, unprotected flanks of the shield wall formation.


    The Terdun people didn¡¯t hesitate, either stepping on the fuses or chopping at them with knives, quickly extinguishing them.


    The bipeds¡¯ firepower is formidable¡ªthe Terdun people already had a clear understanding of this.


    Especially the ¡°black thunder¡± just thrown, which exploded like a roar of thunder, ¡°shattering men and horses alike¡±; they had suffered many losses during the assault on the second defensive line.


    As the people of Iron Peak County paid tuition in blood, the Terdun people were also learning at the cost of lives, both sides forced by war to rapidly advance in the craft of killing each other.


    Tamas saw it clearly, some Terdun people even carried water bags, immediately dousing any incoming grenades with water, causing the grenades to fail to explode.


    Tamas, pounding his thigh furiously, bellowed orders: ¡°Cut the fuses in half! Wait for my command to throw!¡±


    Just then, a sudden commotion erupted from the shield wall formation, and Terdun people started jumping out as if running for their lives.


    The lucky grenade that had flown into the shield formation would have met the same fate of being extinguished, if not for a dark-faced Terdun warrior who acted quickly, drawing a knife and slashing at the powder cord.


    However, it was too crowded inside the shield wall, and the knife¡¯s tassel was accidentally snagged by someone else¡¯s belt.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior yanked his knife hard, but the powder cord had almost burned up in the blink of an eye¡ªit was too late.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior recoiled in terror, shouting, ¡°Herde Language: Black thunder! Black thunder!¡±


    When the other Terdun warriors heard these words, they let out the agonized cries of mortally wounded beasts, shrinking their necks, abandoning their large shields, and fleeing heedlessly into the distance.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior watched in despair as the fuse continued to burn into the ¡°black thunder.¡± After a brief moment of delay, the black thunder exploded under his gaze.


    A large shield was blown away by the blast wave, and within two meters of the explosion¡¯s epicenter, it was a bloody mess.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior had both legs blown off, and his breastplate revealed several dents. Coughing up blood, he couldn¡¯t even make a sound, only whimpering intermittently.


    Several more ¡°black thunders¡± were thrown in, and the dark-faced Terdun warrior, thinking of the faces of his mother and son, closed his eyes.


    Of course, Tamas wouldn¡¯t miss such an opportunity; he yelled hoarsely, ¡°Fire! Arrows! Hit them hard!¡±


    More grenades, lead shot, and arrows flew into the shield formation from the breach, stirring up the bloody debris.


    The Terdun people¡¯s first assault was repelled, and immediately their commander sent out another hundred-man team with more large shields and siege ladders for a second assault.


    After being vigorously repelled a second time, the Terdun people sent in the third hundred-man team, and then the fourth.


    During the fifth assault, the Terdun people committed all their forces.


    In the previous four attacks, they had already climbed over the Shield wall, turning the fight into close-quarters combat.


    It was Tamas who eventually opened a secret gate, leading a cavalry charge from behind the Shield wall, sweeping from the flank and cutting off the enemies outside the wall that drove back the Terdun people.


    Facing the fifth assault, Tamas was already prepared to retreat to the next line of defense.


    However, the Terdun people retreated.


    At the same time, three kilometers to the north of Tamas¡¯s Fortress, another valley passable by a large army.


    The son of Tie Chi, his armor stained with blood, was directing his troops to dismantle the Shield wall.


    The Terdun people advanced and retreated three times, not waiting for a fourth assault before the defending Paratu People abandoned their positions, retreating along the valley.


    Tie Chi was growing older and fatter, no longer able to take to the field.

 Chapter 813 03-25 - 813 78 Dagger Appears_4

    ?Chapter 813: Chapter 78 Dagger Appears_4 Chapter 813: Chapter 78 Dagger Appears_4 He inspected each body of the Paratu People on the battleground and did not find any that had fatal wounds on their back.


    ¡°Tough bones,¡± Tie Chi called to his son, half in admiration, half gravely, ¡°Tough bones.¡±


    ¡°My Nakor all broke in two,¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son spat out a mouthful of filthy blood. ¡°That firemaker, this castrated pig! All our young men are being worn away! I think he had this in mind from the start!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Tie Chi reprimanded. ¡°He is your Khan King, and he is also your clan and kin; it¡¯s your duty to take care of him.¡±


    After the bloody battle, Tie Chi¡¯s son felt his temper rising uncontrollably, ¡°What a worthless Khan King! You are the youngest son of our grandfather; by all rights, you should be the one to ascend as the Khan!¡±


    Instantly, Tie Chi raised his riding crop and harshly struck his son. However, seeing his only son¡¯s face covered in gunpowder and blood, he couldn¡¯t bear to hit him again.


    ¡°Do not speak of this ever again, or even I won¡¯t be able to protect you!¡± Tie Chi scolded with a cold face.


    ... S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    First, find wooden posts, then use several horses to wrap around and pull them down.


    Once the posts fell, the baskets and earth fixed to them tumbled down together.


    Using this method, Tie Chi¡¯s troops dismantled a large section of the horse barricades, allowing the valley to again accommodate large troop movements.


    At the same time, warriors from other parts of the Terdun Tribe also gathered together rapidly.


    In this desperate breakout, the Terdun Tribe didn¡¯t fake any attacks, they assaulted with full force, hitting hard wherever they broke through.


    Besides warhorses, weapons, and provisions they carried, they now had nothing else.


    This was when the Herders¡¯ combat power was at its strongest, as they had no material wealth to encumber them and were solely focused on survival.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    After most of Kota¡¯s troops had assembled, Tie Chi didn¡¯t wait for the last few men; he led the Terdun cavalry forwards.


    Breaking through this blockade, the Terdun Cavalry would then be able to gallop freely across the lands of Iron Peak County¡ª unstoppable, unblockable.


    But the deeper they pushed forward, the more uneasy Tie Chi felt.


    The valley was eerily silent, not even the chirping of birds could be heard. The wind carried a chill, and the mountainsides grew steeper, reeking of death traps ahead.


    Tie Chi urgently summoned the leader of the vanguard light cavalry. However, before Kota arrived, the first cannon shot fired from both sides of the slope.


    A red flag was raised at the top of the valley.


    Then came a battle cry well known and spine-chilling to the Herders, ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    Dozens of blazing fireballs rolled down from the slopes, gaining speed, and with unstoppable quickness, smashed into the Terdun line.


    These ¡°fireballs¡± were spherical cages made of branches, filled with dried grass, resin, and lamp oil; they couldn¡¯t explode, and their killing power was limited. However, they effectively severed the Terdun troops.


    The Terdun tribe, marching along the valley shaped like a long snake, was instantly segmented by the roaring fireballs.


    Seeing the bad turn of events, the trailing Terdun leader didn¡¯t hesitate to turn and flee.


    ¡°Rotten flesh! Our retreat has been cut off!¡± Tie Chi furiously cursed. He frantically whipped his riding crop, shouting orders to his panicked troops: ¡°Forward charge! Forward charge! Kill! The gods are watching us!¡±


    ¡°Fire oxen!¡± a Terdun warrior suddenly shouted in panic, ¡°Fire oxen!¡±


    Tie Chi looked in the direction of the shout, and what charged down the slope next was hundreds of burning, frenzied oxen.


    The stampeding power of the fire oxen was not inferior to that of warhorses, even fiercer, as the maddened oxen would not stop for spears.


    The Terdun people had the courage to fight a decisive battle against the Paratu People, but no one dared stand in front of a rampaging bull.


    The herd of oxen trampled the ground, their hooves thundering, and the Terdun warriors scattered in all directions.


    Tie Chi wanted to fight to the death, but could not find an opponent to clash with.


    Winters watched the tragic scene in the valley with a stern gaze, waiting for the opportunity¡ªgoing down now would risk getting accidentally trampled by the frenzied oxen.


    The military books say to surround on three sides and leave one side open to prevent the enemy from fighting desperately.


    However, Winters chose to reverse this adage. In his view, rather than spreading his limited military forces thinly across the front like sprinkling salt, it would be better to intentionally give the Terdun people a way out and then strike them hard using the terrain.


    It was from the Herders that he learned to use fire oxen and fire horses as tactics.


    Who else but the Herders could bear to use valuable horses and draft oxen as expendable items?


    Previously, he avoided this tactic because it was highly unstable.


    The Terdun people had once used fire horses in a charge. Facing a well-organized, heavily armed square formation, the fire horses had been ineffective.


    Frightened animals cannot be predicted, and no one knew whether the next moment a frenzied fire ox might turn around and charge back at their own ranks.


    But using fire oxen in a charge was no longer a concern here in ¡°a gorge flanked by two mountains,¡± since the fire oxen would instinctively rush downward along the slope.


    And the more the targets ran, the more the oxen chased them; the panicked and scattering Terdun people were their primary targets.


    Seeing the dispersed Terdun warriors, Winters nodded, and Xial, understanding the cue, removed his horn.


    The sharp sound of the charge echoed in the valley. Under the red flag, the militia, positioned on the reverse slope, shouted together, picked up their spears and Stinger Hammers, and charged down the hill.


    The main forces had been deployed at various defensive points, and the assault force in this ambush comprised the ¡°prime¡± and ¡°adult¡± soldiers, the militarily strongest part of the militia.

 Chapter 814 03-25 - 814 78 Dagger Revealed_5

    ?Chapter 814: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_5 Chapter 814: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_5 These militiamen were not good enough for hard battles, barely managing in skirmishes, but excelled at chasing down fleeing enemies.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Towards that red flag!¡± Tie Chi drew his scimitar, calling out hoarsely to his guards and warriors, ¡°[Herde Language] Follow me and attack!¡±


    Until this moment, Tie Chi had not given up on his last attempt. If the entire enemy army was advancing, it meant that the enemy¡¯s commander¡¯s base was left with minimal defense.


    Warhorse struggled to exert force on the uphill terrain, yet four legs were always faster than two.


    For Tie Chi, slaying the generals and capturing the flag appeared to be his only chance to turn defeat into victory.


    The desperate people of Terdun also unleashed their ferocity; the warriors started to rip off their armors and cut the saddles to lighten the load on their horses.


    Nobles, guards, and Nakor¡­ all the courageous Terdun people gathered under Tie Chi¡¯s leadership, charging desperately upstream towards the position of the red flag.


    ...


    Winters also noticed the movements of this small group of Terdun people.


    ¡°You go first,¡± Winters drew his saber and turned to Bard.


    Bard sighed and also drew his saber.


    Tie Chi hugged the neck of his Warhorse tightly to reduce resistance. The horse, frothing at the mouth and trembling in the knees, struggled up the slope.


    Suddenly, Tie Chi heard his son shouting loudly from behind.


    It turned out that the fleeing leaders were desperately waving their horse-tail standards, clearly indicating that the escape route wasn¡¯t cut off.


    Without waiting for Tie Chi¡¯s command, the other Terdun nobles turned their horses around and fled, their guards and attendants following their masters.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    The desperate courage dissipated in an instant, and Tie Chi suddenly realized the opponent¡¯s ruthless strategy:


    He could see clearly, most of the enemies were ¡°slaves¡± without helmets, without armor, without even swords, just wielding wooden clubs;


    If surrounded on all sides, the young warriors of Terdun might have had a chance to turn defeat into victory by fighting desperately;


    But once there was a way to escape, the young warriors of Terdun only thought of fleeing;


    The valley was narrow, how many could actually escape? Those who fled discarded their weapons, their armors, even their saddles, how could they fight again even if they escaped?


    Tie Chi howled in agony three times, gave a fierce tug on the reins, and also fled with his son.


    Winters sheathed his sword; this battle was undoubtedly a great victory, but his expression grew increasingly solemn.


    So did Bard¡¯s.


    What they most feared usually happened¡ªthe ¡°elite tent warriors¡± of this Terdon Tribe were far fewer in number than they should have been¡­


    ¡­


    That night, the humiliated people of Terdon requested to surrender for the second time within the blockade line.


    This time with sincerity: Tie Chi, along with two other Green Plumed Feathers, personally requested to surrender.


    They finally met the opponent¡¯s commander, a man much younger and more stern than they had imagined.


    Even so, the three prominent Terdon nobles still dared not look him in the eye¡ªthey had been thoroughly beaten and lost all courage.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Our young warriors are scattered; I request the general to grant us a few days,¡± Tie Chi licked his lips, kneeling subserviently, gone was his usual commanding presence, ¡°[Herde Language] Allow me to gather our young warriors; the Terdon Tribe is willing to surrender its weapons and submit to the general.¡±


    Worried that the opponent might not have slaves who understood the Herde Language, Tie Chi and the other two had specifically brought a Translator.


    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Winters scanned the three men with a scrutinizing gaze, asking.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Dare not¡­ do not recognize,¡± after hearing the Translator¡¯s interpretation, Tie Chi responded hunched over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize who you are either,¡± Winters squinted coldly, ¡°But I recognize an ass face¡­ huh, that¡¯s your chief, the Fire Maker.¡±


    Translator stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do; under the urging gaze of a few of Tie Chi¡¯s group, he translated the phrase ¡°monkey butt face¡± into Herde Language.


    Tie Chi instinctively raised his head, only to lock eyes directly with the other. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For a moment, Tie Chi felt as if he was seen through from head to toe, his hair stood on end, and cold sweat seeped down his back.


    Another Green Plumed Feathers had a sudden realization, his face turning pale as he incredulously pointed at Winters and exclaimed, ¡°Herde Language You¡­ you are¡­ you are¡­¡±


    The third Green Plumed Feathers was at a loss, making no sense of the situation.


    Not until he heard his companion blurt out the name, ¡°Herde Language You are Paratu Balatu!!!¡±


    His knees went weak, his vision darkened, and he fell straight backwards.


    ¡°Stalling for time, waiting for the fire makers to rescue you?¡± Winters kicked over a wooden box leaking blood next to him and demanded sharply, ¡°Did you think I was unaware of your intentions?¡±


    Tie Chi didn¡¯t understand what the other was saying, but he could still feel the thunderous fury in his tone, causing him to shudder involuntarily.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange where the fire makers have gone? Come!¡± Winters said with a cold laugh, ¡°Meet your great chieftain.¡±


    Winters kicked the wooden box again, and a head that was no longer recognizable as human rolled out.


    Along with the head, a blue horse tail standard tangled with blood and brain matter rolled out¡ªthe Khan¡¯s token.


    The Green Plumed Feathers who recognized Winters saw the blue horse tail standard, his vision went dark, and he collapsed limply.


    Tie Chi knelt down with a thud, cradling the head.


    The head looked as though it had been torn by a wild beast, and as if it had exploded from inside, with the nose and eyes hanging out, as if it had undergone the most painful torture in the world.


    But the blue nine-horse tail standard was unmistakable.


    Tie Chi was overwhelmed with grief and began to sob loudly.


    Winters watched silently as the devastated people of Terdun, the fire makers¡¯ own uncle, suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Stop pretending; they really believed it, but I see you didn¡¯t. Translator, translate for him!¡±


    The Translator, utterly shocked by the series of dramatic events, translated the words tremblingly.


    Tie Chi wiped his tears and slowly stood up.


    ¡°Either the fire makers die, or you die, choose one.¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, slowly sat down in the campaign chair, resting against the back, and said evenly, ¡°You are a smart man, you can understand what I am saying.¡±


    After hearing the Translator¡¯s words, Tie Chi thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Herde Language If my people surrender, will Batu spare my tribe?¡±


    ¡°I will not kill you, nor will I sell you into slavery,¡± Winters said, looking straight at Tie Chi. ¡°If the fire makers kill me, you can still go back to being Nayen. Either way, I am going to deal with you and then the fire makers. Time is precious, give me your answer now.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language How can I trust that Batu will not break his oath?¡± Tie Chi asked solemnly.


    ¡°I can conduct a ritual with you,¡± Winters narrowed his eyes, ¡°the Kulxit ritual.¡±


    ¡­


    Tie Chi was decisive in his actions, and so was Winters.


    Having agreed on the terms, Winters immediately accompanied Tie Chi alone into Terdun Camp to swear an oath with the Terdun people.


    While Winters was conducting the Kulxit ritual with Tie Chi in the presence of over two thousand surviving warriors of the Terdun Tribe, the true elite of the Terdun Tribe had already forced their way across the Big Horn River from Forging Village.


    The fire makers had constructed a Floating Bridge.


    And at this very moment, Revodan had not a single soldier.

 Chapter 815 03-25 - 815 79 New Town

    ?Chapter 815: Chapter 79 New Town Chapter 815: Chapter 79 New Town Big Horn River, by the Floating Bridge.


    A slender man dressed in Herder¡¯s robes stared at the tips of his boots, and spoke intermittently to another group of shabbily clothed men, ¡°The Khan praised us¡­ You¡¯ve done well, after disbanding, you¡¯ll get felt tents, cattle, sheep¡­ and female slaves¡­¡±


    Despite the rewards, why were the men in such pain?


    They showed no joy or pride, only numbness in most of their eyes, and a few bore expressions of anger and unwillingness.


    Another gaunt man, his face covered, suddenly yanked off his scarf and spat harshly.


    The sound of spitting wasn¡¯t loud, but it stung the slender man in Herder¡¯s robes as if he were stung by a wasp.


    He jerked his head up, scanning the crowd before him and screamed hysterically, ¡°You think you¡¯ve got guts to run away! You refuse to work! Why blame me? What do you hate? You treat me like a dog of the Herders, but does anyone damn care about me! You¡­¡±


    The man who had torn off his scarf stepped out of the crowd, walked up to the man in Herder¡¯s robes, and said coldly, ¡°Enough.¡±


    Anyone who looked directly at the scar-faced man¡¯s face was deeply shocked.


    ...


    Where his nose should have been, there was only a hideous scar and two hollow pits leaking air.


    Upon closer inspection, even within his hair, the ears that should have been there were missing.


    The scar-faced man wasn¡¯t born with deformities; his nose and ears had been cut off.


    Herders didn¡¯t chop hands or ankles¡ªthey still needed those for work. So for escaped slaves, they would cut off body parts that didn¡¯t hinder labor or burn them with a branding iron until death.


    The slender man in Herder¡¯s robes dared not meet the scar-faced man¡¯s gaze; he shivered and instantly fell silent, tears welling up, ¡°Captain¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    The scar-faced man rewrapped his scarf, his gaze turning dim, ¡°I am no longer your captain.¡±


    Across the vast Big Horn River, a Floating Bridge spanned the two banks.


    What was once an impassable barrier became a thoroughfare, with hundreds of armored soldiers and warhorses crossing the Floating Bridge into Iron Peak County, amid shouts and curses in Herder¡¯s language, except for this small group, who spoke what seemed like common language with a Paratu accent.


    Among the ragged men, suddenly one fell to his knees and burst into heart-wrenching, grievous sobs.


    Why was he crying?


    Was it because, although he had returned to his homeland, he couldn¡¯t go home?


    Or was it because he had personally constructed this Floating Bridge?


    ¡­


    As the smoke of war had yet to reach Niutigu Valley and riders seeking help were still rushing there, Winters had already learned from Tie Chi about the existence of that Floating Bridge.


    The spread of technology is one of the byproducts of war.


    During the Great Wilderness War, a massive number of expeditionary craftsmen from Paratu were captured, and the Terdon Tribe thus mastered the technique of erecting Floating Bridges using prefabricated parts and even more advanced skills.


    That relentless hammering sound, Winters now finally understood what it was for¡ªpreparing the construction of the Floating Bridge.


    Winters¡¯s bargaining chip was a choice for Tie Chi: to believe or not to believe that the Fire-Maker¡¯s head was real.


    If Tie Chi didn¡¯t believe the Fire-Maker was dead, Winters, under any circumstances, would first annihilate Tie Chi¡¯s tribe and then deal with the Fire-Maker;


    Or¡­ if Tie Chi chose to believe the news of the Fire-Maker¡¯s death, he would lay down his weapons and surrender, giving Winters time, and sparing Tie Chi and his tribe¡¯s lives.


    Choosing between the two, Tie Chi unhesitatingly chose himself.


    The premise of negotiation is trust. Does Tie Chi trust Winters? Probably not. Winters felt the same.


    But when drowning, even if it¡¯s an enemy throwing a rope, one must cling to it tightly.


    Since he had resolved to abandon the Fire-Maker, Tie Chi right away revealed the Fire-Maker¡¯s plans entirely, his decisiveness even surprising Winters.


    The Terdon Tribe lacked fodder, making it difficult for the warhorses to travel long distances.


    Thus from the start, the Fire-Maker had only sent part of his main force to detour, while his direct followers retreated to unburned pastures to wait for an opportunity.


    Perhaps the presence of the ships disrupted the Fire-Maker¡¯s ¡°strategems,¡± or maybe the Fire-Maker harbored even darker intentions.


    When Tie Chi led his troops to the east bank of the Big Horn River and held back all of Winters¡¯s forces, the elite of the Fire-Maker¡¯s tent did not appear.


    Where was the Fire-Maker? Tie Chi no longer cared. Winters could roughly guess, but he needed to first calm the remnants of Tie Chi¡¯s tribe before he could deal with the Fire-Maker.


    Joining hands in an oath, Winters went alone with Tie Chi into the camp of Terdon¡¯s remnants.


    Tie Chi, holding the symbol of the khan¡ª the blue flag with nine horse tails, along with the Fire-Maker¡¯s head, announced the Fire-Maker¡¯s death to the people of Terdon.


    The head was fake, but the flag was real.


    The khan flag had initially been left by the Fire-Maker at the west bank camp as a feint. During the second crossing of the Big Horn River, the Terdon west bank camp was breached by Winters, and the guard of the flag fled with the banner.


    Winters pursued the flag-guarding archer for fifty miles, eventually retrieving the flag from beneath a corpse.


    With the genuine blue flag with nine horse tails and Tie Chi¡¯s acknowledgment, the fake head became real.


    The people of Terdon passively accepted the news of the Fire-Maker¡¯s death; they had been beaten into a loss of will to fight, their lust for plunder dissipated, leaving only the instinct to survive.


    Winters, in his role as ¡°Hestas,¡± publicly swore an oath with Tie Chi not to harm the surrendered.


    The surrender ceremony was simple; Winters personally oversaw the Terdon camp as the people of Terdon one by one emerged from the camp, leaving behind their weapons, armor, and warhorses in front of his flag, and taking away a piece of bread.


    The captives were escorted to the south bank of the Panto River¡ªthere were no extra hands now to guard them.


    Winters gave Tie Chi a hundred horses, fifty bows, and still expected Tie Chi to control his tribe.


    After all these matters, Winters finally convened all his commanders, village heads, town mayors, and representative gentry.


    Silence filled the grand tent, the air as cold as an ice cellar. Everyone who walked cheerfully into the tent sensed the abnormal atmosphere.


    The intermittent cheers penetrated the tent¡ªsurvivors from Iron Peak County were celebrating their victory.


    Under a series of inquiring gazes, Winters calmly informed everyone, ¡°The battle is not yet won, the elite of the Terdon Tribe might be attacking Revodan.¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan, another mundane day.


    Recent issues of ¡°War Communication¡± were long overdue, and although people eagerly awaited the latest battle reports, life had to go on as usual.


    Compared to the news from Panto River, the citizens were more concerned about police conditions on the north bank.


    It was said that small bands of barbarian cavalry had slid into North Eight Towns and were looting and burning in the rural areas.


    Revodan was fully under martial law, and citizens, alarmed at every rumor, saw flour prices starting to rise again.


    On the other hand, farmers and townspeople who had fled to Revodan had become somewhat desensitized to such news; they exchanged their physical labor for bread, indifferent to the rising flour prices.


    The city walls of New Town were largely completed, but the refugees couldn¡¯t rest for a moment.


    Following the plans of Mason, the Civil Guard Officer, labor teams began to build bulwarks on the outskirts of New Town and construct houses, pave roads, and lay sewer pipes inside the city.


    What originally resembled a large military camp, ¡°New Town,¡± was truly beginning to acquire an urban atmosphere.


    New Town was like a massive construction site, where among the hard-working refugees, there was an inconspicuous one-eared man.


    The one-eared man rarely spoke, making many assume he was mute. But his hard work was evident, so whether he was mute did not matter.


    At noon when the bread was distributed, the one-eared man encountered another man and exchanged a few words.


    That night, Ivan, who had been appointed temporary sheriff, rushed to the officer¡¯s residence and cautiously woke the Mason Civil Guard Officer, reporting anxiously, ¡°Sir, someone has gone missing!¡±


    At this moment, the one-eared man referred to by Ivan had arrived at Forging Village, twenty kilometers away.


    He was not called One-Ear; he used to be known as Yilsi, a name some from Vernge County might recall attached to a somewhat notorious bandit and smuggler.


    ¡°Great Thief Yilsi,¡± wanted for robbing an army carriage, had eventually fled into the wilderness, disappearing without a trace, but not without his family suffering the consequences.


    Now, he often used his Herder language name, Bruhe, meaning Red Dog.


    Red Dog knelt on one knee, staring at his boot tip, recounting the details of New Town in Revodan: ¡°¡­the leader stationed in Revodan is called ¡®Mason¡¯¡­¡±


    The person standing before him was none other than the Firemaker and the old Translator.


    ¡°Mason?¡± the Firemaker interrupted, ¡°What does that mean?¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Red Dog racked his brains to explain, ¡°It means a stonemason, a builder working with stones.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? He¡¯s a stonemason?¡± asked the Firemaker.


    ¡°The names of the two-legged people are different from those of the tribes, having lost their literal meaning,¡± the old Translator slowly opened his eyes and spoke, ¡°Go on, focus on the important details¡ªstart with the city defenses.¡±


    Red Dog picked up a twig and began sketching on the ground: ¡°There used to be no city on the south shore of Revodan. Now, this city, newly built by the stonemason leader, safeguards livestock, valuables, and food inside.¡±


    ¡°How many people? How much wealth?¡± the Firemaker squinted.


    ¡°Thousands of people, men and women. They fled to New Town, carrying their valuable belongings. Moreover, there¡¯s plenty of food. Food delivered from the neighboring county is stored in New Town on the south shore, nourishing the people and also being transported southward.¡±


    ¡°How high are the city walls?¡±


    ¡°Not tall, quite low, only about one and a half men high,¡± Red Dog pointed with a twig to where the city wall met the river, ¡°And there¡¯s a vulnerability right here.¡±


    ¡°A vulnerability?¡± the Firemaker¡¯s eyes widened.


    Red Dog suggested, as if offering a strategy, ¡°The stonemason leader only built half a circle of walls along the shore. There¡¯s no tall wall or moat on the river side; I presume¡­ it could be crossed by wading through the water.¡±


    ¡°How can one wade through the water with the temperature so cold?¡± the old Translator immediately reprimanded sharply and then asked, ¡°How many are defending the city?¡±


    ¡°There are no troops; the defenders have all gone south.¡± Red Dog shook his head vigorously, suddenly looking up at the Firemaker before quickly dropping his gaze, ¡°The Khan could move quickly, taking advantage of the defenders¡¯ slow reaction to strike and capture it in one move.¡±


    A hint of dissatisfaction appeared in the old Translator¡¯s eyes, but he remained impassive.


    ¡°Did they discover you?¡± asked the Firemaker.


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°What about others? Have they discovered anyone else?¡± asked the Firemaker again.


    ¡°Nor them either.¡±


    ¡°Very well, you may go and rest,¡± said the Firemaker and pulled out a gold tablet, throwing it to Red Dog.


    Red Dog picked up the gold tablet, then returned it to the Firemaker, ¡°Thank you, Great Khan, but I do not wish to keep the gold tablet.¡±


    The Firemaker frowned, ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I wish to be a servant within the Great Khan¡¯s household! To be your eyes by day and your ears by night!¡±


    The old Translator narrowed his eyes.


    The Firemaker was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, ¡°Then I grant you permission to stay by my side as a household servant.¡±


    Nearly throwing his head between a pair of boots, Red Dog fervently thanked him.


    ¡°You may go.¡±


    With profound gratitude, Red Dog left, leaving the Firemaker and the old Translator¡¯s sight. As soon as he was out of view, his smile rapidly vanished, as if the subservient man from moments ago was not him.


    Late into the night, the main force of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s tents, which had just arrived in Forging Village, headed non-stop towards New Town in Revodan.


    At the same time, the regrouped troops of Iron Peak County also advanced towards Revodan.

 Chapter 816 03-25 - 816 80 Mason

    ?Chapter 816: Chapter 80 Mason Chapter 816: Chapter 80 Mason The night was deep, and it was uncertain when and where this was.


    Soldiers carrying spears and muskets gasped for breath as they followed their comrades at a quick march.


    On the other side of the road, horses laden with armor took up space, occasionally causing an out-of-control horse to break into the marching column, prompting a wave of exclamations and curses.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Bard surveyed the people around him, furrowing his brow into a knot, ¡°The leading companies are almost at Saint Town, and the militia from the back haven¡¯t even left Niutigu Valley. There¡¯s nothing to eat, nothing to drink. Soldiers can¡¯t find the ammunition wagons, and the packhorse teams can¡¯t find the soldiers.¡±


    Winters, holding a lantern, marked the map in silence.


    Present were two formal officers and all the company-level commanders and militia-appointed captains that could be summoned.


    Everyone knew that a forced march at night was dangerous, but was it possible to go slowly?


    ...


    The majority of the supplies for this nearly ten-thousand-strong force¡ªif the militia were included¡ªwere in Revodan.


    The battle of Panto River relied on the [Revodan-Shizhen-Panto River] artery to supply provisions; only then did the front line have food, drink, and ammunition.


    If Revodan were lost, it wouldn¡¯t just be like an artery being blocked, but the heart being gouged out.


    Not to mention that Revodan was also the evacuation site for military families, and while the militia might lack sympathy for this, the soldiers whose families were in Revodan wished they could sprout wings and fly back there.


    ¡°Soldiers with sweat-soaked backs, warhorses foaming at the mouth¡ªsuch a force can¡¯t fight!¡± Bard said emphatically, seeming to address his subordinates, but in fact aiming more at Winters:


    ¡°In this state, five hundred cavalry could break our entire army. Until there¡¯s confirmed news from Revodan, we should assume it has been lost and make further operational plans based on this.¡±


    People listened in silence; here there were only two officers in the true sense, and only one person who could direct this army.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Change the destination. Have the Second and Third Battalions head to Saint Town to regroup and reorganize; let the mounted infantry battalion cross the river from King¡¯s Bridge Town, taking the north bank to Revodan,¡± Winters suddenly commanded, clearly issuing his orders:


    ¡°Have Tamas¡¯s First Battalion turn back, take the Niutigu Valley militia to the [Tie Feng Mountain mouth], and build fortifications there¡ªnail down the entrance to Tie Feng Mountain.¡±


    [Note: Tie Feng Mountain mouth means the narrow, perilous path between Niutigu Valley and Forging Village. Winters surveyed the terrain there in Chapter 60.]


    Before others could react, Bard already took out his notebook and began transcribing the verbal instructions into written orders.


    ¡°What about the arrangements for the other militia units?¡± Bard asked, his hand never pausing.


    ¡°Any units without specific orders must converge on Saint Town,¡± Winters folded the map and handed it to Bard, ¡°Hand the map over to the acting battalion commanders. Have messengers from various towns and villages been dispatched?¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°All have been sent out.¡±


    ¡°Send more, set the rally point at Saint Town. Collect provisions from Saint Town and King¡¯s Bridge Town, compenate at equivalent value after the battle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Bard nodded; he was still nominally the Garrison Officer of Saint Town.


    The two clarified the military deployment with a quick question and answer.


    The subordinates received their orders and returned to their units, leaving only Winters, Bard, and a few guards behind.


    Bard looked at Winters, unsure what to say.


    From the moment Winters learned Revodan was threatened, his emotions gradually became calmer and detached, as if stripped of human sentiment.


    It seemed to be some kind of stress response or self-protective instinct, Winters would never talk about his worries for Revodan.


    This instead showed that Revodan held treasures dear as life to Winters, precious to an extent he could not bear to envision losing them. So he filled his mind with endless battle deductions, refusing to think of anything else.


    Bard felt sorry for his close friend and wanted to say something to comfort Winters.


    But it was Winters who spoke first, ¡°Has the fleet set out?¡±


    Bard paused slightly, ¡°A messenger from Samujin has come; he has already set out.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters nodded and turned to walk into the inner tent.


    When Bard looked at Winters again, the latter had already fallen asleep on his camp bed.


    ¡­


    At dawn, Revodan came into view of the vanguard of the Terdon Tribe.


    Revodan situated in the middle of the valley¡¯s steady plain was also the lowest part of the river plain terrain, open on all sides with no natural defenses on which to rely.


    The people from Terdun looked down from their high ground, with an unobstructed view of Revodan: the north and south towns faced each other across the river, connected by a wooden bridge.


    At this moment, the lights were bright around the city walls, indicating that the defenders were preparing in earnest.


    The men tending the fires seemed unsurprised; once the army was on the move, its presence was inevitable¡ª they had been spotted by coastal watchtowers while crossing the river.


    A predator must approach its prey quietly, but it is the final sprint that decides whether it will feast.


    The fire keeper, pointing to the outline of the city wall limned by the lights on the south bank, laughed heartily, ¡°Are these pitifully low walls worthy of being called city walls?¡± in Herde language.


    His guards also laughed unrestrainedly.


    The ¡°city wall¡± in sight was embarrassingly low, barely higher than one person, not much different from a farmer¡¯s fence.


    Not to mention comparing it to the sturdy walls of famous cities and towns, it seemed quite short even when compared to the enclosures around noble estates.


    In the previous war on the plains, the fire keeper¡¯s own men suffered heavy losses. Now, the guards of the night and the arrow bearers included many who had been newly promoted.


    These young men of Terdun nobility all eagerly sought to prove their bravery, to achieve honors and rewards.

 Chapter 817 03-25 - 817 80 Mason_2

    ?Chapter 817: Chapter 80 Mason_2 Chapter 817: Chapter 80 Mason_2 The fire-maker bent his bow and fitted an arrow, releasing it into the sky with a whizzing sound: ¡°[Herde Language] Great gods above!¡±


    Like unleashed hunting hounds, the leaders each led their own kinsmen and horses, howling as they charged toward Revodan.


    When the Terdun people spied on Revodan, Mason also noticed the dark silhouettes on the horizon.


    ¡°What a difficult problem he has given me,¡± Mason complained helplessly in his heart.


    Yet to the trembling defenders of the city, Mason stirred up great enthusiasm with a different argument: ¡°The Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has already wiped out the barbarians at the Panto River! What¡¯s coming now is just a bunch of stragglers!¡±


    The walls of Revodan were about two meters high, made of rammed earth, with wooden frames inside for people to stand on.


    Faced with the great foe, the city¡¯s labor teams were directly conscripted, becoming the honorable militia assigned to defend the city. The method of assigning positions was simple: you defend the section of the wall that you built.


    ...


    The only fighting force in the city¡ªthe City Guard consisting mainly of armed citizens¡ªwas held in Mason¡¯s hands and not stationed on the walls. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, senior,¡± Mason gently soothed the mayor beside him, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry too much.¡±


    Although Priskin had weathered major storms, his knees still uncontrollably trembled in the face of the barbarians¡¯ tsunami-like onslaught.


    Learning that the barbarians had crossed the river from Forging Village, Priskin had strongly urged Mason to retreat to the Old City, burning down the south bank¡¯s New Town in the process.


    But Mason firmly disagreed.


    In desperation, Priskin tearfully said farewell to his family and, putting his life on the line, stood with Mason Commissioner on the walls of New Town.


    As the Terdun people were about to reach the walls, Mason began calmly explaining his decision to Mayor Priskin: ¡°There are nearly ten thousand civilians in New Town, and our supplies are stockpiled here. Burning it all would be tantamount to cutting off Montaigne Civil Guard Officer¡¯s retreat.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À?.§ã¦Ï


    Priskin was at a loss for words: ¡°If we don¡¯t burn it down, won¡¯t these supplies fall into the barbarians¡¯ hands, cutting off Montaigne Civil Guard Officer¡¯s retreat anyway?¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I stayed in Revodan?¡± asked Mason with a smile.


    Priskin, hardening his heart, could not bother with flattery anymore: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Mason smacked his lips and sighed, ¡°Because I¡¯m best at defending a city. I designed this city myself, and I¡¯m confident in it.¡±


    Priskin wanted to cry: Such low walls, so few people, where does this confidence come from? My goodness!


    Elsewhere, the fire-maker and the old Translator were observing the fight from a hillside.


    The land surrounding Revodan showed a strange pitch-black hue, not the common yellow-brown of autumn and winter.


    The old Translator always felt something off, and after pondering for a long while, he noticed something¡ªtoo barren. The earth was bare.


    The area around a city could not possibly be barren since the process of citizens moving to the outskirts was the growth of the city.


    However, the south side of the city was bare, with no houses, no woods, no villages¡­ nothing at all.


    The old Translator looked around and saw the same by his side: Unable to find a tree for timber, unable to find a handful of grass for the horses.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a tough nut to crack,¡± the old Translator thought spontaneously.


    Outside the city, the deafening sound of horse hooves drew nearer.


    Inside the city, a group of refugees were stealthily approaching the western gate of New Town.


    ¡°Halt, what are you doing?¡± Ivan, the soldier guarding the gate, barked a question.


    ¡°We were sent by the Civil Guard Officer, to bring some drinks for you gentlemen,¡± the leading refugee said with a sly grin, but his steps never stopped.


    Ivan, without responding, saw the man continuing to approach and promptly pulled out his whistle, puffing his cheeks to give a blast.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± the leading refugee drew a shortsword from within his cloak and lunged at the guards: ¡°Kill!¡±


    The other Terdon Tribe [affiliates] who had infiltrated the city also surged forth, attacking the guards.


    ¡°Spies!¡± Ivan bellowed a warning, hefting his shield and swinging his broadsword to meet the leading spy: ¡°Protect the gate!¡±


    The guards were fully armored but few in number; the affiliates were many but only armed with shortswords. Blades clashed in a fierce melee.


    On the other side, Mason heard the whistle from the west gate.


    Mounting his horse, Mason turned back with a smile to Mayor Priskin, ¡°I leave this place to you, Mr. Mayor.¡±


    With that, he led the guards and City Guard cavalry toward the western gate.


    ¡°Old man¡­ old man¡­¡± Even in the face of Montaigne Civil Guard Officer, Priskin never felt so disheveled. In his urgency, the old man even cried out with a cracked voice: ¡°I¡¯ve never fought a battle!¡±


    On the hillside, the fire-maker watching the fight noticed flames flickering on the southern side of the walls, with the gate wide open.


    ¡°We¡¯ve succeeded!¡± exclaimed the fire-maker, unable to hide his excitement.


    The old Translator looked on with an enigmatic expression, noncommittal.


    The somber blare of horns pierced the battlefield as a squad of armored Cavalry broke away from the main force, charging directly toward the flaring gate.


    The rest of the Terdun Cavalry continued to weave around the city walls, shooting arrows and drawing the defenders¡¯ attention.


    Charging the walls with cavalry¡ªeven a short wall¡ªwas foolish without siege equipment, but for the Terdun people lacking such gear, the ideal strategy was an inside-outside collaboration.


    In mid-September, right after the first failed raid, the fire-maker was already planning the second.


    The time the Terdon Tribe [affiliates] had infiltrated Iron Peak County and Vernge County was even earlier than the first raid.


    The so-called affiliates were those who fled into the wilderness for various reasons and joined the Herde tribes, with the most common source being criminals. It was only through the affiliates that the Herde tribes could glimpse the internal situation of Paratu.

 Chapter 818 03-25 - 818 80 Mason_3

    ?Chapter 818: Chapter 80 Mason_3 Chapter 818: Chapter 80 Mason_3 The affiliated troops had successfully seized control, and now the most elite armored guards were to burst through the city walls to expand their victories.


    The Terdun nobleman awarded this great honor was called Moritz, from the family of the fire makers¡¯ mother.


    ¡°Herde gods above!¡± Moritz roared, charging through the city gate at the forefront, ¡°Leave no one behind!¡±


    The other Terdun armored fighters followed closely, screaming weirdly, howling fiercely, and laughing cruelly as they followed Kota into the city gate.


    However¡­ where were the bipeds?


    Moritz realized there was another wall ahead and abruptly reined in his warhorse. The following cavalry couldn¡¯t evade in time and crashed into him.


    It was only by the light of the fire baskets that Moritz realized what was in front of him was not another wall, but a linked convoy of wagons.


    ... Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ambush!¡± Moritz¡¯s eyes nearly burst with despair as he bellowed, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    The gate came crashing down.


    With a flash of cold steel, Moritz¡¯s face was left with a gaping bloody hole. His hands flailed weakly backward and then his body slowly at first, then swiftly, fell from the saddle.


    ¡°Open fire,¡± Colonel Moritz, with a slight drunkenness, turned his head and ordered Sergeant Mason.


    Blacksmith Mason¡ªtemporarily appointed as a sergeant¡ªcried out with a sobbing voice, ¡°Open fire!¡± and then pulled the firing lever.


    The other civilian musketeers also gritted their teeth and held their breath as they pressed down on their firing levers.


    The cavalry that lost their speed were sitting ducks, and the Terdun armored soldiers panicked. Several Terdun men stepped onto their horses¡¯ backs and jumped towards the city wall, hoping to get over to the other side.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?0


    Another burly Terdun armored warrior burst into a wild rage, leaping directly onto a wagon, slashing his way into the ranks of the civilian musketeers, and with one swing partially severed the shoulder of a Paratu in front of him.


    The citizens of Revodan had never seen such a sight; those who were normally the most boastful were now so scared they wet their pants, while others simply threw away their guns and ran.


    Moritz raised his hand, and no one could see clearly what he did, but the barbaric brute instantly dropped dead.


    Moritz raised his hand again, and the leading citizen felt a sharp pain in his knee, collapsing to the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡± Cried the rotund blacksmith Mason as he reloaded his musket, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll live if you run? Keep fighting the barbarians!¡±


    Meanwhile, Richard Mason had already led his cavalry to cleanly dispatch the infiltrators who tried to sneak attack Simon Gate.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s affiliated troops attacked Simon Gate, but it was the South Gate that had just been opened. Simon Gate was the decoy, and so was the South Gate.


    The labor crews were managed under military law with daily headcounts. Knowing how much bread was baked each day meant knowing how many people were in each labor crew.


    Learning of the continuous disappearances, Mason had to prepare for the worst-case scenario¡ªthere were Terdun spies inside the city.


    But with too many refugees and too few men, Mason found it hard to carry out an investigation. If a large-scale search for spies created panic amongst the city residents, it would do more harm than good.


    ¡°Leave some alive,¡± Mason ordered, shaking the blood from his sabre and trying to stabilize his breathing uneven from the intense exertion, ¡°Sergeant Ivan!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Secure Simon Gate.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen! Sergeant Mason at the South Gate is still waiting for us,¡± Mason said with an inviting smile, ¡°Let¡¯s not keep him anxious.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than he spurred his horse and took off. The other riders quickly followed suit.


    Outside the city walls, the Terdun Cavalry encountered a huge problem.


    That was the ¡°remarkably short¡± walls the fire makers spoke of, which were, in reality, not short at all but rather too tall to surmount.


    This was a ¡°wall and moat combined¡± fortification; this was a wall that Captain Richard Mason had specially prepared for the Terdun people.

 Chapter 819 03-25 - 819 81 Cannon

    ?Chapter 819: Chapter 81: Cannon Chapter 819: Chapter 81: Cannon The gates fell, and the drawbridge rose, trapping the armored soldiers from Terdun who had breached the city gates in a deathtrap.


    The crisp clash of steel blades pierced through the sound of horse hooves, carrying far into the distance; flashes of fire intermittently flickered within the city, likely the red flames of gunshot.


    ¡°There must be interlocking walls inside the city,¡± the man by the fire said, his face showing displeasure, ¡°Where are those who pledged their allegiance? Bring him over!¡±


    Without another word, the archer quickly led his men to look for Red Dog.


    Old Translator, not particularly surprised, sat steadily on his horseback, observing the battle, and confidently stated, ¡°It seems that those defending the city indeed don¡¯t have many troops; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t resort to such risky tactics.¡±


    The Hundred-Men Squad leading the assault were ambushed, making the situation seem unfavorable for the people of Terdun.


    However, ¡°a pouch of water can quench thirst, a pool of water can drown a person,¡± those from Terdun who broke into the city were the fiercest and bravest armored guards. Trapped in a desperate situation, they would inevitably fight to the death.


    ...


    Taking down the leading guards would cost the defending troops a few teeth. Working together from inside and outside, on the contrary, was an opportunity to breach the city.


    Luring the enemy into the trap was a risky move, and the slightest mishap could backfire.


    In Old Translator¡¯s memory, there were hardly any defending forces that would actively let enemies into the city.


    Even commanders with rationality would not take such a risk, not to mention dealing with a small city surrounded by merely a simple, low earthen wall.


    ¡°Rebel officer named Mason, are you incredibly bold,¡± Old Translator wondered, ¡°or are you driven to a desperate jump?¡±


    If Mason himself heard Old Translator¡¯s question, he would probably just smile helplessly and not respond.


    The subsequent development of the battle made the man by the fire even more furious¡ªthe city walls were low and the moat not deep, yet the troops from the Terdon Tribe halted at the edge of the moat, unable to advance.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À0.§ã¦Ï


    From the vantage point of the man by the fire, frequent flashes of red light and the sound of fierce fighting came from inside the southern gate, while almost no muzzle flashes were seen along the city wall.


    This meant the leading guards who had entered the city were still fighting the defenders and had attracted a large section of the defending army.


    The other Hundred-Men Squads outside the city should have taken this chance to reach the city walls immediately, attacking from both the inside and the outside together with the leading guards to capture the city.


    Yet, every Hundred-Men Squad stopped at the edge of the moat and would not advance further.


    To the man by the fire, the walls of Revodan were barely taller than a person, and even with armor, climbing over them shouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    However, the actual scene witnessed by the people of Terdun standing at the edge of the moat was different:


    Ahead, the earthen wall and the moat merged seamlessly; the wall and the moat¡¯s sides formed a continuous plane with no ¡°corners¡± as boundaries.


    From the ground level, this wall was merely taller than a person and hardly noticeable.


    But once inside the moat, the depth of the moat added onto the height of the wall would instantly make it more than twice the height of a person¡ªthat was not something humans could easily climb over.


    Designed by Richard Mason himself, the defensive works of Revodan featured walls 2 meters high, with a moat 2.5 meters deep and 4 meters wide. The bottom of the moat was lined with a series of sharp wooden stakes; once down, there was no coming back up.


    Those from Terdun outside the moat listened to the gunshots and screams from inside, unarmed with any siege equipment, and could only shoot arrows toward the source of the sounds blindly.


    The leading armored guards climbed the wall and fell into the moat, either dying on impact or being pierced alive by the wooden stakes.


    The men from Terdun circled the walls urgently looking for places where they could land and climb up.


    In desperation, a young and reckless man from Terdun harshly spurred his Warhorse, charging toward the moat.


    The Warhorse, in pain, leaped high at the edge of the city moat.


    The rider stepped on the Warhorse¡¯s back mid-air and daringly jumped onto the city wall. The poor Warhorse, unable to escape the laws of fall, crashed heavily into the bottom of the moat, instantly impaled and killed by the stakes.


    The other men from Terdun, both shocked and admiring, did not dare to follow suit.


    Soon, the reckless young man who had jumped onto the city wall climbed back up, covered in blood. He had barely revealed his upper body when invisible hands dragged him back, followed by a few screams before quickly going silent.


    The city wall stood like a gate between two worlds; those outside from Terdun had no idea what was happening inside.


    They shot arrows, cursed, and shouted, but the wall absorbed it all, responding only with silence.


    Before long, the sounds of fighting inside gradually quieted down, causing several red-feathered men at the edge of the moat to sink their hearts.


    Soon, dark muzzles protruded from the city wall¡ªMason, having dealt with the enemies inside, finally had the time to address the barbarians outside.


    Old-time city walls were built tall and strong, not only to increase the difficulty for besiegers but also because height was a weapon in itself.


    The concept is simple, even children understand it: the higher the position from which an object is dropped, the stronger the destructive power.


    But as firearms began to be slowly employed in siege warfare, military engineers soon realized that towering walls were not only fragile but also ineffective for the power of firearms.


    Gunpowder-driven bullets traveled much faster than arrows, had greater impact, and could even penetrate through bodies continuously.


    Besides the trajectory fall during flight, bullets that travel closer to the ground made the cannons more lethal. From the standpoint of maximizing firepower, perhaps shorter walls were better.


    Thus, the low wall integrated with a moat gradually took center stage.


    This design wasn¡¯t a new gimmick. Outer fortifications of the old-time defensive system¡ªretaining walls, low outer walls, and parapets¡ªall had similar structures.


    But applying the integrated wall and moat as the main city wall structure was a complete breakthrough of the new era.


    This wall was Richard Mason¡¯s ¡°gift¡± to those from Terdun, who remained stuck in the old times, using a design of the new era.


    Undeterred, those from Terdun still tried to use bows and arrows to harm the defending forces behind the wall; however, two thunderous booms extinguished all their fight.


    At the focal area of the attack and defense¡ªthe outside of the southern city gate, two blasts enveloped with shards of stone and scrap iron swept across the ground.


    The injured Warhorse neighed in panic and bolted away; the rider who was hit fell off the saddle, his clothing slowly soaked with blood from the blackened holes.


    Standing atop a wooden platform, musketeers who were only half-visible above the wall also opened fire. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Great Thunder!¡± Amidst the smoke and continuous screams, someone exclaimed, ¡°[Herde Language] The bipeds have Great Thunder!¡±


    [Note: Herders refer to gunpowder weapons as ¡®Thunder,¡¯ with muskets generally known as Great Thunder, cannons as Small Thunder, so throwing grenades is called Black Thunder]


    The distance was too close, and the people of the Terdon Tribe near the trench were almost blasted in the forehead by two cannon shots from the defenders.


    No one understood the destructive power of cannons better than the people of the Terdon Tribe, who had tasted the bloody water of assault during the battle in the Great Wilderness.


    Cannons, city walls, and resolute defenders¡ªthough this city wasn¡¯t impregnable, it certainly wasn¡¯t meat to be easily seized by the people of the Terdon Tribe either.


    Seeing that the situation was hopeless, another leader from Hong Lingyu gritted his teeth and ordered a retreat.


    The sound of the bugle resonated, and the attackers at the south gate of the Terdon Tribe began retreating, dragging corpses and wounded, quickly disengaging from their feigned attacks upon hearing the bugle sound.


    Revodan¡¯s New Town fell into prolonged silence until the barbarians¡¯ hoofbeats gradually faded away.


    ¡°Did we win?¡± asked a militiaman timidly.


    ¡°We won!¡± Mason affectionately patted his third-generation wooden cannon.


    Instantly, New Town erupted into cheers, the survivors crying and shouting.


    For the majority of the militia, who had been laborers just the day before, they had barely done anything, yet this did not diminish their joy and sense of happiness.


    The fervent emotions spread across St. George River, infecting the anxious citizens of Old City waiting for news.


    In the northern bank¡¯s Old Town, every household was knocking on doors and windows, the sounds of cheer floated back across the river to the southern city.


    The faithful waiting at Revodan Cathedral prayed in unison, praising the Savior.


    While Revodan¡¯s real savior was, at that moment, meticulously checking his heavy cannon.


    The first-generation wooden cannon comprised a raw log encased in an iron tube, which could only be used a few times before it became scrap.


    The second-generation wooden cannon advanced further, simply a hollow wooden post for one-time use.


    But the third-generation wooden cannon was a genuine cannon, and it should no longer be referred to as a ¡°wooden cannon.¡±


    With the full support of Forging Village, the third-generation wooden cannon was forged around a well-honed iron barrel. The process resembled the forging of a gun barrel.


    The original gun barrels were then tightly wrapped with iron hoops and belts before having fresh, tough wood cores hammered into them to further reduce the likelihood of bursting.


    Though the tri-layer structure¡ªiron, leather, wood¡ªmade the cannon cumbersome, it posed no significant issue in city defense.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Mason noted after a thorough inspection, not finding any cracks or signs of air leakage.


    He then ordered his subordinates to cool down the barrel with grease since the three-layer wrapping structure caused poor heat dissipation.


    The captain of the artillery looked at his ¡°beautiful daughters,¡± thinking slightly proudly, ¡°I¡¯m truly a genius.¡±


    At the same time, on the northern bank of St. George River, Anna, Catherine, and Mrs. Mitchell arrived at Revodan Cathedral.


    Catherine held Anna¡¯s hand tightly, as if fearing that releasing it would cause her sister to disappear.


    Anna felt the same, with warmth from Catherine¡¯s palm reminding her that she still had a sister at least.


    The Navarre sisters were not new to war, but they had never been this close to it before.


    Merely by standing across the river and watching from afar, both ladies¡¯ hearts clenched tightly. Occasionally, even grimmer possibilities crossed their minds.


    But they couldn¡¯t¡ªand didn¡¯t¡ªshow any sign of worry.


    To everyone else, one was Lady Montaigne, and the other was Lady Montaigne¡¯s sister. Any negative emotion they showed would be interpreted, magnified, and then spread throughout their small city.


    In this respect, Catherine handled it better than Scarlett and even Anna.


    Scarlett rarely hid her emotions; her feelings towards her father, brothers, and Winters were nearly written on her face. In her view, expressing emotions openly didn¡¯t mean weakness.


    Catherine quickly adapted to this burden. While Anna was busy helping Mason manage the camp for women and children, it was Catherine who accompanied Mrs. Mitchell to meet with the women of Revodan, infusing confidence into them with her smile, and spreading that confidence further.


    Because Anna disliked these occasions, Lady Navarre easily tired of salons, tea parties, complimentary words, and polite smiles¡ªMiss Navarre, on the other hand, thrived on them.


    In some ways, they each had inherited half of their mother¡¯s persona.


    Mrs. Mitchell led Anna and Catherine through the crowd to the altar of the cathedral.


    Anna joined Mrs. Mitchell in carefully placing candles on the altar, praying in silence.


    In this small city on the edge of the world, Mrs. Mitchell, like a mother, sheltered Anna and Catherine under her wings.


    ¡°What are you praying for?¡± Catherine asked.


    Mrs. Mitchell looked at the two children with compassion: ¡°I pray¡­ that you never have to become strong.¡±


    ¡­


    When the Terdon Tribe¡¯s first attempt at storming the city was repelled, Winters¡¯s first counterattack had already commenced.


    He watched as Samujin¡¯s fleet left the Niutigu Valley and drifted downstream.

 Chapter 820 03-25 - 820 82 The Enemy

    ?Chapter 820: Chapter 82: The Enemy Chapter 820: Chapter 82: The Enemy On the Big Horn River, a small boat loaded with stones drifted downriver towards the floating bridge.


    At the same time, in the wilderness south of Revodan, Dusack [Tulin] urged his horse into a frenzied run as he was chased by the people of Terdun.


    Tulin kept looking back, and seeing the pursuing Herd Barbarians, he doubled his efforts, digging his spurs into the horse¡¯s flanks.


    The warhorse, distressed by the intense pain, exerted its strength crazily, its hooves thunderously striking the ground.


    Tulin stood in the stirrups to alleviate as much of the burden on the horse as possible.


    The horse¡¯s legs were long and powerful, and its fetlocks were flawless¡ªa descendant of shield river chargers brought from the north thirty years ago.


    Usually, Tulin was extremely careful with the horse, rarely even using a whip.


    ...


    But at this moment, the horse¡¯s belly and flanks were covered in sweaty blood.


    Terdun¡¯s horses were shorter and slower, no match for Tulin¡¯s in speed.


    However, the Herders¡¯ warhorses, like their owners, were tenacious. They pressed closely behind Tulin¡¯s horse and refused to give up.


    The battlefield was shrouded in a mist, with both armies dispatching many scouts to track the enemy¡¯s movements.


    Scout cavalryman Tulin unexpectedly encountered the Terdun scouts, outnumbered, he decisively retreated, though the Terdun people followed closely.


    The two sides crossed wilderness, streams, and hills, chasing from the southern outskirts of Revodan all the way into the territory of Saint Town.


    The people of Terdun were eager to capture Tulin alive, while Tulin led them into an ambush.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    Tulin raced through abandoned farmland, passing a lane flanked by rows of birch trees, just as reinforcements arrived.


    More than ten cavalry from Iron Peak County outflanked the Terdun forces from both sides, led by a rider on a spry reddish-brown horse¡ªit was Anglu.


    ¡°[Herde Language] It¡¯s the Big Beard!¡± panicked exclamations filled the air as the Terdun people recognized the rider and the distinctive saber.


    Dusack, with his beard, forehead hair, and a silver earring, could be easily distinguished from standard Paratu people.


    The long wars had left the Herders with deep impressions of these skilled, fierce fighting cavalrymen, giving Dusack a nickname blending fear and respect¡ª¡±Big Beard.¡±


    The Terdun¡¯s Hong Lingyu initially thought of retreating, but seeing that the approaching cavalry was not numerous, boldness took over.


    He whistled sharply, signaling his troops to rally around him. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Horses galloped wildly, the sabers whishing through the air as Anglu led the Dusacks in a tangled, fierce fight with the Terdun people.


    Before long, the Fire Tender and the old Translator learned about this small-scale encounter.


    The Fire Tender, eyes ablaze, asked in a sharp tone facing Hong Lingyu, ¡°[Herde Language] Is the command tent of the two-legged ones in the town to the south? You saw it with your own eyes.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] There is plenty of foot traffic and wagon tracks everywhere, it can¡¯t be faked,¡± replied Hong Lingyu, pale-faced, grimacing in pain: ¡°[Herde Language] And lots of Big Beards!¡±


    Cavalry battles test horsemanship and saber skills, which Dusacks excel at. Hong Lingyu lost half an ear; had there not been an iron plate sewn in his sleeve, his arm would have been severed as well.


    The Fire Tender rewarded Hong Lingyu with a medal of gold and promised two tents full of goods and slaves.


    After Hong Lingyu gratefully departed, the Fire Tender¡¯s expression suddenly darkened: ¡°[Herde Language] They¡¯re already in the south? How did they get here so fast?¡±


    The old Translator tugged at his beard, his brows deeply furrowed: ¡°[Herde Language] Tie Chi¡¯s troops have likely been scattered!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] How is that possible?¡± the Fire Tender exclaimed in horror: ¡°[Herde Language] It has only been a few days!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Otherwise, there¡¯s no way to explain how their reinforcements have managed such swift action,¡± the Translator¡¯s wrinkles deepened.


    The Fire Tender slapped his thigh, eyes flickering fiercely: ¡°[Herde Language] Let them come! Good, we¡¯ll slaughter them all. Then we¡¯ll plunder at will!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] If they rush at us like animals with tails on fire, we¡¯ll fight a big battle. They¡¯ve just fought a fierce battle with Tie Chi¡¯s troops, are tired and hungry, we can easily crush them,¡± the Translator paced within the tent: ¡°[Herde Language] But they¡¯ve stopped in the southern town and aren¡¯t rushing their support. A cornered bull fights back; we can¡¯t battle recklessly.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] What should we do then?¡± the Fire Tender asked impatiently.


    ¡°[Herde Language] When a fox hides in its hole and you want its fur, you must force it out,¡± the Translator stopped pacing, confident: ¡°[Herde Language] The biggest knot on this rope is still that small city. If the city on the southern bank is threatened, they¡¯ll have to face us.¡±


    The Fire Tender abruptly stood: ¡°[Herde Language] I¡¯ll send my troops to attack the city now!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t overexert, but make enough noise; since their main camp is in the southern town, send several hundred cavalry squads to flank them, kill their able-bodied, and burn their supply carts; also send troops to gather supplies and rally dispersed forces¡­¡± the Translator slowly added.


    The Fire Tender nodded continuously. Although he usually called the Translator ¡®Echegke¡¯ [father], the relationship between them was still master and servant.


    However, in front of the old Translator, the Fire Tender did indeed seem like a son receiving lessons from a father.


    Meanwhile, Anglu, along with Tulin, also made it to Winters¡¯ command post.


    Winters¡¯ troops assembled at Saint Town, with the command post situated within the town¡¯s church.

 Chapter 821 03-25 - 821 82 Enemy_2

    ?Chapter 821: Chapter 82 Enemy_2 Chapter 821: Chapter 82 Enemy_2 As soon as they entered the church, Tulin reported anxiously, ¡°Commander! Revodan has not yet fallen!¡±


    Due to the church¡¯s echo structure, Tulin¡¯s voice sounded particularly ethereal, its content akin to the gospel.


    The spirits of others in the command post were lifted. Winters, who had been poring over the map, suddenly looked up and gestured for Tulin to explain in detail.


    Revodan was surrounded by the forces of Terdun, with Terdun¡¯s cavalry patrolling along the southern shore.


    Communication in and out of the city was completely cut off, and the messenger who took a detour along the north shore hadn¡¯t returned. Tulin was the first Scout under Winters¡¯s command to break through the blockade.


    Tulin did not dare to delay or take credit for his findings. Glancing around, he spoke loudly and clearly, ¡°There are many barbarian patrols; I couldn¡¯t enter the city but did catch a glimpse of the western slopes. I can assure you, the flag atop the city walls is still our blue army flag, not the barbarians¡¯ horsetail banner!¡±


    Many in the command post were citizens of Revodan, with their families in the city.


    ...


    Upon hearing this, the clerks could not help but cheer out loud, sweeping away the gloom that had accumulated over the past few days.


    The sound waves spread out of the church, transmitting the news that ¡°Revodan is still holding strong.¡±


    Upon hearing the news, the soldiers and laborers who had been constructing fortifications around the town threw down their tools and also began to shout wildly, venting the emotions pent up inside them.


    In the frenzy, only one person maintained his calm and restraint.


    Winters tapped his fingertips lightly on the tabletop and slowly asked Tulin, ¡°Is Revodan¡¯s city defense still intact?¡±


    ¡°Intact!¡± Tulin replied without hesitation, ¡°The city walls are all in good condition. There¡¯s no sign of fires. I also observed carts and pedestrians on the bridge, seeming to transport something!¡±


    Bard strode energetically into the church, and as soon as he entered, he joyfully asked, ¡°Heard Revodan is safe and sound? Our senior really is capable!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Safe and sound. Since our senior has held Revodan, we have more options now.¡± Winters unconsciously stroked a simple knife, lost in thought.


    Seeing this, Bard signaled for everyone else to remain, and silence fell over the church again.


    Winters stood below the altar, deep in thought. Sunlight streamed through the church¡¯s mosaic glass windows onto him, giving his figure a mottled look.


    His subordinates and clerks looked on reverently, some silently praying in their hearts.


    ¡°Bard,¡± Winters spoke slowly and deliberately, ¡°Conscript all persons in Iron Peak County over the age of fifteen and under sixty.¡±


    ¡­


    Green-flagged messengers raced in all directions, carrying two orders.


    The first order called for the conscription of all men over fifteen and under sixty from Middle Iron Peak County and Upper Iron Peak County as militia; those who joined were to receive a specified allotment of land, with thrice the amount for those who fell in battle.


    The second order had spread throughout Saint Town before it was even fully copied.


    It had no official name, but everyone spoke its nickname with a hint of fear and shiver¡ª¡±the beheading order.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It stated that in Iron Peak County, regardless of gender, age, or civilian status, anyone who could bring an enemy¡¯s head, along with a helmet or hat as proof, would receive an allotment of land.


    Land was Winters¡¯s capital, and his only capital. But when the time came to use it, Winters was never stingy.


    ¡­


    Mason also received a message from Winters¡ªthe messenger who had crossed the river through King¡¯s Bridge Town had finally reached Revodan.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Mason sighed deeply as he handed the note to Moritz, ¡°Is it some special script used by the Venetians?¡±


    The hastily created cipher was too simple to carry much information.


    Yet the risk of interception was not to be ignored, so Winters¡¯s message was written in code.


    Mason couldn¡¯t understand it.


    Moritz, who was listless, took the note, glanced at it, and quickly handed it back, saying, ¡°No.¡±


    Due to the lack of grain for brewing, Moritz had been suffering severe withdrawal symptoms.


    At the moment, he was fiddling with a small silver flask, the last of Revodan¡¯s strong liquor inside.


    The colonel was so focused on every detail of the flask that it seemed mere contact might quench his thirst.


    Only Mason knew that the colonel was saving the last of the liquor for the battle.


    ¡°What else did the Civil Guard Officer Montaigne say?¡± Mason asked, resigned, to the messenger.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer said,¡± the messenger replied, ¡°Go find A and B.¡±


    ¡­


    Usually, within the military, A referred to Lieutenant Tang Juan, and B stood for Moritz.


    Tang Juan had been missing for a while, but Mason was aware of another A, and at this moment, this Ms. A was right here in Revodan.


    Ms. A¡ªAnna Navarre took the note, looking at the jumbled letters with a slight frown.


    Catherine also peeked over her sister¡¯s shoulder, but she was equally clueless.


    ¡°It¡¯s from Winters,¡± Mason said, embarrassed, ¡°I think only you can understand it.¡±


    Hearing that name, Anna¡¯s brow smoothed over, and she answered modestly and with a touch of shyness, ¡°Then I probably understand how to interpret it.¡±


    Anna went on to simply explain the reason, her cheeks growing redder as she did.


    Since Winters¡¯s letters to Anna were always being spied on, when Anna once mentioned it in jest, Winters had told her about a method of encryption.


    ¡°In ancient times, a commander would shift each letter in the military orders by several places down the alphabet,¡± Winters had thought he was solving a problem, ¡°thus, the original sentences would turn into a jumble of letters.¡±

 Chapter 822 03-25 - 822 82 Enemy_3

    ?Chapter 822: Chapter 82 Enemy_3 Chapter 822: Chapter 82 Enemy_3 Catherine hummed lightly.


    Anna picked up the letter, her confusion resurfacing, ¡°But there¡¯s something strange about this letter, it¡¯s not like the usual cipher sequences¡­ Why are there only ten letters? I¡­ Oh! I understand now¡­¡±


    Mason and Catherine were both clueless.


    Anna hurriedly explained, ¡°It¡¯s a different encryption method, one that I just mentioned in passing to Mr. Montaigne¡­ It¡¯s not merely ten letters, but one to ten. We also need a book. Did Mr. Montaigne mention which book?¡±


    Mason quickly answered, ¡°He said to look for A and B.¡±


    ¡°It must be a book that both he and I have, at least something that¡¯s not hard to find. B? What is that?¡± Anna¡¯s gaze swept over the shrine, and in an instant, she understood all the nuances.


    With a smile, she pointed to the holy emblem, ¡°It¡¯s a scripture.¡±


    ...


    After borrowing the ¡°folio¡± from Revodan Cathedral, the contents of the letter were quickly decrypted.


    It was a wholly military communication, in which Winters briefly and forcefully described the course and outcome of the Battle of Panto River, calmly analyzing the current predicament of the troops¡ªshortage of supplies; no chance to rest after the bitter battle, the soldiers weary and old.


    Then, Winters informed Senior Mason of his next battle plan, while Revodan would temporarily receive no reinforcement.


    The austere emotions of an iceberg only cracked at the very end of his letter, as Winters painfully and restrainedly wrote two words, ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry about?¡± Mason spread his hands helplessly, ¡°In war, anything can happen¡­¡±


    Mason¡¯s voice became quieter and he stopped abruptly. He noticed Anna¡¯s eyes, slightly reddened as she translated the letter.


    Anna quickly composed herself, smiling with the same grace as Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Yes, in war, anything can happen.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡­


    At the same time, on the Big Horn River.


    Samujin, standing at the bow, could already faintly see the silhouette of the Floating Bridge.


    The Floating Bridge that spanned both banks resembled a delicate ribbon on the water¡¯s surface.


    As a firsthand witness to the Battle of the Great Wilderness, Samujin had seen the Herders collide the Floating Bridge with logs and rafts, destroying half of it at the Styx.


    Now the situation was reversed, and it was Samujin¡¯s turn to lead the flotilla against the Floating Bridge of Terdun.


    ¡°The water is too low,¡± Samujin thought to himself.


    In the winter low water season, the volume of Big Horn River was reduced, and the current slowed; not to mention Shovel Lake, the large reservoir behind the Floating Bridge.


    Could the small boats loaded with stones destroy the Floating Bridge? Samujin wasn¡¯t sure.


    Would the Terdun people rebuild it after its destruction? Samujin dared not think about it.


    If they could intercept the Terdun Barbarians as they were setting up the Floating Bridge, it would certainly not be completed.


    Now that the Terdun people occupied both banks, even if the Floating Bridge were destroyed, as long as they had craftsmen and materials, they could rebuild it.


    Regret and self-reproach surged in Samujin¡¯s heart. Centurion Montaigne had entrusted him with the flotilla and significant battlefield command rights, but he wrongly concentrated all boats in the Battle of Panto River, failing to allocate some for controlling the waterways.


    Samujin had thought that the Terdun people had exhausted their tricks, but this idea had led to a major mistake. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters did not blame Samujin; he only blamed himself for not advising Samujin in advance. This made Samujin feel even more agonized and ashamed.


    ¡°The only way to wash away disgrace,¡± Samujin thought, looking at the ever-closer Floating Bridge and ordered the drums to be beaten, ¡°is to destroy it.¡±


    ¡°Even if it costs us our lives,¡± he added to himself through gritted teeth.


    The Terdun people defending the Floating Bridge noticed the downstream boats, shouting, running, grabbing long poles with iron hooks as they rushed onto the Floating Bridge¡ªboth sides had learned a lot in this war.


    In the nearby camp on the riverbank, a captain ripped off his scarf like a hawk eyeing the river, and his thin body seemed to be injected with endless strength. ¡°It¡¯s the sound of drums!¡± the captain¡¯s pupils dilated and he thumped his thigh forcefully, ¡°The little military drums!¡±


    The other captives were also startled, unable to resist raising a clamor.


    ¡°Little military drums?¡±


    ¡°Our people are coming?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Will they come to save us?¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± the captain shouted, and the captives instantly silenced.


    Suddenly remembering something, the captain punched his thigh hard, ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± another captive asked.


    The captain had no time to explain, stretched out his legs, and commanded harshly, ¡°Split it open!¡±


    Iron shackles bound the captain¡¯s legs. Although the captives had axes, none dared to move. Helping the captain would mean sharing his fate.


    Furious, the captain ordered again, ¡°Do it!¡±


    Still, no one moved.


    ¡°Do it!¡±


    Finally, another captive, after much struggle, stopped thinking. With a grotesque expression and hysteria, he cried out, ¡°Damn it! Do you want to be slaves to the Herd Barbarians for the rest of your lives?!¡±


    On the other side, Samujin beat the drum himself, the rowers pulling hard. The small boats laden with stones sped toward the Floating Bridge.


    The preparations of the Terdun people seemed insufficient; they just kept firing arrows from the banks. Samujin¡¯s flotilla, moving in mid-river, stayed as far from the banks as possible.


    Suddenly, Samujin caught sight of a group of ragged people bursting out from the north bank, waving their hands, shouting, and jumping towards him.


    With the drumbeat piercing through the air, Samujin couldn¡¯t make out what they were yelling, only seeing them desperately waving their arms.

 Chapter 823 03-25 - 823 82 Enemy_4

    ?Chapter 823: Chapter 82 Enemy_4 Chapter 823: Chapter 82 Enemy_4 ¡°Are these our captured brothers?¡± Samujin thought in agony, ¡°But I have no strength left to save you!¡±


    The captives on the shore were actually shouting just one sentence¡ª¡±Don¡¯t come over!¡±


    However, the boats on the river were speeding up instead of slowing down.


    The captain with his face covered became frantic, his eyes bloodshot, as he grabbed an axe, ¡°It¡¯s too late! Follow me!¡±


    With those words, he charged ahead, leading the way toward a tent of the Terdun people on the shore.


    The other captives hesitated slightly, but quickly picked up tools and even stones, following the masked captain towards the Terdun people.


    Meanwhile, accompanied by the grating sound of winches turning, the oarsmen in the leading boat were horrified to see a long serpent leap up from the surface of the water, blocking their way.


    ...


    No, not a serpent! Samujin recognized at a glance what it was¡ªa thick cable stretched between both banks of the river.


    The cable hung naturally, with the near-shore portion suspended above the water¡¯s surface and the far-shore portion half-submerged.


    The leading boat, caught off-guard, struck the cable and spun out of control.


    As it turned, the small, stone-laden boat swayed like a leaf before abruptly capsizing.


    The hastily constructed boats were flat-bottomed, shallow in draft but not shallow enough to glide over the cable, especially now that they were fully loaded.


    ¡°To the shore!¡± Samujin shouted with all his might, giving the order, ¡°To the river shore!¡±


    Before the sound of his voice faded, another boat crashed into the cable and overturned. The other oarsmen quickly turned their boats and drifted toward the shore.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    With the near-shore cable hanging above the water, the small boats, now armed with axes and swords, could cut through it.


    However, the Terdun archers were also on the shore, and as the fleet approached, they began shooting arrows.


    Arrows fell like rain, and even the shields were not enough protection; oarsmen kept getting struck and falling into the water.


    What happened next drove Samujin to despair¡ªthe watercourse successively rose with a second and then a third cable.


    Even if the cables were not made of iron chains, three barriers were enough to destroy the entire fleet.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± gritting his teeth, Samujin gave the order.


    It was at that moment that something unexpected occurred.


    As if suddenly released from their constraints, the first cable violently retracted and then went limp, floating on the water¡¯s surface.


    The masked captain, having slashed through the cable, delivered a mighty axe blow to a Terdun attacker, nearly faltering himself.


    He steadied himself and roared to his surviving men, ¡°The next one!¡±


    Seeing the commotion on the West Bank, Samujin realized that someone was risking their life to help.


    ¡°Do not fail them!¡± Samujin banged the war drums forcefully, ¡°Row! Charge!¡±


    The fleet returned to its original course, the oarsmen chanting as they swung their arms, the stone-laden boats ramming against the Floating Bridge with full force.


    The Terdun were caught off guard, and the second and third cables were also severed by the masked captain.


    The sound of hoofbeats came from behind, but the captain paid no heed; he just stared as the boats crashed into the Floating Bridge he had helped build, feeling a sense of satisfaction.


    Aboard the boat, Samujin noticed the strange man wearing a mask, leaning on an axe, standing alone on the shore.


    Samujin rose to his feet and saluted the man from a distance.


    Beneath his scarf, a faint smile crept across the masked man¡¯s face as he returned the salute with gravity.


    More than ten boats broke through the river-blocking cables and resolutely smashed into the Floating Bridge. A few Terdun still held their positions, but most of them dropped their poles and turned to run.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Your people really are clumsy¡­¡± On the riverbank, a man watched the chaotic scene of horses and men fleeing, then turned to the others and said resignedly, ¡°[Ancient Language] Help them¡­ fortunately, the river is low now.¡±


    Amidst the booming of the war drums, oarsmen leaped overboard to survive, and the leading small boats fiercely collided with the Floating Bridge.


    The Floating Bridge tensed instantly, trembling slightly as if in pain.


    Several anchor ropes securing the pontoons snapped, the boats capsized, and the bridge rebounded significantly.


    ¡°Good!!!¡± both Samujin and the masked captain shouted simultaneously. With ongoing collisions, the Floating Bridge would inevitably fail.


    However, at that moment, the Big Horn River, which had been flowing quietly, began to swell.


    At first, there were only a few ripples, but quickly the ripples amplified into waves.


    Under the gaze of everyone on both banks, the waves visibly grew more turbulent and the crests increasingly high.


    The flat-bottomed inland vessels simply couldn¡¯t withstand such large waves.


    ¡°Damn! This is¡­¡± Samujin cursed in anger and despair. Before he could finish, a wave as high as a man flipped over his boat.


    The Floating Bridge, too, was rocked by the ¡°tidal wave,¡± smashing back down onto the water¡¯s surface and snapping a dozen more anchor ropes.


    The river pulled people and splintered planks under the water, with the remnants of the wave reaching far and wide. The waves gradually subsided, and the raging river slowly returned to its usual calm.


    Witnessing this ¡°miracle,¡± the Terdun fell to their knees in worship.


    The masked captain had no time for contemplation; he discarded his clothes and dived into the frigid waters.


    Samujin could swim, but after gulping down a couple of mouthfuls of water, all that remained was the instinctual flailing of his arms. Soon, he lost consciousness.


    As Samujin sank deeper and deeper, a pair of iron arms wrapped around him from behind, dragging him toward the surface.


    Slightly conscious, Samujin faintly felt someone poking his mouth and throat, urgently, then he felt the air. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Breathe!¡± said the stranger anxiously.


    Samujin instinctively drew a deep breath, as if to burst his lungs. His body curled involuntarily like a shrimp, and his consciousness became clearer.


    Then Samujin saw a face, a face without a nose, without ears, one side horribly scarred from burns.

 Chapter 824 03-25 - 824 82 Enemy_5

    ?Chapter 824: Chapter 82 Enemy_5 Chapter 824: Chapter 82 Enemy_5 ¡°Who are you?¡± Samujin struggled to rise.


    ¡°Moro.¡± The disfigured man¡¯s voice was low, ¡°Danzel Moro, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Bridge?¡± Samujin seemed to find an anchor for his consciousness and suddenly stood up, eagerly looking towards the Floating Bridge.


    ¡°The Floating Bridge suffered some damage, but it can all be repaired,¡± Captain Moro said coldly.


    Captain was right. Although the Floating Bridge was damaged in several places, it still stretched across the river, as if mocking Samujin.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Samujin suddenly felt dizzy. His knees weakened, and he fell to the ground, desperately pounding the sandy earth, ¡°Damn! Damn!¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Save your strength.¡± Captain Moro just spoke and made no move to stop him, ¡°The Herder¡¯s search team is coming. If you don¡¯t leave, you¡¯re waiting for death.¡±


    ...


    Samujin turned a deaf ear, the iron man suddenly wrapping his arms around his knees and bursting into tears.


    ¡°What are you crying for?¡± Captain Moro couldn¡¯t feel Samujin¡¯s grief and just sneered, ¡°With your stupid method, it was never possible to completely destroy the Floating Bridge¡­ I have a better way, take me to see your commander.¡±


    Samujin suddenly looked up, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw, ¡°You still have a way to destroy the Floating Bridge.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Captain Moro looked coldly at the Floating Bridge, ¡°I built that bridge. Every moment I think about how to destroy it.¡±


    ¡­


    On the other side, Mason summoned Revodan¡¯s civil commissioners and representatives of all levels to read a part of Winters¡¯ letter.


    ¡°Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has just fought hard and needs a few days to regroup and gather,¡± Captain Mason concluded, ¡°So we have no reinforcements during this period and must rely on ourselves.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    The town hall erupted into tumult, although repelling one attack from Terdun had greatly boosted the citizens¡¯ confidence, the news of no reinforcements still shook their resolve.


    ¡°Montaigne Civil Guard Officer agrees, if necessary,¡± Mason paused for a moment, ¡°to abandon the southern city.¡±


    Another grenade thrown into a chicken coop, the citizens of Revodan loudly agreed, the representatives of the refugees were anxious, and some openly objected.


    ¡°Quiet!¡± Mayor Priskin banged the table vigorously.


    When the town hall quieted down again,


    Mason carefully explained, ¡°Even if we must abandon the southern city, we need a strategy. Supplies must be moved north, there must be a place for the elderly and children, and we have to figure out how to destroy what can¡¯t be moved¡­¡±


    Mason spoke slowly, with a calm and gentle tone, but his gentleness and calmness contained a kind of strength.


    The town hall grew quieter and quieter, everyone listening intently.


    ¡°Just tell us what to do!¡± the top supporter of the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer, the blacksmith Shosa, was the first to respond, ¡°We all follow you. With the enemy at our door, who wouldn¡¯t listen! Just deal with him!¡±


    The crowd was bustling, and seeing this, Mayor Priskin simply said, ¡°Those who agree with Commissioner Shosa, cheer for Civil Guard Officer Mason three times!¡±


    Three cheers, each louder than the last.


    Mayor Priskin hammered down, ¡°Three cheers passed!¡±


    ¡°Now that everyone is listening to me,¡± Mason stood up, slightly embarrassed, ¡°let¡¯s first evacuate the women and children to the northern shore.¡±


    The evacuation progressed quickly, as most of the women and children were already settled on the northern shore.


    After evacuating the women and children, it was time to move the supplies.


    Men of Revodan city¡ªboth citizens and refugees¡ªwere formed into militia squads and came to the southern shore to move items.


    With only one bridge over the river, it was jam-packed for a time.


    Seeing this, Mason ordered that after leaving necessary defense personnel on the northern shore, all other militia and city guards concentrated on the southern shore to move supplies in an orderly manner.


    After clearing the bridge, Mason ordered the bridge to be dismantled.


    Not using explosives¡ªbecause gunpowder was very precious;


    Nor using kerosene¡ªbecause fuel was also very precious;


    Every piece of wood was carefully collected for reuse¡ªthrift and prudence, very much Mason¡¯s style.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided,¡± Mason stood in front of the panic-stricken crowd, smiling as he announced, ¡°We will not abandon the southern city.¡±

 Chapter 825 03-25 - 825 83 Sightseeing

    ?Chapter 825: Chapter 83 Sightseeing Chapter 825: Chapter 83 Sightseeing Revodan, the southern city.


    ¡°Learning so quickly.¡± Mason watched the earth thrown up by the Terdun people, his mood heavy as he thought, ¡°Winters was right, the intangible dissemination of technology is a greater threat than tangible losses of troops and generals.¡±


    The artillery captain thought this way, but his emotions didn¡¯t show.


    He turned his head and sternly reprimanded his ashen-faced subordinates, ¡°Where are the cannons? Why are they not yet in position?¡±


    The Terdun people chose to approach from the west of the city by digging trenches, while Mason¡¯s cannons had been previously positioned at the southern gate.


    The third generation ¡°wooden cannons,¡± to prevent burst barrels, adopted a three-layer structure of iron, hide, and wood, making the barrels heavy and difficult to transport.


    The questioned temporary sergeant looked left and right, hesitating for a moment before confirming that the Civil Guard Officer was indeed speaking to him.


    ...


    Sweat broke out on the sergeant¡¯s forehead, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what are you standing around here for?!¡± Mason suddenly raised his voice and yelled.


    Not just the questioned sergeant, but all the surrounding militiamen were startled into a tremor.


    The sergeant started to leave, feeling he should salute first. But he was not a military man, just a temporarily appointed citizen of Revodan; he didn¡¯t even know if he was entitled to salute.


    The sergeant¡¯s mind went blank, and in the end, he gave a half-hearted knee-bend of a salute and turned to run away.


    The sergeant¡¯s dozen or so militiamen looked at each other and hastily followed suit.


    Mason kept a stern face and continued to inspect the city walls. He scolded the panicked laborers, whipped the cowards hiding behind walls and occasionally gave some praise to the brave.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Although no one liked to be insulted and yelled at, for some reason, a strange sense of security spread among the militiamen.


    It was too quiet, too quiet on the battlefield.


    Besides the sound of the St. George River flowing, there was only the sound of the Terdun people digging.


    The majority of the militiamen standing behind the city walls had dry mouths and cool palms, even able to hear their own carotid arteries throbbing.


    Under these conditions, hearing the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s robust scolding, a few militiamen were even moved to tears.


    The gentle and quiet Civil Guard Officer had become a walking curse machine. On the one hand, this was deliberate on Mason¡¯s part, and on the other hand, it was because his mood was indeed not good.


    In his last encounter with the Terdon Tribe, their level of siege warfare was still stuck thirty years in the past:


    Shield carts, siege ladders, catapults; filling bags with earth, digging trenches, even absurdly trying to level the bastion with human lives.


    The result, of course, was a resounding defeat, thousands of Terdun Cavalry were crushed by the teeth of the small fortress manned by a mere thousand men.


    In this defense of Revodan, the city walls were much weaker compared to the former Bridgehead Fortress, yet the Terdun people showed a greatly improved technical capability.


    They began using specialized earth-moving tools¡ªthis fact alone made Mason feel more threatened than using sheepskin bags to carry dirt. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What was more surprising was yet to come: carts arrived continuously, the Terdun people unloaded four cannons after some effort.


    In order to unload these four cannons, the Terdun people assembled a small crane.


    Mason could tell at a glance that the enemy was using six-pound long cannons. He could not mistake them, as these were the models he had used in the battle at Bianli.


    When they retreated from Bianli, all captured artillery was secretly nailed shut and sunk in the river.


    Where did these cannons come from? Whether the Terdun people dredged them up from the river¡¯s bed after interrogating captives, or if they were newly acquired, Mason did not know.


    But one thing was certain¡ªthe Terdun people now had cannons.


    As for whether the Terdun people had the ability to use the cannons?


    ¡°We¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± Mason thought.


    The temporarily appointed militia captains were summoned by Mason for a meeting.


    Among the militia captains, there were original village and town leaders, Revodan city council members, estate owners, and common farmers¡ªpeople of influence elected by the militiamen themselves.


    From this perspective, the Revodan militia naturally possessed a certain level of cohesion, as the commanders at all levels were elected from the bottom up.


    ¡°Officers¡± did not need to earn their authority through actions; they were appointed ¡°officers¡± because they already had authority.


    The bottom-up structure had its drawbacks¡ªthe highest commander lacked binding power over the officer corps, after all, the Civil Guard Officer was not elected.


    To harness the troops¡¯ cohesion, it was prerequisite that commanders at all levels had to set an example, which was exactly what caused Mason the most headache.


    After the initial surprise attack failed, the Terdun people did not launch any attacks on the second or third day.


    However, the psychological pressure from their digging of trenches and steadily approaching was perhaps greater than a direct assault on the walls.


    Especially as news of the Terdun people possessing four large cannons spread quickly, causing more panic within New Town.


    Mason scanned the gathering of militia captains. Some had white in their hair, some were still young lads. Without exception, they were either staring silently at the tips of their boots or quietly smoking.


    The battle hadn¡¯t even started yet, but the atmosphere was as heavy as if they had already been defeated.


    A militia captain with a red birthmark on his face broke the silence and stood up to ask, ¡°Your Honor, since the barbarians have cannons, should we further fortify the walls?¡±


    Former sergeant, now militia captain [Ivan], although silent, nodded vigorously in agreement.


    After the large-scale preparations for war began, Ivan, as a former member of the security guard and a garrison sergeant, was conscripted again.


    He silently bid farewell to his wife and children and once more entered the barracks, picking up weapons again. In the previous battles, he had proven to be reliable and was promoted to militia captain for his merits.

 Chapter 826 03-25 - 826 83 Sightseeing_2

    ?Chapter 826: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_2 Chapter 826: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_2 Mason looked around the room and saw two people whose attitudes were relatively positive: one was an old subordinate, and the other was a captive from the disciplinary camp.


    ¡°I know you resent me for tricking you to the south bank, forcing you to defend the city.¡± Mason didn¡¯t pick up on his subordinate¡¯s words but instead looked straight at everyone, openly acknowledging their thoughts. ¡°You might also resent Commissioner Montaigne for not coming to Revodan¡¯s aid.¡±


    The air grew heavier; this was indeed what most of the militia captains thought. It would have been possible to safely retreat to the north bank, yet now they were left to defend the town on the south bank, and everyone harbored grievances.


    Mason said politely, ¡°Gentlemen, I have only two things to tell you. If we abandon New Town, we would be cutting off Commissioner Montaigne¡¯s retreat, so New Town must be defended; if Commissioner Montaigne rushed here to help, his entire army would be annihilated, so he cannot come for now.¡±


    Those appointed as militia captains were mostly from the educated gentry class. The majority of them actually understood both points that Mason made. But when it came to themselves, they really didn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°Did you understand what I said?¡± Mason asked gently.


    ¡°Understood,¡± the man with the birthmark and Ivan answered in unison.


    ...


    ¡°Did you understand?¡± Mason asked again.


    One after another, the militia captains murmured their assent.


    ¡°Since you understood, there is another matter you all need to be informed of.¡± Mason¡¯s expression turned somber. ¡°You are now bound by military law, and cowardice or desertion in the face of the enemy will be punished severely, including but not limited to the death penalty or confiscation of property. We are in a wartime situation, with no defense and no trial. Anyone who tests the law will be executed by my own hand.¡±


    A chill ran through the militia captains. Mason¡¯s tone remained calm, but his resolve was as firm as steel, leaving even the most cowardly with no doubts about his determination.


    The group answered again, this time louder and more in unison than before.


    After instilling some courage and fear into his subordinates, Mason began to discuss the matter at hand. ¡°The original city walls were designed to withstand muskets, but now that the Terdunians have brought in cannons, the walls need to be thickened. It¡¯s not troublesome; just pile up earth behind the corresponding section of the wall. Mr. Ivan, you will be responsible for this task.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ivan stood up quickly and saluted.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    The Terdunians currently only have four cannons, yet I hear among the militia that there are rumors, some saying the Terdunians have deployed forty cannons?¡± Mason thought for a moment and said with a smile:


    ¡°Cannons aren¡¯t something to fear; it¡¯s the rumors that grow more frightening the more they spread. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do: each militia will take turns visiting the western wall to see both the Terdunians¡¯ cannons and our own. Seeing with your own eyes what they are will help you realize they¡¯re not so formidable. I¡¯ll schedule it so each unit takes turns leaving their posts to have a look.¡±


    The atmosphere lightened a little, and the militia captains agreed one by one.


    ¡°The way I see it, the Terdunians showing all this force actually suggests that their main attack isn¡¯t directed at Revodan,¡± Mason said in the tone of a casual chat among friends. ¡°Given the strength of Revodan¡¯s defenses, they don¡¯t need to rely on such time-consuming and labor-intensive trench warfare.¡±


    Many of the militia captains pricked up their ears; they needed some good news.


    Seeing he had captivated the attention of the group, Mason felt words alone were not enough. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and gestured for everyone to come closer.


    Mason patiently began to draw while explaining: ¡°¡­Considering the earthwork capabilities the Terdunians have displayed so far, they could easily approach the trenches and dig to fill them using a mantlet for cover. Revodan¡¯s walls lack salients, so such trench advances would be superfluous.


    ¡°The Terdunians digging trenches to approach signifies they are not in a hurry to attack. But they have come from afar and there are no local supplies to plunder, so they should be anxious. This suggests something is amiss¡­ If I were the Terdunian leader, I would use¡­¡±


    Mason became more and more animated as he spoke, while the militia captains listened with growing bewilderment. Because the Civil Guard Officer Mason almost didn¡¯t seem like the highest commander of the defense, he seemed to be enthusiastically giving strategy tips to the attacking Herd Barbarians.


    ¡°¡­The city would fall.¡± Mason ended his talk with the sketching stick still in his hand and smiled at his subordinates. ¡°So, you see, the Terdunians are only at this level¡ªwith a half-baked understanding that makes one anxious. There¡¯s nothing to worry about, Revodan has enough people and provisions, not to mention holding out for ten years, but holding out for a month or two should be no problem.¡±


    A crowd of militia captains nodded, though somewhat muddled. They didn¡¯t quite understand how the Civil Guard Officer Mason had deduced that ¡°holding out for a month or two should be no problem.¡± But the officer¡¯s confident lecture and certain demeanor cast a degree of assurance in their hearts.


    With the day growing late, Mason planned to have dinner with the militia captains¡ªthough the so-called dinner was just a standard ration of a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.


    A messenger ran over and whispered a few words to Mason.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Mason remained composed. ¡°Bring him over.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± the messenger hesitated.


    ¡°Bring him over,¡± Mason reiterated in a commanding tone.


    The messenger saluted and strode off.


    ¡°The Terdunians have sent an envoy,¡± Mason smiled and informed the group of militia captains. ¡°The purpose isn¡¯t hard to guess. Is it to persuade us to surrender or to extort us, offering money and grain for safety?¡±


    The hearts of the militia captains lifted again, and in the eyes of many gleamed a glimmer of hope. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 827 03-25 - 827 83 Sightseeing_3

    ?Chapter 827: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_3 Chapter 827: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_3 ¡°Your Excellency,¡± the birthmarked man suddenly stood up, urgently dissuading, ¡°An officer shouldn¡¯t directly contact the enemy¡¯s messenger, they might be assassins¡­¡±


    Mason smiled and waved his hand, the birthmarked man pursed his lips and sat down, no longer speaking.


    Footsteps sounded again, and the messenger passed on the word, bringing over the people from Terdun, and everyone¡¯s gaze converged on the newcomers.


    Two men arrived, both clad in Herders¡¯ leather robes, but one could tell at a glance that the one in the lead was a Herder, while the one behind felt somewhat awkward in his robe.


    The Herder messenger, seeing the tent filled with people, wasn¡¯t intimidated at all and strode towards Mason, arrogantly stating, ¡°In Herde Language¡­ by order of¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence because Mason had picked up a short gun from the table and aimed it at the messenger¡¯s head, pulling the trigger without hesitation.


    Click¡ªa sound as the sear disengaged, the cylinder rotated.


    ...


    The flash occurred twice, once from the pans, and then from the muzzle.


    The lead ball poured into the forehead of the Herder messenger and bore out through the back of his head, splattering white and red.


    The envoy died on the spot, and everyone was stunned.


    The slave Translator who had come with the messenger wet himself from fright, collapsing to the ground begging frantically for mercy.


    ¡°Take him away,¡± Mason gestured towards the Translator, carefully placing the revolver back in its place, ¡°See if we can interrogate him for any valuable information.¡±


    The birthmarked man quickly stepped forward, propping up the Translator to leave the tent.


    Ivan silently followed, dragging away the body of the messenger.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Messengers? They come to waver our will and spy on our reality,¡± Mason said uncomfortably, wiping the blood from his hand¡ªhe still wasn¡¯t accustomed to this sort of thing, and continued slowly:


    ¡°The Herders have a rule, if their messenger is killed, on the day the city falls, everyone must either be killed or enslaved.¡±


    After a brief pause, Mason spoke again, ¡°Let me tell one more thing to the gentlemen, the Herders have another rule, if their messenger is not killed, on the day the city falls, everyone will still either be killed or enslaved. Don¡¯t be naive, there is no compromise between us and the people of Terdun, only life and death.¡±


    Among the leaders of the militia, an estate owner who had just fantasized about negotiating with the Herders involuntarily swallowed his saliva.


    He had just confirmed something¡ªthe Civil Guard Officer, who was kindly explaining siege tactics just a second before, would not hesitate to take a life.


    Recalling the ¡°military law¡± that the other party had mentioned earlier, the estate owner could not help but swallow again.


    Another messenger ran to Mason at high speed, reporting another matter, to which Mason nodded slightly.


    Once again, everyone was on edge.


    ¡°Good news,¡± Mason¡¯s face broke into a smile, and for a moment, the gentle Civil Guard seemed to return, ¡°Lady Montaigne has brought us hot food!¡±


    ¡­


    On the banks of St. George River, small boats carried whole buckets of steaming, fragrant soup from the north bank to the south bank.


    The soup was purposely put in buckets, so the militia coming to collect it could easily carry it away, distributing it among their units.


    It was already winter, and it was freezing cold. The militiamen stationed on the south bank had nothing but hard, cold rations to eat; when they heard there was soup to drink, they all cheered.


    Anna, wearing a veil and a small hat, dressed in a simple deep blue rider¡¯s uniform, accompanied by the old mayor Priskin, came to the south bank.


    [Note: Rider¡¯s uniform refers to tight-fitting jackets with trousers for riding.]


    Anna said somewhat embarrassingly to Mason, ¡°Mr. Montaigne used to tell many stories about wanting a sip of hot soup during a battle¡­ The bridge was dismantled hastily, I hope it didn¡¯t cause you too much trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°The stomach is the foot of the army; how could it be troublesome?¡± Mason laughed heartily, ¡°On such a cold day, having a cup of hot soup means more than anything I could say to keep spirits up!¡±


    Anna became even more embarrassed, ¡°I mean¡­¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Rest assured, it won¡¯t,¡± Mason reassured her with a smile and a slight shake of his head.


    ¡°How about we deliver soup to everyone daily?¡±


    ¡°Nothing could be better!¡±


    Mr. Priskin bid farewell to Mason, then escorted Anna back to the north bank by boat. The old mayor initially wanted to stay with Mason on the south bank, but Mason persuaded him to leave, as the defense of the Old City could not do without him.


    The tall and thin Ivan sauntered over to Mason, asking in a low voice with a bit of embarrassment, ¡°Your Excellency, should we¡­ burn the boats, too¡­¡±


    Mason roared with laughter, ¡°When that time comes, without a boat, we could swim back to the north bank. Are we also supposed to chop off everyone¡¯s arms and legs? Dismantling the bridge is to show attitude and resolve. Keeping the boats could prove to be very useful.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the Big Horn River, about seven kilometers upstream from the Floating Bridge.


    Captain Moro with his face covered and Samujin were leading soldiers and laborers to drive stakes into the riverbed of the Big Horn River.


    Both had only just escaped death to return to Niutigu Valley the day before and immediately threw themselves into another task¡ªconstructing a dam on the Big Horn River.


    On the Huiqing River, with its lower water volume, it was possible to use a crude method of stacking cages filled with stones to build the dam.


    But that wouldn¡¯t work on the Big Horn River. Although not as vast as The Styx, it was still a large river that could exceed a hundred meters in width during the flood season.


    To cut off the natural barrier of Iron Peak County, they had to employ another construction method.


    With guidance from local fishermen, Moro and Samujin found a suitable spot, not too far from the Floating Bridge, where the river was narrowest.


    They began by driving two parallel rows of wooden stakes into the riverbed, with each stake touching the next one, nestled tightly together, leaving as little space as possible.

 Chapter 828 03-25 - 828 83 Sightseeing_4

    ?Chapter 828: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_4 Chapter 828: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_4 ¡°Next, we need to drive stakes diagonally between the two rows of wooden stakes, dividing them into triangles,¡± Moro explained, using a twig as a pen to draw a diagram on the sandy beach for Samujin. ¡°We don¡¯t need to wait until the parallel stakes reach the riverbank; we can start now.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± Samujin¡¯s eyes were full of red veins; he hadn¡¯t rested in a long time. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for workers right away.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t have enough people,¡± Moro tapped the sand repeatedly.


    ¡°Montaine the Civil Guard Officer has agreed to support your plan with full force, whatever number of people you need,¡± Samujin said.


    After a personal trip to Saint Town, Samujin had brought back Winters¡¯ unreserved support¡ªincluding manpower, provisions, and the soon-to-arrive Ronald Division officers.


    ¡°Winters Montagne? Right, he¡¯s the lofty Civil Guard Officer now!¡± Moro scoffed a few times, throwing away the twig. ¡°Fine! It¡¯s none of my business if he wants to crown himself Field Marshal for slaying Herders!¡±


    Samujin said nothing.


    ...


    Although they had not been together long, Moro¡¯s stubborn will and ability during their escape from the Terdun and the construction of the dam had earned Samujin¡¯s deep respect.


    But Moro¡¯s attitude towards Centurion Montaine made it hard for Samujin to accept.


    So facing the offensive language, Samujin chose to temporarily play deaf and mute.


    ¡°We need to speed up the plan; no need to wait for the stakes to be completely finished. For each triangular area partitioned off, start filling it with rocks,¡± Moro stood up and looked toward the laborers working near the riverbed. ¡°Start with large rocks, then smaller ones, and finally fill it with mud and sand. Keep driving stakes while dumping rocks.¡±


    Samujin stood up as well. He was still a bit worried and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Are you really sure this will work?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t trust me? Then let Winters Montagne come here himself,¡± Moro said coldly. ¡°If he can build bridges over The Styx, a dam shouldn¡¯t be so difficult, right?¡±


    Samujin fell silent again.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    Moro stood quietly for a while before speaking, ¡°The method I¡¯m using is fundamentally the same one masons use to build bridge piers¡ªcofferdams, water-pumping, and grouting. We¡¯re not building a stone bridge that needs to stand for a hundred or a thousand years, so no need for water-pumping or grout, just drive the cofferdams to secure the rocks.¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Samujin saluted firmly.


    Moro didn¡¯t return the salute, simply turned his head to look at the river, his back to Samujin, and sneered dismissively, ¡°Thanks for nothing! First, figure out how to hold onto this dam!¡±


    No one saw that his dry eyes had reddened a bit.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at the former Forging Village¡ªnow a burnt and blackened ruin¡ªthe old Translator secretly met with several visitors.


    In total five visitors had arrived; the leader was a golden-haired, green-eyed man about thirty years old, accompanied by four guards wearing iron masks.


    The golden-haired man walked amid the ruined walls, occasionally picking up trinkets from the scorched earth with great interest.


    The old Translator accompanied the golden-haired man on his ¡°stroll,¡± while the four guards stood guard a little distance away.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] It seems they left in a hurry,¡± the golden-haired man said softly to the Translator, picking up a twisted, burned spoon. ¡°[Old Tongue] Earl.¡±


    The Translator was indifferent to the title of Earl, unaffected, and said coldly, ¡°[Old Tongue] For the Terdon Tribe, the most critical advantage in this looting was the element of surprise, and clearly, the rebels of Iron Peak County knew of the Terdun¡¯s arrival well in advance.¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] So who told them?¡± the golden-haired man asked with a smile.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Who do you think told them?¡± the Translator retorted.


    The golden-haired man¡¯s green eyes widened in feigned bewilderment.


    ¡°Playing dumb?¡± the Translator snapped, switching to the common tongue. ¡°Who else but your little pet could it have been?!¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] No, no, you¡¯re wrong,¡± the golden-haired man patiently corrected. ¡°[Old Tongue] Who would treat a lion as a pet? [Those who take beasts as pets will be devoured by them].¡±


    The Translator narrowed his eyes and stopped in his tracks, ¡°If you¡¯re not here to lend a hand, then what are you here for?¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Sightseeing,¡± the golden-haired man answered with a smile.


    The Translator spat in disgust.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Observing, assessing¡­ it¡¯s practically sightseeing,¡± the golden-haired man earnestly said. ¡°[Old Tongue] You¡¯re curious about what we¡¯re doing here, as are others who want to know what you¡¯re up to, what¡¯s happening here. The world is simply too large, so [a single late truth is more useful than a hundred timely lies].¡±


    The Translator grunted. Although he referred to Paratu¡¯s current regime as rebels, he showed no more respect for the golden-haired man.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] It¡¯s not that we haven¡¯t extended a hand. Rather¡­¡± the golden-haired man hesitated for a moment, then softly uttered a epithet with such caution, as if merely mentioning this title would be detected: ¡°[Old Tongue] His Majesty¡­ has many things, but he will use them prudently. If you expect the August to fund your ¡®grand¡¯ endeavor, the powers you rely on must at least be able to survive. But for now¡­ ¡±


    Looking around at the burnt earth and ruins, the golden-haired man shrugged and spread his hands, leaving the rest unsaid.


    The Translator remained silent, parting with the words, ¡°[Old Tongue] Just wait and see.¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Certainly,¡± the golden-haired man replied with a smile.

 Chapter 829 03-25 - 829 84 Beheading

    ?Chapter 829: Chapter 84: Beheading Chapter 829: Chapter 84: Beheading Along the country dirt road, a small convoy struggled to make its way.


    Inside the three large carts were grains and agricultural tools like pickaxes and iron shovels, pulled by a few mules conscripted for the task.


    Apart from the leading cavalry who wore standard sabers and arm guards, the weapons carried by other members of the convoy varied wildly.


    The wealthy wrapped in knitted wool capes carried fire guns, while the poor dressed in coarse hemp robes had only axes or even clubs.


    Two days ago, they were ordinary civilians, but today they had become soldiers. Regardless of wealth or status, everyone moved their feet toward a direction both known and unknown.


    Fear, desire, and confusion¡­ a variety of emotions spread among the crowd.


    Supplies, manpower, and carts continually converged from various parts of Iron Peak County toward Saint Town, this small convoy being one of the tributaries.


    ...


    ¡°Don¡¯t dawdle!¡± the cavalry leading the convoy, who appeared to be a Dusan with his left arm wrapped in thick white cloth, inspected front and back as he urged loudly, ¡°The slower we go, the faster we die! Pick up the pace!¡±


    His rebuke sounded like an invisible whip, seemingly quickening the pace of the temporarily conscripted militia.


    Someone in the ranks muttered under their breath, ¡°Easy for you to say, riding on a horse, while we walk¡­¡±


    Another could not help but complain aloud, ¡°Move, move, move! Just moving! Had I known it would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have followed!¡±


    The pain in his left arm throbbed faintly as Tulin sighed internally, ignoring everyone¡¯s grumbling.


    No one knew better than Dusack¡ªthose on duty always grumble. Even the bravest warriors could not avoid it, let alone these hastily drafted civilians.


    After being wounded in a fight with the Herd Barbarians, Tulin had been specifically ordered by Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, to leave the front line for safer tasks such as conscripting militia.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    Tulin straightened his back, looking around the horizon, an uneasy feeling lingering in his heart.


    Iron Peak County had become a battlefield, and there was no safe place on a battlefield.


    ¡°How about a break, sir?¡± shouted a young farmer from the ranks toward Dusack, ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for most of the day and can¡¯t go on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± others quickly echoed, ¡°Just a short break.¡±


    ¡°Break my ass!¡± Tulin glared, drawing on the sternness of an old soldier, and sharply rebuked, ¡°Stopping here means being slaughtered by barbarians if we encounter them! Whoever the hell wants to die, I¡¯ll help him, and spare the rest of us!¡±


    No one spoke then. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the group quiet down, Tulin calmed his tone to comfort them, ¡°We¡¯re near the military station ahead, just a little further. It¡¯s not only safe there, but there will also be food and drink. Once we reach the station, I¡¯ll let you rest enough¡­¡±


    Just as Tulin racked his brain to motivate the convoy, a flock of birds suddenly startled from the hillside to the west, faintly accompanied by the sound of drums.


    Tulin turned back in horror, his heart screaming, ¡°Not good!¡±


    He saw groups of cavalry burst out from the hillock, charging straight toward Tulin¡¯s convoy.


    The newly conscripted militia, oblivious, thought they were friendly cavalry and waved at them. Many others simply stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Tulin bellowed, drawing his sword, ¡°Everyone get over here to me!¡±


    Only then did the militia realize they were being attacked by Herd Barbarians, setting off cries and curses.


    People dashed toward ditches and forests beside the road, hardly any paying heed to Tulin¡¯s command.


    ¡°Sergeant!¡± another cavalryman rode up to Tulin, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Tulin, unable to contain his anger, cursed loudly and helplessly ordered, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Misfortune seemed multiplied, as cavalry figures appeared on the road ahead. It looked like a pincer attack was set up, with the northern cavalry¡¯s hoofbeats muffled by those from the west.


    Tulin and his men leaped over the ditch, galloping into the forest.


    The Herd cavalrymen who ambushed from the hillock quickly overwhelmed the convoy, brutally slaughtering any Paratu People who hadn¡¯t managed to escape.


    Tulin¡¯s forehead veins bulged, his teeth grating harshly, but turning back to fight was merely an instant death.


    Just then, a cavalryman behind Tulin suddenly shouted, ¡°Wait! It seems to be our men!¡±


    Tulin reined in his horse and looked back¡ªthe second troop of cavalry hadn¡¯t dispersed to chase the militia; instead, they charged straight into the Herd cavalry. The gleaming sabers swung in arcs, targeting the heads and shoulders of the Herd Barbarians.


    The Herd Barbarians screamed in a strange language, similar to the cries of the Iron Peak County militia moments earlier.


    Tulin saw clearly, although his cavalry was far outnumbered by the Herd Barbarians, they only had the advantage of a surprise attack. Once the barbarians recovered, the outcome was uncertain.


    ¡°Stop running!¡± Tulin desperately tried to halt the fleeing militia, ¡°Turn back and fight!¡±


    Still, hardly anyone heeded him.


    Tulin roared in fury, winding the reins around his injured left arm, fiercely spurring his warhorse, and charged at the nearest Herd Barbarian.


    The cavalrymen accompanying Tulin on his mission did not hesitate either, each drawing swords and lances, ready to follow the sergeant and counter the enemy.


    Among the militia, not everyone was solely concerned with escaping; some brave ones were also fighting desperately against the Herd Barbarians.


    Tulin stood in his stirrups, slashing madly at the enemy, his sabers crossing paths with each swing. His dark blue black warhorse also furiously bit and kicked at the Herdmen¡¯s smaller horses.


    The two sides clashed beside the ditches, at the edges of the forests, and near the carts, with most of the dismounted Herdmen beaten to death by the militia, and gunfire occasionally ringing out.

 Chapter 830 03-25 - 830 84 Beheading_2

    ?Chapter 830: Chapter 84: Beheading_2 Chapter 830: Chapter 84: Beheading_2 Seeing that there weren¡¯t many foot soldiers, some fleeing Terdun Cavalrymen circled back. They didn¡¯t dare engage in close combat, so they shot arrows from a distance.


    The sound of galloping hooves came thundering from the east of the fork in the road, this time louder than the previous two combined.


    Tulin couldn¡¯t recognize the second group of cavalry, but there was no mistaking the third¡ªthe one leading the charge was a horse with a red mane.


    ¡°It¡¯s Rejek!¡± Tulin pushed back the Herd Barbarian beside him, raised his saber high, and roared furiously, ¡°It¡¯s Anglu! Kill! Kill! Kill!¡±


    The battle had already been difficult for both sides to resolve, but as soon as Anglu¡¯s fresh troops joined the fight, the hundred-strong Terdun Cavalry immediately collapsed.


    Anglu and Tulin chased and killed all the way until dusk before returning to where their convoy had been ambushed.


    Even though the Terdun Cavalry had been defeated, there was still a mess to sort out.


    ...


    ¡°Let the wounded take the big wagons and go to the next military post; there are doctors there.¡± Anglu began organizing the cleanup of the battlefield as soon as he dismounted. ¡°Bjorn, Lekler, take your men into the forest and find all the escaped militia.¡±


    ¡°Centurion,¡± said a Centurion named Bjorn with a bitter face, ¡°only two of my brothers can still move.¡±


    ¡°Round up the Herder horses we¡¯ve seized.¡± Anglu ordered decisively, ¡°Choose people from the militia yourself to fill your ranks. Both of you!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The two Centurions didn¡¯t dare to delay, saluted with raised hands, and ran off.


    ¡°Make sure to record the dead properly.¡± Anglu then turned to Tulin.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tulin first responded, then asked, ¡°What about the bodies?¡±


    ¡°Bury them here for now and we¡¯ll take care of them properly later.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    After dealing with a series of aftermath issues, Anglu finally had a moment to breathe.


    But there was another big problem waiting for him¡ªhe didn¡¯t recognize the second group of cavalry either.


    It was the Terdon Tribe that had launched the initial surprise attack, and Anglu¡¯s cavalry that had come last to rescue.


    The second group of cavalry to appear was an entirely unfamiliar third party, neither wearing military uniforms nor displaying any flags.


    While Anglu¡¯s side was clearing the battlefield, the strange cavalry were also tending to their own, gathering their men and treating the wounded.


    The appearance of an unknown cavalry group in Iron Peak County made Anglu particularly uneasy. However, in Anglu¡¯s view, since the other side had killed Terdun people, they could temporarily be considered allies.


    The strange cavalry assembled and rested in a clearing by the road, making no move to approach Anglu, seemingly waiting for him to take the initiative to negotiate.


    Anglu rallied his spirits, leading two soldiers to approach the strange cavalry, ¡°God bless you, friends. Where do you come from?¡±


    A middle-aged man in hunting gear stepped forward with a smirk, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say thank you?¡±


    Although the middle-aged man was in casual hunting attire, the military bearing in his every move could not be hidden.


    Anglu gave a serious salute, ¡°Many thanks for your assistance, Sir. May I know your unit?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask that.¡± The middle-aged soldier waved his hand and spoke bluntly, ¡°Where¡¯s Winters Montagne? I want to meet him.¡±


    Anglu¡¯s eyebrows slightly raised and, after a brief contemplation, he straightforwardly replied, ¡°Then please follow my cavalry unit. You¡¯ll be able to meet Civil Guard Officer Montagne once this patrol is over.¡±


    Bringing an unknown cavalry group directly to see big brother Montagne was too dangerous. Anglu decided to send a messenger back first to report the situation and temporarily keep control of the other party.


    The middle-aged soldier¡¯s attendants seemed rather displeased, but his expression didn¡¯t change as he pulled out a letter, ¡°When you send the message, also deliver this letter to Captain Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Anglu took the envelope.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time,¡± the middle-aged soldier narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°Send it now!¡±


    Anglu reflexively replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Meanwhile, Tulin also encountered a problem.


    Several older, well-to-do militia men came before Tulin, begging on their knees¡ªthey wanted to go home.


    The stench of blood on their faces, the moans of the dying injured, and the mutilated bodies scattered across the wilderness¡­ If the militia men had any greed left in their hearts before, this fierce battle had utterly shattered their courage. Some even ran away without returning, becoming deserters.


    ¡°No.¡± Tulin flatly refused.


    ¡°You are a one in a million brave warrior, we are not the same! We truly don¡¯t have the capability to fight.¡± A landowner, over fifty, pleaded desperately, ¡°Even on the battlefield, we can only run! We¡¯d only make things worse!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Another gentleman sobbed, ¡°Money, grain, whatever you want¡­¡±


    ¡°You are all Centurions, temporary soldiers.¡± Tulin was already somewhat impatient as his vicious Dusack bearing surfaced, ¡°If I let you go, will others stay? Deserting is a dead end! Whoever dares to run, I¡¯ll chop him personally!¡±


    The gentlemen trembled with fear. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Think with your arses.¡± Tulin¡¯s tone softened slightly, coldly admonishing them, ¡°What kind of man is a Civil Guard Officer, doesn¡¯t he know what you are like? Can he count on you to fight on the front lines? When it really comes to the battlefield, you¡¯ll just dig trenches, build earth walls, and do some physical labor! There¡¯s danger on the road because the Herd Barbarians are ambushing. Once we reach the main camp at the front, thousands of troops will be protecting you; could the Herders still get to you? Tell me, right?¡±


    With threats and reasoning, Tulin expended some effort to finally send the gentlemen on their way.

 Chapter 831 03-25 - 831 84 Beheading_3

    ?Chapter 831: Chapter 84: Beheading_3 Chapter 831: Chapter 84: Beheading_3 The gentry returned to the expectant militia and relayed Tulin¡¯s words once more.


    The militia were utterly disappointed and desperate, some cried on the spot while others whispered among themselves, preparing to flee overnight.


    Seeing this, Tulin was anxious and wanted to inform Anglu Ralflavich, the company commander, immediately.


    But before he could get up, Anglu sought him out first, accompanied by a strange middle-aged soldier.


    Tulin, regardless of the stranger¡¯s presence, hurriedly explained the situation.


    Anglu¡¯s expression became serious, while the middle-aged soldier did not seem worried at all.


    Instead, he found it quite amusing and looked interestedly at Anglu¡¯s reaction, causing Tulin to be even more frustrated.


    ...


    ¡°This situation,¡± Anglu scratched his head, pondering, and said, ¡°the Centurion and I discussed what to do, he even gave an example¡­¡± sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The middle-aged soldier found it increasingly amusing.


    ¡°What did the Centurion say to do?¡± Tulin asked impatiently.


    ¡°Establish credibility,¡± Anglu answered.


    The militia and cavalry were convened, and Anglu took out a notice from his bosom titled ¡°Decapitation Decree,¡± reading it aloud once again.


    The cavalry cheered jubilantly, while the militia were still somewhat confused.


    Speaking in public, Anglu was a bit embarrassed and reminded them kindly yet shyly, ¡°Hurry and go decapitate, it¡¯ll be harder once it gets dark.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã?


    The members of the cavalry dispersed laughing, while the militia looked at one another, unsure of what to do.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tulin, seeing no one move, grew anxious. He shouted gruffly, waving his sabre to motivate everyone, ¡°If we don¡¯t go now, the young rascals will snatch them all!¡±


    Seeing that still no one dared to move, Tulin cursed furiously.


    He swore his way off, and soon dragged back a corpse. Gritting his teeth, he chopped off the head one cut at a time.


    Some of the militia vomited on the spot.


    Holding the severed head, Tulin yelled fiercely at the militia, ¡°A qing of land! Don¡¯t you want it?¡±


    At that moment, the militia truly understood¡ªthe ¡°Decapitation Decree¡± was in earnest. The head Tulin was holding wasn¡¯t just a swollen corpse¡¯s head, but a piece of land.


    Those who reacted quickly were already running towards the corpses of the people from Terdun. The militia member who had just vomited, with food residue still at the corners of his mouth, ran faster than anyone.


    The middle-aged soldier could no longer smile, his expression gradually turning solemn.


    The middle-aged soldier looked back at his subordinates, noticing many swallowing hard, their eyes filled with surprised gazes¡ªand longing and regret.


    ¡°Make it clear to your men,¡± Anglu, seeing the situation getting out of hand, walked over and told Tulin, ¡°Only allow the taking of heads from enemies they personally killed, anyone caught decapitating their own people or allies faces hanging¡­ and make sure they have helmets or caps as proof¡­¡±


    These details were all written in the decree, which had just been read. Yet seeing the militia¡¯s fervor, Anglu regretted not reading it several more times.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tulin instinctively responded affirmatively, he wanted to reconvene everyone, but they were already beyond recall.


    Not far off, two militia members were arguing heatedly, one wrapped in a cashmere cloak shouted, ¡°He was clearly killed by me! I shot him dead with my musket! The bullet hole is right there on his body! Do you have a musket?!¡±


    Another skinny militia member in coarse linen clothing retorted stubbornly, ¡°You only shot him off his horse! He wasn¡¯t dead when he fell! I killed him! Your family already has so much land, why are you fighting me over this one head?¡±


    As for the heads of the people from Terdun killed in the random melee, they caused even more disputes and even fistfights, like a bloody and absurd drama.


    ¡°The ¡®Decapitation Decree¡¯ is too simplistic and crude, it needs more detailed regulations,¡± Anglu watched the chaos unfolding before him, feeling worried, ¡°At this rate, they might start fighting over the heads while the front is still in battle.¡±


    Tulin, cursing, ran over to stop the fights, ¡°Half for each! Half for each!¡±


    The originally quiet country lane turned as noisy and chaotic as a tavern, but no one clamored to go home anymore.

 Chapter 832 03-25 - 832 85 Luck

    ?Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck The westerly winds howled, men shouted, horses neighed, and rigid-stepping militia and wagons laden with supplies poured into the small Saint Town from all western directions.


    It was as if a gigantic vortex existed invisibly among them, gathering all the manpower and material resources of Iron Peak County into this place.


    There was no doubt that the church of the Saint Town Monastery sat at the very center of the vortex.


    A statue of the Virgin with eyes cast downward stood above the church¡¯s main entrance, silently watching people with swords come and go.


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard, the village chief of Bai¡¯niu Village in Little Stone Town says the portion of dry food issued to them is not enough.¡±


    ¡°Their ration was increased yesterday.¡±


    ¡°He says it¡¯s still not enough¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Sergeant Roland!¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Take the roster and the provosts to Bai¡¯niu Village¡¯s station and check their numbers.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Report!¡± A guard hurried into the church: ¡°Another convoy has arrived from King¡¯s Bridge Town!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Melsin!¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°The new convoy from King¡¯s Bridge Town, please handle the inventory and registration with Brother Theodore.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, Your Excellency.¡±


    Supplies needed to be stored, processed, and distributed; militia had to be deployed to various fronts, and accommodations for eating, drinking, and living were necessary.


    If it weren¡¯t for Bard¡¯s support, the great army of Iron Peak County would have already been overwhelmed by logistics.


    The command center had become unavoidably large, since Bard had pulled in every civilian and soldier capable of reading, writing, and doing arithmetic.


    Bard sat in the Monastery¡¯s scriptorium. Intelligence and information continuously flowed in, followed by instructions and orders that were sent out to various locations.


    The clerks were amazed to find that no matter how trivial the issue, as long as it was reported to Civil Guard Officer Bard, he could remember it when needed.


    Therefore, Bard never issued vague instructions; every order was given to a specific executor with clear instructions on what must be done, leaving no room for excuses.


    In this, the clerks found both awe and fatigue.


    Bard seemed to have endless energy; he wielded an invisible whip, driving the lower clerks to press on as if they were horses being urged forward.


    Thus, the command center operated, and the personnel and supplies gathered in Saint Town were methodically registered and allocated to the places where they were most needed.


    There was a minor episode: The centralized office work and the extensive writing inadvertently led to people accepting graphite blocks.


    Originally, there were some traditionalists who insisted on using quill pens because graphite blocks didn¡¯t write clearly and were prone to smudging.


    But soon, even the Monastery¡¯s clergy quietly switched to graphite blocks wrapped with string.


    The reason was nothing but convenience. With quill pens, one needed to use sand to soak up the ink, whereas with graphite blocks, once the writing was done, it could be sent out immediately.


    With Bard securing the logistics, Winters could devote all his attention to military matters.


    Most of the time, Winters was not in Saint Town.


    He inspected the battlefields, talking with militia on the very front lines, and even personally entered the Terdun-controlled areas to scout.


    He scarcely used his knees and spurs to urge his horse forward, but instead kept wielding his whip.


    For this reason, Xial specially prepared many spare horses, switching them out whenever one appeared to be exhausted to the point of death.


    Upon learning of the surprise attack on the dam, Winters arrived at Niutigu Valley as soon as he could.


    At this moment, he stood by the Big Horn River, facing the dam that was extending towards the opposite bank.


    The previous night, Terdun Cavalry had launched a surprise attack on the southern bank construction site, killed some laborers, burned some timber, and were then repelled by Tamas¡¯ troops.


    ¡°Exposed or not, it could hardly be hidden; the key is speed and timing,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, asked Samujin and Tamas seriously, ¡°How much more time do you need?¡±


    Samujin bit his lip and made up his mind to answer, ¡°Three days! If it can¡¯t be finished in three days, you can execute me!¡±


    ¡°Three days won¡¯t be enough,¡± Winters calmly dismissed Samujin¡¯s assurance: ¡°Based on your current progress, it will take at least five days. Taking into account the water storage process, it might need a week or even ten days.¡±


    Samujin lowered his head.


    ¡°Reestablish the camp at the southern bank construction site,¡± Winters ordered Captain Tamas directly: ¡°Take your men down.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tamas responded without hesitation.


    Tamas¡¯ encampment was located at the narrow passage between Niutigu Valley and Forging Village. To the east was Tiefeng, and to the west, the Big Horn River¡ªterrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.


    Winters deployed his most elite First Company and auxiliary militia units there with the aim of blocking the Terdun from entering Niutigu Valley through the western foothills of Tiefeng.


    While reestablishing the encampment at the dam would protect the worksite, its low-lying location made it disadvantageous for defense.


    Winters tapped Captain Tamas¡¯ arm, nodded slightly, and spared any further talk: ¡°I¡¯ll reinforce you with Third and Fourth Companies.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also send some additional workers your way.¡±


    Samujin suddenly looked up.


    ¡°The repair can be slow,¡± Winters¡¯ cane tapped lightly on the ground, ¡°but the existence of the dam is paramount.¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing some confusion in Samujin, Winters didn¡¯t play coy: ¡°As long as the dam exists, the Terdun¡¯s retreat is threatened. If the progress of the dam is slow, at worst we cannot immediately cut off the enemy¡¯s escape route.


    If the Terdun withdraw, the siege at Revodan will be lifted on its own. But if the dam falls, the Terdun will come and go freely, retaining the initiative at all times.¡±


    ¡°The dam must not be lost,¡± Winters said with a stern look: ¡°Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 833 03-25 - 833 85 Luck_2

    ?Chapter 833: Chapter 85 Luck_2 Chapter 833: Chapter 85 Luck_2 Tamas nodded heavily, and Samujin gritted his teeth and replied, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Now that the dam has been exposed, the struggle here will undoubtedly be brutal,¡± Winters used his cane to sketch out a rough map on the sandy beach and carefully explained to his two most trusted subordinates, ¡°I will launch a feint attack in the direction of Saint Town to lessen the pressure on you.¡±


    At the moment, the situation resembled Russian dolls:


    In the inner circle, the attackers were laying siege to Revodan;


    In the outer circle, Winter¡¯s troops were gradually gaining control of the roads around Revodan.


    The initiative temporarily rested in the hands of the attackers; they could choose to fight, to leave, or to launch an assault on Revodan.


    Winters, however, was placed in a reactive position, as his troops almost lacked field capability and were far less mobile than the Terdun Cavalry, who moved like the wind.


    But to sit idly by was never Winters¡¯s style; ¡°If you don¡¯t have the initiative, fight to seize it¡± was Winters¡¯s motto.


    Winters¡¯s strategy for seizing the initiative had two prongs:


    First, threaten the Terdun people¡¯s route of retreat; once the Floating Bridge was destroyed, the Terdun people would be forced to fight desperately;


    Second, secure the vital roads around Revodan and advance step by step, continuously shrinking the Terdun people¡¯s maneuvering space.


    ...


    As soon as Winters¡¯s encirclement was complete, the Terdun people would be trapped in the narrow area south of the St. George River.


    By that time, the situation would resemble a reproduction of the Panto River battle, allowing Winters to slowly strangle the attackers.


    Currently, however, the dam was not yet completed, and the encirclement had gaps; the Terdun people still held the initiative.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    The attackers seemed to also sense the imminent danger.


    The Terdun Cavalry took backroads and passed through old forests, desperately trying to circumvent the blockade and head toward the rear of the defenses.


    Their intention was clear¡ªto cut off Winters¡¯s supply line and strangle the large army at Saint Town.


    In response, Winters set up a garrison to protect the supply line, with cavalry countering their cavalry.


    When the Terdun people broke into hit-and-run attacks, Winters responded with counter hit-and-run tactics. If Terdun people ambushed the militia convoys, Winters¡¯s cavalry would specifically target the Terdun light cavalry.


    The war was trending towards a war of attrition. Winters, looking at the compiled casualty reports, felt increasingly oppressed but never once wavered.


    Watching the Big Horn River water bypass the unfinished dam and slowly flow downstream, Winters sighed lightly, ¡°Please give my thanks to senior Moro.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Samujin nodded solemnly.


    Winters and Captain Moro had met a few times when building the Styx Great Bridge; he vaguely remembered the other as a refined, witty senior surrounded by a circle of colleagues.


    However, the two were not close, as Moro came from artillery background and was many years Winters¡¯s senior.


    Moro declined a meeting with Winters, who did not insist.


    A cavalry rider with a green plume raced down the hillside, delivering a letter emblazoned with a red diagonal stripe.


    A red diagonal stripe meant the contents were of utmost urgency.


    Winters broke the seal, scanned the contents, and calmly passed the letter to his two subordinates.


    Samujin hesitated for a moment and did not reach out, letting Tamas take it first. Tamas didn¡¯t reach out either, for he was illiterate.


    ¡°Wait until after the war to learn slowly,¡± Winters smiled and put away the envelope. ¡°The Terdun people have started their siege.¡±


    ¡­


    The siege on Revodan began with an artillery bombardment.


    The cold winter increased the difficulty of earthwork operations, demanding a large workforce.


    Winters could conscript militia, while around Revodan there was none to conscript, as all civilians had already taken refuge within the city.


    Therefore, the Terdun people¡¯s trench-digging efforts did not progress smoothly; after five days, the front end of the trench was still over sixty meters from the city wall and had not been expanded in a direction parallel to the wall.


    Perhaps seeking to put more pressure on Revodan, to lure out the force from Saint Town for an attack; or perhaps simply intending to break through Revodan. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Regardless, the Terdun people had abandoned their previous strategy of passive labor and launched a real attack on the walls.


    Four cannons lined up and fired solid shot at the shooting towers behind the walls and the arrow towers on the wall.


    Many militiamen had never seen cannon fire, peeking out from behind the walls to watch the spectacle.


    Mason sat on the ground with his back against the city wall, his left hand resting on his knee, listening intently to the roar of ¡®his second daughter.¡¯


    The four cannons fired at fixed intervals in sequence, indicating that the Terdun people knew how to utilize cannon units.


    And the Terdun people were lucky; the second shot hit the shooting tower directly.


    The arrow shield of the shooting tower broke apart, and sharp wooden splinters flew everywhere along with the impact noise, scaring the militiamen, who had been excitedly watching the cannon, back behind the wall.


    Mason remained unmoved; he had already ordered that until the enemy was close to the walls, no archer was to ascend the shooting towers prematurely.


    The third cannonball flew over the wall, and the fourth directly hit the wall, burying deeply into the masonry, with the surface soil of the wall sliding down into the trench.


    ¡°The angle isn¡¯t enough to burst the shell open¡ªnor did I expect the Terdun people to have cannon,¡± Mason counted silently, then ordered the sergeant next to him, ¡°Climb the shooting tower.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± The sergeant looked troubled, clearly shaken by the earlier bombardment.


    ¡°The Terdun people¡¯s cannon is still loading; you can go up and down quickly, they won¡¯t hit you,¡± Mason had no choice but to explain to the sergeant, who was seeing combat for the first time, ¡°I don¡¯t think that shot went through; go up there and bring the cannonball to me.¡±

 Chapter 834 03-25 - 834 85 Luck_3

    ?Chapter 834: Chapter 85 Luck_3 Chapter 834: Chapter 85 Luck_3 The sergeant went reluctantly and skeptically.


    Mason patiently counted the timing, he wanted to see at what frequency the people of Terdun could fire.


    Compared to accuracy, the loading speed was a better indicator of the gunner¡¯s level¡ªof course, provided they didn¡¯t blow up the cannon.


    About six minutes later, there were four more thunderous booms. Six minutes per round of firing, the loading speed was a bit slow.


    Mason was very familiar with the performance of the six-pound long cannon: three to four minutes per round was normal, and a skilled gun crew could manage every two minutes.


    In the second round of firing, the cannon of Terdun did not burst.


    Another six or seven minutes passed, and four consecutive booms resounded without any bursts.


    ...


    The design purpose of Revodan¡¯s city defense works was to withstand cavalry charges. Thus, the facade of the walls was rather steep, allowing the cannonballs to ¡°bite¡± into it more effectively.


    The people of Terdun were not firing aimlessly, their twelve shots consistently targeted one arrow tower, fiercely bombarding it.


    Continuously struck by external forces, a corner of the arrow tower collapsed, and large chunks of earth fell into the trench.


    Although the wall was still intact, Terdun¡¯s gun crew had already proven their capability to threaten the wall.


    Mason sighed, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the dust off his face.


    The sergeant picked up the cannonballs and proudly presented them to Mason, ¡°Your Excellence, it was very dangerous just now¡­¡±


    Mason took the cannonball, weighed it, and showed a faint smile, ¡°Iron cannonballs.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    The sergeant and the surrounding militia did not understand.


    ¡°On the Great Wilderness, iron is as valuable as gold and silver, Terdun calls iron ¡®black money¡¯. Now Terdun is essentially using money to fight us.¡± Mason patiently explained to the militia around him:


    ¡°If they were using stone cannonballs, it would mean that the people of Terdun were very well prepared. But now they are using iron cannonballs¡ªthey do not have the capability to cast iron cannonballs, these must have been left by the Expeditionary Force on the wilderness, and with each shot, their supplies diminish.¡±


    The militia seemed enlightened.


    Mason flipped and examined the cannonball, trying to find any inscriptions or markings, but there were none.


    He casually threw the cannonball onto the ground, ¡°I reckon it won¡¯t be long before the people of Terdun start using pebbles as grapeshot and switch to close-range firing tactics.¡±


    The militia nodded understandingly, whispering and discussing quietly among themselves.


    ¡°Then are we just supposed to endure the bombardment?¡± One tall, thin young sergeant boldly asked, ¡°Your Excellence?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Mason smiled calmly, ¡°We need to teach them a lesson too.¡±


    How to teach the opponent a lesson? Mason had a bold idea¡ªfighting cannon with cannon.


    A third-generation wooden cannon was placed on the parapet, Mason, as if encouraging it, gently patted the barrel.


    This was the best quality third-generation wooden cannon he had at hand, capable of firing a solid iron cannonball weighing about four pounds.


    The third-generation wooden cannon was designed by wrapping twined rope and iron hoops around forged iron tubes, which were then secured with wood.


    By design, its purpose was to fire grapeshot, but it was not incapable of firing solid shot.


    Mason stretched out his arm and thumb and estimated that Terdun¡¯s cannons were about a hundred meters from the city wall¡ªthus their firing was so accurate, rarely missing.


    Four cannons were lined up in a row, the cannon bases constructed of thick wooden planks.


    If Mason were on the offensive, he wouldn¡¯t have placed the cannons so close. One hundred meters falls within the lethal range of grapeshot.


    The thick wooden planks could withstand the firing of matchlock guns, and perhaps could also endure a storm of grapeshot, but the opponents clearly hadn¡¯t considered the possibility of the defenders fighting cannon with cannon¡ªor possibly it was intentional, leaving the defenders an opportunity.


    Mason spent a lot of time adjusting the angle, then started the loading process: gunpowder, wooden boards, cotton, and hemp wadding were stuffed into the cannon one by one.


    He signaled to disperse the observing militia, nodding to his subordinates that they could load the cannonball now.


    The fierce man with a red birthmark on his face spat twice into his palm, scooped up a red-hot cannonball from the furnace using an iron spoon.


    A few shouts of surprise erupted from the crowd, and the militia then understood why they were not allowed to stand nearby to watch.


    The four-pound iron ball, faintly flaming, was placed into the cannon, and Mason lit the fuse with a long rod, quickly retreating to a distance.


    With a loud ¡°boom¡±, the cannon shook violently, moving from its original position. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The red-hot cannonball shot out of the barrel, tracing a beautiful arc in the air filled with hopeful victory.


    Then, under everyone¡¯s gaze, it flew over the heads of Terdun¡¯s gun crew, leisurely landing in the distance, bouncing a few times before coming to a silent stop¡ªIt had overshot.


    The huge disappointment involuntarily drew sighs from the militia.


    Unperturbed, Mason first repositioned the cannon, then adjusted the angle with a plumb line, reloaded, and fired again.


    The second shot also missed, hitting the ground too early and bouncing a few times before stopping¡ªit was too short.


    A militia member couldn¡¯t help but mutter softly, ¡°Is Captain Mason really up to this?¡±


    There were also old soldiers confidently vouching for the Civil Guard Officer, ¡°What do you know? During our previous battles, Captain Mason¡¯s first three shots were off, but the fourth shot hit directly! That¡¯s called artillery skills! Test firing, understand?¡±


    Mason was busy adjusting the firing angle with a plumb line and didn¡¯t hear the other militia members¡¯ remarks. Even if he had heard, it would be hard for him to explain to them.


    He was indeed calibrating the shots.


    In the first shot, he deliberately had the cannonball land farther away;


    In the second shot, he let the cannonball land closer;

 Chapter 835 03-25 - 835 85 Luck_4

    ?Chapter 835: Chapter 85 Luck_4 Chapter 835: Chapter 85 Luck_4 Then, by examining the points of impact and firing angles of the two shots, they could calculate the correct firing angle.


    Ballistics is a profound field of study, and although currently, there are only some empirical formulas available, it¡¯s not something that those muscular simpletons in the infantry or cavalry could learn¡ªMason thought with a slight pride.


    Of course, theoretical calculations are one thing, practical combat still needs a bit of luck¡­just a bit.


    The third shot, carrying Mason¡¯s hopes for a successful hit with the most accurately predetermined angle, still missed.


    The cannonball screeched out of the barrel and landed far beyond the target.


    It was somewhat different from the calculations; theoretically, even if it missed, it should have landed closer.


    Mason was not discouraged and continued to adjust.


    ...


    The fourth, fifth, and sixth shots all missed.


    Mason¡¯s forehead was dotted with sweat; the surrounding militia were starting to get bored, while the people of Terdun grew numb.


    During the first cannonade by the garrison, the Terdun people were startled, and the commanding Green Plumed Feathers quickly ordered their men to shield the cannons with thick planks.


    After several rounds of firing, the commanding Green Plumed Feathers realized that the two-legged people¡¯s cannon skills were awful, with cannonballs flying aimlessly and less accurately than his slave gunners.


    Green Plumed Feathers then simply ignored the harassment from the two-legged people and focused on bombarding Arrowhead Fort.


    After firing six cannonballs, the garrison had not even hit a horse¡¯s tail hair.


    In the meantime, Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ cannons fired three rounds, with the majority hitting the walls of Arrowhead Fort.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°It¡¯s the cannons¡¯ problem.¡± After the seventh missed shot, Mason wiped the sweat from his forehead and earnestly said to his old subordinate with a red birthmark on his face, ¡°These wooden cannons haven¡¯t had their bore drilled; the inner tubes are too rough, making the cannonball trajectories unpredictable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the man with the red birthmark nodded emotionlessly¡ªhis horrific facial birthmark usually left him expressionless, ¡°The cannon is very hot, should we cool it down first?¡±


    ¡°Get some oil, let¡¯s cool it down,¡± Mason glanced around and inadvertently caught the complex looks of the militia, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°It really is the cannons¡¯ problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the red birthmark man nodded again and left to fetch the cooling oil.


    Mason took out a roll of grass paper and began to write and calculate again.


    As the militia saw this, they returned to their posts, many murmuring quietly as they left.


    The garrison¡¯s hopes for the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s artillery skills had faded, but at least with all the commotion, the city¡¯s militia had become desensitized to the cannons¡ªsince their firepower was so mediocre.


    ¡°Terdun people are still very primitive in their use of cannons,¡± Mason recorded, ¡°The advantage of the six-pounder long gun lies in its lightness, which, when coupled with a gun carriage, can be moved at any time. Yet, the Terdun people have placed the six-pounder long gun in a fixed position for use as a heavy siege cannon, voluntarily giving up the advantage of mobility¡­¡±


    Mason continued writing and calculating while observing and recording the points of impact.


    Suddenly, his body stiffened, his pupils dilated, and the piece of graphite in his hand snapped with a ¡°snap.¡±


    Mason didn¡¯t have time to pick up a new piece; he quickly picked up half of the graphite stick, furiously calculating and drawing sketches, his lips pressed tighter and tighter.


    After the red birthmark man and his subordinates had brought the oil and cooled the barrel, seeing the old officer absorbed in sliding the graphite stick over the grass paper, they dared not disturb him.


    The red birthmark man and the other gunners waited quietly.


    ¡°Eureka! Eureka!!!¡± Mason suddenly jumped up, fiercely throwing the last small piece of graphite on the ground, and laughed loudly, ¡°Ongs! Double the charge this time!¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ongs, who earned the nickname ¡°Demon¡± from his large red birthmark, rarely questioned his old superior¡¯s command, ¡°Double the charge might burst the barrel.¡±


    [Note: A birthmark was considered a devil¡¯s kiss, and a black birthmark on a woman¡¯s body was considered a nipple for feeding devils]


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with a charge of one and a half rounds,¡± Mason immediately began adjusting the cannon to a new firing angle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the ignition,¡± Demon Ongs said no more.


    The maximum range of the cannon was at a forty-five degree angle, which was a piece of artilleryman¡¯s wisdom.


    Unlike before, Mason didn¡¯t choose an angle that aimed for a direct hit on the enemy; instead, he opted for a smaller angle.


    After loading, Demon Ongs took the firing rod emotionlessly and lit the primer.


    The extra half charge brought a higher muzzle velocity.


    The blazing cannonball burst forth with unprecedented power, flying towards the Terdun position.


    The militiamen, though not versed in artillery, had seen enough to roughly understand what was going on.


    ¡°It¡¯s close,¡± thought one quick-reacting militiaman instinctively.


    Indeed, it was close; the cannonball had already heavily smashed into the ground some distance from the position.


    The Green Plumed Feathers supervising the cannon burst out laughing.


    But in an instant, his smile froze on his face.


    The high-speed cannonball didn¡¯t bury itself in the mud¡ªinstead, it fiercely bounced off the ground and glided forward again.


    Time seemed to freeze in that moment as the horrified Terdun Green Plumed Feathers watched the cannonball hop and bounce straight toward him.


    Green Plumed Feathers wanted to dodge, but the cannonball was faster.


    The dark-red, high-temperature cannonball hit Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ left leg, forcefully breaking it off at the knee.


    For a moment, the captive artillerymen around thought they heard the ¡°sizzle¡± of meat cooking, and then they actually smelled the aroma of roasting meat¡ªthe gaunt captives unconsciously drooled.


    Then came the pained screams from Green Plumed Feathers.


    The cannonball, like skimming stones, landed and rebounded several times into the crowd, leaving everyone, whether attackers or defenders, utterly dumbfounded.


    ¡°What kind of luck is this?!¡± the defending militiamen first exclaimed in shock before breaking into frantic cheers.


    ¡°What kind of luck is this?!¡± The onlooking Terdun people were astonished as well.


    Demon Ongs quickly figured out roughly what happened: the freezing cold and absence of rain had hardened the soil, and the cannonball, traveling at a steep angle and high speed, was able to bounce instead of burying itself.


    But Demon Ongs still found it hard to believe that this was a ¡°man-planned¡± shot.


    He raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression tinged with surprise, as he looked inquiringly at his old superior.


    ¡°Lucky, I didn¡¯t expect to hit it on the first try,¡± Mason scratched his head embarrassedly, cheeks slightly flushed, ¡°Looks like I hit someone? Should we try double the charge next?¡±


    ¡­


    The Revodan artillery duel ended with losses on both sides.


    Elsewhere, Winters had two guests arrive.


    The first guest claimed to be a runaway slave from the Terdun Tribe, bringing important intelligence.


    The second guest, Good Fortune Gold, brought good luck to Winters¡ªand that was exactly what Winters needed.

 Chapter 836 03-25 - 836 86 Defending the City

    ?Chapter 836: Chapter 86: Defending the City Chapter 836: Chapter 86: Defending the City Terdun¡¯s cannon position.


    The interval between cannon shots was growing longer and their accuracy getting worse, and Hong Lingyu, the officer in charge, was very dissatisfied, not hesitating to use his whip.


    ¡°How the hell do you not understand?!¡± an irate little-eyed slave, wearing a smooth leather coat, explained repeatedly without success and cursed at Hong Lingyu, ¡°If there¡¯s a burst barrel, then we¡¯re all done for!¡±


    For a mere slave to be so impertinent to a warrior was unthinkable, unless he was under the influence of some strange medicine.


    But the little-eyed man¡¯s status was somewhat special; he was a ¡°house slave¡± of the fire stoker. In other words, he was the fire stoker¡¯s private property, and nobody dared to beat or kill him.


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s expression turned even darker as he turned to look at the Translator.


    The little-eyed slave glared and yelled at the Translator, ¡°Translate that for him!¡±


    ...


    The gunners, wrapped in tattered military uniforms, kept silent, coldly watching the farce unfold.


    Apart from the three who were followers, the rest of the gunners were captured Paratu soldiers.


    Those captives who were more compliant and had not tried to escape were selected by the fire stoker, formed into a battalion, taught cannonry by the little-eyed house slave who had become an ¡°honorary Terdun,¡± leading to the formation of the current Terdun artillery team.


    The little-eyed slave had been a common gunner in the Fifth Corps but now, as a favored house slave of the fire stoker, his status had skyrocketed.


    However, the fire stoker clearly did not entirely trust his new slave and had assigned additional supervisors for the artillery team in combat.


    Standing in front of the ¡°honorary slave,¡± Hong Lingyu was the younger son of the former officer in charge.


    The former officer had his left leg below the knee blown off by a cannonball, bled uncontrollably, and soon died.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    The Translator, shivering, relayed the little-eyed slave¡¯s words to Hong Lingyu, making sure to translate the profanity as well.


    Hong Lingyu flew into a rage, not caring for anything else, and struck the little-eyed slave¡¯s face fiercely with a horsewhip, violently kicking him to the ground.


    The little-eyed slave saw stars, struggling to get up, only to have a boot stomp heavily on his chest.


    Hong Lingyu drew his curved blade, pressing it to the little-eyed slave¡¯s neck, and said a few ferocious words.


    The Translator quickly translated, ¡°The Khan commanded you to fire the cannon, so just fire the damn cannon. Dare to make excuses again, and your head will be cleaved off.¡±


    The desperate little-eyed slave grasped at straws, ¡°The Khan! I want to see the Khan! Herde Khan!¡±


    Hong Lingyu, who understood the last word, tapped the other¡¯s cheek with his curved blade, ¡°[Herde language] You won¡¯t see the Khan! The Khan isn¡¯t even here.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, Mason was also inspecting the condition of the third-generation cannons behind the city wall.


    ¡°It¡¯s ruined,¡± Mason said regretfully, but decisively ruled, ¡°Send it back to the workshop.¡±


    ¡°It could still be fired a few more times,¡± Demon Ons stated calmly, ¡°The other wooden cannons can¡¯t shoot solid shot far.¡±


    Mason insisted, ¡°No, the seams have cracked open; take it back to the forge for reworking.¡±


    Demon Ons, without another word, led his men to haul away the wooden cannon.


    Terdun¡¯s cannons weren¡¯t nearly enough to destroy the entire wall, so they concentrated their fire on the western arrow bastion.


    Revodan¡¯s arrow bastion was a triangular fortress protruding into the trench from the city wall, a primitive form of bastion structure, able to flank enemies entering the trench.


    The new arrow bastions were generally independent from the main fortress, so even if the bastion itself fell, the defense could continue from the main fortress.


    However, due to the pressing deadline, Revodan¡¯s arrow bastion was integral with the city wall.


    If the bastion fell, the wall would be breached soon after.


    The cannon fire that continued from early morning until afternoon left the arrow bastion badly damaged; the steep walls had collapsed into a gentle slope.


    Inside the trench, Terdun¡¯s soldiers maneuvered, the flickering plumes on their helmets barely visible. They watched the cannons wreak havoc in silence, without launching an assault on the walls.


    Mason didn¡¯t mind if the enemy kept up the cannon fire like this.


    The Terdun people seemed to be counting on the cannons to completely destroy the arrow bastion, but as soon as night fell, Mason would immediately send out crews to repair the walls.


    By continuous ¡°ricochet shelling,¡± Mason had successfully forced the Terdun cannons back to two hundred meters away. After increasing the distance, the accuracy of Terdun¡¯s cannons also declined.


    Even the least confident militia had to admit that it was skill, not luck.


    Ricochet shelling ¨C solid ammunition bounces repeatedly off the ground, like stones skipping across a pond.


    Although it seemed comical, most of the cannonballs would eventually ¡°accidentally¡± fly into the barbarians¡¯ cannon positions. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aiming directly at the target, even with minor differences in firing angle, amount of gunpowder, and weight of the shot, could lead to severe deviation in the projectile¡¯s trajectory.


    A shell flying overhead of the enemy would cause no damage, while one landing in front might sink into the mud.


    Yet, when Mason aimed a certain distance in front of the enemy and added more gunpowder to lower the trajectory, a subtle change occurred:


    The hard winter soil allowed the cannonballs to ¡°skew¡± upon making contact at a small angle;


    Under these circumstances, as long as the cannonball fell within a specific area in front of the enemy, the bouncing shot could inflict casualties;


    And ¡°hitting a specific area in front of the enemy¡± was much simpler than ¡°directly striking the enemy.¡±


    Mason had opened a new door¡­ it was just a bit tricky to navigate.


    Because if the iron ball was to bounce, the trajectory needed to be as flat as possible, meaning the speed of the shot had to be fast.


    Currently, the only way Mason knew to increase the velocity of the shot was to add more gunpowder.

 Chapter 837 03-25 - 837 86 Defending the City_2

    ?Chapter 837: Chapter 86: Defending the City_2 Chapter 837: Chapter 86: Defending the City_2 After less than twenty uses, the best quality third-generation wooden cannon was scrapped at a rate far exceeding Mason¡¯s expectations.


    Demon Ons led his men to deliver the wooden cannon to a row of crude wooden sheds by the riverbank.


    This was Revodan¡¯s weapons workshop. Although it was winter, the inside of the workshop felt no coldness.


    Wearing only a single layer of clothing, the blacksmiths were sweating profusely, and the dull sound of the hammering never ceased.


    Gangchalov, wearing a leather coat full of tiny holes burned by iron filings, was forging a large yellowish ingot on the hydraulic hammer.


    Seeing that his eldest brother had flattened the ingot into a cylindrical shape, Gangchalov¡¯s two younger brothers immediately lifted a chisel-like tool to secure it just above the iron column.


    Accompanied by the continuous pounding of the hammer, the iron column was penetrated from top to bottom. After removing the chisel, they replaced it with an iron rod poked inside.


    ...


    The hot forged iron ingot was ¡°strung¡± on the iron rod and then continued to be forged into an iron tube.


    Throughout the process, the Gangchalov brothers remained silent, yet their coordination was so seamless it was as if a giant with six arms was at work.


    After the entire procedure was completed, Gangchalov returned a roughly one-foot-long, one-inch-thick iron tube to the furnace for reheating.


    This iron tube needed to be welded with three other iron tubes of the same size to finally obtain a long-bore cannon barrel.


    Upon seeing Demon Ons, Gangchalov asked straightforwardly, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Cracked,¡± Demon Ons simply answered, ¡°It¡¯s scrapped.¡±


    With cannons booming in front, and iron being forged in the back, neither side had the energy for pleasantries.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    ¡°No way around it,¡± Gangchalov guzzled down a large jug of salt water, panting heavily, ¡°Cannon barrels cobbled together like this are bound to have problems sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°What about the items the Civil Guard Officer asked you to prepare?¡± Demon Ons furrowed his brow and asked.


    Gangchalov¡¯s face turned pale, ¡°They¡¯re ready¡­ but who would dare use them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Demon Ons coldly replied.


    ¡­


    On the other side, in the Terdon soldiers¡¯ gun position, small-eyed slaves were forced to reload the cannon.


    The small-eyed slave struggled to push the cannonball into the gun barrel, and the other captives looked on indifferently as the slave served his new master, no one coming forward to help voluntarily.


    The captives simply pretended to be busy under the scolding and whip lashes, staying as far away as possible.


    The four long cannons of the Terdon Tribe were bought from the Red River Tribe, ones Mason had previously used, nailed shut and then sunk into the river¡ªtruly second-hand.


    Nailing shut the cannon not only plugged the fire door but also caused nearly imperceptible cracks and deformations in the cannon barrel, necessitating a secondary reinforcement with iron hoops.


    The loading of the shell was rough, a dangerous sign. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon re-examining the cannon barrel, the small-eyed slave noticed that the high temperature had caused the black paint to become somewhat sticky, and the iron hoops around the cannon barrel showed fine silvery cracks.


    ¡°This cannon won¡¯t work!¡± In a total panic, stripped of his prior arrogance, the small-eyed slave looked at Hong Lingyu and pleaded, ¡°This cannon really can¡¯t be used!¡±


    Although he couldn¡¯t understand what the small-eyed slave was saying, Hong Lingyu understood the slave¡¯s meaning.


    Unable to contain his anger, Hong Lingyu slapped the small-eyed slave across the face, grabbed the linstock, and pressed it against the fire door.


    From behind the city walls, Mason saw two plumes of white smoke rise from the distant enemy¡¯s gun position. The cannonballs flew only a short distance before impotently falling to the ground, and faint cries could be heard.


    ¡°Sir, what¡¯s wrong with the barbarians?¡± a militiaman asked, puzzled.


    ¡°It might be a burst barrel,¡± Mason frowned slightly.


    Amidst the smoky gun position of the Terdon people, whether it was the gunners or the supervising Terdon soldiers, everyone was dizzied by the blast.


    The burst cannon¡¯s barrel burst wide open, and the collapsing fragments shot out like lead bullets.


    The largest fragment made direct contact with Hong Lingyu¡¯s forehead, smashing his skull inward before disappearing.


    The burst barrel accident sounded like a starting signal, spreading the news in all directions as the Terdon army mobilized.


    The war drums roared, four shield carts removed their camouflage, and each was pushed by six or seven people, advancing side by side towards the collapsed triangular fortress on the outer wall.


    Following the large shield carts were several small hand-pushed carts filled with earth, and Terdon archers also emerged from the trenches, shooting arrows at the city wall.


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Mason ordered, ¡°Everyone to the battlements!¡±


    The small drums began to sound, and the militiamen hurriedly ran out of their cover, scrambling up the wooden scaffolds behind the city wall.


    Seeing the barbarians suddenly reveal their fangs, the foul-smelled blood dripping one drop at a time from their sharp teeth, the militiamen, who had just gotten used to the low-intensity artillery battle and were grinning, were suddenly overwhelmed.


    Silence fell over the city wall, the militiamen¡¯s mouths dry and their tongues parched, eyes wide as they watched the Terdon people approach.


    Hearing Mason explain the tactics, the various militia captains realized: in the end, the barbarians resorted to their signature prowess.


    The Terdon people used the resources at hand, adopting a ¡°hybrid¡± siege method: approaching with trenches, focusing the limited artillery to break down the wall, then resorting to their standard tactics¡ªshield carts, filling trenches, climbing the city walls.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone mute? What are you afraid of? Did you think war was play?¡± Mason patrolled along the arrowhead fort, harshly scolding the silent militiamen, ¡°Even if you stand on a hundred-meter-tall wall, you can¡¯t escape the ordeal of fighting for your life! From now on, all of you are dead men! Only if you win can you earn the right to live!¡±


    As the Terdon shield carts reached thirty meters, the two wooden cannons on the arrowhead fort roared.


    The small iron pellets wrapped in parchment paper burst open midair, scattering.

 Chapter 838 03-25 - 838 86 Defending the City_3

    ?Chapter 838: Chapter 86 Defending the City_3 Chapter 838: Chapter 86 Defending the City_3 Most of the grapeshot was blocked by the shield carts, with a small fraction passing through the gap between two of them.


    Terdun men screamed in pain, releasing their grip on the push handles, only to have another pair of hands immediately take over.


    ¡°By the Gods above!¡± the commander of the shield carts, Hong Lingyu of Tahai, roared, ¡°The two-legged people are out of thunder! Hurry up!¡±


    The militiamen behind the city walls heard the barbarians let out a unified shout of ¡°Wooka ha,¡± and suddenly, the advance of the shield carts quickened as they rushed towards the city walls.


    Suddenly, a militiaman screamed in agony, clutching his eyes. He stumbled backward, fell off the scaffolding, an arrow shaft wedged between his fingers.


    The stretcher team hurried over to lift the arrow-struck militiaman, but he had already breathed his last. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With several twangs of bowstrings, the armored soldiers atop the shield carts shot with deadly accuracy, mercilessly killing any Revodan militiamen who poked their heads out in a daze.


    ...


    ¡°Damn it! Fools!¡± The tall, silent Captain Ivan suddenly exploded. He cursed out loud and backhanded the dazed militiaman beside him with a slap, ¡°What the hell are you doing? Waiting to be slaughtered? Fire!¡±


    There was no time for new recruits to get used to the bloody scene, and those who came to their senses began to return fire one after another.


    A moment ago, the militiamen were laughing at the jokes of Mason Commissioner, hiding inside the bunkers and listening to bomb blasts, many of them thinking ¡°war was no more than this¡±;


    The next moment, when the militiamen felt they had grown used to warfare, they truly saw the violent nature of war for the first time, and many had already died.


    Arrows and lead shot danced in the air, gunshots and wails rose and fell, but the siege battle was far from reaching its most brutal point.


    ¡°What are you doing standing here?!¡± Mason charged up to the arrow tower, commanding the gunners who were reloading, ¡°Take the cannon and go! Fire from the flanks!¡±


    Two teams of gunners awkwardly shifted the wooden cannons to both sides of the arrow tower, while the shield carts had already reached the edge of the ditch.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    The distance between the two sides was less than six meters, separated only by a trench, close enough that they could even see each other¡¯s trembling beard tips.


    The powerful bows and heavy arrows of the Terdun soldiers were eerily accurate at this distance; some Revodan militiamen were pierced by an arrow the very moment they exposed just half of their bow-holding hand at the battlement notch.


    Seeing the militiamen on the arrow tower being suppressed, Mason pushed and kicked the militiamen who were hiding behind the city wall, too scared to raise their heads, ¡°Stand up! Get to the gunners¡¯ station! Go to the flanks! Move!¡±


    With the cover of shield carts and archers, the Terdun people continuously dumped dirt and firewood into the trench using small carts.


    And there were Terdun people with pickaxes silently descending to the bottom of the trench using ropes.


    ¡°The barbarians are pulling out the stakes!¡± a sentry from the side of the triangular fortress cried hoarsely, ¡°They¡¯re digging at the wall!¡±


    ¡°Greek fire!¡± Mason bellowed, ¡°Ongs!¡±


    Hearing the signal of the drums to mount the wall, Demon Ongs hurried from the workshop back to the arrow tower and immediately had men lift out boxes of pottery jars from the bunker.


    The Terdun centurion at the front line, Tahai, only saw dark objects being thrown from behind the city wall in succession, shattering upon landing¡ªlike pottery.


    An armored soldier with remarkable archery skills hit a pottery jar mid-air, spilling liquid from within.


    Realizing what the enemy was up to, an aghast Tahai, his face twisted in terror, dashed out of the shield cart, desperately crying, ¡°Climb up!¡±


    It was already too late. Several torches were thrown into the trench, spreading a layer of blue flame at its bottom.


    Bundles of dry straw were then thrown into the trench, burning even more fiercely than ordinary straw, instantly transforming the moat into a sea of fire.


    Richard Mason grabbed the gunpowder-wrapped dry straw and flung bundle after bundle out of the city until thick smoke billowed and the stench of burning filled the air.


    The inhuman screams of the dying quickly faded, the Terdun offensive temporarily stalled by the flames, but they did not retreat as the defenders had hoped.


    The Terdun people pinned at the edge of the trench, with heavy-armored archers suppressing the city wall¡¯s militiamen to the point they dared not raise their heads, refusing to retreat.


    The thick smoke obscured the view, and as Mason moved to the side of the arrow tower, he finally saw what the Terdun people were doing¡ªusing the smoke and shield carts as cover, they were actually digging trenches beside the protective ditch.


    At the same time, a beacon of smoke rose into the sky from the Old Town district on the northern shore.

 Chapter 839 03-25 - 839 87 Tug of War

    ?Chapter 839: Chapter 87: Tug of War Chapter 839: Chapter 87: Tug of War ¡°Herde Language What is going on?¡± Red Plumed Feathers with a Lion Nose stopped his horse at the edge of Revodan Valley, dissatisfiedly asking the Green Plumed Feathers ahead, ¡°Herde Language Didn¡¯t the fire starter say he had already captured the city? Brother?¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers, resembling the appearance of Red Plumed Feathers and also with a Lion Nose, frowned tightly, ¡°Herde Language How should I know? Pick a few good men and cross the river to find out.¡±


    From their elevated position, the white smoke continuously pouring out of the southern city walls was in plain sight.


    But what lay between them and the battlefield was not only the earth but also a wide river.


    The younger Lion Nose whispered in agreement and with a hint of confusion, ¡°Herde Language Then what should we do now?¡±


    Herde Language The fire starter seems to be struggling, let him handle this.¡± Big Lion Nose narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke gravely, ¡°Herde Language But if he fails, it will not bode well for us either. Take your men and go scare those two-legged creatures on the northern bank.¡±


    The younger Lion Nose let out a whistle, turned his horse around, and fired a signal arrow into the sky.


    ...


    The following group of over a hundred loyal tribesmen reluctantly dismounted and began removing their saddlebags.


    Whether on horseback or from their mounts, each horse¡¯s saddlebags were bulging¡ªfilled with their ¡°spoils of war¡± and merely what they carried with them.


    North along the main road, out of sight, more Herders were moving to Revodan, escorting slaves and captives.


    The left wing of the Terdon Tribe had arrived.


    ¡­


    In the old city of Revodan, Anna found the elderly Mayor Priskin amidst the chaos of the town hall.


    ¡°I saw the beacons.¡± Anna struggled to maintain her composure and steadiness, ¡°Mr. Mayor.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    ¡°Yes, beacons, Lady Montaigne.¡± The wrinkles on old Priskin¡¯s face grew deeper as he leaned on the desk and struggled to stand, ¡°The outpost at Hammer Fort spotted the barbarians coming and lit the beacons¡­ Fortunately, the young men have all pulled back, and the residents of Hammer Fort were evacuated early¡­¡± S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hammer Fort? Is it to the north?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Old Priskin¡¯s eyes were filled with fatigue, ¡°It¡¯s the barbarians from Vernge County, ah.¡±


    The town hall had already turned into a military camp, with panicked city council members bringing out bundles of weapons to distribute to equally panicked citizens.


    However, most of the young and able-bodied men had been taken to defend the southern walls, leaving only a half-strength city guard and recent Hammer Fort residents for security in the northern part; those left were either too old or too young.


    Even before old Priskin, who needed a cane to walk, there was a dagger set out.


    ¡°Grandfather!¡± A young man in armored leather burst through the door haphazardly, ¡°I¡¯ve brought my friends over!¡±


    Seeing a young and beautiful lady in the mayor¡¯s office made the young Priskin pause.


    ¡°This is,¡± Old Priskin coughed lightly, ¡°the wife of the Mason Civil Guard Officer.¡±


    Young Priskin¡¯s knees trembled subconsciously. He hastily bowed and quickly left, carefully closing the door behind him.


    Anna didn¡¯t understand why the other reacted as if a mouse had seen a cat, but she was quick-witted and soon guessed roughly.


    However, none of those things seemed important at the moment. Anna looked at Mayor Priskin, ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡±


    Mayor Priskin was about to say ¡°nothing,¡± but he responded instead, ¡°I have already sent someone to seek help from the Mason Commissioner, but I fear it will take time. All the city council members, including myself, have to go up to the walls. If you could help stabilize the civilians within the city, that would be great.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Anna nodded slightly.


    ¡°Or perhaps,¡± an idea occurred to Mayor Priskin, ¡°could you help me find two to three hundred robust women to assist?¡±


    ¡­


    New City of Revodan.


    Every musket in the city had been moved to the Arrow Fort on the western wall, and the wooden cannons from the southern and eastern walls were also concentrated on the western wall.


    Behind Arrow Fort, the militia was racing against time to fortify Urn City.


    On Arrow Fort, Mason personally commanded two wooden cannons and used solid shot to heavily bombard the Terdon peoples¡¯ shield carts.


    Musketeers were positioned on both wings of Arrow Fort, pulling away to flank the enemy. Lead bullets and arrows exchanged relentlessly, continually reaping fresh lives.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A burly militiaman roared as he ran forward, desperately hurling a grenade toward the shield cart.


    As the grenade left his hand, he seemed to lose all his strength, gasping heavily for air.


    However, the next scene caused the air itself to solidify: the grenade thrown over the city wall flew back the same way it came, the not-yet-burned fuse still hissing.


    The fuse was too long! The barbarians picked up the grenade and threw it back!


    Beside the cannon, Mason was tackled by Demon Ongs. Other militiamen screamed in despair, scrambling to get away.


    The grenade-throwing militiaman also wanted to flee, but his legs were so stiff he couldn¡¯t move.


    An old sergeant behind him cursed loudly, pushed him away, and grabbed the grenade to throw it back outside the wall.


    It exploded before it left his hand.


    The old sergeant and the grenade-throwing militiaman were instantly killed, shrapnel severely wounded three others, and the sergeant¡¯s right arm was blown off, scattering flesh everywhere.


    As the stifling gunpowder smoke cleared, someone was vomiting.


    Mason got up, bellowing an order, ¡°Carry them away!¡±


    The stretcher team rushed over, carrying away the dead and the severely injured. A member of the stretcher team was picking up pieces of flesh on the ground, unable to collect it all.


    ¡°Sound the drums!¡± Mason personally lit the firing charge of the wooden cannon, ¡°Fire!¡±

 Chapter 840 03-25 - 840 87 Sawing_2

    ?Chapter 840: Chapter 87: Sawing_2 Chapter 840: Chapter 87: Sawing_2 The sound of military drums and gunfire rose again, and the battle continued.


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡± After a prolonged internal struggle, the middle-aged leader of the cavalry, Dusack, made up his mind and approached Mason, ¡°Allow me to take the cavalry out for a charge.¡±


    Although the captain of the cavalry volunteered eagerly, his knees were slightly trembling.


    Mason¡¯s face, blackened by gunpowder fumes, scrutinized the man, ¡°No one can back you up. Going out of the city means certain death.¡±


    Dusack clenched his teeth and responded, ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re unafraid of death, which is why I cannot let you throw your life away needlessly.¡± Mason, wiping the soot from his face, was unusually calm, ¡°No need for a counterattack outside the city walls. It won¡¯t be any use.¡±


    As more troops were committed, the Revodan defenders gradually began to suppress the Terdun people.


    ...


    Mason convened his militia captains to reposition the defenses.


    Many of the militia captains looked dazed, obviously still unaccustomed to the bloodshed and death.


    ¡°Listen well, do not fear the Terdun people digging trenches.¡± Mason struck the ground fiercely with his sword, ¡°No matter how fast they dig, they can¡¯t be faster than us! Worse comes to worst, we¡¯ll simply build another wall! Earthworks? Those barbarians are still too green.¡±


    Several militia captains unconsciously swallowed their saliva.


    Mason pointed to the east and south, ¡°The Terdun people won¡¯t focus their attacks on one spot. Troops on the south and east walls, hold your positions and don¡¯t crane your necks just to watch what¡¯s happening on the west wall!¡±


    The militia captains defending the south and east walls nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Your Excellency, what about the beacon smoke from the Old City?¡± someone hesitated to speak.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    ¡°The safety of the Old City is not your concern. Civil Guard Officer Montaigne and I are well prepared.¡± Mason replied categorically, his eyes flashing with fire, ¡°As long as we can hold the walls, the situation will favor us, not the Terdun people!¡±


    Mason suddenly drew his sword, startling the militia captains into taking a step back.


    ¡°See?¡± Mason shouted fiercely, ¡°In close combat, those barbarians could slaughter you all in one charge! What¡¯s so difficult about holding a matchlock gun, standing twenty meters away, and pulling the trigger at the enemy?¡±


    At that moment, Demon Ons hurried to Mason¡¯s side, ¡°Your Excellency, the hand cannons are ready.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Mason¡¯s spirits lifted instantly. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Revodan, Northerly City.


    Little Lion Nose led his followers on a circuit around the city walls and not only failed to find any usable breach but also discovered that the walls were manned by nearly a thousand defenders.


    He intended to get closer to scout the situation, but as soon as he came within bowshot range of the city walls, the defenders¡¯ small cannon immediately opened fire.


    Little Lion Nose did not want to take the risk and retreated.


    The Northerly City defenders were already at their limits. Every man capable of bearing arms was on the city walls, and every available banner had been placed on the ramparts.


    At this moment, half of the defenders were men, and the other half were women with their faces blackened and dressed in men¡¯s clothes.


    Seeing the barbarian cavalry merely probing before leaving, a huge sigh of relief, like one after narrowly escaping catastrophe, went up from the city walls.


    Little Lion Nose returned to the edge of the valley and shared what he observed with his brother.


    Lion Nose, alongside just over a hundred followers, attacking a city defended by thousands would be suicidal.


    ¡°[Herde Language] We should wait for the rest of our men to join us,¡± Big Lion Nose, deliberating, decided it was best to play it safe. They had gained considerable loot from their raiding and did not want to lose their lives at this time.


    Big Lion Nose further asked his brother, ¡°[Herde Language] Have you sent someone across the river yet?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I sent someone, but they haven¡¯t come back,¡± Little Lion Nose gloomily said, ¡°[Herde Language] Brother, if the Fire Tender wants a share of our loot, what should we do?¡±


    Big Lion Nose sneered, ¡°[Herde Language] If the Fire Tender wants meat and ends up gnawing on bone, who¡¯s to blame? Horses have four legs, men have two. If he is unfair, we need not stay with the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Right!¡± Little Lion Nose, already dissatisfied with how the Fire Tender had divided their forces this time, exclaimed, ¡°[Herde Language] The Golden Clan has been bullying the weak for long enough! We should have¡­¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Let¡¯s not speak of this for now!¡± Big Lion Nose interrupted his brother, ordering, ¡°[Herde Language] Set up camp here; let the young men go out and find some food and drink.¡±


    Although the Lion Nose brothers had plundered a considerable amount of wealth, they had brought little in the way of food or drink, relying entirely on looting along the way.


    Over a hundred Herde cavalrymen found a wind-sheltered place to unload their plunder, then split up to raid nearby settlements.


    That night, a cavalry infantry troop dispatched by Winters to the northern shore raided that camp.


    The heads of the Lion Nose brothers were taken.


    ¡­


    Revodan New Town, western side outside the arrowhead fort, Terdun people¡¯s trench.


    As the defenders brought in more musketeers, the Terdun people gradually began to fall behind in the firefight.


    Musketeers needed only ammunition and courage, whereas archers required not only ammunition and courage but also physical endurance.


    Moreover, facing the close-range shooting of heavy matchlock guns, whether one wore armor or not merely made the difference between a quick death and a slow one.


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s servants and guards were continuously killed, which horrified him.


    Yet, since the hundred strong cavalry commanded by the whip was just behind, Tahai dared not retreat. He could only keep telling himself: The rewards promised by the Fire Tender would surely be as abundant as promised.


    Tahai¡¯s subjects and slaves were striving to dig the trench; they all made their living from herding and were not accustomed to the labor of digging.


    In principle, this task should not have fallen to them.


    For it was customary for the tribes to employ captives for labor and drive women and children to fill the trenches.

 Chapter 841 03-25 - 841 87 Tug of War_3

    ?Chapter 841: Chapter 87: Tug of War_3 Chapter 841: Chapter 87: Tug of War_3 But outside the city, not a single biped could be captured, so the troops had to take action.


    The thunderous cannons on the city walls continuously boomed; the shields, reinforced with iron sheets and cowhide, were as fragile as mats. After the solid iron balls pierced through the shields, they were still able to shatter flesh and blood.


    Tahai ordered his troops to pile dirt into the shield carts, which gradually turned into dirt carts, temporarily blocking the deadly thunder from outside.


    No more troops dared to exchange arrows with the bipeds, even if the Kotas offered high bounties.


    Fortunately, the bipeds did not dare to attack either. As the two sides confronted each other at close range, neither could do anything to the other.


    As the trenches were dug deeper, it seemed the bipeds also realized that continuing to exchange fire was pointless. Gunfire became increasingly sparse, and the thunder no longer roared.


    Tahai hid behind the thickening, raising earthen wall; this small space unexpectedly began to make him feel safe.


    ...


    After the eerie silence, there came another dull boom of thunder.


    But what followed was not the trembling of the shield carts being struck by solid iron balls¡ªnothing happened.


    ¡°Missed?¡± Tahai wondered.


    No, a pitch-black iron ball with a swoosh, like a giant hailstone, smashed into the space behind the shield carts from mid-air, burying itself deep into the ground.


    Tahai¡¯s eyes widened, because from his position, the thunder could not possibly hit there.


    ¡°Hurled in?¡± Tahai was shocked, ¡°Do the bipeds have such a strong man?¡±


    Then came the second one; this iron ball had a hemp rope attached to it.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Tahai¡¯s chest nearly burst; he screamed and leaped into the trench, ¡°Black thunder!¡±


    It was too late; the grenade exploded with a ¡°boom,¡± taking Tahai away.


    ¡­


    Revodan New Town.


    Behind the western city wall, a large open area was cleared, hosting twelve bizarrely-shaped, short, thick iron tubes pointing to the sky.


    They appeared to be mortars, but their calibers were too small and the tube walls too thin.


    Mason carefully took out a modified grenade that had an extra layer of protection on its fuse compared to a regular grenade.


    After lighting the fuse, Mason immediately placed the shell into the short-barreled cannon.


    Demon Ongs also immediately lit the fuse of the short-barreled cannon, and both retreated far away.


    The short-barreled cannon fired, shooting the grenade into the sky, its whereabouts unknown.


    ¡°This is how you use it!¡± Mason looked around at his subordinates, ¡°Did you understand?¡±


    The gunners nodded, somewhat puzzled.


    They had learned how to use the first, second, and third generations of wooden cannons with Mason Commissioner, yet they had never seen or heard of this type of grenade-launching device.


    The gunner responsible for observing the impact point ran over to report, ¡°Missed!¡±


    ¡°Too close or too far?¡± Mason asked.


    ¡°Too close! And to the right!¡±


    ¡°Get him two small flags,¡± Mason pointed at the observing gunner, ¡°Use the flags to communicate to save running back and forth.¡±


    Demon Ongs nodded.


    Revodan¡¯s forge workshop lacked the capability to cast whole cannon barrels, let alone directly forge entire ones.


    So they could only forge short iron tubes and then assemble them into long cannon barrels, which was laborious and time-consuming.


    Since Mason was most short on time, the artillery captain decided to simply skip the welding process and directly transformed short iron tubes, one foot long and one inch thick, into mortars for launching grenades.


    The modification work had started on the first day of the siege and today proved to be the perfect occasion to use it.


    ¡°The people of Terdon are digging trenches, pushing shield carts, and stacking earthen walls, trying to block direct fire,¡± Mason said with a hint of cruel pleasure to his subordinates, ¡°Very well! Let them taste the flavor of our mortars!¡±


    ¡­


    The mortar that fired shell easily launched four-pound shells to a distance of twenty meters, and its trajectory was curved, allowing the shells to fly over shield carts and then drop into the trenches.


    They became the last straw that broke Terdon¡¯s resistance.


    Although the Terdon people attacking New Town showed toughness far beyond ordinary Herde tribes, they couldn¡¯t keep digging trenches while being bombarded.


    Mason thought to himself that if he had been commanding the siege, he might have taken some countermeasures. Mortars had their drawbacks too, and were just as dangerous to their operators as to the enemy.


    However, the events of today had exhausted both the attackers and defenders.


    The Terdon people abandoned their dead, their wounded, and their shield carts, and broke ranks in a disorganized retreat, ignoring the supervising cavalry as they brandished their sabers.


    The defenders were too weary to pursue, and there were even no cheers of victory.


    As the evening darkened, the battlefield fell silent; only the dying Terdon people could be heard moaning in pain in a language that was incomprehensible.


    Venturesome militiamen stealthily climbed out from the city walls, aiming to decapitate the barbarians, and unexpectedly encountered Terdon people trying to loot the dead. Both parties startled each other and fled in chaotic shouts.


    Mason ordered the burning of Terdon¡¯s shield carts and the refilling of the enemy¡¯s trenches as much as possible. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day, the siege resumed.


    The Terdon tribe utilized more personnel; while directly digging trenches toward the front, a contingent tried taking the river pathway in an effort to bypass the city walls.


    The Terdon attackers from the river were intercepted by the flotilla.


    Mason stationed second-generation wooden artillery on small boats, bombarding the enemy wading in the water with lethal stones and iron chunks.


    Those Terdon people who managed to swim to the shore discovered that the shallow riverbed was riddled with sharp stakes¡ªhow could Richard Mason possibly have left a loophole? They were quickly slaughtered on the beach.


    On the third day, the Terdon people finally connected their trenches to the city¡¯s moats.


    Mason then used his last resort.


    Accompanying a blast that made the earth tremble, a huge breach was blown open on the banks of the St. George River, northeast of Revodan New Town.


    The raging river water poured into the city moats, and the wall-digging Terdon slaves had no time to escape; they were either drowned or shot dead.


    The defensive moat had become a defensive river¡ªor rather, it had always been intended as a defensive river, just never filled with water until then.


    On the fourth day, the outside of the city was eerily quiet.


    Mason sent men to inspect and found that the enemy camps were deserted.


    ¡°Have the barbarians been defeated?¡± Elder Priskin asked as if granted amnesty.


    ¡°No,¡± Mason¡¯s expression held no trace of joy, ¡°I¡¯m afraid their objective has been achieved.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean, sir.¡±


    ¡°The real aim of the Terdon people has always been to force Winters to make a move. Their primary target has been Winters, then us after him.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elder Priskin asked, half in terror, half in joy. ¡°Has His Excellency Montane launched an attack?¡±


    ¡°The Terdon people voluntarily lifting the siege,¡± Mason said calmly, ¡°indicates that the real battle has already begun.¡±


    Meanwhile, at the water dam fortress by the Big Horn River, Tamas and Samujin also discovered that the Terdon people besieging them had vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Release the water now!¡± Tamas decisively ordered.


    ¡°The water hasn¡¯t accumulated enough!¡± Samujin disagreed, ¡°Releasing it now, no one can guarantee it will destroy the floating bridge.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait!¡± Tamas roared, ¡°The Terdon people pulling back means the Centurion is already engaged in battle! We must release the water now!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy the dam,¡± Captain Moro, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.


    Samujin looked at both of them and reluctantly agreed.


    Mason and Tamas¡¯s speculation wasn¡¯t wrong; the final showdown had indeed commenced a day earlier.

 Chapter 842 03-25 - 842 88 Narrow Path

    ?Chapter 842: Chapter 88: Narrow Path Chapter 842: Chapter 88: Narrow Path Two days ago¡ªthe most intense stages of the Siege of Revodan and the Dam Siege.


    Out in the fields, the Terdon light cavalry were both surprised and delighted to find that the enemy¡¯s main force, which had always been advancing slowly by relying on strong camps and fortifications, had finally decided to take the initiative and come out in full force.


    Armed personnel and supply wagons continuously left various camps, eventually forming three columns on the plain.


    The three columns moved forward concurrently, like three mighty torrents, charging towards Revodan with unyielding momentum.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly¡­ so¡­¡± Among those overlooking the military might on the hillside, one was so excited that he became incoherent, ¡°Indescribable¡­¡±


    The gentleman grappling for adjectives was none other than Mr. Jacob Green, the lean and tall representative of the will of Niutigu Valley.


    As the only intellectual in the army who had attended grammar school and university, Jacob Green had become Winters¡¯s temporary private secretary, responsible for drafting proclamations and correspondence on behalf of Winters.


    Previously, Jacob Green had mostly experienced the cruel and bloody side of war.


    ...


    But now, as he witnessed thousands of troops slowly unfolding before his eyes, Jacob Green was internally shocked by the magnificent and mighty side of the war.


    Next to the tall Mr. Green, a short, fat man commented like a general, ¡°To move out in such columns really deserves the name of a great army.¡±


    Needless to say, the short, fat man was Nandor Krellov, another representative of Niutigu Valley¡¯s will.


    Nandor, having been injured in a previous battle and refusing to go home to recuperate, was also brought to the headquarters for protection.


    According to the short and fat Mr. Nandor¡¯s own words, he had already missed one battle due to his injuries and did not want to miss another.


    Normally, the thin gentleman would certainly have a sharp exchange with the fat gentleman.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0 S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the current Jacob Green was utterly engrossed in his excited emotions and thus completely ignored his old adversary¡¯s words, suddenly capturing a few sparks of inspiration: ¡°War¡­ the ultimate violence of mankind¡­ a spectacular manifestation of immense power¡­¡±


    The fat Mr. Nandor, somewhat confused by his words, impulsively urged his old rival: ¡°Then you should write it down, write an epic! An epic sung by a drunken harpist in a tavern.¡±


    The thin gentleman was startled, suddenly overwhelmed by a strong desire to write, then instantly gripped by an inexplicable fear: ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m afraid I might not be able to¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Having something is better than nothing,¡± Nandor expressed a hint of regret and sorrow: ¡°How many wars have been fought in the world? Probably countless, right? But how many are remembered? They all get glossed over with a quick stroke. When I think about how I¡¯ll also be completely forgotten, it leaves me feeling empty inside.¡±


    The hesitant Jacob Green gradually became resolute: ¡°I will do my best, Mr. Krellov, to ensure that our children and grandchildren remember that someone here shed their blood.¡±


    ¡°Remember to add three inches to my height,¡± the fat gentleman said leisurely.


    ¡­


    Upon learning that the bipeds of Saint Town had finally been lured out, the Fire-Tender was overjoyed.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The bipeds have fallen into the trap; they are now like foxes caught in a snare,¡± looking around the tent at all the Kotas, the Fire-Tender laughed loudly: ¡°[Herde Language] Slaughter them, this place is ours for the taking! Slaves, women, goods, all are awarded to you!¡±


    The Kotas cheered in unison, all except the old Translator who remained silent.


    ¡­


    The three columns advanced rapidly towards Revodan, and Terdon¡¯s light cavalry wandered around the troops like specters, trying to probe their reality.


    Anglu led the cavalry in attacks from all sides, vigorously driving the enemy¡¯s scouts away from the marching route.


    When the Iron Peak County cavalry returned to their columns, they looked like mythical headhunting warriors:


    Banners, weaponry, and heads of the unblinking dead hung at the front of their saddles, some even brought back gold and silver ornaments hacked from the bodies.


    Witnessing the separation of their kin¡¯s bodies, the people of Terdon grew even more ruthless.


    They chopped off the heads of the Iron Peak County dead, hoisted them high on long spears, displaying them to the marching Iron Peak County militia, even charging close to the columns to flaunt their valor.


    The vast army of tens of thousands rolled forward along the foothills of Iron Peak County, the closer they got, the more ferocious the cavalry skirmishes between the scouts became.


    The cavalry from both armies chased and fought each other on plains, hills, and rugged terrain, fighting to the death.


    Winters placed his headquarters on horseback, with clerks, copyists, and messengers all equipped with multiple warhorses; wherever he went, that¡¯s where the headquarters would be.


    When the vanguard was less than twenty kilometers from Revodan, Winters finally received news of the enemy:


    ¡°The vanguard of the left column has encountered the barbarian scouts!¡±


    Not only was Winters not nervous, but he also felt a sense of relief: ¡°All troops halt! Have the left and right columns close in towards me.¡±


    He pointed to the flat, open fields on both sides of the road: ¡°No need to go any further; we¡¯ll decide the battle with the Terdon people right here.¡±


    ¡­


    The skirmish started in the morning¡ªa hundred-strong cavalry unit of the Terdon Tribe was repelled by the vanguard of the left column.


    Upon receiving the news, Winters immediately halted the troops, and according to his orders, the left and right columns began to contract towards the center.


    In Iron Peak County, every five hundred people formed a camp, commanded by an appointed officer.


    After surveying the battlefield, Winters sent messengers to guide each camp into the positions he had designated.

 Chapter 843 03-25 - 843 88 Narrow Path_2

    ?Chapter 843: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_2 Chapter 843: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_2 ¡°`


    The militia from Niutigu Valley, forming the Third Battalion of the left column, had just entered their designated position when they saw logistics soldiers with red armbands rushing over with horse-drawn carts.


    The scrawny farmer nicknamed ¡°Monkey¡± jabbed his companion beside him and said with a smirk, ¡°Look, the food¡¯s coming.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± replied the stout farmer named Doug, his response weak with exhaustion, ¡°I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything special about fighting wars,¡± Monkey couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just marching on and on?¡±


    Doug didn¡¯t say anything; he was wholly focused on filling his belly.


    When the tarpaulin on the carts was removed, the militia were sorely disappointed. Instead of bread and beer, the carts were loaded with bundles of tools: pickaxes, shovels, chisels¡­


    ¡°No resting now!¡± The appointed battalion commander came over, barking orders at the militia, ¡°Everybody up!¡±


    ...


    With tools handed out, the militia had no time to catch their breath before they were ordered to dig trenches in front of their positions.


    ¡°Leave a two-meter gap every twenty meters in the trench!¡± the battalion commander instructed on the position of the trenches at the front line, ¡°They need to be wide enough for two horses and three men to move side by side!¡±


    The militia picked up their tools, all somewhat reluctantly.


    ¡°Sir, could we get some food first?¡± a disgruntled militiaman grumbled, ¡°We¡¯ve walked all day and are starving.¡±


    ¡°The bread is coming right up,¡± the battalion commander scolded fiercely, ¡°Quit your damn slacking! I¡¯m telling you, dig one less handful of earth now, and you¡¯ll lose a pound of flesh later!¡±


    The Third Battalion consisted of ¡°young soldiers,¡± that is, militia with poor equipment and training, who were mostly used as laborers, so they were accustomed to digging trenches and such tasks.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À0.§ã¦Ï


    But Monkey saw and didn¡¯t like what he saw; he noticed that the ¡°adult soldiers¡± in the second line of the defense were not only exempt from digging trenches but were also being given food.


    Monkey immediately voiced his complaint, hopping and pointing toward the adult soldiers in the rear, ¡°Why don¡¯t they have to work? And they have food?¡±


    The noise drew the militia¡¯s attention, and seeing the adult soldiers resting and eating, they erupted in agitation.


    ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± The battalion commander jumped onto the cart, drawing his saber, ¡°Everyone shut your mouths! Another damn word, and you¡¯ll face military discipline!¡±


    The Third Battalion quickly quieted down under the threat of military law.


    Seeing his men silenced, the battalion commander spoke coolly, ¡°They don¡¯t have to work because they¡¯ll be the ones fighting for their lives on the front lines. Anyone who disagrees, I¡¯ll send you to join the adult soldiers.¡±


    The militia fell silent. Monkey, discontent in his heart, couldn¡¯t suppress it and stood out, his neck stiff, ¡°Send me over, then!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the acting battalion commander couldn¡¯t be bothered with the banter of a rookie, ¡°Who else wants to go?¡±


    Monkey looked at his friend with a pleading gaze. Doug, worried about his friend, raised his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll go with him.¡±


    Immediately, the two young soldiers were dispatched to join the ranks of the adult soldiers, and peace returned to the Third Battalion¡¯s position. Everyone resumed their work with heads down, and the bread was quickly delivered.


    The army of Iron Peak County busily positioned their formations and dug battle trenches across the open field.


    The sun gradually passed its zenith, leaning westward, and amidst the wind, one could faintly hear the rumbling sound of war drums.


    What first appeared above the horizon were the fluttering horse-tail banners in the wind, swiftly followed by the blurry silhouettes of cavalry.


    Only then did people realize that what carried on the wind was not the sound of drums, but the thundering vibrations of horse hooves stamping the ground.


    The hoofbeats grew louder and louder, and the militia stopped their work, craning their necks to look.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± chided the commander of the Third Battalion to his subordinates, ¡°Keep working!¡±


    The militia dug into the trenches with even more vigor, while the battalion commander of the Third Battalion watched the enemy¡¯s silhouette, silent for a long time.


    The troops from Terdun had arrived.


    ¡­


    The Terdun vanguard occupied the northern hillside without rashly initiating an attack.


    The distance between the two sides was approximately four or five kilometers, separated by a hill, barely within sight of each other, and engaged in a standoff.


    As time passed, Winters¡¯ rearguard units gradually arrived, and the forces from Terdun continued to stream onto the battlefield.


    As twilight approached, Winters heard a tsunami-like cheer erupt from the Terdun positions.


    Strolling along the front line, Winters casually said to Xial, ¡°It¡¯s probably Heinrich¡¯s ugly mug that¡¯s shown up.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let them come,¡± Xial murmured quietly, ¡°Damned savages, making all that racket for nothing.¡±


    Strolling around the camp at dinner time had become a habit for Winters, usually alone, but today Xial and Heinrich insisted on accompanying him.


    Wandering aimlessly for a while, Winters felt somewhat weary and decided to rest near a campfire.


    The militia gathered around the fire didn¡¯t recognize this young man in an old coat, assuming he was one of them, and scooted over to make room for Winters and his companions.


    The cold wind howled, and the militia wrapped themselves tightly in their clothing, seeking warmth as close to the fire as possible.


    ¡°Dragging us out to this godforsaken place without even tents!¡± a militiaman grumbled, stirring the fire and complaining, ¡°We¡¯ll freeze to death!¡±


    ¡°Enough, we¡¯re lucky to have this fire to warm us, what¡¯s there to complain about?¡± another older militiaman muttered reproachfully.


    Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t gather enough tents for the use of tens of thousands, so the troops had to rely on bonfires for warmth.


    The grumbling militiaman, envious after spotting Winters¡¯ coat, reached out to touch it, ¡°Brother, that¡¯s a nice coat you got there! Must be warm, right?¡±


    ¡°It is quite warm,¡± Winters smiled, ¡°Bought it last year in Shuangqiao City, cashmere wool.¡±


    ¡°That must¡¯ve cost a fortune.¡±


    ¡°A bit pricey, yes.¡±


    ¡°Lucky you,¡± sighed the complaining militiaman, wrapping himself even tighter into the mat meant for sleeping on the ground, ¡°Really lucky.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 844 03-25 - 844 88 Narrow Path_3

    ?Chapter 844: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_3 Chapter 844: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_3 The aged militiamen upon hearing the word ¡°Shuangqiao Market,¡± ventured to ask, ¡°From the sound of it, are you a veteran?¡±


    Winters nodded, ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t look very old.¡±


    ¡°I enlisted early.¡±


    ¡°Then about this battle,¡± the older militiamen anxiously questioned, ¡°can we win it?¡±


    Winters poked the campfire and sighed, ¡°Hard to say. Anything can happen on the battlefield, but I think we do stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Tell us about¡­ that ¡®head for land¡¯ order,¡± the young, complaining militiaman quietly asked, ¡°Is that true? Really get an acre for a head?¡±


    ...


    ¡°To my knowledge, there hasn¡¯t been an incident where it wasn¡¯t honored.¡±


    The complaining young militiaman suddenly became very enthusiastic and asked excitedly, ¡°So if I take ten heads, I¡¯ll be rich, right? Become a landlord!¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, then told the joke about ¡°the old marshal¡¯s hundred thousand soldiers each firing two shots.¡± He had the demeanor of a deadpan humorist, and the militiamen around the campfire laughed heartily after hearing the joke.


    ¡°Actually, killing an enemy is quite difficult,¡± Winters said honestly, ¡°Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t offer so much for an acre. If it were that easy to get a piece of land, the new government would be at a huge loss, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± the ambition of the young, complaining militiaman vanished into thin air. After sitting still for a moment, he muttered wistfully, ¡°Even if it¡¯s not ten acres, one would be good.¡±


    Winters looked over the two militiamen, an old man and a young boy, and kindly inquired of the elder, ¡°Old man, are you two related?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my grandpa,¡± the young militiaman answered nonchalantly.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    The old man glared at his grandson and, somewhat ingratiatingly, said to Winters, ¡°It¡¯s clear at a glance that you are a learned man.¡±


    Xial couldn¡¯t help but snicker, and Winters didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°Can you write paperwork?¡± the old man tentatively asked.


    ¡°What kind of paperwork?¡±


    The old man swallowed hard, ¡°A will.¡±


    The lively atmosphere around the campfire suddenly cooled, and everyone fell silent, with only the crackling of the burning logs audible.


    The old militiaman hastily explained, ¡°This old bag of bones might soon receive the Lord¡¯s grace. I plan to leave the land to this kid here and a little for my daughter. I fear it won¡¯t be clear later on, so I want to draft a will.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what nonsense are you saying!¡± the impatient young militiaman stopped his grandfather from speaking further.


    Winters took out a notebook and graphite stick from his chest and looked at the old man, ¡°Do you dictate, or shall I draft it?¡±


    In the moment the young man opened his coat, the old man inadvertently saw the tassels and trims on the inner garment.


    The old man was taken aback, so Winters asked again.


    ¡°You¡­ please draft it,¡± the old man said respectfully.


    Winters, by the faint light of the campfire, read aloud while writing swiftly.


    The illiterate militiamen watched with admiration, holding a natural respect for an educated person.


    Unnoticed, the number of militiamen gathering around the fire kept growing, almost forming a wall of people.


    When Winters finished, he signed his full name under ¡°Witness¡± and handed the document to the old man.


    The old militiaman made a salute, voiced his gratitude, and accepted his will with both hands.


    The militiamen looked at the old man with envy, then turned their hopeful gaze to the educated young man.


    Winters did not yet know that the inheritance laws in Newly Reclaimed Land were a tangled mess: customary and copper laws mixed together, old laws contradicting new regulations, and if the deceased were a believer, the Church would further complicate matters.


    Although it was unclear to everyone whether the will was of any use, seeing the old man tucking the little piece of paper into his chest like a treasure, they wanted one too¡ªat least for peace of mind!


    Winters looked up to meet the expectant eyes of the crowd.


    He sighed helplessly, ¡°Who else wants to write one, one at a time¡­¡±


    The people of Iron Peak County owned so little: a plot of land, a house, a few pieces of clothing¡­


    Winters sat by the fire late into the night, even helped write a few family letters, until the last militiaman left satisfied, until the alarm bells rang at the edge of the battlefield.


    Then gunfire and battle cries came from both east and west.


    The militiamen by the fire startled, looking around frantically.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious,¡± Winters slowly flexed his stiff joints, ¡°People from Terdun just don¡¯t want us to rest easy, old trick. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    With that, he got up and left, with Xial and Heinrich quickly following.


    The crowd watched as the young veteran from nowhere disappeared into the darkness.


    Soon after, rapid footsteps sounded again.


    Xial ran back to the fire, threw an old coat to the complaining young militiaman.


    ¡°Borrow this, return it after the fight,¡± he said, then left. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young militiaman looked at the giver, then at the coat in his hand, perplexed, ¡°Who was that guy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the old militiaman said after a pause, ¡°And you don¡¯t need to know.¡±

 Chapter 845 03-25 - 845 89 Sunny

    ?Chapter 845: Chapter 89 Sunny Chapter 845: Chapter 89 Sunny At the first light of dawn, the warriors began to pray.


    Anglu meticulously brushed the back of the Red Mane, softly reciting the curses passed down by the Dusans generation after generation:


    ¡± ¡­ At the top of the iron column stands an iron man leaning on an iron staff, commanding ferrous, steel knives, and sharp swords of all shapes, ¡®Go back to your mother, the earth, stay away from the Lord¡¯s servants and my companions, stay away from my Warhorse. Let the arrow shafts return to the forest, feathers to the birds, and fish bones to the fish¡¯s body¡¯¡­¡±


    Beside the campfire, the militiamen who had suffered all night gathered around the military chaplain to partake in the final sacrament.


    The chanting echoed in the thin purple mist, drifting and lingering while a hint of blue light shone on people¡¯s faces.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the Iron Peak, along the banks of the Big Horn River.


    The dam, now weakened by the removal of some stakes, was on the verge of collapse.


    ...


    Captain Moro, masked, was setting explosives, the last person to remain at the dam.


    On the shore, naked men united, roaring as they pushed a massive triangular raft into the river.


    Others methodically loaded rocks onto the raft using carts.


    Unseen by others, a group of formidable warriors mounted on Herde horses charged toward the dam.


    ¡­


    As the golden sun leaped above the horizon, the blurry outlines of the land gradually took on distinct colors.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0


    Standing on a hill controlled by the Terdun folk, the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s deployment was clearly visible.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Ha, if the main general of the bipeds thinks protecting the flanks would suffice in an open battle.¡± The fire watcher who climbed the hill for reconnaissance scorned, ¡°[Herde Language] He must be mad from eating rotten meat.¡±


    The armored nobles from Terdun Tribe echoed with unrestrained laughter.


    From their high vantage point, they looked down upon the tiny, ant-like figures forming a massive arrowhead formation.


    To the west of the arrowhead was the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, covered with conifers and shrubs; to the east was a dense primordial forest.


    The figures were deployed on a major road and the adjacent farmlands, securing the plains between the hills and forest.


    Though their flanks appeared secure, the reality was that neither hills nor forests could fully prevent cavalry from encircling them.


    The open, flat farmland was indefensible¡ªsave for the hastily dug trenches before the opponent¡¯s position.


    The Terdun Khan Court swiftly moved, several well-prepared groups of a hundred riders silently left the camp, each finding a path to circle behind the arrowhead formation.


    The old Translator viewed the enemy formation from the hill, frowning deeply.


    From the vanguards clashing to the opposition of the main forces, the enemy had ample time to occupy his hill¡ªa higher and more defensible position.


    Yet, they still chose to deploy on flat ground, but why?


    The old Translator couldn¡¯t figure it out, but he didn¡¯t speak. He felt a bit tired, a feeling that intensified since he crossed the Big Horn River.


    From the perspective of the Terdun people, the formation of Iron Peak County Military resembled an arrowhead; from Iron Peak¡¯s view, their formation resembled an inverted letter T.


    Winters arranged the lines by camp, totaling twenty-seven camps divided into left wing, central army, and right wing.


    Among them, the central army was the strongest column, deployed in a fish-scale formation, each unit providing staggered coverage,


    the left and right wings comprised of [Young Militia] and [Mature Militia], overall positioned slightly back, formed in two lines¡ªyoung soldiers at the front, mature behind.


    Winters carefully selected this location to prevent encirclement by the enemy as much as possible.


    ¡°Forming ranks on the hill would simply allow the enemy to surround our forces. If the Terdun people choose to surround and not attack, our supply lines will falter, inevitably leading to our collapse.¡±


    When explaining the formation to his subordinates, Winters had expounded on why they formed ranks on flat ground:


    ¡°Although the terrain at the foot of the mountain is disadvantageous, nearly half of the enemy¡¯s right wing has either been crushed by our forces or trapped in Lower Iron Peak County. The enemy chieftain¡¯s military strength is limited, making it difficult for them to execute strong flanking maneuvers.¡±


    Surveying his subordinates, whose eyes either shimmered with eagerness or flickered with unease, Winters plunged a dagger into the center of the map: ¡°This narrow land between the mountain and the forest is the ideal battlefield to crush the Terdun people squarely.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Mason stood at the top of the bell tower of Revodan Cathedral, straining his eyes towards the distance.


    The siege of Revodan had been lifted, with joyful crowds bustling in the streets.


    The only bridge connecting the two banks had been dismantled by Mason at the beginning of the siege, fortunately preserving all the timber.


    Using small boats, the timber, and the remaining bridge piles, Mason constructed a temporary floating bridge on the river, allowing horses, weapons, and militiamen to continuously reach the south bank.


    The artillery captain was typically steady and calm, but at this moment, his anxiety was almost palpable.


    ¡°When will the remaining two squads arrive?!¡± Mason asked through gritted teeth.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be long,¡± the commander of the cavalry infantry squadron swallowed nervously.


    Winters¡¯ cavalry infantry squadron, totaling nearly five hundred men, was divided into four squads.


    Because the situation in Revodan wasn¡¯t urgent, the cavalry infantry squadron didn¡¯t rush to Revodan first, but cleared the small bands of Terdun marauders that had penetrated into Upper Iron Peak County, a stance supported by Mason.


    While dispersing troops is easy, regathering them proved challenging.


    Suddenly, the cathedral¡¯s bell tolled.


    The bell rang repeatedly, celebrating the victory of the siege.


    Mason yelled to the commander of the cavalry infantry squadron, ¡°No more waiting!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the commander yelled back.


    Military police took to the streets to disperse civilians, as Revodan swiftly reverted to martial law, and the city militiamen regrouped in the square.

 Chapter 846 03-25 - 846 89 Sunny Day_2

    ?Chapter 846: Chapter 89 Sunny Day_2 Chapter 846: Chapter 89 Sunny Day_2 Mason made it clear to everyone, ¡°I need volunteers.¡±


    As Mason¡¯s gaze swept over them, the Revodan militia lowered their heads. Having barely escaped with their lives, none were willing to risk themselves again.


    ¡°Your Excellency, I can no longer ride a horse or wield a sword,¡± Old Priskin, dragging his grandson forward, approached Mason, ¡°Let him go with you.¡±


    ¡°Count him in.¡±


    After a fierce internal struggle, Ivan also raised his hand.


    ¡­


    The sound of horns filled the sky, and the silhouettes of the cavalry leapt at the edge of vision¡ªthe people of Terdun began their march.


    ...


    Like a shepherd separating a mixed flock of sheep, the nobles of Terdun each led their followers down the hillside, slowly closing in on the people of Iron Peak County.


    Gazing at the barbarians scattered across the hillside, [Monkey] and Doug, stationed on the left flank of the line, had dry mouths and icy hands and feet, their temples throbbing.


    The greed for the bounty for beheading the enemy leaders was quenched by a bucket of ice water poured over their heads.


    Monkey and Doug looked at each other, both seeing death in each other¡¯s eyes.


    The people of Terdun stopped outside the range of the cannons, forming a wide horizontal line.


    A light Terdun cavalryman, holding a lance, rode up to the front line with a helmet, signaling for negotiations.


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    In the center of the battlefield.


    ¡°Pay tribute,¡± the old Translator repeated the condition that would obviously not be accepted, ¡°Emperor Paul lives, and the war stops here.¡±


    The firekeeper was not present, and a Green Plumed Feather took his place. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, the real purpose of the negotiations was to probe the reality of the opposition. It was the inconspicuous old Translator who was the actual director.


    The firekeeper didn¡¯t expect the opponent to surrender. But, should the opponent genuinely agree to pay tribute, even better.


    Plunder was a bounty collected from bottom to top, tribute was a bounty distributed from top to bottom. If possible, the tribal leaders all preferred to receive tribute.


    The old Translator sized up the odd combination before him: a tall, thin, refined middle-aged man, and his two fully armed guards.


    The former was tense, his left hand clutching the reins until his knuckles turned white, and his right hand uncertain where to rest.


    In contrast, the two guards appeared much more relaxed and comfortable.


    The old Translator noticed: the tall, thin man occasionally sneaked glances at the guard on his left, restraining himself from any bold movements.


    He exchanged a few words with the Green Plumed Feather, who then immediately began to loudly and demonstratively scold.


    ¡°Lord Tuman asks you,¡± the old Translator observed carefully, ¡°if we are negotiating, why don¡¯t you show your true faces? Why use the underhanded trick of a stand-in?¡±


    Jacob Green, the tall and thin middle-aged man, was shocked at the words.


    ¡°We hide our faces to avoid frightening you,¡± Winters removed his helmet at a leisurely pace, ¡°Aren¡¯t you playing the same game, Mister Translator?¡±


    Just hearing the opponent¡¯s voice made a chill run up the old Translator¡¯s back, his expression rigid as he watched the face beneath the helmet gradually reveal itself.


    By the time he fully confirmed the other¡¯s identity, he was numb to it.


    The Green Plumed Feather, clueless, asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Who is this person?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] That¡¯s the Paratu Champion,¡± the old Translator replied simply.


    No further explanation was needed¡ªfor the people of Terdun, there was only one Paratu Champion.


    The Green Plumed Feather inhaled sharply, as his Warhorse, sensing its rider¡¯s panic, reared and whinnied incessantly.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it, so that¡¯s it!¡± In a flash, the old Translator connected all the dots and burst into uncontrollable laughter, ¡°You think you can win?¡±


    ¡°Whoever wins,¡± Winters replied, unmoved, ¡°you¡¯ll die first.¡±


    No need for many words between enemies.


    Winters tugged the reins and rode away.


    Another guard, mounted on a black Warhorse, pulled a ghastly head with only one ear from the saddlebag and threw it in front of the old Translator¡¯s horse, then promptly followed Winters.


    The old Translator didn¡¯t need to count the ears¡ªhe didn¡¯t even need to look¡ªto know to whom the severed head on the ground belonged.


    The Red Dog was dead, and the opponent didn¡¯t come here for Revodan, nor for a counter-intelligence plot.


    They came here to end everything.


    ¡­


    On the way back to the central army, another armored rider on a black Warhorse, who had participated in the negotiations, asked Winters, ¡°Did you get a clear look at how many swords the barbarians have?¡±


    ¡°There could be around four thousand in view,¡± Winters mused, ¡°More troops could be hiding on the reverse slope.¡±


    ¡°I think so too,¡± said the black Warhorse rider, helmet on, his voice muffled, ¡°Fifteen thousand infantry¡ªhalf of them are peasants who just took up arms, and the other half have only been in one battle with you¡ªagainst at least four thousand Herd Barbarians in a field battle. Are you really confident of winning?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I also have you?¡± Winters countered.


    The black Warhorse rider snorted coldly.


    ¡­


    The great battle did not immediately erupt.


    The Terdun people stopped outside of cannon range, not advancing a step further¡ªin fact, they overthought, for Winters had not a single cannon.


    Most of the Terdun people were resting off their horses, many even unsaddled, and so they remained in a standoff with the Iron Peak County Military at a neither close nor distant range.


    If the firekeeper, in a fit of anger, decided to press his entire army forward, this confrontation might have been quickly resolved.


    Nevertheless, the firekeeper¡¯s patience had evidently grown, yet Winters was no longer that rash Centurion he once was.


    ¡°Pass the order down,¡± Winters was in no rush, ¡°Each camp is to rotate its companies to continue digging trenches.¡±


    Monkey and Doug, who had been sitting idly, received their tools and, somewhat bemused, followed their company commander into the trench to resume the laborious task of digging.


    ¡°This is no damn battle!¡± Monkey¡¯s nervous tension had long vanished as he cursed and swung his pickaxe: ¡°Damn barbarians, neither attacking nor retreating. And our lords are the same! If the barbarians won¡¯t attack us, then we should attack the barbarians! Digging trenches! Always digging and digging trenches, with no end in sight!¡±

 Chapter 847 03-25 - 847 89 Sunny_3

    ?Chapter 847: Chapter 89 Sunny_3 Chapter 847: Chapter 89 Sunny_3 ¡°`


    They hadn¡¯t been working long when the Monkey became too lazy to move any further. Doug, as usual, was silent, just burying his head in the work.


    The ¡°prime-age soldiers¡± around them couldn¡¯t be bothered with the young lad full of grumbles. In the prime-age soldiers¡¯ company, the two impoverished boys were completely outsiders.


    No matter the purpose of those stoking the fires, Winters¡¯ response strategy could be summed up in one sentence: if you won¡¯t attack, I¡¯ll just continue to fortify my position.


    The Iron Peak County¡¯s digging of trenches quickly triggered a chain reaction.


    Hundreds of Terdun Cavalry bolted out like arrows from the string, charging directly at the Iron Peak County¡¯s central army.


    The Terdun men who had not been deployed hurriedly mounted their horses, and in an instant, the once lax Terdun army amassed its power, creaking ominously, ready to unleash a deadly blow at any moment.


    ¡°Yellow flag,¡± Winters calmly ordered.


    ...


    A yellow triangular flag quickly rose up the flagpole, signaling a warning to the entire army.


    The massive infantry formation, like a waking giant, sprang to life in an instant.


    ¡°Yellow flag!¡± the orderlies in each camp shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°Yellow flag!¡±


    The militia looked at one another in confusion, but Winters¡¯ company and platoon leaders knew what they had to do.


    ¡°Pick up your weapons!¡± the commander of the first line of defense waved his cane, ¡°Quickly!¡±


    In the midst of roars and scolding, the young soldiers of the first line hastily stood up, ready to meet the enemy.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Here they come! The barbarians are coming!¡± Monkey threw down his pickaxe and screamed as he scrambled out of the trench.


    A shadow loomed over him, and with a ¡°thwack,¡± Monkey was savagely whipped back into the ditch by a cane.


    The platoon leader wielding the cane bellowed: ¡°Keep digging the trench! Without orders, don¡¯t move a muscle! Don¡¯t make a sound!¡±


    Monkey writhed in pain on the ground, his blood, tears, and snot spread everywhere, his wailing incessant.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the platoon leader raged, drawing his saber: ¡°Want to die? Shut your mouth!¡±


    Monkey, unable to hear what the platoon leader was saying, kept crying and shouting.


    Seeing the platoon leader¡¯s eyes indicating he meant business, Doug, in desperation, grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his friend¡¯s mouth, causing Monkey to cough violently.


    Similar incidents were happening all over the battlefield.


    It was only thanks to the execution by commanders at all levels that the Iron Peak County Military did not fall into disarray and chaos.


    Therefore, while the young soldiers of the first line entered combat mode, the prime-age soldiers of the second line still sat firmly on the ground resting, not even stopping their trench digging work.


    Moreover, every commander was repeatedly emphasizing a single word ¨C silence.


    No battle cries, no cheering, no shouting ¨C this was how the large army conducted battle.


    ¡°Pikes!¡± rang out commands throughout the central army: ¡°Level them!¡±


    Thousands of soldiers neatly leveled their extra-long pikes, their tips directly pointing at the enemy, looking from afar like waves of wheat.


    The Terdun Cavalry split at the tip of the central army¡¯s wedge formation, like water flow parted by a sharp blade.


    They swept past the formation, showcasing their horseback archery skills, racing along the edge of the trench towards the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left and right flanks.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The musketeers of the Iron Peak County Military returned fire, with Terdun Cavalry getting shot off their horses one after another.


    ¡°Green flag! To the flanks!¡± seeing the enemy veering to the sides, Winters ordered, ¡°Let the light infantry sortie!¡±


    Winters¡¯ forces not only lacked cannons, but they were also short on muskets.


    Instead of a sporadic distribution, he preferred to use musketeers in concentration, hence only the central army had a complete company of musketeers.


    The melee units on the flanks relied on the cover provided by light infantry wielding bows, javelins, and slingshots.


    Facing the onslaught of the Terdun Cavalry, the ranks of the young soldiers on the flanks wavered slightly. Were it not for the trench in front of them serving as a barrier, many militiamen might have already thrown down their weapons and fled.


    It was entirely due to the control of platoon leaders and sergeants that the first line did not collapse on the spot.


    A green square flag was raised on the flagpole, the sound of a small drum filled the air.


    Hundreds of light infantry dashed out from the channels of the trench in front of the first line, striving to throw their javelins and rocks at the Terdun Cavalry.


    Another portion of adults able to wield longbows stayed behind the trench, shooting arrows.


    The light infantry were specifically selected from sixteen or seventeen-year-old adolescents; although their strength was not yet fully developed, it was the bravest and most impetuous age.


    Some audacious light infantry even tried to drag away the corpses of the Terdun men, perhaps forgetting in their haste that they only needed the heads.


    Entangled by the light infantry, the Terdun Cavalry could not calmly shoot down the militiamen behind the trenches. With very few soldiers, they dared not charge directly into the formation and could only probe cautiously.


    Looking at the unstirring second line of the Iron Peak County Military, the old Translator on the hilltop wore an expressionless face.


    Gravel can be easily blown away by the wind, but once packed into a pocket, not even cannonballs could do them harm.


    The old Translator gazed into the distance; the sun had risen above the treetops¡ªtruly a fine sunny day.


    ¡°` Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 848 03-25 - 848 90 Breaking the Formation

    ?Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Big Horn River, the dam.


    The signal flag was raised.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± The lookout madly rushed down the hillside, yelling with all his might, ¡°Cavalry!¡±


    Once extended to the West Bank, the dam was attacked from both sides.


    Thus, Tamas had built a small fortress on the West Bank beachhead, personally overseeing it.


    With the flood imminent, most of the defensive forces on the West Bank had already retreated. Amid the death-knell-like alarm, the remaining warriors hurriedly grabbed their weapons and ran up to the walls.


    ¡°Signal the East Bank,¡± Tamas spat from atop the West Bank fortress, ¡°Blow up the dam early if something is wrong.¡±


    ...


    Cavalry continuously leaped out from the horizon at the valley¡¯s edge, not even bothering to reform ranks, charging straight for the dam.


    The leading cavalryman, tall and burly, sat on a small Herde horse, resembling a bear riding a rabbit.


    Atop the fortress wall, a young boy skillfully fixed the match, steadied the gun, and held his breath to aim.


    The enemy drew closer, already breaching a hundred steps.


    Just as the boy was about to press the firing lever, his match was forcefully yanked away by the Sergeant Major beside him¡ªPeter the Dwarf Bunir.


    Tamas¡¯s cry of alarm rang beside his ear, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! It¡¯s one of ours!¡±


    However, a few musketeers were startled by the sudden shout and directly pulled the trigger.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    Dull gunshots echoed over the river, and the wall spewed white smoke.


    ¡°[Extremely angry expletive]!¡± Lieutenant Andrea Cherini¡¯s roar pierced through the smoke, echoing throughout the fortress, ¡°Which bastard fired at me!¡±


    ¡­


    At the foot of Tiefeng Mountain, the battlefield where two armies faced off.


    After several probes, the people of Terdon had roughly gauged the enemy¡¯s reality.


    While the enemy¡¯s left, center, and right wings seemed similar in flags and numbers, their central troops were far more disciplined, unshaken even by cavalry charges.


    From Terdon¡¯s main formation, positioned on high, one could see white smoke billowing from the center of the enemy¡¯s arrow formation.


    ¡°Herde Language There.¡± A Green Plumed Feathers warrior spoke gravely, ¡°Herde Language How can there be so many small thunder?¡±


    Another Green Plumed Feathers quietly replied, ¡°Herde Language And they fire so uniformly.¡±


    For small thunder, leaders of various factions grew pale at its mention. Warriors once able to charge repeatedly through arrows thanks to their sturdy armor now only fell before randomly flying lead shot.


    Compared to the past, leaders today rarely led charges into battle.


    The elite in the enemy¡¯s center should not be underestimated, but the prowess of the wings was clearly lacking.


    Merely a hundred cavalry swept through, and the lines of the two wings began to falter, with no simultaneous smoke plumes seen.


    According to Terdon nobility, they preferred not to engage directly with two-legs.


    However, as the army passed, villages had been preemptively burned, and populations moved. The enemy would rather turn their homes to scorched earth than let the people of Terdon take anything.


    Khan Court was on the verge of starvation, and morale was unstable¡ªrumors of an attack on the old camp spread wildly, becoming more rampant the more they were suppressed.


    In unseen corners, the tribe whispered among themselves, some claimed it was the work of the Haidong Tribe, others suggested a stealth attack by the Suz Tribe, while others believed the Red River Tribe had acted.


    Regarding which tribe the other party belonged to, opinions varied, but one consensus was clear: something major had happened at the winter pasture; otherwise, Khan Court wouldn¡¯t be so secretive.


    Under these circumstances, Revodan failed to break through in one go, desiring a decisive battle yet unable to achieve it, essentially declaring the winter plundering a failure.


    Only one path lay before the Terdon Tribe¡ªretreat. Preserving life meant there was always a chance to return.


    But it was truly too hard to accept! Truly too intolerable!


    From the fire makers down, everyone in Terdon Khan Court knew they must run, yet no one was willing to spit out the meat already in their mouths.


    On the other hand, Winters could continue to wait. As long as the dam completed and stored water, the Terdon people threatened in their retreat route would have no choice but to withdraw.


    At this crucial moment, Winters decided to take the offensive.


    When he pushed all his chips forward, he also forced the fire makers to make a choice: sever a limb to survive, or¡­ likewise stake all their chips for a complete turnaround.


    Regardless of what drove them, or what tactics ensued, both parties had arrived at this battlefield, barely two kilometers wide.


    Thus, the decisive battle commenced. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Horsemen from Terdon, armed with bows and riding light, grouped in threes and fives, galloped in front of the trenches.


    They alternated between drawing bows for rapid shots and vicious charges, moving far and near, clustering then scattering, like crows circling over carcasses.


    In addition to these ¡°star-scattering crows,¡± several squads of heavily armored cavalry took turns charging the flanks of the Iron Peak County Military.


    The tactics of the heavily armored cavalry contrasted starkly with the unarmored light cavalry; they formed dense lines, smashing against the Iron Peak County people¡¯s lines like towering waves.


    Many rookie militiamen were so frightened they nearly wet themselves on the spot, fortunate that Winters had a batch of veterans who had experienced barbarian tactics.


    ¡°What are you scared of? They¡¯re all just trying to intimidate us! The savages won¡¯t dare charge directly!¡± A military officer cursed, iron in his tone, unaware that last time, it was they who had gone weak at the knees.


    Relying on lower-level commanders and military discipline, the flanks did not collapse outright.


    Seeing they couldn¡¯t shake the two-legs, the front squadron of Terdon armored cavalry immediately swept across in formation, and the next squadron charged. If still unable to penetrate, the following squadrons continued the pattern.


    Winters suddenly spoke while watching, ¡°Send food and drink down to each camp.¡±


    The surrounding clerks and guards looked at each other, unsure how to execute this command. Winters saw no one moving; he turned his head around, yet still, no one moved.

 Chapter 849 03-25 - 849 90 Break the Formation_2

    ?Chapter 849: Chapter 90 Break the Formation_2 Chapter 849: Chapter 90 Break the Formation_2 Winters suddenly remembered that Bard had stayed in Saint Town to organize logistics and was not on-site.


    During this period, it had always been Winters verbally arranging, and then Bard would transform those verbal contents into written commands or instructions to be issued.


    The two cooperated closely, which greatly improved the efficiency of headquarters operations. However, with Bard absent, Winters had to re-adapt.


    ¡°Go find the person in charge of the logistics convoy and have him distribute food and water to each camp,¡± Winters said, finding Xial by his side and thoughtfully adding, ¡°Priority to the second line of both flanks, then the central army, and finally the first line of both flanks.¡±


    ¡°Start cooking at this time?¡± someone asked doubtfully.


    ¡°The Terdun people¡¯s main formation is still resting and clearly do not plan to launch a general attack now,¡± Winters explained. ¡°The rotation charge seems fierce but its actual purpose is to exhaust the enemy.¡±


    ¡°So, what are they waiting for?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Surprise troops,¡± Winters squinted toward the sun. ¡°Or perhaps time.¡±


    ¡­


    On the banks of the Big Horn River, the Terdun people¡¯s Floating Bridge.


    Days ago, the leader stationed at the Floating Bridge, [Herde Language] person, had already noticed that the water level was changing.


    [Herde Language] person dispatched light cavalry to trace upstream and quickly found the source of the anomaly¡ªa dam across the river.


    If building a Floating Bridge in one day was within [Herde Language]¡¯s understanding, then the dam that appeared out of nowhere completely exceeded his wildest imagination.


    Nevertheless, the problem had to be solved.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Not only could the debris floating downstream cause damage to the Floating Bridge, but significant changes in water level could too.


    The Floating Bridge was essentially made of wooden planks connected to fixed pontoons, and changes in water level could damage the structure linking the pontoons.


    [Herde Language] person, left to guard the Floating Bridge, did not understand the principles of bridge engineering, but he could see the beams of the Floating Bridge twisting and breaking.


    Unfortunately, [Herde Language] had neither the power to solve the structural problems of the bridge nor the capability to deal with the people causing the problems.


    Several attempts to assault the dam ended in failure; the Firemakers first sent reinforcements, then hurriedly withdrew them.


    Meanwhile, nearly all of the Terdun people left on the West Bank were rushing to merge troops in the tent according to their saying: ¡°The Firemakers have caught the cunning bipeds.¡±


    With fewer and fewer troops at hand and the water level becoming increasingly shallow, [Herde Language] made a tough decision¡ªto dismantle the bridge.


    He pondered before and after, clearly considering the pros and cons: the Floating Bridge would be destroyed eventually, and he couldn¡¯t stop it; rather than waiting with his hands bound for the bipeds to destroy the bridge, he might as well dismantle it himself; as long as the materials for making the bridge were still there, rebuilding a Floating Bridge in the future would not be too difficult.


    The work to dismantle the Floating Bridge was being carried out intensively; due to the loss of many Paratu slaves in a previous rebellion, the progress of dismantling the bridge was very slow.


    Suddenly, a servant girl ran over excitedly, bringing [Herde Language] good news: ¡°[Herde Language] Nayen! The river is rising again! No need to dismantle the bridge!¡±


    [Herde Language]¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he backhandedly slapped the close servant hard: ¡°[Herde Language] Fool!¡±


    [Herde Language] rushed to the Floating Bridge, only to see that the previously clear river water had become turbid¡ªthe undercurrent stirred up the riverbed silt, constantly causing fish to leap out of the water. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The serene Big Horn River suddenly turned unruly and ferocious, with the water flow speed almost visibly accelerating, and a series of whirlpools appeared from small to large in the river center.


    On the riverbank, a Terdun scout disheveledly ran toward the Floating Bridge.


    The scout tore off his outer robe, wrapped it around his hand, and desperately waved it as a signal, shouting hoarsely: ¡°[Herde Language] Boat! Large boat¡­¡±


    The scout didn¡¯t need to shout anymore because [Herde Language] could already see with his own eyes.


    The gift from Captain Moro¡ªa giant triangular wooden raft loaded with soil and rocks burst out of the river bend, spinning as it drifted along the water, its speed increasing.


    Moro had deliberately designed the impact raft to be triangular because there was always one corner that could hit the Floating Bridge.


    The Terdun people screamed and ran, watching helplessly as the triangular raft spun toward them.


    The ropes across the river caught and then snapped, and the barriers set up in front of the Floating Bridge were smashed into rubble.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Poles!¡± [Herde Language]¡¯s eyes reddened, he forcefully woke the stupefied slaves and locals, yelling until his voice was hoarse: ¡°[Herde Language] Push it out!¡±


    [Herde Language] personally went into battle, leading a dozen tribe members to lift up a log, attempting to counter the fearsome triangular raft.


    He instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for the moment he turned into mush.


    The triangular raft flowed downstream, broke through barriers after barriers, and hit the ¡°offensive raft hammer¡± of the Terdun people directly.


    [Herde Language]¡¯s hands split, blood pouring out, and his breathing stalled.


    Four Terdun people were flipped into the turbulent water, screaming in terror; soon there was silence.


    Because it lost a considerable part of its speed after breaking through the river ropes, the triangular raft, receiving the same magnitude of reaction force, was also thrown off. The triangular raft rushed up to the riverbank and eventually ran aground.


    [Herde Language] collapsed on the ground, desperately gasping for air.


    After the disaster, his tribe members were both shouting and laughing, some crying with joy, some holding their heads and sobbing.


    But almost in an instant, the Floating Bridge returned to dead silence.


    [Herde Language] followed the gaze of his tribe members¡ªthe second triangular raft burst out of the river bend, then a third.


    Appearing in the view of the Terdun people behind the two triangular rafts was¡­ a windmill.


    No matter how the Terdun people rubbed their eyes and slapped themselves, what floated on the water was indeed a real windmill.


    Faced with the giant triangular rafts, the Terdun people still had the nerve to fight desperately with the Floating Bridge.


    But facing a watermill windmill towering over three stories high, like a ferocious giant, the courage of the Terdun people was completely crushed.

 Chapter 850 03-25 - 850 90 Breaking the Formation_3

    ?Chapter 850: Chapter 90 Breaking the Formation_3 Chapter 850: Chapter 90 Breaking the Formation_3 Samujin held a torch in his hand as he rode in a small boat, personally escorting the ¡°windmill,¡± preventing it from getting stuck on some beach or river bend.


    Indeed, one needs a bit of imagination to conduct warfare, and Samujin had more imagination than everyone else combined.


    He disassembled the sails of an upstream watermill windmill, then disassembled the stone base, coated it with pitch, and pushed it directly into the river, carried by four small boats.


    Like a massive warship, the windmill was thus brought before the floating bridge, where the river¡¯s chains and interception piles seemed like dwarf¡¯s toys before it.


    ¡°Go!¡± Samujin lit the torch and, laughing wildly, hurled it at the windmill: ¡°Go send my regards to those monkey-ass faces!¡±


    In an instant, the pitch-coated windmill turned into a ball of fire.


    The warriors steering the small boats cut the ropes, and the windmill, completely free from its restraints, crashed into the downstream floating bridge.


    ...


    The Terdon people watched helplessly as the burning castle drew closer and closer, growing larger and swaying, but it just wouldn¡¯t sink.


    Nothing could stop the colossal object, nothing could stop the destruction of the floating bridge.


    The Terdon people who couldn¡¯t escape the bridge in time leaped into the river in panic, only to be swept back by the huge waves stirred by the collision of the bridge and the windmill, their bodies shattered to pieces.


    Some Terdon people were caught on the scalding pitch, screaming as they turned into fire people.


    The taut ropes snapped one after another, and the planks connecting the pontoons turned into fragments in the blink of an eye.


    With a thunderous boom, the bridge trembled for a moment, hardly hindering the windmill at all before it was severed at the waist.


    The windmill continued to drift downstream, while both sections of the bridge swayed and sunk with the river, flames spreading to the ropes and the bridge deck.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    Zhi Jue was dragged back to the East Bank by his personal slave only at the last moment, his eyes met with a scene resembling a natural disaster.


    Slaves who had narrowly escaped death and were on the verge of mental collapse frenziedly knelt and worshipped the remains of the floating bridge.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Put out the fire!¡± Zhi Jue pointed at the remaining two parts of the floating bridge, straining to spit out the words: ¡°[Herde Language] Put out the fire! It¡¯s not all over yet!¡±


    Suddenly, the thunderous sound of horse hooves arose from the West Bank.


    Zhi Jue shuddered, instantly straightening his body, looking towards the direction of the hoofbeats.


    He saw a group of fierce warriors clad in robes, riding Herde warhorses, speeding towards them. The leading warrior was so burly that he appeared as if a bear was riding a rabbit.


    Zhi Jue let out a sigh of relief, his body went limp as if all his strength had been drained away.


    Collecting his thoughts, he grabbed his personal slave¡¯s arm and urgently instructed: ¡°[Herde Language] Hurry across the river! Send a message to the Khan! Tell the Khan! The bridge is destroyed, I will do my best to repair it! Hurry¡­¡±


    However, Zhi Jue didn¡¯t notice that the group heading towards them, ¡°Terdon People,¡± were led by a warrior who wore a genuine Piaoqi Troops cap.


    ¡­


    Main battlefield.


    The sun slowly climbed up the treetops, then reached the zenith of the sky, and now it was sliding towards the west.


    The Terdon people had already seen through the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s lack of cannons.


    Thus, hundreds of light cavalrymen lingered just beyond a bowshot away, in a scattered formation, occasionally sweeping past to shoot arrows, using all sorts of means to prevent the Iron Peak County militia from resting.


    Only now did the old Translator roughly understand why the enemy did not occupy the hills to form battle lines.


    If the enemy occupied the hills, the Iron Peak County Military would be subjected to continuous harassment from all directions, without a moment¡¯s rest.


    The current situation was this: the Iron Peak County Military controlled a roughly two-kilometer-wide corridor between the mountain and the forest, making it difficult for Terdon light cavalry to maneuver to the flanks and only able to make repeated sweeps at the front.


    The tactic of ¡°surrounding and harassing the enemy¡± had become ¡°half-surrounding and harassing,¡± with limited effect.


    He could even vaguely see that the Iron Peak County troops seemed to be taking turns retreating to the rear of the lines to rest.


    But these were minor issues; the Terdon people had no intention of letting up, and the Iron Peak County locals were not easily intimidated.


    The outcome of this war would eventually have to be decided in genuine combat.


    The heavenly signs were gradually shifting in favor of the Terdon People¡ªthe morning sunlight was coming from the wrong direction, as was the wind.


    But now, the time had changed hands.


    Winters, in the central army, also faintly perceived the subtle change in the atmosphere: the wind direction was changing, the southwest wind becoming northwest; the sun was setting, and the Terdon people wouldn¡¯t be charging into the sunlight anymore.


    Most importantly, the continuous harassment tactic had caused the tightly wound young soldiers on both flanks to become numb and drowsy.


    A faint trail of dust was rising from the Terdon line¡ªthough it looked insignificant.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to charge!¡± Winters threw aside his cane and leapt to his feet: ¡°Get the second line on both flanks ready! Pull back the light troops! Notify the forces ambushed in West Mountain to mount up!¡±


    The sleepy monkeys and Doug were kicked awake by the sergeants, and the line of adult soldiers suddenly tensed up.


    From the seemingly chaotic and unpredictable array of Terdon light cavalry, a troop of armored cavalry charged out diagonally.


    ¡°Again?¡± The young militiamen on the first line were already becoming impatient, the enemy had repeatedly threatened with charges and sweeps, never daring to cross the trenches.


    As fear gradually subsided, many young soldiers developed a sense of complacency.


    But this time, the Terdon people didn¡¯t just sweep past; the leading knight roared, spurring his horse to leap directly over the cheval de frise and trench, charging into the scattering militia amidst the cries of alarm, swinging his spear to send several people flying.


    The other Terdon armored cavalry lacked such horsemanship and such warhorses, they honestly pulled down the cheval de frise and deer racks, passing through gaps in the trenches, following their leader in the assault.


    Meanwhile, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s main formation suddenly came to life.


    Harassment? Horse archery? Crows? Iron Cavalry charge was the Terdon Tribe¡¯s true forte! [Once one point is broken, no matter the numbers, the whole army can drive straight through, even a hundred thousand men would not be able to compete]. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A breach had been made on the left flank, and next, the Terdon people would spare no expense to widen the gap, deploying decisive strike forces to sweep across the entire frontline.


    Meanwhile, on the western side of the army behind the trees, Anglu mounted his horse upon seeing the signal flag.


    Behind Anglu, Dusack, Paratu People, Protestant immigrants¡­ Winters¡¯ cavalry had amassed their energy, waiting for the call to make a decisive countercharge.

 Chapter 851 03-25 - 851 91 The General Offensive

    ?Chapter 851: Chapter 91: The General Offensive Chapter 851: Chapter 91: The General Offensive At first, it might have just been an instinctive dodge.


    Facing a behemoth far greater in size than themselves, humans¡¯ innate reaction is to evade, all the more so when there¡¯s an even more dangerous, howling, slaughtering humanoid beast on the back of the beast.


    However, the individual¡¯s instinctual evasion soon led to the disintegration of the troop¡¯s formation.


    The ferocious warriors who leaped over the trenches discarded their broken spears and drew their swords to hack wildly, while the surrounding militia dropped their weapons and retreated in a rolling scramble.


    The ¡°Young Soldiers¡± were originally the most fragile part of this army.


    The ¡°Mature Soldiers¡± had at least undergone the baptism of the Battle of Panto River; the young soldiers were thoroughly civilians, having only received the simplest training.


    Young soldiers could also form a seemingly impregnable battle line, allowing the use of long-range weapons such as crossbows and muskets.


    ...


    But when the moment truly arrived, they lacked the will and belief to face a charge head-on.


    ¡°Herde Language Break the lines!¡± Terdun Cavalry roared, pushing caltrops and deer forts into the trenches amidst the chaos, swarming into the frontline, ¡°Herde Language Break the lines!¡±


    ¡­


    In the central army, someone frowned and asked, ¡°What are the Herders howling?¡±


    ¡°Break the lines, meaning ¡®to break through the enemy¡¯s formation.''¡± The old merchant who had traveled the wasteland for years replied cautiously and added, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard it for many years¡­ almost thirty years.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the rumbling sound of war drums resonated below the mountains¡ªthe main force of the fire-tenders pressed towards the center of Iron Peak County¡¯s army.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Hundreds of Terdun Cavalry advanced slowly, at a very slow speed, but the strong sense of pressure was nearly suffocating the people of Iron Peak County.


    The saying ¡°to pull one hair and move the whole body¡± was undoubtedly happening now.


    A wicked wolf had already bitten fiercely into Winters¡¯ left hand, but if Winters dared to divert his eyes for a moment, another wolf would tear his throat without hesitation.


    The prolonged standoff seemed to have been accumulating potential for this very moment.


    When the brass horns sounded, all the beautiful illusions of war were torn to shreds in an instant. Ultimate violence was about to burst forth like a mountain flood, rampaging across the land without regard.


    Seeing the left flank in jeopardy and the central army pinned down, everyone in the command post turned to Montagne, the Civil Guard Officer.


    Even the most pessimistic residents of Iron Peak County had not anticipated that the battle had just begun and already reached a critical point of life and death. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We can still redeploy troops from the right flank now!¡± someone blurted out, unable to restrain himself.


    The Terdun had massed heavy troops on the left wing and center. At this moment, the troops on the right wing were practically idle.


    Winters gave the speaker a deep look and said nothing.


    A man riding a black horse beside him scolded solemnly, ¡°Shut up! Look more! Move? The barbarians are just waiting for you to move!¡±


    Although the rider of the black horse was present during the negotiations, he and his attendant were clearly distinguished from the people of Iron Peak County. The one who had just spoken was one of the black horse rider¡¯s attendants.


    ¡°You have seen something unbecoming,¡± the black horse rider turned his head and said to Winters.


    Winters watched the situation on the left flank, showing no emotion.


    To be precise, he had no emotions, and it was not by his subjective will that this was the case.


    Winters was never a commander of overflowing passion. Alpad was, so was Andre, but Winters was not.


    Andre would fiercely whip those who showed cowardice, and he would sit by the fire side by side with his subordinates, taking turns sharing a bottle of wine, laughing and joking in boasting banter; Alpad¡¯s mere presence on the battlefield could lift the spirits of the entire army.


    They were fiery, dazzling, fearless. Soldiers saw them as idols and deities, cursing them vilely while following them into the fray.


    What Andre and Alpad could achieve, Winters could too, and no one could question his courage.


    But from the marrow, he was different from the other two.


    Thus faced with blood and death, he became silent and detached. The more he experienced, the more it was so, as if a subconscious self-defense had completely sealed off part of his emotions.


    Not far from Winters, a tall and thin gentleman, Jacob Green, determined to write an epic, shivered as he scanned the battlefield and secretly observed the expressions of Winters Montagne, speculating about the latter¡¯s inner world.


    ¡­


    Due to the militia¡¯s extremely limited training, the formations of the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s platoons and battalions were not the ¡°square formations¡± commonly used by the Standing Army, but rather closer to the ¡°line formations¡± of the classical era.


    Namely, a platoon of 120 men was arranged in a formation of [15 columns][8 rows], with each battalion¡¯s four platoons side by side,


    The battalion of a total of 480 men spread out in a [60X8] formation, with the two flanks of the battalion-level line protected by caltrops and barricades.


    During combat, everyone faced the same direction standing up, with all actions following the military flag.


    For militia, the depth of 8 rows was obviously somewhat thin, but Winters needed to occupy as much width as possible.


    Given that the total width of the battlefield was close to one kilometer, a flanking maneuver was far more fatal than a frontal breakthrough.


    Moreover, temporarily conscripted militia could not execute the rotation tactics of the Ancient Empire¡¯s legions; once engaged in battle, only two outcomes would occur: an ¡°all-out assault¡± or a ¡°complete scatter,¡± making depth less important.


    ¡­


    Under the pincer attack, the first to engage, the ¡°Fourth Platoon of Little Shizhen,¡± virtually collapsed upon contact.


    The militia, having traveled a long distance to get here, didn¡¯t plan to flee from the start¡ªwhy wait until now to escape?


    Hatred, authority, desire¡­ they stepped into battle driven by various motivations. No one was ¡°ordinary¡±; the joys and sorrows of each individual, if compiled into text, would make for a hefty epic.

 Chapter 852 03-25 - 852 91 The Final Assault_2

    ?Chapter 852: Chapter 91 The Final Assault_2 Chapter 852: Chapter 91 The Final Assault_2 But engulfed in the colossal whirlpool of the battlefield, they felt incredibly small and helpless.


    First, it was just a breaking point, then a company, and soon after, a battalion.


    The Terdun Cavalry with their scimitars and lances drove the fleeing troops towards the adjacent camp, but they quickly encountered the first barrier¡ªthe fences and stakes between camps.


    ¡­


    On the left flank, the second line of defense.


    Witnessing Hell descend upon the earth, Monkey and Doug¡¯s palms turned cold and their limbs went limp.


    A trench had been dug in front of both battle lines.


    ...


    The fleeing soldiers first tried to escape to the east and west, hindered by fences and stakes. Then they turned towards the rear, stopping at the edge of the second trench.


    One after another, the panic-stricken fleeing soldiers jumped directly into the trench.


    Sneering savages raised their scimitars high, and the skull of a young man begging for help at the edge of the trench caved in, instantly sapping his strength.


    Monkey watched in horror as the body of a child even younger than himself fell into the trench, his heartbeat skipping a beat.


    Sergeant Lu Xirong wore an expressionless face, seemingly untouched by the scene. He drew his bow, firing an arrow into the cheek of a grinning savage: ¡°Move the barricades!¡±


    The barbarian fell from his horse, not yet fully dead. The old sergeant drew another arrow, but for some reason, he turned and shot at another barbarian.


    Monkey swallowed hard, unable to watch any longer.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    When they were digging the trenches, the company commander specifically ordered that every twenty meters, a two-meter section be left undug to serve as a passageway wide enough for three men or two horses to pass side by side.


    The entrance to the passageway was blocked with caltrops and cheval de frise, with fences restricting either side, leading directly to the rear of the battle line.


    The light infantry moved through these passages in the battle formation, and food and water were also delivered to each camp through them.


    The militiamen guarding the passage removed the obstacles, and the fleeing soldiers finally found a way out, surging towards the passage like mad.


    Two lines of defense were positioned fifty meters apart. Those mere fifty meters were the distance between life and death.


    The barbarians killed wantonly between the two trenches, with the slower fleeing soldiers falling one after another.


    At the entrance to the passage, people pushed against each other, with the oppressed constantly screaming and more fleeing soldiers being shoved into the trench.


    Behind the crowd, the barbarians were wielding their scimitars, madly hacking away.


    ¡°Pick up your weapons!¡± Monkey heard the company commander roar: ¡°Kill any fleeing soldier who charges our formation without mercy!¡±


    He also heard the company commander angrily curse: ¡°Where are the light troops? Damn it! Where!¡±


    The light troops hurried over, standing behind the trench, doing their utmost to shoot down the enemy.


    However, the people of Terdun kept pouring through the breach into the first line of defense, seemingly inexhaustible.


    As more and more soldiers were deployed, the Terdunians pulled down the barriers between the camps and pushed them towards both sides.


    The breach turned into an ulcer, and the first line of defense was on the verge of collapse; the second line was equally wavering.


    A Terdun champion, looking to break through the defense, threw away his blunted blade, grabbed a new one, and pulled on his horse¡¯s reins looking around.


    Suddenly, he spurred his mount, charging straight towards the second line of defense¡¯s passage. The surrounding Terdun warriors did not hesitate to follow closely.


    The heavily armored warhorses charged, barging through everything in their path. The fleeing soldiers at the entrance of the passage couldn¡¯t dodge in time and were all pushed into the trench.


    The Terdun champion broke into the second trench, nearly breaking through the formation, when a dark shadow, accompanied by the whistling of wind, approached him.


    Monkey saw the company commander, wielding an astonishingly long pike, bellowing as he struck at the leader of the barbarians who looked as though he¡¯d been fished out of a pool of blood.


    The Terdun champion¡¯s reaction speed was far beyond that of ordinary people; leaning back just in time, he narrowly avoided the blow.


    The pike grazed the saddle¡¯s leather and broke instantly. The warhorse too buckled on its hind legs and collapsed with a piteous whinny.


    Old Sergeant Lu Xirong, blocked by his own men, couldn¡¯t shoot his arrow and cursed furiously, picking up a stone and throwing it: ¡°Idiots! What are you staring at? Kill them!¡±


    The other militiamen, coming to their senses, swung flails and poles, while the long spears stabbed wildly at the other side of the fence.


    The Terdun cavalry¡¯s spears and scimitars also jabbed back through the gaps in the fence.


    Both sides slaughtered each other across a layer of fencing, each screaming in languages the other couldn¡¯t understand.


    The Terdun Cavalry, clad in heavy armor, barely felt the clubs and spears striking them.


    The militia of Iron Peak County dressed only in cloth; a single thrust of a cavalry spear left a ghastly, gaping wound.


    With eyes widened in terror, Monkey¡¯s nostrils flared many times over, his breathing so intense it drummed against his eardrums.


    All around were people; Monkey couldn¡¯t even make out where the barbarians were. He propped his long spear on a horizontal fence bar, jabbing back and forth like a bellows pump.


    Stepping on something slick, Monkey lost his balance and fell to the ground.


    It was only then that he saw what he trod upon was a piece of intestine, and at the other end of the intestine was the abdominal cavity of a fellow villager writhing in agony.


    ¡°Mother!¡± Monkey wailed uncontrollably, his greed¡ªwhich had propelled him this far¡ªcompletely crushed.


    Not the least bit religious, Monkey vomited while desperately making signs: ¡°Save me! Please, save me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking stab people!¡± the company commander, struggling like a tug of war holding onto a cavalry spear, shouted, ¡°Kill their horses! Stab their horses!¡±


    Another scimitar reached over the fence, swinging down towards the company commander. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Monkey¡¯s company commander seemed to forget he could dodge; gripping the spear shaft firmly, he watched the blade descend upon his stiff body, chopping off half of his left shoulder.


    The blade stuck in the bone, and Monkey¡¯s company commander staggered and fell. Panicked militiamen clumsily dragged him toward the rear.


    Even as he lay dying, Monkey¡¯s company commander continued to shriek: ¡°Stab their horses!¡±


    Between the two fences, that Terdun champion had already mounted another horse. He too was bellowing commands: ¡°Herde Language: Pull down the fences! Tear down the fences!¡±

 Chapter 853 03-25 - 853 91 The Final Assault_3

    ?Chapter 853: Chapter 91: The Final Assault_3 Chapter 853: Chapter 91: The Final Assault_3 However, except for a few trusted aides beside him, almost no part of the tribes responded to him.


    When the battle entered an extremely bloody and chaotic state, humans often repeatedly did the same thing, as if they were possessed.


    Those shooting arrows would keep shooting, shooting, shooting¡­


    Those chopping would keep chopping, chopping, chopping¡­


    Those stabbing would keep stabbing, stabbing, stabbing¡­


    Because repeating an action could bring a sense of security.


    When faced with the ultimate threat with only instincts remaining, even the faintest sense of security became addictive, impossible to shake off.


    ...


    This is what is known as ¡°seeing red.¡±


    People didn¡¯t ¡°see red¡± because of the killing; they were too frightened to think and were left with only the reflex action of repetitive killing.


    ¡­


    The first line of the left wing was one step away from total collapse, but the momentum of the Terdun Cavalry was also slowed. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Throughout the battle, Winters had not issued any orders to either flank.


    This wasn¡¯t a squad-level fight that could be controlled at will with ¡°Sound Amplification Magic¡±; the army of tens of thousands had fully deployed, and communication difficulties spiked with the widening of the battlefield.


    Any command longer than two sentences that didn¡¯t have a pre-set signal could only be relayed by human messengers.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Even with efficient communication, the untrained militia lacked the capability to carry out complex tactical maneuvers.


    Winters gave no orders to the flanking troops because their mission had already been assigned in advance:


    ¡°Hold the line.¡±


    Abandon mobility, abandon offensive capability, surround themselves with trenches and barricades in an ironclad formation, and fight the cruelest war of attrition.


    The Firefeeders could choose to surround without attacking, sending troops to cut off Winters¡¯ supply line; or they could choose to confront Winters head-on.


    Whatever choice the Firefeeders made, Winters had a corresponding contingency plan.


    But a true decisive battle was what Winters wanted¡ªand probably what the Firefeeders wanted as well.


    In the Empire¡¯s language, the word ¡°Decisive Battle¡± derived from ¡°Massacre,¡± which alone sufficiently illustrated the nature of a main force battle.


    It was the cruelest solution, and also the most straightforward one.


    This ¡°Iron Peak County-Terdun Battle,¡± whether it should be considered a war or a campaign, had already brought too much torment.


    Both sides deeply craved to settle everything once and for all, in a straightforward, cutthroat confrontation.


    ¡­


    Left flank, first line.


    Although the Terdon Tribe suffered heavy losses in the battle of the Great Wilderness, the true backbone of the Firefeeders¡ªthe ferocity of the Khan¡¯s personal guards¡ªwas still far beyond any barbarians the Iron Peak County Military had previously encountered.


    The heavily armored cavalry ripped out seven fences in a row, charging back and forth in the narrow battle zone between two trenches; the militiamen of Iron Peak County would almost instantly rout the moment they lost the protection of their fortifications.


    On the left wing¡¯s front line, only the most westerly camp and half of the easternmost camp were still barely holding on, supported by fortifications.


    As the armored warriors charged, the unarmored riders continued to pour into the trenches to provide cover.


    Unconsciously, the space between the two trenches became increasingly crowded.


    The commander of the guards, with a quiver at his waist and a golden helmet on his head, reined in his warhorse and tore off his sweaty helmet, gasping for air as he surveyed the battle:


    It was going well to the east and west; but the next trench to the south remained stubbornly uncaptured.


    And these trenches were like narrow-necked bottles¡ªeasy to get into, but impossible to get out;


    While the war drums still thundered, the guard commander grew increasingly uneasy, racing and shouting, ¡°In Herde Language, do not go any further! Move south! Go attack the second trench! Move west! Get behind those bipeds! Do not advance any further!¡±


    ¡­


    Left flank, second line.


    The camp where Monkey was stationed had entered the climax of the battle.


    The valiant warriors of Terdun were whipping and forcefully dragging away the still-living soldiers.


    Monkey had thought they were winning the fight, but soon the barbarians returned with lassos.


    The Terdun soldiers, under effective command, tied the ropes to their saddles, used spears to pick up barricades and Cheval de frise, and could pull down a row at a breath.


    In contrast, Monkey¡¯s platoon leader had already withdrawn from combat due to severe injuries, leaving Monkey¡¯s platoon of soldiers of prime age in complete disarray.


    Seeing the barricades about to be completely uprooted, the sergeant, Lu Xirong, yelled in despair, ¡°Fight them with all we¡¯ve got!¡±


    With that, he raised his flail and charged out of the barricades. Some militia were inspired by Lu Xirong¡¯s act of bravery and also killed their way out.


    Monkey felt a rush of blood, yearning to charge bravely, but his legs would not obey.


    It was only then that Monkey realized he was not the person he had imagined himself to be.


    And then, he saw his good friend climbing over the barricades.


    From childhood, between Monkey and Dog, it was always Monkey who came up with ideas, made decisions, while Dog was the reliable follower and executor.


    Although it was never explicitly stated, Monkey genuinely considered himself a superior leader at heart, while his taciturn friend was an inferior adjunct.


    Monkey stared blankly as he watched what he regarded as an accessory, biting a broken spear, climbing over the barricades with hands and feet, and then leaping into the air, stooping like a hawk to knock the barbarian leader, who was shouting orders, off the horseback.


    ¡­


    On the western side of the battlefield, at the foot of Tiefeng Mountain.


    Anglu finally saw the agreed-upon red flag.


    ¡°All mount up!¡± Anglu drew his saber and yelled with all his might, ¡°Forward! Forward!! Forward!!!¡±


    The cavalry squad no longer concealed their tracks, for the charge was already sounded.


    The riders first accelerated, only letting their warhorses fly when they reached a sparser area of trees.


    They were not cavalry¡ªthey had never been referred to as ¡°cavalry¡±; they weren¡¯t even a true squadron¡ªthe true squadron had been taken by Andre.


    They were farmers, merchants, craftsmen, Dusacks, newly-trained clumsy riders, ordinary civilians who had never thought about going to battle.


    Whatever they were, at this moment, they all clenched their legs tightly, lowered their bodies, and let out the most fearful yet bravest shouts: ¡°Forward! Forward!! Forward!!!¡±


    The bravest of Iron Peak County¡¯s men charged down the slope, cutting the Terdun forces attacking the left flank in two.


    At the same time, a second front was also counterattacking, pushing cheval de frise and barricades into the trenches, with the prime-age soldiers of each camp charging in a disordered melee toward the Terdun Cavalry, who had expended too much strength and were trapped between two trenches.


    But would the battle end this way?


    No, as the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s ambush was launched and Paratu¡¯s champion revealed his hand, the fire-watcher shot the last arrow hidden in his quiver.


    The horns resounded, and the warhorses¡¯ iron hoofs seemed to tear the earth apart¡ªnot from the front, but from the rear.


    The flanking Terdun Cavalry reached the battlefield, and the Terdun main formation also charged. In the place where flags with horse tails stood tall, the fully armored cavalry, even their warhorses clad in heavy armor, finally struck.


    Their target was not the blood-saturated left wing of Iron Peak County, nor Winters¡¯ central forces of Iron Peak County.


    Their target was the ¡°idle¡± right wing of Iron Peak County.


    At the same time, over a thousand horsemen hidden on the reverse slope of the northern hillside charged down the slope.


    These new Terdun arrivals had little armor¡ªthey were, indeed, new, and not the ¡°elite of the Khanate¡±.


    They were the remnants that Winters had repulsed on the West Bank.


    The fire-watcher had displayed all the armored cavalry upfront for Winters to see but hidden these thousand-odd light cavalry until now.


    These thousand-odd light cavalry did not go to strike Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing; they headed straight for Iron Peak County¡¯s central forces.


    The Terdun forces launched their total offensive.


    This was not the end; it was the beginning of the end.

 Chapter 854 03-25 - 854 92 The Endgame

    ?Chapter 854: Chapter 92 The Endgame Chapter 854: Chapter 92 The Endgame On the Western side of the battlefield, the left wing of Iron Peak County.


    Dying warhorses neighed in agony, their warm blood making the earth somewhat muddy.


    The heavily armored guards of Terdun were extremely difficult to kill; even when dragged from their saddles, they continued to wave their curved blades, roaring fiercely as they fought.


    In the chaos of close combat, no one had time to aim for the gaps in the armor.


    The militia swung their Stinger Hammers and flails wildly, beating the fallen barbarians until they were bludgeoned to death.


    As a result, the vast majority of Terdun¡¯s armored soldiers died from blunt trauma.


    Their bodies were purple and blue, but intact, with hardly any sharp weapon wounds. The ultimate cause of death was massive bleeding in the subcutaneous tissue and organs.


    ...


    It was a painful and slow way to die, but the problem was that it was too inefficient.


    Meanwhile, a single blow from a Terdun blade could incapacitate an unprotected militiaman.


    Monkey and two other militia members, like drunk men in a brawl, overpowered a muscular barbarian but had absolutely no idea how to kill him.


    Just holding the barbarian down required all their strength. As the barbarian struggled desperately, they dared not relax their grip.


    Soon, Lu Xirong¡¯s roar reached their ears, ¡°Get off!¡±


    Following that, the militiaman straddling the barbarian was kicked away by the sergeant¡¯s foot.


    Lu Xirong swung a blunt logging axe and chopped viciously at the barbarian¡¯s head.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    The axe didn¡¯t penetrate the helmet, but blood poured out from the barbarian¡¯s nostrils and eyes, and he instantly stopped struggling. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lu Xirong swung his axe again at the barbarian¡¯s neck, just to make sure he did not come back to life.


    The Terdun Cavalry attacking the left wing had been split into two:


    The majority were trapped between two trenches; a minority were blocked outside the first trench.


    The one who had bisected the flank of Terdun was none other than Anglu, leading his cavalry.


    Anglu had long since discarded his curved saber¡ªhe found the curved blade good for slashing but less effective against armored soldiers than a straight sword.


    With the cold gleam of his blade, Anglu parried the incoming curved swords by maneuvering his bone-sword handle.


    As the weapons clashed, the curved sword was knocked out of position.


    Seizing the moment, Anglu struck the enemy¡¯s arm with his hilt, causing the Terdun soldier to scream and flee on his horse.


    Without time to pursue the fleeing enemy, Anglu gently tugged his reins, and his red-maned steed neighed as he charged towards another barbarian rider.


    Things weren¡¯t looking good¡ªIron Peak County¡¯s cavalry was gradually losing ground.


    In terms of equestrian combat, Iron Peak County¡¯s horsemen were hardly a match for the skillful Herder riders. It was only the timing of their charge that had caught many from Terdun off-guard, causing them to scatter in panic.


    Now, the psychological advantage brought by the ambush was rapidly diminishing.


    Many fleeing Terdun Cavalry, seeing the battle was not entirely one-sided, turned back to fight.


    ¡°Aim for their horses!¡± on the edge of the battlefield, an Iron Peak County horseman waved a flag, shouting at the top of his lungs, ¡°Fire!¡±


    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom.¡±


    A series of muffled gunshots rang out; it was unclear how many Terdun Cavalry were hit.


    ¡°Reload!¡± the flag-wielding squad leader nearly broke his voice: ¡°What are you looking at? Reload quickly!¡±


    The horsemen, who had been eagerly searching for their victories, were startled awake and fumbled with ammunition, hurriedly reloading.


    Some of Iron Peak County¡¯s riders were so poor in horsemanship that Anglu had them carry muskets and fight on foot.


    As the gunfire sounded, the Terdun Cavalry immediately noticed that small group at the edge of the battlefield.


    A Hong Lingyu loudly called out, urging his horse out of the melee, followed by a dozen Terdun Cavalry.


    Iron Peak County¡¯s mounted musketeers hadn¡¯t had time to remount and were scattered by the Terdun Cavalry.


    Seeing this, Anglu immediately disengaged from the melee, leading his nearby men around the battlefield to come to their aid.


    ¡­


    On the Eastern side of the battlefield, the right wing of the Iron Peak County Military.


    ¡°Everyone! Listen to the command! Attention!¡± Harsh cheers rose from various parts of the second line: ¡°About¡ªturn!¡±


    The Iron Peak County militia faithfully executed the command, although some turned clockwise and others counter-clockwise, they all turned around anyway.


    Thus, to the amazement of the bewildered Terdun light cavalry, the right wing of Iron Peak County¡¯s second line performed a standard tactical maneuver¡ª[about-turn].


    The chaos that the Terdun had anticipated did not occur, as the various companies and battalions flipped neatly and cleanly.


    In an instant, a flanking ambush turned into a head-on confrontation, and now it was the accelerating Terdun who hesitated.


    The Terdun leader [White Bull] clenched his teeth, urging his warhorse to speed up: ¡°Herde Language Charge through them! Break them!¡±


    What difference did it make if they turned around? Weren¡¯t they still sandwiched from front and back?


    Having led his men on a circuitous route for who knows how far, exhausting countless steeds, White Bull could not allow himself to be scared off just like that.


    White Bull desperately raised his banner, bellowing with all his might: ¡°Herde Language The gods watch over us!¡±


    The thunder of hooves was so loud that the men could hardly hear their leader¡¯s cries; they were guided only by the banner.


    Then, White Bull¡¯s warhorse stepped into a trap pit.


    To be precise, a stretch of Horse Trap Pits laid out behind the lines of Iron Peak County¡¯s army.


    As a substitute for caltrops, Winters had arranged the horse traps strictly according to the manual: each pit had a diameter of a foot, a depth of two feet, and was fitted with sharpened stakes at the bottom; the pits were spaced a meter apart; and their overall formation was a staggered, checkerboard pattern.


    The horse traps¡¯ depth reached fifty meters so far, and if those tending the fires remained inactive, it would continue to be reinforced.


    As the horse abruptly sank, White Bull was thrown from the saddle, instinctively clutching his neck and curling up to avoid breaking his spine, but still he was left battered and bloodied, and his banner slipped from his grasp.

 Chapter 855 03-25 - 855 92 Endgame_2

    ?Chapter 855: Chapter 92: Endgame_2 Chapter 855: Chapter 92: Endgame_2 Following closely behind their leader, the Terdun men successively fell into pits, their horses crying out in anguish with broken fetlocks.


    Some lucky enough to get through the pits looked back and realized their fellow tribesmen hadn¡¯t kept up; they reined in their warhorses and hesitated to move forward.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t stop!¡± White Bull grasped the banner, struggled to his feet with the flagpole, and shouted desperately, ¡°[Herde Language] Charge! Kill!¡±


    The ensuing events, to a certain extent, fulfilled White Bull¡¯s wish.


    Although his men dared not forcefully charge the bipedal army¡¯s formations, the bipedal army charged toward them.


    The battle flag dipped thrice, the small drums sounded off like hail.


    On the second line of the right flank, the various units fully deployed, disregarding the ongoing battle in front, shouting as they attacked the circling Terdun light cavalry.


    ...


    ¡­


    In the center of the battlefield, the main force of the Iron Peak County Military.


    The man on the black horse finally spoke, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±


    A true melee would not last long and was extremely uncontrollable.


    A flag falling, a soldier fleeing, an odd silence¡­ any minute sign could trigger a cascading defeat.


    Once the battle reached this stage, what kept both sides on the field was no longer skill in slaughter but sheer willpower.


    Yet willpower was intangible, and no one could tell when it might falter¡ªperhaps never, or perhaps in the next moment.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Currently, Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left wing had not achieved an overwhelming victory.


    Although the Terdun Cavalry was split and surrounded, they still fought fiercely. It was a stalemate, with no one daring to predict who would collapse first.


    Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing displayed two trends simultaneously.


    The heavy cavalry, dispatched last minute by the roaster, swept through the first line of the right wing like a wrecking ball.


    The heavily armored cavaliers, both riders and warhorses, were practically invulnerable, scattering the ¡°Young Soldier¡¯s¡± formation as soon as they crossed the trenches.


    Facing the armored cavalry, the militia was helpless. With each barrier breached, half a unit would completely collapse.


    On the second line of the right wing, the adult soldiers were similarly slaughtering the dismounted Terdun men.


    Knowing there were pits ahead, the circling Terdun light cavalry dared not move recklessly.


    Those Terdun men staying behind tried to navigate around the pit belt but found the pits scattered all the way into the forest.


    The dismounted Terdun men were forced into infantry combat with Iron Peak County¡¯s militia, who held an absolute advantage in numbers and quickly pushed them back.


    The strongest part of Iron Peak County forces, the central unit, was entangled by over a thousand Terdun light cavalry.


    What the roaster was thinking was clear to any discerning observer.


    ¡°[Bad horse against good horse, good horse against average horse],¡± the roaster used part of his main force to pin down Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left wing, drew the central force with his weakest men, and then aimed to crush Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing with his strongest troops.


    Once the first line of the right wing collapsed in a total rout, the adult soldiers on the second line could hardly stand alone.


    Whether it was [flanking the left wing] or [hitting the central unit], it made essentially no difference; it was just a different way to execute the kill.


    The battle irreversibly tipped towards a favorable outcome for the Terdon Tribe unless¡­ there was another fresh force.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± the man on the black horse asked again, his voice now stern, ¡°Your right wing is about to completely collapse!¡±


    Winters gazed intently ahead, to the north, to that small hill.


    Several riders raced along the ridge and finally stopped, vigorously waving a yellow flag.


    ¡°The Terdun people have used up their reserves,¡± Winters confirmed this fact at last, turning to the black horse rider, ¡°If there¡¯s to ever be a decisive moment in this battle that could determine the outcome, it appears to be now¡­ Colonel Gessa.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa Adonis lifted his faceplate, revealing cheeks marked with fearsome scars, and laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I came for.¡±


    Good Fortune Gold had brought Winters luck, only this time, the ¡°good fortune¡± had no hair.


    Behind the main unit, tents were sequentially pulled down, and cavalrymen in elaborate uniforms led stalwart horses in procession.


    From the absurdly large bear skin hats, brightly patterned tunics, and their defiant expressions, it was clear they were Piaoqi Troops¡ª not Andre¡¯s kind of knock-offs, but the genuine Piaoqi from Paratu.


    In addition to Piaoqi troops, there were also a few half-armored lancers.


    This cavalry was the luck that Gold brought, reinforcements sent by Colonel Bod, a power unexpected at this battlefield, and the very reason Winters dared to engage the Terdun Tribe in a field battle.


    ¡°Tell your men to clear the way,¡± Gessa replaced his faceplate, ¡°I¡¯m off to meet their chieftain.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head gently, ¡°You should go to the left flank¡ªleave fifty good men for me.¡±


    Gessa¡¯s face was hidden behind his helmet, his expression unseen, but his resolute reply came through, ¡°Alright.¡±


    The two units placed on the left side of the central force quickly converged, creating a gap. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The soldiers, carrying planks, jumped into the trenches and used their bodies as pilings to construct several bridges allowing the cavalry to cross.


    Without another word, Gessa raised his battle sword high, took his position at the forefront of the cavalry, and commanded, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±

 Chapter 856 03-25 - 856 92 Endgame_3

    ?Chapter 856: Chapter 92: Endgame_3 Chapter 856: Chapter 92: Endgame_3 ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    The Paratu Piaoqi Troops responded with three deafening war cries.


    Gessa charged out of the trench ahead of everyone, followed closely by warriors from Thunder Group County, Riverside County, Mont Blanc County, and even further administrative regions.


    The overall formation of the Iron Peak County Military enabled the cavalry, striking from the center, to launch a flank attack on the enemy on both wings.


    The gleaming sabers were like a storm of steel, wherever they pointed, the Terdon Tribe scattered in fear; where the warhorses passed, only the mutilated bodies of the Terdon people were left.


    The right wing of the Terdon Tribe¡ªthe forces attacking the left wing of the Iron Peak County¡ªfinally surpassed their limits.


    ...


    It was like a string had snapped, similar to the falling of dominoes, the right wing of the Terdon Tribe faced total collapse.


    ¡°Ha, so it is,¡± the old Translator on the hilltop neither got angry nor surprised, but instead clapped and laughed heartily, rocking back and forth, ¡°What kind of arrow cluster formation is this? This is clearly two oblique line formations placed together!¡±


    In the center of the Iron Peak County Military, Winters asked softly, ¡°Could you teach me the war cry that the Terdon people shouted earlier, ¡®Break the enemy¡¯s formation¡¯?¡±


    The seasoned old merchant did not dare to delay and repeated word for word, ¡°[Herde Language] Break formation¡­ Break formation.¡±


    Winters chewed over the words several times, nodded, and buckled his helmet.


    Seeing this, Xial immediately grabbed Winters¡¯ reins, his face red with urgency, ¡°No! Lieutenant Bard said! You can¡¯t join the battle! Victory doesn¡¯t depend on you anymore¡­¡±


    Winters looked deeply at Xial, who fell silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°I have a personal grudge with the enemy chief that I want to resolve,¡± Winters asked the fifty elite men left by Gessa, ¡°Would you like to come with me?¡±


    The leading cavalryman replied arrogantly, ¡°We can¡¯t let you kill all the enemies alone.¡±


    ¡°Then follow me,¡± Winters drew his lance, his voice, wrapped in the power of magic, boomed through the center, ¡°All units! Clear the way!¡±


    The center¡¯s arrowhead formation parted for the voice, the crimson battle flags fluttered fiercely, and a squad of cavalry broke through the formation, charging directly toward the campfires of the enemy¡¯s banners.


    The leading cavalryman roared the Herders¡¯ war cry, ¡°[Herde Language] Break formation! Break formation!! Break formation!!!¡±


    The sound was so powerful it seemed to split stones and pierce the clouds, hearing a war cry that clearly belonged to their side, yet the Terdon people parted like the Red Sea.


    At the same time, Mason finally arrived on the battlefield.


    Revodan cavalry and mounted infantry followed Mason up the hill, the scene before them causing everyone¡¯s chests to involuntarily tremble.


    Tens of thousands of humans and warhorses had fully engaged, struggling desperately in combat below the hill, like a massive oil painting unprecedented before.


    The left wing of the Iron Peak County Military was turning its direction, led by a group of brightly dressed cavalry acting as the blade edge, charging with a wide swing toward both sides of the intense battle on the right wing.


    The center¡¯s formation had totally disintegrated, ant-like tiny figures burst out of the trenches, charging toward equally tiny barbarian light cavalry.


    ¡°Where is the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer?¡± Even Demon Ongs lost his cool, ¡°Where should we go now?¡±


    Enemies were everywhere, and so were allies, Mason¡¯s four hundred cavalry plunged into the battlefield like a cup of water pouring into a tank, leaving everyone clueless about what to do next.


    Mason squinted his eyes, looking closely for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh hard, ¡°Damn! Too late! The fight¡¯s already over!¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s over?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Never mind!¡± Mason picked up a Hand Mortar, turned back to his men and shouted, ¡°Just hit the barbarians if you see any!¡±


    With that, he charged down the hill.

 Chapter 857 03-25 - 857 93 Weapons

    ?Chapter 857: Chapter 93 Weapons Chapter 857: Chapter 93 Weapons When the left wing and the central army of the Iron Peak County Military gripped the enemy¡¯s right wing like a vise, the only fate awaiting the Terdon Tribe was destruction and death.


    The ¡°Blasting Point¡± that directly led to the complete collapse of the Terdon people¡¯s morale was the thunderous fall of the great tent¡¯s flag.


    Faced with the champion blades of Paratu¡­ the fire-tenders ran away.


    The battle ended at that moment, and what remained was the victors pursuing the defeated.


    The fleeing Terdon soldiers, terrified and desperate, scrambled into dense forests and climbed wild mountains, fleeing in all directions without choosing their paths.


    The exhausted militiamen of Iron Peak County had no strength left to chase their fleeing enemies, the true pursuers being the Piaoqi troops from Paratu¡ªin a sense, this was precisely what the cavalry excelled at.


    The Piaoqi cavalry, riding hot-blooded fine horses, moved swiftly like the wind. They drove the fleeing Terdon soldiers relentlessly, and both sides soon vanished over the horizon.


    ...


    It was only at nightfall that the bloody day seemed to finally declare its end.


    The surviving militiamen wanted to return to the camp to rest but found that the camp no longer existed.


    For the camp of the Iron Peak County Military was the battlefield itself, this flat farmland between mountains and forests scattered with unattended corpses and moaning wounded.


    So much blood had been shed that the air smelled sickeningly sweet.


    The militiamen lingered on the edge of the battlefield, unsure where to go, unsure what to do.


    Friends and relatives who survived the ordeal met and many could not help but burst into tears. Even more people were searching the bodies and tearfully calling out the names of their family members.


    It was at this time that Mason encountered Bard.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0


    Senior Mason, who usually maintained social distance with polite reserve, unexpectedly hugged his junior tightly, which Bard found somewhat hard to adapt to.


    When comrades reunited, there truly were endless things they wanted to say. But when the words came to their mouths, they again didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Still, Mason sniffled and smiled as he spoke first, ¡°Really feel like having some elbow meat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Bard replied gently with a smile, ¡°me too.¡±


    Bard had also just arrived at the battlefield, bringing with him a complete logistics squadron.


    Previously, Bard had been stationed in Kennel Village, ten kilometers south of the battlefield.


    According to the combat plan laid out by Winters and Bard: Winters would command the main force to seek a decisive battle while Bard, positioned behind the battlefield, would find a suitable location to build a stronghold, accumulate supplies, and prepare for the worst-case scenario.


    Fortunately, there was no need for the contingency plan this time. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Bard heard from the courier cavalry that the battle¡¯s outcome had been decided, he immediately led the supply troops to rush to the front line, arriving at the battlefield just before dusk.


    What awaited Bard was an unprecedented mess.


    ¡°All tangled up,¡± Bard summarized with a bitter smile, ¡°Completely frazzled.¡±


    During their conversation, a gendarme with a white armband ran over, gasping for breath and requested, ¡°Civil Guard Officer, the stretcher team has caught two militiamen cutting off barbarian heads, what should we do?¡±


    Mason couldn¡¯t help frowning.


    Stealing [spoils of war] not only severely violated military discipline, but its moral severity was even greater.


    Bard¡¯s reaction was rather calm, ¡°Bring them here.¡±


    The ¡°criminals¡± were quickly brought before Bard and Mason.


    Judging by their appearances alone, both prisoners were peasants who would be hard to pick out in a crowd. Standing before ¡°Sir Civil Guard Officer,¡± they didn¡¯t even know where to put their hands, moving them from behind their backs to hanging by their sides.


    First, they looked around fearfully at the soldiers, then they quickly fixed their gaze on the ground, continually swallowing.


    ¡°Stretch out your hands,¡± Bard approached the prisoners.


    Prodded by the gendarme a few times, the two peasants hesitantly extended their rough, calloused palms.


    Bard looked at their hands and asked, ¡°Do you admit to personally severing barbarians¡¯ heads?¡±


    The two peasants did not reply.


    The gendarme escorting the prisoners was furious and raised his stick to strike.


    Bard stopped the gendarme and asked again amiably, ¡°Did you cut off the heads of Terdon people?¡±


    One peasant turned pale and nodded. The other, a bit younger, nodded as well with tears.


    ¡°Five lashes each, publicly executed, right now,¡± Bard issued the judgment, ¡°After the whipping, send them back to Saint Town with the injured in the wagon, and relieve them from conscription.¡±


    The two peasants were led away.


    Stealing results in amputation, a universal truth; stealing spoils of war, even deserving of hanging.


    Clearly, five lashes was too lenient a sentence, Mason neither understood nor agreed.


    But since those present were all Bard¡¯s subordinates, the senior had to maintain the dignity of his junior, so Mason did not show any opposition.


    Bard realized what his senior was thinking and extended an invitation, ¡°Senior, since you¡¯re here, shall I show you around the camp?¡±


    Mason readily agreed.


    The two of them each led a horse and walked slowly around the camp without any attendants.


    Bard set up the logistics camp on the south side of the battlefield, right next to the road.


    The logistics squadron¡¯s peasants cut down trees, lit bonfires, boiled water, and baked biscuits.


    In the pitch-black night, the clusters of bonfires in the camp shone brightly and warmly like beacons.


    Occasionally, militiamen, dragging their weary steps and carrying their weapons, numbly walked towards the light.


    The patrolling gendarmes were accustomed to this.


    The gendarmes handed a piece of bread to the battle-weary arrivals, wrapped them in a blanket, led them to the fire, and then went to guide others.


    Horsemen carrying torches went out to find lost soldiers, while wagons carrying the injured rattled towards the rear.


    Unknowingly, Mason and Bard reached the edge of the battlefield.

 Chapter 858 03-25 - 858 93 Weapons_2

    ?Chapter 858: Chapter 93: Weapons_2 Chapter 858: Chapter 93: Weapons_2 Perhaps it was psychological, but Mason always felt that the cold air was tinged with the odor of fresh blood.


    The battlefield had already been shrouded in darkness, with the sporadic lights of fires moving about. Those were the stretcher teams organized by Bard, searching for the wounded.


    ¡°Lightly wounded remain at the temporary camp, severely wounded are sent back to Kennel Village, and later sent on to Saint Town.¡± Bard explained his arrangements to his senior, ¡°Father Kaman is on his way, I¡¯ve asked him to set up a medical post here. The sooner treatment starts, the greater the chances the wounded have of survival¡­¡±


    Mason listened intently.


    Compared to the battle itself, the clean-up work afterward was truly torturous. Just dealing with the wounded alone was enough to overwhelm anyone.


    At the end of a day¡¯s bloody battle, both the victors and the defeated gasped for breath in the darkness; those unable to move were left on the battlefield along with corpses, while lawless thieves took advantage of the night to rob the dead¡ªthese were all too common scenes.


    The wounded of the Iron Peak County Military were unfortunate, yet fortunate.


    ...


    Because at least someone cared about their lives and tried desperately to keep them alive.


    From treating the wounded, Bard moved on to discuss the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe.


    ¡°Senior, you might not know yet,¡± Bard said softly. ¡°South of the Panto River, there are more than two thousand prisoners from the Terdon Tribe waiting for us to deal with.¡±


    Mason was shocked, ¡°Two thousand prisoners? From the battle at the Panto River?¡±


    ¡°Yes, from the battle at the Panto River. It might even be more than two thousand, because only Tie Chi surrendered earlier, and there remain quite a few scattered soldiers from the Terdon Tribe in lower Iron Peak County.¡±


    Mason was speechless.


    Bard continued, ¡°Moreover, whether Tie Chi really counts as prisoners is still up for debate. Because we haven¡¯t effectively taken control of them. We left them on the south bank of the Panto River and then rushed to deal with the arsonists. Now that the arsonists are dealt with, what to do with Tie Chi has become the primary issue.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    Mason sighed deeply.


    Bard then dropped another piece of significant news, ¡°Earlier communication with Revodan was cut off, I couldn¡¯t inform you in time¡ªthis battle, the New Reclamation Legion provided reinforcement troops.¡±


    Mason felt dizzy and asked blankly, ¡°Those Piaoqi Troops? Were they people from the New Reclamation Legion?¡±


    Bard pondered and said, ¡°As I see it, they don¡¯t represent the official stance of the New Reclamation Legion.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on then?¡± Mason¡¯s hair on his back stood up.


    ¡°Those people are¡­¡± Bard furrowed his brows slightly, ¡°volunteers brought in by Colonel Bod. What exactly is going on, we¡¯ll have to wait for Colonel Bod to come back. Whether those people have other demands, it¡¯s still unknown.¡±


    Mason thought it over and sighed deeply again.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s the ¡®Decapitation Order.''¡± Bard gazed at the battlefield and looked at Mason, ¡°It¡¯s the matter you saw just now.¡±


    ¡°Compared to that,¡± Mason said bitterly, ¡°lightly punishing two thieves is trivial indeed.¡±


    Bard shook his head, ¡°I, on the other hand, think¡­ that this last matter is the most important.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Mason was puzzled.


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion, the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe¡­ they are external forces, and external forces can¡¯t break us. But the ¡®Stolen Decapitations¡¯ reflect something buried within us like a grenade, powerful enough to shatter us to pieces.¡±


    Mason mulled over his junior¡¯s words and fell silent again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already dealt with over thirty cases of ¡®Stolen Decapitations.¡¯ Executed seven people¡ªnot for stealing Terdon people¡¯s heads but for taking heads from our own and falsifying achievements.¡±


    Bard calmly stated the facts: ¡°Lower Iron Peak County was destroyed by the Terdon people. What about Middle Iron Peak County? It was also severely damaged. This is the most severe issue. Not punishing those two farmers more harshly is because enough people have died already. Iron Peak County needs many things now, but fear is definitely not one of them.¡±


    ¡°We won,¡± Mason said somewhat sorrowfully, ¡°but we also lost, we lost terribly.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bard¡¯s tone grew serious, ¡°You are mistaken.¡±


    Mason looked up, puzzled.


    ¡°We did win,¡± Bard declared firmly. ¡°We won the right to survive, and that¡¯s the most critical thing.¡±


    For a moment, Mason was stunned, then he broke into a smile.


    He took a long breath, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve won the right to live past tonight, we¡¯ll deal with everything else tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°By the way,¡± Mason suddenly remembered someone, ¡°where is Winters? He dumped this mess on us, where did he go?¡±


    This time, it was Bard¡¯s turn to sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡­


    In the early morning, Colonel Gaisa returned to the temporary camp and immediately asked to see Winters.


    He received the same answer, ¡°We also don¡¯t know where Captain Montaigne is.¡±


    Where Winters was, probably only the arsonists knew. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Dawn, somewhere in Middle Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Herde Language Big Khan, there¡¯s a river ahead!¡± an archer tub soldier reported breathlessly. ¡°Herde Language It seems we¡¯ve reached the river.¡±


    The arsonist, equally out of breath, asked viciously, ¡°Herde Language Pup¡­ is that pup still behind us?¡±


    The big archer tub soldier listened for a moment, swallowed, ¡°Herde Language Seems like he didn¡¯t catch up.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Good, good, let¡¯s rest for a moment.¡±


    Four archer tub soldiers plus the arsonist, a total of five people, hid in the woods by the riverside to rest their horses.


    One archer tub soldier, unable to bear his thirst, ran to the riverbank and started drinking fiercely. The big archer tub soldier¡ªthe guard leader scooped some water in his helmet and offered it to the arsonist.

 Chapter 859 03-25 - 859 93 Weapons_3

    ?Chapter 859: Chapter 93 Weapons_3 Chapter 859: Chapter 93 Weapons_3 The illustrious Khan of Terdon now had only four people by his side.


    The firemaker sipped cold water, his face ashen.


    Suddenly, the firemaker sharply turned back to look at the two guards with quivers. Their eyes met, and the guards quickly lowered their heads.


    The firemaker slowly turned around, silently changing his position so that each guard with a quiver was within his line of sight.


    Until death truly arrived, no one knew whether they were cowards or heroes.


    At least the firemaker had thought he had the courage to face Paratu, the champion, in a death duel.


    But when the firemaker really saw the unstoppable blood-dripping red flag approaching, when he really saw the khan¡¯s tent guard shattered¡­ he was frightened.


    ...


    Fear descended like an avalanche in a moment, and the firemaker was terrified from the depths of his heart, scared to death.


    So he ran, fleeing in panic.


    Although defeat was inevitable, there was no doubt that the firemaker¡¯s desertion directly led to the complete collapse of the Terdon Tribe.


    How could the Khan let his banner be taken without affecting the will of his people to fight to the death?


    However, taking the banner did not make the enemy sheathe their swords, and the darkness couldn¡¯t stop their advance. In a nightmarish flight, the firemaker¡¯s guards disappeared one by one.


    Until, at last, only five including him remained.


    But in the end, he shook off the wolf, ¡°I still won in the end,¡± the firemaker thought with a sense of victorious spirit.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Power can make anyone seem invincible, high above all, and the farther away one observes, the more it seems so.


    But when that aura is stripped away, leaving only a human figure, that person immediately becomes weak and vulnerable. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Emperors at their wit¡¯s end appear as lowly as the most humble slaves, causing those who once worshipped them to doubt their own eyes. So-called heroic bearing has nothing to do with power.


    With power, even the newest slaves will come to worship and swear allegiance to the death; without power, even the closest guards with quivers become unreliable.


    ¡°Let us rest our horses here,¡± the firemaker indirectly reaffirmed his position. ¡°We¡¯ll move downstream along the river at night. Crossing the river, we can return to the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    The four guards with quivers nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You are all my closest guards. If you do not forsake me, I will reward you profoundly.¡±


    Three guards gave thanks, though their faces showed little joy.


    Only the chief guard bluntly said to the firemaker, ¡°You need not pretend, Khan. As long as I live, I will ensure your safe return to the plains.¡±


    These words were meant to express loyalty, but the manner of speaking was inherently a challenge to authority¡ªthe firemaker usually didn¡¯t need to concern himself with these issues, but now they occupied his mind.


    Before he could figure out how to respond, a series of horse hooves came from far along the riverbank.


    The firemaker and his men immediately hid, hardly daring to breathe.


    The sound of the hooves drew closer, around a dozen riders.


    They sounded like plains horses, but the firemaker and his men dared not confirm, for bipeds also significantly used captured horses.


    Only when the riders came closer, and it was clear they wore diagonal robes, did the firemaker and his men breathe a sigh of relief.


    One of the guards with quivers softly whistled; the firemaker had no time to stop him.


    The newcomers halted and whistled back in response.


    Both parties confirmed identities, and hiding was no longer an option. The firemaker, with determination, stepped out of the woods.


    ¡°Which tribe do you belong to?¡± the firemaker called out.


    ¡°Khan?¡± the lead rider asked in surprise, ¡°Is it the Khan?¡±


    The firemaker halted, his hand on the bow, ¡°Which tribe do you belong to?¡±


    ¡°I am¡­¡± the lead rider came forward, drawing near the firemaker and his men, ¡°I am your servant from within your gates!¡±


    The firemaker laughed madly and, drawing his curved bow, shot an arrow at the newcomer, ¡°Traitors! You rotting flesh that not even the grass-stepping cows would eat!¡±


    The sudden action of the fire-maker took the archers behind him by surprise.


    The leading allied troops were shot off their horses on the spot, and the rest of the allies tore off their masks, shouting loudly, ¡°Fire the signal arrows! Fire the signal arrows! Call the others! Big fish! It¡¯s a big fish!¡±


    A dozen or so allies swarmed up and fired arrows at the fire-makers, clearly not intending to capture him alive.


    ¡°[Herde Language] You think you can kill me?¡± the fire-maker roared ferociously, standing his ground, drawing his bow to return fire.


    Four archers joined the fight, using their bodies as shields for the fire-maker.


    Both the archers and the fire-maker were truly skilled.


    The five men didn¡¯t miss a single shot, instead, they forced the allies to retreat in disarray.


    A louder roar of hoofbeats approached; this time, there were at least dozens of riders.


    Seeing the fleeing allies returning, the fire-maker sensed trouble and roared, ¡°[Herde Language] Mount up, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Turning around, where were the horses?


    The horses had already been led away by those allies earlier.


    The thundering sound of hooves grew closer, and the riders charged directly at the fire-maker.


    The fire-maker drew his curved blade and roared in despair.


    ¡­


    A helmet of cold water splashed on him, and the fire-maker regained consciousness.


    ¡°Awake?¡±


    ¡°Seems like he¡¯s awake?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Do you recognize me?¡± The speaker patted the fire-maker¡¯s cheek, his voice mixed with hatred and mockery, ¡°[Herde Language] Your Highness?¡±


    The fire-maker¡¯s head was groggy, the back of his head wet, unable to utter a word.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Can¡¯t recognize it? I am¡­¡± The speaker lifted his hair, revealing a bald side with no ear, warmly introducing himself, ¡°[Herde Language] Red Dog!¡±


    Hearing the name, the fire-maker startled awake, ¡°[Herde Language] Is this the Styx?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] No, this is the river of the great Shaman George.¡± Red Dog replied casually, ¡°St. George River.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] But you died!¡± the fire-maker roared furiously, coughing up several clots of blood, ¡°[Herde Language] Echegke also deceived me!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I was supposed to be dead, but someone thought I might still be useful, so I survived,¡± Red Dog said slowly, drawing a dagger, ¡°[Herde Language] See, here I am to meet you. You shouldn¡¯t have run. If you hadn¡¯t run, you could have died like a warrior.¡±


    The fire-maker wanted to say more, but the other allies held him down tightly, silencing him and preventing him from struggling.


    ¡°I know what you want to say.¡± Red Dog spoke in a language the fire-maker couldn¡¯t understand, ¡°A great leader fleeing from battle dying at the hands of us, the lowest of slaves¡ªwhat an appropriate way to die!¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, Winters returned to the battlefield.


    Having pursued all night, his cavalry had fallen behind one by one. Because his warhorse had gone lame, he ultimately couldn¡¯t personally kill the enemy chieftain.


    On the way back, only one person remained by his side.


    It was neither Xial nor Heinrich, but Jacob Green, the tall, thin gentleman who wanted to write an epic.


    Seeing Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, charging forward, Jacob didn¡¯t think twice and followed, even without a weapon.


    He just wanted to be a bit closer, ever closer, driven by that fervent enthusiasm. Even though Xial and Heinrich fell behind, Jacob still followed closely behind the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s saddle.


    Sunlight pierced through the treetops, illuminating the battlefield, the corpses strewn about, the blood-solidified soil, the distorted expressions of the dead in their final moments.


    Jacob Green recorded this, ¡°¡­the battlefield was littered with corpses. There were Herders, and there were our own people. Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, tried desperately to prevent his mount from trampling on the remains. He failed, so he dismounted. At that moment, I saw him cry¡­ Is that true? Could the killing machine known as ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ also possess such emotions? Or is memory deceiving me¡­ yet that moment, the helpless boy walking and crying, eyes filled with tears, left such a deep impression on me, unforgettable for a lifetime¡­¡±

 Chapter 860 03-25 - 860 Prologue

    ?Chapter 860: Prologue Chapter 860: Prologue News spread faster than anything.


    The messengers of victory hadn¡¯t yet arrived in Revodan when the bookmakers had already refused to take any more bets on the outcome of the war.


    The bonds compulsorily issued by the new government, once worthless, were now being dug out by merchants and craftsmen, and some were even seeking to purchase them.


    Large numbers of citizens flooded into the church to fulfill their vows, kissing the altar with tear-streaked faces, giving thanks to their savior.


    Overnight, the epithets of several Civil Guard Officers changed from ¡°Rebels¡± and ¡°Miscreants¡± to ¡°Holy Knights sent by the Lord to save Iron Peak County,¡± and who knows how many candles were lit in their names.


    And the shrewd speculators had already turned their attention to the south bank of the St. George River¡ªthere was a new city and many people there.


    Even bolder, or perhaps more greedy individuals set their sights on another item¡ªheads.


    ...


    ¡°¡­thank you so deeply for your kindness in visiting us¡­¡± Anna politely expressed her gratitude and respect, escorting the guest to the door.


    This was probably the umpteenth lady or miss to visit that day, making the small living room of the military quarters extraordinarily lively. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone was beating around the bush to inquire about one thing: ¡°Will Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, truly fulfill his promise?¡±


    On the other side of the wall, someone was eavesdropping.


    Hearing the footsteps fade away and still irritated, Scarlett disdainfully said, ¡°Why invite them before when they were so reluctant? Why the enthusiasm now?¡±


    ¡°Idiot.¡± Catherine laughed, her eyes crinkling, ¡°Before, they didn¡¯t want to come because they were afraid of being solicited for donations. Their sudden enthusiasm now means they can gain something.¡±


    The two young ladies shared a box of milk cakes, with a table full of delicately wrapped boxes of pastries in front of them.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À?.§ã¦Ï


    The Paratu People did not have the custom of visiting empty-handed, which turned out to be to the advantage of two squirrels.


    While Anna was exhausted from hosting guests, Scarlett and Catherine hid in the hallway next to the living room¡ªeavesdropping and snacking, choosing the best from each box of treats.


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Wine!¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Catherine grabbed the bottle first, trying to make out the label in the dim light, ¡°[Bull¡¯s Blood]. What kind of winery is this?¡±


    Just then, Anna pushed open the hallway door and caught the two young ladies red-handed.


    Catherine silently handed the wine bottle to Scarlett.


    But Anna merely put down the new box of pastries she had received, walked back into the living room, and ignored them as if they were invisible.


    Scarlett and Catherine exchanged glances and cautiously entered the living room.


    Anna bowed her head, fiddling with her embroidery basket, simply threading and unthreading needles without actually doing anything.


    Seeing her sister¡¯s restless demeanor, Catherine blinked and tiptoed up behind Anna, suddenly exclaiming with great surprise, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, when did you come back?¡±


    ¡°Stop it,¡± Anna sighed.


    ¡°Really!¡±


    Anna ignored her sister.


    Seeing that her sister was unmoved, Catherine, a bit deflated, sat beside Anna, listlessly collapsing onto her lap.


    Anna¡¯s ¡°embroidery¡± could no longer continue; she set the needle basket aside and patiently tidied her sister¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Seeing you like this, I just can¡¯t be happy either,¡± Catherine said dejectedly, ¡°Maybe you should just argue with me again.¡±


    Anna finally showed a hint of a smile, flicking Catherine on the forehead hard enough to make her sister bite back in pain.


    The two sisters engaged in playful roughhousing, leaving Scarlett awkwardly as the third wheel, unsure whether to stay or go.


    Anna quickly noticed this impoliteness and pushed her sister up, smiling as she asked Scarlett, ¡°Has Mrs. Mitchell not returned from the church yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°How about we also go to the cathedral?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Scarlett shook her head vigorously, her chestnut short hair swaying with the wind, ¡°Mother will be displeased to see me; I¡¯d better keep away from her. You go to the church, I¡¯ll go add some grass for Longevity.¡±


    Anna stood up and took out another pair of boots, ¡°There¡¯s no rush for the church, I¡¯ll accompany you to add grass for Longevity.¡±


    Catherine burst out laughing, ¡°Aside from not barking, is that little pony almost being raised as a dog now?¡±


    While they talked, Anna changed her boots.


    Scarlett, who had been silent all along, took a deep breath and mustered her courage to ask, ¡°Lady Navarre?¡±


    Anna paused, ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°You are Lady Navarre, right?¡±


    Anna looked at Scarlett and nodded slowly, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone,¡± Scarlett promised earnestly, her face flushing as she spoke to Anna, ¡°Now that the war is over, you could actually go look for him yourself!¡±


    ¡°What bad advice are you giving?!¡± Catherine sat up straight, ¡°Just because the combat has ended doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s safe outside the city!¡±


    However, looking at her sister, Catherine knew her words were in vain.


    ¡­


    The drawbridge was lowered slowly, and eight armed horsemen escorted a carriage out of New Town.


    Old Priskin attempted persuasion in vain, only managing to choose eight best men and the finest carriage.


    Catherine refused to stay in the city alone, and Scarlett, afraid of being scolded by her mother for her suggestion, wanted to accompany them too, but Anna didn¡¯t take anyone with her.


    The city was still dangerous, she knew, but she just couldn¡¯t stay in Revodan any longer.


    Less than a mile from the city, the carriage was intercepted.


    Luckily, the person who stopped the carriage was Mason.


    With Revodan needing a leader, Richard Mason had hurried back from Saint Town to take charge.


    ¡°Lady Navarre?¡± Upon seeing the passenger in the carriage, Mason first expressed surprise, then a bitter smile, ¡°Winters is no longer in Saint Town, I have a letter from him for you. And there¡¯s a guest¡­ Your guest.¡±


    A portly horseman stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow and greeting her with a slightly ingratiating tone, ¡°Miss, bless the Lord, I have finally met you. It¡¯s so good to see you safe and sound!¡±


    Anna felt a wave of dizziness as the portly horseman was none other than one of her mother¡¯s most trusted partners, ¡°Mr. Leo.¡±


    As Mason returned to Revodan, news of the victory at Iron Peak spread fast to Mont Blanc County, Maplestone City, and the Great Wilderness¡­ reaching all corners.


    The infamously formidable Khan Court of Terdun had fallen overnight, to the seemingly inconsequential ¡°Rebels,¡± a tale that shook the Newly Reclaimed Land, Paratu, and the Great Wilderness like an earthquake.


    The aftershocks of which would spread far and wide, from Sheltering Mountain to Golden Summit Mountain ¨C beyond even the wildest predictions of the most audacious pundits.

 Chapter 861 03-25 - 861 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 861: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads Chapter 861: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads The Hunter of Fallen Warriors


    In the dark, primordial forest, two people from Terdun fled together.


    They dared not light a fire or rest. The canopy that blocked out the sun made it impossible for them to tell direction¡ªnot that direction mattered anymore; finding a way to survive was what mattered most.


    Still, they were caught up to; hounds followed their scent, and a dozen farmers surrounded them.


    At dusk, the farmers returned to the village with two heads and other items stripped from the barbarians, carried on branches.


    They did not go straight home but headed first to the village hall.


    Wood crackled in the hearth, and outside the walls, winter was freezing cold, yet it was warm inside the village hall.


    A middle-aged man, clearly not a farmer, inspected the two heads, furrowed his brow, and asked, ¡°No helmets, armor, or anything else?¡±


    ...


    The leading farmer, his cheeks reddened from the cold, replied awkwardly, ¡°No, would hats work? And earrings?¡±


    The middle-aged man smacked his lips, turned back to warming himself by the fire, and gave the farmers only a profile view: ¡°That won¡¯t do. Without evidence, who¡¯s to say whether these are indeed barbarian heads, or if you¡¯ve stolen them from somewhere else?¡±


    Another taller farmer immediately flared up, ¡°What are you saying? How could these possibly be stolen by us? None of our people have heads like these!¡±


    The middle-aged man scoffed but did not engage in conversation, not even deigning to look directly at the other man.


    Two fully armed men sitting in a corner of the room stood up, their hands already on the hilts of their swords.


    The taller farmer fell silent.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    The leading farmer remained silent for a long while before speaking with difficulty, ¡°So what do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°These heads, whose authenticity is unknown¡­¡± The middle-aged man paused for a moment before stating a price.


    ¡°How much?¡± The taller farmer asked eagerly, ¡°A barbarian¡¯s head is worth a large piece of land! How much are you offering?¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Listen carefully, I don¡¯t need to repeat myself.¡± The middle-aged man spread his hands, his attitude clear¡ªit was take it or leave it.


    The farmers were furious, unwilling to agree, yet unable to leave.


    Until a sturdy farmer who rarely spoke suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s just accept it, my family back home is waiting for me to bring back flour.¡±


    The sturdy farmer calmly retorted, ¡°What more can we hope for?¡±


    The deal was struck, and the payment was made in the form of flour.


    The middle-aged man couldn¡¯t suppress a touch of smugness. As he watched the farmers take the flour, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think that a [head] is the same as [land]. Who knows how long the Rebels will hold out in Iron Peak County? If the Rebels fall tomorrow, won¡¯t these heads become a burden in your hands? Right?¡±


    His words seemed comforting, but in reality, they were a boastful salt in their wounds.


    The farmers silently took the flour and left the town hall without a word.


    Outside the door, they divided the flour along with the barbarians¡¯ clothes and boots. The items went to families who still had mouths to feed, and the farmer with the hounds received an extra share.


    ¡°Mesa got hurt.¡± The sturdy farmer whispered, ¡°Give him an extra share too.¡±


    No one objected, and the taller farmer asked, ¡°What do you want, dad?¡±


    The sturdy farmer took half a bag of flour and a curved blade.


    (Note: Here, ¡°dad¡± is a term of endearment used for older men.)


    Thus, everyone headed home¡ªand all of this was incidentally witnessed by a few passing riders.


    Pushing open his house door, a smile finally appeared on the sturdy farmer¡¯s face.


    He rubbed his son and daughter¡¯s soft hair, handed the flour to his wife, then found a whetstone and started sharpening knives in the backyard.


    ¡°No matter what you plan to do.¡± A young man stood outside the courtyard gate, ¡°Please don¡¯t go.¡±


    The sturdy farmer first startled, then surreptitiously gripped the curved blade, and replied, ¡°And how would you know what I am planning?¡±


    The young man did not answer directly but patiently explained, ¡°The two of them are skilled fighters; you alone won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    This time, it was the young man¡¯s turn to fall silent.


    The daughter ran out of the house and threw herself into the sturdy farmer¡¯s arms. Hugging his daughter, he was momentarily distracted, and by the time he looked up, the young man had vanished.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the sturdy farmer asked his daughter.


    ¡°Mummy said someone left two bags outside the door,¡± the girl answered sweetly. ¡°Mummy asked daddy to go and check.¡±


    ¡­


    The middle-aged man was obliging and respectful in his responses, not even requiring Winters to reveal his identity.


    The matter was simple; the middle-aged man was from Revodan here to purchase heads.


    In Iron Peak County, barbarian heads had become a tradable commodity.


    Unable to compete with his peers in town, the middle-aged man had hastened to this still unnoticed rural area¡ªclearly, he wasn¡¯t the only opportunist smelling Gold Coins.


    Small players bought heads from the militia and farmers but didn¡¯t hold onto them to cash them in later; instead, they quickly sold them to more significant players.


    The big players were gambling, betting that Montaigne¡¯s Civil Guard Officer would keep his promises, betting on the future fate of Iron Peak County.


    Winters and his companions passed through the small village to rest their horses, accidentally stumbling upon this scene.


    Xial, gritting his teeth in anger, exclaimed, ¡°The battle isn¡¯t even over yet! How could such people exist? In the end, are they the ones who benefit?¡±


    The others accompanying them were similarly incensed, except Winters, who was lost in thought.


    Thinking that his brother hesitated to speak, Xial unbuckled his horse saber and said bitterly, ¡°I¡¯ll teach that guy a lesson!¡±


    ¡°Teach them a lesson¡ªfor what reason?¡± Winters stopped Xial, ¡°The county government has never forbidden trading in heads.¡±

 Chapter 862 03-25 - 862 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 862: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_2 Chapter 862: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_2 Xial was taken aback and answered loudly, ¡°I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡±


    Winters slowly organized his thoughts. ¡°Killing all the speculators, would the starving people stop suffering? No, I¡¯m afraid it would cut off their last lifeline. The trade in severed heads, in fact, has made some people bring out the grain they were hiding, allowing more food to flow into the market.¡±


    Xial and several others listened, not quite understanding.


    Some time later, Winters and his party made camp outside the village.


    Xial then took Winters¡¯ secret letter and retraced his steps, rushing back to Saint Town overnight.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    Anna found that Saint Town had completely changed.


    The few times she had passed through Saint Town before, it had been just an ordinary rural town: two streets, a few rows of houses, some families, quiet and ordinary.


    Now, Saint Town was entirely a military camp: the land was muddy and dirty, with tired men carrying weapons everywhere, foul language mixing with the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs.


    Through the car window, Anna saw someone urinating in an alley by the street, followed by a few men wearing white armbands rushing into the alley to chase after the offender.


    Anna also saw someone whistle at her and look lewdly into the car with salacious eyes, and if it weren¡¯t for the deterrence of the accompanying guards, there might have been further action.


    She hastily closed the window.


    The rotund Mr. Leo, who was riding with her, chuckled and commented incisively, ¡°The war is over, but many people are still struggling to recover. It¡¯s not so easy to return to normal life.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    Another passenger nodded and offered Anna comfort, ¡°Miss Navarre, there¡¯s no need to be afraid, they mean no harm.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Anna politely expressed her thanks, ¡°Colonel Chino.¡±


    Knowing that Anna insisted on finding Winters, Mr. Leo asked to accompany her.


    The plump partner wouldn¡¯t discuss the purpose of the trip, behaving as if nothing had happened, only expressing a desire to meet with Mr. Winters Montaigne.


    Anna, feeling guilty, did not take the initiative to ask about her mother¡¯s attitude.


    By contrast, the other Venetian accompanying them¡ªColonel Buka Chino¡ªwas even more friendly towards Anna.


    As a Venetian Army colonel, Chino was undoubtedly representing Antonio Serviati in Iron Peak County.


    In other words, Colonel Chino was half a family member to Winters; realizing this, Anna¡¯s cheeks grew warm.


    After all, Anna¡¯s false identity as ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± could fool others, but not the Sea Blue visitors. To elope without even an engagement was not something a lady should do, no matter the circumstances.


    The blockade on Iron Peak County had been temporarily lifted, both internally and externally.


    Good Fortune Gold must be mentioned here; the old pirate had actually returned from Sea Blue quite some time ago.


    Unfortunately, his return coincided with the failed joint suppression by Mont Blanc County and Vernge County. Consequently, the old pirate was arrested and imprisoned by Colonel Gaisa upon entering Mont Blanc County.


    Gold spent every day for over a month staring at the gallows in the jail yard, counting his fingers and eating hard, black bread until one day, he was suddenly taken out of his cell.


    The old pirate thought his luck had finally run out, but what happened next was quite dramatic.


    He was brought before a bald man who instructed him to deliver a letter to Winters and then let him go.


    The old pirate was surprised to find not only his confiscated horse and luggage returned but also a few escorts provided. Although he couldn¡¯t fathom what had transpired, since the favor of the Goddess of Luck hadn¡¯t faded, Good Fortune Gold feared nothing.


    The rest of the events need not be recounted; the story returns to Anna. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After arriving at Saint Town, Anna first went to see Father Kaman.


    Father Kaman¡¯s medical station was set up next to the church, occupying a large space with temporary huts.


    ¡°The faithful believe that even in death, they must die within the church, to be at least somewhat closer to heaven. So, we set up the medical station here,¡± Father Kaman explained without emotion, ¡°It¡¯s also convenient, the dead can be sent directly into the church cemetery, which is better than being laid to rest in the wilderness.¡±


    Anna, recalling Mr. Leo¡¯s words, felt waves of sadness.


    ¡°Winters? Oh, right, you¡¯re here to find Winters?¡± Father Kaman sighed, ¡°Going further from here would be dangerous, you should wait for him in Saint Town. There are a few very devout believers in town; the living conditions aren¡¯t great, but it¡¯s safe. You could stay there temporarily.¡±


    ¡°Father,¡± Colonel Chino asked politely, ¡°Where did Winters go?¡±


    Hearing the speaker¡¯s accent, Father Kaman¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly, ¡°Are you Venetian? Sea Blue People?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Colonel Chino readily admitted.


    ¡°Winters went to Lower Iron Peak County,¡± Father Kaman revealed candidly, ¡°Even if you are a military man, I would not advise you to follow him there. Lower Iron Peak County is very dangerous, and you would need a whole troop for escort to ensure safety.¡±


    Colonel Chino smiled, nodding repeatedly.


    Seeing the other¡¯s dismissive attitude, Father Kaman grew somewhat cold, simply explaining, ¡°There are still Herders in Lower Iron Peak County¡ªbands of Herder Cavalry that haven¡¯t been defeated. The reason Winters Montaigne is going there is to resolve the Herder issue. Winters can go without an escort, but you don¡¯t have that sort of ability, that¡¯s the situation.¡±


    Colonel Chino was not angered but instead laughed, ¡°It¡¯s refreshing to talk with Paratu People, straightforward and to the point. Then let¡¯s stay here and wait for Winters to return.¡±

 Chapter 863 03-25 - 863 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 863: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_3 Chapter 863: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_3 ¡°I¡¯m not from Paratu,¡± Father Kaman clearly had no interest in small talk and went straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯ll find accommodations for you first, and when Lieutenant Bard comes back, he can discuss the details with you. He knows much more about the situation than I do.¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Chino politely thanked and gestured, and the accompanying Vineta Cavalry dismounted one after another: ¡°Thank you for arranging accommodations for Miss Navarre. As for us¡­ just designate an open space for us. We will camp on our own.¡±


    Father Kaman summoned a caretaker, gave a couple of instructions, and the caretaker quickly left.


    Mr. Leo was more curious about another matter than Winters Montagne¡¯s whereabouts.


    ¡°Father,¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face was full of smiles as he rubbed his hands together, ¡°I saw on the noticeboard something about ¡®bills¡¯ and ¡®heads.¡¯ What¡¯s that all about?¡±


    Father Kaman gave the chubby and affable man a glance and asked indifferently, ¡°What? Does it have anything to do with you?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Mr. Leo hurriedly waved his hands and said with a laugh, ¡°Just curious, you know, I¡¯m a very curious person.¡±


    ...


    As they walked into the church for a temporary rest, Father Kaman took the opportunity to talk about the policy regarding the recognition of military achievements in Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Winters Montagne has come up with a new move to first convert the heads into named bills and then later exchange them for land¡­¡±


    Kaman wasn¡¯t particularly interested and was very brief in his explanation. However, Mr. Leo was brimming with enthusiasm and kept complimenting the priest, urging him to say more.


    In short, the new government had once again issued a notice, reiterating the validity of military achievements and promising once again to reward according to the ¡°cutting heads order.¡±


    However, because the allocation of land required measurement and settlement, it was difficult to deliver immediately. Therefore, all heads must first be identified, registered, and converted into named bills by designated official workers, and later the land will be granted upon presentation of these bills.


    As the location of the main camp, Saint Town almost instantly became bustling, with every militiaman who had a capture eager to convert their heads into ¡°land grant coupons.¡±


    Because the official¡¯s second assurance led to a surge in the price of heads, consequently, the price of ¡°land grant coupons¡± was also skyrocketing¡ªeven though they were named, there was no rule against trading them.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    While they were talking, several Piaoqi Troops passed by the church, singing military songs spiritedly. The heads in their saddlebags were dripping blood along the way.


    As ¡°guest troops,¡± the Piaoqi Troops were happy to see the price of heads increase. After all, no matter how rich the reward for heads was, it had nothing to do with these outsiders.


    The Piaoqi Troops would directly exchange the heads for money, and naturally, the higher the price, the better.


    Colonel Chino also became interested and asked some technical questions like how to record merits for ¡°two people getting one head.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Father Kaman extended his hand in a blessing, ¡°Go ask Lieutenant Bard. He should be able to give you a detailed explanation since it¡¯s all his regulations.¡±


    The more Mr. Leo listened, the deeper his frown became. He fiddled with his fingers and pondered for a while, then glanced at Anna, and then at Colonel Chino, before suddenly speaking:


    ¡°At the end of the day, the dilemma faced by Mr. Montagne is still a matter of insufficient food. Measures like bill tickets are just a facade. How is Mr. Montagne planning to resolve the food issue?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Father Kaman heaved a rare sigh, his tone softened a bit, ¡°He has just ordered the military rations to be used for refugee relief.¡±


    The more Mr. Leo listened, the more mesmerized he became. He smacked his lips and remarked, ¡°This is too dangerous, way too risky! He¡¯s playing with fire¡­ yet the audacity is astonishing¡­ whether intentional or not¡­¡±


    Anna was somewhat bewildered, Father Kaman and Colonel Chino exchanged looks.


    Mr. Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked at Anna with a smile, and said, ¡°Miss, we indeed need to see Mr. Montagne as soon as possible¡­ no, actually, he needs to see me as soon as possible.¡±

 Chapter 864 03-25 - 864 2 Shuffle

    ?Chapter 864: Chapter 2 Shuffle Chapter 864: Chapter 2 Shuffle Before dawn, all was quiet, marking the start of a day for nocturnal creatures.


    A hare quietly left its shallow burrow in the acacia thicket and headed out to forage along a hidden path it had traversed many times.


    Unbeknownst to the hare, its trail had already been discovered.


    After dawn, two robed figures ascended the hillside one after the other to check the trap they had set the previous day.


    The hare played dead, its yellow-brown fur blending in like dry grass, but it couldn¡¯t fool the hunter.


    ¡°Over there! Brother!¡± the younger boy behind exclaimed with joy.


    The young man ahead also spotted the prey, pressed his lips together, took down his short bow, and signaled for his brother to be quiet.


    ...


    It was too late¡ªthe hare had already been startled.


    It thrashed desperately, leaping up and landing again, trying to free its hind leg.


    The thing binding the hare¡¯s right hind leg was a tough leather rope, not so easily broken.


    But the trapped prey was a strong adult male. In its death throes, it actually managed to yank the branch to which the leather rope was tied out of the ground.


    As soon as it regained limited freedom, the hare took off toward the bushes, dragging the rope and stick.


    ¡°The rabbit is escaping!¡± the young boy shouted.


    The young man inhaled deeply, drew his short bow, and shot an arrow like lightning.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Although the bow was a poor makeshift from a tree branch and the arrow lacked even feathers, the young man still hit the target.


    The boy, thrilled, ran into the bushes and retrieved the hare.


    The brothers found a sheltered spot, where the boy gathered dry branches and leaves for a fire and the young man skinned and gutted the prey, then started roasting it directly.


    Unquestionably, the young man and boy were Herders¡ªthough, of course, they wouldn¡¯t think of themselves that way.


    In the awareness of the young man and boy, there was no concept of ¡°Herders¡±; they were simply subjects of the ¡°Tie Chi¡± chief.


    After the battle at the Panto River, Iron Peak County didn¡¯t directly imprison the Tie Chi forces, but merely expelled them to the south bank of the Panto River, still governed by Tie Chi himself.


    At that time, Winters decided that annihilating Terdun¡¯s horde was the top priority and couldn¡¯t spare additional forces to deal with Tie Chi¡¯s camp.


    Thus, Tie Chi¡¯s surrendered forces were ¡°placed¡± in Lower Iron Peak County, and Winters gave the guarding units at the temporary camp only one order: do not let Tie Chi¡¯s forces enter Middle Iron Peak County.


    Tie Chi cooperated and didn¡¯t make any move during the battle between Iron Peak County Military and Terdun¡¯s forces¡ªindeed, Tie Chi probably didn¡¯t even know the situation in Middle Iron Peak County. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As a trade-off, during this period Tie Chi¡¯s surrendered forces were supplied with food and drink by Iron Peak County.


    Since the people of Iron Peak County themselves only had dark bread to eat, naturally, that was all they could offer to Tie Chi¡¯s camp.


    However, the daily diet of Herders mainly consisted of porridge, dairy products, and occasionally meat from hunting. Eating dry food day after day was something the Herders¡¯ stomachs couldn¡¯t endure.


    To stabilize the surrendered soldiers, Iron Peak County provided a certain amount of meat every day.


    But that meat went into the stomachs of the chiefs, while the lower-ranking subjects and slaves had to fend for themselves¡ªsuch as setting traps to catch rabbits.


    The hare had almost no fat and could not be roasted for too long.


    Seeing the fire was about right, the young man used his dagger to cut the rabbit meat into small pieces and took out a small leather pouch with lake salt for his brother to dip the meat in.


    As the boy gnawed on a rabbit leg, he asked, ¡°Brother, did you hear?¡±


    The young man chewed slowly on the rabbit head as if intending to crush every bone and suck out all the marrow, ¡°Hear what?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yu and De Ji¡­ those guys whisper like sparrows all night long.¡±


    The young man snorted coldly, not responding.


    ¡°You and I should join them.¡± Seeing that his brother was noncommittal, the boy grew anxious, ¡°When will these days end? We should follow Bai Yu and make a break for it!¡±


    The young man still said nothing.


    The boy threw the rabbit leg bone down with frustration, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go home, brother? Nayen is no longer the eagle he was; his soul has been snatched by that wolf! Bai Yu says, Tie Chi, Nayen is going to sacrifice us to that wolf¡­¡±


    The young man spat out the bone fragments, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Seeing his brother a bit displeased, the boy obediently fell silent.


    ¡°If you can figure out what Bai Yu is thinking.¡± The young man picked up the leg bone his brother had thrown away, wiped it with some leaves, and began crunching on it, ¡°Nayen will know soon enough.¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes widened and mouth gaped.


    The young man continued, ¡°To go home, we first need a horse. Without a horse, even if we exhaust ourselves, we can¡¯t cross the vast grasslands. And all the horses are in the hands of the leaders.¡±


    On the day of surrender, Winters had men take away the warriors¡¯ horses and weapons, leaving only their personal daggers.


    Therefore, the bow and arrows the young man used to hunt the rabbit were makeshift from branches, not fitting well in his hands.


    But Winters had specifically left some horses and weapons with Tie Chi himself¡ªfor suppressing the Terdun people.


    ¡°What¡­ what do we do then?¡± The boy immediately lost spirit.


    The young man glanced at his brother, ¡°Shut your mouth, open your eyes wide. I¡¯ll think of a way; don¡¯t meddle foolishly.¡±


    The boy came to life again, pestering his brother to reveal more.


    But the young man knew his brother couldn¡¯t keep secrets, so he steadfastly refused to disclose anything.


    Worn out by the pestering, he finally hinted a bit, ¡°It¡¯s not just Tie Chi, Nayen. There are other leaders to the south¡­ leaders with weapons and horses¡­¡±

 Chapter 865 03-25 - 865 2 Shuffle_2

    ?Chapter 865: Chapter 2 Shuffle_2 Chapter 865: Chapter 2 Shuffle_2 The brothers were about to extinguish their campfire when a group of riders suddenly appeared from the slope to the north.


    The riders, upon seeing the light, charged straight towards the brothers.


    The youth recognized the tall Warhorses, tight-fitting clothes, and the riding posture of the oncoming strangers, knowing that they were not people of his kind.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Run!¡± the youth dragged his brother and bolted.


    But two legs could never outrun four, and the brothers were quickly caught up to and surrounded by the riders.


    The lead rider removed his kerchief, somewhat puzzled, asked, ¡°Why are you running?¡±


    The youth distinctly felt the weight of his brother suddenly pressing down on him, and in fact, his own legs involuntarily grew weak.


    ...


    For he saw a face that seemed to be etched into his very marrow.


    It was the owner of this face that had taken away the soul of Tie Chi Nayen; it was also before this face that the youth had surrendered his weapons and Warhorse¨Cthe ¡°wolf¡± his brother spoke of had arrived.


    Winters glanced at the still-stunned Translator.


    The Translator hurriedly spurred his horse forward, conveying the words of the Civil Guard Officer to the two Herders.


    The young Herder had no reaction, but the one who looked younger suddenly ¡°plonked¡± to the ground on his knees, spouting off a long string of words.


    ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry chuckle, looking towards the Translator.


    After listening for quite a while, the Translator replied with evident embarrassment, ¡°Your Excellency, he says he wants to be your indoor slave, to open doors for you, lead horses, carry swords, serve wine¡­ I didn¡¯t quite catch the rest, probably all similar menial tasks.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Upon hearing this, Winters really wanted to give the young Herder a whipping.


    The willingness to be a slave to power disgusted him in a way he couldn¡¯t articulate, but considering the state of Herder society, he also couldn¡¯t demand too much.


    Winters shook his head.


    The Translator immediately conveyed the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s stance to the other party and thoughtfully added an explanation, ¡°[Herde Language] The Blood Wolf Chieftain¡¯s tribe doesn¡¯t want slaves, nor do they have any.¡±


    The young Herder was first lost in confusion, but quickly snapped back to reality and eagerly asked a few more questions.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± The Translator became even more uncomfortable, ¡°He¡¯s asking if you don¡¯t want slaves, would you want guards? A Coachman?¡±


    ¡°What exactly did you tell him?¡± Winters lightly flicked the Translator¡¯s back with his whip.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say much,¡± the Translator scratched his head, ¡°just translated your words as they were.¡±


    Most clerks would involuntarily carry a hint of awe and fear upon first seeing Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    But the Translator who had come with Winters to Iron Peak County was a ¡°veteran¡± clerk. Having been by Winters¡¯s side for a long time, the fear gradually faded, replaced by relaxation and a sense of closeness.


    Winters dropped the smile and looked at the two Herders, one older and one younger, speaking gravely, ¡°Go home. If you can¡¯t live anymore, come find me, but don¡¯t bring swords next time¡­ Where is the Tie Chi Chieftain now? Please take me to him.¡±


    After the Translator repeated his words in the Herde Language, the young Herder touched his chest in a bow and gestured in a direction.


    ¡°He says to follow him,¡± said the Translator, ¡°He¡¯ll take you to their camp.¡±


    The two Herders led the way, with Winters and his riders following behind.


    ¡°Your Excellency, I really don¡¯t understand what these barbarians are thinking.¡± Mr. Jacob Green, one of the attendants, had witnessed the recent scene, ¡°Previously, they wanted nothing more than to annihilate us, didn¡¯t they? Now they suddenly want to be your slaves? It¡¯s incomprehensible!¡±


    Winters thought for a moment; he had many things he wanted to say, but in the end, he simply replied, ¡°To survive.¡±


    Mr. Jacob Green was keen to continue the conversation, but seeing that the Civil Guard Officer had little interest, he did not pursue the topic further.


    The group soon arrived at the encampment of the Tie Chi Tribe.


    The sight before them was vastly different from the grim, dark den of barbarians Mr. Green had envisioned.


    Since there was no longer a need to fight, the Tie Chi people were all busily trying to find food.


    Skins of various animals hung haphazardly on tree branches, feathers from fowl and birds were blown about by the wind. Some Herders were sharpening bone arrowheads, while others carried fishing rods outwards.


    At a distance, a bowshot away from the camp, Heinrich hoisted the personal flag of the Blood Wolf. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The atmosphere in the Tie Chi encampment changed abruptly, as Herders outside scrambled to return, while those within the camp wanted to watch but dared not get close.


    Winters, with a small troop of riders, waited politely at the entrance of the camp.


    The Herders around were gathering in ever greater numbers, and it was then that Jacob Green realized that the surrendering troops were still half an enemy, as he subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°Sir, why don¡¯t we just go in?¡± Green whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters reassured the accompanying clerks, ¡°we cannot just walk in¡ªwe need to maintain Paratu¡¯s authority as much as possible.¡±


    Soon, trumpets sounded from within the camp, and Paratu led a group of Kota and Nayen out of the camp.


    Winters dismounted as well, and in the eyes of his tribespeople, Paratu was welcoming the champion from Terdun into the camp with equal stature.


    For the victor, this might seem somewhat unfair; had Andre been present, he might even have lost his temper.


    Fortunately, Winters never cared for such things. He had already won and had no need to continue humiliating Paratu.


    Moreover, what Winters least wanted to see was the complete collapse of the Terdun Tribe.


    As soon as they entered the inner tent, both hosts and guests completely dropped their masks.


    They had always been enemies, and they still were. Instead of maintaining false etiquette, it was better to cut to the chase.


    Paratu gestured to dismiss his chieftains, and Winters nodded to his subordinates to be at ease. Only Winters, Paratu, and their respective translators remained in the large tent.


    ¡°[Herde Language] You could strut in here,¡± Paratu struggled to sit on the couch, ¡°[Herde Language] which shows that the Terdun Tribe is finished.¡±


    Winters sat across Paratu and calmly stated, ¡°Indeed, the Firestarter is dead.¡±


    Paratu sighed heavily.


    Winters observed the man¡ªalthough Paratu shared some responsibility for the Firestarter¡¯s fall, his current sorrow seemed genuine.


    Paratu¡¯s demeanor, build, and loud voice often made people overlook his true age, but now he seemed to have suddenly grown white hair and wrinkles, turning into an old man at the end of his life.


    The old Herder asked, ¡°[Herde Language] The Firestarter is dead, how do you plan to deal with my people? Slaughter them all?¡±


    ¡°There indeed was such a plan,¡± Winters replied honestly.


    The Translator¡¯s expression stiffened, unsure whether to translate this statement, but Paratu¡¯s Translator had already whispered it in his ear.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Have your ambush forces arrived outside?¡± Paratu scoffed, ¡°[Herde Language] Why not act?¡±


    ¡°After much deliberation, I concluded that it is more beneficial for my interests to keep you and the Terdun Tribe alive,¡± Winters paused for a moment and then spoke slowly, ¡°Therefore, I will not only let you go, but I will also return your warhorses and weapons to you, along with a hundred carts of food. In addition, I will provide you with the Firestarter¡¯s body.¡±


    The Herder tribes, despite their diverse customs, highly value the act of ¡°[returning the bodies of warriors killed in battle] to their families,¡± a practice that is rewarded handsomely in any clan.


    In certain clans, the one who returns a body can even inherit the deceased¡¯s property and family.


    Receiving the Firestarter¡¯s body signifies the right to organize his funeral, which to a certain extent equals the power to distribute his inheritance.


    Winters looked directly at Paratu, ¡°I have only one request for you and your tribespeople¡ªreturn to the Great Wilderness as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, ¡°Blue Horse¡± and ¡°Stone Arrow¡± returned to the Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing grounds.


    The loss caused by the fire to the Terdun people was immeasurable, for they had no ability to extinguish the blaze and had to flee.


    Humans could escape on horseback, but what about the livestock? What about the tents?


    The livestock that couldn¡¯t be driven away suffocated, and possessions that couldn¡¯t be carried were burnt. The Terdun people, with their remaining belongings, had to migrate once again.


    More dangerous than natural disasters¡ªmost Terdun people still believed the fire was the wrath of the gods¡ªwere the other tribes.


    Now more than ever, the Terdun Tribe urgently needed a large army to deter the covetous gazes of other tribes.


    But the army had been taken by the Firestarter, and it was unknown when it would return. The chieftains left behind had no choice but to convene a ¡°great meeting¡± to discuss matters.


    Some chieftains firmly wanted to wait for the Firestarter¡¯s return, while others subtly suggested that maybe they could temporarily seek refuge with the Haidong Tribe, the Suz Tribe¡­ or simply go their separate ways.


    As the great chieftains argued incessantly at the meeting, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow did their best to bring together every minor chief and leader they could find.


    Blue Horse and Stone Arrow brought good news: a large tribe was willing to offer pasture and protection for the small clans of the Terdun Tribe¡ªthat tribe¡¯s name was ¡°Red River.¡±

 Chapter 866 03-25 - 866 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 866: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand Chapter 866: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand North, the distant north.


    Crossing the Sheltering Mountain Range, passing through the Holy Empire, and moving towards the end of the horizon, until the tumultuous Narrow Sea is reached, one reaches the true north.


    The Venetians complain about the cold, damp winters and dig out long-sleeved clothes from the bottom of their chests;


    The Paratu People curse the bone-chilling winter winds and hide inside tightly sealed houses.


    Little do they know how gentle fate has been to the Senarthians¡ªthe towering Sheltering Mountain Range blocks the cold air from the south, and the vast inland sea acts as a natural heat reservoir, ensuring that the land between the two mountains hardly ever freezes over.


    But in the true north, the god of winter will show his cruel and merciless side.


    Blizzards sweep everything before them, turning all things in the world into a vast expanse of white. The moisture exhaled by animals freezes on their fur, and preserving body heat becomes a matter of life and death.


    In such a world where water turns to ice, a group of people are performing a ritual.


    ...


    A channel is chiseled through the ice on the lake, and a naked boy shivers as he steps into the icy water.


    His body heat rapidly escapes as he strenuously swims to the end of the channel.


    Many onlookers are present, but no one extends a helping hand.


    Thin ice continuously forms on the water¡¯s surface. Were it not for guards with long sticks who promptly smash the ice and remove the floes, the sharp ice shards could prove lethal.


    Mothers close their eyes, while men whisper among themselves that rite of passage is typically held at fifteen years of age, and even then, tragedies often occur; letting an eleven-year-old boy swim across the ice river is far too soon!


    Yet, the boy eventually reaches the opposite shore. As he steps out of the icy water, the crowd gathered around the river bursts into cheers.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    His grandfather approaches the boy and removes his cape from his shoulder to fasten it around the boy.


    Then, by his own hand, the grandfather hangs a ruby-studded dagger at the boy¡¯s waist.


    Dagger, cape, and sword belt¡ªin the minds of those participating in the ritual, when a boy receives these three items, it means he is no longer a child, but a youth, a warrior.


    From this moment on, the boy gains full rights as a ¡°free man.¡±


    Next, the guests are supposed to present gifts to the boy.


    But the boy¡¯s grandfather does something unexpected: he removes the iron crown from his head and casually places it on the boy¡¯s head.


    ¡°Karl, I had a dream,¡± the grandfather lovingly rubs the boy¡¯s fine golden hair, his eyes full of affection, ¡°I dreamed¡ªthat all this would be yours one day.¡±


    A dream doesn¡¯t explain much; it is merely a beautiful blessing from a grandfather to his grandson.


    Yet, at this gloomy moment, the old king¡¯s prophetic words rekindle a glimmer of hope in people¡¯s hearts.


    The nobles attending the ceremony sequentially pile their gifts at the boy¡¯s feet.


    They still have a battle to fight¡ªa battle for survival and existence.


    ¡­


    Most adherents of the Old Church and the Protestant Church are unaware that a group of people still live in the far north, nor do they care.


    However, to those with a better knowledge of geography¡ªsuch as Winters Montagne¡ªthe residents of the far north are undoubtedly barbarians.


    This widespread perception results largely from the Empire¡¯s ¡°long-standing practice of using images of ¡®savages¡¯ and ¡®barbarian tribes¡¯ to distort the image of the north¡¯s ¡®neighbors.''¡±


    Belittling enemies is a consistent narrative strategy of the Empire, describing the northern countries as ¡°barbarians¡± just as it labels the Senas Alliance as ¡°rebels.¡±


    In fact, ever since the Old Church massively sent missionaries to the Coastline of the Narrow Sea four hundred years ago, the northern societies quickly moved away from their original tribal-district forms and entered the feudal era.


    After all, missionaries brought not only scriptures but also advanced technology and culture¡ªhow else could they convince barbarian chiefs to convert without offering something appealing?


    However, what happened next quickly exceeded the Old Church¡¯s expectations.


    Scriptures, culture, and divine arts¡ªarmed with these three treasures, the Old Church expanded its territory unopposed.


    But in the north¡­ they lost control.


    Unlike the old Heretic Religion, which collapsed upon contact, the pantheon faith of the north displayed an unimaginably tenacious vitality.


    Because when the Old Church invaded the north, the Narrow Sea¡¯s shores were still in the ¡°mythical age¡± when demigods walked the earth. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Priests of the north absorbed elements from the Old Church¡¯s faith, such as the ¡°ultimate battle between good and evil,¡± ¡°heaven and hell,¡± and ¡°eternity,¡± and they reorganized the previously chaotic northern mythology into a complete system of beliefs.


    Usually, the more disadvantaged a group is in terms of discourse power, the more conservative it becomes.


    For instance, during the heyday of many dynasties, they could embrace all rivers, yet in times of decay, they often fell into paranoia, seeing everyone as a traitor; religions enforced conversions when rising, yet debated who was more devout during decline.


    If miracles truly exist in this world, then the rebirth of the northern pantheon faith could be considered one of them.


    The battle of beliefs lasted for two hundred years, the Old Church¡¯s clergy against the north¡¯s demigods, the monotheistic religion campaigning against pantheon faith.


    Marked by the successive conversions of the northern kingdoms¡¯ kings, the Old Church won.


    However, Pope Pius II had no time to celebrate, as he discovered something far more terrifying¡ªheresy.


    The issue arose with the ¡°second-generation missionaries.¡±


    Second-generation missionaries broadly refer to the northern peoples who first converted to the Old Church.


    Most of them joined halfway and lacked a complete theological education, moreover, they preached in the language of the northern people.


    It is known that ¡°mis-translating even a single sentence of the scripture might lead the lambs astray,¡± let alone second-generation missionaries recounting the doctrines they understood in a different language.


    Ironically, these very native-born second-generation missionaries contributed significantly to the Old Church¡¯s victory.

 Chapter 867 03-25 - 867 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 867: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_2 Chapter 867: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_2 During the two hundred years of the War of Faith, generations of missionaries repeatedly faced setbacks, and ultimately, developed a strategy incorporating traditional Northern beliefs to assist with evangelization.


    The veneration of saints gradually replaced monotheism, new chapels were erected on the sites of old sacrificial grounds, and the pantheistic festivals were transformed into public church festivals.


    Thanks to various ¡°localization¡± strategies, the second-generation missionaries found great success.


    Then¡­ they were all declared heretical by the Pope of the Second Protection.


    If in the previous two centuries, the struggle between pantheistic faith and the public church could still be described in the literal sense as ¡°persuasion,¡±


    then in the following two centuries, ¡°the critique of weapons¡± completely replaced ¡°the weapons of critique.¡±


    Because the two hundred years of the Northern public church adaptation were also the years of rapid development when tribal-regional structures were smashed and feudal states took shape.


    At the same time, the once devastated and fragmented Holy Empire was once again unified under a single banner, historically known as the ¡°Falconburg Dynasty.¡±


    ...


    [Note: The current ruling dynasty is different from the Falconburg Dynasty, which has become extinct; the crown of the Empire now belongs to the Dynasty of the Blazing Sun.]


    The war continued, only now lords replaced missionaries, swords replaced scriptures, and increasing political factors intermixed with sectarian conflicts.


    In the end, ¡°the campaign against heretics¡± had become a glorified excuse, leaving only two powerful entities attacking each other in the name of holy war.


    The fighting paused and resumed, paused and resumed. Over two hundred years, the Empire nobles and the Northern ¡°barbarians¡± scarcely had any truly peaceful years.


    But all this was about to come to an end¡ªor was it?


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Three days had passed since the boy¡¯s coming of age ceremony. No, he was now a man.


    The young man, ¡°Karl,¡± clutched his grandfather¡¯s cloak and stood dumbly by the bedside.


    His grandfather, who had personally fastened the cloak around him, lay on the bed, no longer breathing, his blood soaking the sheets.


    A 48-pound cannonball shot from the artillery had struck the charging old king off his horse, and the elderly man had passed away before he could be brought back.


    For the old king, dying in his final charge may have been the best way to die, sparing him the grief of witnessing his army collapse and his nation perish:


    Brand new cast-iron cannons had destroyed ancient walls, spears and muskets had overcome shields and swords, and disciplined armies had triumphed over the brave yet unfearless forces;


    High-ranking warrior bishops who slaughtered like demigods, clad in heavy armor and wielding warhammers, were executed en masse by ¡°nameless foot soldiers¡±;


    Company formations, light cannons, and medium cavalry that balanced striking power and speed shone brilliantly.


    The sound of spurs striking the floor echoed down the corridor.


    The bedroom door swung open, and a nonchalant, magnetic voice inquired, ¡°Where is Karl XI?¡±


    The owner of the voice stopped abruptly upon seeing the body of the old king on the bed.


    He removed his helmet, revealing fair blonde hair and a handsome face.


    At any countess¡¯s banquet, this face would have surely been the favorite amongst both married and single ladies.


    Yet for a general commanding an army, this face looked surprisingly young. Thirty years old? Perhaps younger?


    The blonde-haired young general bowed deeply to the body of the old king.


    ¡°Are you the prince?¡± The blonde-haired man bent down, asking Xiao Karl gently, ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    Xiao Karl shook his head.


    The blonde-haired man scoffed and instructed his accompanying officer, ¡°Fetch the royal steward from the palace, prepare the funeral for Karl XI.¡±


    The officer hesitated but ultimately turned to carry out the orders.


    Another vice general removed his helmet, revealing chestnut-colored hair.


    With a sense of resignation, he said, ¡°Duke Congrif is the chief commander, you should ¡®consult¡¯ him regardless.¡±


    ¡°Fine, you go,¡± replied the blonde-haired man casually, ¡°I have other matters to attend to.¡±


    The chestnut-haired sighed, turned, and left to take care of his friend¡¯s affairs.


    ¡°There was something I wanted Karl XI to do himself,¡± said the blonde-haired man, looking at Xiao Karl, ¡°Now you must do it.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xiao Karl was led out of the castle, and he watched in horror as the city, blanketed in snow, was defiled by blood and fire.


    The invading Imperial soldiers looted, set fires, and raped without restraint; the army had just fought a grueling siege in the harsh winter, and their pent-up negative emotions needed only a spark to explode.


    In the city¡¯s central square, a temporary execution platform had been erected.


    Clergy, once considered sacred and untouchable, were now herded like sheep to the guillotine.


    The great axe spared no mercy, and ¡°heretic priests¡± were beheaded one by one.


    The blonde-haired man clearly disliked what he saw, but he clearly didn¡¯t intend to stop it.


    A dizzy Imperial soldier barged towards the blonde-haired man¡¯s bodyguards, but immediately sobered up upon seeing the blonde-haired man¡¯s banner and knelt to pay his respects.


    Unimpeded, the blonde-haired man led Xiao Karl out of the city.


    After they left the city, they turned northwest, and soon reached the shore.


    The Narrow Sea stretched out before them.


    The blonde-haired man waved his hand, and an attendant took out a plain wooden box, offering it with great care.


    He unlocked his gorget, removed a key hanging around his neck, and solemnly opened the box.


    In the center, cushioned by silk and cotton, lay two bottles.


    Two very ordinary bottles, made of glass;


    Yet also two exquisitely delicate bottles, for the glass was devoid of any impurities, purely transparent.

 Chapter 868 03-25 - 868 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 868: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_3 Chapter 868: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_3 ¡°Go.¡± A light blond looked at Xiao Karl, ¡°Fill one bottle with sea water, and another with beach sand.¡±


    ¡°You can rest assured, Your Majesty won¡¯t kill you. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ll have to live in the Eternal City for the rest of your life. But the Eternal City is much better than the North¡­¡± The light blond¡¯s attitude showed no pretense, he said somewhat absent-mindedly, ¡°At least it¡¯s not as cold as it is here, really cold.¡±


    Karl, holding his cloak, gazed at the tumultuous Narrow Sea, looking towards the intermittently visible land on the other side, and responded softly, ¡°I like the cold.¡±


    The glass bottles filled with the water and sand of the Narrow Sea were carefully sealed with lacquer and placed back in the wooden box.


    Following this, a dashing cavalry escorted the wooden box as they galloped southwards.


    Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers and passing through numerous barriers, the wooden box was delivered to the heart of the Empire¡ªthe Worry-Free Palace.


    And the transparent glass bottles filled with the water and sand of the Narrow Sea were finally gently placed on a simple writing desk by a pair of hands.


    ...


    ¡°Your Majesty, congratulations.¡± Earl Narzia placed down the glass bottle, bowing deeply, ¡°The Great Northern War, which extended over two hundred years, has been concluded by you. And the Far North route¡ªwill be thoroughly interconnected.¡±


    The man seated behind the desk put down his pen and did something he had never done before¡ªhe slowly turned around to look at the portrait hanging behind him.


    A majestic elder in military attire met his gaze.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in a place far to the south.


    Tang Juan was furiously criticizing Winters Montagne.


    Regardless of whatever earth-shattering events were occurring in the distant North, for the people in Iron Peak County, it all seemed like mumbles from an unknown land.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    The people of Iron Peak County did not know nor care about what the world looked like.


    Their most pressing concern now was¡ªsurvival. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Where is the food? Where is the water? Where is the place to live? When can we go home?


    ¡°My thighs are all chafed! Both sides! It hurts even to pee!¡± Tang Juan angrily pulled arrows from a corpse, ¡°Who treats people like this!¡±


    Andre pretended not to hear, flipping over the gold-stitched coat to inspect the holes.


    In front of Andre lay a campsite scattered with corpses, where the first cavalry squad was cleaning up the battlefield.


    Due to Hurd¡¯s ¡°Scattered Flower¡± organizational structure, Tie Chi could not fully control the people of Terdun in Iron Peak County.


    In fact, when Tie Chi¡¯s forces entered central Iron Peak County, some people from Terdun who had crossed the river earlier failed to rendezvous with Tie Chi. This was either due to poor communication or simply because they had looted enough and no longer wanted to risk more.


    In any case, these parts of Terdun¡¯s people were acting independently, stuck in lower Iron Peak County for lacking a boat to cross the river.


    And since they did not follow Tie Chi, these people of Terdun naturally did not surrender.


    Without clearing these remnants of Terdun, Winters could not arrange for the refugees of lower Iron Peak County to return home.


    Winters had Tie Chi send people to negotiate their surrender¡ªsafe departure in exchange for their loot. If negotiations failed, the cleanup cavalry would come next.


    All of Iron Peak County¡¯s horse-mounted squads were currently engaged in this ¡°grand battle¡± to exterminate the remnants of Terdun, including the cavalry squads of Andre and Tang Juan, of course.


    Andre, looking towards the horizon, stroked his stubbled chin, ¡°Senior?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Tang Juan was making sure each corpse was really dead by stabbing them one by one.


    ¡°I kind of miss home.¡±


    Tang Juan raised his head, suddenly breaking into a smile, ¡°I do too.¡±


    ¡­


    Two Sea Blue people were homesick, but what about the third?


    Whether Winters missed home or not, others couldn¡¯t say, as he had no one around to confide in.


    But one thing was certain¡ªsomeone back home was thinking of him.


    Winters stood outside the door, taking a deep breath, unsure how to face the person on the other side.

 Chapter 869 03-25 - 869 4 Father and Son

    ?Chapter 869: Chapter 4 Father and Son Chapter 869: Chapter 4 Father and Son ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing Winters holding the doorknob without moving, Moritz¡¯s expression was somewhat complex, ¡°You called me back, not just to help you take the blame, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters replied with righteousness and solemnity. ¡°The information about the unidentified spell user must be explained by you personally.¡±


    ¡°Sooner or later this day would come,¡± Moritz chuckled lightly, saying leisurely, ¡°There¡¯s no escape.¡±


    The colonel seemed forthright, but in reality, he had completely given up struggling, known colloquially as¡ªa dead mouse no longer fears the cold.


    Unable to escape, Winters steeled himself and knocked on the door.


    A rich male voice came from the room: ¡°Please come in.¡±


    Winters stiffly pushed open the door, doing his best to greet calmly and casually, ¡°Colonel Buka Chino¡­ Your alias is rather casual.¡±


    ...


    Following behind and entering the room, Colonel Moritz stood erect and saluted seriously: ¡°General.¡±


    Lieutenant General Antonio Serviati of the Vineta Republic Army nodded in return, then looked towards Winters.


    When exactly did the father realize his son had reached a position equal to his own? We do not know.


    There must have been a catalyst, when the lion saw its cub had grown a full mane, and the father realized his son had become an adult.


    When that inevitable moment arrived, the emotions surging in the father¡¯s heart were not only of relief and joy but also of sadness and anger.


    Some fathers choose to embrace it calmly, while others never bear it in their lifetime.


    Antonio was looking at Winters Montagne like that, from left to right, from head to toe.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    Like an artisan admiring the work he was most proud of in his life, and like a lion observing its challenger.


    Being scrutinized made Winters somewhat uncomfortable, so he also stood to attention and saluted formally.


    Yet Antonio did not return the salute; instead, he placed a hand on Winters¡¯s shoulder, burdened and yet relieved, declaring, ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯ve gotten old.¡±


    Winters, that mischievous brat, couldn¡¯t possibly comprehend Antonio¡¯s emotions. He was still young, like a rising sun, and had never been a father.


    Unless one day, he was defeated by his own children¡ªAnglu, Xial, Bell¡ªwhom he had raised with his own hands, only then might he understand one ten-thousandth of the tumult in Antonio¡¯s heart at that moment.


    Sadly, the little ones had not yet reached their ¡°rebellious phase.¡± Whenever they saw Winters, they behaved as loyal as puppies, only knowing how to wag their tails vigorously. Naturally, Winters could not understand Antonio.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t be like this,¡± Winters awkwardly managed. ¡°The colonel has something to report to you.¡±


    After saying that, Winters looked at Moritz with eyes pleading for rescue. The message was clear: Help!


    Moritz was very aware of the specific reason he had been sought out.


    He stepped back half a step and asked politely, ¡°General, shall I visit later?¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The room was completely quiet.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Antonio waved his hand and sat back down at his desk, gesturing for Winters and Moritz to take a seat as well.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief internally.


    When Winters was very young, Antonio had once told him something. Winters had completely forgotten the exact words but remembered the gist was ¡°We are men, men do not share emotions with each other.¡±


    Antonio did so, and so did Winters learn.


    The harsh military academy education reinforced this point¡ªin a society comprised solely of men, the weak were bullied.


    Thus, faced with his foster father¡¯s sudden emotional outburst, Winters was slightly at a loss.


    He had anticipated many scenarios, but never had he thought Antonio would say, ¡°Alas, I¡¯m old.¡±


    Fortunately, the hardest part was now behind him. Winters sat down properly and selectively narrated his experiences after leaving the Red River Tribe¡ªomitting some of the more arrogant aspects.


    During the storytelling, Winters carefully watched Antonio¡¯s expressions.


    He was actually very afraid, afraid that his foster father would dismissively comment, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just playing house?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t care how others judged him¡ªor rather, he chose not to care. But he hoped to get his foster father¡¯s recognition, even the slightest bit of approval.


    Antonio didn¡¯t make any judgments; he just listened patiently, nodding occasionally, asking questions from time to time.


    The only praise Antonio offered was: ¡°Your soldiers are not bad, although their equipment and training are poor, their spirit is very good.¡±


    After Winters finished talking, Antonio turned to Moritz: ¡°An unidentified spell user, in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Moritz¡¯s tone became very formal, ¡°The expression form of non-natural phenomena is consistent with the conditions described in the ¡®Red Sulfur Island Report.¡¯ Based on this, it is inferred that the Terdon Tribe can control high-ranking spell users.¡±


    Winters heard a strange combination of words: ¡°Red Sulfur Island Report.¡±


    He looked at his foster father and former superior, obviously among the three present, only he was unaware of what the ¡®Red Sulfur Island Report¡¯ was.


    Moritz continued speaking: ¡°However, it¡¯s strange that in the next two major battles, the Terdon Tribe did not receive any support from high-ranking spell users.¡±


    After learning that ¡°a huge wave appeared out of nowhere and capsized the Iron Peak County fleet,¡± Colonel Moritz van Nassau had disappeared.


    To be precise, Moritz started acting independently, no longer following Mason¡¯s assignments, nor providing direct support to the Iron Peak County Military.

 Chapter 870 03-25 - 870 4 Father and Son_2

    ?Chapter 870: Chapter 4 Father and Son_2 Chapter 870: Chapter 4 Father and Son_2 Mason was initially quite annoyed, half-jokingly and half-complainingly calling the Lieutenant Colonel ¡°into hunting mode.¡±


    Winters could understand Moritz¡¯s decision because he felt the same.


    Although direct combat spellcasters were also terrifying, unknown spellcasters were the most dangerous.


    Any high-value target could possibly be killed without a chance to react if they appeared before a hidden spellcaster.


    Thus, in the main battle with the fire-starters, Winters didn¡¯t join the assault until the very last moment, which infuriated Bard to the brink of madness, and Xial was also severely reprimanded in the process.


    Considering that the Terdon Tribe might have spellcasters, Bard strictly forbade Winters from participating in any actions that might expose him, and Winters even wrote a letter of guarantee.


    Of course, it was proven later that the letter of guarantee was but waste paper ¨C without Bard, without Mason, who else could control the Blood Wolf?


    ...


    Antonio pondered before asking, ¡°Is there a chance that it¡¯s one of Hurd¡¯s shamans or someone who practices Divine Arts?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. But judging from the actual situation, it¡¯s more likely to be a magician. Spellcasters from The Federated Provinces, or perhaps¡­¡± Moritz paused for a moment before slowly pronouncing a proper noun: ¡°Oath Breaker.¡±


    Antonio was not surprised, his fingertips lightly tapping on the tabletop; ¡°Finish the report as soon as possible, and I will personally take it back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters knew the content of his foster father and the Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s conversation had entered unknown territory for him, and although he could guess the rough idea, he still wanted to hear more.


    However, the conversation between Antonio and Moritz had ended.


    Antonio looked toward Winters, whose heart immediately tightened, quickly changing the subject: ¡°I know someone who should be familiar with the ins and outs of the Terdon Tribe! The details about the spellcasters, he¡¯s likely to be aware of them.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Oh? Who is that?¡±


    ¡°The advisor to the fire-starters, who usually wanders the Terdon tents in the guise of a Translator.¡± Winters tried hard to recall the man¡¯s name, quickly giving up: ¡°As for his real name¡­ I don¡¯t know it right now.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°He could be mixed in with the prisoners, he might still be on the run, or he might be dead.¡± Winters was certain: ¡°But he definitely can¡¯t leave Iron Peak County; he¡¯s between the two rivers.¡±


    Winters then explained: ¡°This man speaks the common tongue very well; with a change of clothes, he looks like any other old man. The identification of the heads and prisoners isn¡¯t complete yet, and not all the fleeing Terdon people have been caught, so his whereabouts are unclear. But sooner or later, he will be caught ¨C dead or alive.¡±


    There was another moment of silence in the room, and Antonio shook his head: ¡°We can talk about those things later, let¡¯s talk about you now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised that you¡¯re in Iron Peak County.¡± Winters could hardly accept it even now, as if he was dreaming: ¡°What about the third legion? Has the situation with The Federated Provinces eased? How¡­ how did you come here?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t come,¡± Antonio sighed, ¡°then who else could take you away?¡±


    Uh oh, the thing Winters was worried about had come.


    ¡°You heartless boy,¡± Antonio reproached, looking at Winters: ¡°Leaving your sister and your aunt all in Sea Blue, you¡­ what am I to say to you?¡±


    Winters hung his head, unable to answer.


    His greatest fear had finally arrived. Until this moment, he kept convincing himself that ¡°everything in Sea Blue is fine.¡±


    But when his foster father stood before him, questioning him, he had no answer to give.


    If Antonio said, ¡°Come back home with me.¡±


    What then?


    If Antonio questioned, ¡°Are the Paratu People more important than your own family?¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What should he do?


    He might really go back to Vineta with his foster father, because for Winters Montagne, nothing was more important than family ¨C nothing at all.


    But he couldn¡¯t leave Iron Peak County, he couldn¡¯t go, at least not now.


    So, until that moment arrived, Winters had no idea what he would choose, he could only hope that his foster father would not utter those words.


    Moritz tactfully excused himself: ¡°I¡¯ll come back to visit later.¡±


    Winters grabbed the Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s arm, his speech slow and difficult: ¡°I can¡¯t leave¡­ at least not now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Antonio asked.


    ¡°Captain Montaigne can testify,¡± Winters pleaded, looking at his foster father like a child aware of his own wrongdoing: ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m prideful, but it¡¯s the truth ¨C if I leave now, Iron Peak County will be done for!¡±


    ¡°One county will not collapse because of one person¡¯s departure,¡± Antonio said sternly, ¡°Return Iron Peak County to the New Reclamation Legion; they are capable of taking over.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion won¡¯t forgive my subordinates, and the New Reclamation Legion won¡¯t fulfill my promises,¡± Winters stubbornly retorted, ¡°The New Reclamation Legion can¡¯t do it as well as I did¡­ it¡¯s not that they lack the ability, but they can¡¯t do it like me.¡±


    With a sigh, Moritz earnestly said to the general, ¡°To some extent, I agree with what Captain Montaigne has said.¡±


    ¡°There are still many things I haven¡¯t done yet.¡± The balance tipped between family is on one side and the countless corpses on the battlefield on the other, tearing Winters apart: ¡°Those who died in battle, their families haven¡¯t received any compensation yet. The soldiers lost in the wilderness haven¡¯t been ransomed back. Lower Iron Peak County was burnt to the ground by me, Middle Iron Peak County was smashed to pieces¡­ at least I should restore them to their original state¡­¡±

 Chapter 871 03-25 - 871 4 Father and Son_3

    ?Chapter 871: Chapter 4 Father and Son_3 Chapter 871: Chapter 4 Father and Son_3 Antonio looked at his son, ¡°This isn¡¯t your responsibility.¡±


    ¡°It is my responsibility! I sent them into battle, I led them to their deaths. I knew they would die! The massacre on the flanks was certain, yet I placed them there anyway¡ªI knew the Terdun people would kill them, I knew it from the start.¡± Winters¡¯ body trembled violently as the never-healed scars in his soul were slowly exposed, ¡°Those men, they went to war because they trusted me, yet what have I done? I fed their flesh and blood to the wolves¡­¡±


    Antonio wanted to embrace his son, but he couldn¡¯t do that anymore.


    ¡°You can¡¯t cry,¡± Antonio said, ¡°If you choose this path, you can¡¯t cry.¡±


    Then he was silent for a long time before he began to recount slowly, ¡°The old Marshall once told us a joke, he said, ¡®Common wisdom advises a general to care for his soldiers as if they were his sons, for then they will willingly die for you. But if a general truly cares for his soldiers like his own sons, how could he bear to send them into battle?''¡±


    ¡°At that time, we all laughed.¡± Antonio also smiled briefly, his thoughts slowly sinking into memories, ¡°Your father was laughing, I was laughing.¡±


    ¡°But now, my child,¡± Antonio looked at Winters, his eyes filled with indescribable pain, ¡°I regret letting you take this road.¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain range, in the heart of the Empire¡ªthe Worry-Free Palace.


    News of the victory had already reached the Eternal City, and the thoroughfares were adorned with colorful banners to celebrate the triumph.


    Thirteen triangular pennants hung from every rope strung across the streets, representing the thirteen victories the Empire¡¯s army had achieved in the northern territories over the past two plus years.


    The great bells of the churches also rang out thirteen peals to summon the faithful to behold the Victory Mass.


    The grand banquet hall of the Worry-Free Palace was brightly lit and festooned with flowers, as courtiers of all ranks gathered there to offer their congratulations to the great Emperor.


    But these were only preliminary modest celebrations because the victors had not yet returned to the Eternal City.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    When the generals arrived with the spoils of war and prisoners, there would be an even grander and more spectacular triumphal procession and presentation of captives.


    His Majesty would personally attend the great coliseum in a magnificent chariot drawn by four white horses, with the barbarians¡¯ battle flags, weapons, and treasures thrown at the steps of his throne.


    Then would come an endless feast to be recorded in the annals of history, with gifts for every participant.


    Therefore, both nobility and commoners of the Eternal City were eagerly anticipating a dreamlike grand triumph.


    As joyous victory songs played and toasts were exchanged in the grand banquet hall, the guest of honor sat alone in a small office.


    The door cracked open.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Earl Narzia called from outside the door, ¡°the Prince has arrived.¡±


    Without requiring any action from the Emperor, Earl Narzia understood His Majesty¡¯s wishes.


    The door swung fully open, and a young man entered the room.


    In appearance, the youth was a tall, handsome, and dashing lad, whose demeanor and grace suggested a privileged upbringing.


    But that was all; after all, his age was still young, and in the Empire where a beard signified a man¡¯s standing, a hairless mouth never spoke with much authority.


    However, when people knew who the young man¡¯s father was, when they realized the youth was the Empire¡¯s legitimate heir, this youth not yet twenty years old suddenly became sacrosanct and inviolable.


    Interestingly, if the elderly man in the oil painting bore a nine-out-of-ten resemblance to the Emperor standing before the portrait, the young man inherited only one-tenth of that likeness.


    People said it was because the Empress¡¯s family bloodline was too dominant. Of course, there were also darker rumors that quietly spread through the sewers. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The door closed completely, leaving only father and son alone together.


    The room was dark, illuminated by only one lamp.


    The young prince squinted his eyes but didn¡¯t dare to look up directly at his father behind the desk, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Come here,¡± the Emperor spoke.


    The young prince moved a few steps forward.


    ¡°Come to my side.¡± The person in the shadow of the lamp seemed to be smiling.


    The prince was somewhat surprised but walked steadily to the side of the desk.


    Although the Emperor remained unsmiling in front of the prince, the prince keenly sensed that his father had become a bit emotional¡­ just a bit.


    The Emperor stood, and under his command, the young prince took a seat in the Emperor¡¯s chair.


    It was not the throne; the coronation throne was placed in the main hall.


    Anyone close to the highest power knew that it was this utterly unadorned chair in the small office corner of Worry-Free Palace that truly represented the ultimate authority of the Empire.


    ¡°How does it feel?¡± the Emperor asked with interest.


    The young prince shifted uncomfortably, ¡°It¡¯s very hard.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s hard, it chafes the buttocks.¡± The Emperor seemed in high spirits today, even explaining to his son, ¡°But if you use a soft cushion, you¡¯ll sweat from sitting too long, and it will be damp and uncomfortable.¡±


    With a pleasant demeanor from the Emperor, the son grew increasingly apprehensive.


    The great father was the son¡¯s greatest obstacle; in the young prince¡¯s eyes, the divine aspect of his father far outweighed his human side, to which he was more accustomed.


    But when the god took on a human guise, when the Emperor became a father, the young prince felt somewhat uneasy.


    The Emperor¡¯s fingertips traced over the indentations and engravings on the desk, ¡°This desk is made from the timber of a warship; starting from my father, it has been used for daily office work.¡±


    The prince glanced over the desk surface, which bore not only stains of ink but also the distorted letters carved by a child, a very old desk indeed.


    ¡°From when I can remember, my father,¡± the Emperor locked eyes with the old man beyond the desk, ¡°would work here. From dawn until deep into the night. At noon, he would walk in the garden. After dinner, he would take a stroll in the streets.¡±


    The prince had certainly heard the stories of the former Emperor, but what he knew better was that after a failed assassination attempt, the former Emperor no longer ventured outside the bounds of Worry-Free Palace.


    ¡°Every day was like this, if he was not on inspection tours, in battle, or receiving his subjects, he would be working here,¡± the Emperor looked towards his son, ¡°Every day, just like this. Only very late would he rest.¡±


    Was the former Emperor really so diligent? The prince didn¡¯t understand very well.


    ¡°But do you know what people called him?¡± the Emperor asked.


    The question reached something the prince knew about, but he dared not answer.


    The Emperor said calmly, ¡°Richard, the madman.¡±


    Richard III, the mad Emperor who had lost all the territories south of the Sheltering Mountains, was known by everyone far and wide.


    ¡°When I was small, people honored my father as a brave man, a handsome man, and a devout one. But when he died, they called him a madman.¡± The Emperor asked, ¡°What do you think people will call me after I die?¡±


    ¡°The Great Emperor,¡± the prince answered.


    ¡°No,¡± the Emperor said with a smile, ¡°they will call me¡ªHenry, the betrayer of holy oaths.¡±

 Chapter 872 03-25 - 872 5 Absolute Punishment

    ?Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Leaving Antonio, Moritz inexplicably asked Winters, ¡°Do you know of ¡®Solomon¡¯s Judgment¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The case involving splitting the child in two?¡± Winters did not understand what the Colonel meant but earnestly replied, ¡°It seems I¡¯ve seen frescoes of it.¡±


    ¡°The mother who did not love the child agreed to have the child split in two, but the mother who deeply loved the child would rather give the child away,¡± Moritz took on the attitude of an elder for the first time in front of Winters and said with emotion, ¡°But you should know how hard it is for the latter to let go at that moment.¡±


    In the end, Antonio Serviati did not forcefully demand as a father that Winters return with him to Vineta.


    On the contrary, he made no demands at all.


    As if fully understanding the struggle in Winters¡¯ heart, Antonio chose not to present Winters with a ¡°choose one of two¡± decision.


    He merely told Winters that Vineta ¡°might¡± intervene in the Paratu civil war.


    ...


    Because of his foster father¡¯s arrival, Winters finally shook off the information shackles of Iron Peak County and was able to understand the big picture within the Alliance:


    Over the past year, the tension between Vineta and The Federated Provinces in the archipelago gradually cooled off because both sides were building fortifications and fixing strongholds.


    Nowadays, whether it¡¯s The Federated Provinces or Vineta, if they want to completely drive out the other from the archipelago, they must chew on one hard bone after another.


    This phenomenon is almost a replica of the late stage of the sovereignty war, when the old field marshal had specifically coined a military term to describe it¡ª¡±Fortressization.¡±


    The rapid ¡°fortressization¡± of Tanyria resulted in the cost of a military breakthrough in the archipelago skyrocketing, even to the extent that both sides could not afford it.


    Since it was difficult to make headway in the archipelago, opening a new battlefield to exert pressure on The Federated Provinces had become the mainstream thought within the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office.


    Rivers ultimately flow into the sea, and in the struggle between Vineta and The Federated Provinces, there are but four leverages: S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    The archipelago and the inner sea¡ªthis is the current focal point of contention;


    Far sea trade routes and colonies¡ªhitting The Federated Provinces¡¯ overseas trade seems to be an effective way to exert pressure. However, it takes too long to take effect, and the interests of both sides overseas are largely intertwined, flourishing or declining together.


    There is also another more dangerous place, where the two ¡°butt heads¡± directly¡ªthe Torrent River.


    The Torrent River is the border river between the two countries, and Vineta¡¯s fourth ¡°Emerald¡± Corps is currently facing off against The Federated Provinces¡¯ second ¡°Torrent River¡± Corps across the river.


    Reinforcing the Torrent River can directly pressure The Federated Provinces¡¯ homeland, but once a spark ignites, it means Vineta and The Federated Provinces would completely tear their faces apart and go to full-scale war.


    And this¡­ is exactly what those in the Governor¡¯s Office least want to see.


    ¡°What on earth is the Great Regent doing?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°Not wanting to fight yet rolling up sleeves. And when it¡¯s time to roll up sleeves, hesitating. This¡­ isn¡¯t this like holding a candlelight ball in an arsenal?¡±


    Antonio looked out the window, ¡°Some people prepare weapons to use them, some people prepare weapons so as not to use them.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Winters cautiously asked, ¡°Will Vineta and The Federated Provinces eventually be unable to avoid war?¡±


    ¡°We are weapons,¡± Antonio said dispassionately, ¡°Weapons should try not to think.¡±


    Winters wanted to retort but instead found himself blurting out an ¡°Oh¡± out of nowhere.


    ¡°But if it can be resolved peacefully, it¡¯s better not to fight,¡± Antonio sighed, ¡°There are also voices within the Alliance calling for de-escalation, calling for peace. In a few months, it will be Varn¡¯s turn to host the ¡®United Assembly,¡¯ and Debela, the Great Regent, and The Federated Provinces¡¯ Secretary of State will attend¡­¡±


    The United Assembly, a biennial event where representatives of all member states of the Alliance meet, hosted by different countries in rotation.


    A glint of hope shone in Antonio¡¯s pupils, ¡°If everyone has the opportunity to sit down and have a good talk, maybe everything could be resolved peacefully¡ªthat would be for the best.¡±


    In short, the only suitable point for Vineta to exert efforts without direct conflict with The Federated Provinces is the Paratu civil war.


    Moreover, Vineta had ample reason to interfere in the Paratu civil war: debt default.


    Even the debt default was just a pretext; the crux of the issue was this: Vineta¡¯s ruling parliament absolutely did not want the emergence of a Paratu government friendly to The Federated Provinces.


    ¡°What extent is Vineta prepared to intervene in the Paratu civil war?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It depends on the situation,¡± Antonio replied.


    ¡°Wait and see? That¡¯s too ambiguous.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is¡ª¡¯it depends on the situation,''¡± Antonio told Winters unabashedly, ¡°In fact, the Five-Man Group is still waiting for next year¡¯s United Assembly. Debela prefers to talk before making a decision. As far as I see it, it¡¯s the same on The Federated Provinces¡¯ side, and even the smell of gunpowder in Tanyria has been considerably diluted.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the United Assembly¡­ will achieve any results?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Antonio simply answered as he shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. Let¡¯s talk about you.¡±


    Winters tensed up inside.


    ¡°If Vineta intervenes in the Paratu civil war,¡± Antonio analyzed the pros and cons for Winters, ¡°then the Third Republic will be an ally of Vineta. You could hand over Iron Peak County to the Paratu military government. This isn¡¯t abandoning the people who trust you¡ªyou can negotiate with the Third Republic for the best terms for Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters had a rough idea of what his foster father was about to say.


    ¡°In Paratu, your Venetian identity will eventually become your shackle, while the opposite is true in Vineta,¡± Antonio patiently explained, ¡°This will be the best chance to ¡®let go.''¡±


    The shimmering sea, the bustling docks, the childhood room, the aroma wafting from the kitchen, the cat scratching the door in the middle of the night¡­ all these had appeared in Winters¡¯ dreams.


    Did he not miss them?


    Of course, he missed them!


    The longer he lived in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, the stronger the memory of the jewel of the sea¡ªSea Blue¡ªbecame.


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Please let me think about this some more.¡±


    ¡°This matter is not urgent; you have plenty of time to think,¡± Antonio put his hand on Winters¡¯ shoulder, ¡°Listen, child¡­¡±


    Antonio looked into Winters¡¯ eyes, deliberately saying each word, ¡°Home is a place you can always return to at any time.¡±


    Winters lowered his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about anything, don¡¯t worry about anything,¡± Antonio repeated, ¡°No matter when, you can always go home.¡±


    ¡°No matter when, you can always go home¡±¡ªsomehow, this simple phrase almost shattered Winters¡¯ psychological defenses.


    Silence, long silence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry,¡± Antonio let go of his hand, joking, ¡°A man must not shed tears so easily.¡±


    Winters tried to change the subject, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about me anymore¡­ Your arrival in Paratu, I still find it incredible. What about the Third Legion?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even without me, Da Vineta wouldn¡¯t fall into chaos.¡±


    ¡°I still¡­ can¡¯t accept¡­¡± Winters¡¯s linguistic ability became somewhat clumsy, ¡°In my memory, you should always be steadfast at your post¡­¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have been me, but who else could bring you back?¡± Antonio seemed to convince himself, ¡°A true man has his aspirations spread far and wide, a true man has his aspirations spread far and wide.¡±


    If it had been Winters from two years ago, he probably wouldn¡¯t have felt anything.


    But the Winters of the moment keenly sensed something amiss, an illogical gap in the logical chain: why his foster father would come to Iron Peak County.


    In Winters¡¯s memory and understanding, his foster father had never neglected his public duties for personal reasons.


    Just to find himself, he left the Vineta Army in Tanyria?


    Winters thought this matter was both reasonable and unreasonable.


    Unless¡ªunless his foster father bore another mission. That is to say, this was not a simple ¡°quest for his son,¡± nor was it neglecting public duties for personal reasons.


    If that was the case, everything would make sense!


    ¡°You came to Paratu¡­¡± Winters felt a mix of emotions, probing, ¡°Uh, is there something else?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is one more thing,¡± replied Antonio nonchalantly.


    ¡°What?¡± Winters became even more perplexed.


    ¡°Warhorses.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°The Third Legion needs warhorses, many of them.¡±


    ¡°Warhorse?¡± Winters asked dubiously, ¡°Is such a trifle worth your personal visit?¡±


    ¡°After the civil war in Paratu began, Vineta¡¯s channels for obtaining warhorses were completely severed,¡± Antonio did not intend to discuss the matter further, asking Winters directly, ¡°How many warhorses do you have in hand now?¡±


    Winters initially wanted to explain that most of the horses in Iron Peak County were captured Herder horses, different from the typical Paratu warhorses.


    Moreover, warhorses cannot be driven directly from the high-altitude Paratu to the low-altitude Vineta, and the transportation process is quite troublesome.


    But Antonio surely knew these issues better than Winters.


    So Winters sighed, clenched his teeth, and asked, ¡°Then how many do you need?¡±


    Antonio smiled, not quite smiling, ¡°Three thousand.¡±


    Three thousand, not the draft horses or mules, but the kind that could be ridden into battle as warhorses.


    If you totaled all of Vineta Army¡¯s warhorses, including each officer¡¯s personal steeds, there might be only that many.


    After all, Vineta and Paratu had starkly different natural endowments. Paratu could easily arm fifty cavalry squadrons, whereas Vineta had only two cavalry brigades, one shared between the Third and Fourth Legions.


    Winters wanted to shout, ¡°Three thousand? Where am I supposed to find you three thousand warhorses? Three thousand? I might as well return to Vineta with you! Three thousand? What do you need so many warhorses for? Can the small island of Tanyria even make use of them?¡±


    In the end, Winters suppressed his emotional fluctuations.


    His face flushed, he mustered courage, and countered, ¡°Then¡­ how much are you willing to pay?¡±


    ¡­


    The end of the war brought the gradual restoration of normal traffic inside and outside Iron Peak County, and many people who had been unable to meet due to the war finally had their reunions.


    Like Winters and Antonio.


    And, Father Kaman with the mysterious Father Saul.


    After Winters began cleaning up Iron Peak County, the Panto River ford was reopened, and a small militia escorted Father Saul to Saint Town.


    Father Kaman took the initiative to apply to Bard: to be the one to verify Father Saul¡¯s identity.


    The meeting took place in the small worship room of the Saint Town church, with no one present in the room besides Kaman and Saul; Kaman even forbade others from entering the adjacent rooms.


    But even if someone eavesdropped at the door, they would hear nothing.


    Because Kaman and Saul communicated with sign language.


    The light slanted in through a small window, watched over by the Virgin Mary, Kaman and Saul communicated silently.


    With just a few simple gestures, Kaman had verified Saul¡¯s identity.


    ¡°I have heard of you, Brother Saul,¡± Kaman¡¯s attitude was very respectful, quite different from his impatience with Winters.


    ¡°When I entered the wilderness, this place was still a Herder stone pile,¡± Saul gazed at the holy image, ¡°Please contact the brothers from the ¡®Reformist Order¡¯ for me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I must tell you,¡± Kaman looked strange, clearing his throat before speaking, for the following content could not be conveyed through sign language, ¡°Twenty-five years ago, Pope Pius V deemed the Reformist Order a heretical order.¡±


    ¡°The Reformist Order has been disbanded,¡± Kaman could hardly bear to look at the old man, ¡°All members of the Reformist Order, both deceased and living, have been excommunicated.¡±

 Chapter 873 03-25 - 873 6 Tears

    ?Chapter 873: Chapter 6 Tears Chapter 873: Chapter 6 Tears Some people come, others must go.


    Less than ten days had passed since the collapse of Terdun¡¯s Khan Court, and the remnant enemies had not yet been completely eradicated, but many civilians, eager to go home, already embarked on their journey.


    On the various roads of both Upper and Lower Iron Peak County, groups of men, women, the elderly, and children trudged toward the direction of their homes.


    Their houses might have been burnt to ashes, their stored grain pillaged, yet why they hastened to return was unclear to anyone.


    Perhaps there was a faint yet distinct voice in everyone¡¯s heart, ¡°As long as we go home, there will always be a way¡±.


    Apart from those returning home, a considerable number chose to stay in Saint Town.


    Most of those who stayed were of a younger and stronger age, predominantly ¡°militia¡±, among whom many had taken part in the recent war.


    ...


    Although the war was over and the militia forces had officially been disbanded, many militiamen lingered in the camps, unwilling to leave.


    Because as long as they stayed, they could at least have two meals a day.


    But there might be another reason why the militiamen stayed.


    ¡°Before the Sovereignty Wars, Vineta¡¯s major commercial city-states relied on mercenaries for fighting,¡± Antonio explained slowly. ¡°One common situation among mercenary groups ¡ª many veterans curse war, yet spend their entire lives in the corps. Some veterans save enough money to retire back to their farms, only to return to the battlefield in the end. The reasons for this, no one can really say.¡±


    Antonio went on to explain, ¡°Camaraderie is an indescribable thing. People who have faced death shoulder to shoulder naturally form a certain bond. I¡¯ve seen soldiers abandon their injured comrades, and I¡¯ve seen soldiers risk their lives to save their brethren. Whether this bond is strong or weak, it truly exists. Many veterans don¡¯t like to talk about the brutal battles they¡¯ve experienced, but reminisce about the days endured with their tent brothers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I say, although your troops were poorly trained and equipped, their morale was high,¡± Antonio looked at Winters. ¡°It¡¯s not an army that would disintegrate at the slightest push, full of mutual hatred and at their wits¡¯ end. Weapons can be bought, skills can be trained, but if an army lacks a soul, it just doesn¡¯t have one. Disbanding like this is really a shame.¡±


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    Not only did some choose to stay, but many more starving people from all directions gathered towards Saint Town.


    Women, children, the sick, the disabled¡­ all kinds of people had one thing in common ¡ª they had nothing due to the destruction wrought by the war.


    Saint Town, being the main base of the Iron Peak County Military and accumulation point of supplies, stored a vast quantity of food and materials.


    Driven by hunger, these poor souls set up tents outside Saint Town, wandering daily around the military camp and the town, scavenging for scraps the army left behind to fill their bellies.


    It was at this time, that an unremarkable, short man approached Monkey and Doug in the camp.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you two gone home?¡± The short man asked with a shy smile, handing over a greasy paper bag. ¡°Want some roasted cakes?¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Doug took the paper bag but didn¡¯t open it, just stared at the short man with curiosity.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Monkey, groggy with sleep, poked his head out of the tent and asked with hostility.


    The short man hurriedly explained, ¡°I just wanted to ask why you two haven¡¯t gone home.¡±


    ¡°Is it any of your business?¡± Monkey snatched the paper packet from Doug¡¯s hand, opened it to see the oily cakes, and immediately wolfed them down. ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡±


    The short man licked his lips and gathered the courage to ask, ¡°You two are homeless, aren¡¯t you? Your parents died, no house, no land, nowhere to go?¡±


    Struck where it hurt, Monkey¡¯s anger surged.


    He jumped out of the tent, grabbed the short man by the collar, and cursed fiercely, ¡°You looking for a beating!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± The short man shook his head vigorously. ¡°Everyone who had a home has left, so I thought maybe you had nowhere to go.¡±


    Monkey shouted loudly in fury, raising his arm to swing at the man¡¯s face.


    The shorter man instinctively protected his head, tucked in his neck, and squeezed his eyes shut.


    Doug grabbed his friend¡¯s arm, separating the two, and asked the short man, ¡°You got something you need?¡±


    The short man, still shaken, looked at his thick-lipped, honest savior and stuttered, ¡°Lu Xirong said you two are pretty good, so I came to see you.¡±


    Lu Xirong used to be Monkey and Doug¡¯s sergeant.


    Hearing this name, Monkey¡¯s demeanor softened, even becoming somewhat timid, ¡°Sergeant Lu Xirong¡­ who are you to him?¡±


    The short man bashfully replied, ¡°Well, I suppose he¡¯s one of my men.¡±


    Monkey¡¯s knees went weak as if his head had been clobbered by an iron cudgel, buzzing incessantly.


    Doug held his friend back and asked the short man in a muffled voice, ¡°You came to find us, you got something you need?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to ask you two,¡± the short man scratched the back of his head. ¡°Since you have nowhere to go, would you be willing to join the military? Not as militiamen, but the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment ¡ª real land-grant soldiers.¡±


    Monkey¡¯s body stiffened, his jaw trembled, and he couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva.


    Doug furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°May I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The short man replied, ¡°My name is Peter Buniel.¡±


    He spoke with a hint of pride, ¡°This surname Bunir was personally given to me by Lord Blood Wolf himself.¡±

 Chapter 874 03-25 - 874 6 Tears_2

    ?Chapter 874: Chapter 6 Tears_2 Chapter 874: Chapter 6 Tears_2 A shiver ran up Monkey¡¯s tailbone, and he snapped to attention, ¡°A thousand acres?! Are you that one with a bounty of a thousand acres?! The legendary Blood Wolf champion?!!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, not a thousand ¡ª actually just over nine hundred,¡± Dwarf Peter explained frantically, sighing helplessly, ¡°This nickname¡­ It¡¯s getting more and more exaggerated.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Dressed in a full-coverage black robe with a mask shaped like a bird¡¯s beak, Father Kaman stooped as he walked out of the tent.


    Outside, everyone else had their noses and mouths covered with triangular scarves.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters asked with a grave expression, the first to speak, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ...


    Kaman glanced at Winters and looked around at the others, saying calmly, ¡°The symptoms are somewhat like ¡®Aichen Plague¡¯, but I can¡¯t be certain¡­ I need to go back and check the books.¡±


    To avoid panic, Kaman deliberately used an ancient term.


    Most of those present didn¡¯t understand what Kaman was talking about, and those who did understand didn¡¯t know the specific meaning of ¡°Aichen Plague.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t immediately recall what ¡°Aichen Plague¡± exactly referred to, but he clearly heard the second part of the phrase ¡ª plague.


    That was enough.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this place first,¡± Winters decided on the spot, leaving two guards to watch the tent and immediately leading the others back the way they came.


    The location where Winters stood was in a shantytown on the outskirts of Saint Town.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    People are naturally inclined to cluster together. A few sticks with a cloth curtain slung over them is what you call a ¡°shantytown.¡± Many such hovels together make what is called a ¡°shantytown area.¡±


    If the Saint Town army never disbands, the shantytown will continue to exist.


    The final form it takes is the ¡°Shantytown Street¡± beside the Shuangqiao military encampment ¡ª a slum street that hides all filth and includes everything unsavory. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the shantytown area in front of them was merely a camping ground where the starving people had erected tents and huddled together for warmth.


    Walking on the narrow, winding muddy paths between the tents, Winters led Kaman, Xial and a few others out.


    The refugees gathered there could tell that the group of people was not to be trifled with, a mix of fear and shame on their faces as they hid inside their hovels.


    Iron pots bubbled with horse meat stolen from the battlefield, and through the tent flaps blown open by the wind, Winters saw some engaged in flesh trade.


    All the way outside, Captain Thomas, leading the four companies of the first battalion, was waiting.


    ¡°Surround it!¡± Winters called over Captain Thomas and the company commanders, gritting his teeth as he ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t make too much noise, but let no one escape.¡±


    Captain Thomas saluted and turned to leave.


    ¡°¡®Aichen Plague,¡¯ is there a cure?¡± Winters asked Kaman.


    ¡°Fire,¡± Kaman pondered for a moment, ¡°Historical records show that during the Aichen plague, Hippocrates found that blacksmiths who spent their days by the fire rarely got sick, and ultimately, the plague was dispelled with fire. The specific method involved burning aromatic spices and artemisia plants in the streets, and incinerating the clothes and bedding of the infected¡­¡±


    Winters listened carefully but his frown deepened more and more.


    Despite all precautions, the plague had arrived. Since ancient times, people have noticed that epidemics invariably follow wars.


    The logic behind it isn¡¯t difficult to comprehend: eating well, dressing warmly, living under a roofed house reduces the risk of illness; and even if one gets sick, the chance of survival is higher.


    But those who aren¡¯t fed, aren¡¯t warm, and reside in cramped, dirty shanties, even healthy people are eventually tortured to death.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I address the shantytown issue earlier?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help asking himself, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I prioritize housing for the refugees?¡±


    But now wasn¡¯t the time for self-pity; the rotten, dirty, overcrowded shantytowns were veritable cauldrons of disease. Every second they existed, the risk of an epidemic outbreak increased.


    ¡°Currently, there are two large shantytown areas around Saint Town, and a few smaller ones,¡± Winters resolved, making a rough map on the ground, ¡°They all need to be uprooted.¡±


    ¡°How do we uproot them?¡± asked Kaman, his eyebrows raised.


    ¡°The old way,¡± Winters continued sketching the map, ¡°Build new camps near the shantytown areas. They can¡¯t be too big, otherwise, they won¡¯t isolate effectively. They can¡¯t be too small either, otherwise, they won¡¯t be built quickly. Everything in the existing camps must be burned, all of it turned to ash.¡±


    ¡°Burn everything?¡± Bart Xialing seized the crux of the matter, ¡°Then what will they eat? What will they wear?¡±


    ¡°Clothing and bedding can be used after boiling in hot water,¡± Father Kaman spoke up, ¡°Water also needs to be boiled before drinking, but doing so will require a lot of fuel.¡±


    ¡°Fuel is easy to handle,¡± Winters¡¯ left leg throbbed, and he stood with the support of a cane, ¡°As for food, we¡¯ll provide that first.¡±


    Bart Xialing didn¡¯t speak, just silently saluted.


    ¡°Then what will we eat?¡± Winters knew the question didn¡¯t need to be asked by his subordinates.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the food,¡± Winters looked around at his subordinates, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Though they didn¡¯t know how Winters would manage, the assurance from the Civil Guard Officer put many at ease.


    Some company commanders worried that once the soldiers learned of the epidemic in the shantytowns and that they would have to face the plague directly, there would be mass desertion, perhaps even leading to a barracks uproar or mutiny.


    So, including Bart Xialing, the three company commanders favored keeping it a secret.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless,¡± Winters ended the argument with a single sentence, ¡°It won¡¯t stay hidden.¡±

 Chapter 875 03-25 - 875 6 Tears_3

    ?Chapter 875: Chapter 6 Tears_3 Chapter 875: Chapter 6 Tears_3 ¡°`


    Shortly afterward, the entire first battalion assembled in formation. They would be the first to be informed after Winters, followed by the entire army, then the whole of Iron Peak County.


    Looking at the soldiers who had just come off the battlefield, with wounds still scarred over, Winters was overwhelmed with emotion.


    He struggled to organize his words, ¡°¡­In the refugee camps, in the southern city of Revodan, because of the strict enforcement of epidemic discipline, although people fell ill, it was ultimately contained¡­ I don¡¯t believe the plague is a calamity sent by the gods, if the Heavenly Father is merciful, he would only help us, not spread the plague¡­¡±


    In the end, even someone accustomed to eloquent speeches before the ranks didn¡¯t know what to say.


    He fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over each face: ¡°I remember it now. The ¡®Aichen Plague,¡¯ two hundred thousand Aichens, in the end, a quarter of them perished. Iron Peak County has just been through a brutal battle and can¡¯t withstand another plague. So¡­ it relies on the courage of each of you, everyone is relying on the courage of each and every one of you¡­ I need you to fight once more¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Wear your kerchief properly.¡± Dwarf Peter¡¯s face was covered tightly, repeatedly cautioning, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it with your hands, if anyone resists, poke him with a spear. Don¡¯t be tempted by good things you see, catching the plague is not worth it¡­¡±


    In the ranks, Monkey¡¯s knees went weak, drained of strength, cursing himself bitterly in his heart.


    Without hesitation, Monkey accepted the recruitment offered on the spot by Chief Sergeant Peter Buniel.


    In the previous conflict with the Terdon Tribe, the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had lost the most lives, suffering the greatest casualties.


    The soldiers who died in battle or were disabled due to injuries needed to be replaced, and the regiment urgently needed fresh blood.


    ...


    As such, without waiting for official approval from above, each company began recruiting new soldiers¡ª from this perspective, the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had, from the moment of its inception, a tendency to perpetuate itself like a living organism.


    Unexpectedly to Monkey, Doug, who initially planned to return home and settle down, also accepted the recruitment by Peter Buniel upon seeing his good friend enlisting.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    At that time, Monkey felt a bit moved and a bit envious: ¡°You¡¯ve earned so much land, why join the army?¡±


    But now, Monkey felt only guilt and a sense of shared adversity. Because of his decision, Doug had to join this damned, uncertain ¡°epidemic prevention.¡±


    Monkey wanted to run away.


    So did Dwarf Peter.


    He seemed calm, but that was only because his face was covered tightly.


    In fact, at the moment he learned of the plague in the shanty area, Dwarf Peter¡¯s knees started trembling, and his forehead began to sweat.


    However, with dozens of eyes staring dead at him, even if he wanted to escape, there was nowhere to run.


    Dwarf Peter saw Captain Thomas waving at him.


    He turned around, and tears immediately began to flow.


    However, the warriors of the first company could only see the back of Sergeant Bunir, not the tear-streaked face of Bunir.


    ¡°Move!¡± Dwarf Peter¡¯s shout was on the verge of breaking.


    The shantytown outside Saint Town had already been surrounded by each company with stakes and ropes, and another portion of the civilians were urgently constructing a new camp.


    But that didn¡¯t mean they could ignore the shantytown. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Carrying torches and short spears, the soldiers, led by Sergeant Peter Bu who was known as the ¡°Blood Wolf Champion,¡± entered the shantytown without turning back.


    The sealed-off shantytown first fell into panic, a complete mess. When people realized there was no way to leave no matter what, they gradually became numb.


    Even before the hunger, the shantytown was already a cruel place. Upon learning that the plague had broken out, people became even more indifferent.


    The body of a mother lay across the shanty, and despite the crying of her children, no one paid any attention.


    Leaving the situation unattended would only lead to a further spread of the plague.


    Regardless of whether the dead had died from the disease or starvation, Dwarf Peter led people to carry the bodies out of the shantytown to be burned, and the tents and belongings of the deceased were burned on the spot.


    Monkey overheard someone muttering under their breath: ¡°Did you see that? Sergeant Bunir seems to have cried.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± Monkey, his eyes full of red veins and brimming with tears, cursed loudly: ¡°It¡¯s the smoke! The smoke!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 876 03-25 - 876 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and Turnip

    ?Chapter 876: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip Chapter 876: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    ¡°No pass,¡± Ivan repeated no matter how many times, reached a point of annoyance, ¡°No one can leave.¡±


    The halted wagon was loaded with a family of four and all their belongings. The considerably plump male owner was personally driving the carriage, while the female owner hid with their two children inside the coach.


    News traveled faster than the plague. The bow-carrying white Knight had not yet arrived at Revodan, but the outbreak in Saint Town was already public knowledge.


    Regrettably, when the beacon fires of war lit up, civilians from Iron Peak County frantically swarmed into Revodan seeking refuge; and when the plague followed suit, people desperately tried to flee the congested city.


    ¡°Ah, we left in such a hurry that we didn¡¯t have time to ask for a pass.¡± The male owner smiled ingratiatingly, his short, thick fingers deftly slipping Ivan a bulging small leather pouch, ¡°Do me a favor, sir.¡±


    The pouch was hard, unmistakably filled with coins.


    ...


    Ivan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It was impossible to remain unmoved, with Aksinya and the children depending on him.


    Ever since preparations for war began, the cost of goods in Revodan only rose, never fell. Although there were rations for flour, it had been a long time since Ivan¡¯s family had seen meat.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Ivan didn¡¯t accept the pouch as his voice was somewhat muffled by the handkerchief covering his nose and mouth, ¡°Though I don¡¯t know your name, your family must be quite wealthy¡­¡±


    The portly male owner¡¯s heart sank with a thud, realizing that getting fleeced was inevitable.


    But under someone else¡¯s roof, one has little choice but to bow, and he still met the situation with a smile, ¡°My name is Ivan, your excellence, Ivan Asta.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Your name is Ivan too.¡±


    ¡°So it seems¡­ do we share the same name?¡± The male owner eagerly played along, ¡°What a coincidence.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Mr. Asta,¡± Ivan, interrupted, momentarily lost his train of thought. He fell silent for a while, struggling tremendously to organize his words, ¡°You look to be a wealthy man, perhaps even well-educated. On a normal day walking down the street, you wouldn¡¯t even give me a second look, am I right?¡±


    The owner grew increasingly confused as he awkwardly laughed, ¡°Oh, brother Ivan¡­ where is your mind wandering?¡±


    ¡°But now, you¡¯re pulling out money, actively offering it to me,¡± Ivan continued, ignoring him, ¡°You do this because you think I am someone in power. At least for now, I have the power to let you go. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± The simple act of bribery suddenly escalated to a philosophical debate, and the male owner¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t keep up.


    ¡°I actually have no power. Only the Civil Guard Officer has the power to let you go, I only have the power to stop you. Now that I have taken your money, by sunrise tomorrow, I will be hanged.¡± Ivan poured out everything on his mind, took a deep breath as he looked expectantly at the other, ¡°You are asking me to exercise a power I do not have¡­ do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    For this family, it was their first time meeting Ivan, their first attempt at bribing him.


    But for Ivan, this was already his ¡°countless¡± encounter with offered bribes. This created an asymmetric relationship between them.


    Ivan¡¯s words were a release for all bribers and also his intellectual findings¡ªa reason to convince himself not to take the bribe.


    The owner was utterly confused; he simply wanted to grease a palm but ended up being lectured unexpectedly.


    The owner gazed suspiciously at Ivan for a long while, then asked quietly, ¡°Are you asking for more money?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ivan said expressionlessly, ¡°Without a pass, no one can leave.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the road between Revodan and King¡¯s Bridge Town, a troop of Cavalry was persuading a group of refugees.


    The Cavalry consisted of only twelve riders, but the refugees numbered over a hundred.


    ¡°Revodan has the plague!¡± the young leading Cavalry shouted as he stood in the middle of the road, waving his arms, using his somewhat immature voice to shout as loudly as he could, ¡°Go back, everyone!¡±


    The refugees didn¡¯t dare to assault the Cavalry, but no one was willing to just leave.


    During the standoff, an old man with a cane walked out of the crowd, trembling, and pleaded, ¡°My lord! If it weren¡¯t really the last resort, who would want to leave their hometown! We haven¡¯t seen the plague, but hunger is very real. The barbarians have taken and burned all our grain, we really can¡¯t survive. My lord! Please show mercy and let us pass!¡±


    A gaunt mother also stepped out from the crowd, holding her infant in swaddling clothes, crying and pleading with the Cavalry. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The previously hesitant crowd now became restless, starting to move towards the Cavalry.


    ¡°Please listen to me!¡± the young lead Cavalry shouted, ¡°Relief grain will arrive very soon!¡±


    However, the noisy hoofbeats and crying drowned out the young Cavalry¡¯s words. No one heard what he said, and no one cared.


    The young Cavalry gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and the twelve riders turned their horses around and rode off.


    ¡°They¡¯ve retreated!¡± The crowd cheered jubilantly.


    Suddenly someone cried out, ¡°They¡¯re coming back!¡±


    The twelve Cavalry formed a line, each rider close to the other as if chained together, and charged towards the refugees with an unstoppable force.


    Before the Cavalry even reached them, the advancing crowd¡¯s momentum was curbed and shattered.


    Due to hunger, the mother holding her baby lacked the strength to run. She turned around, shielding her child in her arms with her back to the approaching hoofbeats.

 Chapter 877 03-25 - 877 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and

    ?Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 The anticipated scene of horses¡¯ hooves crushing human bones never came to pass, as the cavalrymen held their mounts steady on the outskirts of the crowd.


    The scattered refugees gradually halted their hasty retreat. The young cavalry leader rode forward and removed his helmet, revealing a face that was physiologically youthful yet mature and composed.


    ¡°Please hear me out,¡± Anglu repeated his previous words clearly, ¡°Relief grain will be arriving shortly.¡±


    This time, everyone heard him clearly.


    The refugees regrouped as Anglu quickly assessed the crowd: unharmed, unharmed, a broken arm, unharmed¡­


    Then he saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothing sitting on the ground, his face contorted in agony. A middle-aged woman and several children of varying ages were anxiously gathered around him.


    The middle-aged man made no sound, but large beads of sweat kept breaking out on his forehead.


    ...


    A pang shot through Anglu¡¯s heart, and he gently called to the elder Dusack beside him, ¡°Balan Timoyevich?¡±


    In the cavalry, old Dusack (Balan) acted as a semi-medic. The old man sighed, dismounted, and approached the injured middle-aged man.


    In truth, old Balan did not care about the fate of the bumpkin, his nature still bore the cruelty deliberately cultivated from being a ¡°whip of the Emperor.¡±


    But when Balan heard the lieutenant use a respectful form of address that included a full name and patronymic, he knew the young one had gone soft again.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the elderly man who first stood out approached Anglu¡¯s horse and mustered the courage to ask, ¡°Is the relief¡­ really coming? When will it arrive?¡±


    ¡°I am not a ¡®sir¡¯,¡± Anglu reassured him, ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s not fake. The Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has already ordered the allocation of military grain to everyone, and it should be¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Anglu turned his head to look back.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    At the end of the road, over the rise of a hill, a horse-drawn wagon slowly emerged from the horizon, followed by another, and then more behind.


    Each wagon bore a conspicuous red flag.


    ¡°They¡¯ve already arrived,¡± Anglu answered.


    ¡­


    Wherever life congregates, it becomes a natural breeding ground for disease.


    The wealthy who had flooded into the towns because of war were now desperate to leave.


    Meanwhile, the poor, driven by hunger, began to converge on the towns, forming a second wave of people.


    The reason was simple: where safety is lacking, people squeeze towards safer places; where food is scarce, people go where there is food.


    Winters was simultaneously trying to stop the influx of people into the town¡ªmore people meant the plague would be harder to control.


    On the other hand, he was trying to stop people from leaving the town¡ªletting people go would likely spread the plague throughout Iron Peak County.


    But there were some departures Winters could not interfere with¡ªColonel Gessa and the Piaoqi Troops were about to leave as well.


    On this military campaign, the Terdon Tribe was divided into left and right wings. Although the right wing was destroyed in Iron Peak County, the left wing was still wreaking havoc in Vernge County.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s right wing was primarily made up of the direct forces of the firestarters, while the left wing consisted of externally affiliated tribes.


    Such a division was, of course, out of the firestarters¡¯ self-interest. It led to the Terdon Tribe lacking a clear command core, with various leaders acting independently, making them even more challenging to deal with.


    After the main battle between Winters and the firestarters concluded, Colonel Gessa was originally ready to set off for Vernge County immediately.


    He lingered only to wait for someone.


    When the dust-covered Major Ronald finally arrived in Revodan, an extremely impatient Colonel Gessa was ready to depart.


    Winters did not want the Piaoqi Troops to leave, as he feared the recently controlled ¡°Aichen Plague¡± might be carried away.


    However, the problem lay precisely here. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had the ¡°Aichen Plague¡± appeared in the shantytown area and started to spread on a small scale than Father Kaman noticed it and Winters promptly clamped down on it.


    As a result, this ¡°plague¡± seemed like a harmless joke: hardly anyone died, yet the response was so harsh. Could it be an overreaction?


    The reason for the Piaoqi Troops¡¯ departure was undisputedly valid¡ªafter all, the fight wasn¡¯t over, and Vernge County needed them.


    Besides epidemic control, Winters had no other reason to retain the Piaoqi Troops. And the reason of epidemic prevention itself wasn¡¯t persuasive in the eyes of the others.


    So in the end, Winters had to bid farewell to the reinforcements.


    ¡­


    Question: How can you tell Paratu People from Venetian People?


    Answer: Look at the beard.


    Paratu People consider growing beards a beauty standard, as if the more luxuriant the beard, the more abundant a man¡¯s virility.


    Venetians, on the contrary, keep their upper lip, chin, and cheeks completely clean-shaven. They might skip bathing, but the beard must be shaved off; otherwise, they feel uncomfortable.


    Even in the Venetian Republic, there is a stringent legal requirement written into law: Venetian public officials and merchants stationed in overseas colonies and trade nations must shave.


    The existence of this strange law is purely to ¡°distinguish ourselves from them.¡±


    In other words, Venetians not only do not intend to blend into other countries but are also deeply afraid of being ¡°melted¡± by them, and forced shaving has thus become a mark of identity.


    Anyone with a discerning eye would recognize where those several young, clean-shaven men at the farewell scene came from.


    The farewell ceremony was not large, only a few prominent figures from Revodan were invited to accompany them.


    According to the customs of Paratu People, after a victory, one should feast and celebrate for three days, or at least have a good banquet. However, given the limited conditions and special situation in Iron Peak County, everything was kept simple, and Colonel Gessa did not pick on Winters for it.

 Chapter 878 03-25 - 878 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and

    ?Chapter 878: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_3 Chapter 878: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_3 Upon seeing his junior, Ronald, still alive, Gessa felt a rush of emotions and immediately hugged him and planted a fierce kiss on him.


    Yes, it was indeed a kiss.


    One of the ways Paratu People express intense emotions such as excitement, joy, reunion after a long separation, and everlasting friendship, is through ¡°kissing,¡± and men can also do it with each other.


    Cheek to cheek, lip to lip, whether or not there was an exchange of saliva, nobody knew.


    Probably not¡ªright?


    Andre looked disgustedly at the several enthusiastic Paratu kissers and asked Winters worriedly, ¡°They¡¯re not going to kiss us too, are they?¡±


    Winters¡¯s mind was already filled with all sorts of miscellaneous matters regarding the prevention of disease; he looked up briefly and replied dispassionately, ¡°No, kissing is an intimate act, and they harbor hostility towards us.¡±


    ...


    Andre looked around; the scene of Ronald and the other former Iron Peak County Military officers reuniting with Colonel Gessa was quite touching and heartwarming. A group of grown men were hugging, kissing, and some even crying.


    In contrast, Winters and Andre were somehow isolated despite being in the crowd. No one spoke to them, and certainly, no one came to hug or kiss them.


    Andre humphed lightly and took a sip of his drink, ¡°Now I see why Colonel Moritz and Bard didn¡¯t want to come.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Moritz and Senior Juan¡¯s identities are still under wraps; Senior Mason and Bard are just too busy to get away,¡± Winters replied mechanically, taking a sip from his cup as well. The slightly bitter taste brought him back from the world of epidemic prevention.


    Winters then changed the topic and nudged Andre¡¯s beer mug, ¡°The key point is¡ªFor such a dreadful scene, who else could I rely on but you?¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre humphed again and clinked Winters¡¯s beer mug.


    After chugging down the golden liquid in his mug in one go, Andre belched quietly and complained under his breath, ¡°Call this beer? It¡¯s tasteless as heck.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Winters suddenly had a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu; he felt as if he was back at the Sea Blue Navy Officers¡¯ Club, sitting with Andre at a window on the second floor facing north towards the square, enjoying the breeze and beer.


    Winters took a small sip, ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Andre raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at Winters, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡°Was I laughing?¡± Winters touched his cheek.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, ¡°Then I guess I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Andre scoffed lightly and poured himself another cup of the pale yellow liquid.


    Since it was a farewell for the Paratu People, how could there be no drink to offer?


    But Iron Peak County was short even on food, let alone alcohol. Old Widow Airen¡¯s cellar had been empty for a long time, and perhaps a few households still had some bottles of wine stashed away, but that was just wine and the like.


    In the end, it was the short, plump representative from Niutigu Valley who came up with an idea: crush dry bread, soak it, heat it, add distiller¡¯s yeast, ferment¡­


    And ultimately filter to obtain a strange liquid that resembled beer, yet wasn¡¯t beer.


    According to the short, plump representative, when General Yanosh¡¯s army had no alcohol, the soldiers would brew this ¡°fermented water¡± from bread to satisfy their cravings.


    Which was precisely what the people at the farewell gathering were drinking.


    Winters didn¡¯t particularly like the taste of beer; on the contrary, he preferred this strange liquid that hardly had any ¡°beer flavor.¡±


    The two Venetians stood among a bunch of ardently chatting Paratu People, silently drinking their fermented water, cup after cup.


    A plump gentleman made his way through the crowd and came straight up to them.


    The chubby man took off his hat, bowed slightly, and smiled warmly, ¡°Captain Montaigne, Lieutenant Cherini.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Leo,¡± Winters nodded in greeting, poured a cup of fermented water and handed it over, discreetly asking, ¡°How did it go?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡ªthe representative with full authority from Navarre Commerce¡ªtook the cup and held it in his hand without drinking, ¡°It¡¯s been settled.¡±


    ¡°All settled?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s smile faded, ¡°Please be assured.¡±


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, feeling unburdened.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Andre, confused, looked at Winters and then at Mr. Leo, ¡°Talking about what? With whom?¡±


    Andre had returned to Revodan with Ronald and the others and had missed many meetings.


    Hearing Andre¡¯s question, Winters was overwhelmed and somewhat at a loss for how to explain.


    ¡°May I have the honor of explaining this to Lieutenant Cherini?¡± Mr. Leo offered.


    ¡°Please do, it would be a great help,¡± Winters was, of course, agreeable.


    ¡°Lieutenant Cherini, you must be aware of Venetian woolen textile production,¡± Mr. Leo said, shaking his cashmere garment. ¡°On one hand, we have the Venetians; Navarre Commerce has a batch of wool that needs to be shipped back to Venetia, General Serviati has a batch of Warhorses that also need to be sent back, and Captain Montaigne needs to get grain into Iron Peak County. On the other hand, we have the Paratu People, who control the roads and the grain¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, I get it,¡± Andre said, his head spinning with irritation, interrupting the other, ¡°It¡¯s just the old man, the wolf, the sheep, and the turnip!¡±

 Chapter 879 03-25 - 879 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream

    ?Chapter 879: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream Chapter 879: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream A respected lady was awakened in the middle of the night only to learn that her daughters had disappeared¡ªboth of them. What would be her reaction?


    Winters could hardly imagine.


    In the past, the Venetians dealt with such situations often using daggers smeared with deadly poison.


    In recent years, their methods had become more civilized, with the poisoned daggers replaced by revolver guns hidden beneath cloaks.


    Putting himself in that situation, Winters asked himself, what if some rascal dared to kidnap Ella? What then?


    The result of his reflection was that after confirming repeatedly with Anna that she had no brothers, Winters felt an unusual sense of relief.


    All in all, he had no desire to meet Mr. Leo.


    ...


    However, given that Mr. Leo had come to Iron Peak County with his foster father, Winters vaguely felt that Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude might have softened.


    Winters had only met Mrs. Navarre a few times and could hardly recall her face, remembering only that she was a very gentle, kind, and amiable lady.


    Perhaps the situation wasn¡¯t too bad?


    It was a no-win situation; drag it out as he might, Winters finally bit the bullet and met with Mr. Leo.


    The meeting was very private, held in a small living room around a fireplace, with only Winters, Antonio, and Leo present because Winters imagined that Leo wanted to discuss ¡°family matters.¡±


    But soon, the atmosphere became serious and formal.


    The reason was simple¡ªLeo wasn¡¯t there to help Mrs. Navarre find her daughters, he didn¡¯t mention Anna at all.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    ¡°Civil Guard Officer,¡± Mr. Leo began formally and directly, setting the tone for the entire conversation, ¡°could you provide me with the tariff rates of Iron Peak County?¡±


    Faced with such a sudden question, especially on a completely unrelated topic, people usually can¡¯t respond immediately.


    To keep the conversation going, most people would instinctively utter a monosyllable:


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Or ¡°Uh?¡±


    Or ¡°What?¡±


    This is a normal human reaction, and also why many people, even though they have heard the question clearly, still want the other party to repeat it.


    However, this reaction also means falling into a weaker position in the negotiations.


    Although Winters had no idea what Mr. Leo was talking about, he had a unique way of handling such situations.


    He remained silent, calmly staring into the other person¡¯s eyes, waiting for Leo to explain on his own. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Leo didn¡¯t plan to confront further and promptly clarified his purpose: ¡°I have a batch of wool that I want to transport back to Vineta through Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    Wool, the walking white goldmine, was Paratu¡¯s largest export commodity.


    Compared to wool trade, horse trading seemed like a tasteless small business.


    Many years ago, it was the merchants from the Mountain Front Territory (now the United Provinces Republic) who first pioneered the wool trade.


    These merchants traveled thousands of miles to Paratu from the Mountain Front Territory, first buying wool from herders, then purchasing wood from nobles to build boats. Finally, they sailed down the Ashen Stream River in their wool-laden ships, heading east towards the inland sea and back to the Mountain Front Territory.


    The wool would be sent to spinning mills; the ships dismantled and sold as timber.


    After calculating their profits and settling debts, the merchants would set out for Paratu again with their capitals, embarking on the journey of a new year.


    This cyclical trade, called ¡°Buy Boats, Sail East,¡± saw countless merchants tirelessly traveling back and forth between the Mountain Front Territory and Paratu.


    The continuous supply of wool fed the thriving wool textile industry of the Mountain Front Territory, which in turn generated an ever-growing demand for wool.


    During the era when Venetian city-states dominated the Inner Sea trade, cities in the Mountain Front Territory earned their first pot of gold through the wool textile industry and accumulated wealth over subsequent years.


    Interestingly, because the Venetians firmly controlled transshipment trade, merchants of the Mountain Front Territory found themselves compelled to explore alternative paths to grow and strengthen.


    Out of sheer necessity, these merchants developed a combined strategy of ¡°workshop crafts and commerce.¡±


    Often, they were both workshop owners and traders. Moreover, due to having a common foe, the merchants of Mountain Front Territory were far more united than those of the Venetian city-states.


    However, the disparity in scale was immense, and, barring any unexpected events, the Mountain Front Territory seemed doomed to a perpetual secondary position under the domination of the Venetian city-states.


    Yet, fate granted the Mountain Front Territory an opportunity as the Venetian city-states, basking in their golden age and seemingly unstoppable, collectively embarked on a resolution¡ªdomination.


    Endless discord among the Venetian city-states and significant advancements in fortress siege technology during this period ushered in a prosperous epoch for the Mountain Front Territory.


    Once the city-state wars concluded, the victor¡ªthe noble Sea Blue Republic¡ªwas shocked to discover that the once submissive merchants of the Mountain Front Territory had become formidable sharks, tearing a substantial portion of the Inner Sea trade from the Venetians.


    The Venetian city-states declined, while the Mountain Front Territory officially entered its golden age.


    At that time¡ªabout half a century ago, the Duke¡¯s dominion of the Mountain Front Territory was the wealthiest land in the Empire, the most dazzling diamond on the Emperor¡¯s scepter.


    In terms of area, the dukedom of the Mountain Front Territory was hardly significant. Yet, this small delta provided the Empire with one-third to half of its annual revenue.


    But, as everyone knows, the story that followed is all too familiar.


    The War of Sovereignty erupted, and this time, it was the Mountain Front Territory¡ªnow the United Provinces Republic¡ªthat was devastated.

 Chapter 880 03-25 - 880 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2

    ?Chapter 880: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2 Chapter 880: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2 The century-long accumulations of the people in the Mountain Front Territory turned entirely into fuel for the flames of war.


    At the same time, what were the city-states of Vineta doing?


    Answer: The Venetians were watching, while by the way, making a killing.


    Large numbers of United Provincials, both commoners and nobles, fled to Vineta to avoid the chaos of war¡ªbringing with them wealth, technology, and manpower.


    While Ned Smith and the Duke Butcher bloodily sawed back and forth in the Federated Provinces, the wool textile industry in Vineta flourished.


    The United Provincials¡¯ saying, ¡°Every time the United Provincials fight a war, Vineta gets rich,¡± refers to this period of history.


    In a word, after the Sovereignty Wars ended, the wool textile industry was no longer monopolized by the United Provincials, and the newly born Vineta Republic could now compete with the United Provincials on equal footing.


    ...


    The competition between Vineta and the United Provincials, as both comrades and enemies, has continued to this day.


    ¡­


    What does all this have to do with Winters?


    Actually, it has everything to do with them.


    Apart from markets and looms, another major bottleneck in the wool textile industry was raw material¡ªwool.


    Without wool, the looms would stop; without wool, the weavers would starve to death.


    The trade of ships sailing downstream evolved from today¡¯s on and is no longer the primitive form of ¡°peddlers buying wool from herdsmen by the pound.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Competition drives the evolution of business models, and financially powerful wool merchants are no longer limited to buying wool; they directly invest in flocks or even buy the pastures.


    Even so, each year the Venetians and United Provincials still fight tooth and nail over wool.


    Wool continues to flow from the plateau to the shores of the inland sea, turned into fabric and trafficked across the continent.


    Fine wines, precious metals, steel, and handicrafts follow the reverse route of wool, pouring continuously into Paratu.


    If the Senas Alliance is a giant, then the Ashen Stream River and Torrent River, which carry the wool trade, are both the giant¡¯s arteries and veins.


    However, the problem emerged here: the Alliance¡¯s major artery was cut.


    After the bloodied night at Kingsfort, Alpad¡¯s military government occupied the ¡°Jiangbei Province¡± to the northwest of Paratu. The land south of the Ashen Stream River and to the northeast was controlled by the Second Republic.


    After several rounds of attacks and defenses, neither side was able to break through the Ashen Stream River.


    There¡¯s a saying: when the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer.


    The Second and Third Republics faced off across the river, but it was the Venetian wool textile merchants who were utterly devastated.


    The wool trade is unlike any other business. If agricultural produce prices fall, plantation owners can switch crops or not plant at all; if pots and pans don¡¯t sell, workshops can stop production.


    But not with wool.


    Sheep don¡¯t care who wins or loses, they just keep on eating grass, growing wool, and bleating. As long as they are not dead, the sheep will grow wool.


    Last year¡¯s wool still had some that hadn¡¯t managed to be transported back to the country. Since transportation along the Ashen Stream River was completely cut off, this year¡¯s wool was all stuck in Paratu.


    By next summer, when the new wool season arrives, there would even be no place to store the wool.


    No, a more likely situation is¡ªVineta¡¯s wool textile industry simply won¡¯t last until next year.


    ¡°Since the water route is not an option,¡± Winters interjected for the first time when he heard this, asking Mr. Leo, ¡°isn¡¯t the land route viable?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve asked the most interesting part.¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s eyes widened slightly; he paused, then turned his head toward Antonio. ¡°Your Excellency General, I must trouble you to help explain.¡±


    Antonio sighed, ¡°The territories of Paratu that border the United Provincials and Vineta are controlled by the Second Republic, which has a strong pro-United Provincials inclination.¡±


    ¡°This is the most infuriating part.¡± Mr. Leo added a witty remark, ¡°Clearly it is Paratu that¡¯s at war, yet only the Venetians are hurt.¡±


    ¡°Your meaning is¡­¡± Winters sorted out his thoughts, ¡°The Second Republic has implemented some kind of trade embargo, intercepting wool destined for Vineta in Paratu, while wool headed for The Federated Provinces can travel by land, without any obstruction?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Mr. Leo nodded. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why not just confiscate your wool directly?¡± Winters frowned slightly.


    ¡°There are matters of face that need to be addressed properly,¡± Mr. Leo said with a self-deprecating smile. ¡°In my view, our counterparts in The Federated Provinces are just waiting.¡±


    ¡°Waiting for what?¡±


    ¡°Waiting for us to surrender,¡± Mr. Leo said lightly. ¡°Waiting for us to come begging to sell them the shares of the sheep flocks.¡±


    Seeing that Winters didn¡¯t quite understand, Leo patiently explained, ¡°The wool business is highly risky. Shearing costs money, as does transport and sheep husbandry. Land can be listed for sale, but if the sheep die, all that¡¯s left to sell is the meat. Hence the saying ¡®Family fortunes count thousands, yet none in the herd counts for wealth.¡¯ Better to sell off the shares of the sheep flocks and recoup the capital before a plague wipes us out than to risk everything. The gentlemen in The Federated Provinces aren¡¯t in a hurry, time is on their side; they can afford to wait.¡±


    Winters¡¯ brows knitted even more, ¡°But what help could Iron Peak County offer, given its location? This is the extreme southwest of Paratu, insulated from Vineta by the entirety of Paratu.¡±


    ¡°The caravans carrying wool need to enter the buffer zone. I request your permission for that. As for the rest, you needn¡¯t worry,¡± Mr. Leo said with a polite smile. ¡°It has all been taken care of.¡±


    It has all been taken care of? Winters wondered.


    Leaving Iron Peak County to the east is Mont Blanc County, then Riverside County, then further east is Westwood Province, and one must cross Eastern Forest Province before finally reaching Vineta.


    This route spanned three entire provinces, taken care of?


    But another word in Leo¡¯s statement suddenly struck Winters¡ª¡±buffer zone.¡±


    The buffer zone referred to a hundred kilometers of uninhabited land west of Paratu¡¯s national border. Further west, that was the territory of the Herders.


    Chills ran down Winters¡¯ spine, and he thought to bolt up, but ultimately, he just stayed seated steadily, leaning back in the chair and squinting at Mr. Leo.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re entering through the buffer zone? Where does this wool of yours come from?¡±


    From Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face, Winters read many emotions: curiosity, admiration, concern¡­


    Leo met Winters¡¯ gaze, his smile growing brighter. ¡°It comes from exactly the place you¡¯re thinking of.¡±


    If any company commander dared to talk like this, Winters would¡¯ve kicked them already. He very much wanted to grab Leo by the collar and force him to clarify,


    But for many, many reasons, his physical reaction was limited to leaning back slightly, resting against the chair¡¯s backrest, and narrowing his eyes at Leo.


    ¡°You¡¯re smuggling wool from the Herders?¡± Winters plainly pierced through the pretense.


    ¡°Who¡¯s better at sheep farming than the Paratu People, aside from them?¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s smile faded, and his demeanor became more reserved and respectful. ¡°It¡¯s not smuggling; it¡¯s a purchase. Last year¡¯s wool is currently stored in the warehouses of Kingsfort. Transporting it directly would not be cost-effective and would alert the gentlemen of The Federated Provinces.¡±


    ¡°Purchasing wool from the Herders,¡± Winters reiterated. ¡°And transport isn¡¯t a hassle?¡±


    ¡°Please, allow me to explain¡ªmuch of this year¡¯s wool is still on the sheep,¡± Leo finally revealed the tip of his strategic iceberg. ¡°If possible, it¡¯s more economical to move the sheep.¡±


    Winters blinked. ¡°You might not know, but the meadows at least a hundred miles west of Iron Peak County¡­ I¡¯ve burnt them all.¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s face remained unchanged: ¡°No matter, shearing takes place in the summer, by which time the grass will have regrown.¡±


    Winters considered briefly. Since Leo claimed to have cleared the way, there wasn¡¯t much he needed to do but to allow the wool to enter the territory. Helping the Venetians, while simultaneously courting favor with Lady Navarre, he had no reason to refuse.


    ¡°Just wool?¡± Winters waved his hand, showing a smile for the first time. ¡°Then forget about duties like tariffs and transit fees. Just agree on a time and place, and I¡¯ll send men to erect the Floating Bridge for the caravans to cross the river.¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s expression turned oddly amused, ¡°No, you¡¯d best still provide a tariff standard. Because¡­ you¡¯ll understand when the time comes.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Winters had neither seen nor shorn any wool. Mr. Leo was merely laying the groundwork; the big play was still to come.


    But the portly Mr. Leo had indeed solved a problem for Winters.


    The old problem of the guard, the wolf, the sheep, and the rutabaga.

 Chapter 881 03-25 - 881 9 Negotiation

    ?Chapter 881: Chapter 9 Negotiation Chapter 881: Chapter 9 Negotiation The perspective shifted back to the farewell meeting, situated in the oceanic dialect of Paratu, three Venetians using the ¡°Sea Blue Elegance¡± sounded as if they were in encrypted communication.


    Mr. Leo clearly found Andre¡¯s analogy puzzling, and he looked to Winters.


    Winters sighed and explained the riddle to Mr. Leo.


    ¡°What a wonderful analogy,¡± Mr. Leo laughed uncontrollably, ¡°The first step is to bring the sheep across the river?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Andre suddenly grew excited, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Mr. Leo seemed to have a great enthusiasm for solving the problem, ¡°The second step? Bring the sheep back? Hmm, no, the sheep will eat the turnips¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Andre said with some pride, ¡°The second step is the key, it took me a long time to figure it out.¡±


    ...


    Winters¡¯ temples throbbed faintly. He had realized that Philip Leo always spoke differently depending on who he was talking to, seemingly flowing like a river of words, yet revealing nothing of substance.


    If necessary, this partner of Navarre Commerce could discuss the problem of crossing the river with Andre for three days and nights without revealing a single piece of valuable information.


    ¡°What nonsense with the old man and the wolf!¡± Winters put down his wine cup and bluntly told Andre, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of each taking what they need.¡±


    Mr. Leo picked up his wine glass and sipped a small amount.


    Now it was Andre¡¯s turn not to understand.


    ¡°What are we short of now?¡± Winters asked Andre.


    ¡°Do we even need to talk about it?¡± Andre replied without hesitation, ¡°Food.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0 S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The flight of the peasants had left vast swaths of land fallow, placing Iron Peak County on the brink of famine.


    According to calculations by Senior Mason, if the food rationing system were strictly enforced, Iron Peak County might barely endure until the next summer harvest.


    However, the aggressive arrival of the Terdon Tribe had pushed Iron Peak County even closer to the cliff¡¯s edge.


    Nowadays, Senior Mason spent his days clutching the ledger and sighing deeply, counting the hairs on his pillow each morning had become his necessary routine.


    But Winters felt nothing anymore.


    Last year, when he checked the warehouses and learned the food might not be enough, he was anxious.


    Now that he was certain there wasn¡¯t enough food, Winters had actually thrown caution to the wind.


    Not enough food in Shizhen? Divert military rations there.


    Revodan flour prices still rising? Then distribute free bread to all the poor of the city.


    With the current rate of consumption, Iron Peak County¡¯s food stores, let alone last until next summer¡¯s harvest, wouldn¡¯t make it through this winter.


    ¡°Originally, I was planning to buy food from Mont Blanc County,¡± Winters gazed at the golden liquid in his cup ¡ª even the ferment was made with bread, a thought that seemed extravagant.


    ¡°Buy, my ass,¡± Andre grunted, ¡°Where do we have the money? Just¡ªwell, you know.¡±


    Mr. Leo watched his nose, his nose watched his mouth, clutching the wine glass as if he heard nothing, as if he did not exist.


    ¡°We can find ways to raise the funds,¡± Winters blinked, ¡°Besides, we still have ¡®that¡¯, right?¡±


    Andre thought for a moment, then said, ¡°It¡¯s not just about having the money. What if we want to buy, but they don¡¯t want to sell?¡±


    ¡°They will definitely sell,¡± Winters sipped his ferment.


    Andre was stunned for a moment, then laughed in exasperation, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡±


    ¡°No, by nature, extortion and robbery are different,¡± Winters earnestly replied, ¡°If you pay, it¡¯s not considered robbery, only forced buying.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Andre said gruffly, ¡°I thought so! The troops haven¡¯t disbanded until now, there must be something up! Good. After seeing our strength, I reckon even the bald guys wouldn¡¯t dare arm-wrestle us.¡±


    The militia troops conscripted from Middle and Lower Iron Peak County were currently operating under a ¡°free to stay or go policy.¡±


    Meaning: conscripted militiamen who wanted to go home could take some dry food, register, and leave; if they didn¡¯t want to leave, they could stay in the barracks and also get military rations.


    A considerable number of militiamen had chosen to stay in the barracks for the time being, such as Monkey and Doug.


    The light in Winters¡¯ eyes dimmed a little, and he did not plan to explain much further.


    Mr. Leo, sitting beside him, took the initiative to speak up, ¡°From what I see, quite a few of your militiamen are left without homes.¡±


    ¡°And so?¡± Andre raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Men of able bodies with no homes, no possessions, no food, and who have seen battle,¡± Mr. Leo shrugged, ¡°Forcing them away might actually cause greater trouble.¡±


    Andre scoffed, eyeing Mr. Leo straight on, ¡°You said you had everything settled, so what business do you have here?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Mr. Leo replied with a smile, ¡°I am the sheep¡ªOr shall we say, the cabbage.¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± Winters, not wanting Andre to be led by Mr. Leo any longer, went ahead and explained everything to Andre in detail.


    The matter was, in fact, not complicated; there were currently four players at the table:


    First was Iron Peak County, holding horses, desperately in need of food;


    Next was Mr. Leo, representing the Venetian wool textile merchants, who had money and urgently needed wool as well as the trade routes to transport it;


    Then, the Veneta Army, their funds were unknown, but they could provide food and needed warhorses;


    Lastly, the Paratu¡¯s territorial governors, who had everything but would not give it away freely.


    Winters¡¯ original plan was to raise funds and forcefully buy food. If necessary, he would exchange food with horses. There were too many warhorses captured, and they couldn¡¯t afford to keep them anyway.


    Mr. Leo thought this plan was too slow to turn around and was a one-off deal, unable to sustain the importation of food for Iron Peak County.

 Chapter 882 03-25 - 882 9 Negotiation_2

    ?Chapter 882: Chapter 9 Negotiation_2 Chapter 882: Chapter 9 Negotiation_2 Mr. Leo then provided Winters with a very imaginative plan¡ªthe stepped transportation.


    In the past, Mr. Leo had actively engaged in the traditional business between Vineta and Paratu: mule and horse trading.


    It is said, ¡°Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar come from the east while cattle, sheep, mules, and horses come from the west.¡± Every horse dealer knows that herds cannot be directly driven from the high altitudes of Paratu to the low altitudes of Vineta.


    If the horses were transported directly to Vineta by boat, at best they would significantly lose weight, and at worst they would simply die of illness.


    Therefore, the common method was: along the trend of decreasing altitude, they set up a series of horse-feeding ranches, and drove the herd down the plateau like descending stairs.


    Firstly, it allows the horses to gradually adapt to the air and environment at lower altitudes, and secondly, to change their feed step by step.


    However, this meant that ¡°there are always some horses in transit,¡± unable to be sold.


    ...


    This was not much of a problem for small-time horse dealers who traded in one batch at a time in a single deal.


    But for major mule and horse merchants, ¡°having horses always in transit¡± meant ¡°constantly having a portion of capital tied up,¡± which significantly squeezed their cash flow.


    Over time, cash-rich mule and horse merchants simply stopped going to buy horses in the higher altitudes of western Paratu, instead purchasing directly from the lower-elevation areas of eastern Paratu.


    Though it was more expensive, it saved a great deal of transportation time and capital returned faster.


    Some extraordinarily resourceful mule and horse merchants were even able to buy directly from the military horse farms in Paratu or even from stationed troops.


    The military horse farms that sold the horses would use the money to buy cheaper horses from the west to replenish their stock, easily making a profit on the margin.


    These pieces of information are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the inside trade secrets of the ¡°Paratu-Vineta¡± horse trading business. It¡¯s not a secret to insiders, but it¡¯s like a mountain barrier to outsiders.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.?¦Ï


    Without Mr. Leo¡¯s explanation, Winters could never have imagined that someone could be bold enough to privately sell military horses.


    Even more shocking intelligence followed, according to Mr. Leo, most of the warhorses of the Vineta Army were bought this way.


    Finally, Mr. Leo asked Winters to pose a few questions to Antonio, ¡°How many horses does the Vineta Army actually need? How do they want to buy? And what are they willing to offer?¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    Mr. Leo did not know the number ¡°three thousand,¡± but Winters did.


    So the answer Winters received was, ¡°Three thousand, a number proposed considering the long-distance, short-term transportation losses. The more warhorses Iron Peak County can provide, the better, but the minimum per transaction must be enough to equip two squadrons¡ªnamely four hundred horses.¡±


    As for what the Vineta Army could put on the scale, ¡°As for money, the annual budget for both the Navy and Army is being tightened (Antonio sighed deeply). If it¡¯s food¡­ maybe we could work out another accounting.¡±


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°Food is no good.¡± Mr. Leo slammed his fist on the table, becoming somewhat agitated, his plump face turning red, ¡°Food isn¡¯t something that can be transported long-distance unless by water! What¡¯s the use of food? Arms! Arms would be more like it!¡±


    Then, Mr. Leo explained a set of merchant mnemonics used to estimate transportation costs.


    One sentence goes, ¡°Transporting food three hundred li, and you cry all the way home.¡±


    It means, ¡°When trafficking food by land, every one hundred and fifty kilometers, the transportation cost matches the price of the food itself. The grain dealer loses terribly and cries all the way home.¡±


    This is a bloody lesson for merchants¡ªfood can¡¯t be traded long-distance unless via water routes.


    ¡°Go ask General Serviati,¡± Mr. Leo pondered, ¡°if he can provide arms. What¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Arms?¡± Antonio regarded Winters, falling into thought, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡­


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°No?¡± Mr. Leo sneered, ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to talk about. Tell General Serviati, no arms, no warhorses!¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Winters interrupted an impassioned Mr. Leo, frowning. ¡°Do I always have to act as the messenger? How about this, you fully represent me and negotiate with General Serviati?¡±


    Mr. Leo suddenly deflated, shaking his head vigorously, ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t. If I come forward, it¡¯s not negotiating and it won¡¯t work. Only you can sit at an equal position.¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Winters mustered his courage, gazing directly at his foster father, ¡°No arms, no warhorses! You may go back, and send my regards to my aunt.¡±


    ¡­


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°Half food.¡± Winters told Mr. Leo. ¡°Half arms, no room for negotiation.¡±


    Mr. Leo paced back and forth, his right hand unconsciously scratching at his cheek. Though it was winter, he was sweating profusely, ¡°Mixing half and half? It¡¯s not impossible, but the food has to be discounted!¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°You might not be aware, but every one hundred and fifty kilometers of transporting food, the cost is higher than the food itself.¡± Winters took out his notebook, carefully doing the calculations for his foster father, ¡°If the food isn¡¯t discounted, it would be too much of a loss for me.¡±


    Unable to help himself, Antonio tapped Winters on the forehead.


    Winters was stunned; it had been a long time since anyone had shown him such an intimate gesture.


    ¡°You, silly boy!¡± Antonio, not noticing Winters¡¯ emotional fluctuation, was a bit exasperated, ¡°Mr. Leo is a partner of Lady Navarre, not your partner! You haven¡¯t even become her son-in-law yet!¡±

 Chapter 883 03-25 - 883 9 Negotiation_3

    ?Chapter 883: Chapter 9 Negotiation_3 Chapter 883: Chapter 9 Negotiation_3 ¡°Oh?¡± Winters hadn¡¯t recovered his wits, ¡°Ah?!¡±


    Antonio pointed out, ¡°You thought Mr. Leo was your man, but in reality, he is also a party to the negotiations. A carriage that arrives full surely won¡¯t return empty, will it? Let him stop hiding behind you and lay it all out on the table.¡±


    Winters shuffled slowly toward the tent¡¯s exit, reached the tent flap, was about to lift it, but stopped. He turned back to look at his foster father and asked hesitantly, ¡°Lady Navarre¡­ what exactly is her stance¡­ And how do you see Anna¡­¡±


    Antonio¡¯s gesture halted, his smile complicated, mixed with both the satisfaction of ¡°finally coaxing the cabbages,¡± and the blame of ¡°why coax them so recklessly.¡±


    Antonio set down his cup and sighed softly, ¡°What do I think? How else could I think? Do you know the magnitude of trouble you¡¯ve caused?¡±


    Winters stood there dejectedly.


    It¡¯s well-known that romantic love is generally an embellishment to married life.


    From the noblest of houses to common craftsmen and peasants, marriage has always been a contract of property, status, and power, not the culmination of love.


    ...


    To ¡°abduct¡± an eligible young lady ¡ª more precisely, two ¡ª is so egregious, it¡¯s enough to entrench blood feuds between two families for generations, even dozens of generations, regardless of any ¡°late tickets.¡±


    Lady Navarre might even send an assassin to dispose of Winters ¡ª it¡¯s a proud tradition in Vineta.


    And Winters would never say such garbage as ¡°Anna came of her own accord; I didn¡¯t seduce her.¡±


    ¡°Catherine personally went to apologize to Lady Navarre at her door,¡± Antonio sighed again, ¡°You may not know, but those two hadn¡¯t seen each other for nearly twenty years¡­ Well, that¡¯s our generation¡¯s old news; better left unmentioned.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°For a man, such an affair might become a boast-worthy romantic escapade for a lifetime. For a lady¡¯s reputation, however, it is a devastating blow,¡± Antonio said as he stretched his hand to warm by the fire, without looking directly at Winters, ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Please go to the Navarre home to propose marriage,¡± Winters asked bitterly, ¡°Isn¡¯t it too late?¡±


    Antonio glared at his son, ¡°They have to be willing to agree, as well.¡±


    Winters paused, sensing his foster father¡¯s deeper meaning, ¡°Are you saying¡­ there¡¯s still room to reconcile this matter?¡±


    ¡°Nominally, Miss Navarre and Miss Catherine are currently at the Blue Mountain Monastery, serving as novitiate nuns,¡± Antonio fiddled with the fire.


    For a moment, Winters felt like shouting ¡®Long live Lady Navarre¡¯ three times in admiration.


    ¡°But I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t hide it for too long.¡± Antonio sighed heavily, ¡°You still need to discuss this with Mr. Leo. His presence here means he fully represents Lady Navarre.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°Mr. Leo didn¡¯t mention anything about Anna.¡±


    Antonio¡¯s smile was half-mocking, ¡°He didn¡¯t bring it up, so it doesn¡¯t exist? Have you considered that perhaps he¡¯s waiting for you to speak up?¡±


    Winters was momentarily at a loss for words.


    He¡¯d rather jump naked into the frigid river than face such a complicated and unsolvable predicament.


    After thinking it over, Winters decided to take the simplest approach and carefully sat down next to his foster father, ¡°What do you think¡­ I should do?¡±


    Antonio gave an odd answer, ¡°That depends on you and Lady Navarre.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Winters was perplexed. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s a matter between you and Lady Navarre,¡± Antonio¡¯s face revealed a nostalgic smile, ¡°If you two are determined to unite, then the process, the outcome, and others¡¯ opinions become irrelevant.¡±


    Antonio patted his son¡¯s shoulder, ¡°By comparison, I¡¯m more concerned about you two eventually growing to loathe each other, turning lovers into enemies. Know this, married life isn¡¯t always so blissful.¡±


    Winters¡¯s cheeks burned as he retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you and my aunt very happy?¡±


    ¡°Silly boy,¡± Antonio stirred the campfire and said leisurely, ¡°That just shows you don¡¯t know the sacrifices we¡¯ve made.¡±

 Chapter 884 03-25 - 884 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels

    ?Chapter 884: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels Chapter 884: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels ¡°Iron Peak County gets flour, Vineta Army gets warhorses, and Paratu People get money and armaments,¡± Winters, carrying Antonio¡¯s final reply, bluntly challenged Leo: ¡°As an intermediary, what do you want to get?¡±


    ¡°A stable supply of raw materials,¡± Leo, who had his speech prepared, added nonchalantly: ¡°And stable trade channels.¡±


    Winters frowned, already tired of Leo¡¯s diplomatic platitudes.


    No matter what he asked, the plump partner of Navarre Commerce always parried with faultless, meaningless talk. Every punch he threw seemed to hit thin air.


    Staring at Leo¡¯s submissive smile, Winters angrily realized¡ªhe was not good at this kind of situation.


    A restrained politician might have the patience to slowly figure out Leo¡¯s bottom card, but Winters at that moment really wanted to flip the table and land a solid punch on that smiling face in front of him.


    That familiar rage surged from the deepest part of his chest, only to be quickly suppressed.


    ...


    After a deep breath, Winters spoke again: ¡°Mr. Leo.¡±


    Leo nodded slightly. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°If it were a year ago, you would probably have been taken to the dungeons for interrogation by now,¡± Winters said with a mixture of nostalgia and sincerity: ¡°Those were the good times.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Leo¡¯s smile remained respectful: ¡°The past is always glorious.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m threatening you?¡± Winters continued to ask.


    ¡°What I think is not important,¡± Leo replied, neither humbly nor haughtily: ¡°What matters is how you think.¡±


    ¡°This is the far-flung territory of Paratu, a corner of the Alliance, and one might even say the edge of the civilized world. In Sea Blue, speaking indirectly is regarded as a form of linguistic art. But in Iron Peak County, that kind of artful language is meaningless,¡± Winters said, his gaze moving from the window back to Leo: ¡°I just wanted to let you know that.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Leo tilted his head slightly, waiting for the young man of complex identity to continue.


    ¡°What you want, what you can offer, just say it straight out, and I will reply to you directly,¡± Winters¡¯s tone turned colder: ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste time on meaningless things.¡±


    Leo kept his smile but shook his head inwardly. Negotiations always favored the patient, and setting a final deadline was a strategy, just not suitable for the present.


    But if he was honest with himself, Leo felt the other side had a point¡ªthis wasn¡¯t Sea Blue, nor was this a negotiation, and he certainly wasn¡¯t here to make things difficult.


    ¡°Please believe we are on your side,¡± Leo leaned forward, spreading his palms, explaining: ¡°Iron Peak County urgently needs food, the army urgently needs warhorses. To solve these problems quickly, a third party is needed to provide the turnover.¡±


    Leo¡¯s strategy, simply put, was simple.


    He saw the local government of Paratu as a ¡°reservoir.¡±


    One end of the reservoir connected to Iron Peak County, the other to Vineta. With one end filling, the other side dispensed simultaneously.


    Iron Peak County would give warhorses and money to the Paratu People, and Vineta would supply arms and food to the Paratu People.


    The Paratu side would then distribute food to Iron Peak County and warhorses to the Vineta Army nearby.


    ¡°Very bold,¡± after hearing Leo¡¯s ¡°grand plan,¡± Winters commented expressionlessly: ¡°And very imaginative.¡±


    ¡°Very bold, meaning taking a huge risk,¡± Leo immediately understood the subtext of Winters¡¯s words, smiling: ¡°And very imaginative, meaning impossible to achieve.¡±


    Winters grunted lightly, his thought being hit on the mark.


    Leo¡¯s plan sounded simple, but it was practically a fantasy.


    From Iron Peak County to Vineta, one would have to cross three provinces, passing through countless counties and towns.


    A trade caravan could perhaps disguise itself as a Paratu caravan, moving unnoticed. Yet, how many military and government personnel would be involved in movements as large as Leo described?


    ¡°I believe you can bribe a Paratu person, I even believe you can bribe ten Paratu People,¡± Winters asked somewhat inexplicably: ¡°But can you bribe all Paratu People?¡±


    Mr. Leo laughed and shrugged his shoulders: ¡°You needn¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    Winters¡¯s brows tightened bit by bit, and his expression became serious as he scrutinized Leo¡¯s eyes, asking in a deep voice: ¡°You couldn¡¯t have¡­ really bribed all the Paratu People, could you?¡±


    ¡°If you trust me,¡± Leo rose to his feet, bowing slightly but not deeply: ¡°I am willing to represent you and negotiate with the Paratu individuals involved in the plan.¡±


    ¡°What would I need to provide?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Warhorses, money,¡± Leo answered: ¡°And sincerity.¡±


    ¡°Sincerity?¡±


    Leo explained calmly: ¡°On Paratu¡¯s side, some time is needed to confirm the goods and clear the channels.¡±


    ¡°You mean,¡± Winters wasn¡¯t asking but sneering: ¡°I give away the goods first, and then whether or not the food comes in depends on the Paratu People¡¯s mood?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, once the army¡¯s supply is provided to Paratu, they will immediately hand over to you. It¡¯s just that confirmation from both sides is needed, and the coming and going of messengers will also cause delays.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still the same thing!¡± Winters also suddenly stood up: ¡°How do I know they won¡¯t default on the agreement?¡±


    ¡°If you really don¡¯t feel reassured,¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face shone with twelvefold sincerity: ¡°Navarre Commerce is willing to provide a guarantee.¡±


    Winters was about to rebut but felt a flicker of something unusual. He sat down slowly, and Mr. Leo¡¯s gaze followed him.

 Chapter 885 03-25 - 885 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3

    ?Chapter 885: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_2 Chapter 885: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_2 After a moment of contemplation, Winters raised his head, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± Mr. Leo asked with interest, ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not here to persuade the Paratu People.¡± Winters looked at Leo. ¡°You¡¯re here to persuade me!¡±


    Mr. Leo continued to smile, neither confirming nor denying.


    Winters organized his thoughts and spoke slowly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where you got such great energy from, I have a vague feeling¡ªyou¡¯ve already bought over the Paratu People. I just can¡¯t understand, if that is the case, why do you need to persuade me? Is it such a difficult task to have the caravan bypass Iron Peak County? What exactly do you want?¡±


    Leo skirted around the trap with a light touch and replied earnestly, ¡°In fact, the matter is not as complicated as you think. Our trading company¡ªor rather, the entire membership of the Venetian Wool Textile Guild¡ªsimply wants wool.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question,¡± Winters pressed on the key point, ¡°Why me?¡±


    ...


    Mr. Leo was about to give his usual diplomatic platitudes but paused for a moment and then resumed with a smile, ¡°Because it¡¯s you, that¡¯s why it¡¯s you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s first reaction was that Leo was brushing him off, but Leo¡¯s expression was incredibly sincere, and his intuition told him the other was not lying.


    Asking further likely wouldn¡¯t yield anything more, unless through torture. There was no point in pressing the issue.


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you an answer to this matter¡­ not right now,¡± Winters stood up and took leave of Leo. ¡°I need to discuss with others before I can give you a response.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters saw a fleeting expression on Leo¡¯s face¡­ strange, surprised, interested.


    And it was just a fleeting moment, so brief that Winters couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was an illusion. Throughout the entire conversation, Winters had never seen Leo show any ¡°unguarded¡± emotions.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Leo said with a smile, bowing slightly, ¡°I will await the good news.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.??


    Winters had wanted to talk with Leo about Anna, but the atmosphere had changed, and he no longer felt like delving into personal matters. So he nodded, bowed in return, and left directly.


    Some time later, Winters brought back a response.


    The temporary resolution meeting¡ªWinters, Bard, and Senior Mason¡ªpassed the following content with a two-to-one vote: ¡°Warhorse can be delivered first, which means the quantity of two mid-squadrons. But as for currency, that¡¯s not possible, Iron Peak County¡¯s treasury can¡¯t spare a single silver coin right now.¡±


    ¡°No problem, with the materials provided by Vineta, that¡¯s enough to get the waters moving,¡± Leo accepted without hesitation, suddenly smiling brilliantly, ¡°As for the money issue¡­ there might still be a way.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What method Leo had in mind, let¡¯s not mention it here.


    As the hour hand moved forward, let¡¯s return to the farewell gathering.


    Winters and Leo briefly explained to Andre the ¡°exchange trade¡± between Iron Peak County, Paratu, and Vineta.


    Upon hearing that the Warhorses would be handed over to the Paratu People, Andre was utterly displeased.


    ¡°So¡­ how much do we have to give away?¡± Andre asked Winters with a morose face.


    Not wanting to discuss secrets in front of Leo, Winters consoled Lieutenant Cherini, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we go back, let Senior Mason explain it to you in detail.¡±


    Andre wanted to ask more, but seeing Leo present, he understood Winters¡¯s intention.


    Feeling frustrated, Andre¡¯s irritation turned directly to Leo, ¡°What does this have to do with you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Mr. Leo pointed at himself, looking very surprised.


    ¡°As if it¡¯s just business,¡± Andre demanded fiercely, ¡°Why are you the one representing us in the negotiations?¡±


    Before Winters could speak, Leo had an answer, explaining submissively, ¡°Please be assured, I absolutely did not betray the interests of you gentlemen. I went to negotiate because only if I did, was there room for mitigation.¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Andre wasn¡¯t convinced.


    ¡°If you were to negotiate,¡± Leo looked at Winters and continued smiling, ¡°Or if His Excellency Montaigne were to face them. Should the negotiations break down, then there would be no more chances. But if an insignificant person like me goes first and even if it breaks down, you gentlemen can still salvage the situation. Do you not agree?¡±


    Andre smacked his lips, ¡°Seems to make some sense.¡±


    Winters took a sip of fermenting water¡ªthe situation wasn¡¯t right, better fob it off for now and explain it to Andre later.


    Mr. Leo understood Andre¡¯s hostility and didn¡¯t plan to chat further, finding an excuse to say goodbye and leave.


    Then, there were only Winters and Andre left in this small conversational circle.


    After emptying a small bucket of fermenting water, Andre loosened his gold-embroidered red satin belt and said seriously, ¡°No good, I¡¯ve got to go to the restroom.¡±


    With that, he turned and walked away.


    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re not thinking of deserting, are you?¡± Winters grabbed Andre.


    ¡°How could I do such a thing?¡± Andre became anxious at once, ¡°I really need to go to the restroom!¡±


    Winters released him suspiciously, and Andre strode away, leaving Winters alone in the banquet hall.


    As the two men drank and chatted, the oddity wasn¡¯t quite apparent.


    But when Winters, a Venetian, was left alone amid a sea of Paratu dialect, a sense of loneliness surged in an instant.


    Looking around, Paratu officers were laughing and singing, drinking heartily, and Revodan gentlemen were forming groups, each huddled in circles.


    ¡°Anna must be waiting for me, right?¡± Winters thought. He wanted to leave, but also couldn¡¯t.


    Someone was approaching, and Winters instinctively looked toward the source of the sound: a bald man with a scarred face and a somewhat gaunt man were dragging another tall soldier over.

 Chapter 886 03-25 - 886 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3

    ?Chapter 886: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_3 Chapter 886: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_3 The first two individuals were the military head of Mont Blanc County, ¡°Colonel Gessa,¡± and the former military head of Iron Peak County, ¡°Major Ronald.¡±


    Winters did not recognize the person following them, but it was evident that his rank was not low either. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Both Gessa and Ronald were colonels, and as a captain, Winters respectfully saluted first.


    Gessa paused, then returned the salute.


    Since Winters had volunteered to return a thousand horses, Gessa¡¯s attitude towards him had softened considerably.


    The bald colonel, pleased, readily agreed to Winters¡¯ request to release prisoners¡ªWinters still had three of his men locked up in Gessa¡¯s prison.


    While the unfamiliar soldier sized up Winters, Winters was also observing him.


    ...


    The newcomer was tall, with deep-set eyes and a slightly gloomy expression.


    ¡°This is Thunder Group County¡¯s stationing officer, Colonel Skul,¡± Gessa took the initiative to introduce him to Winters, seeming worried that Winters might not understand, Gessa further explained, ¡°The Piaoqi Troops I brought are mostly from Thunder Group County.¡±


    After hearing this, Winters also gave a separate salute to Colonel Skul.


    Colonel Skul did not return the salute, his gaze complex as he looked at Winters: ¡°Which term are you from?¡±


    ¡°21st term,¡± replied Winters.


    ¡°It has already reached the 21st term,¡± Colonel Skul remarked with a hint of emotion before asking Winters directly, ¡°Was Zibeer killed by you?¡±


    Zibeer? A sting went through Winters, but he couldn¡¯t recall who that was. Searching his memory, he soon realized it was the name of Vernge County¡¯s stationing officer.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À0.§ã¦Ï


    As expected, such matters were unavoidable.


    ¡°Although I did not personally kill Colonel Zibeer. As the highest commander on the opposing side during the conflict, Colonel Zibeer did indeed die by my hand.¡±


    Hurry up then, whether to insult or to seek revenge, let it be quick.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the second floor balcony of the banquet hall, Colonel Moritz was passing a bottle of strong liquor to a drinking buddy he had encountered unexpectedly.


    ¡°Meeting on the battlefield means being enemies, clear and distinct,¡± Moritz leaned against a corner, propped up his legs, and said slowly, ¡°Now we¡¯ve become distant relatives, and things are difficult to cut loose, chaotic, and hard to separate¡­¡±


    Captain Moro stood leaning against the wall without a word.


    ¡­


    Colonel Skul¡¯s nostrils flared, words on the verge of bursting out, yet he held them back.


    The two of them stood face to face, neither speaking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hard on the kid,¡± Ronald¡¯s hand rested on Skul¡¯s shoulder, ¡°If Zibeer had the chance, Zibeer would have done the same.¡±


    Ronald was speaking up for Winters, but his words were like a branding iron, searing into Winters.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to ¡®excuse¡¯ me in this way, nor should you do so,¡± Winters stood up straight, wanting to say much, but in the end, only a short sentence was filtered out, ¡°The act of killing Colonel Zibeer followed my personal volition. It was not due to being compelled by circumstances or having no other choice.¡±


    Colonel Skul¡¯s body suddenly tensed, his cheeks twitching.


    If Skul was a reckless, simple-minded fellow, one who¡¯d shout, curse, and even swing his fist to teach this insolent youngster a lesson.


    But Skul was not like that; on the contrary, ever since joining the Land Academy, he was known for deep thought and outstanding eloquence.


    In just a brief conversation, Skul had realized that interrogation, blame, and questioning could not shake the person before him.


    In the end, a multitude of words condensed into a weak statement: ¡°Is it worth it? Do you really think all this is worth it?¡±


    Winters also fell silent.


    He did not know which road to take, nor what the end would look like. Even what he originally wanted had become somewhat blurred.


    And yet, merely by taking a step forward blindly, his footprints filled with blood.


    The battlefield covered with corpses at dawn, such scenes could cause anyone to doubt themselves.


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s worth it or not, I don¡¯t know¡­ Perhaps it will take many years to find out,¡± Winters replied softly, ¡°I say this not to rationalize my actions, nor for my self-esteem. I am merely certain of one thing, that allowing the current situation to continue will eventually bring about an even greater catastrophe.¡±


    Colonel Gessa and Major Ronald did not fully understand Winters¡¯ ¡°mad words,¡± but Colonel Skul understood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about such metaphysical matters,¡± Skul said with a fierce gaze, ¡°I want to ask you a more practical question¡ªare you going to continue fighting?¡±


    Skul pressed urgently, ¡°Can you continue to fight?¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that his conversation with Colonel Skul could skip over much of the middle content and get straight to the point.


    And Skul definitely wasn¡¯t trying to test his resolve.


    ¡°So what?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡­


    Two hours later.


    ¡°So what?¡± Andre asked eagerly.


    Bard and Mason were also fully attentive, waiting for the answer¡ªaside from Mr. A and Mr. B, all decision-makers from Iron Peak County were now seated around the small table.


    ¡°They want to offer us a truce,¡± said Winters.

 Chapter 887 03-25 - 887 11 Stirrup Wine

    ?Chapter 887: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine Chapter 887: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine Revodan.


    As the Piaoqi Troops lined up, Colonel Skul strolled along the banks of St. George River, inspecting this familiar yet unfamiliar city for the last time.


    The stone path was shrouded in pale blue smoke, with piles of pine branches and mugwort burning in the middle of the street, filling the air with a strange fragrance¡ªsaid to ward off the plague.


    Huge logs continuously passed through the curtain of smoke, drifting downstream.


    The logs were drawn ashore by boatmen, and men wielding axes, having waited a long time, split the branches into firewood, and the thick main trunks were sent into the noisy water-powered sawmill.


    Rebuilding homes required timber, and winter heating required fuel.


    The Rebels¡¯ government lifted the logging restrictions, and the material and energy accumulated in the forests for hundreds of years were being released anew.


    ...


    Skul¡¯s gaze lingered on the huge water wheel on the outside of the workshop¡ªa sawmill was already in use, while five more were under construction.


    The crisp sound of horse hooves; Colonel Gessa, riding a black steed, quickly arrived beside Skul.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Gessa asked.


    Skul, smelling the pine scent in the air, replied, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not quite sure.¡±


    Gessa followed Skul¡¯s gaze and couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a water wheel?¡±


    ¡°It is a water wheel,¡± Skul answered. ¡°But it¡¯s not just a water wheel.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thud!


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Thud!


    Thud!


    The air carried the rhythmic, dull vibrations.


    Across the river, Gessa peered and saw towering wooden towers appearing faintly through the mist.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not just a water wheel,¡± Gessa smacked his lips. ¡°There are pile drivers too.¡±


    On the opposite riverbank, thousands of common people were engaging in something uncommon for winter¡ªbuilding houses.


    With the freezing cold complicating construction, these people constructed a large amount of machinery: tower pile drivers, animal-powered cranes, and movable hoists¡­


    They used massive machinery typically reserved for building churches, fortresses, and palaces, but the resulting houses were so rudimentary it was laughable.


    What kind of houses were they, really?


    Four wooden pillars nailed with wooden boards formed the four walls, and a roof of the same wooden planks finished construction. Rather than calling it a residence, it seemed more like a prison.


    Meanwhile, at the construction site across the river.


    ¡°Move a bit more towards me!¡± Mason, his voice hoarse from shouting, waved his arms grandly, directing the crane operator: ¡°That¡¯s good! Lower it down! Slow down!¡±


    The roof hoisted mid-air gradually descended, and once the roof was in place, carpenters with hammers pulled away the supports to secure it.


    Unlike the normal housing construction sequence of ¡°first setting up beams, then adding the roof,¡± Mason¡¯s construction sites preassembled the roofs on the ground, which were then lifted up with cranes.


    Initially stunned, the residents of Iron Peak County were now used to such sights.


    If anyone thought these houses resembled prisons¡ªthey were absolutely correct!


    These homes were designed exactly like the barracks Mason had overseen at the labor farm.


    Moreover, to further save building materials, Revodan¡¯s barracks adopted a ¡°row house¡± structure. Here, houses were built next to each other, sharing a wall, thus greatly saving on wood.


    Even though the labor farm¡¯s barracks were barely ¡°detached homes,¡± Revodan¡¯s barracks were even less so than prisoners¡¯ barracks.


    Sea Blue¡¯s row houses were made of stone, robust and thick, offering substantial soundproofing.


    Revodan¡¯s row-house barracks only had a thin wooden board separating each room; nothing could be blocked from sight.


    Yet, the people of Iron Peak County assembling these barracks were eager to move in. Every person exerted their utmost effort, racing against time to build intensively.


    Thus, besides the women and children evacuated to Old Town, the majority of those in Revodan from Iron Peak County still only had crude tents that couldn¡¯t ward off the cold.


    And the weather was getting colder day by day.


    Thus, aesthetics and comfort were not considerations for now.


    At the construction site, men, women, elderly, and children¡ªnot construction workers by trade¡ªworked in clearly defined roles and orderly fashion.


    Anyone who had participated in Revodan¡¯s war preparations could recognize it; these men, women, elderly and children adopted the same organizational structure as during the city¡¯s fortification phase.


    Even like during the defense where ¡°who built which section of the wall, defended that same section,¡± now it was ¡°who built which barracks, would live in those barracks.¡±


    Overseeing the housing projects, Mason looked at the busy construction site and suddenly felt a bit of worry: ¡°This¡­ may well be the most embarrassing work of my life.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency?¡± Demon Ongs, half his face covered by a shocking birthmark, sensed something unusual and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you pleased? Isn¡¯t the project proceeding smoothly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to build,¡± Mason smacked his lips. ¡°But it will be difficult to take down later.¡±


    ¡°Take down? Why demolish it?¡± Demon Ongs¡¯s tone was as indifferent as ever. ¡°But if you really want to demolish it, it¡¯s not hard; these wooden barracks could be burned down to nothing with just a fire.¡±


    Mason chuckled bitterly, shaking his head, then suddenly looked startled: ¡°Oh no! These houses¡­ they won¡¯t end up being called ¡®Mason Houses,¡¯ will they?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Now then?¡± Gessa asked Skul. ¡°Do you still think a colonel¡¯s uniform can buy them off?¡±


    Skul, with a serene expression: ¡°At least I¡¯m now completely sure, Captain Montaigne cannot be bought.¡±

 Chapter 888 03-25 - 888 11 Stirrup Wine_2

    ?Chapter 888: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine_2 Chapter 888: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine_2 ¡°`


    ¡­


    ¡°Negotiation?¡± Andre asked Winters: ¡°Can we really trust them?¡±


    ¡°Trust is one thing,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°but I always feel like they could never truly accept us.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Isn¡¯t letting them be the same as raising tigers?¡± Gessa frowned deeply.


    ¡­


    Resting his chin on his hand, Andre said nonchalantly, ¡°After all the talk, sooner or later, we¡¯ll still have to fight.¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡°As it stands, the cost of using force will far exceed what we can afford,¡± Skul remarked as he observed the bustling figures on the opposite side of the river, speaking to Gessa, ¡°Once he distributes the land, things will get even more complicated.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was somewhat disheartened: ¡°If they want to negotiate, then let¡¯s negotiate. You know the situation in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°The current situation is clear to you,¡± Skul said gravely, ¡°We must stabilize them at all costs. We must prevent any complications that might disrupt the ¡®more important¡¯ strategies.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡­


    ¡°In any case, if it¡¯s possible to shed less blood,¡± Winters decided resolutely, ¡°then it¡¯s best to shed less blood.¡±


    ¡­


    The Piaoqi Troops were already equipped and ready, Colonel Skul and Colonel Gessa mounted their horses.


    In addition to those designated to see them off, many soldiers from Iron Peak County and citizens of Revodan spontaneously came to bid farewell.


    Winters held his glass steadily and walked calmly towards the three colonels¡¯ horses.


    According to Paratu traditions, in the presence of a lady host, ¡°Stirrup Wine¡± should be offered by her.


    However, Winters insisted on personally serving Stirrup Wine to the three colonels, so today there was no beloved kissing of the hostess.


    Winters didn¡¯t wish to speak those superficial fancy words. He stood in front of the cavalry, raising his hand in a solemn salute.


    After all, when the Herders invaded, these Paratu Cavalry came to Iron Peak County with their sabres, and Winters was genuinely grateful to them from his heart.


    Although it sounds clich¨¦, shared enmity is always the fastest way to build camaraderie among comrades-in-arms. It¡¯s hard to say goodbye to comrades with whom one has fought shoulder to shoulder, bathed in blood.


    Andre was the most emotional, his eyes even a little red. It was only because there was no alcohol in Iron Peak County that everyone remained relatively rational.


    Had it followed Paratu customs strictly, both sides would have been tearful, sniffling, drunkenly embracing and saying strange things by now.


    ¡°Enough, enough,¡± Colonel Gessa shivered, ¡°Don¡¯t you start with any sappy talk, I can¡¯t take it.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was hoping you could stay in Iron Peak County a little while longer.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, who gets sick in war?¡± Bringing up the old topic, Gessa was rather helpless, ¡°When people crowd together, naturally sickness arises. After a few days when the refugees scatter, that Aachen plague will disappear as well.¡±


    Regarding this matter, several conversations had already taken place. It wasn¡¯t possible to convince Colonel Gessa before, and it certainly couldn¡¯t be done with a few short words during the farewell.


    Winters composed his emotions and nodded his head in respect: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You should go thank Colonel Bod,¡± Colonel Gessa said as he grabbed the back of his slick head, speaking rapidly, ¡°Besides, we weren¡¯t here to help you. The Herders, well, they all need to be killed no matter what¡­ It¡¯s all thanks to General Adams and his so-called [intercept strategy], all of it¡¯s total bullshit! If Iron Peak County goes down, wouldn¡¯t the Herders just detour through Iron Peak County back to the wastelands? What¡¯s the use of his blocking action on the Border River in Vernge County¡­ it ends up being our job to wipe his ass¡­¡± Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`


    Winters left Colonel Gessa to his self-justifications, picked up another glass of wine, and approached Major Ronald¡¯s horse.


    ¡°Sorry, Major.¡±


    Major Ronald smiled, shaking his head and downed the glass of wine in one gulp.


    Lastly, Winters approached Colonel Skul¡¯s horse with the wine glass in hand.


    Colonel Skul took the glass and gazed at the much junior man before him, sighing deeply, leaving only one sentence after a thousand words: ¡°If only you had come to Thunder Group County earlier¡­¡±


    Winters did not speak, merely nodding his head in acknowledgment.


    ¡­


    Behind the second-floor window of the city hall, a man wearing a mask silently watched the people saying their farewells.


    ¡°You should come with us, Moro,¡± a Junior Officer dressed in Piaoqi Troops uniform, tugging at the masked man¡¯s sleeve, pleaded painstakingly: ¡°You still have a fianc¨¦e waiting for you!¡±


    Captain Moro remained silent.


    The Piaoqi Troops Captain knew that once his comrade resolved to do something, he could be as stubborn as a rock.


    The Cavalry could leave at any moment, and the Piaoqi Troops Captain, anxious and annoyed, demanded: ¡°Why on earth do you insist on staying here? At least convince me!¡±


    ¡°There are still so many people, just like I was before, being driven by the Herders like slaves,¡± Captain Moro replied, looking towards the figure serving Stirrup Wine: ¡°That guy said¡­ no, he claimed he could bring our people back¡­ so I won¡¯t be leaving here for the time being.¡±


    The Piaoqi Troops Captain was speechless; stamping his foot, he said: ¡°At least write a letter to Dunia! Let her know you¡¯re still alive!¡±


    Moro touched his mask subconsciously, the icy touch of the iron mask reaching his fingertips, and he said indifferently: ¡°It¡¯s better for her to think that I¡¯m dead.¡±


    ¡­


    The sharp sound of the military horn resonated, and the imposing Piaoqi Troops rode out of the city. The battle in Vernge County was not over yet; the Piaoqi Troops had to continue swinging their sabers.


    However, for the people of Iron Peak County, the departure of the Piaoqi Troops was like a ¡°signal¡± that divided tomorrow and yesterday into two parts.


    Though there were still small groups of Terdun people roaming lower Iron Peak County, though they still had to guard against enemies from Vernge County infiltrating Tiefeng, and though rebuilding their homes was immensely difficult, the darkest days had finally ended, and the people began to look forward to the arrival of something beautiful.


    Antonio Serviati also left with the Paratu Piaoqi Troops.


    Antonio¡¯s military duties made it impossible for him to stay in Tiefeng for long.


    He had arrived with a small escort, and he left with the same small escort¡ªplus Lieutenant Juan.


    Lieutenant Juan came to Tiefeng to bring Winters back to Vineta. However, it now seemed that this mission was impossible to complete.


    According to what Senior Juan said himself, the weather was quite fine in September, and now Paratu was too cold for his liking, he was homesick¡­


    Respecting Juan¡¯s wishes, Winters did not insist on detaining the senior, and neither did Antonio force Lieutenant Juan to stay.


    As for Colonel Moritz¡­ After a private meeting with Moritz, Antonio made a ¡°strategic adjustment.¡±


    Moritz received a verbal appointment, and in terms of organization, he was no longer part of the Third ¡°Da Weineta¡± Legion, but instead became a member of the [Vineta Military Advisory Group]¡ªthe theoretical military entity that would provide assistance to the Second Paratu Republic.


    Winters had not yet realized that Antonio had in fact assigned his best subordinate to him.


    ¡­


    With Antonio, Senior Juan, Ronald, Gessa¡­ many people leaving all at once, Winters felt suddenly empty, even somewhat at a loss.


    Fortunately, he finally had plenty of time to play with dogs, feed horses, sleep, and more importantly¡ªto be with Anna.


    But Anna¡­ Anna had her worries.

 Chapter 889 03-25 - 889 12 The Dog Marching

    ?Chapter 889: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching Chapter 889: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching Revodan, the stables of the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters.


    Father Emmond from the Revodan parish walked into the stables and found that, apart from Civil Guard Officer Montaigne, there was another man wearing an iron mask present. The two were engaged in a conversation.


    ¡°¡­Building a stone bridge is much more troublesome than a wooden one,¡± the man in the iron mask spoke in a deep voice, ¡°But then again¡­ what you have plenty of right now is manpower, so it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to build if you really want to¡­¡±


    Accompanying the continuous strange noises, Father Emmond heard the voice of Civil Guard Officer Montaigne from the innermost part of the stables:


    ¡°What was before is before, now is now, things have changed¡­ Previously, people reluctantly accepted working without pay. Now it¡¯s different, no one wants to work for free¡­ Ah, I do miss the people of Terdun¡­ Could I entrust this matter to you¡­¡±


    The masked man snickered sarcastically, ¡°I eat your food, drink your drinks, and stay in your accommodations, do I have the right to refuse?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you do.¡±


    The masked man obviously lacked the awe towards Blood Wolf that people of Iron Peak County had; he just snorted indifferently.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take that as your agreement. How long will the construction take?¡±


    The masked man casually responded, ¡°Two or three years, perhaps.¡±


    ...


    The strange noise stopped, and Civil Guard Officer Montaigne came out of the stable with a shovel, ¡°Two or three years?!¡±


    But this pause allowed Father Emmond, who had been awkwardly standing there undetected, to finally be noticed. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Good day, gentlemen.¡± Father Emmond made a cross over his chest, greeting them promptly: ¡°Good day.¡±


    ¡°Good day.¡± Winters recognized the man as the current acting manager of the Revodan Cathedral and nodded back.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã?


    ¡°Should I leave first?¡± Father Emmond asked awkwardly.


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°Captain Moro and I were discussing the bridge construction. Please, stay and listen.¡±


    Then, Winters addressed the masked man, ¡°Two to three years is too long.¡±


    ¡°What you want is a stone bridge, not a wooden one.¡± Moro¡¯s impatience was palpable even behind the mask, ¡°Given the span of the St. George River, two to three years is actually short. Four to five years could also be possible. It mainly depends on how much manpower and money you can provide.¡±


    Winters immediately countered, ¡°How many people do you need and how much money? And how long will it take?¡±


    With others present, Moro preferred not to speak much. He sighed deeply, ¡°You wait¡­ Tomorrow, I will submit a written plan to you.¡±


    With that, Moro was about to leave.


    Winters wouldn¡¯t let his senior off so easily: ¡°I have another question, it¡¯s so cold in winter, wouldn¡¯t underwater construction be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no safe underwater construction,¡± Moro replied disdainfully, ¡°Wait until summer, the rainy season, and you won¡¯t even be able to build then!¡±


    Moro then bowed slightly to Father Emmond, ignoring Winters¡¯ continued concerns, and left the stables without looking back.


    Watching his senior leave, Winters politely explained to Father Emmond, ¡°During the previous siege, the bridge was demolished. Since it needs to be rebuilt, I thought it might be better to just build a stone bridge.¡±


    Father Emmond¡¯s expression turned awkward because the old wooden bridge was actually the property of the Revodan Monastery, and outsiders had to pay the monastery to cross it.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a blessing from the Lord for Revodan to have such a wise and kind Civil Guard Officer.¡± Father Emmond positioned himself properly, generously offering praises.


    Winters, holding a shovel, walked back into the stable, ¡°Did you come to visit me for any specific reason?¡±


    Father Emmond¡¯s gaze wandered inside the stable, past a door where a pure black little pony and two puppies were.


    The little pony stood in a corner of the stable, looking aggrieved.


    The two puppies were running frantically by Civil Guard Officer Montaigne¡¯s side, their running style odd¡ª all high-stepping. Not like dogs¡­ more like a horse¡¯s dance steps.


    Father Emmond finally realized the source of the strange noise: it turns out, Civil Guard Officer Montaigne was shoveling horse manure.


    ¡°You truly have a knack for raising hunting dogs.¡± Father Emmond strained his brain for a compliment, ¡°They even march properly.¡±


    Winters, who was shoveling, stiffened up, his face darkening a bit.


    ¡°This little black horse is quite spirited too!¡±


    The dog timely barked.


    ¡°Father, what is it you need.¡± Winters paused, leaning on his shovel, ¡°Please, speak frankly.¡±


    Father Emmond forced a pleasing smile, ¡°I heard your wife rides horses?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for ladies to ride big horses.¡± Father Emmond warmly suggested, ¡°I have brought two small horses that the nuns ride; I hope you¡¯ll accept them.¡±


    Winters was both amused and befuddled.


    After the former bishop of the Revodan district died in a fall, the Revodan Monastery and the cathedral were temporarily managed by Father Emmond.


    Unlike the slick, accident-prone former bishop, Father Emmond was naive, stiff, and extremely devout.


    From Winters¡¯ observation, Father Emmond was likely selected because other monks feared Blood Wolf, putting this honest man in the front.


    Luckily, Father Emmond was agreeable, cooperating well with Winters¡¯ arrangements.


    However, to the extent that gifting made the recipient quite uncomfortable, Revodan probably only had him.


    Seeing his hesitance in addressing the main issue, Winters cut to the chase, ¡°If what you seek is the position of the bishop of Revodan¡ªI must speak frankly, that is an internal affair of your church, and I have no intention to interfere. You better take the small horses back.¡±

 Chapter 890 03-25 - 890 12 The Dog Marching_2

    ?Chapter 890: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_2 Chapter 890: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_2 The Church is a centralized and top-down organization, although the Pope is miles away, the selection of the next bishop still has to be decided by him¡ªat least in theory.


    However, how it is actually carried out involves internal power struggles within the Church, and Winters does not want to get involved in these murky waters.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Father Emmond shook his head desperately, ¡°The appointment and removal of a bishop should be ordained by His Holiness the Pope, how dare I scheme!¡±


    Winters, leaning on his iron shovel, did not respond, silently waiting for the other party to continue speaking.


    ¡°It seems you have been short of money recently?¡± Emmond tentatively asked, ¡°What if Revodan Monastery donates a sum of cash to you again? Right! Let¡¯s donate it in the name of bridge repair!¡±


    Winters felt wronged, he really wanted to question the other side, ¡°Bridge construction and road paving are public expenditures, how can you say it¡¯s giving me money?¡±


    But when the words left his lips, they turned into: ¡°Then how much can you offer?¡±


    ...


    Emmond carefully mentioned a weight¡ªthe weight of gold.


    Winters cleared his throat, fetched two stools from beside him, and helped Father Emmond to sit down.


    Then Winters sat down himself, face to face, and asked seriously, ¡°Tell me, what exactly do you want?¡±


    Emmond explained anxiously, ¡°I, as well as the other brothers of the monastery, don¡¯t want to ask you for anything, we just hope that you can respect a sacred and established right of the Church.¡±


    ¡°What right?¡± Winters observed Father Emmond with interest, ¡°Worth two ponies plus most of your estate?¡±


    Emmond swallowed, ¡°The right to internal trials.¡±


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    After some time.


    Andre led two miniature horses into the stables. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The small ponies were about one meter tall, barely reaching Andre¡¯s waist, looking more like two large dogs.


    ¡°Where did these little guys come from?¡± Andre asked as soon as he entered: ¡°They really are rare creatures.¡±


    Playing with the puppies without looking up, Winters replied, ¡°Do you want one? I¡¯ll give you one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it; they are for old men and women to ride.¡± Andre found an empty stall and temporarily locked the small ponies inside: ¡°Me riding them? That¡¯d be like riding rabbits.¡±


    ¡°They were sent by Father Emmond of Revodan Monastery.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense then; nuns and monks ride these kinds of horses.¡± Andre dragged two large bundles of oat straw, rolled up his sleeves, and started bedding another stall. ¡°But don¡¯t look down on them, these horses are precious! Worth more than ordinary horses. They are also troublesome to raise, if I leave them with you, I bet they¡¯d die sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave them to you then.¡±


    ¡°When will I have the time?¡± Andre spit out the straw from his mouth, standing outside the fence of the stables waiting for the dust to settle.


    Seeing the two small hunting dogs fighting at Winters¡¯ feet, he couldn¡¯t help laughing, ¡°But really, I shouldn¡¯t leave them to you, look what you are raising? Horses bark like dogs, dogs march in step, you can¡¯t argue with that.¡±


    Looking at the two high-stepping puppies, Winters covered his face and sighed deeply.


    Gerard Mitchell¡¯s hunting dogs had a litter of puppies, and when Mrs. Mitchell left Wolf Town, she took two of the puppies with her as companions.


    Later, the two puppies were raised with Changsheng. The result was puppies walking in a military march, with Changsheng barking out of tune every day.


    ¡°Ronald brought back a prisoner from Iron Peak County.¡± Winters picked up a puppy and placed it on his lap to comb its fur, ¡°Did you know?¡±


    The puppy, which couldn¡¯t stop for a moment, suddenly turned very obedient when Winters grabbed it, and tongue-lapped Winters¡¯ fingers.


    Andre, seeing that the dust had settled, led the two small ponies into the stable, ¡°Heard it¡¯s a clergy member from the Church?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Have you seen that person?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t come back with Ronald.¡± Andre picked up an empty bucket to get water for the small ponies: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Winters fiddled with the chubby ears of the puppy: ¡°The Church wants to deal with that prisoner.¡±


    Andre stopped, looking surprised, ¡°Deal with?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, calling it dealing with is a polite expression. A more accurate term would be¡­¡± Winters put down the puppy, watching it dash away chasing its sibling, and slowly uttered a term: ¡°[Religious tribunal trial].¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Andre was dumbfounded, ¡°Ah?¡±


    Winters and Andre were born after the establishment of the Alliance, not experiencing the religious oppression of the Imperial Era.


    The term ¡®religious tribunal trial¡¯ gave both of them a visceral feeling, like seeing an old coat pulled out from the very bottom of a box¡ªmoldy, wormy, rotten-smelling¡ªboth familiar and strange, but mainly uncomfortable.


    The frown on Winters¡¯ forehead tightened slightly, ¡°From the price Emmond started with, as long as I nod, Revodan Monastery would probably set up the stakes immediately.¡±


    ¡°Stakes? Wait?¡± Andre dropped the water bucket: ¡°Where did they get so much hatred? Isn¡¯t the prisoner just an old man? Are they going to burn an old man?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Winters pondered deeply, ¡°According to Emmond, the trial of clergy members is an internal affair of the Church. He opened a very high price, hoping I ¡®respect their sacred right.''¡±


    Andre¡¯s jaws hadn¡¯t closed in a long while, ¡°The Church? Internal trial? Is that even a thing? Really?¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, at least according to Emmond¡ª that¡¯s the case.¡±

 Chapter 891 03-25 - 891 12 The Dog Marching_3

    ?Chapter 891: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_3 Chapter 891: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_3 ¡°`


    ¡°That¡­¡± Andre was puzzled for a moment, then asked with confusion, ¡°If it¡¯s an internal affair, why do they still need your consent? A very high price? Are they trying to bribe you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the interesting part.¡± Winters stood up and paced, ¡°In fact, it has nothing to do with me, so why bribe me? Why do they need my permission?¡±


    ¡°That does make sense.¡± Andre understood, ¡°Without our nod, who would dare set up a stake for burning in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°If only it were that simple.¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Do you know what price Edmond offered me?¡±


    Andre tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.


    Winters named a weight, then added lightly a word: ¡°Pure gold.¡±


    Andre took a deep breath, ¡°Otherwise, just agree to it, since it¡¯s the Church¡¯s own business, why meddle? It¡¯s not related to us anyway!¡±


    ...


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why offer such a high price? Couldn¡¯t they just mention it to me casually, or go ahead with the burning and report back later?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Andre was at a loss for words, ¡°So did you agree to him?¡±


    ¡°I neither agreed nor disagreed. In order not to expose my hand, I hinted to Father Edmond¡ª¡± Winters took a straw casually, momentarily entering a casting state to stimulate his mind.


    The phantom pain made Winters¡¯ smile somewhat eerie: ¡°They have to pay more.¡±


    As if there were an invisible pair of scissors moving back and forth in midair, the straw shortened inch by inch, so precise that the eye couldn¡¯t distinguish the difference between two cuts.


    Winters sorted out his thoughts and suddenly smiled playfully, ¡°Could it be that Edmond thinks we know much more information than we actually do? That¡¯s why he offered such a high price to us.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã?


    ¡°Uh¡­ well¡­ seems¡­ kinda makes sense¡­¡± Andre pondered for a long time, slapping his thigh, ¡°Damn it, why bother with all this! Just grab that old man and interrogate him, won¡¯t we know everything?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem.¡± Winters tossed the last bit of the straw, which disintegrated in midair. He said helplessly, ¡°The prisoner isn¡¯t in my hands.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t that old man come back with Ronald?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯ve sent Xial to investigate.¡± Winters walked up to Changsheng, who also licked his fingers with a whimpering sound: ¡°Even if the prisoner did return with Ronald, I have no knowledge of his whereabouts thereafter.¡±


    Andre slapped his thigh again, ¡°Could it be that the old man has already fallen into the Church¡¯s hands?¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Then what Edmond would have brought me should have been news of his death.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t get it.¡± Andre pulled at his hair vigorously, picking up a bucket on the ground, ¡°I better go feed the horses.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that complicated. There¡¯s another person hidden in this matter, the one sheltering that prisoner.¡± Winters caressed Changsheng¡¯s soft mane, his thoughts drifting far away.


    He slowly summarized the information he knew: ¡°Someone with the motive to shelter the prisoner, the capability to do so. Most importantly, someone who could lead Father Edmond and others to believe that ¡®it is Winters Montagne sheltering that prisoner¡¯¡­ Who could that be?¡±


    Andre stood still in a daze, his face expressing oddity, and whispered, ¡°Your wife?¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    A quarter of an hour later.


    ¡°Father Caman!¡± Winters kicked the door open fiercely, ¡°What have you done in my name this time!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 892 03-25 - 892 13 Renewal Congress

    ?Chapter 892: Chapter 13: Renewal Congress Chapter 892: Chapter 13: Renewal Congress ¡°The vast majority of people in Iron Peak County consider you my man, no matter if it¡¯s true or not, am I right?¡±


    ¡°So your actions not only represent yourself, but also my attitude, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°We just went through a very tough battle; what Iron Peak County needs the least right now is internal conflicts. I cannot openly confront the church, you should be clear about that.¡±


    Besides seizing the initiative when he entered, Winters had no further aggressive behavior.


    He calmly discussed facts and reason with Caman, without even a hint of reproach in his tone.


    ¡°Father Edmund just gave me an ultimatum.¡± Winters sighed heavily: ¡°For such matters, you should have consulted with me first. Otherwise, it ends up like this¡ªputting me in a very passive position.¡±


    Caman¡¯s cheeks flushed to a deep purple. He stood up stiffly and, with reluctance, bowed, his voice as faint as a butterfly flapping its wings: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Actually, Winters had a bit of a playful thought to tease Caman, given that Caman was usually indifferent to him.


    But seeing Caman bow and apologize due to a sense of guilt, Winters didn¡¯t feel any triumph, instead, he felt quite uncomfortable.


    ¡°Hmm, such a good attitude, I¡¯m actually not quite accustomed to it!¡± Winters quickly pushed Caman back into his seat, jokingly said: ¡°You couldn¡¯t have really gotten yourself into some big trouble, could you?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Caman tried to stand up again.


    Winters sensed a whiff of danger.


    ¡°Mr. Caman.¡± Winters held Caman¡¯s shoulder, asking: ¡°Are we friends?¡±


    Caman was first taken aback, then glared at Winters angrily.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°We¡¯ve been through so much together, even if we¡¯re not friends, we¡¯re close to it. I would never betray you, and I believe you wouldn¡¯t betray me either.¡± Winters earnestly said: ¡°But right now I still don¡¯t know what I¡¯m being dragged into, I think you should give me some explanation.¡±


    Caman hesitated, struggling for a long time, finally gave up: ¡°I¡¯ve taken a vow of secrecy before the True Holy Emblem¡­¡±


    Caman didn¡¯t need to mention it, but mentioning the ¡°vow of secrecy¡± somehow piqued Winters¡¯ interest¡ªbecause the last time Caman talked about the vow of secrecy was when discussing Divine Arts.


    Winters immediately left the room, ordering Xial to stand guard outside the door, not allowing anyone to approach.


    After closing the door, Winters poured Caman a glass of water: ¡°A vow of secrecy? Can you tell me the wording? Is it stringent? Maybe I can find a loophole.¡±


    Caman snorted disdainfully, without responding.


    ¡°How about this? I ask questions, you only answer ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯.¡±


    Caman shook his head: ¡°No.¡±


    Winters suggested a few more methods, all rejected by Caman.


    ¡°Ah, I see. Any response you give would break the vow.¡± Winters grew increasingly intrigued: ¡°That¡¯s pretty stringent.¡±


    ¡°This matter won¡¯t involve you for too long.¡± Caman said with difficulty: ¡°I just need to buy some time.¡±


    ¡°Suppose there¡¯s another country to the east, suppose that country has another Heretic Church, suppose that country¡¯s Heretic Church also has another vow of secrecy¡­¡± Winters interrupted Caman, pacing the room: ¡°Our discussion is all about hypotheticals, can we circumvent the vow this way?¡±


    ¡°You can fool others, but not yourself.¡± Caman shook his head: ¡°Even if you can fool yourself, you can¡¯t fool the Lord.¡±


    Winters as if didn¡¯t hear Caman¡¯s words, he stopped pacing, and presented the final solution: ¡°No other choice then, how about this¡ªI¡¯ll state the facts, and you don¡¯t need to respond or show any opinion, just listen to me speak.¡±


    Caman was somewhat irritated: ¡°How do you not understand? Just by me tolerating you talking about this topic, I may have already breached the vow.¡±


    ¡°Possibly?¡± Winters caught the loophole in Caman¡¯s words: ¡°You said ¡®possibly,¡¯ right? Since there¡¯s a possibility, it means the vow does have some room for flexibility.¡±


    Caman clenched his mouth shut in anger.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, how can those of you who took the vow of secrecy communicate? Can¡¯t be that the vow restricts you to ¡®speak only with another person who has taken the vow¡¯,¡± Winters, grabbing onto the oversight as if in a swordfight, pressed continuously: ¡°If I take a vow too, would you be able to talk to me?¡±


    Caman¡¯s shoulders and hands were trembling.


    ¡°Nevermind, let¡¯s not talk about that today.¡± Winters rationally decided not to further provoke Caman; he poured himself a glass of water, not caring whether Caman wanted to listen or not, just talked to himself: ¡°Major Ronald mentioned in a letter, he rescued an old slave from the hands of the Herders, who claimed to be Father Saul, no further details¡­¡±


    Caman sat with an expressionless face.


    Winters carefully observed Caman¡¯s expression. To him, the fact Caman did not stand up and leave meant victory.


    A vow? No matter how stringent the words are, it¡¯s ultimately people who carry out the vow¡ªpeople are the biggest loophole.


    ¡°¡­the old slave who claimed to be Father Saul, after coming to Central Iron Peak County, you were the first to see him¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, saying each word deliberately: ¡°and it was you who hid him.¡±


    Caman stared at the water glass, showing no reaction, but his emotions involuntarily betrayed him.


    Winters¡¯ tone was plain, as if he was making small talk: ¡°You wanted to move in secret, but there are no secrets that don¡¯t get out. The monks at Revodan Monastery learned of this, and their reaction was beyond your expectation. You had no choice but to use my name¡ªor rather, you wanted to leverage my reputation to buy time for yourself¡­¡±

 Chapter 893 03-25 - 893 13 The Reform Council_2

    ?Chapter 893: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_2 Chapter 893: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_2 Caman stared at the water in the cup as if the Holy Mother appeared in the reflection.


    Winters sat back in the chair, his tone carrying a hint of reproach: ¡°How can you be so naive?¡±


    Caman suddenly lifted his head, his gaze piercing Winters.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve used my name, there¡¯s no way you could keep me in the dark! Look, didn¡¯t Emond find his way directly to me?¡±


    Unperturbed by Caman¡¯s angry stare, Winters casually commented:


    ¡°I initially thought you had a special status in the Church. And the outcome? You couldn¡¯t even suppress a few country Priests! Is this how the Church favors users of Divine Arts? I really wonder, how does the Church balance power and Divine Arts? Don¡¯t you ever rebel?¡±


    ¡°Enough! Do you think we are like you?¡± Caman was absolutely incensed: ¡°The status of the clergy is equal, not distinguished by the divine gifts as high or low, noble or base!¡±


    ¡°Equal? Then what about the Holy Orders?¡± Winters retorted: ¡°Why are some Bishops, some Priests, and some poor enough to starve to death?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The Holy Orders are sacraments, they are missions and responsibilities! When knocking on the gates of heaven, everyone is equal!¡±


    ¡°Missions? Responsibilities? Do you really believe in what you¡¯re saying?¡± Winters propped up his chin.


    Caman rolled up his sleeves: ¡°[Profanity ¨C despite being emotionally volatile, it has weak lethality]!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Seeing that he was about to personally experience a potentially fatal Divine Art, Winters quickly called a halt: ¡°I¡¯m not here to debate theology with you. Didn¡¯t the great debate end thirty years ago?¡±


    ¡°I only have one question for you.¡± In an instant, Winters¡¯ expression turned cold, his swift emotional shift catching Caman off guard.


    Winters asked coldly, ¡°Where is that captive?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï


    ¡­


    A quarter of an hour later, at the lodging of the Revodan military officers.


    After making a round, Winters found himself back at his own residence.


    Winters finally understood ¨C why did Father Emond offer him a shameful bribe? Why didn¡¯t the Revodan Monastery simply kill the person first and report later?


    Caman had hidden the person in the lair of the Blood Wolf; who would dare to reach out?


    ¡°You¡¯ve hidden the person here?¡± Winters asked Caman in surprise.


    Caman seemed embarrassed, but still responded with a cold expression: ¡°A temporary stay.¡±


    ¡°What I mean is.¡± Winters pointed at the kitchen door, somewhat incredulously: ¡°Regardless, the person is a clergy member, and you¡¯ve put them in the kitchen.¡±


    Caman was even more ashamed: ¡°It was Brother Saul who requested this.¡±


    Pushing open the door, the kitchen was warm. The fire burned vigorously, and something ¡°burbled¡± in the pot.


    An old man with gray hair hunched over the stove, peeling the skin off a beet.


    Winters could never have imagined that the ¡°heretic¡± whom the Church of Iron Peak County insisted on purging, would turn out to be such an old man nearing the end of his days.


    The old man didn¡¯t seem surprised by the arrival of Winters and Caman, as if he had long anticipated this moment.


    He squinted to see who the visitors were, nodded in greeting, and continued peeling the beet in his hands.


    Winters walked to the side of the pot to take a look at the thick soup being cooked.


    ¡°So the soup this morning was your creation.¡± Winters smiled wryly: ¡°No wonder it had a taste of the prairies ¨C I thought I was imagining too much.¡±


    ¡°Just a slapdash effort.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh heartily: ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡®slapdash¡¯ how the Herders make soup?¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man also showed a knowing smile, with only Caman standing awkwardly aside.


    ¡°Elder, I have some questions to ask. But he won¡¯t tell me.¡± Winters pointed at Caman: ¡°So I have to come to you.¡±


    ¡°Ask away,¡± the old man picked up another beet, continuing to peel: ¡°If you¡¯re willing to listen.¡±


    Winters sat down on the floor, because he was taller than the old man, their gazes leveled: ¡°Haven¡¯t you taken a vow of secrecy?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°You can still speak even after taking a vow of secrecy?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°Brother Saul!¡± Caman spoke out anxiously.


    ¡°Brother Caman,¡± the old man referred to as Saul continued peeling slowly: ¡°I¡¯ve been excommunicated.¡±


    Caman was left speechless, angrily pushing the door open to leave.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to listen, so he left.¡± Winters got up, poured two cups of hot soup, and sat back down: ¡°That¡¯s alright, we can talk slowly.¡±


    The old man was noncommittal.


    Interrogations typically start with questions about name, age, and origin, but Winters didn¡¯t care for those details. So he went straight to the crux of the matter: ¡°Why does the Revodan Church insist on killing you?¡±


    The old man was silent for a moment: ¡°Because I belong to the [Reformist Association].¡±


    Once a lead was found, the rest was simple.


    ¡°The Reformist Association.¡± Winters continued inquiring along that keyword: ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°The Reformist Association is¡­¡± the old man stopped his hands, a complex emotion that Winters couldn¡¯t understand appeared in his eyes, but it was only for a moment.


    The old man continued peeling the beet: ¡°An association that has already perished.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Winters took a small sip of the hot soup: ¡°I have time.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What is human nature?


    The pursuit of reason? Or the uncontrollable impulse?


    The binary form clearly cannot effectively explain this, but even the most pessimistic philosophers of human nature have to admit: sometimes, the pursuit of reason takes precedence.


    For exploring the laws of everything is an instinct of mankind, even faced with ¡°God,¡± humans would want an explanation.


    Hence, we witness a peculiar sight: the foundation of orthodox scholastic theology is rigorous logic, and given its premises, scholastic theology is logically consistent.

 Chapter 894 03-25 - 894 13 The Reform Council_3

    ?Chapter 894: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_3 Chapter 894: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_3 Divine Arts were no different.


    At the birth of the public faith¡ªnot the Church¡ªDivine Arts were regarded as miracles, God¡¯s grace, the gospel spread through the hands of the clergy. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Ancient Empire originally revered a polytheistic old religion and fiercely opposed the ¡°heretics¡± who believed in public faith, with massacres and persecutions being commonplace.


    Initially, public faith was a religion of the poor, ¡°It¡¯s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,¡± thus facing the ruling class¡¯s knives with no resistance at all.


    For public faith to continue to exist, there was only one way: eliminate the rival and take their place.


    Thus, public faith, originally spread among the poor, began to actively court the powerful and even transform itself to cater to the ruling class.


    The Church¡ªa strict, centralized organizational entity¡ªalso began to take shape during this period.


    ...


    Eventually, public faith was formally recognized as the state religion by Emperor Constantine.


    From then on, the Church, with the power of the state, systematically eradicated the old religious system and derogatorily termed it ¡°heretic religion.¡±


    In the battle for the upper echelons between the Church and the old religion, the unique Divine Arts played an immensely significant role.


    As the Church¡¯s position became more stable, unshakable to the point of immovability, the Church¡¯s clergy finally had the leisure to ponder one question:


    What are Divine Arts?


    Divine Arts are certainly God¡¯s grace, but how is it realized? Is it logically provable?


    Are Divine Arts purely miracles? Or does the caster have some degree of participation?


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    If it¡¯s the former, it means Divine Arts can be separated; if it¡¯s the latter, then what is the proportion between the two?


    Once the fire of doubt is lit, it immediately spreads uncontrollably.


    Discussions became more numerous, and opposing views started to emerge, with the Church in the east and the west of the Empire even severely in opposition, historically known as ¡°the First Debate.¡±


    For the Church, this was a debate about truth. But for the ruling group, it was internal bleeding of the Empire.


    The Emperor at that time was Diocletian II, who had no interest in theology and had no desire to watch theological debates.


    The Emperor wanted peace and quiet, good and honest.


    Therefore, Diocletian II eventually issued the ¡°Mia Edict,¡± with an attitude of ¡°you are all correct, but no more discussions allowed,¡± forcibly quelling the First Debate.


    If the Angel Envoys who struggled with heretic religions a hundred years ago and laid the foundations of public faith heard the content of the First Debate, they would probably slam the desk and curse: ¡°I think you¡¯re all just full of nonsense!¡±


    But there¡¯s no helping it, once people are freed from the crisis of existence, they begin to ponder the meaning of existence.


    The Mia Edict temporarily quelled the debate, but it did not solve the fundamental problem.


    The silenced clergy turned to examine ancient records, hoping to find evidence to support their own arguments from historical archives.


    However, they could not find the original records of Divine Arts¡ªcomplete blanks.


    Instead, some found something else¡ªdescriptions of the heretic religion¡¯s witchcraft.


    Although most texts about heretic religions had been erased by the victors, there were still snippets of evidence proving that heretic religions also had the power to ¡°achieve things beyond the ordinary,¡± just not as valued by the elites as public faith¡¯s Divine Arts.


    This discovery caused a huge uproar, if heretic religion also had ¡°Divine Arts,¡± then¡­ that meant public faith would become a castle in the air.


    The Church immediately split into two factions.


    One faction shouted hysterically ¡°Stop the inquiry! Divine Arts are God¡¯s grace, a miracle. The witchcraft of heretic religion is the devil¡¯s dark magic, an impure power.¡±


    The other faction believed firmly ¡°We must investigate thoroughly, otherwise the doctrine of public faith will forever exist with logical flaws.¡±


    In the end, it was the Emperor who stepped in to calm the debate.


    This time, Diocletian II did not muddy the waters. He fully supported the ¡°Miracle Faction,¡± and launched a brutal purge against the ¡°Inquiry Faction.¡±


    Members of the Inquiry Faction were branded as heretics, most of their clergy were arrested, judged, and executed by fire.


    Those surviving clergy went underground, fleeing to the edge of the world¡ªto the wild lands beyond the reach of the Emperor and the Church.


    This was known as ¡°the First Great Schism.¡±


    From then on, the inquiry into Divine Arts became a taboo of the Church, with related content forbidden to be looked up, discussed, or even mentioned.


    ¡­


    ¡°Diocletian II, and the clergy of that era, might have thought that was the end of it,¡± said the old man Saul with his back to Winters, reaching his hand closer to the hearth to warm himself: ¡°But do you know what the most terrifying thing is? The reverberations of the First Great Schism still haven¡¯t subsided to this day.¡±


    Winters was so engrossed that he kept sipping the soup, utterly unaware that his cup had already emptied.


    ¡°Just as Diocletian II anticipated, the debates subsided, and it was so for a very long time. The Ancient Empire was destroyed, and people built a new Empire on its corpse. The Church sometimes declined, sometimes prospered, but it essentially thrived. The warm lands were all converted, and so the Church began to send missionaries to the northern borders in a planned manner,¡± said the old man Saul, lost in thought: ¡°That was probably about five centuries ago.¡±


    Winters was momentarily bewildered.


    ¡°Then, those monks who went to the north to preach discovered,¡± Saul¡¯s voice fluctuated in the light of the hearth: ¡°that the ¡®Demigods¡¯ of the northern Barbarian tribes actually possessed the Divine Arts unique to the Church¡­ and even could perform even more astonishing miracles.¡±

 Chapter 895 03-25 - 895 14 Divine Arts

    ?Chapter 895: Chapter 14 Divine Arts Chapter 895: Chapter 14 Divine Arts Firewood crackled in the stove, the bright yellow flames flickering unpredictably.


    ¡°If you are implying that ¡®all Divine Arts originate from the Church¡¯s Divine Arts,¡¯ it¡¯s a bit too arrogant.¡± Winters put down his cup. ¡°But that does sound like the usual style of the Church.¡±


    Saul placed the peeled beetroots on the stove, stirred up the fire a bit more vigorously, and added some more wood: ¡°No, quite the opposite.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why?¡±


    Saul, with his back turned to Winters, didn¡¯t answer directly: ¡°You have seen Heretic Divine Arts, haven¡¯t you? From your attitude, I should say¡­ you have personally encountered Heretic Divine Arts.¡±


    Winters was not a devout believer and did not shy away from the fact that he was saved by Hurd the Shaman: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You have also encountered Church Divine Arts.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Father Kaman one of your priests?¡± Winters said without thinking: ¡°I¡¯ve seen him heal the wounded.¡±


    Hearing Winters¡¯ words, Saul shook his head: ¡°What do you think is the difference between the two?¡±


    Winters weighed his words: ¡°Different paths, similar destinations.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you also think they are similar, right?¡±


    ¡°Within what I know, a part of them are indeed similar.¡± Winters answered cautiously. ¡°But I don¡¯t know much.¡±


    Saul paused for a moment, calmly using the third person: ¡°For the priests, even ¡®similarity¡¯ is already a grave offense.¡±


    ¡°Heretics also eat bread with their mouths, wield a knife and fork with their hands, and have limbs and facial features.¡± Winters frowned slightly: ¡°Isn¡¯t such blatant copying even more offensive?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    The door was pushed open, and Father Kaman stormed into the kitchen: ¡°Saracens do not eat bread! Nor do they use cutlery! Saint Philip considers them ¡®the fourth nation,¡¯ so it¡¯s completely understandable that Saracens look like us!¡±


    ¡°Why are you back again?¡± Winters asked helplessly.


    ¡°Ignoring a breach of confidentiality is also a violation of my oath,¡± Kaman replied stiffly.


    ¡°Rest assured, Father Kaman, I have not broken my oath,¡± Saul slowly sat back on the stool and sighed: ¡°I¡¯m just talking about some past events to someone who wants to listen.¡±


    ¡°May I listen in?¡± Kaman immediately asked.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡±


    The kitchen in the officer¡¯s quarters was very cramped, with only two stools, one for the old man, one for Winters. Kaman, reluctant to leave in a huff and unable to bring himself to sit on the table or stove, had no choice but to stand.


    Winters noticed there was another stool in the woodpile, but he planned to wait a bit before telling Kaman: ¡°I suppose I¡¯ve rounded back to the origin of Saracens for you. What about further east? Brother Reed has two arms and two legs, doesn¡¯t he? And he is from the Far East.¡±


    ¡°The Far East also has a rich, powerful nation that worships the Church, and their ruler is named Priest King John,¡± Kaman suddenly became serious: ¡°Thus, they are also descendants of Adam and Eve, naturally looking like us.¡±


    Winters¡¯ expression turned a bit delicate, and with pity, he looked at Kaman: ¡°You¡­ weren¡¯t you deceived by that old man Reed, were you?¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since Saul the elder was present, Kaman couldn¡¯t erupt in anger and explained seriously: ¡°Priest King John is the descendant of the three wise men from the east, blessed by the Lord with immortality and eternal youth, [he is stronger and richer than anyone else in the world. His roof and inner walls are built with gold, and so are the weapons of his army]. In the year 237 of the Empire, the pope at that time received a letter from Priest King John, and many popes have sent people to find Priest King John¡­¡±


    The more Winters listened, the more outrageous it seemed, and he turned his head to ask Saul the elder: ¡°Do you believe that?¡±


    Saul the elder seemed to smile, non-commitally.


    Silence being the deepest contempt, Kaman felt slightly aggrieved: ¡°Everything I have said is clearly recorded in the archives of the highest cathedral.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t want to continue the topic, but couldn¡¯t help but retort: ¡°Is everything written on parchment true?¡±


    Feeling aggrieved and defiant, Kaman gradually became cold and stern: ¡°Your current thoughts are no different from those advocated by the Heretic Oath.¡±


    Winters was silent for a long while, and then softly reminded Kaman: ¡°You forgot? I am not one of your lambs.¡±


    Kaman¡¯s momentum immediately dissipated.


    ¡°If the transcripts are wrong, then the papal decrees might be wrong. If the papal decrees are wrong, then the Gospels might also be wrong,¡± Saul the elder slowly spoke while peeling the beetroot: ¡°The more authoritative it is, the less it should be questioned. No matter when, people¡¯s willingness to defend their own beliefs is always strong. Because it¡¯s not only about denying the doctrine, it¡¯s also about denying the significance of the clerics¡¯ existence.¡±


    ¡°Denial isn¡¯t such a bad thing, people still live all the same,¡± Winters decided not to tell Kaman about the other stool: ¡°Someone once told me ¡®existence precedes essence, reality always comes before the concept.''¡±


    Saul the elder stopped his work: ¡°Material first, consciousness later, has the Enlightenment spread to Paratu already?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Venetian.¡± Winters said, somewhat embarrassed.


    Saul seemed to smile again and continued peeling beetroot: ¡°Actually, looking at Father Kaman, you should also understand why the clerics do not think¡ªor do not want to think¡ªthat Heretic Divine Arts originated from [the first schism].¡±


    Winters did not fully understand, waiting for Saul to continue.

 Chapter 896 03-25 - 896 14 Divine Arts_2

    ?Chapter 896: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_2 Chapter 896: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_2 ¡°Divine Arts are the definitive miracles, the direct expression of the Lord¡¯s will,¡± the old man Saul spoke plainly. ¡°If the heretic Divine Arts of the northern regions originated from [the First Great Schism], it would mean that heretics could also use the orthodox Divine Arts, which would lead to a paradox in the definition of Divine Arts.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters pondered and asked, ¡°Like the paradox of [benevolence and omnipotence]?¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters glanced at the silent Father Kaman: ¡°But there has been an explanation given during sermons¡ªthat the Lord bestows suffering in hopes of humanity¡¯s love for Him.¡±


    ¡°If you are willing to accept that explanation, then it¡¯s possible,¡± Saul sighed. ¡°Theology and religion are always two different things, just like politics and political science.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud, and the corners of Kaman¡¯s eyes twitched slightly.


    ¡°So what? What do all these have to do with you and the Reformist Order? You still haven¡¯t told me,¡± Winters collected himself, assuming a more formal posture, ¡°Why does the Revodan Church want to kill you? Why is the Revodan Church so eager to kill you?¡±


    ...


    ¡°After [the First Great Schism], the inquiry into Divine Arts has always been taboo within the church,¡± Saul seemed to acknowledge Winters¡¯s understanding and no longer beat around the bush. ¡°But the pursuit of the unknown is human nature, something that cannot be completely eradicated. After coming into contact with the ¡®witchcraft¡¯ of the north, the majority of the clergy were alarmed, yet a small number of them were exhilarated¡­¡±


    As if a thin fog was dispersed by a tempest, Winters had an epiphany: ¡°What you want is the heretic Divine Arts!¡±


    The old man lowered his eyelids, tacitly agreeing with Winters¡¯s words.


    ¡°Because inquiring into orthodox Divine Arts is taboo, so you study heretic Divine Arts to circumvent the restrictions? So that¡¯s what the Reformist Order is doing?¡± Winters smiled wryly with realization. ¡°Such a conspicuous name for the Order, isn¡¯t it? Flaunting reform is equivalent to setting up a target for others to strike at. Perhaps¡­ it would¡¯ve been better to operate under the banner of the Inquisition.¡±


    Kaman, standing where Winters couldn¡¯t see, had his fingertips trembling slightly, and his pupils dilated unconsciously.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne,¡± Saul put down the peeler and the beet he was holding, straightened his back and looked earnestly at Winters. ¡°The name ¡®Reformist Order¡¯ comes from the monk Sefir who founded it, so please don¡¯t joke about this matter.¡±


    Winters realized he had been somewhat impolite: ¡°I apologize¡­ What happened next? After the Reformist Order was established?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã0


    The old man picked up the peeler again: ¡°After that, it was about applying to the Pope for a decree.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Winters raised his eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Getting that decree,¡± the old man slowly peeled the beet, ¡°Took two hundred and eleven years.¡±


    Rather than marvel at the church¡¯s impressive efficiency, Winters reflected on the timelines Saul provided in comparison with the Empire¡¯s northern expansion.


    ¡°Two hundred and eleven years?¡± Winters frowned involuntarily, ¡°Roughly¡­ around the middle of the third century of the Imperial calendar? When the Emperor sought the Veya Crown in vain and the Great Northern War broke out? The northern regions had converted by then, hadn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°The northern regions had converted to the orthodox faith, but what about the Demigods? Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°They all died.¡±


    ¡°Died?¡±


    ¡°Yes, died,¡± Saul focused on peeling the beet. ¡°Killed by the Reformist Order, by us.¡±


    It took a moment for Winters to grasp the significance of the information, but when he did, he stood up abruptly: ¡°Are you also a priest? Are you a Divine Arts practitioner?¡±


    The old man slightly lifted his eyelids to meet Winters¡¯s gaze: ¡°Every member of the Reformist Order is a Divine Arts practitioner.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Madam,¡± Mrs. Madeleine, with her hair bound in a black veil, walked into the living room. ¡°Mr. Montaigne is home.¡±


    Although she had heard it countless times, each time someone called her ¡°Madam,¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks still heated up.


    Anna sat up straight: ¡°He¡¯s home?¡±


    The single officers¡¯ quarters were small; the corridor entering the front door was only separated by a thin wooden wall from the living room. Winters¡¯s footsteps were also quite distinctive, Anna could always easily discern them.


    Mrs. Madeleine said that Winters was home, but Anna was certain she hadn¡¯t heard him enter.


    ¡°Where is Mr. Montaigne?¡± Anna picked up her coat: ¡°The stable?¡±


    ¡°The kitchen,¡± Mrs. Madeleine replied.


    To prevent fire hazards, the single officers¡¯ quarters did not have separate kitchens; rather, one shared a large one within a courtyard.


    As Anna approached the kitchen door, Winters just happened to come out.


    Anna had wanted to ask why Winters went to the kitchen first upon coming home, but noticing his mood wasn¡¯t great, she changed her question upon speaking: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Facing Anna¡¯s concerned gaze, Winters mustered a smile: ¡°Nothing, are you cold?¡±


    Anna held her cheeks, dragging out her tone and softly pouted: ¡°Cold¡­¡±


    It wasn¡¯t entirely pretense; the Navarre sisters grew up in Sea Blue and had never experienced a Paratu winter.


    Facing the skin-cracking cold winds, Anna would occasionally venture outside, whereas Catherine had become a complete homebody. Lady Navarre even turned down all ball invitations, leaving the young gentlemen of Revodan repeatedly disappointed.


    Coincidentally, Father Kaman walked out of the kitchen.


    Anna was mortified, but Father Kaman had his own burdens. Kaman gave Anna a distracted nod and left quickly.


    ¡°What were you doing in the kitchen?¡± Anna asked curiously: ¡°And why was Father Kaman there too?¡±

 Chapter 897 03-25 - 897 14 Divine Arts_3

    ?Chapter 897: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_3 Chapter 897: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_3 Winters sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    Anna could feel that Winters was somewhat heavy-hearted and reached out to hold her lover¡¯s arm, ¡°It¡¯s so cold, let¡¯s go home first.¡±


    After much thought, Winters still decided not to tell Anna for the time being.


    At this moment, he began to understand the profound meaning behind his foster father¡¯s words: ¡°You don¡¯t know what we¡¯ve sacrificed.¡±


    Can love really make a person accept another unreservedly, in their entirety?


    Including all their flaws and darkness?


    Who knows?


    ...


    Not to mention love, even when it comes to blood relations¡ªcan a son truly accept all the ¡°bad¡± things his parents have done without reservation?


    Winters really wanted to be honest with Anna, as the most difficult thing in the world is to not be understood or empathized with by anyone.


    It¡¯s like a middle-aged farmer stopping his farm work, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and looking toward the horizon.


    Passersby might think the farmer is slacking off, but who dares to say that the inner world of an ordinary farmer doesn¡¯t have its tumults? Who knows what hardships he has experienced in his life?


    Or maybe the converse is easier to understand: Having a ¡°confidant¡± is something to be most grateful for in life.


    But Winters didn¡¯t dare to explain because he vaguely felt that the process and outcome of this matter wouldn¡¯t look good. He didn¡¯t want Anna to fear him or think of him as a ¡°bad person.¡±


    Winters finally understood why the Revodan Church was determined to kill Saul, even offering such a high price¡ªthey weren¡¯t just trying to kill a heretical theologian; they were trying to kill someone who might have already lost control as a practitioner of Divine Arts.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    Perhaps since the Reformation Association was purged, the Revodan Church has been waiting for Saul.


    Maybe they had sent people to investigate within the Hurd tribes, but to no avail.


    So they could only lie in wait, continue waiting if there was no news, and immediately find a way to execute him if there was.


    Winters even had a guess that he didn¡¯t voice: Perhaps Father Kaman was the one waiting for Saul.


    To deal with a spellcaster, the best weapon is another spellcaster. So, what about sending a priest to deal with another priest?


    The Allied Army didn¡¯t have a dedicated department to purge spellcasters¡ªor at least, Winters didn¡¯t know if there was such a department for dealing with spellcasters within the Allied Army.


    However, after self-evaluation, Winters concluded that if there wasn¡¯t such an enforcement department, it would be extremely dangerous in the event of a spellcaster losing control.


    For example, Winters¡ªif he lost control and walked into the Throne Hall where a meeting was ongoing, not a single Vineta Officer would make it out alive.


    If the Alliance didn¡¯t have such a department, it could perhaps be explained by the fact that the ¡®spellcaster system is still in its infancy and not yet perfect.¡¯


    Then, for a church that has lasted for a thousand years and can command the users of Divine Arts, does an ¡®enforcement¡¯ department exist within?


    However, this hypothesis also had some logical inconsistencies: For instance, if Saul did not show up, was Kaman going to wait indefinitely? Would the church really be willing to invest so much just for a priest who might already be dead?


    Winters¡¯ thoughts then drifted to the subtle relationship between Kaman and Mrs. Ellen Mitchell¡­ and his head began to throb faintly again. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back to old man Saul.


    Sheltering an elderly heretical theologian is one thing; sheltering a practitioner of Divine Arts is another.


    And the risks and rewards are disproportionately skewed; the elderly practitioner of Divine Arts, although condemned, remains devout.


    In Winters¡¯ view, if devotion could be measured, then Saul¡¯s devotion would be deeper than Kaman¡¯s.


    Kaman could not tolerate any attack on the church, and like a hedgehog, he would bristle up in the face of provocation.


    Saul, on the other hand, could calmly discuss ¡®heresies¡¯ and was the epitome of ¡®I am sinful, I have converted, but my soul forever belongs to the Lord.¡¯


    ¡°Anna.¡± As they entered the door, Winters softly called out.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Anna helped Winters take off his coat.


    ¡°I will explain it to you later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Winters let out a long, relieved sigh, and embraced Anna from behind; contact with her body always gave him a special sense of security: ¡°I want to say some romantic words that would make you blush, but I don¡¯t know what to say. Can you imagine it for yourself?¡±


    ¡°This is the hallway,¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks flushed red: ¡°Mrs. Madeleine will come by.¡±


    ¡°Then how about the bedroom? I¡¯m okay with either.¡±


    ¡°You naughty guy! You really are!¡± Anna bit her teeth, forcefully stepping on the tip of Winters¡¯ boot, but then she felt a hint of despondency: ¡°Regarding Mr. Leo, I don¡¯t think it can be dragged out any longer.¡±

 Chapter 898 03-25 - 898 15

    ?Chapter 898: Chapter 15 Chapter 898: Chapter 15 Revodan, the stables of the officers¡¯ quarters.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit confused.¡± Andre hangs up the grooming brush and leans on the horse stable fence to ask Winters: ¡°Who is that old man? What monastic order?¡±


    ¡°Caman didn¡¯t make it clear, but I have the feeling that old man is some sort of long-term undercover spy.¡±


    Winters shovels the dung of two small ponies, one shovelful at a time. Despite their small stature, these ponies are formidable dung producers, having worked up quite a sweat on Winters.


    ¡°How long-term is long-term?¡±


    ¡°Caman inadvertently mentioned that the old man was about our age when he went into the wilderness, just over twenty, back when Paratu was still a duchy,¡± Winters explains as he wipes the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, ¡°At least thirty-four years.¡±


    ¡°Thirty or forty years?¡± Andre can¡¯t help but chuckle dryly: ¡°What kind of secret is worth hiding for thirty or forty years? To stay in the wilderness for that long? Wouldn¡¯t he have become a complete Herder by then?¡±


    ...


    ¡°What else could it be? The Herders¡¯ Shaman secrets! In my view, if the church dispatches a cleric to infiltrate that long, that old man must harbor the ambition to join the ranks of the Herders¡¯ Shamans.¡±


    ¡°Can outsiders even become Herders¡¯ Shamans?¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You said it yourself, staying in the wilderness for thirty or forty years, do you consider him an Imperial or a Herder?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s set aside church matters for now; I have more pressing issues at hand.¡± Mason comes over, carrying two bundles of straw and asks peevishly: ¡°When did I become the stablemaster again?¡±


    Andre¡¯s attention is easily diverted: ¡°Isn¡¯t the stable always under your management?¡±


    ¡°No! T! All!¡±


    Bard is down in Iron Peak County coordinating the return of refugees, the indulgent Tang Juan accompanies Antonio back to Vineta, and Colonel Moritz spends most of his time sleeping.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã?


    The already extremely flat structure of the military council has practically been paralyzed, and Iron Peak County¡¯s administrative system has degenerated completely into a model where ¡°everyone is responsible for their own pile of issues.¡±


    On these freezing days, Winters and Andre are really not up for going to the barracks just to use the meeting room. The two, tacitly agreeing, corner Senior Mason in the stables every morning as their stand-in meeting¡ªwhile also grooming the horses.


    By the way, since Senior Mason diligently takes care of both the large and small matters, Winters usually doesn¡¯t even attend roll call, making him arguably the number one shirker in the Iron Peak County Military.


    ¡°Actually, coming to us has already made your intentions clear,¡± Andre says lazily: ¡°Does this thing really need thinking over? If the Revodan Church wants their spy back, just give him to them, right? Make a neat profit, what¡¯s not to like?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sound reasoning.¡± Winters, pushing a cart full of horse manure out of the stable, looks troubled: ¡°But I¡¯m quite reluctant to let go. A cleric, a living cleric! If it weren¡¯t too awkward to ask, I¡¯d really like to inquire with the old man, ¡®Um¡­ excuse me¡­ after you¡¯ve been enshrouded in the holy grace, are you willing to donate your body?''¡±


    ¡°Then just keep him.¡± Andre slaps the fence, ¡°No matter how powerful the Revodan Church is, that¡¯s within the Empire, with the Oath Breakers behind them. In the Alliance, they can¡¯t turn the sky upside down.¡±


    Mason sticks his head out: ¡°It¡¯s not really like that, Paratu is not Vineta, and even less The Federated Provinces. The majority of Paratu People are followers of the church, especially those born and bred there. The influence of the Revodan Church in Paratu runs very deep, in many places a priest¡¯s word carries more weight than a mayor¡¯s order.¡±


    Andre snorts, then turns to Winters: ¡°Do you really want to protect that old man?¡±


    Winters, after considering for a while, marks a line: ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to protect Brother Saul as much as I can. But it¡¯s difficult, the Revodan Church won¡¯t tolerate a cleric¡¯s defection¡ªnot to mention the old man has no intent of defecting.¡±


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Andre narrows his eyes, revealing that ferocious look familiar to Winters: ¡°This will not only save the old man but also prevent the Revodan Church from causing us trouble down the line.¡±


    Winters covers his face: ¡°Stop, don¡¯t say anymore.¡±


    ¡°Set a fire to the Revodan Cathedral, it¡¯s winter after all, fires are common,¡± Andre grinds his teeth: ¡°The old man is saved, and if we kill all the witnesses, we might even secure the money.¡±


    Mason looks at Winters, and Winters looks back at Mason.


    Andre continues to refine the plan: ¡°¡­we should keep a few alive at first, interrogate them to find out if they have already sent the message out. If so, we¡¯ll need to send someone to take care of the messenger¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he an Heretic Oath?¡± Mason asks, puzzled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Andre drives in the final nail: ¡°If we¡¯re going to act, it¡¯s best to do it quickly ¡ª to lock down both Iron Peak County and Revodan Cathedral. No, the cathedral side can be delayed, so as not to startle the snake. But we need to start blocking the roads out of the city and county now, the sooner the better.¡±


    After listening to the entire plan, Mason steps up to Andre and Winters, looking intently at Winters: ¡°In some ways¡­ it might indeed be a good plan. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Caman didn¡¯t come to me directly, so by the time I got the news, it was already too late.¡± Winters doesn¡¯t outright reject Andre¡¯s idea but rather points out the flaw in the plan: ¡°I reckon the message from Revodan Church has already reached the hands of the Bishop of Maplestone City. We can¡¯t simply kill the entire diocese of Maplestone City.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Andre shows a toothy grin.


    ¡°Following that logic.¡± Winters sighs: ¡°You¡¯d have to go all the way up to the Pope.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Andre smacks his lips: ¡°Fake death? Find a dead convict¡¯s body to give to Edmund?¡±

 Chapter 899 03-25 - 899 15_2

    ?Chapter 899: Chapter 15_2 Chapter 899: Chapter 15_2 ¡°He came to me for help yesterday, and today the man is dead,¡± Winters said helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s too much of a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about that.¡± Andre spread his hands, walking into the paddock of the small ponies, patting their round bellies, ¡°Hey, those baldies sure know how to raise horses. Are you going to use these two ponies anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°No. Anna can ride, and Catherine said she¡¯d rather die than ride these two dwarfs,¡± Winters asked puzzledly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Andre was overjoyed: ¡°Then lend them to me for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t ride ponies?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Andre said, as he was already mounting one: ¡°But the cavalry has just recruited some rookies, it¡¯s a good chance for them to practice riding ponies¡­ Hmm, very stable.¡±


    Mason also came over: ¡°Was there really nothing that Father Caman, who came asking for help, could do?¡±


    ...


    ¡°He has a way, but he won¡¯t tell me. He just asked me to buy him some time,¡± Winters sighed again. ¡°After thinking it over, Caman¡¯s method is to send people away or hide them. What else can he do?¡±


    Mason was silent for a moment, leaning forward slowly towards Winters, and muttered, ¡°Do you think¡­ would the Magic Combat Bureau be interested in a living priest who can be approached?¡±


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Manyun Valley.


    The alarm bell rang fast and urgent. The bell ringer saw a large cloud of dust rising from the west, and a huge cavalry of unknown identity approaching.


    The shadow brought by the Herdman hadn¡¯t faded yet, and the townspeople were highly alert as if facing a big enemy. Men with tense faces picked up their weapons and ran to the walls, while women clutching children hid in the basements and the church.


    It wasn¡¯t until a few light cavalry arrived waving green flags to report that the residents of Manyun Valley could let go of the anxiety that had reached their throats.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã?


    The cavalry came from Revodan, and according to the messenger, they were here to build a bridge for Manyun Valley.


    Ever since the Manyun Bridge was destroyed by the Blood Wolf, communication between the two sides had been inconvenient, relying solely on boating.


    Learning that the visitors intended to build a bridge, the mayor was enormously hospitable, not only willing to provide manpower but also took initiative in arranging food and accommodation for the cavalry.


    ¡°That?¡± The man who was nominally in charge of the cavalry, [Tamas], inquired with a hint of seeking approval from the man behind him.


    The man standing behind Tamas wore a mask, his voice impatient: ¡°You are the appointed commander, why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Tamas decided, replying to the mayor: ¡°Thanks for the food and drinks, but we¡¯ll skip on accommodations; we¡¯ll camp outside of town.¡±


    The mayor hurriedly expressed his agreement several times, secretly breathing a sigh of relief¡ªletting a bunch of troops into town could lead to all kinds of troubles.


    As the mayor¡¯s tense nerves relaxed slightly, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit proud of his tactical retreat for gaining an advantage. After all, if the military really wanted to enter Manyun Valley, he couldn¡¯t have stopped them; it was better to straightforwardly earn a favor.


    The man wearing the mask seemed to see through the mayor¡¯s careful thinking and let out a disdainful snort.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Mayor,¡± Tamas called back the departing mayor of Manyun Valley: ¡°His Excellency Montaigne asked me to pass on a few words to you.¡±


    The mayor¡¯s heart lifted again, and after thinking briefly, an image of a ¡°blue steed¡± came to mind in connection with this name.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer instructed me to inform you that the circuit court has been restored and Manyun Valley is scheduled for the second week of next month. As for the bridge, we¡¯ll make do with a Floating Bridge for now, and he has promised the people of Manyun Valley a ¡®better, sturdier, more beautiful¡¯ big bridge; he won¡¯t go back on his word, please be assured, and inform the townspeople.¡±


    The mayor was taken aback, then nodded his head.


    After the mayor of Manyun Valley left, Captain Moro with the mask spoke up: ¡°They¡¯re making a fool out of you, don¡¯t you see?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Tamas replied: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    The order was quickly passed down, and the cavalry turned to the northeast, setting up camp on the flat ground beside the river, outside the town.


    ¡°Why though?¡± Monkey was far from happy, hammering tent pegs and muttering, ¡°There are houses right there, why do we have to pitch tents in the wild?¡±


    [Lu Xirong]¡ªMonkey¡¯s current Centurion and his former sergeant in the militia¡ªsaw Monkey¡¯s litany of complaints and got irritated, he kicked him: ¡°You talk too much! Even the lieutenant is sleeping in a tent, what¡¯s wrong with you staying in one? Sergeant Bunir didn¡¯t complain, why are you whining?¡±


    Monkey didn¡¯t get angry from the kick; he rubbed his buttocks and snickered, moving closer to Lu Xirong: ¡°Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°I am now a Centurion, not a sergeant,¡± Lu Xirong said with a dark face, smashing the tent pegs with a rock.


    ¡°Hey, sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Get lost.¡±


    ¡°I have a question I want to ask¡­¡±


    ¡°Spit it out if you have something to say.¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Monkey hesitated as he asked, ¡°When will we new recruits be granted land? When will it be distributed to us?¡±


    Lu Xirong put down the stone and turned to stare at The Monkey, ¡°What do you want to know that for?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just itching in my heart,¡± The Monkey sighed with a lament, ¡°Not to mention land, I¡¯ve never even had a new piece of clothing since I was born. The thought of being granted land scratches at my heart like a cat. With land, maybe I can even take a wife. Alas, I haven¡¯t even touched a woman yet.¡±


    Lu Xirong scolded with frustration, ¡°You haven¡¯t even claimed a head in battle, what¡¯s the rush? Look at your fellow villager; he¡¯s taken three enemy heads and even one from Hong Lingyu! He¡¯s not in a hurry, so what are you?¡±


    The Monkey still sported a grin, ¡°Only because I lack it, I¡¯m anxious. If I had three enemy heads, I wouldn¡¯t be worried.¡±


    Upon learning that the unimpressive and short man before him was the renowned Sergeant Bunir, The Monkey immediately agreed to enlist.


    Originally Doug had been packing up his belongings, but seeing his friend decide to enlist, he also silently stayed behind.


    As soon as they moved into the camp, the two were separated.


    The Monkey was assigned to Lu Xirong¡¯s squad of ten, while Doug was picked by Sergeant Peter Bunir and now serves as a messenger for the acting camp commander.


    Lu Xirong ignored The Monkey and turned to hammer nails. Sensing that the Centurion was displeased, The Monkey wisely shut his mouth and went back to work.


    Soon, the tent that could accommodate six for lodging was set up, and everyone mounted an iron pot to make some hot food before nightfall.


    While sitting around the fire drinking soup, Lu Xirong finally spoke up: ¡°I reckon the treatment for you new recruits won¡¯t be the same as ours.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± The Monkey was immediately anxious upon hearing this.


    ¡°What was the situation back then? What is it now? It¡¯s different.¡±


    If it was a fool, he¡¯d probably still pester Lu Xirong with questions. However, The Monkey was quick-witted and immediately understood the crux of the matter.


    The Iron Peak County Military can currently be roughly divided into three levels, the very top being the Blood Wolf¡¯s oldest subordinates. It¡¯s easy to distinguish them because only they address the Blood Wolf as ¡°Centurion,¡± and they are the only ones who can use this title.


    Most of the old soldiers who still remain in the military have become company-level commanders, such as Tamas and Bart Xialing. Those who are retired due to injuries usually work under Bard, the Civil Guard Officer.


    The middle layer is Lu Xirong¡¯s batch of the ¡°first army establishment.¡± They occupy the ranks of Centurion and sergeants, with estates large enough to be considered small landlords, though these have not been liquidated yet.


    The third layer consists of prisoners who were forcibly incorporated when three Hundred-Men Squads expanded into an infantry battalion.


    They initially joined the Blood Wolf¡¯s forces reluctantly and half-heartedly, and now they have become the backbone of the army.


    Among them, the most distinguished in battle accomplishments is none other than Sergeant Peter Bunir, with a thousand acres to his name. Even those without significant battle accomplishments, as long as they are still alive, have at least the basic three hundred acres granted by the land grant order.


    As for new recruits like The Monkey and Doug, they don¡¯t even qualify to be part of this three-tier pyramid.


    When Lu Xirong mentioned that the situation has changed, he meant that in the past it was difficult to recruit soldiers for the Blood Wolf; people couldn¡¯t be retained without coaxing and deceiving them with generous rewards.


    And now? The news that enlistment comes with three hundred acres has spread throughout Iron Peak County, leaving countless people envious.


    The bloody battle in the valley is a haunting nightmare for many survivors, but there are also many who want to grit their teeth and take a chance.


    Recruitment is easier now, so naturally, the conditions offered won¡¯t be as favorable.


    Even after realizing this, The Monkey still felt very unwilling, but he didn¡¯t have any solution, so he could only let out a discouraged sigh.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry,¡± Lu Xirong glanced at The Monkey, ¡°The Blood Wolf never treats his people unfairly.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 900 03-25 - 900 16 Speculative Business

    ?Chapter 900: Chapter 16 Speculative Business Chapter 900: Chapter 16 Speculative Business The business of trading in human heads is currently the hottest speculative enterprise in Revodan.


    The formal name of the human head vouchers is [Empire Calendar 559 Iron Peak County Military Merit Land Exchange Certificate]. This name is indeed too awkward to utter, and everyone¡¯s first reaction upon hearing it is: ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Thus, in most circumstances, people unanimously use its colloquial name¡ªhuman head vouchers.


    There is no public trading exchange for human head vouchers, and there is no universally recognized real-time price.


    However, whether it is the actual heads or the certificates, apart from the initial period of fluctuating prices, for the rest of the time, the prices have generally risen, up to today.


    After the results of the ¡°Blood Mud Battle¡± reached Revodan, those speculators who gambled and acquired the heads immediately have, at the very least, doubled or even tripled their worth.


    For those who were slower to react or more conservative in nature, even if their bets were small, they did not lose any money.


    ...


    A business where one only profits greatly or slightly, and a commodity that is forever rising in price, can stir up greed in even the most composed individuals.


    Suddenly, human head vouchers have taken over the living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens of the people in Revodan.


    In front of the stove, beside the dining table, or on the bed, from wealthy merchants and gentlemen to common peddlers and porters, everyone was talking about human head vouchers.


    Discussing why human head vouchers were rising in value, discussing how long they could continue to rise, discussing whether or not to buy some human head vouchers.


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°Tell me the truth,¡± old Priskin tapped his pipe and asked slowly, ¡°How many human heads vouchers have you actually stockpiled?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Not many,¡± little Priskin hummed.


    ¡°How many?¡±


    Unable to avoid answering, little Priskin gave a number.


    A very large number.


    Little Priskin shrank his neck, bracing for his grandfather¡¯s thunderous anger.


    Unexpectedly, old Priskin just filled his pipe and said indifferently, ¡°Being able to acquire that many with so little capital is also a talent you have.¡±


    After speaking, old Priskin motioned for his grandson to sit: ¡°Speak up, from start to finish, tell me everything.¡± ¡­


    A father may be strict with his son, but he always has a soft spot for his grandson.


    This is probably because there often exists an invisible competition between fathers and sons, whereas only affection remains over a generation gap.


    When little Priskin was caught plotting a rebellion, old Priskin was so furious he wanted to break his legs.


    After a while, when the old man¡¯s anger subsided, little Priskin once again became his grandfather¡¯s beloved grandson, and was only prohibited from participating in the family business.


    Priskin Trading did not spend much money on the ¡°head speculation,¡± but was one of the earliest buyers of the heads.


    As soon as the triumphant news reached Revodan, old Priskin called his grandson into the study and gave him a small bag of Gold Coins to buy a few heads.


    Little Priskin counted the money, his expression troubled: ¡°Grandfather, only this much?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a business affair,¡± old Priskin enlightened his grandson, ¡°It¡¯s enough just to make a statement.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± little Priskin was obviously reluctant.


    He didn¡¯t bet heavily, not because the old man didn¡¯t see the business opportunity, but because the Priskin family was already among the wealthiest in Revodan, and they didn¡¯t need to risk speculating.


    The old man knew clearly: as long as Blood Wolf keeps their promise, the price of Hurd heads will definitely skyrocket; but making money means depressing the buying price.


    ¡°Buying heads at a low price¡± is blatantly exploiting those soldiers with military merits, essentially undermining Blood Wolf¡¯s foundation.


    If it were anybody else standing in front of the table, the old man wouldn¡¯t have said a word. But it was his own grandson, the son of his deceased eldest son, and he couldn¡¯t help but teach him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve also been on the city wall; how dangerous is battle? You know it all too well. A Herd Barbarian¡¯s arrow flying your way could take a life immediately.¡± Recalling his experience defending the city, old Priskin also became somewhat emotional:


    ¡°Soldiers risk their lives for every head they take, and then you buy them off with a little money, just like that. Is that fair? For minor issues, the Civil Guard Officer might just grit his teeth and bear it. But if it goes too far, Blood Wolf will flip the table! They hold the swords!¡±


    Little Priskin ¡°Oh¡±ed, looking quite dejected.


    In the study with only the two of them, old Priskin asked: ¡°Do you know why I won¡¯t let you handle business anymore?¡±


    Little Priskin¡¯s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible: ¡°Because I caused a big disaster.¡±


    Old Priskin asked again, ¡°Do you think I am punishing you?¡±


    Little Priskin lowered his head, not saying a word.


    ¡°Your father died early; the person who loves you the most in this world is me. How could I punish you this way?¡± Old Priskin looked at his grandson, seeing more and more of his late son in him: ¡°Do you still not understand? I don¡¯t let you handle business because there¡¯s a more suitable plan for you.¡±


    Little Priskin looked up, puzzled.


    ¡°Your uncle is timid and cautious. Entrusting Priskin Trading to him won¡¯t lead it to ruin,¡± old Priskin sighed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who likes to take risks? Who likes to gamble with luck? After much deliberation, there¡¯s another business better suited for you.¡±


    ¡°What¡­what kind of business?¡± Little Priskin, although reckless, was not stupid, and quickly caught on, ¡°Grandfather, are you asking me to go¡­¡±


    Remembering that phrase imprinted in his memory, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, smile,¡± little Priskin shivered involuntarily and used his whole body to reject: ¡°No, no, no¡­I won¡¯t go, just let me be a pampered pig, I¡¯m willing to be that¡­or let me go be an apprentice to my uncle, anything is fine¡­¡±

 Chapter 901 03-25 - 901 16 Speculative Business_2

    ?Chapter 901: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_2 Chapter 901: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_2 ¡°You¡¯re thinking right.¡± Even if his grandson wants to become a pampered pig, old Priskin cannot allow it: ¡°I want you to go to the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer.¡±


    Having received the task from his grandfather, little Priskin began to ponder where to buy heads and how to purchase them.


    At that time, the siege of Revodan had just ended, and the heads of the Herd Barbarians had been generously lopped off by the Revodan city militia as well.


    Some militia members had families to feed and couldn¡¯t wait to exchange their heads for land; they wanted to sell the heads to address emergencies;


    Others were militia members who jointly achieved the credit for a single head and didn¡¯t know how to divide the land in the future, so they simply exchanged it for money.


    There were not a few militiamen willing to sell heads, but very few people were actually willing to purchase them, for two reasons:


    First, no one knew whether Blood Wolf would keep his promise.


    After all, ¡°granting titles and making promises before the goal is achieved, then reneging after the goal is met¡± is traditional culture among the lords.


    If Blood Wolf turns his back on them, then a head will just be a rotting, disfigured human head, not even worth a copper coin.


    ...


    Second, even if Blood Wolf honors the exchange for the heads, by the day the New Reclamation Legion suppresses the Rebels, the granted land will surely be confiscated, making it all for naught in the end.


    Therefore, even though a business opportunity was sniffed out, most people still chose to hold onto their currency and wait. Eager to act, yet afraid to act recklessly.


    However, for little Priskin, these two issues were not issues at all.


    Little Priskin had seen Blood Wolf. Although their interactions were not harmonious, he was certain that Blood Wolf would not easily break his oath.


    Moreover, little Priskin, walking by his grandfather¡¯s side, had been in touch with plenty of ¡°insider information.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    For example: the outcome of the bloody battle was decided by a Piaoqi charge¡ªyet Iron Peak County had no Cavalry.


    Or for instance: Lady Ronald, still residing in the garrison official residence, had dismissed her cook and servants;


    Or yet another example: his grandfather was tallying the backlog of goods from various commercial houses, seemingly ready to negotiate a big deal all at once.


    These signs led little Priskin to a bold idea: could it be possible¡­ could it possibly be that the New Reclamation Legion was planning to recruit the Blood Wolf Rebels?


    If that were the case, the issue of [land legality] would no longer be a problem.


    Little Priskin was equally convinced that Blood Wolf would definitely include the ¡°legalization of granted land¡± in the negotiation terms.


    That guy is just that kind of person¡ªcruel, fierce, but he would never just wipe his hands clean and leave without taking responsibility¡ªlittle Priskin had this strong hunch.


    A golden opportunity was right in front of him, and little Priskin could hardly suppress the excitement in his heart, suddenly feeling an endless surge of motivation.


    Revodan, the goldsmith workshop of Yile.


    ¡°Two for eighteen.¡± Little Priskin wouldn¡¯t let go of Yile¡¯s arm.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Yile shook his head like a rattle-drum: ¡°Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Two for seventeen!¡± Little Priskin raised his voice.


    Yile looked utterly helpless: ¡°Master Priskin, you might as well ask in another workshop.¡±


    Little Priskin released his hand and slapped the table hard: ¡°Then two for sixteen!¡±


    ¡°The market rate is now two for fifteen.¡± Yile looked extremely troubled. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°But I want to exchange a lot!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still not possible, to lose one for every two exchanged. I can¡¯t do this business.¡±


    ¡°Gold Coins will definitely continue to rise in price, while silver coins are depreciating every moment. When the time comes, you won¡¯t even have the chance to exchange them.¡±


    Goldsmith Yile sighed: ¡°First, let¡¯s take a look at the quality of the Gold Coins.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured! Would I deceive you?¡± Little Priskin happily pulled out the purse he got from his grandfather: ¡°They are all top-quality Ducats.¡±


    ¡°Master Priskin, it¡¯s only because you said you wanted to exchange a lot at once that I reluctantly agreed to two for sixteen.¡± Yile¡¯s face dropped, as he weighed the purse: ¡°This can¡¯t be called ¡®a lot.''¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more!¡± Little Priskin quickly lifted another wooden box from his backpack.


    Upon opening the box, inside were gold and silver necklaces, earrings, buttons, forks and knives¡­


    Yile¡¯s face turned uglier: ¡°Master Priskin, are you planning to flee?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Seeing goldsmith Yile¡¯s face turn almost inky, little Priskin hastily tried to lighten the mood: ¡°Let¡¯s exchange these gold and silver wares at two for fifteen, okay?¡±


    ¡°Two for fifteen?¡± A few muffled grunts came from deep within Yile¡¯s nostrils: ¡°Melting down the vessels into coins requires a fee for the loss from melting.¡±


    ¡°Then consider them as a pledge to you, and I¡¯ll come back to redeem them after some time.¡± Little Priskin picked up his backpack, and tentatively asked: ¡°By the way, would you be interested in buying swords? Top-tier steel blades with Weisinberg¡¯s famous craftsman engraving¡­ or do you know anyone who would want to buy swords?¡±


    Revodan, the residence of the pottery merchant Megan.


    A teenage boy around little Priskin¡¯s age walked into the parlor holding a clay pot: ¡°What the heck do you need the money for so urgently?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that.¡± Little Priskin was getting impatient: ¡°I assure you, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡±


    The clay pot was taken outside, and the potter¡¯s son¡ªwho had been a playmate of little Priskin since childhood¡ªlittle Megan, held up a wooden mallet and stood foolishly for a while before turning back with a sad face: ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Little Priskin took the mallet and swung hard, breaking the belly of the clay pot.


    Silver coins poured out with a clatter.


    Revodan, the home of the builder Tom.


    ¡°Auntie!¡± Little Priskin pushed the door open: ¡°Can you lend me some money?¡±


    Recently, there has been an ¡°exchange difference¡± in the value of gold and silver coins in Revodan.

 Chapter 902 03-25 - 902 16 Speculative Business_3

    ?Chapter 902: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_3 Chapter 902: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_3 Two gold plates or twelve silver plates could buy a Malte weight of flour, but it takes fifteen silver coins to exchange for two Gold Coins.


    This is because the shadow of war has not yet dissipated, and people generally prefer to collect gold, which is easier to preserve and has a more stable value.


    Little Priskin tried every trick in the book and finally managed to get six thousand silver plates¡ªthe silver coins minted by the Republic of Palatu.


    With this start-up capital, little Priskin didn¡¯t directly buy severed heads; instead, he first bought a batch of flour at a low price in the name of the Priskin Trading Company from Revodan grain merchants.


    He was cunning; he first hired some vagrants to walk through the slums carrying barbarian severed heads for sale, pricing them unusually low.


    Even so, the residents of the slums couldn¡¯t afford them, let alone dare to buy them.


    After successfully lowering the estimated value of the severed heads in people¡¯s minds, little Priskin started to trade flour for heads.


    ...


    Initially, little Priskin bought severed heads in Revodan.


    But he quickly discovered that due to the Blood Wolf allocating military rations for civilian use, the demand for flour among the Revodan civilians wasn¡¯t significant except for families with many children.


    What Revodan civilians actually needed most were side dishes, such as smoked meat, vegetables. Some were even willing to trade a severed head for a bottle of wine.


    By contrast, villages and towns that were more severely affected by the war needed food more and were distributed extremely evenly.


    Some villages had their grain silos tightly hidden, leaving the Herders empty-handed;


    Some villages had all their grain looted, and when farmers returned to their homes, they had no choice but to flee famine again.


    Little Priskin smelled an opportunity.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Revodan civilians temporarily did not lack grain, but the military was short of it. The military had to consider the future, not just the present.


    On one hand, little Priskin exchanged grain for horse carcasses, using the trading company¡¯s caravans to haul back warhorse bodies from the battlefield in batches, then traded these for severed heads from the Revodan militia.


    On the other hand, he spared no effort to hire people to promote the ¡°uselessness of severed heads¡± theory in Revodan and desperately lowered the purchase price of severed heads.


    Things went smoothly, but little Priskin soon encountered a problem: he was out of money.


    Buying grain, dispatching horse carriages, hiring laborers; every single activity cost money.


    Some severed heads were collected, but the purse was running on fumes. As little Priskin tried hard to lower the price of severed heads, the purchase price dropped day by day, leaving no way to bring in funds.


    Logically, this should have been the end of it.


    But just at this moment, other speculators entered the scene.


    From ¡°not daring to buy¡± to ¡°gingerly buying,¡± there were many reasons affecting the mentality of Revodan merchants.


    For example: the garrison repeatedly announcing the effectiveness of the ¡°Beheading Order.¡±


    Another example: the aggressive buying of severed heads by the Priskin Trading Company, which deeply offended the restless speculators.


    Severed heads became a sought-after item in Revodan overnight, with speculative investors holding gold and silver flooding into the slums and barracks, pestering the militia to exchange those twisted, bluish dead heads.


    Little Megan came to find little Priskin: ¡°Did you borrow money from me to buy severed heads?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How many have you bought now?¡±


    Little Priskin mentioned a number.


    Little Megan nearly dropped her jaw: ¡°This¡­ you¡­ then you¡¯ve made a fortune this time?¡±


    Little Priskin was somewhat listless: ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Then can you pay me back first?¡± Little Megan asked pitifully.


    ¡°Why? Do you need the money urgently?¡± Little Priskin knew his friend was not a person of strong jealousy.


    ¡°The price of severed heads has recently risen a lot.¡± Little Megan fiddled with her fingers: ¡°I want to buy a few too.¡±


    A lightbulb went off for little Priskin, he took a breath: ¡°I¡¯m afraid paying back is not possible; all my money has turned into severed heads, and I don¡¯t have any cash.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Little Megan looked a bit disappointed.


    ¡°But I have another way.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Little Priskin patted his good buddy¡¯s shoulder: ¡°How about I count you in as a shareholder?¡±


    ¡­


    In Revodan, at the workshop of goldsmith Yile.


    ¡°Mr. Yile!¡± Little Priskin pushed open the door with force: ¡°Do you know what I exchanged the money for?¡±


    ¡­


    In Revodan, at the home of builder Tom.


    ¡°Aunty!¡± Little Priskin ran into the house excitedly: ¡°Do you know what I borrowed the money for?¡±


    ¡­


    In the study of old Priskin.


    Old Priskin, without reproach, applause, or surprise, slowly smoked his pipe and only after listening up to this point asked the first question: ¡°Is this how you borrowed the second sum of money?¡±


    ¡°I borrowed some, but not much.¡± Little Priskin did not dare to show any smugness.


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡­ S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After more merchants started to participate in this speculative business, the price of severed heads in Revodan rose dramatically.


    It became very difficult to trade grain or side dishes for severed heads as before, and the cost kept climbing.


    The partners of little Priskin thought, ¡°Sell the severed heads, then go to remote villages to buy again. The heads outside of Revodan should still be cheap, and we can make a profit margin.¡±


    ¡°Going to villages to buy severed heads is fine, but selling them is not.¡± Little Priskin categorically refused: ¡°A severed head is not just a dead man¡¯s head; it¡¯s a hundred acres of land. How much is a hundred acres worth? How much is a severed head worth now? The price of severed heads will definitely rise even higher in the future, it¡¯s too much of a loss to sell now!¡±


    ¡°What should we do, then?¡± Little Megan spread her hands: ¡°We only have so much money.¡±

 Chapter 903 03-25 - 903 16 Speculative Business_4

    ?Chapter 903: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_4 Chapter 903: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_4 ¡°Perhaps¡­ there¡¯s still a way.¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan, Yile¡¯s goldsmith workshop.


    There are three precious metal craftsmen in Revodan, and the other two have already been invited by Yile to the workshop.


    Precious metal craftsmen often make investments because they hold many customers¡¯ stored gold and silver.


    ¡°Wait, what are you going to do?¡± a square-faced goldsmith asked, frowning.


    Tiny Priskin repeated firmly, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to buy shares.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Buy shares?¡± another long-faced silversmith glanced at Yile and asked, ¡°Buy shares in what?¡±


    Tiny Priskin talked about his small business.


    Both the goldsmith and silversmith obviously knew about the matter regarding Herders¡¯ heads.


    But the square-faced goldsmith quickly shook his head: ¡°Business has its ups and downs, it¡¯s fine when you profit, but if it fails, we could lose everything and still not be able to cover it.¡±


    After saying that, the square-faced goldsmith stood up, looking like he was about to leave.


    The long-faced silversmith nodded in agreement and got up from his chair.


    ¡°Buying shares won¡¯t work.¡± Tiny Priskin loudly inquired, ¡°What about a loan then?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°A lot.¡±


    ¡°What will you use as collateral?¡±


    ¡°The Herders¡¯ heads.¡±


    The goldsmith flatly refused: ¡°No, who knows if the Herders¡¯ heads will still hold value tomorrow?¡±


    Tiny Priskin mentioned a very high interest rate.


    The square-faced goldsmith fell silent.


    The long-faced silversmith asked, ¡°If you can¡¯t pay back the principal, what good does a high interest rate do?¡±


    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Tiny Priskin retorted, ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t be able to pay you back?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± the square-faced goldsmith¡¯s attitude softened, ¡°are you acting on your grandfather¡¯s orders now, or are you making your own decisions?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a task from my grandfather,¡± Tiny Priskin glossed over, then added a more tempting proposition: ¡°I can double the interest for you¡ªbut there¡¯s one condition.¡±


    The long-faced silversmith didn¡¯t refuse outright but hesitated to ask, ¡°What condition?¡±


    ¡°I can pay you high interest, or even use my family¡¯s estate as collateral,¡± Tiny Priskin proposed confidently, ¡°but when it¡¯s time to repay, you must allow me to do so in the form of heads.¡±


    ¡­


    Old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°Did they agree?¡± Old Priskin squinted and asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Tiny Priskin replied dejectedly.


    ¡°Not too stupid.¡±


    Tiny Priskin swallowed a gulp of saliva, ¡°But in the end, they agreed to lend me some money¡ªwith the heads and Megan¡¯s family house deed as collateral.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°One for your face, and two¡­ something happened the next day.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The county government issued a notice saying they would convert all the heads into ¡®Head Coupons.''¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    In the following days, Tiny Priskin¡¯s actions became very simple.


    He bought grain from villages with surplus and transported it to famine-stricken villages in exchange for heads.


    On the other hand, he outright bought head coupons from soldiers stranded in Saint Town, with the Piaoqi Troops being major clients.


    The Piaoqi Troops brought by Gessa were auxiliaries; even if they collected many heads, they couldn¡¯t settle in Iron Peak County directly.


    Thus, most Piaoqi Troops traded their head coupons for alcohol, although some secretly kept a few coupons.


    Meanwhile, Tiny Priskin sold some of the heads but used them as collateral more often.


    Using methods of [buying, mortgaging, and buying again] and [attracting shareholders], Tiny Priskin¡¯s speculative business thrived until Old Priskin, hearing rumors, called him into the study for questioning.


    ¡­


    Old Priskin put down his pipe, and Tiny Priskin immediately stood up.


    ¡°You¡¯ve caused many troubles from childhood to adulthood, and I¡¯ve rarely scolded you. Do you know why?¡± Old Priskin asked.


    ¡°Because you love me,¡± Tiny Priskin answered softly.


    ¡°Because your great-grandfather once told me,¡± Old Priskin slowly recited his father¡¯s words, ¡°¡®Those who can cause big troubles can also accomplish great things.''¡±


    Old Priskin paused, then continued, ¡°But those capable of great deeds can also cause great troubles. Between accomplishing great deeds and causing great troubles, often lies a fine line. I will die sooner or later, and you must learn to discern the difference yourself.¡±


    Tiny Priskin was silent for a long time before quietly replying, ¡°I understand, Grandfather.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late to understand now,¡± Old Priskin sighed, ¡°You go ask Blood Wolf for mercy yourself.¡±


    ¡­


    Bachelor officer¡¯s quarters, reception room.


    Three knocks at the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Tiny Priskin, nervous, pushed open the door and saw Blood Wolf wearing an ugly knitted jacket, lounging relaxedly on a long chair, chatting with a chubby, round-faced middle-aged man in a dialect he couldn¡¯t understand.


    As he entered the room, Blood Wolf sat up straight.


    ¡°Do you have a guest?¡± the chubby middle-aged man tactfully took his leave, ¡°Then I will step out.¡±


    ¡°No need, you should stay; this is the person you wanted to meet.¡± Blood Wolf smiled, looking at Tiny Priskin, ¡°This is the one with the ¡®strange-sounding Sea Blue dialect¡¯.¡±


    Seeing the chubby middle-aged man sizing him up and down, he suddenly burst into laughter, ¡°So it¡¯s our little mouse!¡±

 Chapter 904 03-25 - 904 17 The Purse and the Hilt

    ?Chapter 904: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt Chapter 904: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt The Priskin kid is rather odd, always managing to complicate things for Winters at just the wrong time, like now.


    An extra outsider in the living room made it unsuitable to continue discussing private matters.


    Helplessly, Winters sighed internally¡ª it seemed the conversation could only resume over dinner.


    The official reason Mr. Leo appeared at Winters¡¯ residence was because Winters was throwing a farewell banquet for him.


    Mr. Leo had already bid farewell to Winters, as he personally needed to oversee the transfer of wool, and the partners of Navarre Commerce would soon be leaving Iron Peak County.


    Yet even at this crucial moment, Mr. Leo remained tight-lipped about Lady Navarre¡¯s affairs, as if nothing had happened.


    Mr. Leo might have been able to restrain himself, but Winters couldn¡¯t stand by and watch Anna suffer in anticipation.


    ... S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ever since running away from home, every time Anna thought of how her mother might react, she felt stifled.


    However, Catherine dismissively snorted at Anna¡¯s anxiety. Lady Navarre, adhering to her usual cheerful attitude, comforted her sister saying, ¡°Since it¡¯s already happened, and we are indeed her biological daughters, what can she really do to us?¡±


    When confronted with a distressing problem that can¡¯t be solved, it¡¯s human instinct to ¡°not think about it¡±. It¡¯s as if by not facing it, the problem doesn¡¯t exist for another day.


    However, the arrival of Mr. Leo tore open the veil over the wounds, making it impossible for the parties involved to continue deceiving themselves.


    Whether it¡¯s fine wine or inferior wine, there always comes a day to open the bottle seal.


    Winters invited Mr. Leo home under the guise of a farewell, preparing to confront and resolve the issues.


    But Winters was faintly worried that Lady Navarre¡¯s sharp attitude may upset Anna. Hence, he planned to have a preliminary chat with Mr. Leo before the formal start of the dinner.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Before they could get to the main topic, an unwanted visitor arrived.


    Winters looked at the uninvited guest, a slight frown forming. He shifted his collar¡ª the sweater was a bit tight around the neck, Lady Navarre¡¯s knitting skills clearly had room for improvement.


    The uninvited guest had no self-awareness of being such. Little Priskin, seeing Blood Wolf, trembled to his core.


    That gesture¡­ was it meant to signify a throat cut?


    Little Priskin¡¯s throat bobbed up and down, his sitting posture becoming more upright. Little did he know at this moment, his source of fear was actually scrabbling to recall the customs of the Paratu People.


    Winters cursed his lack of deeper understanding of Paratu; when he actually needed it, he could not think of any action that in Paratu culture meant ¡°enough, time for you to leave, send off the guest¡±.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± Winters amiably asked, ¡°Is your horse tied outside? Better put it in the stables before it freezes.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Little Priskin, guessing the mind of Blood Wolf, quickly responded, ¡°I walked here.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? I¡¯ll prepare a horse for you.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ is this banishment?¡± Little Priskin felt a pang in his heart, repeatedly declining, ¡°It¡¯s nearby, not far at all, I can walk back.¡±


    Winters, left without options, straightforwardly asked: ¡°What brings you to me?¡±


    Little Priskin glanced at the chubby, smiling man on the other side, then at Blood Wolf, and finally at his own shoe tips.


    He spoke timidly and unclearly, ¡°My grandfather¡­ oh no, it¡¯s me¡­ coming to confess about the military merit certificates¡­ no, the head rolls¡­¡±


    ¡°Military merit certificates? What about them?¡± Winters leaned back in confusion, asking, ¡°Isn¡¯t your head roll business doing well?¡±


    Winters nodded towards Mr. Leo, ¡°Even Mr. Leo spoke highly of you, wishing to meet you. It¡¯s fortunate, since had you not come today, it¡¯d have been difficult for both of you to meet again.¡±


    Upon hearing this ¡°blatant threat,¡± Little Priskin nearly burst into tears. He suddenly stood up, vigorously shaking his head, his cup falling and smashing on the floor.


    Winters was puzzled by how his words could have upset the other party, looking curiously at Little Priskin and then at the broken pieces on the ground.


    Little Priskin hurriedly bent down to pick up the remnants of the cup.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but chuckle softly, helplessly leaving his seat and extending his hand to help Priskin clean up the mess, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡±


    Mr. Leo, who had not participated in the conversation, chimed in with a smile, ¡°I think¡­ Mr. Priskin views you as a ruthless figure like the ¡®Butcher Duke¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Winters asked Little Priskin, surprised.


    ¡°No,¡± Little Priskin frantically widened his eyes, his head shaking like a windmill, ¡°No.¡±


    Recalling Anna¡¯s words, Winters sighed.


    After picking up the sharp ceramic pieces one by one and placing them on a plate, he looked at the tear-stricken face of Little Priskin and patted his shoulder, ¡°What¡¯s past is past, you don¡¯t need to be this afraid of me. It¡¯s just a pity about this cup, it was my only set for entertaining guests.¡±


    ¡°When I get to Maplestone City, I¡¯ll send you another set,¡± Mr. Leo said with a smile.


    ¡°Nevermind,¡± Winters said, slightly dejectedly leaning on the bench, ¡°Porcelain cups given to me are bound to break sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll prepare an enamel set for you,¡± Mr. Leo smoothly countered, ¡°Iron-baked with a porcelain surface, it won¡¯t break no matter how it¡¯s dropped.¡±

 Chapter 905 03-25 - 905 17 The Purse and the Hilt_2

    ?Chapter 905: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt_2 Chapter 905: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt_2 Being compared to the Duke of the Butcher, Winters always felt somewhat uneasy. He reflected that he had never gone on a slaughter like the Duke of the Butcher, and he could still be considered tolerably merciful and benevolent.


    He really wanted to ask little Priskin, ¡°Why are you so afraid of me? What did I do to scare you?¡± However, he knew it was futile to ask, and could only sigh helplessly in the end.


    ¡°The wealthy always fear those who wield swords,¡± Mr. Leo seemed to understand Winters¡¯ dissatisfaction and comforted him with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s inevitable. It has always been like this.¡±


    As Winters contemplated the phrase ¡®the wealthy fear those who wield swords,¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°What about you? Are you also afraid of those who wield swords?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Mr. Leo said candidly: ¡°Otherwise, why would I follow ¡®Colonel Chino Capu¡¯ to Iron Peak County? It¡¯s because I¡¯m afraid to travel alone.¡±


    ¡°So, after becoming wealthy, do people start to pursue power?¡± Winters remembered historical anecdotes: ¡°Like Crassus?¡±


    Leo slightly tilted his head because he didn¡¯t know who Crassus was. Winters briefly described the life of Marcus Licinius Crassus.


    ...


    After listening, Mr. Leo fell silent for a moment: ¡°Probably so, once you have money, you begin to pursue power, it¡¯s inevitable. Unless¡­¡±


    ¡°Unless what?¡±


    Mr. Leo pointed at little Priskin: ¡°You said why is he afraid of you?¡±


    Startled, little Priskin was left hanging.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it?¡± Winters glanced at little Priskin: ¡°Because I¡¯m holding a sword.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be because you¡¯re holding a sword,¡± Mr. Leo spoke slowly: ¡°Essentially, it¡¯s because you can arbitrarily strip him of his life, property, and status. No need for a reason or explanation, just the power of the sword is enough.¡±


    This time, Mr. Leo¡¯s chubby face bore no trace of a smile as he looked at little Priskin and asked, ¡°Mr. Priskin, do you think so?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Little Priskin didn¡¯t speak, but his expression said it all.


    Winters defended himself: ¡°I have never thought of doing such things, nor do I have any reason to.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Having the desire is one thing; having the ability is another,¡± Mr. Leo paused for a moment, sincerely said, ¡°Unless you can completely eliminate this ¡®insecurity¡¯, he¡ªand thousands like him¡ªwill always fear you, forever.¡±


    After speaking, Mr. Leo shrugged his shoulders, his expression returning to a jovial one: ¡°But perhaps¡­ those who wield swords desire ¡®fear¡¯. Didn¡¯t mad King Richard borrow money from the bankers of The Federated Provinces and brazenly default on it because he wielded the sword? Which ruler would willingly castrate their own power?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s last remark, actually an offhand comment to comfort Winters, but he noticed that Winters had fallen into deep thought.


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it,¡± Winters chuckled brightly: ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite difficult.¡±


    ¡°I have something to ask Mr. little Priskin,¡± Leo blinked: ¡°May I?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Winters leaned back in his chair, signaling his withdrawal from the conversation: ¡°It¡¯s just right that he¡¯s here.¡±


    Little Priskin, listening to the conversation between Blood Wolf and the stout middle-aged man, was still somewhat befuddled until he heard that something was to be asked of him.


    Little Priskin perked up and sat up straight.


    ¡°According to Mayor Priskin, your firm hasn¡¯t invested much in head bonds,¡± Mr. Leo inquired with interest: ¡°So I¡¯m curious, how did you hoard so many head bonds?¡±


    Little Priskin didn¡¯t dare to conceal, and disclosed the whole process of [mortgage-purchase-re-mortgage].


    He initially wanted to hide the part about suppressing the price of head bonds, but recalling his grandfather¡¯s admonition¡ª¡±Don¡¯t be too clever,¡± he also thoroughly confessed his attempts to lower the prices.


    As he confessed, little Priskin kept sneaking glances at Blood Wolf¡¯s expression. However, Blood Wolf was deep in thought throughout, as if still pondering the previous conversation, so he couldn¡¯t discern anything.


    Only after listening to everything, did Mr. Leo ask: ¡°Using head bonds as collateral while suppressing their price, sounds somewhat contradictory.¡±


    ¡°Suppressing the price was initially done at the beginning,¡± little Priskin defended himself: ¡°Afterward, I couldn¡¯t suppress it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Now that the price of head bonds is already high, aren¡¯t you planning to sell some?¡± Leo asked again.


    ¡°There are too many head bonds in hand, it¡¯s not easy to sell,¡± little Priskin honestly replied, ¡°And I always feel like I¡¯d be at a loss if I sold them now.¡±


    ¡°You think the price of head bonds will continue to rise?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°A head bond represents a hundred acres of land, even if calculated at the cheapest low rate, the current price is not considered high.¡±


    Mr. Leo asked intriguingly: ¡°Are you so sure that a head bond can eventually be exchanged for a hundred acres of land, and not end up as an empty effort?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, little Priskin seized the opportunity to lavish praise on Blood Wolf: ¡°It will definitely be worth a hundred acres! I wholeheartedly believe in this.¡±


    Unfortunately, Blood Wolf still showed little reaction.


    Mr. Leo glanced at Winters and burst out laughing.


    ¡°All in all, you¡¯re holding the head bonds on the surface, but the actual owner is the financer who accepted your mortgage?¡± Mr. Leo summarized.


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly like that,¡± little Priskin felt compelled to explain: ¡°I originally planned to use the head bonds to repay, but they didn¡¯t agree. So in the end, we agreed that I would repay using hard currency.¡±

 Chapter 906 03-25 - 906 17 Purse and Hilt_3

    ?Chapter 906: Chapter 17 Purse and Hilt_3 Chapter 906: Chapter 17 Purse and Hilt_3 Leo raised his eyebrows, first puzzled, then burst into uncontrollable laughter once again. His laughter was so intense that he rocked back and forth, leaving Winters also somewhat baffled.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, I initially thought you were just bold,¡± Leo said, wiping away tears as he shook his head. ¡°Turns out you truly have no fear of death.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Priskin said, a little defiant.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple.¡± Leo went straight for the jugular: ¡°The pond in Iron Peak County is too small to play with as you are.¡±


    ¡°But the price of the people¡¯s bonds will keep rising,¡± Priskin insisted loudly.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Leo smiled, ¡°But all it takes is one drop for you to lose everything¡ªnote, not just you, but your entire family. What¡¯s the point of the bonds rising when you¡¯ve lost everything?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Priskin fell silent.


    ...


    ¡°In a place as small as Iron Peak County, there are few who can speculate in the market. Once the market starts moving blindly, things will change more rapidly than you can imagine.¡± Leo advised Priskin kindly: ¡°You can mortgage, not because you have credit, but because your grandfather has credit. You¡¯re just going to drag him down with you.¡±


    Priskin didn¡¯t speak, because at his age, he could not admit defeat. The more direct the criticism, the more defiant he became.


    Leo¡¯s smile remained, but he no longer poked at his counterpart, ending the conversation with some bland compliments: ¡°However, bold moves can sometimes yield amazing results. Risk and reward always coexist.¡±


    Winters was also a bit impatient with Priskin¡¯s annoying demeanor.


    But while Leo could afford to be a bystander, Winters could not remain indifferent¡ªeven out of respect for the elder Priskin.


    Winters kicked the table and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Priskin¡¯s stiff neck slumped, and he tucked his invisible tail between his legs, muttering, ¡°No, no¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°I know why you sought me out,¡± Winters picked up his cup.


    Priskin shrank a little.


    ¡°Your grandfather is wealthy, he fears me who wields a sword, and so do you. Your grandfather thinks you¡¯re pulling a lion¡¯s whisker, so he ordered you to come and admit your mistake,¡± Winters preferred being direct, ¡°But you certainly don¡¯t think you did anything wrong, right?¡±


    Priskin didn¡¯t answer, but deep down, he felt he was innocent.


    Winters said firmly, ¡°I also think you did nothing wrong!¡±


    Priskin was shocked, and even Mr. Leo¡¯s smile paused for a moment.


    ¡°Seizing business opportunities and profiting from them is perfectly reasonable. You may have exploited a loophole, but in the end, it¡¯s because I hadn¡¯t set the rules properly¡ªexcept for price suppression.¡± Winters¡¯ gaze was piercing, causing Priskin not to dare meet his eyes: ¡°Maliciously suppressing prices to purchase heads is like drinking blood from a warrior¡¯s wound, which infuriates me. If you were under my command, I would have had you hanged already.¡±


    Winters continued, ¡°But it¡¯s not just you who¡¯s buying at suppressed prices, and I never banned trading of heads. Ultimately, it¡¯s my responsibility. I underestimated people¡¯s greed. However, I do not plan to solve problems with a sword, or else I wouldn¡¯t have implemented ¡®people¡¯s bonds for heads¡¯. Whether your business strategy is fair, I don¡¯t know, nor do I judge.¡±


    Priskin was dazed by Blood Wolf¡¯s words, just dumbly listening.


    ¡°You, and Elder Mr. Priskin, need not fear me. Although I hold a sword, I have no intention of misusing it, believe it or not.¡± Regardless of whether the other party understood, Winters was ready to send him off: ¡°Go home. I have matters to discuss with Mr. Leo.¡±


    Priskin bowed awkwardly and walked out as if stepping on cotton.


    Before he could touch the doorknob, the door was opened from outside, and Anna stood there.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Anna¡¯s surprise only lasted a moment before she quickly composed herself and offered a polite greeting: ¡°Mr. Priskin, good day.¡±


    Having heard the sound of a cup being smashed from the kitchen, Anna rushed back to the residence immediately.


    With a quick glance, Anna saw that the cups in front of Winters and Mr. Leo were intact, only the empty seat in front of them had a plate with broken pieces of the cup.


    So, it was Mr. Priskin who had smashed the cup, Anna thought with relief.


    Priskin stood there frozen, flustered by the renowned she-wolf: ¡°Good day, Lady Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late; please stay for dinner,¡± Anna invited as a matter of courtesy.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Priskin, with a mind in a haze, replied automatically: ¡°Okay.¡±


    Winters¡¯ temple veins bulged out instantly as he cleared his throat, ¡°Mr. Priskin, are you going to stay for dinner? Huh?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Little Priskin fled in total disarray.


    Concerned about the state of Little Priskin, Anna asked Xial to escort him home.


    After everything was taken care of, she returned to the living room and said to Winters with slight annoyance, ¡°Why were you so harsh on Mr. Priskin?¡±


    ¡°Me? Harsh?¡± Winters was the picture of injustice: ¡°That kid is just here to give me a hard time.¡±


    ¡°Adults shouldn¡¯t quarrel with children.¡±


    ¡°Adults? Children? I¡¯m only a few years older than him!¡± Winters felt even more aggrieved.


    ¡°But,¡± Anna said earnestly, ¡°your responsibilities are much greater than his.¡±


    Winters¡¯ bristling mane was groomed smooth, and his mood brightened up all at once.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he cheerfully admitted his mistake, ¡°I won¡¯t hold it against him anymore.¡±


    Anna donned her shawl, nodded to Mr. Leo, and then left the living room.


    Not long after Anna had left, the door to the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters was opened again. Just the sound of footsteps made Winters¡¯ brow furrow.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Xial¡¯s bellow rang out in the corridor: ¡°Stop!¡±


    The door was yanked open, and Little Priskin¡¯s half body squeezed in forcefully, the other half remained outside¡ªheld back by Xial.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± Little Priskin shouted hastily, ¡°Did you not say, if I were under your command, you¡¯d have hung me already?¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°Please let me be under your command.¡±


    ¡­


    Old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°What did Blood Wolf say?¡± The old man asked his grandson, his concern evident.


    ¡°Grandfather, I think¡­ the Civil Guard Officer¡­¡± Little Priskin¡¯s expression was complex, his face flushed red: ¡°Might be even more¡­ than you think.¡±


    ¡°More what?¡± Old Priskin frowned.


    ¡°I can¡¯t quite describe it.¡± Little Priskin gave up trying to articulate and, gritting his teeth, said: ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going with Mr. Leo to Maplestone City.¡±


    ¡­


    The dining room in the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters.


    It was called a dinner party, but it was really a family dinner.


    The officers¡¯ quarters had no servants, hence there was no rotation of courses being served. Dishes in the style of Sea Blue were spread directly across the six-person table, just like any ordinary family dinner.


    Only Winters, Anna, and Leo were seated at the table.


    Catherine should have been present, but Lady Navarre was so shrewd, she wouldn¡¯t attend a dinner that could be awkward.


    After all, I can eat just the same in the kitchen¡ªCatherine said so.


    ¡°Mr. Leo.¡± Winters launched his offensive directly, ¡°I wish to propose to Lady Navarre. May I ask if Lady Montaigne will bless us?¡±

 Chapter 907 03-25 - 907 18 Marionette

    ?Chapter 907: Chapter 18: Marionette Chapter 907: Chapter 18: Marionette Anna Navarre could clearly hear the pounding of her heart, so strong she couldn¡¯t help but worry Mr. Leo sitting across the dining table might notice.


    The ¡°sudden attack¡± of the unpleasant thing had not negotiated with her beforehand, so at this moment, perhaps she was the most surprised person at the table.


    But she still tried her best to maintain self-control, behaving consistently with Winters¡¯ attitude.


    Anna couldn¡¯t help but let her thoughts wander, feeling panic and unease, even a bit of anger: ¡°He¡­ I haven¡¯t agreed to him yet!¡±


    However, deep inside her, an emotion named anticipation uncontrollably stirred waves.


    Anna held her breath, waiting for Mr. Leo¡¯s response.


    Leo put down his soup spoon, sat up straight, and replied sincerely and formulaically, ¡°Marriage is a serious matter, with etiquette and procedures. Mr. Montaigne, if you wish to propose to Miss Navarre, you should have your elder take the lead and negotiate with Mrs. Navarre. As for me? I cannot represent Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude.¡±


    ...


    ¡°This won¡¯t be difficult.¡± Winters, having anticipated this, took a deep breath with relief. ¡°General Serviati understands and respects my wishes, and he will bless mine and Anna¡¯s union. As for the procedure for establishing the marriage contract, my aunt can take the lead, I will write to her immediately.¡±


    Hearing Winters¡¯ optimistic plan, a wry smile appeared on Leo¡¯s lips, and he shook his head.


    Winters was puzzled and wanted to inquire further. But he didn¡¯t speak up because he noticed Anna¡¯s complexion suddenly became pale.


    He subconsciously took Anna¡¯s hand, and a faint response came back through his palm ¡ª Anna also held his hand.


    ¡°Mr. Leo.¡± Anna¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°May I ask where Mrs. Navarre is?¡±


    ¡°In Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°May I ask another question, where is Anna Navarre?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°You know very well, Miss Anna.¡± Leo replied with a smile, ¡°Of course, she¡¯s also in Sea Blue.¡±


    Winters felt Anna¡¯s strength drain away in an instant, her body becoming unstable. He instinctively wanted to stand up and reach across the table to embrace her, but Anna recovered immediately.


    ¡°Please, no more riddles.¡± Winters pressed, questioning Mr. Leo with suppressed anger: ¡°Anna is sitting right in front of you, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°You jest, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Leo replied unhurriedly. ¡°I can assure you on my life that Miss Anna Navarre would not be present anywhere but Sea Blue at this moment. To be exact, she¡¯s at the Saint Mie Convent¡ªand Miss Catherine, she¡¯s there as well.¡±


    As Leo spoke, Winters was beginning to understand Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude.


    Reflecting on his memories of the affable lady, Winters realized he actually didn¡¯t know Anna¡¯s mother at all.


    He looked at Anna with concern, Mrs. Navarre¡¯s firmness and coldness were beyond imagination, prompting Winters to blame himself for not discussing with Anna what the worst scenario could be.


    Anna also looked at Winters, her eyes conveying ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Leo sighed deeply, and even though he was prepared, he still found it hard to bear when the time to lay cards on the table had come. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Miss Anna, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Leo cleared his throat softly, gazing sincerely at the two. ¡°May I speak a few words from a personal standpoint¡ªnot as a partner in Navarre Commerce, but simply as a half-uncle to Miss Anna and a half-friend to you?¡±


    ¡°Why only a half-friend?¡± Winters held Anna¡¯s hand. ¡°Please, speak.¡±


    Winters dared not squeeze too hard, fearful of causing Anna pain; yet he also wanted to hold as tight as possible to offer Anna even the slightest support.


    ¡°When setting out from Sea Blue, the lady only entrusted me with one task,¡± Leo chose his words carefully, trying not to distress Anna. ¡°That is to take Miss Catherine back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Although Leo¡¯s words were tactful, the message couldn¡¯t be clearer: Mrs. Navarre wanted Catherine back, as for Anna, she wasn¡¯t even mentioned.


    A heavy feeling settled in Winters¡¯ heart, interpreting from Mr. Leo¡¯s previous statements, Mrs. Navarre¡¯s not requesting Leo to bring Anna back to Sea Blue did not imply she approved of Anna staying by his side. Quite the contrary, indifference was the harshest punishment.


    After much consideration, Leo decided it was best to be more explicit.


    Leo looked at Anna, slowing his speech as much as possible: ¡°Miss Anna.¡±


    Anna also looked at Mr. Leo, signaling that she was listening.


    ¡°If you continue to stay in Iron Peak County,¡± Leo said, word by word. ¡°You could be Anna Montaigne, you could be Anna Selvati, you could be anyone, but you will no longer be Anna Navarre. Anna Navarre would be the nun in the Saint Mie Convent who has renounced all secular rights.¡±


    Anna listened, nodding slightly, her composure unsettling Winters.


    ¡°But even if you return to Sea Blue, how the lady will react¡­ I do not know either. You might still be the female heiress of the Navarre family, or you may be sent to the convent, or perhaps directly arranged to be married off,¡± Leo said with resignation after a long pause, ¡°You really angered, angered, angered the lady¡­ she¡­ she didn¡¯t mention you once.¡±


    Then came another oppressive silence.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Leo.¡± Anna nodded calmly. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Winters felt disquieted; the more composed Anna was, the more unease he felt.

 Chapter 908 03-25 - 908 18 Puppet on Strings_2

    ?Chapter 908: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_2 Chapter 908: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_2 Winters wanted to continue inquiring Mr. Leo about something, but Anna was already urging them to start the meal.


    ¡°Please try this braised beef tripe.¡± She passed the plate with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve restored it as closely as possible to Sea Blue¡¯s recipe, but since we¡¯re missing a few spices, I¡¯m not sure if it suits your taste.¡±


    The ingredient for [Braised Beef Tripe] is the cow¡¯s omasum, a dish originating from the City of Flowers, a favorite among textile workers. Offal was a disdained ingredient, hence relatively cheap, and affordable for ordinary workers.


    After being introduced to Sea Blue, braised omasum quickly captured the hearts of the dockworkers. According to the unwritten classification, braised omasum was labeled as ¡°dock cuisine.¡± Before Winters left for school in The Federated Provinces, a significant reason for visiting Benwei¡¯s house every now and then to freeloader was the braised beef tripe.


    It was rare for Anna to cook Sea Blue¡¯s cuisine herself; it was just unfortunate Winters was not in the mood to enjoy it.


    Dinner ended in a stifling atmosphere, Winters was at a loss for words, and Mr. Leo had lost his usual knack for spirited conversation.


    Only Anna continued performing her duties as a hostess: maintaining the conversation, introducing dishes to the guests¡­ as if nothing had happened.


    ...


    Leo didn¡¯t stay long, briefly touching his cutlery before hurriedly taking his leave.


    Winters and Anna walked Mr. Leo out of the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters, and in contrast to the somewhat unnatural mood of the male host, the female host maintained her politeness and composure throughout.


    Watching the figure of Mr. Leo disappear into the night, Winters felt it was time to say something.


    He hugged Anna, trying to sound as light-hearted as possible, ¡°It seems like your mother has given you to me.¡±


    But the next moment, Winters could no longer utter any witty remarks, as Anna began to sob uncontrollably.


    ¡°How could Mom do this?¡± Anna cried, deeply distressed.


    ¡­


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡­


    Hearing the guest had left, Catherine and Scarlett quietly sneaked into the dining room.


    Catherine glanced at the table and confidently said, ¡°It seems the atmosphere wasn¡¯t too good.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Scarlett asked back.


    ¡°Just look at the plates,¡± Catherine picked up a knife and poked at the fish on the plate, ¡°Hardly touched.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it if you¡¯re not eating it.¡± Scarlett smacked Catherine¡¯s hand, clearly regretting, ¡°What a waste, I¡¯ll take it to the guards.¡±


    At that moment, Winters came back supporting an almost unsteady Anna.


    Hearing Anna¡¯s crying, Catherine rushed out of the dining room to see what had happened.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Catherine stood at the door, startled, glaring at Winters, ¡°Did you bully her?¡±


    At the sound of her sister¡¯s voice, Anna threw herself into her sister¡¯s arms and began to cry bitterly.


    Anna¡¯s sudden and abnormal behavior surprised and frightened Catherine, who awkwardly held her sister, patting Anna¡¯s back gently, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright¡­ what happened?¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡± Anna¡¯s tears soddened her sister¡¯s hair, ¡°How could Mom do this?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Five minutes later, in the living room of Winters¡¯ residence.


    Anna had stopped the uncontrollable crying but was still sniffling softly. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Catherine, holding her sister on the couch, looked at Winters suspiciously, ¡°Did Mom threaten Anna?¡±


    Winters, sitting alone across from them, heaved a sigh, ¡°Worse, Mrs. Navarre didn¡¯t even make any threats.¡±


    So Winters recounted what Mr. Leo had said. At first, Catherine was frowning and listening intently, but as she listened more, she became dismissive.


    ¡°And I thought it was something serious?¡± Catherine exclaimed, feeling deceived, taking the opportunity to ruffle Anna¡¯s hair, briefly enjoying the pleasure of being an older sister, ¡°Is it just cutting off the mother-daughter relationship?¡±


    At these words, not only Winters but even Anna, with her swollen eyes, gazed at Catherine.


    ¡°After all is said and done, sister, you¡¯ve just experienced too little. You¡¯ve never been scolded by Mom before, so when you really encounter her anger, you¡¯re scared like a little bird,¡± Catherine said with a hint of smugness, ¡°I don¡¯t believe Mom would really dare to cut off the relationship with you.¡±


    Winters anxiously shifted his weight, ¡°No, I feel Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude is very firm, not just bluffing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Catherine snorted disdainfully, ¡°If she doesn¡¯t make you think she¡¯s serious, how else can she bluff?¡±


    ¡°Kate.¡± Anna sobbed softly, speaking in stops and starts, ¡°I think Mom is really angry.¡±


    ¡°Of course she is! Mom must be furious. She might even have thought about killing someone outright,¡± Catherine glanced at Winters, then turned to her sister, ¡°But as I said, she won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Anna hesitated, clearly not comforted by Catherine¡¯s words.


    Winters also felt Catherine¡¯s attitude was too flippant and unreliable.


    Seeing she couldn¡¯t convince Anna or Winters, Catherine began to feel a frustration akin to hating iron for not becoming steel.


    She gathered her courage and pinched her sister¡¯s cheek, ¡°You see, Mom has always had a tight grip on you from the start. Even being so far away, she still controls you. Since you don¡¯t believe me, I won¡¯t say anything more, suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t¡­¡± Anna hugged her sister tightly, pleading softly, ¡°Kate, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    Perhaps this was Anna at her most vulnerable, at least in Catherine¡¯s not-so-long life, she had never seen her sister in such a state.

 Chapter 909 03-25 - 909 18 Puppet on Strings_3

    ?Chapter 909: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_3 Chapter 909: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_3 ¡°Sigh, what are you afraid of?¡± Catherine also hugged her pitiful sister and comforted her gently, ¡°Don¡¯t we still have Grandpa? Grandpa adores you so much, what are you afraid Mom will do? Mom threatens you, but her father stands by your side.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa¡­ I don¡¯t know if Grandpa will stand by my side¡­¡±


    ¡°He definitely will.¡± At this point, Catherine felt a twinge of jealousy and humphed lightly: ¡°Grandpa likes you the most, he has always been on your side, always.¡±


    Anna gave a light ¡°mmm¡± and her sobs gradually subsided. She leaned on her sister¡¯s shoulder, and they supported each other.


    Regardless of whether Catherine¡¯s words were reliable, Anna needed a stable point to anchor her emotions, so she subconsciously chose to believe Catherine¡ªfor now.


    Catherine hummed a nursery rhyme softly, making the scene warm and touching.


    However, a certain gentleman observing from the side probably wouldn¡¯t think so.


    ...


    Winters was sitting on the other side of the small living room, feeling extremely awkward.


    He didn¡¯t know whether to stand or sit, leave or stay, or even where to put his hands.


    Catherine noticed the out-of-place Winters too, and she signaled him with her eyes to leave, but Winters did not move.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne.¡± Catherine had to break the tender quietude and said with a radiant smile: ¡°It¡¯s getting late, and it¡¯s inconvenient for us to accommodate you overnight. Please go back.¡±


    Winters became even more embarrassed: ¡°This is my place, your place is next door¡­¡±


    Soon after, Winters stopped talking. Anna was turned away from Winters, so he couldn¡¯t see her expression. But Catherine¡¯s gaze sent a clear message¡ª¡±Get out.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­ Don¡¯t worry, and don¡¯t cry, I¡¯m here too.¡± Winters grabbed his coat, swiftly crossed the living room, the hallway, and the doorway, and stepped out into the vast winter night.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Standing outside, chilled by the cold wind and driven out of his own place, Winters did not know where to go for a moment.


    The single officers¡¯ quarters wasn¡¯t one house but about a dozen small detached houses within a large courtyard, temporary homes for the stationed single officers. Mason, Andre, and several others also lived here.


    Looking around, all the detached houses in the courtyard were pitch-black, with only Mason¡¯s place showing a sliver of light through the window.


    Winters thought for a moment, put on his coat, and headed to his senior¡¯s place.


    ¡°There, there.¡± Catherine patted her sister¡¯s back and pushed her away from her shoulder, ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡±


    Anna gave a slight ¡°mmm.¡±


    Catherine couldn¡¯t suppress her vexation as she tidied her sister¡¯s disheveled hair and complained: ¡°¡­Absolutely a blockhead, doesn¡¯t he know a lady needs some time to compose herself after an emotional outburst? I still had to remind him to step away¡­ He really is a perfect match for you, both blockheads¡­¡±


    Anna broke into a smile amidst her tears and hit her sister hard.


    ¡°Just now you were hugging me and crying your eyes out, and now you¡¯re starting to get rough.¡± Catherine was indignant and pretended to hit back.


    Suddenly, Catherine seemed to remember something, her expression turned serious, and she grabbed her sister¡¯s hand: ¡°Anna.¡±


    Anna was not yet completely free from her dejected mood, and she was caught off guard by her sister¡¯s change of demeanor: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Although I believe, Mom won¡¯t really cut off the mother-daughter relationship; and although I believe, going back to Sea Blue now means Mom wins.¡± Catherine spoke word for word: ¡°But at the same time, I think you shouldn¡¯t stay here any longer.¡±


    sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 910 03-25 - 910 19 Human Head Tickets

    ?Chapter 910: Chapter 19 Human Head Tickets Chapter 910: Chapter 19 Human Head Tickets Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    Should they sell the head tokens? This question plagued almost every militiaman in Iron Peak County.


    The more meritorious militiamen were, the more entangled they felt, and Ivan was among them.


    ¡°Sell it,¡± Aksinya begged her husband while holding their young son, ¡°At least sell one?¡±


    Ivan didn¡¯t speak, just stared intently at the five head tokens laid out in a line on the table.


    Setting aside the value assigned to them, the head tokens were nothing more than ordinary sheepskin paper stamped with laws and a serial number, with the only distinctive feature being the seal and signature of Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer.


    The more Ivan looked at them, the more incredible it seemed: such ordinary paper could represent such a considerable fortune.


    ...


    ¡°But who to sell to?¡± Ivan said hesitantly, ¡°And for how many Gold Coins?¡±


    Aksinya, holding her now-sleeping child, sat opposite her husband, her voice trembling: ¡°I just feel very afraid.¡±


    What was Aksinya afraid of? Fearful of some ill-intentioned people? Or simply terrified of wealth? She couldn¡¯t quite articulate it.


    ¡°I think when times stabilize, I¡¯ll exchange these head tokens for tangible land,¡± Ivan bit his nails, pouring his heart out to his wife: ¡°We could go to the countryside and be well-off farmers, no longer having to live this uncertain city life¡ªI no longer wish to wield a sword.¡±


    ¡°But when will things stabilize?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll go out and ask tomorrow,¡± Ivan put away the five head tokens, carefully hiding them behind the shrine: ¡°Ask who¡¯s willing to buy?¡±


    ¡­


    Similar conversations like the one between Ivan and his wife took place in Revodan and across the whole of Iron Peak County. In some cases, these talks even escalated into arguments and violence.


    As Ivan and his wife fell into a deep sleep filled with unease and anxiety, Winters was leading Mr. Leo on a tour of the printing workshop, with little Priskin also in attendance.


    The county government printing workshop was equipped with the classic Gutenberg press, which had been specifically outfitted with a set of oversized lead type to meet the unique demands of printing public notices.


    Winters picked up a freshly printed public notice, and after verifying it was error-free, he smiled and handed it to Mr. Leo: ¡°Tomorrow, this notice will be posted. You will be leaving Iron Peak County, so I wanted you to have a look.¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thank heaven,¡± Leo took the notice: ¡°It¡¯s finished.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your accomplishment,¡± Winters expressed his gratitude to Mr. Leo.


    ¡°Just a bit of patching up,¡± Leo displayed no pride, his head bowed slightly: ¡°No accomplishment at all.¡±


    Little Priskin could hardly contain his curiosity and sneakily glanced at the newly printed notice.


    The entire notice concerned one thing¡ªhead tokens.


    ¡­


    When Winters first implemented the scalping system, he hadn¡¯t thought too much about it, considering it just a temporary incentive.


    After all, the Terdun Barbarians who had invaded Iron Peak County amounted to just over ten thousand heads, and distributing the land for all of them seemed trivial.


    But after introducing the policies of ¡°free trade¡± and ¡°using scalps as vouchers,¡± the nature of the head tokens changed.


    They became both reservoirs and powder kegs, presenting dilemmas even to Winters.


    Apart from speculators in Iron Peak County, another person was very interested in the head tokens¡ªPhilip Leo.


    Leo, quite interested, observed Winters¡¯ decision-making. After understanding enough, he approached Winters for an in-depth conversation.


    Leo was uncharacteristically direct, asking forthrightly: ¡°I want to know, why did you replace actual scalps with paper vouchers? Counterfeiting a piece of paper is much easier than a head.¡±


    ¡°No particular reason,¡± Winters laughed heartily: ¡°Militiamen sold scalps too cheaply; I couldn¡¯t bear to see it, so I thought to raise the price of scalps a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Leo showed no emotion.


    ¡°That was then,¡± Winters decided to tell Leo the truth: ¡°Now I have some new ideas. I think¡­ maybe head tokens can be used as a tool for raising funds.¡±


    ¡°How to raise?¡±


    ¡°From what I see, most of those purchasing head tokens have no intention of actually exchanging them for land,¡± Winters said somewhat sheepishly, sharing his na?ve idea: ¡°They see them as a commodity that can appreciate in value.¡±


    Commerce was a field completely foreign to Winters; he yearned for guidance from experienced businessmen: ¡°If possible, I would like to issue debt securities backed by all the unsold land of Iron Peak County as collateral¡ªjust like Marshal Ned used to do.¡±


    Leo listened intently, then countered: ¡°Why do you want to issue debt securities?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re out of money,¡± Winters spread his hands: ¡°Iron Peak County is in need of funds everywhere, but the treasury is empty.¡±


    Leo was not the least bit polite: ¡°If you want to link the value of head tokens to the price of land, I can tell you right now¡ªyou¡¯re playing with fire.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Land is not Gold; its value fluctuates. The land price in Iron Peak County is stable now because the New Reclamation Legion has set the price by decree and strictly controls supply, artificially raising land prices,¡± Leo pointed to the ground and asked: ¡°What do you think a head token is?¡±


    Winters followed Leo¡¯s train of thought and answered: ¡°Land?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Leo dissected the deep logic of the head tokens step by step: ¡°A head token is not a piece of paper; it¡¯s a hundred acres of land. Every transaction is equivalent to a transfer of a hundred acres of land.¡±

 Chapter 911 03-25 - 911 19 Human Head Ticket_2

    ?Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face had turned somewhat red: ¡°By tying headright certificates to land, you¡¯ve covertly reduced the difficulty of trading land, leading to increased land liquidity.


    Previously, all land deals had to go through the New Reclamation Legion. What about now? Land trades have become ¡®money in one hand, certificates in the other,¡¯ no longer priced by the New Reclamation Legion.


    Moreover, with thousands of new headright certificates suddenly flooding the market, it¡¯s as if you¡¯ve thrown hundreds of thousands of acres of land into it at once. I¡¯m not trying to be alarmist, but once the people of Iron Peak County catch on, the price of land there will collapse. All landlords in Iron Peak County will become your enemies.¡±


    At first, Winters frowned tightly while listening, because Mr. Leo was raising issues he had never considered.


    But when he heard Mr. Leo solemnly warn, ¡°You¡¯re going to crash the land prices of Iron Peak County,¡± Winters¡¯s brows smoothed out.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re saying that if headright certificates continue to be issued, it will cause the land prices to drop? Make land deals easier?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Mr. Leo did not understand why he was asking but still patiently explained, ¡°It¡¯s like a cloth merchant suddenly releasing hundreds of thousands of bolts of wool. Naturally, the price of wool on the market will fall.¡±


    ...


    Winters nodded, his expression easing somewhat: ¡°Then, I can breathe a little easier.¡±


    Mr. Leo, like trying to converse with a self-taught boar-like economist, said: ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne¡ªAll landlords in Iron Peak County will see you as an enemy.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Winters weighed the pros and cons, ¡°But it¡¯s less than the resistance stirred up by direct land distribution. Estate owners may be disgruntled, but more people will become my allies, so I¡¯m not too afraid.¡±


    Mr. Leo was speechless and then asked, ¡°But have you considered, what if the landlords buy up a large number of headright certificates? You want to give land to the poor, but what if it ends up in the hands of the landlords again?¡±


    Winters was stumped, silent and deep in thought for a long time before he grasped Mr. Leo¡¯s hand: ¡°Then you have to help me figure out a way to prevent this from happening.¡±


    ¡­


    The next day, Ivan got up early, intending to find a familiar sheriff to ask if anyone was buying headright certificates.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    Leaving home, he wrapped his clothes tightly around him and headed to the other end of town.


    Passing through the square, he saw many people gathered in front of the bulletin board. It was just dawn, normally there wouldn¡¯t be so many people out and about.


    Driven by curiosity, Ivan approached the square.


    Most of the crowd around the announcement board were illiterate, but that was no problem, a clerk from the municipal office was shouting at the top of his lungs.


    Ivan stood on the periphery of the crowd and listened for a long time, roughly understanding three things:


    First, the county government was going to start land measurement, promising to redeem headright certificates for anyone who wanted to cash them in after Corpus Christi Day next year;


    Second, the county government would issue smaller denomination headright certificates, gradually replacing the current ones.


    Hearing this, Ivan stamped his feet, ready to go home. He no longer wanted to sell his headright certificates as each was worth a hundred acres, and he would be pained to part with any of them.


    He wasn¡¯t in a rush for money, so he planned to exchange for smaller denomination certificates later and then sell them according to his needs.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Manyun Valley.


    The mayor of Manyun Valley originally thought that Tamas¡¯s cavalry was the entirety of the ¡°Bridge Builders.¡±


    Only when he saw Tamas designate a vast campsite capable of accommodating thousands did he realize how wrong he had been.


    With Paratu stepping deep into winter, scarcely any travelers were seen on the roads. Yet, the road from Revodan to Manyun Valley was unnaturally busy.


    Ever since the cavalry arrived at Manyun Valley, for several days in succession, armed convoys kept arriving from Revodan.


    From dawn to dusk, townspeople could hear the grating noise of heavy wagons on the move.


    Tamas kept his promise; once the fortifications were completed, he immediately set people to cutting down trees and setting up the Floating Bridge.


    A sense of fear lingered in the mayor¡¯s heart, and he secretly speculated, ¡°With so much supply being brought in, are we heading for another war?¡±


    The clever ones in Manyun Valley were not just the mayor, as talk of war spread quickly. Suddenly, many wealthy families even fled overnight, seeking refuge with relatives.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± Tamas said with a wry smile, ¡°Should we convene everyone to explain?¡±


    ¡°Explain what?¡± Moro put down his charcoal stick, speaking impatiently, ¡°The more you explain, the less they believe. They¡¯re idle at home in winter with nothing to do. They latch onto something to gossip about¡­ War? They have no idea what war is like¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Moro realized he was saying too much and suddenly stopped, continuing his drawing in silence.


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame them. First, it was grain conscription followed by manpower conscription. Fighting with Mont Blanc County and then with the Herders; there has been no peace.¡± Tamas sounded somewhat emotional: ¡°If I were a commoner in Manyun Valley, I would be afraid too.¡±


    Moro continued to draw his map, ignoring Tamas. After a while, he said coldly, ¡°You are no longer a civilian¡­ When are the people from Mont Blanc County arriving?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Tell your men to laze around less and get the Floating Bridge done quickly.¡±


    The next day, the arrival of Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops on the opposite riverbank sparked panic in Manyun Valley.


    Tamas had no choice but to come forward to explain the situation and calm everyone down, to little effect.


    The movements of Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops were strikingly similar to those on the Iron Peak County side: they first built a stronghold on the riverbank, then proceeded to construct a bridge.


    The Floating Bridge was completed earlier than planned, crossing east and west.


    The person in charge from Mont Blanc County was a lieutenant of the sappers named Woods. He was not tall and spoke in a gentle manner, lacking the subtle arrogance often sensed from ¡°military men.¡±


    ¡°Tamas.¡± Woods truly did not know how to address him; after much consideration, he chose an error-free option: ¡°Mr.¡±


    Tamas nodded, signaling with body language that he was listening.


    ¡°Regarding the thousand horses that your side agreed to return¡­¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, not one will be missing.¡±


    ¡°I believe the quantity is certainly not an issue.¡± Woods looked towards the herd of horses with furrowed brows, ¡°But the horses you took are Paratu horses, and these, if I am not mistaken, are Herder horses, right?¡±


    Before them, the horses grazing were generally one to two fists shorter than Woods¡¯ mount.


    Moreover, the condition of the horses was not good; their bellies were sunken, with ribs protruding one by one.


    Tamas felt somewhat ashamed and scratched his head: ¡°You may be unaware, but many of the warhorses obtained from your county have died of exhaustion or disease, leaving barely a few left. We only have these captured Herder horses now. See, the horse I am riding is also a Herder horse, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Saying that, Tamas patted the neck of his mount.


    ¡°Why then are the warhorses that serve as goods¡­¡± Woods pointed towards another group of horses in the distance. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That group in the distance was obviously larger in size than the Herder horses before them.


    Tamas hurriedly interjected: ¡°Our side will certainly prioritize delivering the best warhorses as goods to your side; otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it result in a loss for you? Return is return, and trade is trade. The two must not be confused, nor can the two groups of horses be mixed.¡±


    Woods twisted his riding crop, asking, ¡°Does Colonel Gaisa know about this?¡±


    ¡°Of course, he does.¡± Tamas patted his chest confidently: ¡°His Excellency Montagne has already obtained Colonel Gaisa¡¯s understanding.¡±


    Woods¡¯ expression became increasingly peculiar: ¡°When Captain Montaigne obtained the colonel¡¯s understanding¡­ was the colonel fully conscious?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ I¡¯m not sure about that.¡±


    After Woods repeatedly confirmed that Colonel Gaisa was aware of the situation, he sighed helplessly: ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave it at that. Thinking from a different perspective, no matter how much you give back, it¡¯s a gain for us.¡±


    ¡°You have already checked the warhorses.¡± Tamas put away his smile: ¡°What about our people?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re on the opposite bank, will be sent to you in a moment. They¡¯ve been well-fed and taken care of, not a tooth missing.¡± Woods took out a notebook: ¡°Now, we can discuss other trades.¡±


    The civilians of Manyun Valley were shocked to find that the ¡°Rebels¡± and Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops did not engage in battle, but seemed to have an unspoken agreement, each stationed at the Bridgehead Fortress, neither crossing the Anya River.


    Town residents with relatives on the other side tried to apply for a pass to use the Floating Bridge, and the response they got was ¡°anyone can use the Floating Bridge as long as they do not carry weapons.¡±


    The panic slowly subsided, and the severed communication between the two counties, which had been cut off since Winters Montagne¡¯s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.


    Traffic between the two counties, severed since Winters¡¯s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.


    Using the fortresses on both ends of the Floating Bridge as the exchange sites, grain and salt went westward, while horses, tobacco, and hemp oil went eastward.

 Chapter 912 03-25 - 912 20 Questions and Answers

    ?Chapter 912: Chapter 20 Questions and Answers Chapter 912: Chapter 20 Questions and Answers Almost no one noticed that after the bloody and mired battle, Winters Montagne fell into a kind of passive mood.


    Or rather, Winters didn¡¯t want anyone to notice, so no one did.


    It was a strange kind of fatigue, specifically manifesting as ¡°seemingly there are many things to be done, but in reality very little can be accomplished¡±.


    New Town on the southern shore, starving refugees, a military school that exists only on paper, Pierre and Vashka who have gone missing¡­ It was a tangled mess of countless concerns, yet it seemed he could hardly do anything.


    ¡­


    Day by day, Revodan¡¯s food storage diminished, and Iron Peak County was on the verge of famine.


    Winters sent Tamas to restore traffic with Mont Blanc County and organize the backlog transportation of goods by various merchants in Iron Peak County.


    ...


    But he could not address the fundamental problem. Until next summer¡¯s harvest, Iron Peak County had to rely on external food supply.


    So he could only wait.


    The new city on the southern bank of the St. George River had only an empty shell, far from what Winters had envisioned, needing replanning and reconstruction.


    However, the southern city was now full of homeless military families and refugees who needed not workshops and cobblestone roads, but bread and shelter.


    Winters continued the policy of ¡°employment for relief¡± and provided houses for the refugees to survive the winter.


    But he still couldn¡¯t solve the fundamental problem ¡ª the refugees didn¡¯t want to stay, it was the winter that stopped them. Only when ¡°it¡¯s not cold enough at night to kill a person¡± could the refugees return home.


    So Winters could only wait.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï


    Winters also wanted to restart the Iron Peak Mine, facing similar difficulties.


    Previously, the Iron Peak Mine relied primarily on the labor of prisoners. However, due to the contributions of the prisoner group during the siege of Revodan, Winters had granted freedom to most of them, directly leading to a shortage of manpower in the Iron Peak Mine.


    The life of miners was hard and dangerous, and if there was land to cultivate, no one would want to work in the mines.


    What to do? Winters didn¡¯t know.


    Pierre and Vashka had gone to find Berlion and Dusack, and till now there had been no news.


    Winters wanted to send someone again, but couldn¡¯t find suitable manpower at the moment.


    For the planned military academy, Winters had already written two full volumes, even selecting the campus site.


    But the planned students had already become the backbone of the army, whether the subordinates who had already taken on company-level posts were willing to return to school, he also did not know.


    ¡­


    Each time he felt that drowning sense of powerlessness, Winters hated the people of Terdun from the bottom of his heart.


    The future of Iron Peak County, like his life, was driven off its original path by uncontrollable external forces. He tried to steer the wagon back on track, but had no idea where to start.


    Thus, during this period, compared to Bard and Mason, who were models of labor, even Andre¡¯s life seemed more fulfilling than his.


    Apart from a few breeding horses and some public stallions retained for breeding, the remaining warhorses of Iron Peak County had all been sent to Mont Blanc County as goods.


    Currently, Iron Peak County was really unable to ensure that these delicate warm-blooded good horses could survive the winter, whereas the captured Hurd horses were more suited to the present conditions.


    Although there were hardly any ¡°decent¡± warhorses left, Andre still tripled the size of the cavalry.


    Seeing Andre busy training new recruits, leaving early and returning late, Winters secretly felt a twinge of jealousy.


    Contrastingly, he, Seymour, seemed to be needed everywhere, yet also seemed not needed anywhere.


    These troubles, Winters had not spoken about to anyone, not even to Anna.


    Because he felt they were too trivial; being troubled by such small things, in his view, was akin to desecrating the dead.


    After all, he was still alive, he was still physically intact. So many had died, and many more would live the rest of their lives with disabilities.


    Compared to those who had lost everything, Winters truly felt his own pain was trivial.


    There definitely isn¡¯t such a thing as fairness, Winters thought. If there was, then Winters Montagne still being alive would be the biggest irony.


    He pretended as if nothing had happened¡ªindeed, nothing should have happened.


    But he couldn¡¯t control the sense of powerlessness inside, and the guilt arising from it tortured him even more than the powerlessness itself.


    So Winters rarely went out, and when forced to go out, he chose to go very early. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He didn¡¯t want to see soldiers saluting him, nor dared to see the empty sleeves and pant legs of the wounded.


    Additionally, his family affairs were torturing him as well. He could always hear the deceased questioning, ¡°We died because of you, yet you are troubled by romantic affairs, is this fair?¡±


    He considered sending Anna back to Sea Blue, as Leo advised him too.


    ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land is very dangerous now, and it will be more dangerous in the future, especially so for a lady from a foreign land without any relatives,¡± Leo sincerely said, ¡°Sea Blue is the safest place. No one can harm Miss Anna in Sea Blue. Starting from Miss Anna¡¯s interests, you should send her back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Leo¡¯s words were persuasive. War is the most uncontrollable beast, and once hostilities recommence, Winters couldn¡¯t guarantee Anna¡¯s safety.


    But Winters couldn¡¯t bear to do so, because Anna was almost the only source of comfort in his life.


    Merely sitting quietly beside Anna made Winters feel less pain.


    But¡­ that was too selfish.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    After a long talk with Winters, on a cold, gloomy morning, Bard returned to Revodan.

 Chapter 913 03-25 - 913 20 Qamp;A_2

    ?Chapter 913: Chapter 20 Q&A_2 Chapter 913: Chapter 20 Q&A_2 ¡°Why have you come back?¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a lot to handle down in Iron Peak County?¡±


    Old friend, just seeing you makes me so happy, Winters thought to himself.


    ¡°Winter has come, so there¡¯s not much to do.¡± Bard had grown a bit thinner: ¡°Have you thought about how to deal with the Heretic Priest?¡±


    ¡°Did you come back just to discuss this with me? Couldn¡¯t you just write a letter?¡±


    Bard answered earnestly: ¡°This matter can be big or small, we must take it seriously.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any good solution. Caman has asked me to buy him some time; he seems to have his own plan.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your plan?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I only have a backup plan. I wrote to General Serviati, asking him to get in touch with the Alliance Magic Combat Bureau. But the time it takes to go back and forth is probably more than Caman needs.¡±


    Bard nodded: ¡°How do you plan to buy time?¡±


    ¡°Delay, just drag it out.¡± Winters smiled helplessly: ¡°What else can I do? After all, this is not the Empire; the Church does not have the power to act.¡±


    ¡°Delaying is a good strategy, but not delaying forcefully.¡±


    Winters knew his good friend all too well, so as soon as he heard Bard¡¯s words, he immediately burst into a smile: ¡°If you have a way, just say it, don¡¯t give me difficult problems.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple.¡± Bard raised his hand in a polite gesture: ¡°If we view the Church as a religious organization, then sheltering a heretic is a very serious matter.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã0


    ¡°On the other hand, if we view the Church as a bureaucratic institution, then this matter is not that big of a deal. You need to understand that the clergy of Revodan are not persistent in eliminating Saul because of devout faith or hatred towards heretics. They want to judge Saul simply because their superiors once ordered them to do so, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ The current acting bishop of the Revodan Church is probably one of those ¡®extremely devout¡¯ clerics. And he¡¯s particularly inflexible; it would probably be hard to negotiate with him.¡±


    ¡°Inflexibility means adherence to order; it¡¯s easier to deal with him. Don¡¯t worry about this; leave it to me. I will talk to the Revodan Church.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Winters let out a relieved sigh from deep within: ¡°How do you plan to talk to them?¡±


    ¡°The Church¡¯s judgment of Saul, of course, has no problems¡ªwe respect the Church¡¯s internal jurisdiction.¡± Bard cleared his throat, adopting the tone of a public servant:


    ¡°But the Revodan garrison is a branch facility under the New Reclamation Legion. Procedurally, this matter must first obtain the consent of the New Reclamation Legion; we don¡¯t have the authority to comply directly. In short, we must patiently follow the process; we can¡¯t rush it.¡±


    ¡°What if they really get permission from the Legion?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the bishop of Revodan unfortunately perished, and a new bishop has yet to be assigned. Whether the acting bishop is qualified to apply to the Legion is still a matter for debate.¡± Bard smiled: ¡°After all, you are not planning on solving the problem completely; just delaying is enough.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    Bard also smiled warmly. He gazed at Winters and asked softly, ¡°I heard you¡¯ve not been doing so well lately?¡±


    ¡°What hasn¡¯t been well?¡± Winters wiped tears of laughter: ¡°Aren¡¯t I quite well?¡±


    ¡°They say you¡¯re becoming more and more like Colonel Moritz, hardly ever being seen.¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡±


    ¡°Senior Mason. There are rumors in Iron Peak County too, saying your old wounds have flared up and you¡¯re not faring well.¡±


    Knowing others cared about him gave Winters an indescribable feeling. He sighed: ¡°Senior Mason probably did it out of spite. Let others say what they will.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t often get a chance to return to Revodan.¡± Bard suggested: ¡°Accompany me out for a walk?¡±


    Winters instinctively refused: ¡°It¡¯s too cold outside; I don¡¯t want to move.¡±


    Bard stood up, grabbed both of their coats, and looked at Winters.


    Winters had no choice but to give in: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go for a walk. But not too far, my leg has been hurting recently¡ªyou grab my cane as well.¡±


    Upon leaving the residence, Winters realized that Bard had come prepared.


    Because a carriage was waiting in the courtyard.


    ¡°I knew you had an injury in your leg.¡± Bard smiled: ¡°I borrowed a carriage.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Winters asked bitterly: ¡°You¡¯re not planning to drag me to Iron Peak County, right? Are the rumors there that bad?¡±


    ¡°No, just a casual stroll.¡± Bard urged Winters: ¡°Get in.¡±


    Both men got in the carriage, Bard knocked on the carriage window, and the coachman spurred the horses, with the carriage smoothly heading towards the St. George River.


    The carriage isolated them from the outside view, slightly alleviating Winters¡¯ discomfort.


    Smoking fire pits split the road in the middle, with pedestrians and carriages each sticking to one side, neat and orderly.


    Bard suddenly spoke: ¡°I¡¯ve been seriously considering General Serviati¡¯s suggestion lately.¡±


    ¡°Which suggestion?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow: ¡°To defect to Alpad¡¯s military government?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And the result of your consideration?¡±


    ¡°I think we can try to make contact.¡±


    ¡°Alpad¡¯s faction is an orthodox Paratu warlord; they won¡¯t accept us.¡±


    ¡°If we can avoid fighting, then we should strive not to fight.¡± A glimmer shone in Bard¡¯s eyes: ¡°Even if it means making local concessions in exchange for the legitimacy of our efforts in Iron Peak County, it would be worth it.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If someone else had said this, Winters would think that person was scared and wanted to surrender. But Bard¡­ Winters believed that Bard would never waver.

 Chapter 914 03-25 - 914 20 Qamp;A_3

    ?Chapter 914: Chapter 20 Q&A_3 Chapter 914: Chapter 20 Q&A_3 Winters rested his forehand in his hands: ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know what to do either. Bard, I really envy you; you¡¯re always so resolute while I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Bard¡¯s hand rested on Winters¡¯ shoulder: ¡°No one knows which path to take, no one knows what will be engraved on our tombstones after we die. It¡¯s only because you are here that others don¡¯t have to fret over these unanswerable questions. Tamas, Bart Xialing¡­ and all those soldiers, known and unknown, they don¡¯t need to ponder the future; they survive on their trust in you.¡±


    Winters did not respond.


    ¡°I often wonder if the former Federated Provinces militia truly comprehended the disparity in strength between them and the Empire.¡± Bard seemed somewhat melancholic: ¡°Would they still have the courage to raise the ¡®Flag of Freedom¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about others.¡± Winters sniffed: ¡°The old Marshal comes from the Empire¡¯s army; he certainly understood.¡±


    ¡°Then where does his courage come from? An ant challenging a lion is simply overestimating oneself.¡±


    Winters leaned back with a subtle expression: ¡°Although it¡¯s not mentioned in official records, I saw a letter in the Land Academy¡¯s archive stating that the old Marshal joined the militia through¡­ abduction.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Now it was Bard¡¯s turn to laugh heartily: ¡°Who knows?¡±


    ¡°Right. Regardless of the original intentions, actions cannot be faked.¡± Winters felt slightly moved.


    ¡°Speaking of history, I¡¯ve broadly discerned this pattern.¡± Bard pondered: ¡°No matter what we do, we start with unity and total commitment; there¡¯s no task taken lightly, no individual slacking. It¡¯s not that difficulties don¡¯t exist at the beginning, rather, people actively ignore them.¡±


    Winters listened silently.


    ¡°Once some achievements are obtained, people instead feel lost. With the achievements, setbacks also follow. As circumstances slightly improve, the spirit slackens. More critically, blind confidence gradually fades, and people start to realistically assess difficulties. Mountains are so high, one glance is enough to understand they cannot be crossed. Whether it¡¯s an individual, a family, an organization, or a country, it seems no one can escape this cyclical rule.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Are you here to lecture me?¡± Winters smiled lightly: ¡°Then tell me, how do you think we can break this so-called cyclical rule?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Bard responded cheerily: ¡°But what I think isn¡¯t important, nor is it important whether you feel fear or confusion; what matters is to keep moving forward. Perhaps Marshal Ned is the most frightened among us, but he would still be gritting his teeth and leading from the front.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï


    ¡°Bard.¡± Winters spoke with difficulty: ¡°I¡¯m not scared; I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Look.¡± Bard tapped on the carriage window: ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the St. George River.¡±


    Two Floating Bridges spanned the river during the dry season, with people and vehicles constantly crossing back and forth between the two banks.


    Beyond the bridges, there were six pile-driving boats actively working, driving stakes into the riverbed.


    ¡°Are those the pile-driving boats for building the big bridge?¡± Bard pointed at the river: ¡°I heard down in Iron Peak County too, Revodan is constructing a grand stone bridge.¡±


    Winters glanced: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What are those boats doing?¡± Bard asked with interest.


    ¡°Senior Moro¡¯s plan.¡± Winters strove to explain: ¡°Simply put, they drive two rings of wooden piles into the water, fill the space between the two rings with sand and stones to form an enclosure similar to a [cofferdam]. Then they use a water pump to drain the water from the cofferdam, remove the riverbed¡¯s silt, and start pouring limestone mortar from the rock layer to form the bridge piers.¡±


    ¡°When will it be completed?¡±


    ¡°If all goes well, the bridge piers should be ready before next spring. Senior Moro plans to first lay a temporary wooden deck, and during the next agricultural off-season, replace the wooden deck with a stone arch. If the plan goes without a hitch, it should be completed the year after next.¡±


    As the carriage drove onto the Floating Bridge, Bard got a close view of the bridge pier construction process.


    He saw two sets of water wheels, one on each side, installed on a completed cofferdam, continuously extracting water from the cofferdam.


    Several other small boats carrying sand and stones moved towards a cofferdam under construction.


    ¡°The Victory Bridge in M¨¦n¨¨ne Province took a full five years to build, and its span wasn¡¯t even as large as the St. George River.¡± Bard commented: ¡°Although I know your ability, the idea that you could actually finish building the Revodan Bridge still seems incredible to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my ability.¡± Winters corrected: ¡°It¡¯s Senior Moro¡¯s ability.¡±


    He sighed: ¡°Moreover, what Revodan currently has in abundance is labor.¡±


    The carriage crossed the Floating Bridge and entered the south bank¡¯s ¡°New Town.¡±


    Rows of low shanties spread out like furrowed fields, lying flat on the ground enclosed by three-sided city walls.


    ¡°Ha.¡± A hint of a smile appeared on Bard¡¯s face: ¡°Mason House.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well: ¡°Yes, I genuinely worry that one day Senior Mason will run to the south bank and set a fire.¡±


    To save living space, the interior of Mason House had no separate kitchen. Instead, like an apartment for single officers, several shanties shared one stove.


    Once inside New Town, the road was not very good.


    The constant clattering of broken stones filled the air, as brawny men dug and paved the roads, forcing the carriage to take a detour.


    Approaching the shanty area, faint cooking smoke mixed with appetizing fragrances drifted into the carriage.


    A group of snotty-nosed children chased and frolicked in the open space between two rows of shanties. Women with kerchiefs tied around their heads gathered in the wind-sheltered corners, each with a wooden basin on her lap, pounding clothes with wooden sticks.


    Winters silently watched outside the window, Bard too remained silent.


    Exiting New Town, the carriage took the main road towards Forging Village. For several kilometers, labor teams working on the road were visible.


    In Winters¡¯ memory, Forging Village should have become a dead town. Because the forge workshops had been relocated to Revodan¡¯s New Town, the residents had fled, and even the houses were burnt clean.


    However, as the carriage crossed the hill, the scene that appeared before Winters surprised him.


    Five two-story high smelting furnaces stood erected on the original site of Forging Village, belching out billowing dense smoke.


    A rammed earth road began from the smelting site, extending towards Tie Feng Mountain.


    Many people were busy around the smelting furnace.


    Middle-aged blacksmith Soria and young blacksmith Carlos were greatly surprised by Winters¡¯ arrival.


    ¡°His Excellency Montaigne.¡± Soria was the first to rush up to Winters, sweating profusely as he greeted, ¡°How is your old wound?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t know how to explain: ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s no longer an issue.¡±


    Carlos babbled: ¡°Mr. Soria and I have always wanted to invite you to have a look at the smelting site, but hearing that your old injury was troubling you, we didn¡¯t dare to disturb you. Thank the Lord for His blessings, you now seem so healthy, I can finally be at ease¡­¡±


    ¡°This place?¡± Winters frowned slightly: ¡°When did so many smelting furnaces get added?¡±


    Seeing Blood Wolf¡¯s displeasure, Soria inwardly panicked and hurriedly explained: ¡°Recently, the County Government has been building bridges and roads, requiring lots of ironware. So Mr. Soria and I hired some refugees, and we resumed operations of Iron Peak Mine. Your Excellency, we didn¡¯t act on our own¡­ we consulted with the County Government¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you.¡±


    ¡°Dare not,¡± Soria wiped the sweat from his forehead: ¡°Dare not.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ how come I wasn¡¯t aware of the Iron Peak Mine situation?¡± Winters looked towards Bard, asking with a light smile: ¡°Was it arranged by Senior Mason? Did you come to show me this?¡±


    ¡°How could you possibly know everything?¡± Bard countered, ¡°This entity¡ªit¡¯s hard to describe¡ªit¡¯s not your puppet; it¡¯s a amalgamation of many people¡¯s wills. It is both thousands of scattered consciousnesses and a being with instincts and desires. You are an important part of it, but you do not own it. You feel it has strayed from the path you envisioned, but have you considered that perhaps there was never a path to begin with?¡±


    What tormented Winters wasn¡¯t what Bard thought, for he never believed he had absolute control over ¡°her.¡± But Bard¡¯s words still struck a chord, from another perspective.


    ¡°Bard.¡± Winters fell silent for a long time, sounding slightly choked up as he asked, ¡°We did do some good things, right? Those people didn¡¯t die in vain, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Bard turned to look at the vast expanses of the world: ¡°You should ask them¡ªI think, they have already answered you.¡±

 Chapter 915 03-25 - 915 21 Arrangements

    ?Chapter 915: Chapter 21 Arrangements Chapter 915: Chapter 21 Arrangements Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    In the winter of the 559th year of the Empire, the campaign of Iron Peak County against the Terdon Tribe has yet to receive an official name.


    However, privately, the people of Iron Peak County refer to this ultimate battle as ¡°The Battle of Blood and Mud.¡±


    Over time, ¡°The Blood Mud Battle¡± has gradually become a generic term for all the battles along the banks of Big Horn River.


    Where exactly the name came from, no one can say for certain. A credible version is that so much blood was shed by both sides that the frozen solid farmland was turned into a swamp, thus it was named the Blood Mud Battle.


    Regardless, on the afternoon Bard returned to Revodan, it was the first time Winters Montagne entered the Revodan garrison after the Blood Mud Battle had ended.


    The duty guards stared intently at Blood Wolf as he approached them, even forgetting how to salute.


    ...


    Similarly, as for Winters, the two-story building of the garrison felt somewhat unfamiliar. Among the people coming and going, there were many new faces, likely recently employed clerks.


    Winters recognized the guard¡ªhe was from Shizhen, joined the army for the second time. But for some reason, he couldn¡¯t recall the guard¡¯s name.


    It didn¡¯t matter, though, because the guard recognized him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Captain Bart Xialing,¡± the guard responded and then remembered to add, ¡°Reporting!¡±


    Winters nodded. The guard saluted with his hand, and Winters returned the salute.


    Within the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment, the units that were still fully structured had been sent to Manyun Valley, while those not fully structured were staying in Saint Town for recuperation. Currently, the only troops stationed in Revodan were from the second company.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï


    After learning that the Centurion had appeared, Bart Xialing arrived at the garrison without waiting for a summoning order.


    Now, the garrison headquarters in Revodan¡ªa modest two-story brick building¡ªwas the true heart and brain of Iron Peak County, not the county office or the town hall.


    The authority concentrated in the new garrison headquarters far surpassed that of the old headquarters during ¡°Ronald¡¯s era.¡± All military and administrative orders in Iron Peak County were now issued from the new headquarters, and the previously semi-autonomous system imperceptibly suffered a severe blow.


    Winters had never worked in the garrison before, and thus did not have a designated office.


    Bart Xialing knew this, so he hurriedly climbed the stairs two at a time and pushed open the door of the meeting room with a bit of nervousness, unsurprised to find the familiar cane on the table.


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡± Bart Xialing immediately saluted, shifting his gaze slightly to another person: ¡°Lord Bard!¡±


    ¡°You came quickly,¡± Bard said with a smile, gesturing for the company commander to take a seat.


    ¡°Where is Commissioner Mason?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°He just left the city at noon,¡± Bart Xialing still stood: ¡°Shall I go fetch Commissioner Mason?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Winters continued writing something: ¡°You sit too.¡±


    Bart Xialing then sat down, but not too deeply into the chair, leaving at least a foot between his spine and the chair back.


    Seeing the company commander¡¯s sitting posture, Bard didn¡¯t say anything, just smiled.


    ¡°Shall I call two scribes?¡± Bart Xialing asked in a low voice.


    Winters didn¡¯t look up: ¡°Don¡¯t reveal the following content to anyone below the company level.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m preparing to station each company in various towns for the winter,¡± Winters glanced at the company commander, ¡°Second company goes to Hammer Fort.¡±


    Knowing very well when to express what tone, Bart Xialing dropped his careful demeanor and asked earnestly, ¡°Will the supplies still be provided by Revodan?¡±


    Giving orders to the company commander, Winters never had to explain too much: ¡°If conditions allow, try to raise supplies yourself.¡±


    ¡°Raise locally?¡± Bart Xialing stated candidly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that might not look too good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to force a levy,¡± Winters stopped writing, ¡°Each company will be allocated a small amount of land vouchers.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®small denomination¡¯ military merit certificates mentioned in the previous announcement?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Will the farmers¡­ accept this?¡±


    ¡°They certainly will,¡± Winters said emphatically, ¡°as long as the county government allows anyone to ¡®first cultivate, then submit certificates.''¡±


    The meeting room fell silent, Bart Xialing stood up and asked, ¡°You mean to say, allow farmers to demarcate and cultivate fields in the spring farming season first? As for the process of exchanging military merit certificates for land, it can be supplemented later?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this might¡­¡±


    ¡°Lead to countless acts of encroachment, the county government will suffer losses, right?¡±


    Bart Xialing nodded.


    ¡°If it makes all the farmers in Iron Peak County think they have gained an advantage, then this matter is considered a success,¡± Winters spoke cheerfully, ¡°Taking a bit of loss is nothing; if we really need to count, it¡¯s still a gain overall.¡±


    Bart Xialing pondered deeply but to no avail: ¡°Besides locally raising supplies, are there any other orders? Your arrangements must have further implications, but I can¡¯t quite grasp them¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, and many,¡± Winters never played riddles with his subordinates: ¡°The county government¡¯s clerks will also be stationed with you in the towns. Their task is to census the population, survey the land, and you need to assist and protect them.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The county government? Where does the county government get the people?¡± Bart Xialing puzzled. As everyone knows, the Iron Peak County¡¯s government is just an empty shell.


    Bard, who had been silent, answered: ¡°It¡¯s tentatively arranged to be staffed from accounting schools, and some manpower will also be drawn from the farms to help.¡±

 Chapter 916 03-25 - 916 21 Arrangement_2

    ?Chapter 916: Chapter 21 Arrangement_2 Chapter 916: Chapter 21 Arrangement_2 ¡°Surveying the land¡­ Can accounting school students handle it?¡± Bart Xialing remained skeptical, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s not enough time.¡±


    Isn¡¯t it more convenient to directly dispatch clerks from the garrisons? Bart Xialing really wanted to ask this, but he acutely sensed some deeper implications, so he didn¡¯t speak outright.


    ¡°Exactly because time is pressing, we need them to get familiar and train quickly,¡± Bard patiently explained, ¡°The army has drills, and this year¡¯s land inspection can also be treated as a drill.¡±


    The Civil Guard Officer¡¯s reasoning was very sufficient, Bart Xialing couldn¡¯t find any reason to refute and could only nod in agreement.


    Winters rubbed a small knife, ¡°Including Revodan, Iron Peak County has seventeen towns. You and the county government staff will be prioritized to [North Eight Towns]. The current aloof state of Iron Peak County must end. North Eight Towns must officially fall under the jurisdiction of the county government, at least to the extent of ¡®being able to bring up tax revenues¡¯.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bart Xialing, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up, ¡°It should have been this way long ago!¡±


    But then he thought of something and asked with slight concern, ¡°But¡­ what about Shovel Port? Shovel Port might not easily accept our forces stationed there.¡±


    ...


    ¡°We will not send people to Shovel Port for the time being, I have other arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Besides protecting and assisting the county government, I have other tasks for you.¡± Winters lowered his eyes to the documents in front of him, ¡°I¡¯ve seen all your requests for troop reinforcements. I don¡¯t plan to openly recruit soldiers in Revodan, it¡¯s too obvious¡ªstationing in towns is a good opportunity. The specific plan¡­ Commissioner Mason will prepare it for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°With the current organization, a company has a full complement of one hundred and twenty people.¡± Winters¡¯s fingertips lightly touched the table, ¡°By next year, that number has to become two hundred and forty.¡±


    Bart Xialing was initially dazed, then suddenly understood and excitedly responded, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°And¡­ many farmers can¡¯t survive, so they run into the mountains and become bandits, robbers. [South Eight Towns], I took you to sweep through once. As for [North Eight Towns], we couldn¡¯t reach it at that time. But now it¡¯s different, since we¡¯re going to collect taxes from North Eight Towns, we must also fulfill our duties to North Eight Towns, understand what I mean?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í¨À0.§ã¦Ï


    Bart Xialing understood immediately and grinned, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m more worried that there might be too few bandits to kill.¡±


    Bard coughed lightly, ¡°If it¡¯s possible to kill less, kill less.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°The most difficult part about bandit gangs is not their combat power, but the fact that they have legs¡ªthey can run. Farmers who turn to banditry for food are easy to deal with. The difficult ones are those habitual criminals and bandits.¡± Winters looked at the map hanging on the wall, ¡°I have prepared a place for them.¡±


    Bart Xialing followed Centurion¡¯s gaze, focusing on a town in the northeast of Iron Peak County¡ªShovel Port.


    ¡°You mean?¡± Bart Xialing asked tentatively, biting his lip, ¡°A hunt?¡±


    ¡°The places most prone to harboring bandits are at the boundaries of two administrative regions. If the bandits and robbers of Iron Peak County escape into Vernge County or Mont Blanc County, then we can hardly talk about eradication,¡± Winters¡¯s brow furrowed deeply without intention, ¡°So it is necessary to be strict on the outside and lenient on the inside, don¡¯t let any bandit escape Iron Peak County, drive them all to Shovel Port.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you are worried about, I¡¯ve already decided.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You know why I only wanted you at this meeting?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Subordinate is slow-witted.¡±


    ¡°Among the twelve company commanders, you are the smartest and the most capable.¡± Winters placed the drafted memo in front of the second company commander, ¡°What I¡¯ve told you will not appear in the announcements, so I need you to personally go to Saint Town and Manyun Valley to convey the orders to the other company commanders.¡±


    Bart Xialing jumped up, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Winters now felt an urgent sense of ¡°must complete as soon as possible,¡± which made him unconsciously become stern. He realized this as he looked at the sunken cheeks and wrists of the second company commander.


    ¡°In terms of seniority, among the first batch of twelve company commanders, you are second only to Tamas. In terms of merits, Tamas is not even as good as you. Since Tamas became the first acting battalion commander, the second acting battalion commander should also be you no matter what. Until now, you are still the second company commander. You feel wronged, or blaming me, is understandable.¡± Winters, facing his most capable subordinate, said apologetically:


    ¡°Because I wanted you to be promoted through the standard procedure, not by direct appointment like Tamas¡ªI set a very bad precedent with Tamas, so I want to correct it with you. But ultimately, it is not your fault, so I am very sorry.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s lips parted as if he wanted to say something but, in the end, he could not utter any words. He raised his hand and saluted.


    Winters returned the salute: ¡°Let¡¯s go, hurry to Saint Town and Manyun Valley. The specific deployment instructions I have already written in the memo, and the official announcement will be issued no later than the day after tomorrow.¡±


    Bart Xialing nodded, turned, and walked towards the door. He had just touched the doorknob when he was called back.


    ¡°Another thing.¡± With too many issues to handle, Winters¡¯ thoughts were somewhat muddled; he smiled and told the second company commander: ¡°Pick ten people from your subordinates, preferably those who can read, understand arithmetic, are young, sharp-minded, or have demonstrated meritorious deeds and good character.¡±


    Bart Xialing was stunned; he replied with a grimace, ¡°Centurion, your requirements are quite high; where can I find ten young, literate, arithmetic-knowing, sharp-minded soldiers who also¡­ have demonstrated meritorious deeds and good character?¡±


    Winters also felt he might be asking too much: ¡°As long as they mostly meet the criteria, or you can pick the ten soldiers that you think are the best.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s second company currently had only seven centurions left; taking away the ten best soldiers would be akin to removing half of the company¡¯s backbone.


    ¡°Are you preparing to form a guard?¡± Bart Xialing gritted his teeth: ¡°If so, I¡¯ll find ten no matter what.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Winters¡¯ eyes flashed with a fiery intensity: ¡°I am planning to establish a specialized military school¡­ let the other company commanders also pick ten people based on this standard.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s emotions were complex.


    Having not been a militia officer for long, Bart Xialing learned many nicknames of officers from the veterans of the Standing Army: leather boots, big white goose, officials¡­


    These nicknames were ironic reflections of the arrogance of the Land Academy officers but also contained undertones of admiration and envy.


    Bart Xialing now also barely counted as an ¡°official,¡± but he knew in his heart: sweep through Iron Peak County, and there are only four true officers; there¡¯s no need to list them one by one.


    ¡°A¡­ military school?¡± Bart Xialing awkwardly asked: ¡°When¡­ when does it start¡­¡±


    Winters sighed: ¡°At least two months from now. As for the graduates, they are tentatively supposed to serve as your assistants. Under the current circumstances, it is not possible to directly appoint them.¡±


    Two months, Bart Xialing sharply caught the keywords. Considering the Centurion¡¯s unusual behavior today, Bart Xialing couldn¡¯t help but become suspicious.


    He tentatively asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t appeared before today, and suddenly you¡¯re assigning so many tasks¡­¡±


    ¡°My old injuries have recurred; I need to return to Wolf Town to recuperate.¡± Winters said expressionlessly: ¡°After today, I won¡¯t be able to appear in public for at least two months.¡±


    Bart Xialing was seized by a huge panic; he rushed to the Centurion¡¯s side, stammering anxiously: ¡°Which injury? Isn¡¯t your leg injury not a big problem? What is actually¡­¡±


    ¡°The official reason is this.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s the actual reason?¡±


    ¡°I have to make a long journey.¡± Winters clenched his teeth and said resentfully: ¡°Being used as a tool¡ªhmph, I accept it. But at least, I want to see the hand holding the knife. The Red River Tribe invited me to visit, and coincidentally, I also want to visit White Lion Yasin.¡±


    Bart, standing by the window, sighed deeply.


    Bart Xialing was dumbstruck. His rationality wanted to stop the Centurion, but the words were so incredible that he didn¡¯t even know where to begin advising against it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still have value, the White Lion won¡¯t kill me.¡± Winters glanced at Bart Xialing: ¡°Besides, it¡¯s also time to dig out that lump of gold.¡±

 Chapter 917 03-25 - 917 22 Flee in Panic

    ?Chapter 917: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic Chapter 917: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    Even if there isn¡¯t a significant age difference, elder siblings still tend to view their younger brothers or sisters with a more senior mindset. This causes the former subconsciously to see the latter as immature and childlike individuals¡ªAnna is just like this.


    Before Mr. Leo arrived in Iron Peak County, Anna had already seriously considered sending Catherine back home.


    Although she never revealed her feelings to her sister, Anna understood that this whimsical adventure had to come to an end eventually. But she did not know how it should end.


    The lingering smell of gunpowder also constantly reminded her that Iron Peak County was not safe. What would happen next day, next month, next year? No one knew.


    That¡¯s why Anna, in a parental manner, made arrangements for Catherine: as long as the roads were clear, she would immediately arrange for someone to escort Catherine back to Sea Blue, regardless of whether Catherine was willing.


    It was precisely because of this, when Catherine held Anna¡¯s hands and seriously said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t continue staying here,¡± Anna was not surprised.


    ...


    In Anna¡¯s view, it was normal for her sister to want to go home, as Catherine was almost constantly complaining about Iron Peak County: too cold, too isolated, too boring¡­ Honestly, Anna felt the same.


    However, the reason Catherine provided did not belong to any of those.


    Little Lady Navarre held her sister¡¯s hands, looked at her sister with pity, and gently said, ¡°Anna, this dream should end.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Anna¡¯s heart clenched sharply.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to think it through yourself, so let me tell you.¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes fixed firmly: ¡°You love that man, and you are crazy about him, right?¡±


    Anna¡¯s cheeks instantly heated up, and she became both panicked and annoyed: ¡°You¡­ what are you talking about? Who said¡­ who said I¡­¡±


    The word that her sister said indifferently, Anna could not utter nevertheless due to embarrassment. She angrily tried to pull her hands away, but Catherine¡¯s grip was unexpectedly firm, and Anna couldn¡¯t move.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï


    Catherine ignored her sister¡¯s protest, continuing, ¡°So, you should leave. If you still have an ounce of rationality, you would come to the same conclusion.¡±


    Anna frowned in reproach, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me!¡±


    Catherine also looked reproachful at Anna, ¡°Everyone has always said you are steady and smart. But look at you now? When did you become so foolish? Indeed, a woman shouldn¡¯t fall in love; otherwise, she would definitely become a fool¡­¡±


    Anna¡¯s body stiffened, she no longer tried to pull her hands away, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m stating an obvious fact.¡± Catherine¡¯s voice was clear: ¡°The only way for ¡®Anna Navarre¡¯ to officially become ¡®Anna Montagne¡¯ has always been one ¡ª for him to return to Sea Blue with you. But¡­ would he leave here for you?¡±


    ¡°Who said I want to marry him?¡± Anna asked back angrily.


    Catherine nodded somewhat noncommittally.


    ¡°I need to rest now.¡± Anna stood up to leave.


    ¡°Anna¡ªmy dearest sister, listen to me.¡± Catherine held her sister¡¯s hand, biting her lip, ¡°There are millions of unmarried women, widows, old maids in this world, each of them¡ªevery one of them!¡ªis more suitable to become ¡®Lady Montagne¡¯.¡±


    Catherine usually referred to Winters as [Mr. M], but this time she unusually used his full name: ¡°Anyone can marry Winters Montagne¡ªyou could too, but it would destroy you.¡±


    Anna burst out laughing angrily, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you love him.¡± Catherine let go of her hands, softly responded: ¡°They don¡¯t love him.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Anna was extremely embarrassed and angry, ¡°What kind of reasoning is that?!¡±


    Catherine gathered her slightly disheveled hair, leaning against the bench, sighed. She didn¡¯t respond directly but asked an irrelevant question, ¡°Have you ever considered, what if one day Mr. M has a mistress? How would you face it?¡±


    Anna¡¯s breathing grew rapid, ¡°He¡­ he wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± but looking at Catherine¡¯s mocking, barely there smile, Anna had a million retorts yet couldn¡¯t voice a single one.


    ¡°If you wish to be Mr. M¡¯s mistress, I definitely won¡¯t stop you.¡± Catherine covered her lips and chuckled, ¡°Would you like to?¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna grabbed a small pillow beside her and threw it hard at her sister.


    ¡°You asked me why every woman is more suited to marry Mr. M than you? I can answer you now.¡± Catherine hugged her sister, ¡°Because they don¡¯t love him, hence they wouldn¡¯t demand equal affections in return. In marriage, they provide the capability to bear offspring and dowries¡ªproperties, power. In return, the more power that man seizes, the more wealth he possesses, the higher position he holds, it all meets their demands.¡±


    ¡°But, Anna, my dear sister, you are different.¡± Catherine held Anna tightly, tears sparkling in her eyes: ¡°What you want is love! What you demand is love!¡±


    Tears also flickered in Anna¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°For love, you can endure everything now, you can give without reservation. Look at you! From the moment you left Sea Blue, you have been giving, constantly giving, seeking nothing in return, not at the cost. You are completely a fool blinded by love.¡± Catherine choked up a bit:


    ¡°But have you ever considered, what if one day love disappears, he stops loving you, or you stop loving him, what then? How will you cope? What would all your sacrifices amount to? I¡¯m your sister, other than Mom, no one loves you more in this world! I can¡¯t¡ªI just can¡¯t stand to see you continue like this anymore. Winters Montagne wants you? Then let him return to Sea Blue and marry Anna Navarre in an upright manner. Otherwise, I will never agree to let him continue to mistreat you like this.¡±

 Chapter 918 03-25 - 918 22 Flee in Panic_2

    ?Chapter 918: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic_2 Chapter 918: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic_2 Tears whirled in Anna¡¯s eyes, Catherine¡¯s words were too heavy, and Anna didn¡¯t know how to respond. If she really was the fool blinded by love as Catherine said, there wouldn¡¯t be any burdens to bear.


    Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t.


    Catherine embraced her sister. Lady Big Navarre didn¡¯t cry, but Lady Navarre sobbed instead.


    Outside, the winter wind howled and the fireplace crackled.


    Anna reached out her arms, gently hugged her sister, and whispered comfort, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it won¡¯t happen¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Anna was almost sleepless all night.


    ...


    When the sunrise lit up Revodan, Anna wiped away her tears and got up to wash and dress like usual.


    After last night¡¯s deep conversation, Catherine seemed somewhat sickly, and even Scarlett couldn¡¯t bring a smile to her face.


    Anna was desperate to see Winters; she wasn¡¯t looking for promises or to vent her emotions. At this moment, she just wanted to see Winters.


    But Anna¡¯s wish did not come true, as Mrs. Madeleine soon brought back the news: ¡°Not long after dawn, Sir Bard took His Excellency Montane out of the city.¡±


    In the afternoon, Mrs. Madeleine brought another message: His Excellency Montane returned to the city and went to the garrison.


    Later, Winters left the city again. It wasn¡¯t until late at night that Winters returned to his residence.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing Anna waiting in the living room, Winters was surprised, sensing something unnatural in her mood, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Anna nestled against Winters, her voice very weak, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°I actually have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Feeling Anna¡¯s body warmth, Winters couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak and instead tousled Anna¡¯s hair: ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll write to you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Anna sounded tired.


    The two quietly cuddled for a while, then Anna asked softly, ¡°Can you dance?¡±


    ¡°Court dancing is one of the mandatory subjects at the Land Academy.¡± Winters seemed embarrassed, ¡°But I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve forgotten it all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Although Anna led him, their movements could hardly be called dancing. They just embraced in front of the fireplace, slowly swaying their bodies rhythmically.


    ¡°Speaking of which.¡± Winters suddenly couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Anna leaned on Winters¡¯ shoulder, wiping away her tears.


    ¡°Do you know how dance lessons at the Land Academy are conducted?¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Winters coughed lightly, awkwardly saying, ¡°The Land Academy has no female students, so dance classes are¡­ with partners from the same period, which means men dancing with men¡­¡±


    Anna broke into a smile.


    ¡°¡­So no one really had much interest, it was all just going through the motions.¡± As Winters tried to explain, hearing Anna¡¯s laughter eased his mind, ¡°It¡¯s worth embarrassing myself if I could make you laugh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not laughing because of you.¡± Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine if you won¡¯t admit it.¡±


    Another silence.


    ¡°Mr. Montane?¡± Anna spoke softly.


    ¡°Mm?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡± Anna¡¯s voice was very faint, as if mentioning a trivial matter.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Winters agreed without hesitation, smiling, ¡°Shall I go find Father Kaman now to officiate?¡±


    On the winter night, only the faint warmth radiated from the fireplace.


    After a long silence, Anna holding Winters let out an almost inaudible sigh, ¡°Never mind, we don¡¯t even have a ring, it¡¯s too cheap for you.¡±


    Winters sniffed Anna¡¯s long hair, murmuring as if pronouncing his own sentence, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s too cheap for me.¡±


    After a long time, Winters walked Anna back to her room.


    The next day, Anna woke up in her own bed to find out: Winters Montane had already left Revodan, leaving only a letter behind.


    ¡­


    West of Big Horn River, the wilderness.


    There was no snow in the wilderness, but the dead grass and branches were covered with frost.


    A small convoy traveled through the wilderness, the escorted riders all heavily armed. But no flags flew, and no insignias on the carriages disclosed any identities.


    ¡°Brother,¡± one of the younger riders, still youthful, asked worriedly, ¡°Can you really just leave like this?¡±


    ¡°Leave?¡± A man wrapped tightly in clothing sat in the carriage, pulled the blanket around him, and said somberly, ¡°It¡¯s more like fleeing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, fleeing.¡± Winters laughed self-deprecatingly, looking at the man on the carriage with a joke yet somewhat seriously, ¡°Colonel, please give me a quick end.¡±


    Xial did not understand the meaning of this sentence.


    Moritz was slightly startled, then closed his eyes to rest, yawning, ¡°It¡¯s all your own doing.¡±


    ¡°¡®Respect others¡¯ choices¡¯,¡± this phrase sounds like a universally correct formula.


    But in some cases, ¡°respecting others¡¯ choices¡± is really just pushing the dilemma onto someone else¡ªWinters thought painfully¡ªselfish and despicable, that¡¯s what I am.


    ¡°Stay behind, cut all ties with your mother amid the perilous Newly Reclaimed Land, give up everything that once belonged to you, and I can¡¯t give you anything.¡±


    These words, Winters couldn¡¯t utter.


    ¡°Return to Sea Blue, wait for me, wait for the day I might live to marry you.¡±


    These words, Winters also couldn¡¯t say.


    So he left the choice to Anna¡ªperhaps the most appropriate, or perhaps the least appropriate decision.


    ¡°If there really are such things as souls, the men and women who sacrificed might know of my self-pity over such matters.¡± Winters thought, ¡°Perhaps they would regret?¡±

 Chapter 919 03-25 - 919 22 Fleeing in Panic_3

    ?Chapter 919: Chapter 22 Fleeing in Panic_3 Chapter 919: Chapter 22 Fleeing in Panic_3 Hoofbeats interrupted Winters¡¯ train of thought as three horsemen burst forth from the hillside ahead, galloping towards the caravan.


    Colonel Moritz yawned and shifted into a more comfortable position to sleep. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The trio pulled up in front of Winters, the leader dressed as a Paratu, and his two companions attired in Hurd garb.


    The two horsemen dressed as Hurds dismounted, placed their right hands over their chests, and gave a respectful salutation, babbling a string of Hurd language.


    Winters beckoned the Translator to come forward.


    After exchanging a few words with the two Hurd horsemen, the Translator reported back, ¡°Sir, they are saying, ¡®Paratu champion, Tie Chi chieftain has sent us to guide you. Tie Chi chieftain has prepared fine wine and feasts in anticipation of your arrival.''¡±


    Winters nodded. He didn¡¯t understand the Hurd language but he could make out ¡°Batu¡± in their speech.


    The shortest route between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe invariably passed through the territories controlled by the Terdun Tribe.


    ...


    For others, plunging into the lands of the Terdun barbarians was akin to suicide. However, for Winters, the danger was much less.


    Since, theoretically, the lands of the Terdun Tribe were under the dominion of Tie Chi, although Tie Chi had his own troubles, he could always provide guidance and hospitality.


    At this moment, Tie Chi also needed Winters to mediate between him and the White Lion.


    Winters eyed the two guides, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, ¡°I seem to have seen them before. Those brothers who hunt rabbits? Mr. Translator, ask them if they remember me.¡±


    The Translator relayed Winters¡¯ words. The younger guide immediately grew excited, while the older one gestured with his eyes for his brother to be quiet and bowed again with his brother.


    ¡°The older one says,¡± the Translator relayed with a smile, ¡°they thank you for remembering them, and they are honored.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.??


    According to the customs of the Hurd tribes, it was appropriate to give them some presents¡ªor should it be called a reward? Winters also smiled, ¡°But we¡¯re as poor as church mice, we don¡¯t have gold or silver to offer. Xial, pick out two guns for them.¡±


    Xial acknowledged and quickly returned, carrying two light matchlock guns.


    The older guide accepted the firearms with respect. The younger muttered under his breath and got a glare from his brother.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the Translator relayed softly, ¡°the younger one says they don¡¯t have gunpowder or lead shot. Giving them firearms won¡¯t be of use to them.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily and turned to command Xial, ¡°When the guides leave the party, provide them with some ammunition.¡±


    The two guides returned to their horses and as they spoke, the Translator relayed, ¡°The older one says that if we continue forward for a distance equivalent to the length of an ox, there are three households who have pitched their tents where we can stay tonight.¡±


    ¡°Good, have them lead the way.¡±


    The caravan, having made a brief pause, resumed its journey into the boundless wilderness.


    After traversing several more hills, Colonel Moritz changed from dozing in a seated position to leaning back for a nap, and finally to lying down for a deep sleep.


    As Winters wondered how the Colonel could sleep in such a bumpy environment, Moritz, like a startled wild cat, bolted upright in an instant.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked.


    Furrowing his brow, Moritz said slowly, ¡°Someone is catching up.¡±


    Winters strained his ears, only after a while discerning the faint sound of hooves.


    The sound of hooves grew louder and clearer, and soon the figures of three more horsemen appeared on the horizon behind them.


    Seeing that the leading horseman was wearing a monk¡¯s robe, Winters also frowned, ¡°Kaman?¡±


    ¡°Father Kaman?¡± Xial was greatly surprised, ¡°What is he doing here?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t be sure it was Kaman, and he waved his hand, ¡°Stay alert.¡±


    The guards Andre had chosen for Winters drew their sabers, with several bearing short muskets beginning to load them.


    The distance between two hills was less than two kilometers, and the three horsemen from behind quickly caught up.


    Father Kaman¡¯s cool voice arrived before he did, ¡°What¡¯s all this fanfare for?¡±


    ¡°Stand down.¡± Winters gave the order helplessly.


    The armed riders fired their muskets skyward. The thunderous sound echoed in the wilderness, startling flocks of birds.


    Winters dismounted to greet Kaman, opening his arms to give a warm Venetian embrace, ¡°I¡¯ve been away for just one day and you¡¯re already missing me?¡±


    Kaman snorted lightly, ¡°You left at such an inopportune moment; just a day after, someone came back.¡±


    It was only then that Winters noticed the grinning young man behind Kaman¡ªVashka.


    ¡°Vasya!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t believe it; he grabbed Vashka¡¯s shoulders: ¡°Where is Pierre? And Mr. Michel? And your father, Berlion¡­ have they returned too?¡±


    Vashka¡¯s shoulders ached from Winters¡¯ grip as he grimaced and replied, ¡°Centurion, it¡¯s a long story¡­¡±


    ¡°No matter, take your time.¡± Winters, pulling Vasya, walked towards the caravan.


    Kaman coughed lightly, ¡°Wait a moment, there¡¯s also¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Winters felt a harsh blow to his back, so painful it halted his breath.


    Without time to ponder the source of the attack, his instinct was to retaliate immediately.


    In a flash, he entered a state ready for casting a spell, subconsciously intending to rip everything behind him apart with violent magic. But as he turned, from the corner of his eye, he saw the most terrifying scene.


    Once spilt, how can the magic be undone?


    Winters struggled to exit the casting state, feeling a sudden and intense dizziness, along with a stabbing pain¡ªbut it was subtly different from phantom pain.


    Under Kaman¡¯s watchful eye, Winters was pushed to the ground.


    ¡°You dare try to run again.¡± A garish golden sword was pressed against Winters¡¯ throat, Anna removed her hood, tear-stained, and said word by word, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, then I¡¯ll take my own life.¡±

 Chapter 920 - 23: Blazing Fire

    Jiangbei Province, Rum County, Gaoling Fortress.


    The Alpard Family¡¯s ancestral home had a history of over half a century and was the embodiment of an ¡°old and decrepit abode.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that the Alpard Family¡¯s ancestors were short of money, but when breaking ground for the old house, the Paratu People were still living in the shadow of the Hurd tribes, and every year as autumn arrived, barbarians would come to plunder.


    Therefore, to take into account both defense and warmth, the doors and windows of the Alpard Family¡¯s old house were few and small. The core areas such as the storerooms, armory, and stables were all wrapped within thick walls. After entering the main gate, one would have to pass through a long corridor riddled with arrow slits and gun ports before truly entering the interior.


    The entire building complex is better described as a miniature fortress than a residential place. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For the designers, sturdiness and security were the most pressing needs, while comfort and aesthetics were clearly not top priorities.


    Precisely because of this, as soon as the threat from the wilderness was lifted, members of the Alpard Family could not wait to move out of the damp and cold building.


    The Alpard Family¡¯s old house has since been left idle, with only a few elderly and frail servants responsible for maintaining the property.


    Until Alpad Duyome returned to Jiangbei Province.


    ¡­


    On the bloody night at Kingsfort, when the Red Rose faction members of parliament jointly signed the order to arrest Major General Alpad Duyome, they certainly did not foresee the situation spiraling completely out of control.


    Even if some MPs felt uneasy and panicked in advance, they still tremblingly signed their names and stamped their seals.


    Unfortunately, nothing in this world is certain, except for death¡­ and taxes.


    As time moved into autumn, whether it was the ¡°Paratu Provisional Military Government¡± or the ¡°Republic of Paratu,¡± both had to accept this harsh reality: one might achieve victory, but the cost of victory was bound to far exceed expectations.


    The dream of a swift victory had been utterly shattered. It proved that hoping the enemy would surrender without a fight or crumble at the first touch was nothing more than the delusion of fools.


    Those agitators who once shouted ¡°If we do this, and that, the enemy will surely do the same,¡± have now all become mute.


    And the optimists who thought the civil war would quickly produce a winner now realized that the war was just getting started.


    Calls for an ¡°end to the civil war¡± began to emerge and grew increasingly louder. The cry came not only from within Paratu but even from allies expressing their concern.


    The Chief Secretary of State of the Van Republic openly wrote to both the ¡°Republic of Palatu¡± and the ¡°Republic of Palatu,¡± urging ¡°to resolve the war through negotiations.¡±


    And this autumn the large-scale plundering by the Hurd tribes just provided both sides of the civil war with an opportunity.


    After thirty years, the iron hooves of the Herdman once again stepped onto the land of Paratu. Even the Red Rose and Blue Rose, who were slaughtering each other just a moment before, could not help feeling a strong sense of shared animosity.


    What followed need not be elaborated upon¡ªboth the Red and Blue Roses repelled the plundering warbands of the Hurd tribes and tacitly refrained from pulling each other¡¯s legs. Afterward, the two armies rested across the river, and there were no major movements.


    As autumn turned to winter, there seemed to be a turn for the better.


    Kingsfort openly wrote a letter to the Van Republic National Assembly and Major General Alpad Duyome, taking the lead in expressing the willingness to accept the mediation of the Chief Secretary of the Van Republic, agreeing ¡°to negotiate an end to the de facto division of the Republic of Palatu¡± and ¡°not to let one more drop of Paratu people¡¯s blood be spilled in vain.¡±


    This beautifully worded public letter was signed by ¡°Speaker of the Grand Council of the Republic of Palatu, Grof Magnus.¡±


    It was also at this time that Alpad Duyome left the army, left the front lines, left the center of power of the military government, and returned to his homeland, Gaoling Fortress in Rum County.


    He did not stay in the accommodations prepared for him by municipal officials, nor did he move into the spacious and comfortable new mansion, but instead returned to the place where he lived during his childhood and youth¡ªhis family¡¯s old ancestral home.


    ¡­


    As winter days were short and the Alpard Family¡¯s ancestral home was poorly lit, by not quite five o¡¯clock, the old house was already enveloped in darkness.


    A servant quietly entered the study with a candlestick and then retreated just as silently.


    Alpad stared absently at a corner of the study, oblivious to the servant¡¯s comings and goings, until another elderly servant pushed open the wooden door with a tray.


    ¡°Your dinner, I¡¯ve brought it for you,¡± the old servant paused at the door.


    Alpad nodded slightly, and only then did the old servant step into the study.


    Dinner was simple, just bread and soup.


    Seeing their young master¡ªwho was now the master¡ªreturn home, the household¡¯s old servants eagerly cleaned the dining room until not a speck of dust remained.


    However, Alpad Duyome had been a professional soldier for over thirty years, having spent more time in the barracks than in the old house, and had long forgotten all notions of aristocratic airs. Hence, so far, the dining room had yet to be used.


    As the old servant arranged the tableware, Alpad suddenly asked, ¡°Did you see that cabinet?¡±


    ¡°I did, master.¡±


    ¡°There is a hidden compartment behind that cabinet, likely left by a stonemason; you have to move the cabinet to see it. Besides me and Klein, I don¡¯t think anyone else knows about it.¡±


    The old servant certainly knew who Klein was, but he didn¡¯t know how to respond because Kleinheisler¡ªAlpad Duyome¡¯s closest brother¡ªhad died on the bloody night at Kingsfort.

 Chapter 921 - 23 Fierce Fire_2

    ¡°Master,¡± the old servant switched topics, bowing his head, ¡°Captain Bod wishes to see you.¡±


    Immersed in his memories, Alpad returned to reality, giving the old servant a cold glance.


    The old servant hurriedly explained, ¡°I¡¯ve already told Captain Bod that you are not receiving guests. But he insisted on seeing you, and he brought something¡ªsomething of yours.¡±


    With that, the old servant took an object out of his bosom and presented it with utmost respect.


    It was a square liquor flask, a very exquisite one. Unfortunately, it was no longer usable because a lead bullet was embedded in it.


    ¡­


    An old servant with gray hair sat by the door of the reception room, his eyes staring at the ground, wooden-like.


    Besides the old servant, there was only Winters in the spacious reception room, along with a row of armchairs along the wall.


    Winters observed the murals on the wall with interest. The murals had no theme, only some decorative patterns. Moreover, the painting was poor, probably done by an amateur.


    Instinctively, Winters was more interested in the fortress-like mansion than the murals.


    On the way from the second door to the reception room, he noticed a patio in the center of the house.


    Houses in Paratu seldom have patios due to the need for warmth in winter. The only logical explanation Winters could think of was for collecting rainwater.


    Why would a residential house need to collect rainwater? To prepare for a siege?


    Considering the location of this mansion, Winters guessed that the ancestral home of the Alpard Family likely fell between a castle and a residential building in terms of architecture and was not constructed too long ago.


    Though there were many sentries and guards, the defensive capability, in Winters¡¯ view, was still not very strong.


    Gaoling Fortress was not the capital of Rum County, nor the administrative center of Jiangbei Province; it was just a small town under Rum County¡¯s jurisdiction.


    Alpad returned to Gaoling Fortress with very few followers, but the military government would not allow such a leader to return to his hometown alone.


    The guards and military officials who followed Alpad nearly packed this small town full.


    Fortunately, Winters¡¯ entry into Gaoling Fortress went smoothly, and he was not subjected to any scrutiny.


    He didn¡¯t need a disguise, as he was an officially commissioned officer, his uniform, his ¡°Federated Provinces accent,¡± every part of him served as his best proof of identity.


    He only brought one Dusack guard¡ªVashka, who was also genuinely a Dusack.


    Winters also forged a pass for himself, copying the signature from a commendation order issued by Alpad, and finally carving a seal in half an hour.


    To Winters, the biggest risk of traveling in territories controlled by the military government was being recognized by an old schoolmate.


    The so-called ¡°college faction¡± officers were actually a small group; two graduates meeting could dismantle any lies with just a casual conversation. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, Winters deliberately avoided towns that might have garrisons, hurrying to Gaoling Fortress through night and day.


    The door to the reception room opened, and another old servant with graying hair slowly approached Winters and whispered, ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    At the end of a dim corridor, the old servant opened a door for Winters; Alpad Duyome sat behind a desk.


    Compared to the vivid, energetic, and valiant cavalry general in Winters¡¯ memory, who seemed to possess endless vigor, the current Alpad Duyome more easily revealed the fact that he was already stepping into his twilight years.


    As Winters observed Alpad, Alpad also sized up Winters.


    ¡°Have you married into a family?¡± Alpad frowned, asking out of the blue. His voice was not as loud as before, but still robust.


    The old servant tactfully left the study, closing the door behind him.


    Winters had imagined many conversations, but none of them started with ¡°Have you married into a family?¡±


    The relationship between Alpad and Winters was far from intimate or familiar; the former was a high-ranking major general, while the latter was just a minor Centurion.


    Therefore, Alpad¡¯s question baffled Winters, leaving him uncertain how to respond.


    Alpad motioned for Winters to sit down: ¡°Bod Gates has a daughter.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t stand on ceremony¡ªno longer being a subordinate of Alpad¡ªhe calmly sat down in front of Alpad, ¡°I just borrowed Colonel Bod¡¯s surname for a while.¡±


    Alpad didn¡¯t continue on this subject, but instead asked, ¡°Do you have news of Bod Gates?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still alive,¡± Winters pondered his words, ¡°Currently¡­ Colonel Bod should be in Maplestone City.¡±


    Alpad slightly knitted his brows, then as if coming to a realization, sighed and relaxed his expression.


    Winters remembered, Colonel Bod¡¯s original position was Chief Battalion Leader of the Sixth Legion. In other words, Colonel Bod was Alpad¡¯s deputy. Their relationship, probably, was closer than Winters had initially thought.


    Alpad did not pursue further about Colonel Bod¡¯s current situation and glanced at Winters, ¡°The officer from the Newly Reclaimed Land sent me a letter of reprimand, Adams said you became a bandit.¡±


    Alpad scoffed, ¡°He also held me responsible, asking me to deal with you.¡±


    Winters thought he would be angry, but he actually felt no emotion, ¡°Oh? How did you reply to him?¡±


    ¡°How did I reply to him? I told him¡ªI am glad to hear that Winters Montagne is still alive,¡± Alpad said with disdain. ¡°Adams is a foolish fence-sitter; you need not fear him.¡±

 Chapter 922 - 23: Blazing Fire_3

    Winters vaguely felt that if the former Alpad was a blazing flame, then the Cavalry Major General now is like boiling magma churning within a volcano.


    He did not respond, because he did not consider himself close enough to Alpad to pass judgment on him.


    However¡­ perhaps it was precisely because Alpad had no direct interests tied with him, that Alpad was extraordinarily candid with him.


    All the things he wanted to say had been said, all the questions he wanted to ask had been asked. Alpad took out his pipe, tamping down the tobacco leaf bit by bit, and bluntly asked, ¡°So tell me, what do you want?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t want to speak indirectly or play coy, a straightforward conversation suited his intentions well: ¡°One of my subordinates has been arrested by your gendarmerie, currently detained in Xiaolu City.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the charge?¡± Alpad frowned slightly.


    ¡°Deserter.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°My other subordinates that I brought from Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°Wolf Town?¡± Alpad frowned slightly. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°A very remote, very remote small town.¡± Winters said calmly: ¡°I was the officer stationed there.¡±


    Alpad looked at Winters deeply: ¡°No problem, you can take them all away.¡±


    Winters nodded in acknowledgment: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    Alpad shook his head with a half-smile, took a pen, and wrote a safe conduct pass. Then he slowly heated the sealing wax, took off his ring, and sealed the pass with wax.


    ¡°This safe conduct pass will allow you to travel unobstructed north of the Ashen Stream River.¡± Alpad handed the folded safe conduct pass to Winters: ¡°Stay here tonight, and tomorrow I¡¯ll send someone to help you gather your former men.¡±


    Winters took the safe conduct pass and carefully put it away¡ªthis was the real thing, he nodded again to express his thanks: ¡°I have a place to stay.¡±


    Alpad took a puff from his pipe, as if to say ¡°suit yourself.¡±


    Winters stood up, ready to leave.


    ¡°Are you really sure you don¡¯t want anything else?¡± Watching the young man¡¯s back, Alpad finally couldn¡¯t resist reminding him: ¡°Such an opportunity won¡¯t come a second time.¡±


    Winters touched the spot where he stored the safe conduct pass through his clothing: ¡°This is enough.¡±


    Alpad picked up the wine jug that the bullets had nearly pierced, gazing at every scratch and notch on it: ¡°So close.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Winters suddenly felt like laughing for no reason: ¡°Without it, I probably would be dead.¡±


    Alpad tossed the jug, and it arced through the air, with Winters easily catching it.


    Since Winters had walked into the study, this seemed to be the first time Alpad smiled as he used to: ¡°Though it¡¯s no longer of use, keep it as a memento.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters walked to the door, and without even reaching out to touch the handle, the old servant outside, as if foreseeing, opened the door.


    His boots had just stepped out of the study when suddenly Alpad¡¯s voice rang out from behind: ¡°Wait a moment¡­¡±


    Winters stopped in his tracks, Alpad got up and walked towards Winters: ¡°Meeting again¡­ no telling when that might be, or under what circumstances, let me walk you out.¡±


    Even the puppet-like old servant could hardly disguise his shock to see the ¡°master¡± escorting out a mere Captain from the reception room.


    As Alpad saw Winters out the door, the atmosphere of the conversation became very relaxed.


    Alpad casually asked: ¡°Have you seen Grof Magnus¡¯ open letter?¡±


    ¡°The one calling for negotiations?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I saw it a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about it?¡±


    ¡°Well written, it¡¯s being discussed everywhere, in pubs, inns.¡±


    ¡°Good what? Flowery language, complete nonsense! Grof Magnus is a despicable and shameless little man who loves to play political tricks. Everyone can speak pretty words, but I wouldn¡¯t believe a punctuation mark of his.¡±


    Winters really wanted to ask for details, but doing so would seem like prying into Alpad¡¯s intelligence, so he didn¡¯t continue the conversation.


    After venting his feelings, Alpad suddenly asked Winters: ¡°Do you have a lawful wife?¡±


    Winters answered without changing his expression: ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Captain Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°General.¡±


    ¡°If you would legally marry Colonel Bod¡¯s daughter, then you would be half a Paratu person.¡± Alpad sighed lightly: ¡°You understand what I¡¯m saying, right?¡±


    ¡°I understand, but I am already married.¡±


    ¡°Then you will forever only be a Venetian.¡±


    Winters replied solemnly: ¡°I thought I was a citizen of the Alliance.¡±


    ¡°I once thought so too, each of us did.¡± Alpad¡ªthe general fierce as fire¡ªunexpectedly showed a tinge of melancholy emotion: ¡°But reality is much more cruel; the Various Republics are incompatible like fire and water, the great Alliance is after all just a beautiful dream of Marshal Ned.¡±


    Winters gave no explicit response, but his expression said it all.


    Whether out of pity, admiration, guilt, or envy, Alpad said to Winters word by word: ¡°Being a Venetian means that you can never take root in Paratu. Sooner or later, you have to return to Vineta, this decision you can make now or wait until it¡¯s absolutely necessary. But the sooner you make this decision, the better it is for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your advice.¡±


    The conversation ended there, and they walked out of the room together.


    Passing through the corridor riddled with arrow and bullet holes, Alpad who had been silent for a long time suddenly asked out of the blue: ¡°Did you kill Sekler?¡±


    For anyone else, Winters had never directly answered this question.


    But to Alpad, he gave a straightforward answer: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Did he die in pain?¡±


    ¡°No pain.¡±


    ¡°This is as far as I go.¡± Alpad stopped walking.


    The night was dim, Winters could not see Alpad¡¯s expression, but heard a calm ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters saluted with his hand and walked towards the door.


    Suddenly, he remembered something: ¡°Sorry, I have one more request.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I have another subordinate who I brought from Wolf Town. But their identity is a bit special, I would like to request a guarantee from you, allowing me to take him away as well.¡±


    ¡°Special?¡± Alpad frowned: ¡°What¡¯s so special?¡±


    Winters showed a hint of a smile: ¡°He¡­ is a cook.¡±

 Chapter 923 - 23 Ordinary People and Demons

    Jiangbei Province, Xiaolu City.


    Xiaolu City is famous for two things, one being its colorful pottery, the other being the notorious ¡°Shishan Prison¡±.


    Shishan Prison is a debtor¡¯s prison, specifically for incarcerating bankrupt individuals and the poor who owe taxes.


    Unless friends or relatives are willing to lend a hand, there are only two outcomes for those unlucky enough to be locked up in Shishan Prison: to either die of illness in the gloomy, overcrowded cells or to perish from relentless hard labor day after day.


    After the military government took over Xiaolu City, Shishan Prison was also requisitioned, and no longer just confined to locking up debtors.


    The identities of the new prisoners included [deserters], [Red Rose supporters], [civil servants who refused to pledge allegiance], and so on. They had two things in common: firstly, they were regarded as criminals and enemies by the military government; secondly, the military government did not care about their life or death.


    Just in the month of October, nearly a hundred deserters and farmers dodging military service were sent to Shishan Prison; in November, the number rose to two hundred.


    The influx of a large number of new prisoners led to Shishan Prison becoming unbearable due to the already severe overcrowding, and the military government¡¯s method of solving this problem was simple ¡ª not enough space in the prison? Then make space, right?


    Therefore, after winter arrived, the main job of the warden of Shishan Prison was to execute prisoners who had been incarcerated the previous month, to make room for the new prisoners of the next month.


    After all, in theory ¡ª under the assumption that one acknowledges the validity of the military government¡¯s decrees ¡ª the ¡°deserters,¡± ¡°enemies,¡± and ¡°traitors¡± locked up in Shishan Prison had already been sentenced to death.


    Every first day of the week, the prisoners of Shishan Prison would await the roll call by the guards in extreme fear. Those whose names are called would go to the gallows, those not called would live another seven days, and then there would be another roll call.


    Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell could no longer remember how long he had been locked up, a week? Two weeks? A month?


    After all, in the hell on earth that was Shishan Prison, time had no meaning.


    Pierre contracted a severe illness.


    In Shishan Prison, everyone would get sick; not getting sick would be strange.


    Not to mention the food, drink, and living conditions, just take going to the restroom.


    The buckets for feces and urine could only be emptied every other day, but it only took a day to fill them up. Over sixty people crammed into a space meant for twenty, eating, drinking, and defecating, the filthy cell was simply a breeding ground for plague.


    Fortunately for Pierre, a kind old man took care of him.


    The old man bribed the guards, managing to get hot stones every day to warm Pierre¡¯s body. Pierre¡¯s throat was so swollen he couldn¡¯t swallow bread, so the old man chewed up the sour black bread ¡ª the only food the prison provided to prisoners ¡ª and mixed it with warm water into a mushy gruel to feed him.


    The old man was a local from Xiaolu City, locked up in Shishan Prison for a mountain of debt.


    The old man said to Pierre: ¡°Now I think, being deceived might also be a grace from the Lord; as long as I haven¡¯t paid back the money, no one wishes me dead. What could be worse than waiting for death? That demon is just intentionally torturing you all.¡±


    ¡­


    That demon was the nickname the old man used for the new warden.


    For the prisoners, the ¡°roll call¡± every Monday was the most torturous experience.


    When the warden entered the dungeon with the register in hand, the prisoners fell silent as if the air itself was frozen solid. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warden would stand in the middle of the corridor, slowly unfolding the register, calling out each name one by one, repeating each thrice.


    Prisoners listened with ashen faces, afraid to even breathe heavily.


    Prisoners whose names were called would either burst into tears or faint from shock, many completely collapsed. They would never voluntarily leave their cells, nor would the warden or guards enter the cells to drag out the nearly insane prisoners.


    The warden merely informed the other prisoners, ¡°Let him, or any one of you in his place,¡± and ordered the guards to prepare the matchlock guns.


    The words of ¡°that demon¡± were not empty pale threats, but an objective description of what was to come. As a result, most of the named prisoners were forcibly pushed out of their cells by other inmates.


    As for those not named, though they felt a brief sense of relief and joy, these feelings were quickly devoured.


    Because they understood there would be a next time, and the time after that, and the time after that¡­ As long as they were in Shishan Prison, eventually misfortune would fall upon them. When that time came, they too would be dragged out of their cells by others, discarded like trash.


    Enduring such cruel mental torture, some prisoners had become deranged, and a few even preferred to commit the grave sin of suicide rather than continue living.


    Whether the warden did it on purpose, Pierre was not sure, but the demon clearly took pleasure in the effect.


    ¡­


    ¡°Yes, he is tormenting us,¡± Pierre answered the old man hoarsely: ¡°[An old saying] the sinner has received his due punishment.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The old man did not understand: ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°An old saying, meaning he takes tormenting us as meting out punishment to sinners ¡ª the words of that demon himself, in front of us and the guards. Heh, he probably thought no one would understand.¡±


    Pierre seemed to be smiling, but the rage and resentment in his eyes made the old man shiver: ¡°We are sinners? What crime have we committed to deserve such treatment? Who does he think he is? A judging angel? He¡¯s just a sick man! A beast eager to inflict suffering with a pitiful little bit of power¡­¡±

 Chapter 924 - 23 Ordinary People and Demon_2

    The old man wasn¡¯t paying attention to what the Demon had said; he was more astonished as he asked: ¡°Old language? The words of the lord? You can speak it?¡±


    Pierre just smiled ambiguously in response.


    The old man was overjoyed: ¡°Then¡­ then are you a lord too? Hey! I knew you must be someone important!¡±


    Pierre said with self-deprecation: ¡°If I were a lord, would I be sitting here waiting to rot?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± the old man dragged out the sound in disagreement, excitedly saying: ¡°Even a good horse has to pull a heavy cart now and then!¡±


    Through the small window of the dungeon, Pierre could see the gallows on the other end of the prison, where bodies always hung frozen.


    Crows swarmed over the gallows, like a flowing black cloud.


    ¡°No matter what kind of horse, they all die,¡± Pierre¡¯s throat was swollen badly, making it difficult for him to speak: ¡°Here, it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡±


    The old man comforted Pierre: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, your name hasn¡¯t come up so many times, and it won¡¯t come up next time either.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one deciding, old master,¡± Pierre said with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m not just talking nonsense!¡± the old man insisted: ¡°I really think your name won¡¯t come up.¡±


    Pierre was a bit tired; he leaned against the railing, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit and doze off in.


    The space in the cell wasn¡¯t enough for everyone to lie down, so the prisoners could only sit curled up to rest and sleep.


    Seeing that Pierre didn¡¯t want to talk anymore, the old man also closed his eyes to nap.


    After a while, Pierre¡¯s weak voice reached the old man¡¯s ears: ¡°Old master?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Pierre wrapped his coat tighter, the stone he used for warmth had long gone cold: ¡°I, I might not be able to hold on, I¡¯ll either die from hanging or eventually die of illness.¡±


    The old man reached one hand toward Pierre¡¯s forehead, and the other to his own: ¡°Hey, what are you saying? Your fever has already subsided! In a few days, in a few days you¡¯ll be back to being a strong young man.¡±


    The high fever left Pierre too weak to muster strength; he struggled to pull up his sleeve, not picking up the old man¡¯s reassurances, he continued speaking: ¡°Old master, look, here¡¯s a silver bracelet, my father gave it to me on my twelfth birthday¡­¡±


    The old man pressed down on Pierre¡¯s sleeve, his old face flushed and embarrassed: ¡°That¡­ that¡­ that¡¯s not there anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°That what?¡± Pierre asked, confused.


    The old man licked his lips, humming: ¡°The bracelet.¡±


    Pierre, in disbelief, felt around and after checking several times, finally realized the bracelet really wasn¡¯t on his arm anymore.


    Not daring to look at Pierre, the old man coughed and stammered in explanation: ¡°It¡¯s not stolen, I didn¡¯t steal from you. That silver bracelet of yours¡­ I gave it to the jailer. The stone you use to warm yourself¡­ and our bread, they were all exchanged for that bracelet¡­ Otherwise, you think those snake-like jailers would have been so kind? Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Pierre was stunned for a moment, then shockingly touched his earlobe: ¡°Then my earring¡­¡±


    ¡°Also given to the jailer.¡±


    ¡°The one tied in my hair?¡±


    ¡°That too.¡±


    ¡°And also¡­¡±


    ¡°All.¡± The old man was very embarrassed: ¡°All gone.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ you¡­ when did you¡­¡±


    ¡°A while ago, when you were asleep.¡±


    Pierre was dumbstruck, then suddenly he sat up as if awakened from a dream, quickly taking off his boots and frantically searching inside them.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Pierre stopped, letting out a helpless sigh, and put his boots back on: ¡°The bracelet and such¡­ couldn¡¯t have been kept anyway¡­ Thank you, old master. Well bribed, well bribed.¡±


    Hearing that Pierre wasn¡¯t angry, the old man hurried to help him with the boots, pleasingly: ¡°Hey, I knew you would understand. Gold and silver are good, but they¡¯re not filling! In prison, a piece of bread is more useful! Don¡¯t worry, if push comes to shove, I¡¯ll find a way to get them back for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Pierre leaned tiredly against the railing, the ¡°intense¡± activity earlier had made his face a bit red: ¡°Anyway, I was planning on giving them to you.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve estimated my inheritance.¡± Pierre said with a self-deprecating laugh: ¡°Apart from a bit of gold and silver on my person, it¡¯s just this coat.¡±


    Pierre patted the coat on his body: ¡°Even though it¡¯s dirty, it¡¯s made from good material. After I die, you take it to wear, don¡¯t let it go to waste.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I have something to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, tell me.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre was coughing painfully, his cheeks showing an abnormal redness. After stopping the cough, he straightened his back, speaking earnestly and seriously to the old man: ¡°I am Dusack, you know that, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The old man scratched his thinning hair: ¡°You Dusans¡­ are quite obvious.¡±


    ¡°After death, I want a Dusack funeral, I don¡¯t want a Paratu funeral.¡± Pierre quickly added: ¡°I don¡¯t mean to look down on the Paratu People¡­ but¡­ I just want¡­ to be buried as a Dusack¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand you, rest assured, rest assured, I also don¡¯t wish to be buried carelessly after death.¡± The old man felt the weight behind Pierre¡¯s words and unconsciously became more solemn.


    But he scratched his head again, troubled: ¡°But what does a Dusan funeral look like?¡±

 Chapter 925 - 23 Ordinary People and Demons_3

    ¡°This.¡± Pierre was stunned: ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t explain it clearly in a few words.¡±


    The old man fell into deep thought.


    Pierre was silent for a long time and then suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed loudly: ¡°Let it be then! It doesn¡¯t matter! Where isn¡¯t red earth enough to bury a person? What do I have to be so picky about?¡±


    He clutched the railing, struggling to stand up.


    The old man looked at Pierre with concern.


    Pierre looked through the window at the distant gallows, and muttered through clenched teeth: ¡°I am Dusack, I will not die on the gallows, never!¡±


    The old man pulled Pierre down to sit: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I guarantee that your name will certainly not be called. That demon won¡¯t pick you.¡±


    Pierre cracked a smile and sat back down.


    ¡°If only I had paper and pen.¡± Pierre curled up and muttered: ¡°If I had them, I would entrust you with a few letters to deliver.¡±


    ¡°You can still write?¡± The old man was overjoyed.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Could you teach me? I want to know how to write my name. The Priest from the parish taught me once, but I forgot a few days later.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. Your name is?¡±


    The old man swallowed: ¡°My name is¡­¡±


    Just at that moment, with a ¡°creak,¡± the dungeon¡¯s door opened.


    The stench-filled dungeon was so unpleasant that even the jailers didn¡¯t want to stay long. Therefore, the door would only open in a few circumstances. For example, lunch served at noon every day, the unfailing thrice daily inspections, the emptying of the chamber pots every two days, and¡­ roll call.


    But the current time obviously didn¡¯t match any of those circumstances.


    The dungeon suddenly fell silent, and the prisoners one by one stood up.


    The old man and Pierre¡¯s ¡°seats¡± were in the corner of the cell, so they couldn¡¯t see what was happening in the corridor. But they couldn¡¯t mistake the intense suffocating sensation.


    The temperature in the air dropped abruptly, whether from the outside cold wind blowing into the dungeon, or a trick of the human mind.


    ¡°Tap¡±


    ¡°Tap¡±


    ¡°Tap¡±


    The sound of boot heels knocking against the floor.


    This way of walking, each step like driving a nail with a heel, was also something Pierre would not mistake.


    The old man and Pierre both froze, seeing the same answer in each other¡¯s eyes¡ªroll call.


    But today was not Monday!


    Both men propped each other up as they stood, but with everyone in front of them, Pierre and the old man in the corner could still see nothing.


    Roll call, all the prisoners understood, it was time for roll call.


    To the left of Pierre, a prisoner who was usually tough to deal with was already sweating profusely. The fierce prisoner wiped his sweat while trembling and incessantly reciting prayers.


    In front of Pierre, another prisoner grabbed the sleeves of the two people beside him, babbling madly: ¡°I¡¯ve figured out the devil¡¯s pattern for roll call! I know it all! I¡¯ve calculated it! Not this time, not next time either¡­¡±


    And many more prisoners just stood silently, rigidly.


    The sound of boot heels striking the ground disappeared, followed by the sound of the roll being unfolded.


    All prisoners swallowed involuntarily.


    The demon hummed lightly, seemingly hesitant. Then, slowly, the demon read out a somewhat awkward name:


    ¡°Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell ¡ª Sir.¡±


    The old man¡¯s face turned pale, and he shivered as he looked at the young man beside him. The old man saw the young man slowly sit down, ¡°He¡¯s frightened¡± ¡ª this was the first thought that leaped into the old man¡¯s mind.


    Next, the old man saw the young man take off his boots ¡ª this was completely beyond what the old man expected.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± the old man wondered.


    Then, the old man saw the young man tear away the boot¡¯s upper and pull out a knife.


    A knife?


    A knife?


    Rather than a knife, it¡¯s more appropriate to say it¡¯s a handleless blade, yet it was indeed a sharp edge flashing with a faint cold light.


    The old man¡¯s saliva in his mouth had completely disappeared, and his heart slammed into his chest like a hammer. Every single hair on his body stood on end from top to bottom. He wanted to speak, to stop the other party, but his body was stiff, unable to move.


    Other prisoners also saw the blade in Pierre¡¯s hand; they were equally shocked, equally silent, and motionless.


    ¡°Mr. Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell,¡± repeated the Demon.


    Pierre put on his boots again, stood up, and responded: ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Please leave the cell.¡±


    The old man felt that in the blink of an eye, the blade had disappeared from Pierre¡¯s hand.


    Pierre took his coat off and handed it to the old man, then walked proudly towards the cell door.


    The prisoners parted ways for Pierre, who walked steadily forward as if strolling through the corridors of the Mitchell estate.


    No one had ever walked towards death with such composure after being called by name. The prisoners gazed at Pierre with a mix of reverence and pity.


    The old man also stared fixedly at the young man¡¯s back; he wanted to shout, to go with him, but ultimately, he couldn¡¯t make a sound or take a step forward.


    Pierre reached the prison door, and the Demon gestured to the jailer to open it for him. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre took a deep breath; his body was weak, lacking the strength and agility he once had, so he didn¡¯t have a second chance ¨C he needed to be patient yet decisive.


    The Demon sized up Pierre, nodding his head.


    Then the Demon revealed an unprecedented smile, turned to look to his left, and humbly asked: ¡°Your Excellency, is it this gentleman?¡±


    Pierre subconsciously followed the Demon¡¯s gaze and saw a middle-aged military officer in a field officer¡¯s uniform.


    And the field officer was looking inquisitively at another man in a captain¡¯s uniform: ¡°Is it him?¡±


    Pierre felt as if struck by lightning; he shivered, stiffened, and his hair stood on end just like the old man earlier, the blade nearly falling from his palm.


    But the captain paid no attention to the field officer, striding up to Pierre and hugging him tightly.


    ¡°It seems there¡¯s no mistake,¡± the field officer said, unannoyed, nodding his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± the Demon replied with a smile, almost servile; he bowed his head, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    At that moment, Pierre suddenly realized that the Demon was not a demon at all; the Demon was just an ordinary person, one that could be found anywhere.


    An ordinary person, eager to exert pitiable power to torment and servilely bow to a field officer¡¯s uniform.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said the field officer, wrinkling his nose. Clearly, the stench of the prison was uncomfortable to him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the captain urged Pierre, holding him tightly: ¡°Your father, Vasya, Priest Caman¡­ and your mother, Scarlett¡­ we¡¯re all waiting for you.¡±


    Pierre felt a lump in his throat and tightness in his chest. He turned to look back at the cell, seeing faces numb, envious, resentful, anguished, contorted.


    He bit his tongue hard, not even noticing that he had drawn blood.


    The field officer covered his nose and walked out of the dungeon; the captain was also urging Pierre, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Pierre stared hard at the face of the ¡°ordinary person¡± and grasped the blade in his hand tightly.


    The ¡°ordinary person¡± smiled at Pierre.


    The captain noticed Pierre¡¯s odd behavior and asked with concern, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Pierre was in extreme agony, a single spark away from plunging the blade deep into the ¡°ordinary person¡¯s¡± chest: ¡°I¡­ you¡­ Can you take one more person with you? Just one, just one¡­¡±


    Hearing this, the field officer turned his head back, frowning slightly: ¡°Another deserter?¡±


    ¡°No, not a deserter, a debtor.¡±


    The captain asked bluntly, ¡°How much money is owed?¡±


    The field officer chuckled, waving his hand dismissively; the ¡°ordinary person¡± reopened the register, politely asking: ¡°May I ask, what is the debtor¡¯s name?¡±


    Pierre was stunned because he realized that he never knew the old man¡¯s name from beginning to end.


    ¡°Fugget! My name is Fugget!¡± the old man rushed to the bars, crying out through tears: ¡°I only owe twenty-three silver shields and a corner piece!¡±

 Chapter 926 - 25: The Old Man and Dusack

    Chapter 926: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack


    Reflecting on his childhood, old Fugget considered himself lucky, as his mother had eight children, but only he survived to adulthood. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But unfortunately, Fugget also had a father who was a thief.


    The occupational hazards of being a thief are high, once caught, a light punishment would be a severe beating, while a severe one would mean losing a right hand.


    The income from theft was not proportionate to the risks. After all, Paratu was no prosperous and wealthy Vineta; in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, hardly any thief could solely rely on stealing to support a family.


    Thus, Fugget¡¯s father mostly earned his bread through odd jobs, only finding the opportunity to indulge in his sideline during crowded occasions like markets, celebrations, or services.


    Odd jobs also had off-seasons and peak seasons. During peak seasons¡ªlike spring planting or autumn harvest¡ªFugget¡¯s father was always the last to be hired, only taken in by employers as a last resort. During the off-season, he was always the first to be fired, because as soon as people saw his wooden prosthetic, they knew what crime he had committed.


    For Fugget¡¯s father, losing a hand meant he would never be accepted by the public again. Even passersby, upon seeing him approaching, would clutch their purses and grip their swords.


    Hence, Fugget¡¯s family fell into a vicious cycle of ¡°steal because of poverty, poor because of theft,¡± from which they could never escape.


    In old Fugget¡¯s memory, his childhood was spent following his parents from town to town, working on farms during farming seasons, and returning to towns to work odd jobs in winter.


    Of course, there was also stealing.


    Being born into such a family, becoming a thief was a matter of course.


    Fugget was sent by his father to steal at the age of eight¡ªchildren were more agile and less noticeable, and even if caught, the consequences were not severe.


    He continued stealing until he was sixteen, at which point Fugget dared not continue. By then, he had grown a beard and an Adam¡¯s apple, and was already a young man.


    For an adult, being caught stealing was not just a matter of being scolded or slapped a few times. Each time he saw his father¡¯s prosthetic hand, the young Fugget felt a genuine fear.


    So one quiet night, Fugget bade farewell to his mother, escaped from his father¡¯s control, and ran to a town where no one knew him, hoping to start anew.


    Interestingly, Fugget, having been a thief from childhood, never once failed. His skill was not something his half-baked father could compare with; he was an impressive third-rate thief, so impressive that he could live quite well just from theft.


    Intending to reform and lead an honest life, Fugget found he couldn¡¯t even make ends meet.


    Having no special skills, Fugget could only rely on menial labor.


    Digging clay, firing kilns, he worked like a beast from dawn till dusk, yet the wages he earned were barely enough to keep him fed and warm.


    Just when Fugget felt he could no longer endure, the first ray of light shone on his life¡ªthe Potter who employed him as a helper took him home and subtly suggested he wanted to take him as a son-in-law.


    The official reason was ¡°after careful consideration, he was deemed a reliable and honest young man.¡±


    The real reason was that the Potter¡¯s only daughter had long harbored a crush on Fugget, badgering her widowed father into consent.


    It¡¯s hard to guess from old Fugget¡¯s appearance today what superior physical attributes he possessed at just over twenty years old, one can only assume that the young Fugget was relatively in line with the aesthetic standards of the time.


    Thus, Fugget got married, gaining a virtuous and lovely wife, a generous father-in-law, and the prospect of inheriting a small pottery shop. He believed there was nobody luckier or happier in the world than he.


    Then, war broke out.


    To this day Fugget clearly remembers that it began with a severe drought in spring and summer, followed by heavy snow in autumn and winter, and then ¡°Herdman¡± leading an unprecedented army of Barbarian tribes into Paratu.


    People were terrified, murmuring, ¡°This time the Herdman has come, and it seems they do not plan to leave.¡±


    The Barbarian tribes fought the Paratu People, and the Paratu Republicans fought the Paratu Royalists; Fugget couldn¡¯t tell who was who.


    At that time, he was frantic with another issue¡ªthe war had destroyed his father-in-law¡¯s pottery shop, rendering his father-in-law bankrupt and deeply in debt.


    Fugget ran around trying to borrow money; the money his father-in-law owed was not much, but nobody was willing to lend to him. War was raging outside, and everyone was holding tight to their money.


    Fugget stood in the ruins of the pottery shop all night and decided to take a risky shot.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°And then?¡± Pierre frowned, ¡°You didn¡¯t steal successfully? Were you caught?¡±


    ¡°I did it,¡± the old man looked down and fiddled with the campfire, ¡°Although I hadn¡¯t done it for many years, I wasn¡¯t completely rusty.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Pierre coughed, ¡°Where is your pottery shop now?¡±


    The old man feigned nonchalance, ¡°Gone, even the land was sold by the creditors.¡±


    ¡°Then where are you?¡±


    ¡°I got caught.¡±


    ¡°You said you were successful?¡±


    ¡°I got the money. But I also got arrested.¡±


    Pierre was a bit annoyed, ¡°How is that ¡®successful¡¯?¡±


    The old man was silent for a while, then explained, ¡°I was arrested because someone in Xiaolu City accused me of theft, which had nothing to do with the ¡®job¡¯ I took care of.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Pierre was utterly confused.


    ¡°Because,¡± the old man lifted his head and said calmly, ¡°I did my job in Crow¡¯s Town.¡±


    Pierre initially didn¡¯t understand, ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re saying they framed you?¡±

 Chapter 927 - 25: The Old Man and Dusack_2

    Chapter 927: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack_2


    The old man grinned, ¡°You can¡¯t really call it ¡®framing¡¯ because I deserved my punishment.¡±


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing complicated, I went to Cold Crow Town and managed to get enough money to clear my debt. The day after I paid my creditor, someone went to the city official claiming a burglary took place at their home, losing an amount of money. The amount was neither more nor less, precisely as much as the debt I owed..¡±


    Pierre narrowed his eyes: ¡°An inside job?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± The old man scooped another cup of hot soup and handed it to Pierre, ¡°Have a bit more¡­ Anyway, when the city official asked me where the money to repay the debt came from, I couldn¡¯t say.¡±


    Pierre took the cup and held it in his hands.


    ¡°Coincidentally, an ¡®old acquaintance¡¯ exposed my identity. So, everyone found out¡ªI am the son of a thief. Is there anything simpler than believing a thief¡¯s son is a thief?¡± The old man laughed carelessly, ¡°But he wasn¡¯t wrong, I indeed am a thief.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you defend yourself?¡±


    ¡°At that time, there was a war, and the sentences were severe. Death if you pleaded not guilty, no death if you admitted guilt.¡±


    ¡°Did you confess?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I confessed,¡± the old man repeated, ¡°They weren¡¯t wrong, I am indeed a criminal.¡±


    There was a pause of silence around the campfire.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t deceiving me, are you?¡± Pierre suddenly laughed, ¡°Where did you hear this story?¡±


    ¡°I wish I was deceiving you,¡± the old man also laughed.


    Another pause of silence.


    ¡°Then what?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°Then?¡± The old man stood up, brushing dust off himself, ¡°Then I was punished with hard labor and enlisted. There was a war, and the army needed laborers.¡±


    ¡°You served as a soldier?¡±


    ¡°Never held a weapon, just a laborer, chopping trees, driving carts, moving things.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Pierre sounded somewhat disappointed. He lifted the cup and took a small sip of the hot soup, casually asking, ¡°What about your wife and your father-in-law?¡±


    ¡°They are both dead.¡± The old man exhaled, ¡°My father-in-law hanged himself, and my wife soon died of illness after him.¡±


    Pierre stayed silent for a long time, hoarsely saying, ¡°If I were you, I would have killed all who framed me..¡±


    ¡°You are Dusack, you have the ability,¡± the old man gave a bitter smile, self-mockingly, ¡°Me? I am just a commoner, at most a thief, I don¡¯t have the ability to kill. Besides, I am originally a criminal, it¡¯s all deserved.¡±


    Pierre snorted disdainfully.


    ¡°When I returned home,¡± the old man broke branches one by one to feed the campfire, rambling on, ¡°I found my home gone, my daughter missing, and then I started searching for my daughter. After finding my daughter, days just passed by, aimlessly, without knowing how they just passed¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Pierre suddenly coughed violently, ¡°You have a daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± The old man seemed puzzled, ¡°Where else could she be?¡±


    Pierre had a sudden revelation, ¡°Xiaolu City? Your daughter is in Xiaolu City? So that¡¯s why you were in Xiaolu City?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Pierre couldn¡¯t bring himself to finish the question¡ª¡±So why did you sit in that dark prison so long? Why didn¡¯t she come to redeem you?¡±


    The old man saw the confusion in Pierre¡¯s eyes and shook his head, ¡°My daughter is married, has her own children, and is living well. She doesn¡¯t know I am still alive. Why would I tell her? To have her pay for my redemption? And then what? To have a thief father again? Actually, just being able to watch her from afar, I am already satisfied¡­¡±


    Pierre stared at the fire, sighing deeply. He didn¡¯t have children, couldn¡¯t fully understand the feelings of a father, but he thought of his own dad.


    ¡°That what.¡± The old man scratched his head, ¡°Thank you for getting me out.¡±


    Pierre didn¡¯t look up, ¡°Without your care, I would¡¯ve died in that prison long ago.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked enough about me. We¡¯ve been squeezed together in that cell so long, I still don¡¯t know why you were locked up. I asked you before and you wouldn¡¯t say, can you tell now?¡±


    Pierre sipped the hot soup a little, ¡°My matter isn¡¯t as convoluted as yours.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Winters sent Pierre to find [Berlion], [Gerard], and others because this task could only be accomplished by Pierre.


    Others either lacked the ability to make decisions on their own¡ªlike Tamas, Bart Xialing at that time; or couldn¡¯t spare the time¡ªlike Bard, Mason.


    Pierre also felt the same way.


    When Herd Raiders invaded the territory of Parlatu, the ¡°overreacting¡± Parlatu Army immediately issued a mobilization order to all Dusack reserves.


    The temporarily recruited Dusacks were organized into a separate Cavalry Corps, commanded by the Expeditionary Force headquarters.


    After the bloody night at Kingsfort, the Expeditionary Force transformed into a military government. In desperate need of combat power, the military government could certainly not let the Dusacks return home; the [First Reserve Cavalry Corps] was naturally incorporated into the Third Republic¡¯s order of battle.


    After winter began, the fighting temporarily ceased. To reduce logistical pressure, the Parlatu military government dispersed its troops across various towns to find food and winter over.


    This move also had another benefit: to deter potential rebels, enhancing the military government¡¯s control over the interior.


    Since there were benefits, naturally there were drawbacks, such as: dispersing for the winter meant dispersing forces, in case Red Rose suddenly attacked¡­


    For instance: Jiangbei Province had a large group of discontented old Dusack soldiers.

 Chapter 928 - 25: The Old Man and Dusack_3

    Chapter 928: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack_3


    Veterans love to grumble, it¡¯s a privilege reserved for the seasoned soldier. They moan about the food, the weather, the idiotic centurions, the ill-fitting boots, as if there¡¯s nothing in this world that could ever satisfy them.


    And the Dusack veterans, they are particularly fond of grumbling.


    Due to the special system of lifelong service, most of the temporarily conscripted Dusacks were seasoned veterans who had served seven years of active duty, many of whom already had beards aplenty, with some even boasting of grandchildren.


    When they were conscripted, it was said they¡¯d go fight the Herd Barbarians; beat the Herd Barbarians back, and they could return home.


    So the Dusacks, young and old alike, whether willingly or unwillingly, mounted their warhorses, packed up their rations, and headed to the wilderness camp for assembly.


    And the result?


    The Herd Barbarians were routed, and now the Dusacks are expected to deal with their own kind? What happened to the promise that ¡°it would be different¡±?


    The Dusacks, who swore loyalty to the Republic of Paratu, had not done any dirty work for many years.


    The young generation born in Paratu didn¡¯t even know the true meaning of [the Emperor¡¯s Whip], only the older generation of Dusacks retained the memories of swinging sabres against the ¡°bumpkins.¡±


    As winter approached, there wasn¡¯t even a hint from the military government about revoking the conscription order. The Dusacks brimmed with grievances, feeling both angry and betrayed, and pining for home.


    The braver Dusacks deserted, while those who dared not desert could only drown their sorrows in drink every day.


    The army didn¡¯t supply alcohol, so the Dusacks bartered with merchants using armlets, belts, silver stirrups, even resorting to robbery at times.


    In the taverns, inns, and crossroads of Jiangbei Province, you¡¯d find Dusacks drunk as lords, looking for a fight. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Given these circumstances, Pierre and Vashka¡¯s identities were nearly flawless ¨C because they were truly Dusacks.


    After leaving Iron Peak County, Pierre and Vashka took a detour from the uninhabited western region and, with help from the Red River Tribe, crossed the Ashen Stream River. After the crossing, they continued eastward into Jiangbei Province.


    The area of Jiangbei Province is nearly as vast as that of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, searching for a handful of people in an expanse of more than two hundred thousand square kilometers was like looking for a needle in a haystack.


    But Pierre had a method. In every city, every village, Pierre would first hit the taverns to gather information. When encountering Dusacks drinking to ease their woes, he would offer to buy them a drink.


    The Dusacks stood out among the Paratu People, their hairstyles, ornaments, and attire all distinct from the latter.


    When two Dusacks met, there was a natural affinity. Coupled with the unending rounds of strong liquor, those sitting with Pierre would soon start to shed tears, throw arms around shoulders, treat each other like brothers, eager to spill all they knew to Pierre.


    Passing through Oakwood Town, he learned from a Dusack about a ¡°farrier with exceptional culinary skills,¡± and following the lead, discovered the station of the ¡°farrier¡± from another Dusack.


    Although it turned out not to be Berlion upon meeting, it was serendipitously revealed that the farrier had previously worked with ¡°a young but formidable blacksmith,¡± and learned his cooking skills from him.


    Persistence paid off, and, following the trail from one station to the next, Pierre finally managed to meet with Berlion.


    Winters had tasked Pierre only with ¡°finding the person and doing his best,¡± and even though Berlion wasn¡¯t under tight surveillance, the situation was more than Pierre and Vashka could handle alone.


    So, after consulting with each other, Pierre and Vashka decided that Vashka would return to Iron Peak County to send a message, while Pierre stayed in Jiangbei Province awaiting reinforcements.


    Actually, Pierre had another idea in mind ¨C he wanted to find Gerard Mitchell.


    It was around this time that Pierre was captured and thrown into Shishan Prison.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The old man chuckled, ¡°I knew you were no ordinary fella.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you took care of me, right?¡± said Pierre, with a half-smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The old man admitted bluntly, ¡°From the first glance¡­ I felt you might be the main one sent to rescue me.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, thanks.¡±


    The old man changed the subject, ¡°How did you get caught? You haven¡¯t said! Was there a checkpoint?¡±


    Pierre snorted, ¡°A checkpoint? If we had come across patrolling gendarmes, a flick of our whips would have been enough to shake them off; they couldn¡¯t have caught up if they tried. Probably thought we were just a couple of drunken Dusacks.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡­¡±


    ¡°Things were going smoothly¡­ I was buying drinks for all the Dusacks in the tavern.¡± Pierre¡¯s cheeks twitched, ¡°For some reason, more and more people kept showing up. They got drunk, started fighting, dancing, raising all kinds of hell.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then someone suggested setting the tavern on fire.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The tavern owner got scared and locked the place up, and as the gendarmes arrived, they rounded us all up.¡±

 Chapter 929 - 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel

    Chapter 929: Chapter 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel


    Pierre¡¯s story contained a contradiction, which the old man apparently did not notice.


    In Jiangbei Province, the farce of soldiers getting drunk and causing trouble happened every day. If military law was enforced to the letter, the military government would soon run out of soldiers to use.


    Therefore, as long as the rank and file didn¡¯t cause too much trouble, they usually got away with a few lashes.


    Pierre wasn¡¯t imprisoned in the Stone Forest Prison for causing trouble, but as a ¡°deserter¡±, which certainly had another story behind it.


    But Pierre only vaguely told of his arrest experience and did not elaborate on what happened before that. The old man, having lived dozens of years longer than Pierre, naturally did not inquire further.


    What made the old man unable to suppress his curiosity was not Pierre¡¯s background, but another mysterious figure¡ªthe young captain.


    With just one glance, the old man could tell who the real leader was.


    ¡°The gentleman who came to fetch you,¡± the old man asked cautiously, ¡°who is he?¡±


    Pierre glanced at the old man and hesitantly said, ¡°He is¡­¡±


    At that moment, the tent flap was lifted. A beam of light poured in, interrupting their idle talk.


    A burly middle-aged man stood outside the tent, the hawk-beak-shaped pure silver hilt of a Cavalry saber sparkling at his waist. Although his temples were graying and his figure slightly out of shape, there was no doubt that he was still solid like a stone wall, which would never be toppled by windstorms.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to set off,¡± the middle-aged man said with a stern face.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Pierre stood up laboriously, supporting himself with one hand.


    The tent flap was let down, and the middle-aged man turned and left.


    The old man reflected on the middle-aged man¡¯s appearance and sneaked a closer look at Pierre¡¯s features, vaguely feeling the two might have a blood relationship.


    ¡°Your father?¡± the old man ventured.


    Pierre did not answer, feeling dizzy and light-headed as he stood up hurriedly, the persistent low fever robbing him of his balance, which took some time to regain.


    He managed a faint smile and extended his hand to the old man, ¡°It¡¯s time for us to part as well.¡±


    Exiting the tent, the sunlight was bright and warm.


    The tent where Pierre and the old man dwelled was just a corner of the camp. Outside the tent was the busy scene of the camp being dismantled at the last minute.


    Without any curse or scolding, men old and young were silently taking down the camp, loading the wagons, and feeding the horses with extra forage, orderly going about their preparations.


    Several sturdy Cavalrymen greeted and then rode out ahead of the camp, seemingly to scout the path. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man was taken to the young captain, who amiably handed him a pouch of coins, ¡°Thank you for your help, Mr. Fugget.¡±


    ¡­


    When infiltrating Jiangbei Province, Winters had brought only Vashka with him.


    By the time he was ready to leave, he had amassed a small army of over two hundred people by his side.


    Despite being far from the center of power, Alpad Duyome was still nominally the supreme commander of the military government. With Alpad¡¯s personal attention, Winters did not face much difficulty or obstruction and successfully found his old troops.


    In addition to the native soldiers from Wolf Town and those from Wolf Town like Dusack, Winters also took away many of his old troops who had fought under his command during the war in the Great Wilderness and were still alive.


    The men were gathered, and the next question was how to leave.


    Pierre, Vashka, and others were still recorded as deserters on the wanted list of the Third Republic; Gerard, Sergei, and others would be seen as deserters once they left the army.


    Winters obtained the ¡°understanding¡± from the military government¡¯s side thanks to his ¡°personal relationship¡± with Alpad, but that didn¡¯t mean the military government wanted to see the ¡°deserters¡± leave Jiangbei Province with much fanfare.


    The safest strategy, of course, was to arrive secretly and leave quietly.


    However, the size of the unit had ballooned to over two hundred people, including a fair number of Cavalry. Eating, drinking, sleeping¡ªthe logistics of life on the road, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn¡¯t be hidden as before.


    Thus, Winters ordered the procurement of goods, carts, and horses, disguising themselves as a trade caravan leaving Jiangbei Province.


    Some subordinates worried that the merchant convoy was too big of a target and would expose them upon inspection.


    ¡°What the bureaucratic system needs most is ¡®compliance¡¯,¡± Winters explained, ¡°If someone is determined to expose us, not even Alpad can protect us. But if no one wants to break the silence, even if it¡¯s just a thin layer of gauze, we are safe.¡±


    In fact, Winters didn¡¯t need to clarify. Apart from his old troops, the members of this temporarily assembled unit were their fathers; in essence, it was his unilateral decision.


    Therefore, whether the others were convinced or not, seeing Winters¡¯s resolute attitude, they consciously maintained his authority, and no further objections were raised.


    During the process of purchasing goods, vehicles, and supplies, Potter [Old Fugget] who had lived for half his life in Xiaolu Fortress, provided crucial connections, helping the foreigner Winters quite a bit.


    Due to the war and bandit troubles, Xiaolu City¡¯s polychrome pottery had lost its market, and various workshops had excess stock to some extent.


    Upon learning that Winters¡¯s merchant convoy intended to purchase, workshop owners were eager to sell or even give goods away, anxious to clear their stocks before potential conflicts led to complete loss.


    After the purchasing was completed, the fake merchant convoy actually looked convincing.


    This was exactly why Winters gave money to Old Fugget. In his view, as a middleman, Old Fugget had exerted effort and deserved a compensation.


    But Old Fugget resolutely refused it.


    ¡°No, no, no! I can¡¯t take it,¡± the old man vehemently shook his head, ¡°You rescued me from the black jail, an act of grace I cannot repay. Just a little help I offered, I cannot take this money.¡±

 Chapter 930 - 26 Colonel and Colonel_2

    Chapter 930: Chapter 26 Colonel and Colonel_2


    ¡°Old man, fair¡¯s fair,¡± Winters stared into the other¡¯s eyes. ¡°You work for us, we pay you. That¡¯s fair.¡±


    The old man took a step back and bowed, ¡°May the Lord bless you, sir. I cannot take this money.¡±


    Winters felt that Old Fugget was neither being polite nor playing hard to get, so he too spoke sincerely.


    He placed the money bag in Old Fugget¡¯s hands and earnestly said, ¡°Old man, times are tough. After we leave, you still need to live.¡±


    Old Fugget hung his head, and this time he did not refuse. The captain¡¯s words could not be more straightforward. Even though his debts were wiped away, what could an old man like him rely on to survive in these times? Steal?


    Pierre suddenly spoke, ¡°Old man, why not come with us? It¡¯s just one more person in such a big convoy.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s body had not fully recovered, and the cold air outside the tent caused him to cough violently. While coughing, he said, ¡°I have a manor at home, there¡¯s enough space, always something for you to eat. And a place to bury you when you die¡­¡±


    Gerard, standing beside him, looked at his son with a mix of pain and anger.


    The pain was because Pierre¡¯s body was almost broken down by the dungeon; the anger was because Pierre spoke out of turn and made promises in front of Captain Montaigne without regard for propriety.


    But neither Winters nor Pierre felt there was anything amiss. Ever since Winters returned to Iron Peak County, Pierre had been serving as his second-in-command, until they came to Jiangbei Province to search for someone.


    But to Gerard, with deeply ingrained notions of hierarchy, Pierre¡¯s actions were impolite and offensive¡ªa generational difference in perception.


    Suddenly, Winters remembered that the Mitchell manor had been seized¡­


    He hadn¡¯t had the chance to tell Pierre and Gerard about it, and now was not the right time to discuss it.


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing, why not come back with us to Newly Reclaimed Land?¡± Winters adeptly skirted around the topic of the manor. ¡°It¡¯s a bit remote, but there¡¯s a place for you to settle.¡±


    Old Fugget wiped the corner of his eyes, raised his head, his rugged face full of smiles, ¡°My daughter still lives in Dawnforge Fort, I don¡¯t want to leave her too far behind.¡±


    Old Fugget stepped forward, firmly grasping the captain¡¯s hand, ¡°¡®Thank you¡¯ is too feeble a word¡­ Please believe, if there is a chance, I will repay you.¡±


    Winters was initially startled, then also smiled and grasped the old man¡¯s hand, ¡°You can bring your daughter too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated¡­¡± Old Fugget shook his head, repeating almost like a vow, ¡°If there is a chance, I will definitely repay you, please believe me, please believe me.¡±


    Farewells are always brief. After all the tents were folded, carts harnessed, and goods loaded, it was time to set off.


    ¡°Last check of the ropes!¡± Winters led his horse, inspecting from the very end of the convoy to the front: ¡°We¡¯re carrying ceramics, not food. Careful with the bumps on the road, don¡¯t break them.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec, assigned to assist Winters, couldn¡¯t help but feel amused and bewildered.


    Alec was from the artillery service and had overseen bridge building during the battle at The Styx; he knew Winters well. Alpad had sent him to liaise with Winters, specifically because of this.


    In Alec¡¯s view, since they had a travel pass signed by General Alpad himself overseeing directly, Winters and his group should have had no hindrance under the military government¡ªthere was no need to sneak around.


    Therefore, seeing Winters not in a hurry to depart but instead sweeping goods around Dawnforge Fort, Lieutenant Colonel Alec could only lament helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s just like him¡­ just like him¡­¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After inspecting the convoy from end to end, Winters tied his warhorse behind the first large cart and agilely climbed onto it.


    For some reason, Winters felt utterly relaxed. Looking eye to eye with Gerard Mitchell who was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, he suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Mr. Mitchell?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Captain?¡± Gerard became much more reserved.


    ¡°Last time we escorted together, wasn¡¯t it to Revodan?¡±


    Gerard was initially stunned, then remembering the past, he also smiled, ¡°Well¡­ let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t meet bandits this time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in Jiangbei Province! Not your Newly Reclaimed Land!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec urged displeasedly, ¡°There aren¡¯t that many bandits here. Let¡¯s set off!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Winters took a deep breath and shouted, ¡°Move out!¡±


    The coachmen joyfully cracked their whips with a ¡°snap¡±, and the boisterous Dusack men sang coarse tunes loudly.


    The carriages, one after another, drove off, leaving only clusters of pale white ash at the old campsite.


    Then, just that evening, the convoy encountered the first group of bandits.


    The next afternoon, they encountered the second group.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ahh, about this¡­¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec awkwardly explained to Winters, ¡°I truly didn¡¯t know it would be like this.¡±


    It was already completely dark, and the convoy camped on a flat open space, arranging the carts end to end to form a temporary fortification.


    Winters wanted to laugh but felt it inappropriate, so he silently sipped his soup.


    Ordinary bandits were no match for Winters¡¯ old subordinates; the Dusack men dispersed the robbers as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables.


    Nevertheless, encountering robberies consecutively for two days understandably embarrassed Alec, who had confidently guaranteed the security conditions in Jiangbei Province.


    Service Soldier also brought Alec a cup of soup; holding the cup, he remained silent for a long while, puzzledly stating, ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s really strange, our convoys have never had such problems before¡­ where did all these criminals come from?¡±

 Chapter 931 - 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel_3

    Chapter 931: Chapter 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel_3


    Before Winters could speak, old Sergei, who was sharpening his knife by the campfire, huffed loudly.


    Having interacted with Colonel Alec for a long time, old Sergei realized that the colonel was a good-tempered man. Thus, his inherent desire to mock everything overwhelmed his fear of the military uniform.


    Sergei¡ªVashka¡¯s father¡ªdeliberately made the knife sharpening sound loud, venting all his grievances on the sharpening stone: ¡°Colonel, sir, have you considered how many times a bandit must be kicked in the head by a horse to dare attack military carriages?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°After all, as long as they don¡¯t take the military carriages,¡± old Sergei pretended to be relaxed, ¡°do the bandits simply not exist?¡±


    Colonel Alec didn¡¯t lose his temper, but his service soldier could not swallow his pride.


    The service soldier jumped up, kicking over the sharpening stone beside old Sergei: ¡°Insolence! You are speaking to a colonel!¡±


    Old Sergei also burst into fury, picking up his saber, baring his teeth like a wolf, his face turning livid: ¡°Watch your tone, boy!¡±


    The standoff didn¡¯t last long, and Winters lightly coughed: ¡°Mr. Morozov, please go and check tonight¡¯s sentries.¡±


    Old Sergei¡¯s tense body relaxed.


    Winters gave old Sergei a look and nodded.


    Old Dusack obediently left, but not without throwing a fierce glare at the service soldier.


    Colonel Alec also gestured for the service soldier to sit down, and after old Dusack had walked some distance, he said with a wry smile: ¡°Did you see his gaze just now? Truly like a wolf. Alas, the untamed free men (Dusack), I wonder how the old marshal managed to tame them back then.¡±


    Winters thought for a moment: ¡°I actually feel that Dusack, though seemingly rebellious, deep down actually admires authority even more.¡±


    Colonel Alec pondered.


    Shadows fell on the carriage as someone approached Winters¡¯ campfire. It was hard to see who it was until the person came closer; Winters recognized it was Gerard Mitchell.


    Mr. Mitchell¡¯s steps were a bit heavy, his expression tired.


    ¡°How is Pierre?¡± Winters asked directly.


    ¡°Still has a slight fever,¡± Gerard replied quietly. ¡°I¡¯ve let him rest.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s condition had not yet improved, so Winters did not allow him to ride a horse, and had specifically arranged a carriage for him.


    Mr. Mitchell could finally slack off openly without getting beaten by his father, though not in the way everyone hoped to see.


    ¡°The person who went to fetch the doctor from the next town should be back soon, don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters could only try to comfort Mr. Mitchell: ¡°Father Kaman is also waiting; he surely has a solution.¡±


    The tired Gerard nodded, sat for a while, then excused himself to rest.


    Only Winters, Colonel Alec, and Colonel Alec¡¯s service soldier remained by the fire.


    Colonel Alec handed his empty cup to the service soldier and stood up: ¡°It¡¯s getting late, I should rest too.¡±


    ¡°Colonel?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Winters took out a small notebook from his pocket: ¡°There¡¯s something I need to explain to you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Colonel Alec slightly raised an eyebrow.


    Winters opened the notebook, smiling: ¡°Tomorrow we head west.¡±


    ¡°West?¡± Colonel Alec¡¯s eyebrows furrowed: ¡°West? To where?¡±


    ¡°To Matou Slope town.¡±


    Heading west to Matou Slope town was the route to the Great Wilderness.


    ¡°What are you doing in Matou Slope town?¡± Colonel Alec became suspicious: ¡°If we continue south through Mirror Lake County and cross Ashen Stream River, wouldn¡¯t we reach Newly Reclaimed Land? Why skip the nearest route and head west instead?¡±


    Of course, it was because someone was waiting in the west¡ªWinters couldn¡¯t possibly disclose that truth.


    So, Winters chose to explain another part of the truth.


    He pulled Colonel Alec to sit down, showing him the notebook: ¡°As you can see¡­ Mirror Lake County is currently occupied by the troops from Kingsfort. After repelling the raiding Herders, that troop hasn¡¯t withdrawn. As for other crossings¡­ they are firmly controlled by the New Reclamation Legion. In other words, I genuinely have no way to take the shortcut across Ashen Stream River; we must head west and cross the river upstream.¡±


    Every word Winters said was the truth: ¡°To tell you the truth, when I came here, I took the route from the west, from Matou Slope town.¡±


    Colonel Alec squinted his eyes, studying the small notebook in Winters¡¯ hand carefully by the firelight.


    The palm-sized, open notebook had two pages with a map drawn on them; although not large, coming from an artillery background, Colonel Alec could immediately see that the rivers on the map were accurately marked.


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec¡¯s attention was no longer on the route; pointing at the notebook, he asked sternly, ¡°A map?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where did it come from?¡±


    Winters replied indifferently, ¡°I drew it myself¡­ using some old maps as references.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec reached out to take the notebook.


    Winters hastily stashed it away, ¡°Only these two pages have it.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec slowly distanced himself from Winters, crossed his arms, and scrutinized ¡°The Phantom of The Styx¡± ¡ª a nickname privately used by officers who had fought in the Great Wilderness Battle to refer to Winters Montagne, implying ¡°one who crawled out from the river of the underworld.¡±


    ¡°Can you draw maps?¡± asked Lieutenant Colonel Alec. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how as well?¡± Winters retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a required course?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve drawn more than one, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Winters neither admitted nor denied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been walking through Jiangbei Province, drawing as you go,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec accused, ¡°What are you planning?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Winters propped himself up with his hands, leaned back, and suddenly sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just a habit.¡±


    ¡°A habit?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec clearly didn¡¯t believe him and mocked, ¡°A fine habit.¡±


    Winters said nonchalantly, ¡°Come with me to meet someone, and you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°Where? Who?¡±


    ¡°To Beacon Fort. I asked someone to check, and he should be at Beacon Fort.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec furrowed his brow recalling the location of Beacon Fort; he sketched a map in his mind and quickly realized that Beacon Fort was situated slightly to the north between the current camp and Matou Slope Town.


    ¡°Going to Beacon Fort? Is it also part of your plan?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t planned in advance.¡± Winters paused, ¡°But even if it¡¯s a detour, we must go there.¡±


    ¡­


    Three days later, at Beacon Fort.


    Beacon Fort was a desolate small town perched on a bald mountain.


    Due to Beacon Fort¡¯s high elevation, good visibility, ease of defense, and difficulty of attack, and because it¡¯s situated at the inevitable pass-through of the Sandy River Valley during Herders¡¯ invasions, the ninth Duke of Palatu built a stone fortress and a giant beacon tower here, from which Beacon Fort derived its name.


    The bald mountain was strewn with large and small stones, offering limited arable land. In rural areas primarily reliant on agriculture, less farmland meant poverty.


    Because Beacon Fort was too poor to support a knight and its geographical importance, it previously belonged directly to the Duke of Palatu.


    On usual days, about sixty soldiers were permanently stationed at Beacon Fort. Come the autumn and winter, this number would rise to three hundred.


    With the money and food slipping through the soldiers¡¯ fingers, residents of Beacon Fort managed to scrape by.


    Thirty years ago, with the death of Khan Queye, the Herders fell into decline, and the importance of Beacon Fort gradually faded.


    The fortress no longer required maintenance, and the stationed troops stopped coming. Residents of Beacon Fort could only bury their heads in farming the barren land of the bald mountain, praying for favorable weather.


    Thirty years later, Beacon Fort had thoroughly deteriorated. Many had moved away, leaving behind only the poor farmers who couldn¡¯t leave.


    Even Lieutenant Colonel Alec was shocked by the poverty of Beacon Fort.


    ¡°Unless the Creator intervenes with His might,¡± the Colonel said, ¡°this barren land will never escape its fate of poverty.¡±


    After asking around, Winters confirmed that the dark wooden cabin on the edge of Beacon Fort town ¡ª accurately, the size of a village ¡ª was his destination.


    Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Alec had just reached the fence, not even having pushed open the courtyard gate, when the owner of the house already sensed their presence.


    ¡°Oh, we have visitors.¡± A detached male voice emanated from inside the house.


    John Jeska, leaning on the doorframe, stood before Winters.

 Chapter 932 - 27: The Map

    Chapter 932: Chapter 27: The Map


    There were two wooden huts in the yard; one was a residence, the other served as a storeroom. Having walked only a few steps, Colonel Alec had thoroughly inspected both huts inside and out.


    Apart from the rudimentary tables and chairs, and a wardrobe, there was no other furniture in the room. Although indoors, it resembled a desolate wilderness.


    The oil lamp, covered in cobwebs, had been discarded in the corner, its wick long dried out. With the sun setting in the west, there was no source of light inside the cabin, dark as a cave.


    Colonel Alec couldn¡¯t help frowning and asked, ¡°How can you live here?¡±


    John Jeska, steadying himself against the wall, shuffled his feet little by little, eventually seating himself back on the stool beside the dining table, retorted, ¡°It¡¯s my home. If I don¡¯t live here, where should I?¡±


    ¡°An officer lives in a place like this?¡±


    ¡°Injured and retired, I can only draw half-pay.¡± John Jeska answered emotionlessly, ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t received my half-pay for three quarters now.¡±


    Winters glanced sidelong at Colonel Alec, whose face had darkened somewhat.


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Colonel Alec was half in astonishment and half in skepticism, pressing urgently, ¡°How is it possible not to pay you for three quarters?¡±


    With a cold snort, John Jeska did not respond, but his contemptuous demeanor gave the most straightforward reply¡ªbelieve it or not.


    To be honest, before stepping into the courtyard, Winters hadn¡¯t known what to expect upon seeing Colonel Jeska again.


    To avoid an awkward situation, Winters had anticipated many possible conversations. But when he actually saw the dark sockets of Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyes, he found himself at a loss for words.


    John Jeska ¡°looked¡± towards Winters and asked brusquely, ¡°What will you drink?¡±


    ¡°Water is fine.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡± John Jeska cocked his head, ¡°There¡¯s a well in the yard, get the water yourself if you want to drink.¡±


    Winters picked up the water can and headed straight out of the hut, drawing a fresh can of well water and taking the opportunity to wash the cups as well. When interacting with Colonel Jeska, he naturally cut out those insincere pleasantries and formalities.


    Returning to the hut, Winters poured a glass of clean water for both Colonel Jeska and Colonel Alec.


    ¡°Was he under your command before?¡± The words had just left his mouth when Colonel Alec regretted it. He shook his head self-mockingly, ¡°What kind of foolish question is that? Why else would he go out of his way to visit you¡­ Oh, right, since he was under your command, it makes sense why you would find him wherever you went.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± John Jeska showed a trace of interest.


    Cartography is a profound discipline, and Winters admitted he hadn¡¯t even grasped the basics, preferring not to dwell on the subject.


    Winters casually asked, ¡°The well in the yard doesn¡¯t even have a fence around it. Do you usually draw water by yourself?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°There¡¯s a couple of farmers on the other side of the village who come over every day to tend to my food and drink,¡± John Jeska simply explained.


    More than his own daily routines, the former Army Colonel was clearly more concerned with other matters, ¡°Communications are poor here, I thought you¡¯d perished on the West Bank of the Styx until just recently. Tell me something I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Then tell it slowly.¡± John Jeska was undaunted, ¡°Time is what I have the most of.¡±


    ¡°Colonel, let¡¯s wait for the right time to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°The right time?¡± The furrow in John Jeska¡¯s brow deepened. Although known for his forthrightness, it didn¡¯t mean he was slow-witted.


    ¡°You don¡¯t find it convenient to talk with an outsider present?¡± John Jeska laughed dryly a few times and then bluntly issued an eviction order to Colonel Alec, ¡°I¡¯ve got poor eyesight; I won¡¯t see you out.¡±


    Even knowing of [One-eyed Gershka]¡¯s reputation for being difficult to get along with, and despite Colonel Alec¡¯s inherently amiable disposition, he was still caught off guard, his face alternating between shades of red and white.


    Winters felt compelled to make amends for his former superior, ¡°Colonel Alec is not an outsider. If Colonel Alec hadn¡¯t extended his help, I wouldn¡¯t have found my way here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so.¡± John Jeska responded indifferently.


    Based on Winters¡¯ understanding of his former superior: John Jeska could give an objective assessment without emotion, yet to others, it sounded like sarcasm; this was a talent and instinct of John Jeska¡¯s, not aimed at any person or affair in particular.


    Winters nodded apologetically to Colonel Alec, offering an apology on Colonel Jeska¡¯s behalf.


    Colonel Alec took a deep breath, sighing helplessly, half in sarcasm and half in admiration he said, ¡°It seems like overseas deployment hasn¡¯t changed you one bit.¡±


    John Jeska huffed lightly, unmoved. He picked up the half-finished wooden model on the table, fumbling as he continued to carve.


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Colonel Alec asked with curiosity.


    ¡°Making a living.¡± John Jeska answered coldly.


    As the evening grew dim, Colonel Alec observed for a while before realizing that the other was carving a chess piece, ¡°It¡¯s too dark in here for you to be working without a light¡­¡±


    Colonel Alec¡¯s voice abruptly stopped. John Jeska¡¯s carving was slow, but extremely precise, precise enough to make Alec forget that the other man could no longer see.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you light a lamp?¡± John Jeska¡¯s tone was as calm as it was cruel, ¡°Being blind has its benefits; it saves on lamp oil.¡±


    The cabin quieted down, with only the sound of wood shavings separating from the block.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t figure it out.¡± Colonel Alec slapped his knee, asking despite himself, ¡°How could they not pay you your salary? General Alpad had issued a special order: to provide generous compensation to officers of the Expeditionary Force who were disabled in service and the families of those who died in action. There must have been some mistake; it shouldn¡¯t be like this¡­ I¡¯ll look into it when I get back.¡±

 Chapter 933 - 27 Map_2

    Chapter 933: Chapter 27 Map_2


    John Jeska acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, focused intently on carving the chess pieces.


    Winters fiddled with a water cup, also silent.


    In the silence, Colonel Alec gradually came to his senses. He slowly stood up, squinted his eyes, and hesitated to ask; ¡°Could it be¡­ you never signed the oath?¡±


    John Jeska snorted disdainfully a few times.


    The truth became clear! Signing the oath and distinguishing oneself from the Kingsfort puppet government is a process that all officers serving in the military government must go through.


    Under the military government, the consequences of refusing to swear allegiance are not as simple as just ¡°stopping salary.¡±


    That John Jeska had not been detained, tried, or executed was perhaps a privilege granted out of consideration for his blindness.


    Colonel Alec didn¡¯t even know what to say: ¡°It¡¯s just a piece of paper, is it worth being so serious? Why bother? It¡¯s already your luck not to be executed¡­¡±


    John Jeska put down his carving knife and wooden pawn, stood up as well, ¡°faced¡± Colonel Alec, and stated his stance word by word: ¡°Firstly, I am loyal to the Republic of Palatu, and only to the Republic; secondly, I do not believe that Alpad Duyome and his political faction can represent the Republic of Palatu.¡±


    ¡°Those fat-filled politicians in the Grand Council Chamber of Kingsfort can represent?¡± Colonel Alec retorted sarcastically: ¡°Do you believe, right now¡ªthis very moment, those fat pigs are busily discussing how to sell Palatu to the Federated Provinces!¡±


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t split Palatu from the inside, how could there be an opportunity for the Federated Provinces?¡± John Jeska¡¯s voice was cold, steady: ¡°Regardless of the reason, Alpad¡¯s actions are rebellion.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Kingsfort that betrayed us!¡±


    This kind of argument was meaningless, as neither was likely to convince the other.


    John Jeska picked up the carving knife again and continued to carve the chess pieces. Colonel Alec sat down angrily, gulping down a whole cup of cold well water, with sweat beads forming continuously on his forehead.


    Another silence ensued.


    Colonel Alec impulsively slapped his thigh, staring at Jeska in exasperation: ¡°Forget it! Have it your way. But, you have to come back with me to Oak Forest Fortress. I¡¯ll find you a livable place.¡±


    Colonel Alec took out a handkerchief to dry his forehead, looked around the empty room, and said bitterly: ¡°Since you¡¯re convinced the military government is rebellious, let¡¯s see who will have the last laugh! But, not here¡ªliving in such a broken place, you wouldn¡¯t survive the winter!¡±


    John Jeska unappreciatively countered his friend and fellow soldier: ¡°Will you last until next winter then?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Colonel Alec¡¯s face turned cold.


    John Jeska swept his arm across the table, cleared it, and dipped his finger in the water in the cup to outline on the table.


    The sun was about to sink below the horizon, a magnificent glow hanging high, while it was almost pitch dark inside the cabin. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    John Jeska continued drawing in the darkness, not for others, but for himself. Each line he drew was extremely meticulous, as if he wanted to project entire mountains and rivers onto this small, wooden table.


    Although the specific lines were unclear, Winters judged from the general contours that Colonel Jeska was likely drawing a map of Palatu.


    ¡°Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Westwood Province, Jiangbei Province¡­¡± John Jeska casually indicated on the map in darkness: ¡°Going north is the Monta Republic, following Ashen Stream River eastward are the Federated Provinces and Vineta.¡±


    John Jeska¡¯s map was vast, not only including the Republic of Palatu but also encompassing the other four countries of the Alliance.


    Such a map, depicting thousands of miles of territory within a small space and maintaining considerable accuracy, had probably only appeared before on the emperor¡¯s desk.


    With this intangible yet tangible map, Winters also for the first time comprehensively and visually assessed the internal and external situations of Palatu.


    ¡°Ashen Stream River, Ashen Stream River is the key to everything.¡± The water traces had dried, but John Jeska still accurately pointed out the river nestled between two mountains, the rushing river: ¡°Without breaking through Ashen Stream River, no matter how sharp General Alpad¡¯s cavalry saber is, he can only be trapped in the northwest corner of Jiangbei Province. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, you are not wrong,¡± Colonel Alec readily admitted.


    ¡°Did you break through the Ashen Stream River?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t break through Ashen StreamReader, you will only be able to push east along the north bank of the Ashen Stream River,¡± John Jeska took out the chess pieces, placing them one by one on the traceless, formless map. His eyes could not see light, his body was trapped in a confined space, but his thoughts had never been so free.


    John Jeska coldly stated, ¡°From ancient times to now, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses has always been ¡®poor on the north bank, rich on the south bank.¡¯ Even if you fight all the way to the border abutting the Federated Provinces, the land you control will not exceed a third of Palatu. And the essence of Palatu¡ªthe town clusters on both sides of Ashen Stream River¡ªyou similarly cannot touch. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°You are not wrong,¡± Colonel Alec nodded slowly.


    ¡°That is to say, even in the most ideal situation, Kingsfort controls double the landºÍ three times the population compared to you. As a career officer, do you think you have a chance of winning?¡±


    ¡°Population, land, wealth¡­ you only count these, but you overlook the most important part.¡± Colonel Alec bluntly rebutted:

 Chapter 934 - 27 Map_3

    Chapter 934: Chapter 27 Map_3


    ¡°War relies on people! A lion can subdue a hundred sheep! The Fifth and Sixth Legions¡ªthe most elite of the Standing Army are all in the hands of the military government. Not to mention that most of the professional military officers are also on our side. Those fools at Kingsfort only know how to struggle for power and profit; how could they possibly win?¡±


    John Jeska chuckled hoarsely, and Winters even heard pity in that laughter: ¡°As long as there¡¯s enough money, weapons, and population, soldiers can be as many as desired; with sufficient training, even new recruits can be forged into elite Standing Army. Thirty years ago, the old marshal won the Sovereignty War in just this way. Don¡¯t you understand this logic?¡±


    ¡°[Armed civilians are not an army, the armed civilians are merely the raw materials for an army.]¡± Colonel Alec also quoted the old marshal¡¯s famous saying: ¡°An army cannot be forged overnight. Don¡¯t forget, Kingsfort barely has any officers, and their old soldiers are pitifully few.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°But they have one person, having that person is enough.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Sekler¡­ Brigadier General.¡± John Jeska forcefully spat out a name, stating resolutely: ¡°With more than double the manpower, land, and wealth, as long as Sekler¡¯s mind is sound, he cannot possibly lose this battle! He will surely turn this war into a brutal war of attrition, slowly tightening the noose around your necks until you are ultimately strangled. He will win¡­ but Palatu will lose.¡±


    Colonel Alec was taken aback at first, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. He laughed so hard that his body rocked back and forth, tears and snot streaming out.


    Even the usually calm John Jeska was baffled by the sudden burst of laughter.


    John Jeska gradually shifted from being surprised and confused to serious: ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡°What am I laughing at? I¡¯m laughing that you only know how to calculate military accounts, not political ones. That¡¯s your problem, and it¡¯s Sekler¡¯s too.¡± Colonel Alec finally managed to suppress his laughter, wiped his eyes, and cruelly revealed the truth: ¡°Sekler is already dead.¡±


    The water cup hit the floor, and being made of wood, it bounced a few more times.


    John Jeska¡¯s breathing became labored; it took him a while before he managed to speak: ¡°How did he die?¡±


    Winters coughed lightly: ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Who knows how he died? We don¡¯t know either; he¡¯s definitely dead though. Perhaps he died from a political conspiracy¡ªafter usurping the position of Grand Speaker, Magnus¡¯ next move was to control the military, and he certainly saw Sekler as a thorn in his side; it could also have been assassination¡ªafter all, he betrayed all the soldiers of the Republic; or perhaps he even died from illness, who knows? Anyway, he¡¯s dead, that¡¯s for sure. As for how he died, we don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°When did he die?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    John Jeska took a long time to digest this thunderbolt, sitting motionlessly as if mourning for Sekler.


    After a while, John Jeska raised his head, his voice weary: ¡°Please leave, I¡¯ve learned enough for today. No escort out.¡±


    Colonel Alec stood up, sighed: ¡°I know your relationship with Sekler was special¡­ Why don¡¯t you come back with me to Oak Forest Fortress? As long as I have a roof over my head, there¡¯s a place for you. You really can¡¯t winter here¡ªyou can¡¯t even make a fire! If you don¡¯t want to leave your old home, I can bring you back in the spring, how does that sound?¡±


    John Jeska shook his head as if on repeat: ¡°Go, leave, let me be alone for a while.¡±


    Colonel Alec reluctantly put on his hat, signaled to Winters: ¡°Then let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll visit again tomorrow.¡±


    Winters made no move.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Colonel Alec asked.


    During the heated debate between Colonel Jeska and Colonel Alec, Winters hadn¡¯t said a word. He stared long at the invisible map spread out on the table, like a stone statue.


    The Jiangbei Province, where the Palatu military government is situated, is surrounded by the Republic of Palatu, Monta Republic, and the Great Wilderness¡ªbesieged both internally and externally, it seemed a hopeless situation.


    But a hopeless situation is not without its critical point, and the Ashen Stream River defense line wasn¡¯t impregnable; the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province across the western part of Jiangbei Province might just be the key to turning the tide.


    If one travels upstream and crosses the Ashen Stream River via the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Kingsfort¡¯s riverside defense line would be rendered useless, and the military government¡¯s blade could penetrate deep into the heart of Red Rose.


    The ¡°political accounts¡± and ¡°military accounts¡± mentioned by Colonel Alec were like a wakeup call to Winters.


    The Palatu civil war had evolved beyond a mere military struggle, and more than just the Red Rose and Blue Rose factions were involved in the fray.


    The Federated Provinces were restless, Vineta had its bow drawn, both Monta and Varn had ambiguous stances, and even the Empire on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain might be watching covetously.


    Starting strictly from a military standpoint was far too naive. But in the end, the final resolution would still have to be determined by a struggle on the battlefield.


    Winters¡¯s thoughts returned to his body, and he looked at Colonel Jeska, speaking earnestly: ¡°Before visiting you¡­ I had also thought, if you were not doing well, I would take you away.¡±


    ¡°Take me away?¡± John Jeska chuckled dryly: ¡°To where? To Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Not to Vineta¡ªof course, if you wish to go to Vineta, arrangements can be made.¡±


    ¡°Finally home, I don¡¯t want to leave again.¡±


    ¡°How about going to the Newly Reclaimed Lands? Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Iron Peak County.¡± Winters paused for a moment, then added: ¡°My place.¡±


    John Jeska chewed over the phrase ¡°my place,¡± then suddenly sneered: ¡°Your place?¡±


    ¡°That description isn¡¯t quite accurate, but it¡¯s close enough.¡±


    John Jeska¡¯s expression turned serious, veins bulging on his hands. He straightened up, his deep-set eyes fiercely ¡°staring¡± at Winters, and pronounced emphatically, word by word: ¡°I! Will! Not! Go!¡±


    The small cabin once again fell into silence, this time quieter than all the previous ones. The sound of breathing and heartbeats was clearly audible, along with the wind whistling over the rooftop.


    Winters reached out, gently grasping John Jeska¡¯s hand: ¡°You must go.¡±

 Chapter 935 - 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse

    Chapter 935: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse


    John Jeska said, ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± and he truly did not want to go.


    Winters Montagne said, ¡°It¡¯s necessary to go,¡± and it indeed was necessary.


    Ignoring his former superior¡¯s objections, Winters hired a carriage in the town, and took Colonel Jeska away from Beacon Fort that night.


    Besides the personal belongings that the colonel could pack in a wooden box, Winters thoughtfully brought along the peasant couple who had been taking care of the colonel¡¯s daily needs.


    When invited into the carriage, Colonel Jeska was no longer in an uncontrollable rage; he calmly questioned his former subordinate: ¡°As a ¡®freeman,¡¯ do I no longer have the right to make decisions for myself?¡±


    [Note: Here, ¡®freeman¡¯ refers to the minority of citizens within the Alliance who have the right to vote and to be elected.]


    ¡°According to the currently prevailing moral ethics, suicide is a serious crime, and assisting in suicide is equally an accomplice crime,¡± Winters casually picked up a shield: ¡°Father Kaman said that.¡±


    Colonel Jeska snorted, and his sharp tone from the past returned: ¡°Captain, your moral standards seem quite flexible.¡±


    ¡°Please take a seat and hold on tight.¡± Winters, outside the carriage, politely and softly closed the door, then turned to Colonel Alec: ¡°Shall we depart?¡±


    Colonel Alec, who witnessed the entire process, sighed deeply: ¡°Back when we were studying in The Federated Provinces, John Jeska was famously difficult to deal with¡­ It¡¯s really something that you can communicate with him normally.¡±


    Winters patted the carriage wheel and couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a compliment.¡±


    The coachman, Dusack, understanding the hint, whistled sharply signaling the departure, and with a light flick of the reins, the carriage set off ahead, escorted by five horsemen.


    ¡°Are you in such a hurry to leave?¡± Colonel Alec said with a playful smile: ¡°Afraid I¡¯d stop you?¡±


    Winters replied: ¡°What about your opinion then?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, what opinion could I have?¡± Colonel Alec released the reins and mounted his horse: ¡°After all, he¡¯s no longer one of our own. Opinion? Better ask what Kingsfort thinks of it!¡±


    The colonel¡¯s meaning was not hard to understand, Winters chuckled accordingly and also mounted his horse.


    Just as the two were about to leave, Colonel Alec looked back at the desolate Beacon Fort and said somewhat sadly, ¡°Staying in such a place, that blind man might survive this winter but not the next¡­ Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Winters lightly spurred the horse, and the two riders disappeared into the night.


    ¡­


    The episode at Beacon Fort did not delay the ¡°merchant convoy¡¯s¡± journey; after rejoining the convoy, Winters continued leading them westward.


    Passing through various towns, this convoy, holding a military government pass, always purchased some local specialties or overstocked goods while trying to sell as much of the carried merchandise as possible.


    Their demeanor was like a true merchant convoy, rather than a group of deserters using the guise of merchants.


    A back and forth like this once again aroused the suspicions of Colonel Alec.


    During another busy scene of unloading and loading goods, Colonel Alec strolled up to Winters, who was deep in thought and sketching something, and casually asked: ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a hurry to go home?¡±


    Winters looked up, his forehead unconsciously furrowed with three lines, and even a polite smile was hard to muster.


    He firmly closed the hardcover notebook, and somewhat impatiently said: ¡°I know what you¡¯re about to ask, but I don¡¯t have that kind of thought, you can trust me.¡±


    ¡°Then this is¡­¡± Colonel Alec pointed behind him: ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Behind Colonel Alec was the warehouse of the trading post, where hundreds of convoy members and local merchant employees were sweating profusely as they unloaded and loaded the wagons.


    ¡°As you see.¡± Winters tried to rub off the graphite on his hands, and answered pensively: ¡°Doing business.¡±


    ¡°Doing business?¡± Colonel Alec clearly did not buy this evasive explanation. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes, doing business.¡± Winters exhaled long and painfully, then spread open the hard cover notebook and handed it to Colonel Alec: ¡°I¡¯m out of money.¡±


    ¡­


    Unplanned spending guaranteed that Winters Montagne would periodically be on the verge of bankruptcy.


    This was not very apparent during his military academy days, as students were generally periodically bankrupt. After stepping out of the Ivory Tower, the repercussions began to show. Winters had managed the finances several times, and each time inevitably ended up using everything up.


    After all, Tess and Antonio had not particularly taught Winters how to manage finances.


    According to the life path pre-arranged for young Montagne, rather than learning how to make money grow, it would be better to find a way to marry a wife skilled in financial matters¡­ or a widow.


    This time was no different, using the merchant convoy as a guise was a good strategy, but the problem lay in money.


    Winters originally came to rescue a few old comrades, yet the team size eventually swelled to over two hundred people, far exceeding the initial estimates, and costs skyrocketed.


    Purchasing vehicles, procuring goods, feeding people and horses ¨C everything required money.


    And Winters Montagne, a person who spent money like water, had cleaned out the half saddlebag of Gold Coins he brought, and even the promissory notes given by Anna were all cashed.


    In the unfamiliar Jiangbei Province, he had no means to even mortgage for a loan, making it hard to move without money.


    ¡°The situation is just that.¡± Winters asked somewhat awkwardly: ¡°Would you¡­ temporarily lend some¡­ for turnover¡­¡±

 Chapter 936 - 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse_2

    Chapter 936: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse_2 S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Colonel Alec was so irritated that he burst into laughter: ¡°We¡¯ve provided the personnel, we¡¯ve granted the passes; what now? Do we have to cough up the funds for your trip home?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a loan.¡±


    ¡°No! Impossible!¡± Colonel Alec waved his hand dismissively.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no other way,¡± Winters shrugged. ¡°We can only proceed as we are, selling off some cargo along the way to accumulate travel funds.¡±


    He earnestly began to lay out the finances for Colonel Alec: ¡°Due to war and banditry, various parts of Jiangbei Province are experiencing a mix of glut and shortage. Local goods cannot be transported out, and foreign goods can¡¯t come in. Therefore, for a caravan like ours¡­ one that faces no obstructions, there exists a delicate profit margin¡­¡±


    Colonel Alec, having a background in artillery rather than commerce, felt dizzy and irritated after hearing all the business talk.


    ¡°Enough, I get it,¡± said Colonel Alec, hastily cutting off the conversation as the topic drifted further away: ¡°The faster you leave Jiangbei, the safer you are; the longer you delay, the more likely unexpected situations will arise.¡±


    Having said that, Colonel Alec turned to leave.


    However, Winters grabbed hold of Alec¡¯s wrist: ¡°Hold on! Colonel, I have a proposition!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Colonel Alec responded impatiently.


    ¡°If your side is willing to provide some¡­ salary, I can assist in dealing with all the bandit gangs along the provincial route¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, the implication of that brief pause went without saying: ¡°No need for cash, goods in exchange will do. Flour, horse feed, anything works.¡±


    Colonel Alec laughed dryly a few times: ¡°Such trivial matters under military government control don¡¯t require the help of ¡®allied forces¡¯.¡±


    The word ¡°allied forces¡± was heavily emphasized by Colonel Alec, and after finishing his statement, he left without turning back.


    Winters shook his head, unsurprised, and flipped open his ledger to continue working on his never-ending accounts.


    Once the meeting between the military representatives and Captain Montaigne was confirmed to be over, Gerard and Sergei approached cautiously.


    Gerard wanted to speak, but wasn¡¯t sure what to call him. Old Sergei, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mind at all and cheerfully called out, ¡°Your Excellency!¡±


    Seeing that Mr. Mitchell seemed preoccupied, Winters smiled and said, ¡°Sounds awkward, just call me as you used to.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Old Sergei shook his head vigorously.


    Gerard Mitchell hesitated for a long time but eventually used a conservative title: ¡°Captain, sir.¡±


    After the joy of their reunion faded, Gerard realized that many things had changed.


    There was no doubt that Gerard Mitchell was a warrior, not even death could scare him.


    However, in the rapidly shifting social climate, he felt as helpless and afraid as reeds swaying in the wind.


    Not long ago, Gerard was the mayor appointed by the New Reclamation Legion, a loyal Dusack, a qualified husband, and father.


    At this moment, however, he was in league with ¡°Rebels,¡± and these so-called rebels were his beloved family and friends.


    He couldn¡¯t even figure out whether he was now a part of the ¡°Rebels¡± or not.


    Old Sergei wouldn¡¯t be bothered by this, as he adhered to Dusack¡¯s simple philosophy of enjoying life as it comes, without overthinking.


    Gerard Mitchell was the exact opposite; the reason he had achieved everything he had was that he thought more than his peers.


    But the more he thought, the more anxious Gerard became¡ªWinters understood this completely and was sufficiently generous.


    However, how to adapt to the current reality¡­ or rather ¡°to find one¡¯s place,¡± was something Old Mitchell had to figure out for himself.


    Winters did not dwell on the issue of titles, but instead directly asked: ¡°Has Pierre¡¯s fever subsided?¡±


    ¡°It has,¡± Gerard nodded gratefully. ¡°He¡¯s asleep now after taking the special brew you provided.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a sedative with some analgesic effects, not really a special brew¡­ But considering Pierre¡¯s current condition, getting more sleep should be beneficial for his recovery,¡± Winters briefly explained, then asked, ¡°When can we depart?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s smile faded as he answered seriously, ¡°In at most two quarters of an hour. As soon as the carts are loaded, we can leave immediately.¡±


    Winters casually stuffed the infuriating ledger back into his pack: ¡°Send the Scouts out now, and set off as soon as loading is finished.¡±


    Gerard and Old Sergei saluted instinctively in agreement.


    Regaining their senses and remembering the original purpose of their approach, Old Sergei asked softly, ¡°Your Excellency, the sun has passed its zenith, and we won¡¯t cover many miles before dark. A few of the old fellows urged me to ask if we should rest here tonight. We¡¯ve been sleeping in the wild for several days, and everyone¡¯s a bit worn out.¡±


    ¡°Truly exhausted?¡±


    Old Sergei patted his belly: ¡°I¡¯m getting on in years¡­ but if you give the order, I definitely won¡¯t have any objections.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment, patiently explaining to his ¡°old subordinates¡±: ¡°We have been delayed too long; we must catch up on time. Camping continuously is indeed tough¡­ How about this, buy as much fresh meat and poultry as possible before we leave, so Berlion can improve the meals for everyone.¡±


    Old Sergei¡¯s eyes lit up, he saluted joyously and turned to leave.


    But Gerard had other concerns and asked with some anxiety, ¡°May I ask¡­ was there something Colonel Alec was unsatisfied with? He seemed to leave in a rather unhappy mood.¡±

 Chapter 937 - 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse_3

    Chapter 937: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse_3


    Upon hearing Gerard¡¯s question, Old Sergei also stopped in his tracks and perked up his ears.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m dissatisfied with you¡­ rest assured, your matter has already been properly resolved, and the military government will not pursue you,¡± Winters said, leaning casually against the wagon, speaking in an easygoing tone, ¡°Colonel Alec is upset because I made a proposal to him.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ proposal?¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I hinted to him that if he would provide us with some logistical support, we could help the military government clear out the bandits that are entrenched along the provincial roads.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Old Sergei nodded vigorously, seemingly half-understanding.


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is.¡± Winters spread his hands.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Old Sergei nodded even more emphatically.


    ¡°Colonel Alec.¡± Gerard suddenly frowned, ¡°It¡¯s unlikely he would agree¡­¡±


    Winters expressed regret: ¡°He did not agree.¡±


    Old Sergei suddenly slapped his forehead, as if struck by a revelation, and hurriedly said, ¡°Your Excellency, are you implying something to Lord Alec?¡±


    ¡°Implying?¡± Gerard looked puzzledly at his old comrade.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, Lord Alec won¡¯t understand those kinds of things!¡± Old Sergei spoke passionately, spraying as he spoke: ¡°The bandits don¡¯t rob them, how could they know the severity of how bandits plague the common people?¡±


    ¡­


    Small villages and large towns alike are unable to be entirely self-sufficient; people always need to engage in a certain degree of material and information exchange with the outside world.


    The bandit problems that sprang up with the chaos of war have turned ¡°going out on long trips¡± into a high-risk activity, and the material and information exchanges between different places have also diminished.


    Economic crops harvested are piling up and rotting slowly in the warehouses, and even the small paths just a few steps outside of the villages have become unsafe.


    From clergy, merchants, and landlords to poor farmers and tenants, everyone feels threatened. The once semi-open towns have erected walls one after another, and farmers gather together and form associations as much as possible for self-protection.


    Winters had not fully understood this pervasive sense of panic that now exists.


    It wasn¡¯t until he sat by the fireside and shared meals with many different people along the way that he gradually came to understand, ¡°While bandits are not as devastating as famine, their destruction of ¡®sense of security¡¯ is even greater.¡±


    Given the choice between [no more conscription] and [no more bandits], men, women, the poor, the wealthy, the old, the young¡­ people overwhelmingly choose [no more bandits].


    ¡­


    ¡°Colonel Alec.¡± Gerard pulled on Old Sergei, trying to smooth things over, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be able to help much, after all, killing bandits and catching thieves aren¡¯t really within his jurisdiction¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ¡®not within his jurisdiction¡¯.¡± Winters was somewhat disheartened, he didn¡¯t want to discuss the shortcomings of the bureaucratic system with the two old Dusacks, so he said with a smile: ¡°I just mentioned it in passing to Colonel Alec, after all, our convoy is like uncovered meat, and flies will always smell it and come. It¡¯s all about fighting, wouldn¡¯t it be better to dig some money out of the Republic?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Old Sergei suddenly perked up, completely ignoring the increasingly awkward expression on Gerard¡¯s face, and enthusiastically agreed: ¡°I knew you would not do a losing business!¡±


    Fortunately, Winters had another group of visitors¡ªthe three local chamber of commerce directors had come to call¡ªwhich gave Gerard an excuse to pull his comrade away and bid farewell.


    ¡°These are our locally renowned smoked sausages, and there are some other specialties.¡± The lead middle-aged merchant, panting, brought two baskets of smoked sausages, trying to placate with a smile: ¡°My lord, please accept these as a token of our esteem.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t hesitate and gestured for the guards to take them all.


    Seeing the youthful man¡¯s military bearing in every gesture and the fully armed guards around him, the three visiting merchants became even more convinced that this large-scale merchandising convoy must have a military background.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your visit, who knows how many honest merchants in the town would go bankrupt?¡± The middle-aged merchant continued to curry favor, ¡°May we offer our assistance and help you with accommodation?¡±


    ¡°No need, we¡¯re leaving today.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± The middle-aged merchant¡¯s eyes widened.


    Winters answered succinctly: ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Where are you headed? To the west?¡±


    Winters did not answer, only folded his arms.


    The middle-aged merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead and, after a silent exchange of glances with the other two board members, ventured to ask with clenched teeth, ¡°If I may be so bold, please forgive me, but may I ask¡­to which merchant brigade do you belong?¡±


    Which merchant brigade?


    This out-of-nowhere question baffled Winters. He narrowed his eyes, fixing a gaze on the three guild directors that sent chills down their spines.


    Suddenly, Winters revealed a smirk: ¡°That¡¯s a secret, you mustn¡¯t tell anyone else¡­¡±


    The middle-aged merchant perked up at the hint of information and nodded hastily: ¡°Of course! Definitely!¡±


    Winters gestured for the middle-aged merchant to come closer and spoke deliberately: ¡°We are the private merchant brigade of that general.¡±


    ¡°Which one? That one? That one!¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers.


    ¡°Yes, exactly that one.¡± Winters let out a surname softly: ¡°Alpad.¡±


    As the young man finished pronouncing the name, the three guild directors held their breath for a second, feelings of ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡±, ¡°No wonder!¡±, and ¡°I knew it!¡± made their scalps tingle with realisation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me?¡± Winters arched an eyebrow: ¡°Would you like to see the pass?¡±


    ¡°Not at all! Not at all!¡± The three guild directors waved their hands in refusal.


    ¡°Have a look, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± Winters retrieved the pass from his bosom, deliberately showing off Alpad¡¯s seal on the outside.


    The three guild directors dared not really take the thin letter and scrutinize it, repeatedly requesting the young man to take back the pass.


    ¡°Finished looking?¡± Winters put away the letter, his expression immediately turned somber, and he demanded in a stern voice: ¡°What are your intentions inquiring about military affairs?¡±


    With Winters¡¯ change in tone, the surrounding guards also closed in, hands on the hilts of their blades, encircling the three guild directors.


    ¡°No intentions, absolutely none,¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s face flushed red as he stumbled through his explanation: ¡°We were sent here by the local merchant guild¡­ to ask a favor of you¡­¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°As you know¡­ the roads have been quite unsafe lately¡­ could you possibly¡­¡± the middle-aged merchant licked his lips: ¡°allow our caravan to follow yours? You¡¯d only need to wait one more day, just one day! Allow us one day to load our goods. The local merchant guild is willing to offer a token of appreciation to you for this¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, just that,¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s emotions surged, and suddenly he burst into exaggerated tears: ¡°I beg you to show some compassion. It might be a trivial matter for you, but for us, it¡¯s a matter of life and death!¡±


    Seeing his act, the other two guild directors also began to lay it on thick with tears and snot.


    For a moment, the atmosphere turned bizarre, with three local dignitaries weeping loudly as surrounding guards and hired hands couldn¡¯t help but stop and gawk at the spectacle.


    Winters waved his hand: ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough, I understand what you mean, the other two gentlemen there don¡¯t even have tears with their crying.¡±


    The middle-aged merchant cut short his weeping, awkwardly forcing a few laughs.


    After contemplating for a moment, Winters replied: ¡°No can do.¡±


    The middle-aged merchant wanted to say something more, but Winters stopped him with a gesture.


    ¡°First, my time is pressing, I can¡¯t possibly wait for you for a day and a half,¡± Winters tapped his elbow gently, ¡°Second, even if you did come with us, you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with our pace.¡±


    If it were a matter of pay, they could perhaps haggle over the price. But Winters¡¯ reasons were solid, and the middle-aged merchant had no reply.


    ¡°Well then¡­ so be it,¡± the middle-aged merchant tidied up his appearance and respectfully bid farewell: ¡°Thank you for condescending to explain to us, the local guild wishes to present a gift of money to you, as a token of gratitude¡­¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything for you, how can I take your money?¡± Winters interrupted the middle-aged merchant¡¯s pleasantries. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°And my words are not yet finished. The gangs that lurk around your town are actually just two groups, the rest are just small fries, not worth worrying about.¡± He pulled out a map book, urged the middle-aged merchant to sit down, and enthusiastically pitched: ¡°I have a proposal¡­¡±

 Chapter 938 - 29 Non-Existent Record

    Chapter 938: Chapter 29 Non-Existent Record


    Republic of Palatu


    Jiangbei Province


    Somewhere in the garrison of a patrolling cavalry squadron


    The captain of the cavalry squadron, Lorenzo Dan, was rubbing his thumb over the pass, inconspicuously scrutinizing the scriptural signature in the middle of the sheepskin document, trying to spot anything amiss.


    The script signature was brief¡ª[Alpad Duyome].


    The officer providing the pass claimed to be ¡°Colonel Alec,¡± who sat opposite at the desk.


    Though still maintaining a polite smile, it was clear from the movements of his fingertips and legs that he was becoming impatient.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look fake,¡± Captain Lorenzo thought. He had seen General Alpad¡¯s signature before, as there was an identical one on his own appointment document.


    But as for the seal¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help touching it¡ªhe¡¯d never seen a real one, therefore he couldn¡¯t distinguish a fake.


    Captain Lorenzo stole a glance at the officer, then swiftly returned his gaze to the pass, and asked with utmost respect, ¡°You¡­you¡¯re crossing the Border River, sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the colonel replied politely but coldly.


    Lorenzo felt a slight irritation at the other¡¯s demeanor.


    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s definitely genuine,¡± he thought angrily while trying to maintain a smile, ¡°A fake couldn¡¯t possibly be this annoying.¡±


    A brief explanation is needed here: the current Third Republic army officer, Lieutenant Lorenzo Dan, was but a common citizen half a year ago¡ªhe was one of the many junior officers appointed during the last recruitment wave.


    The process was quite simple: his father generously donated two hundred horses plus a significant sum of cash to the military government; Lorenzo Dan was thus transformed from the youngest son of a manor lord, tending to fighting cocks and dogs, into a genuine army captain.


    Fate, however, is often disappointing.


    Although he had received an appointment signed by Alpad Duyome himself, once Lorenzo Dan truly joined the military, he found he was still considered inferior and faced exclusion everywhere.


    Academy-educated officers scorned their new colleagues, not even bothering to hide their disdain.


    When the newly-minted officers excitedly and nervously entered the officers¡¯ club at Oak Forest Fortress, the old officers moved out without a word, and immediately founded a new club¡ªenterable only with the Land Academy graduate ring.


    After such incidents repeated several times, just seeing the ¡°courteous smile¡± of an orthodox officer made Lorenzo Dan feel humiliated.


    Therefore, upon seeing the familiar smile on the other¡¯s face, Captain Lorenzo was certain that the officer before him was undoubtedly a ¡°Herder¡±¡ªthe nickname given by the new officers to academy-graduate officers.


    The young attendant standing behind the officer was definitely a Herder, too, Lorenzo could tell, even though he was not in military attire.


    ¡°He looks younger than me; probably hasn¡¯t even grown full facial hair,¡± Lorenzo thought enviously as he continued evaluating the young attendant, who took the initiative to speak.


    ¡°May I ask,¡± the young attendant inquired politely, ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    Lorenzo was slightly flustered. He had many grievances, but tried his best not to show them: ¡°Well¡­¡±


    What¡¯s the problem?


    A merchant caravan heading to Herders¡¯ land is problematic in its own right!


    Despite the de facto division of the Republic of Palatu, both the Red Rose and the Blue Rose had wholly adopted the First Republic¡¯s policies towards the Herder tribes.


    The blockade order was still in effect, smuggling was still a crime starting with hanging.


    Legally, Captain Lorenzo should arrest the two men immediately. If they resisted, lethal force was warranted.


    But¡­even during the strictest blockades, even when there was only one Republic on this land, caravans traveling between Palatu and the Herder tribes had never truly vanished.


    The stricter the blockade, the greater the smuggling profits; the more intense the embargo, the larger the trading margins.


    Possessing a pass signed by certain big shots would allow unobstructed travel at the border¡ªthis was an unspoken secret within the Palatu military-political system.


    Although Lieutenant Lorenzo Dan was inexperienced, he had long known the rules of the game from his elders.


    ¡°Excuse me, is there any problem?¡± the young attendant patiently inquired again.


    The officer, who claimed to be Colonel Alec, appeared at ease, letting the attendant speak for him.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Captain Lorenzo swallowed, picking a trivial suspicion, ¡°Why are there injured people in the convoy? Seems there are even disabled individuals?¡±


    The young attendant pondered for a moment, then replied, ¡°We encountered some bandits on the way.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, I see,¡± Lorenzo said with feigned concern, ¡°There¡¯s a good doctor in the nearby town; I¡¯ll send for him right away.¡±


    The brow of the young attendant furrowed slightly, then relaxed, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, the wounded have been properly attended to.¡±


    Lorenzo tore off a slip of paper and, as he wrote, earnestly inquired, ¡°What about medicine? Do you have enough supplies?¡±


    The young attendant shared a look with the officer, who nodded with a smile.


    The young attendant nodded slightly in acknowledgment, ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s sufficient.¡±


    Lorenzo handed back the freshly written note along with the pass, promising with a pat on his chest, ¡°There are gangs of robbers also on the other side of the Border River. If you need it, I can assign some men to escort you, ensuring the convoy¡¯s safety all the way.¡±


    The young attendant glanced over the note, which turned out to be an additional pass written in the name of Lorenzo. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°People below might not recognize General Alpad¡¯s pass,¡± Lorenzo eagerly explained, ¡°So I¡¯ve written this note too, take it with you just in case, to avoid any mishaps.¡±

 Chapter 939 - 29 Non-Existent Record_2

    Chapter 939: Chapter 29 Non-Existent Record_2 sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young Attendant chuckled and nodded: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°A small matter, a small matter.¡± Captain Lorenzo stood up to see off his guests and called for the sergeant to gather the troops.


    ¡°There is no need to escort us.¡± The young Attendant politely but firmly declined.


    Seeing that the other party was not merely being polite, Lorenzo immediately recalled the sergeant.


    He insisted on personally seeing the two guests off the premises, repeatedly assuring them that he could help with whatever they might need along the way.


    The young Attendant courteously declined, and the officer paid no attention to Lorenzo.


    The officer and the young Attendant had already left the patrol cavalry¡¯s station, only to see Lorenzo rushing out after them.


    ¡°Are you two planning to cross the river via Matou Slope town?¡± Lorenzo asked breathlessly.


    Already mounted on his horse, the young Attendant dismounted upon hearing this: ¡°Yes,


    Lorenzo slapped his thigh, annoyed: ¡°Matou Slope town is no longer passable! The town is destroyed, and the bridge is gone too. Now, to cross the Border River, you¡¯ll have to go through Scabbard Bay.¡±


    Upon hearing that Matou Slope town had been destroyed in the war, the young Attendant fell silent for a moment. After a while, he thanked Lorenzo and reached out his hand: ¡°Captain Lorenzo, I hope we meet again someday.¡±


    Lorenzo, smiling widely, grasped his arm: ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll definitely meet again¡­ If you have the chance when you return to Oak Forest Fortress, could you put in a good word for me¡­¡±


    Lorenzo stood at the entrance of the station, warmly watching the two guests leave.


    Only when their figures disappeared from view did his face, stiff and sore from smiling too much and too long, finally relax.


    ¡°[Crude language for emphasis]! Dammit!¡± Lorenzo spat, turning away in a huff.


    ¡­


    Republic of Palatu


    Jiangbei Province


    Scabbard Bay Crossing


    Two ropes spanned the Border River, with only a wooden raft for transport.


    It took a whole day for the merchant caravan and their horses to move from the East Bank to the West Bank.


    ¡°I¡¯ll only escort you this far.¡± Colonel Alec said somewhat sadly as he bid farewell to his junior: ¡°Going further, I can¡¯t help you anymore.¡±


    Winters felt a bit reluctant too, but he cheered up, joking: ¡°Do you want to bid farewell to Colonel Jeska?¡±


    Colonel Alec swung his whip listlessly: ¡°Forget it, just seeing his face irritates me, and seeing me probably makes him even angrier¡­ Just take good care of him. Also, once you cross the Border River, you¡¯re in Herdman territory. Are you sure you can safely return?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll just retrace my route.¡± Winters extended his hand¡ªa handshake or embracing arms, a far more intimate, equal, and even sacred gesture than a military salute or tipping one¡¯s hat¡ªhe smiled heartily as he bid farewell: ¡°Well, I hope we have the chance to meet again, Colonel Alec.¡±


    Colonel Alec also tightly grasped Winters¡¯ hand, but he was both angry and amused: ¡°No! I hope I never see you again in my life!¡±


    Searching for Pierre, it took Winters less than seven days; but to lead his subordinates out of Jiangbei Province, Winters took over a month.


    On the last day of the first month in the year 560 of the Empire.


    Winters Montagne crossed the Border River once again.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Wilderness


    According to the agreement between the three major Herder tribes and the Republic of Palatu, a roughly 100-kilometer area between them should serve as a no-man¡¯s land, ¡°Herders shall not herd, Palatu People shall not till.¡±


    However, after the Palatu People suffered a crushing defeat in the battle against the Red River Tribe, the ¡°no herding, no tilling¡± agreement immediately lost its enforceability.


    Starting in autumn, many small tribes successively moved into the uninhabited area. Some tribes had dozens of households, others just a few, not interfering with each other, each heading to the winter pastures they had explored before.


    Among them was a tribe, consisting of about sixty households, neither big nor small. The tribal chief was named Flying Feather, belonging to the Stone Mountain clan.


    Flying Feather, the eldest son, according to Herder customs, was given a share of cattle, sheep, and tents by his father after reaching adulthood, and then he set up his own household.


    Because Flying Feather was skilled at archery and was fair in distributing meat and making judgments, friends and herders naturally gathered around him, eventually coming together to form a small tribe.


    Flying Feather was independent, thus other Herder tribes called his small group ¡°Flying Feather Tribe.¡±


    The winter pasture chosen by the Flying Feather Tribe was about sixty kilometers from the Palatu Border River, in a north-south valley.


    If nothing unexpected happened, the Flying Feather Tribe would stay in this wind-sheltered valley for the entire winter.


    They would only leave after the cattle and sheep had consumed the withered grass and the first spring rain fell, heading to the high mountain summer pastures.


    But this year was unusual¡ªthe Flying Feather Tribe had some guests.


    Flying Feather strictly forbade his people to step half a foot out of the valley because his guests were not ordinary tribespeople, and any leaked information could lead to a catastrophic disaster.


    Flying Feather¡¯s guests came from the east, they were from Palatu.


    Among the guests was a young man who, since arriving at the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s winter pasture, did only one thing every day: he stood at the highest point of the valley, looking eastward, eagerly waiting.


    He did not know how many sunsets and sunrises he had watched, but finally, he saw the silhouette of a rider on the horizon.


    He excitedly shouted, jumped onto his horse, and galloped down the slope, rushing towards the approaching figure, racing all the way to the man.


    The young man embraced the man, crying uncontrollably.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The man¡ªWinters Montagne¡ªwas surprisingly and politely reciprocated with a gentle embrace, asking with shame and concern: ¡°Little Lion?¡±

 Chapter 940 - 29 Nonexistent Record_3

    Chapter 940: Chapter 29 Nonexistent Record_3


    The young man¡ªLittle Lion¡ªcried uncontrollably: ¡°How could you only just return?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters suddenly became alert.


    ¡°Do you even have the face to ask?¡± Little Lion sobbed and cursed loudly: ¡°I¡¯ve hunted down all the rats in the valley!¡±


    ¡­


    The winter valley of the Flying Feather Tribe


    Winters stood outside the felt tent, wanting to enter yet not daring to.


    His subordinates wisely kept their distance, not wanting to provoke the Blood Wolf at this time.


    Colonel Moritz had disappeared, Mayor Gerard Mitchell had disappeared, and even the most upright and reliable Father Kaman had disappeared.


    Winters¡¯s fingertips touched the tent curtain, then he withdrew them, touched again, and withdrew again, repeatedly three or four times, until he heard a crisp voice from inside the tent: ¡°Come in.¡±


    Winters pushed aside the tent curtain, and Anna was waiting for him.


    Fortunately, what he saw was a smiling face.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    An unknown time, an unknown place, a conversation never formally recorded


    ¡°Move a little closer.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Move a little closer again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Sit here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Take off your coat.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(A silent command with the eyes).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The inside one.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Another silent command with the eyes).¡±


    ¡°(The rustling sound of undressing).¡±


    ¡°(Sounds similar to washing hands).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°(The sound of a warm towel wiping the skin).¡±


    ¡°(Very careful, very gentle breaths).¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(A gentle sigh) Put on clean clothes.¡±


    ¡°(The sound of getting dressed).¡±


    ¡°(The sound of laundering the towel).¡±


    ¡°(The sound of arms stretching out from behind for a hug).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Over a month, I thought you had run away again (a playful light laugh).¡±


    ¡°(A silent ¡®sorry¡¯).¡±


    ¡°(Softly) To be honest, seeing how you looked when you returned, I knew, you¡¯ve had a great time this month¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Softly) Even in Iron Peak County, I¡¯ve never seen you so happy, like a bird that has flown out of its cage¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Slyly laughing) Right? You were happy, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°(Guiltily) I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°(A faint hug) Why apologize? (Softly) I like to see you happy, I like to see you vibrant (voice getting softer and softer) I like to see you free¡­¡±


    ¡°(Uncontrollable tears)¡±


    ¡°(The sound of wiping away tears) Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, stop crying (nestling in, softly) I want to see you happy (a whisper too faint to be heard by the other, so quiet it¡¯s as if heard only in the heart) As for me¡­ it actually doesn¡¯t matter¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The winter valley of the Flying Feather Tribe


    The team from Iron Peak County had just merged with the people from Jiangbei Province and started to get their gear in order.


    The guards and veterans were busily packing the carts, while Winters and his men took the time to tend to their mounts amidst the chaos.


    This was the umpteenth time Little Lion had complained to Winters: ¡°We agreed, at most half a month, at least ten days, why have you been gone so long!¡±


    A guilty Winters could only suffer in silence, focusing on brushing his horse.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how I¡¯ve coped these days?¡± This was the umpteenth time Little Lion gave an example: ¡°I¡¯ve hunted all the rats clean!¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve returned safely, haven¡¯t you?¡± Winters tried to soothe Little Lion.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been delayed too long! Far too long!¡± Little Lion became increasingly agitated as he spoke, stopping his brushing and looking plaintively, tears welling up: ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve missed all the most fun parts! Ah! Ah! I¡¯ve really lost out!¡±


    ¡°The most fun parts? What are they?¡± Colonel Moritz, standing nearby, suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°The most fun parts?! What?! What else could it be?¡± Little Lion turned his head sharply towards Moritz, eyes wide in disbelief, took a deep breath and shouted: ¡°The hunt!¡±

 Chapter 941 - 941: 30 chapters Hunting (Part 1)

    Chapter 941: 30 chapters Hunting (Part 1)


    Empire Year 537 [Note: The war of succession for the Empire¡¯s throne began this year, 23 years ago]


    Castile Peninsula, Greyrock City, inside the Grand Arena.


    A young man around twenty years old is inspecting his armor and weapons. Two attendants beside the young man are sweating profusely, yet unable to lend a hand.


    ¡°News¡± has neither wings nor four legs, yet nothing flies farther or runs faster than it.


    Richard [the Mad] III is dead.


    Some say he died peacefully in his sleep; others say he died from a fall off his horse, enduring long suffering before closing his eyes¡­ But the old emperor¡¯s manner of death is not important; it merely serves as fodder for casual conversation.


    The emperor is dead, a new emperor must ascend. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the easternmost Kortan Bay to the westernmost Castile Peninsula, from the southernmost Sheltering Mountain range to the northernmost Ice Cold Sea, everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the crowning of the new emperor¡­ especially when there are simultaneously three heirs.


    The door is pushed open, and a man adorned like a peacock strides into the room.


    The man appears to be just over thirty, his features and stature bear a slight resemblance to the young man, but with an added seven parts handsomeness and four parts dashingness.


    Upon seeing the man enter, the two attendants, as if clutching at straws, pleaded with a sobbing tone: ¡°Duke Lothar, sir! We truly cannot stop His Majesty, please, we beg you to persuade His Majesty!¡±


    The handsome man, known as Duke Lothar, gestures for the attendants to leave the room. Relieved, the attendants bow and back out.


    The handsome man closes the door, glances at the lance leaning next to the young man, and then at the well-arranged armor on the young man, jokingly asks, ¡°Are you planning to enter the field yourself, Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°I am not Your Majesty.¡± Only when speaking with the handsome man does the young man show a hint of a smile, deliberately elongating his tone: ¡°Duke, sir.¡±


    The handsome man shrugs, cheerfully retorts: ¡°Am I also not a duke? Your grandfather is still very robust.¡±


    The identity of the young man is clear¡ªHenry of Sunfort, the eldest son of the deceased emperor, and one of the claimants to the throne.


    The handsome man is Henry¡¯s uncle, Duke Lothar Louis, known informally as [Handsome Louis]. Privately, people prefer to call him [Dissolute Louis].


    Pause for a moment, Louis Lothar drops his nonchalant demeanor and asks, ¡°Are you really going to enter the arena yourself?¡±


    Henry stands up silently, beginning a light warm-up.


    His body is slender and well-proportioned, with strong, flexible limbs¡ªa physique that can rival a top gladiator, a reward for years of training.


    ¡°Are you really confident?¡± Duke Lothar insists seriously, ¡°Once you enter the gladiator arena, there¡¯s no turning back. I don¡¯t want to see your mother, my sister, saddened.¡±


    Louis and Henry, having grown up together, have less than a ten-year age gap. Although they are nominally uncle and nephew, their actual relationship is closer to friends or brothers.


    For Henry, even a brother wouldn¡¯t be closer than his little uncle. Thus, such audacious questions can only be asked by Louis, and only Louis asking them is not considered impudent.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Henry responds truthfully, ¡°as I¡¯ve never tried before.¡±


    ¡°In that case, why take the risk? Assign a Knight! Many would be willing to compete in your name.¡±


    Just as Henry is about to reply, suddenly, a thunderous cheer comes from above them.


    The roar, like a tsunami, even shakes the building, and fine dust drifts from the stone dome.


    Duke Lothar brushes off the dust from his shoulder, disdainfully and helplessly remarks, ¡°Hmph, Castilian barbarians¡­¡±


    The magnificent building overhead is an ancient Empire relic, its original name untraceable, commonly called today as [Grand Arena] or [Greyrock Arena].


    Roughly calculated, the Grand Arena has stood for a millennium. Owing to continuous use, it has been well-maintained and repaired.


    As the only ¡°amphitheater¡± that can accommodate tens of thousands, this arena has nearly taken on all major public events of Duke Talar¡¯s domains and even the Castile Peninsula.


    During festivals, mass, executions, competitions, duels¡­ nobles and commoners from Greyrock City, Duke Talar¡¯s domains and even the entire Castile Peninsula flood here.


    If Saint Heart Cathedral is the religious center of the Castile Peninsula, and Regent¡¯s Palace is the political center, then the Grand Arena signifies the glory center of the Castile Peninsula.


    Winning here means winning the Castile Peninsula.


    However, the resounding cheers from the arena at this moment are not for the royal family, nor for Henry¡ªthey¡¯re for Duke Talar.


    To celebrate the birth of his eldest son, Duke Talar has spared no expense in hosting this grand celebration.


    Hosting such a vast celebration during the emperor¡¯s mourning is undoubtedly a severe offence. However, the Castilian nobility is notorious throughout the Empire for their unruliness, and they hold little regard for royal dignity.


    It could even be interpreted this way¡ªDuke Talar deliberately chose this timing for his eldest son¡¯s celebration to demonstrate his disdain for the authority of the Sunfort royal family.


    ¡°How many people are in the arena now?¡± Henry asks thoughtfully.


    ¡°At least twenty thousand,¡± Duke Lothar responds, ¡°Including both major and minor lords of Castile, and many, many commoners¡­ Greyrock City is almost deserted, everyone is here.¡±

 Chapter 942 - 30: Hunting (Part 1)_2

    Chapter 942: Chapter 30: Hunting (Part 1)_2


    Henry looked up at the dome upon hearing this.


    He had a strange feeling that, although he could only see darkness, he was certain that thousands of Castilians were waiting on the other side of the thick stone slab.


    Henry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


    Duke Little Lothair watched his nephew, ten years his junior, and involuntarily held his breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. To expect others to fight for me¡­¡± The future Emperor opened his eyes and picked up his lance, ¡°Will never conquer the Castilians.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Empire Year 560, early February [Present]


    Wilderness sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Winters set out from Iron Peak County, he only brought a small troop of fewer than forty men.


    His original plan was to visit the White Lion and withdraw some gold to address the financial bankruptcy of Iron Peak County.


    However, changes always happen faster than plans, and Vashka brought news from Pierre, Berlion, and others.


    Thus, Winters entrusted his subordinates to Little Lion and only entered Jiangbei Province, under military administration, with Vashka.


    By the time Winters left Jiangbei Province, his command had grown into a huge caravan of over two hundred people.


    Recovering old comrade was certainly good, but Vashka¡¯s flattery about ¡°people always gathering around the Centurion¡± was misplaced.


    After brief discussion, Winters decided to split the forces:


    The main troop would take the injured with movement difficulties¡ª including warriors wounded in the process of suppressing bandits and older soldiers disabled in last year¡¯s battle on the Great Wilderness¡ªand return to Iron Peak County by the original route;


    The small troop, according to the original plan, would head to the Red River Tribe, accompanied by Little Lion.


    Winters personally led the small troop, but found it difficult to appoint someone to command the main force.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Colonel Moritz said matter-of-factly, ¡°I¡¯m not cut out to lead troops¡­ Besides, I¡¯ve always wanted to taste mare¡¯s milk.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to get rid of me again.¡± Anna feigned anger, ¡°I knew it.¡±


    After much consideration, only one suitable candidate remained¡ªPierre Mitchell. Undoubtedly, Pierre was an excellent choice, capable and distinguished enough for the task.


    But the problem was: Pierre was unwilling.


    ¡°I want to go with you to the Red River Tribe.¡± Pierre requested firmly.


    Seeing Pierre¡¯s somewhat pale cheeks, Winters couldn¡¯t bear to let Pierre endure the hardship of travelling: ¡°You¡¯ve just recovered from a severe illness, better return to Iron Peak County and fully recuperate.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be a burden, I can already ride a horse.¡± Pierre said, standing straight, then suddenly changing the topic, ¡°And I¡¯ve already thought of who can replace me to lead the returning troop.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Winters was curious.


    ¡°My father,¡± Pierre stated seriously.


    After brief consideration, Winters shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t doubt Mr. Mitchell¡¯s capabilities and influence. But he won¡¯t be at ease leaving you behind.¡±


    ¡°I will persuade him,¡± Pierre replied firmly.


    Thus, a conversation between father and son unfolded.


    In a face-to-face equal conversation, with no one else involved, Pierre finally expressed his real thoughts to his father.


    ¡°Dad, I know deep down you still view Winters Montagne¡¯s troops as rebels, bandits; I know you think Kingsfort will eventually obliterate Winters Montagne; I also know Monta Monta has no money, no provisions, no troops, Iron Peak County¡¯s strength compared to Paratu is like a puppy to a lion¡­¡±


    Facing his father¡¯s surprised gaze, Pierre listed many reasons why ¡°Montagne¡¯s bandit troops are doomed.¡± If only this part was heard, it seemed like Winters Montagne¡¯s demise was imminent, and Pierre Mitchell had no doubt about it.


    But in the end, Mr. Mitchell gave Mr. Mitchell Senior an irrefutable conclusion: ¡°But we have no way back now.¡±


    Pierre looked into his father¡¯s eyes, repeating word for word, ¡°We have no way back now.¡±


    ¡°Do you still remember the story of Dusack from our old home in North River¡ª the one you told me when I was a child. Over a hundred years ago, the Dusacks who shattered their shackles roamed stealthily in small boats on the upper North River, robbing the Emperor¡¯s official ships. Eventually, the Emperor, furious, sent troops to exterminate them.¡±


    ¡°What happened to those Dusacks then? Those who defeated the Emperor were ennobled as Ataman! And those who failed against the Emperor? They were wiped out!¡±


    ¡°If Montagne brother can hold Iron Peak County, we might have a chance to surrender; if Montagne brother can conquer Newly Reclaimed Land, we might have a chance to be welcomed back; but if Montagne brother loses, fails, we won¡¯t even have a chance to submit. What awaits us is only reckoning! All of our heads will be chopped off in exchange for military honors.¡±


    ¡°So, dad, whether you like it or not, whatever you think.¡± Pierre grimly nailed the final nail, ¡°We have no way back now.¡±


    After hearing his son¡¯s words, Gerard Mitchell remained silent for a long time. When he spoke again, he seemed a decade older.


    Even so, Mr. Mitchell said hoarsely, ¡°Even so, you should first return to Wolf Town with me. Your mother must be waiting for us to return home after we¡¯ve been away for so long.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Pierre said firmly, ¡°I can¡¯t go back now!¡±


    ¡°Just come back home with me to recuperate, and we can discuss other matters later.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand! Dad!¡± Pierre¡¯s cheeks, flushed with excitement, ¡°I can¡¯t go back! Too much has happened in Iron Peak County during my absence! I didn¡¯t achieve any merits! I missed too much! When I left Iron Peak County, I was Montagne brother¡¯s deputy. If I go back now, I am nothing! I can¡¯t go back, at least not now.¡±

 Chapter 943 - 30: The Hunt (Part 1)_3

    Chapter 943: Chapter 30: The Hunt (Part 1)_3


    ¡°Captain Montaigne won¡¯t forget you.¡± Gerard comforted his son, ¡°He will take care of you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ still don¡¯t understand me¡­¡±


    Another bout of silence ensued.


    ¡°So¡­ what do you plan to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to stay by Montaigne¡¯s side.¡± Pierre had made up his mind, ¡°Dad, please take the others back to Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    The personnel arrangements for the two teams gradually became clear.


    After repeated trims, Winters finally decided to keep only sixty competent subordinates; the rest of the troops were commanded by Gerard, following the original path back to Iron Peak County.


    Interestingly, upon learning that Mitchell was heading to the Red River Tribe, Father Caman, who never showed Winters a pleasant face, also lowered his pride to request joining the journey to the Red River Tribe.


    Vashka and the elder Sergei, father and son, also appeared in the team heading to the Red River Tribe.


    Vashka couldn¡¯t part with his mates, and old Sergei couldn¡¯t part with his son. Both father and son were skilled hands among the Dusacks, and Winters was more than happy to bring them along.


    The reserved Berlion was the last person to approach Winters.


    ¡°Centurion.¡± As always, Berlion was serene and composed, ¡°Please take me with you as well.¡±


    ¡°I do want you to go to Red River, but I¡¯m worried about accidents that might befall you there,¡± Winters voiced his concerns, ¡°And I promised Carlos to bring you back to Iron Peak County safely.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you should take me even more. Carlos is safe in Revodan, so I have nothing to worry about. To investigate the possible iron ore situation at the Red River Tribe, you need an expert.¡± Berlion paused, ¡°You¡¯ve helped me and Carlos so much¡­ let me do something for you.¡±


    Thus, the list of sixty was finalized.


    The team returning home expressed their disappointment when they learned Berlion was included in the sixty-person list, while the morale of those heading to the Red River Tribe was boosted.


    ¡°A [military campaign is fueled by stomachs],¡± Winters thought, ¡°The old marshal really didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Three days after leaving the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s winter pasture


    Wilderness


    At dusk, the caravan camped under a wind-sheltered slope.


    As usual, people connected the wagons end to end to form a temporary enclosure, let the horses graze outside, and then went about fetching water, starting fires, and preparing food.


    The plains held no lights, only the glow of campfires scattered about.


    There was no moon tonight, and the stars shone with unusual brilliance.


    Anna, dressed as a man, gazed upward at the stars until her neck grew sore, ¡°It¡¯s so strange, I never saw so many stars when I was in Sea Blue.¡±


    For someone who has never seen the vast Milky Way, witnessing the starry sky for the first time is an indescribable shock.


    But since arriving in Paratu, stargazing was an experience Winters had had countless times.


    He coughed a few times, but ultimately couldn¡¯t suppress the desire to make inappropriate remarks, ¡°If you saw them every day, you wouldn¡¯t find them special anymore.¡±


    Although the light from the campfires was dim, Winters was sure he saw Anna glance at him.


    Anna turned her head away, ignoring the wet blanket.


    A few steps away, Little Lion was enthusiastically recounting a ¡°hunting story¡± beside Berlion¡¯s stewpot.


    ¡°Hunting in the forest is one way, hunting on meadows is another. Falconry has its own tricks, and hound hunting its own skills, but the most spectacular and challenging is the ¡®surround hunt.¡¯ In Hurd language, ¡®Aba¡¯ is the term for a surround hunt, and it¡¯s the most, most, most important event of the year.¡±


    As Little Lion spoke, he took the first bowl of freshly served meat from Berlion¡¯s hands, unable to resist praising, ¡°Blacksmith, with your skills, you¡¯d be underappreciated even as the Khan¡¯s chef!¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Berlion smiled in gratitude and continued serving soup to others.


    ¡°We hunt every year too.¡± Vashka, drawn by the aroma, hurried back to the camp, interjecting, ¡°In autumn, once the crops are harvested, we hunt for rabbits and foxes in the fields. With no straw or weeds, the rabbits and foxes have nowhere to hide; we hit our mark every time.¡±


    Vashka curiously looked to Winters, ¡°Centurion, do you Venetians hunt?¡±


    This caught Winters off guard, he thought for a moment, then smiled, ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar with Venetian customs, but the United Provincials hunt waterfowl every year, and some even raise dogs skilled at swimming for hunting.¡±


    Just as Winters couldn¡¯t hold back his urge to make inappropriate remarks, when it came to hunting, Little Lion couldn¡¯t contain his boasting either. He shook his head pretentiously, ¡°What you¡¯re talking about can only be considered child¡¯s play compared to the surround hunt I¡¯m talking about.¡±


    ¡°You talk a big game!¡± Vashka shot back, not to be outdone, ¡°When can we see this hunt for ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Ten more days!¡± Little Lion wiped his mouth, gesturing for another bowl from Berlion.


    He laughed heartily, ¡°The final hunting ground has been set from the start, just head there¡ª I guarantee you¡¯ll be astounded!¡±


    As it turned out, Little Lion¡¯s estimate was conservative.


    It took only three days, not ten, for Winters and his party to reach the edge of the hunting grounds.

 Chapter 944 - 31: The Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 944: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)


    The caravan halted on a slightly elevated mound, ensuring a tactical height advantage.


    The horses, sensing the pervasive smell of sulfur and saltpeter in the air, snorted restlessly.


    The Iron Peak County Delegation had entered a pre-battle state, with warriors quickly unloading crates of armor and helping each other don their gear.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve become a burden to everyone¡­¡± Anna gripped Winters¡¯s hand tightly, biting her lip, and blamed herself with a mixture of panic and anxiety.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, it¡¯s just a small situation,¡± Winters reassured Anna while deftly helping her into a breastplate: ¡°Stay on the wagon when it starts, try not to get down.¡±


    Anna nodded forcefully.


    ¡°All set.¡± After Winters ensured all the straps were tied, he habitually patted the back plate of Anna¡¯s armor and, uncontrollably and inexplicably, began to chuckle.


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Anna turned her head and asked suspiciously.


    ¡°I¡­ I just remembered a¡­ dirty joke.¡±


    A lady of breeding shouldn¡¯t be curious, but Anna couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Winters leaned to Anna¡¯s ear and whispered it to her.


    ¡°You¡­ you know what? The armor doesn¡¯t even touch the body!¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks flushed to her ears, and angry, she reached for the short pistol at Winters¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Careful! The gun is loaded!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then all the better!¡±


    The short pistol still ended up in Anna¡¯s hands¡ªin part because Winters had indeed intended to leave it with her.


    After finally helping Anna with her helmet, Winters squeezed the little she-wolf¡¯s hand and turned to get off the wagon. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Translator, the Accountant, the Precious Metals Craftsman, and the Cook were indispensable members, so they were all sheltered in the center of the formation.


    Father Kaman was also left in the ¡°safe zone.¡±


    As Winters got down, Kaman was in prayer, holding a prayer book in his hands, with a mallet tucked under his arm, muttering words to himself.


    Seeing Winters approach, Kaman just nodded coldly, while Winters bowed solemnly in return.


    Stepping out of the temporary circular formation formed by the large vehicles, Winters took the reins from Xial and leaped onto his Warhorse.


    In an instant, it was as if an invisible wave radiated out from him, sweeping across the entire hill.


    A subtle change happened to the riders; from an observer¡¯s point of view, it was hard to say exactly what had changed, but something was definitely different.


    Was it the involuntary secretion of saliva? The hastened breathing? The slightly sweaty palms? Or the dilated pupils¡­ It was unclear whether it was the physical condition affecting the spirit or the psychological state being reflected in the body.


    If they were like blades hidden in their sheathes before, now they were ready to strike.


    ¡°My lord,¡± Heinrich asked gravely, ¡°shall we reveal your banner?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters looked towards the smoke and dust raised by hooves in the distance, ¡°don¡¯t scare them away.¡±


    As early as the night before last, the Scouts had discovered a group of Herders two hours¡¯ ride away.


    After receiving the report, Winters ordered not to alarm the others.


    He didn¡¯t plan on making contact because a ¡°chance meeting¡± in the wilderness only meant danger, especially since he was an outsider.


    The wilderness had its hospitable lords, but it was not short of greedy, cruel, hungry beasts. The law of the jungle here was not a metaphor, but a blood-soaked way of life.


    Whenever a strong leader was lost, the Herder tribes inevitably fell into this costly infighting until the next person who could forge order out of chaos emerged.


    Although Winters actively avoided them, a day passed and not only the distance between the two parties had not widened but had, in fact, decreased.


    Until the Herders also discovered the caravan¡¯s trail, and actively and swiftly pounced towards them.


    The smoke and dust approached, the sound of hooves grew louder, and silhouettes of Herder riders flickered on the undulating ridge lines.


    Just as the actions of the incoming riders were fully exposed, the sound of hooves abruptly stopped. The figures of the Herders vanished as if they plunged into the earth.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where are the savages?¡± Vashka looked around bewildered, muttering under his breath.


    Winters whipped his hand to a hillside a kilometer away, saying with interest, ¡°They¡¯re hiding behind that slope, probably not wanting us to see their strength and weaknesses¡­ Interesting fellows.¡±


    Old Sergei glared at his son, clearly unhappy with Vashka¡¯s show of fear.


    The old man spurred his horse forward, volunteering enthusiastically: ¡°My lord, let me take a few sabers over for a look! Humph, no matter their tricks, get at them first!¡±


    ¡°No rush, just wait a bit longer,¡± Winters replied unhurriedly, ¡°However, if we really do come to blows, don¡¯t charge too far ahead, Mr. Morozov, I¡¯m worried the others won¡¯t be able to keep up with you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Old Sergei was quite pleased with the remark, grinned from ear to ear, and proudly returned to his place.


    As Winters had said, the silence was only temporary.


    Shortly after, three riders crested over the hill from where the dust cloud had disappeared, racing towards Winters¡¯s position.


    The distance of a kilometer was covered in a blink of an eye; as the three riders reached the bottom of the slope, they heard the leading rider shouting at the top of his lungs¡ªthe voice of Little Lion: ¡°Not enemies! Not enemies¡­¡±


    Little Lion, panting heavily, climbed the hill and saw Winters and his party waiting in battle formation; he paused, and then laughed loudly: ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense! They have no hostility.¡±


    The subordinates all looked towards Winters, but Winters did not order them to stand down.

 Chapter 945 - 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 945: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_2


    ¡°No hostility?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Little Lion replied with a smile.


    ¡°What kind of people are they?¡±


    ¡°Hunters, the hunting hunters from the Wicked Soil Department.¡± Little Lion said with deep meaning: ¡°Actually, they are more afraid of you.¡±


    A quarter of an hour later, Winters met the leader of the Wicked Soil Department.


    ¡°Batu, you don¡¯t know me.¡± As soon as they met, the burly, dark-skinned leader of the Wicked Soil Department labored in his stiff common language to make an unconventional self-introduction: ¡°But I have seen you, I am Koshach, your defeated subordinate.¡±


    ¡­


    [Day 10 after leaving the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s overwintering pasture]


    [Wilderness, an unknown small river valley]


    Although identities had been confirmed, and they were ¡°on the way,¡± the delegation from Iron Peak County and the hunters from the Wicked Soil Department still tacitly maintained a certain distance from each other.


    Leader of the Wicked Soil Department, Koshach, was quite unique, visiting the delegation from Iron Peak County every day.


    Koshach had a strong curiosity about the world outside the wilderness.


    What Winters found interesting was that Koshach did not hide his curiosity about the outside world.


    He was always asking questions: astronomy and geography, local customs, religion, science, systems, technologies¡­ Anything that came to mind, he would ask. Some questions were naively hilarious, while others were so profound that they were unanswerable.


    When asking questions, Winters saw no embarrassment in Koshach¡¯s eyes; when not getting answers, Koshach never showed any signs of discouragement or irritation.


    When Koshach wasn¡¯t asking questions, he would take great interest in observing every move the Paratu people made, from dressing to dining, from setting camp to traveling¡­ He even closely watched the delegation members dig a latrine.


    Winters¡¯ subordinates watched this ¡°barbarian¡± with expressions of surprise, disgust, or wariness, while the ¡°barbarian¡± seemed unaffected, continuing to go his own way.


    ¡°¡­Leaving the Inner Sea, sailing southward, until leaving the Jinding Mountains behind, you will reach the [Broken Lands].¡± Winters narrated the geography of the continent by the campfire: ¡°There, only barren hills exist, dotted with a dozen small principalities, from nobles to commoners all dirt-poor¡­¡±


    The campfire was crowded with members of the delegation, some of whom enjoyed the bustle, while others listened mesmerized. Naturally, Koshach was also present, sitting unconcernedly amongst the Paratu people, leaning on his knees listening.


    As Winters was talking, he noticed his cup was empty and got up to fetch water.


    When Winters fell silent, the area around the campfire immediately became somewhat noisy.


    ¡°Hurd old man!¡± someone mockingly asked Koshach: ¡°Can you understand?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand!¡± Koshach grinned, replying in his half-baked common language: ¡°But I understood a bit, the more I listen, the more I understand.¡±


    In a few moments, Winters had already brought back a kettle.


    ¡°Batu.¡± Koshach bluntly said: ¡°In the tribes, tasks like pouring wine, milking are not even done by the leaders of tribes as small as Horse Palm! Doing women¡¯s chores, your subordinates will only look down on you.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°[Emotional vulgar language] Nonsense!¡± Xial snapped back as if bitten by a dog, immediately grabbing the kettle from his brother and retorted sharply: ¡°Does Blood Wolf need your respect or disdain?¡±


    Koshach thoughtfully nodded: ¡°Makes sense! Warriors like Batu, even if they play with needles and threads daily, would still have a large number of followers competing to be first.¡±


    Winters: ¡°Let me clarify, I neither like these needles nor the thread.¡±


    A faint laughter came from a carriage five steps away.


    Koshach seemed unconcerned about the personal preferences of the Paratu champion; he eagerly asked: ¡°Batu, what about further south from the ¡®Very Broken Land¡¯? What lies further south?¡±


    ¡°Desert.¡± Winters recalled the content of ¡°Geography¡±: ¡°A desert like the sea, endless.¡±


    Koshach scratched his head: ¡°What kind of desert?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the sand on riverbanks?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°A desert is a place where there is nothing but sand. That¡¯s what the books say, and I haven¡¯t seen the sea of sand myself.¡±


    ¡°Only sand, no grass? No water?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°How then do you raise horses? Cattle and sheep? How do you farm?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t raise anything, you can¡¯t grow anything.¡± Winters added: ¡°It is said that there are some very small oases in the desert, but who knows if that¡¯s true.¡±


    Knowing that the sea of sand could not support grazing, Koshach was quite disappointed, continuing to inquire: ¡°What about further south of the sea of sand?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s impassable.¡± Winters smiled bitterly as he spread his hands: ¡°It¡¯s said that someone once walked south for a hundred days, and all they saw was still just sand.


    Ancient scholar Tosaini believed that the sea of sand was infinite, extending to the ends of the earth, eventually merging with the perpetual ice caps of the poles; some say that further south of the sea of sand is another sea; others say it is the World¡¯s Pit, where all seas eventually flow. But the truth, no one knows.¡±


    A collective sigh emerged from the crowd.


    ¡°What is an ice cap?¡± Koshach persistently asked.


    ¡°Ice cap is endless ice.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°Ancient Empire people kept heading north, reaching the extreme north only to find endless ice, so they believe the extreme south is likewise endless ice.¡±

 Chapter 946 - 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 946: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_3


    ¡°May I ask about taking a boat?¡± Sitting next to Winters, Pierre pondered and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there an ocean on the eastern side of the Sand Sea? Can¡¯t we just take a boat south?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± This question stumped Winters.


    After racking his brains, he said embarrassedly, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know either. I also think taking a boat is feasible, but I have no idea why. I¡¯ve never seen any mentions of crossing the Sand Sea by boat in the books. It seems that scholars consider it unfeasible, or perhaps someone has tried and I¡¯m unaware¡­ I really don¡¯t know much about sailing. If ¡®Good Fortune¡¯ Gold were here, he might have been able to explain the reason¡­¡±


    ¡°Batu doesn¡¯t know something?¡± Koshach burst into laughter, drawing angry glances from the others.


    ¡°There¡¯s much more that I don¡¯t know than I do,¡± Winters admitted his ignorance casually. Yet, for some reason, he also felt a subtle, poignant regret.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Xial jumped up agitatedly, ¡°What does that barbarian know?¡±


    ¡°If Batu admits he knows little, then am I not even more foolish than a stone on the ground?¡± Koshach said heartily, ¡°After all, what Batu knows is as plentiful as the stars in the sky.¡±


    Witnessing the brawny barbarian deliver the cheesiest of flattery in the most candid tone left the group with mixed feelings.


    Only Little Lion was in stitches, laughing uproarously.


    Winters felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the impatient face of Father Kaman.


    ¡°Here.¡± Kaman handed Winters a folded piece of paper, shaking his head as he walked away.


    Clueless, Winters examined the paper by the light of the fire, his brows immediately relaxing¡ªit was Anna¡¯s delicate handwriting.


    Winters cleared his throat and the area around the campfire fell silent.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just learned some new knowledge,¡± Winters announced solemnly to everyone, ¡°The reason we can¡¯t take a boat south across the Sand Sea is that to the east of the Sand Sea lies an ever-present zone of thunderstorms, gales, and terrifying waves.¡±


    The crowd held their breath, the crackling of the wood the only sound.


    Winters continued with a smile, ¡°The ocean east of the Inland Sea is known as the [Storm Ocean] due to its harsh conditions, and compared to it, the Storm Ocean is like a gentle gelding¡ªthe ocean there is called the [Rage Ocean].


    Legend says the Rage Ocean is where the Sea God of the Golden Age perished, and upon his death, he cursed mankind so that mortals could never cross that sea.


    There were many Vineta merchant ships that tried to cross the Rage Ocean, but all attempts ended in failure. Most of the ships never returned, and the few that did couldn¡¯t establish a route. On the shores of the Sand Sea, there is a coast named Shipwreck Beach, said to be strewn with the wrecks of doomed vessels.


    After the rise of monsoon sailing, the trade focus of the Inland Sea shifted eastward, and people lost interest in the worthless southern routes¡­ This is why the southern routes are rarely mentioned in the books and literature.¡±


    Following Winters¡¯ explanation, a collective exhale could be heard around the campfire.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is,¡± Pierre nodded in admiration, ¡°That makes sense. Storms and raging waves¡­ Is the ocean truly that terrifying? It¡¯s a pity I¡¯ve never seen it.¡±


    ¡°The ocean is a fickle beauty, generally quite gentle though,¡± Winters said with a nostalgic smile, ¡°Otherwise, how could Sea Blue have come to grace the Inland Sea¡¯s shores?¡±


    Vashka protested loudly, ¡°Centurion, once we stop waging wars, let¡¯s go and brave the so-called Rage Ocean! I don¡¯t believe it¡ªjust wind and rain, they can¡¯t scare us Dusacks, can they?¡±


    ¡°What do you know?¡± Old Sergei raised his hand and smacked his son¡¯s head, ¡°Have you ever been on a sea ship?¡±


    Vashka retorted with his neck stiff, ¡°So, you have?¡±


    ¡°Your old man has, damn right!¡± Old Sergei smacked his son again, ¡°Back when I and Pierre¡¯s father came to Mountain Front Territory by ship, how many days did we sail, eh? Nearly lost our lives in the sea! It was all vomit and diarrhea, I had to crawl off the ship. Stick to your horse and think less about messing with ships!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh, and the atmosphere around the small campfire was filled with joviality.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile


    Rage Ocean


    The fast sailing ship [Fearless] was cutting through the waves, attempting to cross this sea of death.


    The fury¡¯s arrival came without warning:


    One moment, the sea was calm;


    The next, pea-sized raindrops pounded the hull as the storm followed, revealing the Rage Ocean¡¯s ferocious nature in an instant.


    The sky overcast with clouds was illuminated by constant flashes of lightning, the thunder as if tearing the air apart.


    Strong winds lifted waves over ten meters high, like towering walls of water, crashing down towards the ship. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All of this seemed as if the dying Sea God was venting his unquenchable resentment and fury.


    The sixty-ton Fearless, amid these waves, was like an ant in the hands of a cruel child, tossed high by the waves one moment and slammed down onto the sea next.


    Had the ship not been built without sparing any expense, that single blow alone might have split the Fearless in two.


    One of the deckhands failed to secure himself, and in a flash, was flung overboard. Not even the safety rope could save his life; instead, it wrapped him under the ship¡¯s keel, subjecting him to a death more agonizing than drowning.

 Chapter 947 - 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_4

    Chapter 947: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_4


    On the stern deck, a lean man furiously cursed at another man at the helm: ¡°Are you trying to get us all killed here!!!¡±


    The helmsman¡¯s gaze was steadfast, and his hands gripping the wheel were steady, without the slightest tremble. He ignored his crewmate¡¯s shouting and calmly gave the order: ¡°Maintain one-third of the sails!¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sailing ships rely on strong winds to travel, but they can also be capsized by them.


    People have marveled that ¡°sails¡± tame the ¡°wind¡±, yet every captain knows deep down: when facing the true forces of the gods, all you can do is furl the sails and pray.


    But now, that was not an option¡ªat least not in the Furious Ocean.


    Without sails, the ship could only be carried along by the waves.


    And the waves of the Furious Ocean headed straight northwest¡ªtoward the direction of the Sand Sea.


    Any ship that loses its sails in the Furious Ocean will be mercilessly smashed against the shore, eventually shattered helplessly over the reef-ridden shallows.


    Another terrifying bolt of lightning revealed the shape of the rotting wood and wreckage on the Shipwreck Sandbank, like a forest of white bones¡ªthese were the remains of ships, the only traces left behind by countless failures.


    Now, the only force that could prevent the [Fearless] from suffering the same fate as its predecessors was the ¡°wind¡±.


    The howling, furious wind that vowed to smash the Fearless to pieces.


    The helmsman watched the lean man and calmly repeated the order: ¡°Maintain one-third of the sails!¡±


    Maintain one-third of the sails?


    Easier said than done!


    The Fearless¡¯s capstan was long since destroyed, and the only remaining way to furl the sails was to climb the mast and operate from the top of the yardarm¡ªan act no different from suicide.


    Even the bravely selected sailors did not have the courage to climb the mast at this moment.


    Their will had already been shattered by the wrath of the sea gods; all the sailors could do, all they were still doing, was praying.


    Seeing this, the lean man cursed furiously. In one swift motion, he ripped off his shirt, tossed aside his pants, drew his knife, and bit down on it.


    Suddenly, the lean man turned around, delivered a fierce punch to the helmsman, and immediately climbed up the rigging, climbing naked toward the top of the mast.


    The helmsman spat out a mouthful of blood-stained spit, still firmly controlling the wheel.


    At this moment, on this sailing ship with forty-two sailors, only two were still fulfilling their duties: the helmsman¡ªthe captain, and the lean man¡ªthe first mate.


    If Winters Montagne had the chance to witness the heroic defiance against the gods of these two men, he would be surprised by the twist of fate.


    Because both the captain and the first mate were ¡°old acquaintances¡± of Winters.


    The lean man struggling to climb the mast was none other than the notorious pirate captain, the master of Tanilia Federation sails, who had commanded the Tanilia fleet in the lighthouse port naval battle against Rear Admiral Nalesho¡ª[Frank Drake].


    And the man gripping the helm was the one who rescued Drake at the last moment of the lighthouse port battle, also a master of Tanilia Federation sails, captain of the Phoenix¡ª[Edward Kenway].


    Nominally, the Tanilia Federation had ceased to exist.


    But the reason why these two masters of sails, these two leaders of the Tanilia Federation appeared in the Furious Ocean right now, was to fulfill an important mission entrusted by the Tanilia Federation¡ªif there really is a route leading to the Empire¡¯s Western Colonies south of the Sand Sea, find it!


    Find it!


    The storm showed no signs of weakening, and the ropes creaked under the critical stress limit.


    Finally, one tiny fiber could no longer bear the strain and snapped.


    Then the second, the third¡­ A rapid chain reaction caused one of the Fearless¡¯s main cables to be torn apart as if by a tremendous force in an instant.


    The accumulated elastic energy within the rope was suddenly released, sweeping through the curtain of rain and aimed straight for Captain Kenway.


    In a flash of lightning, Kenway miraculously dodged the fatal blow that could have shattered his skull.


    Had he let go of the steering wheel, perhaps the rope would not have had the chance to hit Kenway.


    But there were no what-ifs; Captain Kenway secured his hands on the wheel at the price of a severe lash to his left shoulder.


    Drake, witnessing this moment of crisis, lost his balance and fell from the mast.


    Ignoring the excruciating pain in all his bones, Drake struggled to his feet, grasping the safety rope and crawling toward the stern.


    ¡°Edward!¡± Drake yelled, tears streaming: ¡°You damn well better not die!¡±


    As the ship pitched violently with the waves, Drake climbed into the stern, where Edward Kenway¡¯s hands were still tightly gripped on the rudder.


    Captain Kenway¡¯s face was ashen, but his voice revealed no pain: ¡°Are the sails secured?¡±


    ¡°Secured!¡± Drake bellowed back¡ªhad he not, his voice would have been lost in the wind and storm: ¡°What next?!¡±


    ¡°Take the wheel!¡±


    The steering wheel of the Fearless was connected to the rudder via a system of pulleys and levers, transmitting the force of the rudder directly to the wheel.


    The moment Drake¡¯s hands took the wheel, he immediately felt the immense counterforce from the rudder and clenched his teeth, holding on for dear life: ¡°What next?!¡±


    Kenway crawled to the railing near the stern and tied himself securely to a wooden post with a rope.


    ¡°[Expletive]! I¡¯m going to die here with you!¡± Drake had become somewhat mad: ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t! Listen carefully to me!¡± Kenway¡¯s voice carried an extraordinary clarity that pierced through to Drake¡¯s ears.


    Not only that, Kenway seemed to be laughing: ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through! Sailing along the coast, against the wind and the waves! We¡¯ll never get through the Furious Ocean!¡±


    ¡°[Expletive]!!!¡± Drake used all his strength to fight the wheel, oblivious to Kenway¡¯s words: ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always been only one way to get through the Furious Ocean!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to die here!!!¡±


    It was as though the downpour stopped at that moment, and all the noise had vanished.


    Edward Kenway delivered the final verdict:


    ¡°Go east! Sail to the heart of the ocean! To the center of the storm! Once we break into the open sea, we can make a large detour, circling outside the Furious Sea!!!¡±


    Even the crazed Drake seemed rational in face of Kenway¡¯s wild idea, bellowing with bloodshot eyes: ¡°Do you know what the hell you¡¯re talking about? [Expletive]! For this! For this! You¡¯ve brought us here!!!¡±


    ¡°Are you in or not?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡± Drake roared and laughed like a beast: ¡°Edward Kenway, turns out you¡¯re the real mad gambler!!!¡±


    ¡°In or not?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha! Give the order, Captain!¡±


    ¡°Fearless!¡± Kenway took one last look at the coastline of the mainland: ¡°Set course southeast! At all costs! Advance! Advance!! Advance!!!¡±

 Chapter 948 - 32: The Hunt (Part 3)

    Chapter 948: Chapter 32: The Hunt (Part 3)


    Wilderness


    The vast expanse of heaven and earth, Winters rode along the hillside for a while, feeling utterly exhilarated.


    Far below the hill, a large group of antelopes was foraging.


    ¡°There, Batu,¡± Koshach pointed at the antelopes from afar: ¡°Prey.¡±


    ¡­


    For this hunting expedition, the entire assets of the tribe were deployed. Each family sent at least one able-bodied person, totaling over a hundred.


    Besides manpower, the hunters involved in the expedition also had to provide their own horses, weapons, and food.


    It is no exaggeration to say that if something unfortunate happened to Koshach¡¯s hunters on the road, the tribe would fall apart.


    Although the tribe seemed to place great importance on the hunt organized by the Red River Tribe, it was difficult to connect their actual performance with the words ¡°hunting¡± and ¡°importance.¡±


    Because the tribe¡¯s hunters neither ¡°surrounded¡± nor ¡°hunted.¡±


    Their daily activity merely consisted of following a group of antelopes at a moderate distance, moving steadily in one direction. They patiently herded, guided, and protected the prey, as if they were tending a flock of sheep.


    It would be more accurate to say that the tribe was escorting the migration of the antelope herd rather than hunting.


    However, if someone were to look down from a great height at this moment, they would see: on the vast land, hundreds of hunting teams were doing the same thing as the tribe¡¯s hunters¡ª[unwaveringly driving the wild beasts towards the ultimate hunting ground].


    In the Herder Tribes, hunting is second only in importance to warfare.


    Whenever a major hunt occurred, the leader organizing the hunt would define the hunting area in advance, command the tribes to prepare manpower, supplies, and equipment, and send elite cavalry to ascertain the location and number of the prey.


    As soon as everything was ready, the hunters would set out.


    The hunters operated as teams, independent yet coordinating seamlessly with each other.


    They spread out across the vast hunting grounds, like a loose but impenetrable net, driving the prey from all sides to a predetermined end point.


    According to Little Lion¡¯s description, the process of driving the prey could even take up to three months.


    During this period, the hunters subsisted only on the food they carried, suffering hunger without causing the slightest harm to the prey.


    Sleeping outdoors was not the toughest part; the most tormenting aspect for the hunters was the fear of the unknown.


    A hunt required precise coordination on a massive scale, and any negligence by any hunting team could lead to severe consequences.


    Other hunting teams¡¯ timely encirclement was uncertain, and all the hunters could do was to focus on the prey ahead and proceed steadily and solitarily.


    ¡­


    ¡°Leading a solitary force to a battlefield where the outcome is uncertain,¡± Winters envisioned the magnificent scene of tens of thousands of hunters working together, and exclaimed, ¡°Such a scale of military exercise, I doubt even the Alliance and the Empire have ever undertaken.¡±


    ¡°¡®Military exercise,¡¯ what is that?¡± Koshach asked bewilderedly.


    Winters smiled lightly and responded, ¡°It¡¯s a practice for war.¡±


    In the meantime, four hunters from the tribe came rushing from the direction of the antelopes, saluted Winters and Koshach, and then tiredly ran towards the camp.


    In the process of driving the prey, the hunters could neither let the prey tire to death nor stray from the course, nor allow predators to prey upon them.


    Hence, the tribe¡¯s hunting team was divided into six shifts, watching over the prey round the clock.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®an uncertain outcome,¡¯ Batu.¡± Koshach gestured earnestly, ¡°The Red River Tribe deployed many, many, many hunters. Even if some prey escapes, there will still be plenty left.¡±


    Winters understood Koshach¡¯s point: ¡°In my view, hunting is a rehearsal for war, but what you really care about is how much prey can be captured.¡±


    Koshach grinned, pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°A hunt involving so many hunters hasn¡¯t happened in a long time. Since I¡¯ve been able to draw a bow, this is the first time.¡±


    ¡°Haidong Tribe, Terdon Tribe¡­ Were there fewer hunters in the three major tribes¡¯ hunts than in this one?¡±


    Koshach shook his head: ¡°I¡¯ve never been a hunter in the three major tribes. But I guess, probably not as many.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Red River Tribe has not been strong for many years. Do the hunters of the three major tribes not outnumber those of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    Koshach struggled to organize his words: ¡°White Lion, uses many hunters from other tribes; the three major tribes, only their own hunters.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t hunting better with more hunters?¡±


    ¡°The more the merrier,¡± Koshach said seriously, ¡°but in hunting, obedience is key.¡±


    According to Koshach, it was only after suffering defeat at the Battle of the Styx Encampment that he began learning the language of the bipeds.


    In such a short time, to have learned a language to his present level is truly no small feat¡ªhowever, it is still not adequate for more complex conversations.


    Therefore, when Koshach speaks, he always spits out words one by one, and Winters often has to guess Koshach¡¯s intended meaning through his body language.


    Winters pondered and asked, ¡°Are you saying that participating in the Red River Tribe¡¯s hunt means submitting to them?¡±


    Koshach nodded emphatically.


    To this, Winters was not surprised: ¡°I fear it¡¯s not just about submission. Big fish eat little fish; it¡¯s only a matter of time. I¡¯m just curious, knowing that the Red River Tribe plans to absorb the vile lands, why do you still participate in their hunt?¡±


    ¡°It is natural,¡± Koshach stated, ¡°the vile lands are weak, the Red River Tribe is strong, we must participate.¡±


    ¡°Is the Red River Tribe forcing you to submit?¡±


    ¡°No, being eaten earlier by a big fish is better than being eaten later.¡±


    ¡°I am not asking ¡®why submit to the White Lion¡¯.¡± Winters looked intently into Koshach¡¯s eyes, ¡°I¡¯m asking¡ªare you truly willing to submit to the White Lion?¡±


    It was a dangerous question, but Koshach still answered it honestly: S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Unwilling.¡±


    ¡­


    Koshach wanted to learn about the world beyond the steppes; Winters also wanted to know what was happening in the wilderness.


    Before this, Winters primarily relied on Little Lion for inside information about the Herder tribes.


    Little Lion had provided Winters with many valuable pieces of information, even including the critical warning that ¡°the Terdon people are coming.¡±


    However, relying on Little Lion for information meant that Winters could only ever know what the White Lion wanted him to know.


    Therefore, Winters urgently needed to develop new sources of intelligence.


    But easier said than done.


    Not to mention the physical separation and the deep hostility between the Herders and the Paratu People, just finding a Herder who could speak the common tongue was as difficult as panning for gold in sand.


    Thus, Winters tolerated Koshach observing his men like a spy, answering Koshach¡¯s various questions as best as he could.


    In exchange, Koshach also had to answer Winters¡¯ questions; an unspoken agreement between them.


    ¡­


    ¡°How about the leaders of the other tribes?¡± Winters continued to inquire, ¡°Are they willing to submit?¡±


    ¡°No one is willing,¡± Koshach answered truthfully, ¡°but the White Lion divides the spoils fairly and has prestige.¡±


    Winters listened quietly.


    Koshach extended his left hand: ¡°Eaten by the three great tribes.¡±


    Koshach then extended his right hand: ¡°Eaten by the Red River Tribe.¡±


    Finally, he clenched the hand symbolizing the Red River Tribe: ¡°This way is better.¡±


    Winters nodded slightly, noncommittally.


    ¡°Or.¡± Koshach dismounted, pulling an iron arrow from his quiver and offering it with both hands to the Paratu champion: ¡°Submit to Batu.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyebrows slightly raised: ¡°The vile lands? Or you?¡±


    Koshach bowed respectfully: ¡°Me.¡±


    Winters did not accept the iron arrow; he replied frankly, ¡°You are more valuable to me in the wilderness.¡±

 Chapter 949 - 33: Hunt (Part 4)

    Chapter 949: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)


    [Twilight, somewhere in a valley on the west bank of The Styx]


    After repeatedly confirming that no one was following them, Pierre hesitantly asked, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s here?¡±


    Winters halted his horse and looked around, trying to recall the route they took to retreat after breaking through Terdun¡¯s camp. However, the wild mountains and ridges all looked similar, and he was also a bit unsure.


    If he couldn¡¯t figure it out, then rather than overthinking, Winters laughed heartily: ¡°It should be here¡­ Whatever, let¡¯s dig a few shovels first!¡±


    After a long journey, the Iron Peak County Delegation had already arrived deep in the Great Wilderness¡ªat the same time, in the heart of Red River Tribe territory¡ªthe Confluence River basin.


    The group even camped outside Bianli City last night.


    Revisiting old battlegrounds made those who had experienced the [Great Wilderness Campaign] inevitably sentimental.


    Vashka seized the opportunity to half proudly, and half regretfully, recount the Battle of Bianli to the new recruits, but he significantly boasted about Blood Wolf, and incidentally boasted about himself as well.


    As a symbol of both the White Lion¡¯s palace and the Red River Tribe, Bianli has already been rebuilt.


    The east triangular fortress that Winters personally blew up has been repaired, with only the conspicuous color difference of the old and new walls silently reminding people how fierce the siege was.


    According to Little Lion, the White Lion spends half of his time in Bianli dealing with affairs and receiving envoys.


    If the journey hadn¡¯t been delayed, Winters should also have met with the White Lion in Bianli. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the White Lion was not in the city at the moment. It was only after asking Little Lion that he found out¡ªthe main camp had left Bianli three days ago, headed for the hunting grounds.


    Learning that the main camp had already embarked, Little Lion was so anxious that he was about to cry, and he blamed Winters a bit: ¡°The departure of the main camp means the hunt is about to be enclosed, we really need to hurry or we¡¯ll miss it!¡±


    Winters fully expressed his understanding of Little Lion¡¯s anxiety.


    The next day, he took a detour.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters intentionally tricked Little Lion; he just wanted to check the gold-burying location along the way.


    In the evening, while others were busy unloading and setting up camp, Winters excused himself to go hunting, taking only Pierre and Xial with him.


    The three followed the river upstream, first finding the site of Bridgehead Fortress, then continuing to search along that night¡¯s retreat route, and finally finding this ¡°suspicious-looking¡± place.


    At the valley floor, Xial couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Such a big piece of wasteland, just relying on you, me, and Pierre, we can¡¯t finish digging by tomorrow! Should I go back and call some more people?¡±


    Winters dismounted, taking a shovel from his saddlebag: ¡°There are markers.¡±


    ¡°Markers?¡± Xial was greatly surprised: ¡°Didn¡¯t Colonel Jeska say at that time that leaving markers would lead to discovery, so we didn¡¯t leave any?¡±


    Winters and Pierre exchanged glances, the latter shrugged.


    Surveying the valley¡¯s entrances, Winters roughly deduced the route the wagon had taken: ¡°Surface markers might be exposed, so Captain Mason and I thought of a method. After hiding the gold, we buried three wooden stakes nearby¡­ They should be about half a foot under the soil layer.¡±


    Thus, the three lined up across the wagon-accessible flat valley floor, continuously turning over the soil with iron shovels.


    ¡°I wonder how Sea Blue is doing now.¡± Xial said, huffing and puffing: ¡°I also wonder how Iron Peak County is doing now.¡±


    Winters casually asked: ¡°How long have we been away from Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Almost two and a half months?¡± Xial calculated for a while, then whispered in complaint: ¡°Brother, how much longer do we have to walk?¡±


    ¡°Soon, we should catch up with the White Lion within a few days.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­ actually, many people don¡¯t understand now.¡± Xial spoke hesitantly: ¡°Why have we run thousands of miles to join the Herders¡¯ encirclement hunt?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, did not answer directly, but asked another person next to him: ¡°What do you think? Pierre.¡±


    Pierre, who was just recovering from a severe illness, had already sweated profusely after swaying the shovel for a short while. He wiped his sweat and countered, ¡°Do you want the truth or a lie?¡±


    ¡°Where did you learn this trick?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    Pierre also chuckled for a moment, and honestly answered: ¡°The last time we encountered the Red River Tribe, it was a life-and-death struggle, but this time we have become their honored guests. Honestly, I find it hard to accept.¡±


    Winters stopped his work: ¡°Do other people think the same?¡±


    ¡°Many comrades think the same,¡± Pierre said seriously: ¡°Especially those subordinates you just brought out from Jiangbei Province, who have not experienced the formation of the army in Wolf Town, they are all very puzzled.¡±


    Winters, looking at the setting sun, fell into silence.


    Every member of the delegation was personally selected by Winters. To a certain extent, they were the subordinates Winters trusted and valued the most.


    If the members of the delegation all thought this way, then the attitude of others need not be mentioned.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± Pierre actively broke the silence: ¡°Although I don¡¯t trust the Herders, I trust you. I believe that you have sufficient reasons to shake hands and make peace with the Red River Tribe. I believe others think the same as I do. So, you don¡¯t need to have any concerns.¡±


    Winters sighed: ¡°I should explain¡­¡±


    ¡°If you feel there is no need to explain,¡± Pierre said emphatically. ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to explain.¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Winters had made his consideration.


    Winters took a long breath and solemnly promised to Pierre and Xial: ¡°When the timing is right, I will explain carefully to everyone¡­ Everyone has the right to know what they are fighting for.¡±


    Pierre seemed to want to say more, but it all went back down. In the end, he only said: ¡°You just need to give the order.¡±

 Chapter 950 - 33: Hunt (Part 4)_2

    Chapter 950: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_2


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Winters slightly curled his lips: ¡°I have an order right now.¡±


    ¡°What order?¡± Xial asked, perplexed.


    ¡°Keep digging!¡±


    So, shovel by shovel, the three of them kept turning over the soil like carpeting the valley until the moon hung high.


    Just as Winters uncontrollably began to doubt his memory, he heard Xial¡¯s exclamation again: ¡°Here!¡±


    Since Xial mistook rocks for wooden stakes several times, both Winters and Pierre responded indifferently, ¡°Is it another rock?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xial, anxious, pitched his voice: ¡°Wood! It is a stake!¡±


    ¡°Let me see!¡±


    Indeed, this time it wasn¡¯t a mistake. It definitely was a stake.


    Winters stepped on the wooden stake and, using the stake as the central point and his stride as the radius, drew a circle: ¡°Dig more! There must be two more stakes within this circle.¡±


    Spurred by the good news, Xial and Pierre moved swiftly, swiftly finding the other two stakes.


    At this very moment, Winters could finally confirm that beneath his feet there was not only soil and stones but also two tons of gold.


    Xial shouted excitedly: ¡°I¡¯m going back to call for people!¡±


    Pierre couldn¡¯t hide his joy either.


    Since the gold had been found, Winters¡¯s heartbeat slowed down instead.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Xial and commanded pensively, ¡°Fill the soil back.¡±


    Xial stared in astonishment, ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t we bring the crane exactly to dig out the gold man?¡±


    Pierre was also puzzled: ¡°Most of the fit men of the Red River Tribe have gone to the hunt. If we want to dig out the gold man without attracting attention, there couldn¡¯t be a better time than now.¡±


    ¡°You guys,¡± Winters chuckled woefully, helplessly lecturing the two: ¡°Only thinking about how to dig it out! Have you considered how to take it back?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we still have the furnace and bellows?¡± Xial replied confidently, ¡°Dig it out! Melt it down! Load it and cart it away!¡±


    ¡°Once melted, it¡¯s just gold,¡± Winters explained with a smile, ¡°Before I finalize the terms with White Lion, the gold man is much more valuable than the gold.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Wasteland, hunting ground]


    The three-month-long hunting game was about to come to a grand conclusion, and even an observer like Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel stirred and excited.


    Tens of thousands of hunters scattered far and wide were now gathering in one spot, and the sparsely populated wilderness suddenly buzzed.


    All the hunting squads were doing the same thing¡ªdriving the prey into the final hunting ground.


    As the end approached, herding the beasts proved more difficult.


    The hunting squads, originally scattered, were now within each other¡¯s line of sight.


    Whenever the nearby presence of other hunting squads was noted, the Koshach¡¯s hunters would be exceptionally cautious.


    They were too close!


    The hunters needed the prey to move yet not to panic.


    Some squads hunted herd animals, while others hunted wild beasts¡ªany encounter could lead to disaster.


    The panic among prey could spread; if squads were too close, it might trigger a chain reaction collapse. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Therefore, Koshach preferred to stand still rather than walk side by side with other squads.


    Perhaps sensing an impending disaster, the antelopes bleated, wandered, reluctant to move forward.


    The Koshach¡¯s hunters had to resort to harsher tactics. All hands were on deck, ropes were pulled to surround the prey from three sides while screaming, clanging iron, and even whipping to force the antelopes to move.


    Only when Winters witnessed the finale of Red River Tribe¡¯s hunt did he truly understand the phrase Little Lion mentioned before¡ª¡±The final hunting ground was set from the start.¡±


    White Lion¡¯s chosen grand finale venue was a highland named [Qingqiu].


    Standing on Qingqiu Plateau, overlooking the vastness, all that could be seen was open plains. For miles around, only Qingqiu stood solitary.


    Atop Qingqiu, White Lion¡¯s resplendent royal tent, with blue tail flags fluttering in the wind.


    Hunters tread on thin ice as they approached Qingqiu, only stopping when the golden top of Red River Tribe¡¯s tent came into view.


    They had completed the last stretch of the hunt!


    The hunters planted stakes in their respective positions, connecting ropes between the stakes and hanging felt and Flying Feathers on top.


    The stakes, ropes, and felt formed a wall to prevent beasts from escaping; the sound of the Flying Feathers in the wind scared the beasts away.


    Hundreds of hunting squads connected their felt walls.


    Eventually, a gigantic hunting ring, with Qingqiu as the center and a radius of a sighting distance, rose from the wilderness.


    [Note: A sighting distance is about five kilometers, the farthest distance one can see]


    From The Styx in the east to Xianhai in the west, from the south to Yinshan in the north, wild beasts were driven into the final hunting ground from all eight directions in the west.


    The density of animals within the hunting ring reached unimaginable levels, the cries of herbivores incessant, the roars of carnivorous beasts one after another.


    Just as Hurd Shaman sang: ¡°Hunting the cunning beasts, I am the leader; let the beasts of the wilderness thigh to thigh; let the beasts of the cliffs belly to belly¡±.


    ¡°Look!¡± Winters pointed at Qingqiu, his eyes shining, ¡°The stage is set, now let¡¯s see if the show will be fiercely thunderous!¡±


    Anna smiled sweetly, asking, ¡°Then¡­ who are the actors?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not me,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I am here to be an audience.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 951 - 33: Hunt (Part 4)_3

    Chapter 951: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_3 S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The people following Winters on his mission to the Red River Tribe also had their eyes opened; even old Sergei, who looked down on the Herd Barbarians the most, was greatly shocked at this moment.


    ¡°Good grief!¡± Old Sergei exclaimed, his face suddenly fierce: ¡°Did some remarkable figure among these barbarians show up?! How did they manage to put up such a grand spectacle?¡±


    Witnessing the grand finale of the Red River Tribe¡¯s ultimate hunt, the older generation was utterly astonished, while the younger generation developed an unexpected sense of sour humiliation¡ªit was not their fault, as competitiveness was the nature of youth.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about making a show? Weren¡¯t they almost split by the Blood Wolf?¡± Vashka was at the age when he enjoyed talking back to his father, and he immediately seized a large banner and loudly exclaimed, ¡°Centurion, when we get back to Iron Peak County, let¡¯s also organize a hunt! A bigger one!¡±


    Upon hearing this, a chorus of approving responses came from the delegation¡¯s team.


    Old Sergei instinctively wanted to curse at his son. However, the banner Vasya raised was too big, and the old man had to swallow the swear words at the tip of his tongue, simply glaring furiously at his son.


    Winters looked around at his subordinates, seeing many of them eagerly nodding, their faces full of anticipation.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Winters said to Vashka: ¡°When the time comes, you¡¯ll be in charge of driving the game.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± Vashka failed to notice the trap in those words, and, as if he had been commended, stood proudly with his chest puffed out and his face flushed red.


    Pierre sighed softly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like hunting, do you?¡± Anna asked quietly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Winters replied, smilingly, whispering: ¡°I¡¯m tricking him.¡±


    Koshach¡¯s group was the last to arrive at the hunting ground. By the time they could see Qingqiu, the hunting circle was already completed.


    So Koshach only needed to temporarily open a gap in the felt wall so that his men could drive the game into the circle, saving some effort in building the felt wall.


    Winters could clearly see that when the game entered the circle, the tense cheeks of the Koshach¡¯s hunters all relaxed.


    ¡°Do you just have to wait for the official start of the hunt?¡± Winters asked Koshach with a smile.


    ¡°No.¡± Koshach shook his head: ¡°We need to guard the felt wall, to make sure the game doesn¡¯t break through.¡±


    But in the end, this robust Herder man still revealed a relieved and weary smile: ¡°However, the harvest is not far off.¡±


    A spirited chestnut horse came galloping, and Little Lion shouted excitedly from a distance, ¡°Montaigne! You finally caught up!¡±


    Three days ago, Little Lion, upset with Winters for deliberately taking a detour, went to the hunting ground by himself. The two are now meeting again after a short separation.


    ¡°Until we meet again.¡± Winters looked at Koshach and extended his hand.


    Koshach hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand too.


    The two men gazed at each other, their palms touched and released.


    ¡­


    ¡°If someone asks, just say you¡¯re from Paratu¡¯s merchant caravan.¡± Little Lion walked ahead, leading the way, constantly looking back to explain, ¡°It¡¯s not that the Red River Tribe can¡¯t protect you¡­ it¡¯s that there are too many miscellaneous tribes, and I¡¯m afraid some may harbor ill-intentions¡­¡±


    Not only hunters from various tribes but also ordinary members of the Red River Tribe, as well as leaders and envoys from other tribes, participated in the final ¡°hunting shoot.¡±


    Felt tents belonging to the Herders were scattered all around the hunting ground, and Winters and company felt very out of place as they walked among them.


    Therefore, White Lion and Little Lion specifically prepared a separate campsite for Winters.


    ¡°¡­ Also, it would be better not to let your people wander around carelessly.¡± Little Lion advised with embarrassment, ¡°If you need anything, just tell me, and the Red River Tribe can possibly provide it to you.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize, safety first. The arrangements by the Red River Tribe are already good enough,¡± Winters reassured Little Lion by patting his shoulder: ¡°However¡­ for water, we¡¯ll need to fetch it ourselves, so we¡¯ll still need to leave the camp a few times.¡±


    Little Lion smiled: ¡°My brother specifically instructed me to arrange for you a campsite near a water source. There, it¡¯s just ahead.¡±


    Following the direction pointed out by Little Lion: twelve small felt tents were clustered around a larger one. A total of thirteen felt tents were neatly located on a small hill near a stream.


    Even by Winters¡¯ standards, the campsite¡¯s location had no obvious flaws. Close to a stream for easy water access and elevated ground to prevent outsiders from peering in.


    As for the terrain not being defensible enough¡­ around Qingqiu were plains, and there were no natural defenses to begin with.


    Moreover, with Winters¡¯ group surrounded by tens of thousands of Herders, if something really happened, no ¡°defensible position¡± would be of any use.


    Looking at the thirteen felt tents, Winters¡¯ heart uncontrollably trembled slightly. He caught hold of Little Lion, ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    Little Lion looked puzzled and asked in return: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What do you want to ask?¡±


    Winters was silent for a long time, finally shaking his head and saying with a smile, ¡°Nothing¡­ when can I see White Lion?¡±


    ¡°Now is fine,¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°But don¡¯t you need to rest first?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Winters took a deep breath: ¡°The sooner I see White Lion, the better.¡±


    ¡­


    [Iron Peak County Delegation¡¯s Campsite]


    Since the host had generously provided accommodation, there was no need for the guests to pitch tents. After all, the thick, spacious felt tents were much more comfortable than marching tents.


    While others were busy unloading carts and lighting fires, Anna curiously walked into the largest felt tent at the center of the camp.


    The ground inside the felt tent was covered with soft fur leather, and sheer curtains divided the spacious interior into left, middle, and right sections.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 952 - 33: Hunt (Part 4)_4

    Chapter 952: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_4


    In the center of the yurt stood a half-man-high iron stove, on top of which a cooking pot was placed, and the gentle crackling of burning wood continuously came from the stove.


    Thanks to this heat-giving iron stove, the inside and outside of the yurt were simply two different worlds.


    Outside was the deep winter of the cold wilderness, howling winds; inside was a warm, blissful paradise.


    Touching the fur laid out on the ground, Anna quickly took off her heavy boots, stood barefoot, and carefully stepped onto it.


    The soft sensation under her toes made her unconsciously let out a gentle sigh.


    The stew pot was bubbling with ¡°gurgle gurgle¡± sounds; Anna carefully lifted the lid, and the aroma of lamb meat rose with the steam, diffusing in all directions.


    Anna instinctively stepped back and turned her head because of the wall of hot steam.


    The next moment, Anna could hardly believe her eyes.


    Because she saw a bathtub.


    A wooden bathtub large enough to accommodate an adult.


    Anna took a deep breath, exhaled, inhaled, and after adjusting her mindset, she walked towards the bathtub, praying.


    It was as if the gods had heard her prayers¡ªthe bathtub was considerately filled with water.


    Anna touched the surface of the water¡ªand it was also pleasantly warm.


    A sense of happiness she had never felt before surged into Anna¡¯s heart; she could hardly contain her impulse to cheer and jump for joy.


    Carefully scooping up a handful of warm water, Anna sat dumbly for a moment, and for some reason, she suddenly started to sob softly.


    But she quickly stopped the tears, wiped her eyes, and regained her usual demeanor.


    She sat next to the bathtub, propping her cheeks with her hands, gazing at the water surface, contemplating how to use this precious warm water.


    After a moment of thought, Anna shook her head slightly with a blush on her cheeks, felt the water temperature one last time, stood up, and prepared to see what else was set up on the other side of the yurt.


    As she was leaving, Anna caught a glimpse of a neatly laid out set of clothes on the square table beside the bathtub.


    Anna picked up the clothes¡ªit was a very clean set of hunting gear.


    ¡­


    [In the center of Qingqiu, the Palace Tent Complex of the Red River Tribe]


    From a distance, only one splendidly ornate palace tent could be seen on Qingqiu.


    In reality, there were more than just one tent; the palace was a temporary complex composed of more than a dozen yurts of varying sizes.


    Accompanied by Little Lion, Winters entered the palace tent complex of the Red River Tribe without any checks.


    The members of the Red River Tribe were making final preparations for tomorrow¡¯s hunt, checking horses, testing bows, sharpening arrows¡­Warriors with various colored feathers scurried about; servants dashed out of one yurt and into another in a panic.


    Winters observed the bustling scene of the Red River Tribe with interest as he followed Little Lion towards the most lavish and largest of the palace tents.


    Suddenly, without any warning, Winters stopped in his tracks.


    He turned to look behind him¡ªthere was nothing; he then scanned his surroundings¡ªstill nothing.


    He continued walking forward.


    Inside an inconspicuous tent ten steps away, Erhulan¡¯s heart was nearly bursting from her chest.


    An aged crone next to Erhulan asked hoarsely in Herde Language: ¡°Is that him?¡±


    The old woman was so aged that her years were indiscernible; her teeth were almost all gone, and her face was crisscrossed with wrinkles like ravines carved by the wind. Her hair and clothing were adorned with various animal bones, encompassing all kinds of creatures.


    What was downright chilling were the crone¡¯s eye sockets¡ªwhat used to be there was gouged out alive, leaving behind two empty, dark, bottomless abysses.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him,¡± Erhulan hugged the old woman, crying in pain, ¡°What should I do? Old mother¡­¡±


    The old woman hugged Erhulan back, her dry hands gently patting Erhulan¡¯s back.


    With the old woman¡¯s consolation, Erhulan¡¯s crying gradually subsided.


    Through the thick yurt, the old woman fixated her gaze on Winters¡¯ back.


    There was clearly nothing left in her eye sockets, yet she strained to straighten her back, panting heavily, staring fixedly at Winters until he was far away.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen through the mist to White Lion¡¯s future, and for that future, I returned the name of White Lion to him,¡± the old woman muttered in a hoarse voice, ¡°But I can¡¯t see that man¡¯s future, nothing at all¡­ I can only smell the scent of fire, blood, and tears¡­ they all cling to him¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Little Lion lifted the curtain decorated with gold and silver, and Winters stepped into the palace tent of the Red River Tribe.


    White Lion stood up and nodded in acknowledgement.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com


    S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 953 - 34: Hunt (Five)

    Chapter 953: Chapter 34: Hunt (Five)


    It is unknown whether the Little Lion forgot to report or did it deliberately. When Winters crossed the tent curtain, there were many nobles from the Red River Tribe seated inside besides the White Lion.


    The nobles from the Red River Tribe who remembered Champion Paratu were either angry or surprised, but seeing the White Lion stand up and take the initiative to greet, they restrained themselves and did not make any excessive moves.


    The new elites of the Red River Tribe, who did not recognize Champion Paratu, whispered to those beside them for a bit, and their gazes towards Winters were somewhat complex.


    Winters had not expected to make his entrance in this manner, nor had he expected the White Lion to adopt such an equal stance.


    In response to a peach with a plum, Winters removed his hat and placed it on his chest, returning the greeting seriously.


    With a signal from the White Lion, the nobles of the Red River Tribe tactfully withdrew, and even the guards stepped back. Only Winters and White Lion remained in the tent, with Little Lion standing guard outside. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the others left, the body language of the White Lion visibly relaxed a great deal.


    He propped his back and slowly sat down on a legless chair, gesturing for Winters to also take a seat.


    As soon as he began the conversation, the White Lion casually asked a difficult question, ¡°Have you met Erhulan?¡±


    Winters stiffened instantly.


    He had come to negotiate with White Lion with an extremely serious attitude, and faced with White Lion¡¯s unexpected question, he did not know how to respond.


    Moreover, he could not immediately ascertain whether this was a negotiation strategy from the White Lion or merely a casual inquiry.


    Amidst his tumultuous thoughts, Winters subtly shook his head, ¡°Is she also in Qingqiu?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± White Lion answered calmly, ¡°This is the safest place.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Then there was a few seconds of silence, as White Lion seemed to be waiting.


    Taking a deep breath, Winters looked straight into White Lion¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Can we do business now?¡±


    White Lion imperceptibly sighed lightly and replied seriously, ¡°Not yet¡­ but at least we can talk now.¡±


    Winters reviewed his chips in his heart one last time; only three things were worth putting on the negotiating table: gold, trade routes, and iron mines. Everything else was just icing on the cake, dispensable.


    And there was only one thing he wanted¡ªpeople.


    Winters did not rashly speak, and while he was still considering which card to play first, White Lion picked up a scroll from the table and handed it directly to him.


    Although puzzled, Winters politely accepted the scroll.


    He slowly unrolled the scroll, unfamiliar names, ages, and military ranks flowed out one by one.


    A list, a list of captives.


    ¡°All the captives that could be found are on this,¡± White Lion¡¯s rich, magnetic voice spoke, ¡°There are still others in the hands of Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe, for now, there is no way.¡±


    Winters put away the scroll and asked calmly, ¡°Are they also in Qingqiu now?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Where then?¡±


    White Lion smiled slightly, ¡°They should be close to Iron Peak County by now. Don¡¯t worry, they are escorted.¡±


    Winters held the scroll, falling into silence.


    After a while, he earnestly asked White Lion, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± White Lion nodded gently, ¡°You are a guest; please consider this as a gift.¡±


    Winters, persistent, asked further, ¡°What should I give you in return?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already received your gift in advance,¡± White Lion spoke amicably, ¡°On the grassland, exchanging gifts signifies friendship. If you don¡¯t wish to accept the friendship, you can also consider it as compensation.¡±


    Another bout of silence.


    ¡°Terdun Tribe¡¯s ritual golden figurine is in my hands.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± White Lion replied nonchalantly, ¡°You¡¯ve already told me, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I can give it to you.¡±


    White Lion laughed heartily, clapping his hands. He looked at Winters as if admiring a proud young horse: ¡°At that time, Dexe Zen thought I wanted to recruit you, so he said you are a conflagration that burns all things, bringing disaster if kept close, and advised me to let you return to Paratu. In fact, Dexe Zen was mistaken, from the first glance, I knew you would never submit.¡±


    Hearing White Lion mentioning the old priest¡¯s tone, Winters felt uncomfortable, so he did not continue the conversation.


    Patiently, White Lion asked Winters, ¡°Do you think the ritual golden figurine is very important to me?¡±


    Winters still did not speak.


    ¡°The ritual golden figurine is not important,¡± White Lion¡¯s eyes twinkling with amusement, he asked and answered himself, ¡°Not having the ritual golden figurine¡ªis very important to me.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Iron Peak County delegation campsite, Winters¡¯s felt tent]


    The diameter of the wooden bathtub was less than one meter, forcing Winters to bathe in a cramped, knees-hugging posture.


    While washing Winters¡¯s hair, Anna felt his mood was somewhat depressed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna asked softly, ¡°You seem a bit down since you returned.¡±


    Winters replied instinctively, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Anna hugged him from behind around his neck, ¡°You can talk to me.¡±


    Out of pride, Winters initially wanted to respond with ¡°it¡¯s nothing,¡± but then he remembered Anna had said, ¡°I want to understand you more.¡±


    Winters self-deprecatingly said, ¡°You¡¯ll laugh at me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think that way!¡± Anna nipped his ear gently.


    Thus, Winters, enduring the discomfort, told Anna everything about the captives, White Lion, and the happenings inside the Red River Tribe¡¯s royal tent.


    During his recounting, Winters continued facing away from Anna, neither needing to see nor able to see Anna¡¯s expression.


    While listening, Anna did not pass any judgement, just quietly hugged Winters.


    After hearing it all, Anna asked puzzled, ¡°Hasn¡¯t your goal been achieved? Why be unhappy then?¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 954 - 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_2

    Chapter 954: Chapter 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_2


    ¡°The goal might have been achieved,¡± Winters said pensively, his feelings resembling those of a chess player who¡¯s been led step by step to a winning game, ¡°but I¡­ I always feel like I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Anna, playing with Winters¡¯ hair, burst out laughing, ¡°Is it that competitive male pride again? Like a puppy scrambling for a bone, not satisfied with just its own, needing to snatch the other¡¯s to be happy.¡±


    Winters wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t think of a way, so he sulkily defended himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t let the White Lion steal my bone! And I¡¯m not upset about the bone.¡±


    ¡°There, there, I believe that no one could beat you when it comes to snatching bones,¡± Anna continued, rinsing his hair, ¡°And I believe that even though you think you¡¯ve lost now, one day you¡¯ll surpass him. So¡­what are you unhappy about?¡±


    Winters¡¯ mood plummeted again and he muttered, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Anna, sensing the change in Winters, encouraged him, ¡°But you saved your comrades, didn¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t that a reason to be happy?¡±


    Hearing Anna¡¯s praise, Winters felt a need to clarify, ¡°If the White Lion didn¡¯t lie, then ¡®those who fell into the hands of the Red River Tribe¡¯ and ¡®those the Red River Tribe could buy¡¯ have already left the wasteland. Others are slaves in other tribes that deeply oppose the Red River Tribe, and even the White Lion is helpless, though he promised to help redeem them as much as possible. That¡¯s pretty much the situation¡­¡±


    The more Winters explained, the quieter Anna became, until she finally stopped speaking or moving altogether.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Anna asked with a mixture of pity, ¡°Why do you intentionally belittle yourself? You deliberately avoid the word ¡®save¡¯ and the word ¡®comrades¡¯¡ªyou¡¯re purposely distancing yourself from those you¡¯ve rescued.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not intentionally avoiding them,¡± Winters struggled to explain, ¡°The term ¡®save¡¯ is too severe, and as for ¡®comrades¡¯¡­¡±


    He paused, exhaling wearily, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m still one of their comrades.¡±


    ¡°You did a good thing.¡± Anna kissed his cheek, ¡°And you did it better than many people. Many more powerful people did nothing. Many who should¡¯ve taken responsibility did nothing. When you tried to do something, you were more honorable than all of them.¡±


    Winters turned to face Anna, ¡°You are really kind.¡±


    Anna feigned anger, ¡°You only realize that now?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not as good as you think,¡± Winters said calmly, his eyes filled with pain, ¡°Do you really want to understand me?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Anna felt a twinge of unease, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Winters took a deep breath, gathering immense courage, for the first time voicing the most hidden, dark thoughts of his deepest self, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not noble at all.¡±


    ¡°Today at the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace tent, I realized a fact when I saw that list¡ªthere wasn¡¯t a single person on there that I know, they probably don¡¯t know me either.


    It was at that moment, I suddenly couldn¡¯t understand why I should ¡®save¡¯ them? Save a bunch of strangers?


    I would save my subordinates because I have an emotional bond with them. They entrust their lives to me, and I must fulfill my responsibility.


    But the others? They don¡¯t know me, and I don¡¯t know them. Why should I save them?


    Just because we fought in the same army? Ha, that¡¯s hardly a sufficient reason.


    So, I can¡¯t help but doubt, am I really ¡®saving¡¯ them? Am I really doing it to ¡®save¡¯ them?


    Or is it to use them? To sweeten them up so they¡¯d owe me their lives, and then use them for revenge against those who owe me.


    Or maybe it¡¯s for self-gratification? To satisfy my vanity of wanting to be a savior? To satisfy my desire to be thanked, to be admired, to be praised?


    Or even possibly a spur of the moment? Just doing it because it felt right at the time?


    Ha ha, who knows?


    You say I am more noble than many, but when I scour my heart, I can¡¯t find any noble motives, only selfishness, baseness, and cruelty¡­¡±


    Winters let out all the built-up frustration in his chest, vented without holding back, even shocking himself with his recklessness.


    ¡°What will Anna think after hearing this? Will she detest me?¡± Every time he thought about this, it felt as though a sword was piercing his heart.


    How could someone not feel disgust after seeing another person¡¯s darkest side?


    But there was some sort of self-destructive urge driving him to keep going.


    He was like a self-harmer, cruelly flaying himself open, prying apart his ribs, and extracting the dirtiest part to show the other person, telling them: ¡°Look, this is who I am, are you disappointed?¡±


    When Winters eventually fell silent, Anna¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You said you wanted to understand me.¡± Winters asked softly, ¡°Do you understand me now?¡±


    ¡°I understand you, but you don¡¯t understand yourself,¡± Anna said, her eyes red, insistently, ¡°You saved them because you are kind-hearted.¡±


    Winters let out a deep sigh and gently rubbed Anna¡¯s cheek, ¡°Your sister was right, you really are a fool blinded by love.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 955 - 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_3

    Chapter 955: Chapter 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_3


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t talk yet, listen to me.¡± Anna spoke in an indisputable and irrefutable tone. She took Winters¡¯ hand and held it tightly, very tightly: ¡°When I was seven years old, during the winter, my mother would traditionally take me to the shop. On our way home, outside the city, we encountered a beggar who was nearly frozen to death. My mother didn¡¯t have any money with her, nor did the coachman, so she took off her earrings and gave them to the beggar.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Navarre is very kind.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Anna looked at Winters with a complex expression: ¡°It was only later that my mother found out that the beggar had frozen to death on the way to pawn the earrings.¡±


    Winters could tell, even after so many years, this incident still troubled Anna greatly. He silently squeezed her hand.


    ¡°I asked my mother if we had taken the beggar home, would he have not frozen to death.¡± Anna spoke rapidly, her eyes brimming with tears: ¡°My mother said ¡®yes, but bringing a stranger home could have put our family in danger.''¡±


    Winters wiped away Anna¡¯s tears: ¡°Actually, Mrs. Navarre made a valid point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to tell you ¡®my mother is right¡¯!¡± Anna revealed her true feelings: ¡°I want to tell you that my mother is the most cold-hearted, merciless merchant in Sea Blue and even in Vineta! Yet even she, hesitated not a bit to take off her earrings and give them to a strange beggar. Even she has a side of kindness and compassion.


    Because kindness and mercy are human nature, God also put kindness and mercy into our bodies when He created man in His image. If everyone was devoid of kindness, the world would not be as it is today. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But when kindness and reason conflict, one always has to make a choice! My mother always listens to reason, so she would give her earrings to a stranger, but not bring a stranger home.


    And you? You are the person who, after much consideration, still brings the beggar home, yet your reason cannot accept this action, so you must invent a sufficient reason ¡ª a selfish reason. ¡®I saved him because I want to use him¡¯, ¡®I saved him because I like that he is grateful to me¡¯. It¡¯s because selfish reasons can convince reason.¡±


    ¡°My dear, don¡¯t you understand?¡± Anna said tearfully, ¡°You don¡¯t think you¡¯re kind, because reason tells you kindness is a flaw, indicating weakness. So you despise kindness, hate kindness, blame kindness.¡±


    Anna stepped into the bathtub, hugging Winters tightly: ¡°But you are wrong, dear. Kindness is a precious quality. Especially kindness that chooses to remain after going through hardships, pain, and betrayal. You save your comrades because of this. Your companions trust you, follow you, fight for you, die for you, because of this. Nobility is not motivation, nobility is the result, just like kindness.¡±


    ¡°Do not despise yourself.¡± She gently touched the scars on Winters¡¯ forehead: ¡°No matter what, I will stand by you.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Shortly after, the bath ended.


    Anna brought Winters some clothes to change into: ¡°Put these on after a while.¡±


    Looking at the new hunting outfit Anna brought, an ominous premonition surged in Winters¡¯ heart, and he carefully said: ¡°I don¡¯t think I own this article of clothing¡­ Was there a mix-up with my luggage when unloading?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your size.¡± Anna smiled beautifully, yet her tone left no room for refusal: ¡°Just wear it.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 956 - 35: The Hunt (Six)

    Chapter 956: Chapter 35: The Hunt (Six)


    The new hunting attire with narrow sleeves and a short jacket, silver-bottomed with red edges, was finely crafted and used quality materials, but Winters found it a bit ill-fitting when he put it on.


    Perhaps because the tailor hoped that the wearer would eat well, sleep well, and gain some weight, the hunting attire was made a bit too loose.


    However, Winters hadn¡¯t been eating or sleeping well for quite a long time. So compared to when he had just returned from the Great Wilderness, he had actually lost more weight.


    ¡°Hm.¡± Anna looked at Winters with puzzlement, standing close at one moment and far away the next, even circling around Winters several times.


    Finally, Anna came to a conclusion and asked with a light smile, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve become a little more ¡®handsome¡¯ since we first met?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t take it seriously since, in Sea Blue, his counterparts were peers dressed up like beautiful butterflies; whereas in Paratu, most of the men around him were rough and unrefined.


    ¡°Just a little bit?¡± Winters tugged at the hem of his clothes and jokingly countered, ¡°What about compared to Colonel Moritz?¡±


    Anna carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on Winters¡¯ shoulder, half teasing, half defiantly, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have your aura.¡±


    ¡°¡­Thank you.¡±


    Anna returned to the inner chamber and soon came out again, holding a ¡°folding board¡± with excitement.


    Seeing the board in Anna¡¯s arms, Winters immediately guessed what Lady Navarre intended to do.


    Winters took four or five steps back, knocking over several items, ¡°Next time! Is next time okay? Give me a little more time, at least let me know in advance so I can prepare mentally!¡±


    ¡°Next time? You¡¯ve only modeled for me once, and that was in Sea Blue!¡± Anna was already in the zone, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, turn your head a little; put your right hand inside your pocket, and don¡¯t move. Hm, the light is a bit dim. Can we open the skylight?¡±


    ¡­


    To allow Anna to record her inspiration any time and anywhere, Winters personally crafted a set of portable drawing tools modeled after the structure of atlas collections.


    Although the issue with paints wasn¡¯t resolved, Anna treasured them and couldn¡¯t put them down.


    Trudging along the way and recording their journey, Winters¡¯ mailbox was filled with Anna¡¯s drawings: the starry sky, the cold and silent wilderness, antelopes leaping high, the profile of a warrior staring at the campfire¡­


    The people involved¡ªincluding Anna herself¡ªhad not yet realized that they were creating history.


    When Anna faced the rising sun, fully engrossed in outlining the contours of the land, Anna Navarre became the first recorded painter to enter the Great Wilderness for inspiration and left behind her artwork.


    ¡­


    Suddenly, it became very lively outside the felt tent, with people shouting and laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out!¡± Seeing a golden opportunity, Winters dashed out of the tent and deliberately asked loudly, ¡°Who¡¯s making noise?¡±


    Of course, it was Little Lion.


    Upon discovering that Winters had made an effort to bathe and change his clothes, Little Lion was elated, ¡°Did you already know?¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡± Winters was clueless.


    Before Little Lion could explain, Vashka dragged someone right in front of Winters.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Vashka¡¯s joy was overflowing as he shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Look who¡¯s back!¡±


    When Winters finally recognized the face of the person Vashka was pulling, he was equally surprised, ¡°Bell?!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bell grinned, tears swirling in his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Why the tears?¡± Winters hugged the young hunter tightly and ruffled his hair with emotion, ¡°You¡¯ve grown too much! I almost didn¡¯t recognize you! How¡¯s the little guy?¡±


    After the Great Wilderness campaign, Brother Reed, Bell, and Xial planned to retrieve Winters¡¯ body, but they ended up reuniting with a still-living Winters instead. When Winters returned to Paratu, Bell chose to remain in the wilderness to continue studying how to become a [Beast Spirit Speaker] with the great Shaman.


    Compared to when they had parted, Bell had grown at least an inch taller now. He was not only nearing Winters¡¯ height, but his physique was visibly more robust. Although he had not completely shed the immaturity of his youth, he was no longer the ¡°little hunter,¡± but a genuine ¡°Hunter.¡±


    ¡°The little guy is at the northern camp. I didn¡¯t dare bring him over, afraid of startling the horses,¡± Bell reported the good news quickly through his tears, ¡°You¡¯ll definitely be surprised! The little guy is now a big guy! When he stands up, he¡¯s taller than a horse¡­¡±


    Since Winters did not allow Bell to name the young lion, the club had simply called him ¡°little guy.¡± As time passed, the young lion unexpectedly came to recognize ¡°little guy¡± as his name, to everyone¡¯s surprise.


    Others in the camp, hearing the commotion, also gathered around one by one.


    Pierre saw Bell and rushed over for a bear hug; the two were both crying and laughing.


    Old soldiers who had fought in the Great Wilderness campaign also came forward to embrace Bell¡ªBell had been Winters¡¯ messenger, and there wasn¡¯t an old subordinate of Winters who didn¡¯t know the young hunter.


    Comrades who had faced life and death together were now reunited, and everyone had thousands of words they wanted to say to each other. In the end, they just shook each other¡¯s hands and silently patted each other¡¯s shoulders.


    Even old Sergei, who considered himself to have a heart of stone, witnessing this scene, cursed and walked off to a secluded spot, secretly wiping his eyes.


    ¡°I won¡¯t disturb your reunion,¡± Little Lion said, feeling a bit uncomfortable as an outsider and giving a few words of instruction before attempting to leave, ¡°Montaigne, I¡¯ll come find you tomorrow; remember to prepare in advance.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters hurriedly stopped Little Lion, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be? Of course, it¡¯s tomorrow¡¯s hunt!¡± Little Lion looked Winters up and down in his hunting gear, surprised, and asked: ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Then why did you get ready so formally in advance?¡±


    The camp was in disarray, so Winters pulled Little Lion into the tent.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Winters said bluntly. ¡°So I hope you can explain it from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone tell you? My elder brother wants to invite you to join tomorrow¡¯s hunt,¡± Little Lion said with a laugh and a cry: ¡°Seeing how you¡¯re dressed, I thought you already knew!¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯ brows furrowed slightly: ¡°A hunt by the Red River Tribe, can an outsider like me participate?¡±


    ¡°If I have to say, normally only members of the tribe join the hunt. But why is it ¡®the Red River Tribe¡¯s¡¯ hunt?¡± Little Lion said with ease: ¡°You are an honored guest of the Red River Tribe. When White Lion issues an invitation, others have no say to disagree.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°The situation is like this.¡± Winters gathered his subordinates and explained briefly: ¡°The Red River Tribe has invited us to join tomorrow¡¯s hunt.¡±


    The temporary meeting place became silent, everyone was somewhat surprised.


    Vashka, who always spoke his mind, asked in disbelief: ¡°Does that mean¡­ we can enter that hunting circle?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Old Sergei quickly made his son shut up and covered for Winters: ¡°The barbarians are inviting the Civil Guard Officer! Not us. How could they allow us to go in?¡±


    ¡­


    In reality, at the time when Little Lion came to invite Winters, the Iron Peak County Delegation was packing up, preparing to go home.


    Winters came to the Red River Tribe expecting difficult negotiations, only for the most important goal of the trip (exchange of prisoners) to be achieved smoothly in an unexpected manner.


    The remaining two minor goals: the trade route and the iron mine, were assigned to two Archery Officers by White Lion.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Archery Officers were enthusiastic about the trade route, but only showed lukewarm interest in the potential iron mines. They promised to provide Winters with ore samples, politely declining Winters¡¯ offer for ¡°on-site exploration help.¡±


    Since the goals were accomplished, Winters had no intention of staying longer ¡ª he was eager to dig for gold.


    A few days ago, when digging for gold, Winters had nearly turned that valley upside down. The nights are long and filled with dreams; who knows if any Herders might by chance discover the newly-disturbed soil hiding the gold? Sooner it is unearthed, the safer it is.


    Thus, as soon as he returned to the camp from Qiuqiu, Winters told his subordinates, ¡°Rest well tonight, we set out tomorrow.¡±


    Some of the quicker delegation members had to pack the things they had just unloaded from the carriages back in, while Little Lion arrived while they were busy.


    ¡­


    ¡°Then, do you want to participate?¡± Pierre asked calmly.


    Winters looked towards the direction of Qiuqiu.


    As dusk fell, the hunters guarding the felt walls lit torches. Winters couldn¡¯t see the scene inside the hunt circle, but the rising and falling wails of the beasts grew clearer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to participate,¡± Winters answered.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Vashka sounded disappointed, and the others could hardly hide their disappointment.


    It seemed a pity to miss out on such a magnificent event, to only observe and not to participate, leaving everyone feeling a bit empty inside.


    Seeing the heartbroken look in his subordinates¡¯ eyes, Winters sighed: ¡°If you guys want to join, then I¡¯ll accept Little Lion¡¯s invitation. According to him, if I enter the hunting ground, you can join as my guards.¡±


    The members of the delegation suddenly revived, their faces flushed with excitement, breathing more rapidly.


    Vashka became stuttering in his speech: ¡°Really really real¡­ really?¡±


    Old Sergei could no longer maintain his lesson to his son, and although he was trying to maintain formalities, Old Dusack could no longer suppress his excitement: ¡°Can we really join? Sir?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Winters said with a carefree smile, yet with a touch of regret: ¡°We probably won¡¯t have the chance to see such a spectacular hunt again in the future. If you want to have some fun¡­ go have fun. Just remember, we are outsiders and should not cause conflict with the Red River hunters.¡±


    Everyone cheered with joy.


    ¡°Can only bows be used? Are firearms allowed?¡± Vashka asked excitedly: ¡°What should I do if I can¡¯t use a bow and arrow¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, a veteran from Wolf Town seized the moment to begin telling the story of ¡°Blood Wolf Hunting the Bear¡± in the crowd.


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Old Sergei scolded.


    ¡°Why do you say it¡¯s nonsense?¡± the storyteller took offense.


    ¡°When Civil Guard Officer Montaigne hunted a bear, I was right there! How do I not remember you being there?¡± Old Sergei boasted with pride: ¡°Let me tell you all, it actually went like this¡­¡±


    Amidst the noisy recollection, anticipation, and joking, Winters quietly left the temporary meeting area.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rare opportunity.¡± Anna caught up to him from behind, holding onto Winters¡¯ arm, and asked softly: ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too lazy,¡± Winters replied with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t like hunting.¡±


    The night grew deeper, Qiuqiu disappeared into the darkness, and the carefully prepared stage of the Red River Tribe was about to witness the final performance.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 957 - 36: The Hunt (7)

    Chapter 957: Chapter 36: The Hunt (7)


    Before dawn, everyone had already begun preparing.


    Near the hunting ring, there were no longer herds of grazing horses; all the horses were busily chewing their supplemented feed. The hunters carefully inspected their bows and arrows, sharpening the arrowheads repeatedly.


    As the first rays of sunlight touched the green hills, groups of hunters from various tribes streamed out of their camps, spontaneously gathering toward the hunting grounds.


    The sound of hooves thundered, dust clouds overshadowed the sun, hunting dogs barked furiously, and warhorses neighed loudly.


    ¡°Lady Navarre, please refrain from taking any dangerous actions,¡± Colonel Moritz politely expressed his concern. ¡°You weren¡¯t frightened, were you?¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Anna replied with a smile. She wasn¡¯t scared, just a bit disappointed.


    Listening to the rolling thunder of hooves, Anna felt as though she could see a spectacular scene of ten thousand horses galloping like a giant wave.


    However, as part of that giant wave, even standing on horseback, Anna could only see a dozen horse butts ahead of her and ended up with a mouthful of dust.


    Regrettably, the only nearby place that offered an overview of everything was the green hill, but not everyone could go up there.


    At this moment, members of the County Delegation had already changed into herder attire, and without speaking, they were almost indistinguishable from the Herders.


    Since the Iron Peak County Delegation was acquainted with the Evil Soil Tribe, Little Lion arranged for hunters from the Evil Soil Tribe to accompany the Iron Peak County group for the hunt.


    Everyone followed the Evil Soil Tribe¡¯s riders and finally stopped outside the felt wall of the hunting circle, waiting for the command.


    Over a hundred tribes and nearly thirty thousand hunters were quickly scattered across the hunting circle that spanned [two Mu of land].


    [Note: Two Mu of land is approximately ten kilometers]


    The hunting circle delineated by the Red River Tribe was so vast that even if all the hunters stood next to the felt wall, they would have to take at least two steps to reach the next person on average; thus, none of the Iron Peak County group felt cramped.


    The sun had fully risen, and the clusters of royal tents above the green hill became clearly visible, as did the groups of prey.


    Members of the delegation who registered for the hunt were both nervous and eager.


    Except for Father Caman, the blacksmith Berlion, and a few who preferred quiet, the rest signed up, not wanting to miss this rare grand event.


    Old Sergei voluntarily took on the sergeant¡¯s responsibilities. While helping others check their gear, he repeatedly instructed, ¡°Listen up, pups! This is barbarian territory! Absolutely no conflicts with the barbarians! And do not reveal your identity¡­¡±


    ¡°When does it start?¡± Vashka, parched and repetitive, muttered, ¡°When will it be our turn?¡±


    Koshach, leading a horse by, heard Vashka¡¯s words and replied in a muted voice, ¡°It starts soon. Your turn, our turn, much later. Dismount first, rest.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Vashka widened his eyes.


    Koshach furrowed his brow, took out an arrow, and drew a series of circles from large to small on the ground.


    Pointing to the largest circle first, he said, ¡°Khan.¡± Then he pointed to the middle and smaller circles in turn: ¡°Leaders, you and me.¡±


    Koshach stared into Vashka¡¯s eyes and said solemnly, ¡°One by one, no chaos. Small ones before big ones will lead to bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Vashka was somewhat confused.


    ¡°He means that hunting has to take turns, and those with higher status go first. It will probably be late before it¡¯s our turn,¡± Pierre stepped up to the group and loudly ordered, ¡°Everyone! Dismount and rest!¡±


    Vashka obediently dismounted, and the others also followed Pierre¡¯s command.


    Although theoretically, Colonel Moritz held the highest rank on site, during this return period, Pierre had regained his position as the deputy of Blood Wolf¡ªby taking on a lot of work and subtly instilling this.


    Moritz did not care about how Mr. Mitchell established his authority. He was rather happy to be free of issuing orders if someone else was willing to do it.


    He slowly dismounted and looked around¡ªthere wasn¡¯t even a stone to rest his legs.


    Moritz wasn¡¯t picky; he sat down next to the felt wall and casually pulled out a small flask from his pocket.


    Just as he was uncorking it, Lady Navarre¡¯s gentle voice came from in front of him: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to participate in the hunt?¡±


    Anna, leading a horse, curiously looked at the colonel.


    Moritz took a sip from his horse milk liquor, not lifting his eyelids as he replied, ¡°Because Winters asked me to protect you.¡±


    ¡°Protection can rotate, but a grand hunting expedition comes only once. Aren¡¯t you really going to join?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like hunting.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Anna persisted.


    Moritz caught the question lightly: ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Because Mr. Montaigne also doesn¡¯t like hunting, but he refuses to say why,¡± Anna earnestly requested. ¡°He respects you greatly, so I want to know your answer.¡±


    Moritz sighed: ¡°I only know my own thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Please, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well, Lady Navarre, first tell me what hunting is.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Assume that hunting is physical labor,¡± Moritz spread his hands, ¡°then my reason for not liking hunting is simple¡ªI am too lazy to move.¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna sensitively realized that the colonel hadn¡¯t finished speaking: ¡°Is there another assumption?¡±


    Moritz smiled slightly, sitting up a bit: ¡°Yes. Another assumption is that hunting is a recreational activity; then my answer is even simpler.¡±


    Anna waited quietly for the answer.


    Moritz spoke softly: ¡°Killing wild animals does not bring me any pleasure.¡±


    Anna was momentarily at a loss for words, and Moritz didn¡¯t say anything more.


    Anna pondered for a moment, then suddenly revealed a smile: ¡°I may not fully understand what you mean, but I¡¯ve realized one thing¡ªyou are a very gentle person.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 958 - 36: Hunt (Seven)_2

    Chapter 958: Chapter 36: Hunt (Seven)_2


    Moritz, who was sipping mare¡¯s milk wine, coughed violently as if he had heard the most absurd joke.


    Just then, twelve long horns sounded simultaneously in the green hills.


    The penetrating sound of the horns spread outward from the green hills, continuously and clearly reaching everyone¡¯s ears.


    The attention of the people of Iron Peak County was instantly focused, because the information conveyed by the sound of the horns was unmistakable¡ªthe hunt was about to begin!


    ¡°Is it here?!¡± Vashka excitedly ran to the edge of the felt wall, stretching his neck to look: ¡°Where is it?¡±


    Others also gathered around, everyone leaning against the felt wall, anxiously waiting.


    The Red River Tribe did not keep the ¡°audience¡± waiting too long.


    Suddenly, several plumes of white smoke burst out from the top of the green hill. The horn sound suddenly stopped, followed by a loud peal of thunder:


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    Inside the hunting circle, groups of deer, sheep, donkeys, and other wild animals were frightened by the thunder and began to run blindly.


    Old Sergei¡¯s hair stood on end: ¡°Cannons?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Pierre replied expressionlessly: ¡°We¡¯ve experienced them before.¡±


    Vashka clenched his fists, somewhat annoyed: ¡°Weren¡¯t they very well hidden before? Now they are not hiding anymore!¡±


    ¡°What used to be is what used to be, what is now is now.¡± Pierre clenched his fists too: ¡°Just having cannons is not enough for Red River Tribe, they need others to know they have them.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Vashka kicked the felt wall hard: ¡°What grand hunt? It¡¯s just a performance!¡±


    Echoes of agreement arose from the crowd of Iron Peak County, also stirred by unpleasant memories. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only Colonel Moritz mildly spoke in defense of the Red River Tribe: ¡°Every ceremony is essentially a performance.¡±


    Pierre was about to say something in rebuttal. But turning his head, all he saw in the eyes of the hunters from the hostile tribes were envy, admiration, and jealousy.


    Pierre had to admit in his heart, the colonel was right¡ªno matter how these outsiders viewed it, for the Red River Tribe, this opening performance was already a great success.


    As they spoke, someone exclaimed: ¡°What is that?¡±


    Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and a gap suddenly opened in the felt wall to the northwest.


    More than ten riders leaped into the hunting grounds through the gap.


    All the riders wore white armor and rode white horses, except for the one at the very front who wore bright red armor and rode a robust reddish horse, making him extremely conspicuous among the white armor and horses.


    A large banner with nine horse tails in blue closely followed the rider in red armor.


    ¡°Is that the Barbarian Chief?¡± Old Sergei asked quietly.


    The thunderous cheers answered Old Dusack¡¯s question.


    As far as the eyes of the delegation could reach, the Herder hunters from all tribes were shouting in unison: ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin¡­¡±


    Pierre also noticed that the shock and fear shown by several Herder leaders nearby were no less than those of the people from Iron Peak County.


    After the rider in red armor entered the hunting circle, he immediately started chasing the game. He saw him drawing his bow and riding fast, shooting the prey without stopping.


    The riders in white armor that followed would pick up the carcasses with long poles, openly demonstrating them to the other tribal hunters.


    At the same time, every time a game was hoisted onto a pole, the green hill would fire a round of salute, and the tribal hunters, having witnessed the agile figure of the White Lion, would cheer once again.


    While others watched intently or with disdain the rider in red armor galloping and hunting, Anna took out her sketchpad, eagerly yet anxiously asking: ¡°When will we see Mr. Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°Winters?¡± Colonel Moritz said nonchalantly: ¡°Isn¡¯t he with the brother of the White Lion?¡±


    ¡°When can we see the Little Lion?¡±


    ¡°Soon.¡± Koshach, knowing the relationship between the lady disguised as a man and Batu, explained eagerly: ¡°First the Khan, then the Khan¡¯s brother, then the tribal Nayen, then the tribal nobles, then the tribal hunters¡­¡±


    ¡°The White Lion has already shown up, why hasn¡¯t the Little Lion appeared yet?¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    Colonel Moritz sighed and explained for Koshach, ¡°Lady Navarre, have you ever seen a pack of wolves sharing meat?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, no.¡±


    ¡°How about dogs?¡±


    ¡°¡­No, neither.¡±


    ¡°Then listen well. The hierarchy within a wolf pack is strict. When the alpha wolf is eating, the others can only watch. Only after the alpha has eaten and drunk its fill can the others feed.¡± Colonel Moritz elaborated, ¡°I believe it¡¯s the same among the Herders, as long as the White Lion hasn¡¯t finished hunting, it¡¯s not the Little Lion¡¯s turn to step in.¡±


    Anna looked inquiringly at Koshach, who nodded emphatically.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry, you¡¯ll see Winters soon,¡± Colonel Moritz seemed to be in a good mood, joking unusually, ¡°But as far as I know, our respected Captain isn¡¯t very skilled with a bow and arrow. You might want to pray that he doesn¡¯t embarrass himself in public¡­¡±


    Without any warning, Colonel Moritz¡¯s voice abruptly stopped. In an instant, he seemed like a different person, and the faint smile on his lips had completely disappeared.


    The onlookers sensed the change in the Colonel and exchanged glances.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Colonel?¡± Anna asked cautiously.


    Colonel Moritz slightly narrowed his eyes: ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡±


    Everyone followed the Colonel¡¯s gaze; the Red Armor riders were galloping in pursuit of their prey, yet nothing seemed amiss.


    ¡°Give me your quiver,¡± Colonel Moritz said coldly to Koshach.


    Koshach did not hesitate and immediately handed over his quiver with both hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the Barbarian Chief chasing the prey now,¡± Colonel Moritz drew all the arrows from the quiver and, under the puzzled looks of the crowd, snapped off the arrowheads one by one, yet his tone was unnervingly calm, ¡°It¡¯s the prey chasing the Barbarian Chief.¡±


    Before he finished speaking, another peal of thunder sounded.


    This time, the roar of thunder was unlike the celebratory sound of cannons; it was closer, clearer, and more deafening.


    ¡°Look!¡± someone from Iron Peak County exclaimed.


    The cries and shouts of the Herders merged into a tidal wave, striking at everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Limbs and soil flew into the sky, and the terrified herd frantically bolted in all directions. The area where the Red Armor riders had been had now vanished into dust and a blood mist.


    Old Sergei¡¯s eyes widened as large as cowbells, he bellowed, ¡°Smoke signals!¡±


    Beyond the horizon, columns of smoke were piercing straight into the sky.


    In an instant, everyone realized what had happened.


    The next moment, the clan leaders were screaming hoarsely for their men, and the Herders rushed to their Warhorses. Some mounted without hesitation and left, others recklessly dashed into the hunting ring.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Vashka asked in panic.


    ¡°Wait,¡± replied Colonel Moritz coldly.


    Meanwhile, inside the hunting ground, a White Armor rider charged into the smoke and blood mist, dragging out a Red Armor rider from beneath the carcass of a Crimson steed.


    ¡°Still alive?¡± the White Armor rider asked.


    ¡°Not¡­ not dead¡­¡± Little Lion pulled off his helmet, fresh blood was flowing from his left ear. Because he was wearing red armor, the mixture of blood and mud was indistinct, making it difficult to see where his torso was injured.


    Little Lion coughed violently, each heave of his chest brought out a trace of blood, ¡°What do we do now¡­¡±


    Winters lifted Little Lion, ¡°Qingqiu.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 959 - 37: The Hunt (Part 8)

    Chapter 959: Chapter 37: The Hunt (Part 8)


    [Outside the Hunting Circle]


    The hunting grounds were like a boiling volcano crater, with signals of smoke, glares of fire, the sound of hooves, and the whizz of arrows.


    Mad beasts stampeded in every direction, even breaking through several felt walls; the Herder hunters who could not escape in time were trampled underfoot, screaming as they vanished.


    In the dust kicked up by the horses¡¯ hooves, Herders and Herders were also killing each other.


    However, the people of Iron Peak County could only hear the screams and the clashing of weapons; they couldn¡¯t see anything clearly.


    Without any warning, Vashka¡¯s Warhorse let out a frantic neigh. It reared up on its hind legs, savagely kicking out at old Sergei. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If not for Colonel Moritz¡¯s swift reaction in pushing old Dusack down, Sergei¡¯s skull would have been kicked to pieces.


    It wasn¡¯t easy for Vashka on horseback either; he gripped the reins tightly and clamped his legs around the horse¡¯s ribs, struggling to subdue the suddenly uncontrollable Warhorse.


    People nearby scattered to give Vashka space. However, the Warhorse leaped and stamped violently, tossing Vashka from the saddle before running away.


    Vashka fell heavily and instantly lost consciousness. Old Sergei cried out and rushed to his son.


    The delegation from Iron Peak County and the people from the vile lands gathered their members, instinctively distancing themselves from each other.


    Koshach, with two hunters, came rushing over, stopping twenty paces away to warn the people of Iron Peak County: ¡°Horses! Horses!¡± He then quickly returned to the ranks of the vile lands.


    Pierre didn¡¯t need Koshach¡¯s warning to notice the abnormal behavior of the Warhorses.


    Even the gentlest riding horses, at that moment, had become restless and agitated.


    Pierre¡¯s mount drooled from the mouth, constantly pawing the ground with its hooves, trying to attack any of its kind that came close.


    ¡°Dismount!¡± Pierre decisively ordered: ¡°Pull down the felt walls!¡±


    The delegation members selected by Winters quickly dismounted and secured the hitching posts for the horses outside the crowd.


    Those who had secured their Warhorses immediately began to dismantle the felt walls, constructing a makeshift barricade with wooden stakes, ropes, and leather.


    ¡°Please rest here for a moment,¡± Colonel Moritz calmly positioned Anna in the middle of the formation, apologizing gracefully: ¡°Forgive me for leaving briefly.¡±


    Anna did her best to appear calm, nodding with a smile.


    Swords unsheathed, guns on ropes, the Iron Peak County Delegation erected two layers of caltrops, remaining vigilant by the temporary felt walls.


    Pierre proactively sought instructions from Colonel Moritz: ¡°Please give your orders, Colonel.¡±


    ¡°The water has been purposely muddied. Let¡¯s wait for it to clear before we act,¡± Moritz took out an arrowhead, found its balance point, and casually shot it away: ¡°Hold the fort here, kill anyone who approaches.¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the Hunting Circle]


    Winters carefully placed Little Lion on the back of the horse.


    Just now, Little Lion was a couple of arrows¡¯ distance from him; Winters hadn¡¯t seen what injured Little Lion. He only heard a thunderous boom, and then Little Lion disappeared in the smoke.


    Arriving at the scene, the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke confirmed Winters¡¯s suspicion¡ªthe assassin had used firearm weapons.


    It could be heavy artillery or a grenade; either way, it had far exceeded the limits that Little Lion had informed him about.


    ¡°How could the Red River Tribe allow outsiders to set up heavy artillery right under their noses?¡±


    ¡°Who could have hidden a grenade on Little Lion?¡±


    All sorts of questions filled Winters¡¯s mind, only to be suppressed by more pressing matters. There was no time for questioning or accountability; keeping Little Lion alive was the priority.


    With unclear enemy positions, numbers, and identities, there was only one place that could be considered safe in the hunting grounds¡ªQingqiu Hill.


    Little Lion gradually sank into a semi-conscious state, even unable to articulate a single complete sentence. He groaned over and over: ¡°[In Herde Language] Wolf¡­ wolf¡­¡±


    Hoofbeats approached again; three white-armored Cavalry burst into the smokescreen. Seeing Little Lion covered in blood and uncertain whether he was alive or dead, the three white-armored Cavalry dismounted in panic and crowded around.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Winters, holding his lance straight, aimed at the newcomers.


    The young white-armored Cavalry on the right flared up in anger, pulling out his saber.


    ¡°[In Herde Language] Stop! Seek not death!¡± The leading white-armored Cavalry forcefully grabbed the saber-drawer back, shouting sternly: ¡°[In Herde Language] Let Batu protect Little Lion! Little Lion trusts Batu!¡±


    After speaking, the leading white-armored Cavalry forcefully patted his chest, then pointed towards Qingqiu Hill.


    Although neither party could understand what the other was saying, the information conveyed by body language was sufficient.


    Winters nodded, indicating for the three to go ahead.


    After just a few steps, an odd sound that penetrated the noise reached Winters¡¯s ears.


    The strange sounds were like whistle calls, like sobs, like the song of cicadas; yet upon careful discernment, they resembled none in particular.


    The strange sounds lasted only briefly, but Winters was certain they were not illusions. The youngest of the three white-armored Cavalry¡ªthe one who drew his saber¡ªwas also searching for the source of the sound.


    The other two older Cavalry showed no reaction at all.


    The surroundings grew increasingly eerie; the smoke did not dissipate but became thicker and more extensive, engulfing them all.


    Winters stopped in his tracks¡ªsomething else was coming!


    Startled herds fled blindly, hunters of various tribes fought independently; chaos reigned inside and outside the hunting grounds, with hooves thundering, roars, and clashing sounds all blended together.


    Despite the expected tumult, Winters detected an odd sense of silence.


    All sounds seemed to come from a distance; he heard nothing close by. The rampaging herds ran aimlessly without direction, yet they unanimously avoided the area where Winters was. It was as if some terrifying creature lurked nearby, scaring away all the wild beasts.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 960 - 37: The Hunt (Part 8)_2

    Chapter 960: Chapter 37: The Hunt (Part 8)_2


    Winters looked around; the smoke was so thick that one couldn¡¯t distinguish between human or beast beyond ten meters. It seemed that the smoke was also poisonous; it didn¡¯t take long before his eyes started to sting.


    A quick escape on horseback? The seriously injured Little Lion wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the jostling. Moreover, a blind action could very likely be falling right into a trap.


    Winters was unclear about the enemy¡¯s weaponry or their tactics, but he surmised that the enemy forces couldn¡¯t be large; otherwise, they would have swarmed him already. Why would they be so cautious like this?


    He made a decision.


    He drew out steel darts, closed his eyes, held his breath, and listened intently.


    He noticed that Batu suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the three White Lion Cavalry halted as well.


    Out of respect, the three White Lion Cavalry maintained silence. However, after a few breaths and no action from Batu, the situation became critical, and every breath seemed unbearably long. The youngest White Lion Cavalry could no longer contain himself.


    Just as the young White Lion Cavalry opened his mouth, Winters spotted the enemy¡¯s flaw: a low growl of a fierce beast and a hissing sound like a snake spitting out its tongue.


    Winters didn¡¯t hesitate for a moment, firing five steel darts in rapid succession toward the source of the noise.


    A miserable groan came back from behind the smoke, followed by a series of footsteps.


    There were more people!


    Suppressing the phantom pain, Winters once again entered a spellcasting state and hurled his spear with full force towards the fleeing figures.


    Casting spells with full force twice in a row, the phantom pain nearly caused Winters to faint. The spear, carrying a massive kinetic energy, pierced through the smokescreen and disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    Winters didn¡¯t hear the sound of the spear penetrating a body, but the three White Lion Cavalry were also top-notch fighters and had already charged in the direction he had indicated.


    Glancing at Little Lion, who had fallen into unconsciousness, Winters stayed put, not following them.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Without warning, two deafening booms erupted not far from Winters.


    The blast carried hundreds of sharp projectiles, instantly dispersing the smoke and sweeping across the land. Limbs and soil were thrown into the air, then falling down in a light patter.


    Dust and gunsmoke once again enshrouded the area, and no more sounds could be heard from the direction of the Red-armored Cavalry and White-armored Cavalry.


    ¡­


    [Within the hunting circle, outside the smokescreen]


    ¡°Has [Herde Language] died?¡± Bai Xuan, hiding among the withered grass, cautiously observed the prey: ¡°[Herde Language] died?¡±


    As the best falconer among the tribes, camouflage and hiding were Bai Xuan¡¯s specialties. If one didn¡¯t come close and look carefully, no one could tell that a person was hidden among the yellow-brown withered grass.


    Bai Xuan lay in silence, yet a different voice kept nagging in his mind: ¡°[Herde Language] Dead? Dead?¡±


    Talking to oneself was one of the occupational hazards of a falconer.


    Capturing a mature falcon usually required traps. Falconers would set traps for at least four or five days, sometimes up to a month. Spending too much time alone, falconers unconsciously got used to conversing with themselves.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Should we do it again?¡± Bai Xuan carefully weighed pros and cons. Only the slight sound of burning grass came from within the smokescreen, and nothing else; it seemed as though they were dead.


    Bai Xuan made up his mind and picked up the bone flute hanging around his neck. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bai Xuan wasn¡¯t surprised that the White Lion was protected by a Chosen One. Since he could be hired to kill the White Lion, it was not strange for the Red River Tribe to have their own Chosen One protect the White Lion.


    On the great plains, Chosen Ones were extremely rare. Unless it was absolutely necessary, one Chosen One would not attempt to kill another.


    But if blood had already been spilled onto the ground, it had to be a fight to the death, otherwise there would be endless troubles.


    ¡°Talent¡± was a matter of life and death; every Chosen One tried to conceal their own ¡°talent¡± as much as possible, but Bai Xuan had already figured out his opponent¡¯s hand.


    ¡°[Herde Language] A Chosen One who¡¯s skilled at dart throwing?¡± The spear that had passed by like a shooting star just now still left Bai Xuan with lingering fears: ¡°[Herde Language] Why haven¡¯t I heard of this before?¡±


    But it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Now that he knew his opponent¡¯s ¡°talent,¡± Bai Xuan had a way to cope.


    Bai Xuan just felt it was a pity¡ªanother Chosen One was about to return to the spirits.


    The strange bone flute sounded again. The bone flute¡¯s sound was not loud, but its penetrating power was strong, making it easy to discern amid the noise.


    The invisible ripples emanated by the bone flute spread to the edge of the hunting circle. A few neatly dressed hunters heard the bone flute sound and immediately walked to the back of the carriage, removing the covers.


    Under the cover was two iron cages, each containing a wolfhound that resembled a wolf.


    The hunter brought a total of two carts, each with four iron cages. The other cart with its cover just lifted had four more wolfhounds, but the iron cages on the other cart were all empty.


    The wolfhounds, already impatient from the sound of the bone flute, dashed out of their cages, leaped over the felt walls, and headed straight for their master¡¯s hiding place.


    Bai Xuan lay in stealth among the withered grass, waiting until the two wolfhounds arrived.


    The ferocious wolfhounds, normally too intimidating for hunters to approach, were exceptionally docile and well-behaved beside Bai Xuan.


    Having been trained, the wolfhounds rarely barked. So they only whined softly, wagged their tails frantically, and licked Bai Xuan¡¯s cheeks with their moist tongues.


    Bai Xuan gently caressed the two wolfhounds, chanting silently. With his touch, the animals grew increasingly excited, joyful, and satisfied.


    Almost ready, Bai Xuan took out a sealed iron box from his bosom, which contained several pieces of dark yellow fatty substances. He placed the box in front of the wolfhounds to let them sniff.


    Within the hunting grounds, only two people carried the scent of Wolf Spore. One was Bai Xuan himself, and the other was White Lion clad in red armor.


    Gunpowder smoke and sulfur might confound a person¡¯s sense of smell, but not Bai Xuan¡¯s wolfhounds.


    Lastly, Bai Xuan pulled out a wooden tube.


    He removed the lid, revealing the smoldering wood shavings, and expressionlessly ignited the gunpowder fuse hanging from the ¡°little barrel¡± under the wolfhounds¡¯ necks.


    ¡°Go,¡± Bai Xuan silently commanded in Herde Language, blowing the bone flute once more.


    Just like in their previous training, the two wolfhounds obeyed the command faithfully and without hesitation, they dashed into the smoke and lunged towards the target that emitted the scent of Wolf Spore.


    Bai Xuan patiently waited.


    Soon after, muffled explosions came from behind the curtain of smoke. Waves of air swept over the ground, showering Bai Xuan with fragments of iron, blood, and soil.


    Then, everything fell silent.


    Bai Xuan continued to wait for a while longer, hearing not even a groan, presuming they were truly dead.


    He cautiously threw a few stones into the smokescreen; still no reaction.


    ¡°A token,¡± Bai Xuan silently stood up, carefully approaching the site of the explosion.


    As per agreement, he needed to obtain evidence of White Lion¡¯s death¡­ preferably White Lion¡¯s head.


    The smoke still enveloped the ground like a filmy curtain, not yet dissipated.


    ¡°The smoke box, there¡¯s one less now,¡± Bai Xuan thought with some regret.


    The smoke box was a two-legged creature¡¯s creation, with each use, one less remained. To the tribal chiefs, a smoke box might not be that useful. But to Bai Xuan, it was even more precious than wolfhounds.


    The wind picked up, and the wall of smoke slowly drifted.


    Bai Xuan felt the wind behaving oddly, but couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on what was off.


    Lifting his head, Bai Xuan realized the smoke wasn¡¯t ¡°flowing,¡± but ¡°spinning.¡±


    The smoke spun faster and faster, and before Bai Xuan could react, it suddenly dispersed in all directions, as if the force restraining the smoke had vanished in an instant.


    The ground cleared in a flash, and the smoky wall surrounding the explosion site completely collapsed.


    In the battle of Chosen Ones, the outcome hinged on a fraction of an inch.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± It was the first time a sound escaped Bai Xuan¡¯s throat, revealing his position. He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to conceal himself.


    A person covered in bloodied mud leaped out from beneath a warhorse¡¯s corpse, simply raising a hand, Bai Xuan¡¯s consciousness was utterly snuffed out.


    Winters spat a bloody phlegm, walked over to the assassin¡¯s body, confirming that the assassin was truly dead.


    The assassin¡¯s clothes were bound with dry leaves and yellow-brown shredded hemp cloth, looking like a thicket from a distance, no wonder the hiding was so concealed.


    An oddly-shaped bone flute hung prominently in front of the assassin¡¯s chest; he casually tore off the bone flute and tucked it into his pouch.


    Only then did Winters feel acute pain in his left shoulder.


    Fumbling, he pulled an armor fragment from his shoulder.


    ¡°This thing,¡± Winters threw the bloodied armor fragment onto the assassin¡¯s corpse, ¡°was my own invention.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 961 - 38: The Hunt (9)

    Chapter 961: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)


    [Outside the Hunting Circle]


    ¡°What is he shouting?¡± Pierre¡¯s brow furrowed tightly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just beyond the felt tent walls, the identity of the shouting Hurd horseman remained unknown.


    However, no matter how important the message he wanted to convey was, Pierre and the others could not understand it.


    Without waiting for the Translator to arrive, an enraged old Sergei snatched a matchlock gun from someone else and fired at the clamorous Hurd horseman without hesitation.


    The lead bullet whizzed past the Hurd horseman, who paused for a moment, then turned and left.


    Pierre clenched his fists suddenly and immediately looked towards the source of the gunshot. But when he saw who had fired, he still forcibly suppressed his anger and refrained from lashing out at old Sergei.


    ¡°Devil! Heretic! Die!¡± Old Sergei could not contain his anger: ¡°They all deserve to die!¡±


    A cool voice from Colonel Moritz rose: ¡°Mr. Morozov.¡±


    Old Sergei fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth in response: ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Please tell me about young Mr. Morozov¡¯s condition.¡±


    ¡°Busted open!¡± Old Sergei snorted heavily: ¡°But not dead.¡±


    ¡°Go look after young Mr. Morov.¡± Colonel Moritz ordered calmly: ¡°You are not needed here anymore.¡±


    Old Sergei stood still like a puppet for a while, then slowly saluted and walked stiffly toward the inner circle of the hunting formation.


    Pierre now had no time to console Uncle Morozov. He had more important responsibilities.


    According to Pierre¡¯s estimation, his position was about five kilometers away from Qingqiu.


    Five kilometers, even a fast horse would take about ten minutes to cover that distance.


    If the hunting ground was roughly circular in shape, then its circumference would be over thirty kilometers.


    Thirty kilometers, it would take at least an hour to ride around once.


    From a formal point of view, the Red River Tribe¡¯s ¡°Grand Hunt¡± was nothing more than simply making a crude circle on the ground, with hunters from various tribes sitting around in rings, shooting game as spectators.


    But when the ¡°circle¡± drawn by the Red River Tribe was so large it could contain an entire city, the situation became complicated.


    Hundreds of tribes and tens of thousands of hunters dispersed around the giant ring. Aside from the Red River Tribe occupying the central highland, Qingqiu, the other tribes could not oversee the whole area, and it was also difficult to coordinate communication with each other.


    Such a setup undoubtedly provided an opportunity for those with ulterior motives to fish in troubled waters.


    ¡°I can see it.¡± Pierre thought to himself: ¡°Can the Barbarian Chief not see it?¡±


    On one hand, Pierre believed that with the Barbarian Chief¡¯s cunning, there must have been preparations made in advance. Paratu¡¯s Expeditionary Force¡¯s stumble with the Red River Tribe was something he had never forgotten;


    On the other hand, not knowing where Blood Wolf was, what the Red River Tribe was up to, or what the smoke signals represented beyond the horizon¡­


    Surrounded by the Barbarian tribes, bearing the life and death of friends and family, one wrong step would not only lead to Hell but wouldn¡¯t be enough to atone for the sins¡ªPierre truly felt the pressure of Winters Montagne for the first time.


    He strenuously reminded himself to stay calm, to keep thinking, but the shirt on his back was still uncontrollably drenched in sweat.


    Moritz glanced at Pierre and, with his usual nonchalant tone, said: ¡°You are doing quite well.¡±


    Pierre nodded expressionlessly, but deep down he was grateful. He appreciated having someone reliable by his side in this moment.


    The sandstorm grew, and the airflow raised a layer of fine red dust that covered everyone¡¯s clothing. Pierre remembered it being clear at sunrise, but now the sandstorm had intensified beyond the dust raised by a galloping horde of horses.


    ¡°Keep waiting?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°Wait a bit longer.¡± Moritz replied, looking up and sniffing the air.


    As the dust filled the air, others covered their faces with scarves, but Colonel Moritz acted out of the ordinary.


    ¡°What are you smelling?¡± Pierre asked.


    Colonel Moritz calmly wrapped his cloak around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. His gaze was almost smiling: ¡°An abnormal scent.¡±


    The visibility was gradually reduced by the sandstorm, and soon even Qingqiu was no longer visible.


    Pierre climbed up a wooden post to look out. He saw the nearest malevolent Earth Tribe hunters all carrying bows and knives, leading horses on foot, seemingly trying to escape.


    The hunters of the malevolent Earth Tribe struggled valiantly against the frenzied warhorses. Some horses broke their reins and galloped into the blinding red sand. The hunters chased breathlessly, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.


    A nearby group of Hurd hunters, though fewer in number than the malevolent Earth Tribe, had also dismounted and armed with bows. However, they simply stood their ground on alert, evidently undecided about whether to stay or go.


    Unease also spread within the Expeditionary Force. Someone approached Pierre and suggested in a low voice, ¡°We¡¯ve got the carriage fortification at the camp, much safer than here. Should we return to the camp soon? If something happens to the camp, we are all¡­¡±


    Pierre interrupted the other person and answered loudly enough for everyone to hear: ¡°Without horses, against the sandstorm, we can¡¯t go anywhere! Acting rashly now is asking for death. Unless we can ride or the sandstorm stops, don¡¯t even think about heading back to the camp.¡±


    ¡°But the camp now has only Father Kaman and a few people like Berlion,¡± the proposer raised his voice further: ¡°If we don¡¯t go back, they won¡¯t be able to hold it!¡±


    ¡°No worries,¡± Colonel Moritz ended the argument lightly: ¡°Leave it to Father Kaman.¡±


    The proposer was not convinced, but he did not dare to contradict Colonel Moritz, and could only walk away angrily, saluting and returning to his shooting position.


    ¡°The camp?¡± Pierre watched as the person departed.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 962 - 38: The Hunt (9)_2

    Chapter 962: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)_2


    ¡°Leave it to Father Kaman,¡± Moritz repeated unchangingly: ¡°And there¡¯s that lion anyway.¡±


    While they were speaking, the sound of hooves like hailstones piercing through the sandstorm reached everyone¡¯s ears, getting louder and clearer.


    Cavalry was heading their way!


    ¡°Musketeers!¡± Pierre ran towards the direction of the hoofbeats, holding a spear, and bellowed: ¡°My position! All units, prepare!¡±


    The members of the delegation equipped with muskets moved in order to face the incoming cavalry, each finding a suitable firing position and carefully opening their powder pans.


    The sandstorm was too powerful; some of the powder in the pans was instantly blown away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Reload!¡± Pierre suppressed his urge to curse out loud: ¡°Cover the pan with your cloaks!¡±


    Others quickly took off their cloaks and even outer garments, helping the musketeers block the windblown sand.


    Herders are not deaf; they too heard the thundering hoofbeats.


    The smaller group of Herder hunters immediately succumbed to panic; some hunters rushed towards their warhorses, while others stood frozen on the spot.


    The poor leader tried desperately to control his people, but the oncoming cavalry did not give him the chance.


    A dark mass of cavalry broke through the dust storm, their spear points covered in dark red dried blood, charging directly at the smaller group of Herder hunters.


    Before the two sides even made contact, the smaller group of Herder hunters had already completely collapsed.


    Like a splash of blood spilled onto the sandy ground, the hunters from unknown small tribes scattered in all directions. Some dove into hunting circles, others fled into the sandstorm, and yet more ran towards the Iron Peak County Delegation in their blind panic.


    ¡°Do not fire!¡± Pierre leaped out from behind the felt wall and entered the space between the first and the second rows of caltrops, throwing his long spear fiercely at the oncoming Herder hunters.


    With the spear thrown, Pierre drew his saber, rolled in front of the caltrops and roared loudly: ¡°Get lost!!!¡±


    Even without a common language, Pierre¡¯s intended message was unmistakable. The Herder hunters immediately regained their senses, the majority of them repelled by Pierre¡¯s shout, stumbling and scrambling to other places.


    Only a skinny Herder, either petrified by fear or not scared at all, continued to run towards the temporary fortifications of the Iron Peak County Delegation.


    Pierre gritted his teeth as he moved to confront him.


    Seeing Pierre, the skinny, fleeing Herder hunter began shouting something frantically and, not watching his step, tripped over the first row of caltrops. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The skinny Herder hunter fell hard, pulling askew the stakes that were securing the caltrops.


    Furious, Pierre raised his saber aiming to cleave the skinny Herder hunter. Seeing Pierre¡¯s ferocious expression, the Herder hunter scrambled back in terror.


    The next moment, Pierre roared angrily and with resignation, turning to rush back to the stake that fixed the caltrops. Common sense triumphed over rage for a moment; repairing the caltrops was more important than venting his anger.


    He lifted the tilted stake; the soil of the hunting ground was loose, the original hole for the stake had deformed. Pierre could only use the handle of his saber to hammer the stake deeper.


    Suddenly, a stone followed the handle and landed on the stake ¡ª the skinny Herder hunter had not run away, but instead, picked up a stone from somewhere; while looking at Pierre with terror, he helped.


    Every time the skinny hunter struck the stake, he jumped up, compacting the soil around the stake as well. During the brief respite from the cavalry¡¯s slaughter of the Herder hunters, Pierre and the skinny hunter managed to secure the stake once again.


    Glancing at Pierre¡¯s dark face, the skinny hunter turned and tried to flee but was caught by the collar by Pierre and yanked to the ground.


    Regardless of the other¡¯s struggle and shouting, Pierre dragged the skinny hunter, and with swift steps returned behind the felt wall.


    The attacking cavalry did not pursue those who had fled far, nor did they collect war spoils. After scattering the skinny hunter¡¯s tribe, they quickly regrouped.


    Pierre threw the skinny hunter aside, panting as he asked: ¡°How many barbarian cavalry?¡±


    ¡°Half a squadron, less than a hundred,¡± a Musketeer stated with wide eyes: ¡°How come they can ride their horses?¡±


    Pierre sneered: ¡°Because they are the ones behind these tricks!¡±


    There were two groups of Herder hunters near the Iron Peak County Delegation. The smaller group bore the brunt of the attack, receiving the first strike.


    The other group of hunters ¡ª the people from the Haidong Tribe ¡ª acted decisively. As soon as the attacking cavalry appeared, they immediately abandoned the warhorses that truly couldn¡¯t be ridden, multiple people riding together on the barely rideable warhorses, swiftly escaping the area.


    The attacking cavalry had noticed the escapees but chose not to pursue, instead turning their attention towards the Iron Peak County Delegation that stood its ground.


    They spurred their warhorses, circling the round formation of the Iron Peak County Delegation from a distance, not too close nor too far.


    New recruits seeing this formation for the first time might feel intimidated; however, the soldiers picked by Winters were thoroughly familiar with the Herders¡¯ tactics.


    ¡°Put away the muskets,¡± Pierre didn¡¯t want to reveal their strength and weakness: ¡°Be wary of arrows.¡±


    The skinny hunter cowered behind the felt wall, incessantly repeating a word to Pierre.


    Pierre grew suspicious: ¡°Translator! What is he saying?¡±


    The Translator listened several times and hesitantly provided an answer: ¡°He seems to be saying ¡ª ¡®east of Xianhai.''¡±


    ¡°Haidong Tribe?¡±


    At that moment, the attacking cavalry seemed to have made up their minds, turning their blades and thrusting straight at the round formation.


    Pierre had limited musketeers at his disposal, while the cavalry had the choice to launch an assault on any part of the round formation.


    ¡°Fire at will!¡± Pierre¡¯s voice was already hoarse: ¡°Hold the position!¡±


    The Iron Peak County Delegation was few in number, and even if the position was very small, they could only barely maintain a hollow formation. Additionally, as they had not brought any long spears when they departed, everyone was only equipped with cavalry spears.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 963 - 38: The Hunt (9)_3

    Chapter 963: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)_3


    So, in Pierre¡¯s view, the only way to win was to limit the enemy cavalry¡¯s movements with defenses and then drag the enemy cavalry into close combat.


    This is a perfectly normal thought, as Pierre had never seen Colonel Moritz kill.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± Moritz touched Pierre¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡±


    After saying that, Moritz began to call out names.


    Before even reaching the tripwires, the fierce barbarian cavalry at the forefront fell stiffly from their horses, followed by the second, the third¡­


    The riderless warhorses continued to sprint until they were tripped by the wires.


    Realizing that even riderless warhorses could destroy the tripwires, Colonel Moritz decided to call out the warhorses¡¯ names first, then the riders¡¯.


    There is no hatred, no anger, no fear, no pleasure¡­ precisely, no emotions at all.


    Arrowheads disappeared from Moritz¡¯s hand and appeared inside the enemy, as Moritz van Nassau took lives non-stop.


    It took Pierre a moment to accept the reality, and he cried out in a bit of a panic: ¡°Colonel, please wait.¡±


    The slaughter paused.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Moritz looked at Pierre.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to kill men,¡± Pierre swallowed hard, struggling to speak: ¡°We can use the warhorses.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    The slaughter continued.


    The attacking cavalry did not even understand what was happening. This was supposed to be just a probing attack, with a plan to distract the enemy on one side and then split half of the forces to strike from the back.


    If the pincer movement also failed to defeat the enemy, they would retreat. There was always weaker prey, and the enemy could not catch up anyway.


    But¡­ how could this be¡­ Just a probing charge, and why had most of a hundred-men squad disappeared? Why were the remaining men still dying one after another?


    The centurion Erhulan stopped his horse, took off his helmet, and looked forward confusedly. Between him and the low felt wall, there were no longer any living persons.


    The next moment, Erhulan saw something move in the dust, and then he no longer existed in this world.


    Witnessing the centurion¡¯s death, the surviving Herders didn¡¯t know whether to advance or retreat.


    According to unwritten customs, they should take away the bodies of the deceased as much as possible. But they couldn¡¯t carry so many bodies, nor did they dare to advance further.


    Shouts arose from behind, as the earlier fleeing villagers from the Bad Land Tribe turned around and charged back. About twenty horsemen from the Bad Land Tribe, and another twenty on foot, screamed and charged.


    The last of the Haidong Tribe cavalry bravely and without hesitation met them head-on.


    This was a death they were familiar with.


    ¡­


    [In the middle of the hunting ground, Qingqiu]


    ¡°[Herde Language] Stop! Who goes there?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Red armor?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Is that Little Lion?!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Little Lion is injured! Quickly, find a healer!¡±


    The people of Red River Tribe stationed in Qingqiu hurriedly took Little Lion, clumsily carrying him to the sleeping tent, for a moment no one cared about the armored soldier who had brought Little Lion up to Qingqiu.


    Winters¡¯ shoulder had numbed. ¡°Good thing it¡¯s the left shoulder,¡± he thought.


    After handing over Little Lion to the Red River Tribe, he finally had the energy to feel annoyed.


    The current situation had far exceeded the most severe possibility Little Lion had informed him of beforehand. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Whether the Red River Tribe had intentionally deceived him or was equally unprepared, in Winters¡¯ view, it spelled danger.


    ¡°[Herde Language]¡­ horse¡­¡± Winters stopped a female slave, struggling to use the Herde Language to express his needs: ¡°[Herde Language]¡­ water¡­¡±


    He couldn¡¯t stay long; he needed to hurry back.


    The palace tent¡¯s female slave of the Red River Tribe looked in terror at this armored soldier who seemed to have emerged from a pool of blood and staggered away.


    Winters still wanted to call her back when suddenly he felt dizzy, and the next moment he knew nothing.


    When he regained consciousness, he was wrapped in warm, soft animal fur, the air smelled pleasantly of milk, and his left shoulder had been bandaged.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± a timid female voice said: ¡°Thank you for bringing Little Lion back.¡±


    Winters felt an empty ache in his skull: ¡°How long was I unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Not long. Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.¡±


    Winters struggled to sit up, and Erhulan was watching him.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 964 - 39: The Hunt (10)

    Chapter 964: Chapter 39: The Hunt (10)


    [Qingqiu, Erhulan¡¯s palace tent]


    Outside the palace tent, it was very cold; inside, it was very warm. Yet Winters was burning with anxiety, not daring to stay for even a moment.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Winters tried to get up.


    Erhulan hurriedly supported Winters, her voice barely audible, ¡°I¡¯ve been here the whole time.¡±


    Winters stumbled as he reached for his clothes, not daring to meet Erhulan¡¯s eyes, because in truth, the White Lion had already informed him: Erhulan was in Qingqiu.


    ¡°The hunting outfit you took off has been stained with blood.¡± Erhulan gracefully picked up the clothing, helping Winters dress, ¡°This is a new set; I¡¯m not sure if it will fit.¡±


    All Winters could do was softly murmur ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± in response.


    Dressing in winter was a painful affair, especially with undergarments. The fabric, devoid of warmth, would be as cold as ice and as hard as stone, making the process of putting them on feel like being dipped in icy water.


    However, Erhulan had prewarmed the clothes until they were toasty, so putting them on felt comfortable and warm.


    Tightening his belt, Winters moved his hands simply, feeling some strength return. The dizziness and fatigue he experienced upon waking were gradually replaced by adaptation, and the wound on his left shoulder no longer hurt so much.


    Having assured himself he was ready, he took a deep breath, turned to face Erhulan, ¡°Erhulan¡­ I need to see the White Lion.¡±


    Erhulan lowered her head, ¡°Brother is not in Qingqiu.¡±


    Erhulan¡¯s words revealed too much, and Winters became instantly alert, pressing urgently, ¡°Where are the Red River Tribe¡¯s troops?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ had two implications. First, Erhulan did not know the current whereabouts of the Red River Tribe¡¯s troops; second, whatever their location, they were definitely not in Qingqiu.


    This was in stark contrast to what Little Lion had said.


    Putting away the distractions, Winters quickly reviewed everything he had seen, heard, and known in his mind:


    A show-of-force spectacular hunt;


    A massive mobilization that engaged hundreds of tribes, conscripted tens of thousands of able-bodied men, and covered the entire territory of the Red River Tribe¡¯s influence;


    The far-reaching impact of the unexpected disastrous defeat of the Terdun Tribe;


    The small and medium tribes wavering over whether to submit to the Red River Tribe;


    The mismatch between the White Lion¡¯s unprecedented personal prestige and the seriously weakened strength of the Red River Tribe¡­


    Though it seemed like a tangled web of issues, Winters vaguely grasped the thread¡ªpower, on the harsh Great Wilderness, everything was closely related to power.


    ¡­


    In the battle on the Great Wilderness, the Red River Tribe and the Terdun Tribe shed the most blood.


    Thus, after the battle, the Red River Tribe and the Terdun Tribe had to huddle together for warmth, to claim the original position of the Terdun Tribe, and to avoid being consumed by the Suz Tribe and the Haidong Tribe.


    However, the further damage to the strength of the Terdun Tribe¡ªparticularly the death of the fire-tenders¡ªbroke an already fragile delicate balance.


    The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Blood Mud not only made the Terdun Tribe into a vulnerable target but also left the Red River Tribe in an isolated and desperate predicament.


    But, a great crisis also signifies a great opportunity, and the White Lion is undoubtedly the leader best at utilizing crises that Winters had ever seen.


    A devastating defeat deprived the Terdun Tribe of its status among the great tribes, yet the population, pastures, and herds of the Terdun Tribe would not disappear due to that defeat.


    There was more than one predator eager to feed on the flesh of the Terdun Tribe, with the Red River Tribe being merely one of the weaker ones. Moreover, in the eyes of the other beasts, the White Lion himself was also prey.


    Thus, the Red River Tribe launched this unprecedented hunt while the dust from the Battle at Blood Mud had barely settled, and the other tribes did not yet react.


    This hunt was not only about hunters encircling sheep and deer but also about giving ravenous beasts eyeing the Red River Tribe a chance to hunt the White Lion, and it was also the White Lion¡¯s setup to encircle all enemies within and outside the Red River Tribe.


    ¡­


    A complex mix of emotions surged within Winters, feeling anger, heartache, helplessness, and frustration.


    Winters looked at Erhulan, exhaustedly asking, ¡°Is this the ¡®safest place¡¯ the White Lion spoke of? Did he use you as bait too?!¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No, brother is not like you think, he explained it to me carefully.¡± Erhulan was eager to clarify, ¡°When the men are not at the old camp, Qingqiu is the safest place. If anything unexpected happens, the quiver-bearers will protect everyone and leave. I never thought you would get involved; I had no idea you would come to Qingqiu. Originally, I wanted Little Lion to bring the clothes to you¡­¡±


    As she spoke, tears began to well up in Erhulan¡¯s eyes, she cried without being able to make a sound, repeatedly murmuring, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you.¡± Seeing Erhulan weeping made Winters feel uncomfortable; he could not bring himself to harbor resentment against Erhulan.


    He wanted to wipe away Erhulan¡¯s tears, but could not reach out his hand, eventually only able to softly comfort her, ¡°My coming to Qingqiu was also not out of being fooled or lured by someone; it was by my own will. As for the White Lion and Little Lion keeping secrets from me¡­ that¡¯s their business¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Erhulan sobbed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°But I did not come to Qingqiu alone, Erhulan.¡± His breath agitated his injury, and Winters began coughing violently, ¡°My companions are still in danger. I need weapons, armor, and a warhorse, I must return to their side as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    [Outside the hunting grounds, temporary fortifications of the Iron Peak County Delegation]


    Most of the attacking Cavalry had been killed, with only a few scattered riders escaping with injuries.


    Amidst the swirling sand and dust, old Sergei dragged the body of an attacking Cavalry back within the felt wall, spitting a mouthful of sandy saliva venomously, ¡°Look at this!¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 965 - 965: 39 chapters Hunting (10)_2

    Chapter 965: 39 chapters Hunting (10)_2


    Pierre, who was leading people to replace saddles on captured horses, was puzzled: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Old Sergei drew his sword and slashed towards the corpse¡¯s chest, but instead of a spattering of blood and flesh, the sound of metal colliding emitted a dull thump.


    Old Sergei then flipped open the garment on the corpse, revealing thin iron plates, each the size of a palm, affixed inside the leather robe.


    ¡°They all wore hidden armor!¡± Old Sergei tore off his scarf and spat: ¡°I wondered why there was no blood when they were hit by arrows.¡±


    ¡°Fabric armor? Plate armor clothing?¡± Colonel Moritz curiously touched it: ¡°Can the Herders make this too?¡±


    Pierre furrowed his brow: ¡°Not to my knowledge. Last time we clashed, the Red River Tribe¡¯s armored soldiers were using small iron pieces strung together into laminar armor.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s worry about what the Herd Barbarians can make later!¡± Old Sergei pointed to the nearby ¡ª people from the Tonrid Tribe were joyously stripping the corpses of their armor.


    Old Sergei clenched his teeth, his expression like that of a wolf: ¡°Look! Only a few of the Tonrid barbarians wear armor; they came to hunt, not to fight! Now look at the barbarians who ambushed us, every one of them wearing hidden armor! They were prepared well in advance! Investing so much, whoever wants to eliminate the Red River Tribe surely won¡¯t just send these few men!¡±


    Members of the Iron Peak County Delegation all had similar thoughts, but Old Sergei was the first to explicitly point it out.


    The fierce wind carrying sand and dust moaned ominously, almost as if one could vaguely hear the sounds of hooves, screams, and the clashing of metal, like bloodshed was happening everywhere. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The slight sense of security everyone had just felt vanished in an instant.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pierre asked in a deep voice to Old Sergei.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, now.¡± Old Sergei spoke firmly: ¡°We ride two or three on a horse if we must. First, back to the camp, and then find a way to locate the Civil Guard Officer, let him decide whether to stay or go. Get more horses, the more the better. If the Red River Tribe can¡¯t hold, then we can only rely on ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Returning to the camp is the safest.¡± Pierre thought hard, undecided: ¡°But the sandstorm is getting worse, it¡¯s hard to discern the direction¡­¡±


    Colonel Moritz suddenly extended his right hand, spread his fingers, and raised it high, as if feeling something.


    This abrupt action caught everyone¡¯s attention. They exchanged glances, hesitating to question him due to his rank.


    Moritz lowered his hand, looking around at everyone: ¡°The wind is dying down.¡±


    ¡­


    [In the center of the hunting ground, Green Mound]


    Winters sensed the change in the wind just as well. He immediately looked towards the flags in front of the royal tent, observing the horsetails gradually drooping lower.


    At the peak of the sandstorm, standing atop Green Mound, one couldn¡¯t discern directions at all, only able to see the vast expanse of red sand and dust.


    With his vision limited, Winters used the orientation of the royal tent to gauge north and south, roughly locating the direction of Iron Peak County Delegation.


    Erhulan made no objections, only requested that the captain of the guards stationed at Green Mound send someone to escort Winters.


    Before departing, Winters went to bid farewell to Little Lion.


    Little Lion was still unconscious, his face pale, lying quietly on the soft couch. An elderly healer stayed by his side, nodding slightly as Batu entered the tent, continuing to finger his rosary beads.


    Winters paused for a few seconds, said nothing, and turned away.


    In just the time it took to enter and exit, the wind speed had already changed significantly.


    As the sand followed the wind, with the wind weakening, the gravel also settled down, leaving only some fine dust floating in the air.


    Standing atop the summit of Green Mound, the panoramic view of the hunting ground gradually became clearer.


    Relieved, Erhulan timidly asked Winters: ¡°Is it¡­ over now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters replied, ¡°Now is the most dangerous moment.¡±


    ¡­


    [On the outskirts of the hunting ground, an unknown location]


    The change in the wind wasn¡¯t only happening at Green Mound; throughout the vast hunting ground, everyone felt the mysterious fierce wind that appeared and then mysteriously disappeared.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What¡¯s going on?!¡± Shiya Tribe leader Geha, both shocked and scared, sharply questioned the armored soldier beside him: ¡°[Herde Language] Why has the wind stopped?¡±


    A dark red viscous liquid dripped from Geha¡¯s sheath, and his lance was also smeared with blood.


    According to the agreement, the Priests of the Haidong Tribe will summon strong winds and flying sand, and the Shiya Tribe only needs to use this astronomical phenomenon to create havoc.


    But now, the wind is visibly getting weaker.


    What should we do? What should we do?


    No matter how prepared beforehand, the forces of the Shiya Tribe are just that many¡ªbarely a hundred riders. Once the Red River Tribe regroups, the Shiya Tribe will be crushed in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What¡¯s the panic?¡± the warrior said gloomily, glancing at Geha: ¡°[Herde Language] The Red River Tribe is already a bird in a cage, meat on the plate. The young warriors of the Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe will arrive soon.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Soon! Soon! Why haven¡¯t they arrived yet?¡±


    The warrior did not answer. He stared intently in the direction of Qingqiu, suddenly punching his thigh heavily: ¡°[Herde Language] Whether they come or not, what can we do? The arrow cannot be recalled once it¡¯s left the bow! It¡¯s too late to disperse the tribes now. To make the tribes flee like startled gazelles, there¡¯s only one path left to take!¡±


    Geha looked towards the direction pointed out by the warrior, and in the distance on the hills, the palace tent of the Red River Tribe was shimmering with golden light.


    ¡­


    [Central hunting grounds, Qingqiu]


    The real commander of the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace guards is not Little Lion, nor Erhulan, but Green Plumed Feathers Stag.


    As soon as the sandstorm weakened, Stag immediately sent messengers to spread the news to the surrounding tribes. A warrior bearing the banner of the Red River Tribe galloped down Qingqiu, speeding off in all directions like lightning.


    When Stag found Winters, he brought twelve fully-armed quiver bearers.


    Facing the notoriously fierce champion of Paratu, Green Plumed Feathers Stag maintained both vigilance and courtesy: ¡°[Herde Language] These young men will escort Batu back.¡±


    After listening to Erhulan¡¯s translation, Winters waved his hand, cutting to the chase: ¡°No need to waste troops to escort me. Since the sandstorm has stopped, there¡¯s no chance to fish in troubled waters. Now, the most dangerous place is actually Qingqiu. You should consider retreating immediately.¡±


    Because of the special treatment by White Lion, the Green Plumed Feathers of the Red River Tribe harbored a mixture of awe and jealousy towards the champion of Paratu.


    It is also because of this mixed feeling that Winters¡¯s straightforward suggestion made Stag feel humiliated.


    Stag suppressed his anger, responding loudly: ¡°[Herde Language] The warriors of the Red River Tribe only advance! There is no retreat! White Lion entrusted Qingqiu to me, and I will not let the jackals snatch White Lion¡¯s palace tent.¡±


    Normally, Winters might have dismissed Stag¡¯s words with a laugh, but at this moment, Winters was also filled with anger.


    ¡°Advance only, no retreat?¡± Winters retorted with a cold laugh: ¡°From my personal experience, you have retreated more than once!¡±


    Stag glared fiercely at the champion of Paratu, as if he might draw his sword the next second.


    After a brief standoff, Stag bowed hastily and left with large strides, leaving the twelve quiver bearers uncertain whether to stay or go.


    Seeing the fearful look in Erhulan¡¯s eyes, Winters restrained himself from showing any emotion, calmly saying: ¡°Now¡­ he¡¯s even less likely to retreat.¡±


    ¡­


    [Edge of the hunting grounds, Iron Peak County Delegation camp]


    A flag-bearing rider sped to the vicinity of the people of Iron Peak County, shouted a few times, then dashed towards other tribes.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Pierre asked, frowning: ¡°Translator!¡±


    The Translator who was changing saddles hurried to Pierre¡¯s side, quickly responding: ¡°He seems to be saying ¡®Red River Tribe wants to kill you and me, Red River Tribe wants to annex the tribes.¡¯ I only heard these two sentences clearly.¡±


    Old Sergei scoffed: ¡°Red River barbarians wanting to devour other tribal barbarians, isn¡¯t that fucking obvious? Did he need to come all the way to say that?!¡±


    For some reason, as soon as the sandstorm stopped, the horses also gradually calmed down.


    Pierre wasted no further time, immediately ordering to prepare horses to leave.


    ¡°From now on, stand by my side!¡± Pierre sternly ordered the Translator: ¡°Translate whatever the Herders say, and don¡¯t miss a single word!¡±


    Three riders came galloping from the direction of Qingqiu, the lead rider also bearing a white horse tail banner.


    The three riders circled the felt walls, shouting loudly to pass the message whenever they encountered people.


    Pierre looked at the Translator.


    ¡°Let us not move.¡± The Translator strained to discern the voices through the sound of hooves: ¡°White Lion orders all tribes to hold positions on the spot, no movement permitted without orders¡­¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 966 - 40: Encirclement (End)

    Chapter 966: Chapter 40: Encirclement (End)


    Pierre was cornered, unable to see the entirety of the hunting ground. Winters, standing atop the Greenhill, however, overlooked everything.


    The sandstorm was calming, but the chaotic battle on the outskirts of the hunting ground not only did not cease but grew even more fierce.


    Many small tribes that had been called to the hunt had already left, but soon they fled back to the hunting grounds as if something in the dust was chasing them.


    Stag dispatched guards from the palace tents to quell the riot, while Winters quickly inspected and assessed the defenses of Greenhill.


    All arrangements on the Greenhill by the Red River Tribe were meant to showcase power. To ensure that the imposing golden tent of White Lion was visible from all directions, the foundation in the center of Greenhill was artificially elevated, and deliberately no buildings or fortifications were built that could obstruct the view.


    Overall, apart from its height, Greenhill had no geographical advantages.


    All clues led Winters to his initial speculation: from the beginning, Greenhill had been the sweetest bait in the trap.


    The younger members of the Red River Tribe who were left in the hunting field strung their bows and grabbed their spears, riding down from Greenhill; among the hunters who were rushing about, some seemed ready to move.


    The arrows were already on the string, the bow arms creaking, just waiting for the furious war drums of the sky deity to strike.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you with me,¡± Winters told Erhulan. Time was of the essence, and Winters¡¯ tone was firm, brooking no disagreement.


    Erhulan was initially delighted but soon her eyes dimmed.


    ¡°White Lion is not on Greenhill, which shows that the outcome of this battle does not depend on what happens inside the hunting ground, but on what happens outside,¡± Winters explained succinctly. ¡°Since the beacon already risen, leaving one royal tent and one banner on Greenhill is enough. You don¡¯t need to continue being this bait.¡±


    ¡°Do you know? I dreamt of hearing you say this,¡± tears filled Erhulan¡¯s eyes, her lips curving slightly, ¡°but not like this.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t care about the Red River Tribe, nor about White Lion, but he cared about Erhulan. He grabbed Erhulan¡¯s arm and without further discussion led her towards the horse pens.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Little Lion is still on Greenhill¡­¡± Erhulan, tears streaming, stubbornly stood her ground, ¡°¡­I can¡¯t go with you¡­¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Suddenly, three consecutive cannon shots¡ªthe gunners of Greenhill were issuing a warning.


    Winters looked towards the direction indicated by the smoke, only to see two groups of horsemen colliding head-on.


    One side was clad in iron armor, their headdresses fluttering, clearly Red River Tribe Cavalry; the other, dressed like regular hunters, was of unknown identity.


    At the edge of the hunting circle, Red River Tribe cavalry stayed within the felt walls; the leading Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] shot three warning arrows and shouted fiercely: ¡°[Herde Language] If you still revere White Lion, withdraw immediately! Dismount! Step over the felt wall and you will be killed on sight!¡±


    However, the approaching Herde horsemen were already panic-stricken, crying for help while indiscriminately crossing the felt walls.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] made a harsh decision and roared the order: ¡°[Herde Language] Those who entered the hunting circle, kill without mercy!¡±


    After speaking, Hong Lingyu drew the bow fully, and one warning arrow nailed a Herde hunter trying to climb over the felt wall.


    The sound of the arrow broke through the air like the command for slaughter, and the armored Red River soldiers did not hesitate any longer; they brandished sabers and shot arrows without restraint.


    Those who fled over the felt walls continuously fell dead; seeing the dire circumstances, those who tried to escape along the sides of the felt walls were also caught up from behind and cleaved to death, only those who managed to escape back to the outer side of the felt walls were lucky enough to survive.


    However, the escape of the Herde hunters outside the felt walls only prolonged their lives a moment longer.


    Soon, another group of cavalry emerged from the dust, yelling ¡°Red River Tribe suppression,¡± slaughtering all the Herde people who had escaped the felt walls.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Red River Tribe suppression?¡± The real Red River Tribe Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] exploded in anger: ¡°[Herde Language] Rotten flesh! Stinkier than the stuff pulled from a wild boar¡¯s intestines! They are the rebels, the hungry wolves!¡±


    Black Sheep gripped his riding spear and charged forward towards the enemy leader: ¡°[Herde Language] By the gods above! Kill!¡±


    A crowd of Red River armored cavalry cried out in unison, following their hundred riders leaping out of the felt walls.


    Saber against saber, bow against bow, the two groups of cavalry engaged in a bloody melee.


    As soon as Red River people engaged with the enemy, they suffered setbacks; their curved swords and spears hit the enemy¡¯s bodies only to produce a dull sound without any bloodshed. The enemy¡¯s maces and war hammers targeted specifically the necks and heads of the Red River armor.


    Black Sheep instantly realized something was wrong and roared with all his might: ¡°[Herde Language] The pups are wearing hidden armor! The pups are wearing hidden armor!¡±


    Without needing any reminder from Hong Lingyu, those Red River armored cavalry who had suffered but were still alive had already discarded their spears and drawn their maces to continue fighting the enemy.


    Witnessing this engagement, Winters remained silent, but his tightly furrowed brow and tense cheeks already offered a silent judgment.


    Green Plumed Feathers [Stag] was also a witness to this engagement from above on Greenhill; flags fluttered, and cannons fired continuously, with Stag frantically directing more troops. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters stopped watching; he pulled Erhulan and strode towards Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    Black Sheep¡¯s engagement acted like a starting gun; the moment Winters turned, another dozen cavalry units leaped from the felt walls and charged into the hunting ground.


    Each cavalry unit was shouting ¡°White Lion arrows order,¡± ¡°Red River Tribe suppression,¡± even disturbing the minds of the Eagle Forest Tribe¡¯s troops.


    Eagle Forest Tribe, the maternal tribe of White Lion, was always considered to be the closest ally of the Red River Tribe. As a vassal tribe participating in the hunt, they were hidden among the many tribes outside the hunting circle.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 967 - 40: Encirclement (End)_2

    Chapter 967: Chapter 40: Encirclement (End)_2


    Suddenly, so many ¡°Red River Tribe¡¯s riders¡± emerged that even the members of the Eagle Forest Tribe were dumbfounded.


    Which are real? Which are fake?


    ¡°You fools!¡± the leader of the Eagle Forest Tribe, and uncle of White Lion [Tie Feng], cursed anxiously, ¡°Real or fake?! Whoever dares to go to Qingqiu will be killed!¡±


    The cavalry of the Eagle Forest Tribe immediately roared and charged into the hunting ground, colliding head-on with the torrent of the numerous ¡°Red River Tribe¡¯s riders.¡±


    On top of Qingqiu, Stag¡¯s forehead broke into a sweat. He began to regret the bold statements he had made in front of the champion Paratu.


    Stag had anticipated that the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe would send troops to sneak into the hunting grounds, but he had never expected them to invest to such a great extent.


    Holding the only high ground also meant facing attacks from all directions. With Qingqiu at the center, the circular hunting group with a radius of five kilometers is now truly a meat grinder.


    The cavalry loyal to White Lion were risking their lives to intercept enemies from all directions, while enemies from all directions were recklessly attacking towards Qingqiu.


    Looking around, everywhere was a battlefield, everywhere were enemies. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Closing his eyes to listen, everywhere were shouts, everywhere were screams.


    In a moment of distraction, Stag even had the illusion of being surrounded by tens of thousands of troops.


    Just the few ambush soldiers sent by the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe could definitely not create such a powerful impact. Surely some participating tribes were swayed by the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe¡­ and not just a few.


    The twelve strategically placed cannon on Qingqiu even lost their meaning, as by the time one round was loaded, the enemy¡¯s cavalry had already reached the gunners.


    At this moment, the soldiers of the Red River Tribe were like a dam overburdened, unable to stop the flood despite risking their lives and giving their all.


    Only eighty of the royal guards and arrow masters responsible for guarding White Lion¡¯s golden tent remained by Stag¡¯s side.


    Stag took off his gold-inlaid horn, the sound calling the warriors to throw themselves into the final bloody battle echoed through Qingqiu.


    Meanwhile, in Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    Holding prayer beads, the venerable white-haired healer respectfully answered Edun¡¯s question.


    Winters asked sharply, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°Little Lion¡¯s condition has just stabilized; any bumps would kill him.¡± Erhulan hesitated, then finally shook his head.


    ¡°What else did he say?¡± Winters noticed Erhulan was hiding something.


    ¡°The healer advised us to leave, saying he could ensure Little Lion¡¯s safety,¡± Erhulan made up his mind, pleadingly looking at Winters, ¡°Shigutu is a renowned healer on the plains; he can protect Little Lion and me. Please go, don¡¯t worry about us anymore.¡±


    Winters did not believe an old healer close to death could ensure the safety of White Lion¡¯s brother and sister, and he also understood that Erhulan, despite appearing fragile, was as stubborn as Anna.


    He couldn¡¯t persuade Erhulan to abandon Little Lion and flee, just as Little Lion couldn¡¯t persuade Erhulan to abandon her and flee.


    The earth vibrated, the shouts of killing filled his ears, and even the thick leather of the tent could not isolate them.


    ¡°There¡¯s another way.¡± Winters slowly flexed his finger bones and wrist joints.


    Erhulan and the old healer Shigutu looked at Winters, puzzled.


    ¡°The people outside merely want two things; one is the Red River Tribe¡¯s sky-blue banner. The other¡­¡± Winters looked towards the tattered, blood-stained and mud-smeared red armor hanging beside Little Lion, and heavily spat out a word:


    ¡°White Lion.¡±


    Erhulan covered her mouth, tears streaming down, shaking her head and repeatedly stepping back.


    Winters cut off the straps around him, pulled off his own armor, and pointed to the armor standing in the tent like a silent ghost, of White Lion:


    ¡°Armor me!¡±


    Erhulan didn¡¯t move, but the old healer Shigutu stood up, spoke a few words to the others in the tent.


    The female slaves serving in Little Lion¡¯s tent quickly began to move.


    Breastplate, skirt armor, shoulder armor, arm armor¡­ The red armor hanging on the rack was disassembled piece by piece and then fixed onto Winters.


    Erhulan held up the final helmet, trembling as she fitted and fastened it on Winters.


    ¡°White Lion has a purpose, Little Lion has a purpose, Red River Tribe has a purpose, the enemies of Red River Tribe also have a purpose,¡± Winters stared at Erhulan like the first time he awoke in the felt tent, ¡°I have no purpose¡­ I do all this only for you.¡±


    After finishing his farewell words, Winters put down the faceplate and strode out of Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    The royal guards and arrow masters guarding White Lion¡¯s golden tent witnessed White Lion going into battle once again, their emotions of fear and shock were overwhelming.


    Shigutu, holding a cow horn cup, chased out of the tent. The old healer bowed deeply, raised the cup, and spoke unexpectedly in the language of the Empire: ¡°Batu, please drink this brew!¡±


    Winters burst into ecstatic laughter as if suddenly enlightened, and without saying much, he briskly lifted his faceplate, took the horn cup, and drained it in one gulp.


    Seizing the moment, the royal guards and arrow masters guarding the golden tent realized that beneath the red armor was not a lion, but a wolf.


    Winters tossed the horn cup away: ¡°Warhorse!¡±


    As Shigutu translated for Winters, several arrow masters immediately ran towards the stable.


    More and more soldiers of the Red River Tribe gathered around Winters, walking towards him as if on pilgrimage while respectfully maintaining their distance.


    The soldiers suddenly made way, and Stag, leading a splendidly majestic white horse, moved through the crowd and bowed to hand the reins to Winters.


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 968 - 40: The Hunt (End)_3

    Chapter 968: Chapter 40: The Hunt (End)_3


    ¡°This horse¡­ is the White Lion¡¯s.¡± Shigu worked as a translator for the house guards.


    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡±


    With pride and loud clarity, Stag answered with a name.


    After a moment of thought, Shigu translated: ¡°Longwind!¡±


    ¡°Longwind?¡± Winters was immensely pleased. ¡°What an excellent name! Perfect for today.¡±


    Having said that, he buckled his face armor and mounted his horse.


    The armored warriors of the Red River Tribe seemed to be called to action, each of them mounting their warhorses.


    ¡°No need! You stay behind to protect Erhulan and Little Lion.¡±


    ¡°In Herde Language, Batu!¡± A silver-armored archer spurred his horse forward: ¡°In Herde Language, I volunteer to lead the charge!¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, eleven more silver-armored archers stepped forward, the very twelve ¡°guards¡± Stag had previously chosen for Winters.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters drew the azure great banner standing before the golden tent with his backhand: ¡°To break the army and breach the formation, twelve knights suffice!¡±


    ¡­


    The leader of the Hound Warrior Division, Geha, drove his warhorse madly, its flanks already bloody and matted, its chest heaving with white foam.


    Geha had left the Red River armored cavalry far behind, the Hound Warrior Division¡¯s curved blades only three bowshots away from the Green Hills¡­


    Two bowshots¡­


    One bowshot.


    The White Lion¡¯s magnificent golden tent was now a mere stone¡¯s throw away; Geha felt as if he could reach out and grab it.


    ¡°In Herde Language, kill!¡± Geha couldn¡¯t think of anything to spur on his men; he roared out the only desire in his heart with all his strength: ¡°In Herde Language, kill!¡±


    No one heard Geha¡¯s roar, as it was drowned out by the furious bellowing of twelve heavy cannons.


    The next moment, a beast-like roar filled the hunting grounds, and the raging battle even paused for it.


    Under the gaze of half the hunting ground, a red-armored knight leaped from the Green Hills.


    Merely catching a glimpse of that streak of crimson, the people of Red River Tribe fell into an unprecedented frenzy: ¡°Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Yasin!¡±


    The other half of the hunting ground couldn¡¯t witness the miracle through their eyes, but as the sky-shaking cheers erupted, the same frenzy immediately spread¡ªthe White Lion was back!


    Geha watched dumbfounded as the magnificent white horse leapt high and landed heavily, its hooves pounding the earth as if striking Geha¡¯s own heart.


    Geha couldn¡¯t believe his eyes: the red-armored warrior on the white horse was holding the Red River Tribe¡¯s azure great banner.


    A banner might have a pointed tip, but Geha had never seen anyone use such a heavy ceremonial object as a weapon.


    There could be no mistake¡ªit had to be the White Lion.


    ¡°In Herde Language, were you not already dead?!¡± Geha screamed in rage, charging towards the red-armored warrior with his spear: ¡°In Herde Language, were you not already dead?!¡±


    The next moment, Geha was dead.


    Just before dying, Geha had a strange thought¡ªturns out a great banner really could be used as a weapon.


    Winters barely noticed Geha¡¯s death as he drove his warhorse without reservation, smashing into the Hound Warrior Division¡¯s ranks like thunder.


    Twelve silver-armored Archers followed closely behind, the Dog Soldiers were instantly crushed to pieces.


    Like a basin of ice water thrown into a pot of boiling oil, the Green Hill Hunting Ground erupted.


    Everyone¡ªpeople of the Red River Tribe, enemies of the Red River Tribe¡ªrushed madly toward the ¡°White Lion,¡± the latter frenzy driven to kill him, the former frenzy determined to protect him.


    Winters didn¡¯t need to seek out enemies; he merely charged straight through, and the enemies would come to him on their own.


    The mead he drank before the battle numbed his senses, pain, and fatigue; at this moment, Winters was like a demon crawled out from Hell, a demigod from ancient legends, a berserker from the songs of the Northern bards, wantonly scattering death, fighting tirelessly.


    Disintegration Spell, Disintegration Spell, Arrow Flying Spell, Arrow Flying Spell, fling one, then another¡­ endless battle will, boundless rage, infinite strength.


    Winters lied.


    He didn¡¯t step onto the battlefield just for Erhulan.


    At least, at this moment, all his repression, unwillingness, and pain were unleashed in the killing, and Winters couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been since he¡¯d experienced such a thrilling, exhilarating battle.


    He no longer needed to consider responsibility, mission, family, friends, future, present¡­ he didn¡¯t even need to think, he just needed to fight, fight, fight.


    The enemy¡¯s deaths facing Winters became more and more gruesome, from initially having their brain tissues precisely destroyed by the Disintegration Spell, to their skulls being torn apart inside their helmets, to limbs being forcibly torn from torsos by the violent force of magic.


    The uncontrollable magic power even ignited the grand banner in the sky; with flames and blood, Winters charged and slaughtered across the field.


    Gradually, everyone began to flee from him in frenzy¡ªboth the members and the enemies of the Red River Tribe.


    Witnessing the warriors in red armor literally ¡°raising a storm of blood and flesh,¡± old Sergei found himself with a dry mouth, and with his heart thumping, he turned to the other members of the Iron Peak County Delegation, ¡°The Barbarian Chief¡­ wasn¡¯t the Barbarian Chief dead? Or at least seriously injured? How¡­ how¡­¡±


    Anna unblinkingly stared at the figure in red armor atop the white horse, covering her heart, whispering softly, ¡°That is not the White Lion.¡±


    ¡°Then who is it?¡± old Sergei asked in shock and fear.


    Colonel Moritz sighed.


    It struck old Sergei like a thunderbolt, ¡°That is¡­ that¡¯s Montaigne the Civil Guard Officer?¡±


    Colonel Moritz sighed again.


    Pierre gritted his teeth, mounted his warhorse, drew his sword from the scabbard, ¡°Whilst the Centurion bathes in blood, how can we just stand by and watch! I am going to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Centurion! Who will join me?!¡±


    Without a second word, old Sergei leaped onto his horse¡¯s back, laughing maniacally, ¡°I¡¯ve only got two passions in my life, one is hunting game, and the other is killing barbarians; today I can finally enjoy both to the full!¡±


    The people of Iron Peak County laughed heartily, mounting their horses one after the other, heading toward the battlefield under Pierre¡¯s lead.


    Colonel Moritz found a clean spot, sat down on the ground, took out a flask from his bosom, and took a small sip.


    ¡­ S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the distance, a cavalry troop with strict formation and bright armor appeared on the horizon.


    Although the cavalry appeared fatigued, with bloodstains still on their armor and weapons not yet cleaned, their morale was high as they sang the Herders¡¯ triumphant war songs in unison.


    A Green Plumed Feather rider galloped from the front of the formation and stopped beside another Green Plumed Feather in the middle of the troop.


    The Green Plumed Feather who came to report bowed respectfully, presenting a scroll-like object with both hands, saying half in doubt and half in shock, ¡°[Herde Language] White Lion, Green Hill seems to¡­¡±


    The other Green Plumed Feather removed his helmet, revealing himself to be the White Lion, who was supposed to be reigning over Green Hill.


    The White Lion took the scroll-like object from the hands of the ranger, pulled it open, and put it to his eye; distant objects were drawn closer.


    After a moment, the White Lion retracted the telescope, shook his head regretfully.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Keep moving forward,¡± he said. ¡°[Herde Language] Continue singing.¡±


    Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com

 Chapter 969 - 41

    Chapter 969: Chapter 41


    [Qingqiu]


    It¡¯s all over now.


    Deer, antelopes, bison, wolves¡­ Countless prey corpses were brought to the middle of Qingqiu Mountain for inspection.


    As soon as the inspection was done, the hunted animals were skinned, deboned, allocated, and preserved on the spot.


    The blood of the beasts flowed along the terrain, converging along the way, transforming the wilderness at the mountain¡¯s foot into a swamp of blood.


    No one could bypass that blood swamp; those wanting to reach Qingqiu had to continue stepping through the tainted blood and mud.


    Eventually, countless dark red hoof prints and footprints were left on the hillside. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This scene, although merely the Red River Tribe tallying the hunt, was no different from cleaning up a battlefield.


    As for the other hunted prey¡ªentire or partial human corpses¡ªhad been already gathered.


    The Herders typically do not use burial, but at this time around Qingqiu, there were no ferocious beasts or birds of prey capable of consuming such an abundance of flesh. Hence, the unclaimed bodies were all thrown into a pit and hastily buried.


    ¡­


    Contrary to many people¡¯s expectations, the first thing White Lion did upon returning to Qingqiu was not to suppress the rebellion, but to dispatch troops and encircle from all sides.


    The Red River Tribe like a cascade of mercury divided themselves into over a hundred tulurs, erecting an extensive yet precise net that drove most of the escaped prey and tribes back to the hunting grounds.


    White Lion¡¯s attitude was clear¡ªno matter what had happened, the hunt would continue.


    Also conveyed to the tribal leaders was the Red River Tribe¡¯s recent major victory¡ªWhite Lion ambushed at the Hantu River Estuary, defeated the Suz Tribe and Haidong Tribe¡¯s joint forces over a hundred miles, slaughtering twelve Green Plumed Feathers, capturing sixty-four banners, and killing countless foes.


    ¡­


    Thus, the felt walls were repaired, corpses removed, escaped wild beasts recaptured, and the fleeing hunters returned.


    The stage was set once again, but this time, as White Lion rode swiftly shooting arrows, no one dared whisper secretly.


    Everything proceeded according to ancient customs: White Lion shot the first arrow, then Red River Tribe¡¯s Green Plumed Feathers and other tribes¡¯ Nayen followed, and then the Red River Tribe¡¯s Hong Lingyu and other tribes¡¯ Kota followed them.


    After the noble warriors hunted to their heart¡¯s content and moved on to rest and feast in Qingqiu, it was finally the turn for the lower-ranked hunters to enter the arena.


    In an atmosphere thick with unease, expectation, and the smell of blood, the hunt uneventfully marched towards its end.


    Because everyone was waiting for the subsequent ceremony that could determine the fate of all tribes:


    ¡°Dividing the meat¡±.


    ¡­


    [Qingqiu Mountain¡¯s waist, inspection site]


    A large stag with grand antlers was placed on the workbench.


    This beautiful large animal was shot with two arrows, one in the hind leg and one in the ribs, already having moved on to the spirit world.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Twelve branches.¡± The elder from the Red River Tribe muttered a few phrases and placed the final bundle of dry grass between the dead beast¡¯s teeth before proceeding to examine the two arrow wounds:


    The rib arrow could have penetrated deeper into the prey¡¯s lungs, but unfortunately, the arrowhead lodged between the ribs, resulting only in a superficial wound;


    The fur below the arrow wound on the right hind leg was caked with dried blood.


    Removing the arrow, the elder barely perceptibly nodded his head, indeed it was a crescent arrow.


    Further examining the wound, no major blood vessel could be felt; it seemed to have been severed by the crescent arrow. Similarly, for the tendons.


    The Red River Tribe elder explained briefly before picking up the crescent arrow and making a determination: ¡°[Herde Language] This arrow was the first shot.¡±


    The two hunters who brought the deer for inspection, the middle-aged one showed a delighted expression, while the younger one, although unable to hide his disappointment, did not argue and took the arrow before leaving.


    The elder then checked the markings on other arrows in the middle-aged hunter¡¯s quiver¡ªconsistent with those of the crescent arrow.


    Thus, the ownership of the prey was determined.


    The stag was quickly disassembled:


    Antlers, fur, and sinews were given to the middle-aged hunter as a reward for the ¡°first shot¡±;


    The venison was smoked and preserved, waiting to be distributed;


    The bones were communal property, used for making glue.


    Not only was nothing from the hunted prey wasted, but even the retrieved arrows were to be returned to their owners, and anyone found hiding them would face severe punishment.


    For the Herders, the distribution of spoils was a matter of utmost importance, even more critical than looting or hunting itself.


    Distributing spoils symbolized power, and how much one could obtain indicated their status.


    According to tribal tradition¡ªfirst shot, heavily rewarded; flesh divided equally; White Lion fairly distributed the hunt gains, showing no favoritism towards the Red River Tribe nor any discrimination or exploitation of hunters from other tribes.


    Regardless of what the tribal leaders thought, the lower-ranked Herder hunters were thoroughly content.


    Leaders might not care about the trivial gains from the hunt since they already owned herds of slaves and livestock.


    However, ordinary hunters cared deeply about how much meat they could get, as it was the reward for their laborious efforts.


    ¡­


    The hunt lasted a whole day and a half; while hunters pursued wild beasts within the enclosures, the tribal leaders gathered atop Qingqiu to spectate, feast, and rest.


    Until there were hardly any living prey left on the hunting grounds, the leader of the Evil Earth Tribe, grandfather [Tashi] of Koshach, solemnly left his seat and headed towards the golden tent.


    Dancing slave girls quietly withdrew, wrestling performers turned and exited the arena, and no longer were strings or bells sounded. The once lively Qingqiu instantly fell silent.


    Moments earlier, while still drinking and laughing, the Red River Nayen and the tribal leaders¡¯ expressions unknowingly became somber and serious.


    Everyone faintly felt that¡ªa crucial moment was about to arrive.


    Old [Tashi], accompanied by eight equally white-haired and bearded Herder elders, entered the golden tent with the most humble and respectful of manners.


    Living to old age in the wilderness is a difficult feat, and nine is considered a ¡®great number¡¯ among the Herder people.

 Chapter 970 - 970: 41st Chapter_2

    Chapter 970: 41st Chapter_2


    Nine Herders elders first blessed the White Lion and then toasted him. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The White Lion took the golden cup and drank up the milk wine: ¡°[Herde Language] having said that, elders, you may ask for anything. Whatever you desire, I shall grant.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Wise White Lion, Merciful White Lion, Powerful White Lion.¡± Tashyi bowed deeply: ¡°[Herde Language] Please spare the living creatures in the pen, let them go to places with water and grass to breed, let the next great hunt harvest beasts from mountains and valleys, let your wise and merciful renown spread across the plains.¡±


    The White Lion nodded in agreement.


    The dull sound of the horn reverberated through the hunting ground, it was the command of forgiveness, the signal to cease the slaughter.


    The hunters who were still chasing the game reined in their horses upon hearing this, and even those who were not yet satisfied dared not draw their bows again. A large gap was torn open in the felt walls, allowing the lucky surviving animals to escape and return to the embrace of the wilderness.


    Releasing the last game in the enclosure is a tradition among the Herders, and no one was surprised.


    What really made the tribal leaders break out in a cold sweat was what Old Tashyi said next: ¡°[Herde Language] Wise White Lion, Merciful White Lion, Powerful White Lion. Spare the lives of the creatures, for they can breed. Let wild fires rage on, for they will only spread. Those tribesmen who defy you, please eradicate them like ash, let every pasture, every river know of your power!¡±


    Without needing an indication from the White Lion, the palace guards of the Red River Tribe had already brought a group of heavily bound captives to the front of the golden tent.


    Among these captives were nobles and warriors from both Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe, as well as leaders from the vassal tribes of Red River Tribe who had been turned against them.


    Some captives glared with fury and struggled fiercely; some had weak knees and pleaded with nods and bows; others were like walking corpses, already broken in spirit.


    While the tribal hunters were busy hunting, the warriors of Red River Tribe were chasing down the fleeing enemies across the hills and fields.


    This time, the White Lion did not immediately agree to Old Tashyi¡¯s request. He took a silver jug and personally poured half a cup of wine.


    The Head of the Guard understood, holding the horn cup with both hands he slowly walked to the captive on the far left.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Would you drink this wine?!¡± The Head of the Guard shouted loudly.


    The palace guard removed the wooden gag from the captive¡¯s mouth.


    The captive took a deep breath, his eyes widened in anger, ready to curse. However, just as he let out a piercing sound, another palace guard behind him had already beheaded him with a single strike.


    The unsupported head fell to the ground with a clear ¡°thud¡±. The body slowly tilted, staining the beautifully embroidered carpet with blood.


    None of the tribal leaders under the tent were without blood on their hands, but for some reason, seeing the ruthless slashing by the palace guard of Red River Tribe just now, everyone felt a chill down their spine.


    The Head of the Guard walked up to the second captive, this time the palace guard escorting the captive was wise and did not remove the wooden gag at all, allowing the captive to only nod or shake his head in response.


    The second captive was a warrior from the Suz Tribe, his gaze struggled intensely but in the end, he slowly shook his head.


    The palace guard thrust a blade into the captive¡¯s heart from behind, leaving an intact corpse.


    For the third captive, there was no need to ask. He desperately nodded his head, with such vigor that it almost seemed his neck might break.


    The Head of the Guard fed the third captive a small sip of wine¡ªthere were others to consider.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Having drunk from this cup, you are now my guest.¡± the voice of the White Lion came from inside the golden tent: ¡°[Herde Language] Your life is my gift; your tents, slaves, and herds must all be handed over, as a compensation for the deceased and injured among the tribes, as your gift.¡±


    The White Lion was not asking, but rather issuing a judgment directly.


    The captive who just barely saved his life hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to rejoice when he heard that all his possessions were to be deprived, and could not help but feel profoundly sorrowful. However, he was quick-witted¡ªhis properties would not be preserved if he were killed anyway, after doing the math, he still profited a life.


    The third captive suddenly threw himself to the ground, sobbing and praising the mercy of the White Lion.


    The Head of the Guard slightly lowered his eyes, and the palace guards took the third captive away.


    Most of the tribal leaders under the tent were visibly pleased; during the recent upheaval, many tribes had suffered losses, and obtaining some compensation was indeed best.


    Only a few astute chiefs slightly frowned¡ªjudging by the way things were divided today, even with compensation, it was unlikely to be given to the chiefs themselves.


    One captive after another was questioned, and it did not take long before all were dealt with. Both the living and the dead were taken away, leaving only a few pools of blood on the carpet.


    A leader from a small tribe initiated, and many chiefs and leaders raised their drinks to praise the mercy of the White Lion.


    Mercy is a relative concept. Part of the reason why Red River Tribe was able to expand rapidly was that the White Lion rarely used ruthless means of eliminating dissent.


    In the process of the Herders tribes annexing each other, beheading above the wheel was a common practice¡ªmen taller than a wheel killed outright, young children who had no memory of events taken in to be raised, women redistributed as resources. The reason was simple: only one¡¯s own people can be trusted, and only those raised from young can be reassured.


    The Red River Tribe, most of the time, however, would accept the adult males of the defeated tribes. Last year, the White Lion subdued the Zhu¡¯er Qin Tribe, and this year, the Zhu¡¯er Qin people had already become part of the Red River Tribe. Even among the archers in the palace tent today, there were no shortage of Zhu¡¯er Qin people.


    Due to the White Lion¡¯s reputation for ¡°justice¡±, the lower members of the tribes aspired to join the Red River Tribe. But tribal leaders and nobles wished to affiliate with the Red River Tribe, due to the White Lion¡¯s reputation for ¡°mercy.¡±

 Chapter 971 - 971: 41_3

    Chapter 971: 41_3


    At this moment, every tribal leader sitting inside and outside the Red River Tribe¡¯s golden tent had already convinced themselves:


    ¡°Whatever the White Lion wants, let it be.¡±


    ¡°Whether it fits customs, rules, or breaks an agreement, let it be.¡±


    ¡°To serve him as lord, if he wins, we share the spoils; if he loses, we return to as before.¡±


    As for the leaders who hadn¡¯t convinced themselves¡­ they had just been bound and taken away.


    The tribal leaders were all waiting for old Tashi to speak those words, waiting for the White Lion to nod, waiting for the time to loudly concur.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh most great and mighty White Lion!¡± Old Tashi stood still for a moment, then suddenly knelt to the ground, tearfully shouting:


    ¡°[Herde Language] I wish to acknowledge you as the Khan of all tribes!


    You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you!


    When facing numerous enemies, I wish to be your vanguard!


    Take back both noblewomen and maidens for you!


    Take back both palatial tents and treasures for you!


    Plunder back foreign women and wealth for you!


    If I defy your command, you can disperse my wives and concubines, seize my property, throw my head to the ground!


    If I violate your decree, you can kill my offspring, burn my tents, abandon me in a place where no grass grows¡­¡±


    As soon as old Tashi knelt, all the Herders inside and outside the tent knelt down too. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Tashi made a vow, and chiefs, Nayen, Kota, palace guards, and quiver bearers each echoed a vow in turn.


    Their voices carried beyond the blue hills, no matter whether from the Red River Tribe or from other tribes, all the Herders knelt facing the golden tent, their heads bowed.


    In the vast hunting ground, there was only one person still sitting¡ªthe White Lion.


    The White Lion watched everyone bow their heads; at this moment, no one dared to look him in the eye.


    For many a heroic figure, they had reached the pinnacle of their lives at moments like this, their bodies and souls would tremble, but the White Lion seemed indifferent.


    He listened quietly to old Tashi¡¯s oath, and even leisurely took a small sip of mare¡¯s milk to moisten his throat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I¡­¡± The White Lion¡¯s voice was calm and carried a hint of a smile: ¡°[Herde Language] Once vowed that in this life, I would not claim the title of Khan, otherwise, I wish to die under a thousand arrows.¡±


    Old Tashi¡¯s body visibly trembled, the tribal leaders buried their heads even lower, nobody dared to move.


    If Father Reed were here, he would certainly have some odd things to say; even Winters, who had only learned a fraction of Father Reed¡¯s humor, would probably have a sharp comment or two.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh White Lion!¡± old Tashi spoke again, his voice tinged with a plea: ¡°[Herde Language] If you do not become the Khan of all tribes! No one can be the Khan of all tribes!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you!


    ¡­¡±


    The crowd inside and outside the tent, once again, followed old Tashi in reciting the vow.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I am not of the Gold lineage.¡± The White Lion refused again: ¡°Khan Hongyun once made an oath with all tribes that none other than the Gold bloodline could be Khan. I am not qualified to claim the title of Khan.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh Khan!¡± Old Tashi was flustered, his voice now carrying a sob: ¡°[Herde Language] Rivers change their courses! Stones wear smooth! Wild grass grows and withers, withers and regrows! The faces of our tribal descendants change year by year! Even vows must one day be broken!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I am willing to break the vows of the past for you!


    You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you!


    ¡­¡±


    ¡­


    This time, Old Tower did not have the chance to finish reading the oath, as White Lion¡¯s majestic command interrupted him.


    ¡°Herde Language Shut up!¡± White Lion shattered the desk, rising proudly: ¡°Herde Language Lift your heads! All of you, look at me!¡±


    No one dared to look up.


    ¡°Herde Language Look at me!¡±


    The tribal chiefs slightly lifted their heads, but their chests still touched the ground.


    ¡°Herde Language Rivers may change their course! Stones may become smooth! Wild grass may die and come back to life! The younger generation of our tribes has already changed their faces!¡± White Lion¡¯s voice thundered, echoing through Blue Hill: ¡°Herde Language But the oath of the Herders is more stable than the mountains! More enduring than the rivers! More precious than gold!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Once I take an oath, I will never break it! Once my ancestors made an oath, I will never break it! You should do the same! Whoever breaks the oath shall be punished by heaven and man! He who takes the oath lightly shall die under a myriad of horses, under a myriad of arrows!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language But¡­¡± Old Tower desperately kowtowed, blood streaming from his forehead: ¡°Herde Language If you do not become the Khan of the tribes, no one else can be!¡±


    The tribal chiefs echoed like insects, continuously kowtowing following Old Tower.


    ¡°Herde Language Shut up!¡±


    With a roar from White Lion, Blue Hill fell utterly silent.


    ¡°Herde Language I will not be the Khan of the tribes! I do not wish to be the Khan of the tribes! I disdain to be the Khan of the tribes!¡± White Lion released his feelings, the relief extreme.


    He swept his gaze below the tent, quietly reveling. At this moment, he truly reached the pinnacle of his life: ¡°Herde Language As long as you obey my laws! Respect my regulations! Uphold my oath! Then I don¡¯t need to be your Khan!


    ¡°Herde Language Obey my laws! Respect my regulations! Uphold my oath! I, shall be for the tribes the¡­¡± White Lion pushed aside the golden tent curtain, revealing a stele engraved with fine text:


    ¡°Herde Language Lawmaker!!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Herde Language First, the great code of Lawmaker White Lion is beyond question;¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Second, the great code of Lawmaker White Lion is unchangeable;¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Third¡­


    When the palace guards of the Red River Tribe read ¡®The Codex¡¯ to the tribal chiefs, Kota, and the tribespeople, Winters was not present.


    He was lying in an ox cart, slowly approaching a valley where gold was buried.


    Someday in the future, Winters might regret missing the most spectacular part of what happened on Blue Hill ¨C all Herder tribes¡¯ younger generation snapping arrows to swear together, vowing to forever uphold the law of the Golden Stele.


    While the Herders demonstrated how to effectively destroy arrows, Winters was trying to figure out how to trick Father Kaman into massaging his legs.


    He lay there stiffly on the hard cart, every inch of his skin and muscle in agony, without the strength even to wriggle his little finger.


    Father Kaman sat beside Winters, holding a small silver jug and feeding Winters hot cow¡¯s milk, a bit gleeful yet distressed, chiding: ¡°I truly can¡¯t understand how you¡¯ve managed to get yourself into this state. A normal person would have either fainted or simply died of exhaustion before getting to this point; how exactly did you manage it?¡±


    Sitting on the other side of the ox cart, Colonel Moritz, sipping on his liquor, casually said: ¡°The power of love.¡±


    Father Kaman coldly scoffed: ¡°Truly a realm beyond my understanding.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ want to¡­ go down¡­ with you¡­ all¡­¡± Winters, using his astounding willpower, barely squeezed out the words: ¡°¡­together¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Father Kaman continued to drip cow¡¯s milk into the corner of Winters¡¯ mouth: ¡°Come on then.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyes began to moisten: ¡°That old man¡­ the wine he gave me¡­ there was something wrong with it!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°¡­Today, the very first codified law of the Herder culture known to us, ¡®The Law of the Golden Stele¡¯, is also the origin of the Herder written language¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHistory¡¤Seventh Grade(Upper) [New Sea Blue Education Publishing]

 Chapter 972 - 42 Trading (Part 1)

    Chapter 972: Chapter 42 Trading (Part 1)


    [Herd Wasteland, the location where the Gold is buried]


    The tranquility of the valley was disturbed once again, with unwelcome guests returning after their previous visit.


    But this time, it wasn¡¯t like before, with only three riders sneaking in. This time, Winters brought his people and openly marched into the valley.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Golden Tent Guard spread out their cavalry patrols at the perimeter of the valley to intercept any herders or hunters that might appear.


    The Iron Peak County Delegation set up camp within the valley. The side boards and tarps of the six horse-drawn carts were removed for the first time since leaving Iron Peak County, and Winters¡¯ subordinates got their first look at the ¡°mysterious cargo¡±:


    Furnaces, crucibles, moulds, refractory bricks, bellows, and prefabricated pieces of hoisting machinery¡­


    Seeing familiar tools, a goldsmith who had been repairing horse hooves along the way felt an inexplicable twinge in his nose. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Long before departing from Iron Peak County, Winters, Bard, and Mason had repeatedly discussed ¡°how to securely recover the gold statue?¡±


    All three agreed: Merely exposing the location of the Gold Celestial Statue posed a huge risk for the relatively weak delegation;


    The Great Wilderness was always a land filled with hostility, and the best course of action to deal with the gold statue would be to strike a deal with the Red River Tribe, exchanging the gold statue for gold or equivalent goods;


    If the aforementioned plan was not feasible, then they should proceed with the understanding and protection of the Red River Tribe to unearth the gold statue and¡­ destroy it on the spot.


    Yes, to destroy it.


    The Gold Celestial Statue in Paratu could only be used as Gold; aside from boasting of military exploits, it held almost no additional value.


    Better to destroy the eye-catching gold statue on the wasteland than to carry it across the Great Wilderness. It made more sense to simply melt it down and bring it back home as gold bars.


    During negotiations with White Lion, Winters realized that the White Lion had no interest in the Gold Celestial Statue, but he also understood¡ªWhite Lion wouldn¡¯t mind providing some reasonable help in destroying the Gold Celestial Statue.


    Thus, the fate of the Herders¡¯ most sacred object was decided.


    ¡­


    When the tarps were removed from the last two carts, what was inside wasn¡¯t tools, but a type of black-grey rock.


    ¡°Rocks?¡± someone asked, puzzled.


    The mysterious cargo they had painstakingly transported were just a few carts of tools? And rocks?


    The delegation¡¯s blacksmith stepped forward, picked up a black rock, weighed it and then chuckled, turning around: ¡°What rocks? These are clearly coal!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s coke,¡± Berlion said softly.


    ¡°It is coke,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, walked into the crowd, nodded appreciatively at Berlion: ¡°Processed coal.¡±


    Winters, worrying that they could not find sufficient fuel in the Great Wilderness, had even brought two carts of coke all the way. He made such comprehensive preparations that he would definitely not leave the Herd Wasteland until two tons of Gold were in his hands.


    Winters walked to the front of the crowd, sweeping his gaze over his subordinates: ¡°Have you all had enough excitement?¡±


    ¡°[Monosyllabic words expressing submission and approval in fitful murmurs.]¡±


    He smiled: ¡°Then let¡¯s get to work!¡±


    ¡°[An outburst of monosyllabic words full of eagerness to obey and approval]!¡±


    And with that, they set to work.


    Xial led people to find some log stakes and began digging; Pierre led people to unload the carts, getting to work on assembling the lifting machine; the delegation¡¯s blacksmiths and goldsmiths busied themselves with setting up the furnaces.


    Winters did not publicly explain what they were digging for, but those who had experienced the Great Wilderness Battle had their suspicions.


    As for those who joined the military for the first time after its establishment, even if they knew nothing about the existence of the gold statue, just by observing the secretive demeanor of the Civil Guard Officer, they could tell that what lay underground was significant.


    Although the sun was already leaning westward, everyone was eager to seize every minute and second.


    Only Vashka, his head wrapped in layers of white bandages, approached Winters: ¡°What is it that we¡¯re digging for, Centurion?¡±


    As an injured man, Vashka could quite straightforwardly slack off.


    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t remember?¡± Winters responded with a wry smile.


    Vashka sounded aggrieved: ¡°I took a fall that day¡­¡±


    ¡­


    On the day of the Greenhill Hunt, Vashka fell from his horse, striking the back of his head. Luckily, he suffered no more than a dozen stitches and a long sleep¡ªupon waking, he was lively as ever.


    But the fall did leave some sequelae; at least he could not recall anything about the day of the Greenhill Hunt.


    Afterwards, Vashka learned about the Blood Wolf¡¯s rampant and invincible presence on the Greenhill and how his companions shined following the Blood Wolf, turning green with regret.


    Every time he thought of how his companions would boast about their feats at Greenhill in the future while he had no memory of it at all, Vashka¡¯s heart ached.


    So, these past few days, Vashka had been indirectly enquiring about the specifics of the Greenhill Hunt. However, Pierre was tight-lipped, his companions were reluctant to share details, and his father had given him a severe scolding.


    After much thought, he concluded that the most reliable source would be first-hand information from those directly involved. Thus, whenever he had the chance, Vashka would sidle up to Winters in the hope of extracting some information.


    ¡­


    Winters reflected carefully¡ªVashka had been present when they seized and buried the gold statue. Surely, a fall on the day of the Greenhill Hunt wouldn¡¯t make him completely forget everything that had happened before, would it?


    He looked at Vashka¡¯s cheerful face and the white bandages wrapped around his head, suddenly feeling a pang of heartache. Because Vashka¡¯s fall was severe, had his luck been just slightly worse, he might have lost his life.


    But then another thought repeatedly surfaced: ¡°The kid probably got knocked silly from the fall¡­ No, even sillier than before.¡±


    ¡°When you see that thing, you¡¯ll remember,¡± Winters said as gently as he could: ¡°Vasya.¡±


    Vashka nodded desperately, not really understanding what the Centurion was talking about, but the Centurion¡¯s tone made him feel overwhelmingly flattered.


    Berlion was installing a bellows, and Winters called him aside.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe has brought samples of ore,¡± Winters said. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    Both men took horses and rode leisurely out of the valley, heading for the camp of the Red River Tribe.


    Winters was recovering much faster than Father Kaman had anticipated. He was already able to walk with a cane, but his limbs were still sore, weak, and felt stiff and uncoordinated when he moved.


    Therefore, Father Kaman strictly prohibited Winters from riding fast horses; had it not been for Winters¡¯s refusal to sit in a cart again, Father Kaman wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to ride at all.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe seems to have no interest in mining iron ore,¡± Winters said, gripping the saddle tightly and struggling to maintain his balance. ¡°It always feels a bit abnormal.¡±


    ¡°Iron ore requires many processes before it can enter the smelting furnace. If it¡¯s just roughly mined ore, a hundred portions won¡¯t yield one portion of pure iron. Steel can be sold far away, but iron ore isn¡¯t worth transporting to distant places. That¡¯s why well-known ironworking towns are all next to large mines; when the veins are exhausted, the towns also decline.¡±


    Although Berlion was still reticent, when discussing ironworking with Winters, he was a veritable fountain of knowledge: ¡°The chief of the Red River Tribe probably has determined that you wouldn¡¯t set up a smelter in their territory, and the ore isn¡¯t worth buying from a distance, hence their indifference.¡±


    Winters asked, ¡°What about transportation by water?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Berlion honestly replied. ¡°But I estimate it¡¯s unfeasible. From what I know of mining towns, even when water transportation is convenient, there won¡¯t be merchants coming from a hundred kilometers away to buy rough ore.¡±


    Winters caught an unfamiliar term: ¡°Rough ore?¡±


    ¡°It refers to the ore extracted from mines, mixed with rock.¡±


    ¡°Rough ore isn¡¯t worth long-distance transportation.¡± Winters, in the presence of an expert, was never afraid to show his curiosity and asked, ¡°Then, is there such a thing as fine ore?¡±


    ¡°In contrast to rough ore, blacksmiths generally call it ¡®concentrate¡¯,¡± Berlion explained carefully. ¡°If we let the Red River Tribe handle selecting, roasting, crushing, screening, and even sintering, we could directly buy concentrate from them. If transported by water, concentrate might be worth the long haul.¡±


    ¡°When you were not in Iron Peak County, a Mr. Leo visited me¡ªhe¡¯s a very astute merchant,¡± Winters mused. ¡°He said, ¡®Only goods with high enough profit margins are worth the long-distance trafficking, as the cost of transportation can exceed the price of the grain itself over two hundred kilometers away.''¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the case, Your Excellency.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t bring it up immediately,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°There must be something wrong.¡±


    ¡°There is something indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°Out with it. If you think it¡¯s not feasible, I¡¯m not holding out much hope either.¡±


    ¡°Concentrate is just one step away from becoming worked iron. If we can obtain concentrate, then crude furnaces could be used to produce worked iron,¡± Berlion said seriously. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, the Herders are not inexperienced in ironmaking. On the contrary, their craftsmanship is very intricate.¡±


    Winters recalled the weapons and armor confiscated from the various Herder tribes; although most were quite old, there were also some new ones among them. This led him to ponder the Red River Tribe¡¯s iron usage rate, which far exceeded that of other tribes ¡ª while poor small tribes were still using stone and bone arrowheads, every member of the Red River Tribe was already using iron arrowheads.


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°the Red River Tribe might have been secretly mining and smelting iron all along.¡±


    Berlion thought for a moment: ¡°The area around Qingqiu is all red soil, and the Red River Tribe does indeed have a ¡®Red River,¡¯ so there could very well be shallow iron ore deposits. It would be best to ask the local residents if there used to be iron mines? Or are there remnants of old iron smelting?¡±


    ¡°Where are there local residents when the Herder tribes roam everywhere?¡± Winters laughed heartily. After the laughter, he still adopted a serious attitude: ¡°I have already asked people from the Wutu Tribe. At least in recent decades, there has been no talk of an ¡®Iron Hill¡¯ upstream of Red River. As for earlier than that, no one knows.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that the ancient Herder people exhausted the shallow deposits and lacked the capability to mine the remaining ore, so over time the mines were abandoned and forgotten. Hence no one talks about them, and no one remembers them.¡±


    Winters wound the reins around his fingers loop by loop: ¡°Assuming that¡¯s the case, where would the Red River Tribe get the technology to mine deep ore deposits from?¡±


    Berlion did not answer, he had a vague feeling that this wasn¡¯t the real issue.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about it!¡± Winters stretched on horseback, smiling as he spoke: ¡°Even when you go to war with a map, you still need to see the terrain with your own eyes. It¡¯s useless to think it over here without checking the place in person¡ª the more the Red River Tribe refuses us to do the on-site exploration, the more I want to see what¡¯s there.¡±


    The two of them rode on for a while, and after exiting the valley, the world suddenly became open and bright.


    Berlion took the initiative to speak: ¡°Your Excellency, in fact, many places are known to have ore deposits that no one bothers to mine. Either because the veins are too poor, or because mining is too difficult, or because transportation is too inconvenient.¡±


    ¡°Like Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Just like Iron Peak Mine. Unless the price of iron bars is too high or the ore deposits in other places are exhausted, Iron Peak Mine isn¡¯t worth digging, because it¡¯s not cost-effective.¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh: ¡°You mine when there¡¯s profit, and you abandon it when there¡¯s not. In the end, iron smelting is also a business.¡±


    Berlion remained silent for a long time, then he retorted, ¡°What isn¡¯t, Your Excellency?¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, gently nudging the horse¡¯s ribs: ¡°Still, there are some things that aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡­


    Going against every single one of Father Kaman¡¯s medical advices, Winters galloped to the encampment where the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace guards were stationed as if in high spirits.


    Although the Gold Tent Guard were following the White Lion¡¯s orders to protect the Iron Peak County Delegation from disturbance, they did not camp in the valley nor did they have much contact with the Iron Peak County Delegation.


    From beginning to end, no one from the Red River Tribe has set foot in the valley¡ªthis was another command from the White Lion.


    Therefore, negotiations and exchanges were all conducted at the palace guard¡¯s camp outside the valley.


    Two Arrow Guards, one in front and the other behind, came to greet Winters as he delivered the ore.


    The Arrow Guard standing in the front was a typical Herder, with his skin exposed to the elements over the long term, resulting in a unique texture due to keratinization.


    The one standing behind, although dressed in wilderness garments, looked nothing like a Herder.


    ¡°Lord Batu.¡± The Arrow Guard who didn¡¯t look like a Herder spoke up, his Common Tongue carrying a hint of a Monta accent: ¡°What do you think about the conditions laid out by King White Lion?¡±

 Chapter 973 - 43: Trading (Part 2)

    Chapter 973: Chapter 43: Trading (Part 2)


    Upon hearing White Lion¡¯s new title, Winters suddenly became interested: ¡°Didn¡¯t White Lion always proclaim to be a legislator? When did he become a king?¡±


    ¡°He has always been!¡± the unfamiliar archery officer replied with righteousness and firmness.


    Winters chuckled, ¡°How may I address you?¡±


    ¡°This is [Tuhar], the envoy of King White Lion.¡± The unfamiliar archery officer introduced another archery officer first, then introduced himself: ¡°As for me, your excellency Batu may call me [Skylark].¡±


    Winters calmly sized up Skylark: of average height, around fifty years of age; temples greyed, deep-set eyes; skin hung in wrinkles due to loss of elasticity, his shriveled body failing to fill out the broad Hurd-style robes;


    Fingertip joints uniformly thick, in stark contrast to the other archery officer¡ªTuhar¡¯s joints had swollen and deformed due to years of intense use of bows and firearms.


    This was the first time he had seen a ¡°Republic person¡± serving as an archery officer for the Red River Tribe, and while he was curious, he felt somewhat uneasy: ¡°By your accent, you¡¯re Montan? How long have you been serving White Lion?¡±


    Old Skylark replied with a smile, ¡°I am a man of King White Lion. Ever since King White Lion accepted me, I have been in his service.¡±


    Seeing the attitude of the other party, Winters knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to extract any valuable information, so he didn¡¯t bother to ask any further.


    He yawned and poured himself a bowl of horse milk: ¡°If all of White Lion¡¯s subordinates are as shrewd as you, dealing with you all would be quite troublesome.¡±


    ¡°If all Paratu People were as wise and friendly as your excellency Batu, dealings with the Red River Tribe would indeed be much easier.¡± Skylark¡¯s response was neither humble nor arrogant: ¡°Your excellency, let us get back to the main subject. What do you think of King White Lion¡¯s proposal?¡±


    Skylark got an indifferent reply: ¡°Still considering.¡±


    ¡­ Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Captives, trade, and the iron mine¡ªthese were the three purposes of Winters¡¯ visit to the Red River Tribe. Among them, captives were of greatest concern to Winters, while trade was most important to White Lion.


    Officially, the Republic of Palatu had imposed a strict blockade on the Hurd tribes, leaving the smaller Hurd tribes too poor to afford even iron arrowheads.


    However, the sheer chaos Winters had witnessed firsthand was evidence enough: there had always been clandestine goods being transported between the wastelands and Palatu, making some people a fortune.


    ¡°Why did you let me go in the first place?¡± This question, Winters had never asked White Lion.


    He believed that White Lion¡¯s decision not to kill him had more to do with not wanting to hurt Erhulan¡¯s and Little Lion¡¯s feelings than with any long-term benefits.


    As for releasing him unconditionally, judging by the details revealed in White Lion¡¯s conversation, Father Reed had made significant efforts.


    But once he took control of Iron Peak County, considerations of interest had to come first.


    White Lion wanted Iron Peak County to become a gateway for the Red River Tribe to engage in material exchange with the outside world, and he had even made preparations in advance:


    Little Lion had traveled back and forth between Red River Tribe territory and Iron Peak County multiple times, already having scouted a route;


    And the return of the ¡°slaves¡± by the Red River Tribe was a trial¡ªshould the vehicles carrying the ¡°slaves¡± pass, so too would carriages laden with goods in the future.


    But even after meeting the tangible requirements, White Lion still needed to resolve two ¡®human¡¯ issues.


    First, the Terdun people.


    The territory of the Terdon Tribe lay between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe, impossible to bypass¡ªa tiger blocking the path. So if White Lion and Winters wanted to trade, the firekeeper must first nod in agreement.


    Would the firekeeper be gracious enough to agree?


    Unknown, for he had died.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s issue was resolved¡­ but not entirely.


    Although the tiger was dead, from its carcass emerged a flock of vultures.


    The vultures were uncontrollable and would eat anything. The Terdun people had lost a recognized leader and, with him, the bridle that held them in check.


    Intermittent envoys traversing secretly might manage, but once a fixed trade route was established, it would sooner or later attract hordes of starved vultures.


    Besides the threat of Terdun people, White Lion also needed the consent of another person¡ªWinters Palatu, Champion of Iron Peak County Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    Ultimately, a deal has to be appealing to both parties to go through¡­ at least most of the time it¡¯s like that.


    Iron Peak County needed funding, horses, buyers for ironware; in theory, trade with the Red River Tribe would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.


    The reason Winters kept delaying his response lay in the conditions proposed by the Red River Tribe.


    White Lion didn¡¯t participate in the negotiations personally; instead, he delegated a number of archery officers to discuss with Winters.


    And due to the lack of a ¡°Civil Guard Officer¡± on the Iron Peak County side who was knowledgeable and presentable, Winters had to go into battle with his bear chest.


    The archery officers from the Red River Tribe put forward only two vague conditions:


    First, White Lion would only trade with ¡°Batu,¡± and Batu would only trade with White Lion;


    Second, White Lion could dispatch troops to protect the trade caravans from being plundered, and Iron Peak County would have to give up a portion of the goods as tribute.


    Should Winters consent, by the onset of spring, the Red River Tribe would send out their first caravan to Iron Peak County.


    ¡­


    ¡°King White Lion specifically instructed,¡± Skylark stood respectfully in front of Winters¡¯ table: ¡°The wealth carried by the first caravan won¡¯t require any return goods; it is all to thank you for giving refuge to Prince Little Lion and Princess Erhulan at Qingqiu. Besides, King White Lion also picked out a thousand fine horses¡ªas additional thanks.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Winters asked with interest, ¡°So assume I don¡¯t agree, does that mean the thanks-gifts are also gone?¡±

 Chapter 974 - 43: Trading (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 974: Chapter 43: Trading (Part 2)_2


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Skylark remained composed, ¡°Whether or not an agreement is reached, the White Lion King will not take back his gift.¡±


    Winters gestured for the two archery officers to sit down, smiling as he said, ¡°The Herders swear by ¡®words spoken like arrows shot,¡¯ never to be taken back, rarely specifying terms in great detail. We Venetians, on the other hand, prefer to clarify all the details in advance¡­¡±


    ¡­


    [The time rewinds to the night before the hunting in Qingqiu]


    ¡°The first condition is easy to understand.¡± Anna peeked out from behind the drawing board, ¡°You may not bypass the White Lion, selling directly to the civilians of the Red River Tribe. In exchange, the White Lion will not go over your head to do business with the merchants of Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters secretly stretched his legs that had gotten a bit sore from standing.


    ¡°To put it bluntly, it means the White Lion wants to become the exclusive import and export merchant, monopolizing trade profits. As an exchange, he supports you gaining monopoly rights too.¡± Anna noticed Winters fidgeting and chided, ¡°Don¡¯t move around!¡±


    ¡°Like how you provide me valuable consultation, and I pose for you as a model?¡± Winters whispered a complaint, ¡°But where would I get the money to take in all the goods from the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. If other people have a demand, you can just sell it on.¡± Anna said.


    Winters asked back, ¡°What if others don¡¯t have a demand?¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t import, right?¡± Anna answered with a smile.


    Winters thought to himself: The lion¡¯s goods, those are not something that can simply be refused when unwanted.


    Anna¡¯s graphite stick scratched across the paper: ¡°Monopoly means power, but the source of power is not making profits, it¡¯s allocating profits. Suppose you have a monopoly on trade, then you can require all buyers to provide a security deposit, or even pay in advance.¡±


    Winters pondered: ¡°Allocating profits? Distributing spoils of war? For the White Lion, monopoly signifies power too.¡±


    Anna continued to explain, ¡°Mother always says that Venetians have a bad reputation abroad because they always try to grasp monopoly rights at any cost, not shying away from bribery, violence, undercutting prices¡­ stopping at nothing.¡±


    Winters protested: ¡°You are Venetian too.¡±


    ¡°Only half.¡± Anna blinked her eyes.


    Winters asked, ¡°Can we agree to the first term with them?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not done yet.¡± Anna set down her graphite stick, ¡°The term is too vague, there are many details that need clarification. Is the White Lion¡¯s exclusivity limited only to the Red River Tribe, or the entire Herd Wasteland?¡±


    Anna stepped in front of Winters: ¡°The content of the first term also includes an implicit condition that, if you promise to ensure the White Lion¡¯s monopoly status, you must also take on the responsibility of ¡®inspecting smuggling.¡¯ If the merchants from Iron Peak County bypass you and the White Lion, secretly selling goods to the citizens of the Red River Tribe, what will you do? Have you thought it through?¡±


    Winters fell into deep thought.


    ¡°And then there¡¯s the most critical issue.¡± Anna¡¯s hands rested on Winters¡¯ shoulders, ¡°Who will ensure the enforceability of the treaty?¡±


    ¡­


    [The time returns to the present]


    Hearing Winters mention wanting to ¡°clarify details in advance,¡± Skylark¡¯s cheeks twitched slightly.


    The more vague the terms of a contract, the more advantaged the stronger party. Between the Red River Tribe and Iron Peak County, clearly the Red River Tribe is the more formidable force.


    Discreetly, Skylark took a sip of his milk wine, ready to hear what kind of ideas this young man in front of him could come up with.


    Then¡­ he saw the other party solemnly take out a sheepskin parchment filled with text from his bosom.


    ¡­


    The intense debate lasted from the afternoon into the deep night, and it was only concerning the first article of the treaty.


    ¡°Representative of the Red River Tribe¡± Skylark and ¡°Winters¡¯ representative¡± Winters fully exchanged opinions, reaching a beneficial consensus on issues such as [delivery locations], [negotiation methods], [taxation], and others.


    Some crucial aspects, for instance, were made clear ¨C that ¡°monopoly trade¡± was only to be within areas actually under Winters¡¯ control.


    Winters argued logically, also reserving the right to sell goods to tribes beyond the Red River Tribe.


    Ultimately, when the treaty took written form, Winters said with a smile, ¡°I believe this will certainly be a mutually beneficial agreement.¡±


    Dehydrated, exhausted Skylark sipped his ice water, grumbling internally.


    There is no force to ensure both parties adhere to the agreement; if either side feels aggrieved, they can readily overturn the table. Of course, it¡¯s mutually beneficial.


    ¡°Now, only one thing remains unresolved,¡± Winters said relaxedly, ¡°Who will protect the safety of the routes.¡±


    Skylark was feeling overwhelmed, his eyelids struggling to stay open, unable to concentrate. He was already past forty, lacking the energy of his opponent: ¡°Lord Batu, it¡¯s quite late. Shall we continue tomorrow?¡±


    Winters poured Skylark a drink, sincerely encouraging, ¡°It¡¯s not late, it¡¯s still today before dawn. Today¡¯s affairs should not be left to tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Skylark gathered his strength, preparing to turn the tables, ¡°As you know, according to the currently planned route, the coming and going carriages will inevitably pass through the grazing fields of the Terdun Tribe. The Terdun people are as cunning as wolves, as greedy as vultures, and will not let go of meat within their reach.¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Skylark cleared his throat, ¡°So the only thing that can protect the safety of people and carriages is military force. The only one who can provide such force is the White Lion King!¡±


    Having said that, Skylark stared intently at Winters, afraid to miss any slight change in the other¡¯s expression.


    The threat of the Terdun people was real and present, meanwhile the Rebels of Iron Peak County lacked the swift cavalry strength of the Herders. Even if they wanted to protect their trade routes on their own, they lacked the power to implement it.

 Chapter 975 - 43: Trading (Middle)_3

    Chapter 975: Chapter 43: Trading (Middle)_3


    The inability to ensure the security of the trade route is the Achilles¡¯ heel of the Iron Peak County Rebels. Skylark was convinced: seize this, and it¡¯s like grasping hold of their ball.


    ¡°Ultimately, it still comes down to force. No tribute, then bloodshed.¡± Skylark thought to himself, admiring yet regretting as he looked at the young man before him: ¡°No matter how many advantages you secure upfront, in the end, you can¡¯t escape the ¡®blood tribute.''¡±


    Winters pondered: ¡°Tribute¡­ really sounds rather unpleasant.¡±


    ¡°Compensation, security deposit, all are acceptable.¡± Skylark said magnanimously: ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, even calling it a tax is fine¡ªsafety tax.¡±


    Winters: ¡°But what if, after paying this compensation, safety still can¡¯t be guaranteed?¡±


    Skylark: ¡°Any caravan that pays the safety tax and gets plundered, the Red River Tribe will be responsible for retrieving it. If we can¡¯t retrieve it, we¡¯ll compensate at full value.¡±


    Winters: ¡°What if people die?¡±


    Skylark: ¡°Compensation is the same, we can agree on a figure in advance. How much for a person dying, how much for a horse, how much for a lost wagon.¡±


    Skylark had his detailed plan prepared, including compensation schemes, relay station locations, how to deter the Terdon Tribe, and so forth. He patiently explained to Batu, making every effort to dispel the other¡¯s doubts.


    Winters listened and took notes, also interjecting with questions now and then.


    After hearing the complete plan, Winters lightly tapped his knee: ¡°After saying so much, how much goods do you plan to take as compensation?¡±


    Skylark cleared his throat, extended three fingers, then lowered one: ¡°One third.¡±


    The tips of Winters¡¯s eyebrows raised: ¡°One third? Better off without your help!¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s no one to protect them.¡± Skylark said calmly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not just a third, but half the caravans will not make it back.¡±


    Winters with a gentle smile: ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°Just stating facts.¡± Skylark bowed slightly: ¡°Batu.¡±


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re quite sure of yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡± Winters sighed helplessly.


    Skylark did not display the slightest complacency: ¡°Mutual benefit.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s an issue here.¡± Winters propped up his chin, asking unhurriedly: ¡°The White Lion not only protects my caravans but also those of the Red River Tribe. Even if I don¡¯t pay the compensation, White Lion would still send troops.¡±


    Skylark was well prepared.


    He frowned slightly, as if deep in thought. After a moment, he ventured to ask: ¡°Batu makes sense. How about this then¡ªevery wagon traveling between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe, the White Lion King will only take one quarter of the tribute. From that tribute, we will take out another quarter to share with you. What do you think?¡±


    Winters revealed a smile: ¡°Mutually beneficial?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Skylark bowed deeply: ¡°Mutually beneficial.¡±


    Winters clapped his hands in laughter, with Skylark also smiling along.


    ¡°Your proposal is good.¡± Winters suddenly became serious, took out a parchment from his chest: ¡°But I have a more mutually beneficial suggestion.¡±


    On the parchment was a map, with a few simple strokes outlining the Ashen Stream River, Jinding Mountains, and Sheltering Mountains. The Red River Tribe was marked on the northern bank of the Ashen Stream River, with Iron Peak County located at the bottom of the map, just next to the Jinding Mountains.


    Winters pointed on the map, making a casual stroke: ¡°White Lion takes care of Ashen Stream River, I take care of south of the Ashen Stream River, everyone minds their own side. Let¡¯s be frank, Mr. Skylark. If the Red River Tribe sends troops to protect the trade route for five years, the old lands of the Terdon Tribe will likely all become yours. If White Lion truly wants to grab territory, then send troops to fight. As for using the wind to sail¡­ I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m unwilling to help for free.¡±


    Skylark felt his blood rush to his head in an instant, and he sharply questioned: ¡°South of the Ashen Stream River? What gives you the authority to ensure the safety of south of the Ashen Stream River?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of White Lion King¡¯s concern.¡± Winters, of course, wouldn¡¯t tell Skylark about his secret agreement with Tie Chi. He placed the notes he had just taken onto the table: ¡°If there are any accidents, my side will also compensate at full value¡ªaccording to the prices you¡¯ve just set.¡±


    The tired and angered Skylark suddenly stood up, his vision going dark, and just before fainting, a final thought flashed across his mind: ¡°Damn Venetian!¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 976 - 44 Trading (Part 3)

    Chapter 976: Chapter 44 Trading (Part 3)


    The winch creaked, and the cable groaned in agony.


    The heretic relic, long buried underground, was inch by inch lifted by the crane. Soil fell away in flakes, revealing the true form of the treasure. Under the torchlight, the surface of the heretic object glinted with a dim yet captivating luster.


    Every person present couldn¡¯t help but hold their breath¡ªin the face of a lump of gold taller than themselves by half, anyone would react in the same way.


    Because the density of gold greatly exceeds that of dirt, the idol had been slowly sinking.


    Xial and his team had dug through the night to find the idol, facing countless moments of self-doubt. Then, it took a full day to clean up and expose the idol.


    What remained was but to destroy it.


    Anna couldn¡¯t help but approach the idol, reaching out to wipe the wet mud from its face.


    The golden visage was serene and peaceful, utterly indifferent to its impending end.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± Winters said, walking up to Anna. ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Anna observed the golden idol closely.


    This statue before her was nearly disconnected from the word ¡°exquisite.¡± It seemed as if the Khan who ordered its casting disdained to carve out any detail, refusing to alter a single stroke after the heated golden liquid had cooled in the mold.


    As a result, the facial features of the idol appeared so blurred, with the pits and flaws from the casting being preserved exactly as they were.


    But precisely because of this, as compared to the gold and silver sacred vessels enshrined in churches, and the glittering crowns worn by kings and lords, this object of a heretic religion possessed a rugged, sturdy, and pristine beauty unique unto itself.


    It didn¡¯t need any delicate or intricate processing; its mere value was enough to overpower any sacred artifact or crown.


    ¡°How long has it¡­ existed?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°If the records in the Great Archive are correct,¡± Father Kaman, invited to oversee the ceremony, replied softly, ¡°It should be around 240 years, forged by the first Khan conquering the Great Wilderness, out of the gold tributes from various tribes.¡±


    Anna looked at Winters, wanting to speak but hesitated, and in the end, only a sighed regretfully.


    Winters also felt a hint of regret. If it were possible, he would have preferred to preserve the idol as a monument. Because seeing this golden statue reminded him of the endless days and nights of the battles in the Great Wilderness.


    But the future is more important than the past.


    ¡°One wonders how many relics like this have perished in history, leaving not a whisper behind,¡± Winters touched Anna¡¯s fingertips. ¡°But at least you witnessed its disappearance.¡±


    Anna silently nodded.


    Winters at last met the gaze of the idol, which stood silently; the west wind howled through the valley, and crows circled and called in the night sky.


    ¡°Melt it,¡± Winters said.


    The final verdict thus delivered, the idol was dragged to the makeshift workshop. Father Kaman performed a simple baptismal rite, and the people immediately set about dismembering the idol.


    The first saw stroke landed on the neck, as two blacksmiths used a specially made steel saw to sever the idol¡¯s head, bit by bit.


    Witnessing the sawing back and forth, the heart of the accompanying goldsmith ached almost to tears.


    To minimize loss, craftsmen usually use shears to cut precious metals. But the size of the idol was so astonishing that not only shears were out of the question, but even axes and chisels were of no use; only a special steel saw could do the job.


    The goldsmith shed his outer garment, hoping to catch the gold dust. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But how could he catch it? With a gust of wind, the gold dust scattered. They were the blood of the idol, returning to the wilderness.


    The idol, worshipped by Hurd¡¯s tribes for 240 years, was ultimately divided into seventeen pieces. The heavy gold pieces were buried in the charcoal to be heated, then melted into liquid in the crucible, and eventually cast into bars.


    When the first light of dawn appeared in the sky, the golden idol was no more, replaced instead by gold bars neatly laid at the bottom of four carts.


    Winters set down his walking stick, jumped onto a carriage, and picked up a gold bar.


    The residual heat of the gold bar had long dissipated, cold to the touch. The bar, weighing around a kilogram, with the thickness of a sword handle and the length of a palm, fit snugly in one¡¯s grasp.


    The members of the envoy gradually gathered around the carts. Among them, some had followed Winters since the recruitment at Wolf Town, some were assigned to Winters¡¯ command during the campaign in the Great Wilderness, and others were prisoners of war forcibly conscripted after Winters¡¯ conquest of Revodan.


    The eyes of all were involuntarily drawn to the gold bars¡ªwhile busy working, it hadn¡¯t seemed like much, but once idle, they truly began to comprehend the immeasurable fortune before them, within arm¡¯s reach.


    Everyone¡¯s heart thumped wildly, their mouths involuntarily secreting saliva, accompanied by heavy, overlapping breathing.


    Winters surveyed his men, and in their eyes, he saw desire, awe, greed, and fear¡­


    ¡°The gold on these four carts,¡± Winters looked into the eyes of his subordinates, calmly stating, ¡°is enough for any man to live like a god-king anywhere.¡±


    No one could meet Winters¡¯ gaze, not even Pierre, who also lowered his head.


    ¡°Come,¡± Winters casually handed a gold bar to Pierre. ¡°Take this, feel it.¡±


    Pierre hesitantly accepted the gold bar, while Winters continued to distribute them.


    Soon, over sixty people present each had a gold bar, all a bit at a loss.


    ¡°No one¡¯s seen what a life of royalty is like, so let me give a more tangible description,¡± Winters, showing the bar in his hand, said. ¡°The small piece you hold would be enough for you to buy a farm in Newly Reclaimed Land and live a life of plenty. And on the carts, there¡¯s a total of¡­¡±

 Chapter 977 - 44 Trading (Part 3)_2

    Chapter 977: Chapter 44 Trading (Part 3)_2


    Winters paused for a moment: ¡°Two thousand two hundred and seventeen pieces.¡±


    ¡°Now, do you realize how staggering this wealth is?¡±


    ¡°Now, do you know what these gold pieces can buy?¡±


    Winters paused again, scrutinizing the crowd, and slowly asked, ¡°Now, do you understand¡ªwhy it is you who have come here with me?¡±


    ¡°Each of you has proven your courage and ability in the most brutal battles, each one of you handpicked by myself. I can call out each of your names, and you can count every scar on my body. In Revodan, in Iron Peak County, in Palatu, you are my most trusted subordinates, you are the ones I can count on the most, you are the ones I can entrust my life to, that¡¯s why I lead you here¡ªinstead of anyone else.¡±


    Beneath the carriage, the crowd held gold bars and listened quietly.


    ¡°There are many doubts in your hearts. Why do we deal with the Red River Tribe? Aren¡¯t their hands stained with our blood? Aren¡¯t our hands also stained with the blood of the Red River Tribe members? Why are we now acting as if nothing happened, contentedly being the guests of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°I will tell you honestly¡ªfrom this moment on, I will keep nothing from you.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe can redeem our comrades-in-arms who are stranded in the fallen wilderness.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe can ensure the transportation of this batch of gold.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe is willing to sell us warhorses, wool, because the Red River Tribe is willing to buy our ironware, mineral resources.¡±


    ¡°To put it succinctly, it¡¯s because the interaction with the Red River Tribe will allow us to grow and strengthen.¡±


    Winters swept his gaze over the faces of his subordinates, missing no minor details.


    He took a deep breath, his back against the magnificent sunrise, and for the first time, he opened his heart to his subordinates, to the world, revealing his ambitions: ¡°The war is not over, the war is far from over.¡±


    ¡°Taking Iron Peak County isn¡¯t a victory, taking Iron Peak County is far from victory.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion, the Military Government, Kingsfort, they will not tolerate our existence. Sooner or later, the armies that encircle us will reappear. Only next time, they will have learned from their mistakes, they will be more prepared.¡±


    ¡°So we must grow strong, we must flourish, we must desperately suck up every bit of nourishment, absorb every drop of nutrients, even if they come from our enemies! Even if their hands are covered in our blood!¡±


    Winters slammed his fist onto the carriage, causing the board to break. He didn¡¯t amplify his strength with a spell, but to the listeners, his voice was deafening, like a roaring gale.


    Winters steadied his breathing, then suddenly looked up and asked, ¡°Why do we fight?¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°For you, we fight!¡± Pierre responded without hesitation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to fight for me!¡± Winters shouted fiercely, this time involuntarily using a sound-amplifying spell, his roar echoing through the valley: ¡°I, you, we¡ªwe are fighting for the right to survive! We are fighting for fairness! We are fighting for justice!¡±


    ¡°We must fight, for if we don¡¯t, we will starve to death! And we cannot surrender! Because to surrender would mean being sent to the gallows!¡±


    ¡°The Republic of Palatu discarded us like trash, not caring about the blood and sacrifices we made for her. We fulfilled our responsibility, but the Republic of Palatu did not fulfill hers!¡±


    ¡°Those in power alter the fate of ordinary people for their own selfish desires, treating lives as expendables, wasted in places with no meaning, no value, no use!¡±


    ¡°This tramples on all fairness and justice in the world! It betrays every promise made when this republic, this alliance, was founded! It lets down every hero who shed blood for this republic, for this alliance!¡±


    ¡°I stayed in Palatu because I can¡¯t stand it! Because I can¡¯t take it! Because I can¡¯t swallow it! Because the country founded by the old marshal should not be like this!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what true fairness and justice look like when they finally come to this world, but it¡¯s definitely not what Palatu looks like today. So Iron Peak County is not the end, Mont Blanc County, Vernge County, Maplestone City, Newly Reclaimed Land¡­ we must continue to expand, continue to conquer, continue to seize power, until the old world is destroyed, until a new world is born.¡±


    The valley fell back into silence.


    After a long time, Pierre asked, ¡°And what after the Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s Jiangbei Province, Westwood Province.¡± Winters replied with his head held high: ¡°Then Paratu!¡±


    The scene fell silent. For many around the carriage, the Newly Reclaimed Land was already vast, and Paratu was unimaginably larger. Many of them had never even left their hometowns before.


    Pierre was silent for a moment, staring intently at Winters, and asked in a deep voice: ¡°What comes after Paratu?¡±


    Winters revealed a smile, the next targets were too distant for him, so far that hope was slim, but his answer was as resolute as a vow: ¡°Then it¡¯s Vineta! The Federated Provinces! Monta! Varn! Then the Various Republics!¡±


    Winters did not know what his subordinates were thinking at this moment. For him, this was also a wondrous instant.


    Because of the flames roaring within his chest, for the first time, he shared his deepest desires, ambitions, visions, aspirations¡­ however one might describe them.


    It was an unrealistic, vague, hard-to-achieve goal¡ªat least that¡¯s what Winters thought of it himself.


    He shared this wish with his most trusted subordinates, not expecting everyone to accept it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t force any of you to fight alongside me.¡± Winters said: ¡°Anyone who wants to leave can do so with a bar of gold.¡±


    No one spoke. Pierre took a few steps forward and returned the bar of gold to the carriage. The others, following Pierre, one by one, returned their bars of gold to the carriage.


    Two thousand two hundred and seventeen gold bars lay quietly at the bottom of the carriage, not one more, not one less.


    ¡­


    [Vashka and Pierre¡¯s tent]


    During their rest, Vashka was still groggy and asked Pierre in confusion: ¡°What exactly is the New World like?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Pierre collapsed directly onto the blanket and closed his eyes to sleep: ¡°As long as it¡¯s better than the old one.¡±


    ¡­


    [Winters and Caman¡¯s tent]


    ¡°No one can save the world, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Caman was stirring the campfire: ¡°That is the prerogative of the Lord.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I want to save the world?¡± Winters sipped on mare¡¯s milk: ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m better at destroying it.¡±


    ¡­


    [Anna¡¯s tent]


    Anna gazed at the drawing board for a long time, yet never started to paint.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    While Winters was busy leading his men in melting the gold men into bars, a convoy arrived at the west bank of Big Horn River.


    The dawn began to break, and the silhouette of Tiefeng gradually became visible.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Wake the slaves, send out the envoys.¡± Hong Lingyu, who was escorting the convoy, ordered the guards as he squinted toward the solitary peak in the distance: ¡°[Herde Language] Across the river is ¡®Iron Peak County¡¯.¡±


    The prisoners of the Expeditionary Force, who had once become slaves of the Herders, had finally returned to Paratu.

 Chapter 978 - 45 Another Hunt (Part 1)

    Chapter 978: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 1)


    [Empire, Castile Peninsula, Royal Hunting Lodge, Hunting Grounds]


    As the grand hunt of the Red River Tribe came to a close beyond the Sheltering Mountains ¡ª a thousand miles away on the Castile Peninsula, another hunt was reaching its climax.


    Compared with the spectacular scene of thirty thousand hunters sweeping across the wilderness at the sound of the White Lion¡¯s roar on the Red River Tribe¡¯s side, the Empire¡¯s hunt seemed quite modest, employing fewer than a thousand attendants and servants.


    However, this impression of modesty was solely due to ¡°comparison.¡±


    For the nobility of Castile, even the annual Ascension Mass was less important than the grand hunt.


    Twenty years ago, on the eve of the Empire¡¯s civil war, when the situation was unpredictable and the various princes holding heavy troops remained silent.


    It was the nobles of the Castile Peninsula who first openly rallied under the banner of [Henry the Sunfire], charging into the fray during the subsequent war of succession and earning glorious military achievements.


    To honor the loyalty and valor of the Castile nobility, once the dust settled on the royal succession, the Royal Family held a grand hunting event on the Castile Peninsula every winter.


    Even the Emperor himself would attend the event in person, a commitment he has never once missed in twenty years, never delegated to another.


    Hence, every deep winter, nobles from across Castile gathered like migratory fish, donning their most extravagant hunting gear and converging at the Royal Hunting Lodge from all over the peninsula.


    Even the landless knights and commoners without the privilege to participate in the hunt would go to great lengths to enter the hunting grounds, eager to catch a glimpse of the Emperor¡¯s true face.


    After all, the people of Castile are famous for being brave and robust warriors, but also carry a reputation for being unruly and easily angered.


    The geographical location of the Castile Peninsula, far from the Empire¡¯s core, naturally bred a lack of awe for imperial authority among its people.


    Thus, during the reign of the Mad King Richard alone, the Castile Peninsula saw no less than seven major and minor rebellions.


    After their distinguished service in the war of succession, the pride and arrogance of the Castile nobility grew even more unmanageable.


    It was solely thanks to the Emperor¡¯s masterful handling that the Castile faction neither grew too powerful nor lost its balance.


    In the twenty years since the new Emperor ascended the throne, not once has the Castile Peninsula seen a rebellion.


    Therefore, the grand hunting event is not only an opportunity for the young generation of Castile nobility to showcase their prowess and win the Emperor¡¯s favor but also an important occasion for the Royal Family to maintain the loyalty of the Castile nobility and display their affection and favor.


    Especially at a time like this.


    When is that?


    When the Northern Sea route opens.


    Before the conquest of the northern countries, ships from the Empire¡¯s Western Colonies could only dock on the Castile Peninsula, then transport goods like Gold, Silver, slaves, tobacco, and sugar to the Empire by land.


    With the growth of trade along the western routes, the shipbuilding industry also thrived on the Castile Peninsula.


    The continuous influx of wealth brought unprecedented prosperity to the Castile Peninsula, and the noble Castilians progressively adopted a life of luxury and indulgence.


    They built magnificent palaces, bought the most prestigious and spirited Flemish Warhorses, adorned their tables with exquisite Vineta gold and Silverware, and wore only the most lavish Mountain Front Territory twill fabrics.


    And underpinning all these expenses was the western trade route.


    Now, the northern lion has been subdued by His Imperial Majesty.


    The northern trade route is in the hands of the Emperor, and the two oceans are henceforth connected.


    The ships passing through the Narrow Sea no longer have to pay exorbitant transit taxes or risk interception by Norsemen pirates.


    The wealth from the Western Colonies no longer requires the incredibly wasteful land transportation but can now be directly shipped to the eastern coast¡ªcloser to the heart of the Empire.


    The rise of trade routes can bring prosperity, just as their disappearance can lead to decline.


    Some far-sighted Castilian nobles have already felt uneasy, and they can¡¯t help but speculate: although the Emperor has granted Castile numerous honors, he rarely admits Castilians into the inner circle of power. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Castilian nobles, with a gloomy mood, partake in this winter hunt; they are now even more in need of a benevolent gesture from the Emperor.


    Yet, there are always those who do not believe in such things.


    Inside a tent in the hunting camp, Prince Richard Monta was earnestly pleading with another blond man.


    The blond man ignored the Prince, silently strapping on his armor.


    The one who could treat the prince like this and treat the prince in such a manner could only be one person in the entire Empire¡ªEarl Harlan, Knight of the Golden Fleece, the Empire¡¯s youngest general, and Prince¡¯s childhood playmate¡ªHarlan¡¯s Siegfried.


    Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, Prince Richard looked at another chestnut-haired man with both anger and urgency, ¡°You¡¯re his deputy! Why don¡¯t you speak up? Farnan!¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s useless,¡± the chestnut-haired man replied calmly: ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Perhaps no one in the world understands Siegfried better than Farnan, not even Siegfried himself.


    So, from the start, Farnan did not attempt to stop him, merely silently assisting Siegfried with his greaves.


    Siegfried, tall and handsome, with a noble aura in his well-fitted hunting attire. In contrast, Farnan might not possess outstanding looks, but his efficiency and steadiness inspired trust.


    With a stern tone, Prince Richard demanded, ¡°What do you mean by useless? Isn¡¯t he supposed to listen to you the most?¡±


    ¡°Farnan is not wrong, Your Highness,¡± Siegfried finally spoke, ¡°Please do not trouble him further.¡±


    Seeing that Siegfried had spoken, Prince Richard suppressed his anger, trying to persuade as calmly as possible: ¡°It¡¯s just a show; what will it mean to defeat those Castilians? You no longer have anything to prove. Victory or defeat is meaningless, and failure would only bring shame. Do you really want to fight such a battle?¡±

 Chapter 979 - 45 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 979: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    Siegfried stretched out his arms, allowing Farnan to wrap his wrists, palms, and knuckles tightly with cloth strips.


    ¡°As you said, Your Highness.¡± Siegfried gently clenched his teeth: ¡°It¡¯s just a performance.¡±


    ¡­


    [Time rewinds to fifteen minutes earlier]


    ¡°Earl Harlan?¡± Duke Tarlac, proudly holding a trophy animal ear, walked past by Siegfried, and seemed to casually ask: ¡°Aren¡¯t you participating?¡±


    The Castile Lords always looked down on the ¡°new nobility,¡± not to mention Siegfried who came from a humble background, the son of a poor Knight.


    Siegfried acted as if he heard nothing, ignoring Duke Tarlac. He held his wine glass, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the royal viewing platform.


    Duke Tarlac was about to explode in anger, but the auburn-haired Lieutenant by Siegfried¡¯s side stepped forward first, replying neither humbly nor arrogantly: ¡°Your Grace, the winter hunt is a stage for the Castile youth to display their prowess. How could the Earl compete for the spotlight with the gentlemen of Castile?¡±


    Being a favorite of the Emperor, Siegfried didn¡¯t want a real conflict to erupt, so Duke Tarlac directed his anger at the auburn-haired Lieutenant.


    Duke Tarlac glanced at the Lieutenant and asked: ¡°Are you Farnan? The ¡®Shadow of Earl Harlan¡¯ as they say?¡±


    ¡°Or to put it another way¡­¡± Duke Tarlac¡¯s tone shifted, becoming mocking and lewd: ¡°Earl Harlan¡¯s male concubine?¡±


    Before Farnan could speak up, Siegfried turned around, glancing at Duke Tarlac.


    If Siegfried¡¯s face was like a marble statue meticulously crafted by a master sculptor, then the three deep lines at his brow now were like scars left by a craftsman¡¯s slip.


    The newly-appointed Earl Harlan spoke coldly: ¡°His Majesty does not permit me to participate.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Duke Tarlac, seeing the blonde young man provoked, left with a smile of a victor: ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    Siegfried pursed his lips tightly, his left hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword.


    Suddenly, another hand rested on Siegfried¡¯s bracer¡ªit was Farnan, who looked at Siegfried and shook his head.


    The matter should have ended there, but¡­


    ¡°No wonder.¡± Duke Tarlac, who had walked some distance, loudly spoke to himself: ¡°The hunting of Castile is too barbaric, how could His Majesty bear to let his male concubine take the risk?¡±


    ¡­


    [Time returns to the present]


    [The hunting ground, viewing platform]


    The Castor Empire¡¯s royal winter hunt included falconry, hawk hunting, dog hunting, and the grand hunt. Both dog hunting and hawk hunting involve horseback chases, while falconry is conducted on foot.


    After the other hunting activities concluded, it was time for the grand hunt, the main event of the winter hunt.


    The grand hunting tradition of the Empire¡¯s nobility closely resembled that of the Herders, involving Attendants and servants herding wild animals scattered throughout the forest together, then enclosing the hunting ground with wooden barriers and curtains.


    Compared to the nearly ten-kilometer-wide hunting grounds of the Red River Tribe, the diameter of Castile¡¯s winter hunting ground did not exceed a hundred meters.


    As there was no high vantage point similar to Qingqiu, craftsmen would build temporary viewing platforms around the hunting ground.


    The higher the viewing platform, the more prestigious the spectators on it.


    Royal family members and dukes had their separate viewing platforms. Lesser nobles without the privilege to sit either stood or rode horses, with their status clearly reflected by their positions.


    The largest amphitheater was reserved for the families of various households, a special courtesy extended to the ladies.


    At this very moment, on the highest viewing platform, a young girl was quietly complaining: ¡°So boring, Daddy, do they really have to torment those poor wild boars?¡±


    ¡°Mind your words.¡± Said a voice, gentle and pleasing to the ear¡ªit must belong to a noble lady: ¡°Elizabeth.¡±


    The girl pouted: ¡°Daddy didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    The girl¡¯s demeanor only increased the lady¡¯s dissatisfaction: ¡°Where did you learn such manners? Your father spoils you too much; you¡¯re almost turning into a wild girl.¡±


    The girl blinked her eyes, putting on an expression of a helpless young creature, her gaze imploring the man on the throne: ¡°Daddy¡­¡±


    The man on the throne showed a trace of a smile: ¡°You have angered your mother yourself; don¡¯t expect me to help you.¡±


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always like this, always like this.¡± Beside her anger, the gentle voice of the noble lady carried a touch of sorrow: ¡°Always thinking of using your father¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± The man on the throne looked toward the lady on his right.


    The mature, gentle voice abruptly ended.


    The girl sneakily arched her eyebrows, as if celebrating her victory.


    This ordinary exchange occurred within the most prestigious family of the Empire.


    The girl who was acting coy with her father is the Emperor¡¯s eldest daughter and the most beloved Princess Elizabeth. The noble lady admonishing Princess Elizabeth was the Empress Diana.


    The man sitting between the princess and the empress needs no further introduction; his full title would require six hundred forty-six characters to spell out.


    Typically, he would use a simpler designation ¡ª Graced by the Principality, the sole and lawful ruler of the Empire, Tannaria, Castors, and Norsen along with their territories and dependencies, Protector of the Faith, the most supreme and splendid Emperor, Henry IV.


    At this moment, the Emperor seemed different to those unfamiliar with him¡ªdevoid of authority and divinity. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But those who truly walked the courts of the palace would not be surprised, for it is only in the presence of Princess Elizabeth that the Emperor becomes mortal.


    So you see, while everyone else sat properly and even dared not breathe too loudly, Princess Elizabeth could move her seat next to the Emperor¡¯s throne, lean on his knees, and complain about the dullness of the hunt.

 Chapter 980 - 45 Another Hunt (Part 3)

    Chapter 980: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 3)


    The latest round of performance had just ended, and a young Castilian nobleman on a spirited horse was riding around the hunting ground, receiving cheers and blown kisses.


    The Emperor nodded slightly, and the royal flag at the viewing stand was waved three times, indicating appreciation for the gladiator.


    Acknowledged by the Emperor, the young noble dismounted next to the carcass of the prey. He drew his dagger, cut off the ears and tail of the prey, and walked under the viewing stand to bow and pay homage to the Emperor.


    Princess Elizabeth muttered softly, ¡°What¡¯s so fascinating about a bunch of men battling a bunch of wild boars¡­¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, Your Highness,¡± Duke Lothar said with a smile as he approached the viewing stand: ¡°The most interesting part of Castilian hunting is the duel between man and fierce beasts.¡±


    ¡­


    Why does Duke Tarak say that Castilian hunting is ¡°barbaric¡±?


    The reason is simple, the highlight of Castilian winter hunting has never been the ¡°hunting¡± itself but a one-on-one duel between man and fierce beasts.


    In times when civilization¡¯s light was but a mere twinkle, battling fierce beasts was a skill humans had to master. In the remnants of ancient civilization¡¯s murals, numerous scenes of human and beast combat are visible.


    As civilizations developed, humans gradually evolved from the stages of consuming raw meat and living in caves. Although battling wild beasts was no longer a necessity for survival, humans preserved it as a way to showcase bravery.


    Therefore, in the early histories of various civilizations, records of ritualistic duels between humans and beasts are also common.


    Step back a thousand years, gladiators fighting fierce beasts was a bloody pastime for the citizens of the Ancient Empire.


    Step back three hundred years, hunting fierce beasts was one of the responsibilities of feudal nobles, and even native lions were hunted to extinction.


    However, nowadays, on the continent where the Empire is located, the only place that still views ¡°battling fierce beasts¡± as an entertaining activity and a proof of bravery is the Castile Peninsula.


    The disappearance of the beast-fighting tradition is due partly to the decreasing number of wild beasts, and partly to the prolonged criticism by the Church.


    Doubtless, taking pleasure in fighting beasts disregards human life safety, and theologians from the Church have always detested and fiercely condemned it.


    In the end, only the remote and primitive Castile Peninsula still retains this ¡°barbaric¡± and ¡°rudimentary¡± tradition.


    According to the tradition of Castilian winter hunting, small prey such as deer, roe, foxes, rabbits, birds, etc., are cleaned out in the earlier days of dog hunting, falconry, and hawking.


    Whereas fierce animals such as wolves, wild boars, and bears are cautiously preserved until the last day of the hunt.


    The final day of the hunt is conducted in the hunting ground, and all the visiting nobles come forward, even the Emperor himself attends in person.


    The fierce animals are released into the hunting ring one by one, each stronger and more ferocious than the last.


    The Castilian nobles participating in the last day of the hunt also take turns entering the hunting ring, engaging in one-on-one duels with fierce animals.


    Fighting beasts is an extremely dangerous challenge, with injuries and deaths being not uncommon, yet the Castilian nobles relish in it.


    Barbaric? Then let it be barbaric! I am simply savage!


    This is the deep-seated thought of the Castilian people, the more the Church criticizes ¡°beast fighting¡± as barbaric, the more Castilians regard it as a unique symbol.


    ¡­


    [The Hunting Ground, Viewing Stand] sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing that the Emperor was in good spirits, Duke Lothar shared a story with the princess: ¡°Your Highness, you should know, twenty years ago at the Grey Rock arena, His Majesty personally took to the field and consecutively slaughtered a giant wolf, a bull, and a brown bear.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Why didn¡¯t I know about this?¡± Elizabeth suddenly became excited, grabbing her father¡¯s arm: ¡°Daddy, is it true?¡±


    The Emperor smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°Certainly it¡¯s true,¡± Duke Lothar also said with a smile: ¡°And it was under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of Castilians. The shocked expressions and deafening cheers of the Castilian people¡ªI remember them all too clearly even today.¡±


    Elizabeth begged Duke Lothar: ¡°Please tell me more, I beg you!¡±


    Duke Lothar and the Emperor smiled at each other.


    Twenty years have passed, and the tender prince of then is now the supreme Emperor. Duke Lothar has aged¡ªthough he still retains his charm as in his younger years.


    ¡°Let His Majesty tell you,¡± Duke Lothar said with a teasing smile: ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Elizabeth turned to her father, just about to deploy her skills of cajoling, when the rhythmic sound of horns arose in the hunting ground¡ªnew knights were entering.


    Princess Elizabeth saw her father slightly furrow his brows.


    Duke Lothar also immediately noticed the Emperor¡¯s change of mood, looking towards the knight in the center of the hunting ground, he too couldn¡¯t help frowning: ¡°Earl Harlan?¡±


    Meanwhile, in the center of the hunting ground.


    Siegfried held the reins in his left hand, a lance in his right hand, controlling the Warhorse with his knees, his eyes fixed on the direction of the animal pen.


    Another horn sounded¡ªnow it was time for the fierce beast to enter.


    The gate of the animal pen was raised, and a massive wild boar charged towards Siegfried.

 Chapter 981 - 46 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 981: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    Every word and action in the stands is observed, requiring a constant maintenance of image.


    Nobles of medium and small stature, who have no right to sit there, can critique and comment as they please.


    Although their view is somewhat inferior, their enjoyment is substantially greater:


    ¡°Eh? Is this the last gladiator to enter the arena?¡±


    ¡°Seems like it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®seems¡¯? Shouldn¡¯t ¡®Little Hernan¡¯ be the [Spear-end]? Who¡¯s this blond kid, then?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?!¡±


    While two young nobles from Castile were bickering back and forth, a voice suddenly interjected from behind:


    ¡°The blond kid is Earl Harlan, Siegfried.¡±


    The person who interjected was a young man in his mid-twenties, with almond-shaped eyes and a large forehead. He was a tad ugly, but not so much that it left a lasting impression, possessing a face that could be quickly forgotten after a farewell.


    As if to compensate for his lackluster appearance, the young man wore an overly ornate and extravagant top hat.


    Even by the most ludicrous and libertine standards of the Castilian nobility, that top hat was definitely not something one could wear out in public.


    But the young man wore it openly, without a hint of shame.


    The young man also sported two carefully groomed mustaches above his upper lip, which framed a smile that bespoke of a cynical and dissolute young master.


    The first speaker was quite intrigued, ¡°Siegfried? The real conqueror of the North? I¡¯ve heard that Duke Konggriff is only a namesake, and it was that young man who defeated Karl the Eleventh.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other one dismissed it with contempt, ¡°The ¡®real conqueror of the North¡¯? Nothing but a golden-haired hound! He only rose to power because of the Emperor¡¯s favor!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it, an aging Emperor just loves a young and handsome general,¡± the top-hatted man blurted out carelessly once more: ¡°Counting on fingers, our Emperor is over forty years old¡­ right?¡±


    The two Castilian nobles instantly quieted down and turned their heads together.


    Insulting nouveau riche was one thing, but publicly mocking the Emperor was another matter entirely. Not only was the speaker courting death, but even just listening to such talk was dangerous.


    ¡°[Old Language] May I ask,¡± a Castilian noble hesitantly inquired, ¡°[Old Language] who are you?¡±


    The man with the top hat removed his hat courteously, revealing his somewhat sparse hair: ¡°[Old Language] I am Marvey.¡±


    ¡°Marvey? Marvey!¡± another Castilian noble exclaimed in realization, stuttering a bit, ¡°That¡­ That playwright who insulted the Emperor!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it is I,¡± Marvey answered cheerfully, then corrected seriously, ¡°I never insulted the Emperor¡ªI merely spoke some truths.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the arena, Siegfried spotted his opponent.


    Such a formidable boar, its size nearly catching up to a calf, with two robust and sharp tusks, and its tiny eyes filled with rage and madness.


    The attendants guarding the animal pen urged the boar to move forward, but the beast became ferocious, charging at the humans outside the enclosure.


    A cry of alarm rose from the women¡¯s spectator stand.


    The animal pen shook violently from the impact, causing the attendant on the platform to fall down. Had the base stakes not been firmly planted, the boar might have already broken through the enclosure.


    The boar, unfazed by the failure to break open the pen, continued its frenzied ramming.


    Suddenly, from the center of the hunting ground, a roar erupted.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Siegfried knocked his greave with the butt of his spear: ¡°I am your opponent!¡±


    The boar turned its head, looking at the knight in the center of the open field.


    This wild creature was born in a cave, roamed the forests and swamps, until humans arrived.


    Since then, it was chased, captured, imprisoned.


    Humans allowed it to live until this day, only to kill it publicly.


    And now, it had finally been given a chance to kill a human.


    The boar let out a howl of despair and fury and charged viciously at the knight.


    Siegfried¡¯s knees exerted a slight force, and Warhorse immediately understood his master¡¯s intent, nimbly leaping diagonally forward, passing by the boar.


    In the moment of crossing, Siegfried thrust his lance.


    However, the lance only managed to tear open a piece of flesh on the boar¡¯s back, inflicting non-fatal wounds, and the two once again drew distance.


    Siegfried rode close to the fence at a measured pace, dark red blood dripping along from the tip of his spear.


    The pained boar became even more enraged, its snout exhaling a steamy heat, keeping its eyes on the circling rider, gathering strength.


    Outside the hunting field, where Castilian nobility were gathered, some were loudly booing.


    Siegfried paid them no mind, regardless of his original intentions, once he set foot in the hunting field, the young knight only wished for victory.


    And he had already figured out the tactics of Castile.


    The boar was thick-fleshed and tough-skinned, and since it was low to the ground, it was hard to exert force with a lance.


    A reasonable tactic would be to maintain distance, utilize Warhorse¡¯s agility to continuously inflict bleeding wounds on the boar, deplete its stamina, and then find an opportunity to kill it.


    But if he chose a conservative tactic, then Harlan¡¯s Siegfried would not be the ¡°real conqueror of the North¡± who had single-handedly routed the armies of the northern borders!


    Siegfried gripped his lance, stabbed forcefully into Warhorse¡¯s ribs, and fearlessly charged straight towards the boar in the center of the hunting field.


    The boar, having regained some strength, charged in irritation straight towards Siegfried.


    In the Royal Family¡¯s stand, Princess Elizabeth watched the charging knight unwaveringly, unconsciously gripping her father¡¯s sleeve tightly.


    The Emperor, the Queen, and Duke Lotaire watched silently, emotionless.

 Chapter 982 - 46 Another Hunt (Middle)_2

    Chapter 982: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Middle)_2


    In the blink of an eye, two figures were almost at close quarters.


    Siegfried¡¯s lance pointed straight at the boar¡¯s spine, and at the moment of contact, he felt a huge reactive force transmitted through the lance. Yet, he still held the lance steady, unwavering.


    With the combined momentum of the warhorse and the wild boar, the tip of the lance pierced into the boar¡¯s body like piercing through water, followed by the socket and then the shaft.


    The lance entered through the spine and exited the lower abdomen, brutally piercing through the boar¡¯s body, stabbing into the frozen soil of the hunting field.


    Siegfried released his grip on the lance, creating distance from the boar.


    The boar continued to rush forward a few steps before collapsing fiercely.


    Two attendants immediately entered the hunting field, ending the boar¡¯s life with a steel spike, also ending its agony.


    Sporadic applause arose outside the hunting field, in contrast, the applause from the women¡¯s viewing stand was much warmer.


    With only shin guards for protection and no helmet needed, Siegfried almost immediately captured the attention of the ladies and madams upon entering the arena.


    ¡­


    [Royal Stand] S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Marshal Hernan,¡± the Emperor asked, ¡°what do you think?¡±


    Behind the Emperor, an old military man in uniform stepped forward half a step upon hearing the question: ¡°Although the first thrust was not successful, the second thrust was clean and spectacular.¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s voice was magnetic and calm: ¡°Being from Castile, you are most entitled to judge Earl Harlan¡¯s skills. Are you willing to bestow upon him the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail?¡±


    ¡°Certainly,¡± the old military man bowed deeply: ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    The Emperor nodded slightly.


    Flags at the royal stand waved three times again, and the band played a celebratory tune.


    Siegfried dismounted, staring at the muddy, blood-smeared carcass of the wild boar, his brows furrowed with distaste, hesitant to proceed.


    A chestnut-haired military man walked quickly to Siegfried¡¯s side from across the fence, closed the boar¡¯s eyes with his hand, and then proceeded to cut off the boar¡¯s ears and tail for Siegfried.


    ¡°Hurry and salute His Majesty,¡± said Farnan as he wrapped the ears and tail with his glove, handing them to Siegfried: ¡°Please, do not embarrass His Majesty or disgrace the people of Castile.¡±


    Siegfried sighed, took the trophies, and walked before the royal stand, bowing deeply.


    Even warmer applause and cheers rose from all corners of the hunting grounds, especially from the women¡¯s viewing stand.


    Siegfried pretended to casually glance at the young girl sitting beside the Emperor.


    Princess Elizabeth intentionally turned her body away, pretending to speak to her maidservant, ignoring the blonde knight.


    Below Siegfried¡¯s stern expression was hidden anger and pain. He bowed again, then strode toward the women¡¯s viewing stand to accept the cheers and congratulations of the noble ladies.


    Farnan watched everything, sighing deeply in headache.


    The attendants dragged away the carcass of the wild boar, and the horn sounded again¡ªa gladiator was entering the field.


    Unlike before, this entrance music was repeated three times, signifying that the final knight was about to appear, and the combat with beasts was approaching its end.


    The royal stand returned to a relaxed and joyful atmosphere, the Emperor smilingly looked at the old soldier: ¡°Is it Little Hernan taking up the rear this winter hunt?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The old soldier replied with a hint of pride and joy.


    The Empress also gently asked, ¡°Does Little Hernan have a matrimonial engagement?¡±


    ¡°He has been serving with me in the army since a young age,¡± the old soldier appeared slightly ashamed: ¡°It has delayed his marital affairs.¡±


    The Empress covered her mouth with a smile.


    During their conversation, a young knight in dazzling attire jumped into the hunting field.


    The young knight wore ornate clothing, with cuffs, collar, and hem embroidered with gold threads in the style of Castile.


    The knight¡¯s silver steed was also meticulously adorned; its mane neatly braided, and the tail near the buttock tied up to allow the remaining part of the tail to hang in the air and flutter with the wind.


    No sooner had the silver knight entered than he received cheers far warmer than those for Siegfried, especially from the younger generation of Castilian nobles, who shouted and cheered vigorously.


    Unsurprisingly, this silver knight was Marshal Hernan¡¯s young son, Little Hernan.


    ¡­


    Marshal Hernan occupies a very special position in the politics of the Empire.


    Firstly, Marshal Hernan originated from the Castile Peninsula and is of pure Castilian nobility;


    Secondly, Marshal Hernan holds the highest military rank among today¡¯s Castilian nobility and is the only Castilian noble in charge of the New Army;


    Last but not least, although Marshal Hernan holds high power and has notable military achievements, his title is low, merely a Baron.


    Moreover, the Hernan family is not a traditional prestigious line of Castile.


    Marshal Hernan is merely the son of a bankrupt knight, sent to serve as an Attendant from a young age, and despite his greying temples, he never obtained nobility status, remaining a swordsmanship instructor in the Ducal family of Tarlac.


    It wasn¡¯t until the succession war for the throne twenty years ago, that the then over forty-year-old Old Hernan finally emerged prominently.


    He decisively joined the New Army, starting from a soldier, repeatedly establishing extraordinary feats, advancing through the ranks, and ultimately becoming one of the three Imperial Marshals personally appointed by the Emperor.


    For the younger generation of Castilian nobility, Marshal Hernan is their idol and role model, hence it is no wonder that Little Hernan received such enthusiastic cheers as soon as he entered the arena.


    ¡°In a nutshell! Marshal Hernan is not only one of your Castilians but also a close confidant highly trusted by His Majesty.¡±


    [Marvey], wearing a ceremonial hat, went on endlessly, unfolding Empire¡¯s secrets to the audience: ¡°His dual identity makes him a binding agent between the Castilian nobility and the Empire¡¯s core, also making him a crucial tool for the Emperor to stabilize the Castilian faction.¡±

 Chapter 983 - 46 Another Hunt (Part 3)_3

    Chapter 983: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Part 3)_3


    A group of young Castilian nobles listened with their eyes wide and mouths agape, vaguely understanding why a third-rate playwright would be assessed as ¡°dangerous.¡±


    The Castilian nobles present all felt it wasn¡¯t good to keep listening, yet they couldn¡¯t help but continue to eavesdrop.


    Marvey, caught up in his enthusiasm, took a wine cup from the hand of a noble next to him and gulped it down in a few swigs.


    After moistening his throat, Marvey continued, cryptically saying: ¡°Do you know? Maybe, just maybe, the Empire is about to have a royal wedding soon!¡±


    ¡°Who? Prince Richard?¡±


    Marvey waved his finger: ¡°Nope.¡±


    A Castilian noble thought for a long time: ¡°Other than the prince, the only royal children of suitable age are¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly, the eldest princess.¡±


    ¡°With whom?¡±


    Marvey revealed a smile: ¡°Guess?¡±


    The surrounding Castilian nobles, following Marvey¡¯s line of thought, all couldn¡¯t help but widen their eyes: ¡°With Sir Little Hernan?¡±


    Marvey neither confirmed nor denied, simply looking meaningfully at the knight on the silver warhorse in the center of the hunting grounds.


    The group of Castilian nobles buzzed with speculation, with someone displeased asking: ¡°How do you know these royal secrets?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Marvey crossed his arms, answering with an air of righteousness: ¡°I guessed!¡±


    The surrounding nobles were dumbstruck, and an impatient young noble directly stepped forward, grabbing Marvey by the collar, ready to give this brazen troublemaker a taste of Castile Peninsula¡¯s customs on the spot.


    ¡°Stop!¡± An earl intervened to prevent the imminent action scene.


    After all, this was the Royal Hunting Ground, and the Emperor was watching not far off; any trouble would only shame the people of Castile.


    ¡°Mr. Marvey.¡± The earl stepped out of the crowd and asked with a stern face: ¡°May I know what brings you to the Castile Peninsula?¡±


    Marvey shyly smiled: ¡°Gathering material.¡±


    The earl looked around at the others: ¡°How did he enter the hunting grounds?¡±


    The group of Castilian nobles looked at each other, none aware.


    ¡°This is the Royal Hunting Ground, commoners don¡¯t have the privilege to spectate.¡± The earl stared intently at Marvey: ¡°Please tell, how did you sneak in here?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Marvey waved innocently: ¡°I didn¡¯t sneak in.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you get here?¡±


    ¡°A friend brought me in.¡±


    ¡°Who? Who is your friend?¡±


    Marvey pointed towards the other side of the hunting field, his face beaming with a joyous smile: ¡°That golden dog over there.¡±


    ¡­


    [The other side of the hunting field]


    The golden dog was blissfully unaware that he had just been mentioned.


    He was intently watching Little Hernan in the hunting ground, experiencing a complex mix of emotions: frustration, admiration, and¡­ jealousy.


    If Siegfried¡¯s recent display was a perfect combination of strength and skill, then what Little Hernan was performing now was absolute skill.


    Peak-level skill!


    The closing performance needed a worthy opponent.


    The ferocious beast prepared by the Castilians was undoubtedly deserving of the finale¡¯s honor. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A bull.


    A male Castilian wild bull weighing over seven hundred kilograms.


    The moment this monster appeared, it demonstrated a fearsome power and aggression.


    It charged towards the spectators around the hunting circle, heaving fixed barricade posts half a man¡¯s height out of the ground, causing a panic-stricken flee.


    As if the wild bull¡¯s temperament wasn¡¯t fierce enough, the Castilians had driven a javelin tip into its back in advance.


    The severe pain made the already enraged bull even more ferocious; it didn¡¯t need any provocation from Little Hernan.


    The bull, with bloodshot eyes, failed to break the barricade and immediately turned to charge at the knight on the silver warhorse.


    Little Hernan sped up the warhorse, showing no haste to take the life of the wild ox, instead allowing it to chase after him.


    The horns of the wild ox were not sharp, but when combined with the tremendous strength of the beast, they could easily pierce through a chest and rip out the innards.


    Yet at this moment, this monster among monsters, no matter how it ran, could not touch Little Hernan at all.


    The wild ox charged back and forth within the hunting ground, but its horns and the silver steed remained forever just a small distance apart.


    Even as the tip of the wild ox¡¯s nose touched the very end of the horse¡¯s tail, it still could not catch up to that very last bit of distance.


    The perilous scene evoked bursts of alarmed cries from the ladies on the spectator stand, while the noblemen similarly had their faces tensed, their hearts in their throats.


    Yet Little Hernan remained composed, still maintaining his gracious equestrian posture. The steps of the horse were in no disarray, as if performing a dance.


    Siegfried couldn¡¯t help but want to applaud and commend: on the surface, it was the wild ox chasing Little Hernan, but in reality, it was Little Hernan leading the wild ox in the chase.


    Little Hernan¡¯s control over the warhorse was precise, as if using his own fingers.


    The rider and the warhorse were one, making it unclear whether it was the rider commanding the warhorse, or if the warhorse had acquired the intelligence of the rider.


    Just by watching the horsemanship displayed by Little Hernan, Siegfried felt his journey was worthwhile.


    But Siegfried did not show any emotion, simply watching in silence.


    His sincere side made him want to praise his opponent, but his competitive side could not allow such a thing to happen.


    He turned his gaze towards the royal spectator stands¡ªwhere Princess Elizabeth was.


    ¡­


    [Royal Stand]


    Elizabeth felt somewhat dizzy.


    She wasn¡¯t squeamish about blood; she had gone hunting with a rifle¡ªtaught by her father himself.


    The Emperor educated Elizabeth just as he would a prince, teaching her philosophy, arithmetic, and even horsemanship. The Empress disapproved but dared not publicly object.


    So Elizabeth had killed prey and had seen blood.


    But the performance in the hunting ground at this moment made her somewhat uncomfortable.


    Sir Little Hernan, following the Castilian way, was slowly killing the wild ox step by step: teasing it, stabbing it in the back with a short javelin to aggravate it, continuing to tease, continuing to stab with the javelin¡­


    In the meantime, Little Hernan changed warhorses several times, each one displaying a different gait, all unique.


    The wild ox, on the other hand, became increasingly tired, its steps slower, its desire to chase weaker,


    and its back was already a mess of blood, a blurry red from a distance.


    Seeing that the wild ox had exhausted its last strength, Little Hernan finally used a lance to finish it off, declaring an end to this bloody performance.


    Cheers and applause erupted deafeningly from the hunting ground, the noblemen doffing their hats in respect, while the ladies waved their handkerchiefs frantically.


    Princess Elizabeth felt out of place; she sneakily glanced at her father.


    The Emperor sat on the throne, expressionless, showing no discernible emotion.


    The Emperor calmly called out, ¡°Ella.¡±


    Elizabeth unconsciously shivered: ¡°Daddy.¡±


    ¡°Stand up,¡± commanded the Emperor, leaving no room for doubt: ¡°Acknowledge Sir Little Hernan.¡±


    Elizabeth obediently left her seat, took the handkerchief, and mimicked the others by gently waving towards the arena.


    Beneath the spectator stand, Siegfried, seeing the girl waving her handkerchief towards the knight, felt as if there was a hollow in his chest.


    Sir Little Hernan cut off the ox¡¯s ear and tail and walked to the front of the royal spectator stand to pay respects.


    The musicians played a celebratory anthem as attendants entered the hunting ground to start dragging away the carcass of the wild ox.


    The nobles who had come to watch the hunt were already preparing to leave; they had to return to their camps, change into gala attire, and attend the upcoming feast.


    Things should have ended this way.


    A rider leaped into the hunting ground on horseback, heading straight for the spectator stand, with his light-colored blond hair incredibly noticeable.


    The royal guards wanted to step forward to stop him, but hesitated upon recognizing who the rider was.


    Siegfried dismounted, kneeling on one knee in front of the royal spectator stand.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± the voice of the Empire¡¯s youngest general resounded through the hunting ground: ¡°Please grant me the honor¡ªto hunt beasts on foot.¡±

 Chapter 984 - 47 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 984: Chapter 47 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    [Earl Harlan¡¯s Tent]


    ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± Prince Richard bellowed furiously: ¡°Even His Majesty, to agree to you¡­¡±


    Prince Richard clenched his fists tightly, ultimately unable to utter that word.


    ¡°Also insane?¡± Siegfried replied calmly, though his eyes shot a crazed light.


    Prince Richard was shaking with anger, he stared at Siegfried for a good while, then left in a huff, unable to contain his rage.


    Only the golden-haired youth and the chestnut-haired youth remained in the tent.


    ¡°Fighting beasts on foot requires agility as a priority, so any attire that hinders movement must be shed,¡± Farnan expertly assisted Siegfried in removing his armor: ¡°Take off the bracers too, any less weight is an added chance of winning.¡±


    Siegfried nodded silently.


    Farnan knelt on one knee, unbuckling Siegfried¡¯s greaves: ¡°His Highness sees you as his man, which is why he said those words just now.¡±


    ¡°I am His Majesty¡¯s man,¡± Siegfried replied stiffly.


    Farnan let out a long sigh: ¡°Arrogance and competitiveness are your fatal weaknesses. You know it best, but either can¡¯t change or simply don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Siegfried huffed lightly, choosing not to continue the conversation.


    ¡°One¡¯s abilities are always limited; don¡¯t push everyone to oppose you,¡± Farnan cinched Siegfried¡¯s bootstraps tighter: ¡°Besides¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough already, when will you stop?¡± This time it was Siegfried who erupted with annoyance: ¡°No matter what, aren¡¯t you still with me?¡±


    ¡°And is that enough?¡± Farnan shook his head: ¡°My capabilities are equally limited.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Siegfried took the hunting spear, turned away to avoid Farnan¡¯s gaze: ¡°A true friend, one is enough.¡±


    ¡­


    [Royal Viewing Stand]


    Prince Richard bounded up the viewing stand three steps at a time.


    Duke Lothar rose to give his respects to the prince; the Queen was very pleased to see the prince, but the Emperor remained expressionless.


    Having just reached the stand, Prince Richard immediately met his sister¡¯s pleading eyes. He nodded slightly towards Princess Elizabeth, and walked steadily towards the throne.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Prince Richard saluted the Emperor: ¡°Fighting a beast unarmed is far too dangerous, Earl Harlan acted impulsively without consideration. He has shown remorse, I beseech Your Majesty to retract the decree!¡±


    ¡°Remorse,¡± the Emperor queried with interest: ¡°Really?¡±


    Prince Richard didn¡¯t dare to continue, mustering up other reasons instead: ¡°Your Majesty, to allow Earl Harlan to confront a ferocious beast alone and unarmed is tantamount to letting him commit suicide. If Earl Harlan were to slip up, his soul can only suffer in Hell, unable to find redemption even when final judgment comes. I urge you to reconsider, Your Majesty.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth also pleaded tearfully: ¡°Yes, don¡¯t you most admire Earl Harlan? Father? Why watch him commit suicide? Please!¡±


    The Emperor surveyed his son and daughter, then turned to the old man standing behind, dressed in a black velvet priest¡¯s robe: ¡°Your opinion?¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s personal priest, a brother of the Order of Michael named [Ambrose], stepped forward respectfully: ¡°Your Majesty is the supreme leader and protector of the Church, and whether Earl Harlan¡¯s death is considered suicide should be adjudicated by Your Majesty.¡±


    Although the question was directed at the personal priest, the Emperor¡¯s gaze returned to and lingered on the prince, making him feel the sharpness of thorns. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The stand fell quiet, the Emperor nodded slightly, and brother Ambrose retreated back to his original position.


    The Emperor looked towards the hunting ground and remarked indifferently: ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t count.¡±


    The winter winds of the Castile Peninsula howled, yet Prince Richard¡¯s forehead was unknowingly dotted with fine beads of sweat.


    Prince Richard gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, and looked directly at the Emperor, wanting to say more.


    But it was too late, the tune that heralded the entrance of the gladiator had already begun to play.


    ¡°Look,¡± the Emperor murmured softly. ¡°The man you say has remorse¡ªhere he comes.¡±


    ¡­


    [Hunting Ground]


    Siegfried did not know what sort of opponent the Castilians would send for him, but he hoped it would be a formidable one.


    If the Castilians set loose a deer or a gazelle, it would simply be an attempt to humiliate him.


    Siegfried, spear in hand, jogged at an even pace around the elliptical arena¡ªhe still took some advice to heart.


    ¡°Stay warm, stay active,¡± Farnan had repeatedly admonished before entering the field: ¡°The Castilians you publicly humiliated might resort to dirty tricks. For instance, having you wait in the field until you¡¯re frozen stiff and numb in your limbs.¡±


    ¡°I did not publicly humiliate the Castilians,¡± Siegfried countered.


    ¡°Stay warm,¡± Farnan presented a fine fleece cape, ¡°stay active.¡±


    The proud Castilians did not stoop to base tricks, and the earl hosting the ceremony even politely raised the flag to ask¡ªis it time to begin?


    Siegfried nodded and discarded the cape.


    Many spectators couldn¡¯t help but gasp, for the golden-haired knight in the arena was without any armor, clad only in a simple shirt, breeches, and low soft shoes.


    The banner waved, and the tune signifying the beast¡¯s entrance followed.


    The gate slowly rose, dull thuds of hooves preceded their source from the pen, and in the blink of an eye, a burly wild bull charged into the hunting ground.


    Perhaps the lack of deceit was not because the Castilians were noble but because the opponent they had chosen for Siegfried required no additional advantages:


    A formidable adult male bull, each inch of muscle bursting with explosive strength, slightly smaller in stature than the one Little Hernan had just slain, but no less wild and perilous.


    You want to claim the glory of ¡°spear¡¯s end¡±?


    Fine, we¡¯ll give you a beast worthy of that honor.


    There was no need for Siegfried to taunt; the bull, back pierced by a dart, took the initiative to attack the person in the arena.


    The enraged buffalo lowed furiously, striding forward at full speed, plowing towards Siegfried in a frenzy.


    Siegfried did not hesitate, charging at the buffalo with his spear as well.


    As they were about to collide head-on, many ladies, unable to bear the sight of the handsome blond man being eviscerated, instinctively covered their eyes and looked away.


    At the critical moment, Siegfried leapt diagonally forward half a step, narrowly avoiding the horns and turning to stab viciously at the bull¡¯s neck.


    No sooner had the spear tip touched the bull¡¯s neck than the bull turned its head, lowering and then raising its head to charge at the human once again.


    Siegfried¡¯s muscular and well-proportioned body burst forth with incomparable strength, like a humanoid big cat leaping continuously towards the side and rear of the bull, spear always ready to pierce the bull¡¯s carotid artery.


    The bull¡¯s explosive power was even more astonishing; it stomped fiercely, twisted its body, and flicked its tail, with each hoof hit making a loud thud against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust half a person¡¯s height.


    Man and beast tangled within less than a two-meter radius, each desperately trying to kill the other.


    Outside the hunting field, there was silence except for the ¡°thuds¡± of heavy impacts resounding.


    Everyone held their breath; Elizabeth¡¯s heart was clenched so tightly she didn¡¯t even realize she had turned her father¡¯s arm blue and purple.


    The intense yet brief struggle ended with Siegfried leaving two shallow cuts on the side of the bull¡¯s neck.


    After another failed attempt to charge and twist towards the human, the bull stood its ground while Siegfried seized the opportunity to put some distance between them.


    Both the man panting heavily and the beast snorting white steams faced each other in the winter wind, entering a temporary standoff.


    It was at this time that the stands erupted with deafening cheers and applause, even the Castile nobility shouted praises loudly.


    The young Earl Harlan watched the bull, his heart inexplicably filled with a mixture of pity and respect, yet his desire to kill the opponent did not diminish in the slightest.


    This duel was destined to have only one survivor; Siegfried found either victory or destroying himself in front of her an acceptable outcome. Even if it meant causing her a little bit of heartache, he was ready to embrace death with satisfaction.


    Outside the hunting arena, amidst the atmosphere of joy, Farnan¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn.


    If Siegfried¡¯s background could be considered poor, Farnan¡¯s background wouldn¡¯t even qualify as poor¡ªit would be deemed lowly under the Empire¡¯s system.


    Farnan was able to become a soldier because he passed an exam to enter a new school founded by the Emperor; his father was an ordinary hunter. Although his father had no title to pass on to Farnan, he taught Farnan many hunting skills.


    When facing a large ferocious beast, hunters must follow a basic principle: exhaust the beast¡¯s physical strength while conserving their own.


    A skilled hunter can slay wolves, leopards, and mountain lions with just a spear because the hunter can use the spear to defend in place, continually draining the beast¡¯s energy while inflicting damage.


    But facing a behemoth weighing nearly seven hundred kilograms, using a defensive counterattack strategy is tantamount to suicide. The buffalo would smash both the man and his spear into pieces, toss them into the air, and grind them into mincemeat.


    Therefore, Siegfried had no choice but to keep dodging actively, jumping and sprinting constantly.


    After the struggle, the bull was bleeding while the human was unscathed; it seemed that Siegfried had won entirely, but in reality, it was a complete loss for Siegfried.


    At the current rate, Siegfried¡¯s stamina would surely be exhausted before the buffalo¡¯s.


    The wild bull might sustain a hundred more wounds, but should Siegfried make a single mistake, death is all that awaits him.


    Farnan originally thought that the Castile nobility would at most release a wild boar, yet what charged out of the animal pen was a wild bull¡ªwithout a doubt, this was the Castile nobles challenging the Emperor¡¯s authority, with Siegfried¡¯s death being merely a means rather than the goal.


    A clear and penetrating voice rose from behind Farnan: ¡°Truly fascinating! The display by Earl Harlan is nothing short of miraculous. His Majesty too had once slain fierce beasts in succession twenty years ago, no wonder some say Earl Harlan is His Majesty¡¯s illegitimate son¡­¡±


    Turning around, Farnan realized the voice belonged to Little Hernan.


    Little Hernan, holding two bull ears and a bull tail, smiled at Farnan.


    ¡°Earl Harlan is not His Majesty¡¯s illegitimate son.¡± Farnan bowed slightly: ¡°Lord Hernan.¡±


    Marshal Hernan had his firstborn, Little Hernan, only at the age of forty, thus Little Hernan was actually just over twenty, an age brimming with curiosity.


    He coughed awkwardly, his shame battling his urge to pry: ¡°Really not? Tell me, I won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Can you first answer a question for me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    With respectful inquiry, Farnan replied, ¡°Why won¡¯t you believe that the Earl is simply the son of an insolvent Knight?¡±


    Little Hernan scratched his head and said with a smile, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll believe it. Because my father was also just the son of an insolvent Knight.¡±


    Farnan nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to observe the ongoing situation within the hunting ground.


    In the midst of their conversation, a new round of struggle erupted in the center of the hunting field.


    Siegfried, still relying on his agility and burst strength, dodged the horns in a dangerous fashion.


    And the bull, while appearing to exert fruitless effort, was in fact delivering attacks that could be lethal, just waiting for one small human error.


    ¡°You see it too, right?¡± Little Hernan casually hung the bull ears and tail on the fence, looking over the human-beast battle in the field, saying, ¡°At this rate, the one who¡¯s bound to die is Earl Harlan.¡±


    Farnan looked at Little Hernan, waiting for him to continue speaking.


    Little Hernan slapped Farnan¡¯s shoulder in a carefree manner, ¡°At the end of the day, you guys oversimplify beast-fighting. Do you really think we people of Castile are all about brute force? It¡¯s all about skill! Understand? Skill! Fighting beasts on horseback already requires helpers, let alone fighting them on foot. Do you really think just anyone can do it?¡±


    Little Hernan extended four fingers: ¡°I changed horses four times just to exhaust that wild bull¡¯s stamina. Does Earl Harlan have more endurance than four horses combined? Just wait a little longer, and you¡¯ll see his physical strength hit rock bottom first.¡±


    Little Hernan became more disheartened as he spoke, ¡°Ah! This is my first time being at the tail end of a scheme. And what happened? Everything¡¯s been messed up by Earl Harlan¡¯s interference, and now who knows when the next chance will be¡­¡±


    ¡°Lord Hernan,¡± Farnan asked politely, ¡°What exactly are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°What am I saying?¡± Little Hernan snapped back to reality and slapped his forehead, ¡°Oh, right, I came to help you¡ªhelp you deal with this bull.¡±


    ¡°Could you tell me, why do you want to help Earl Harlan?¡±


    ¡°Why? What else could it be for?¡± Little Hernan shrugged, ¡°My father told me to.¡±

 Chapter 985 - 48 Another Hunt (4)

    Chapter 985: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (4)


    [In the center of the hunting ground]


    Siegfried was approaching his limit, with each muscle tearing agonizingly, and every breath felt as though it would burst his chest.


    The wild bull displayed not a hint of fatigue, seemingly possessing infinite stamina.


    Its neck was safeguarded by high-raised tendons and thick fur, making it impenetrable.


    Moreover, the brute was exceedingly adept at using its massive, sharp horns. It dodged left and right, bowing its head as if to retreat one second, and fiercely lunging upward the next.


    No sooner had the spearhead pierced the bull¡¯s thick skin than its horns were once again targeting the human, not giving any chance for exploitation.


    Thus, Siegfried could only inflict one shallow wound after another on the bull¡¯s neck, unable to deliver a fatal blow.


    Some began to discern the facts: the wild bull that Earl Harlan was wrestling, although slightly smaller than Little Hernan¡¯s, was incomparably more ferocious and dangerous than the latter.


    How is this a beast without intelligence? It is clearly a formidable Gladiator wielding daggers, weighing half a ton.


    After a brief and fierce struggle, Siegfried seized the opportunity to distance himself, and man and beast once again stood in silent confrontation.


    The Castile nobles cheered thunderously, while a persistent fog of doubt hung over the grandstand of the princes: ¡°How dare the Castilians bring such a beast into the arena?! Do they truly wish to slaughter His Majesty¡¯s beloved officer in public?¡±


    ¡­


    The blond Knight in the center of the hunt knew not what others were thinking, nor did he care.


    When numerous nobles had already lamented in advance or reveled in schadenfreude, Siegfried had entered an extremely heightened state of excitement.


    The pain of his body and the fierceness of his opponent stimulated Siegfried¡¯s desire to win a thousandfold, even enabling him to transcend his own limits and think.


    High-intensity combat depleted stamina and energy far faster than aerobic exercise.


    Siegfried assessed his own condition with an icy composure: one more battle, and he might not even have the strength to escape pursuit, while the wild bull in front of him could fight for at least ten more rounds.


    But ten rounds were no different from one, because Siegfried had already seen through the opponent¡¯s range of attack and patterns of movement.


    All he needed was one opportunity, one chance to cut the opponent¡¯s artery and windpipe with a single strike.


    This was it, Siegfried coiled his body, gathering strength.


    He tapped the ground with the spear tip, and the bull charged instantly.


    Like a spring compressed to its limit and suddenly released, Siegfried deftly dodged to the left¡ªhe was left-handed¡ªand thrust his spear with lightning speed. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The power transmitted from Siegfried¡¯s lower limbs, waist, pectorals, and arms to the very tip of the spear, piercing toward the bull¡¯s neck in a ruthless, perfectly straight line.


    This time he didn¡¯t pull back, driving the spear with a do-or-die determination.


    The spear sank into the bull¡¯s neck as smoothly as if it had entered cream, the blade disappearing entirely.


    But in the next moment, the bull¡¯s massive frame twisted around, slamming into the spear shaft with an unrivaled force.


    The power recoiled back to Siegfried¡¯s end, the shaft slipping from Siegfried¡¯s grasp and striking his chest hard.


    The walnut wood spear shaft, a handspan thick, snapped with a sound, the front half breaking out from the wound in the bull¡¯s neck, the remaining half held in Siegfried¡¯s embrace.


    The confrontation took place in the blink of an eye and ended just as quickly.


    Most of the nobles didn¡¯t catch what had occurred, only to see the giant bull twist its head and the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± was flung away.


    A collective gasp arose from the crowd encircling the oval hunting ground, and from the royal stand came a shrill scream.


    Intense pain drove the wild bull into a frenzied rage; it lowered its horns and charged at the man lying on the ground.


    As it seemed the Emperor¡¯s favored knight would not even leave an intact corpse, the body in the center of the hunting ground moved¡ªSiegfried was not dead, he stubbornly attempted to block the horns with the rear half of the spear shaft.


    However, with a toss of its head, the wild bull hurled the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± like a sack of flour, sending him flying once more.


    This time, even the remaining half of the spear handle slipped from his hands.


    Siegfried landed hard, and in that moment, time seemed to slow: a father lost to drink, a weeping mother, the royal estate that took in an orphan, Elizabeth¡¯s smile like a crescent moon, the battlefield where death reigned, Farnan pulled from a pile of corpses, the fiery Cavalry charging across the snowy white expanse¡­


    In the end, there was only a hint of regret and a wealth of apologies.


    Siegfried let out a gentle sigh, probably his first sigh in life, and then he closed his eyes.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    The sound of striking a Shield? And someone shouting loudly?


    Then came the sound of horse hooves, rapidly approaching; the sound of bull hooves, on the other hand, grew more distant. Accompanying the sound of hooves was a series of crisp and pleasant jingling bells.


    Onlookers outside the enclosure saw only the maddened bull, inexplicably forsaking Earl Harlan, turning and charging straight for the enclosure. A dozen nobles faced with the wild bull were caught off guard and scattered in fear.


    Just then, a silver steed leaped into the hunting ground with a knight in regalia on its back, holding an inverted lance with a little triangular flag fluttering below its tip.


    The bull immediately turned and charged at the silver-horsed knight.


    Seeing that he had successfully drawn the bull¡¯s attention, the silver-horsed knight casually led the bull towards the other side of the arena.


    Based solely on the knight¡¯s illustrious riding and beast control, the Castile nobles present would not mistake his identity¡ªLittle Hernan, the best Gladiator on the Castile Peninsula.

 Chapter 986 - 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_2

    Chapter 986: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_2


    Bursts of cheers erupted once again from the crowd of onlookers, and the younger generation of Castilian nobles were particularly vocal in cheering for Little Hernan.


    For a moment, hardly anyone paid attention to the life-or-death unknown fate of Earl Harlan. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Taking advantage of Little Hernan¡¯s distraction of the bull and the spectators, Farnan, carrying something wrapped in red silk, rushed through the barrier and sped towards Siegfried.


    Another man in a black robe carrying a spear followed Farnan into the arena but was left far behind by Farnan.


    Farnan didn¡¯t waste any words; upon reaching Siegfried, he immediately checked his injuries.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Siegfried asked with a severe cough, trying to smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to bring you weapons.¡± Farnan gave Siegfried a reproachful look while quickly cutting open his shirt, ¡°Your spear is broken. I¡¯m your assistant, bringing you backup weapons doesn¡¯t violate the accepted rules.¡±


    As they spoke, the man in the black robe carrying the spear caught up.


    The man in the black robe looked to be just over thirty, with a round, plump face, and was panting heavily from running a few steps.


    Upon arrival, he immediately introduced himself: ¡°Earl Harlan, I am Brother Luke from the Order of Michael.¡±


    ¡°The Order of Michael?¡± Siegfried sounded somewhat familiar with it.


    ¡°No severe external injuries.¡± Farnan briefly explained Siegfried¡¯s condition: ¡°No fractures found for the time being.¡±


    ¡°No fractures? You¡¯re very lucky, the Lord watches over you, Earl Harlan¡­¡± Brother Luke muttered as he untied a delicate silver box from his neck, dipped his finger in the holy oil inside the box, and anointed Siegfried¡¯s forehead, chest, and abdomen.


    He placed the sacred emblem on Siegfried¡¯s forehead, his hands pressing on the emblem, his expression solemn and devout as he chanted, ¡°[¡­May those who take refuge in you be glad; may they ever sing for joy. Shield them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a Shield¡­]¡±


    Amidst Brother Luke¡¯s chanting, Siegfried clearly felt the pain in his body gradually recede, and some strength returning.


    ¡°Little Hernan will take over.¡± Farnan looked at his friend, ¡°For you, the best strategy now is to leave the field outright.¡±


    Siegfried, without a word, clenched his jaw and used his hands to attempt to rise from the ground.


    Farnan sighed and unfolded the red silk, revealing a one-handed rapier in front of Siegfried.


    This rapier was even shorter than the ceremonial small sword, completely flat, with no tapering along its blade. The most peculiar feature was that the blade was not straight; the tip of the sword had a slight curve.


    ¡°This is from Little Hernan.¡± Farnan¡¯s tone was calm, ¡°He says this is your only chance.¡±


    ¡­


    [The clock rewinds slightly]


    ¡°¡­There are blood vessels and the windpipe in the neck, which is a weakness, that¡¯s correct. But beasts also know the neck is a weak point, and they will desperately protect it.¡± Little Hernan enthusiastically imparted his insights to Farnan: ¡°So Earl Harlan aiming for the bull¡¯s neck seems right but is actually a grave mistake¡­¡±


    Farnan spoke politely yet firmly: ¡°Your Excellency Little Hernan, please be concise.¡±


    ¡°Alright, in short, if Earl Harlan wants to take down that big fellow.¡± Little Hernan produced a specially made one-handed rapier, ¡°You can only use this.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Farnan took the rapier¡ªits length wasn¡¯t even a quarter of that of the spear.


    ¡°Exactly this.¡± Little Hernan nodded emphatically.


    ¡°How to use it?¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± Little Hernan cleared his throat, ¡°Quite simple, when the bull charges at you, you jump up and stab this sword into the bull¡¯s back, the curvature of the blade is sufficient to bypass the ribs and pierce the heart¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency Little Hernan.¡± Farnan stared intently at Little Hernan: ¡°You¡¯re saying, Earl Harlan needs to stab this sword into the bull¡¯s back precisely into the heart, in the instant the bull charges at him.¡±


    Little Hernan nodded frantically, and as if worried Farnan wouldn¡¯t believe him, hastily added, ¡°If it¡¯s not accurate, puncturing the lung is also effective. If the lung is pierced, the wild bull won¡¯t last long¡ªthough that would be quite a grisly scene. And if it deviates a bit and hits the liver or intestines¡­¡±


    Farnan interrupted Little Hernan directly: ¡°Have you tried it yourself?¡±


    ¡°Of course! How else would I bring it to Earl Harlan?¡± Little Hernan protested loudly, then added somewhat sheepishly in a soft voice:


    ¡°But the few times I tried¡­ the biggest wild bull was only around three hundred kilograms, a bit smaller than the one Earl Harlan is facing¡­ Uh, slightly. But I assure you, the position of the heart is the same. Ah, I put a lot of thought into this sword. It¡¯s making its debut by giving Earl Harlan a favor; to be honest, I¡¯m a bit reluctant¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about feasibility.¡± Farnan¡¯s expression was serious: ¡°Earl Harlan has never practiced this technique, do you really expect him to succeed on his first attempt?¡±


    Little Hernan also put away his smile: ¡°It¡¯s not that I expect him to succeed in one go, it¡¯s that if Earl Harlan wishes to fight the wild bull honorably, this is the only way.¡±


    Little Hernan kicked at a lance leaning against the enclosure with the tip of his boot: ¡°This thing, it works against small ones, but it¡¯s useless against big creatures. Earl Harlan isn¡¯t riding a horse to combat the beast; he¡¯s on foot! I respect his courage, but let me tell you, without the help of Warhorse, Earl Harlan¡¯s strength alone won¡¯t be able to inflict a fatal injury on the bull.¡±


    Farnan conceded Little Hernan¡¯s words.

 Chapter 987 - 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_3

    Chapter 987: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_3


    ¡°So, to deliver a killing blow in a beast struggle on foot, you have to use the beast¡¯s own strength against it.¡± Little Hernan took back the Dagger, swinging it casually a few times: ¡°Otherwise, what did you think? That human arm strength alone could drive this blade into a wild bull¡¯s heart?¡±


    In the hunting grounds, a man and beast were facing off, leaving Farnan little time to make a judgment.


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s another way.¡± Little Hernan said in a relaxed tone: ¡°Let Earl Harlan step down, and I¡¯ll take over the fight with this wild bull¡­ That¡¯s what my father ordered.¡±


    Farnan did not respond.


    ¡­


    [Back to the present]


    ¡°Little Hernan and his people will help you control the wild bull, creating an opportunity for you to strike.¡± Farnan explained the situation succinctly, then carefully described how to use the Dagger.


    Siegfried didn¡¯t ask a single question of doubt, simply taking the Dagger: ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here, you all should go.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing, Little Hernan asked me to tell you.¡± Farnan handed over a cloak he had just picked up from the ground to his friend: ¡°He said the wild bull prefers to attack moving objects, so if you want to contend with it, absolutely do not move erratically and use the cloak to draw its attack. Whether you trust him or not is up to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you trust him?¡± Siegfried asked.


    Farnan¡¯s brow was furrowed as he answered: ¡°Trust.¡±


    Siegfried replied without hesitation: ¡°Then I trust him too. It¡¯s dangerous, leave quickly.¡±


    Brother Lucas looked exhausted and did not want to stay another moment, urging Farnan to hurry.


    Farnan nodded to Siegfried and stood up, ready to leave.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Siegfried said in a low voice to Farnan¡¯s retreating back.


    Farnan paused for a moment, because this was the first time he heard Siegfried apologize; he was unaware that he had also missed the first time Siegfried sighed.


    Farnan smiled and shook his head at Siegfried, then nodded, quickly leaving with Brother Lucas.


    ¡­ Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Royal Family Stands]


    ¡°¡­Call it off, please, Daddy.¡± Princess Elizabeth could no longer hide her pain, clutching the Emperor¡¯s left hand, sobbing and pleading: ¡°Don¡¯t let it continue.¡±


    The Emperor tenderly wiped the tears from his daughter¡¯s eyes and calmly asked an unexpected question: ¡°Ella, do you still find the hunt boring now?¡±


    Elizabeth was stunned.


    The Emperor did not continue, waiting quietly for his daughter¡¯s reply.


    Elizabeth¡¯s tears flowed again: ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ that¡¯s because¡­¡±


    The Emperor said indifferently: ¡°I¡¯m not asking why.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth could no longer answer.


    The Emperor watched Little Hernan and Siegfried on the hunting ground: ¡°Only the fiercest beasts can forge the greatest warriors. Little Hernan¡¯s skill is beyond doubt, but because his expertise is so extraordinary, spectators overlook the capabilities he demonstrates, forgetting the danger he faces, and merely see his process of taking down the wild bull as a slow torment.¡±


    ¡°Little Hernan¡¯s performance will soon be forgotten, while Earl Harlan¡¯s battle will be remembered.¡± The Emperor paused briefly: ¡°Perhaps, remembered forever.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth was nearly out of control: ¡°But Siegfried will die! He¡¯s going to die!¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s expression was impassive: ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason you must watch him, not missing even a breath or a moment.¡±


    Ignoring the obstruction of her ladies-in-waiting and guards, Princess Elizabeth ran down from the Royal Family stands, crying.

 Chapter 988 - 49 Another Hunt (Conclusion)

    Chapter 988: Chapter 49 Another Hunt (Conclusion)


    [Hunting Ground]


    The Silver Knight was skillfully teasing prey on the east side of the hunting ground when sharp-eyed spectators noticed something unusual on the other side:


    ¡°Look! That blonde kid is still alive!¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°Heh, he¡¯s not dead? Lucky him.¡±


    ¡°No! Why is he still walking towards the center of the hunting ground?¡±


    The noblemen and women watching the event had thought Earl Harlan would at least be gravely injured, if not dead.


    Therefore, when they witnessed the blonde gladiator stagger to his feet and once again walk alone towards the bull, they were indescribably shocked.


    Seeing Siegfried return to the stage brought a faint smile to Little Hernan¡¯s lips.


    He lightly waved his lance flag, and immediately eight more gladiators entered the arena. Among them, four were mounted and four on foot, each bearing lance flags or capes.


    Little Hernan¡¯s eight assistants spread out around Siegfried, keeping a distance of a dozen meters from him.


    Seeing everything was ready, Little Hernan on horseback took off his hat adorned with large feathers and elegantly waved it to the audience as a salute.


    Then, Little Hernan drove the bull towards where Siegfried was.


    But he did not let the bull charge directly at Siegfried.


    When the bull was less than twenty meters away from Siegfried, two of Little Hernan¡¯s assistants took the initiative to ¡°take over¡± the bull.


    Among them, the mounted assistant was tall, continuously tapping his spurs with the lance. The shorter foot assistant, on the other hand, let out loud, sharp shouts.


    The actions of the two assistants successfully diverted the bull¡¯s attention.


    Confused by the sudden noise and adversaries, the bull stopped pursuing Little Hernan and did not charge at Siegfried either.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the bull attacked the foot assistant.


    The attacked, short assistant, far from scared, was delighted. His face showed no fear as he spread his cape and circled the bull with big steps.


    But how could two legs outrun four? In a few steps, the bull had caught up with the short assistant.


    Just as the bull¡¯s horns were about to skewer the short assistant through, the high-held cape created an illusion for the bull, making it think it was about to crash into some massive object.


    So the bull swung its horns sharply upwards.


    The short assistant took advantage of the bull¡¯s slowed momentum as it raised its horns, using his cape to guide the bull alongside him, narrowly avoiding the horns.


    He then leaped to the side and behind the bull, folding his cape and quickly retreating to a distance.


    The bull suddenly lost its target and stood panting heavily.


    With this fluid movement, the short assistant won applause from the entire audience, and he too took off his hat, waving it to thank the clapping noblemen and women.


    Thus, the bull stopped about ten meters away from Siegfried, and Little Hernan¡¯s assistants quietly retreated, clearing space.


    Most of the nobles watching the spectacle did not understand the undercurrents beneath the surface; they thought Little Hernan was a pre-arranged rescuer.


    But seeing ¡°resurrected¡± Earl Harlan continue to fight in the arena, many applauded sincerely.


    Siegfried, standing in the center of the hunting ground, understood¡ªthis was ¡°Little Hernan¡¯s assistance¡±.


    Only now did he have the leisure to take a good look at his opponent for the first time.


    The bull¡¯s tongue hung out, and white saliva dripped from its mouth. This wild creature was now exhausted, its shiny black fur under its neck stained with blood.


    It was seriously injured, with wounds inflicted by Siegfried still bleeding, especially the last almost fatal strike.


    Yet its expression was calm¡ªas it had been from the very beginning.


    Siegfried looked down at the rapier and cloak in his hands; regardless of how the duel had started, it could only end with one party¡¯s death.


    Siegfried slowly raised the rapier and swung the cloak.


    The bull charged again.


    To face a gigantic beast weighing nearly seven hundred kilograms charging at thirty kilometers per hour and not instinctively turn to flee took praiseworthy bravery.


    But Siegfried had to do something even more difficult, he had to sink a slender, curved sword into the bull¡¯s heart. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Siegfried stood bare-chested¡ªhis clothes had been cut open and torn off by Farnan¡ªstanding steady, wielding the cloak lightly with just his right hand.


    He trusted Farnan¡¯s judgment, and Farnan had not let him down.


    The bull indeed charged straight at the cloak, not the human hidden at the edge of the cloak.


    The onlooking crowd didn¡¯t understand what Siegfried was doing; they only saw the bull running madly at him, while Siegfried stood motionless.


    As the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± was about to perish in the next moment, spectators around the stands and fences couldn¡¯t help but scream out.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    However, the sharp horns grazed past Siegfried¡¯s waist by a hair¡¯s breadth. At the same time, Siegfried leapt up, stabbing viciously at the bull¡¯s back with the sword in his left hand.


    The tip of the sword met the bull¡¯s back at a shallow angle, ultimately slipping off, leaving only a blood groove on the bull¡¯s back.


    Witnessing this, the crowd let out another collective sigh of regret:


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    The bull, having charged past Siegfried, turned swiftly, aiming its horns at him again.


    At this moment, the two assistants who had just retreated stepped forward quickly, shouting, banging, and swirling their capes to provoke the bull, leading it away from Siegfried.


    ¡­


    [Outside the Arena]


    Farnan gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and clutched the fence tightly with the other, watching the situation in the arena intently, as if he might charge into the hunting ground to rescue someone at any moment.

 Chapter 989 - 49 Another Hunt (Final)_2

    Chapter 989: Chapter 49 Another Hunt (Final)_2


    After dismounting, Little Hernan, who had just tied up his horse, hurried over to Farnan with his cap in hand: ¡°Did I miss anything?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Farnan bowed deeply, still watching the arena: ¡°Thank you for your assistance, Lord Little Hernan.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of being so polite all the time?¡± Little Hernan affectionately hooked his arm around Farnan¡¯s shoulder: ¡°But that¡¯s all the help I could give him. The final blow that will kill the buffalo must still be delivered by his own hands. Still¡­ if Earl Harlan messes up, come work for me! What do you say?¡±


    Farnan cleverly stepped back half a step, keeping a distance of an arm¡¯s length from Little Hernan.


    Little Hernan shrugged regretfully and turned his gaze back to the ring: ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much. Earl Harlan has already exhausted a lot of the buffalo¡¯s strength, and it has lost a fair amount of blood. I also led the buffalo on a run for a while. Its strength and speed are now far from what they were in the beginning, so I reckon Earl Harlan¡¯s chances are about¡­¡±


    Little Hernan optimistically judged: ¡°Fifty-fifty.¡±


    Farnan silently gripped the handle of his sword.


    ¡°So really, if Earl Harlan screws it up, you might as well become my lieutenant.¡± Little Hernan proudly slapped his chest: ¡°My father is the Empire¡¯s Marshal, you know!¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the ring]


    Unknown to him, Siegfried was unaware of someone trying to poach his lieutenant.


    He was gradually entering a state of absolute focus.


    Each round of the struggle, each clash, had made him increasingly ¡°familiar¡± with this bull.


    At this moment, Siegfried understood his opponent as one would a friend, as one would an enemy:


    The width and direction of its horns, its reactions when attacked, the speed at which it turned, its habitual movements¡­


    Siegfried raised his curved sword and unfolded his cloak.


    Little Hernan¡¯s assistants originally wanted to give Earl Harlan more time to breathe, but seeing Siegfried prepared once again, the assistants exchanged glances and lured the bull back to Earl Harlan.


    Another absolutely perilous confrontation occurred, with the horns even closer than before.


    Siegfried leaped and lunged with his sword.


    Still no good!


    The thrust was deeper than before, but it stopped less than a foot in, likely stuck in a crevice of bone.


    Siegfried endured the intense pain in his palm and withdrew the curved sword as the bull turned.


    The assistants quickly stepped forward and led the bull away again.


    ¡­


    [Outside the hunting grounds]


    ¡°Damn!¡± Little Hernan suddenly exclaimed: ¡°[A continuous flow of intense, surprised Castilian expletives]!¡±


    Farnan turned his head sharply.


    Little Hernan¡¯s eyes widened as he asked: ¡°Is Earl Harlan left-handed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Farnan replied without hesitation: ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    Little Hernan quickly placed his hands on Farnan¡¯s chest and explained rapidly: ¡°The buffalo¡¯s heart is also on the left side, you get it? A gladiator must use their right hand to thrust the sword in! Since Earl Harlan is left-handed, with the cloak in his right hand, he can only dodge to the left, a position from which the sword cannot enter!¡±


    Hearing this, Farnan immediately looked towards the hunting grounds.


    Little Hernan was extremely frustrated: ¡°Earlier, I said Earl Harlan had a fifty percent chance of winning. Now he might not even have ten percent¡­¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the hunting grounds]


    The assistants had just lured the buffalo away, and Siegfried was already prepared once more.


    Under his right rib was a new, superficial bleeding wound¡ªa souvenir left by the bull in their recent clash.


    Had it not been for Siegfried¡¯s shirt already having been fully cut open and removed by Farnan, this attack from the bull could have sent him flying.


    Siegfried did not waste a second longer, as if he was unwilling to rest for even a moment.


    He shook off his gloves, and the accumulated blood within was also flung out.


    He stood on his tiptoes slightly, fully extending his left arm which held a sword, the tip aiming straight at the bull, while his eyes intensely followed the blade, focusing on the bull¡¯s back. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sweat trickled from his forehead, gliding across his eyebrows and finally dripping from the tip of his nose, falling drop by drop onto the dusty ground.


    Siegfried remained utterly motionless, as if his heartbeat and breathing had entirely ceased.


    He had entered a state of extreme mental concentration, where nothing in the world existed other than his opponent.


    He stood there in the center of the hunting ground, his bare upper body glistening with a special sheen from the mixture of blood, sweat, and dirt.


    He stood there like a bronze statue, his arms, chest, and every muscular contour a marvel of craftsmanship.


    He was no longer simply in control of the audience¡¯s emotions; by just standing there, he had already made everyone hold their breath.


    The bull came, and Siegfried waited quietly. This time, he did not move to the left.


    He stretched his cloak in front of him, holding it low.


    As he could feel the warmth of the bull¡¯s breath, he abruptly lifted the cloak, covering the bull¡¯s eyes, without even jumping or moving a step.


    His feet firmly planted, his left hand thrust the sword forward, piercing straight into the hump between the bull¡¯s shoulders, until the hilt was buried.


    The bull¡¯s massive horns had now become a disadvantage because their span perfectly accommodated Siegfried¡¯s body.


    In that instant, many spectators had the illusion that the man and the bull merged into one, indistinguishable and whole.


    But it seemed only to be an illusion, for when they closed their eyes and opened them again, the blond man had been thrown flying by the bull.


    Yet the scene had made such an impression that noblemen and women watching could see the same thought mirrored in each other¡¯s eyes.


    Inside the arena, the bull majestically stood at the center of the hunting ground, while the blond man lay on the ground, life and death unknown.


    Outside the arena, there was dead silence.


    The bull took a few steps towards the blond man, then suddenly its knees buckled and its hind legs bent.


    The wild creature slowly lay on the ground, collapsing thunderously.


    And from the dust raised by the carcass of the bull, a golden-haired figure struggled to stand erect.


    In an instant, the cheers were thunderous, reaching for the heavens.


    At that moment, the Royal Hunting Grounds were conquered by the man standing at its center, sending the nobility of the Castile Peninsula into complete frenzy.


    The men cheered until their cheeks flushed, the ladies, discarding all decorum and restraints, threw handkerchiefs, veils, scarves, and anything else they could toss into the arena. Numerous young men leaped into the enclosure, racing to embrace the new legendary Gladiator.


    In the crowd, nobody was happier than Little Hernan who, in extreme excitement, shook Farnan¡¯s shoulders and shrieked, ¡°He did it! He really did it! Hahaha¡­ ¡±


    On the Royal stand, Earl Lothaire was brimming with delight.


    Looking at the Castilian people celebrating inside and outside the hunting ground, he laughed and said to his nephew, ¡°This scene, it really does remind me of your bear-wrestling, lion-stabbing, beast-conquering days. I remember the Castilians were just as crazed! My God, I nearly went deaf!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not as good as him; his challenge was tougher,¡± the Emperor commented, without any visible joy but clearly in good spirits, evident from his use of address, ¡°Uncle.¡±


    Earl Lothaire¡¯s mind stirred and with feigned nonchalance he joked, ¡°Surely Earl Harlan couldn¡¯t really be your illegitimate child, could he?¡±


    The Royal stand instantly fell silent, while just below, the hunting ground was like a sea of joy.


    In sharp contrast, the atmosphere on the Royal stand turned extremely eerie¡ªthe question posed by Earl Lothaire was an absolute taboo, even within the Royal Family.


    Suddenly, the Emperor burst into laughter, leaning back and forth, and it had been so long since anyone had seen him laugh so heartily.


    Even when glass bottles filled with Northern waters and sands were presented, even when the Empire¡¯s Navy defeated the Flemish and reclaimed Rhodes Island, even when the native Emperor of the Western Colonies kneeled before him, the Emperor had never laughed like this.


    The Emperor waved his hand with a chuckle, ¡°No.¡±


    His voice was neither too loud nor too quiet, just enough for everyone to hear clearly.


    The Royal stand returned to the previous atmosphere¡ªcheering for Earl Harlan, laughing, celebrating.


    In the midst of the jubilant atmosphere, only the Emperor seated at the front seemed somewhat melancholic.


    Resting his chin on his hand, leaning against the throne, there was a trace of warmth and a touch of regret in his eyes¡ªEarl Lothaire felt as if he was looking once more at the young man of the past who had not yet lost his humanity.


    ¡°If only I had a son like him,¡± the Emperor murmured softly.

 Chapter 990 - 50 The Mountains

    Chapter 990: Chapter 50 The Mountains


    The legendary beast-fighting performance came to an end, but the story was not over yet.


    Siegfried was lifted high by strangers and carried all the way to the foot of the royal viewing platform, with the body of the bison being dragged along as well.


    The flags on the viewing platform waved, signifying that the Emperor had granted Siegfried the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The crowd gently set Siegfried down, and Farnan finally found a chance to speak with Siegfried: ¡°How are you?¡±


    Clutching his left arm and gritting his teeth, Siegfried replied: ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    He staggered towards the body of the bull. The once majestic and wild animal now lay silently on the ground, its lifeless eyes gazing at the sky, still in peace.


    For some reason, the thirst for victory and conquest that had just been storming inside Siegfried¡¯s heart had vanished in an instant.


    He felt no joy or pride, no sense of achievement or happiness, in stark contrast to when he first entered King Karl XI¡¯s palace.


    Looking up at the stands, the girl who had haunted his dreams was no longer there, leaving Siegfried suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of absurdity and powerlessness.


    He lowered his head to look at the bull, thinking that if not for this impulsive and meaningless gladiatorial combat, this strong and beautiful creature might still be free to run, live, and reproduce in the wilderness.


    Seeing that Siegfried was hesitating to cut off the beast¡¯s ears, Farnan drew his sword, ready to do it for Siegfried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Siegfried stopped Farnan.


    Farnan recognized the struggle in Siegfried¡¯s eyes, his look full of sympathy, but his attitude left no room for debate: ¡°Some things must be done, otherwise it¡¯s like insulting the Castilians¡­ Let me do it.¡±


    The flags rose, but the new legendary Gladiator was reluctant to cut the beast¡¯s ears and tail, and the Castilians around started to sense something amiss.


    Siegfried stood unmovable, staring at the body of the bison: ¡°I should listen to you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all over, don¡¯t think too much,¡± Farnan sighed, reaching out to close the bull¡¯s eyes: ¡°No matter what you choose, from the moment it was captured, it was fated to die in the arena. Having you as an opponent, at least it died with honor.¡±


    ¡°What honor is there in a death so pointless?¡±


    Farnan didn¡¯t answer, instead, he leaned over to cut off the bull¡¯s ears and tail, wrapped them in his cloak, and placed them in Siegfried¡¯s hands. He grasped Siegfried¡¯s arm, lifting the spoils high.


    A deafening cheer erupted, and the young nobles around surged forward, intending to lift the legendary Gladiator up high according to tradition and carry him out of the hunting field.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Farnan protected Siegfried: ¡°He¡¯s injured! Don¡¯t jostle him! Earl Harlan needs a physician!¡±


    The frenzied crowd suddenly parted like a tide and quickly became quiet.


    The crisp sound of horse bells approached, and an old man led a silver-grey Warhorse towards Siegfried, as Castilian nobles on both sides bowed their heads in respect.


    In the entire Empire, only two people could make the proud and unbridled Castilian nobility make way and pay homage. One is the Emperor, and the other was now in front of Siegfried¡ªthe Baron Hernan, Imperial Marshal.


    ¡°A performance of extreme magnificence, Earl Harlan.¡± Marshal Hernan took the initiative to speak, not sparing any words of praise: ¡°Charging at a rampaging bison with a sword, such courage! Such skill!¡±


    He smiled and passed the reins he held to Siegfried, saying kindly: ¡°Earl, please accept this Warhorse as a congratulatory gift from me.¡±


    Hearing Marshal Hernan¡¯s words, the Castilian nobles, who had been concentrating on the Marshal, finally paid attention to the Warhorse he had brought.


    Indeed, it was a Warhorse of immense value; with a tall, lean body, strong limbs, proper joints, and a beautiful front chest, even the strictest horse appraisers could not detect any flaws.


    The original owner apparently cherished this horse greatly, for there was not a scar on its body, not even under the ribcage. It was clear that the owner was reluctant to use spurs and always controlled the horse with just the knees and reins.


    To give such a beloved horse away, the original owner must have been in great pain. And there he was at the moment, the horse¡¯s former master with a downcast face following behind the horse¡ªit was Little Hernan.


    The Castilian nobles witnessing Marshal Hernan gifting the horse to Earl Harlan had shimmering eyes and various expressions.


    Farnan nudged Siegfried¡¯s elbow, signaling him to accept.


    Exhausted and out of willingness to deal with the Castilians¡¯ thoughts, and even if he did, Siegfried did not care.


    ¡°Marshal Hernan.¡± Siegfried summoned his energy, and straightforwardly responded to old Hernan: ¡°If not for Sir Little Hernan¡¯s assistance, this bison would have killed me. This fight was not fair, so please forgive me for not wanting to accept congratulations.¡±


    The atmosphere instantly froze, and the smiles of the Castilian nobles turned stiff.


    Siegfried, clutching his left arm, hobbled out of the crowd. As he brushed past Little Hernan, he nodded gently at him, and besides that, he did not say a word to anyone else.


    Farnan apologized deeply to Marshal Hernan with a bow, then quickly followed after Siegfried¡¯s departing figure.


    ¡­


    [Siegfried¡¯s Tent]


    Farnan entered the tent with an armful of firewood, shoving it one by one into the stove to make the fire burn brighter.


    Siegfried, bare-chested, sat on the campaign cot, being examined for injuries by Brother Luke from the Order of Michael.


    ¡°Earl Harlan.¡± Brother Luke released Siegfried¡¯s left arm, speaking helplessly: ¡°If you are in pain, you need to express it, so that I can know where it hurts.¡±

 Chapter 991 - 50 Mountains_2

    Chapter 991: Chapter 50 Mountains_2


    ¡°Oh, it hurts.¡±


    Monk Luca then pinched his left shoulder lightly: ¡°How about here?¡±


    ¡°It hurts too.¡±


    ¡°How is it?¡± Farnan asked caringly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like a fracture, but there might be a crack.¡± Plump Monk Luca wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Bone issues are best checked by the Imperial Physician, they are more adept at treating such injuries.¡±


    ¡°Divine Arts won¡¯t work?¡±


    Monk Luca smacked his lips, feeling it wouldn¡¯t hurt to tell them: ¡°No, those with fractures can seem to heal after being treated with Divine Arts, but after a few days, the patient might get a high fever and then¡­ be called to the beyond.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Siegfried asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask, and don¡¯t delve into it.¡± Monk Luca spread his hands out: ¡°[Do not put your Lord to the test]! Ah, why am I even telling you this? I shouldn¡¯t have. Alas, since you¡¯ve heard it, make sure not to spread it around. Just bear with it a little longer, Earl Harlan, I¡¯ll go find the Imperial Physician.¡±


    Monk Luca draped a blanket over Siegfried, then hurried out of the tent.


    After a while, the tent curtain was lifted, but it wasn¡¯t the Imperial Physician who entered, it was Duke Lothar.


    Duke Lothar gestured with his hand indicating that Siegfried and Farnan need not bow, first surveyed the furnishings inside Siegfried¡¯s tent, and then turned to Siegfried.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Duke Lothar asked.


    Siegfried replied with effort: ¡°Superficial skin wounds.¡±


    Duke Lothar looked at Farnan.


    ¡°Monk Luca diagnosed it as possibly being a fracture.¡± Farnan bowed slightly, impeccable in his manners: ¡°The monk has just left to summon the Imperial Physician.¡±


    Duke Lothar watched Siegfried for a moment, the corners of his mouth holding a subtle smile. Time had not marred the Duke¡¯s handsomeness; instead, it had lent an even more dignified and elegant air to his persona. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Earl Harlan.¡± Duke Lothar asked deliberately: ¡°I do not understand why you publicly humiliated Marshal Hernan?¡±


    ¡°Humiliation?¡± Siegfried furrowed his brows tightly, about to erupt, but he suppressed the impulse: ¡°I never humiliated Marshal Hernan. If I inadvertently caused any harm to the Marshal¡¯s honor, I am willing to offer an open apology to him.¡±


    Duke Lothar chuckled lightly, too lazy to explain much to the tempestuous young lord.


    ¡°Rest up and heal.¡± After saying this, Duke Lothar exited the tent.


    Not long after, the tent curtain was lifted again, and it wasn¡¯t the Imperial Physician who entered once more.


    Little Hernan stormed into the tent, furiously demanding: ¡°My father granted you the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail, even gave you the Warhorse¡ªwhat more do you want?¡±


    ¡°There must be some misunderstanding.¡± Farnan stepped in front of Siegfried: ¡°Your Excellency, Little Hernan.¡±


    ¡°Misunderstanding? Too late!¡± Little Hernan shouted and stormed out with a swing of his hand.


    Just as Little Hernan left, the tent curtain was pulled aside once more.


    This time, an exaggerated hat was poked into the tent first, below which was Marvey¡¯s head with his eyes blinking rapidly. However, it was only his head; Marvey¡¯s body was still outside the tent.


    Ensuring there was no one else inside, Marvey then entered confidently. He adeptly pulled out a bottle of wine hidden under the march bed, took a big gulp, and then handed it to Siegfried.


    ¡°They¡¯ve really put you through the wringer, haven¡¯t they?¡± Marvey said with a smile: ¡°How about basing the protagonist of the next play on you? A handsome man who spares nothing for love, those vain middle-aged noblewomen in the capital will go crazy for it. If you¡¯re willing to go on stage and play yourself, that would be even¡­¡±


    Siegfried gave Marvey a sidelong glance and silently took a sip of the wine.


    ¡°Hey, I knew you wouldn¡¯t be pleased. Alright, I¡¯ll respect your personal wishes and not write it.¡± Marvey said with feigned heartache: ¡°Such a pity to waste good material.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should also respect the Emperor¡¯s personal wishes, Mr. Marvey!¡± Farnan took the bottle of wine from Siegfried¡¯s hand, turned, and looked at Marvey: ¡°Duke Lothar just came by and mentioned that Earl Harlan humiliated Marshal Hernan¡­¡±


    ¡°I thought you did it on purpose!¡± Marvey burst out laughing: ¡°You guys don¡¯t know what ¡®publicly giving a Warhorse on important occasions¡¯ signifies in Castilian culture?¡±


    Siegfried snorted softly.


    Farnan asked solemnly: ¡°Please enlighten us.¡±


    ¡°Marshal Hernan giving you the Warhorse meant he was also passing onto you the opportunity to seek glory, but you¡ªpublicly refused him.¡± Marvey¡¯s smile faded into a regretful sigh: ¡°I estimate you won¡¯t lay a finger on the Marshal¡¯s baton for the next decade.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the Emperor¡¯s royal camp tent. Attendants and maids were dismissed, leaving only the Emperor, Empress Diana, and Prince Richard within the spacious tent.


    ¡°Earl Harlan has declined Baron Hernan¡¯s gift horse.¡± The Emperor said, looking at the Prince: ¡°And before the people of Castile, no less.¡±


    A cold sweat broke out on Prince Richard¡¯s back; he hastily explained, ¡°There must be some misunderstanding, Your Majesty. I will go find¡­¡±


    The Emperor slightly raised his hand and Prince Richard immediately shut his mouth.


    ¡°The issue is not with Earl Harlan.¡± The Emperor said softly: ¡°The issue is with you.¡±


    Hearing this, Prince Richard immediately knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.


    ¡°You desire to take over My Empire.¡± The Emperor looked at his son and slowly continued: ¡°But¡­ you can¡¯t even control a single hound.¡±


    These words weighed heavily; even the Empress beside him changed her expression, and Prince Richard was struck as by a bolt of lightning.


    Grievance, indignation, resentment¡­ a surge of emotions overwhelmed Prince Richard, and tears spilled from his eyes. After all, even as a prince, Richard was just an eighteen-year-old youth.

 Chapter 992 - 50 Mountains_3

    Chapter 992: Chapter 50 Mountains_3


    Richard Lietyang wiped away his tears, stood up straight to give a salute, turned around, and left the tent of the Imperial Palace.


    As soon as the prince left, the previously silent Empress immediately couldn¡¯t help but defend her son: ¡°He¡¯s only eighteen years old!¡±


    ¡°I was already campaigning alongside the late Emperor at the age of fifteen.¡±


    ¡°Richard is different from you.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, he is different.¡± The Emperor frowned slightly: ¡°I left him in your care, yet he failed to inherit any of the Lietyang family¡¯s robust and straightforward nature. Instead, he learned to act like a whimpering woman, fearful as a mouse upon seeing a cat when he meets me. I simply dislike his deceptive and effeminate demeanor.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever considered that it might be your overbearing nature that terrifies Richard so much?¡± Empress Diana retorted in grief. ¡°Ask yourself, have you ever hugged him? Have you ever kissed him? Have you ever let him play on your lap? Not even once! How could he not fear you?!¡±


    ¡°Diana.¡± The Emperor looked into the eyes of the Empress: ¡°If he can¡¯t even handle me, how is he supposed to face the responsibilities and adversities I deal with?¡±


    The Empress was speechless, grief-stricken, and suddenly burst into tears, covering her face.


    The Emperor sat quietly for a while¡ª even being an Emperor, he also had familial troubles that were hard to clarify.


    ¡°The ¡®Grand Council¡¯ of the Senas Alliance will be held next month in Varn.¡± The Emperor paused for a moment: ¡°Let Richard replace Earl Narzia in attending it. Allow him to step out of the Imperial Palace and see the vast world¡ªrather than continuing to be a ¡®caged bird¡¯ by your side.¡±


    Earl Narzia, the Emperor¡¯s Chief Minister of Seals and responsible for diplomacy, often represented the Emperor on missions. It was undoubtedly a great opportunity for Prince Richard to replace Earl Narzia in visiting the Senas Alliance.


    Empress Diana was first elated to the point of ecstasy, but then anxiety soon occupied her heart: ¡°The territory of the southern rebels? Would it be dangerous for Richard to go there? What if the rebels took Richard hostage? Could they¡­¡±


    The brief display of true emotions disappeared, the Emperor stood up indifferently, and without saying a word, he walked out of the tent.


    (The Royal Hunt ¡¤ End)


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Time: The last day of February in the year 560 of the Imperial Calendar


    [Note: half a month after the end of the Red River Tribe hunting and the royal hunting]


    Location: Iron Peak County, Revodan, old garrison.


    Early in the morning, the office of the Mason Civil Guard Officer was neatly lined with a row of people. The already narrow corridor was immediately occupied by half, leaving only just enough room for one person to pass through. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Don¡¯t get it wrong, these people in the hallway are neither here to seek revenge nor to appeal.


    They are official officers of the Republic of Palatu, all once served in the 5th and 6th Standing Army Corps of the Alliance, blocking in front of Richard Mason¡¯s door for one thing¡ªto meet Winters Montagne.


    Ten days have passed since the Expeditionary Force prisoners of war arrived at Iron Peak County. The municipal government of Revodan arranged accommodation, food for the prisoners, and even deployed doctors to check on, diagnose, and prescribe medication for them.


    They received food, lodging, and medical care, but there was no word on how the returning prisoners would be arranged, nor were the prisoners allowed to leave Revodan on their own.


    Being subjected to what amounted to house arrest, how could the officers tolerate this?


    Thus, they came to demand an explanation.


    As Mason turned the corner on his way to work early in the morning and saw the perfectly aligned row of people sitting in the hallway, he felt a splitting headache.


    Poor Mason had been blocked at his door for a week, and the alumni demanding explanations were neither noisy nor rowdy; they just wanted to see Winters, and wouldn¡¯t leave until they did.


    After such a performance for a while, rumors spread throughout the city of Revodan.


    The most widely circulated gossip was ¡°Mason Civil Guard Officer owes a love debt, and the woman¡¯s brother blocks the door to demand an explanation.¡±


    Those who spread the gossip often went so far as to ask pointedly, ¡°Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t they block someone else, but only block Mason Civil Guard Officer?¡±


    The sensational news added quite a bit of fun to the long and tedious winter for the citizens of Revodan but caused unjust accusations against Captain Mason. The most noticeable change was this: councilmen who had unmarried ladies in their households no longer invited Mason to their homes.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Mason backed against the wall, sidestepping toward the office door: ¡°Sorry, excuse me.¡±


    As he was about to reach the door, an arm stretched out, blocking Mason¡¯s way.


    The owner of the arm was a ragged skinny man in his early thirties, his officer¡¯s uniform old and patched, but the skinny man still wore it proudly.


    ¡°Good morning, Colonel Seber.¡± Mason greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Captain Mason.¡± The skinny man, known as Colonel Seber, asked emotionlessly: ¡°Is Captain Montagne able to work yet?¡±


    Mason scratched his head, conveying the official response: ¡°Sorry, Colonel, he¡¯s still recovering.¡±


    ¡°As far as I know, he¡¯s been ¡®recovering¡¯ for almost three months now, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Colonel Seber coldly glanced at Mason: ¡°What? Did he die and you¡¯re not announcing it?¡±


    Mason could only smile wryly.


    Colonel Seber Carrington of the Republic of Palatu¡¯s Army, nicknamed ¡°The Saber.¡±


    It is said that there are only mistimed names, not misgiven nicknames. Seber Carrington is renowned in the Palatu¡¯s Standing Army for being ¡°fearless to the point of madness,¡± earning him the nickname ¡°sharpest saber.¡±


    However, in Mason¡¯s view, more than the actual saber in his hand, Colonel Seber¡¯s true sharpness lay in his words.


    Yet Mason merely grumbled internally for a bit, as his good-nature rarely let him confront others directly, leading to only a wry smile to soothe Colonel Seber: ¡°He¡¯s getting better, almost fully recovered.¡±

 Chapter 993 - 50: Mountains_4

    Chapter 993: Chapter 50: Mountains_4


    ¡°Captain, there are no civilians here, don¡¯t brush us off with lies we both know are false!¡± Colonel Seber suddenly stood up: ¡°Where on earth did Winters Montagne go? When can he return?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡± Mason, heart full of sorrow, said to no one: ¡°I don¡¯t know either!¡±


    ¡°Then what do we do? What about the soldiers at the settlement?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Winters must make the decision; no one else can call the shots.¡±


    ¡°When can Captain Montagne return?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    Colonel Seber stared at Mason for a while, and after confirming that the latter was not lying, he slumped back down, wearily propping his forehead: ¡°Forget it. My apologies if I spoke out of line.¡±


    Mason looked at Colonel Seber, then at the other alumni who had just returned from the wasteland in the corridor, and couldn¡¯t help but feel a lot of sympathy.


    When they stepped into the wasteland, they were army officers with bright futures. When they returned to Paratu, not only had their country vanished, they didn¡¯t even know what they were anymore.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, you have food and shelter, take care of your health first,¡± Mason put his hand on Colonel Seber¡¯s shoulder: ¡°I know you want to go home, I also believe Winters will respect your wishes.¡±


    Colonel Seber, hand on his forehead, asked, ¡°When is Winters coming back?¡±


    Mason was stunned: ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then you do your job,¡± Colonel Seber lifted his head, resuming a proper sitting posture: ¡°We¡¯ll continue to wait.¡±


    Mason stood still for a moment, then turned to open the door. His fingertips had already touched the doorknob when he turned back around, proactively suggesting: ¡°Actually, there are two other decision-makers in Iron Peak County, Lieutenant Bard and Lieutenant Cherini. Maybe you could pay them a visit? By the way, Colonel Jeska has recently been compiling textbooks and could use some help; you could also assist there.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Jeska has people helping. Lieutenant Bard is in Blackwater Town, hundreds of kilometers from here,¡± Colonel Seber snorted coldly: ¡°Lieutenant Andrea Cherini is even more cunning, having snuck off to the city¡¯s outskirts stables early on.¡±


    ¡°So.¡± Mason asked word by word: ¡°Blocking my door is because¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, because you¡¯re the only one we could find,¡± Colonel Seber patted Mason¡¯s shoulder: ¡°In Revodan, it¡¯s only you who¡¯s working.¡±


    Mason, struggling, didn¡¯t let others see the tears in his eyes and forcefully pushed open the office door.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be working anymore either,¡± he thought fiercely, but he immediately reconsidered: ¡°But if I don¡¯t work, how will the usual matters be handled?¡±


    At that moment, there was an excited shout from outside the corridor: ¡°They¡¯ve returned! They¡¯re back!¡±


    Mason was startled, loudly asking: ¡°Who¡¯s back?¡±


    ¡°The delegation!¡± the messenger beamed: ¡°Everyone is back!¡±


    Mason¡¯s heart bloomed with joy, no longer caring that others were present: ¡°Quick, lead the way!¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Winters¡¯ camp.


    ¡°You asked for me urgently, saying there was an emergency, and it¡¯s for this?¡± Father Kaman glared at Winters, suppressing the urge to curse: ¡°Do you realize I was in morning prayer? I thought you had slit your own throat!¡±


    ¡°This is the emergency,¡± Winters answered seriously, then threw the stick in his hand far away.


    The two shadows sitting in front of him instantly vanished into the mist.


    Soon after, a big dog looking like a wolf joyfully ran back with the stick, followed by another big dog looking like a wolf, looking dejected.


    ¡°Emergency.¡± Kaman clenched his fist: ¡°You¡¯re saying watching your dogs fetch?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Winters smiled enigmatically, stretching out his right hand, dangling a peculiar bone whistle: ¡°It means I¡¯ve figured out the principle behind Hurd¡¯s Divine Arts of beast speaking. Want to hear it?¡±


    ¡­


    [Outside Revodan]


    ¡°Major! Where¡¯s Winters?¡± Mason grabbed Major Moritz¡¯s shoulder, yelling in anger and despair: ¡°Where is he? Did you drink too much and leave Winters in the wasteland? Winters! Winters Montagne!¡±


    ¡°Stop looking,¡± said a groggy Moritz Major with a yawn: ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±


    Mason felt like crying: ¡°Then why have you returned alone?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Oh.¡± Moritz said slowly: ¡°He asked me to bring these things back.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having said that, Moritz, who was sitting in the carriage, casually lifted the blanket beneath him.


    All those who came to greet him gasped in unison: gold bars, a layer of deep yellow gold bars paved along the bottom of the carriage.


    It turns out the Major had slept on top of gold all the way.


    Mason immediately pounced to straighten the blanket, tucking it in carefully as if afraid the gold bars would catch a cold.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± Mason asked softly.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Moritz yawned again, absent-mindedly fiddling with an arrowhead: ¡°Found it.¡±


    He patted the carpet beneath him and pointed to the back: ¡°Three carriages, check them. Oh, and another carriage was taken away by Winters.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Right!¡± Mason, immersed in joy, suddenly remembered another crucial question, ¡°Where exactly did Winters run off to? Does he know how hard I¡¯ve¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Winters¡¯ camp.


    Just as Winters was about to haggle with Father Kaman, Pierre arrived: ¡°Centurion, Mr. Ed from the Navarre Commerce Iron Fortress branch is here, he wishes to see you and your wife.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Winters hopped off the carriage, smiling in reply: ¡°Mr. Ed¡¯s arrival means we¡¯ve got our ¡®invitation¡¯ to enter Iron Fortress.¡±


    Just then, a gust of wind cleared the mist in the valley.


    The trail, pond, and the hillside covered with a thin layer of snow, with flocks of sheep, cloud-like, strolling on the slopes.


    Looking out from the mouth of the valley, one could also see the mountain peak covered with perpetual snow in the distance.


    Pass through the mountain pass ahead, then another mountain pass, and Iron Fortress is fully in sight.

 Chapter 994 - 51 Trade Embargo

    Chapter 994: Chapter 51 Trade Embargo


    Although Hornfort is the capital of the Monta Republic, Solingen is the most prosperous and thriving city in this mountain nation.


    Benefiting from its rich mineral resources and the settlement of skilled craftsmen, Solingen has long been a famous town of ironworkers in the Monta imperial domain¡ªalbeit only within Monta.


    Constrained by the mountains, the high-quality ironware of Solingen could not be transported out.


    Even if it could be transported, the lords and autonomous cities outside preferred to protect the local iron products that contributed taxes.


    Until thirty years ago, two major events happened.


    The first event: The completion of the Wooper Canal, which connected the waterways between Rose River and Ashen Stream River.


    To excavate this short canal, the Solingen Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild took forty years just to raise funds.


    By the time the first Gold Coin buried was brought back to the light of day, the leader who had inititated this project had long passed away, and the young man at the time who watched ignorantly had already turned gray.


    After that, it took another fifteen years to construct the canal, a total of fifty-five years, the span of three generations.


    The second event: The Duke of Arlion led his troops into the Mountain Front Territory, and the sovereignty war broke out.


    War, like a hungry monster gone mad, demanded more steel and blood at all times.


    The iron-producing areas in the Mountain Front Territory were burnt to cinders by the brutal tug-of-war, while Solingen, far from the troubles of war, made a fortune.


    Two sovereignty wars lasted for eight years of conflict. By the time the Mad King Richard retreated, Solingen had already jumped to become the largest center of iron manufacturing between the two mountains.


    After the war ended, the business of weapons was no longer booming.


    But Solingen didn¡¯t decline; on the contrary, it developed more freely by shaking off the shackles of the Empire.


    The Federated Provinces, in need of reconstruction, had an endless demand for iron products. The Solingen smiths no longer churned out swords but sold iron bars instead.


    With the reduction of internal tariffs in the Alliance, the iron bars produced by Solingen were no longer trapped by the mountains. They were loaded onto ships, flowed downstream, and were sold far away to the Various Republics, the Empire, and overseas.


    The decade of the sovereignty wars was a miserable one for many ordinary people, but for Solingen, it was a golden decade.


    Even the twenty years following the end of the war were years of rapid development for Solingen.


    Solingen not only developed from a small but famous town of ironworkers to a steel capital renowned across the Alliance, but it also grew from a remote valley by the Rose Lake into today¡¯s bustling traffic hub where numerous trade routes converge.


    Therefore, foreign businesses looking to trade in the Monta Republic focused their major efforts on Solingen rather than the capital, Hornfort.


    For most trade houses in Solingen, the person in charge is practically their chief representative in the Monta Republic¡ªthis is the case with Navarre Commerce.


    ¡­


    The Navarre family¡¯s agent in Solingen is an old gentleman with a Vineta-style beard, named Carlo Aide.


    Vineta-style beard, that is, no beard at all.


    Mr. Ed is tall and thin, with a serious demeanor, and if not for his bald chin and upper lip, many would mistake him for a clergyman based on his dress and temperament alone.


    When Anna returned to camp dripping with dew from her sketching, Mr. Ed was discussing the issue of Gold exchange with Winters.


    ¡°¡­Although Solingen wouldn¡¯t choke on half a ton of Gold, converting it to Ducats all at once would surely result in being forced into a lower price,¡± Mr. Ed said as he dipped his fingertip in water and wrote a number on the table: ¡°The goldsmiths in Solingen are backed by guilds, and if they catch wind of our actual situation and join forces to drive down the price, the exchange rate will be even lower.¡±


    Winters gently fiddled with his bone whistle, nodding thoughtfully. Two well-behaved hounds lay beside Winters¡¯ boots, sneakily glancing at him with anticipation.


    Sitting alongside at the small table was Father Kaman, who wore an expressionless face.


    Compared to Elder Aide and Father Kaman, whose beards and hair were neatly groomed, Winters was somewhat unkempt.


    Although Winters¡¯ clothes were still neat¡ªthanks to Anna¡ªhis beard and hair were not so fortunate¡ªalso thanks to Anna.


    Seeing Anna Navarre return to camp, Mr. Ed stood up to greet her: ¡°I¡¯m delighted to see you, my lady. Compared to two years ago in Sea Blue, you appear healthier and more vibrant now.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ed, I¡¯m even happier to see you looking well,¡± Anna replied with a smile, setting down her sketchpad: ¡°However, ¡®more vibrant¡¯ and ¡®healthier¡¯ are not attributes that should be used to describe a lady.¡±


    ¡°For someone my age, nothing is more important than health.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ed is right,¡± Winters affirmed earnestly: ¡°Health is beauty!¡±


    Those who spend all their days together often fail to notice the changes in each other. Winters couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint how Anna had changed, but it seemed she had changed everywhere: her nose tip and cheeks were prettier; her waistline, more enchanting; her thighs, firmer; her vigor, more sparkling¡­


    If Lady Navarre, when she first arrived in Iron Peak County, still had a touch of pampered baby fat,


    Then after a long journey, the delicacy on Anna¡¯s body had disappeared entirely, replaced by a robust vitality, as if the idealized realistic statues of ancient goddesses had come to life among mortals.


    This vibrant beauty overwhelmed Winters, so now whenever Anna used ¡°superlatives,¡± Winters would sing praises without hesitation.


    Except for skin issues¡ªthat was a forbidden zone within forbidden zones, who mentions it perishes.


    Anna returned from sketching, entered the tent, unbuckled her sword, scooped up handfuls of clear water to wash her face, and wiped it dry. Then she stepped out of the tent and sat down at the table with ease.


    There were now four people at the table: Winters, Father Kaman, Mr. Ed, and Anna.


    Elder Aide glanced at Winters, then at Anna, noticing that both of them appeared natural with no abnormalities or affectation.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mr. Ed?¡± Winters asked softly, ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for you to continue.¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± A slight smile formed on Elder Aide¡¯s serious face: ¡°I think, perhaps only a formidable woman could match a great man.¡±


    After a pause, Elder Aide continued talking about the exchange of gold bars for Gold Coins.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Half a month ago, after recasting the sacrificial golden figure into four carts of gold bars, the Iron Peak County Delegation split into two groups.


    One group was escorted by Colonel Moritz, carrying three-quarters of the gold directly back to Iron Peak County. The Iron Peak County Government urgently required this hard currency to alleviate the financial crisis.


    The other, led by Winters himself, went secretly north to enter the Monta Republic.


    However, upon returning to the ¡°civilized world¡±, Winters faced the dilemma of being wealthy but unable to spend: the gold bars couldn¡¯t be used directly, and even if someone was willing to take them, it would be too conspicuous. They had to be exchanged for common Gold Coins.


    Fortunately, Navarre Commerce also did business in the mountainous nation, ensuring that Winters was not entirely without options.


    First, Winters found a branch of Navarre Commerce in the border city of Lucerne in the Monta Republic, exchanged a small portion of the gold bars, and sent an urgent letter through the channels of Navarre Commerce to the head office at Steel Fortress.


    Then, he headed to Steel Fortress with the remaining gold bars without a moment¡¯s delay.


    And then, he met Mr. Ed in a small village on the outskirts of Steel Fortress. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°In summary,¡± Elder Aide returned to his terse demeanor, ¡°exchanging all your gold at once for Ducats, Federated Provinces¡¯ Shields, or Montan Gold Coins would be an unwise business practice.¡±


    ¡°What would you suggest?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°My suggestion is¡ªmortgage. Use the gold as collateral for Gold Coins first, then slowly liquidate them to maintain a stable exchange ratio. Of course, the best course would be to bring the gold back to Vineta and recast it into Ducats; that¡¯s the most cost-effective way.¡±


    Winters, confused: ¡°Mortgage gold for gold?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But not to a goldsmith, to other merchant houses,¡± Elder Aide elaborated: ¡°Divide the gold bars into several portions, mortgage them to different merchant houses, this way you can bypass the Steel Fortress goldsmiths. Moreover, the collateral can¡¯t be remelted during the mortgage term, so it won¡¯t impact the market exchange rate between gold and Gold Coins.¡±


    Winters saw Anna give him a subtle nod and stood up with peace of mind to thank the elder gentleman: ¡°I trust everything to you, Mr. Ed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be of help,¡± Elder Aide nodded: ¡°His Excellency Montaigne.¡±


    After confirming how to exchange the gold bars for Gold Coins, a series of even more pressing problems awaited urgent solutions.


    Mr. Ed took out the urgent letter in Anna¡¯s handwriting from his bosom: ¡°In your letter, you mentioned wanting to be introduced to the decision-makers of Steel Fortress. That won¡¯t be difficult. Mr. Borso da Este from the Este family is in Steel Fortress. He¡¯s a close friend of Mayor Wooper. I can introduce you to Mr. Borso da Este, and then he can introduce you to Mayor Paulo Wooper.¡±


    In the ears of any well-informed Venetian, the name da Este carries immense distinction.


    Although Winters did not know who ¡°Borso da Este¡± was, if a ¡°White Eagle¡± was willing to offer help, meeting the Mayor of Steel Fortress should not be difficult.


    [Note: The symbol of the Este family is the white eagle]


    ¡°Regarding your other request¡ªto acquire weapons,¡± Mr. Ed frowned slightly: ¡°That may be somewhat difficult.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Winters did not seem surprised, jokingly said: ¡°Steel Fortress smiths rejecting money?¡±


    Elder Aide once again took out a folded piece of rough paper from his bosom: ¡°Montan¡¯s way of doing things is indeed different from ours. Life is harsh in the mountainous country, so Montans are more united, more loyal. Once a decision is made through consensus, they never renounce it or violate it.¡±


    Winters unfurled the rough paper and the fresh print ink still exuded a faint odor.


    There was a large seal at the bottom of the paper, and the heading read: ¡°Monta¡¯s Sole Ruler and Free People¡¯s Beloved Senior Representative of Solingen unanimously pass the following consensus¡­¡±


    Elder Aide gravely said: ¡°The Steel Fortress City Council has just passed an administrative order. It prohibits any individual or guild from selling weapons, ammunition, or any resources that can be used for war to the Republic of Palatu. However, this order is just an administrative decree. It still needs to be taken to the General Assembly for debate and voting before it becomes formal law.¡±


    Having skimmed through the bulletin, Winters then handed the rough paper to Anna.


    ¡°Steel Fortress is about to impose a trade embargo on the Republic of Palatu.¡± Elder Aide looked severe: ¡°And this may be just the beginning.¡±

 Chapter 995 - 52: Unbreakable Alliance

    Chapter 995: Chapter 52: Unbreakable Alliance


    Winters did not return to Iron Peak County as soon as possible, instead stepping into the nation of mountains. Although it was beyond the initial plan, this decision was not on impulse.


    In fact, ever since visiting Alpad Duyome, Winters had been contemplating the feasibility of a journey to Steel Fortress.


    Up until now, the primary means for the Iron Peak County Military to acquire weapons was still seizure.


    The weapons seized from enemies were not only limited in number but also varied in quality and severely lacked firearms.


    Iron Peak County could barely manufacture simple weapons like spears and Stinger Hammers. Ignoring the cost of production, perhaps they could also make some matchlock guns.


    However, more technically complex weapons like long-barrel firearms or Longswords were beyond the capabilities of local blacksmiths like the Gangchalov brothers.


    To insist on making them¡­ it was not impossible.


    If they couldn¡¯t make long gun barrels, they could make short ones, and then assemble those short barrels into long gun barrels. Firearms made in such a manner may look decent at a glance¡ªyet they are utterly unusable.


    The assembled barrels naturally possessed inherent flaws; no one knew whether there were internal damages at the joints, much less whether such damages could cause a barrel burst during the next shot.


    After the Battle of Blood Mud, various musketeer squads reported behavior resembling cowardice: some musketeers always loaded as little gunpowder as possible, even deliberately pouring the gunpowder in the paper cartridge out of the barrel, causing the lead bullets to lack force, producing only a thud without drawing blood when hitting armored savages.


    And through actual investigations, Winters discovered: most of the ¡°cowardice¡± musketeers used assembled firearms, and commonly witnessed teammates getting severely injured by exploding barrels, leading them to dare not load enough gunpowder.


    If a warrior fears his weapon, how can one expect him to fight?


    Thus, Winters braved mountains and rivers to arrive at Steel Fortress¡ªhis army needed weapons, and Steel Fortress was the largest weapons production center in the Various Republics.


    As for how to transport them back¡­ do you remember the permit issued by Alpad?


    The traditional route for exporting Steel Fortress metal goods to Paratu was water transportation, following the Rose River then downstream to the Ashen Stream River, then distributing throughout Paratu.


    However, this trade route was now impassable because the lower reaches of the Rose River were controlled by the military government.


    Of course, the military government would not allow Steel Fortress metal goods to flow into the ¡°pretend government¡± territory, so merchant ships on the Rose River could only unload their cargo in Jiangbei Province and could not advance any further.


    But¡­ perhaps ships belonging to the Iron Peak County Rebels might be shown some leniency.


    The enemy of an enemy is a friend, for the military government, the Second Republic is an enemy, and the New Reclamation Legion is an indecisive enemy.


    Compared to the loathsome former two, the ¡°Iron Peak County Rebels¡± in conflict with Red Rose and the New Reclamation Legion seem much cuter.


    Additionally, the military government currently has an effective alliance with Vineta, and the attitude inside the military government toward Iron Peak County Rebels¡ªespecially Winters Montagne¡ªhas consequently become very ambiguous.


    Winters tested the military government¡¯s bottom line, even making some excessive requests to Colonel Alec (like taking all his former subordinates).


    As a colonel of engineers, Alec didn¡¯t technically have the authority to grant Winters¡¯ permissions.


    But all of Winters¡¯ demands were fulfilled without any complications¡ªconsidering he had Alpad¡¯s tacit approval beforehand, the smooth progress was nearly miraculous.


    This suggests not only Alpad but other high-ranking officials in the military government chose to turn a blind eye.


    Winters therefore speculated: it¡¯s highly likely that elements within the military government were considering winning over the Iron Peak County Military,possibly aiming to use them to contain the New Reclamation Legion.


    Thus, before traversing Jiangbei Province to the Monta Republic, Winters sent a letter to Colonel Alec.


    Apart from sincere greetings and some intelligence on the Hurd tribes, Winters also enclosed thirty gold bars and a simple verbal message in the letter:


    ¡°Would it be possible to allow the Iron Peak County Commerce to purchase some agricultural tools in Steel Fortress¡­ for spring plowing?¡±


    Winters has yet to receive a reply, but according to Elder Aide¡¯s explanation of the situation, the issue of ¡°Steel Fortress not willing to sell¡± is more pressing than ¡°the military government forbidding purchase.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Steel Fortress is implementing a trade embargo on Paratu?¡± Winters sensed a hint of dark humor: ¡°Isn¡¯t that just blocking the military government? After all, the route from Monta to the Ashen Stream River is entirely under military government control, and Kingsfort was never able to acquire military equipment from Steel Fortress anyway.¡±


    Elder Aide¡¯s smile carried a hint of derision: ¡°The statement from the State Council is ¡®for the sake of peace¡¯.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Has the nation of mountains already chosen a side?¡± Winters sipped some ice water.


    ¡°Rather,¡± Elder Aide corrected lightly: ¡°The stance of Monta Republic has never changed.¡±


    Winters, clutching the metal cup, sighed¡ªhistorical issues, no one can handle them.


    ¡­


    Unlike The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Paratu, who won their independence amidst blood and fire, the sovereignty of Monta and Varn was not earned by themselves.


    No one knows what conditions Marshal Ned offered under the walls of Guidao City to King Richard IV, but the outcome was clear to all: the mad king withdrew his troops, and most of Monta Royal Territory and the Varn duchy were incorporated into the Federated Provinces¡¯ map, with no flags of the Fierce Sun Royal Family south of Sheltering Mountain ever since.


    However, as soon as the imperial troops withdrew, The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Paratu nearly fell apart over the ¡°New Territory Disposition Plan.¡±


    The Federated Provinces demanded openly that Monta and Varn Territory should be merged into The Federated Provinces due to proximity¡ªalso a well-founded reason:

 Chapter 996 - 52: Unbreakable Alliance_2

    Chapter 996: Chapter 52: Unbreakable Alliance_2


    The Federated Provinces hold the smallest territory; they paid the heaviest price in the war; fully entrusting the Sheltering Mountain range to The Federated Provinces¡¯ jurisdiction is even more conducive to the overall defensive planning against the Empire.


    Paratu firmly opposed the proposal of The Federated Provinces, suggesting that Varn Territory could be annexed by The Federated Provinces as it is nearby, on the condition that Monta Territory must be merged into Paratu.


    Neither bordering Monta nor Varn, Vineta could not accept either of the above proposals.


    Eventually, under the appeal of Marshal Ned, a compromise was reached: Monta Territory and Varn Territory would join the Alliance as independent republics, with the Alliance government responsible for guiding and supervising the establishment of the republican government and its initial operation, and neither of the two countries would have veto power over Alliance affairs.


    On the surface, the final plan appeared to be an acceptable outcome for all countries.


    However, the representatives who signed the agreement never imagined that in the end, it was The Federated Provinces that won everything. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the years following the Empire¡¯s withdrawal, the United Provincials infiltrated and took control of key departments within the Alliance, successfully turning the Alliance government into a puppet and mouthpiece for Guidao City.


    This manipulation eventually led to Paratu and Vineta leaving the Alliance in disgust, and the Alliance government was henceforth a name only, devoid of substance.


    But The Federated Provinces also extended their control over the government, deeply involving themselves in the political ecosystem construction of Monta and Varn, spreading their influence to every vein and pore of the two new republics.


    In this political game, it was still the more unscrupulous who took everything, and those with a greater sense of morality who lost everything.


    But in reality, the real loser was ¡°the permanent alliance of free republics¡±.


    After the grand vision of the great alliance dissolved into nothing, Marshal Ned passed away within a few years.


    And so it has been up until today.


    ¡­


    Winters, having spent nine years in a military academy, hardened by three years in the archipelago, the wilderness, and Paratu, had limited exposure to politics, but still possessed a basic understanding of the inner workings of the Alliance.


    At least during his time at the Military Academy, topics like [Paratu and Vineta¡¯s withdrawal from the Alliance government] ¨C a decision tantamount to capitulation when faced with an unwinnable game ¨C were frequently dragged into internal discussions for criticism, often igniting intense arguments.


    The reins of Monta government were held by the United Provinces Republic, so [the country of mountains intervening in the Paratu civil war] seemed inevitable in Winters¡¯ view.


    The Paratu military government and Kingsfort might have a fighting chance in an arm wrestling match, but if The Federated Provinces and Monta were to deploy troops simultaneously, the military government would have no hope of surviving the three-way siege.


    And the future of the Iron Peak County Military relied not only on their own efforts but was also influenced by the power plays of the various republics.


    [Those who do not focus on the big picture cannot even defend a corner of the chessboard.]


    It was precisely because he kept this saying in mind that Winters took the risk of infiltrating the mountainous nation, not just to purchase military equipment, but also to clarify the intentions of the Monta Republic ¡ª and it would be even better if he could deploy someone to regularly send back information.


    ¡­


    Therefore, the crux of the Monta issue lies in¡ª


    ¡°To what extent is the Monta National Affairs Committee prepared to intervene?¡± Winters asked Mr. Ed: ¡°Trade embargo? Political condemnation? Military confrontation?¡±


    The elderly gentleman shook his head gently: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ His Excellency Montaigne, may I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Please, go ahead.¡±


    Mr. Ed asked slowly, ¡°Amidst the mountains, between the sky and the earth, does there exist a person named Monta Republic?¡±


    Winters understood what the elder was getting at and answered with a smile, ¡°Of course not, a country is a collective made up of thousands and thousands of people.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, like a trading company, the interests between partners aren¡¯t always aligned,¡± Mr. Ed gazed at Winters. ¡°For instance, some may think you are a prized asset, others believe it¡¯s essential to distance themselves from you as soon as possible, and there are those who have never made their position clear¡­ especially the most important one.¡±


    ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± Winters asked courteously and formally.


    ¡°Me?¡± Elder Ed looked at Anna and said kindly, ¡°I¡¯m just lending a little help to our dear young lady here.¡±


    Anna nodded with gratitude and gently took Winters¡¯ hand, ¡°Mr. Ed is an old friend of my grandfather and was a comrade who moved to Vineta from Rhodes Island with him.¡±


    ¡°Time flies.¡± Elder Ed smiled with nostalgia and regret, ¡°But let¡¯s return to the topic of Monta. The interests of The Federated Provinces and those of Montans are not exactly aligned, nor are the interests of Monta¡¯s State Affairs Committee aligned with those of Kingsfort. The trade embargo policy alone has seen considerable discrepancies among various Montan states.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say there¡¯s still a chance?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is that a consensus has not been formed yet, and no one knows what the final outcome will be,¡± said Mr. Ed, gesturing to the mountains. ¡°Monta, with its vastly different customs from Vineta, as you saw on your journey here, is essentially a series of small settlements carved out by high mountains. Hence, the small Monta Republic has twenty-six states, with each state retaining a considerable degree of autonomy¡ªa structural organization that even the United Provincials couldn¡¯t change¡­¡±


    Winters patiently listened to the end and then posed a blunt question, ¡°According to the current power structure of the Monta Republic, to whom do the command rights of the Seventh [Mountain] Legion and the Eighth [Iron Wall] Legion belong?¡±


    Mr. Ed hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°It should be the Army Committee.¡±


    Winters asked again, ¡°And whom does the Army Committee listen to?¡±


    The elder pondered for a moment and laughed helplessly, ¡°The intricacies of the military, I cannot fathom. Mr. Borso da Este should have clearer insights; you can ask the White Eagle later.¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°If even you are not clear about it, then I have a rough idea what the situation is. It must be another historical issue¡­ on the surface, they follow the orders of the State Affairs Committee, but in reality, they heed no one.¡±


    Elder Ed didn¡¯t quite understand, and the other two looked puzzled as well, while Winters was still emotionally reflecting, ¡°Why can¡¯t the United Provincials teach something useful?¡±


    Mr. Ed coughed softly, bringing everyone¡¯s attention back, ¡°At present, the only way to find a channel to purchase agricultural tools would be to start with the divergent interests between Kingsfort and Monta¡¯s State Affairs Committee.¡±


    Winters quickly grasped the implied meaning, ¡°Are you suggesting that there is a possibility to bypass the embargo restrictions?¡±


    The elder spoke unhurriedly, ¡°If the Kingsfort Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild is willing to trade, there could be a thousand ways to circumvent the embargo; but if the Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild refuses to trade, a thousand methods to circumvent the embargo would be pointless.¡±


    ¡°What if instead of direct purchase of the finished products¡­¡± Winters asked deliberately, ¡°We were to exchange formulas, customize machinery, or hire craftsmen¡­ would that be feasible?¡±


    Weapons are consumables, prone to damage with usage; relying solely on purchase is not a long-term solution. Beyond procuring arms, Winters had a more pressing plan in mind¡ªbuying technology.


    Elder Ed was first surprised and then laughed heartily, a laugh filled with three parts appreciation and seven parts regret.


    He shook his head, earnestly advising, ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne, your vision is far-sighted, which is rare at your age. But I still advise you to focus on the materials you need most urgently, better not to mention any other demands.¡±


    ¡°May I ask¡­ why?¡±


    Mr. Ed did not specify, only smiling in reply, ¡°You will know when the time comes.¡±

 Chapter 997 - 53 Golden Friendship

    Chapter 997: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship


    Although Carlo Aide was advancing in years, his decisive and brisk nature had not changed in the slightest.


    Having agreed on a visit to White Eagle and left two reliable servants to run errands and deliver messages, he did not linger any longer and took the initiative to bid farewell to Winters and Anna.


    The silver-trimmed black carriage rolled out of the village, and Caman, who had been playing the puppet all this time, coldly asked Winters: ¡°Lies, deceit, and conspiracies¡­ You dragged me here to witness all this, do you intend to confess and repent? Or is it simply to waste my time?¡±


    ¡°Neither,¡± Winters replied immediately, he solemnly declared: ¡°I asked you to join me in receiving guests because there is a friendship between us, as precious as gold.¡±


    Anna ashamedly looked towards the distant mountains, pretending she had heard nothing.


    ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne,¡± Caman put on a ceremonial smile: ¡°You really aren¡¯t embarrassed in the least when you speak! That¡¯s so typical of you.¡±


    Winters nodded in thanks, completely immune to such attacks.


    Caman humphed lightly, lifting his cup to sip some ice water.


    Next was Winters¡¯ turn; he also picked up his cup and asked unhurriedly: ¡°I¡¯m curious too, if you dislike eavesdropping, why not simply make an excuse to slip away?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of¡­¡± Caman stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Anna¡¯s back, he swallowed back what he was about to say.


    Victorious, Winters left his chair, stretching heartily, his spine popping with a series of muffled crackles due to long sitting.


    Winters exhaled comfortably. He looked towards Anna and asked with a smile, ¡°Was the sunrise beautiful?¡±


    ¡°It was stunning,¡± Anna answered softly.


    ¡°Come on, Mr. Caman, let¡¯s go enjoy it too.¡± As he passed by Caman, Winters patted his shoulder: ¡°Even though we missed the sunrise, taking a walk isn¡¯t bad either.¡±


    Caman remained motionless, continuing to savor his ice water.


    The devout Priest of Wolf Town had wasted an entire morning, even missing the morning prayers, fuming silently, not in the mood to pay any attention to Winters.


    After walking some distance, Winters whistled, and two wolfhounds immediately dashed towards him like arrows.


    Seeing the two wolfhounds frolicking and spinning around Winters, Caman was slightly startled. He then stood up, nodded to Anna, and hurriedly followed them.


    ¡­


    The mountain looks close when you gaze at it from afar, but Winters had walked for a whole hour and still found himself halfway up.


    The human village in the center of the valley had become so small it could fit into a portrait frame, while the mountain peak had already disappeared due to the slope¡¯s curvature.


    The air was thin at high altitudes, and Winters felt tired, so he stopped climbing further. He found a flat patch of grass nearby and sat down slowly.


    The moment his bottom touched the ground, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh in contentment. He slapped his sore calves and called to Caman, ¡°Let¡¯s not go any further, let¡¯s rest here for a while.¡±


    ¡°Is that it? You¡¯re done?¡± Caman¡¯s cheeks were slightly flushed, but his breathing was still steady.


    ¡°Stop with the pretenses, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re not tired,¡± Winters said, patting the empty space beside him: ¡°Sit down and take a break, we¡¯ll head back once we¡¯ve rested enough.¡±


    Caman was non-committal. He walked directly next to Winters, but instead of sitting, he stood with knees propped, slowly adjusting his breathing rhythm.


    The two wolfhounds that had followed Winters up the mountain were also exhausted. The two large dogs lay beside Winters, tongues lolling wetly, panting heavily and still.


    The cool air of the late winter was invigorating; Winters leaned comfortably against the wolfhounds, alternately rubbing the heads and chins of the two dogs.


    Suddenly, Winters sighed deeply.


    After his sigh, he joked to Caman: ¡°If not for seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn¡¯t imagine there are people in this world who live surrounded by mountains from birth to death¡ªopening their eyes every day to only see mountains.¡±


    Caman asked indifferently, ¡°What, have you never seen mountains before?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about having ¡®seen mountains¡¯. [Seeing with your own eyes] and [hearing about] are different,¡± Winters explained with a smile, choosing his words: ¡°I mean, from the time I was born until I became an adult, wherever I lived, as long as you walked for an hour, you could always see the ocean.¡±


    ¡°And after you became an adult?¡±


    ¡°After I became an adult?¡± Winters self-deprecated: ¡°After that, I was exiled to Paratu, wasn¡¯t I?¡±


    Touched by Winters¡¯ sincerity, Caman also couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    He sat down next to Winters and narrated softly:


    ¡°Montan people would probably find it difficult to imagine a world where ¡®an hour¡¯s walk leads to the ocean¡¯. I¡¯ve seen some followers who have never left their parishes all their lives. For them, the world consists of their homes, farmlands, markets, and churches. Life is so meager that they need the existence of heaven, and heaven must exist.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Caman¡¯s remarks, both fell into silence.


    Sitting quietly for a while, Winters asked, ¡°By the way, have you ever seen the ocean?¡±


    Caman was about to answer when he suddenly stopped.


    A moment later, he hesitantly said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it¡­¡±


    But he quickly added, ¡°But I know what the ocean looks like.¡±


    Winters chuckled, speechless: ¡°You¡¯ve never seen the ocean, yet you know what it ¡®looks like¡¯. How do you know? Did an angel reveal it to you in a dream?¡±


    ¡°Through books, paintings, and descriptions from others,¡± Caman defended himself: ¡°I don¡¯t need to see the ocean with my own eyes to know what it looks like.¡±

 Chapter 998 - 53 Golden Friendship_2

    Chapter 998: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship_2


    ¡°What did I just say? Seeing with one¡¯s own eyes is different from hearing from others.¡± Winters patted Caman¡¯s shoulder with pity: ¡°Given the opportunity, I¡¯ll take you to see the ocean yourself. But¡­ didn¡¯t you take a sea vessel to Paratu? Didn¡¯t you first dock at Inner Sea before entering Paratu?¡±


    ¡°I traveled overland, through Monta to reach Paratu.¡± Caman explained helplessly: ¡°The land route is slower, but it¡¯s much safer than taking a ship, so I try to avoid sailing whenever I can.¡±


    ¡°Before coming to Paratu? You had never seen the ocean before then either.¡±


    ¡°As soon as I was old enough to remember, my sister handed me over to the clergy, and I¡¯ve lived in Saint Michael¡¯s Monastery since I was young. How could I have possibly seen the ocean? The Monastery had only stone walls, corridors, tunnels, prayer rooms, a library, and the Altar of Divine Grace¡­¡±


    Without any warning, Caman¡¯s voice abruptly stopped.


    Listening with keen interest, Winters didn¡¯t understand and looked at Caman enquiringly.


    Realizing his slip of the tongue, Caman abruptly stood up, staring intently at Winters, with his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.


    ¡°I thought¡­ we were friends.¡± Caman said through gritted teeth.


    Winters had already sensed Caman¡¯s change; the Caman before him was no longer the cold outside, warm inside priest of Wolf Town, but rather a wound-up fierce beast, ready to pounce.


    Two wolfhounds bristled at their necks, flanking Winters on both sides, baring their teeth at Caman.


    But the wolfhounds had their tails tucked between their hind legs, their chests nearly touching the ground, and they dared not make any barking noise¡ªthis was the posture of the weak, as the spiritual wolfhounds knew that the erect beast before them was far more dangerous than they were.


    Winters¡¯ instincts were also sounding a wild alarm, his intuition telling him that any slight movement could provoke Caman to lose control.


    ¡°We are friends.¡± Winters said in a calm tone, trying not to agitate Caman.


    ¡°Friends? Is this how you treat a friend? With deception? Trickery? Schemes?¡± Caman¡¯s chest was heaving with a fury he had never felt before, his eyes nearly blazing with tangible flames. At that moment, when he believed he had a true friendship with Winters, he encountered what he saw as a vile ¡°betrayal.¡±


    Winters understood Caman¡¯s thinking: ¡°You think¡­ I was trying to trick information out of you.¡±


    Caman¡¯s body was tense, staring hard at Winters without saying a word.


    A vow of silence, he had broken the absolutely unbreakable vow of silence. An indescribable loathing swelled within him; he detested himself for breaking the vow, even more so due to Winters¡¯ ¡°betrayal¡± fueling his uncontainable anger.


    Winters stood up, meeting Caman¡¯s gaze squarely: ¡°I indeed hoped to learn about the Divine Arts through you, but only if you were willing to provide help. In our recent conversation, I had no intention of extracting information, nor did I use any lures or deceit. I was just chatting with you, asking questions out of curiosity, not about the Divine Arts¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Winters realized he had fallen into a quandary: he had never intended to trick Caman into revealing secrets¡ªCaman hadn¡¯t shared anything significant¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t prove it.


    Winters didn¡¯t want to fight Caman; a battle between Spellcasters was like using a sledgehammer to crack eggs; at least Winters knew no spells for non-lethal combat.


    He needed to de-escalate the situation first, at least so that Caman would be willing to hear his explanation. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So Winters sat back down, adopting a completely unguarded posture: ¡°There were actually two reasons I asked you to hike with me.¡±


    Winters glanced down at the village in the valley, decisively avoiding eye contact with Caman¡ªeye contact could also provoke a sense of threat.


    ¡°The first thing is to say thanks. I didn¡¯t drag you to meet Mr. Carlo Aide for no reason.¡± Winters said with a bitter smile, calmly explaining:


    ¡°Carlo Aide is a partner at Navarre Commerce, and I was worried he might convey Madame Navarre¡¯s attitude, which is not very friendly. But she has a sore spot¡ªsecrecy. Madame Navarre doesn¡¯t wish for more people to know about my relationship with Anna.¡±


    Caman gave no response¡ªwhich was a good sign to Winters.


    Winters continued: ¡°That¡¯s why I needed an absolutely trustworthy third party to be present. If there¡¯s an ¡®outsider¡¯ present, Madame Navarre¡¯s messenger would be cautious; and if the ¡®outsider¡¯ is also a clergyman, even if Madame Navarre herself came, she wouldn¡¯t be overly aggressive. Just in case, I also had a final contingency plan¡ªto have you officiate at mine and Anna¡¯s immediate wedding. So, your presence was crucial for me to face Madame Navarre¡¯s envoy without future troubles.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Mr. Ed¡¯s unexpected tolerance¡­ those are all details for later.¡± Winters glanced at Caman: ¡°All these reasons, I can¡¯t discuss in front of Anna, nor in the camp. That¡¯s why I had to express my gratitude to you alone, in a setting with just you and me.¡±


    Winters nodded his head in a greeting: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The wind surged into the valley, fluttering through the coniferous forest on the hillside, with the rustling sound of swaying branches echoing among the mountains.


    The wind also passed between Winters and Caman, caressing Caman¡¯s cheek, ruffling Winters¡¯ hair, and departed with a laugh.


    ¡°The second matter.¡± Caman¡¯s voice was hoarse.


    ¡°The second thing is even simpler.¡± Winters stretched out his arm, opened his hand, and the peculiar bone whistle fell down: ¡°The way the [Spirit Talkers] from the Shaman Hurd command beasts.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me for free?¡± Caman asked sarcastically: ¡°Not making a trade? Not exchanging secrets for secrets?¡±

 Chapter 999 - 53 Golden Friendship_3

    Chapter 999: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship_3


    ¡°The principle is actually quite simple, it¡¯s just buried beneath Hurd¡¯s complex rituals and rules.¡± Winters twirled a bone whistle around his fingertip: ¡°Just ask, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Caman gritted his teeth: ¡°Ask?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You just need to ask. ¡®Mr. Montaigne, how does a beast speaker drive wild beasts?¡¯ Is it that hard to say? If you do not seek knowledge, do you expect it to come knocking at your door?¡± Winters was resolute: ¡°If you don¡¯t ask, then I won¡¯t reveal a single word. I won¡¯t force you to divulge the secrets of the Divine Arts, and I hope you can do the same.¡±


    Caman roared like thunder: ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about the magic of heretics!¡±


    Winters responded sharply: ¡°That¡¯s your concern!¡±


    The two seemed to clash fiercely, but actually, Caman¡¯s attitude was unconsciously softening.


    Another bout of silence ensued.


    ¡°According to¡­¡± Caman, his voice hoarse, struggled to say: ¡°I should eliminate you right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Over a few casual remarks? That would be an injustice since I haven¡¯t heard anything useful.¡± Winters met Caman¡¯s gaze: ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t speak in my own defense.¡±


    ¡°Under the Lord¡¯s watchful eyes, no one can hide.¡± Caman coldly sneered: ¡°You think unbelievers can escape judgment?¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting¡­¡± Winters had a sudden epiphany, ecstatically embracing Caman: ¡°Mind reading? Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? There are Divine Arts of this kind? What are you waiting for? Let¡¯s start right now!¡±


    Caman stood dumbfounded as if punched hard.


    ¡­


    [At dusk, in the camp]


    The sun was about to set, but the camp was still lively.


    Pierre and Berlion were repainting the wagon borrowed from Navarre Commerce, while others were preparing for tomorrow¡¯s trip into the city.


    As for Winters himself¡­ he was nervously lying on a bench, waiting to be ¡°slaughtered.¡±


    To be honest, even when facing a cavalry charge, he had never felt as scared as he did at this moment.


    Anna, carrying a lantern, came over and saw Winters nervously shifting his body, chiding: ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to move.¡± Winters miserably pleaded: ¡°Darling, please let me do it myself, I¡­¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Anna sat beside Winters, unfolding a roll of leather containing four razors shimmering coldly under the lamplight: ¡°How could you possibly shave as cleanly as I can? Besides, I need more practice to get even better.¡±


    ¡°I hate to see you bother with these trifles. Let me do it myself, or let Xial help, please?¡±


    ¡°How many times can I manage your beard?¡± Anna brought over a basin of water, softly sighing.


    Anna¡¯s fingertips brushed Winters¡¯ ears and cheeks, and she said melancholically: ¡°It¡¯s only ever when we are traveling. Mrs. Mitchell mentioned, some men are not meant for women. So, I don¡¯t want to miss a second, a moment of memories.¡±


    Winters immediately stopped talking.


    Cold soapy water ran over his jaw, followed by even colder razor blades against his skin.


    Cold sweat immediately broke out on Winters¡¯ forehead and back. He dared not only to move but even to speak, fearing a slip of the razor¡­


    ¡°This afternoon when you and Father Caman returned.¡± Anna had the leisure to chat: ¡°Why did he look so despondent?¡±


    Winters, trying as much as possible to stay still, uttered a weak grunt.


    The razor blade scraped against the skin, making a rasping sound.


    Anna asked, ¡°How did you bully him this time?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Winters hummed: ¡°Focus, please.¡±


    Anna flicked Winters¡¯ forehead: ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    After shaving one side, Anna moved to the other, continuing with the razor: ¡°You trust Father Caman so much, but why do you always argue?¡±


    Winters seriously pondered this question, he initially wanted to say, ¡°Because Caman is a very difficult person and he never misses any opportunity to mock me.¡±


    But the answer he finally gave was: ¡°(sigh) Who makes us friends?¡±

 Chapter 1 The Last Swordsmanship Competition

    Empire Year 557 [26 years after Richard IV withdrew his troops]


    The Federated Provinces Republic [formerly known as the Republic before the Mountains]


    Guidao City


    It was a midsummer afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky. The scorching sun turned the entire city into a steaming cage, draining all living beings of their vitality. Even the annoying cicadas had ceased their chatter.


    "Just a bit longer and victory will be ours," Winters told himself. He was in the third year at the Army Officers'' Academy, biting his lips and desperately trying to resist the urge to breathe through his mouth.


    [Winters Montagne]


    He tried his best to maintain abdominal breathing, consciously controlling the rhythm, ensuring each breath was as prolonged as possible. Air, heated by his body temperature, streamed out from his nostrils and hit the inner wall of the full-coverage helmet, bringing back a fetid whiff of sweat when it bounced back.


    In the current temperature, it should be time for a bath and some relaxation under the shade. Yet, in this oppressive heat that could make one sweat just by sitting still, Winters was completely wrapped up.


    He was wearing an entire set of cotton martial attire close to his body, over which he donned a set of training armor. The armor he was using was cavalry armor stripped from the bodies of nobility over thirty years ago during the Sovereign War.


    The Army Department hoped to save as much as possible on teaching expenses, so the cadets had no choice but to use these second-hand goods.


    The armor Winters was using, of course, wasn''t the high-ranking nobles'' armors ¡ª the ornate, luxurious pieces were taken home by generals as decorations. Instead, the cadets used the armor of knights who had actually fought on the frontlines,


    These lower-ranking nobles had sold their ancestral properties for warhorses and armor, carrying the lances and treasured swords passed down in their families and following their liege lords to Forthland in the hope of fortune, believing their enemies to be nothing more than traders, farmers, and craftsmen.


    But in the end, it was the traders, farmers, and craftsmen who had the last laugh, leaving the knights buried in foreign lands. Nobody remembered who they were, leaving only suit after suit of armor, pocked with bullet holes and scratches, as evidence that they once existed.


    These armors were modest in appearance, without much adornment, but were constructed of sturdy materials, for they were a matter of life and death for their wearers. The Army Ordnance Department removed all the components below the armor skirt and repurposed them as brand new leg armors, which were then redistributed to the Cavalry Division.


    They then took a batch of left shoulder armors from other captured armors and replaced the original right shoulder armors of these ones ¡ª because these armors had a gap under the right armpit to facilitate handling the lance, and the Ordnance Department did not want to go to the trouble of forging a new set of right shoulder armors. "After all, shoulder armors don''t differentiate between front and back, right?"


    Later on, the Ordnance Department registered this batch of second-hand assembled goods as "new premium three-quarter armors" and sent them to the Army Officers'' Academy for the cadets'' use, and many armors with bullet hole damage were not even repaired.


    However, a few bullet holes weren''t a significant issue, as the cadets wouldn''t be wearing this armor on the battlefield. What tormented the cadets wasn''t these bullet holes, nor the weight of the armors, but the excellent heat conductivity of the iron armor.


    In the winter, it rapidly stole away your body heat, while in the summer, it efficiently transferred the external heat to the inside of the armor.


    Right now, Winters was soaked as if he had just taken a bath, the cotton martial garments beneath his iron armor drenched in sweat and clinging to his back. Sweat trickled down his forehead, occasionally getting into his eyes, stinging them painfully. With his helmet on, he could not rub his eyes and had to endure the discomfort.


    Every time he donned the training armor, older than himself, during summer, Winters sincerely thanked the Ordnance Department for not patching up the holes, as at least that allowed for slightly better ventilation. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, during swordsmanship lessons, armors with more holes were always in high demand among the cadets. The officer responsible for handling these armors twenty years ago probably never imagined that his laziness could turn out to be a blessing in disguise.


    These armors had been continuously used from the day the Army Officers'' Academy was established till today, over twenty years, and they would continue to torment Winters'' juniors far into the foreseeable future.


    But at the moment, Winters had no spare concern to pity his juniors. What he yearned for was to strip off this encumbrance and sit on a stone bench at the side of the field, drinking cool water.


    After more than thirty rounds of sparring, all he felt was that the muscles around his shoulders were blazing hot, like red-hot iron, and as rigid as a rusty door hinge that hadn''t been oiled for decades.


    Winters'' upper arm muscles were involuntarily causing his entire arm to tremble, and his hands were almost unable to hold onto the hilt of his sword ¡ª that''s right, this sword in his hands was exactly the reason why he had to wear a full set of iron armor in the blazing summer heat.


    Just as dogs all originated from wolves and are classified in biology as a subspecies of domestic dogs, with such morphological variations that one might question, "Are they really capable of interbreeding?" so too has the sword seen a similarly vast divergence.


    Over the millennia, in conjunction with changes in tactics, techniques, and metallurgy, the category of swords has branched out into hundreds of thousands of distinct subspecies, all varied in shape. The sword that Winters held was one of the younger breeds, mentioned in the last few pages of the family tree, so to speak.


    This sword had a total length of 1.3 meters, which can be described another way: for an adult human male standing 1.8 meters tall, when he rests the sword tip on the ground, the pommel at the balance end of the sword is about four fingers below his armpit.

 Chapter 129: 56 : Duelists Club

    Chapter 129: 56 Chapter: Duelists Club


    The Dueling Club usually held its activities at the suburban residence of Colonel Bozuhof, whose reputation was quite significant. Winters had heard of this famous playboy and dueling expert from the army ever since he joined up.


    In Sea Blue City, where merchants abound, the military salary was nothing to boast about. However, Colonel Bozuhof, an officer who hailed from a wealthy merchant family, had inherited a large fortune, which allowed him to indulge in his hobbies lavishly.


    Because of his warm-hearted nature and superior swordsmanship¡­ and a generous inheritance, Colonel Bozuhof became the manager and organizer of the Dueling Club, and he generously provided his suburban residence as a venue for its activities.


    It was he who had provided a partially false list to Major Moritz, forcing Winters to replace the two officers to ¡°retrieve¡± the real list.


    ¡°Moritz has already been exposed, and I have never participated in any activities of the Dueling Club, Bozuhof will be very wary of the two of us, but no one will notice a junior officer like you, and nobody cares where a warrant officer is stationed.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Field explained why the mission could only be assigned to Winters, ¡°Moreover, you have just come back from The Federated Provinces, you like swordsmanship, so it makes perfect sense for you to attend the activities of the Dueling Club.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Field patted Winters on the shoulder and said emotionally, ¡°You are the person that Moritz and I trust the most, apart from you, there isn¡¯t another officer in the entire army that we would trust. Are you going to let us down?¡±


    Time returned to the present, and the sun had already set. Most parts of the city were plunged into darkness, but Colonel Bozuhof¡¯s residence was brightly lit.


    Winters and his party of three had just arrived at the entrance of the residence.


    ¡°I am such an idiot,¡± Winters cursed himself silently, ¡°Why did I agree to this on impulse?¡±


    It¡¯s common for newcomers in the workplace to be semi-forced into doing something they¡¯re reluctant to do because they don¡¯t know they can say ¡°no.¡± That was the situation Winters found himself in now.


    ¡°Wow, quite the opulence.¡± Andre marveled, casually handing the reins to the servant at the gatehouse, ¡°This Dueling Club must be pretty rich.¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although rich families do not necessarily light many lamps, those that do are certainly wealthy¡ªa simple and crude method of distinction.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the club that¡¯s rich, but the sponsor,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er said with a smile to Andre.


    The best way to gain rightful entry to Colonel Bozuhof¡¯s residence to ¡°take¡± something was to attend the Dueling Club¡¯s activities every Wednesday and Friday evening. Your journey continues with empire


    It¡¯s clear that Colonel Bozuhof had become wary of Major Moritz, so of course, Winters could not possibly join the club through Moritz¡¯s introduction.


    Thanks to his connection with Antonio, he sought out Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er of the Third Legion to serve as his referee, and he also dragged Andre along to provide cover. As for Bard? Outside entrants like Bard had mediocre swordsmanship skills and were also very disinterested in dueling.


    Winters took two pieces of sugar from a small bag and fed them to Strong Run, his horse, who happily snorted twice and, with lingering enjoyment, licked Winters¡¯ hand.


    ¡°Please tie this horse apart from the others; don¡¯t mix it with other horses,¡± he instructed Bozuhof¡¯s servant as he handed over the reins.


    The servant dressed in striped livery nodded and led the three horses away.


    ¡°What¡¯s with Strong Run?¡± Kongtai¡¯er asked curiously.


    Winters sighed and replied helplessly, ¡°He seems to have caught the scent of a mare the other day and started fighting with the other horses in the trough, ending up with a mouth full of hair from their manes.¡±


    Andre laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s the trouble with young stallions.¡±


    The three chatted and laughed as they made their way into Bozuhof¡¯s residence.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters actually entered the Dueling Club that he first noticed the atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed and natural. There were no introductions, oaths, or fraternity ceremonies. After registering in the guestbook at the entrance, one could move about freely.


    No wonder Major Moritz said he just drank and chatted at the Dueling Club, as most people there were eating, drinking, mingling, with quite a few bringing their female companions along.


    This was far from the stern gathering of men Winters had imagined in secret rooms fiddling with firearms and swords.


    ¡°Ha, Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, it¡¯s been a while since you came around,¡± said a voice before the man was seen.


    A man with a ruddy complexion, tall stature, and curly brown hair came over, laughing and giving Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er a bear hug.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t just come here myself, but also brought two bits of ¡¯fresh blood¡¯ with me¡ªWinters and Andrea,¡± said Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er, pointing at Winters and his companion and introducing them, ¡°Both are pure Venetians, this cohort of warrant officers returning from The Federated Provinces.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er then patted the curly-haired man on the arm, ¡°This hairy bear right here is the host of this place, the organizer of the Dueling Club, Colonel Bozuhof.¡±


    Kongtai¡¯er deliberately stretched the word ¡°Colonel,¡± causing Winters and Andre to instinctively salute, but Bozuhof stopped them with a gesture, punching Lieutenant Colonel Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s shoulder and said boisterously, ¡°Salute? Me and Kongtai¡¯er just happened to be born a few years earlier. This place is where friends who enjoy swords come to have fun, rank doesn¡¯t matter here, only swordsmanship. How about it? Feel like going up for a match tonight?¡±

 Chapter 209: 86th : Earthen Fortresses

    Chapter 209: 86th Chapter: Earthen Fortresses


    The artillery emplacement at the entrance of Red Sulfur Bay was situated on the west coast of the bay, with a small fortification located across the water on the East Bank.


    The two ends of the sea chain that blocked the entrance to Red Sulfur Bay were anchored at the emplacement and the fortification, respectively.


    The structure of the fortification was very simple; it was essentially a square shape roughly enclosed by walls packed with earth on all four sides. The base of the square fortification was over a dozen meters wide, and the walls stood just over six meters tall, roughly the height of a two-story building. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the defense systems of the old era, this fortification wouldn¡¯t even be considered significant, being nothing more than walls of earth. It wasn¡¯t steep enough, nor tall enough, and didn¡¯t even have loopholes for shooting on the parapet.


    In the new era¡¯s defense systems, such structures with blind spots, lacking artillery, and purely relying on height for defense, had become obsolete.


    However, for Winters¡¯s group of light infantry who lacked siege equipment, this fortification was still a hard bone to chew on.


    Atop the fortification, the Tanilian sentries were also dozing off. To prevent the enemy from approaching stealthily through the forest, trees within thirty meters of the fortification had been cleared long ago. Under the bright moonlight, nothing could hide.


    For the Tanilians defending the fortification, the excitement and tension from the day¡¯s ambush of the Venetians had long since dissipated, leaving them with nothing but the wearying duties of standing guard, standing guard, and standing guard.


    Suddenly, a few dull sounds rang out, waking the half-asleep sentry with a start. He shivered, held his breath, and listened, then heard a few more thumps.


    This time, he was sure it wasn¡¯t his imagination¡ªthe noises were coming from right beneath his feet, neither too close nor too far.


    The sentry drew his sword and tread lightly to the edge of the parapet, carefully peering down below.


    No sooner had he stuck his head out than a pitch-black hand suddenly reached over from outside the wall, grabbed his collar, and in the next moment, the sentry felt a great force at his neck, dragging him over the wall.


    The sentry screamed as he was thrown from the high wall, head over heels, breaking his neck upon impact, and died.


    Immediately after, two Herders, with shaved heads, stripped bare, and smeared from head to toe in ash and black mud appeared atop the parapet. To conceal themselves in the darkness, they carried nothing reflective on their bodies, even their only short knives were blackened to a dull finish.


    Winters, with the remainder of his men, lay in wait at the edge of the forest, watching the movements of the two Herders. These two were brave warriors handpicked by Hestas from all the Herders for their exceptional climbing skills.


    No Venetian could climb a six-meter wall with bare hands, not even one of packed earth. But the only way for the remaining crippled soldiers and slaves to breach the fortification without siege weapons was to send someone in to open the fort gates.


    Winters silently watched as the two ghostly Herders approached the fortification unnoticed and began to climb. At that moment, even Winters, the atheist, suddenly felt an urge to pray.


    But he still heard the sound he least wanted to¡ªhear a scream followed by a thud. He didn¡¯t know whether it was a Herder or a Tanilian who had made the noise, as the two Herders had already vanished from Winters¡¯s sight.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been spotted, switch to the backup plan!¡± The scream in the silent night, clearly audible even from over thirty meters away to Winters, was surely even clearer to the garrison inside the fort. Seeing that the stealth attack had failed, Winters immediately ordered, ¡°Follow me, even if we die here, we must destroy this chain!¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, Winters burst out of the crowd, with the Spellcasters carrying tools, and strode towards the shore. The others, after a moment of hesitation, also rushed out of the woods.


    Everyone started running at full speed, turning the night attack into a frontal assault, foregoing the need for stealth. Explore new worlds at empire


    The fortification was located on elevated ground by the shore, with the end of the chain secured inside the fortification, extending from holes in the wall all the way to the surface of the water.


    Unlike the artillery emplacement in the middle of the bay, this fortification was less than ten meters from the sea; the shore-end of the chain was entirely within range of the fort¡¯s projectile weapons. Attempting to sabotage the chain under the eyes of the garrison and go undetected was an impossible task.


    But since the plan to seize the fortification had failed, they had no choice but to press on hard.


    Then, against all expectations, a sliver of light appeared at the fort¡¯s gate, growing wider as the gate slowly began to open.


    When Winters saw a gap form in the gate, he didn¡¯t have time to think; he waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Take the gate!¡±


    The gate creaked open less than a meter, those inside shouting in alarm as they tried to close it again, but it seemed to be stuck on something.


    The distance of thirty meters was covered in strides, and with his battle sword drawn, Winters roared and leaped through the gap between the two wooden doors of the fort.


    Inside were six or seven Tanilian soldiers who were startled by the shadow that darted in. But Winters, experienced with numerous life-and-death fights, viciously cut down the enemies around him without giving them a moment to react.


    It was only when Winters nearly cleaved a Tanilian in two that the soldiers realized what was happening.


    They yelled and lunged at Winters with their knives and spears. Winters was about to parry with his sword, but his scimitar had become lodged in the bones of a corpse, and he couldn¡¯t pull it free.


    The Winters of now was no longer the naive young man fresh out of military academy; he had been forged in iron and blood.


    Realizing his scimitar was stuck, Winters didn¡¯t hesitate to drop the sword and back away. He also discarded any distracting thoughts and entered a spellcasting state.

 Chapter 306: 10 The Mendicant Monk_2

    Chapter 306: Chapter 10 The Mendicant Monk_2


    ¡°`


    Gerard was so moved by these words that he couldn¡¯t help but kneel to lift the hem of the mendicant friar¡¯s robe to his lips, his eyes reddening as if he was on the verge of weeping right there and then.


    Seeing this, Winters felt a chill and rolled his eyes involuntarily. He thought to himself, ¡°Well now, if this old charlatan asked Mr. Michel to jump off a cliff, he¡¯d probably do it without hesitation.¡±


    Looking at the old charlatan before him, Winters¡¯s irritation grew. He asked pointedly, ¡°Brother Reed, the work of a copyist is quite demanding. I fear an elderly man like you couldn¡¯t handle it?¡±


    ¡°Please be assured, Montaigne. Despite my age, my mind is still clear and my hands still capable,¡± the mendicant friar responded with an ever more kindly and gentle smile, ¡°Copying manuscripts, counting money and keeping accounts are no trouble at all; as for medicine, both internal and external, and complex diseases, I have some understanding; celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, baptizing and blessing are my duties; even exorcisms, dream interpretations, divinations, and fortune-telling¡­ I know a thing or two¡­¡±


    The old mendicant friar went on and on, his litany leaving Winters and Gerard dumbfounded.


    The more Brother Reed spoke, the more reverent and humble Gerard became.


    But the more Winters listened, the less the old man before him seemed like a clergyman and more like a charlatan from the streets.


    Winters looked dubiously at Priest Caman, who responded with an awkward smile.


    With Winters and Caman at a loss for words and Gerard listening devoutly, and the old mendicant friar stroking his beard with a smile, silence fell upon the town hall.


    Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and the panicked grocer brought bad news once again: ¡°Sir! Beacon fires! Another beacon fire has been lit!¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡± Gerard was both shocked and enraged, ¡°Those wolves must be starving mad! How dare they come again?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s going on.¡± Winters immediately took his musket and ammunition and, without a moment to spare for farewells, ran to the backyard to fetch his horse.


    Gerard Mitchell stayed in the town hall to receive Brother Reed and Father Caman.


    It was not until Winters, mounted on his chestnut horse, had run out of the town center that he realized something was amiss¡ªthe direction of the rising smoke was from Dusa Village.


    ¡­


    Old Sergei led Winters to the communal pasture where the young stable boy Anglu was kneeling beside a horse carcass, weeping bitterly.


    Recognizing the blue mane, Winters identified the horse carcass on the ground.


    It was Tess, the majestic blue horse, the leader, father, and protector of the herd.


    ¡°It must have happened this morning when the beast broke in and killed Tess, dragging him into the woods,¡± Sergei said with no sign of his usual smile, his expression grim, ¡°Little Hook found a horse missing when he got up and called us to search. By the time we found it, its belly had been gutted.¡±


    ¡°Anglu!¡± Winters dismounted and walked over to the stable boy. ¡°Did you see what did it?¡±


    The stable boy wiped his tears and shook his head.


    Seeing the stable boy kneeling beside the horse carcass and sobbing unrestrainedly, Winters grasped his collar and dragged him to his feet, ¡°Stop crying! Don¡¯t cry if you¡¯re a man! This isn¡¯t your fault, but you should channel the energy from your tears into seeking vengeance!¡±


    After wiping the boy¡¯s tears with his sleeve and remounting, Winters asked Sergei, ¡°Were there any other casualties?¡±


    ¡°Rostov¡¯s youngest son and Yuska¡¯s daughter are also missing,¡± Sergei replied with an even grimmer demeanor. ¡°That drunkard Rostov didn¡¯t even realize his son sneaked out last night¡­ Those kids are always up to mischief together; it¡¯s hard to say if something¡¯s happened to them¡­¡±


    To dare go into the woods at this time for a tryst?!


    Winters grew more anxious and angry, ¡°When did they run off? Did anyone see where they went?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sergei replied in a subdued voice, shaking his head.


    ¡°Where was the horse found?¡±


    ¡°In the woods south of the village.¡±


    ¡°Call all the Dusacks; follow me!¡±


    No rallying was needed, for the Dusacks¡¯ anger and shock had reached a boiling point. Thus, all men who could still mount a horse, young and old, brought out their warhorses and armed themselves with spears and muskets, gathering in the village square.


    In the eyes of the Dusacks, they were the predators, the ones who offered help and protection.


    ¡°`


    No one thought that Dusa Village would be attacked¡ªnot the Dusacks, anyway. They didn¡¯t even have beacon fires prepared.


    It was this blind arrogance that made Dusa Village neglect its defense, allowing the young people to brave the forest for a tryst at such a time.


    Now, it was too late for regrets.


    After dispatching riders to notify Gerard and to assemble the militias from the other four villages, Winters led nearly a hundred Dusacks into the woodland, searching for the missing couple and traces of wild beasts in groups of three, in a dragnet-style operation.


    In the deep and gloomy primeval forest, the riders scrutinized their surroundings with care, vanishing from view amongst the foliage as they bowed their heads.


    The men used sticks and spears to beat the trunks, deterring wild beasts and using the sound to gauge the distance of their companions. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was grouped with the Hunter Ralph and Sergei.


    Seeing Winters¡¯ grim face, Ralph cautiously offered consolation, ¡°My lord, there¡¯s no need to worry too much, those two kids will probably be fine, perhaps they just got carried away and forgot to return home.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because wild beasts seldom kill for the sake of killing,¡± the Hunter explained cautiously. ¡°Even if you throw a rabbit in front of them after they have had their fill, they won¡¯t bother with it. Whatever killed the warhorse had its fill before abandoning the carcass, and unless provoked, it would likely not attack humans.¡±


    Upon hearing the Hunter¡¯s words, old Sergei¡¯s expression softened a bit.


    The old man slammed his stick against the trunk furiously, ¡°First the wolves, now this thing. Why do these evil beasts seem like they¡¯ve gone mad, running out of the woods?¡±


    Ralph thought for a moment and then slowly answered, ¡°The most likely reason is hunger. Unless they¡¯ve tasted human blood, even the most ferocious beasts fear humans. Also, fierce creatures have their own territories. If an even more vicious creature takes over the territory, the original inhabitants can only flee. I think¡­ it¡¯s quite possible that the pack of wolves was driven out of the woods by whatever we are searching for.¡±


    Winters¡¯ mind stirred, asking the Hunter, ¡°Are you suggesting that the territories of the wild beasts might fall like dominoes, one after the other?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly what I mean. If a wolf is driven into another bear¡¯s territory by a bear, it still can¡¯t defeat the bear,¡± Ralph said, vexed, scratching his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Ah, the secrets of this primeval forest are too many. I actually don¡¯t know anything.¡±


    Hey, what¡¯s there to think about? It¡¯s just a wolf disaster, isn¡¯t it? Where have wild beasts not injured people?¡± Sergei scoffed with disdain. ¡°Could it really be that someone exhausted the forest¡¯s rabbits and deer, causing wolves and bears to run out because they have nothing to eat?¡±


    The Hunter was about to say something when shouts came from the depths of the woods, out of sight, ¡°Here! Over here!¡±


    The three men immediately closed in on the source of the noise.


    A Dusack had found fabric scraps hanging from the shrubbery¡­ as well as bloodstains.


    Following the blood, they found the bodies.


    Two bodies.


    One relatively intact male body, with everything above the neck bitten off, the head nowhere to be found.


    Then there was the other body that was unrecognizable as either male or female, and could not even be called a ¡°body¡± anymore.


    Because all that was left were two legs, the rest torn to shreds, with organs and flesh scattered like rain across the forest floor.


    Rostov was overcome with grief, clutching the cold body of his younger son, refusing to let go. For the first time, the man who regularly drowned his sorrows in liquor had sobered up, only to face the agony of losing a child.


    The girl¡¯s father, upon seeing this sight, fainted dead away.


    Sergei clenched his fists, glaring at Ralph fiercely.


    The old man said nothing, but the Hunter wouldn¡¯t misunderstand that gaze, ¡°You said it wasn¡¯t dangerous, didn¡¯t you? Didn¡¯t you say that?!¡±


    After examining the two bodies, Ralph spoke with difficulty, ¡°The beast must have dragged off the girl first. The boy tried to rescue her, so he followed, and ended up being killed by the beast too.¡±


    As the spread-out Dusacks heard the news, they all gathered around. People crowded around the remains; two young lives had vanished like that, leaving behind only endless grief and rage.


    ¡°Leave a few people to help the families bring back the bodies,¡± Winters suppressed his emotions, remounting his horse, ¡°Everyone else, follow me!¡±

 Chapter 307: 11: The Beast Hunting Team

    Chapter 307: Chapter 11: The Beast Hunting Team


    At the Mitchell¡¯s dining table, a heated debate was unfolding.


    More accurately, it wasn¡¯t so much a debate as it was a one-sided rout.


    The old mendicant friar Reed was entirely triumphant, while Father Anthony was inching ever closer to dying of rage.


    The priest of Wolf Town Church, with a red face and hurried voice, exclaimed, ¡°¡­The essence of the Catholic Church is personal worship. The Lord truly incarnated as a person, and not in the image of a pharaoh, a king, or an emperor, but as a humble Galilean farmer. This concept is unprecedented, and it¡¯s precisely this that draws more and more people to convert and accept the Gospel.¡±


    However, Friar Reed scoffed in response, ¡°And why don¡¯t you tell your followers that the Son of God is just a lowly farmer from Galilee? See if they are moved or if you end up stoned to death? What¡¯s so special about God becoming human? Travel thousands of miles from here to the east, and you¡¯ll find religions where humans can become gods!¡±


    ¡°But doesn¡¯t our success in supplanting the ancient pagan religions exactly demonstrate the divine mandate of the Catholic Church?¡±


    ¡°The rise of the Catholic Church only shows one thing, that those in high places know how to get things done. With the Empire¡¯s support, the Western Church went from a church of the poor and the oppressed to a church of the powerful. What I really want to ask you is, in the lands of the Saracens, another heretical religion holds equal status to Catholicism, where the Eastern Church can only be second-class citizens. Do you also acknowledge their divine mandate?¡±


    Father Anthony¡¯s breath hitched, nearly passing out from indignation.


    The old mendicant friar leisurely sipped his wine, with a smile on his face that made Father Anthony suddenly want to punch him square in the nose.


    The pair were speaking in Old Tongue, also mixing in many ancient terms. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Apart from the two in dispute, only Father Caman and Winters in the Mitchell household understood their words.


    Pierre, the son of the Mitchell family, had gone to find the young groom Anglu, leaving only Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell and their unmarried younger daughter, Scarlett, at the dining table.


    Gerard¡¯s young daughter was thoroughly preoccupied with the lieutenant; she kept sneaking glances at Lieutenant Montaigne. Gerard himself didn¡¯t understand why the two priests were arguing, even though he didn¡¯t grasp what they were arguing about.


    However, the Mitchell family should be glad they couldn¡¯t understand the ¡°abominable and shocking¡± remarks of the clergy, which would be deemed heretical in the eyes of ordinary believers; this way, they could continue to respect the two priests.


    Of the two people who could understand, Father Caman showed no expression, while Winters was distracted.


    They had found nothing in their hunt for the beast; the blood trail and scent vanished at a small stream. The creature had traversed some distance in water, erasing its tracks with the flow.


    Winters, leading men, searched kilometers up and down the stream, but the best hunting dogs from Dusa Village couldn¡¯t sniff out where the creature had emerged from the water.


    This vast primeval forest absorbed the search party of over a hundred people like a drop of water in the desert. The search area was extremely limited, like searching for a needle in the ocean.


    As the sun began to set, making it harder for humans to operate at night while the wild beasts thrived, Winters reluctantly ordered the militia to withdraw from the woods.


    What angered Winters even more than the failed hunt was the indifference of the two Protestant villages toward the beast plague.


    Before leading the Dusack into the woods, Winters had sent riders to all four of the other villages to summon their militias. The militias from villages east and west of the river quickly arrived under their leaders¡¯ guidance and joined the hunt.


    However, the villages of Nanxin and Beixin didn¡¯t send anyone from start to finish.


    When Winters questioned the village leaders, both came up with the same excuses, using ¡°We thought the Dusack were pulling our leg¡± and ¡°Our participation wouldn¡¯t have made any difference¡± to shirk responsibility.


    More hateful than an enemy¡¯s attack was betrayal.


    If the two Protestant village heads were not civilians, the furious Lieutenant Montaigne might have executed those two wastrels on the spot.


    If an outsider felt such indignation, imagine what the Dusack must have felt.


    The old village chief of Dusa, Sergei, almost drew his sword to kill the two Protestant village leaders; he was so enraged that he was held back and, beating his chest, swore oaths that even if all the heretics died out, he would never extend any help to them again.


    In the small village of Wolf Town, the mood was as tangled and indecipherable as a ball of yarn.


    Winters had no intention of meddling in these affairs; he merely hoped that the villages would unite to resolve the wolf plague swiftly. He knew that sooner or later, he would return to Vineta and did not wish to leave a mess behind.


    But now, the beast was yet to be seen, and the villages were on the verge of fighting each other instead.


    Lieutenant Montaigne even began to miss the harsh battles in Tanilia, where at least enemies were enemies and friends were friends, without any of these annoyances causing fresh disdain.


    Winters really had no appetite; he thanked Mrs. Mitchell for her hospitality and left the dining table.


    Shortly after, Father Caman too got up to leave. After exiting the dining room, he went straight to the back of the house.


    There, Lieutenant Montaigne was pacing thoughtfully.


    Startled by Caman¡¯s footsteps, Winters casually asked, ¡°Your Brother Reed sure is bold with his words; he isn¡¯t afraid of being sentenced to the stake. Is that why you placed him with me?¡±


    ¡°Brother Reed is only intentionally provoking Father Anthony; he was merely teasing him,¡± Father Caman replied with a measured tone, nonchalantly sitting on a barrel: ¡°Theologic debates often sound blasphemous to the ears of the faithful, which is quite normal. The Catholic Church does not have a tradition of burning its clergy. Moreover, Brother Reed has a special status which allows him to speak freely.¡±

 Chapter 308: 11: The Beast Hunting Team_2

    Chapter 308: Chapter 11: The Beast Hunting Team_2


    ¡°What¡¯s so special about that?¡±


    Father Caman answered indifferently, ¡°The special part lies in the ¡®introducer¡¯. Over thirty years ago, when Rhodes Island was conquered by the Saracens, the head of the Knight Order¡¯s Monastery, Philip, was martyred and later canonized. Brother Reed was originally a monk of the Bodhi Religion, converted to the Catholic faith under the inspiration of Saint Philip, and was personally consecrated by the saint as a clergyman.¡±


    ¡°So even saints have connections.¡±


    ¡°It is said that the recognition of Brother Reed¡¯s holy orders was intended to send him to preach in the Far East, but unexpectedly, he chose to stay here and not leave, which greatly angered the former Pope.¡± Caman said with a smile, ¡°Brother Reed has traveled the world and is widely knowledgeable, drawing from a vast reference in debates. Although his theological views are very dangerous, no one could refute him, and many famous debaters were beaten into a sorry state by him.¡±


    ¡°With such a dangerous person, your church doesn¡¯t confine him and instead allows him to roam around?¡±


    ¡°Who would do that to a powerless mendicant friar? And how many clerics can truly abide by the vows of chastity and poverty within the church? With Brother Reed¡¯s noble conduct, it wouldn¡¯t be excessive for him to be canonized after death.¡±


    Winters was unimpressed, ¡°That old man has such skills? Then I should indeed invite him to Nanxin village and Beixin village to see if he can settle the farmers there.¡±


    ¡°Haha, if you were to send Brother Reed there, perhaps indeed he could relieve the Bishop¡¯s Council of a worry.¡±


    ¡°A worry?¡±


    ¡°A worry.¡± Father Caman stretched out lazily, and said languidly, ¡°You can¡¯t argue him down, nor can you kill him; if that¡¯s not a worry, what is?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Caman, your current demeanor would probably upset your parishioners if they saw it.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t believe.¡± Father Caman yawned, ¡°So there¡¯s no need for such formalities between us, it¡¯s pointless.¡±


    As he spoke, Father Caman took a tobacco-filled pipe out of his pocket and handed it to Winters.


    Winters was taken aback, ¡°I don¡¯t smoke.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not offering you a smoke,¡± Caman said with a grin, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to light it for me.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters became wary.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend, Lieutenant Montaigne,¡± Caman asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re a spellcaster, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Winters snorted coldly without confirming nor denying.


    Without waiting for a response, Father Caman continued, ¡°In the south, there are only two kinds of people who are not believers: one is a spellcaster, and the other is a devil worshiper. Are you a devil worshiper, Lieutenant Montaigne?¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters didn¡¯t respond to him.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re not a devil worshiper, then you can only be a spellcaster.¡± Father Caman jiggled the pipe in his hand, ¡°Lieutenant, I mean no harm.¡±


    Winters took the pipe, silently cast a fire-sparking spell and lit the tobacco.


    Magic and evil wizards are always spoken of interchangeably among the folks, which is why Winters had never revealed his identity as a spellcaster since coming to Wolf Town. This was his first time showing his magical ability in front of someone else.


    ¡°Those who claim to have no ill will often have the most,¡± Winters said as he passed the pipe back.


    Receiving the pipe, Father Caman held it in his hand but did not indulge, ¡°I was just curious.¡±


    ¡°Curious about what?¡±


    ¡°I understand your concern,¡± Father Caman sighed, speaking earnestly, ¡°but rest assured, as long as you don¡¯t harm the parishioners of this diocese, I will not reveal your identity as a spellcaster to anyone, nor will I use this fact to do anything detrimental to you.¡±


    Winters scoffed, ¡°It seems spellcasters are no different from devil¡¯s worshippers in your eyes.¡±


    Laughing heartily, Father Caman retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t clerics all the same in your eyes?¡±


    Suddenly, Winters looked into the distance, faintly hearing the sound of hoofbeats. They grew closer and clearer, and soon Father Caman also heard them. Yes, a rider was galloping toward Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Winters and Caman exchanged glances and swiftly went towards the front gate.


    The rider brought another piece of bad news, the beast had appeared again.


    Upon receiving the news, Winters and Gerard immediately led out the warhorses, fully armed, and rushed to the scene.


    It was already dark, too late to gather the militiamen, but Father Caman volunteered to join them.


    ¡­


    This time, the place where the beast committed its violence was not within the five villages under Wolf Town¡¯s jurisdiction, but a logging camp.


    A lumberjack stepped out of his shack to relieve himself, only to encounter the beast. Hearing the wails and cries for help from outside, the other lumberjacks banged on iron tools to save the unfortunate lumberjack.


    When Winters and company arrived at the logging site, they saw an almost unrecognizable, barely breathing victim lying on a wooden bed. Everything below the victim¡¯s left ankle had vanished, leaving only a gruesome, bloody stump.


    An old logger with some medical knowledge had tied the victim¡¯s calf with hemp rope in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but dark red liquid was still seeping out from the wound, the bed sheet by the victim¡¯s feet already soaked in blood.


    For the poor lumberjack, death was merely a matter of time, and Father Caman was already offering his last prayers.


    ¡°Did he see what it was?¡± Winters asked the foreman, ¡°Did any of you see what it was?¡±


    ¡°It was a bear!¡± The foreman¡¯s body still shook uncontrollably, ¡°A bear as big as a house!¡±


    ¡­


    The unfortunate lumberjack died during the night.


    The foreman assigned two workers to dig a shallow pit and bury the body, the other divided up the dead man¡¯s shabby belongings, and that was considered the funeral. The whole process was shockingly haphazard.

 Chapter 309: 11 Beast-hunting Team_3

    Chapter 309: Chapter 11 Beast-hunting Team_3


    When Winters first learned that there was a timber camp in Wolf Town, he thought it was a small-scale lumber mill with a dozen workers.


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived at the timber camp that Winters realized it was a large lumbering team with a hundred people, not much different from the population of a small village. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The logging team¡¯s campsite delved deep into the forest, away from human settlements, practically a meal laid out for wild beasts. The foreman had heard about the wolf plague and had long since run back to the county seat, leaving only a few supervisors behind to maintain order.


    Furthermore, the living conditions of the loggers were unimaginably crowded and harsh. Winters didn¡¯t know where the foreman had found workers willing to toil in such a place.


    ¡°I reckon that bear will come again,¡± Winters discussed with Gerard, ¡°These loggers are all able-bodied; can we enlist them in the militia?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, they¡¯re not residents of Wolf Town, just hired to chop trees,¡± Gerard said with a wry smile, ¡°Once they¡¯ve cut down these few hundred acres of forest, they¡¯ll be gone. The wolf disaster doesn¡¯t concern them, and we don¡¯t have jurisdiction over them. Even if we asked them to join the militia, the merchants who purchased the logging rights wouldn¡¯t agree, and the workers themselves wouldn¡¯t accept it either.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t the logging rights sold by you?¡±


    ¡°No, they were bought from the county. This forest, this land, this river¡ªall belong to the county.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try and see if I can persuade them.¡±


    The negotiation with the logging team failed completely, as Gerard had said. The foremen claimed that without the manager there, they didn¡¯t dare to make decisions, and none of the loggers responded to the call to join the bear-hunting team.


    A foreman sought out Winters in private to explain, ¡°My lord, these workers lead a very harsh life. Most of them are Protestants and have not been spared disdain by the villagers. The few Catholics that attend mass in town on weekends even have the Dusans making trouble for them. They would not risk their lives to help the people of Wolf Town catch a bear.¡±


    ¡°Those few villages are outside the forest; your logging team is inside. Wouldn¡¯t that bear, when hungry, come for you first?¡± Winters was somewhat displeased.


    ¡°I understand this, but the workers don¡¯t!¡± the foreman said helplessly. ¡°In their eyes, with over a hundred people here, it¡¯s far safer than the villages outside.¡±


    The idea of recruiting the loggers into the bear-hunting team had failed, but at least now Winters knew that the dangerous beast was a bear, a very large one.


    Immediately upon returning to town from the logging site, Lieutenant Montaigne organized a bear-hunting team, borrowing more heavy muskets and hunting dogs from Blackwater Town.


    The main members of the bear-hunting team were Dusack from Dusa Village. The Dusans had warhorses, weapons, and a great grudge against the bear. Neither Nanxin Village nor Beixin Village sent a single person to join the bear-hunting team.


    In response, the bear-hunters from Dusa Village flatly refused to patrol and search the forests near the Protestant villages.


    Lieutenant Montaigne was powerless in this situation; the militia were not soldiers, and he had no authority over them. His command over everyone relied on trust and respect.


    Winters could only have Hunter patrol the forests near Nan and Beixin Villages more frequently.


    In the following three days, Winters led the bear-hunting team to comb the forests near Wolf Town, but to no avail.


    They didn¡¯t find the giant bear, but the old mendicant friar came knocking on the third night.


    ¡°Speak quickly, if you please,¡± Winters, tired and weary from trekking through the deep mountains and forests all day, had no patience for idle chatter with the old charlatan, ¡°Otherwise, I need to rest.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurry, Lieutenant. I¡¯m here to help you,¡± said the old man, beaming, ¡°I¡¯ve observed you for several days. In terms of fighting, ten of me wouldn¡¯t match you. But there¡¯s one thing a hundred of you wouldn¡¯t match me in.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Winters asked with a cold laugh as he took off his boots.


    The mendicant monk pulled over Winters¡¯ chair, settled himself with dignity, and uttered a single word gravely:


    ¡°Politics.¡±

 Chapter 310: 11 Politics

    Chapter 310: Chapter 11 Politics S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Politics!¡±


    Upon hearing the friar utter that word, Winters completely lost interest in the conversation.


    ¡°Bloody politics,¡± the garrison lieutenant said nastily as he tossed his boots, which landed with a thud thud on the floor, ¡°As if there¡¯s any damn politics in this tiny speck of land!¡±


    ¡°Where there are people, there is politics. Even within this very small room, there is politics.¡± Friar Reed stroked his beard and said with a smile, ¡°In Wolfton, you represent military authority, and I am a missionary sent by the Catholic Church to the grassroots. Isn¡¯t that politics? Since there¡¯s politics between you and me, of course there is also politics in Wolf Town.¡±


    Winters subconsciously wanted to argue, but he felt there was some truth in the other¡¯s words.


    ¡°So an old charlatan is giving me a lesson in politics? Laughable.¡± Winters disdained and started making his bed, getting ready to sleep.


    He didn¡¯t notice that his attitude had unconsciously softened a lot compared to when Friar Reed had first entered the bedroom.


    ¡°Young man, I have to correct one of your views.¡± Such sarcasm clearly didn¡¯t dent the friar¡¯s thick skin, the old man said with a cheery smile, ¡°Although I am a charlatan, I am your charlatan.¡±


    ¡°Since when did you become ¡®my¡¯ charlatan?¡± Winters retorted.


    The old cleric replied matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course, when you hired me. Isn¡¯t it you who pays me my salary?¡±


    ¡°You have the nerve to say that? Have you even done a bit of a scribe¡¯s work?¡± Winters crossed his arms and sat boldly on the bed, deliberately using a respectful term sarcastically, ¡°The Mayor Mitchell wouldn¡¯t dare trouble you, the living Saint. Aren¡¯t all the clerical tasks still being done by Panveche? You eat at Mitchell¡¯s, live at Mitchell¡¯s, and still get a salary for nothing. Frankly, I¡¯d like to swap places with you.¡±


    ¡°Some serve as scribes because that¡¯s all they can do, while I do not serve as a scribe for the exact opposite reason.¡± The old beggar friar was in no way ashamed of shirking work, he said with utter sincerity, ¡°If I were to do scribe¡¯s work, it would mean someone is wasting your resources, and of course, I cannot allow that to happen.¡±


    ¡°You really have the gall to say that!¡± Winters was stunned.


    The old man replied unhurriedly, ¡°Lieutenant, sir, power requires the aid of knowledge to function. Why do officials of the Empire in the Far East hire scholars as staff? Why do the noble lords here employ clerics as advisors? It¡¯s the same principle. For you, my value does not lie in menial tasks like copying and accounting, but in providing the knowledge you lack.¡±


    ¡°What knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Political knowledge.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°Friar Reed, it¡¯s getting late. Please go back and rest.¡±


    ¡°Let me ask you a question, Garrison Officer,¡± said the friar, with no intention of leaving, ¡°Do you know why the highlanders call this place Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment and guessed based on the literal meaning, ¡°Because it is newly reclaimed land?¡±


    ¡°Newly reclaimed?¡± The friar chuckled softly, looking straight into the lieutenant¡¯s eyes, ¡°Then what about the original owners?¡±


    The old man¡¯s eyes were dark and profound, hiding who knows how many secrets.


    ¡°How would I know?¡± As for the history of Paratu, Winters¡¯s knowledge was not deep, ¡°Ownerless land, presumably.¡±


    The old cleric burst into laughter, bending over backwards as if he had heard the funniest joke.


    ¡°Young fellow, I¡¯ll tell you, from the great ocean to the east to the vast desert to the west, there is no ownerless land under the heavens. There is land without people but not a single inch of land without an owner.¡± Friar Reed wiped away the tears from laughing with his palm, ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land of the highlanders was, if we go back thirty years, the grazing grounds of the Herders. The Blackwater River that divides Wolfton and its neighboring towns is what the Herders call ¡®Dakta¡¯, meaning the river with nine bends.¡±


    Winters sat up straight from his half-reclining position, ¡°So¡­ what does this have to do with Wolf Town today?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s related, of course it¡¯s related. Everything today has its reasons found in the past. To understand the ¡®politics¡¯ of this place, you must know its history.¡± Friar Reed asked an unrelated question, ¡°You¡¯ve visited the villages under Wolfton¡¯s jurisdiction, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I have, I¡¯ve been to every village.¡±


    ¡°Then have you paid attention to their land?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t understand what the other was getting at, ¡°Land? What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking if you¡¯ve noticed the abundance, or lack thereof, of farmland in each village.¡± The friar smiled a little, ¡°In other words, the abundance or lack of wealth.¡±


    ¡°Nanxin and Beixin villages seem a bit worse off.¡± Winters recalled his observations from each village and answered, ¡°The villages east and west of the river are better, and Dusa Village is the most prosperous.¡±


    ¡°Wrong!¡± The old man produced a vine stick from nowhere and rapped Winters on the head, ¡°The most prosperous places are right where we¡¯re sitting¡ªthe Mitchells¡¯, the Wilkes¡¯, the Buntings¡¯¡­ these estate owners! Then comes Dusa Village. Next are the villages east and west of the river, and the poorest are the Protestant villages.¡±


    In the moment he was struck by the vine stick, Winters felt as though he was back in the military academy classroom. He covered his head and asked, ¡°So what? Isn¡¯t it normal to have the rich and the poor?¡±


    Friar Reed asked indifferently, ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed anything wrong?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Thwack,¡± the friar gave Winters¡¯s head another rap with the vine stick, ¡°Think hard, what do the estate owners grow in their fields? What is grown in Dusa Village? What about the other villages?¡±

 Chapter 311: 11 Politics_2

    Chapter 311: Chapter 11 Politics_2


    ¡°How would I know? I can¡¯t even tell wheat seedlings from weeds!¡± If the other person wasn¡¯t a man over ninety, Winters really wanted to snatch the vine stick and give him a thrashing in return.


    ¡°[Celican] A man who does not work with his four limbs will never differentiate the five grains.¡± The mendicant monk muttered something in a language Winters did not understand, no longer attempting to guide Winters to think but instead directly imparted, ¡°The big landlords grow crops like tobacco and sugar beet that can be sold for money, and only a little of their land is used for growing food. Why? Because they are not lacking in food. How much can they eat with their open mouths? The estate owners occupy the best and most land in Wolfton, yet they have the fewest people, so most of their arable land is used for growing cash crops.¡±


    The old man caught his breath and continued, ¡°And Dusa Village, Dusa Village has fewer people than the other villages, but their land is second only to the estate owners, even more so than the other four villages combined, so much that they can apply the three-field system. Do you know what the three-field system is?¡±


    Winters, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, shook his head. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The three-field system is crop rotation, dividing the arable land into three equal parts; one for growing staples, one for supplementary crops, and one left fallow as pasture, rotating each year.¡± The old friar thought for a moment and asked, ¡°You¡¯ve seen the communal pasture in Dusa Village, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s this year¡¯s fallow land, which has become the village¡¯s communal pasture. That¡¯s why the Dusacks can afford horses and use oats to feed pigs, because they are not short of arable land.¡±


    ¡°What about the other four villages?¡±


    The mendicant monk sneered, ¡°The other four villages? They have to rent draught horse ploughs from Dusa Village every year because they use all their land to grow food and can¡¯t afford big livestock. The villages to the east and west of the river just about make do with their land.


    These two Protestant villages have the most people but the least land; even if they plant every inch with food, it is not enough to eat. Aren¡¯t all of Mitchell¡¯s laborers Protestants? If they could be tenant farmers, which farmer would want to come here to work as a hired hand?¡±


    ¡°The more people, the less arable land?¡± Winters frowned deeply, ¡°How can that be? Why not reclaim more land? I clearly saw a lot of wasteland!¡±


    ¡°Do you think the wasteland here can be reclaimed whenever one wishes?¡± The friar¡¯s smile grew colder, ¡°I already told you, every inch of land, every tree, every river¡­ even the rabbits in the forest, the fish in the river, the birds in the sky all have their owners!¡±


    ¡°Whose?¡±


    The mendicant monk pointed his vine stick at Winters¡¯ nose, ¡°Yours.¡±


    Winters was at first puzzled, then surprised, and finally displeased, ¡°Do you find this amusing?¡±


    ¡°Or perhaps I should put it another way,¡± the old friar¡¯s hand rested on the vine stick, ¡°you are part of the true owner of this land.¡±


    Winters finally caught on, ¡°You mean¡­ the army? The Parlatu Army?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not too foolish,¡± the old monk tapped the junior officer¡¯s shoulder with the vine stick. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s the military. Otherwise, what right would a mere hundred-household captain have to hold the power of life and death in Wolfton? Do you think you¡¯re here to manage public safety? No! You represent the authority of the true owners of this land.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­ the power of life and death?¡± The young Venetian was confused, ¡°I don¡¯t have an easy job; I was banished here! Wasn¡¯t the position of Garrison Officer in Wolf Town vacant for over a decade before me?¡±


    ¡°The vacancy was because Wolfton is not wealthy, not because the Garrison Officer¡¯s position is not lucrative. In the system you belong to, you were sent here as a punishment. But to the people here, you are a lord descended from heaven.


    The Parlatu Army¡¯s status in the New Reclamation Area is almost equivalent to that of a feudal lord; here, you are half a lord. That¡¯s why the landlords and Dusack welcome you, the villagers from east and west of the river respect you, and the Protestants simply do not trust you.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t they trust me?¡±


    The mendicant monk¡¯s face bore a mocking smile, ¡°The Protestants have people, and Wolfton has wasteland. What¡¯s stopping them from reclaiming it?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ me?¡± The answer was obvious, but Winters did not understand, ¡°Why?¡±


    Monk Reed sneered, ¡°Because if they occupy even a little more land, you will go with the Dusans to chop off their heads¡ªdon¡¯t worry, the Dusans would be very willing to do such a thing. If you are defeated by them, another squad of soldiers will come from the county seat. If one squad isn¡¯t enough, then ten squads, a hundred squads will come, until they are annihilated.


    So, they fear you, they are terrified of you, they are afraid you¡¯ll find the small piece of land they¡¯ve cultivated in secret, they are afraid you¡¯ll find the fish bones and rabbit bones in their homes. You are the Knight of Wolfton, while they are merely despicable farmers, sneaking around hunting and farming on your land. How could they not fear you?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± Winters was still puzzled in some areas, ¡°Does Paratu law prohibit hunting and fishing, or forbidding clearing new land on one¡¯s own?¡±


    ¡°Paratu law doesn¡¯t prohibit it, but the laws of the Newly Reclaimed Land do not allow it.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°No reason.¡± The old mendicant monk had already realized that the young lieutenant¡¯s political acumen was notably lacking: ¡°This land is the spoils of war for the Paratu Army, which holds all rights from the heavens above to the earth below.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then, the best land was sold to the wealthy to repay debts, giving rise to these estate owners. As rewards for fighting and compensation for generations of military service, the Dusacks also received land, resulting in Dusa Village. There were also some poor and tenant farmers dreaming of becoming independent farmers, and with their meager savings, they could only afford a small piece of land. The villages on the east and west sides of the river are made up of these people.¡±


    ¡°What about the villages of Nanxin and Beixin?¡±


    ¡°Those Protestants were originally from the Empire, having fled here gradually over the past decade from the north.¡± The old monk¡¯s smile was telling: ¡°The Empire disfavored the Protestants, while the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was in need of people to settle frontiers. So every time the Catholic Church repressed them up north, the number of Protestants in the New Reclamation Area increased. But the Protestants here arrived late. The land prices in Wolfton were already not as cheap as in the early days, let alone with other buyers in the mix.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± The mendicant monk¡¯s eyes sparkled with intensity: ¡°The Dusans are under the land assignment system; they have no worries about land. Small independent farmers can only support their own families; they have no extra money to buy land. So who else could it be? So who has the money?¡±


    Winters fell silent, then after some thought, he said, ¡°To suppress land clearance just to sell land for money seems more damaging than beneficial. Why would the Paratu People come up with such a system?¡±


    ¡°More damaging than beneficial?¡± Brother Reed couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°My boy, you truly don¡¯t understand how powerful this system is. Out of all your republics, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses has the least population, yet it has the most territory, and it¡¯s always growing. What do you think that¡¯s due to?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be telling me it¡¯s just down to making money by selling land?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not that simple.¡± The old monk tapped Winters¡¯ head with a vine stick, chiding as if in frustration: ¡°I¡¯m asking you, what do you think is the deadliest weapon in this world?¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± Winters tentatively answered, ¡°The sword?¡±


    ¡°Wrong! The deadliest weapon in the world is called ¡®mobilization.¡¯ A sword is a person¡¯s weapon, no matter how sharp, it can only kill one person at a time. Mobilization is a weapon of slaughter between nations, capable of raising a country or destroying one.¡± The old monk sighed, ¡°Ah, I¡¯m talking, but you won¡¯t understand. Let me put it in terms you might understand.¡±


    ¡°Please go ahead.¡± Winters sat with his knees together, respectfully attentive.


    ¡°Searching the mountains requires manpower, and just your few dozen Dusacks won¡¯t be enough. The Dusacks are your most reliable manpower, but they are simply too few in number. You must mobilize the other four villages.¡±


    Winters said with bitterness, ¡°The villages of Nanxin and Beixin are unwilling to send militia. The Protestants are particularly hostile toward me, and I don¡¯t know why.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always mingling with the Dusans; it¡¯d be strange if they showed you a good face. Who do you think the Emperor¡¯s Dusacks are meant to fight? Who do you think drove them from their homelands?¡± A subtle smile appeared on the old monk¡¯s face: ¡°But I will help you with that issue.¡±


    Winters was quite surprised, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a member of the Catholic Church? Caman thinks it¡¯d be dangerous for you to go to the Protestants.¡±


    ¡°Politics! My boy! Politics!¡± The mendicant monk tapped the lieutenant¡¯s head twice with his stick: ¡°The essence of politics is not to turn the other party into one of your own but to make them think you are one of them, understand? Tomorrow, come with me to the Protestant village.¡±


    Having said that, the old monk left Winters¡¯ room without looking back, leaning on his vine stick.


    ¡°Please, take care,¡± Winters said as he rose to see him out.


    Long after the old man had left, Winters closed the door before it dawned on him: ¡°[Venetian swear word]! When did I start to really take this old charlatan for a teacher?¡±

 Chapter 312: 13: The Chase

    Chapter 312: Chapter 13: The Chase


    Winters had no idea what the mendicant monk actually said to the Protestants of the two villages, but Nanxin village and Beixin village suddenly became enthusiastic towards him.


    Previously resistant to the priest of Wolf Town church, the villagers of both communities began to show reverence towards the old mendicant monk after listening to Brother Reed¡¯s sermons.


    All the able-bodied men from the two villages signed up to join the bear hunting team, and the manpower for the search operation in the mountains suddenly became ample.


    ¡°What did you tell them?¡± Winters asked, quite curious, ¡°You didn¡¯t trick them into thinking that I¡¯m also a Protestant, did you?¡±


    Seeing that the old charlatan still couldn¡¯t garner respect from Winters, the old monk was well aware of this. Because of this, the two could converse without any reservations.


    The mendicant monk did not directly answer, ¡°Are you planning to reclaim the land they¡¯ve cultivated without permission?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, do I look like I have nothing better to do? In another two months, I might not even be here,¡± Winters said, feeling bewildered.


    ¡°Then whatever I told them doesn¡¯t really matter,¡± the old monk said offhandedly, ¡°As long as they know you mean them no harm and think you are one of their own, that¡¯s enough for you.¡±


    The lieutenant probably understood a bit, but he was curious again, ¡°So how did they come to see you as ¡®one of their own¡¯?¡±


    ¡°For some people, ¡®worship¡¯ is a fundamental need. Thus, the more devout a person is, the easier they are to manipulate because they will convince themselves,¡± Brother Reed said casually, speaking words of profound heresy, ¡°Those two villages belong to the Puritan faction. Once you know what they want to believe in, the rest is simple¡ªjust preach what they want to hear.¡±


    Winters was left speechless by these words, which seemed even more sinister than heretical theology; he couldn¡¯t help but voice the doubt that had been plaguing his mind, ¡°I just can¡¯t understand how a person like you could join the Catholic Church.¡±


    ¡°Having the identity of a clergyman makes traveling easier. A merchant can be extorted, a farmer interrogated, but no one troubles an old, poor charlatan,¡± said the mendicant monk with a smile, who had converted to many religions, ¡°In the East sometimes I am a monk of the Bodhi Religion, sometimes a scholar of the Star Moon Sect, and on this continent, I am a clergyman of the Catholic Church; it¡¯s all the same to me.¡±


    Hearing Brother Reed casually admit that he was a false believer, Winters found it hard to believe.


    After some thought, it didn¡¯t seem all that implausible, but the old man¡¯s tone was just too nonchalant, as if he were commenting on the weather of the day.


    After a long silence, Winters said with a mix of sarcasm and admiration, ¡°You certainly embody a pragmatic spirit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± the old monk laughed heartily.


    ¡­


    Now with more manpower, Winters redivided the search zones and once again devoted all his energy into the operation to hunt down the man-eating bear.


    While the militia scoured the forest inch by inch, knocking on tree trunks and maintaining a distance of about ten meters apart like dragging a net over the forest floor, the two clergymen at the church in Wolf Town opened a bottle of wine and sat by a small table, chatting leisurely.


    ¡°That young fellow must be suffering in the deep mountains and dense forests right about now?¡± Brother Reed said with a smile.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± Father Caman replied respectfully, ¡°Teacher.¡±


    Brother Reed sipped his wine lightly and asked casually, ¡°Do you have any relationship with him? Why did you ask me to help him?¡±


    ¡°No relationship, I don¡¯t know Lieutenant Montaigne,¡± Father Caman replied earnestly, ¡°But I feel he is sincerely trying to do something good for this parish.¡±


    ¡°Many times,¡± the old clergyman said indifferently, ¡°good intentions don¡¯t necessarily lead to good outcomes.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we shouldn¡¯t have helped him?¡± Father Caman asked, puzzled.


    ¡°What do I know? I am just a foreigner who is adrift in a distant land. If I truly possessed wisdom, would I not be able to return home?¡± There was a hint of a bitter smile on the old clergyman¡¯s face, ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see.¡±


    ¡­


    Although they had gained the full cooperation of four other villages, the bear hunting team still came up empty-handed after three consecutive days.


    The militiamen moved through the dense forest, tapping on tree trunks and spreading out over ten meters apart, scouring the land like casting a net. They found feces, fur, broken trees¡ªevidence that the beast was indeed in the mountains¡ªbut despite all these signs, they could not find the evil bear, not even a glimpse of its shadow.


    A full week had passed since the last attack, and the militiamen were becoming tired, their morale dropping day by day.


    The village heads from both villages, Hedong and Hexi, came together to Winters with a suggestion, ¡°Perhaps the bear has escaped?¡±


    It was indeed a compelling and tempting hypothesis.


    The idea that the search team¡¯s extensive operations had frightened the evil bear back into the deep mountains¡ªsounded logical.


    However, Hunter Ralph firmly objected to this idea, claiming, ¡°Once a wild animal has tasted human flesh, it becomes a man-eater and will never forget the taste of human flesh.¡± And from the evidence, it was clear the bear had not gone far and was lurking near Wolf Town.


    The old hunter abandoned his previous ¡°cautious kill¡± stance, opposed ending the large-scale search, and insisted on ¡°killing the man-eater completely to avoid future troubles.¡± He believed the man-eating bear was nearby and that these fruitless days were simply bad luck. With continued searching, it was only a matter of time before they found the creature.


    Like those commanders faced with a difficult choice throughout history, Winters agreed with the hunter¡¯s view¡ªthe giant bear had definitely not gone far. But he was also acutely aware that his militia had reached the limits of both their physical and mental strength.


    Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 313: 13. The Hunt_2

    Chapter 313: Chapter 13. The Hunt_2


    ¡°`


    Searching the mountains was a hard task; every meter traversed drained a great deal of strength. Not to mention that the militiamen had abandoned their own farm work to search the mountains, and when they came up empty-handed, it was their wives, children, and elderly who toiled in the fields. Thus, the longer the delay, the more their wills wavered.


    To stop searching the mountains, or to force the militiamen to continue?


    The former Lieutenant Montaigne only needed to follow orders, but the current Garrison Officer Montaigne had to make his own decisions.


    Winters gathered the village chiefs of five villages and said, ¡°As long as the search continues, we can definitely find the man-eating bear. But the manpower from each of the villages is already exhausted and cannot continue the search. Now the only option is to wait for that giant bear to attack again.¡±


    What he did not say outright was that there had been no attacks in a week; the bear was probably starving by now.


    After hearing the news of halting the mountain search, the militiamen from East River Village and West River Village grumbled, and the villagers had many complaints about Winters; on the other hand, the young and able-bodied from the two Protestant villages obeyed the order without any complaints, as if they truly saw Winters as ¡°one of their own.¡±


    Ralph, the old hunter, after learning of Winters¡¯ decision, left the main troop without saying a word and ventured deeper into the forest alone.


    For the first time, Lieutenant Montaigne felt the pressure of decision-making.


    ¡­


    Three days after the mountain search stopped, Wolf Town welcomed another Sunday. Despite the dark cloud of the wolf disaster overhead, villagers from all three villages rushed to the church in the town center to attend the Sunday service, as usual.


    The church in Wolf Town was not large, but not particularly small either; its layout was similar to other single-nave churches. Two walls with windows formed the central hall of the church, and with a vaulted ceiling, the central hall required no pillars for support. One end of the hall was the narthex, and the other was the altar and ceremonial objects.


    Because revealing the identity of spellcasters in the insular and conservative Wolf Town could potentially cause unnecessary trouble, Winters would also sit in the church with Gerard during Sunday services.


    This time, it was the young Father Caman who was responsible for the sermon; he first led the congregation in prayer for several victims of the wolf disaster, and then used the sayings of saints to deliver an encouraging message to the believers.


    Watching the followers pray earnestly to the deity to drive away the evil bear, Winters somewhat understood them. It was essentially a sense of helplessness¡ªhoping for help from a higher existence when one feels powerless over something seemed to be the natural thing to do.


    The weekly bow and arrow training had been canceled by Winters, so people hurried back to their villages after the ceremony.


    Winters found Father Caman: ¡°Although I don¡¯t know why, I still need to thank you. East River and West River villages have quite the resentment toward me recently.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be done about that,¡± Father Caman spoke softly to console him: ¡°The beast is in the woods, but you are right in front of them.¡±


    Winters chuckled bitterly, ¡°I used to wish for a leisurely position until retirement, but now¡­ now I¡¯d rather go back to the army and be a lowly centurion.¡±


    ¡°Destiny has placed you in this position for a reason.¡±


    ¡°I thought you would use the word ¡®Lord,''¡± Winters joked.


    Father Caman also showed a hint of a smile, ¡°Who told you to be an unbeliever? I changed it to something you can accept.¡±


    ¡°But I don¡¯t believe in destiny either. If everything is predetermined, then what¡¯s the point of human struggle? We might as well just lie down on the ground and wait for destiny to take its course.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the human struggle is also part of destiny.¡±


    ¡°Sophistry,¡± Winters scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t they teach logic in theology school? You are essentially saying that the future is both knowable and unknowable; you are describing a paradox.¡±


    Caman wanted to say something, but an urgent knocking interrupted their metaphysical conversation.


    Caman glanced at Winters and said aloud, ¡°Come in!¡±


    The church handyman pushed the door open: ¡°Father! Something terrible has happened¡­ Ah! The Garrison Officer is here too!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Sir!¡± the handyman swallowed and said, ¡°Beacons!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Which way did it run?¡± Winters, who had been sprinting the whole way, yanked the reins and the warhorse reared before the chief of West River Village.


    The chief didn¡¯t dare delay and pointed westward: ¡°To the west!¡±


    ¡°`


    Winters spoke rapidly, ¡°When did it come? Are there any casualties?¡±


    ¡°It must have been when people were at mass, that thing came in and ate a lot of grain, and bit an old paralytic woman to death!¡±


    Winters wheeled his warhorse, ¡°Call up all the militia, follow me!¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lord, yes.¡± The village head remembered something and added, ¡°The hunter has already taken the lead in pursuit.¡±


    The militia of Dusa Village had also seen the beacon fires, and old Sergei immediately led the Dusans to join with the West River Village militia.


    Unlike the previous three violent encounters, this time the beast had just fled, leaving a trail clear and distinct. Following the traces, Winters led the group directly to the southwestern forest.


    Under the shadows of the tree canopy, Winters could see broken shrubs and underbrush. The bear¡¯s enormous size had left a trail among the forest¡¯s underbrush and saplings that resembled a small path.


    Guided by the tracks on the ground, Winters relentlessly gave chase. At this moment, his mind was consumed by a single thought: to kill the man-eating bear. Unintentionally, he even left the militia far behind.


    He spurred his horse fiercely, crashing through a thicket of hazels, crossing the chill stream, and surging over a mound before charging down, racing wildly through the forest.


    On the galloping horseback, the pine needles scraped his skin like the sharpest arrows, each contact leaving a new bloodstain.


    The forest¡¯s complex terrain was even more perilous, but fortunately, his horse¡¯s hooves seemed divinely assisted, for a mere rodent burrow could have caused him to break his neck.


    After vaulting over several mounds, the broken branches and underbrush first led Winters to a hollow, turned sharply, and then suddenly began to ascend. Winters didn¡¯t know how far he had chased but could tell the terrain was rising swiftly.


    The steeper the slope became, the louder the warhorse neighed, exerting all of its strength to push and step, its hooves digging one deep hollow after another in the soft, dark earth.


    The warhorse was at its limit. Seeing this, Winters dismounted. He took two heavy matchlock guns and a powder flask from his saddlebag and began to load them.


    A strange silence pervaded the gloomy forest.


    Suddenly, a rustling noise came from nearby. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters raised his matchlock, firmly bracing the butt against his shoulder.


    ¡°My lord, it¡¯s me.¡± Hunter Ralph emerged from among the leaves and branches.


    Without wasting words, Winters asked directly, ¡°Is it ahead?¡±


    ¡°It should be ahead.¡±


    ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take the horses; they make too much noise,¡± the old hunter explained. ¡°That thing moves incredibly fast in the woods, we can¡¯t catch up even on horseback, and we might startle it. If we scare it off, we can only hope it dies of exhaustion.¡±


    Winters took two javelins out of his horse¡¯s saddlebag, giving one to Ralph, keeping the other for himself.


    Then he pointed his horse in the direction from which they¡¯d come and lashed its hindquarters hard, ¡°Go! Go home!¡±


    Pained, the red-maned horse sprinted away back the way it came.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Winters slung the two guns over his shoulder, took the javelin in hand, and spoke to the hunter.


    ¡°My lord, just the two of us might not be able to kill that thing. It would be best if we leave markers along the way for the reinforcements to follow,¡± Ralph suggested, his weapons being nothing but a hunting knife, a single-shot bow, and the javelin Winters had given him.


    It was then that Winters realized he had lost contact with the other militia.


    ¡°No matter what, let¡¯s find that thing first,¡± Winters drew the Dusa military saber.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ralph nodded and took the lead, but he couldn¡¯t help reminding, ¡°My lord, there is no matchcord on your gun.¡±


    The answer to the hunter was a cold voice, ¡°I don¡¯t need a matchcord.¡±

 Chapter 314: 14 Wrestling with a Bear

    Chapter 314: Chapter 14 Wrestling with a Bear


    ¡°`


    Using the javelin as a walking stick, the Hunter Ralph and Winters climbed up the steep slope. After the ascent was a descent, and following the descent was another ascent.


    After continuously traversing several hills along the beast trail, even the seasoned Hunter who often roamed the woods was gasping for breath.


    Wolf Town was located at the northern foot of the Jinding Mountains, and generally speaking, the deeper into the southern forests one went, the higher the terrain became. However, the micro terrain was not a constant uphill but a series of undulating ridges, which were extremely torturous to travel through.


    Winters, carrying a heavy-duty musket that was dripping with sweat, knew this large-caliber matchlock gun was extremely cumbersome. It usually had to be mounted on a support pole during use, weighing close to twenty pounds, and Winters had two of them on his back.


    ¡°Sir, beasts generally circle around the hillside,¡± Ralph said, panting heavily. ¡°That creature must have been scared by the people returning from the church, so it panicked and ran without choosing its path.¡±


    Winters leaned on his knees, trying to steady his breathing rhythm. He nodded but didn¡¯t say a word, as he was simply unable to speak at the moment.


    ¡°That beast must be even more tired; it can¡¯t have gone far!¡± the old Hunter, leaning on his javelin, moved forward again.


    Winters bit his lip and followed.


    The signs of destruction in the forest were becoming less and less. The giant bear had crashed through the forest upon escaping, and its brutal actions caused damages that even Winters could identify.


    But the deeper they went into the forest, the less broken branches and bushes there were, and the paw prints also became shallower.


    It was clear the pace of the beast was slowing down, and its frenzied emotions were subsiding; it was gradually reverting to its natural behavior patterns¡ªmoving stealthily with a strolling posture.


    The tracking became more and more difficult, but the beast could not escape the Hunter¡¯s eyes.


    Ralph clung tightly to the bear¡¯s trail, chopping notches on the trees with his hunting knife as he went to mark the direction for those who might follow.


    Passing through a stand of white oak trees, the giant bear¡¯s tracks disappeared into a small river. Winters¡¯s heart tightened, but the Hunter crossed the stream to inspect it carefully, then led Winters upstream in pursuit.


    The two of them walked along the riverbank, with one foot deep and the other shallow. Seasonal mountain floods had washed away all the soil along the banks, exposing stones of various sizes and shapes underneath the earth¡¯s layer.


    The forests on both sides of the riverbed were like dark, wide beast dens, lurking with lethal dangers. The power of the water had polished the surface of the stones on the riverbed, making them smooth and hazardous.


    Ralph, leading the way, suddenly stumbled, barely avoiding a fall. But he managed to steady himself with a violent struggle, emitting a painful groan from his throat in the process.


    Winters hurried to catch up with Ralph and saw the old Hunter clenching his teeth, flaring his nostrils, his whole body¡¯s muscles tensely shivering.


    The Lieutenant quickly realized: the exhausted old Hunter had not stepped firmly on the stone underfoot, and he had twisted his ankle.


    A sprain, the most common and troublesome injury. It won¡¯t kill you, but it will prevent you from moving.


    The reason the two of them had managed to track this far depended on the Hunter¡¯s skills, which Winters was well aware of.


    He could no longer discern where the fierce beast had run to. If Ralph could not move, then he could only watch helplessly as the creature disappeared without a trace.


    Supporting Ralph¡¯s arm, Winters gritted his teeth and asked, ¡°Can you still move?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the old Hunter replied through clenched teeth. ¡°Keep pursuing.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After steadying himself, the old Hunter lifted his leg and proceeded to walk forward, but he wobbled again and nearly fell.


    Winters immediately steadied Ralph, saying helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while.¡±


    The Lieutenant helped Ralph to sit down slowly on the spot and removed the old Hunter¡¯s boots. Ralph¡¯s right ankle had swollen up considerably, the skin underneath turning blue-purple, evidently no longer capable of movement.


    ¡°Stay here and wait for the others to come,¡± Winters resolved. ¡°I¡¯ll go after it alone.¡±


    The old Hunter shook his head vigorously and said breathlessly, ¡°No, it won¡¯t work, not alone. Let me catch my breath, I¡¯ll wrap my ankle with cloth, and we¡¯ll continue the pursuit.¡±


    As he spoke, the old Hunter took a horn cup from his waist, leaned over to scoop up some water from the river to drink. The cup had nearly reached his lips, but then the Hunter suddenly thought of something. He stopped, and offered the water to the Lieutenant first.


    Winters was both annoyed and amused. ¡°What the hell, it¡¯s not the time for this kind of formality, just drink up. I¡¯ll drink after you¡¯ve finished.¡±


    Ralph stopped resisting and drank. After finishing, he scooped another cupful of water for Winters. The Lieutenant, thirsty to the point of a dry throat, downed it in one go and handed the cup back to Ralph.


    Once again, the Hunter leaned out to scoop water. The moment the cup touched the river, the Hunter suddenly froze, and failing to grip it firmly, the horn cup slipped from his hands and was swept away by the swift current downstream.


    Winters was about to reach out and ask when he saw Ralph make a gesture for silence. The old Hunter looked at Winters, slowly shook his head, and then pointed toward the pine trees on the opposite bank of the river.


    In the eyes of the old Hunter, Winters saw a hint of fear.


    He looked in the direction the Hunter was pointing. At first glance, he saw nothing. The next moment, he realized that the very thing he had been desperately searching for was right under the trees on the opposite bank of the river!


    The deep brown fur was a natural camouflage in the woods; the creature was lying in the shadows under the trees, as if it was a huge rock that had stood there for eons.


    The head of the logging team hadn¡¯t exaggerated in the slightest; it truly was a bear as big as a house. The beast¡¯s massive size was truly daunting, so much so that even lying on the ground, it was an intimidating large mass.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 315: 14 Wrestling the Bear_2

    Chapter 315: Chapter 14 Wrestling the Bear_2


    Winters was not at all surprised why he and Ralph hadn¡¯t spotted it at first, because no one would consider such a huge stone to be an animal. Even though he was very aware he was tracking a giant bear, the size of the thing in front of him far exceeded his mental expectations.


    The beast was so large that it could no longer be called a bear. No words could accurately describe it; only the royal eagles raised by oathbreakers could compare to it.


    Could the two muskets really inflict damage on that thing? The lieutenant felt a flicker of doubt in his heart.


    For many days, Winters Montagne had dreamed of finding this fierce beast. Now he was less than twenty meters away from it, but the lieutenant did not know how to kill it.


    Fortunately, the beast was perfectly still at the moment, appearing to be in a deep sleep.


    What to do? Fight or flee?


    The hunter and the lieutenant exchanged a wordless glance.


    Winters quietly placed the javelin and the military saber in his hands on the ground, then he took off the two muskets from his body, setting them down just as gently.


    To avoid waking the beast on the opposite bank, every move Winters made was extremely slow and without the slightest noise.


    The sound of flowing water, the chirping of birds, the rustle of wind through leaves¡­ the more noisy the background sounds of the forest, the more terrifying the silence that the hunter and the lieutenant felt.


    After putting down all his weapons, Winters gestured to Ralph not to make a sound. He silently walked over to Ralph, grabbing one of Ralph¡¯s legs with one hand and Ralph¡¯s arm with the other.


    The lieutenant took a deep breath, his abdominal muscles suddenly tense, lifting the old hunter onto his shoulders in one movement.


    As the old hunter was hoisted onto his shoulders, a crisp sound came from his bag.


    Instantly, Winters felt the hairs on his back stand up, and Ralph immediately pressed down on his tool bag.


    The two froze in place, not daring to move. Winters slowly turned his head to look at the giant bear. Luck was on their side; the beast was still lying under the tree, motionless.


    The lieutenant nodded, carrying the old hunter back in the direction they had come from, moving slowly and steadily. The old hunter held tightly to his tool bag, preventing it from making any more noise.


    Winters counted his steps silently; when he reached five hundred, he found a flat spot to put the old hunter down.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Ralph didn¡¯t even have time to thank him, he knew what the lieutenant was thinking and urged in a low, anxious voice: ¡°Just the two of us can¡¯t deal with that creature, you mustn¡¯t go over there alone. Sir, let¡¯s figure it out when the others get here.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What if that thing runs off before the reinforcements arrive?¡± Winters chuckled softly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that reckless. I¡¯ll go and watch it, make sure it doesn¡¯t run away again.¡±


    ¡°Then take my foot spikes,¡± the old hunter said, taking a set of shoe studs from his tool pack.


    After a brief explanation of how to use them, Winters took them and turned to leave.


    The old hunter was at a loss, wanting to call Montagne lieutenant back but not daring to raise his voice, he could only watch helplessly as the lieutenant walked away.


    Returning to the previous location, Winters recovered his weapons. The giant bear was still sound asleep beneath the tree, oblivious to the happenings around it.


    ¡°Shooting this massive thing in the body is useless; it has to be shot in the head,¡± Winters estimated silently in his mind. ¡°But perhaps even the head isn¡¯t enough; it would have to be the eyes or some other vulnerable spot.¡±


    At this moment, what Montagne lieutenant regretted most was not having brought a cannon into the mountains.


    With two guns in hand, Winters found a gently flowing shallow where he crossed the river and approached the giant bear without making a sound from downwind.


    Winters was not confident in the accuracy of the muskets in his hands.


    Unlike the two wheellock guns Anthony had given him, which were made by royal gunsmiths and could shoot exactly where they were aimed, their bores as smooth as mirrors,


    the muskets from the Blackwater Town Armory were cheap, and their barrels were not finely polished. He had to get close enough to ensure a hit.


    The closer he was to the giant bear, the more palpable was its immensity. The beast was like the embodiment of the wilderness, as if its sheer existence was to demonstrate the force of nature.


    The lieutenant still had his wits about him and didn¡¯t consider handling such an enormous creature by himself.


    But he also could not allow himself to let the dangerous animal escape. So when he was about fifteen meters away from the giant creature, he found a suitable tree fork and mounted the musket.


    He did not dare, and could not afford, to get any closer.


    What followed was the wait.


    Waiting for reinforcements.


    The distance was too close, and Montagne lieutenant could even hear the bear¡¯s breathing. At some moment, he suddenly had the illusion that the forest itself had come to life, pulsating with the breathing of the giant bear.


    Time seemed to blur, perhaps a second, a minute, a quarter of an hour?


    The heartbeat of the forest, paused for a second.


    The bear under the shade of the trees woke up, as if a giant stone had been endowed with a soul.


    Winters¡¯ breathing halted suddenly, his heart constricting fiercely.


    The bear moved its body slightly and turned its head towards Winters, sniffing with its nose.


    The distance was too short, short enough for Winters to clearly see every detail of the giant beast: its unkempt fur, pronounced back, pointed ears, dark snout, cold eyes, black eye rims.


    He also saw the reddish color of the fur beside the bear¡¯s nose, the fresh blood of a recent victim.


    As the two looked each other in the eye, Montagne lieutenant did not hesitate to use magic to ignite the gunpowder in the musket barrel.

 Chapter 316: 14 Fighting the Bear_3

    Chapter 316: Chapter 14 Fighting the Bear_3


    The gunshot shattered the silence of the forest, and the double charge¡¯s recoil nearly knocked the lieutenant to the ground. In the instant that the gun smoke spewed out, he saw the lead bullet graze the giant bear¡¯s cheek, exploding upon its shoulder.


    With no time for regret, Winters immediately switched to another rifle.


    Following the gun smoke came a bone-chilling roar; neither the flash of fire, the deafening bang, nor the smoke scared off the beast. The enraged giant bear charged towards the puny human with a roar.


    So for the second shot, Winters aimed for the gaping maw of the giant bear.


    This rifle did not let Winters down for all the trouble he¡¯d taken to carry it, as the 35-gram lead bullet accurately lodged between the bear¡¯s upper and lower teeth.


    The bear¡¯s head jerked back from the massive impact force of the lead bullet, and blood froth spewed from its mouth. The colossal creature crashed down, whining in agony.


    With no time for pity, seeing the beast fall, Winters hurriedly started to reload his musket. There was no time to clean the barrel, so to save time, he poured the gunpowder directly into the barrel.


    But before he could even reach for the lead balls, the bear that had just taken a heavy blow staggered back to its feet.


    ¡°Vineta [swearing]!¡± the lieutenant decided instantly, tossing aside the musket and scrambling up a tree.


    In a life-or-death moment, Lieutenant Montaigne, who had never climbed a tree in his life, clumsily ascended, using the ¡°foot treads¡± given by the old hunter, and managed to scamper up the tree¡ªthough in an exceedingly ungraceful manner.


    Just as he reached a height of two to three meters, the bear slammed into the tree trunk. The thick pine, almost as wide as a person¡¯s embrace, swung like wild grass in a violent storm, nearly shaking Winters down.


    The pine tree trembled, but did not fall. Winters, having steadied his position, frantically climbed higher.


    The bear, after ramming into the tree, shook its head a few times and stood upright, leaning on the tree. It roared and swung its front paws at the human, the swooshing bear claws narrowly missing the human¡¯s ankles.


    The distance between man and bear was a hair¡¯s breadth; Winters could even smell the rancid breath from the bear¡¯s mouth.


    But the human had now climbed five or six meters high; the bear reached out futilely with its front paws, while the man above climbed higher and higher.


    Lieutenant Winters Montaigne had only two wishes at that moment: first, that the bear could not climb trees; second, that the tree was sturdy enough.


    The first wish was granted, for the giant bear showed no intention of climbing. Realizing it couldn¡¯t reach the human in the tree, the bear turned to viciously batter the tree trunk with its back and shoulders.


    And the lieutenant discovered that the tree he had climbed was certainly not sturdy enough.


    With each attack from the beast, the thick pine tree began to tilt. There were no other large trees within several meters for Winters to jump to.


    He couldn¡¯t let it continue to ram¡ªhe realized¡ªor he was certainly doomed.


    ¡°[Incoherent, vicious swearing]!¡± Not caring whether the beast could understand human speech, Winters shouted desperately to distract the bear¡¯s attention in his dire situation.


    However, the beast beneath the tree paid no heed, continuing to pummel the tree with brute force.


    Winters pulled out his saber and, while climbing down, chopped at the pine branches beside him. Branches smashed onto the bear, but even this felt inconsequential to the massive creature, and it was not impeded.


    Winters descended to almost within reach of the bear.


    ¡°Come on!¡± The human roared like a wild beast: ¡°Come and kill me!¡±


    Furiously, the bear stood on its hind legs and lunged toward the man in the tree.


    Winters was waiting for this moment.


    As the bear opened its huge maw, roaring and pouncing towards the man in the tree, the man above also roared and thrust all his might to drive the javelin into the bear¡¯s mouth.


    The man in the tree was smacked hard onto the ground, yet the javelin lodged deeply into the bear¡¯s throat.


    Intense pain nearly paralyzed Winters; he couldn¡¯t even feel which of his bones were broken. He lay on the ground, motionless.


    The bear desperately flailed its head, flicking scarlet blood everywhere. It tried to pull the javelin out with its front paws, but reversed barbs had bitten deeply into the flesh, causing excruciating pain the more it tried to pull.


    With a tremendous effort, the beast snapped the shaft with its jaws, leaving the spear point lodged inside. The beast, gasping, groaning, and snorting, moved closer in the direction of Winters.


    One step, two steps¡ªthe heavy footfalls grew nearer.


    Winters was in utter despair.


    ¡°In this situation¡­ does playing dead still work?¡± A thought tinged with dark humor suddenly struck the despondent Winters Montaigne.


    He chuckled bitterly to himself and closed his eyes to meet his fate.


    He could feel the heat of the beast¡¯s breath.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    A sound of something slicing through the air came.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Another followed.


    Two arrows from a one hundred eighty-pound longbow pierced the bear¡¯s face one after the other.


    The bear, struck by the arrows, stood on its hind legs and roared in pain.


    ¡°Come on, beast! Charge at me!¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was the old hunter¡¯s voice.

 Chapter 317: 15: Duel to the Death

    Chapter 317: Chapter 15: Duel to the Death


    The old Hunter roared as he drew his longbow tight as the full moon, and with a flash of cold light, a heavy arrow whisked across the mountain stream. Guided by the wind, the arrowhead found its mark in the giant bear¡¯s left eye.


    Blood and other matter gushed from the socket of the giant bear¡¯s eye. The momentum of the arrow did not stop there but continued to bore deeper, until the shaft sank more than three inches into the left eye.


    Yet even the toughest longbow combined with a weighted arrow hitting directly in the eye could not kill the beast; instead, it only made it more dangerous.


    Driven to frenzy by the agonizing pain, the giant bear let out a roar that made the mountains tremble. It abandoned Winters, who was within easy reach, and lunged towards the opposite bank to tear the old Hunter to pieces.


    The old Hunter, who had twisted his ankle, did not run either but stood his ground, continuing to shoot arrows at the fierce beast. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He shot quickly and accurately, wielding the nearly two-hundred-pound draw weight bow in his hands as if it were a toy. The twang of the bowstring rang out continuously, each arrow striking the beast¡¯s skull with precision.


    But the arrows could not penetrate the creature¡¯s hard skull, and the giant bear ignored the arrows sticking out of its head, its charge kicking up thousands of water droplets in the river. The shallow ford six or seven meters wide seemed laughable beneath it.


    With nowhere to run and unable to escape, Ralph roared in fury, firing arrow after arrow at the bear in vain.


    Barely regaining consciousness, Winters struggled to his feet and picked up a rock to throw at the beast. ¡°Don¡¯t run! Come kill me!¡± he yelled.


    In the blink of an eye, the bear covered the thirty-some meters. The old Hunter watched the beast approach, his eyes wide with despair, and then he closed them.


    Less than ten meters from Ralph, at the critical moment, a black high-headed horse charged out from around the bend in the river downstream at breakneck speed.


    Seeing Ralph¡¯s life hanging by a thread, the black horse¡¯s rider did not swerve but crashed fiercely into the giant bear.


    Even such an enormous beast stumbled from the full force of the charging Warhorse.


    But the situation was even worse for the Warhorse and its rider. The Warhorse, with who knows how many broken bones, lay in the river channel, neighing in pain and struggling to get up.


    The rider was flung from the saddle, arcing over the bear¡¯s upraised shoulder blades and crashing heavily into the river.


    Winters, of course, recognized the black horse; it was Gerard¡¯s beloved steed.


    ¡°Mayor Mitchell!¡± he bellowed as he ran towards Gerard¡¯s location.


    The unbalanced bear, now even more enraged, smashed its massive paw down, crushing the skull of the black horse¡ªGerard Mitchell¡¯s treasured Warhorse, instantly dead on impact.


    As the ferocious beast turned to tear apart the human who shot arrows at it, more riders charged out from around the bend downstream.


    Reinforcements had arrived¡ªthe Dusacks were here.


    ¡°Dammit! Does this thing eat shit to get this big?! Dammit!¡± old Sergei cursed loudly, riding past the Hunter on his Red Sun at full speed.


    In the fleeting moment of a horse and man crossing paths, Ralph grabbed Sergei¡¯s outstretched arm and swung himself up onto the horse¡¯s back with acrobatic agility.


    The Red Sun did not slow its pace, carrying the two men a dozen meters away in the blink of an eye.


    The giant bear roared, intent on pursuing Ralph, but two more riders flew by its side. As they passed the bear, the riders threw their javelins, making use of the horses¡¯ speed.


    The javelins, carrying far more kinetic energy than arrows, pierced effortlessly into the giant bear¡¯s abdomen, puncturing its organs.


    Seeing the javelins hit, Dusa immediately pulled hard on the rope tied to the javelin and jerked in the opposite direction of the horse¡¯s momentum.


    Meanwhile, more Dusacks arrived at the scene. Although initially shocked by the bear¡¯s size, they quickly regained their composure and, using the speed of their horses, threw their javelins at the bear, pulling on the ropes in the opposite direction once they hit.


    The riders hunted the beast like a pack of wolves taking down a bear.


    Another rider with an unmounted Red charger rushed to Winters¡¯ side, Gerard¡¯s son Pierre dismounted in a hurry, holding the reins of the Red charger and shouted, ¡°Brother Winters! Rejek!¡±


    This unmounted Red charger was none other than Winters¡¯ Red-maned¡ªRejek, which Pierre had brought for Winters.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! Save your dad!¡± Winters yelled anxiously, ¡°He fell into the river!¡±


    Pierre¡¯s face changed drastically, and he dashed into the river stream.


    With Pierre¡¯s help, Winters dragged Gerard, who was dazed from the fall, towards the shore.


    ¡°We thought you were dead!¡± said Pierre incoherently, ¡°Seeing the horn cup floating downriver, we immediately came upstream.¡±


    ¡°Not dead yet,¡± Winters laughed heartily, spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva.


    The people who landed behind Winters were startled to see Rejek return alone; Mayor Mitchell immediately led the Dusacks, leaving the footsoldiers without horses behind, and following the old Hunter¡¯s directions, they pursued at full speed.


    Fortunately, that had enabled the Dusacks to arrive in time to save Winters and Ralph; the militiamen from the other villages still had no idea where they were.


    Winters first scooped the water from Gerard¡¯s tongue root, then leaned over his chest to listen, and checked Gerard¡¯s breath as well.


    Pierre knelt beside them, at a loss.


    ¡°He¡¯s still breathing! Come help!¡±


    Together, they lifted the unconscious old Dusack onto the horseback, and Winters helped Pierre into the saddle, ¡°Go with your father! Quick! Find Priest Caman!¡±


    After speaking, he slapped Pierre¡¯s mount hard on the back.

 Chapter 318: 15 Deathmatch_2

    Chapter 318: Chapter 15 Deathmatch_2


    The horse, pained, broke into a run, its hooves beating the ground. Pierre gave Winters a complex look and galloped away, disappearing into the shadows of the trees at the river bend.


    Old Sergei and Ralph crossed the river on a single horse and returned to Winters¡¯ side.


    ¡°My lord! This won¡¯t do! We need to scatter them! Everyone retreat!¡± From a dozen meters away, the old Hunter couldn¡¯t help but shout loudly.


    The giant bear in the river was already impaled with over twenty javelins. The riders pulled on the ropes in all eight directions to the west, rendering the beast seemingly immobile for a time.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The animal has an injury in its mouth, it can¡¯t eat. As long as we tire it out, it will inevitably weaken,¡± the old Hunter said, rushing to Winters¡¯ side, speaking anxiously, ¡°Now this is only drawing out its ferocity!¡±


    Winters understood the Hunter¡¯s point. He leaped onto his red-maned horse and, under the amplification of a loudening spell, shouted toward the Dusacks, ¡°Let go! Spread out! Spread out!¡±


    But it was already too late¡ªthe inability to move was only an illusion. The giant bear, roaring, thrashed its body. Several Dusacks who didn¡¯t react in time were dragged down from their saddles, and the ropes slipped from everyone else¡¯s hands.


    Without their riders¡¯ control, the Warhorses could no longer resist their instinctual fear of the beast and ran away in panic, leaving their riders behind.


    Winters, seeing a Dusack thrown from his horse, didn¡¯t have time to think. He took a javelin from the saddlebag of a rider nearby, jabbing the horse¡¯s ribs to maintain his grip and charged full speed at the giant bear.


    The combined strength of man and Warhorse converged at the tip of the spear, striking the beast¡¯s flesh. Winters felt as though his right shoulder had been brutally torn off, but the javelin in his hand also plunged deep into the bear¡¯s back.


    The giant bear let out a pained roar, twisting around to swipe at Winters with its front paw. The red-maned horse skillfully dodged the counterattack, and after several stamps, it was back to a safe distance of about a dozen meters.


    While the bear was distracted, the other riders managed to rescue the fallen Dusacks.


    The giant bear did not launch another attack. It stood in the river, panting heavily, surveying the humans around it.


    Steam mixed with blood spurted intermittently from its nostrils and mouth. Over a dozen javelins were stuck in its body, and the blood that flowed copiously from its wounds turned the river beneath it dark red, extending downstream.


    Humans and beast stood in a standoff.


    The bear let out a mournful cry; this wild creature was now at the end of its road.


    In its eyes, there was no anger. In the dim gaze of this creature, Winters saw only despair, sadness, and pain.


    ¡°You ate a human, and this was bound to happen one day!¡± Holding a spear, Winters turned his horse forward, aware that the beast before him could not understand human language, ¡°This ends here! I will put an end to your suffering!¡±


    As if possessing a spirit, the giant bear let out another mournful cry in response to Winters¡¯ words.


    It shook its head twice¡ªthe heavy arrow shot by Ralph was still lodged there¡ªand charged toward the riders downstream. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Dusacks in front did not dare to confront the rampaging beast head-on and quickly steered their horses aside. The giant bear, however, did not pursue the riders to tear them apart, but broke free and ran downstream along the river.


    ¡°From the smallest cricket to the largest bear or tiger, no creature, aside from humans, will give up the will to survive,¡± the old Hunter said quietly, coming to Winters¡¯ side, ¡°That animal doesn¡¯t understand your words. To it, everything is just instinct.¡±


    ¡°We pursue! Two on a horse won¡¯t be fast, so we keep only one rider per horse. Those with mounts, follow me; the rest, come from behind. Give a horse to Ralph!¡± Winters organized the troops before him in a collected manner.


    Taking the opportunity, Winters picked up two muskets. The Dusacks who had fallen from their horses dismounted their companions¡¯ horses; several headed upstream to find their own Warhorses.


    Sergei signaled a rider, and the designated Dusack reluctantly handed over his Warhorse to Ralph.


    A troop of riders quickly got themselves in order, following the blood trail downstream.


    Old Sergei suddenly remembered something, his face turning pale as he exclaimed in shock, ¡°No good! Those Bumpkins are behind us; they might run into that beast!¡±


    Premonitions often come true when they¡¯re bad.


    Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Winters led the Dusacks in a full gallop, following the blood trail that never left the river. The riders sped through the mountain valleys.


    After racing about three or four kilometers downstream to a shallow crossing, they lost the trail of the giant bear.


    It was not that there were no bloodstains, but that bloodstains were everywhere.


    Clearly, the militiamen who followed had encountered the wounded giant bear here, some killed, the rest scattered in fear.


    ¡°Damn it! They really fucking ran into it!¡± Old Sergei cursed loudly, ¡°With human blood and bear blood mixed together, how the hell are we to track? If those Bumpkins are incompetent, then they damned well shouldn¡¯t have caused chaos!¡±


    ¡°Those who volunteer for the militia are brave men!¡± Lieutenant Montaigne glared fiercely at Sergei, ¡°Mr. Morozov, refrain from insulting them!¡±


    Old Sergei fell silent, embarrassed.


    ¡°Can you make it out?¡± Winters asked the Hunter.


    Ralph dismounted, studied the ground carefully for a while, then pointed towards the woodland in the southwest direction of the riverbank, ¡°The beast should have gone that way!¡±


    The expressions of the Dusacks were fearful. On the open riverbanks, they could engage the giant bear on horseback, but in the woods, it was the beast¡¯s home ground, and riding would be very cumbersome.


    ¡°Ralph and I will take the lead,¡± Winters said, loading ammunition into the two muskets, ¡°Don¡¯t fight head-on; everyone, be cautious.¡±

 Chapter 319: 15 Deathmatch_3

    Chapter 319: Chapter 15 Deathmatch_3


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have gone far!¡± the old Hunter shouted encouragement to everyone.


    Following the blood and signs of destruction, a group of riders, each armed, carefully searched the wooded area.


    The bear¡¯s movements seemed to be slowing, staggering; the trihedral spearhead made the wound difficult to close, and instead of diminishing, the blood trail in the forest was actually increasing.


    However, the dense vegetation seriously hindered the riders¡¯ progress, and it was extremely easy to lose sight, inevitably causing the team to stretch out.


    The normally peaceful forest now felt exceptionally dangerous in the hearts of everyone.


    ¡°Sir! Look! Someone made a mark!¡± Ralph suddenly pointed to a freshly exposed tree trunk.


    ¡°There might be militiamen ahead of us chasing that thing.¡± Winters took the firelock out of the saddlebag, ¡°Keep chasing!¡±


    Continuing forward, the same kind of mark was still there. It was obviously no coincidence, but someone had carved arrows into the tree bark to indicate direction.


    Without further doubt, Winters and Ralph summoned the other riders to gather and quickly pursued along the direction marked.


    But after passing through a large birch forest, the mark and the blood trail disappeared at the edge of a low cliff. The previous mark had directed them here, but there was nothing on the trees at the edge of the low cliff.


    ¡°The mark is gone!?¡± the old Hunter was both shocked and puzzled.


    ¡°Down below?¡± Winters, frowning, urged his horse closer to the low cliff.


    Their position was about eight or nine meters higher than the ground ahead. It seemed a collapse had occurred here, forming this low cliff.


    Just as Winters brought his horse to the edge of the cliff, a voice, as if from someone with a changing voice, suddenly sounded from behind him, ¡°Watch out!¡±


    What followed was a spine-chilling roar. The giant bear they had been chasing all along burst out from below ground, opening its grotesque mouth to bite at the forelegs of the chestnut horse.


    Only then did Winters realize that there was a large burrow at the edge of the low cliff, which the bear had used as its den. However, due to the angle of view, one could only see this burrow by approaching the edge of the cliff.


    The chestnut horse, startled, violently stamped the ground and leaped to dodge, narrowly escaping the bear¡¯s lethal bite. But Winters, caught off guard, was thrown from the saddle, crashing down to the ground, man and gun together.


    Before Winters could catch his breath, the bear, having missed its first strike, abandoned the chestnut horse and charged roaring directly at him.


    With the sudden outburst of the bear, Ralph, Sergei, and the other Dusacks were too late to come to the rescue.


    At this life-or-death moment, Winters clenched his teeth and rolled off the edge of the low cliff.


    The beast, missing twice, also roared and leaped off the cliff.


    Before the Dusacks could react, a slim figure wielding a long spear dashed out of the woods, shouting and following the bear down.


    As his body uncontrollably fell along the cliffside, tumbling down, Winters clutched his firelock tightly. He knew it was his only chance for survival.


    However, what he had not expected was that the leaping bear would land before him. Its body heavily smashed into the ground, but the ferocious creature just shook its head and stood up again.


    The instant he hit the bottom of the cliff, Winters, enduring the pain, raised his gun to aim at the bear.


    At the same time, the bear also charged at Winters with a ferocious growl.


    Time seemed to stop at that moment.


    If he was lucky enough, he might be able to shoot the 35g lead bullet into the beast¡¯s mouth¡ªbut he knew that wouldn¡¯t kill it, having already tried.


    To shoot? Or to wait? There was only a moment to decide.


    Accompanied by a shrill shout, a thin figure leaped from the low cliff, plunging the long spear straight down towards the bear¡¯s neck.


    On its own, this frail primate could never have penetrated the bear¡¯s hide. But gravity¡ªthough in this era no one knew what was called gravity¡ªlent a hand, making it all possible.


    Height became speed, speed became force, and the spearhead, like a hot knife through butter, pierced the bear¡¯s neck fur, fat, muscle, and through the body, embedding itself into the ground.


    The bear, struck by this heavy blow, was brought to the ground, blood gushing from the wound.


    But the savage beast did not die immediately. It pushed off the ground with its forelimbs to stand once again, swinging its neck to shake off the foreign object and the human on it.


    No matter how much brute strength the bear exerted, it could not shake off the thin figure clinging to the spear shaft. Each shake only inflicted more damage upon itself.


    Winters, who had escaped death by a hair¡¯s breadth, finally saw the face of the fierce and thin spearsman¡ªit was Anglu, the small groom from Dusa Village.


    So, it was clear what that piercing shout that was too shrill to discern had been¡ªit was ¡°Telqing.¡±


    Winters struggled to his feet. Anglu had created an opportunity for him, and he could not waste it. He sprinted towards the bear, and the moment he inserted the barrel into the bear¡¯s ear, Winters ignited the gunpowder.


    With a ¡°boom,¡± shrapnel flew in all directions, leaving Winters with a ringing in his ears and his vision swimming. The lead bullet did not successfully fire, and the matchlock gun exploded in his hands.


    The heavy matchlock gun had burst its barrel.


    The bear became even crazier, wildly lunging at Winters. Caught off guard, Winters was knocked to the ground by the bear. Seizing a cartridge of gunpowder in desperation, he blocked the bear¡¯s savage bite.


    The next second, he ignited the gunpowder. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


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 Chapter 320: 16 Compensation and Care

    Chapter 320: Chapter 16 Compensation and Care


    Everyone¡¯s heart was in their throats.


    Since Lieutenant Montaigne had led people into the mountains, three consecutive batches of militia followed, but after that there was no news.


    The families of the militia gathered at Rivereast Village, anxiously waiting for news at the edge of the woods, and all they could do was wait.


    But what they got was bad news, first with Mayor Mitchell being rescued in a coma by his son, followed by one militia after another fleeing from the woods. Nearly every militia who escaped to Rivereast Village was injured.


    In the descriptions of the shaken militia, what attacked them were the minions of the devil, terror werewolves as tall as mountains, and giant monsters with spikes on their backs¡­ That thing charged into the crowd like a scythe sweeping over weeds, reaping souls away.


    Some of the militia were seen dead, many more were missing in the woods. The families of the deceased were in utter despair, and the families of the missing could not help but break down in tears.


    Rivereast Village was struck by sorrow, thankfully Father Caman and Brother Reed rushed to the scene. The two clergymen consoled the bereaved, led the families of the injured in prayer, treated the wounded, prepared medications, and steadied everyone¡¯s spirits.


    As the sun dipped low in the sky and darkness fell, the mood in Rivereast Village grew more anxious.


    Just as Father Caman, Brother Reed, and several village elders were discussing whether to send another party into the woods for rescue, an excited child ran to the village to bring news.


    ¡°They¡¯re back! They¡¯re back!¡± After yelling several times impolitely at the adults, the child raced off to tell others.


    Upon hearing this, Father Caman and the elderly mendicant monk rushed to the village entrance.


    At the western entrance of Rivereast Village, they met the returning bear-hunting team.


    Sergei led Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s Crimson Mane, walking ahead with a lofty stride, looking like a general returning from victory. Winters, on the back of Crimson Mane, showed no signs of pride or joy; his eyes were filled with deep fatigue.


    In contrast, Sergei almost seemed to be the one riding the horse.


    But neither of them were the main focus of this ¡°victory parade¡±; the attention of everyone was captured by the huge bear carcass at the end of the procession.


    The Dusacks had tied together a temporary sled of wood, placing the giant bear¡¯s body on it, displaying it as a trophy and pulled by six horses all the way back to Rivereast Village.


    The people of Wolfton finally had the chance to witness the true face of the man-eating beast. The bear¡¯s size was shockingly massive, with adults standing beside it looking like children, and children appearing as infants.


    The giant bear¡¯s yellow-brown fur was almost dyed dark red with blood, and its body was covered in horrifying wounds. Several spears and javelins were still lodged in it¡ªthey couldn¡¯t be pulled out because they were stuck too deep. The bear¡¯s head was mangled and gruesome, and no one knew what kind of immense force could have caused such destruction.


    Merely by seeing the wounds on the bear¡¯s body, everyone understood how tough the fight had been for the hunting team to kill this ferocious beast.


    Even as a carcass, the bear¡¯s lingering ferocity still chilled the villagers. Ironically, the children were not afraid; they ran around the bear¡¯s body, making noise, and threw stones at its head until they were taken away by their parents.


    The Dusacks dragged the bear carcass through the crowd of villagers all the way to Rivereast Village¡¯s threshing ground.


    The atmosphere in Rivereast Village cleared, almost festive; villagers brought out their homemade wine and meat to entertain the warriors who had slain the beast. The Dusacks drank sweet wine and colorfully recounted their own versions of the thrilling tale.


    Winters did not join the ¡°celebration,¡± nor did he rest; for him, there were countless matters to attend to.


    It was already confirmed that four militia had unfortunately encountered the bear in the valley and perished; they were pillars of their families, the main labor force. Their widows and orphans were now in inconsolable grief, facing an uncertain future; how would they be compensated? Winters needed to come up with a solution.


    And there were many injured, the minor wounds were manageable. But what of the severely injured who, even if they were lucky to survive, would lose a significant portion of their labor capacity?


    Compared to these issues, questions like ¡°A part of the militia got scattered in the woods and are still missing¡ªwe need to send people to search and rescue them¡± seemed trifling.


    The greater the power, the greater the responsibility, Winters deeply realized the truth of this saying.


    When he was in the archipelago, all he had to do was fight, without worrying about other issues. But in Wolfton, he exercised authority far beyond that of a normal officer, and his responsibilities were greater. He had to take responsibility not just for the living, but also for the dead.


    He could have easily shirked his duties, considering he could leave it all behind eventually. But Winters Montagne had gradually embraced his role as the garrison officer of Wolfton.


    Although he was a Venetian, he genuinely wished to do something beneficial for this little town in the southwest corner of Paratu, at the very least, not to leave a mess behind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Winters, suddenly awake in the dead of night, felt a twinge of unreality.


    The roaming beast in the woods had been hunted, and the people of the various villages of Wolfton were returning to their normal lives¡­ perhaps that was the case.


    Winters had Hunter Ralph lead a team into the mountains to search and rescue, bringing back all the missing militia¡ªboth the living and the dead.


    The bear¡¯s carcass was paraded around Wolfton by old Sergei and the Dusacks, shown off in each village, allowing the Dusacks to have their moment in the spotlight.


    Afterward, the villagers divided up the bear meat. Its skin, a trophy full of battle scars, was kept by Sergei who respectfully handed it to Winters, who in turn gifted it to the hunter and his son.


    S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 321: 16 Compensation_2

    Chapter 321: Chapter 16 Compensation_2


    Sergei again presented the bear¡¯s head to the Mitchell Family. Gerard was grateful for his old friend¡¯s generosity but did not display the giant bear¡¯s head as a trophy. However, Pierre clamored to hang the bear¡¯s head on the wall and was scolded by Mrs. Mitchell before he fell silent.


    Most of the bear¡¯s offal was also distributed as meat, except for the bear¡¯s gall which was taken away by the elderly begging monk Reed. It was unclear what use he had for such a bitter thing.


    A small incident then occurred: the drunken old widower Rostov, whose son had unfortunately perished in the beast plague, began to sob uncontrollably when he saw others eating the bear meat. He cried out, ¡°My son¡¯s flesh and blood is in this bear meat too.¡±


    The people of Dusa Village, feeling sorry for the old widower, buried the bear meat they received.


    However, when Hunter Ralph¡¯s son Bell saw this, he asked Rostov, puzzled, ¡°The bear ate your son, and you eat the bear. Isn¡¯t that the rule of the Great Wilderness? Isn¡¯t wasting food the greatest disrespect?¡±


    Winters overheard this but the tearful Rostov did not hear clearly. Ralph¡¯s expression changed drastically, and he hastily dragged his son away.


    The news quickly spread to the neighboring towns, and when Andre heard that the man-eating bear had been killed and the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town had been injured, he immediately borrowed a horse and rushed to Wolfton. Seeing Winters still lively and kicking, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    To witness the only remaining head of the giant bear, Lieutenant Chelini made a special visit to the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Looking at the bear¡¯s head that was nearly big enough for two people to hug together, Andre smacked his lips and exclaimed, ¡°Goodness, that must weigh about two thousand pounds, right?¡±


    ¡°About that, maybe a bit heavier,¡± Winters replied offhandedly. ¡°There¡¯s no scale here that can measure the weight of this thing.¡±


    ¡°Amazing,¡± Andre said with envy. ¡°I dream of hunting such a big game.¡±


    ¡°If you were knocked down by this thing once, you wouldn¡¯t think so,¡± Winters thought for a moment and then asked, ¡°How about it, do you want to take the bear¡¯s head? Mayor Mitchell is troubled about how to deal with it.¡±


    Andre snorted, ¡°What would I do with it if I didn¡¯t hunt it myself?¡±


    ¡°Right, I broke the gun I borrowed from you. Can I compensate you with money? Can we settle it that way?¡±


    ¡°How did you break it?¡± Andre¡¯s focus was obviously not on the money.


    Winters answered calmly, ¡°The barrel burst.¡±


    ¡°The barrel burst?¡± Andre was astounded, took a careful look at Winters to make sure his old schoolmate wasn¡¯t missing any parts. ¡°You¡¯ve got one hell of a luck! Was it worth risking your life for those shepherds? They¡¯ve never treated us as one of their own!¡± Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters sighed, at a loss for words.


    Seeing his old friend¡¯s negative reaction, Andre said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m serious! You need to value your life, you know? I don¡¯t want to have to come to such a godforsaken place to visit your grave in the future. We all have to return to Sea Blue together, and it wouldn¡¯t be the same without any of us.¡±


    ¡°I got it, I got it.¡±


    Andre was helpless, but then something came to mind, and he slapped his forehead, ¡°Right, Bard sent me a message for you.¡±


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Winters perked up at the news of Bard.


    ¡°He wants you to come to my place on the Sunday of the first week next month. He¡¯ll be there too. From Blackwater Town, we¡¯ll follow him to meet a senior.¡±


    ¡°Which senior?¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t specify, and I don¡¯t know either. Just a message, but it¡¯s always good to meet someone familiar.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll remember.¡±


    After confirming his old classmate was alright and without staying the night, Andre returned directly to Blackwater Town, taking with him the several muskets he had lent to Winters.


    After Andre left the Mitchell¡¯s, the hunter and his son were also preparing to leave.


    Now that the fierce beast had been slain, Ralph could take his son back to their cabin in the woods.


    Ralph¡¯s son Bell, the young stable boy Anglu, and Gerard¡¯s son Pierre, these three lads, all around fifteen or sixteen years of age, had grown close over these days, becoming good friends.


    The departure of Bell from Dusa Village was hard for the other two boys to accept.


    When the old hunter came with his son to say farewell, Winters was at the town hall writing documents and beckoned the young hunter to his side.


    The young hunter approached the desk, puzzled, as Winters opened a drawer, took out something wrapped in black cloth, and handed it to the young hunter.


    It was a dagger, a replica of Sofia¡¯s, previously commissioned by Winters from the blacksmith Misha.


    The young Hunter¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯ve canceled the archery competition this weekend, but you were likely to win anyway. Here¡¯s your prize in advance,¡± said Winters with a smile.


    The young Hunter looked at his father with pleading eyes.


    ¡°Since the lieutenant is giving it to you, take it,¡± the elder Hunter nodded to his son and then looked at Winters with respect, ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    Elated, the young Hunter ran out of the town office to find something to test the blade on.


    ¡°Why such a hurry to get back?¡± Winters watched the young Hunter run off and said to the elder Hunter, ¡°I always feel somewhat restless.¡±


    ¡°I share that feeling, sir,¡± the elder Hunter said slowly, ¡°Which is why I need to return home quickly.¡±


    ¡°Alright then, come to me if anything arises.¡±


    The elder Hunter bowed and left the town office.


    It seemed that everything truly had come to an end.


    ¡­


    With the menace of the bear taken care of, the farmers could sleep without fear at night, the Hunter father and son returned to their cabin in the woods, and village life returned to its usual pace. It seemed the turmoil caused by the animal attacks had indeed come to an end.


    The only remaining issue was how to compensate the victims and the injured.


    On the fifth afternoon following the slaying of the bear, Mayor Mitchell, Garrison Officer Montaigne, and Priest Caman held a serious meeting in the town office to discuss compensation for the casualties.


    Despite his wariness, Winters had to admit the considerable influence religious figures held among the villagers. The farmers always feared hell more than the gallows, and salvation seemed insignificant compared to all the world¡¯s temptations.


    Religion had penetrated deep into all facets of society, and the spellcasters, a distinct minority, were powerless to change this reality.


    An old mendicant monk once told Winters that just three roles held all the power in Wolfton ¨C a county official, a military officer, and a clergyman. They had authority over everything from taxation to conscription, from the land they walked on to the graves they lay in.


    If the mayor, the garrison officer, and the church¡¯s priest worked together in Wolfton, anything could be accomplished.


    So, although Winters was very displeased with the clergy meddling in public affairs, he ultimately held his nose and accepted it, ensuring nothing went awry.


    After discussing with Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman, all three agreed not only to provide a one-time compensation for the militiamen who died or were disabled, but also to extend long-term assistance to them.


    Knowing he wouldn¡¯t stay much longer, Winters knew he must enlist the help of the mayor and the church to maintain this method of compensation.


    For clarity, he used terms the farmers would easily understand: families who lost their labor force due to the bear hunt would have their land cultivated by the entire village, like the lands of the past nobility, until their children came of age.


    The system essentially meant that the land of the militiamen¡¯s families would be prioritized for plowing with communal farm equipment and harvested first by other villagers, with each farmer spending a few days a year working those fields.


    The farmers were all too familiar with these practices, which continue to operate as ¡°commons¡± in the villages even today.


    The system obviously had many flaws and loopholes, but since the nobles had managed to maintain it for centuries, Winters figured Gerard and Caman could maintain it for a decade or two with no issue.


    ¡°The rest is up to both of you,¡± Winters said, standing up and bowing sincerely to Mayor Mitchell and Priest Caman after they had settled on a compensation plan for the casualties.


    Priest Caman smiled and nodded his head.


    Gerard found it strange but comforted the lieutenant, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the bear-hunting militiamen died for us all. The villagers will take good care of their families.¡±


    Just as Winters was about to say something, a tempestuous knock interrupted him.


    Young Hunter Bell was banging on the door of the town office frantically; he had run there, looking as though he had been fished out of the water.


    ¡°Help!¡±

 Chapter 322: 17 Forever Forget This World

    Chapter 322: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World


    The disordered tracks extended deeper into the forest. Following the marks left by the hunter, Winters spurred on his horse in pursuit.


    The more he moved forward, the more unsettled and agitated his chestnut horse became. It bit fiercely on the bit, shaking its head from side to side to resist the rider¡¯s commands, forcing Winters to use even greater strength to control the reins.


    Winters¡¯s attention was drawn to a fleeting depression in the muddy ground. He immediately yanked on the reins. His chestnut¡¯s forehooves rose high as it charged forward a short distance before stopping.


    Winters dashed back to the muddy patch he had just passed. He confirmed that he wasn¡¯t mistaken, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary depression, but a paw print.


    Since the beginning of the beast plague, Winters had followed Ralph time and again to search the mountains and forests. He had seen countless animal tracks, bears, wolves, deer, roe deer, foxes, rabbits¡­ He had almost become a self-taught hunter.


    But the paw print before him was different from any he had seen in this forest before, a strange paw print, yet also a familiar one.


    Indeed, he felt an eerily familiar sense of the shape of this paw print, only he couldn¡¯t remember where he had seen it before.


    Suddenly a thought flashed through his mind, not in Wolfton, not in Paratu, not in the Taniria Islands, he had seen these types of paw prints, but it was back in his home in Sea Blue¡­ These were cat paw prints.


    A palm with four lobes, pads without claws, the paw prints of Big and Little General were exactly like that, Winters had seen them countless times.


    But a cat¡¯s paw print was no larger than a thumb, whereas the ¡°cat paw print¡± before him was large enough to accommodate his hand.


    A gigantic cat?


    Winters suddenly understood: why did the deer herd flee as if escaping from deeper within the forest? Why were no remnants of clothing fabric found in the bear¡¯s intestines and feces? Why did the wolf pack, taking a risk, break into the village to forage?


    The wolves weren¡¯t migrating, they were fleeing. Top predators leave their territory only because a more powerful predator has arrived. Moreover¡­ there wasn¡¯t just one.


    Suddenly, the chestnut horse tied to the tree whinnied in terror. The three-year-old steed struggled so fiercely that the knot Winters had tied was directly ripped apart.


    A chill wind brushed past Winters¡¯ fingertips, and in that instant, all the hairs on his body stood on end, and a sudden chill ran down his back.


    Instinct drove Winters to roll to his right. Accompanied by a hair-raising growl, a spotted beast pounced on the spot where he had been just a second earlier.


    Winters narrowly avoided the stealthy attack from behind. Suppressing the deep-seated fear in his heart, he drew out the Dusack scimitar as he regained his balance.


    The old hunter had told him, ¡°In the woods, no man can ever outrun a wild animal,¡± never flee, to turn and run was to choose death.


    Spooked, the chestnut ran toward the depths of the forest. The spotted beast chased after for a few steps, then suddenly turned back.


    It didn¡¯t immediately attack but instead kept a fixated glare on Winters, snarling and moving slowly to his side.


    Winters dared not make any sudden movements. He too gripped the cavalry saber, slowly rotating his body to maintain facing the spotted beast.


    Man and beast confronted each other in the forest, like duelists with drawn swords. For this reason, Winters managed to get a clear look at the true face of the spotted beast.


    The creature before him was terrifyingly large, its shoulder height was not much less than the chestnut¡¯s, almost reaching Winters¡¯ chest. Its body was covered in pale yellow stripes, blending into the dappled tree shadows, making it nearly invisible.


    Its shape resembled the lion on the Vineta Flag, with a short snout and a broad forehead, slender facial contours, but it had short mane around its neck, making it look peculiar.


    But no matter how odd it appeared, Winters did not want to provoke it. Even if it were a pig, at that size, it was not something Winters could handle alone.


    First the enormous bear, now a giant lion, Winters was becoming numb to the notion that everything in Wolf Town seemed larger.


    The peculiar lion started to slowly crouch, its head nearly touching the ground, shoulder blades protruding from its back.


    ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± flashed through Winters¡¯s mind. He hadn¡¯t seen a live lion, but he did have two cats. When a cat is poised to strike, it adopts this posture.


    The next second, Winters saw the lion¡¯s whiskers on its face slowly turning forward¡ªan omen of a cat¡¯s attack.


    Winters steeled his heart, took a deep breath, and cast a spell he had never used in real combat before: Scare Beast.


    A deep voice originated from his vocal cords, amplified by magic within his mouth, ultimately forming a wave of sound that spread around him.


    The novice spell ¡°Scare Beast,¡± one of the divine arts from the Druid Teachings, inversely reconstructed by the Magic Combat Bureau. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was found that animals are extremely sensitive to low frequencies; herbivores can be easily frightened by low-frequency sounds, and ferocious animals emit low-frequency calls to intimidate each other when encountering threats in the wild.


    The principle behind the ¡°Scare Beast¡± spell is to mimic and amplify the low growls of large animals intimidating their foes, and in conjunction with lion¡¯s dung and urine as casting materials, it leads the targeted animal to believe it¡¯s facing a lion.


    This spell is mainly used to scare warhorses or animals such as dogs and wolves; no spellcaster has ever tried it on lions¡ªor rather, no one who has done so has lived to write a report. Winters also didn¡¯t have the feces or urine of a ferocious beast as casting materials.


    But he had no alternative; he could only give it his all.

 Chapter 323: 17 Forever Forget This World_2

    Chapter 323: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_2


    ¡°`


    The thunderous low-frequency soundwave detonated in the forest, and the caster himself bore the brunt of the impact. It felt like a cannon had gone off right by his ear, Winters¡¯s skull trembling with it.


    The giant lion was startled by the sudden boom and sprung up from the ground leaping backwards, disappearing into the thickets after a few bounds, vanishing from sight.


    Having just escaped with his life, Winters wanted to laugh, but he couldn¡¯t. He didn¡¯t know whether to thank the Magic Combat Bureau or the fact that the peculiar-looking lion had a rather full breakfast.


    Without time to ponder this question, Winters bolted towards the edge of the forest.


    He hadn¡¯t run far when an uncontrollable wave of nausea suddenly erupted in his mind, as if a fist inside his abdomen was hammering his stomach mercilessly; he involuntarily knelt on the ground and began to retch.


    A gust of cold wind swept past him, and the chaotic sounds of the underbrush behind him rustled loudly¡ªthe giant lion had caught up.


    ¡°I knew it wouldn¡¯t be so easy!¡± Winters wiped the acidic saliva from the corner of his mouth, got up, and faced the direction from which the lion was coming, his hands gripping the military saber.


    Leaping from the bushes, the giant lion didn¡¯t continue the standoff with Winters. Its brawny limbs stomped on the ground, its tail whirling, claws and fangs exposed, as it roared violently towards Winters.


    This ¡°big cat¡± moved incredibly fast, so much so that Winters was only able to react when it was already soaring through the air, almost instantly upon him.


    The dense woods provided Winters with some cover, and he immediately darted between the trees to his side.


    The swipe from the mid-air lion¡¯s claws was blocked by the trunk of a tree, but the tree, as thick as a man¡¯s forearm, was bent by the lion¡¯s fierce paw, and its claws swept onto Winters, who couldn¡¯t dodge in time, tearing away chunks of cloth and flesh.


    Winters first felt a chill on his back, followed by a searing pain. The cloth on his back was soaked with a warm liquid and stuck to his body.


    At the same time, blood was dripping from his military saber, and the lion¡¯s right front leg had a fresh cut¡ªa wound from a sharp weapon. Winters Montagne did not have the habit of being a sitting duck.


    The injured giant lion did not immediately launch a second attack, giving Winters a moment to catch his breath. It backed off a short distance and, with seeming disregard, began to lick its wound.


    But this behavior didn¡¯t mean it had given up on its prey. On the contrary, the lion had decided the human in front of it would be a fine meal, so it was not in a hurry to kill.


    Seeing that the lion¡¯s wound had stopped bleeding so quickly, Winters let out a bitter laugh.


    The current trade-off didn¡¯t seem profitable at all. He had to find a more effective tactic soon, or else he might as well find a way to end it quickly himself.


    ¡°Can¡¯t delay any longer,¡± Winters thought. ¡°The longer I wait, the more blood I lose, the slimmer my chances become.¡±


    But a few inches long cut was insignificant for a lion weighing several hundred pounds. Glancing at the military saber in his hand, Winters realized he had only one chance, a single all-or-nothing opportunity:


    To use the Arrow Flying Spell to accelerate the saber¡ªif he could imbue it with enough kinetic energy, he might be able to deal a lethal wound to the beast.


    It was an all-or-nothing gamble, Winters had never cast the Arrow Flying Spell on a sword before. Moreover, the military saber in his hand was his only weapon, and there was only one chance. Should he miss, even a quick death would be at the mercy of the lion.


    But magic was his only chance to kill this giant lion.


    After stopping the bleeding, the giant lion lazily stood up and began circling Winters again. It continuously intimidated Winters, as though trying to force its prey to reveal a gap.


    ¡°Got to hit the head, only a blow to the head will kill it instantly,¡± Winters reminded himself. ¡°Can¡¯t be too close, too close and the speed won¡¯t be enough to penetrate the skull¡ªnor too far, as it can be dodged. My spellcasting radius is only two meters. I¡¯ll have to wait till it¡¯s within three meters.¡±


    But the giant lion kept moving, making it impossible for Winters to find the right moment to strike, and yet, it was closing the distance between them.


    Holding the military saber backward in the posture of throwing a javelin, Winters found his concentration increasingly difficult to maintain as the loss of blood was making him weaker.


    Both predator and prey were waiting for the opportunity to land a deadly strike.


    Suddenly, the lion¡¯s ears perked up. It hesitated for a moment then moved back to a position further away from Winters. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters knew that the beast must have heard something, and soon he heard it too¡ªthe sound of hoofbeats, riders approaching from a distance.


    It must be Gerard with the militia! Winters¡¯s spirits were greatly lifted. After receiving the young Hunter¡¯s call for help, he split up with Gerard, heading out first to survey the situation while Gerard would go to Dusa Village for reinforcements.


    Immediately, Winters struck the tree with his saber, signaling his location to the rider. He soon realized something was amiss, the hoofbeats were too sparse.


    The hoofbeats drew nearer, seemingly just one rider. A familiar warhorse came into Winters¡¯s view, its red mane bursting from the underbrush. Astonishingly, atop the red-maned horse was the old Hunter, Ralph.


    Realizing it wasn¡¯t reinforcements and despite the risk of provoking the lion to attack, Winters yelled out to the old Hunter, ¡°Don¡¯t dismount! Get away fast!¡±


    His shout was like a start signal, and the giant lion, seeing Winters distracted, immediately lunged towards him.


    Ralph ignored the lieutenant¡¯s warning, vigorously whipping the red-maned horse and arrived beside Winters in a flash.


    Jumping from the horse just a few lengths away from the lion, Ralph rolled several times upon landing, while the inertia of the horse carried it straight into the path of the giant lion.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 324: 17 Forever Forget This World_3

    Chapter 324: Chapter 17 Forever Forget This World_3


    But the lion was far more agile than the bear, and the massive lion easily dodged the warhorse¡¯s charge. It immediately poised to pounce on Winters again, as Winters bit down hard, ready to throw his scimitar.


    However, the mighty lion suddenly froze in place, and Winters was also stunned. He heard a sound that should not have been there, he heard a tender wail.


    ¡°Beast! Look at me!¡± Ralph yelled angrily.


    Winters saw the hunter¡¯s thigh was wounded, a horror to behold, with blood dripping down from the cuff of his trousers. What surprised him even more was what the old hunter was holding.


    In Ralph¡¯s hand was a lion cub.


    The cub was only the size of a small cat, its eyes freshly opened. Held by the scruff of its neck in front of the old hunter, it called out pitifully to its mother.


    Only then did Winters realize that the giant lion before him was a lioness and she had recently become a mother.


    The lioness didn¡¯t immediately attack Ralph; it sat with a mournful cry in response to the cub¡¯s call.


    The next moment, the old hunter plunged a knife into the soft belly of the lion cub, slashing down viciously, the newly opened eyes of the Little Lion witnessed its own belly being ripped open.


    Winters felt a buzzing in his skull, a chill from the top of his head to his fingertips.


    The mother lion let out a piercing howl that made all creatures shiver, launching itself at the old hunter like a demon.


    ¡°Come on!¡± the old hunter stood his ground, not dodging or evading.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters threw his military saber. The moment the blade left his hand, he entered a Spell-casting state, pouring all the magic power he could muster into the military saber.


    The lioness didn¡¯t dodge or avoid either, but it was too fast; the military saber failed to hit its head and instead skewered three inches off target into its spine.


    With its spine severely injured, the lioness didn¡¯t hesitate, continuing to pounce towards the old hunter and reaching him in the blink of an eye.


    Ralph pushed his left arm into the giant lion¡¯s gaping maw, and the lion bit down hard, severing the hunter¡¯s arm at the elbow.


    Ralph was knocked down by the mother lion, and as the giant lion ravaged him, stepping on his chest, the old hunter¡¯s left arm was ripped directly from his body.


    However, the hunter achieved his goal; as the giant lion tore off his arm, he also left a terrifying gash in the lioness¡¯ abdomen.


    The lioness¡¯s entrails spilled out, but it continued to rip into the hunter. The hunter also used his last strength to slice open the lioness¡¯ belly.


    Everything happened too fast for Winters to intervene. He hit the giant lion with all his might, knocking the several hundred kilogram beast off balance. The lioness stepped on its intestines, pulling even more organs from its gaping abdominal wound.


    Winters shielded the old hunter, and the lioness, looking at Ralph who was now lifeless, howled mournfully, picked up the cub¡¯s body with its mouth, and dragged its bowels to disappear into the bushes, leaving behind a trail of blood.


    Blood sprayed from Ralph¡¯s terrible shoulder wound, and through the hole, one could even see his heart in his chest cavity.


    Winters wanted to stop the old hunter¡¯s bleeding but didn¡¯t know where to begin, as the hunter¡¯s chest, shoulders, and neck were fatally wounded. He held the hunter, who was barely breathing, tears unstoppable.


    ¡°My debt¡­ is paid¡­¡± the dying hunter struggled to utter, his lungs spewing from his mouth, ¡°Look¡­ look after my son¡­¡±


    The hunter¡¯s body suddenly went limp, his pupils dilated, his eyes dimming as he died in Winters¡¯ arms, leaving this world forever behind.


    ¡ª¡ªEnd¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Winters Montagne¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    (This spellbook, being carried around all year round, is worn out and the sides are stained black and yellow. The owner has crossed out and modified much of the content, adding many notes in the margins. In the corner of the title page, there is an abbreviation: W.M.)


    Spell: Startle Beasts


    Type: Composite Spell/Druide Divine Art imitation


    Spellcasting Materials: The dung and urine of large wild beasts


    Description: Mimic the sounds and scents of large beasts to scare herbivores and smaller wild animals. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Note 1: Mr. L said that when wild animals encounter each other in the wild, they don¡¯t start fighting right away. Most of the time they just roar at each other until one side gives in and withdraws. Perhaps this spell is also effective against larger predatory animals.


    Note 2: It works on lions, tested, but only for a short while.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Spell: Arrow Flying Spell Enrichment


    Type: Kinetic Spell


    Description: An Arrow Flying Spell that uses heavy objects as casting materials. It is more difficult, but carries more kinetic energy.


    Note: Not suitable for use on scimitars, perhaps javelins are more appropriate as casting materials.

 Chapter 325: 18 Funeral and Militia

    Chapter 325: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia


    The night before, the young men had dug the grave. It lay in the cemetery of the Wolf Town Church, right next to the resting place of other old Dusacks.


    At this moment, those young people who were born and raised here after their parents had settled in the land, were standing behind the grave with shovels, waiting to fill it back in.


    A few pine boards and a handful of iron nails made up the old Hunter¡¯s coffin. Winters, Gerard, and two other old Dusacks carried the casket all the way to the graveyard.


    They placed the casket next to the grave and stepped aside. There were unexpectedly many people who came to see Ralph off, not just Dusans from Dusa Village, but also villagers from the east and west sides of the river. Even Protestants from Nanxin and Beixin, villages far from the town center, had made the journey to attend the funeral.


    It was only when villagers from the other four villages offered their condolences to Bell that Winters learned Ralph, the Hunter, was also a veterinarian, a herbal doctor, and a forest rescuer. All attending villagers from the four other villages had benefited from his services.


    The Priest Anthony, dressed in full black ceremonial robes, presided over the ritual himself. Holding the gospel book, he chanted the scripture with great eloquence, leading all those in attendance in prayer, and then recited the Catholic funeral prayer once more.


    Having known Ralph for a long time, Winters never thought the respectable Hunter was a Catholic, and neither was his son. The Hunter and his son did not attend Sunday mass, and there were no religious artifacts in their home.


    But when the old Hunter was laid to rest, the funeral held was a Catholic one, which left those who knew the situation unsure how to feel.


    Priest Anthony finished the prayers and looked around before asking, ¡°Would anyone like to say a few words?¡±


    Just as Gerard was about to speak, Sergei stepped forward from the crowd in front of the casket¡ªand it was too late to stop him.


    Gerard Mitchell¡¯s heart immediately jumped to his throat.


    After all, disputes and brawls among Dusans were as likely to be caused by strong liquor as they were by this custom of ¡°saying a few words¡± at a funeral.


    Dusans held funerals and the deceased in high reverence, and they certainly did not have a tradition of speaking only well.


    With immense respect for death, the mourners at the casket would speak their minds, hiding nothing of their true thoughts.


    Such candidness often led to outright shouting matches, followed by hot-tempered Dusacks throwing punches; in some cases, it even escalated to drawing knives, shooting, and consequently, more funerals.


    Gerard now feared that Sergei couldn¡¯t help but say something inappropriate, and any argument or injury was the last thing he wanted to see. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Ralph Pradov, the second son of old Yelmo¡­ there¡¯s no need to introduce him, as you all know who he is.¡± The proud chest of the Dusan that could be seen no matter where he went was gone, as tears welled up in the old man¡¯s eyes.


    Choking back tears, Sergei said, ¡°Yelmonovich was one of our old brothers. Every Dusan of age here had worked as a laborer with him. We stood shoulder to shoulder, fighting against Bumpkins and Northerners, and were sent down south to slay Rebels and fight Herdman. I¡¯ve never seen a better archer than him¡­ The battle at Stony Ford, I can¡¯t say how many Dusacks died there. My horse was stabbed to death, and my thigh had a hole gouged by a Rebel spearman. If Yelmonovich hadn¡¯t carried me on his back, I would have died there too.¡±


    As he spoke, the old man broke down into tears. The villagers from the other villages had complicated expressions on their faces, but many of the old Dusacks were already stealthily wiping away tears.


    Ralph, Sergei¡¯s son, ran out to support Sergei, but the old man insisted on finishing his speech, ¡°We old brothers lose one more each time one passes. I regret! I regret not understanding before! Yelmonovich was a true man, a true Dusan. We used to ostracize him, we wouldn¡¯t let him into the village¡ªwe were bastards! But he has paid his debts, and whatever happened in the past should now be crossed out. A Dusan¡¯s son should also be a Dusan, Ralphnovich should be a Dusan too. That¡¯s all I have to say! If anyone disagrees, I¡¯ll be waiting at my house for you!¡±


    After ¡°saying a few words,¡± old Sergei let go of his son¡¯s hand and strode back to his original position. Winters noticed that the other villagers didn¡¯t react much to the old man¡¯s latter words, but the Dusans were clearly very surprised.


    Perhaps because Sergei¡¯s speech was so impactful, no other Dusans ¡°said a few words,¡± but several villagers from the other four villages did speak of the old Hunter¡¯s kindness to them and expressed their gratitude.


    With this final ceremony completed, the old Hunter¡¯s casket was lowered into the grave. Bell, the young Hunter, tearfully cast the first handful of earth, followed by shovelfuls of soil cascading onto Ralph¡¯s coffin.


    The old Hunter¡¯s grave was gradually filled in, and some couldn¡¯t help but cry softly, while Winters too felt profound sorrow.


    The left arm of the old Hunter was hastily sewn onto the body. Because the corpse was ¡°far too incomplete,¡± no lady dared to perform the sewing, and in the end, it fell upon Winters and Caman to do so.


    Following the blood trail, the militia that arrived later discovered the already dead adult lion and its cubs in a cave. In addition, they found a half-eaten fresh corpse and¡­ the head of the youngest son of the Rostov family.


    There were also some scraps of clothing, but those were of no consequence.


    It was clear that a man-eating lion was to blame. That night, Dusa Village was not attacked by one beast, but by two.

 Chapter 326: 18 Funeral and Militia_2

    Chapter 326: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_2


    To protect the horses, Er Maziteleqing fought against a giant bear, but was overpowered. When he was found, his internals had already been devoured¡ªa behavior consistent with that of bears.


    The couple secretly meeting in the woods unfortunately became the giant lion¡¯s prey. The giant lion dragged away and ate the girl, and after its feast, it killed the boy who had pursued it.


    This explained Ralph¡¯s long-standing question: Why did the beasts, already satiated with horse flesh, still attack the lovers from Dusa Village?


    The day the old hunter and the giant lion perished together, the giant lion had actually killed a villager from Beixin, dragging the corpse back to its lair to enjoy¡ªthis was the half-eaten body the militia had found.


    When Ralph learned that a girl from Beixin had gone into the mountains to gather wood and had not returned, he immediately set out to search. Upon discovering the tracks of the giant beast, he sent his son to seek help from the garrison officer lieutenant, while he himself continued to follow the tracks.


    What happened next caught everyone by surprise.


    Having been identified by the worldly-wise Brother Reed, the giant lion that died at the hands of the old hunter was likely the legendary ¡°cave lion.¡±


    Named after its depiction in cave paintings, this kind of giant lion is also known from ivory carvings and clay sculptures that corroborate its existence.


    However, the issue lies in that the cave paintings and sculptures that recorded the cave lion were created by prehistoric humans, some theologians of the proof-seeking faction even believe that those paintings might predate the construction of the Tower of Babel.


    Therefore, even Brother Reed, who had traveled the world, dared not assert that the creature was the so-called ¡°cave lion,¡± because truly no one had ever seen what a cave lion looked like. The existence of such a beast hasn¡¯t even been recorded in the annals of history.


    If that creature was indeed a cave lion, then this species must have a history spanning at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands of years, which is simply unimaginable.


    But the old mendicant brother could be sure of one thing: that creature was definitely not an ordinary lion. Of all the people in Wolf Town, only Brother Reed claimed to have seen a living lion¡ªhimself.


    The old brother adamantly stated that ordinary lionesses do not look like this, nor are they so large. He hasn¡¯t seen such giant lions anywhere, either in the East or the West. Perhaps only the Nemean lion from the ancient myth of the Twelve Labors of the great hero could possess such a size.


    Winters had only seen the image of a lion on military banners, and the old Dusacks too had seen it on the enemy¡¯s banners. The others had not even seen a drawing of a lion, let alone a live one.


    Thus, Brother Reed held absolute authority, and although others might be skeptical, they could only accept the old brother¡¯s explanation.


    The old mendicant brother wrote to some natural history scholars, entrusting traveling merchants to deliver the letters to Revodan Cathedral, to be sent out through the church¡¯s channels. But no one knew when they would receive a reply.


    The troublesome means of communication reminded Winters where he currently was¡ªafter living in Wolf Town for a while, he had almost forgotten that this place was on the edge of the ¡°civilized world.¡±


    Winters took this opportunity to also send a letter home, using Brother Reed¡¯s church channels as well. The letter itself was a form of information, and he carefully didn¡¯t write too much, merely inquiring about the welfare of his family.


    But the verification work was not urgent; another weighty matter pressed on the minds of the people of Wolf Town: why would such a gigantic beast come to little Wolf Town?


    Winters contemplated more deeply: this was a mother lion with cubs.


    This meant¡­ there was at least the existence of one male lion.


    And even considering that giant bear, it surely must have had a father and mother, right?


    Could it be that within the depths of the forest, in uncharted regions where humans have yet to set foot, beneath those mountains crowned with gold, there lurked yet more gigantic beasts?


    Could these two encounters just be the beginning? S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At this thought, Winters shivered. He suddenly realized that although the two ferocious beasts had been slain, the Wolf Town militia could not be disbanded. Not only could they not disband, but the militia training must become a regular practice.


    Furthermore, they needed to establish an armory and acquire some ¡°real weapons.¡± Thus, next time they encountered an ancient fierce beast, the people of Wolf Town wouldn¡¯t have to face it with just javelins and cavalry swords.


    Otherwise, when he left his post, if another beast calamity occurred, it would be very difficult for Mayor Mitchell, a man of over fifty, to reorganize the militia completely.


    Moreover, the great hero who had dealt with this beast calamity¡ªthe old hunter Ralph¡ªwas no longer alive. Where could this remote little town find another spellcaster officer?


    After Winters shared his thoughts with Gerard, he obtained Gerard¡¯s approval and strong support. Mayor Gerard Mitchell not only supported the normalization of the militia but also strongly suggested establishing a formal guard force in Wolf Town.


    For a town, a town guard and a guard force are essential law enforcement bodies. The town guard is generally full-time, while the guard force members can be either full-time or part-time, depending on the size of the town and its budget.


    The situation in Wolf Town was somewhat awkward. If you call it a town, it has fewer than ten permanent residents, just two dirt roads crossing each other, and no walls.


    By the way, in the common language, the word for townspeople/citizens [Burger] is derived from the word for city walls [Burg], meaning those who dwell within the walls.


    Revodan City¡¯s Wolf Town had nothing, but legally speaking, Wolf Town was indeed a ¡°town.¡± It¡¯s just that before Winters took office, it had neither a town guard nor a guard force.

 Chapter 327: 18 Funeral and Militia_3

    Chapter 327: Chapter 18 Funeral and Militia_3


    So when Gerard was both the mayor and the Garrison Officer, the town government had almost no enforcement ability.


    Even for minor matters like ¡°lumberjacks fighting with villagers¡±, Gerard would have to personally go out with his saber; otherwise, he would have to seek help from his former subordinates in Dusa Village.


    And in fact, such trivial incidents as ¡°lumberjacks fighting with villagers¡± happened quite frequently, occurring almost once a week, much to the annoyance of Mayor Mitchell.


    Even the newly-appointed Winters experienced it once when several young men from the village east of the river were beaten black and blue. At that time, Winters was busy dealing with the threat of wild beasts and let both parties off with a warning after some admonishment.


    In order to realize his desire to make Wolf Town a truly prosperous market town, Gerard Mitchell was very keen to establish a formal security force.


    In his view, a security force might not be necessary, but it could not be nonexistent. Ensuring public safety was essential to attract more people to reside in the town center. It would be best if the security force members were full-time, but part-time would also do.


    Mayor Mitchell even actively proposed to help Winters solve the budget issue by directly funding and hiring a security team for the town.


    The authorities granted to officers stationed in the Newly Reclaimed Land were significant, and the powers of a mayor were also considerable. The Paratu Council only cared about taxes; as long as the taxes were delivered, everything else was inconsequential, and the mayor practically had the same powers as the Empire¡¯s tax farmer.


    Moreover, since all property belonged to the army, the common folk in the Newly Reclaimed Land had to pay taxes for almost everything they did. Going into the mountains to chop wood incurred a tax, fishing in the river incurred a tax, and setting nets to catch birds incurred a tax¡ªthese and many other activities were taxed in addition to the basic agricultural and poll taxes.


    Take a hunter¡¯s family, for example. Besides paying the poll tax and road tax, they had to pay a hunting tax for their activities in the mountains, providing eight deer skins and eight fox skins annually, or paying three large silver coins.


    As for Mitchell¡¯s, they had a small boat, and whether Gerard Mitchell fished or not, they still had to pay the fishing tax.


    These additional taxes were paid annually, and some were mandatory, such as the firewood tax. Even if a farmer only burned his own straw for a whole year, he still had to pay the tax, which was virtually a form of poll tax.


    When Winters heard Monk Reed casually talk about these ¡°exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes¡±, he could hardly believe his ears. The taxes in the Far East Newly Reclaimed Land were completely different from those in Vineta; one could even say they were worlds apart.


    The ruling class of the Vineta Republic almost left the rural areas to fend for themselves. The merchant Republic was innately skilled in calculations and used to weighing everything on a scale as a business deal.


    What the commercial Republic needed was currency¡ªactual silver and gold, precious metals that could be used for trade. Besides that, the Republic needed manpower and material supplies to maintain its trade fleet and urban crafts.


    And what farmers lacked most was precious metals; small households could not save up much money. Transactions among farmers were commonly conducted via bartering year-round. Even the smallest silver coin was too large in ¡°face value¡± for a farmer; it had to be cut into smaller pieces to be used in the rural areas¡ªthat is, ¡°silver fragments¡±.


    Therefore, in the eyes of the rulers of the Vineta Republic: scraping money off farmers was simply too costly. Every silver coin scraped from farmers would cost two silver coins in maintaining the Standing Army that suppressed them.


    What a loss! Such a huge loss! This business was doomed to hemorrhage money!


    And frequent farmer rebellions would also disrupt the supply of materials and labor to cities.


    Therefore, the rural tax system of the Vineta Republic is primarily in-kind, and the supervising government is only responsible for annual taxation and suppressing bandits (as bandits rob caravans on Guzhi Road, which is very bad for business).


    All the wealth of the noble Commercial Republic of Vineta is in the cities, the cities, and the cities.


    The cities are the key; as long as cities can keep receiving a steady supply of materials and labor, do the farmers live or die? The ruling officials of Vineta don¡¯t really care that much.


    However, it is also for this reason that the farm taxes in the Vineta Republic are among the lowest of the republics; farmers just need to pay their grain quota annually.


    Other times? Don¡¯t cause trouble, and fend for yourselves. [Note: However, the farmers of the Vineta Republic do not enjoy any civil rights, such as the right to carry weapons in the city.] sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°They don¡¯t rebel against this? They can tolerate this?¡± Winters said incredulously to the old mendicant monk, ¡°If such taxes were imposed on the farmers of Vineta, Sea Blue City would have been set ablaze by rebels.¡±


    ¡°Lad, do you think the Dusack is for nothing? There is a Dusa Village in every town in the Newly Reclaimed Land. Why do you think the Paratu council goes to such lengths to arrange this? Why is it Dusan Gerard Mitchell who becomes the town mayor?¡± Monk Reed squinted and smiled, patting Winters¡¯ shoulder, ¡°You! Too young, too simple.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ could it be that the Dusack is especially used to suppress the farmers?¡± Winters was almost too shocked to speak coherently, ¡°But I see that Wolf Town¡¯s Dusa Village has a decent relationship with the other villages, right?¡±


    ¡°Decent?¡± the old monk asked with a beaming smile, ¡°Really decent? Lad, I told you your political sense is dull, and you didn¡¯t believe me. If you could distribute some of your martial skills to politics, you might have some potential.¡±


    ¡°Decent¡­ maybe?¡± Winters stammered, recalling carefully, ¡°The two Protestant villages indeed seem unfriendly toward the Dusans, and now that I think of it, the attitudes of the other two villages also seem a bit subtle.¡±


    The old monk laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s right, politics are very subtle. Do you know what the other four villages call Dusa Village behind their backs?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just called Dusa Village?¡±


    ¡°Wrong! They call it ¡®Barbarian¡¯ village. Barbarians, savages, and blood drinkers.¡± The old mendicant monk chanted some ancient verses with a rise and fall in his voice, ¡°Understand?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Winters was at a loss for words for a moment.


    ¡°The relationship between the several villages of Wolfton is actually quite good,¡± Monk Reed said with a light chuckle, savoring a sip of the Mitchell¡¯s homemade grape wine, ¡°Gerard Mitchell, although he seems brash, is simple on the outside but shrewd on the inside, and knows well the ways of lenient governance. He turns a blind eye to the other villages not paying taxes and rather fishing or hunting rabbits. He also overlooks them secretly cultivating on the edges of their lands.


    With Mitchell¡¯s having a ¡®capable wife,¡¯ naturally, the relationships between the villages are quite harmonious. In Newly Reclaimed Land like Wolf Town, there are plenty of small towns; some govern leniently, while others govern strictly. I have visited every small town in the Newly Reclaimed Land, and speaking of places where governance is too harsh, I have seen massacres. Despotic governance is as fierce as a tiger, from the Far East to the Near East, and here as well, the world over is no different.¡±

 Chapter 328: 19 Two Guards

    Chapter 328: Chapter 19 Two Guards


    The words of the old mendicant monk deeply impacted Winters, who countered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Highlands Republic currently akin to sitting atop a volcano?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much, at least that¡¯s the case for the Newly Reclaimed Land,¡± Brother Reed conceded, ¡°Paratu does not restrain amalgamation, and a minority control most of the land. The rich have fields stretching far and wide, like the Mitchell Family; the poor have no place to call their own, not even able to become tenant farmers, only long-term laborers. The landlords¡¯ greed knows no bounds, suppressing the poor to seize even more land for cultivation. If this were in the Far East, chaos would have erupted long ago. In my view, the only reason a peasant revolt has not occurred here is simply due to the ¡®vastness of the land and sparsity of the population¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Old man, you¡¯re not trying to scaremonger, are you?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but defend the Mitchell Family, ¡°You speak of how insatiable landlords can be, yet I think the Mitchells are good people.¡±


    The old monk said serenely, ¡°Gerard is indeed a generous man, but his personal virtues have no bearing on the desires of the entire landlord community. Just as there are good and bad soldiers, but when they are on the battlefield, regardless of their nature, they must fight the enemy. If you look at each individual landlord family, most conduct themselves respectably. But is their consolidation of land untrue?¡±


    When it came to sharp words and endless discourse, how could a green lieutenant compare to a seasoned clergyman?


    Yet Winters remained somewhat unconvinced, ¡°But if these things have existed up to this day, doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s nothing wrong with them?¡±


    ¡°Kid, it¡¯s not ¡®existed¡¯ but ¡®maintained¡¯ up to this day! Politics are not fixed in stone; they are like building blocks, never unchanging,¡± Brother Reed said with increasing mirth. ¡°No one knows what the future holds. Everything has an end; there¡¯s no immortal monarch, no undying nation. Honestly, I¡¯m very curious to see where this system ultimately leads.¡±


    Winters sighed. The old mystic before him had become whimsical once again, a behaviour to which he had grown accustomed. But the true reason for his late-night visit to the mendicant wasn¡¯t this; he had been inadvertently sidetracked by the old man¡¯s ramblings.


    ¡°Enough already,¡± Winters complained, ¡°I came to ask for your views on establishing a Standing Peacekeeping Force in Wolf Town, but instead of addressing the issue, you went on and on about irrelevant matters.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m offering you advice because I think highly of you,¡± Brother Reed said, feigning anger, ¡°Don¡¯t be ungrateful, boy. An old man¡¯s time is very precious.¡±


    Winters¡¯s original idea was simply not to disband the militia but to keep up with weekly training sessions. However, Mayor Mitchell¡¯s suggestion took a much bigger step forward, causing Lieutenant Montaigne to hesitate.


    If he were in Sea Blue, Winters could discuss any doubts with Antonio, seeking advice from an elder was not a source of embarrassment for him.


    In Wolfton, he had no one to rely on; Bard and Andre were tens of kilometers away. Yet he was eager to hear others¡¯ thoughts on the matter, preferably objective and neutral ones.


    After much thought, he could only seek Brother Reed¡¯s opinion. After all, the old monk, ninety-five years old (or so he claimed), had accrued wisdom ¡ª a fact even Winters had to admit ¡ª and moreover, Reed was a disinterested third party.


    ¡°Alright, enough, drink up and let¡¯s talk business. Is it really feasible to organize a Standing Peacekeeping Force in a small place like Wolfton?¡± Winters glanced at the nearly empty bottle on the table. It was customary to bring a gift when seeking advice, so Winters had brought a bottle of wine with him, not expecting the mendicant monk to become so talkative upon drinking.


    ¡°Done!¡± Brother Reed spread out his hands, ¡°It seems all I said before was for nothing.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Do I have to spell everything out for you?¡± Brother Reed said helplessly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s feasible. In a small place like Wolfton, with Gerard¡¯s support and yours, it will certainly succeed.¡±


    ¡°I think Wolf Town is too small to afford a salaried soldier,¡± Winters expressed his concern, ¡°to force the establishment of a peacekeeping force, isn¡¯t that just adding a burden to the civilians?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not for you to worry about. Let Gerard handle the money, and you manage the people,¡± Brother Reed said dismissively, ¡°Military texts say fifteen working-age men can support one soldier. With you and Gerard working together, forming a small squad of constables should be a piece of cake. If full-time soldiers can¡¯t be sustained, then go for part-time farmers and part-time fighters.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t there be objections?¡±


    ¡°Who dares to object?¡± The old monk¡¯s eyebrows shot up, ¡°What is the peacekeeping force for?¡±


    Winters suddenly remembered the Standing Army of Vineta, which seemed more preoccupied with internal matters than external. His enthusiasm waned, ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll proceed according to Mayor Mitchell¡¯s wishes.¡± S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No! It must be according to your wishes,¡± Brother Reed said, stroking his beard at a leisurely pace, ¡°The key to the peacekeeping force lies in the selection of its members. You cannot entrust this to anyone else; you must pick them yourself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Consider what would happen if you let Gerard recommend and pick personnel,¡± the old monk chuckled, prompting Winters to think.


    After contemplating for a moment, Winters ventured a guess, ¡°All Dusans?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, if Gerard does the choosing, then the peacekeeping force will definitely be all Dusans,¡± Reed scoffed, ¡°The Dusans are brave and fierce, excellent horsemen, and how could any farmer compete with them even in a fair selection? But you aren¡¯t just the Garrison Officer for Dusa Village; you are for the entire Wolf Town. The structure of the peacekeeping force must be balanced, or the other villages won¡¯t accept it.¡±

 Chapter 329: 19 Two Guards_2

    Chapter 329: Chapter 19 Two Guards_2


    The old seer does speak sense, Winters mused with a nod, ¡°So what should we do? Select one person from each village?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, select one person from each village.¡± Brother Reed looked at Winters with satisfaction, ¡°Dusa Village can select two or three. That way, the Dusans won¡¯t have any idle talk. No one will be satisfied, but everyone can accept it. That¡¯s the subtlety of politics.¡±


    This kind of calculation made Winters feel bored, he sighed, ¡°Mr. Reed, there¡¯s something else I would like to ask for your advice on.¡±


    Then, Winters recounted Sergei¡¯s eulogy and carefully described the different reactions of the Dusans and the other villagers.


    ¡°What exactly does Sergei mean? Who is Ralphnovich?¡± Winters asked, ¡°He seemed to only say a few words of praise, so why were the other Dusans so surprised?¡±


    ¡°Why do you care about the Dusan¡¯s affairs?¡± Brother Reed raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Before Ralph passed away, he entrusted me with the care of his son.¡± Mentioning the old Hunter, Winters still felt a bit sad, ¡°I need to understand what Sergei meant and whether he has any ill will towards Bell.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Brother Reed sighed too, ¡°Ralph was indeed a rare good man, a pity.¡±


    The old Brother stroked his beard and said with a frown, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sergei probably means well. Ralphnovich means ¡®son of Ralph¡¯; he¡¯s trying to restore the status of Dusack to Ralph¡¯s son.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? Isn¡¯t Bell a Dusan? Half a Dusan?¡± Winters was entering an area of ignorance.


    ¡°Dusans and Dusack, these are two different concepts.¡± Brother Reed explained, leaning on the table, ¡°To be accurate, Dusans aren¡¯t a race but a way of life. Those who follow a specific lifestyle are called Dusans; their bloodlines can be said to be a complete mess, with ancestors of all sorts.


    Moreover, not every Dusan is a Dusack. Ralph must have been stripped of his Dusack status, hence he couldn¡¯t live in Dusa Village. If the father isn¡¯t a Dusack, then naturally, the son can¡¯t be either. Sergei wants to restore the Dusack status for Ralph¡¯s son. This is a good thing for little Bell.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the status of Dusack is tied to the land,¡± Brother Reed countered. ¡°Do you know what the appanage system is?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Brother Reed, who had been sitting for too long and felt stiff, stood up and began pacing, ¡°In the Empire on the other side of Sheltering Mountain, the Dusacks are called ¡®the Emperor¡¯s whip.¡¯ They have a very special way of life; every male Dusack is born to serve for life, and must provide their own warhorse. As a reward, the Emperor grants them bountiful land, enough to make them affluent farmers and small landowners.


    The Emperor gives land to the Dusacks, so when he orders the Dusacks to kill someone, they do it without the slightest hesitation. Therefore, the Dusacks are mostly used to suppress rebellions; they never show mercy when killing farmers, that¡¯s why they¡¯re called ¡®the whip.¡¯ That is the appanage system.¡±


    Winters nodded as he listened, ¡°But if they are serving for life, how can they farm? What use is land to them?¡±


    ¡°Serving for life doesn¡¯t mean being in the army forever,¡± the old Brother smirked, ¡°The appanage system is a very complex one. Dusacks first serve a term of six years, then they can return home to their land. After an interval of several years, they serve a second term of three years. Life service means they are always on the roster, ready to respond to the call-up at any time.¡±


    Winters quietly uttered an ¡°oh.¡±


    Brother Reed continued thoughtfully, ¡°The problem is that the Dusacks¡¯ settlement is within the Empire, and the Dusans are subjects of the Empire. Although I¡¯m not sure how these Dusans ended up in Paratu¡­ But as far as I know, Paratu¡¯s council treats them the same way the Emperor does, exchanging land for loyalty. So for these Dusans, it¡¯s simply a change of master holding the whip, nothing else different.


    And among the Dusans, the men who serve for life are called Dusacks¡ªnaturally, women aren¡¯t. And only the Dusacks can serve, receive land, and start families. The status of Dusack is both a duty and a right. Sergei wants to allow Ralph¡¯s son to serve, receive land, and return to Dusa Village. It¡¯s a good thing for the boy, no need to worry.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯s biggest worry was that the local toughs would trouble the young Hunter. Now that he understood Sergei¡¯s intentions towards Bell were good, Winters also breathed a sigh of relief.


    As it was getting late, Winters took his leave from Brother Reed.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Over the following days, Winters and Gerard devoted their energies to mundane affairs.


    The wounds of Wolf Town were gradually healing. Life had to go on, and people began to stop bringing up those who had died, as if by this means they could forget the pain.


    The beast calamity began to slowly evolve from a vivid memory in people¡¯s minds into a fading tale recounted by the elders, all of which Winters observed closely.


    He visited every grieving family, encountered cold stares and hostility, but also gratitude. He could never make up for the loss of loved ones to their families, but he did everything in his power to provide comfort to the families of the deceased and injured.


    In comparison, organizing a standing militia was much simpler and easier.


    As the Garrison Officer, Winters changed the Sunday archery training into militia training.

 Chapter 330: 19 Two Guards_3

    Chapter 330: Chapter 19 Two Guards_3


    Every Sunday morning, the men from the villages would go to the town center to attend the worship service and then receive military training in the afternoon.


    Since the initial purpose was merely to prepare for beastly disasters, rather than to send the militia into battle, the training program Winters had devised did not include formations or close-order drills. It was simply basic weapon use, plus some tactics against wild beasts that Winters had summarized.


    The old Hunter was no longer there; Winters had originally wanted the militia to patrol the nearby woods once a week. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, he realized that patrolling and standing guard were the tasks requiring the most perseverance, something the militia certainly couldn¡¯t sustain in the long run. Therefore, all he could do was to instruct those who went into the mountains to collect firewood to pay extra attention to the situation within the woods.


    The preparation for the public order militia was even smoother, as Winters unexpectedly found that money was not an issue at all.


    Although Wolfton only had a permanent population of less than ten, it was, procedurally, an unquestionable ¡°town.¡± Thus, after the villages were merged, two percent of the annual taxation collection was allocated as the town government¡¯s financial budget.


    And the mayor of Wolf Town was astonishingly incorruptible; Winters had never seen a public official as upright as Gerard Mitchell in his entire life.


    Mayor Mitchell ate and lived at his own home, rode his own horse, the horse¡¯s feed was also his own, and even the position of secretary was filled by Panveche, the butler who came with Mrs. Mitchell when she married.


    Apart from hiring farmers from the surrounding villages to repair the dirt roads in winter, there were no other expenses for Gerard after serving as mayor for more than a decade.


    Oh, there was one recent additional expense¡ªpaying Brother Reed, the clergy scribe, his copying salary.


    Panveche, the butler who also served as the scribe and accountant, kept the accounts very neatly, making the use and surplus of the town government¡¯s funds clear at a glance.


    The surplus from over the years had accumulated into a reasonable sum of money, more than enough to set up a small armory. Winters had no intention of making the public order militia too large; he even thought a ten-man squad [eight-person team] was a bit much.


    [Note: A ten-man squad is fully staffed with only eight men. ¡°Ten-man squad¡± is just the customary term.]


    Moreover, as a ¡°tax-farming official¡± by nature, Mayor Mitchell theoretically had the right to impose an additional ¡°security tax¡± on the people of Wolf Town.


    But considering Wolf Town¡¯s sound financial situation, there was no need for such a measure for the time being.


    After discussing and gaining understanding from the village heads of the five villages, the matters of the Wolfton town public order militia were quickly settled.


    Under Wolfton, there were five villages; Winters would select one person from each village to serve as a part-time guard.


    The part-time guards also received a salary and were not taken away from their normal lives. They provided services only when needed, such as helping maintain order on Sundays.


    On weekdays, the part-time guards lived in their villages like the other farmers and were responsible for the routine public order of each village.


    Winters would also select a few individuals to serve as full-time guards whose membership wasn¡¯t restricted to any single village and whose appointment was decided solely by him.


    The total number of both full-time and part-time guards combined would not exceed one ten-man squad [eight persons], meaning that there could be at most three full-time guards.


    As the old clergyman said: No one is completely satisfied, but everyone can accept it. Thus, in the end, no one opposed Winters.


    Winters actually found even having three full-time guards a bit excessive since he was usually in the town hall. With a Spellcaster officer stationed there, in reality, there was no need for any guards, as Lieutenant Montaigne alone could settle everything.


    Even considering the day he might return to Vineta, having one or two full-time guards in town would be sufficient, and Winters already had a very suitable candidate in mind.


    ¡­


    ¡°Me? You want me to be a guard in town?¡± Anglu, the young stable boy, widened his eyes, the bruises on his face still fresh. His voice was hoarse as he exclaimed, ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t be serious!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± Winters patted the stable boy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You can¡¯t be a stable boy forever, right? Being a guard won¡¯t interfere with your farming duties. You can start working in the town and continue until you¡¯re twenty. After you¡¯ve completed your service, you can take up the post again. I¡¯ve spoken to Mayor Mitchell; he¡¯ll hold the position for you.¡±


    Winters had always taken a liking to this small stable boy, familiar with horses, because he always reminded him of Bard. Not to mention, during the bear hunt, the stable boy had saved his life, which made him even more determined to find an opportunity to express his gratitude.


    Anglu looked down at his toes, humming softly, ¡°Actually¡­ I really like being a stable boy.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters was puzzled. ¡°Why?¡±


    According to Brother Reed, the status of a stable boy in Dusan society was not high, often assigned to punished Dusacks or Dusan men unfit for battle.


    ¡°Because as a stable boy, I can ride horses whenever I want. Being able to ride is enough to make me happy,¡± Anglu murmured. ¡°I don¡¯t own a Warhorse. If I¡¯m not a stable boy, I won¡¯t be able to ride at all, so I don¡¯t want to be a guard in town.¡±


    Winters laughed, ¡°Boy, being able to ride is enough for you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s enough,¡± the stable boy shrugged.


    Thinking it over, Winters decided to persuade him in a different way, ¡°Your Dusack service requires you to provide your own Warhorse, right?¡±


    ¡°When serving, we¡¯re given some money to buy a horse,¡± Anglu answered quietly.


    ¡°Is that money enough to buy a Warhorse?¡±


    Anglu¡¯s head drooped further, his voice even quieter, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±


    ¡°So, what will you do? Without a Warhorse, without gear, you can¡¯t go¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, ¡°¡­serve. Can you still get your allotment of land?¡±


    Anglu fell silent, the adolescent¡¯s immature mind nearly on the verge of tears after just a few words.


    Seizing the moment, Winters pressed on, ¡°You don¡¯t get paid as a stable boy, but being a guard in town comes with a salary. You can save the money you earn and, although you won¡¯t be able to ride freely for a while, by the time you reach twenty, your savings plus the horse-buying allowance should be enough to afford a Warhorse. Then you can serve. Once you return from your service and receive your allotment of land, you¡¯ll be a true Dusack, with your own land, Warhorse, and family¡­¡±


    Anglu burst into tears with a ¡°waah¡± and nodded in agreement to become a ¡°guard¡± in town.


    ¡°Why are you crying, boy?¡± Winters, unable to help himself, ruffled the stable boy¡¯s hair. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll never saddle up again. I can lend you Redmane to ride.¡±


    ¡°My mother¡­¡± Anglu, with sobs in his voice, ¡°¡­she hoped to see me become a Dusack before she passed. I never thought I¡¯d be one in my lifetime¡­¡±


    Winters felt a tinge of sadness himself; he squeezed the boy¡¯s shoulder, saying nothing.


    ¡°And¡­ Sir¡­¡± Anglu wiped away his tears with force, ¡°please don¡¯t wear out Rejek too much, you need to take good care of him. Since Trellgreen is gone, Rejek is the only stallion left for next year¡¯s village herd¡­ but you don¡¯t seem to care for him¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for Redmane¡­¡± Winters laughed in sheer exasperation, smacking the stable boy¡¯s head lightly, ¡°Then you¡¯ll take care of Redmane from now on. Once you¡¯re in town, you¡¯ll be in charge of tending to my horses!¡±


    Winters intended to appoint only two full-time guards in town and the young stable boy Anglu claimed one of the spots. The other had already been decided upon well in advance.


    The young Hunter, Bell, was brought from his cabin in the woods by Winters and became the second official guard of Wolf Town¡¯s watch.

 Chapter 331: 20: The Police Station

    Chapter 331: Chapter 20: The Police Station


    This was an ordinary day in early September, and there hadn¡¯t been any more violent animal attacks for over half a month. It seemed the wolf disaster was thoroughly over.


    Life in Wolf Town was gradually returning to normal, but in some ways, it would never be able to return to its original course.


    Winters had been in office for over a month, and he had gradually become familiar with and adapted to life in Wolf Town.


    The days here were bland and quiet, and the people around him were all very friendly. Before he knew it, his ¡°salted fish¡± attributes had stealthily awakened, and he began to entertain the idea: perhaps settling down in this quiet little town wasn¡¯t a bad choice.


    That afternoon, after leaving the carpenter¡¯s house, Winters went straight back to the town hall.


    Pushing the door open, Panveche was still hunched over his table, writing and calculating as always. Nodding in greeting, Winters walked into the office.


    Gerard wasn¡¯t in the town hall, and the only person in the room was the old mendicant monk Reed, who was comfortably dozing in a recliner by the window.


    Winters, irritated, lightly kicked the recliner. It took a while for the old man to slowly open his eyes.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Perhaps they snuck out to play?¡± Monk Reed replied indifferently.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to do something about it?¡±


    ¡°The master leads the way, personal cultivation is up to the individual. I¡¯ve always been¡­¡± The old monk yawned and with a sing-song intonation recited a foreign saying, ¡°[Celican] Jiang Taigong fishes, those who are willing will take the bait.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t understand what the old monk was saying in the latter half, but he knew that arguing with a charlatan was a complete waste of breath.


    He stormed out of the town hall, and yelled toward the backyard, ¡°All of you, get over here!¡±


    Soon enough, Bell was the first to come over with his head hung low, followed by Anglu, and then Pierre, the son of Mayor Mitchell. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The three youngsters didn¡¯t dare to meet Winters¡¯ gaze, trying their best to avoid the lieutenant¡¯s eyes, and Winters rounded them all up and brought them back to the town hall.


    Monk Reed coughed softly and began to lecture with feigned seriousness, ¡°[Celican] I am well-versed and well-travelled, deigning to come enlighten you. Yet you boys fail to appreciate it, little do you know that while you may play today, you will surely regret it later¡­¡±


    ¡°Who understands what you¡¯re saying!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Don¡¯t use a language others can¡¯t understand to lecture!¡±


    After getting to know him better, Winters had discovered that the old charlatan liked to mumble in Far Eastern language whenever he had drunk alcohol or when he wanted to tease someone.


    ¡°I accidentally slipped into my mother tongue, sorry, sorry.¡± There was no hint of an apology in Monk Reed¡¯s expression, ¡°But these youngsters neglecting their studies, Lieutenant Sir, you are also responsible.¡±


    ¡°What responsibility do I have?¡±


    The old monk spoke eloquently, ¡°For something like basic education, Mr Panveche is more than capable. Isn¡¯t it a misuse of your great talent to have me doing this sort of thing?¡±


    ¡°I would be delighted to have Mr Panveche do it,¡± Winters said with a sneer, ¡°How about you take over Mr Panveche¡¯s clerical work and you two switch jobs?¡±


    It was only after bringing the groom and the young Hunter to town that Winters realized how appalling the two boys¡¯ level of education was.


    They could identify individual letters, but when strung together, they didn¡¯t recognize the words. Two boys, fifteen or sixteen years old, couldn¡¯t even write their own names, and they had to use their fingers to add or subtract numbers within ten.


    It wasn¡¯t really their fault, because most people in Wolf Town were illiterate. The Dusacks were even more so, and Mayor Gerard Mitchell himself was also illiterate.


    Winters, who hailed from the Republic, believed that possessing some writing and arithmetic ability would be very useful to Bell and Anglu. At the very least, they would be able to understand the simplest contracts and accounts in the future and not be cheated.


    Therefore, Winters decided to hire a teacher for Bell and Anglu, to teach them the most basic words and arithmetic.


    The most suitable for this job was, of course, Panveche. The middle-aged steward wrote a beautiful script and kept clear accounts. What was most admirable was that he was diligent, serious, and responsible.


    But Panveche was already burdened with multiple roles, including steward, scribe, and accountant, and his work was very busy. Winters really couldn¡¯t bear to add another burden to him.


    The cultural level of the two clerics at the Wolf Town church was also sufficient, and it was said that some great nobles would employ priests as family tutors, and the rest would simply hire someone to read and write for them.


    But Priests Anthony and Caman wouldn¡¯t come to teach two poor lads to read and do arithmetic, even if Winters himself asked.


    As for the other literate farmers and craftsmen in Wolf Town,they could barely read and write themselves, and teaching was probably beyond their ability.


    After much consideration, Winters realized that only Monk Reed was left as an option.


    Although the old mendicant monk was from the Far East, after his conversion and sanctification, he had also studied for several years at the Catholic seminary, so his educational level was beyond doubt.


    And based on Winters¡¯ own impressions: Reed did not have the inherent arrogance that other clerics did.


    As ¡°God¡¯s shepherds,¡± even the most humble clerics are arrogant at heart, because they believe themselves closer to God and heaven than anyone else. The metaphor of ¡°shepherd¡± itself is the greatest arrogance.


    But Monk Reed, this old charlatan, did not have this problem. He could apply for a copyist job without a blush, and teaching poor boys to read probably wouldn¡¯t hurt his dignity. It was likely just as the old man himself said, ¡°I became a priest for the convenience of traveling.¡±


    So after some negotiations, Winters agreed to pay an extra salary for a teacher, and Reed agreed to teach Bell and Anglu literacy and arithmetic.

 Chapter 332: 20: The Public Security Bureau _2

    Chapter 332: Chapter 20: The Public Security Bureau _2


    But Winters hadn¡¯t anticipated that the old charlatan¡¯s laziness was an ingrained habit. The young Hunter and Horseboy often found excuses to skip out on lessons. Reed didn¡¯t mind; in fact, he was happy for the free time.


    ¡°Earning an extra salary, you should at least do some work, right?¡± Winters sarcastically said to the old charlatan.


    Unexpectedly, Brother Reed casually pointed at Pierre, ¡°If it¡¯s just teaching these two youngsters to read and do arithmetic, then Mr. Mitchell is surely up to the task.¡±


    The reason Pierre was there was because of his mother.


    Upon hearing that Lieutenant Montaigne had requested Father Reed to teach the two little Dusacks, Mrs. Mitchell sent Pierre over too.


    However, Mr. Mitchell was already literate and could do arithmetic. According to Gerard Mitchell, it was his wife¡ªMrs. Ellen Mitchell¡ªwho had personally taught their son when he was young.


    Winters had no choice but to explain that he had only asked Father Reed to enlighten the two little Dusacks, and that Mr. Mitchell wouldn¡¯t learn anything new.


    But to his surprise, Mrs. Mitchell replied, ¡°It would be beneficial for Pierre to spend more time in the company of Father Reed and Lieutenant Montaigne. The boy is always getting into trouble; we ask that you strictly supervise him for us.¡±


    With Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s reasoning, Winters had no room to object. Moreover, ever since he had arrived in Wolf Town, he was deeply indebted to the generosity of the Mitchell family. Compared to that assistance, adding another desk and chair beside the two little Dusacks was hardly a repayment.


    Thus, Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell became the third student of Brother Reed, who, far from refusing newcomers, did not take the opportunity to ask Winters for a raise.


    Anglu and Pierre were already playmates, and Bell, who had temporarily lived with the Mitchells during the wolf calamity, had also become part of their group.


    Nominally, Anglu and Bell were guards, but in reality, they had little to do. Pierre, as the sole child of the estate owner and mayor, also had nothing to do and was idly mischievous.


    The three little Dusacks, when together, didn¡¯t merely cause three times the trouble¡ªthey caused trouble to the third power.


    Whenever Winters left the town hall, the three boys would sneak away right after him. Old Reed would turn a blind eye, very pleased to have more time for a nap.


    Fortunately, all three had both respect and fear for Winters, so he still had them under control.


    Back inside the town hall, Pierre was caught off guard when Father Reed called on him.


    The old monk, without wasting words, wrote a few sentences on a piece of paper and handed it to Pierre, ¡°Kid, read this.¡±


    Pierre took the note, looking blankly at Father Reed.


    ¡°Read it!¡± The old monk, who knew not where he got the vine stick from, gave Mr. Mitchell a whack.


    Pierre jumped in fright and stammered, ¡°Clumsy, stupid Jinding Mountains. Fuck. Sheep. Herders¡­ is the best description for my friends¡­ Anglu and Bell.¡±


    Anglu and Bell initially struggled to hold back their laughter at the first part, but they were stunned when they heard the end.


    Brother Reed yawned and said indifferently to the other two little Dusacks, ¡°Do you understand now? If you can¡¯t read, you won¡¯t even understand when others are insulting you.¡±


    After that, Reed asked a few mixed operation math problems. Each time, he first asked the other two little Dusacks, and while they were still counting on their fingers, Reed would turn the question to Pierre.


    Pierre quickly gave the answers, but his voice became lower and lower, while the other two little Dusacks became increasingly ashamed and silent.


    Brother Reed yawned again and asked carelessly, ¡°You¡¯re about the same age. Pierre already knows how to read and calculate, what about you two?¡±


    The little Horseboy Anglu hung his head, and the young Hunter Bell clenched his fists tightly, staring at Father Reed. Pierre, at a loss, sought help from Winters with his eyes.


    ¡°Oh well, I won¡¯t be hard on you,¡± sighed Brother Reed, before scribbling something on the paper and passing it to the two little Dusacks, ¡°You two just copy the word I wrote here, and you don¡¯t have to come to class anymore. You can¡¯t fail to do even this, can you?¡±


    Bell was the first to grab a pen and paper, leaning over the table to get to work.


    The young Hunter wasn¡¯t writing; he was tracing. He imitated every curve very carefully, but still, his letters were crooked and twisted, like those of a child just learning to write. After finishing, he passed the feather pen to Anglu.


    Anglu looked pitifully at Winters, who nodded expressionlessly.


    So, the little stable boy also leaned over the table and copied it. However, because he pressed too hard, the tip of the feather pen broke off.


    ¡°No need to rush, write slowly, try to write better,¡± said the old monk, handing Anglu a new feather pen.


    In the end, Anglu also completed the ¡°copy,¡± his handwriting was even more dreadful to behold than Bell¡¯s.


    Monk Reed took the paper back and examined it carefully, then sneered and asked, ¡°Are you idiots? You just write when asked to write? Do you know what this is?¡±


    The two young Dusacks stood there petrified.


    The old monk unfolded the paper¡ªhe had handed out a folded sheet, and on a part Bell and Anglu had not seen, there was additional content.


    Monk Reed shook the paper in his hand and said, ¡°This is a ¡®slave contract,¡¯ and by signing it just now, you are no longer free men but my slaves. I can trade or execute you as I please.¡±


    The two young Dusacks were stunned.


    ¡°Think I¡¯m scaring you?¡± the old monk scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? Let the lieutenant and young Michel have a look.¡±


    With that, he passed the contract to Winters.


    After reading through it carefully, Winters said, ¡°This is indeed a standard personal rights trade contract. Paratu doesn¡¯t allow the use of slaves, but permits the slave trade, and Monk Reed now has the right to sell you elsewhere. However, this contract is not valid in Vineta, because Vineta does not allow any form of slavery. If you escape to Vineta, you¡¯ll be free.¡±


    Pierre took over the paper and, after reading it, also confirmed Winters¡¯s words.


    ¡°It was you who tricked us into signing!¡± Bell yelled angrily.


    ¡°Who can prove that?¡± the mendicant monk said with disdain, ¡°You were the ones who signed this contract in black and white. If anyone¡¯s to blame, it¡¯s you for being illiterate¡ªsigning anything without knowing what it is, not realizing you¡¯re being sold into slavery. Don¡¯t agree? Here! Pierre, you write it down too, just like I did.¡±


    After saying this, Father Reed thrust the contract into Pierre¡¯s hands.


    Pierre stood there dumbfounded, not moving to write.


    ¡°Look! Mr. Mitchell knows what this is and knows not to sign,¡± the old monk taunted. ¡°But what about you two? You know nothing, signing whatever I tell you to. You didn¡¯t learn the shrewdness of the Dusacks, inheriting only their recklessness.¡±


    Anglu was flushed with shame, while Bell¡¯s eyes were filled with fury.


    Monk Reed didn¡¯t waste any more words, tearing the contract in two and stuffing it into the hands of the two young Dusacks. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Take it,¡± the old monk said with indifference. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to be sold into slavery without warning in the future, go learn all the words on it with Mr. Mitchell. If he doesn¡¯t teach you, then he intends to trap you. Now, out you go.¡±


    Bell was the first to turn and leave the room; Anglu followed him, and Pierre also hastily pursued them after giving a bow.


    Once the three young Dusacks had left the town hall, Winters could not help but ask, ¡°Is it necessary to do this with a few children?¡±


    ¡°Sixteen is not so young. Had they not been Dusacks, they might have already married,¡± the old monk yawned. ¡°And who knows, maybe these kids will hate me for a lifetime, but they might never learn the lesson.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve thrown all the teaching work to Pierre, aren¡¯t you just collecting a salary for nothing?¡± Winters suddenly grasped the crux of the matter.


    Monk Reed laughed heartily, ¡°Teaching someone to read is not worth money; knowing how to teach someone to read is worth a salary.¡±


    While the lieutenant and the monk chatted idly in the town hall, a new wooden house was rising across the road.


    Whole logs were being transported from the logging site by cart, and carpenters, plasterers, and laborers toiled, sweating profusely, with one wall already erected.


    This was the number one event in town recently, an important piece in the puzzle of the prosperity and growth of Wolfton, longed for by Gerard Mitchell.


    This wooden house, projected to be even bigger than the town hall, is the future Wolf Town Security Office, which will have functions like the stationed officer¡¯s office, an armory, jail cells, and barracks for the guards.


    Whether Winters liked it or not, whether the impact was good or bad, he had ultimately left his mark on this land.

 Chapter 333: 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig

    Chapter 333: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig


    As dusk set in, two men were still bustling in the blacksmith shop.


    The elder blacksmith, Misha, held a red-hot iron billet while the younger blacksmith, Berlion, swung his hammer. Their shadows danced against the wall, following the flickering flames, as if performing some special kind of dance.


    With every strike from Berlion, Misha would adeptly adjust the angle. The two blacksmiths worked seamlessly together, swiftly forging a curved sword blank from the billet.


    Misha tossed the formed sword blank into an oil barrel and called for his assistant to prepare the hilt.


    Berlion went to the back of the shop to retrieve a wooden hilt made from the resilient and comfortable to hold edge material of oak, which had been pre-shaped to fit the user¡¯s hand.


    The hilt, carved with spiral grooves, was tightly wrapped by Berlion with milky stingray skin, glued together with glue made from fish bladders. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After ensuring it was securely glued, the young blacksmith placed a can of black ink near the forge to warm it, and started to lacquer the hilt.


    For Winters, who was watching from the side, the earlier work of the two smiths, while interesting, wasn¡¯t anything special.


    But when the ink-dipped brush touched the stingray skin, he was dazzled.


    Under the effect of the black lacquer, an exquisite and meticulous pattern emerged on the originally unremarkable skin, tempting one to touch it at just a glance. The black ink had become a magical stroke that turned the decayed into the divine.


    The real marvel came afterwards, as Berlion, having completed lacquering and drying, pulled out a spool of silver wire.


    After securing one end of the silver wire to the tail of the hilt, the young blacksmith began to wrap it along the grooves. Soon, the black leather was divided into evenly spaced segments by the fine silver lines.


    There was no use of gold, no embedding of gems. Yet, in Winters¡¯ eyes, this sword hilt was no less exquisite than any royal¡¯s ceremonial sword hung at their waist.


    The black stingray skin contrasted with the bright silver wire, not only looking refined but also practical. The simplicity and elegance made the glittering ceremonial swords seem vulgar in comparison.


    Not only were Winters¡¯ eyes glued to the young blacksmith¡¯s hands, but even the old blacksmith Misha couldn¡¯t help but marvel.


    A door in his memory was flung open, and Winters suddenly recalled where he had seen similar craftsmanship, or rather, a similar style and aesthetic.


    It was on a dagger that had almost claimed his life¡ªthe hilt of Sofia¡¯s dagger was strikingly similar to this sword hilt.


    The wrapping of the silver wire was quickly finished, and the remaining finishing touches were simple, just assembling the various parts onto the blade before delivery. But it seemed to the young blacksmith, these were not yet the final touches.


    After temporarily fixing the sword blank, hilt, and counterweight, Berlion handed the sword to Winters, saying briefly, ¡°Try it for yourself first.¡±


    This was a single-handed sword, one of the weapons Winters had ordered days before. The blade was an off-the-shelf item Misha had someone buy from the city of Revodan, a journey that took nearly half a month for the traveling merchant to complete.


    Winters then pressed the tip of the sword into the ground and pushed downward, bending the blade to the side in an arch. When he let go, the blade sprang back naturally.


    The lieutenant narrowed his eyes to examine it, and the sword remained perfectly straight, showing no sign of warping.


    He hacked on the spherical anvil used for testing swords several times. As he gradually increased the force of his blows, the sword still held firm, experiencing no bends or breaks at the front.


    Winters nodded, pleased.


    Misha, the blacksmith from Dusack, lamented from the side, ¡°Man compares with man ¡¯til one is blue, goods compare with goods ¡¯til one is thrown through! The ready-made blades from the steel fort are much better than my work; if my swords were tested like this, they would have broken already. There¡¯s no comparison, not really.¡±


    ¡°These blades have been tempered again; they¡¯re a bit tougher,¡± the young blacksmith simply said.


    Winters swung the sword in the air a few times, the stingray-skin and silver-wire hilt feeling extremely good in his hand. It was comfortable to grip without being abrasive, and the grooves provided a way to wick away sweat, keeping the hilt from becoming slippery.


    ¡°The balance is a bit to the rear; adjust it a bit forward, to about a foot in front of the blade,¡± Winters returned the sword.


    The current center of gravity on this single-handed sword was near the blade, but Winters preferred it a bit more forward for more power in a swing.


    The advantage of a custom weapon is that everything can be changed, but in reality, there¡¯s not much that can be altered about the weapon itself.


    Special requests from buyers are mostly reflected in decoration, and that¡¯s why Winters was in the blacksmith shop¡ªMisha had invited him to come and pick a decorative style.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to etch any patterns on the blade?¡± the elder blacksmith couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters said with a smile, shaking his head, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that weaken the strength of the blade?¡±


    Misha waved his hands dismissively, ¡°No problem, it doesn¡¯t really affect it. After all, a sword should have some patterns on it to look nice.¡±


    ¡°I prefer simplicity,¡± Winters stated.


    Misha said regretfully, ¡°Etching is a real skill, probably only Berlion is capable of it in the whole region. It¡¯s really a pity not to try. Well, if you ever want to add some decorations to your sword, come back.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters pondered, then casually remarked, ¡°Even as a layperson, I can tell that your sword-making skills are truly impressive.¡±


    ¡°Me, an old guy, make swords? I only know how to forge farm tools,¡± Misha said with a pleased smile, patting the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulder, ¡°This lad is the truly skilled one! The swordsmiths in Revodan can¡¯t even compare to him. The only pity is that he¡¯s in such a small place; if he were in a big city, he would have made a fortune by now.¡±

 Chapter 334: 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_2

    Chapter 334: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_2


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that,¡± Berlion whispered, his brief words slipping out.


    The young blacksmith was quiet and sparing with his words, spending most of his time immersed in his work without a sound. If there wasn¡¯t any work, he would just sit on the chair in the corner, staring at the furnace.


    ¡°There is no need to be modest. Excessive modesty is a form of arrogance. With your skills, if you went to Sea Blue, you could have orders lined up until next year,¡± Winters said casually. ¡°I still don¡¯t know where your hometown is? Berlion.¡±


    ¡°To the north.¡±


    ¡°The Empire?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where in the Empire?¡±


    The young blacksmith raised his head to meet Winters¡¯s gaze for a moment before quickly lowering it again: ¡°Solingen.¡±


    ¡°You are from Steel Castle? Little Berlion, I had no idea!¡± exclaimed the old blacksmith, surprised. ¡°No wonder your craftsmanship is so good, coming from the famed blacksmiths of Steel Castle.¡±


    Winters had heard a little about the renown of Steel Castle Solingen. He smiled and asked, ¡°Steel Castle is quite far from here, so how did you end up in Paratu?¡±


    Before the young blacksmith could speak, Old Misha interjected, ¡°The lad is a Protestant; he was not well received in the north.¡±


    Berlion nodded.


    ¡°Sigh!¡± Old Misha slapped his thigh, his voice tinged with sorrow, ¡°Every few years they find an excuse to persecute the Protestants over there. When I was in service of the old emperor, I was also ordered to do such things. Sigh, in those days, I was young and would chop down without distinction, sigh¡­¡±


    The older blacksmith grew increasingly upset as he spoke. The young blacksmith stopped his work and shook his head gently to signify ¡°it¡¯s alright.¡±


    Winters asked further, ¡°Did any family come with you?¡±


    ¡°My brother.¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s not a blacksmith?¡±


    ¡°He works as a laborer for the Bunting family.¡±


    No useful information was gleaned from the conversation. But the source of Sofia¡¯s dagger wasn¡¯t of particular concern to Winters. Sea Blue was a world away; what good would it do to find out?


    ¡°Please come for your sword tomorrow,¡± Berlion said.


    Winters was somewhat surprised, ¡°Isn¡¯t it almost done? Can¡¯t you finish it today?¡±


    ¡°The guard needs polishing, the balance needs grinding,¡± the young blacksmith explained briefly. ¡°I will work through the night; you can come collect it tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Polishing is meticulous work, the fees for polishing can sometimes be more expensive than the armor itself,¡± the old blacksmith added from the side. ¡°You should head back now; this lad will definitely get it done for you.¡±


    The sky had darkened, and leaving town alongside Winters was Old Misha. The older blacksmith¡¯s home was in Dusa Village, and he rode back and forth on horseback every day. The young blacksmith, meanwhile, lived and slept at the forge and also looked after the shop.


    ¡­


    When Winters returned to the Mitchell estate, he saw its lights glowing from afar. The normally quiet estate after sunset was bustling with activity tonight.


    As the weather grew cooler, it was the last tobacco harvest season for the Mitchell estate.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, due to climatic reasons, tobacco needed to be harvested in three stages. The first two involved picking only portions of the leaves, while the third harvest involved picking all the remaining leaves.


    For the Mitchell estate, tobacco harvest season was the most important time of the year.


    Apart from a small portion reserved for growing food crops, the rest of the Mitchell¡¯s more than two hundred hectares of land was devoted to tobacco cultivation.


    Taxes, wages, purchasing seeds¡­ the operation of the Mitchell estate relied entirely on tobacco. Therefore, the tobacco yield determined the estate¡¯s income for the entire year.


    The harvest of the tobacco leaves was a backbreaking and tiring task, and speed was of the essence.


    It was now September, and frost could occur at any time. Once the tobacco was frosted over, the year¡¯s crop would be ruined.


    So when the tobacco leaves ripened, harvesters had to work as fast as possible to pick them while they were still perfect.


    The picked tobacco also had to be quickly tied, dried, and stored, otherwise the quality would be affected.


    That¡¯s why during tobacco harvest season, the Mitchell estate operated around the clock. Everyone, from the owners to the servants to the laborers, men and women alike, had to work in the fields.


    Even Pierre, who was usually idle, was dutifully plucking tobacco leaves in the fields.


    It wasn¡¯t just Mitchell estate toilers hard at work in the fields; many villagers from the five villages under the jurisdiction of Wolf Town also came to help.


    Apart from the Mitchell estate, other tobacco-growing estates also mostly harvested during these days.


    To recruit more hands, the estates offered high wages to the helping farmers.


    Therefore, tobacco harvest season was a rare opportunity for the farmers of Wolf Town to earn extra money, with men and women, young and old, pouring out from every village.


    It was already night, but bonfires burned in the fields as people continued to work.


    The division of labor during the entire harvesting process was clear. Those working in the fields would break the tobacco leaves from the plants in one piece, load them onto carts, and transport them to the curing barns.


    Individual leaves were then tied into bundles with thin twine outside the curing barns and hung on wooden racks. Binding tobacco required even more skill than picking it, and only handy women were up to the task.


    Thus, there were virtually no men seen working outside the barns. The speed of the women was incredible, with twine flying between their fingers. Onlookers could not keep up with their movements, as they quickly tied off one row after another.


    Neatly hung tobacco leaves were sent into the curing barns to dry, a process in which copious amounts of coal were used without stint. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Inside the curing barns, only men were left working as the heat inside was intense. The workers, nearly naked, climbed up and down the ladders, a sight unfit for women to witness.


    Still, even without any clothes, those responsible for curing the tobacco leaves could only stay in the barns for a short while; otherwise, they risked suffocation.

 Chapter 335: 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_3

    Chapter 335: Chapter 21: The Blacksmith and the Roast Pig_3


    Winters saw an amusing scene: Mrs. Mitchell and her little daughter were driving a horse cart laden with iron-hooped barrels. It seemed they were on their way to deliver drinks to the people working in the tobacco fields.


    Everyone else was busy, and the two ladies did not appear to be skilled at driving horses.


    The heavy draft horse, with thick skin and flesh, was unabashedly nibbling the wheat in the roadside fields, utterly indifferent to the whip¡¯s lashes from Mrs. Mitchell and her daughter and not showing the slightest intention to move forward.


    Seeing this, Winters immediately went forward to help. He wasn¡¯t skilled at driving either, but he could manage to lead the horse by the bridle and move forward.


    When they reached the tobacco fields, Mitchell¡¯s coachman saw the lieutenant leading the horse and quickly ran over to take over from Winters.


    Mrs. Mitchell smiled in thanks to Winters, while Miss Mitchell nearly buried her face in her mother¡¯s arm.


    Seeing everyone working hard on the estate, Winters suddenly felt a twinge of shame.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help out with the work, but you must remember to pay me,¡± Winters joked.


    ¡°I actually have a favor to ask of you,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said with a smile: ¡°Mr. Mitchell is on the west side of the smokehouse. Could you please go and assist him? He could use a reliable helping hand.¡±


    ¡°Of course, ma¡¯am,¡± Winters mounted Redmane and nodded in acknowledgment, then galloped towards the smokehouse.


    Before he even arrived, Winters understood what was happening ahead.


    A tempting aroma wafted through the air; it was the smell of roasting meat.


    A few dozen meters west of the smokehouse, Gerard and his old Dusack buddies were busy at work.


    The ground was covered with several huge arched wooden covers, with the smell and smoke seeping out through the slits in the boards.


    No sooner had Winters seen the construction underneath an uncovered lid: beneath the wooden cover was a pit nearly a meter deep, lined with stones on its walls, and its bottom filled with wood and charcoal fires¡ªit looked like a sort of makeshift oven. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Winters approach, Gerard waved at him happily, ¡°Come on over! Give us a hand!¡±


    Only when Winters reached Gerard did he understand why such a big ¡°oven¡± was needed¡ªbecause it was meant to roast an entire pig at once.


    The whole pig, split from snout to tail, lay splayed on an iron frame, looking quite peaceful.


    Gerard filled the pit with charcoal and wood, and it took the combined strength of six men to lift the pig halves and iron frame onto the flames and then cover it.


    From a distance, pig squeals could be heard. Glancing at the traces of blood on the grass and the pig offal in wooden basins, Winters realized they were slaughtering and roasting the pigs right there.


    He counted six smoking pits already on the ground, and at the makeshift pigpen not far away, there were at least twice as many porkers.


    He asked in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t we roasting too many at once?¡±


    ¡°If you invite folks over to work, you¡¯ve got to feed them well,¡± Gerard said with a smile all over his face.


    Old Sergei was there too, laughing: ¡°Mitchell¡¯s roast pig is famous far and wide. Not just the captain¡¯s family, but workers from other families too, they¡¯ll all come running when they smell it, abandoning their work.¡±


    ¡°Tobacco harvest season is a rare festival,¡± another familiar voice reached Winters¡¯s ears: ¡°Only at this time of the year do we have enough fuel and time to roast whole pigs. Boy, you¡¯re in for a treat; who knows when you¡¯ll have such a feast again!¡±


    ¡°How come you¡¯re here too?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the old mendicant monk.


    ¡°Came for the meat,¡± the monk answered simply.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see you helping to lift the frame just now?¡±


    Monk Reed replied matter-of-factly, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t lift it, can I?¡±


    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ve got to go take a nap,¡± Old Sergei yawned: ¡°I¡¯ll come back later to relieve you.¡±


    With that, Old Sergei ran off to a nearby flat spot and lay down.


    ¡°Take a nap?¡± Winters had never seen such preparation: ¡°How long do we have to roast this for?¡±


    Gerard scooped up a cup of sweet wine from a barrel next to him and handed it to the lieutenant: ¡°About ten hours or so.¡±

 Chapter 336: 22

    Chapter 336: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test


    The first food processing method mastered by our ancient ancestors, who once ate raw flesh and drank blood, was undoubtedly ¡°roasting.¡±


    Roasting is intimately related to fire, as long as there is fire, there can be roasting. Or rather, it was for the sake of roasting that they sought to control fire.


    For these ancestors, roasting meat wasn¡¯t just a way of preparing food, but also bore the significance of a sacrificial ritual.


    In the times of Winters Montagne, people regarded cooking as the labor of lower classes and women. Men of status would not enter the kitchen, and families that could afford it would hire a maid to handle the cooking.


    But in those primitive tribes that still retained ancient ways, on the lands of the Herders and the people of the north, slaughtering animals and roasting meat was the men¡¯s responsibility.


    Meat distribution symbolized the power of the tribal leader; only the chieftain could wield the knife.


    This perception even infiltrated the language, where many words denoting power, tracing back through history to modern times, are closely related to slaughter and apportioning meat.


    The strong men standing before the bonfire, distributing precious meat to other members of the tribe, represented a picture of power and honor.


    Knowing this, it would not be surprising why Gerard Mitchell¡ªthe man of highest status in the entire estate¡ªtook personal charge of roasting the pig.


    Gerard¡¯s role in this task was not because roasting meat was easy. On the contrary, it was a more arduous task than harvesting tobacco. It demanded great effort and could only be managed by the most formidable men.


    Taking on the tougher job was not a punishment but a matter of honor.


    If Winters was familiar with the past of the Dusans of Wolf Town, he would be amazed to find that the old Dusans working on the roast with Gerard were all once the most formidable and bravest warriors among the Dusack.


    Only a Dusack who had proven himself on the battlefield was now worthy to stand next to Gerard and help him with the roasting.


    Unconsciously, Gerard, Sergei, and the Dusacks were sacralizing the act of roasting.


    Due to poor air circulation, the charcoal mostly smoldered throughout. Oil dripping onto the charcoal from the roast meat sizzled, and fragrant smoke wafted from the gaps in the lid.


    It was less of a roasting process and more akin to smoking.


    It indeed was a tiresome job. One couldn¡¯t simply throw in too much fuel at once, so those in charge of the roast could not sleep, needing to constantly watch the pit to prevent the fire from going out.


    That night, Winters and the old Dusacks watched over six roasting pits, periodically shoveling in timber and coal into the pit¡¯s bottom, lifting the lid to check the heat, flipping the meat, and sprinkling salt and spices on the golden-brown flesh.


    When there was no need to add more wood, everyone sat on small chairs next to the pits, enjoying drinks and chats while watching the flames leap within the fire basins.


    The atmosphere was leisurely and comfortable, with a bit of a ¡°boys¡¯ club¡± vibe. The old Dusacks happily reminisced about the past, told jokes, boasted, and passed around a bottle of strong liquor.


    Even Friar Reed seemed to have a thorough understanding of Dusack history. He blended seamlessly into the Dusans¡¯ conversation, occasionally dropping clever remarks that caused the Dusacks to burst into hearty laughter.


    Sitting by the fire as the meat slowly cooked was a delightful and pleasant affair¡ªsweet wine, laughter, warm fire, faint smoke, the aroma of roasting meat, and the crackling of wood¡­


    Winters, affected by the atmosphere, couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit tipsy as the wine bottle made a few rounds; even the Spellcaster, who rarely drank, became slightly inebriated.


    Unaware, the young Venetian found himself forgetting for the first time that he was thousands of miles away from home in a foreign land, enjoying everything like an ordinary resident of Wolf Town.


    Time spares no one; the old Dusacks gradually started snoozing, from time to time some couldn¡¯t stay awake and slipped away to the nearby grass to sleep, and then returned upon waking.


    Others came and went, came and went. The only ones who tirelessly stayed by the pits were Gerard, Winters, and Friar Reed.


    Gerard enthusiastically taught Winters the secrets of roasting, with Winters listening while also occasionally voicing his own questions. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why not simply use a big fire then? It would cook faster, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± Winters asked.


    Gesticulating, Gerard explained, ¡°For small pieces of meat you can use a big fire. But for roasting a whole pig, if you use a big fire, the outside will burn while the inside remains raw. That¡¯s why you start with a big fire to sear the skin, then the rest of the time you use a low flame.¡±


    ¡°Roasting isn¡¯t as simple as just placing meat over a fire; not just the heat is important, but also the type of wood you use,¡± said the old friar, wide-awake, his eyes shining in the firelight, ¡°Different woods change the flavor of the meat.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Winters looked at Gerard.


    Gerard picked up a log split in half and handed it to Winters, ¡°Father Reed is right. This is walnut wood, take a sniff.¡±


    Winters took the piece of wood and brought it to his nose, the heartwood emitting a faint sweetness.


    ¡°I smell a sort of fragrance,¡± Winters commented.


    Feigning irritation, the old friar said, ¡°Would I lie to you?¡±


    ¡°When you smoke with a low flame, the sweetness of the wood also gets into the meat,¡± Gerard remarked admiringly to Father Reed, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to know so much about roasting.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it, I¡¯ve just eaten plenty,¡± the old friar laughed, patting his hands together; he gave Winters¡¯ shoulder a good pat, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate roasting. Mr. Michel¡¯s roasting is such a delicacy that it would be the grand finale on any royal table anywhere in the world, and enjoying such a taste is truly an honor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you flatter me too much,¡± Gerard¡¯s face blossomed into a smile.

 Chapter 337: 22

    Chapter 337: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡±_2


    Sergei rubbed his eyes as he came over after a nap, yawning, he asked, ¡°Is it ready?¡±


    ¡°No way, it¡¯s still early,¡± Gerard replied.


    Old Sergei fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a pipe, sitting on a small chair, patiently packing the bowl with shredded tobacco.


    He stuffed, tamped it down, and repeated the process three times before he took a piece of burning wood from the fire pit, lit the tobacco, and began to puff away.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t had your fill of smoke today?¡± Gerard asked with a smile.


    The strong scent of tobacco wafted through the smokehouse, detectable even from a great distance. Whether or not they were accustomed to smoking, everyone at the Mitchell¡¯s estate had their fill of smoke that day.


    Sergei yawned again, ¡°Otherwise, I get sleepy.¡±


    Winters heard footsteps nearby as Vashka and Pierre approached from the direction of the tobacco fields.


    Sergei chided his son, ¡°Little rascal, have you been slacking off?¡±


    ¡°No, just came to see if the meat was ready,¡± Vashka said with a grin.


    ¡°It¡¯s still early.¡±


    ¡°Then we can help watch the oven too.¡±


    Old Sergei snorted, ¡°If you¡¯re thinking of helping here, you two lads are still a bit green. Get back to work and don¡¯t always be trying to slack off.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then give us some meat to eat,¡± Vashka pleaded.


    Gerard stood up and signaled for two little Dusacks to lift the lid off one of the roasting pits. He drew a small knife and sliced off two pieces of slightly charred pig skin around the pork knuckles, dipped them in salt, and handed them to the two young Dusacks.


    After that, Gerard cut several pieces of meat from the ribs, sprinkled some salt on them, and handed them to a few others.


    For Winters, it was his first time tasting such delicious roast meat. The meat wrapped around the crunchy bones was savory and juicy, melting in his mouth, and despite having quite a bit of fat, it didn¡¯t taste greasy at all. And the only seasoning Gerard used was a bit of salt.


    The two young Dusacks licked their fingers and asked for a few more pieces of meat before they were willing to leave, and Sergei, too sleepy to keep his eyes open, went off to sleep, yawning.


    Then only Gerard, Winters, and Brother Reed remained by the roasting pit.


    The old monk was in high spirits, ¡°Lieutenant, did you know that over two thousand years ago there was a blind poet named Homer?¡±


    ¡°Though I never went to a grammar school, I¡¯ve read ¡®The Iliad¡¯ and ¡®The Odyssey,''¡± Winters said, unable to suppress a wry smile.


    ¡°Do you know what the heroes and demigods in Homer¡¯s work ate?¡± the friar asked and answered himself, ¡°Roast meat. When Odysseus paid a visit to Achilles, the latter served him pork and mutton. Animal flesh was ¡®the repast of the heroes beloved by the gods,¡¯ while ordinary people subsisted on grains. The heroes in the epics tasted the very flavor we are enjoying. Just like the bright moon above us, it¡¯s the same moonlight described by the ancients.¡±


    The old monk was showing off his erudition, Winters didn¡¯t bother to pay attention, but Gerard was listening intently.


    Seeing Gerard interested, the slightly tipsy Brother Reed began to recite large chunks of the epic in a rhythmic fashion. Winters didn¡¯t know where the old clergyman got his memory from, but Gerard grew more and more admiring as he listened.


    ¡°The heroes and demigods of the epics all personally cooked and shared the meat,¡± the old monk said to Gerard with a laugh, ¡°Mr. Mitchell hosting us with fine food is indeed a heroic role model among us¡­¡±


    The excited friar, drunk on the liquor, used a great deal of ancient grammar and pronunciation, not caring whether others could understand. Winters was confused by it all, while Gerard just kept chuckling.


    Suddenly, Winters realized, ¡°This old man¡­ he¡¯s not raving drunk, is he?¡±


    The jovial old monk was talking when he suddenly fell silent. Winters looked back to see another figure emerging from the night.


    Mrs. Mitchell nodded her head in greeting and shook the wine bottle in her hand, ¡°I¡¯ve brought something to drink for the gentlemen.¡±


    Gerard quickly stood up, ¡°Thank you, Mrs. Mitchell.¡±


    This couple still maintained their manners in daily life, referring to each other as Mr. Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell.


    Although Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell had the loud voice and quick temper of a Dusack,


    Winters¡¯s gut told him that the true master of Mitchell¡¯s was the gentle and wise Mrs. Mitchell, just as at the Serviati¡¯s, Kosa was the real head of the household.


    Mrs. Mitchell delivered the drinks and then found a small chair to sit down on. Not just Gerard and Brother Reed, but even Winters involuntarily started acting a bit more properly.


    In Winters¡¯s view, Mrs. Ellen Mitchell was an out-of-place figure in Wolf Town.


    This wasn¡¯t to say she was unwelcome, on the contrary, Mrs. Mitchell was extremely popular. Everyone in town adored her, but everyone was also somewhat afraid of her.


    The emotion was akin to plain mortals facing a beautiful and pure angel, feeling ashamed of their own ugly features.


    Dusack women had a wild, vivacious spirit. They would dance exuberantly with the young men, roll up their sleeves to milk cows, drive large animals like the men, wielding whips, and respond to catcalls with the coarsest of words.


    But Mrs. Mitchell was the complete opposite ¨C Winters couldn¡¯t quite describe it ¨C it was a refined, demure but not arrogant quality that inspired awe and deterred disrespect.


    Even the roughest Dusack would voluntarily remove his cap in Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s presence, and the laziest worker became disciplined before her.


    Mrs. Mitchell always spoke in a gentle and serene tone, her demeanor also always calm and composed. But the words that came from her mouth were more effective than a hundred shouts from Gerard, making everyone willing to obey.

 Chapter 338: 22

    Chapter 338: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡± _3


    Tyrants and the wealthy also have a similar talent, but Mrs. Mitchell did not rely on intimidation or bribery, the respect she garnered from those around her was entirely out of respect.


    Not only did the Dusacks respect her, but so did the farmers, and even the Protestants held the same respect for her.


    And respect for Mrs. Mitchell stemmed from her impeccable manners and abilities. Since moving into Mitchell¡¯s estate, Winters had never seen Mrs. Mitchell display a lack of manners.


    Mrs. Mitchell always kept sewing by her side, even when looking at account books; her back was forever straight, as if she had never bent it since birth; her demeanor always calm and indifferent, even when hearing the worst of news, she remained as usual.


    Winters could feel that beneath Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s gentle exterior lay a will of steel. Though a lady, Mrs. Mitchell commanded an involuntary awe.


    So much so, that Winters occasionally entertained a highly offensive thought against Gerard: how did a Dusack manage to marry a lady of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s nobility?


    ¡°Lieutenant,¡± Mrs. Mitchell nodded to Winters in greeting.


    Winters hastily returned the gesture, ¡°Madam.¡±


    ¡°Father Reed is also here,¡± Mrs. Mitchell greeted the old monk with gentle grace. ¡°My husband and I have a troubling matter and hope to benefit from your wisdom.¡±


    Monk Reed straightened up, saying solemnly, ¡°Please speak.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell looked at Gerard, nodded slightly, and then began to speak.


    The affliction of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s heart was none other than Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell, the sole child of the Mitchell couple.


    Before Pierre, the Mitchell family had lost two boys and a girl ¡ª not unusual for the times.


    So when Pierre was born, he almost received all of the Mitchell couple¡¯s love. The solemn and serene Mrs. Mitchell treated her son with full tenderness and love, and Gerard spoiled him even more.


    In front of Pierre, the couple could not take on the strict parent demeanor, and this caused Pierre to grow up almost uncontrollably.


    Mrs. Mitchell certainly did not expect her son to be just a Dusack, but Pierre seemed to have inherited more of his father¡¯s rough, savage, and irritable Dusack nature.


    This became apparent when Pierre was very young, causing Mrs. Mitchell much distress. But Gerard was unconcerned, always laughing as he lifted his son, praising him for having Dusack blood.


    When Pierre was ten, Mrs. Mitchell wanted to send her son to the grammar school in the capital of the Republic of Palatu, Kingsfort.


    Naturally, the young Dusack would rather die than comply, and this time Mrs. Mitchell took on a parental attitude, forcibly sending Pierre to Kingsfort.


    But unexpectedly, in just two months, the grammar school sent Pierre back, stating ¡°We can neither control nor teach this child.¡±


    Because he was called a ¡°Tartar,¡± young Pierre had injured several classmates, broken an arm, and eventually even burned down a barn.


    Mrs. Mitchell scolded her son thoroughly, yet Gerard secretly told his son he did well.


    Thus, over the next few years, Pierre shuffled through each and every grammar school within the territory of Palatu, and even attended seminaries and law schools.


    But whether three or four months at most or one or two at least, the young Dusack would be expelled and sent home. Eventually, in the entire Republic of Palatu, there was no school that Pierre could attend.


    For Gerard, having a son who rode well, was courageous, danced lightly, and drank like a man made for an excellent young fellow, and he had no excessive expectations for his son. But Mrs. Mitchell did not wish for her son to become a Dusack who only knew how to wield a saber.


    As Pierre grew older, Gerard gradually came to understand his wife¡¯s worries.


    Dusan men are bound to a lifetime of service from birth, and Gerard was well aware of the dangers of a military life, as well as the pain of serving Dusacks unable to return home.


    But the Dusacks¡¯ lifelong military service had nothing to do with wealth; no matter how much land one owned at home, even if one had no need to be granted land, a man would still be conscripted when of age. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only way to avoid conscription was to obtain a civil or church office, but Pierre had nowhere left to pursue his education.


    In a few more years, when Pierre reached twenty, he would have no choice but to leave Mitchell¡¯s estate to serve a six-year term.


    Having explained the situation, Mrs. Mitchell hesitated before asking, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, forgive my boldness¡­ Do you think Pierre could attend a military academy?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s attitude toward education and culture confirmed Winters intuition: Ellen Mitchell was not a Dusan. Pierre was not a Dusan name, and neither was Ellen.


    However, although he bore a non-Dusan name, Pierre was a Dusack through and through.


    Winters sighed and answered sincerely, ¡°Madam, it might be a bit late for Pierre to apply for the military academy now. Because the vast majority of cadets enter the military preparatory school at nine years old.¡±


    Winters then shared everything he knew candidly, elaborating in detail about the military¡¯s educational system and the difficulty of external admissions.


    These were no secrets to those in the know, but to those unaware, it was as if locked in an iron safe.


    Listening to Winter¡¯s explanation, Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s expression grew increasingly somber.

 Chapter 339: 22

    Chapter 339: Chapter 22 ¡°Roast¡± and ¡°Test¡±_4


    ¡°The heart of parents is a deep abyss.¡± the old monk sighed and said to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°If you wish for Pierre to attend the seminary, I can indeed recommend him. However, clergy must take the vows of ¡®poverty, chastity, and obedience,¡¯ and cannot have legitimate offspring¡­ I am willing to help, but you both need to think it over, and it is essential that Mr. Mitchell himself be willing.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell looked crestfallen and politely thanked Brother Winters and Reed, and left somewhat distraught.


    It was the first time Winters saw Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s composure waver; he and the old monk exchanged a glance and simultaneously sighed.


    Gerard also became silent and melancholic, barely managing to perk up to continue tending to the roasting pit.


    And the night continued on.


    Not until the following morning did the whole roasted pig, smoked throughout the night, finally come out of the oven.


    The pigskin was roasted to a beautiful orange hue with a hint of char. The succulent juicy meat had separated from the bone. The hock could easily be removed from the whole pig, and the ribs and spine slid out of the pork on their own.


    As Sergei had said, not only did the people working on the Mitchell Estate come, but people from other estates also arrived, drawn by the news, to savor the feast.


    Aside from the roast, the Mitchell Estate also offered an unlimited supply of pickles, fresh fruits and vegetables, sweet beer, and bread.


    Some wrapped chopped meat and sour gherkins in flatbread to eat, while others enjoyed large pieces of pork with beans and vegetables. Everyone had their own way of eating, and everyone who tasted the roast praised it highly.


    Catholics, Protestants, and Dusacks, all of whom had viewed each other with enmity, cast aside their identities and religious differences to sit down and share the meal together.


    For those who had not witnessed this scene firsthand, it was unimaginable.


    Gerard leaned back against a tree, sipping sweet beer, watching everyone enjoying the roast with a look of complete satisfaction on his face.


    Not just Gerard¡ªwhen Winters saw the people joyfully tasting the fruits of their labor from the previous night, he felt a surge of satisfaction and pride swell in his heart as well.


    After eating their fill, the tobacco harvest season continued.


    Having returned to his room, Winters felt as though he had only slept for a short while before being woken up again. He looked out the window where the sun was already sloping westward.


    Miss Michel hesitantly knocked on the door, ¡°Mr. Montaigne! There¡¯s someone here to see you!¡±


    He composed himself and followed Miss Michel to the estate¡¯s main entrance, where a troop of Cavalry was waiting at the door.


    The visitors were not wearing Vineta military uniforms. Winters instinctively reached for his waist, but there was nothing there¡ªhis sword was still at the smithy.


    The leading officer, dressed in a cavalry uniform, saw Winters and rode up to meet him face to face.


    ¡°Are you the officer stationed in Wolfton?¡± the officer asked with a distinctly unfriendly tone.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters replied, neither servile nor overbearing.


    Without a word, the officer lashed his whip viciously on the lieutenant¡¯s left shoulder.


    With a ¡°crack,¡± the unprepared Winters staggered from the blow as Miss Michel let out a scream.


    The officer raised his hand to whip the lieutenant again, but the next second, the whip slipped from his grasp.


    Winters, holding onto the end of the whip, yanked it forcefully out of the officer¡¯s hand. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s eyes were practically shooting flames, unable to contain his anger any longer.


    At that moment, a crazy thought flashed through his mind: kill all the cavalry in front of him and steal their horses to escape back to Vineta.


    ¡°Ha, so you¡¯ve got some spirit,¡± the officer shook his wrist and asked with a sneer, ¡°For allowing smugglers to pass through your area of responsibility, what should your crime be?¡±

 Chapter 340: 23 Pursuit

    Chapter 340: Chapter 23 Pursuit


    The mounted officer, towering above, berated loudly, ¡°Worthless! An entire smuggling caravan disappeared within your jurisdiction! Are you neglecting your duty or were you in on this all along? Speak!¡±


    The lieutenant remained silent, flames nearly leaping from his eyes.


    The guard beside the officer noticed the lieutenant¡¯s gaze. He nudged his horse a step forward, subtly positioning himself between the lieutenant and the officer, his right hand gripped tightly around his sword hilt.


    The officer thought he was dealing with an incompetent low-ranking military official; he did not realize that he was facing a spellcaster on the brink of losing control.


    Winters Montagne was on the verge of losing control.


    Since the moment he had been escorted to Paratu, Winters¡¯s negative emotions had been accumulating, and even he had not realized it.


    Even on the harshest days on the islands, he always had supportive people around him. But in Wolf Town, he was alone.


    This was the moment his will was at its weakest. Any further hostility from the officer might completely evaporate the Venetian¡¯s s remaining sanity, leaving only violent and cruel instincts. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warhorse, sensing the searing rage, shuffled its front legs restlessly.


    Lady Michel instinctively clutched Mr. Montagne¡¯s arm.


    The officer noticed the lieutenant¡¯s clenched fists, and a nameless anger rose in him. He was about to continue chastising the insubordinate junior officer in front of him when a certain indescribable intuition stopped him from acting.


    Many figures came running from the direction of the Michel estate.


    Hearing the scream of Lady Michel, the Dusacks grabbed their tools and rushed out. Leading them was Sergei, the old man holding a sickle he¡¯d picked up from who knows where.


    Approaching closer, Sergei realized the gravity of the situation.


    A Dusack, not recognizing his own mother, certainly would not mistake a military uniform. Old Sergei cursed under his breath: They were confronted with a military official, and a high-ranking one at that.


    Sergei Morozov, a Dusack who feared neither heaven nor earth, turned to jelly only at the sight of a military uniform.


    But now, he had no choice but to face the music.


    Mustering his courage, the old man stood beside the lieutenant, swallowing his saliva nervously and shouted defensively yet apprehensively, ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡±


    The officer snorted disdainfully and gestured to the guard beside him, not even sparing a glance at the peasant before him.


    Unbeknownst to him, his attitude somewhat reassured Sergei.


    The other Dusacks also arrived one after another, each startled by the sight of the officer¡¯s uniform. Looking at each other, no one dared to speak.


    The officer¡¯s guard took the silver whistle hanging from his neck and blew it forcefully.


    The cavalry outside the estate noticed that something was amiss. As the sharp whistle sounded, they quickly moved toward their commander.


    While a few cavalrymen charged straight toward the scene along the path, the rest of the cavalry leaped over the fences to flank from both sides. They raced through the bean fields without a care, trampling and smashing the crops under their hooves.


    The smaller group of cavalry somehow ended up surrounding the Dusacks.


    This was a true cavalry unit, not mere horsemen or mounted infantry, but cavalry trained strictly for combat.


    Their military swords were not loosely hanging at their sides but were instead tucked between the horse¡¯s back and their thighs, ready to be drawn at any moment.


    The cavalrymen edged closer bit by bit, narrowing the space around the Dusacks. Those holding farming tools became somewhat panicked, though not yet out of control.


    Old Dusack Aleksei slowly moved closer to Sergei, whispering to his companion, ¡°Vladimirovich, do you see? That¡¯s at least half a squadron!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m counting them, it¡¯s not half a squadron,¡± Sergei replied irritably. ¡°Just over thirty horses; that¡¯s just one platoon.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°How the hell would I know!¡±


    As the Dusacks murmured among themselves, several figures hurried over from the estate.


    ¡°I¡¯m the mayor of this town.¡± A path formed in the crowd seemingly on its own, and Gerard approached the front of the officer¡¯s horse: ¡°May I ask what I can do for you in Wolf Town?¡±


    Gerard was out of breath, obviously having run all the way after hearing the news. Seeing Captain Michel arrive, the Dusacks all breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy stone hanging over their hearts finally dropping to the ground.


    ¡°You¡¯re the mayor?¡± The officer glanced at the sturdy man before him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you not know that yesterday a large band of smugglers crossed the Big Horn River from Wolf Town?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ I was not aware.¡±


    ¡°Wolf Town¡¯s Garrison Officer has been neglecting his duty,¡± the officer stated coldly. ¡°Have you made any accusations or reports?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s face faltered.


    ¡°Colonel, I must disagree with your statement,¡± another voice tinged with an accent emerged from the crowd. ¡°Everyone here, as well as all the gentry of the town, can attest that Captain Michel and Officer Montagne have always been diligent and responsible in their duties, never negligent, and therefore there was no need for accusations or reports.¡±


    Unknown to them, an old mendicant had come to stand beside Winters. He surreptitiously squeezed Winters¡¯s arm and took the riding crop from his hand.


    The old mendicant walked up beside the officer, handing over the riding crop with a clergyman¡¯s amiable smile: ¡°I¡¯m Father Reed of this parish. How might I address you, Colonel?¡±


    ¡°I am not a Colonel, you may call me Lieutenant Colonel Castor,¡± he replied as he took the riding crop and flipped it a few times, sneering back, ¡°Diligent and responsible? So responsible that they didn¡¯t notice a large group of smugglers crossing the border? Or was it that they were all in on it together?¡±

 Chapter 341: 23 Chase_2

    Chapter 341: Chapter 23 Chase_2


    ¡°The Big Horn River stretches over seventy kilometers within Wolfton territory, with vast uninhabited wastelands all along its banks. How could Lieutenant Montagne alone possibly manage such a lengthy riverway?¡±


    ¡°Although the river is long, there are only three fording places.¡±


    ¡°But even those three crossings are at least twenty kilometers apart from each other, with the northernmost one being over forty kilometers away from here. A round trip would take an entire day, though it is closer to Blackwater Town.¡± The old monk spoke with veiled sharpness, ¡°If you believe that Lieutenant Montagne alone can handle this band of smugglers, why then, have you brought your elite subordinates here with you?¡±


    Colonel Castor was at a loss for words.


    At this moment, a large number of people rushed from the estate. The farmers harvesting tobacco leaves also noticed something unusual at the estate¡¯s entrance. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having heard that a group of unidentified individuals had detained Mayor Mitchell and Lieutenant Montagne, the villagers and laborers clamored, carrying their farm tools to help.


    For these disorganised farmers, their numbers were their confidence, and it was now the busiest time of the year on Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Because of herd mentality, men and women gathered in increasing numbers, all moving towards the estate, and those Dusacks who couldn¡¯t make it at first also rode over on horses.


    In an instant, there was a sea of people, creating quite an intimidating presence.


    Not only were Colonel Castor and his cavalry taken aback, but so were Gerard and the Dusacks; the situation was getting increasingly difficult to control.


    Brother Reed looked toward Gerard, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, please take a few people and persuade everyone to go back. Time is precious. Don¡¯t delay the tobacco harvest.¡±


    Gerard was first stunned, then nodded and hurried off with a dozen or so older Dusacks.


    ¡°Colonel, by your account, the smugglers have already crossed the border. Hence, dwelling on who¡¯s at fault is now utterly meaningless. What¡¯s most important is how to solve the problem, isn¡¯t it? Please, feel free to say what you need from Wolfton,¡± the old monk looked at Castor again, speaking in a relaxed manner, ¡°Bear in mind that we Wolfton folk loathe smugglers intensely. We¡¯d love to eat their flesh and wear their skins.¡±


    Colonel Castor was silent for a while, then spoke with a cold face, ¡°Please provide accommodations for me and my men; we¡¯ll handle our own food. Our horses need a covered area to rest, do not feed them haphazardly, give them quality feed.¡±


    The demands of the Colonel were not complicated, and the old monk readily agreed.


    Castor gathered his cavalrymen together: ¡°Those guys won¡¯t get far. Tonight, we¡¯ll rest up here and rejuvenate, then catch up to them all at once tomorrow!¡±


    After dispersing the farmers who wanted to help, Gerard returned to the main entrance, where Brother Reed meticulously explained the situation to him.


    Gerard listened and nodded, then led Colonel Castor and the cavalry to another estate that had spare rooms to offer them lodging.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Just before leaving Mitchell¡¯s estate, Colonel Castor asked the lieutenant.


    Winters had regained most of his composure, but the anger had yet to subside: ¡°Winters Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Your rank?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll remember you, Lieutenant Montagne,¡± the Colonel pointed his riding crop at Winters¡¯ nose, ¡°You¡¯re not satisfied, are you? Tomorrow, bring all the manpower you can find and join me in the chase. I want to see how capable you really are.¡±


    Having said that, Colonel Castor strode off without looking back.


    The Colonel¡¯s guard gave Winters a deep look and then rode off as well.


    ¡°According to the officer¡¯s intentions, we¡¯ll be heading out before dawn.¡± Sergei discussed the matter among himself and the other older Dusacks, ¡°We¡¯ve got to notify the Dusacks house by house tonight. Let¡¯s split up to find them, we must inform everyone, and have the young and old masters get the horses ready tonight.¡±


    Aleksei shook his head a few times, ¡°Should we notify the Bumpkins? Call up the militia from the other villages as well, to have more people.¡±


    ¡°Call them my ass!¡± Sergei didn¡¯t spare his old brother any face, ¡°The officer¡¯s men all have four legs, do the Bumpkins have horses? Can they chase on two legs?¡±


    Aleksei meekly shut his mouth.


    Sergei smacked his lips and continued, ¡°The round trip might take more than a day. When you tell the young and old masters, also mention to have their wives prepare some dry food and water to bring along, plan for three days.¡±


    As Sergei was pondering, he suddenly remembered that Lieutenant Montagne was still with them, and it wasn¡¯t his place to make decisions.


    He quickly looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant, I mean no disrespect. Whether or not to call the militia is up to you. If you say we need them, I¡¯ll go and inform them. We¡¯ll follow your orders. But honestly, having the Dusacks is enough. We¡¯ll make sure we do you proud and not hinder the operation¡­¡±


    ¡°No need to notify anyone.¡± Having said that, Winters also left.


    Aleksei looked at the bean field in front of him and sighed, ¡°That officer¡¯s subordinates are really good riders, easily jumping fences over a meter high¡­ It¡¯s just too bad for these beans, they¡¯re almost ripe¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The next morning, at dawn.


    The sky turned from black to gray, gradually beginning to blue.


    ¡°Damn it! What? Escaped?¡± Colonel Castor cursed furiously, ¡°[Expletives in Paratu]!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t exactly say he has escaped.¡± Old Sergei¡¯s expression was awkward, ¡°It¡¯s just that he can¡¯t be found.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same as having run away?¡± Castor slammed his fist on a wooden post, seething with rage, ¡°That little¡­ cocky kid¡­ Is he not all guts? And now he¡¯s run away? Run away? Damn it!¡±

 Chapter 342: 23 Assassination_3

    Chapter 342: Chapter 23 Assassination_3


    The Dusacks stood aside, their eyes fixed on the ground, none daring to look up.


    Castor swung his military sword and bellowed, ¡°Chase him! Bring him back to me! For neglect of duty, desertion! I¡¯ll execute him myself!¡±


    The lieutenant colonel¡¯s guard cautiously reminded, ¡°Sir, we still need to chase ¡®that thing¡¯¡­ That Venetian won¡¯t get far. Send word to Revodan, let others catch him.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor grew angrier the more he thought about it. ¡°Who was the last to see Winters Montagne yesterday?¡±


    The Dusacks exchanged glances, sharing information among themselves, before calling over the blacksmith Misha. The old blacksmith hadn¡¯t joined the chase due to an injury to his leg.


    ¡°Were you the last to see the deserter Montagne?¡± the colonel asked.


    The old blacksmith scratched his head. ¡°I report to you, sir, I don¡¯t know if I was the last to see the lieutenant.¡±


    ¡°What did he come to you for?¡±


    ¡°To pick up the sword he¡¯d ordered.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Did he say where he was going?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Castor realized he would get nothing from the blacksmith and, grinding his teeth, asked, ¡°You¡¯re all covering for him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± the old blacksmith said, waving his hands repeatedly.


    Castor let out a roar of fury and chopped a wooden ladder next to him in two.


    ¡°Just wait, once I catch him, not one person who shielded him will get away!¡± Castor glared at the Dusacks hatefully. He forcefully sheathed his military sword: ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Reporting to the sir,¡± the old blacksmith said, scratching his head again. ¡°It seems the lieutenant also bought a bag of nails¡­¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    At the Mitchell estate, young Mistress Michel held her mother and wept bitterly, ¡°Mother, did Mr. Montagne really leave?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell gently patted her little daughter¡¯s back and said earnestly, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne was never truly of this place. We shouldn¡¯t be sad; we should pray for him. Pray that he may safely return to his father and mother.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Hey, why did he leave?¡± Sergei led the horse and sighed. ¡°Don¡¯t even know where he went.¡±


    Gerard shot Sergei a look. ¡°Stop talking.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Sergei rarely talked back to his elder brother. ¡°I just wanted to see the lieutenant off, to at least send him on his way.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Brother Reed, has Big Brother Winters truly left?¡±


    The old mendicant monk stroked his beard and spoke indifferently, ¡°You must understand, Pierre. For Winters, leaving like this might actually be a blessing. ¡®What seems to be misfortune can be the ground for fortune, and what appears as fortune may hide impending misfortune.¡¯


    ¡­


    And many others: Father Caman, the young stable boy Anglu, the young Hunter Bell¡­ were still unaware of this news.


    ¡­


    Before departing, Castor chose three of his best riders. He said to the first one, ¡°Take this note to Revodan, see to it that they dispatch their fastest horses to search along the way.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel instructed the remaining two, ¡°That Venetian is definitely heading back to Vineta. You two go directly to all the garrisons on the route to Vineta, have them set up checkpoints along the way¡­ ¡±


    While Lieutenant Colonel Castor was still giving instructions, he and his Cavalry heard an excited shout: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne is back!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Castor erupted in anger.


    ¡°Over there!¡± a Dusack pointed excitedly toward a hill a hundred meters away: ¡°Rejek!¡±


    The colonel looked up to see a red horse leap from behind the hill and dash down like thunder. The rider became clearer in view, reaching Castor in a blink of an eye.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montagne!¡± Castor roared furiously. ¡°You deserted your pos¡­¡±


    ¡°Thud¡±


    ¡°Thud¡±


    Colonel Castor¡¯s words were interrupted by two heavy impacts.


    The lieutenant removed his saddlebag and threw it in front of the colonel.


    A head rolled out of the blood-soaked saddlebag, stopping at Castor¡¯s feet. The colonel looked down to meet a pair of lifeless eyes.


    ¡°The cart is on the west side of Fengping Ferry. Move it yourself.¡±


    The lieutenant wiped his nose; riding all night, sweating and getting chilled, it seemed he¡¯d caught a cold.


    ¡­


    The peace agreement between the Herders and the Paratu People prescribed: The land west of Big Horn River shall not be cultivated by the Paratu People; the land east of the Red River shall not be grazed by the Herders.


    Thus between them, a nearly hundred-kilometer ¡®no-man¡¯s land¡¯ was preserved.


    Big Horn River had thus become the natural boundary on the west side of Wolf Town.


    Thirty kilometers west of Fengping Ferry¡¯s ford, Castor found the smugglers¡¯ caravan.


    The goods were intact, their fully armed corpses scattered everywhere, just minus their heads.


    From the traces at the scene, what Lieutenant Montagne did was simple: He charged into the caravan and killed half the people first, then he started to hunt down the other half.


    The more Castor¡¯s guard saw, the more terrified he became.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the guard said to Castor with dread. ¡°I think that fellow might have really been intent on killing.¡±


    ¡°Dammit!¡± the colonel cursed, slapping his thigh. ¡°That bastard didn¡¯t leave me a single survivor!¡±


    ¡­


    Before Castor¡¯s cavalry left the Mitchell estate.


    Castor found Winters, who was washing his hands.


    ¡°Get ready. Wolf Town is soon to levy troops, forming a hundred-man squad,¡± the colonel said.


    The lieutenant paused, ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°Kid, I¡¯m repaying a favor to you. Now you know, better to be aware before being conscripted. Whether or not today¡¯s events happened, Wolf Town was going to draft troops; that was decided long ago. The sooner you know, the more you can prepare,¡± Castor huffed coldly.


    The colonel left, and the lieutenant continued to wash his hands vigorously, over and over again.


    Winters felt a tinge of fear, not from the killing, but because after the killing, he felt¡­ calm.

 Chapter 343: 24 Lieutenant Mason

    Chapter 343: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason


    After Castor¡¯s ¡°unexpected visit,¡± Winters followed the agreement and headed to Blackwater Town to meet with Bard and Andre.


    Since they had been dispersed and deployed, this was the first time the three of them gathered together. After a long absence, their reunion was especially warm, with endless topics to talk about.


    Bard clicked his tongue in wonder as he circled Redmane, examining the horse, even lifting its hooves one by one for inspection, and gave his verdict, ¡°This is a good horse.¡±


    ¡°Like you needed to say it?¡± Andre retorted with a laugh.


    Without spending the night in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard changed to the horses Andre had borrowed from Dusa Village in Blackwater Town, and the three immediately set out to meet the ¡°senior¡± Bard had mentioned.


    ¡°Which class of senior is it?¡± During a pause on the road, Andre couldn¡¯t help but ask Bard, ¡°Do we know him?¡±


    ¡°You two definitely don¡¯t know him, nor do I. He¡¯s my squad leader¡¯s squad leader.¡±


    The smallest organizational unit in the Alliance Land Academy¡¯s Officer Academy is a ¡°squad,¡± in which officer cadets from the first, second, and third years are simultaneously assigned.


    Thus, an officer cadet in the academy could be exposed to peers from two classes above and below his own.


    Wolf Town and Blackwater Town were so remote that a horseback trip to the county seat city of Revodan and back would take more than four days. And since Revodan itself is a frontier city, Winters and Andre had hardly any visitors.


    However, Bard¡¯s station at Saint Christopher Town, hereafter referred to as Saint Town, was different. Saint Town was located on a thoroughfare between two counties, with very convenient transportation.


    The hardened Guzhi Road ran through the town, and troops often passed through Saint Town when being deployed.


    Some of the seniors from Paratu whom Bard knew well had heard that their junior was assigned to Paratu and visited him several times, either making a special trip or passing through.


    Therefore, Bard was somewhat more informed than Winters and Andre; Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cherini were truly unfamiliar with the place, completely in the dark.


    Bard learned from the ¡°squad leader¡± who was responsible for guiding him when he was a new cadet: Apart from the officers stationed in Revodan city, there were only four Land Academy graduates in the entire county.


    There was no need to mention who the three unlucky ones were. The other one was a senior whose station was just south of the county seat, about forty kilometers away from Blackwater Town.


    According to what Bard¡¯s squad leader said, that person was a squad leader¡¯s squad leader. Meaning, he was four classes senior to Winters, Bard, and Andre and had been serving in Paratu for five years.


    Out of courtesy, Bard felt they should also pay a visit to this senior alumnus. Not to mention, isolated in their closed-off environments for so long, the lieutenants were thirsty for news from the outside world.


    So Bard sent word to his two friends, arranging a time to go together.


    After leaving Blackwater Town, they galloped on dirt roads through forests and wilderness. As they had to return with the same horse, they occasionally had to stop and rest the horse.


    In the sparsely populated Newly Reclaimed Land, they¡¯d often go a long time before seeing a village or scattered farmhouses. With no one in sight ahead or behind, they subsisted only on the dry food and water carried with the horses.


    But the three friends, rarely able to gather, did not mind the hardship.


    The journey was uneventful, but the closer they got to their destination, the stranger Winters and Andre felt. It seemed they weren¡¯t heading to a town but rather in the direction of even less populous areas.


    ¡°You sure we¡¯re not lost?¡± during another break to rest the horses, Andre couldn¡¯t help asking Bard, ¡°There¡¯s not even a place to stay in sight, and we didn¡¯t bring tents. It¡¯s going to be a problem if we made a mistake.¡±


    Andre had been estimating the distance and direction all along, and he realized that their destination should be within a few kilometers. But the surroundings looked even more desolate than before, not at all like the outskirts of a town.


    ¡°It should be right, there weren¡¯t any forks on the road.¡± Bard pulled out a scroll of paper from his saddlebag, on which was a crudely drawn map and description provided by the senior: ¡°The key is I don¡¯t have a detailed map of the areas near Revodan.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We should¡¯ve brought a guide,¡± Winters regretted, ¡°I forgot this is Paratu.¡±


    The three studied the map in their hands and carefully recalled the road they had taken, confirming they hadn¡¯t gone the wrong way. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue onward.


    About half an hour later, wooden fences began to appear alongside the road. The signs of human activity gave the three lieutenants a boost in confidence.


    To their surprise, at the end of the dirt road was a town that looked even more rudimentary and dilapidated than Wolf Town.


    Although small, Wolf Town at least had one horizontal and one vertical street as well as a church, and it was vibrant with life.


    But this town in front of them consisted only of a row of low wooden barracks along the road.


    They were called ¡°barracks¡± because the wooden houses resembled the plank houses in military camps and looked quite different from ordinary homes on farms.


    Although farmers¡¯ houses were generally similar in materials and structure, they were filled with the living breath of the inhabitants in their details.


    The wooden houses before them, however, were uniform as if cast from the same mold, giving off a templated aura.


    A row of wooden houses stood abruptly on the land, surrounded by desolate meadows on all sides, appearing very lonely.


    The strangest thing was ¡ª Winters pondered for a while before realizing ¡ª there were no women or children in this little town.


    ¡°Is this the place?¡± Winters asked Bard.


    Bard was also quite puzzled, ¡°It should be here, but it looks a bit off.¡±


    People outside the wooden houses noticed the three officers by the road. A man who appeared to be a guard, carrying a bow and arrows, came over and asked lazily, ¡°Gentlemen, who are you looking for?¡±

 Chapter 344: 24 Lieutenant Mason_2

    Chapter 344: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_2


    The man had a large dark red birthmark around his left eye that nearly covered half of his face, making it quite conspicuous.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to see Lieutenant Mason,¡± Bard asked the man, ¡°Is Lieutenant Mason the person in charge here?¡±


    The man answered listlessly, ¡°The lieutenant took some people to oversee the mowing. Please wait here, gentlemen, I will find someone to call the lieutenant back.¡±


    Speaking with a thick Parlatu accent, he shouted loudly, and a short man by the side of the log cabin responded before running toward a dirt slope not too far away.


    ¡°What¡¯s your role here?¡± Andre asked the man, furrowing his brows as he stared.


    ¡°Me?¡± The other man chuckled, ¡°Well, to answer you, sir, I¡¯m the one in charge of watching over the others.¡±


    Winters sensed something amiss, ¡°Wait, is this a prison?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, sir,¡± the bored guard answered without even lifting his eyelids, ¡°This is a ranch, a labor farm.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Ha ha, what a rare visit, it¡¯s been ages since a fellow alumnus came to see me.¡± Lieutenant Mason pushed open the door and warmly invited the three juniors inside, ¡°Recently been busy cutting the grass for winter, and if I don¡¯t keep an eye out, everyone slacks off¡­ ah, why am I mentioning this! Come in, make yourselves at home.¡±


    The furnishings inside Lieutenant Mason¡¯s room were extremely simple: a bed, a cabinet, two tables large and small, a few stools, a rack for hanging clothes, nothing more.


    In the labor farm, other cabins were shared among several people, only the lieutenant had a cabin all to himself¡ªThis was perhaps the only luxury in this dwelling.


    The plain wooden bed was in the corner of the room, its bedding left in the same state it had been when its user last left it, carelessly rolled into a heap.


    The remains of breakfast were still on the plates on the small table, and two flies buzzed away as the lieutenant walked past.


    The whole room well reflected the typical state of a single, solitary young man without anyone to care for him.


    What piqued Winters¡¯ curiosity was the stack of books and the manuscript papers full of writing on the big table.


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a mess.¡± The lieutenant casually tossed the plate from the small table into a wooden bucket outside the door, ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, please sit down.¡±


    He rummaged through the armoire, pulled out a few cups. He dove under the bed and found a bottle of liquor, half-empty¡ªfollowed by finding an unopened one.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t had a guest for months,¡± Lieutenant Mason said cheerfully as he busied himself pouring drinks for his juniors, ¡°It¡¯s really rare for someone to visit me. Next time, send me a message in advance so I can prepare properly. The beef here is especially delicious.¡±


    As soon as he heard that there were visitors, Lieutenant Mason rushed back. Upon discovering that the guests were his fellow alumni, his enthusiasm soared even higher.


    Without waiting for Winters and the others to ask, Lieutenant Mason started talking. Once he began, it was like a dam bursting, unstoppable.


    After gulping down a full glass of strong liquor, Lieutenant Mason began to slam the table and curse like a sailor. Interspersed with his profanities were phrases like ¡°me, a proper artillery officer by training,¡± ¡°those maggots who made me raise pigs,¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather head overseas.¡±


    When his emotions reached their peak, Lieutenant Mason, with tears welling up in his eyes, grabbed Winters¡¯ hand and said, ¡°Listen to some advice, leave early if you can. If you can get out of your uniform, hurry back to The Federated Provinces. Us United Provincials in this place shouldn¡¯t even dream of making a career¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡­senior, I¡¯m not from The Federated Provinces, I¡¯m Venetian,¡± Winters said with an embarrassed expression, trying to withdraw his hand but not quite feeling right about it.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Mason was taken aback, then looked toward Andre, ¡°Then are you from The Federated Provinces?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not, I¡¯m also Venetian,¡± Andre quickly shook his head, pointing toward Bard, ¡°But he is.¡±


    Mason¡¯s mood gradually cooled, and he asked in confusion, ¡°What are you two Venetians doing over here? Shouldn¡¯t you be returning to your homeland?¡±


    Winters recounted in detail the unwarranted disaster that befell this year¡¯s Venetian graduates.


    When the tale reached the point where a mustachioed officer had locked the Venetian graduates in a wagon, and when they emerged they found themselves at Kingsfort, Lieutenant Mason let out a contemptuous snort, ¡°Sounds like something the Provincial Army bastards would do.¡±


    When it came to the part about the Parlatu Army forcibly scattering the junior Venetian officers and assigning them to different posts, Lieutenant Mason¡¯s look of disdain intensified, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t put it past those goat-f***ers to do something like that.¡±


    Wounded by a sense of shared misfortune upon hearing Winters¡¯ story, Lieutenant Mason gazed at the three juniors with profound sympathy, ¡°The Federated Provinces sending you here isn¡¯t just a provocation to Vineta; it¡¯s a provocation to Parlatu as well. Those goat-f***ers certainly won¡¯t be nice to you either. We always end up being sacrificial pawns in the battles of the big shots, cough!¡±


    The lieutenant sighed, then offered reassurance, ¡°But don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re better off than I am. The highlanders won¡¯t keep you here forever. Just hold on until they send you back. As for me, I can only spend a lifetime here. Feeding pigs, horses, and prisoners, day in and day out, helplessly watching the days go by, the mere thought is despairing¡­¡±


    The topic was too heavy, and Mason¡¯s face grew increasingly somber.


    Andre quickly interrupted, ¡°Senior, are all the people under your command prisoners?¡±


    Mason paused for a moment, then answered, ¡°Except for the guards¡­ but most of my guards were prisoners before.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t your security measures a bit¡­ lax?¡± Winters joined the new topic at once, ¡°It seems it wouldn¡¯t be too hard to escape?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 345: 24 Lieutenant Mason_3

    Chapter 345: Chapter 24 Lieutenant Mason_3


    ¡°Run? Where to run? The plains are barren in every direction.¡± The lieutenant¡¯s face had a smile that wasn¡¯t quite a smile as he patiently explained, ¡°Moreover, those who come here are only serving light sentences. A few months of work and they can go home. If they run away, they¡¯ll be wanted for a lifetime. Actually, I¡¯m quite hoping that a few would run every now and then, so I could have a bit more fun.¡±


    ¡°Do Paratu people always replace imprisonment with labor?¡± Bard asked.


    ¡°Those day-sheep bastards are stingy as hell. How could they tolerate convicts eating for free in prison?¡± Whenever Mason spoke of the Paratu People, he always did so with dissatisfaction: ¡°But working for two months for stealing a chicken is still better than having a hand chopped off, don¡¯t you think?¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± everyone agreed.


    ¡°But there¡¯s one good thing about those day-sheep bastards¡ªthey don¡¯t meddle much. As long as the required livestock is delivered, they don¡¯t care about the rest. Life here is pretty relaxed for me. These past few years have been good, so I¡¯ve even been able to pay the prisoners wages and give them some meat. Some of the homeless convicts end up not wanting to leave at all.¡± Mason¡¯s face lit up with excitement: ¡°I¡¯ve been improving the breeding stock. Once I find a way to get out of this uniform, I¡¯ll buy a small ranch in Palatu¡­¡±


    The three sub-lieutenants exchanged glances, realizing that despite complaining about being assigned to pig farming, their senior officer had clearly become fully invested in the endeavor.


    ¡°Senior, have you heard about the conscription that¡¯s supposed to happen soon?¡± Winters asked the lieutenant.


    Visiting Lieutenant Mason, Winters and the others also intended to casually inquire about the outside world.


    But it seemed that Mason was even more cut off from the world than they were, which caught them by surprise.


    Winters had also told his two friends about the ¡°conscription¡± mentioned by Colonel Castor, and they concluded that Colonel Castor had no reason to lie to Winters.


    However, they knew nothing about why the conscription was needed; they didn¡¯t even have a clear understanding of what ¡°conscription¡± truly meant in Palatu.


    Although the lieutenant did not seem to be particularly well-informed, Winters still mentioned it offhandedly.


    To his surprise, Mason answered matter-of-factly, ¡°Of course, I know. It¡¯s probably happening right after the autumn harvest.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve received news too?¡± Winters was taken aback.


    ¡°No, who would send me news?¡± Lieutenant Mason pulled out a few papers from the large table: ¡°Even though no one sends me news, by reading the army post newsletters that the military courier sends, I can guess what those day-sheep bastards are up to.¡±


    Newsletters? Winters had never received any.


    After Mason explained, the three sub-lieutenants learned that the Paratu Army couriers delivered only once a quarter, bringing salaries and newsletters for various stationed officers along the way.


    In the Republic of Palatu, with its vast territory and sparse population, communication between settlements was difficult. To alleviate this issue, the military and administrative agencies distributed newsletters quarterly throughout the country to ensure at least a basic flow of information.


    Winters and the others carefully read the newsletters from the last quarter, but no matter how hard they looked, they couldn¡¯t find any mention of a post-harvest conscription or even see the word ¡°conscription.¡±


    ¡°The army has been pushing it for quite a while now. They¡¯re just shy of coming out and saying it directly,¡± Lieutenant Mason said calmly: ¡°Considering the circumstances, they¡¯ll probably conscript after harvest and go to war in the winter. They might even draft prisoners, which is why I¡¯m hurrying to cut the grass. If the prisoners are drafted, then I won¡¯t have enough hands here.¡±


    ¡°Think about it,¡± the lieutenant said with a cold laugh: ¡°Why would The Federated Provinces choose this time to deal with Palatu? They¡¯ve bitten down hard because they¡¯re sure that those day-sheep bastards will tolerate it.¡±

 Chapter 346: 25 Guests

    Chapter 346: Chapter 25 Guests


    When the three men said their farewells to Lieutenant Mason, their senior was full of reluctance. He insistently stuffed several large packs of beef jerky and pork into their saddlebags, claiming they were specialties from the ranch. He even insisted on seeing them off, accompanying them for more than a dozen kilometers.


    Just before parting, Mason was almost begging, ¡°You must come to visit me again when you have time, you must.¡± Afterwards, he stood on the roadside embankment, watching until they were out of sight because of the terrain.


    Winters, Bard, and Andre embarked on the journey back to their station with heavy hearts.


    During a break to rest their horses, Andre spoke in a disheartened tone, ¡°If those sheep-herding bastards hadn¡¯t let us go, I¡¯m afraid in a few years we would¡¯ve ended up just like him.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Mason¡¯s situation is even worse than ours,¡± Bard said, as calm and aloof as ever. ¡°He may seem like the warden, but what difference is there really between him and the prisoners?¡±


    ¡°Like boiling a frog in warm water,¡± Winters forcefully threw a piece of quartz into a distant puddle and remarked with a sigh, ¡°Always feeling there¡¯s a way out so you don¡¯t dare to take the risk, and in the end, you suffer the worst possible outcome. If we had just escaped back to Vineta when we first arrived at Kingsfort, we might not have all these troubles now.¡±


    The white quartz stone arced through the air and plunged into the water with a plunk, disappearing from sight and leaving behind only a few small ripples.


    ¡­


    After arriving in Blackwater Town, Winters and Bard switched back to their original mounts and promptly went their separate ways to their respective stations. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Blackwater Town and Wolfton are separated by the natural boundary of Blackwater River. There is no bridge over the river, but there is a ford where one can wade across.


    When Winters reached the ford, he found Anglu had already been waiting for him at the river crossing for some time.


    ¡°Lieutenant!¡± Anglu couldn¡¯t wait to tell Winters, ¡°You have visitors! Two visitors!¡±


    Waiting for Winters at the police station were two guests he never expected.


    ¡°Gold?¡± Winters could hardly believe his eyes. ¡°You? How did you end up here?¡±


    The thin, dark man in front of him laughed heartily, revealing a mouthful of gold teeth; it was none other than the former pirate, sailor, and marine ¡°Lucky¡± Gold.


    ¡°There¡¯s not just me,¡± Gold laughed boisterously. ¡°There¡¯s another old acquaintance of yours.¡±


    Behind Gold, a young lad rushed out and embraced Winters.


    Caught off guard by the sudden event, Winters froze for a long while before recognizing the youth embracing him as ¡°Xial? Is that you?¡±


    If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the person who hugged him was Benvenuto¡¯s third brother, Xial. However, it had been a year since they last met, and the boy had grown taller. His face had lost its childlike features and now bore a more adult-like appearance.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, big brother Winters!¡± Xial spoke excitedly. ¡°We finally found you!¡±


    ¡°You¡­ What are you doing here? Did my letter get to you so quickly?¡±


    Winters had never expected to encounter old friends in Wolf Town, let alone Xial and Gold¡ªtwo people with barely any connection.


    ¡°That¡¯s a long story,¡± Gold said, pointing at Xial with a chuckle. ¡°This kid is here to deliver a message to you.¡±


    ¡°Who sent you two to deliver a message to me?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°No, no, no! Not me, just him,¡± the former pirate captain shook his head repeatedly, proudly stating, ¡°I¡¯m not here to deliver a message. Your mother and your fianc¨¦e were worried that this kid wouldn¡¯t manage to deliver the letter, so they hired me to protect him en route.¡±


    Winters was overwhelmed by the multitude of issues in the other man¡¯s response, not knowing where to begin.


    ¡°What are you blabbering about?¡± Xial gave Gold a stare and explained to Winters, ¡°Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre sent me to deliver the letter.¡±


    ¡°The letter? Where is it?¡± Winters¡¯s breath suddenly quickened.


    Xial used a small knife to slit the hem of his clothing and pulled out a scroll wrapped in felt cloth.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of being clever like this? You might as well have just put it in a package,¡± Gold scoffed as he watched Xial withdraw the letter from his clothing.


    Xial immediately retorted, ¡°Who knows if there are bad guys around?¡± As he said this, his eyes were fixed on Gold.


    But Winters¡¯s mind was already completely off the two of them as he eagerly unrolled the scroll and read through it at the fastest speed.


    There were three letters, one from Kosha, one from Elizabeth, and one from Anna.


    The letters didn¡¯t contain anything special, only a few brief lines. Possibly for fear of interception, they didn¡¯t even mention Winters¡¯s name.


    Yet to Winters, these letters were as sweet as the first breath of air for someone who had been drowning.


    After listening to Xial¡¯s story and piecing together his own thoughts, Winters roughly understood what had happened.


    Rolling back the time to a year ago, Benvenuto had been kidnapped by the Monta gang from the docks, and Xial came to Winters for help. To prevent Xial from being retaliated against, Winters had Bard take him to the City of Flowers.


    In the days that followed, Xial hid out at a relative¡¯s home in the City of Flowers, living in fear and listening to news from Sea Blue until the storm had gradually calmed, and he returned to Sea Blue.


    It had been five whole months since the Monta gang had been wiped out, and Xial wanted to thank Winters but found out that Winters had already set off on the second supply fleet to Tanilia.


    Because Winters had previously made arrangements, and because Kosha remembered Xial as Winters¡¯s schoolmate¡¯s younger brother, Xial spent the following half year apprenticing in Giovanni¡¯s [Antonio¡¯s younger brother] workshop.

 Chapter 347: 25 Guest_2

    Chapter 347: Chapter 25 Guest_2


    As for that minor disturbance a few months ago, Xial never mentioned it to anyone. No one in the workshop knew he was Benvenuto¡¯s brother, and nobody knew that he had sought Winters¡¯ help.


    After that, the event where the Provincial Army sent graduates from Vineta to Paratu occurred.


    While Winters was constantly thinking about how he could return to Vineta, his family in Sea Blue were also trying every means to bring him back home.


    Due to geographical separation causing communication difficulties, and the deliberate deception by The Federated Provinces, Vineta initially received almost no valuable information.


    The Governor¡¯s Office only knew that the warrant officers who went to Guidao City for the awarding ceremony had gone missing, but had no idea about their whereabouts, and even thought that the Federal military had imprisoned them.


    One after another, messengers dispatched by the consul in Guidao City arrived at Sea Blue, and Vinetians learned that the warrant officers had been sent to Paratu.


    By then, it was too late for a pursuit, and the Governor¡¯s Office could only start negotiations with Paratu.


    But the Highlanders, having suffered a setback, were even more obstinate and scattered the Vinetian lieutenants. The envoy from Debela hadn¡¯t even reached Kingsfort when the Vineta lieutenants were dispatched to various remote locations.


    Only at that point did the news of the missing officer cadets spread from the upper echelons of Vineta to the common citizens. All at once, the Republic of Vineta was in an uproar and public sentiment was agitated.


    The families of the officer cadets were overwhelmed with grief and staged a public petition in the Parliamentary Square. Upon learning of The Federated Provinces¡¯ treacherous and provocative acts, the ordinary Venetian citizens with no personal connections to the cadets were equally filled with righteous indignation.


    For the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office, the totality of the cities equated to the nation. Vineta¡¯s farmers had almost no political rights, a historical legacy left over from the time of autonomous cities and the Sovereignty Wars.


    As the heart of the Republic, angering Sea Blue equated to angering the Republic of Vineta.


    The rage of Sea Blue City¡¯s citizens was like boiling magma, causing the ruling committee to face immense public pressure for a time.


    The Governor of Debela had to personally intervene to calm the public, publicly promising to ¡°bring back our children.¡±


    Despite Debela¡¯s fervent and impassioned vows, not a single Vinetian lieutenant could return home until the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was satisfied.


    What would satisfy the people of Paratu?


    To give them back their officers that had been sent overseas.


    So, in reality, the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office could do nothing. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With Winters sent to Paratu, Antonio still stationed in Tanilia, the household in Sea Blue City was left with only Kosha and Elizabeth, along with Sofia who resided temporarily.


    Kosha wrote to Antonio, asking her husband to send someone to bring Winters back to Vineta. But Antonio, unusually, opposed his wife¡¯s idea.


    Antonio¡¯s reply was just one word ¡ª ¡°Wait.¡±


    However, the impatient Kosha couldn¡¯t wait, which is why Xial travelled all the way from Sea Blue to Wolf Town carrying the letter.


    ¡°Did my family receive my letter?¡± Winters felt something was amiss.


    ¡°Letter? What letter?¡± Xial was equally surprised.


    ¡°The one I sent through the church.¡±


    ¡°No, not received; at least I don¡¯t know about it.¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°When did you leave Sea Blue?¡±


    ¡°The month before last, six weeks ago.¡±


    Winters¡¯ letter was sent out only half a month ago, and six weeks ago he was still busy organizing militia.


    ¡°Then how did you know I was in Wolf Town?¡± Winters grew more puzzled.


    ¡°We have Miss Navarre to thank for that,¡± Xial said with a mischievous smile. ¡°Miss Navarre really does like you a lot, big brother Winters.¡±


    Xial went on to explain the connection again, and Winters then learned that it was Anna, through the relations of Navarre Commerce, who had clarified his station in a town under the jurisdiction of Revodan City.


    Anna informed Kosha of this news, and shortly after, Xial and Gold set off from Sea Blue; at that time, Winters¡¯ letter sent through the church hadn¡¯t even been written.


    ¡°When we left, we only knew you were near Revodan City, not in which specific town. So we had to search town by town,¡± Xial said happily. ¡°Thank goodness, we found you after searching just five towns!¡±


    ¡°Hold on, are you saying that Lady Serviati and Miss Navarre both sent you?¡± Winters stressed the word ¡°both¡± quite distinctly.


    ¡°Yeah, I could have come alone,¡± Xial said, casting a dissatisfied glance at Gold. ¡°I don¡¯t know why this pirate had to come along. He took the opportunity to extort a lot of money from the lady!¡±


    ¡°With you? You wouldn¡¯t have made it out of Vineta alive,¡± Gold scorned Xial¡¯s words and looked at Winters. ¡°Sir, it was your mother and your fianc¨¦e who hired me. Although my price was a bit steep, it seems like your family is not short of money anyway.¡±


    Xial huffed softly; he knew about Winters¡¯ family situation but couldn¡¯t be bothered to correct Gold.


    ¡°That means my aunt already knows about Anna?¡± Winters suddenly realized this and felt a wave of dizziness.


    While Winters was still bewildered, Gold discreetly kicked Xial¡¯s foot.


    ¡°Alright!¡± the former pirate boss said gruffly: ¡°We¡¯ve already met Lord Montaigne, and there¡¯s no one else here. Stop hiding it, just take it out.¡±


    Struck by lightning, Xial stood petrified.


    With a sneer, Gold snatched the staff from Xial¡¯s hand and snapped it over his knee.


    SEND GIFT


    Load failed, please RETRY

 Chapter 348: 25 Guest_3

    Chapter 348: Chapter 25 Guest_3


    The walking stick snapped in the middle, and over a dozen objects with the thickness of fingers and a dark yellow metallic sheen fell from inside the stick onto the ground, clinking as they land.


    Winters picked up one of them and didn¡¯t need to recognize it to know what it was.


    He raised his eyebrows, ¡°Gold bars?¡±


    ¡°Yes, gold bars, all twelve of them, not a single one missing. The lady and Miss Navarre asked me to bring these to you,¡± Xial nodded as he spoke and then pulled out a small wooden tube from his trouser leg, ¡°Miss Navarre also asked me to bring this to you. She said it contains documents, and you can take them to Albert the goldsmith at Kingsfort to exchange for Gold Coins.¡±


    ¡°This kid, so stupid, still thinks I don¡¯t know,¡± Gold chuckled, ¡°Wherever he goes, he has to carry that broken stick around, even sleeps with it at night. Won¡¯t let anyone else touch it, as if everyone else is a fool? If I had any ill intentions, would he still be alive? Even if I had no ill intentions, did he really think he could travel all the way here safely on his own?¡±


    Xial¡¯s cheeks turned bright red, and he wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t find the words in the moment.


    ¡°Why are you bringing me money?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°The lady said you¡¯re sure to need a lot of money, you definitely will need it while you¡¯re out and about,¡± Xial repeated honestly, ¡°She also said that when you see the money you would understand what she means.¡±


    Winters was short of money, but he also didn¡¯t quite understand his aunt¡¯s meaning. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Could she want me to spend the money to win over the Paratu People?¡± he wondered, ¡°Or does it mean I could use this money to escape? But my military registration is still with Paratu, what happens if I run away?¡±


    There were twelve gold bars, each as thick as a thumb and as long as a middle finger, heavy in the hand.


    Winters took out six of them and handed them to Gold, ¡°Captain Gold, thank you for protecting Xial on his journey here. I cannot express my gratitude enough, please accept my token of thanks.¡±


    Xial¡¯s eyes widened in surprise.


    ¡°Although I would really like those gold bars, I can¡¯t accept your money,¡± Gold waved his hands, ¡°I¡¯ve already received payment from your family, and it wouldn¡¯t be right to take money from both sides. Wouldn¡¯t that make me a traitor?¡±


    Winters smiled, ¡°Then, would it be okay if I hired you to escort Xial back?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Xial shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by this pirate! I¡¯m not going back! If you¡¯re not going back, Brother Winters, neither am I! I¡¯ll stay here to help you.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking, lad?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but slap Xial on the head, ¡°You¡¯re not going back to Sea Blue, but staying here?¡±


    ¡°Brother Winters, do you remember what I told you?¡± Xial looked straight into Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I made a vow that if I could save my brother, my life would belong to you from then on. How can you be here alone? I¡¯ll stay and help you. I¡¯ll do anything, be your follower, wash clothes, cook, clean, I can do it all.¡±


    Before Winters could retort, Gold spoke out in agreement.


    The pirate boss said earnestly, ¡°Sir, things are different here compared to Vineta, back thereyou have many connections. But here, you don¡¯t have a single person you can trust, and it¡¯ll be too late when something actually happens. Besides, even if I took the lad away, he¡¯d probably run back halfway through the journey. You should keep him with you.¡±


    At that moment, Winters was at a loss for words.


    From outside the house Gerard¡¯s voice came, followed by Dusack who pushed the door open and laughed, ¡°Where did that handsome horse come from in the backyard? It seems to be a mare too! Winters, do you know whose it is? Eh¡­ do you have guests?¡±


    ¡°What? A horse?¡± Winters looked at Xial and Gold in surprise.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± Xial nodded, ¡°I brought Strong Luck to you as well.¡±

 Chapter 349: 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery

    Chapter 349: Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery


    Among the currencies circulated in the republics, the most popular are the Ducat Gold Coins minted by the central minting house of Sea Blue.


    [Note: The term ¡°Ducat¡± originally meant ¡°money coined by the Duke,¡± used by many regimes to refer to their own issued currency. However, with the popularity of the Venetian Ducats, the term now specifically refers to Venetian Gold Coins.]


    The Venetian Ducats were almost pure gold, with a stable quality, so their value was the most robust. Large volume transactions were all priced in Ducats, making gold coins minted by other Alliance nations seem inferior by comparison.


    For example, consider the gold coin with a larger circulation volume¡ªthe Gold Coin of The Federated Provinces, usually ten of these coins were only worth seven Ducats, and if used for payment, compensation for the seller¡¯s melting loss had to be provided.


    The value of Gold Coins minted in different years also varied slightly, generally, the newer the Gold Coins, the lower their value¡ªthe Federated Provinces¡¯ mint increased the admixture of base metals in Gold Coins as time went on, and everyone was well aware of this.


    Therefore, using Gold Coins was quite inconvenient, even less capable of challenging the position of Ducats.


    Not only within the borders of the Senas Alliance but even merchants in the Empire and the Near East were very willing to trade in Ducats. As a result, the large annual outflow of gold coins also caused some trouble for the Republic of Vineta.


    Thus, merchants and craftsmen who traveled among the republics directly called Ducats ¡°Gold [gold]¡±, while other types of gold coins had different names.


    For most people in the Alliance, Ducats were equivalent to pure gold and represented one of the primary forms of coming into contact with gold.


    But the gold that Kexia and Anna brought was an entirely different kind¡ªgold bars weighing close to 200 grams each, so valuable that Winters had no way of using them.


    Each 3.56 gram Ducat rarely circulated in the market due to their high value, let alone these gold bars, one of which was worth 56 Ducats.


    Kexia said that Winters would understand her intentions upon seeing the gold bars, but the only use Winters could think of was for bribery.


    Yet Winters, a stranger in the lands, didn¡¯t even have the means to bribe anyone, nor could he afford to leave his fellow comrades and head out alone.


    Having supported each other during the arduous siege warfare, shared tents and hot meals in the bone-chilling winter of the archipelago, and survived the campaign in Tanilia together, the bonds between this group of Venetian military academy graduates were far stronger than those of their predecessors.


    Though there was currently no place to spend money, making the gold bars as good as lead weights. Suddenly having a large amount of disposable precious metals alleviated Winters¡¯ anxiety and pressure unconsciously by a great deal,


    Money just has that kind of magic.


    ¡­


    Xial got his wish and stayed by Winters¡¯ side, while Gold didn¡¯t stay in Wolf Town for too long.


    The day after, the pirate leader set off, and Winters saw him off all the way to the Blackwater River ferry.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, Captain Gold,¡± Winters said gravely, saluting Gold.


    ¡°No big deal,¡± Gold laughed heartily, ¡°You¡¯re not afraid I¡¯ll take the money and run.¡±


    ¡°That I¡¯m not worried about,¡± Winters also said with a smile, ¡°Just don¡¯t tell Miss Navarre I gave the gold notes away.¡±


    Gold carried not only Winters¡¯ reply but also the promissory note from Kingsfort¡¯s goldsmith, Albert.


    The goldsmith¡¯s promissory note, brought by Anna through Xial, essentially serves as a receipt that can be exchanged for predeposited gold at the goldsmith¡¯s.


    With various purities, money circulated on the market before, so people needed to take gold and silver to the goldsmith to mint into coins of uniform specifications.


    Goldsmiths had not only safes but also armed guards. Gradually, people realized that gold was safer in the hands of a goldsmith than in their possession.


    Goldsmiths honor the note, not the person, and give gold upon presentation of the note. As a result, gold notes have also evolved into a form of currency, widely used and traded by merchants for being convenient and discreet to carry. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    According to Winters¡¯ request, Gold would first go to Kingsfort to exchange the promissory note for gold coins, then deliver the map and gold coins to Venetian lieutenants scattered throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The Venetians probably weren¡¯t having the best of times. Now that Winters was no longer short of money, he hoped to provide as much help to others as he could.


    It was a difficult assignment since Winters neither knew how many of his peers had been assigned to the Newly Reclaimed Land nor the specific locations of the others.


    For Andre and Bard, Winters had Xial deliver four gold bars to each of them. The remaining Venetians would have to be located by Gold, searching one town at a time.


    ¡°Mr. Gold, I really don¡¯t know how to thank you¡­ truly, thank you,¡± Winters sincerely thanked the former enemy from the bottom of his heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, what¡¯s there to thank?¡± Gold showed a gold tooth with a grin, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m doing this for free, I¡¯m getting paid.¡±


    After saying that, Gold laughed heartily, spurred his horse in the ribs, and took off at a gallop.


    As Winters watched his old acquaintance leave, he suddenly understood the feelings of Lieutenant Mason.


    ¡­


    Just as Colonel Castor and Lieutenant Mason said, a week after Xial and Gold arrived in Wolf Town, in mid-September, a military courier brought three items to Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The newspaper, next quarter¡¯s salary, and a conscription order from the New Reclamation Legion.


    The content of the order was brief and vague about the specific plan, with only a few words explaining the requirements and timing.


    Quoting part of the original text:


    ¡°Issued under the honorable and inviolable ¡®Treaty of Torde¡¯ by Major General of the Republic of Palatu, Legion Commander of the New Reclamation Legion, and recipient of the Violet Medal, Kevin J. Adams.¡±

 Chapter 350: 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery_2

    Chapter 350: Chapter 26 Gold Bars and the Draft Lottery_2


    ¡°The village of Wolfton under the jurisdiction of the Federated Counties is obliged to provide militia as support troops when the New Reclamation Legion needs them,¡±


    Stripped of its verbose formalities, the specific content of the request was that Wolfton provide a full hundred-man militia, with no weapons required on their part, and conscription limited to able-bodied males between the ages of 15 and 35.


    The muster rolls had to be sent to Revodan town¡¯s garrison by October 15, with the exact assembly location and time to be notified separately.


    The tone of this levying order didn¡¯t seem to come from the Republic; it rather resembled the demands of a noble from the old times, requiring his vassals to fulfill their fealty.


    They were only concerned with taking men, with no regard for anything else.


    It¡¯s known that the less detailed the instructions and the broader the mandate, the more leeway is left to the executors.


    Apart from quality control in conscription, the order signed by General Adams had no restrictions. In the hands of some with ill intentions, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to ruin ordinary farming families.


    Winters found this surprising, but Gerard and the commoners from various villages in Wolf Town had grown accustomed to it.


    After the orders were read aloud in the villages, the villagers had no objections to the method of conscription; their only concern was the number of conscripts.


    Many villagers murmured, ¡°Last time they only levied forty, why are they taking eighty now?¡± A few literate villagers even plucked up the courage to ask to see the original drafting order.


    However, the commands were clearly written in black and white on the sealed order, and though there was dissatisfaction, people merely complained a few words. In front of Winters and Gerard, no one dared to openly oppose.


    Winters hadn¡¯t expected the people of Wolf Town to accept so naturally the necessity of conscription. The reading of the orders went very smoothly, hardly needing him to say a word.


    Back at the security office, Winters invited Gerard, Father Caman, and Brother Reed to discuss conscription methods.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much; Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before, everyone is used to it,¡± Gerard sensed Winters¡¯ unease: ¡°If you ask me, we should stick with the old way, drawing lots.¡±


    Father Caman shook his head: ¡°Drawing lots alone probably won¡¯t do. Previously we only conscripted forty, which wasn¡¯t too many. This time we need to take eighty, all young and strong men from the villages. If a family has two members drawn, the remaining elderly, women, and children will have a hard time. There might be some who desert.¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gerard, in thought, said: ¡°What about drawing lots, and those not drawn contribute some money as compensation?¡±


    ¡°That might work,¡± Father Caman said, holding his necklace: ¡°But we need to get the compensation amount right. Some families are poor, some are rich, we should take that into account.¡±


    Gerard and Caman discussed back and forth.


    But what Winters was more curious about was what Gerard had mentioned, ¡°Wolfton has experienced many conscriptions before.¡±


    ¡°What was the previous conscription like?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Ah,¡± Gerard sighed, ¡°Every time we fought with the Herders, be it a large or small skirmish, we had to conscript. Before we had a Garrison Officer here, I was the one leading our men.¡±


    The new lands were not only heavily taxed, but the corv¨¦e was more frequent than Winters had imagined.


    Seeing Winters¡¯ furrowed brow, Gerard quickly added: ¡°They say militia, but actually it¡¯s just laborers, hardly ever having to go into battle. Mostly doing odd jobs, carrying things, escorting supply materials.¡±


    ¡°Fighting the Herders? What do you mean?¡± Winters¡¯ focus was not on what Gerard said: ¡°You¡¯ve fought them many times?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± snorted Brother Reed: ¡°On the east of Palatu lies Vineta and The Federated Provinces, and to the west the Herder tribes. If we don¡¯t fight the Herders, do we make war with our allies instead?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear much about Paratu fighting with the Herders while I was in The Federated Provinces and Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Would everyone buzz with excitement over a dog biting a man?¡± the old monk scoffed, ¡°It¡¯s only notable when a man bites a dog. What¡¯s so special about highlanders and Herders fighting? Especially for you Venetians, what do you care about other than money? Have you ever cared about Paratu, unless, let¡¯s say, Paratu discovers a gold mine one day? I guarantee by the next day every Venetian would know.¡±


    Winters disregarded the old mystic¡¯s sarcastic tone and pursued, ¡°What I mean is¡­ why fight?¡±


    ¡°Why fight?¡± Reed laughed as if he had just heard the funniest joke, ¡°You should ask, when have they ever stopped fighting?¡±


    He stood up, dipped his finger in the liquor, and began to trace on the table, quickly sketching the rough outline of the Paratu plateau.


    ¡°The Herders are not a monolith; various factions and the Paratu People fight small battles every three years and large ones every five, with a history of warring back and forth for at least several hundred years. If we go back to the westward expansion of the Ancient Empire, it¡¯s been over a thousand years. Today¡¯s Paratu People are just Empire-ized Herders, originally one of the factions themselves. It¡¯s just that the Paratu People don¡¯t acknowledge it.¡±


    As the old monk drew on the table, he continued, ¡°In the last hundred years, there were times that Paratu People and the Herders had their victories and defeats. The factions even once made it all the way to Kingsfort, with the Duke of Paratu shivering in the castle, letting the Herders burn, kill, and loot at will.¡±


    The old mendicant suddenly stopped, calculated with his fingers, and sighed, ¡°Come to think of it, that was sixty years ago.¡±


    Winters, Gerard, and Father Caman were all listening intently.


    ¡°And then?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Then the Herders played themselves to death. Internal strife, division, disputes over clan leadership, the same old story,¡± the old monk sneered, ¡°while the Paratu People received arms from The Federated Provinces and gold from Vineta. Given the situation, the balance tipped, and of course, the Herders couldn¡¯t hold out. The place where you¡¯re sitting right now used to be the land of the Herder¡¯s Suta Faction, and now it has become the Paratu Newly Reclaimed Land, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    The old monk tilted his head towards Father Caman, ¡°The church in Wolf Town was a chapel built by heretic missionaries who came to the Suta Faction in the early years. That¡¯s why the wall paintings depict Arianism. Didn¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Father Caman was stunned.


    ¡°Go back and have a good look. See if the depiction of the divine child on the paintings gradually changes from beardless to bearded. This implies that the divine child is a man, which is the doctrine of Arianism.¡± The mendicant chuckled, ¡°Those who came to take over the church property didn¡¯t know a thing. They took over as is, and the paintings remained unmodified. I didn¡¯t have the heart to mention it to old Anthony; it would have killed him.¡±


    ¡°Where did the Suta Faction go?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Where else? They¡¯re all in heaven now.¡± The old monk pointed at Gerard, ¡°Mr. Michel here contributed his part as well.¡±


    Gerard, who was initially absorbed by the conversation, jumped, startled at being called out, and after a moment slowly answered, ¡°When we Dusans first arrived in Paratu, the Newly Reclaimed Land was indeed not reclaimed yet.¡±


    Remembering the Herders on Red Sulfur Island who were desperate to return home and were fearless in death, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°You mean the war between the Kingdom of Galloping Horses and the Herder factions has never stopped?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± the old monk blinked, ¡°There¡¯s been fighting and pauses in between. Overall, it¡¯s never really stopped.¡±


    Winters thought of the war between Vineta and the islands, ¡°Are the Herders wealthy?¡±


    ¡°No, on the contrary, the Herders are poor. So in the past, it was always the Herder factions attacking and the Paratu People defending,¡± the old monk explained, pointing at the map on the table, ¡°But now it¡¯s different; now it¡¯s the Paratu People attacking and the Herders defending. The Kingdom of Galloping Horses craves more land and can¡¯t attack The Federated Provinces or Vineta, so naturally, they move westward.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there unclaimed territory further west?¡± Winters had been to the west bank of Big Horn River not long before.


    ¡°I think this time they want that hundred-kilometer-wide unclaimed area,¡± the old monk stroked his beard, ¡°The Paratu People rely on plunder to wage war. The more they fight, the more they need the spoils of war, and the more they need the spoils, the more they have to continue fighting, like rolling a snowball¡­ But this doesn¡¯t concern you. Rest easy, the people of Wolf Town will definitely support the war against the Herders. If the compensation is reasonable, it won¡¯t be hard to put together a hundred-man militia.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters grew more puzzled, ¡°Are there still people willing to fight? I mean, the poor¡­ Even the poor are willing to fight?¡±


    ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got it all wrong,¡± Reed narrowed his eyes and spoke mysteriously, ¡°In the Republic of Paratu, those most eager for war with the Herders are exactly the ¡®poor families¡¯ you¡¯re talking about.¡±

 Chapter 351: 27 Revodan

    Chapter 351: Chapter 27 Revodan


    Three days after the conscription orders reached Wolf Town, dawn broke on the third morning.


    As the sky began to light up, lines of four-wheeled farm carts streamed out from the estates of Wolf Town, converging in the town center before making their way toward Revodan City.


    Over a hundred carts stretched out in a long line on the road, with the front and rear being a kilometer apart, their squeaking axles audible from a great distance. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fully armed and agile riders occasionally dashed past the sluggish carts, patrolling back and forth along the caravan.


    Following the lay of the land, the road meandered and twisted into the distance, with most of the journey crossing through deserted areas.


    The wilderness and meadows dominated the scenery along the route, and whenever the caravan passed through a forest, everyone¡¯s nerves instantly tensed.


    Even the laziest of drivers would snap to attention, pulling out daggers and crossbows to keep at hand, vigilantly watching the dark woods on either side of the path.


    Only once the caravan had left the forest would the drivers dare to breathe a sigh of relief, kicking their weapons back under their seats and slipping back into their usual listless demeanor.


    The riders patrolling at the very front of the caravan were none other than Winters and Gerard, and the riders were Dusacks hired by the estate owners.


    Although Wolf Town had received conscription orders, life still had to go on.


    The farmers¡¯ crops needed to be harvested, and the autumn sowing had to be done; tobacco, cotton, and beets harvested by the estates needed to be sold.


    The output of most estates had already been secured by merchant houses through advance payments.


    But for the merchants, the risk and cost of transport were too high, so the estate owners had to transport their goods themselves to Revodan City for delivery.


    Therefore, every year around this time, the estate owners of Wolf Town would arrange a time to jointly transport their goods to Revodan City, which was why the grand caravan seen now had come into being.


    Band together for warmth, a measure born of necessity.


    Oppressive governance, oppressive as a tiger¡ªthe authoritarian policies of Palatu¡¯s higher-ups in the Newly Reclaimed Land inevitably led to rampant banditry.


    Theft, poaching, tax evasion, unauthorized farming¡­ Any one of these charges could drive otherwise law-abiding farmers to desperate measures, exchanging violence for sustenance and devolving into robbers and bandits.


    If the times turned tough¡ªif temperatures remained low all year, summers were cool and damp, winters were long and icy¡ªcrop failures would occur, and famine would follow.


    Then it wouldn¡¯t just be the Newly Reclaimed Land, the Republic of Palatu, or the Senas Alliance¡­ Across the entire continent, numerous farmers would go bankrupt, starve, and turn to banditry.


    [Note: The people of this era were not aware that they were experiencing what later generations would call the ¡°Little Ice Age.¡±]


    Most of the Newly Reclaimed Lands of the Republic of Palatu were covered by pristine forests and meadows, scattered with sporadic villages and a few small towns with populations of just one or two thousand.


    The only larger city was Maplestone City, the capital of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, where the legion was stationed.


    In such sparsely populated frontier regions, without the protection of city walls or the vigilance of neighbors, any lonely farmhouse encountering a few strong men armed with makeshift weapons could only submit to their mercy.


    As a result, most farmers in the Newly Reclaimed Lands lived in close-knit communities, with few isolated farmhouses far from villages.


    Rural dirt roads, the borders between towns, and the forests near cities¡ªthese places all lay beyond the reach of help and were rife with banditry.


    In Wolf Town, thanks to Gerard Mitchell at the helm, the days were peaceful.


    Gerard ruled with benevolence, supported wholeheartedly by the Dusacks, so Wolf Town itself did not breed bandits.


    Outlaws from elsewhere found no assistance from the locals, ending up like fish out of water. The brighter ones would flee immediately, while the dimmer ones were easily eradicated by Gerard leading the Dusacks.


    After disposing of a group of bandits with some notoriety, few rogue villains dared to cause trouble within the jurisdiction of Wolf Town.


    But there were one hundred and twenty-four administrative regions in the Newly Reclaimed Lands at the same level as Wolf Town; the peace in Wolf Town had little to no effect on the larger environment.


    To the gangs of thieves, the heavily laden, slow-moving, defenseless farm cart caravans were simply an irresistible feast.


    Each year at this time, small groups of bandits would even spontaneously band together to form larger gangs to rob the merchant caravans on their way to the city.


    After paying a bloody price several times, the estate owners of Wolf Town thus banded together for warmth, hiring riders from Dusa Village to protect the caravan.


    ¡°A few years ago, there was a particularly notorious bandit, nicknamed ¡®Bloody Hand Schutte,''¡± Gerard recounted vividly to Winters as they rode side by side, sharing the legends of the robbers of the Newly Reclaimed Land: ¡°That guy didn¡¯t just rob and kill, he would even chop off people¡¯s hands and pickle them in salt barrels. It¡¯s said that when the legion gendarmes caught him, they found over a hundred severed hands, unable to tell which belonged to whom.¡±


    Winters, indignant, said, ¡°It took the murder of dozens before he was caught, what were the gendarmes of the Newly Reclaimed Lands doing? I was a gendarme too, if my old commanding officer Colonel Field were here¡­¡±


    Words stirred memories, and suddenly recalling the fallen Colonel Field and the pacts made over heavy drinking in Golden Harbor, Winters¡¯s voice grew quieter and quieter, until he could no longer continue.


    ¡°It¡¯s the local government¡¯s responsibility to capture thieves, the stationed legions don¡¯t get involved,¡± Gerard sighed, ¡°The legion gendarmes only went after Bloody Hand because he overstepped, robbing the legions¡¯ own supply convoys.¡±


    Sergei, who was nearby, perked up and interjected enthusiastically, ¡°There¡¯s also a joke. It goes like this: a peddler was on his way to the city when he encountered a robber. Just then, a troop of gendarmes happened by. The peddler shouted for help, but the gendarmes ignored him. Desperate, the peddler yelled, ¡®I haven¡¯t paid my taxes,¡¯ and immediately the gendarmes charged over, drove away the robber, and took the peddler all the way to the city.¡±

 Chapter 352: 27 Revodan_2

    Chapter 352: Chapter 27 Revodan_2


    Having said that, Sergei burst into laughter.


    Two riders were seen galloping back from ahead, Pierre and Vashka. Gerard, always cautious, had sent out a few horsemen earlier to scout the path.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Pierre called out impatiently from afar, ¡°The Panto River basin is flooding!¡±


    Vashka too looked panicked, ¡°The water is already reaching the horses¡¯ backs, what do we do?¡±


    The drivers in front heard their shouts and quickly pulled on the reins to stop the big wagons. The drivers behind them also hurriedly stopped, and the wagons came to a halt one after another.


    Sergei, seeing his son¡¯s flustered state, rebuked him dissatisfiedly, ¡°What¡¯s all the panic about? Are you even a Dusack? It¡¯s such a small matter, and you¡¯re scared like this?¡±


    ¡°These two kids are out with the convoy for the first time; they¡¯ve got little experience,¡± Gerard explained to Winters, ¡°This area is downstream, when it rains upstream, the downstream floods. It¡¯s common to not be able to traverse by foot.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    Gerard pointed northwards, ¡°Take a detour, to Wolf Town. There¡¯s a bridge over the Panto River in Wolf Town. It¡¯ll just take a little more time, and we¡¯ll have to pay some extra tolls, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Gerard and his old companion exchanged glances and then nodded at Sergei.


    Sergei turned his mount and sped towards the rear of the caravan, shouting orders as he rode, ¡°Detour! Detour! Head to Wolf Town! Keep up with the front wagons! Keep up with the front wagons!¡±


    ¡°The turn-off for Wolf Town is behind us, we already passed it. But it¡¯s difficult to turn around on the road, keep going and find a good spot to circle back!¡± Gerard commanded the lead wagon¡¯s driver, ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The drivers whipped their beasts hard, and with piercing friction sounds, the horses neighing, the wagons were dragged forward as the convoy continued onward.


    Gerard apologized to Winters, ¡°I guess this will delay us by another day on the road.¡±


    ¡°No problem, we¡¯re not in a rush for a day or two,¡± Winters replied with a smile.


    The reason why Winters was also in the convoy was secondary to providing protection¡ªthe massive convoy was not short on men capable of wielding a sword.


    The primary purpose of Lieutenant Winters Montagne was to visit the garrison in Revodan City. The content of the military draft order was too vague, and there were some critical issues that urgently needed clarification.


    Although the draft notice had been distributed for a few days, there was no progress with the conscription work in Wolf Town. No lots had been drawn, no training had occurred¡ªnothing.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters was intentionally dragging his feet, but rather because it was the busy farming season, and drafting men at this time would mean destroying the peasants¡¯ year of hard work.


    The Paratu Plateau has a low latitude and high altitude, where the air currents from both the north and south are blocked by towering mountains. The precipitation mainly comes from the monsoons blowing from Senas Bay to the plateau.


    This is why the crops in Paratu usually follow the pattern of double cropping in a year or triple cropping in two years.


    Right now, in the fields of the villages in Wolf Town, the spring-planted crops needed harvesting and drying, while the fall-planted crops¡ªlike winter wheat¡ªwere waiting to be sown.


    Ordinary peasants were frantic with gathering harvests, drying grains, and sowing seeds while the Dusans had an additional task¡ªgrass cutting. After each household had their assigned pastures, men and women, young and old, had to join forces to cut and dry grass to feed the livestock in the winter.


    Peasants with less farmland finished their own field work and then went to help other households short on labor in exchange for some grain to supplement their household.


    At such a time, drafting peasants was something Winters could not bear to do. Fortunately, there was still some time before the deadline, so there was no need to rush.


    Therefore, it was a good time for Lieutenant Winters Montagne to make a trip to Revodan City and clarify the vague terms in the drafting order, as the lieutenant had many questions for his immediate superior.


    The most critical question¡ªand one that sounded quite absurd¡ªwas whether the drafted militia legally counted as ¡°soldiers¡± or ¡°peasants.¡±


    For the villagers of Wolf Town, this question was downright ludicrous.


    Peasants? Soldiers?


    What¡¯s the difference? Isn¡¯t it all just work?


    If you asked the peasants of Wolf Town, they would unanimously respond, ¡°Whichever allows me to serve less is the one for me.¡±


    But Brother Reed had an exceedingly creative idea. Conscription was a heavy blow to any family, but the old mendicant monk¡¯s idea might turn a misfortune into a blessing.


    As he often said, ¡°Celican proverb: Calamity is where fortune leans, fortune where calamity hides.¡±


    But all this hinged on clarifying whether the ¡°militia really counted as civilians or soldiers.¡±


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    If one rode a horse from Wolf Town to Revodan City, covering sixty kilometers per day, it would take roughly two days one way.


    But for the slow-moving farmer¡¯s wagons, traveling twenty kilometers a day was already the limit. With the detour through Wolf Town, it took a full seven days to reach Revodan City.


    Gerard and Winters enforced military discipline on the convoy, sending out scouts ahead, positioning rear guards, patrolling back and forth during the day, and taking turns standing watch at night.


    After several days of travel, everyone was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But most of the drivers and Dusacks were not on their first convoy and managed to grit their teeth and bear it silently.


    On the other hand, Pierre, Vashka, and other young Dusacks who were with the convoy for the first time soon lost their enthusiasm and began to incessantly complain. By the last few days, they became too lazy to patrol and simply refused to get off the wagons.


    A few incidents such as broken axles and overturned wagons occurred along the way, but thanks to Winters and Gerard¡¯s capable handling, there were no casualties. Gerard had specifically brought a few empty wagons just to anticipate such accidents.


    Besides these minor hiccups, the journey was safe and smooth, with no ill-intentioned bandits causing trouble, which was fortunate indeed.

 Chapter 353: 27 Revodan_3

    Chapter 353: Chapter 27 Revodan_3


    After all, one big cart might be considered prey, but a hundred big carts would make the predator consider the risk of breaking its teeth.


    Luckily, the rain that Gerard was most worried about did not happen, and the caravan arrived in Revodan city without any incident.


    As soon as the bell tower of the Revodan Cathedral came into view, Winters set out ahead to the military encampment, and Gerard enthusiastically offered to accompany him.


    ¡°Is that okay? Don¡¯t you need to follow the caravan?¡± Winters felt embarrassed to trouble old Dusack further.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Gerard said cheerily, ¡°Just need to deliver the tobacco to the warehouse, I¡¯m not needed there. Besides, you don¡¯t know the way to the garrison, let me lead you. I know Major Ronald, I can introduce you.¡±


    With Gerard¡¯s enthusiasm, Winters had no reason to decline, and the two of them left the caravan and galloped towards the center of Revodan City.


    As the capital of Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and Iron Peak County, Revodan could only be called a ¡°city¡± and not a ¡°town¡± because it had a downtown area but no city walls.


    Just like all naturally formed settlements, from the perspective of modern people, the geographical conditions of this city were exceptionally favorable.


    The downtown area was situated in the middle of a valley, with the land beneath being firm and flat. The St. George River flowed around the city, providing fresh water for the citizens of Revodan and carrying away the filth.


    The most conspicuous building in the whole city was the towering Revodan Cathedral in the center of the downtown area, whose spire topped with a bell tower was visible to travelers from kilometers away.


    ¡°Revodan Cathedral is really something. Big! Tall!¡± Old Dusack, not good with words, turned beet red trying to express himself, and after a while, he found another adjective: ¡°Gorgeous! Oh yes, the grave of Saint Ados lies within the cathedral! It¡¯s said that no matter how severe the illness, one touch can restore health. I haven¡¯t tried it though, firstly because I¡¯m not sick, and secondly, because the priests won¡¯t allow it¡­¡±


    Throughout the ride, Gerard introduced Revodan City to Winters, who listened attentively.


    One spoke, the other listened, and soon, the two arrived at the banks of the St. George River.


    ¡°They say this place is called Lover¡¯s Forest.¡± Gerard pointed to a sparse woodland on the opposite side of the downtown area, to the west of the road, and said, ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s where men and women go to do that thing.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances at the little woodland.


    But it was still daytime, and there wasn¡¯t a soul in the woods; nothing seemed particularly special about it.


    There was only one wooden bridge over the St. George River, where an old man dressed in a coarse friar¡¯s robe dozed off in a pavilion at the head of the bridge.


    Seeing the two riders approach, the old man hobbled to the wooden barrier that served as a block and made a gesture of blessing: ¡°Good day, may God bless you.¡±


    ¡°Good day, father,¡± Gerard returned the gesture: ¡°How much is the toll for the bridge today?¡±


    ¡°One silver coin for a horse, a quarter silver coin for each person.¡±


    As Gerard counted out the silver coins, Winters frowned and asked, ¡°Are you a clergyman?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Clergy from the cathedral?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± the old man replied puzzled: ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Then why are you collecting money here?¡±


    The old man made another blessing gesture and rambled on in explanation: ¡°This bridge belongs to the Revodan Cathedral, so there¡¯s a toll for crossing. However, city residents, clergy members, and the cathedral¡¯s servants don¡¯t have to pay¡­¡±


    Gerard handed over three silver coins to the old man: ¡°Father, please use the rest to buy some wood for warmth.¡±


    The old man gave thanks for the gesture and moved aside the wooden barrier.


    After the two horsemen crossed, the old man struggled to move the wood back into place.


    Seeing this, Winters turned back, dismounted, and lifted the wood: ¡°You go back and sit.¡±


    The old man expressed his gratitude repeatedly and hobbled back to the pavilion.


    Winters shook his head secretly, thinking to himself that what he had actually wanted to ask was, ¡°How can they make such an old man do this kind of work?¡±


    After crossing the bridge, they entered the downtown area of Revodan, and on the way to the garrison, Winters passed by the great cathedral.


    It was only a fleeting glance, but this towering stone structure was truly majestic and¡­ indeed, brilliant and resplendent.


    The barracks were housed in a two-story stone building with white walls and red tiles, surrounded by a wooden fence that formed a large courtyard. On the other side of the courtyard was a row of barracks, with a flat drill ground in between the barracks and the building.


    The guards at the gate recognized Gerard and waved the two of them in. Instead of going straight upstairs, Gerard led Winters to the stables in the back yard to store the horses first.


    As Winters handed the reins to the coachman, Gerard Mitchell¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment as he said, ¡°Lieutenant, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been thinking about for a long time, and I need to ask for your help. Please, you must help me.¡±


    The sudden request caught Winters off guard. He had a bad feeling about this, but still answered, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I hope you won¡¯t find it abrupt,¡± Gerard became more earnest.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Winters began to sweat even more.


    ¡°I¡¯m really embarrassed, and this is quite presumptuous.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about this for a long time before mustering the courage to ask.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡± Gerard bit his lip, saying awkwardly, ¡°could you let the colt your family sent over mate with my family¡¯s mare?¡±


    Winters almost had a stroke, ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it would be for a fee. I know the rules,¡± Old Dusack hastily added.


    The colt Gerard mentioned referred to not Redmane, but Strongwind.


    While Winters had been fighting in Tanilia, Strongwind had stayed at Sea Blue¡¯s house. When Kosha sent Xial to find Winters, she had Xial bring Strongwind along as well.


    Winters guessed that it also meant something like ¡°riding this horse back home.¡±


    From the moment Gerard saw Strongwind, he could hardly take his eyes off him, hanging around Strongwind whenever he had the chance, which made Winters think he wanted to buy Strongwind.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± Winters shook Gerard¡¯s hand sincerely, ¡°Please, use him for breeding, as much as you like.¡±


    Old Dusack was all smiles, rubbing his hands together without knowing quite what to say.


    ¡°However, I¡¯ve heard that the mare might be more important,¡± Winters queried.


    ¡°The quality of the mare is certainly important, but so is that of the colt,¡± Gerard suddenly said with sadness. ¡°After Hanu was killed by a bear, my family hasn¡¯t had a decent colt¡­ anyway, let¡¯s drop it.¡±


    Gerard waved his hand and led Winters into the two-story building.


    To Winters¡¯ surprise, every officer and soldier in the barracks seemed to know Gerard, all greeting Old Dusack.


    Thus, with ease, the two men met the commander of the Revodan barracks, Winters¡¯ direct superior¡ªMajor Ronald.


    Whether it was because of Gerard¡¯s introduction or their alumni relationship, Major Ronald was very friendly to Winters.


    He inquired carefully about Winters¡¯ difficulties, what assistance he needed, and even introduced Winters to the other officers at the barracks.


    ¡°I am only a few classes ahead of you,¡± the Major said with sympathy, patting Winters on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about your situation. For now, just bear with it. We¡¯re in the middle of a manpower shortage, and those higher up won¡¯t let anyone go. Once the war is won, everything will be easier to talk about.¡±


    The Paratu Army, from top to bottom, made Winters feel a stark contrast. Every Paratu-born officer he met was very nice and friendly.


    Yet it was precisely this collective representation of all Paratu officers that was detaining him here, preventing him from going home. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, Winters had not forgotten the purpose of his visit. He had some important questions that needed clarification.


    In Paratu¡¯s law, were militiamen considered ¡°labourers¡± or ¡°soldiers¡±?


    ¡°They are soldiers,¡± Major Ronald gave a definitive answer, bringing documents to support it.


    Then Winters¡¯ second question:


    Is Dusack¡¯s conscription as a militiaman¡­ also considered service?

 Chapter 354: 28: Regulatory Arbitrage

    Chapter 354: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage


    In the eyes of Palatu law, whether militia are considered ¡°common laborers¡± or ¡°soldiers¡± doesn¡¯t matter to other ethnic groups¡ªthey¡¯re all there to do a job anyway.


    But for the Dusacks, the distinction couldn¡¯t be more significant.


    If militia are ¡°soldiers,¡± then Dusacks serving as militia could offset their service time, even though the work they actually do is that of common laborers.


    This was an idea from Brother Reed, who, after a couple bottles of wine, couldn¡¯t keep his mouth shut.


    The surviving elders of the Dusacks had all sworn an oath to Marshal Ned thirty years ago, formally aligning themselves with the Republic of Palatu, and eventually settling and multiplying into what is now the Newly Reclaimed Land of the Dusans.


    And their descendants, upon coming of age for service, would swear the oath anew.


    But within all the oaths, only ¡°eternal loyalty¡± and ¡°service¡± were mentioned, without specifying the form of service, leaving room for interpretation.


    For the Dusacks, serving meant being soldiers, killing, and cleaving down with horse sabers¡ªit was a matter of course.


    They failed to see the significant loophole in the system¡ªthat militia were soldiers too, and serving as militia also counted as service.


    Now, for every day a Dusack joins the militia, in theory, their future period of service could be theoretically reduced by one day.


    Although it¡¯s essentially exploiting a loophole, the Dusacks would be pleased since it lowers the risks associated with their duty;


    The other four villages of Wolf Town would be happy too since they would have fewer people to send;


    Winters would also be pleased, as he turned a bad situation into something of a mixed bag;


    The only one probably not happy would be the Republic of Palatu, but what ruled the Republic was a clumsy, massive, bloated system of power.


    It was so slow to react that it could take a long while to notice a minor cut, and it¡¯s highly unlikely that it would make a fuss over a small advantage taken.


    This ¡°transformation of civilians into soldiers¡± tactic was proudly hailed by the old charlatan as ¡°exploiting the system.¡±


    The old man had even more outrageous strategies: The precondition for the Dusacks to be granted land was to complete a term of service, but the definition of a term of service was equally vague. Serving in militia auxiliary units and automatically concluding service upon their disbandment¡ªdoesn¡¯t that count as ¡°completing a term of service¡±?


    Then there were even more outrageous, utterly shameless strategies: The ¡°Teldorf Accord¡± stipulates that in times of emergency, the Garrison Officer has the right to conscript civilians to form militia units.


    But what constitutes an emergency? The ¡°Teldorf Accord¡± didn¡¯t elaborate, thus the interpretation naturally fell into the hands of the Garrison Officer.


    And a town-level militia unit was still a militia, legally equal to the militia conscripted by a legion, meaning that serving in a town-level militia counted as service.


    So theoretically, Winters could simply declare an ¡°emergency in Wolfton¡± and establish a nominal militia to allow the young Dusacks to serve their term until they were granted land.


    Reed¡¯s continual exploitation of the system left Lieutenant Montaigne dazzled and speechless. The poor lieutenant had attended a military academy from the age of nine and had never seen a ¡°system exploiter¡± like Reed who could push every loophole to its limit.


    Compared to other system-exploiting strategies, the initial method seemed like child¡¯s play, barely counting as taking advantage of the public. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°But you¡¯ve got to be careful, son. The last two tricks aren¡¯t just bloodletting with a small knife, they¡¯re chopping off toes with a big axe!¡± Brother Reed, even in his inebriated state, didn¡¯t forget to warn Winters, ¡°You¡¯re forcing officials to close the loopholes and you will definitely provoke retaliation from the authorities. So don¡¯t overdo it. Let the Dusacks serve as militia and accumulate some service time, perfectly solving the source of the militia. If higher-ups ever call it into question, you¡¯ll have an excuse.¡±


    However, the old monk was clearly overthinking it, because the mere tactic of ¡°transforming civilians into soldiers¡± had already turned Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s world upside down. As for more aggressive, greedier system exploitation, Winters hadn¡¯t even considered them.


    Not expecting to change the Dusans¡¯ way of life, Winters was content with contributing something modest to Wolf Town. At the Revodan garrison, he received a satisfactory response.


    ¡­


    Major Ronald had some hesitation initially, but Captain Apel, the head of the garrison archives, brought up a case from eight years prior to support Winters¡¯ claim.


    Eight years ago in Dastone Town, which was also under the jurisdiction of Iron Peak County, the town¡¯s military officer urgently called upon the Dusacks to form a militia to suppress bandits. During the process, a young Dusack who was not yet of age unfortunately died in battle.


    It was customary for Dusacks to serve at the age of twenty. But in rural areas, marriages happened early, and many Dusacks already had children before reaching the age to serve and obtain land.


    The young Dusack who died fighting bandits in Dastone Town left behind a son, a daughter, and a widow.


    After the militia disbanded post-bandit suppression, the Dusacks of Dastone Town went all the way up to the headquarters of the garrisoned legion to petition.


    They hoped the legion would recognize the death of the underage Dusack as ¡°fallen in service.¡±


    Because the only way an un-landed Dusack¡¯s son could inherit land until he came of age was through the father¡¯s death in service, otherwise the death was in vain.


    The petition eventually landed on the desk of then-Legion Commander General Ferenc, who was deeply moved upon learning that the deceased Dusack had been pierced by several arrows yet continued to fight the bandits until his death.


    General Ferenc personally approved the fallen as ¡°killed in service,¡± and the injured were also recognized as ¡°wounded in service,¡± to be given commendation.


    This case from eight years ago provided the support for Winters¡¯ claim.


    Even if it came to a debate in military court, to reject Winters¡¯ claim would mean to overturn General Ferenc¡¯s precedent first.

 Chapter 355: 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_2

    Chapter 355: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_2


    Winters was completely unaware that such an incident had occurred eight years ago, but since there was already a similar precedent, that was certainly for the best.


    After much consideration, Major Ronald reluctantly said to Winters and Gerard, ¡°This conscription will proceed as you wish, but whether future conscriptions can still be done this way¡­ I¡¯ll have to consult with the legion headquarters.¡±


    All archival materials of the Dusacks in the county were managed by the garrison, and Major Ronald, as the highest military commander of Iron Peak County, had a considerable degree of autonomy.


    He nodded, and with that, the matter was settled.


    For a moment, Winters was also very excited, after all, he had never thought about the future, and everyone, including himself, believed that Winters Montagne would not stay in Paratu for long.


    As Major Ronald was seeing Winters and Gerard out, he sighed unintentionally, ¡°A son is not a creditor of his parents, but he can suck their blood even more than a creditor.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Did the Major agree just to save Mr. Michel¡¯s face?¡± Winters thought to himself.


    He looked at Gerard, only to find that the old Dusack¡¯s face was ashen and he was silent.


    ¡°Senior, thank you for lending a hand today.¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Stepping out of the garrison¡¯s gate, Winters sincerely thanked Captain Apel. If it weren¡¯t for the captain citing the precedent, they would not have been able to convince Major Ronald so easily.


    To his surprise, Captain Apel merely replied indifferently, ¡°I was not helping you, I was just stating facts. But if you ask me, it was really Mr. Michel¡¯s influence that was more effective.¡±


    After this, the captain greeted the two men and turned back to the garrison building.


    Outside the garrison walls, only Winters and Gerard were left, along with two horses.


    ¡°Lieutenant, do you want the kids to join the militia now to idle away their time, so they serve less when they are of age?¡± the moment the captain left, Gerard asked impatiently.


    Winters noticed the old Dusack¡¯s unusual upset, ¡°It¡¯s not idling away time, serving in the militia auxiliary force is just as legally valid as any other service.¡±


    ¡°I disagree! This is exploiting a loophole! It is opportunism! It is stealing!¡± Gerard, for the first time since they met, shouted at Winters, ¡°Dusacks are the kind of men who would rob but never steal! When it¡¯s their turn to serve, they should do so honestly, and if they don¡¯t want to serve, well, they might as well rebel! They should never engage in these sneaky tricks! We took a blood oath with the old marshal!¡±


    Normally cheerful, Gerard suddenly erupted with emotion, and Winters did not know how to respond, ¡°Please be assured, all of this is legally sound.¡±


    ¡°But what about conscience? Our blood oath? God is watching from the clouds!¡± As he spoke, the old Dusack¡¯s energy deflated, and he muttered to himself, ¡°Nobody wants to send their boy to the battlefield, who am I to tell others how to manage their children? Ah, you young people¡­ do as you please¡­¡±


    ¡°I apologize for taking the initiative without consulting you in advance.¡± Winters was moved by the old Dusack¡¯s emotions, ¡°If you feel this is not right, we can pretend this never happened, and I won¡¯t mention it to anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Child, I know you meant well.¡± Gerard grasped Winters¡¯s hand, using the term ¡°son¡± for the first time, ¡°I will tell the other Dusacks when I get back, they should be very pleased. Ah, you young people¡­ do as you please.¡±


    Gerard, exhausted, mounted his horse and left without a word.


    Winters did not expect that what seemed like a good deed would upset the old Dusack so much; he stood in place for a long time before leaping onto his horse to catch up from behind.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The goods from Wolf Town¡¯s estates were successfully delivered in Revodan.


    The year¡¯s crops were good, which could be described as favorable weather, so there were no breaches of contract.


    Beyond the produce pre-contracted by several large trading companies, Wolf Town¡¯s estates had an additional surplus of crops. These were also brought over and, after some bargaining, purchased by the trading companies.


    Produce like beets would be crudely processed right in Revodan, while the transport from Revodan to the provincial capital and other distant cities was the responsibility of the trading companies¡¯ caravans.


    The harvest season thus came to a complete end, leaving the estate managers with a substantial amount of cash in hand.


    A portion of it was used to procure essential items for the next year¡¯s production in Revodan, such as coal, iron farming tools, timber, etc.


    Another portion needed to be paid to the employees, though the workers¡¯ wages were mainly in the form of grain rather than Gold Coin or silver coin.


    The landowners would take the money back and buy grain from the Dusans, who never lacked land or had an excess cereal production; this would be the most cost-effective approach.


    Of course, as compensation for the hard work during the harvest season, each employee also received a bonus¡ªalthough the amount varied, depending on the employer¡¯s generosity.


    Some ambitious estate managers immediately set out for the garrison, eager to fence in more land before others.


    Take the Bunting family, for example. The Bunting couple raised five sons and two daughters¡ªan almost miraculous achievement in those times.


    Considering future subdivisions among their sons and dowries for their daughters, they too were desperately longing for more land.


    The profits were thus poured back into acquiring more land in a never-ending cycle, with no sign of a finish line.


    From Winters¡¯s perspective, most estate managers immediately converted their money into consumer goods: fine wines, pure white sugar, beautiful furniture, tightly woven striped cotton cloth¡­ a myriad of nice things, which need not be listed one by one.


    Gold Coin and silver coin slipped through their fingers like fine sand, exchanged for material joys.

 Chapter 356: 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_3

    Chapter 356: Chapter 28: Regulatory Arbitrage_3


    Winters also discovered a very interesting phenomenon: although Wolf Town produces cotton, hemp, and timber, finished goods such as furniture and fabrics still had to be bought from Revodan.


    The estates only produced raw materials, yet lacked the capacity to process them¡ªexcept for tobacco.


    The estate economy was actually particularly fragile, extremely dependent on a developed commercial system. Without external merchants to purchase their goods, the entire economic crop planting cycle of the estates would immediately collapse.


    However, these matters were of no concern to him; he simply drew his own conclusions from the perspective of an observer.


    What he was most concerned about now was the situation in Vineta, so during the convoy¡¯s stop in Revodan these past few days, he visited all the commerce houses in Revodan.


    Xial and Gold set out from Sea Blue quite early and were not very clear about the current situation. Besides, Xial had a limited perspective, while Gold was unwilling to elaborate, resulting in Winters obtaining very little useful intelligence from them.


    But one common sense was self-evident to Winters, coming from a commercial republic: merchants always had the most up-to-date information, no matter the time or place.


    Although the information he received was somewhat inconsistent, it still made Winters deeply worried.


    Various pieces of intelligence indicated that the standoff between The Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªthe twin pillars of the Alliance¡ªnot only hadn¡¯t cooled but was escalating.


    Merchants from Revodan heard that on the Inner Sea, Vineta and The Federated Provinces¡¯ fleets would intercept, inspect, and seize each other¡¯s merchant ships.


    There were even rumors that the navies of both sides were masquerading as pirates to rob the other¡¯s vessels¡ªof course, some merchants said it was because the navies no longer had the resources to deal with pirates, allowing the pirates, who had lain low after the collapse of the Tanilia Federation, to become rampant.


    The result was that today, not a single merchant ship on the Inner Sea dared to fly the Tulip or Blood Red flags. Ships were raising the Empire¡¯s flag for self-protection.


    [The Tulip and Blood Red flags are, respectively, the navigational flags of The Federated Provinces and Vineta.]


    Even more merchant ships simply left the Inner Sea or shrank into ports to wait out the storm.


    The once-thriving and busy Senas Bay had now become cold and dim.


    The Senas Inner Sea, once renowned for its golden waters, had now turned into a deadly area that sailors spoke of with dread.


    The land borders had also been sealed off for a long time, with only a few ports remaining open to maintain the scant personnel exchange.


    The Parlatu Congress and Vineta Senate rapidly enacted one embargo act after another, turning what was previously an almost unrestricted internal trade within the Alliance into something where selling anything became illegal.


    Now, trade between Vineta and The Federated Provinces could only be routed through Paratu, which made quite a few Paratu merchants wealthy through transshipment business, much to the envy of the merchants in the remote southwestern city of Revodan.


    Not seeing a sign for Navarre Commerce in the city, Winters also took the opportunity to inquire with the merchants of Revodan, only to find that the Navarre family¡¯s business was ¡°common knowledge¡±.


    According to the warehouses that purchased raw materials such as cotton and hemp, they were selling their goods to Navarre Commerce.


    But the large commerce houses only had branches in the provincial capitals, waiting for smaller merchant houses to transport the goods to them, and would not come down to the smaller cities to collect the goods.


    The reason¡­ well, it¡¯s the same as why the merchants of Revodan have to have the estate owners bring the goods to Revodan. The roads were unsafe¡ªit was all to reduce risk.


    Winters considered sending a message to Navarre Commerce through the merchants of Revodan but after careful consideration, he decided against it.


    He didn¡¯t trust the merchants of Revodan, nor the branches of Navarre Commerce¡ªeven if he were to write a letter, he couldn¡¯t include important information.


    Now that he had already communicated with Sea Blue, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to send a message back. Who knew whether the Paratu People would hand over his letter to the Parlatu Army?


    ¡­ sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Time passed quickly in the city of Revodan.


    After living for over two months in the quiet, spacious countryside, Winters felt somewhat unaccustomed to the sudden return to city life.


    In the span of three days, Winters attended to official business, made inquiries at different firms, and on Sunday, followed the congregation into the Revodan Cathedral for mass.


    However, the lieutenant regarded his visit as a sightseeing trip and discreetly avoided taking communion at the end.


    To be fair, the Revodan Cathedral was indeed magnificent and luxurious, and even when compared to Sea Blue¡¯s Saint Marco Cathedral, it had its merits.


    The towering arches seemed poised to crush one¡¯s face from above, making every passerby feel their insignificance.


    What genuinely moved Winters was not the miracles of the divine but the wisdom humans burst forth with in their efforts to please their gods.


    Just looking at the cathedral before him, it was hard to imagine how the craftsmen could create such a majestic structure using simple tools like chisels, hammers, and pulleys.


    To Winters, a Sea Blue native, Revodan could hardly be considered a wealthy city.


    Yet, a city of just one or two thousand people had erected such a cathedral, making it difficult to decide whether to call it extravagant or wasteful, foolish or devout.


    Of course, what Winters found most impressive was the grandiose vestments of the Revodan bishop and the dazzling gold and silver vessels on the altar.


    The lieutenant couldn¡¯t help thinking: Perhaps part of it came from the toll collected by that old man by the bridgehead?


    And so, the three days passed swiftly.


    On the fourth day, it was time to set off again from Wolf Town, heading back to that remote, secluded, yet charming border town.


    However, an hour past the agreed departure time, nearly half the people hadn¡¯t shown up.


    After sending the latecomers¡¯ companions to urge them several times, there was still no sign of them, leaving Gerard and Winters anxious.


    An irate Winters ordered the companions of the latecomers to lead the way, grabbing his saber and storming off in a fury.


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived at their location that he understood why the guide hesitated to speak plainly¡ªit was a brothel.


    ¡°Young master, who are you looking for?¡± A courtesan inside sashayed up to the lieutenant with a smile, even reaching out to wrap her arms around his waist, ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay a while~¡±


    Winters was not used to this.


    His face ashen, he kicked open each door, flooring the men from Wolf Town with a punch and following up with a lash of his whip, ¡°Great! Earn a few bucks and it all goes to the damn brothel!¡±


    The bruised and battered Dusack and the workers were rounded up by Winters to the assembly point, where Gerard, with one look, understood everything.


    His face stern, he asked, ¡°Haven¡¯t I said time and time again not to distribute the reward money until we¡¯re home? Have you all ignored my words?¡±


    He was not addressing the men who had gone off to drink and visit women, but rather the landowners beside him.


    Those caught by his gaze could do nothing but shamefully lower their heads, with the owner of Golden Ear Manor, Vick Hoffman, braving his explanation, ¡°Some of the servants came to me wanting to buy some things to take back, so I didn¡¯t think much of it when I gave it to them. Plus, everyone¡¯s really worn out from the journey, a little relaxation is in order¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Gerard interrupted old Hoffman in a thunderous roar, ¡°I don¡¯t want excuses, those who can¡¯t follow the rules, don¡¯t follow the convoy! You bring this on yourself! Don¡¯t you know that the laborers rely on this one-time bonus to save up some money for the entire year?! Don¡¯t you know that the way back is even more dangerous than the journey here?!¡±


    Vick Hoffman, frightened by the sudden ferocity in old Dusack¡¯s eyes, trembled and dared not speak again.


    With people and carts roughly accounted for but upon closer inspection still short of members,


    Gerard grabbed a worker by the collar and demanded, ¡°Where¡¯s your master?¡±


    ¡°Reporting to the lord, master Bunting left for home yesterday,¡± the trembling worker replied, ¡°He wanted to get a jump on securing land and forbade me from telling you all.¡±

 Chapter 357: 29: The Journey Home

    Chapter 357: Chapter 29: The Journey Home Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The core of the ¡°Treaty of Torde¡± is actually only one sentence, ¡°All land acquired by the army beyond the western national borders shall belong to the Republic, with ownership vested in the military.¡±


    This treaty is the cornerstone of the political ecology of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and the source of power for the Kingdom of Galloping Horses¡¯ continuous western expansion.


    Therefore, anyone wishing to purchase land in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province needs to buy ¡°acreage¡± from the army garrison in the county capital first.


    After paying for the land, take the half title deed provided by the garrison to the town under the county, and delimit the unsold land according to the acreage under the supervision and notarization of the town mayor and the Garrison Officer.


    Once the land enclosure is complete, the buyer can begin farming, and the remaining half of the title deed will be completed by the mayor and Garrison Officer and returned to the county garrison.


    The title deed is then confirmed, signed, and sealed at the county garrison, and subsequently sent up to the headquarters of the garrison troops in the provincial capital.


    After the headquarters transcribes, seals, and archives the title deed, it will be sent back the same way, through the county garrison and the town hall, and finally returned to the buyer.


    In this manner, there are four copies of the complete title deed. The original is in the hands of the buyer, and copies are retained at the headquarters, county garrison, and town hall. Any damage or loss in any link will not affect the certification of land ownership.


    However, this process is rigorous but cumbersome, with the title deed taking at least six months to a year to be returned.


    But legally, it¡¯s not necessary to wait for the complete title deed to return; the moment the land is delimited, the buyer already owns it and can dispose of it as they wish.


    ¡­


    The Paratu Council¡¯s method for judging land prices is also simple and crude, considering only two factors: Is the terrain hilly or flat? Is there a water source within half a kilometer?


    Land near water on flat grounds has a high unit price, while distant water on hilly terrain has a low unit price.


    If it¡¯s forest land, its value and taxes for the timber are also accounted for.


    Roads, rivers, lakes, and all water bodies are the property of the army and are not for sale.


    Land is divided into ¡°surface¡± and ¡°subsoil¡± parts. Buyers only own the surface, and the subsoil is also not for sale.


    By stratifying land ownership, buyers can only cultivate, while all minerals beneath the surface remain the property of the military.


    There are also various other restrictive clauses, too many to mention, that block any potential encroachment on the military¡¯s interests.


    ¡­


    It wasn¡¯t until Gerard carefully explained that Winters understood why Mr. Bunting was so eager to get back to Wolf Town ahead of others.


    The Newly Reclaimed Lands government¡¯s straightforward land pricing model, combined with the rule that whoever encloses the land first gets to own it, is akin to shouting, ¡°Buy quickly, first come first served.¡±


    Quality land is finite, but the number of people wanting to buy land is infinite. Every year, the county garrison sells land, and the good spots only become scarcer.


    Just this year alone, seven estates bought more ¡°acreage¡± from the garrison. Clearly, Mr. Bunting set out early in order to enclose land before anyone else could.


    ¡°That must be it,¡± Gerard said, spreading his hands, ¡°Now the estates are so close to each other, there¡¯s limited land to enclose around them, especially for the Bunting family. Mr. Bunting probably fears someone else might enclose it first, and then his family¡¯s land would no longer be a complete piece.¡±


    Gerard and Winters rode side by side at the front of the caravan. Without the cargo, the team moved much faster than on the way there.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to be so petty and sordid, why not discuss it with the neighbors in advance? It seems Mr. Bunting considers others as stingy as he is,¡± Winters commented with some disapproval.


    Gerard replied helplessly, ¡°Mr. Bunting has his difficulties, he has many sons. And who wouldn¡¯t want their own land to be a contiguous whole? Scattered plots are especially inconvenient for farming. There are many such fragmented plots in both Nanxin and Beixin villages, where the villagers don¡¯t have much spare money and can only buy small pieces at a time. In the end, you wouldn¡¯t believe how much land is taken up by just field ridges.¡±


    Agricultural common sense was outside of Winters¡¯s knowledge, the lieutenant did not understand what ¡°field ridges¡± were, and Gerard had to explain it to him.


    ¡°What about Nanxin and Beixin villages?¡± After listening to Old Dusack¡¯s explanation, Winters was very curious about the conditions in the Protestant villages with even less arable land per capita.


    Gerard lamented, ¡°Due to the scarcity of land in those two villages, they simply don¡¯t use field ridges. They just use a few stones to mark the boundaries, and there haven¡¯t been any disputes.¡±


    ¡°So if I wanted to buy land, should I turn around and go back to Revodan now?¡± joked Winters.


    ¡°Do you want to buy land? Great!¡± Gerard was first surprised, then delighted, happily clutching the lieutenant¡¯s arm, ¡°There¡¯s a piece of unclaimed land just between my family¡¯s property and Dusa Village, a complete plot, and it¡¯s even by the river. If you think it¡¯s too small, I can sell you some more.¡±


    Old Dusack¡¯s eagerness took Winters by surprise, and he repeatedly waved his hands, ¡°I was just kidding, where do I have the money to buy land?¡±


    ¡°No problem, I can lend it to you.¡±


    Of course, Winters could not agree; he firmly declined, and seeing this, Gerard did not press any further.


    Noticing Old Dusack¡¯s disappointment, Winters tried to change the subject, ¡°It seems like everyone¡¯s not doing well, not as alert as on the way here.¡±


    After spending three days in Revodan, many of the drivers, hired hands, and even the Dusacks were listless.


    Quite a few drivers yawned endlessly, drowsily leaning against their seats, listlessly cracking their whips.


    Some of the Dusacks had yet to sober up from the journey there, completely lacking their previous sharpness and vigor.


    Winters counted in his mind and noted that the frequency of Dusack patrols had dropped significantly; they traveled all morning and saw only two riders come to the front for inspection.

 Chapter 358: 29 Return Journey_2

    Chapter 358: Chapter 29 Return Journey_2


    ¡°Ah! Farmers hardly see many silver coins in a year, so once they have money in hand, they can¡¯t control their purse strings,¡± Gerard complained angrily. ¡°That¡¯s why I repeatedly ordered not to distribute bonuses and salaries until we return to Wolf Town. Yet, some people still didn¡¯t take my words seriously!¡±


    Sergei, who had been dozing off in the saddle, suddenly perked up at these words, ¡°Captain, you¡¯ve got it wrong this time. They deliberately distributed the money in the county town! They¡¯re up to no good!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters pressed.


    ¡°How could landlords ever let the tenants save money?¡± Sergei scoffed with contempt, ¡°If tenants save enough to buy land, won¡¯t they become freeholders? Then who would work for the landlords? With a battle against the Herd Barbarians imminent and lots of cheap land up for grabs afterward, which farmer wouldn¡¯t be tempted? You think they wouldn¡¯t distribute the money in Revodan?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s expression turned grave: ¡°Don¡¯t think so badly of everyone.¡±


    ¡°Captain, you¡¯re not like them. Even if Dusack¡¯s land is scant, it¡¯s still Dusack¡¯s; no matter how much land a Bumpkin has, he¡¯s still a Bumpkin. Can they compare to us?¡± Sergei scratched at his graying hair, speaking bluntly.


    The old man glanced at Winters and quickly added, ¡°Lieutenant, you¡¯re different from them too. Your hands hold the hilt of a sword, theirs hold the plow.¡±


    Winters smiled. If he took offense at everything this old Dusack said, he¡¯d have been furious long ago.


    Gerard, frowning, said, ¡°I need to go see what¡¯s going on in the back. How come we¡¯ve seen so few Dusacks on patrol this morning?¡±


    Having said his piece, he spurred his horse toward the rear of the convoy.


    Winters also found it strange, squeezing his horse¡¯s sides and tugging the reins: ¡°I¡¯ll go have a look too.¡±


    Riding against the direction of the convoy, Mr. Michel nearly burst a lung with anger.


    Many Dusacks weren¡¯t patrolling at all but had tied their Warhorses to the backs of the wagons and lay snoring in the carts.


    Gerard picked up a club thick as a small arm and began beating the lazy Dusacks without mercy.


    Less than two months in Wolf Town, Winters had already dealt with several brawling incidents involving Dusans. As for Dusacks beating their wives or thrashing their sons, that was all too common.


    Violence was not unusual among Dusacks, but it was his first time seeing Gerard strike someone, and so fiercely at that.


    The Dusacks, reeking of alcohol, often only woke up screaming when the club hit them.


    First shocked, then angry, their feelings turned to shame when they realized they were being beaten by Gerard Pleninovich Mitchell.


    The beaten Dusacks would scramble to their feet, taking the blows in silence.


    Gerard went from one Dusack to another, beating as he went, leaving the lieutenant no chance to intervene.


    When he discovered Pierre also lying lazily asleep in a cart, Mr. Michel, enraged, swung his club at Mr. Mitchell¡¯s head.


    Winters rushed to grab the club in alarm, knowing a blow to the head could be lethal.


    But in his rage, Gerard was terrifying; for a moment, Winters couldn¡¯t restrain him, and Gerard let go of the club to throw punches at Pierre.


    Winters saw clearly that the punch was solid, merciless, not at all held back because Pierre was his son, landing squarely on his face.


    Mr. Mitchell woke up in an instant, blood spraying from his nose, having never seen his father in such a state.


    Pierre, both shocked and scared, cried out, ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°[Dusack curse]!¡± Old Dusack didn¡¯t stop cursing, nor did his hands, as he grabbed his son by the collar and pounded his face, ¡°You begged me to come along with the convoy! And this is how you do it? Do you have any backbone at all? Huh?!¡±


    ¡°Even mom hasn¡¯t hit me!¡± young Dusack cried out in tears.


    Winters and other Dusacks rushed to pull the two apart, and it took three strong Dusack men to barely hold back the furious Gerard, who kicked when his punches couldn¡¯t reach.


    Shock, grievance, fear ¨C these emotions all appeared on Pierre¡¯s face, as tears and blood streamed down together.


    Pierre, holding his nose, cried out, ¡°What gives you the right to hit me? I¡¯ll tell mom!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll beat you to death, you worthless brat!¡± Gerard, forcibly dragged away, was even more furious.


    After the commotion, Gerard called all the Dusacks who had come with the convoy together for a meeting. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is this your first time with the convoy?¡± Old Dusack¡¯s residual anger hadn¡¯t subsided, ¡°Don¡¯t you know the rules? Don¡¯t you know that returning home is even more dangerous than the journey here? We used to carry goods, now we carry money! Don¡¯t you get it?¡±


    The Dusacks, usually so arrogant, now hung their heads in shame, none daring to meet the gaze of Captain Michel.


    ¡°From now on, stay alert,¡± said Gerard Mitchell with a vicious stare, ¡°Whoever dares slack off again, I¡¯ll flay his skin!¡±


    ¡­


    At night, when they rested, the large four-wheeled wagons formed a circular fortress on a flat stretch of ground.


    Inside the wagon fortress, fires were lit, and the drivers and Dusacks sat around boiling water and warming food, chattering idly.


    A swarm of tiny insects buzzed densely over the meadow, and a slap of the hand left them sticking to it, making one¡¯s scalp tingle with discomfort.


    Some couldn¡¯t bear the insect bites and threw clumps of wet horse manure into the fire. As bluish smoke wafted through the wagon fortress, the irritating insects vanished in an instant.

 Chapter 359: 29 Return Journey_3

    Chapter 359: Chapter 29 Return Journey_3


    However, the smoke also hindered visibility, leaving the people inside the vehicle stack unable to see each other clearly.


    Winters sat with Sergei, Vashka, and Pierre next to a warm flame, as old Sergei was setting Gerard¡¯s broken nose.


    ¡°Uncle, look at this, he hit way too hard. If it weren¡¯t for Winters, I would have been beaten to death,¡± Pierre still harbored grudges about the daytime incident, complaining, ¡°I¡¯m still bleeding from my nose!¡±


    While holding Pierre¡¯s head in one hand and his nose in the other, Sergei said indifferently, ¡°Enough with the complaints about your dad. Just bear with it and don¡¯t move at all.¡±


    Pierre nodded slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to count to three and then straighten it out,¡± old Sergei smacked his lips. He only got to ¡°one¡± when he forcefully pinched Pierre¡¯s nose.


    Pierre screamed in pain, falling backward, tears streaming down from the agony.


    It took a long while for him to recover, then he complained, ¡°You only counted to one!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it just fine?¡± old Sergei inspected it again, then clapped his hands, ¡°There, you¡¯re not disfigured. Don¡¯t rub or touch it for half a month, and you¡¯ll still be a handsome young man.¡±


    Having given his medical advice, Sergei yawned and sat back by the fire. He poured a bit of hot soup from the iron kettle on the fire and sipped it in small mouthfuls.


    Pierre gingerly touched his nose a few times and happily said, ¡°It really doesn¡¯t hurt as much as before.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Morozov, you¡¯re quite skilled at this,¡± Winters had observed the whole process and expressed his rare admiration to old Dusack.


    Sergei twirled his silver-grey braid and chuckled, ¡°Nothing much, every old soldier knows how to do it.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The flickering flames reflected the mood of everyone present.


    Pierre, still resentful, said, ¡°Just watch, when I get back I¡¯ll tell my mom, and she¡¯ll definitely take my side!¡±


    ¡°Listen, lad, save your father some worry,¡± old Dusack said rather displeased to young Dusack, ¡°Your dad used his fists all the way through. If he had pulled his punches with you, could he still command respect? Ask the lieutenant if that¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Winters nodded.


    Sergei earnestly said, ¡°Think about it, who are you? You are the son of Mayor Mitchell. What you do, others will follow. If you laze around and sleep on the wagon, would other Dusans feel content? Could they resist copying you? I¡¯ve escorted wagons with your dad so many times and never saw such a thing. As soon as you¡¯re there, Dusans dare to slack off. Don¡¯t you understand what this is about? That¡¯s what made your dad angry.¡±


    Winters nodded in approval at the side.


    But Pierre, rendered speechless by the argument, still defended himself stubbornly, ¡°But he did hit too hard.¡±


    ¡°He certainly did hit too hard,¡± Vashka, who had not spoken until now, said with a bit of schadenfreude.


    Vashka had slept in the large wagon behind Pierre¡¯s, so he had luckily avoided a beating.


    Sergei¡¯s expression darkened, and he flung the hot soup from his bowl at his son, ¡°You shameless brat, you still dare to talk? Consider yourself lucky I didn¡¯t beat you.¡±


    Vashka yelped as the hot soup scalded him and retorted, ¡°If I¡¯m a brat, then you¡¯re a dog!¡±


    Old Sergei, fuming with anger, grabbed a flaming stick and was about to strike.


    Winters quickly restrained old Dusack, ¡°Mr. Morozov, it¡¯s not worth getting upset over a kid.¡±


    Sergei sat cross-legged by the fire, puffing with anger and without any appetite for dinner.


    ¡°This is my first time seeing Mr. Mitchell get angry; it gave me quite the scare,¡± Winters strained to lighten the mood, ¡°Has Mr. Mitchell ever been this angry before?¡±


    Old Dusack snorted and, glaring at Vashka, said, ¡°Nothing strange about that. The leader was just like that when he was younger; he could rage so fiercely it was a matter of life and death. On the contrary, it¡¯s after he married that woman who isn¡¯t a Dusan that his temper changed completely from what it was.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Mitchell isn¡¯t a Dusan?¡± Winters asked knowingly, always curious about the mysterious Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°No,¡± Sergei stood up, supporting himself with his hands and spat into the fire, ¡°I need to take a piss.¡±


    Before leaving, old Dusack couldn¡¯t resist kicking his son.


    ¡­


    By a fire on the eastern side of the vehicle stack, Gerard sat alone, smoking a sullen cigarette.


    ¡°Commander, you sure have a lot of space here, one fire all to yourself,¡± Sergei said with a smile, squeezing next to his old comrade after returning from relieving himself outside the camp.


    ¡°Is that lad okay?¡± Gerard¡¯s eyes were fixed on the bonfire.


    ¡°What could possibly be wrong?¡± old Sergei wrapped himself in a blanket, the temperature difference on the plateau was extreme at dawn and dusk, ¡°Didn¡¯t we fight much fiercer than them when we were young? The night you broke my two molars with a punch, we still went out to box with the Dusans from the neighboring village.¡±


    Gerard Mitchell sighed, ¡°We have gotten old.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t the young ones growing up too?¡± Sergei yawned.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same, they are not like us,¡± old Dusack said sorrowfully to the other old Dusack, ¡°These youngsters may have Dusan skins, but they don¡¯t have Dusan bones.¡±

 Chapter 360: 30: Crossing the Field in Vain

    Chapter 360: Chapter 30: Crossing the Field in Vain


    In the following days, although bearing bruises and resentment, Pierre stayed true to his duties, riding his horse and standing guard without slacking off again.


    The others¡ªwhether coachmen or Dusacks¡ªalso didn¡¯t dare to shirk their responsibilities.


    As they drew nearer to home, everyone was filled with an eagerness to return; the strength with which they cracked their whips unconsciously increased.


    With the rain ceasing upstream, the Panto River had returned to its normal levels. Instead of taking a detour through Shizhen, the caravan stuck to the shortest route, crossing the river at the ford.


    ¡­


    ¡°One!¡± the veteran coachman shouted hoarsely, ¡°Two!¡±


    Surrounding the cart, the young men clutched at its frame, struggling to lift it: ¡°Three!¡±


    With the command, the large cart that was stuck on a rock was forcibly lifted.


    Seizing the opportunity, the old coachman lashed his whip fiercely; the three mules, in pain, dragged the heavy cart rumbling towards the opposite shore.


    Unlike crossing a bridge, wading through the ford was a troublesome and arduous task.


    The riverbed wasn¡¯t a compacted road, but rather smooth cobblestones. Not only did the wheels struggle for purchase, but the animals¡¯ hooves also found it difficult to grip, making injuries especially likely.


    When they reached the edge of the ford, the caravan personnel would unhitch the animals from the shafts and use several horses to pull each cart across the river.


    In addition to the drivers, the younger Dusacks and hired hands also had to remove their shoes, roll up their trousers, and push or pull at the carts while shouting in unison.


    This work was too exhausting for the older folk; only the young men could endure it.


    Pierre had only pushed the carts back and forth in the ford a few times before he was soaked through with a mix of sweat and river water.


    The river¡¯s cold autumn water could instantly sap all warmth from a person¡¯s body. Mr. Mitchell, his feet chilled, felt an unbearable swelling and ache in his lower abdomen.


    The caravan built several fires on the shore, where some coachmen and Dusacks were drying their clothes and warming themselves.


    Pierre longed to go rest, but recalling Mr. Michel¡¯s harsh scolding, his stubbornness rose, and he gritted his teeth to endure the pain and continued to help push the cart.


    After several hours, only half the caravan had crossed.


    After consulting with each other, Gerard and Winters decided that Winters would take a few riders to gather the carts at the front and set up camp to prevent scattering.


    Gerard would take another group to the rear to urge them on, asking them to hasten their pace.


    After crossing the Panto River, it would be less than a day¡¯s journey to Wolf Town. Both Winters and Gerard were concerned that some coachmen, in their rush to get home, might leave the caravan and head back to Wolf Town overnight.


    Not only was it dangerous, but it could also disperse the entire caravan.


    Troops of riders sped towards both the front and the back, and with half the carts already across the river and moving away, the ford became much quieter.


    Fatigue and the cold left those lifting the carts in the river too exhausted to even chant in rhythm.


    Pierre¡¯s pain below his navel grew worse, as if thousands of tiny knives were slicing and stabbing at him, and he leaned on his knees in the river, panting.


    ¡°Lad, you alright?¡± Sergei waded over, putting an arm around Michel¡¯s shoulder, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just stomach pain,¡± Pierre shook uncontrollably.


    ¡°Come, let¡¯s go ashore and warm up by the fire, have some hot soup.¡±


    As they walked towards the opposite shore, Pierre suddenly grabbed old Sergei¡¯s arm, ¡°Uncle, does something seem off on the shore?¡±


    Even while they were busy working earlier, Pierre couldn¡¯t help but glance repeatedly towards the fire, sensing that something was amiss.


    There were a few unfamiliar faces among those warming by the fire.


    Michel¡¯s memory was like his mother¡¯s, not quite photographic, but he generally retained some impression, an advantage he was well aware of.


    Yet, he had no recollection of those new faces on the shore; he had never seen those few people in the caravan before. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, considering that they were out on the roads and it wasn¡¯t strange for passersby to come and ask for some hot soup. Those unfamiliar faces didn¡¯t linger long, sitting by the fire for a while before leaving.


    Thus, Pierre didn¡¯t make a fuss, but he stayed alert.


    But now, Pierre noticed that those ¡°familiar¡± faces had not only returned to the fireside, but more unfamiliar faces appeared on the banks.


    Pierre spoke swiftly into Sergei¡¯s ear, quickly informing him of everything.


    Sergei¡¯s expression darkened. The old Dusack grabbed his saber and shouted towards the shore, ¡°Hey! You guys there, what are you doing?¡±


    At first, the unfamiliar faces on the shore pretended not to hear themselves being called out. After several shouts from the old Dusack, they could no longer hide.


    ¡°We are carters,¡± they replied.


    The rest of the people also began to sense the strange atmosphere. A few quick-thinking Dusacks discreetly moved closer to their warhorses.


    ¡°How come I¡¯ve never seen you before?!¡± Sergei demanded loudly.


    No one responded.


    A dead silence fell over the ford, broken only by the gentle babble of the river.


    ¡°Kill!¡± one of the unfamiliar faces threw off his cloak and spun around, plunging a knife into the stomach of a nearby coachman.


    The coachman¡¯s eyes widened in horror, and he made a gurgling noise in his throat; he was so stunned that he couldn¡¯t even scream.


    ¡°Kill!!!¡± With no chance of feigning innocence, the other unfamiliar people also tore off their pretenses, drawing their weapons to strike at the people of Wolf Town around them.


    The abrupt onset of slaughter, bloodshed, and death left most of the coachmen and Dusacks unprepared.


    Shouts and cries of killing sounded like a charge, and from the woods on both sides of the Panto River, more figures swiftly approached the ford.


    ¡°They¡¯re bandits!¡± Sergei cursed those still dazed from Wolf Town, ¡°Damn it! Go for your weapons! Dusacks! Mount up!¡±


    As Pierre tried to step forward, a searing pain in his lower abdomen left him immobilized.

 Chapter 361: 30: Crossing the Field in Vain_2

    Chapter 361: Chapter 30: Crossing the Field in Vain_2


    Sergei, who had run a few meters away, turned back, picked up Michel, and ran toward the spot on the shore where the horses were tied. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mount up! Mount up!¡± Old Sergei shouted as he ran, with the Dusacks in the river channel dashing towards their warhorses.


    Several coachmen lashed their draft horses desperately, trying to force their way through the ford. Others, in their panic, attempted to turn around but found themselves immobilized.


    Inside the ford at that moment, chaos reigned; only a few coachmen and laborers jumped onto their carts in search of weapons, while the rest fled.


    The sound of bowstrings vibrating came from the shrubs on both sides of the riverbank, accompanied by the ¡°whoosh¡± of arrows flying chaotically over the water¡¯s surface.


    ¡°Archers!¡± someone screamed in agony.


    ¡°There are crossbowmen in the woods!¡± another shouted loud.


    A coachman had just found a longbow under the seat, and before he could string it, a short, thick crossbow bolt penetrated his neck. This brave man of Wolf Town clutched at his neck and tumbled into the knee-deep river water off the cart.


    Sergei pointed towards both banks of the river and bellowed, ¡°More thieves are coming!¡±


    Pierre saw bandits, armed and in tattered clothes, crawling out from the bushes, too numerous to count.


    Some bandits ran toward the great carts to plunder the various fine goods brought back from Revodan. Others went after the Dusacks¡¯ warhorses tied up on the shore¡ªhorses were even more valuable.


    Still other bandits specifically chased after and captured those well-dressed riders. They were manor lords, who not only carried large sums but could also be kidnapped for ransom.


    Even well-trained armies could struggle to organize an effective counterattack when ambushed, let alone the Wolf Town convoy, most of whom were just tenant farmers.


    In the midst of the melee, the command structures of both sides had collapsed.


    But the bandits had a clear objective: they wanted money, goods, and would kill anyone who resisted. Their determination was stronger.


    The people of Wolf Town, however, were utterly disorganized, each fighting for themselves, each with their own plans, with only a few brave souls attempting to fight back.


    But when most were fleeing, the brave became the most conspicuous targets, often being killed by the bandits in a concerted effort.


    The attention of many bandits was drawn to Sergei¡¯s warhorse, Red Sun, and several brutes with long spears had already reached its side.


    In desperation, Sergei let go of Pierre and with a roar, lunged at the spear-wielding brutes.


    ¡°Ah!¡± The thug lagging behind was caught off guard and was fiercely hacked on the shoulder by Old Dusack.


    Sergei kicked aside the thug whose shoulder was nearly severed, not giving the dying man a second glance. He swung his saber and charged at several other bandits.


    Although Pierre had grown up on stories of war, he never expected his uncle, well into his fifties, to be so ferocious.


    Clenching his teeth against the pain, he picked up a long spear dropped by a thug and charged into the fray.


    The bandits, hearing their companion¡¯s screams, turned and saw Old Dusack coming at them, thrusting their spears toward the old man.


    Seizing the moment, Sergei grabbed the spear with his left hand, holding it firmly. He yanked it towards himself and hacked the enemy to death with his sword.


    But outnumbered, Sergei could not fend off all attacks; while grabbing one spear and killing its owner, another bandit with a spear yelled strangely and jabbed at Old Dusack.


    Just as the bandit was about to strike, he was skewered in the flank by Pierre, who had caught up. He fell to the ground, and Old Dusack, turning around, delivered a heavy, powerful chop that cut the bandit¡¯s head off.


    The remaining two bandits, petrified by the god-like slaughter by Old Dusack, dropped their weapons and fled in terror.


    Sergei quickly helped Pierre onto Red Sun: ¡°Go! Get on behind! Find your father!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving!¡± Pierre yelled.


    Old Dusack had no time for words: ¡°Not leaving? If you won¡¯t leave, stay and fight. Follow me along the shore and let¡¯s take care of those archers and crossbowmen!¡±


    The scales of victory had completely tipped in favor of the bandits, turning the situation into a one-sided slaughter.


    The archers on the shore shot at the people of Wolf Town with impunity, while the bandits in the ford chased after coachmen. The Dusacks fought for themselves, and those who had reclaimed their horses fled towards the front and back of the convoy.


    Some manor lords, in a blind panic, ran toward the forest, unaware that they were falling into bandits¡¯ traps. There was a sliver of a chance of survival if one dashed down the road, but fleeing into the forest was like walking into a net.


    At this point, anyone still thinking of resisting felt only a profound sense of helplessness and despair.


    An old coachman with graying hair scrambled to the riverbank and stumbled toward Wolf Town.


    The pursuing bandit bellowed viciously, ¡°Stop running! Run again, and I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    The coachman, in terror, turned to look at the bandit and, losing his footing, fell hard to the ground. Unable to stand for a while, he was overtaken by the laughing bandit.


    ¡°Please, don¡¯t!¡± The old coachman knelt on the ground, begging pitifully.


    The bandit walked up, kicked the old man in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain like a shrimp.


    However, as if born without a shred of compassion, the bandit planted a foot on the old man¡¯s chest, grinning wickedly as he raised his spear.


    The old coachman closed his eyes.


    The thunderous sound of galloping hooves approached; a rider arrived instantaneously beside the coachman and the bandit. A scimitar whirled, severing the bandit¡¯s neck and spear shaft in one stroke.


    The warhorse continued at full speed toward the ford, without slowing down.


    Following the leading rider, more Dusacks, brandishing their sabers, swept past the headless corpse of the bandit and the old coachman.


    A thunderous shout exploded in the ford, startling everyone and causing their hearts to stop for a moment.


    Even the convoy hundreds of meters behind heard the angry roar; those within the ford were left dizzy and ringing from the blast of sound.


    A magnificent silver-gray warhorse stood atop the riverbank, and everyone in the ford saw it, as well as the rider upon it.

 Chapter 362: 30 Crossing the Field_3

    Chapter 362: Chapter 30 Crossing the Field_3


    ¡°Reinforcements are here!¡± Pierre recognized the newcomers and couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Hurrah!¡±


    The surviving Dusack also recognized the newcomers and, raising his saber, roared, ¡°Hurrah!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± the wagon drivers excitedly shouted, ¡°The Garrison Officer is here!¡±


    The scattered people of Wolf Town inside the wading field finally found their backbone, and their morale surged, completely reversing the situation.


    ¡°No one runs away! The bandits are not as many as us! Come to me!¡± This time, Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t as startling as before, but still resonant enough that everyone in the wading field could hear.


    No sooner had the words left his mouth than the people of Wolf Town flocked towards the riverbank, and a few bandits who still wanted to pursue were instead killed by their united effort.


    One by one, the people of Wolf Town climbed up the riverbank, and the wary bandits dared not follow.


    A standoff quietly began between the two sides.


    Of course, the bandits wielding crossbows didn¡¯t fail to notice the leader riding the dapple-gray steed, and several arrows immediately aimed at the rider.


    Very few bandits could draw a hard bow, and the heaviest in the hands of the bandits ambushing Wolf Town were no more than soft bows made of white waxwood or, quite simply, branches with strings attached.


    The arrows flying toward the dapple-gray steed¡¯s rider from the riverbank were feeble and limp, and the man easily deflected them with his sidearm.


    ¡°Hahaha! Is that the best you¡¯ve got?¡± the rider of the dapple-gray steed mocked the bandit archers, ¡°Come on, then!¡±


    Seeing the Garrison Officer¡¯s valor, the people of Wolf Town couldn¡¯t help but cheer again. Gradually, they also started to feel that the arrows flying onto the riverbank weren¡¯t as frightening as before.


    ¡°That must be the new military officer from Wolf Town, eh? Quite a figure,¡± muttered the gloomy man in the bushes with an oval-shaped scar on his face, eyeing the rider of the dapple-gray steed, ¡°Bring me the crossbow!¡±


    This man with the oval-shaped scar was the leader of the bandits, and upon hearing his command, a scrawny bandit immediately handed him a massive steel crossbow. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bow was just for show, the bandit leader knew very well. The real killing tools were his crossbows, especially this heavy steel crossbow that needed a crank to draw.


    The bandit leader aimed carefully, yet he made no further move, patiently waiting for the right moment.


    A few more flimsy light arrows flew towards the Wolf Town Garrison Officer, and the rider of the dapple-gray steed deftly deflected every one of them.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    The bandit leader squeezed the trigger at the moment when the Garrison Officer¡¯s attention was diverted.


    The steel bolt from the heavy crossbow shot across the wading field like a shooting star, aiming for the rider of the dapple-gray steed.


    ¡°What?¡± The bandit leader couldn¡¯t believe his own eyes.


    The guaranteed bolt traced an arc in midair, making a small turn and passing by the target¡¯s side.


    ¡­


    Using a voice amplification spell, Lieutenant Montaigne taunted, ¡°The crossbow is good, but the user is not, your shooting is really poor.¡±


    His mocking words spread to everyone¡¯s ears in the wading field, and once again, the people of Wolf Town cheered in response.


    ¡°Right there!¡± the lieutenant directed with his saber towards the source of the crossbow bolt, ¡°Kill all the archers on the bank first!¡±


    Even while living in Paratu, Winters Montagne never neglected a single day of spell training.


    Just now, he had executed the first real combat use of the ¡°Christian Huygens version¡± of the Deflection Spell.


    ¡ª¡ªCut¡ª¡ª


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    Entry: Deflection Spell


    Difficulty: S (original)


    A- (after Christian Huygens¡¯ improvement)


    Note: The focus is not on lateral acceleration but rotation, which Teacher Christian refers to as centrifugal motion.

 Chapter 363: 31 Horse Palm Ivan

    Chapter 363: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan


    ¡°`


    The battle at the ford had ended, and two Dusacks dragged a man with an oval scar on his face, not yet dead, to the side of the lieutenant.


    ¡°I will only ask once,¡± Winters, who was sitting on a large rock and wiping his saber, said without lifting his head, ¡°where is your hideout?¡±


    The four captured bandits knelt before the lieutenant shivering, while the bow-and-crossbow-wielding people of Wolf Town stood angrily around the prisoners.


    With a superior number, the people of Wolf Town could easily deal with the bandit gang of thirty or forty men once they were effectively organized.


    With a single charge led by Winters and his cavalry, the bandits, who had just been acting fiercely, scattered like birds and beasts.


    When Gerard arrived with the rear guard, the battle completely turned into a rout of the fleeing enemy.


    The four surviving bandits were lucky because they were personally captured by the lieutenant who wanted to keep a few alive for interrogation.


    The rest of the bandits were not so fortunate; the people of Wolf Town loathed them, and those captured were killed without hesitation.


    For the severely injured bandits, they didn¡¯t even get a quick end but were left to go to hell amid fear and pain.


    Without the need for Winters to torture them, the several bandits had already seen how formidable this young officer was and spilled everything they knew like beans from a split bag.


    ¡­


    This was a premeditated ambush.


    Every year, the estates of Wolf Town would travel to and from Revodan in groups. While safe, it also made them a very obvious target.


    The bandits and robbers had long been covetous, but deterred by the reputation of the caravan and the Dusacks of Wolfton, no one had dared to act.


    Until this year, this time.


    According to the prisoners¡¯ confessions, they had been waiting at the ford for half a month by then, at which time the caravan from Wolf Town had not yet departed.


    However, the people from Wolf Town headed to Revodan just as it began to rain upstream, causing a surge in the Panto River¡¯s water level, and the caravan detoured through Shizhen, accidentally avoiding an ambush.


    But luck always runs out, and on their return, they fell right into the bandits¡¯ trap.


    Strictly speaking, this wasn¡¯t ¡°a group¡± of bandits, as small bands of thieves did not have the ability to overpower the Wolf Town caravan.


    It took a merger of several bands of bandits to form this large gang of more than forty people, some robbers even purposely came over from the neighboring county to join.


    ¡­


    In the middle of a hidden clearing in the dense forest, a small black iron pot was bubbling away on top of a fire.


    A bearded man was stirring something in the pot with a long-handled ladle, while another skinny man was slowly peeling carrots.


    Around the fire, there were about a dozen crude tents, looking like a temporary camp.


    ¡°Tommy! You done pissing yet?¡± the bearded man called out impatiently.


    A young dirty-blond kid with dirty clothes ran back from outside the camp, hitching up his trousers, ¡°I¡¯m coming! I¡¯m coming!¡±


    The skinny man chuckled and said, ¡°Lazy folks always have more waste.¡±


    The blond kid suddenly stopped halfway and looked back, puzzled.


    ¡°What are you standing there for? Get the hell over here and help!¡± the bearded man shouted discontentedly.


    ¡°I hear horse hooves over there!¡± the blond kid shouted back, pointing behind him.


    ¡°Hooves?¡± The bearded man dropped his ladle and stood up abruptly: ¡°That must be the boss returning!¡±


    When the blond kid turned back again, all he saw was a dark blur, then a sharp pain struck his forehead and he lost consciousness.


    The bearded man and the skinny man tried to run, but the sound of hooves surrounded them from all sides.


    A fiery red warhorse streaked past the two, and in the blink of an eye, the old rider knocked the bearded man unconscious with a club.


    The skinny man was so frightened he wet himself, knelt on the ground, and began to beg for mercy.


    Another rider threw a lasso, yanking the skinny man to the ground and dragging him away.


    ¡°Stop wasting time, search!¡± Seeing everyone in the camp was under control, Winters, who was commanding at the rear, signaled the Dusacks not to entangle with the prisoners.


    Sergei and the other Dusacks began taking down the tents in the camp, one by one.


    ¡°There¡¯s someone here!¡± a Dusack shouted.


    Sergei immediately dismounted and grabbed the person in the tent by the collar, demanding fiercely, ¡°Speak! Who are you? Speak or I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill me,¡± the man, shackled by iron fetters, begged repeatedly: ¡°The bandits tied me up and brought me here.¡±


    Cries from the Dusacks could be heard in the distance, ¡°There are people from Wolf Town here!¡±


    ¡­


    At a bandit hideout one kilometer from the ford, three bandits left to mind the place were captured by Winters and his Dusacks.


    They also rescued several travelers who had been kidnapped¡ªalong with Bunting¡¯s eldest son.


    But old Mr. Bunting couldn¡¯t survive the ordeal and had died.


    On his trip to Revodan, old Bunting had only taken his eldest son, and on the return trip, it was also just the two of them who set out early, unfortunately, they were intercepted by bandits near the ford. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Finding only deeds on them and no cash, the bandits brutally beat both father and son.


    The younger Bunting, strong and durable, survived, but the elder Bunting was beaten to a breath away from death and passed away that evening.


    The fickleness of fate is truly lamentable.


    ¡­


    After cleaning up the battlefield, the caravan at the Panto River ford split into two groups.


    Mayor Mitchell of Wolf Town led the main force back to Wolf Town.


    Lieutenant Montaigne, on the other hand, led six Dusacks and four wagons of prisoners and the bodies of bandits back the way they came to Revodan.


    By the time Winters finally returned to Wolf Town, there was less than half a month left until the deadline for submitting the militia roster.


    In past years, every household in the town was beaming with joy when the caravan returned, but this year was unusually sad.


    Mourning, funerals, and conscription had to be carried out simultaneously.


    The drivers and hired hands of the caravan suffered more than twenty casualties, with the severely injured dying soon after as well.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 364: 31 Horse Palm Ivan_2

    Chapter 364: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_2


    ¡°`


    By contrast, the Dusacks were indeed fierce, with no Dusack dead, only six wounded.


    All the manors in Wolf Town pooled a sum of money together, for funeral expenses and compensation for the injured and the deceased.


    Only when the lieutenant brought the captured bandits and the bodies of the dead to the county garrison did he learn: on the heads of many in the band of thieves who ambushed the Wolf Town convoy hung bounties.


    Especially the bandit chief with an oval-shaped scar on his face ¡ª the bastard was tough, surviving a stab in the back ¡ª was a notorious villain known by the nickname ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡±


    ¡°Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s gang roamed and committed crimes throughout the Newly Reclaimed Land; of the eight counties in the province, bounties hung on his head in six counties.


    ¡­


    ¡°Horse Palm Ivan was originally one of the Dusacks,¡± Major Ronald told Winters.


    He was kicked in the face by a warhorse, leaving an oval-shaped horseshoe mark, and hence acquired the nickname ¡°Horse Palm.¡±


    Afterward, he accidentally killed someone in a drunken brawl, fled in fear of punishment, and simply took to a life of robbery and murder.


    With his exceptional strength and military experience, Horse Palm quickly gathered a mob of thugs around him.


    The man was well-versed in military discipline and clearly understood the intricacies between the legion and local authorities.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, only the legionary gendarmerie had the power to pursue criminals across counties, but catching thieves was the responsibility of local jurisdictions.


    Hence, Horse Palm only robbed civilians and never touched the military; when one county became too hot for him, he jumped to another, causing headaches for the governments of each.


    Horse Palm¡¯s crimes multiplied, his notoriety spread, and his nickname evolved from ¡°Horse Palm¡± to ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡±


    ¡°The infamous Horse Palm Ivan,¡± Major Ronald patted Winters on the shoulder, praising him joyfully, ¡°finally fell into the hands of Lieutenant Montaigne, and he was captured alive. Well done!¡±


    That Horse Palm Ivan was caught in Iron Peak County also gave Major Ronald quite a bit of face.


    Especially since it was a live capture, which implied a ¡°grand¡± public execution ¡ª Winters did not yet understand.


    In fact, it wasn¡¯t just Horse Palm Ivan alone; several other notorious thieves who had joined forces for the raid also died by the sword.


    However, compared to the infamy of Horse Palm Ivan, the other bandits were barely worth mentioning. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It is mainly due to the credit of Town Chief Mitchell and the Dusacks of Wolfton,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Only now do I understand why mere robbers were able to choose such an opportune moment for their ambush.¡±


    Scouting beforehand, repeated reconnaissance, attacking mid-crossing, seizing the moment when the convoy¡¯s guard was spread thin¡­


    If Winters hadn¡¯t reinforced in time, and the lieutenant hadn¡¯t happened to be a Spellcaster, it¡¯s very likely that Horse Palm Ivan would have succeeded this time.


    Major Ronald paused momentarily, then said with emotion, ¡°Rebels are always more dangerous than bandits.¡±


    Those with military skills, once they turn to evil, cause harm far beyond what desperate farmers could muster.


    In the Imperial Era, the most destructive thieves were often bankrupt nobles and destitute knights.


    ¡­


    Major Ronald kept Horse Palm Ivan behind while instructing Winters to take the remaining seven bandits back to Wolf Town.


    ¡°The men were captured by you; by law, they are yours to judge. I¡¯ll keep Horse Palm while you take the others back to Wolf Town to kill,¡± Major Ronald specifically entrusted, ¡°Not only to quell the anger of the victims¡¯ families but also to set an example. Once things are settled here, I¡¯ll send the executioner to your place.¡±


    Having the power to judge life and death of a person, a privilege unthinkable for an officer of a small township in the Vineta Republic, was granted here.


    It was no exaggeration that the Parlatu Army in the Newly Reclaimed Lands wielded a status similar to feudal lords.


    The bodies of the bandits were exchanged for silver coins in Revodan, and the bounty on Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s head posted by Iron Peak County was collected directly at the Revodan garrison.


    Major Ronald also generously paid Winters the bounties on Horse Palm Ivan from the other five counties, based on their posted reward proclamations.


    With bounties in hand and seven bandits in tow, Winters returned to Wolfton.


    Before this, no one had realized that the newly constructed jail at the security station would be put to use so soon.


    The old blacksmith Misha and his assistant Berlion had no choice but to forge shackles throughout the night.


    Winters had intended to leave the seven bandits for Major Ronald to judge, but he realized he had no right to rob the victims¡¯ families of their chance at revenge.


    ¡­


    The conscription work in Wolf Town was progressing smoothly.


    When Winters brought back the good news that ¡°time served in the militia could count towards a period of service obligation,¡± the Dusans were very pleased.


    Gerard did not agree with ¡°gaming the system¡± from the bottom of his heart, but he did not openly oppose it, leaving the choice to each Dusan family.


    In the end, 32 underage Dusacks voluntarily enlisted, all between the ages of 15 and 20.


    With a quota of 80 for the century, the remaining 48 unlucky ones would be decided by lottery.


    Among the list of voluntary Dusack enlistees was the name of Pierre.


    While Mr. Michel fiercely opposed, the real decision-maker in the Mitchell family was not him, but Mrs. Mitchell.


    In the end, Pierre still ended up telling his mother about the beating from his father ¡ª he could not conceal the bruises on his face.


    Contrary to Pierre¡¯s expectations, his usually indulgent mother, after learning the cause, not only supported his father but also gave Pierre another lesson.


    When it came to deciding whether to join the auxiliary militia, Pierre and Gerard found themselves on the same side again.


    Gerard loathed acts that broke sworn vows, while Pierre would rather die than be a conscripted civilian.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 365: 31 Horse Palm Ivan_3

    Chapter 365: Chapter 31 Horse Palm Ivan_3


    But Mrs. Mitchell thought enlisting in the militia was a good idea, which neither violated the law nor broke any oaths.


    Gerard Mitchell and Ellen Mitchell had a huge fight, and Winters, who was staying with the Mitchells, could hear Gerard¡¯s roaring and Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s crying even from outside the mansion.


    The youngest Mitchell daughter still unwed, Scarlett Mitchell, hid in the gazebo in the backyard with a lieutenant¡¯s arm around her, desperately covering her ears and sobbing.


    ¡°It¡¯s normal for a husband and wife to quarrel, I saw it myself when I was young,¡± Winters had to comfort the terrified young miss: ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it before?¡±


    Miss Michel sobbed in response, ¡°They never used to fight¡­ Is my dad going to kill my mom?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t¡­¡± The girl¡¯s imagination left Winters dumbfounded.


    After a long time, the mansion quieted down, and Mrs. Mitchell returned to her usual gentle and calm demeanor, although there were still a few strands of tear marks at the corners of her eyes.


    Winters hurriedly stood up to greet her.


    Seeing her mother coming, Miss Michel quickly ran away.


    ¡°Lieutenant sir,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said with a slight curtsy.


    ¡°Madam,¡± Winters nodded in return.


    No sooner had Mrs. Mitchell spoken than she was on the brink of tears again, ¡°In your militia¡­ Can Pierre be safe?¡±


    Winters pondered for a long time, and answered seriously and earnestly, ¡°Madam, once one enters war, no one can be safe, I cannot guarantee that Pierre will come home unharmed. If the war goes well, the chances of survival for support troops are much higher than for combat troops. If the war goes poorly, the support troops would be the first to be abandoned. I cannot make any promises, war is a cruel and sad disaster.¡±


    ¡°If the war goes well, support troops can be safer, right?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Montagne.¡± After giving a courtesy, Mrs. Mitchell left sadly, murmuring to herself, ¡°Father, brother, I can¡¯t lose a son again. They¡¯ll understand someday¡­ they will¡­¡±


    Once the matriarch of the Mitchell family made up her mind, the attitudes of Gerard and Pierre meant nothing.


    Ultimately, Michel signed her name on the register with a bellyful of complaints.


    ¡­


    The 32 participants had been confirmed, and the remaining candidates were just waiting for the drawing.


    In the past, when drawing conscripts, the people of Wolf Town simply drew lots, each person one lot, and the unlucky one drawn would be it.


    But this time, Winters Montagne, the Garrison Officer, had devised a simple set of rules.


    First, whether laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor family members, all must participate in the drawing;


    Second, families of the militia who had sacrificed themselves during beast disasters were exempted;


    Third, only sons had one lot, while others had two lots¡ªit was too preferential to give only sons complete exemption, but they should still be given some consideration; sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fourth, the other townspeople not selected would contribute money according to their status as laborers, self-farming peasants, or manor owners, which would be distributed to the members of the militia as compensation.


    This was a very rudimentary scheme, but at least the people of Wolf Town could accept it. Compensating the unlucky ones who were drawn would also reduce the risk of desertion.


    ¡­


    What Winters didn¡¯t expect was that, upon hearing there was money to be had, the young hunter Bell was the first to come to him.


    ¡°Sir? Is there money for joining the militia?¡± Bell asked the lieutenant impatiently.


    Bell, of course, was not among the 32 Dusacks who volunteered, although the young stable boy Anglu was listed among them.


    ¡°There is a little,¡± Winters replied without showing any emotion: ¡°Do you need money?¡±


    Bell didn¡¯t answer directly, but asked eagerly, ¡°Can you advance me the money if I sign up for the militia?¡±


    Now Winters couldn¡¯t just ignore him; he frowned and asked again word by word, ¡°Do you need money?¡±


    Bell shivered uncontrollably and nodded without saying a word.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    Bell didn¡¯t make a sound.


    ¡°For what?!¡± Winters raised his voice by three decibels.


    ¡°Paying off debts,¡± Bell said softly.


    ¡°What debts?¡±


    ¡°My father¡¯s debts.¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°how much do you need? I¡¯ll get it for you. You don¡¯t have to join the militia.¡±


    Bell stubbornly said, ¡°No, I can¡¯t take other people¡¯s money.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s with the affectation, lad? Do you want the money or not?¡± Winters countered.


    Bell deflated like a punctured ball, and mumbled softly, ¡°I do¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The little fellow didn¡¯t ask for much money, but Winters was still worried.


    Money was not important to him, but he had to make sure that Ralph¡¯s son wasn¡¯t heading down a wrong path.


    That very night, he stealthily followed Bell into the forest, all the way to the hunter¡¯s cabin where Bell returned.


    After the old hunter¡¯s death, Bell was taken to live in town by Winters, and the hunter¡¯s family cabin in the woods had been left idle.


    There was definitely something fishy about the little hunter sneaking back to the old house.


    ¡°What in blazes are you up to, you little rascal!¡± Winters kicked open the door.


    ¡°Ah!?¡± Bell stood up in a panic, blocking the way: ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s nothing¡­¡±


    Winters¡¯s pupils constricted as his breathing accelerated sharply. Pointing at the shadow behind the young hunter, he exclaimed, ¡°What is that thing!¡±


    Knowing he could no longer hide it, Bell mumbled, ¡°A cat¡­¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh in anger: ¡°Would a cat¡¯s paws be that big?¡±


    Laughing, an abrupt realization struck Winters, and he asked in shock, ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s a cub of a giant lion?¡±


    Behind Bell, the Little Lion let out a milky cry of ¡°Woo-ah¡±.


    ¡ª¡ª END ¡ª¡ª


    ¡°Catalogue of Rare and Exotic Creatures¡±


    by Bai Ruisi


    ¡°¡­ Cave lions give birth to one or two cubs per litter, and their behavior is more like tigers than lions; the mother raises the cubs alone¡­ Reliable records indicate that cave lions were still sighted in the northern foothills of the Jinding Mountains as recently as the year 580 of the Empire¡­ However, with the constant shrinking of their population and habitat, this living fossil species ultimately went extinct¡­ Today, people can only explore the true nature of the cave lion through legends, stories, and the written word¡­¡±

 Chapter 366: 32 Terror Theater

    Chapter 366: Chapter 32 Terror Theater


    The town was rarely this bustling, with its usually desolate main thoroughfares now teeming with life.


    Farmers¡¯ wagons lined up one after another along the roadside, and the dirt road was packed with small stalls.


    On the second Monday of each month, Wolfton¡¯s market day attracted villagers from around, along with Protestants who rarely interacted with the Old Believers.


    That¡¯s why Lieutenant Winters Montagne decided to schedule the trial, execution, and militia drafting all on today.


    ¡­


    Today, the remote town revealed its vibrant side.


    Traveling merchants from nearby towns flocked here to do business, and the town¡¯s farmers brought surplus agricultural products to sell at the market.


    Honest farmers simply spread out a cloth on the ground and arrayed the fruits and vegetables they had picked from fields and gardens, waiting for people to inquire about the prices.


    Meanwhile, the shrewd farmers already had their pretty daughters carrying wicker baskets along the streets, hawking eggs.


    The shouts of vendors, haggling, and arguing were endless.


    Because of the public trial and execution of bandits, which for the farmers was an extraordinary event that could become a talking point for twenty years.


    So even families from neighboring towns dragged their relatives to join in the spectacle, and a troupe of traveling entertainers performing nearby seized the chance to put on their shows.


    Everyone was eager to secure the best spot possible, and the atmosphere in the town center was anything but the solemnity expected for trials, executions, and the selection of militia. Instead, it was like a grand festivity.


    The newly formed Wolfton town guard patrolled the streets, maintaining order. Seven guardsmen, clad in armor and shouldering long halberds, looked imposing.


    The guards¡¯ weapons and armors had just been purchased from Revodan¡ªWinters and Gerard took the opportunity to stock up the town¡¯s Arsenal.


    A visit to the county seat wasn¡¯t frequent, so it made sense to take care of all necessary business in one trip.


    The Wolfton town guard now consisted of seven members, with two full-time guards being the young lads Anglu and Bell, and five part-time guards selected by Winters from the local militia.


    Though not professional soldiers, these farm boys, with their gleaming iron helmets and brand-new leather armors, looked no less valiant.


    They attracted the gazes and whispers of many young women and wives, and also the great envy of their village companions.


    A Dusack lad clapped Vashka on the shoulder and laughed, ¡°Looking good! You certainly look the part in that outfit.¡±


    Out of respect for Sergei, the guard position from Dusa Village had been given to Vashka Morozov.


    ¡°Quit it, I¡¯m on duty,¡± Vashka replied with a smile.


    The Dusack lad sized him up and down: ¡°Did you buy this set from Revodan?¡±


    ¡°Of course, brand new, the paint hasn¡¯t even chipped off.¡±


    ¡°When we¡¯re done today, let me borrow it to wear.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t take it home; after the duty, I have to return it to the Arsenal.¡±


    ¡°Ah, what¡¯s the harm? Just sneak it back home.¡±


    A silver-grey steed parted the crowd and passed by the two men. Vashka, in the middle of his light-hearted conversation, caught sight of the silver pattern on the horse¡¯s belly and immediately tensed up.


    Since the convoy returned from Revodan, there was nobody in Wolfton who didn¡¯t recognize Lieutenant Montagne¡¯s ¡°Fortune.¡±


    Vashka quickly stood at attention and saluted.


    The Lieutenant on horseback nodded and continued on his way forward.


    ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve really done me in now,¡± Vashka lamented to his companion.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± his friend asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Forget it,¡± Vashka urged his friend to move on: ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later.¡±


    ¡­


    After patrolling the town center, Winters didn¡¯t find anything suspicious.


    But on the outskirts of the town, he saw Gerard arguing loudly with an unfamiliar young man.


    Seeing Winters, Gerard waved happily: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne!¡±


    Winters nudged his horse and quickly moved closer.


    ¡°This is our Garrison Officer of the town, Lieutenant Montagne,¡± Gerard told the young man. ¡°The business you wish to conduct must have his approval.¡±


    ¡°Good day, sir!¡± Before the lieutenant could speak, the young man interjected: ¡°My business, though often unjustly treated and discriminated against, is entirely legitimate. Please look, this is a charter issued by the garrison headquarters of the county.¡±


    The young man handed over a roll of parchment.


    After reading the content on the parchment, Winters looked behind the man:


    Several large tents were set up by the roadside, a sickly old woman sat by collecting money. Ragged men queued up to go in, then walked out adjusting their trousers.


    ¡°Are you¡­ a pimp?¡± Winters asked, hand on his sword hilt.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t use such ugly words,¡± the pimp replied, with a fawning smile on his face: ¡°I am merely a mediator, facilitating connections between ladies with certain skills and gentlemen in need.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to converse further with this slick character; he checked the charter again. The wording didn¡¯t seem fake, the seal didn¡¯t appear to be fake, and the signature also didn¡¯t seem to be fake.


    While the lieutenant was re-examining the charter, the pimp¡¯s smile grew even more intense.


    ¡°A piece of parchment, I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s real or fake,¡± Winters stated flatly.


    The pimp¡¯s smile froze in an instant: ¡°How could that be? This charter was personally signed by Major Ronald of Revodan, please take a closer look?¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go back to Revodan and bring me back a letter of authentication?¡± Winters suggested.


    ¡°Sir, there is a secret mark on this charter that can verify its authenticity,¡± the pimp wiped the sweat from his brow, pleading: ¡°Please, allow me to show it to you.¡± Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters handed back the charter.


    As their hands met, the pimp covertly slipped a bag of silver coins into the lieutenant¡¯s palm. ¡°This should settle it,¡± he thought.

 Chapter 367: 32 Horror Theater_2

    Chapter 367: Chapter 32 Horror Theater_2


    But he had never anticipated that the once infallible ¡°counterfeit-proof mark¡± would actually hit the wall this time.


    Winters tossed the purse in front of the pimp and asked coldly, ¡°You don¡¯t want your hands anymore?¡±


    The young man knelt down in panic, pleading continuously, speaking incoherently, ¡°Sir! This license is truly genuine, I was momentarily confused¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait here.¡± Winters, observing that his manner did not appear deceitful, took Gerard with him to the peacekeeping department.


    He did not understand Paratu¡¯s laws, so such matters required consultation with a legal expert.


    ¡­ S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old mendicant monk, Reed, having heard Gerard¡¯s account, placed the license on the table and chuckled, ¡°Paratu does indeed allow brothels to operate legally, this time he really does have the advantage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a corrupting influence!¡± Gerard was furiously indignant, ¡°And there¡¯s the risk of spreading venereal diseases! Thirty years ago, who knows how many Dusacks were afflicted.¡±


    The old monk, stroking his long beard with a laugh, said, ¡°There are indeed ways to legally shut them down, it¡¯s not difficult.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gerard¡¯s spirits were immediately lifted.


    ¡°They have occupied the town¡¯s land for their operations; their personnel, tents, and vehicles can be seized.¡±


    ¡°That kid is cunning; he deliberately set up the tent outside the town.¡±


    ¡°The entire Wolfton land belongs to the public; what difference does it make if it¡¯s inside or outside?¡± Monk Reed casually remarked, ¡°Moreover, to operate such a place in Paratu, the workers are required to be regularly examined by a doctor and certified fit for work. With all the procedures scrutinized, missing just one step would be enough to deal with him.¡±


    Gerard was somewhat at a loss for words.


    Winters tried to persuade the old Dusack, ¡°I see that all around the tent are lumberjacks¡¯ men. Those men lead a tough life, surrounded only by men. Allowing them an outlet is safer for the town. Besides, the license doesn¡¯t seem fake; there¡¯s no need for such measures against the pimp. The best approach is to ensure the town¡¯s residents keep their own sons in check.¡±


    Gerard fell silent, and the town hall became quiet.


    Seeing that the old Dusack was persuaded, Winters stood up, ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to that pimp. Only for today, after today he better clear out early.¡±


    Gerard gave a slight nod.


    Monk Reed stopped the young officer on his way to the door, ¡°Have you thought it through?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    The door was pulled open from the outside, and Anglu hurriedly said to the young officer, ¡°Sir, the executioner is ready.¡±


    ¡­


    In Wolf Town, for crimes less than capital punishment, the Garrison Officer can make the decision alone.


    If it is a serious offense, a triple-judge committee will be formed, consisting of the town mayor, the Garrison Officer, and an envoy sent from the county.


    However, for criminals like ¡°Horse Palm Ivan¡± and his gang¡ªwho are neither residents of Wolf Town nor are they caught in the act¡ª


    There is no committee, no defense allowed; the crime is already established, Winters just needs to decide the sentence.


    Winters habitually sought counsel from Monk Reed.


    The old monk smiled wryly, ¡°What sentencing? In the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, captured bandits and robbers face the death penalty. The only difference is how you wish them to die.¡±


    ¡°Among the captured bandits, there¡¯s a child, barely over twelve years old,¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°I want to know if Paratu¡¯s laws offer any leniency towards him?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t, but the power to decide the punishment is yours; you can reduce the sentence as you see fit,¡± the mendicant monk¡¯s calm was like a deep pool, ¡°But to what extent do you want to reduce it?¡±


    ¡°Exile?¡±


    ¡°Paratu has no exile. Besides, where would you exile him to? This is already the frontier of the Senas Alliance.¡±


    ¡°Corporal punishment?¡±


    ¡°To cut off one hand would mean cutting off his chances of returning to the right path, not even farms would employ those who have been punished.¡±


    ¡°Labor? Flogging?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that would be too unfair to the deceased townsfolk of Wolf Town?¡± said Reed with a hint of sarcasm, ¡°Legally speaking, Paratu does not recognize bandits and robbers as citizens of the Republic; they have no civic rights whatsoever, and anyone can kill them without repercussions.


    A child of twelve doesn¡¯t join a gang willingly but is forced into becoming a bandit. Considering this, any reduction in his sentence is meaningless. In a few years, you¡¯ll see him in a gang on the Newly Reclaimed Land. If you ask the executioner, you¡¯ll know how many of the criminals he¡¯s executed were habitual offenders repeatedly punished.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    ¡°What to do? Give him some property, so he can sustain himself, and he won¡¯t fall back into banditry. But don¡¯t you think that would be too unfair to the dead people of Wolf Town?¡± The old mendicant monk spoke evenly, ¡°You are an officer stationed in Wolf Town, not one for the Horse Palm Gang. Your duty is to protect this land and its people, not to worry about the fate of a bandit!¡±


    ¡­


    Once the executioner was ready, solemn bell tolls echoed from the church.


    The Wolf Town guards unlocked the prison doors and escorted the seven bandits all the way to the town square.


    At least a thousand onlookers lined the path: farmers from five villages and Dusans, laborers working in the estates, estate owners on horseback, and their wives and daughters in horse-drawn carriages¡­ Nearly all the people of Wolfton had made their way to the town.


    Seeing this show of force, it was clearly visible that several guards were nervous, with beads of sweat forming on Gerard¡¯s forehead, fearing any mishap might spark unrest.


    Suddenly a woman pushed through the crowd and rushed to the prisoner¡¯s side, savagely hitting the convict with a stone in her hand.


    Vashka and another guard hurriedly stepped forward to separate them. The woman was pushed to the side, falling onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

 Chapter 368: 32 Terror Theater_3

    Chapter 368: Chapter 32 Terror Theater_3


    The bearded prisoner being beaten burst into loud laughter and even spat towards the woman.


    Vashka, seeing this, flew into a rage and landed a hard punch right in the center of the bearded prisoner¡¯s face.


    The prisoner was hit so hard he was lifted off his feet, his nasal bone and two front teeth breaking on the spot. Before he could spit the blood out of his mouth, another guard stuffed it full with a ripped piece of cloth.


    A cheer erupted from the crowd of onlookers. News spread fast like the wind, and people already knew that the woman was the wife of a deceased man.


    The people of Wolf Town, who all lived by hard labor, naturally harbored deep hatred for bandits. Coupled with sympathy for the unfortunate woman, their anger burned even fiercer.


    On the short walk from the security office to the town square, stones mixed with curses flew relentlessly at the prisoners.


    The trial was simple. Several Dusacks recounted the events of the ambush that day. Mr. Bunting also took the stand, tearfully identifying the bandits and demanding blood for blood.


    After the brief proceedings, the town square was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as the crowd held their breath, waiting for the Garrison Officer¡¯s final judgment.


    The pronouncement was icy, ¡°Death penalty, for all.¡±


    Cheers spread from the front row of the crowd to the very back. Previously stoic, the prisoners finally couldn¡¯t hold back their tears and began to weep loudly, the childish cries among them sounding the most pitiful.


    But no one cared for their tears. The guards dragged the prisoners from the ground to the execution site, with the crowd swarming behind them.


    In the northwest clearing of the town, the local carpenter had set up a temporary platform a few days earlier.


    The executioner, honorably known as ¡°Master Franz,¡± Franz Schmidt, dressed in ceremonial robes, and his assistant had already been waiting there.


    The closer they got to the execution site, the more the condemned prisoners fell apart emotionally. Some struggled fiercely, some cried out, begging the onlookers for blessings and mercy.


    Bringing the condemned to the edge of the execution site, everything was then handed over to the executioner, Franz, and his assistant. The guards visibly relaxed when they handed over the prisoners to the executioner.


    What followed was the executioner¡¯s ceremonial performance.


    Master Franz, in his sixties with sharp eyes and a spry spirit, had carried out hundreds of executions and had his own methods for dealing with the condemned.


    One of the prisoners struggled furiously, cursing, and Franz¡¯s assistant¡ªFranz¡¯s sixteen-year-old grandson¡ªalmost couldn¡¯t contain him.


    The old executioner stepped forward swiftly and delivered a piercing punch to the prisoner¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple.


    The man, who had just been struggling and cursing, instantly fell silent, clutching his throat and collapsing to the ground, his face turning red.


    As for those prisoners who were merely reciting prayers in desperation for forgiveness, Franz paid them no mind.


    The old executioner gestured his grandson to execute the prisoner who had received the heavy blow to the throat first. The two lifted him onto the execution platform¡¯s ¡°judicial chair¡± and tied him down with ropes.


    Father Caman stepped forward, allowed the prisoner to kiss the Bible, and listened to his final confession. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The noisy crowd gradually quieted down, intensely focused on the executioner¡¯s preparations, not wanting to miss a single detail.


    The old executioner was dressed in an outfit that could only be described as striking, bizarre, and flamboyant: pink tight stockings on his lower half with light blue knee-length shorts, and a blue, white-collared bodice on his upper half.


    He took off his hat as a sign of respect.


    Then he put on a leather vest to prevent his shirt from getting stained with blood.


    After the preparations were completed, he nodded to his assistant. The assistant comprehended and respectfully presented the weapon to the executioner.


    The seasoned executioner grasped the hilt, drawing the beheading sword from its scabbard in one swift motion.


    With that, the execution drama reached its climax.


    It was a formidable weapon that could be described as a greatsword, with a blade longer than one meter, weighing over six jin, its edge flat and tip-less, its sides equally wide from front to back, forged specifically for decapitation,


    An inscription on the blade read, ¡°Beware of misdeeds, lest you dig your own grave.¡±


    The execution ground was as silent as death itself.


    Master Franz stood solemnly in position, raised the beheading sword high behind his right shoulder, took a deep breath, and then struck with force.


    The blade traced an elegant arc through the air, severing the condemned¡¯s cervical vertebrae from the right rear.


    The head flew off, rolling to the edge of the scaffold, blood still spurting continuously from the severed neck, drenching the executioner and his assistant.


    The assistant picked up the head and held it high in the air, parading it around the four sides of the scaffold to show the crowd.


    Accompanied by the screams of several women, the previously silent execution ground erupted into a thunderous cheer.


    Oppressive taxes give rise to rampant banditry, and rampant banditry inevitably leads to harsh punishments and severe laws.


    Brother Reed¡¯s words were merciless yet true: what needed to be decided was not whether the bandits lived or died, but how they should die.


    ¡°How do you want them executed?¡± The master executioner asked the same question when he met with Winters.


    Burning, hanging, drowning, breaking on the wheel, dismemberment by horses¡­ every method of execution corresponded to a different crime.


    Executions were not just about killing criminals; the executions themselves were grand spectacles.


    Public trials, processions before the execution, and the execution itself, composed the three elements of this horrifying spectacle.


    Honest, hardworking people could barely make ends meet, while thieves, robbers, and bandits could acquire wealth without toil. The commoners despised bandits but also harbored a veiled envy towards them.


    Public executions served not only to intimidate the populace but also to assert the authority of worldly rulers, as well as providing a channel for the hard-living, honest folks to vent their grievances.


    The composed and reliable executioner, representing the power of the state, executed criminals in a procedural and ritualistic manner, maintaining the fragile and delicate balance between the three parties.


    Beheading¡ªthe mode of death chosen by the Garrison Officer of Montaigne¡ªwas not overly painful, quick and clean.


    It was also the only method of execution that considered the dignity of the deceased.


    Master Franz glanced at the remaining six convicts and, when he saw the sobbing child, he thought, ¡°Heinrich [Franz¡¯s grandson] is probably only a few years older than him.¡±


    He gestured to his assistant that the next one should be the youngest convict.


    Every breath on the execution ground was an agony for the convicted, a gesture of the executioner¡¯s mercy.


    ¡°The bearded man who spat at the dead man¡¯s family,¡± Franz thought. ¡°Let him be the last.¡±

 Chapter 369: 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion

    Chapter 369: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion


    ¡°Nanxin Village, Bart Xialing!¡±


    ¡°West River Village, ¡®Red-faced¡¯ Philpot!¡±


    ¡­


    Vashka pulled out small slips of paper with names written on them from the iron pot and handed them to the nearby Panveche.


    The old house steward loudly read the text on the slip while registering the names in the ledger.


    One by one, names echoed across the town square; the farmers whose names were called had ashen faces while those who didn¡¯t hear their own silently rejoiced at having dodged a bullet.


    The pile of slips by Panveche¡¯s right hand grew, and soon the forty-eight slots would be filled.


    Some people in the town square were counting aloud, and the count had reached forty-seven.


    Everyone watched tensely as Vashka drew the last piece of paper from the pot; many believers prayed silently.


    They prayed not to hear their own or a family member¡¯s name next.


    Panveche took the final slip from Vashka¡¯s hand and hesitated. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hurry up and read it!¡± someone from the square couldn¡¯t help but urge.


    Panveche looked at the young man beside him deeply, then loudly read, ¡°Dusa Village, Vashka Sergeievich Morozov!¡±


    ¡­


    The selection for military service was now complete.


    Under pitying gazes, eighty young men stepped out of the crowd onto the open ground of the town square for the first full assembly of Wolf Town¡¯s company of one hundred.


    Sergei shouted orders; a few old Dusacks ran through the ranks, arranging the scattered youths into four neat, horizontal lines.


    With the formation of the ranks, these farmer boys finally started to look a bit like soldiers.


    Father Anthony began leading the newly inducted militia in their oath, reciting each phrase for the militiamen to repeat after him. Then, one by one, they approached Father Anthony to kiss the Bible and holy vessels.


    After the oath was finished, the militia reformed their ranks, ready to listen to the lieutenant¡¯s briefing.


    ¡°Desertion is a serious crime, with family punishment as well, do not take undue risks,¡± Winters began with a succinct explanation, ¡°Many of you aren¡¯t even of age yet, and many have never held a weapon before, but after the oath, there are no more children, no more farmers, only soldiers. From this moment on, you are bound by military law. Go home and prepare yourselves, go kiss your parents, your wives, and your children.¡±


    Winters looked over the faces before him and concluded, ¡°Now, soldiers, go home. May you all be blessed.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters thought the lottery marked the end of the conscription process, but things were not as simple as he had believed. The lottery ceremony only marked the end of the first half, and the second was just beginning.


    The crowd at the market hadn¡¯t dispersed when Hoffman and his son approached Lieutenant Montaigne. The Hoffmans were the owners of Golden Ear Manor, considered significant landowners in Wolf Town.


    The piece of paper with Xiao Hoffman¡¯s name had just been drawn from the pot, and it was clear that old Hoffman was reluctant to let his son leave for military service.


    ¡°Mr. Hoffman,¡± Winters blocked off any arguments politely but firmly, ¡°The lottery was entirely fair. Your son was unlucky to be chosen, and I can¡¯t help you with that.¡±


    ¡°Understood, sir, we understand,¡± old Hoffman said, rubbing his hands together, ¡°What I mean is¡­ shall we proceed as in previous years?¡±


    ¡°What happened in previous years?¡± Winters asked, his eyebrows inadvertently rising.


    Obliviously, old Hoffman answered, ¡°Sir, the way we¡¯ve always done it in previous years, of course.¡±


    Soon, Winters learned what old Hoffman was referring to.


    The way was an unexpected man.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Berlion¡ªthe young blacksmith stepped forward before the lieutenant, ¡°I volunteer to serve as a substitute for young Mr. Hoffman.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I ask you before?¡± Winters glanced at the blacksmith, ¡°You said you were unwilling at that time.¡±


    Winters had asked the blacksmith ¡°whether he was willing to enlist in the militia¡± when the conscription order was first issued.


    In the army, there was always a need for blacksmiths, especially capable ones.


    A soldier like Berlion, with his own trade, would not only be exempt from heavy physical tasks like digging trenches and building camps but would also earn double pay.


    At that time, Berlion had silently smiled and shaken his head, rejecting the lieutenant¡¯s offer. But now, he was proactively offering to replace young Hoffman for service.


    When challenged by the lieutenant, Berlion calmly replied, ¡°I am still unwilling.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°How much did you sell yourself for?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Hoffman has offered a very fair price.¡±


    Winters had heard of such things as draftees paying for substitutes, but he wasn¡¯t certain of the legality.


    After Berlion left, Winters went to Gerard to learn that ¡°substitute service¡± was a well-known practice in Paratu.


    As long as the Newly Reclaimed Land Garrison got enough manpower, it didn¡¯t care if some were serving as substitutes.


    In previous years, if sons of Wolf Town¡¯s landowners were chosen, they would spend a sum of money to hire someone as a substitute as long as the rosters hadn¡¯t been sent to the garrison yet.


    However, if the substitute deserted, the original draftee would also be implicated, so the substitute had to be trustworthy and reliable.


    There were not a few cases where serfs and laborers served as substitutes multiple times, saving up the money to buy land and become freeholders.


    ¡°Berlion? Misha¡¯s helper? Misha is very fond of him,¡± Gerard thought for a moment and said, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he have a brother working at the Hoffmans¡¯? Looks like he¡¯s doing it to provide a dowry for his brother.¡±


    Winters disapproved of the practice of hiring substitutes, but it also represented a form of indirect fairness. He did not want to disrupt the existing rules of operation.

 Chapter 370: 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion_2

    Chapter 370: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and the Lion_2


    So Xiao Hofman¡¯s name was crossed out from the roll, and ¡°Berlion from Nanxin Village¡± was added.


    The ink on the register hadn¡¯t dried yet when Bell ran over, beaming: ¡°Commander, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!¡±


    Winters finally understood how Mr. Michel felt when he grabbed the stick.


    ¡°What mess are you adding to?¡± he forced down the urge to give the brat before him a beating: ¡°I haven¡¯t decided what to do with your new pet yet!¡±


    ¡­


    Time rewound to five days earlier, inside the hunter¡¯s cabin.


    Winters, Bell, and a cub¡ªnow barely larger than a cat but certainly destined to weigh hundreds of kilograms one day¡ªwere in the same room.


    Bell quickly picked up the cub from the ground and held it in his embrace. The Little Lion uttered a dissatisfied groaning sound, struggling to climb onto Bell¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t kill it,¡± Bell begged as he held the cub and stepped backward, nearly in tears.


    Silence, which lasted for a good ten seconds.


    Winters sighed and asked, ¡°Has it been weaned yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you feeding it?¡±


    ¡°At first, it was dog milk because there was a family in Hedong Village whose dog had pups. Later, when there wasn¡¯t enough dog milk, I bought sheep¡¯s milk.¡±


    ¡°You needed money for this?¡±


    Bell nodded.


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you tell me straight?¡± Winters dragged a chair over to sit: ¡°Put it down. The little thing is uncomfortable being held by you. If I wanted to kill it, you couldn¡¯t stop me.¡±


    Bell wiped away his tears and carefully set the cub down on the ground. The Little Lion, once again free, quickly hid in the corner of the room.


    The pitiable look of the young hunter reminded Winters of Elizabeth, who had found a kitten outside and had pleaded with Cosette to take it in¡ªexcept back then, it wasn¡¯t known as the Little General; it was just a kitten with eyes yet to open.


    The scene before him inadvertently touched a soft spot in his heart.


    [Don¡¯t rush.] Winters thought to himself, admonishing: [Speak in terms that Bell can understand.]


    Poor Lieutenant Bell wasn¡¯t married yet, but he was already experiencing the troubles of parenting.


    ¡°Male or female?¡± Winters gestured to the other chair across the table: ¡°Don¡¯t stand there, sit and talk.¡±


    ¡°Male.¡± Bell obediently sat down.


    ¡°When it¡¯s two months old, milk alone won¡¯t be enough. By that time, it¡¯ll need to eat meat. Do you understand that?¡±


    Bell first shook his head, then quickly nodded.


    ¡°When it needs meat, what do you plan to feed it?¡± Winters¡¯s question sharpened.


    Bell answered urgently: ¡°I¡¯ll hunt! I¡¯ll hunt rabbits, deer, wild boars to feed it!¡±


    ¡°With your skills, you should be able to feed it until it¡¯s half a year old. I¡¯ll be generous and assume you can feed it until it¡¯s one year old.¡± Winters tapped the table lightly, his gaze fixed on the young hunter¡¯s eyes: ¡°But do you know how long a lioness rears her cubs?¡±


    The young hunter stared blankly.


    ¡°At least two years,¡± Winters said coldly. ¡°According to Brother Reed, it¡¯s not unusual for a lion cub to follow its mother for three years. You¡¯ve seen the size of its mother; do you think you can still feed it after it¡¯s a year old?¡±


    ¡°By then, I can release it back into the forest; it can hunt on its own and eat its fill,¡± Bell argued still.


    ¡°Kid, have you ever raised a cat?¡± Winters asked an unrelated question.


    The young hunter shook his head.


    ¡°Only kittens raised by a mother cat will catch mice because the mother teaches them how to hunt. A cat raised by people won¡¯t catch a mouse, even if you put one right in front of it. Are you a lioness? If it gets used to the food you feed it, will it still go hunting?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Bell was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Let me ask you another question, why did your father fight to the death to kill its mother?¡± Winters didn¡¯t give the young hunter a chance to breathe, answering his own question: ¡°Because its mother ate humans. And why did its mother eat humans if not because she couldn¡¯t fill her belly with the prey in the forest? If you send it back to the forest, can it eat its fill? Won¡¯t it just repeat its mother¡¯s tragedy?¡±


    Another long silence followed, with Bell sobbing, ¡°I don¡¯t care; it just can¡¯t be killed.¡±


    The Little Lion hidden in the corner of the room gradually stopped being afraid. Unable to contain its curiosity, it shakily crept toward the table, drawing near the strange, frightening, upright ape.


    Winters felt something touching his boots and, looking down, discovered the cub had run out at some point and was rubbing and nibbling at his boot tip.


    He scooped up the Little Lion in one go. Its body was fluffy, soft, and warm, indeed feeling like that of a cat.


    Bell was startled. Just as he was about to come forward to grab it, seeing that the Lieutenant was just casually playing with the Little Lion on the table, he sat back in his chair.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to kill it either, right?¡± Bell asked cautiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never said such a thing. If I think it will endanger Wolf Town in the future, then I won¡¯t hesitate. But now, there are many possibilities,¡± Winters gently rubbed the cub¡¯s plump belly, while the Little Lion discontentedly groaned in a milky voice: ¡°Have you helped it defecate and urinate today?¡± S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bell was clearly flustered: ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t understand? I guess previously it was the mother dog you found that did the job for you,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°Otherwise, this little guy would have died long ago. It¡¯s also because of its strong will to live that it has lasted this long with you.¡±


    Winters took a handkerchief from his bosom, dipped it in warm water, and gently wiped the cub¡¯s excretory area until the handkerchief was completely soaked with a pale yellow liquid.

 Chapter 371: 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3

    Chapter 371: Chapter 33 Drawing Lots and The Lion_3


    The little lion, finally getting to relieve itself after holding it in for several days, yawned contentedly.


    ¡°Kid, haven¡¯t you realized yet?¡± Winters said as he walked to the washbasin to clean his hands, not even turning his head: ¡°You don¡¯t have the ability to take care of this little guy right now. Leaving it with you will only get it killed sooner or later. It¡¯s a matter of ability, not willingness.¡±


    Although Bell was reluctant to admit it, he couldn¡¯t find the words to argue when he saw the handkerchief soaked with pale yellow liquid on the table.


    ¡°And even if you could raise it, you have no clue what to do once it¡¯s grown,¡± Winters, having washed his hands, sat back down and nodded at the handkerchief on the table: ¡°Wash it and return it to me tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you suggest we do¡­¡± Bell said, head hung low in dejection.


    ¡°The best fate for this behemoth in the future is probably a life in a noble¡¯s cage,¡± Winters said with a wry smile: ¡°Deliver it to the emperor¡¯s palace, and it will live comfortably from then on. The Vineta Governor¡¯s Office might even be quite happy to buy a lion as a mascot.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Bell stood up fiercely: ¡°That would be an insult to Tengri!¡±


    The little lion got frightened, stumbled off the table, and scurried back into the corner of the room.


    Winters, stroking his chin, said in an unhurried tone: ¡°But it can¡¯t go back to the mountain woods either. As the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, I won¡¯t allow any threat to the people of Wolf Town. If you insist on putting it back, then it¡¯s either I who will kill it, or someone from another town. Do you want to see that happen?¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I will raise it for a lifetime,¡± Bell muttered.


    Winters let out a sardonic laugh: ¡°Setting aside the matter of money. By the time it¡¯s fully grown, the town¡¯s pigs and sheep probably won¡¯t be enough to feed it.¡±


    The young hunter fell silent again.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite curious, though. Why are you so determined to protect it?¡± Winters asked earnestly.


    ¡°Because it is a spirit of the wilderness, the favored child and mount of Tengri.¡± Bell spoke softly: ¡°That¡¯s what my mother said.¡±


    ¡°Your mother is a Herder, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°But your father had also killed a giant lion before.¡±


    ¡°The White Lion wanted to kill my dad, and my dad wanted to kill the White Lion; that¡¯s fair,¡± Bell continued softly: ¡°But Tengri doesn¡¯t allow the senseless killing of cubs. My family already owes the gods the life of a cub. I need to repay my father¡¯s debt; otherwise, he won¡¯t find peace or reincarnation.¡±


    ¡°Great, a believer. Now it¡¯s going to be impossible to reason with you,¡± Winters thought.


    Bell called out softly, and the little lion obediently ran over from the corner, showing no signs of the fright it had just experienced.


    It climbed onto Bell¡¯s lap, rubbing its head forcefully against his chin and licking his face.


    Seeing the close bond between the man and the lion, Winters didn¡¯t know what to do: ¡°Sending it to be caged, you don¡¯t want that.¡±


    The young hunter nodded.


    ¡°Sending it back to the mountain might be feasible, but I disagree,¡± Winters said, in a resigned, fierce, self-defeating tone: ¡°You little rascal, you might as well run off to the circus in the future!¡±


    ¡­


    Time returned to the present, and Bell ran up excitedly: ¡°Sir, I volunteer to serve in place of Mr. Wilkes!¡±


    ¡°Why are you adding to the chaos? I haven¡¯t yet decided what to do with your new pet!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought of what to do!¡± Bell shouted excitedly, eyes filled with joy: ¡°The White Lion is sacred amongst all the four-legged tribes; we can return the White Lion to the Khan!¡±


    Winters gave the young hunter a cuff on the head: ¡°I¡¯m going to war with the ¡®Khan¡¯!¡±


    [Note: The four-legged tribes is what the Herders call themselves, meaning horse-riding people.]


    SEND GIFT


    Paragraph copied

 Chapter 372: 34 Departure

    Chapter 372: Chapter 34 Departure


    The roster had been sent to Revodan. While waiting for the dispatch orders, the Wolf Town¡¯s hundred-man troop began conducting some routine training.


    The subjects included formation, weapon use, and marching.


    Winters didn¡¯t expect to turn farmers into qualified soldiers in just a few days. But even auxiliaries needed to understand discipline and obedience to survive in the army.


    This was a typical rural troop, and in its organization, Winters had made sure that the militiamen in each ten-man squad were all from the same village.


    Because not long ago, when there had been a beast infestation, the young and strong men of Wolf Town had all participated in the hunting teams.


    So, who was capable and diligent, who was honest and reliable, who spoke in a way that fellow villagers were willing to listen to¡­ after the ordeal of the beast infestation, Winters had a good understanding of these matters.


    The Centurions he appointed were all capable of commanding respect, and there were no militiamen who felt dissatisfied.


    Except for Pierre Mitchell.


    ¡°Big brother Winters,¡± at the Mitchells¡¯ dinner table, Pierre was still not pleased, ¡°Why am I not a Centurion?¡±


    Before Winters could answer, Gerard, with a stern face, scolded, ¡°You¡¯re on duty, you should call him an officer or Centurion. When I was on duty, if you dared address an officer that way, you¡¯d be invited to a full helping of the whip.¡±


    Ever since Pierre had joined the militia, Gerard¡¯s temper had been flaring up.


    Unable to convince his wife, Gerard could only hope that his son would grit his teeth and persist, preferring death to submission. However, it turned out that Pierre was just as spineless in front of his mother.


    Now Mr. Mitchell would get angry whenever he saw Mr. Mitchell.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal,¡± Pierre muttered under his breath.


    ¡°No, listen to your father, it¡¯s important,¡± Mrs. Mitchell said gently, squeezing her son¡¯s arm, ¡°You might not think it¡¯s a big deal, but if others hear you, it could undermine Mr. Montaigne¡¯s authority. The lieutenant has already helped you a lot, don¡¯t cause trouble for those who have helped you.¡±


    Pierre was not afraid of his father but was very afraid of his mother. When Mrs. Mitchell spoke, Pierre fell silent.


    Gerard huffed and puffed, ¡°You just wait. Once you¡¯re in the barracks, people like you, I guarantee, will be set straight in a few days.¡±


    After dinner, during the leisure time¡ªalso known as ¡°the gentlemen¡¯s time¡± among the Mitchells¡¯ maids¡ªthe men, as usual, moved to the living room.


    There were no other guests today, and Gerard lay comfortably on the leather armchair, filling his pipe and pouring himself a drink, casually chatting with Winters.


    In the past, this room did not include Pierre. Sometimes other leather armchairs would be occupied by visiting priests, old Dusack, and estate owners.


    But ever since Pierre¡¯s name was registered, Mr. Mitchell had tacitly allowed Mr. Mitchell to join as well.


    After holding it in for a long time, Pierre could no longer restrain himself and asked, ¡°Then why can Vasya be a Centurion?¡±


    His buddy had become a Centurion, while he remained a regular soldier. Why? What for? Mr. Mitchell¡¯s head was filled with these questions.


    Just as Gerard was about to lose his temper, Winters calmed old Dusack down and explained seriously, ¡°Because Vashka is older than you are.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason?¡±


    ¡°Everyone in the hundred-man troop, the Dusacks, are relatively young. If you were nineteen, you would be a Centurion too.¡±


    Pierre was left speechless but soon couldn¡¯t resist asking, ¡°Then when can we practice shooting?¡±


    ¡°What are they practicing now?¡± Gerard, too, was curious and asked the lieutenant.


    ¡°Formation. I plan to focus on practicing marching over the next few days.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just walking around the drill ground, it¡¯s particularly boring,¡± Pierre blurted out, ¡°round and round, like a donkey turning a millstone.¡±


    Girard slapped the back of his son¡¯s head, ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate marching, marching is an art. The old Duke won battle after battle with us thanks to marching.¡±


    [Note: The old Duke refers to the ¡°Butcher¡± Duke of Alen?on]


    ¡°What¡¯s so artistic about it? It¡¯s just marching,¡± Pierre said, holding his head and speaking in a tone of grievance.


    ¡°Could you lead a hundred-man troop to march sixty miles a day, from Wolfton all the way to Revodan, without a single person falling out of line? Could you manage that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why not? Just follow along, right?¡±


    ¡°You could do nothing of the sort! You¡¯ve got no skills, yet you talk tough,¡± Gerard became angry once more and slapped his son again, ¡°If you were leading, you wouldn¡¯t make it thirty miles before the front and the rear were two kilometers apart. You wouldn¡¯t even notice if someone slipped away halfway!¡±


    Old Dusack looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant, train him harshly, let the boy suffer a bit; otherwise, he won¡¯t know how high the sky is or how deep the earth.¡±


    ¡°We have been training in the town square these few days,¡± Winters replied with a smile, ¡°Tomorrow I plan to take them for a walk in the fields.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The hundred-man troop of Wolf Town, dressed in various outfits, was progressing through the wilderness in a single file formation.


    Pierre, carrying a musket, was limping forward with each step causing excruciating pain.


    But the formation kept pushing him forward, not allowing him to rest.


    In the morning, the lieutenant had distributed weapons from the Town Armory to the militiamen. Pierre thought they were going to practice shooting that day.


    He rushed to the front and grabbed a matchlock gun, smugly thinking he had got himself a great toy.


    As Pierre was waiting for the bullets and gunpowder to be distributed, the lieutenant ordered everyone to take up their arms and follow him.


    They walked the entire day.


    No one knew when they had left the road; the troop kept marching through the wilds until they reached the banks of the Big Horn River and then continued along the riverbank.


    At first, there were cheerful voices and laughter in the formation, but in the end, only painful silence remained.


    Pierre was now finding it very difficult even to breathe; he only felt the muscles in his legs stiff and sore, his feet, shoulders, and groin seemed as if they were being rubbed raw with iron sand.


    Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 373: 34 Departure_2

    Chapter 373: Chapter 34 Departure_2


    He had completely lost any sense of direction, and simply followed numbly.


    The luckiest militiamen only received a bow, and even that was an unstrung single bow that felt like a stick in their hands.


    Those who were assigned fighting swords and pikes were a bit less fortunate, as these weapons were heavier.


    The unluckiest poor souls had to carry muskets. The matchlock guns bought from Revodan weighed sixteen pounds each and did not come with slings.


    Pierre felt like he was carrying a weight of a thousand catties on his shoulder, his flesh sore and numb from the pressure.


    He finally understood the somewhat elusive smile on the lieutenant¡¯s face when he saw him eagerly claiming the musket.


    ¡°That guy,¡± Pierre thought resentfully, ¡°must be comfortably riding on his silver-gray steed, laughing at our suffering.¡±


    Right beside him flowed the turbulent Big Horn River, and Pierre, pushed to his limit, had the thought: Just jump into the river, and I won¡¯t have to endure this any longer.


    He startled himself with this thought and shook his head vigorously.


    A voice in his head kept tempting him, ¡°Why do you put yourself through this? Why not rest for a while? Rest a bit, you¡¯ll feel much better. Don¡¯t worry about what others think. Who are they to judge you?¡±


    Finally, Pierre abandoned all his self-respect. He sat down on the ground and, as if declaring to someone, he yelled, ¡°I can¡¯t go on anymore!¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The people behind him simply glanced at him, wordlessly walked around him, and continued to follow the column forward. Everyone did the same.


    Sitting on the ground, Pierre first felt an indescribable pleasure, but soon an endless shame followed.


    He lay on the ground, burying his head in the weeds.


    ¡°Hey? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± It was Vashka¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Pierre said, sniffing. He wiped his face haphazardly, not wanting anyone to see him crying: ¡°I don¡¯t want to walk anymore.¡±


    Vashka picked up Pierre¡¯s musket, ¡°Hang in there a little longer.¡±


    Pierre got to his feet with his hands on the ground and nodded silently.


    Vashka shouldered Pierre¡¯s gun and his pike, while Pierre followed him limping, the two rejoining the column.


    ¡°Vasya,¡± Pierre said softly.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I now know why you can be a centurion.¡±


    Loud trumpet calls came from the front, with someone shouting, ¡°Rest where you are! Rest where you are!¡±


    Upon hearing the command to rest, the exhausted militiamen dropped their weapons and collapsed to the ground.


    Pierre, unable to wait, yanked off his boots. Both of his feet were swollen like radishes, blistered over.


    ¡°Feels like I¡¯ve chafed down there,¡± Vashka said with a wry smile.


    Pierre didn¡¯t respond; that area between his legs was also painfully burning.


    A man walked up from the front of the formation. The militiamen along his path lowered their heads in a salute¡ªthey simply couldn¡¯t stand up.


    Approaching Vashka and Pierre, the two recognized the newcomer as Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The lieutenant carried a musket as he passed by the two Dusacks, nodding lightly at them.


    ¡°Gentlemen.¡±


    ¡°Officer.¡±


    They brushed past each other and the lieutenant continued his walk towards the back of the column.


    ¡°See?¡± Vashka nudged Pierre with his elbow, whispering, ¡°He carried a saber and shouldered a gun, walked all the way as if nothing was wrong.¡±


    Only then did Pierre recall: when they set out, Lieutenant Winters Montagne was not on horseback.


    ¡­


    In the days that followed, Winters led his hundred-strong company through wilderness marches every day.


    The militiamen, mostly of peasant stock, generally had no complaints, for they were fed and paid for the training.


    In strict terms, the intensity of Winters¡¯ training was not very high, roughly fifteen kilometers of cross-country marching per day with only weapons to carry.


    If it were the Standing Army, they would have to march at least twenty kilometers outdoors every day, and that was with a full pack of weapons and camp gear.


    The young Dusacks were still tormented to the point of crying for their mothers. According to Gerard, Pierre even urinated blood. But the youngster never spoke disheartening words, simply going home and falling straight asleep.


    Pierre¡¯s suffering was obvious to Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell, who felt it deeply in their hearts.


    But Gerard still thumped his chest, assuring the lieutenant, ¡°Grind that boy to dust, and if he dies from exhaustion, blame me.¡±


    Ellen Mitchell, however, was growing increasingly intolerant, with every bruise, swelling, and blister on Pierre¡¯s body tormenting her.


    Winters was surprised to discover a subtle shift in the atmosphere at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Mrs. Mitchell, who had been adamant about sending her son to join the militia, was now hoping to hire a substitute to serve for Pierre, or to simply have Pierre leave the militia and wait until he was older.


    And Gerard, who had initially been firmly against Pierre¡¯s enlistment, now would not agree to a substitution, nor would he agree to let Pierre leave the militia.


    Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell had another heated argument.


    In the end, it was Pierre himself who made the decision: ¡°Dad, Mom, stop fighting. I¡¯m staying with the militia.¡±


    ¡­


    Time flew by.


    On the fourth Tuesday of October, a day shrouded in thick fog, Winters received his orders.


    The militia assembled in the town square; relatives came to see them off.


    Sons left parents, husbands left wives, fathers left children, brothers left siblings¡­ a scene of bleak sorrow.


    No matter how many times he experienced this, Winters could never grow numb to it.


    Unable to bear the sight, he quietly went to help Gerard load the cart.


    The Newly Reclaimed Land was sparsely populated with vast expanses, and they had to camp in the wild most of the way. Cooking equipment and food were loaded onto four double-team wagons, while the militiamen were responsible for carrying tents.

 Chapter 374: 34 Departure_3

    Chapter 374: Chapter 34 Departure_3


    The horse and wagon were both purchased by Gerard using funds from the town. Gerard Mitchell was not only a good town mayor but also a good man; Winters had inexpressible gratitude towards him.


    Winters additionally bought a double-hitched wagon, outwardly claiming it was for carrying the lieutenant¡¯s baggage while in reality, the lion cub was hidden inside.


    Bell had no more strength to care for the lion cub; Winters retrieved the Little Lion from the hunter¡¯s cabin to the security office, feeding it a mixture of cooked minced meat and sheep¡¯s milk.


    Watching the little guy grow bigger by the day, he had reached seventeen pounds in no time, and holding him felt like cradling a large dog.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but seriously consider Bell¡¯s suggestion: to hand over the ¡°White Lion¡± to a certain Hurd tribe on the grasslands. Afterwards, he wouldn¡¯t need to worry anymore since they would surely be delighted to present the White Lion to their Khan.


    It sounded ridiculous at first, but upon closer consideration, it was actually feasible.


    Unable to bear the thought of it dying by his hand, the sight of the Little Lion affectionately licking him made it impossible for Winters to contemplate killing it.


    At worst, releasing the lion into the wilderness far from Wolf Town seemed like a solution.


    Hence, both Bell and the lion cub appeared in the caravan, with Bell serving in place of Ashley Wilkes.


    What the young hunter didn¡¯t know was that Winters had secretly returned the money paid by the Wilkes family. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As stated in the official paperwork, Bell was not a substitute but a volunteer, and this could also count towards fulfilling one term of active service required of the Dusans.


    Ralph too probably hoped that his son would be accepted by the Dusans once again.


    No one came to send off Bell, nor did anyone come for the young colt-handler Anglu. The two boys, who had both lost their parents, sat in the wagon, silently watching the militiamen tenderly interacting with their families in the town square.


    Among those who came to see them off was someone who shouldn¡¯t have been there: Franz ¡°the Master Teacher¡± Schmitt.


    Winters walked to the southeast corner of the town square, to an inconspicuous nook where the white-haired old executioner was saying something to his grandson.


    The executioner and his grandson wore simple grey outerwear, a stark contrast to the flamboyant costumes they wore at the scaffold.


    The old executioner was there to send off his grandson, Heinrich Schmitt.


    Upon seeing the lieutenant approaching, Franz removed his cap and bowed deeply, ¡°Thank you for giving Heinrich a chance, sir.¡±


    ¡°It was nothing.¡±


    No matter how one explains it, an executioner¡¯s role involves killing. It is a cursed profession; ¡°spawn of the executioner¡± is one of the vilest curses.


    People need executioners yet despise, scorn, and shun them.


    Because no other trade or community would accept them, the role of executioner often becomes a family craft.


    Many executioner families were assigned this role due to tarnished reputations, and the Schmitt family was such.


    The Master Teacher Franz dreamed of restoring his family¡¯s honor and, if not, at least enabling his descendants to escape the executioner¡¯s fate.


    The military draft in Wolf Town was an opportunity. After serving as a soldier, Heinrich would be entitled to priority in purchasing new land from the Republic.


    There, he might hide his name and bury his family¡¯s past, leading the life of an ordinary farmer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fear hardship, don¡¯t think of home¡­¡± Franz kept instructing in a nagging tone.


    Heinrich nodded, but his grandfather¡¯s next move took him by surprise.


    The old executioner retrieved a beheading sword from the wagon and solemnly handed it to his grandson.


    ¡°Take this,¡± Franz said, word by word. ¡°Remember the pain this sword has brought to the Schmitt family, and never forget it.¡±


    ¡°But Grandfather, what about you?¡± Heinrich awkwardly held the large sword.


    Franz sighed, ¡°It¡¯s time for me to retire.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Winters brother! The wagons are all loaded!¡± Xial hurried to Winters¡¯ side, panting, ¡°When are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°Xial,¡± Winters patted Xial¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You must call me Centurion now.¡±


    The Wolf Town century, now fully staffed with eighty soldiers, two constables, and one officer, had all assembled.


    The two constable positions were conferred by Winters to Xial and Heinrich Schmitt.


    The troops formed into two neat columns. Priest Caman presided over the blessing ceremony for their departure.


    After the ceremony, Caman led out two horses from behind the churchyard, one saddled and the other loaded with bags.


    ¡°How can we go without an army chaplain?¡± the young priest asked with a smile.


    Brother Reed approached from the crowd seeing them off: ¡°Brother Caman, you¡¯re following along?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t rest at ease if I don¡¯t go,¡± Caman said, his tone one of seeking forgiveness.


    ¡°Ah, there¡¯s not much point for me staying here without you,¡± Reed sighed, then turned to the lieutenant, ¡°Lad, are you still in need of a scribe?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t waste words: ¡°I¡¯ll have Xial pack your bags.¡±


    ¡°What bags do I have?¡± The old mendicant monk laughed heartily, ¡°I came with nothing but the clothes on my back, and I¡¯ll leave with the same.¡±


    ¡°Anglu!¡±


    The young colt-handler came running at the call.


    ¡°Get the chestnut with the mane ready to saddle, for Brother Reed to ride.¡±


    ¡°You little rascal, you just want to see me dead,¡± the old monk glared at the lieutenant, ¡°You expect this old frame to ride a horse? And you¡¯ve got some imagination. Don¡¯t you have a big wagon? I¡¯ll take the wagon.¡±


    With that, the old monk walked off toward the wagon with a carefree stride.


    Winters mounted Strongrunner, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the soldiers, the misty Wolf Town in the morning, the forest in the distance shrouded by thick fog, mountains and the eternally snow-capped peaks.


    ¡°Move out,¡± he nudged the horse¡¯s flanks lightly, the first to exit the town square.


    The Wolf Town Montaigne century was ordered to Maplestone City¡¯s main camp.

 Chapter 375: 35: The Parachuting Boss

    Chapter 375: Chapter 35: The Parachuting Boss


    Before I knew it, it was late December. Comfortable, cool autumn had passed and now even wearing two layers of clothing couldn¡¯t ward off the chill.


    Located in a low-latitude region, Paratu only experienced ice on the coldest days of the year, but on some mornings, one could still see a layer of frost congealed on the ground.


    Outside Shuangqiao City, in a corner of the army camp, Bell was sitting in front of a fire, lost in thought.


    The wood crackled in the blaze, the wind occasionally scattering the flames, but still, they stubbornly radiated light and heat.


    In the damp chill of winter, this small flame was the only thing that could make one feel warm.


    Next to the bonfire stood a military tent, from which Berlion emerged carrying a pot of iron. He placed the pot over the fire, then turned to go back into the tent.


    Seeing the blacksmith coming over, Bell stirred up the fire to make it burn more vigorously. Berlion set the pot on the fire and then turned back to the tent.


    By the tent, Anglu hummed an off-tune melody, cheerfully brushing a chestnut-colored warhorse.


    ¡°You don¡¯t even ride Rejek that often, Lieutenant, what¡¯s with the enthusiastic grooming?¡± Bell picked up a stone and threw it at the groom: ¡°If you¡¯ve got spare time, you might as well come help the blacksmith and me with the cooking!¡±


    Anglu turned a deaf ear and continued to busily tend to the horse. Accompanied by the ¡°shush¡± of the brush, the chestnut mare contentedly snored away.


    The groom only had eyes for the horse and paid no attention to others.


    On the other hand, another person crawled out from under a woolen blanket by the fire.


    ¡°Ready yet?¡± Pierre, half-asleep, stretched and asked tiredly, ¡°I thought I smelled food?¡±


    ¡°Food is there, but in an hour,¡± Bell said, leaning on the fire stick, ¡°If you two were willing to help out, we might be able to eat a little sooner.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Pierre ducked back under the blanket, ¡°Call me in an hour.¡±


    ¡°Lazybones.¡±


    ¡°Let the groom help you; I was on night watch last night.¡±


    ¡°Can you go back and sleep in the tent, then? Don¡¯t be in the way here.¡±


    ¡°The tent is colder than outside, outside there¡¯s the sun and fire,¡± Pierre¡¯s consciousness began to blur, ¡°I¡¯m not you, who can cuddle with a lion for warmth.¡±


    Bell was at a loss for words.


    ¡­


    The little Hunter might deceive others but not the comrades who shared the same iron pot and tent.


    News spread fast in the camp, and now the militiamen of Wolf Town¡¯s hundred man unit all knew the Lieutenant had a pet.


    However, most of them still thought it was a rare hunting dog, only Pierre and a few others knew it was a lion.


    Berlion, Pierre, Anglu, and Bell were all part of Vashka¡¯s group of ten, which, besides the blacksmith, were all Dusacks.


    Because the little Hunter often had to take the young lion to deserted spots outside the camp for exercise, his secret was quickly uncovered by the other members of the group of ten.


    Although they were initially shocked when they found out, in the end, without exception, everyone chose to keep Bell¡¯s secret.


    Firstly, due to the camaraderie of ¡°tent brothers,¡± and secondly, the Little Lion was still at a size comparable to a large dog¡ªa cute rather than frightening stage of life.


    Because they shared the same secret, their relationship grew even closer.


    Of course, there was another reason: as the lion cub was kept in an officer¡¯s tent, it was obvious that Centurion Montaigne was behind it all, and no one wanted to get on the bad side of a direct superior.


    Indeed, Winters had his own reasons for assigning these men into one ¡°mess.¡±


    [Note: A group of ten sharing one tent was also called a ¡°mess¡± or ¡°tent.¡±]


    Pierre and the little groom were the Hunter¡¯s close buddies, and Vashka along with the other three Dusacks were friends of Pierre. As for Berlion, the blacksmith usually kept to himself and was the least likely to reveal secrets.


    Those in the know kept silent, while others spread rumors, and eventually, the story going around was ¡°the Lieutenant has a dog.¡±


    ¡­


    After grooming the red mane, Anglu led out Sturdy to brush its coat.


    Not wanting to leave the two fine horses in the camp stables, the little groom set up a horse shed on the edge of the camp area.


    The water in the pot was boiling, and Berlion took out wheat flour, meat, and a few vegetables from the tent, beginning to cook noodle soup.


    The sun was at its highest, the warmest time of the day in winter.


    Other soldiers and civilians in the camp took advantage of the good sunlight, also busy preparing something to eat.


    Hunter Bell would occasionally bring back a few rabbits or pheasants from the woods, and blacksmith Berlion¡¯s cooking skills were excellent, making the food of Vashka¡¯s group of ten quite decent.


    The food for the others varied, depending largely on the cooking skills of the soldiers in charge.


    ¡­


    The Shuangqiao Main Camp was divided into areas by hundreds of units, with tents of Wolf Town people surrounding Vashka¡¯s group of ten. Next to the people of Wolf Town were those from Blackwater Town, and then those from Saint Town.


    Auxiliaries from various secondary towns of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province were encamped on the open ground of the eastern wing of the camp, currently nominally under the First Auxiliary Legion of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Most of the wooden barracks on the western wing of the camp were empty, the area reserved for the Standing Army.


    Although not many Standing Army soldiers were in the camp at the moment, auxiliaries had no right to stay in the barracks and could only sleep in tents.


    In the center of the camp, heavily guarded, was a mountain of military equipment and grain.


    Shuangqiao Main Camp, adjacent to the border, was the largest logistical hub for the Parlatu Army.


    A network of roads like blood vessels brought war supplies from every city, town, village of the Republic to this point. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All supply convoys heading to the front-line troops had to set off from Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    At present, the Wolf Town hundred man unit was stationed in Shuangqiao Main Camp, responsible for loading and unloading tasks.

 Chapter 376: 35: The Parachuting Boss_2

    Chapter 376: Chapter 35: The Parachuting Boss_2


    ¡­


    Boiling water, wheat flour, vegetables, meat, sprinkled with a pinch of salt and spices, turn into a pot of fragrant noodle soup.


    Attracted by the smell, Pierre got up, and Anglu also led the draught animal back to the stable.


    Bell, Berlion, Pierre, and Anglu sat around the fire. As usual, Berlion always served everyone else first.


    Pierre pulled out a wooden bowl from his bag, wiped it carelessly with his clothing, and handed it to the blacksmith.


    Mr. Mitchell looked around sleepily, yawned, and asked, ¡°Where are the four of them?¡±


    ¡°Gone to play,¡± the blacksmith answered curtly.


    ¡°And they haven¡¯t come back?¡±


    ¡°They just left this morning.¡±


    Berlion handed a bowl filled with noodle soup to Pierre, who took it and stared blankly at the fire, lost in thought.


    After a while, he sighed, ¡°They say we¡¯re militia, but what¡¯s really the difference between us and the laborers?¡±


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a difference, laborers get paid, but you don¡¯t,¡± said Bell without looking up.


    Meanwhile, Anglu slurped the noodle soup with loud slurping noises.


    ¡­


    On October 27, in the year 558 of the Empire, Montagne¡¯s centurion team reached Maplestone City.


    After receiving their weapons at the main camp of the stationed legion, the centurion team headed straight to Hosencorp to transport supplies without stopping.


    In addition to weapons, the legion also assigned twice as many laborers to the centurion team.


    The experienced conscriptor Gerard was right; so-called militiamen were, in reality, just laborers with weapons.


    Lieutenant Winters Montagne had, nominally, eighty militiamen and one hundred and sixty laborers under his command, but in fact, he had two hundred and forty laborers.


    In the nearly two months that followed, Winters led his men all over the Republic of Palatu, escorting supplies, loading and unloading, building camps, repairing roads¡­


    The Kingdom of Galloping Horses had already come to blows with the Hurd tribes, but it was basically unrelated to the centurion team from Wolf Town.


    When the 6th and 7th legions of Palatu crossed the Border River in mid-October, Wolf Town had not yet been conscripted.


    As the subsequent troops advanced into the territory of the Hurd tribes, the centurion team from Wolf Town was driving wagons on the country roads.


    For the people of Wolf Town, ¡°war¡± was just hard physical labor, the loudly recited dispatch of good news on the streets, and occasionally news heard from other soldiers.


    Pierre and the other Dusacks sighed; for them, the war was supposed to be about hanging sabers on the wall, adventure stories told by fathers, and the boasts of drunk uncles and granduncles.


    They all harbored some dreams of achieving great deeds and exhibiting the spirit of a hero. Yet now, after two months of service, all they did was two months of physical labor.


    But being spared the risk of combat, Winters was quite satisfied. In camps like the one in Maplestone and Shuangqiao Main Camp, he even had unexpected reunions with many classmates.


    Previously, Lieutenant Vineta was scattered across Palatu, rarely seeing each other. Now that the army was conscripting the local militia, they had the chance to leave their stations and would occasionally bump into each other on the road or in camps.


    During these few months in Palatu, the life of Lieutenant Vineta and his peers was very tough, and they had endless things to talk about.


    After asking around, Winters received bad news: none of the Lieutenant Vinetas had seen Gold, and naturally, none had received the Gold Coins sent through Thor Gold.


    The pirate leader embezzled the money for his own greed?


    Impossible, if that were the case, Xial couldn¡¯t have possibly made it alive to Wolf Town. The only possibility was that Gold had encountered an accident.


    Without other means, Winters reluctantly wrote to Gerard for help, hoping Gerard would use Major Ronald¡¯s connections at the County Garrison to inquire about it. But for now, he had received no reply.


    By mid-December, the material conscription within the borders of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses had come to an end.


    The supplies, which were a mountain of grain, arms, and ammunition, were stored in Shuangqiao Main Camp. The Palatu Army was not short on supplies now but lacked the ability to transport them to the frontline.


    Therefore, starting from mid-December, auxiliary military units from various regions began to converge on Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Montagne¡¯s centurion team had arrived at Shuangqiao Main Camp for over a week.


    ¡­


    Disappointed as they were, they still had to eat.


    A pot of noodle soup was devoured clean by the four men.


    Scraping the bottom of the pot with his spoon, Anglu praised, ¡°Blacksmith, how come everything you make is so delicious?¡±


    Berlion smiled, didn¡¯t speak.


    Pierre belched and casually asked, ¡°On duty this afternoon?¡±


    ¡°No, today it¡¯s the turn of the people from Little Shizhen.¡±


    ¡°Then, shall we play dice?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Andre replied while eating, ¡°I have to take Rejek out for a run this afternoon.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Pierre turned to the Hunter.


    Bell shook his head, ¡°I have something else to do.¡±


    Pierre then looked at the blacksmith, a man he didn¡¯t even need to ask.


    Mr. Mitchell burrowed back into his blanket, ¡°Then I might as well sleep.¡±


    As they were chatting, a man with a military saber in his left hand and a knapsack over his right shoulder entered the Wolf Town camp.


    The man stopped one of the Wolf Town militia and casually asked, ¡°Is this Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    Inside the army, unit numbers were seldom used; it was customary to refer to a unit by the commander¡¯s last name, such as Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit or Kongtai¡¯er¡¯s battalion, and so on. However, for the militia, they preferred to call themselves after their town.


    The stopped Wolf Town militia was stunned for a moment, then nodded in confirmation.


    ¡°Where are Bard¡¯s centurion unit and Cherini¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    The confused Wolf Town militia countered, ¡°What Bard¡¯s centurion unit and Cherini¡¯s centurion unit?¡±


    ¡°He means the Saint Town and Blackwater Town people,¡± Pierre interrupted, crawling out of his blanket. ¡°They¡¯re over there, those are Lieutenant Cherini¡¯s men, and farther over there are Lieutenant Bard¡¯s men.¡±


    Pierre casually pointed, his gaze inevitably drawn to the man before him.


    This was a tall and strong male, dressed in an old cavalry uniform. His jawline obscured by a thick beard, a prominent nose bisected his features.


    Anyone would remember that face, since a black eyepatch covered the man¡¯s left eye ¨C he was a one-eyed man.


    Yet when he used his remaining right eye to examine someone, it exerted a pressure greater than that of any other person with two eyes combined.


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    ¡°He should be in the officer¡¯s quarters,¡± Pierre asked as politely as possible. ¡°May I know who you are?¡±


    The one-eyed man did not answer, but instead said coldly, ¡°Have Lieutenant Montaigne, Lieutenant Cherini, and Lieutenant Bard come to see me.¡±


    ¡°May I know who you are?¡± Pierre persisted, asking again.


    ¡°I am John Jeska,¡± the one-eyed man seemed to smile, dropping his knapsack on the ground. He stared intently at Pierre and said, ¡°I am your battalion commander, a major.¡±


    ¡­


    When Pierre found Winters, the three centurions were having lunch with Priest Caman and Brother Reed.


    Upon hearing someone claiming to be Major Jeska, Winters, Andre, and Bard dropped their utensils and headed for the Wolf Town camp.


    Although the auxiliary legion was indeed an auxiliary force, it had a complete organization with a battalion command layer between the legion and the centurion unit.


    The Montaigne centurion unit was nominally part of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province First Auxiliary Legion, Third Battalion, First Centurion Unit, while Andre and Bard commanded the Second and Third Centurion Units.


    The entire Third Battalion currently had only three centurion units, considered a half-sized battalion.


    Previous tasks were carried out at the centurion unit level, so there had been no battalion commander, and Winters received orders directly from the Parlatu Army logistics department.


    It was only yesterday that Winters and his colleagues were informed: Major John Jeska had been appointed as the Third Battalion commander and would soon take office.


    They had just been chatting and speculating about the origins of the new battalion commander at the dining table and hadn¡¯t expected this ¡°Major Jeska¡± to arrive so quickly.


    No sooner had the three arrived at the Wolf Town centurion unit¡¯s camp, they learned that the major had already gone to the headquarters of the legion. The three centurions, who had just sprinted over from the officer¡¯s quarters in the center of the main camp, had no choice but to turn back.


    Eventually, they met the one-eyed major at the legion archive.


    The one-eyed major stood at the desk of Colonel [Karl Heinrich Angus], commander of archives, with a saber and a rucksack placed on the colonel¡¯s work desk.


    Major Jeska himself was using his only right eye to examine a dossier.


    Seeing the three lieutenants knock and enter the room, Colonel Angus found an excuse to leave, allowing Jeska and his three subordinates to be alone.


    ¡°You three,¡± the one-eyed major leaned on the desk, his tone unfriendly, ¡°how did you end up commanding militia?¡±

 Chapter 377: 35: The Shack Street

    Chapter 377: Chapter 35: The Shack Street


    ¡°Vasya! Where are you?¡± Pierre rushed through the streets, anxiously shouting, ¡°Vasya!¡±


    The narrow street was flanked by low and simple shanties, many of which didn¡¯t even have doors, just a piece of torn cloth to block the prying eyes of the passersby.


    The road was narrow and crowded, and Pierre¡¯s shouts were drowned out by the cries of the street vendors.


    ¡°Do you want to buy some tobacco, officer?¡± A dirty kid followed close behind Pierre, ¡°Want to buy? I¡¯ve got good stuff. Pipe tobacco? Chewing tobacco?¡±


    ¡°Not buying!¡± Pierre replied, annoyed.


    The kid was persistent and kept nagging him, ¡°What about booze, officer? Ale? Beer? I also have wine, just tell me what you want to drink¡­¡±


    Pierre ignored the kid, striding determinedly through the streets, shouting, and roughly pushing aside the slow-moving pedestrians.


    Innocent passersby were pushed to nearly fall over and were about to curse out loud, only to inadvertently catch a glimpse of the distinctive forehead hair, the small braid, and the Dusack knife at the man¡¯s waist.


    So the vulgar words that reached their lips were swallowed back down, turning into a vicious curse in their stomachs, ¡°Damn Tartar!¡±


    ¡­


    Since Marshal Ned built the Shuangqiao Main Camp thirty-one years ago, it has been the Republic of Palatu¡¯s most central logistics hub for every war with Hurd¡¯s tribes.


    Now, the ¡°Shanty Street¡± between the city walls and the barracks, was a slum in Shuangqiao City thirty years ago.


    Wherever there are people, there are needs. With the completion of the Shuangqiao Main Camp, all sorts of people flocked to this crowded, dirty, and smelly district: vendors, prostitutes, go-betweens, black-market dealers¡­


    Some scraped a living by providing services to men in the camp, while others waited outside the barracks to sniff out opportunities to make a big score.


    Jingling silver coins were paid out to soldiers and laborers by the logistics officers, only to end up in the pockets of the hawkers and runners of the Shanty Street.


    Invisible veins linked the Shuangqiao Main Camp to Shanty Street, which, under the nourishment of money and sweat, displayed a kind of diseased prosperity.


    ¡­


    Many soldiers and laborers spent more time in Shanty Street than in the barracks, but Pierre rarely came here.


    Now, as he walked along the noisy street, he was utterly lost. He had no idea which shanty Vashka and the others were in, and shouting their names down the street was useless.


    Having no choice, Pierre began to check each shanty:


    He lifted a door curtain, and a bunch of shirtless men were gambling. He didn¡¯t recognize them;


    He lifted another curtain, where a few laborers were plucking a hen. Not this one;


    He lifted yet another curtain, where a pair of hairy legs were busily moving atop a pair of pale ones, neither upper nor lower belonged to Vashka¡­


    Pierre hurried along, causing chaos in his wake, with the kid having to run to keep up.


    But the kid, like sticky candy, simply couldn¡¯t be shaken off, incessantly asking:


    ¡°What about women, officer? Do you want women? I know which women in which house are sick, and which aren¡¯t. I¡¯ll introduce you for free, no finder¡¯s fee. Or perhaps, officer, you¡¯d like to gamble? I know a good place, with all sorts of games!¡±


    A kid not even ten years old, but his mouth was full of ¡°women,¡± ¡°tobacco,¡± ¡°alcohol,¡± ¡°gambling,¡±¡ªit was both ridiculously comical and profoundly sad.


    But Pierre completely ignored him, well aware that any response would make this little. bastard. even more aggressive.


    The kids on Shanty Street had sharp eyes; they could tell at a glance who wasn¡¯t a regular.


    So, every time Pierre came to Shanty Street, he was endlessly harassed, to the point of irritation.


    These kids running amok on the street also had sticky fingers. Despite calling him ¡°officer,¡± at the slightest inattention, they would ruthlessly steal even a soldier¡¯s underwear.


    After losing a purse once, Pierre made sure to carry a saber whenever he came to Shanty Street.


    Seeing that the Dusack in front of him paid him no attention, the kid who had followed Pierre all the way suddenly had an idea.


    He asked in a mysterious tone, ¡°Officer, do you need money? If there¡¯s nothing you want to buy, selling¡¯s fine too. Leather boots, wooden planks, gunpowder, lead, muskets, armor, anything you dare to sell, we dare to buy, and we guarantee a fair price. No goods? You can sell information too¡­¡±


    Already in a state of anxiety and impatience, Pierre finally lost his temper. He turned around, drew his saber, and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m not buying anything! Not selling anything! If you dare follow me again, I¡¯ll chop you dead with one strike!¡±


    The kid was at first stunned, then turned tail and ran.


    But after only a few steps, he stopped, pointed at Pierre¡¯s nose, and cursed loudly, ¡°You damned Tartar! Dusack with bowels full of maggots! Devil and donkey¡¯s crossbreed! Your life isn¡¯t worth as much as my balls! When you become a lonely ghost on the battlefield, let the crows peck out your eyes! Let stray dogs eat your balls! Let the devil drag you to hell to be a [luan] boy!¡±


    After spewing his venom, the kid made a face and disappeared into the crowd.


    ¡°Little bastard, don¡¯t run!¡± Pierre, red-faced with anger, chased after him.


    But he stood no chance of catching him and could only watch helplessly as the kid disappeared into the dark alleys of Shanty Street.


    The impotently furious Pierre roared at the sky, causing passersby and street vendors to look his way.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter here?¡± Vashka came running out of a shanty with his belt still undone, holding up his pants.


    ¡°Hurry back to camp with me!¡± Pierre, having finally found him, didn¡¯t have time to be angry. He grabbed Vasya¡¯s arm and urgently said, ¡°A big officer has come! The lieutenant wants everyone to assemble.¡±


    Vashka panicked too, ¡°What? Damn! Where¡¯s my belt?¡±


    ¡°Where are Toman, Guoquan, and the others?¡±


    ¡°Hey! They didn¡¯t go with me!¡± Vasya slapped his thigh. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for them with you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Pierre lifted his leg to leave, but was held back by a Centurion.


    ¡°Pierre, did you bring money?¡± Vasya asked awkwardly. ¡°I haven¡¯t paid over there yet.¡±


    Pierre sighed helplessly and reached for his waistband.


    After fumbling for a moment, his expression suddenly changed: ¡°My wallet! The damn little bastard stole my wallet again!¡±


    Where the wallet should have hung from the belt, there was now nothing but emptiness.


    The leather cord that tied the wallet had been cut with a sharp blade.


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    After finding the other three in the tent street, Vasya and Pierre hurried back to the camp.


    But it was still too late. Colonel Jeska had already returned from headquarters with three lieutenants, and three hundred-man squads stood in neat formations on the field.


    Sneaking in was out of the question, so Vasya and the others had to grit their teeth and approach.


    ¡°Ten lashes each,¡± the one-eyed colonel declared coldly without asking where they had been. ¡°Fall in.¡±


    The five Dusacks breathed a sigh of relief and quickly rejoined their ranks.


    Truth be told, they¡¯d rather be whipped a few times in plain sight than endure the humiliation of standing there for everyone to see¡ªit felt more straightforward.


    Afterward, other militiamen gradually returned, and Colonel Jeska treated everyone indiscriminately, administering ten lashes to each.


    It took nearly two and a half hours for three hundred-man squads to assemble completely, and the colonel made everyone stand in the small parade ground for the same amount of time.


    Once everyone had assembled, it should have been time for the new commander¡¯s speech, but John Jeska skipped all that.


    ¡°The execution will take place before sunset,¡± the colonel announced, looking at his three Centurions with his one eye. ¡°You three will carry it out personally, take care of your own soldiers. If there¡¯s a Centurion, add five lashes, and replace them.¡±


    Afterwards, he disbanded the three hundred-man squads.


    Even after the dismissal order, the troops still stood in place, not moving an inch. Everyone felt that something was missing and didn¡¯t know whether they should leave or not.


    The militiamen were perplexed, but to the three lieutenants new to the commander¡¯s style, this was no longer surprising.


    ¡­


    You see, the first thing the one-eyed colonel said after meeting them was ¡°How did the three of you end up commanding militia?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? Pretending not to know?¡± Hearing this, a myriad of thoughts flashed through Winters¡¯s mind. ¡°Is this a show of authority? A provocation? Is he trying to deliberately anger us?¡±


    The awkward position of Venetian lieutenants in the Republic of Palatu was common knowledge among ¡°orthodox¡± officers.


    [Note: ¡°Orthodox¡± refers to officers who graduated from the Land Academy, also known as academy-educated or institutionally trained. This contrasts with emergency wartime officer training and battlefield promotions, with officers from the latter two paths finding it difficult to advance to the level of staff officers.]


    Nevertheless, there was a kind of camaraderie among alumni, so although the Palatu Army in principle never compromised, most seniors still took considerable care of Winters and his peers.


    Objectively speaking, the position of a garrison officer in the Newly Reclaimed Land was actually quite comfortable and pleasant. With great power and little restraint, one could feel like a noble lord locally.


    For non-academy officers to retire in a garrison officer¡¯s role was considered quite generous; sparing them from a fate like Lieutenant Mason¡¯s, who was sent to shovel horse dung, was already showing them favor.


    In the vast Kingdom of Galloping Horses, seniors would pat Winters on the shoulder and comfort him kindly, ¡°Just endure a little longer, hold on a bit, and you¡¯ll be able to go home once things are settled.¡±


    ¡°Why have you ended up commanding the militia?¡±


    Facing such a question head-on and being bluntly insulted was a first for them.


    The three lieutenants exchanged looks, none of them speaking.


    No need for words; seeing Andre¡¯s flared nostrils and twitching cheeks, Winters understood that Andre was on the brink of exploding.


    Winters bumped Andre¡¯s shoulder inconspicuously.


    Preventing the words ¡°Isn¡¯t this an idiotic question, as if it¡¯s our fault for not being capable enough?¡± from flying out, Winters managed to shove it back into Andre¡¯s throat.


    But at that moment, the colonel asked again, ¡°Why don¡¯t you speak? You lot are at least Land Academy graduates, so how have you sunk to competing for a job with officers from other schools?¡±


    [Note: Officers from other academies, in contrast to Land Academy officers, represent professional military officers who didn¡¯t graduate from the military academy of the army.]


    Winters had only one thought: it¡¯s over, Andre is going to blow.


    Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s thoughts momentarily drifted to ¡°becoming Andre¡¯s second in a duel¡± and even further afield.


    A deliberate voice rose in the room, ¡°To serve our country, there is no distinction of high or low. As for Colonel, aren¡¯t you also fallen to the point of commanding us?¡±


    Andre was startled, and Winters was taken aback.


    Unexpectedly, it was Bard, the most even-tempered of the three, who had spoken up first.


    Colonel Jeska was stung by the retort but didn¡¯t get angry.


    ¡°Not a fall, for me it¡¯s a promotion,¡± he said with a hint of a smile, unconcernedly. ¡°I¡¯ve had it worse than you; I just returned from an overseas military district.¡±

 Chapter 378: 36 s: Super Long Spear

    Chapter 378: 36 Chapters: Super Long Spear


    For the governments of the countries in the Alliance, and even their military counterparts, stripping an officer of their commission was an almost impossible feat.


    The story begins at the founding of the Alliance.


    At that time, nobles both great and small within the Republics, unwilling to abandon their privileges, raised their banners in armed separatism.


    Smoke from the battles covered the lands around Senas Bay, and the nascent Alliance flickered in the wind, its fate uncertain from day to day. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed as though the republican government might meet its end no sooner than it had begun.


    But there was still one army in the Senas Alliance, an army led by Ned Smith. At that time, there were no divisions into separate Republics, and the people of Senas simply called this military force ¡°the Allied Army.¡±


    ¡°Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun,¡± but at that time, the rebellious nobles had yet to realize this: the Allied Army was in itself the most powerful rebel faction in the land.


    Against the Allied Army, forged in blood and fire, even the ¡°Butcher¡± Duke Arlian had no choice but to suffer defeat and take his own life¡ªwho else on the shores of the bay could rival the Allied Army?


    Cannon fire leveled towers, and underground tunnels blew apart castles, as the nobles¡¯ fragmented power was easily suppressed and annihilated by the Allied Army.


    As one earl after another who openly rebelled was hanged from the city walls by the army, the remaining old ruling class began to understand that violence was suicide.


    They, relying on their deep-rooted local influence, willingly entered various councils to engage in party politics.


    In those years, the political ecosystem of the Republics was quite comical and absurd.


    Aristocratic powers gradually took over local councils, and the cities, where the new republican government resided, were like isolated islands in a vast ocean.


    The so-called democratically elected representatives were nothing but old nobility in new clothing, while the military ironically became a pillar of democratic republicanism.


    Calls such as ¡°Settle the crimes of the Allied Army during the Sovereignty Wars!¡± and ¡°Put Ned Smith on trial!¡± reverberated everywhere.


    The atmosphere along Senas Bay bordered on that of a countryside encircling the cities, a peaceful evolution of power, welcoming the return of the emperor.


    Based on the necessity to protect the military and the fear that the old aristocracy might seize power and control the army for a countercoup, the governments of the Republics granted considerable autonomy to their national armed forces during those years.


    The Allied Army from that period did indeed stand as the last bastion for the fledgling Republic.


    The old noble forces tried time and again to turn back history, only to be crushed decisively by the military of the Republics.


    The Supreme Council of Guanglian Province was forcibly dissolved by the military three times, and the story of ¡°bombarding the State Palace¡± is still told among the citizens of Guidu.


    But this harsh medicine came with many side effects, one of which was the self-sufficient system that the Provincial Army eventually became, leading to today¡¯s intractable situation.


    The constitutional amendment that ¡°officers cannot be stripped of their commission except for treason or espionage¡± was also passed during the same period.


    As long as an officer wasn¡¯t guilty of treason or espionage, no matter what they did, even if their command errors led to the death of thousands of soldiers, they could not be kicked out of the military for it.


    This was the ultimate protection for officers of the Allied Army.


    But this amendment indirectly led to another result: even if an officer seriously offended a powerful figure, they couldn¡¯t strip him of his military status.


    Therefore, the less favored junior officers by the higher-ups had only two destinations:


    Either they were transferred to some overseas military district and became the honorable overseas garrison,


    or they were assigned to the military historiography department, sitting on a cold bench, revising military histories.


    These two practices became unwritten customs of the Armed Forces of the Republics.


    The overseas garrison was a military institution directly under the control of the Alliance government, not subject to any member state¡¯s jurisdiction. Going there meant losing the identity of a Republican serviceman, and it was always a one-way trip.


    And historians from later generations unfamiliar with the hidden rules would find the military histories of the Allied Army from this period quite bizarre.


    In contrast to the Empire¡¯s military histories full of praises and boasting of martial achievements, the Allied Army¡¯s accounts were written with biting satire, sarcastic tone, and the pages seemed to drip with palpable acidity.


    And our Colonel John Jeska was the kind of officer particularly disliked by the higher-ups.


    So twelve years ago, he was transferred from the Paratu forces to an overseas military department to work on revising military histories.


    ¡­


    Of course, the three lieutenants had no idea about Colonel Jeska¡¯s legendary ¡°return from oblivion¡± upon first meeting him.


    But when the colonel said he had just returned from overseas, Bard immediately understood what had happened.


    Bard whispered a reminder, ¡°Sir, Lieutenant Montaigne and Lieutenant Cellini here are Venetians, while I am a United Provincial.¡±


    ¡°Venetians serving in Paratu?¡± Colonel Jeska asked in confusion, ¡°Has the Land Academy now abandoned the practice of ¡®return to where you came from¡¯ in favor of a dispersed distribution?¡±


    Well, it seems that this officer is truly unaware of the situation, and Bard gave him a succinct explanation of the background.


    ¡°The friction between the Federated Provinces and Vineta¡ªI heard of it even while overseas,¡± the colonel lamented after hearing the explanation, ¡°You really are unlucky, getting caught in the middle.¡±


    ¡­


    After dismissing the formation, the colonel didn¡¯t stop for a moment before setting out to inspect the Arsenal.


    Since combat wasn¡¯t a concern, Winters and the others decided upon arriving at Shuangqiao Main Camp to collect and securely store the weapons and equipment of the three hundred-man units together.


    The temporary Arsenal was set up in a wooden hut, overseen by an experienced Centurion named Malcolm, who with his subordinates was responsible for its guard.


    During the earlier assembly, Malcolm had already noticed that the new battalion commander was not an easy officer to deal with.


    After the dismissal, he hurriedly had his militia men, armed with cleaning tools, rush to the Arsenal, ready to give the storage room a thorough cleaning.

 Chapter 379: 36: The Ultra-Long Spear_2

    Chapter 379: Chapter 36: The Ultra-Long Spear_2


    Colonel Jeska arrived at the Arsenal with three lieutenants just as the militia in charge of the armory was sweeping up.


    Seeing his subordinates sharpening their weapons at the eleventh hour, Winters and his companions couldn¡¯t help but blush.


    The colonel, however, dismissed it with a wave of his hand, ¡°No need to hustle, the Arsenal is not a banquet hall.¡±


    Winters asked the Centurion in charge of the armory to bring the list: ¡°The spears, halberds, swords, shields, and firearms for three hundred-man squads, as well as the ammunition, are all here.¡±


    ¡°Mixed forces?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyebrows raised.


    ¡°Yes, mixed forces,¡± Winters nodded.


    Normally, each hundred-man squad in a legion would be equipped with the same weapons. Halberdiers would only have halberds, and musketeers would only have firearms; only at the cohort level would there be mixed forces.


    Such a design is for legion-level battles, where soldiers using different weapons are organized into separate units, making it more convenient for commanders to arrange troops and formations.


    However, militias like the one in Wolf Town, mainly engaged in assorted tasks such as escorting and road maintenance, and operating independently most of the time, could only institute mixed forces at the hundred-man squad level.


    ¡°Spears, firearms, heavy halberds, and swords with shields, in the ratio of four to three to two to one,¡± Winters took the list and handed it to the colonel: ¡°Only Centurions are issued with half armor, everyone else gets a helmet. There¡¯s also sixty kilograms of lead, twelve kegs of gunpowder, and some other assorted items, all here.¡±


    Spearmen, musketeers, and halberdiers are each additionally equipped with a single-handed sword, while swordsmen with shields also have a small iron shield.


    The musketeers also have molds for casting lead bullets, which Winters, fearing the militia might not manage them well, had also collected.


    Colonel Jeska, without even looking at the list, directly asked, ¡°Is it higher-ups issuing only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, or are you down to only one kilogram per person?¡±


    ¡°Each musketeer is only issued one kilogram.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t done any training?¡±


    ¡°The militia hasn¡¯t undergone training,¡± Winters thought for a moment before answering, ¡°But we have conducted a few training sessions ourselves using the gunpowder and lead brought from the recruiting areas.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s expression remained unchanged, not revealing much emotion, ¡°Let¡¯s see the goods.¡±


    Opening a wooden crate, the pungent smell of oil hit them, the box was filled with single-handed swords, each oiled and wrapped in cloth.


    ¡°Pretty good,¡± the colonel nodded, ¡°Let¡¯s see the others.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other weapon crates were inspected one by one, and everything was well preserved: the metal equipment was oiled, camphor was placed beside the long poles, and the blades were all properly wrapped.


    John Jeska seemed quite satisfied until the crate containing the firearms was opened.


    The one-eyed colonel¡¯s expression was a mix of a smile and not a smile: ¡°Hook guns?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. We were issued hook guns,¡± Winters replied awkwardly.


    The colonel took out a hook gun from the top and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°This thing, I fear its age might even surpass mine, eh?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that,¡± Malcolm replied in a muffled voice, ¡°But it¡¯s definitely older than any of us.¡±


    ¡­


    Hook guns, in fact, are matchlock muskets, a type of improved matchlock musket.


    Early firearms did not have stocks until a gunsmith had the inspiration to attach the wooden stock from a crossbow to the firearm, until then, muskets had to be fired by holding them in hand.


    But hand-held firing was unstable, so to dissipate the recoil, gunsmiths began to add a small iron hook to the barrel.


    This way, the user could hook the musket to objects like city walls, wagons, or shields for support.


    Thus, this type of musket was named a hook gun.


    At least in the early stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were still using hook guns.


    But war spurred more advanced designs, which then spread rapidly during the wars.


    With the proliferation of musket stocks, longer barrels, and serpentine firing rods, muskets evolved from the early matchlock ¡°stick and iron tube¡± to their present form.


    By the later stages of the Sovereignty Wars, both sides were fully equipped with more advanced matchlock muskets and cannons to wreak havoc upon each other.


    No one used or manufactured hook guns anymore; in other words, this type of weapon had been off the historical stage for at least thirty years.


    That¡¯s why the colonel asked such a question.


    The swords, shields, and super-long spears issued to Winters and his hundred-man squads conformed to legion specifications, but the firearms they received were outdated models.


    There wasn¡¯t much to complain about, as the militia mostly operated behind the lines and at most had to deal with a few highwaymen.


    Having a couple of guns that could make a noise was enough to intimidate attackers. For actual combat, a couple of crossbows would be more useful.


    ¡­


    Shaking his head slightly, the colonel put the hook gun back in the crate and pointing at the kegs of gunpowder said, ¡°Open this and have a look.¡±


    The colonel specifically wanted to check the kegs of gunpowder stacked at the bottom. Malcolm, in charge of the Arsenal, fetched a crowbar made of hardwood and carefully opened the keg.


    Colonel Jeska poured out the entire barrel of gunpowder, revealing lovely black granules without any signs of layering.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± the colonel rarely patted the Centurion in charge of the armory on the shoulder, ¡°The gunpowder has been well-stored.¡±


    Malcolm scratched his head and said sheepishly, ¡°It was Centurion Montaigne who told me to flip the keg of gunpowder upside down every day.¡±


    Jeska looked at Winters with some surprise and nodded slightly.


    Winters also felt a bit embarrassed, as this trick was something he had learned from the Vineta navy.


    ¡°No need to check further, that will do,¡± the colonel dusted the gunpowder off his hands and said offhandedly, ¡°Take your men to the legion Arsenal, swap the super-long spears for regular spears or halberds. Exchange the hook guns for matchlock muskets.¡±


    Winters was momentarily taken aback, ¡°Uh¡­ we can just go and exchange them?¡±

 Chapter 380: 36 The Super Long Spear_3

    Chapter 380: Chapter 36 The Super Long Spear_3


    ¡°Just go exchange them,¡± Winters said.


    ¡°Why exchange?¡± Andre couldn¡¯t help but question, ¡°If they¡¯re just ordinary spears or pikes, how do we form a formation?¡±


    ¡°Such trash soldiers are not worthy of using long pikes,¡± Jeska¡¯s tone was very bland, as if he was commenting that the weather was quite nice today.


    Andre suddenly flared up in anger, and not just Andre; the militia in charge of the arsenal showed annoyance on their faces as well.


    ¡°Disagree?¡± the Lieutenant Colonel looked at Andre, his eyebrows slightly raised, then turned to the militia beside him, ¡°Disagree?¡±


    Andre snorted coldly and looked to the side. The surrounding militiamen all lowered their heads.


    After a brief exchange, Winters had a bit of an understanding of Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s personality:


    This officer says whatever is on his mind. Perhaps he has no ill intent, but there is no sound more piercing in this world than the truth.


    ¡°You few, take the long pikes and follow me,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel pointed to a few of the arsenal militiamen. He picked up a long pike himself and led the way out of the arsenal.


    Several militiamen stood foolishly in place, not sure what to do.


    Andre, frowning, urged them, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Go on, do whatever you¡¯re told to do.¡±


    Centurion Malcolm clenched his teeth, carrying a long pike as he walked out, and other militiamen followed, picking up their pikes.


    Eight militiamen stood in a row outside the arsenal, their spear tips pointing to the sky.


    ¡°Present arms!¡± the Lieutenant Colonel commanded.


    The militiamen, following the drill taught by the Centurion, competently presented their pikes at an even height with their necks.


    The five-meter-long pikes pointed forward neatly, presenting a somewhat imposing sight.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska remarked. ¡°Not completely untrained.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, the Lieutenant Colonel also presented his pike in the same posture.


    The next second, the veteran with one eye charged straight toward the militiamen¡¯s formation with his pike.


    Spear tip passed spear tip, drawing close to each other¡¯s chests, and it looked like blood would be shed any moment, but the Lieutenant Colonel did not flinch or dodge.


    Malcolm was startled and hastily retreated.


    The Lieutenant Colonel relentlessly pursued, stabbing his pike down ferociously at Malcolm¡¯s throat.


    In his panic, the Centurion dropped his pike and dodged this lethal strike. However, a gap appeared in the formation, and the Lieutenant Colonel charged into the bristling wall of pikes.


    Ditching his pike as well, the Lieutenant Colonel drew his saber. With his left hand, he grabbed another militiaman¡¯s pike, and with the right hand wielding his blade, he chopped towards him.


    The sudden attack left the Wolf Town militiamen bewildered until the saber stopped an inch above his head, and only then did he regain his senses, stumbling several steps backward and falling to the ground.


    ¡°In ancient times, dropping a pike in battle wasn¡¯t punishable, but dropping a shield was a capital offense,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel sheathed his saber and asked calmly, ¡°Do you know why?¡±


    There was silence on the clearing.


    No one responded, so Lieutenant Colonel Jeska answered his own question, ¡°Because the pike is used to kill the enemy, while the shield is meant to protect the comrade beside you. Dropping a pike means one less man to fight the enemy, but dropping a shield can break the entire battle line.¡±


    Winters roughly understood what the Lieutenant Colonel was trying to say, and he saw that both Bard and Andre appeared contemplative.


    ¡°A long pike formation has no shields, so each of your pikes is a shield for your comrades,¡± Jeska picked up a long pike again and said coolly to the few militiamen in front of him, ¡°The retreat of a single coward could cause the collapse of the entire phalanx. Only veterans who receive double the military pay deserve to stand at the front with long pikes in hand. You are not worthy yet. Still disagree?¡±


    Not a single militiaman responded, and Malcolm lowered his head in shame.


    The Lieutenant Colonel smacked his lips, turned, and tossed the pike to Winters, speaking indifferently, ¡°Once the formation is lost, a long pike is less useful than a dagger. Give them weapons they can use in individual combat; there¡¯s no point in expecting them to fight in formation anyway.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Winters saluted.


    ¡°Oh, and one more thing,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel turned to leave, then looked back offhandedly and asked, ¡°Why are there so many Dusans listed in the roll call?¡±


    S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 381: 37: Muskets and Spears

    Chapter 381: Chapter 37: Muskets and Spears


    At last, the Venetian and United Provincials also experienced what it meant to have ¡°connections¡± in Paratu.


    When they arrived at the legion¡¯s Arsenal, there was no need for Winters to talk much. The Arsenal readily agreed to replace Jeska¡¯s company¡¯s weapons and equipment.


    The hook spears were changed for brand-new matchlocks and steel crossbows, and the sword shields and extra-long spears were exchanged for ordinary halberds¡ªColonel Jeska thought that with the level of training the militia had, they were unworthy to be sword shield bearers.


    As required by the Colonel, the number of militiamen equipped with guns increased to half of the total number.


    Now each hundred-man team had three tents of musketeers and two tents of crossbowmen.


    The head of the ordnance department made a big gesture and approved over twenty half armors; thus, Winters gained another tent of armored halberdiers under his command.


    Previously, the Arsenal had issued only one kilogram of lead per musketeer, which at most could be melted into thirty-odd lead bullets, not accounting for the gunpowder consumption.


    Although the Standing Army¡¯s shooting practice wasn¡¯t extensive, the paltry reserve of thirty-odd bullets per person and a total of six barrels of gunpowder made the three lieutenants dare not use it.


    Up to now, the only firing practice Winters¡¯ musketeers had was to take turns shooting aimlessly at the ground.


    The purpose was to familiarize these militiamen, who were farmers not long ago, with the sound of gunshots and flashes, so they would not be startled when they really had to fire. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But this time, the legion Arsenal issued six hundred kilograms of lead and sixty barrels of gunpowder to Jeska¡¯s company in one go, and even seemed to be suggesting they were welcome to ask for more.


    With the new equipment in hand, the lads cheered merrily. Dusack, in particular, scrambled to be an armored halberdier or a musketeer.


    But Winters felt a vague sense of unease.


    Pierre was originally assigned as a sword shield bearer, but now Jeska¡¯s company no longer retained sword shield soldiers. Mr. Mitchell didn¡¯t want to be a spearman, so he came running to Winters, pleading to let him try the musket.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, commander?¡± Pierre, bursting with excitement, found the Centurion only to discover his furrowed brows and stern expression. ¡°We have new guns, new armor, and enough powder and shot. Why do you seem unhappy?¡±


    ¡°Do farmers feed pigs oats so that the pigs are happy?¡± Winters asked coldly in return. ¡°Besides, what are you happy about? Don¡¯t you still owe ten lashes?¡±


    ¡­


    In accordance with the company commander¡¯s orders, the punishment was carried out before nightfall.


    They had just moved the new weapons from the ordnance depot back to the camp when the whipping followed.


    In the Paratu army, the punishment wasn¡¯t with a common riding crop or hemp rope but a nearly two-meter-long soft whip made of leather strips.


    The whip had to be soaked in vinegar before use to ensure that each strike was agonizing for the punished.


    Additionally, four lead balls the size of grapes were tied to the tip of the whip to increase its force.


    When the experienced military police handled the punishment whip, one lash could split skin and flesh, ten lashes could knock a man unconscious, and thirty lashes could kill a man outright.


    The Three Town militiamen, once again, assembled in the small drill ground to witness the punishment.


    Lieutenant Montaigne stepped into the drill ground with the punishment whip in hand. Vashka, who was previously acting tough and comforting Pierre with ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about a whipping?¡±, suddenly realized that his knees were trembling uncontrollably.


    The military camp punishments were simple: physical labor, riding the wooden horse¡ªwith a musket tied to each leg for a march¡ªwhipping, or hanging.


    Winters, holding the whip in his hand, also felt a certain uneasiness.


    This instrument of punishment had been given to Winters on the first day he arrived at the Maplestone City camp, but he had never used it.


    In fact, the harshest punishment Winters had ever meted out to the boys he brought from Wolf Town was physical labor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with the Centurion!¡± Winters bit his teeth and, with a grim face, began the roll call. ¡°Vashka Morozov!¡±


    Vashka, his face ashen, stepped out of line.


    ¡°Tie him up!¡±


    Two military policemen from the Monta hundred-man team¡ªXial and Heinrich, sprang to action upon the order.


    They brought Vashka next to a large cart, forcing him to kneel in front of the wheel, his hands tightly bound with hemp rope to the carriage.


    Xial, sympathetically and silently patted Vashka¡¯s shoulder, while Heinrich gave him a towel to bite on. The two military policemen then turned and walked away.


    Now only Vashka remained.


    Before his eyes was only the mud-stained cart board, and behind him the unknown timing of the whip and the eyes of everyone else.


    Immense humiliation and fear engulfed him.


    The sound of the whip tearing through the air came before the strike itself, followed by a pain that pierced to the marrow. Vashka¡¯s breath halted sharply, and before he could recover, the second lash arrived.


    The two-meter-long punishment whip was very cumbersome to use, and Winters, gritting his teeth, delivered lash after lash without the slightest restraint.


    He now finally understood why the one-eyed Colonel had insisted he carry out the punishment himself¡ªJeska intended to whip not just the Wolf Town militiamen but also the Wolf Town Centurion.


    The Colonel was telling him, ¡°Take a good look, this is the troop you lead.¡±


    The whip lashed not just Vashka but his own face. If the militia¡¯s discipline was lax, was it not ultimately the fault of ineffective control?


    During the first three lashes, Vashka managed to keep silent.


    After the fourth lash, Vashka began to scream inhumanly.


    By the seventh lash, the screams also gradually weakened, and eventually, all that could be heard on the drill ground was the whip¡¯s tip striking his back.


    After fifteen lashes, Vashka, bloody and unconscious, was carried away from the drill ground by Xial and Heinrich.


    ¡°This is military law! It doesn¡¯t matter if you are a militiaman or a war soldier!¡± Winters, gripping the whip handle tightly, roared at the parade ground: ¡°Deserting camp, whipping! Theft, cowardice in battle, hanging! Defection, the family is implicated!¡±


    The ranks fell silent as a tomb.

 Chapter 382: 37: Muskets and Spears_2

    Chapter 382: Chapter 37: Muskets and Spears_2


    ¡°Next!¡±


    Another militiaman who had left camp without permission was tied to the whipping post, and the chilling sound of lashing echoed once again.


    Colonel Jeska even didn¡¯t show up, having too many people to meet after twelve years of overseas deployment.


    While Lieutenant Montaigne was vigorously wielding the whip, the colonel was toasting with classmates and friends.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The day after the flogging.


    The sun shone warmly, and the air was slightly cool.


    On the parade ground outside the Shuangqiao Main Camp, the sound of muskets firing in unison could be heard from time to time.


    Sparks flew, and smoke filled the air.


    Winters bellowed, ¡°Stow the fork rests!¡±


    The musketeers who had just fired hastily pulled the wooden fork rests out of the ground. A fork rest was a sharpened wooden stick with an iron hook at one end to support the gun barrel.


    ¡°Gun on the shoulder!¡±


    On hearing the order, the musketeers hurriedly stood the muskets upright and shouldered them.


    If a militiaman carelessly pointed his gun sideways at someone else while shouldering his weapon, the supervising sergeant behind him would rush over and land a fierce blow with his stick.


    ¡°Never point your gun at anyone but the enemy!¡± Winters caught sight of the commotion and shouted, ¡°You never know if that lead ball was fired from the barrel before inspection!¡±


    The militiamen held their muskets, not daring to move.


    ¡°Lower your guns! Check the barrel!¡± Winters continued to command.


    The musketeers placed the butts of their guns on the ground and pulled out their ramrods, carefully poking them into the barrel.


    ¡°Sir!¡± A militiaman reported with a downcast face, ¡°My ramrod isn¡¯t reaching properly, it seems like a misfire.¡±


    A misfire was common for muskets; sparks would fly from the external pan, but the priming charge inside the barrel would not ignite.


    Often, musketeers were too nervous to notice a misfire and would stuff new powder and a lead ball on top of the first one.


    Someone once found a musket on the Vicksburg battlefield with seven unfired lead balls stuffed in the barrel.


    If they loaded repeatedly, at best there would be another misfire; at worst, it could burst the barrel.


    That¡¯s why there was a mark on the musketeers¡¯ ramrods: if the ramrod reached the deepest part of the barrel and the mark was at the muzzle, that meant the lead ball had been fired.


    If there was a finger¡¯s breadth between the mark and the muzzle, the musketeer was in trouble.


    Winters walked over to the muted militiaman, taking the musket, ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about with a misfire? Just reload and fire again.¡±


    He poured powder into the pan, closed the cover, and re-affixed the slow match¡ªwhen the pan burned, the force could knock the slow match flying or even blow it out, which was the trouble with using matchlock guns. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, he opened the cover again and pulled the trigger. The smoldering end of the slow match ignited the powder in the pan, and it was blown off from the serpentine in an instant.


    This time, the priming charge in the barrel ignited successfully, kicking up a small cloud of dust on the distant earth mound.


    ¡°There.¡± Winters tossed the musket back to the militiaman and gave a new order loudly, ¡°Clean the barrel!¡±


    The musketeers took out pieces of rag, wrapping them around their ramrods and started to scrub their barrels.


    During battle, there was no need to clean the barrel after every shot, but now it was training, so of course the full procedure was necessary.


    Watching the frantic militiamen, Winters sighed to himself.


    In the revised infantry drill manual six years earlier, there were twenty-five steps in the firing sequence of a matchlock, further broken down into forty-two separate moves.


    A complete firing sequence was a lot more complicated than just ¡°load and fire.¡±


    And the longest thing these militiamen had ever memorized in their lives¡­ was probably the Lord¡¯s Prayer.


    Just keeping them from setting themselves on fire was enough to give Lieutenant Montaigne a headache.


    But it wasn¡¯t their fault; two months earlier, they were only diligent farmers, and many of them hadn¡¯t even touched a musket until two days before.


    They were not volunteers; they were simply the unfortunate ones chosen by the draft.


    Winters waved his hand, ¡°Next group!¡±


    Another batch of militiamen came forward, carrying muskets. Rows of small wooden bottles hung across their chests, filled with pre-measured gunpowder.


    Thank Heaven, Marshal Ned¡¯s concept of ¡°standardized charges¡± was proposed thirty years ago, along with the epoch-making invention of the ammunition bottle.


    Otherwise, just teaching the militia how much gunpowder to pour for each loading might have vexed Lieutenant Montaigne to death.


    ¡°It seems the old marshal must have been driven to invent the ammunition bottle out of desperation,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help thinking.


    Compared to the headaches Winters faced at the shooting range, Andre and Bard¡ªwho were responsible for training the spearmen¡ªwere much more at ease.


    The spearmen were simply drilling simple formation changes on the training field, then practicing marching in column and turning, and finally practicing stabbing at wooden stakes.


    Since the five-and-a-half-meter long spears had been replaced with two-and-a-half-meter spears, the militiamen found it much easier.


    The extra-long spears were too long and needed special carrying equipment, which always made moving somewhat inconvenient.


    Carrying a spear, on the other hand, was simple¡ªjust shouldering it was sufficient.


    However, the weight was not much lighter than the extra-long spears, as a section of iron tubing had been added behind the spearhead to prevent the enemy from cutting off the pole.


    Bard and Andre¡¯s biggest hassle was teaching the militia to tell left from right and correcting mistakes in their step while marching.


    Over two days, the spearmen became increasingly more presentable and spirited.


    In contrast, Winters¡¯ side was constantly beset with problems, with every imaginable mishap occurring.


    Some even forgot to remove the ramrod after loading, eventually launching it with the lead bullet.


    Fortunately, no burst barrels had occurred so far; otherwise, the militia would have grown even more fearful of the muskets they held.


    The new militiamen held their muskets tentatively, wishing they could tilt their heads back as far as possible.


    Frustrated, Winters lashed out with his riding whip and exclaimed sternly, ¡°Put your chin on the stock! Aim carefully before you fire! Point the muzzle at the target! Do not close your eyes when you pull the trigger!¡±


    The process of firing a musket ball is essentially an explosion¡ªnaturally, the further away, the better.


    With an iron tube in hand that no one knew when might explode, hardly any militiamen dared to put their chin on the stock and take careful aim.


    In fact, most people could shoot a musket much more accurately than they could shoot a bow and arrow, similar to how a crossbow is more accurate than a bow.


    When shooting an arrow, people have to exert force, their arms shake, and the more they shoot, the more tired they get, with only a few exceptional archers able to hit whatever they aim at.


    But compared to the inherent accuracy errors of a musket, even more misses resulted from the gunners¡¯ reluctance to aim properly and their indiscriminate firing.


    ¡°Not bad,¡± Colonel Jeska remarked after watching at the edge of the shooting range for a while, ¡°Those from the Land Academy really outdo those wild rogues I met overseas, so formal and proper they are.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters didn¡¯t know whether the colonel was mocking him or praising him.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Winters suggested helplessly, ¡°how about changing guns instead of men? Let those who dare fire do the shooting, and the rest can handle the loading.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Colonel Jeska shook his head, ¡°If they¡¯re not firing themselves, they won¡¯t take the loading seriously, and that¡¯s more likely to cause accidents. Moreover, changing guns but not men means letting the brave soldiers take on the most risk. If the courageous ones get shot or blown up, what are we going to do with the ones who are too scared to shoot? We need to make sure every soldier dares to fire.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words.


    The one-eyed colonel said indifferently, ¡°Keep training, don¡¯t be impatient. You have good skills training troops, better than your two peers.¡±


    After saying this, he turned his head and walked towards the other two lieutenants.


    Although Colonel Jeska had lost an eye, it did not impair his sharp vision.


    On the surface, Bard and Andre¡¯s results seemed far more abundant than Winters¡¯.


    The neat and imposing ranks of the spearmen were a stark contrast to the continual problems on the musketeers¡¯ side.


    But in reality, it¡¯s all a show, as training a spearman is much more difficult than training a musketeer.


    A qualified spearman not only needs physical strength and skill but, most importantly, a tough will and thick nerves.


    When faced with an enemy charge, the spearman first has to dare not to run away, only then is combat a possibility.


    Training a swordsman with a shield is even more difficult than training a spearman.


    After all, long weapons have the advantage of distance, whereas swordsmen must engage in close combat.


    Those who can serve as swordsmen are the bravest of the elite. This is also why Colonel Jeska simply had the militia all switch to using spears.


    Shooting at the enemy from a distance with muskets or crossbows is far simpler and less stressful than killing someone up close with cold steel¡ªboth physically and psychologically.


    The training continued in full swing.


    ¡°Train hard!¡± Winters admonished with a touch of sorrow, ¡°The sweat you hesitate to shed today is the blood you will have to spill tomorrow!¡±


    He wondered silently, Does a farmer feed oats to pigs to make them happy?

 Chapter 383: 38 Cavalry

    Chapter 383: Chapter 38 Cavalry


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre begged pitifully, clutching Bard¡¯s hand.


    Bard neither agreed nor disagreed.


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre¡¯s voice lowered even further in supplication.


    Bard looked amused.


    ¡°Old Bard!¡± Andre now had tears welling up in his eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that, you think I¡¯d believe it?¡± Bard sighed, ¡°But this time I¡¯ll let you have it.¡±


    ¡°Consider it a debt I owe you!¡± Andre beamed with joy, and before he walked out the door, he patted his chest and said, ¡°Old Bard! If you ever need anything, I¡¯m your man to take a blade to both sides!¡±


    Before his voice had even faded, he dashed off like a streak of smoke.


    ¡°Have you ever counted how many times you¡¯ve owed me?¡± Bard laughed and cursed.


    Andre was already far away, but his voice drifted back from outside the shack: ¡°Take a blade to both sides!¡±


    ¡°If you let him have his way too often, Andre will start to take it for granted,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t he already doing that?¡± Bard replied helplessly.


    ¡­


    Why had Colonel Jeska been deployed to the gulf for twelve years? And how was he able to return from it?


    Winters didn¡¯t know, but he realized that John Jeska still had considerable connections in Paratu.


    After listening to Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s explanation as to why there were as many as 63 Dusacks among the three squads of the militia, the colonel¡¯s expression remained unchanged, showing little reaction.


    But when Colonel Jeska returned to the Shuangqiao Main Camp that night, he had an extra heavy bag in his hand.


    The colonel marched straight into the officers¡¯ quarters, not caring that three lieutenants were still having dinner, and casually threw the object onto the table.


    The cloth bag hit the tabletop, creating a series of crisp jingles.


    ¡°Sir? What is this?¡± Winters asked knowingly.


    ¡°Money.¡±


    Andre gently pried open the cloth bag, which was filled with shiny gold coins.


    ¡°What kind of money?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be?¡± The colonel, reeking of alcohol, flashed a hint of a smile, ¡°Horse-buying money!¡±


    ¡­


    What is horse-buying money?


    As the name suggests, when Dusacks are called to active duty, they receive a small sum of money as a subsidy to provide their own warhorses, which is called horse-buying money.


    Of course, horse-buying money is not enough to buy a warhorse; it would barely cover the cost of one leg of a decent warhorse.


    As for the other three legs of the warhorse, it naturally falls on the Dusacks to pay, which is also part of the blood tax.


    ¡­


    ¡°They are militiamen and auxiliary troops, and you want to recruit them as cavalry?¡± Bard asked, frowning.


    The colonel sat down heroically, leaving the three lieutenants standing, ¡°You few have been having Dusacks serve as militiamen in place of active duty, and the legion doesn¡¯t care to pursue it. But having Dusacks bring their warhorses into service is also the higher-ups¡¯ intention.¡±


    Andre, unable to contain his impatience, asked, ¡°What about their treatment then? I mean, the terms for the Dusacks after they are equipped with warhorses?¡±


    Jeska played with the dinner knife, answering calmly, ¡°Wages, rations, arms, all according to light cavalry, except they won¡¯t be issued uniforms. I¡¯ve procured a light musket for each of them; if nothing else, they can be used as if they were dragoon cavalry.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Andre¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement.


    ¡°But my Dusacks aren¡¯t of age yet!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speak up.


    ¡°So the wage and equipment are already a privilege according to light cavalry standards,¡± the one-eyed colonel stared at the lieutenant, ¡°If you are not satisfied, I can also revert them to the treatment of the militia.¡±


    ¡°Satisfied, how could I not be satisfied?¡± Andre quickly sided with the colonel, ¡°It¡¯s great, I think! Letting those lads ride into service, they themselves would be the happiest. I¡¯m firmly supportive!¡±


    Winters glared fiercely at Andre; how could he possibly not understand what Andre was thinking?


    Lieutenant Chelini was already pondering over the command of this troop of cavalry.


    ¡­


    Cavalry units are organized differently than infantry; in theory, the smallest command unit of cavalry is a squadron, which is often divided into two troops for combat purposes.


    The status of a cavalry squadron is much higher than that of an infantry centuria, and a lieutenant can lead as a centurion, while it takes a field officer to command a cavalry squadron.


    According to Paratu¡¯s military structure, a full-strength cavalry squadron has 174 troopers with 6 commissioned officers.


    However, the reality is that there are not enough cavalrymen, but there are more than enough cavalry officers; this is the case in all the republics.


    Therefore, officers with a cavalry background going to lead infantry or take up clerical positions is a common occurrence.


    Bard and Andre, for instance, had been assigned to an infantry battalion as trainees during the Tanilia campaign.


    If Bard and Andre were lucky enough to return to a cavalry unit, they would just be the most junior officers in the squadron¡¯s command hierarchy.


    ¡­


    According to Colonel Jeska¡¯s intentions, the 63 Dusacks amounted to 63 cavalrymen, nearly a troop.


    Winters, being from the infantry branch, was out of the loop on cavalry matters.


    Yet right now, in Jeska¡¯s battalion, there were two bona fide cavalry officers leading infantry.


    ¡°A cavalry troop!¡± Lieutenant Chelini thought with delight, ¡°Goodness! It has to be a captain at least to lead it, right?¡±


    In the past, as the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, Winters could make decisions on his own. Now that Colonel Jeska had assumed command, the lieutenant had no choice but to obey.


    Only when subject to another¡¯s will does one truly appreciate the joys of once being the Garrison Officer.


    ¡°Distribute this money to the Dusacks; the legion will arrange for people to retrieve their warhorses from their hometowns,¡± the colonel made arrangements offhandedly as the matter was now decided, ¡°63 Dusacks, take three as my messengers, and the rest make exactly 10 tents.¡±


    [Note: There are only six people in a cavalry tent, while an infantry tent holds eight people.]


    Andre perked up his ears to listen, afraid of missing any words. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When he heard the lieutenant colonel say, ¡°half of them will be directly under my command,¡± he felt somewhat disappointed, ¡°Only five tents? Well, that¡¯s acceptable, I suppose.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s responsible for the remaining thirty cavalry?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska continued, ¡°The two of you can discuss it.¡±


    Andre and Bard were both stunned on the spot.


    ¡­


    Unable to resist Andre¡¯s incessant nagging, Bard eventually nodded in agreement.


    Thus, to his wish, Andre took charge of half a division of cavalry. The remaining militia was reorganized, withdrawing four tents of Dusacks under Winters and then reinforcing with five tents of Blackwater Town militiamen.


    Pierre, Vashka, and others, on learning of the lieutenant colonel¡¯s arrangements, were quite delighted.


    They were already tired of the tedious, strenuous manual labor and couldn¡¯t wait to become dragon cavalry¡ªdespite lacking the fancy uniforms.


    Especially Pierre, whose reference for the lieutenant colonel in his mouth had risen from ¡°the one without an asshole¡± to ¡°that esteemed person,¡± as if it weren¡¯t him who had suffered under the lash.


    It was Anglu who rushed over in a frantic haste to borrow money from the lieutenant, dragging Bell along as well.


    ¡°Sir, I really have no other options,¡± the young horse groom said with a somber face, ¡°Please lend me some money to buy a horse, I will surely pay you back.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± Winters looked at the young hunter.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a Dusack at all!¡± Bell said carelessly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a warhorse, nor do I want one.¡±


    Anglu became agitated all at once, ¡°How can it be that simple? If a Dusack is conscripted without a warhorse, he will be punished!¡±


    Bell was startled by this but still stubbornly retorted, ¡°Then I¡¯ll run away. If I hide in the woods, no one will find me!¡±


    ¡°You think you can run away without a horse?¡± Anglu rebutted immediately.


    The two youngsters, each firing back a sentence, started arguing right in Winters¡¯ headquarters.


    ¡°Stop arguing!¡± Winters sighed, ¡°How much money did you receive for buying horses?¡±


    Anglu¡¯s hand emerged from his sleeve, placing eight stacked Gold Coins onto the lieutenant¡¯s desk¡ªnot Ducats, but coins minted by the Paratu government.


    Winters, busy writing documents, asked without looking up, ¡°How much more is needed to buy a horse?¡±


    The nominal clerk, the old shaman, was adept at avoiding such miscellaneous tasks, so the current clerical work was solely dependent on Winters¡¯ personal efforts.


    ¡°I need at least three times as much,¡± Anglu hummed, ¡°I saw the cheapest riding horses in Shuangqiao City at this price, but they are not warhorses¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the money. You can have Redmane,¡± Winters looked up at the young groom.


    ¡°Um¡­ huh? Hmm!¡± Anglu could hardly believe what he was hearing, ¡°Redmane? Rejek? Are you saying Rejek is mine now? You¡¯re giving Rejek to me?¡±


    Winters smiled, ¡°Not giving, selling to you. Isn¡¯t Redmane the one you¡¯re riding now?¡±


    Ever since the forceful relocation to Paratu, Winters had seldom ridden Redmane. But training for a warhorse could not be interrupted, so on a regular basis, it was the young groom who rode Redmane.


    The young groom was also happy to be riding, and he took great care of Redmane. The two of them were very close, so Winters simply did them the favor.


    Anglu was so excited he didn¡¯t know where to put his hands; he wanted to embrace the lieutenant and give him a couple of kisses, but then realized that wouldn¡¯t be proper. So, instead, he grabbed Hunter and kissed him hard twice and then saluted the lieutenant.


    Bell was dumbfounded and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What about me? What about me?¡±


    Winters had planned to tease Hunter a little, but remembering how proud and fragile the self-esteem of boys that age could be¡ªafter all, he had just passed through that stage himself¡ªhe decided not to play coy any longer.


    ¡°Let Anglu pick a good one for you.¡± Winters took out his purse and tossed it to Hunter, then turned to Anglu. ¡°Anglu, also pick out a spare horse for me. It doesn¡¯t need to be a warhorse, but it has to be hardworking and sturdy, and able to travel through the wilds.¡±


    The young groom was taken aback: ¡°You want another horse, sir? Isn¡¯t Strong Runner good enough?¡±


    ¡°Having an extra horse to rotate with won¡¯t tire Strong Runner too much,¡± Winters replied offhandedly, then frowned. ¡°What¡¯s with all the questions? Do what you¡¯re told.¡±


    The groom took the scolding and replied meekly, ¡°Oh.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel a mix of irritation and amusement at the groom¡¯s simple demeanor. ¡°What are you standing around for? Do you expect me to pick out the horse for you? On your way back, stop by the gunsmith Samuel and pick up the gun I ordered.¡±


    Bell promptly saluted and, pulling his companion along, left the headquarters.


    ¡­


    Everything seemed to be on the right track.


    The militia musketeers gradually grew accustomed to the recoil, the flash, and the noise of firing after letting off a dozen or so shots, and the spear carriers also began to march in a uniform step.


    Warhorses were brought from Wolfton, Blackwater, and Saint Croix to Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Over in Wolf Town, Gerard and Sergei had made a trip there, bringing a lot of food and letters from home for the young men of Wolf Town, which made the militia from the other two towns green with envy.


    But there was no more time left for cavalry training; what was inevitable would come.


    Before he knew it, Winters had already spent six months in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses.


    On January 12th of the year 559 of the Imperial Calendar, Jeska¡¯s troops received orders to march.


    When Lieutenant Colonel Jeska read the orders to the lieutenants, none of them were surprised; Winters even felt a clear sense of relief that ¡°the shoe had finally dropped.¡±


    He saluted and accepted the orders.


    At that moment, a convoy was already assembled and waiting at Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Based on the three companies of a hundred men each, the legion had additionally allocated nearly three hundred drivers to Jeska¡¯s troops.


    This was a long-distance supply operation, where the militia was to escort the supply convoy across nearly a hundred kilometers of ¡®no man¡¯s land¡¯ into the territories of the Hurd tribes.


    Apart from the militia and the drivers, another dozen merchant wagons stood outside the camp, waiting to head west together with the military supply convoy.


    Paratu¡¯s military principle was to prioritize local procurement of supplies; if something must be transported from the rear to the front, it was definitely a resource that could not be gathered on the frontlines.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have any questions?¡± Colonel Jeska asked the lieutenants offhand as he neatly folded the order, tucking it into his jacket.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I do indeed have a question,¡± Winters paused before asking, ¡°why us?¡±


    ¡°Not you.¡± The one-eyed colonel snorted coldly and pointed at himself with his thumb. ¡°Me.¡±

 Chapter 384: 39 The Butchers Path

    Chapter 384: Chapter 39 The Butcher¡¯s Path


    Empire Year 520, spring.


    Drizzling rain fell from the sky, chilling to the bone with a piercing spring cold.


    A gaunt, solemn old man was riding a horse, leaving Worry-Free Palace alone. Although the weariness in his eyes could hardly be concealed, the old man still kept his back ramrod straight.


    He was about to embark on a journey to the mountain frontier, fully charged with the responsibility of quelling the rebellion, purging the traitors, and restoring Imperial authority.


    There, he would face his former attendant, apprentice, and vassal¡ªNed of Tormes.


    Only when choking on thick smoke did people start to ponder: what was that initial tiny spark?


    An insult? A slap in the face? A private vendetta?


    Those no longer mattered; what mattered was that the flames of rebellion had now become an unstoppable blaze.


    Not only was the entirety of the Duchy of Forthland ablaze, but autonomous cities within the Duchy of Vineta were also stirring with unrest.


    The fire had to be extinguished swiftly, or else the lands south of Sheltering Mountain would turn to ashes.


    But a daunting problem stood before him: his legions were stationed on the Empire¡¯s northern borders, while the mountain frontier ablaze with war beacons lay at the southernmost end of the Imperial territory.


    Seaborne supply routes were almost strangled. The rebels¡¯ oared ships set sail from the Tanilia Islands, frenetically raiding the Empire¡¯s sea routes. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the Emperor¡¯s fleet had been utterly destroyed two years prior in a naval battle against the Sultan of Fleman, yet to recover its vitality.


    His soldiers had no choice but to cross the entire Empire on foot and scale the cloud-piercing Sheltering Mountains to finally face their enemy.


    ¡­


    On January 12 of Empire Year 559, Jeska¡¯s squadron departed from Shuangqiao Barracks, by that time consisting of only a hundred or so double-team wagons.


    Six days later, the supply train arrived at the border town of Matou Slope, with the number of wagons traversing the dirt roads exceeding two hundred.


    Less than half of these belonged to the military¡¯s supply train; the rest were merchants, porters, and speculators who had joined along the way.


    Distinguishing between them was easy: military supply trains used double-team four-wheeled wagons, while civilian carts varied greatly¡ªtwo-wheeled, four-wheeled, mule carts, donkey carts¡­ even the slow-moving ox carts.


    ¡­


    Logistics was defined by Duke Arlian as ¡°the practical art of moving troops and ensuring they are supplied.¡±


    The task, seemingly lightweight when referring to ¡°movement¡± and ¡°supplies,¡± was as difficult as scaling the heavens.


    To transfer his legions from the northern borders to Senas Bay, Duke Arlian meticulously planned a troop transport route that later became famously known as ¡°The Butcher¡¯s Path.¡±


    The Butcher¡¯s Path started from Fortress Panstone at the northern frontiers of the Empire, passing through more than twenty Imperial towns to ensure supplies, and finally crossed Vankush Pass over Sheltering Mountain to reach Senas Bay.


    Duke Arlian sent craftsmen ahead to construct camps, widen paths, and build bridges along the way, and he set up supply stations at distances matching the daily marching range.


    The sounds of military boots squelching in mud, the clanging of spears, and the silent march of exhausted soldiers¡­ many elders can recount these with vivid clarity.


    Normally, soldiers could cover 22 kilometers per day on The Butcher¡¯s Path, and on forced marches, up to 37 kilometers per day.


    In two campaigns, the Empire deployed over one hundred thousand soldiers through The Butcher¡¯s Path to the south, none lost due to supply issues.


    Countless military supplies were also delivered along this route to quell the rebel forces.


    However, The Butcher¡¯s Path¡¯s most significant impact was not military, but on civilian life.


    As it connected more than twenty large cities and was furnished with camps and supply points, many merchants began to use the route for trade.


    A route named ¡°The Butcher¡± eventually brought prosperity to its adjoining territories, an outcome its original planner had likely not foreseen.


    ¡­


    Although the militaries of the Republics today are reluctant to admit it, in reality, the Allied Army¡¯s tactics, organization, training, and other systems were all learned from ¡°The Butcher¡± Arlian.


    There¡¯s no shame in that¡ªbeing able to learn from an enemy is a respectable skill.


    For example, the current square formation tactics were modified from The Butcher¡¯s long pike and heavy halberd square: adding musketeers to compensate for the pike and halberd square¡¯s lack of long-range firepower and retaining a small number of elite swordsmen and shield bearers to counter the cumbersome long pikes.


    In Empire Year 520, Duke Arlian led troops to quell the rebellion; back then, the ¡°Southern Rebels¡± were but a motley crew of merchants, craftsmen, and farmers.


    However, eight years later, when the ¡°Mad¡± Richard led his campaign, the mad Emperor faced a legitimate army.


    The Allied Army¡¯s logistical system naturally followed The Butcher¡¯s model, mainly learning two points:


    First, supply as locally as possible;


    Second, establish encampments along the supply line.


    At the same time, they learned a lesson: do not allow non-military followers to accompany the army.


    In wars like the Republic of Palatu against the Herders, the quartermasters would procure supplies from the Herders as much as possible, with both military and private entities responsible for the transportation from the rear to the war zone.


    The military¡¯s supply train had limited capacity and would carry only firearms, gunpowder, and the like, which were difficult to replenish at the front.


    For other supplies like flour, salt, and foodstuffs, quartermasters were quite willing to purchase these at a high price from merchants and pay with spoils of war at a discount, and sometimes even ¡°advance¡± land quotas.


    Often with just one round trip, a merchant could earn a handsome profit. Even land quotas could be easily resold.


    So every time the military¡¯s supply train set out, a large group of merchants, porters, and speculators would follow. They tagged along with the supply train as much for the herd mentality as for hoping to receive some protection.

 Chapter 385: 39 The Butchers Path_2

    Chapter 385: Chapter 39 The Butcher¡¯s Path_2


    ¡­


    ¡°Listen up! You are responsible for your own safety! You must also bear all risks along the way!¡± Winters was announcing policies to the miscellaneous followers, as they were about to cross the Border River tomorrow: ¡°Any wagons other than the supply wagons are not allowed to join the formation! We will lead the way, and you will follow behind. Keep up if you can; if you fall behind, there¡¯s nothing we can do¡­¡±


    The second lieutenant stood on a rock, speaking until he was hoarse. The people in front of him listened silently; they all understood these rules.


    After saying a load of unpleasant things, Winters saved the good news for last: ¡°However, Colonel Jeska allows you to rest in the camps along the way! It is strictly forbidden to enter the supply wagons¡¯ camp area during encampment, and violators will be dealt with as if spying on military intelligence!¡±


    The mood among the crowd fluctuated slightly. Few officers in charge of the supply wagons liked these civilians who freeloaded protection, and in most cases, they strictly forbade them from entering the camp to spend the night.


    It was rare for an officer like Colonel Jeska to allow these miscellaneous people into the camp.


    ¡­


    Seeing Winters return, Colonel Jeska casually asked, ¡°Did you finish talking to them?¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Having had the experience of escorting the Wolf Town convoy back and forth to Revodan, Winters was considered quite reliable, so Colonel Jeska gave him all sorts of troublesome tasks.


    ¡°Words alone aren¡¯t enough; those who dare to follow are either brave or greedy, most are both. We need to discipline a few who try to fish in troubled waters to shake the rest up.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just forbid them from entering the camp?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°Allowing them into the camp makes it easier to keep them in check,¡± Colonel Jeska replied. ¡°Besides, they have it tough, so we¡¯ll take care of them as much as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    Winter days are short, so the army must march as quickly as possible.


    The dawn was just breaking when the Centurion on watch struck the copper bell vigorously.


    Berlion was already awake before the bell rang; he had purchased sheep¡¯s milk and eggs in town the previous night.


    When Winters dressed in his military uniform and lifted the tent¡¯s flap, Berlion brought in the warm sheep¡¯s milk, bread, and boiled eggs.


    Berlion was now the second lieutenant¡¯s orderly, and his former tentmates, the Dusacks, had become Cavalry, so the second lieutenant simply kept the blacksmith by his side as both a bodyguard and an orderly.


    The previously quiet military camp came to life. The militia wearily crawled out of their tents, stretched languidly, and began to prepare their food.


    Those who were diligent made some hot soup, while the lazy ones simply ate cold bread.


    It goes without saying that Berlion¡¯s appointment as orderly had greatly improved Winters¡¯ diet. Bard and Andre also benefited, now frequenting Winters for dinner every day.


    While the troops were still bustling around, Andre and his five tents¡¯ worth of Cavalry were already ready to go.


    With the sponsorship of Gold Coin bars from a good friend, Lieutenant Chelini extravagantly had a Paratu Piaoqi officer¡¯s uniform made for himself¡ªat the best tailor in Maplestone City.


    Despite often calling people ¡°damn sheep lovers,¡± Lieutenant Chelini was quite enamored with the flashy Piaoqi uniform.


    While Winters and Bard were still wearing their Land Academy student uniforms, Andre couldn¡¯t wait to don the Paratu military attire.


    ¡°Cavalry, one never knows when one might die,¡± Lieutenant Chelini would say. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I dress well? Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be a waste?¡±


    He had specially chosen a red belt and blue trim¡ª the colors of the Vineta military flag. It could be said, ¡°Wearing Paratu uniform, but my heart remains with Vineta.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini, wearing his fancy jacket and a tall leather hat, stood out conspicuously among the mixed-dressed militia. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After greeting the colonel, he led his light Cavalry out ahead to scout the way.


    As the offensive side in the strategy, the Paratu military currently uses a fixed supply route, with a fortified camp set up roughly every ten kilometers.


    Ten kilometers is the daily travel distance for large carts.


    Soldiers can march twenty to thirty kilometers on foot in a day, but for large carts to trudge ten kilometers is already the limit.


    The traditional four-wheeled farmer¡¯s carts are extremely cumbersome in themselves. The front wheels are smaller than the larger rear wheels, resulting in a very large turning radius.


    Without differentials, suspension, or bearings, they are very prone to breaking down. Passenger carts can be fitted with leather suspension frames, but cargo carts cannot.


    Andre¡¯s duty was to ascertain the situation within these ten kilometers and notify the camp ahead to prepare for reception.


    By the time the other militiamen had eaten, packed up their tents, and were ready to depart, the day had already brightened.


    Colonel Jeska didn¡¯t waste words and directly ordered the march.


    Once leaving Matou Slope Town, the Jeska Regiment would cross the Border River and enter the ¡°no-man¡¯s land¡±, inevitably causing some tension in everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Lieutenant Montaigne took the lead, with the double-hitched large carts rolling out of the camp one after another; Lieutenant Bard followed with a team of carpenters and a few empty large carts at the end.


    Matou Slope Town was a very prosperous town, with a permanent population of hundreds of households. As the supply train passed through the town center, it drew many of the townspeople to stand by the road and watch the spectacle.


    Among them, many men and women had smiles on their faces as Winters on horseback and the militiamen carrying weapons waved some kind of paper.


    ¡°What does this mean?¡± Winters slowed down his horse and asked the old charlatan in the cart, ¡°Waving paper? Is this some local custom?¡±


    Reed pulled back the curtain and yawned, petting the Little Lion and chuckling, ¡°What kind of damn custom is that? If I had to say, it should be considered a custom of all Paratu People.¡±


    ¡­


    The old friar sat in a special passenger cart equipped with a leather suspension frame, which didn¡¯t jostle at all. The carriage was fitted with a charcoal stove and the walls were lined with felt. While the outside air was bitingly cold, inside the carriage it was warm and comfortable.


    Having two chaplains with only a hundred men was incredibly extravagant; now, Priest Caman and Friar Reed had officially become the chaplains of the Gerard Regiment.


    Who knows where the old charlatan got his abilities from, but now everyone in the supply train, whether porters, coachmen, or those small traders seeking protection, revered him as a living Saint.


    Winters estimated that if the old man were to pass away one day, the believers in the convoy would fight over his body until the blood flowed like a river.


    However, it was also for this reason that everyone had no objections to the old friar having a cart to himself. The old charlatan was happy to be comfortable, and Winters wanted to hide the Little Lion; the two were in perfect harmony.


    ¡­


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters asked, puzzled, ¡°What custom of the Paratu People? I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand?¡± Friar Reed raised his eyebrows.


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡±


    The old friar asked with a smile, ¡°Do you know what they are waving?¡±


    ¡°What are they waving?¡±


    ¡°What they are waving is the secret that has allowed the Paratu People to beat the Hurd tribes to a sorry state over the past thirty years.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters grew increasingly confused.


    ¡°Kid, that¡¯s bonds! War bonds!¡± The old friar¡¯s smile was laden with significance: ¡°Your military pay, your weapons, the gold coins burning in this war¡­ all come from there. If you lose, they¡¯re nothing but waste paper. But if you win, the waste paper will turn into land, slaves, real gold and silver! Them waving at you? They¡¯re hoping you¡¯ll win the battle!¡±

 Chapter 386: 40 Mobilization

    Chapter 386: Chapter 40 Mobilization


    Without the jingle of gold and silver, wars cannot be fought.


    The old Duke Lotar once said to his son-in-law¡ªEmperor Richard IV of the Holy Muro Empire, ¡°Three things are needed to wage war: money! money! and thirdly, still money!¡±


    With periodic financial bankruptcies, Richard IV lost his finest generals as well as all the territories south of the Sheltering Mountains.


    But essentially, money cannot be used directly for war.


    Gold cannot serve as gunpowder, and turning silver into weapons and armor is economically impractical. War requires money because it can purchase the resources for war.


    Monk Reed once told Winters, ¡°The weapon that kills the most people in the world is not swords, but mobilization.¡±


    At that time, Winters did not understand, thinking it was just old priestly gibberish.


    But after seeing the common folk of Horsehead Town waving war bonds and hearing the old begging monk analyze how the Republic of Palatu raised one batch of war funds after another,


    Although Lieutenant Winters Montagne still did not fully grasp the term ¡°mobilization,¡± he sincerely felt a sense of fear.


    The military history courses at the Land Academy revealed a truth: war is a game for the few, at least until it¡¯s time to divide the spoils.


    Wars between kingdoms are, in fact, wars between kings.


    Commoners have to pay taxes and serve in wars for their kings, but that is out of necessity.


    No one is willing to participate in a war for free. Some didn¡¯t believe this, so they didn¡¯t pay their soldiers, and their ends were often terrible.


    Taxes, service, and feudal duties can still be seen as a king¡¯s property; fundamentally, the king still uses his personal wealth, his treasury to support his wars.


    So excessive taxation, onerous conscription, and extreme exploitation of vassals leading to being overthrown is equivalent to bankruptcy.


    Thus, dynasties and empires that held superiority in population, wealth, culture, but were destroyed by barbarian tribes emerging from remote areas are numerous,


    Wealthy nations and bankrupt royal houses are also not rare;


    In terms of population, land, and wealth, the Duke of Forthland¡¯s domain was insignificant compared to the Holy Empire, but in the end, it was the laughingstock of ¡°peddlers and mob¡± in the emperor¡¯s mouth that had the last laugh.


    Ultimately, war is not about how much gold, silver, or population you rule, but rather about how much gold, silver, and population you can mobilize for war.


    Among all the republics, the population of Palatu ranks second to last, and its wealth is also far inferior to Vineta, The Federated Provinces, and Varn.


    If it was still the Duchy of Palatu, years of campaigning would have already made the duke pack his bags¡ªnot at the hands of the Herders, then the Palatu People would have done it.


    But her territory was the largest, and it was still growing.


    Where on earth did the Republic of Palatu get the money to fight wars?


    The answer: borrowed.


    It is common for monarchs to borrow money for war, but essentially it remains a private loan. The pool of lenders is limited to wealthy merchants, the church, knights, and bankers.


    Most of the time debts were repaid, occasionally defaulted.


    Thirty years ago in Palatu, with royalists causing disturbances from within, and Herders¡¯ Iron Cavalry invading from without, the republicans were holed up in Kingsfort, busy holding public trials and sentencing people to the guillotine.


    Faced with a dire situation of lacking men, food, and most importantly, money, General Ned pioneered another way of borrowing to raise military funds: special war bonds.


    [Note: Ned Smith was still a general at the time]


    These bonds were of small denominations and available to everyone for purchase.


    Without collateral, they were expected to be repaid with all profits during the war, including unclaimed noble private properties, future spoils from fighting the Herders, and so on.


    It sounded like getting something for nothing, but perhaps precisely because of this, the bonds sold at a particularly cheap price.


    Bonds with a face value of four silver shields sold for just one silver shield¡ªyet even then, there were few buyers.


    Then Ned Smith won a small victory and pillaged a knight¡¯s home.


    Valuables, land, houses¡­ all spoils were auctioned off at low prices, but could only be purchased with bonds. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because they could be immediately converted into real assets, people gradually began buying bonds, but the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields rose to two silver shields.


    Then Ned Smith fought a moderately significant battle and pillaged an earl¡¯s home.


    As per the precedent, the price of bonds with a face value of four silver shields on the market had risen to three silver shields.


    Soldiers under Ned Smith gradually agreed to be paid their wages in the form of bonds¡ªnaturally, at the market rate.


    Bond purchasers became shareholders, and the army became associates.


    War turned into a business, or perhaps, a gamble.


    Every Palatu citizen who bought bonds prayed for Ned Smith to win more victories and seize more spoils of war.


    After the eighth victory, General Ned announced that all bonds would be repaid uniformly after the war.


    There were two reasons: first, during the war, the largest part of the spoils, the real estate, could not sell at a good price; secondly, he planned to reinvest the movable spoils back into the war, essentially using the profits to expand operations.


    This decision was a significant blow to the confidence in bonds, but Ned Smith had a contingency plan.


    ¡°Open bond trading to the public.¡±


    General Ned also announced that to enable bond purchasers to recover their investments, the Kingsfort ¡°Bond Exchange¡± would be established.


    If you don¡¯t want your bond, you could sell it off at the trading hall. Whether at a loss or profit, it¡¯s all up to your skill.


    The world¡¯s first [Bond Exchange], just like that, was born three months after the birth of [war bonds].

 Chapter 387: 40 Mobilization_2

    Chapter 387: Chapter 40 Mobilization_2


    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith mobilized money from the hands of common folk¡ªcraftsmen, merchants, maids¡ªinto war funds.


    Through this method of financing, Ned Smith turned the skirmish between a handful of people into the war of another handful of people against the Republic of Palatu.


    No one wanted to serve without pay, but everyone who bought war bonds voluntarily contributed to the war effort.


    ¡­


    ¡°Wait, what if we lose the war? Wouldn¡¯t the bonds become worthless?¡± Winters asked the old soothsayer with a furrowed brow.


    ¡°Simple, just don¡¯t lose,¡± Brother Reed chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, that¡¯s Ned Smith! The iron man who never loses a battle!¡±


    ¡­


    After a year of war, the royalists were purged, and the Herders fled in disarray. The Republic of Palatu was officially established and became the third member state of the Senas Alliance.


    All bonds issued during the war were redeemed at their face value, and Ned Smith took down the sign for the ¡°Special War Bond Exchange¡± and returned to The Federated Provinces.


    He received news that Emperor Richard IV was about to lead a campaign in person.


    This time, the emperor swore to crush the rebels thoroughly.


    ¡­


    ¡°This is mobilization, the ability of a country to invest resources into a war,¡± the old monk said slowly, ¡°Nations at war are like two clumsy drunks wrestling. Even the strongest man, if he can only muster a fraction of his strength, will be overthrown by a weaker man who can harness half of his strength.¡±


    Winters pricked up his ears to listen.


    ¡°The crudest form of mobilization is the conscription of manpower; military service, labor service, your militia are examples of this; a more sophisticated form of mobilization is the allocation of money¡ªyou have money, you have people; that¡¯s what Ned Smith does, and so does taxation; and beyond that? I don¡¯t know. Perhaps it¡¯s about going all out, pouring all resources into the war, forging the entire nation into a weapon.¡±


    ¡°How do you forge it?¡±


    ¡°If you want to forge the entire nation into a weapon, you need a united will. Hmph, the human heart?¡± The old monk scoffed with a sneer, ¡°The human heart is the most unpredictable thing in the world, I really can¡¯t imagine how to control it.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters couldn¡¯t help but be sarcastic, ¡°The people in the caravan almost worship you as a living saint, and you still don¡¯t know how to control the human heart?¡±


    ¡°Things of life and death, you wouldn¡¯t learn if I taught you,¡± the old monk knocked hard on Winters¡¯ head, ¡°If you had the skill of Ned Smith, you¡¯d be invincible in battle.¡±


    ¡­


    Crossing the surging Border River via the Floating Bridge left no further road to speak of beneath one¡¯s feet. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All around was a vast expanse, with only the faint tracks of wagon wheels guiding the way across the expansive plains.


    The horses, frothing at the mouth, struggled forward; militiamen armed with muskets and spears walked alongside, occasionally helping to lift wheels mired in the mud.


    More than two hundred wagons meandered across the wilderness, inadvertently forming a column over two kilometers long.


    Those ahead often only had to crest a hill or round a mound of earth to disappear from the view of those behind.


    Winters patrolled back and forth, ensuring the order of the march. Any malfunctioning wagons were swiftly dragged out of line, waiting for Lieutenant Bard to come to the rescue as rearguard.


    Once across the Border River, it was as if they had legally left the Republic of Palatu, and everyone was somewhat tense.


    Fortunately, the journey was free of surprises, save for a wagon that lost a rear wheel.


    The tension quickly dissipated, replaced by fatigue.


    Marching was an exceedingly monotonous labor, essentially a continuous walk. Moreover, the colonel strictly forbade his men from placing weapons or miscellaneous items on the large wagons.


    The militiamen, carrying thirty to forty pounds on their backs, trudged through the wilderness thinking only of rest.


    Colonel Jeska strictly controlled the pace of the march. The hourglass was turned twice¡ªabout an hour¡ªbefore the troops could take a brief respite.


    They marched until noon when the colonel finally ordered the bugle call for an extended rest.


    ¡­


    The ¡°buffer zone¡± between the Hurd Tribes and Paratu has existed from ancient times.


    For hundreds of years, they alternated between war and peace: during disasters, the Herders would raid Paratu for food, and when Paratu was strong, they would mobilize troops to raid the Hurd Tribes, capturing livestock and slaves.


    Historian Bonnie Cefiel described it this way, ¡°The people of Paratu are essentially Herders who have adopted agriculture and accepted public teaching. Even in the eyes of the uneducated mountain people of Monta, the people of Paratu are too barbaric.¡±


    Neither the Herders wanted to graze near Paratu nor did the people of Paratu dare to settle near the Hurd Tribes, which naturally resulted in a lawless zone.


    This was formalized thirty years ago when Marshal Ned signed a treaty with the three great Hurd Tribes.


    It was formally stipulated that ¡°within these two hundred miles, Paratu People shall not cultivate, Herders shall not herd,¡± thus giving the buffer zone a formal legal basis.


    According to Ned Smith¡¯s concept, maintaining distance might prevent military conflicts to the greatest extent possible.


    But reality was the complete opposite of his expectations.


    [Note: In the year 526 of the Empire, the Butcher Alion was defeated and died in battle. The following year, a civil war erupted within the Duke of Palatu¡¯s domain. The royalists and republicans killed each other. The Hurd Khan ¡°Xiban-Juye¡± seized the opportunity to invade from the east. Ned Smith led the Allied Army and smashed their forces, killing Khan Juye in battle. After that, the Hurd Tribes fell into decline.]


    ¡­


    ¡°No wonder he chose to deploy troops in winter!¡± A distant voice came, ¡°This wretched land is somewhat passable only in winter. In spring and summer, if you encounter rain, the land will definitely be mired in mud and the wagons won¡¯t be able to move at all.¡±


    Before seeing the speaker, the voice was recognizable¡ªit was Lieutenant Andrea Chelini. Lieutenant Chelini was currently recognized as the loudest voice within Colonel Jeska¡¯s unit.

 Chapter 388: 40 Mobilization_3

    Chapter 388: Chapter 40 Mobilization_3


    There were also rumors that, although it wasn¡¯t apparent on the surface, Second Lieutenant Montaigne could raise such a shout when angered that it could scare a person to death.


    The origin of these stories was probably a tipsy Wolf Town militiaman who gave a colorful description of how the lieutenant had ¡°roared and scared the notorious bandit Horse Palm Ivan to death.¡±


    Andre strode towards Bard and the others, rubbing his hands with a laugh and asked, ¡°Berlion, what¡¯s for lunch today?¡±


    Bard, Priest Caman and Brother Reed were sitting on the ground on a large piece of canvas.


    They were all waiting for the meal, and Bard had specially made his way from the end of the convoy.


    Ever since Berlion switched to duty as a service soldier, the number of people dining with Winters for lunch and dinner had been on the rise.


    ¡°The main dish is slow-cooked pork knuckle, sir,¡± the chef replied, holding a pot. ¡°And there¡¯s creamed vegetable soup, though the bread is from yesterday.¡±


    Berlion lifted the lid of the pot, revealing the pork knuckle stewed with sugar and sauce, steaming hot. The meat, which had been stewing throughout the journey, was tender and juicy, and the bone was easily removed with a slight tug.


    ¡°Have you been to the camp up ahead?¡± Winters asked, jumping down from the wagon with a basket of bread. ¡°You¡¯re back early, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Andre kept his eyes on the pot and responded offhandedly, ¡°Twenty kilometers there and back, how long could it take?¡±


    As they talked, the group huddled around the pot began to serve themselves meat, while Berlion returned to the wagon to bring out another pot of mixed vegetable soup.


    Brother Reed took a small taste and clicked his tongue in praise, ¡°Mr. Berlion, with your skill, I think you could easily serve as the emperor¡¯s chef.¡±


    The blacksmith smiled but said nothing.


    ¡°Which emperor¡¯s court have you been to? The Madman Richard¡¯s? The Oathbreaker¡¯s?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t resist retorting.


    As a true-blue soldier of the Republic, Mr. Montaigne had the utmost distaste for terms like ¡°royal.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t been to any, but that doesn¡¯t hinder my standards of judgement,¡± the old monk replied contentedly, not at all perturbed.


    ¡­


    The supply train¡¯s long rest coincided with lunchtime, and most people in the convoy were nibbling on dry rations, perhaps accompanied by a little pickled vegetable at best.


    During a march, dinner was the most important meal because that was the only time to make a fire; the other two meals were makeshift.


    Before Berlion was reassigned to service duty, most mornings and afternoons Winters would also be gnawing on cold bread.


    But since Berlion took charge of the meals, Winters could enjoy hot food for every meal.


    The blacksmith had crafted a special kind of iron stove, half-human-tall and made of pure iron, comprising three sections:


    The middle section was the combustion chamber, suitable for burning wood or coal;


    The remaining ashes fell to the bottom, which had a sliding door for removing debris and adjusting ventilation to control the fire;


    The top was for setting pots, and there was a chimney attached to the back of the stove.


    The best feature of this iron stove was its ability to burn without open flames, use of a stone mat meant it wouldn¡¯t set wood alight, and it allowed for control over the burning speed.


    Berlion placed the iron stove on the wagon, starting to cook something in the morning and keeping it on a low flame. By noon Winters had a hot meal waiting for him.


    Moreover, Winters had noticed that this iron stove was far more fuel-efficient than a bonfire.


    ¡­


    Without a dining table in the field, Winters and company would spread out a cloth and sit on the ground; it rather felt like a picnic.


    ¡°During the Siege of Gusa, I dreamt of having a sip of hot soup,¡± Bard said with feeling. ¡°If we had this kind of stove back then, our hardship wouldn¡¯t have been so severe.¡±


    ¡°Berlion,¡± Winters chimed in, ¡°if you were to sell such stoves in Sea Blue, you¡¯d make a fortune.¡±


    Andre played devil¡¯s advocate, ¡°Good as it is, did you see how much iron the stove uses? That¡¯s enough to make ten breastplates, right? How many people can afford that?¡±


    Winters immediately countered, ¡°Are cast iron and steel the same thing? The breastplates also cost labor. It uses a lot of iron because it¡¯s made from good material. This stove could last for decades without any issues. Some people in Sea Blue would be willing to pay a one-off price for something that can be used for a lifetime! When I get back home, I¡¯ll install one in my study.¡±


    The two Venetians bantered back and forth, while Berlion simply kept his head down and ate.


    He too sat within this small circle, dining with the Centurion and the priests¡ªas specifically requested by Second Lieutenant Montaigne.


    The blacksmith had been utterly reluctant, but the lieutenant insisted, ¡°It¡¯s just eating, no need for so many hierarchical formalities.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t have much of an opinion on this, but he felt uncomfortable when Berlion first transferred to service duty and prepared to serve him meals as a servant would.


    After a while, Winters¡¯s constables Heinrich and Xial also arrived. They both saluted first, then sat down to partake of the food.


    The soldiers of the ten-man squads took turns preparing food, but the constables were directly under the Centurion and not attached to any squad. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So Winters had Xial and Heinrich join him for meals.


    Other officers might not accept this, but Bard, Andre, Priest Caman, and Brother Reed were not very concerned with notions of rank and hierarchy.


    Sitting together for a meal and casual chat, the atmosphere was quite relaxed.


    However, when Colonel Jeska came round on his inspection and saw them, he said nothing and rode away.


    The supply train arrived at the camp safely, and as usual, Winters and his group had their communal meal, which Colonel Jeska witnessed again, but still, he said nothing.


    It wasn¡¯t until the following night that the colonel stopped the three lieutenants: ¡°Starting today, the three of you will dine with me.¡±

 Chapter 389: 41 Crossing the River

    Chapter 389: Chapter 41 Crossing the River


    According to the content of the handbook distributed to the officers, a well-established field camp must include trenches, walls, drainage ditches, stables, toilets, two entrances and exits, must have a readily accessible water source, and must be situated in terrain conducive to defense.


    But the reality was that the quality of the camps along the supply line varied, typically guarded by one to two soldiers, and never more than three.


    Some could accommodate two full-strength legions, complete with robust walls and trenches, built as temporary military camps by the passing army a few months ago;


    the rest were much simpler, deemed complete after digging a circular trench in a flat clearing.


    The selection of camp locations was mostly near rivers, established on the west bank of fords and floating bridges. One reason was to secure a water source; another reason was to ensure the safety of the floating bridges and fords.


    Rivers were the biggest headache for the baggage train during the march.


    Owing to their reliance on the melting of ice and snow for replenishment, the rivers of the Great Wilderness were heavily affected by the seasons.


    During the rainy season, when the precipitation is plentiful, river levels could rise by several meters. In the winter, they would enter a dry period, when most could be forded¡ªthis was one of the reasons for choosing to mobilize in winter.


    Looking at the bigger picture, the river system between two mountains originates from the melting ice and snow of the Sheltering Mountain Range and the Jinding Mountains, forming a characteristic dendritic drainage pattern.


    The geographer Bai Ruisi likened the area between the two mountains to a leaf, with the Torrent River flowing from west to east as the main vein, and the various tributaries as side veins and fine veins.


    According to this analogy, most of the rivers that troubled the baggage train didn¡¯t even qualify as fine veins.


    Yet even a shallow river only deep as one¡¯s calf could be enough to trouble someone wading through it in this season.


    Although winters in Paratu rarely saw ice formation, that did not prevent them from being cold. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    One by one, the wagons crossed the shallow, ten-meter-wide shallows, and the baggage train arrived at today¡¯s camping site.


    But this did not signify the end of a day¡¯s hard work, as the wagon drivers were busy unhitching the horses while the militia had to reorganize the camp facilities: cleaning the trenches, fortifying the walls, and re-digging the toilets.


    While others were buried in hoeing the ground, those assigned to cook in each tent had to start fires, fetch water, and prepare food.


    As compensation for carrying the iron pots during the march, they were not required to participate in heavy physical labor¡ªthough it was debatable whether cooking was more tiring than digging toilets.


    After the reorganization was finished, and night watch and patrol personnel were arranged, Winters issued the dismissal order.


    He was cold and hungry, and sitting in the saddle all day had made his buttocks painfully sore. He just wanted to drink some hot soup and rest as soon as possible.


    But he was stopped midway by Colonel Jeska, who had also summoned Bard and Andre.


    The colonel¡¯s tone was as usual, neither warm nor cold, ¡°You three will dine with me.¡±


    The three lieutenants looked at each other.


    It had been more than three weeks since Colonel Jeska took charge, but he had maintained a by-the-book attitude and had no personal interactions with Winters and the others, nor did he seem to have any intention to foster personal relations.


    However, when the direct superior invited them to dinner, the lieutenants had no choice but to accept.


    But the colonel did not head directly back to the barracks; instead, he led the lieutenants to the stables, where the baggage train¡¯s horses were kept.


    And so Winters and the others found themselves following the colonel around the stables, watching as he checked the horses¡¯ backs for sweat and occasionally inspected their hooves and legs.


    Centurion Dusa, in charge of feeding the horses, was a man in his thirties and hurried to the stables upon hearing the news. Facing four officers, his expression was extremely tense.


    Colonel Jeska gave the centurion a glance and asked coldly, ¡°The horses haven¡¯t been penned long, have they?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the centurion wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    The colonel grabbed a handful from the manger, ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Feed, sir. Guaranteed full quantity, not a bit short.¡±


    ¡°And what is this?¡± the colonel kicked a bucket beside the manger.


    The centurion became even more frightened, ¡°Water! Just fetched from the river, guaranteed to be clean.¡±


    Colonel Jeska suddenly erupted, grabbing the bucket and throwing it at the centurion.


    The centurion didn¡¯t dare dodge, stumbling backward several steps before regaining his balance.


    ¡°You dare to give water and feed to the horses while they¡¯re still sweaty!¡± The colonel slapped the centurion hard, knocking him to the ground, ¡°Do you want to die?¡±


    The centurion panicked, pleading repeatedly, ¡°I¡­ I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡±


    The centurion got up, not daring to speak any further.


    ¡°Go to your centurion tomorrow and take ten lashes,¡± Jeska said with a look of disgust, ¡°Get out!¡±


    As if pardoned, the centurion scurried away.


    ¡°Dismiss him from his post,¡± the colonel said to Andre.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡­


    Later, inside Colonel Jeska¡¯s tent.


    The colonel and the lieutenants sat around a small table, still discussing the recent incident.


    ¡°Damned fool!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s anger had not subsided, ¡°It¡¯s not their own livestock, so they don¡¯t care! Look at their warhorses, they waited for them to stop sweating before feeding.¡±


    The baggage train had a hundred or so large wagons, and over two hundred draft horses. Part of these wagons and horses were military property, with the drivers merely workers; the rest were owned by the drivers themselves, who received higher pay.


    The drivers cared for their horses, but the military horses were looked after by a few Dusacks.


    However, it seemed they hardly took it to heart.


    ¡°What about letting the drivers take care of them?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°The same, they don¡¯t care about what¡¯s not theirs,¡± the colonel shook his head, ¡°Drivers are even harder to manage than soldiers.¡±


    For a while, everyone was silent, eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.


    After pondering for a moment, the colonel said, ¡°The carts are now fully loaded, which is the most demanding on the horses and must not have any accidents. We only have four spare draft horses, more precious than the soldiers. An officer must be assigned to take charge of this matter to ensure the men beneath him don¡¯t slack off.¡±

 Chapter 390: 41 Crossing the River_2

    Chapter 390: Chapter 41 Crossing the River_2


    The lieutenant colonel first looked at Winters, shaking his head. Then he looked at Bard and Andre, as if deciding between the two cavalry officers.


    Andre immediately avoided eye contact, and seeing this, Bard sighed and said, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°Good, then it¡¯s you,¡± the lieutenant colonel nodded.


    The orderly pulled back the tent flap and brought dish after dish in front of the officers.


    Winters had been so hungry he was numb, but the smell of food made his stomach churn again.


    The four soldiers didn¡¯t have any sort of ritual for saying grace before eating: as soon as the food was on the table, they could begin.


    But Winters barely tasted a spoonful of the mushy substance on his plate when he almost threw up the soup he had ingested the day before.


    It was disgusting: sour and stinky, as if washing rags had been soaked in it.


    If something looked like swill, smelled like swill, and tasted even more like swill, then it must be swill, right?


    Winters looked at Andre in shock, and Andre returned the look with equal shock.


    In contrast, Jeska and Bard seemed unfazed, as if everyone wasn¡¯t eating the same thing.


    ¡°Sir, do you usually eat this stuff?¡± Andre asked cautiously.


    The lieutenant colonel, busy breaking apart a piece of dehydrated, hard bread, casually responded, ¡°I didn¡¯t invite you to a feast; I¡¯m trying to correct a mistake.¡±


    ¡°What mistake?¡±


    ¡°The mistake of getting too close to the soldiers!¡± the lieutenant colonel said coldly. ¡°I understand the sentiment of this kind of local troop, but you are in the military now. Keep your distance from the soldiers, otherwise it will affect your judgment.¡±


    Although the lieutenant colonel didn¡¯t spell it out, Winters knew what he meant, and it irritated him a little.


    Andre chuckled and asked Bard, ¡°Can you even stomach this?¡±


    Bard glanced at Andre and said, ¡°If you were born into a tenant farmer¡¯s family, you could stomach it too.¡±


    ¡°Enough with the complaining,¡± Colonel Jeska said with displeasure. ¡°It¡¯s good enough to have food in the barracks. The soldiers are not chefs; if they can cook something edible, that¡¯s good enough. What does taste matter? You¡¯ve never been to war, otherwise you¡¯d be able to eat pig slop if put on a plate.¡±


    The three veterans exchanged glances silently, with no intention of correcting the lieutenant colonel.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about whether I¡¯ve been to war or not,¡± Andre said slowly, stirring the mush on his plate with a spoon. ¡°It¡¯s just that by comparison, the food here is indeed hard to swallow.¡±


    ¡°Compared to whom?¡± Colonel Jeska raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°With¡­ Monti¡¯s [Montaigne¡¯s nickname] orderlies.¡±


    Colonel Jeska snorted derisively, clearly disbelieving.


    The next day, the lieutenant colonel believed.


    On the third day, the lieutenant colonel did something that was ¡°just like him.¡±


    The blacksmith Berlion was transferred to the battalion headquarters to work full-time as a cook.


    ¡­


    Although there is a legal ¡°buffer zone¡± between the territories of the Herders and the Paratu People, the geographical definition of this buffer zone keeps changing.


    The area south of the Ashen Stream River in the buffer zone agreed upon by Ned Smith and the three major Herder tribes is today¡¯s Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    [Note: Ashen Stream River is how the Torrent River is referred to within Paratu territory]


    Generally speaking, the Paratu People steadily encroach upon the territory while the Herders gradually retreat, leaving an undeveloped strip about a hundred kilometers wide between them.


    Though it¡¯s called a no-man¡¯s land, it¡¯s not entirely devoid of human activity.


    The most common sight is Shepherds.


    The original agreement was ¡°no farming by the Paratu People and no herding by the Herders,¡± but it didn¡¯t stipulate that the Paratu People couldn¡¯t herd sheep in this area.


    This wasn¡¯t just playing with words, as nomadic herding in the gaps between powers is a traditional skill of the Paratu People.


    As early as the year 273 of the Empire, Paratu saw the establishment of a national wool guild¡ªthe Mesta Honor Association.


    Even most of the Paratu herding terminology originates from the Herder language. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Agriculture didn¡¯t bring gold or silver, so before the Republican era, the taxes from Mesta were major financial revenues for the Duke of Palatu.


    After Richard IV inherited the dukedom of Palatu, he would also get an income of over 10,000 pounds of silver from Mesta every year. [Note: equivalent to about 98,000 Ducat Gold Coins]


    The poor Paratu Shepherds, driving their sheep across national and religious boundaries, not only had to migrate with the seasons within the power divides but also had to guard against the predations of the Herders.


    Yet it was these Shepherds at the bottom tier who accumulated wealth for the nobility of Paratu, enabling them to build castles, hire armies, and engage in long wars against the Herder tribes with resilience.


    Had it not been for several critical stands by Palatu against large-scale eastern invasions by the Herders at their pinnacle, Forthland and Vineta would have fallen under the iron hooves long ago.


    The Paratu Shepherds left behind lonely castles on the old border lines and countless stories and legends where they were the main characters.


    For this reason, even though the vast majority of Paratu People make a living from farming, Andre liked to use the derogatory term ¡°day shepherd,¡± and we have reason to believe that this disrespectful description probably did happen.


    ¡­


    Shepherding in the buffer zone is an industry officially endorsed by the government and was even once a pillar industry of Paratu.


    However, there are also trades that don¡¯t receive Paratu government endorsement.


    For example, stealthily breaking new ground, where some farmers who can¡¯t afford land secretly go to the buffer zone to clear it for cultivation.


    The Paratu government doesn¡¯t actively bring them back, nor does it offer any protection to these stealthy cultivators or recognize their property rights.


    Many bandits and robbers also hide on the other side of the Border River to escape the law.


    Many stealthy cultivators fall victim to these criminals, but the authorities rarely send law enforcement across the Border River. Such cases are often handled by Bounty Hunters.

 Chapter 391: 41 Crossing the River_3

    Chapter 391: Chapter 41 Crossing the River_3


    In addition, there were trade caravans and smugglers.


    The Paratu officials sometimes allowed trade and at other times banned it. The winds of policy were always changing, but the demand was ever-present.


    As the saying goes, ¡°From the east come tobacco, liquor, oil, cloth, and sugar; from the west come cattle, sheep, mules, and horses.¡±


    When trade was allowed, they were trade caravans; when it was banned, they became smugglers, but all year round there were always people driving their teams back and forth between the Hurd tribes and Paratu.


    Most of the time, the government of Paratu turned a blind eye¡ªbut that was regarding animals and miscellaneous goods like tobacco, liquor, sugar, and oil.


    Any caravan daring to smuggle ironware, firearms, or gunpowder was unforgivable. Even if they had already crossed the midway point of the no-man¡¯s land, the Piaoqi of Paratu would hunt them down to the death.


    However, precisely because of this, ironware, firearms, and gunpowder fetched extremely high prices among the Hurd tribes, which led to many risking danger for the sake of profit.


    Apart from the Paratu People, there were also Herders in this ¡°no-man¡¯s land.¡±


    The agreement signed with Ned Smith involved three major tribes: Haidong, Suz, and Terdun; but there were also numerous small and medium-sized Hurd tribes.


    There were always Hurd tribes that after suffering disasters or losing battles for pastures, would enter the buffer zone, and these Herders were also unprotected by the tribal council.


    Sometimes they plundered private settlers from Paratu, and at other times they were slaughtered by settlers, bandits, or even the Piaoqi of Paratu.


    In short, when a person stepped into this ¡°no-man¡¯s land,¡± they were essentially leaving behind all laws, rules, and civilization of the world.


    Herders, Shepherds, stealth cultivators, bandits, smugglers¡­ All sorts of people struggled to survive here.


    Sometimes they cooperated, at other times they fought each other. Apart from the weapons in their hands, nothing could guarantee a person¡¯s life or property.


    The objective of the Republic of Palatu¡¯s current military campaign was to push this area another hundred kilometers further west.


    ¡­


    After crossing a hundred-kilometer-wide no-man¡¯s land, the supply train took a full twelve days.


    Most people of Paratu grew up hearing stories like ¡°There are bandits across the Border River,¡± and initially, they were understandably very nervous.


    But in the end, not to mention bandits, they barely encountered even a few rabbits.


    It was such an uneventful journey that everyone felt a bit disappointed.


    There was nothing to be done about it; with three companies of a hundred men each in charge of escorting, only bandits with a death wish would dare to attack the supply train.


    ¡­


    The buffer zone was bounded by a river on the side of Paratu, and likewise by a river on the side of the Hurd tribes.


    And the Herders¡¯ Border River was much more impressive than that of the Paratu People.


    What blocked the caravan was a river nearly four hundred meters wide with rapid currents and unfathomable depths, connected by only an unstable floating bridge between the two shores.


    By crossing the river via the Floating Bridge, the caravan entered a camp at the bridgehead to rest.


    However, the guards refused to allow any outsiders into the camp, so the petty traders had to spend the night outside the camp.


    The guard force at the bridgehead camp was also much larger than the previous camps, with a full-size company of a hundred men completely commanded by a captain. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After settling the caravan, Winters and the others climbed the watchtower of the camp to take in the view.


    ¡°Look, that river must be what the Herders call ¡®Kurwalya,¡¯ meaning the river that carries souls away, the river of the underworld,¡± exclaimed Brother Reed, with his face glowing as he pointed at the river: ¡°I¡¯ve long heard of the grandeur of this river, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation!¡±


    ¡°Kurwalya¡­ Kurwalya¡­¡± Winters rolled the word around in his mouth and then realized: ¡°Isn¡¯t Kurwalya a kind of dance? Something like¡­ the Dance to the Styx?¡±


    Brother Reed chuckled: ¡°This is why I say you¡¯re uncultured, you still won¡¯t admit it. That is ¡®Kurwaleta,¡¯ the root is the same, but the suffix is different.¡±


    Winters had only heard it mentioned once by Hestas, and he couldn¡¯t remember how it was pronounced. Thinking of the old Shaman, he sighed with a touch of sadness.


    ¡°Such a magnificent sight before us, and you sigh? Don¡¯t spoil the mood!¡± the old monk rolled his eyes.


    Remembering an old friend, Winters smiled: ¡°Old man, you need to live a little longer, don¡¯t just die on me, alright?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I definitely will be alive until I die!¡± laughed the old monk, who was not at all superstitious about such talk.

 Chapter 392: 42: Chance Encounter

    Chapter 392: Chapter 42: Chance Encounter


    ¡°`


    On the day they crossed the Styx, the supply train camped at the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Late at night, a panicked night-watch scout burst into Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s tent, ¡°Sir! Wake up quickly!¡±


    The lieutenant¡¯s consciousness was hazy, ¡°Ugh¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s been a big incident!¡±


    Sleep instantly gone, Winters leaped from his campaign bed, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Salt is falling from the sky!¡±


    Without even bothering to put on his clothes, Winters dashed out of the tent.


    As he scanned the surroundings, he didn¡¯t see salt being sprinkled, but he was faced with an even more astonishing sight¡ªthousands upon thousands of willow catkins spiraling down from the skies.


    This land, which rarely saw snow, was experiencing snowfall.


    ¡­


    Two days later.


    West of the Kurvalya River, in unnamed territories.


    Andre and Winters rode side by side, engaging in idle chatter. The sound of horse hooves ¡°squelching¡± in mud and water could be heard.


    To the Paratu People, snow existed in two forms: in written records and as the perennial snow on the summits of the Jinding Mountains.


    Tangible, touchable snow was quite rare.


    The younger Dusacks had never even experienced a snowfall; their entire concept of ¡°snow¡± came from their parents¡¯ descriptions.


    Although the ground temperature hadn¡¯t reached freezing point and the fallen snow soon melted into water, remnants of snow still clung to distant slopes.


    While the meadow in front still displayed a tinge of green, the slopes at the horizon were covered with a thick layer of white snow¡ªan unusual scene that seemed almost unreal even to those witnessing it firsthand.


    But the people of the supply train weren¡¯t in any position to appreciate the scenery; they had much more pressing problems.


    The meadows, which were fairly firm during the winter, had now absorbed moisture from the unexpected snowfall.


    Once pressed down by the wheels, the ground inevitably turned to sludge.


    The heavy wagons left behind muddy trails, with mud clogging the wheel axles and making it even harder for the wheels to turn, often causing carts to get stuck in mud pits.


    Normally, the tracks compressed by the leading carts would make it easier for those following, but now, instead, the situation was reversed¡ªthe leading carts had it relatively easy, while those at the back struggled more and more.


    After a day¡¯s travel, Colonel Jeska ordered a change to double column formation the next day, to shorten the length of the queue.


    However, the double column formation didn¡¯t seem to make much of a difference, and Winters guessed that they might have to try a triple or even quadruple column formation in the future. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This goddamn rotten land!¡± Andre cursed, ¡°To think we came all this way to fight the Herders, do the higher-ups have shit for brains?¡±


    It¡¯s often the absence of something that reveals its importance. Compared to Vineta with its well-developed road network and canals, the grasslands of the Herders truly deserved to be called rotten land.


    The paths were terrible¡ªthere weren¡¯t any to begin with¡ªand human habitation was scarce. Apart from grass, there were trees, and it didn¡¯t look like a place that produced much of anything.


    Brother Reed on the wagon laughed, ¡°You Venetians are like satiated men who don¡¯t know the pangs of the hungry; even barren fields can be productive if used for grazing sheep. You think this land isn¡¯t much, but every year the Herder clans fight each other fiercely over grazing grounds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because the Herders are poor as church mice.¡± Andre immediately retorted. ¡°Surely the Paratu People aren¡¯t poorer than the Herders, are they?¡±


    ¡°A ripe apple is more tempting to pluck.¡± The old monk recited a Flemish proverb and asked in turn, ¡°Does that mean no one would pick a green apple? Paratu¡¯s desire for land is also your Venetians¡¯ responsibility.¡±


    ¡°What responsibility?¡± Andre was quite unconvinced.


    ¡°The wool weaving industry in Forthland and Vineta needs more raw material, so Paratu needs more sheep. When the younger sons, youngest sons, and bastards of your noble families come here with money to buy land, Paratu ends up with a great many estates and estate owners. Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    Andre was somewhat bewildered, ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡±


    ¡°Ultimately, it¡¯s the demand from your coastal regions that drives the Paratu People here,¡± the mendicant monk sighed, a hint of pity in his gaze, as if looking at a foolish child. ¡°If one day Vineta¡¯s textile industry no longer needs wool and shifts to producing cotton fabrics, the Paratu People would slaughter their sheep and use the land to grow cotton. Do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°We¡­ don¡¯t need cotton now?¡± Andre meekly asked.


    ¡°This kid here is even dumber than you!¡± the old monk directed at Winters with a point to Andre.


    ¡°Leave me out of it!¡± Winters shot back. ¡°Vineta has responsibility, but don¡¯t you have responsibility as well? Do you dare say that the wars between the Paratu and the Herders have nothing to do with religion? Isn¡¯t it about fighting heretic believers?¡±


    The old monk could only chuckle softly.


    A rider galloped from the rear of the convoy all the way to where the two officers were before pulling at the reins.


    It was Pierre, reporting anxiously to Andre, ¡°Sir! I saw a figure on the northern slopes.¡±


    ¡°A figure? How many?¡±


    ¡°Just one.¡±


    ¡°And then? Did they follow us?¡±


    ¡°No, it was just a fleeting glimpse. The person went back behind the slope, and I couldn¡¯t see them anymore.¡±


    After some thought, Andre frowned and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not another shepherd, is it?¡±


    ¡­


    Regarding shepherds, they had already made a farce of themselves before.


    On the first day they entered the buffer zone, the militia spotted what seemed like figures following along the ridges on both sides of the hills.


    With tensions running high, Andre thought they were Herder scouts and immediately led his Cavalry to charge at them.


    The Cavalry waved their sabers, shouting wildly, and charged straight to the figures, only to discover they were just some shepherds.


    Having not caught any Herders but instead scared a few shepherds half to death, Andre was furious.


    During the subsequent days of marching in the buffer zone, they encountered several groups of shepherds each day.


    Tired of being fooled by false alarms, Andre no longer cared to deal with such reports, while Colonel Jeska insisted on sending Andre to make contact with the shepherds.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 393: 42 Encounter_2

    Chapter 393: Chapter 42 Encounter_2


    ¡°Lieutenant Winters!¡± the colonel liked to say, ¡°Go take a look! Take the things over!¡±


    One of the colonel¡¯s goals was to gather intelligence¡ªbut Andre thought that was pure nonsense. In his view, the real purpose was for the mutton, sheep¡¯s milk, and sheep cheese.


    Shepherds of Paratu primarily tended to the renowned Merino Sheep, known for their soft and smooth wool, which even Winters, Andre, and other Venetians had heard of.


    Merino Sheep were considered a controlled commodity in Paratu, and it had been strictly forbidden to let the breed spread since ancient times, with violators subjected to the death penalty.


    There was another less famous type of sheep called Jura Sheep, whose wool wasn¡¯t as good as that of the Merinos, but whose meat and milk were far superior to their relatives.


    Colonel Jeska was particularly fond of Jura sheep cheese.


    Shepherds wandered the wilderness all year round, leading a monotonous life. Thus, they were quite willing to exchange sheep and milk for consumables like tobacco, sugar, and alcohol.


    The colonel specifically named Andre to go, which meant he was to exchange for meat and milk.


    Having fresh meat and milk every day made everyone in the officer class quite happy. Everyone but Andre, who was annoyed beyond measure. The colonel had singled him out and nobody else could take his place.


    [Note: The officer class includes officers, clergy, and professional doctors, although a battalion would not have a professional doctor assigned to it]


    ¡­


    Upon hearing Lieutenant Winters¡¯ question, Pierre scratched his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was a shepherd, but that person did wave at me.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t make out the attire?¡±


    ¡°Too far to see clearly.¡±


    ¡°Take your tentmates to have a look,¡± Andre instructed. ¡°Take your musket with you, but don¡¯t make a fool of yourself like you did yesterday.¡±


    Yesterday, their first day after crossing ¡°The Styx¡±, Andre received a report once again: there was someone on the ridge.


    Once across The Styx, it was Herder territory, of this there could be no mistake. Andre gathered his men, full of killing intent, and charged over.


    But he had been fooled once more, still by shepherds, and actually by those who had crossed over the floating bridge the other days.


    Shepherds followed the flag of Paratu wherever it went. The western bank of The Styx had the rock salt necessary for sheep, and after the army crossed the river, the shepherds followed as well.


    According to the shepherds, the nearby Herders had already migrated westward long ago, with the nearest battles now happening a hundred kilometers to the west.


    To avoid the Paratu troops, the Herders had moved everything¡ªherds, tents, cattle, and sheep. Now, only Paratu shepherds roamed this land.


    After receiving his orders, Pierre saluted and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Andre stopped him and after a moment¡¯s hesitation said, ¡°I¡¯ll go myself, you go back and report to the colonel.¡±


    Pierre saluted, pulled on the reins, and galloped away.


    Winters drew a revolver from his gun bag and threw it to Andre: ¡°Take this with you.¡±


    To avoid exposing spellcasters¡¯ identities, besides using spells in public on rare occasions, Winters had deliberately purchased a double-barreled revolver in Maplestone City.


    He felt that even if there were rumors about his ability to shoot without an open flame, it would just be attributed to the revolver.


    ¡°No need,¡± Andre said with a smile and a wave of his hand, ¡°Just a few shepherds, carrying this cumbersome thing is unnecessary.¡±


    ¡­


    Andre gathered a tent of cavalrymen and galloped toward the northern slope.


    He was reluctant to call these Dusacks cavalry, as in his eyes they were merely horse riders, not qualified to be called proper cavalry.


    The leading Centurion was named Asta, a thirty-four-year-old ¡°old¡± Dusack¡ªcompared to the young ones, a person from Blackwater Town, unlucky enough to have been chosen by draw.


    The rest, Shego, Kliuch, Margot, Rasov, and Kapu, were all underaged Dusacks.


    Andre thought that Asta, due to his age, might be more reliable, so he appointed him as Centurion.


    Treadmills work harder, Andre led the six riders for quite a while before reaching the top of the slope.


    Standing on the heights of the hill, the men of the baggage train appeared as tiny as beans. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The column looked like a clumsy snake crawling across the plain, but only half could be seen¡ªthe other half was completely obscured by undulating terrain.


    One often doesn¡¯t feel it when in the middle of it, but only from a high vantage point does one realize the wilderness isn¡¯t flat.


    The rolling hills were like the wrinkles on a blanket; cross a ridge or go around a hillock, and the view is lost.


    ¡°There seem to be animals over there, sir,¡± Asta said, pointing with a riding crop to a gully on the east.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    The riders moved along the ridge, and after a few turns, a flock of sheep suddenly appeared at the bottom of the other side of the valley.


    The pale brown Merino sheep were spread out in the gully, peacefully grazing.


    Two shepherds noticed the cavalry at the top of the slope and waved their hats at them.


    ¡°Did you bring the stuff?¡± Andre asked the Centurion.


    ¡°Of course, sir,¡± Asta patted the saddlebag, ¡°I knew we¡¯d have to come trade.¡±


    Andre traded with the shepherds for meat, cheese, and fresh milk, while the accompanying Dusacks also took the opportunity to swap for some sheep¡¯s milk to drink.


    ¡°You go trade,¡± Andre said nonchalantly, ¡°Same as usual.¡±


    Asta whistled, taking Kliuch with him as they raced down to the bottom of the gully.


    Andre yawned, ¡°Damn, it¡¯s all mutton and sheep¡¯s milk, I¡¯m starting to smell like a ram.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll share your worries,¡± the junior Dusack, Shego, joked.


    ¡°Deal,¡± Andre laughed heartily, giving Shego a light flick of his riding crop, ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with the colonel and look for an opportunity to improve things for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Shego exclaimed joyfully.

 Chapter 394: 42 Accidental Encounter_3

    Chapter 394: Chapter 42 Accidental Encounter_3


    ¡°What the hell!¡± That was Rasov, screaming in utter terror, ¡°How the hell¡­ Lord!¡±


    At the bottom of the ditch, Asta first lazily leaned to one side, then suddenly flung up both hands and fell from the saddle.


    Kliuch, who had gone with him, had already been dragged off his horse by the Shepherd and was desperately struggling and shouting.


    The sudden calamity left the Dusacks speechless with their eyes wide open.


    ¡°Go down and save him!¡± Andre, spurring his horse fiercely in the ribs, drew his saber, and charged down the slope ahead of everyone.


    The Dusacks fell a few horse lengths behind before they came to their senses, clumsily trying to follow.


    Taking advantage of the terrain, the Cavalry reached the bottom of the slope in the blink of an eye, but that was exactly why the enemy had not killed Kliuch.


    Seeing the Piaoqi officer rushing down the slope, the Shepherd immediately took out his horn and blew it fiercely.


    In the flash of lightning, the Shepherd¡¯s horn and jaw were both chopped off by Lieutenant Cherini.


    But it was too late, the muffled sound of the horn had already drifted out of the gully, returning with the thunderous sounds of hooves.


    On the edge of the hill¡¯s silhouette, first appeared the swaying tips of long spears, then the fluttering feathers on their helmets.


    A dozen fierce riders, carrying guns and bows, emerged from the opposite slope, howling as they charged toward the Paratu Cavalry at the bottom.


    ¡°Herd Barbarians!¡± Shego bellowed with all his might, ¡°It¡¯s the Herd Barbarians!¡±


    It was a planned ambush. Andre pulled at the reins fiercely and bellowed, ¡°Go!¡±


    The riders wheeled their horses around and raced back toward the hilltop they had come from. Even those who usually spared their horses were now desperately jabbing their spurs into the animals¡¯ ribs.


    Kliuch had just scrambled up from the ground when the Herders killed to his side. The young Dusack stood frozen in place, a pike piercing through his chest, pinning him to the earth. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kliuch did not die immediately, but no one paid him any heed. The Herd Cavalry whooshed by; their target was the fleeing Piaoqi officer.


    The sound of the Herders¡¯ horses¡¯ hooves beat down on Andre¡¯s heart like hail, he kept looking back, seeing bushy beards, dark faces, and adept horsemanship.


    ¡°One has a red plume, the rest are white,¡± Andre struggled to calm down, ¡°That guy must be an officer.¡±


    He saw one of the Herders reaching behind his leg to draw something.


    ¡°Arrows!¡± Andre roared, ¡°Get down!¡±


    Hearing the Lieutenant¡¯s shout, the Paratu riders hunched over their horses¡¯ backs, pressing their bodies as low as possible.


    Arrow feathers, wrapped in a sharp whooshing sound, chased them from behind; the riders, gritting their teeth, prayed while lashing their Warhorses with their whips.


    Rasov let out a scream, crying out, ¡°I¡¯ve been hit! I¡¯ve been hit by an arrow!¡±


    ¡°Sound the horn! Warn the main force!¡± Andre ordered the trumpeter, Kapu.


    The Lieutenant called out three times before Kapu snapped out of his daze. He trembled as he removed the military horn from around his neck, but he simply couldn¡¯t produce a coherent sound.


    The Herders¡¯ horses were not large, but their speed was no less than that of Andre¡¯s tall horse.


    The distance between the fleeing and the pursuing closed rapidly, and everyone could clearly hear the Herders shouting in their own language.


    The burly Herder with the Hong Lingyu feather caught up with Andre and thrust his spear into Andre¡¯s back with force. The spear point pierced through the belt and entered Andre¡¯s back obliquely, about a knuckle deep.


    Andre wasn¡¯t wearing the breastplate issued to officers, only feeling a chill on his back. He swung his saber to block the second spear and let out a desperate roar, ¡°Can¡¯t run! It¡¯s do or die!¡±


    Andreya reared his horse, chopping down at the back of a Herder who was rushing from the left.


    He was surrounded, a Herd horse crashed into his black warhorse, nearly knocking it down.


    Shego was the first to turn back for the rescue, but a Herder drove him aside.


    Baring his teeth, Shego¡¯s face ashen like a dead man¡¯s, hacked away at the opponent with insane force, his movements lacking any semblance of technique.


    The bugler Kapu didn¡¯t look back, running straight towards the direction of the convoy. But Margot and Rasov, with an arrow in his arm, followed Shego charging back.


    The cavalry packed into a small patch of miserable mud, struggling and killing in confusion. The Paratu People were so frightened they were out of their minds, but the Herders weren¡¯t faring much better.


    Swords clashed against swords, sparks flying, wildly stabbing and slashing, the fighting was incredibly intense.


    The horses, too, were panicked, utterly ignoring the riders¡¯ commands. They blindly ran amok, and in their confusion, they fell to the ground.


    Six Herders encircled Andre, wanting to capture him alive. Andre stood up in the stirrups, using all his might, spinning and turning on the saddle like a whirlwind with his saber.


    The spear tip traced a bloody line on his neck, and he retaliated with a cut deep enough to see bone. The cold glint of steel flashed before his eyes as he again raised his saber to parry.


    A Herder shouted in an unfamiliar language, and Andre mustered all his strength to chop his saber down onto the opponent¡¯s crown.


    The Herder screamed, tumbling off his horse, but Andre¡¯s saber was also knocked flying by the opponent¡¯s iron helmet.


    He immediately snatched a long spear from a Herder cavalryman nearby and began to strike, as though he was on the training grounds.


    Several Herders used their long spears to force Andre back, rescuing the Herder who had just fallen.


    Only then did Andre notice the red feather on the Herder¡¯s iron helmet.


    The unconscious Herder leader was placed on a horse and escaped towards the north. Other Herder cavalry stopped fighting and retreated with their leader.


    A dismounted Herder picked up another wounded comrade, struggling to escape into the valley.


    The Paratu Cavalry did not pursue the kill, and as soon as they broke contact, they headed straight for the convoy.


    Two groups of people, not yet proficient in the art of killing their kin, encountered each other by chance. They fought with extreme fear, hacking wildly for a while, sustaining injuries all over, and eventually fled. That was all that had happened just now.


    Andre carelessly wiped the blood from his face, and only then did he feel the pain of his wounds.


    Shego and Margot¡¯s lips trembled uncontrollably, their clothes showing patches of dark red bloodstains.


    Rasov¡¯s arrow in his arm had snapped off at some point, his face deathly pale, and he wobbled unsteadily on his horse.


    ¡°Rasov! Hold on!¡± Andre shouted, holding back tears, ¡°There will be a doctor when we get back to the convoy!¡±


    They galloped along the ridge line, rounded a bend, and the sight of the convoy gradually appeared behind the contours of the hills.


    The convoy had already been overwhelmed by Herder cavalry.

 Chapter 395: 43 Chariot Formation

    Chapter 395: Chapter 43 Chariot Formation


    The Herders chose an excellent moment to launch their ambush.


    The attack began just as the convoy was passing between two earth mounds at a saddle point.


    To bypass the high ground, the long column twisted into an S-shape. The head and tail lost sight of each other and couldn¡¯t watch out for one another.


    Accompanied by the sound of bugles, a group of Herder Cavalry burst out from the north-facing slope, plunging straight into the middle of the convoy.


    The length of the column, stretching over a kilometer, made communication difficult; Winters at the very front couldn¡¯t see what was happening behind.


    Upon realizing something was wrong, Winters immediately rode his horse up the western slope.


    The full breadth of the battlefield unfolded before him:


    A group of strange cavalry donning mail armor had broken into the middle of the convoy, where the Paratu People were already in disarray;


    The chaos spread as swiftly as a wildfire. A few still-courageous militiamen tried to resist only to be robbed of life by arrows and javelins from behind. Everyone was fleeing, and the brave died even quicker;


    There weren¡¯t many among the strange cavalry, but they didn¡¯t entangle themselves in the fight, driving the routed soldiers forward and back like seasoned sheepdogs.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska arrived at the front of the convoy, followed by more than twenty Dusacks.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Winters galloped down from the slope, ¡°The middle is in chaos, the Herders are driving routed soldiers this way.¡±


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel spat, ¡°Of course they are! Those sons of bitches want to devour us all.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not many; I¡¯ll take some men and charge through! There might be a chance!¡±


    ¡°No! Form the wagons into a circle! We defend right here, gather the troops first.¡±


    Winters panicked, ¡°Half the cargo is gunpowder! If they set fire, it¡¯s all over!¡±


    ¡°If they wanted to set fire, would they wait until now? With just a few dozen Herders, they dare to take us on?¡± Jeska smirked coldly, ¡°Do you only strike at the waist when fighting a man? The Herders are best at divide-and-conquer; they want to swallow us whole!¡±


    Winters understood the crux and immediately directed the wagons to turn. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska jumped down from his saddle, ¡°The flag!¡±


    The standard-bearer presented the regimental flag to the lieutenant colonel, who leaped onto a wagon and planted the Paratu cross quadrant flag above it.


    ¡°We hold our ground right here!¡± the one-eyed lieutenant colonel bellowed standing atop the wagon, ¡°Cowards will be executed without mercy.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel made his stance clear, and Winters also fetched the flag of the centurion unit, planting it into a sack on the wagon.


    The bugler sounded the assembly call, and nearby militiamen and wagoners swarmed towards the flags.


    With two officers as their pillar, the militiamen and wagoners knew what to do. The draft horses were unhitched from wagon after wagon, led into the center of the formation.


    The goods on the wagons were unloaded to allow the musketeers to stand upon them.


    Under Winters¡¯s bellowing orders, the musketeers frantically loaded their ammunition, and the pikemen began to reform their ranks.


    The double-column formation naturally had barriers on the left and right, the wagoners pulled the wagons close together, and the inevitable gaps were temporarily blocked with ropes.


    But four-wheeled wagons were difficult to turn, and in the rush, gaps in the front and rear could only be filled with pikemen.


    Gradually, panicked wagoners and militiamen who fled were herded to the front ranks, most of them having thrown away their weapons.


    The flags waving atop the wagon formation caught their eyes first.


    With the savage Herd Barbarians at their heels and the Paratu People¡¯s courage shattered, the sight of safety ahead made them surge towards the wagon fort en masse.


    ¡°It¡¯s safe over there!¡± A wagoner shouted as he ran, ¡°Go to the flag!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska saw this and cursed loudly, sprung on his horse, and knocked the leading Paratu person, causing him to spit blood. Then, with a terrifying chop, he sliced half the head off the shouting wagoner.


    The remaining Paratu People stood frozen in terror by the one-eyed lieutenant colonel¡¯s brutal actions.


    ¡°Those who attack our formation will die!¡± Dripping with Paratu blood, Jeska roared at the routed soldiers, ¡°Circumvent the wagon fort!¡±


    The lieutenant colonel stood before the formation like a wedge, dividing the panicked Paratu People in two, who then circled from the north and south flanks before entering the wagon fort from the west.


    A Herder Cavalry, brandishing a scimitar, chased and slashed his way through until he hit the wagon fort. He stopped about thirty meters away from the wagons, seeming perplexed.


    A musketeer on a wagon shakily pressed the firing lever. The gunshot rang out, but the Herder horseman remained unharmed.


    The sound of one gun provoked more shots; tense musketeers fired indiscriminately, and even Winters couldn¡¯t stop them.


    After a barrage of gunfire, the smoke cleared, and the Herder horseman was still sitting comfortably in the saddle.


    The Herder laughed wildly, and his ear-piercing laughter hammered the militiamen¡¯s courage and spirit.


    ¡°Laugh at your mother!¡± Winters, unable to endure it any longer, jumped onto a wagon and shot the Herder horseman dead.


    His brain sprayed from the back of his head as he fell stiffly from his horse, dead without understanding why he¡¯d been shot.


    A moment of silence within the wagon fort was followed by deafening cheers.


    Winters emotionlessly tossed the rifled flintlock to Xial, who gleefully reloaded it.


    The weapon was efficient but too expensive and too much trouble to load.


    With the wagon fort temporarily secure, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska immediately ordered the preparation of signal smoke. The militiamen began gathering grass, horse dung, dismantled wooden planks from the wagons, and took down gunpowder.


    Small cavalry raids on supply lines were a common tactic of the Herders; the Paratu People also had countermeasures. Signal smoke would be relayed through camps along the route, nearby Paratu cavalry would converge on this location¡­ to help take vengeance.


    Scattered Herder horsemen charged up to the face of the wagon fort, saw no opportunity, and rode off, going back to continue killing and driving the routed Paratu forces eastward.

 Chapter 396: 43: The Carriage Formation_2

    Chapter 396: Chapter 43: The Carriage Formation_2


    The Herder cavalry were indeed few in number, but the disorganized spearmen and musketeers were unable to protect each other¡¯s backs and flanks, facing the cavalry was almost a one-sided slaughter.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Winters approached the lieutenant colonel, ¡°I¡¯ll take some men to charge.¡±


    Jeska understood what Winters meant; at this rate, they simply couldn¡¯t rally many troops.


    A stalemate was no solution either; they needed to defend and counterattack. The hastily assembled wagon fort, lacking any supplies or reserves, was sure to break first.


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel gave the second lieutenant a deep look and nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t charge too far, come back when you hear the signal shot.¡±


    Winters grabbed a long spear and leaped onto the saddle.


    Looking at the faces of the twenty or so Dusack in the wagon fort, he instructed as calmly as possible, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, follow me.¡±


    The spearmen made way, and the cavalry charged out of the wagon fort with a roar. Behind them, thick smoke billowed into the sky.


    Catching sight of the Paratu people¡¯s proactive attack, a Herder cavalryman blew the horn.


    Two long, two short.


    The Herder people prowling between the wagons withdrew at once, deliberately avoiding direct combat. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since everyone was on horseback, no one could easily catch up with anyone else.


    The Herders¡¯ advantage in mounted archery became apparent as they maintained a delicate distance and twisted around to shoot arrows.


    Arrows whizzed past the Paratu cavalry, who tried to stay as low as possible. The accuracy of horseback archery wasn¡¯t great, but no one wanted to gamble with their lives on luck.


    Winters¡¯ goal was not to annihilate the enemy; driving them off and covering the Paratu people back into the wagon fort was enough.


    At that moment, what worried him most was the situation with Bard and Andre:


    Andre had gone to trade with the Shepherds and hadn¡¯t been heard from since,


    While Bard, leading the gathering team, was cleaning up at the rear of the caravan¡ªthis included those merchants and speculators seeking protection, and he only had a few soldiers by his side.


    Winters was eager to fight his way to the end of the caravan to confirm Bard¡¯s safety.


    But after running only a few hundred meters, he heard three gunshots coming from the direction of the wagon fort, the agreed-upon signal.


    Winters gritted his teeth and yanked the reins, his horse rearing with a powerful neigh, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    The Paratu cavalry turned around and headed back toward the wagon fort on the same path, with the pursuing Herder people turning around to follow as well.


    From the west came the rolling sound of hoofbeats: another group of Herder cavalry had emerged from the gully to the west, over forty strong, their blades aimed directly at the Paratu front line.


    But unexpectedly, they found no panicked farmers, only a large circular formation of wagons all around.


    This was supposed to be a coordinated attack, but with poor coordination, it afforded the Paratu people a glimmer of hope.


    The Herder people from the west were not mentally prepared to attack a strong fortification and hesitated for a moment, stopping far away at a hundred meters out.


    The Herder people from the east circled around the wagon fort, the two groups of Herder cavalry converging.


    Winters climbed onto a wagon and counted carefully: nearly sixty riders, some in studded armor, the rest only with iron helmets and leather jackets.


    By rough estimate, more than half of the Herder cavalry who had initiated the attack were here; Bard¡¯s side might have an easier time.


    ¡°A company of a hundred?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska muttered to herself and ordered with a wave of her hand, ¡°Get the musketeers onto the wagons.¡±


    The Paratu people hastened to unload the wagons, stacking their baggage between the vehicles as barricades, while the musketeers, carrying their matchlock guns, scrambled into the carts.


    ¡°Load your ammunition! Stick your chin to the gunstock and aim!¡± Winters shouted his command, ¡°On my order, and if anyone dares to fire out of turn, I¡¯ll kill them myself!¡±


    Suddenly, the distant Herder cavalry began to move. With unfamiliar shouts, the Herders charged towards the wagon fort, bloodthirsty.


    The momentum of six hundred infantry charging couldn¡¯t match that of sixty cavalry.


    In ancient times, a heavy cavalry charge could decide the direction of a battle. Sometimes, well before blood was shed, the mere psychological oppression was enough to collapse a less steadfast line.


    Accompanied by a thunderous boom, the terrifying mass of eight hundred pounds bore down¡ªno one was unafraid.


    At sixty meters, the militiamen¡¯s legs trembled uncontrollably as they shook.


    ¡°Hold steady!¡± Winters roared using a spell of amplification, ¡°Hands off the firing lever, wait for my command!¡± The magically augmented shout actually managed to overshadow the sound of horse hooves.


    Fifty meters, the ground itself seemed to tremble with the trampling of horse hooves.


    ¡°Hold the line!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska, her saber still not dry of blood, commanded, ¡°Whoever runs, I¡¯ll kill him!¡±


    At forty meters, Winters could make out the Herders¡¯ beards and feathers.


    At thirty meters, the Herders turned.


    Rather than crashing headlong into the wagon fort as everyone expected, the Herder cavalry adjusted their direction at the last moment, starting to circle around the fortification.


    A sigh of relief rose between the wagons.


    A javelin flew over Winters¡¯ head and into the wagon fort, piercing the thigh of a wagon driver.


    Amid the screams, more javelins and arrows were continuously shot at the Paratu people. They lacked accuracy, but still forced the crowd to dodge in panic.


    ¡°Hahaha, is that all?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska practically sneered, ¡°Lieutenant! Fire a volley and draw them in!¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Winters didn¡¯t understand the order, but he complied, ¡°Fire!¡±


    After the thunder and gunsmoke dispersed, four or five Herder cavalrymen fell from their horses, their fate unknown.


    The remaining Herder cavalry immediately charged at the wagon fort, not against the spearmen at the open ends to the east and west but leaping their horses through the gaps between the wagons.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Winters yelled, ¡°Reload!¡±


    The musketeers on the wagons shakily reloaded their guns, as a young man beside Winters cried while pouring gunpowder into the barrel.


    The soldiers who had discarded their gear and fled earlier were now of no use; they were already terrified and desperately seeking cover behind others or crawling under the wagons.

 Chapter 397: 43: Formation of Chariots_3

    Chapter 397: Chapter 43: Formation of Chariots_3


    Only the militiamen who had initially been rounded up into the wagon fort still dared to fight the Herders, the spearmen fiercely jabbing at people and horses, while Dusack hacked away with his saber without any technique.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Montaigne, dressed in officer uniforms, were the most obvious targets.


    Winters leaped onto the top of the wagon, as a Herder cavalryman screamed and thrust his long spear towards him in a charge.


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Winters killed the man with a spear thrust, at this distance there was no need to aim.


    Seeing this, another Herder charged forward to avenge his comrade.


    ¡°Thud!¡±


    Winters¡¯s revolver was double-barreled.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska swung a heavy halberd in a fierce battle cry, besieged by three Herders and in grave danger.


    ¡°You stay here,¡± Winters said, tossing the revolver to Xial in the carriage, himself gripping a spike in his left hand and a military saber in his right, leaping down from the wagon.


    Xial, startled, cried out in a desperate situation with the name used back in Sea Blue, ¡°Brother [Winters]!¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± The usually reticent Heinrich and Berlion also shouted in alarm.


    Xial swung up a musket and followed Winters into the midst of the wagon fort.


    Heinrich and Berlion also clenched their teeth, jumped down from the wagon, and joined the melee with their own swords and pikes.


    A Herder climbed onto the outside of the wagon, drew his bow, and shot down the Paratu People. This time, not on a bumpy horse, the Herder¡¯s arrows were lethally accurate.


    Winters raised his hand and nailed the Herder archer to the ground. After a year and a half of practice, his requirements for the Arrow Flying Spell were not as stringent as before.


    He reached the lieutenant colonel¡¯s side, grabbed the waist belt of a Herder cavalryman who was attacking Jeska, and stabbed the man in the back. The Herder screamed miserably as Winters dragged him off his warhorse.


    Winters nailed another Herder cavalryman with an Arrow Flying Spell. Lieutenant Colonel Jeska finished the third Herder with the heavy halberd, temporarily breaking free of the encirclement.


    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± The one-eyed lieutenant colonel¡¯s face was drenched in blood droplets, he laughed wildly, ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but roar, ¡°First, just. fucking. survive this battle!¡±


    Once the cavalry¡¯s charge failed to defeat the enemy and they lost their speed advantage in the fight, that was the most vulnerable time for the cavalry.


    The Herders thought the wagon fort was a fortress, that breaking through would lead to victory. But actually, the wagon fort was a trap, once inside it, there was no escape.


    Heavy cavalry might still fight on foot with their armor and sharp weapons, but for these mostly unarmored Herder light cavalry, this was a death ground.


    The cost of a cavalryman was unknown how much higher than that of a Paratu militiaman armed only with a long spear, yet at this moment they were being expended by Lieutenant Colonel Jeska at a two-for-one exchange rate.


    And the numbers of that exchange rate kept falling.


    Major General Layton liked to say, ¡°Whoever can last one more minute wins.¡±


    But for the blood-enraged Paratu People and Herders, it was about who would die off first.


    The number of surviving Herders within the wagon fort was dwindling, and the scales of victory were slowly but resolutely tipping towards the Paratu People.


    ¡°Kill! Waiting to die?¡± Winters, like dragging a sack of slag, pulled a militiaman who was weeping and praying from under the wagon, ¡°You think you can live if we lose?¡±


    But fate always likes to play jokes.


    Again, the rumble of horseshoes came from outside the wagon fort, getting closer and closer.


    The Herders¡¯ morale surged, and they excitedly roared in a foreign language.


    The Paratu People gradually realized what was happening, their expressions growing more and more desperate, the bloody resolve that had sustained them until now was fading.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska felt dizzy, and could no longer hold the halberd in his hands, which fell to the ground.


    The lieutenant colonel tightly grabbed Winters¡¯s arm, smiling sadly, ¡°We¡¯ve lost after all.¡±


    ¡°Not yet,¡± Winters steadied the lieutenant colonel, with tears shimmering in his eyes, ¡°Not yet.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I was hoping to resolve them first, then take care of the rest,¡± Jeska said bitterly shaking his head, ¡°But the rest of the Herders have still come, and their unit is a full one hundred men¡­ War is all about one breath, Winters, you¡¯re a fine soldier, I¡¯m honored to have you under my command.¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, ¡°Being under your command is really annoying.¡±


    The long overdue reinforcements broke through the wagon fort with the force of thunder, and the leading man¡¯s war cry shattered the sky:


    ¡°Da Vineta!¡±

 Chapter 398: 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman

    Chapter 398: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman


    After the skirmish, the convoy was in complete disarray. The surviving Paratu People were gasping for breath, slumped on the ground in all directions, their spirits and energy completely drained by the fierce battle they had just endured.


    Some militiamen were holding the bodies of the fallen, weeping bitterly. These were their relatives and friends.


    ¡°Who speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡± Pierre, carrying a musket, walked among the wagons. ¡°Is there anyone who speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡±


    He was met only with head shakes or outright silence.


    ¡°Herders¡¯ language? No one understands it?¡± Pierre asked again when he saw a surviving Paratu Person.


    ¡°I do.¡± A lean figure climbed down from a wagon. ¡°What¡¯s it about?¡±


    ¡°You speak Herders¡¯ language, Hunter?¡±


    Bell had taken a blow to the head and his consciousness was still somewhat fuzzy. ¡°A bit. Before my mother passed, our whole family lived in the Bitterwater Tribe.¡±


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Pierre turned to lead the way. ¡°The lieutenant needs a translator.¡±


    ¡­


    As the curved needle threaded with cotton pierced through the flesh, the company¡¯s barber-surgeon Pero was stitching up the wounds on the colonel¡¯s shoulder.


    Colonel Jeska was sitting heroically on a keg of gunpowder, listening to Lieutenant Bard reporting the casualties.


    Over two hundred of the supply train¡¯s militiamen and wagon drivers were killed or injured, mostly from the routed forces. Those who fought at the wagon fort accounted for fewer casualties.


    Dozens more were missing, presumably having run into the wilderness amid the chaos.


    Not to mention a number of horses and wagons that were lost¡­


    ¡°Enough! Stop reading that!¡± the colonel said impatiently, waving his hand. ¡°Just hearing it makes my blood boil. It¡¯s worse than useless innkeepers.¡±


    Bard put away the list and said soothingly, ¡°We can¡¯t help it. The supply train¡¯s goods belong to the state, but an innkeeper¡¯s goods are his own.¡±


    Facing the sudden attack from Herders light cavalry, Jeska¡¯s militiamen and wagon drivers almost offered no resistance. They abandoned their horses and supplies and fled for their lives, resulting in a total rout.


    Conversely, the small tradesmen ¡°hitching a ride¡± for protection fought desperately to protect their wagons, wielding sticks and pitchforks to fight for their lives against Herders Cavalry.


    For many of them, the goods on the wagons constituted their entire wealth; to have it stolen meant financial ruin.


    ¡°What about the Herders?¡± Colonel Jeska took a large swig of strong liquor to dull the pain.


    ¡°A few ran off, Lieutenant Cherini and his men are in pursuit,¡± Bard reported calmly. ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne is tallying up the remaining living and dead Herders.¡±


    Jeska glanced at Bard beside him and rasped, ¡°You did well today.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The praise was rare from the one-eyed colonel, but the cavalry lieutenant remained as unfazed as ever.


    ¡­


    There weren¡¯t many Herders soldiers, and there wasn¡¯t much they could do.


    The number of militiamen and wagon drivers in the supply train was close to six hundred¡ªa sizable force.


    Forget six hundred people; even six hundred pigs couldn¡¯t be killed by the Herders in a short time, not to mention there were over three hundred Paratu traders following behind.


    The advantage of the Herders lay in their surprise attacks and the fact that the escort forces were spread out over a wagon train more than one kilometer long, each fighting for themselves.


    If they had brought incendiaries and set fires aggressively, coming in and out quickly, the Paratu People would have had no way of countering them.


    But the Herders had not chosen to burn the supplies¡ªColonel Jeska explained it as greed. In the Herders language, ¡°fighting¡± and ¡°robbing¡± were the same word; all Herders wanted a piece of the action.


    When faced with particularly stubborn resistance from the traders, the Herders didn¡¯t force a direct confrontation but instead turned to attack the frantically fleeing militiamen and wagon drivers.


    Afterward, the attention of most Herders was drawn away by Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Montaigne, significantly reducing the pressure on the rear of the convoy.


    When Andre returned to the convoy, he found Bard directing the traders to form a makeshift wagon fort.


    After discussion, they decided that Andre would lead the still able Dusacks to strike out and ascertain the situation.


    That set the stage for Andre to lead the charge into the wagon fort, shouting the battle cry of the Third Legion.


    ¡­


    Barber-surgeon Pero struggled to stitch up the cut, but his hands shook so badly that he couldn¡¯t tie the knot.


    Bard patted the barber¡¯s shoulder and took over the tweezers.


    ¡°We need to round up those who scattered,¡± Colonel Jeska pondered aloud.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here long. We must set out as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    Bard quickly tied the knot and cut off the thread.


    The colonel took another gulp of strong liquor and, while dressing, bellowed, ¡°Where¡¯s Montaigne? Tell him to hurry up. Does it take this long to clear a battlefield?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was busy treating the wounded, identifying and collecting bodies.


    Militiamen were gradually discovering several Herders who could still move, but Winters, wanting to interrogate, couldn¡¯t understand a word they were saying.


    Colonel Jeska, with his sword in hand, strode over. ¡°What¡¯s with the dawdling?¡±


    Winters saluted. ¡°Colonel, what should we do with the Herders?¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Colonel Jeska was perplexed. ¡°Finish off the dead ones, kill the living. Hurry up; we¡¯re moving out.¡±


    Winters said nothing, just nodded his head.


    ¡°Gather the troops, get organized. Let those traders clean up the battlefield. Collect the armor and weapons for ourselves; the rest can go to them. They¡¯ll be happy to have it.¡±


    Winters nodded again.


    The colonel added, ¡°Oh, and don¡¯t forget to cut off the ears of the dead Herders¡ªtake the ones with earrings.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why? For money!¡± Colonel Jeska laughed, at a loss for words.


    Pierre, dragging the young Hunter along, called from a distance, ¡°Sir, Bell speaks Herders¡¯ language!¡±


    ¡°Someone understands Herders¡¯ language?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyes lit up at once.


    Pierre, noticing the colonel was present, hastily saluted.


    ¡°Which of you speaks Herders¡¯ language?¡± the colonel asked the two little Dusacks.

 Chapter 399: 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_2

    Chapter 399: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_2


    ¡°Me.¡± Bell said unhappily.


    ¡°Where did you learn that?¡±


    Staring at his shoetips, Bell answered, ¡°My mother.¡±


    Winters could tell the young Hunter was in a bad mood, but Colonel Jeska obviously did not care about the trooper¡¯s background.


    The colonel barked at the others, ¡°Bring all the surviving Herders over!¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    The Herders who could still speak were bound hand and foot and kneel in a row in front of Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°Tell them I can¡¯t be bothered to waste words with them.¡± The colonel, leaning on his saber, surveyed the prisoners coldly. ¡°I¡¯ll ask, and they answer. Keep silent, and they die.¡±


    Bell translated lacklusterly.


    One of the Herders raised his head and shouted a few words at Bell. Winters did not understand, but he could detect the anger in the tone.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Colonel Jeska pointed at the talking Herder and asked.


    With a complex expression, Bell glanced at the colonel, then lowered his head. ¡°He said ¡®You¡¯re clearly a Herder, why are you helping the bipeds?''¡±


    With a cold sneer, the one-eyed colonel suddenly drew his sword and chopped off the speaking Herder¡¯s head.


    The headless corpse heavily crashed to the ground as blood spurted rhythmically from the severed neck. The head rolled a short distance before coming to a stop, eyes still wide open.


    Bell, the kneeling Herders, the onlooking Paratu People¡­ even Winters was startled; some prisoners were even scared into incontinence.


    ¡°I ask! You answer!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s saber was still dripping with blood. ¡°Translate for them.¡±


    The subsequent interrogation went smoothly.


    The Herder Cavalry, hidden behind iron helmets, spearing, and slashing in battle, seemed like devils and monsters.


    But at the end of the day, they too were human beings capable of pain, fear, and tears. Stripped of their soldierhood, they were nothing but nomads, no different from the militia of the Paratu.


    ¡°Which group do you belong to?¡± the colonel asked.


    ¡°The Dog Soldier group.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the name of your ¡®Turu Koda¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Aviya.¡±


    Staring with his one eye, the colonel asked word by word, ¡°Then who is your ¡®Haug Koda¡¯?¡±


    The inquired Herder stiffened at the word ¡°Haug Koda,¡± murmuring a few sentences softly.


    Bell translated, ¡°He says the Dog Soldier group is a small tribe that doesn¡¯t have a Haug.¡±


    Colonel Jeska didn¡¯t waste words, immediately cutting down the responding Herder.


    Blood splattered onto Bell¡¯s face, causing the young Hunter¡¯s body to tremble uncontrollably.


    The colonel approached the third Herder prisoner to ask, ¡°Who is your ¡®Haug Koda¡¯?¡±


    Without need for translation, the Herder prisoner shivered and spat out a name.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Colonel Jeska yelled.


    ¡°Here!¡±


    ¡°Have everyone ready; we are moving out immediately.¡±


    ¡°Continuing forward?¡±


    ¡°About-face to the east!¡±


    ¡­


    Four riders fled for their lives, with the Herders sparing no horse strength, viciously whipping their warhorses.


    Although they couldn¡¯t see, the Herders knew that somewhere right behind them, a group of Paratu Cavalry was doggedly pursuing them.


    The Herders and Paratu People chased each other over the undulating wilderness, only catching sight of each other when both parties were atop hills.


    Their horses frothing at the mouth as they climbed another hill, one of the Herders looked back and exclaimed with surprise, ¡°Look! The bipeds have pulled back!¡±


    [Note: The Herders are all speaking in the Herder language.]


    On hearing this, the other Herders looked back to see the Paratu Cavalry on the plains had stopped pursuing and were now moving away from them.


    A narrow escape brought a sigh of relief from the few Herders.


    With their tense nerves finally relaxing, one of the Herders suddenly cursed at his companions, ¡°[Expletive]! We agreed to attack at the same time; how come you were so late?¡±


    The accused Herders erupted in anger, ¡°It was clearly your group that struck too early!¡±


    ¡°Stop arguing, Aviya and Herhunshi are dead, what¡¯s the point of quarreling now?¡± another Herder shouted, ¡°Where¡¯s Goka? Wasn¡¯t it agreed his men would cut off their path from behind, where are they?¡±


    The others looked at each other in confusion, only then realizing that those responsible for attacking the rear had not appeared at all.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini, on his way back to the supply train cursing and swearing, unaware that it was his heavy blow on ¡°Goka¡¯s¡± head that saved Colonel Jeska¡¯s detachment from falling into an ambush from three sides.


    ¡­


    The moonlight was dim; the convoy lit torches, marching through the night.


    Everyone was on high alert, match cords wound around their wrists, with pike bearers in heavy armor marching on.


    Winters, fully mounted in his armor, inspected the area between the wagons by the light of the torches, which made his half-armor particularly conspicuous.


    Since he had received his officer¡¯s armor, this was the first time he had worn it fully.


    As the silver-grey stallion passed by, the militiamen saluted silently.


    Winters heard someone whispering his name and turned back to see Andre emerging from the night.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t worn it in so long, I¡¯m not even used to it,¡± Andre said, patting the steel plate on his chest, now also clad in armor.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to put on, but hard to take off,¡± Winters said, a bit distracted: ¡°Last time, I wore it for a year, and now, I don¡¯t know how long it will be this time.¡±


    Andre chuckled mischievously, ¡°If Colonel Jeska and I were always armored, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten wounded.¡±


    Although the firearm posed a great threat to armor, having extra plates of iron in hand-to-hand combat was always better.


    According to Winters¡¯ observations, the Herders mainly had only melee weapons, so Andre¡¯s statement wasn¡¯t entirely untrue.


    ¡°Right,¡± Andre asked, ¡°do you have a spare sword?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters didn¡¯t catch that at first.

 Chapter 400: 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_3

    Chapter 400: Chapter 44: Turu, Haug, and Naiman_3


    ¡°Swords, military swords, straight ones.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a single-handed sword, and a longsword without a sharp edge.¡±


    ¡°Lend it to me.¡±


    Winters was puzzled, ¡°Don¡¯t you have your own weapons?¡±


    ¡°I only have sabers.¡± Andre slapped his thigh, ¡°There are quite a few armored cavalry among the Herders, and I suffered a big loss today. Lend me your swords, you don¡¯t engage in cavalries battles anyway.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you suffer a loss either.¡± Andre said exuberantly, ¡°I got my hands on two Herder scimitars today, the steel is top-notch, I¡¯ll give you one.¡±


    Winters jokingly asked, ¡°Just one?¡±


    ¡°I need to keep one as a spare.¡±


    The two chatted idly for a few moments but then fell into silence without realizing it. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre¡¯s sigh broke this quietness. He looked toward the night behind them and asked with some trembling, ¡°Hey, Winters, do you think there really are a thousand Herder cavalry chasing us?¡±


    ¡­


    In the Herder language, ¡°Kota¡± means a minor chief, ¡°Tulu¡± means a hundred-man team, and ¡°Haug¡± means a thousand-man team.


    The Herders¡¯ organization use the decimal system, with exactly one hundred people in a hundred-man team, above which are the thousand-man teams, and above them, the ten thousand-man teams.


    There¡¯s an extensive attack and defense alliance between the Herder tribes, where in principle, all chiefs are equal. In times of war, each tribe is obligated to provide soldiers to the Warboss.


    Some tribes are too small and can only provide half a Tulu. Even so, the Tulu from small tribes stand equal to the Haugs and even ¡°Naiman¡± of the large tribes.


    Therefore, a Haug certainly contains ten Tulus, but a Tulu does not necessarily belong to a particular Haug.


    It¡¯s for this reason that Herder ¡°Naiman¡± are extremely rare, the last of these formations was thirty years ago. However, whenever a ten thousand-man team appeared in the Great Wilderness, the Paratu People would be in considerable trouble.


    Lt. Col. Jeska did not recognize the ¡°Haug Koda¡± mentioned by the Herders, but it confirmed his suspicion that the hundred-man team which attacked the supply column hailed from a ¡°Haug¡±.


    Even if the thousand-man teams of the Herder tribes were often undermanned, another Tulu would be more than enough to wipe out the supply column.


    Therefore, Lt. Col. Jeska decisively ordered a retreat to the previous camp.


    ¡­


    ¡°Not a thousand, at most nine hundred, as we¡¯ve already taken down one hundred-man team,¡± Winters asked in a falsely relaxed tone, ¡°Scared? Doesn¡¯t sound like you.¡±


    Andre pulled out a pipe from his bosom, and Winters helped him light it.


    Lt. Celini took a puff and asked, ¡°Do you still remember those Herder slaves on Red Sulfur Island?¡±


    ¡°Mmhmm.¡±


    ¡°I still can¡¯t get out of my mind those Herders, stripping naked, smearing peat over themselves, and climbing the rampart with daggers in their mouths,¡± Andre tapped his temple and said slowly, ¡°Even though the Day-Sheep folks are all confident, if all Herders are not afraid to die like that, I think the Day-Sheep folk won¡¯t win this war.¡±


    ¡°Are you really scared?¡± Winters was truly surprised.


    Andre waved his hand dismissively, ¡°It¡¯s not about being scared, I¡¯m just stating the facts.¡±


    After some thought, Winters said earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s different, the Herders on Red Sulfur Island had a reason to face death with equanimity, they dreamed of going home. But most of those fighting the Paratu People probably don¡¯t, neither do the Paratu People. If it¡¯s a competition of who¡¯s worse off, Paratu might still win.¡±


    Andre knocked the ashes out of his pipe on his boot heel and sighed, ¡°True, where can you find that many soldiers unafraid of death?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh as well, ¡°I never thought that we would be playing a game of life and death with the Herders. I wonder if those Herder slaves made it home?¡±


    The two exchanged a few words idly and then went back to their separate patrols.


    The supply column didn¡¯t return to that morning¡¯s camp until late at night. It was a makeshift camp offering little in the way of defences.


    Lt. Col. Jeska allowed the troops only two hours of rest.


    After two hours, the column would continue its journey toward the fortified encampment on the bank of The Styx.


    The Paratu People in the column were preoccupied with filling their bellies.


    Winters walked up to a passenger wagon, pulled open the door, where Father Reed and Little Lion were inside.


    ¡°This is all we have for now.¡± Winters placed a jug of water and two loaves of bread on the seat, ¡°There¡¯s no time to start a fire, make do with these.¡±


    Little Lion, ravenous, let out a dissatisfied howl and begged for food indulgently.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to go hungry for me first!¡± Winters glared at Little Lion, ¡°We¡¯ll find you something to eat once we get there.¡±


    Little Lion buried its head in its forepaws and gave a gentle whine as if to complain.


    Now approaching the size of a grown adult dog, Little Lion¡¯s paws were as large as Winters¡¯ own hands, and he was finding it hard to lift the animal.


    Luckily, the ¡°little¡± creature had protected Father Reed¡¯s safety that day, yet it also meant Little Lion was noticed by everyone in the column.


    Fortunately, the old pontiff devised a quick explanation of ¡°The Lion of God protects his servant,¡± which managed to fool his adoring disciples.


    ¡°This little fellow is perceptive, has a spirit. If it were in Selika, it might even be able to hold an official title like ¡®His Majesty¡¯s Cat,''¡± Father Reed said as he stroked Little Lion¡¯s mane, ¡°It bit someone today, but it¡¯s not a problem, just make sure it never gets a taste for human flesh.¡±


    Winters nodded and then said solemnly, ¡°Father Reed.¡±


    ¡°You using a title, I find it quite unusual,¡± the old priest seemed flattered.


    ¡°Once we reach the river, you and Father Caman will cross the bridge, and I will send someone to take you back to Wolf Town.¡±


    The old man asked with a smile, ¡°What, can¡¯t you afford to pay a scribe¡¯s wages anymore?¡±


    Winters conveyed his firm stance with his gaze.


    ¡°Caman can leave if he wants,¡± teased the old cleric, ¡°but I can¡¯t, I once swore an oath to only travel westward, never to return East. Aren¡¯t you forcing me to break my word?¡±


    Winters, at a loss, said resignedly, ¡°I am very serious, no jokes.¡±


    ¡°So am I, very serious, no jokes,¡± the old cleric laughed heartily.


    Slamming the door, Winters thought, ¡°I should let Caman handle this.¡±

 Chapter 401: 45: Two Choices

    Chapter 401: Chapter 45: Two Choices


    It wasn¡¯t the Herders¡¯ light cavalry who caught up first, but Lieutenant Bard, responsible for rounding up the missing.


    When Bard caught up with the main force with his riders, almost every rider had an extra person sitting behind them.


    ¡°Found more than twenty, couldn¡¯t locate the rest in the pitch dark,¡± Bard reported to the Colonel.


    But what the Colonel cared about was something else, ¡°Any pursuers?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t see any.¡±


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s expression was grim, rubbing his stubbled chin, and it took him a while to make up his mind.


    He commanded, ¡°Tell everyone not to rest, we¡¯re setting off right now.¡±


    The supply train¡¯s militia had lost thirty percent of its men, and the Colonel was forced to distribute the weapons of the deceased to the drivers and the merchants.


    Those civilians who had never undergone military training were temporarily organized into a unit, commanded by Bard¡ªbecause they only trusted Lieutenant Bard.


    All the Dusacks fit to ride were handed over to the Colonel himself to command. Andre returned to his post as an infantry officer, responsible for leading Bard¡¯s hundred-strong team.


    The plan was to rest at a temporary camp for two hours, but in reality, there wasn¡¯t even half an hour to spare. The wagons at the rear had not yet entered the camp when those inside were already having to set off again.


    The militia, drivers, and merchants were full of complaints¡ªand who could blame them?


    The so-called pursuers were nowhere to be seen, yet the brutal one-eyed Colonel was forcing them to march, and right after a bloody battle, too.


    Not only were the living exhausted, but the animals were also struggling.


    Many drivers and merchants begged for a rest, as their beasts were about to collapse.


    But the only answer they got was a refusal.


    Winters occasionally saw dead mules and horses beside the road. While their owners were still in tears, others had already started transferring the cargo to other wagons.


    The supplies of the supply train dared not be abandoned, and the merchants were reluctant to discard their goods. Although the pursuers might well be close behind, no one could be certain if they really existed.


    As a result, the Paratu People wanted to flee but dared not fully let go. Thus they dragged their heavy cargo across the wilderness, evading an unseen enemy behind them.


    The convoy maintained order only thanks to the Dusack sabers and the long-established authority of several officers.


    But even the Lieutenants were having doubts: considering Colonel Jeska¡¯s interrogation methods, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if those Herders said anything.


    ¡°Remember that rabbit?¡± Bard asked.


    ¡°What rabbit?¡± Andre was puzzled.


    Winters replied, ¡°A rabbit that was beaten to the point it didn¡¯t dare to claim it was a raccoon.¡±


    After discussing, they decided to express their concerns to the Colonel.


    Colonel Jeska turned a wagon into a temporary command post.


    When Winters approached the Colonel, the latter was busy poring over a map.


    ¡°Sir, it¡¯s too dangerous to move in the dark; several horses have stepped into rodent holes and broken their hooves,¡± Winters tentatively suggested. ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait until daylight to move? We could send more scouts to check behind us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent them,¡± the Colonel said without lifting his head. ¡°Rather than worrying about what¡¯s behind, better think about not taking a wrong turn.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The forced march has caused too much damage to the mules and horses; the road ahead might not be easy to traverse.¡±


    Colonel Jeska looked up at Winters, raising an eyebrow, ¡°Do you also think I¡¯m being paranoid?¡±


    ¡°I firmly obey your judgment.¡±


    ¡°Small unit harassment of supply lines is a typical Herder tactic,¡± the Colonel bent over and continued working on his map. ¡°But think about it, how many days has it been since we last saw a messenger returning from the front?¡±


    Winters felt a chill in an instant.


    Supply lines were also communication lines; couriers traveling along the route would often encounter the supply train. Occasionally, they¡¯d come to ask for water and exchange some news from the front and rear.


    But in recent days, they had only seen messengers passing from behind and none coming from the front.


    ¡°In any case, returning to the river encampment is the safest option,¡± Colonel Jeska casually handed a roll of parchment to Winters. ¡°I suspect the camps ahead have already been lost.¡±


    Winters unfolded the parchment¡ªit was a map, and he finally understood what the Colonel had been busy with.


    The militia weren¡¯t given much attention, and maps were only distributed to the level of squadron leaders; Centurions didn¡¯t have them, so Colonel Jeska was making maps for his three Centurions.


    The Colonel calmly said, ¡°You guys don¡¯t need to worry about consequences, I¡¯ll take any responsibility. Just obey the orders with peace of mind.¡±


    ¡°Colonel, we¡¯re the least worried,¡± Winters smiled. ¡°The reason we¡¯re telling you this is because we have doubts.¡±


    ¡°Are there any doubts now?¡±


    ¡°None anymore.¡±


    ¡°Then get out of here.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Winters saluted.


    ¡­


    According to the map, there were about sixteen kilometers from the ambush site to the river encampment.


    But those sixteen kilometers were only the distance on the map; due to the terrain¡¯s ups and downs, the actual distance was far greater.


    The convoy had already been marching for most of the day before they encountered the Herder cavalry.


    After the life-or-death struggle, they had no time to catch their breath before turning around and heading back.


    Colonel Jeska mercilessly drove the Paratu People to march at a fleeing pace, covering in one night what normally took two days.


    The cost was thirty-three mules and horses injured or dead from exhaustion, seventeen wagons abandoned, and thirteen wagons lost along the way.


    Throughout the bumpy journey, many of the severely wounded couldn¡¯t hold on and died. Many more were injured in accidents during the night march.


    Finally, as dawn broke on the horizon, the ¡°Styx¡± slowly emerged from behind the hill¡¯s silhouette.


    The silver ribbon-like river snaked through the yellow-green plain, its undulating surface twinkling with countless golden lights.

 Chapter 402: 45 Two Choices_2

    Chapter 402: Chapter 45 Two Choices_2


    Brother Reed stood on the hillside with his hands on his hips, admiring the river as he praised, ¡°Look at the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, and the Jade Belt Water in front of the gate; this place is indeed a Feng Shui treasure land! However, this old man has no descendants, so pondering on these is useless, hahaha!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t understand the old man¡¯s ramblings, and he wandered through the caravan shouting, ¡°The riverside camp is just ahead! We are almost there! Wine, meat, bread, warm blankets, we have it all! Hold on!¡±


    As Winters was trying to rally everyone¡¯s spirits, a gunshot sounded in the distance.


    The gunshot echoed through the valleys, and Pierre came running down from the hill behind them, waving a signal flag and yelling hoarsely.


    Winters couldn¡¯t make out what Pierre was shouting, but he didn¡¯t need to hear it to know.


    ¡°The Herders are coming!¡± Winters bellowed, ¡°Pick up the pace! Centuries, assemble!¡±


    The crowd was startled initially, but then the drivers lashed their beasts, already at their limit, while the militia of Montaigne¡¯s centuries scrambled towards Winters in disarray.


    ¡°They¡¯ve come?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska asked, galloping to Winters¡¯ side on a bay horse.


    ¡°They¡¯re here!¡± Winters affirmed.


    On the ridge to the west, cavalrymen of the Herd appeared one after another.


    In their eyes, the column of heavy wagons was sluggishly making its way towards the military camp of the Paratu People on the western bank of the Styx.


    They stopped and stood, seemingly awaiting an order.


    Winters silently counted the number of Herd cavalry, ¡°There are fewer than a hundred riders coming.¡±


    ¡°Probably just the vanguard,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska said with a sober face, ¡°There could also be others hidden on the reverse slope.¡±


    The Dusacks arrived one by one beside the lieutenant colonel, gathered in a jumbled group.


    Winters and Andre¡¯s centuries were quickly assembling, while Bard and his ragtag troops remained with the caravan.


    The Dusacks also gathered, assembling behind the lieutenant colonel in disarray.


    At that moment, the Herders made their move. They too realized that they couldn¡¯t allow the Paratu People to form their ranks.


    One rider charged forward, swiftly followed by a hundred more cascading down the hillside,


    The thunderous clatter of hooves reverberated in the valley, the overlapping echoes majestic like thunder.


    All the Paratu People were overawed by the momentum of the Herd¡¯s Iron Cavalry, yet the one-eyed lieutenant colonel appeared completely unruffled.


    ¡°Overestimating the distance can kill the horse on the mountain; let them run a bit first.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s left hand left the hilt of his saber as he calmly gave orders to the lieutenants, ¡°Lieutenant Monta.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the reserve.¡±


    ¡°Understood!¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Tess.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Cover the cavalry.¡±


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    The distance between the ridges seemed short, but to reach the other side one had to go down a steep descent and then up a steep ascent.


    The Herders controlled their speed, jogging slowly towards the bottom of the valley.


    There was still an uphill stretch ahead, and they didn¡¯t plan to waste their horses¡¯ strength at the outset.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska cleared his throat and roared at the Dusacks, ¡°Don¡¯t be like headless flies! Form up like spearmen, arrowhead formation! Control your horses!¡±


    In the Paratu cavalry, the young Dusacks, who had never received cavalry combat training, stood in a roughly shaped wedge formation under the scolding of the old Dusacks.


    The lieutenant colonel scanned his riders with icy severity, ¡°The old Marshal once said that the Herders are ferocious by nature, fierce in combat, and skilled with bow and horse, and that two Herd cavalrymen are like slicing through melons and cutting through vegetables when fighting three Paratu cavalrymen.¡±


    The Dusacks showed different expressions, some tense, some fearful, but even more were defiant.


    ¡°Doubt it, do you?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska bellowed, ¡°Let me tell you, when you were still on the teat, Herd children were already carried in saddlebags, roaming the steppes! When you were still crawling on the ground, Herd children had already started learning to ride!¡±


    In the formation, Anglu heard Pierre snort coldly through his nostrils.


    ¡°But the old Marshal also said that a hundred Paratu cavalrymen would never fear a hundred Herd Barbarians! A thousand Paratu cavalrymen could easily crush fifteen hundred Herd cavalry! That¡¯s the power of discipline, tactics, and formation!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s breathing grew more rapid.


    ¡°The majority of you have not received complete cavalry training, I know,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska yelled, ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter. What¡¯s a hundred and some Herd Barbarians? Follow me closely! Cut them down!¡±


    Before the words even completely fell, the Lieutenant Colonel, taking the lead, roared as he charged down the slope: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The Paratu Cavalry were initially stunned but then uncontrollably followed that figure into the charge: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    Winters let out a swear as the highest commander on site charged out first, and he didn¡¯t even have time to stop him.


    Andre was also stunned, but he quickly snapped back to his senses.


    ¡°All units, attention! Run, march!¡± Lieutenant Cherini bellowed as he led his troops to chase after the cavalry.


    In a blink, only Lieutenant Montaigne and his hundred-man team remained on the hill, shivering in the biting western wind.


    ¡°Form a square,¡± Winters ordered helplessly: ¡°Musketeers, ready your matches, load your ammunition.¡±


    In the valley, the distance between the two cavalry groups was closing rapidly.


    The Herders seemed to have no real formation to speak of.


    The Paratu Cavalry were barely maintaining a wedge formation that was about to fall apart, with the Lieutenant Colonel himself acting as the spearhead.


    As the two sides were about to crash into each other with a thunderous collision, everyone on the Paratu slope held their breath and watched intently.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Three gunshots spread throughout the valley.


    Winters looked towards the sound, noticing several Herders on the opposite slope also watching the battle. The gunfire had come from there.


    Following the gunshots, a sudden change occurred in the valley.


    The seemingly formless Herder cavalry suddenly split into two, each going around the left and right sides of the Paratu wedge formation.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Winters cursed inwardly.


    ¡°Crap!¡± Andre also shouted in his mind.


    The advantage of the wedge formation is its agility in turning, as long as everyone follows the person in front, the guiding rider can easily control the direction of the charge.


    However, the Herders clearly didn¡¯t intend to collide head-on with the Paratu; they split their forces into two, flanking the Paratu Cavalry¡¯s wings.


    Of course, the wedge formation can also split into two, but that kind of in-motion formation change is not something these rookie cavalry, who only knew how to charge blindly, could manage.


    The one-eyed Lieutenant Colonel clenched his teeth and yanked the reins with his left hand. The charging wedge formation followed him as he turned, crashing fiercely into the Herder cavalry on the left wing.


    In an instant, men and horses were sent tumbling. The Paratu and Herders who withstood the first wave of the clash began to engage in a chaotic melee.


    The fifty or so Herder cavalry on the right flank chose not to support their comrades but instead bypassed the melee and headed straight for the convoy.


    Near the ridge on the opposite slope, nearly a hundred more Herder cavalry emerged from the back of the incline.


    Herder cavalry with feathers in their helmets and holding long spears cried out as they charged toward the Paratu engaged in battle at the bottom of the valley.


    Andre and his soldiers finally arrived and joined the fray.


    The more than fifty Herder cavalry on the right flank whistled past the small square formation of Montaigne¡¯s hundred-man team.


    Winters¡¯ musketeers opened fire one after another, but not a single Herder cavalryman fell from his horse.


    The Herders didn¡¯t even bother with the militiamen in formation, heading directly for the clumsy convoy.


    A difficult choice was suddenly thrust upon Winters.


    Go back and save the convoy?


    Support the battle in the valley?


    In the convoy were only Bard and civilians, and what awaited them would be a massacre.


    The battle in the valley seemed evenly matched, with the Paratu still having a chance of victory.


    In the blink of an eye, he made his choice.


    ¡°If we lose down there, no one survives!¡± Winters¡¯ roar was as if trying to convince himself: ¡°Square formation, deploy! Everyone! Follow me!¡±


    As for Bard¡¯s side¡­ they had to rely on themselves now.

 Chapter 403: 46

    Chapter 403: Chapter 46


    Thirty-one years ago, an Herder baby boy was born in a tent with a cry.


    The mother of the baby died that very night, and according to the customs of the Herder people, the baby who caused his mother¡¯s death should also have been abandoned¡ªthe underlying logic of the custom was harsh and realistic, for a newborn without its mother could not survive.


    The baby¡¯s father was off warring with Queye Khan, and it was his grandmother who took pity on him and brought him back to the tent, placing him in steaming hot sawdust.


    For the first three days, they hired another nursing mother with two cowhides to breastfeed him, and later fed him with cotton cloths dipped in mare¡¯s milk.


    When two months passed and they determined that the dark-skinned child would survive, his grandfather took him to see the Shaman.


    The Shaman named the child, Koshi Hazi¡ªchild raised on mare¡¯s milk.


    ¡­


    Thirty-one years later, Koshi Hazi, who stayed on the hilltop, was surprised to find that the group of Paratu People on the opposite slope had not been lured away. Instead, they formed up and charged towards the bottom of the gully.


    The male infant who had survived on mare¡¯s milk was now the Turu Koda of the Wasteland tribe.


    The cries and the smell of blood made the warhorses restless, stamping their hooves uneasily.


    A young Cavalryman with red feather asked anxiously, ¡°What do we do, Koshi Hazi? The bipeds are coming down! Call Mangtai back quickly!¡±


    Koshi Hazi¡¯s brows knotted, ¡°Mangtai has already charged over. There are only fat sheep over there, how could he come back? Besides, he never listens to me; I¡¯m not his chief.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    ¡°What to do?¡± Koshi Hazi glared, ¡°Fight.¡±


    ¡­


    The hundred-man unit, still maintaining a rough formation while at full sprint, was the result of training.


    Winters was anxious, but he did not lead them headlong into the fray because more than half of his men were crossbowmen and musketeers.


    The Montaigne hundred-man unit stopped their advance a dozen meters outside the melee.


    ¡°Pikemen! Hollow square! Musketeers and crossbowmen! Two lines abreast!¡± The command from the lieutenant sounded muffled from within the helmet, ¡°Hit the Herders behind!¡±


    Winters knew all too well the poor marksmanship of his subordinates. They aimed for the enemy but were more likely to hit their own.


    They could only be told to fire towards the rear of the battlefield, where there were more Herders.


    Amid the curses of the Centurion, the pikemen formed a small square, only eight men wide, and the shooters hurried to the front row.


    ¡°Ready!¡±


    The shooters held their breath.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The gunshots echoed through the valley as lead and crossbow bolts whizzed through the air, toppling a dozen-plus Herder Cavalrymen. The combatants on either side involuntarily paused.


    After a volley, the musketeers and crossbowmen began to fire at will.


    The enemy noticed the Montaigne hundred and several Herder Cavalrymen broke away from the battle, charging toward the militiamen who were still rearming and drawing their bows.


    Winters drew his revolving pistol from his holster and took aim at the incoming foes.


    The first shot, missed.


    The second shot, also missed.


    The enraged Montaigne lieutenant threw his pistol to the ground, drew his saber, and spurred his horse toward the Herders.


    Leading the charge was a burly and fierce Herder. He had long noticed the silver-grey steed and the Paratu officer on the saddle.


    This was a textbook cavalry charge. In the instant of crossing, life or death would be decided.


    The adversaries approached each other from the right-hand side, both reaching desperately forward with their sabers, neither yielding an inch.


    With only two horse lengths left and death seeming certain, Winters suddenly pulled hard on the reins, his horse leaping forward to the right as if it instinctively understood.


    Simultaneously, Winters deftly transferred his saber from the right hand to the left.


    In the Herder¡¯s astonished gaze, Winters¡¯s saber struck his left shoulder.


    This move had been taught to Winters by Gerard Mitchell, a special technique of the old Dusack. For a right-handed swordsman, the left side was an absolute weak point in defense.


    After dispatching the leading Herder, Winters found himself surrounded by several other Herder Cavalrymen.


    The Herd Barbarians were numerous, but the lieutenant was clad in three-quarter armor. They hacked at each other on horseback, swords clashing, sparks flying.


    The musketeers and crossbowmen dreaded hitting their own and refrained from firing. The pikemen, without orders, did not dare to break formation.


    Winters reached for his caltrops, only to find a piece of iron plate¡ªhis pocket with the caltrops was under his armor.


    Outnumbered, Winters fell into a disadvantage. The curved blades came at him from all sides, aiming for the back of his thigh, joints, and other areas where the armor was thin or nonexistent. He barely managed to parry.


    His warhorse, Tess, bit at the neck of the Herder warhorses, kicking furiously with its hind legs.


    Another powerful slash struck across Winters¡¯s back like a fierce whip. The curved blade did not cut through the iron plate, but it still hurt tremendously.


    The next moment, however, his pressure suddenly diminished.


    The Herder Cavalryman in front of him was knocked off his horse by a heavy halberd. Heinrich stepped on the fallen man¡¯s chest. Berlion swung his warhammer down with full force on the Herder¡¯s head.


    The struck Herder Cavalryman twitched a few times, then lay still.


    As Xial, holding a long pike, shouted and grappled with another Herder Cavalryman,


    With the help of his three bodyguards, Winters quickly dispatched the rest of the Herders.


    ¡°Back to the formation,¡± Winters said, panting heavily. The skirmish had lasted only a few minutes but left him feeling utterly exhausted. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the hillside came two horn calls, one long, one short.


    More Herder Cavalry broke away from the fray and began to regroup. They skirted the battlefield and cut towards the Montaigne hundred.


    The musketeers and crossbowmen hastily took refuge within the square formation.


    ¡°Fire at will!¡± Winters removed his helmet¡ªthis iron canister was stifling him¡ªand shouted loudly, ¡°Hold the line!¡±

 Chapter 404: 46_2

    Chapter 404: Chapter 46_2


    His phalanx was too small, too thin; only a single row of spearmen surrounded it¡ªa charge would scatter them.


    It all came down to whether the Herders feared death, whether they dared to break through and create a breach.


    Would the Herders lose their nerve first, or would the Paratu People collapse?


    ¡°Grip your spears tight! Hold your positions!¡± Winters desperately called forth the militia¡¯s courage, ¡°Running will get you killed just the same! Protect your brothers-in-arms!¡±


    The charge of the Herder Cavalry felt like an unstoppable torrent of floodwater, about to kill at any moment.


    ¡°Lord forgive me,¡± a spearman facing the onslaught trembled and shut his eyes.


    ¡°Clang!¡±


    ¡°Clang!¡±


    A series of urgent gong sounds came from the hillside.


    The Herder Cavalry who were charging at Montaigne¡¯s centurion unit immediately turned away¡ªnot just them, but other Herders in the valley disengaged from the melee and retreated toward the slope.


    ¡°We¡¯ve won!¡± Xial shouted excitedly.


    The Paratu People raised their arms and cheered.


    On the hill, a rider from the Red Plumes asked angrily, ¡°Why? Why are we retreating?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Haug Koda to arrive,¡± Kota with the broad axe buckled his helmet, ¡°We can¡¯t win just by ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Who says we can¡¯t win?¡± the Red Plume grew anxious.


    ¡°I say so. If you¡¯re not blind, you¡¯d see it too,¡± Kota replied.


    The Red Plume, furiously said, ¡°Retreating now, wouldn¡¯t our warriors have died in vain? Hold on a little longer, maybe the bipeds will break.¡±


    ¡°Continuing the fight will just use up all of the warriors from the Erdet Tribe, and we still wouldn¡¯t win,¡± Kota said with a glare in his eyes, ¡°Thus, we should retreat even faster! What, you have an objection?¡±


    The Red Plume withered, murmuring softly, ¡°What could I possibly object to¡­ What about Mangtai?¡±


    ¡°You go call him back.¡±


    ¡­


    In the Allied Army, there is a tradition of ¡°using the large to control the small¡±; when two centurion units fight together, the centurion with higher rank and experience takes command.


    The Herders have a similar custom; when two Kotas from the same Haug work together, they choose the most commanding Kota to lead all their forces.


    Two Herder centurion units were catching up to the Paratu People, led by Kota and Mangtai


    Traditionally, Kota would be the supreme commander, but Mangtai from the Ula Department was not convinced.


    Kota gave Mangtai a simple task: feign an attack on the convoy to draw away another unit of Paratu People on the hillside.


    However, the bipeds on the hill didn¡¯t follow; instead, they charged down into the valley to join the fray.


    ¡°Mangtai! What do we do?¡± the Decurion Shulji asked, ¡°Should we go back?¡±


    ¡°Go back for what?¡± Mangtai gritted his teeth, ¡°All of the two-legged folks¡¯ soldiers are down there, and there¡¯s no one guarding the wagons. If they don¡¯t follow us, we turn the feint into a full attack!¡±


    More than fifty Herder cavalrymen crossed the ridge and swooped down upon the unprotected convoy.


    But things didn¡¯t go as the Herders expected; the bipeds didn¡¯t panic or scatter and run.


    The unarmed porters and merchants all ran towards several four-wheeled wagons. It seemed they wanted to use the wagons as a fort to hold their ground.


    In the process of forced march, Lieutenant Bard had improvised modifications to six four-wheeled wagons to cope with emergencies.


    The goods in the modified wagons were cleared out to make room for more people to stand;


    The wooden boards around the wagons were raised higher, creating shapes resembling battlements, for protection against arrows.


    ¡°What now?¡± a Herder cavalryman beside Mangtai panicked.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? You gutless wretch,¡± Mangtai couldn¡¯t help but curse out, ¡°Just because the two-legged cowards aren¡¯t formed up, you¡¯re scared by a few wagons?¡±


    The modification of the large carts was minimal, and there was not enough time to adjust their positions, so they were not linked end to end in a circle.


    Positioned like a plum blossom, the six large carts were surrounded not by other carts, but by the Paratu People who stood around the wagons, encompassing the large carts within a wall of people, creating an unusual ¡°wagon formation.¡±


    The Paratu People holding crossbows stood inside the carts, while those backed against the wagons were armed with a motley assortment of weapons, including just about anything.


    The strangest of all was the middle cart: an old man with a white beard stood on top of it, holding up a golden brocade sutra streamer and shouting loudly.


    Due to the language barrier, the Herders couldn¡¯t understand what the old man was yelling.


    ¡°Look! Those bipeds over there all have matchlock guns!¡± Mangtai pointed out a weakness and pointed towards a large cart with his saber, ¡°Crush them, and the rest of the bipeds will scatter.¡±


    The Herders didn¡¯t have many firearms, but that was due to trade embargoes. Even the Herders knew that matchlock guns were outdated junk discarded by the times.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spot, follow me!¡±


    The Herder Cavalry circled the wagon formation with odd yells, harassing the Paratu People with bows and javelins to apply pressure.


    Suddenly, Mangtai charged at the matchlock gunners, with the other riders close behind their leader.


    The thundering sound of hooves crushed the morale of the matchlock gunners, one of whom, trembling, ignited the match of the matchlock gun tucked under his arm.


    A gunshot rang out, followed by the rest of the matchlock gunners firing their weapons; even the crossbowmen couldn¡¯t help but pull their triggers.


    However, the Herder Cavalry did not charge forward; they only approached within about forty meters before changing direction.


    What seemed like a menacing charge was only a feint, designed to lure the gunners into firing.


    The real attack came afterward, with the Herder Cavalry taking a detour before charging at the matchlock gunners once again.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Slaughter them!¡± Mangtai, raising his saber high, led the charge, roaring, ¡°[Herde Language] A used matchlock gun is just scrap metal!¡±


    However, the Paratu People did not seem panicked and showed no signs of breaking ranks and fleeing.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t they afraid?¡± Mangtai thought furiously, ¡°Why aren¡¯t they running?¡±


    In the blink of an eye, just before impact, the last thing Mangtai saw was the bipeds stuffing something that resembled long daggers into the muzzles of their matchlock guns.


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    The pursuit by the Herders had been repelled.


    By noon, all the personnel and horses of the baggage train had entered the riverside camp.


    Later that day, three Herders came to the fore of the camp, spears carrying helmets.


    ¡°What does this mean?¡± Andre asked, puzzled.


    ¡°The Herders want to negotiate,¡± Colonel Jeska said coolly, squinting, ¡°If they want to talk, let¡¯s talk. Lieutenant Montaigne, come with me; let¡¯s hear what they have to say.¡±


    The Colonel and the Lieutenant, along with Bell as an interpreter, rode out of the camp gate.


    The Herders dismounted first, laid down their weapons on the ground, seemingly signaling they meant no harm.


    Winters, unfamiliar with the Herders¡¯ negotiation customs, followed Colonel Jeska¡¯s lead and did the same.


    Nonetheless, the Lieutenant remained vigilant, keeping two iron nails hidden in his hand.


    One Herder, who appeared to be a retainer, took out an entire bear skin and spread it on the grass between the two parties.


    The leading Herder sat down on the bear skin first and gestured for Colonel Jeska to take a seat.


    The Colonel snorted coldly and also sat down heroically.


    Two grown men sat staring at each other on a bear skin.


    Winters stood tense behind the Colonel, ready to spring into action at any moment.


    The Herder spoke, and to their surprise, his Continental language was impeccably fluent, ¡°Gentlemen, surrender your baggage, and I¡¯ll allow you to leave with your weapons and flags. Don¡¯t resist needlessly; General Yanosh is dead, and you have lost.¡±


    [Note: The Continental language is what the Alliance calls it, also known as the Common Tongue. In the Empire, it is called Imperial Tongue. They share the same roots, with only minor differences in dialects and accents.]

 Chapter 405: 47 Riverside Camp

    Chapter 405: Chapter 47 Riverside Camp


    Hearing that General Yanosh had died, Winters¡¯s fist clenched unconsciously.


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel was unmoved. He sneered and asked, ¡°You called me out just to tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Surrender the supplies you are carrying, and I will allow you to keep your flags and weapons and leave,¡± the Herder repeated the terms he had offered, looking quite self-assured, ¡°Anyway, you are still alive, which isn¡¯t too bad, is it?¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fine,¡± the lieutenant colonel responded blandly, ¡°I¡¯ll go back and think about it.¡±


    The Herder smiled with a mix of politeness and scorn, ¡°Your Excellency, there is no point in delaying. No one is coming to save you, and my mercy and generosity are also limited.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± the lieutenant colonel, casually cleaning the blood from under his fingernails, asked indifferently.


    ¡°May I know Your Excellency¡¯s full name?¡±


    ¡°John Jeska.¡±


    ¡°I am Alaric, a Chiliarch of the Haug Koda, or what you call a Chiliarch.¡±


    ¡°Pleased to meet you.¡±


    ¡°I am also honored to have crossed swords with Your Excellency.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska was passive, and the negotiation quickly came to a hasty end.


    Upon standing up from his bear skin, Alaric said coldly, ¡°Gentlemen, as we speak, the grains of sand in the hourglass are falling one by one. There isn¡¯t much time left for you.¡±


    ¡­


    On the way back to the main camp, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska suddenly asked, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne, what do you think?¡±


    Winters spoke frankly, ¡°If we hand over the supplies, will they really let us leave? I¡¯m not confident about it. But we do need to be prepared.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong to think that way,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska said disdainfully, ¡°If the Herders are so formidable, why don¡¯t they just come and attack us?¡±


    ¡°They probably just want our things¡­¡± Winters raised his eyebrow: ¡°Hmm, could it be?¡±


    ¡°Exactly what you¡¯re thinking. Do you think I¡¯m the one in a hurry, or are they more anxious?¡±


    The lieutenant pondered for a moment: ¡°It seems like that Herder is more hurried.¡±


    ¡°Exactly, he¡¯s so anxious he¡¯s about to wet his pants! And he has the audacity to ask us to surrender?¡±


    The lieutenant was puzzled, ¡°But didn¡¯t he say¡­¡±


    ¡°You believe him just because he said it?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska burst into laughter, ¡°I might as well say I¡¯m his father!¡±


    Winters, recalling the Herder¡¯s expression and behavior, couldn¡¯t help feeling irritated, ¡°That guy, was he lying to us without batting an eye?¡±


    ¡°In war, no tactic is unusual. Don¡¯t think the Herders are simple-minded, barbarians are the most cunning.¡± The lieutenant colonel instructed casually, ¡°Don¡¯t spread what that Herder said. If anyone asks, just say he was here to persuade us to surrender.¡±


    ¡­


    Beacons had already been lit, and the messengers for help had crossed the bridge early.


    The first thing Lieutenant Colonel Jeska did upon returning to camp was to interrogate the prisoners, while Winters went back to his troops to lead them in strengthening the defensive fortifications.


    The Paratu People, regardless of rank, were all working hard.


    The camp was backed by a large river and already had trenches and earthen walls, although the walls were not high and the trenches not deep.


    But with just a few hundred people in the camp, they could never dig up much earth, even if they worked themselves to death.


    After discussing it among a few officers, they decided not to expend effort on the walls or trenches, but instead to work on some more immediately effective measures.


    That¡¯s why everyone was working frantically to raise the height of the shooting towers and to collect lumber from within the camp to sharpen into stakes to repel Calvary.


    When Winters returned to his troop, he saw Andre, Bard, and a few others gathered together.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lieutenant Montaigne asked.


    Andre handed a matchlock gun to Winters, ¡°Look at this.¡±


    Winters caught it, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    This was an ordinary matchlock gun with a long wooden handle and a short iron barrel for firing.


    Winters noticed a detail: a long dagger was inserted into the barrel, turning the matchlock gun into a short spear.


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± Winters said thoughtfully.


    The dagger was tightly fitted, and it took some effort for him to pull it out. Holding it, he noticed that the dagger was crudely made, consisting of a strip of iron sandwiched between two pieces of softwood.


    ¡°This little contraption actually saved our lives today,¡± Bard said, patting a young man beside him, ¡°Baronna, tell Lieutenant Montaigne about it.¡±


    Baronna, very nervous, stuttered, ¡°This dagger, back in my hometown, Hunters use it when hunting boars. Sometimes when a boar isn¡¯t killed by a shot, Hunters insert the dagger into the gun, using it as a spear.¡±


    Winters reinserted the dagger into the matchlock gun and tried a few thrusts.


    Bard explained, ¡°There are quite a few merchants in the convoy who only have halberds. I thought this device could be useful, so I had the blacksmith make a few dozen. Normally, after firing a matchlock, all you have is a club, but with this, it can be used as a short spear. Today, it actually gave the Herders a little surprise.¡±


    ¡°Bard and I have been studying it,¡± Andre added, ¡°If we equip each matchlock man with one of these daggers, perhaps they can replace the pikemen.¡±


    Winters smiled faintly, handed the matchlock back to Baronna, and shook his head, ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Winters, who came from the infantry, reminded his two cavalry classmates, ¡°How light is a matchlock gun? How heavy is an arquebus?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The arquebus is heavy; the lighter ones weigh fifteen pounds, the heavier ones can weigh thirty pounds. They require a rest to shoot. How could you use that as a short spear? The weight of a pike is only five to ten pounds.¡±


    Andre, unconvinced, picked up an arquebus to try it out and then said no more.


    Actions speak louder than words; matchlock guns are too cumbersome and ill-balanced for combat, and they also have a short attack range.


    Even though they are held with both hands, one cannot thrust like a speargun, and the effective range is similar to that of a one-handed spear, merely an arm¡¯s length plus half the length of the gun.


    Affixing a dagger to the cumbersome matchlock to use as a short spear isn¡¯t as effective as wielding the gunstock in reverse to bludgeon someone.


    Winters added salt to the wound, ¡°Moreover, a spear is at least two and a half meters long. How long is a musket with a dagger attached? The spearman¡¯s role is to protect the shooter from cavalry charges; using a short spear against mounted gunmen is inherently at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°So this thing is useless?¡± Andre asked reluctantly.


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Winters thought for a moment and said, ¡°If the weight of the musket could be reduced to under ten jins, it would be of great use. Additionally, the musketeers must be brave enough to engage in close combat. Otherwise, I would still prefer to use halberds and spears to protect the shooters.¡±


    Andre couldn¡¯t help but protest, ¡°Then why not just make muskets that weigh under ten jins?¡±


    Winters replied helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as you say! To reduce the weight of the musket, you need a lighter barrel. If the barrel is light, the walls are thin. Aren¡¯t you afraid of a bursting chamber? Or loading less powder, which then lacks power.¡±


    ¡°In the end,¡± he summed up, ¡°we need better iron.¡±


    ¡­


    At midnight, under the obscured moonlight, the stars shone bright and clear.


    Only the sentries remained awake; everyone else in the riverside camp had long been asleep.


    Two silent figures, leading horses, quietly slipped out of the northern gate of the camp.


    The men bit on wooden sticks, the horses were fitted with iron bits, and Winters followed closely behind Colonel Jeska, communicating with each other solely through hand signals.


    The colonel insisted on not bringing guards, saying that the more people there were, the more likely that problems would arise.


    The two officers left the camp without a word, and to anyone unaware, it might seem like they were deserting.


    The night was still and quiet save for the sound of insects. Even the slightest noise could travel far.


    Winters and the strong-willed had all their metal objects wrapped in cloth, and so did the colonel. The two did not ride their horses but led them by the reins at a slow pace.


    Since the negotiations, Herder scouts had been roaming near the riverside camp, probing for weaknesses.


    The Herders¡¯ small horses were agile and good at jumping. Shooting them with muskets or crossbows proved ineffective. Send out Cavalry to engage, and the enemy would gallop away.


    Time and again this happened, much to the annoyance of the Paratu People.


    Winters¡¯ rifled gun had problems again¡ªthe rifling scraped the lead, losing accuracy. Thankfully, Berlion said he could fix it, and it had already been handed over to the blacksmith for repairs.


    Ancient laws stated, ¡°An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.¡±


    Taking advantage of the pitch-black night, the colonel, with Lieutenant Montaigne, prepared for a close reconnaissance mission.


    According to the colonel, he only brought Winters because, firstly, he had a good horse, and secondly, because he didn¡¯t suffer from night blindness.


    The Herder camp was separated from the Paratu military camp by a solitary hill.


    Jeska and Winters reached the top of the slope, already within the Herder sentries¡¯ patrol range.


    Beneath the slope, the Herder camp was ablaze with lights, busy with unknown activities.


    ¡°My eyes aren¡¯t as good anymore,¡± said the colonel lying on the ground, ¡°you count. Count how many campfires they have.¡±


    Winters, also prone on the ground, covered his left eye with one hand while focusing intently with his right on the distant fires.


    Jeska whispered to the lieutenant, ¡°When the Herders deploy, they form groups of ten. If it¡¯s really a Chiliarch, there must be at least fifty campfires at the least.¡±


    ¡°Commander, I¡¯ve counted up to eighty already!¡± Winters whispered back, pressing to keep his voice low.


    ¡°Did you count correctly?¡±


    ¡°Now it¡¯s up to ninety.¡±


    ¡°[Swear word related to sheep]¡± Colonel Jeska suddenly cursed, ¡°The steppe couldn¡¯t possibly come up with a ten-thousand-man team again, could it?¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Go, there¡¯s a scout rider coming!¡± The colonel got up, pulling on the lieutenant¡¯s clothes to drag him backward.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters did not budge, his eyes fixed on the distant camp. He, too, suddenly swore, ¡°[Swear word related to a sailor¡¯s mother]! The Herders are building siege engines!¡±


    ¡°Stop talking nonsense, let¡¯s go.¡±


    The two leapt onto their Warhorses and dashed toward the camp.


    Herder scouts sensed something amiss and gave chase for a while but fell behind, and eventually did not pursue further.


    Back at camp, Jeska asked the lieutenant, ¡°How many riders did we first encounter from the Herder group?¡±


    ¡°Nearly a hundred.¡±


    ¡°And the group outside the camp?¡±


    ¡°About two hundred.¡±


    ¡°Understand now?¡±


    Winters shook his head vigorously, ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    ¡°Herders aren¡¯t particular about uniform numbers,¡± Colonel Jeska said grimly. ¡°A Tulu might actually have only thirty or forty riders. A so-called Chiliarch might be well off if they have six hundred. But the groups of Tulu we encountered were all at full strength. This Haug, he likely also has full numbers.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°Herders are nomadic by family units, and their pastures can only support a limited number of people. When the men increase, they split the household, and so do the tribes. It¡¯s rare for a tribe to be able to send out more than a thousand able men for warfare all at once. If we¡¯re not incredibly unlucky to have encountered a major tribe en masse, then someone is calling the shots among the tribes.¡± Jeska gritted his teeth as he spoke, ¡°The last person with such authority¡­ was Khan Quyale, thirty years ago.¡±


    Winters wasn¡¯t born thirty years ago and wasn¡¯t a Paratu, so he couldn¡¯t fully empathize with Colonel Jeska¡¯s alarm.


    Right now, he was more concerned about the immediate crisis: ¡°Never mind this Khan Quyale for now, sir! The Herders are constructing siege weapons; that¡¯s the real threat!¡±

 Chapter 406: 48: Offense and Defense

    Chapter 406: Chapter 48: Offense and Defense


    While the Herders were hastily constructing siege engines through the night, another group of people thousands of miles away was also busy at work.


    On the main island of the Tanilia Archipelago, upstream on the Liujin River on the side controlled by the Venetians, a small fortress was being feverishly built.


    Spanning from west to east, the Liujin River divided the main island in half, with Golden Harbor, known for its prosperity and decadence, located on the southern bank of the river¡¯s estuary.


    The Liujin River served as a boundary, with the Venetians and The Federated Provinces each occupying half of the main island.


    At dawn, the sun had not yet peeked over the horizon.


    While Winters on the west bank of The Styx was anxiously awaiting the Herders¡¯ next move, the shape of the fortress by the Liujin River was already becoming apparent.


    The construction site of the fortress was only sparsely lit by scattered torches. As far as the eye could see, hundreds of soldiers were absorbed in digging trenches, and armed sentries were vigilantly guarding the area.


    ¡°Lieutenant Roy!¡± Colonel Evans, who was in charge of this operation, found his subordinate, ¡°As planned, after the trenches connect, you all will officially take your posts. Remember¡­¡±


    A piercing and shrill whistle sound interrupted Colonel Evans¡¯s words.


    A figure abruptly leaped out onto a clearing not far from the fortress, without any warning.


    The person roared, ¡°Da Weineta!¡±


    More people rose from the ground shouting, ¡°Kazar!¡±


    The people at the construction site ran for their weapons, and the sentries around the fortress opened fire, but they could not stop the Venetians from charging over the trenches with resounding battle cries.


    The Venetian soldiers, armed with clubs, lashed out at anyone they encountered, with only a few remembering the command to ¡°not hit the head.¡±


    The attackers came prepared, while the defenders were caught off guard. The Venetians swept through with an unstoppable momentum, all the way to the banks of the Liujin River.


    By the time General Serviati arrived at the scene, the fight was over.


    Apart from a few who swam away to escape, most of The Federated Provinces¡¯ soldiers were taken captive.


    The battered soldiers of The Federated Provinces were bound together in a line, squatting in the trenches awaiting their fate.


    Captain Juan, who led the surprise attack, brought a sword¡ªsheathed in sharkskin, with an ivory handle, and pearl decorations¡ªand handed it to the general.


    [Note: Last year¡¯s Lieutenant Juan had been promoted and transferred to the Third Legion.]


    ¡°Well done,¡± Antonio said as he took the sword, and ordered the captain, ¡°Release the prisoners and return their weapons and armor to them.¡±


    ¡°Return the captured weapons and armor as well?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Captain Juan, unable to accept it, protested, ¡°Sir, we also lost men!¡±


    ¡°Captain, absolute mercy or absolute cruelty¡ªthose are the only two choices,¡± Antonio patiently explained. ¡°We are still brothers in alliance with The Federated Provinces. Now that our goal has been achieved, there is no need to provoke them further. Execute the order.¡±


    Juan saluted and left without saying another word.


    Later, General Serviati met with Colonel Evans.


    Evans no longer possessed his earlier elegant demeanor. Now, disheveled and disordered, he looked utterly dejected.


    As he handed over the luxurious small sword, Antonio gently said, ¡°Colonel, I believe you have crossed the boundary.¡±


    Evans took the sword, avoiding the general¡¯s gaze, and muttered in return, ¡°We¡¯ve never drawn any lines with you. This land is now, and will continue to be, Tanyria province¡¯s territory.¡±


    Antonio did not argue but turned to instruct a guard, ¡°Bring Colonel Evans a horse.¡±


    ¡°No need! I have legs, I can walk,¡± Evans responded defiantly. ¡°Your excellency, I take my leave.¡±


    The Federated Provinces¡¯ colonel raised his hand in salute and strode into the line of prisoners.


    Behind them, Tang Juan¡¯s company of a hundred men took occupation of the fortress, picking up pickaxes and shovels to continue the work.


    ¡­


    The conflict by the Liujin River came to a temporary close, while on the west bank of The Styx, both sides were on the verge of coming to blows again.


    In the morning light, Chiliarch Alaric, clutching his helmet, once again approached the camp¡¯s gate.


    This time, neither side dismounted their horses for the meeting.


    Alaric asked directly, ¡°Gentlemen, what is your decision?¡±


    ¡°Still considering it,¡± Jeska replied, smacking her lips. ¡°But I¡¯ve thought of a solution that won¡¯t harm the atmosphere.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°We follow the ancient rites; a single mounted duel to determine the victor. You can send your fiercest warrior, and we¡¯ll send him.¡± Jeska casually pointed to a young lieutenant behind her, Montaigne. ¡°You see, this lad isn¡¯t some burly muscle-man; very fair deal, right?¡±


    The unexpectedly named Winters was completely astonished.


    Without a word, Alaric just sneered and rode away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Winters asked, puffing with annoyance.


    ¡°He¡¯s not going to agree. And even if he did, are you afraid of losing? Aren¡¯t you a spellcaster?¡±


    ¡°When did you find out¡­¡±


    Jeska snorted lightly, ¡°You might fool the laborers, but do you think you can fool me? Don¡¯t worry, if all else fails, we¡¯ll just burn the bridge and retreat to the East Bank.¡±


    ¡°Why not burn it now!¡± Winters pressed. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Burn it my ass!¡± Jeska lashed the lieutenant with a whip, ¡°There¡¯s only this one Floating Bridge across the river; what would the army up front do if we burned it?¡±


    The chill of winter was grim, and sudden violent winds arose. The howling west wind, laden with dry grass, made it hard to keep one¡¯s eyes open.


    Successive horn blasts came from a distance. Herd Barbarians, pushing various wooden machines, appeared on the horizon.


    In the camp, Father Caman and Brother Reed were leading everyone in their final prayers.


    The usually jovial and cursing old monk had transformed, his expression now exceptionally solemn and serious.


    Father Caman used a small brush soaked in Holy Water to sprinkle it onto the kneeling crowd.


    Moved by the atmosphere, Winters also knelt on one knee.


    As he looked at the image of Anna in the palm of his hand and the wooden carving of Athena, he thought, ¡°When faced with the inevitable, people instinctively seek help. If you can hear my heart, Anna, all I want is to return to your side.¡±

 Chapter 407: 48 Attack and Defense_2

    Chapter 407: Chapter 48 Attack and Defense_2


    The prayer ended, Winters buttoned up his pendant box, gently pressed it against his forehead, and carefully placed it back around his neck.


    Miles away in Sea Blue City, Anna Navarre woke up from a dream with tears unexpectedly sliding down the corner of her eyes.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    By noon, the Herders¡¯ third onslaught had been repelled. But they didn¡¯t retreat far, setting up camp just two hundred meters away to regroup.


    More than a dozen wagons lay within thirty steps of the western wall of the camp, riddled with bullet holes and arrows.


    The anti-cavalry stakes on the west side of the camp had been yanked chaotically out of the ground by Herd Cavalry with lassos.


    The Herders even dragged away the stakes they had pulled out, denying the Paratu People any chance to replant them.


    The central wooden hut of the camp was turned into a medical station, where seriously wounded Paratu People were brought in for treatment, while the lightly wounded were tended to at their posts.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Pierre shouted as he searched among the wounded and the dead, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne!¡±


    ¡°What is it, Mr. Mitchell?¡± Father Caman had just removed an arrow from a soldier and asked with displeasure at Dusack¡¯s ruckus.


    Amon the crowd, only Father Caman had received proper training in surgical medicine. Whether he liked it or not, he had to pick up the scalpel at this moment.


    ¡°The colonel sent me to find Lieutenant Montaigne!¡± Pierre exclaimed anxiously.


    As Caman was treating wounds without looking up, he responded, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne has washed his eyes; he¡¯s gone back already.¡±


    At the camp wall, Colonel Jeska had already personally found Lieutenant Montaigne.


    Winters, with bloodshot eyes, listened to the colonel and nodded repeatedly.


    In the previous battle, a panicking musketeer fired rashly just as he extended his gun over the lieutenant¡¯s shoulder.


    The loud bang made the lieutenant dizzy, the flame burned off half of his eyebrows, and the gunsmoke sprayed into his eyes, temporarily blinding him.


    Immediately, Xial and Berlion sent Winters to Caman to treat his injuries.


    Fortunately, there was no external wound, and after washing his eyes, Winters rushed back to the front line as soon as possible.


    The wagons previously abandoned by the baggage train now fell into enemy hands. The Herders nailed planks onto the wagons and filled the gaps with earth, using them for cover from bullets and arrows.


    Shielded by makeshift assault carts, Herd Cavalry switched to longbows and heavy arrows to get closer and exchange fire with the Paratu People, causing heavy casualties.


    The Paratu People, with only three one-pounder swivel guns, were helpless against the dirt carts.


    The officers deeply regretted not simply burning the abandoned wagons since they harbored a faint hope of ¡°picking the wagons back up for use later.¡±


    ¡°We need to burn those wagons.¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyes flashed with fury as he pointed to the big wagons outside the camp wall, ¡°You lead the way, take more kerosene, resin, and I will call the musketeers from other units to cover you.¡±


    ¡°Forget about it.¡± Winters laughed loudly, strapping on his helmet, ¡°I¡¯m more worried about getting killed by your musketeers!¡±


    The others around them burst into laughter along with him.


    Winters genuinely feared being hit in the back by some fool¡¯s bullet, but he had to appear fearless, because ¡°if the officer isn¡¯t scared, the soldiers won¡¯t be either.¡±


    Carrying the incendiaries, Winters led a few Dusack on horseback out of the camp gate.


    The Herders in the distance noticed the defenders¡¯ movements as well, a group of riders quickly mounted their saddles and closed in on Winters and his men.


    The swivel guns fired first, solid shot flying towards the Herd Cavalry and kicking up only a few clouds of dust.


    One of the cannonballs even whooshed over Winters, drenching the lieutenant in a cold sweat.


    The one-pounder cannon was the equipment of the Colins¡¯ company of a hundred men in the camp, which were all breech-loaded shell guns.


    Lieutenant Colin had no designated gunners under him, nor was he from the artillery branch. The three small cannons were purely ornamental and were never intended for actual combat.


    Getting to the wagons, Winters realized the Herd Barbarians weren¡¯t exactly fools.


    Each wagon had been drenched with water, the wood was thoroughly soaked, and even the earth between the planks was wet. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°These Barbarians are the craftiest!¡± the lieutenant couldn¡¯t help cursing.


    ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°Burn them!¡±


    Winters slapped his horse¡¯s hindquarters, and the animal glanced back at its master before conscientiously running towards the camp gate.


    The position was too close to the moat and wall, it made more sense to climb back over than to go through the gate.


    The kerosene and resin ignited upon contact, but the thoroughly soaked wood simply refused to catch fire.


    As the Herd Cavalry closed in swiftly, the musketeers and crossbowmen behind the camp wall opened fire.


    With the wagons within thirty steps from the wall, the Herders dared not approach too closely. Instead, they stood at a distance, firing arrows at the few men beside the wagons.


    The Herders¡¯ arrows were both fast and accurate, forcing the men to lie flat on the ground for cover.


    With eyes wide open, the lieutenant watched the flames on the wagons wane smaller and smaller, while his own fury burned even brighter.


    Winters patted Dusack beside him, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    They all ran towards the back, leaped over the trench, climbed the camp wall, and returned to the safety zone.


    ¡°They¡¯ve poured water on them,¡± the lieutenant took off his helmet, panting as he explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± Colonel Jeska frowned tightly but didn¡¯t blame the lieutenant, ¡°We will find another way.¡±


    ¡°I have a way!¡± Winters fought to control his breathing, eyes blazing with fury, ¡°Give me the iron bombs!¡±


    Iron bombs were cans filled with black gunpowder, extremely heavy but often effective in siege defense. The camp also had a stockpile.


    The lieutenant asked for iron bombs, but the people in the camp didn¡¯t understand why.


    ¡°Give me the iron bombs!¡± the lieutenant was almost shouting, ¡°And shovels!¡±


    His soldiers hurriedly brought several iron cans tied with rope.


    With a shovel in hand and four iron lumps weighing about twenty pounds in total, the lieutenant climbed back over the wall amidst exclamations of surprise from everyone.


    Not only the Paratu People but this time even the Herders were taken aback.

 Chapter 408: 48 Attack and Defense_3

    Chapter 408: Chapter 48 Attack and Defense_3


    ¡°`


    The Herders¡¯ cavalry had already been retreating when halfway through, they spotted an armored warrior scaling the wall and reluctantly turned back.


    Winters swung his iron shovel, digging through the mud between the planks.


    Disarmed Herders shot arrows from the ground, relying on their sturdy armor, and Winters ignored them. Gunners behind the rampart and on the shooting platforms also opened fire in support.


    Due to a twist of fate, although the opponent didn¡¯t dodge or evade, the Herders¡¯ archers kept missing by a hair¡¯s breadth.


    The burly leader of the Herders, infuriated by the sight, leapt down from his saddle and pushed the other bowmen aside with a surge of anger.


    ¡°Bow!¡± the Herder chieftain bellowed. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A nearby cavalryman with red plumes took out an iron-spined bow and respectfully presented it.


    The Herder chieftain stood his ground, let out a roar, and fully drew the iron-spined recurve bow with a creaking sound as the bow flexed and the string stretched to its limit.


    With intense concentration, he experienced an epiphany at that moment and released the catch.


    This arrow, as if blessed by the gods, flew like a shooting star toward the distant Paratu armored warrior, striking him squarely in the helmet.


    A crisp sound of metal striking metal ensued, and the Paratu armored warrior fell off the carriage.


    ¡°Khosh Hazee! Khosh Hazee!¡± The Herders¡¯ riders burst into exhilarated cheers, shouting the name of the man who shot the astonishing arrow.


    On the other side of the rampart, the Paratu people fell disturbingly silent.


    Khosh Hazee¡ªthe burly man raised on horse milk, laughed heartily, tossed the iron-spined bow to the cavalryman with red plumes and turned to walk to his warhorse.


    The iron-spined bow had been bent out of shape.


    Suddenly, the Herders stopped their chants, and instead, shouts of joy erupted from the Paratu people behind the earthen wall.


    Khosh Hazee turned around, shocked to see the armored warrior climbing back onto the carriage.


    ¡°Go fuck yourself!¡± the armored warrior shouted, discarding his glove and gesturing offensively.


    The warrior¡¯s battle cry echoed powerfully across the battlefield.


    With roaring laughter, the Paratu people also joined in the armored warrior¡¯s shout: ¡°Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself! Go fuck yourself!¡±


    The collective yells of hundreds formed one voice that resounded over the desolate plains, reaching the highest skies.


    Even the birds by the riverbank were startled, taking flight from the reeds in flocks.


    The morale of the Paratu people skyrocketed at that moment.


    Khosh Hazee¡¯s face turned red, then white, and finally a shade of blue.


    He couldn¡¯t understand what the other side was shouting, but the message was clearly conveyed.


    The irate and anxious cavalier with red plumes drew his sword, mounted his horse, and was about to engage in a desperate fight with the armored warrior.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Khosh Hazee, pale as iron, held back the cavalier: ¡°That guy is waiting for you!¡±


    Winters buried the shell casing into the muddy gaps of the carriage, covering it again with soil.


    The fuse of the shell was wrapped in hemp rope, not worried about moisture in the short term.


    He lit the fuse and ran far away.


    After a few muffled blasts, the carriage blew apart. The layered soil where it was filled was completely destroyed, the debris even hurling into the barracks.


    Despite some remaining fragments of the carriage, it was no longer feasible to use it as cover.


    Winters climbed over the trench and wall, flung his dented helmet to the ground, and, gasping for breath, roared, ¡°Bring it on!¡±


    After sprinting back and forth in three-quarter armor, he was on the verge of hyperventilating. The only reason he stubbornly refused to sit was the fear that once he did, he might never stand again.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, you don¡¯t have to go,¡± said Colonel Jeska with a stern face: ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone else to take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°I will take people there,¡± Bard, who had arrived at the scene, offered calmly. After a pause, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s for blasting, there¡¯s no need for shell casings. We can use a whole barrel of gunpowder instead.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯ll work, do it,¡± the colonel decided: ¡°Lieutenant Fulmontane, go rest.¡±


    What Jeska¡¯s supply regiment didn¡¯t lack was gunpowder.


    Berlion and Heinrich carried the Centurion towards the camp.


    Winters tried to shake them off, but the arrow he had taken earlier made him dizzy and nauseous to the point of being unable to break free.


    Soldiers, militiamen, laborers, and traders wordlessly gathered next to Lieutenant Montaigne, reaching out to touch his armor, hair, skin, and extending their salutations.


    The Paratu people shared in the lieutenant¡¯s courage, will, and fortune this way, also using it to express their respect.


    Colonel Jeska murmured with a wry smile, ¡°Is this bravery or recklessness?¡±


    Xial, standing nearby, answered proudly and loudly, ¡°Of course it¡¯s bravery! Lieutenant Montaigne is known as ¡®Blood Man Montaigne¡¯ in Vineta, the most valiant officer in the city!¡±


    The surrounding Paratu people exclaimed in surprise.


    ¡°¡®Blood Man¡¯ what a hell of a nickname. It isn¡¯t flattering,¡± Colonel Jeska shook his head and casually suggested: ¡°How about ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯? Looking at him¡­ He really does seem like he has wolf blood surging in his chest.¡±


    [Blood Wolf Montaigne: Wolf Blood Montagne]


    ¡°`

 Chapter 409: 49 Reinforcements

    Chapter 409: Chapter 49 Reinforcements


    The enemy was not some mere brave yet foolhardy barbarians¡ªWinters became increasingly certain of this that afternoon.


    With the Styx army camp positioned to the east of the great river, taking the terrain into account, an attack should be launched from the south and north sides.


    The uneven terrain along the riverbanks restricted the defending force¡¯s shooting range.


    The river was still in its winter low-water period; the exposed riverbed was a natural road leading directly to the Floating Bridge.


    Putting himself in the shoes of the Herders, Winters thought that if he were commanding them, he would feign an attack on the western wall while focusing the main attack on the southern and northern walls.


    At the same time, a force of elite troops would be positioned in the dry riverbed, ready to strike a sudden blow through the Floating Bridge and the eastern gate to surround the troops inside the camp once the battle reached its peak.


    Caught between attacks from inside and out, the defending soldiers would certainly descend into disorder. Considering the disparity in numbers between the two forces, casualties sustained in taking down the camp would not exceed thirty percent.


    Not only did Winters think so, but the other officers thought similarly. Due to similar tactical training, the thought patterns of several officers were more or less identical.


    Consequently, the camp¡¯s defenses were arranged based on this thinking.


    Originally, a hundred-man squad of the Standing Army was stationed in the Styx base camp to defend the southern wall. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was responsible for defending the north wall, Andre for the west, and Bard¡¯s temporaily armed personnel for the eastern gate.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska led the Cavalry squadron, providing discretionary support wherever needed.


    Above the dry riverbed, Winters and his men dug out over a thousand horse traps overnight.


    The horse traps were about the size of a molehill, deep enough to reach a horse¡¯s shin. Hammer a stake into the ground, pull it out, and a trap was made.


    The effect was incredibly malicious; a horse at full gallop stepping into one would at the very least sprain its hoof, if not break its leg.


    Normally, nobody would use such a tactic because horses were precious spoils of war. But in desperate times one must first ensure survival before considering the extent of the bounty.


    The defending soldiers took up their duties, standing ready for the battle to come.


    However, to the surprise of all the officers, the Herders neither feigned attack nor split their forces, nor did they attack from the south and north. Instead, they focused their ferocious assault on the western wall.


    The west side of the camp featured a continuous downhill slope, which seemed ideal for the charge of the Cavalry. In reality, it was akin to a shooting range.


    The defenders had an unobstructed view with no blind spots.


    The enemies¡¯ attack from the west was precisely what the Paratu People, armed with an abundance of long-range weapons, hoped for.


    Yet the Herd Barbarians stubbornly pushed their shield carts from the west and attacked.


    As soon as the battle commenced, Andre, in charge of defending the western wall, immediately noticed something was amiss.


    The wind!


    The wind was coming from the wrong direction!


    Generally, in the spring and summer, the wind blows from the east between the two mountains¡ªan easterly wind from the Senas Sea toward the inland, bringing precipitation and moisture.


    But with the onset of autumn and winter, the wind would shift direction, blowing from the highlands toward the sea, with westerly winds sweeping over the land.


    The Herders pushed their shield carts all the way to within twenty or so steps of the camp walls, even as close as fifteen steps. Using large carts filled with soil as cover, they shot arrows downwind, both accurate and ruthless.


    Once Andre¡¯s gunmen opened fire, the gunpowder smoke was blown back by the westerly winds. It not only choked soldiers, causing sore throats and stinging eyes, but it also severely obstructed their view.


    With the defending archers suppressed by strong bows and heavy arrows, Herder light Cavalry with lassos came howling in. The caltrops outside the camp wall were lassoed, pulled out, and dragged away one after another.


    The Styx base camp was a field camp that could accommodate tens of thousands of troops; with the defending side short-staffed, Andre¡¯s hundred or so men couldn¡¯t even fill the western wall¡¯s firing platforms.


    Without even dividing their forces or making probing attacks, the Herders savagely tore at a few points, and the Chellini hundred-man team immediately found the pressure unbearable.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska urgently summoned the Colin and Montaigne hundred-man teams for reinforcement at the western wall.


    In the first assault, bold Herder Cavalry scaled the camp walls, only to be quickly surrounded and killed.


    In the second assault, the Herders pushed up several small traction trebuchets and began bombarding the defensive firing positions.


    Winters had never imagined he would witness the return of trebuchets to the battlefield with his own eyes.


    But the defense, with only a few inaccurate rotary cannons, really had no answer to the trebuchets.


    Andre made a charge with his Cavalry but was intercepted by the well-prepared Herders.


    In the third attack, the Herders patiently sniped at musketeers, cleared away all the caltrope stakes, and inflicted casualties on the firing platforms.


    Their composure in advance and retreat was like that of skilled butchers deftly boning meat.


    Although the camp wall had yet to be truly breached, Winters could sense that the morale of his own militia was nearing its breaking point.


    At noon, the military officers held a meeting in the camp.


    ¡°Next time, the Herd Barbarians will get serious,¡± Jeska said with a grim expression.


    ¡°The afternoon will be even harder to fight,¡± Bard calmly pointed to the sun. ¡°The light is against us.¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that in the morning, the Herders had the wind at their backs but the sun in their eyes. After noon, both sunlight and wind direction would be unfavorable to their side.


    ¡°The light and wind are secondary,¡± Winters frowned deeply. ¡°I¡¯m worried that once the Herders break into the camp walls, the morale of the militia and those makeshift armed merchants will collapse.¡±


    Defending a live position was more difficult than defending a fixed position.


    The past two battles had been fought in formation on the vast plains, where there was no escape, and everyone could only fight desperately to survive.


    But now, with the Floating Bridge just behind the large camp, offering a route across the Styx, safety was a stone¡¯s throw away.


    Across the river, destroy the bridge, and everyone is safe.


    A way of survival was laid out right before their eyes, and no one could resist being tempted.


    ¡°We might as well¡­¡± Andre bit his lip and said, ¡°Just cross the river.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Lieutenant Colin firmly refused, raising his voice. ¡°Whoever dares to touch the Floating Bridge, they¡¯ll have to step over my dead body first!¡±


    Although their time together was brief, Colin Victor¡¯s meticulousness made a deep impression on Winters.


    At the other campsites along the way, which after collecting camping fees paid no mind to the merchants, it was only Lieutenant Colin¡¯s camp to the west of the river that showed no favoritism and strictly forbade any outsiders from entering.

 Chapter 410: 49 Reinforcements_2

    Chapter 410: Chapter 49 Reinforcements_2


    However, the typically reticent Lieutenant Colin was now so agitated that his face turned red and his ears reddened.


    [Note: In Paratu naming convention, the family name comes first, followed by the given name. The so-called ¡°glorious tradition¡± of the Paratu People is actually a legacy of the Herders.]


    The lieutenant spoke vehemently, and Andre¡¯s temper flared, ¡°If the floating bridge is that important, then why did they only leave your company of a hundred to guard it? If they¡¯d left a battalion, would we need to fight to the death?¡±


    Colin was temporarily at a loss for words, struggling for a while before saying, ¡°Originally, there was a battalion.¡±


    ¡°Where are they?¡±


    ¡°The chief tents have already retreated two hundred kilometers to the west! Who could have expected the Herders to appear here, now?¡±


    Andre glared with anger, questioning resentfully, ¡°You ¡®thought¡¯ the Herders wouldn¡¯t come, so you moved the battalion away?¡±


    Colin shouted in frustration, ¡°Higher-ups were urgently requesting troops, I¡¯m just a centurion, what could I do? I opposed the transfer of the troops, but tell me! What could I do?¡±


    Before the Herders even attacked, it looked as if the defenders would begin infighting first.


    ¡°Enough! Shut up!¡± Colonel Jeska roared.


    Andre and Colin immediately fell silent, sitting back down on their stools and glowering at each other.


    Jeska sighed, pointing at Lieutenant Colin, ¡°Others are fighting for glory at the front, while he¡¯s guarding the bridge at the rear. He¡¯s already in such a state himself, what could he do when orders come down?¡±


    On hearing this, Colin froze, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.


    Andre¡¯s face turned pale, as if he were reminded of the situation of his comrades in Vineta, and his anger dissipated.


    ¡°The bridgehead fortress must be defended,¡± Jeska set the tone, ¡°until it can be defended no longer.¡±


    The meeting fell silent for a moment.


    ¡°The Republic hasn¡¯t treated me that well. I served overseas for twelve years, not a day without resentment,¡± the colonel smacked his lips, his attitude as indifferent as always. ¡°But without it, my family would still be enslaved as serfs for the landowners. Without it, I would be either robbing or had been hanged already. So we have to defend this bridge until we can no longer defend it.¡±


    Lieutenant Colin stood up and saluted the colonel solemnly.


    ¡°As for you few.¡± Jeska looked at Winters and the others with his one good eye. ¡°Paratu has only grievances with you, no favors. Strictly speaking, you owe nothing, but by some twist of fate you¡¯re under my command¡­¡±


    The colonel stood up and bowed deeply to the three lieutenants, ¡°I owe you an apology.¡±


    The lieutenants dared not accept such a gesture, hastily stepping away from their seats.


    ¡°You only need to hold until I fall in battle,¡± Jeska said, pulling a letter from his chest, his expression solemn, ¡°After my death, you¡¯re to return directly to Paratu. This letter will prove you did not desert in the face of the enemy, but retreated following my orders.¡±


    Winters and Andre were at a loss for what to do. Bard took the letter silently, saluting the colonel.


    After arranging for the aftermath, the colonel began to reorganize the defenses.


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s standing army company was reassigned to the west wall, responsible for defending the most critical position.


    Bard was in charge of organizing the wagons, while the others were responsible for covering Colin¡¯s flanks, leaving only sentries on the other three sides of the camp walls.


    ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne.¡± Jeska finally called Winters¡¯ name.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re in charge of arranging the barrels of gunpowder on the bridge. If it becomes untenable, destroy it,¡± the colonel said coldly, ¡°In any case, the Herder cavalry must not cross the bridge.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen, carry out your duties. Victory or defeat is yet unknown,¡± Jeska revealed a rare hint of a smile, ¡°What if reinforcements arrive after all?¡±


    The door to the plank room burst open, and Xial, breathless from running, yelled out, ¡°Reinforcements! The reinforcements are here!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The West Camp was bustling with activity, men chasing from behind and pigs running ahead, tents being knocked over one by one. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The free-range castrated pigs were fat and strong, too much for even two adults to hold down. Especially when they were hungry castrated pigs¡­ over a hundred of them.


    Seeing the pigs running amok through the camp, Colonel Jeska¡¯s nose twisted in irritation.


    ¡°Reinforcements?¡± Colonel Jeska seldom lost his composure, seizing Xial and bellowing, ¡°This is your reinforcements?¡±


    ¡°They really are reinforcements from the east,¡± Xial said in his own defense, ¡°but how was I to know they were driving so many pigs over here?¡±


    A man with half his face covered in a dark red birthmark was leading people to catch pigs within and outside of the military camp, with even more pigs crossing the bridge behind him.


    Winters arrived at the floating bridge to investigate and was surprised to find the pig herder was an ¡°old acquaintance.¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Mason?¡±


    ¡­


    As the person responsible for the penal labor ranch, Richard Mason had been ordered to escort the livestock.


    The Paratu People in the West Camp did not receive the long-awaited reinforcements, but instead Lieutenant Mason¡¯s convict laborers and over three hundred pigs.


    ¡°Defend? Defend my ass!¡± Lieutenant Mason turned pale upon learning the situation, ¡°Why wait? Why not run?¡±


    Winters was frantic, ¡°Never mind defending, just get these pigs out first, the camp is in disarray!¡±


    A series of urgent bell tolls rang out, signaling an agreed-upon alert.


    ¡°The Herd Barbarians are coming!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    As the Herder cavalry slowly approached with their siege engines, the oppressive atmosphere made it difficult for the defenders to breathe.


    At the West Camp¡¯s wall at the artillery positions, the exasperated Lieutenant Mason was attempting to gauge distance using the jumping eye method.


    ¡°Will it work?¡± Winters asked anxiously.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Mason snapped irritably, ¡°Or you try it.¡±


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you an artilleryman?¡±


    ¡°After spending years with pigs, I¡¯ve damn well forgotten everything! This cannon doesn¡¯t even have a firing chart, what¡¯s the point!¡± Mason cursed as he adjusted the gun¡¯s elevation, ¡°Fire a trial shot.¡±


    ¡­


    The convict laborers, the pigs, and Lieutenant Mason himself were all conscripted by Colonel Jeska.

 Chapter 411: 49: Reinforcements_3

    Chapter 411: Chapter 49: Reinforcements_3


    Colonel Jeska flatly rejected Lieutenant Mason¡¯s request to ¡°evacuate the pigs to the other side of the river.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about crossing people now, let alone a single pig. My men will run away if they see that,¡± the colonel fumed with frustration: ¡°Once in camp, no one is allowed to leave!¡±


    The pigs were herded into the dry riverbed, the pig herders turned stretcher-bearers, and Lieutenant Mason became the gunner. Andre stood by the Floating Bridge, ready to strike down anyone who dared to cross.


    ¡­


    The red-hot charcoal was applied to the touchhole, and with a thunderous boom, the cannon shuddered violently.


    The news that the gunner lieutenant was coming to the rescue with pigs had spread throughout the camp, and the defenders eagerly anticipated it, holding their breath as they watched intently.


    Then they watched the cannonball trace an arc over the Herders¡¯ heads and land on the hillside behind them.


    Behind the trench wall, there was dead silence; the shot had strayed too far, and Winters, too, was shocked as he looked at the gunner lieutenant. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are you dazed for! Switch the Chamber!¡± Mason barked sharply, continuing to prop up the cannon¡¯s breech.


    Before the others could react, the man with the birthmark had deftly removed the spent Chamber and replaced it with a new one.


    The breech-loading cannon might not have the most power, but its firing rate was unquestionably fast.


    Another roar of thunder, and this time the shot was closer to the mark. The cannonball crashed into the back ranks of the Herders¡¯ Cavalry, and it seemed someone was unhorsed.


    ¡°Fire again!¡±


    This time, the cannonball flew directly into the crowd. The defenders¡¯ artillery grew increasingly accurate, and the Herders began to panic.


    Finally, after several trial shots, a cannonball scored a direct hit on a catapult.


    The two-pound iron ball with tremendous kinetic energy shattered the hastily assembled wooden siege engine, putting one of the Herders¡¯ catapults completely out of commission.


    The troops behind the earthen wall vigorously beat their weapons against their shields, shouting cheers of encouragement.


    The three revolving cannons had a total of twelve Chambers.


    With each shot fired by Lieutenant Mason, the Paratu People shouted in unison.


    The twelve Chambers were quickly exhausted, and amid the sound of trumpets, the Herders charged towards the fortification wall.


    ¡°Bring me the lead shot!¡± Mason, his hair and eyebrows filled with gunpowder smoke, shouted exhilaratedly: ¡°Today the Herd Barbarians will taste our grapes!¡±


    ¡­


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s Standing Army company of a hundred men bore the first brunt of the charge.


    The fortification wall was built slightly taller than a man from the earth dug out when creating the trenches, with a half-meter high step behind it for soldiers to stand on.


    The Herders¡¯ Cavalry quickly filled a few trenches with earth.


    Herders climbed over the trenches, while soldiers holding halberds stabbed downward from above.


    It was the first close-quarters combat between the attackers and defenders¡ªshouts, screams, and cries of agony were incessant.


    The militia positioned at the zigzag-shaped fortification walls fired outwards, while the Herders returned fire with arrows.


    The distance was so close that the Herders¡¯ archers aimed for the face; getting hit by an arrow meant certain death or severe injury.


    At this close range, their lamellar armor offered no protection against the defenders¡¯ muskets.


    A Herder who leaped down from the wall landed on the points of halberds, killed on the spot. But more Herders followed, clambering over the fortification wall.


    The fight turned into hand-to-hand combat.


    Only at this moment did the militia understand what ¡°Standing Army¡± meant.


    The soldiers clad in half-armor and wielding halberds looked like iron men from afar; the Herders had to pull them down before they could kill them.


    Lieutenant Colin, distinguished by the special crest on his helmet, drew the attention of the Herders; they were determined to surround and kill this Paratu warrior, staking their lives on it.


    Lieutenant Colin and his soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder, roaring as they slaughtered one Herder after another scaling the wall.


    But the number of halberdiers around Colin dwindled, as more and more Herders amassed.


    Above the gate, Xial asked anxiously, ¡°Should we go help them?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± the ensign replied with a stern expression, ¡°The Herders¡¯ advantage lies in their width of attack. If they only knew how to hit hard in one spot, this battle would¡¯ve been won by now. They have to rely on themselves¡­ as do we.¡±


    The defenders were too few, and the camp was too extensive; the troops simply couldn¡¯t control the entire fortification wall.


    Sure enough, a dense mass of Herders¡¯ Cavalry split into two groups, flanking both sides of the fortification.


    Winters muttered to himself, ¡°Now, it¡¯s our turn.¡±

 Chapter 412: 50: Breaking the Defense

    Chapter 412: Chapter 50: Breaking the Defense


    Chiliarch Alaric sat on the ground, silently staring at the nearby Bridgehead Fortress.


    One after another, Herder warriors climbed over the camp walls and disappeared from view.


    No one knew what was happening on the other side of the low earthen wall, they could only see puffs of gunsmoke rising and the only sounds reaching their ears were the piercing screams and wails.


    A few blood-covered Herders crawled out from within the walls, and others by the trench began to run back, a defeated Tulu among them.


    Alaric waved his hand, and another Tulu ran towards The Styx, yelling as he went.


    Behind Haug Koda, more than a hundred heavily armored Herder warriors likewise sat on the ground. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were gathering their energy, waiting to strike the final blow.


    ¡­


    The desperation of the Paratu People inside the West Camp grew.


    The savage Herd Barbarians piled corpses to climb the walls, eight centurions took turns in the fight, not giving the defenders any chance to breathe.


    The southwest side of the camp wall had been dug out by the Herders, creating a breach over ten meters wide, only temporarily held by Bard with a barricade of wagons and the support of Montaigne¡¯s troops.


    Paratu soldiers, clutching their weapons, slumped against the walls; as Winters walked past them, those still alive nodded silently to the lieutenant in respect.


    As Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the faces of the young men he had brought from Wolf Town, a thought suddenly took hold: they couldn¡¯t hold out here.


    The fall of a city begins when hope is shattered.


    A mood of despair spread throughout the camp, and the fighting spirit of the Paratu People was rapidly disintegrating.


    But Winters could not blame anyone; to him, the fact that this militia had held out thus far was a miracle.


    A month ago, they were but a group of conscripted farmers, doing grunt work like laborers, earning less than half the laborers¡¯ wages.


    Now, they were trapped in the Bridgehead Fortress, fighting off thousands of ferocious Herd Barbarians in turn.


    Winters clenched his teeth hard, a thought echoing in his mind, ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡±


    The death knell rang out once more.


    ¡°Barbarians!¡± The soldier atop the watchtower yelled hoarsely, ¡°They¡¯re coming to the breach!¡±


    Winters climbed onto the earthen rampart to look out over the wall.


    At last, the Herders, too, had lost patience, and Alaric¡¯s own unit finally mobilized.


    There were only a few hundred cavalrymen, but their charge was like a towering tidal wave. The horse hooves kicked up dust that obscured the sky, and even the ground seemed to tremble.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s cavalry and Lieutenant Colin¡¯s remnants hastened toward the breach in the camp wall.


    However, the breach at the wall became too much for the militiamen to bear; one man threw down his weapon and turned to run, and the rest broke and fled en masse.


    Winters shouted, trying to stop them, but he couldn¡¯t halt the collapse of their will.


    The approaching Colonel Jeska was furious, and Winters heard his roar from afar, ¡°Montaigne! Purge the deserters!¡±


    Winters made no move.


    ¡°Purge the deserters!¡±


    Winters drew his cavalry saber and caught up to the deserter who was running in the lead.


    He recognized the deserter; he knew the man¡¯s father, had seen his mother, his sister. He had sat at the deserter¡¯s family table, warmed himself by a campfire alongside the deserter.


    When the deserter looked back at him, Winters saw Vashka¡¯s face, terror-stricken.


    The moment the cavalry saber swung down, Winters trembled. He twisted the blade, and the flat of the sword struck the back of Vashka¡¯s head.


    Vashka fell to the ground, life or death unknown.


    The harsh action momentarily stunned the fleeing masses.


    ¡°If you run now, everyone dies!¡± Winters reined in his horse, bellowing out, ¡°Return to the line!¡±


    Colonel Jeska arrived with the Dusacks, and the Cavalry mercilessly drove the deserters back to the breach in the camp wall.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The attack from the Herd cavalry was eventually repelled, leaving dozens of bodies between the wagon barricade and the camp wall.


    The battle lasted from dawn until dusk. Having witnessed the defeat of their elite Tulu, the Herders slowly withdrew.


    But everyone knew that the Herd Barbarians were only retreating temporarily, licking their wounds, regrouping.


    When tomorrow came, nothing could stop them from overtaking the West Camp.


    After the Herders retreated, the merchants with the supply convoy requested to move their carts to the other side of the river; Colonel Jeska refused.


    ¡°It¡¯s not entirely hopeless!¡± Lieutenant Colin murmured to himself during the meeting, his head in his hands, ¡°The Herd Barbarians are just one Chiliarch unit. We have over six hundred people; if we defend the camp and fight two to one, how can we not win?¡±


    Winters, unable to bear it any longer, interrupted angrily, ¡°That¡¯s not six hundred Standing Army men, that¡¯s farmers! Cart drivers! Merchants! Face reality, Lieutenant! If we can¡¯t hold it, we can¡¯t hold it!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jeska looked at his subordinate.


    Winters stood up, after a great struggle with himself, he said, ¡°I want to take my men across the river.¡±


    Colin looked up in surprise; he heard the lieutenant¡¯s tone firm and calm, yet he saw the shadow on the wall flaring like a wild beast in a dance.


    Jeska pursed his lips, leaned back in his chair, and squinted his eyes at the other two lieutenants, ¡°What about you two?¡±


    Winters spoke first, ¡°They have nothing to do with this.¡±


    ¡°They have mouths,¡± Jeska said coldly.


    Bard rested his sword on his lap, speaking at an even pace, ¡°What Lieutenant Montaigne says is what I say.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± Andre replied in a muffled voice.


    Colin got up in a daze, the poor honest man wanted to say something, but he couldn¡¯t open his mouth.


    ¡°Thinking of mutiny? Go ahead,¡± Colonel Jeska scoffed, resting his boots on the table, ¡°Kill me.¡±


    The temperature in the room suddenly dropped to freezing.

 Chapter 413: 50: Breaking the Defense_2

    Chapter 413: Chapter 50: Breaking the Defense_2


    Colin clutched at Winters¡¯s sleeve, almost begging, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t do this¡­¡±


    ¡°Shh!¡± Winters signaled his senior to be silent. ¡°Don¡¯t speak, don¡¯t ask. If there¡¯s blame later, just say I held you hostage.¡±


    The lieutenant¡¯s gaze was piercing as he stared at the captain, ¡°Or would you rather die?¡±


    Colin shivered and groped his way back to his chair.


    ¡°Whatever the obligation, my men have more than fulfilled it.¡± Winters seemed to be speaking to the colonel, but it was more like convincing himself, ¡°They are civilians paid half a ration, not the Standing Army who willingly eats the military¡¯s grain. I won¡¯t let them die for a fort we can¡¯t hold.¡±


    Jeska gently shook her head and said, ¡°I told you long ago not to have personal feelings for your soldiers. To Paratu, this Floating Bridge is more important than ten thousand militiamen¡¯s lives. Don¡¯t you understand that?¡±


    ¡°Fuck you! You think I give a damn about the fucking Paratu?¡± Winters suddenly erupted. ¡°I care about this bridge? I care about winning or losing? I¡¯ve wanted to do this for a long time! You think I care about your bullshit?¡±


    He grabbed at his shirt front, hysterically asking, ¡°You think I want to fight for you? You think I care about this uniform?¡±


    In a fit of rage, Montaigne punched the wall, shaking the wooden hut slightly, and breaking the wooden plank in half.


    Jeska was also stunned by the sudden outburst and sighed, ¡°Kill me if you want, it¡¯s all up to you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saving both your lives,¡± Winters declared as he unbuckled the colonel¡¯s and captain¡¯s swords and threw them to Bard, ¡°You can blame me for everything afterward, I will not refute.¡±


    Leaving Bard to guard the two, Winters and Andre left the wooden hut.


    After exiting the door, Andre grabbed hold of Winters.


    ¡°If you ask me, we should just¡­¡± Andre made a throat-slitting gesture, ¡°Throw them into the river and explain it however we want.¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Not necessary; after crossing the river, I¡¯m returning to Vineta. I miss home, too.¡±


    ¡°Not going to kill them?¡±


    ¡°Not going to kill them.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± Andre sighed, resigned, ¡°Fine, when we get back home we can see if there¡¯s any small business to start.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank what?¡± Andre showed a row of teeth, ¡°I would take a knife in the ribs for you.¡±


    ¡­


    That night, Lieutenant Montaigne took command of Jeska¡¯s regiment.


    The army camp on the west side of the river began to retreat in an orderly fashion. The wounded left first, followed by the baggage train, and Winters also took the bodies of the fallen with him.


    To avoid being discovered by Herd scouts, they didn¡¯t light any lamps or start any fires during the entire process. The men and horses moved silently, and any equipment that could reflect light was carefully wrapped in burlap.


    Lieutenant Mason seemed to suspect something, but he didn¡¯t say a word.


    There wasn¡¯t enough time to dismantle the Floating Bridge, so they simply used explosives for Blasting. The baggage train was well-stocked with gunpowder, and there were several Blasting Points on the bridge ready to be ignited at any moment.


    Winters led Colin¡¯s decimated hundred-man troop to cover the rear, setting up the final barricade of wagons at the head of the bridge.


    He didn¡¯t rashly destroy the Floating Bridge; this supply line that spanned The Styx was of great importance, and to blow it up could mean sentencing the Paratu People at the front to death.


    Winters waiting for the Herders¡¯ final assault.


    ¡­


    The dawn revealed a blue sky, cloudless and clear.


    It was a good day for slaughter.


    Alaric, who was arranging his troops, gradually sensed something was off.


    Looking down from the western hillside, the Paratu camp was lifeless, and behind the dirt walls, there were no people in sight.


    A ruse? Or had the two-legged fools fled?


    Yet, in the distance, the Floating Bridge remained intact across The Styx. If they had fled, why not burn the bridge?


    The Chiliarch called for cavalry scouts, but the watchtower was just as clueless about the strange happenings in the enemy camp.


    ¡°Regardless of the two-legged fools¡¯ plans,¡± Alaric made up his mind, ¡°Today we must take the camp!¡±


    ¡­


    On the barricade at the bridgehead, Winters saw the Herd men moving down from the hillside.


    They were no longer attacking in turns or separate waves, but all Herd Cavalry charged at once.


    It seemed the Herd men were no longer interested in wearing down the defenders; they wanted a decisive engagement.


    ¡°You guys go first,¡± Winters ordered the others.


    The soldiers saluted and turned to run towards the opposite bank.


    Winters wanted to wait until the last moment.


    The Herd Cavalry was getting closer, and in a blink, they had charged down the hillside.


    Winters jumped down from the barricade, riding a sturdy horse towards the first Blasting Point.


    The reserved fuse had a longer tail, and Winters estimated the time briefly before chopping the fuse in half with his sword.


    As the moment approached, he became increasingly calm and composed.


    The Herd Cavalry had now breached the camp walls.


    ¡°That Herd Barbarian who speaks the mainland language is probably going to die of anger,¡± Winters thought as he lit the fuse.


    The fuse, wrapped in rope, began to sizzle as it burned.


    Winters stepped on the stirrup and vaulted onto the saddle, preparing to move to the next Blasting Point, when he saw Andre charging toward him.


    ¡°What is this about?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    He waved his hand, signaling Andre to leave, but Andre ignored the gesture and continued to approach.


    Winters saw Andre¡¯s mouth wide open as if he was shouting something.


    But with the west wind howling, he couldn¡¯t hear what the other was saying at all.


    Only when the distance closed did the shouting carried by the wind reach his ears in fragments.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Blast¡­¡±


    Winters looked back and his expression changed dramatically. He rolled off the horse and hacked away the hissing fuse with his sword. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After cutting it, he kicked the unburned fuse into the river, as if to make sure it wouldn¡¯t catch.


    Behind him, the Herd Cavalry that had just breached the camp walls withdrew en masse, reforming back against the encampment.


    Atop the ridge line of the hill, more and more Cavalry silhouettes appeared.

 Chapter 414: 50: Breaking Defense_3

    Chapter 414: Chapter 50: Breaking Defense_3


    The newcomers leaped onto the ridge from a reverse slope, as if Dragon Tooth soldiers were emerging from the earth itself.


    Winters couldn¡¯t tell friend from foe, but judging from the Herders¡¯ posture as they faced a great enemy, these newcomers were certainly the Herders¡¯ foes.


    Having assembled in front of their camp wall, the Herder Cavalry initiated a charge towards the unfamiliar cavalry, starting at full speed right from the beginning.


    Meanwhile, the unknown riders on the ridge started moving, yet they controlled their horse¡¯s pace, beginning a slow trot.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters returned to the main camp that he got a clear view: the arriving unfamiliar cavalry all wore long-tubed hard boots, black breastplates, and Morion Helmets.


    The Herder Cavalry swarmed forward, soldiers following their Centurions, Centurions following their Chiliarchs, with hardly any formation to speak of.


    The formation of the strange black-armored cavalry, on the other hand, took shape even as they trotted.


    They faced the enemy with nine rows in a horizontal line, led by five riders at the front.


    Winters had never seen any cavalry able to control their pace with such precision.


    The distance between the black-armored riders was always three times that of the left and right distances.


    Therefore, the overall formation of more than five hundred cavalry was twice as wide horizontally as it was in depth.


    Even though the black-armored cavalry were restraining their horses¡¯ speed, the sense of intimidation they brought far surpassed that of the galloping Herders.


    Alaric raised his spear high and cried out, charging at the forefront. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even the most cowardly Herders would feel courage surge in their hearts at the sight of Haug Koda at this moment.


    Alaric had never expected that such a force of enemy reinforcements would arrive at this moment.


    No matter what, this reinforcement should not have appeared here, yet here they were.


    Fortunately, the black-armored cavalry were not numerous. He thought, eliminate the reinforcements first, then turn back to the fort, and he could still achieve a glorious victory.


    ¡°Come on! Come on! Sons of the heavens!¡± Alaric roared, ¡°How could we ever lose a cavalry fight?¡±


    The opposing black-armored cavalry also began to pick up speed.


    In the deafening sound of galloping hooves, two civilizations, two types of cavalry, were about to collide.


    Alaric leaned forward on his horse, extending his spear desperately towards the enemy. In a cavalry clash, the closer the weapons to the enemy, the better.


    The other Herder Cavalry did the same.


    Herders without spears deliberately slowed down, staying in the rear, ready for hand-to-hand combat after the impact.


    With only a few horse lengths between them, it was only then that Alaric was shocked to see that the black-armored riders were not holding spears or swords.


    In their hands, they all wielded two odd-looking short firearms.


    ¡°How can one fire with just one hand?¡± wondered Alaric, puzzled.


    But there was no time left for thought.


    ¡°Click!¡±


    A spark, followed by red flashes, gunpowder smoke, and gunfire.


    A series of gunshots.


    Wheellock guns!


    At a distance too close for any closer, the first two rows of black-armored cavalry pulled the trigger.


    Alaric just felt a heat in his groin and chest as hot blood gushed from two wounds.


    More than half of the Herders in the front row fell from their horses.


    The black-armored cavalry either drew another firearm from their boots or simply discarded the guns to fight with war hammers and sabres.


    Amidst the gunpowder smoke, gunfire, and screams, the two forces engaged in a melee.


    Alaric fell from his horse first and was then repeatedly trampled by Herder Cavalry coming from behind, hovering close to death.


    Even without being trampled, the two wounds in his groin and chest would have been enough to claim his life.


    As his strength and consciousness rapidly faded, his last moments were filled with bitterness and confusion.


    ¡°I became a Chiliarch before I was thirty, how could I die so young?¡±


    Tal Alaric¡ªknown as the most knowledgeable among the Herders about the world beyond the steppe, the Eagle in the Rain¡ªpassed away amidst endless sorrow, aged twenty-nine.

 Chapter 415: 51 Cavalry Raid

    Chapter 415: Chapter 51 Cavalry Raid


    The Herders scattered in all directions.


    Black-armored Cavalry encircled a helmet-shining officer as they came before Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s still me saving your little life,¡± said the helmet-shining officer.


    The one-eyed Colonel was far from grateful, ¡°I¡¯d like to know what are you even good for if you could let an entire thousand-man squad slip through?¡±


    ¡°Not even a stint overseas could cure your sourness,¡± the other laughed. ¡°I truly regret pulling you back!¡±


    The officer dismounted, removed his helmet, revealing meticulously groomed facial hair and a pair of wild eyes¡ªit was Colonel Castor Roderick, who had come to Wolf Town months ago to chase down smugglers.


    Castor and Jeska looked at each other for a long while, then burst into laughter and embraced each other in a bear hug.


    ¡­


    The tides had turned, and everyone was overjoyed.


    Those who survived the ordeal slaughtered pigs and sheep, and drank to their heart¡¯s content, temporarily forgetting death and suffering and celebrating properly.


    The revelry ended and it was time for the aftermath.


    Clearing the battlefield, burying the dead, holding simple funerals.


    Many horses were left behind in the Herder camp, some to make up for the Dusacks that had lost their Warhorses, the rest taken by the Black-armored Cavalry along with the captured Warhorses.


    The remaining spoils followed the customary rules: small items went to individuals, like swords; large items went to the state, like armor.


    Colonel Castor disdained the looted armor and gave it all to Jeska¡¯s company.


    Scattered items like saddle tack were sold directly to merchants accompanying the troops.


    ¡°Everything has a price,¡± the merchants¡¯ desire for profit amazed Winters. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Someone bought the blood-stained cloaks stripped from bodies; the Herder¡¯s arm rings and silver ornaments found buyers too.


    A merchant approached Colonel Jeska, buying all the horse carcasses in bulk.


    Horse hides could be sold; horse meat cut and salted could be resold to the military; even horse bones had their place.


    There was even a merchant who bought Herder¡¯s left ears at discounted prices to cash in rewards in Paratu, while the soldiers could get cash on the spot.


    A day ago, these people were weak civilians tremblingly holding firearms to protect their possessions.


    A day later, they had transformed into crows feasting on war, scrambling to peck at the corpses of Herders.


    ¡°The fastest way to create wealth is to build an Empire, the even faster way is to destroy an Empire.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t recall where he had heard this saying, but everything he saw now made the words echo in his mind.


    ¡­


    The road ahead had been cleared, so the baggage train was to set off once more.


    Even though Jeska¡¯s company had seen a close call with mutiny, the Colonel did not mention it again, and the lieutenants were also silent, as if nothing had happened.


    After repeated hard fights, some merchants found opportunities, while others decided not to go any further and turned back.


    The wounded from the baggage train returned to Paratu with them, while the more seriously injured who were less mobile stayed in West Camp to recover.


    Many merchants had already fallen under the knife and were buried in the wilderness without even a gravestone to mark their resting place.


    Their belongings were either distributed among others or taken back by loyal partners.


    Some made a fortune, some were unlucky¡ªit was always so.


    ¡­


    Winters stood at the West Camp gate, watching cart after cart slowly leave the military camp.


    The length of the train was much shorter than when they had first crossed The Styx, and it now seemed somewhat empty.


    A passenger cart passed by, its curtains pulled back to reveal the face of Brother Reed in the window frame, the old trickster smiling and waving at Winters.


    Winters had wanted Brother Reed to return to Paratu with the merchants, but the old man fobbed him off with vows and evasions.


    The old trickster refused to return to Paratu and so did Father Caman; thus, the two clergymen continued with the army and moved on with the baggage train.


    Lieutenant Colin also came to see them off, finding Lieutenant Montaigne and said with sincerity, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters simply shook his head.


    The Lieutenant saluted the Ensign and turned to leave.


    Lieutenant Colin¡¯s centuria had lost most of its fighting capacity, and Colonel Castor promised to request a relief force from the legion on his behalf.


    All the double-horsed carts of the baggage train finally left West Camp, and Winters mounted his saddle, ready to depart.


    Xial and another person supported each other running out of the camp, shouting as they caught up to the Ensign.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°Stay and heal properly.¡±


    In the brutal battle on the western camp wall, Xial¡¯s right leg had been pierced by a heavy arrow. Fortunately, neither arteries nor bones were hit, but it still impeded his movement, and he was classified as wounded.


    ¡°I want to go with you,¡± said Xial.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters initially hadn¡¯t thought the militia would have to enter battle, and he couldn¡¯t bear to bring Benwei¡¯s brother into danger again.


    ¡°If you won¡¯t let me go, I¡¯ll just follow behind.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense! Is it a good place up front?¡±


    Xial stiffened his neck, clearly resolute.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here either,¡± said another bandaged casualty in a low voice.


    It wasn¡¯t until the other spoke that Winters recognized it was Vasyka.


    A heavy blow to the back of the head, whether it was to death or unconsciousness, was all a matter of luck.


    Vasyka was fortunate not to die, but that laughing, mischievous young man had been killed.


    Winters was about to refuse, but suddenly he remembered the old trickster¡¯s words about ¡°fortune and misfortune being intertwined.¡±


    He thought serving in the militia was a good thing, yet many Dusacks were led to The Styx. Fate is a bitch, who knows what the future holds?


    Winters sighed, ¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡±


    Xial and Vasyka nodded their heads.


    ¡°Find a large cart to ride, tell them I allowed it,¡± Winters considered and then added, ¡°Vasyka, go find Lieutenant Bard, ask him to get you a Herder Warhorse.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xial shouted excitedly.


    Vashka supported Xial and hurried to catch up with the large carriage.


    Along the way, the supply train¡¯s horse-drawn carriages were no longer fully loaded.


    Therefore, the Lieutenant Colonel began to allow the militia to place their weapons on the carriages and to take turns resting in them.


    Also departing were the Black Armored Cavalry. Lieutenant Colonel Castor divided three squadrons to pursue the fleeing Herdmen while personally leading one squadron to escort the supply train, a small favor for his old friend.


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s pig-driving team also joined the supply train.


    More than four hundred militiamen and drivers, three hundred pigs, over a hundred horse-drawn carriages, more than fifty convict laborers, five officers, two clergymen, and a lion set out from West Camp.


    ¡­


    The official designation for the Black Armored Pistol Cavalry was the Fifth ¡°Highland¡± Legion, Second Cavalry Regiment, also known as Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment.


    Faced with the Herdmen¡¯s light cavalry, which roamed the wilderness like the wind, dispersing forces to guard the supply lines would tie up a great deal of manpower and be prone to being defeated in detail.


    Hence, a passive defense was never an option considered by the Paratu military.


    Destroying light cavalry with mobile cavalry, targeting the enemy¡¯s maneuverable force, was the persistent strategy of the Paratu military leadership.


    The Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment racing to support West Camp was such a mobile cavalry unit.


    This unit typically patrolled the net along the supply line, rapidly assembling to provide support whenever an alarm was raised.


    There were four squadrons in the entire cavalry regiment, with a standard troop count of seven hundred and twenty.


    However, when battling the Herdmen¡¯s thousand-man unit, the cavalry regiment had just over five hundred men, and now less than four hundred and fifty were fit for combat.


    This was because cavalry was difficult to replenish, often diminishing in number the more battles they fought, which is why cavalry units were never at full strength during wartime.


    Apart from the four combat squadrons, Castor¡¯s Regiment also had a reserve squadron in their structure that was responsible for recruitment, training, and personnel replenishment.


    This was a true elite standing cavalry force, boasting twenty-six officers alone.


    In comparison, Jeska¡¯s supply train had nearly six hundred personnel including militiamen and drivers, but only four officers in total.


    Paratu has long been a land of fine horses with a deep cavalry tradition.


    In Vineta¡¯s standing army, cavalry made up only ten to twenty percent. For example, the Third Legion had only one six-hundred-man cavalry battalion, which was not brought along to the islands due to the wasteful transportation effort.


    In contrast, over forty percent of Paratu¡¯s standing army consisted of cavalry, with the Fifth Legion having three cavalry regiments plus several cavalry squadrons.


    The Kingdom of Galloping Horses not only had more cavalry but also invested more heavily in them.


    After Andre roamed around Castor¡¯s Cavalry Regiment, he came back muttering non-stop, ¡°Now that is what you call real cavalry!¡±


    Even the least among Castor¡¯s cavalry had three horses, one for riding, one for packing, and one warhorse.


    There were specialized gunsmiths with the army, responsible for repairing and maintaining firearms.


    Many cavalrymen even had attendants to care for their daily needs ¡ª the attendants also had mounts to ride.


    Compared to Jeska¡¯s Dusack Cavalry unit, this was downright pathetic.


    Originally, Andre was quite delighted to lead the cavalry squad, but ever since he saw Castor¡¯s Regiment, he began to sigh and lament.


    However, this type of cavalry unit was heavily reliant on supply lines and somewhat sluggish in movement. Yet, their combat strength was enough to compensate for all weaknesses.


    ¡­


    The Supply convoy headed west, and just as Colonel Jeska had anticipated, the first three camps they came across had all been burned to the ground, with the reserved supplies plundered.


    Even the third camp, which had half a hundred-men team stationed for defense and was situated in a terrain easy to defend but hard to assault, had not been spared.


    But the fourth camp was intact, a small camp pitifully guarded by a mere ten-man squad.


    The sergeant in charge of the camp claimed they had not seen any Herd Barbarians; they had only seen the smoke signals from the west and thus relayed the message in turn.


    During the mealtime at the fourth camp, the cavalry officers and supply team casually discussed the oddities they encountered along the way.


    ¡°The supply line is too long,¡± Lieutenant Mason complained. ¡°People are losing weight, let alone pigs. After driving pigs for more than a hundred kilometers, they¡¯ve shed all their fat.¡±


    Captain Galle of the cavalry replied, ¡°There¡¯s no helping it; the Hurds have always been like this. You strike them, they run, slippery as eels. You have to catch them and beat them severely before they¡¯re willing to sign a peace treaty.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the Herders would spare this camp; they¡¯ve taken down harder targets.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t grasp the enemy¡¯s behavior patterns.


    Castor offhandedly explained to Winters, ¡°Herd Barbarians lack siege capabilities; they usually don¡¯t attack camps but rather raid convoys. If they get caught¡ªlike when they attacked your team of Herders¡ªthey end up bleeding heavily once the mobile cavalry arrives.¡±


    Castor was impressed with the officers stationed at Wolf Town and surprised to meet him again in the wilderness, so he was willing to give Montaigne, the young lieutenant, a few tips.


    ¡°If I may be so bold, with the strength of that thousand-man team, I fear no camp would be difficult to take,¡± said Winters.


    ¡°That¡¯s the weird part; the movements of a thousand-man team are too obvious, making it hard to conceal,¡± said Castor with unexpected patience. ¡°Herders usually raid the supply lines with a hundred-man team as the norm. Frankly, I would like to see the Herd Barbarians deploy a thousand-man team.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Castor answered with a cold smirk, ¡°Barbarians are more fun to kill when they¡¯re in a heap. Running around the grasslands after ten hundred-man teams is not as easy as wiping out a thousand-man team in one go.¡±


    Colonel Castor spat viciously, summing up, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of the Barbarians coming; I instead hope they come in even greater numbers.¡±


    ¡­


    One day later.


    The fifth camp.


    Castor, Jeska, Winters¡­ everyone stood on top of the camp wall, dumbstruck.


    Outside the walls, countless Herd Cavalry were galloping around the camp.


    The thunderous sound of horse hooves was suffocating, and even the sun was obscured by the dust kicked up by the hooves.


    The small Paratu camp was deep in the sea of Herd Cavalry, like a small boat amid raging waves, ready to be shattered to pieces at any moment.


    This display far exceeded what a thousand-man team could muster.


    After menacingly circling the camp three times, the thousands of Herd raiders headed eastward at a fast pace.


    ¡°How many¡­ could there be?¡± Castor stuttered.


    ¡°At least four thousand,¡± said the one-eyed Jeska, his face pale.


    ¡°What the hell is General Yanosh doing? Waste of space!¡± Castor snarled, cursing vehemently: ¡°How the hell could he miss four thousand cavalry?¡±


    The other people in the camp had yet to recover from the shock, still trembling with fear.


    ¡°This is bad!¡± Winters exclaimed in horror: ¡°The Floating Bridge!¡±

 Chapter 416: 52

    Chapter 416: Chapter 52


    ¡°`


    The scouts trailing the Herd¡¯s main force reached The Styx and brought back one piece of bad news and one piece of good news.


    The bad news was that the floating bridge had been burned down.


    Blackened remnants of small boats littered the riverbank. The West Camp across the river had also been set ablaze, with not a single survivor found.


    The wounded, merchants, and Colin¡¯s Centurion who had stayed in the camp had all perished. Even those returning to Paratu probably couldn¡¯t escape their fate.


    The good news was that various signs indicated the enemy had already crossed the river in its entirety, so the supply column was temporarily safe.


    But¡­ could it really be considered good news?


    The old marshal had once said, ¡°The most difficult thing in war is to guess at the enemy¡¯s intentions.¡±


    An experienced old commander might easily discern the barbarians¡¯ intentions, but not everyone possessed such a skill.


    As the enemy moved their pieces, Winters gradually outlined the big picture: from start to finish, the Herders¡¯ goal had been the floating bridge¡ªthey wanted to bring the flames of war back to Paratu.


    ¡­


    Once the war began, the most important thing was how to end it.


    Paratu¡¯s desire to end the war didn¡¯t lie in conquering cities.


    The wealth of an agrarian nation was concentrated in its cities, but the Herders, being nomadic, had no cities for the Paratu army to attack.


    The real objective for the Paratu People was to hurt, to make the Herd Barbarians cry, and to soften them up through killing their soldiers, capturing their populations, and plundering their livestock.


    As long as the Herders acknowledged defeat and moved westward, the war would end immediately.


    Moreover, Paratu was not at war with all the Herders but fought only the nearest faction each time.


    Sometimes they even exploited the divisions among the factions, hiring Herders to fight Herders.


    Despite the Paratu People¡¯s reluctance to admit their ancestors were a branch of the Herders, there was no denying that both sides¡¯ war patterns were full of nomadic traits.


    For nearly thirty years, the Herders had been disorganized internally.


    In times of conflict, the tribes would often retreat to preserve their strength as the foremost priority.


    At most, they would dispatch small groups of light cavalry to harass supply lines, waiting for the Paratu People to exhaust themselves and naturally withdraw.


    After all, the Paratu People would come and go, while the other tribes residing on the steppe were the real enemies.


    Therefore, everyone, including Winters, assumed that the first encountered Centurion was a vanguard, considering the following day¡¯s arrival of Alaric¡¯s force as the main body.


    However, in reality, the Herders had deployed a substantial army, at least half of a Naiman [ten thousand men squad].


    The thousand-strong Alaric¡¯s Centurion that fought Paratu until the heavens turned dusky was actually just an advanced guard.


    ¡­


    The worst estimation made by the officers earlier was merely being cut off by the Herders.


    When Colonel Castor was informed that thousands of Herd cavalry had crossed to the east of The Styx, he nearly fainted from anger.


    What was on the east side of The Styx? A hundred kilometers of uninhabited land. Yet, beyond those hundred-odd kilometers lay Paratu¡¯s homeland.


    The Herders¡­ were heading towards Paratu, and there was nobody to stop them.


    After thirty years, the hooves of the Herd Raiders would once again tread on Paratu¡¯s soil.


    Colonel Castor immediately dispatched messengers to the forces ahead and behind.


    However, with the floating bridge destroyed, the messengers could only take a detour upstream to cross the river, but it was already too late.


    The news was so shocking that the Paratu People in the ranks were all somewhat dazed, even Winters felt dizzy when he first heard it.


    The Paratu People had been winning battles for so long that they had forgotten the Herders also had teeth.


    The last time the Herders had penetrated into Paratu, Jeska was still a babbling toddler, and most people in the camp hadn¡¯t even been born.


    Over those thirty years, Paratu maintained absolute suppression over the Herd tribes.


    When the Paratu People threw a punch, the Herders retreated; when the Paratu People threw another punch, the Herders retreated further.


    From one victory to another, the Paratu People built an unwavering confidence in their invincibility.


    What Winters saw, amidst the wagons and behind the camp walls, no matter how dire the battle, the Paratu People never doubted the ultimate victory in this war.


    Now, Winters was witnessing this confidence begin to crumble.


    More than one Centurion ran to him, subtly or openly asking about retreating back to Paratu.


    But this was not something Winters could decide.


    ¡­


    The cavalry squadron and the supply column¡¯s officers urgently convened to discuss the next course of action.


    The atmosphere of the meeting was heavy, with officers keeping somber faces without speaking a word.


    Seeing no one willing to speak, Colonel Castor angrily exclaimed, ¡°All gone mute? Start with the lowest rank, one by one speak up!¡±


    Another silence followed, and Winters stood up, probably no one there had a lower rank than him.


    ¡°Good, you start!¡± Castor banged the table and pointed, ¡°Then the person on your right.¡±


    Andre¡¯s face immediately turned into the look of a bitter gourd.


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters said as succinctly as possible, ¡°we should head west and find the main force.¡±


    The air suddenly fell cold.


    ¡°Why?¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyelids twitched.


    ¡°The floating bridge is destroyed, and there are only two ways to cross the river. Either detour upstream or build a boat to cross. The detour is too long, and boat building takes time. We don¡¯t know how many Herders are still lurking around here; seeking the main force is safer.¡±


    ¡°How do you know the main force hasn¡¯t been defeated?¡±


    ¡°Because the enemy troops crossing the river still wore lamellar armor and leather coats,¡± Winters replied. ¡°The Herders don¡¯t waste anything. If the main force ahead had been defeated, they would be carrying more than just that junk.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Castor immediately spoke in agreement: ¡°What capability do the Herders have to devour a twenty thousand strong army? They must have played a risky move, placing a gamble on this battle¡ªit hasn¡¯t been lost yet!¡±


    The others looked at Jeska; if he shared the same opinion, there was no need for further discussion.


    ¡°You fight your battle, I¡¯ll fight mine.¡± The one-eyed Colonel suddenly shook his head with a bitter smile: ¡°That was the old marshal¡¯s strategy, when did the Herders learn that?¡±


    ¡°`


    With the tone set, the officers decided to set out immediately and sent out Cavalry to gather the other three companies of Castor¡¯s unit.


    Because most of the supply camps along the route had been plundered, Castor¡¯s Cavalry would travel with the supply trains, procuring supplies while also offering protection.


    The accompanying merchants were scared out of their wits and just wanted to go home, but by now it wasn¡¯t up to them.


    The two Lieutenants-Colonels, fearing that deserting merchants might leak the supply train¡¯s movements, conscripted all of the merchants¡¯ wagons and draft animals, and enlisted the merchants themselves into the militia.


    Unperceived, the mentality of the Paratu People had quietly shifted.


    Before the encounter with Hurd¡¯s army, the Paratu People regarded the supply line as the rear, subject only to sporadic raids.


    Now everything was different; the vast wilderness seemed the same, but in the eyes of those setting out again, danger lurked everywhere, and Herders seemed to be ambushing from behind every hill.


    The supply train changed its route. Castor dispersed scouts twenty kilometers out, with everyone on edge, they even dared not light fires during the day¡ªsmoke was too conspicuous over the open plains.


    Military and civilian personnel alike could only cook at night using earthen stoves.


    However, the advantages of the iron stove crafted by Berlion became evident.


    Iron stoves, without open flames and concealed and safe, do not leave pits. They use less fuel, so they produce minimal smoke.


    The more experienced the officer, the more invaluable they found these iron stoves.


    To soldiers hungry, cold, and exhausted, nothing could boost their morale more than a bowl of hot soup.


    Lieutenant-Colonel Castor thoroughly inspected the iron stove inside and out, marveling without end.


    ¡°Are you a blacksmith?¡± the Lieutenant-Colonel abruptly asked Berlion.


    ¡°Apprenticed for two years.¡±


    ¡°Not married?¡±


    ¡°Sir, no.¡±


    ¡°Come work for me.¡± Castor recruited Berlion straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯ll make you a Sergeant. You¡¯ll save up for a wife¡¯s dowry in three years.¡±


    Winters, standing nearby, hadn¡¯t expected the Lieutenant-Colonel to recruit directly from his ranks, and to offer such generous terms at that.


    The term ¡®Sergeant¡¯ has slightly different meanings in the various Republics. In Vineta, it is synonymous with Centurion.


    In Paratu, a Sergeant stands between Centurion and Centurion, a very favorable position. A seasoned Sergeant¡¯s salary can even exceed that of a lower-ranking officer.


    Hearing Castor¡¯s words, Winters felt somewhat nervous; he truly did not want to lose such a good cook.


    Berlion hesitated for a moment, then answered woodenly, ¡°My lord¡¯s favor humbles me, but I have a younger brother at home. I can¡¯t leave him.¡±


    Lieutenant-Colonel Castor snorted. Having personally extended the offer was honor enough; he could say no more.


    Before leaving, Castor looked back and asked, ¡°Does this stove have a name?¡±


    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s called the Soria Stove.¡± Berlion¡¯s eyes reddened a bit, ¡°It was designed by my father.¡±


    That very night, the blacksmith Berlion received the fire iron from a Lieutenant and was gloriously promoted to the exclusive cook for the officer¡¯s mess of the Cavalry and supply train, and thus was relieved from duties and combat.


    He immediately became the most closely guarded individual in the company, even more secured than the two Colonels.


    ¡­


    Proceeding with utmost caution over three days, the leading scouts encountered friendly units.


    Behind the friendly scouts were forty companies of Cavalry, constituting over five thousand light and heavy Cavalrymen.


    Soon after, Major General Alpad rushed to the supply train with his personal guards, urgently enquiring about information from the two Lieutenant-Colonels.


    The large movement of Herder troops could not have gone unnoticed; sensing the enemy¡¯s actions, the Paratu army immediately dispatched all their Cavalry in pursuit.


    They were just a step too late; only after the Herders had crossed the Styx three days earlier did the pursuers finally catch up.


    When Alpad learned that the Herders had already destroyed the Floating Bridge, he was quickly incensed.


    Further learning that Herd Raiders had crossed eastward over the Styx, heading straight for Paratu, Major General Alpad nearly died of rage on the spot.


    The silver-haired Alpad berated both Lieutenant-Colonels until they were soaked in metaphorical blood. If fury had a temperature, Jeska and Castor would have been scorched, inside and out. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the bridge was already destroyed; anything said was too late.


    Alpad could only regroup with the main infantry forces before making further plans.


    While Jeska and Castor were being harshly reprimanded by the Major General, their subordinates stood at attention behind them.


    The dressing down of Lieutenant-Colonel Jeska made Winters uncomfortable, and he couldn¡¯t help remarking to the others, ¡°It was clearly the forces ahead who failed to stop the Herders, yet he belabors his point by scolding us!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± said Lieutenant Sutter, waving his hand.


    Having stirred the pot together for many days, the officers of the Cavalry had grown familiar with Winters and the others.


    ¡°How is it then?¡±


    ¡°Major General Alpad has already routed three Herder Centurion units on his way here; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have arrived so late,¡± Lieutenant Sutter quietly explained, adding, ¡°I heard it from someone in the first company.¡±


    Winters¡¯ pupils dilated sharply, ¡°There are three other routed Centurion units, plus the Herders who crossed the river, doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Sutter wiped the sweat from his brow, ¡°An actual Naiman, a legitimate force of ten thousand.¡±


    ¡°Over ten thousand Cavalry! How could they hide in the wilderness?¡±


    ¡°What else? Dividing and conquering.¡± Sutter sighed, ¡°The Herders¡¯ signature tactics.¡±


    ¡­


    The impetuous Major General Alpad left the slow-moving supply train behind, leading the Cavalry to meet up with the main force ahead.


    After fourteen more days of grueling journeying, Jeska¡¯s supply train finally reached their destination.


    The setting sun slanted to the west, and the sky was covered in red clouds.


    Winters, riding a sturdy horse at a leisurely pace, climbed the hill and saw the vast expanse of the Paratu encampment completely exposed to his view.


    Only now did he truly understand why this battle had been so delayed.


    In front of the Paratu encampment stood a quiet earthen city, erected on the wilderness.


    The Herd Barbarians¡­ had built a fortress.

 Chapter 417: 53

    Chapter 417: Chapter 53


    Mountains and rivers interweave, every turn treacherous or perilous.


    Two rapid rivers like silver snakes merged into one, and the earth fortress of the Herders was built on the high ground at the confluence.


    When the baggage train first arrived at the great camp, Major Bello of the legion¡¯s intelligence unit took the officers to observe the enemy.


    Bello led everyone to cautiously stay half a kilometer away from the city walls.


    The distant earth fortress, apart from appearing slightly crude, seemed no different from common fortresses.


    The earth fortress was situated higher than the surrounding area, keeping its internal movements hidden from outsiders, who could only see figures moving along the walls.


    Smoke curled up into the sky above the city, as if fires were being made for cooking.


    Major Bello pointed toward the wall with his riding crop, ¡°Gentlemen, that there is ¡®Bianli¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Bianli? What does that mean?¡± asked Colonel Jeska.


    ¡°That¡¯s what the Barbarians call it; it¡¯s said to mean where two waters meet,¡± Bello explained. ¡°In our language, perhaps we should call it Confluence City.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t see clearly from here,¡± Colonel Jeska lifted his whip, ¡°Let¡¯s get closer.¡±


    Major Bello quickly interjected, ¡°Centurion! No!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t take a closer look?¡±


    ¡°The Barbarians in the city have cannons!¡±


    ¡°Cannons?¡± Jeska¡¯s eyebrows shot up, ¡°Where did they come from? Can the Herders cast cannons?¡±


    Bello replied with a wry smile, ¡°The Barbarians probably don¡¯t have that skill yet; it¡¯s assumed someone smuggled them to them.¡±


    ¡°How many Herder troops are there in the city?¡± Colonel Jeska inquired, gently tugging the reins.


    ¡°Many, but the exact number is unknown,¡± Bello sighed, replying, ¡°from many miles around, all the barbarian tribes that didn¡¯t flee west have rushed into Bianli City.¡±


    ¡°How long has the city been under siege?¡±


    ¡°Almost a month and a half.¡±


    ¡°More than a month? The Herders haven¡¯t starved to death?¡±


    ¡°I find it odd too,¡± Major Bello spread his hands. ¡°Perhaps the Barbarians ran out of food long ago, and the smoke is just to confuse us.¡±


    Winters was greatly puzzled and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°If the Herders dare to fortify the city and hold out, can¡¯t they survive on two months of stored food?¡±


    Andre, Mason, and the others pricked up their ears, sharing the same doubt.


    Upon hearing this, Major Bello didn¡¯t answer directly but furrowed his brows and looked at the lieutenant as if asking, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    Jeska scoffed, waving a hand dismissively, ¡°He¡¯s Venetian.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see,¡± Bello laughed heartily, his frown immediately easing.


    Winters and Andre instantly felt their tempers flare, and Lieutenant Mason¡¯s face also betrayed embarrassment.


    Bard spoke up before anyone else, ¡°Major Sir, we truly do not understand, please enlighten us.¡±


    ¡°The Herders mainly drink milk supplemented by meat,¡± Colonel Jeska began, ¡°They hardly have any capacity to resist risks. That is also why, in the past, when the Herders suffered a disaster, they would raid Paratu.¡±


    Major Bello explained the logic to Winters and the others: The Paratu People could survive on stored grains, but the Herders could not.


    Contrary to the image of ¡°barbarians who drink blood and gorge on meat,¡± the Herders mainly lived on milk, supplemented with wild vegetables and the wild wheat they sowed during their nomadic journeys. Poorer Herder shepherds rarely even ate meat.


    Therefore, the Herders could not hold out in their city. If they chose to bunker down, the livestock without food would die of hunger faster than the humans.


    Without animals, the Herders might initially survive on meat for a while, but once the carcasses were also consumed, they would have to resort to cannibalism.


    Moreover, surviving on animal meat, even if they held out until the Paratu People withdrew, would leave the Herders severely weakened.


    This was why, seeing the Herders fortify their city, the Paratu People marching from afar were not in a hurry; instead, they methodically besieged the city. No matter how long the Paratu People¡¯s supply lines, the Herders would collapse first.


    But now, thousands of Herd Raiders crossing The Styx suddenly reversed the situation.


    ¡­


    When news of the Herder army¡¯s river crossing reached the besieging camp, the Paratu military leadership immediately fell into disarray.


    Officers favoring retreat gathered around Brigadier General Sekler.


    The retreat faction argued that the priority was to reinforce Paratu. With both Standing Army legions deployed, Paratu had no field troops left to face thousands of Herder Iron Cavalry.


    Thinking of the brutal Herder army pillaging Paratu at that very moment made the officers¡¯ hearts wrench.


    Brigadier General Sekler¡¯s voice was thunderous, ¡°Would you have us abandon Paratu to the mercy of the barbarian raiders?! Can any amount of land compensate for the loss of Paratu? If we do not turn back to save it now, the barbarians will breach Kingsfort!¡±


    Another faction, led by Major General Alpad, advocated continuing the siege and even launching an immediate assault on Bianli City.


    ¡°Retreating now would mean all our efforts have been in vain!¡± Major General Alpad gritted his teeth, ¡°The barbarians are about to break! They¡¯ve thrust a knife into us, and we must thrust back harder! How can we retreat now? It¡¯s already too late to retreat! Assault the city! For every Paratu person killed by a Herd Barbarian, we¡¯ll kill ten Herdmen!¡±


    Most high-ranking officers believed they should continue the assault.


    Support for retreat mainly came from majors and officers of lower rank, who, despite their lesser rank, had broader support.


    From the moment the bad news arrived, the two factions had been at loggerheads.


    Yanosh, the general in command of all the forces, also hesitated to make a decision.


    Until Jeska¡¯s baggage team arrived, the Paratu People were still in a standoff with the Herders across the walls, and the army grew increasingly restless.


    For Winters, who was just a minor lieutenant with no standing to participate in strategic debates, the fiery clashes of the high and mighty were beyond his grasp.


    However, he had been promoted.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The sky at dawn was a brilliant blue.


    The ground was covered with white frost, and the fields appeared to be a vast expanse of whiteness in the distance.


    The wilderness had entered deep winter, the time of year when the bitter cold was at its worst.


    Therefore, among the carts Jeska¡¯s squad was escorting, several were loaded with duck down quilts and woolen overcoats reserved for the high-ranking officers.


    Winters finally understood why those wooden crates were nailed shut so tightly and sealed with multiple layers of ¡°Do Not Open¡± tape.


    There were also jams, tobacco, white flour, red wine, and other ¡°military supplies¡± that were transported thousands of miles from Paratu to this desolate wilderness, occupying as much of the precious transport capacity as grain and gunpowder.


    Knowing that what he had desperately saved were these items, Winters regretted not letting the Herd Barbarians burn all the carts down with a fire.


    Now, in front of Lieutenant Montaigne, the militiamen dressed in motley clothing stood in a loose formation, waiting for the new commander to inspect them.


    Many militiamen were wrapped in fur cloaks stripped from the Herd dead, utterly unrecognizable as Paratu People at first glance.


    It was so cold that those militiamen lacking warm clothing simply wore whatever they could.


    When they departed from home, it was still the pleasant days of autumn; no one thought the war would drag on until today.


    After the headcount, it was customary for the officer to say a few words.


    Looking at the shivering militiamen, Winters said, ¡°Your former Centurion, Lieutenant Marcelo, was my friend.¡±


    When the fallen Marcelo was mentioned, the small drilling ground fell silent, and everyone¡¯s eyes grew even more dim.


    Militia squads that had lost members in previous battles were replenished with members of Jeska¡¯s squad, and the camp merchants too were conscripted, likewise integrated into the ranks of the militia.


    Jeska¡¯s squad had not only restored its numbers to full strength but had even received reinforcements.


    Because the militia lacked officers, Winters was promoted to a ¡°Centenarian¡± and took command of two reorganized hundred-man squads. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Winters¡¯ view, it was the same old problem: The command structure had no redundancy at all, and if a Centurion died, there was no one to take his place.


    After a moment of silence, Winters spoke again, ¡°Trust me, and I will never abandon you.¡±


    There were looks of mutual confusion, with a lukewarm response.


    ¡°I have finished speaking,¡± Winters knew that platitudes were useless, ¡°Also, for lunch today, we¡¯ll have stewed pork with sauce.¡±


    ¡­


    Forests of significant size were rare on the wilderness, with only occasional patches of woods and shrubbery, mostly meadows.


    The trees near Bianli City had long been cut down by the Herders.


    This led to an acute shortage of firewood among the Paratu People, who even had to dig up the tree roots chopped by the Herders.


    The militiamen could only receive very little fuel for warmth, and since joining the camp, they had been consuming dry bread and drinking cold water.


    The mere mention of the words ¡°stewed pork¡± made many drool uncontrollably.


    By noon, when the constables arrived carrying iron pots, people finally believed that what Centurion Montaigne said was true.


    The aroma of the stewed meat prompted some militiamen to quietly shed tears.


    A bowl of hot soup, a piece of pork, and a piece of bread on this freezing winter day made people ask for nothing more.


    Grabbing his share, a militiaman from Ganshui Town found a wind-sheltered spot nearby and began to savor this precious meal.


    He first took a small sip of the meat soup; the steaming broth flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, making his entire body feel warm and cozy.


    Only then did he truly confirm that he was not dreaming.


    He didn¡¯t take another drink but began carefully tearing the bread into pieces and soaking it in the soup.


    His fellow townsman expressed some regret beside him, ¡°It¡¯s a pity the meat isn¡¯t very fatty; otherwise, it would be truly delicious.¡±


    A stranger from Wolf Town overheard these words and turned around with a sneer, ¡°You should be thankful there¡¯s something to eat at all. Do you know how far this pig traveled? Without Blood Wolf, you wouldn¡¯t even have pig hair to eat, so what¡¯s there to complain about?¡±


    ¡°Who is Blood Wolf?¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf is Lord Montaigne, let me tell you, back in our Wolf Town¡­¡± The militiaman from Wolf Town got carried away, adding embellishments to what he¡¯d seen and heard, as if he had witnessed Lord Montaigne tearing apart a giant lion himself, making the townsman beside Ish gasp in fascination.


    ¡°I had no idea Commander Montaigne was such a¡­,¡± Ish¡¯s townsman struggled to find a fitting adjective, finally saying with awe to the Wolf Town militiaman, ¡°Big brother, serving under Commander Montaigne makes you quite something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, it¡¯s nothing,¡± the Wolf Town militiaman blushed, whether from the cold or some other reason.


    He suddenly leaned in close to Ish¡¯s companion, whispering secretively, ¡°Let me tell you, but don¡¯t tell anyone else, I heard that when Lord Montaigne was on an island across the sea¡­¡±


    This time, the story went from half-true to completely hearsay.


    Ish sipped his meat soup in small bites, quietly listening.


    ¡­


    Unaware that his reputation was being tarnished, Winters was personally handing out meat to his militiamen, watching them eat with relish and feeling a sense of pride well up inside him.


    The pig had been bargained for from Lieutenant Mason, who set off from the ranch with over four hundred pigs, losing some along the way and consuming others.


    In the end, less than half the pigs arrived alive at the front-line camp, but it still exceeded the quota.


    It was only unfortunate that these pigs, after walking hundreds of kilometers, had developed lean muscles, becoming as robust as wild boars and not very fatty indeed.


    While Winters¡¯ centurion squad was feasting, another group was deciding their fate.


    General Sekler could no longer tolerate the endless debates and, leading his men, burst into General Yanosh¡¯s tent.


    He was determined to get an explanation; they must either fight or retreat, but they could not continue wasting time like this.


    But upon bursting into the tent, what Sekler saw was General Yanosh, barely clinging to life.

 Chapter 418: 54 Expanding the Meeting

    Chapter 418: Chapter 54 Expanding the Meeting


    The ironclad General Yanosh was gone, the tough man with a voice like a tolling bell and who walked with his head held high was gone, and on the military cot lay only a frail old man, his breath weak as the thinnest of threads.


    Seeing the scene before him, Brigadier General Sekler was so shocked that he lost his speech.


    Major General Alpad, upon hearing the news, rushed into the tent following in Sekler¡¯s footsteps, but the truth could no longer be concealed.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Sekler¡¯s lips trembled.


    ¡°It started with typhoid,¡± Alpad walked to the bedside, neatly tucked in the sheets for the old man, and whispered, ¡°Then it was a stroke.¡±


    Sekler charged at Alpad, clutching the other¡¯s collar fiercely, his rage causing him to lose all reason, ¡°How dare you! Isolating us from the inside out! You¡­ you dared to hide it and not report! You! What exactly are you trying to do?¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alpad being disrespected by his junior in such a manner, didn¡¯t get angry at all; he silently met Sekler¡¯s gaze.


    To Sekler, Alpad¡¯s seemingly unconcerned actions were more infuriating than the loss of General Yanosh¡¯s ability to command, and it was no different than a military revolt.


    Sekler¡¯s chest heaved violently, ¡°Hide it for one more day, and we¡¯re besieged for one more? What¡¯s your next move? What will you do on the day you can no longer hide it? Kill us all? Speak up!¡±


    ¡°Are you done throwing a tantrum? Then listen to me,¡± Alpad removed the other¡¯s hand from his collar, ¡°Once the news of General Yanosh¡¯s stroke spreads, the morale of the troops will definitely waver, only giving the Barbarian Chief [Yasin] a chance to exploit.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Sekler couldn¡¯t restrain his fury, ¡°The general is seriously ill, we should retreat immediately! By hiding this news, you¡¯re just trying to continue the battle! Just for another star on your epaulette! For your own selfish desires, you disregard the safety of the entire army, Alpad Duyome! You and I are irreconcilable!¡±


    Major General Alpad let out a disdainful snort, casually dragged over a stool, sat down leisurely and asked, ¡°Do you think I¡¯m doing this for power? For position? For stars?¡±


    Sekler said nothing, his eyes nearly spitting fire were the answer.


    Alpad patted the dust off his riding trousers, and said nonchalantly, ¡°As long as you support me, once the war is over, I¡¯ll apply for retirement and go home to raise horses and plant flowers.¡±


    The only response to the major general was a cold snort from deep within the nostrils.


    The other clearly didn¡¯t believe him, but Alpad did not bother to swear any more oaths; he stared at Sekler, questioning word by word, ¡°Do you know why we are here?¡±


    Sekler was taken aback, his rage somewhat subsiding, but he still did not speak.


    ¡°Let me tell you, this war isn¡¯t about land, slaves, money, power¡ªit¡¯s unrelated to all of that!¡± Alpad gestured toward the direction where the Herdsmen¡¯s earthen city stood, ¡°We are here to take down this very city!¡±


    Alpad paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°The man who built this city, eighteen years ago when he was serving as a scout on an old horse for me, I had already taken notice of him. Fifteen years ago, when he only had fifty households, I already marked him on my list. Over the years, I watched him grow on the grasslands like an avalanche, growing bigger with each roll, and it would even wake me from my sleep in terror.¡±


    Sekler didn¡¯t expect the other party to say such things; for a moment, he felt overpowered by the major general¡¯s momentum.


    ¡°The Republic is now like a drunkard sleeping on a pile of firewood.¡± Alpad¡¯s words were through gritted teeth, ¡°I don¡¯t care about any stars! I came here to flatten the Red River Tribe! I am here to put out a fire for the Republic! General Sekler!¡±


    ¡­


    Nobody knew what agreement Alpad and Sekler had reached, but that very afternoon, all the officers of the rank of colonel and above in the army were summoned to an expanded meeting.


    Though it was called an expanded meeting, no matter how much it expanded, it would not extend to the likes of Winters and other non-commissioned officers.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska did attend the meeting¡ªthough currently part of the lowly militia sequence, he was still a bona fide colonel.


    No sooner had the lieutenant colonel gone off to the meeting than Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason gathered in the tent for their own little meeting.


    Mason and his convicts had officially been assigned to Jeska¡¯s battalion; these brothers in hardship now banded together for warmth, and had someone to watch their backs.


    With no outsiders in the tent, the few gathered around the Soria stove discussed freely.


    ¡°My guess is that neither side can suppress the other, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t resort to military democracy,¡± Mason, clasping a cup of hot water in his hands, smacked his lips, ¡°They might even have to use anonymous voting.¡±


    Winters placed his boots by the iron stove, casually remarking, ¡°Whether to fight or withdraw, making a decision is better than wasting away in a stalemate.¡±


    Andre, who was reaching out to warm his hands, nodded in agreement.


    No one understood the unrest and impatience within the Paratu army better than the lower-ranking officers.


    There had even been incidents of self-harm among the soldiers, and many were quietly packing their belongings.


    ¡°I think we will still fight,¡± Mason yawned, ¡°I heard that they¡¯ve sent four groups of slaves into the city in succession. If we were to withdraw now, wouldn¡¯t that be a huge loss for the nomads?¡±


    Andre perked up with interest, ¡°Sending slaves into the city, what¡¯s that about?¡±


    The others also pricked up their ears.


    ¡°Before we arrived, General Alpad ordered to drive the captured slaves into Bianli City¡ªof course, only the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Those inside, the Herders, though they had backbone, accepted them all.¡±


    The tent fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of the wood crackling within the stove.


    ¡­


    Driving the old, weak, sick, and disabled into the city was a ¡°highly dishonorable¡± siege tactic.


    Allowing people into the city was equivalent to adding mouths that drain the reserves. Not allowing them in would weaken the resolve of the defenders.


    At times, the defending forces even took the initiative to drive these helpless individuals out of the city, followed by tragic scenes among mankind.


    Winters was well aware of this; he had not just heard of it, but witnessed it with his own eyes.


    In the siege of Gusa, the defenders, lacking supplies, resolutely drove the ¡°useless mouths¡± out of the city, only to have them immediately pushed back by the besieging army.


    With nowhere to go, starving and fearful, those pitiful people wandered for eight full days between the city walls and the siege lines.


    Winters had never seen more desperate human beings than those; not one of them survived.


    The Herder people in the city actually dared to let people in, an unwise act, but Winters couldn¡¯t help feeling a faint admiration.


    ¡­


    Bard suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Tanilia has stopped buying slaves, do the Paratu People still capture them?¡±


    The islands have been divided between The Federated Provinces and Vineta. The Federated Provinces allow the slave trade but forbid keeping slaves within their territory; Vineta has outright banned it altogether.


    ¡°Really? I¡¯m not well-informed and wasn¡¯t quite sure,¡± Mason said, slightly dazed: ¡°But even if the islanders aren¡¯t buying, they can still sell to the several duchies south of the Jinding Mountains. Herder slaves are in high demand¡ªthey are all heretics, enslaving them doesn¡¯t carry moral pressure.¡±


    The slave capturing tradition of the Paratu People has long been criticized by other allied nations and is also an important part of the stereotype that ¡°Highlanders are all barbaric.¡±


    ¡°May the Paratu People capture and sell you off as a slave¡± is a classic phrase used by Sea Blue citizens to scare children.


    But it was not until Winters arrived in Paratu that he found almost no Herder slaves within the borders of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses; they were all taken for export. Perhaps because it was too close, they were afraid of the Herders running back.


    After a moment of thought, Mason added: ¡°There¡¯s no need to sympathize with the Herders, they used to capture Paratu People as slaves too. It¡¯s just that in recent years, the battles have been one-sided, and the Herders have been getting thrashed, leaving only the Paratu People to take captives as slaves. It¡¯s said that the Herders themselves would enslave each other too¡­ Hey, this history, when you start to tally it up, there¡¯s no end to it.¡±


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s words caused the others to sigh. The Herders and Paratu People have been locked in a seesaw struggle for hundreds of years, a complicated history likely not even clear to themselves, let alone outsiders¡¯ presumptuous disregard for the whole picture.


    The four of them then chatted around the stove about old days, amusing anecdotes from the military academy¡ªlife in the front-line camp was hard and dull, making this a rare leisure time.


    With two main forces from the Standing Army nearby, even if there was a fight, the militia wouldn¡¯t be called upon.


    Squad Jeska finally took on the real duties of the militia, mainly engaging in manual labor like digging trenches and latrines, and every other day going to cut down trees far away to bring back for firewood.


    Andre and Lieutenant Mason were sullen every day, feeling underutilized, and therefore lacked energy.


    Winters, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mind; he was more than happy to stand behind and cheer for the Paratu People while they fought.


    At one point, Berlion came into the tent to deliver the repaired rifle barrel for the ensign¡¯s inspection.


    This rifled musket had been overused in practice and combat, resulting in lead fouling the bore. Not only had the accuracy worsened, but there was also the risk of the barrel bursting.


    Initially, Winters didn¡¯t have a solution because it should have been handled by a gunsmith, but Berlion said he could fix it.


    The blacksmith¡¯s method was simple and clever. He inserted an iron rod into the barrel, poured lead over it, pulled it out, and then rubbed it with rapeseed oil.


    To maintain the splendor of higher-ranking officers, the logistics department had shipped in a lot of porcelain tableware from Paratu, which inevitably suffered damage during transport and use.


    Berlion collected shattered porcelain pieces, ground them into a powder, screened them, and sprinkled them on the lead rod.


    By rubbing the lead rod coated with porcelain powder back and forth inside the barrel, the fouled parts were soon polished clean.


    Winters inspected the barrel in the light of the furnace and saw the inside bright and shiny, without any burrs.


    Its smoothness was comparable even to the two spring-loaded muskets the Oathbreakers had given to Antonio. Plus, those were smoothbore guns, while Winters¡¯ was rifled, making the polishing all the more difficult.


    Polishing has always been the most challenging and expensive part of weapon and armor production.


    Moved by an idea, Winters asked the blacksmith,¡±Mr. Berlion, can you cut rifling grooves?¡±


    ¡°Cut rifling?¡± Berlion seemed troubled, hesitantly said: ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, but I¡¯ve heard it requires a lathe.¡±


    ¡°Can you make a lathe?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen one, never made one.¡±


    Winters understood somewhat, the blacksmith didn¡¯t want to say more, so he didn¡¯t press further.


    The ensign smiled and patted the blacksmith¡¯s shoulder: ¡°Mr. Berlion, it¡¯s a pity for you to stay in Paratu. Come with me to Vineta, you¡¯ll make a fortune. I guarantee, the Sea Blue People would definitely love rifled handguns.¡±


    Andre laughed loudly upon hearing this, but Mason and Bard, both from The Federated Provinces, were a bit bemused.


    It didn¡¯t take long for Bard to figure it out, and he started chuckling, shaking his head. He whispered to Lieutenant Mason to explain, and the lieutenant couldn¡¯t help but chuckle.


    Inside the tent, only Berlion was left clueless and at a loss.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? Why the laughter?¡± Another person lifted the tent flap and walked in, bringing a gust of cold air.


    The officers, recognizing the familiar voice, all stood up at once.


    Colonel Jeska walked straight to the stove, extending his hands above the stove lid to warm them.


    Seeing this, Berlion prepared to leave.


    Winters pulled out his purse, tossing the rifle barrel and the purse to the blacksmith just before he exited the tent.


    Only a few officers remained in the tent; Lieutenant Mason nervously asked, ¡°Finished that early, sir?¡±


    Colonel Jeska sneered, ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a meeting, just summoning us to set up the battle plans.¡±


    ¡°Have the higher-ups come to an agreement?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what sort of trickery Sekler and Alpad are up to, and General Yanosh doesn¡¯t show his face,¡± Jeska said with a hint of suspicion: ¡°In the end, we¡¯ll have to fight¡­ but we won¡¯t be the ones going into battle.¡±


    All four officers heaved a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Tonight, you¡¯ll get a shovel.¡± The colonel continued: ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll be digging trenches.¡±

 Chapter 419: 55: Excavation

    Chapter 419: Chapter 55: Excavation


    The rivers across the Great Wilderness all belong to dendritic drainage systems, with tributaries and the main rivers intersecting at sharp angles.


    The Herders, taking advantage of the terrain, built their city on the narrow high ground where two rivers met. The city was surrounded by water on three sides, making it easy to defend and hard to attack; only the northwest side was solid ground.


    Although the two unnamed rivers were rapid, they were not too wide, allowing for swimming or boating to cross. The land around Bianli City was thus split into three parts by the two rivers.


    Therefore, the besieging Paratu army also split into three, with two flanking forces encamped on the south and northeast sides, across the river, to prevent the Herders inside the city from fleeing across the river.


    The main force crossed the river and set up camp to the northwest of the earthen city, building ramparts and trenches to seal off the land route. Meanwhile, temporary bridges set up by the engineers connected the three areas above the rivers.


    The Paratu army had been besieging the city for nearly two months, and these arrangements had been completed even before Jeska¡¯s battalion arrived.


    Although they had not launched a direct attack on the city walls, the Paratu people had not been idle during this time.


    Under the suggestion of Major General Alpad, the engineers had continuously tunneled towards the base of the city walls. Most of the timber hauled back by Jeska¡¯s battalion was used by the engineers to reinforce the tunnels.


    However, the progress of the tunnel was confidential, and the officers of Jeska¡¯s battalion were unaware of it.


    As auxiliary troops, their only responsibility was to dig trenches and guard them. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No one knew the decision-making process at the top, but at least the opinions of the generals were unified.


    Two infantry battalions and one cavalry squadron from the Fifth Legion left the main force and headed east, following the orders of Brigadier General Sekler, they were to return to the west bank of the Styx to rebuild the floating bridge.


    Besides that, there were no more detachments from the Paratu army; they focused all their efforts on attacking Bianli City.


    ¡­


    The Paratu¡¯s attack began after noon, when the daylight was in their favor.


    Several Paratu generals, all experienced military officers, understood the Herders¡¯ arrangements at a glance.


    The ¡°Bianli¡± earthen city was narrow and long, roughly divided into west, central, and east sections.


    Among these, the main city was on the highest ground, with the Herders¡¯ added defensive cities to the east and west of it.


    Because of the erosion caused by the rivers, the south and north sides of the earthen city were steep and had the rivers as barriers, so attacking from these two directions would only result in a bloody nose.


    The west and east sides had gentler terrain, but the Eastern Defense City was surrounded by water on three sides, making it equally difficult to attack.


    Therefore, the west was the most vulnerable part of Bianli, and the Herders would surely deploy their main force in the West Guard City. The struggle for the west wall would determine the outcome of the battle.


    The Herders formed a grand array to invite battle, with no clever strategies to employ, they could only gnaw at the bone.


    When the sun reached its zenith, Alpad sent envoys to persuade the Herders to surrender one last time. The Herders flatly refused but were quite gracious, not attacking the envoys.


    The war drums were beaten loudly; this was the signal for the Paratu to attack.


    The desolate sound of the horn came from afar, and the shadows on the city walls moved. A few city gates also opened with a bang as the Herders started entering the defensive positions below the walls.


    Under the officers¡¯ guidance, the Paratu behind the fortifications all roared in unison. Wave after wave of shouts rose, and hearing this battle cry, no one could help but be stirred with fervor.


    The roar echoed on the wilderness, and the Paratu army marched out.


    Winters peeked out from the trenches prepared against the enemy¡¯s sorties, watching the heavily armored Paratu soldiers push dozens of shield carts, protecting the musketeers as they slowly approached the city walls.


    Alaric¡¯s cohort had once pushed shield carts to attack the Styx military camp; now seeing Paratu employing the exact same tactic, Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry laugh.


    Pressed for time, and considering the Herders¡¯ weak long-range firepower, those above decided there was no need for trench progression. Brigadier General Sekler ordered a direct assault on the city walls.


    Winters¡¯ troops were not part of the siege lineup; Jeska¡¯s battalion was responsible for defending a segment of the blockade line, so Winters could dig trenches according to his own plan.


    This was something he had done frequently on the archipelago.


    He spaced the trenches six meters apart, not connecting them transversely, so as to save on labor.


    Dispensing soldiers like sprinkling salt made them easy to break, so Winters enlarged each angle in the trenches to accommodate two ten-man squads, which he referred to as ¡°salients.¡±


    Beside Winters, the militiamen also peeked out from the trenches, nervously watching the siege troops press towards the city walls.


    Several puffs of white smoke rose from the walls above, Winters tensed up¡ªBello had not lied; the Herders indeed had cannons.


    The cannonball, thundering like a storm, flew toward the trench where Winters was located. The militiamen gasped, scrambling back into the trench.


    Winters did not flinch as the cannonball whistled overhead, four or five meters above, its destination unknown.


    What was the point of firing at the trenches? The cannons atop the city were surely aimed at the shield carts, but the shots were wildly off.


    Winters shook his head; in his view, the Paratu¡¯s siege ability and the Herders¡¯ defensive skills were both poor, third-rate.


    A militiaman beside him, getting to his feet, suddenly asked, ¡°Why are you shaking your head, sir?¡±


    Winters glanced at the questioning militiaman: ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    He had recently had a large influx of militiamen under his command, and so he still didn¡¯t recognize everyone.


    ¡°Ish from Ganshui Town,¡± the militiaman stammered, unnerved under the gaze of the Blood Wolf.


    The other militiamen in the salient also stood rigid.


    ¡°I¡¯m shaking my head because storming the city like this is nothing but brute force,¡± Winters tried to memorize the appearance and name of the militiaman before him.


    He jumped back into the trench, slapping the dirt off his hands and said, ¡°Stop looking; Bianli won¡¯t fall today. Pick up your shovels, keep digging forward!¡±

 Chapter 420: 55 Digging_2

    Chapter 420: Chapter 55 Digging_2


    ¡­


    The shield carriages approached the earthen wall, musketeers suppressing the archers atop it, while sword and shield bearers leaped over wooden fences, low walls, and trenches to fight the Herders.


    The short winter days meant that by afternoon, the Paratu army hadn¡¯t even cleared the fortifications at the base of the city.


    As dusk approached, General Sekler was compelled to order a retreat back to camp.


    After the sun had set, Andre and Mason gathered in Winters¡¯s tent again. This time it wasn¡¯t just the two of them; all the Lieutenant Vineta¡¯s at the frontline camp also hurried to the dinner gathering.


    More than ten people squeezed into the small military tent, so cramped they couldn¡¯t even stretch their legs, resigned to hunching over.


    Yet the atmosphere inside the tent was vibrant, and someone even brought wine.


    Since dispersing to the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, it was the first time so many Lieutenant Vineta¡¯s had assembled together. Schoolmates, fellow countrymen, brothers-in-arms reunited after a long separation, barely holding back tears.


    Outside the canvas, the piercing cold wind howled, but those seated around the iron stove didn¡¯t feel cold at all.


    Bard wasn¡¯t present, for he was on night duty, counting stars in the trench at that moment.


    ¡°Seems like day in, day out these yokels are useless?¡± With only their own people inside the tent, Andre commented without restraint, ¡°With that level of skill, I could do it too! It¡¯s just a matter of using lives to fill the gap.¡±


    ¡°Actually, the savages have some tactics¡ªthe triangle bastion, multiple trenches, crossfire from above and below the city¡ªit¡¯s a headache for anyone who comes. Even with artillery support all afternoon without bursting the chambers, they are not ordinary savages,¡± said Wetter from the artillery corps, swallowing a mouthful of distilled liquor before passing the bottle to his right.


    To Wetter¡¯s right was Winters, who took the bottle but didn¡¯t drink, passing it further to the right.


    He sighed and said, ¡°I spent the entire afternoon digging trenches, not even knowing who we are fighting. Who is the commander of the city¡¯s defense?¡±


    ¡°Seems to be someone called¡­ Yasin,¡± Wetter recalled while rubbing his temples, ¡°Chief of the Red River Tribe, the savages call him White Lion.¡±


    Andre instantly perked up, ¡°White Lion? Winters hunted a giant lion! Its head was as big as a cartwheel! Weighed hundreds of pounds!¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Not me, it was a Hunter who killed it.¡± Winters was not inclined to discuss the topic further.


    Berlion lifted the tent flap and brought in a pot of steaming meatball soup.


    With the cold weather, the food would cool quickly, so Berlion set the pot on top of the tent¡¯s central iron stove to keep it cooking, while Winters casually added some more wood to the fire.


    Conversation paused for the food; everyone first fished out the meatballs, then cooked noodles in the remaining broth. In the wilderness at the edge of this ¡°civilized world¡±, the Venetian soldiers found a taste of home.


    After a hearty meal, Cavalry Corp Lieutenant Sanu licked his fingers and said, ¡°I¡¯m curious¡ªwhere did the savages get their cannons? Can they cast cannons now? And gunpowder? Cannonballs? Gunners?¡±


    Picking his teeth, Andre scoffed, ¡°If the Tanilia people can get ahold of cannons, why can¡¯t the Herders? Old Marcelo said the inscriptions on the cannons from Red Sulfur Island were all filed off.¡±


    Mentioning Marcelo, who had fallen in battle, cast a somber mood over the group.


    Winters reminisced about Marcelo approaching him carrying two bottles of wine at the victory celebration, as if it was just yesterday.


    Koner hesitated, then asked, ¡°You mean¡­ someone is deliberately providing cannons and expertise to the savages?¡±


    ¡°No ¡®maybe¡¯ about it¡ªit is so! Now that savages know how to defend a city, do you really believe no one taught them? It¡¯s definitely those United Provincials making mischief! They were against us last year, now against the Paratu People!¡±


    ¡°We cannot jump to conclusions¡­¡± Koner was still conflicted.


    Andre, glaring, blurted out, ¡°Around Paratu, who can cast big cannons? The Federated Provinces, Venetians, and the Oathbreakers to the north. If it¡¯s not us, and not the United Provincials, could it be the Oathbreakers? Stop fooling yourself! It¡¯s the mudslingers bolstering the savages.¡±


    Lieutenant Mason¡¯s face turned a bit awkward; without Bard there, he was the only United Provincial in the tent.


    Andre quickly added, ¡°Senior, I wasn¡¯t speaking about you.¡±


    Mason looked even more embarrassed, his smile bitter, ¡°No worries, the United Provincials never saw me as one of their own, and neither do the Paratu People. I belong to neither.¡±


    The mood cooled for a moment.


    ¡°In Paratu, we¡¯re all foreigners,¡± said Winters, trying to steer the conversation back to military matters, ¡°I think it¡¯s quite normal for the Paratu People to not excel at sieging. They¡¯ve always fought the Herders with cavalry dominance; where would they have needed to employ siege tactics? With such high regard for cavalry, infantry becomes suppressed. Isn¡¯t Alpad ranked higher than Sekler?¡±


    In the Paratu military, Major General Alpad was cavalry-bred, whereas the infantry-bred Sekler was merely a Brigadier General, and General Yano, the commanding officer, was also a cavalry commander in the Sovereignty Wars.


    ¡°All the harsh words have been said, I can¡¯t help but speak my mind.¡± Despite being sullen, Andre adamantly sought to bring the topic back, ¡°Since everyone is here, there¡¯s something I want to discuss with all of you.¡±


    All eyes gathered on Andre.


    Andre cleared his throat and said gravely, ¡°I think that regardless of whether the Paratu People can win or not, we need to prepare early¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The first day of the siege went poorly, and on the second day, General Sekler grew ruthless, pushing toward the city walls from early morning, while the tunneling troops also intensified their digging throughout the night.


    The mud walls of the city were not tall, but the Paratu army lacked artillery¡ªand even if they had artillery, it would not be effective against the low earthen walls¡ªso they could only clear the area beneath the walls with mantlets first, then proceed to undermining and blasting operations.


    The Herders had added two bastions on the western wall, dug multiple trenches outside the city, erected wooden fences and low walls, and positioned archers¡ªmainly bowmen and a few with muskets¡ªboth atop and beneath the ramparts. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Paratu army¡¯s main focus was on the two bastions; without removing these two bastions first, there would be no way to attack the city gates.


    Sergeant Miller of the Fifth Legion¡¯s chief battalion pushed the mantlet up the hill and finally reached the first parapet, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.


    Due to the terrain, each parapet at the base of the city was positioned higher than the last, ensuring unobstructed lines of fire.


    Arrows struck the mantlet from above and below, producing a series of dull ¡°thumps.¡±


    Miller¡¯s men held their shields high, desperately trying to hide behind the mantlet. Many Herders were still using bone and stone arrowheads, which were ineffective against plate armor, but no one wanted to take their chances.


    Moreover, the sword-and-shield bearers wore only partial armor, and the Herder bowmen aimed specifically for their legs.


    Amid the Whoosh of the arrows, occasionally mixed with the muted boom of muskets¡ªa sound that chilled the sword-and-shield bearers to the bone.


    They were now ten steps from the wall, but everyone hesitated to move forward. Sergeant Miller gritted his teeth and, with a shield over his head, roared as he charged toward the parapet.


    An arrow struck Miller squarely in the chest with a piercing crack, sending a shower of the arrowhead and splinters flying; Miller faltered but continued his charge.


    Seeing the sergeant taking the lead, the other Paratuan soldiers bit down and followed. The musketeers set up their barrels on the mantlet and began firing at the archers on the walls.


    After a fierce struggle, the Herders were defeated, and Miller led his men in clearing that section of the parapet.


    While arrows still rained down from the walls, Miller took an arrow to his right leg, and his tentmate dragged him behind the protection of another side of the parapet.


    The Paratuan soldiers temporarily used the Herders¡¯ parapet to defend against the projectiles.


    Next, they needed to fill in the trenches and attack the next parapet, then fill in more trenches, and attack the subsequent ones to finally reach the city wall.


    While the Paratuan soldiers were engaged in a fierce struggle with the Herders below the city, Winters continued to dig the Z-shaped trench extending towards the city walls.


    In his eyes, the Paratuan soldiers were sufficiently fierce and brave, but the generals were too impatient and underestimated the enemy, always looking for a quick victory.


    Be mindful that shaving foam doesn¡¯t delay shaving, the attack positions of the Paratuan army and the city walls were separated by more than six hundred meters uphill.


    Without finding a way to shorten this distance, how could they mount an effective assault on the city wall?


    Moreover, the Paratuan generals had yet to realize the importance of locking the enemy within the city walls.


    Having closely observed Antonio command sieges, Winters noticed that the elder¡¯s first action during every siege was to find a way to trap the enemy inside the city walls.


    In the mid-phase of the Tachi siege, the Venetian soldiers even sneaked into the city ditch at night to retrieve cannonballs, while the Federated troops were stuck behind the city walls, helpless to do anything but watch.


    Once the defending army was unable to leave the city walls, the fall of the city wouldn¡¯t be far off.


    But now, as the Paratuan army attacked Bianli City, according to Bard, who was on night duty the evening before, it was the Herders who slipped out of the city gate to retrieve arrows and repair their works.


    If this continued, the siege would turn into an outright war of attrition, definitely not the situation the attackers wished to see.


    So while the half-armored Paratuan sword-and-shield bearers fought against the Herders under the city walls, Winters led his men, diligently digging the trench with heads down.


    Lieutenant Jeska had not given such an order, but he did not stop it either.


    The Lieutenant Colonel went to see General Sekler, and soon more civilians and militia were allocated to Winters¡ªfor digging trenches.

 Chapter 421: 56: The Shadow Commander

    Chapter 421: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander


    Fate tormented both sides in a ludicrous manner.


    Once upon a time, city walls were the foolproof method for agricultural civilizations to defend against barbarian tribes, but now they had become the stronghold behind which the nomadic tribes holed up.


    The Paratu People struggled immensely in their siege; it wasn¡¯t until the fourth day that they barely managed to fill the double-layered moat outside the southern wall.


    On the fifth day of the battle, a large troop broke through to the area beneath the southern wall bastion. Shielded by mantlets, the sappers began to excavate the wall, preparing for blasting.


    The most ferocious combat of the siege erupted then and there.


    The Herders atop the bastion poured boiling water and hot oil down the walls in a frenzy, without pause.


    ...


    The main city gate and three side gates burst open as armored Herder elite troops counterattacked in a relentless stream. Some, fearless of death, even leapt down from the battlements, plunging into the crowd to slash wildly.


    With arrows raining down like hail and scalding oil pouring like rain, just a few steps away were comrades and barbarian soldiers locked in combat, their screams, moans, and the sound of weapons piercing flesh incessantly assaulting the ears¡ªthe Paratu engineers dug into the wall with teeth clenched amidst such chaos.


    In the context of Vineta and The Federated Provinces, ¡°frontiersmen¡±¡ªthe Montan and Paratu People are synonymous with rudeness and savagery.


    Yet the courage and ferocity displayed by the Paratu soldiers and their enemies deeply moved Winters.


    The bloody melee had a similar effect on Winters¡¯ auxiliaries and laborers, making their scalps tingle, so much so that they complained less while they worked.


    Although the siege was not progressing smoothly, Winters¡¯ tunneling work was making good progress.


    He had successfully advanced the trench to within two hundred meters of the city walls, with some trenches even less than fifty meters away, where one could clearly hear the voices of the Herders on the walls.


    These trenches greatly reduced the distance of the troops¡¯ charge, now allowing Paratu soldiers to first reach the vicinity of the walls safely via the trenches before launching an assault.


    During retreat, they could fall back to the trenches nearby, then shift further back.


    Winters had estimated that the Herders would launch an attack once the trenches crossed the midline.


    Thus, Winters cautiously prepared countermeasures. He had his most elite squads of ten on full alert, assigned sentries, and arranged chevaux-de-frise and evacuation passages throughout the trenches, among other preparations.


    But his efforts were like winking at a blind man, for the Herder counterstrike never came.


    This made Winters even more certain that, although the Herders had appropriate city defense planning and a will that was strong enough, they lacked practical experience in siege warfare.


    The location and design of Bianli City were first-class, obviously the work of an expert; however, the current garrison seemed to be fighting on instinct.


    They focused on the contention below the walls, and it was very likely that even if some Herders noticed the trenches drawing closer, they could spare no effort to deal with them.


    Or perhaps the garrison deemed the battles at the foot of the wall more critical, thus they neglected the trenches temporarily.


    Whatever the Herders¡¯ thoughts might be, one side¡¯s oversight was an opportunity for the other. Since the Herders underestimated the importance of the trenches, Winters accelerated his tunneling.


    On the fifth day of the siege, in the afternoon, the Paratu engineers finally set the explosives, and Captain Andraleo, covered in dirt, personally lit the fuse.


    Seeing the Paratu People scatter, the Herders, realizing that something bad was about to happen, struck once more, only to be desperately held back by Captain Andraleo and his men.


    The fuse hissed into the earth, and the crowd near the wall involuntarily held their breath, waiting for the earth-shattering explosion.


    Andraleo even closed his eyes, as he was too close to the Blasting Point and had resolved that survival was impossible.


    Yet no one heard an earth-shattering explosion; the blast sounded more like a damp squib.


    When the smoke cleared, a large hole had appeared in the wall. The city wall stood silently in its place, as if nothing had happened.


    The coveted wall-breaching blasting tactic of the Paratu People started off on the wrong foot, with several hundred kilograms of black gunpowder amounting to no more than fireworks.


    ¡­


    On the fifth day of the siege, night fell.


    Colonel Jeska lifted the curtain of Lieutenant Montaigne¡¯s tent to see him writing something on a piece of sheepskin. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon seeing the colonel enter, Winters instinctively covered the sheepskin with a map, stood up, and saluted.


    Jeska took in the scene and, standing at the entrance of the tent, spoke in his customary stern tone, ¡°Sekler wants to see you.¡±


    ¡°General Sekler?¡± Winters was taken aback.


    Jeska nodded slightly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get ready, and then I¡¯ll go.¡± Winters pulled out the sheepskin full of writing from beneath the map, folded it twice, and placed it into a square wooden box.


    As the lieutenant opened the box, Jeska saw it contained stacks of neatly folded sheepskins.


    Following the colonel, Winters headed toward the central command tent in the camp.


    ¡°Sekler is a good man; there¡¯s no need to be nervous,¡± Colonel Jeska said.


    Winters nodded in agreement.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably about tactical matters, so just answer whatever he asks. Sekler likes people who can get to the point. Try to keep it short and to the point,¡± he advised.


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    The colonel hummed lightly, seemingly indifferent to the thanks.


    After another stretch of silence, Jeska suddenly asked, ¡°What were you writing just now? Of course¡­ if you don¡¯t want to say, that¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°A letter to my family.¡±


    ¡°Family.¡± The one-eyed colonel mulled over the word: ¡°In this godforsaken place, even if you write it, you can¡¯t send it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t send it, but I still write.¡±


    The colonel hummed again.


    Inside a spacious tent, Winters met with Brigadier General Sekler.


    Compared to the size of the tent itself, the interior was spartan: a bed, a desk, a clothes rack, and that was all.


    General Sekler sat on a small stool with a bench in front of him, apparently using it as a table while he ate his dinner.

 Chapter 422: 56: The Shadow Commander_2

    Chapter 422: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander_2


    On the bench, there was a plate filled with some mush.


    When Winters entered the tent, General Sekler was pinching a pickled cucumber with his left hand while dipping bread into the mush with his right hand.


    Just by looking at him, he didn¡¯t at all resemble a general commanding large forces, but rather a farmer who had just returned home after working in the fields.


    Paratu officers generally valued pomp and luxury: gold-embroidered waistbands, silk horse cloaks, glittering swords, and complete sets of ceramic tableware¡­


    Especially the Cavalry officers, who were always impeccably dressed, even to a somewhat flamboyant extent.


    Critical critics from Vineta summarized this tendency as follows, ¡°Paratu people always live in scarcity, so for a Paratu person who rarely possesses ¡®enough¡¯, ¡®enough¡¯ means having more than anyone else.¡±


    ...


    In just a second, Winters had an emotional judgment of Sekler: If this man was not a Saint, then he was a fraud; certainly not an ordinary person.


    The General was quite easy-going, ¡°Gentlemen, find a place to sit for yourselves.¡±


    Though he said to find a place to sit, there wasn¡¯t even an extra bench in the tent.


    Colonel Jeska had no qualms about sitting on the General¡¯s bed. The Lieutenant stood awkwardly, neither sitting nor standing, before finally standing straight.


    ¡°I brought the man,¡± Jeska said with a nod, ¡°He is Winters Montagne. He led the digging of those trenches.¡±


    Winters had thought that the Colonel was cold only to his subordinates, but it turned out he spoke to the General in the same tone.


    Sekler took a bite of bread and looked at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montagne?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters¡¯s heels clicked together.


    ¡°I know you have been wronged, and you can¡¯t return home, it¡¯s our fault,¡± General Sekler said earnestly: ¡°I promise you, as soon as this battle is over, I will arrange for your return to Vineta.¡±


    Winters had a bad premonition, ¡°Thank you, General.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about this siege?¡±


    ¡°Our army will prevail!¡±


    ¡°How long do you think it will take to take down the Herder¡¯s city?¡±


    Winters found it odd. He really wanted to reason with the General that war was never certain.


    But since the other party asked, he had to answer simply: ¡°Don¡¯t know!¡±


    Sekler exchanged a glance with Colonel Jeska, a wry smile appearing, ¡°Speak boldly, even if it¡¯s just a guess.¡±


    ¡°It could be as short as two or three days, but if it¡¯s longer, it¡¯s hard to say, depending on the reserves of the Herders.¡±


    ¡°Two or three days?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps the city could be scaled by tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°But our army had a terrible defeat today.¡±


    ¡°An attack on a city isn¡¯t about a single day¡¯s victory or defeat,¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help saying: ¡°Today proved that the strategy of tunneling and Blasting is feasible. The Herders¡¯ cannon fire has been getting less frequent over the past few days, they must be running out of gunpowder. Without the cannons, the Herders have no way to deal with shield carts.¡±


    After speaking, Winters paused, adding: ¡°Of course, the Blasting method still needs improvement.¡±


    ¡°How to improve it?¡±


    ¡°Strengthen the sealing. It would be best to use tunnel Blasting, aren¡¯t they still digging tunnels?¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t reached under the city walls yet.¡±


    ¡°The key is still to break the Herders¡¯ morale. If the morale of the Herders isn¡¯t broken, even if the outer wall is breached, there is still an inner wall. After the inner wall is taken, there¡¯s still the fight for the houses.¡±


    Sekler smiled and shook his head, ¡°Do you know who is defending the city? They¡¯re Barbarian Chief Yasin¡¯s own tribesmen, his relatives, direct descendants, guards. As long as Yasin lives, those Herders in the city won¡¯t give up resisting.¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that given the enmity between the Paratu people and the Herders, it was probably difficult to demoralize the enemy with ordinary methods.


    Sekler continued to ask, ¡°You must have encountered those Herd Raiders who crossed The Styx, right?¡± Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Do you know who those Herders are?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± To someone unfamiliar with the wilderness, Herders were just Herders, and that was Winters¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°Those are a mix of several dozen tribes called Naiman, but not a single person from the Red River Tribe,¡± Sekler said with a sigh: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate this Barbarian! He hooked us with his own tribesmen but sent other tribes to raid Paratu, to feast on the fat. He gnaws bones and lets others have the meat. Just based on this resolve, if we don¡¯t crush him to death in this earthen city today, the Paratu border will not be at peace for the next twenty years.¡±


    Winters listened, absorbed. At first, this battle was just ¡°Paratu people fighting the Herders¡± to him.


    But the more he got involved, the more he realized the deep logic of the war was far more complex than the simple notion of ¡°border people clashing with barbarians.¡±


    This was an ¡°extermination.¡±


    While Winters was lost in thought, General Sekler spoke contemplatively: ¡°Lieutenant Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    The General said something startling: ¡°If you were in charge of coordinating everything, how soon could you take down Bianli?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t react for a moment.


    General Sekler repeated his question.


    ¡°Next year,¡± Winters replied.


    Winters began to notice something odd: the General was getting a bit desperate.


    In this siege, Winters had effectively commanded auxiliary troops and civilian workers numbering close to twelve hundred.


    This was the first time he had been responsible for so many people, and it was already causing him some stress.


    Moreover, Winters knew very well that he could command more than a thousand people because the auxiliary troops¡¯ commander was a fellow Vinetan from his entering class. The Lieutenants from Vineta shared a camaraderie and were not adverse to listening to him.

 Chapter 423: 56: The Shadow Commander_3

    Chapter 423: Chapter 56: The Shadow Commander_3


    The civilians were naturally obedient to military authority and didn¡¯t require much additional concern.


    ¡°If I were in charge,¡± Winters seriously repeated his answer, ¡°next year. No one would listen to me, only waiting for the Herders to starve to death.¡±


    Major General Sekler understood the lieutenant¡¯s point and explained, ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t need to come to the forefront, you can take a position at the legion¡¯s headquarters. Orders would be issued in my name and Alpad¡¯s, so you won¡¯t be made a target.¡±


    ¡°Why the rush?¡± Winters countered, ¡°Even if I were to step up, it would be the same old tactics¡ªtunneling, blasting, artillery bombardment. Today, we can already glimpse the dawn of victory; with patience, Bianli City will be Paratu¡¯s sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sekler said, his eyes intense and expression stern, ¡°It must be fast! The faster, the better!¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    ¡­


    That night, the Paratu army entered the trench positions and tunneled forward throughout the night.


    The next day, the Paratu army blasted open the South Rampart¡¯s wall again.


    This time, the engineers adopted a new tunneling method, not going straight in but instead creating an angled cavity. Although it required more work, the sealing effect was much better.


    The engineering craftsmen in the army also improved the containers used for the gunpowder. Previously, to facilitate transportation, gunpowder was delivered to the mine in separate barrels. The barrels were detonated successively, which dispersed the power of the explosion.


    This time, they used a single ¡°coffin¡± filled with gunpowder, bound tightly with iron hoops, and sealed with pitch both inside and out.


    The second blast was no longer a muffled fart.


    A corner of the South Rampart was directly demolished, the explosion sound even startling the warhorses at the main camp. Earth and splintered wood flew dozens of meters into the air, and there was a rain of mud both inside and outside the city.


    As soon as the South Rampart had been breached, the newly-formed Paratu grenadier battalion rushed into the gap.


    Following Winters¡¯ suggestion, Sekler picked tall, strong, powerfully built, and courageous soldiers from the Fifth and Sixth Legions, equipping them with half-armor, full-face helmets, close-combat weapons, and iron bombs specifically for storming breaches.


    The iron bombs were heavy but had a miraculous effect in siege warfare.


    The Herders fought back desperately, but the Paratu army advanced and retreated three times, eventually securing a firm hold on a corner of the bastion.


    By the time the Herders wanted to push back the Paratu People from the breach, it was no longer possible, because while the two sides were struggling at the gap, Winters had already led his men to connect the last section between the breach and the trench positions.


    The Paratu army could continually reinforce the breach through the trenches.


    As night fell and both the exhausted Paratu and Herders could not best each other, both sides ceased their banners and drums to lick their wounds, and the battle ended for the moment.


    However, in the dead of night, another explosion jolted people, animals, and birds awake for miles around.


    This time, it was a mine blast almost unbounded by the volume of charges; the entire North Rampart of West Guard City was blown sky-high.


    The Herders inside were so terrified they thought it was an earthquake and scattered in all directions.


    The Paratu army, prepared in advance, seized the moment to attack the breach in the North Rampart with two infantry battalions. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fighting fiercely from deep night until dawn, West Guard City was conquered. The Herders fled into the main city seeking refuge.


    Paratu¡¯s flanking forces on the south and north banks also took the opportunity to cross the river, erecting siege ladders to attack the Eastern Defense City.


    As the sun rose from the horizon, Winters stood at the watchtower, gazing at Bianli, where Paratu¡¯s quadrant flags were already planted throughout the West City.


    Andre was beaming with joy beside Winters.


    Lieutenant Vineta and others had already heard¡ªthe war would be over, and they could go home, with victory within reach.


    ¡°So vulnerable, so utterly vulnerable!¡± Andre laughed heartily, clapping Winters¡¯ shoulder vigorously.


    ¡°The battle isn¡¯t won yet, don¡¯t rush to celebrate,¡± Winters also let out a hint of a smile, and he beckoned to a messenger, ¡°Go find Major General Sekler. Lieutenant Mason has gathered the Herders¡¯ artillery shells. Have Lieutenant Mason take the shells to the front, turn the Herders¡¯ cannons around, and blow open the main city gates.¡±


    The messenger scrambled down from the watchtower and ran quickly towards the headquarters of the legion.


    Winters felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, the army was at his disposal like chess pieces, and he could plan without restraint, watching his plans unfold¡ªnothing could excite him more.


    Even though he was just an adviser strategizing behind the scenes, he found all this gave him an illusion of omnipotence, and he couldn¡¯t help but ask himself, ¡°Is this what power is like? Dangerous and intoxicating.¡±


    With the dawn, squad after squad of soldiers left the staging area, heading towards Bianli City.


    Winters reached for his pendant box, ¡°The Herders¡¯ morale is already faltering; maybe it is possible to win the battle in one go.¡±


    Behind him, unseen, a rider charged straight into the camp gates. The guards immediately intercepted; the rider fell from the horse, shouting and scrambling toward the headquarters of the legion.


    Five minutes later, Winters received a slip of paper.


    The joy on his face gradually faded, and the wrinkles on his forehead began to appear one by one.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Andre sensed something amiss.


    Within view, the Paratu formations marching in step towards Bianli started to turn around one by one, the green-crested messenger riders galloping towards West Guard City.


    Winters raised the slip of paper in his hand, an unusually calm look on his face, ¡°The Herders¡¯ reinforcements have arrived.¡±

 Chapter 424: 57: Forming the Array to Meet the Enemy

    Chapter 424: Chapter 57: Forming the Array to Meet the Enemy


    At dawn, scouts reported that large Herder cavalry forces were rapidly approaching.


    Along with the report of ¡°large Herder cavalry forces rapidly approaching,¡± came a call for help from the encampments on the north bank.


    The skirmishes had already started, causing a split in the leadership of Paratu¡¯s forces.


    Some wanted to call off the siege to prepare for the enemy reinforcements; others demanded a full assault to take the city before the reinforcements arrived; and still, some revisited old arguments, believing that the opportunity to attack Bianli had been lost and that they should retreat and regroup.


    At the emergency meeting, Colonel Laszlo¡ªthe chief commander of the Fifth Legion¡ªwas red-eyed and bellowing, ¡°War is a matter of spirit! Right now we have momentum within the city! Retreat? You tell me, how do we retreat? If we retreat we might never get back in! And if those savages from the city surge out, it will be the Battle of Drelegorbel all over again!¡±


    Cavalry Colonel Haug was equally loud, ¡°What¡¯s the use of taking Bianli if we don¡¯t defeat the reinforcements? If we haven¡¯t taken Bianli and get surrounded from behind, the entire army could be destroyed! Defeat the reinforcements, and Bianli will be ours sooner or later. Don¡¯t defeat the reinforcements, and we¡¯re all done for! It¡¯s that simple!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bullshit!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll fight you right here!¡±


    ¡°SHUT UP!?¡± Major General Alpad flipped the table over, shattering a fine porcelain vase.


    The two, who were about to come to blows, instantly fell silent.


    Since General Yanosh had a stroke, there was no one left in Paratu¡¯s army who could make a definitive decision.


    Those who had been in favor of retreating were now pushing for a siege, and those who had pushed for the siege were now advocating for combatting the reinforcements.


    Just like the small part of an iceberg visible above water, the dispute between Laszlo and Haug represented a clash of strategies, directions, and the conflicts between infantry and cavalry factions.


    When General Yanosh commanded the entire army, there was a healthy competition because the general was the faction of all factions, and his prestige and wisdom were sufficient to subdue everyone.


    But when the general was incapacitated, the previously concealed contradictions immediately intensified.


    ¡°The worst strategy is to have no strategy at all. Bickering among yourselves, you might as well just extend your necks for the savages to chop!¡± Brigadier General Sekler coldly stated, ¡°Major General Alpad and I have already made up our minds.¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, the light of morning grew brighter.


    The fate of the battle for West Guard City had been decided. The savages retreated in defeat, with wave after wave of Paratu soldiers flooding into the city walls.


    Desperate, the Herders started to set fire to the city.


    In the dry winter season, filled with straw huts and wooden houses, West Guard City almost instantly turned into an inferno.


    The low-hanging clouds were dyed crimson by the blaze, outshining the morning glow.


    The wind fanned the flames, which quickly spread towards the outer wall, forcing the Paratu troops that had entered the city to withdraw again to the outskirts.


    The great fire temporarily separated both sides; Paratu¡¯s army controlled the exterior city walls, but the main city remained firmly in the hands of the Herders.


    A courier from the legion¡¯s headquarters spent tremendous effort to locate Centurion Barlas within the city.


    ¡°Retreat? Say it to me again! Retreat?¡± Captain Barlas¡¯s gaze seemed ready to devour someone the next second.


    He gripped the courier¡¯s shoulder fiercely, his fingers digging deep into the flesh.


    The poor courier¡¯s legs were weak as he stumbled over the orders: ¡°You are commanded to disengage from combat, rally your forces, return to the staging grounds, and stand by for reorganization.


    Captain Barlas tore off his helmet and smashed it furiously to the ground.


    Due to the northwestern wind, there was still a small area on the northwest corner of the city that the fire had not reached.


    Barlas was leading his men to create a firebreak, constructing makeshift battering rams from roof beams, ready to assault the main city gate as soon as the fire died down.


    Military orders are as unyielding as mountains; the captain looked at the flickering shadows of the inner wall through the smoke and reluctantly uttered the word, ¡°Retreat.¡±


    ¡­


    Just as Barlas¡¯s century received orders to retreat, Winters had just made his way into West Guard City.


    He rode his horse through the breach in the city wall, and a wave of scorching heat immediately hit him.


    The stench of burnt flesh filled the air; his horse, Strong, unhappily shook his head, not liking the place one bit.


    Behind the billowing smoke came sporadic blood-curdling screams¡ªpeople being burnt alive.


    ¡°Have you seen Lieutenant Mason?¡± Winters asked everyone he met, ¡°Where is Lieutenant Mason?¡±


    The five infantry platoons responsible for the initial assault were retreating; the soldiers, like a school of sardines, were blindly following each other out.


    A few centurions were leading their men to dismantle the city wall to prevent the Herders from reclaiming it.


    But after exiting, many soldiers merely collapsed on the ground, gasping for air with no strength left even to raise their arms.


    Although the siege was halted, the gains could not be discarded. A full-strength platoon was marching towards the city, with orders to repel any foe attempting to retake the outer wall.


    Winters, moving against the stream of soldiers, kept asking around and loudly calling out using a spell to amplify his voice. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Over here!¡±


    ¡°Right here!¡±


    Winters looked up in response to the call and saw Lieutenant Mason on top of the city wall, vigorously waving his hands.


    He hurried up to the wall, where Mason was struggling with a few subordinates to move a heavy bronze cannon.


    ¡°Stop moving it! Come with me now!¡±


    At these words, they dropped the cannon.


    Mason hastily wiped the soot from his face and asked anxiously, ¡°Why is everyone retreating? I heard that Herder reinforcements have arrived? So many that they can¡¯t be counted?¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°That¡¯s what everyone is saying!¡±


    ¡°There are Herders coming from the north, but not so many that they can¡¯t be counted¡­ We¡¯ll talk when we get back!¡±


    ¡°And what about this thing?¡± Mason pointed to the cannon at his feet.

 Chapter 425: 57: Forming the Battle Array to Meet the Enemy_2

    Chapter 425: Chapter 57: Forming the Battle Array to Meet the Enemy_2


    ¡°Throw this! Can it still be thrown?¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters and Mason hurried back to the main camp, Jeska¡¯s battalion was assembling.


    In the area allocated for the militia support troops, the reprimands of centurions rose and fell in succession.


    One of the keys to forming ranks quickly was for everyone to know their place, and it was obvious that the Paratu militia did not quite grasp this.


    Seeing the two centurions return to their troops only now, Colonel Jeska showed some displeasure, ¡°Where have you been?¡±


    ...


    ¡°If Montaigne hadn¡¯t come for me, I wouldn¡¯t even know there was an urgent assembly,¡± Lieutenant Mason asked the colonel with suppressed anxiety, ¡°Sir, just how many Herders have come?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know yet,¡± Jeska¡¯s expression was grim, ¡°Get your men ready first.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had not been directly involved in last night¡¯s siege. Half of Winters¡¯ subordinates were on trench duty, while the rest were on standby in the camp.


    The camp militia was quickly assembled, while it took some time for the trench militia to gather.


    Luckily, Winters¡¯s centurions were capable enough that he didn¡¯t need to attend to everything personally.


    MMost of the militiamen¡¯s faces could not hide their panic, which made Winters thankful that he still had some ¡°veterans¡± who had seen blood as a core force.


    Mason, who had hurried back, went to the colonel for instructions, then hurriedly left with more men and carts¡ªto move cannons.


    Lieutenant Bard, in charge of arms management, began to distribute weapons, armor, and ammunition to the militiamen.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had captured over a hundred pieces of Herder armor, which were usually kept and repaired by the battalion arsenal, and now all were issued to Winters¡¯s spearman.


    There were also some temporary armors made from modified Herder horse armor also being issued. It was blacksmith Berlion who came up with the idea of changing horse armor into human armor.


    [Note: Herder horse armor and human armor use the same plates]


    Because of reinforcements and supplements, Jeska¡¯s battalion¡¯s strength had reached eight centurion teams¡ªtwo more than a full-strength battalion.


    So the colonel rearranged the teams, turning the ¡°mixed teams¡± of various weapons into ¡°solid teams¡± consisting of only one type of weapon.


    [Note: Mixed teams are centurion teams with a mix of weapons; solid teams are centurion teams with a single type of weapon.] sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, Jeska¡¯s battalion had a complex composition, with Winters¡¯s two teams of spearmen and halberdiers being the most reliable, followed by Andre¡¯s two teams of musketeers and crossbowmen.


    Winters and Andre¡¯s subordinates were mainly the old hands of the battalion and newly recruited militiamen.


    Compared to them, the men under Lieutenant Bard and Lieutenant Mason were a more mixed lot: penal laborers, merchants conscripted into service, remnants of other militia squads¡­ all sorts of people.


    In a way, the reason Bard and Mason were leading this ¡°ragtag bunch¡± was because these ¡°ragtag bunch¡± could only be managed by the two of them.


    The Dusack cavalry was led by Colonel Jeska personally.


    Winters walked among the formation, checking weapons and armor one by one.


    Half of his subordinates wore Paratu half-armors while the rest were clad in the awkward-looking Herder armor, and at first glance, it was difficult to distinguish which side the soldiers were on.


    ¡°What in the world are you wearing?¡± Winters stopped in front of a spearman in armor.


    Anxious, he couldn¡¯t help but speak sharply, ¡°Why did you leave the ties on the outside?¡±


    The spearman swallowed hard.


    ¡°You¡¯re Ish?¡± Winters remembered the spearman¡¯s name, ¡°Is it you?¡±


    Ish from Ganshui Town nodded quickly. He tried to untie the straps, but his movements were clumsy, and he couldn¡¯t find the end of the tie.


    Impatient, Winters directly untied the spearman¡¯s arm armor and deftly dressed him properly, ¡°Tie it like I do! Tuck all the knots inside!¡±


    By the time Ish came to his senses, the lieutenant had already moved on to others.


    Ish tried several times to speak up but only licked his lips, and the words ¡°thank you¡± never left his mouth.


    ¡°Centurions, listen up! Check your tent-mates¡¯ armor!¡± Winters, who was inspecting the line, ordered loudly, ¡°Help each other dress!¡±


    The centurions immediately sprang into action, and unlike the flustered militiamen, these old hands who followed Winters showed a bit more steadiness.


    Xial and Heinrich came running up to Winters with a centurion¡¯s armor: ¡°You should get armored quickly too!¡±


    Winters stood at a clear area, and Xial and Heinrich began dressing him in a three-quarter armor.


    Andre and Bard came over to confer with Winters.


    ¡°Do you know how many Herders have come?¡± Andre asked, frowning deeply, ¡°To put up such a grand posture?¡±


    Winters shook his head


    Bard gestured towards the center of the main camp, saying calmly, ¡°Everyone¡¯s on the move.¡±


    Suddenly, an invisible intense vibration filled the air¡ªit was the thunderous sound of horse hooves trampling the ground, very close by.


    Everyone was startled; some militiamen were even scared enough to drop their weapons.


    ¡°They¡¯re here so soon?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened.


    Winters pursed his lips and listened intently, then soon let out a sigh of relief, ¡°It¡¯s not the Herders coming; it¡¯s the cavalry from the camp heading out, maybe scattering the scouts.¡±


    ¡°No, not scouts,¡± Bard touched his pulse and counted, ¡°Since when are there so many scouts?¡±


    The three lieutenants climbed the nearby watchtower, where the whole camp was visible at a glance from atop the tower.


    At the other end of the large camp, the cavalry campsite kicked up a huge dust cloud that filled the sky.


    At least four squadrons of cavalry had left the camp, and even more cavalry were getting ready to move out.


    Andre squinted, scrutinizing carefully, and suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Almost all the light cavalry are mobilized!¡±


    Outside the camp gates, a long trail of dust stretched northward.

 Chapter 426: 57: Forming Up to Meet the Enemy_3

    Chapter 426: Chapter 57: Forming Up to Meet the Enemy_3


    A messenger with green helmet tassels charged toward the militia garrison, bringing official intelligence to the Jeska Squadron:


    A large contingent of Herd Cavalry was pressing in from the north; scouts had been repelled by the enemy¡¯s light cavalry on the periphery and failed to discern the exact strength of the troops, estimating a force of several thousand cavalry.


    The messenger also brought orders for the Jeska Squadron:


    Proceed immediately to North Bridge, fortify and defend the bridgehead encampment.


    ¡­


    The siege was suddenly called off, and rumors of all sorts spread like wildfire, leaving mid- and lower-ranking officers and soldiers in a state of unease.


    ...


    But the command chain of the Paratu army was still operating normally, and the legion headquarters was issuing orders methodically, as if they had anticipated this situation.


    In such times, orders became the ballast of the soldiers¡¯ morale, providing a sense of security in their mechanical execution.


    A sense of honor stirred in the hearts of the Paratu soldiers; they had time and again triumphed despite being outnumbered¡ªthey were the shield of the Alliance, an invincible iron army that never faltered in attack or in battle.


    Like a fierce beast turning its head, the army began to shift its weight, preparing to meet the enemy.


    Troops that had not yet engaged in battle changed direction, while the five squads that had been fighting withdrew and regrouped.


    More scouts were dispatched to the wilderness, determined not to be easily driven off again.


    Piaoqi Troops and mounted riflemen poured out of the camp, rushing to aid the camp on the northern shore.


    General Sekler found Alpad who was armoring up: ¡°Just sending light cavalry to the northern camp, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°I know, I¡¯ll take the heavy cavalry,¡± Alpad gulped down a large mouthful of strong liquor, casually stuffing the flat silver flask into his breastplate.


    The major general¡¯s face was flushed slightly from the rush of blood, and if not for the wrinkles and greying at the temples, it would be hard to imagine that this Paratu man was already past fifty.


    Two infantry squadrons were encamped on the northern bank of Confluence River, positioned there to block the ingress and egress to the north of Bianli City.


    Now, facing the enemy reinforcements, they were the first to face the onslaught.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just to deal with the vanguard of the Herders, light cavalry is enough,¡± Sekler paused: ¡°But to stop the reinforcements from entering the city, or to prevent the Red River Tribe from breaking through, the northern camp needs to be reinforced. It¡¯s now of utmost importance and must be overseen by someone.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Alpad raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the men,¡± Sekler said gravely: ¡°I¡¯ll take the reserves that haven¡¯t been committed to the siege to the northern camp. Before, we only had to prevent the Herders from coming out, but now we also have to stop the enemy from getting in, so the southern camp must be also fortified. Let that boy Jeska dig the blockade trenches, his men are good at this.¡±


    Alpad laughed heartily: ¡°Then it should be me taking men to the northern camp. You¡¯ve always been in charge of the central forces, the main camp can¡¯t function without you.¡±


    ¡°No, that was before General Yanosh was incapacitated,¡± Sekler replied with a piercing gaze: ¡°You are now the highest-ranking officer, the commander of an army, you can¡¯t charge around as you please anymore. The Herders are all cavalry, tactically they have the initiative. But if they are to relieve Bianli, strategically they¡¯re at a disadvantage. Our chance for victory¡­ lies exactly there.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The west wind howled, and the clouds obscured the sun.


    Three thousand Paratu soldiers crossed the wooden bridge, advancing toward the northern encampment. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A thunderous roar of hoofbeats came from the north; a scout waved his helmet, dashing madly toward General Sekler.


    His mouth was agape, but his shouts were completely drowned out by the sound of the hooves.


    Suddenly, a figure of a Herd Cavalry appeared on the slope¡¯s ridge line behind the scout, followed by two, ten, a hundred¡­


    Countless Herd Cavalry leapt from the reverse slope, whistling as they charged toward the Paratu column.


    ¡°Is this an attempt to ¡®surround a point for aid¡¯?¡± General Sekler sneered.


    Military horns sounded, the war drums boomed.


    Right in front of the countless Herd Barbarians¡¯ eyes, six infantry squadrons executed a series of complex formation shifts.


    Backed by the Confluence River, the Paratu soldiers formed up to face the enemy.


    ¡°I am in the formation!¡± Sekler raised his glaive high above from horseback, his voice amplified by the Spellcasters and reaching everyone: ¡°If I retreat a single step¡ªbehead me!¡±


    The soldiers all fixed their eyes on the general¡¯s helmet tassel, falling into sudden silence.


    ¡°Long live!¡± Someone suddenly shouted.


    ¡°Long live!¡± More and more people joined the cheer.


    ¡°Long live!¡± All voices merged into one: ¡°Long live!¡±


    Accompanied by the deafening roar of the battle cry, Sekler dismounted and strode into the square formation.

 Chapter 427: 58 Square Formation

    Chapter 427: Chapter 58 Square Formation


    How many soldiers are needed to form a square formation?


    The more, the better, of course.


    Because numbers are courage.


    Fifty-seven years ago, at the Battle of Spurs, the army supporting Richard¡¯s accession to the throne formed only two square formations but used thirteen thousand musketeers and halberdiers.


    Each square formation had more than six thousand men, cumbersome and slow-moving like turtles, but they still won.


    Richard¡¯s uncle, the Earl of Northumberland Philip, who contested the crown with a large contingent of noble cavalry, suffered a crushing defeat.


    ...


    After the battle, Philip the Aspirant was beheaded, and the two-year-long war of succession came to an end.


    In that battle, Ned of Tormes had just turned nineteen and was an inconspicuous attendant, laughed at by his companions for trembling legs when going into battle, and ran off to the river to cry in secret.


    Emperor Richard was a skinny little eleven-year-old called ¡°Little Pea¡± by his mother.


    At that time, Richard was still a child innocent of the world, only wanting to ride horses and play all day, with no one foreseeing the future nickname ¡°The Madman¡± that he would earn.


    As the greatest hero of this battle, Francois of Milborg was appointed the Duke of Arlyon, and for his merciless tactics of leaving no survivors, he was feared and referred to as ¡°The Butcher¡± by both great and small nobles.


    With the impregnable square formation of musketeers and halberdiers, the Butcher Duke henceforth had few defeats in his wars to the south and north.


    The long pikes of the square formation were not afraid of the cavalry¡¯s charge, making infantry become the main force of the army once again.


    While everyone was rushing to imitate the Butcher Duke, a few perceptive military men had already noticed a flaw: the square formation tactic was a serious waste of manpower, and the larger the square, the more severe the waste.


    After every battle, it was common to find that only the soldiers on the outer layer of the square had seen combat.


    As for those inside the square¡­ they were just there to bolster the courage of those outside, serving no other purpose apart from shouting and cheering.


    If the side outside won, those inside would rush out to chase down the fleeing enemy; if the outside was defeated, those inside could only flee as well.


    Thirty years ago, when Ned Smith undertook the reform of square formation tactics, he kept the number of a single square formation to under three thousand. He also reduced the proportion of close-combat soldiers in favor of musketeers and crossbowmen.


    The new composite square formation triumphed over the old musketeer and halberdier square. After this tactical innovation, mathematics became a required course for officers.


    Because in order to arrange a square formation, one must understand geometry and be skilled at mental multiplication, division, and square root calculations.


    And when mathematics became widespread, another new theory was proposed ¨C ¡°Small Square Tactics¡±: when the number of troops is fixed, the smaller each individual square formation, the more soldiers that can engage the enemy.


    But small square formations come with a cost; the smaller the formation, the easier it is to be broken, and the higher the morale requirements for the army.


    At this very moment, the Paratu troops facing the Herders are using small square formations.


    Ambushed on their way, the commanding officers had only a few seconds to make their decisions.


    Colonel Laszlo, the deputy to the brigadier, rode up quickly, speaking rapidly, ¡°I¡¯ll take men to block them! To buy you time!¡±


    ¡°No time!¡± Sekler commanded calmly, ¡°Use small square formations! Buglers!¡±


    Using shrill bugle calls, army drums, flags, and Spellcasters, the Paratu army relied on these four means of command.


    The piercing sound of bugles cut through the roar of horses¡¯ hooves; each battalion responded with the beat of their drums, as the six infantry battalions, marching in columns, swiftly changed formation.


    The soldiers immediately discarded their knapsacks, gear, tents, and other miscellaneous items, holding only their weapons and ammunition.


    In the rapid rhythm of drumbeats, four close-combat centurions gathered under the battalion flag, forming a solid square formation with the spacing of left to right elbows and six steps front to back.


    Long pikes wrapped around halberdiers and sword and shield men, with the battalion flag protected at the very center, while two musketeer centurions were stationed at the four corners of the formation.


    Testy sergeants ran between the rows, cursing at disoriented soldiers; if they saw anyone in the wrong position, they would kick them into place, and that¡¯s how quickly the square formations took shape.


    Right under the noses of the Herders, the six Paratu infantry battalions formed up back to the water, with the small square formations lined up from east to west along the riverbank.


    The enemy cavalry would be upon them in the blink of an eye, and the Paratu musketeers hadn¡¯t even lit their matches.


    Seeing this, Sekler made a snap decision, ¡°Have each battalion bring the musketeers in!¡±


    Upon receiving the order, the bugler blew another tune with all the strength he could muster.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, commander of the Second Battalion of the Sixth Legion, couldn¡¯t hear clearly at first; he closed his eyes to listen carefully, then suddenly shouted, ¡°Roy! Varga! Take your men into the square!¡±


    The two centurions¡ªLieutenant Roy and Ensign Varga¡ªacted immediately.


    Under the leadership of the centurions, the musketeer Pinter retreated into the square formation.


    He stopped between two pikemen, holding the flint and tinder close together, striking hard with his fire steel. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Usually, sparking a fire was easy, but not now¡ªit was extremely difficult.


    ¡°Dammit!¡± The thunder of horse hooves was ringing in his ears. Pinter was trembling so badly he couldn¡¯t strike a spark, cursing with every unsuccessful strike, ¡°Dammit! Dammit!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Centurion Roy heard him and bellowed angrily, ¡°Silence in the face of the enemy, or be beheaded!¡±


    Pinter shuddered all over, his lips sealing as if glued shut. After a dozen more strikes, the end of the match finally caught a spark.


    Relieved as if he had found a treasure, Pinter hurriedly cupped his hands around the tinder, carefully blew on it, and the faint spark grew stronger, with wisps of blue smoke emerging.


    Seeing Pinter with a lit match, the neighboring musketeers rushed over to borrow fire.


    The vanguard of the Herder cavalry was less than two hundred meters away, closing in with every second that passed.


    The Paratu People could already hear the Herd Barbarians¡¯ war cries and see the fluttering red and white feathers atop their heads.

 Chapter 428: 58: Square Formation_2

    Chapter 428: Chapter 58: Square Formation_2


    The five hundred men small square formation of Robert¡¯s brigade was solemn and silent, save for a scar-faced sergeant with a halberd pacing the ranks, sternly repeating military regulations:


    ¡°He who looks around in the presence of the enemy, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who makes noise in the presence of the enemy, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who fires without command, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who advances or retreats alone, execute!¡±


    ¡°He who has vermillion streaks on his back, execute!¡±


    ...


    By Colonel Robert¡¯s side stood a military police sergeant with fierce eyes, holding a short bow, armed with vermillion arrows.


    [Note: This regulation was a tradition inherited by the Paratu army from their nomadic days. Before battle, military police sergeants would carry short bows and line up behind the troops, armed with cinnabar arrows. Anyone who made noise, shrank back, or advanced or retreated alone would be shot with the vermillion arrows. After the battle, those found with vermillion marks on their backs would be executed on the spot.]


    The green-plumed messenger cavalry rushed to the edge of the square formation and shouted, ¡°Colonel Robert! The general orders your unit to seize the opportunity to move closer to the riverbank!¡±


    The six small square formations were lined up in a very poor overall formation. Robert¡¯s square formation was positioned at the eastern end of the entire line, the most perilous location.


    ¡°How can I move now?¡± Colonel Robert, enraged, shouted back, ¡°Let¡¯s survive the first wave and then talk!¡±


    The Herd cavalry were less than a hundred paces away, and the sergeants patrolling outside the formation also began retreating back into the ranks.


    In the face of the terrifying onslaught of several thousand charging cavalrymen, no Paratu person was not afraid.


    From the privates to the sergeants, to the centurions and the brigade commanders, everyone uncontrollably experienced dry mouth, dilated pupils, accelerated breathing, and a softening grip on their weapons.


    Suddenly, a voice magnified by magic echoed across the wilderness, ¡°I stand in formation!¡±


    Upon this call, the Paratu People on the battlefield turned and saw the general¡¯s magnificent plume.


    ¡°If I take one step back!¡±


    ¡°Take off my head!¡±


    Sekler stepped into the square formation with his halberd in great strides.


    At that instant, even the most timid coward felt boundless courage surge from the bottom of his heart, and the morale of Paratu¡¯s troops peaked.


    ¡°Long live! Long live! Long live!¡±


    The cheers even drowned out the thundering sound of hooves.


    ¡°Spearmen!¡± Colonel Robert roared with all his might, ¡°Brace your spears!¡±


    ¡°Long live!¡± The front rank soldiers pushed their long spears into the ground.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The second rank soldiers held their long spears horizontally.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The third rank soldiers raised their long spears high.


    Three ranks of long spears pointed forward at once, their tips gleaming coldly.


    The Paratu square formation and the Herd cavalry collided with a roar.


    Gunner Pinter was no coward, but when the Herd cavalry charged at him, he still closed his eyes instinctively.


    When he opened his eyes again, Pinter found himself unharmed.


    The Herd Barbarians didn¡¯t break through; the enemy pulled their reins at the last moment, grazing past the spearheads in front of the formation.


    Hundreds of Herd cavalrymen charged the square formation, truly like a towering tidal wave.


    But only a few did not dodge or avoid and crashed into the spear forest, while the others veered off at the last moment, or their Warhorses uncontrollably reared up before the spear tips¡ªthough the men might not fear death, the horses did.


    Right next to Pinter, a fearless Herder on a fearless Herd Warhorse charged into the square formation.


    The Paratu People were knocked over, the spearmen facing the charge instantly had their hands ripped open, and were knocked down head-on by the Warhorse, dead or alive unknown.


    The chest of the Herd Warhorse was pierced by a spearhead and only after breaking two more long spears did it fall to the ground.


    The Herd rider was flung from the saddle, crashing heavily into the square formation, as the surrounding Paratu People quickly stepped aside.


    Centurion Lieutenant Roy unsheathed his sword and pounced on the Herd rider, stepping on his chest and finishing the Herder with a stab.


    One Herder charged through the formation at the cost of his life, and immediately, several ferocious Barbarians followed suit, breaking into the ranks.


    ¡°Ukkaha!¡± The Barbarians, shouting incomprehensible Herd language, wildly slashed with their scimitars from their superior position atop horses, with each swing taking large swaths of flesh.


    ¡°Kill them together!¡± urged the scar-faced sergeant as he thrust his halberd toward the Barbarians, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡±


    With the scar-faced sergeant¡¯s lead, other Halberdiers surrounded, dragged down, and killed the Barbarians.


    Some Paratu soldiers looked back in panic at the battle inside the formation; without a second thought, the military police shot a vermillion arrow into the back of the onlooker, sentencing him to death.


    Roy could hardly contain his anger, ¡°Looking around in battle is punishable by death! Everyone, focus on the front!¡±


    Soon, the dozen or so Herders who had surged into the formation either had their necks broken or were collectively taken down by the Paratu People within the ranks.


    The severely wounded and fallen were carried into the interior of the formation, and soldiers from the back rows quickly filled their empty spots; Robert¡¯s square formation once again became a hedgehog of spears.


    Robert¡¯s square formation was like a steadfast stone in the river, parting the tide of Herd cavalry.


    But the thwarted Herders did not give up their attacks; they began to ride around the square formation. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Colonel Robert, seeing the movement of the Herd cavalry, shouted, ¡°Javelins!¡±


    Herders on horseback quickly drew their curved bows and javelins, launching and shooting them at the Paratu hedgehog formation.


    Arrows flew toward the formation from all directions, and the Herders didn¡¯t even need to aim, for the Paratu People, arrayed in formations, had nowhere to hide.


    The outer layer of spearmen bore the brunt of the ranged attacks, but fortunately, clad in heavy armor, most arrows clinked off harmlessly.


    The real killers were the Herders¡¯ javelins; the Herd cavalrymen holding high their javelins charged at the formation, only throwing them when they were too close to avoid. With the added momentum from the horse¡¯s speed, a javelin could penetrate one unarmored soldier and then plunge into the body of another Paratu person.


    ¡°Shake the spears!¡± Robert, frantic, stood on his stirrups, waved his arms, and bellowed, ¡°Shake the spears!¡±


    The Paratu spearmen immediately began shaking their extra-long spears, the blur of over two hundred spears obscuring the formation, and occasionally an arrow would be knocked away by the shafts.

 Chapter 429: 58 Formation Array_3

    Chapter 429: Chapter 58 Formation Array_3


    Shaking their long spears could only block a small portion of the arrows, but this was the only defensive measure for the spear formation lacking shields.


    ¡°The Herd Barbarians are scared! Think they can kill us all with arrows? Dream on!¡± Colonel Robert laughed furiously, ¡°Shoot them down!¡±


    The spear formation never relied on passive defense, but rather on proactive counter-attacks.


    Lieutenant Roy yelled, ¡°Musket men! Fire at will!¡±


    Pinter moved to the frontmost layer of spearmen, a position where he wouldn¡¯t shoot his comrades by mistake and was still within the protection range of the long spears.


    Bracing his musket and pressing his cheek tightly against the stock, Pinter aimed at a target and pursed his lips as he pulled the trigger.


    ...


    A flash of red, the sound of gunfire, and the wooden stock left his shoulder aching.


    As the smoke cleared, a Herd Cavalryman raised his arm and slid off his horse.


    When the Herd Barbarians shot arrows at the Paratu People, they also gave the Paratu People the chance to fire back at them.


    Pinter pulled out the iron fork stand, retreated into the formation to load, and another musketeer took Pinter¡¯s place.


    Musket men generally didn¡¯t shoot within the formation, as the crowded formation was dangerous for both muskets and their handlers.


    However, when the situation was urgent, safety was crossed off the checklist.


    The sound of gunfire crackled from within the formation, as, under the cover of long spears, the Paratu musketeers began to shoot in rotation.


    Ensign Varga, holding up the holy emblem, fervently rallied his musketeers, ¡°Kill! Wipe out these Heretic Barbarians! We shall all become immortal!¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Herdmen falling from their saddles one after another as they circled the formation with their mounted archery. Most of their arrows struck the plate armor, and most of those bouncing off.


    And if a Herdman was hit by a Paratu heavy musket, they were either dead or severely wounded.


    Especially between the two formations, any Herd Cavalry passing through there would be shot by crossfire.


    The scales of battle began to tip little by little in favor of the Paratu People.


    The Herd Cavalry gradually couldn¡¯t bear the casualties, breaking off from combat and retreating.


    Positioned at the eastern end of the line, Colonel Robert¡¯s unit faced the most Herd attackers, and the adjacent Mara unit even had the surplus to dispatch a small team of musketeers to support the former.


    Finally, like a tide surging in, the Herdmen receded just as swiftly, leaving behind a ground strewn with bodies and the unbowed.


    The temporarily victorious Paratu People felt as if all their strength had been drained in an instant, collapsing to the ground all around.


    Colonel Robert, equally exhausted, waved to summon the scar-faced sergeant: ¡°Old Scar!¡±


    ¡°Sir? What¡¯s the matter?¡± The scar-faced sergeant approached, carrying a long halberd.


    ¡°Take two squads out, bring back a few alive,¡± Robert¡¯s command was brief.


    But the scar-faced sergeant understood: ¡°Yes.¡±


    Leading a dozen swordsmen and shield bearers out of the formation, the sergeant cut ears from Herd corpses, offered mercy to the dying Herd Barbarians¡ªand ¡°bringing back a few alive¡± meant killing all the remaining Herd Barbarians.


    Robert¡¯s brigade had no time for rest, immediately moving to rendezvous with General Sekler¡¯s formation.


    The Herd People didn¡¯t leave, trailing the Paratu troops from a distance. Because of this, Robert¡¯s brigade had to maintain formation throughout the march.


    When the six brigades had regrouped, the sky had gradually darkened. Marching at night would be equal to giving an opportunity to the Herdmen, so General Sekler ordered to camp on elevated ground by the shore.


    The Paratu People dug trenches and built breastworks, awaiting reinforcements. Their light cavalry were nearby, their heavy cavalry across the river.


    Since the Herdmen could not finish them off in one go, it was now time for the Paratu People to devour the Herdmen.


    The reinforcements arrived quickly, sooner than anyone expected¡ªincluding General Sekler.


    The reinforcements themselves were unexpected¡ªnot Paratu cavalry at all.


    Under the watchful eyes of all, a dozen wooden rafts floated down from upstream Confluence River, carrying loaves of bread, barrels of gunpowder, and several pots emitting enticing aromas.


    Even the Herdmen¡¯s light cavalry watching the Paratu People were taken aback.


    ¡°We¡¯re Jeska¡¯s brigade, ordered to assist. We¡¯ve brought food and drink for everyone.¡± The brawny officer dressed in Piaoqi cavalry uniform spoke nonchalantly, casually pointing to the rafts: ¡°There¡¯s also a Floating Bridge.¡±

 Chapter 430: 60 Contingency Plan

    Chapter 430: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan


    ¡°And bring a floating bridge.¡±


    After saying this, the Piaoqi cavalry officer on the raft waved his torch towards the opposite bank three times, and soon someone on the other side responded with a torch.


    It turned out that there was another group of men and horses moving on the opposite side, facing everyone across the river.


    With troops on both banks, they could pull the cables to secure the floating bridge.


    Sekler rushed over upon hearing the news and looked very annoyed. The general¡¯s face was ashen, and he suppressed his anger as he demanded, ¡°That officer on the raft, state your name and allegiance.¡±


    ¡°Andrea Chelini,¡± the tall Piaoqi cavalry officer said indifferently. ¡°Attached to Jeska¡¯s unit.¡±


    ...


    ¡°John Jeska? Where is he?!¡±


    ¡°They took the land route, set off before me,¡± Andre said, suddenly startled. ¡°What? They haven¡¯t come over?¡±


    ¡­


    In an unnamed ravine on the north bank of the Confluence River.


    The furious Jeska was berating Lieutenant Mason at the top of his lungs.


    ¡°What the hell are you good for? Did you shit out everything you learned at the Land Academy?¡± the one-eyed colonel was so angry he was steaming, barely managing to keep his voice down: ¡°You even get lost leading the way!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mason, with his face splattered with the colonel¡¯s spit, managed to complain after a while, ¡°Sir, I¡­ don¡¯t have a map¡­ It¡¯s dark and¡­ besides¡­ I¡¯m actually from the artillery branch¡­¡±


    Colonel Jeska completely lost his temper, not caring anymore about maintaining the dignity of his subordinates in front of the soldiers, and snatched up a horsewhip to lash at him: ¡°You still dare to talk back!¡±


    Mason didn¡¯t dare to dodge or cry out in pain, and he took two solid lashes.


    Just less than a meter behind Lieutenant Mason, a heavily armored soldier was squatting with a long halberd in his arms.


    Behind the halberdier was another musketeer, and further back was an endless line of musketeers, armored pikemen, and halberdiers¡ªa dark mass of people.


    Hundreds of militiamen hid in this narrow, winding ravine, silently waiting for orders.


    Up along the slope of the ravine to the top, Winters was lying in a patch of withered grass, squinting his eyes and straining to find recognizable landmarks.


    Xial was right beside the young lieutenant, speaking in a suppressed voice, full of resentment: ¡°This Lieutenant Mason¡­ where the hell has he brought us?¡±


    ¡°That pig-headed fool is going to get us all killed,¡± the Hunter complained bitterly as well.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Winters hissed softly in rebuke: ¡°If I hear that kind of talk again, even you two will feel the lash.¡±


    About five hundred meters ahead, on a leeward hillside, a few faint campfires could be seen.


    But a closer look would reveal the reflection of weapons in the firelight and the blurry movement of figures.


    The wind carried the whinnying of horses, and if Winters wasn¡¯t mistaken, there were countless Hurd cavalry resting on the hillside¡ªmore accurately, too many to see clearly.


    ¡°Dare we make our move?¡± Winters hesitated, then answered his own question, ¡°We dare not.¡±


    ¡­


    As the closest detachment, Colonel Jeska was the first to receive a request for support.


    Paratu military law was strict; knowing that friendly forces were in danger and yet hesitating to save them meant execution for the commanding officer, demotion for subordinate officers, and the soldiers were to be whipped to death.


    Jeska¡¯s unit was tasked with defending the North Bridge and was not considered ¡°hesitating,¡± thus they were neither obliged nor expected to go for rescue.


    But upon learning that General Sekler was ambushed, Jeska immediately wanted to send troops.


    The one-eyed colonel was determined to go alone, and Centurions Winters, Mason, and the others failed to persuade him otherwise, no matter what they tried.


    Out of options, Winters suggested a solution to the colonel¡ªthe floating bridge.


    South of the Confluence River was under Paratu army control; if they could retreat back to the southern bank, the crisis befalling Sekler¡¯s forces would naturally be resolved.


    The material for the floating bridge would be timber rafts, which could be secured with cables strung between the north and south banks.


    Even without pontoons, Sekler¡¯s forces lacked heavy weapons, so the rafts should be serviceable in a pinch.


    ¡°Timber rafts?¡± Colonel Jeska frowned. ¡°Where do we get the timber rafts? Is there time to lash them together now?¡±


    ¡°There is time, we have the materials ready,¡± Winters replied, his expression steady and his tone sincere, only those who knew him well could detect a hint of embarrassment in his eyes: ¡°At worst, we¡¯ll dismantle the wagons.¡±


    Winters wasn¡¯t lying; he was simply being selective with the truth: the army not only had the timber ready but also the rafts.


    A few days prior at a small gathering of Venetians, Andre had suggested that everyone ¡°prepare in advance.¡±


    Prepare for what? To escape.


    At the military academy, Winters had learned just four things, and ¡°always have a contingency plan¡± was one of them.


    The timber rafts were a secondary option in the contingency plan for evacuating via water, with boats being the primary option.


    Because according to Bard, all the rivers in this wilderness would eventually flow into the inner sea.


    Therefore, theoretically, if the Venetians were to get on a small boat and paddle away, they could happily return home.


    That¡¯s why the Venetians were going to great lengths to acquire boats and also practicing swimming diligently.


    However, finding a ready-made boat in this vast wilderness was even harder than building one.


    But crafting timber rafts was simple, and soon they had made several, carrying them along with the army [Note: Jeska¡¯s unit had many large wagons].


    They just hadn¡¯t expected them to be put to use so quickly.


    ¡°Go prepare,¡± Jeska decided immediately, approving the floating bridge plan: ¡°The faster, the better.¡±


    Perhaps the colonel had already caught on to the Venetians¡¯ plan? Winters himself wasn¡¯t sure. But at least the colonel said nothing and did nothing to expose him.


    Once the plan was settled, Andre was responsible for leading the deployment of the rafts, with a reliable small team heading to the southern bank to assist.


    And¡­ Bard was to stay behind in command of the bridgehead camp, with the colonel himself leading the charge.


    Colonel Jeska was still determined to send troops in support, which he referred to as the ¡°contingency plan.¡±


    One hundred men were left to guard, one hundred men to set the rafts, and Jeska took all six hundred of the remaining centurions with him.

 Chapter 431: 60 Contingency Plan_2

    Chapter 431: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan_2


    The troops advanced eastward along the riverbank, with Winters leading the way, Lieutenant Mason responsible for bringing up the rear, and Colonel Jeska managing the escort.


    However, they encountered the Herders before they could find General Sekler.


    Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t the enemy¡¯s main force, just scattered light cavalrymen with ill intentions probing Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    Dusack lunged at them, and the Herd light cavalry fled on their horses; when Dusack retreated, the Herd light cavalry reappeared. They avoided combat with the Paratu People, annoying like flies.


    Not long after the encounter with the Herd light cavalry, Colonel Jeska called a halt to the march, and both Winters and Mason were summoned to a meeting.


    As soon as Winters saw the Colonel, the first thing he said was, ¡°The Herders didn¡¯t crush Sekler¡¯s forces. Rear to the front, we¡¯re retreating.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Retreating?¡± Winters was utterly confused.


    ¡°Retreating,¡± Colonel Jeska affirmed with conviction.


    ¡°Why?¡± Mason couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Winters was also a bit annoyed: they had insisted on sending out troops before, and now they were suddenly talking about retreating¡ªwere they playing games with everyone?


    The anxiety Colonel Jeska initially felt upon hearing about Sekler¡¯s ambush had completely dissipated: ¡°The Herders are just a rabble. Their first wave of attack is the fiercest and most vicious, and yet a surprise attack. If Sekler¡¯s forces weren¡¯t broken in their first assault, subsequent attacks are even less likely to succeed. Since Sekler¡¯s forces have already stabilized their front, there¡¯s no need for our support¡ªFloating Bridge is enough for their retreat.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Winters quickly interrupted. ¡°How do you know General Sekler¡¯s troops haven¡¯t been routed?¡±


    ¡°If Sekler¡¯s forces had been routed, would the barbarian cavalry play with us like this? The Herders¡¯ focus is clearly not on preventing us from breaking in; they¡¯re guarding against Sekler¡¯s forces from breaking out! The barbarian cavalry are intercepting messengers, cutting off Sekler¡¯s communication. On the contrary, it shows that Sekler¡¯s forces are holding their ground. Hurry and retreat, if we move forward, we¡¯re going to be caught in a pincer attack!¡±


    Colonel Jeska had never been one for military democracy and, aside from one time being usurped, always had the final say.


    When the Colonel ordered a retreat, the team immediately reversed its order, now led by Mason, with Winters at the rear.


    If it was just a matter of retracing their steps along the riverbank, Lieutenant Mason couldn¡¯t go wrong no matter what.


    Although Comrade Mason had dedicated his fervor to pig farming over the years, he still had a bit of his old edge.


    Unfortunately, on the way back, they ran into another group of Herd Barbarians, sparking a small-scale skirmish.


    Worried about being caught in a pincer attack from the enemy catching up from behind, Colonel Jeska ordered them to disengage from the enemy as dusk approached and head north to circle back to the bridgehead stronghold.


    The Colonel was treating Mason as he would Winters, but he forgot that Lieutenant Montaigne was covering the rear.


    By the time Winters, who had been fighting in the rearguard, caught up with the main force, Mason had already led the detachment into a ravine¡­


    ¡­


    At this moment, Winters, lying in the dry grass, was feeling rather conflicted.


    Mason¡¯s luck was terrible in some ways but incredible in others.


    For example, though Mason was lost, he had easily shaken off the pursuers.


    Leading the detachment blindly near the Herder encampment, yet undetected by the Herders¡ªwas this good luck or misfortune?


    Winters realized that the Herders down the slope were completely unaware that a few hundred of the enemy were hidden just a mile away in the ravine. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It could be an opportunity.


    But could they take action?


    After much thought, Winters decided they couldn¡¯t.


    This wasn¡¯t a defensive encampment but an open field battle. Although he couldn¡¯t see how many Herders there were, they were certainly more numerous than Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    What seemed like an opportunity could very well end in utter destruction.


    Suddenly, a rustling sound came from behind; Winters was startled and his right hand already on the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± the voice of Lieutenant Mason.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief and put his steel spike back into his armguard: ¡°What happened to your face?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it,¡± Mason said, covering his eyes and lowering his voice. ¡°How are things?¡±


    ¡°Not great,¡± Winters replied, his voice hoarse with thirst. He said irritably, ¡°Let¡¯s take the opportunity to retreat while they haven¡¯t discovered us. If we don¡¯t retreat soon, we¡¯ll die of hunger.¡±


    ¡°Gurgle, gurgle,¡± two sounds came from Winters¡¯s belly, exceptionally clear in the quiet of the night.


    Mason looked toward Winters, obviously having heard it too.


    Jeska¡¯s detachment had set out prepared for combat, carrying nothing but weapons and ammunition. Food and drink were limited to what the soldiers carried themselves.


    After continuous marching and a skirmish, everyone was starving.


    ¡°Brother, I have food,¡± Xial said, taking out provisions and a water skin from his chest: ¡°And water.¡±


    Xial had yet to fully change his way of addressing him; when no one else was around, he occasionally referred to his brother as he did when they were little.


    The rations and water skin still had human warmth on them¡ªall the food and drink the men had been carrying were long gone. Winters knew all too clearly that Xial had saved these by not eating or drinking at all along the way.


    Winters licked his dry lips and took a small sip from the water skin. After moistening his throat a bit, he handed the rations and water skin back to Xial: ¡°I¡¯m too hungry to eat¡ªit would just make me feel sicker.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not eating? That¡¯s great,¡± Senior Mason was delighted, reaching for the water skin: ¡°Give me some.¡±


    Winters angrily pressed the food and drink under himself: ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so stingy.¡±


    ¡°Do you even have the face to say that?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional¡­ How can I tell directions at night without seeing the stars?¡± Mason was extremely aggrieved.


    [Note: Today was cloudy with a westerly wind¡ªthis detail about the weather was mentioned in a previous chapter during Sekler¡¯s formation of defenses.]

 Chapter 432: 60 Contingency Plan_3

    Chapter 432: Chapter 60 Contingency Plan_3


    Winters sighed helplessly and handed the food and drink to Senior Mason, saying with a tinge of heartache, ¡°Don¡¯t eat and drink it all.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm-hmm,¡± Mason grabbed the water bag and took a big gulp.


    Winters involuntarily swallowed, refocusing his attention on the retreat, ¡°This slope isn¡¯t high enough, we need to find a higher place. As long as we can see Bianli, we can determine the direction.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm-hmm,¡± Mason broke off another piece of dry bread.


    The North Star was obscured by clouds, making it impossible to navigate by the stars. The dark night made it unrealistic to use trees and rocks as landmarks for orientation.


    The only option was to rely on more distinctive landmarks, and Bianli City, situated on high ground, was the best indicator. Seeing Bianli meant they could determine the south.


    ...


    Patting the others around him, Winters signaled to move back, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s fine to leave just one person here.¡±


    ¡°Creak, creak,¡± two sounds came from nearby.


    The low voices blended into the background noise of the wilderness, but the two ¡°creaks¡± were unmistakably loud.


    Instantly, the hairs on Winters¡¯s back stood on end.


    The noise-making Senior Mason also stiffened, with half a piece of dry bread in his mouth, not daring to chew anymore.


    It¡¯s fine as long as no one notices, Winters desperately comforted himself.


    ¡°Herde Language Who¡¯s there!¡±


    This was absolutely the last sound Winters wanted to hear in his life.


    Someone was approaching, and the rough male voice questioned again in an unfamiliar language, ¡°Herde Language Which one?¡±


    Winters drew his steel spikes, patting the shoulder of the person beside him.


    A figure emerged from among the dry grass, ¡°Herde Language Me.¡±


    The Herder sentry who had come to patrol was so shocked that he drew his curved sword. Only when he saw the camouflage armor on the other person did he put the sword back in its sheath, ¡°Herde Language What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Peeing.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Which group are you from?¡± the Herder sentry became suspicious, ¡°Herde Language Why go this far just to piss?¡±


    The other person¡¯s voice was very young, but his speech was ugly, ¡°Herde Language None of your business? Idiot, just watch yourself!¡±


    The Herder sentry flew into a rage and stepped toward him, ¡°Herde Language You without a father¡¯s teaching! I will teach you a good lesson today!¡±


    The next moment, the Herder sentry saw only a flash of cold light before consciousness was extinguished.


    The first steel spike hit the sentry in the forehead, the second and third hit his head too, killing him so thoroughly that he couldn¡¯t have been deader.


    Three consecutive Arrow Flying Spells without reservation left Winters feeling as if his entire body was being forcibly squeezed into a small box ¨C it hurt that much.


    For a time, his entire body was paralyzed, unable to even speak.


    But without even needing his command, Xial and Bell had already rushed to the sentry¡¯s body, catching it before it fell and gently laying it down.


    The Hunter wore a full set of Herder camouflage armor, which was part of Winters¡¯s contingency plan.


    ¡°Go quickly.¡± The phantom pain came swiftly and left quickly. As soon as Winters regained his ability to move, he immediately led the group back into the valley.


    The sound of the steel spike piercing the skull was equally grating, and they couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that more Herders would notice.


    The four of them crouched on the reverse slope, holding their breath and listening, waiting for other sentries to come.


    There was no other sound, it seemed no one had noticed.


    The group couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Winters patted the Hunter¡¯s shoulder, not knowing what to say.


    He didn¡¯t know how the Hunter viewed the other Herders, as enemies? As his own people? He could only let the Hunter resolve it himself.


    Suddenly, the Herder camp in the distance was alarmed.


    It began with a few shouts, then the sounds of people, horse neighs, and weapon clashes all merged together.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been spotted!¡± Xial glared at Lieutenant Mason in anger.


    Winters immediately ordered, ¡°Go find the Colonel!¡±


    The Hunter stood up and ran to deliver the message.


    The sound of horse hooves started to rise, with more and more of it, the Herder Cavalry was getting ready.


    ¡°Wait a second?¡± Mason tilted his head to listen, furrowing his brows, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too big of a fuss?¡±


    Winters quickly climbed to the top of the hill, the Herder camp far away was brightly lit, and campfires blazed one after another.


    The Herder Cavalry each held a torch, resembling a river of fire. However, the river of fire didn¡¯t rush towards Winters, but sped off towards a more distant location, unknown whom they were heading to battle.


    ¡°The Herders have moved!¡± Winters laughed uncontrollably, punching Mason hard, ¡°You really have the devil¡¯s own luck!¡±


    Now, Winters had an empty camp and five hundred militiamen at his disposal.


    Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 433: 61 Planning and Changes

    Chapter 433: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes


    Rare opportunities easily lost, such is the nature of time; when the moment arrives, and it does not linger, that is the chance.


    Now, the question wasn¡¯t whether Winters wanted to fight or not, but that the opportunity lay before him, and he could not let it slip by.


    Just as one instinctively slaps at a red, round button when they see it,


    Seeing the throat of a living creature, a predator instinctively wants to bite.


    The Herd soldiers poured out, leaving behind tents, supplies, and spare horses.


    Their vulnerabilities lay exposed before Winters¡¯ eyes, everything like Vineta, Paratu¡­ had all been tossed aside in his mind; at this moment, Lieutenant Montaigne was only exhilarated.


    ...


    Below the hillside, clusters of light one after another disappeared, Herders extinguishing their campfires.


    Seizing the last of the light, Winters quickly memorized the layout of the camp.


    He estimated that at least a thousand Herders remained within the camp, twice their own number, so the battle had to be meticulously planned.


    ¡­


    Outside the Herd encampment, the spirits of the officers from Jeska¡¯s unit were high.


    Inside the Paratu camp, General Sekler was furious.


    ¡°One-eyed Jeska! He¡¯s got some nerve! Ruining my plans!¡± Sekler¡¯s forehead veins bulged, his chest heaving violently, ¡°Who gave him the guts to abandon his post! If North Bridge is lost, I¡¯ll gouge out his other eye myself! I¡¯ll explode him with my own hands!¡±


    The others were silent as cicadas in winter; Colonel Laszlo had no choice but to stiffen his neck and try to alleviate the mood, ¡°So do you want his eye, or are you going to explode him?¡±


    Sekler cursed rarely, ¡°I¡¯ll damn well gouge first, then explode!¡±


    ¡°The situation was too perilous when the first wave of messengers was dispatched. Jeska must have acted out of urgency. Since he¡¯s not here yet, it means he¡¯s encountered the subsequent messengers and has withdrawn¡­¡± Laszlo tried to persuade.


    ¡°Or he could have been completely annihilated, and the Herd Barbarians have taken North Bridge in the process,¡± Sekler said coldly.


    At that, even Laszlo didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Cooling off for a moment, Sekler regained his composure and spoke with restored authority, ¡°It¡¯s too late for words, we must commence Alpad¡¯s attack ahead of schedule.¡±


    ¡°Ahead of schedule?¡± someone asked puzzled.


    Sekler was resolute, ¡°Advance! Bring paper and pen!¡±


    The guard handed over pen and paper, and the brigadier used a stone as a desk to hastily write a few sentences on the parchment.


    He couldn¡¯t even wait for the wax seal to melt, directly using his Land Academy graduation ring as both the seal and signet.


    ¡°Pick a few brave and reliable messengers to cross the river and deliver this letter to General Alpad,¡± Sekler handed the letter to Laszlo, then said to the other commanders, ¡°You all go back and prepare, the Herd Barbarians will be upon us shortly.¡±


    The duty officer struck the alarm bell with might, and the resting Paratu soldiers, gripping their weapons, woke with a start.


    Assembly, marching, fighting, digging trenches, building walls, cutting wood¡ªfrom the moment they left the main camp, the soldiers hadn¡¯t rested. They¡¯d just dozed off and were already being thrust back into battle.


    Three messengers rode towards the riverbank, the letters secured in double-sealed waterproof containers.


    Messengers sent overland were only seen leaving, never returning, clearly cut down by Herders; swimming to the south bank was the only safe route.


    The Floating Bridge was not yet complete; the leading small-statured messenger stripped off his clothes and saddle, embracing his horse¡¯s neck as he stepped into the rushing water.


    Though the river was not frozen, it was bone-chillingly cold. The warhorse only took a few steps into the river before whinnying and struggling, refusing to go any further.


    Seeing this, Andre working on the Floating Bridge threw a rope to the man.


    He grabbed the rope, and the militiamen on the other side pulled him across. When he reached shore, his lips were blue, and the nearby militiamen quickly stripped off their clothes to rub him down.


    The second messenger followed into the river, but midway he suddenly cramped up, and the rope slipped from his grasp. In the blink of an eye, the Paratu man was swept away by the current, vanishing into the dark waves.


    The third messenger also clenched his teeth and entered the water, fortunately without any further mishap.


    ¡°Give them two horses!¡± Andre bellowed across the river.


    The head messenger bowed in gratitude; Andre doffed his helmet in return. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two messengers mounted the saddles, and without waiting for their clothes to be delivered across, they immediately galloped towards the main camp.


    Meanwhile, on the hillside opposite the camp, more and more Herd Cavalrymen bearing torches assembled, snake-like trails of fire converging from the distance.


    Gradually, the Herders began to chant in an unintelligible language. The chanting had a rhythmic cadence, evidently some form of poetry or scripture.


    The formless waves of sound lapped at the tiny camp from all directions, as if hidden behind the night were thousands upon thousands of troops.


    Lieutenant Varga leaped atop the parapet and shouted down to his men, ¡°Never fear the Heretics, the Lord himself will ensure our victory!¡±


    He began to recite scripture and more and more of his soldiers joined in; the chaplains accompanying the troops also began to lead.


    The two waves of sound collided, and for a while, neither could overwhelm the other.


    Lieutenant Roy had no interest in engaging in a theological debate across the expanse; he found Colonel Robert, ¡°Why do I feel the Barbarians have a bigger presence than during the day?¡±


    ¡°They are indeed larger than during the day,¡± Colonel Robert said with a worried look, ¡°I¡¯m just concerned¡­ that this is not all of them¡­¡±


    ¡°What do we do then, sir?¡±


    ¡°What do we do? We do as the General commands,¡± Robert patted the lieutenant on the shoulder, ¡°As for now, get your musketeers ready.¡±


    Sekler¡¯s temporary camp was shaped like a hexagram, leaving each side vulnerable to crossfire during an attack.


    Six units each held a corner, with the unit nearest the river doubling as a reserve force. As the unit with the strongest fighting capability, Robert¡¯s unit was tasked with defending the northern corner, directly facing the enemy.

 Chapter 434: 61 Planning and Changes_2

    Chapter 434: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes_2


    In the distance, on the hillside, the Herders began to extinguish their torches. Lieutenant Colonel Robert¡¯s heart tightened; this was a harbinger of attack.


    Within the Paratu camp, commands to ¡°put out the lights¡± echoed one after another.


    The battlefield quickly turned pitch-dark, and nothing could be discerned.


    Major General Sekler, who was observing the enemy, slammed his fist against the wall, the second assault had come much earlier than he had anticipated.


    The Herd army was a mix of different factions, united in appearance but disjointed in spirit.


    It¡¯s always easy to find eager and brave men when the wind is at your back, but once an attack falters, rallying the morale is no easy task.


    ...


    Sekler had originally thought that the enemy would launch the second assault the following day.


    However, as the militia of Jeska Squadron floated down the river on rafts from upstream, his plans were completely disrupted.


    ¡°Jeska! Damned bastard!¡± Sekler cursed angrily, itching at his teeth, ¡°To think I pulled you back!¡±


    ¡­


    At this very moment, in a gully five kilometers southwest of Sekler¡¯s position, the mastermind responsible for the upset was gleefully preparing a stealth attack.


    Winters, unaware of the general¡¯s fury, didn¡¯t care either way ¡ª outsiders always tend to be so debonair.


    The food and water supplies of his two hundred-man squads were consolidated and then redistributed evenly.


    ¡°Gentlemen! I know everyone¡¯s hungry; I¡¯m hungry too!¡± Winters stood on a large rock surrounded by his men.


    ¡°But this is all we have to eat.¡± He held up a piece of hardtack the size of a knuckle¡ªit¡¯s all that each man would get: ¡°I can¡¯t feed you all with five loaves of bread.¡±


    The crowd fell completely silent, the militia uncertain of the lieutenant¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°Though we don¡¯t have food,¡± Winters laughed loudly, pointing eastward, ¡°Everything you could ever want is in that camp over there! Hand-held meat, so fragrant and tender, just sprinkle some salt for a perfect taste! Mare¡¯s milk wine, drink all you want, it doesn¡¯t get you drunk! Roast whole sheep, crispy on the outside and dripping with juices on the inside!¡±


    ¡°That flavor, that sensation¡­ tsk tsk tsk.¡± Winters shook his head in admiration, ¡°It¡¯s truly beyond compare!¡±


    The audience¡¯s throats moved, saliva nearly uncontrollably secreting in a frenzy.


    In reality, Winters had never tasted mare¡¯s milk wine or hand-held meat, and he wasn¡¯t even sure if roast whole sheep was a dish that existed. Everything he described was drawn from Mitchell¡¯s roasted whole pig.


    ¡°And if you don¡¯t like meat, there¡¯s yogurt, cheese, cream puffs, milk cakes¡­ all served in gold and silver vessels, studded with pearls and jewels. The barbarian chieftain Yasin owns a huge gold mine, worked by ten thousand slaves. But his taste is so poor, he only knows how to stockpile, the gold cups and plates are dead heavy.¡±


    The pre-battle rallying had fully entered the phase of unleashing the imagination.


    Luckily, it was too dark for anyone to see Winters blushing or to contradict him: ¡°Each of you can take one home as a souvenir!¡±


    ¡°I have many lads at home, can I take two, sir?¡± Someone suddenly raised a hand to interrupt.


    ¡°Yes! You can have two if you can carry them. No, everyone gets two!¡± Winters shamelessly continued to brag: ¡°But take only two, because the rest are mine!¡±


    The crowd chuckled softly.


    ¡°Gentlemen! Food! Drink! Silver! Gold! They¡¯re all right there!¡± Before his hype could go too far, Winters cut it short while the crowd was at its most excited.


    He flung the tiny portion of hardtack to the ground: ¡°Who the hell wants this crap? Let¡¯s go drink and feast!¡±


    The militia followed suit, throwing their hardtack onto the ground, their eyes glistening.


    ¡°But there¡¯s one thing, listen up!¡± Winters¡¯s tone suddenly changed, becoming deadly serious as he brandished a stick: ¡°If anyone dares to doff their ranks before my command, or if one is missing during the post-battle inspection, they will be executed without mercy! The spoils of war will be evenly distributed, and anyone caught hoarding or fighting over spoils during the battle will be hanged!¡±


    The usually amiable Lieutenant Montaigne had disappeared, and Ishulton felt a chill down his spine.


    In the darkness, he couldn¡¯t see the lieutenant¡¯s figure, but he could sense that what lurked behind the night was not the lieutenant, but the Blood Wolf.


    ¡°Put on your ranks!¡± The command came again from within the darkness.


    Ishulton hurriedly took out his rank¡ªa simple wooden stick¡ªand bit down on it.


    The stick had ropes on both ends, and Ishulton, seizing the ends, tied a knot at the back of his head.


    He suddenly remembered something, fumbled to untie the slip knot, and tied a tight knot instead.


    ¡°Gentlemen! After we deal with the Herd barbarians ahead,¡± Winters scanned his men: ¡°we shall feast heartily!¡±


    ¡°Move out!¡± He swung his arm broadly, biting down hard on the stick.


    Under the cover of night, the two hundred-man squads of spear-bearing soldiers quietly crawled out of the gully and approached the Herd camp below on the hillside.


    The other four hundred-man squads lay in ambush inside the gully, waiting for the agreed-upon signal.


    The two hundred-man squads moved in column formation, with each soldier holding onto the waist belt of the one in front, as many were night-blind.


    Winters, at the front, estimated there were around two hundred meters to go. He pulled out a copper rod and slightly stimulated the Luminosity Spell, waving it above his head a few times.


    The dim green light wasn¡¯t very noticeable in the night, but it was clear to the militia behind him.


    The column fanned out into a line, the men slowing down and crouching even lower.


    With about fifty meters to go, the sharp-eyed militiamen could already see the moving Herders in the camp.


    The main force lay prone, ready to move on command, while Winters, with a few Hunters, continued forward.


    Winters had also donned full body armor, wearing a Herd iron helmet, with his face smeared haphazardly with mud. Except for a slightly sordid crouching trot, from a distance, he really looked like one of the Herders. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 435: 61 Planning and Changes_3

    Chapter 435: Chapter 61 Planning and Changes_3


    Dressed in chain mail, there was a slight ¡°clatter¡± when Winters walked, luckily it was not detected.


    The outermost circle of the Herder camp was made up of wagons, somewhat resembling a wagon fortress.


    However, all of the Herders¡¯ wagons were two-wheeled; Winters deduced from escorting the supply column all the way here that these were all single-harness carts.


    Behind the wagons were tents, and there were none of the things like moats, breastworks, or fences.


    Stepping between the crude tents, Winters immediately switched to a striding walk as if he were returning home.


    Bell followed the lieutenant nervously, continuously swallowing saliva and looking back towards the way they¡¯d come.


    ...


    Winters patted Bell on the shoulder with great composure, signaling the Hunter not to be nervous.


    Right now, Winters kind of missed the old pirate Gold, who was really good at bluffing.


    The two of them made their way unhindered until they reached the inner circle of the camp, where everything suddenly opened up.


    Before them stretched countless horses, either chewing or resting, gathered by the thousands in silence¡ªnot a single neigh¡ªproving truly frightening the Herders¡¯ skill in taming horses.


    For a moment, Winters was taken aback.


    That was the layout of the Herder camp: wagons on the outside, encircling the horses with tents.


    The Herders would lead the herds out of the camp to forage during the day, and if there were enemies nearby, they would drive them back into the camp at night; otherwise, they might stay out.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Hey! What are you doing?¡± a Herder approached, sounding very irritated. ¡°[Herde Language] No touching the horses at nighttime, do you have a death wish?¡±


    Winters raised his hand and an Arrow Flying Spell struck down the Herder. Now that he had gotten this far, there was no need to hide any longer.


    The horses raised their heads at the sound and looked towards Winters. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Fluttering their ears and blinking, they looked adorable and tiny, their eyes filled with only goodwill and calmness.


    In front of him was a pony with a white star on its forehead. Winters reached out and scratched the pony¡¯s forehead, and it let him rub it submissively.


    ¡°Sorry about this,¡± Winters apologized silently, then crushed the porcelain vial in his hand, unleashing a short, gruff growl from his throat. ¡°Oooaah!¡±


    A composite spell was activated: the Vaporization Spell, Wind Control Skill, and Sound Amplifying Spell.


    The magically enhanced growl exploded in the center of the Herder camp, instantly vaporizing the liquid, which the Wind Control Skill then swept towards the horses.


    Winters felt dizzy and nearly passed out on the spot.


    The star-spotted pony was terrified and started to run.


    All of the Herder horses went wild as if they had lost their minds. No longer gentle, they ran heedlessly into the distance, overturning everything, trampling everything, destroying everything.


    This was a fully powered version of ¡°Startle Beast¡±¡ªWinters now had an unlimited supply of potent animal dung and urine.


    Watching the thousands of horses scatter in all directions, Winters felt an indescribable sense of achievement: this might be the most astonishing result of the ¡°Startle Beast¡± in history.


    Horses, in fact, are quite timid.


    Once frightened beyond their threshold, they enter an extremely agitated state, and even the gentlest horse can become highly aggressive.


    The Herder horses¡¯ innate fear of predators was awakened by Winters, overpowering all their learned training with the impulse to flee.


    All they wanted now was to run, to run for their lives.


    This emotion was contagious; even horses that were not startled would blindly follow the stampede.


    Tents were flipped one by one inside the camp, and the Herders¡¯ cries of horror and despair echoed from all directions: ¡°[Herde Language] The horses are spooked! Run! The horses are spooked!¡±


    A single startled horse could be considered trouble;


    A hundred startled horses were frightening;


    What about a thousand?


    And ten thousand?


    At this very moment, no one was more desperate than the Herders in the camp.


    Bell took out a dozen porcelain vials and spilled their contents clumsily around.


    Winters grabbed the foolish young man and ran: ¡°The spooked horses are coming!¡±


    Some horses broke through the wagons to escape the camp while others, like headless flies, bumped around and charged back in.


    The noise in the camp could be heard distinctly by the militia outside.


    Ish jumped up and yelled, ¡°Wooo wooo wooo!¡±


    ¡°Wooo wooo wooo!¡± two hundred-man units shouted as they charged towards the Herder camp.


    [Note: They wanted to shout the battle cry, but with a gag in their mouth, they could only make a ¡°wooo¡± sound.]


    Behind them, more militiamen climbed out of the trenches and rushed towards the Herder camp.

 Chapter 436: 62 Confiscation of Property

    Chapter 436: Chapter 62 Confiscation of Property


    ¡°`


    Spooked horses galloped chaotically through the camp, toppling tents like a raging storm.


    Dog barks, hoofbeats, whinnies, human shouts, and the tearing of fabric¡­ Thousands of sounds erupted together, turning the Herders¡¯ camp into utter chaos.


    Sporadic bonfires were lit, only to be swiftly extinguished, plunging the camp back into darkness.


    Winters dragged the little Hunter along as he ran; several disheveled Herders crashed into them.


    One of the shirtless Herders, furious, bellowed, ¡± What are you running for? Round up the horses! Which one of you is the head?¡±


    ...


    Winters couldn¡¯t understand what the other was saying, nor could he wait for the little Hunter to speak.


    ¡°Close your eyes!¡± He pulled the little Hunter behind him, crushed a glass vial in his hand, and unleashed a Flash Spell at the Herders.


    The container shattered, and the moment the reactive metal powder inside made contact with air, it was ignited by the magic, instantly bursting into blinding white light.


    This light was brighter than lightning, more dazzling than the sun, causing the Herders to scream and shield their eyes in agony.


    The shirtless Herder fell to the ground, still shouting, ¡± Enemies! They¡¯re enemies! Someone come!¡±


    The retinas of the Herders were possibly permanently damaged by the intense light, but they no longer had to worry about that.


    Winters, with sword in hand, charged among the Herders, aiming for their weak points; the Herders, unable to see, were powerless to resist.


    All but one, who scrambled into the tents, were slain.


    ¡°Go!¡± With no time to chase the fleeing foe, Winters led the little Hunter outside the camp.


    The leather of his gloves had been burned through by the Flash Spell, and he could smell a distinct burnt odor. His palm throbbed painfully, but he was unsure whether it was from being cut by the glass or scorched by the alchemical substance.


    At the barricade formed by the wagons, the Paratu spearmen and halberdiers were locked in combat with about twenty Herders.


    There were well-armored Herder sentinels, as well as Herders who had just woken from their sleep, grabbing their curved swords to join the fray.


    A Herd Barbarian, towering like a steel tower, fought ferociously, shouting and swinging two curved swords, completely nude.


    When his curved sword was knocked away, he grabbed a spear instead and surged through the crowd with terrifying momentum.


    In an era where the average height of a farmer was barely over 1.6 meters, this barbarian stood a staggering two meters tall, with a form as sturdy as a tiger¡¯s back and a bear¡¯s waist¡ªit was unfathomable what he ate to grow so big.


    Surrounding Paratu militiamen seemed like dwarfs in his presence; for a moment, no one could get close to him.


    ¡± Come on!¡± The burly barbarian, spinning his long spear, crushed a militiaman¡¯s head, spraying brains everywhere, and roared, ¡± Come on!¡±


    An Ish from Ganshui Town, biting on his bridle, maneuvered behind the giant and struck toward his lower back with his spear at the right moment.


    With a full-force charge, the spearhead sank deeply into flesh.


    The giant turned in disbelief to look at Ish, struggling to lift his arm.


    Seeing his opponent not yet dead, Ish froze on the spot, looking set to meet his end along with the giant.


    Then, six militiamen converged from the west, stabbing at the giant from all sides, joining forces to bring down the formidable Herd warrior.


    The Herders, witnessing this scene, lamented loudly. They were too few in number and were quickly swept away by the militiamen.


    The Herders¡¯ archers, shooting cold arrows from the ramparts, also fell one after another.


    Having dealt with the archers, Winters leapt onto a wagon, tore off his helmet, and raised his curved sword high.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The cheers of the Paratu People soared to the heavens.


    With nothing in their way, they cut the ropes, dragged away the wagons, tearing an opening through the wall.


    Xial ran over to tie a white cloth around Winters¡¯s left arm, marking friend from foe amidst the mix of militia armor.


    When Xial saw Winters¡¯s hand dripping blood, he pulled out a clean cloth, wanting to bandage Winters.


    Winters shrugged off Xial and bellowed, ¡°The flag!¡±


    The gendarme Heinrich handed the flag to the Centurion,


    ¡°Torch!¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone lit their torches in succession.


    ¡°Attack!¡±


    Winters led two companies into the Herders¡¯ camp, setting it ablaze everywhere they went. They didn¡¯t have much for starting fires, but in this season, everything was flammable.


    The fire grew with the wind, and the flames roared from west to east, engulfing the whole camp.


    The Herders were still desperately trying to drive the spooked horses out of the camp when they suddenly noticed a fire in the west. Chilling war cries echoed throughout the camp, as though an overwhelming force was attacking.


    Night battles are inherently messy and chaotic¡ªthe defenders¡¯ command system finally collapsed completely.


    One person began to flee, and soon every Herder was scrambling for horses, desperately trying to escape.


    Those who still had their wits about them tried to regroup, but no one heeded them; those who still had courage attempted to counterattack but were surrounded and killed by the enemy.


    The Paratu People¡¯s method of communication was simple and crude: the drumming continued, so the battle continued; where the flag went, the soldiers followed.


    Winters tied a torch to the top of the flagpole, leading his men to rampage through the camp.


    Meanwhile, Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Mason led the other four companies, stationed outside the camp, to ambush and kill any fleeing Herders who made it past the encampment.


    Colonel Jeska called it ¡°Hunt Strategy.¡± Montaigne¡¯s squad, like hounds flushing out waterfowl, created chaos and drove the Herders from the camp, while the real ambush lay with the four squads hidden outside.


    Had all six companies attacked the camp, they would not have been able to deploy effectively, and the other four squads were not as capable and reliable as Winters¡¯s men, who moved at his command like an extension of his own limbs.


    The blaze grew fiercer, enveloping the entire camp in thick smoke.


    Winters stood still, surveying his surroundings; around him, no living Herder could be seen.


    When the flag stopped, the militiamen also gradually began to gather.


    Heinrich¡¯s eyes were bloodshot and streaming with tears from the smoke; rubbing his eyes, he said, ¡°Seems like there¡¯s no one left, Sir.¡±


    Winters patted the drummer¡¯s shoulder, and the drumming ceased.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 437: 62 Seizing the Household_2

    Chapter 437: Chapter 62 Seizing the Household_2


    ¡°Quit rubbing your eyes, endure it a bit.¡± Winters was also shedding tears non-stop as he handed the military flag over to Heinrich and sheathed his sword, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Quickly determining their direction, Winters led everyone to withdraw from Hurd¡¯s camp.


    But before long, once the strength of the fire had lessened slightly, he led his men back into the camp again.


    They couldn¡¯t help but return, famished beyond words. In the commotion of fighting the enemy and setting fires, they hadn¡¯t seen a bit of the meat, mare¡¯s milk, or roasted lamb that the Centurion had promised.


    Winters commanded his men to put out the fire, regretting a bit in his heart.


    In his exhilaration during battle, he had wished he could set Hurd¡¯s camp ablaze three times over, forgetting all else, including the procurement of food and drink.


    ...


    The Paratu People had no choice but to search through the ashes for food and spoils of war.


    ¡°No hoarding! It will be distributed evenly when we get back! Death to hoarders!¡± Winters urged his men, ¡°Hurry up! Don¡¯t dawdle!¡±


    Once a camp caught fire, it could be seen from miles away.


    The earlier deployed Hurd Cavalry would surely return to assist, so the Paratu had limited time to scavenge the battlefield.


    Winters dismantled a cart from the camp wall and harnessed it to Dusa.


    The militia threw their spoils in the cart, which included silver scabbards, weapons, buttons, and such; not much of great value, leaving everyone somewhat disappointed.


    It was Dusa¡¯s first time pulling a cart, and he felt indignant to the utmost, acting stubbornly immobile.


    Winters, frustrated, slapped Dusa¡¯s behind.


    Dusa started moving forward sluggishly.


    Winters took out two sugar cubes, gently stroking the horse¡¯s neck with them.


    The horse complained with a snort, licked Winters¡¯s palm with its tongue, and looked expectantly at its master.


    Winters, resigned, shook his head and took out his last two sugar cubes, then turned his pocket inside out to show the horse, ¡°That¡¯s all!¡±


    Only then did Dusa agree to lift its legs.


    The sound of horseshoes approached from behind, and Anglu arrived beside Winters on his red-maned warhorse. His eyes widened in disbelief when he saw it was Dusa pulling the cart.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters asked the young horse-handler.


    Anglu nodded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Anglu shook his head again.


    Their exchange was like a silent riddle.


    The most precious spoils were not gold or jewels but the thousands of horses. The herd, frightened by Winters¡¯s ¡°scare beast,¡± had scattered and needed to be corralled once more.


    Herding the horses naturally fell to Dusack, and Winters¡¯s secret order was: select three hundred well-fed warhorses and hide them well.


    ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel has instructed you to clean up the battlefield as soon as possible and to meet up with him,¡± Anglu also delivered a formal order.


    ¡°Alright, I got it.¡±


    Anglu saluted and rode off.


    The fire that started quickly also died quickly, and the campsite was soon cleansed by the flames. The smoke had not yet cleared, and the scorched earth was visible all around.


    Where once tents lay thick, only charred poles remained, still crackling and burning.


    It wasn¡¯t yet dawn, and the militia, some wielding torches and others using the residual glow of the fire, searched through the ashes for food and valuables.


    Occasionally, a militiaman would find leftover dried meat or charred cheese and without much fuss, would wipe it on their clothing and share it.


    Xial came running to Winters, holding a skin bag triumphantly, ¡°Mare¡¯s milk, Captain!¡±


    ¡°Mare¡¯s milk?¡± Winters was quite surprised, he was so thirsty his throat seemed to be on fire.


    But as soon as he removed the stopper, he remembered the promises and boasts he had made before battle and felt too ashamed to start drinking.


    He had indulged himself before, and now it was time to pay back.


    Winters sighed and handed the skin back to Xial, ¡°Share it with everyone, let each person have a sip to moisten their throat.¡±


    Xial¡¯s face showed reluctance.


    ¡°Go on,¡± Winters swallowed compulsively.


    The precious mare¡¯s milk was passed from hand to hand among the militia, each person cherishing their small sip before handing it off to the next person.


    Tess only took a taste, he longed to gulp it down. But since everyone was just moistening their throats, he didn¡¯t want to be a jerk in front of his comrades.


    He walked up to the edge of the tent remains, absent-mindedly sweeping his foot back and forth through the ashes.


    The Blood Wolf had talked about gold cups, silver bowls, pearls, and gems buried here, but so far, they had found none.


    Even though Tess knew it was probably just Blood Wolf boasting, he couldn¡¯t help feeling a little disappointed.


    Because if he could only bring back two¡ªno, even half a gold cup home, he wouldn¡¯t have to toil as a laborer anymore. He could buy a patch of land and work for himself.


    Even though Tess didn¡¯t believe in the gold and silver cups, when he charged into Hurd¡¯s camp, he held the deepest and most sincere hope.


    But now Tess no longer harbored any hope and just felt a bit silly.


    He casually swept his foot through the ashes a few more times, and suddenly, he struck something hard.


    Tess¡¯s heart contracted sharply.


    As the embers still glowed red, he couldn¡¯t wait and used his bare hands to clear them away, revealing the unique golden luster of a hard object in the firelight. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tess grabbed the scorching gold bowl, ¡°Sir! I found a gold cup!¡±


    Winters, Xial, Heinrich¡­ everyone heard Tess¡¯s excited shout, and the militia gathered around Tess, holding the gold bowl, and walked him over to Winters.


    ¡°Sir, I found this,¡± Tess carefully presented the gold bowl to the Centurion.


    Winters had initially thought his subordinate mistook a copper bowl for gold, but after closer examination, he couldn¡¯t help but gasp, ¡°This seems¡­ to be real gold!¡±


    Tess was so overjoyed he nearly fainted.


    ¡°Tess, this gold bowl has to be contributed to the public,¡± Winters felt a bit apologetic, ¡°but I promise, it will be divided as previously promised. I¡¯ll take only one share, just like everyone else.¡±

 Chapter 438: 62: The House Raid_3

    Chapter 438: Chapter 62: The House Raid_3


    Ish¡¯s face turned from red to white, hesitated repeatedly, but in the end, still presented the gold bowl to Winters.


    ¡°I dare not touch it,¡± Winters said with a wry smile. He called a gendarme¡¯s name, ¡°Xial.¡±


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°Register it.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Heinrich.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°You take care of this thing for me.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this,¡± Winters thought for a moment, then looked at Ish, the lucky finder of the gold bowl, ¡°Ish, you and Heinrich will supervise the preservation of all the spoils. You pick two more people to guard the loot with you.¡±


    Soon, several prestigious militiamen were nominated.


    The loot was placed on wagons, clearly visible, guarded by three militiamen and two gendarmes, supervising each other.


    ¡°Stop gawking! Move it, we don¡¯t have much time!¡± Winters urged his subordinates to speed up, ¡°No hoarding for yourself, don¡¯t test the military law.¡±


    The militiamen scattered, and the weighty gold bowl was left on the wagon.


    Inspired by this, everyone quickened their pace.


    ¡°I found something too!¡± another person shouted.


    This time it was an enormous gold belt buckle, engraved with beautiful patterns, found on a charred corpse.


    Winters realized with surprise that the owner of the belt appeared to be the bare-chested Herder who had been blinded by the Flash Spell and then killed by him.


    As they continued to search toward the center of the camp, they discovered more gold and silver vessels, as well as ornamental items like gold knife handles and sheaths.


    The further east they went, the more valuables they found.


    The Paratu People¡¯s eyes were turning red, and they wished they could dig three feet into every pile of ashes and every remnant of the tents.


    ¡°Sir! There¡¯s a big tent at the far eastern end!¡± Another militiaman came running to report, ¡°It hasn¡¯t been burnt!¡±


    The camp was becoming increasingly interesting, and the lieutenant was intrigued, ¡°Quick, lead me there!¡±


    At the easternmost edge of the camp, beneath the slope of the hill, stood a large tent. It was indeed ¡°large,¡± at least ten meters wide, not much different from a house.


    The most interesting part was that the large tent was perched atop a huge wagon, seemingly mobile.


    When Winters arrived in front of the large tent, he understood why his men didn¡¯t dare to enter: the whole camp had been turned into scorched earth, yet this large tent and the small area behind it remained untouched, eerily so.


    ¡°Bring me the ropes!¡± Winters didn¡¯t dare to rush in, ¡°Pull it down for me.¡±


    With hooks attached to the tent walls, the militiamen cooperated and used brute strength to flip the tent over.


    ¡°What is this?!¡± Winters was dumbfounded.


    There was no one inside the tent¡ªno, there was someone, a ¡°person¡± gleaming with golden light.


    A figure made entirely of gold stood in the center of the large tent, silently and calmly watching everyone.


    The golden figure was three heads taller than Winters, with golden eyes, nose, and ears exquisitely detailed, only lacking a mouth.


    All present were stunned.


    At this moment, the militiamen became hesitant, ¡°Sir, what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Afraid of what!¡± Winters, refusing to believe it was pure gold, said, ¡°It must be gilded! Give me a knife!¡±


    He viciously scraped off several layers of gold leaf, and if Winters wasn¡¯t mistaken, the inside was also gold.


    In the silent, burned-out camp, some militiamen were even trembling.


    Ish became stammering, ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t this a Heretic Religion idol?¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was silent for a long moment, then suddenly threw the knife aside and burst into laughter, ¡°A Heretic idol, great! If it were a catholic liturgical vessel, I wouldn¡¯t dare to take it! Ha-ha-ha! What¡¯s there to be afraid of? Take it away, take it all away!¡±


    The wagons loaded with spoils were instantly overloaded, and immediately militiamen set out to find more wagons. Winters also sent people to find Colonel Jeska for reinforcements, he needed more horses.


    Besides the golden figure, the tent contained many scattered gold and silver religious objects, all of which Winters packed up.


    Before this discovery, these items alone would have been enough to delight everyone, but now compared to the golden figure, they suddenly seemed unimpressive.


    Colonel Jeska rushed over upon hearing the news and was also shocked.


    Winters noticed even the one-eyed tough guy showing fear, an unprecedented occurrence.


    Jeska pulled Winters aside and said hoarsely, ¡°We¡­ might have just raided the Terdon Tribe¡­¡±


    [Note: Terdon is one of the three major Herder tribes]

 Chapter 439: 63: An Iron Shoulder Bearing the Blame

    Chapter 439: Chapter 63: An Iron Shoulder Bearing the Blame


    While Winters was busy helping the Herders move, the battle of the Sekler tribe was reaching a fever pitch.


    The Herder army created a ruckus with a small amount of light cavalry and feigned an attack on the North Wall with fire.


    Yet in secret, they dispatched their elite armored soldiers, without lights or sound, dismounted and armed with bows and blades, they charged on foot directly towards the floating bridge behind the encampment.


    But the barbarians underestimated the Sekler¡¯s keen sense of smell.


    The Brigadier saw through the Herders¡¯ feint and swiftly adjusted his deployment.


    He first sent Robert¡¯s battalion to form a defensive line at the bridgehead, then concentrated the camp¡¯s musketeers along the southern wall.


    ...


    Between Robert¡¯s square formation and the south wall of the camp, the area was completely covered by musket fire, leaving any enemy that passed through exposed to crossfire from multiple directions.


    The Herders were illuminated by fires Sekler had set up in advance, making them easy targets for Paratu musketeers who fired volleys.


    This narrow space, merely a dozen meters wide, became a killing field crisscrossed with lead shot.


    The Herders¡¯ armored infantry charged against the volley of fire, and before they could even get close to the floating bridge, a quarter of them had fallen.


    By the time they engaged the Paratu square in close combat, they were continually bled by the musketeers behind them. They swiftly faltered and began to retreat.


    As Robert¡¯s soldiers watched the barbarians retreat without giving them time to lick their wounds, another wave of armored barbarians charged at them with their curved blades.


    Without a moment¡¯s respite, the sounds of gunfire, war cries, and melee combat continued, making the night destined to be a hard one.


    The Herders thought that the three thousand Paratu infantry wanted to use the floating bridge to retreat, so they selected their elite and repeatedly launched fierce attacks on the bridge.


    But in fact, Sekler had no intention of retreating to the south bank at all; Jeska¡¯s arrival with the floating bridge was pure happenstance.


    The floating bridge had even hastened the Herders¡¯ attack, throwing Sekler¡¯s battle plans into disarray.


    But what¡¯s done was done, and getting angry was useless.


    General Sekler thus went with the flow, using the floating bridge as bait to lure the Herders into the attack, continually inflicting casualties on the enemy¡¯s daring elite with musket fire.


    After four advances and four retreats, the Herders began to realize that something was amiss¡ªthe ¡°two-legged fools¡± were bleeding them out with small cuts. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Herders decisively changed their strategy from feigned attacks in front to full-scale assaults, and the pressure on the camp¡¯s defenders drastically increased.


    Sekler had no choice but to redistribute some of his musketeers to support elsewhere.


    After dispersing the Paratu forces, the Herders began using a variety of haphazard tactics in an attempt to achieve surprise and victory.


    The barbarians first brought several dozen warhorses in front of the square formation, with their tails tied with dry grass and smeared with grease.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert was initially baffled until he saw flames rising from the horses¡¯ rumps and realized what the barbarians intended to do.


    The ¡°fire horses¡± neighed and charged at the square formation, with Herder swordsmen and archers following behind to ambush.


    The Herders¡¯ ingenious plan took the Paratu by surprise, but Robert¡¯s square formation was narrow¡ªless than ten meters¡ªmaking it difficult for the fire horses to crash accurately into the formation.


    Lieutenant Roy leaped out of the formation and cast a Sonic Blast Spell at the fire horses. The Paratu musketeers also opened fire.


    While the horses were startled, they were not foolish enough to crash into spears and gunfire. Slightly changing direction, they brushed past the edge of the square formation and fled along the riverbank.


    Without the cover of the fire horses, the Herders were once again exposed in front of the Paratu. After several rounds of gunfire and hard bows, the clearly disadvantaged Herders retreated in disarray.


    The plan to break the square formation with fire horses failed, and the Herders assaulting the camp walls also withdrew.


    Aside from the cries of the dying, the battlefield fell silent for a moment.


    Robert¡¯s battalion had no time to rest; they immediately set to work digging trenches around the square.


    Taking advantage of the lull in the battle, half of the battalion quietly left the camp to reinforce Robert¡¯s battalion.


    They brought with them the gunpowder and lead shot desperately needed by Robert¡¯s battalion and also Sekler¡¯s instructions.


    ¡°Sir, the General has commanded me to relay that the barbarians¡¯ chief is probably impatient and likely to commit his whole army soon. If you can withstand this final assault, you¡¯ll be the night¡¯s greatest hero,¡± Captain William cautiously recited.


    ¡°Greatest hero?¡± Robert scoffed repeatedly, stabbing his iron shovel firmly into the ground, disdainfully saying, ¡°The old man loves to fob people off with such cheap talk! Let¡¯s see if we can hold out first!¡±


    Captain William was at a loss for words and the atmosphere momentarily turned awkward.


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Robert glared at the captain, ¡°Take your men and start digging the trench¡ªquickly!¡±


    The Herders, silent for a while, began to shout in unison again, to bolster their morale.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert spat and continued to dig the trench earnestly.


    In the darkness, one could faintly hear the approaching footsteps of the Herders.


    ¡°Light the fires!¡± the colonel ordered.


    Several soldiers ran out and lit the bonfires, then ran back to the square formation as if fleeing.


    The flames revealed the enemy¡¯s figures, this time the barbarians coming in greater numbers than all previous waves combined.


    But their equipment was shoddy, a mix of leather robes, iron helmets, and armor, far inferior to the earlier elite armored soldiers.


    It seemed the barbarians were indeed committing their entire army, planning to overwhelm Robert¡¯s battalion with sheer numbers.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert prepared his defenses, waiting for the enemy to come within range, and deeply regretted not bringing a few cannons with him.


    Cannons with grapeshot could scatter such a dense and disorderly advance.


    ¡°How nice would it be if I had two cannons right now? Even two-pounders would do. No, even one would suffice,¡± Robert muttered under his breath, criticizing the rigid use of artillery by those above him.


    With each step forward, the Herders had to shout in unison to embolden themselves.


    Lieutenant Roy saw the farthest bonfire get stomped out and loudly ordered, ¡°Musketeers, prepare!¡±


    The musketeers came to the forefront of the square formation, setting up their muskets, their shoulders pressing tightly against the wooden stock.


    Then, the second bonfire was extinguished.


    ¡°Open the pan!¡± Roy amplified his voice with magic.


    The musketeers opened their pan covers.


    The bonfires represented distance. When the third bonfire was extinguished, it meant that the enemy had entered within fifty meters.


    All the Paratu held their breath and clenched their teeth, waiting for the battle to ignite.


    But the musketeers didn¡¯t wait for the lieutenant¡¯s order, what reached their ears was a string of harsh gong sounds¡ªfrom behind the Herders.


    Hearing the gongs, the ferocious Herders turned and ran.


    Colonel Robert¡¯s troop, from the lieutenant colonel down, were all confused for a moment, not understanding what the savages were up to.


    Sekler, standing by the camp wall, watched in dismay as the Herders lit torches and retreated like the tide, nearly vomiting blood in frustration.


    He had been holding back his strength, deliberately showing weakness to the enemy, even allowing the feigned attacks of the Herders to breach the wall several times, all in anticipation of the savages launching their full assault.


    Shortly after, the scouts reported back: There are red clouds to the northwest, likely fire.


    Sekler¡¯s thoughts raced, and he quickly guessed what was happening.


    ¡°Jeska!!!¡±


    ¡­


    Colonel Jeska sneezed.


    Winters, riding alongside the colonel, passed him a handkerchief.


    Jeska looked at the lieutenant surprisingly and took the handkerchief to wipe his nose.


    The colonel suddenly frowned and asked, ¡°Why does it smell strange?¡±


    ¡°Does it?¡± Winters took the handkerchief back, suddenly remembering what that handkerchief had been used for.


    Keeping a straight face, he sniffed it a few times and said calmly, ¡°I smell it too, a bit weird. Sweat, perhaps?¡±


    At their side, the militiamen were driving their wagons in a mad rush to their posts, each one gleeful.


    Right now, there were only three things on everyone¡¯s mind: gold, gold, and more gold.


    The golden idol was extremely heavy, extremely heavy; they had to nail two wagons together to make one, and use eight horses to get it moving.


    Winters¡¯ uncle Giovanni was a goldsmith, and Winters knew the rough calculations.


    By estimating the density of gold, he reckoned the golden idol weighed at least two tons.


    Divided among everyone, that was roughly four kilograms apiece. Not to mention two golden cups, if one¡¯s taste was vulgar enough, even a golden toilet could be made.


    The militiamen had no concept of four kilograms of gold. At first, when they heard the amount, their reactions were mild, thinking to themselves: Hmm, that seems like a lot of money.


    So Winters switched to another calculation¡ª1,123 ducats.


    1,123¡­ gold coins?


    Some fainted on the spot.


    ¡°What daydreams are you having?¡± the colonel barked sharply at them: ¡°It¡¯s not ours until we get it back.¡±


    The militiamen snapped back to reality, eyes red, and began to load the golden idol into the wagons.


    While everyone else only saw greed when looking at the golden idol, Colonel Jeska alone looked terrified.


    What worried him was not the gold, but the owner of the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens¡ªthe Terdon Tribe.


    Since the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens appeared here, it meant that the Terdon Tribe had already entered the war.


    The scale of the war¡­ was gradually spiraling out of control.


    Upon learning that the camp they might have raided belonged to the Terdon Tribe, Winters¡¯ first reaction was to leave the golden idol behind and retreat immediately.


    But gold seduces the hearts of men, and looking at everyone now, he feared they would rather die than leave the golden idol behind.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s troop was already out of control, and he and Winters were probably the only two people who still retained their sanity.


    Eight horses pulled the golden idol swiftly across the wasteland, with the drivers heartlessly whipping the animals.


    Now and then, a horse would collapse, foaming at the mouth; the Paratu People ignored it and immediately replaced it with another horse.


    Because they had captured many Herder horses, they could use them so recklessly.


    As they ran, the wagon would break down, and the Paratu People had no time to fix it; they pushed up a new one instead.


    The wagons, the horses, at this moment, were all replaceable parts.


    Yet, even so, they were moving too slowly.


    The further they went, the more anxious Winters became.


    The Terdon Tribe would not let this go easily; their pursuers could arrive at any moment.


    What they were dragging on the wagon might not be gold but a curse that called for their lives.


    The golden idol, originally without expression, now seemed to Winters to be mocking him.


    He who hesitates is lost. Winters had made his decision, but he did not know how much weight his authority carried.


    ¡°No! Stop the wagons!¡± Winters called for the convoy to halt and ordered the men, ¡°Unload the golden idol.¡±


    He thought for a moment and added, ¡°Bury it.¡±


    ¡­


    Before dawn, Colonel Jeska¡¯s troop returned safely to North Bridge Fortress with the spoils of war.


    Whether they could ride horses or not, everyone was on horseback.


    About an hour later, in the early morning.


    The sentries of North Bridge Fortress were surprised to find that their small bridgehead fortress was completely surrounded by Herders.


    A red-faced Herder, pointing with a long spear, demanded negotiations, and he even brought a Translator with him.


    Winters, accompanied by the young Hunter, left the camp.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Hand over the golden idol sacrificed to the heavens, and you shall live today,¡± said the red-faced Herder man bluntly: ¡°[Herde Language] An egg struck against a rock will only shatter.¡±


    Winters had received the answer he wanted and he laughed loudly: ¡°You want it? Come and get it yourself.¡±


    With that, he turned his horse and left, no longer engaging in conversation with the Herders.

 Chapter 440: 64 Small Improvements

    Chapter 440: Chapter 64 Small Improvements


    The saying goes: Do not disturb a sleeping lion unnecessarily, and do not stir up trouble without reason.


    There¡¯s also a proverb: You shouldn¡¯t touch a tiger¡¯s behind.


    What Jeska¡¯s troops did last night could no longer be simply described as ¡°touching the behind.¡±


    It was like setting a tiger¡¯s behind on fire, gouging out a large chunk of flesh, and then, before leaving, kicking its balls fiercely.


    Atop the watchtower, Winters nonchalantly stuffed steel nails into the leather pouch on his vambrace, casually saying to Bard, ¡°The Herders are quite fiery.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Bard replied irritably, ¡°Why did you steal their statue?¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I wanted to, you weren¡¯t there,¡± Winters said solemnly. ¡°These guys saw so much gold, their eyes practically glowed green. I said ¡®don¡¯t touch it, leave it there.¡¯ They wouldn¡¯t listen!¡±


    Both men watched as over ten thousand Herder Cavalry¡ªclearly the main force of the Terdon Tribe¡ªsurrounded the Bridgehead Fortress inside and out, seemingly intending to attack immediately.


    With the sacrificial golden statue taken, the Herders were incensed to their core, frantically eager to reclaim it ¡ª that was understandable, but they had chosen the wrong place to start a battle.


    Although Jesska¡¯s Bridgehead Fortress was small, it was by no means an easy bone to gnaw on.


    This earthen and wooden structure was backed against the riverbank, occupying an elevated position.


    It was surrounded by open ground, and the small area of woodland that had existed was completely cleared by Winters and his men. The ground was barren, offering no cover whatsoever.


    The fortress walls were connected to the wooden bridge crossing the Confluence River, allowing the defenders to advance or retreat at will.


    Moreover, the area around the Bridgehead Fortress was narrow, preventing the enemy from deploying in great numbers despite their larger force.


    There were originally two hundred-man units stationed here, and after Jeska¡¯s troops had arrived, they continued to remodel and reinforce the existing fortifications.


    Their prep time far exceeded that of Sekler¡¯s forces, so what stood before the Herders wasn¡¯t the sort of rudimentary defense characterized by low walls and shallow trenches found at Sekler¡¯s camp.


    Instead, there were trenches over two meters deep and wide, continuous anti-cavalry stakes, four large and one small bastions, and a double-layered defensive wall arranged at varying heights.


    Though it couldn¡¯t compare with those intricately designed, costly star forts that strike fear just by looking at them, breaching this defensive system would still cost the Herders hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.


    The horns sounded, and the distant Herder Cavalry stirred noisily before beginning their advance towards the fortress walls.


    ¡°They dare to come?¡± Winters inhaled sharply in surprise, ¡°Aren¡¯t they afraid to die?¡±


    Bard glared at Winters, jumped down from the watchtower, and headed towards the southwest bastion he was responsible for.


    When Alaric who spoke fluent Common attacked The Styx camp, he at least brought dozens of mantlets for cover.


    The Terdon Tribe Cavalry in front of them now didn¡¯t even have a few shields to speak of, let alone mantlets, yet they dared to attack so boldly, something Winters found hard to understand.


    An idea suddenly struck him, ¡°The Herders couldn¡¯t possibly¡­ be confused about who is the egg and who is the stone, could they?¡±


    Atop the northeast bastion, Mason stared unblinkingly at several red sandstone blocks piled up 750 meters away.


    As soon as the stones became submerged behind the wall of Herder troops, Mason bellowed, ¡°Fire!¡±


    The five six-pounder cannons fired in succession, the solid iron balls accurately flying into the crowd, piercing through bodies, and plowing five deep grooves of blood.


    Clearly, the Herders hadn¡¯t expected the defenders to have cannons. To project power, they had advanced in tight formations at a slow pace.


    But the open ground around them had been marked by Mason, leaving practically no chance for the shots to miss such dense formations.


    Yet after only five limited casualty-causing volleys, the Herder forces were already trembling. Not so much because of the casualties, but because they couldn¡¯t bear the psychological pressure of being helplessly bombarded.


    Finally, someone¡¯s patience broke. A horse charged, and all the Herders followed in a frenzied dash.


    The formation of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s forces was shattered just like that.


    As the Herders came within five hundred meters, two twelve-pounder cannons waiting in ambush roared like thunder.


    The cannonballs rampaged through the crowd, bouncing upon impact with the ground, mercilessly reaping lives as they went.


    ¡°Good shooting!¡± Mason¡¯s frustration vanished, thrilled with the effect of the shelling.


    Leading the way or whatever¡­ What¡¯s more interesting than a cannon? The Lieutenant ordered his men with renewed vigor, ¡°Switch to canister shot!¡±


    Hearing the order, a bunch of ¡°cannoneers¡± started scrambling to load grape shots wrapped in netting and paper bags.


    The cannons which Colonel Robert had desired but lacked, Colonel Jeska not only had¡­ but he had seven of them.


    Mason, a Lieutenant dreaming of returning to his artillery roots, would¡¯ve loved to give Bianli City¡¯s cannons a thorough workout. With Jeska¡¯s go-ahead, he immediately took under his command the best five light, long-range cannons and the two twelve-pounder cannons.


    The former weighed only half a ton each, but with a bore diameter over thirty, their range was outstanding. The latter weighed approximately a ton and had a smaller bore, but their advantage was in firing twelve-pound shots.


    The gunpowder for shooting had been weighed and prepackaged by Mason; the angles for firing had also been personally determined by him. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other so-called ¡°cannoneers¡± were complete novices, only responsible for firing, repositioning, cleaning the barrel, reloading, and firing again.


    During the defense of The Styx camp, Mason had already trained several novice cannoneers. Now, using the old ones as a core and supplementing with new ones, he had significantly expanded his artillery crew.


    This was how an academy-trained artillery officer, who had been idly tending pigs for years, led a few dozen rough-and-ready novices using Herder cannons to kill Herders¡ªwith cannonballs that were scavenged from the Herders themselves.


    The cruel tapestry of the battlefield was oddly tinted with shades of magical realism.


    However, Winters didn¡¯t have time to ponder the absurdity of the situation; he was waiting for the Herders to come within fifty paces.

 Chapter 441: 64 Small Improvements_2

    Chapter 441: Chapter 64 Small Improvements_2


    If they only had muskets, the Herders could leisurely advance to within a hundred meters, form a line at their leisure, and then lay siege,


    But once the defending army possessed cannons, the Herders had to strike from five hundred meters away.


    Even five hundred meters was not safe, as the extreme range of a six-pounder cannon exceeded three thousand meters¡ªthough at that distance, catching a shot was more likely than hitting the target.


    In less than a minute, the Herder cavalry had charged to within fifty meters; the cannons only had time for one round and were hurriedly reloading.


    Behind the palisade, there was silence.


    Jeska¡¯s squad was no longer the rabble that fired guns to bolster their courage; all the musketeers were waiting for orders.


    ...


    Caltrops, trenches, breastworks, palisades¡ªthe Bridgehead Fortress¡¯s defenses consisted of these four layers from the outside in.


    The Herders stopped at the caltrops, some dismounted to draw bows and notch arrows, while others started to pull up the caltrop stakes.


    ¡°Now! Fire!¡± Winters yelled using a spell to amplify his voice.


    He pulled the trigger in rapid succession, ¡°click, click¡± as the flintlock sparked, and two lead balls flew out of the barrel, taking down a Hong Lingyu Herder leader beside the caltrops.


    After Berlion¡¯s modifications, the double-barreled rifled gun could hit whatever it was aimed at.


    Above the bastion, the musketeers followed Winters¡¯s lead and pressed their firing levers, and a volley of gunfire erupted, with lead balls flying everywhere.


    The closest Herders were killed on the spot, those who weren¡¯t dead were lying on the ground trying to hide, using just arm-thick caltrops as shields.


    After the volley, the battlefield returned to silence.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Stand up!¡± a Herder leader shouted from behind the smoke: ¡°[Herde Language] Their muskets can only be used once! Hurry, pull the stakes!¡±


    The Herders got up from the ground amid scolding; it seemed like the shooting really had stopped, and they began pulling up the caltrops again.


    What greeted them was the second volley, killing the scolding Herder leader with two lead balls.


    ¡°Second squad! Reload!¡± Winters shouted, waving the military flag: ¡°Third squad! Prepare!¡±


    The drummer beside the Centurion beat a frantic rhythm, urging the musketeers to act.


    Those who had finished shooting stepped back to reload, while another team of musketeers hurried to the wall to line up their shots.


    Previously, after firing a volley, militiamen musketeers would fire at will.


    However, Winters noted that many musketeers were afraid to shoot, and once they started firing at will, they would hardly send out a few lead balls during the whole battle.


    Hence, Winters divided all the musketeers into ten squads, taking turns and alternating volleys.


    It was immediately apparent whose gun had fired and whose had not.


    ¡°Third squad! Fire!¡± Winters roared.


    The drums fell silent as Xial swung the mallet, striking it hard against the gong.


    ¡°Gong!¡± The gong sound cut through the noise of the battlefield; it was the signal to open fire.


    The third squad of musketeers pressed their firing levers, releasing another volley of shots.


    Next to each shooting position stood a Centurion taking notes. Military law had been read beforehand: After the battle, those whose guns did not fire would be severely punished.


    ¡°Third squad! Reload!¡± Winters immediately ordered: ¡°Fourth squad! Prepare!¡±


    The drummer played the quick drum again. The sound of the high-frequency drum helped one team of musketeers retreat and the next team take their place.


    This tactic was not simple; each musketeer had to finish reloading within the time of nine volleys, and also be cautious of friendly fire and accidents.


    With drums, gongs, and voices, the ten squads of musketeers clumsily took turns.


    Watching his subordinates in disarray, Winters was not satisfied. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In his view, the militia were still too clumsy; with more training, this rotating firing tactic would be much smoother.


    ¡°Fourth squad! Fire,¡± Winters¡¯s voice grew hoarse as he thought, ¡°I need to find someone to take over the command shouting for me.¡±


    Centurion Montaigne was still not satisfied, but the feelings of the Herders were completely different.


    In the past, two-legged humans¡¯ muskets took a long time to reload after firing once.


    But the Herders of the Terdon Tribe were astonished to find that the muskets of the two-legged humans inside the earthen fortress never stopped firing.


    The gunfire continued relentlessly, lead balls falling like rain, volley after volley, pinning the Herders outside the caltrops so they couldn¡¯t lift their heads.


    At last, a large number of Herde archers arrived at the front line.


    These archers, donning double, even triple-layer heavy armor, crossed the caltrops and advanced all the way to the edge of the trenches, shooting arrows at the Paratu people on the wall.


    Immediately, a few gunners who leaned out too much from the parapet were killed by the arrows.


    The hard bows and heavy arrows of the Herders lost their force at longer distances. But the advantage gained in exchange was their ¡°unstoppable¡± power at close range.


    Especially the crescent arrowheads, which could even slice a wrist off an arm.


    Winters wasn¡¯t surprised to see the Herde heavy armored archers approaching.


    In life-and-death battles that had raged ten or more times, Winters knew every tactic of the Herders like the back of his hand.


    Without exaggeration, among the surviving Vineta officers, perhaps no one understood the Herders¡¯ expertise better than Winters Montagne.


    These archers were definitely carefully chosen valiant warriors, capable of wearing double-layer heavy armor, drawing hard bows, and with excellent archery skills, specifically tasked with sniping and suppressing Paratu gunners.


    A smile appeared on Winters¡¯ face.


    Elites? It¡¯s the elites I¡¯m fighting against.


    ¡°Charging horses!¡± Winters bellowed, his shout amplified by magic, instantly drowning out all other sounds.


    Upon hearing the code word, a large number of gunners suddenly stood up from behind the breastwork behind the trench, shouting in unison: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    They had been hiding behind the wall, just waiting for this moment.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The gunners behind the breastwork fired a ferociously vicious volley at point-blank range at the Herde elites, as if the faces were glued together.


    Between the heavy armored archers and the breastwork, only a trench separated them, at a distance not exceeding four meters.


    If they missed at this range, the shooters had every reason to consider swallowing their own guns.


    As agreed, the cannons, which had been holding back, simultaneously fired.


    Innumerable lead bullets danced in a crisscross pattern at the edge of the trench, the Herders had their fill of lead and iron grapeshot.


    Winters felt his cheek suddenly wet, and touching it, he realized it was fresh blood splashed up from below the city.


    As the smoke cleared, one in ten of the Herde heavy armored archers remained at the edge of the trench. Some were still alive, simply because no one had aimed at them.


    The sound of drums and gongs still did not cease, volley after volley was directed at the enemy below the city.


    It was just a small improvement, yet the killing efficiency was greatly enhanced.


    The fighting spirit of the Herders completely disappeared, and they fled in disarray.


    Almost without any casualties, the first assault was repelled.


    Colonel Jeska, who was presiding over the central army, had someone call for Winters.


    Upon meeting, Jeska wordlessly handed a cup of strong liquor to the lieutenant, his face betraying no happiness or sorrow: ¡°Get some reliable men to repair the caltrops and drag away the bodies, don¡¯t let the Herders play their stacking-corpse siege tactic again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already taken care of.¡± Winters didn¡¯t refuse the alcohol and gulped it down in one go.


    There was silence between them for a while.


    Suddenly, Jeska praised, ¡°Well done.¡±


    The colonel rarely complimented people, and although he struggled to conjure a semblance of a kind expression, it turned out to be quite peculiar.


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Jeska gave up trying and reverted to his usual cool tone: ¡°This alternating shooting tactic you¡¯ve come up with is interesting.¡±


    Winters wiped his cheek and said, ¡°It¡¯s not my own creation, rotational shooting has existed since ancient times. Ancient javelin throwers did this by taking turns throwing, and archers would also deploy in formations to release volleys sequentially.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s new in this world?¡± scoffed Jeska, shaking his head and pouring another cup of liquor for the lieutenant: ¡°Everything is about improving upon what others have done. Since it¡¯s you who improved this tactic, it¡¯s yours. Montaigne tactics? Montaigne system?¡±


    ¡°Just call it rotational shooting, I don¡¯t want to name it after myself.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The old marshal¡¯s improved phalanx is also just called the Great Phalanx, isn¡¯t it?¡± Winters said somberly: ¡°Though it sounds arrogant to say it, I think I understand a bit of the old marshal¡¯s sentiment¡­ I¡¯m pleased, but I¡¯m also afraid. I fear that one day, someone will also use this tactic against us.¡±


    Jeska patted the lieutenant¡¯s arm, saying nothing.


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 Chapter 442: 65 Three Opportunities

    Chapter 442: Chapter 65 Three Opportunities


    The situation on the battlefield took a sudden and dramatic turn, leaving everyone dumbstruck.


    The Herders were defeated utterly like a collapsing mountain; the routed soldiers from the failed siege swept back through their own formation, actually breaking the central army of the Terdon Tribe.


    Winters looked out upon over ten thousand Cavalry trampling each other in disarray, scattering like birds and beasts, and couldn¡¯t imagine that victory would come so suddenly.


    Since Andre wasn¡¯t in the fortress at the moment, Colonel Jeska had Pierre lead the Dusack light Cavalry to follow and scout the enemy.


    Soon, Mr. Michel, who had been promoted to temporary sergeant, brought back intelligence: the barbarians¡¯ flags were in disarray, and they were no longer an arrayed force, but rather in a chaotic retreat towards the west.


    With the situation clear, the people of Paratu were relieved and rejoiced, even the rough men wiping away tears. The greater the suppression they had felt when surrounded by the Herd Barbarians, the more excited they were at this moment.


    ...


    Winters had no time to celebrate; he was busy gathering the Centurion for questioning.


    A messenger had found him¡ªColonel Jeska wanted all officers to come to a meeting.


    When he arrived at the small plank building that served as the headquarters for the battalion, he found that aside from Jeska, Bard, and Mason, there were also two Centurions who had originally been stationed there: Lieutenant Otiba [from Palatu] and Second Lieutenant Sanu [from Veneta].


    Winters winked at Sanu and pulled over a chair to take a seat. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The atmosphere was very relaxed; who could have thought that the fierce Terdon Tribe would turn out to be so formidable in appearance yet so ineffective in reality?


    ¡°Do not attribute it to us! Do not attribute it to us! Oh Lord, the glory is Your name!¡±


    Bouts of singing filtered into the room; the people of Paratu were singing hymns in unison.


    For the believers, defeating so many enemies at such a small cost could only be explained as a miracle.


    ¡°If the Herders want to run, let them run,¡± Jeska said, getting straight to the point once everyone had arrived: ¡°Do not pursue them, continue to strengthen the fortifications.¡±


    At first, Winters didn¡¯t understand: the Herder army was in retreat, they should be pursued relentlessly, to prevent them from regrouping.


    But Colonel Jeska wouldn¡¯t make a baseless statement¡­


    After a little thought, Winters figured it out and couldn¡¯t help but laugh at himself: ¡°You mean¡­the Herders are feigning defeat?¡±


    The smiles quickly faded from the other junior officers¡¯ faces, their expressions turned serious, and they leaned forward involuntarily.


    ¡°Pretending to be defeated to lure the garrison out of the stronghold and then seek an opportunity to surround and annihilate them. That¡¯s a favorite tactic of the Herders,¡± Jeska pointed at Lieutenant Otiba, asking, ¡°Are you from Palatu?¡±


    Otiba was somewhat baffled: ¡°Uh? Yes, my home is at Kingsfort.¡±


    ¡°Then you should know how the last Grand Duke died.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it from an instructor¡­ but it was when I was a child.¡±


    Jeska turned to the Venetians beside him: ¡°Tell them about it.¡±


    Lieutenant Otiba scratched his head, stood up, and roughly recounted the well-known story amongst Palatu soldiers.


    The story was simple: another year of great disaster, the Herders invaded from the east en masse, pillaging and slaughtering along the way, eventually reaching the foot of Kingsfort.


    Impenetrable after over ten generations of Palatu Grand Dukes¡¯ construction, Kingsfort held out against the barbarians¡¯ prolonged attack. After disputes over loot caused internal strife among them, the barbarians eventually fled in defeat.


    Seeing this, Grand Duke Bello IV immediately led his troops out to attack, resulting in a pursuit that lasted three days and nights.


    Finally, at the mouth of the Kalga River, the overconfident and depleted Palatu forces ran headlong into the Herders¡¯ counter-charge.


    By the time the slaughter ended, the Kalga River was filled with the bodies of Palatu¡¯s people.


    From then on, no one in Palatu would eat fish from the Kalga River because those fish had fed on the flesh of Palatu¡¯s people.


    ¡­


    An aside, the impact of this battle was profound: the Grand Duke, along with seven earls, were killed, extinguishing the male line of the Hetumoger family.


    The crown of Palatu, after much shifting, finally landed in the hands of Bello IV¡¯s cousin¡ªRichard IV, who at that time was not yet known as the Mad King.


    For Richard IV, who routinely faced financial ruin, receiving the Kingdom of Galloping Horses was like finding a treasure. He treated Palatu like a money bag, ruthlessly drawing more than two hundred fifty thousand Ducats every year.


    As wealth continuously drained away, Palatu began its steady decline.


    The frontier defenses could no longer be maintained, and the Herder tribes raided Palatu every year, calling it ¡°harvesting autumn grain.¡±


    The Emperor, for his part, turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.


    From nobility to commoners, resentment and dissatisfaction with Richard IV grew day by day. Beneath the facade of loyalty, deep currents were swirling.


    So much so that when the people of the mountain front rose up, Palatu, which was supposed to staunchly support the crown, not only didn¡¯t exert effort to suppress the rebellion, it actually became a source of troops for the ¡°rebels.¡±


    A large number of the lower nobility of Palatu changed their names and called friends to join the ranks of the Allied Army, funding their own revolt.


    Throughout the early, middle, and late phases of the Sovereignty Wars, the Allied Army relied on the people of Palatu to carry their Cavalry units.


    Ned Smith discovered that among the troops were many curious knights who, under assumed names, claimed to be from the mountain front but spoke with a highland accent.


    These men brought their own Warhorses, weapons, and armor to the army; they disliked taking orders, especially from commanders of commoner backgrounds.


    Yet, each was a skilled warrior, never deserting despite the lack of military pay, fighting desperately in battle as if they had irreconcilable hatreds with the Empire.


    It was precisely because of their distinguished service during the Sovereignty Wars that the Republic of Palatu was able to enjoy a political status on par with The Federated Provinces and Veneta within the Alliance.


    If Bello IV had lived during the outbreak of the Sovereignty Wars, he surely would have sent troops to help his cousin suppress the rebels, to avoid getting burned himself.


    Under pressure from both sides, the nascent Federated Provinces republic would have been swiftly snuffed out.


    If the United Provincials couldn¡¯t even withstand the initial phase of the conflict, then there would have been no chance for the Venetians to join the fight.


    But history has no ifs; who could have predicted that a reckless decision made on a whim by a young man would ultimately lead to the birth of five republics and a ¡°great¡± Alliance?


    ¡­


    Now back to this meeting.


    Ottiba spread his hands, indicating he had finished speaking.


    Mason hesitantly asked, ¡°If the Herders are only feigning surrender, isn¡¯t that a bit too costly? They¡¯ve lost quite a few men!¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a real defeat or a feigned one, it all comes down to this,¡± Jeska paused for a moment, looking around at the five lieutenants, pronouncing each word clearly, ¡°The tiger doesn¡¯t leave the mountain!¡±


    He went on to explain, ¡°If we hold this bridge, the initiative is in our hands. If he attacks, we inflict casualties; if he runs, we don¡¯t chase. By remaining still, we control the action and give the Herders no opportunity.¡±


    The lieutenant colonel made sense, and naturally, the five lieutenants had no objections.


    Winters was also somewhat uneasy about leaving the fortress to pursue the enemy.


    However, the strategy of ¡°The tiger doesn¡¯t leave the mountain¡± left Winters with a small regret; he originally wanted to take advantage of the Herders¡¯ defeat to unearth the sacrificial golden statue.


    Now it seemed safer to let the golden statue continue to lie buried in the ground.


    Since the internal consensus had been reached, Squad Leader Jeska immediately sprang into action.


    Bard led people to continue broadening and deepening the trenches and restocked the chevaux de frise;


    Ottiba and Sanu took their men to reinforce and raise the height of the fortress walls;


    Mason was rather unlucky. The moment the lieutenant colonel remembered Mason¡¯s wrong turn, he became angry and punished him to clean up the battlefield, collect cannonballs, and drag away corpses.


    Weapons, armor, leather cloaks, cloth garments, boots, ornaments¡­ everything valuable and useful was collected.


    The dead Herders were stripped bare, and then flung straight into the river, ending up naked, empty, and clean;


    Apart from dispatching a few Dusack scouts to survey the enemy situation, no troops were allowed to leave the camp.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska boldly displayed his intentions to the Herders: no matter what cunning plots you have, I won¡¯t even spare a glance. After all, with every second that passes, the number of lives you need to sacrifice for this Bridgehead Fortress increases.


    While the other lieutenants were busy with construction, Winters was busy building morale.


    He gathered the musketeers responsible for the staggered shooting and began calling names from a list:


    ¡°John from Wolfton!¡±


    ¡°Ryan from the Valley of Light!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    In the entire Bridgehead Fortress, there were hardly a few who could read.


    This deeply impressed upon Winters the importance of universal education. If the lieutenants could read, they could keep records themselves, and Winters would only need to do the summary.


    But all his lieutenants were illiterate and he had to transcribe the list himself.


    This was also why he divided the musketeers into ten squads, because people have ten fingers. The lieutenants supervising the musketeers were illiterate and could only use their fingers to count people.


    The musketeers whose names were called stepped forward one by one. Amongst the nearly three hundred and forty musketeers and crossbowmen who took part in the staggered shooting, Winters called out only thirty-three names.


    Not knowing what the centurion intended to do, the thirty-three musketeers stood in a row, uneasy.


    ¡°These people,¡± Winters deliberately paused, emphasizing his words as he announced, ¡°are the ones who managed to make their guns fire with every round during the six-and-a-half rotation shooting! Well done!¡±


    ¡°Reward!¡± Winters gestured grandly.


    Xial and Heinrich brought over a bag of clinking silver coins and distributed them from one end of the line to the other, giving three coins to each person.


    Winters then led the crowd in applause. Most of the six-round musketeers blushed with embarrassment, and their eyes dared only to stare at their shoetips.


    Then came the fifty musketeers who had managed five rounds, each receiving a single silver coin, with no cheers.


    The third group consisted of seventy-eight musketeers who managed four rounds, receiving neither bonus nor applause.


    ¡°The rest of you!¡± Winters slapped the paper, staring at the remaining half of the musketeers on the ground: ¡°In six rounds of shooting, you managed at most three shots. Some of you didn¡¯t make a sound at all!¡±


    In the center of the clearing, there was a deadly silence. Many musketeers hung their heads in shame.


    ¡°Look at me! Don¡¯t lower your heads!¡± Winters sternly scolded with a hardened heart, his cold voice amplified by magic echoing through the fortress: ¡°To punish without teaching is to inflict cruelty! That is why I am reasoning with you now. Every round of fire you fail to deliver, you might kill one less enemy. Kill one less enemy, and you might cause the death of a comrade. Everyone was born of a father and mother, you cause death, you must atone!¡±


    The entire fortress was now silent, even the longspear men who were otherwise uninvolved held their breath and listened.


    ¡°Some of you may feel this is unfair. I miss one shot? How could that possibly cause another person to die?¡± Winters raised three fingers: ¡°Three times! That¡¯s why I give you three chances. In three battles, if you can¡¯t even make a single qualifying volley, you deserve to pay with your life! All that awaits you is the gallows!¡±


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look towards the temporary gallows at the edge of the clearing, where the noose swayed in the wind, awaiting its deadly purpose.


    Winters shouted, ¡°Bring the gun!¡±


    Xial handed a matchlock musket to Winters.


    ¡°I will fire six shots, and if three don¡¯t fire, I¡¯ll put the noose around my own neck!¡±


    Xial set up six Herder helmets twenty paces away from Winters.


    With all the eyes of the Palatu people on him, Winters skillfully loaded, aimed, fired, and reloaded.


    Six continuous shots rang out, all six hitting their mark, knocking down each Herder helmet as they were fired.


    Initially, all the Palatu people were silent, but when Winters knocked down the second helmet, some began to cheer.


    After that, with every helmet Winters knocked down, the Palatu people roared in unison, each cheer louder than the last.


    When the sixth helmet was struck and flew off, the cheering reached its peak, and even the one-eyed lieutenant colonel watching from a distance applauded.


    After the sixth shot, Winters casually tossed the musket aside. Xial caught it firmly, his palms red from clapping.


    Six shots fired, all six hitting their mark, no one was unconvinced.


    ¡°I will never force you to do what I cannot do. If I can do it, so can you,¡± Winters¡¯s voice, with the power of magic, overpowered the cheers of the crowd.


    His gaze swept over every musketeer on the ground: ¡°Remember, you only have three chances. And you¡ªhave already wasted one!¡±


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 Chapter 443: 66 An Introduction to Statistics

    Chapter 443: Chapter 66 An Introduction to Statistics S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The tiger refuses to descend from its lair, a fruitless effort to lure the snake from the hole.


    Seeing no movement from the fortress¡¯s defenders, the Herders slink back, once again completely surrounding the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Just as Colonel Jeska had anticipated, the Terdon Tribe hadn¡¯t lost their order; the pretense of disarray and panicked flight was merely a facade.


    It¡¯s actually more accurate to say that being able to feign such a convincing defeat, without devolving into an actual rout, further proved the Terdon leader¡¯s control over his people.


    Dark clouds hung low, and a deadly winter wind howled as vultures circled in the sky, portending more death and slaughter.


    Watching the barbarian horde return after being defeated, the soldiers and militiamen struggled with disappointment and growing anxiety.


    ...


    No one sang the hymns of praise anymore, and morale was not as high as before.


    The previous tears of gratitude were now extinguished.


    Winters felt some schadenfreude. He really wanted to point out, ¡°It was us who led you to victory, yet you thank the gods instead. How does that make sense?¡±


    But such words were far too blasphemous, so he kept them between himself and Bard.


    Compared to the gloomy atmosphere among the soldiers, the officers were relatively relaxed and at ease.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s first siege had proven the star-shaped fortress¡¯s robust defense.


    Lacking siege weapons, the Cavalry were helpless against the earthen walls and deep trenches; all they could do was fill them with their bodies.


    If the Herders were determined to gnaw on this tough bone, there was an easy solution¡ªthe bridge stood right behind the fortress. If it came down to it, they could retreat across the river and blow up the bridge, leaving the barbarians to stare helplessly from the bank.


    This time, the Herders smartened up and aligned their troops beyond the effective range of the cannons.


    Puffs of smoke rose in the distance, the number of enemies so immense they seemed endless.


    Atop the watchtower, Mason chatted intermittently with Winters.


    ¡°Hey, do you notice something?¡± Mason asked with a puzzled expression. ¡°From leaving to coming back, doesn¡¯t it seem like there are even more Herder Cavalry out there?¡±


    Winters shared the same feeling. ¡°This morning, I saw about ten thousand Herder Cavalry. Now, there have to be at least twenty thousand.¡±


    ¡°Reinforcements?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Winters shrugged. ¡°The colonel said that if the three tribes gritted their teeth, they could muster a hundred thousand archers. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if the full strength of the Terdon Tribe came out, given they even brought the ritual object, the ¡®Golden Man¡¯, to bolster their ranks.¡±


    Mason shook his head with a wry smile, then hesitantly offered some advice to Winters: ¡°Do you mind if I give some pointers?¡±


    Winters was somewhat perplexed but answered earnestly, ¡°Senior, please speak your mind.¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, instead of having your musketeers fire quickly, you should figure out how to make them shoot more accurately.¡±


    Mason took out a sheepskin scroll filled with writing, looking expectantly at Winters. ¡°Do you have statistics classes in your infantry courses?¡±


    ¡°We only have arithmetic and geometry,¡± Winters vehemently shook his head.


    ¡°Let me explain to you the concept of percentages then.¡±


    [Author¡¯s Note: Attentive readers may have noticed that so far, no use of percentages has occurred in this book. Terms like ¡®two-tenths¡¯, ¡®one-fourth¡¯, ¡®half¡¯ have been used instead.


    This is because Winters Montagne has not learned about fractions or percentages. Only artillery officer students take statistics classes.


    The history of statistics is very ancient and can be traced back to Aristotle¡¯s ¡®Constitution of the Cities¡¯. The word statistics is derived from the word state. However, fractions and percentages have a more recent history, only appearing in the eighteenth century.


    In this book, it¡¯s assumed that Ned the Marshal¡¯s friend, the founder of the artillery discipline, General Lionheart Euler, introduced concepts like ¡®fraction¡¯ and ¡®percentage¡¯.


    After being taught by Mason, Winters learned a little about the rudiments of statistics. So starting from here, the notion of percentages and statistics will be officially introduced XD. Knowledge is power, new weapon acquired!]


    After explaining what percentages are, Mason, holding the sheepskin scroll, recited, ¡°Outside the fortress, I counted 347 Herder corpses. However, only 215 of them were near the trenches; the rest were outside the range of musket fire.¡±


    Winters nodded. It had taken over two hundred deaths before the Terdon Tribe withdrew, which showed their tenacity.


    Mason licked his finger and flipped to the next page. ¡°On the walls, you positioned 341 musketeers who fired six and a half rounds, theoretically reaching 2210 shots. However, due to misfires, I looked at the data on your list, and your men actually fired a total of 1147 shots.¡±


    As Mason spoke, Winters listened intently. The image of his pathfinder senior seemed to grow in stature.


    Clearing his throat, Mason concluded, ¡°That means, even if all 215 people by the trenches were killed by your musketeers, the hit rate would only be 18.7 percent, with the remaining 81.3 percent being misses.¡±


    Winters gasped, ¡°There could be cases where one person was killed by two shots¡­¡±


    Mason raised his hand to halt his junior and continued, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, those 215 include the kills by my cannons and the musketeers you positioned below the walls. The actual kill efficiency is much lower than 18.7 percent. I estimate it¡¯s less than 8 percent.


    In other words, for the 1147 shots you fired, less than one hundred hit their mark. 52 percent of your musketeers, on average, fired only 1.51 shots over six rounds of firing, and less than 10 percent of the musketeers carried out all six shots.¡±


    Mason rolled up the scroll and tapped Winters on the forehead, sharply rebuking, ¡°You wastrel! Isn¡¯t this a waste of ammunition? At the rate you¡¯re going, you¡¯re using at least 3.5 times more gunpowder than necessary, and our gunpowder reserves will be depleted in three days.¡±


    Winters was left speechless.


    He took the scroll, read through it carefully, then looked up and said, ¡°A 48 percent misfire rate? That¡¯s too high, it needs to be lowered. An 8 percent kill rate? That¡¯s not bad!¡±


    ¡°Not bad?!¡± Mason said displeased. ¡°Even the cannons are more efficient than that.¡±


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 Chapter 444: 66 Introduction to Statistics_2

    Chapter 444: Chapter 66 Introduction to Statistics_2


    ¡°Senior, the issue is not about how accurately you hit, but how to fire as many lead bullets as possible in the shortest amount of time. The more you shoot, the better. The faster you shoot, the stronger the suppression. The Herders were even pinned down next to the cheval de frise, not daring to raise their heads. Though the efficiency is reduced, the actual combat results have increased.¡±


    ¡°Musketeers earn half more than spearman because they are technical troops,¡± Mason said regretfully. ¡°If you keep training like this, all your musketeers will only know how to fire randomly in one direction, and not a single accurate shooter will be found!¡±


    Winters blinked, a smile appearing on his face, ¡°The accuracy of matchlock guns is limited anyway.¡±


    ¡°So, you just shoot blindly? Shoot randomly? If you can¡¯t shoot accurately, you should be shooting more carefully! Shoot slowly!¡±


    ¡°Senior, don¡¯t be angry,¡± Winters said, putting an arm around Mason¡¯s shoulder and whispering in his ear, ¡°Regarding accurate musketeers, I have a new idea.¡±


    ¡°What idea?¡± Mason asked with a stern face, looking sideways at his junior.


    ...


    Winters drew his double-barreled rifled revolver, presenting it horizontally to his senior, ¡°This.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Mason¡¯s eyelid twitched as he took the rifled gun, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°For those who can¡¯t shoot accurately, let them volley fire. For those who can, I want to make them even more accurate!¡± Winters said with spirited eyes, his gaze intense, ¡°Volley fire, precision shooting, I want it all.¡±


    This time, it was Mason¡¯s turn to be at a loss for words.


    A sudden shout came from beneath the watchtower, ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡±


    Winters looked out to see the colonel¡¯s messenger below the wooden tower, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°The savages want to negotiate.¡± The messenger gasped for breath, ¡°Lady Jeska wants you and Lord Bard to go.¡±


    ¡°If they want to talk, let¡¯s talk,¡± Winters said as he slid the gun back into its holster, ¡°I¡¯m going to see what devilish idea the savages have.¡±


    Winters rode Warhorse, and Bard rode his bone-penetrating palomino, both leaping onto their horses.


    The two magnificent horses, one gold and one silver, moved in unison and coordination, appearing not like they were on a blood-soaked battlefield, but as if in a parade of formal dance steps.


    The Paratu People on the fortress couldn¡¯t help but cheer.


    The red-faced Herder wasn¡¯t at the negotiation this time, just the Translator.


    Seeing who had come, Winters didn¡¯t feel like talking.


    Without waiting for the other to speak, he frowned and said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to talk, forget it.¡±


    With that, Winters spurred his horse to leave, and Bard turned his Warhorse without another word.


    ¡°Talk! Talk! Of course, we want to talk!¡± The Translator became flustered, pleading desperately, ¡°Lord, what do you mean by this?¡±


    ¡°Talk?!¡± Winters roared like thunder, ¡°What are you? You dare to talk with us? Get lost! Bring someone with the credentials. That monkey-butt face! Make him come!¡±


    The Translator said awkwardly, ¡°That one, the fire-starter¡­ He is my master, the blood of the Golden, the grandson of the Swift Deer, the son of the Bowless, the great chief of the Terdon Tribe, the war leader and divvied-flesh man.¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, ¡°That monkey-butt face, the fire-starter? Why doesn¡¯t he come?¡±


    ¡°You have cannons, my master doesn¡¯t wish to risk his life,¡± the Translator replied cautiously.


    The negotiation site was only three to four hundred meters away from the fortress, within the effective range of the artillery.


    ¡°Audacious!¡± Winters said angrily, ¡°You doubt our integrity?! Then there¡¯s nothing more to discuss.¡±


    Having spoken, he raised his horsewhip again.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave, my lord, please hear me out,¡± the Translator said with a wry smile. ¡°There really is no trust between the Paratu People and the Herders. There have been many instances where they claimed they wanted to negotiate but then lashed out and killed people.¡±


    The history of feuds between the Paratu and the various Herder tribes was an area that touched upon Winters¡¯ blind spot in knowledge.


    Winters remained unmoved, thundering with rage, ¡°Look at you, a Paratu, actually selling your life to the Herders!¡±


    The Translator, his temples graying, fought back tears, ¡°My lord, I had no choice. Thirty-one years ago, I was captured by the previous chieftain, ¡®Bowless,¡¯ to be a slave. Since then, I¡¯ve been wandering the wilderness, unable to return home.¡±


    ¡°Unable to return home? Then I¡¯ll give you an opportunity,¡± Bard suddenly interjected. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll take you back to the fortress. Once inside, the barbarians won¡¯t be able to harm you. After the battle is over, you can go home on your own, how about that?¡±


    The old Translator hesitated for a long while, then said timidly and shakily, ¡°My lord, there¡¯s no one left of my family in Paratu. I have taken a wife and had children in the Terdun Tribe, I¡­¡±


    ¡°No more nonsense!¡± Bard said coldly, his eyes flashing with a chilly light, ¡°Are you coming or not?¡±


    The Translator¡¯s face went pale, and he shook his head slightly.


    ¡°What did the Barbarian Chief send you to talk about?¡± Bard, usually the epitome of refinement, rarely showed a killing intent, ¡°Speak directly!¡±


    ¡°My lord, the Fire-kindler,¡± stammered the Translator, licking his lips, as cold sweat beaded on his forehead, ¡°wishes to engage your commander in an ancient ritual, a Mak¡¯gora¡ªa duel to the death. If my lord wins, you must hand over the sacrificial golden figure. If your commander wins, the Terdun Tribe will withdraw their troops and no longer participate in this war.¡±


    Even with all kinds of expectations, the enemy¡¯s proposal still left Winters and Bard speechless, exchanging glances, unsure what to say.


    ¡°Your Excellency can trust in the Mak¡¯gora,¡± the Translator continued. ¡°Both your army and ours will certainly respect it. Historically, there have been thirty-six Mak¡¯goras between the Herders and Paratu People, and regardless of who lost or won, both sides have honored their commitments.¡±


    ¡°War is a matter of vital importance to the state!¡± Bard¡¯s brows were tightly furrowed as he rebuked in a deep voice, ¡°How can you decide the critical matters of warfare with a duel? What madness has possessed your flat-ass-faced chieftain?¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± the Translator swallowed, ¡°Ned Smith of your forces killed Queye Kahn in a Mak¡¯gora ceremony¡­¡±


    Hearing the name of the old Marshal in such an unexpected place, Winters suddenly perked up.


    ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± he asked with interest, ¡°How come I¡¯ve never read about it in the annals of war? Tell me about it. What are the constraints of this Mak¡¯gora? Mounted combat? On foot?¡±


    The Translator wiped the sweat from his brow and said, ¡°The parties can decide for themselves. It can be on foot or mounted, and generally, there is no restriction on weapons¡­¡±


    ¡°Then is it okay to use guns?¡± Winters¡¯ eyes widened.


    Before the Translator could respond, Bard hastily interrupted his exuberant friend.


    Bard extended his hand to seize Winters¡¯ reins and said to the Translator, ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll go back and tell our commander.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go! I haven¡¯t finished asking yet!¡± Winters shouted as he was dragged away, getting farther and farther from the old Translator but still calling out persistently, ¡°Hey! Translator, is it okay to use guns? To use¡­¡±


    Upon returning to the Bridgehead Fortress, the two were surrounded by other officers.


    ¡°What did the Herders want to say?¡± Colonel Jeska asked.


    ¡°The Herders have gone mad!¡± Winters was overjoyed, ¡°They truly have no solution for this fortress! They have become so desperate that they wish to try anything.¡±


    Bard frowned and said, ¡°If that Translator wasn¡¯t lying, the one leading their forces is the great chieftain of the Terdun Tribe¡ªthe Fire-kindler. That¡¯s not good news. And it seems they are very confident; that Translator even refused to defect to us.¡±


    ¡°They even brought the sacrificial golden figure! How could it not be the Barbarian Chief personally entering the fray?¡± scoffed Jeska with a snort, ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Winters laughed until he had tears in his eyes, ¡°They want to challenge you to single combat!¡±


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 Chapter 445: 67: Demanding!

    Chapter 445: Chapter 67: Demanding!


    Murderous aura formed battle clouds at the third watch, and a chilling voice transmitted the call for duel for an entire day.


    The westerly winds roared, as if murderous intent had materialized. Iron-like dark clouds pressed down toward the earth, and the sky seemed ever so low.


    The Terdon Tribe was arrayed a mile away, while the Paratu People watched from atop the fortress walls. Everyone held their breath in anticipation, waiting for the champions of the Mak¡¯gora ritual to emerge from the formations.


    Only the crows circling in the sky emitted a series of ill-omened and desolate rasping cries.


    Suddenly, the sound of a low horn came from the distance, echoed by more from all around the fortress.


    The horn sounded as though it heralded the end of the world, as if a third of the sun, moon, and stars were struck, dimming the sky in turn.


    ...


    Twelve brawny Herder drummers flung their arms, fiercely slamming their short mallets onto the round-table-like drum heads.


    The war drums thundered, and a warrior stepped out slowly from the Terdon Tribe¡¯s main formation.


    The warrior¡¯s stature was so towering; it was as if a giant from the edge of the world had arrived on the battlefield.


    All other Herders beside him appeared comical, like dwarves and children.


    Some Paratu People couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in astonishment, for the giant was clad not in lamellar armor.


    The Herder warrior wore a full suit of plate armor¡ªbreastplate, greaves, vambraces¡ªall steel plates, truly like a giant cast from molten iron.


    Only the helmet was in Herder style, topped with three large blue plumes showcasing a pair of eyes. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Such a suit of armor¡ªlet alone the material and effort¡ªwas such that one couldn¡¯t buy a ready-made one of this size.


    It had to be tailor-made; there was no chance it was a hastily crafted suit of common iron armor.


    A squire then led a Warhorse for the iron giant, which also was no ordinary breed.


    Herder horses were sturdy and resilient, but small in stature, unable to carry such a giant and his armor.


    The giant¡¯s mount was a heavy Warhorse [Destrier], only seen beyond the wilds, its withers even taller than the squire¡¯s head.


    That behemoth could not live on grass alone; it needed fine fodder and beer to drink, and careful attention within walled stables.


    The iron giant mounted the pitch-black Warhorse, raised his lance high, and passed slowly before each Herder formation.


    At each stop, a thunderous cheer erupted. The Herders, beating their weapons with all their might, shouted themselves hoarse to boost their champion¡¯s morale.


    Seeing that steel colossus mounted on the great horse, the Paratu People felt as though an invisible hand was gripping their throats, a suffocating and powerless sensation overwhelming them.


    Atop the fortress walls, Priest Caman couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself:


    [I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.]


    Next to Caman, Mason clenched his fist and smashed it against the battlements, cursing, ¡°The barbarians are most cunning! No wonder they agreed not to use muskets!¡±


    Prior agreements stipulated that this Mak¡¯gora would be a mounted duel, allowing armor, no weapon restrictions, fight to the death, with only bows and muskets prohibited.


    And now, the Herders had sent forth such an impervious iron giant.


    The fortress gates burst open, eight trumpeters puffed up their cheeks and sounded the march, while the Paratu drummers also beat their smaller military drums.


    Yet, against the Herders¡¯ desolate and mournful great drums and horns, the trumpets and military drums seemed feeble.


    A dashing silver-hued stallion galloped out of the fortress, charging into the no-man¡¯s-land between the two armies.


    Colonel Jeska agreed to the Mak¡¯gora ritual but also thought a duel between the commanding generals in front of the armies lacked dignity.


    He suggested both sides select champion warriors to act on behalf of the generals in a one-on-one duel.


    Clearly, that iron giant was Terdon Tribe¡¯s champion. Firelighters came prepared, no wonder they agreed so readily.


    And the champion for the Paratu could only be Winters ¡°Blood Wolf¡± Montaigne.


    As Blood Wolf stepped forward, the Paratu People too struck their weapons and shouted with all their might, to boost their camp¡¯s morale.


    However, the oppressive presence brought by the steel giant was too strong, and the Paratu People¡¯s spirit was ultimately suppressed.


    Mason, anxious, watched his junior¡¯s retreating figure; he knew Winters was a Spellcaster, but he also knew that Winters¡¯s Arrow Flying Spell wasn¡¯t powerful enough to penetrate plate armor.


    At this moment, he felt an urge to stop the ritual and pull Winters back.


    In the midst of the thunderous drumming, a black and a silver knight stood two hundred meters apart, the Herder champion holding a lance, Winters poised with a spear.


    The Herder giant was entirely clad in steel armor.


    Winters, for the sake of agility, shed his vambraces, shoulder armor, and skirt armor¡ªall of it¡ªand stepped onto the field wearing only a breastplate.


    Under the watchful eyes of all, the Paratu champion dismounted, unhurriedly staked the horse post, and tethered the silver-hued steed.


    Then, the Paratu champion stood with his spear and casually waved his hand at the iron giant, indicating a desire to face the mounted adversary on foot.


    The Herder champion had never suffered such an insult; blood surged in his chest, and he bellowed nonstop.


    The drumming abruptly stopped, and Mak¡¯gora officially began.


    The iron giant bellowed, spurring the flanks of the Warhorse with his boot spikes.


    The all-black Destrier, stimulated, stamped hard on the ground with its hooves, carrying its rider charging toward that small upright ape who stood motionless ahead.


    Atop the walls, every Paratu¡¯s heart clenched in that instant, many even forgetting to breathe.


    The Herders too held their breath, their pupils constricting, as they awaited the destined violent clash.


    The Warhorse accelerated madly, and the Herder champion tucked his lance under his arm, the combined strength of horse and man converging on the lance¡¯s tip, directed at the Paratu champion¡¯s breastplate with unstoppable momentum.


    Such force, even one in full plate armor could not be saved from death.


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 Chapter 446: 67 Requesting! _2

    Chapter 446: Chapter 67 Requesting! _2


    Winters¡¯ hands were sweating, and the sight of the massive, one-ton creature charging straight at him would make anyone fearful.


    He gauged the distance. When the iron giant on its warhorse rushed within fifty meters, he took a deep breath.


    In just the time it takes to breathe, the pitch-black warhorse closed in another ten-plus meters.


    Now!


    Winters entered his spellcasting state. He gripped the lance in reverse, took a short run-up, and poured all his magic into the lance before hurling it directly at the steel giant.


    [Arrow Flying Spell]!


    ...


    As soon as the lance left his hand, Winters rolled to the left on the spot.


    A thrown spear? The Hurd champion sneered in his heart.


    Though a javelin was powerful, it was slower than an arrow and its trajectory was clear. It shouldn¡¯t be hard to dodge.


    But this javelin was far from ordinary; it was too fast, faster than any human could throw, and the Hurd champion didn¡¯t even have time to react.


    A flash of cold light, a blink of an eye, and the javelin was already at his brow.


    ¡°Clang!!!¡±


    The lights went out.


    The lance struck true to the face of the steel giant, who fell backward, hands raising weakly, slowly toppling from the saddle.


    Few saw the earth-shattering throw, but everyone heard the crisp clash of metal against metal.


    Winters, rolling forward to the left, narrowly avoided the charging warhorse.


    Without its rider, the warhorse didn¡¯t stop its pace, instinctively fleeing towards the riverbank.


    Winters climbed up from the ground without hesitation and drew his dagger, rushing towards the fallen giant.


    The life force of the Hurd champion was terrifyingly tenacious. Over an inch of the lance¡¯s tip had penetrated the helmet, and he was still breathing, though the fierce blow to the head left his consciousness blurred.


    Mak¡¯gora ritual¡­ to the death.


    Winters removed the giant¡¯s helmet and gorget, the man¡¯s face obscured by fresh blood.


    Unwilling to look at his opponent¡¯s face, he pinned the giant¡¯s head to his chest using his iron vice-like left arm.


    The Hurd champion struggled instinctively.


    Winters gritted his teeth and slit the giant¡¯s throat.


    First the skin, the tissue, the artery, and the vein on the left side; the sharp dagger sliced through them effortlessly. Then came the windpipe, protected by cartilage, making his cut laborious.


    Blood splattered into Winter¡¯s helmet, the giant¡¯s struggles diminishing, until they ceased altogether.


    Exhausted, Winters collapsed backward, gasping for breath. The Hurd champion¡¯s throat now bore a grisly wound truly from ear to ear.


    But the giant need not worry about that anymore, for he was already dead.


    Silence fell over the battlefield.


    Suddenly, Winters understood the situation; neither friend nor foe could discern who had won or lost.


    He had to finish the job. Winters got to his feet. Stepping on the giant¡¯s back, he grasped the knife with both hands to cut through the giant¡¯s nape.


    Soon, only the spine and a little flesh remained, connecting the giant¡¯s head to his body.


    The Blood Wolf stood on the giant¡¯s body. With both hands gripping the hair and a fierce shout, he tore the Hurd champion¡¯s head from the torso.


    He held the giant¡¯s head high, his roar amplified by magic, resounding across the wilderness:


    ¡°The enemy leader! Has been vanquished!¡±


    The response was an initially deathly silence, then followed by deafening cheers from the fortress.


    Paratu soldiers screamed, roared, and beat their weapons maniacally. Amidst the tumult, an overly excited gunner thrust a red-hot iron rod into the touch hole.


    Every cannon on the fortress roared, and gunners fired their firearms into the air in a frenzy.


    On the other hand, the Herders¡¯ ranks were eerily silent.


    In the world of the Herders, beheading meant they couldn¡¯t return to Tengri¡¯s embrace, signifying eternal and complete death¡ªa fact unknown to Winters.


    And the Mak¡¯gora had been decided; further desecration was considered a dire taboo¡ªan insult among insults, also unknown to Winters.


    The Herders were thoroughly enraged. Two deranged Herder Centurions shot forth from the formation, eyes bloodshot, lances at the ready, and charged towards the Paratu champion in the heart of the battlefield, one from the left and one from the right.


    An agreed duel one-on-one¡ªWinters was furiously angry¡ªwhat was this?p>


    The Herders lacked honor, so Winters wouldn¡¯t be polite.


    He returned to his warhorse, drew the revolver from the saddlebag, stood his ground steadily, and aimed.


    As the two chargers reached within twenty meters.


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    ¡°Bang!¡±


    Both Herder Centurions were shot down, one bullet each.


    The war drums sounded once again. The flamekeepers waving their flags, the Herders charged forth in a frenzy, proceeding to lay siege again.


    Even before the Herders closed in, Winters unhitched his horse from the stake and safely returned to the fortress.


    The Paratu People prepared for battle to the beat of their own drums.


    The wind howled angrily, foretelling another bloody battle.


    Paratu soldiers watched with a mixture of awe and reverence as the rider on the silver-gray warhorse entered the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Bard and Xial waited at the entrance of the fortress. Seeing Winters return, they hurried over.


    Winters dismounted. He raised a hand to signal them to keep their distance: ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me, I feel sick to my stomach right now.¡±


    After a few deep breaths to steady his emotions, Winters solemnly handed the head tucked under his arm to Xial: ¡°This was a brave warrior. Don¡¯t let him feed the fishes, find a good spot to bury him.¡±


    Xial swallowed and carefully asked, ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t want to keep it?¡±


    ¡°Why would I keep this?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    ¡°Oh, oh¡­ All right.¡± Xial bobbed his head like a pecking chicken and disdainfully carried the head off at a quick pace.


    Bard carefully examined the bloodstains on Winters¡¯ armor and said helplessly, ¡°We didn¡¯t need to provoke them like this.¡±


    ¡°We needed to provoke them,¡± Winters blinked, ¡°Wasn¡¯t that the plan?¡±


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 Chapter 447: 67: Demanding!_3

    Chapter 447: Chapter 67: Demanding!_3


    Bard sighed, ¡°But there was no need to infuriate them to this extent.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? I think it¡¯s not enough.¡±


    The most difficult part of the war with the Herde tribes was never the battle itself, but how to find the Herders to fight.


    Herde Cavalry would come and go like the wind on the wastelands, and most of the time they wouldn¡¯t engage in a pitched battle with the Paratu People.


    If they won, they fought; if not, they fled and continued to look for weaknesses in the Paratu forces.


    The Paratu, unable to catch up and not daring to pursue, could only rely on their cavalry forces for limited success in pursuit battles.


    ...


    Now, there was a rare opportunity to inflict casualties on the Herder¡¯s living forces, so how could they let it slip by?


    Sekler, seeing the Floating Bridge, was not pleased but enraged for the same reason.


    This battle was pointless to flee; it was essential to inflict casualties on the Herders.


    Those who defend must hold firm, for that¡¯s where they shall be surely attacked.


    As long as the Terdun Tribe firmly believed that the Gold sacrifices to the heavens were within this Bridgehead Fortress, this tiny fortress would become the place they must attack.


    Winters took off his helmet, breathing in the fresh air deeply, and asked Bard, ¡°Are the things I requested ready?¡±


    ¡°Berlion managed to make one, but it will give us away if they get too close.¡± Bard also revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°You do have too many crooked ideas.¡±


    Atop the rampart, Mason was holding something that resembled a golden head, showing it to the Herders outside the city.


    For fear that the Herders wouldn¡¯t be able to see it clearly, he arranged for three people to hold torches and accompany it, making the gold gleam in the firelight.


    A few others used spears to brandish the golden and silver sacrificial items seized from the Terdun main camp, following behind.


    ¡°Herde Language Rejoice by the fire! Look over there!¡± a Herde Chiliarch pointed at the golden head on the wall, ¡°Herde Language They¡¯ve chopped off the head of our Gold Man!¡±


    The red-faced rejoicer, eyes split with fury and silver teeth clenched to the point of breaking, hacked through the chariot¡¯s pole and hysterically shouted, ¡°Herde Language If we do not take this city today, slay all its people, then I am no son of Tengri! Whoever dares to retreat, this will be their fate!¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The nearby Paratu People could see clearly that what Lieutenant Mason was holding was no golden head, but clearly a pot roughly shaped into the semblance of a golden head.


    Only the outer layer was made of gold, created by melting down the Herder¡¯s Gold ritual vessels and pouring it over the surface.


    The genuine case of ¡°all that glitters is not gold on the inside if iron rust.¡±


    From afar, it might deceive, but up close, the ruse was obvious.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, that¡¯s enough!¡± Seeing that the timing was just right, Mason signaled everyone to wrap up, ¡°Even if we now say that the Gold Man isn¡¯t here, they wouldn¡¯t believe us.¡±


    ¡°My [Enhanced Arrow Flying Spell]! How is it?¡± Winters, agitated below the rampart and unable to stop talking, grabbed Bard, ¡°I¡¯m so excited; it¡¯s the first spell developed through calculations and experiments! I feel¡­ I¡¯ve finally understood why General Antoine-Laurent insisted on introducing standard metric units. Mathematics! Turning intangible magic into mathematics! This is the path he truly wanted to take¡­¡±


    Contending with a huge lion and realizing the limited power of steel darts made Winters aware that some enemies required a more potent Arrow Flying Spell for effective damage.


    After hundreds and thousands of practices accelerating heavy objects, he gradually discovered that with the ¡°force applied¡± constant, the later the spell materials left the spellcasting range, the greater the impact¡ªthe more kinetic energy it would be infused with.


    And the heavier the spell material, the slower the acceleration, and the later it would leave the spellcasting distance.


    In other words, the heavier the material used in the spell, the stronger the Arrow Flying Spell would be.


    After experiments, analysis, and calculations, Winters roughly formulated an equation: W=K¡¤F¡¤S¡¤M^2


    K is a constant, whose specific meaning he didn¡¯t yet know. F stands for magical burst power, S for the distance of spellcasting, and M for the weight of the spell material.


    This means that, disregarding the force of the throw and the limits of spellcasting ability, the power of the Arrow Flying Spell is directly proportional to the [Magical Burst Power] and the [Distance of Spellcasting], and it increases exponentially with the increase of the [Weight of Spell Material].


    The lance he threw was not just any makeshift weapon; its weight was precisely the balance point he had found between ¡°power¡± and ¡°precision¡± after multiple practices.


    ¡°The conditions here are too rudimentary.¡± Winters swallowed a gulp of saliva, ¡°I can¡¯t conduct more precise experiments, and I just want to return to Vineta to tell General Serviati all about this.¡±


    ¡°You want to go home? It looks to me that you¡¯re actually enjoying this war!¡± Bard¡¯s eyes turned solemn, ¡°Have you ever thought¡­ that maybe you don¡¯t know what you want? Or even who you are?¡±


    Outside the fortress, the Herders had once again rushed to the stakes.


    With the sound of a gong, the musketeers fired a volley, signaling the start of the second round of the siege.


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 Chapter 448: 68: Paper-wrapped Medicine

    Chapter 448: Chapter 68: Paper-wrapped Medicine


    The barbarians are mad¡ªthe Paratu People were certain of it.


    The Terdon Tribe no longer distinguished between a main attack or a feint; they besieged the Bridgehead Fortress from three sides relentlessly.


    More than twenty Centurion squads rotated into battle, with the Barbarian Chief personally leading his guard to supervise the fight.


    The fleeing Herders couldn¡¯t run a few steps before they were shot down by a hail of arrows.


    To advance was to die, to retreat was the same; the barbarians, too, were seeing red.


    With the chevaux-de-frise in the front not yet fully cleared, those at the back brought out crudely made ladders to storm the fortress walls.


    ...


    At first, they tried to fill in the ditch with earth, but that was far too slow.


    So the barbarians simply pushed horse and human corpses into the trenches, using ladders shielded with planks as makeshift bridges.


    After all, this was just a temporary fort, with walls not tall enough and moats not deep enough.


    Using their heap-of-corpse tactic, the Herders quickly made ¡°roads,¡± and soon after, siege ladders were propped against the walls.


    With enemies on three sides, the pressure on the Paratu army surged.


    Only thanks to four Centurions, who took turns leading troops out of the fort to counterattack¡ªslaying enemies at the foot of the wall and braving the arrow storm to clear out the trenches of corpses and dirt¡ªdid the Herder army fail to breach the city.


    The results were significant, but the cost was just as enormous, as the Herders would not pass up the opportunity to fight the Paratu people up close.


    Each sortie resulted in more than a fifth of the soldiers not returning, and an equal number wounded.


    Of the four Centurions, Winters and Bard were consecutively injured. If not for their heavy armor, they wouldn¡¯t know how many times they¡¯d have died.


    Ensign Sanu¡ªWinters¡¯ fellow townsman from Sea Blue¡ªwas knocked unconscious by a direct blow from a war hammer, and his men desperately fought to retrieve the insensate ensign, but Sanu was already incapacitated.


    Lieutenant Otiba was unlucky to be pierced by an arrow under the left armpit, and before he could be taken to Priest Caman for treatment, the lieutenant had already passed away.


    With two out of the five fortress officers gone, only the artillery officer Mason remained in the safest place, carefully protected.


    At this moment, Mason was the most valuable human resource within this earthen fort.


    On the four-cornered bastions and the triangular fort in front of the gate, the sound of guns never ceased.


    The faces and hands of the musketeers were blackened with soot, as if they had just crawled out of a coal pile.


    The pre-prepared priming powder was all used up; now the musketeers relied solely on feel for how much gunpowder to pour into the barrels.


    With that being the case, accidents were inevitable.


    During the fight, muskets exploded repeatedly in their barrels, instantly killing the unfortunate musketeers with fragments of the burst barrels.


    The survivors were left with their faces and hands horribly mutilated.


    The soldiers grew increasingly fearful of the muskets.


    The screams of their comrades still echoed in their ears, making them hesitant to aim carefully, and more and more musketeers were simply firing their guns haphazardly to be done with it.


    Winters steeled his heart and withdrew twenty of the most skilled musketeers, assigning them the sole task of preparing priming powder for the others.


    Since the lead bullets had also been exhausted, the battlefield witnessed an extraordinary scene: guns firing non-stop at the front, while at the back people were busy melting lead to cast bullets and packaging gunpowder.


    Thus, the lead bullets came with warmth when handed to the musketeers.


    And due to a shortage of wooden tubes, the powder was hurriedly wrapped in grass paper and delivered to the walls.


    One musketeer, looking for an easy job, disregarded orders to reuse paper packages¡ªbecause paper was limited¡ªand bit a small corner off the paper package to pour the gunpowder into the barrel.


    According to firing procedure, a piece of muslin should then wrap the bullet and be inserted into the barrel.


    But still looking for shortcuts, the musketeer had a stroke of inspiration, wrapping the bullet with paper and pushing it hard into the barrel with a ramrod.


    This saved even the time to cut the cloth.


    These two small improvements significantly speeded up the musket loading process.


    Seeing how fast and convenient it was, this musketeer¡¯s tentmates followed suit.


    Afterward, more and more musketeers began to imitate it.


    When the rear noticed that the amount of paper used for wrapping gunpowder was diminishing, they promptly reported to Lieutenant Montaigne.


    Learning that someone was intentionally destroying paper packages, Winters, who was getting his wound stitched, flew into a rage, grabbed his cavalry saber, and marched towards the ramparts.


    The needles and thread for suturing still hung from his leg, swaying back and forth.


    ¡°Your needle! Sir! Don¡¯t step on the needle!¡± The panicked medic chased after him but couldn¡¯t keep up with the Centurion.


    The incensed Montaigne wanted to see who the damned fool was that dared to destroy ¡°military supplies,¡± so he could personally deal with him.


    But when Winters saw the [paper-wrapped powder] loading procedure, his anger dissipated in an instant.


    Soon, Winters found the musketeer who had first invented the process.


    The terrified musketeer, brought before ¡°Blood Wolf¡±¡ªhe didn¡¯t know the Centurion¡¯s real name, only his nickname¡ªthought he was surely a goner. At best, he couldn¡¯t escape a lashing, but something about the atmosphere didn¡¯t feel right to him.


    The musketeer apprehensively kept his head down, stealthily sizing up Blood Wolf.


    Blood Wolf sat on an empty powder keg, with his left leg propped on another, while the barber surgeon stitched up an arrow wound on his leg.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± the other man asked.


    Compared to all the rumors about him, Blood Wolf¡¯s voice was surprisingly gentle.


    Still, the musketeer involuntarily shivered, ¡°Nemi.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not from Wolf Town, are you?¡± Blood Wolf sucked in a breath of cold air, clearly pained by the stitching, ¡°I can name everyone from Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not in my centurion¡¯s division either, right? I can almost name all my men.¡±


    ¡°Not in it.¡± Nemi felt like he had gotten his life back, ¡°I¡¯m in Centurion Otilba¡¯s division.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Blood Wolf¡¯s expression dimmed slightly, then he asked, ¡°Were you the first to start using torn paper as wadding, using paper wrappers as cartridge cases?¡±


    Nemi¡¯s heart tightened instantly, he swallowed and stammered, ¡°Reporting to the officer, I¡­I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Seeing the other person¡¯s flustered appearance, Winters figured he hadn¡¯t found the wrong person.


    ¡°You did well, I called you here to commend you.¡± Though he said he intended to commend, Winters couldn¡¯t find any money on him after searching from head to toe.


    However, having said so, he really couldn¡¯t bring himself to say ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any money today, I¡¯ll give it to you later¡± and the like.


    Looking around, Winters had a stroke of inspiration and grabbed a cavalry saber to hand to Nemi.


    Seeing Blood Wolf reach for the sword, Nemi shuddered with fear, then he realized Blood Wolf was handing the cavalry saber to him.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Nemi backed away repeatedly, waving his hands frantically.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter with taking it?¡± Winters explained, ¡°The sheath is ornamented with gold and the blade itself is of fine quality. I didn¡¯t bring any money today, so take this cavalry saber as a pledge. Once this battle is over, come find me with it. If I¡¯m dead, then keep the saber. That way you won¡¯t be at a loss. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I dare not take it! I simply dare not accept this.¡±


    ¡°Paying a debt requires collateral; it¡¯s perfectly just. Take it,¡± Winters stuffed the cavalry saber into Nemi¡¯s hands, ¡°Take your tentmates with you, teach the other musketeers, get all of them trained up. I¡¯ll go get you some more paper.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± Father Caman, clutching a folio, eyed Winters warily and stepped back, ¡°Don¡¯t come any closer.¡±


    ¡°I need to requisition it temporarily.¡± Winters pressed forward, promising earnestly, ¡°When we return to Paratu, I¡¯ll buy you another one.¡±


    ¡°This is a folio!¡± Caman exploded with rage¡ª it was the young priest¡¯s first time to lash out at Winters.


    [Note: A folio is a book made by folding a single sheet of paper in half, forming four pages, and is often reserved for the most important of documents.]


    ¡°Folios are great! They have lots of paper, and the quality is good.¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Have you lost your mind? This is scripture! Do you dare have your men stuff pages of the scripture down their gun barrels?¡±


    ¡°No problem, if you don¡¯t tell them, they won¡¯t know it¡¯s scripture,¡± Winters replied earnestly, ¡°They can¡¯t read.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t take this one, this one is a manuscript copy.¡± Caman retreated to the corner of the tent, trapped with nowhere to go, pitifully pleading, ¡°I¡¯ll find you other books, I¡¯ll give you everything, just leave this folio for me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll also give me the scripture?¡¯


    ¡°Even the scripture.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment, then nodded, ¡°Alright¡­ but if need be, I will still come back for it.¡±


    ¡­


    While Winters was frantically looking for more paper, Mason on the rampart identified a serious problem.


    Before this, Mason¡¯s greatest fear was the cannons bursting.


    A musket explosion might kill one or two people, but a bursting cannon could obliterate everyone on Bastion.


    Therefore, Mason strictly controlled the firing frequency of the cannons, personally supervised the cooling process, and all the gunpowder charges were weighed by him personally.


    But now, a bigger issue than bursting cannons was the gunpowder.


    The gunpowder was consumed faster than Mason had anticipated, with reserves visibly depleting.


    They were also running out of cannonballs; solid shot had been depleted long ago and there was no time for recovery.


    They were now using lead as canister shot, a wasteful expenditure that risked ¡®leading¡¯ the guns.


    At this rate, by nightfall, Bridgehead Fortress would be out of powder.


    Without gunpowder, the Herders could just rely on numbers to bury the Paratu People alive.


    The battle had progressed to a point where it resembled a personal vendetta. No one cared about the original cause anymore; both sides were only focused on one thing: total annihilation of the other.


    The small fort held by Jeska¡¯s tribe was like a magnet, firmly holding thousands of Herder cavalry in its grip.


    The will of the Terdon Tribe was astonishingly tough; they attacked the Bridgehead Fortress wave after wave.


    The cheval de frise had been pulled out, trenches were filled, breastworks completely overrun, and siege ladders were now able to be placed against the walls.


    And Mason had no doubt that they could maintain this assault until sunset.


    The few remaining able officers urgently convened, and their conclusion was singular, ¡°The plan must change.¡±


    The back door of Bridgehead Fortress stealthily opened, and a light Dusack Cavalryman galloped out, heading straight for the southern shores of the Confluence River.


    When the light cavalry returned, he came back with Andreya Chelini leading the cavalry troop, each cavalryman¡¯s horse carrying two kegs of gunpowder.


    Among the nearly a hundred cavalrymen, there was one old soldier wearing common soldier¡¯s armor but with graying at the temples.


    As soon as the old soldier entered the fortress, he strode directly towards the battalion headquarters on the southern wall of the fortress.


    The moment he entered the battalion headquarters, the old soldier roared angrily, ¡°Jeska! How big you¡¯ve grown!¡±


    The one-eyed lieutenant colonel leaped reflexively from his chair.


    General Sekler had arrived.


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 Chapter 449: 69: Master of Strategy

    Chapter 449: Chapter 69: Master of Strategy


    The Herders were still besieging the city when the general suddenly arrived, and Jeska was obviously flustered, ¡°You¡­ why have you come?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Sekler punched the lieutenant colonel¡¯s left chest, grinding his teeth in fury, ¡°I¡¯m here to present. you. with. an. award!¡±


    It was only after the general removed his hand that everyone saw a glittering gold medal had been added to Jeska¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Gentlemen!¡± Taking the opportunity, Andre shouted as he raised his helmet, ¡°Three cheers for Lieutenant Colonel Jeska!¡±


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hooray!¡±


    The other soldiers in the command post took off their hats and cheered, shouting in unison.


    Only Jeska himself had a forced smile¡ªbecause the pin behind the medal was painfully sticking into his flesh.


    Mason and Winters were also urgently summoned to headquarters, but Sekler didn¡¯t vent his anger on the centurions, presenting the awards to the two lieutenants with a pleasant demeanor.


    Winters¡¯s ears were buzzing from the cannon fire; he couldn¡¯t hear a word Sekler was saying.


    After accepting the commendation tied with the red string and bowing his head for the general to hang the medal around his neck, he hurried back to the ramparts.


    The Three Swords Medal symbolizing ¡°[bravery and fearlessness]¡±¡ªtwo silver and one gold¡ªwas personally awarded by Sekler in recognition of Jeska¡¯s department¡¯s valiant raid on the Terdon camp.


    Both the gold and silver medals were tied with blue ribbons, and they had pins on the back to attach to one¡¯s clothing.


    Although Jeska didn¡¯t intentionally get close to his subordinates on regular days, he indeed took good care of his centurions through his actions.


    When reporting back to headquarters, the lieutenant colonel was lenient with his subordinates, omitting such details as how ¡°Lieutenant Richard Mason got lost.¡±


    He merely reported that while retreating to shake off pursuers, the team detoured northward and stumbled upon the enemy¡¯s camp by mistake.


    However, there was a flaw in the story: according to the Herders¡¯ habits, they would don their armor, change horses, and string their bows ten miles from the battlefield, so their camp should be set up at least ten miles away.


    A detour? How could they have detoured ten miles away?


    According to Winters¡¯s thinking, saying they ¡°stumbled upon Herder scouts returning to camp and followed them back¡± would at least make logical sense.


    But the feather pen was in Jeska¡¯s hand, and the lieutenant colonel didn¡¯t want to boast too much.


    In his report, the lieutenant colonel also didn¡¯t mention a thing about the sacrifice of the golden figure¡ªbecause it was still buried in the pit.


    He only mentioned that some sacrificial artifacts and flags were captured and a few were sent to headquarters as proof.


    Sacrificial artifacts and flags were trivial; the true spoils of war were the several thousand Herder horses.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s horses were scattered by a blast of the enhanced ¡°Beast Panic¡± from Winters, and most disappeared into the night, with only a few being recovered.


    The captured horses were brought to the south bank of the Confluence River, in groups of thousands, a fact that could not be faked.


    However, after inspecting the horses, Bard¡¯s evaluation was ¡°unusable.¡±


    Firstly, the best warhorses had already been led away by the Herder cavalry, and those left in the camp were of inferior quality;


    Secondly, the Herder horses were not tall enough by Paratu cavalry standards, and even for light cavalry, these horses were a bit short;


    Lastly, and most importantly, the season was wrong.


    Supported by a large agricultural society, Paratu warhorses could be fed feeds, while the Herder horses living on the steppes mainly grazed on grass.


    Herder horses struggled to find food in winter and had to rely on harvested forage and the fat stored in autumn to survive the cold¡ªthis was also one of the reasons why Paratu chose to wage war in winter and early spring.


    In winter, the horses continued to lose fat, and in spring, the mares were near foaling, a time when the Herder tribes were at their weakest.


    [Note: As horses have an 11-month pregnancy cycle, and the Herder tribes lack warm stable conditions, foals born in autumn and winter struggle to survive, so they try to ensure that mares mate in the warm spring and summer.]


    For the Terdon Tribe to muster and wage war at this season, although it caught Paratu by surprise, they too would suffer greatly.


    It was evident from the condition of these captured Herder horses: their bellies were sunken, ribs protruding, too thin even for the pot.


    ¡°These horses, either find a good place to raise them until next year,¡± Bard held an absolute authority on this issue and suggested it to the lieutenant colonel during the meeting, ¡°or eat them as soon as possible, as their condition will only worsen. Anyway, they are unusable, not even for feed fattening.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t they be fattened with feed?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    For a prolonged siege, Paratu¡¯s army had transported large quantities of grain and fodder from their homeland, or Winters wouldn¡¯t be here.


    ¡°Herder horses have been grazing since young, feeding them directly can easily upset their stomachs,¡± Bard explained. ¡°To keep these horses alive, they need to be allowed to graze freely for at least half of the day.¡±


    Regardless of their usability, capturing thousands of horses was a significant achievement, enough to warrant eating them rather than leaving them for the Herders.


    A medal weighed about 100 grams, of which at least 80 grams were earned by those Herder horses.


    Thanks are also due to Lieutenant Colonel Jeska for passing most of the credit onto his subordinates, otherwise a couple of mere centurions wouldn¡¯t have received the ¡°[Knight¡¯s Cross of the Sword]¡± medals.


    Winters ripped off the medal the moment he stepped outside, hurriedly rolled up the ribbon, and stuffed it into his pocket.


    If he had looked closely, he would have seen the inscription ¡°Pro Patria¡± around the edge of the medal, meaning ¡°[For the Fatherland]¡±¡­


    On the battlefield, all is fair.


    After the brief award ceremony was concluded, Sekler kept Lieutenant Colonel Jeska for a private talk.


    Andre, kicked out of headquarters, ran up to the rampart in two or three steps, and on the northwest bastion, he found Winters.


    Another round of siege had been repelled, corpses littered everywhere outside the walls; Herders were regrouping two hundred meters away¡ªby now, they knew that the garrison¡¯s solid bullets had been used up, so they were brazen.


    Bard led some soldiers quietly into the trenches and started dragging bodies towards the river.


    Winters, meanwhile, urged the musketeers to take the opportunity to clean their musket barrels.


    The gunners were too exhausted to even lift a finger, and despite the centurion¡¯s supervision, their movements were sluggish.


    ¡°Where is the medal?¡± Seeing nothing around Winters¡¯s neck, Andre asked in surprise.


    Winters gave a wry smile and tapped his iron helmet, ¡°There are plenty of divine archers outside the city; wearing something so conspicuous is asking for death. I even swapped out my officer¡¯s helmet.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it.¡±


    Winters dug out a silver medal from his pocket and tossed it to Andre.


    ¡°Wow! A Grand Cross too!¡± Andre was so fascinated he couldn¡¯t let go, his tone full of regret, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I follow along?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it! Mason took the wrong path, nearly leading us straight into the Herders¡¯ den. It was only because the Terdon Tribe suddenly swarmed out that we were able to retreat in one piece.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got two of them now, right?¡± Andre¡¯s mind was clearly elsewhere, not on Winters¡¯ words.


    Winters was baffled, ¡°What second medal?¡±


    ¡°The Victory Medal from Red Sulfur Island.¡± Andre added, ¡°Although I¡¯m keeping it safe for you now.¡±


    Winters snorted softly without taking the bait.


    ¡°It¡¯s really nice!¡± Andre returned the Sword of Valor Medal to Winters reluctantly. ¡°Good-looking!¡±


    ¡°If you want one, I¡¯ll have my uncle make you a hundred when I get back! I have something to ask you.¡± Winters pulled Andre aside to a quiet corner by the wall, ¡°What exactly is Sekler up to? Where are the reinforcements?!¡±


    As Winters was interrogating Andre, Colonel Jeska was also enduring a storm from the general.


    Seeing the expressionless one-eyed colonel, Sekler was nearly beside himself with anger.


    The Paratu military¡¯s strategy for the war against the Herders was simply damage, more damage, and even more damage.


    The night before last, the Paratu forces adopted tunnel blasting tactics to launch a strong attack on Bianli. The Bianli defenders set the city on fire.


    Yesterday morning, the camp on the north bank was attacked, the siege was halted, and Jeska¡¯s company was stationed at the North Bridge fortress.


    When Sekler and Alpad learned of the Herder reinforcements attacking the North Rampart, they weren¡¯t panicked.


    The most troublesome factor about the Herder tribes was never a head-on confrontation. They wanted to fill trenches with lives, and the two generals could hardly wish for more.


    The position of the North Rampart blocked access to the north side of Bianli City; if the Herders wanted to break the siege, they had to conquer it.


    Thus, Sekler sent six companies to support the North Rampart, intending to use it as bait to trap the Herder reinforcements and annihilate them in one fell swoop.


    However, Sekler¡¯s forces were ambushed halfway there¡ªa surprise, yet not unexpected, for the Herders were fishing too.


    They used the North Rampart as bait to lure out the main Paratu forces and cut off their support.


    The plan had changed, but for Sekler, the situation was still under control, needing only a technical adjustment.


    Whether it was using the North Rampart as bait or his six companies, there was no difference as long as the strategic objective was achieved.


    Through interrogating prisoners, Sekler had roughly figured out that the Herder reinforcements in front of them were actually composed of two parts.


    The Herder army besieging the North Rampart was led by the uncles and brothers of Yasin, chieftain of the Red River Tribe, considered an outer force of the Red River Tribe.


    And the Herder army coming to their aid was in fact the Terdon Tribe, personally led by the leader known as the Fire-watcher.


    In every past campaign, not only did Herder tribes not come to each other¡¯s rescue, but tribes unaffected by the war would eagerly swallow up those defeated by the Paratu People.


    No one knew how Yasin had managed to persuade the Terdon Tribe to send troops, but it seemed that the Fire-watcher was adamant about fighting the Paratu People.


    However, it wasn¡¯t a problem, as the Paratu military¡¯s combat power was still more than adequate to handle the situation.


    Unlike the brave, fiery, and ever-passionate General Alpad, Sekler was a strategy master¡ªcalm, cautious, and preferring to achieve victory through meticulous prior planning.


    But plans never move as fast as changes. Who could have expected that just last night, a seemingly insignificant pawn suddenly moved to a position surprising to everyone?


    Now that the Terdon Tribe was attacking Jeska¡¯s forces with a frenzy, Sekler¡¯s six companies were left hanging.


    The Herders¡¯ forces were thus dispersed, with the Red River Tribe feigning an attack on the North Rampart, and the Terdon Tribe fiercely assaulting the Bridgehead Fortress.


    Isn¡¯t it good that the enemy¡¯s forces are divided?


    The problem lies in the fact that the Paratu forces are also spread thin.


    Bridgehead Fortress¡ªSekler¡¯s forces¡ªNorth Rampart, these three camps are distributed along the northern bank, forming a shape similar to a long snake.


    The Bridgehead Fortress had the least manpower, just Jeska¡¯s company plus two centurion units.


    The North Rampart had two companies, and Sekler¡¯s forces had six.


    Sekler originally intended to lure the Herders to attack either the snake¡¯s head or midsection but the tail took initiative, striking fiercely at the Fire-watcher¡¯s groin.


    Now, the Herder reinforcements had thrown out two fists, one punching at the head and the other at the tail.


    From Bridgehead Fortress to North Rampart, the straight-line distance was about seventeen kilometers, taking five to six hours for infantry to cover.


    But for the Herders with their many horses, it was only half an hour of forced march. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The cavalry¡¯s advantage in short-term mobility over infantry was fully displayed across those seventeen kilometers.


    No one can control war; it always controls humanity. The situation was spiraling out of control, for both sides.


    In this game, the Herders had the initiative. Their two forces could quickly join at one place, while the dispersed Paratu army couldn¡¯t support each other.


    ¡°No need for further explanation.¡± Colonel Jeska took off the Sword of Valor Medal, holding it in his palm. ¡°Just speak frankly.¡±


    Sekler was momentarily startled but quickly steadied his mind.


    ¡°No reinforcements will come here,¡± the general informed him.


    ¡°The eight companies from the main camp?¡± Jeska asked.


    ¡°Six companies suffered heavy losses in the siege; they are responsible for surrounding the city. I need the other two companies elsewhere.¡± Sekler fixed his gaze on Jeska, ¡°I¡¯m making a fist to strike the Red River Tribe and will not split my forces. It¡¯s possible the Terdon Tribe will be drawn away, and it¡¯s possible they won¡¯t be.¡±


    Jeska fell silent for a long time, looking at the medal in his hand and said, ¡°This thing¡­ indeed burns the hand.¡±


    ¡°Consider it given to you in advance.¡±


    ¡°Then I must request another thing from you,¡± the one-eyed colonel assessed calmly, ¡°If we hold out today, the Terdon people will never take this place again.¡±


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 Chapter 450: 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades

    Chapter 450: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades


    After that epic duel at the front, Jeska¡¯s squad had been fighting for six hours.


    The setting sun hung low, with corpses strewn inside and outside the trenches, both human and horse alike.


    Every body was horribly disfigured by solid shot, grapeshot, and bullets, but at least they still had a shape.


    Just a few steps away¡ªthe area between the trenches and the walls¡ªthe scene was completely different.


    In stark contrast to the trenches, the ground beneath the walls was littered with shattered chunks of flesh, scattered limbs, spilled entrails, and horses with eviscerated bellies.


    Those who died here were mostly torn apart by exploding grenades. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    By comparison, deaths by sword were a more tolerable sight.


    At the edge of the ditch, a Herder, trapped under a horse carcass, was begging for relief from a life he could not cling to and a death he could not reach.


    His intermittent groans, incomprehensible to the Paratu People, made everyone¡¯s skin crawl.


    Finally, a musketeer couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and stood up to shoot the Herder, and the others soon followed suit, granting him a swift end.


    Upon hearing the gunfire, an irate sergeant slapped the musketeer hard across the face for wasting ammunition.


    The Terdon Tribe, having been repelled once again, was regrouping to the west of the Bridgehead Fortress, with the Khan¡¯s symbolic blue horsetail banner moving towards the southwest.


    At the cost of a thousand lives, the Terdon People slowly discovered the weakness of the fortress: not the north or south, but the east and west.


    This Bridgehead Fortress only had gates to the south and the north, with the southern gate pressed against the river and the northern gate protected by a bastion, the strongest points in the defense system.


    Since there were no gates on the east and west walls, the Paratu soldiers had to detour from the southern and northern gates to counter-attack, allowing the besiegers the opportunity for interception.


    Moreover, there were no bastions on the outer sides of the east and west walls, enabling the attackers to strike directly at the walls.


    The fortifications outside the west wall had been severely damaged, with barricades uprooted, trenches filled in, and breastworks overthrown.


    The Terdon People pushed their rudimentary equipment, advancing step by step toward the west wall. This time, there were no divisions, no feints; the pyremen were going for a decisive strike.


    The Paratu soldiers with any fight left in them were also concentrated on the west wall.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Winters walked among the soldiers, patting each one on the shoulder and back, ¡°The Herders can¡¯t hold out! This is just the last shiver of taking a piss!¡±


    Corporal Heinrich held the regimental flag high behind the Centurion, with a large medal tied to the tip of the flagpole.


    The faces of the soldiers were caked with a thick layer of gunpowder soot, sweat, and mud, obscuring their features from Winters¡¯s view.


    The wounds of the lightly injured soldiers were hastily wrapped with bandages they made themselves, many of which had been soaked through with blood.


    The Paratu People were exhausted to the point that they couldn¡¯t even muster the energy to speak.


    Only the Centurion¡¯s voice, though hoarse, remained loud and clear, ¡°If that monkey-assed face meets us, it¡¯s his bloody bad luck! When this fight is over, he¡¯ll piss blood in his next life, and it¡¯ll even split!¡±


    A burst of laughter erupted on the ramparts.


    On his rounds, Winters collided with Father Caman at the southwestern bastion.


    ¡°How did you get up here?¡± he quickly pushed Caman towards the stairs, ¡°You¡¯re the only surgeon! Get down!¡±


    Surgeons were already scarce, and with the Church forbidding clergy ¡°to stain their hands with blood,¡± clergy trained in surgery were even rarer than dogs that walked upright.


    The old priest was in the main camp, leaving only Father Caman among the clergy at the Bridgehead Fortress.


    With him in charge of the infirmary, the wounded felt at peace regardless of whether they lived or died. Winters could not afford to lose Father Caman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spill it!¡± Caman protected the silver chalice in his hand, a bag with a holy emblem hanging from his chest, ¡°Everyone should receive Communion, right?¡±


    ¡°Is it Sunday today?¡± Winters paused, only then noticing that Caman was wearing a holy robe.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Caman took out a small biscuit from the bag, dipped it in the wine in the chalice, offering it to the Spellcasters, ¡°Would you like one?¡±


    Winters snorted softly and reached into the bag to pull out a handful of biscuits, ¡°I¡¯ll help myself.¡±


    Amidst the banter, the Herders had closed in to eighty meters, and Mason fired first.


    The seven cannons positioned at the northwestern and southwestern bastions roared in succession.


    Walnut-sized grapeshot swept across the battlefield like hail, tearing Herders to shreds and even blasting several gaps in their formation.


    The cannons were like starting pistols, the battle drums rolled thunderously, and the Terdon Tribe shouted as they rushed toward the west wall.


    The drummers on the fortress also struck their snare drums.


    Musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall, setting up their muskets. Each one chose their target, aiming carefully.


    The drumming stopped abruptly, and the clang of the gong pierced the noise, ¡°Crash!¡±


    ¡°Boom! Boom! Boom!¡± A volley of gunfire.


    Several Herders fell to the ground, but many more pressed forward.


    The drumming continued, and the second team of musketeers stepped to the edge of the wall.


    After dozens of rounds of live firing, the execution of the rotation tactic no longer required Winters to shout commands.


    But just as the musketeers had fired their third volley, with a ¡°clang¡± and ¡°clang,¡± two ladders had already been placed against the wall.


    The Herders, clenching curved knives in their teeth, quickly climbed towards the top of the wall.


    This was the consequence of losing the works at the base of the wall; the window for ranged weapon fire was greatly reduced.


    Some musketeers were in the watchtowers; though they were in an excellent position, they were continuously shot down by the Herder archers.


    ¡°Sergeant Karl! Take your men to the wooden wall! The rest of you, fire at will!¡± Winters shouted, ¡°Spearmen! Push them down!¡±


    A portion of the musketeers hurriedly ran to the second wooden fortification at the rear, where Colonel Jeska personally commanded.


    The musketeers from the watchtowers should have been effective, but they were continuously taken out by the Herder archers.


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 Chapter 451: 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_2

    Chapter 451: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_2


    At this time, the defenders should dispatch their elite troops to charge the enemy beneath the city, but Jeska¡¯s squad no longer had the strength to strike out.


    Mason was in charge of the northwestern Bastion, Bard was responsible for the southwestern Bastion, and Winters took charge of the western wall.


    He carried a log with a spearman and knocked down a ladder.


    The Herders on the ladder fell off, dusted themselves off, and climbed up again¡ªthe earthen walls of the Bastion were not high enough to be deadly.


    For every ladder the Paratu People knocked down, the enemy would push up three more.


    The enemy also pushed forward two devices resembling seesaws, and others directly scaled the fortress walls by hand.


    ...


    Paratu soldiers, wielding steel blades and clad in heavy armor, surged onto the ramparts, and the battle turned into a vicious, face-to-face slaughter.


    Both Paratu and Herders were clad in armor, making it exceedingly difficult to kill the enemy¡ªfor both sides.


    People blinded by rage desperately stabbed at each other¡¯s faces, armpits, and groins¡ªareas that lacked armor.


    If anyone fell, they would be instantly stabbed to death through the gaps in their armor.


    Winters fought furiously atop the wall, his curved blade having been replaced four times already, yet the number of Herders around him kept growing.


    The Herders also realized that there was a Paratu soldier among them whose ferocity was unmatched, with no one able to stand against him in a single round of combat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The Hailite Squadron, heed my command!¡± a Herder leader with Hong Lingyu feathers shouted from a high position, pointing his saber at Winters and bellowing, ¡°[Herde Language] Quickly surround and kill that soldier!¡±


    ¡°QNMD!¡± Winters raised his hand and cast an Arrow Flying Spell.


    The steel nail hit the helmet squarely, and the Hong Lingyu Herder was knocked over.


    At the same time, two Herder strongmen charged at Winters. He dodged one but was hit squarely around the waist by the other.


    ¡°Release me!¡± Winters, pounding like hammering a nail, smashed the hilt of his knife repeatedly on the Herder¡¯s head, even hearing the sound of bones fracturing: ¡°Let go of me!¡±


    However, the Herder¡¯s arms were like a tiger¡¯s jaws clamped shut, strangling Winters around his waist. Winters¡¯ plate armor creaked loudly, even starting to deform.


    ¡°Ah!¡± With a savage roar, the Herder strongman used his wrestling skills to lift Winters, who weighed over two hundred pounds with his armor, with the intention of slamming him to his death.


    ¡°Release! Me! Now!¡± Winters, suspended in mid-air, roared like thunder, tore off the Herder¡¯s neck armor, and plunged his curved knife deep into his neck: ¡°Die!¡±


    The Herder strongman was killed instantly, but his arms still did not let go, and he fell along with Winters. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was pinned under the body of the Herder strongman, as more Herders rushed toward him.


    ¡°Save the Centurion!¡± Xial, a dozen meters away, yelled in desperation, swinging his long halberd to carve a path to Winters.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Block them!¡± But that Hong Lingyu Herder leader struggled to rise again, his face covered in blood as he shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] Kill him!¡±


    Several Herders immediately stepped in to block the rescuers.


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    ¡°Whoosh!¡±


    Three consecutive Arrow Flying Spells were cast with no reservations, nearly rendering Winters unconscious.


    The Hong Lingyu only saw flashes of cold light before three of his sharp troops fell in response.


    ¡°[Herde Language] He¡¯s the Chosen One!¡± The Hong Lingyu finally understood, screaming like a madman, ¡°[Herde Language] Kill him! Kill that Chosen One quickly!¡±


    Hearing the Centurion¡¯s words, the Herder soldiers around him hesitated collectively, suddenly too fearful to approach Winters.


    They hesitated for a whole second before they, gritting their teeth, flung themselves at the ¡°Chosen One¡± under the Centurion¡¯s roars.


    That one second gave Winters a chance to catch his breath.


    But he had used up all his steel spikes, and the Herders had already closed in to within a meter of him.


    In utter desperation¡ªand in a flurry of urgency¡ªWinters launched the Arrow Flying Spell directly at a Herder¡¯s head.


    ¡°Puchi!¡±, ¡°Puchi!¡±


    Two eyeballs burst open.


    ¡°Ahhh!!!¡± The Herder let out an inhuman scream. The excruciating pain caused the strong man to roll on the ground; his eye sockets had turned into two indistinct masses of blood and flesh.


    The other Herders were dumbstruck with fright.


    Winters, too, was experiencing unprecedented phantom pain, even more intense than the pain endured by the Herder who had lost his eyes¡ªit felt as if his body was placed under a stone miller, being ground over and over, inch by inch.


    His body convulsed with the intense spiritual pain, having never channeled such a massive amount of magical power in a single breath.


    But at this moment of life and death, he had no time to think.


    If it worked, he would use it again.


    The phantom pain came quickly and left just as quickly. The instant he recovered from the convulsions, Winters unleashed the Arrow Flying Spell towards the head of the second Herder.


    This time, he completely abandoned all restraint and opened all the valves.


    The Arrow Flying Spell taught to him by Major Moritz emphasized precision, but now Winters was casting without any restraint, direction, or control, simply pushing the output power of his magic to the limit¡ªno, beyond the limit.


    The second Herder¡¯s mouth gushed blood ceaselessly, clutching his throat as he staggered and tumbled down from the wall.


    Then came the third.


    This time, Winters had an epiphany. In a state of extreme casting, using the Herder¡¯s head as the medium, he launched the Arrow Flying Spell in two different directions at the same time.


    The third Herder¡¯s head exploded on the spot, red and white splattering like rain.


    ¡°The Chosen One.¡±


    This phrase resounded in the minds of the Herders, and those around Winters who were still alive scattered and raced away.


    The Hong Lingyu Herder leader fell into complete despair, trembling all over as he knelt on the ground, murmuring some scripture as if praying.


    Winters extricated himself from the clasp of the Herder strongman¡¯s arms, leaned on the battlement, and moved beside the Hong Lingyu.


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 Chapter 452: 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_3

    Chapter 452: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_3


    Hong Lingyu looked up at Winters, his eyes brimming with tears. He reached out as if he wanted to embrace Winters¡¯s legs.


    Winters¡¯s face was pale as he panted heavily, wiping the nosebleed with the back of his hand. Pointing at the head of Hong Lingyu, he entered a casting stance, ¡°Dissolution.¡±


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s head was torn apart by an invisible colossal force.


    ¡°Cavalry!¡± Someone on the lookout tower pointed outside the wall and shouted anxiously, ¡°Cavalry are coming!¡±


    Hundreds of cavalry charged straight towards the city walls¡ªthese horsemen were armored only in barding, without cuirasses, helmets, not even saddles, doing everything they could to reduce weight.


    Only then did Winters understand what the fire-stokers were plotting.


    ...


    The walls of the fortress weren¡¯t rammed earth or hardened clay, but merely piles of soil already on a slope.


    The Herders had only to dig slightly to gentle the slope, and the cavalry could charge straight over the ramparts.


    Now, everyone was at the end of their tether, and these well-rested ¡°light-armored¡± heavy cavalrymen were the fire-stokers¡¯ decisive blow.


    With the speed of a full-on charge, the Herder cavalry stormed up the fortress walls. The horses, whinnying and foaming at the mouth, scrambled upwards.


    One by one¡­ almost a hundred horsemen leaped into the fortress in succession, rampaging along the wall, knocking aside both Paratu People and Herders alike.


    Heavily armored soldiers were trampled to death alive, their screams too harrowing to hear.


    Even Winters couldn¡¯t withstand such a powerful charge. Seeing a heavy-armored warhorse charging at him, he decisively leaped from the wall, tucking and rolling on the ground to absorb the shock.


    At once, the wall was cleared. Herder cavalrymen charged toward the plank houses inside the fortress¡ªthe arsenal, the infirmary, and the command center.


    The Herders that followed immediately planted their flag atop the fortress. The Herders outside the walls cheered joyously, some even overwhelmed, kissing the ground.


    Winters looked towards the second rampart, where Lieutenant Colonel Jeska was positioned.


    The charge horn! The shrill sound of the charge horn reverberated throughout the fortress.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The battle cry of the Paratu People shook heaven and earth.


    Paratu soldiers, clad in plate armor and wielding heavy poleaxes, surged out from the Armament Cave beneath the wall, clamoring as they charged at the Herder cavalry.


    [Deploy the reserve forces on the counterscarp], this was one of the four lessons Winters had learned at the Land Academy.


    But do not forget, John Jeska was taught by the same master as Winters Montagne.


    If the fire-stokers had their decisive hammer, the one-eyed had theirs as well.


    One hundred twenty poleaxemen had been waiting for this moment since the start of the siege assault.


    Before this, regardless of how dire the battle was, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska had not sounded the charge horn.


    If the fire-stoker wanted to smash the Paratu People with one hammer blow, the one-eyed waited to shatter the fire-stoker¡¯s hammer.


    The scattered Paratu soldiers regrouped behind the poleaxemen and launched a counter-charge, dragging the Herder cavalrymen off their horses one after another for the kill.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters took the flag from Heinrich¡¯s hands and led the charge towards the wall.


    The rampart changed hands again, Paratu People stormed the parapet, while the Herders outside were still oblivious to the events inside the fortress, desperately climbing the wall.


    ¡°Grenades!¡± Winters shouted to the soldier beside him, ¡°Do we have any grenades left?¡±


    The besieging force of the Terdon Tribe was particularly vulnerable to grenade attacks.


    The tumult, gunshots, and screams were deafening as Xial yelled into Winters¡¯s ear, ¡°We¡¯ve used them all up!¡±


    Grenades were highly effective in fortress defense battles, but the stock of iron-shelled bombs carried by Jeska¡¯s company had been exhausted long ago.


    Looking around and seeing the studded armor on the dead Herders, Winters had a flash of inspiration, grabbing the breastplate part of the studded armor and strapping it onto a powder keg.


    The soldiers gradually understood what the Centurion intended to do.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get the powder kegs!¡± Xial pulled two people beside him, ¡°You two, come with me!¡±


    Studded armor, powder kegs, and fuses turned into makeshift bombs. Whether they would work, Winters didn¡¯t know.


    He was just about to light the fuse when he suddenly drew a dagger, slicing the leather strap that secured the armor plates into pieces but just barely holding together.


    Then he entered a casting stance, and the fuse began to hiss and burn.


    Winters held onto the powder keg, hesitating to act. As the fuse grew shorter and shorter, the Paratu soldiers around him couldn¡¯t help but close their eyes.


    Only when the fuse was about to burn out did Winters throw the ¡°studded armor grenade¡± over the wall.


    A giant ¡°boom¡± resounded as the powder keg exploded in mid-air.


    Everyone on the wall staggered, their ears ringing and vision blurry.


    The keg was too large, so the explosion was less than ideal¡ªbut it didn¡¯t need to be ideal.


    The studded armor wrapping the keg was torn asunder by the blast wave, with each plate acting like a piece of shrapnel, radiating outwards in all directions.


    Rain of death and steel fell upon the Herders outside the city. Like wheat under the scythe, they fell in swathes, many never standing again.


    Even the Paratu People were stunned speechless by this brutal weapon.


    ¡°Again!¡± Winters, his eyes red, roared. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Paratu hurriedly sought more studded armor and powder kegs.


    ¡°What are you doing, Montagne? Go capture the flag!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Jeska on the second rampart pointed to the southwest and yelled at Winters, ¡°Get me the Herders¡¯ flag!¡±


    Following the lieutenant colonel¡¯s direction, Winters then saw the Herder¡¯s banner flapping over the South Rampart.


    The Herders that had reached the rampart were in disarray. Winters led his men, cutting down several and reaching the base of the flag.


    The Herder standard-bearer, confident in his swordsmanship, flamboyantly flourished his sword, poised to meet the challenge from the Paratu champion.


    But Winters¡¯s swordsmanship had been honed by back-to-back bloody battles to a pure and straightforward art.


    He raised his arm, lifting the scimitar high, deliberately exposing his center as bait to the opponent.


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 Chapter 453: 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_4

    Chapter 453: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_4


    Of course, the Herder standard-bearer wouldn¡¯t pass up this opportunity and thrust his sword directly forward.


    Winters, from above, struck down, knocking the enemy¡¯s saber askew, stepped forward, twisted his wrist and flicked, slicing open his opponent¡¯s neck.


    The Herder standard-bearer¡¯s counterstroke was blocked by the breastplate; he couldn¡¯t believe it as he clutched his wound, staggering back until he collapsed in a corner of the wall.


    A simple smack and a flick, two movements, were all it took to claim the life of the Herder standard-bearer.


    Having dealt with the standard-bearer, Winters leaped onto the parapet, pulled out the horse-tail battle flag, and his voice, amplified by magic, echoed across the battlefield, ¡°Come on! Look over here!¡±


    No matter whether they understood or not, everyone¡¯s gaze was involuntarily drawn to the figure on the city wall.


    ...


    Winters roared and snapped the horse-tail battle flag in two, hurling it down the wall.


    ¡°Long live!¡± The Paratu People shouted fervently, ¡°Victory!¡±


    The morale of the Herders completely collapsed, receding like a tide, with even the enforcers unable to stop them.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Late at night, the temporary camp of the Terdun Tribe.


    Calling it a temporary camp was actually just a wind-sheltered slope.


    The yurts of the Terdun Tribe, horses, food, and drink had been burned down to the ground by the Paratu People¡ªtruly down to the ground.


    Aside from the food and blankets they carried on their person, they now had nothing.


    Those who were indignant just to fight could now taste the bitter fruit.


    Even he didn¡¯t have a tent, and other Herders could only wrap themselves in their cloaks and sleep on the ground.


    Luckily, the Herders were resilient by nature, plus they were exhausted after a day of hard fighting. So without being fussy about their sleeping spots, they all fell into a deep slumber.


    The Fire-Raiser didn¡¯t rest; the rage in his chest not only hadn¡¯t extinguished but had grown even more intense.


    The Chiliarchs of the Terdun Tribe sat around a bonfire, discussing their next move.


    ¡°Herde Language Khan,¡± a sagacious Chiliarch carefully advised, ¡°Herde Language Relying solely on mare¡¯s milk won¡¯t do, why don¡¯t we go to the Red River Tribe to ask for food, then turn back to retrieve the sacral golden idol.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Fire-Raiser, I agree with seeking out the Red River Tribe,¡± another Chiliarch said discontentedly, ¡°Herde Language With all the horses and warriors we¡¯ve lost, the Red River Tribe should make amends!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language We can¡¯t keep fighting anyway!¡± added another Chiliarch, with snow-white temples and a corpulent belly, his tone particularly vicious, ¡°Herde Language If we fight on, we¡¯ll all be done for! Had the old Khan been here, he would never have waged such a wasteful war!¡±


    The Chiliarchs spoke harsher words one after another, but in reality, those who were willing to speak were the Fire-Raiser¡¯s loyal supporters, that snow-white temples, corpulent bellied Chiliarch especially being the Fire-Raiser¡¯s own uncle.


    The allied chieftains had shifty eyes and were reluctant to commit themselves, in fact already considering their next moves.


    The Fire-Raiser stared hard at the dancing flames, silent as ever.


    The sound of hoofbeats approached swiftly, and a messenger found the Fire-Raiser.


    The emissary bowed respectfully and presented a gilded horn, ¡°Herde Language Blood of the Golden Ones, Terdun Fire-Raiser, I bring to you a gift and a message from the Red River Tribe¡¯s Little Lion.¡±


    [Note: The Herders have a custom of presenting gifts, and emissaries never arrive empty-handed]


    ¡°Herde Language The White Lion¡¯s brother?¡± Fire-Raiser took the gilded horn and scoffed coldly, ¡°Herde Language Speak!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language The Little Lion charged me to tell you, with a great battle impending, we shouldn¡¯t be dividing our forces. He invites you to join forces with him, willing to share everything in cup, plate, and bowl. As for previous spoils of war, he is willing to share half with you. Future spoils will all be yours to choose first.¡±


    The Fire-Raiser¡¯s face turned ashen, throwing the horn into the fire, ¡°Herde Language Am I supposed to feel pity from the White Lion¡¯s brother?¡±


    He clenched the scabbard in his left hand tightly, his teeth grinding aloud.


    Seeing the Fire-Raiser¡¯s current expression, the allied Chiliarchs trembled in their boots, buried their heads in their knees.


    Even the Fire-Raiser¡¯s own uncle now dared not touch this hot potato.


    Suddenly, a voice with a slight accent came from beside the fire, ¡°Herde Language The Little Lion is right, with a great battle looming, we indeed should not divide our forces.¡±


    The speaker used a stick to pull the gilded horn out of the bonfire and offered it back to the Fire-Raiser.


    When Fire-Raiser saw who was speaking, his ashen face slowly reddening, he surprisingly refrained from lashing out with his sword.


    If Winters had seen this scene, he would have been astonished, for it was the old Translator who had managed to soothe the Fire-Raiser.


    ¡°Herde Language What do you say we should do?¡± the Fire-Raiser asked respectfully.


    ¡°Herde Language Go find the Red River Tribe, and then¡­¡± The old Translator began but abruptly fell silent.


    He suddenly stood up, listening attentively before glaring at the messenger, ¡°Herde Language You brought men with you! Does the Red River Tribe want to swallow us whole?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language No! Impossible!¡± the Red River Tribe¡¯s emissary denied desperately, alarmed.


    However, it wasn¡¯t just the old Translator; the other Chiliarchs also heard the sound of hoofbeats. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And it wasn¡¯t just one or two horses; there were at least a hundred rapidly closing in.


    ¡°Herde Language Enemy attack!¡± the Fire-Raiser kicked over the bonfire and bellowed, ¡°Herde Language Enemy attack!¡±


    The Chiliarchs of the Terdun Tribe immediately ran towards their own people¡¯s resting ground.


    In the distance, a harsh cry mingled with the sound of hooves, ¡°Herde Language Defeated! Defeated! Our army is defeated! The Fire-Raiser is dead!¡±


    The cry in Herde language was very awkward, obviously something recently learned.


    ¡°Herde Language Aaahhhhhhhhh!!!¡± the Fire-Raiser screamed frantically, ¡°Herde Language Two-legged creatures! Despicable! I will kill them!¡±


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 Chapter 454: 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_5

    Chapter 454: Chapter 70: Cracking Technique and Fragmentation Grenades_5


    And at this very moment, just outside the Terdun Camp, Winters was shouting with great excitement in Herde Language he had just learned: ¡°We¡¯re defeated! We¡¯re defeated! Our army is defeated! The fire-tenders are dead!¡±


    With the enhancement of a sound-amplifying spell, his solo shouts equaled the volume of a hundred-man squadron.


    How could Colonel Jeska possibly let the people of the Terdon Tribe get a good night¡¯s sleep?


    The cavalry detachment that was delivering the gunpowder to the Bridgehead Fortress had been detained by the Colonel, just waiting for this moment to come into play.


    ¡°Hoorah!¡± Pierre fiercely spurred his horse¡¯s flanks, desperately shouting to embolden himself, swinging his saber like a full moon, cleaving off half a Herde¡¯s head with a single strike.


    Anglu, Vashka, and Bell closely followed Pierre, similarly brandishing their sabers slashing left and chopping right.


    ...


    The Piaoqi Cavalry and the Dusacks cut through the Terdun Camp, ramming and killing anyone they saw.


    Winters took out objects the size of a head from his saddlebag, lit the gunpowder fuse on the outside, and hurled them at the panic-stricken Terdon Tribesmen.


    These head-sized objects were ¡°Improved Fragmentation Grenades.¡±


    The original grenades not only wasted gunpowder but also had excessive power and were prone to causing accidental injuries.


    Therefore, the urgently modified second version of the grenades were all switched to small kegs. Just the size of a head, sealed inside and out with pitch.


    While applying the outer layer of pitch, they conveniently stuck the grenade fragments into the pitch to increase lethality.


    Winters rode a robust horse around the outskirts of the Terdun Camp, continuously throwing out fragmentation grenades.


    Flashes of light were followed by muffled explosions, small iron fragments flew in all directions under the night sky, stirring up a storm of blood and flesh.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough! Retreat!¡± Andre caught up with Winters from behind: ¡°It¡¯s utter chaos! If we keep fighting, we¡¯ll get caught in there too!¡±


    Winters reached into his saddlebag, which was now empty as all eight grenades had been thrown.


    ¡°What a pity,¡± Winters thought, ¡°If I had three thousand riders, we might have been able to crush the Terdun Tribe in a single blow.¡±


    Unfortunately, Winters didn¡¯t have them; he only had a hundred riders¡ªmore than half of whom were lent to Jeska by the Seklers.


    The Terdon Tribe was in disarray, but their camp wasn¡¯t bombed.


    Each Herde Centurion had their own resting area, and most soldiers could still locate their Centurion.


    Once they regained their senses, this hundred riders would be wiped out in an instant.


    If they disengaged from battle now, the people of Terdun would need at least until dawn to regroup, and that was enough.


    ¡°Let¡¯s retreat,¡± Winters nodded.


    The bugler sounded the retreat signal, and the Paratu Cavalrymen upon hearing the call, withdrew from the fray and hurried to the predetermined rally point.


    Andre, mounted on a very majestic black horse, asked Winters smugly, ¡°Do you think this is worth a Grand Cross medal?¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, eight kilometers to the east of the Jeska¡¯s fortress, at the Sekler¡¯s temporary camp.


    Two infantry battalions crossed the Confluence River via the Floating Bridge, joining with the six existing infantry battalions of the Sekler Tribe.


    Within the temporary camp, General Sekler left only a few soldiers and all the military flags.


    Under Sekler¡¯s command, the eight infantry battalions set off overnight towards the northern stockade.


    ¡­


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Book of Spells¡±


    Entry: Rupture Spell


    Description: Apply the Arrow Flying Spell to an object in two directions at once, emphasizing explosive force rather than precision.


    Note: I never imagined that the Rupture Spell would actually be in the kinetic series of spells. Once again I am curious, what would be the result if someone could cast the Arrow Flying Spell in more than two directions at once? Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Further Note: If Teacher Christian¡¯s work is not published, this year¡¯s Antoine-Laurent Award is definitely mine. If the Whirlwind Spell, Fire Tornado Spell, and Huygens¡¯ Deflection Spell get published this year, maybe ¡­ I could publish next year?


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 Chapter 455: 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle

    Chapter 455: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle


    Officers from the Land Academy all memorized a phrase, ¡°The precondition for a decisive battle is that both sides have the intention to fight one.¡±


    The [Herders-Paratu War] is the best footnote to this phrase.


    The Herder tribes, taking all their possessions, would run ahead, with the Paratu army chasing behind, until the boundaries of power were redrawn¡ªthis was the traditional war pattern.


    General Sekler dreamt of engaging the Red River Tribe in a decisive battle, but as long as the Red River Tribe didn¡¯t want to fight, such a battle could not be fought.


    The reason was simple: The side with greater mobility controlled the choice of the battlefield.


    The barbarians were particularly sharp and cunning, accustomed to each rider having several horses, moving like the wind; they would only engage in battles they could win.


    ...


    At the slightest hint of danger, they would not hesitate to flee, and the battle would once again become a tiresome game of chase.


    But now the Paratu People had found the Red River Tribe¡¯s weak spot, which was Bianli City.


    In earlier years, there had also been some city settlements on the Great Wilderness.


    At that time, the Herders were at the height of their power, and they beat the Paratu nobles to the point where they dared only tremble within their castles while the Herder Iron Cavalry looted people, food, and treasures.


    Some tribes even moved their entire clans into Paratu lands, attempting to seize control of Paratu.


    The eagles grew increasingly strong by tearing apart and devouring the flesh of wild horses.


    Prosperous Herder factions started building cities; although most people still roamed in search of water and grass, this did not stop the ruling class from living in cities and enjoying the spoils.


    Decorating palaces with looted gold, silver, and jewels, the Herders had Paratu slaves toil for them, and both minor and major Herder nobles lived lives of extreme luxury.


    Nothing luxurious was produced on the wilderness, but it didn¡¯t matter.


    As long as there was money, there would be Venetians.


    Venetian merchants traveled from afar, bringing treasures like fine swords, steeds, spices, silks, and wines to the Herder ¡°khan¡± leaders.


    The chiefs competed in showing off their wealth, sparing no expense.


    If you use cotton cloth for your tents, I¡¯ll use silk. If you use one layer, I¡¯ll use two.


    Even falcons and saddles had to be ¡°imports,¡± or else they would lose face.


    The geographer Baiboluo once recorded, ¡°¡­the chieftain wore double-layered silk clothes, surrounded by eunuchs, with a dwarf responsible for making him laugh¡­ he had someone bring out three jewel-encrusted scimitars for me to choose from, and when I shook my head, he gave all three scimitars to me¡­¡±


    Baiboluo also left such records, ¡°When the chieftains lived lives more luxurious than kings, the poorest of their herdsmen had but a pitiful number of cattle and sheep.¡±


    With the publication of Baiboluo¡¯s ¡°Journey to the West,¡± the term ¡°Herder Chief¡± gradually became synonymous with ¡°luxurious, wealthy, big spender.¡±


    Of course, in Venetian slang, it also referred to those ¡°suckers who don¡¯t bargain and spend lavishly,¡± with a hint of disdain¡­ and a bit of reluctant envy.


    But feasts always end, and those days are gone.


    Since the great defeat of Queye Khan thirty years ago, the tribes have been in decline from their pinnacle.


    The tides switched between attack and defense, and the Herder cities were gradually abandoned.


    Firstly, relying on the output of the wilderness alone was insufficient to sustain the cities; secondly, the rejuvenated Paratu People specifically targeted the city-building Herder tribes.


    Because the cities represented the concentration of wealth, the Herder tribes unwittingly gathered their possessions in one place, saving the Paratu People quite a bit of trouble.


    Some Herder cities were breached, looted, destroyed, others were occupied by the Paratu People, and the rest were abandoned.


    The [Herders-Paratu War] once again turned into a mobile war of chase and escape.


    Therefore, while building cities provided benefits to the Red River Tribe, it also gave the Paratu People a clear target.


    The Paratu army surrounded Bianli City tightly, as if grabbing the Red River Tribe by the balls.


    If the Red River Tribe wanted to relieve Bianli City, they had to break through the Paratu army.


    Sekler only worried about two things: one, that the Red River Tribe reinforcements might simply give up on Bianli City and the White Lion; two, that the Red River Tribe reinforcements wouldn¡¯t dare to fight decisively and would instead switch to harassment tactics to delay the siege.


    The former, now it seems, was an overconcern, as the Red River Tribe reinforcements show a strong desire to attack without any sign of giving up on Bianli.


    As for the latter, it was a gamble between the two sides. The curtain had not yet been lifted, and who was the Hunter and who was the prey could not yet be determined.


    ¡­


    Jeska¡¯s night raid was a huge success.


    According to the original plan of Colonel Jeska, the raid should have had the entire army strike, shattering the Terdon Tribe¡¯s command chain in one blow.


    However, the bitter battles of the day had already exhausted the Paratu People.


    No sooner had the Terdon Tribe retreated than many Paratu soldiers collapsed on the spot, unable to be woken even if shaken.


    Only the cavalry, who did not participate in defending the city, retained the vitality for battle.


    Forty-four Dusack light cavalry, sixty-eight borrowed Piaoqi Troops, plus Winters and Andre.


    In total, no more than one hundred fourteen riders turned the Terdon camp upside down.


    If the Terdon people had all been sleeping in their tents, the victory would have been even more glorious¡ªbecause the tents were highly flammable.


    But the Terdon camp had already been burnt to the ground before, leaving them with barely anything flammable to their name.


    Fortuitously, what could have been a calamity meant that the incendiaries Winters had prepared were hardly of any use.


    Those by the fire likely never dreamed that a camp would be raided on two consecutive nights.


    Roasted on one side, flipped and roasted on the other side.


    Amidst the chaos, some audacious Herders simply took the opportunity to go home. Although they nabbed no spoils, it was better than losing their lives.


    Furthermore, some rank-and-file Centurions and Chiliarchs, along with their respective troops, fled outright. They were not willing to further risk their clan¡¯s assets for the Terdon Tribe¡¯s sacrificial golden figures.


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 Chapter 456: 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_2

    Chapter 456: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_2


    Next time we meet, they should no longer be of the Terdon Tribe.


    With such scarce military forces, the limitations were destined. Colonel Jeska, dispirited, simply didn¡¯t show up.


    ¡°Scare the Herders, then come back. I don¡¯t expect you to perform miracles, just make sure they dare not set up camp within ten miles,¡± Colonel Jeska said when assigning tasks to the two Centurions, ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t get yourselves killed out there.


    The results were as the colonel had predicted; Winters and Andre¡¯s men were capable of creating chaos, but not enough to completely rout the Terdon Tribe.


    Even if there were twenty thousand pigs, a hundred or so Cavalry couldn¡¯t kill them all.


    ¡­


    ...


    This morning, there was fog.


    The dispatched recon Cavalry reported back that several thousand Herder Cavalry were gathering forces along the way, advancing eastward.


    The recon Cavalry also reported that they saw the blue horse-tail banners among those Cavalry.


    Clearly, the direct forces of the Fire-Worshipers hadn¡¯t been defeated, and the Fire-Worshiper himself hadn¡¯t conceded.


    The battle was far from over.


    ¡­


    A battlefield is like a pile of blocks stacked haphazardly, the removal of any one could lead to unforeseeable changes.


    Last night, Jeska¡¯s troops captured the Sacrificial Golden Man.


    Yesterday, the Terdon Tribe laid siege to the Bridgehead Fortress.


    If these two events still seemed to have a cause and effect relationship, then the chain reactions they triggered propagated in a covert manner to the [Northern Encampment] twenty kilometers away.


    The commander of the Northern Encampment, Colonel Bod Daniel, could never have imagined that the reason for the Red River Tribe¡¯s desperate attack on the city was an accidental detour by a Federated Provinces artillery officer.


    The Northern Encampment had two infantry battalions and one cavalry squadron, plus an auxiliary unit of a hundred men, totaling close to thirteen hundred troops.


    The encampment was small, but it was sufficiently strong and stocked with plenty of food and ammunition.


    The only issue was ¡°water.¡±


    To occupy the higher ground, the encampment was built on a hillside.


    About three hundred meters from the Confluence River, the encampment couldn¡¯t directly access a water source.


    This wasn¡¯t initially a problem, as the encampment was originally set up to prevent the city¡¯s defenders from crossing the river and breaking out, better controlling the riverbank from a higher vantage point.


    But now that the Red River Tribe reinforcements had arrived ¡ª to the Paratu People¡¯s surprise ¡ª the Northern Encampment became the first to be hit.


    The Red River reinforcements were led by the uncles and brothers of White Lion Yasin, and they surrounded the Northern Encampment without attacking, clearly having seen through the weakness of its inability to access water.


    The Red River Tribe outside busied themselves with killing any Paratu soldiers trying to fetch water, while Colonel Bod inside hastened to dig wells, thus the siege became a stalemate.


    But yesterday morning, as if on cue, the Red River Tribe suddenly launched an all-out attack on the Northern Encampment.


    Colonel Bod didn¡¯t know that, twenty kilometers away ¡ª on the other side of the battlefield ¡ª the Terdon Tribe was also laying siege to Jeska¡¯s troops.


    Winters didn¡¯t know that the great fire they set could lead the Red River Tribe to fiercely attack the Northern Encampment.


    No one could see the whole picture of the battlefield, for there was no high ground from which to overlook the thousands of people fighting, suffering, and dying.


    For most people, war only happens within fifty meters around them.


    Pieces can¡¯t see the whole board; the soldiers are pieces, Winters is a piece, Jeska is equally a piece.


    Only a handful of individuals can be called players: White Lion Yasin, Sekler, Alpad¡­ But even they can¡¯t see the entirety of the board.


    Everyone is just struggling within the scope of what their eyes can see, their minds comprehend, and their powers can reach.


    Take Colonel Bod for example, he was only thinking about how to hold the Northern Encampment. The grand plan, he neither understood nor cared about.


    With a sudden exertion of force, the Red River Tribe caused the casualties of the Northern Encampment¡¯s defenders to soar.


    Colonel Bod was surprised to find that the attacking Red River Tribe had a considerable number of musketeers; knowing that some Herder tribes were still using bone arrows, stone arrows.


    Even the Northern Encampment¡¯s defenders didn¡¯t have cannons, yet the besieging Red River Tribe forces had brought out four¡ªthough they were not very accurate.


    The battle raged for an entire day, with the Red River Tribe exploiting the Northern Encampment¡¯s lack of heavy firepower, approaching with shield carts and methodically filling in the ditches.


    Colonel Bod took advantage of the night to lead his men over the wall, digging up the filled-in trenches again.


    When the Red River Tribe army realized the Paratu had left the encampment, they immediately sent cavalry charging.


    Both sides took turns in the darkness, clashing in disarray, each retreating after leaving behind a hundred corpses.


    ¡­


    At dawn today, a thin mist rose from the wilderness.


    Nearly ten thousand Red River Tribe soldiers lined up again outside the Northern Encampment, most of them choosing to fight dismounted.


    Most of the Red River soldiers were carrying horn composite bows, while a minority bore heavy muskets.


    The fog was detrimental to both weapons; the bows could come unglued, and the matchlocks would be more likely to extinguish.


    But thinking about the enemy suffering in the same harsh conditions, the mist became a little less unbearable.


    Through the thin mist, Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t see the enemy¡¯s setup, but he knew what it would be like. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There would undoubtedly be shield carts, the treasured heirlooms of the Herders.


    There would also be ladders, as the Herders had already leveled several trenches the day before, pulling out quite a bit of the palisade¡¯s wood.


    Spades and picks would be there too, seemingly insignificant, but they spoke volumes.


    The cannons were what troubled Colonel Bod the most, as the opposing Red River general had realized his men were inept at gunnery, posing little threat.


    So, quickly changing tactics, the Red River general stopped lobbing solid shot from two hundred meters away.


    Instead, he mounted the cannons on shield carts, dragging them within forty meters to sweep the walls with grapeshot.


    Inside and out, the encampment was silent.


    ¡°You¡¯re not bad,¡± Colonel Bod, expressionless, stood by the rampart, muttering to himself in his mind, ¡°but I¡¯m not bad either. If you want to take the Northern Encampment, it won¡¯t happen without shedding some blood.¡±


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 Chapter 457: 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_3

    Chapter 457: Chapter 71: The Reason for the Decisive Battle_3


    ¡°Yahachi! Yahachi!¡± the Herders outside the wall began to chant in unison.


    ¡°Yahachi?¡± Colonel Bod grabbed a clump of withered grass and wiped his palms before casually asking the Translator beside him, ¡°What does it mean? Is it the enemy commander¡¯s name?¡±


    Dannel¡ªthe former merchant, now Translator, and bilingual talent conscripted into the army¡ªanswered with a mournful face: ¡°Yahachi probably means ¡®young lion.¡¯ [Hachi] stands for a child, [Ya] is lion, just as Yasin is White Lion. As for whether it¡¯s the name of the enemy commander, I have no idea.¡±


    ¡°Young lion?¡± Colonel Bod raised an eyebrow, ¡°Could it be the brother of the Barbarian Chief Yasin? But I¡¯ve never heard that he had a brother¡­¡±


    The sound of horns rang out, and the Herders outside began to advance towards the camp.


    Colonel Bod waved his hand.


    ...


    The military flag fluttered as the Paratu gunners ascended the wall of the encampment, each selecting their position, setting up their muskets, and hanging their matches on the serpentine.


    The Herders advanced to one hundred meters.


    The drummers began to beat a rapid rhythm. The gunners gently blew into the glowing embers of their matches, then flipped open the lids of their powder pans.


    Everyone held their breath and focused, waiting for the sound of gunfire to declare the beginning of that day¡¯s slaughter.


    Suddenly, a series of urgent gong sounds came from the outside.


    The Herders, who had surged in like a tide, retreated just like the receding sea. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Paratu People looked at each other in confusion, feeling utterly perplexed.


    ¡°Have everyone close their powder pan covers,¡± Colonel Bod ordered the signaler.


    There were commands for horns, flags, and drum beats, but none for ¡°close the powder pan covers.¡±


    The signaler received the order and ran around the walls in a circle, passing the message along.


    ¡°Look to the west!¡± someone exclaimed, ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Silence in the face of battle! Shut up!¡± an instant rebuke came from a soldier.


    But still, everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn their gaze to the west, where it seemed as if a forest was approaching the north encampment.


    A large army emerged from the mist, a real, substantial force.


    The flag bearer on a white horse held the eagle flag high, leading at the very front of the column.


    Behind him, row after row of pikemen emerged from the mist with no end in sight.


    The neat rows of long pikes, moving slowly to the beat of the drums, were like a forest swaying in the wind.


    ¡°The eagle flag! Reinforcements!¡± shouted an excited soldier from the northern fortress, ¡°The reinforcements are here!¡±


    Only a legion had the eagle flag. Its presence on the field meant the legion commander had come to the battlefield personally.


    This time, no one stopped the rash soldier from shouting because everyone was cheering with all their might.


    The Red River Tribe began to act as well. They retreated slightly but didn¡¯t leave the battlefield.


    They merely adjusted their direction, avoiding the position of being caught in a pincer attack, and turned their formation to face the newly arrived Paratu legion.


    More than a thousand cavalry left the main formation of the Red River Tribe and maneuvered towards the flank of the Paratu legion.


    Under the scrutiny of friend and foe alike, the newly arrived Paratu army unfolded their formation with a graceful movement.


    The mist gradually cleared, revealing the wilderness, the Confluence River, and Bianli across the river, all becoming progressively more visible.


    Before everyone¡¯s eyes stood four perfect square formations of a thousand men each, lined up in a row.


    The Paratu army did not enter the encampment but formed their ranks on the wilderness as if inviting the Red River Tribe to battle from afar.


    As the mist lifted, Colonel Bod¡¯s heart tightened all at once.


    The number of reinforcements was much smaller than he¡¯d imagined, a rough count suggesting no more than four thousand men, or eight battalions.


    ¡°What is the old man doing?¡± Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t help but kick the wall fiercely, shouting to the signaler, ¡°Tell all the Centurions to prepare to charge.¡±


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s cavalry held at least twice as many numbers. Despite sending out some of their cavalry to flank both sides, the main formation showed no significant movement, leaving their intentions unclear.


    Meanwhile, the Paratu square formations just stood there, as if certain the Herders would attack.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Those were cannon sounds, but they were quite deep, likely coming from afar.


    Colonel Bod surveyed his surroundings and saw smoke rising from behind Bianli City.


    The white smoke quickly turned black, and thick plumes bellied up from Bianli, piercing the sky.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s pupils dilated as he widened his eyes in shock, ¡°Has the old man gone mad?¡±


    At this moment, in West Guard City.


    The six infantry battalions that were besieging the city had started to hurl iron rings and wooden blocks coated with tar, resin, and licorice into the inner city using makeshift catapults.


    This was an inspiration the Paratu People got from the massive fire the Herders themselves had started¡ªthe outskirts were made of wooden walls with thatched roofs, and the inner city likely wasn¡¯t much different.


    Since it was a dry winter with the west wind blowing towards the inner city, all that was missing was a spark.


    Along with the makeshift catapults, they also brought out cannons, battering rams, and ¡°gunpowder coffins.¡±


    It seemed the Paratu army was determined to breach Bianli in one fell swoop.


    Sekler had already set the chessboard, patiently waiting for the White Lion Yasin to make his move.


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 Chapter 458: 72: The Battle

    Chapter 458: Chapter 72: The Battle


    At this moment, the Red River Tribe reinforcements were less than ¡°one sheep¡± away from Bianli City in a straight line, with every arrow tower on the reddish-brown rammed earth walls clearly visible.


    [Note: ¡°One sheep¡± refers to the distance within which a flock of sheep is pastured, approximately 1.2¡ª2.5 kilometers. Similarly, there are measurements like ¡°one cow¡± and ¡°one horse,¡± which are Herders¡¯ units of measure.]


    Yet this short distance of one sheep seemed like an insurmountable chasm.


    Because standing in their way were four phalanxes of a thousand men each, one camp, and a river over a dozen meters wide filled with icy cold water.


    Chiliarch ¡°Owl Hawk¡± galloped into their own formation, rushing straight to the red-tasseled banner symbolizing the commander-in-chief before pulling the reins hard.


    The warhorse neighed, rearing up on its hind legs.


    ...


    Owl Hawk dismounted and, seething with anger, strode toward the banner, and demanded loudly, ¡°[Herde Language] Little Lion! Why aren¡¯t we moving?¡±


    [Note: The following speech by the Herders is all in Herde Language; it will not be marked separately.]


    Beneath the banner, the Little Lion referred to by Owl Hawk remained silent. His eyebrows were tightly knitted, his lips pressed into a thin line as he stared unwaveringly at Bianli.


    Across the river, the earthen city was now shrouded in thick smoke, and the sounds of shouting, gunfire, and explosions were clearly audible.


    The Herders revered the color green, prizing green horses, green feathers, and green stones. Red, yellow, and blue were secondary, while white was considered the least.


    Several Herders standing next to the banner all had green plumes, indicating they were at least Chiliarchs.


    Little Lion, just like Owl Hawk, had only one green plumed feather on his helmet. However, compared to the other green plumes, he seemed far too young.


    Next to Little Lion stood another leader, whose helmet adorned three green plumed feathers that were longer than anyone else¡¯s.


    This older leader wore a full suit of armor, his face crisscrossed with deep lines, indicating an advanced age.


    Pointing with his riding crop at the ready Paratu People, the old leader said to Owl Hawk, ¡°The two-legged are in hedgehog formation, clearly waiting for us to attack. Knowing there¡¯s a cliff ahead, only a mad, stupid cow would jump off.¡±


    Owl Hawk, enraged, pointed at the old man¡¯s nose and cursed, ¡°Tie Duo, you¡¯re greedier than a wolf, more cunning than a fox¡ªyou just don¡¯t want to put in the effort! From the very start, it¡¯s been us fighting! Has your tribe ever shed blood? You¡¯d love for White Lion to die so you could swallow us whole!¡±


    A Chiliarch from behind the old leader flashed with anger, stepping out to grab Owl Hawk¡¯s shoulder armor.


    Owl Hawk restrained the man¡¯s forearm with his left hand and landed a fierce right hook, knocking the Chiliarch to the ground.


    The Chiliarch got up and was about to re-engage but was forced back by the gleaming tip of a blade.


    Owl Hawk, knife in hand, pointed it at the crowd and bellowed like thunder, ¡°White Lion made a pact with us, to lure the enemy out of their camp and then encircle and annihilate them. Now that they¡¯re here, you hesitate and fear? Is there a better opportunity than this? Or should we wait for them to enter our camp before we fight? Are you saying you don¡¯t harbor treacherous schemes?¡±


    Owl Hawk then roared at Little Lion, ¡°Little Lion, the sound of cannons in the city is like thunder, your blood kin brother is under attack¡ªare you also going to betray him?¡±


    Underneath the red-tasseled banner, everyone fell as silent as cicadas in winter.


    Little Lion ignored Owl Hawk completely, looking instead toward the old leader, ¡°Uncle, there is some truth to what Owl Hawk says. Bianli might not hold out much longer, we have to take the bait, poison or not. Besides, with the Paratu People divided, it is indeed a good opportunity. Defeating the enemy in front of us will cause the besiegers at Bianli to collapse without a fight.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old leader of the Red River Tribe, ¡°Tie Duo [Tie Duo the Tooth Beggar],¡± stayed silent for a long while before finally nodding.


    He said coldly to Owl Hawk, ¡°If I wanted to engulf White Lion¡¯s people, I wouldn¡¯t have followed you here in the first place.¡±


    Owl Hawk grunted, sheathing his knife.


    ¡°Your anger is like a wildfire.¡± Little Lion looked back at Owl Hawk, ¡°Don¡¯t burn your own people, set the Paratu People alight. I have a task for you.¡±


    ¡­


    The Herders made no significant movements, and the Paratu People weren¡¯t about to take the offensive, so the standoff continued.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert looked like a circus performer straddling the backs of two horses, observing the enemy¡¯s moves.


    His battalion, along with another, formed a thousand-man square on the far eastern end of the overall formation. The most dangerous positions at the ends were naturally entrusted to the most reliable troops.


    In Robert¡¯s view, any commander of sound mind would not mount a frontal assault on a large square formation.


    But Sekler gave the enemy general a reason he couldn¡¯t ignore ¡ª Bianli.


    He clearly informed the enemy commander: I¡¯ve split my forces into two¡ªone marching on Bianli, the other on you. If you defeat this force, the siege of Bianli will be broken; if you do not, you will breach the city today.


    Moreover, including the northern fort¡¯s garrison, Sekler only had about five thousand men at his disposal. In front of him, the vast army of the Red River Tribe looked like at least ten thousand cavalry.


    Five thousand versus ten thousand, foot soldiers against cavalry.


    Although Robert maintained his calm demeanor, he was still sweating bullets on the inside.


    The internal debates and decision-making process within the Herder army were, of course, beyond the Paratu People¡¯s knowledge.


    All Robert saw was the enemy beginning to stir, horses¡¯ hooves kicking up clouds of dust, cavalry flanking from both sides.


    Orders also came from the Paratu central army. The squares began to slowly move, one square advancing while the others closed in.


    The formation spread out in a line transformed into a character ¡°Æ·¡± arrangement.


    The Herder cavalry howled strangely, charging closer and closer, the momentum was indeed astonishing.


    ¡°Musketeers, ready!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Robert ordered.


    Musketeer Pinter, obeying orders, firmly planted the iron fork and steadied his musket.


    He knew he only had one chance for such a stable shot, so he aimed carefully.


    The flanking Herder cavalry charged to about a hundred meters, then suddenly turned their horses, revealing it to be a feint.


    Pinter¡¯s hand was steady. Such tricks could only scare recruits and clearly wouldn¡¯t fool Pinter or anyone else.


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 Chapter 459: 72 Battle Meeting_2

    Chapter 459: Chapter 72 Battle Meeting_2


    The Paratu square formation was solemnly silent; no one fired prematurely, as the musketeers quietly awaited the order to shoot.


    The Hurd cavalry retreated to a slightly farther place, no longer charging to probe or dismounting, lingering at a distance.


    Colonel Robert couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips as he estimated the enemy had stopped at about two hundred meters away, neither far nor near.


    Two hundred meters, it would take cavalry twenty seconds at full sprint, at most thirty.


    Yet, this distance was also just beyond the effective range of the muskets.


    It had been said that if a person were shot and killed by a musket at two hundred meters away, it was no different than being struck dead by a meteorite.


    ...


    The Herders had gauged this distance accurately; if it wasn¡¯t a coincidence¡­ it meant that the enemy was well-informed about the capabilities of the Paratu muskets and had come prepared.


    While executing pincer movements on both flanks, the Red River Tribe made other moves as well.


    Over a thousand Herders dismounted and pushed their shield carts towards the square formation from the front.


    Seeing the Herders draw out their treasured shields, Colonel Robert began to change the formation accordingly.


    He clenched his fist, muttering resentfully, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we bring a few cannons? Then we wouldn¡¯t have to be bullied by shield carts.¡±


    Musketeer Pinter received orders and hurriedly ran with his comrades to form lines at the front of the square formation.


    The Hurd shield carts advanced to about two hundred meters and then stopped.


    Colonel Robert was surprised to find that among the Herders by the shield carts, quite a few were carrying muskets.


    First shock, then bewilderment; at a certain moment, Robert suddenly felt cold in his hands and feet.


    Meanwhile, the charge tune abruptly rang out, and the orderlies sprinted from the central army towards the west in all directions.


    ¡°The general commands an attack!¡± shouted the orderly as he ran towards Robert¡¯s formation, ¡°The general commands an attack!¡±


    ¡°Everyone, at attention!¡± roared Robert, ¡°Advance, march¡ªforward!¡±


    The Centurions and sergeants repeated the orders in succession.


    Pinter, carrying his musket, scrambled from the side to the front of the formation. He had just set up his gun and hadn¡¯t had time to fix the match.


    Hearing the sudden order, he was somewhat at a loss.


    Looking up ahead, Pinter saw the Herders lifting the canvas from the shield carts not far away.


    The dark muzzles of the canons were exposed.


    A flash of red light.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Twenty or so iron balls the size of walnuts shot out, scattering in the air like steel hail, sweeping across the Paratu formation.


    Pinter barely felt anything before his consciousness was extinguished.


    His comrades only saw Pinter¡¯s body suddenly fall backwards; his musket slipping from his hand to the ground.


    His tent mates rushed to help him up, only to find that he had been hit straight in the forehead by an iron ball and was already dead.


    Four cannons fired in sequence, with the outer ring of musketeers in the formation continuously falling.


    Range is the hardcore truth; if I can hit you but you can¡¯t hit me, then you can only be beaten passively.


    After one round of fire, the Hurd gunners reloaded.


    The Paratu soldiers grew restless, having neither expected the Herd Barbarians to have cannons nor having been trained to ¡°stand and take a beating without response.¡±


    ¡°Advance!¡± Colonel Robert roared at the stunned soldiers around him: ¡°Normal pace! Advance!¡±


    The dazed drummers hurriedly beat the drums.


    Amidst the sound of drumming, the Paratu People quickly recovered from the shock and began to advance.


    They couldn¡¯t just stand there, taking beatings; they had to seize those four cannons.


    But more important than capturing the cannons was to maintain the cohesion of the formation.


    A normal pace of seventy-two steps per minute, with each step about sixty centimeters, it would take about five minutes to reach the two hundred meters to the cannon position¡ªif the cannons didn¡¯t move.


    Seventy-two steps per minute wasn¡¯t slow, but to most Paratu soldiers at this moment, this pace felt agonizingly slow.


    Yet, it was only at this speed that the large square formation could avoid collapsing.


    The Red River Tribe had only four cannons; a single barrage wouldn¡¯t kill many.


    However, with the dead in sight and the dying¡¯s screams in earshot, each round of fire was like drawing lots, where drawing meant death; no one wanted to partake in such a lethal lottery.


    The Paratu soldiers¡¯ throats were parched, their pace involuntarily quickened, and the formation started to become disarrayed.


    From time to time, soldiers would walk into other rows by mistake, or fall and disturb even more men.


    ¡°All Centurions! All sergeants!¡± Colonel Robert, seeing this and anxious at heart, commanded: ¡°Maintain formation!¡±


    The horns blared collectively, and the Herders were waiting for just this moment. The cavalry on both wings suddenly set off, launching a deluge-like charge at the Paratu army.


    The ¡°Cease March¡± tune came from the central army, its brief melody urgently repeated by the horn players.


    ¡°Stop! Everyone stop!¡± Lieutenant Roy, not sparing his magical power, ordered with sound amplification: ¡°Reform the lines!¡±


    The Paratu square halted and began to reorganize on the spot. The musketeers retreated inside the formation, while the pikemen leveled their pikes.


    Seizing the opportunity, the Hurd gunners executed a second volley, then quickly moved the cannons to a farther location.


    The Herders armed with muskets rapidly closed in on the Paratu square, clearly up to something.


    Colonel Robert was furious to the point of tearing at his hair, but his immediate concern was to withstand the Hurd cavalry¡¯s charge; he could only watch as the Herders shed blood.


    The military flag swayed, and the square formation of the central army thunderously unfolded. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lieutenant [Laszlo], holding the military flag high, led the way, with a hundred and fifty heavy halberdiers shouting and charging out of the formation, heading straight for the Herders¡¯ four cannons.


    This was a complete suicide mission, but the Paratu People had to eliminate those four cannons; otherwise, they would continue to be subjected to passive beatings.


    The Hurd musketeers retreated in panic, followed swiftly by over a hundred Hurd warriors surging from behind the shield carts to meet the charge of the Paratu heavy halberdiers.


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 Chapter 460: 72 Battle_3

    Chapter 460: Chapter 72 Battle_3


    The Herders clad in double-layered heavy armor still moved with vigor. The weapons in their hands weren¡¯t the characteristic scimitars, but flails, heavy axes, and war hammers.


    The elite forces of both armies collided with a thunderous crash. As everyone was clad in heavy armor, it became exceptionally difficult to kill one another.


    When the war hammer struck a helmet, the iron was dented inward. Yet the person inside did not die instantly; blood backflowed into their trachea. Choking on blood, the soldier collapsed on the enemy, grabbed a halberd, and stabbed it into the opponent¡¯s mouth, all the way through.


    Almost no one received a clean, swift death. The combat turned into a kind of torture. Most who died did so from internal bleeding caused by multiple blunt force strikes.


    Friend and foe alike, some soldiers had their limbs broken but were not yet dead, and these iron men begged for a quick end.


    In the rear, the encirclement by the Herder cavalry was repulsed by the reformed large phalanx.


    ...


    Dozens of brave Herder cavalry charged into the phalanx, only to be quickly surrounded and killed by the halberdiers and spearmen inside.


    Up front, the Paratu halberdiers and Herder armor-clad soldiers were evenly matched.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What madness has Owl Hawk succumbed to?¡± Little Lion at the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, watching the battle, punched the flagpole: ¡°[Herde Language] I told him to retreat! Why hasn¡¯t he?¡±¡±


    The others fell silent.


    To everyone¡¯s surprise, Tie Duo spoke a few words of justice for Owl Hawk: ¡°[Herde Language] With men screaming and horses neighing on the battlefield, how could he see your signal? If he retreats, and others think we¡¯re defeated, then what? Once you charge, you can¡¯t retreat, not even if you wanted to.¡±


    At the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, half of the cavalry still hadn¡¯t engaged in combat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The will of the Paratu People is very resilient; they can¡¯t be broken in an instant. We need to wear them down a few more times.¡±


    Little Lion noticed that the battle in front of the artillery position had reached a stalemate. He gestured to summon one of the Hong Lingyu and whispered instructions.


    A squadron of heavily armored cavalry detached from the main formation and galloped towards the center of the battlefield.


    Lieutenant Laszlo saw this approaching heavy cavalry and suddenly realized that this moment was the last chance to seize the artillery. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Advance! Paratu Knights!¡± Lieutenant Laszlo stood on his stirrups and roared as he hurled the regimental banner toward the artillery: ¡°Summon your courage! Advance!¡±


    The regimental banner traced an arc through the air and landed next to the shield carts harboring the cannons.


    In this era, the Alliance¡¯s Standing Army was one of the few military units that possessed a sense of military honor.


    For the Standing Army, losing a regimental banner was equal not only to a court-martial but also to an immense disgrace.


    Throwing the regimental banner was a commander¡¯s last resort. It meant the battle had reached its final moment, and everyone had to fight with a resolve to either retrieve the banner or die trying.


    Ignoring his own safety, Lieutenant Laszlo charged toward the cannons, and the other halberdiers, eyes red with fury, recklessly rushed towards the banner, ultimately shattering the Herders¡¯ formation.


    The Herders¡¯ four cannons were quickly neutralized.


    Colonel Laszlo in the large phalanx felt his heart being torn apart. Watching his son disappear like a pebble into the waves, his vision darkened and he fell heavily from the saddle.


    ¡°Where are the reinforcements?¡±


    All the senior officers were asking this question in their minds.


    Behind a hill on the western side of the battlefield, Winters wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Colonel Jeska, ¡°They should be right ahead, I can hear something.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s battalion and all other auxiliary troops who could ride a horse¡ªmore accurately, who wouldn¡¯t be killed falling off one¡ªwere all present.


    Fortunately, the horses captured from the Herders were well-trained.


    A long ¡°Dragon Cavalry¡± line ended with two eight-horse-drawn wagons carrying two heavy six-pounder long cannons, each weighing 450 kilograms.


    Lieutenant Mason had brought all four of his ¡°daughters¡±¡ªfour light long cannons¡ªinto play.


    However, two of the wagons broke an axle en route, and in the end, only two ¡°daughters¡± made it to the battlefield.


    ¡°The main battle holds everything. Once it begins, all scattered forces must converge towards the central battlefield.¡±


    Thanks to Colonel Jeska¡¯s unexpectedly strong initiative, reinforcements arrived at the battlefield in a way no one had anticipated.


    And there was yet another unexpected development unfolding.


    Inside a huge felt tent at the very center of Bianli City, a dozen Shaman Priests adorned with colored woven garments, totemic bone masks, and decorated all over with bones, feathers, stones, and ribbons, sat around a campfire.


    The siege outside was reaching a fever pitch, with the deafening noise of gunfire, cannon fire, and blasting,


    yet inside the tent, all was eerily silent except for the crackling of the fire.


    A Shaman Priest entered from outside, reverently holding a still-beating horse¡¯s heart.


    The lead Shaman took the heart, and his hands were stained red with blood.


    Another Shaman threw a handful of powder into the flames, and the tent suddenly filled with smoke.


    The lead Shaman placed the heart on a golden tray, raised his dagger high, and plunged it down fiercely.


    The other Shamans, as if awakened from a deep slumber, began chanting in low, strange guttural tones¡ªa scene eerily entrancing and mystical.


    At the same time, a secret door on the northern wall of Bianli City exploded open.


    An agile azure horse was the first to charge through the smoke, its rider clad in striking crimson armor.


    Hundreds of elite Herder knights followed the red-armored rider, streaming out of the breach in the wall, heading straight for the Confluence River.


    All eyes were drawn to this sudden turn of events.


    Seeing the red armor and the azure horse, the morale of the Herders on the battlefield surged, and they shouted in fervor: ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Is that the Barbarian Chief Yasin?¡± Sekler¡¯s pupils dilated suddenly, and he couldn¡¯t help but mutter to himself.


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 Chapter 461: 72 Confrontation_4

    Chapter 461: Chapter 72 Confrontation_4


    ¡°`


    After playing a long-distance game for so long, this was Sekler¡¯s first time facing his opponent directly.


    ¡°Is that the White Lion? Why is he wearing red armor?¡± Winters on the hillside was baffled, ¡°Why is he charging into the river again??¡±


    What did the White Lion want to do? Winters soon understood. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although the river water did not freeze in winter, it was still bitterly cold.


    Yet the knight in red armor rode his horse into the Confluence River, intending to swim across while embracing the horse¡¯s neck¡ªand wearing armor.


    ...


    Due to the angle of view, most people on the battlefield could not see what was happening in the river.


    Standing on the western slope, Winters could see everything clearly:


    The river was only a dozen meters wide, but the red-armored knight was washed away by the torrent for at least fifty meters, several times his head was submerged and then he surfaced again, barely making it to the dry bank, a hair¡¯s breadth from death.


    Other Herders on the battlefield only saw the red-armored knight with his green horse disappear on the opposite bank of the river, then suddenly reappear on this side of the bank.


    ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin!¡± The cheering grew even more heated, piercing the sky.


    The elite Herder cavalry following the White Lion also waded into the river, with some being swept away by the undercurrent and others reaching the opposite bank.


    As the White Lion led the elite cavalry towards the battlefield, inside the central tent in Bianli City, the ritual had entered its most crucial part.


    The leading Shaman priest beat the lion-skin drum, dancing a dance that was frenzied, trance-like, yet carried a special kind of beauty.


    The other Shaman priests joined the dance one after another.


    Winters only felt a cold breeze sweeping over his body, making him involuntarily want to wrap his clothes tighter.


    Just as he was about to ask others if they felt the same, a severe phantom pain suddenly appeared for no reason.


    He hadn¡¯t entered a spellcasting state, yet the phantom pain couldn¡¯t be fake.


    Winters clenched his teeth tightly, let out an inhuman scream, and involuntarily curled into a tight ball.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska beside him was shocked and pale, not knowing what to do.


    Within Major Robert¡¯s formation, Lieutenant Roy also grabbed his head, screaming as he fell off his saddle.


    Not only Winters and Roy, but all the Alliance Spellcasters within a two-kilometer radius were tormented by intense phantom pains to the point of being incapacitated, and some of the weaker Spellcasters even fainted on the spot.


    Inside the central tent in Bianli City, there were also Shaman priests collapsing during the dance.


    Blood constantly trickled from the corners of the leading Shaman priest¡¯s eyes and nose, yet his dance became even more intense and fervent.


    ¡°No! No!¡± Winters had only one thought left: ¡°No! No!¡±


    He concentrated all his spirit, focusing his consciousness on one point: ¡°No! Refuse! Stop!¡±


    It was like a guitar string snapping, and it almost seemed he could actually hear a ¡°snap¡±¡ªWinters suddenly broke free from the phantom pain, his whole body soaked in sweat.


    The first thing he saw were the concerned and worried faces of others.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Jeska¡¯s brow was furrowed, ¡°What happened?¡±


    Winters felt a chill on his cheek, he touched his left face, water?


    Was it sweat?


    Winters extended his hand to the sky, sharply feeling more cold droplets falling onto his palm.


    High in the sky, within the dense dark clouds, at a place no one could see, countless almost invisible tiny droplets were rapidly forming in the air.


    The more water vapor they absorbed, the bigger the droplets became. Until they were too large to float in the air, they all plunged toward the ground.


    ¡°Rain covers!¡± Winters struggled to get up, he shouted hoarsely, ¡°Rain covers! Get the rain covers!¡±


    The others sensed the anomaly too; Lieutenant Mason sprinted towards the cannons and powder kegs, stripping off his clothes as he ran.


    But for most on the battlefield, it was already too late.


    The transformation from a few droplets to a downpour seemed to happen in an instant.


    The deluge came so swiftly and ferociously that there was no time to react.


    Matchlocks were extinguished, gunpowder was soaked, the blazing fires of Bianli turned to wisps of smoke, and all the gunpowder weapons were rendered useless.


    The six assault squads attacking the city withdrew in disarray under the onslaught of the heavy rain.


    Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Confluence River, thousands of Herder cavalry were launching an unstoppable charge towards the Paratu formation.


    The White Lion in red-armored green horse led the way.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 462: 73: Charge

    Chapter 462: Chapter 73: Charge


    The torrential rain rendered the gunpowder useless, and half of the Paratu soldiers¡¯ weapons became nothing more than clubs, but the other half of the Paratu soldiers¡¯ weapons remained faithful and reliable.


    For the Paratu army, the blow to morale caused by the downpour was far greater than the actual combat losses it inflicted.


    ¡°Paratu People! Summon your courage!¡± Officers of all ranks strove to maintain order, running through the formations shouting, ¡°Hold the line!¡±


    Sekler was personally waving the eagle flag to boost morale.


    ¡°Hold steady! Children! Hold steady!¡± Sekler urged the musketeers to draw their swords and fight; his voice was so hoarse that it was barely audible as he continued to shout, ¡°Hold your ground! Not a devil can harm a hair on your head! But if you run, it will devour each and every one of you!¡±


    Compared to the astonishing noise of the torrential rain, another blow suffered by the Paratu army seemed minor, but the destruction it caused was no less devastating than the rainfall.


    ...


    Within the four formations, all the spellcaster officers had been incapacitated, and three of them had even lost consciousness.


    Those spellcasters who were unconscious were actually fortunate, because those who remained awake were trapped in excruciating phantom pains, enduring a fate worse than death.


    Lieutenant Roy screamed like a dying beast; he lay in the mud, his body convulsing uncontrollably.


    The men around him searched his whole body but found no wounds.


    Roy himself felt as though he was repeatedly being dipped into a cauldron of boiling oil.


    His consciousness was extremely clear, so clear that he could feel the unbearable severity of phantom pains.


    The others were as frantic as ants on a hot pan, watching Lieutenant Roy suffer, unsure of what to do.


    Robert dashed over and covered the lieutenant with his coat.


    The colonel then used his dagger to cut off a piece of his sleeve and ordered the soldiers around him to pry open Roy¡¯s clenched teeth; he bunched up the piece of sleeve and stuffed it into his mouth.


    It was to prevent Lieutenant Roy from biting his tongue, as well as to prevent him from making any more sounds that could destroy the will of others.


    Roy bit the cloth, moaning in low whimpers, his seven-foot frame huddled into a small ball beneath the cashmere coat.


    ¡°Carry the lieutenant to the center of the formation!¡± Robert, in his one-sleeved shirt, took over the military standard, ¡°Protect him well!¡±


    The Paratu army communicated orders with flags, horns, and small drums, but the information that could be conveyed by flag signals, calls, and drum sounds was limited.


    More refined battle commands heavily relied on the assistance of spellcasters.


    Now, with the spellcaster officers within the formations incapacitated, it was as if an important means of battle communication for the Paratu army had been destroyed.


    The sounds of rain, hooves, and shouting merged into one, making any order Sekler wanted to give impossible to convey with precision.


    The Paratu army¡¯s only remaining spellcaster¡ªWinters Montagne at this point was unaware of this; he was not within the formation.


    Having disconnected the ¡°link¡± very early on, Winters had not ¡°overloaded¡± this time.


    The phantom pain came quickly and left even faster. He was still feeling intermittent stabs of pain, but the intensity was not unbearable; he could grit his teeth and endure.


    When Winters, Mason, and others pushed the two cannons up the slope, the Paratu army was in its most critical moment.


    The four-thousand-man formations were compressed and bent; the northern formation was even on the verge of turning into a triangle.


    But the Paratu people were as resilient as steel bars.


    Under immense external force, the steel bar, although already emitting piercing creaks, stubbornly held on, not yet collapsing.


    Not many warhorses dared to charge into the sharp spear forest, and the Herders were equally hesitant.


    The horses became a nuisance, with some ferocious Herder centurions simply dismounting to fight on foot.


    Depending on their sturdy armor, they used shields and scabbards to fend off spear tips, forcing their way into the spear forest and swinging their scimitars to slaughter the Paratu people.


    Other brave Herder soldiers followed suit; those without armor crawled under the spaces below the spear shafts.


    Sword-and-shield-wielding Paratu soldiers rushed out of the formation to intercept the enemy; the two sides battled within the forest of spear shafts.


    Some Herder cavalry dismounted but kept their distance, instead displaying their signature skills: [powerful bows and heavy arrows, shooting faces from ten steps away].


    Rainwater could cause composite bows to delaminate, but they could still be used with some effort. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the Paratu soldiers, now without the cover of muskets, essentially had no means of retaliation.


    They could only watch helplessly as the Herder archers drew their bows and aimed their arrows at unprotected parts like their eyes, armpits, and calves¡ªmost of the spearmen were only half armored.


    Unable to bear the pressure of watching themselves being shot to death, some Paratu soldiers roared as they rushed out of the formation, heading towards the Herder archers.


    Yet once they left the protection of their formation, they were quickly surrounded and killed by the Herders.


    Winters saw the White Lion and several Green Plumed Feathers commanding on the western side of the formation; the crimson armor and iridescent warhorses were particularly conspicuous in the rain.


    Under their command, the Herders breached gaps between the formations, forcing each formation to spread outwards.


    Winters understood at a glance: the White Lion was trying to split up the T-shaped four formations, preventing them from covering each other, then defeating them one by one.


    And the Paratu army¡¯s only hope was to concentrate their forces, bringing the four formations together into one large formation to face the enemy.


    But under the pressure of the Herders¡¯ heavy troops, the Paratu people dared not make any move.


    Both sides were still engaged in bloody combat, with each formation under immense pressure. At this time, changing formation was equivalent to confusing their own deployment, giving the enemy an opportunity to exploit.


    The Paratu people needed time¡­ time to catch their breath.


    Jeska¡¯stroops were assembling on the reverse slope of the hill.


    Colonel Jeska used a few brief and to the point sentences for the pre-battle mobilization


    Rescuing Sekler¡¯s troops was the same as saving themselves.


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 Chapter 463: 73 Charge_2

    Chapter 463: Chapter 73 Charge_2


    ¡°`


    Defeat in the main battle renders victories on subordinate fronts meaningless. When the main force is annihilated, auxiliary troops will not survive either.


    Mason and Winters were busying themselves around a cannon.


    ¡°Can the ammunition be used?¡± Colonel Jeska came over and asked.


    ¡°The shells are fine! There¡¯s only a little gunpowder left.¡± Mason¡¯s lips were trembling as he cursed, ¡°Damn! What kind of weather is this! It starts raining just like that! And in winter too!¡±


    ¡°Is it still possible to fire?¡± the colonel asked again.


    ...


    ¡°I can.¡± Winters gritted his teeth and answered, ¡°I¡¯ll use magic to ignite it through the tarp, as long as no water gets into the bore.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then fire them all!¡± Colonel Jeska¡¯s tone remained cool as usual, and with those words left.


    His expression was also the usual, impassive, betraying no hint of emotions, with only his remaining right eye fixedly staring at people.


    Yet it was this very face that normally made people avert their gaze, that now brought everyone an odd sense of stability.


    The irritated Mason kicked a carriage fiercely, and sullenly said, ¡°If I can survive and get home this time, I swear I¡¯ll never use this kind of junk carriage again!¡±


    Four cannons set off at the beginning, but only two remained upon arrival at the battlefield.


    For most of the artillery, the barrel and the carriage required separate transportation.


    Some light artillery had their own carriages and could be directly towed.


    But these four six-pounder long cannons meant for defending the fort had none, so they were brought on ordinary horse-drawn carriages.


    Even if there were gun carriages, the [suspensions] and [bearings] were insufficient to support fast and long-distance travel.


    The carriages of the time consisted of wooden wheels on iron axles, moving as if at a snail¡¯s pace, with creaking sounds audible from a mile away.


    They couldn¡¯t even keep up with the pace of foot soldiers, let alone follow Colonel Jeska¡¯s ¡°Dragon Cavalry¡± troops on the march.


    Hence, ¡°my beautiful daughters,¡± as Lieutenant Mason referred to his cannons, used makeshift carriages adapted from passenger horse-drawn carriages.


    For comfortable riding, passenger carriages were equipped with expensive [leather strap suspenders] and even pricier [cage ball bearings]¡ªearly versions of ball bearings.


    Despite having suspensions and bearings, even just transporting light artillery weighing 450 kilograms resulted in two carriages getting trashed along the rough way.


    ¡°What about the shrapnel shells?¡± Winters suddenly remembered, ¡°Have they gotten wet?¡±


    Mason dumped the rainwater from his helmet beside his feet, ¡°No, they¡¯re all fine. But if the rain doesn¡¯t stop, you won¡¯t be able to use them either.¡±


    On the battlefield, people¡¯s vision was obstructed by the rain, temporarily preventing anyone from noticing a squad of Paratu soldiers behind a hill about six hundred meters away.


    Mason set up a tarpaulin over the cannon and began to load it with the gunners.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Mason, ¡°It¡¯s likely we only have one chance to fire¡­ we can¡¯t do it here¡­¡±


    At this critical juncture, five officers from Jeska¡¯s troops drafted a new battle strategy in the rain.


    Mason roared, ¡°Damn it! Double the charge! Two rounds of ammunition! Let¡¯s do this!¡±


    All those able to ride were ordered to retrieve their horses, and amidst the crowd, Winters caught sight of Pierre.


    Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell no longer looked anything like the noble Dusack.


    Now, Pierre¡¯s eye sockets were sunken, his cheeks gaunt, and his cheekbones protruded prominently.


    He was frowning, biting on a tassel, and silently and meticulously arranging his saddle.


    His companions¡ªthe once laughing and frolicking kids from Wolf Town¡ªwere all the same.


    No, to be precise, they were no longer children.


    Winters blinked, and just like that, they had all grown up.


    Noticing the Centurion watching him, Pierre took off his helmet and held it to his chest, nodding in salutation.


    Winters nodded back.


    The two, separated by a dozen meters, thus silently greeted each other.


    The preparations were quickly finished.


    Taking a dozen or so gunners, Winters and Mason pushed the gun carriages down the slope, with the others standing by on the counterslope.


    The vent and the muzzle of the cannons were covered with leather, and the barrel was concealed by tarps.


    All those pushing the gun carriages were temporarily dressed in Herder armor, looking like a troop of Herders from a distance.


    Since it was necessary to be able to fire at a moment¡¯s notice, horses couldn¡¯t be used to drag the cannon, so everyone relied on manpower alone to push.


    First, it was downhill, with Winters clutching the carriage frame, cautiously controlling the speed.


    Afterward, as the slope leveled off, progress became increasingly difficult; everyone chanted in low voices, advancing at walking speed.


    Fifty meters, a hundred meters, two hundred meters¡­


    Although it was still raining, those pushing the cannons were already drenched in sweat. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was sweat from the heat and sweat from fear.


    The further they pushed, the more frequently Herder cavalry passed by their sides.


    The chaotic sounds of battle filled the area, and most of the Herder cavalry couldn¡¯t be bothered with the handful of cart-pushers, narrowly zooming past the cannons.


    Occasionally a Herder would speak up, but Winters didn¡¯t let Bell reply, just waved through the curtain of rain and continued pushing forward.


    The closer they pushed the two cannons towards the rider in red armor on a green horse, the nearer they got.


    When they were less than a hundred meters away from the red-armored, green-horse rider, Mason called a halt.


    The artillery lieutenant whispered, ¡°Stop pushing, this distance is perfect. If we push any closer, the killing range will actually decrease.¡±


    Then, Mason crouched behind the cannon, starting to adjust the firing angle.


    Winters, Mason, two gun carriages and a dozen or so gunners were now practically among the Herders.


    Rows of Herder cavalry galloped past them; the slightest mistake in revealing their identity and they would be utterly destroyed.


    But this was the last resort; the Paratu phalanx was disintegrating, and they had to resort to desperate measures.


    The gunners were tense, their heads bowed as they stared at the muddy water on the ground, swallowing saliva continuously.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± Winters, gritting his teeth, asked, ¡°Is it set yet?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 464: 73 Charge_3

    Chapter 464: Chapter 73 Charge_3


    ¡°That guy is making a move!¡± Mason also gritted his teeth in response, ¡°What can I do if he moves?¡±


    The cavalryman in red armor and on a green horse stood atop a mound on the west side of the square formation, pacing back and forth on his horse as if issuing commands.


    Manning the firecannon, Mason followed the adversary¡¯s movements, making slight adjustments to the angle.


    The most dreaded events often happen at the least desired times.


    A Hong Lingyu, accompanied by a dozen cavalrymen, charged over furiously, shouting, ¡°Herde Language] You armoured soldiers dare to falter in battle? Who¡¯s in charge?¡±


    ¡°Herde Language] We did not falter, our leader is Eagle!¡± Bell answered.


    ...


    [Note: Eagle is a commonly used name among the Herders]


    The Hong Lingyu, without slowing down, demanded, ¡°Herde Language] Too many Eagles?! Which one?¡±


    Seeing the Hong Lingyu approaching, Winters steeled his heart, grabbed Mason¡¯s shoulder, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll make him stop; make sure you aim well!¡±


    ¡°How will you get him to stop?¡± Mason responded in utter shock.


    Winters took a deep breath, entering a state to cast spells.


    Despite the lingering phantom pain, he poured all his magical power into a roar, ¡°Yasin!!!¡±


    This roar erupted like thunder, sweeping across the wasteland, audible to every Herder within Bianli City.


    Both sides engaged in the fight even involuntarily paused, the knight on the green horse also couldn¡¯t help but look toward the source of the sound.


    Winters only felt warmth in his left ear; upon touching it, his hand came away bloody.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is not something you¡¯re worthy of calling out!¡± raged the Hong Lingyu who had regained his senses.


    ¡°Is it ready now?¡± Winters stared intently at the man in red armor.


    ¡°This one¡¯s ready!¡± Mason bellowed, leaping to another firecannon.


    Winters abruptly yanked off the cover from the cannon¡¯s muzzle and, through the tarpaulin, invoked a fire spell into the gunpowder at the breech.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    The cannon¡¯s carriage broke under the force of the recoil, sending splinters flying.


    The barrel soared into the air¡ªit was only tied down to the cart with ropes¡ªflying toward the area behind Winters.


    A storm of steel swept across the battlefield; the cavalrymen to the right of the knight in red armor were wiped out, but the rider himself remained unscathed.


    After the first shot missed, Winters shouted, ¡°Again!¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Mason yelled back.


    The cover of the second six-pound bronze long cannon¡¯s muzzle was opened.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Double the powder, double the shot.


    The immense propulsive force of the burning gunpowder instantly sent one hundred and fifty spherical lead bullets flying out of the barrel, with the recoil causing the cannon to roll and bounce.


    The cloth bag filled with lead balls burst at the muzzle, scattering one hundred and fifty bullets into the air, spreading into a disc-shaped cloud of projectiles.


    Like one hundred and fifty arrows, accompanied by the shrieks of death, they flew toward the knight in red armor.


    The sudden turn of events left everyone with no time to react.


    The first cannon was still tumbling through the air and had not yet hit the ground.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion!¡± Only Chiliarch Owl Hawk instinctively lunged toward the blue-gleaming horse, using his body to shield the knight in red armor.


    ¡°Pffft,¡± ¡°Pffft,¡± ¡°Pffft¡±¡­


    A succession of horrifying sounds of lead bullets entering flesh.


    The lead bullets did not distinguish between Hong Lingyu, Red Lingyu, or Green Plumed Feathers.


    Nor did they differentiate between human and horse.


    The lead bullets were equal-opportunity destroyers of all living things.


    Everyone around the knight in red armor¡ªincluding himself¡ªwas struck down.


    The magnificent blue-gleaming warhorse was killed on the spot, along with several horses lying on the ground, wailing.


    ¡°Clang!¡± The first-fired cannon had just hit the ground.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Winters picked up a spear, knocking down the Hong Lingyu [Herde Constabulary] from the saddle in front of him.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Colonel Jeska stabbed fiercely into the horse¡¯s flank, charging out ahead of everyone from the slope.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Piaoqi Troops, Dusacks, mounted infantry¡­ over four hundred Cavalry followed the one-eyed colonel¡¯s charge from behind the hill.


    The cavalry split into two groups, the left wing following Jeska, and the right following Andre, both sides attacking toward where White Lion Yasin had fallen.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion! Save the White Lion!¡± The Herders beside the mound rushed over frantically.


    Other Herder Cavalry abandoned the formation, throwing themselves recklessly to intercept the Paratu Cavalry.


    Winters was blocked by the Herders, watching helplessly as the Herders by the mound carried off their leader in red armor, unconscious, on horseback.


    ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is dead!¡± Bell shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Herde Language] White Lion is dead!¡±


    Everyone in Jeska¡¯s unit shouted ¡°White Lion is dead,¡± as they had been taught.


    Fear and hesitation began to spread among the Herders.


    More and more Herders started to leave the battle, heading toward the remote main encampment of the Red River Tribe. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Quickly reform the formation!¡± Winters ordered sternly.


    As for whether the White Lion was truly dead, he had no certainty.


    Even if the White Lion were dead, the Herders still held an absolute advantage in forces.


    Unexpected reinforcements had given the Paratu People a moment to breathe; the four square formations, already on the verge of collapse, suddenly had the chance to regroup and rally.


    The Paratu people left behind the corpses, hurrying toward the main formation where Sekler was.


    ¡°All formations! Do not act without orders!¡± A dozen messengers ran among the formations, ¡°Musketeers! Pick up your spears! Anyone without a weapon shall be decapitated!¡±


    Gales do not last all morning, sudden rains do not last all day.


    The rain was quickly lessening, and after a brief skirmish with the Herders, Jeska¡¯s Cavalry retreated back toward the large formation.


    The Paratu army, which had not disintegrated in the previous bloodbath, now verged on breaking down as soon as the fighting paused.


    Sekler dispatched constabulary on the spot to execute more than a dozen people to stop the disorderly rush of Paratu soldiers toward the main formation.


    The officer responsible for arranging the formation was known as the ¡°Formation Leader,¡± and Sekler personally took on the role this time.


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 Chapter 465: 73 Charge_4

    Chapter 465: Chapter 73 Charge_4


    The spear and halberd units were first concentrated, beginning to redeploy.


    The musketeers stood by where they were, most holding their side swords, while a few had found long spears and heavy halberds from the bodies.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion remained outside, it wasn¡¯t their turn to enter the large square formation yet.


    Winters saw everything, anxious at heart; this was the moment when the large square formation was at its most vulnerable, even more so than before.


    What was worse, the thundering sound of hooves rose again.


    Hundreds of black-armored cavalry charged out from the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, heading straight for the Paratu square formation.


    ...


    Leading the charge was the Barbarian Chief in red armor, only now on an even more conspicuous red warhorse.


    More and more Herder cavalry followed the black-armored cavalry out of their main formation.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s cavalry from the main formation¡ªthe Herders¡¯ reserve forces¡ªalso joined in this charge.


    Finally, all the disorganized Herder cavalry were deployed.


    The Herder general clearly understood that if the large square formation were allowed to form again¡­ whose morale would collapse first was still uncertain.


    Although the Herders were chaotic at the moment, the Paratu army was even more disordered.


    The Herder general intended to fight chaos with chaos.


    Officers could no longer restrain their soldiers, and the Paratu People surged into the large square formation, nearly collapsing the yet-to-be-arranged formation.


    ¡°All who hold long weapons! To the outside!¡± Sekler roared to the sky, ¡°Alpad! If you don¡¯t come now, we are all going to die here!¡±


    The rain stopped completely at this moment.


    Winters felt the earth trembling.


    The Herders were turning around! Something must have happened!


    ¡°Our cavalry!¡± someone shouted with surprise.


    Behind the Herder cavalry, thousands of Paratu cavalry were launching a charge like an avalanche.


    From afar, it looked like a long line constantly moving and pushing forward.


    Rows of warhorses charged at full speed, their manes fluttering in the wind, their heads bowed during the fierce charge, the earth trembling beneath their hooves, as if it might tear apart any second.


    Leading this charge was a squadron of lancers, the Alliance¡¯s last of the heavy armored lancers.


    On the flanks of the lancers were pistol-armed cavalry for protection, followed by light cavalry.


    Thousands of Paratu cavalry formed a huge wedge formation.


    Irresistible, invincible.


    Everyone on the battlefield who saw this would never forget the terror and magnificence of this charge for the rest of their lives.


    At the very front of the spearhead, Major General Alpad raised his lance and yelled with delight, ¡°Come on! Children! Come! Warriors of Paratu! Sekler is still waiting for us to save his ass!¡±


    The clouds parted, and a ray of sunlight shone upon Alpad, his armor gleaming brilliantly as if he were divine.


    The bugler sounded the charge.


    ¡°Long live the Legion! Long live Paratu!¡± The Paratu cavalry roared the battle cry that had brought fear and death to their enemies for hundreds of years: ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    The main force of the Paratu army¡­ has never been infantry.


    It¡¯s just that the main force¡¯s great flanking maneuver took some time and effort.


    And Sekler¡¯s reliance was never on square formation tactics; it was Alpad who gave Sekler the confidence to face over ten thousand Herder cavalry with a legion standing back to the river.


    Sekler and Alpad.


    [Ice] and [Fire].


    [Anvil] and [Hammer].


    General Yanosh relied on these two weapons, time and again sweeping across the wilderness.


    Now, Paratu¡¯s [Anvil] and [Hammer] were about to smash the Herders in one fell swoop.


    ¡­


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± Inside the square formation, the Paratu People were moved to tears.


    The Herder cavalry instantly fell into panic, some turning to face the charge, while others tried to flee the battlefield.


    ¡°Deploy the square formation!¡± Sekler bellowed, ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    No one cared about formations anymore, the Paratu People picked up any weapon they could lay their hands on and attacked the bewildered Herders.


    Even Jeska¡¯s battalion of mounted infantry were boiling with blood, charging forward with shouts.


    The Herder cavalry instantly fell into panic, some turning to face the charge, while others tried to flee the battlefield.


    The cavalry of both sides collided with a thunderous impact.


    The Herders turning to face battle were like butter sliced by a hot knife, instantly split into two.


    The impact of the Herders¡¯ warhorses was far inferior to that of the Paratu¡¯s heavy warhorses; the ones in front nearly collapsed upon contact.


    The Paratu cavalry charged wildly, like a scythe sweeping through a wheat-field, pistols emptied, lances dropped, they immediately drew their sabers to stab and hack.


    Soon, the momentum of the charge slowed, and the battle turned into a melee.


    Light cavalry, heavy cavalry, Paratu cavalry, Herder cavalry, all chased and fought each other over the vast wilderness, exchanging blows.


    Haug led his squadron of heavy cavalry into the Red River Tribe¡¯s main formation, straight towards where the standards flew.


    The old chief Tie Duo hurriedly fled after putting the injured White Lion on a horseback. He didn¡¯t even have time to take the horse-tail standard.


    The White Lion was wounded, but not mortally. It was the White Lion¡¯s brother, Little Lion, who had charged in red armor just before.


    Haug pressed all the way to the standard, riding down the flagpole with his warhorse.


    The morale of the Herders on the battlefield completely collapsed, and they scattered and ran in all directions.


    Winters didn¡¯t chase the fleeing enemies; he was very tired and just wanted a good sleep. Besides, his left ear seemed to have gone deaf.


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 Chapter 466: 74: Entering the City

    Chapter 466: Chapter 74: Entering the City


    In the makeshift medical station, Bard was examining Winters¡¯s left ear injury.


    Understanding the structure of hearing organs involves anatomical knowledge, which probably only Father Caman within a hundred kilometers understands, so Bard couldn¡¯t figure it out.


    ¡°Am I going to be deaf like this?¡± Winters asked with a mix of bitterness and grievance.


    ¡°No,¡± Bard comforted. ¡°Major Moritz recovered completely in the end.¡±


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. Bleeding means there¡¯s a wound, so don¡¯t touch it. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ...


    After settling Winters, Bard began treating the other wounded.


    According to military regulations, the medical station should be set up at the safe rear. However, Bard found that the sooner the wounded received treatment, the better¡ªeven if it was just the simplest treatment.


    Thus, his temporary medical station was set up on the battlefield: carts served as operation tables, stretchers were made with long spears, and the tools were just small knives, pliers, and sewing needles.


    When Standing Army soldiers were taken back to the main camp for treatment, Jeska¡¯s militia could remove arrowheads, take out lead bullets, and sew up sword cuts in the temporary medical station.


    However, amputation and other surgical procedures needed to be done at the legionary medical station. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Within three minutes, Bard saw Winters rushing into the medical station again.


    ¡°But Major had both ears, I only have the left¡­¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry,¡± Bard replied while stitching.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Three minutes later.


    ¡°How do you know it¡¯s nothing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    Another three minutes passed.


    ¡°What if I can¡¯t recover? Am I really going to be deaf? I¡­¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t, just don¡¯t touch it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Another three minutes went by.


    Winters ran into the medical station once again.


    ¡°Give me a break,¡± Bard said with a wry smile.


    ¡°We¡¯re ordered to clean the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Do I have to go too?¡±


    ¡°That.¡± Winters scratched his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you come here?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to ask¡­ are you really sure I¡¯m okay¡­¡±


    ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡­


    Some say: after a great battle, there comes a great rain.


    But this time was different.


    The rainfall had already been spent in advance, and as the sounds of slaughter gradually disappeared, the long-absent sun finally showed its true face.


    The bright sunshine spread across the earth, bringing a touch of warmth.


    The raindrops on the grass leaves reflected specks of light, making the wasteland seem covered in a sheer veil.


    The beauty of the battlefield made everything seem unreal, only the cold corpses remorselessly reminded people of what had just happened here.


    Paratu soldiers were spaced out in two loose lines, cleaning the battlefield.


    Cleaning the battlefield meant collecting usable items, delivering mercy to dying enemies, and making sure the dead enemies were thoroughly dead.


    General Sekler didn¡¯t even give time for rest, as soon as the fighting within his view had ended, he urged all soldiers who could move to start work.


    Jeska¡¯s militia were also among those cleaning the battlefield, and after several ¡°exercises,¡± everyone was very proficient at this job¡ªperhaps even more than the Standing Army.


    Everyone carried both long and short weapons. Upon encountering enemy corpses, they first used the long weapons to strike, then used short knives to cut off ears for merit.


    Winters, riding strong Fergus, followed behind a single-horse cart.


    From time to time, militia would put bloody armor and weapons onto the cart. There were those of Herders and also their own.


    Andre and Mason rode abreast with him, chatting sporadically.


    As Winters stroked Fergus¡¯s mane, he casually remarked, ¡°There should definitely be a cavalry unit attached to each battalion.¡±


    Andre couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, ¡°Assigning a cavalry unit to an infantry battalion? Might as well say assigning an infantry battalion to a cavalry unit. You¡¯re not considering the costs.¡±


    ¡°To put it differently, mixing cavalry and infantry at the battalion level would be useful.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense, cavalry is always useful, having four legs is indeed faster than two. But cavalry cannot be dispersed; they must be concentrated. They could be assigned to infantry battalions depending on the situation.¡± Andre summed up, ¡°The reason you have this impression is that we¡¯ve always operated independently.¡±


    Winters looked thoughtfully at Mason, ¡°Senior, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Not enough belts. If the axle is strong enough, maybe we can do without suspension. But the cannons and carriages need to be lighter,¡± Mason said, tossing out a seemingly unrelated sentence.


    With a teasing tone, Andre asked, ¡°Still pondering your daughter¡¯s affairs?¡±


    Mason, without batting an eyelid, shot back, ¡°You two are going on about combining cavalry and infantry, but what about adding artillery into the mix?¡±


    ¡°First, the cannons need to keep up with the marching speed¡ªnot even with the cavalry, but at least they should keep up with the infantry, right?¡± Andre patted his senior¡¯s shoulder, speaking in a carefree manner, ¡°Why are we three little Centurions studying these matters?¡±


    ¡°Right! Why bother studying these? Once back in Paratu, won¡¯t I still end up raising pigs?¡± Mason burst into laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.


    Winters felt sorrowful inside and softly consoled his senior, ¡°True gold always shines in the end.¡±


    Mason just shook his head with a smile without saying a word.


    The loose double lines kept moving forward.


    A militiaman waved his hand and shouted, ¡°Sir! We found a survivor!¡±


    ¡°Can he speak?¡± Andre asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Take him to the Colonel.¡±


    Whether or not a Herder prisoner of war could speak was a dividing line determining their life or death.


    When it came to executing prisoners, Vineta¡¯s military was relatively restrained. They didn¡¯t do it unless necessary.


    As for the Paratu People, they had no psychological burden in executing Herder prisoners. Whether to keep prisoners alive depended entirely on transport capacity, battle conditions, and the mood of the commander.


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 Chapter 467: 74 Entering the City_2

    Chapter 467: Chapter 74 Entering the City_2


    ¡°`


    Unbeknownst to themselves, Winters and his companions gradually became assimilated into the cruel customs of the ¡°frontiersmen¡±.


    A messenger Cavalry with green plumed feathers approached from afar, loudly asking everywhere, ¡°Where is Jeska¡¯s company?¡±


    Winters beckoned the messenger over.


    The messenger respectfully asked, ¡°May I know which one of you is Officer Montaigne? Which one is Officer Mason?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The general wants to see both of you.¡±


    ¡­


    The messenger Cavalry led the two Centurions at a gallop.


    ¡°General?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but speculate wildly, ¡°Alpad? Sekler? What do they want with me?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t until he arrived that he realized there was a problem with the messenger¡¯s grammar. It wasn¡¯t ¡°the general¡±, but ¡°the generals¡±.


    Alpad and Sekler were both surrounded by a host of field officers, with Lieutenant Colonel Jeska also present.


    Winters felt uncomfortable all over, for he noticed that the field officers were staring intently at him and Mason, some with eyes green with envy.


    He also noticed that the two generals were standing on the small mound that had been shelled where Yasin, the White Lion, had been hit.


    ¡°You two lads, what are you standing around for?¡± General Alpad called out to the two Centurions with a swagger: ¡°Come here!¡±


    The small area looked very tragic, with dead bodies of men and horses scattered about. Combined with the rain and trampling, it had turned into a quagmire.


    Disfigured bodies soaked in the mud, beginning to turn pale.


    Winters¡¯ attention was drawn to an arm.


    The arm was stuck forlornly in the mud¡ªapparently a left hand¡ªpointing towards the sky.


    As for the rest of the body¡­ who knows where it had gone.


    Whether the arm left the body or the body left the arm was also hard to determine.


    Would a butcher be moved by the sight of a slaughterhouse?


    Winters didn¡¯t know, but he did feel something indescribable¡ªnot guilt, but neither joy.


    Alpad leaned on a cavalry saber and pointed at the corpse of a shiny horse, sizing up the two men and asking, ¡°Jeska tells me it was you two lads who fired the shot that killed Yasin?¡±


    Jeska nodded slightly towards Winters.


    ¡°We fired the cannon, general,¡± Winters answered straightforwardly. ¡°But the enemy chieftain Yasin should not be dead.¡±


    Alpad clapped his hands and laughed, ¡°The prisoner confessed that Yasin was severely injured, might well be dead by now.¡±


    The Major General kicked a helmet with Green Plumed Feathers at his feet, jokingly saying, ¡°Whether Yasin¡¯s dead or not, your shot made him bleed profusely. You killed four Chiliarchs with one shot! If I hadn¡¯t counted four helmets myself, I would have thought Jeska was drunk.¡±


    ¡°It was due to Lieutenant Colonel Jeska¡¯s proper command,¡± Mason gave the standard answer.


    ¡°Jeska comes from a Cavalry background, what does he know about firing a cannon?¡± Alpad scoffed, pointing with his cavalry saber to a body on the ground: ¡°Especially this savage, do you know who he is?¡±


    Winters and Mason naturally did not know.


    The armor on the body was dented and punctured with dense patterns from the lead balls, turning the man virtually into a honeycomb.


    ¡°This man is called [Bogli], meaning [Owl Hawk]. He was Yasin¡¯s [Haug Koda], that is, his personal guard Chiliarch. By killing him, you have effectively severed one of Yasin¡¯s arms.¡±


    Winters had a slight impression; between the first and second cannon shots, it should have been this man who dashed recklessly in front of Yasin to protect him.


    He wanted to see the face of this brave warrior, but the Owl Hawk¡¯s features had been obliterated.


    ¡°You two have made a great contribution, and I want to reward you!¡± Alpad didn¡¯t beat around the bush, he straightforwardly said, ¡°If you were Paratu People, even a three-rank promotion would not be excessive. But you¡¯re foreigners, so I obviously can¡¯t just elevate your military ranks.¡±


    ¡°Bogli¡¯s battle saber is yours,¡± Alpad tossed the curved saber he had been leaning on to Mason: ¡°You are a United Provincial, I will let you return to The Federated Provinces.¡±


    ¡°And you,¡± Alpad took out a shiny object from between his breastplate and chainmail, tossing it to Winters: ¡°This is yours from now on! Catch!¡±


    The thing was heavy in his hand¡ªa finely crafted flask. It was flat and square with smoothed edges.


    A flask? What¡¯s the meaning of this? Winters was somewhat puzzled.


    But he was too lazy to think about it. Since Alpad dared to give, he dared to take.


    And the Major General wasn¡¯t wrong¡ªonly the truth stings like that.


    If they offered a medal, Winters would take it; if it was a flask, he would take it too; if gold and silver were offered, Winters would grab them even more eagerly.


    But if it were a field officer¡¯s position, Winters would rather not accept it.


    ¡­


    The military ranks of the Republics were interconnected and levelled.


    In principle, all military personnel of the Alliance were under one large framework.


    Even the promotion of alliance nation officers had to be documented and sent to the Allied Army¡¯s headquarters for approval, a mere formality.


    By the rules, when military personnel transfer, it¡¯s done laterally. A Paratu field officer going to Vineta remains a field officer.


    Earning merits in Paratu and then returning to Vineta as an officer? Isn¡¯t that akin to being roasted on a fire?


    Instead, the current situation, where Winters felt more comfortable and at ease, was better.


    Although Alpad wasn¡¯t polite in his words, judging by his actions, he was considering it from the perspective of Venetians. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Winters thanked him and casually pocketed the flask.


    Meanwhile, Mason looked up abruptly and said, ¡°General, please let me stay in Paratu.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Alpad¡¯s eyebrows raised: ¡°You don¡¯t want to go home?¡±


    ¡°I do, dreaming of it,¡± Mason replied word for word: ¡°But in The Federated Provinces, I¡¯m even worse off than a foreigner.¡±


    Alpad laughed heartily, and other Paratu officers joined in the laughter, only Jeska among a few others did not laugh.


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 468: 74: Entering the City_3

    Chapter 468: Chapter 74: Entering the City_3


    The Major wiped away the tears of laughter, then suddenly his face changed, and he asked the officers around him in a cold voice, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    Everyone froze in place, silent as cicadas in cold weather.


    ¡°Was he wrong?¡± Alpad looked around and asked with a stern face, ¡°If he were from The Federated Provinces, would he still be sent to Paratu?¡±


    No one knew how to answer.


    Alpad scoffed, took the saber, and personally hung it on Mason¡¯s belt. He then patted Mason¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°From today on, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses is your home.¡±


    The Major turned his head to look at Colonel Jeska, ¡°Your battalion came to our aid through the rain, everyone will be rewarded. Take your men to Bianli, I¡¯ll let you be the first to enter the city!¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The fighting within sight had ended, but the battles outside our line of sight continued.


    The Paratu Cavalry had already set off in pursuit of the retreating enemy.


    The Herder army had collapsed, and it was the moment for the Piaoqi Troops to show their prowess.


    If the Sekler Legion were the ones defeated, not a single infantryman would escape in the vast wasteland.


    But now it was the Herders who were defeated, and they could easily break contact with their short-range mobility.


    When the Herders stick together, they are cavalry; when they flee for their lives, they become herdsmen. Whether we can expand our victory depends entirely on the skill of the Paratu Piaoqi.


    Compared to the heavily armored cavalry, the Piaoqi are unarmored, lighter, and ride swifter light horses.


    The Herder cavalry move like the wind, and the Paratu Piaoqi do the same, only quicker.


    Even before the outcome of the general battle was decided, Alpad had already dispatched men to raid the old camp of the Red River Tribe.


    No wonder the infantry faction within Paratu felt discontent; they did the toughest work, yet the honor, credit, and spoils of war mostly went to the cavalry.


    However, Jeska¡¯s battalion had no such qualms now, for they would be the first to enter Bianli.


    Being ¡°the first to enter the city¡± is a euphemism for being the first to plunder. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The White Lion had blown a large gap in the city wall, saving the Paratu People a lot of effort.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion assembled outside the breach, rubbing their hands in eagerness for the Colonel¡¯s command.


    Everyone was in high spirits, with some even coming over to ask when the Gold Man would be dug up.


    Only a few people knew the location where the Gold Man was buried, and they were all ordered to keep it a secret ¡ª though it was sure not to remain a secret.


    Previously they were blocked by the Terdon Tribe at Bridgehead Fortress, knowing the Gold Man was just outside yet unable to do anything but stare.


    Now seeing the Herders defeated, the militiamen grew restless and impatient.


    Winters could only placate them, ¡°We¡¯ll dig it up once it¡¯s safe.¡±


    In reality, the officers of Jeska¡¯s battalion were already racking their brains over the Gold Man. There was no need for a reminder from the militia.


    Should they hand it over to the legion? Or divide it amongst themselves privately?


    Handing it over to the legion was the simplest course of action, but they might end up getting only a leg as a reward.


    Dividing it privately risked letting word slip out, and someone might get greedy. Besides, dividing two tons of gold into hundreds of portions isn¡¯t easy.


    And then there¡¯s the question of whether the Gold Man is considered a large or small item. This is a ¡°legal¡± problem.


    According to unwritten rules, small spoils of war go to private individuals while large spoils go to the state.


    Gold and silver are generally considered small items because nobody creates gold and silver objects of exceptional size.


    Items like gold and silver coins, scabbards, arm rings, those who take them keep them ¡ª it¡¯s only fair.


    The definition of the gold and silver ritual objects captured by Jeska¡¯s battalion is more ambiguous.


    The Colonel turned in three pieces, and the rest were handed out to the militia involved in the combat. The legion did not investigate further.


    But who would have thought that the Terdon Tribe would come up with a Gold Man¡­ By the gold¡¯s value, it is a small item. But by size, it is a large item.


    Winters didn¡¯t know what the best decision was, the issue was truly up to Colonel Jeska to decide.


    Let Colonel Jeska worry about the headache! Right now, Winters just wanted to explore the city.


    The battalion was fully equipped and ready, and at the Colonel¡¯s command, the militia carefully ¡°advanced¡± into Bianli.


    But the anticipated resistance and street fights did not occur; Bianli was eerily quiet without a single person on the streets.


    Standing at the breach, they didn¡¯t know what to do.


    ¡°The Herders¡¯ city isn¡¯t much different from ours,¡± Xial commented in a low voice as he surveyed the buildings and streets of Bianli, ¡°It¡¯s just a bit worse for wear.¡±


    The Herders had laid stone pavements in the inner city¡ªquite fastidious of them.


    Both sides of the stone pavements were lined with long houses with adobe walls and thatched roofs. Having been through fire and water, the rooftops and walls of the long houses bore scorched marks.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t even know what to rob!¡± Colonel Jeska scolded, exasperated, ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there like idiots. Head towards the center of the city, look for the most beautiful and luxurious houses. If you encounter an enemy, shout to alert others!¡±


    Then everyone surged in.


    The Dusack riders charged ahead, quickly disappearing at the end of the street, splashing mud on the others.


    ¡°Those little Dusack brats!¡± Jeska chuckled coldly, ¡°Robbery truly is their ancestral skill.¡±


    Winters seemed to get the gist, saying to the Colonel, ¡°I¡¯m afraid the only people from Bianli who could still fight must have broken out with White Lion, probably leaving only the elderly, women, and children in the city.¡±


    ¡°I think so too,¡± Jeska nodded.


    As they spoke, Pierre raced back from the end of the street, nearly colliding with his own people.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters¡¯s face changed as he asked loudly, ¡°Are there still remnants of the enemy?¡±


    Pierre dismounted, panting, ¡°In the city center, there¡¯s a huge tent! Even bigger than the one in Terdon¡¯s old camp!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In the center of Bianli¡¯s main city, a massive and luxurious felt tent stood conspicuously on an open space.


    Space inside the city walls is always limited, yet there were no buildings within twenty meters of the tent.


    Behind the tent, a green horse lay atop a large stone slab.


    The horse¡¯s chest was split open as if something had burst out from within. Other than that, the rest of the body was unscathed, making the scene exceptionally eerie and horrifying.


    Winters, holding a steel nail, cautiously used a curved knife to lift the tent flap.


    Smoke swirled inside the tent.


    They didn¡¯t find the second golden idol they had been hoping for; the tent only contained a pile of extinguished bonfires and bodies dressed in strange and different garments scattered across the floor.


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 Chapter 469: 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier

    Chapter 469: Chapter 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier


    ¡°`


    Seeing the corpses dressed in the garb of a Heretic Religion, Winters grew even more certain of his earlier speculation:


    The torrential downpour that nearly caused Sekler¡¯s plans to collapse was not a natural phenomenon, but a spell, a spell of such magnitude that it was beyond imagination.


    But he kept this thought to himself.


    He was no longer the naive youngster eagerly demonstrating magic to Aike, keeping secrets was the first rule for spellcasters.


    Gathered around the campfire, Winters counted a total of eight bodies.


    ...


    All were dressed in clothing adorned with animal bones, blue stones, metals, and ribbons, their limbs twisted oddly, their expressions extremely agonized.


    ¡°Hiss,¡± ¡°hiss,¡± the sound of ripping fabric echoed as the tent flaps were slashed open, the wind dispersing the tent¡¯s smoke.


    Jeska, Andre, and other military officers entered the tent with their men, momentarily struck dumb by the horrific scene inside.


    With the flaps gone, the interior of the tent brightened, and Winters was able to make out more details hidden in the darkness:


    Every inch of the tent¡¯s carpet was covered in unfamiliar symbols, ritual vessels, and pennants similarly marked were strung together with fine rope, densely hanging from the tent walls.


    ¡°A Heretic ritual?¡± Colonel Jeska asked with a frown.


    Winters nodded, ¡°That seems likely.¡±


    Xial, with sharp eyes, pointed to an area beside the fire and asked, ¡°What¡¯s that over there?¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone turned to look where he pointed, and saw a golden plate placed on a blue stone slab in front of the fire.


    The plate was filled with half-dried blood and also contained a dagger.


    ¡°That couldn¡¯t be human blood, could it?¡± Andre suddenly felt a wave of nausea.


    ¡°Probably not¡­¡± Bard¡¯s face also turned uneasy: ¡°It could be from that blue horse outside.¡±


    Winters walked over to Colonel Jeska and spoke softly, ¡°Colonel, this place is probably strange, it¡¯s best if everyone else leaves first.¡±


    Jeska pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.


    The militiamen were already reluctant to stay longer than necessary at the eerie, Heretic altar and hurriedly retreated outside the tent upon receiving the command.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters softly called to Xial, who was on his way out, ¡°Bring Bell to me.¡±


    Xial nodded and dashed off to find the young Hunter.


    Only a few military officers remained inside the tent.


    Andre looked around, the normally fearless bruiser suddenly felt his skin crawling with an inexplicable chill.


    Wrapping his arms around himself and hunching his neck, he hummed, ¡°Shall we leave too? Let¡¯s not stay in this¡­ huh? Winters! What are you doing?¡±


    Winters, who was examining the corpses, replied without looking up, ¡°We need to find out how they died, don¡¯t we?¡±


    The others watched as Winters examined one slightly stiff body from head to toe¡ªthough only through the clothes.


    Andre swallowed hard and asked, ¡°Find anything?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re indeed dead,¡± Winters responded, wiping his hands.


    ¡°No kidding!¡± Andre was on the verge of exploding, ¡°I could see that!¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what¡¯s strange¡ªthere are no other clues,¡± Winters said, his nose twitching slightly: ¡°Not a single external injury.¡±


    Andre inhaled sharply and took several unconscious steps back towards the tent entrance.


    ¡°No external injuries? Could they have been poisoned?¡± Mason also turned pale, looking at Colonel Jeska and asking, ¡°Sir, do Herders still practice human sacrifices?¡±


    Jeska gave a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯m not a Herder, how would I know.¡±


    Concerning spellcasters, Winters didn¡¯t reveal too much¡ªhe simply didn¡¯t say anything and continued examining the other bodies.


    Bard stepped back a few paces and observed one of the bodies, ¡°Why do I feel like this man died suddenly while dancing?¡±


    Only now did the officers realize: the ¡°twisted, odd¡± posture of the corpses¡­ really did resemble a certain dance.


    ¡°What sort of dance kills people?¡± Mason asked, frowning.


    Winters, too, stepped back several paces, as Bard had, trying to view the eight bodies inside the tent from an overall perspective.


    ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right!¡± Winters¡¯s face suddenly changed dramatically.


    ¡°What¡¯s not right?¡± The officers in the tent couldn¡¯t grasp what he meant.


    But Winters had already bolted out of the tent, shouting at his men, ¡°Bell! Where¡¯s Bell?¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Xial came running over, panting, with the young Hunter in tow.


    Winters grabbed the arm of the young Hunter, the force of his grip causing the boy to grimace in pain.


    ¡°Bell!¡± Winters asked urgently, ¡°What¡¯s the most important number to Herders?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bell was momentarily confused.


    Winters¡¯s impatience grew, ¡°The biggest, the most auspicious, the most solemn number! The number used for rituals.¡±


    ¡°I remember it¡¯s [three], for the offering of three sacrifices,¡± Bell tried hard to recall: ¡°At the most solemn times, three of each sacrifice, that¡¯s¡­ [nine].¡±


    Of course!


    Winters dashed back into the tent, bellowing, ¡°It¡¯s not right! There¡¯s someone missing!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Andre was lost.


    ¡°Look at these people!¡± Winters pulled Andre all the way to the edge of the tent entrance, pointing to the bodies on the ground, ¡°They¡¯re not just standing anywhere! Their positions are patterned! This dance is missing someone! It¡¯s missing a lead dancer! The lead dancer isn¡¯t dead! Find him!¡±


    Winters burst out of the tent, climbed to a high spot, and using a spell to amplify his voice, he shouted to all the militiamen, ¡°Everyone search! Look for a Herder in strange attire! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but find him! No! Go and bring me every Herder in the city!¡±


    Bell tiptoed into the tent, startled by the sight before him, he stammered, ¡°Why¡­ so many Priests¡­ how did they die?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 470: 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier_2

    Chapter 470: Chapter 75 Standing Before the Divine Arts Barrier_2


    ¡°¡±¡±


    Winters rushed over upon hearing the words and questioned urgently, ¡°Priest? Are these all the Herders¡¯ Shamans?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bell nodded frantically.


    ¡°Go find them!¡± Winters bellowed again at the militias outside the tent.


    The militias scrambled to carry out their tasks.


    Winters¡¯s emotional swings were too great, and all the officers noticed that something was amiss.


    ...


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Colonel Jeska asked.


    Winters couldn¡¯t answer, finally understanding why the secrets of the court spellcasters could be kept for thousands of years.


    Because no one wanted to share that knowledge.


    Just like Winters wasn¡¯t willing to casually share this knowledge with the Paratu People.


    Capturing a weakened user of Divine Arts was an opportunity that came once in a millennium.


    It was probably the closest anyone had come to breaching the walls of Divine Arts since Antoine-Laurent established the Spellcaster system within the Alliance.


    You see, unless a spellcaster surrendered voluntarily, no one could capture one alive.


    And unless a spellcaster spoke willingly, no one could extract a single word from their lips.


    Even with Winters¡¯s hands and feet bound, he could still cast a splitting spell that would blast his enemies¡¯ heads apart¡­ or his own.


    The same was true for capturing users of Divine Arts alive.


    Capture a mage or priest alive and then interrogate them?


    It would be easier to just kill them outright.


    The only time to capture a user of magical abilities was when they couldn¡¯t use those abilities.


    Winters was almost certain that the leading Herder Shaman had definitely been the one guiding the Spell.


    With the other eight Shamans all dead, the one guiding the Spell couldn¡¯t be faring much better.


    ¡°The resonance of multiple spellcasters can push the power of a Spell to unimaginable levels.¡±


    This thought had been echoing in Winters¡¯s mind for a full year and a half.


    It had started to take root the night that a fire tornado swept through Guidao City.


    At first, it was just an inadvertent thought, like a low chant carried on the wind.


    As Winters¡¯s experiences grew, this thought was not forgotten but instead took root and flourished. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After witnessing how the Herder Shamans could destroy all gunpowder weapons with a torrential downpour, the low chant in the wind had turned into a rolling thunder.


    A voice roared in Winters¡¯s heart: ¡°It must be so! Find that Shaman!¡±


    But he was too impatient, too out of sorts¡ªhe realized that too.


    Winters didn¡¯t want to play games with Colonel Jeska, but he was also unwilling to divulge the knowledge of spellcasters.


    After steadying his mind a bit, Winters asked in return, ¡°Do you remember when I almost lost consciousness upon arriving at the battlefield?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± was the response.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that was some sort of attack concocted by that group of Herder Shamans. I want to find that Shaman and ask how he did it,¡± Winters speculated.


    ¡°He¡¯s inside the city, you¡¯re outside. How could he attack you from such a distance?¡± the Colonel raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, which is why I need to find him and get some answers.¡±


    After thinking for a moment, Jeska casually suggested, ¡°Have your men start searching nearby. If the eight who died ended up like that, the one still alive must be half-dead.¡±


    Winters nodded repeatedly and turned to run out of the tent, but Colonel Jeska grabbed him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up too high. If this Shaman really matters that much¡­¡± Colonel Jeska began pacing the tent in circles, ¡°¡­he¡¯s probably been smuggled out of the city by the Herders already.¡±


    ¡°Right here!¡± Jeska stopped, flipped a saber forcefully into the ground, its tip embedded almost a palm¡¯s depth.


    With a sudden pull, the Colonel yanked up the rug along with the wooden board underneath, revealing a dark tunnel entrance.


    ¡°Barbarians are the craftiest.¡± Jeska dusted off his uniform, seemingly not surprised: ¡°I taught you that.¡±


    ¡­


    The inside of the tunnel was damp and cramped, only allowing the passage of smaller-statured individuals bent over.


    Winters simply couldn¡¯t enter¡ªwithout armor, he could crawl through the tunnel, but with it on, he would get stuck.


    Colonel Jeska also wouldn¡¯t allow Winters into the tunnel.


    It was uncertain whether it was a passageway or a trap, as there might be enemies waiting within.


    In the end, the Colonel selected several short but robust militias to scout the tunnel, while Winters anxiously awaited news within the city.


    Meanwhile, unplanned and organized looting was taking place in Bianli.


    ¡°¡±¡±


    War was too harsh, and most spoils of war had nothing to do with the soldiers.


    For the soldiers, plundering after breaching a city was their only way to obtain ¡°compensation.¡±


    If an army managed not to loot after a battle, it must have had something more noble than material goods sustaining them¡ªclearly, the Paratu soldiers lacked such a thing.


    But in Winters¡¯s view, the Paratu People were like gnawing on the meat of a skeletal lamb¡¯s leg.


    The best booty was, of course, portable and valuable items like gold, silver, and jewels.


    However, there was nothing in the longhouses of Bianli; the Herders could be called destitutely poor.


    Bianli City was so poor it clinked, and the wealth of a single street in Sea Blue exceeded that of the entire Bianli.


    Most of the city¡¯s warehouses were empty; the wealth of White Lion wasn¡¯t stored in Bianli.


    ¡°I allow you to be the first to enter the city,¡± Alpad said to Colonel Jeska.


    At the time, Winters didn¡¯t think much of it, but looking back now, it was surprisingly flattering.


    Because the few valuables in the city had already been taken by the first group to enter¡ªJeska¡¯s battalion.


    The troops that entered later almost got nothing; the only property left in Bianli to sell was ¡°people.¡±


    Those who failed to break out with White Lion, the elderly, the women and children, and the wounded were inevitably becoming slaves.


    Winters witnessed the quartermasters imprison, register, and catalog the people of Bianli with extreme efficiency.


    Slave traders who appeared from nowhere spoke various dialects, haggling with the Paratu quartermasters.


    The Paratu People prepared carts, intending to transport the Herder slaves back to Paratu before exporting them¡ªbecause the Paratu People did not use Herder slaves.


    The Venetians and United Provincials were considerably shocked, while Colonel Jeska remained composed.


    Finally, the militia from beneath the ground ran back from outside the city.


    ¡­


    ¡°This is the place! Sir!¡± The militia led Winters and Bard all the way to the northeastern corner outside the city.


    The exit of the tunnel outside the city was protected by double-layered wooden boards, covered with earth.


    Winters noticed that the dirt on the boards had even begun to grow grass, indistinguishable from the surrounding turf.


    This meant that at least by last summer, this tunnel was already opened, which made Winters increasingly anxious.


    The terrain of Bianli was elevated, and the tunnel sloped upwards. About ten meters inside from the exit was a small space with several small boats stacked up.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters turned and rushed out of the tunnel upon seeing the boats.


    The exit was close to the Confluence River, and one could vaguely see traces of boats being dragged on the riverbank.


    Looking into the distance, where were there any signs of the boats?


    ¡°They¡¯ve run?¡± Bard followed Winters out of the tunnel.


    ¡°They can¡¯t have run!¡± Winters bellowed, ¡°Get the boats out!¡±


    The militia hurried back towards the tunnel.


    Winters began to remove his armor, speaking rapidly, ¡°The boats in the tunnel are all small, they can¡¯t carry horses. There are no boats on the opposite bank of the riverbank either, and with White Lion¡¯s crushing defeat, the north bank is all our people. That Herder Shaman must¡¯ve taken a boat downstream.¡±


    ¡°Should we continue the pursuit?¡±


    ¡°Pursue!¡± Winters handed the reins of the sturdy horse to Bard, ¡°You take people across the river using the Floating Bridge and pursue on the north bank. Have Andre lead people to pursue on the south bank. I will pursue by boat. I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t catch him!¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Bard raised an eyebrow, ¡°Can you swim?¡±


    Winters¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Then you go by boat, and I¡¯ll lead the pursuit on the north bank.¡±


    A few cavalrymen galloped from the riverbank, with Andre at the forefront.


    Winters shouted excitedly, ¡°Andre! Your timing couldn¡¯t be better!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good?¡± Andre halted his warhorse in front of Winters and panted, ¡°The colonel wants you back immediately.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters had a bad feeling.


    ¡°The legion has ordered the destruction of Bianli, the disposal of all Herders, and the burning of all untransportable supplies,¡± Andre said with a bitter smile, ¡°The entire army is retreating! Break camp now!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°W.M¡¯s Spellbook¡±


    Entry: Rain Summoning Spell


    Rank: Army scale


    Principle: Unknown


    Method of Casting: Unknown


    Remarks: Bell, that kid, said that during dry seasons, tribe Shamans always hold rain summoning rituals. Some work, some don¡¯t. Isn¡¯t this just typical shaman tricks? But that downpour couldn¡¯t be faked. The Shaman in the felt tent didn¡¯t seem to do anything but chant¡­ only ended up dancing himself to death. Could it be that the Herders¡¯ Rain Summoning Spell is the real deal? That would mean the Rain Summoning Spell is essentially civilian magic converted for military use?


    Additional Note: Requires overcast weather¡­


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 Chapter 471: 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own

    Chapter 471: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own


    ¡°`


    [Note: The orders received by the field officers contained the word ¡°retreat,¡± whereas the Centurion only received orders for breaking camp, and the soldiers knew nothing at all. The ¡°retreat¡± mentioned by Andre was informed by Jeska.]


    The wounded hadn¡¯t been treated, nor the spoils cleared, when the sudden order to march came, catching everyone off guard.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Lieutenant Colonel?¡± Winters hurried back to Bianli, only to find that Lieutenant Colonel Jeska wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Winters, you¡¯re finally back.¡± Mason¡¯s tense nerves finally relaxed, he quickly explained, ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel and Andre have gone to the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge. He wants you to gather the soldiers in the city and bring them back to the main camp.¡±


    It clicked for Winters, many soldiers and wounded were still at the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge, and the Lieutenant Colonel was there to bring them back.


    ...


    ¡°Where are our people?¡± Winters asked again.


    Mason pointed westward in all directions: ¡°They¡¯re everywhere.¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    There was no choice but to search the hard way.


    Bianli City was filled with soldiers, militias from Jeska¡¯s detachment in groups of twos and threes, mingled among them.


    Winters, Bard, and Mason split up to search, going through one house, one street at a time, but even after scouring Bianli, they only managed to find half the men.


    ¡°Let the others find their way back to the camp themselves.¡± Mason consulted with Winters, his voice hoarse from shouting: ¡°I don¡¯t have time to look a second time.¡±


    After a moment of thought, Bard proposed a compromise: ¡°Someone needs to take charge over at the main camp. You two go back, and I¡¯ll stay in the city with a few men to continue the search.¡±


    Winters nodded: ¡°Be careful.¡±


    Having barely managed to gather half the troops, Winters discovered an even bigger problem¡ªthere was no way out.


    Two infantry battalions were escorting Herders out of the city, while the baggage troops were hurrying dozens of carts into the city. All three gates of the inner city were jammed solid.


    Winters ordered a move towards the breach in the city wall, only to find it even more congested.


    Many soldiers who had lost their formations had not received the order to break camp and were desperately cramming into the city, trying to grab something to take with them.


    There was no choice but for Winters to lead his men towards the city gates again.


    They ran into General Sekler, who was rushing over with the military police.


    Sekler¡¯s solution to the problem was simple and violent. He had the military police repeatedly read out the order outside the city gates: ¡°The south gate is for entry only! The north gate is for exit only! The central gate is for vehicles and horses! Those who disobey will be executed!¡±


    Just relying on spoken orders had limited effect. There were still soldiers hoping to sneak through on a wing and a prayer.


    It wasn¡¯t long before their headless corpses were displayed on the city walls.


    Like sediment cleared from a river channel, the city gate immediately became unobstructed, and Winters was able to lead his men out of the city.


    Back at the main camp surrounding the city, there were people running about and horses neighing.


    Scout cavalry were dispatched one team after another, the swift and efficient soldiers were busy dismantling tents and loading carts.


    Only now was Winters certain that the higher-ups were serious. They were not just retreating, but doing so immediately.


    He had very little information, which deeply unsettled him.


    As far as he knew, in the land around Bianli split into three by rivers, there were eighteen infantry battalions, forty-six cavalry squadrons, over six thousand auxiliary troops, and an unknown number of menials ¨C over twenty thousand people in total.


    How were the dispersed troops going to regroup? Just this alone was enough to give Sekler and Alpad a headache.


    Not to mention the possibility that the light cavalry, chasing the Red River Tribe, might have already run dozens of kilometers away.


    There was only one thing that offered him some comfort: the command chain of the Paratu army hadn¡¯t collapsed, and the soldiers were still following orders. As long as they clenched into a fist, the Paratu People would still be an invincible force.


    Pushing through the noisy and chaotic main camp, Winters finally returned to Jeska¡¯s detachment¡¯s camp area.


    To his surprise, compared to the main camp that seemed like a boiling cauldron, Jeska¡¯s camp area was as tranquil as a silent valley deep pool.


    Not just Winters, but Mason and all the militia were dumbfounded by the scene before them:


    Two lines of wagons stood neatly on the open ground, laden with all the supplies of Jeska¡¯s detachment.


    Each sack, each box, was securely tied down with two ropes.


    There were no horses harnessed to the wagons, because the draft animals were in the stables, calmly enjoying their feed.


    The other soldiers of the camp were frantic, wishing they could pack up all their belongings in an instant.


    Yet the wounded soldiers remaining in the camp were still at work¡ªsome were cleaning the hooves of the draft horses, others were kneading dough.


    Many were busy around more than a dozen rudimentary ovens, seemingly baking something.


    If Winters¡¯s memory served correctly, these ovens weren¡¯t there when he accompanied the army to the Bridgehead Fortress at North Bridge¡ªthree days ago.


    When they saw their comrades return, the wounded soldiers staying behind quickly served dry food and water.


    The militia just back from Bianli were both tired and hungry, eagerly grabbing the food and gulping it down.


    The remarkable morale of the wounded puzzled Winters. He asked the wounded who stayed in the camp, ¡°Who built these ovens?¡±


    The wounded in charge of the ovens hastily replied, ¡°It was the old Saint who told us to build them, the day you went to the northern campsite.¡±


    Winters nearly choked on blood, what old Saint? Clearly, it was an old shaman! Three days had passed, and it appeared the fanaticism of these old shaman followers had deepened.


    ¡°What are you baking?¡± Winters asked again.


    ¡°Dry food. The old Saint told us to make flatbread first, then bake it into dry food and pack it into bags.¡±


    Winters¡¯s eyebrow rose: ¡°When did you start making the dry food?¡±


    ¡°The day before yesterday, the day you left on the campaign.¡±


    ¡°The wagons? Were they also prepared as Brother Reed instructed?¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 472: 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own_2

    Chapter 472: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Comes into His Own_2


    ¡°Yes.¡± The wounded soldier nodded like a pecking chick, ¡°The old Saint ordered us to pack up and load the vehicles, yesterday.¡±


    ¡°Take me to Brother Reed.¡±


    Beside the carriage, Winters found the old charlatan.


    The old man had eaten well and slept well on the journey, even enjoying petting cats daily.


    Compared to the emaciated alms-seeking monk when they first met, the old charlatan now seemed somewhat corpulent.


    When they met, the old charlatan was holding a small bucket of red paint in his left hand and a brush in his right, busy doodling on the wagon¡¯s sideboard.


    ...


    Seeing Winters approaching, Brother Reed waved happily, ¡°Lad, you¡¯re back?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Winters walked up to the old monk.


    Only upon drawing near did Winters make out what the old charlatan was writing:


    [Property of Jeska Squad of the Fifth Legion]


    [Theft punishable by hanging, military justice will be executed]


    Brother Reed said proudly, ¡°I¡¯m marking all the carriages. This way, there will be no disputes during the march, and if there is a quarrel, we have evidence.¡±


    ¡°Theft punishable by hanging? Military justice will be executed?¡±


    ¡°Good, isn¡¯t it?¡± The old man¡¯s face flushed with more pride, ¡°Concise and powerful, beautifully balanced. Don¡¯t think this slogan is short; I¡¯ve pondered over it for days. One sentence is enough to deter the petty thieves.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the use?¡± Winters sneered, ¡°The rank-and-file soldiers can¡¯t read.¡±


    Brother Reed¡¯s face flushed from pride to embarrassment, and he added a Saint¡¯s coat of arms after [Theft punishable by hanging, military justice will be executed].


    The old man huffed, ¡°This should suffice, right? Church property, I¡¯d like to see who dares to steal it!¡±


    After speaking, Reed moved to the next carriage to continue painting slogans.


    ¡°I want to ask you a question.¡± Winters didn¡¯t bother with small talk, ¡°Please teach me, sir.¡±


    ¡°Pretending to be serious.¡± Brother Reed glanced at Winters, ¡°Spit it out.¡±


    Winters licked his lips and asked, ¡°You¡¯re preparing for a withdrawal, and you started three days ago, right?¡±


    ¡°About that.¡± Reed continued painting the coat of arms on the enclosure without looking back. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°On what grounds did you decide that we¡ªno, that Paratu would be defeated?¡± Winters was relentless in pursuit.


    The old man sighed, throwing the brush to the ground.


    He turned around, looking into Winters¡¯s eyes, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re mistaken. Although I know nothing about military affairs, I have never doubted your prowess in war. Nor have I ever doubted Paratu¡¯s victories.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you prepare provisions and carriages in advance?¡±


    ¡°Because White Lion Yasin has already won. Paratu will win every battle in this war until they lose the war.¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    Brother Reed sighed again, walked over to a nearby stone bench, and gestured for Winters to follow.


    Sitting on the stone bench, the old monk coughed and explained, ¡°The victories in battles can hardly compensate for strategic failure. The moment the Paratu People stood firm under the city walls, White Lion Yasin had already won. Tell me, do you really think the Herders are willing to let the Paratu people slaughter them one by one?¡±


    Winters was about to argue: there are many historical precedents for a strategy of gradual encroachment.


    But then he realized: this didn¡¯t mean the party being encroached upon lacked the will to resist. Moreover, Paratu¡¯s actions could no longer be considered gradual encroachment; they were ripping flesh from the Herder tribes in large chunks.


    ¡°As one sympathizes with the deer, so one similarly grieves for the fox. Carts depend on one another just as the lips are cold when the teeth are gone.¡± Brother Reed asked Winters again, ¡°Seeing neighboring tribes facing annihilation one after another, won¡¯t the Herders be afraid? Won¡¯t they harbor resentment? Won¡¯t they worry about their own fate?¡±


    Pointing towards the Great Wilderness, Reed said, ¡°The young and strong lion considers everything on the plain its prey. But once it shows signs of weakness, it will not only be driven away by the lioness but even the hyenas on the plains will dare to provoke it. There¡¯s no other reason but power.¡±


    ¡°Power? What do you mean¡­¡± Winters was confused.


    ¡°You lad, have spoiled my mood entirely,¡± the old man sighed heavily, ¡°I¡¯ll put it in words you can understand. In the past, the Herder tribes were ascending, and Paratu was on the decline; the Herders beat Paratu to a pulp. Thirty years ago, Ned Smith changed the tide with one battle, and Paratu began to climb while the Herder tribes started to fall, with Paratu beating the Herder tribes into a frenzied retreat.¡±


    The old man coughed again, ¡°When you¡¯re on the rise, all conflicts, all mistakes, all problems can be concealed by victory. Once on the decline, they will all erupt. This is also why the Herders were defeated in just one battle yet were battered for thirty continuous years. It wasn¡¯t because Paratu¡¯s national power surged, but because the accumulated fractures within the Herder clans were ignited by a single defeat.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ it was us who inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red River Tribe, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask you another question,¡± Brother Reed¡¯s gaze sharpened, ¡°If a god bleeds, is it still a god?¡±


    If a god bleeds, is it still a god?


    Winters pondered this sentence.


    Not waiting for Winters to respond, the old monk continued, ¡°Paratu is the lion, the Herder clans are the hyenas. A lion king cannot defeat a hundred hyenas but can chase and bite a hundred hyenas because the lion has ¡®power.¡¯


    For thirty years, the Herder clans have been waiting for an opportunity, for a moment when Paratu shows signs of decline.


    If Paratu could topple the Red River Tribe as if it was rotting wood, then the Tribe¡¯s ¡®allies¡¯ would scatter like birds and beasts, and no one would come to their rescue.


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 Chapter 473: 76 The Eldest Son Goes All Out_3

    Chapter 473: Chapter 76 The Eldest Son Goes All Out_3


    But Paratu at the front lines are halted under the fortified city, while their homeland has been breached from the rear. The White Lion Yasin has turned Paratu from an invincible deity into a mortal that bleeds.


    The hyenas have already smelled the blood; Yasin¡¯s allies will be scrambling over one another to join the feast. They no longer consider themselves prey but rather see you as theirs.


    You might defeat one tribe, two tribes, but when all the Hurd tribes come together to share the lion¡¯s meat, you will be crushed to pieces. If your generals are not fools, they should retreat immediately after winning this battle,¡±


    Winters organized his thoughts and countered, ¡°Do you mean to say that the White Lion Yasin has deliberately sought to prove that Paratu is not invincible? And even though we¡¯ve defeated the Red River Tribe, we are now encircled by all the Hurd tribes?¡±


    ¡°In terms of results, yes, that¡¯s what it means.¡±


    ¡°But aren¡¯t the Hurd tribes disunited?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t accept this: ¡°How could any of the tribes help the White Lion?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Well, I have no idea about that!¡± Brother Reed patted Winters on the shoulder: ¡°Kid, if you want to know how the Red River Tribe has been colluding with the other tribes, you¡¯ll have to go ask Yasin himself.¡±


    Winters felt an indescribable taste in his mouth, ¡°Do you think the Paratu People are doomed to defeat?¡±


    ¡°No! Quite the opposite,¡± Reed stated emphatically. ¡°I believe Paratu will achieve the ultimate victory.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters puzzled.


    Reed spoke with emotion, ¡°From what I¡¯ve observed, Paratu is still on the rise. Its people are brave and robust, its ruler is not feeble or incompetent. With the support of the other four nations, one defeat won¡¯t cripple them.


    Paratu¡¯s vitality is far stronger than that of the Hurd tribes; a failure would only serve as a lesson for the Paratu People. The next time they strike, it will be harder, more accurate, and more powerful.


    Over the past decade, I have traveled through all the Republics; it¡¯s not just Paratu that¡¯s on the rise, but the entire Alliance is thriving. Ned Smith has left you thirty years of peace, the future of this Federation is boundless.¡±


    ¡°Kid, you¡¯re at the right age.¡± Reed looked at Winters, a smile creeping through the wrinkles of his face: ¡°You might just experience an entire golden age.¡±


    This time it was Winters who sighed, ¡°A golden age? Let¡¯s not start a civil war first.¡±


    The old man countered, ¡°What of a civil war? A civil war is also a way to consolidate resources.¡±


    The enmity between The Federated Provinces and Vineta is complicated; Winters couldn¡¯t make it clear to the old soothsayer.


    Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he raised his eyebrows to ask the old soothsayer, ¡°If you thought this battle was doomed to defeat, why didn¡¯t you warn me, or Colonel Jeska, or General Sekler?¡±


    Reed glanced sideways at Winters and asked, ¡°If I said ¡®chicken breast¡¯, would you understand?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters was completely baffled.


    ¡°Have you ever heard of a sage named ¡®Fertile Land¡¯?¡±


    Winters shook his head repeatedly, racking his brains he couldn¡¯t recall any sage named ¡®Fertile Land¡¯.


    ¡°How about the book ¡®The Romances of Three States¡¯? Have you heard of that?¡±


    That was even more preposterous; Winters hadn¡¯t even heard of it.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no way I can explain it to you.¡± Reed burst out laughing so hard he began to cough, ¡°Just think of me as an old charlatan, spouting nonsense to you. If you take these words before the general, he wouldn¡¯t believe me, either. It¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at Army Headquarters, General Alpad¡¯s face was stern as one piece of bad news after another was delivered to his desk. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The twelve squads of Piaoqi Troops chasing remnants of the Red River Tribe encountered nearly ten thousand enemies in the northwest.


    The enemy was cautious and did not initiate an attack on the Paratu Piaoqi Troops but kept rallying the remnants of the Red River Tribe, with their numbers growing ever larger.


    The twelve squads of Piaoqi Troops, totaling just over fifteen hundred cavalry, seeing no opportunity for advantage, left a few scouts behind and returned to camp.


    They brought back intelligence that described the Barbarian Chief they faced that night as having a reddish complexion and a tall build. Based on physical characteristics, he might be the great chieftain of the Terdun Tribe, the Fire-maker.


    The arrival of the Fire-maker was not the worst of Alpad¡¯s concerns, after all, the Terdun Tribe had already entered the war but had been focusing their attention on the Bridgehead Fortress under Jeska¡¯s command.


    The most troubling piece of intelligence for Major General Alpad was the overnight reports from spies and informants in the Hurd tribes sent to Paratu.


    The Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe were amassing forces, demanding their dependent smaller tribes to ¡°send forth their eldest sons¡±.


    Due to delays on the road, Alpad surmised that by the time he received the reports, it was very likely that the Haidong and Suz Tribes had already deployed their forces.


    The three great tribes of the Hurd were set to unite.


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 Chapter 474: 77: Dealing

    Chapter 474: Chapter 77: Dealing


    Time! Time! Time!


    Right now, the most important thing is time.


    No sooner had the baggage train moved out all of White Lion¡¯s belongings than the Paratu army immediately set about destroying Bianli City¡ªmany troops were still on their way back to the main camp at this very moment.


    However, the task of destroying Bianli was soon halted.


    Due to an unexpected twist of fate, the torrential rain not only ruined the gunpowder but also turned the originally dry and flammable Bianli into a sponge soaked with water.


    Choking blue smoke filled the city of Bianli, but in reality, only a few houses caught fire.


    ...


    The houses could still be ignited from the inside, but the problem was that the fire spread too slowly.


    The water drenching the straw roofs and wooden walls had to be completely dried out before the flames could spread to the next house.


    This was a far cry from the earlier situation when fires were stoked by the wind, and the flames were fiercer for it.


    According to the pre-war plans, Bianli was to be thoroughly destroyed: the city walls would be brought down, temples and tombs would be leveled, and all the people would be taken captive to serve as a warning to others.


    But given the current situation, if the Paratu army dared to waste time digging at the literal walls of Bianli, White Lion would wake up laughing from such a dream.


    Sekler and Alpad would not possibly waste precious gunpowder on blasting the walls.


    Therefore, the soldiers tasked with breaking down the walls were quickly withdrawn, and Sekler sent only a portion of the auxiliary troops into the city to set fires.


    ¡­


    Winters dropped a torch down the well, and it did not go out.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Seeing that the well was almost filled, Winters called to his men, ¡°This well is ruined, on to the next.¡±


    The militia picked up their shovels and went running towards the next well. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking into the dark abyss of the well wall, Winters couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡°How long has White Lion been preparing for this battle?¡±


    Bianli is adjacent to the Confluence River, so getting water should not be difficult.


    But this is actually a mental trap, for because the acquisition of water is too easy, its importance can be overlooked.


    Once Bianli is besieged, going out of the city to fetch water would mean risking one¡¯s life, or even having the water supply route completely cut off.


    Even Little Lion, when leading troops to attack the northern fort, knew to cut off the water-fetching soldiers.


    Far from ignoring the problem of water, White Lion had prepared accordingly¡ªby drilling wells.


    It was only after entering Bianli that Winters realized there were wells in the city, a dozen or so, evenly distributed across the residential areas.


    Bianli was located on a small hillock with higher terrain, which made well-digging extremely difficult.


    Moreover, with the Confluence River just outside the city, within arm¡¯s reach, no one would be foolish enough to go to the trouble of drilling wells in Bianli¡ªunless he was White Lion.


    Approaching the next well, Winters saw Pierre and Bell butchering a dead horse.


    Two Dusacks swung their axes and split the carcass of the warhorse, flesh and bone.


    The dark red blood flowed all the way to Winters¡¯ feet as pieces of the horse were thrown into the well.


    A Ganshui Town militia member, Ish, was also in the well-filling team, muttering with distress, ¡°What a waste! All that meat! And the hide too.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Ish,¡± Winters recognized the speaker and reassured him, ¡°General Sekler has already ordered that two horses be allocated to each century. There¡¯s no fear of not having enough to eat, only of not being able to finish it all.¡±


    ¡°We can finish it!¡± Ish¡¯s eyes lit up, ¡°Guaranteed to finish it, sir.¡±


    Soon, the carcass of a horse, blood and all, was thrown into the deep well.


    According to the officer¡¯s manual, the best way to destroy a well was to use dead livestock.


    But pressed for time, Winters could not find any diseased livestock, so he had to make do with horse carcasses.


    Along with the horse remains, a dozen buckets of human and animal feces were dumped into the well.


    It didn¡¯t sicken the Herders momentarily, but the Paratu People around them and Winters felt nauseated.


    After dumping the dirty stuff into the well, without Winters¡¯ order, the militia began to fill the well with soil on their own initiative.


    After filling in two wells in a row, the militia became adept at this task.


    Pierre took some dirt and rubbed off the blood on his hands, took a small tube of salt from his belt pouch, poured it into the well, and mumbled, ¡°[Ancient Language] From now on, may your livestock never prosper, from now on, may your brides have no color¡­¡±


    The others didn¡¯t understand the ancient language Pierre was using and felt somewhat confused.


    ¡°Throwing salt?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly, ¡°[Old Language] When you take a city, you kill its people; when you destroy a city, you sprinkle it with salt?¡±


    This time it was Pierre¡¯s turn to be baffled, ¡°What are you saying?¡±


    Winters repeated himself in the common tongue and asked Pierre, ¡°[Ancient Language] Do you speak the ancient language?¡±


    Pierre answered proudly, ¡°[Ancient Language] A little, my mother taught me some, and I learned some at school.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Reflecting on Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s demeanor, Winters thought it wasn¡¯t strange for her son to speak the ancient language, ¡°Who taught you to perform the salt-throwing ritual?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a ritual, just a story I heard from my mom when I was a kid,¡± Pierre replied somewhat embarrassedly.


    Winters was caught between amusement and exasperation, ¡°Pierre, why would the Herders fear salt-throwing, when the sheep on the plains fight over salt licks? Salt has always been valuable, the sprinkle of salt is merely symbolic. Don¡¯t waste salt in a place like this, just a pinch will do.¡±


    Pierre scratched his head.


    The militia started by knocking down the walls of the well and then began digging soil into it, quickly filling another well.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters waved his hand to signal, ¡°Next one.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    The army set out, truly innumerable concerns and tasks at hand.


    Not all forces had been assembled yet when two battalions had already set off as advance troops.


    Normally, all equipment would have to be carried by the soldiers themselves.


    But this time was different, to increase the marching speed, Sekler had allocated a single horse-drawn cart to each hundred-man unit for carrying heavy items.


    The carts and horses were all captured from the Herders and how long they could last was uncertain.


    Supply wagons within the military camp were filled one after another, but there were still many supplies left.


    Initially, determined to fight a war of attrition, Paratu¡¯s military had spent two and a half months transporting a large quantity of supplies¡ªeven managing to bring luxury items for the officers.


    The mountains of grain and fodder in the warehouse next to the legion¡¯s headquarters allowed Sekler to dare continue fighting despite the supply lines being cut off.


    Even if Paratu¡¯s army lost their rear supply, the Herders inside Bianli City would surely starve to death first.


    Now these supplies became a burden¡ªthey couldn¡¯t fit in the carts.


    ¡°Take as much as we can,¡± Sekler ordered through gritted teeth, ¡°Burn everything we can¡¯t carry, not even leaving a single grain of wheat or a blade of grass for the Herders. Aside from the food and hay, throw everything else away!¡±


    In Jeska¡¯s battalion area, the lieutenant colonel was also ordering Mason, ¡°Nail the cannon touch-holes shut and push them all into the heart of the river.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll definitely need them later,¡± Mason said dejectedly, standing still without carrying out the order, ¡°They¡¯re all good cannons.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s lieutenant colonel frowned and replied, ¡°Not ¡®they,¡¯ but ¡®them¡¯! The road ahead won¡¯t be easy, better than struggling to carry them, only for the draft horses to collapse one by one and having to abandon them in the end. Better to ditch them at the outset to save the horses some effort.¡±


    Knowing he was in the wrong, Mason saluted and walked out of the tent.


    Seven cannons, four light and three medium, all ultimately disappeared into the waves of Confluence River.


    Along with the cannons, captured armor and weapons were also tossed into Confluence River.


    Luxury items painstakingly transported to the officers by the supply teams were also utterly destroyed.


    Robert and Jeska¡ªboth lieutenant colonels¡ªstood by the river, watching as soldiers smashed ceramic wares with the handles of their knives and dumped entire crates of liquor directly into Confluence River.


    ¡°The old man still isn¡¯t resolute enough,¡± Jeska said with knitted brows, ¡°Speed is our priority; aside from fodder, nothing else is important, everything must be thrown away, even items of combat value. Carrying one extra knife means one less mile traveled.¡±


    Robert sighed, ¡°Have some sympathy for the old man. If he forced the men to surrender their spoils of war, there could be an outright mutiny.¡±


    ¡°Not likely,¡± Jeska shook his head, ¡°Life is most important. We need to stay alive and get home first, then we can worry about the spoils.¡±


    ¡°Do you remember that fable? The one about gold?¡± Robert asked in response, ¡°Only a few were willing to let go of the gold to swim to shore. Most couldn¡¯t bring themselves to release it until the very moment before they drowned, but by then, it was too late. Human nature is such; you, I, and the old man, none of us can do anything about it.¡±


    A thick plume of smoke rose behind the two lieutenant colonels¡ªit was the Paratu camp burning supplies.


    To the south and the north, more columns of smoke rose.


    It was the Paratu People setting fire to fortifications and camps everywhere.


    Inside Bianli City, Winters and Andre also contaminated and filled up all the wells.


    The smoke within the city gradually grew thicker, and Winters and Andre quickly led people out of Bianli.


    Exhausted, the group slumped on the riverbank north of the city to catch their breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters licked his dry, cracked lips and urged his men to move, ¡°Not here, rest back at camp.¡±


    The militiamen slowly rose, shoulders drooping, dragging their tools as they followed the Centurion towards the main camp.


    ¡°There are people coming!¡± a militiaman with keen eyes shouted, pointing ahead, ¡°Looks like Herders!¡±


    Winters¡¯s heart tightened; he stepped on the stirrup and stood up to look.


    ¡°They are Herders,¡± Winters confirmed, and added, ¡°But it¡¯s fine, they¡¯re captured Herders.¡±


    Two infantry battalions marched by, escorting the prisoners past the group.


    Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the Herder crowd. The Herders¡ªnow more accurately Herder slaves¡ªlooked miserable, in pain, and somewhat numb.


    Winters saw Paratu soldiers crudely separating men from women and children, with the cries of Herder women and children filling the air.


    All Herder men capable of riding had already broken through with the White Lion. The men left in the city were either too old or injured.


    Like separating egg whites from yolks, Paratu soldiers picked out Herder men from the crowd, driving them to continue east towards the beach where the two rivers converged.


    The Herder men realized their fate; several injured men shouted in rage and despair, charging at the Paratu soldiers in front of them.


    But battered and unarmed, they were no match for the fully armed Paratu, and all were swiftly killed.


    The Paratu soldiers with bloodied weapons continued driving the remaining Herder men towards the riverside.


    ¡°Dispose of all the Herders.¡± Winters suddenly recalled the order that Andre had relayed.


    The Paratu¡¯s method of ¡®disposal¡¯ was execution.


    Men were being dealt with first; next would be the women and children.


    Winters had ¡®disposed¡¯ of his fair share of prisoners.


    But women and children¡­ he had yet to cross that line.


    Watching the remaining Herder women and children wailing pitifully on the spot, Winters only tasted bitterness in his mouth.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Andre, a man normally heartless, also showed a rare sign of mercy, lowering his head and murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s hard to watch, just let them do it.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t go!¡± Winters suddenly spurred the flanks of his horse and galloped toward the riverbanks, where the two rivers met, ¡°I need to speak with the officer in charge of ¡®disposing of the Herders¡¯!¡±


    ¡°`


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 Chapter 475: 78: Review and Re-evaluation

    Chapter 475: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation


    In the urgent beat of military drums, two large contingents of Paratu troops formed an impenetrable wall, mercilessly driving Herder wounded soldiers towards the Confluence River.


    Throughout his relatively short career, Winters had seen many inhumane atrocities, but the scene before him was still unbearable:


    Men were packed together like animals about to be slaughtered in an enclosure.


    Thousands of Herder wounded were trapped on a small patch of dry shore, spears with fresh blood ahead of them and frigid, rapid river waters behind.


    Too many people, too little space.


    Your shoulder presses against my chest, my back against his. No one could move; bodies were nearly beyond control.


    ...


    The outermost Herders stood knee-deep in water while those inside continued to push them outwards.


    They screamed in desperation, pleaded for their lives, tried to cram onto the shore, only to be swept by the crowd into deeper waters.


    Cries from women and children in the distance shook the heavens, and even battle-hardened Paratu veterans could not bear to look into the Herders¡¯ eyes.


    But the military drums did not cease for a moment, urging the Paratu soldiers to keep moving forward. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Herder wounded found their space on the shore further diminished; those who refused to move were stabbed to death, and those who tried to break through the spear wall died even faster.


    A few lucky ones found gaps through the spear wall and hadn¡¯t run far before being cut down from behind by Paratu cavalry.


    Finally, the Herders were completely driven off the dry shore as the Paratu soldiers also stepped into the river, pressing in step by step.


    One by one¡­ Herder wounded continued to scream as they were swept away by the swift currents, while the military drums still rang out.


    Winters finally encountered the highest commanding officers on the scene, Colonel Haug and Colonel Laszlo.


    [Note: Haug is the second-in-command of the ¡°Alpad Faction,¡± and Laszlo is the second-in-command of the ¡°Sekler Faction,¡± the former being a cavalry officer, the latter an infantry officer.]


    ¡°Colonels, with all due respect,¡± Winters got straight to the point without time for introductions, ¡°by dealing with these Herders, all you¡¯re doing is helping the Barbarian Chief Yasin.¡±


    Colonel Laszlo looked numbly at Winters then turned away, silent.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Haug frowned, eyeing Winters from top to bottom; the colonel obviously did not recognize the junior officer before him.


    But Haug then turned to look at the horse, Strongrunner, and let out a cold laugh as if recognizing the steed.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± Haug also turned his head, no longer looking directly at Winters, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Venetian boy whom General Alpad is so fond of? That¡¯s a fine horse you have there, Lucian breed?¡±


    Seeing the colonels¡¯ disinterested attitude, Winters felt both anxious and angry.


    Winters, suppressing his rage and speaking rapidly, said, ¡°Nearly ten thousand captives here, if not wounded, then old men, women, and children. They need to eat! To drink! To be sheltered! And they can¡¯t take to the battlefield. Killing them all, you¡¯d be relieving White Lion of tens of thousands burdens!¡±


    Winters was almost choking by the end, ¡°Colonels! Don¡¯t you understand the principle that [an army angered is bound to win]?¡±


    He emphasized the word ¡°Colonel¡± with particular vehemence, his tone disrespectful.


    Haug was furious, glaring at Winters and scolded loudly, ¡°[Old Tongue] What do you know?¡±


    Winters stood his ground, meeting the colonel¡¯s gaze with a defiant look in his eyes.


    The tension in the air was nearly suffocating, and nearby soldiers instinctively turned away, not daring to get involved in the officers¡¯ dispute.


    The sound of galloping hooves approached from behind, dispelling the tension slightly, as Andre finally caught up.


    Pulling up his horse, he saluted the two colonels and shouted at Winters, ¡°Lieutenant Montaigne! What are you doing here? Colonel Jeska is looking for you!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up! The colonel is getting impatient.¡± Andre rode up to Winters and tugged at his sleeve, ¡°Colonels, please excuse us from withdrawing first.¡±


    Haug huffed uninterestedly and shook his head dismissively, waving his hand, ¡°Get lost.¡±


    Winters brushed off Andre and continued to press, ¡°Is there something wrong with what I said?¡±


    Haug laughed in rage, but before he could act, Colonel Laszlo, who had been silent until now, spoke first.


    Laszlo looked emotionlessly at Winters and said, ¡°No, you do make some sense¡­ Drummer, stop the drums!¡±


    The deathly beat of the drums finally ceased.


    Paratu soldiers, initially dumbfounded, stopped in their tracks and then, guided by the Centurion, retreated back onto the riverbank to reassemble their ranks.


    Haug, caught off guard, stroked his chin before ultimately remaining silent.


    The Herders, spared from calamity, wept and hugged each other. They supported one another, standing in shallow water, still not permitted to come ashore.


    Laszlo summoned a message-bearing Cavalryman and, after giving a few instructions, the messenger galloped off toward the main camp.


    ¡°You think I don¡¯t understand what you said?¡± Haug looked at Winters, his tone instructive, ¡°Wounded can recover, children will grow, women will bear more soldiers. They are all Yasin¡¯s fighters, that¡¯s why there must be no survivors left!¡±


    Winters, not to be outdone, retorted, ¡°The wounded will take at least a month to recover; children will take at least five years before they can fight; women will take at least fifteen years to bear more men. But if I¡¯m not mistaken, Yasin is right on our heels! What¡¯s urgent? What¡¯s not?¡±


    ¡°We have our considerations! How the legion handles Yasin¡¯s followers is none of your concern,¡± Haug paused dramatically, stating conclusively, ¡°Victors take all from the vanquished; such are the laws of the wasteland; you Venetians simply do not understand! If it were us who had lost the battle on the northern shore, would the Herders have shown us any mercy? Your heads would have been hanging on saddles by now!¡±


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 Chapter 476: 78: Review and Re-evaluation_2

    Chapter 476: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_2


    Laszlo stared at Winters, his expression still numb like that of a puppet: ¡°I have already sent someone to ask for instructions; the two generals will handle this matter. You may leave now.¡±


    Winters was still somewhat dissatisfied, but he indeed had no say in this matter. The Colonel had used the Legion Commander¡¯s authority over him, and he had nothing to retort.


    He saluted and rode away.


    Walking back in a huff, Winters suddenly recalled his days in Wolf Town.


    Though he had encountered dangers twice in Wolf Town, looking back now, he actually had a good time.


    The folks in Wolf Town respected him; he spoke with authority, and no one second-guessed him.


    ...


    Even leading the hundred-man team from Wolf Town as laborers was more comfortable than his current situation.


    He finally understood why the old soothsayer would say, ¡°A Garrison Officer, an emperor in his own right, I wouldn¡¯t trade it for a thousand households.¡±


    Being subject to others was truly the most frustrating thing in the world, especially within the strictly hierarchical military.


    The angrier he thought about it, the more he wanted to vent, and Winters gripped his riding crop, scanning his surroundings, before lashing out at the air with great force: ¡°[Vulgar Language]!¡±


    This was his last bit of calm¡ªhe hadn¡¯t lashed out at Strong Luck, because he couldn¡¯t bear to.


    ¡°When have we ever suffered such indignity? In my opinion, you should have worn your Grand Cross medal just now, and shown it to him!¡± Andre wasn¡¯t adept at consoling others and unusually, he sighed, ¡°Bear with it, endure until we get home, then we won¡¯t have to work for those idiotic sheep-shagging idiots!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t mention going home.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°Every time you mention going home, I get a bad feeling.¡± Winters held the pendant box in his hand, his longing to return home stronger than ever before.


    He didn¡¯t open the pendant box; at this moment, he simply couldn¡¯t face Anna.


    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t mention going home until we are home,¡± Andre spat on the ground, somewhat annoyed, ¡°Damn it! They want to kill old people and children too! Barbarians! Truly damn barbaric!¡±


    For some reason, the word [barbaric] coming from Andre¡¯s mouth naturally carried a hint of dark humor.


    After a moment of silence, Winters pondered and asked, ¡°That infantry Colonel, called Laszlo? I always felt there was something odd about him.¡±


    ¡°Laszlo?¡± Andre thought for a moment and slapped his forehead, ¡°I heard some big-wig¡¯s son died in battle, surname Lasz¡ªlo, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a long sigh.


    Meanwhile.


    Watching the two Centurions ride off into the distance, Colonel Haug offhandedly said to Colonel Laszlo, ¡°Hmph, who would have thought that those innkeepers from Vineta could be as blunt as highlanders?¡±


    If he were speaking to his own subordinates, this quip might have elicited a round of laughter.


    But Laszlo ignored it, as if he heard nothing at all.


    Colonel Haug inspected Laszlo¡¯s face carefully; his colleague¡¯s features now resembled those of a puppet, devoid of their usual spirit.


    Although they tended not to get along on a daily basis, Haug also had sons and daughters and could hardly bear the thought of the pain of losing a child.


    But Haug was not adept at consoling others, and could only let out a nearly inaudible sigh.


    ¡­


    Time was pressing; they could not wait for the entire army to assemble.


    Early the next morning, four large units that had already gathered set out as the vanguard.


    Since Jeska¡¯s battalion was prepared early, it was also among the vanguard units.


    There was no sense of ceremony, no mobilization, no speeches. Once the orders were given, all units, both the Standing Army and the auxiliaries, led out their carts and left.


    Jeska¡¯s battalion had one advantage: as they had been a logistics unit previously, and had also conscripted many merchants¡¯ carts and mules, their rate of possession of horse-drawn carts was much higher than that of other units.


    The more than four thousand Hurd horses captured in the night raid on the Terdon Tribe camp were partly slaughtered, with the majority taken by the Legion.


    There were still over five hundred left in Colonel Jeska¡¯s hands. Although they weren¡¯t fit for use, they were better than nothing.


    Adding the original mules, warhorses, and a few donkeys, they had nearly a thousand large animals, so Jeska¡¯s battalion was not short of horses for pulling carts.


    Bard was worried sick: getting horses to do heavy work required not just hay but also feed. The daily consumption of grass and fodder for nearly a thousand large animals was a terrifying figure.


    When setting out, they had to carry as much as possible, yet they were afraid that the animals wouldn¡¯t hold up.


    Therefore, Bard selected over forty militiamen who had experience with horses, led by Anglu, to supervise the battalion¡¯s use of mules and horses.


    ¡°Mr. Anglu not only understands horses, but he also knows how to pity the beasts,¡± Bard commented to the Colonel during his report, ¡°He pities them even if they aren¡¯t his own.¡±


    ¡°Then let it be him,¡± Jeska agreed with a nod, ¡°Promote him to temporary Sergeant and sort out a few troublemakers. Otherwise, he is too young to command respect from others.¡±


    With the order issued, the militiamen from Wolf Town were saying, ¡°Little Groom Anglu has really turned into a Horse Officer.¡±


    [Note: Anglu means hook, officially a full name, affectionately a nickname]


    In the morning light, the vanguard units crossed the temporary bridge to reach the southern bank of Confluence River, and then marched eastward.


    The situation was as follows:


    Paratu was to the east; to retreat, they needed to head east;


    Confluence River ran from west to east before merging into The Styx; they could go along the south bank or the north bank;


    On the north bank, Hurd Cavalry roamed;


    On the south bank, it was temporarily safe.


    The problem was: [if they took the south bank, the Paratu People couldn¡¯t cross The Styx].


    The closer to the north side, the fewer tributaries flowing into The Styx, the narrower the river, hence the easier it was to cross.


    The engineering battalion and two infantry battalions that had been dispatched earlier had gone north to find a suitable location for constructing a Floating Bridge.


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    sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 477: 78: Review and Re-evaluation_3

    Chapter 477: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_3


    So in the end, they still had to take the north shore.


    It was just that Sekler used a feint, with the vanguard reaching the south shore first, moving thirty-five kilometers downstream, then crossing back to the north shore via a ford.


    That ford was where Alpad¡¯s cavalry unit was to carry out its detour.


    ¡­


    Time rewound to the previous night, and a groggy Winters was called into the tent by Colonel Jeska, where Bard, Andre, and Mason were also present.


    The Colonel announced that he would conduct a war game and review for his centurions.


    ...


    The five of them sat around a small table, the other four looking eagerly as Colonel Jeska pulled out a palm-sized wooden board, which unfolded into a board twice as large.


    Colonel Jeska then took out chess pieces from a faded wooden box to represent the various friendly and enemy units.


    Winters idly picked up a chess piece to fiddle with.


    He couldn¡¯t identify the material; it looked like stone, and it was cool and comfortable to the touch.


    As for the craftsmanship¡ªWinters carefully placed the chess piece back on the board¡ªthe craftsmanship was exquisite.


    The lines were coherent and uniform, the angles smooth and rounded, the surface finely polished; Winters dared not handle it carelessly.


    ¡°Learn something,¡± Jeska set up the chess pieces and said to a yawning Winters, ¡°You won¡¯t always be centurions.¡±


    Based on the known intelligence:


    The Herder alliance practiced encirclement to provoke aid.


    Upon learning that the northern encampment had encountered the enemy, Sekler led his troops to provide support, only to be ambushed en route.


    On the day of the ambush, Sekler sent word to Alpad to move out ahead of time.


    To ensure surprise and to evade Herder detection, Alpad left all his banners at the main camp as a decoy.


    He led the main cavalry force first to the south shore, then moved thirty-five kilometers east to cross the river at the ford and circle behind the Herders.


    Such a wide-ranging detour enabled the final thunderous blow.


    Sekler¡¯s plan was a fierce right hook, the simple yet effective Anvil Hammer Tactic.


    If Alpad¡¯s troops successfully circled behind, Sekler¡¯s frontal Herder forces were sure to be defeated.


    For Sekler, the greatest challenge was how to move without alerting the enemy or scaring them off.


    Colonel Jeska analyzed for the centurions: Initially, Sekler intended to use the northern fort as the anvil; after being ambushed, the plan changed to use the temporary camp as the anvil; and in the end, the main battlefield returned to the northern fort.


    With each variation in the enemy¡¯s setup, Sekler also made three adjustments to his own. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The main course was just this one dish; as for Jeska¡¯s troop movements, they could only be considered the appetizer.


    ¡°That¡¯s the gist of it,¡± Colonel Jeska toppled the chess pieces, concluding his review, ¡°and we can¡¯t blame the old man for being angry with us.¡±


    Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason sat around the table, looking at each other blankly.


    If it were not for Colonel Jeska¡¯s review, Winters wouldn¡¯t even have known what else was happening elsewhere.


    A centurion received too little intelligence, almost no different from what the soldiers saw.


    For Winters, everything within a hundred meters was the entire war.


    It was also because of Colonel Jeska¡¯s review that Winters understood why General Sekler was so annoyed with Jeska¡¯s troop.


    Sekler had painstakingly planned, first using the northern fort as bait, then himself as bait.


    His goal was to ¡°hammer down and shatter both the Red River and Terdun Tribes.¡±


    Jeska¡¯s troop¡¯s torching of Terdun¡¯s old camp, while severely damaging the Terdun Tribe, also caused the Herder alliance forces to be spread thin.


    The Terdun Tribe, desperate from the loss of their sacrificial gold statue, attacked the Bridgehead Fortress with frenzy.


    So in the end, it was only the Red River Tribe that was crushed between the anvil and hammer.


    On the other side, the Terdun Tribe was repelled.


    But Jeska¡¯s squadron was too small to achieve annihilation.


    While the core of the Fire-worshippers remained intact, they collected their dispersed soldiers and moved close to the main battlefield, allowing the remnants of the Red River Tribe to escape with the Fire-worshippers¡¯ help.


    Misfortune is where luck depends, and luck is where disaster lurks.


    Realizing that their desperate fight had actually disrupted General Sekler¡¯s plans, the four centurions didn¡¯t know what to feel.


    ¡°Making the right decisions in the absence of information is the mark of a great general,¡± Colonel Jeska fiddled with a chess piece and said indifferently, ¡°It seems none of us are great generals.¡±


    ¡°The opportunity was right in front of us,¡± Winters was both frustrated and amused as he looked at Bard and Andre, ¡°We couldn¡¯t possibly let it pass, could we?¡±


    Colonel Jeska yawned and began to pack up the chessboard, ¡°I only said that we aren¡¯t great generals. As centurions, you fought well.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re just small-time centurions,¡± Andre concluded, ¡°When the enemy sticks their neck out, we chop. If there¡¯s anyone to blame, it¡¯s General Seleuc for not informing us.¡±


    ¡°Stop talking about it,¡± Lieutenant Mason swiftly took on the blame, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    Winters was extremely tired; he curled up in his chair, not wanting to speak. He just wanted to go home as soon as possible, even if it was just back to Wolf Town.


    Colonel Jeska finished packing the chessboard and pieces, then took out several maps and handed them to everyone, asking, ¡°How are you doing with your maps?¡±


    ¡°A+,¡± Winters took the map without even looking up.


    ¡°A,¡± was Bard¡¯s response.


    ¡°B,¡± Andre admitted sheepishly.


    Mason scratched his head and said awkwardly, ¡°I was an A+ when I first left the academy, now I don¡¯t know how much I¡¯ve retained.¡±


    The map was a vertical projection map¡ªone of the outcomes of military reform thirty years ago.


    More difficult to understand than a forty-five-degree angled top-down map, a vertical projection map is more precise and can carry more information.


    [Note: There are no contour lines yet]


    Winters recognized at a glance that this was a map of the area around Bianli; he asked the Colonel curiously, ¡°Drawn with a graphite stick? Did you draw this yourself? Did you draw every single one?¡±


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 Chapter 478: 78: Review and Re-evaluation_4

    Chapter 478: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_4


    The lieutenant colonel nodded three times.


    Winters¡¯s respect for the lieutenant colonel suddenly increased, ¡°You can actually do mapping?¡±


    ¡°Copied from the legion¡¯s large-scale map.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    Colonel Jeska asked the centurions, ¡°Do you see the shallows marked downstream on the Confluence River?¡±


    All four nodded in unison.


    ...


    ¡°That¡¯s Alpad¡¯s Department¡¯s crossing point, and we¡¯re going to cross there too,¡± Colonel Jeska announced. ¡°We¡¯re the vanguard, and we¡¯ll set off early tomorrow morning.¡±


    The four centurions responded evenly; it was inevitable they would have to go, and leaving earlier was actually a good thing.


    Mason suddenly became spirited and asked hurriedly, ¡°Then¡­ what about the golden statue? Just keep it buried?¡±


    Winters also perked up, straightened his back, and pricked up his ears.


    ¡°What else can we do?¡± Colonel Jeska answered indifferently, ¡°Continue to keep it buried.¡±


    ¡°Could someone dig it out?¡± Mason asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Then it gets dug out,¡± Colonel Jeska frowned. ¡°Even the artillery is considered cumbersome, why bother with a golden statue? Next time we fight the Red River Tribe, we¡¯ll find an opportunity to dig it out.¡±


    ¡°Next time?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, Bianli is broken, but the White Lion isn¡¯t dead. Just watch, this fight isn¡¯t over.¡±


    ¡°Next time, many militiamen might not be in service anymore.¡±


    ¡°Keep records and logs, they won¡¯t lose out as long as nothing is lost.¡±


    After measuring with a ruler, Bard said with some surprise, ¡°General Alpad raided for a day and two nights, the straight-line distance alone is nearly ninety kilometers?¡±


    Winters took the ruler and calculated it himself.


    If the scale was correct, the straight-line distance was really seventy kilometers.


    A day and two nights without rest, the straight-line distance for the forced march exceeded seventy kilometers. After reaching the battlefield, they smashed the Red River Tribe to pieces with a tsunami-like charge¡­ and still had the strength to continue chasing down the remnants.


    Winters quoted the old field marshal¡¯s praise, ¡°Truly like an iron stream of galloping horses.¡±


    Colonel Jeska also showed a hint of a smile and did not say much more.


    ¡°Don¡¯t neglect the skill of mapping on paper,¡± Colonel Jeska took out several small wooden tubes to pack maps for the centurions. ¡°It¡¯ll be useful sooner or later. It¡¯s said that the old field marshal liked to carry a book of blank pages with him, recording any terrain he liked on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, my aunt also says that the old field marshal likes doing housework, homework, and eating lettuce,¡± Winters yawned, carefully putting away the map, ¡°I¡¯ve found that each republic has its own peculiar versions of the old field marshal¡¯s anecdotes. Once I gather enough, I¡¯ll compile them and publish a book called ¡®The Great Man¡¯s Footprints.¡¯ Make every student at Lu You buy a copy, heh, I¡¯ll make a fortune.¡±


    Everyone shook their heads with helpless smiles..


    Suddenly a voice came from outside the tent, ¡°Excuse me, is Lieutenant Montaigne here?¡±


    The people inside the tent looked at one another.


    ¡°Come in!¡± Winters called out loudly.


    A tall, slender, serious infantry officer pushed aside the tent flap and walked in, ¡°Um¡­ Jeska? You¡¯re here too?¡±


    Colonel Jeska stood up, ¡°Robert? What are you doing here¡­ you¡¯re looking for Montaigne?¡±


    The others also stood up.


    Colonel Jeska introduced the others, ¡°This is Colonel Robert from the Sixth Legion, an old acquaintance of mine and quite the remarkable person.¡±


    The lieutenants hurriedly saluted.


    ¡°Ah, come on, where am I remarkable? Let¡¯s get to the point,¡± Robert waved his hand, anxiously asking, ¡°Which one of you is Lieutenant Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Winters replied, ¡°May I ask what you need me to do, sir?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Robert squinted, examining the lieutenant from head to toe, but he didn¡¯t see anything special.


    All he saw was a weary young man, slightly emaciated, with a mild and serene demeanor, not at all as exaggerated as the rumors suggested.


    The young man had a faint white scar at the temple, just two inches away from making another one-eyed man under this roof.


    ¡°You spellcasters don¡¯t seem to have anything special about you,¡± Colonel Robert said with a hint of disappointment, and then he promptly asked, ¡°I hear that you¡¯re currently the only spellcaster in the army who can use magic?¡±


    ¡­


    Later in Robert¡¯s battalion¡¯s camp area, Winters met Lieutenant Roy, who was also a spellcaster.


    Lieutenant Roy had a towel stuffed in his mouth, his face deathly pale and his teeth tightly clenched. Curled up under the blanket, his body couldn¡¯t stop trembling.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know why this is happening, there are no visible injuries on Roy, and there doesn¡¯t seem to be any internal bleeding,¡± Colonel Robert¡¯s eyes reddened slightly, ¡°But this is how he is now¡­ in unbearable pain, he¡¯s suffering too much, I¡¯ve even thought of putting him out of his misery to end this endless torment¡­¡±


    Winters covered Roy with a blanket and asked, ¡°Is every spellcaster in the army like this?¡±


    Colonel Robert sat on a stool, supporting his forehead and replied, ¡°Some are not as bad, but they also can¡¯t use magic anymore. Roy is still one of the better ones. There are others more lucid than Roy, constantly screaming ¡®kill me kill me,¡¯ in pain until they pass out, then wake up, faint again, wake up again.¡±


    Lieutenant Varga said softly beside him, ¡°It¡¯s as if their bodies are still in this world, but their souls are already dragged into purgatory suffering.¡±


    ¡°Can I talk to those with milder symptoms?¡± Winters asked again.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll take you to see them,¡± Colonel Robert said, ready to go right away.


    ¡°Colonel, wait,¡± Winters hastily stopped him, ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do either, but the most pressing matter should be to lessen Lieutenant Roy¡¯s pain.¡±


    ¡­


    What was Roy going through? Winters knew all too well because he had been through it, when he accidentally used the Fire Dragon Roll technique, resulting in a [muscle strain].


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 Chapter 479: 78: Review and Re-evaluation_5

    Chapter 479: Chapter 78: Review and Re-evaluation_5


    Winters had a guess: Roy was still in the ¡°strain¡± phase, while those dead Herder shamans had been ¡°snapped.¡±


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t sure whether the ¡°muscle¡± metaphor was appropriate.


    He also wasn¡¯t certain whether the operational mode of the third hand was really like that of a flesh-and-blood arm. It was the only ¡°self-consistent¡± logic he could come up with at the moment.


    So theoretically, as long as one used Moritz-brand sedatives and waited for the third hand to self-repair during sleep, it should be possible.


    Even more, there might be gains to be had after recovery.


    By regularly undergoing ¡°Moritz-style¡± overtraining, Winters¡¯s spellcasting abilities had improved much faster than they had in the past.


    ...


    Therefore, he speculated that the process of ¡°tearing and healing¡± could make the ¡°muscle,¡± even the ¡°bone,¡± stronger.


    But the problem was that Winters didn¡¯t have that kind of sedative herb on hand.


    When those bastards from The Federated Provinces shoved him into the coach, his medicines were still in his luggage.


    The luggage hadn¡¯t been sent to Paratu either.


    So, for the past half-year, Winters¡¯s training mainly focused on [precision control], relying entirely on willpower to sustain overtraining, which resulted in increasingly poor sleep quality.


    Moreover, even if he had those sedative herbs, Winters wouldn¡¯t bring them out.


    The spellcasters of Paratu were not lacking in intelligence; once they recovered, they would sooner or later realize their spellcasting abilities had slightly improved.


    The improvement was actually very subtle. According to Winters¡¯s direct perception, it was less than one percent.


    But the Venetians had a saying, ¡°Even small amounts accumulate over time.¡±


    Assume an improvement of one percent per day, and it would result in a thirty-seven-fold increase in a year; two percent per day would result in a six-fold increase in a year.


    [Note: Exponential functions are the most terrifying in this world.]


    [Further note: The exponential improvement is just Winters¡¯s speculation, but he indeed made a lot of progress.]


    In Winters¡¯s view, such sedative herbs should be classified as strategic resources. Their secret should be kept forever, banning the export of any finished product, seedlings, and seeds. Smugglers should be punished with the death penalty, familial liability, and excommunication from academia.


    However, the problem was that the Alliance didn¡¯t produce this stuff, and neither did the entire continent¡­


    It could only be obtained from the farthest reaches of the known world, the edge of civilization¡¯s edge, unimaginably distant¡ª the Empire¡¯s overseas colonies.


    The natives there used this substance as a sleep aid, chewing gum, and waterpipe tobacco.


    So Winters was even less likely to leak this secret, especially to the Paratu People. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without sedative herbs, one could only resort to improvised methods.


    ¡­


    ¡°Do you know how to ease Roy¡¯s torment?¡± Colonel Robert asked, full of expectation.


    ¡°How about¡­¡± Winters suggested tentatively, ¡°trying some liquor? The stronger, the better.¡±


    Alcohol anesthesia was also a therapy, and Winters had used it on the ship. He was originally unwilling to even mention this, but seeing the agony Lieutenant Roy was in, he couldn¡¯t bear it.


    Aside from Lieutenant Roy, who was tormented by phantom pains, everyone else in the tent stood dumbfounded.


    Colonel Robert and Lieutenant Varga exchanged looks; the colonel shook his head slightly and turned away.


    Lieutenant Varga said helplessly, ¡°Winters, do you think we haven¡¯t thought of using liquor? We¡¯ve tried, to no avail. He clenches his teeth tightly; forcing it in would just cause him to choke.¡±


    ¡°If he clenches his teeth, then pry them open. If he chokes, scoop it out and pour again.¡± Winters let his rational side take over, spreading his hands, ¡°Either give him liquor, or knock him out; these are the only two methods I can think of to alleviate his pain. If you don¡¯t control your strength well when knocking someone out, you could kill them. Compared to that, giving liquor is safer.¡±


    Colonel Robert clenched his fist, turned back to Winters, and demanded, ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s no other way?¡±


    Winters hesitated and stammered, ¡°Perhaps¡­ there¡¯s another method¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Colonel Robert pressed eagerly, ¡°What method?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ supposedly suffocation can also cause unconsciousness, so maybe try suffocation?¡± Winters was also very helpless, ¡°It seems better to knock him out than to have him conscious and suffering.¡±


    Colonel Robert slapped his thigh, eyes red, teeth clenched, ¡°Pour it! I¡¯ll do it myself! We have to try everything! If nothing works, I¡¯ll give Roy peace myself. He shouldn¡¯t suffer like this¡­¡±


    Winters also felt that using strong liquor was the most plausible solution. There were no teeth that couldn¡¯t be pried open, only people who weren¡¯t determined enough.


    ¡°As long as Roy can still swallow, there should still be a way to pour it in.¡±


    Varga ran to fetch the wine, but soon hurried back in a panic, ¡°Colonel, there¡¯s no more wine!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Robert exploded in anger, ¡°Didn¡¯t they deliver quite a bit? How could it all be gone?!¡±


    Varga said with a mournful face, ¡°It all got thrown into the river¡­¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you save any wine?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t drink¡­¡± Lieutenant Varga¡ªWinters¡¯ real squad leader¡ªwas truly about to cry.


    ¡°[Expletive]!¡± Colonel Robert cursed, ¡°I don¡¯t drink either.¡±


    Suddenly, Robert and Varga both looked at Winters.


    Winters waved his hands repeatedly, ¡°I don¡¯t either, I¡¯m a spellcaster, I can¡¯t drink.¡±


    The west wind moaned through the tent, and the three of them looked at each other in silence.


    Colonel Robert calmly instructed Varga, ¡°Go ask others for it, just say that I need it. Someone must have a few bottles stashed away.¡±


    Winters had a flash of inspiration, reached into his bosom, fumbled around¡­ and found it!


    ¡°Wine!¡± He pulled out a silver flask with excitement, ¡°This was given to me by that guy Alpad!¡±


    ¡­


    After being forced to consume a substantial amount of strong alcohol, Lieutenant Roy¡¯s consciousness gradually blurred.


    The good thing about spellcasters is they usually don¡¯t drink, so their alcohol tolerance is generally poor.


    Watching Roy fall into a deep slumber, no longer suffering torture as before, the others in the tent finally felt at ease.


    Colonel Robert called over three robust soldiers to help, and it took the strength of six men to pry open Roy¡¯s mouth, pour the wine down his throat, and not choke him to death in the process.


    In the biting cold, Winters was drenched in sweat, panting, ¡°Some poisons can also numb a person, snake venom, scorpion poison¡­ would be much easier than what we¡¯re dealing with now¡­¡±


    Colonel Robert, who was wiping his sweat, kicked Winters and laughed heartily.


    Colonel Robert declared boastfully, ¡°This method works, I must tell the others. Lieutenant Montaigne, I owe you one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to see those spellcasters with milder symptoms,¡± Winters hastily made a request.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± Colonel Robert said with a grand wave of his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll take you there.¡±


    In the medical tent, Winters saw his fellow spellcasters who were suffering from milder symptoms, able to endure the hallucinatory pain.


    Some had almost no hallucinatory pain, just an inability to use magic¡ªit was like the symptoms of a recovering patient, indicating that the tearing they experienced wasn¡¯t severe.


    After a long discussion behind closed doors, Winters gleaned a key term: [vortex].


    According to the other spellcasters¡¯ descriptions, the only word they could think of to describe their feelings at the time was ¡°vortex.¡±


    Bound within a vortex, swirling round and round, plummeting toward the depths, yet unable to break free.


    Only when surpassing the limit of what they could bear, losing consciousness, did they find release.


    ¡°I won¡¯t lose my ability to use magic, will I?¡± Lieutenant Mitch worriedly said.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± Winters consoled, ¡°Although I¡¯m not certain.¡±


    Another spellcaster, Lieutenant Matt, asked curiously, ¡°Why were you unaffected? Any thoughts on that?¡±


    Winters noticed that the unaffected spellcasters were all lieutenants who had just left the academy.


    So he speculated, ¡°From what I see, with the Herders¡¯ attack spell, the stronger a spellcaster¡¯s abilities, the more severe the damage suffered. I was almost knocked out instantly, but when I came to, I still had hallucinatory pain, which I was barely enduring but could still manage to cast spells.¡±


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters concluded, ¡°it¡¯s probably because my abilities are the weakest.¡±


    Lieutenant Matt wanted to interject, but Mitch subtly held him back, shaking his head with an almost imperceptible motion.


    Mitch smiled at Winters, saying, ¡°Maybe so.¡±


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 Chapter 480: 79: One and a Half Spells

    Chapter 480: Chapter 79: One and a Half Spells


    The sky was still dark when the vanguard troops set out.


    Two standing army battalions and another of militia led the way, with Jeska¡¯s battalion doubling as the supply and rearguard units, and a company of Piaoqi cavalry providing support¡ªsuch was the full strength of the vanguard.


    Their responsibility was to confirm the route, construct camps, clear any potential enemies, and prepare in advance for the arrival of the main force.


    The sun had not yet risen, so it was very cold, cold enough to make one¡¯s chest tremble involuntarily.


    Some soldiers with clever hands had sewn hats resembling helmets for themselves, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed.


    Those without needlework skills could only endure the cold, their noses, mouths, and ears all red from freezing, the white mist of their breath frosting their eyelashes.


    ...


    Other soldiers cut the Herders¡¯ robes into pieces to improvise as scarves, or haphazardly found some scraps of cloth to use as bandanas.


    Jeska¡¯s camp was now eerily empty, everything that needed to be taken was packed onto carts, hoisted onto shoulders, leaving only mounds of charcoal-gray ashes on the ground.


    The rearguards had yet to depart, the militiamen stood in formation, waiting, rubbing their hands, stamping their feet, whispering idle chatter.


    Winters walked between the ranks, performing his final check before departure.


    Seeing the Centurion approach, the militiamen all saluted promptly, and Winters returned their salute with equal seriousness.


    Many of the militiamen were wrapped in Herders¡¯ robes, for no other reason than that Herder robes were truly warm.


    If it weren¡¯t for fear of setting a poor example, Winters himself would have liked to acquire a robe to wear over his armor¡ªafter all, in this damned weather, one could never have too many layers.


    [Samujin] of Wolf Town, shivering with hunched shoulders, quickly asked upon seeing the Centurion approach, ¡°When can we set out, sir?¡±


    Winters estimated the time for a moment and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it should be soon.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Good¡­ that¡¯s good,¡± Samujin sniffled, shivering, ¡°It¡¯ll be warmer once we get moving, freezing just standing here.¡±


    Seeing that Samujin only wore the coat he¡¯d brought from home, Winters was baffled, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gotten yourself a robe to wear?¡±


    Samujin¡¯s voice was as small as a mosquito¡¯s, ¡°Wearing clothes of the deceased, it¡¯s unlucky. I¡¯m fine, sir, it¡¯ll be warm once we move.¡±


    ¡°Then do you want the dead man¡¯s gold?¡± Winters was exasperated, pointing to Samujin¡¯s sheathed knife, he asked, ¡°Was that knife given to you on a platter by a Herder? You¡¯ll take a dead man¡¯s saber, you¡¯ll wear a dead man¡¯s armor. Tell me, what¡¯s the difference with a dead man¡¯s robe?¡±


    Samujin had no counter, muttering with a hung head, ¡°But it¡¯s still not the same.¡±


    Winters was as amused as he was frustrated, ¡°You ignorance! Do you have any idea how costly Herder robes are? If a Herder woman¡¯s dowry contains three sets of robes, that¡¯s no ordinary household. Traders specifically buy Herder fur robes, and you¡¯re refusing even when it¡¯s free?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Samujin was dumbfounded, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that¡­ but it¡¯s too late now¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve got five minutes. Go find Lieutenant Bard at the back and get yourself one,¡± Winters urged. ¡°Go! Run!¡±


    Samujin ran off like a shot.


    ¡°Be sparing with the robe, be careful of moths,¡± Winters advised the others around him, ¡°It might be hard to wear it for a lifetime, but half a lifetime shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±


    After inspecting his two hundred-men squads, Winters entered the old shaman¡¯s wagon.


    As he opened the door, he found himself eye to eye with Little Lion.


    Recognizing the visitor, Little Lion buried its head back into its embrace to continue sleeping.


    ¡°Move, move.¡± Winters gave Little Lion a smack, pushing it to the side.


    Little Lion made a rumbling noise, grumbling as it made room for Winters to sit.


    Brother Reed smiled faintly, ¡°This little fellow has very good ears. It heard your footsteps from a distance.¡±


    ¡°Little fellow?¡± Winters looked at Little Lion and fretted, ¡°It must be close to eighty pounds by now, right?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with eighty pounds?¡± Brother Reed was unfazed, ¡°It¡¯s still far from adulthood.¡±


    Although still called Little Lion, that was only because Winters had forbidden Bell from naming it.


    In reality, Little Lion was already bigger and heavier than any domestic dog Winters had ever seen, and it was growing larger and heavier every day, with an ever-increasing appetite.


    Luckily, Winters no longer worried about where to find meat; dragging over a horse carcass kept Little Lion fed for a good while.


    Winters, stroking the fur on Little Lion¡¯s back and feeling helpless, said, ¡°It is exactly for this reason that I am anxious. You have never seen its mother¡­ Sigh, I¡¯m considering whether to let it return to the wilds right here.¡±


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Reed warmed his feet on Little Lion and countered Winters, ¡°How to release it? This little fellow can¡¯t even catch a rabbit. If you set it loose in the wild, aren¡¯t you sending it to starve to death?¡±


    ¡°The Herders will be chasing us soon, they ought to capture it.¡±


    Releasing Little Lion to the Herders would be like sending a divine sign to Yasin, bolstering his authority.


    Winters was despairing, ¡°I never imagined Yasin¡¯s father would name him that!¡±


    ¡°Herder names are all chosen by their own Shaman,¡± Brother Reed corrected with a smile.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter!¡±


    Reed chuckled more heartily, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, take it with you to Paratu. If you can¡¯t afford to keep it, I can arrange for the church to take over. ¡®A call from the wilderness as a lion¡¯, ha ha ha!¡±


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 Chapter 481: 79 A Half Spell_2

    Chapter 481: Chapter 79 A Half Spell_2


    Winters¡¯s headache worsened.


    The image of the lion holds special significance in both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches.


    Firstly, the lion is a symbol of King David and also one of the twelve tribal emblems of the descendants who wrestled with God, as there are numerous metaphors and images of lions in the scriptures.


    The Winged Lion is the symbol of Sea Blue¡¯s patron Saint, Saint Marco, and this image is depicted on the banners of the Vineta army.


    Another Saint, Jerome, has an even closer connection to lions. Legend has it that he once removed a thorn from a lion¡¯s paw, and from then on, the lion stayed by his side, which was considered a miracle.


    There are also stories of two other Saints who were accompanied by lions.


    ...


    It was precisely because of Saint Jerome¡¯s precedent that the fact that Reed, a mendicant monk, had a lion by his side was readily accepted by the vast majority of believers without any difficulty.


    ¡°The Little Lion is¡­ is¡­¡± Winters struggled to find the words, and after a lengthy pause, he still couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly what the Little Lion was.


    He resignedly gave up: ¡°It¡¯s definitely not a miracle; I¡¯d rather raise it myself than hand it over to the Roman Catholic Church.¡±


    ¡°In fact, you already have the answer,¡± the old monk said leisurely, ¡°Can you stand to separate the two little fellows? Can you bear to part with this little one? Even nurturing a potted plant can breed affection, let alone such a spiritual creature. Just keep it for now, no one¡¯s stopping you. Don¡¯t worry, you can wait until it matures and then train it to return to the forest.¡±


    Winters thought it over and found no better solution.


    Release it into the wilderness?


    Unsafe.


    Sell it to the Church or some other big shot?


    Unethical.


    The main issue, separating Bell and the Little Lion?


    He couldn¡¯t bear it.


    The little Hunter and the Little Lion were inseparably close, and although the Little Lion was still far from adulthood, the occasional glimpse of wildness and power it displayed made Winters tense.


    Only with Bell, no matter how they frolicked and played, the boy and the lion never had a single incident.


    Winters vaguely felt that in the Little Lion¡¯s eyes, he and the old conjurer were still ¡°people,¡± while Bell was regarded by the Little Lion as ¡°one of its own.¡±


    Perhaps the old monk¡¯s method was the only way: first ensure that the Little Lion could fend for itself, then let it return to the forest.


    ¡°A lion raised by humans?¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°Can it learn to hunt?¡±


    Of course it can, the old monk said with certainty, ¡°Don¡¯t understand, do you? Look at the cats kept by nobles, they¡¯re well-fed and never hungry. But they still catch mice because it¡¯s instinct. Tsk, tsk, tsk¡­ Young man, you lack experience and have much to learn.¡±


    Winters was at a loss for words, his own experience told him that the Great General ignored mice completely, but the young generals indeed sometimes brought mice home, always eliciting screams.


    With the Little Lion¡¯s issue temporarily set aside, Winters casually mentioned to the old cleric about how ¡°Samuqingen¡± would rather freeze than wear dead men¡¯s clothes,¡± as if it were a funny anecdote.


    To his surprise, Monk Reed showed interest.


    Stroking his beard and feigning seriousness, he said, ¡°It seems that he¡¯s not the only one with such concerns, which might affect the combat effectiveness of the troops. After all, once fingers are frostbitten, soldiers can no longer fight.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters also grew worried, ¡°What should we do then?¡±


    ¡°I have a method that should resolve this very well.¡±


    ¡°What method?¡±


    ¡°Simple,¡± Reed smirked, ¡°Next time we have Mass, I¡¯ll use some Holy Water to bless Hurd¡¯s robes, and that¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Winters was silent for a long time before asking the old man, half in admiration and half in sarcasm, ¡°If¡­ I mean if you and your group of fanatics said cow dung tasted good, would they eat it?¡±


    ¡­


    The old cleric Reed slowly transformed from ¡°The Saint of Jeska¡¯s Squad¡± to ¡°The Saint of the entire Paratu Army.¡±


    Even senior officers like Sekler and Alpad did not dare to slight the old cleric, repeatedly inviting him to stay in the more comfortable central army camp, but he declined time after time.


    Hence, Winters witnessed the generals and staff officers¡¯ attitude shift from ¡°not daring to slight¡± to ¡°admiring and venerating.¡±


    When the old monk preached, people from other squads, regardless of whether they were Protestants, Catholics, officers, or soldiers, all came to listen.


    When the old monk gave out cookies, those taking communion lined up all the way from the west wall to the east wall of the camp.


    The existence of the Little Lion far from diminishing the old monk¡¯s sanctity, actually came to be seen by believers as a miracle.


    Seeing a real lion lying at the old monks¡¯ feet as docile as a puppy, many faithful wept and revered the old man even more as a living Saint.


    When the rumor that someone ¡°self-proclaimed sanctity¡± spread, another devout follower, Lieutenant Varga, was outraged.


    With his religious fervor clouding his mind, Lieutenant Varga drew his sword and barged into Jeska¡¯s camp, swearing to kill the heretics.


    Upon learning of the incident, Winters rushed to save the old man without even having time to put on his shirt or boots, clutching a steel nail as he ran.


    By the time a bare-chested and barefoot Winters arrived at the scene, it was too late¡­ Varga was kissing the hem of the old monk¡¯s robe.


    As Lieutenant Varga left Jeska¡¯s camp, he had been ¡°called again¡± and became one of the old cleric¡¯s most fervent supporters.


    ¡­


    After hearing Winters¡¯s ¡°cow dung¡± question, Monk Reed wasn¡¯t the least bit angry.


    Monk Reed looked straight into Winters¡¯s eyes. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His gaze was intense, his expression solemn, he earnestly said to Winters, ¡°They are devout, not intellectually deficient. Even if the Pope said cow dung tasted good, no one would eat it. Among those around you, aside from you cultivators, everyone else is a believer. You should maintain a shred of respect, at the very least you should not show disdain. If you continue like this, one day you won¡¯t be able to hide your contempt. Then how will you coexist with this religious society?¡±


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 Chapter 482: 79: One and a Half Spells_3

    Chapter 482: Chapter 79: One and a Half Spells_3


    Winters snorted lightly.


    His words just now had been too presumptuous, and he knew his reasoning was flawed.


    Moreover, the sudden solemnity of the old shaman made him feel as awkward as a naughty child caught in the act.


    Truth be told, Winters was taken aback: Brother Reed¡¯s eyes seemed to see right through him.


    The carriage became quiet, with only the snoring of Little Lion.


    ¡°Cough, but well, you know.¡± The old man revealed a cunning smile, ¡°If I told them bull dung could cure ailments, they might give it a try.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The carriage door was kicked open.


    Winters stormed off in anger.


    The sleeping Little Lion was startled by the sound of the door being kicked, leaping up instantly from the seat, his mane bristling and his claws fully extended as he looked around warily. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, it¡¯s all right.¡± Reed soothed Little Lion gently, ¡°Did you get startled into puffing up too?¡±


    ¡­


    The first three battalions had already left the camp; it was Jeska¡¯s battalion¡¯s turn to depart.


    Carriages passed through the camp, their grating ¡°creak¡± echoing throughout.


    Many people came out of their tents to watch the caravan leave the camp.


    Vineta officers and several senior students from Paratu also came to see off Winters and his companions.


    Lieutenant Mitch and Winters bumped fists, ¡°See you at the next camp, Winters.¡±


    ¡°See you at the next camp, squad leader,¡± Winters replied.


    When Winters had entered the Land Academy, Mitch, a third-year student, had truly been his squad leader and a predecessor in the way of spellcraft.


    Taking one last look at Bianli, Winters put everything behind him and spurred his horse forward.


    He¡¯d come with nothing in his hands, but he was leaving with half a spell.


    [Dissolution Spell], and the rudiment of another spell.


    According to Winters¡¯ conjecture, the large spell that caused the downpour was likely powered not only by Shaman Hurd but also by the spellcasters of Paratu contributing their magic power.


    The spell of Shaman Hurd had triggered a resonance with the spellcasters of the Alliance, their ¡°magic power¡± being sucked away like ships caught in a whirlpool¡ªif there really was such a thing as ¡°magic power.¡±


    Following this principle, the first [Counter-Spell] in the history of Alliance Spellcasters was on the verge of emergence; Winters temporarily named it [Mana Vortex].


    But thinking was not enough; Winters needed more resources for experimentation and practice.


    ¡°The ¡®Antoine-Laurent¡¯ award is mine,¡± Winters thought, ¡°The youngest recipient ever.¡±


    Watching Winters¡¯ figure fade into the distance, Lieutenant Mitch asked Lieutenant Matt who was still waving his hand desperately, ¡°Do you think Winters Montagne is a frivolous person?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Matt, wiping his tears, paused slightly at Mitch¡¯s question, ¡°Winters¡­ he¡¯s a pretty good kid, right? What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°Yes or no.¡±


    ¡°¡­No.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so either; I¡¯ve had him for a year. He¡¯s a good kid, I know that very well,¡± said Lieutenant Mitch thoughtfully, ¡°But he deliberately hid something from us yesterday.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Matt was still immersed in the sorrow of parting.


    ¡°Someone told me that Winters killed the Terdon Tribe¡¯s premier warrior with a single spear throw. Do you think he has that kind of arm strength?¡±


    ¡°That sounds like it got blown out of proportion to me¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s true.¡± Mitch stroked the stubble on his chin, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, that was a specialized version of the Arrow Flying Spell.¡±


    Matt was puzzled, ¡°So? Spellcasters all have their signature spells.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve tried, and I can¡¯t do it,¡± Mitch said seriously, ¡°Neither the precision nor the power can be replicated by me.¡±


    ¡°You mean¡­¡±


    ¡°If a person who is not frivolous does something that seems frivolous, then the information he is hiding must be very important.¡± Mitch stood up straight, looking toward the barely visible figure of Winters and shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°What weakest? He¡¯s the strongest one.¡±


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 Chapter 483: 80 One Day

    Chapter 483: Chapter 80 One Day


    The vanguard marched a whole day¡¯s journey ahead of the main force.


    On the first day, they advanced along the southern bank of the Confluence River.


    Downstream, the riverbanks were strewn with Herder corpses that had been washed ashore. Every few steps, Winters could see new swollen bodies.


    Many crows and vultures rushed over for a feast, pecking at the rotten flesh with abandon while keeping a close watch on the living passing before them.


    ¡°Looking at what!¡± Xial, unable to bear it any longer, picked up a stone and threw it at the crows.


    The black birds screeched horribly and took flight with a flap, circling above Paratu¡¯s army.


    ...


    The other militia members also started picking up stones and flinging them at crows and vultures.


    Winters did not issue any orders to stop them.


    ¡°Looking at what?¡± he thought somberly, ¡°Food.¡±


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    Shortly after the dispute between Winters and Haug had resolved, a messenger returned with the final decision from the two generals.


    A carelessly written word was scribbled on a sealed piece of parchment:


    [The Wheel]


    The Wheel, that meant not sparing any man taller than a wheel.


    The order was executed efficiently, and the remaining Herder women and children were driven across the river to fend for themselves.


    Brother Reed looked down upon General Paratu¡¯s decision.


    Brother Reed asked Winters, ¡°Absolute cruelty or absolute kindness, one must choose one. Killing the fathers, sparing the wives and sons, what does that count as?¡±


    Winters had no answer.


    But Alpad and Sekler had their reasons.


    For the Herder tribes, women were precious resources and property.


    Without women, there are no men¡ªno one knew this better than the Herders who lived in harsh conditions.


    ¡°Let the Red River Tribe deal with that headache,¡± Alpad said carelessly during a senior officers¡¯ meeting, ¡°Let¡¯s see if Yasin can keep those women. He might even have to fight a battle over it.¡±


    ¡­


    Marching in the wilderness where there were no roads, the commander usually kept the daily distance to 20,000 steps.


    One step was counted as the left and right foot moving once, 20,000 steps measuring approximately 24 kilometers, so that the soldiers had the energy left to fight.


    If they were marching on hard-surface roads, they could walk up to 30,000 steps a day, about 36 kilometers.


    But on the first day of departure, the vanguard Winters was with only managed to cover a mere dozen kilometers, not quite 15,000 steps.


    The reason was simple: the speed of the wagons could not match the pace.


    The supply camps they had built along the way had been burned down, and Paratu¡¯s army was unable to procure forage on the spot.


    Thus, the wagons carrying the provisions became the shortcoming of the barrel.


    Seeing that the sun was setting, Colonel Bod¡ªthe vanguard¡¯s commander¡ªordered the camp to be set up.


    [Note: Colonel Daniel Bod is the commander who defended the northern stockade]


    A short march did not mean an easy end to the day.


    The soldiers also had to dig trenches and construct a camp large enough to accommodate the main force.


    Standing Army and auxiliary troops alike, everyone had to work.


    Coachmen unharnessed and fed the horses, soldiers responsible for cooking busied themselves with chopping wood and starting fires, while others were buried in digging trenches and building walls.


    The defensive works were divided into sections and assigned to each centuria.


    Winters surveyed and supervised the work in the section his troops were responsible for.


    Every person in the vanguard was given a shovel or a mattock, significantly speeding up the digging process.


    Never underestimate shovels and pickaxes; equipping regular soldiers with tools is a major ¡°renaissance¡± tactic for land forces and part of the [Ned Smith Military Reforms].


    However, due to their size and weight making them inconvenient to carry, a squad of ten only had two shovels, one mattock, one axe, and one saw in its inventory.


    The night before their departure, Sekler concentrated most of the tools in the hands of the vanguard and arranged for their transport by wagon.


    Even with everyone equipped with proper tools, the troops worked into the darkness before the work could be barely considered finished.


    Afterwards, upon Colonel Bod¡¯s personal inspection and approval, the militia under Winters finally heard the command to disband.


    The returning militiamen shoveled a few bites of food and drink hastily and started to pitch their tents.


    Everyone was utterly exhausted and solely wished to sleep and rest.


    Winters too returned to his company¡¯s headquarters, looking for something to eat.


    The headquarters were quiet; Lieutenant Colonel Jeska had finished eating and left, and the other three centurions had not yet returned.


    Inside the tent were only three men: Father Caman and Brother Reed dining, and blacksmith Berlion tending to the stew pot.


    Ever since Lieutenant Colonel Jeska transferred the blacksmith to the company as a cook, Father Caman and Brother Reed had also come to the company headquarters to cook.


    Winters helped himself to a bowl of thick soup and asked Caman, ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡±


    Father Caman put down his utensils, made a sign of the cross, and said in a low voice, ¡°Today, five believers have reached their place of rest through the mercy of the Lord.¡±


    Brother Reed sighed, ¡°Just say that five died, no need to beat around the bush. The lad doesn¡¯t understand that.¡±


    Most of the severely wounded would die within seven days, and some of the lightly wounded would also pass away from fever or shock.


    Winters had seen too much and was becoming somewhat numb to it.


    He consoled Caman, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, if it weren¡¯t for you, there would be more dead.¡±


    Caman remained silent.


    ¡­


    The recovery rate for officers was much higher than for soldiers, not only because the officers were stronger physically, but also because injured officers received good care.


    If soldiers received the same treatment, the lightly wounded had a high chance of survival.


    But in reality, the wounded were barely cared for, since the army¡¯s structure was composed solely of combat personnel.


    The few doctors accompanying the army were full-time; the rest were dual-duty soldiers and officers.


    Having someone to stitch up their wounds or remove an arrowhead was all they could hope for; beyond that, it was down to luck for the wounded.


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 Chapter 484: 80 One Day _2

    Chapter 484: Chapter 80 One Day _2


    Jeska¡¯s squadron was an exception, because with Caman in charge of the medical tent, the injured men in Jeska¡¯s unit had already received the best care they could get.


    But even so, the inevitable toll of the long and arduous journey meant that many of the wounded soldiers would not make it.


    ¡­


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked Caman, ¡°Should I send you a few more hands?¡±


    Caman silently made a gesture of thanks.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll pick a few reliable ones to send to you.¡± Winters sipped his meat soup in small gulps and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll take some men to dig graves in a moment, using the legion¡¯s burial rites¡­¡±


    ...


    Andre burst into the headquarters, his nostrils flaring as he asked the blacksmith, ¡°What¡¯s stewing today?¡±


    ¡°Horse meat,¡± Berlion answered.


    ¡°When is it not?¡± Andre sighed and took a seat at the table.


    Berlion served up a bowl of horse meat soup and placed it in front of Andre.


    Andre started to wolf down his food, and without looking up, he asked Winters, ¡°Have you arranged the night watch?¡±


    Winters nodded and asked with puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Andre gulped down the soup with a ¡°glug glug,¡± and while passing the empty bowl back to the blacksmith with his left hand, he reached for the breadbasket in the middle of the table with his right, saying, ¡°With all this marching and working, who¡¯s got the energy for guard duty? If you ask me, the decurion in charge of the watch shouldn¡¯t have to build camp. Let them rest properly. Otherwise, they¡¯ll be snoozing on guard duty.¡±


    ¡°That can be arranged¡­ but what about those on night watch today?¡±


    ¡°Today¡¯s night watch?¡± Andre scoffed, ¡°Tough luck for them.¡±


    Once dinner was done, so was the soldier¡¯s day, but the centurion¡¯s day was far from over.


    The blacksmith¡¯s horse meat soup invigorated Winters, and after filling his belly, he headed towards Jeska¡¯s squadron¡¯s campsite.


    He was not going to sleep, as officers did not bunk with soldiers; his tent was located in a separate camp in the center of the base.


    It was simply his habit to walk around the camp after dinner.


    Now was the most relaxed time in the camp, with soldiers sitting around the warm campfire, sharing hot food with their tent comrades.


    Warmth, food, fire ¨C these things allowed soldiers to remove the shackles of discipline for a time.


    By walking around the campsite during dinner time, Winters could get a vague, intuitive sense of the soldiers¡¯ condition: Cold? Hungry? Fearful? Angry? Excited? Subdued? War-weary? Eager to fight?


    First, Winters went to the stables where the horses were well taken care of, with feed and water provided.


    At the stables, he ran into Bard and Colonel Jeska, and the young groom, Anglu, was also present.


    A draft horse had its left front hoof tied to a wooden stake, and Anglu was busy picking at the horse¡¯s hoof.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s face was sullen, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand if I told you.¡±


    Winters was used to this; he turned and asked Bard, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Bard motioned with his chin, ¡°The hoof might be ¡®quittor,¡¯ it¡¯s walking with a limp.¡±


    Quittor? Winters really didn¡¯t understand¡­


    ¡°It might have pus inside.¡± Bard added for clarification.


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Anglu focused on his task, first prying off the horseshoe, then peeling off layers of the hoof as one would a carrot.


    Finally, the young groom took a drill and made a hole in the left side of the hoof.


    Thick, dark red pus flowed from the hole, plopping onto the ground and making Winters¡¯s scalp tingle.


    ¡°This¡¯ll be tough to handle,¡± Colonel Jeska remarked, arms crossed.


    ¡°Yeah, tough,¡± Bard sighed.


    After draining the pus, Anglu cleaned the hoof, applied medicine, and then wrapped it with clean cotton cloth.


    ¡°This horse can¡¯t work for a while,¡± Anglu said sadly, ¡°Best to let it rest. Half a month should do.¡±


    Colonel Jeska also sighed, a rare trace of sorrow in his voice, ¡°Let it tag along, and if it doesn¡¯t make it¡­ slaughter it, don¡¯t waste the fodder.¡±


    The young groom gently stroked the horse¡¯s mane and murmured his acknowledgment.


    Colonel Jeska then looked at Winters, frowning as he asked, ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    Winters quickly excused himself and continued his stroll through the campsite.


    He walked towards the areas with campfires, wrapped in a Herder¡¯s robe, appearing like a regular militiaman.


    Under the deep night sky, everyone was busy filling their stomachs, and no one noticed the centurion passing by.


    They were laughing, cursing, singing bawdy tunes, or gossiping about the embarrassing moments of certain officers.


    These were things they would never discuss in front of Winters, giving him a strange sense of authenticity.


    The army is a whole, the phalanx is a whole, and every individual within is faceless.


    Now, the faceless individuals sat by the fire, gradually becoming flesh and blood people,


    but Winters couldn¡¯t see or hear clearly who was speaking.


    Through the tangible individuals, he gained a vague, intuitive understanding of the ¡°army¡± as a whole.


    This intuitive sense was like touching the ¡°spirit¡± of the army; that¡¯s why Winters had to walk and connect daily, otherwise, he never felt at ease.


    Winters wandered aimlessly, when a voice from behind a campfire reached him, ¡°All blistered up, nearly rotting away.¡±


    ¡°Endure it.¡± Another person sniffled in a low reply, ¡°We can¡¯t have the farm boys think less of us.¡±


    He didn¡¯t recognize other voices, but these two were familiar to him.


    The first belonged to Vashka.


    The second to Pierre.


    Winters approached and asked, ¡°What¡¯s rotting away?¡±


    ¡°What else but feet?¡± Vashka replied irritably, then he stood up abruptly, ¡°Sir¡­ Centurion!¡±


    Next to Vashka, other Dusacks who were warming their feet by the fire stood up at once.


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 Chapter 485: 80 One Day_3

    Chapter 485: Chapter 80 One Day_3


    ¡­


    To conserve the warhorses¡¯ strength, Colonel Jeska strictly forbade any soldier from riding, even the Dusacks had to lead their horses and walk on foot¡ªunless they encountered the enemy or were on a reconnaissance mission.


    ¡°Even the knock-kneed guys have to walk on the ground now,¡± the other militiamen muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s see if they can endure the hardships that we¡¯ve gone through.¡±


    Seeing that the usually arrogant Dusacks also had to stride out on their knock-kneed legs, there was a hint of satisfaction in the hearts of the ¡°farmers¡¯ sons¡± from the mouths of the Dusacks.


    At first, Winters¡¯ Dusacks would call the sons of farmers ¡°Bumpkins,¡± while the sons of farmers returned the favor by calling the Dusacks ¡°Tartars.¡±


    Both terms were extremely derogatory, their psychological damage to each other was no less destructive than forty-eight-pound cannonballs.


    ...


    If Winters was not present, a light-hearted ¡°Tartar¡± or ¡°Bumpkin¡± could provoke a fight.


    Thus, the people of Wolf Town left their hometown under the disdainful gaze of each other.


    What happened afterward does not need to be retold: some were no longer there, while others joined in to fill their places.


    Newcomers also liked to say ¡°Tartar¡± and ¡°Bumpkin¡± at the beginning, but after supporting each other through several brushes with death, no one mentioned those two words again.


    However, the antagonism caused by their different origins subtly persisted, so the derogatory terms also quietly changed.


    ¡°Knock-kneed¡± replaced ¡°Tartar,¡± and ¡°farmers¡¯ son¡± replaced ¡°Bumpkin.¡±


    In Winters¡¯ ears, ¡°knock-kneed¡± and ¡°farmers¡¯ son¡± were still extremely serious insults.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you use some normal terms of address?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but talk to his militiamen about it.


    According to the militiamen, these two terms only had an insulting connotation when heard by the other party; those who said them considered them neutral.


    Discussing this with Bard, Winters was still indignant, ¡°Nonsense! They are just fooling themselves! What does ¡®it¡¯s not insulting when I say it, only when you hear it¡¯ mean? Shouldn¡¯t it be up to the listener to decide whether it¡¯s a slur or not?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still better sounding than ¡®Tartar¡¯ and ¡®Bumpkin,''¡± Bard had no other choice.


    ¡­


    Some were waiting for the Dusacks to make a fool of themselves, and the Dusacks also knew that some were waiting for them to mess up.


    So they didn¡¯t complain or grumble, just silently carried on walking.


    Their spirit was commendable, but their bodies could not be fooled; Pierre, Vashka, and other Dusacks had blisters on their feet, some the size of thumbs.


    Winters took one look and understood what was happening, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry, ¡°What good is warming by the fire? Go to the medic and let him prick them with a needle; don¡¯t just squeeze them.¡±


    The Dusacks from Wolf Town were very close to Winters and were bold.


    Pierre said in a low voice, ¡°That barber is a ¡®farmers¡¯ son,¡¯ he will definitely laugh at us.¡±


    ¡°What ¡®farmers¡¯ son¡¯?¡± Winters¡¯ temper flared at that term, ¡°Or do you want me to do it for you?¡±


    Pierre shook his head desperately.


    ¡°Don¡¯t shake your head,¡± Winters reached out to grab Pierre¡¯s leg, ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°No need, no need¡­¡± Pierre retreated continuously, nearly falling over, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the medic.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to hear ¡®Tartar,¡¯ don¡¯t call others ¡®farmers¡¯ son,''¡± Winters didn¡¯t know if the Dusacks would take it to heart, but looking at the blisters on their feet, he said, ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll have the medic come over, be polite to him.¡±


    After walking a few steps, he turned back, ¡°Tell the others, to go see Lieutenant Bard in the morning to get shoes¡­ How are you supposed to walk in long boots?¡±


    ¡­


    When the militiamen began to extinguish the campfires, Winters returned to his tent.


    In the war zone, to conserve ¡°magic¡± for emergencies, he had temporarily stopped practicing spells.


    He lit the oil lamp, there was one last thing he needed to do.


    Winters took out paper, a pen, and an ink bottle, thought about what had happened that day, and began to write a letter to Anna:


    ¡°From now on, every moment, I am getting closer to you¡­¡±


    The letter was very short, just a few sentences long. Winters carefully folded the paper and placed it inside a wooden box.


    He pinched out the oil lamp and crawled under the blanket.


    On the small table, inside the wooden box, the neatly stacked pieces of paper numbered in the hundreds.


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 Chapter 486: 81 Contact

    Chapter 486: Chapter 81 Contact


    Walking, building camp, resting, walking¡­ day after day.


    The exhaustion and monotony of the march can be glimpsed through Winters¡¯ logs:


    On the first day, we marched along the southern bank of the Confluence River, crows were pecking at floating corpses, nothing happened.


    On the second day, we continued eastward, the weather turned cold, nothing happened.


    On the third day, we crossed the river at Alpad¡¯s ford, the water reached up to the horses¡¯ knees; we fortified on the north bank of the ford, nothing else.


    On the fourth day, we continued the march, nothing happened.


    ...


    On the fifth day, we marched, nothing happened.


    On the sixth day, nothing happened.


    On the seventh, eighth, and ninth days, no records were written.


    On the tenth night, Bard, Andre, and Mason quietly slipped into Winters¡¯ tent.


    In the dim light, they began to piece together a large, incomplete map from smaller sections.


    To see a small-scale map of the legion, their ranks were not high enough.


    Fortunately, their immediate superior was John Jeska, Colonel Jeska was used to providing his subordinates with large-scale tactical maps to explain and discuss the terrain.


    The map was the route.


    After looking for a long time, Andre concluded, ¡°We are heading northeast.¡±


    ¡°No shit, but the key question is why are we heading northeast?¡± Mason supported his chin, his thumb unconsciously rubbing his stubble.


    ¡°The Styx, it¡¯s all because of the Styx.¡± Winters yawned from exhaustion as he pointed to an empty space beyond the map, ¡°The Floating Bridge is gone, we can only go upstream to find a narrower spot to cross the river.¡±


    Andre also yawned. He got up to stretch his stiff muscles, impatiently asking, ¡°How much further do we have to go before we can return to Paratu?¡±


    Winters gently lifted his hand.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Two faint sounds of an object cutting through the air.


    A steel pin was added beside the small circle that represented Bianli on the map, and another steel pin flew off the paper into the ground beyond. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If they were unfamiliar officers observing this scene, they might think Winters was showing off his skill.


    But the few in the tent understood: Winters was forcing his spirit.


    The more tired he was, the more frequent he used magic for non-combat purposes.


    The phantom pain slightly sobered up the groggy Winters; he propped his forehead and said in a low voice, ¡°From the Styx camp to Bianli, I remember it took us eighteen days on our way here.¡±


    Bard pondered for a moment before answering, ¡°That¡¯s correct, eighteen days.¡±


    ¡°Eighteen days, considering the marching speed of the baggage train, it¡¯s better to overestimate than underestimate, let¡¯s say 200 kilometers.¡±


    ¡°About right.¡±


    Winters fetched paper and pen, speaking as he wrote, ¡°Past the Styx lies a no-man¡¯s land, that¡¯s another 100 kilometers. All in all, a full estimate: 300 kilometers.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just go with 300 kilometers, no need to be so precise,¡± Mason also picked up a measuring tape and began to measure with Bard¡¯s help.


    Mason and Bard were in charge of measuring, while Winters took care of the calculations, and Andre was there for the spectacle.


    Ultimately, the few concluded that they were about 210 kilometers away from Matou Slope town and approximately 98 kilometers from the Styx.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t too far,¡± Andre optimistically estimated, ¡°Twenty days?¡±


    The other three¡¯s gaze turned towards the river not included in the map but present right there¡ªthe Styx.


    210 kilometers, with the pace of strong marchers, would not exceed four days, and could be even faster with spare mounts.


    But marching an army was not like racing horses on a track; the issue was not so much the distance as the terrain.


    Rivers, hills, and marshes¡ªwhat were minor pains on the way there turned into major obstacles on the way back.


    Other barriers were manageable, but the Styx¡ªKurwalleya¡ªwas the crux of the problem.


    Jeska¡¯s unit took the supply line on the way there, which was theoretically the shortest route.


    That¡¯s because the Paratu People¡¯s planning of the supply line was brutally simple: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, they simply draw a straight line between Bianli and Matou Slope town on the map, which becomes the principal supply route, and the actual route would be revisions of this straight line.


    The intersection of the supply line and the Styx was where the Floating Bridge once stood.


    Although that junction was not the best location, with early reconnaissance and planning, well-trained engineers, and a large supply of prefabricated components, the Parlatu Army was capable of building a bridge where it was otherwise unsuitable for one.


    However, what was possible then does not mean it is possible now; the retreating Parlatu Army lacked the leeway they once had.


    A few Centurions guessed close to the mark: the original Floating Bridge was destroyed, and with only the current resources, Parlatu engineers were unable to build a bridge of the same scale again.


    Therefore, the Parlatu Army had to go upstream to find shallower and narrower river crossings.


    That meant a detour.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°Where¡¯s the bridge? We don¡¯t know. Is there an enemy pursuit behind us? We also don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Annoying!¡± Andre complained aloud, ¡°Keeping everything hidden, telling us nothing, and leaving us to guess for ourselves!¡±


    Winters too struggled to keep his temper, ¡°They should at least inform us a little. Saying nothing makes people anxious.¡±


    Andre was complaining about the Parlatu Army, but the Vineta Army was not much different.


    To prevent leaks and panic, combat intentions and intelligence were strictly classified. Information was not disclosed to lower-ranking officers until the last moment.


    Most of the time, soldiers went into battle without knowing the full story.


    Military maps were among the deepest secrets.


    If you go back thirty years, the drafting of maps and nautical charts was theoretically the privilege of clergy, because ¡°mortals do not have the right to depict the world created by God.¡±


    The Parlatu Army stipulates that Centurion-level officers are not allowed to use or consult medium and small-scale military maps but can refer to and use large-scale tactical maps.


    However, in practice, Centurions barely saw any maps at all¡ªafter all, strategic maneuvers hardly required the execution of Centurions.


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 Chapter 487: 81 Contact_2

    Chapter 487: Chapter 81 Contact_2


    The reason Winters and his companions had a map was because it had been drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    And as for drawing maps for subordinates, Colonel Jeska was the only one in the Paratu army to do so.


    ¡°Keeping it secret is only fair,¡± Bard remarked, as he began gathering up the map, ¡°Dismissed, dismissed, everyone hurry back and rest.¡±


    The oil lamp was extinguished.


    In the pitch dark, Andre¡¯s disgruntled voice could still be heard: ¡°Walking, walking, walking, every day it¡¯s nothing but walking; we don¡¯t even know where they¡¯re taking us. I¡¯d rather have some Herders to provide us with a little amusement.¡±


    His wish came true.


    ...


    On the eleventh day, Jeska¡¯s troop encountered the Herd Cavalry.


    Very few people saw the Herd Cavalry, but the majority heard clear gunfire.


    The moment the rearguard¡¯s scout guns sounded, several Dusacks at the tail of the column immediately leaped onto their saddles and galloped toward the source of the gunfire.


    As the closest officer, Winters was the first to reach the rearguard. He could only see the Dusacks¡¯ figures growing more distant.


    ¡°Who went?¡± Winters asked sternly.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± replied a Wolf Town militiaman, ¡°and Vasya. All the Dusacks from their tent went.¡±


    Andre, with a couple dozen Dusacks, quickly arrived as well.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Andre asked.


    ¡°The scout gun fired, nothing else is known,¡± Winters replied.


    During their conversation, Pierre and the others had already crossed the hill, vanishing from the others¡¯ sight.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there gawping!¡± Andre cracked his whip in a circle, commanding loudly, ¡°Let¡¯s go and see! Keep up with me!¡±


    Before his words had finished, Andre took the lead, charging up the hill. The other Dusacks did not hesitate, urging their warhorses to follow closely behind.


    Colonel Jeska was the third officer to arrive at the scene.


    The colonel¡¯s one good eye scanned the desolate surroundings. With a somber voice, he asked Winters, ¡°Herders?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°Lieutenant Cherini has just led his men there.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably just a few scouts; tell your men to keep moving. There¡¯s no need to stop.¡±


    The thunderous sound of hooves approached from the distance, as a squadron of Cavalry assigned to the vanguard sped towards them rapidly.


    The Piaoqi Troops swept past Jeska¡¯s column like lightning, heading straight for the hill behind.


    ¡°Wipe out those Herd barbarians!¡± a militiaman shouted after the Piaoqi Troops.


    Theoretically, his voice should have been completely drowned out by the sound of the hooves.


    However, that shout reached the ears of the Piaoqi Troops.


    One Piaoqi Trooper removed his elegant cap and waved it towards the Jeska¡¯s column¡¯s militiamen as if to say ¡°Watch what we can do.¡±


    Cheers suddenly erupted from the ranks of the militiamen.


    Colonel Jeska murmured softly, moved, ¡°Life and death¡­ life and death.¡±


    ¡°What was that?¡± Winters asked, not quite catching it.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Colonel Jeska glanced at Winters and instructed, ¡°Keep your men moving. No need to set up defenses¡ªthe Herders won¡¯t catch up so quickly.¡±


    Winters nodded, using a spell to amplify his voice to order his troops: ¡°Keep moving! No stopping!¡±


    The elegantly-dressed Piaoqi Troops also disappeared behind the hill. The vanguard didn¡¯t have time to wait for them and continued marching forward resolutely.


    About an hour later, more Cavalry appeared behind Jeska¡¯s column¡ªParatu¡¯s Cavalry.


    ¡°Five men,¡± Pierre reported to Winters, leading three horses, ¡°all taken care of.¡±


    ¡°Well done. Those two horses you¡¯ve seized, keep them for yourself,¡± Winters responded.


    Pierre saluted and left.


    Five Herd light cavalry collided with Jeska¡¯s column and were all killed.


    For the Paratu side, only the signaling scout and the first six Dusacks who had arrived actually engaged in combat; the rest were left trailing behind, eating dust.


    The Piaoqi Troopers chased for a while but soon returned.


    Andre pursued relentlessly, but in the end, he caught nothing but frustration and anger.


    Returning, he poured out his grievances to Winters, ¡°The Herders run like rabbits; five of them scattered in all directions. Pierre, that boy, chased two by himself. I was worried he¡¯d be at a disadvantage, so I followed. And what does he do? Doesn¡¯t even leave one for me!¡±


    ¡°Herder scouts have already closed in on us; their main force won¡¯t be far behind,¡± Winters gently stroked his steed¡¯s mane. Now he understood clearly: ¡°Life and death¡­ Pushed into this position, it¡¯s life and death¡­¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Eh? What? Did you listen to what I said¡­ I was talking about Mitchell!¡±


    ¡­


    Twenty kilometers to the southwest of the vanguard, atop a hill.


    Regardless of cavalry, infantry, or sappers, all of Paratu¡¯s field officers were present, with two generals at the center, surrounded by the officers.


    ¡°Well, well! Terdun, Haidong, Suz¡ªall present! The rest are just rabble, barely worth mentioning. Just perfect for a good fight!¡± General Alpad laughed heartily. He reached into his breastplate intending to grab his flask, but found nothing.


    A bit uneasily, Alpad shook his hand and declared spiritedly, ¡°We still have to fight one more battle to break free. It has to be a fierce one. Knock out the Herd barbarians¡¯ front teeth, make it clear to them who¡¯s the Hunter and who¡¯s the prey.¡±


    ¡°General Alpad and I have already discussed this,¡± Sekler¡¯s voice was steady and articulate, ¡°Our situation now is very similar to when we were outside Bianli City. Without repelling the pursuers, even if we want to retreat, we can¡¯t escape. The ones biting at our heels are just the vanguard of the various Herd tribes, and this is a battle we can fight.¡±


    Sekler pointed to the river valley and woodland in front of them: ¡°This place is good. Let¡¯s engage the Herders right here.¡±


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 Chapter 488: 81 Contact_3

    Chapter 488: Chapter 81 Contact_3


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    Thirty kilometers west of the main Paratu encampment, inside the central tent of the Haidong Tribe, several men were quarreling.


    The central tent of the Haidong Tribe was exceptionally simple, even more so than the officer tents of the Paratu.


    If a Paratu person entered here, he would surely be utterly disappointed.


    Because the golden wine cups, silver platters, and lewdly dressed beauties that pervaded the imagination of the vast Paratu populace¡­ all those extravagant and corrupt playthings were completely absent.


    ...


    Inside the felt tent, there weren¡¯t even tables or stools.


    The ground was covered in wool blankets, and around twenty men sat on the floor, forming a circle without any distinction of rank or status.


    [Note: The following dialogue is in Herder language] Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, the felt curtain of the tent was lifted, and a beam of light shot in, stinging the eyes of those within.


    Two men of similar appearance walked into the felt tent.


    The man who entered first was tall, his steps firm and steady.


    His bones seemed as solid as if they were wrought from lead, he had a pair of large-jointed hands, and he possessed a set of calm brown eyes.


    The man who came after held within him a vitality that would make others envious, a magical force called youth: no matter what injuries he suffered, a sleep would heal them; no matter what setbacks he encountered, after drying his tears, he could rise again.


    The other men in the tent had once possessed this magical force: unfearful of falls, unafraid to bleed, crying hard, laughing hard¡­ but that was all in the past now.


    Now, every move they made was cautious, as each wound took plenty of time to heal.


    Every time they opened their eyes, they could feel the vitality within them lesser than the last time they had opened them.


    Age brought wealth, exchanged for power, they consoled themselves.


    But deep down they all knew: Nonsense! I would give anything to be young again.


    So they looked on with envy at the younger man¡ªalthough they were unwilling to admit their jealousy.


    The young man also had a pair of brown eyes, which, like two awls underneath short and neat eyebrows, shone brightly.


    As the two men walked into the tent, the inside of the felt tent suddenly fell quiet.


    Those arguing men clamped their lips shut, waiting for the host to break the silence.


    ¡°Mighty White Lion, you have finally arrived,¡± a grey-eyed old man with greying hair stood up and enthusiastically embraced White Lion: ¡°I and the other tribal leaders have been waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Wise Grey Eyes,¡± White Lion also embraced the elder warmly and presented him with a golden eagle statue: ¡°I gift you this spirit of the eagle, may your eyes forever be as sharp as that of an eagle.¡±


    The elder accepted with a smile.


    Afterward, White Lion embraced each leader in turn, and presented gifts.


    Offering gifts was an important custom among the Herders, and although the value of the gifts did not need to be significant, the more expensive the better, of course.


    The more precious the gift, the higher the rank of the giver implied, and the more important the receiver was considered.


    After the whole procedure was completed, White Lion also took his seat within the circle. The young man who followed him¡ªhis brother Little Lion¡ªsat down beside him.


    To sit in this circle meant that anything could be spoken.


    As soon as White Lion opened his mouth, it was as if he ignited an entire arsenal: ¡°The women and children of the Red River Tribe that were captured by the tribes, I want them returned.¡±


    The others¡¯ reactions ranged from indifferent, to disgruntled, to genuinely interested, each wanting to speak.


    ¡°Do not speak yet, I have not finished,¡± White Lion continued: ¡°The women with children, all the tribes must hand over; the women with husbands and brothers, the tribes must also give back; the rest of the women, the tribes may take away.¡±


    [Note: Here the term ¡°brothers¡± refers to the husband¡¯s brothers]


    A broad-shouldered and round-bellied chieftain spoke up: ¡°White Lion, I ask you. If a piece of gold falls to the ground, to whom does it belong?¡±


    ¡°Strong Eater, I answer you, to whoever seizes it, it belongs.¡±


    ¡°A group of women running into the wilderness is the same, to whoever seizes them, they belong. The tribes raid and kill each other, today you take one of my sheep, tomorrow I take one of your cows, to whoever can take it, it is theirs. There is only taking back, no giving back.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± White Lion said as he sat up straight. ¡°I have already begun taking.¡±


    ¡°`


    Once these words were spoken, nearly half of the tribal leaders¡¯ expressions changed.


    ¡°You¡¯ve already started taking hostages?¡± The robust eater immediately flew into a rage.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    The other chiefs silently watched the two in confrontation.


    ¡°Do you want to start a fight?¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t give them to me, we¡¯ll fight.¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east!¡±


    ¡°So what? If the tribes fight each other, whoever can snatch them owns them.¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east, and yet you prey on me?¡±


    ¡°The bipeds are in the east, haven¡¯t you preyed on me?¡±


    Grey Eyes laughed heartily and pacified the two, ¡°Valiant White Lion! Articulate White Lion! It¡¯s just a few women, robust eater, you should return them. Where¡¯s the firemaker?¡±


    ¡°The firemaker is taking hostages.¡±


    ¡°Did you hear that? Return the women of the Red River Tribe. We tribes have gathered here not to fight each other.¡±


    The Terdun Tribe and Haidong Tribe cast their votes in favor, and the tense Little Lion slightly relaxed.


    ¡°If the tribes return the women and children of the Red River Tribe, I will offer my share of the war spoils as a reciprocal gift.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± the robust eater also nodded in agreement.


    The Suz Tribe also cast their vote in favor,


    The crowd clapped their hands in oath, and the matter was settled.


    Discussion within the Herder¡¯s tent was for resolving the sharpest conflicts.


    Therefore, tribal chiefs said what they needed to, pulling at collars and swinging fists was common, but killing was forbidden.


    Once out of the felt tent, fighting or killing, each to their own.


    After a moment of silence inside the tent, the host of this place¡ªthe Khan of the Haidong Tribe [Grey Eyes]¡ªspoke, ¡°Chiefs of the tribes, please listen to me. The body should have a head, and clothes should have a collar; that is best.¡±


    This was a serious, important matter, far more significant than the fate of a few women, and the tribal chiefs all pricked up their ears.


    ¡°This is not the grand council meeting, nor are we here to elect a great Khan, but to choose a war chief who will lead us to victory over the bipeds. The tribes are like arrows, each separated and alone; each arrow can easily be broken. If we unite and work together, no one will find it easy to oppose us.¡±


    Alone one is easily snappable, but together we are hard to break. The story of breaking arrows was known to every Herder, but knowing was easier than doing.


    ¡°We must elect a war chief, and once elected, we have to hand over the power of life and death to him; only then can we win this war. Otherwise, we¡¯ll end up like before, with the grass turning green again and again, and the bipeds humiliating us time after time. Our borders have already retreated to The Styx; do we have anywhere else to retreat to?¡±


    To hand over the power of life and death? The tribal chiefs hesitated.


    Only White Lion remained calm.


    In the end, Grey Eyes spoke emphatically, ¡°I am too old, I can no longer wield a sword, I won¡¯t choose. Elect someone else, and I will carry my bow and ride my horse, following him to battle. Don¡¯t worry, we are not electing a great Khan, just until we win this battle.¡±


    The tribal chiefs looked towards White Lion.


    White Lion agreed readily, ¡°My people have suffered many casualties; I also won¡¯t choose.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s there to discuss?¡± the robust eater spoke up, ¡°If White Lion won¡¯t choose, if Grey Eyes won¡¯t choose¡­¡±


    A string of urgent shouts interrupted the robust eater¡¯s words: ¡°Khan! Emissaries from the bipeds have come!¡±


    Grey Eyes¡¯s expression changed dramatically; he struggled to his feet with one hand on the ground and walked outside the tent.


    The other chiefs followed him out.


    ¡°What do they want?¡±


    ¡°They want to negotiate a truce.¡±


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 Chapter 489: 82 White Lion

    Chapter 489: Chapter 82 White Lion


    Empire calendar year 540, autumn.


    [Note: Winters was two years old, 18 years ago.]


    The Great Wilderness, the Black Sheep Tribe¡¯s pasture, an unnamed river valley.


    The Parlatu 1st Piaoqi Cavalry was ¡°recruiting¡±.


    Two sentries brought a disheveled teenager before Colonel Alpad.


    The teenager¡¯s arms were twisted behind his back, and he was still struggling desperately and shouting loudly; the two adults could barely restrain him.


    ...


    Alpad, annoyed by the noise, gave a look to Lieutenant Haug.


    The lieutenant walked over and delivered a hard punch to the teenager¡¯s stomach.


    The latter curled up in pain like a shrimp, finally quieting the onlookers¡¯ ears.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Colonel Alpad asked.


    ¡°This kid was sneaking around outside.¡± The sentry answered, ¡°He shouted ¡®Alpad¡¯ upon seeing us. We didn¡¯t understand anything else he said, so we brought him to you.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°He shouts Alpad, and you bring him to me,¡± Colonel Alpad rebuked displeased, ¡°If he shouts out your father¡¯s name, would you bring him to your father?¡±


    The sentry didn¡¯t dare to say a word.


    ¡°Bring the Translator!¡±


    Soon, the Translator rushed over in a fluster.


    ¡°Ask him,¡± Alpad commanded impatiently, ¡°which tribe does he belong to? What was he sneaking around for? How does he know about me? Ask him clearly!¡±


    The Translator leaned down and communicated with the teenager,


    and after a few words, reported helplessly, ¡°Sir, this kid just keeps repeating the same thing.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°He says if you give him his mother, sister, and brother, he will exchange his life for yours, to become your ¡®Haha¡¯er¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Mother? Sister? What is he talking about?¡± Alpad was confused, ¡°And what is this Haha¡¯er?¡±


    The Translator thought for a long time in pain, unable to find a suitable adjective, ¡°It¡¯s like joining the army but more loyal¡­ much more loyal.¡±


    Alpad raised his eyebrows, ¡°Which tribe is he from?¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Say it or die, tell him that.¡±


    The Translator bent down to question the teenager, then reported, ¡°Wenduoer¡ªit means hillock or ridge. He says he¡¯s a person of Wenduoer.¡±


    ¡°The Wenduo Tribe? Hasn¡¯t the Wenduo Tribe been wiped out?¡± Alpad remembered something.


    The Translator listened then translated, ¡°He says the Wenduo Tribe was annihilated like scattered ashes. His father died; his pregnant mother, carrying him and his sister, gathered fruits to eat by the Wolan River, and then she gave birth to his brother¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop! What is all this nonsense? I didn¡¯t ask for his family tree!¡± Alpad flared up in irritation, ¡°Focus on the main point!¡±


    The Translator scratched his head, asked the teenager a few more questions, and said, ¡°He says his family was plundered by the ¡®Zhar Chikuot¡¯ Tribe, and his mother, sister, and brother were all kidnapped by the people of Zhar Chikuot. He heard that you are going to attack the Zhar Chikuot Tribe, so he came to join you.¡±


    Alpad looked puzzled, ¡°Join me? I was the one who led the troops to suppress the Wenduo Tribe, doesn¡¯t he know that? Doesn¡¯t he care?¡±


    The translator relayed, ¡°He says he only cares about his family.¡±


    Alpad laughed loudly, looking at the teenager, ¡°Wants to trade his life for his family members¡­ at least he has some spirit. Ask him, does he have a warhorse?¡±


    ¡°He does, the old horse he rode in on,¡± the sentry rushed to reply, ¡°Yellow-haired, very old.¡±


    Alpad clapped his hands, ¡°Having a horse is enough. We need men anyway; one more won¡¯t hurt. Issue him a knife and take him along.¡±


    Lieutenant Haug promptly acknowledged.


    ¡°Release him!¡±


    The sentries let go, and the teenager regained his freedom.


    He didn¡¯t run, but stood tense on the spot, warily scanning his surroundings with a pair of brown eyes.


    Alpad approached and asked, ¡°Kid, how old are you?¡±


    The Translator acting as the go-between: ¡°Seventeen.¡±


    ¡°Seventeen? Old enough to bear arms,¡± Alpad asked casually before leaving, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Yasin,¡± the Translator replied, ¡°White Lion.¡±


    ¡­


    Empire calendar year 542, spring.


    [Note: One and a half years later.]


    On a pitch-black night where you couldn¡¯t see your hand in front of your face, a warhorse carrying two people ran desperately east.


    The sounds of pursuing hooves and war cries were faintly audible, and not far behind, flickering flames could be seen.


    One side had underestimated the enemy and pushed forward rashly, while the other was well-prepared.


    The outcome, therefore, was hardly surprising.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet! I haven¡¯t lost yet! I will regroup the routed troops!¡± Alpad, lying on the horse¡¯s back, was uncontrollably furious, ¡°Let me down! Yasin! Let go of me!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The rider with brown eyes answered in a rough common tongue.


    Alpad¡¯s left calf was twisted in an unnatural angle, obviously broken, and roughly set with sticks and hemp ropes.


    His jacket was soaked with blood, and scabs had glued the cuts on his shoulder and back to the fabric.


    Furthermore, Alpad himself was tied down to the horseback, looking utterly disheveled.


    He screamed hysterically, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than suffer this humiliation!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The rider with the brown eyes spurred the warhorse even harder.


    The horse foamed at the mouth, breathing heavily, its belly nearly grazing the tops of the grass.


    ¡°You Herd barbarian! Bastard! Mongrel! Yes! I get it now! You want to betray me! You want to take me to your master for the reward! I¡¯ll kill you! Ah!!!¡±


    Silence was the only response to Alpad.


    Not knowing how far they had run, the warhorse suddenly stopped and collapsed, bending its hind legs to the ground.


    The two men on its back, like sacks filled with grain, tumbled headfirst from the horse¡¯s head to the ground.


    The rider with the brown eyes quickly got up, shouldered Alpad, and continued eastward.


    Alpad, weakened from too much blood loss, mumbled indecipherably, ¡°Give me a knife; I don¡¯t want to be a prisoner, nor do I want to live in shame¡­¡±


    The moment he accepted the fact that he was defeated, he stopped denying reality, stopped being angry; all that was left was shame and despair.


    ¡°You can¡¯t carry me, Yasin. Save yourself.¡±


    With his last bit of strength, Alpad fell into unconsciousness.


    The brown-eyed Herder struggled to step forward, saying word by word, ¡°I am your comrade.¡±


    ¡­


    Empire calendar year 548, summer.


    [Note: Ten years ago]


    At Kingsfort, the headquarters of the Parlatu Army, sat a dozen people in a small conference room.


    Brigadier General Alpad was among them.


    ¡°Here, the Sule Die Tribe.¡± Alpad drew a circle on the map: ¡°The land of the Sule Die Tribe is very close to the buffer zone. A year ago they defeated the Wagan Tribe and began expanding quickly. Now they claim the land from Wolan River to Kurgan River.¡±


    Alpad summarized, ¡°The Sule Die Tribe is dangerous, and they¡¯re becoming more dangerous.¡±


    General Yanosh flipped through the documents and asked, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The chief of the Sheep Enclosure Tribe is senile and not much of a threat. The leader of the Sule Die Tribe is the exact opposite; he¡¯s popular, and many small tribes are even defecting to him in droves.¡± Alpad laid out his plan: ¡°I suggest we maintain the pretense of attacking the Sheep Enclosure Tribe, but the legion should bypass the Wolan River and strike at the Sule Die Tribe.¡±


    ¡°An old wolf, and a cub,¡± General Yanosh said with a smile as he put down the documents. ¡°Then let¡¯s hit the cub first, and the old wolf later.¡±


    Brigadier General Sekler took the documents and casually asked, ¡°Sule Die, what does it mean?¡±


    ¡°Red River.¡± Alpad said emotionlessly: ¡°The chief is called White Lion.¡±


    A month later, the Palatine Army swept through the Great Wilderness; the White Lion barely escaped with his life.


    ¡­


    The time returns to the present: Empire calendar year 559, February.


    The ¡°Allied¡± Herder forces had not combined their camps. Each tribe set up its camp several kilometers apart from the others.


    On the one hand, the horses needed space to forage; on the other hand, the various tribes were keeping a wary eye on each other.


    To the north of the Red River Tribe camp, a dozen riders were speeding towards them, kicking up a trail of brown dust in their wake.


    The guard on the watchtower squinted to make out who it was, then suddenly shouted with joy, ¡°White Lion has returned! And the Little Lion too!¡±


    The people of the Red River Tribe cheered and jumped for joy.


    The guard moved aside the gate, and the riders galloped into camp, stopping only when they reached the large tent.


    Every warhorse was drenched in sweat, as if washed with water.


    The Little Lion watched his elder brother dismount agilely and head straight for the large tent.


    He also hurriedly dismounted, following closely behind his brother.


    The guards all stood outside the tent, while only the two brothers entered.


    No sooner had they been out of sight of their people than White Lion, who had been striding firmly, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.


    ¡°Brother!¡± the Little Lion called out softly, rushing forward to help.


    He helped his weak brother up and laid White Lion on the fur blanket.


    ¡°White Lion, what did the grey-eyed say?¡± The tent flap was lifted again, and the elder chief of the Eagle Forest Tribe, Tie Feng, walked into the felt tent.


    [Note: Tie Feng, previously translated as ¡°Tie Duo¡±. Herder language pronunciation ¡°q¨« ti¨§y¨¢¡±, meaning lots and lots of iron, ¡°ch¡± and ¡°ya¡± both indicate plural.]


    Upon hearing of White Lion¡¯s return, Tie Feng immediately came to the large tent.


    He had intended to inquire about the situation, but upon entering he saw his nephew fallen, and hurriedly turned to lower the tent curtain.


    The Little Lion, flustered, untied his brother¡¯s armor and robe to help White Lion breathe more easily.


    Anxious, Tie Feng walked in circles, hitting his thigh and scolding the Little Lion, ¡°You two brothers! The Great Shaman said he could heal bleeding wounds, but your brother still needs to rest for ten days. What now? What do we do now?¡±


    Without a word, tears swirled in the Little Lion¡¯s eyes.


    The Little Lion heard his brother say weakly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. Help me up.¡±


    With Tie Feng¡¯s assistance, the old and the young helped White Lion to a bed.


    White Lion had two light red marks on his left abdomen, looking like birthmarks, or like new, tender skin that had just healed and lost its scabs.


    The two ¡°birthmarks¡± didn¡¯t look very alarming, for White Lion¡¯s body was covered in scars far more terrible than these.


    Bold Palatians disguised as Herders had pushed cannons to within a hundred meters of White Lion.


    In the nick of time, Owl Hawk used his life to shield from most of the grapeshot, but still, two lead balls hit White Lion.


    If it weren¡¯t for the Shamans of all tribes giving their all, White Lion would have perished long ago.


    The Little Lion felt something touch his shoulder¡ªit was his brother¡¯s hand.


    He looked up and saw his brother manage a faint smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± White Lion said.


    The Little Lion nodded and dried his tears.


    White Lion sat up with difficulty and slowly buckled his belt.


    ¡°What did the grey-eyed say?¡± Tie Feng asked anxiously. ¡°What about the other chiefs?¡±


    ¡°The Palatians want to negotiate peace.¡±


    Tie Feng was astonished: ¡°What? The two-legged want to make peace? The Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe won¡¯t be deceived, will they?¡±


    White Lion shook his head.


    To the Herders, negotiation meant a year¡¯s truce, and they understood this all too well.


    Seeing White Lion struggled to speak, the Little Lion spoke up, ¡°My brother brought back the families of our warriors.¡±


    Tie Feng slapped his thigh, ¡°Good! Being able to bring them back means the tribes still consider us their banner.¡±


    The wind swept through the tent, making a wailing sound.


    The Little Lion also sat on the bed, saying indignantly, ¡°The glutton¡¯s greed is bigger than his belly. When he heard that the grey-eyed and my brother didn¡¯t choose the war leader, he swooped like a vulture smelling scent! Aren¡¯t we the ones who contributed the most?¡±


    ¡°The tribes nominated the glutton as the war leader?¡± Tie Feng widened his eyes at White Lion, ¡°You didn¡¯t object? Becoming the war leader is halfway to the Khan¡¯s throne!¡±


    ¡°There are no such foolish dogs in the world that fight over who gets to eat the prey first without having caught it,¡± White Lion said slowly. ¡°There¡¯s no point in fighting a war if you quarrel over the spoils before winning. Let¡¯s defeat the Palatians first; the rest can be sorted out.¡±


    Tie Feng sighed, ¡°We suffered heavy losses, and so did the Terdun Tribe. Only if our two houses stick together do we have the right to share the spoils. I just hope the Fire-tender is on our side.¡±


    ¡°Although the Fire-tender is quick to anger, he is not stupid.¡±


    ¡°What did the glutton say?¡±


    ¡°He wants to fight.¡±


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 Chapter 490: 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces

    Chapter 490: Chapter 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces


    Winters was utterly unaware of what was happening behind him.


    All he could do was to urge his troops to keep moving, moving, moving.


    The emergence of the Hurd cavalry was like an invisible whip, fiercely lashing across the backs of the Paratu People, and all at once, the speed of the march sharply increased.


    ¡°Centurion Montaigne,¡± Colonel Jeska called Winters to his side, his expression extremely serious, ¡°take your centuria as the vanguard. Control the pace, slow it down.¡±


    ¡°Slow it down?¡±


    Colonel Jeska released his right hand that had been checking his pulse and pointed at the column, saying, ¡°The troops are currently marching at a pace of one hundred twenty-six steps per minute. They¡¯re fast because they are afraid. What use is there in hurrying when we still have hundreds of kilometers ahead of us?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Understood.¡± Winters raised his hand in salute, steered his horse, and was about to leave.


    ¡°Bring the speed down, walk at the regular rhythm.¡±


    [Note: A regular pace is seventy-two steps per minute]


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Go.¡± Colonel Jeska lightly flicked Winters¡¯ shoulder with his whip.


    ¡­


    Behind the vanguard, the two armies¡¯ reconnaissance cavalry fought in a chase across the vast wilderness.


    These skirmishes, of a handful of soldiers each, were tests of horsemanship, skill, and bravery.


    The Herders were armed with bows and arrows, while the Paratu had superior warhorses. Both sides suffered casualties, and for a while, it was difficult to tell which side would win.


    On the Paratu side, before the first group of messengers returned, Sekler¡¯s second group set out, closely followed by a third.


    Consequently, not long after the White Lion returned to the Red River Tribe¡¯s camp, Grey Eyes summoned him for council again, this time also requesting the presence of the Firekeeper.


    ¡°You go back to the tribes and bring back the women and children, Uncle,¡± the White Lion, fully armed, switched to a fresh horse, and once again became that silent and steadfast leader, ¡°The tribal chieftains and I have an agreement; they will not make it difficult for you.¡±


    ¡°And then what?¡±


    ¡°Then you take the Eagle Forest Tribe to escort the women and children north, take them back to the old camp.¡±


    ¡°You want me to leave here? If the Eagle Forest Tribe isn¡¯t here, how can I share in the spoils of war?¡±


    ¡°You escort our kin to the old camp and then return; you should be back in time.¡± The White Lion spoke with calm certainty, ¡°Mark my words, Uncle, there is still much fighting to be done.¡±


    ¡­


    The Paratu People¡¯s stance grew more humble with each visit.


    When the first group of messengers arrived, the conditions they presented for peace were to leave with their weapons and flags¡ªbarely different from retreating.


    Of course, the chieftains of the Herder tribes would not agree.


    The second group of messengers¡¯ conditions had already changed to: The Paratu army would leave with their weapons and flags, and would provide compensation based on the tribes¡¯ losses.


    The conditions of the third group of messengers were to cede territory, pay compensation, agree to ten years of peace, but the Paratu army still had to leave with their weapons and flags.


    The tribes held a great council, with the chieftains arguing incessantly.


    ¡°What messengers! They are clearly scouts!¡± the Firekeeper roared, overpowering the voices of others, ¡°The Paratu take advantage of the fact that the tribes do not kill messengers, and thus they keep sending wave after wave of people to investigate us! Catch those messengers and kill them all!¡±


    ¡°If you want to kill, then kill,¡± the Blackwater chieftain said, visibly displeased.


    [Note: The Herder tribes have a tradition of not killing messengers, the Paratu¡­ used to have the same tradition]


    The Firekeeper glared at the Blackwater chieftain: ¡°Is this only a matter for my Terdon Tribe? You don¡¯t want blood on your hands, yet you want me to do the killing?¡±


    ¡°What else to consider? Are we supposed to agree? Knowing there¡¯s a trap ahead and still jumping in?¡± the newly appointed war chieftain [Eater-Healthy] slapped his thigh and scolded the chieftains, ¡°The thoughts of the two-legged are as twisted as sheep¡¯s intestines. What¡¯s there to discuss with them? They are running away without food or drink, we should be sending troops to attack them, not sitting here idle and inactive!¡±


    A chieftain agreed, saying, ¡°Yes! We sit in our felt tents while our people huddle together for warmth. Along the way, countless horses have died. The sooner we eliminate the two-legged folk, the less our losses will be. The various tribes have at least thirty thousand warriors; if we join forces and attack, how could we not defeat the two-legged?¡±


    The Herder tribes waged war in winter, with warhorses first losing flesh until their ribs were showing, and then dying mysteriously.


    In their hurry to come, they had brought few tents, and huddling together for warmth was not an exaggeration.


    A day or two they can endure, but over a longer time, even iron-clad men would fall sick from the cold.


    The sooner they defeated the Paratu army, the smaller the losses the Herder tribes would suffer. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Firekeeper refused to be outdone and immediately retorted, ¡°Eater-Healthy, let me ask you this: Knowing there¡¯s a trap, will you still jump in? You want to act blindly like a blindfolded bull without understanding what the two-legged want to do?¡±


    ¡°The one who lost the golden idol to the sky has no right to speak to me,¡± Eater-Healthy shot back.


    The Firekeeper rose without a word, and suddenly pounced on Eater-Healthy like a bear.


    The two grasped each other¡¯s cloaks, and it took a great deal of effort from the other chieftains to separate them.


    Grey Eyes calmed the two: ¡°It wouldn¡¯t hurt to send a few observant ones to follow the two-legged messengers back, to probe their reality.¡±


    The White Lion sat in a corner, silent.


    The Little Lion sat behind the White Lion, his face full of disdain.


    When Eater-Healthy saw these two, he pointed at the White Lion and asked, ¡°White Lion, you summoned us here. Why do you not speak? Speak!¡±


    ¡°If I speak, the tribes will not listen, it¡¯s better to stay silent.¡±


    ¡°How do you know I will not listen?¡± Eater-Healthy was furious.


    ¡°Very well then!¡± The White Lion patted the Little Lion, ¡°Bring me my tapestry.¡±


    The Little Lion stood up and left, returning to the tent after a short while with a woolen blanket in his arms.


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 Chapter 491 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_2

    It wasn''t the type of blanket commonly seen in Herder homes, with fur and hide intact, but a blanket woven from wool.


    The woolen blanket slowly unfurled in the center of the felt tent, as long and wide as a man, with a map embroidered with golden thread on top.


    A map¡ªthis was no trifling matter.


    Nowadays, with the tribal territories limited, maps were memorized mentally; there was no need to transcribe them.


    And the large maps from the era of Khan Queye had always been treasured by the tribal chieftains, hidden away as precious secrets not to be shared with outsiders.


    "Open the roof hole!" Grey Eyes ordered the guard outside the tent.


    The leather covering the tent was removed, and sunlight poured into the felt tent, illuminating the map.


    The chieftains gathered around the map, being very careful not to step on it.


    "Isn''t this G¨¡l¨¢n Lake?" a chieftain squinted and asked, pointing to a corner of the map.


    G¨¡l¨¢n Lake was situated far to the west, where the tribes living there were deemed savages by the eyes of the Herder tribes and were known as "Wild Herders."


    "This is a map drawn by the Paratu People." The White Lion articulated each word, "To the south, it reaches Golden Summit Mountain, to the north, Sheltering Mountain, to the east, Kingsfort, and to the west, G¨¡l¨¢n Lake.


    "As you fight for power among yourselves, little do you know that the Paratu People have long been contemplating how to exterminate us all. If we do not unite, the day will come when our tribal heartfires will be stamped out by the Paratu, and the heads of our tribes will be scattered like ashes."


    The tribal chieftains fell silent.


    "That''s all I have to say." The White Lion sat back down.


    A robust chieftain stepped on the map, his face flushed with anger, pointing at the White Lion, he asked, "Then what do you propose we do?"


    "I have only one thing to say." The White Lion responded calmly, "Since the robust chieftain was elected war leader, then let everyone obey him. If he commands the tribes to wade through a sea of fire, so must they wade. If he commands the tribes to climb the snowy mountains, they must climb."


    Below the tent''s dome, there was an uproar; this was not the answer the chieftains wanted to hear.


    "When the Paratu People go to war, they too argue. But once the military order is issued, no one hesitates¡ªeveryone charges into battle at the command. Even if the order is mistaken, it is followed to the letter. That''s how the Paratu can defeat Herder forces twice, even three times their size. If you and I cannot do the same, we will be doomed to suffer defeat forever." The White Lion spoke firmly, "Since the robust chieftain was elected, we must listen to him, just like that!"


    The other chieftains were silent, with Little Lion showing a look of dissent.


    "Very well! Let''s do it this way!" the man who stoked the fire roared, "But if you issue an order that sends the Terdon Tribe to their deaths, I won''t follow it! Robust chieftain!"


    "I agree," nodded Grey Eyes.


    After a noisy discussion, the chieftains chaotically agreed to follow the robust chieftain''s command.


    "If you are willing to listen to me," the robust chieftain said loudly, "then join me in toasting."


    Amongst the Herders, every great council participant would share a drink as a sign they held no further dissent, known as ''joining cups.''


    Joining cups marked the end of the great council, and the robust chieftain''s call to do it now was clearly irregular.


    "Agreed." The White Lion stood up, the first to consent.


    Guards brought in strong liquor, the chieftains respectfully saluted the spirits, and began to take turns drinking and swearing their oaths.


    "Robust chieftain, you are not yet the Khan. If you plot against the Terdon Tribe, I won''t obey you," the man who stoked the fire was the last to join cups. He growled these words before drinking the strong liquor to complete the ceremony.


    So, following Herder tradition, the robust chieftain divided the Herder tribes into two wings and a central army.


    The Suz Tribe and Haidong Tribe formed the central force, the Terdon Tribe and the Red River Tribe the right wing, with the other tribes merging into the left wing.


    The robust chieftain also understood that the Herder tribes were a loose collection of forces¡ªone tribe might be commanded but many tribes conglomerated could hardly execute overly complex orders.


    "Pack up tonight and march out when it''s time for the bipeds to embark tomorrow," the robust chieftain ordered the tribal chieftains, "The central army will attack their central force, the right wing their rear guard, the left wing their vanguard. If the tribes unite, they will surely be unable to withstand us."


    While the robust chieftain was still setting the time for the rendezvous, a scout from outside suddenly brought a report: the Paratu People were burning their camp and had escaped into the night. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Tribes, hasten back and gather your troops!" The robust chieftain made a decisive call, "Catch up with the bipeds, and don''t let them slip away!"


    The chieftains dispersed in agreement, stepping out of the felt tent one after another.


    Outside the felt tent, Haidong tribe members were already stringing bows, donning armor, and preparing horses.


    The camp was alive with the cries of men and neighs of horses.


    As lords of this region, the Red River Tribe brought along some tents with the army.


    The Haidong Tribe, having traveled from afar, had brought hardly anything at all.


    Carrying less baggage meant they could move more swiftly.


    Mounting the warhorses, leading the packhorses, carrying bows and swords, the Haidong tribe quickly switched from an encamped state to marching order.


    The tribal chieftains left the Haidong Tribe''s camp to find their respective tribesmen.


    On the way back to camp, Little Lion was still sullen: "How can you listen to that worthless robust chieftain? They are just taking advantage of us! The blood is all spilled by the Red River Tribe! Yet now he acts as if he were the Khan!"


    "Every word I said to the robust chieftain is the result of my years of contemplation," the White Lion patiently explained to his brother, "The lion has our throat in its jaws, the wolf has our wrists in its teeth. Do we deal with the lion first, or the wolf first?"


    "But we shouldn''t..."


    The White Lion cut in directly, "If the robust chieftain can lead us to victory against the Paratu, I am more than willing to endorse him as Khan."


    Little Lion scratched his head: "What if he can''t win?"


    The White Lion retorted to his brother in the common tongue: "[In common tongue] What do you think of the robust chieftain compared to me?"


    Taken aback, Little Lion replied in the common tongue: "[In common tongue] How could he possibly be better than big brother!"

 Chapter 492 83 Uneven Combined Military Forces_3

    White Lion sighed deeply, "I''ve been preparing for three years, thinking I could defend Bianli for three months. But once the Paratu People exerted their strength, Bianli couldn''t even hold out for seven days. With the help of the shamans from the tribes, I thought we could at least sever an arm of the Paratu People, but we were still almost utterly annihilated."


    Little Lion, as someone who had experienced it himself, didn''t know how to comfort his brother.


    "I thought I had overestimated the Paratu People enough, but in reality, I still underestimated them," White Lion patted his brother''s shoulder, "We have much to learn. The other tribes look down on us after our big defeat because they haven''t experienced the Paratu People''s strength firsthand. Only when they also hit a snag will they understand what we''ve been through and regain their respect for the Red River Tribe. Only when they also hit a snag will they follow my strategy."


    "Should we... wish for the food gatherers to be defeated?" Little Lion asked with confusion.


    "No! I sincerely hope that the food gatherers will win," White Lion replied earnestly, "But they won''t win, because they''re up against ''Paratu''s Hammer'' and ''Paratu''s Shield''."


    White Lion rarely showed a trace of a smile, "And from Paratu''s Hammer, I''ve learned a very important thing."


    "What is it?"


    "Contingency plans."


    ...


    While White Lion and Little Lion were conversing, General Alpad was giving the Paratu Cavalry their final speech.


    Alpad stood on a carriage, waving a piece of parchment, and bellowed, "Do you know what this is?"


    Thousands of cavalrymen holding their reins and standing in front of their horses were silent.


    "This is the withdrawal order from the Paratu Council!"


    As soon as these words were spoken, there was a stir among the crowd.


    Not only the soldiers, but even the junior officers were taken aback.


    The lieutenant colonels, however, had normal expressions because they had known about the existence of this order beforehand.


    The colonels weren''t surprised either; not only did they know about this order, but they also knew it was the second withdrawal order.


    In the whole legion, only Alpad and Sekler knew the truth: this was actually the fifth withdrawal order.


    Not long after the Hurd marauders invaded Paratu''s homeland, the Grand Council had issued the first withdrawal order.


    Five consecutive orders, each more sternly worded than the last.


    "I''ll tell you what it says on this order!" Alpad picked up the parchment and disclosed the content of the confidential letter to the whole legion, "The Fifth and Sixth Legions, lingering in enemy territory, without any achievements. The order dictates the Fifth and Sixth Legions return to Shuangqiao Main Camp immediately, any delay will be treated as treason! Treated as treason!"


    The wind swept through the Paratu soldiers'' formation, bringing with it waves of anger.


    "The Council asks us where the legion is when it''s needed!" before everyone, Alpad tore up the Council''s sealed order, shattering it and fiercely throwing it to the ground, "Fat-brained fools of the Council! What do they think we''re doing?"


    "Do they think we''re drinking wine, eating meat, enjoying Hurd women?"


    "Do they think we don''t want to return to Paratu?"


    "Haven''t we been fighting bloody battles with the Herd Barbarians with every sword and spear? Which one of you doesn''t have wounds? Which one of you hasn''t buried a comrade-in-arms in the wilderness? Now we''re branded as traitors?"


    With the aid of the spellcasters who had regained their magical abilities, Alpad''s voice reached every corner of the Paratu army.


    The suppressed anger and resentment in the soldiers'' hearts gradually fermented; they had been fighting bloody battles, risking their lives in the fray with the Herd Barbarians!


    "Tens of thousands of Herd Barbarians biting at our heels! But the Grand Council treats us as traitors!" Alpad was also filled with rage, "We''re now a stranded army! There''s no one to rescue us! Only ourselves! Follow me! Slaughter every last Herd Barbarian! String their ears together with grass ropes! Come with me to demand an explanation from the Grand Council!"


    "Long live!" a soldier shouted.


    "Long live!!" others shouted in unison.


    "Long live!!!" Everyone was roaring with anger and resentment.


    Alpad mounted his warhorse and rushed northward, with the eagle flag following behind him.


    The bugle sounded, and the cavalrymen turned around and mounted their horses in unison, following their general under the guidance of the officers.


    ...


    ...


    However, General Alpad''s inflammatory speech had nothing to do with the vanguard.


    If the old shaman heard it, he might even give Alpad a negative review for ''having ulterior motives.''


    For Winters, he was still leading his usual life of marching, fortifying camps, and resting, just more vigilant.


    One and a half days later, a messenger cavalier carrying a blue military flag caught up to the vanguard from behind. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "A great victory!" Winters heard him shouting, "A great victory!"


    "General Sekler has crushed the barbarian coalition! General Alpad has broken through ten camps!"


    The soldiers of the vanguard cheered and rejoiced. They slapped their chests, screaming, and threw their hats into the air with all their might.


    Winters, brimming with excitement, found Lieutenant Colonel Jeska but noticed Jeska, Lieutenant Colonel Bod, and two other officers gathering together with grave expressions.


    "What''s happened?" Jeska asked Winters.


    Seeing that something was amiss, Winters''s excitement gradually faded and he spoke as calmly as he could, "A dispatch from the rear, it seems like the main forces have crushed the Hurd coalition."


    "What good does that do?" spat Lieutenant Colonel Bod, "The bridge has been burned again."

 Chapter 493 84 Imagination

    The main force''s battle with the allied tribal armies took place forty kilometers away and ended there as well.


    The staff officers were still unclear about the specifics, and the information Winters got was even more fragmented.


    Some said that General Alpad had charged in and out of the barbarian lines seven times, slaughtering them so thoroughly that they were scattered and in complete disarray.


    Others claimed that General Sekler killed three tribal leaders with just three spears, making the barbarians flee in utter panic, their morale completely broken.


    Each account was vivid as if it had been witnessed firsthand.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska pulled out a map and after a long search, slapped his hand down, "It should be right here."


    Winters and Andre leaned in to look.


    The lieutenant colonel pointed twice on the map.


    "A valley?"


    "Running east to west, with forests on the north and south sides to provide cover," Lieutenant Colonel Jeska stroked his chin. "The messenger said the old man ambushed the enemy in the valley. In my opinion, he was just picking a place where he wouldn''t be encircled."


    "And then?"


    "Then he arrayed his troops and fought."


    "Is it that simple?" Andre couldn''t believe it.


    "How complicated do you think it should be?" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska''s attitude was indifferent. "Aren''t battles just about attack and defense? The difficulty isn''t in the fighting, but in how to make the enemy engage on the battlefield you''ve chosen."


    Winters pressed, "How did General Sekler manage that?"


    "Want to know? Ask him," Lieutenant Colonel Jeska sighed. "We''ll be seeing him soon enough."


    ...


    Forty kilometers southwest of the vanguard column lay an unnamed valley.


    To call it a valley was a bit of a stretch; in reality, it was just a low ground between two hills.


    Yet on this piece of ground no more than two kilometers wide, now lay a sprawl of the dead, the wounded, and carcasses of warhorses.


    Paratu soldiers, bloodied and injured, walked through the valley, ruthlessly stabbing any Herders they found still alive.


    Sekler, coughing up blood, sat on his chariot listening to Colonel Laszlo report the state of the battle.


    The fight was incredibly fierce; the most aggressive Herder cavalry had come within five meters of Sekler himself.


    The square formation around Sekler was attacked from all directions, and Sekler himself was hit by three arrows: two struck his breastplate and one hit his helmet dead center.


    Colonel Laszlo recited mechanically, "Fifty-six auxiliary centurion squads¡­ all collapsed, with eighteen centurions killed¡ªsome were from the wild routes, others from The Federated Provinces and Vineta. Another twelve centurions await court-martial. Four cohorts from the left wing of the Sixth Legion were also smashed to the point of losing their structure."


    [Note: "Wild routes" refer to non-academically trained officers, including what''s called "Paratu temporary officers." These officers are few in number, not favored, and never promoted to staff positions.]


    ...


    Day before yesterday at dusk.


    "Move out," Sekler inspected his entire army for the last time and walked out of the camp without looking back.


    The Paratu army advanced eastward in the cover of night, and the rear guard burnt everything they could not take with them.


    ... Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yesterday morning.


    "The barbarians are retreating!" The Paratu soldiers shouted to each other in encouragement as they watched the enemy''s fading figures: "The barbarians are retreating."


    The Herder vanguard caught up with the Paratu army, and after a minor skirmish, the Herder vanguard was routed.


    The Paratu army continued eastward, discarding damaged supply wagons one after another.


    ...


    Deep into last night.


    The Paratu army finally arrived at the battlefield Sekler had chosen.


    Sekler arrayed his troops in the valley, positioning them into three lines.


    A small number of light cavalry was placed in the first line, auxiliaries in the second, and the standing army composed the third line.


    The chief cohorts of two legions were stationed atop the hills to the north and south.


    The White Lion was eager for battle; to prove his capabilities and establish his authority, he needed a decisive victory.


    He dispatched troops to stop the infighting among the tribes over loot and urged the tribal cavalry to give chase throughout the night.


    Both sides were willing to engage in a decisive battle, which ignited in this nameless valley.


    ...


    Early this morning, the vanguard cavalry from both sides engaged first in combat.


    The Paratu light cavalry were outnumbered and suffered a rout.


    Two centurions retreated without orders and were executed on the spot according to military law.


    As daylight broke and the mist cleared, the Herder light cavalry returned to their main formation, and the allied tribal armies arrived at the battlefield.


    The narrow width of the ground prevented the Herders from deploying fully, but the White Lion still sent his troops to flank and encircle from a distance.


    Around eight in the morning, the Herder tribal allied forces pressed forward from the front.


    The Herder cavalry charged into the auxiliary lines; in the narrow valley, soldiers and horses from both sides were crowded together.


    Blood spattered into the eyes of soldiers from both sides, and those killed couldn''t even fall to the ground.


    In this ghastly combat, the auxiliary units also quickly crumbled, retreating behind the third line.


    The standing army''s grand square formation began to face the enemy.


    The indestructible grand square held firm against the assault of the Herder cavalry.


    Following the advice of the White Lion, the tribal cavalry dismounted and joined the foot battle.


    The chief cohorts on the hillsides were meant to provide fire support, but they were tied down by the flanks of the Herder allied forces.


    Amid the terrible melee, the overall formation of the Paratu army began to crush towards the right flank, leaving an ever-increasing gap on the left.


    The White Lion was waiting for this moment; he led the cream of the Suz Tribe straight into the breach in the Paratu army''s left flank.


    The Suz Tribe''s warriors, unflinching in battle, charged headlong into the forest of pikes.


    Riders and warhorses fell dead on the spot, but a gap was smashed open in the forest of pikes.


    The remainder burst into formation, wreaking havoc; the already faltering left flank square of the Paratu army was instantly overrun.


    The Suz Tribe cavalry began to circle around to the rear of the Paratu central army, while Sekler sent reorganized auxiliaries to resist, but they were no match for the well-rested Suz Tribe cavalry.

 Chapter 494 84 Imagination_2

    "[Herde Language] We won!" the eater of fine foods laughed heartily.


    The Herde Allied Forces held the winning ticket, with the Suz Tribe cavalry sweeping the lines from south to north.


    "We won," Sekler said, exhausted.


    The Herde Allied Forces had pressed on all fronts, and Sekler finally played the ace he had patiently hidden up his sleeve.


    The piercing charge of the bugle echoed through the valley.


    Four squadrons of heavy cavalry burst out of the woodlands on the south side of the line and charged at the Suz Tribe cavalry from behind.


    The often reliable tactic of attacking from behind shattered the Suz Tribe cavalry in an instant.


    Inspired by this, Paratu infantrymen roared and pushed back against the Herde Allied Forces.


    The rest of the forces along the line tried to change direction to counterattack but failed to organize effectively and were eventually swept back by the rout.


    When one Herder started to flee, all the Herders began to flee.


    Seeing the bad turn of events, the Herde Allied Forces on both flanks also started to retreat.


    The Herders who had retreated outside the valley received the news that their main camp had been overrun by another group of Paratu Piaoqi cavalry.


    In fact, there was no need for an assault; the vanguard "main camp" of the various tribes didn''t even have a wagon fort; it was just an open space protected from the wind, used to store spare horses and a small amount of baggage.


    [Note: Spare horses, that is, horses kept in reserve]


    The remaining courage of the various tribes'' cavalrymen dissipated, and they scattered in a panic, each rushing back to save their own main camps.


    ...


    "This is yet another battle where the infantry bleeds and the cavalry is glorified," every officer in the valley can''t help but think.


    The crude gallows were erected, and the execution ground was prepared on the hilltop.


    According to Paratu military law, after a battle, executions would begin... of their own people.


    Twelve Centurions, stripped of their armor, were bound and made to kneel in a row¡ªif soldiers didn''t rout but officers fled the battle, hang them; S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soldiers with cinnabar stains on their backs were pulled out one by one¡ªif there were stains of cinnabar on the back, behead them;


    More soldiers began to draw lots for life and death¡ªif officers didn''t retreat but soldiers were defeated, draw and execute.


    In the past twenty-odd years, never had Sekler been lenient, because military law was everything to the Paratu army.


    But today, even the iron-hearted Sekler could not kill anymore.


    "Forget it," Sekler said softly.


    Laszlo asked expressionlessly, "What did you say?"


    "I said, forget it," Sekler said in a strong voice, slapping his chest and coughing. "Shave their heads and send them to the Death Camp."


    "Yes."


    "Tell them if they can get back to Paratu, their lives will be given back to them. If they can''t get back to Paratu, then they might as well take a Herder down with them."


    "Yes."


    Sekler asked again, "Has Alpad returned yet?"


    "Not yet, he''s probably still pursuing the remnants of the enemy."


    "We don''t need to wait for him. Take men and go, find the carts we abandoned along the road. I''ll wait for you ahead, one day, just one day. Get back as much as you can."


    "Yes," Colonel Laszlo turned and left.


    Sekler struggled to his feet; he was seven years younger than Alpad but had aged more prematurely than the latter.


    He looked at the valley littered with corpses: a dark red liquid flowed down the slopes, pooling at the bottom of the valley.


    If one hadn''t seen it with their own eyes, nobody would believe "blood" could actually "flow into a river."


    A messenger on horseback with a green feather in his helmet rushed into the valley, heading recklessly toward the eagle standard.


    The guards intercepted him with their halberds; the messenger rolled off his mount and stumbled, running towards the eagle standard while holding up a letter.


    Of course, the guards around the eagle standard would not let him approach the general easily.


    Two guards seized the messenger while another took the letter and handed it to Sekler.


    Sekler took the letter, tore it open, and was silent for a long time.


    The hand holding the letter was so tense that the knuckles had lost all color.


    After thirty years, the iron hooves of the Herders had once again stepped on the land of Paratu.


    The uncalled for invasion by "savage cavalry" had struck terror into the Paratu Assembly.


    The Grand Assembly bypassed the Army Headquarters and issued five consecutive orders, demanding the Expeditionary Force to retreat for reinforcement.


    But now, the Grand Assembly no longer needed to worry about Herde raiders.


    Because they were back.


    And they had destroyed the second Floating Bridge of the Paratu Expeditionary Force.


    ...


    One day later.


    The familiar tents, the familiar leaders of the tribes¡ªfewer in number, but the atmosphere was vastly different from before.


    "You carrion eater, you rotten hide! Wrapped in grass, even the oxen won''t eat your putrid flesh!" the chief of the Blackwater Tribe could barely contain his anger; had he a weapon in hand, he might have already fought the eater of fine foods to the death.


    Pointing straight at his nose, he rebuked: "You sacrificed the Blackwater Tribe to the bipeds while your Suz Tribe fled quickly! Do you even deserve to lead in war?"


    Alpad had led the Piaoqi cavalry on a chase for a full fifty kilometers, targeting small and medium-sized tribes for attack.


    As ally tribes were being hunted down, the Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe turned a blind eye, each only concerned with their own escape.


    In contrast, the Terdun-Red River Allied Forces took in quite a few stragglers.


    "Short Bow! You tailless gelding! How dare you question me? I have questions for you too!" the eater of fine foods roared back in rage: "Seeing the centre in dire straits, why didn''t you on the left flank come to support?"


    "Go back and suckle from your mother''s teat!" the Blackwater Tribe chief cursed: "You lost on your own, and you expect us to step up? I''ll ask you, why did you assign the Haidong Tribe to your own centre and not let the man with grey eyes lead on the left flank?"


    "I don''t need to explain to you!"


    "Can''t come up with an answer? I''ll tell you! You''re full of selfish desires, fears that the man with grey eyes will make glory leading alone on one flank, so you put him in the center with you, but left us small tribes on the left flank! We small tribes never listen to each other, how do you expect us to fight?"

 Chapter 495 84 Imagination_3

    "That''s your problem," the food-forager sneered.


    "You war chief! I won''t accept this!" The Blackwater tribe chief had all but resigned himself to a do-or-die stance, determined to topple the food-forager today, or else it would be the end of Blackwater tomorrow: "You''ve never considered the tribes at all! You aren''t fit to command us!"


    "If not me, then who is?" S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I nominate White Lion! Haidong, Suz! They all treat our small tribes like animals! Only White Lion treats us like humans! You, I won''t accept! White Lion, I will!" The Blackwater tribe chief glared at the other tribal leaders: "Speak up!"


    No one responded to him.


    "Speak up!" The Blackwater tribe chief roared: "Do you want to be slaves to the Suz tribe?"


    There was another bout of silence.


    The Blackwater tribe chief angrily removed his hat, threw it to the ground, and strode towards the entrance, but another man blocked his path.


    The fire-stoker, grabbing the Blackwater tribe chief''s arm, turned towards the current war leader: "Food-forager, the tribal chiefs gave you a chance, but you have betrayed their trust. Why not let someone else have a try?"


    The tribal chiefs conveyed their agreement with their eyes, yet dared not to speak.


    The food-forager stood up, looking around murderously: "White Lion is not a descendant of the Golden God, he has no right to be the Khan!"


    The red-faced fire-stoker immediately retorted: "Who''s talking about electing White Lion as Khan? We just want White Lion to lead us in battle!"


    "With you! With me! With grey-eyes! And with so many descendants of the Golden God! There''s no reason to let an outsider be the war chief!" The food-forager yelled back.


    "We don''t need to fight for seats like a pack of dogs scrapping over meat," White Lion spoke calmly: "Let''s follow the rules of the grand council. Extinguish the lights, cover the yurt. If the tribal chiefs agree, they will call ''aye''; if the tribal chiefs disagree, they will call ''nay''."


    The discussion under a covered tent meant that one could not see another, hearing only voices, a method equivalent to an anonymous vote.


    This method was rarely used in grand council meetings, as the council itself was meant to be open about everything, with nothing to hide.


    "There are really few who dare to openly oppose the food-forager," Little Lion thought: "Otherwise, my brother wouldn''t have requested a secret council."


    The lamps were blown out, and the yurt was covered, the tribal chiefs changed their positions in the darkness.


    White Lion began: "Before reinforcements from the other tribes join us, we cannot directly confront the Paratu People."


    A chorus of "ayes" erupted from within the tent.


    The Blackwater tribe chief was the loudest and most distinct. Since he had already offended the food-forager, he might as well be thoroughly defiant.


    "The Paratu People cannot stay in the wasteland forever, we should play to our strengths. Small raids, taking out messengers, seizing stores, but never clashing head-on."


    Again, a chorus of "ayes" was heard.


    "Raids?" the food-forager couldn''t help but question: "Can raids alone wipe out the bipeds? Once they cross The Styx, we won''t be able to stop them anymore!"


    "Then we won''t let them cross The Styx."


    "How can we stop them from crossing The Styx? They''re heading northeast, obviously to find a shallow place to cross the river!"


    "They''re heading to the shallows upstream, where the Paratu People will run out of food and drink, which is why they prepared the Floating Bridge."


    The food-forager realized: "You want us to destroy the Floating Bridge?"


    "No," White Lion answered: "I''ve already sent someone to do it."


    ...


    ...


    Seven days later, early in the morning.


    Winters and the old shaman walked with Little Lion on the western bank of The Styx.


    Little Lion was listless, walking lazily on the riverbank, leaving a trail of paw prints.


    Its mane had yet to grow in, making it look less like a lion from afar and more like a dog with an unusually large head.


    The old shaman wrapped himself tightly in his fur coat and admonished: "Little beast, hurry up and pee! You''re freezing me to death!"


    "You still have the mood to walk the dog?" Winters was heavy-hearted.


    On both banks of the river, the aftermath of scorched floating crates was everywhere.


    The first Floating Bridge made use of prefabricated elements brought from Paratu.


    The second Floating Bridge was made with wooden planks and tar floats.


    Without planks, they could dismantle carriages, they could fell trees; as for tar, the engineers still had some.


    The problem was, several thousand Herders were still waiting on the opposite bank.


    Indeed, the raiders who had burnt the Floating Bridge¡ªfor the second time¡ªhad not only failed to cross the river. They had set up camp on the opposite bank, facing the Paratu army across the water.


    No matter how skilled the Paratu engineers were, they had no way to erect a bridge with the other bank compromised.


    Monk Reed casually recited: "[In Celican] As Mount Tai collapses before him and his countenance doesn''t change, as a deer rises to his left and his gaze doesn''t falter, only then can one govern gains and losses, only then can one await the enemy."


    "What are you going on about now?"


    The old man stroking his beard, glanced at Winters: "I''m telling you, no matter what happens, keep a good attitude. Look at you, frowning like the sky is falling."


    Winters sighed, "Seeing how unflustered you are, I presume you''ve been prepared since morning for the Herders'' Shaman''s outfit, haven''t you?"


    "Hmph, why would the old man feed off two bounties?"


    "Does the living Saint have any brilliant plan to teach me?"


    "Cough. Caught in enemy territory, with pursuers behind and a river ahead, with the enemy waiting on the other bank," Monk Reed spoke leisurely: "My boy, in every history book I''ve read, your situation is a sure death."


    "There''s still a way," Winters said softly: "It just requires a bit of imagination."

 Chapter 496 85 The Real Bridge

    The battle of Nameless Valley, Sekler defeated the Hurd alliance.


    The chieftains, each with their respective troops, fled for their lives and were relentlessly pursued by Alpad.


    Just from the ears cut from corpses, they counted over three thousand. The bloodied human ears were strung on grass ropes, filling two entire large carts.


    Paratu''s fifth and sixth legions also suffered heavy casualties.


    Over seven thousand legion infantry, and more than five thousand conscripted auxiliary troops engaged in battle, totaling seven hundred seventy-two dead and nine hundred forty-three seriously wounded.


    Minor injuries couldn''t be counted, because nearly every soldier who survived was wounded.


    The standard for serious injuries had become whether one could walk on their own.


    After cleaning the battlefield, the Paratu army continued marching northeast without stopping.


    The Paratu People had undoubtedly won a victory.


    In the past, they could already "return with laughter and triumphant songs."


    However, the victory in the battle could hardly make up for the strategic loss.


    Alpad had not managed to scatter the Hurd alliance¡ªbecause the Hurd alliance was already loosely organized.


    Although the various tribes didn''t fight vigorously, they excelled at fleeing. Once Suz Tribe''s cavalry at the rear collapsed, the battle became a "dog chasing rabbits."


    Hunting rabbits with dogs wasn''t a problem. According to past experience, it was enough to hurt the Herders.


    But now, the wolves had decided the foal was faltering, and even if the foal could kick to death one or two wolves, the remaining hungry wolves would still follow the foal closely, licking their wounds.


    Just as there wasn''t an independent will called "Herders," the motives of the Herders in fighting the Paratu People were very complex.


    For the lower-class Herd nomads, on one hand, they were coerced into fighting by violence, and on the other hand, they longed for the class elevation that came with war spoils, rewards, and military achievements.


    Above the lower-class nomads was the professional warrior class of Hurd society.


    Including the chieftains of medium and small tribes, the chieftains'' relatives, friends, and guards.


    To some extent, their motives were similar to those of the ordinary Herd nomads. They drove their tribesmen, and the three major tribes drove them.


    They were not willing to weaken their forces, but they also coveted war spoils.


    Armor, weapons, firearms, ammunition, and craftsmen were resources that were hard to obtain for the tribes on normal days.


    Older chieftains still remembered the good old days, and they truly hoped to destroy Paratu''s Standing Army and then rob Paratu¡ªprovided that their own troops didn''t suffer losses.


    For chieftains with greater ambition and strength, this battle was an excellent opportunity not only to destroy Paratu''s Standing Army but also to establish prestige and control over the tribes.


    Furthermore, for all Herders, there was an intangible collective sentiment that lingered in their hearts but couldn''t be articulated.


    That was the "Herders''" hatred and resentment towards the "Paratu People," not connected to any one individual, yet present in every Herder''s heart. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This emotion might not be as strong as "the tribe across the river stole two of my horses, I hate them so much," but it definitely existed.


    In short, White Lion''s strategy of "not letting go, but also not biting" was acknowledged by most Herders.


    Except for the Red River Tribe and the Terdon Tribe, most chieftains only had their trusted troops left; they needed time to regroup their scattered members.


    No one dared to directly confront the Paratu legions anymore, but neither was anyone willing to give up just like that.


    Alpad and Sekler reached their goal; the Paratu army''s retreat became unusually quiet, without any further skirmishes.


    Only the occasional presence of Herd light cavalry reminded the Paratu People: The enemy had not ceased.


    ...


    Realizing the second Floating Bridge was also destroyed, the mood of the Paratu army became uneasy and tense.


    Anyone with a sane mind could see that this army had reached a dead end.


    The Paratu People hadn''t lost; they just had nowhere to go.


    That night, two auxiliary soldiers stole horses and tried to run away.


    They were caught by patrolling cavalry on the riverbank and were publicly executed the following morning.


    A decision had to be made quickly¡ªthis was the consensus of all officers.


    At the expanded meeting of senior officers, someone proposed, "Otherwise, let''s continue walking upstream?"


    To continue walking upstream, a straightforward method.


    The further upstream you go, the shallower the water and the narrower the river. Just go to a place where you can walk across, right?


    "Go where?" Colonel Bod snapped back mercilessly: "Even if you walk another two hundred kilometers upstream, the Styx is still a hundred meters wide! Why not just head into the Sheltering Mountains and circle back from Monta?


    "I was just saying..."


    There was another silence.


    Someone else proposed, "I have seen workers who log in the mountains. They chop trees in winter, transport them to the riverside, and nail them into log rafts. Come summer when the water rises, they float down the river, reaching Kingsfort and even the inner sea."


    "We make log rafts too?"


    "Maybe it''s possible..."


    "Gentlemen." Colonel Robert had a splitting headache: "The principle of buoyancy!"


    The buoyancy of an object is related to the volume of liquid it displaces. Whether or not the officers present remembered, at least all of them had learned this.


    Colonel Robert picked up a pen and paper and began to calculate: "A log raft isn''t a ship; it has no hull, relying entirely on the buoyancy of the wood. Taking the density of wood as half of water, that means 1 kilogram of wood can carry 1 kilogram of load. You can''t actually get a one-to-one ratio, but I''ll calculate as generously as possible for you.


    The entire army now has over twenty thousand people; taking 70 kilograms per person, that makes a total of one million four hundred thousand kilograms, which is 1400 tons! Where do we get 1400 tons of wood? Where do we find it?!"


    The more he calculated, the more agitated Colonel Robert became: "This is just the weight of the people, not yet counting our weapons, armor, baggage, ammunition! Oh yes, and the horses! We also have thousands of Warhorses! Besides warhorses, there are draft horses."

 Chapter 497 85 The True Bridge_2

    The meeting was silent as a graveyard.


    "Release logs into the river? What an idea you''ve come up with!" Colonel Robert suppressed his anger, "We might as well each hug a log and jump into the river, tossing our weapons, armor, and warhorses all to the Herders!"


    "If not logs, what about building boats?" someone retorted, unconvinced.


    "Boats! What boats?" Colonel Robert finally lost control, "Don''t we have Venetians in the army? Call them over and ask how many boats it would take to carry twenty thousand men! And don''t forget the warhorses! Even with the largest boats from the Inner Sea, to transport twenty thousand men, you would need an entire fleet!"


    Both generals remained silent.


    The atmosphere inside the tent became extremely oppressive.


    Robert was not usually the type to get easily agitated; on the contrary, he was very rational.


    But the more rational a person is, the more likely they are to break down in the face of absolute despair.


    "What if we hold our ground here and send people to Kingsfort to find boats?" Colonel Haugwitz pondered, "There are certainly plenty of boats at Kingsfort. Isn''t the wool shipped there annually by boat before being floated down the river to The Federated Provinces and Vineta?"


    [Note: The river referred to by the Paratu People is the Ashen Stream River, which is the Torrent River to the United Provincials and Venetians.]


    A glimmer of hope kindled in everyone''s eyes.


    "That''s right! Kingsfort has boats! Of all sizes!"


    "The Styx leads to the great river, all the rivers of the wilderness flow through! Let the boats come to save us."


    "Gentlemen!" Colonel Robert could not help but shout, "We are upstream! Kingsfort is downstream! Haven''t you ever heard of ''buying a boat to go downstream''? Venetian merchants buy boats in Paratu, load them with wool to the Inner Sea, then dismantle the boats to sell the timber, and finally return to Kingsfort on horseback!"


    Colonel Bod calmed down Colonel Robert and explained to the others, "From Kingsfort to here it''s upstream. Venetians would rather buy boats and go downstream than row against the current precisely because it''s too difficult.


    Rowing against the current relies on three things: oars, sails, and trackers. It''s winter now, with west winds blowing, so we can''t use sails and have no one to pull the barge lines. To gather enough oar-powered warships, we''d need the Inner Sea fleets of Vineta or The Federated Provinces."


    "Don''t count on boats!" Colonel Bod concluded heavily, he paused, saying, "The only feasible strategy is for us to hold here and send people back to Kingsfort for reinforcements. As long as the reinforcements can crush the barbarians across the river, we can build a floating bridge."


    A floating bridge, having no fixed piers, requires cables and anchors to be arranged on both banks and upstream and downstream to maintain its axial position from drifting off course.


    The Herd Raiders poised on the opposite bank of the river were essentially strangling the Paratu army''s throat.


    Without defeating them, the floating bridge could not be built.


    "I think it''s feasible!" a staff officer agreed loudly.


    A concerned staff officer asked, "Hold out? Do we have enough provisions?"


    Colonel Bod answered resolutely, "If not enough, we ration! If still not enough, we slaughter horses! We must hold until the reinforcements arrive."


    "What if the reinforcements can''t break the siege?"


    "Just on the Newly Reclaimed Land alone, we can muster thousands of Dusacks and militia. How could we possibly lose to the few thousand Herders across the river?" Colonel Bod spoke with confidence, "The barbarians have invaded, and the militias from all places must have begun assembling. The Legion headquarters just needs to send them over."


    Colonel Haugwitz crossed his arms, asking, "Relying on reinforcements for relief is too passive; we should find a way to send some men across the river, and eliminate the barbarians on the other side. There are about three or four thousand barbarians across the river; just fifteen squadrons should suffice."


    [Note: Fifteen squadrons at full strength total about three thousand cavalry; in actual combat, due to difficulties in replenishing troops, there are only about one thousand seven hundred.]


    Colonel Robert countered, "How do you propose to send them across?"


    "By boat?"


    "Where are you going to find boats that can carry two thousand cavalry!"


    "Go upstream, and use small boats to transport them little by little."


    "Colonel Haugwitz! Haven''t you thought about the issue of morale?" Colonel Robert glared as he rebutted, "If the Herders can hold the opposite bank, can''t they keep watch on the upstream and downstream? If it fails, the loss wouldn''t just be fifteen squadrons of cavalry, but also fifteen squadrons of warhorses.


    I won''t even address whether you can cross the river. Given the army''s current state, we will collapse here before you even reach the opposite bank! The soldiers will think you''re trying to flee!"


    Haugwitz sneered, "You''re underestimating the people of Paratu!"


    Colonel Robert flew into a rage, "We''re the ones doing the hard labor, what right do you have to say that?"


    Both sides were on edge, ready to explode at any moment.


    "Sit down, all of you!" Alpad banged on the table fiercely, "Want to duel? Take it outside. Don''t get blood on me."


    General Sekler sighed, "Holding tight for reinforcements is not a good strategy, but it seems we can only choose the best of the worst options. We need to think of a contingency plan. What if the reinforcements don''t come? Or if they come but can''t relieve the siege?"


    The tent fell silent again.


    If the reinforcements don''t come or can''t relieve the siege.


    Then the only fate awaiting the Fifth and Sixth Legions would be¡ªannihilation.


    "One of my Centurions has an idea." The one-eyed Colonel, who had been silent until now, broke the silence; his voice was not loud, but it captured everyone''s attention, "The young man is quite inventive, I think it''s worth a try."


    "Skip the nonsense," General Sekler looked at Colonel Jeska with dissatisfaction, "Speak!"


    "Build a bridge!" Colonel Jeska took out the blueprints, "Not a floating bridge, but a real bridge."


    Colonel Robert raised an eyebrow, "A real bridge? How will you build it?" Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 498 85 The Real Bridge_3

    Colonel Jeska stepped forward and hung the blueprint on the rack:


    "Build it like Kaisan!"


    ...


    Winters stood atop a mound of earth, his front facing the bustling military camp that was under construction.


    Beyond that lay the majestic Styx.


    To the left of Winters, there was another mound of similar height.


    The Legion Command had officially named the two mounds the Southern Highlands and Northern Highlands.


    However, because the two mounds resembled a woman''s breasts, the soldiers all called them... that.


    The camp and the two mounds were triangulated, close to the riverbank.


    This position was not very defensible because the two mounds towered over and overlooked the entire camp. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Paratu troops had no choice but to construct fortresses on both the Southern and Northern Highlands and disperse forces to garrison them.


    They had positioned the camp on this unsuitable defensive terrain for two reasons:


    First, half a kilometer northwest from here was a dense coniferous forest;


    Second, the width of the river here was less than two hundred meters, which was ideal for bridge building.


    Time waited for no one, as the soldiers of the Fifth Legion were still digging trenches and building camp walls, soldiers from the Sixth Legion had already dragged logs back.


    The camp at that moment was a massive open-air woodworking shop and a blacksmith''s forge.


    Blacksmiths, carpenters, charcoal burners, bricklayers... all the craftsmen in the army were gathered in one place, and Berlion was among them.


    Even those who could barely use a plane were drafted.


    The bellows roared with fire as the forge hummed, and the continuous clanging of forging echoed without cease.


    Excess armor and weapons were melted down to forge axes, nails, and anchors, then distributed to those in need.


    Everyone worked selflessly, and in the center of the camp, a giant raft was gradually taking shape.


    "Thump!"


    "Thump!"


    "Thump!"


    At the same time, another giant raft was floating on the water, pounding wooden stakes into the riverbed.


    A few small boats were anchored in the middle of the river, measuring the depth.


    On the giant raft, there was a crude contraption resembling a pile driver: a stone block, a set of lifting gear, and a track.


    The raft carrying this apparatus was at the core of the bridge-building project.


    The soldiers on the raft shouted as they pushed the winch, the ropes creaking. The heavy stone block was lifted bit by bit.


    The rest of the soldiers on the raft worked together to place a log on the track, struggling against the buoyancy to probe deeper.


    When the tip of the log touched the riverbed, the officer on the raft released the brake of the lifting machine.


    The stone block fell heavily on the end of the stake, making the raft tremble.


    The stake was hammered nearly half a meter deep into the riverbed.


    The soldiers shouted their chants again as they pushed the winch¡ªthey had to repeat this two more times until the stake was firmly embedded deep in the riverbed.


    The stakes fixed in the riverbed would serve as bridge piers, extending towards the opposite bank.


    The giant raft, carrying a six-meter-tall pile driver, moved like a mythic giant across the water, stunning the Herders on the opposite bank to stare and run around shouting.


    "You''ve never seen this thing, have you?" Winters felt waves of elation in his heart, "Looks like ''The War Chronicles of Tall Houses'' doesn''t have a Herder version."


    Brother Reed was also beside Winters.


    The old man stroked his beard and exclaimed, "Ingenious devices, truly astounding."


    "What?" Winters didn''t understand.


    "I''m saying you''re really skillful!"


    "It wasn''t my invention." Winters scratched his head in embarrassment, "It''s all from ancient texts. There were no physical examples. When I was at the Land Academy, our teacher guided us in trying to recreate them."


    "However," said Brother Reed, smacking his lips, "I fear this bridge might not be very durable."


    "We don''t expect it to last until the end of the world, once is enough."


    Brother Reed laughed heartily, "True that."


    "White Lion!" Winters suddenly shouted towards the Styx, "What other tricks do you have? Bring them all on!"

 Chapter 499 86: Cutting Down Trees

    Men are not afraid of hard times, they''re afraid of having no direction.


    That''s why the Paratu People need a bridge, even though Sekler has already sent messengers across the river seeking help.


    Building a bridge is not just for "crossing the river," but also to inject hope into every soldier in the army.


    There is nothing in the world more desperate than a dead end.


    The indifferent Styx looms before them, with the Paratu People having nowhere to go, no path to take.


    They want to turn their heads and fight with all their might, only to find that there are no enemies--the Herders simply do not engage them in direct combat.


    The White Lion is like a hunter who corners beasts on a cliff, patiently waiting for the enemy to be crushed by hunger and despair.


    If the morale collapses, the Paratu People will fall apart before the rescue troops arrive to relieve them.


    Centurion Montagne''s bridge-building plan is very difficult, but it doesn''t matter.


    Because what the Paratu army urgently needs is not a bridge, but hope.


    Like a drowning person clutching at a plank of wood, in the eyes of the Paratu People there are only three things now: bridge, bridge, and goddamn bridge.


    Carpenters, with the sappers, shuttle through the woods, looking for suitable materials for the bridge project.


    The straightest, longest pieces are marked with red paint; they will serve as bridge piles.


    The next-best pieces of timber are marked with black paint and can be sawed into planks for laying the bridge deck.


    As for the underdeveloped saplings and shrubs, they are all taken to be used for charcoal.


    Anyone who has used a hammer and anvil is taken away, and seasoned blacksmiths like Berlion are no exception.


    Jeska''s squad has lost a cook--Winters has returned to eating swill, but the Paratu army has gained a master who can lead a dozen laborers.


    Captured weapons are re-heated, folded, and forged anew; surplus armor is melted into molten iron and poured into sand molds.


    The sole charcoal burner in the army has become a precious asset, fortunately, the trade is not hard to learn.


    Apart from proposing the bridge-building plan, Winters has made another small contribution.


    Adopting Winters'' suggestion, the Fifth and Sixth Legions, following the model of the Third [Da Weineta] Legion that built the Guzhi Road on Red Sulfur Island, also set up a [Bridge-Building Command]. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Command is personally led by General Sekler, where all the resources available in the army are concentrated in this temporary department, which is responsible for coordinating, distributing, and directing them.


    As for Winters, he just has a title at the Command but continues to work with his militia as usual.


    There are many more specialized engineers and artillery officers in the army than him, so Winters refrains from giving unsolicited advice.


    Inspiration is like a layer of tissue paper--he has punched a small hole in it, and the rest is for others to complete.


    ¡­


    A small clearing has been made in the not-so-dense forest, with the militia swinging their sharp axes, working to expand the clearing.


    "Thud."


    "Thud."


    These are the sounds of the axe blades striking tree trunks, incessant.


    "Careful whoa! It''s falling!" someone shouts at the top of their lungs: "It''s falling!"


    "It''s falling!" Hearing the shouting, the militia also cry out: "It''s falling!"


    This is both a reminder and a way of boosting each other''s spirit.


    A fir tree with a crown over a dozen meters tall like a drunkard stumbling in the night, starts to lean slowly towards the clearing.


    Accompanied by a teeth-gritting "creak," the fir tree falls faster and faster until it crashes to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    Three militiamen carrying axes come over to start clearing the branches from the fir tree.


    Eventually, only the clean trunk of the fir tree will be left, to be hauled to the main camp by specialized wagons.


    A dozen meters in height is nothing for towering trees, but on the plains, it''s a rare piece of timber.


    After the fir tree hits the ground, the "thud thud" of chopping resumes.


    Chopping trees is extremely strenuous work, not for the weak.


    After a day''s work, the militiamen''s shoulders will swell up the next day.


    It would be somewhat easier with saws, but the army is in short supply of saws, so the axe remains the main tool for logging.


    The rapid "clatter clatter" of galloping grows closer, and a green-plumed cavalryman rides into the logging site.


    The militiamen in the woods, all focused on their tasks, pay no mind to this messenger.


    Having looked around and not finding any officers, the messenger calls out loudly, "Centurion Montaigne? Is Centurion Montaigne here?"


    "Could he be slacking off somewhere?" Disappointed, the messenger can''t help but feel scornful: "What Blood Wolf? He''s nothing special."


    As the Paratu People pour their effort into the bridge-building project, the reputation of the "Blood Wolf," who proposed the plan, has spread through the entire army.


    All Paratu soldiers have heard of this Champion Centurion''s dubious "glorious deeds" and are eager to witness the true face of the Blood Wolf.


    This messenger, too, fought for the chance to deliver orders to the Blood Wolf.


    The sounds of chopping drown out the messenger''s calling, and he is ignored.


    He rides to the edge of the clearing, hoping to find someone to speak to.


    The messenger''s eye catches a tall militiaman right away.


    That man stands a head taller than most, dressed in a rough cotton garments, dealing with an oak tree.


    He lifts his axe high and brings it down with force.


    Each time the blade splits the tree, the thick oak trembles violently.


    Even though it''s the chilly winter, billows of white steam rise like boiling water from the man''s sleeves and collar.


    The messenger walks up to the tall militiaman and asks impatiently, "Hey! Where''s your centurion, Blood Wolf?"


    The tall militiaman sets down his axe and counters, "What do you want with him?"


    The messenger snaps, "Are you qualified to inquire about military affairs? Take me to him!"


    "Blood Wolf, never seen him." The tall militiaman pulls out a towel from his belt to wipe his face and says slowly, "Winters Montagne, that''s me."

 Chapter 500 86 Cutting Down Trees_2

    "Thud."


    "Thud."


    "Thud."


    The sound of chopping trees did not cease for a moment.


    The messenger dismounted in haste, hurriedly took out a scroll sealed with lacquer, and presented it with both hands, "This is an order from the bridge construction headquarters for you, Commander."


    "Thank you." The Centurion took the letter, broke the seal, and casually glanced at it.


    The messenger steadied his mind and covertly sized up the man, finally having the opportunity to witness the legendary Blood Wolf''s true face.


    He didn''t seem particularly special, not especially stout, nor particularly thin, just a bit taller.


    Apart from a fine gold chain around his neck, he wore no other ornaments.


    Yet, he was special in a way the messenger couldn''t articulate. He stood with immense respect.


    "Do you need a receipt?" the Centurion asked.


    The messenger waved his hands repeatedly, "No need, no need."


    "Alright then, I''ve received the orders." The Centurion raised the letter in his hand, "You''ve worked hard, you may go back."


    The messenger mounted his saddle, saw the Blood Wolf put the letter into his pocket, and picked up the axe again.


    From a distance, a shout came, "Be careful, down it goes!" sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The militiamen in the logging camp responded in kind, "Down it goes!"


    "Down it goes!" The Blood Wolf wielded his axe, striking the tree trunk over and over.


    Just as the messenger had left, two riders stormed into the logging site like a wild wind.


    "Not good!" one of the riders shouted, "The Herders are here!"


    ¡­


    Winters had continuously used the Splitting Spell that morning to break apart over a dozen trees, and the phantom pain had not subsided by the afternoon.


    No sooner had the messenger rider left than he heard Anglu''s panicked shout, "The Herders are here."


    The militiamen abandoned their work and ran towards the tents that stored their weapons and armor.


    With his red mane flying, Heinrich rushed to Winters'' side, Anglu jumped down from the saddle, and said breathlessly, "Commander, the Herders are here!"


    "Don''t panic, speak slowly," Winters'' head hurt even more, "Where? How many? How is the battle going?"


    "The carriage carrying the wood has been hijacked!"


    "How many Herders are there?"


    "Twenty-some!"


    "They''re here!" Winters shouted internally, "I knew this day would come!"


    With an outburst, he buried his axe into the tree, and the oak, finally unable to hold on any longer, trembled and fell to the ground.


    "Watch out!" Winters shouted, "The tree is falling!"


    The surrounding militiamen quickly moved out of the way, and fortunately, no accidents occurred.


    Winters ran towards his warhorse, commanded loudly, "Those with warhorses, come with me! The rest stay here on standby! Release the sentries!"


    The warhorse sensed its master''s urgency and, though usually stubborn, showed no resistance and allowed him to saddle up without any extra fuss.


    Grabbing his saber, he leaped onto the saddle, ready to depart.


    "Put on your armor!" Tess, holding Winters'' three-quarter armor, ran over in a hurry, "You haven''t put on your armor yet!"


    Regretfully, Winters dismounted to don his armor.


    He was dressed in coarse clothes meant for labor, all of which had to be changed.


    Silk undershirt, cotton gambeson, chain mail, plate armor, boots ¨C Tess and Heinrich helped Winters layer on his armor.


    If the messenger were to come again, he would certainly not mistake him.


    After preparations, Winters led about twenty Dusacks to the location where the convoy was ambushed.


    On one hand, the Paratu army was felling trees near the outer edge of the forest, while on the other, they dispatched logging teams to delve deeper into the woods to cut down big trees.


    The ambush site was located between the logging area and the main camp, with the force from the main camp arriving before Winters; the Piaoqi Troops had already set off to pursue the Herders.


    The scene was a carnage, as the unarmed transport convoy was completely unable to resist, and all the coachmen were slaughtered.


    The wagons remained in place, but their axles were destroyed, and the draught horses had been taken by the Herders.


    Alpad had already deployed scouts around the area, but still, this small band of Herders had slipped through.


    "Forcing us to split our forces again," Winters thought, "Is this your plan, White Lion?"


    ...


    Before the transport convoy was attacked, the bridge construction project was progressing exceptionally smoothly.


    Winters had initially been most concerned that the [floating pile drivers] wouldn''t work because they had high centers of gravity, making them prone to capsizing in even slight waves.


    The river flow of The Styx was calmer in winter¡ªbut that was only relative to its turbulent state in spring and summer; closer to the river''s heart, the current became more rapid.


    Luckily, the Paratu engineers had built the rafts large enough, with pontoon stabilizers, so the functioning of the pile drivers wasn''t an issue.


    The floating pile drivers were the core machinery for bridge-building; with them functioning, all other problems were minor.


    The Paratu army constructed two floating pile drivers, advancing them simultaneously from left to right.


    The Herders on the opposite bank tried to harass them with arrows, but the heavy arrows they used couldn''t reach as far as two hundred meters.


    Right, and their arrows were against the wind.


    Even with light arrows, at two hundred meters they lost precision and power.


    Since the arrows didn''t reach, the Herders launched several small boats, trying to engage in river combat.


    They were met with a hail of gunfire from the Paratu musketeers, leaving several floating corpses as they retreated to shore in a miserable state.


    Winters estimated that when the Herder''s arrows could finally inflict effective damage, the bridge would be less than fifty meters away from them.


    Even then, the musketeers could still exchange fire with the Herders across the river, and it was not yet clear who would have the upper hand.


    This time, it was the Herders on the other side of the river who experienced a sense of helplessness.


    No matter what they did, the bridge continued to extend toward the East Bank at a rate of over ten meters a day.


    The greatest factor limiting the speed of the Paratu army''s bridge construction was no longer the Herders, but the timber supply.


    In the wilderness, forests were already scarce, and large timbers suitable for bridge pylons were even rarer.


    The Paratu army could''ve continued north to a narrower part of the river for the bridge, but ultimately they chose the current location because it was adjacent to a coniferous forest.


    Through measurement, the deepest point of The Styx''s water level was about six or seven meters, requiring wood at least ten meters in length.


    For ten-meter-long timber, twenty-meter-tall trees were needed.


    The Paratuan searched frantically but found few suitable materials.


    It was an old carpenter who came up with a solution: if long timber was insufficient, they could splice together shorter pieces and secure them with iron nails and hoops. Although iron would corrode, it would hold up until the bridge''s completion.


    So, the bridge-building headquarters dispatched twenty logging teams at once, including Montaigne''s century.


    ...


    The attack on the timber transport convoy meant that the White Lion had spotted Paratu''s Achilles'' heel.


    Yesterday, Winters had requested the construction headquarters to build a fortified camp in the forest.


    The timber harvested by each logging team would first be gathered at the camp, then transported back to the main camp under armed escort.


    Today, a messenger brought him a reply.


    The request had been denied by the bridge construction command because it "spread out forces" and "the second transfer delays time."


    But now, even if the legion didn''t want to spread out their forces, they had no choice.

 Chapter 501 87 Strong Luck

    Three days.


    From the moment Paratu engineers started shouting their chants while carrying the first pile-driving boat into The Styx to the timber transportation convoy being ambushed, it all happened in less than three days.


    Eighty piles were driven into the ground, and less than twenty meters of bridge deck was laid before the White Lion''s countermeasures arrived.


    The attack on the convoy was like the crack of a starter''s pistol, as the Herders'' Cavalry dispersed and began their unrelenting assaults on the Paratu lumbering teams.


    The Paratu Piaoqi fought nine battles in one day, chasing and clashing with the Herders in a "dog chasing a rabbit" fashion, yet still unable to prevent the enemy from penetrating the coniferous forest.


    Winters''s team also suffered an ambush.


    About two dozen Herder light cavalry, guiding their warhorses, crept toward the logging site, only to run into the scouts Winters had dispatched.


    The sentinels sounded their whistles, sacrificing their lives to buy time for their comrades.


    Seeing their surprise attack had failed, the Herders simply mounted up and charged, only to clash head-on with the raging fury of Centurion Montaigne.


    He had been chopping trees when he heard the alarm, donning just his undershirt, he grabbed his axe, mounted his warhorse, and charged over.


    The leading Hong Lingyu was cleaved to death by one swing of the axe, and the remaining Herders were chased to the edge of the forest, being hacked all the way.


    The Herders didn''t leave a scratch on Winters, but their wild gallop through the woods did mark him up.


    When Winters returned to the logging site, his clothes were torn to shreds by needles and branches, his upper body covered in what looked like scratch marks from a cat.


    Xial hurriedly boiled water, dissolved some salt in it, and used it to clean Winters''s wounds.


    The body of the warning sentinel was retrieved; he was a simple and honest farmer''s boy, his head and body separated by a curved blade.


    "Chop them down!" Winters was beyond fury, "Chop all the Herders'' heads off for me! Hang their corpses in the trees! Nail them! Nail them all to the trees!"


    The militias sprang into action, filled with intense hatred, they chopped off the heads of the Herder dead, burning them with fire.


    They followed their Centurion''s orders to the letter, driving thick iron stakes through the chest spines, nailing their fallen enemies to the trees.


    A row of headless bodies was nailed from the logging site to the forest''s edge.


    After that, Montaigne''s lumbering teams were never attacked again.


    But not every lumbering team was so fierce and skilled in battle.


    Some lumbering teams repelled the Herders;


    Some engaged in chaotic skirmishes that ended with the Herders retreating on their own;


    Others were completely overwhelmed and by the time reinforcements arrived, only the dead were found scattered around.


    The next day, two battalions of infantry and two squadrons of cavalry entered the "bridge forest."


    [Note: The soldiers named it the bridge forest because the wood from this forest was used to build a bridge]


    The commanding officer of this detachment was an acquaintance of Winters¡ªColonel Robert.


    Winters was called over by Robert right away; the colonel wanted to understand the specifics of each lumbering team and also to hear Winters''s thoughts.


    "We should establish a forward camp in the center of the bridge forest, and have each lumbering team set out from the camp, fanning out in all directions for logging," Winters had little to add, essentially repeating what he had said before, "As the teams cut down trees along the way, they will leave a path behind them. In this manner, no matter where an alert comes from, the cavalry can rapidly come to support."


    Colonel Robert nodded repeatedly, asking, "You''ve clashed with them, what about the barbarians'' will to fight?"


    "That''s just how it is. A scale of two squads of ten is ideal for the Herders'' tactics. But ultimately, they''re small in number; as long as the lumbering teams are resolute in their defense, the Herders can''t do much. The key is that the auxiliary troops'' morale was shattered at the battle of Nameless Valley and is now utterly useless. The militiamen who did not participate in that battle, on the other hand, still dare to fight a bit."


    Colonel Robert pondered, then asked, "What about assigning two tents of soldiers to each lumbering team?"


    At first listen, Winters found it absurd: wouldn''t this be dispersing their forces?


    But after some thought, maybe it was feasible.


    Compared to the Herder attackers, the lumbering teams had a clear numerical advantage.


    But they needed a backbone to make use of their advantage in numbers.


    There were still eighteen lumbering teams left; assigning two tents of soldiers to each team would not even total a full battalion, and there would still be one battalion left to defend the camp.


    Even if reinforcements were needed, it would be the cavalry dispatched, not the infantry.


    "Yes, I think it''s a good idea!" Winters expressed his agreement, adding, "Select capable sergeants to lead the soldiers into each team; with them holding the line, the militiamen won''t collapse at the first blow."


    "Good, let''s do it that way," Colonel Robert clapped Winters on the shoulder, his voice solemn, "No matter what tricks the barbarians pull, we''ll meet force with force, fill the breach with earth. We''ll thwart their every move."


    In front of a superior he was fairly familiar with, Winters still couldn''t hold back. He vented his dissatisfaction, "Headquarters should have sent troops over sooner!"


    Colonel Robert placated him with good words, "The old man needed to build bridges and also be wary of the barbarian main force. If I were him, I wouldn''t be keen to risk dividing my troops. Different positions mean different concerns. Besides, didn''t he send me here?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Any big movements from the Herders?"


    "None," Colonel Robert shook his head, "They''ve encamped thirty miles away, very cautiously. Their scouts are spread all over, and our reconnaissance cavalry can''t get through."


    Only Robert and Winters were in the military tent; their conversation was private.


    Winters tried to be as calm as possible¡ªbut he still came off a bit annoyed, "I''m just a Centurion, and a Venetian at that, so nobody takes me seriously. You have clout in the army, there''s something I want to discuss with you."


    Colonel Robert replied earnestly, "Why would nobody take you seriously? Alpad even gave you his wine flask. Jeska, that guy who ''offends people with two out of every three things he says,'' can''t stop singing your praises. You can speak freely about whatever is on your mind."

 Chapter 502 87 Strong Luck_2

    The branches crackled in the fire pit, bringing a rare hint of warmth in the winter day.


    Was Colonel Jeska praising him behind his back? Winters found it hard to imagine since the one-eyed colonel rarely gave Winters a kind face to face¡ª to be precise, Colonel Jeska rarely gave anyone a kind face.


    But what Winters was concerned about now was something else, so he went straight to the point, "Colonel, your Paratu people do not place enough importance on ''water,'' let alone have recognition for ''naval forces.'' You''re accustomed to riding horses, but Paratu has many large rivers too. If you had brought a fleet with you, you would never have fallen into the perilous situation you face today."


    What the Venetian said left Colonel Robert confused and deep in thought.


    Winters punched his own thigh hard, speaking rapidly, "The pressing matter is not building bridges, but shipbuilding! The Styx blocks not only us but also the Herders'' movements. The Herders don''t have a single plank, and even if we only have twenty small boats, the Herders on the opposite bank are isolated troops, dead troops! We are trapped on the West Bank, and we are fearful. If the Herders are trapped on the East Bank, wouldn''t they be fearful as well?"


    "Don''t forget, the Herders have cannons! The Legion headquarters is now set on building a bridge. But if we can''t control the water, allowing the Herders of the West Bank to get their cannons to the East Bank, what good does it do to build the bridge fast? Then real trouble will arise!"


    Colonel Robert blinked in surprise, "Weren''t the barbarians'' cannons destroyed by us already?"


    "Who knows if they have more?" Winters grew more agitated, "With a width of less than two hundred meters, even a large musket-like one-pound swivel gun could easily shoot from the East Bank to the West Bank. If I were a Herder, I''d get the cannons to the East Bank at any cost! Place them right opposite the bridge! Bombard the pile drivers day and night, sinking every single one of them! Those rafts, they go down the water, they get sunk!"


    The cold wind blew into the tent, and the flames in the iron pan churned violently, just like Winters''s mood.


    "I am now glad that you are not a barbarian," Colonel Robert said with a wry smile, "Haven''t you discussed this with the headquarters?"


    "I sent a report to headquarters the day before yesterday, but it sunk without a trace, and there was no response."


    "Haven''t you discussed it with Jeska?"


    "The day before that, I was assigned to chop trees. If you hadn''t come today, I would be on my way to find Colonel Jeska."


    Colonel Robert supported his knees with both hands and said earnestly, "If the Herders get the cannon across to the opposite bank, there won''t be any need to build the bridge. Don''t worry, I''ll go straight to Colonel Bod and have him see the old man."


    "With you here, I''m not worried," Winters breathed a little easier, "We have no ships, the Herders have no ships either. We only need twenty oared boats to control the water surface, which should be enough."


    "It''s a pity I know nothing about naval warfare. When there''s a chance, you definitely have to explain more to me about naval warfare and ships."


    "Actually, I don''t understand either," Winters thought of another old acquaintance, "The Venetian Navy has a captain named Spire, and he is the expert in oared-sail combat. If there''s a chance, I''d like to introduce him to you."


    "Good," Colonel Robert laughed heartily, "It''s a deal."


    ¡­


    The Paratu People first cleared a space in the woods, then used the felled trees to construct a forward camp¡ªalso known as the Bridge Forest Camp.


    Construction materials were easy to come by, and with the assistance of eighteen logging teams coming over, the construction of Bridge Forest Camp progressed rapidly, almost completing within a day.


    Because of the extensive use of timber, Bridge Forest Camp''s fortifications were even stronger than the earth walls that typically formed the main camp.


    With the logging teams and the two infantry battalions and two cavalry battalions brought by Colonel Robert, there were more than three thousand men and over five hundred horses.


    [Note: Warhorses as well as packhorses and draft horses]


    The camp was built to the standard size of a Legion camp, which more than accommodated these men and horses.


    In addition to the camp itself, Colonel Robert also planned to build a series of watchtowers to provide early warnings.


    But those would have to wait until tomorrow.


    After working hard all day, Winters was exhausted to his limit, only wanting to sleep well.


    Bridge Forest Camp was roughly completed, and the various logging teams moved from the fields into the camp area.


    Although they still stayed in tents, being surrounded by trenches and camp walls provided more security than sleeping in the open fields.


    After making a final patrol around the camp, Winters hurried back to his own tent in long, quick strides.


    By now, night had fallen. Winters, mustering his energy, hastily wrote, "Miss Navarre, I chopped trees for an entire day again today," before quickly burrowing into his blankets.


    No sooner had he lain down than Winters fell asleep.


    ¡­


    Winters walked into a bathroom, where several blurred-faced, shapely classic beauties slowly approached, reaching out to undress him.


    He was startled and clutched his bathrobe tightly.


    Seeing that they couldn''t remove Winters'' clothes, the beauties leaned in to kiss his cheek.


    "Stop it!" Winters desperately leaned back, but there was a wall behind him, pinning him in place.


    The beauties began to lick Winters, starting from his chin and slowly moving toward his cheekbones.


    The only thought in Winters'' mind was, "My God! How can she have so much saliva?"


    He reached to wipe away the saliva and then woke up from his dream.


    The awakened Winters was scared half to death, nearly casting a "Luminosity Spell" in a panic.


    Something he couldn''t identify was licking him.


    Winters drew his dagger and activated the Luminosity Spell, only to find himself facing a literal horse face.


    He recognized the face shape, the color of the fur, the star pattern on the forehead all too well. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "[Language of terror]!" Winters was about to collapse, "How did you get into my tent! Fortuna?!"


    What kind of beauty? No wonder there was so much saliva!


    The horse gently huffed and nuzzled Winters with its nose.


    "I don''t have any sugar! How did you escape from the stable?" Winters clambered off his camp bed in distress, "Get out, I''ll take you back to the stable!"


    Hearing this, Fortuna neighed and shook his head, lifting Winters'' entire tent.


    The tent pegs were pulled up one by one, and a bone-chilling cold wind swept over Winters'' body, taking with it his precious warmth.


    Winters couldn''t help but shiver uncontrollably from his toes to his chest.


    He was genuinely angry.


    "You little rascal!" Winters grabbed Fortuna''s mane, "Get back to the stable now!"


    But Fortuna seemed relentless, biting Winters'' blanket and dragging him outside.


    The horse''s eyes twinkled, as if trying to communicate something.


    Fortuna continued to drag Winters outside.


    Winters steeled himself, grabbed the blanket to wrap around him, and mounted the horse.


    Without a saddle, he rode on the bare back of the horse.


    "Go!" he nudged the horse''s ribs lightly, "Tell me what you want to say?"


    Fortuna ran with Winters out of the camp.


    The sentries at the gate saw Centurion Montaigne wrapped in a blanket, riding a saddleless horse, and although they found it strange, they didn''t dare to stop him.


    Fortuna hadn''t run far when Winters understood what he was trying to say.


    A light scent of smoke wafted in with the west wind.


    "Damn!" Winters'' face went pale, "Fire!"


    In Bianli, The Paratu army had sent a fire to the White Lion.


    Tonight, the White Lion returned the favor.

 Chapter 503 88: Fortune and Misfortune Go Hand in Hand

    The silver-gray warhorse charged into the camp, and the alarm bell was rung as if for dear life.


    "Emergency assembly!" a shout shattered the night, "Emergency assembly!"


    The Paratu People woke from their slumber, scrambling out of their tents.


    Torches were lit one after another, and the soldiers, in disarray, gathered in units of a hundred before rushing to the training field.


    The Standing Army managed to maintain order, while auxiliary troops were in complete disarray.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert arrived beside the alarm bell without even his boots on, barefoot, holding his helmet, wrapped in his sleeping robe.


    "What''s going on?" he yelled at Winters.


    "Fire!" Winters dropped the clapper, "The Herders are setting fires!"


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert instantly felt a chill down his spine, "Where?"


    "I don''t know! I smell smoke!"


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert tore off his sleeping robe and threw it to the ground with force, "Savages... such a vicious tactic!"


    Losing control for only a moment, Robert quickly pulled himself together and urged Winters, "No matter what tricks they have, we''ll just have to deal with them! Go back quickly, get dressed, are you not afraid of catching cold?"


    The blanket that Winters had wrapped around himself when he left the camp was now lost who knows where; at this moment, he stood bare-chested next to the bell post.


    He had been in such a rush to come back and warn everyone that he had hardly felt anything. But upon hearing the lieutenant colonel''s words, he suddenly felt cold.


    Winters saluted and ran towards his tent.


    ...


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert''s comment of "vicious" was something the White Lion couldn''t hear. Even if he could, he would have taken it as a compliment.


    As the alarm bell sounded at the Guidao Camp, the riverside camp as well as the camps on the Southern Highlands and Northern Highlands were simultaneously under attack.


    Calls for help, warnings, various pieces of intelligence came one after another.


    "What madness has possessed Yasin?" Alpad was furious, kicking over a stool, "What''s the point of these petty tricks?"


    The older one gets, the more precious their sleep. Being woken up abruptly in the middle of the night, Alpad was also in a foul mood.


    Seleuc pressed his forehead, his brow furrowed tightly, "These are all feints to distract our attention. The real moves of the Herders must be somewhere else."


    A messenger barged into the command center, bringing in a gust of cold air.


    "How reckless! Where''s your decorum?" Alpad bellowed furiously, "Get out and re-enter properly!"


    The messenger, touching his helmet, backed out and then walked back in.


    "Speak!"


    "The Northern Camp reports, there are fires in the northwest direction of Guidao!"


    Sekler smashed his fist onto the table, "Not good!"


    ...


    The smoke was almost imperceptible at first, detectable only by the livestock.


    The horses were restless, and their neighing was incessant.


    But in the wintertime, the air is dry, and the westerly winds encouraged the fast spread of the fire.


    As the troops from the Guidao Camp set out, they could already see the red glow through the gaps in the tree trunks.


    This fire was like pulling the rug out from underneath them; the Paratu People wanted to build a bridge, so the White Lion was burning all the trees.


    Winters had never seen a forest fire before, a sight drastically different from the fire in Guidao City.


    It was not the trees that caught fire first but the underbrush and the dry grass. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The flames surged up to the sky, climbing up to the canopy. Once the canopy was alight, the trunks were still intact.


    The flames spread among the treetops, like a red cloud floating above the ground.


    The smoke became visibly thicker before the eyes and increasingly suffocated.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, accompanied by several officers including Winters, went to scout the fire situation.


    Even when the firelight was still faint and indistinct, they could see black ash floating in the air.


    At least two miles from the fire, the officers could no longer proceed.


    The scalding heatwave hit them head-on. The horses were neighing, refusing to move no matter how much they were whipped.


    Snakes, rabbits, deer... wildlife that was usually hard to find were now running frantically towards the human direction.


    The sound of the fire was like ghosts shrieking, or like thousands of people tearing fabric at once.


    And there was the "bang, bang" of explosions¡ªthat was the fire causing wood and stone to burst from the heat.


    "It''s not just a single ignition point." Lieutenant Colonel Robert pulled on the reins, struggling to control his warhorse on the brink of panic, shouting to others, "The savages must have set multiple fires at once, otherwise it wouldn''t burn this fast."


    Tess remained relatively composed, pacing slightly anxiously, saving Winters a lot of worry.


    He covered his mouth and nose, shouting back to the lieutenant colonel, because it wouldn''t carry otherwise, "This fire can''t be extinguished! We need to start digging fire breaks immediately!"


    "Retreat first!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert spurred his horse and galloped off.


    The other officers followed suit.


    Retreating to a safe place, the officers dismounted for a meeting.


    Winters pulled out a map¡ªthe map had been drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    When he took the map tube out from his bosom, the other officers'' eyes widened.


    In dire times, there was no time to worry about rank and propriety.


    Winters activated the Luminosity Spell, pointed at the map, and explained, "The lumber teams have already cleared quite a bit of open space and roads in the forest. If we connect and widen the clearings near the camp, we might be able to save some of the forest."


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert didn''t waste words, slapping his thigh, "That''s what we''ll do!"


    The colonel then immediately added orders, "Every centurion must make ad-hoc decisions¡ªif it''s not manageable, then retreat! We can still use trees after a fire, but no use to risk people''s lives!"


    With the onsite commander''s decision, the troops from Guidao Camp immediately sprang into action.


    The efficiency of the Paratu army was beyond question, as the hundred-man units, carrying tools, entered the lumber fields.


    Following the cascading orders, people pulled out wet towels and scarves to cover their mouths and noses, and started digging firebreaks.


    The technique of setting firebreaks was something Winters had learned from the fire in Guidao City.


    Whether it would work, he had no idea, but even if there was only a glimmer of hope, they could not stand idly by and watch the White Lion burn the forest to the ground.


    The warhorses were led to safety, and Winters moved on foot through the forest.


    His voice, amplified by magic, even overshadowed the forest''s tumult, "Take away all the dry grass, branches, pine cones on the ground! Leave nothing that can catch fire!"


    Scouting the fire, Winters had a clear sight: it wasn''t the trees that caught first, but the dried twigs and fallen leaves on the ground.


    More than three thousand soldiers and militia spread throughout the forest, already nearly beyond unified command.


    At this moment, the only things to rely on were the will and ability of each Centurion.


    The Paratu People should be grateful for two things: first, they had an extremely robust cadre of junior officers; second, the vegetation in this forest was sparse.


    Fate is such a trickster.


    The trees on the wasteland don''t grow big; only by heading south or north into the foothills can you find dense primeval forests.


    The sparse vegetation and lack of mature timber in Bridge Forest had caused the Paratu People no end of headaches.


    Yet it was precisely this "disadvantage" that had now turned into an "advantage."


    It wasn''t long before the reinforcements sent from the main camp arrived on site.


    Upon noticing the fire in Bridge Forest, Sekler immediately dispatched all engineers and auxiliary troops, led by Colonel Bod to provide support.


    Colonel Bod also brought with him General Sekler''s order: "If they can be saved, save them."


    "Bullshit!" Lieutenant Colonel Robert was also infuriated by urgency, "What do you mean ''if they can be saved''? Isn''t it a must to save them no matter what?!"


    The reinforcements, together with the original troops at Bridge Camp, all worked frantically.


    Trees, regardless of their size, were cut down and dragged away; even the grass on the ground was shoveled off.


    Not just the grass, but the soil had to be turned as well.


    The fire had already formed a line, getting closer every second.


    Winters'' face was scorched by the heatwave, and the scarf covering his mouth and nose would be dried out in a matter of minutes.


    He sent people time and again to the river to fetch water, yet the water was quickly exhausted and simply couldn''t be supplied fast enough.


    Two militiamen ran to find the Centurion.


    Their faces blackened by smoke, Winters couldn''t make out who they were.


    It wasn''t until one of them spoke that he recognized it was Ish from Ganshui Town.


    "Sir, this is Old Lalo!" Ish pulled the militiaman beside him and said, "He''s from Good Springs Valley, he has a way!"


    Winters felt a bitter taste in his mouth and had no energy for pleasantries, "Speak!"


    The "Old Lalo" mentioned by Ish spoke up, sounding like a middle-aged man, "Sir, how about fighting fire with fire?"


    "How do you fight?"


    "Don''t wait for the fire to come to us! Let''s start a fire ourselves and burn towards it! That''s fighting fire with fire! But we have to wait until the firebreak is dug."


    "The wind is blowing east!" Winters pointed to the sky, "Start a fire, and it''ll burn us first! How do you fight fire with fire?"


    "It''s not like that, sir," Old Lalo explained anxiously, "The wind in the burn area is chaotic! It can even form whirls! Fire attracts wind!"


    Winters suddenly remembered the fire tornado in Guidao City, realizing that a blaze of a certain magnitude indeed could draw air away and disrupt wind directions.


    "Are you confident?" Winters stared at Old Lalo.


    Old Lalo lowered his head, murmuring, "No, I... I''m not sure."


    "Sir, when he was telling us, he made it sound so convincing," Ish clamored, grabbing Old Lalo, "You have the Centurion here! What are you afraid of?!"


    Winters gritted his teeth, grabbed Old Lalo''s shoulder, and said, "Any mishaps, and I''ll take responsibility. Any ideas you have, spit them out! I''m going to find Lieutenant Colonel Robert."


    As he spoke, Winters started to search his pockets, but even after patting down his entire body, he couldn''t find anything of value.


    Having no other choice, he made a promise, "I don''t carry gold or silver on me. If your method works, I will have Anglu pick out the best horse for you to take home."


    ...


    A twenty-meter-wide firebreak extending from south to north was already taking shape.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert agreed to a small-scale experiment with Winters'' "fighting fire with fire."


    It was a complete gamble, no one knew if it would work, and everyone''s palms were sweaty with anxiety.


    Outside the firebreak under the responsibility of Montaigne''s centuria, Winters personally lit another big fire.


    Gasoline, resin, plus anything the militiamen could find that would burn. Flames soared into the air and began spreading eastward.


    Everyone stood at the ready as the tongues of flame reached the bare firebreak.


    The people watched with trepidation as red embers flew toward their side from the air, fearing that the treetops would be ignited by these fiery ashes.


    The advance to the east was halted, the new blaze began spreading to the west side, and it was getting faster.


    Seeing that fighting fire with fire was effective, everyone cheered ecstatically, tears streaming from their parched eyes.


    In the thickest smoke, where people couldn''t see, two lines of fire collided thunderously, turning everything they touched to ashes¡ªincluding themselves.


    ...


    ...


    The fire burned all night.


    The next morning, the chiefs of the Herder tribes came to observe the enemy.


    The land was still shrouded in dust and smoke, the trees were burnt to a crisp, and the ground that had been passed over by the fire still showed some dark red embers.


    The White Lion pondered silently without speaking.


    "White Lion, it looks like you''ve burnt them all to death," the chieftain of the Blackwater tribe said with a sycophantic undertone.


    The numbers of the Blackwater tribe had suffered greatly, and now its chieftain was a staunch supporter of the White Lion.


    "I''ll take that as a good omen, Short Bow. I hope that''s the case," the White Lion responded to the Blackwater chieftain with his usual respect, "But I''m afraid it won''t be that easy."


    Paratu cavalry scouts spotted this group of enemies on a nearby hillside and raced back to report.


    "Let''s go, time to head back," the White Lion gently flicked his warhorse, "Just taking a look, no need for the Paratu People to send us off."


    Before long, a Paratu scout led a black-armored cavalryman out of the smoke-covered forest.


    The chieftains'' bodyguards raised their spears to meet the challenge but were both cut down from their horses by the black-armored cavalryman.


    The black-armored cavalryman ran to a neighbouring hill and shouted a few words at the tribal chieftains.


    Before other guards could surround him, the black-armored cavalryman left, laughing heartily.


    "What did he say, Little Lion?" the Fire Tender asked.


    "Want to burn us alive?" Little Lion said, watching the retreating figure of the armored horseman, translating without emotion, "Go fuck yourself."


    ...


    Bad news: Two-thirds of Bridge Forest burned down.


    Good news: One-third of Bridge Forest remained.


    And another piece of good news: Some of the wood that had been through the fire still had useable value, especially those with larger diameters; the White Lion had inadvertently helped the Paratu People sort their timber.


    "Calamity is the cradle of good fortune; fortune, the hiding place for calamity," Brother Reed twirled his beard with a smile, "The ancients did not deceive me."

 Chapter 504 89 Tit for Tat

    After the fire swept through the bridge forest, Winters found logging to be much easier.


    The once lush woodland was now scorched black as far as the eye could see.


    Only some bald tree trunks stood lonely on the peat, resembling remnants of broken walls.


    Winters led his men to fell the charred trees on the surface and hauled them away, and the unusable burnt wood was taken back for firewood.


    In the following days, the Herders repeated their old tricks, attempting to set the remaining woodlands ablaze multiple times.


    There''s a saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me; fool me thrice, shame on us both." The Herders obviously didn''t know this.


    The Paratu People, having suffered a great loss, were now wiser.


    The logging team no longer chopped recklessly, but first created numerous crisscrossing firebreaks within the woods.


    In this way, the remaining parts of the bridge forest were divided by the firebreaks into smaller areas.


    Even if the Herders set fires, the amount of forest they could destroy at one time was limited.


    The firebreaks also served as roads, allowing the Cavalry to provide rapid support through them within the forest.


    Meanwhile, as only a third of the bridge forest remained¡ªwith it shrinking day by day¡ªthe area needed to be defended shrank accordingly.


    Not only did the Herders fail to start another major fire, but they were also ambushed by Lieutenant Colonel Robert outside the forest, suffering heavy casualties among those light riders carrying kindling and fire accelerants.


    All in all, these past few days had been a rare relaxing time for Winters.


    He didn''t need to participate in combat; he just had to lead people out to chop trees every day.


    Xial picked up his blanket for him. The blanket was so badly burnt that it made Winters a bit sad.


    It was a fine thick woolen blanket given to him by Mrs. Mitchell when he left Wolf Town.


    To avoid freezing to death, Winters applied for a new blanket from the logistics department.


    As a result, the logistics department issued him a duck down comforter, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.


    As the bridge forest was divided into smaller sections, the range of movement for the animals therein increasingly became limited.


    During breaks from logging, Winters led his militiamen to give the rabbits, pheasants, roe deer, and such in the forest a "grand reunion" of sorts.


    In simple terms, it involved some people forming a circle to drive the animals outwards, while others set up a pocket formation to wait like in a hunt.


    Although the meat distributed to everyone wasn''t much, Winters was quite fond of the activity.


    Furthermore, as a reward for being the first to signal the alert, the legion specially granted Tess four eggs a day.


    The eggs, laid by hens carried with the army, were extremely precious, and even Winters didn''t enjoy such treatment.


    Old Ralo, who proposed the "fight fire with fire" strategy, received a splendid warhorse.


    The Dusack lads were green with envy, but Old Ralo wasn''t too happy.


    Winters noticed Ralo was feigning happiness and approached to ask him why.


    After much probing, Ralo finally revealed his true feelings, "Sir, it''s not that I''m ungrateful. I''m a farmer; what use do I have for a warhorse? It requires feed and care, both of which I can''t afford."


    Winters was at a loss for words, realizing that he had indeed not considered the situation properly in the heat of the moment.


    Ralo hesitantly asked, "Then... could you exchange it for a mule for me?"


    "Your warhorse is worth far more than five mules!" Winters laughed heartily. "I was going to exchange it for two draught horses that could pull a plow. But then I thought, draught horses also need feed. So let''s exchange for two mules and convert the excess value into Ducats."


    Anglu went to the wagon train to pick out a sturdy, beautiful iron-gray mule for Ralo.


    Anglu''s choice was a mule with a strong build, great stamina, and a sleek coat as smooth as silk. Its thighs and hindquarters felt firm to the touch.


    Ralo''s fellow villagers couldn''t stop admiring the magnificent beast, and Ralo himself treasured it immensely.


    But there was only one, for the transportation capacity of the wagon train was also scarce, with few spare draft animals available. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The remaining money was converted into Ducat Gold Coins by Winters and given privately to Old Ralo.


    This time he thought it through: one mule was still within the range of "envy," but if he added money, that would venture into the realm of "jealousy."


    "The gold coins are sewn inside the belt." Only the two of them were in the military tent when Winters handed the belt to Ralo. "Apart from the weight, you can''t tell from the outside."


    Ralo thanked him repeatedly and carefully stored the belt.


    Old Ralo was at least twice Winters'' age with hands full of calluses, a very seasoned and steady person.


    Winters shouldn''t have said more, but recalling those who squandered their hard-earned money on pleasures in Revodan, Wolf Town, he couldn''t help but admonish, "Don''t go gambling... and don''t waste it on women. Take it home, to your family, even buying some new clothes would be better."


    A young man in his early twenties advising a man nearly fifty made for a rather comical and absurd scene.


    But Winters spoke earnestly and from the heart, and Old Ralo nodded profoundly, "Rest assured, Centurion."


    ...


    While these days were easy for Winters, Sekler and Alpad were having a not so tranquil time.


    The Herders had given up on using fire, but their harassment of the Paratu army didn''t cease, only intensified.


    Scattered Herder Cavalry, deep in the night, would come near the Paratu camp firing shots, blowing bugles, and shooting cold arrows, causing much vexation.


    The sentries would ring the alarm bell and the Herders would turn tail and run. If the sentries didn''t ring the bell, the Herders would be relentless.


    Sekler set up ambushes outside the camp and arranged for the Piaoqi to stand watch at night, however, the effect was less than ideal.

 Chapter 505 89 You come and I go_2

    Because White Lion was very willing to engage in small-scale battles with the Paratu People, he was even more willing to use this method to wear down their fighting spirit.


    After a night of fighting, the next day White Lion would choose another tribe to continue the onslaught.


    In the end, Sekler angrily realized that the best approach was to completely ignore them.


    Thus, the Paratu defenders in the Southern and Northern Highlands buried themselves in fortifying the camp, disregarding the Herders'' light cavalry that came to harass them.


    When the Paratu People refused to fight, the Herders intensified their efforts.


    In the most excessive instance, several Herders lit a campfire beyond musket range, roasted meat, and sang and danced.


    Upon hearing of this, Brother Reed chuckled and asked Winters, "Are they going to send over some women''s clothes next time?"


    Winters failed to grasp the insinuation and earnestly replied, "Herders'' clothing is unisex; the styles are all quite similar."


    The old sham-man, finding no amusement, sighed and walked away.


    Faced with the Herders'' incessant provocations, both soldiers and junior officers fumed with irritation.


    General Sekler, however, had self-control; he ordered the garrison to dig three trenches, enclosing the area between the Southern Highlands, Northern Highlands, and the river bank, clearly adopting a defensive stance like a hedgehog.


    Knowing that the Paratu People would not launch an attack, White Lion still sent men daily to harass and provoke.


    Through this method, the confidence of the Herder tribes was gradually recovering from the devastating defeat at the Battle of Nameless Valley.


    The Herders paraded their horses just beyond musket range, and the Paratu People could only watch.


    The Herders urinated beyond musket range, and the Paratu People kept watching.


    The Herders wrestled beyond musket range, and the Paratu People still watched¡ªbut rather enjoyed the spectacle.


    So, the Herders stopped the wrestling matches and switched to other more insulting activities.


    Lieutenant Mason sighed daily, regretting not bringing artillery, "or else we wouldn''t have to put up with this."


    However, Colonel Jeska came up with a solution: construct redoubts fifty meters outside the camp, select soldiers of hunter origin to man them, and gather all the rifled muskets in the army to equip the hunters.


    Fifty meters was within the effective killing range of a typical matchlock musket, and the musketeers on the camp walls could provide support for the redoubts.


    Colonel Jeska was also well aware of the potential of the rifled muskets.


    But since such guns were expensive, they were mostly treated as hunting toys by officers and the wealthy.


    Apart from that, only hunters, compelled by their livelihood, would spend a great deal to purchase one.


    Better to try something than just to stare blankly, Sekler agreed to Colonel Jeska''s plan.


    Once the general made the decision, other officers had no choice but to hand over their prized hunting muskets, even Winters'' double-barreled shotgun was collected.


    The Paratu People had a general penchant for competition; they also sought extravagance in their firearms. The officers'' rifled muskets were finely carved, the decorations on the musket bodies being more expensive than the muskets themselves.


    Handing these over for the soldiers to use, the officers were quite reluctant.


    Colonel Jeska inadvertently offended many of his colleagues, but his method proved to be immediately effective.


    The rifled musket marksmen were now able to pose a valid threat to targets within a hundred meters¡ªalthough they couldn''t guarantee a hit with each shot.


    If one shot didn''t hit, then two shots, three shots...


    After a dozen or so were killed or injured in succession, the Herders dared not be so reckless anymore.


    Previously, the Herders had even ventured to within fifty meters of the camp walls to provoke and flaunt their presence.


    Since the rifled musket marksmen had been effective, the Herders retreated to beyond two hundred meters.


    Yet the situation at night remained infuriating.


    Because the redoubt''s defensive capabilities were limited and could easily be overrun, the rifled musket marksmen withdrew to the camp at night.


    The Herders dared not act up during the day, but after sunset, they doubled their antics.


    Thus, both sides engaged in this back-and-forth, and the low-intensity conflict never ceased.


    During these vexing days, the Paratu People found solace in only one matter: thanks to the stable timber supply to Shuangqiao Main Camp, the progress of the bridge was very satisfactory.


    The bridge piers extended toward the opposite bank of the river at a rate of at least ten meters per day, having already crossed the middle of the river.


    The Herders on the opposite bank were also racking their brains to destroy the bridge.


    The Herders'' line of thought was straightforward to the extreme: heavy arrows can''t reach? Then I''ll use lighter arrows.


    So, they hurriedly produced a batch of light arrows with bone tips and fine wood shafts, shooting them towards the constructing Paratu People.


    While the arrows became lighter and their range extended slightly, their power was weaker, and they were more severely affected by the wind.


    The Herders shot over a hundred light arrows against the wind, and the hit rate was exasperating.


    The few arrows that did manage to hit the Paratu People were hardly a bother.


    Not powerful enough? I''ll use a stronger bow.


    They then collated three heavy bows to make a ballista, which they hauled to the riverbank to shoot at the pile drivers.


    If they had used specially made heavy bows, they might have threatened the pile drivers.


    But the Herders'' ballista was made with ordinary horn bows, and the Paratu pile drivers were exceptionally robust; the arrows scratching them were like tickling.


    The Herders on the opposite bank then wrapped the arrows with resin, attempting to set the pile drivers on fire.


    Still a failure, as the fires were put out faster than the Paratu People could start them.


    After half a day of shooting, neither the boats nor the bridge were harmed, but the Herders'' "ballista" collapsed, injuring several people.


    The desperate Herders then rolled out a trebuchet, with forty-odd people pulling the rope, hurling rocks the size of human heads at the bridge and rafts on the water.


    This truly threatened the Paratu People.


    Rocks the size of heads couldn''t sink the rafts, but they could kill or injure people. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, by the time the Herders deployed the trebuchet, the bridge was less than a hundred meters from the opposite bank.


    Sekler promptly dispatched musketeers and rifled musket marksmen to the bridge to exchange fire with the Herders on the riverbank.

 Chapter 506 89 You Come and I Go_3

    And the Herders'' equipment was still the same old problem¡ªcrudely made, shoddy, and not durable.


    The rafts weren''t sunk, the bridge piles weren''t damaged, but the catapult itself fell apart...


    The Herders operating the catapult dispersed awkwardly, and thus ended another day of battle between the two sides.


    Winters watched the battle from the riverbank, observing everything closely.


    Watching battles is considered one of the traditional entertainments of the military; many officers who were not on duty came to the riverbank to watch the fighting.


    During the exchange among the officers, most agreed on this view: the closer one gets to the opposite bank, the greater the resistance encountered; if the Herders could field one catapult today, they might bring out five or ten tomorrow; the final beachhead breakthrough was unlikely to be easy.


    All present were seniors and predecessors from the Paratu region, so Winters didn''t want to interrupt and stayed in the back, listening attentively¡ªhe was actually quite shy.


    On the way back to the bridge forest encampment, Colonel Robert casually asked, "Winters, do you have any other thoughts?"


    In front of familiar superiors, Winters was less reserved.


    He stroked Stronghide''s mane, replying, "I think everyone is overestimating the Herders across the bridge. If the bridge extends another fifty meters, I''m afraid the Herders on the opposite bank would turn tail and run."


    "How so?" Colonel Robert asked, interested.


    The other accompanying officers perked up their ears too, as they all knew the younger colleague beside them had clashed with the Herders across the river.


    Winters, feeling embarrassed, nodded and explained, "The Herders on the other side are actually a motley army put together from many small tribes. Their fighting power is far inferior to that of direct descendants from large tribes like the Red River Tribe, the Terdon Tribe, and the Suz Tribe; they easily fall apart."


    His quick-thinking colleagues already grasped what Winters meant, and Colonel Robert slapped his thigh lightly.


    "They''ve made a haul in Paratu and got their fill. The fact that the White Lion managed to keep them on the opposite riverbank surprised me. This shows that the White Lion has great prestige in their eyes, but well..." said Winters as he braided a little plait for Stronghide, chuckling, "that''s about it."


    When Winters went to Bianli, Alaric [Tempest Hawk] nearly pushed him to the brink.


    But if Jeska''s squad were defending The Styx main camp now, Winters was confident he could smash Alaric''s Centurion team to the point of them crying for their fathers and mothers.


    Even the slowest of his colleagues reacted at this point:


    The troops on the west bank were all eager to go home;


    Meanwhile, the Herders on the opposite bank had already looted enough, and their will to fight was much less than before they went to Paratu.


    As long as the bridge could be extended to the opposite bank, the remaining tasks shouldn''t be too difficult.


    Back at the bridge forest camp, Winters followed his routine of having dinner, inspecting the camp, and writing letters¡ªhe actually treated letter writing as keeping a diary.


    Every day he used the Disintegration Spell to blow up trees, which also saved the spellcasters from training.


    After doing all this, he crawled under his down comforter.


    "The down comforter is good in every way," Winters thought regretfully, "but it''s still not as comfortable as my old blanket."


    ... S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Horses'' hooves thundered like rolling thunder.


    And there were urgent bells ringing.


    Winters rolled out of his campaign bed and reached for his sword.


    "Is this a dream?" he mumbled, slowly turning his head to ascertain the direction of the hoofbeats.


    Not a dream! Real hoofbeats!


    Winters cursed and rushed out of his tent, bellowing, "We''re under attack!"


    The power of that roar was close to a Sonic Blast Spell, making his own head spin.


    The soldiers scrambled out of their tents and started arming themselves.


    Xial and Heinrich rushed over to help Winters don his armor.


    "[Inaudible profanity]!" Winters fumed, "Can''t I get a decent night''s sleep?!"


    "This is absurd! Absurd!" Xial shouted in panic, "Your armor''s on backward!"


    Winters had been angry but suddenly burst into laughter so hard it hurt his stomach: "I wondered why it felt like I was being choked..."


    The usually silent Heinrich suddenly spoke up, "Sir, the hoofbeats seem to be coming from the direction of our main camp."


    Winters was alarmed, his hairs standing on end: "That''s right... they''re coming from the camp..."


    Quickly donning his armor, Winters strode briskly to his own district.


    Xial went to fetch the horse, while Heinrich unfurled the military banner and followed closely behind the Centurion.


    The hoofbeats circled the camp.


    The messenger Cavalry wearing green plumes burst into the bridge forest camp, galloping wildly down the main road and yelling, "General Alpad''s orders¡ªanyone who can ride, follow! General Alpad..."


    Having heard the messenger, Winters finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    For a moment before, he had feared that the main camp had been breached.


    Braziers were lit one after another, and the Shuangqiao camp was awakening.


    Once the ranks were formed, Winters led his troops to the parade ground.


    When Montaigne''s squad entered the parade ground, few people were there, which made Winters feel slightly proud.


    Seeing the familiar Lieutenant Varga, Winters hurried over to ask, "Sergeant, what''s going on?"


    "I don''t know either," Lieutenant Varga responded, saluting with a wry smile.


    A rider charged into the parade ground¡ªit was Colonel Robert.


    "All Centurions present!" Colonel Robert commanded, "Follow me!"


    With that, the Colonel sped off.


    Winters and Varga exchanged looks, then spurred their horses to follow.


    Colonel Robert said nothing, leading a few men out of the bridge forest camp.


    In the night, Winters couldn''t discern the direction, but he faintly felt they were heading toward the riverbank.


    Worried about Stronghide stumbling, Winters slowed down a bit, so he was at the back of the group.


    Before they reached the riverbank, under the silver moonlight and through the sparse treeline, he could see something churning in the water.


    "Fire boats! No, not boats! What in the world is that!"

 Chapter 507 90 Prelude

    The patrol boats on the Styx were the first to sound the alarm.


    The objects churning in the water sunk and surfaced intermittently, moving at an astonishing speed and approaching the great bridge after skimming past the small boats.


    The bridge had no fear of the barbarian fire ships¡ªthis was the unanimous conclusion reached by the bridge-building headquarters.


    "Thinking of using fire ships?" Colonel Haug mocked at the meeting. "The barbarians need to have ships first!"


    Building ships generally requires wood, nails, adhesives, and sealants, with the composition of sealants varying by local products.


    Venetians often use tar, while the United Provincials prefer grass ash tung oil.


    Materials might be easy enough to obtain, but skilled craftsmen don''t fall from the sky.


    Even the seemingly simplest canoes, which do not require glue or nails, still demand high craftsmanship and consume a surprising amount of labor time.


    Who cannot wield a sword and hack at people?


    But the Paratu Army can smelt iron with furnaces, saw timber using water power, and construct a bridge over the river right under the enemy''s nose.


    As for the Herders... Colonel Haug remarked, "It''ll be good if they could cobble together a couple of rafts."


    This was the gap in engineering capability.


    Winters also maintained an optimistic attitude towards threats from the water surface.


    Shipbuilding was indeed not easy. If it was, the Paratu People would have crossed the river by boat long ago.


    Exerting all their manpower and materials, they had only managed to produce twelve barely watertight rowboats fit for ten each. The soldiers even gave them a nickname, calling them the "Angel Envoy."


    Even to assemble rafts, the White Lion would have to get his hands on some ropes and nails. Most importantly, he couldn''t find any wood.


    Within a fifty-mile radius, there was no forest to be found beyond the woods near the bridge.


    To prevent the White Lion from taking advantage, not a single small grove, no matter how puny, was spared¡ªthe junior officers under Alpad burnt them all to the ground.


    This was also why the Paratu People insisted on building a bridge right here.


    Besides, Sekler had set up three lines of defense on the water.


    Even if the White Lion could manage to make rafts, he would have to break through three lines of defense to even touch the bridge piers.


    The dark shadows in the water sped past the Paratu boats, easily breaching the first line of defense.


    They were so fast that the gunmen from the main camp were not yet in position¡ªonly the sentries along the bank fired a few shots at it.


    Thus, the second line of defense also failed to play its role.


    The objects were like giant snakes weaving through the water, hurtling towards the great bridge.


    Winters squeezed a cold sweat in his palm; now everything depended on whether the third line of defense would be effective.


    The moonlight was hazy, and with the dark shadows submerging and surfacing, Winters could barely make out their proximity to the bridge piers.


    "Thump!"


    A dull, heavy sound echoed.


    The dark shadow slammed straight into the "Dragon Slayer Sword" in front of the bridge pier.


    Dragon Slayer Sword¡ªthat was what Brother Reed called it.


    The Selikans often likened the river to a dragon, and the name Dragon Slayer Sword was both poetic and imposing. Winters thought it sounded good, and so he adopted the name as well.


    The Paratu engineers, on the other hand, called it "Water Cleaving Pile."


    This meant driving another wooden pile two or three meters upstream from the bridge pile, and attaching an inverted V-shaped water divider to it.


    The turbulent current would be split in two by the Dragon Slayer Sword, which in turn reduced the impact on the bridge pile.


    Usually, the Dragon Slayer Sword''s duty was to lessen the erosion of the water flow on bridge piles.


    In the event of an attack, the Dragon Slayer Sword would serve as a water-borne wall.


    If you were to attack from the surface, you would need to destroy the Dragon Slayer Sword first before you could approach the body of the bridge unobstructed.


    But if you wanted to use ships to dislodge the Dragon Slayer Sword, you would have to endure the gunfire and bullet rain from both the bridge and the shore.


    This was the third line of defense.


    [Note: There are no ropes or iron chains connecting the water-cleaving piles. Otherwise, if one pile were to be pulled out, the others would follow.]


    The dark shadow collided firmly with the Dragon Slayer Sword, which tilted violently, but like a boxer struck head-on, stubbornly refused to fall.


    The shadow was deflected and drifted downstream.


    The Paratu people on the shore¡ªWinters included¡ªregardless of officers or soldiers, all exhaled a collective sigh of relief.


    The third line of defense had served its purpose.


    But soon, Winters'' smile froze at the corner of his mouth.


    He saw the Dragon Slayer Sword that had been struck off-center seemed to be subjected to an immense force, slowly tilting in the direction of the current.


    Accompanied by the exclamations of the soldiers on the bridge, the Dragon Slayer Sword was uprooted and slammed into the bridge piling, before drifting downstream.


    Ensign Varga, with his exceptional vision, pointed upstream and shouted in alarm, "Look! More are coming!"


    It turned out that the previous dark shadow was merely a scout, and countless shadows were now rapidly advancing towards the great bridge in formation.


    "Could the barbarians also be harboring monsters in the river?!" Colonel Robert exclaimed in shock and rage.


    His subordinates didn''t know how to respond, the bank fell silent, with only the sound of the rushing water to be heard.


    "I''ve got it!" Winters slammed his thigh hard, startling everyone around him with the force.


    But Winters was oblivious to the pain, grinding his teeth as he stared at the water''s surface: "Log rafts! The White Lion is setting them loose to break the bridge! No wonder... No wonder General Alpad went north!"


    "Log rafts? That thing couldn''t possibly be a raft!" Colonel Robert frowned deeply.


    "If it were really log rafts, then a couple of boats could kill all those releasing them! I don''t know what to call that thing." Winters grabbed the reins and gestured to his colleagues: "What''s in the river are trees! The White Lion must have connected two or more trees together with ropes or chains and let them loose upstream." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "[Angry expletive]!" Colonel Robert was quick to grasp the implication and rarely cursed out loud: "Underestimated these barbarians! [Vitriolic adjective]!"


    Meanwhile, the other officers were still confused, not fully understanding the reasoning.


    Winters grabbed the reins with both hands, using the horse''s neck as a stand-in for a bridge pile to further explain: "A single log coming down might simply drift past between the bridge piles. But trees tied together with ropes and sent downstream from upriver can knock down water cleaving piles and bridge piles if they don''t have the force to dismantle them, dragging them down. It''s like casting a net in the river! This won''t work on a Floating Bridge, it''s meant to target bridge piles!"


    By this point, the other officers also came to a sudden realization.


    But seeing through the White Lion''s tactics was useless, they all stood on the shore, only able to worry helplessly.


    Colonel Robert dispatched Varga to report everything Lieutenant Montaigne had said to headquarters.


    Winters also thought of two countermeasures: one, to use small boats to drag a net on the river, pulling away the driftwood; two, to send soldiers who were good swimmers into the water to cut the ropes hanging from the bridge piles¡ªsince the White Lion presumably couldn''t afford iron chains.


    In such a hurry, he could only think of these two methods, and Winters said with little confidence, "Headquarters has probably already thought of what I''ve said."


    "Don''t worry about these," Colonel Robert said decisively: "Report everything."


    The ever-changing battle situation gave Winters a splitting headache.


    During his apprenticeship with the revenge fleet, everything on a ship, on the sea, was arranged to perfection, and he would be considered qualified as long as he didn''t vomit into the cabin.


    Any of the numerous naval officers from Vineta would be better than him at naval warfare; he was, after all, a landlubber who hadn''t even learned to swim.


    At this moment, Winters missed the faithful enemy of the Vineta Army¡ªthe Vineta Navy.


    If Captain Spire and Deputy Cage were here, would they be able to come up with a better strategy?


    Thinking too much was futile; Winters shook his head, attempting to empty his thoughts.


    "Let''s go!" Colonel Robert tugged at the reins and turned his horse around, "Our responsibility is to guard the camp and not let the Herders take advantage of the chaos. The matters on the water are for others to worry about."


    The officers all followed suit.


    A Centurion complained discontentedly, "If they can''t hold the bridge, our efforts will be wasted..."


    "One person can''t do everything; you have to trust your colleagues," Colonel Robert said without turning his head: "I trust them, just as I trust you."


    Winters mulled over these words, recalling what General Nalesho had said during the battle at Lighthouse Port, "Vineta expects every man to do his duty."


    An army doesn''t just fight with one man, one Centurion. No matter what, he could still trust his seniors, his superiors, and even his generals.


    With that thought, Winters felt a sense of calm.


    After finding out the situation, everyone rushed back to the camp in the forest of bridges.


    All the centuries were already assembled, the surroundings pitch dark, no signs of Herders lurking about.


    Colonel Robert suddenly let out a deep sigh, "Now... it all depends on Alpad''s skills."


    The Centurions didn''t understand his meaning.


    "The Styx River is tortuous, and the Herders'' placement for the ''boom'' upstream can''t be too far. Otherwise, those ''things'' will all be washed ashore."


    A Centurion asked, "Did General Alpad lead his troops from the main camp to deal with the Herders upstream?"


    "I guess so," Colonel Robert replied with a furrowed brow.


    "Where did the savages get the wood?" Winters also couldn''t figure it out: "Haven''t we cleared all the nearby woods?"


    "I don''t know either." The Colonel clenched the rod of his whip tightly, expressing anger, helplessness, and reluctance: "The White Lion isn''t just any savage, we... still underestimated him!"


    ...


    The Paratu People were fighting desperately to protect the bridge.


    The cold wind howled, as brave soldiers, stripped to their skin with only a hemp rope tied around their waists, leaped into the icy river water.


    They didn''t have much time, every second the water snatched away a great deal of heat from their bodies.


    The pilings, one after another, were dragged down, and those that hadn''t fallen were merely struggling to hold on.


    Due to their own arch-shaped structure, the bridge pillars could bear one or two impacts reluctantly.


    Herders'' ropes were tangled on the bridge pillars, and the Paratu People who dived into the water had to cut through them before becoming hypothermic.


    Bonfires were lit on the bridge to warm the diving soldiers.


    But still, many soldiers were pulled out of the water already so cold that they couldn''t speak, their bodies shaking uncontrollably.


    Some had skin that had turned blue-purple, their limbs swollen like radishes.


    Sekler felt a bitter sadness in his heart; these men leaping into The Styx were his finest boys.


    But he couldn''t show any emotion, only continuing to send more men into the water.


    The Styx''s currents were fierce, and the waters carried massive logs crashing against the bridge.


    The Paratu People were up against the might of nature itself; swords, muskets were all rendered useless at this moment, the only weapons left to humans were courage and will.


    All twelve small boats were sent out, but with no fishing nets to be found in such haste, the soldiers on the boats could only try to stop the driftwood with their long spears.


    A log, half-submerged and thick as a man''s embrace, only surfaced near the bridge pilings.


    The soldiers nearby working on cutting the ropes couldn''t dodge in time and were struck directly by the log, vomiting blood instantly.


    By the time he was pulled from the water, he was already breathless.


    This was a very young, handsome fellow, who now lay naked on the bridge deck, his eyes staring blankly, traces of blood at his lips, a great gouge in his chest.


    Someone was crying softly.


    Sekler removed his cloak and covered the young man''s body, gently closing his eyes.


    "What was his name?" Sekler asked.


    "I don''t know, General," Colonel Laszlo replied expressionlessly: "I don''t know."


    The Herders on the opposite bank also noticed the unusual activity of the Paratu military, and regardless of whether the White Lion had communicated with them beforehand, they were not going to miss this opportunity.


    Arrows and stones came showering towards the Paratu People on the bridge, with the bonfires serving as excellent markers.


    Hunters carrying rifled muskets hurriedly came to their aid, a symphony of gunshots and the whistling of arrows filling the air. Some fell into the water, others onto the ground.


    "Boats!" The Paratu People on the boats cried out in alarm: "Boats!"


    On the river surface, a massive object emerged from the darkness, pressing towards the bridge with each passing moment.


    "Where did the boats come from?"


    "It''s not boats." Colonel Laszlo gave it just a glance, answering with a detached calm: "They''re rafts, sheepskin rafts."


    Paratu soldiers on the small boats rowed fiercely, charging towards the gigantic sheepskin rafts.


    And on the sheepskin rafts, Herders were also there, aiming their bows and shooting arrows at the oarsmen on the small boats.


    "Such a large sheepskin raft," Sekler scoffed: "I wonder how long they''ve prepared this¡­ I thought I had already esteemed him highly. In the end, I still underestimated him."

 Chapter 508 91 Act 1

    ```


    After twelve days of probing and harassment, the battle by the banks of the Styx had scarcely begun before it reached its most critical moment.


    It seemed that the White Lion had driven the Paratu people into a desperate situation, but in reality, the Paratu people also had the White Lion by the throat.


    With a great river in front and pursuers behind, there was no way to heaven and no door into the earth. No matter who judged the situation, the Paratu army appeared to be utterly doomed.


    Without the Herders even lifting a finger, hunger and despair were enough to crush them.


    But who could have imagined that the Paratu people would actually manage to construct a bridge over the Styx.


    The Herders were not animals that ate raw flesh and drank blood, they had seen bridges and had their own bridges.


    But to produce a bridge with an unstoppable momentum over a mighty and sacred river like Kurwaleya¡ªthis completely redefined the Herders'' understanding.


    If the Paratu could reach the other side in an organized manner, then nothing could stop them from going home.


    In that case, the sacrifices made by the White Lion, the people of the Red River, and even all Herder tribes would amount to nothing more than a handful of flying ash.


    Therefore, the determination of the White Lion to annihilate the Paratu people was just as firm as the Paratu people''s determination to return home.


    In their struggle to survive, the Paratu drove the White Lion to burn his bridges as well.


    Colonel Haugwitz said, "Barbarians have no boats, at best they could come up with a couple of rafts," he was only half right.


    Barbarians indeed had no boats, but cats have their ways, dogs have their paths, and the Herders had their unique method of crossing rivers¡ªthe hide rafts.


    Peeling off entire cowhides and sheepskins, blowing air into them, and tying up the ends created natural air bladders, and strapping these to a wooden frame made rafts.


    The best bladders were made from the hides of old bulls and rams, the older the teeth of the cattle and sheep, the thicker their skins. The most difficult step was in flaying the hide, as even a minor tear meant the entire skin had to be discarded.


    The peeled hides still had to go through a process of hair removal, oiling, and sun curing in order to be transformed into a "leather bladder."


    Storing the leather bladders was even more troublesome; they had to be preserved against rot, protected from drying and cracking, aired out, soaked, and oiled.


    It was precisely because the structure was simple that the requirement for craftsmanship was even higher.


    Three years ago, the White Lion began secretly preparing the hide rafts. To this day, the stockpile of sheepskin bladders had exceeded three thousand.


    Sekler was right, even though he believed he was overestimating the White Lion, he was in fact underestimating his opponent.


    If it had not been for the bridge, relying solely on the capacity of boats to ferry a small number of people across the Styx, the White Lion could still have pursued them.


    But with the bridge, the situation was completely different. The bridge''s capacity far outweighed that of boats, and the Herders couldn''t even "attack the enemy halfway across."


    If the Paratu army could maintain their formation and cross the river, then even on the East Bank, the Herders would be powerless against them.


    The White Lion must destroy the bridge, or else all his previous efforts would be in vain.


    So the White Lion too had reached a dead end¡ªalthough most Paratu officers hadn''t yet realized this, they would soon understand.


    Haugwitz looked down on the rafts; a raft made of a dozen sheepskin bladders could hardly carry three or four people.


    But what about a hundred sheepskin bladders? Or a thousand?


    The Paratu''s bridge was imaginative, but imagination... the Herd Barbarians had it too.


    If anyone thought that the White Lion relied on driftwood to knock down the bridge pilings, they were sorely underestimating him.


    Driftwood was just for removing the Dragon Slayer Sword. Now that the last barrier had been breached, it was time for the fire ships to take the stage.


    Two thousand sheepskin bladders were tied together to form two giant hide rafts, carrying all the flammable materials that the Herders could gather, and with unstoppable momentum, they crashed towards the bridge.


    The giant hide rafts were like floating castles, making even the pile-driving ships look particularly diminutive.


    Either the Paratu would die or the Herders would die in vain; the White Lion staked everything on this single throw of the dice.


    There was no need for Sekler to give the order, as every drummer in Paratu was vigorously beating their drums.


    The oarsmen on the small boats were exerting all their strength, propelling the boats at high speed towards the "fire rafts."


    The small boats launched grappling hooks, trying to drag the rafts away.


    But on the rafts, there were Barbarian archers and oarsmen too; as soon as a hook caught hold of a raft, it was cut by a scimitar.


    A brave Paratu soldier leaped onto a raft, three gleaming scimitars swung at him and he was sliced down in the blink of an eye.


    But he had bought time for his comrades, and three more Paratu soldiers seized the chance to jump onto the raft.


    Paratu oarsmen swinging their oars and Barbarians wielding their scimitars fought on the unstable hide rafts, while the musketeers on the boats and the archers on the rafts aimed at each other''s foreheads and exchanged fire.


    ```


    Both sides were seeing red; it was a matter of kill or be killed, with no room for reason.


    Only by risking their lives could they hope for a slim chance of survival.


    The curved blades left terrible wounds on the unarmored Paratu soldiers. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the armored Herd Barbarians, once knocked into the water, would sink instantly, without even a chance to struggle.


    The musketeers on the shore finally arrived. The lead balls indiscriminately struck everyone on the rafts, and in the darkness, there were only screams of agony.


    "Stop firing! You''re hitting our own men!" shouted those on the small boats, their voices hoarse with desperation.


    But the people on the shore didn''t care and kept firing deadly volleys at those on the rafts.


    These two giant rafts were simply too large; bullets hitting them had no effect, and even piercing a couple of sheepskin floats did nothing to sink them.


    On the rafts, half of the Herders and Paratu People were fiercely trying to slaughter each other, while the other half were desperately rowing in different directions.


    The sounds of killing, roaring, and screaming in two languages mixed together, like a wild beast wailing in agony in the dark.


    With the bridge as the center and a radius of one kilometer, at least tens of thousands of Herders and Paratu People were within this range.


    But the actual battlefield was only as big as the two giant rafts and twelve small boats.


    The outcome¡ªif there truly was such a thing¡ªdepended entirely on the battle on the water.


    Water, seemingly harmless, now became an insurmountable obstacle.


    Both the Paratu People and the Herders on the other shore could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded.


    Two armies that had never placed much importance on naval warfare were now staking their victory or defeat on it, and nothing was more absurd, laughable, and deeply frustrating.


    Both sides had lost control of the giant rafts, but this was precisely what the White Lion wanted.


    The Herders didn''t need to control the rafts; letting them drift downstream was enough.


    In the Paratu People''s desperate gaze, the two unstoppable water castles headed straight for the bridge.


    "Boom!"


    Because of the Paratu soldiers'' desperate obstruction, the Herd Barbarians on the first raft didn''t even have the chance to light it up before it solidly struck a bridge support.


    The bridge, like an elderly man burdened with weight, stood trembling yet somehow withstood the impact.


    Meanwhile, the Paratu sappers hurried to dismantle the bridge, swinging their axes and chopping at the lifeline they had just built with all their might.


    It was like cutting off one''s wrist to deal with a viper bite; only by sacrificing part of the bridge could they save the rest.


    The second burning raft crashed into the first one, and several bridge supports were instantly uprooted.


    Those still on the bridge stumbled, and one of the sappers even got thrown off.


    Amazingly, the bridge held once more. The supports directly hit by the impact had dislodged from the riverbed, with the rest beginning to tilt as well.


    It was as if half the roots of a plant had been torn from the soil, with the other half still stubbornly clinging to the earth, refusing to let go.


    Both rafts were now engulfed in flames, and the fire was spreading towards the bridge, causing the sappers dismantling it to flee in panic.


    Colonel Laszlo, ignoring the protests of others, leaped onto the now tilting bridge.


    While everyone else ran towards the shore, Laszlo was the only one moving against the tide, headed onto the bridge.


    He picked up the fallen sapper''s axe and hacked at the bridge, stroke after heavy stroke.


    The fleeing sappers returned, one after another, picking up their axes and joining Laszlo in destroying the bridge.


    The sappers chopped and shouted with each blow, as if trying to drive away all their fears with their voices.


    When the last rigid connection was severed, a forty-meter section of the bridge¡ªthe part that had been hit and set ablaze¡ªbroke away and was pushed downstream by the flaming rafts.


    The sight was like a child being torn from its mother''s arms, and many on the scene swore they heard the bridge sigh.


    While the Paratu People tried with all their might to save their bridge, the White Lion launched an assault on the Southern Highlands and the Northern Highlands encampments.


    Alpad, leading the Cavalry, also encountered an unknown number of enemies, and a chaotic battle began in the darkness. Lance clashed with lance, steel met steel.


    The White Lion had already set off a storm, and ironically, the quietest place was now Winters'' Bridge Forest encampment.

 Chapter 509 92 Act 2

    The forest fell into complete silence, devoid of insect chirps or bird calls, and was thick with the aura of imminent danger.


    Therefore, the series of horse hoof beats in the distance seemed particularly abrupt.


    The soldiers atop the camp walls raised their muskets, aiming in the direction of the hoof beats, their fingers resting on the firing lever.


    The smoldering match cord flickered dimly, and the musketeers'' taut jaws were barely visible, each unconsciously swallowing saliva.


    Three horsemen broke through the night, heading straight for the camp gate.


    Seeing the lead horseman''s black armor and silver warhorse, the soldiers on the walls immediately shouted, "Don''t shoot! It''s Centurion Montaigne!"


    A chorus of relieved breaths filled the air above the wall as the musketeers replaced their pan covers, unhooked their matches, propped their muskets against the wall, and returned to a ready stance.


    "Open the gate!"


    "Creak... Creak..."


    The heavy wooden barrier slowly rose, and just as the three horsemen entered the threshold, it thunderously crashed down again.


    Two horsemen went to rest their mounts, while the leading one walked straight into the command tent.


    The command tent was quiet, with only a few people inside.


    "What''s the situation?" asked Colonel Robert, propping his chin on his hand and staring at the map without looking up.


    "I headed north from the bridge forest, then west. I ran at least two kilometers before encountering the enemy cavalry." Winters, removing his helmet, marked out the approximate range on the map: "I found no sign of the Herders in the bridge forest; not even a rabbit."


    The barbarians didn''t seem to be attacking the bridge forest camp¡ªat least not from the north. That was the conclusion Winters had drawn from his own reconnaissance mission.


    Footsteps and the clinking of armor plates once again approached from outside the tent. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Lieutenant Varga has returned," a guard reported as he entered.


    Soon after, Varga, who had scouted south, entered the tent.


    "The south has erupted," Varga reported bluntly, skipping formalities: "Shouts of battle can be heard from the Northern Highlands, and flames are faintly visible from the Southern Highlands. The main camp is safe for now."


    "What about the bridge?" asked Colonel Robert.


    "Half destroyed," replied Varga. "The sappers are trying to repair the rest."


    Paratu''s cavalry had their operational space drastically reduced; the battlefield turned into a dense fog, with no one knowing what the White Lion was planning.


    Despite the tactical advantage of defense, it also ceded the initiative to the enemy as a trade-off.


    The tent fell quiet, and the mood turned somewhat oppressive for a moment.


    "Nothing strange about it," Colonel Robert eventually said, seeing that his subordinates remained silent: "Yasin has been holding it in for over ten days; it''s about time they had a good relief."


    The metaphor was crass, too crass to come from a man of Colonel Robert''s refinement.


    A few accompanying chuckles rose, but Winters couldn''t appreciate the lead''s sense of humor; he felt more alarmed than amused.


    "When the barbarians make a big move, it''s for one of two reasons. Either their reinforcements have arrived, or ours are about to. For better or for worse, we''ll see what happens in the next few days." The colonel said nonchalantly, "Everyone go get some rest. We need to eat well and sleep well to have the strength to fight."


    The colonel arranged a watch schedule, and the officers dispersed.


    That night, everyone was on edge and alert.


    The soldiers on watch strained their eyes wide open, both hoping to spot the enemy emerging from the pitch-black tree line behind them and wishing to see nothing at all.


    The soldiers not on duty also slept restlessly, most without even removing their armor, simply lying down to sleep as they were.


    Gradually, wounded cavalry from Alpad''s Department returned to the bridge forest camp, many bearing injuries.


    When asked about the battle, they couldn''t give a clear account¡ªthey had been separated from the main force during the melee.


    One moment they were brandishing sabers, charging and slashing, and the next they realized their enemies and comrades had vanished; thus, they headed toward the nearest friendly forces.


    It wasn''t their fault; most night battles were chaotic like this: the two sides clashed, fought blindly for a while, then retreated, leaving behind the wounded and dead.


    In such situations, those who come prepared always have the advantage.


    After questioning each one, Colonel Robert gained a clear understanding of Alpad''s situation.


    Clearly, General Alpad''s cavalry had encountered an ambush.


    After a fierce battle, they apparently repelled the barbarians¡ªotherwise, it wouldn''t just be a few wounded stragglers coming back.


    And General Alpad continued northward along the riverbank with the main cavalry force.


    Colonel Robert ordered the scattered cavalry to be accommodated and arranged for hot salt water to be prepared for treating the wounded.


    As time went on, more and more separated and wounded soldiers returned to the bridge forest camp; several officers were unconscious and had been carried back by their warhorses.


    Colonel Robert received increasingly detailed reports: the Herders upriver had been routed, and Alpad continued to advance north, encountering more and more Herder cavalry.


    The fierce onslaught of Paratu''s cavalry ended with a great fire that turned the sky a blazing red.


    The billowing smoke rose high into the sky, clear even to the scouts sent out by Colonel Robert.


    Before this, General Alpad had burned every tree within fifty li of the bridge, excluding the bridge forest.


    In hindsight, the range of fifty li was too conservative and underestimated the White Lion.


    This time, Alpad likely fought even further afield.


    While everyone celebrated Alpad''s victory, Winters had a nagging sense of foreboding. He couldn''t explain why¡ªperhaps it was just because it all seemed too easy.


    It wasn''t just Winters who felt uneasy; Colonel Robert also harbored worries¡ªthough he concealed them well.

 Chapter 510 92 Act 2_2

    At the same time that dense smoke was seen rising in the north, Lt. Col. Robert ordered the Bridgelin camp to prepare for war.


    The troops at the Bridgelin camp were divided into two parts: "those who could sortie" and "those who could not."


    Winters''s hundred-man team was, because of their strong combat power, assigned to the side of the forces that could sortie.


    The premonitions of the two "pessimistic" officers soon came true.


    As the sky was just beginning to lighten, an envoy cavalry, who had lost his helmet, brought Alpad''s ring and a verbal message: The Bridgelin camp''s defenders were to move out to meet them.


    "Could this be a fake?" objected Lt. Varga, opposed to the idea of a sortie: "Would General Alpad ask us for help?"


    Lure the defenders out of their solid camp and then surround and annihilate them. This trick had already been overused by the barbarians, cautioning the Paratu People to be wary.


    "It has been verified, the ring is real, and so is the person," Lt. Col. Robert put an end to all discussion: "Alpad must have really run into trouble."


    Carrying three days'' worth of dry food and a day''s drinking water, but without any supply wagons, Lt. Col. Robert led twelve hundred soldiers in a light-armed sortie.


    Winters was among them.


    ...


    Keep walking, step forward, keep moving without stopping.


    Initially, there were only scattered Hurd light cavalry around; their courage was as tiny as that of sparrows, and they would flee at the slightest scare.


    The further they advanced, the more numerous the barbarians gathered around Robert''s troops became.


    As their numbers grew, the barbarians'' audacity swelled; a lone rider would only stealthily watch from afar, but a group of a dozen or so dared to boldly approach and observe.


    Strong Tess snorted, and Winters gently caressed its neck. Horses snort when they are anxious and when they are excited; only a rider intimate with them can discern the subtle differences.


    "Easy there, little one," Winters fastened his helmet, lifted his gorget, and lowered the visor: "Take it easy."


    Eight hours later, Alpad''s Department finally joined forces with Robert''s troops.


    The barbarian cavalry retreated in defeat, but the Paratu People had only won a Pyrrhic victory.


    Winters saw Jeska of Wolf Town, Dusack; the cavalry of the Jeska squadron had also joined in the battle with Alpad last night.


    He did not see Andre or Bard.


    "Andre! Bard!" Winters frantically searched among the wounded, asking everyone he saw: "Have you seen Lt. Bard? What about Lt. Chellini?"


    No one could provide an answer.


    Amidst the clamor of voices and the neighing of horses, Winters''s mind was a complete blank.


    "I think I saw Lt. Chellini behind us," mentioned a soldier in a low voice.


    Winters mounted his horse and galloped to the back of the column.


    He did not see Andre, but he did see Andre''s extremely robust black warhorse.


    That horse he could not mistake, for it was the champion of Terdun, found by the river after the battle.


    By the rules, as Winters had defeated the champion of Terdun in combat, the horse belonged to him, but he had then gifted it to Andre.


    Seeing that black horse and, upon closer inspection, recognizing the dirty coachman holding its reins was indeed Andreya Chellini, Winters dismounted and hurried over, gripping Andre''s shoulders tightly. He wanted to cry at first, but upon seeing Andre''s disheveled appearance, he couldn''t help but burst into laughter.


    Winters had never seen such a disheveled Andre in his life.


    The latter''s once-immaculate Piaoqi Troops uniform was now scorched, its tassels completely burnt off.


    His bearskin cap was nowhere to be seen, and at the moment, he wore a tattered needle-and-thread cap that he swore he would "never be caught dead wearing"¡ªit seemed warmth was more important.


    Winters had a bit of stubble on his chin because he had been too lazy to shave.


    Andre, in contrast, had meticulously grown a very refined beard for the sake of looking handsome, requiring daily grooming.


    Now, that beard was gone, or to be precise, singed and curled.


    Andre''s face was smeared so badly it looked as if he''d washed it with coal¡ªan extreme contrast to his usual appearance, making it so that Winters, at first glance, did not recognize that "coachman" as Andre.


    "How did you get here?" Andre was initially startled, but recognizing who was before him, he was extremely pleased.


    "We came to support you!" Winters quickly asked, "Where''s Bard?"


    Andre''s face turned ashen as he pointed to the crude sled that the black horse was dragging, and said in a low voice: "He''s in the back."


    The black horse was dragging a rudimentary sled made of branches and straps. Bard lay motionless on the sled, with his head haphazardly wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.


    The words struck Winters like a bolt from the blue; his vision darkened, threatening to buckle his knees.


    "He''s not dead!" Andre noticed something was amiss: "He''s not dead!"


    Ignoring everything else¡ªalthough he really felt like punching Andre hard¡ªWinters immediately checked Bard''s condition.


    Bard was still breathing but in a deep coma. None of the other injuries on his body were fatal, so that only left the wound on his head.


    "He got hit by a hammer on the head," Andre became increasingly distressed, "Even his helmet was dented in."


    "As long as he''s alive, that''s good," Winters carefully secured Bard''s neck with a piece of clothing: "Alive is good."


    Andre squatted down, grabbing his hair in agony: "What are we doing... what is this?!" S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I... don''t know either."


    "We should''ve run; from the very start, we should''ve fled. If we had made up our minds then to escape back to Vineta, now we..."


    "No, listen to me!" Winters yanked Andre to his feet, looking him directly in the eye, and spoke word by word, "What happened in the past doesn''t matter anymore. Now, whether we like it or not, we have to win this war for the Paratu People. Only by doing so will we have a chance to survive."

 Chapter 511 92 Act 2_3

    ...


    The Herder''s reinforcements really did arrive.


    Because the barbarians spared no effort to inform the Paratu People of this fact.


    With the arrival of reinforcements, the Herder''s army morale soared. They arranged their troops on the southern and northern highlands, with the chieftains all but wishing the Paratu People would come down so they could count each head one by one.


    This was, of course, a psychological tactic, crude and simple to the extreme.


    But it was indeed effective, as even the most obstinate Paratu person could no longer deny it: the barbarians'' reinforcements had truly come.


    And the reinforcements of the Paratu People? There was no news of them for the time being.


    The White Lion burned two-thirds of the bridge forest, and Alpad also set a fire that turned the White Lion''s timber source into ash.


    It is exceedingly difficult for trees to reproduce and thrive in the wilderness; a forest may need centuries of time and various fortuitous coincidences to grow, but destroying them is much easier.


    The fire Alpad set burned for two days and a night.


    If the White Lion wanted to get wood again, they would have to go a hundred kilometers away.


    But the Paratu People suffered heavy casualties as well: half of the cavalry squadrons were beaten so badly that they lost the ability to fight, and almost no one was without injuries; the long-distance raiding caused greater losses of warhorses than of personnel.


    It is said that Alpad has already sent away the cavalry squadrons'' banners and the Fifth Legion''s eagle flag.


    The cavalry that could still fight were reorganized into nine squadrons¡ªthis was a first since the establishment of the legion.


    Auxiliaries could be disbanded and reassembled at will, but for the Standing Army, which had a stronger sense of belonging and honor, reorganization was tantamount to the destruction of an honorable collective.


    The Paratu People began to consolidate their forces, and the bridge forest camp also received orders to withdraw.


    All the usable trees were felled by the logging teams, and the remaining shrubs and saplings were set ablaze.


    Afterward, Colonel Robert led everyone to dismantle the bridge forest camp and retreat to the main camp.


    Winters'' team returned to Jeska''s company, and Bard''s hundred-men squad was now commanded jointly by him and Mason.


    Bard regained consciousness, but he began to run a fever again.


    After examining him, Father Caman concluded that Bard had a linear fracture in his skull. His medical advice was brief: rest.


    The entire Paratu army contracted to the camps at the Southern Highlands, Northern Highlands, and the main camp.


    Sekler and Alpad also knew that they could no longer count on the auxiliaries, so all three camps were defended by the Standing Army.


    The auxiliaries were all put to work building bridges, with Jeska''s company also assigned to the bridge construction headquarters.


    The White Lion''s fire rafts had destroyed the bridge, which was originally over 110 meters long, down to less than fifty meters, and the remaining bridge piles also needed to be reinforced.


    The Paratu People were pushed to desperation, almost working day and night to repair old bridge piles and drive in new ones.


    Meanwhile, the White Lion also launched attacks on the fortresses atop the southern and northern highlands.


    There was a siege on the mountain and bridge construction below. Those building the bridge could hear the clash of battle from the slopes, and those on the slopes could hear the sound of the piles being driven.


    The torment in the hearts of the Paratu People was indescribable. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was already too late to build the bridge piles, beams, and deck step by step. In a moment of desperation, the engineer officer had a stroke of genius, proposing "No need to erect beams, just use bridge piles to secure float boxes and rafts, creating a ''floating bridge''." The idea was immediately adopted.


    The Paratu engineers stopped building beams.


    After driving the wooden piles, they directly secured float boxes, rafts, and boats to the piles. With some roughly laid planks, people could just manage to cross.


    The speed of bridge construction greatly increased.


    And the battle on the slopes once again proved an unbreakable truth: humans learn all things slowly, except the art of killing, which they learn the fastest.


    The Paratu People had never imagined what the White Lion had learned from them.


    The Paratu People had blasted the walls of Bianli City three times, and now the barbarians, mimicking them, had begun to use blasting against the Paratu camps.


    Their first attempt at blasting, unsurprisingly, produced fireworks.


    The second did as well.


    The third, too.


    At first, the Paratu soldiers were mocking the barbarians, but soon no one could laugh any more.


    With practice and continuous improvement, the Herders gradually mastered the knack, and the power of the blasting increased more and more.


    The speed at which the barbarians absorbed military technology was so fast that it instilled fear in the hearts of the Paratu People.


    The spread of military technology was a hundred, a thousand times more terrifying than the mere circulation of weapons.


    Any Paratu who witnessed this scene would no longer question the strategy of suppression that Paratu had employed for the past thirty years. They would only regret not having choked the White Lion''s throat more forcefully.


    The sound of blasting that was heard almost every day was the best whip, harshly lashing on the backs of the Paratu sappers and auxiliary troops, spurring them to give it their all.


    The progress on the bridge was incredibly fast, and it crossed the center of the river again within only two days.


    At this point, it didn''t matter whether one was Venetian or Paratu Person, or if there were regional biases and clan distinctions, everyone was in the same boat. Lose this battle, and nobody would survive.


    Winters also felt as though a blade was pressed against his back, which is why he, just like the lowest-ranking soldiers, picked up an axe and worked feverishly.


    The only thing that brought him solace¡ªBard''s fever had subsided.


    Father Caman had watched over Bard for one night, and by the next morning, Bard''s fever had miraculously broken. However, due to the significant blood loss, he remained very weak and needed rest.


    As the bridge piers were now less than fifty meters from the opposite bank, the last thing anyone wanted to happen, happened.


    Along with the thunderous sound of blasting, tons of earth mixed with human fragments flew into the sky.


    The camp was like hit by a rain of mud, and the bloody mire even spattered near Winters'' feet as he was sawing wood.


    Winters saw first one man fleeing from the Southern Highlands towards the camp, then two, and finally, troops began fleeing in groups down the hillside.


    Even the supervisory forces could not stop this rout.


    Without a word, Winters spit twice into his palm and continued to saw the wood with his head down.


    In the morning, the camp in the Southern Highlands was overrun.


    In the afternoon, the barbarians had pushed their heavy guns onto the Southern Highlands, bombarding the bridge.


    In the evening, Lieutenant Colonel Jeska, Winters, and Andre were called to a meeting at the legion''s headquarters.


    Colonel Laszlo, Lieutenant Colonel Robert, and the surviving Centurions under their command were also there.


    Colonel Laszlo was still as calm as a dead man.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert''s cheeks had been pierced by a heavy arrow, three of his teeth knocked out, and his wound was stitched with cotton thread.


    He couldn''t speak, but he nodded at Winters.


    Beyond them, there were two Centurions with their heads shaved and red cloth tied around their left arms¡ªofficers from the Death Camp.


    These were all the troops that Paratu Army had left for one final fight.


    Sekler wasted no words and directly informed all the officers present, "Retake the Southern Highlands fortress, tonight. Win and live, or lose and die."


    ...


    In the darkness, Montaigne''s century had fully assembled.


    Under the dim moonlight, Winters looked over each of his warriors.


    Among them were the soldiers he had brought from Wolf Town, boys that had been added from Blackwater Town and Saint Town, as well as farmers and laborers from other Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    He could call each man''s name and recognize every face.


    The battle, the campaign, even the war had reached the moment that would decide life or death.


    Winters didn''t need to say much; he trusted them, and they trusted him.


    Winters'' eyes were sore, but the tears swirled in his eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall.


    "Scatter, darkness. Fall, stars." A phrase echoed in Winters'' mind as he slowly recited, "At dawn, we shall be victorious!"


    The cold wind brushed past everyone''s clothing, while the Styx flowed silently.


    Winters was the first to step into the night: "Move out!"

 Chapter 512 93: The End (Part 1)

    The stronghold on the Southern Highlands, once belonging to the Paratu People, was now eerily silent.


    The barbarians learned well, lighting no lamps, building no fires, rendering the attackers unable to discern the wall''s layout. Yet they had set fires on the open ground outside the ditch, leaving nowhere to hide.


    The Paratu People were determined to recapture the Southern Highlands, and the Herders knew this just as well.


    Under the cover of nightfall, a dark undercurrent surged.


    A meteor streaked across the sky with a long tail, vanishing in an instant.


    "Kill!" A cry of despair from a man echoed from somewhere.


    The war drums thundered, the clarions stabbing at everyone''s eardrums.


    A group of humans leapt from the dark, carrying crude ladders, roaring as they charged at the stronghold: "Uukhai!"


    The Northern Highlands fortress flickered red, sporadic gunfire sounding.


    But the muskets'' range was insufficient to reach from the Northern to the Southern Highlands; the troops there could only bolster their comrades'' morale.


    Amidst the deafening cries of battle and the drum and horn sounds, the fortress, like a beast lurking in the shadows, remained utterly still.


    In the moment the Paratu People crossed the firelight, the beast revealed its vicious fangs.


    A series of bowstrings thrummed on the wall, and the Paratu in the lead were consecutively shot down.


    The fires were swiftly extinguished, turning everyone in the dark into vague shadows.


    Paratu soldiers with shaved heads and red bands tied around their left arms leapt over the bodies of their comrades, shouting as they rushed toward the ditch.


    The battle had begun, yet Winters held his position.


    He lay on the slope, cocking his head to listen to noises from another battle.


    The military police and flagbearer Xial, Heinrich guarding behind Winters, followed by soldiers of two hundred-man cohorts, and farther back, Andre and Mason''s troops.


    Jeska''s battalion was lying in wait two hundred meters from the southeast corner of the fortress, a step further and they would be exposed.


    According to the original plan, the Death Camp would feign an attack on the northeast corner first.


    Only after the barbarians had their attention diverted would it be Jeska''s battalion''s turn to act.


    The shouts of battle gradually faded¡ªthis was normal.


    Because once face-to-face combat began, everyone clenched their teeth, pressed their lips together, and not even the shortest curse could be uttered.


    Replacing the battle cries were the dull thuds of bludgeons on flesh and the screams of agony.


    Winters rubbed the hilt of his sword with his thumb, still nervous, excited, and frightened, but he had learned patience.


    Aside from the musketeers, everyone under his command had swapped to single-handed swords and shields, donning all the armor they could find.


    The long pikes were of no use in a night battle, and the halberds were no different.


    Lieutenant Colonel Jeska approached, bending at the waist.


    Winters turned his head and saluted briefly.


    The lieutenant colonel gently patted Winters'' shoulder and whispered, "Do you see where the cannon is?"


    "No... it''s fine, it''s right there anyway."


    In name, the raid on the Southern Highlands fortress was to be commanded by Colonel Laszlo.


    However, Colonel Laszlo was currently little more than a walking corpse, and so the battle plan was actually drafted by Lieutenant Colonel Jeska and Lieutenant Colonel Robert.


    Both lieutenant colonels agreed that taking the Southern Highlands fortress was an impossible task.


    Even if they held it tonight, the Herders could retake it the next day. They could not afford a war of attrition with the forces at hand.


    But a change in perspective was possible: the threat of the Southern Highlands fortress lay not in the fortress itself, but in the cannons on the highlands.


    Upon capturing the fortress, the White Lion would immediately move the cannons up the highlands and bombard the "Floating Bridge" across the Paratu main camp.


    Just during dusk''s trials, they sank two pontoons. That was a threat the Paratu could not tolerate.


    Conversely, as long as the cannon could be destroyed, it wouldn''t matter if the highland fortress fell into barbarian hands.


    Right now, what the Paratu needed most was time; just two more days, and the bridge could reach the opposite bank of the river.


    The foremost bridge piles were now less than fifty meters from the East Bank; it really was just a little bit more to go.


    Someone below the hillside waved a torch, then vanished in the blink of an eye.


    This was the prearranged signal; Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Jeska exchanged one last look.


    "Move!" Winters commanded in a low voice.


    He removed his shield, crouching as low as possible as he approached the ditch.


    Xial, carrying five backup weapons, and Heinrich, rolling up the military flag, followed closely behind Winters.


    Winters'' move was a silent signal; his soldiers emerged in single file from their hiding spots.


    In contrast to the Death Camp, Montaigne''s troops blew no horns, beat no drums, and shouted no battle cries; they simply strode forward, crouching low.


    Over a hundred infantry spread out in two loose lines on the hillside, their footsteps rustling softly.


    Still, the wall remained silent.


    The quieter it was, the more tightly Winters'' nerves wound.


    With less than ten meters to the fire, they could no longer conceal their figures.


    "Wet blanket!" Winters ordered softly, not looking back as he reached out his hand.


    Xial unfurled the wet blanket and, ignoring Winters'' request, stepped forward swiftly to smother the fire.


    Sounds like nails on a chalkboard came from the wall as bows were drawn.


    "Shield up!" Winters dashed to pull Xial behind him, yelling with a spell to amplify his voice, "Watch out for arrows!"


    Before the words fell, arrows poured down like rain.


    Winters raised his shield to protect his faceplate; three sharp pings resounded, and three arrows were deflected by his shield and breastplate.


    It felt like being hit by stones three times, causing no serious harm.


    The nearby fires had already been snuffed out.


    Winters let out a fierce shout: "Charge!" S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No longer needing to skulk, Heinrich unfurled the military flag, and the piercing sound of the charge horn resounded.


    "Uukhai!" The Montaigne troops picked up their pace, yelling as they stormed the wall.

 Chapter 513 93: The End (Part 2)

    The Paratu People had considered the possibility of the fortification being breached, so the walls facing the main camp were shorter and the ditches shallower.


    But it was still a daunting construction, one that demanded lives to fill its depths.


    Twenty steps forward, and another volley of arrows descended.


    This time, Winters only heard a crisp snap; he wasn''t afraid of arrows¡ªhe was waiting for the gunfire.


    The entire Montaigne team was armored, some even wearing chain mail over their plate armor. Unless the arrows struck true by chance or by precise aim, they would not cause harm.


    Less than ten meters from the ditch, Winters saw a flash of red light on the rampart wall in front of him.


    "Shield up!" he bellowed instinctively, raising his shield.


    A burst of gunfire, like popping beans, came from the ramparts.


    "Clang!"


    Winters only felt his left arm go numb from the impact as the lead bullet penetrated the outer iron and inner wood of his shield, only to shatter against the plate armor on his left chest.


    Even though the breastplate was not punctured, Winters still felt a tightness in his chest.


    What he feared most had still come to pass: Only the Red River Tribe of the White Lion would be equipped extensively with firearms, and only they had the powder reserves to sustain such armament.


    The presence of gunmen on the ramparts meant they were set to face off against the Red River Tribe that night.


    The Montaigne team, which had taken no casualties from the arrows, had instantly lost over a dozen men to the gunfire.


    "Siege Ladders!" Winters''s eyes were bloodshot, but at this moment, there was only the drive to advance: "Grenades!"


    "Uukhai!" The warriors carried ladders across the ditch.


    The tops of the ladders were equipped with iron hooks, which once snagged, could not be easily dislodged.


    The Montaigne warriors began to scale the walls shielded by their ramparts.


    "Uukhai!" Eighteen grenadiers swung their arms, tossing sizzling iron-shelled bombs into the wall.


    A series of muffled explosions erupted within the fortress.


    The grenadiers were selected for their strong physique from the entire cohort, and Winters''s order to them was simple: throw all four grenades within a minute.


    The two-pound iron-shelled bombs flew in arcs over the wall, but they did not achieve the lethal effect on the enemies atop the wall as Winters had hoped.


    Meanwhile, the gunmen and archers on the wall returned fire.


    Lead bullets and arrows flew across, and though Winters''s Deflection Spell had shown some progress, it still couldn''t cope with the abundance of stray arrows and bullets.


    Instead of maintaining the Deflection Spell, he stopped and bellowed with his arms waving, "Scale the wall! Scale..."


    "Watch out!" Xial''s cry of alarm came from behind.


    In the next second, Winters was flipped over by a blast wave.


    Not far from where he had just stood, a grenadier was blown in half at the waist, sending mud, shredded flesh, and blood flying everywhere.


    "Are you all right?" Xial frantically searched Winters for wounds: "Blood!"


    "I''m fine! It''s not my blood." Winters felt as though a steel rod laden with lead had viciously struck him in the chest, making it hard to breathe, and even his ears rang, drowning out Xial''s voice.


    What had happened?


    Winters didn''t need to ask; anyone could understand just by looking.


    The grenadier had just lit the fuse when he was shot through the neck by a lead bullet. In the last moment before falling, he exerted his final strength to press the grenade beneath his own body.


    That blood-stained face used to belong to a man from Wolf Town named Mihali. A Protestant, a tenant farmer, nineteen years old, particular about cleanliness, and unmarried.


    Pain, anger, and helplessness were all the emotions Winters could feel.


    He strode toward the wall. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "The Lieutenant Colonel forbids you from scaling the wall!" Xial tried desperately to hold back Winters, but he couldn''t: "You can''t go!"


    Heinrich, carrying the flag, silently followed the Centurion.


    The rampart wall was less than three meters high, and the barbarians atop knew this height wasn''t lethal; lacking other defense equipment, they desperately used their firearms and strong bows to wound those besieging the walls.


    Picking up a shield from the corpses, Winters climbed up without a word.


    The two warriors bracing the ladder at first froze, then held the ladder even more firmly, not allowing it to shake an inch.


    The ladder was slick with blood.


    Archers and gunmen on another wall noticed the conspicuously armored Centurion and turned their muzzles towards Winters.


    Winters strained to maintain his Deflection Spell, climbed with his back covered by the shield, and gritted his teeth as he ascended.


    "How is he going up again!" Seeing this, Colonel Jeska was enraged: "Didn''t I give strict orders not to let him scale the wall?!"


    No one dared to respond.


    The Colonel ordered the second batch of Chelini troops that had arrived at the scene: "Lieutenant Chelini! Go take the other wall!"


    Although rudimentary, the Southern Highlands fortification was still a star-shaped fortress. Attacking any one side of the walls single-handedly would expose the sides and even the back to the other walls.


    Colonel Jeska was sending Andre to put pressure on the other wall, to alleviate the strain on Montaigne''s squad.


    Mason''s squad arrived late, and the musketeers set up their formation amidst Lieutenant Mason''s curses, starting to suppress the barbarians on the wall.


    As Winters was about to reach the top of the ladder, he looked up, only to see the dark muzzle of a gun aimed at his forehead.


    A ferocious barbarian held the firearm, his expression fierce, ready to pull the trigger any moment.


    Winters was in the midst of maintaining his Deflection Spell and had no time to switch to another spell.


    In his urgency, he grabbed the barrel and forcefully pushed it upward.


    The barbarian pressed the trigger, and the bullet whipped past his helmet. Even through his gloves, the impact stung his palm.


    Winters, clutching the barrel, pulled with all his might. The barbarian grew fierce, clenching his teeth, refusing to let go.


    The standoff lasted less than a second before Winters, with a roaring shout, yanked the barbarian hard from the wall.

 Chapter 514 93: The End (Part 3)

    Barbarian gunmen fell heavily beneath the city wall, and in an instant, they were stabbed to death by the chaotic swords of the Paratu People.


    But even until the last moment of his life, he clutched his musket tightly and never let go.


    "Herde Language White Lion!" The barbarian squeezed out a tuneless voice from his throat, and then he died.


    "Hurrah!" shouted the Paratu People beneath the wall.


    The "heroic deed" of Centurion Montaigne was witnessed by everyone below the wall.


    "Hurrah!" The musketeers also started to shout desperately.


    Winters was oblivious, he didn''t even know that the crowd was cheering for him.


    He leaped onto the city wall and drew his sword.


    There was no joy of success in his heart, only endless anger: the fort was teeming with barbarians in its not-so-large interior.


    The White Lion knew they were coming, the White Lion was also waiting for them to arrive.


    His warriors kept climbing onto the fortress wall, one after another, and there was no way for Winters to order them to retreat.


    Their mission was not yet complete, nor could they possibly retreat.


    "Come on!" roared Winters as he charged at the enemy on the fortress wall, "Come and kill me!"


    There was no reasoning left, only one side could survive.


    A barbarian musketeer saw the Paratu Centurion charging towards him and hurriedly tried to shoot.


    He pulled the trigger only to realize there was no match cord attached, and then he fumbled for the hilt of his saber. Before he could draw his curved sword, Winters''s gauntlet sword had already pierced his chest.


    The blade went through the ribs and into the lung lobes, leaving a terrible wound. Air pushed into his trachea, and the barbarian musketeer coughed up blood-frothing bubbles before slowly collapsing to the ground.


    And the man who killed him had already drawn his sword to kill the next one.


    As more Paratu People climbed up the city, the barbarians'' archers and gunmen suffered heavy casualties, greatly reducing the pressure on the others outside the wall.


    The barbarian bowmen and gunmen wore no armor; none was a match for Winters.


    For non-fatal attacks, Winters didn''t even dodge, relying entirely on his sturdy armor to resist.


    A barbarian''s slash on his shoulder armor, arm armor, or breastplate would only cause him severe pain.


    In return, his sword strikes would claim the barbarians'' lives.


    After felling a dozen or so enemies, a vacuum had formed around Winters on the fortress wall, with archers and gunmen desperately scrambling away from him.


    The barbarian chieftain shouted hoarsely, "Herde Language This two-legged man is formidable! Shoot him with the musket! Shoot him with the musket!"


    The voice came from below the wall; Winters on the rampart couldn''t see where the barbarian chieftain was. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He fired three steel nails in the general direction, and that annoying voice did not reappear.


    The Paratu People had already secured an area on the fortress wall, and Andre had climbed up as well.


    Seeing the large number of barbarian soldiers inside the fortress, Andre couldn''t help but swear loudly.


    The barbarian bowmen and gunmen had retreated to other areas of the fortress wall, while the armored barbarian soldiers with swords kept pouring up the stairs.


    Winters looked around; there were only cannon mounts on the fortress wall, no cannons.


    However, the scouts only saw the White Lion bring the cannons into the fortress, not taking them away.


    "Death Camp is silent! We''re the only ones left!" Andre grabbed Winters, "Where''s the cannon?"


    "It''s been taken away!"


    Andre was anxious, "What do we do now?"


    "It''s in this fortress!" Winters''s face was hidden under his helmet, leaving Andre unable to see his expression, "Fight inside!"


    In the midst of their conversation, barbarian soldiers rushed onto the fortress wall again, shouting, "Wu Kaha!"


    The strong barbarian soldier at the forefront raised his war hammer high, and brought it crashing down onto Tomas who was in front of Winters.


    Poor Tomas lifted his shield to block, but it only held against the first blow. He tried to counter-thrust with his side sword, but it was stopped by a breastplate.


    The strong barbarian soldier endured a direct stab, and with a round swing of his arms, he smashed Tomas''s skull, causing his brain matter to splatter.


    Watching this unfold before his eyes, Winters shook off Andre and with his sword raised, threw himself at the hammer-wielding barbarian, striking with all his might at the enemy''s neck.


    His sword was already notched, and the barbarian wore a neck guard. Sparks flew, but no blood was drawn.


    The barbarian soldier intended to repeat his attack, but the force of Winters''s strike was so great that it made him stagger.


    Before the barbarian could regain his footing, Winters, grasping the barbarian''s helmet, executed an unrestrained cleaving blow.


    The hammer-wielding barbarian''s head was instantly shredded inside the helmet, with red and white matter oozing out from the gaps in the armor.


    The other surrounding barbarians were so terrified that their legs went weak; not only did they not dare to advance, but they also retreated a few steps.


    Winters reached out to take the barbarian''s war hammer, as his gauntlet sword was no longer serviceable.


    "Please use this." Someone from behind offered him a maul.


    Xial had also climbed onto the fortress wall without Winters realizing when.


    Heinrich, carrying the army banner, had arrived, along with Ish, Samujin... all who were still alive had come.


    Winters accepted the maul and suddenly burst into laughter.


    He tore off the barbarian''s helmet drenched in red and white matter and threw it towards the barbarians inside the fortress.


    "White Lion!" Winters Montagne''s roar was thunderous, "So what if you knew I was coming?! I''ll still break through you!"


    "Kill!" Winters charged at the barbarians inside the stairway.


    "Hurrah!" roared the soldiers of Montaigne''s team in unison.


    The attackers, despite being outnumbered, not only held their ground on the city wall but also pushed the defenders down from the wall¡ªlocally.


    Inside the fortress, the stairwells and corridors were narrow, and no matter how numerous, the people could not unfold.


    The ones in front, making contact with the enemy, had almost no room to maneuver. When a bludgeon swung down, all they could do was to hold up a shield or even their arms to take the blow.


    There were only two lines of attack, one was smashing down from above, the other was thrusting forward, leaving no room for swinging from side to side.

 Chapter 515 93: The End (Part 4)

    Within less than three minutes, Winters, who charged at the forefront, had already been struck countless times.


    His instinctual swordsmanship allowed him to subconsciously dodge vital points, yet he still inevitably grew sluggish and numb.


    He used spells without any reservation, reaping lives like a legendary court mage.


    He no longer used the Iron Melting Technique or other formidable spells, all his "magic" was focused on the most efficient and most practiced spell¡ªArrow Flying Spell.


    He triggered the Arrow Flying Spell almost against the target''s forehead, leaving no chance for error or avoidance.


    Though outnumbered, the Paratu People seemed to be subtly overpowering the barbarians with a do-or-die attitude.


    With everyone packed tightly together, the barbarian gunners were afraid of hitting their own and dared not shoot.


    The barbarians realized this too, and a voice desperately shouted, "[Herde Language] Don''t be afraid! Fire! Kill them all! Shoot that leader!"


    The barbarian gunners hesitated, and the voice yelled even louder: "[Herde Language] Move aside! I''ll do it!"


    A "boom" echoed in the corridor of the fortress, making the wooden ceiling tremble.


    A Herder right in front of Winters was killed on the spot, and the voice shouted again: "[Herde Language] Keep going! Shoot him! Shoot those two leaders!"


    Under the urging of that voice, a Herder gunner clenched his teeth and fired. The lead shot hit the wooden wall, sending wood chips flying.


    The other gunners, also clenching their teeth, raised their firearms.


    Winters and Andre exchanged a glance, then, understanding each other, they charged forward fiercely.


    With their own men behind them, there was no way to retreat. They could only fight to the death and move forward for a chance at survival.


    Several more shots rang out in quick succession.


    Andre, being tall and strong, charged forward heedlessly, knocking the enemies in front of him all over the place.


    Winters followed closely behind Andre, ensuring that his back and the back of his head would not be hit by a hammer.


    Winters spotted the shouting barbarian. When he was about ten steps away from the barbarian, he clenched a steel spike and raised his hand.


    With a flash of cold light, the eyes of the shouting barbarian turned into bloody sockets. Leaning against the wall, he slowly sat down, his head hanging limply.


    The barbarians in the corridor scattered like birds and beasts, scrambling to escape.


    "Haha," Andre leaned against the wall; his laughter sounded muffled coming from inside his helmet, "We brothers are not bad, huh?"


    "Always the best," Winters and Andre fist-bumped.


    "Drip, drip."


    It was the sound of fresh blood dripping onto the ground.


    Andre lifted his arm to fist-bump, then tilted his head as if with a bitter smile: "I was wondering... why I felt numb?"


    His right arm had turned into a mess of flesh; a thirty-gram lead ball had pierced through his arm armor, exploded inside his muscle, and left a terrible wound.


    Blood flowed into Andre''s glove and then dripped onto the ground.


    Winters frantically removed Andre''s arm armor and used his belt to stop the bleeding.


    "Brother won''t be much help anymore," Andre sat on the ground, saying carelessly: "The rest is all up to you now."


    "Stop talking... stop talking..." Winters seemed to be crying, but his face was hidden under his helmet, unseen by anyone.


    Blood loss made Andre very tired; he said softly, "I need to rest for a while..."


    ...


    Meanwhile, Colonel Jeska also reached the top of the rampart.


    The colonel swept over the fortress with his lone eye, quickly grasping the situation.


    "As expected," the colonel asked, "Where''s the cannon?"


    "Not on the wall," replied the wounded soldier beside him.


    "What about Captain Montaigne and Captain Cherini?" the colonel inquired further.


    "They''re fighting their way into the fortress."


    "Retaking the Southern Highlands is no longer possible!" Colonel Jeska said to the signalman, "Send the signal!"


    Obediently, the signalman carefully retrieved a wooden box that contained three signal flares.


    The signalman found a source of fire and held out the flares to light them.


    Three green signal flares screamed into the sky and exploded with a thunderous roar.


    Shortly thereafter, another red signal flare screamed skywards and detonated.


    Not from the east side of the fortress, but from the west!


    "Uukhai!"


    "Uukhai!"


    "Uukhai!"


    The thunderous Paratu battle cry arose, not from the east side of the fortress, but from the west.


    Sounds of hoofbeats, like a landslide or tsunami, approached the Southern Highlands fortress. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Uukhai!" A black-armored cavalryman wielding a pistol leaped into the fortress, not from anywhere else, but precisely from where the barbarians had attacked during the day.


    The breach blown open by the barbarians was hastily repaired with wooden barricades. Since the breach in the west was closer to their main camp, it was perfect for moving troops and artillery.


    The Herders attacked from the west and the Paratu from the east; it was a trap of the mind.


    Yet today, the Paratu chose to break through the western breach.


    The black-armored cavalryman who jumped into the fortress held a pistol in each hand, fired two shots with a "bang, bang," and immediately drew his saber to slash around.


    Following him, more black-armored cavalrymen leaped into the fortress, each firing two shots before drawing their blades to kill.


    The barbarian defenders of the fortress sensed something was amiss, and the musketeers and archers rushed to the western wall.


    After the forty-some black-armored cavalrymen, about thirty Dusack light cavaliers followed, with Pierre, Anglu, Bell, and Vashka among them.


    After them surged more than a hundred Paratu sword and shield bearers and halberdiers into the fortress.


    The Laszlo Troop had arrived.


    The Death Camp was a feint, and so was Jeska''s troop.


    It was Colonel Laszlo''s Standing Army troop and Major Castor''s pistol cavalry that were the main forces of the assault.


    Captain Robert''s troop was responsible for covering the rear.


    Originally, the plan was for the "Death Camp and Jeska''s troop to attract the enemy''s attention, the main force to ambush from the flank and rear, and to recapture the fortress in one fell swoop."


    But that plan now lay in ruins because the fortress was filled with far too many barbarians, so many that the Paratu couldn''t clear them out quickly.


    And the White Lion''s reinforcements could arrive at any moment.


    The plan had to change to having the main force attract the enemy''s attention, creating the opportunity for Jeska''s troop to destroy the cannons.


    Hundreds of cavalrymen charging into the narrow fortress interior made it extremely crowded.


    The cavalry was impeded and began being pulled from their horses by the barbarians who fought on foot.


    Major Castor realized something was wrong, as the original plan for one charge to crush the defenders failed because there were unimaginably many of them.


    At this point, it was impossible to retreat; the battle had turned into a massive melee, a test of who would break first.


    ...


    With the barbarian defenders caught in a pincer movement, Winters felt the pressure on him decrease sharply.


    He led those who were still alive on a reckless charge throughout the fortress.


    "The cannons!" Someone suddenly shouted with surprise from behind.


    Inside a large warehouse within the fortress, four golden twelve-pound bronze cannons lay quietly on the ground.


    "Nails! Hammers!"


    Xial frantically searched and found six large steel spikes for destroying cannons.


    Each spike was thicker than a thumb, ideal for dealing with the resilient bronze cannons.


    "Nail them shut!"


    Without hammers, they used knife handles and stones, and the touch-holes of the four bronze cannons were quickly spiked shut.


    Winters took out his casting materials and added an Iron Melting Technique to each cannon to ensure that no cannonballs could be fit into their bores.


    After doing all this, he felt as if all his strength had been drained in an instant, "Let''s retreat, our task here is done."

 Chapter 516 94: Finale (Part 2)

    The harsh gong resounded through every corner of the fortress, signaling retreat, indicating that "the cannons had been destroyed".


    The barbarians inside the fortress were astonished to discover that the bipeds, who had been fighting them to the death just a second ago, turned tail and ran the next.


    The Paratu People, who had flooded into the breach like a tide, receded just as swiftly.


    Run! Run! Run for your lives! Reach the main camp and you''ll survive!


    That was what everyone thought.


    Because the White Lion had come.


    There were already too many barbarians inside the fortress for them to handle; if reinforcements for the barbarians joined in? The surprise attack force would be annihilated in an instant.


    But the barbarian reinforcements didn''t plunge into the fortress, instead they crisscrossed between the fortress and the main camp.


    Did the White Lion intend to swallow up this isolated force in one gulp, or did he have a grander plan?


    Winters no longer had the energy to think about it.


    He made a makeshift stretcher from a spear and clothes and, along with Heinrich, carried Andre, who was hanging onto his last breath, racing down the slope towards the main camp.


    The moonlight was faint; they could hardly see the path, stumbling deep and shallow as they ran.


    Winters'' legs felt as if they were filled with lead, his armor as if it weighed a thousand pounds.


    He clenched his teeth and moved forward step by step. Those from Jeska''s squad who were still alive followed behind him.


    Winters suddenly tripped over something and felt as though he had flown into the air.


    He glided for less than a second before crashing heavily to the ground.


    Heinrich cried out in alarm, and the other soldiers helped the Centurion up clumsily.


    The blunt trauma he had just endured began to throb with pain; there wasn''t a muscle on Winters that didn''t hurt, it even itched from the pain.


    He could no longer distinguish which pains were phantom and which were the body''s responses.


    For a moment, he truly wanted to just lie there on the ground and never get up.


    But he struggled to his feet nonetheless.


    "How is Andre?" he asked.


    "He''s fine!" Heinrich quickly replied, "Captain Cherini wasn''t hit in the fall!"


    Winters unhooked his helmet and tore it off.


    Stray bullets, flying arrows... he was too weary to worry anymore; all he wanted in that moment was to breathe a little fresh air.


    From the direction of the main camp came clear cries and gunfire; Winters saw flashes of light near the camp walls.


    Clearly, the encircling barbarian soldiers were engaged in battle with the defenders of the main camp.


    The White Lion was not only aiming to devour the troops attacking the fortress but also hoping to breach the main camp in one fell swoop¡ªor at least to see if there was an opportunity to take advantage.


    Behind them, in the direction of the fortress, came also the sounds of battle cries and clashing weapons.


    That was Robert''s squad, covering the rear, clashing with the barbarians who had charged out.


    With wolves ahead and tigers behind, if there had been a chance of "taking advantage of the enemy''s encirclement not being in place, using the limited time to retreat to the main camp" before.


    Now, Winters could be certain: it was too late.


    "It''s too late!" Winters spat, "Form up! Fight your way back!"


    Winters stopped, and the other soldiers by his side halted as well.


    The militiamen coming up behind them, one by one, had all run out of strength.


    The fully-equipped Jeska squad consisted of six hundred and sixty militiamen and five officers.


    From Bianli, they fought their way back to The Styx, and now less than three hundred men around Winters could catch their breath.


    Colonel Jeska hurried to the front of the column.


    Seeing this scene, the Colonel took the battalion flag from the flag-bearer, "Everyone, form up here around the flag!"


    The militiamen dragged their weary bodies, moving step by step toward the flag.


    At that moment on the battlefield, the sound of horse hooves was heard from the west, but clearly, the thundering hoofbeats in front were getting closer.


    Everyone, as if whipped on their backs, squeezed out the last bit of energy to run towards the flag.


    Jeska''s battalion no longer had any formation to speak of, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, everyone desperately squeezing towards the center.


    Even if they formed a square, what then? Without carrying pikes, how could everyone armed only with short weapons and firearms confront the barbarian cavalry?


    The sound of horse hooves got closer, and the people became more and more panicked. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Man pressed against man, the matchlock gunmen had no way to shoot. Sword and shield bearers couldn''t fight either.


    "Matchlockmen!" Winters shouted using magic to amplify his voice, "Get outside!"


    Mason was equally frantic, yelling hoarsely, "Matchlockmen! Get outside!"


    The crowd was like a headless fly, how could they possibly execute a formation change?


    Shouting was useless, so Winters took action, pulling matchlockmen out of the human wall one by one.


    But the sound of hooves was getting closer and closer, and it was already too late.


    "It''s us! Don''t shoot!" the newcomers shouted.


    Pierre emerged from the night, followed closely by the Dusacks. Mixed in among the light Dusack cavalry were some pistol cavaliers.


    "What happened?" Winters grabbed the bridle of Pierre''s warhorse.


    After the retreat order was given, the Paratu cavalry were the first to break away from the fight. Winters had thought they were safe back at the main camp.


    "Barbarians are blocking the front! We''ve been separated from Colonel Castor!" Pierre replied briefly, "The barbarians are coming this way!"


    Behind Pierre, an even more terrifying sound of hoofbeats was closing in.


    In the center of the crowd, Colonel Jeska, holding high the battalion flag, suddenly shouted, "Matchlockmen stand up! Everyone else get down!"


    Hearing this command, everyone was at a loss.


    Suddenly, an idea flashed in Winters'' mind.


    "Get down! Everyone get down!" he commanded using magic to amplify his voice, "Matchlockmen stand up! Only the matchlockmen stand up!"


    The magically amplified voice clearly reached every ear.


    Without understanding, the militiamen instinctively obeyed Centurion Montaigne''s order.


    One person lay down, and others followed, more and more people getting down.


    The crowded formation began to loosen¡ªbecause lying down takes up more space than standing, the formation started to expand outward.


    Mason also grasped what Colonel Jeska meant.


    "Matchlockmen, do not lie down!" Lieutenant Mason pulled up the matchlockmen lying on the ground, "Stand up! Cowards will be executed!"


    Soon, only the matchlockmen remained standing on the slope, while everyone else was lying down.


    The shooting space that hadn''t existed before was now available.


    "Prepare the matchlocks! Load your ammunition! Fire on my command!" Winters shouted as he walked, "Everyone else! Stand up on command!"


    The matchlockmen, as if awakening from a dream, each took out their paper cartridges containing gunpowder and bullets and began the loading process.


    "Mr. Michel!" Colonel Jeska in the center of the circle shouted to Pierre, "You''re in command of the cavalry! Take them to the back!"


    Pierre saluted from afar and blew a whistle, leading the cavalry towards the hillside.


    The thunderous sound of galloping hooves grew closer; this time, it was not their own cavalry but the ferocious barbarians.


    One by one, Hurd''s light cavalry emerged in single file from the cover of night.


    Seeing the Paratu People''s peculiar formation, the leading barbarians were startled and hesitant, unsure whether to advance.


    However, as a Hong Lingyu arrived on the battlefield, the barbarians started to move with more purpose.


    Over three hundred barbarian riders, with about a hundred dismounting, took something from their backs.


    Winters saw clearly that what the barbarians held in their hands were firearms; they were mounted gunmen.


    The barbarian gunmen loaded their ammunition and fixed their fuses, steadily advancing towards Jeska''s troops.


    The remaining two hundred plus cavalry split into two groups, attempting to encircle from the left and right.


    A hundred riders surrounding could envelop ten thousand men.


    The booming hoofbeats from all directions reached the ears of the militiamen on the ground, some of whom desperately buried their heads in the grass as if that could spare them from calamity.


    The barbarian gunmen approached within about sixty meters and began firing at Jeska''s troops.


    Bullets flew wildly, and one after another, gunmen were brought down.


    If they were to return fire against the barbarians, it would fall right into their trap.


    "Aim for their cavalry! Don''t be scared!" Winters gauged the distance of the enemy cavalry, "Gunmen! Get ready!"


    Fifty meters.


    Some Paratu People shivered with prayer.


    Forty meters.


    The roar of the hooves was deafening.


    Thirty meters.


    Winters could already see the steam billowing from the nostrils of the enemy warhorses.


    He bellowed, "Fire!"


    Every Paratu gunman pressed the firing lever without hesitation.


    The sound of over two hundred guns firing was like a single shot.


    The frontmost barbarian riders were mowed down like wheat beneath a scythe.


    The following barbarian cavalry gritted their teeth, ducked low, and continued their charge.


    Colonel Jeska roared, "Stand up! Everyone!"


    "Stand up!" Winters pulled up the soldier next to him, used a spell to amplify his voice, and commanded sternly, "Stand up!"


    The militiamen were incapable of following such a tactical order, and so was the Standing Army.


    But Winters''s soldiers trusted him, just as they trusted their own eyes and hands.


    Upon hearing Winters''s order, Montaigne''s troops unhesitatingly stood up.


    Some militiamen did not dare to rise, but many more followed the example of Montaigne''s troops and got to their feet.


    Like dragons'' teeth sprouting warriors, the Paratu People "burrowed" out of the ground.


    No words could describe the shock felt by the barbarians.


    The barbarian riders were within mere meters of Jeska''s troops; they had only one thing to do¡ªcollision.


    The warriors on the outermost edge had already closed their eyes.


    But nothing happened.


    The barbarians'' warhorses neighed, lifting their forelegs high, almost rearing up.


    The leading barbarian riders stopped less than three meters from Jeska''s troops.


    Was it the riders who were afraid, or the warhorses?


    Winters did not know, but he saw an opportunity.


    Only a few barbarian riders were unable to slow down in time and charged into the crowd, the riders flung from their saddles, and in turn, knocking a few slow-reacting militiamen into the air.


    The barbarian charge had not unleashed its full power, nor had the Paratu People broken.


    The battle turned into a fair melee.


    "Kill!" Winters, brandishing his saber, lunged at the enemy.


    "Uukhai!" Every warrior in Jeska''s troops raised their weapons high, rushing towards the nearest barbarian.


    "Uukhai!" Even the gunmen swung the butts of their guns, shouting as they attacked the enemy.


    The barbarians quickly regained their senses; though their charge was disrupted, they still possessed the strength to fight.


    The mounted barbarians, from a higher position, wielded their scimitars, with a single slash capable of severing arms and necks.


    Jeska''s warriors grabbed the reins of the warhorses, madly thrusting their swords at the enemy.


    The "bang, bang" of gunfire continued unabated. It wasn''t Paratu People firing; it was the barbarian gunmen.


    Bullets flew chaotically, hitting who knows who, as both sides fought their chosen enemies.


    "Ura!" Pierre, with the last of the cavalry, charged down from the hillside.


    He did not join the fray¡ªas in the dark the Paratu People could not distinguish friend from foe and would kill anyone on horseback¡ªbut rode around the battlefield, heading for the barbarian gunmen behind.


    Battle cries rose from behind the barbarian gunmen as well; about twenty black-armored cavalry, drawn into a straight line, charged with a momentum that overpowered thousands of troops: "Uukhai!"


    Those black-armored cavalry did not hesitate, smashing through the barbarian gunmen''s formation without swerving or avoiding.


    Colonel Castor had returned!


    "Lieutenant Montaigne!" Colonel Jeska pulled Winters out from the frantic melee.


    "We''ve done it!" Winters, gasping for breath, couldn''t hide his excitement, "We''ve made it! The barbarians are scared!"


    "It''s not over yet!" Colonel Jeska handed the banner to Winters, "Lieutenant Montaigne! You will lead the vanguard!"


    "Yes!" Winters saluted with great sincerity.


    Colonel Jeska seemed to be smiling, fixing Winters''s helmet and giving it a light tap, "Don''t be so reckless in the future."


    "Understood." Winters nodded repeatedly, unaccustomed to Colonel Jeska''s newfound gentleness.


    A gunshot suddenly sounded in the distance.


    Amidst the cries, screams of agony, and clashes of weaponry, Winters really shouldn''t have noticed the gunshot, but he distinctly heard it.


    He also heard the sharp whizz of something cutting through the air, and a breeze seemed to brush his face.


    Then a "ping" resonated, a sound Winters knew well¡ªthe sound of a lead bullet shattering against armor.


    Pieces of the bullet even splattered against Winters''s faceplate.


    Winters closed his eyes, yet he felt no impact from the bullet.


    He opened his eyes in alarm: "Colonel! Are you..."


    "Winters..." Colonel Jeska was unusually calm, even more so than usual, "I... I think I can''t see anymore..."

 Chapter 517 95: Finale (Continued)

    ```


    For soldiers, nothing is more tragic than defeat, except victory follows closely behind as a disaster.


    If anyone doubts this saying, just take them to see the wounded soldiers'' camp.


    In order not to affect the morale of the troops with the sight of the wounded, the Paratu army''s medical tent is set up in the most secluded corner of the main camp.


    Late at night, inside the half-open military tent.


    Several surgeons, like butchers, rolled up their sleeves and bustled about the operating table.


    Rather than sharp scalpels and delicate forceps, they used saws and cautery irons even more.


    The wails of the injured never ceased, chilling to the listeners'' bone.


    Amputated arms and legs piled carelessly outside the tent, some still with remnants of military uniforms attached.


    The night was dark, and some people accidentally stepped on them, mistaking them for discarded wooden debris.


    The medical tent looked like a slaughterhouse, and anyone seeing it for the first time couldn''t help but feel nauseated.


    The medics and their assistants walked through the bloody mire as if accustomed to it.


    Please do not blame them, for the care they were providing was far superior to any contemporary army''s medical treatment.


    The sound of gunfire was not far away, as the barbarians were attacking the southern camp walls.


    The Paratu People raided the fortress, and the barbarians had to fight back.


    The battle was not over, and despite the medical tent operating over capacity, the number of soldiers crying and waiting for treatment grew.


    "Caman!" Winters, covered in blood, burst into the medical tent, desperately searching, "Doctor! Priest Caman!"


    A team that seemed to have returned from hell followed the Centurion, the lightly wounded carrying the gravely injured, almost no one was without an injury.


    In a tent in the corner of the medical tent, Caman was performing surgery.


    He was pale and weary, with the only trace of his clerical status being the holy emblem hanging in front of his chest.


    The soldier lying on the operating table had his left shin bone smashed by a blunt weapon; amputation was necessary.


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    Hearing the commotion outside the tent, Caman asked without lifting his head, his hands never ceasing their movement.


    The sharp scalpel cut through skin, fat, and tendon until the bone was laid bare.


    His assistant held a red-hot iron, periodically cauterizing the bleeding points.


    Three other strapping assistants firmly restrained the soldier who had been given strong liquor, so he could not thrash about.


    Speed was life; the faster the amputation was completed, the greater the chance of the injured person''s survival.


    "It''s Centurion Montaigne!" another assistant of Caman exclaimed.


    "Move the remaining patients to the other doctors! Now!" Caman dropped the scalpel, grabbed the saw and began sawing the shin bone.


    His hands were steady, and it took just a dozen or so passes to saw through the shin and fibula bones. The assistant promptly cauterized the blood vessels and seamlessly took over the suturing.


    From the first incision to the completion of the amputation, it took less than three minutes total.


    "Over here!" Caman stepped out of the tent, waving and shouting, "Mr. Montaigne! Over here!"


    Seeing familiar faces being carried into the medical tent one after another, Caman''s complexion turned even paler.


    Caman bluntly asked Winters, "Where''s Mr. Mitchell?"


    "At the back," Winters''s eyes watered, "He''s taken an arrow to the neck; he''s not going to make it."


    He watched helplessly as Pierre, who opened the way for the whole troop, was shot down by a stray arrow, while Anglu, Bell, and Vashka desperately dragged their companion back.


    But he had to keep moving, for he bore the flag, and everyone was looking to him.


    Jeska''s company had broken through the enemy''s lines with sheer determination and fought their way back to the main camp.


    "Get Mr. Mitchell on the operating table!" Caman then asked Winters, "How about you?"


    "I''m fine." Winters''s face remained hidden beneath his helmet, for he didn''t want others to see the tear stains, "But¡­"


    "It''s alright," Caman said softly, "Leave it to me."


    ...


    "Don''t saw off my arm! No!" Andre screamed in despair, "Whoever dares... I''ll kill you!"


    The soldiers held his limbs down firmly, fearing that Lieutenant Chelini''s wound would burst open again.


    Andre struggled to break free, but with so much blood lost, he had little strength left.


    Andre''s consciousness began to blur as he wept and pleaded, "Don''t let them saw off my arm... Winters... don''t let them¡­"


    Andre''s voice grew weaker, and soon he fell unconscious again, his previous agitation merely the last burst of energy before passing out.


    Winters felt a pain in his chest as if being twisted by a knife, nearly unable to stand, he listened to the medic''s words like a walking corpse.


    The chief medic told Winters, "Lieutenant Chelini''s wound cannot be stitched up, he must be amputated promptly. Otherwise, Lieutenant Chelini will be in mortal danger."


    The chief medic also told Winters, "The lead bullet fragments can''t be removed, Colonel Jeska''s right eye also needs to be excised."


    Winters approached Colonel Jeska''s bedside, feeling a crushing sadness and helplessness that left him gasping for breath.


    "Is that you?" Colonel Jeska reached out, groping towards darkness, "Lieutenant Montaigne?"


    Winters grasped Colonel Jeska''s hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, "Colonel, it''s me."


    "Don''t cry, Winters," Jeska, who was always stern-faced, had now completely relaxed.


    His demeanor was serene and calm, as if he felt no sorrow for himself, "A clay pot broken at the well, a general dead in battle. Isn''t this quite common?"


    The tent was quiet, only soft sobs could be heard.


    "Do you have any liquor on you?" Colonel Jeska asked softly.


    ```

 Chapter 518 95: Finale (Continued) - Part 2

    Winters did not have the habit of drinking, but he could not bring himself to say "no." He suddenly remembered the flask given to him by Alpad, which he had always carried with him.


    Winters immediately took out the flask and placed it in Colonel Jeska''s hand.


    "Oh, this flask." Colonel Jeska felt the shape of the flask, unscrewed the cap, and took a small sip.


    Then, he fumbled from his bosom and took out a twill cotton bag: "I have a gift for you, Winters."


    "No, I can''t accept this." At this moment, Winters couldn''t bring himself to accept the Colonel''s gift.


    "Just open it and see." Colonel Jeska seemed to be smiling.


    Inside the twill cotton bag was an oiled cloth package, and inside the oiled cloth package were maps, many, many maps. From the Great Wilderness to Paratu, all were personally drawn by Colonel Jeska.


    "I have no use for this thing anymore, it''s yours from now on. The ability to work with maps, don''t let it slide, it will be of great use," Colonel Jeska said calmly as he lay on the military cot, as if to conclude an affair of his heart: "Go now, let me rest for a while."


    ...


    Caman found Winters in an uninhabited corner of the medical post: "Is Lieutenant Cherini going to have an amputation?"


    After wiping away his tears, Winters turned around: "Yes."


    "Take me to see him."


    The medical posts for officers and soldiers were not in the same place; Caman had been in the soldiers'' medical post, while Colonel Jeska and Andre were in the officers'' medical post.


    Winters took Caman and burst into the surgery tent; Andre had already been placed on the operating table and was about to be cut open.


    Caman, ignoring the surprised gazes of others, went straight to Andre to examine the wound.


    "Montaigne Lieutenant, what are you doing?" the chief medical officer asked discontentedly.


    The chief medical officer, without a military rank, had a status equivalent to a field officer''s and was far more venerable than a Centurion.


    Winters stood silently in front of the chief medical officer, not knowing what Caman intended to do.


    "Don''t let them saw off my arm," Andre''s desperate plea echoed in his ears.


    If it really came to amputating Andre''s limb, Winters would rather Caman be the one to operate.


    "Get out! I''m about to perform the surgery!"


    Winters did not move an inch.


    "Do you want to kill Lieutenant Cherini?" the chief medical officer rebuked sharply.


    Suddenly, Caman spoke up: "Take him to my place!"


    Winters nodded, and four fearsome soldiers barged in, lifted the operating table, and headed out of the tent.


    No one dared to block their way.


    Andre was carried back to Caman''s surgery tent, where his vital signs were growing weaker.


    In a haze of consciousness, Andre still murmured pleas: "Don''t saw... don''t saw off my arm..."


    Caman put down the tent curtain, completely covered the windows, and drove everyone away¡ªincluding his medical assistant.


    Apart from him and Andre, only Winters was left in the tent as an assistant.


    "More lights!" Caman demanded.


    Winters ignited a fire spell, lighting all the oil lamps in the tent.


    Caman held out a nondescript black wooden box.


    Upon opening the box, a set of silver surgical instruments glittered under the lamp light.


    This set of instruments was exceptionally delicate, more so than the bloodletting set Winters had seen in the dungeons of Sea Blue City; there were as many as twelve sizes of tweezers alone.


    Caman chose one of them: "Give me light!"


    Winters held up an oil lamp, illuminating Andre''s wound for Caman.


    Caman squinted his eyes, beginning to pick bullet fragments out of Andre''s wound with the tweezers.


    "Not bright enough! We need more lamps!" Caman''s tone was undeniable.


    Winters picked up another oil lamp.


    "Still not bright enough!"


    Winters put down the lamp, took out his spellcasting materials, and unreservedly unleashed a Luminosity Spell.


    Dazzling white light instantly filled the tent, even reaching blinding intensity.


    "Like this! Keep it steady!"


    Caman worked swiftly, picking out fragments of lead from the ghastly wound on Andre''s right arm.


    It was an extremely delicate task, akin to carving on a walnut.


    Some fragments were so small that they were no bigger than a grain of wheat. Some were embedded in the flesh, requiring an incision for removal.


    Caman placed the extracted fragments in a dish, roughly assembling them into the shape of a bullet, with only a part missing.


    After checking the wound three times, Caman confirmed there were no remaining bullet fragments.


    "That''s all of them," Caman muttered to himself: "The defects in the lead bullet in the dish should be the parts that shattered when it broke through the arm armor, not entering Mr. Cherini''s arm."


    Winters was at the brink of his spellcasting limit.


    The consumption of the Luminosity Spell was not particularly large, assuming the spellcaster controlled the power output. If driven without reserve, no spell could last very long.


    Hearing Caman''s words, Winters suddenly relaxed his spirit, and the bright orb in his hands dimmed by three shades.


    "Hold it steady! It''s not over!" Caman barked.


    Winters clenched his teeth and pushed himself to the brink once more.


    One second Winters felt as if he were thrown into the mouth of a volcano, the next into an ice cellar, the phantom pain making his body uncontrollably tremble.


    The light in his hands grew even more dazzling than before¡ªeven becoming more intense.


    It was not that Winters had broken through his limits in the face of danger, but rather he was no longer able to control the magical power output and could only push it higher in desperation.


    Utilizing the inevitably brief light, Caman rapidly excised the dead, rotten, and scabbed tissues from Andre''s wound.


    The scalpel transformed into a precise carving knife, as Caman shaved away the necrotic parts, preserved the intact parts, and reorganized the muscles along their natural lines.


    "I cannot hold on any longer!" Winters yelled.


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 Chapter 519 95: Finale (Continued) - Part 3

    "That''s it!" Caman also roared.


    Winters''s vision went dark, and he collapsed stiffly to the ground. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a daze, he heard Caman chanting, "[Ancient Language] O my Lord, forgive us our sins, lest we fall into the fires of Hellfire..."


    Struggling, Winters got up and walked over to the operating table.


    He saw Caman clutching the holy emblem tightly, reciting the scripture in a trembling voice, his face deathly pale.


    He witnessed Andre''s wounds healing at a rate visible to the naked eye, with new flesh budding where muscle had been torn by lead and broken skin gradually knitting together.


    "I understand it all now, no wonder you know medicine, no wonder you are skilled in surgery." Winters''s head buzzed, "You... you''re a Divine Arts practitioner!"


    Caman looked exceedingly tired, and he wrapped Andre''s healed wound with a bloodied gauze, "Did I ever say I was not?"


    The practitioner of Divine Arts that Winters had longed for was hiding right beside him. Even after being in close company for so long, he hadn''t noticed at all.


    Andre''s broken muscles and skin grew back together, leaving only a dark red bruise beneath the outer layer of skin.


    It was somewhat different from the Divine Arts that the old Shaman Hestas had displayed to Winters on Red Sulfur Island.


    Winters''s wounds healed to the point where only a red line remained. After the scab had fallen off once, the red line disappeared completely, leaving no trace of the external injury.


    However, Andre''s wounds healed very irregularly, resembling a large drop of red ink splashed on the skin, leaving a radial trace.


    "Then you... you..." Winters trembled, wanting to question.


    He wanted to ask, "Why didn''t you reveal your identity and help?"


    He also wanted to ask, "Do you know how many people a Divine Arts practitioner could save?"


    But he couldn''t bring himself to ask; his conscience told him: Caman had already saved many lives.


    Even without revealing his identity as a practitioner of Divine Arts, he had already saved countless lives.


    He could understand Caman. How many more could a Divine Arts practitioner save by exhausting themselves completely? And what would those who were not treated think?


    Like now, did Caman receive resentment or gratitude?


    "Are you going to tell them?" Caman faintly asked, "Tell them that although I could have saved their lives, I remained indifferent?"


    Winters bowed his head and fell silent for a while, "No one can save everyone."


    "Only the Lord can save everyone," Caman crossed himself.


    "Thank you, I owe you one."


    "You owe me nothing, Mr. Montaigne," Caman slowly drew back the curtain, "I didn''t come here for you, you don''t owe me anything."


    "Thank you."


    "Mr. Chelini is still in danger; Divine Arts cannot bring back the dead. If his fever breaks, he''ll live; if not, he''ll die. You go, I''ll take care of him."


    Winters had countless questions in his heart. He wanted to ask Caman: Why did you come to Wolf Town? Why did you join the army with us?


    But seeing the tiredness in Caman''s eyes, he couldn''t ask.


    He wanted to leave but then remembered Colonel Jeska, and a flicker of hope ignited in his heart, "Divine Arts, can it heal eyes?"


    "I haven''t tried."


    ...


    Colonel Jeska was brought into Caman''s surgical tent.


    Setting aside the surgical knife, Caman took Winters outside the tent, "No... I can''t remove the lead fragments from the eyes."


    Winters punched the wooden lattice heavily.


    "Completely removing the eye and ''recreating'' it with Divine Arts, could that work?" Winters asked in a low voice.


    "Don''t probe any further..." Caman replied with difficulty, "Divine Arts... Divine Arts can''t ''heal'' organs as complex as the eyes."


    "Why?"


    Caman averted his gaze, almost pleading, "Please, no more questions..."


    Winters was utterly baffled, but Caman''s earnest tone made it unbearable for him to press further.


    "Is there no other way?" Winters asked, both sad and angry, for there is nothing more despairing than disappointment after hope.


    Caman nodded heavily.


    Winters lowered his head and let out a long, anguished sigh.


    A green-tasseled messenger hurried over, "Gentlemen, where is Colonel Laszlo? Lieutenant Colonel Robert? Captain Castor? And Colonel Jeska?"


    "What for?!" Winters yelled at the messenger.


    The sudden outburst startled the messenger.


    In his eyes, this centurion, covered in blood, was probably just a foul-tempered jerk.


    The messenger stood to attention and said formally, "General Sekler has summoned the officers."


    Jeska couldn''t go to see Sekler. Laszlo, Robert, and Castor were likewise unable, as they were also injured.


    So General Sekler came to the medical station himself.


    Winters wasn''t qualified to attend the meeting, but Jeska kept him there.


    "This lad is good," Colonel Jeska said, holding Winters''s arm, "He is to take up my flag."


    Taking the flag, in the language of the Paratu People, meant succession¡ªa very serious implication.


    The command of Jeska''s squadron was officially transferred. By tradition, the unit should be called "Montaigne''s Squadron" from this moment forth.


    But nobody on the scene cared about that; they had more pressing matters at hand.


    "Gentlemen?" General Sekler''s piercing gaze swept over each subordinate, "What was the mission I gave you?"

 Chapter 520 96: The End (Part 2)

    "Retake the Southern Highlands fortress tonight. Victory means life, defeat means death."


    That was the general''s order.


    The westerly wind cackled as it swept through the tent, a chill passing over everyone''s spines.


    "Has the Southern Highlands fortress been retaken?"


    No one answered; the fortress was still in the hands of the White Lion.


    "Take a short rest." Sekler''s tone left no room for dispute, "Your mission remains to retake the Southern Highlands fortress."


    With that, the general turned and left.


    Colonel Laszlo had been shot in the right leg. He sat on a three-legged stool, expressionlessly packing his pipe as if the matter had nothing to do with him.


    Lieutenant Colonels Robert and Castor had ashen faces, but neither of them spoke.


    The tent was silent as death.


    A hoarse voice rang out behind Sekler, "All the cannons have been destroyed; I destroyed them myself."


    The general did not acknowledge, nor did he stop his steps, simply walking out.


    So many men had thrown their lives away on the mountain, swarming the walls like ants under a hail of bullets, fighting hand-to-hand in corridors too narrow to turn around. Was it all vain because of a casual command from the high-ups?


    "I used the Iron Melting Technique." Winters struggled to suppress his emotions, his body trembling, "The White Lion can''t even cram a cannonball in."


    A military family background, ten years of military academy education, and a year and a half of military life had molded Winters Montagne into a "systemized" individual.


    No one saw through it more clearly than Antonio Serviati: the military academies, structured after the Monastery, were ultimately churning out batch after batch of "Ascetic Monks" and "Zealots."


    Winters hardly knew anything about the world outside the military. From the moment he was born, he was placed within this system.


    Loyalty, duty, executing orders, respecting superiors... Obedience to authority was practically seared into his marrow.


    This was why he fought so "ardently" for the Republic of Paratu¡ªhe wasn''t even aware of it himself.


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    Being part of the greater whole¡ªthis subconscious act gave him an irreplaceable sense of security because it was the life he had always known.


    In fact, it was not that the Paratu military needed Winters Montagne; it was Winters Montagne who needed the military.


    Like a young sapling, he had been fitted into a mold and tied with ropes from the start, guided to grow in a predetermined direction.


    But humans have limits, even those who are systemized.


    The tightly wound strings snapped one by one, and the faces of fallen soldiers emerged in front of Winters''s eyes.


    They didn''t die for Paratu, let alone for Sekler. They trusted him, loved him, and it was for him that they fearlessly risked their lives against the barbarians¡ªthey died for him.


    Winters drew his saber, charging towards the general''s retreating figure while shouting in grief and anger, "What exactly do you want me to do? All for that damned hill! My men have all to die there! All to die there!"


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert immediately reached out to grab Winters. He had an injury on his tongue and couldn''t speak, letting out anxious mumbling sounds.


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor also grabbed Winters''s other arm, "Insolence! You¡­ you''re drunk!"


    "Don''t be rash!" The voice of Lieutenant Colonel Jeska came from his cot in the darkness, futilely stretching out an arm trying to stop Winters.


    Colonel Laszlo, using the oil lamp to light his pipe, hung his eyelids low, leisurely puffing smoke.


    "Philpot! Mihali! Solt..." The names of the fallen soldiers were cried out one after another by Winters.


    Sekler, with one leg already outside the tent, paused his steps. He stood silently for two or three seconds, then suddenly turned back towards Winters.


    He looked straight into the lieutenant''s eyes, asking coldly, "Do I need to tell you my plan?"


    "Go to hell!!!" Winters struggled frantically, anger burning in his eyes.


    Castor and Robert stumbled as he pulled them, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert managed to wrest the saber from his hand.


    "Winters! Don''t be impulsive! Don''t do this!" Lieutenant Colonel Jeska almost pleaded. No, he was begging.


    Sekler slowly wiped the spittle from his face and dropped a bombshell, "The bridge, in fact, is already passable!"


    Everyone in the tent, including Winters, was shocked.


    "The bridge structure is less than thirty meters from the opposite riverbank. Lieutenant Colonel Alec (an engineer) has a plan to rigidly fix the first fifteen meters of the floating bridge to the foremost bridge piles. For the next ten meters, people are sent to the opposite bank to secure it with cables. The last five meters, they''ll just wade through the water," Seleuc explained, looking at everyone in the tent, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Besides me, Alpad, and Lieutenant Colonel Alec, you''re the only ones who know this."


    Lieutenant Colonel Castor muttered softly, "If the bridge is already passable, why don''t we retreat?"


    "Can we retreat?!" Sekler roared, "The Herders are guarding the camp''s outer ring; can we retreat?! The White Lion has brought at least thirty thousand reinforcements, three major divisions followed by numerous lesser tribes ''all putting forth their first-born sons''! Tell me, why hasn''t he launched the final assault yet?"


    Sekler did not wait for his subordinates to answer, scolding sharply, "Because he is waiting for the very moment when the bridge is completed! With a way out in front and pursuers behind. Without the White Lion exerting any effort, we will collapse into a rout!"


    The logic was too straightforward, and Winters couldn''t refute.


    The bridge was a symbol of hope, the spiritual pillar of the Paratu People fighting with their backs to the river.


    But if the bridge were truly completed, it would not be a final stand but "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao."

 Chapter 521 96: The End (Part 2) - 2

    ```


    Waiting for the Paratu People will not be an "escape to heaven," but a "halfway ambush."


    In front of them are tens of thousands of extremely vicious barbarians, and behind them, the only way to survive. If one person throws down their weapons and runs, morale will collapse like dominoes.


    Sekler''s tone was ice-cold, "I need you to recapture the fortress in the Southern Highlands, not just for the cannons, but to block the enemy''s line of sight and clear out the Herders in the trenches. With the Southern Highlands in their possession, the enemy has a clear view of our camp; they know our every move. Tell me, can you walk away?"


    No one could answer that question.


    Sekler''s speech sped up, "When you strike, Alpad will lead another force to clear the enemy attacking the camp, and a platoon from the Northern Highlands fortress will move out to reinforce you. A squadron of Piaoqi has already crossed the river by boat downstream, and as soon as your battle begins, I will send people to build a bridge.


    I need you to attract the attention of the Herders and beat the White Lion at the game of timing. Make him think we''re still fighting for the fortress, make him think the bridge isn''t fixed yet. Three hours! Within three hours, everyone must cross the river!


    Survive and live! Fail and die! Do you think I''m speaking nonsense? After the army has been fighting for hundreds of miles, less than half can still wield a sword. You bleed, and you think others don''t?!"


    Silence, only silence filled the tent.


    "Strip him of his duties! If he doesn''t want to go, then he doesn''t have to go! Laszlo, Jeska''s battalion is now under your command!"


    Having said that, Sekler turned and left, this time he did not look back.


    ...


    After a brief rest and slight reinforcements, the raiding squadron once again set out from the camp.


    This time they did not go directly to the Southern Highlands but first circled northwest.


    There they would join with Colonel Bod''s troops before moving on the Southern Highlands fortress.


    Meanwhile, another force was assembling outside the north wall of the camp, led by Alpad.


    They would strike at the enemy''s flank who were attacking the south wall of the camp, repel these enemies, and prevent them from reinforcing the Southern Highlands fortress.


    A silver-grey warhorse stepped out of the night.


    Anglu led Warhorse over to Winters, and upon seeing his master, the horse cheerfully snorted.


    As he got closer, however, Warhorse twitched his nose in displeasure, clearly not liking the smell of blood on Winters.


    Winters wanted to feed Warhorse a sugar cube, searched around for a while, and then suddenly remembered he had not brought his sugar bag.


    "Do you have sugar?" Winters asked Anglu.


    "Sugar?" Anglu widened his eyes, searched for a long time, and then apologetically said, "I didn''t bring any today."


    "Quit your whining." Winters patted Warhorse''s neck and began to check the tack.


    He adjusted the breastplate to the proper fit, carefully inspected underneath the saddle to make sure not a single straw was left; diligently smoothed Warhorse''s skin where it made contact with the saddle, leaving no wrinkle.


    Lt. Col. Castor came over riding his black Warhorse, dismounted beside Winters, and admired Warhorse, "That''s a fine horse. It''s a shame it ends up in the hands of infantrymen like you."


    Winters could not be bothered with Castor.


    Castor was not offended and asked again, "Didn''t Sekler say you don''t need to go?"


    "I''ll be damned if I volunteer!" Winters snapped back, irritated.


    "That''s right, without you, your men would die even more." Castor chuckled and then got to the point, "Sekler talked about relieving you of your duties, just take it as a fart in the wind. You''re to be in reserve, and we''ll lead the charge."


    "What the hell?" Winters asked with his eyes.


    "Laszlo means that if we can win the fight, you follow up. If we get wiped out, you have every right to withdraw." said Castor nonchalantly, "In this war between Paratu and the barbarians, we can''t always let you Venetians steal the limelight."


    Winters remained silent.


    Castor was about to leave when he suddenly turned back and asked, "You always give me that side-eye. You still holding a grudge over that whip in Wolf Town?"


    At the Mitchell estate, Castor had lashed Winters with a whip for no reason. While Winters didn''t hold a "grudge," his temperament wasn''t so good as to turn the other cheek after being slapped.


    In short, Winters bore no good feelings toward Castor, maintaining only a reluctant courtesy.


    Fortunately, their paths rarely crossed, and they encountered each other only a handful of times.


    "No answer? So there is a grudge?" Castor asked.


    "Damn right!" Winters retorted irritably, "What gave you the right to lash me out of the blue?"


    Castor''s tone was full of resignation, "You Venetians are so petty! ''Revenge is the greatest joy in life,'' isn''t that what you Venetians say?"


    Winters didn''t bother to argue and turned back to his tack. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lt. Col. Castor pushed further, smirking, "How about you give me a punch? That would make us square..."


    Winters turned, throwing a right hook into Castor''s left cheek.


    Castor was knocked off his feet, stumbled like a drunk, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, "You really dared to hit me!"


    Winters shook his wrist, mounted up, and rode off.


    Lt. Col. Castor, holding his cheek, stood up and yelled at Winters''s departing back, "Now we''re even! Square and no debts!"


    ...


    Colonel Bod and his troops waited in the valley between the Southern and Northern Highlands.


    The troops departing from the camp first headed northwest, crossed the trenches, then turned southwest, and finally joined with Colonel Bod''s group.


    As ordered by Lt. Col. Robert, each of the troops departing from the camp carried three torches.


    ```

 Chapter 522 96: The End (Part 3)

    ```


    After the two forces joined, Colonel Bod took over the command.


    The existing troops were no longer sufficient to divide for feint attacks or to conduct an overwhelming siege.


    The only feasible plan was to attack through the breach on the west side, the same location where Colonel Laszlo launched his previous assault.


    The White Lion had not reinforced the defenders; his reinforcements were probing the southern wall of the main camp.


    Outside the southern wall of the main camp, the battle had already begun.


    Alpad led eighteen fully organized companies¡ªincluding the Standing Army, auxiliary troops, and sappers, with the last of the light and heavy Cavalry as the spearhead¡ªthrusting fiercely into the left flank of the barbarians.


    If Alpad could rout or block this section of the enemy, then it would be a fight between cripples at the Southern Highlands fortress.


    With the addition of Bod''s large unit, the Paratu side still had a chance of victory.


    Seeing the situation of the allied troops, Colonel Bod volunteered to take the lead, with his Sixth Legion''s main company as the first echelon.


    Colonel Laszlo''s Fifth Legion''s main company and Lieutenant Colonel Robert''s Second Company of the Sixth Legion formed the second echelon.


    The troops of Winters were in reserve.


    To ensure the impact, Lieutenant Colonel Castor''s Cavalry also participated in the first wave of the attack.


    Even with the addition of Bod''s troops, the total force for the second wave of the attack was only about a thousand.


    "The battle has started at the camp! There''s no need for us to hide or disguise! We must make our presence known! Strike fear into the barbarians'' hearts!" Colonel Bod, mounted on his horse, passed in front of everyone: "Raise the banners! Light the torches!"


    First one, then two torches were lit, with flames quickly spreading, looking from a distance like a giant flame serpent emerging from the ground.


    The barbarian sentinels on the Southern Highlands fortress were startled, and for a moment they even forgot to sound the alarm.


    It was only when the serpent of fire slowly crawled forward that Winters heard the horn sounds from the hillside.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert''s scare tactics were effective; the fortress was now in chaos.


    "[Herde Language] Wake up!" a Herder shouted as he ran: "[Herde Language] The bipeds are coming! At least ten thousand!"


    A Herder shouted back angrily: "[Herde Language] Nonsense! Impossible ten thousand, at most three thousand! You''re lying!"


    "[Herde Language] My sword! Where''s my sword?"


    "[Herde Language] Who took my horse?"


    "..."


    Some Herders were frantically putting on their armor, while others, holding on to their warhorses, slipped away quietly.


    "Uukhai!" The chilling war cry came from the west side of the fortress.


    The crude wooden palisade was pulled down, and the black-armored Cavalry stormed into the fort like thunder, followed closely by Bod''s sword-and-shield infantry.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert and Colonel Laszlo observed the battle from a hundred meters away, with their troops also waiting just outside the walls, a hundred meters away.


    Learning from the last lesson, this time the Paratu People didn''t rush in all at once but ascended the walls in batches.


    Colonel Laszlo took a long, hard drag on his last cigarette, as if wanting to inhale everything from the pipe into his lungs.


    Then, he knocked his boot heel against the pipe to clean the bowl and passed the pipe to his junior, Lieutenant Colonel Robert.


    "It''s yours now."


    "For me?" Lieutenant Colonel Robert took the pipe with a muffled voice and asked, "But I don''t smoke. Sergeant Major?"


    A rare smile appeared on the corner of Colonel Laszlo''s mouth: "It was a gift from my son; he wanted to learn carving, but I forced him into the military instead..."


    Robert was astonished and quickly waved his hands: "I can''t... Ah!"


    While speaking, he accidentally moved his wound. His mouth was sweet with blood¡ªobviously bleeding again.


    "Charge!" Colonel Laszlo pulled out his sword, fiercely spurring his horse in the ribs, charging at the frontrunners toward the fortress.


    The soldiers behind him screamed and charged forward.


    Lieutenant Colonel Robert, caught off guard, could only shove the pipe into his jacket and spur his horse to follow.


    A hundred meters behind the forces of Robert and Laszlo¡ªbeyond the range of musket fire¡ªMontaigne''s unit was on standby.


    Winters watched the battle, biting his lip anxiously.


    His warhorse Strongrun also sensed Winters''s agitation, pacing restlessly.


    Winters had grown completely weary of this war. He no longer wanted to fight for the Paratu People, but deep down he hoped that Colonel Bod, Colonel Laszlo, and Lieutenant Colonel Robert would prevail. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same time, Winters closely observed his surroundings, having sent out all his Dusacks as scouts.


    Would the White Lion send a second reinforcement? He did not know.


    The previous defenders of the fortress were from the Red River Tribe, but he didn''t know about the reinforcements. Apart from his own forces, whether the White Lion could mobilize forces from other tribes was unclear to Winters.


    The decision-making process within the Herders was an enigma to the Paratu People.


    They didn''t even know who exactly was leading this barbarian army, yet everyone knew of "the White Lion." So much so that "the White Lion" had abstracted from an individual into "the leader of the barbarians."


    Suddenly, he heard a succession of hoofbeats from ahead.


    "Who goes there?" Heinrich called out sharply.


    The approaching rider shouted, "It''s me! Balrog!"


    Lieutenant Balrog was one of Colonel Bod''s Centurions.


    "The barbarians can''t hold on much longer!" Lieutenant Balrog charged up to Winters, yelling, "Colonel Bod orders your unit to strike immediately! Crush them completely!"


    Winters turned around and looked at his warriors: "Do you still believe in me?"


    "Long live!" Ish from Ganshui Town, the first to cry out, banged on his breastplate: "Blood Wolf!"


    "Blood Wolf!" Even those who weren''t his old subordinates shouted: "Long live!"


    Mason said softly, "They''re willing to follow you, even if it''s into hell. Give the order."


    ```

 Chapter 523 96: The End (Part 2) - 4

    Winters''s eyes stung, and he pulled down his faceplate, drawing his sabre, "Then follow me! Charge!"


    "Uukhai!"


    The battle inside the fortress reached a stalemate, with the Paratu People gradually taking over the square, but the barbarians of the Red River Tribe still firmly controlled the walls and internal buildings.


    The warriors of the Red River Tribe were far more fierce than those of other tribes. The Paratu forces did not have the advantage, and it was instead the Red River Tribe barbarians who gradually gained a foothold.


    "[Herde Language] Musketeers on the wall! Aim for their leaders!" The true commander of the fortress, Chiliarch Swift Hawk, holding a horse-tail standard on the eastern wall, roared orders, "Flame([Herde?] first word is de_here) those most lavishly armored bipeds! Shoot those with the largest plumes on their helmets! Don''t be afraid of hitting your own people"


    The pistol cavalry instantly became the most conspicuous targets, one after another falling from their horses, shot.


    Seeing his men continuously shot down, Colonel Castor burst with rage. He raised his scimitar, charged up the steps on his horse, and roared directly at Swift Hawk, "Bastard! Your life is mine!"


    "Fire([Herde?] first word is da_or_frequent here) at him!" Swift Hawk pointed at Colonel Castor with the horse-tail standard, roaring, "Take down that leader!"


    The black warhorse was about to charge onto the wall, and the musketeers on the opposite wall aimed at Colonel Castor, pressing the firing lever.


    After several shots rang out, Colonel Castor''s body seemed to shudder, and he weakly hurled his scimitar towards the horse-tail standard before his body leaned back and slid off the horse.


    Hit by two bullets, the black warhorse, without its rider''s control and in pain, leaped over the wall and fell into the ditch outside.


    "[Herde Language] Good! Good!" Chiliarch Swift Hawk laughed loudly, "Reward! A hefty reward!"


    Suddenly, the battlefield outside the castle resounded with the Herders'' dreaded battle cry "Uukhai!" once more.


    Chiliarch Swift Hawk, shocked and with a voice raw from shouting, sounded the alarm, "More bipeds are coming! Fight them to the end!"


    Montaigne''s silvery grey warhorse leaped up through a gap in the wall, joining the battle.


    Through the smoke and dust, Winters caught sight of the horse-tail standard and the Green Plumed Feathers on the eastern wall.


    Colonel Robert, holding Colonel Laszlo, whose life and death were uncertain, shouted from afar at Winters, "Lieutenant Montaigne! Scale the wall! Take down the flag!"


    Varga, with a hole in his face, lay quietly beside Colonel Robert; the gods hadn''t protected him.


    The next moment, a hole appeared in Colonel Robert''s breastplate, and he incredulously touched the armor, slowly toppling backward.


    "Scale the wall!" Winters'' heart felt as though it was being clenched by an invisible hand, suddenly compressing; with a cry of anguish, he shouted, "Scale the wall! Musketeers! Shoot down the Green Plumed Feathers!"


    The Montaigne squad''s sword and shield bearers and musketeers circumvented the melee and attacked the stairway leading up the wall.


    "Shoot the one on the silver horse!" Swift Hawk spotted the Centurion on the silvery grey warhorse right away, calling to the musketeers beside him, "[Herde Language] Hit his warhorse!"


    The enraged Winters released an Arrow Flying Spell at the Green Plumed Feathers, "Shut up!"


    But the distance was too far; the steel dart missed its mark. The Green Plumed Feather, unharmed, watched as more and more musketeers turned their muzzles toward Winters.


    "Little one, stand firm, don''t move," Winters whispered to his warhorse.


    Strung stood immobile, the broken wall beside him splintered with bullet hits, sending dust and wood chips flying. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters kicked off his stirrups, stood in the saddle, and in Xial''s cry of alarm, directly leaped onto the wall from the gap.


    Even the barbarians on the wall looked on dumbfounded.


    Not until Winters swung his warhammer, caving in the skull of a musketeer, did the other barbarians snap out of their trance.


    "[Herde Language] It''s that guy!" The musketeers and archers desperately fled, "He''s back again!"


    "Him again! Want another turn?" Swift Hawk cursed and commanded, "Arrow Quiver soldiers! Surround and kill that knight!"


    The tribal leaders had chosen their bravest warriors to guard the great tents, allowing them to carry arrow quivers by their side, hence known as "Arrow Quiver soldiers."


    Twenty Arrow Quiver soldiers, clad in double-layered armor and wielding axes, received the order and, against the fleeing rush of archers and musketeers, charged towards Winters¡ªSwift Hawk had prepared them for this very moment.


    Seeing the ferocious barbarian warriors rushing towards Winters, Xial screamed, his voice hoarse, "Quick, help the Centurion! Human ladder! Get me on that wall!"


    The battlefield was chaotically loud, but Winters seemed to be able to hear his own heartbeat. He had only one target in his vision: the horse-tail standard and the Green Plumed Feathers.


    He raised his hand, firing two consecutive Arrow Flying Spells.


    One hit the chest, and the Arrow Quiver soldier staggered momentarily but kept charging forward.


    The other struck dead center on the faceplate; an Arrow Quiver soldier suddenly sported a bloody hole in his face and fell face-first to the ground.


    Winters''s Arrow Flying Spell lacked the power to penetrate double-layered armor at a distance. It was only effective up close by targeting the weak spots like the faceplate.


    The barbarians were well-prepared¡ªso what?


    Winters pulled a glass vial from his wrist guard and, closing his eyes, crushed it.


    A lightning-like dazzling light burst from his hand, briefly illuminating the entire fortress.


    The Arrow Quiver soldiers were first blinded by a wash of white, then plunged into darkness, clutching their eyes and screaming.


    A Flash Spell eradicated the Arrow Quiver soldiers'' vision, and Winters charged into their midst with his warhammer.


    The first Arrow Quiver soldier to face him had his skull crushed by the hammer without a sound, collapsing backward.


    The second Arrow Quiver soldier''s seven orifices bled as he was struck, but he did not die instantly. With his last bit of strength, he shouted, "He''s here!"

 Chapter 524 96: The End (Part 2) - 5

    Other quiver soldiers, even if their vision had not yet recovered, still rushed over following the sounds.


    A quiver soldier bumped into Winters'' armor and immediately wrapped his arms around Winters'' waist, hugging him as if trying to squeeze him into two.


    "[Herde Language] I''ve got him! Kill him!" the quiver soldier shouted.


    After just one sentence, he was blown to pieces by a disintegration spell, brain matter bursting out.


    But more quiver soldiers flocked toward the noise, their sight gradually returning.


    Winters was now surrounded, he knocked down a quiver soldier in front of him, a hammer crushing the opponent''s face.


    As he swung his hammer down, another iron hammer smashed viciously onto his back.


    Winters fell forward from the blow, landing on the body of a quiver soldier. The force was dispersed through the backplate of his armor, yet it still hurt so much he couldn''t breathe.


    He swung his arm, shattering the knee of a quiver soldier. Twisting his body desperately, he unleashed a disintegration spell on the fierce savage in front of him.


    Warm blood sprayed onto his visor, and even entered his eyes through the bars of the observation slit.


    The dead quiver soldier''s body, out of control, pressed down heavily on Winters.


    "Not good," was the only thought in Winters'' mind.


    Before he could push the corpse off himself, other quiver soldiers threw themselves onto the body.


    Winters'' limbs and internal organs were being crushed bit by bit¡ªnot phantom pains, but real, acute pain.


    Under the pile of quiver soldiers, Winters roared and wailed like a dying wild beast.


    He no longer reserved any magic, launching disintegration spells one after another, unaimed and indiscriminate.


    But it was useless, he kept killing quiver soldiers one by one, yet their bodies still piled up on him like a mountain, slowly crushing him to death.


    Many fragments of his life flooded into his mind.


    He remembered going grave-sweeping with his mother as a child, his mother pointing to two unfamiliar grave markers, telling him that''s where his parents were¡ªfrom then on, his mother became his aunt.


    He thought of the ecstasy when he received his first wooden sword from Antonio. But from that day on, he was woken early every day to practice swordsmanship, and he grew to detest that wooden sword.


    He recalled fighting with Benvenuto when he first joined Lu You, the kids from the dock district always looking to teach a lesson to the kids from the military housing district. After a few fights, they actually became good friends.


    He remembered Elizabeth, ugly and wrinkly when she was just born, Ella had already grown into a young lady.


    But when Ella was born, he was full of the fear that his "parents" would no longer love him unconditionally. Ah, why did he think like that at the time?


    Lastly, he remembered Anna''s hair tips bathed in sunlight, her upturned lips, mischievous gaze, and her calling him "Mr. Montaigne."


    Since when did he start to care about Miss Navarre? He couldn''t say, perhaps it started with that slap.


    "Will you forget me?" Winters slowly closed his eyes, truly exhausted. Although reluctant, perishing like this seemed okay.


    He felt his body getting lighter and lighter, and suddenly a strange thought entered his mind, "I''m not actually going to heaven, am I?"


    Even he wanted to laugh at the idea.


    No, he was actually getting lighter¡­it was the weight pressing on him getting lighter.


    Outside the "mountain of corpses," Xial plunged his sword fiercely into the back of the head of a still-living quiver soldier, as Heinrich and other fighters frantically pulled away the bodies of quiver soldiers.


    Under the pile of corpses, they found Centurion Montaigne.


    Xial trembled as he removed the helmet, and under the iron helmet, Winters actually seemed to be smiling.


    "Why would you do this?" Xial pounded on Winters'' breastplate, his voice breaking with a sob, "You still have us! Why do you always have to go in alone? You have us!"


    Winters'' smile grew wider.


    The others clumsily helped the Centurion to his feet.


    "That''s right," Winters said with a smile, "I have you all."


    "Bang! Bang!" A series of gunshots rang out not far away, both the living and the dead were blasted into a mess of flesh and blood.


    Swift Hawk shouted ecstatically, "[Herde Language] Killed him!"


    Winters felt a warmth in his abdomen. Instinctively reaching out, he only touched steel plate¡ªthe wound was underneath the armor.


    He sat atop the body of a quiver soldier, struggling to keep himself upright.


    "Xial!" Winters pointed at the Green Plumed Feathers, "Take their flag for me!" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You take care of the Centurion," Xial yelled to Heinrich, who nodded emphatically.


    Xial grabbed the military standard, lifted his saber high, and roared, "Follow me!"


    The soldiers on the wall let out a thunderous battle cry, following Xial towards the destination of the horsetail military flag, chopping down the flagpole.


    As for the Green Plumed Feathers, having pulled out his plumes, had already disappeared to who knows where.


    The Paratu military flag replaced the horsetail military flag, and the spirits of the Paratu People inside the stronghold surged.


    The barbarians, as if their spines had been ripped out, no longer possessed that fierce momentum.


    "Open the breach, let them out!" Colonel Bod roared the order.


    The soldiers guarding the breach moved back to both sides, creating a path for the barbarians to escape. From then on, the barbarians completely lost their will to resist.


    At first one barbarian threw down his weapons and fled, and in the blink of an eye, all barbarians were in rout.

 Chapter 525 96: The End (Part 2) - 6

    "Long live!" The Paratu soldiers cheered exultantly, "Long live!"


    But the cheers died quickly, as even the bravest of the Paratu soldiers now wore a look of fear on their faces.


    The rumbling sound of horse hooves approached from the northwest and the southwest, and everyone knew what that meant.


    "The barbarians are here!" Anglu, riding Rejek, rushed into the fortress, warning everyone, "The barbarians are here."


    A few Dusacks followed Anglu, but their numbers were far fewer than the Dusacks Winters had sent out.


    "Block the gate." Colonel Bod roared hoarsely, "Seal the breach!"


    Snapping back to reality, the Paratu soldiers moved everything at hand toward the wall breach¡ªincluding corpses.


    Anglu found Winters, and seeing the Centurion, tears swirled in his eyes.


    "Why are you crying, I''m not dead yet." Winters glared weakly at the young stable boy and asked, "Where are the others?"


    "We were scattered, they must have returned to the main camp. The barbarians attacking the camp were defeated and have been chased out of the trenches by General Alpad."


    Suddenly, the sound of a warhorse''s neigh reached from the gap, a dun-colored warhorse leaped into the still-open breach, followed closely by three more riders entering one after another.


    "It''s the barbarians!" A Paratu soldier cried out in terror. More Paratu soldiers picked up their weapons.


    The four reckless barbarian riders were quickly surrounded and killed. The warhorses, too, were impaled and lifted to the breach to serve as a barricade.


    Heinrich helped Winters to lean against the wall, sitting down. He then handed the latter a mouthful of strong liquor from the flask¡ªa common method for pain relief.


    Afterward, the two removed Winters'' breastplate, and Xial proceeded to extract the lead bullets. The lead had not penetrated deep, sparing the viscera, and was easily tweezed out with a pair of daggers.


    "How is he?" Colonel Bod approached Winters, asking Heinrich and Xial.


    "I''m fine." Winters tried to muster the faintest of smiles.


    After a quick clean-up, Xial began to stitch the wound. He had never done this before, sewing in a crooked, clumsy fashion, tears streaming down as he worked the needle.


    "Hang in there." Colonel Bod took a gulp from the flask and said to Winters, "Now it''s just you and me left."


    Winters''s head was heavy and foggy, and for a moment, he did not understand what the other was saying.


    Colonel Bod took another drink, passed the flask back to Winters, "And Robert, but he is barely breathing."


    The rumble of horse hooves stopped outside the fortress.


    A soldier came to report to Colonel Bod, "Sir, a barbarian who speaks our language has come outside. He wishes to talk to the ''commander.''


    "He wants to talk, just like that?" Colonel Bod scoffed disdainfully.


    "He says his name is Yasin." The soldier added, "Just mention this name to him."


    ...


    The gate creaked open, and two riders, side by side holding torches, emerged from the fortress.


    Almost every Paratu person knew they faced an enemy known as the "White Lion," but few knew of "Yasin."


    But Colonel Bod knew, and so did Winters.


    Winters insisted on being helped onto his horse; he had to see this enemy for himself.


    Atop the hill, a rider in red armor on a black horse also held a torch, waiting for them.


    In the minds of the Paratu people, "White Lion" had gradually become a symbol, representing a figure who was cruel, mighty strong, a barbarian among barbarians¡ªif not so, how would the "White Lion" bring Paratu such misery?


    Compared to that image, the rider in red armor on the black horse seemed somewhat... ordinary.


    The red armor was somewhat familiar to Winters because part of it was discolored, clearly recently replaced.


    "Are you the ''White Lion''?" Colonel Bod asked.


    The rider in the red armor laughed lightly and responded in accented Common Tongue, "Yes."


    "Then could you lift your helmet and let me see?" Winters asked earnestly, "I want to see what the famed White Lion really looks like."


    The rider in red armor laughed again, apparently not offended. He undid the straps, loosened the neck guard, removed his helmet, and said genially, "Just like this."


    The last time Winters met the White Lion in combat, the two were less than a hundred meters apart, with him commanding two cannons.


    Of course, the White Lion probably wouldn''t agree with the term "combat," as he clearly did not even know who Winters Montagne was.


    This was Winters''s first chance to observe the enemy face to face.


    Under the helmet were a pair of brown eyes and a somewhat ordinary face.


    "Disappointed?" the owner of the brown eyes asked.


    "A little." Winters couldn''t hide his disappointment.


    The White Lion laughed heartily.


    Suddenly Winters realized that this distance fell within the effective range of his Arrow Flying Spell... and White Lion was now without his helmet.


    But he made no move, for he was too exhausted. The recent battle had drained his "magic," and such an action would have been too mean-spirited.


    Colonel Bod cleared his throat and spoke, "Did you come to persuade us to surrender? If so, please leave." Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No." The White Lion shook his head gently, "I just wanted to see what a Paratu warrior looks like."


    He nodded his head in respect, turned his horse, and left.


    At a distance of a hundred meters, one could see fires gathered up by the Herders, squatting, leaping up, stomping the ground, forcefully slapping their chests and thighs, as if performing an intense dance.


    "Barbarians will be barbarians." Colonel Bod sneered contemptuously, "Beasts."


    "That is..." Winters said quietly, recognizing the dance, "the Dance for the Styx."

 Chapter 526 96: The End (Part 2) - 7

    ```


    ...


    The White Lion may have had other plans, but Colonel Bod did not mind, he too only desired to stall for time.


    After this brief encounter, the White Lion did not immediately launch an attack. But whether he attacked was his business, the Paratu People were leaving.


    Upon returning to the fortress, Colonel Bod set about arranging the retreat without delay, "Blow up the ammunition depot! Leave all the torches behind! Light everything that can be lit! The flags... take all the flags. Right! Draw two fake flags and hang them up!"


    Winters stood on the south wall of the fortress, quietly gazing at The Styx. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was hard for him to discern whether anyone was crossing the bridge¡ªbecause the moonlight was too dim.


    Although he could make out ant-sized objects moving on the bridge, that did not mean the bridge was open; it could very well be the engineers building it.


    From the vantage point of the Southern Highlands, one could clearly see the Paratu camp.


    Even though the camp had gone into complete blackout, not a single light was visible.


    But Winters could still vaguely make out the signs of troop movements.


    Sekler''s retreat plan was utterly determined: tents were not taken down, camps were not burned, mules were led away, wagons discarded, and everyone was to take only their weapons, ammunition, blankets, and all the dry food across the river.


    Once across The Styx, it was only a hundred kilometers to the Paratu border, and a light march of twenty kilometers per day was very manageable; even thirty kilometers was not hard if one gritted their teeth.


    The dry food might not be enough, Winters estimated that Sekler was counting on local supplies to deliver some provisions.


    The signs of troop activity in the Paratu camp meant Sekler''s plan had succeeded, and the troops were crossing in an orderly manner.


    There was no need to keep it secret any longer, Colonel Bod stepped onto the south wall and gathered all the officers and soldiers in front of him.


    "I have good news for everyone!" Colonel Bod''s eyes gleamed as he surveyed the crowd, "The bridge has been connected! We can cross the river now!"


    The small square in the fortress erupted into a clamor, not just soldiers gaped in disbelief, even the centurions were left dumbstruck.


    Colonel Bod pressed down with his hands, signaling for everyone to be quiet, "Without our fight to the death, the bridge could not have been completed! Had we not retaken the fortress! The bridge could not have been completed! Tonight, every one of you is a hero! Everyone deserves a reward! I will petition the headquarters on your behalf! Money! Land! You will have it!"


    The soldiers'' emotions shifted from shock to joy; their morale soared to its peak.


    Colonel Bod waved his hand largely, "Take up arms, raise the flags! We return in triumph!"


    The soldiers dispersed in a rush, each preparing for the retreat.


    Winters said to Colonel Bod with a wry smile, "I don''t know whether to admire you or be afraid of you."


    "The final weaving of a basket is in closing it," Colonel Bod replied nonchalantly, "I worry that at the last moment the troops'' spirit will disperse. We have to cheer them up."


    Winters nodded in agreement while coughing.


    "How about your wound?" Colonel Bod asked with a smile, "Can you ride a horse? Should I arrange for someone to carry you back?"


    "Don''t worry, I can ride," Winters had gradually become accustomed to the pain of his wound¡ªit was, after all, somewhat less than a phantom pain.


    Colonel Bod suddenly grasped Winters''s arm affectionately and asked, "Winters, I wonder if you are betrothed? I have a daughter, tender and lovely in character, beautiful in appearance, only a bit young¡ªbut you''re not in a hurry, right? The dowry will satisfy you¡­"


    Winters really wanted to protest loudly: What the hell is this all about?


    But Colonel Bod was rattling on, and he could not get a word in.


    Amidst such a hellish scene, he would rather be shot again, lose consciousness, and be done with all this.


    Suddenly, Colonel Bod''s words came to an abrupt halt, and he alertly looked towards the west, his pupils dilating rapidly.


    Winters seized the moment, about to say, "I''m engaged," but then he heard it too.


    The sound of horseshoes, thousands upon thousands of warhorses galloping.


    At first, it was almost inaudible, but it grew clearer and clearer.


    Riding at night was extremely dangerous, and even more so with thousands of horses together unless they had an absolutely necessary reason.


    "Go!" Colonel Bod exclaimed alarmed, "Leave now!"


    Winters immediately assisted in relaying orders with an amplification spell, "All centurion squads, on the move¡ªimmediately!"


    "Let everyone keep close to the flag! No one falls behind!"


    The magic-amplified voice echoed throughout the fortress, "Keep close to the flag! No one falls behind!"


    The east-side gate of the fortress creaked open.


    Colonel Bod stuffed the flag into Winters''s hand, "Go quickly! You lead the way! I''ll cover the rear! Take everyone with you!"


    Winters wasted no time, he summoned his warhorse, stepped into the stirrups, mounted it, raised the flag high, and bellowed, "Follow me! Fight our way back!"


    No mistake, the barbarians'' all-out attack was upon them.


    The White Lion probably really just wanted to meet with the enemy who had retaken the fortress.


    When he discovered the movements in the Paratu camp, Winters did not know. It was very possible that the moment he reached the Southern Highlands with the Red River Tribe''s forces, he had already noticed the situation at the bridge.


    The reason he hadn''t attacked the Southern Highlands was that he was waiting for the main force of the Hurd coalition.


    The troops had completely lost their organization; everyone swarmed out of the fortress, Winters charged on horseback, raising the flag high, while others followed the flag in a wild rush.


    The outer trenches had several fill-in points, and the earthen walls were also torn down¡ªthese were where the barbarians had entered before when they attacked the Paratu camp.


    This time, the barbarians were again using those spots.


    The barbarians charged towards the camp, and Winters was also leading the charge to the camp. It looked like a race.


    However, as the barbarian cavalry saw the "two-legged" humans rushing from the mountain towards the camp, a few of the Hong Lingyu immediately led their cavalry towards them to attack.


    ```

 Chapter 527 96: The End (Part 2) - 8

    The Hurd cavalry let out bizarre howls, wielding sabers and raising long spears as they charged the flank of the "two-legged ones."


    Winters, both anxious and enraged, used a flagpole as a long spear, thrusting at the barbarian riders charging from the right, "Those in my way shall die!"


    One of the barbarians was directly unseated and thrown flying off his horseback with force. Winters'' palm split open, and his arm went numb from the vibration.


    Winters continued to jab fiercely into the horse''s ribs, speeding on toward the great camp.


    On the slope less than one kilometer long, the Paratu soldiers ran at varying speeds, eventually stretching out into a line.


    The barbarians attacked from the flanks, scattering the Paratu soldiers almost instantly.


    Paratu soldiers, lacking formation, were like scattered sand, utterly unable to withstand the charge.


    Paratu People fighting for themselves were being cut down and stabbed to death one after another, their screams of agony and cries for help filling the air.


    Ish from Ganshui Town was separated from the others, now left all alone.


    On a nearby slope about ten meters away, a savage barbarian, with a single stroke, cleaved the entire left shoulder from a Paratu Person.


    Ish couldn''t recognize the person who was being slaughtered; he ran downhill for his life, praying desperately not to be noticed by his pursuer.


    But the barbarian had noticed him, and, with a strange cry, charged towards him, the shiny saber raised high.


    Desperately waving his side sword, Ish closed his eyes as he crossed paths with the barbarian.


    Nothing happened; the barbarian leapt over Ish with a bizarre laugh, circling around before charging at him again.


    He was toying with him!


    Shame, anger, despair¡­ Ish glared fiercely, gripping his side sword and pointing it straight at the barbarian.


    "Come on!!" Ish cried out, cursing, "I''m going to fight you to the death!"


    The barbarian stopped laughing, shifted the saber all the way behind his back, and charged at the lonely Ish at full speed.


    The hot breath from the warhorse, the barbarian''s helmet plume, the arc of the blade¡­ all were advancing closer and closer in Ish''s vision.


    Ish didn''t dodge. Holding his sword straight at the barbarian''s warhorse, he screamed until he was hoarse, "Lord! Forgive me! Protect my soul from falling into..."


    The moment the warhorse reached Ish, the barbarian suddenly vanished.


    The warhorse narrowly grazed past Ish and ran off without a trace.


    Ish looked around and saw that the barbarian had been impaled by a military banner, skewered through from the right rib to the left.


    A silver-gray steed broke through the night, followed by a few shadowy figures.


    Seeing just this warhorse was enough for Ish to be overwhelmed with tears, "Centurion!"


    Ish pulled the military banner out from the barbarian''s corpse and ran, handing it to the Centurion.


    "Follow me!" Winters took the banner and continued to race up the slope.


    Ish dried his tears and followed behind Winters'' silhouette heading up the slope.


    Winters dashed to the edge of the main camp like a bolt of lightning. But when he turned around, he found that all his people were gone.


    The strength of his speed had left everyone far behind.


    He immediately turned back and fought his way down the slope.


    Wherever there were cries for help, he went, and the number of people following him grew.


    He wasn''t skilled in cavalry combat, the military banner wasn''t a familiar weapon, and the tear in his palm was so painful he could hardly grip his weapon.


    After a dozen mounted encounters, he had relied solely on his height, his long arms, sturdy armor, and the speed of the steed to overpower his opponents.


    He heard Ish shouting behind him, "My Lord! Wait for us!"


    Winters reined in his horse, leaning on the neck of the steed, gasping for breath.


    He was at his limit, both physically and mentally.


    "The stitches in my belly must''ve torn," he thought. "The blood has already soaked into my trousers."


    Xial, Ish, and other warriors caught up, "Where to now?"


    Winters vaguely heard someone shouting from his right side.


    They were shouting, "Centurion Montaigne! Save us!"


    Winters pointed the military banner toward the direction of the shouts, "Go there!"


    A lightly armed barbarian with a spear was circling two Paratu soldiers who were back to back.


    He was too tired; his reactions had slowed. As he knocked the opponent off his horse, he too was unseated.


    Winters felt like he glided through the air for a brief moment before crashing hard onto the ground.


    His sturdy breastplate was dented from the massive impact.


    His warriors shielded him. Xial pleaded with a sobbing voice, "Let''s go! Let''s cross the river! Go!"


    Winters had burnt out, leaving only a few remaining embers.


    He looked at the faces around him. Tears slid down his cheeks, falling onto the blood-drenched wasteland.


    He seemed to cast off all burdens, saying softly, "Okay, let''s cross the river, we''re going home."


    The warriors clumsily helped him to his feet.


    "The bridge!" Anglu, trembling all over, shouted in terror, "The bridge!"


    Anglu hugged Winters, wailing, "Centurion! They''ve burnt the bridge!"


    The lad from Dusack, who had been enduring hardships all his life, cried as he never had before, with utter despair and sorrow.


    Looking in the direction of the sound, everyone on the scene was almost collapsing to the ground.


    Below the hill, above the Styx, the bridge had turned into a sea of flames.


    There were several explosions; wooden fragments were tossed into the air, and several splashes rose from the Styx.


    The Paratu People who had not yet crossed the river gathered on the riverbank, wailing heartbreakingly.


    So that was it¡­ Winters understood, he understood everything.


    The last embers began to burn; Winters slapped Anglu hard across the face, scolding loudly, "What are you crying for!"


    Anglu jolted, stopping his cries, softly sobbing. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As if chilled to the bone, Winters couldn''t stop shaking. He started to laugh, his laughter piercing and intermittent, and while laughing, he said, "Fuck it all."

 Chapter 528 96: The End (Part 2) - 9

    Having said that, he started coughing violently again, as if trying to cough out his lungs. His chest heaved, and each cough brought out blood.


    No one knew what to say, as everyone stood by Winters'' side.


    By the banks of The Styx, the final resistance in the camp had vanished into smoke. The barbarians stormed into the camp, beginning to burn, kill, and plunder.


    Winters and the others were already encircled by the Herd Barbarians.


    Suppressing his cough, Winters gripped Xial''s hand and asked, "Do you remember where we hid the rafts?"


    Xial nodded desperately.


    "While we were logging, I made several rafts and hid them in Bridge Woods," Winters informed the others. "We attack towards Bridge Woods, kill anyone who dares to block us! Once we cross the river, we will be safe. If I fall in battle, follow Xial to find them. If Xial also falls, search for them in Bridge Woods."


    Winters stood up, leaning on the military banner: "Let''s go!"


    Another Paratu person ran down the slope and, seeing the Paratu military banner in Winters'' hand from afar, desperately pled for rescue: "Colonel Bod has been cut off by the barbarians!"


    Winters reached out to grab the bridle of the Warhorse: "I will go rescue Colonel Bod."


    "We''ll go together!" Xial and Anglu helped Winters onto the Warhorse.


    "No! You go and secure the rafts! I will meet up with you. Xial, Anglu, take everyone back!" Winters gently patted the Warhorse''s neck: "Little fellow, take me to find Colonel Bod."


    The Warhorse galloped off, carrying Winters Montaigne into the night.


    ...


    It is said, "After a great battle, comes a great rain," but this statement doesn''t always come true.


    This time, there was no great rain.


    The clouds dispersed, revealing the azure sky. The sun shone on people''s bodies, bringing hints of warmth.


    Only the corpses strewn across the wasteland, fragments of the Floating Bridge washed ashore, and the dark red traces of blood on the withered grass were evidence that a great battle had occurred the night before.


    The fighting had ended, and various troops were now scouring the camp for spoils or stripping the dead.


    Gold and silver were prized, as were armor, weapons, and horses. The Herders wasted nothing.


    Little Lion rode across this battlefield, staring absentmindedly at the remnants of bridge piles in the river.


    "Little Lion, hurry up!" a guard came running to report: "There''s an excellent young horse down the hill! The fire-tenders are trying to tame it!"


    Little Lion smiled and countered, "If the fire-tenders are taming it, why are you calling me?"


    The guard cunningly replied: "That young horse has a temper! If the fire-tenders can''t tame it, if we catch it, won''t it be ours?"


    Little Lion laughed heartily: "Alright! Let''s go see."


    Upon reaching the base of the hill, he saw the horse.


    Little Lion had to admit, it indeed was a fine horse, and he felt some yearning for it.


    The silver-gray steed was circling an area, emitting plaintive whinnies.


    The fire-tender was attempting to lasso the horse; each time he threw the noose, the horse ducked its head to avoid it.


    When the fire-tender tried to approach the horse to grab its bridle, the horse turned and kicked at him.


    Alone, the fire-tender struggled with the horse and was reluctant to call others for help, leading to a stalemate.


    "That is a fine horse!" Little Lion said to the fire-tender.


    "Yes, I recognize this horse," the roaster answered. "Its original owner killed my Paratu Child. Given that this horse is here, that man must have also died in last night''s battle."


    [Note: Paratu Child is a term used in the Herd language to honor warriors, similar to the meaning of "champion" in continental languages.]


    The number of Herders around increased, and the silver-gray Warhorse grew more restless. It whinnied mournfully, circling a small area.


    Little Lion listened quietly for a while before saying softly, "It seems very sad."


    "Horses are sentient creatures, how could it not be sad if its owner has died?" the roaster said dismissively.


    Little Lion asked again, "Why doesn''t it run away?"


    "I don''t know."


    Little Lion narrowed his brown eyes to observe and suddenly said, "It seems like it''s protecting something!"


    After speaking, Little Lion walked forward.


    "Be careful, don''t get kicked by it," the roaster reminded offhandedly.


    The roaster didn''t think Little Lion could tame the horse by himself and was actually quite happy to see someone else getting frustrated. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion didn''t respond. He relaxed his body as much as possible, moving slowly while whispering to the horse, "Don''t worry, don''t worry, I mean no harm."


    The horse eyed Little Lion warily but refused to leave.


    It was only when he got close that Little Lion realized the horse was pacing around a military flag.


    He also noticed two arrows lodged in the horse''s chest, their tails broken off¡ªthis made him very sad.


    Little Lion had approached closer than the roaster ever had, which made the roaster somewhat embarrassed. He slowly lifted the flag, revealing a body.


    A murmur of shock rose from the surrounding Herders.


    There were two bullet holes in the body''s breastplate, one in the abdomen and one in the chest.


    A shot to the abdomen might be survivable, but a shot to the chest was undoubtedly fatal.


    "He''s dead, and you''re very sad, I know," Little Lion said as he approached the horse. "Let me pull out the arrows for you."


    The eyes of the silver-gray Warhorse seemed to weep as it lowered its neck and slowly leaned against Little Lion''s shoulder.


    Little Lion gently stroked the horse with his left hand, grasped the shaft of the arrow with his right, and pulled it out resolutely.


    The horse let out its final cry, then collapsed to the ground with a thunderous fall. Its cry resonated across the battlefield, and every warhorse joined in with a collective mourning.


    Looking at the body on the ground, Little Lion said softly, "Having such a companion, you haven''t lived in vain."


    Suddenly, he wanted to see what the horse''s owner looked like, so he crouched down and began to remove the helmet from the body. He was stunned.


    The surrounding Herders were clueless as to what Little Lion was doing.


    Little Lion could hardly believe his eyes, becoming completely panicked, he exclaimed, "[In the common tongue] How could it be you! Hestas? How could you have died here!"


    The others didn''t understand what Little Lion was saying, but they had never seen him so taken aback before.


    "No, this isn''t right!" Little Lion muttered. "There''s still breath!"


    He placed his hand by the "corpse''s" nostrils and confirmed there was a faint breath.


    He quickly removed "Hestas''s" breastplate to find the gunshot wound on the abdomen was bleeding, but the "gunshot wound" at the chest had nothing¡ªA flask had blocked the potentially fatal blow.


    "Someone help!" Little Lion shouted with relief. "Quick, someone!"

 Chapter 529 97 Ashes

    Click, click.


    The sound of a fire sickle striking flint.


    Fireless ashes burned once more, and Winters awoke from his coma.


    His body throbbed with a heavy dull pain, he struggled to open his eyes but his vision was nothing but a blur.


    Blurred vision, blurred consciousness, he smelled a whiff of a pleasant milky fragrance.


    Winters'' nostrils flared, and in his foggy state he thought, "Could heaven truly exist? And it smells like milk?" Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His sight gradually returned, and a strange object came into clear view: it was a wheel made of dozens of fine spokes, covered with a cloth that faintly let light through.


    Truly bizarre.


    Soon, Winters'' cognitive ability gradually returned, and he began to think.


    He concluded that this place was not heaven¡ªunless God also lived in tents!


    What seemed to be a wheel was clearly the dome of a tent, he was lying inside a felt tent.


    Winters instantly became alert, he moved his body, trying to observe his surroundings.


    Suddenly, a tearing pain came from his left calf, causing cold sweat to bead on his forehead.


    Winters bit his lips tightly, not making a sound.


    He was sure he had fallen into the hands of the Herders, and instinct made him want to hide.


    But the pain was too much! So intense as if the lower part of his left leg was no longer attached to his body!


    A filthy infirmary... mud mixed with blood and soil... arms and legs sawn off and piled into a small mound... "Don''t let them saw my arm!" Andre was crying and pleading, "Winters!"...


    These scenes surged in his mind suddenly, and a tremendous fear clamped tightly around his heart: "Could it be I¡­"


    Winters had never been so scared, he desperately reached for his left leg, his left foot.


    Fortunately, they were both there. Winters let out a long sigh of relief, and couldn''t help but give a wry smile.


    It seemed like someone outside heard the noise inside the tent, and the tent flap was lifted.


    "Damn." Winters thought to himself.


    A young girl donned in an embroidered Herde narrow robe entered.


    Seeing Winters with his eyes open, the Herde girl revealed a smiling face, her eyes curving, "You''re awake?"


    With her smile, the tent turned bright¡ªtruly bright, as someone had drawn back the skylight cover.


    Winters had expected to be greeted by fully armed guards, never did he expect such a girl.


    He remained frozen, unsure of how to react.


    "Are you thirsty? Are you cold? Do you want something to eat?" The strange girl came close to Winters, grabbing another blanket to prop up his back, helping him to sit up.


    Winters'' body tensed, his mind on high alert. He did not recognize her, and it seemed to him she was moving around on her own accord.


    He kept his gaze intensely focused on the girl''s eyes, like an injured wild beast that had fallen into a trap.


    Yet, concerning caring for Winters, the stranger seemed quite familiar, quite natural.


    Taking the opportunity while she was turned away, Winters closely inspected the felt tent with his gaze.


    Wooden framework covered with leather¡ªa typical tent structure, just much smaller than the sacrificial tents he had seen.


    The tent''s ground was covered with thick blankets, and he was lying on top of them; the Herders did not seem to sleep in beds.


    A metal stove stood in the center of the tent, and Winters couldn''t believe his eyes,


    In the center stood a metal stove, and Winters couldn''t believe his eyes¡ª it was a "Soria stove" crafted by Berlion.


    Not new, but old, bearing marks from when Winters had used it.


    He and his friends had once surrounded this stove, boiling noodles, passing around a bottle of strong liquor.


    A copper pot sat atop the stove, "gurgling" with something inside, and the scent of milk wafted from there.


    The Herde girl carried the copper pot, pouring a bowl of steaming hot milk, placing it on the small table beside Winters'' pillow, "Don''t drink it yet, it''s hot."


    There was also a gold plate on the small table.


    In the gold plate, there was a piece of cooked lamb spine meat, a small dish of salt, and a silver-handled, gem-inlaid small knife for cutting meat.


    A knife!


    The Herde girl turned back to the stove, placing a few pieces of dried cow dung into the stove chamber, stoking the fire to make it burn even more fiercely.


    Winters wanted to grab the knife, but his limbs were too stiff.


    Before he could reach out, the Herde girl suddenly turned back around.


    The Herde girl brought over a stool, sitting next to Winters. She held the bowl of milk, gently blowing on it.


    "Do you like the milk skin?" she asked with a warm smile.


    "You... you can speak the common tongue?" Winters asked hoarsely.


    The Herde girl spoke the common tongue, with barely any accent.


    The Herde girl nodded slightly.


    "Where did you learn it?" Winters asked again. His vocal cords felt as if they were glued together, he hadn''t spoken in so long.


    Just as the Herde girl was about to speak, a hearty male voice from outside interrupted her.


    "[Herde Language] Qing''er, has that boy died yet?"


    A brawny man with a ruddy face barged into the tent, bringing in a gust of cold wind.


    The ruddy-faced brawny man locked eyes with Winters, and the pupils of both men dilated sharply.


    "A baboon''s butt face," Winters thought quickly, "Have I fallen into the hands of the Terdon Tribe?"


    The face of the fire-maker turned even redder, as if dripping with blood.


    Because he saw that the "Paratu Child" was not only alive but had also awoken from his coma.


    Because he saw "Qing''er" sitting beside him with a bowl of hot milk.


    The fire-maker moved his hand towards the hilt of the knife.


    "[Herde Language] Mother! Mother! Go call the Little Lion!" the strange girl shouted outside the tent, she stretched out her arms protecting Winters, "[Herde Language] What kind of skill is it to bully him at a time like this?"

 Chapter 530 97: Ashes_2

    Winters tried to enter a spellcasting state, but intense phantom pain made it impossible for him to concentrate.


    Such a situation didn''t surprise him; he had mentally prepared for it through the times he pushed himself to the limit.


    Being unable to use magic didn''t mean he would just sit and wait for death.


    While the attention of the firekeeper was divided, Winters discreetly took a small knife from the plate and hid it in the palm of his hand.


    Considering the condition of his left leg, it was impossible to dodge the opponent''s attack.


    Winters was prepared to grab the firekeeper''s arm and stab him in the neck with the knife, opening it up, as they pierced his abdomen.


    His only worry was that lying in bed had made his muscles too stiff to mount a counter-attack. So he gently moved his wrists, slowly regaining strength.


    Winters hadn''t realized it himself: His mindset had undergone a tremendous shift.


    His body had left the battlefield, but his spirit remained there. He considered himself already dead, any exchange would be a gain.


    The firekeeper and the strange girl were arguing fiercely.


    Winters listened carefully, unable to understand what they were saying, but he could tell that the strange girl was protecting him.


    He also heard the girl mention the word "Yahachi."


    "Little Lion?" He quickly assessed the situation and concluded, "This must be Red River Tribe territory."


    The firekeeper, losing the argument, grabbed the handle of his knife, kicked aside the tent flap, and stormed out in a huff.


    The Hurd girl sat back down on the small stool, took up the bowl of milk, and gently blew on it.


    As she blew, tears began to fall.


    "Why are you crying?" Winters didn''t know what else to say.


    "It''s nothing." The Hurd girl wiped away her tears and brought the milk to Winters'' lips, "It''s cool enough to drink now, take some."


    Winters raised his stiff arm, anxiously took the bowl of milk, "I can do it myself."


    "Okay, you try."


    Unable to tell how long he''d been in bed, Winters found his muscles unusually stiff and sore. Half the milk didn''t make it into his mouth but was spilled instead.


    The Hurd girl brought a towel to wipe him clean.


    Just then, another person entered the felt tent.


    The newcomer spoke in the common tongue, albeit with a heavy accent.


    They asked with a smile, "Busy, are we?"


    When Winters saw the face of the newcomer, his expression gradually became calm, "Is that you?"


    "It''s me." The newcomer nodded.


    Winters could not mistake him; how could he forget someone who almost killed him?


    Even though the other party had grown taller and stronger and was wearing better clothes, the stubbornness inherent in him had not diminished one bit from before.


    It was as if a clear glass door in his mind was shattered, awakening Winters: the slave boy in the dim longhouse on Red Sulfur Island, also known as Little Lion¡ªWhite Lion''s younger brother.


    "How should I address you?" Winters simply lay back down.


    Little Lion sat cross-legged next to Winters, "Whatever you like, ''hey you,'' ''kid,'' anything is fine."


    "Then I''ll call you Little Lion?"


    Little Lion scratched the back of his head, "I always feel embarrassed when I hear that name, I''m not worthy of being a lion."


    Winters was eager to know the situation outside, "Where am I?"


    "Where else could you be? The great plains."


    "How many days have I been unconscious?"


    "Six days," Little Lion added, "since I found you."


    Winters pondered: Six days? Red River Tribe didn''t pursue across the river?


    These questions were too sensitive, and he prudently remained silent.


    Little Lion pointed at Winters'' abdomen, "You were shot here, the original stitches came loose and we sewed you up again."


    He pointed at the back of Winters'' head, "You took a hit to the back of your head too, knocked you unconscious, but the bones are fine."


    A blow to the back of the head? Winters had no memory of it.


    He tried to remember, but his memories only went up to when he met up with Colonel Bod.


    What came after was fragmented and disjointed.


    Little Lion tapped Winters'' left shin, "The bone''s broken, trampled by a hoof. We got you the best doctor for this kind of injury. Don''t move around, rest well. Hey, focus on healing first."


    "Focus on healing first," those words were ambiguous.


    Winters nodded.


    No matter what others were thinking, Winters didn''t plan to stay in the wilderness for long. But this was something he needed to know for himself, there was no need to say it out loud and stir up anyone.


    "The most amazing thing was here." Little Lion pointed interestedly at Winters'' chest, "You were shot in the chest as well, close-range fire, the armor was completely penetrated."


    "Then how am I still alive?" Winters raised an eyebrow.


    Little Lion took out an object from his bosom, laughing loudly, "Because of this!"


    The object that saved Winters'' life turned out to be the flask given to him by Alpad.


    The lead bullet the size of a thumb was broken in half, with the remaining half embedded in the flask. The flask was completely deformed and punctured.


    Winters covered his face, "This is just too clich¨¦!"


    Little Lion''s smile curled up at the edges, "Doesn''t matter, the main thing is it saved your life."


    "Where did you get this iron furnace from?" Winters pointed at the Soria furnace.


    "This iron furnace is a great thing, specially moved here for your use." Little Lion expressed his excitement, "It saves fuel, has no open flame, and it''s easy to transport. It took twenty sheep to trade for it, a pity there''s only one."


    As a Venetian, Winters subconsciously calculated the profit of the trade. He knew all too well how much iron Belon used, even at ten sheep there would be a profit¡ª but the key was the labor cost. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 531 97: Ashes_3

    He looked at Little Lion and with a gaze told him, "You made a bad deal."


    After a few words, both men suddenly fell into silence.


    How could they possibly be happily chatting away in one second when they were mortal enemies fighting for their lives the second before?


    Both were simply trying hard to maintain the conversational atmosphere.


    Once the topics were exhausted, the air became heavy. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion restrained his smile and solemnly took out a small iron box from his chest, placing it beside Winters'' pillow.


    Inside the iron box was a bundle of gray mane.


    Winters'' face was expressionless, as if not the least bit sorrowful: "Thank you."


    "According to our customs, nothing is wasted; what can be eaten is eaten, what can be used is used," Little Lion said earnestly: "But he was your close companion, so I buried him properly. I buried him deep, where ravens and vultures can''t peck at him, wolves can''t scratch him out. When you recover from your injuries, I''ll take you there."


    Winters still showed no emotion: "Thank you."


    Little Lion was somewhat saddened: "He... was protecting you until the very end. Without him, I wouldn''t have found you. He passed away after fulfilling his wish, I''ll tell you all about him in detail later."


    He pointed to the Herder girl and said: "This is my sister, she''s been taking care of you while you were unconscious. Cleaning your wounds, wiping down your body, feeding you drinks. Whatever you need, just tell her. I''m leaving, you rest well."


    After speaking, he nodded his head, got up, and left.


    Winters secured the iron box containing the mighty mane, placing it against his flesh, over his heart. The iron box was ice-cold.


    He had no tears; all his tears had turned to blood and flowed out.


    He couldn''t quite articulate his feelings, for it seemed a part of his emotions had become numb.


    The Herder girl picked up her sewing basket, and while doing needlework, said: "My name is Erhulan. If that''s hard to pronounce, you can also call me Miliya."


    "Erhulan, what does that mean?"


    "It means ''green''."


    "There are also two pieces of jewelry that are yours." Erhulan took out a gold pendant box and a delicate statue of Athena, gently placing them beside Winters'' pillow: "You''re very safe here, no one will hurt you again."


    "Thank you."


    "But this is mine." Erhulan took a silver-handled small knife from under Winters'' blanket: "You can''t just take a girl''s dagger willy-nilly."


    ...


    At the same time Winters regained consciousness, the remnants of the Palatu Expeditionary Force finally reached the border.


    Merely catching sight of the Border River brought many to their knees, weeping and praying.


    ...


    More than three months ago when the Palatu Expeditionary Force crossed the Border River, they comprised:


    Three generals;


    Infantry of the Standing Army from the fifth and sixth legions, totaling 10,734 officers and men;


    An independent engineer support unit, totaling 1,175 officers and men;


    Fifty cavalry squadrons, 6,172 light and heavy cavalrymen.


    A total of 18,084 people ¡ª just combat troops.


    The conscripted militia that entered the Great Wilderness consisted of 103 hundred-man units, totaling 8,563 officers and men.


    The conscripted militia along with the porters, traders, and auxiliary troops, whose numbers couldn''t be tallied exactly, amounted to well over ten thousand people.


    The troops, along with auxiliary soldiers, totaled over 28,000.


    This was an army that made the Herd Barbarians lose heart upon hearing of its approach, its combat strength unparalleled among all the republics.


    It possessed Senas''s strongest cavalry units, two fully staffed standing legions, an indestructible war hammer, and an invincible shield.


    In fact, for the Republic of Palatu, it was somewhat too large.


    This was originally supposed to be a typical short-term warfare: the army would sweep the Herders on the Great Wilderness, redefine the borders with the tribes, then herd the flocks over. Mission accomplished, promotions, and wealth would follow.


    There might still be sporadic small-scale conflicts afterward, but that was not a big problem, as the Paratu People had a set of mature strategies.


    The booming demand from The Federated Provinces and Vineta''s wool textile industry meant that no matter how much wool Palatu produced, it would be snapped up.


    The large number of immigrants from Monta, Varn, The Federated Provinces, and even the Empire allowed Palatu to develop the wilderness at an astonishing rate.


    According to the "cutting sausage" overall strategy, Palatu would only slice off a small piece each time. For thirty years, they had sliced and never lost once.


    If someone had told them that this time they would be battered bruised and bloody, the people of Palatu would have laughed heartily and walked away shaking their heads.


    ...


    Seven days ago, over a thousand Dusack light cavalry, conscripted from the Newly Reclaimed Land, secretly arrived at the East Bank of The Styx.


    Almost six thousand raiders crossed The Styx, and the day they set foot in Palatu, the Palatine Army Headquarters issued a massive conscription order.


    Before the local militias finished assembling, the bulk of the barbarian forces had already left with their plunder.


    Additionally, over a thousand barbarian cavalry lingered in Palatu territory¡ªperhaps they had not looted enough.


    They engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase with the forces within Palatu''s borders, tying up a significant number of troops.


    The first Herd Cavalry invasion in thirty years also sparked various rumors, causing panic within Palatu.


    "Local councils" in every city, market town, and town strove to keep the troops locally for self-preservation.


    The two units of over a thousand Dusack light cavalry were all the mobile forces that the Palatine Army Headquarters could dispatch at the time.


    The deployment of a thousand light cavalry was also a calculated force.


    If the Palatu homeland sent a large army of one hundred thousand at once, there would be no need for the barbarians to act; everyone would starve to death on the Great Wilderness.


    That night, as the Palatu forces on the West Bank forcefully crossed The Styx, the Dusack light cavalry also launched a surprise attack on over four thousand Herd Raiders on the East Bank.


    But crossing The Styx did not mean they were out of danger; beside the two thousand-plus sheepskin bags used to tether and crash their rafts into the bridge, the barbarians still had over a thousand sheepskin bags.


    With these sheepskin bags, the various Herd tribes pursued the retreating Palatu Expeditionary Force.


    Until they joined forces with the troops coming to their aid, the people of Palatu engaged in thirteen battles with the Herd tribes. At worst, they inflicted equal casualties, never once losing.


    However, of the Expeditionary Force that initially numbered over twenty-eight thousand, less than eleven thousand made it to the Border River alive.


    The losses of the standing army approached half, with over eight thousand auxiliary soldiers either killed in battle, captured, or abandoned on the West Bank of The Styx.


    Besides the remaining weapons, armor, mules, horses, and their very lives, everything else was left on the Great Wilderness.


    Was the war over?


    Both sides licking their wounds and retreating, perhaps that was the end of it.


    But for the Republic of Palatu and the Herd tribes, this was not the end; it wasn''t even the beginning of the end.


    It was just the end of the beginning.


    But all of this had nothing to do with Winters anymore; he lay on the Great Wilderness and fell into a deep slumber once again.

 Chapter 532 98 Migration

    The weather was pleasantly warm, the wind carrying a slight hint of moisture.


    Winters sat on a wooden box, looking bewildered as the felt tent he lived in was dismantled by others.


    The removal of the hides and the unbinding of the framework turned the cozy felt tent into a pile of sticks and several bundles of leather in an instant.


    Suddenly, many people appeared in the camp, and the pastoralists spread out over several kilometers all came over.


    Strangers speaking unfamiliar languages moved about, swiftly taking apart the entire camp, tying and loading it onto the backs of oxen.


    Although it appeared chaotic, in reality, everyone knew what they were supposed to do, and each was busy with their tasks.


    They were familiar with this routine, no words needed¡ªexcept for Winters.


    Erhulan was busy taking inventory of items, and for the time being, she couldn''t attend to Winters.


    As for Little Lion, he simply wasn''t in the camp.


    Winters sat there, feeling as if he were a child who had lost his way in a crowded square, surrounded by strangers.


    By coincident, a few children with runny noses stood a few meters away, gazing at him curiously.


    When Winters turned to look at them, the children ran off as fast as their legs could carry them.


    They confidently left Winters among the women, children, and elderly, without even assigning any guards to watch him.


    Women and the elderly passed him by, nodding respectfully and calling him "Hestas."


    The few injured men remaining in the camp watched him with wary eyes and reverently referred to him as "Paratu Child."


    Paratu Child was an honorary title for warriors, usually placed after a name. It embodied the idea of toughness, and perhaps it could be translated as Paratu the Tough.


    Gossip spread rapidly, and now everyone knew that Winters had killed a Paratu Child of the Terdon Tribe during the Mak''gora ceremony and had consequently made enemies with the Fire Starters.


    However, the actual pronounciation of "Paratu Paratu Child" was quite a mouthful and soon it was shortened to a loud, two-syllable word: "Batu!"


    Erhulan came over with a pot of hot mare''s milk, her crescent-shaped, willow-leaf eyes forming smiles: "Would you like some hot milk?"


    "No need," Winters shook his head: "Water is fine for me."


    Morning cow''s milk, noon mare''s milk, evening sheep''s milk, and then repeating the cycle.


    Faced with this repetitive consumption, even an officer accustomed to a higher intake of dairy products couldn''t handle such a diet.


    A heaven of milk flavor? This was sheer dairy hell.


    "Have just a little, we won''t have time to make a fire on the road," Erhulan coaxed Winters: "The healer says that drinking more milk will help your wounds heal faster."


    After a fierce inner struggle, Winters took the copper bowl and started to gulp down the milk.


    "That''s good! I''ll get you some milk cake to eat on the road," Erhulan left, turning away with her belt''s bead decorations spinning like flowers.


    "Where are we going?" Winters asked.


    Erhulan came back, frowning as she explained, "We should be meeting up with the old camp first, then heading to Hanlan River? I''m not really sure either...


    "It''s okay," Winters reassured her.


    "Don''t think of me as a bad person, I wouldn''t hide anything from you," Erhulan, sensitive as always, immediately understood Winters'' mood.


    Feeling somewhat sad she said, "When I first saw you two years ago, Little Lion and I had just returned to the tribe. We both don''t understand much about migration."


    It was then Winters remembered that Erhulan and her brother had lived in the slave plantations of the archipelago for at least eight years, with Erhulan even speaking fluent Common Language.


    Having been away from home for so long made them almost like strangers. Perhaps she sometimes felt like she didn''t fit in?


    "Don''t be sad," Winters said softly: "How could I blame you? I''m only grateful to you."


    Erhulan grew even sadder, her eyes reddening, as she left sobbing.


    In a little while, she returned with a bowl of milk cake for Winters, and then left again in tears.


    ...


    Although Winters was not adept at interacting with women, he was not obtuse.


    On the contrary, he was quick-witted and observant, capable of detecting many subtle emotions.


    He was not unaware of Erhulan''s affection for him, yet he chose to feign ignorance.


    Winters had no intention of staying in the wilderness for long, and he did not want to hurt this sincerely kind woman.


    His heart was filled to the brim by Anna, leaving no room for another.


    What was Anna? Anna was a bonfire in despair.


    When he was becoming numb and cold, it was those beautiful memories that protected the last shred of his humanity: family, homeland, and Anna.


    For Winters, Anna represented the most beautiful part of his life.


    He dreamt countless times of resting his head on Anna''s lap while she softly stroked his forehead, dispelling blood, death, severed limbs, and the grotesque faces of his enemies...


    Sometimes he couldn''t help but wonder, "Is Anna really as good as I remember, or am I endlessly idealizing my memories, creating an unreal person who can''t exist in reality?"


    This thought filled him with fear and anxiety, "If that''s the case, when I reunite with Anna, will I be disappointed?"


    But setting aside Winters'' anxieties, he was unable to accept another person anyway.


    He even dared not get too close to Erhulan, as she too was very good.


    When he first saw her upon waking up, Winters felt she was as bright and warm as sunlight.


    Although he didn''t know exactly what Erhulan liked about him, this admiration was surprising to him. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was "winter," and he feared melting.


    In fact, to his own alarm, he realised that he had developed a dependency on Erhulan.

 Chapter 533 98 Migration_2

    If Antonio had heard Winters'' thoughts, he would inevitably have chided him, "Naive! A fool blinded by first love! How could you ever head a household in the future?"


    However, considering General Serviati''s family status, this remark seemed somewhat pale and powerless. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    The few children there were sat in crates, carried by long-haired cattle.


    There was no ceremony, no acts reminiscent of smashing wine bottles or sprinkling Holy Water for commemoration.


    As if it were a regular walk outside, the camp where Winters was started its "migration."


    The riders led the herd of horses at the front, followed by the long-haired cattle carrying all the household belongings, with the huddled goats and sheep trailing at the end.


    The adult men and women either rode horses or walked, leading the bulls.


    Winters, with his left leg fixed in a wooden brace, enjoyed the special privilege of sitting in the ox-cart, much like several old grandmothers who were nearly toothless.


    Since Lieutenant Mason took the wrong path, the most frequent command from Colonel Jeska became, "Lieutenant Montaigne! Take the lead!"


    The old shaman therefore teased Winters, purposely teaching him a line of poetry: "To him, the grace of princes cherishes still, a sudden leader in the vanguard thrills."


    Being in an ox-cart "trailing" was a first for Winters.


    He felt somewhat ashamed yet couldn''t help wondering: What were the Colonel, the old shaman, and the others doing now?


    But the old grandmothers were delighted. They mumbled unclear words and shakily made room, trying to make him more comfortable.


    From their muttering, Winters could only make out one word: Hestas.


    He still did not understand why the Herders called him "Hestas." Did they see him as the old shaman''s successor?


    He suddenly recalled the blood oath ritual with the ointment, which solved some of his doubts yet brought forth even more.


    Winters had a fiery temper at times, but he rarely showed it to the elderly. Even when faced with the old shaman''s disrespectful behavior, he was mostly the one being bullied.


    So he curled up as much as possible, not wanting to burden the elderly.


    One of the old women, after straining to look at Winters for a while, suddenly grabbed his hand and began to shout.


    Winters couldn''t understand what she was saying, but Erhulan came over at the sound.


    As Erhulan listened to the old grandmother, his face grew paler and paler.


    "What is the old lady saying?" Winters asked, turning serious.


    "You won''t want to know," Erhulan said with difficulty, "I''ll find you another cart."


    "No, tell me. It''s okay," Winters felt a sort of readiness for the pain to come.


    He was well aware that he had killed so many of the Red River Tribe and that a day like this would come sooner or later.


    "Grandma Tucha was also once a slave at Hongsong Manor. She has seen you, she wants to ask you," Erhulan''s eyes brimmed with tears: "Were you there the day the Paratu People killed prisoners outside Bianli City?"


    "I was there," Winters only answered that.


    I was there, but I didn''t do anything. To Winters, such words had no meaning, and he disdained to speak them.


    "If you seek revenge, then come," thought Winters: "Everyone thinks I have a deep vendetta against Antonio, but my grudge with the Red River is far deeper than mountains, deeper than seas."


    Erhulan translated Winters'' answer truthfully.


    The old woman named Tucha, holding Winters'' hand, tremblingly pressed it to her forehead, then to her chest, muttering something.


    "She said, she knew she saw Hestas that day," Erhulan translated as he listened: "She knew it was Hestas who saved them. Otherwise, they would all have been killed. She said she knew..."


    Winters withdrew his hand as if scorched by a branding iron, his voice trembling slightly: "No, I didn''t save anyone. You should hate me!"


    "I can''t stay in this cart..." He struggled to climb out, and in Erhulan''s outcry, he fell to the ground.


    ...


    Erhulan found another cart for Winters.


    To call it a cart was an exaggeration; it was more like a plank of wood. One end was fixed to the ox yoke, while the other dragged along the ground. It didn''t even have wheels but was just dragged along.


    Winters lay in the cart, weighed down with heavy thoughts, unable to calm down for a long while.


    When he finally regained his composure, they had already traveled quite a distance.


    He looked around and suddenly realized, "This is what nomadic life is."


    "Herder, a term indicating a pastoralist. The Herders, those who graze large livestock, settle wherever water and grass lead."


    The text in the books was hollow and cold, yet Winters found himself inadvertently living within it.


    Whereas knowledge learned indirectly was one thing, witnessing "nomadism" firsthand was a completely different experience.


    On the desolate plains, there was just this one group of living beings; not another soul was in sight.


    The cattle and sheep sometimes scattered, sometimes regrouped, with the riders occasionally prodding with long poles any animal that strayed from the herd.


    Both people and livestock walked with strides as if they all knew where to go, as if they could keep walking like this forever.


    After six or seven hours of walking and stopping, the migrating group halted beside a small lake.


    The livestock were led to drink water, people began reassembling their felt tents, and the Little Lion had been waiting here all along.


    Winters suddenly realized that nomadism was not about boundless horizons and had nothing to do with carefree drifting.


    It was more like a series of carefully planned finite journeys, not at all a matter of wandering without purpose or luck.


    This lifestyle was distinctly different from settled agriculture; migration was an integral part of it.


    Yet this life was no different from the lives of the farmers from Wolf Town that Winters had seen.


    It was hard, simple, and ordinary, not spectacular or interesting, just a group of people striving to live.

 Chapter 534 98 Migration_3

    Winters had a strange feeling: perhaps the strength of a person was found in the very act of "striving to live."


    As Winters''s mind wandered, Little Lion came over.


    Little Lion knocked on the carriage panel and asked with a smile, "How''s your first day following us? Getting used to it?"


    Winters came back to his senses, "Riding in a carriage is more relaxing than on horseback."


    "Hard to get used to the food? I felt the same when I just got home," said Little Lion, patting his quiver and talking excitedly, "I''ll go hunt you a couple of rabbits. Once your wounds are healed, we can have a real good time hunting with nets!"


    "The rabbits can wait, I have something I want to ask you," Winters said, looking serious.


    "We''ll talk when I get back!" Little Lion laughed heartily and leapt onto the saddle, galloping away.


    ...


    When Little Lion returned, he brought not only the rabbits but also another person, though with evident reluctance.


    The visitor was an older Herder with a weather-beaten face.


    He brought two gifts: a bag of flour and a beautifully made curved knife.


    Without the Red Plumed Feathers or the Green Plumed Feathers, Winters couldn''t distinguish the Herder''s status. But judging by the fabric and embroidery of his robe, he must have been a high-ranking chieftain.


    Little Lion couldn''t be bothered to translate, and the man wasn''t upset; he called over Erhulan for help.


    After a brief introduction, Winters learned that the man was named Tie Feng [Iron Fang], uncle to the siblings of White Lion and chieftain of the Eagle Forest Tribe.


    Winters accepted the flour but left the curved knife untouched.


    Tie Feng said something, and Erhulan translated it:


    "Don''t worry about the seekers of vengeance. The Terdon Tribe and us are bonded by blood. You''re safe with us."


    Winters didn''t speak.


    The Herder chieftain didn''t beat around the bush and asked bluntly, "I heard you''re a ''Kota'' among the bipeds?"


    When Erhulan translated, ''Kota'' was rendered phonetically.


    But Winters knew that a ''Kota'' was a military noble in Herder society.


    Little Lion had a furious argument with Tie Feng and stormed off angrily.


    Then Tie Feng said something to Winters that made Erhulan freeze.


    Tie Feng urged Erhulan.


    "Uncle asks," Erhulan said quietly, "if you would train our new army. You can have anything you want. That even includes me."


    Winters looked at Tie Feng expressionlessly. He didn''t need to speak; his body language was answer enough.


    "Do you see now? If you truly manage to tie him down, I won''t utter a word," Tie Feng said to Erhulan, "The bipeds look down on us, no matter how hard you try, he simply doesn''t want you. The Fire Roaster has now proposed to White Lion for you for the third time. Red River Tribe is in its most dangerous moment, would you really let your brother lose his most important ally?"


    After speaking, Tie Feng didn''t even glance at Winters again but turned and walked out of the felt tent.


    To Winters, it seemed like Tie Feng had severely reprimanded Erhulan before leaving.


    "Why did he treat you like that?" Winters asked softly.


    "It''s nothing, really," Erhulan sobbed softly, "Now that we have flour, I''ll make you bread."


    Before long, Little Lion came back, fuming. Seeing his sister crying, he understood everything.


    "Don''t cry! Erhulan, you should be happy," Little Lion said, thumping his chest, "As long as me and brother are here, there''s nothing to fear."


    Erhulan dried her tears and went out of the tent with the flour.


    "Do you think that my uncle and I are playing ''good cop, bad cop'' with you?" Little Lion scratched his head and asked with a wry smile.


    "No, I''ve never thought that," Winters replied honestly, "Because you''ve got an even worse temper than I do."


    "Let me tell you, I genuinely hope you''ll stay and help my brother," Little Lion said sorrowfully, "The situation with our Red River Tribe is probably still unclear to you. Alas, the tribes have won, but our Red River Tribe has lost."


    Little Lion was wrong. Winters was very clear¡ªfor at least a third of the damage to the Red River Tribe could be credited to his ''achievements''.


    Looking over the battles of the Great Wilderness, Winters nearly always faced the Red River Tribe head-on... as well as the Fire Roaster''s Terdon Tribe.


    Everyone knew of his feud with the Terdon Tribe because of that battlefield duel.


    But when Winters fought against the Red River Tribe, he was always in full armor, and three-quarters of all the Centurions in the legion looked practically identical.


    Moreover, now that Winters was living among commoners, women, and children, it was even less likely that anyone would recognize him as "him."


    "I want you to stay, but only if you''re willing. I''ll never force you to stay. As long as I''m alive, you''re safe," Little Lion laughed heartily, with boundless pride, "If you stay, you''ll command the infantry, and my brother the cavalry. Which of the tribes could match us then?"


    "But..." Winters sighed, "I don''t want to fight any longer."


    "Then what is it that you want to do?" Little Lion asked, puzzled.


    What is it that you want to do? This question struck Winters''s inner world violently.


    A "loyal successor," a man destined to be a soldier since birth, a man who entered the military academy at nine, a man who knew nothing but warfare, a man whose hands were covered in blood.


    Aside from fighting, what else did he want to do? What else could he do?


    He leaned against the pillow, staring straight up at the dome of the tent: "I want to lie down."


    Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 535 99 Monsoon

    For several days, the camp first migrated southwest, then turned north.


    The Herders used a lunar calendar, and their method of reckoning years was different from that of the Republics.


    Winters could only estimate the dates himself; he remembered that the supply train had set off from Shuangqiao Main Camp on January 12th.


    Heading westward, crossing the Border River, traversing the unpopulated area, they should have reached the Styx Main Camp by January 30th.


    That evening, snowflakes drifted down from the sky.


    Before that, he had simply been a Garrison Officer temporarily conscripted, leading a small group of militiamen doing laborious work of transferring supplies within Paratu territory.


    Afterward, his world was like a cart dragged by a wild horse, hurtling towards a precipice at breakneck speed.


    After setbacks, the supply train arrived at Bianli Main Camp on February 24th. Twelve days later, Bianli City fell.


    The next day, as part of the vanguard, he set out on the retreat; he saw the Styx again on March 29th.


    He recalled each day, estimating that he had woken up inside the Erhulan tent on April 16th.


    Another seven days had passed since then, making it April 23rd.


    "Have I really been away from home for so long?" Winters felt as if he were in a different lifetime.


    In April, Sea Blue must have already been very hot.


    Men and women on the road would have already changed into lovely, light single-layered clothes, with only the elderly still wrapped in winter attire.


    The docks would be crowded with shirtless laborers; large and small merchant ships gathered in the bay, waiting for the seasonal monsoon to arrive on schedule.


    The Ascension Day of the Lord was also approaching¡ªit was Sea Blue''s most important festival.


    On that day, everyone would dress up and follow the "Consular Gold Ship" to Saint Nicolas Island.


    Waiting for them would be Priests holding Holy Water, salt, and olive branches.


    The prayer was unfailing: "Oh, Lord! Please bless us, bless all the people of the sea, that the ocean may ever be calm and peaceful."


    Next came grand celebrations and processions.


    The Ascension Day of the Lord was important because it marked the beginning of the new sailing season.


    After a brief revelry, the Sea Blue People would set sail into the vast ocean. They would either return with riches or disappear without a trace.


    Winters''s thoughts had already drifted to the seaside.


    He spoke absently: "Erhulan?"


    "Hmm?" Erhulan was doing embroidery.


    "Spring has arrived."


    "Yes, it gets warmer every day, and the wind has started to blow from the west," Erhulan said, smiling and looking up, her almond-shaped eyes curved. "The elders say it''s time to take the spirit animals to the highlands."


    "Get me a small knife," he requested.


    "Sure." Erhulan continued to work with her needle. "What kind of knife would you like?"


    "Just the most ordinary kind." Winters propped himself up to sit. "Please bring me some branches as well."


    He now knew that for unmarried Herder women, carrying a knife was an important "token."


    A man offers a dowry, and a woman reciprocates with a knife. Therefore, one should not carelessly take an unmarried girl''s knife.


    Erhulan quickly brought Winters a small knife the size of a palm.


    The blade was well-forged, and the knife was made in one piece; without a guard, the handle was wrapped in leather string, coiled round and round; its overall style was simple and unadorned, a reliable tool for pastoral life¡ªWinters was very satisfied.


    Woodcarvers used special chisels, but Winters wasn''t planning to carve statues or flowers.


    He took a piece of branch and slowly peeled the bark, cut it, and sharpened it.


    In this manner, he gradually exercised the stiff muscles of his arm.


    "Are you making wooden spikes?" Erhulan asked, puzzled. "Are they for knitting a sweater?"


    "Just moving my arm around." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Erhulan coaxingly addressed Winters, "You''ll get splinters all over the carpet if you whittle inside the tent. How about I help you outside to sit and bask in the sun for a while?"


    Winters didn''t want to leave the tent or show his face around the camp, but he would not refuse Erhulan.


    "Alright."


    Winters''s leg injury had reduced its swelling, but he was still some way off from removing the splint.


    Erhulan helped him out of the tent and brought over a wooden chest for him to sit on at the entrance; she also fetched a blanket to cover his legs.


    Another day''s trek, and that day they camped in a sparse coniferous forest.


    The setting sun filtered through the branches, casting a spotty glow.


    Little Lion came over with a deer leg, teasing, "From the neck down, one might mistake you for an old man by a hearth."


    Winters silently chipped away at the wood.


    "Are you making skewers for the meat?" Little Lion was also quite curious.


    He stared at the small knife in Winters''s hand, blinking.


    Winters nodded and continued whittling the wood.


    "You''d do better to keep your mouth shut sometimes," Erhulan emerged from the tent, draped a woolen knit blanket over Winters''s shoulders, and took the deer leg from Little Lion''s grasp. "Let Hestas enjoy some quiet time in the sun."


    "Alright, alright," Little Lion mumbled.


    He sat down beside Winters, watching the white core of the wood be sharpened little by little with the knife, asking, "They''ve distributed the spoils of war. Do you still want that set of armor of yours?"


    Winters shook his head.


    "When they found you, you had a pack of maps in your arms. Do you still want that?"


    Winters set down the wooden spike, thought for a moment, and said, "That belongs to an elder of mine, please return it to me."


    "No problem," Little Lion agreed without hesitation.


    Both fell silent again, with only the sound of the knife shaving wood.


    Little Lion decided to sit on the ground, looking into the distance, and casually remarked, "My brother''s also come back. He''s not joined the main forces yet, but I''ll bring him to meet you when he does."


    Winters didn''t commit to a response.


    "Go rest," Little Lion stood up. "I''m off now."

 Chapter 536 99 Monsoon_2

    These days, Little Lion often came to chat with Winters.


    But Winters became increasingly silent, even less lively than when he''d just awakened, only showing some vitality when with Erhulan.


    After leaving his sister and Winters, Little Lion did not return to his own felt tent. He led his horse out and rode eastward with his guard.


    He crossed the hill slopes, galloped alongside the creek, and arrived at another camp several kilometers away.


    The camp where Winters and Erhulan were was very small, not the real Red River Tribe''s "old camp"; it was mostly composed of the elderly, women, and children who had survived from Bianli, along with a few wounded.


    The camp that Little Lion arrived at, however, was occupied only by adult males, with armored guards wielding swords visible everywhere.


    There were also a few robust guards armed with bows and quivers, known as "quiver bearers".


    People on the road saluted Little Lion as they saw him, some calling him "Little Lion", while others respectfully addressed him as "Hearth Master".


    Beyond the members of the Red River Tribe, there were nearly a thousand men tied up in strings with ropes and iron chains behind the camp.


    These men were not wearing Herder robes but blood-stained Paratu military uniforms!


    They were prisoners... and slaves.


    The surrounding Herders threw food at them like feeding pigs. The prisoners scrambled frantically for the food, even coming to blows over it.


    A middle-aged prisoner had just grabbed a wheat cake mixed with dirt and dead grass when another emaciated prisoner snatched it away from him.


    The emaciated prisoner, ignoring the punches and kicks from others, desperately stuffed the wheat cake into his mouth.


    Elsewhere someone screamed, "My hand!"


    Someone else, unable to distinguish between fingers and wheat cake, had bitten down, swallowing with blood. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The watching Herders laughed heartily, throwing out more wheat cakes.


    Did the prisoners feel shame?


    They did.


    But they were so hungry, hunger-stricken to the point of desperation.


    For more than ten days, they had trekked day after day, receiving very little food, fed just like pigs.


    If you did not fight, you starved to death.


    The gnawing feeling of hunger constantly questioned them: What''s the worth of dignity? What is shame?


    The number of captured officers among the Herders was very small, and they were confined separately.


    It was not just the officers but even the non-commissioned officers who had been segregated from the prisoners.


    Deprived of their leaders and deliberately broken, their wills had completely collapsed.


    The scent of something enticing wafted into the prisoners'' nostrils, making everyone involuntarily stop their actions.


    The Herders brought the mouthwatering roast sheep in front of them.


    The prisoners lunged for the roast sheep, only to be pulled down by the chains and ropes on their limbs and then forced back by the glinting spears.


    The Herders then pushed several disheveled Paratu people forward.


    A strapping Green Plumed Feathers approached, followed by a skinny Translator.


    The shy Translator translated, "The Fire Starter chief says these few slaves tried to escape and must be punished."


    The Translator was also a prisoner, but because he could speak two languages, his situation was far better than that of the others.


    Green Plumed Feathers scolded coldly, and the skinny Translator repeated it loudly.


    Still dissatisfied, Green Plumed Feathers prompted the Translator, who then yelled it out again, crying.


    At a wave from Green Plumed Feathers, the quiver bearers brought out a brazier.


    They used a red-hot iron spike to pierce under the escaping prisoners'' collarbones, threading an iron ring through them like putting a nose ring on a cow.


    The prisoners'' screams were harrowing, and the air was filled with a burnt meat scent.


    "The Fire Starter chief says that those who try to escape again won''t be this lucky; they''ll be killed outright," the Translator shouted hoarsely. "The Fire Starter chief also says that the wilderness is boundless, and no matter where you run, you will be caught and brought back."


    The prisoners hung their heads, some staring at the Translator with eyes filled with hatred and rage.


    "The Fire Starter chief wants to pick out those with skills among you. Those with skills get to eat the roasted meat, while those without will continue picking up food from the ground," the Translator''s voice was hoarse from shouting. "Who among you can blacksmith? Who can..."


    Little Lion watched for a while, then silently headed towards the main tent.


    Because there were no enemies nearby, the Red River Tribe''s camp was no longer structured with tents encircling the horses.


    The horses were taken out of the camp to forage, and the smaller tents of ten-man squads wrapped around the main tent at the center.


    On the way, Green Plumed Feathers Stag [Bohan] stopped Little Lion and walked shoulder to shoulder with him towards the main tent.


    "Swift Hawk is dead," Stag whispered, making a throat-cutting gesture.


    "Ah, Swift Hawk was capable; his herds were always more prosperous than others," Little Lion said with some sadness. "But deserting his feathers in the face of battle, he deserved to die."


    Stag sighed. The ''arrows'' of White Lion had suffered heavy casualties in this battle.


    For a dishonorable death like Swift Hawk''s, he would be stripped of all his herds, dependents, and slaves.


    However, it was precisely for this reason that many positions had become vacant, allowing Stag to be promoted from Haug Koda [Centurion] to an arrow.


    [Note: "Arrow" in Herder language represents a leader with the rank of Green Plumed Feathers, further divided into "near arrows which shoot at close range, and far arrows which shoot at long range." They are both military and civil officials.]


    As Little Lion and Stag entered the main tent, a quiver bearer was emerging with a bloodied Green Plumed Feather helmet.


    That must have been Swift Hawk''s helmet, as the Herders abhorred decapitation. Unless driven by deep hatred, even in the case of execution, beheading was not practiced.


    In the tent, people sat around the campfire. The Green Plumed Feathers were heatedly debating.


    "The Paratu are severely weakened; now is the perfect time to strike down the Grass Valley!"


    "Grey Eyes and Well-Feeders are convening their war bands, preparing for this autumn''s raid. We should also raise the great standard; otherwise, the small tribes that depend on us might be lured away!"

 Chapter 537 537 99 Monsoon_3

    ?Chapter 537: Chapter 99 Monsoon_3 Chapter 537: Chapter 99 Monsoon_3 ¡°`


    ¡°Damn it! We haven¡¯t plundered the grass valley in thirty years! Are you saying we shed blood but don¡¯t get to share in the meat?¡±


    Due to Paratu¡¯s blockade, there was a shortage of everything in the Great Wilderness.


    Once they defeated their old enemy, everyone couldn¡¯t wait to plunder Paratu.


    Keep in mind, the last time the tribes raided the grass valley was during the era of Khan Queye, thirty years earlier. An entire generation of Herders had never even seen what Paratu looked like.


    ¡°Shut it! You bunch of bastards!¡± Tie Feng jumped up and scolded fiercely, ¡°The fire has reached our eyebrows, and you¡¯re still thinking about raiding the grass valley? Our top priority is to maintain the alliance with the Terdun Tribe! Save yourselves first!¡±


    The crowd of Green Plumed Feathers immediately fell silent.


    Tie Feng turned to White Lion and said in a deep voice, ¡°The Terdun Tribe suffered great losses, and ours were even greater. We should stick together for self-preservation. The grey-eyed ones and the hearty eaters claim they¡¯re going to raid the grass valley, but who knows if they¡¯re actually coming to exterminate us?¡±


    ... S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, the fire tender also has no good intentions.¡± Little Lion sat by the campfire, frowning deeply, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he also harbor thoughts of swallowing us? The three major tribes, they¡¯re all cast from the same mold. All as greedy as wolves, and all equally vicious.¡±


    Tie Feng spread his hands, expressing a sense of helplessness, ¡°What can we do when the three major tribes are direct descendants of Khan Hongyun? What can we do since they are the ¡®golden offspring¡¯ and the ¡®heirs¡¯? They are the only ones who can become great khans, and they¡¯re always dreaming of claiming that title.


    ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t understand the fire tender¡¯s mind? But when the lion bites your throat and the wolf bites your hand, should we not strike the lion and fend off the wolf? Just be on your guard, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± A Green Plumed Feather immediately got angry, roaring aloud, ¡°Tie Feng! Why are you always trying to please the fire tender? Who said only the major tribes could become Khan? Why can¡¯t White Lion? I think you¡¯re planning to defect to the Terdun Tribe! Using the Red River Tribe as a gift!¡±


    ¡°Talk bloody nonsense!¡± Tie Feng roared furiously, pointing at the other man¡¯s nose and spat out accusingly, ¡°If I had ill intentions, would I bring troops to help you? Ten years ago, the Red River Tribe was flattened like scattered ashes; who helped White Lion gather the tribe? And who lent troops to White Lion? Fine! You think my words are unpleasant, I¡¯ll just take my Eagle Forest Tribe and leave right now!¡±


    Having said that, Tie Feng turned to leave, but Little Lion quickly stopped him.


    The opposing Green Plumed Feather was rendered speechless by the rapid fire of words and hung his head in silent frustration.


    ¡°Uncle.¡± White Lion, who had been silent up until then, finally spoke up, his light brown eyes resembling deep pools. He said gently, ¡°I have never doubted you. Please don¡¯t be angry.¡±


    Tie Feng shrugged off Little Lion and sat back down by the fire angrily, saying earnestly to White Lion, ¡°Over a hundred years ago, Khan Hongyun and the tribes swore a blood oath in the presence of nine animals, agreeing that only the ¡®golden offspring¡¯ could be Khan. Although times have changed, this sentiment still resides in the hearts of the people.


    ¡°You mustn¡¯t be in a hurry to claim the title of Khan, nor should you harbor such a desire. The tribes won¡¯t accept it! If one day the Red River Tribe unites the grasslands, and if you wish to become the great khan or the chanyu, I won¡¯t say a word.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± White Lion laughed heartily, his laughter tinged with bitterness, ¡°Do I harbor such ambitions? When I was a child, all I wanted was to have enough food for my mother, brother, and sisters; when my mother, brother, and sisters were gone, and my companions were killed, all I sought was revenge; as more and more people followed me, all I wanted was for them to live securely. If the fire tender could achieve that, I wouldn¡¯t mind leading his horses!¡±


    The surrounding Green Plumed Feathers were also reminded of their sorrows, each one with a grief-stricken face.


    Unlike other clans maintained through bloodlines, members of the latter Red River Tribe came from various clans. Because of scattered tribes and destroyed families, they gradually gathered under the banner of White Lion.


    [Note: The latter Red River Tribe is distinct from the former Red River Tribe, which was dominated by White Lion¡¯s blood relatives and was decimated by Alpad¡¯s forces.]


    For thirty years, the Paratu People continuously attacked the tribes, and as the living space for the tribes was squeezed, they also engaged in mutual combat. Who knows how many tribes were crushed in the turmoil and how many Herders lost their kin?


    Little Lion suddenly leaped up, shouting, ¡°Brother! How can you say such a thing? What is the fire tender? Is he worthy?¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s not!¡± White Lion pounded his knee emphatically, his tone resolute, ¡°He is too greedy and too ruthless, only considering us as his servants. I am unwilling to hand over the Red River Tribe members to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m unwilling as well!¡± the Green Plumed Feathers rose up, echoing in response, ¡°So are we! If the three major tribes want to come and fight us, let them come! We¡¯ll kill them all!¡±


    Tie Feng sat silently in his place, looking very weary.


    ¡°First, we must continue to maintain our alliance with the Terdun Tribe, and it¡¯s not harmful to be their nominal vassals. However, we will not relocate to their grasslands, nor will we join their encampments. We must make it clear to the fire tender, if the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe want to attack us, he doesn¡¯t need to come to our aid, just plunder the enemy¡¯s home camps.¡±


    ¡°Ooo!¡± The Green Plumed Feathers beat their chests and shouted in unison, expressing their agreement.


    ¡°Uncle.¡± White Lion turned to Tie Feng, ¡°The matter with the fire tender, I implore you to be our envoy.¡±


    Tie Feng was momentarily stunned, then, dispelling his fatigue, he said solemnly, ¡°Rest assured. In my opinion, even if we don¡¯t make an arrangement with him, the fire tender would still go and raid the other two tribes¡¯ home camps. They profit while we bleed. He would gladly do such a thing.¡±


    ¡°Secondly, the hearty eaters and the grey-eyes are not of one mind. That¡¯s an opportunity to have them check each other. If words are placed correctly, they can be as powerful as ten thousand soldiers. I have already asked the Great Shaman to go to the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe to make them understand the stakes. Our strength may be diminished, but whoever we aid will win and whoever we fight will lose. I am willing to reiterate Khan Hongyun¡¯s oath, acknowledging only the golden offspring as khans.¡± White Lion spread his hands, ¡°I would also swear again that in this lifetime I will never seek to be khan, and if I do, may I die under a thousand arrows.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 538 538 99 Monsoon_4

    ?Chapter 538: Chapter 99 Monsoon_4 Chapter 538: Chapter 99 Monsoon_4 The Green Plumed Feathers exchanged glances, some bewildered, but someone broke the silence, cheerily saying, ¡°The Great Shaman stands with us, what do we have to fear?¡±


    ¡°Third, this autumn, I don¡¯t plan to call up the warbands to advance east into the pastures.¡±


    The tent fell quiet, with some expressing regret, ¡°Can¡¯t we send at least a few? It¡¯s such a waste not to eat meat that¡¯s there for the taking.¡±


    ¡°Not only will we not go, but we will also persuade the three great tribes not to go,¡± White Lion pondered. ¡°The Paratu are already a boiling pot internally, their stress relieved only by continuous victories. Having suffered a great loss, they are likely to face turmoil. If we rashly send troops over, it would only unite them again.¡±


    When it came to strategic matters, everyone had unlimited trust in White Lion. Despite some disappointment, they shouted in unison, ¡°Woo!¡±


    ¡°Fourth, we must think of a way to unite the surrounding medium and small tribes. Although the three great tribes are powerful, if the smaller tribes are bound together, they are no weaker than them. The chiefs of the Dog Soldiers and the Blackwater are willing to do our bidding and persuade the other tribes.¡±


    ¡°Woo!¡±


    ...


    ¡°And there¡¯s one last thing.¡± White Lion said with a smile, ¡°Let¡¯s distribute the spoils according to the old rules.¡±


    ¡°Woo!!!¡± Cheers erupted, piercing the tent and reaching for the skies.


    For the Herders¡¯ wars¡ªor rather, their raids, as in Herder language the two were one and the same¡ªthe most important thing was the spoils of war.


    Next only to the death penalty was the grave punishment of being deprived of war spoils.


    What exactly were the Herders¡¯ spoils of war?


    Everything.


    Carts? Fine goods! Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tents? Fine goods!


    Iron tools? Fine goods!


    Armor and weapons? Even better!


    Everything the Paratu People abandoned was considered fine goods to the Herders.


    But the only things that truly counted in the ledgers were three: captives, horses, and armor.


    The war songs of the Herder tribes didn¡¯t sing of the gold and fabrics looted, but they always recorded the number of captives, horses, and armor taken.


    After the battle at The Styx, the allied tribes essentially disbanded.


    White Lion didn¡¯t want to cross the river to pursue the enemy, and without him, the rest had no ability to organize a pursuit. Even if he had wanted to, he lacked the means to do so.


    The Herders failed to capture mules or horses, as they had all been taken by Sekler.


    As for armor, there was plenty, with over ten thousand suits of scale and lamellar armor.


    The lamellar armor belonged to the Paratu army, all previously captured from the Herder tribes by the Paratu.


    There were many cold and hot weapons as well, muskets, blades, more than enough for all.


    For the Herder tribes still in the age of cold weapons, the difference in combat effectiveness between an armored soldier and one without armor was day and night.


    Armor, therefore, was precious; a suit of armor could be passed down for generations, traveling from one tribe to another. Lamellar armor was a treasure among treasures.


    Following the pre-agreed arrangements, tribes returned each other¡¯s armor¡ªthe scale pieces were marked¡ªwhile the Paratu lamellar armor was divided according to the effort contributed.


    Together, the Red River Tribe acquired nearly three thousand suits of armor; they had also shed the most blood.


    The other tribes were envious, but not to the point where one second they were allies and the next, swords were drawn against each other.


    Besides the armor and weapons, there were also slaves.


    Although the Paratu People destroyed the great bridge to temporarily block pursuit, they also stranded those who hadn¡¯t crossed the river, on the west bank.


    The tribes captured more than two thousand six hundred prisoners, mostly auxiliary troops and injured.


    According to the usual rates, Paratu slaves were highly valued because for thirty years, the Herders seldom had the chance to capture Paratu slaves.


    And when the Herder tribes captured Paratu slaves, apart from everyday work, they were primarily used for farming.


    Indeed, even the wasteland had cultivated land, and the Herders also needed crops to supplement their food sources.


    To prevent Paratu slaves from escaping, tribal chiefs would even arrange marriages between Paratu slaves and Herder slave women.


    If the slave had skills like blacksmithing, masonry, or carpentry, their value increased even further.


    However, the season was not in favor; the Herders captured Paratu slaves for farming, but the planting season had already passed.


    Having captured too many at once, the value of Paratu slaves rapidly diminished.


    The Herder tribes simply stopped distinguishing between craftsmen and laborers and shared them out on a per-capita basis.


    The Red River Tribe still had over a thousand sheepskin bags, so White Lion organized a fleet on The Styx, taking captives as a fare for crossing¡ªthere were still tribes unsatisfied with their loot, eager to cross the river to pursue the enemy.


    Each tribal chief was shrewd; they knew that the cream of the Paratu army was on the East Bank.


    Chasing down one person meant one suit of lamellar armor¡ªthe Paratu were certainly too exhausted to carry away the corpses and their armor.


    And precisely because of this, in the hundred-kilometer stretch of no man¡¯s land, the pursuit by the Herders occurred at the tribal level, not as the ¡°allied forces¡± as before.


    Perhaps other tribes didn¡¯t need captives, but the Red River Tribe, having lost many of its own, was in urgent need of replenishing its labor force.


    Thus, the Red River Tribe was allotted about a thousand captives, whom they needed to bring back alive, avoiding deaths during the journey if possible.


    All these allocations were made at the allied level. Within the tribes, the distribution was handled differently.


    Many leaders didn¡¯t share war spoils with their followers, especially when the spoils mainly consisted of military supplies.


    However, the Red River Tribe would distribute the spoils as equitably as possible among everyone, regardless of the amount.


    Each tribe member received their share, and the families of the fallen were compensated.


    This could result in a slave having multiple owners, and by the established custom of the Red River Tribe, one of the owners could redeem the slave.


    If they couldn¡¯t afford the redemption, the slave would be shared by all.


    The will of the Red River Tribe¡¯s armed forces was far more resolute than other tribes¡¯, in part because White Lion dealt fairly, willing to share the spoils of war with everyone.

 Chapter 539 539 99 Monsoon_5

    ?Chapter 539: Chapter 99 Monsoon_5 Chapter 539: Chapter 99 Monsoon_5 [Note: The concept of war spoils is not limited to combat, as the prey from hunting is also considered spoils. The distribution of war spoils is an important part of Herd society.]


    The Green Plumed Feathers were in high spirits as they counted and calculated the details.


    ¡°What do you want, Little Lion?¡± Tie Feng asked.


    ¡°Me?¡± Little Lion said with a smile, ¡°I just want a Venetian.¡±


    ¡­


    The Venetian mentioned by Little Lion was currently making a pulley system.


    Winters had no other tools, only a small knife.


    The tribal medic said he needed to move his knee and ankle joints a little more each day to avoid any lasting damage.


    So, Erhulan helped Winters with his ¡°rehabilitation¡± every day.


    ...


    But given Winters¡¯s height and weight, just supporting him was a struggle for Erhulan.


    And since she had to take care of Winters¡¯s daily needs, he really couldn¡¯t bear to see her work so hard.


    Winters wanted to make a set of pulleys, to be suspended in a frame, so he could move his knees and ankles independently. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the same time, he could also exercise his upper body muscles.


    He had work to do and couldn¡¯t just lie there.


    ¡­


    At the same time, at Kingsfort.


    In the lingering sunlight, Alpad rode into the city, leading two guards on horseback.


    It had been over a week since the remnants of the Expeditionary Force returned to Palatu, currently stationed at the supply distribution center of the Parlatu Army, which was the starting point for Winters¡ªthe Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    Even though they had returned to their homeland, the situation was more severe than in the wastelands.


    The Expeditionary Force hadn¡¯t disbanded, neither the Standing Army nor the auxiliary troops.


    Moreover, Alpad had taken over the garrison of the Shuangqiao Main Camp and the conscripted militia.


    His demands were straightforward, ¡°First, solve the problem of the Expeditionary Force¡¯s compensation.¡±


    Before the war, the army headquarters had agreed with the soldiers of the Standing Army that all rewards would be distributed in the form of land.


    The Expeditionary Force had brought back countless Herd Barbarians¡¯ ears; they had fought bloody battles and deserved to be honored.


    ¡°Second, mobilize the troops for war readiness. This war isn¡¯t over yet¡ªthe Parlatu People will fight back.¡±


    Alpad knew very well that the Herd factions were like wolves surrounding a lion.


    Now that the lion¡¯s deterrent power had diminished and its claws had been broken, the wolves had started to get restless.


    Over the past thirty years, the Parlatu People had maintained the frontier¡¯s thriving development. Not through defense, but through offense.


    The two legions of the Standing Army were spread out along the long border like salt sprinkled in a lake.


    If the barbarians were to take the offensive, they could launch raids from various positions, striking swiftly and retreating quickly.


    The Parlatu People would face the same strategic dilemma as the ancient Muruo Empire, with borders aflame everywhere and the Standing Army exhausted from constant engagement.


    The army¡¯s size would have to continue to grow, yet it would not be able to earn enough profits.


    Indeed, the Parlatu Standing Army was now profitable.


    By using loans, mortgages, bonds, and various dazzling ¡°financial instruments,¡± every war against the Herd factions over the past thirty years had been a profitable venture for Palatu.


    By the time the army was deployed, the land in the no man¡¯s land had already been divided, bought, and sold, and served as military expenses flowing into the army headquarters and the grand council¡¯s treasury.


    Not to mention the consequences of a breach of contract¡ªjust thinking about it gave Alpad a splitting headache.


    Merely shifting from an offensive to a defensive strategy would cause the Parlatu Standing Army to transform from a treasure trove into a bottomless pit.


    In an open letter to the grand council, Alpad wrote explicitly: ¡°To solve the Expeditionary Force¡¯s compensation issue, I am willing to take off my uniform, bind my hands, and assume full responsibility for the failure of this campaign. As for General Yanosh¡¯s position as the commander of the great legion, I nominate Major General Sekler to succeed. He is the only one who can be ready for the next battle.¡±


    Alpad considered that he had done nothing wrong¡ªhe was a man ill-suited for defeat.


    Faced with failure, his first reaction was always, ¡°I haven¡¯t lost, I will fight back.¡±


    His opinion also had the support of the Parlatu Army.


    The army headquarters sent General Adams to the grand council to explain Alpad¡¯s reasoning to all the members.


    But to the grand council, this was betrayal, coercion, this was a ¡°palace coup¡±¡ªand they weren¡¯t wrong because Alpad indeed intended to force their hand.


    Angry, upon learning of the destruction of the Floating Bridge, he had immediately sent for aid.


    But the grand council had only sent him five orders to retreat.


    Recalling this incident enraged Alpad: ¡°Retreat my ass! With the barbarians nipping at our heels, can we leave without a fight?¡±


    In his view, if the grand council could have, as he once requested, ¡°mobilize quickly, respond swiftly, ignore the Herd Raiders, and directly send reinforcements,¡± he would never have ended up in this situation.


    Alpad had made up his mind: he could carry this black mark and accept any punishment, but the war was not over, and everything he did was for Palatu!


    And how did the grand council react?


    To the members sent by Kingsfort, Alpad Duyome had already committed treason.


    The Kingsfort faction, mainly composed of the citizen class, has always advocated for limiting military power and emulating the Venetian Republic by bringing all military authority under the control of the council.


    For the Blue Blood Faction, although General Alpad¡¯s actions were somewhat brash, his intentions were good, and his opinions were correct.


    The Blue Blood Faction traced back to the second phase of the sovereign wars¡ªduring the internal conflict within the Duke of Palatu¡¯s territory, the noble officers who followed the old marshal integrated into the new republic.


    Their base was the vast rural areas, local councils, and the ¡°free men¡± class who gained land through military service.

 Chapter 540 540 99 Monsoon_6

    ?Chapter 540: Chapter 99 Monsoon_6 Chapter 540: Chapter 99 Monsoon_6 The so-called ¡°freemen¡± are citizens who have the right to participate in the election of lawmakers.


    They must be male and possess sufficient property or merit, generally playing significant roles in local life.


    Currently, the number of ¡°freemen¡± in Paratu is less than 5% of the total adult male population.


    Just as White Lion had observed, when things were going well, all internal conflicts could be smothered by victory.


    But once momentum stalled, the fissures became so apparent that one could not ignore them.


    The lawmakers from the two factions argued incessantly; one faction adamantly demanded Alpad disband his army unconditionally, while the other vehemently opposed it.


    Full-scale brawls broke out multiple times within the Grand Council, with lawmakers from the Blue Blood Faction, deeply entrenched in military affairs, decisively beating those from the Kingsfort Faction into a retreat.


    ...


    In the end, both sides grudgingly reached a compromise.


    The Grand Council decided to agree to Alpad¡¯s demands: to provide for the remnants of the Expeditionary Force¡ªthough it was still unclear where the funds would come from; and to agree to appoint Sekler as the commander of the army¡ªmerely an agreement, with the actual order to be issued by the headquarters of the army.


    Alpad needed to disband the army and report to the Grand Council.


    Riding across the drawbridge, Alpad was filled with countless emotions. He had crossed it many times, triumphantly amidst cheers and flowers.


    Back then he was a hero, basking in the spring breeze, all smiles, splendidly dressed and riding proudly down the street.


    But this time, as he entered Kingsfort, when he would come out, he would be branded a criminal. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he would not become a criminal¡ªhe had worn his military uniform his entire life and was too lazy to take it off.


    The small vial of poison was tucked in the secret pocket over his heart.


    Once his report was finished, before the guards could arrest him, he would drink it down in front of all the lawmakers.


    ¡°Poisoned to death? That would be letting me off too easy,¡± he thought.


    He was willing to accept responsibility for the failure of this campaign¡ªyes, it was a campaign, not a war.


    In Alpad¡¯s view, this was just one battle in a war, he hadn¡¯t lost yet, and the war wasn¡¯t lost either; Paratu certainly hadn¡¯t lost.


    ¡°Yasin, you boy,¡± Alpad remembered the past and couldn¡¯t help shaking his head with a bitter smile, ¡°you really did learn quite a few things¡­ but why didn¡¯t you come with me to Paratu? Ah, why didn¡¯t I force him to stay in Paratu?¡±


    He instinctively reached for his flask, only to grasp at thin air once again.


    ¡°That boy¡­ should be dead by now,¡± Alpad suddenly recalled the proud Venetian: ¡°He was so young, and I promised to let him go home, but in the end, I led him to his death.¡±


    He felt as if he was aging rapidly, each breath more exhausting than the last.


    The stone-paved streets were eerily quiet, not a soul in sight.


    Suddenly, a man burst out of the alley, his clothing stained with blood, clutching desperately at Alpad¡¯s reins, ¡°Duyao! Go! Run for it!¡±


    The two guards, shocked and alarmed, ¡°whoosh,¡± drew their swords.


    The sky was dim, but Alpad could still make out who the man before the horse was.


    Because the man in front of him was his own younger brother, the Speaker of the Grand Council¡ªAlpad Kleinheisler.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Alpad was about to dismount immediately: ¡°Why are you covered in blood?¡±


    ¡°Go, quickly! They¡¯re going to kill you! Kill us both!¡± Kleinheisler cried out as he pushed his brother back onto the horse.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    A gunshot rang out.


    Kleinheisler fell silent, his skull shattered, splattering Alpad with his blood, red and white, as he slumped to the ground.


    Alpad stood frozen in place as his brother¡¯s hand slid out of his.


    More gunfire.


    More footsteps and the sound of galloping.


    ¡°Kill on sight!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, Alpad!¡±


    ¡°Dead or alive!¡±


    Alpad roared with frenzy, drawing his sword, ready to fight to the death.


    The two guards stood in front of him, forcing his Warhorse to turn around and then gave a fierce kick to the horse.


    Alpad¡¯s Warhorse, carrying him, galloped wildly towards the city gates.


    His two guards charged at the oncoming enemies.


    The drawbridge was slowly rising; Alpad jabbed the horse¡¯s flanks.


    Before the incline of the drawbridge became too steep to climb, Alpad¡¯s Warhorse jumped off the bridge, soared over the moat, and landed heavily on the ground.


    Straightaway, the Warhorse, with Alpad aboard, vanished into the night.


    Sekler and the leader of the Kingsfort Faction, Grof David, hurried up to the city gates.


    Grof, unable to contain his fury, gave the gate officer a savage slap and bellowed, ¡°How could you let him escape!¡±


    Unexpectedly, the sound of galloping grew closer¡ªAlpad had turned back.


    He reined in his horse before the moat and asked in grief and anger, ¡°Sekler! Are you there too?¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± Sekler answered expressionlessly.


    ¡°Traitor!!!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Sekler¡¯s voice was cold and steadfast: ¡°I am loyal only to the Republic!¡±


    Alpad laughed in desperation, smashed the vial of poison, and charged off on his horse.


    Meanwhile, an envoy sent by Grof, carrying the ¡°Order of the Grand Council,¡± was racing towards Shuangqiao Main Camp.


    The rumbling of thunder echoed across the fields; lightning turned the dark night as bright as day.


    The monsoon had arrived.

 Chapter 541 541 100 The Ball

    ?Chapter 541: Chapter 100: The Ball Chapter 541: Chapter 100: The Ball On the first day of May, a rain mixed with small hailstones fell on the wilderness.


    It was the first rainfall after a long drought, heralding the arrival of the rainy season.


    From this day on, the Herder nomads would gradually take their livestock to higher terrain, which was cooler.


    When the dry season arrived, they would lead their livestock back to the lower winter pastures.


    In this manner, Winters followed the migration of the camp.


    Little Lion often came to talk to him.


    ¡°When it comes to differences, the disparity between us of the Boya Clan and the Jin people is greater than that between the Venetians and the Paratu People. They worship cairns, we revere ancestral spirits. Going further west, tribes of Deer Herders don¡¯t even speak our language.¡±


    ...


    Little Lion spoke sporadically, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s only you outsiders who call all the tribes Herders, ¡®Herder¡¯ isn¡¯t even a word in our vocabulary.¡±


    Winters silently whittled wooden spikes, skill growing with practice, his control over the knife becoming ever more precise.


    After setting up camp, he would erect a pulley to suspend his knee and perform simple rehabilitation exercises with Erhulan¡¯s help.


    While journeying in the ox cart, he constantly carved wooden spikes.


    With more grass than trees in the wilderness, the people at the campsite collected wood for him when they heard he was carving.


    Thick, thin, branches, trunks, regardless of quality, all of it was brought to Erhulan.


    Seeing him whittle spikes all day long, Little Lion brought him a set of iron tools.


    Winters began to do some simple carpentry. Though he lacked nails, he still managed to make a few folding stools.


    Little Lion, as if only requiring an audience, casually said while chewing on a stalk of sweet grass, ¡°You know? Most people on the grasslands have never seen the ocean, not even my brother. I don¡¯t even know how to describe it to them.¡±


    ¡°Even if they try to imagine it, the ocean is just a big lake to them. To everyone, the mountains to the south and north, the snowfields to the west, the Paratu People to the east, and this grassland, that is the entirety of the world.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes I can¡¯t help but think, it¡¯s absurd and laughable that tribes and the Paratu People kill each other over such a small piece of land from birth to death.¡±


    ¡°And sometimes I wonder, why must we kill each other? For food and clothing? The grasslands have been blessed with good weather these years; everyone is at least well-fed and warm.¡±


    ¡°Is it for hatred? The Paratu capture tribesmen and sell them as slaves across the ocean. Tribes also capture Paratu People as ¡®Tuotiqa,¡¯ chaining them more cruelly than the master of Hongsong Manor.¡±


    ¡°Tribes and Paratu People hate each other, yet they don¡¯t hate each other because everyone is used to it. My brother even served as a bodyguard to the Paratu chieftain, did you know that? Right after the man destroyed my father¡¯s tribe.¡±


    ¡°Tribes also attack one another. We fought with you, then we have to guard against the tribes coming to attack us.¡±


    ¡°Even outside of the grasslands, aren¡¯t you ¡®civilized people¡¯ also constantly killing each other? The wars between you Venetians and the islanders are even more brutal than those between the tribes and the Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Or is it because of greed? I do not know. I can¡¯t figure it out, nor do I wish to live my life in a daze. Beyond the grasslands, there is an endless ocean!¡±


    Little Lion spat out the grass, feigning nonchalance, ¡°These words, only you in this vast grassland would listen to me. If I told others, they¡¯d probably think I¡¯ve gone mad.¡±


    ¡°By the way, did you know? I heard from a singer that beyond the west of the west of the west, beyond the tundra and snow, on the western side of the mountains, there is another land and ocean! Our ancestors migrated here from there. If I had the chance, I¡¯d truly like to go see it, maybe even go with you.¡±


    Winters stopped his work and looked at Little Lion thoughtfully, speaking softly, ¡°You¡¯ve grown up, much more than when you were on Red Sulfur Island.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Little Lion retorted indignantly, ¡°Are you saying that I was an idiot back at Hongsong Manor?¡±


    ¡°I want to meet your brother.¡±


    ¡°I want him to meet you too,¡± Little Lion sighed, ¡°He¡¯s been busy lately. The Zhuirqing people plundered our old camp during a recent battle. Took more than fifty pieces of clothing, killed a dozen people, and made off with quite a few livestock. My brother is leading troops to subdue the Zhuirqing people now.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going with them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m minding the stove.¡± Little Lion remembered something else, ¡°Oh, and the Shaman wants to see you. To be precise, he wants to see Hestas. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s a good man.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You call me Hestas,¡± said Winters, looking unsurprised, ¡°It¡¯s because of that ceremony, right?¡±


    Little Lion nodded, explaining with distress, ¡°Yes, the Kulxit ritual is a kind of¡­ It¡¯s hard for me to explain, but it¡¯s a very important ceremony. Hestas chose you as his successor¡ªthough I don¡¯t know why either, but now I¡¯m starting to understand a little.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not just inheriting Hestas¡¯s name and title, but also the spirits of all the Hestases before him. They accompany you and protect you,¡± Little Lion continued, ¡°To us, you are Hestas, the bridge connecting us to the ancestors and the myriad spirits¡ªthough you don¡¯t quite look the part now.¡±


    ¡°Why me?¡± Winters pursed his lips.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to know as well,¡± Little Lion said with a wry smile, ¡°If you truly are Hestas, you should be able to ask the previous Hestas yourself. Let¡¯s wait for the Shaman to come, he¡¯ll explain it to you.¡±

 Chapter 542 542 100 Ball_2

    ?Chapter 542: Chapter 100: Ball_2 Chapter 542: Chapter 100: Ball_2 As he spoke, Little Lion picked up two wooden spikes from Winters¡¯ lap.


    Comparing them side by side, he couldn¡¯t help but draw in a cold breath. ¡°I thought you were whittling these sticks for fun, after all, they seem too short even for skewering meat. But now I see, they are all identical, without the slightest difference! Ha, this is indeed a unique skill.¡±


    Winters made no comment and continued to whittle the spikes.


    ¡°Someone has come to see you, Winters.¡± Erhulan said cheerily, leading someone into the tent.


    ¡°Greetings and best wishes, Paratu champion, are your injuries feeling any better?¡± The visitor entered the tent and respectfully presented a small gift package. ¡°My master sent me to visit you.¡± sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The visitor unexpectedly spoke in fluent Common Tongue, which until then only three people in the camp could speak: Winters, Erhulan, and Little Lion.


    When had a fourth person arrived?


    ...


    Winters¡¯ face was expressionless, and he did not accept the gift; he remembered who this person was.


    Little Lion raised his eyebrows high. ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The visitor replied meekly, ¡°I am the Translator for the firekeepers.¡±


    Little Lion gave a snort, took the gift, and opened it to see. ¡°Pepper?¡±


    ¡°Yes, pepper.¡± The old Translator¡¯s attitude became even more subservient. ¡°I was worried that this noble lord might not be accustomed to the prairie diet, so I brought some spices.¡±


    ¡°What are you here for?¡±


    ¡°Please allow me to speak privately with this noble lord. I am an old servant, weak and frail; this lord could kill me with a flick of his finger, rest assured.¡±


    Little Lion was inclined to refuse outright, but he still sought Winters¡¯ opinion with a glance.


    Winters nodded slightly, and with a sidelong look at the old Translator, Little Lion stepped out of the felt tent with Erhulan.


    Without speaking, Winters and the old Translator simply sat staring at each other in silence for a short while.


    ¡°How are your wounds?¡± The old Translator broke the silence, smiling as he asked, ¡°Is there anything we can do?¡±


    Without uttering a word, Winters conveyed with his eyes, ¡°Speak your mind.¡±


    The old Translator coughed lightly and suddenly changed his tone, demanding abruptly, ¡°Where is the Ritual Gold Figure?!¡±


    Unmoved, Winters replied, ¡°It¡¯s been divided up. Let Monkey Butt Face piece it together himself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± The Translator¡¯s gaze sharpened, scrutinizing Winters¡¯ eyes, face, and fingertips for any tiny movement. ¡°We found no trace of the gold figure! None of the prisoners had it, and it wasn¡¯t in the camp! Nobody knows where it is!¡±


    ¡°Good, that¡¯s your problem.¡±


    Suddenly, the old Translator seized Winters¡¯ wrist. ¡°Where is the Ritual Gold Figure?!¡±


    Winters smirked, his pulse steady as a dripping faucet.


    The next moment, the old Translator faintly saw the shadow of a fist appearing before his eyes.


    Then came the crisp sound of breaking bones as he was struck and sent sprawling onto the ground, tears, blood, and saliva streaming down his face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t seek death.¡± Winters¡¯ voice was cold and clear. ¡°Monkey Butt Face wants the Ritual Gold Figure? Tell him to save some money; perhaps he can afford a smaller version.¡±


    The old Translator was about to explode, but Little Lion and Erhulan had already rushed back into the tent upon hearing the commotion.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Little Lion¡¯s hand on the knife hilt, he looked sternly at the old Translator.


    The old Translator cradled his nose, sharply setting it back into place with one forceful motion. He rose from the ground, bowed to the others, and walked away with a darkened expression.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Little Lion asked Winters with concern.


    Winters loosened his wrist. ¡°Collusion of the dishonorable.¡±


    ¡°That old servant has some skill.¡± Little Lion scratched his head, ¡°He didn¡¯t even cry out in pain, just fixed his own nose and walked away.¡±


    ¡°You might not necessarily win against him,¡± Winters reflected on the feel of the old Translator¡¯s palm. ¡°The calluses on that man¡¯s hands¡­ are even thicker than mine.¡±


    Winters¡¯ thoughts went back to the north shore of the Confluence River. ¡°It¡¯s a pity I didn¡¯t realize it back then and kill him on the battlefield. Now, even if I wanted to, it¡¯s no longer possible to kill him.¡±


    Fearfully, Erhulan discarded the bag of pepper the old Translator had brought. ¡°We don¡¯t need this. What if it¡¯s poisoned?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters leaned back on the blanket and spoke languidly, ¡°Right now, the most concerned with my well-being is Monkey Butt Face. I heard they slaughtered a lamb today; why don¡¯t we make lamb offal soup? Just like on Red Sulfur Island, with a bit of crushed pepper.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make you lamb head to eat.¡± Hearing the nickname Monkey Butt Face, Erhulan¡¯s almond-shaped eyes curved with laughter as he took the pepper and left the tent.


    The pepper was crushed and sifted.


    Lamb stomach, intestines, heart, and lungs were cleaned and shredded, blanched first, then boiled to create a white broth.


    Pepper powder was sprinkled into the lamb broth, with a bit of a sauce made from wild chives flowers growing on the prairie.


    A large gulp would make the bitter chill of early spring disappear without a trace.


    In the end, Erhulan brought out noodles he had secretly prepared.


    This was the warmest meal Winters had ever had in the Great Wilderness.


    ¡­


    Winters ate well, but some were frustrated.


    After leaving the camp, the old Translator hurried south without stopping.


    In a hollow sixty kilometers away, the firekeepers were waiting for him.


    If Little Lion saw this scene, he would be furiously indignant.


    The pastures of Terdun lay south of the Great River, nearer to the southern Jinding Mountains.


    The grazing lands of the Red River Tribe lay to the north of the Great River, closer to the northern Sheltering Mountains.


    The ¡°Great River¡± mentioned by the Herder tribes was referred to as Ashen Stream River by the Paratu People, and Torrent River by the Venetians and the United Provincials.


    This river flowed from west to east, nearly bisecting the land between the two mountain ranges.


    Even The Styx would eventually flow into the Great River, which is why the Herders also called it the River of a Thousand Rivers, the Father of Rivers.


    However, before it met with The Styx, the upper reaches of the Great River did not carry more water than The Styx itself.

 Chapter 543 543 100 The Ball_3

    ?Chapter 543: Chapter 100: The Ball_3 Chapter 543: Chapter 100: The Ball_3 The battle at The Styx had not long passed before the Firestarter parted ways with the White Lion, leading the Terdon Tribe¡¯s cavalry back to the ¡°Grasslands South of the River¡±.


    But he had actually not left at all and instead, with five hundred elite riders, hid in a ravine near the Red River Tribe¡¯s camp.


    This was a severe provocation, like a mere sheet of paper separating it from starting a fight.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Seeing the old Translator return, the Firestarter couldn¡¯t wait to ask, ¡°What did that guy say?¡±


    ¡°As calm as wood, as cold as stone,¡± the old Translator said with a grave face. ¡°The last time I saw him, he was shallow like pond water. This time, I couldn¡¯t see through him at all.¡±


    The Firestarter was at a loss, ¡°Then what should we do? Echegke, should we still make a move to snatch the person?¡±


    Not to mention people from the Red River Tribe, even the low-level members of the Terdon Tribe would be startled if they heard their leader call the Translator ¡°Echegke¡±.


    ...


    Echegke, meaning ¡°father¡± in the language of the Hurd.


    Considering the former leader of the Terdon Tribe hadn¡¯t ended up hanging the old Translator from a tree and shooting him with arrows, what the Firestarter meant was probably ¡°foster father¡±.


    The Firestarter¡¯s quiver bearers were accustomed to this, clearly the so-called ¡°Translator¡± was not just a simple translator.


    The old Translator pondered and said, ¡°There¡¯s another possibility, that kid might truly know nothing. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t see through him.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡± The Firestarter panicked, ¡°If he also doesn¡¯t know, where do we look for the Gold Figurine for the Heavenly Sacrifice?¡±


    ¡°The worst possibility is that the figurine was taken away by traitors,¡± the old Translator sorted out his thoughts. ¡°The head of the figurine was chopped off, so it¡¯s likely the other parts were disassembled too. Broken into pieces, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to take away. Another possibility is that after being disassembled, it was buried or even sunk in the water.¡±


    ¡°What if it really was taken by bipeds?¡± The Firestarter¡¯s voice had already reached a pitch of desperation.


    ¡°Why the panic?¡± the old Translator scolded with a stern face, ¡°That gold figurine can neither produce foals nor can it kill; it¡¯s just a lump of gold! In this fight, we acquired one thousand five hundred sets of armor, countless weapons. As long as we can recover, even without the Gold Figurine for the Heavenly Sacrifice, who can do anything to us? If we were weak, having the figurine would still result in it being taken.¡±


    ¡°So what do we do? Do we still snatch the person?¡±


    ¡°No, right now we and the Red River Tribe are as close as lips and teeth. Given the kid¡¯s worth, it¡¯s not yet worth the risk of provoking war with the Red River Tribe by force. It¡¯s best to make the White Lion hand over the person himself, and we must be careful not to let the White Lion get wind of the Heavenly Sacrifice Gold Figurine.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± The Firestarter nodded repeatedly.


    ¡°The traitors retreated so decisively, I can¡¯t be sure they didn¡¯t take the gold with them,¡± the old Translator slapped his thigh, ¡°Let¡¯s go! To the banks of The Styx! Send people out, search the traitors¡¯ retreat route. I refuse to believe we can¡¯t find any traces.¡±


    The Firestarter¡¯s five hundred elite riders sprang into action, rolling up their bedrolls, leading their horses, and racing toward the banks of The Styx.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Sea Blue City, Navarre Manor.


    Catherine walked into Anna¡¯s room with high spirits, only to see her sister looking haggard, sitting in front of the dressing table and flipping through a stack of letters, causing her to become somewhat annoyed.


    She lay on Anna¡¯s bed, looking at the embroidered pattern on her canopy, teasing her sister, ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, still pining for your lover? While you¡¯re here playing the tragedienne, he might already have forgotten you completely, getting all cozy with some Paratu trollop!¡±


    These were Anna¡¯s two biggest taboos:


    The first was lying on her bed without permission ¡ª of course, she had never given permission;


    The second was malicious attacks on the mysterious Mr. W.M.¡ªthere were no non-malicious attacks.


    Whenever Catherine wanted to infuriate her sister, she would resort to these two tactics, and they never failed.


    But today, for some reason, Anna, who usually would have reacted immediately, was completely unmoved.


    She still sat stupidly in front of the dressing table, flipping through the letters.


    Catherine was nearing the point of insanity with irritation.


    She jumped off the bed, snatched the letters from Anna¡¯s hand without explanation, and scolded her sister, ¡°It¡¯s just a first love, what¡¯s the big deal? Is it worth being so sad and heartbroken?¡± Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Anna said in a weary voice, ¡°Stop it, give them back to me.¡±


    ¡°Watch me burn them all!¡±


    Anna fell silent, burying her face in the dressing table, sobbing softly.


    ¡°The more you give, the greater the hurt,¡± Catherine said, becoming angrier as she spoke, ¡°Only by not giving your heart can you never get hurt. Do you really think you, me, and Olivia will marry for love? Are you a five-year-old? We are the heiresses of the Navarre family; our marriages must be carefully considered. The slightest carelessness can lead to an abyss. Mom even says you¡¯re more mature than me, but how come you hand over your heart to everyone you meet. My God! How can you be so naive!¡±


    Anna¡¯s crying grew louder, and Catherine also started to feel sad.


    She sat next to Anna, hugging her sister¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Alright, alright, stop crying. It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯m the wicked witch, and you¡¯re the pure princess. Would Her Highness like to go dancing with me? Mrs. Morlock just sent someone with an invitation, asking for both of us to attend.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s fingers brushed through Anna¡¯s messy hair, clinging to her sister and cooing, ¡°Let¡¯s dress up magnificently today, and we¡¯ll surely overshadow those three dumb girls from the Morlock family. If it helps, I¡¯ll tone it down today and let you be the star, okay? I¡¯ll concede for one day, allowing you to be the most dazzling lady in Sea Blue. Maybe you¡¯ll meet a handsome young man at the dance, and soon you¡¯ll forget Mr. M.¡±

 Chapter 544 544 100 Dance Party_4

    ?Chapter 544: Chapter 100 Dance Party_4 Chapter 544: Chapter 100 Dance Party_4 ¡°I¡¯m not going!¡± Anna sobbed, kicking the vanity in disarray.


    Catherine was at her wit¡¯s end, she said helplessly, ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s all my fault. You¡¯re a good person, Mr. M is a good person; I¡¯m the only bad person. Mr. M must be thinking of you day and night, his soul not at rest, just wanting to fly back to your side. And he¡¯s absolutely faithful, even if surrounded by a dozen flirty Paratu girls vying for his attention, he remains unmoved and resists temptation.¡±


    ¡°You are really annoying!¡± Anna laughed through her tears, ¡°Where did you learn to talk like that? Which¡­ little¡­ where did you pick up such language?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s how men talk.¡± Catherine snorted lightly, ¡°You think they¡¯re all saints?¡±


    ¡°These letters were written by Mr. M in Tanyria.¡± Anna still blushed when she mentioned her lover¡¯s name, so she always referred to him as Mr. M, ¡°He didn¡¯t have the chance to give them to me before he was taken to Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes gleamed craftily, ¡°Then I must take a good look.¡±


    Anna¡¯s face flushed, and she quickly reached out to snatch the letters, but Catherine wouldn¡¯t give them up.


    ...


    The two of them scuffled from the vanity to the bed.


    ¡°Ah, having a Mr. M is quite nice.¡± Catherine exhaled like an orchid, and leaning into Anna¡¯s ear, she gently bit her sister¡¯s earlobe, ¡°Before you met him, I really thought you liked women!¡±


    Anna screamed and swung her fists randomly, pushing her toward the edge of the bed.


    Catherine cried out in a low voice, trying hard to grasp the bedspread, but she was still forcefully pushed off the bed.


    The next second, she climbed back up, undaunted, and lunged at her sister with a big laugh, ¡°Let me see, who is this pure-hearted?¡±


    The sisters tussled for a while, then reconciled as before.


    ¡°The Morlock family¡¯s ball, are you going?¡± Catherine elbowed her sister in the waist.


    ¡°I¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°Come on, come on, come on¡­¡± Catherine hugged her sister, beginning to wheedle and cajole.


    Anna shook her head gently, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well.¡± Catherine finally gave up, with a sigh of lamentation, ¡°I won¡¯t go either.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you go?¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re not going, I don¡¯t want to go either.¡± Catherine said sternly, ¡°Got to leave some room for other ladies to shine, right?¡±


    Suddenly, a series of footsteps came from the corridor.


    The owner of the footsteps stumbled along, carrying great sorrow and urgency.


    Anna and Catherine exchanged glances and quickly climbed off the bed.


    Elizabeth burst through the door, holding a stack of blood-stained letters, nearly unable to stand.


    Anna¡¯s heart constricted as if wrapped by vines.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it¡­¡± She stepped back in horror, shaking her hands repeatedly, her voice carrying a sob, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡±


    Elizabeth embraced Anna, breaking down into sobs, ¡°My brother, he¡¯s gone¡­¡±


    Anna¡¯s vision darkened, and she fainted, collapsing to the floor with a thud.


    Similar scenes were unfolding everywhere in Sea Blue.


    The tragic news was brought back from Kingsfort by Vineta¡¯s chief advisor on a flying horse, then spread quickly through the military channels.


    Everyone was desperate to know the situation of their own children.


    Unfortunate families¡¯ cries shook the heavens, and even those who were fortunate felt a shared sense of grief.


    Kosha collapsed in Marita¡¯s arms, unable to stop crying.


    Antonio was still on the islands, unaware of this terrible news.


    Marita Momma, who had taken care of three generations of the Da Granashi Family, patted Korsa¡¯s back gently, as if soothing a baby.


    ¡°Poor little master,¡± Momma¡¯s tears couldn¡¯t stop flowing. ¡°Poor miss.¡±


    ¡­


    Kingsfort had just undergone a massacre, and the stench of blood in the streets had not yet dissipated. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The massacre had started with an accidental assassination attempt.


    It was considered accidental because no one had intended to take Alpad¡¯s life on the spot.


    Initially, they had simply wanted to capture Alpad and the leadership of the Blue Blood Faction in one fell swoop¡ªby arresting them.


    Why resort to assassination when the state has far better means of killing?


    But the situation got out of control, and three people died, including [Alpad Kleinheisler]. The real target, [Alpad Duyome], managed to escape.


    The failed assassination was the catalyst for violence that quickly escalated beyond containment.


    The Blue Blood Faction¡¯s counterattack was ferocious; before the Kingsfort authorities could arrest them, they had already arrived at their doors with swords and private armies.


    Thirty years of grudges exploded in an instant, unleashing a destructive force that far exceeded even the worst nightmares of the instigators.


    The great hall of deliberations nearly turned into a slaughterhouse as the two factions, blinded by bloodlust, hunted each other down in the city, searching house by house for ¡®traitors¡¯.


    Opportunists stirred the pot in the chaos; thugs took advantage of the situation to rob, set fires, rape, and commit all manner of crimes.


    Kingsfort was shrouded in thick smoke, and the fire brigade dared not go out to extinguish the fires.


    Innocent citizens hid in their homes, trembling, desperately praying for all of this to end quickly.


    It took the decisive intervention of Sekler, leading the garrison to quell the unrest and implementing martial law and military control in Kingsfort, for the situation to gradually calm down.


    However, during this melee, the army headquarters firmly sided with the Blue Blood Faction.


    In the eyes of the officer corps, Sekler¡¯s actions were tantamount to betraying the army to the great council.


    Most of the officers from the army headquarters joined the remaining members of the Blue Blood Faction to launch a counterattack out of the city and rallied to General Alpad.


    The remaining officers were a mixed bunch, each with their own reasons.


    Some had always been at odds with the Blue Blood Faction, others were ambitious, some were loyal to Sekler, and still others simply stayed because their families were in Kingsfort.


    Meanwhile, at Shuangqiao Main Camp, Alpad, crying ¡°We¡¯ve been betrayed,¡± charged through the gates and in no time had taken back command of the army.


    The ¡°special envoy of the great council¡± was promptly executed publicly, and Alpad sent the envoy¡¯s head and a letter.


    It was a declaration of war.


    ¡­


    Besides the notification of the death of young Vineta officers, Vineta¡¯s chief advisor in Kingsfort, [Turanio], had just received even worse news.


    Ignoring the guards¡¯ attempts to stop him, Turanio barged into the Speaker¡¯s office, slamming a document furiously onto the desk.


    ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± the chief advisor asked, holding back his anger. ¡°Mr. Grof!¡±


    The former Speaker [Alpad Kleinheisler] was dead, and the new Speaker [Grof Magnus] turned around, smiling as he replied, ¡°It means exactly what it says.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking about your literal meaning!¡± Turanio roared. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®won¡¯t pay it back¡¯? Do you want to provoke Vineta at a time like this?¡±


    ¡°The great council has declared the Republic¡¯s financial bankruptcy, existing assets will be prioritized for domestic debt repayment, and Vineta¡¯s debts will be restructured. Illegal loans signed by the last session of the great council, this session will not recognize even a penny of them.¡± Grof gradually withdrew his smile, fixing his gaze on the chief advisor¡¯s eyes, and responding word by word, ¡°Won¡¯t pay it back, means we won¡¯t pay it back!¡±

 Chapter 545 545 101 Returning Home

    ?Chapter 545: Chapter 101: Returning Home Chapter 545: Chapter 101: Returning Home The councilors remaining in Kingsfort unanimously passed a resolution: to abolish the old Republic of Palatu and reform the government, establishing the ¡°Second¡± Republic of Palatu.


    The councilors were still those from Kingsfort, and their office location remained in the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    It looked like just changing a nameplate, but the reality was far from it.


    In the early years of the Republic, when the factions representing the interests of the cities of Kingsfort could still suppress the old aristocratic factions.


    However, with the expansion of the class of freemen with military merits, the Blue Blood Faction gradually gained the upper hand and eventually suppressed the Kingsfort faction decisively.


    The Blue Blood Faction had been in power for years, relegating the Kingsfort faction to perpetual opposition¡ªa status that lasted for over two decades.


    Suddenly grafting to power, the Kingsfort faction immediately began a series of radical reforms.


    ...


    The first law passed by the new Great Hall of Deliberation was the ¡°Debt Restructuring Act.¡±


    According to this act, Palatu was about to undergo large-scale debt restructuring.


    The net assets of the Republic would be used to prioritize payment to domestic creditors, while foreign creditors¡¯ debts would be compulsorily paid in a form of [annuity bonds].


    The interest rate for annuity bonds was principally 3%, with a repayment period of forty years, and the Second Republic had the right to redeem the annuity bonds at any time.


    Although Grof spoke firmly, his deputy [Councilor Beck] immediately sought out Vineta¡¯s chief advisor.


    Beck explained the reasons and requested understanding: ¡°There really is no money in the treasury! Far from enough to pay the debts!¡±


    ¡­


    For the past thirty years, Palatu¡¯s campaigns against the barbarians were all financed by borrowing money. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not only were the citizens eager to buy bonds, but allied investors were also willing to lend them money because Palatu always won.


    Investors from the allies were mainly Vinetan bankers, with a minor proportion from The Federated Provinces.


    One reason was that United Provincials had previously suffered great losses, and another was that The Federated Provinces had few bankers.


    By leveraging, Palatu only needed to pay a small amount of interest to mobilize a vast sum of capital.


    These funds were transformed into weapons, armor, warhorses, army provisions, and lead bullets fired at the barbarians, bringing thirty years of victory to Palatu People.


    The spoils of war were mainly land, slaves, and livestock; precious metals were rare. How would investors recoup their funds?


    No matter, based on the ¡°tradability of bonds,¡± Vinetan bankers invented a bewildering array of financial instruments: mortgages, second mortgages, bundling, splitting¡­


    They even introduced the concept of insurance from the shipping industry into the bond market to hedge risks.


    Marshal Ned had underestimated human greed; he could never have imagined that the little trick he used to raise military funds would evolve into a monstrous beast on its own.


    In short: when Palatu won, everyone in the chain made money; if Palatu lost, the edifice would collapse like a row of dominoes.


    Those hit first would be the Vinetan bankers and retail investors who had gone bankrupt buying bonds.


    So, Palatu People couldn¡¯t afford to lose; no one had thought Palatu would lose before, but this time Palatu did lose.


    Someone might ask, isn¡¯t Newly Reclaimed Land still full of unpopulated lands that could be used to settle debts?


    Please don¡¯t forget, that land is not the property of the Republic of Palatu, but of the Palatu Army.


    The Palatu Army was not only allowed to engage in commerce but also to own land and maintain a state within a state.


    ¡­


    That¡¯s why the second reform from Grof was introduced: restructuring the government and confiscating military power.


    Due to the historical remnants of the sovereign wars, the Palatine Army Headquarters was, in principle, a ¡°subordinate¡± of the Alliance, ranking only half a level below the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    Strictly speaking, their relationship was cooperative. The Hall of Deliberation couldn¡¯t even decide on military appointments and removals but could only ¡°advise.¡±


    Grof Magnus reformed the [Palatine Army Headquarters] into the [Palatu Military Commission], and the new Military Commission was subordinate to the Great Hall of Deliberation.


    This had long been a political demand of the Kingsfort faction¡ªto change from a state [with an army] to a state [with an armed force].


    The model of a state [with an army] was The Federated Provinces, while that of a state [with an armed force] was Vineta.


    Palatu¡¯s JG ideology was between the two, but over the past thirty years, it had been continuously falling towards the Provincials¡¯ model.


    Beyond that, there were many other reforms aimed at weakening the influence of the old aristocracy in local areas.


    The new Great Hall of Deliberation issued a declaration, the ¡°Republican Manifesto.¡±


    The core idea was to occupy the moral high ground: The Second Republic of Palatu was established! Now everyone could live a better life! Levies, taxes, and corv¨¦es would all be reduced! Land rights will be shared, and land reclamation will be encouraged! Outside of the Second Republic are but false governments! Please support us!


    Of course, there were two other vital commands: to summon the local garrisons to come to Kingsfort; and to send envoys to Alpad to salvage peace to the greatest extent possible.


    ¡­


    Councilor Beck talked a lot with the chief advisor of Vineta; essentially saying one thing: We really have no money.


    The treasury couldn¡¯t even afford the interest, let alone the debt itself.


    The government couldn¡¯t even produce the Expeditionary Force¡¯s pensions because that was an astronomical figure.


    Military assets must be confiscated to fill this vast hole.


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± the fiery chief advisor of Vineta cursed in response: ¡°Do you take me for a three-year-old? Prioritizing domestic debt with net assets? Who are the domestic creditors? Isn¡¯t it fucking you councilors?!¡±


    The chief advisor pushed the other away, storming off angrily.


    ¡­


    The news of the debt restructuring sent back to Sea Blue resulted in another outburst of lamentation.

 Chapter 546 546 101 Going Home_2

    ?Chapter 546: Chapter 101: Going Home_2 Chapter 546: Chapter 101: Going Home_2 An elder quickly reacted, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Mad King¡¯s tactic against the United Provincials?¡±


    The previous Emperor of the Empire, ¡°Madman¡± Richard the Fourth, also borrowed money from the banks of The Federated Provinces¡ªback then, they weren¡¯t called The Federated Provinces but the Duchy of Forthland.


    When out of money to pay the debts, the Mad King just spread his hands and issued the ¡°Bankruptcy Decree,¡± declaring debt restructuring.


    The bankers of Forthland were beaten black and blue by this combination of punches.


    On the surface, their claims were not canceled, but in reality, it was as if the Mad King had frozen all their capital with very little money.


    If they wanted to sell these bonds, they would have to take a severe loss.


    Many people from Forthland went bankrupt and even committed suicide, and the financial landscape of this continent changed accordingly.


    ...


    When the news reached Paratu, the bankers of Vineta were furious, ¡°They think they can just not pay?!¡±


    ¡°3% interest? Those fucking bastards sure dare! The Mad King gave 5% interest!¡±


    ¡°What the fuck gives them the right?!¡±


    ¡°[Expletive]!¡±


    ¡­


    Let¡¯s set aside the merchants¡¯ anger for now.


    In the ¡°Throne Room¡± of the Vineta Army headquarters, the officers focused on another matter.


    ¡°What exactly is going on? How did the fighting start?¡± someone asked, baffled. ¡°Sekler and I joined at the same time, he¡¯s a sensible man, how could he allow such a thing to happen?¡±


    ¡°What matters is how the battle went, who won, who lost? We sit here doing nothing, knowing fuck all,¡± Layton¡ªnow a lieutenant general¡ªmuttered with irritation. ¡°Alpad used to be my squad leader! I¡¯m not surprised he could pull something like this.¡±


    ¡°What about General Yanosh? Couldn¡¯t General Yanosh control those two?¡± another asked.


    ¡°General Yanosh is said to have suffered a stroke,¡± another voice answered softly.


    General Zio, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke up, ¡°Do you know what Alpad and Sekler are?¡±


    The officers looked at each other, unsure how to respond to the military regent¡¯s remark.


    Still, it was Layton, the lieutenant general, who boldly asked, ¡°What¡­ What are they?¡±


    ¡°Alpad and Sekler are two of the best hounds, strong, loyal, fierce. But only Yanosh is the hunter,¡± Zio said slowly, answering his own question. He looked much older compared to when he had been planning the archipelago campaign two years earlier, ¡°Now that the hunter is gone, the hounds will tear each other apart¡­ And no one can pull them apart anymore.¡±


    Only someone of General Zio¡¯s standing could make a comparison between hounds and a hunter; the others at the meeting weren¡¯t in a position to comment.


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± Layton said, smoking and speaking gloomily, ¡°The Third Corps faces off against The Victory Goddess in the islands, and the Fourth Corps against the Torrent River, both unable to move. Should we call up the reserves again?¡±


    ¡°Give me a break!¡± someone immediately objected. ¡°We haven¡¯t even fully assimilated Tanyria yet! How can we mobilize the reserves this frequently? Shouldn¡¯t we figure out our goals first before discussing the call-up of reserves?¡±


    Stung by the rebuke, Layton grew heated, ¡°The military attache in Paratu is fucking useless! What kind of intelligence is being sent back? It¡¯s all over the place, can he even understand it himself? How can we make decisions without knowing anything?¡±


    Zio opened his eyes and sat up straight.


    The officers in the Throne Room knew the regent was about to speak and all promptly straightened up, adopting a respectful posture.


    ¡°Send an observer officer over.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Pierre Mitchell had become a deserter.


    Anglu, Vashka, and others from Wolf Town had fled with him.


    Pierre didn¡¯t consider himself a coward.


    He had bravely fought his way back to Paratu through the wilderness, never once faltering.


    Pierre just didn¡¯t want to work for them anymore.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he told his companion, ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Home, the word seemed to hold magical power, bringing tears to every weary eye.


    ¡°Alright,¡± everyone murmured, ¡°Home.¡±


    When the troop departed from Shuangqiao Main Camp, they seized the opportunity and slipped away.


    Deserters, execution¡­ they didn¡¯t care about any of that anymore; they just wanted to go home.


    The people of Wolf Town deliberately took back roads, avoiding villages and towns, even going through uninhabited areas.


    Thirsty, they drank from streams; hungry, they ate dry rations. After enduring countless hardships, Big Horn River¡ªthe boundary of Wolf Town¡ªfinally came into sight.


    They had made it home.


    They all cheered, rushing toward Big Horn River like madmen. They kissed the river banks and scooped up water from the river to drink deeply.


    Pierre sniffled and softly called out to Anglu, ¡°Hook?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°My dad told me about it when we were back in the north. Dusacks serve the emperor for seven years and then are sent home. They carry their clothes, knives, and belongings on horseback, walking in groups. When they walk all the way to Bowback Bay and the Dusacks see the Don River for the first time¡­¡±


    [The Don River: The Dusans¡¯ homeland within the borders of the Empire]


    The other Dusacks listened quietly.


    ¡°¡­¡¯By the gods! Just look!''¡± Pierre mimicked his father¡¯s tone, ¡°Everyone as if mad shouts and runs to the riverbank, ¡®The Don! Quiet Don! My parents! My benefactors who raised me! Hurrah! Ahhhh!''¡±


    Pierre couldn¡¯t help but laugh, his eyes reddening. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The non-Dusack people from Wolf Town, hearing this, had wet eyes and sour noses too.


    Pierre continued, ¡°They throw their caps, uniforms, pillowcases, and boots all into the river. They had returned home safely, and so they rewarded the Don with these offerings. The parents, wives, and children downstream, seeing the caps floating like swans from upstream, knew that their loved ones had come home¡­¡±

 Chapter 547 547 101 Going Home_3

    ?Chapter 547: Chapter 101 Going Home_3 Chapter 547: Chapter 101 Going Home_3 Pierre took off his hat and tossed it forcefully toward the Big Horn River.


    The black hat turned several bends along the winding river and vanished behind the reeds.


    The others did the same, shouting at the top of their lungs, ¡°Dad! Mom! I¡¯m home!¡±


    Pierre walked to the riverbank, wanting to wash off the dust on his body.


    Gazing at the reflection in the water, Pierre could hardly recognize the person staring back at him.


    That person had a melancholy look, brows furrowed tightly, eye sockets sunken in, cheekbones gaunt and protruding.


    Pierre touched his own face; he could barely remember what he originally looked like.


    ...


    After witnessing the death of comrades several times, not a trace of compassion could fit in his heart anymore. He became hard-hearted, ruthless towards the enemy.


    But he could no longer laugh as he used to, and found it hard to look into the innocent eyes of children.


    Before this, he staunchly defended the glory of the Dusacks, displaying selfless bravery at every opportunity.


    With an indifferent, contemptuous heart, he treated his own life and the lives of others as a game.


    For his courageous fighting, he was awarded commendations four times and received three medals.


    And now, he had become a deserter.


    But none of that mattered anymore, because he was home.


    Pierre leaped onto the saddle and galloped toward the Michel estate.


    The brilliant sunlight swept away the gloom of winter, the sky blue and clear as washed.


    The mountains and rivers had already thawed, with the freshness of sprouting grass wafting from the soil.


    The swallows had returned from Vineta and The Federated Provinces, building new nests in pairs in the old places.


    The formation of geese skimmed over this land, flying toward the wilderness.


    As Pierre remembered, by this time of year, the household would be bustling:


    Dad and the coachmen would crack their whips loudly, driving the draught horses to plow furrows into the ground. The other hired hands followed closely behind, carefully sowing the tobacco seeds.


    Mom would fence off a small vegetable garden, scattering seeds of sponge gourds, pumpkins, black beans, and persimmons;


    To the northwest of the house were the wheat fields, where the wheat seedlings had already turned green, ready for weeding and fertilizing.


    Lost in memories, Pierre suddenly realized, behind the oak tree, the Michel estate was eerily silent.


    There were no whinnies of horses, no chants from the laborers at work, no smoke from chimneys.


    The level fertile land was now desolate, overgrown with weeds in disarray.


    A terrible fear gripped Pierre¡¯s heart, and he whipped the warhorse madly, jumping the fence and heading straight for the mansion.


    ¡°Dad! Mom!¡± Pierre shouted, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    Young Dusack dismounted and hurried up the steps, bursting through the front door, crying out as he searched, ¡°Dad! Mom! I¡¯m back!¡±


    With a crash, a plate fell to the ground and shattered.


    In the hallway, Scarlett threw herself into his arms, crying inconsolably.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright! Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Pierre hugged his sister tightly, ¡°Your brother is back.¡±


    Pierre saw his mother¡ªhis noble and elegant mother, wrapped her hair in a kerchief like an ordinary farmer¡¯s wife, wearing coarse clothes meant for labor, crying as she ran toward him.


    The knot in Pierre¡¯s heart loosened, the thing he feared most had not happened.


    He swore he had never seen his mother run with her skirt lifted like that.


    Ellen Michel cradled her son¡¯s face as if holding the most fragile glass, murmuring, ¡°It¡¯s good you¡¯re back, it¡¯s good you¡¯re back.¡±


    Mother, son, and sister embraced tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.


    That night, Ellen cooked eggs for her son, warmed some milk, and baked some bread.


    Pierre finally learned about his family¡¯s situation.


    When the news of the Herdman invasion spread, the first to be conscripted were the Dusacks.


    All the Dusacks listed in the Wolf Town were conscripted, including his father.


    The Dusacks armed with weapons and riding warhorses assembled and set out.


    In Dusa Village, apart from the old men and underage children, all the adult men were gone.


    To prepare against the Herdmen, they also conscripted tenant farmers, requisitioned food, and levied livestock.


    Workers fled one after another; farmers hid their animals in the forests and buried the grain in cellars.


    When no tenant farmers could be conscripted, many independent farmers were taken.


    Many of the hidden animals and buried grains were discovered, with peasants hiding supplies receiving lashings. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Revodan desperately collected resources and conscripted troops for self-preservation, but no one cared about the peripheral villages like Wolf Town in the turmoil.


    Amidst the chaos, bands of Herd Raiders came to Wolf Town.


    Perhaps the Herders thought it was just another undefended small village they could loot and rest in.


    But Wolf Town had militia left by Winters Montagne, and the scattered Herd raiders did not gain an advantage.


    It was like trapping beasts: Six or seven Herd Raiders burst into a village, and with the sound of gongs from all around, they were all speared to death or captured.


    In contrast, the greatest damage to Wolf Town was not caused by the Herders, but by the Paratu People.


    Not long ago, another order came down.


    The Michel estate needed to pay the wartime real estate tax¡ªtaxes levied based on the value of the land owned.


    During grace before the meal, Pierre held his mother¡¯s hand with his left and his sister¡¯s hand with his right, and he sadly found scars on both of their hands.


    ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± Mr. Michel said softly, ¡°Leave it all to me.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Sea Blue, Navarre Manor.


    The tension was so thick it seemed it might ignite at any second, and the servants scattered, fearing getting burned.


    Anna sat in front of the dressing table, her head hanging low.


    ¡°To the Monastery?¡± The Lady of Navarre clutched her chest, her breasts heaving violently, ¡°What madness has possessed you?¡±

 Chapter 548 548 101 Going Home_4

    ?Chapter 548: Chapter 101: Going Home_4 Chapter 548: Chapter 101: Going Home_4 Anna didn¡¯t say a word.


    This was what Madam Navarre feared the most: Once her eldest daughter showed this demeanor, it meant her mind was made up.


    And once her eldest daughter¡¯s mind was made up, nothing could change it.


    She was a stubborn girl; her soft exterior and resilient interior¡ªat this moment¡ªbecame the biggest problem. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is it worth it? You are still so young; is it worth it?¡±


    ¡°You have given him all your heart, precisely because you spent too little time together. You are in love with the man you imagine, not with who he really is. The real him would disappoint you, disgust you¡ªdo you understand? You¡¯ll meet someone much better!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a man; not one hundred, not ten thousand men are worth a woman giving up herself!¡±


    ...


    The silent Anna suddenly spoke up, ¡°What about you and dad?¡±


    Madam Navarre¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Your father and I are exceptions. And we got married! And we had you lot! And your father would never let me go to the monastery!¡±


    ¡°I do it willingly.¡±


    ¡°You silly girl!¡± No longer composed and elegant, Madam Navarre raised her arm in a high gesture, struggling greatly yet still reluctant to bring it down: ¡°Why are you so foolish?¡±


    From Anna¡¯s face, Madam Navarre could always see the shadow of her late husband.


    Madam Navarre, holding her daughter¡¯s hand, nearly pleaded: ¡°Mom won¡¯t force you to get engaged anymore, not in a hurry to find you a husband, it¡¯s all up to you. You don¡¯t need to become a nun, you don¡¯t need to do it this way.¡±


    Tears slid down the corners of Anna¡¯s eyes, ¡°I just want to pray for him forever.¡±


    Tear by tear fell from her chin, landing on the blood-stained letter in her hand.


    She read every word, her hands caressing each letter.


    This wasn¡¯t actually a letter but a diary Winters Montagne wrote to his lover.


    In the diary, it was as if nothing had happened: The wasteland is cold, the sky is blue, I miss you a lot.


    But from these simple and monotonous records, she saw his handwriting tremble; she smelled the burnt scent on the letter.


    The diary¡¯s owner gradually shifted from first person to third person, describing everything from an observer¡¯s perspective.


    His mind grew more and more detached, and his wording became increasingly cold, as if he had lost all feeling.


    Anna felt as though she was touching the soul of Winters Montagne across time and space, seeing him curled up, knees to chest, weeping in the endless darkness.


    ¡°When he died, was it peaceful?¡± Anna wanted to know the answer, ¡°Is he in heaven?¡±


    ¡°Because he is gone, he will always be at his best,¡± Anna sobbed, ¡°If I also forget him, then that best part of him will completely vanish.¡±


    Madam Navarre felt a sharp pain in her chest; the reason could no longer be made clear.


    She leaned back in the chair, her face pale, pleading weakly, ¡°Anna, mom¡¯s heart is not good, don¡¯t stress mom like this, okay? Cool down first, and we can decide slowly later, okay? My heart really hurts right now.¡±


    Anna lowered her head in agony.


    Madam Navarre grew more anxious; if the guilt couldn¡¯t break her daughter, then she was truly out of options.


    ¡°Mom! Stop pressuring sister!¡± Catherine rushed into the bedroom and took Anna into her arms, ¡°Sister wants to stay at the monastery for a few days, let her stay for a few days. I will accompany her!¡±


    Catherine then pleaded with her sister, ¡°If you want to go to the monastery, go, but don¡¯t rush into taking vows, okay? Let¡¯s stay there for a while, shall we?¡±


    Anna nodded lightly.


    Ladies and mistresses temporarily staying at a convent was a common occurrence.


    They could pray with the nuns without taking lifelong vows.


    The crisis was temporarily averted.


    ¡°Alright, go ahead,¡± Madam Navarre¡¯s tense spirits relaxed.


    She thought resentfully, ¡°My daughter, my exceptional daughter, should be the one making men lose their minds over her; how did it become the opposite?¡±


    At this thought, Madam Navarre said indignantly, ¡°Let alone the fact that the young man is dead, even if he were alive, I would not allow you to marry him!¡±

 Chapter 549 549 102 The Tibetan Mastiff

    ?Chapter 549: Chapter 102: The Tibetan Mastiff Chapter 549: Chapter 102: The Tibetan Mastiff It was a day in mid-May.


    Dawn was just breaking when Pierre shouldered his hoe and went down to the fields.


    He had been home for some time now, and he didn¡¯t let his mother and sister do the farm work, taking it all upon himself.


    Wolf Town was remote and isolated, and the wars among the great personages were like phrases and fragments from a distant foreign land.


    The Second Republic, the military government, the battle at Kingsfort¡­the people here could only hear broken bits of news, and it was difficult to discern truth from falsehood.


    For farmers, whose lives were dull, a little bit of gossip was enough to get them talking for half a day, let alone the significant matter of war.


    But Pierre didn¡¯t care about the lives or deaths of those great men; he just wanted to farm and eat.


    ...


    ¡°I won¡¯t manage to grow tobacco this year,¡± Pierre thought as he weeded, ¡°but thankfully Dad left a bit of winter wheat. If I plant a few other things, we should be able to get by this year. I¡¯ll go cut some more grass in the afternoon, so Scarlett doesn¡¯t have to herd the cattle and horses anymore.¡±


    Compared to horse riding and swordplay, hoeing was unfamiliar work for Pierre.


    The callouses from holding the sword handle didn¡¯t protect his hands, but luckily new ones would slowly form.


    Row by row, Pierre carefully and patiently removed the weeds.


    When he first began doing farm work, he often hoed down the vegetable seedlings as well.


    The former young master Mitchell might not have cared, but Mr. Mitchell now cherished them greatly.


    Because every one of those plants had been sown, watered, and fertilized with sheep dung by his mother¡¯s hand, each one bore the sweat of Ellen Mitchell and the cuts on her hands.


    The Mitchell estate no longer employed workers; the men had either fled or been conscripted.


    Pierre¡¯s family was sparse, with only his mother, sister, and a few female servants too old or too young at home, including an old nanny who needed care herself.


    Eileen then tied up her hair and rolled up her sleeves, taking on not just the housework but also the tasks in the big fields.


    Nobility lay not in how elegantly one lived when rich but in how steadfast one remained during hard times.


    The farmers from the nearby villages also lent a hand, occasionally bringing a bundle of hay or a bushel of wheat, and some quietly plowed several acres of land. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gerard and Eileen had helped them without expecting anything in return, and they hadn¡¯t forgotten. It was just that the past Mitchell estate lacked nothing, so their gratitude stayed silent in their hearts.


    Eileen started a vegetable garden, raised chickens, sheep, and cows; Gerard¡¯s prized thoroughbred mares she hid well, keeping them undiscovered by the foraging troops.


    With her own hard work and the help of neighbors, Eileen managed the Mitchell estate very well.


    The war property tax levied by Revodan had been paid with Scarlett¡¯s dowry a few days earlier.


    While working, Pierre calculated: ¡°Now we have a vegetable garden, a cow with her calf, four goats, and six hens at home.


    The winter wheat planted last autumn can be harvested as early as the end of this month, so we won¡¯t have to worry about food for a while.


    After we harvest the winter wheat, we can fatten the cattle and horses in the wheat field before rushing to plant barley.¡±


    ¡°We still have four horses at home. One warhorse I brought back and three broodmares of Father¡¯s, one of which is a bay already pregnant with a foal.


    Next year, we¡¯ll have five horses!¡±


    Though the Mitchell estate had suffered greatly, it hadn¡¯t collapsed and remained a prosperous family.


    Once circumstances improved, the estate would sprout anew with life.


    ¡°I need to buy a hand-cranked grinding mill to make flour. I also need to get two more piglets! Feed them grass every day, and by winter we¡¯ll have meat to eat,¡± Pierre thought with great enthusiasm as he wiped the sweat from his brow. ¡°Two horses are enough to pull a heavy plough. Once our family¡¯s fieldwork is done, I¡¯ll help the fellow villagers too. Those who assisted Mother, I will repay you. I¡¯ll save up for Scarlett¡¯s dowry again. I¡¯m going to survive, and I won¡¯t let Mother and Scarlett go hungry. When Father returns, I¡¯ll make sure to give him a big surprise.¡±


    Farm work is hard, but Pierre was young and strong, and there was nothing he feared.


    The only trouble for Pierre was his father¡¯s four hunting dogs.


    He had no time to hunt, nor spare food to feed the dogs.


    Without the ¡°Blood Wolf,¡± the hunting dogs had to catch field mice and rabbits on their own, struggling to survive, almost becoming wild dogs.


    ¡°If only Big Brother Montaigne were here,¡± thought Pierre, who no longer used military titles since becoming a deserter.


    Remembering not being by Blood Wolf¡¯s side in the last moments of his life, a weight pressed on Pierre¡¯s chest like a heavy stone.


    ¡°Big Brother Montaigne! I will live well!¡± Pierre shouted into the wilderness, his nose tingling as he thought: ¡°You would praise me, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    Hoofbeats sounded across the plain.


    Someone had heard his shout and came galloping toward him.


    ¡°Pierre!¡± the approaching figure cried out breathlessly.


    A visitor at the Mitchell estate was a rare event.


    Stepping out of the vegetable rows, Pierre saw two men riding saddleless on Rejek. Anglu was in front, and Mitchell was behind.


    They ran up to Pierre before reining in their horse.


    Anglu dismounted, hastily grabbing Pierre¡¯s arm: ¡°This is bad!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic,¡± Pierre handed a water flask to Anglu, ¡°tell me slowly.¡±


    Anglu gulped down a big swig and exclaimed, ¡°There are officers in town, along with soldiers! Mitchell saw them. They went into Bunting¡¯s house! ¡±


    ¡­


    Bunting was Old Mr. Bunting¡¯s eldest son.


    Last year, when delivering goods to Revodan, the Bunting father and son left the caravan, hoping to return to Wolf Town ahead of the others.

 Chapter 550 550 102 Tibetan Mastiff_2

    ?Chapter 550: Chapter 102: Tibetan Mastiff_2 Chapter 550: Chapter 102: Tibetan Mastiff_2 The journey was abruptly intercepted by the bandits of ¡°Horse Palm Ivan.¡± Old Bunting died, and his eldest son was tortured almost to the point of disability.


    Upon Old Bunting¡¯s death, his three sons divided the inheritance, resulting in even smaller and more fragmented lands.


    Due to issues with the division of the family wealth, the three Bunting brothers engaged in a lawsuit, which turned out to be very unpleasant.


    Now, the people of Wolf Town call them Big Bunting, Second Bunting, and Little Bunting.


    After Gerard Mitchell was conscripted, Big Bunting became the acting mayor.


    His ascent to acting mayor was quite disgraceful.


    As news of the draft spread, the hired hands planned to hide. Being landless, they could go anywhere with their feet.


    ...


    Big Bunting gathered all his hired workers, claiming he wanted to treat them to a farewell feast.


    Seldom generous, the stingy host¡¯s unexpected magnanimity raised no suspicion, and the workers ate and drank merrily.


    When everyone was almost drunk, Big Bunting pushed open the gate¡ªand the conscription squad was waiting outside.


    After this incident, Big Bunting became the acting mayor of Wolf Town.


    He acted maliciously, as if seeking revenge against the entire town.


    The villagers who cultivated vegetables in the remote wastelands were also subjected to his demands for land payments and taxes.


    He flatly refused to acknowledge the welfare system for war casualties established by Garrison Officer Montaigne.


    The lives of war casualty relatives became extremely difficult, as they lost their workforce and had to pay back taxes and land fees from previous years.


    A widow of a militia member fallen in a wolf attack, driven to desperation, almost committed suicide with her babbling daughter.


    It was Eileen who took in the mother and daughter at the Mitchell estate and paid their taxes, averting the tragedy.


    But the more respected the Mitchell family became, the more Big Bunting harassed them.


    When collecting the immovable property war tax, Big Bunting specifically appraised the land of the Mitchell estate very high.


    Left with no choice, Eileen and Pierre used Scarlett¡¯s dowry money.


    Scarlett was very understanding and had no objections, which made Pierre love her even more.


    Every night, he dragged his weary body to bed and looked at the saber hanging on the wall, wondering more than once whether he should have a ¡°talk¡± with Big Bunting.


    But he held back, for he had his mother and sister to think about, as well as the Mitchell estate. He couldn¡¯t be rash.


    Now, when the people of Wolf Town mention Big Bunting, they do so with gritted teeth.


    Big Bunting knew this and feared being shot in the dark.


    Somehow, he managed to have eight soldiers sent from Revodan at his disposal.


    With a squad of fierce soldiers to back him, Big Bunting acted more brazenly than ever.


    Those eight soldiers, usual thieves and womanizers, showed outright hooliganism, disrupting the town¡¯s peace.


    Now, rather than Pierre seeking out Big Bunting for a talk, Big Bunting had taken the initiative to come for him.


    ¡­


    ¡°What do they want to do?¡± Pierre¡¯s brows knitted tightly. ¡°Do you know?¡±


    Samukin was quick to reply, ¡°Seems like they¡¯re drafting men again! They came with conscription orders and shackles. They might be here to catch us too.¡±


    ¡°Hook! Go inform everyone,¡± Pierre decided on the spot. This definitely wasn¡¯t just about one family.


    Anglu nodded earnestly, mounted his horse, and headed towards Dusa Village.


    The deserters gathered once again in the Mitchell mansion. Not only those from Dusack but also people from four other villages.


    Old believers, Protestants, anyone who could make it, came.


    Everyone took a horse when they fled, which made their movement swift.


    ¡°We run now! Escape immediately!¡± Anglu shouted urgently.


    Vashka glared at him, ¡°You¡¯re a bachelor, easy for you to leave! We have families!¡±


    ¡­


    As the acting mayor¡ªand acting Garrison Officer¡ªof Wolf Town, Big Bunting relieved Anglu of his guard duties and handed them to his own foolish son instead.


    The horses of Dusa Village were gone, ridden away by the Dusacks.


    Horse boy Anglu was left with nothing. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He wasn¡¯t good at farming, nor was he willing to eat idle meals at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    So Anglu started wandering on Red Mane around nearby villages, earning his keep by treating large animals.


    ¡­


    Anglu countered, ¡°If we don¡¯t run, what then? We¡¯ll either be conscripted or caught as deserters. Do you think you can hide?¡±


    ¡°If they come for deserters, I¡¯ll just hide across Big Horn River. If I refuse to go¡ªthat¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll force you to go!¡±


    ¡°Let them try. I¡¯m not some calf they can lead by a noose.¡±


    Pierre sighed, ¡°Whether they¡¯re catching deserters or drafting men, I¡¯m not going. Winters Montaigne, such a good man, they killed him without blinking. You think I¡¯d serve their cause? Dream on! Do you want to serve them? We must leave, the question is where.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fuss about it. If it¡¯s desperate, we¡¯ll have to squeeze into any gap we can find,¡± Anglu was the most decisive, having been left behind on the western banks of the Styx.


    ¡°Dong dong dong dong!¡± Suddenly a distant bell sounded.


    The bell of Wolf Town church rang out.


    The bell¡¯s peal descended from the tower, traveled over the square, rolled across the green wilderness and black fields, shattered against the trees, and then dissipated.


    Then came the continuous anxious ringing: ¡°Dong¡­ Dong¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you hear that?¡± Anglu¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°That¡¯s a death knell!¡±


    Pierre made up his mind, ¡°Then let¡¯s go! Those willing to leave, follow me; those who aren¡¯t, stay.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Anglu leaped up excitedly.


    ¡°We¡¯ve come through fire and blood shoulder to shoulder,¡± Vashka said with difficulty. ¡°If you¡¯re going, I¡¯m going too.¡±


    They arranged a meeting place and time, and the deserters scattered, each heading home to prepare food and other necessities.

 Chapter 551 551 102 Mastiff_3

    ?Chapter 551: Chapter 102 Mastiff_3 Chapter 551: Chapter 102 Mastiff_3 Pierre found his mother but discovered that she and his sister had already prepared provisions, clothes, and boots for him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Eileen gently kissed her son¡¯s forehead, took off the holy emblem, and hung it around his neck, ¡°We will take care of ourselves.¡±


    Scarlett also softly comforted her brother, ¡°Go, Pierre, I will hide the cows and horses well. They won¡¯t find them. When you come back, we¡¯ll have foals.¡±


    ¡­


    The deserters from Wolf Town gathered again to flee their homeland.


    The soldiers who came to catch them found nothing, and it was only then that Bunting and the officers realized they had escaped.


    At dusk, the officer set out from Wolf Town with six Cavalry, following the deserters¡¯ footsteps in pursuit.


    ...


    Night mist rolled across the wasteland and circled the valleys, licking lowlands and cliffs.


    Clouds of fog shrouding the hillocks made them appear much brighter, while birds competed in song among the tender grass.


    The moon stirred in the puddles thick with reeds and hazel bushes, like a blooming water lily.


    ¡°They won¡¯t get far!¡± the officer looked back, urging his men, ¡°Hurry! Move quick!¡±


    Suddenly, a tripwire ¡°whooshed¡± up from the middle of the road.


    The officer¡¯s Warhorse tripped on the rope, tumbling forward fiercely, flinging its rider harshly to the ground.


    The officer was thrown into disarray, tumbling three or four times in the dust before coming to a stop.


    The other three Cavalry who couldn¡¯t react in time were also brought down, while the three behind them narrowly managed to rein in their horses.


    About a dozen figures leaped out from the tall grass on both sides of the dirt road.


    They didn¡¯t shout or curse; they just silently subdued the four who had fallen to the ground.


    The other three Cavalry were pulled from their horses before they even had a chance to draw their swords.


    With sabers at their throats, they dared not make a move.


    The officer¡¯s shoulder drooped, clearly broken.


    He had thought they were just a bunch of scarecrow deserters and had never anticipated that they would dare to strike back.


    The officer was eerily calm as he tried to convince the deserters, ¡°If you stop now, it¡¯s still not too late. If I die, your entire families will be implicated. I will speak in your favor.¡±


    Another soldier, however, raged furiously, ¡°You bastards! What nerve!¡±


    The deserters in the darkness remained silent.


    On the deserted plains, only the officer¡¯s trembling voice and the soldier¡¯s curses could be heard.


    ¡°Did anyone get away?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Vashka confirmed.


    ¡°Drag them into the woods,¡± Pierre¡¯s tone was as flat as if he were drinking water, ¡°Don¡¯t leave any blood on the road.¡±


    Realizing what the deserters intended, the officer struggled frantically, becoming uncontrollable, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid for your families? I assure your safety! No! Don¡¯t kill me! I will¡­¡±


    Vashka reversed the handle of his knife and smashed it hard against the officer¡¯s face, silencing him.


    Dusa did the same, and the soldier was silenced in an instant.


    The pursuers were horrified to discover that graves had already been dug beside the trees along the road.


    ¡°Bury them directly?¡± Vashka asked.


    ¡°No, make it quick,¡± Pierre replied.


    Vashka raised his hand and cut the officer¡¯s throat, being very careful not to let a single drop of blood fall outside the pit.


    Then the soldier.


    Then the others. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One Cavalryman was so terrified he wet his pants, begging piteously, ¡°I¡¯m a Dusack too, don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°I am a Dusack too,¡± Pierre responded expressionlessly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you also coming to kill me? I just want to farm and provide for my family.¡±


    The bodies of the seven pursuers were placed in the pit.


    The deserters refilled the hole, meticulously replaced the sod just like the surrounding area, and stacked it with twigs and fallen leaves.


    Soon life would flourish here again, plants growing more vigorously with the nourishment from the fertilizer. Birds would sing here, and mice would nest.


    ¡°What about the reprisals he mentioned?¡± Vashka asked.


    ¡°No one will see them alive, no one will see their bodies, they¡¯ll just be considered missing,¡± Pierre instructed, ¡°Clean up any tracks on the road, lead the hoofprints far away.¡±


    Anglu came over, his voice filled with regret, ¡°Those four horses are done for; we can only eat their meat. The other three are still usable.¡±


    ¡°Take them with us,¡± Pierre gestured, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    The woods were silent as though no one had ever been there.


    Only Anglu¡¯s mournful voice was faintly audible, ¡°Such a pity for those four horses.¡±

 Chapter 552 552 103 Rivers

    ?Chapter 552: Chapter 103: Rivers Chapter 552: Chapter 103: Rivers On June 20th, ten full weeks after his injury was set, the tribe¡¯s healer removed the wooden mold from Winters¡¯ left leg.


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Erhulan asked with concern.


    Winters shook his head.


    After two months, the broken leg that had been mended was finally reunited with its owner.


    The owner of the left leg had put on a bit of weight, and his complexion had greatly improved¡ªthe diet of the herders was too high in fats and proteins, and his previously sunken cheeks and eye sockets had visibly filled out.


    But his left leg had lost weight, the muscles atrophied, making it look like a straw compared to its twin brother, his right leg.


    The tribe¡¯s healer pinched Winters¡¯ injury inch by inch.


    ...


    Then he bent down to his leg and gently tapped it with a small wooden hammer.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Edun,¡± the healer respectfully said to Erhulan, ¡°[Herde Language] Batu can walk now.¡±


    Erhulan was overjoyed, presenting the healer with many gold and silver jewels as a reward.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters calmly asked.


    ¡°He said you can walk now.¡±


    Winters propped himself up with his hands and instantly tried to rise.


    After taking just one step, he lost his balance and collapsed heavily to his left side.


    Erhulan cried out as she went to support Winters.


    But Winters swung his arms, struggling to regain balance, and wobbled around in circles inside the felt tent.


    Observing Winters¡¯ steps, the healer asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Batu, does your leg hurt?¡±


    Erhulan, wanting to help but not daring to reach out, stood by Winters to translate for the healer, ¡°He¡¯s asking if your leg hurts?¡±


    ¡°It hurts.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] It should hurt!¡± said the healer, taking out an ointment from a cow horn and explaining, ¡°[Herde Language] After two months, even a mastiff doesn¡¯t recognize its owner, let alone a leg, right? Batu needs to slowly adapt to his leg, and his leg needs to slowly adapt to him. Edun must remember to apply medicine and massage it daily. The bones haven¡¯t grown crooked, Batu will recover.¡±


    Erhulan happily saw off the healer and, when she returned to the tent, saw Winters putting on his boots.


    Erhulan asked with a hint of panic, ¡°What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°The tent is too small; I¡¯m going out for a walk.¡±


    Winters struggled to put on his boots, his left leg stiff and sore, making the process very awkward.


    Erhulan hastily brought a folding chair, ¡°The healer said you need to take it slow, you can¡¯t rush it.¡±


    Winters silently tied his shoelaces.


    The tent flap was lifted, and Little Lion entered.


    ¡°I heard you can walk now?¡± Little Lion said excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll take you for a bath!¡±


    Erhulan shot a reproachful glance at Little Lion, ¡°He¡¯s not completely healed yet!¡±


    Little Lion looked around, ¡°Doesn¡¯t he look pretty well? Nothing¡¯s crooked, is it?¡±


    Hearing Little Lion¡¯s words, Winters stopped what he was doing with his hands.


    For the past two months, he had moved almost exclusively within a three-meter radius of the tent.


    Beyond daily washing up, he kept himself clean with a wet towel.


    Initially, when he had been unconscious, Erhulan had wiped him down; after Winters regained consciousness, he did it himself.


    He truly wanted to take a proper bath, no matter if the water was cold since there was no hot water.


    Winters looked at Little Lion and slowly nodded.


    Unable to persuade the two men, Erhulan silently helped Winters get dressed.


    Now, Winters almost passed for a Herder at first glance: he wore cross-collared robes and leather boots, and his beard and hair had grown naturally for two months without grooming.


    Only his eyes, they were somber, lacking the unrestrained and hearty demeanor of the Herders.


    Little Lion brought over a horse and gently coaxed it to lie down so that Winters could mount the saddle without straining.


    ¡°Are you still comfortable?¡± Little Lion asked with a smile.


    Winters pulled on the reins and nodded slightly.


    The Herders didn¡¯t use iron bits, and luckily Winters hadn¡¯t used them in the past either.


    The two started off at a slow pace, speeding up as they went, until they were almost galloping at full speed, all the way to the riverbank.


    There was a pile of clothes thrown on the shore, while many men in the water were having a water fight.


    The men engaged in the water fight were all adult-sized, yet they played like children.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Little Lion jumped off his saddle, excitedly stripping off his clothes, ¡°We¡¯ll join them.¡±


    No sooner had he pulled off his robe, Little Lion suddenly remembered Winters¡¯ injury and helped Winters down from the horse.


    Winters hesitated a bit, but he didn¡¯t refuse.


    He slowly removed his clothes, carefully folded them, and waded unsteadily into the river.


    The river water was ice-cold, making all one¡¯s hairs stand on end at the touch.


    But once accustomed to the temperature, it wasn¡¯t a big deal; it was actually quite refreshing.


    Winters walked deeper, the buoyancy of the water lessening the burden on his left leg, slightly reducing the soreness he felt.


    Yes, just soreness. He didn¡¯t feel pain, only a sense of fatigue-induced soreness.


    The men in the water hadn¡¯t noticed that two more had joined in¡ªan ongoing occurrence¡ªas they shouted and frolicked in their water fight, wrestling, fishing, and swimming.


    Winters scooped up river water and gently washed his body. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A laughing man next to him splashed over, throwing water in his face.


    Winters¡¯ muscles suddenly tensed, and he looked up sharply at the other man.


    The man in front of him hadn¡¯t yet realized Winters might react violently, and kept laughing as he splashed water at him.


    Winters, however, was stunned.


    For the man splashing water at him, laughing like a child, was none other than the hero of the plains, the warrior of the tribes, the chief of the Red River Tribe¡ªWhite Lion.


    Two enemies, who had once fought each other fiercely on the battlefield, now stood before each other, naked.


    Winters¡¯ gaze inevitably was drawn to the scars on White Lion¡¯s body.

 Chapter 553 553 103 Rivers_2

    ?Chapter 553: Chapter 103 Rivers_2 Chapter 553: Chapter 103 Rivers_2 White Lion¡¯s body was almost destroyed into a sieve, without a single area larger than two palms intact.


    Most were spots left by arrows, followed by the streaks left by swords, and a few shocking gunshot injuries.


    But what about Winters himself? Like the White Lion, only with fewer scars.


    White Lion noticed something off about the person before him, and while supporting his waist and panting, he laughed and asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Why haven¡¯t I seen you before?¡±


    Winters did not understand what the other was saying, and even if he did, he could not respond.


    It was the first time White Lion had met him, but for Winters, it was the third encounter with White Lion.


    Only that on the previous two occasions, they were sworn enemies, his face hidden beneath his helmet¡ªit was their first time meeting ¡°face to face.¡±


    ...


    Silence spread like invisible sound waves, rapidly diffusing in all directions.


    One by one, the men playing in the water stopped their activities; everyone sensed a change in the atmosphere.


    The riverside that had just been filled with laughter suddenly fell silent as death.


    The air seemed to solidify, everyone¡¯s gaze fixed on White Lion, and the strange man beside him.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I caught a fish!¡± Little Lion¡¯s head emerged from the water, a slimy salmon struggling in his grasp, as he laughed joyously, ¡°[Herde Language] Look what I caught!¡±


    Nobody spoke.


    Little Lion shook the water from his head, his smile growing rigid as he sensed something was amiss.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Bro! Shall we grill the fish?¡± Little Lion, grasping the fish¡¯s tail, flounced over to White Lion¡¯s side, explaining rapidly, ¡°This is the person I told you about.¡±


    White Lion nodded gently toward the stranger, signaling the others, ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a small misunderstanding.¡±


    Only then did the people around relax and continue to play in the water. But the atmosphere had grown strange and couldn¡¯t return to its original state.


    White Lion sighed and nodded to Winters again.


    He slowly walked towards the riverbank and sat down on the sandy shore, letting the wind dry the droplets on his body.


    Little Lion whispered to Winters, ¡°It was thoughtless of me; my brother just got back, and I was eager for you to meet him.¡±


    Winters shook his head and continued cleaning himself. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sky gradually darkened.


    Someone brought a few sheep, which were slaughtered and butchered on the shore, and then a fire was kindled.


    Some of the mutton was boiled in a pot, while other portions were skewered for roasting.


    The people of the Red River Tribe, washed free from the dust of travel, ascended the riverbank laughing and joking, naturally engaging in the preparation of the food.


    Some gathered wood, others cut the meat, some tended the bonfire¡ªall bustling with activity, except for Winters, who sat silently on the riverbank.


    The meat was cut into small chunks for roasting, cooking quickly.


    But on the plains where trees were scarce, there were few branches to skewer the meat, so this method was uncommon.


    Fortunately, in the areas where silt from the nearby river bends had accumulated, there were some pitiful shrubs.


    Who knew how many years these shrubs had taken to grow to their present size¡ªthey were all used as fuel and skewers that day.


    Little Lion pulled his brother over to talk with Winters.


    The three sat by the shore, staring at the dark waters of the river under the night sky, all unsure of what to say.


    Suddenly, Winters spoke, ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    Little Lion was startled.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t me who saved you,¡± White Lion answered.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    White Lion did not respond.


    ¡°Do you know that I am what you call ¡®the Chosen One¡¯?¡± Winters asked intently, staring at White Lion.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about it.¡±


    ¡°If I act now, none of the people here will survive.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    Panic appeared on Little Lion¡¯s face; he wanted to stop Winters, but didn¡¯t dare to interrupt.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still not acting?¡±


    Winters asked, word by word, ¡°Why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. When a bird is chased into the bushes by a hawk, the bushes protect it,¡± White Lion lay back, reclining on the slope, looking nothing like the Barbarian Chief who commanded thousands, but rather an ordinary herdsman, ¡°Once we start to see each other as ¡®people,¡¯ it becomes very hard to wish to kill each other.¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯ve killed many of your people¡­ so many.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve killed many of yours as well,¡± White Lion¡¯s brown eyes lowered, ¡°Of course, people will have hatred, and hatred makes one feel comfortable. Hatred doesn¡¯t cause pain, understanding the enemy is what¡¯s painful. If I stab you twice right now, you will feel much better. We would become enemies again, and we need only try our best to kill each other.¡±


    This time it was Winters¡¯s turn to fall silent.


    After a long while, Winters spoke, ¡°Can you understand the Paratu People? Understand why they want to kill you, kill your people?¡±


    ¡°I understand, but that does not mean I agree. I understand, so I am even more resolute.¡±


    ¡°I know what you mean, and I know what you want to say,¡± Winters¡¯s speech hastened, ¡°You keep telling me that you are not barbarians, that you¡¯re also human beings who live and breathe. But this is pointless, do you know? It¡¯s meaningless!¡±


    White Lion and Little Lion listened quietly.


    Winters¡¯s emotions grew more agitated, ¡°If I had not been brought to Paratu, we could¡¯ve been friends; I would¡¯ve invited you over to my place! But I came to Paratu, stood in that position, and all of it became meaningless. Whether you are barbarians or not, it¡¯s all meaningless! You¡­¡±


    White Lion raised his hand, signaling Winters to stop; he sighed, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to think so much. I want to ask you, if you encounter me on the battlefield, would you hold back?¡±

 Chapter 554 554 103 River_3

    ?Chapter 554: Chapter 103 River_3 Chapter 554: Chapter 103 River_3 Winters shook his head.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t either, but the war is over.¡±


    ¡°For now.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to take each day as it comes.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t kill me, there might come a day when I kill you.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll cross that bridge when we come to it.¡±


    Winters fell silent once again.


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯m not advising you to let go of your hatred, I still harbor the most intense hatred for Paratu People.¡± White Lion looked into Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°Just find a way to ease your own suffering, whatever it takes. You saved my sister and brother, and they saved you in return. That¡¯s just the way it is.¡±


    ¡°Hestas paid blood money, Little Lion and I owe each other nothing.¡±


    White Lion slightly shook his head, ¡°You think it¡¯s a transaction, but I believe it¡¯s a bond. That¡¯s how things happened, who knows what fate has in store for us?


    We never met before, but seeing you reminds me of myself many years ago. One man killed my father; the very same man saved my mother, brother, and sister. What am I to make of him? I don¡¯t know either.


    We¡¯re swept along by the river, our pain, our thoughts, and our struggles are of no consequence to its flow. Everyone gets by like this, only a few ever get the chance to change the river¡¯s course. If one day you have the chance to alter its flow, I hope you won¡¯t forget what you¡¯re thinking and feeling today.


    And for now¡­ you just need to make life a little easier for yourself.¡±


    Winters mulled over White Lion¡¯s words.


    White Lion patted Winters¡¯ arm like an older brother. ¡°Go get some meat, it¡¯s really tasty. Little Lion is wrong, you won¡¯t stay here. Heal your leg, then you should leave.¡±


    After speaking, White Lion got up and walked towards the campfire.


    ¡°What about you! Have you changed the course of the river?¡± Winters shouted at White Lion¡¯s retreating figure.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± White Lion didn¡¯t turn around, ¡°But I never forgot who I was in the past.¡±


    Winters stood in place for a very long time, motionless.


    Little Lion didn¡¯t understand what the two men were discussing; he lightly tugged on Winters¡¯ sleeve, ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you to eat some meat.¡±


    Suddenly, Winters strode towards White Lion. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion didn¡¯t even have time to stop him; no one did.


    White Lion¡¯s ¡°Nakor¡± and ¡°Nayen¡± were startled, some reaching for their knives, others bare-handedly lunging at Winters.


    But Winters didn¡¯t attack, didn¡¯t hurt anyone.


    He simply stood in front of White Lion and said calmly, ¡°I want to buy something from you.¡±


    ¡°Go on.¡± White Lion continued to cut the meat with his head down.


    ¡°Paratu prisoners, all of them.¡±


    ¡°Price.¡±


    ¡°Two tons of Gold.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    By the time Winters returned to Erhulan¡¯s tent, the sky had turned completely dark.


    White Lion didn¡¯t agree, nor did he refuse.


    He just laughed heartily and handed Winters a piece of hand-held meat.


    Dim lights shone through the tent, clearly Erhulan was waiting for him to return.


    Winters lifted the tent flap, and a sudden gust of wind whipped around his body, making his hair stand on end.


    A huge creature lunged towards him.


    Taken by surprise, Winters was knocked down.


    The behemoth opened its gaping jaws, almost bringing Winters to faint with its overpowering stench.


    Then the creature began licking Winters¡¯ face, its tongue as rough as sandpaper with its barbs.


    Winters slapped its head, ¡°Get off!¡±


    The huge creature whined pitifully, huffily tucked its tail, and walked away.


    Inside the tent were three people Winters hadn¡¯t expected to see: Xial, Hunter, and the old Shaman.

 Chapter 555 555 104 Rose

    ?Chapter 555: Chapter 104 Rose Chapter 555: Chapter 104 Rose The Great Wilderness experiences great temperature differences between day and night, but the felt tent is warm and cozy.


    Brother Reed pointed at Xial, ¡°This kid was supposed to collect your body!¡±


    Then he pointed at the young Hunter Bell, ¡°This kid was supposed to collect your corpse as well!¡±


    Finally, the old man stroked his beard with delight, ¡°Ahem. Heaven values all creatures¡¯ life, and as an old man, I was afraid they¡¯d die on the way, so I escorted them all this way. I have fulfilled my mission without blemish! Now that you are not dead, you can go ahead and settle my salary for the past three months.¡±


    ¡°Cut it out!¡± Xial was annoyed, ¡°Weren¡¯t we the ones driving the carriage? What else have you done besides sleeping on it?¡±


    Although Xial was angry, his eyes were smiling as he clung to Winters¡¯ arm and refused to let go.


    Winters cut to the chase, ¡°How did you find me?¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, we first followed the army back to Paratu.¡± Brother Reed said with a beaming smile, ¡°Once Hurd¡¯s pursuers turned back, these two wanted to collect your corpse.¡±


    Winters nodded slightly.


    Bell spoke softly, ¡°We originally planned to search for bodies by The Styx, but we happened to meet Dajie Shaman, who was comforting the souls of the dead. Brother Reed then talked with Dajie Shaman, and he brought us here to the Great Shaman.¡±


    ¡°Even the head of the Shamans have wisdom, and I got along with him.¡± Brother Reed said with a smile, ¡°He told us that the Red River Tribe had a Paratu champion in their hands. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was you, so I followed him to find you.¡±


    Little Lion had previously mentioned that the Great Shaman wanted to see Winters, but he hadn¡¯t come yet.


    According to Brother Reed, the Great Shaman was probably nearby.


    ¡°Have you seen White Lion?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°We have, when we came with the Great Shaman, we ran into White Lion who was returning from a punitive campaign,¡± Brother Reed changed to a more comfortable reclining position, ¡°The formidable White Lion almost bowed down in respect upon seeing me, unlike you, kid, who always seem to have something to prove against me. Seeing his attitude was not bad, I casually gave him a few pointers.¡±


    ¡°What kind of pointers?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    Since Brother Reed had arrived, Winters began to discuss the matter of the ritual Gold Man with him.


    White Lion neither agreed to his deal nor rejected it.


    Upon learning of Winters¡¯ rash actions, the old Brother was so angry his beard became crooked.


    He scolded furiously, ¡°What were you thinking? What makes you think you can negotiate with White Lion? If you were not a cultivator, White Lion would have plenty of ways to make you talk! If White Lion had any ill intentions, you¡­ do you know what would become of you?¡±


    Not to upset Winters, Little Lion and Erhulan had been very careful not to let any ¡°spoils of war¡± appear around him.


    But Winters knew that the captured Paratu People had become slaves, and among them were likely his own warriors.


    Winters lowered his eyes and said quietly, ¡°I just wanted to make things easier for myself.¡±


    To make yourself feel better? There are plenty of ways! The simplest is to have a black heart and disregard all kin,¡± Brother Reed fumed with bulging eyes, ¡°What about captives? What¡¯s it to you? As long as you don¡¯t care! All you need to do is dust off your behind and walk away. If you can do this, you¡¯re sure to achieve great things in the future.¡±


    Xial and the young Hunter looked at the old charlatan in horror, their expressions changing.


    Winters remained silent.


    Brother Reed gently cajoled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about so much, just hurry home. Once back to Vineta, bolster your strength under the protection of your family elders. If the world remains the same, you follow the routine and become an official. If there¡¯s a great upheaval, you can rise quickly. Advance or retreat at will. This is the easiest path, and I¡¯ve pointed it out to you. What are you hesitating for?¡±


    Winters sat there like a stone, still without a word.


    Brother Reed sighed, smiled, and shook his head, ¡°Let me tell you why White Lion neither agrees nor refuses.¡±


    Winters suddenly looked up.


    Brother Reed gestured to all around, ¡°To the south of the Great Wilderness are mountains, to the north are still mountains. To the west is the tundra, and beyond the tundra, more mountains; only to the east is there an exit, yet it¡¯s blocked by the Paratu People. Tell me, what use is your gold to White Lion? What can he buy with it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an important ritual object¡­¡±


    ¡°Ritual object?¡± Brother Reed scoffed, ¡°What¡¯s that worth in soldiers? Take the Great Shaman, is his status not lofty? But how many soldiers does he command? Does his word count for anything? White Lion¡¯s from the Boya Clan, by custom, he can¡¯t be called Khan, so you can¡¯t give the Gold Statue to him either. To put it plainly, you¡¯d have to convince the Gold Man himself to descend from heaven and scold White Lion¡¯s birth mother. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°But he could negotiate with the Fire-Tenders¡­¡±


    ¡°Negotiate?¡± Brother Reed¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Once White Lion gets his hands on the ritual Gold Man, he loses the Fire-Tenders as an ally! The Red River Tribe and the Terdon Tribe are now relying on and wary of each other. To White Lion, the Terdon Tribe without the ritual Gold Man is the most ideal Terdon Tribe. He can leverage their power without fear of being swallowed up.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know these things¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, you child, trapped in this tiny tent, what could you possibly know?¡± Brother Reed sighed, ¡°You¡¯re offering White Lion a volcano that could erupt at any time. But what you want to take away is thousands worth of labor. The Paratu captives are scattered in the hands of the Hurd tribes, is White Lion supposed to go negotiating with each tribe for you?¡±


    Winters¡¯ expression turned grim, ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    Brother Reed countered, ¡°Why doesn¡¯t White Lion just refuse you or simply kill you off? With your death, the ritual Gold Man would disappear and everything would be resolved.¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 556 556 104 Rose_2

    ?Chapter 556: Chapter 104 Rose_2 Chapter 556: Chapter 104 Rose_2 The wood in the stove crackled and popped.


    ¡°Is there still a chance?¡± Winters¡¯s pupils dilated.


    ¡°Two tons of gold, in the Great Wilderness, are just two tons of stones. But in Paratu, they¡¯re two tons of hard currency,¡± Reed the monk sneered. ¡°If you can bring materials worth two tons of gold, the White Lion will happily hand over the prisoners to you. Understand?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Paratu blockading the Herder tribes?¡± Winters frowned. ¡°He wants me to smuggle?¡±


    Reed the monk did not answer; instead, he changed the subject. ¡°Remember I once said that regardless of the outcome of this battle, it wouldn¡¯t affect Paratu¡¯s absolute suppression of the Herder tribes?¡±


    Winters nodded slightly.


    ¡°At that time I thought, although the nomadic tribes often have such nonsense like ¡®unbeatable when numbering less than ten thousand, invincible when they do.¡¯ But as long as settled nations stand firm, they¡¯d surely beat the nomads till they howl,¡± Reed the monk¡¯s eyes narrowed into slits with amusement. ¡°But now¡­ the situation has changed.¡±


    ...


    Winters waited for the old shaman to say the most important thing.


    The old monk smirked, ¡°The Paratu People have started fighting among themselves!¡±


    When the Corpse Collecting Trio set out, the coup at Kingsfort had just ended.


    Upon returning to Shuangqiao Main Camp, Alpad immediately led his troops eastward to attack Kingsfort. As to who won or lost, they did not know. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters listened expressionlessly to the turmoil in Paratu, seemingly unaffected.


    ¡°Father!¡± Xial asked the old shaman discontentedly, ¡°Why does it seem like you¡¯re not worried at all about the civil strife in Paratu, but actually seem quite happy about it?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not in a hurry. The soul is a guest of the body, the body is a guest of the world, and I am your guest,¡± Reed the monk laughed heartily, clapping his hands. ¡°Of course, the bigger the chaos, the better the spectacle.¡±


    Xial was left speechless, unable to find words to argue.


    ¡°Why did the fighting start?¡± Winters asked.


    Reed the monk twirled his beard, smiling. ¡°The matter is quite simple. It¡¯s like a marriage between a man and a woman with starkly different characters. One side is called the Aristocratic Republic, the other the Citizen Republic. In the honeymoon phase, they could respect each other, as thick as thieves, but as the days passed, and stumbles were had, they became less and less tolerant of each other. Then the endless quarrels turned into violence.


    It was a child named ¡®Victory¡¯ that held this family together. Now that this child is dead, both claim ownership of the family assets. Can¡¯t talk it out? Then fight, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± Xial asked in surprise.


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Reed the monk knocked Xial on the forehead. ¡°How can politics be so simple? History, buried hatred, deep-seated conflicts, the character of the doers, every facet influences the direction politics will take. To oversimplify political struggles, to boil it down to a metaphor like a divorce, is a grave mistake!¡±


    ¡°Just say it, don¡¯t hit people,¡± Xial complained, covering his forehead.


    Bell, standing to the side, smiled goofily and also received a knuckle rap.


    ¡°However, there is some good news for the Paratu People.¡± Reed the monk sighed, his voice tinged with sorrow. ¡°The White Lion¡­ is a hero.¡±


    Xial and Hunter both froze.


    The White Lion is a hero, how is that good news?


    Winters¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly, and his lips pursed.


    ¡°If the White Lion were a cruel and hypocritical sovereign, he would be much more difficult for the Paratu People to deal with than he is now. It¡¯s a pity¡­ he¡¯s a man with a heart of compassion,¡± the old monk reflected, looking kindly at Winters.


    Winters returned the gaze calmly, the two locking eyes for several silent seconds.


    ¡°Some people think that those with lower moral standards are more likely to achieve great deeds,¡± the old monk suddenly laughed heartily, a rare trace of sadness in his laughter. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to believe that¡¯s true. How wonderful it would be if someone could prove them wrong?¡±


    ¡­


    Even though the brace had been removed, Winters still walked with a limp. And after only a few steps, he would be overwhelmed by aching soreness; his left leg muscles needed time.


    So Xial, Bell, and the old monk settled in the camp, waiting for his full recovery.


    Xial spent most of his time by Winters¡¯s side.


    Bell quickly became familiar with Little Lion, the two of them nearly inseparable.


    And Reed the monk?


    He was often nowhere to be seen throughout the day, sometimes talking with the White Lion, sometimes engaging in theological discussions with the big Shaman, or just loafing around the camp.


    The old fellow had a special ability to take good care of himself, no matter where he was.


    The White Lion, on the other hand, held him in high esteem, and the Herders all respectfully called him Dexe Zen [the Wise One].


    There was also the real ¡°Little White Lion¡±, which had grown as big as a calf, its mane also starting to fill in.


    The ¡°Little Fella¡± had no name yet¡ªBell remembered Winters¡¯s instructions not to name it, so it was still called the Little Fella.


    The Little Fella still remembered Winters, the man who had replaced its scent.


    However, when it approached Winters of its own accord that night, it was met with a slap, so it sulked for days.


    The people of the Red River Tribe revered it as a deity, offering cattle and sheep to feed it. The Little Fella had no worries about food and drink, so the big cat¡¯s lazy nature prevailed.


    It spent its days full and asleep, or asleep and full, and when bored, it lay at the entrance of the felt tent to bask in the sun.


    Bear in mind, Reed the monk and the others had relied on the Little Fella to guard the wagon and chase off wolf packs as they traversed the uninhabited zone.


    Back then, the Little Fella caught its own rabbits, marmots, and even antelopes, never once being fed by others.


    Bell had hoped to take the opportunity to train the Little Fella in wilderness survival, but ever since arriving at the Red River Tribe, it had become even more sluggish.

 Chapter 557 557 104 Rose_3

    ?Chapter 557: Chapter 104 Rose_3 Chapter 557: Chapter 104 Rose_3 ¡­


    Winters had also met the great Shaman.


    Perhaps the closer one gets, the more the aura of sanctity and majesty crumbles away.


    Once the mystique was stripped away, amidst the complex adornments and ornaments, Winters saw that the shaman chieftain of the Hurd tribes was just a weathered old man.


    Erhulan acted as an interpreter, and they conversed briefly. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°May fortune be with you, Hestas,¡± the great Shaman said kindly to Winters.


    ¡°Have you seen Hestas?¡±


    ...


    ¡°I have and I haven¡¯t,¡± the great Shaman replied, his words carrying hidden meaning, ¡°Since the first note sung by the chanters, it has been the first time someone from outside the prairie has taken up the responsibility to communicate with the myriad of spirits. What about you? Can you see them?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t. Why would Hestas choose me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, our legacy is a calling. Like the coming of spring and the passing of autumn, it happens naturally. Or to put it another way, it wasn¡¯t Hestas that chose you, but you who helped Hestas. If you hadn¡¯t appeared at that moment, the spirit carried by the name Hestas would have been lost. And you are the Chosen One, you yourself are chosen by the spirits of all things.¡±


    After some thought, Winters said, ¡°Let¡¯s conduct that ritual one more time, and I will return the name of Hestas to you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush,¡± the great Shaman said with a smile and a shake of his head, ¡°If you truly are Hestas, you will know when the moment comes, just like Hestas choosing you. If you are not, then you have no need to worry, and the ritual would be pointless.¡±


    Winters remained silent for a long time, contemplating the other¡¯s rigorous logic.


    ¡°Your HeHaEr is a rare beast spirit speaker,¡± the great Shaman then asked abruptly, ¡°Would you allow me to borrow him for a while?¡±


    ¡°HeHaEr?¡± Winters frowned, ¡°Bell?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the child named [Bear].¡±


    ¡°What do you want him for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing. He is your HeHaEr, I will not take him away.¡±


    ¡°What does beast spirit speaker mean? Speaking with lions?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± the great Shaman laughed heartily, ¡°Can Hunters talk to mastiffs? But Hunters can communicate with and command mastiffs. Mastiffs are willing to do many things for Hunters, not because they are afraid of them, but because they regard the Hunter as family.


    The relationship between spirit beasts and beast spirit speakers is similar. It isn¡¯t about chaining them with iron or whipping them into submission¡ªthe spirit beasts regard the beast spirit speakers as kin. A spirit beast like the White Lion, once it reaches adulthood, becomes very difficult to approach. But when this White Lion was very small, the child named [Bear] was inseparable from it. Such a beast spirit speaker who has grown up alongside a White Lion is also a rare occurrence in the history of the tribes. At least, only one such name is recorded in the chanters¡¯ songs.¡±


    Winters retorted coldly, ¡°You just want to bring the White Lion for the White Lion¡¯s sake, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not only that. If he stays here, I will teach him and help him master the power of the beast spirit speaker. He is your HeHaEr, and I shall not keep him against his will.¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Winters said solemnly to the great Shaman, ¡°Bell is a free man; he can decide for himself where he wants to stay. If he decides to leave, I will take him away. If you exploit him, I will come looking for you again.¡±


    The great Shaman nodded in acknowledgment, and the two parted ways.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    While Winters was meeting with the great Shaman, another celebration was taking place in the great hall of Kingsfort.


    This celebration was to declare victory¡ªthe victory of the Second Republic.


    In the past two months, while Winters had been living quietly in the wastelands, Paratu had been a stage for one dramatic event after another.


    First came the ¡°April Coup,¡± where the Blue Blood Faction and the Kingsfort Faction slaughtered each other in the streets, filling them with blood.


    Then came the ¡°May Siege,¡± where Alpad led all the troops he could find to launch a fierce assault on Kingsfort.


    The assault quickly turned into a siege because the fortifications of Kingsfort were too robust¡ªotherwise, why would she be called a ¡°Fortress¡±?


    As the battle dragged on, the troops under Alpad began to desert.


    In the end, even Alpad, a man who refused to concede defeat, had to admit: the siege of Kingsfort had utterly failed.


    Ultimately, the shield proved mightier than the hammer.


    Sekler, relying on the city guard and the conscripted militia, steadfastly defended Kingsfort while Alpad retreated to the North River province with his remaining loyal forces.


    The North River province was Alpad¡¯s homeland and where the old nobility¡¯s roots ran deepest.


    Now, the Second Republic of Paratu urgently needed to tell everyone that only they could represent the country.


    They proclaimed victory through ceremonies and banquets, thoroughly branding Alpad and his followers as rebels.


    ¡­


    Cynical literati commented thus: Paratu People always live in deprivation, so once they have something, they tend to overdo it.


    The style of the great hall¡¯s banquet reflected this:


    Glittering white walls, arched ceilings, golden hammered door and window frames¡­


    Under the decorated ceiling, intelligence activities were taking place.


    Amidst the clinking of cups and saucers, people exchanged all kinds of information.


    The Paratu People knew this but did not interfere, because they were part of it, too.


    The guests mainly fell into three categories:


    The first category was the parliamentarians of the Second Republic of Paratu.


    Parliamentarians were easy to distinguish¡ªwith their bright eyes, faces full of resolve, and bubbling with excitement as they spoke nonstop while holding their wine glasses.


    They now dominated the place, and they were well aware of it.


    The parliamentarians all wore a red rose on their lapel¡ªstanding in stark contrast to the ¡°blue¡± rose, a defiant expression of their boundary from their enemies,

 Chapter 558 558 104 Rose_4

    ?Chapter 558: Chapter 104 Rose_4 Chapter 558: Chapter 104 Rose_4 The second group is the military.


    Most of the military personnel are in uniform, grouped according to their affiliation, branch, or seniority. They scan the room with a frosty gaze, as if searching for some hidden threat.


    The third group comprises diplomatic envoys.


    The envoys represent the interests of various external entities to Paratu. They carry themselves with dignity, maintaining their practiced smiles and choosing their words with extreme caution.


    The envoys had traveled great distances to Kingsfort, all to confirm outcomes and gather information. As a result, they listened more than they spoke.


    Everyone had their own place in this banquet, except for one figure who seemed out of place.


    He was in a military uniform but did not stay with his colleagues, nor did he converse with others.


    ...


    Instead, he sat at the table, drinking one solemn drink after another.


    Turanio¡ªVineta¡¯s highest diplomatic representative in Paratu¡ªapproached the man, his smile nearly freezing on his face, ¡°Colonel Moritz, what on earth are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°What am I doing? Drinking,¡± responded Moritz, as lean and handsome as ever. He poured and drank by himself, one drink after another, ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to drink here? I¡¯m reminiscing about a friend with the help of Paratu¡¯s alcohol. Alas, they¡¯re all gone.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why they sent you to observe the battle.¡±


    Moritz suddenly laughed, ¡°General Serviati sent me here to bring his son back, but what now? We can¡¯t even find a body. Yet here we are, drinking with the Paratu People. So Sekler won the battle, and that¡¯s that?¡±


    [Note: Moritz only knew that Winters was Antonio¡¯s adopted son. Not just Moritz, most people believed that. ]


    Turanio sighed, ¡°I know about the boys, and I¡¯m upset too. Things certainly won¡¯t end this way, but you don¡¯t understand.¡±


    He sat next to Moritz and poured himself a drink, ¡°Sekler hasn¡¯t won entirely, and Alpad hasn¡¯t lost completely. The war between the Red Rose and the Blue Rose isn¡¯t over, we need to strategize to garner the greatest benefit for Vineta.¡±


    Colonel Moritz didn¡¯t respond, just tilted his head back and downed another drink.


    Suddenly, a servant announced loudly from outside the door, ¡°Imperial Envoy! Earl of Nassau has arrived!¡±


    All eyes turned toward the hall entrance.


    The gilded oak doors opened slowly, and a suave gentleman with an attendant entered the banquet hall.


    The hosts of the banquet¡ªthe Parliament of Paratu¡ªhurried to greet him, along with envoys from all directions.


    Only the military personnel stood still, not moving an inch, watching coldly as the Earl of Nassau greeted everyone.


    After a while, the banquet hall returned to its previous state, with groups of parliamentarians, military, and envoys engaging in idle chatter.


    Yet the Earl of Nassau, holding a drink, approached the bleary-eyed Moritz inconspicuously.


    ¡°Good evening, Earl Van Nassau,¡± the Earl of Nassau greeted warmly, ¡°Or perhaps I should address you as, Major Nassau.¡±


    Moritz snorted lightly, barely glancing at him, ¡°You need to update your files, it¡¯s Colonel now.¡±


    The Earl of Nassau, far from annoyed, inquired with even more warmth, ¡°Good evening, Colonel Nassau.¡±


    ¡°What does the Pretender Emperor want with you? Here to enjoy the spectacle?¡± Moritz asked sarcastically, ¡°Seeing traitors slaughter each other is amusing, isn¡¯t it? An internal conflict in Paratu¡ªnothing delights the Pretender Emperor more, does it?¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why do you say that? You think too poorly of us,¡± the Earl of Nassau said with a playful smile, swirling his drink, ¡°His Majesty simply sent me to safeguard his assets. After all, he is also one of Paratu¡¯s creditors.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the north bank of the Ashen Stream River, in a hollow between the hills.


    Alpad stood atop a cliff, his roar thundering across the plains, ¡°They say, I lost!¡±


    ¡°They want to come over and take everything we have!¡±


    ¡°Their troops are encamped just five miles away!¡±


    ¡°You tell me! Have I lost?¡±


    A furious roar erupted from the hollow, shooting straight into the sky: ¡°No!¡±


    ¡°Follow me!¡± Alpad buckled his helmet and charged out of the hollow, leading the charge.


    Thousands of ¡°Free Cavalry¡± followed close behind.

 Chapter 559 559 105 The Traveller

    ?Chapter 559: Chapter 105: The Traveller Chapter 559: Chapter 105: The Traveller ¡°`


    Although Winters could now move freely, Erhulan still accompanied him, even more inseparably than before.


    ¡°I am willing to talk with you in this felt tent,¡± Erhulan said, her expression somewhat sad, ¡°The people in the camp, sigh, they don¡¯t want to listen to me, they don¡¯t need to listen to me.¡±


    The herdsmen had already taken their herds and dispersed, probably because the pasture could only accommodate a limited number of livestock spirits.


    However, the camp was still operational, with many people, tents, and herds left behind; they were all Erhulan¡¯s private property.


    The legitimate wife of White Lion and her children had died in the war years ago, and the children at his knee were still young.


    As the sister of White Lion, it was natural for Erhulan to manage a portion of the old camp. White Lion doted on his sister, giving her many subjects, servants, and herds.


    So Erhulan was indeed the mistress of this camp.


    ...


    But she had been away from the wilderness for a full ten years. At Hongsong Manor, she was a personal maid to Lady Kalman. In the Red River Tribe, she suddenly became the ruler of an Orodos.


    It wasn¡¯t just the people who were uncomfortable with this; even Erhulan herself was not used to it. The situation where servants bullied their master was inevitable.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand Herde society,¡± Winters reflected after some thought, ¡°but I see that when the tribe migrates, the daily striking of camp, walking, and pitching of tents is not much different from fighting in the army. The army, it values rewards and punishments the most. Do well and you are rewarded; do poorly and you are whipped.¡±


    Erhulan shook her head repeatedly, saying softly, ¡°How could I dare to whip someone?¡±


    Winters calmly said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to do it yourself, just assign someone else to carry it out. But there must be rules, and they must be fair.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Erhulan¡¯s eyes reddened, and she hesitated, ¡°Sigh¡­¡±


    Little Lion ran into the felt tent, interrupting their conversation.


    He asked Winters with an exaggerated expression, ¡°I heard from Bell that everyone calls you ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯?¡±


    Bell and Little Lion were close in age and had somewhat similar experiences, so they got along well.


    Erhulan wiped her tears and turned to leave the tent.


    Winters sighed and, leaning on his cane, also left the tent.


    ¡°Erhualn? Batu? Why are you going?¡± Little Lion asked, confused, and turned to laugh at Xial, ¡°Why would you call him ¡®wolf¡¯? Wolf is not a good word!¡±


    Xial, who had been feigning deafness until now, questioned in return, ¡°Wolf is a bad word? Don¡¯t your people worship the wolf?¡±


    Little Lion angrily retorted, ¡°That¡¯s a slander by outsiders against the tribes! Wolves are greedy and malicious; how could we possibly worship wolves? We compliment people with words like eagles, stags, thoroughbreds, mastiffs, have you ever heard anyone praised with the term wolf? To insult someone, you would use ¡®wolf cub¡¯. Tribe members would attack a wolf on sight.¡±


    Little Lion laughed and asked Xial, ¡°Then there¡¯s Batu; didn¡¯t he happily accept the nickname ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯? So who actually worships the wolf? Is it you, or us?¡±


    Xial was left speechless; he muttered, ¡°My brother wasn¡¯t ¡®happy¡¯¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why do you call him ¡®Blood of the Wolf¡¯?¡±


    Xial said helplessly, ¡°Because my brother¡¯s previous nickname was even worse.¡±


    ¡°What? There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Little Lion¡¯s interest was piqued, and he pestered Xial, ¡°Come on, tell me about it.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion¡¯s tongue was indeed nimble; by day he speaks ill of wolves, and by night the wolves come.


    Late at night, Erhulan¡¯s camp suddenly erupted into chaos.


    Someone violently banged a gong and desperately shouted, ¡°In Herde Language: Wolves have breached the pen! The wolves are here!¡±


    Men startled from their sleep, grabbing their wolf-beating sticks and rushing out of their tents.


    Awakened by the commotion, Winters frowned and, leaning on his cane, also intended to head outside. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Xial, bleary-eyed and seeing this unfold, instantly lost all sleepiness, hastily trying to stop Winters, ¡°Brother your injury hasn¡¯t healed! Don¡¯t go!¡±


    Winters remained silent and walked into the camp.


    The wolves had leapt into the sheep pen, intending to feast, but were startled by the herdsmen and ran off into the distance.


    The men of the camp promptly mounted their horses, calling out to each other and chasing after the wolves, brandishing their sticks.


    The sound of hoofbeats gradually faded away, and the camp returned to tranquility.


    The women who stayed behind lit torches and busied themselves counting the sheep.


    Two pregnant ewes miscarried due to fright, and a few others were bitten on the neck.


    The men returned one by one, some empty-handed, others bearing injuries¡ªriding horses at night was fraught with danger.


    In the crowd, Erhulan desperately sought somebody, asking everyone she saw, ¡°Have you seen Batu?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads.


    More and more people came back, all but Palatu Batu.


    Eventually, Little Lion also returned.


    Erhulan ran forward, grabbing her brother¡¯s arm as tears streamed down her face, ¡°Did you see him?¡±


    Little Lion shook his head.


    Erhulan seemed to have all her strength drained in an instant, collapsing feebly to the ground.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Little Lion tried to help his sister to her feet.


    Erhulan just stared blankly in the direction the man had disappeared, unwilling to leave.


    Little Lion had no choice but to light a bonfire beside his sister, keeping her company.


    The dark night gradually receded, and Erhulan¡¯s tears had also run dry.


    At the break of dawn, Little Lion firmly dragged his sister to her feet, ¡°Come on, he¡¯s not coming back!¡±


    Suddenly, the silhouette of a horseman appeared on the horizon.


    The horseman was moving slowly, but he was indeed heading towards the camp.


    Erhulan¡¯s tears uncontrollably started flowing once more.


    The horseman got closer and closer, and as daylight brightened, the people in the camp could finally see that the horseman was carrying two wolf carcasses on the horse¡¯s back.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 560 560 105 Traveler_2

    ?Chapter 560: Chapter 105 Traveler_2 Chapter 560: Chapter 105 Traveler_2 ¡°Batu! Woo woo woo!¡± The crowd waved their hands in excitement, tossing their hats and beating their chests in cheer.


    Erhulan, however, silently left; she returned to her own felt tent and took out a set of clothes from beneath a wooden chest.


    It was a set of army officer academy uniforms, and she had meticulously mended every tear.


    Clutching the old military uniform, Erhulan wept loudly.


    ¡­


    The day after the wolf attack, someone from the White Lion¡¯s camp came to invite Winters.


    In the White Lion¡¯s camp, Winters saw the recently elusive Monk Reed.


    ...


    Monk Reed had completely changed.


    The former Reed would make you unconsciously overlook his thin arms, sagging skin, white hair, and weathered face.


    He would shout and jest like a young man, talking and laughing.


    But now, Reed was just a candle burnt to its stub, an old man. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was still himself, but immensely weak, as if each breath were expelling his life force.


    His complexion had darkened, with only a glimmer of light remaining in his eyes.


    He struggled to live, as if only to see Winters one last time.


    Winters¡¯s forehead veins bulged as he grabbed the White Lion¡¯s garment: ¡°What have you done?¡±


    The White Lion merely shook his head.


    ¡°Hey! You lad, cough.¡± Monk Reed chided with a smile, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Only then did Winters release his grip.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t I know when my time comes?¡± Monk Reed called out with effort to Winters: ¡°I had you come just for a final meeting. Come here, sit by my side.¡±


    Winters obediently sat down.


    Now it seemed Reed had to expend a lot of energy even to speak: ¡°I called you here because I want you to do something for me.¡±


    ¡°You just say the word.¡±


    Reed smiled faintly and said, ¡°This, you must do. Shave my head for me. I¡¯ve ferried others all my life, and now in the end, someone ferries me, good.¡±


    Winters had never been a barber; he¡¯d only ever shaved his own beard.


    But he did not refuse Reed¡¯s request. He took the razor handedly and shaved the hair right there in the tent, young and old together.


    Two months of carving practice had made Winters more precise in controlling his strength.


    He was extremely careful not to leave a single cut on Reed¡¯s wrinkled skin.


    Reed¡¯s white hair fell like snow, revealing one round brand after another.


    ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t have much to tell you,¡± Reed said slowly with his eyes closed: ¡°Just one thing. You, my young friend, are standing too low and looking too narrowly, especially at the expense of yourself.¡±


    Winters stood silently behind Reed, meticulously controlling the force of the razor, continuing to shave off the hair bit by bit.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t think about a hundred years from now, you can¡¯t even ensure what might happen in ten. If you don¡¯t consider the entire chessboard, you can¡¯t even hold a corner of it.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard, this world is a great sphere,¡± Reed¡¯s eyes slowly regained vibrance: ¡°Keep heading west, and you¡¯ll return to the east.¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°Too bad, I won¡¯t be able to complete that journey,¡± Reed chuckled and asked: ¡°Do you remember you still owe me three months¡¯ salary?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll not take your money. We Selikans value returning to one¡¯s roots. After I die, you burn my body. Take my ashes, finish this journey, and bring me back to Selika, will you? Bury me in a place called Phoenix City.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I absolutely will.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely what?¡± Reed chuckled and tapped Winters, ¡°That¡¯s thousands of miles away, life and death uncertain. I can¡¯t burden you with such a matter; I¡¯m just talking. After I die, find a river and pour my ashes into it, that will be that.¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    As if remembering something, Reed continued with a wry smile: ¡°But I took an oath, never to return east in this life. So you¡¯ll have to find a river that runs from east to west, don¡¯t try to fool an old man with a little puddle.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no river flowing west between the mountains,¡± Winters¡¯s voice trembled slightly: ¡°Don¡¯t rush, wait for me, I¡¯ll take you back to Selika.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? No westward-flowing rivers, that¡¯s a pity.¡± Reed coughed twice and gently patted Winters¡¯s arm: ¡°Don¡¯t cry, what are you crying for, I¡¯ve lived a full life. I¡¯ve reached the westernmost place I can get to, and for someone my age, death is a happy occasion. You all must send me off with a smile. Don¡¯t think you young folks will necessarily live to my age.¡±


    After completing the head-shaving ceremony, Reed had Winters sit in front of him.


    ¡°Though you¡¯re an unbeliever, let me bless you one last time. This is what Monk Philip said when he consecrated me; now I say it to you.¡± He held Winters¡¯s hand, lightly touched Winters¡¯s forehead and murmured:


    ¡°[Ancient language] You shall not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day; nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that lays waste at noon. Though a thousand fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, the disaster will not come near you.¡±


    Winters bowed his head in thanks to the old man.


    Reed took a deep breath and suddenly returned to being the lively, bright elder full of wisdom.


    He asked in a loud voice that could split clouds and break stones: ¡°Am I poor?¡±

 Chapter 561 561 105 Traveler_3

    ?Chapter 561: Chapter 105 Traveler_3 Chapter 561: Chapter 105 Traveler_3 ¡°Yes!¡± Winters responded.


    ¡°Am I pure?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°May I return to the east?¡±


    ¡°Never!¡±


    ¡°Good! Good! Good!¡± Brother Reed laughed heartily, ¡°Now I can depart in peace.¡±


    His head slowly drooped, and he passed away peacefully in the company of Winters and the White Lion.


    ...


    ¡­


    In accordance with Brother Reed¡¯s wishes, his body was cremated.


    Winters and the White Lion dragged logs from afar and built a pyre.


    The Shaman also arrived, dancing before the fire, offering the highest respect.


    In his life, Brother Reed had been a monk, a Taoist, a priest, a preacher, a mendicant monk, and finally, he was sent off with shamanic rites.


    After Brother Reed¡¯s departure, Erhulan also packed Winters¡¯s bags.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Winters¡¯s heart was wracked with pain, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Erhulan smiled and shook her head.


    Guilt almost crushed Winters, but he still had things to do.


    When Winters stepped out of the felt tent, Little Lion was waiting for him, holding the reins of four horses.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I will see you off,¡± Little Lion said lightly, ¡°These four horses are for you and Xial, you two can take turns riding them. Do you want to name them?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Little Lion was slightly taken aback, ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. We won¡¯t name the warhorses, just refer to them by their coat colors.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to name horses ever again.¡±


    Little Lion, leading several guards, escorted Winters and Xial on their long journey.


    Erhulan ran out of the tent, chasing them all the way to the hillside. Watching that silhouette disappear, she cried her heart out.


    The White Lion joined her on the hillside, wiped her tears gently, and said, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Erhulan, let me sing you a song.¡±


    Gazing into the horizon, the White Lion sang softly:


    ¡°The one I love,


    has crossed over mountains high;


    The one I weep for,


    has forded countless streams;


    I cry,


    but he does not look back at me;


    I want to find him,


    but his path I can no longer trace.


    ¡­¡±


    This was a woman¡¯s love song, yet the White Lion sang it.


    The White Lion¡¯s song was haunting, poignant, and sorrowful, drawing birds to circle above and sheep and cattle to stop and listen.


    Only someone who has experienced profound sadness could sing such a ballad.


    When the song ended, the White Lion said softly to Erhulan, ¡°If you miss him, go find him.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± Erhulan stopped crying, only to sob softly, ¡°what about the fire-tender?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± The White Lion embraced his sister, tenderly fixing her hair, ¡°Big brother will always find a way.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion escorted Winters all the way to the banks of the Styx.


    He first took Winters to pay respects to Strong Fortune.


    Strong Fortune rested on a beautiful little hill, with slopes blooming with red and blue flowers.


    There was no tombstone, Little Lion had only driven a stake into the ground when he buried Strong Fortune, with a few simple cuts depicting a steed. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gently touching the wooden stake as if he were caressing Strong Fortune¡¯s neck and mane, Winters felt a connection.


    He had no tears left, as ever since he had regained consciousness, he had not cried once, not even a single time.


    Not even when Brother Reed passed away, nor at the farewell with Erhulan.


    It was as though his ability to cry had been utterly stripped away.


    Little Lion and his guards, carrying sheepskin bags and a frame, quickly prepared the sheepskin raft.


    Two guards went back and forth to ensure the raft was usable, then returned to report to Little Lion.


    The horses were the first to be sent across to the East Bank of the Styx, followed by Xial.


    Little Lion accompanied Winters, finally reaching the East Bank of the Styx.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Little Lion asked curiously, ¡°I only know to call you Batu, but I still don¡¯t know your real name.¡±


    ¡°My name is¡­ the Deep Winter of the Mountains.¡±


    ¡°Is ¡®Mountains¡¯ your surname?¡± Little Lion burst into laughter, slapping his hands together, ¡°My father¡¯s tribe is called ¡®Wenduoer,¡¯ which also means mountains, high mountains.¡±


    Everything had been transported to the East Bank, the horses, food.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get lost, will you?¡± Little Lion asked Winters with a smile, ¡°The grasslands offer no direction, it¡¯s easy to lose your way.¡±


    ¡°I have this.¡± Winters pulled out Colonel Jeska¡¯s map, ¡°I won¡¯t get lost.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡±


    ¡°Take this,¡± Winters took out another roll, tossing it to Little Lion, ¡°you might find it useful.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A map, one I¡¯ve drawn,¡± Winters said quietly, ¡°of the great grasslands.¡±


    ¡°Great! Thank you!¡± Little Lion laughed heartily, ¡°Go on then, Deep Winter of the Mountains, head home.¡±


    His farewell was both reluctant and firm, ¡°Never come back!¡±


    Winters flicked the reins and galloped off, with Xial following closely behind.


    One hundred and sixty-four wooden spikes were meticulously stored in the deepest part of his bag.

 Chapter 562 562 106 Blood Wolf

    ?Chapter 562: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf Chapter 562: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf July 1, an ordinary yet extraordinary day.


    A strange military officer visited the workshop of Albert, the Kingsfort goldsmith.


    The officer¡¯s left leg seemed rather inflexible as he walked with the aid of a horse-head cane.


    Another glum-faced constable carrying a sword accompanied him.


    Seeing the uniform on the visitor, the goldsmith Albert felt a ¡°thump¡± in his heart.


    In these times, nothing was bigger than the sword. Soldiers, now, strutted about Kingsfort with impunity.


    The siege by the Rebels was lifted just two weeks ago, and the bones outside the city were still not completely collected.


    ...


    Mentioning this siege, the citizens of Kingsfort still felt the shudders.


    As soon as the city was blockaded, the price of flour shot up crazily. Often, the price at weighing was one thing, and at payment, it was another. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even if you could buy flour, you couldn¡¯t buy firewood. The trees in the city were quickly chopped down to bareness; many families had to dismantle their furniture to make fire.


    It was wildly rumored in the streets and alleys that Alpad, the leader of the Rebels, had ordered, ¡°On the day the city falls, the rebels may plunder at will.¡±


    Thankfully, thankfully, in the end, it was General Sekler who won.


    On the day the Rebels retreated, the citizens of Kingsfort took to the streets cheering, ¡°Long live General Sekler!¡±


    But soon after, the troops pursuing the Rebels suffered a major defeat in the North River province.


    The war was not over, and who knew when it would end?


    But life had to go on.


    ¡°Is there anything I can assist you with?¡± Albert asked the officer cordially, thinking to himself, ¡°Oh no, could he be here to extort me?¡±


    Actually, Albert was not much familiar with the subtle differences in military uniforms, but based on the fabric, design, and the visitor¡¯s demeanor, he was convinced that this was an officer.


    ¡°I am Lieutenant Moritz of the Military Police,¡± the young officer¡¯s voice commanded an involuntary attention despite his youth.


    He coldly regarded Albert and got straight to the point, ¡°The Military Police have received reliable reports that you¡¯ve been laundering stolen goods for thieves.¡±


    ¡°No! No! No! Absolutely not!¡± Albert pounded his chest and stomped his feet, vehemently insisting he was wronged, his heart crying out, ¡°It¡¯s over, he really is here to extort me!¡±


    Albert was so afraid because he indeed had been laundering goods for thieves.


    Thieves and robbers getting their hands on gold and silver jewelry would usually look for goldsmiths to melt it down and cast it into new coins.


    Once melted and cast, nobody could track it thereafter.


    Some would simply exchange the stolen items for ready-made coins or jewelry.


    The exchange rate was a bit low, but it was convenient.


    Albert often conducted such transactions. He never asked where the goods came from; as long as the price was right, it sufficed.


    The strange officer smiled inscrutably, ¡°Not at all?¡±


    ¡°Never! Honestly! How dare I?¡± Albert shook his head desperately, the gaze of the other man sharp as a razor, making Albert feel as if he was being peeled layer by layer.


    He tentatively counter-questioned, ¡°Perhaps¡­ could you suggest a way to prove my ¡®innocence¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Last September, a robber came to you. Skinny, with a coastal accent, and a mouth full of gold teeth,¡± the military officer said, reclining in a chair, leisurely fiddling with a small knife, ¡°You helped him launder his loot, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    The little knife, no bigger than a palm and simply made, had a handle bound in layers of leather string, but its blade was gleaming.


    Each tap of the knife on the table made Albert¡¯s knees involuntarily tremble.


    Upon hearing the officer mention the skinny figure with the gold teeth, Albert immediately recalled who he was talking about.


    He secretly rejoiced and eagerly replied, ¡°Sir, I remember who you are talking about. I really didn¡¯t help him launder anything, I reported him! He¡¯s still locked up in jail!¡±


    Last September, a robber with a foreign accent and gold teeth came to Albert, wanting to exchange a bill for a thousand Ducats.


    The bill signified the client¡¯s pre-deposited Gold, theoretically just under the goldsmith¡¯s custody. The gold was to be given upon presentation of the bill, which was recognized without recognizing the person.


    But all goldsmiths would misuse their client¡¯s deposited gold, either by investing it or lending it out to make more money.


    Albert was no exception.


    Business could lead to a profit or loss, and loans might not be recovered. After a heavy loss at the beginning of the last year, Albert found himself nearly bankrupt.


    When that gold-toothed robber found him, Albert¡¯s vault had barely remained a few more than a thousand Ducats.


    Releasing the Ducats to the robber would mean bankruptcy right there and then.


    As for how Albert was certain he was dealing with a robber?


    The answer was simple: Robbers were people Albert had seen plenty of. With just one word, he could smell the stench of a robber.


    Hearing the robber¡¯s foreign accent, seeing him come alone¡ªunconsciously, Albert conceived a bold idea¡ªto swindle the swindler.


    The rest was simple¡ªAlbert had a cousin who was a low-level officer in the police.


    The gold-toothed robber was arrested and thrown in jail.


    At first, Albert was extremely anxious. That¡¯s why he pleaded with his cousin to spare the robber¡¯s life, just in case the robber¡¯s partners came looking, so he¡¯d have a bargaining chip.


    As time passed, he put the matter out of mind until today, when it was brought up by the strange officer.


    ¡°How did this get out?¡± muttered Albert, cursing inwardly, ¡°Which jealous bastard reported me! Uglaui? Or was it Kovachik?¡±


    But the military officer did not take up the conversation, instead he seized on a loophole in Albert¡¯s words, ¡°That person didn¡¯t, but others did, is that it? Let¡¯s search and prove your innocence.¡±


    Albert made another round of spirited denials and oaths.


    This commotion ultimately ended with Albert losing money to avoid disaster; he needed to make a ¡°donation¡± to the Kingsfort Military Police.

 Chapter 563 563 106 Blood Wolf_2

    ?Chapter 563: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_2 Chapter 563: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_2 Finally, Albert surreptitiously passed a small pouch of Gold Coins to the stranger military officer¡¯s hand.


    The officer¡¯s action, however, gave him a big scare. He shook the pouch, hearing the crisp sound inside, and squinted his eyes to retort, ¡°Bribing a gendarme? Am I also supposed to write you a receipt?¡±


    Albert was startled, and in his moment of helplessness, he sadly thought, ¡°This is outright robbery.¡±


    He had just given his biggest bargaining chip to the other party, but luckily the officer didn¡¯t make things more difficult for him.


    ¡°That will do,¡± the stranger military officer huffed, pocketing the Gold Coins and casually asked, ¡°Where is that gold-toothed robber locked up?¡±


    ¡­


    Under the west city wall, in a secluded corner, stood the silent Kingsfort city guard prison.


    ...


    Though called a prison, it was actually just a few dilapidated bungalows.


    As usual, murderers and other serious offenders would be taken to the Army Gendarmerie prison for custody, where there were stone cells and iron bars. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the city guard¡¯s prison, one would find thieves, debtors, and tax evaders and such.


    Not long after the incident at the goldsmith Albert¡¯s workshop, the city guard prison received an unwelcomed guest.


    An officer accompanied by a gendarme entered the prison with an order from the Deputy Colonel Robert of the ¡°Security Affairs Management Inspectorate,¡± requesting to take away a prisoner.


    The warden didn¡¯t even know what the ¡°Security Affairs Management Inspectorate¡± was and could barely read the string of words.


    However, he recognized the eagle emblem of Paratu on the well-sealed order¡ªeven though he couldn¡¯t read the small print beneath the eagle.


    ¡°Officer.¡± The warden led the officer into the cell area, cautiously explaining, ¡°There¡¯s been fighting recently, and the prisoners were conscripted for hard labor. I¡¯m not sure if the person you¡¯re looking for is still alive.¡±


    The officer grunted indifferently.


    ¡°During the war, many prisoners died or were injured. Really, you can¡¯t blame me, I am also¡­¡±


    ¡°Less talking.¡± The officer frowned, his voice as cold as perpetual snow, ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Ah, right, right.¡± The warden nodded and bowed, walking ahead.


    The light inside the prison was poor. The air had an indissoluble foul smell, as if many people were supposed to be locked up there.


    But now, many of the cells were empty, clearly indicating that the missing prisoners had died in the preceding siege.


    In the depths of the prison, the officer found the prisoner who had been incarcerated for ¡°theft.¡±


    The gold-toothed ¡°Captain,¡± already thin and dark, had become even thinner, his skin like oiled cloth stretched over bones. His gold teeth were gone too¡ªpulled out by the warden, he was now the gap-toothed Captain.


    ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± the officer nodded.


    The warden hurriedly had the shackles opened, and the gendarme who came with the officer entered the cell and lifted the prisoner.


    ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ cough! Cough cough!¡± The prisoner struggled to lift his head, squinting in the dim light at the newcomer. Before he could finish his sentence, he started coughing violently.


    ¡°Take him away,¡± the officer, leaning on his cane, said without turning back and walked out of the cell.


    The emaciated prisoner muttered in an almost inaudible whisper, ¡°I¡­ I knew¡­ you would come¡­¡±


    The warden, uttering pleasantries, escorted the officer out of the prison and even lent him a prison cart.


    ¡­


    Night fell upon the goldsmith Albert¡¯s workshop¡ªhis home.


    A revenge was underway.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t kill me, the money, I¡¯ll give you everything, anything¡­¡± Albert scrambled toward the vault, crying out, ¡°Help me!¡±


    His two hired guards hadn¡¯t even managed to draw their weapons before they were taken down by the intruders.


    The vault, safety lies within the vault!


    Before Albert could run far, he felt a sharp pain in his knee accompanied by a faint whooshing sound, and he collapsed uncontrollably to the ground.


    Immediately after, someone grabbed him by the hair from behind and yanked him viciously upwards.


    The person who had grabbed Albert punched him directly in the throat.


    Albert curled into a ball, clutching his throat and retching, unable to utter another word.


    ¡°Tap, tap, tap.¡± It was the sound of a cane tapping the ground.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Albert instantly recalled the sound, and that horse-headed cane. He let out a broken voice, ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ ¡±


    Another emaciated figure emerged from behind the cane-wielding officer. He shakily approached Albert and struggled to squat down in front of him.


    The gaunt figure pulled off the mask covering his face, revealed the gaping hole where his teeth should be, and brought his face close to Albert¡¯s, asking delightedly with a laugh, ¡°Hey there¡­do you remember me?¡±


    The light was dim, and Albert couldn¡¯t see the other person¡¯s face clearly, nor recognize who it was. He shook his head frantically, trying to scoot backward.


    ¡°My name is Gold, lucky¡­ Gold,¡± Gold coughed violently, saying each word distinctly, ¡°You don¡¯t remember me¡­ that¡¯s alright, I have never¡­ ever forgotten you¡­¡±


    After saying this, Gold slowly drove a dagger into the goldsmith¡¯s heart.


    His actions were slow, partly because he lacked the strength, and partly because he was savoring the moment.


    The goldsmith convulsed a few times and then lay motionless.


    Having done all this, Gold seemed to have his soul sucked out of him.


    He collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily, and two tears trickled from his dry eyes. He looked up at Winters, ¡°Thank you, milord¡­¡±


    Winters shook his head and helped Gold to his feet. The latter was still weak, clearly forcing himself to come for revenge.


    ¡°Upstairs, there¡¯s a woman, some kids.¡± Xial returned, saying softly, ¡°They¡¯re under control.¡±

 Chapter 564 564 106 Blood Wolf_3

    ?Chapter 564: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_3 Chapter 564: Chapter 106 Blood Wolf_3 ¡°`


    Winters looked at Gold. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Gold suddenly laughed a few times, ¡°I didn¡¯t die, his life is enough.¡±


    Xial took out another stamped parchment, ¡°Miss Navarre¡¯s promissory note, found on this fellow¡¯s counter.¡±


    Gold took the promissory note, insisting, ¡°I want to cash this note.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters nodded.


    Then he used the keys found on the goldsmith to open the vault.


    Gold counted the Ducat Gold Coins one by one, not even taking an extra silver piece.


    ...


    After counting out exactly one thousand Ducats, Gold placed the promissory note on the goldsmith¡¯s corpse and put fifty gold coins on top of it¡ªthat was the storage fee due.


    Then he spat on the body of the goldsmith.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Winters said, supporting Gold as they left.


    ¡°If I were still living by the knife and the blood, I¡¯d have no complaints about being beaten or killed,¡± the former pirate leader expressed his sorrow and grief. ¡°Why¡­ Why¡­¡±


    Winters had no answer, and he supported Gold all the way outside the house.


    Because of the noise, the workshops were all standalone buildings, far from other residences.


    Winters and Xial moved quickly, and no one had yet noticed the revenge killing in the goldsmith¡¯s workshop, nor had the night patrol arrived.


    Winters helped Gold mount the saddle and whispered to him, ¡°Alpad has blown up the southwest corner of the wall, Xial will take you out of the city through there.¡±


    ¡°What about you, sir?¡± Gold realized Winters would not be accompanying him.


    ¡°Me?¡± Winters seemed to be smiling in the darkness, ¡°I still have things to do.¡±


    Gold gripped Winters¡¯s hand tightly, shaking his head desperately.


    ¡°If by dawn I haven¡¯t come to find you, don¡¯t wait for me, take Gold back to Sea Blue,¡± Winters told Xial.


    Xial wiped away a tear and nodded heavily, riding off into the distance with Gold.


    Winters watched their figures disappear into the night.


    He stuck his cane into the saddlebag, hung his sabre on his waist, and pulled out those one hundred and sixty-four wooden spikes from the saddlebag.


    Then he mounted his horse and headed north.


    On the streets of Kingsfort late at night, he walked alone.


    The further north he went, the more frequent he encountered the night patrol.


    Kingsfort enforced a curfew, with citizens strictly prohibited from being on the streets after dark, but the military was not subject to these restrictions.


    Wearing his officer¡¯s uniform, Winters passed without hindrance. The patrol simply saluted and did not question or stop him.


    He walked until he reached the gates of a beautiful two-story stone building.


    This two-story stone building was the office of the Military Commissioner of the Palatine Army, formerly known as the headquarters of the army.


    Winters took his time tying up his horse at the gate.


    The guard curiously watched this officer, wondering why he did not take his warhorse to the stables inside.


    After securing the warhorse properly, Winters picked up his sabre and headed straight for the main entrance, dragging his injured leg.


    His leg injury had not fully healed, and he limped somewhat, but his steps were resolute.


    ¡°Officer, please show your identification,¡± asked a guard, approaching the stranger in an old uniform.


    Winters raised his hand.


    As the sound of a series of explosions rang out, blood gushed from the guard¡¯s helmet, and he collapsed limply.


    The other three guards were stunned, not knowing what had happened or what was about to happen.


    With just a raise of his hand, the attacker before them fell dead.


    Winters continued toward the stone building, looking at the remaining three guards, ¡°Don¡¯t seek death.¡±


    First a sparkle, then a few inches of flame, a fierce fire rose up in the cold hearth, and a blazing rage burned within his chest.


    He had waited too long for this moment.


    One guard snapped out of his shock and reached to ring the bell. Before his hand could touch the rope, he was cut down.


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Seek! Death!¡±


    The will of the remaining two guards completely crumbled, they had only been militiamen until recently. They retreated, tumbling over one another, and rushed towards the gate in a clumsy escape.


    But the noise at the gate still alerted others, and disheveled guards swarmed out from the duty room, staring in astonishment at the scene before them.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± someone shouted as if waking from a dream.


    The guards fell into chaos, some turning back to grab weapons, some coming out with swords in hand.


    Some, confident in their numbers, intended to capture this lone attacker.


    ¡°I want only Sekler!¡± Winters shouted as he dove into the fray, ¡°Anyone in my way dies!!!¡±


    In the second-floor office of the former army headquarters, Brigadier General ¡ª no, now Major General and Corps Commander ¡ª Sekler, realized something was amiss outside.


    During the siege, Sekler had eaten and slept in his barracks. Once the rebels had fled, he moved his home to the former army headquarters.


    He lived there, right in the heart of the Palatine Republic¡¯s army.


    Hearing the disturbance, he opened his window.


    Thunderous roars spread in all directions from the darkness, like a furious beast devouring men:


    ¡°Sekler!¡±


    ¡°Did you think!¡±


    ¡°This would just end here!¡±


    ¡°I want only Sekler! Anyone in my way dies!!!¡±


    Major General Sekler paused for a moment, and when he recognized to whom the voice belonged, he couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and chuckle bitterly, ¡°The Venetian¡­¡±


    Sekler got out of bed, lit a lamp, and meticulously dressed himself in his military uniform.


    He gently ran his hands over his uniform, trying to smooth out every wrinkle. But no matter how hard he tried, a few stubborn creases remained.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 565 565 106 Blood Wolf_4

    ?Chapter 565: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf_4 Chapter 565: Chapter 106: Blood Wolf_4 Sekler gave up trying, he sat in the chair, quietly waiting for the other to arrive.


    The sounds of shouting and clashing weapons grew louder, first at the main entrance on the ground floor, then the staircase, and then the hallway.


    Eventually, Sekler¡¯s door was kicked open forcefully, and a Venetian, looking like a Blood Man, walked into the room carrying a rolled-edge saber.


    His uniform was covered in bloodstains, it was unclear whether it was his own or someone else¡¯s. Dark red liquid dripped steadily from his saber, leaving a trail of blood from outside the room.


    Winters spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, suddenly starting to cough violently.


    ¡°You¡¯ve come,¡± Sekler gestured with his hand, ¡°Please, take a seat.¡±


    Winters threw away the rolled-edge weapon and sat heroically in front of Sekler.


    ...


    By the dim candlelight, they looked at each other.


    ¡°This is Mihali, not even twenty years old, a grenade fell by my side, and he used his body to cover it. I lived, he died¡­¡± Winters took out a wooden peg and placed it in front of Sekler.


    He took out another peg: ¡°This is Tomas, from Saint Town, his skull shattered by a sledgehammer. He didn¡¯t die immediately, instead he struggled in agony for over ten minutes before he died.¡±


    In Winters¡¯s backpack, there were a total of one hundred and sixty-four wooden pegs, representing his one hundred and sixty-four warriors.


    They trusted him, followed him, protected him, they fought bravely all the way, leaving their lives in unnamed corners of the Great Wilderness, ultimately being abandoned on the western bank of the Styx.


    ¡°You don¡¯t care about them,¡± Winters¡¯s voice betrayed no sadness or anger, he seemed to be making a judgment from the perspective of an outsider, ¡°You don¡¯t care about them.¡±


    Sekler sighed, ¡°If there were another chance, I would make the same decision, because¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anymore,¡± Winters interrupted Sekler, his words surprising, ¡°I can understand you.¡±


    Sekler¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly.


    ¡°If I were you, would I make the same decision? I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters asked himself coldly, ¡°Who knows?¡±


    Sekler shook his head with a bitter smile, a glint of light in his eyes: ¡°This country¡­¡±


    The next second, his head was suddenly torn apart by an invisible force, red and white splattered on the walls and ceiling of the room.


    ¡°I understand you,¡± Winters released his fist, speaking toward the spot where Sekler¡¯s head had been, ¡°But I am still very angry.¡±


    Sekler was dead, whether he was a great man or a pretender, he was dead. Whatever thoughts he had were now dissipated with the wind.


    Was it all over just like that?


    Winters felt a sense of unreality.


    He had carved one hundred and sixty-four wooden pegs with the most resolute hatred; he had intended to use these pegs to nail his enemy to his death, but in the end, he still gave Sekler an easy death.


    Was it really over? S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the moment he was abandoned on the western bank of the Styx, from when he cried and cursed out ¡°fuck it¡± with laughter, from when he regained consciousness, he had been longing for revenge.


    This feeling took him away from Erhulan¡¯s side, from the Hurd wilderness, leading him all the way to Kingsfort.


    So what if Sekler was killed? The dead cannot be brought back to life ¡ª he understood this well, but he had no option to forgive.


    ¡°It¡¯s over now,¡± he thought.


    He didn¡¯t cry his heart out, nor did he feel the gratification of having his revenge, only mild calm and endless fatigue.


    Suddenly, Winters felt lost: What should I do? Where should I go? Where could I even go?


    Go home!


    I still have a home to return to!


    There are people waiting for me at home!


    With hope reigniting in his cold chest, Winters stumbled toward the doorway.


    He could go home, he must go home.


    In the distance, the noise of people and the neighing of warhorses suggested someone had noticed the commotion at the old army headquarters and sent reinforcements.


    But it didn¡¯t matter, Winters Montagne wanted to go home, and no one could stop him.


    ¡­


    The darkness of night gradually receded, and the sky began to turn a deep blue.


    Outside Kingsfort, one kilometer to the southwest.


    Xial stood on a large rock, gazing out the road leaving the city, anxiously waiting.


    As the sky grew brighter, Xial could no longer bear the wait: ¡°I¡¯m going to find my brother.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Gold said weakly.


    ¡°You¡¯re almost dead, how can you go? Stay here,¡± Xial said, climbing onto the saddle, ¡°If I don¡¯t come back as well, you head to Wolf Town, recover from your injuries, then return to Vineta.¡±


    Gold too wanted to mount his horse: ¡°I¡¯m lucky, I¡¯ll go with you, it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± tears spilled from Xial¡¯s eyes: ¡°My brother is coming back.¡±


    A rider came toward them, backlit by the rising sun.


    Xial shouted, jumping up and waving vigorously.


    Even Gold secretly wiped away tears.


    It wasn¡¯t until Winters approached that Xial could see the bloodstains and external injuries on Winters.


    ¡°Brother, what happened to you?¡± Xial helped Winters dismount, his voice filled with sobs, ¡°Why are there gunshot wounds?¡±


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped.¡± Winters smiled for the first time since the bloody battle at the bank of the Styx, and he said, ¡°It¡¯s just a stray bullet, a flesh wound. Deflection Spell doesn¡¯t guard the back.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, sit down. I¡¯ll treat your wounds,¡± Xial said, choking back sobs as he rummaged through the saddlebag for a sewing kit.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°But first,¡± Winters grimaced in pain, ¡°we need to stop by Wolf Town.¡±

 Chapter 566 566 107 Galloping Horse

    ?Chapter 566: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse Chapter 566: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse Gold was still very weak, hardly able to endure a long journey.


    Winters had been injured as well and needed to find a place to catch his breath.


    As Xial was stitching Winters¡¯ wound, the three had already made their next move: go to Wolf Town.


    If it were solely for healing, it would be best to hide nearby.


    But having no familiarity with the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, even their accent would betray their foreign identities.


    There were no friends or relatives to provide a safe haven for the three¡ªexcept for the folks in Wolf Town.


    Winters could not seek help from the Vineta consulate either; the city might already be under martial law, making re-entry too perilous.


    ...


    The pursuers could arrive at any moment, so they must leave Kingsfort as quickly as possible, the farther the better.


    Of course, there was another crucial reason: Winters wanted to take a look at Wolf Town.


    Without delay, the trio changed clothes and set out immediately.


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ anti-tracking skills were learned from that giant bear in Wolf Town.


    He avoided the main roads, entering fields and detouring to the northwest.


    Upon finding streams and rivers, he would wade through the water to erase their scent; then they¡¯d exit onto hard rocky shores, leaving no hoofprints behind.


    Were these methods effective? Winters couldn¡¯t be sure. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the giant bear had once eluded the tracking of Wolf Town¡¯s most formidable old Hunter using these tactics; shaking off a few Kingsfort militia shouldn¡¯t be too difficult.


    After nightfall, the three settled for the night in a forest clearing.


    Since Winters¡¯ wound was still bleeding and Gold needed rest, they did not travel throughout the night.


    They rested until the following night, ensuring no one had followed, before using the cover of darkness to move southwest.


    Newly Reclaimed Land was located at the southwest end of Paratu, with Wolf Town further southwest within Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The sausage-cutting war between Paratu and the numerous tribes of Hurd had left their controlled regions interlocked like jagged teeth, maintaining merely a hundred kilometers of uninhabited buffer zone.


    This no-man¡¯s-land was demarcated by natural divisions such as mountains and rivers, and continued to shift.


    However, since Iron Peak County, where Wolf Town was located, lay too remote at the northern foothills of Golden Summit Mountain, Paratu hadn¡¯t expanded its territory from this position in recent years.


    Winters and his companions traveled at night, rested during the day, and consumed dried meat from the wilderness, avoiding villages and towns as much as possible.


    If they needed to acquire necessities, only Xial would go shopping.


    It wasn¡¯t until they had traveled beyond the jurisdiction of Kingsfort and Westwood Province and confirmed once again that there were no pursuers that Winters and his group resumed a normal routine, returning to the main road.


    Winters even purchased a horse for forty Ducats; although it wasn¡¯t a fine steed, the price had nearly doubled from the previous year due to wartime inflation.


    But Winters urgently needed to acquire another horse. They were three men with only four horses, so he had to buy despite the high price.


    At first, Winters traveled towards Wolf Town with a bit of ease.


    But the further he went, the heavier his heart became.


    The raw destructive power of war was blatantly displayed before him; there were no longer endless caravans, no farmers with fruits, vegetables, and eggs for sale.


    The few travelers on the road would silently wrap their cloaks tighter and grip their weapons until they had walked far enough to breathe a sigh of relief.


    Most cities had erected Red Rose flags, especially in the regions south of Ashen Stream River. They conscripted labor, built fortifications, gathered resources, and blocked roads, rigorously inspecting passersby.


    It was said that not long ago, Blue Rose troops had crossed the Ashen Stream River and mercilessly swept through these areas loyal to Red Rose.


    Winters and his company had to be extra cautious.


    ¡­


    In the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, an unnamed village on the map.


    ¡°No survivors found,¡± whispered Xial as he jogged back. ¡°No food either, and there are a few new graves on the west side of the village. It looks like the surviving villagers buried the dead and fled.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Before them was not a village, but the remnants of a tiny hamlet.


    This had been a very small settlement of only seven or eight families by the look of the courtyards.


    Perhaps some men and women had toiled year after year on the surrounding farmland, living here with difficulty and tenacity.


    But all was lost now, leaving only the charred skeletons of what had been.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Winters said as he mounted his horse, addressing Xial and Gold. ¡°We¡¯ll try the next village, see if we can buy some food there.¡±


    The three rode off, leaving the scorched ruins to return to silence.


    Winters didn¡¯t know what hardships the people had suffered because he was constantly on the move.


    However, he had a clear sense that there were far fewer traders on the road and far more bandits and thieves than ever before.


    It was getting harder to procure supplies; even the smallest of villages kept their doors shut, refusing to receive strangers.


    Having left the directly administered area of Kingsfort and Westwood Province¡ªthe effective range of Red Rose¡ªWinters encountered highway robbers almost daily.


    Once he entered Newly Reclaimed Land, the frequency increased to two or three times a day.


    Most of the robbers were terrified farmers, their hands shaking while holding pitchforks and sickles, trying to intimidate Winters.


    There were also a fair number of bandit gangs comprising bloodshed-hardened robbers and ragged farmers without even shoes in their company.


    For the former, Winters couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill; he simply knocked their weapons away. For the latter, he only eliminated those who were clearly habitual criminals.


    ¡°Get lost!¡± Winters didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°Go home!¡±

 Chapter 567 567 107 Galloping Horse_2

    ?Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 Chapter 567: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_2 ¡°`


    The bandits scattered, but they would return.


    ¡°Wolf Town must be alright,¡± Winters told himself over and over: ¡°With Mayor Gerard there, and how remote Wolf Town is, it must be alright.¡±


    He tried his best not to think of the terrible things and hurried along the way.


    ¡­


    The setting sun slanted westward, and it was about to get dark.


    After crossing the Blackwater River and following the rammed earth road over two small hills, he could see the spire of the Wolf Town church.


    Winters was exceedingly familiar with this road, as he had traveled it many times.


    ...


    He had lived in Wolf Town for less than half a year, but for him, the town had a kind of homespun warmth.


    When he left, he was a spirited young man. The lads of Wolf Town sang songs as they followed him to war.


    When he returned, the laughing boys of Wolf Town were gone, and Winters brought back only a body full of scars.


    Having gone through all sorts of hardships, when he once again halted his horse upon the hillside, he couldn¡¯t see the spire sheathed in brass.


    ¡°Have I gone the wrong way?¡± Winters asked Xial, his voice trembling slightly.


    ¡°No mistake, this is Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Winters spurred his horse fiercely and charged down the slope toward Wolf Town¡¯s town square.


    Wolf Town was right in front of him, but he could not recognize it.


    The church had been destroyed.


    The white-painted outer wall had been burnt to a cinder, the bell tower had collapsed, and the large bell was sadly half-buried in the rubble.


    All that remained of the church were the original stone structures. The stone walls stood alone; the wind whistling through the holes in the walls made a mournful sound.


    Old Misha¡¯s smithy, destroyed.


    Alci¡¯s general store, destroyed. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The town hall and the police station had also been burnt to the ground.


    In the cemetery, many graves had even been dug up, bones scattered around the tombstones.


    ¡°This¡­ this¡­¡± Xial was shocked, angry, and sorrowful; his hands holding the reins trembled: ¡°How could this have happened?¡±


    ¡°Must be bandits,¡± Gold whispered lowly: ¡°Digging up coffins to steal the burial objects¡­ ¡±


    Winters suddenly whipped his horse and galloped towards Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    He remembered the hearty and generous Gerard, the gentle and kind Mrs. Mitchell, and Scarlett, who was about the same age as Ella, like a sister to him, clinging tightly to his arm when the Mitchells argued.


    ¡°Don¡¯t die,¡± Winters prayed: ¡°Please don¡¯t die.¡±


    If there really was a supreme being somewhere, he prayed to Them for the first time.


    The thriving Mitchell estate had completely changed.


    The tobacco fields that once covered the hills were now overgrown with weeds, and the fences surrounding the estate had collapsed under the weather.


    No laborers were in sight, just flocks of birds taking off with a flutter.


    Fortunately, Winters saw a wisp of smoke rising from the Mitchell mansion.


    A flicker of hope lit up in Winters¡¯s heart; he spurred his horse faster, leaping directly into the estate through the damaged fence, heading straight for the house behind the oak tree, startling birds along the way.


    The people inside the house heard the succession of hoofbeats.


    They ran inside and outside, poised and calm, hiding jewelry and poultry, livestock.


    A thin figure ran out of the front door of the house and headed for the barn.


    But when the thin figure saw who was coming towards them, she froze.


    Winters reined in his horse in front of the steps, dismounted, and the thin figure ran crying into his arms.


    It was only then that Winters realized this boyishly slender figure was actually a soft girl, Scarlett¡ªMitchell estate¡¯s prized jewel.


    ¡°They said you were dead,¡± Scarlett sobbed uncontrollably: ¡°Mother! Mr. Montaigne has returned!¡±


    Unsure of what to do, Winters gently patted Miss Mitchell¡¯s back: ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s all right.¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell came down the steps; she too had grown thinner, but her demeanor unchanged, her back as straight as ever.


    Mrs. Mitchell smiled genuinely from her heart, but she couldn¡¯t throw her composure away like her daughter.


    She curtsied to Winters: ¡°Your return¡­ It is truly wonderful.¡±


    Winters also nodded in greeting: ¡°Madam.¡±


    Xial and Gold had been left quite a distance behind by Winters, and now they finally caught up.


    Seeing the Mitchell family safe and sound, they too were overjoyed.


    ¡°Mr. Xial,¡± Mrs. Mitchell curtsied to each in turn: ¡°Mr. Gold.¡±


    ¡°Madam,¡± both men doffed their hats and nodded in return.


    Even the old pirate showed his utmost respect in front of Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Mrs. Madeleine,¡± Mrs. Mitchell called to the others inside: ¡°Please boil some water for the gentlemen to bathe.¡±


    A woman wearing a black veil¡ªsignifying she was a widow¡ªnodded and turned back into the house.


    Gold scratched his head and laughed: ¡°You¡¯ve always been considerate. Now that you mention it, I do start to feel a bit itchy.¡±


    ¡°What are you saying, you old uncouth pirate!¡± Xial kicked the old pirate discontentedly: ¡°Show some respect!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a bath,¡± the old pirate said, bewildered.


    ¡°Scarlett, take Mr. Montaigne to his room to settle in,¡± Eileen gave her orders calmly without asking anything further: ¡°I will arrange rooms for the gentlemen. Nanny, prepare supper; I¡¯ll come help you in a moment.¡±


    ¡°Oh no need for that,¡± the old pirate shook his head vehemently: ¡°I¡¯ll bunk with this lad in the servant¡¯s quarters.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, please come with me.¡±


    The mistress of the house always managed to arrange everything meticulously, and everyone got busy.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 568 568 107 Runaway Horse_3

    ?Chapter 568: Chapter 107 Runaway Horse_3 Chapter 568: Chapter 107 Runaway Horse_3 The desolation and loneliness were gone, and the place had suddenly transformed back into the vibrant Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Scarlett wiped away her tears, smiling as she took Winters¡¯s arm, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Winters, your room hasn¡¯t been touched. I¡¯ve cleaned it every day for you.¡±


    Winters felt an odd sense of familiarity, as if he were back in Sea Blue¡¯s house, and for a fleeting moment, Scarlett¡¯s face morphed into Ella¡¯s.


    So he was led upstairs, returning to the little nest he had previously lodged in at Mitchell¡¯s.


    Nothing had changed, the setting sun cast its glow through the west-facing window, filling the room. The same bed, the same twill bedding, the same oak table.


    Winters stood at the doorway, hesitant to step inside.


    Ella pushed him in, laughing as she said, ¡°Rest for a bit. I¡¯ll call you when the water is hot, you need a good bath. You¡¯re all sore and need a good scrub.¡±


    ...


    After speaking, Ella closed the door behind her.


    Winters shuffled to the bed and sat down in a daze.


    He smelled the familiar saponin scent, Brother Reed entering the room with a wicker stick in hand, explaining ¡°politics¡± seemed like it had just happened.


    Oh, that¡¯s right, Brother Reed was no longer there either.


    He had brought back Brother Reed¡¯s ashes.


    Winters carefully took out Brother Reed¡¯s urn and placed it securely on the table.


    ¡°Rest easy, old fellow,¡± Winters mused to himself. ¡°I will take you home, sooner or later.¡±


    The east wind tapped lightly on the window, as if the old sage was laughing.


    ¡°Winters!¡± Scarlett called from downstairs, ¡°You can come down for a bath now.¡±


    Winters took off his shirt, laying out the belongings he carried on him, one by one on the table.


    The damaged flask.


    One hundred and sixty-four unused pegs.


    Erhulan¡¯s small knife.


    Anna¡¯s pendant box and wood carving.


    Lastly, he felt a small iron box from the secret pocket in his shirt.


    Winters pried open the iron box, inside was a bundle of silver-gray mane hair.


    He gently touched the mane, and suddenly, he couldn¡¯t stop the tears from streaming down.


    Ever since his escape from death, he hadn¡¯t cried, not even once.


    But at that moment, as if the dam in his heart had finally collapsed, Winters sobbed like a helpless child.


    He leaned against the wall, slowly sliding to the floor, his crying growing louder until he was practically wailing.


    Eileen and Scarlett noticed the unusual noise from upstairs; Scarlett wanted to check but was stopped by Eileen.


    Eileen quietly sent all the servants in the house away.


    Xial and Gold returned to the first floor¡ªXial sobbing softly while Gold sighed and led him to the yard.


    Then, Eileen went for a walk outside with her daughter.


    Mitchell¡¯s mansion became empty, leaving no one behind.


    When Eileen and Scarlett returned from their walk, Winters came down from upstairs.


    His eyes were still red, but otherwise, he was fine, his appearance back to its previous state, though his left leg was a bit unsteady.


    ¡°I can cry again,¡± he said.


    ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll make my specialty stewed chicken,¡± Eileen replied. ¡°After you¡¯ve bathed, please help chop some firewood.¡±


    ¡­


    Another Sunday morning arrived.


    As per the old custom, Catholics would rush to the church in town for the service early in the morning.


    But ever since a group of deserters rendered the town center unrecognizable, no one went there anymore.


    The church¡¯s gold and silver liturgical vessels were plundered, Father Anthony died of sheer exasperation, and the church itself burned to the ground in a fire that did not spare the dead either.


    Coffins were dug up, funerary items taken, and the deceased¡¯s bones scattered all over the cemetery.


    After just three months of war, all the horrors were laid bare.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just struggle to live for now,¡± was what people said. ¡°Live one day at a time.¡±


    In a corner of Mitchell¡¯s estate, a man was chopping wood.


    Bare-chested, wearing only trousers, his body bore terrifying scars on his arms and chest.


    With every chop, his muscles surged like mercury.


    He appeared to exert little effort, but even the logs thick as a man¡¯s embrace split in two before him.


    Beneath the eaves, the chopped wood was piling up into a small mountain.


    Yet the man continued to split wood tirelessly,


    Gold approached him quietly from behind, the old pirate unsure and hesitant but finally addressed the man¡¯s back, ¡°My lord, you needn¡¯t blame yourself.¡±


    Winters kept chopping wood without responding. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You¡¯ve chopped enough wood for Mitchell¡¯s for a hundred years,¡± Gold said as he sat on a tree stump, rambling on:


    ¡°I¡¯m not good with words, but as long as you get my point. Think about it,


    if you weren¡¯t in Wolf Town, would the battle have ceased? Without you, who would have led Wolf Town¡¯s militia? Wouldn¡¯t it have been Mr. Michel? And could Mr. Michel lead them better than you? Wouldn¡¯t the outcome have been even worse?


    Just like when I was a pirate, I told myself, if I didn¡¯t rob them, wouldn¡¯t they just get robbed by someone else? Damned if you do, damned if you don¡¯t. Meeting me meant God had a plan for them¡­¡±


    Mid-speech, Gold spat out disdainfully, scolding himself, ¡°Heigh! What nonsense am I spouting¡­ As long as you understand my point, there¡¯s no need for guilt. Coming across you was their luck.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming myself, Gold,¡± Winters picked up a log and placed it on the stump. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about other things.¡±


    The wood split in two with a ¡°thud.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± the old pirate stood up, somewhat embarrassed, ¡°We can almost leave now. Let¡¯s leave Wolf Town¡¯s troubles in Wolf Town and head back to Vineta.¡±

 Chapter 569 569 107 Galloping Horse_4

    ?Chapter 569: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_4 Chapter 569: Chapter 107 Galloping Horse_4 ¡°Gold,¡± Winters asked without turning his head, ¡°why did you help me?¡±


    ¡°Me? I don¡¯t know either.¡± Gold sat back down on the stump, pondered for quite some time, and then muttered resentfully, ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m the youngest son at home, and my parents were tenant farmers. They couldn¡¯t afford to keep me, so they sent me to the ship to be a sailor. Life on the ship was tough; the captain and the sailors bullied people. On that ship, I was the lowest of the low.


    ¡°If the captain had treated me like a human, I would have followed him to the ends of the earth, even at the cost of my life. If the other sailors had been a little nicer to me, I would never have betrayed them. When our ship was seized, the pirates asked if anyone wanted to join them, and I agreed without any hesitation.


    ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s about it. I don¡¯t know why I ended up here. Maybe it¡¯s to return your water flask.¡±


    Winters silently chopped wood as Gold sighed and walked away.


    After Winters returned to the Mitchell estate, word gradually spread among the villages that ¡°the Garrison Officer from Montaigne had come back.¡±


    Many villagers came to see him.


    ...


    It was from them that Winters learned about the hardships Wolf Town had endured over the past months.


    When Gerard Mitchell was the town mayor, only the villages to the east and west of the river, along with Dusa Village, respected him; the two Protestant villages often clashed with Gerard.


    But when Gerard was conscripted and replaced by Great Bunting, even the Protestants started to miss Mayor Mitchell.


    First, there were the relentless demands for land payments and taxes, followed by one round of conscription and grain levies after another.


    Landless laborers fled in droves. When not enough people were caught, the self-sufficient farmers were forcibly taken away.


    The men dared not sleep at home; they hid in the forests at night.


    In mid-May, an officer who came for conscription went missing; Great Bunting fled to Revodan overnight, and Wolf Town essentially lost all order.


    The big shots were fighting at the edge of the sky, but deserters were running into the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Without a town mayor, Wolf Town had no more law and order; deserters and bandits came in waves. The villages barely managed to defend themselves, but not the town center, which was burnt to ash during that time.


    April and May were the lean months; the remaining grains were seized, and the farmers were all waiting for the early June harvest of winter wheat. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They struggled through to June, only to face an even greater disaster.


    Three groups arrived at the Newly Reclaimed Land, to levy grains and conscript people.


    What was more terrifying than the grain levies and conscription was that they harvested the farmers¡¯ wheat fields before the farmers themselves could.


    If any farmer dared to show up and resist, they would be conscripted on the spot.


    The two groups even fought each other when they met, and many wheat fields were burned to the ground.


    To the farmers, whether it was the Red Rose or the Blue Rose, they did not understand the difference.


    To them, it was just one group after another taking their food.


    Even the self-sufficient farmers could no longer survive; some of them boarded up their houses and fled.


    Their shanties lay wide open and deserted, while their dilapidated homesites grew increasingly desolate and were a sorry sight.


    The farmers who stayed did not wish to leave their land. They planted barley, prayed for a harvest in the fall, and struggled tenaciously.


    The flames of war had not yet reached the Newly Reclaimed Land, but the devastation caused to its people had not lessened even slightly.


    Because they belonged to no side, no one cared about them even more.


    Hearing the fragmented accounts from the people of Wolf Town, Winters grew increasingly silent.


    The people of Wolf Town had been wounded by round after round of levies, but when they heard that the Montaigne Garrison Officer had an injury on his leg, they still brought him valuable eggs, flour, and even the last small strip of cured meat from their homes.


    Winters could only repeatedly persuade the villagers to take their things back home.


    He still remembered, on the first night back at the Mitchell estate, Mrs. Mitchell had made chicken stew.


    At the time, it just tasted good, but looking back, that was a laying hen from the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Winters could only silently chop wood, tirelessly splitting it.


    He dragged logs from the forest, sawed them into sections, and split them into firewood, which he piled up almost like a little mountain.


    He fixed the broken fences around the Mitchell estate, one after the other.


    He wanted to leave money for Mrs. Mitchell, but did the Mitchell¡¯s lack money? With the world turned upside down, what good was money?


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ new wounds had already scabbed and reduced in swelling, and Gold¡¯s body was rapidly recovering.


    The day of parting finally arrived.


    The Mitchell mother and daughter packed Winters¡¯ belongings and prepared provisions for him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters said to Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak of such things, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Eileen said lovingly as she straightened Winters¡¯ collar, ¡°Had it not been for you, Pierre would not have come back alive. You are a benefactor of the Mitchell family, forever and always.¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes were slightly red with tears, as she stood behind her mother unwilling to part, yet she did not speak a word of entreaty.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters lowered his head.


    Eileen, in a rare gesture, hugged the young Venetian man before turning to instruct her daughter, ¡°My dear, please lead Botayun out.¡±


    Scarlett had already made preparations. She nodded and led out a steed white as clouds from behind the house.


    ¡°The steed of fate¡­ I¡¯m truly sorry.¡± Eileen didn¡¯t need Winters to say anything, she understood everything after seeing that the steed had not returned, and upon seeing Winters¡¯s cane: ¡°Please take this horse back to Vineta. Do not ride it on the way, nor tire it out. It was my husband¡¯s best stallion, and Gerard would have wanted to give it to you as well.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head vehemently. ¡°I can¡¯t accept it.¡±


    ¡°You must take it,¡± said Eileen softly. ¡°It carries the bloodline of fate.¡±


    Winters was completely stunned, his body trembling uncontrollably.


    Scarlett also gave Winters a hug, then wiped away her tears and thrust the reins into Winters¡¯s hands.


    Winters mounted the horse and left the Mitchell estate. He didn¡¯t dare to look back, only continued forward.


    Xial and Gold followed silently behind.


    The three rode on without words, just like that.


    They continued until they reached the crossroads to the village of Dusa and Wolf Town.


    An elderly woman with disheveled hair stood at the crossroads, wrapped in dirty rags.


    She leaned on a wooden stick, gazing fixedly down the road leading to Wolf Town.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, my lord,¡± Gold said in a low voice. ¡°She¡¯s a madwoman.¡±


    Yet Winters recognized the old woman, who once sat by the threshing floor, carrying her little granddaughter on her back, laughing and washing clothes while watching the men practice javelin.


    Winters took out all the money he had, dismounted, and walked to the old woman¡¯s side.


    The old woman, who had been as still as a stone statue, suddenly seized Winters¡¯s arm, staring at his face as if she recognized the person before her.


    A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes.


    ¡°My lord,¡± the old woman asked, ¡°have you seen my son?¡±


    Tears burst from Winters¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, my lord,¡± Gold said softly.


    Winters thought of Sea Blue, Kasha, Antonio, Elizabeth, and the Great General and the lesser generals.


    He recalled Brother Reed¡¯s words: ¡°This is the easiest, the simplest path, I¡¯ve shown you the way, why do you hesitate?¡±


    He thought of Anna¡¯s smiling face and her flowing hair.


    He remembered everything about his homeland.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    ¡°Thump.¡±


    Scarlett, who was sobbing, opened the door.


    Winters stood outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± he said.


    Scarlett burst into tears and hugged Winters tightly.


    Above the plains, a rider sped towards Vineta, with two extra horses tied to his saddle.


    This rider was ¡°Good Fortune¡± Gold.


    His backpack contained four letters.


    The first three were addressed to Kasha Serviati, Antonio Serviati, and Elizabeth Serviati, respectively.


    The recipient of the fourth letter was Anna Navarre.


    It contained only one sentence.


    ¡°I am still alive, I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t wait for me anymore.¡±


    [End of Volume Two]

 Chapter 570 570 Prologue

    ?Chapter 570: Prologue Chapter 570: Prologue The bandit leader ¡°Guoquan¡± Dixon had recently been living very comfortably, thanks to the addition of a fierce new group of recruits.


    Due to oppressive taxation, the Newly Reclaimed Land had always been plagued by bandits.


    Now the extortion and rapacious demands by the Red Rose and Blue Rose made it very easy for gangs to expand their numbers.


    Offering just a morsel to eat was enough to attract those who had no other choice but to come seeking refuge.


    If that were all, however, it could only attract some clumsy peasants at best.


    But every one of the new recruits under Guoquan was a tough character.


    Not only were they quick and nimble in their tasks, but they also never asked unnecessary questions about unrelated matters.


    ...


    Most importantly, each of them had a Warhorse and was skilled with a saber.


    ¡°Having cavalrymen, good grief,¡± Guoquan thought smugly, ¡°Isn¡¯t that something unique in the entire Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    With the new recruits, Guoquan easily swallowed up another nearby gang of outlaws.


    Now, only ¡°Guoquan Dixon¡¯s¡± gang remained in this forest, he had finally achieved his long-standing career goal: monopoly.


    The only slight disappointment was that these new recruits only listened to a kid named ¡°Pierre.¡±


    Even his own commands as the boss had to be relayed through that kid.


    ¡°I have to find a way to deal with that kid,¡± Guoquan schemed internally, ¡°to completely swallow up this bunch.¡±


    ¡°Boss! Trouble!¡±


    One of his men came running back, tumbling and shouting, ¡°Someone really tough is coming! Really tough!¡±


    Guoquan went up and slapped the man across the face, knocking him over.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to panic about, damn it?¡± Guoquan cursed fiercely, ¡°These days, who the hell struts around outside if they¡¯re not tough?¡±


    The chaos of war had led to rampant banditry, which, in turn, almost halted commercial activity between towns.


    There were hardly any ordinary pedestrians on the roads anymore, and merchant caravans were almost extinct.


    The travelers who still dared to venture outside were either very brave or confident in their abilities, with most possessing both qualities.


    As a result, Guoquan¡¯s ¡°business¡± was becoming increasingly bleak.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too worried; if raiding travelers wasn¡¯t an option, they could still raid farms.


    Now that his gang had acquired these formidable warhorses, and with more manpower, they could easily handle a small village of several dozen households.


    Upon hearing from his subordinate that the oncoming stranger was formidable, Guoquan¡¯s eyes gleamed with a plan.


    ¡°Pierre?¡± Guoquan shouted around the camp, looking for him, ¡°Where has Pierre gone?¡±


    No horsemen paid him any attention; everyone was busy with their own business.


    This made Guoquan even angrier, and he bellowed, ¡°Pierre!¡±


    A scruffy young man emerged from a tent, his eyes bleary as he looked at Guoquan and lazily responded, ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a horseman coming up ahead,¡± Guoquan ordered, ¡°You go around and cut off the rear, don¡¯t let him escape. I¡¯ll block the front with the others.¡±


    After a grunt of acknowledgment, Pierre stretched out his arms to get dressed.


    The other horsemen seemed to have something to say, but Pierre just lightly shook his head.


    Guoquan looked on with envy as Pierre mounted his warhorse and galloped down the forest path with his saber in hand.


    Warhorses were too expensive and troublesome to keep.


    Even Guoquan, the leader, didn¡¯t have a large steed to ride, just a small Hurd horse.


    Seeing Pierre charge away, Guoquan hurriedly called for the rest of his men to follow.


    By the roadside, he caught sight of the stranger who the subordinate claimed, ¡°really was tough.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At a glance, Guoquan could tell this was a dangerous man.


    The stranger rode his horse at a leisurely pace.


    He appeared young, well-proportioned, with an inconspicuous white mark on his forehead.


    A horsehead cane was tucked into one saddlebag and a sword into the other.


    Gut instinct told Guoquan that this man was indeed very dangerous¡ªperhaps even more so than Pierre and his warhorses combined.


    But for Guoquan, the more dangerous the better.


    Guoquan watched Pierre close in on the stranger from behind¡ªwhichever of them died was not his loss.


    Then, something unexpected occurred.


    Like thunder exploding in the woods, a voice boomed throughout the forest, ¡°Pierre Girardnovich! You really have gained some skills!¡±


    Stunned, Guoquan watched as Pierre dismounted and embraced the dangerous stranger.


    ¡°Damn it, this has gone bad,¡± was Guoquan¡¯s only thought.

 Chapter 571 571 1 Clash

    ?Chapter 571: Chapter 1 Clash Chapter 571: Chapter 1 Clash ¡°Brothers returning from the wasteland need no elaboration from me! Nor do the people of Wolf Town need any empty chatter! Let me introduce the others to you!¡±


    Pierre stood on a large rock, delivering a passionate speech to a gathering of bandits, his earlier languid and decadent appearance gone:


    ¡°This is Captain Winters Montagne! The champion of Paratu! The best Centurion! Centurion Montagne has returned! With our brother back, we have nothing to fear! Centurion Montagne is back! The green¡­¡±


    Pierre spoke with fervor, but Guoquan Dickson¡¯s face grew paler and paler.


    The moment Monta recognized Pierre as the Centurion, Guoquan had the urge to flee.


    But he couldn¡¯t escape; he was being watched too closely, shadowed by two Dusacks even when he went to relieve himself.


    After a brief and not so fierce inner struggle, Guoquan knelt before the Centurion with a plop, pleading, ¡°My lord, I¡¯m just an honest farmer. I only turned to banditry because I couldn¡¯t make a living anymore. Please spare me!¡±


    Winters raised his eyebrows slightly: ¡°Stand up and speak.¡±


    ...


    But Guoquan¡¯s knees seemed nailed to the ground, he even tried to kiss the hem of the Centurion¡¯s cloak.


    Pierre stepped in front of Guoquan with a stern face and declared, ¡°Now that Centurion Montagne is back, these men have nothing to do with you. Get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ can I really go?¡± Guoquan, mixed with joy and anxiety, asked tentatively.


    ¡°Scram!¡±


    This was truly a dilemma; staying meant certain death, but leaving could also mean death.


    With a wave of his hand, Pierre told the other bandits, ¡°Those who don¡¯t wish to stay may leave!¡±


    After hesitating for a long time, Guoquan clenched his teeth and decided to take a gamble: ¡°Thank you for your mercy, my lord. I truly don¡¯t want to be a bandit anymore!¡±


    Guoquan determined that staying meant death. He was accustomed to freedom and didn¡¯t want to take orders from any Centurion.


    Given the chaos in the Newly Reclaimed Land, as long as he could get away, it would be easy to round up another group.


    Seeing Guoquan deciding to leave, a few others also wanted to go, all of them old brothers of Guoquan.


    ¡°Get out of here,¡± Pierre said with a tilt of his chin.


    Guoquan thanked him profusely, backing away a few steps before turning to run.


    However, as soon as he turned around, Pierre¡¯s saber came slashing down.


    The shining steel blade described an arc, cleaving through the left shoulder, pausing only slightly at the bone. In the end, it left a gruesome gash from which blood gushed forth. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre shook his saber to clear the blood, wiped the blade, and sheathed it.


    The other veterans also sprung up and executed the few who wished to leave.


    Winters was somewhat surprised but said nothing.


    He gathered the twenty-two ¡°bandits¡± together, along with his thirteen warriors who were present.


    Looking at everyone¡¯s grim faces, Winters began his first speech.


    ¡°According to the law of the Newly Reclaimed Land,¡± his tone was even, but his voice clearly reached everyone¡¯s ears, ¡°those who band together to block roads and rob will be broken on the wheel if they are the principal offenders, and hanged if they are accomplices.¡±


    The expressions darkened even further; who didn¡¯t know this?


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, becoming a bandit was a dead end. If they weren¡¯t desperate, no one would join a bandit group.


    Winters spoke again: ¡°However, my appointment as Garrison Officer of Wolf Town is still in effect. Therefore, from this moment on, I conscript all of you as members of the Newly Reclaimed Land Wolfton militia.


    You must submit to my authority and from now on be bound by military law. You are no longer bandits, nor are you farmers; it is now your duty to eradicate banditry.¡±


    Those from Wolf Town had tears in their eyes; they were like rootless duckweeds drifting with the wind, living each day in fear of the future.


    The appearance of Captain Montaigne, like a plank to a drowning man, was a remnant of the former world, evoking memories of better times.


    But farmers from other places showed only numbness and indifference on their faces; they didn¡¯t know Winters Montagne.


    To them, Guoquan? Garrison Officer? Centurion? It was all the same¡ªjust switching who would dole out their porridge. What difference could it make?


    Winters met each person¡¯s gaze in turn: ¡°I promise you. One day, you will be able to lay down your weapons, pick up your ploughs, and return to the golden wheat fields, back to your mothers, wives, and children. I promise you this; remember it well.¡±


    His voice was calm but carried a strange power, as if he truly could fulfill his promise.


    Even the most numb of farmers felt a slight pricking in their hearts at this moment.


    The smell of earth, the gold of the wheat fields¡­


    So close yet so unattainable, as if they were memories from long ago.


    ¡­


    Winters reunited with his warriors, and they all had endless things to say to each other.


    The young stable boy, Anglu, clung to Winters¡¯ arm, crying one moment and laughing the next, unwilling to let go.


    Pierre brought a young man to Winters, saying excitedly, ¡°Look who I¡¯ve brought to you, sir!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh at first sight.


    The young man in front of him was the very image of the blacksmith Berlion; nobody could mistake it.


    However, Berlion was quiet and cautious, while the young man had the mischief and vivacity typical of youth in his eyes.


    Winters asked the young man, ¡°Your father is Alexander Soya, right?¡±


    The young man was startled and looked to Pierre, at a loss for what to do.


    ¡°Stop teasing him,¡± Pierre said, patting the young man¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I ran into Carlos among another group of people. The moment I saw him, I knew who he was. That¡¯s why I kept him close, to look after him a bit.¡±

 Chapter 572 572 1 Clash_2

    ?Chapter 572: Chapter 1 Clash_2 Chapter 572: Chapter 1 Clash_2 ¡°You know my brother, too?¡± Carlos asked.


    The surrounding soldiers all burst into hearty laughter.


    ¡°How could we not?¡± Winters joined in the laughter and turned to ask Pierre, ¡°Where¡¯s Berlion?¡±


    The laughter stopped.


    Pierre¡¯s expression became somewhat dejected, ¡°Under Alpad¡¯s control, he is a blacksmith, kept under strict watch. My father, and many others, are also under Alpad. But as for their exact location, I don¡¯t know. Are they still alive? I don¡¯t know that either.¡±


    ¡°We need to figure out a way to bring them back,¡± Winters sighed.


    Pierre perked up, slapping his thigh and said, ¡°As long as you are back, we have nothing to fear!¡±


    ...


    The others all nodded in agreement.


    Winters remembered something particularly important and asked Carlos with a serious demeanor, ¡°How about you¡­ How¡¯s your cooking?¡±


    ¡°No good, no good at all,¡± Carlos frantically waved his hands, ¡°I always ate what my brother cooked, I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Winters was quite disappointed and asked with a sense of loss, ¡°Then can you forge iron?¡±


    ¡°I can, it¡¯s a skill I¡¯ve had since childhood, but I¡¯m nowhere near as good as my brother.¡±


    ¡°Pierre, put him in charge of repairing the arms, don¡¯t let him handle swords and knives.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Carlos immediately became anxious, ¡°Why can¡¯t I use swords and knives? I have two arms and two legs too! I¡¯m not worse than anyone else!¡±


    Pierre slapped the back of the kid¡¯s head, ¡°Watch your manners! The captain is taking care of you!¡±


    Carlos didn¡¯t recognize the newly arrived Centurion Montagne, but he respected Pierre greatly and became sheepishly quiet.


    ¡°Since when did I become a captain?¡± Winters was baffled.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Oh¡­ Indeed, you wouldn¡¯t know,¡± Pierre said with a smile, ¡°Posthumously promoted! There was even a grand ceremony. Fallen officers were promoted one rank, something those people in Alpad¡¯s group orchestrated.¡±


    Since Winters Montagne had supposedly died in battle, naturally, there were no limits to contend with.


    When he received the ¡°Knight¡¯s Great Cross Sword Medal,¡± tradition dictated that he could be promoted one rank.


    For sacrificing his life for his country, he was promoted another rank.


    Therefore, the ¡°First¡± Republic of Paratu generously posthumously promoted Winters to the rank of captain¡ªat that time, the Blue and Red Roses had not yet split.


    However, Winters was still alive, which made the determination of his military rank a bit problematic.


    But who cared? Certainly not Winters.


    ¡°Tell me what¡¯s been happening with you all,¡± Winters pulled Pierre and the others into a circle, ¡°Tell me everything.¡±


    The big guys started talking, each taking turns to recount the perils they faced coming back from the no-man¡¯s land, the agony of being stranded in the Shuangqiao Main Camp, and the journey of escaping back to Wolf Town.


    As for the times they ambushed officers and pursuers, Pierre didn¡¯t hide any details from Winters.


    ¡°That bastard Bunting, I wanted to kill him too,¡± Pierre said bitterly, ¡°But that animal has a keen nose, he sensed something was off and tucked tail to run to Revodan.¡±


    Winters remained noncommittal.


    ¡°Then we just moved around among various bandit gangs, never straying too far from Wolf Town. Occasionally, we could go home to see our families, bring them some food,¡± Pierre¡¯s voice grew softer as he continued, ¡°Anyway, we just scraped by, living day by day.¡±


    Everyone fell silent; they had sabers, but they didn¡¯t know where to strike.


    Resist the authority that ruled this land? They didn¡¯t have the courage yet¡ªand besides, that was tantamount to suicide.


    ¡°What do these bandit gangs subsist on? Robbing travelers?¡± Winters asked patiently, ¡°How much can travelers carry on them?¡±


    The others were still confused, but Pierre had already grasped Winters¡¯s point and said helplessly, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by Guoquan¡¯s appearance, that guy is cunning and knows his way around the authorities. He only robs travelers and merchants on the road, at most he extorts from farms, but he never touches the conscription teams from the authorities! Stays far away from them.¡±


    According to the laws of the Newly Reclaimed Land, the responsibility to suppress bandits rested with local town governments.


    If Wolf Town had a bandit problem, Wolf Town was responsible; if there was a bandit problem near Revodan, Revodan managed it.


    The only circumstance in which the New Reclamation Legion would dispatch its gendarmerie was when bandits managed to rob from the legion itself.


    As a seasoned robber, Guoquan never touched conscription teams.


    As long as he didn¡¯t provoke the New Reclamation Legion, with the local law enforcement already near collapse, there truly wasn¡¯t anyone who could hold him accountable.


    But a scoundrel always meets a harsher scoundrel, and Guoquan had already been buried.


    Winters counted and realized that the only ones he could truly rely on were his thirteen ¡°old soldiers.¡±


    Of the other twenty-two, perhaps those from Wolf Town might be trustworthy, but the rest were the sort who would rush forth in a mob and disperse just as quickly.


    Winters had no intention of commanding them, but if he disbanded them, he would see them in another gang of bandits the next day.


    Winters thought, ¡°I need to find a way out for them.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± he could not speak disheartening words, so he said as confidently as possible, ¡°I have a plan.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Creak.¡±


    ¡°Creak.¡±


    Those were the sounds of wagon wheels turning.


    A convoy was moving sluggishly along the road, pulled by beasts of burden including horses, mules, oxen, and donkeys.


    Loaded on the wagons were sacks of wheat and baskets of immature fruits and vegetables, along with all kinds of scavenged food items.


    There were even two squealing piglets and a goat.


    The men escorting the convoy were armed and looked like soldiers. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But they all appeared listless, with slumped shoulders and hands hanging down, trudging along without a word.

 Chapter 573 573 1 Clash_3

    ?Chapter 573: Chapter 1 Clash_3 Chapter 573: Chapter 1 Clash_3 The carriage drivers were no different; they carelessly cracked their long whips, even the tips of which seemed to move with a hint of reluctance.


    Returning full-loaded from Wolf Town, they were now hurrying toward Revodan.


    About fifty escort soldiers, and a little over twenty drivers, with only one person in high spirits.


    That was the person in charge of this grain requisition convoy, Sergeant Ivan. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sergeant Ivan had originally been a member of Revodan¡¯s security forces, notorious for his hot temper and for beating his wife and children when drunk.


    The military commander of Revodan had expanded his troops, and Ivan rode the tide to become a sergeant.


    There was only one reason for his promotion¡ªhigher-ups thought his fiery temper and burly physique could keep the rank-and-file in check.


    ...


    ¡°Farmers have no grain? Bullshit! Farmers are the sneakiest bastards!¡± spat Sergeant Ivan, boasting proudly to the Centurion beside him about his experience with grain levies: ¡°Ask for grain, they won¡¯t give! Ask for wheat, they have none! Open their cellars and look, all flour! Wheat! You¡¯ve got to put a knife to their throats to get them to be honest!¡±


    The Centurion beside him forced a smile and nodded repeatedly in agreement, not wanting to provoke the brute.


    The convoy moved slowly, taking a few days, from one to two at a minimum or up to four or five, to get back to Revodan from various villages.


    Therefore, along the way to the Revodan garrison, military outposts had been set up¡ªthis was also a common strategy of the Parlatu Army.


    ¡°Pick up the pace!¡± shouted Sergeant Ivan at the rank-and-file soldiers: ¡°You can rest once we get to the outpost!¡±


    It was only at dusk that the outpost finally came into view.


    Outpost was a term used rather loosely here; it was just some wooden fences arranged in a circle on a flat ground, with a few huts thrown up within.


    To keep the cattle and horses from running away and provide a place for the levy team to stay overnight.


    Sergeant Ivan walked into the outpost and saw four rank-and-file soldiers gathered around a table, enjoying dinner and chatting away.


    They seemed to be having a great time, bursting into laughter now and then.


    ¡°Hey! What the hell are you doing?¡± the look on Sergeant Ivan¡¯s face turned sour.


    A young Centurion stood up to greet him.


    Seeing a bottle of alcohol on the table, Sergeant Ivan became even more irate: ¡°You idiots, you¡¯ve been drinking?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± the Centurion scratched his head: ¡°I¡¯ll put it away now.¡±


    ¡°Where are the original people of this outpost?¡± Sergeant Ivan¡¯s brow knotted into a scowl.


    ¡°Gone.¡±


    The direct consequence of forcible soldier conscription was a large number of deserters.


    The New Reclamation Legion was currently maintaining discipline strictly through collective punishment, which led to entire groups of ten deserting together at the first sign of trouble.


    Sergeant Ivan was accustomed to this kind of thing.


    ¡°Keep a sharp eye out tonight,¡± he warned the Centurion coldly: ¡°If I find my men have run off by tomorrow morning, you¡¯ll be held responsible as well!¡±


    The Centurion nodded gravely.


    ¡°Get some water for us!¡± Sergeant Ivan sprawled next to the table nonchalantly: ¡°Leave the bottle.¡±


    There was no need to wait until the next morning, as the grain requisition team was ambushed by Winters that very night.


    Sergeant Ivan had his head covered with a sack and received a good beating before being securely tied up.


    When the sack was taken off again, Ivan found himself surrounded by three masked people.


    These three masked individuals were Winters, Pierre, and Vashka. Due to the accent issue, Pierre was the one who interacted with Sergeant Ivan in the outpost.


    ¡°You sons of bitches have some nerve!¡± Sergeant Ivan cursed loudly: ¡°Do you know who you¡¯re robbing? The gendarmerie will catch you one by one, break your bones inch by inch¡­¡±


    Pierre stepped forward and slapped him hard twice: ¡°Will you shut the fuck up with your nonsense?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Winters patted the sergeant¡¯s cheek: ¡°Look at me, who¡¯s in charge in Revodan now? Speak!¡±


    The sergeant had been so dazed by the slaps that his consciousness blurred. He vaguely heard the young Centurion complaining: ¡°Kid, why don¡¯t you know your own strength?¡±


    Suddenly, a bucket of water was splashed over him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s in charge in Revodan? Speak! Talk or I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    ¡°M-Major Ronald¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s he doing with so much food?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he Red Rose or Blue Rose?¡±


    ¡°Neither¡­¡±


    ¡°Neither?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes narrowed: ¡°Who¡¯s above Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Winters lifted his chin, and Pierre slapped him again: ¡°You fucking don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sergeant Ivan felt something hard in his mouth; his teeth had been knocked out: ¡°¡­I really don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°How many soldiers does Revodan have now?¡±


    Sergeant Ivan¡¯s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.


    ¡°What should we do now?¡± Pierre was completely flabbergasted.


    Winters was furious: ¡°Who told you to use your fists?¡±


    ¡°Then what? Wake him up?¡±


    ¡°Forget it, he¡¯s no different from an ordinary soldier, can¡¯t see anything. Take him away.¡±


    ¡­


    Afterward, the still-confused soldiers of the escort team were gathered by the masked men, their weapons already seized, and their hands bound behind their backs.


    ¡°Head north along the road!¡± the leading masked man ordered coldly: ¡°Whoever dares to look back will be slaughtered!¡±


    The soldiers of the escort team were stunned at first but then suddenly scurried northward along the dirt road.


    ¡°We should hurry as well.¡± Winters pulled off his mask: ¡°Don¡¯t wait for the military police to catch up.¡±


    Anglu inappropriately asked: ¡°Does Revodan have any cavalry?¡±


    ¡°Fuck off.¡±


    Twenty carts and the weapons of over fifty men fell into Winters¡¯s hands.


    While harnessing the carts, Vashka excitedly said: ¡°This is really a big deal! Much more fucking satisfying than robbing travelers or farmsteads!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we still just bandits?¡± Samujin was a bit upset.


    ¡°Why care so much?¡± Vashka touched the healed wound on the back of his head: ¡°The sky falls, and the Centurion holds it up; just follow along.¡±


    Ever since deserting in the midst of battle and receiving a slash on the back of his head from Centurion Montaigne, Vashka had always been a bit afraid of Winters.


    Meanwhile, Winters was lamenting: ¡°Aren¡¯t we still just bandits?¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Pierre hadn¡¯t heard clearly.


    ¡°I said.¡± Winters enunciated each word: ¡°After this haul, we can finally get the team in proper order.¡±


    Pierre said happily: ¡°Just right! We¡¯re just bandits now! It¡¯s time to get organized. But why not recruit them? Isn¡¯t this fifty men ready for the taking?¡±


    ¡°Are those soldiers?¡± Winters began to educate Pierre: ¡°That¡¯s fifty mouths to feed!¡±


    From the road to the north came a succession of footsteps; Winters and Pierre exchanged a glance¡ªsomeone was coming to the station!


    The veterans quickly drew their weapons and leaped onto their horses.


    Soon, they brought back three Revodan soldiers with their hands tied behind their backs.


    ¡°What are you guys doing back here?¡± Winters pulled his mask back up: ¡°Looking to die?¡±


    ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡± One of the soldiers actually called out Winters¡¯s surname: ¡°Take us with you!¡±


    He explained rapidly: ¡°I recognized your soldiers first thing this morning! When they entered the station, I knew it was them! That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t expose them. I¡¯m not one of your men, but I¡¯ve seen you. I¡¯ve fought alongside you; I¡¯m also from the wastelands! Take us with you! We don¡¯t want to serve Revodan anymore!¡±


    ¡°There we go.¡± Pierre sighed: ¡°Three more mouths to feed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Winters patted Pierre¡¯s shoulder: ¡°We¡¯ve gained three more warriors.¡±

 Chapter 574 574 2 Building the Army

    ?Chapter 574: Chapter 2 Building the Army Chapter 574: Chapter 2 Building the Army Winters now awoke to the food, drink, and bodily needs of dozens of people.


    He had taken in the people and horses from Guoquan.


    He had also experienced the pain of Guoquan.


    Before this, he had never worried about logistics.


    Logistics were a concern of senior officers, and Winters was just a Centurion. Whatever was sent down to him, he would send on down the line.


    Not enough, he would go to the logistics department to ask for more. If they couldn¡¯t give any, there was nothing he could do.


    As long as he did not embezzle or line his own pockets, his soldiers would be extremely grateful.


    ...


    But now things were different, he was an officer without a superior, leading a troop with no rear support¡ªalthough there were only thirty-eight people at present¡ªeverything was up to him.


    Without mincing words, if everyone had nothing to wipe their butts with, Captain Montaigne would be the first on their minds.


    Intercepting the food requisition team solved Winters¡¯s urgent crisis, but it also put this fledgling group before a difficult decision.


    Should they return the food?


    Winters gathered the key members of the group for a meeting beside the fire.


    Pierre, Anglu, Vashka, and representatives from several other villages sat around the campfire in a circle, as Winters laid out the current situation for everyone.


    Twigs crackled and popped in the fire.


    Anglu timidly said, ¡°Give it back to the villagers. This food belongs to them; it was taken from the villagers of Wolf Town.¡±


    Winters nodded, encouraging Anglu to continue. He wanted to hear the others¡¯ thoughts.


    He was currently using the firelight to whittle wood, planning to carve a few chess pieces.


    ¡°Give it back?¡± Pierre sighed, retorting, ¡°Then what would we eat?¡±


    Anglu was at a loss for words. He was naturally gentle and disliked thinking about complicated matters. So he lowered his head and started fiddling with sticks at his feet.


    Pierre bit his lip and said harshly, ¡°Just don¡¯t return it, not a single grain! If any family truly has nothing to eat, we can help them a bit, and they would still thank us.¡±


    Winters¡¯s knife paused, and he nodded, ¡°That¡¯s one solution.¡±


    The representatives from the other villages dared not interject, but their expressions showed they agreed with Pierre.


    Although they sympathized with the farmers from Wolf Town, filling their own stomachs was ultimately more important.


    ¡°The food requisition team goes to rob the villagers of their food, then we go and rob the requisition team, how are we any different from them?¡± Anglu suddenly raised his head and said sadly, ¡°Are we to just wait by Wolf Town, and once the requisition team has stripped the villagers bare, we go and rob them? Wouldn¡¯t we then become carrion-eating crows, hyenas?¡±


    This time Pierre was left without a reply. He crossed his arms and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s still different.¡±


    ¡°No need to argue,¡± Vashka stepped in to mediate. He tried to balance the two viewpoints, tentatively asking, ¡°How about¡­ we return half of it?¡±


    Winters nearly cut his hand when he heard that while he was carving his chess pieces.


    For an instant, he truly wanted to pry open Vashka¡¯s skull to see how the lad could come up with such an ingeniously absurd idea.


    But then he remembered Colonel Jeska¡¯s attitude towards the lieutenants¡ªlisten more, speak less, make decisions.


    He mustn¡¯t discourage the others too much, or else no one would dare to speak up again.


    Before Winters could say anything, Pierre shot back, ¡°Return half? Might as well not return anything at all! Return half? Everyone would hate us!¡±


    Vashka also sheepishly closed his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, set the night watch, the rest of you rest. Anglu, stay behind.¡± Winters brushed the wood shavings off his body and pocketed a carved horse-head chess piece, ¡°We¡¯re leaving for Wolf Town tomorrow.¡±


    The Dusack men rose swiftly, having grown accustomed to obeying orders.


    But the representatives from the other villages were a bit flustered. Winters¡¯s troop had still been camping in the bandit camp in the forest these past few days.


    Going to Wolf Town suddenly, they were somewhat unaccustomed.


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here any longer.¡± Winters thought to himself, ¡°Otherwise, we¡¯ll really become bandits.¡±


    The bandit camp had no walls, no barracks, no watch posts, not even many tents.


    Even Winters was just spreading a wool blanket by the campfire to use as a bed.


    Living in such a place could even change a person¡¯s mindset.


    As everyone else walked away, Anglu nervously clutched the hem of his clothing, ¡°Did I say something wrong just now?¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything wrong, you¡¯re a good kid,¡± Winters whispered to Anglu¡ªactually they were not even four years apart, ¡°I just wanted you to understand that, now get some good sleep.¡±


    Anglu saluted, then walked away in a daze.


    Winters pulled out two blankets, using one as a cover and one as a bed, and quickly fell asleep.


    No sooner had he fallen asleep than Vashka¡¯s excited voice woke him up.


    Winters¡¯s head ached, ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°Centurion, I¡¯ve got a great idea!¡± Vashka reported immediately, his voice full of joy, ¡°This time we¡¯ll give it back to the villagers of Wolf Town. Later we can just stay beside some other village, and once the food requisition team has stripped them bare, we rob the team, isn¡¯t that perfect?¡± Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had overestimated his patience. He kicked over Vasya.


    The roar of fury awoke every creature in the forest, ¡°Get out!¡±


    ¡­


    The troop of about forty men, twenty or so large carts.


    They haphazardly bundled up everything they could take from the camp and threw it onto the carts, and Winters¡¯s force moved out.


    The convoy stretched out in disarray on the road.

 Chapter 575 575 2 Building the Army_2

    ?Chapter 575: Chapter 2 Building the Army_2 Chapter 575: Chapter 2 Building the Army_2 ¡°`


    If it weren¡¯t for the sixteen old soldiers leading the way, the convoy would have fallen apart on its own while on the move.


    The villages, small towns, and even the bandit gangs in the forests all covertly spied on this troop.


    Is it a conscription team?


    Unlikely.


    For months, they had only seen conscription teams hauling grain to Revodan, it was the first time witnessing a convoy carrying grain on the way back.


    ¡°Lift your heads! Puff out your chests!¡± Winters, on horseback, inspected them from front to back, ¡°You are soldiers, not bandits! Walk with pride!¡±


    Under Winters¡¯ harsh commands, the tense cheeks of the ¡°new soldiers¡± gradually relaxed.


    ...


    They thought: That¡¯s right? I¡¯m already a member of the militia, why should I be scared?


    ¡°Vashka!¡± Winters called out from a distance.


    ¡°Present!¡± Vashka hurriedly rode his horse over.


    ¡°Sing a song for everyone!¡±


    Vashka¡¯s face turned bitter, ¡°Centurion, I only know the songs of the Dusans¡­¡±


    Most military songs had tunes but no words.


    In contrast, there were only a few tunes for folk songs, but the lyrics were incredibly diverse.


    Winters glared at him, ¡°Sing when you¡¯re told to sing! What are you dithering for?¡±


    Vashka shivered with fright.


    He coughed a few times, turned red in the face, and began bellowing:


    ¡°Big brother, as you leave the village gate!


    Little sister finds it hard to make you stay!


    Hand in hand with brother¡¯s palm!


    Escort brother to the house¡¯s front¡­¡±


    ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Winters chuckled bemused, flinging his whip towards Vasya, ¡°What the hell are you singing?¡±


    The militia also laughed good-naturedly.


    Covering his head, Vashka felt extremely wronged, ¡°But this is our Dusan song! When Dusacks leave home for service, the women go to the village gate to see them off¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine! Then keep singing!¡±


    Vashka continued to bellow:


    ¡°Gripping tightly the sleeve of my brother!


    Streams of tears flow into my gut!


    I only hate that I cannot join you!


    I just hope you return home soon¡­¡±


    Vashka¡¯s singing was dreadful, off-key three out of four lines.


    But as he sang, the militia¡¯s eyes became moist, for everyone was someone who had left home.


    The homeless farmers from the Newly Reclaimed Land and the Dusacks, paying blood tax for a century, suddenly found common ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just listen!¡± Winters stood up and ordered everyone, ¡°All join in and sing! Learn to sing!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Big brother rides away on horse!


    Little sister feels bitter at her core!


    How long will this departure last?


    May you too return with a head of white at last¡­¡±


    Accompanied by wailing song that echoed like ghosts and wolves, Winters¡¯ troops entered Wolf Town.


    Immediately thereafter, with a sweeping gesture, Winters ordered that all the grain be returned to the people of Wolf Town.


    Villagers from around gathered in the town square, even the farmers of Wolf Town, whose grain had not been conscripted, came to see what the fuss was about.


    Every face beamed with smiles, those receiving grain as well as those distributing it.


    Identifying which grain belonged to whom was fairly simple, as the grain was contained in handcrafted straw baskets and a few burlap sacks.


    The baskets and sacks were handcrafted, so each household¡¯s weaving habits varied. To prevent mistakes in everyday life, many farmers even left unique markings.


    ¡°`


    Thus, the restitution work was carried out smoothly.


    Winters even played the role of a temporary judge: when two farmers both claimed a basket of wheat was theirs, he told them to go home and retrieve their own woven reed baskets. Once compared, the truth came to light.


    Ever since the central town was burned down, Wolf Town hadn¡¯t seen such a crowd as it had today.


    Sitting on the hillside outside the town, Winters looked down at the bustling scene of Wolf Town, feeling completely satisfied.


    ¡°Alas,¡± Pierre, sitting next to Winters, still felt a bit of regret, ¡°I think it really would have been better not to return it, just aid those who lack grain. It would also have made them remember your kindness.¡±


    Winters laughed and retorted, ¡°Do you think the people of Wolf Town are fools? Wouldn¡¯t they understand what¡¯s going on? There¡¯s no need for such despicable tricks! Rest assured, I will secure supplies for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Alas, it¡¯s not the supplies I am worried about,¡± Pierre said with distress, ¡°I am worried that they will resent you in the future. You¡¯ve helped them once, what about the second time? The third time?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters leaned back against the hillside and patted Pierre on the back, ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡±


    ¡­


    After returning all the food to the people of Wolf Town, the second thing Winters did was to gather the remains in the cemetery.


    The cemetery, located beside the church and surrounded by bushes, used to be a solemn and tranquil place for people to remember the deceased.


    Now it lay in ruins.


    The better the tombstone, the more severely the grave had been desecrated.


    The desecrated graves stood out like wounds on the earth, cruelly exposed to the open air.


    Bones were scattered everywhere, many of them no longer identifiable.


    For those dead who still had living relatives, their bones had already been collected.


    The bones now laying scattered across the cemetery belonged to those who had no further ties to the living world.


    Winters led everyone in reburying the distinguishable remains in their own graves, while the unidentifiable ones were placed together in a newly dug mass grave.


    Many people from Wolf Town also volunteered to help.


    With everyone¡¯s effort, the gaping graves were filled in one by one. Like healing wounds, only shallow scars were left behind.


    After the distribution of food and the collection of remains, Winters gathered his troops on the ruins of Wolf Town.


    ¡°Here,¡± Winters stamped on the scorched earth and casually drew a circle with his cane, ¡°right here, we will establish our camp. The camp is our home, our rear base. From now on, we are no longer bandits or outlaws.¡±


    The people listened in silence.


    ¡°I know that you stay with me not because you wish to be soldiers, but because you have nowhere else to go,¡± Winters said with a smile, leaning on his cane, ¡°so, I thought we needed a ceremony to make everyone understand: you are no longer farmers. Come on! Bring the things here!¡±


    Anglu came over with a sack that clinked with the sound of Gold Coins!


    Winters took the sack of money, walked in front of the people, and personally distributed a Ducat to each person.


    He said slowly and clearly to the soldiers, ¡°This thing is called pay. Soldiers earn their pay, and once you¡¯ve received your pay, from this moment forward, you are soldiers, and we are mutually obligated to each other. You may not understand yet why you fight, but you will understand in time.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters gently tapped his cane, ¡°take your oath!¡±


    There were no clergy, no sacred emblems, nor any other additional ceremonies.


    One by one, the soldiers stepped forward and swore their loyalty to Winters.


    Taking an oath to an individual is somewhat peculiar within the Republic, and Winters wanted more than this, but at the moment, this army was indeed held together by personal charisma.


    Though it was still small, from that moment on, it was worthy of being called an army.


    After the oath-taking ceremony, this army of fewer than forty people obediently accepted reorganization.


    Like an artist standing before a blank canvas, Winters finally had the opportunity to establish an army according to his own ideals, unconstrained and unrestricted.


    There were only eight men in a squad, too few to handle duties like night watches and patrols conveniently, so Winters increased the number to twelve.


    Twelve men living in one tent would be too cramped, so Winters divided them into two tents.


    Six men in a tent, two tents sharing one pot, they made up one squad.


    A squad of soldiers had a Centurion and a deputy Centurion.


    Due to phalanx tactics, the smallest tactical unit in the current military system of the Alliance was a company.


    However, since companies might also carry out missions independently, an eighty-man company seemed too small for Winters, which he found inconvenient.


    At the same time, the experience of commanding two companies gave him some insight.


    He planned to expand the company size to 120 men, keep the size of the battalion unchanged, and add a middle command level between the company and the battalion, perhaps called a cohort.


    The battalion¡¯s internal structure would be 1:2:4. With three officers for two companies, there would always be someone to take over if one fell in battle.


    However, these were just Winters¡¯ draft plans, and he had no idea what issues he might face during implementation.


    Currently, he had only thirty-eight soldiers, three squads plus two messenger boys, not even enough for one company.


    And the most pressing issue at the moment was: where was he going to find food for everyone?


    S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 576 576 3 Encirclement

    ?Chapter 576: Chapter 3 Encirclement Chapter 576: Chapter 3 Encirclement ¡°Take care of this!¡±


    Winters handed an arrow to Vashka, Samujin, and another veteran, Tamas.


    The arrows were engraved with serial numbers.


    These three were the centurions he had chosen.


    Winters had originally wanted to assign personnel based on their place of origin, but he realized this was more trouble than it was worth.


    So he reassigned all the soldiers, making the veterans centurions.


    The three other people he trusted the most: Pierre stayed by his side as an adjutant; Anglu and Xial also stayed by him as messengers and military police.


    ...


    ¡°The arrow is your token. Do not break it. If it breaks, everyone gets whipped,¡± Winters solemnly admonished the centurions, ¡°and do not get separated. If one soldier strays, the rest will share the punishment!¡±


    The three newly promoted centurions nodded emphatically.


    At this moment, Winters¡¯s face did not show his usual mild demeanor but was filled with murderous intent:


    ¡°No noise during the march or battle! Violators will be whipped! Anyone who alerts the enemy will be beheaded!¡±


    ¡°If enemies break through your encirclement, do not chase after them. Just continue to close in and drive the remaining enemies toward the designated location.¡±


    ¡°Try to take them alive! We don¡¯t want the dead!¡±


    After declaring the discipline, Winters took out four maps, three small and one large.


    He gave the small maps to the centurions and unfolded the large map for everyone to see.


    Winters then took out three horse-head chess pieces, and began to explain the routes to the centurions.


    Vashka, Samujin, and Tamas listened with glazed eyes and furiously nodded, trying to understand.


    Suddenly, Winters noticed something and, looking directly at them, asked coldly, ¡°You three¡­ can you read the map?¡±


    Vashka habitually continued to nod.


    Winters kicked him in irritation, exclaiming, ¡°You know nothing! You¡¯re holding the map upside down!¡±


    Vashka didn¡¯t dare dodge, taking the boot squarely and hurriedly turned the map right-side up.


    Seeing his comrade straightened out, Anglu covered his mouth to hide a snicker.


    ¡°Brother Reed taught you grammar and spelling rules,¡± Winters then turned to Anglu, ¡°How much do you remember?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ uh?¡± Anglu stuttered, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten most of it.¡±


    Winters let out a sigh from the depths of his chest; the pain he felt was like the one Ned Smith had once experienced.


    He slapped his forehead, then his thigh, ¡°After dinner, everyone come to me!¡±


    ¡°For¡­ what?¡± Pierre asked cautiously. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Class.¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, as the sun was about to rise,


    Vashka led eleven soldiers through the woods, forming a loose line.


    All of them carried boar spears and hit tree trunks with the shafts as they walked.


    The length of the boar spears was less than two meters and didn¡¯t require formation for use. The spearhead had two side branches to prevent spearing too deeply and not being able to pull out.


    The beasts in the forest ran away long before they got close to the noise being made.


    In the distance, a similar beating sound could be faintly heard.


    Winters, along with Pierre and a few others, waited at the closing point, almost mad with frustration: ¡°Where is Samujin¡¯s team? Where have they died?!¡±


    Pierre, Xial, and Anglu were also anxious, waiting for word.


    Winters¡¯s forces were visibly devolving from an [agricultural settlement mode] to a [hunting and gathering mode].


    The main reason was the lack of food. Ellen Mitchell had helped him gather some, but it was far from enough.


    Winters couldn¡¯t afford to sit and watch their provisions dwindle; his forces also had to participate in production.


    With the natural conditions of the Newly Reclaimed Land, the most immediately productive methods were ¡°hunting and gathering.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters wanted to regress to primitive society; there was simply no other choice.


    After living with the Hurd tribes for three months, he had gained a deeper understanding of different forms of social organization.


    As a part of the Hurd tribes, the Paratu People were gradually choosing farming over herding. Not because farming was easy ¨C it was much harder than herding.


    Now, Winters could only choose the simpler path.


    It was currently July, mid-summer, and not the best hunting season.


    Moreover, most of Winters¡¯s men had been farmers in the past, unaccustomed to the business of hunting.


    Fortunately, Winters and the veterans had accumulated some experience: during the battle at The Styx, Winters had once led his troops to hunt wild animals in the Bridge Woods.


    On second thought, he didn¡¯t want to bring up The Styx again; just thinking about it caused a pang in his chest.


    He now missed the young hunter, Bell, terribly.


    If the young hunter were here, it would save him a lot of trouble. But then he considered that if Bell returned, he would certainly bring the little creature with him.


    Feeding forty people was already difficult for Winters; that little creature¡¯s gaping maw could easily bankrupt him.


    With only forty men, he couldn¡¯t conduct a large hunt, only a small one.


    So when choosing the target, he was very cautious, only aiming for a small group of deer in the forest to the northeast of Wolf Town.


    The three groups of men had entered the forest from three different directions an hour before sunrise, corralling and startling the herd, driving the deer toward the position where Winters was waiting.


    The location where Winters was waiting had already been prepared with pits, and was presided over by the most ¡°ferocious¡± Spellcaster officer from Paratu.


    As long as the beasts were driven into place, success was assured.


    What wasn¡¯t expected was a complication¡ªSamujin¡¯s team had disappeared.


    Winters was furious, no longer caring about stealth, he bellowed, ¡°Anglu!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the little groom replied reflexively.


    ¡°Go find Samujin! Tell him! If he fails to show up on time again and lets the deer escape, I will tie his whole team to trees and whip them!¡±

 Chapter 577 577 3 Encirclement_2

    ?Chapter 577: Chapter 3 Encirclement_2 Chapter 577: Chapter 3 Encirclement_2 ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu leaped onto the horse¡¯s back and galloped toward the direction where Samukin should appear.


    The once peaceful forest was now in complete turmoil.


    Deer, roe, rabbits, foxes, wild beasts panicked and fled in terror, their cries incessant.


    Anglu¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t bear it; he suddenly thought that before humans arrived in this forest, these animals might have been living here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.


    Just like this herd of deer, their history of settlement here was perhaps much longer than that of humans.


    But now humans had arrived¡ªAnglu included¡ªand the deer herd was about to face their doom.


    As he rode, Anglu thought about this and felt a wave of sadness wash over him.


    ...


    ¡°Is this the right thing to do?¡± he wondered.


    ¡­


    ¡°Delicious!¡± Anglu chomped on the roasted deer ribs, his mind filled with one thought, ¡°Delicious!¡±


    The soldiers were eating the less desirable parts of the deer, such as the organs.


    The best cuts, like the legs and belly, had been taken to exchange for grain with the villagers.


    The villagers didn¡¯t want the ribs, deeming there was too little meat, so Anglu got lucky.


    Samukin and his group looked on enviously at others eating and drinking, as they only received half the portion of meat, and it was the worst parts.


    They hadn¡¯t arrived at the designated spot on time, which led to nearly half the deer escaping through the gap in the encirclement.


    Samukin was also really unlucky¡ªthey had run into a black bear on the way.


    Not only did they receive only half a portion of meat, but each of them also bore five lashes as a warning to others.


    A small campfire burned, a pot of meat soup simmering; Winters and Pierre were doing their ¡°post-battle¡± debrief.


    ¡°What about the hides?¡± Pierre asked, clutching a notebook, playing the role of a temporary clerk.


    ¡°Exchange them for grain,¡± Winters replied, taking a sip of the deer soup.


    ¡°And the antlers?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep them for now, see if we can sell them in Revodan.¡±


    ¡°What about the deer blood?¡±


    ¡°Feed it to the dogs?¡± Winters suddenly remembered something and asked Pierre, ¡°Doesn¡¯t your dad have four fine terriers? Where are they now?¡±


    ¡°Gone wild, they only come home occasionally.¡±


    ¡°Find a way to tie them up again, we might need them.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Adhering to the idea of wasting nothing, even the deer bones found a place to go:


    An old man in Nanxin village knew how to make glue from bones, and he was willing to exchange two Malte of wheat for all the deer bones¡ªa Malte is an old measure, about 13 kilograms.


    Winters happily agreed, and the old man was delighted too.


    Did the people of Wolf Town actually have grain? The answer was ¡°yes.¡±


    Those in Wolf Town without grain had already nailed up their windows and doors and fled the calamity.


    But it wasn¡¯t possible to levy it, or rather, the cost of levying it was too high.


    Winters had learned a story from a history class in military school: during the Sovereign Wars, the mad King Richard IV had once decreed a ban on farmers feeding rye to pigs.


    The Mad Richard might have thought that by doing so, he could lower the price of rye and thus acquire more grain.


    But farmers still secretly fed their pigs rye.


    They would rather feed their pigs than let the grain be confiscated by the emperor¡¯s taxmen.


    The history teacher believed that this indicated the Empire¡¯s economy was on the brink of collapse, and Mad Richard was doomed to fail.


    After being enlightened by the old sage, Winters had a different perspective on this: the cost of forcible taxation was too high and not worth it.


    The farmers hid their grain under the pigsty or the pile of firewood, and the levy teams rummaged through everything¡ªthat was the current situation in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The farmers weren¡¯t without grain, nor were they unwilling to provide it. What they wanted was a trade, a fair exchange.


    Perhaps it wasn¡¯t just the farmers; everyone felt this way¡ªWinters thought.


    ¡°I remember Mrs. Mitchell knows how to make sausages?¡± Winters slurped his deer soup, asking Pierre.


    Pierre was busy noting down, ¡°Yeah, my mom does.¡±


    ¡°Can deer intestines be used to make sausages?¡± Winters asked curiously, his Venetian business acumen shining: ¡°If so, all those deer offal have a place to go. Sausages are generally worth more than pure meat, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± Pierre scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯ll ask my mom when I get back.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Pierre then asked, ¡°What about the six deer that are still alive? What do we do with them?¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Keep them for now? Is it possible to raise them?¡± This was a blind spot in Winters¡¯s knowledge.


    ¡°`


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Pierre was also puzzled; after thinking about it, he responded, ¡°If it¡¯s possible to raise them, why hasn¡¯t anyone done it before?¡±


    Winters mused, ¡°The Herders say that further to the west there are wild Herder tribes that live by deer herding. It should be possible, right? It¡¯s such a waste to just kill them for meat; if only we could raise them.¡±


    ¡°Shall I have someone give it a try?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Winters was sipping his deer meat soup when he suddenly felt something amiss¨Chis Venetian ¡°killer instinct¡± was going off like mad.


    He leaped up and shouted at the other three bonfires, ¡°Who¡¯s making barbecue?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Anglu stood up, bewildered, with a deer rib still in his hand.


    ¡°No grilling allowed! Everyone eat the boiled meat!¡± Winters reprimanded with heartfelt pain, ¡°A pound of meat, once grilled, at most weighs seven ounces left! I¡¯m even eating boiled noodles, yet you dare to indulge in grilled meat! Have you lost your mind?¡±


    The warriors burst into hearty laughter.


    Anglu, looking meek, ran over with two deer ribs, ¡°These are for you.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but take a bite and tears streamed down his face, ¡°Delicious.¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters handed out the three arrows to the Centurions again, everyone understood another attack was imminent.


    This had become an unspoken rule: before combat, hand the arrows to Centurions as a token, and then take the arrows back after the battle.


    ¡°Centurion, the phrases ¡®a group of people,¡¯ ¡®a pot of people¡¯ are really unsightly.¡± Vashka took the arrows, teasingly suggested, ¡°Could we find something nicer to say?¡±


    Winters picked up the map board, his eyebrows slightly raising, ¡°What would you like to change it to?¡±


    ¡°How about ¡®an Arrow¡¯s People¡¯?¡±


    Winters nearly choked on his saliva; he couldn¡¯t help but marvel, ¡°Vasya, you¡¯re such a genius.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Vashka¡¯s face brightened with joy, a smile beaming across his features.


    ¡°Not a bit!¡± Pierre smacked Vasya on the back of the head and proposed, ¡°How about ¡®a Quiver¡¯? ¡®A group of people,¡¯ ¡®a pot of people¡¯ do indeed sound bad.¡±


    Winters considered it, finding ¡®a Quiver¡¯ to sound pretty good, so he nodded in approval.


    ¡°We¡¯re raising our banner now!¡± Seeing his suggestion accepted, Vashka wanted to push his luck, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we also come up with a resounding name? One that sounds powerful at first hear?¡±


    The others exchanged glances; they indeed lacked a name for themselves.


    Strictly speaking, they were still called ¡°the Newly Reclaimed Land Wolfton Village Militia.¡±


    Vashka stretched a little, confidently unveiling the mystery, ¡°I suggest, let¡¯s call it ¡®Blood Wolf Gang!¡¯ Oh, no, ¡®Blood Wolf Army!¡¯ Doesn¡¯t it sound formidable?¡±


    ¡°Blood [expletive] [expletive] wolves.¡± Winters kicked Vasya¡¯s backside with a heavy boot, ¡°Are you hoping for Revodan to send troops to attack us, is that it?¡±


    Winters grew furious the moment he heard this nickname.


    After taking a deep breath to calm himself, he explained to his subordinates, ¡°We ambushed the grain levying team; Revodan won¡¯t let this slide. Otherwise, why would we disguise ourselves as bandits to strike? What we need least right now is an infamous reputation. The less attention from Revodan the better. Besides, we are already the Wolfton Village Militia, why change our name?¡±


    Pierre nodded thoughtfully, while the rest were still somewhat confused.


    ¡°Alright, look at the map,¡± Winters unrolled the map on the table, restating the discipline,


    ¡°No noise during marches and combat! Violators will be flogged! Those who alert the enemy will be beheaded!


    If enemies break through your encirclement, do not give chase. Just continue to surround and drive the rest toward the designated location.¡±


    Try to capture them alive! We don¡¯t want the dead!¡±


    In the end, he sternly warned the three Centurions, ¡°If anyone dares to be late this time, there will be no mercy!¡±


    ¡­


    It was the same time as always¡ªdawn, with the sun barely showing a hint of light.


    Vashka led eleven soldiers carrying boar spears, stretched out in a loose line through the forest.


    But this time, they did not bang on trees; they moved silently.


    Upon reaching the predetermined location, they lay in ambush.


    Patience was Vashka¡¯s virtue as he waited.


    Suddenly, the piercing blast of a military horn tore through the night.


    Birds in the forest darted into the sky with a flurry, while beasts scattered in terror.


    The attack order was given.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Vashka leapt up with his spear, bellowing at the top of his lungs, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    The Arrows descended upon the bandit camp in the forest from all directions.


    A gang of more than twenty bandits was subdued in the blink of an eye.


    Those bandits who resisted were speared to death, and those alive knelt on the ground, herded together like a flock of sheep.


    Not a single bandit managed to escape.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Anglu came to report excitedly to Winters, ¡°This was way easier than hunting!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 578 578 4 Contemplation

    ?Chapter 578: Chapter 4 Contemplation Chapter 578: Chapter 4 Contemplation The militia had no trouble capturing the gang of bandits, and Winters was not surprised.


    Armed with three arrows and nearly forty men, if they couldn¡¯t handle a mere twenty or so bandits, wouldn¡¯t that make the hunting expedition he led a complete farce?


    Anglu had unwittingly made a point¡ª¡±Battling bandits is much easier than hunting.¡±


    For the ¡°Fishing and Hunting Tribe,¡± hunting was synonymous with military training.


    Setting up routes, planning timing, dividing and conquering¡ªthis was a typical military operation.


    As Winters followed the migration of the Red River Tribe, he noticed that the camp setup and take down of the Herders during migration wasn¡¯t much different from marching an army.


    Winters took the militia on several hunting expeditions, partly because they truly had nothing to eat and needed to participate in production and partly to train his subordinates.


    ...


    ¡­


    The militia captured the group of bandits, and they took the opportunity to plunder their homes.


    ¡°We captured twenty-two bandits alive. Two who tried to resist got themselves killed,¡± Pierre said, without particular joy or anger, resigning himself, ¡°There are a few broken swords and spears, but only a few bags of wheat and rye for food.¡±


    Winters also sighed, ¡°How can they be so poor?¡±


    ¡°If they weren¡¯t poor, they wouldn¡¯t have turned to robbery,¡± Pierre quietly asked, ¡°Let them go? Or?¡±


    He made a throat-slitting gesture.


    Winters thought for a moment, then said, ¡°If we let them go, they¡¯ll just become bandits again.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take care of them right now,¡± Pierre turned to leave.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t finish speaking! Don¡¯t rush,¡± Winters stopped Pierre, noticing the young man¡¯s increasingly grim hands.


    Pierre waited quietly for Winters¡¯ order. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was troubled, ¡°Killing them all indiscriminately, what does that make us? These are honest farmers, driven to desperation.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle it, you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± Pierre said softly.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Winters patted Pierre¡¯s arm, ¡°Pick out the habitual bandits, deal with them. Take the rest back to Wolf Town.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°Are you going to recruit them?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°Where would I get that much food? Even if we were to recruit, we would need to select the better ones.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Winters made up his mind, ¡°Give them something to eat, find them some work, let them settle down for now and take it one step at a time. If we don¡¯t have enough food, we¡¯ll just have to buy or trade for it. Let¡¯s hold out until the autumn harvest is in.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ under what name do we hold them?¡± Pierre thought quickly, ¡°If they¡¯re not part of the militia.¡±


    ¡°Convict laborers, how about that?¡± Winters countered, ¡°After all, they¡¯ve been bandits, and by law, they should be hung. We¡¯re sparing them, so it¡¯s only right for them to perform labor. We¡¯ll make it clear to them it¡¯s not for life, and if conditions allow, they can be released to return home.¡±


    ¡°I think that could work,¡± Pierre nodded firmly, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange it.¡±


    After speaking, he saluted, turned, and left.


    Winters watched Pierre¡¯s retreating figure, uncertain of his own feelings.


    Pierre was a good young man¡ªintelligent, reliable, and capable.


    Winters could trust Pierre with his life, and Pierre would not hesitate to entrust his life to him.


    But Pierre had changed; he was not the carefree little Dusack he used to be.


    Perhaps it was the world that changed, and Pierre chose to respond with a cold heart.


    Winters felt a brotherly affection towards Pierre and hoped to protect him, to keep him from straying down the wrong path.


    But as for the future, he was no longer certain.


    Winters sighed; what right did he have to worry about Pierre? He had changed as well.


    ¡°Convict laborers?¡± Winters chuckled wryly, shaking his head, ¡°Now we really have become a slave-using Fishing and Hunting Tribe.¡±


    ¡­


    Mid-July.


    Clear skies.


    Outside Blackwater Town, Saint Giles Valley Village.


    A crude two-story round wooden fortress stood alone at the edge of the forest.


    The fortress was small, with a diameter of not even twenty meters.


    Originally, the wooden fortress was a refuge for the villagers of Saint Giles Valley in Blackwater Town to hide from bandits, but it had instead been occupied by a gang of bandits.


    Pierre, using a door as a shield, made his way towards the wooden fortress with rapid strides.


    ¡°Bandits inside, listen up! Surrender now, or we¡¯ll set fire to it!¡±


    While Pierre was attempting reason with those inside, Winters was outside the range of the crossbows, manufacturing a crude siege hammer with three arrows.


    In just one week, the militia had cleared out several groups of bandits near Wolf Town.


    As Winters said, militia and bandits were natural enemies.


    Bandits wrought havoc on common folk, their depredations rivalling those of conscription teams.


    Apart from the glaringly obvious reasons, Winters had a more covert idea: he wanted to get some food from the bandits.


    Hunting alone could never fill their bellies. Moreover, the best parts of the game were used to trade for grains, leaving only offal and trim behind.


    No one could stand eating wild vegetable and intestine soup every day.


    However, as it appeared, this plan had already fallen through. Alas, the bandits didn¡¯t have any surplus food either.


    But the bandits still had to be eradicated, without a reason or all the more with one.


    Saint Giles Valley provided Winters with a very compelling reason: two large carts of wheat.


    Not barley, not rye, nor oats.


    It was wheat¡ªthe best grain.


    The news that the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town had returned spread to the nearby villages, and so did the news that he was leading troops to exterminate the bandits.

 Chapter 579 579 4 Contemplation_2

    ?Chapter 579: Chapter 4 Contemplation_2 Chapter 579: Chapter 4 Contemplation_2 The villagers of Saint Giles Valley, left with no escape from a gang of ruthless bandits, heard this news and immediately sent for help.


    The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley rode on a donkey, traveling day and night to reach Wolf Town and requested Winters to enforce the law across the border.


    Moreover, he promised that everything owned by the bandits could be taken by Winters as spoils of war.


    Except for the women¡ªthe women of Saint Giles Valley.


    Indeed, these bandits not only plundered food and money, but they also preyed on women.


    More than a dozen women from Saint Giles Valley were abducted into the bandits¡¯ stronghold, among which five were unmarried, the youngest girl being not even fourteen years old.


    Needless to say, Winters was furious, and so were the militiamen, who itched with rage upon hearing such things.


    ...


    For scum like this, Winters would have dealt with them even without compensation.


    There was no need to whip up morale, everyone armed themselves and rushed to Saint Giles Valley overnight.


    Winters had originally planned to lure out the bandits and ambush them in the open field.


    But the bandits were alert and, discovering their scouts had been eliminated, immediately holed up inside their wooden fortress.


    The battle soon reached a stalemate.


    It wasn¡¯t long before Pierre came running back.


    ¡°What¡¯s the word?¡± Winters asked.


    The militia was severely lacking in siege capabilities; Winters didn¡¯t have muskets at his disposal, let alone cannons, and powder was scarce.


    He really did not want to see his soldiers scaling ladders and risking their lives in storming the fortress.


    Pierre¡¯s expression was odd. Licking his lips, he said, ¡°The bandit chief proposed a condition.¡±


    ¡°What condition?¡±


    ¡°He¡­ He wants to duel you.¡±


    ¡­


    The bandit chief was a large, burly man nearly two meters tall, looking as savage as a wild buffalo.


    He wore a set of plate armor, not the common skirted infantry breastplate, but a set of three-quarter heavy plate armor for officers.


    He had also managed to acquire a pair of cavalry leg guards and a boat-shaped helm.


    Although this combination of armor seemed incongruous, it was indeed lavish.


    Because even his opponent, the young Garrison Officer, did not possess such plate armor.


    However, the bandit chief currently had a boar spear sticking out of his face, lying on the ground facing upwards, presumably dead.


    The stronghold that had been abuzz with cheering went instantaneously silent.


    Winters took a deep breath, such requests for duels before the battle lines were something he hadn¡¯t encountered in a long time.


    This feeling¡­ was indeed somewhat nostalgic.


    ¡°Who else is there?!¡± His voice boomed like thunder through the forest.


    Winters asked again, ¡°Who else is there?!¡±


    First a small gap appeared, then the gates of the stronghold burst open.


    ¡­


    After getting the bandits under control, came the sorting.


    Identifying the hardened criminals and sparing those simple sons of farmers, those who had not yet adopted the bandits¡¯ lawless habits.


    For this procedure, the Wolf Town militia were well-practiced.


    The Village Head of Saint Giles Valley had promised two carts of grain, but Winters came with four large carts¡ªexpecting to load up with spoils.


    Everyone worked their assigned roles, with no need for Winters to intervene.


    He stayed by the body of the bandit chief, examining the armor on the corpse.


    After inspecting it, Winters¡¯s eyebrows slightly raised, ¡°This really is an officer¡¯s armor.¡±


    ¡°Probably stolen or looted,¡± Xial said quietly.


    Pierre came out of the stronghold and hurried back to Winters¡¯s side.


    His lips trembling, he said softly, ¡°You¡­ You should come and see this¡­¡±


    Pierre led Winters into the fortress. In the two-story wooden structure, Winters saw more than a dozen women who were tortured beyond recognition.


    Some were still alive, others had already died.


    The bandits didn¡¯t just ravage them; they were slaughtering them.


    A very young girl, younger than Ella and Scarlett, sat in the corner of the room, her hands bound to a wheel, her head hanging low.


    The militia covered the girl¡¯s bloodstained and muddied naked body with their clothes; she was no longer alive.


    One woman was still alive, but when the militia tried to clothe her, she recoiled as if greatly triggered.


    She desperately backed away, flailing her arms, and let out a blood-curdling scream.


    She had gone mad.


    Pride, complacency, the excitement of dueling, the joy of victory¡­ all of Winters¡¯s emotions vanished in an instant.


    All that was left in his heart was desolation, a feeling of powerlessness, and anger, an anger that could burn the world.


    The militiamen also stood silently, fists clenched tightly, teeth grinding audibly.


    ¡°Bring them here!¡± Winters breathed heavily, struggling to say, ¡°Unbind her.¡±


    The bruised and battered bandits were brought before the girl¡¯s body.


    Without waiting for Winters to speak, a gaunt bandit abruptly knelt down, loudly begging for mercy, ¡°My lord! It was all Hammerhead and his accomplices who forced us! If we didn¡¯t do it, they would kill us! Paline was killed by Hammerhead! His body¡¯s buried in the stronghold!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters drew Vashka¡¯s sabre.


    ¡°Truly! We were really coerced!¡± The gaunt bandit was a flood of snot and tears. He pounced toward another bandit with a bulbous, red nose, crying out, ¡°It was him! It was him! He was with Hammerhead! And him and him!¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters grabbed the red-nosed bandit by the hair and dragged him like a dead body before the girl¡¯s corpse, forcing him to kneel down.


    The red-nosed bandit was so scared that he was limp, and he had even soiled himself; he desperately pleaded, ¡°My lord! Spare me! Have mercy, please!¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Winters placed the sabre at the red-nosed bandit¡¯s neck.


    The militia all waited for that moment.

 Chapter 580 580 4 Contemplation_3

    ?Chapter 580: Chapter 4 Contemplation_3 Chapter 580: Chapter 4 Contemplation_3 Winters¡¯s motion halted, and he released the rosacea-nosed bandit, tossing the military saber back to Vashka.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you, my lord!¡± The rosacea-nosed bandit did not care about the filth on the ground, desperately trying to kiss Winters¡¯s boots, ¡°I will do anything for you! I¡¯ll be your ox, your horse! I¡­¡±


    Winters kicked fiercely, his iron-plated boot tip shattering the bandit¡¯s jaw.


    ¡­


    The threshing floor of Saint Giles Valley Village had become an impromptu execution ground.


    All the villagers were present.


    Men and women alike, each face etched with sadness.


    The parents who had lost their daughter wept and cursed, yearning for justice.


    ...


    During extraordinary times, procedures were simplified.


    After the accusations and trials, came the execution.


    The rosacea-nosed bandit was tied to a millstone.


    Winters lifted a wagon wheel high and slammed it down on the bandit¡¯s left arm.


    Along with the sound of breaking bones, the bandit¡¯s left arm bent at an unnatural angle. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then the right arm, the right leg, and the left leg.


    The bandit was still alive when Xial and Pierre untied him from the millstone and fixed him to the wagon wheel.


    An innocent girl had once died upon that wheel, and now one of her killers was bound to the same wheel.


    The rosacea-nosed bandit would be displayed like this, until death.


    In death, he would continue to be displayed, until vultures and crows had pecked away his rotting flesh, until only his bones remained.


    This was breaking on the wheel, one of the most severe and harsh forms of punishment.


    According to the law of the Newly Reclaimed Land, those who banded together to obstruct roads and commit robbery faced the wheel for the ringleaders, hanging for the accomplices.


    After the breaking came the hanging.


    Six habitual criminals were hoisted up and hanged.


    Thirty-three coerced accomplices were flogged.


    The executing militiamen did not hold back, and after twenty lashes, some of the accomplices were whipped to death.


    The surviving culprits would face hard labor.


    The public trial and execution came to a swift conclusion.


    When the Wolfton militia left, the village chief of Saint Giles Valley clutched Winters¡¯s hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, ¡°Thank you¡­ thank you¡­¡±


    The villagers had originally agreed to provide two carts of wheat, but they packed an additional two carts of oats and rye, heaping them high, hoping the militia would take more away.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Winters began but hesitated. Emotionally, he couldn¡¯t accept the food, but he needed it.


    He grasped the old village chief¡¯s hand and said, ¡°The Garrison Officer of Blackwater Town, Chelini, is a good friend of mine. If something like this happens again, just come to me. You don¡¯t need to offer food.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters set off on the return journey with a heavy heart.


    After reuniting with old comrades like Pierre, everything had been going well for him.


    Life was hard, and he was forever getting into endless arguments with the ragtag bunch, but Winters was happy.


    Happy in spirit.


    Returning to the military was like a fish returning to water, and he naturally stopped repressing his emotions, laughing when he wanted to laugh, becoming angry when he felt like it.


    While chopping wood at the Mitchell estate, he had more than once pondered, ¡°On that distant hillside, is it possible that Hurd cavalry might charge out at any second?¡±


    But once he made up his mind to stay, to rebuild the Wolf Town militia, such thoughts never came again.


    Winters was not only very happy, he even felt a touch of pride and complacency. He was satisfied with everything he had achieved.


    He was the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, he had fulfilled the responsibilities of a Garrison Officer, he was slowly rebuilding Wolf Town, and he had preserved peace in Wolf Town¡ªeven if just temporarily.


    ¡°Why am I staying here?¡± he asked himself more than once.


    There was only one answer, ¡°My sense of injustice will not rest; I want to protect something, I want to change something.¡±


    But to what extent and how widespread the changes should be, Winters couldn¡¯t figure out.


    Could it be to change Paratu? One man against a nation?


    ¡°That¡¯s too presumptuous¡±. Winters thought to himself. As a rational Spellcaster, he set his goals small and practical, ¡°Maybe just change Wolf Town?¡±


    But his experiences in Saint Giles Valley had brutally shown Winters, ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡±


    Monk Reed had said, ¡°One who does not plan for the eternal is not capable of planning for the moment; one who does not plan for the whole is not capable of planning for a part.¡±


    Wolf Town is not enough.


    Winters realized he needed to cast his sights further into the future.


    He was thinking.

 Chapter 581 581 5 Business

    ?Chapter 581: Chapter 5 Business Chapter 581: Chapter 5 Business The air was thick with tension and anxiety.


    The militia had just returned to Wolf Town from Saint Gis Valley, and over seventy convict laborers were herded into the old square.


    They weren¡¯t told what was to happen, only watched over by fully armed militia members with vigilant eyes.


    The wait was excruciating, and some of the more faint-hearted laborers had already started wiping away tears.


    The laborers knew about the food shortage in Wolf Town¡ªeach guard was only given two coarse loaves of bread per meal, while the convicts had nothing but a bowl of mixed gruel.


    But at least their lives were stable; they had shelters to live in, food to eat, and did not need to resort to killing or robbery. Their daily tasks consisted of chopping wood, making charcoal, and building houses.


    However, with the current situation, it seemed as though a final solution for them was being contemplated.


    ...


    ¡°My dad once said,¡± one man whispered in fear to the person next to him, ¡°when the Mazhar nobility wants to kill someone, they give him a shovel to dig a pit. When it¡¯s deep enough for a person, they just cover it up from above¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn it! Just watch! Old¡­ I¡¯m not going to just sit here and wait for death!¡± the other man replied, shivering too.


    Someone desperately yelled at the militia, ¡°What the hell do you want with us? Why are you tormenting us? Give us a quick end!¡±


    The militia, expressionless and armed, didn¡¯t answer him.


    The shouting man clamped his mouth shut suddenly, because he saw Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, approaching them.


    Winters stepped into the town square, sensing the odd atmosphere. He gestured for calm, ¡°Everyone, sit. Let¡¯s talk this over sitting down.¡±


    He found a stump to sit on himself, but none of the laborers moved.


    Winters repeated the command amiably, ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Like a scythe through wheat, the crowd lowered in unison as they noisily settled to the ground.


    ¡°How many of you are landless hired hands or tenant farmers?¡± Winters disliked beating around the bush and went straight to the point, ¡°Raise your hands.¡±


    One hand after another raised, and among the seventy-or-so present, only two didn¡¯t raise theirs.


    Winters asked the two, ¡°Are you two independent farmers?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± the tall, thin man quickly shook his head, his reply was well-structured, ¡°My brother and I are brickmakers. No one was buying bricks anymore, so we had to flee the famine, and then¡­ we ended up here.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Shaun, the bricklayer Shaun,¡± he replied.


    Winters nodded, taking note of him in his mind, then inquired further, ¡°As I understand, there are more than two hundred households of workers and tenant farmers in Wolf Town alone. Where have all the people fleeing famine gone? Have they all become bandits?¡±


    The convicts were at a loss, some muttering under their breath.


    Finally, it was Bricklayer Shaun who gave a surprising yet reasonable answer, ¡°Revodan.¡±


    Where there¡¯s no food, people follow the grain. Where is the food? Right in Revodan City.


    Ironically, back in February, Revodan had to send soldiers to conscript labor.


    In the blink of an eye, five months had passed, and Revodan no longer had to worry about a shortage of troops.


    Most of the displaced people had already flocked to Revodan City with their families, begging to join the army just for a meal.


    So, recently, the barracks in Revodan had only sent out teams for grain conscription and had not sent out any new drafts for soldiers.


    Winters then asked, ¡°Aside from these two brickmakers, are all the rest of you originally farmers?¡±


    The host of convict laborers nodded.


    ¡°If I provide you with land,¡± Winters asked earnestly, each word deliberate, ¡°would you be willing to farm in Wolf Town?¡±


    The town square erupted with surprise. The convicts gaped and started whispering furiously amongst themselves. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Quiet,¡± Winters said, softly clapping his hands.


    The square instantly fell silent as a grave.


    ¡°Willing, or not?¡±


    An old man with graying hair mustered the courage to stand up and explain, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s not that we¡¯re unwilling to farm. Even if you give us land, we can¡¯t farm it right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Old man, please sit and talk,¡± Winters said, puzzled, ¡°Why can¡¯t you farm?¡±


    The old man remained standing, taking a moment to organize his thoughts before speaking, ¡°Sir, what farmhand doesn¡¯t dream of having his own land? But the farming season¡­ has already passed.¡±


    He went on to explain with gestures for quite a while before Winters, a Sea Blue man, could understand what he meant.


    In short, the farmers in Paratu typically practiced crop rotation with two agricultural cycles per year.


    The main crop¡¯s planting cycle was from this autumn to early next summer, mainly sowing winter wheat.


    The secondary crop¡¯s cycle was from this spring to this autumn, primarily planting oats, rye, and legumes.


    If there were spare plots, vegetables would be planted to supplement the diet.


    It was now July, perfectly between the two agricultural cycles, missing the farming season.


    Furthermore, crops don¡¯t mature overnight. To start farming, one would need enough grain to last through a full agricultural cycle.


    ¡°Even if we planted winter wheat, we¡¯d all die of starvation before the wheat ripened,¡± the old man continued, his voice filled with sorrow, ¡°The land here is clay-heavy ¨C you need a heavy plow with four horses to break the soil. We have neither horses nor a plow¡­ Even if you gave us land, sir, we wouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate it¡­¡±


    The remaining farmers nodded along.


    Winters listened attentively ¨C he would have taken notes if he¡¯d brought paper and ink.


    He had considered this aspect of the issue, but not in such depth¡ªbecause he didn¡¯t know the first thing about farming.

 Chapter 582 582 5 Business_2

    ?Chapter 582: Chapter 5 Business_2 Chapter 582: Chapter 5 Business_2 The old man, having gone on at length, wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.


    Having heard the old man¡¯s words, Winters had made up his mind.


    He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, asking earnestly, ¡°If I give you land, give you oxen and horses, give you ploughs, and food enough to last until next year¡¯s wheat harvest, and everything else you need¡­ how about that?¡±


    The old man was stunned, and so were the other farmers, even the surrounding militiamen were taken aback.


    ¡­


    On the fourth day returning to Wolf Town from the Valley of Saint Giz, around noon.


    In the army camp, Winters was sawing wood.


    ...


    He was shirtless but wore a pair of gloves, which looked rather comical.


    But he had to wear gloves; working without them would cause blisters¡ªthis was Winters¡¯s labor experience.


    He had mastered the trick of sawing wood, pushing lightly forward and pulling back with force.


    Winters¡¯s arms moved back and forth mechanically, as wood chips ¡°swhoosh¡± fell down, and nobody around him could keep pace with his speed¡ªnot even two together.


    Erhulan had taken great pains to put a little flesh on him, and now it was rapidly disappearing again.


    Compared to when he had just left the academy two years ago, his figure hadn¡¯t changed much, had even slimmed down a bit, but his muscle lines had become more even and distinct.


    Pierre rode into the camp and spotted the Centurion amidst the busy workers at a glance.


    He quietly waited until Winters finished his current task before speaking, ¡°My mother invites you to have dinner at our home.¡±


    Winters took off his gloves, smiling as he replied, ¡°Sure, but I have to change my trousers first.¡±


    Winters was wearing a pair of old, rough cloth trousers for work, already soaked with sweat, unrecognizable in their original color.


    ¡°Scarlett also asked me to take your measurements, she wants to make you some clothes.¡±


    Winters shook his head with a smile, walked over to the bucket, and lifted it to drink heartily from the brackish water, ¡°glug glug.¡±


    Just drinking it wasn¡¯t satisfying enough; he poured the remaining water in the bucket over his head.


    ¡°Hoo!¡± Winters wiped his face and, laughing, splashed Pierre with water, ¡°Nothing is more comfortable than drinking water heartily after finishing work.¡±


    Pierre wiped the water droplets off his face, helpless.


    Winters grabbed his shirt, ¡°Samukin! Tamas!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving this to you two!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters called to Pierre, ¡°Let¡¯s check on the blacksmith.¡±


    The army camp in Wolf Town was directly opposite the old church, right next to the town square.


    The camp at the moment resembled a busy construction site, with militiamen and labor convicts everywhere working.


    The seventy-odd labor convicts from before had received special pardons from Winters; the current laborers were the thirty-odd accomplices from Saint Giz Town.


    Wolf Town was rich in forest resources, without a shortage of wood.


    Winters did not lack manpower; he had many ¡°slaves¡±¡ªalthough they were nominally convict laborers.


    He could neither release the prisoners nor wantonly execute them, nor could he afford to feed them for nothing.


    Winters¡¯s solution was to provide food and shelter for the prisoners, in exchange for their labor and loss of personal freedom. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In name, they were convict laborers, but in essence, they were slaves¡ªat least they still had their lives.


    With enough manpower and resources, all Winters lacked were food and tools.


    That¡¯s why the first person Winters thought of was the old blacksmith, Misha.


    Misha had become crippled in one leg during service and was not part of the draft, thus he became one of the few remaining able-bodied men in Dusa Village.


    Winters personally sought out Misha, asking him to come out of retirement.


    The rubble of the forge had been cleaned up, and any usable tools had been collected.


    A new wooden hut was swiftly rebuilt on the original site, and the extinguished forge was rekindled with flames.


    The young blacksmith Carlos took over his brother¡¯s position, assisting old Misha.


    As the pleasant ¡°ding ding dang dang¡± of hammering resonated, steel swords were forged into axes, saws, and heavy ploughs, while lower quality ironware was made into nails.


    Anyone who witnessed this scene could deeply understand why the blacksmith held an important place in rural society.


    Because human civilization needs tools, and tools cannot exist without blacksmiths.


    The old and young blacksmiths, busy from sunrise till late at night, still couldn¡¯t produce enough tools to meet the demand.


    That¡¯s why the bricklaying brothers were assigned by Winters to assist Misha.


    In Winters¡¯s view, it seemed a waste to have craftsmen with skills working the fields, but since he didn¡¯t need bricks at the moment, he reluctantly had the bricklaying brothers work as junior smiths.


    The remaining displaced people were working hard to clear the land, preparing for the sowing of winter wheat at the end of September.


    All the draft animals Winters had, except for the warhorses, were given to them.


    Steel ploughs turned furrows into the compacted earth, while rows of wooden houses sprung up like mushrooms after rain.


    Wolf Town was being reborn from the ruins, gradually regaining its vitality.


    All of these accomplishments filled Winters with genuine pride and joy.


    He was no longer merely a monster capable of destruction, slaughter, and devastation; he had become a builder and creator.


    But at the same time, all of these accomplishments filled him with worry and fear.


    He had set up double-mounted scouts on the road to Revodan, and dispatched three rounds of scouting cavalry to Revodan.


    Wolf Town was too secluded; no matter how hard Winters tried, the information he got from the outside world was severely limited.


    He was even considering whether to make a trip to Revodan himself.


    But right now, another matter occupied his mind.


    ¡°Ah, sawing wood by hand, when will it ever end?¡± Winters complained to Pierre, ¡°The efficiency is too low.¡±


    Pierre, leading a horse next to Winters, suddenly countered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there¡¯s nothing more comfortable than drinking cold water after hard work?¡±

 Chapter 583 583 5 Business_3

    ?Chapter 583: Chapter 5 Business_3 Chapter 583: Chapter 5 Business_3 ¡°This is a different matter,¡± Winters said breezily, changing the subject, ¡°I plan to build a water-powered sawmill.¡±


    ¡°Where will you get the water from?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a river outside of the town center?¡±


    ¡°The water is so shallow, will it work?¡±


    Winters said with pride, ¡°That¡¯s what you don¡¯t understand. First, we¡¯ll use a water wheel to lift the water into the reservoir, then use the reservoir to drive the gears. No problem.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Winters burst into laughter, but suddenly, his laughter turned into a sigh.


    He said with frustration, ¡°Without the caravan, we can¡¯t buy anything, not even graphite. I was drawing the plans for the sawmill last night, using what Colonel Jeska had left me, and there¡¯s only a little bit left. Sigh, I wonder how the Colonel is doing now?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Pierre also heaved a sigh.


    ¡°What do you say, if we find Colonel Jeska and bring him to Wolf Town to retire?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    Thinking of the Colonel made Winters feel melancholic. Clenching his teeth, he said, ¡°I need to make a trip to Revodan.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Pierre said without any hesitation.


    ¡°No, you need to stay,¡± Winters laughed, ¡°If I¡¯m not here, and you¡¯re not here, Wolf Town would fall apart.¡±


    Talking as they walked, they arrived at the blacksmith workshop.


    Misha and the bricklayer Shaun were forging nails, Shaun¡¯s brother was sweating profusely as he worked the bellows, and the young blacksmith Carlos was nowhere to be found.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Carlos?¡± Winters was puzzled, ¡°Wasn¡¯t he the one who wanted to see me?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Old Misha said helplessly, ¡°That kid and Vashka are up to something secretive; who knows what they¡¯re up to.¡±


    As Winters was putting on his clothes, he casually asked the old blacksmith, ¡°What do you think about the young lad Carlos?¡±


    ¡°The kid¡­ he¡¯s pretty good,¡± Old Misha shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°He¡¯s got skills, but he¡¯s not a patch on his brother. His brother is steady, can sit still. Carlos is smart and lively.¡±


    Winters nodded, cleared his throat, and bellowed, ¡°Vashka!¡±


    Vasya¡¯s voice came back from not far away, ¡°Coming! Coming!¡±


    The clever duo ran back to the blacksmith shop, breathless.


    Both of them were covered in mud on their clothes and trousers, and their hands and faces were, too, looking as if they had just been pulled out of a mud pit, with only their eyes rolling around.


    ¡°Have you two been playing in the mud?¡± Winters didn¡¯t know whether to be angry or to laugh.


    Vashka, full of high spirits and dancing around, said, ¡°We¡¯ve prepared a big gift for you!¡±


    ¡°What gift?¡±


    ¡°Guess?¡±


    The next second, a boot print appeared on Vashka¡¯s rear.


    ¡°What gift?¡±


    Vashka, not daring to dawdle any longer, brought over a plank of wood from outside the workshop, with a hand-sculpted clay cup on it.


    Even the clay was wet, not yet fired.


    ¡°Look! This is it!¡± Vashka said animatedly, ¡°With this, you won¡¯t have to worry about food or clothes for the rest of your life! I thought of bringing it to you first!¡±


    The crowd was perplexed, and Winters¡¯s expression grew more grave.


    Pierre couldn¡¯t help but chide, ¡°Vasya! Stop fooling around! How can you¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Pierre, ¡°Let him speak.¡±


    ¡°Vasya didn¡¯t mean to offend you¡­¡±


    Winters ignored everyone else and looked directly at Carlos, ¡°You speak!¡±


    ¡°Lord Montaigne!¡± Carlos said with a passionate air, ¡°please allow me to present to you ¡ª a blast furnace!¡±


    Without needing Carlos¡¯s explanation, and while the others were still confused, Winters had already recognized that the ¡°clay cup¡± was actually a model of a smelting furnace.


    Though crudely made, it had a bellows, a fill opening, and an outflow, all the essentials.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen blast furnaces,¡± Winters asked Carlos directly, ¡°Have you studied iron smelting?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°Who taught you?¡±


    ¡°My father.¡±


    ¡°Your brother knows how to do that too?¡±


    ¡°He does.¡±


    ¡°Can you build a furnace?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°And you understand the craft?¡±


    ¡°A bit, but my brother knows the most.¡±


    Winters and Carlos were questioning and answering at a rapid pace.


    In the blacksmith workshop, there were a total of seven people. Apart from Winters and Carlos, four were utterly unable to keep up with the conversation, only Pierre could somewhat understand.


    ¡°Where do you get the charcoal?¡±


    ¡°With wood, you can make it.¡±


    ¡°Ore?¡±


    ¡°Allow me to discuss this with you in private.¡±


    ¡°Can you manage on your own?¡±


    ¡°I need my brother.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°We really need to bring your brother back soon.¡±


    Carlos nodded frantically.


    Winters led Pierre, Vashka, and Carlos to a deserted spot outside the blacksmith shop.


    ¡°Tell me, where does the iron ore come from?¡± Winters asked, ¡°Since you brought this up, you must have a plan.¡±


    Carlos did not expect Winters to be so direct; he looked at Vashka.


    Vashka hurriedly continued, ¡°Centurion, do you know why they call it the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters had a foreboding feeling.


    ¡°The Red River is the Hanlan River. During the spring and summer when the torrential rains cause flash floods, the waters of the Hanlan River turn as red as blood¡ªthat¡¯s why it¡¯s called the Red River!¡±


    ¡°Go on!¡±


    Carlos licked his lips, made a decision, and said, ¡°The Republic of Montaigne also has a Red River, which the Montans call the Rose River. The Rose River¡­ is right next to Steelhold.¡±


    Winters snorted coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to say the Red River Tribe is sitting on a mountain of iron ore, and they don¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°Surface mining is different from deep mining!¡± Carlos was getting anxious, ¡°The red color of the Rose River comes from the iron sandstone that the rain washes away. Both the Hanlan and the Rose Rivers originate in the Sheltering Mountains and change color with flash floods; it¡¯s very possible that the upstream of Hanlan River also has iron ore.¡±


    ¡°Deep mining, how do you explore?¡±


    ¡°Go to Steelhold to hire prospectors! You can get them if you pay!¡±


    ¡°How will you mine it?¡±


    ¡°With men you can mine, and we can buy the equipment from Steelhold!¡±


    ¡°Once bought, how will you transport it to Hanlan River?¡±


    Question after question had Carlos pinned against the wall. But hearing this question, he suddenly countered, ¡°My lord, where do you think the Hurd¡¯s iron comes from?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The Hurd wilderness is connected to the Republic of Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°There are mountains in between.¡±


    A subtle smile appeared on Carlos¡¯s face, ¡°Who says¡­ you can¡¯t run caravans through the mountains?¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, spitting fiercely, ¡°Damn!¡±


    Pierre and Vashka were clueless.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Winters asked Carlos sternly.


    ¡°I just want my brother to come back safely.¡±


    ¡°Good! It¡¯s a deal,¡± Winters instructed Vashka, ¡°Call Xial here.¡±


    Soon, Vashka brought Xial over.


    ¡°Xial, you¡¯re to make a trip to the Red River Tribe.¡± Winters made a prompt decision, ¡°Vashka, pick two people to accompany Xial there.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Take a message to White Lion for me.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What message?¡±


    ¡°Ask him,¡± Winters sneered,¡± does he want to do business?¡±

 Chapter 584 584 6 Reunion

    ?Chapter 584: Chapter 6 Reunion Chapter 584: Chapter 6 Reunion Visiting the Mitchell estate definitely called for some tidying up.


    Therefore, Winters first took a bath in the river outside the town.


    He had now learned to swim and quite enjoyed it.


    Because in the water, the burden on his left leg wasn¡¯t as heavy as on land, which relieved much of the soreness.


    Cleaning his body, shaving his beard clean.


    Winters took off his ragged lumberjack clothes and carefully retrieved a set of starched and ironed military uniform from the bottom of his trunk.


    This uniform had been patched up in several places, and although the mender was skilled, it was still noticeable.


    ...


    To outsiders, it was a military uniform.


    To the knowing eye, it was actually the summer uniform of the Land Academy¡¯s officer cadets.


    These summer clothes were precisely what Winters wore when he was escorted to Paratu.


    Official military uniforms had to be purchased individually, but no Venetian had bothered with Paratu military attire¡ªexcept for the ¡°vain¡± Lieutenant Andreya Chelini.


    Even Andre¡¯s Piaoqi uniform deliberately chose a red waistband and blue trim different from the Paratu Piaoqi.


    When Winters was preparing his winter gear last year, he made a cashmere coat.


    But even under the coat, he still wore his old summer uniform, as a form of protest.


    Since returning to Wolf Town, Winters had been wearing hunting attire.


    Hunting clothes were not only comfortable but also had many pockets¡ªwhich, as a Spellcaster, Winters greatly appreciated, and they didn¡¯t expose his identity.


    Because of all this, the old summer clothes were pushed to the bottom of the trunk.


    It was only for today¡¯s dinner at the Mitchells¡¯ that they saw the light of day again.


    It was impolite to visit empty-handed, but Winters didn¡¯t have an appropriate gift¡ªsurely, he couldn¡¯t just bring money, could he?


    After thinking it over, he brought two rabbits and plucked several bunches of wild roses before setting out.


    Amidst the setting sun, the Mitchell estate was serene and beautiful, always giving Winters a sense of warmth.


    Gerard¡¯s four hounds caught the scent of rabbit blood from afar and excitedly ran out to greet him.


    The hounds were not only alive but had birthed a litter of pups. However, because the mother dog was underfed, her teats were shriveled up without milk.


    Eileen, unable to bear it, took the puppies back to the house to care for them, feeding them with sheep¡¯s milk.


    The four hunting dogs thus returned to the Mitchell estate.


    Smelling Winters¡¯ scent, the hounds were extremely excited.


    They didn¡¯t dare to pounce on Winters or snatch the rabbits. They just wagged their tails madly, running circles around Winters, trying to please him by licking his hands.


    The dogs¡¯ enthusiasm always overwhelmed Winters. He held the rabbits high and soothed the dogs, ¡°No snatching¡­ Wait for autumn, and I¡¯ll take you field hunting then.¡±


    But the dogs didn¡¯t understand what Winters was saying and thought he wanted to play with them.


    So they became even more excited, one of them so excited that it started to urinate.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Scarlett came running to Winters¡¯ rescue, shooing the hounds away with a stick, ¡°Naughty guys! Bad dogs!¡±


    The hounds walked away with their tails between their legs, looking dejected.


    ¡°Thank you, Miss Mitchell,¡± Winters heaved a sigh of relief: ¡°Is Mrs. Mitchell around?¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s face turned slightly red as she took Winters¡¯ arm, ¡°Everyone is waiting for you.¡±


    Young Miss Mitchell was almost indistinguishable from a boy, her hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing trousers¡ªunimaginable for a ¡°proper¡± lady.


    Eileen waited for Winters on the porch. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She took the bouquet with a faint smile, ¡°Such beautiful roses, Mr. Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Winters blushed, ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t even know they were roses¡­¡±


    He had picked the flowers by the roadside, and they had left him with several small cuts.


    ¡°Then you should be careful, roses have many meanings, not to be given lightly,¡± Eileen invited Winters inside, ¡°The table is set, we were just waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for being late,¡± Winters laughed heartily, discreetly loosening his waistband, ¡°But I smelled the chicken stew from afar.¡±


    Winters handed the rabbits over to the maid and entered the Mitchell house.


    Sitting beside the dining table was another guest; Winters could hardly believe his eyes.


    ¡°Good evening, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Father Caman made a gesture of greeting, courteously saying hello.


    Winters paused for a moment, then quickly walked up to Caman and gave the priest a bear hug.


    This unexpected warm welcome left Father Caman at a loss.


    He stood bewildered, arms held stiffly aloft, looking for help toward Mrs. Mitchell.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne is very happy to see you,¡± Eileen smiled with relief: ¡°Father Caman.¡±


    Caman sighed, tapping Winters¡¯ back with disdain, ¡°Alright¡­ enough.¡±


    Scarlett, arm in arm with her mother, watched the touching scene unfold before her, her face brimming with smiles.


    Winters released his arms, grabbed Caman¡¯s shoulders, and asked in surprise, ¡°How did you get back?¡±


    Caman replied with a wry smile, moving Winters¡¯ hands away, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I be able to return?¡±


    ¡°I mean¡­ how did you manage to come back?¡±


    ¡°I am a cleric,¡± Caman¡¯s tone was light, ¡°Naturally, if I want to return to my parish, I can.¡±


    Winters asked eagerly, ¡°Do you know the whereabouts of the others?¡±


    ¡°I lost contact with some, others have been called by the Lord,¡± Caman¡¯s expression turned gloomy, ¡°I came back alone.¡±


    ¡°What about Mr. Michel? Did you meet him?¡±


    Caman shook his head, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. I have already informed Mrs. Mitchell. I didn¡¯t encounter Mr. Michel.¡±

 Chapter 585 585 6 Reunion_2

    ?Chapter 585: Chapter 6 Reunion_2 Chapter 585: Chapter 6 Reunion_2 ¡°Please sit down and let¡¯s talk,¡± Eileen invited gently, ¡°the soup will get cold soon.¡±


    The four of them took their seats at the dining table.


    Mr. Michel wasn¡¯t home, and Mr. Mitchell was on duty in the barracks, so the head of the table remained empty.


    The four sat facing each other, Scarlett sitting next to Winters, and Father Caman and Mrs. Mitchell sat on one side.


    ¡°About Father Anthony¡¯s matter,¡± Winters offered his condolences to Caman, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry.¡±


    Caman made a calm sign of the cross and spoke the customary words of the clergy: ¡°Brother Anthony is not in pain, he is with the Lord now, and has eternal life. As for the gold and silver vessels, they are unimportant.¡±


    At this, Winters didn¡¯t know what else to say. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    He had a vague feeling: the extent of Caman¡¯s grief over the church in Wolf Town becoming ruins didn¡¯t seem to match his own.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Eileen said with her light blue eyes meeting Winters across the table, ¡°Father Caman and I have discussed something, and we hope you can lend a hand.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me,¡± Winters answered solemnly.


    ¡°Could you send some people to help rebuild the church in Wolf Town?¡± Eileen added kindly, ¡°Of course, we don¡¯t expect you to do it for nothing. Father Caman and I have thought of a plan that would benefit both parties.¡±


    Winters¡¯s face turned slightly red, and he coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, hurrying to explain, ¡°No need¡­ You don¡¯t have to talk to me about a reward¡­ ¡±


    Winters had cleaned up the cemetery, repaired the roads, rebuilt the smithy, the town hall, and the peacekeeper¡¯s station.


    But he hadn¡¯t dealt with the church in Wolf Town, which still lay in ruins.


    He needed to build barracks for the militia and shacks for the refugees; how could he find time to rebuild a church?


    Not only had Winters not taken care of the church, but he had also seriously considered dismantling the remaining stone walls of the church to construct other buildings¡ªstone was a valuable material, after all; how could it be wasted?


    But considering the significance of the building in the hearts of the people of Wolf Town, Winters had very sensibly refrained from tearing down the church¡¯s foundation.


    However, since Mrs. Mitchell and Father Caman had made a request, Winters naturally agreed on the spot.


    He didn¡¯t lack manpower or building materials; rebuilding the church wouldn¡¯t be a difficult task.


    Mrs. Mitchell and Caman only asked for this one thing; afterwards, it was the usual time for dinner.


    The group chatted comfortably, with Mrs. Mitchell skillfully keeping the conversation flowing.


    Father Caman seemed somewhat disinterested, focusing on his food.


    As the excitement of their reunion faded, Winters looked at Caman and suddenly realized he was sitting in front of a user of Divine Arts.


    And it was a ¡°friendly¡± user of Divine Arts at that.


    At least Caman hadn¡¯t silenced him by killing him, and he didn¡¯t seem like he planned to try in the future.


    Winters almost shuddered with excitement, and under the table, his legs trembled.


    The way he stared at Caman even made Scarlett¡¯s expression turn odd.


    But Winters¡¯s reason held, and he carefully refrained from speaking rashly, quietly continuing with dinner.


    ¡°I need to figure out a way, at least to draft an experimental plan first,¡± Winters stirred his bowl of soup unconsciously with his spoon, ¡°Definitely not now.¡±


    He decided then and there that he would draw up plans that very night! Construction on the church would start tomorrow! He would ensure the church was built beautifully for Caman!


    Winters¡¯s thoughts drifted away: ¡°There were a few pages of speculation about Divine Arts in the general¡¯s notebook, what were they about? Why can¡¯t I remember?! Is Divine Arts within the general¡¯s system or outside of it? I need to design experiments to verify! Ah, but I need equipment for that! Where can I get equipment? Make it myself? What can I possibly make with the conditions in Wolf Town? I¡­ ¡±


    Scarlett gently nudged Winters¡¯s leg.


    Winters came out of his reverie, only to realize that he had stirred the soup onto the table.


    He had stained a large part of Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s crochet tablecloth.


    Scarlett quietly handed him a napkin.


    ¡°Sorry, I was lost in thought,¡± Winters said with a wry smile as he wiped his hands and then the tablecloth.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, leave it be,¡± Eileen said without any reproachful intention, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it later. But if you don¡¯t start appreciating the white soup I made, I might just get upset.¡±


    ¡­


    The dinner finally ended in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.


    Winters, leaning on the wall, paced to the living room¡ªwhat the maids in the Mitchells¡¯ household used to call ¡°the gentlemen¡¯s room.¡±


    The Mitchell¡¯s recliner was still in the living room, scrubbed clean.


    In the past, after dinner, Winters and Gerard would come here.


    Gerard would open the windows, settle comfortably in the chair, and carefully fill his pipe.


    He would take a deep drag first, then contentedly puff out wisps of smoke.


    Winters didn¡¯t smoke, but he enjoyed the feeling of lying down idle after a full meal.


    Sometimes other guests came: Gerard¡¯s old buddies, the two priests from the church, other estate owners¡­


    After Pierre¡¯s name was entered into the guestbook, Gerard even began to allow his son to join in the ¡°gentlemen¡¯s time.¡±


    But now, the room was empty, save for a few recliners and Winters.


    Winters sighed, opened the window, and slowly lay down on the chair.


    He was so full that he even felt a twinge of guilt.


    Because his men were still subsisting on coarse black bread¡ªand not even enough of it¡ªwhile he had enjoyed a sumptuous meal at the Mitchell¡¯s.


    Ever since he had recovered his old unit, he had always eaten with the troops.


    Whatever the militia ate, he ate the same.


    Talking about sharing in hardships was easy to do but hard to practice.

 Chapter 586 586 6 Reunion_3

    ?Chapter 586: Chapter 6 Reunion_3 Chapter 586: Chapter 6 Reunion_3 The initial passion was soon ground down by the bran scraps in the bread, and after that it was all about persistence.


    But Winters held on. If soldiers could eat it, he saw no reason why he couldn¡¯t.


    Gradually, he adapted to the true face of this world, learning to chew and swallow whole pieces of bran without spitting them out.


    Still, he especially missed Berlion, the blacksmith with a special ability to make unappetizing ingredients taste delicious.


    Whereas most people only had the ability to make unappetizing food even worse.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but consider, ¡°Should there be a separate department set up just for preparing food?¡±


    But then again, that would make the army¡¯s organization bloated.


    ...


    The old marshal¡¯s military reform, a major part of it, was about subtracting from the army: eliminating attendants, getting rid of all unnecessary auxiliary soldiers, and lightening the burden on the baggage trains.


    Soldiers were responsible for carrying tents, military gear, and preparing food, and even without auxiliaries, the army would not lose its combat effectiveness.


    So Winters was undecided.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s worth a try,¡± he thought. ¡°After all, with only three arrows left, a mistake can still be corrected.¡±


    As he mused on his recliner, Scarlett quietly entered the living room.


    ¡°Will you be staying the night?¡± asked Madam Michel, her cheeks flushing slightly. ¡°Your room is all set.¡±


    Winters had been staying with the troops during this time.


    ¡°No need to trouble yourself, I¡¯ll stay at the barracks in town.¡±


    Scarlett nodded without insisting, but she didn¡¯t leave either.


    She boldly sat next to Winters, looking into his eyes and said, ¡°Botayun should give birth to a foal by the third or fourth week of August.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great.¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s gaze shifted to Winters¡¯ body, making idle chat, ¡°Do you know why she¡¯s called Botayun?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable.


    Scarlett had grown from the shy, timid little Tess, who could hardly speak, into Lady Michel.


    He felt a brotherly affection for Pierre, and looking at Scarlett, he naturally saw her as a little sister, always able to see Ella¡¯s shadow.


    But he suddenly realized that she was not his blood sister; Scarlett was not Ella, and her demeanor had even become more mature, resilient, and independent than Ella seemed¡­ S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters¡¯ body language betrayed him; he subconsciously recoiled in the direction away from Scarlett.


    All this time, he had actually been projecting Ella onto Scarlett.


    For siblings who had grown up freely together, even the slightest thought of desire between a man and a woman can make one feel uncontrollably nauseous.


    Ever since he realized that Scarlett had become a lady, Winters started to feel this nausea.


    Scarlett eyed Winters¡¯ body, ¡°In Dusan tradition, horses are named after their coat colors. ¡®Botay¡¯ was an ancient noble rank. ¡®Botayun¡¯ means a good horse as white as clouds.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Named after coat color? The Herders do the same,¡± Winters coughed lightly, retreating, ¡°Where did you learn these things?¡±


    ¡°Stories my father told me¡­¡± Scarlett leaned forward slightly, ¡°Stay here tonight.¡±


    Winters shook his head frantically.


    ¡°Then here!¡± Scarlett, biting her lower lip, suddenly stood up.


    ¡°What¡­ what are you doing?¡± Winters broke out in a sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s to¡­¡± Scarlett grabbed Winters¡¯ trouser leg, slipping off her measuring tape from her wrist, ¡°¡­take your measurements.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Winters breathed a sigh of relief, then cried out in alarm, ¡°Even for measurements, no way!¡±


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes blinked repeatedly.


    Winters earnestly explained, ¡°I don¡¯t need clothes, I¡¯ve troubled the Michel estate too much already, it really isn¡¯t dignified to trouble you further¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I want to sew clothes for you.¡±


    ¡°No, really, it¡¯s not okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll learn the tailoring skills.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about whether you can or can¡¯t¡­¡±


    No matter what Scarlett said, Winters was adamantly refusing.


    Suddenly, Scarlett¡¯s nose turned sour, and she started crying on the recliner.


    If there was anything in the world that could scare Winters, it was surely a lady¡¯s tears.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Scarlett sobbed, ¡°Why do you always reject me? Am I that bad? I¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± Winters fumbled, attempting to reason, ¡°You feel this way about me¡­ it¡¯s just because Wolf Town is so isolated, and I¡¯m a fresh face. As you grow up, once you step outside Wolf Town, you¡¯ll meet more, better men, each more gentle and considerate than me¡­¡±


    Scarlett wept even harder, ¡°Are you saying I¡¯m fickle, liking everyone I meet? I¡¯m not! I! Am! Not!¡±


    Winters¡¯ attempts to placate Madam Michel only ended up causing her more harm.


    ¡°I have a fianc¨¦e,¡± Winters sighed softly, telling Scarlett, ¡°She¡¯s still waiting for me.¡±


    This was a sufficient reason, but the first half of it was a lie, because Anna had not engaged Winters.


    The second half might have been a lie before but was even more so now, because Anna would no longer wait for him; he had deeply hurt Anna¡¯s heart.


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes had swollen from crying, ¡°Your fianc¨¦e is in the distant lands, but I am right in front of you. I can become your fianc¨¦e too, I¡¯m willing to take you away.¡±

 Chapter 587 587 6 Reunion_4

    ?Chapter 587: Chapter 6 Reunion_4 Chapter 587: Chapter 6 Reunion_4 Winters was at a loss for words.


    After a long silence, as the sobs gradually weakened, Winters took out a handkerchief and passed it to Scarlett.


    ¡°Do you really have a fianc¨¦e?¡± Scarlett asked between sobs, ¡°Or are you deceiving me? Fobbing me off?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡± Winters suddenly felt very sad, and his nose tingled, ¡°I¡¯ll show you her portrait.¡±


    He unclasped the locket and carefully opened it.


    Anna was there, her lips curved into a slight smile.


    He hadn¡¯t opened this locket for a long time because he dared not look Anna in the eyes.


    ...


    Scarlett took the locket from his hands, staring at Anna with her tear-reddened eyes, ¡°She is very beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she is very beautiful.¡±


    Winters awkwardly attempted to wipe away Scarlett¡¯s tear streaks.


    ¡°I will grow up to be just as beautiful,¡± Scarlett said with pique.


    ¡°No¡­¡± Winters chuckled bitterly, ¡°No one can surpass her.¡±


    Hearing this, the tears Scarlett had stopped started flowing again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry¡­ please don¡¯t cry¡­¡± Winters was at a loss for words, ¡°I¡­¡±


    Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the Mitchell estate, and Winters looked alertly toward the source of the noise.


    Heavy footsteps were approaching from the corridor¡ªif Winters was not mistaken, they were those of a man.


    Father Caman¡¯s footsteps were not like this.


    And at this moment, in the Mitchell Manor, there should not be a third man.


    Winters gently wrapped his arms around Scarlett, shielding her behind himself.


    His gaze searched the four walls of the living room; he was looking for a weapon.


    ¡°Bang!¡±


    The door was kicked open.


    ¡°Over here!¡± a familiar voice shouted; it was Gold, ¡°Milord! Look who I¡¯ve brought!¡±


    A slender figure stepped into the living room.


    Dressed in men¡¯s clothing and wearing a hat, but Winters would not mistake her.


    It was Anna.


    It was Anna Navarre.


    Winters¡¯s pupils dilated sharply, his whole body tensed, he even lost sensation in his limbs.


    Scarlett realized the brave knight beside her was trembling¡ªinvoluntarily trembling.


    Winters looked at Anna, the pure white moonlight buried in his heart softly illuminating him at this moment.


    But why was she so sad? So desperate?


    Winters did not understand.


    And Anna Navarre looked at Mr. Montaigne, at the strange girl with tearful red eyes, at the messy chaise lounge, at Mr. Montaigne holding the strange girl¡¯s arms.


    The two of them, as if transcending time and space, were back in the mercenary¡¯s corridor.


    It was still him, still her, he still wore that old uniform, and she was still dressed as a man.


    But everything had changed.


    She had abandoned everything, recklessly coming to the edge of the world.


    Yet this was the outcome.


    Had she not anticipated such a situation? Of course, she had.


    She thought she would be distressed, would leave without a backward glance, would return to Sea Blue, would marry another man, and viciously retaliate against the unfaithful.


    But at this moment, fury was the only thing in her heart. Grief and despair had become fuel for her rage, she was so angry her body shook uncontrollably.


    One word filled her mind, a term she had never uttered¡ª¡±Skank!¡±


    ¡°You, how did you come here?¡± Winters finally regained his senses. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Anna bit her lip almost to bleeding, ¡°I¡¯m! Here! To! Elope! With! You!¡±


    An eerie silence fell upon the small living room.


    A clear and pleasant female voice came from behind Anna, ¡°Hmph, where is the famous Mr. M? I¡­¡±


    Another girl, similarly dressed in men¡¯s attire, resembling Anna but even more radiant, peeked her head out from over Anna¡¯s shoulder.


    Seeing the scene in the living room, her smile vanished instantly.


    Without a word, she took Anna¡¯s right hand and attempted to leave.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Winters stepped forward and grabbed Anna¡¯s left hand. He had an epiphany, but was at a loss for words, ¡°It¡¯s not what you think!¡±


    The unfamiliar girl glared, ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°With the naked eye you see not the truth.¡± Winters ignored her, looking straight into Anna¡¯s eyes. He could never let Anna leave like this.


    Scarlett dried her tears and walked gracefully toward the Navarre sisters, ¡°You¡¯ve misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± The unfamiliar girl became even angrier.


    Suddenly, another commotion erupted from the Navarre Manor.


    This time, the noise was even more urgent, more dangerous.


    There weren¡¯t just heavy footsteps, but also the neighing of warhorses, the clinking of spur against the floor, and the sound of swords slapping against clothing.


    ¡°Scouts!¡± Pierre burst into the Mitchell Manor, with Anglu and Vashka following behind.


    Pierre yelled as he entered, looking for Winters, ¡°The scouts! From Revodan!¡±


    Everything was converging at once!


    Winters clenched his teeth, took Anna¡¯s hand, and kissed it gently.


    His eyes wide with an intensity as if he wished to tear out his heart and show it to Anna, his gaze entwined with hers, ¡°Wait for me to return!¡±


    Anna didn¡¯t speak, merely gave a slight nod.


    ¡°Gold!¡± Winters shouted the name of the person responsible for the mess.


    The old pirate, realizing he caused a blunder, shuddered, ¡°Milord?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you who brought them here! Take care of them! No one leaves!¡± Winters commanded.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters took the horse-sword handed to him by Pierre and strode to the door:


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! To meet Revodan¡¯s scouts!¡±


    (End of Chapter)


    ¡­


    Special Document: ¡°Letters Received by Lady Navarre¡±


    Material: Parchment


    At the top is a line of beautiful cursive


    A: Sorry, Mother, I have to take a long trip. Your loving daughter.


    Below are several crooked letters.


    K: I¡¯m coming too!

 Chapter 588 588 7 The Temple

    ?Chapter 588: Chapter 7: The Temple Chapter 588: Chapter 7: The Temple At the crack of dawn, the labor convicts of Wolf Town were brought to the ruins of the church, where they cleared the debris under the supervision of the militia.


    The militia were responsible not only for oversight but also participated in the reconstruction work, handling some of the lighter tasks.


    The charcoal mud and black ash had to be shoveled away, the charred wood cleared, and any usable slates or bricks had to be picked out and taken to the river to be washed clean.


    Wolf Town was very small, with so few buildings that they could be counted on one hand.


    The church became abuzz with activity; the town center instantly resembling a bustling construction site.


    The construction of a church was a grand event wherever it took place, and for many believers, it was even more sacred and glorious than constructing water conservancies or laying down roads.


    Thus, everyone worked exceptionally hard, even the ¡°slave laborers¡± who were forced to toil.


    ...


    However, on such a significant occasion, Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, was nowhere to be seen.


    The onsite commander was his deputy, Mr. Mitchell.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters was deliberately avoiding the event, but rather because the fire had reached his eyebrows, and he had more urgent matters to attend to.


    As everyone was engrossed in clearing the rubble, just across the street in the Wolf Town barracks, a man with bloodstained clothes was awakened by a bucket of cold water poured over his head.


    ¡°Name, affiliation.¡± The voice questioning him was very indifferent, hardly resembling a question.


    The man hadn¡¯t regained his senses yet, and his eyes were still adjusting to the light.


    Staring at the questioner in a daze, he briskly received a solid punch to the ribs¡ªonly then did he realize there were two more interrogators in the dim room.


    ¡°Name, affiliation.¡±


    The man gasped in pain, and with difficulty, he spoke in fits and starts, ¡°I am¡­ I am Sergeant Gulaxi from the Revodan garrison¡­¡±


    ¡°Proof.¡± The indifferent voice continued to question him.


    ¡°Sir¡­ how could you possibly not recognize me?¡±


    The lighting was poor, but Gulaxi could still make out that the other person was wearing a military uniform.


    In fact, he had already recognized the uniform during the skirmish last night. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Most importantly, after over a decade in the military, Gulaxi could identify the other¡¯s tone, attitude, accent, and demeanor at a glance.


    Having lived for years in The Federated Provinces, the speech of orthodox military officers unconsciously carried a slight accent from the mountain front, something that couldn¡¯t be faked.


    Even Gulaxi hadn¡¯t realized this point; he just knew the other person¡¯s way of speaking was that of a military ¡°intonation.¡±


    ¡°Clothes mean nothing.¡± The officer was unmoved: ¡°Bandits can wear military armor too. Who is the commander of the Revodan garrison?¡±


    A glimmer of hope ignited in Gulaxi¡¯s heart. If the other person wasn¡¯t a bandit, then there was a chance for survival, ¡°It has been Major Ronald, always has been.¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°And Captain Apel! Lieutenant Akos! Lieutenant Alec!¡±


    ¡°Affiliation.¡±


    Gulaxi desperately reported every piece of information that could prove his identity, ¡°Revodan garrison military police squad, my name is Gulaxi, many people know me¡­¡±


    The questioner gestured with a hand, and another person gave Gulaxi a vicious punch.


    Gulaxi almost cramped with pain, and this further cemented his certainty: the other was an officer. A legitimate one, not a counterfeit.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask, you¡¯ll answer.¡±


    Gulaxi nodded frantically.


    ¡°You¡¯re military police.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Gulaxi dared not speak further.


    ¡°You¡¯re military police. Why were you running?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Gulaxi was a bit aggrieved, cautiously stating, ¡°You were chasing first, that¡¯s why I ran¡­¡±


    After saying this, Gulaxi involuntarily braced for another punch.


    The anticipated punch never came.


    Instead, the voice continued to ask, ¡°You were skulking around Wolf Town, spying. Why wouldn¡¯t I chase you?¡±


    Gulaxi faintly realized that the other person was actually easy to talk to.


    So, he spilled everything he could, ¡°I wasn¡¯t spying on you, honestly, believe me. More than twenty days ago, a conscription team was robbed, the escort fled back to Revodan, and Major Ronald ordered us to come and investigate. I followed the trail here, saw the town was building houses, and out of curiosity, I wanted to take a closer look¡­ Now that no one¡¯s building anymore, I was simply bemused¡­¡±


    ¡°Us?¡±


    ¡°There have been several grain looting incidents in Iron Peak County these past two months. The Colonel sent out the entire military police squad. We go wherever there¡¯s a case to investigate¡­ It¡¯s all a misunderstanding¡­¡±


    The questioner cut off Gulaxi, ¡°Who does Revodan currently take orders from?¡±


    Gulaxi hesitated for a moment, then quietly answered, ¡°From the Corps, Maplestone City, General Adams.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± The questioner stood up, delivering his verdict unhurriedly, ¡°You remain a prisoner for now, held in solitary. I¡¯ll make a trip to Revodan, and once your identity is verified, you can go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Gulaxi, relieved to have kept his life, was too delighted to care about anything else; imprisonment was a trivial matter in comparison.


    Winters left the shack and walked towards the command tent, with Samukin following behind him.


    ¡°Are you really going to Revodan, my lord?¡± Samukin asked anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you.¡±


    Winters smiled and explained to Samukin the rationale behind his decision, ¡°Whether I go to Revodan or not, we need to stabilize him first. Give him a bit of hope, or else he will certainly try to escape.¡±


    ¡°Then why not just kill him?¡± Samukin asked as if it were the most natural question.


    ¡°He knows something. We¡¯ll keep him for now, he might be useful,¡± Winters explained, ¡°The guy named Ivan is also locked up.¡±


    In fact, a soldier of such rank would know very limited information. Winters wasn¡¯t keen on wanton killing.

 Chapter 589 589 7 The Temple_2

    ?Chapter 589: Chapter 7: The Temple_2 Chapter 589: Chapter 7: The Temple_2 ¡°Then¡­ should we put them to work?¡± Samujin asked.


    A total of six military police cavalrymen had arrived, exactly one tent of cavalry.


    However, their combat ability was worrying. During the battle and chase, three were killed on the spot, and the rest did not escape; they all became prisoners.


    On the way back to Wolf Town, the one who was seriously injured also died, leaving only Gulaxi and another slightly injured military policeman.


    Winters was somewhat troubled, ¡°I don¡¯t want them to come into contact with others.¡±


    ¡°Just keeping them locked up without letting them work,¡± Samujin said with some displeasure, ¡°isn¡¯t that a complete waste of food? I think it would be better to kill them.¡±


    The sensation of hunger had seeped into the marrow of Wolf Town¡¯s militia. After all, even the militia had to work and hunt to have something to eat, and they were still not full.


    ...


    Prisoners, on the other hand, could sit idle, waiting for food to be brought to them¡ªalthough there were only two bowls of wheat porridge a day, it still felt somewhat unfair.


    Looking at Samujin¡¯s naive and unsophisticated face, Winters felt a pang of emotion.


    Less than a year ago, Samujin Priskin was a simple and honest farmer.


    He worked from sunrise to sunset, went to church to worship on weekends, and one day in the future he would marry, have children, and eventually be buried in Wolf Town¡¯s cemetery by his descendants.


    But now, Samujin could very naturally say something like, ¡°If they can¡¯t work, I think it would be better to kill them.¡±


    And it sounded very convincing; even Winters had thought of simply killing them all¡ªhe was very hungry, too.


    In times of chaos, human lives are indeed as insignificant as grass.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters patted Samujin¡¯s shoulder, ¡°We are not bandits; we are an army. Even if we have to kill, we must do it by the book, in broad daylight. The lack of food isn¡¯t a reason enough for the death penalty, much less does it stand up to scrutiny. Anyway, there are only three of them, just keep them locked up for now.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Samujin nodded heavily.


    He didn¡¯t quite understand the Centurion¡¯s meaning, but whatever the Centurion said, he would do without any hesitation.


    Winters was struck with inspiration and said with a smile, ¡°Since we can¡¯t give them iron tools, let¡¯s give them a few bundles of straw and tree branches. Have them weave baskets and straw sandals; no work, no food. If we have to go saw logs and split wood, and they get to eat for free, it¡¯s indeed very unfair.¡±


    Samujin also smiled, revealing a row of uneven teeth, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get it done.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t set the target too high on the first day,¡± Winters advised with a smile, ¡°Take it step by step, gradually build up.¡±


    ¡°Yes, understood, don¡¯t worry,¡± Samujin¡¯s eyes curved into crescents as he happily agreed.


    Once Samujin had gone, Winters was left alone in the large tent.


    His mind was filled with many unrelated yet connected matters that needed to be sorted out one by one.


    A small frontier town that hasn¡¯t seen a new face in months suddenly had three groups of people coming in one day¡ªmore precisely, four groups.


    Each group, taken alone, was enough to give Winters a headache for a long time, yet fate is so merciless that not only had they come, but they all converged at once.


    The most pressing matter was Revodan¡¯s cavalry scouts, who had chased down to Wolf Town from the garrison, fortunately discovered by sentries arranged by Winters.


    There was first a swift battle, followed by a relentless pursuit through the night; in the end, Winters resolved all six cavalry scouts without letting a single one escape.


    Through interrogation, and coupled with previously fragmented information, Winters deduced two points:


    First, the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s political stance was ambiguous, neither choosing the Blue Rose nor the Red Rose. Moreover, the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province remained united under the banner of the New Reclamation Legion;


    According to the news Winters had heard, three forces had previously entered the Newly Reclaimed Land to seize grain and harvest wheat fields. Winters was puzzled at the time, wondering who the third party was¡ªapart from the Red and Blue Roses. Now it seemed, it was General Adams¡¯s New Reclamation Legion.


    Second, Revodan had not noticed the unusual activities in Wolfton and didn¡¯t even know he was still alive, naturally meaning there were no plans to attack Wolf Town¡ªfor now.


    Winters¡¯s actions had been very cautious. Apart from ¡°ambushing the grain requisition team,¡± everything he did did not exceed the ¡°Garrison Officer¡¯s¡± authority and responsibility.


    Militia? sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Garrison Officer has the right to summon the militia.


    Suppress bandits?


    The Garrison Officer is supposed to maintain law and order, combat banditry.


    Subject bandits to hard labor? Publicly try bandits?


    The local judicial power is also in the Garrison Officer¡¯s hands.


    Cross-border law enforcement?


    Revodan really can¡¯t do much about that. To be involved, Blackwater Town would first need to lodge an accusation, yet Blackwater is more than pleased to see it.


    In the lands controlled by the Paratu military, the Garrison Officer holds a status akin to that of a feudal lord, which is no exaggeration.


    Based on what Winters has done, Revodan shouldn¡¯t punish him, but rather give him a one-ton medal¡ªif that excludes hijacking the grain carts.


    For now, the only point of conflict between Winters and Revodan is this: Revodan wants grain, and Winters doesn¡¯t want to give it, for if he does, the common people will have no way to survive.


    There¡¯s also another subtle point of conflict that doesn¡¯t provoke direct confrontation: the land of the Paratu military which he had distributed to the refugee peasants for cultivation.


    As for when Revodan might discover that the grain requisition party¡¯s robbery was related to Wolf Town?


    Winters believed it was only a matter of time.


    The convoy traveled on the main road; it was impossible not to leave some trace, and the villages along the way were all witnesses.


    It¡¯s just that Wolf Town is so remote and Winters was careful in his ¡°crime,¡± so it has not been exposed so far.


    Moreover, it is the time of year when the old harvest is consumed and the new has not yet come in, Revodan has not sent another grain requisition team to Wolf Town, avoiding a second confrontation.

 Chapter 590 590 7 The Temple_3

    ?Chapter 590: Chapter 7: The Temple_3 Chapter 590: Chapter 7: The Temple_3 Moreover, according to the testimony of that gendarme sergeant, the grain requisition team had been robbed not just once, but other cases had distracted Revodan¡¯s attention.


    However, Winters had met the officers stationed at Revodan.


    He had visited Major Ronald¡¯s home, and Captain Apel, along with other seniors, had warmly entertained him.


    Those alumni were all intelligent people who had received the same education and training as him.


    Sooner or later, they would notice something unusual about Wolf Town.


    They might pretend to be confused, they might want to lightly skim over it, or they might strike with a heavy blow¡ªWinters didn¡¯t know what to expect.


    But Winters already had some plans, thanks to Father Caman.


    ...


    The information Caman brought back was extremely valuable; he had been with the remnants of the Expeditionary Force all this time, so¡­ Winters had to make a trip to Revodan.


    As for Father Caman¡¯s church, for now, it seemed slightly more important than ¡°finding some lactation food for the hunting dogs at Mitchell¡¯s,¡± but much less than ¡°the charcoal at the smithy is not enough to burn,¡± so Winters left Pierre in charge of it.


    Just as he thought of Pierre, Pierre came.


    ¡°Something¡¯s needed at the church,¡± Pierre said curtly.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters said indifferently, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just setting up a wooden shed for Caman to make do?¡±


    Pierre showed a hint of a smile, ¡°The foundation-laying ceremony still requires your presence.¡±


    The camp and the original site of the church were separated by a dirt road, not even twenty meters apart.


    Winters and Pierre quickly arrived at the construction site.


    ¡°The first wooden stake has to be driven down by you,¡± Pierre scratched his head: ¡°We aren¡¯t qualified.¡±


    Winters had nothing to say, so he took the mallet and gave the ¡°first wooden stake¡± a hearty whack.


    ¡°Done!¡± Winters discarded the mallet and dusted off his hands, ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡±


    The entire foundation-laying ceremony took less than ten seconds to conclude.


    The militiamen and convict laborers first froze for a moment, then picked up their tools and went back to work. The silent ruins of the old church again buzzed with noise.


    ¡°Ha, if old Anthony knew it was me, a magician, who hammered down the first stake of his church,¡± Winters suddenly found it ironic, ¡°I wonder what he would think.¡±


    This time it was Pierre¡¯s turn to be speechless.


    ¡°I was just thinking of setting up a wooden shed, but it seems there really is an issue,¡± Winters said as he looked at the charred stone walls of the church. ¡°Can the mortar and plaster that have been through the fire still be used?¡±


    The question stumped Pierre, who said with a wry smile, ¡°I don¡¯t know, we need to ask a stonemason about that.¡±


    The old church of Wolf Town comprised two parts, the older stone structure and the recently added timber structure.


    After the fire, the timber had burned away, leaving only the stone walls whose age was unknown; even the plaster and murals on the wall surfaces had been burned off completely.


    ¡°Does Wolf Town have a stonemason?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Wolf Town doesn¡¯t,¡± Pierre shook his head: ¡°We need to go to Revodan, we always ask for stonemasons from there to build big houses.¡±


    A stonemason wasn¡¯t just a stonemason but also an architect and contractor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just put up a wooden shed top for Caman¡¯s use for now,¡± Winters sighed: ¡°Be careful, and let me know immediately if you see any cracks forming on the wall.¡±


    Winters was not in the mood to draw up plans for Caman¡¯s church at the moment; thus, the church went from ¡°nice and pretty¡± to being ¡°an improvised wooden shed top atop the old walls.¡±


    Winters, looking at the ¡°convict laborers¡± working hard on the reconstruction of the church, suddenly had an idea.


    He called out softly, ¡°Pierre?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Pierre slightly cocked his head.


    ¡°Tell me, is hope important or not?¡±


    ¡°It should¡­ be very important,¡± Pierre responded.


    ¡°Very important; one needs hope to survive.¡± Winters sighed, ¡°We also have to give these convicts a bit of hope. Otherwise, they are just scraping by, compelled to labor, and they won¡¯t put in much effort.¡±


    ¡°But these convicts are all from¡­ the Saint Gis Valley criminal gangs,¡± Pierre said with some difficulty. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The crimes committed by the gangs from Saint Gis Valley were too heinous. If it had been up to the old Winters, all of these bandits would have been executed without exception.


    It was precisely because he chose to make a public example by executing them that these accomplices were allowed to live.


    ¡°I¡¯m not considering this for their benefit, but for ours. If they work hard, it¡¯s to our advantage,¡± Winters resolved, ¡°We need to give them a glimmer of hope by defining their punishment with a number. Let¡¯s say a thousand days¡ªif they complete a thousand days, we set them free.¡±


    Pierre always understood quickly. Slightly narrowing his eyes, he pondered, ¡°We also need a standard to assess their efforts and distinguish the dedicated from the slackers. Say, a convict works hard for eight hundred days, then we set them free. If someone doesn¡¯t work hard and just idles for a thousand days, then they still owe us a thousand days.¡±


    ¡°Right! Well said. We¡¯ll gather everyone for a meeting tonight to discuss it in detail,¡± Winters thought for a moment and added, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like Lieutenant Mason¡¯s convict ranch? Ha, we need to give these ¡®days¡¯ a name, how about ¡®workdays¡¯?¡±


    Pierre mused, ¡°Workdays isn¡¯t precise; sometimes there are ten-hour days, sometimes just six. Why not get more specific with hours, call them ¡®work hours¡¯? Any convict who completes the prescribed work hours can regain their freedom¡ªprovided they don¡¯t just run out the clock.¡±


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s call them work hours,¡± Winters laughed, clearly excited: ¡°I¡¯ll return to my tent now, write this down, and start drafting a few rules.¡±


    ¡°Please wait,¡± Pierre said with a curious expression, ¡°Sir, did you forget something?¡±


    ¡°Forget what?¡±


    Slowly, Pierre said, ¡°My family¡­¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡± Winters exclaimed, realizing his oversight.


    He had left the previous night, chasing Revodan scouts until the early morning light. After returning, he went straight into interrogating the two captives, all the way up to the present.


    Anna was still waiting for him at the Mitchell estate!

 Chapter 591 591 8 Moonlight

    ?Chapter 591: Chapter 8 Moonlight Chapter 591: Chapter 8 Moonlight In the guest room of the Mitchell estate, Catherine paced restlessly between the window and the door, unable to sit still for a moment.


    ¡°Alright now,¡± Anna, originally reading a letter, could no longer continue due to the disturbance, pulled her sister back onto the bed, ¡°Sit quietly for a little while.¡±


    Lady Navarre was so angry that she had insomnia all night, fervently complaining, ¡°He didn¡¯t say a word, gave no explanation, just left two ladies behind and went off, making us wait all night long! And he¡¯s still not back! How rude! Uncouth! Barbarian!¡±


    Anna held the letter in her hand, her expression somewhat sorrowful, ¡°He must have had something very important to deal with.¡±


    ¡­


    There was no need for Winters to defend himself; the misunderstanding was already cleared up.


    Actually, there wasn¡¯t much of a misunderstanding to speak of, as there were neither private feelings nor a tendency to develop a romantic relationship between Winters and Scarlett.


    ...


    Moreover, everyone in the Mitchell estate knew that ¡°the Montaigne Garrison Officer had a fianc¨¦e.¡±


    Although Anna¡¯s sudden visit was surprising to everyone, her presence was not unexpected.


    Everyone naturally accepted the fact that Miss Navarre was ¡°the Garrison Officer¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡±


    For her part, Anna did not bother to clarify the matter¡ªperhaps out of a sense of duty to protect her domain, and some complex, subtle emotions.


    After the misunderstanding was clarified, even Catherine no longer insisted on ¡°returning to Sea Blue right away,¡± but she was still unhappy.


    Mrs. Mitchell had prepared two guest rooms for the ladies¡¯ rest, but Catherine adamantly requested only one.


    The Navarre sisters thus lay side by side on a single bed, from nightfall through to the morning.


    ¡­


    Anna clutched the letter, sighed, and looked out the window.


    Catherine often enjoyed teasing her sister. Seeing Anna¡¯s restless demeanor, she immediately sat beside her, wrapped her arms around her waist, rested her head on her sister¡¯s shoulder, and exhaled into Anna¡¯s ear:


    ¡°That liar of a man, proclaiming engagement to you without consent, damaging a lady¡¯s reputation without a second thought. If this news gets back to Vineta, who would marry you then, Miss Fianc¨¦e?¡±


    Catherine elongated the words ¡°Miss Fianc¨¦e,¡± deliberately blowing warm, moist breath into Anna¡¯s ear. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Typically, such an act would result at the very least in a scolding from the older sister, or at worst a sound beating.


    But at this moment, Anna showed no reaction whatsoever.


    ¡°You can¡¯t really blame him. Frontier women are warm and forthright; if I were him, I¡¯d invent a fianc¨¦e too,¡± Anna said softly, looking at the tips of her shoes, ¡°Besides, having run away from home to Paratu without a care, I¡¯m already not fit to marry anyone else¡­¡±


    When the anticipated response did not materialise, Catherine was both irritated and amused.


    She furrowed her eyebrows slightly and flopped onto her sister, continuing her tirade against Mr. M, ¡°He¡¯s just a man; what¡¯s so good about him? He¡¯s neither handsome nor dashing, falling far short of the courteous military men of Sea Blue.¡±


    Anna¡¯s brows knitted faintly as she quietly explained, ¡°He is a bit handsome; he¡­ has become a lot thinner, almost unrecognizable. He¡¯s quite different from when I¡­ when I last saw him.¡±


    ¡°Miss Navarre, listen to yourself,¡± Catherine said angrily, ¡°You¡¯re already defending him! Weren¡¯t you here to demand an explanation? Where has that righteous indignation gone now?¡±


    Anna leaned on her forehead and murmured, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want an explanation anymore.¡±


    ¡­


    Upon receiving the letter brought back by Gold, Anna¡¯s first reaction was joy, knowing that Winters was still alive. But following that joy, anger seeped into her heart.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wait for me anymore.¡±


    What did that mean?


    Such a casual line invalidated all her feelings, her waiting, everything.


    A bold idea sprung into Anna¡¯s mind, leaving her thrilled to the point of trembling and scared to the core, ¡°I¡¯m going to find him.¡±


    Thus, Anna, temporarily residing in St. Bino Monastery, promptly began to prepare.


    Lady Navarre, the eldest daughter, was decisive in her actions. She first connected with the fortunate Gold, and then learned that people were headed to Wolf Town to search for Winters, which presented an opportunity for protection.


    No matter what she did, she couldn¡¯t keep it a secret from her sister who stayed by her side.


    Catherine swiftly uncovered her plans, but to Anna¡¯s surprise, Catherine readily agreed not to inform their mother on one condition: she had to be taken along.


    ¡°The monastery is so boring! I was almost bored to death!¡± Upon learning of their elopement, Catherine was more excited than Anna, ¡°How could you keep such a fun adventure to yourself? Take me with you, I¡¯m also curious about what sort of man Mr. M is, to have you so enchanted.¡±


    Under the relentless cajoling and intimidation of her sister, Anna had no choice but to embark on the journey with Catherine.


    Pretending to go on a pilgrimage to St. Bino¡¯s tomb, they left St. Bino Monastery; St. Bino town was en route from Vineta to Paratu and incidentally, where Gold had mentioned resting.


    In St. Bino town, the Navarre sisters met up with those heading for Paratu to find Winters.


    The two ladies slipped away from St. Bino church quietly, leaving behind a letter and a mess that would leave Lady Navarre gasping for air, following their target until they revealed themselves as ¡°the fianc¨¦e¡± when they were discovered.


    By then, they were too far from Sea Blue, and Anna¡¯s will was too firm, even calmly stating, ¡°My reputation is already ruined, if you don¡¯t take me, I¡¯ll have no choice but to take my own life.¡±

 Chapter 592 592 8 Moonlight_2

    ?Chapter 592: Chapter 8 Moonlight_2 Chapter 592: Chapter 8 Moonlight_2 However, the other party was not adept at dealing with women, so he had no choice but to bring along the two ladies and escort them all the way to Wolf Town.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ah, you¡¯re so silly!¡± Catherine hugged her sister¡¯s waist, ¡°Why are you so easy to talk to?¡±


    Anna remained silent, and the room fell quiet.


    Seeing that her sister wasn¡¯t speaking, Catherine had no choice but to continue whisking her complaints and acting coquettishly: ¡°My legs, my beautiful legs, got all chafed! Will it scar? Will they become rough? My back hurts too, and so do my shoulders, and my tailbone¡­¡±


    The two had initially traveled by carriage. After entering the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, the road became rough, and the carriage broke an axle. The ladies had to ride horses, which was indeed exhausting.


    Hearing her sister¡¯s grievances, Anna was unmoved but revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it you who wanted to come along?¡±


    ...


    Catherine, blushing with shame, bit her sister¡¯s shoulder hard.


    This finally returned them to their usual manner of interacting, with Catherine being pinned down on the bed and taught a stern lesson, screaming and hollering nonstop.


    After they were both completely worn out, Catherine, panting, spoke to Anna in a faint voice, ¡°Ah, I¡¯ve actually come to understand a little.¡±


    ¡°Understand what?¡±


    ¡°I understand why you fell for Mr. M.¡± Catherine pursed her lips and smiled, ¡°Although you¡¯re not as pretty as me, you still have a bit of an eye for men, after all, you¡¯re our mother¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I originally thought Mr. M wasn¡¯t anything special. But after seeing him last night, I realized he has a certain demeanor¡­ different from the gentlemen of Sea Blue¡­ How do I describe it?¡±


    Anna, startled, felt a surge of panic, ¡°I thought you really disliked him?¡±


    ¡°Seeing is believing. I dislike him because he bullied you. But now, I also have a bit of appreciation for him,¡± Catherine observed as her sister¡¯s ears gradually turned red, knowing she was in control of her sister¡¯s emotions.


    Suddenly, she hugged her sister¡¯s waist and elongated her voice, breathing out as softly as an orchid, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t compete with you for a man.¡±


    Anna¡¯s face turned completely red, and she pushed her sister away with effort, ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡±


    Catherine was relentless, continuing to cling to her sister and confidently said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this time I¡¯ll let you off.¡±


    ¡°Get away from me!¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Catherine changed her tone, puffing up and saying angrily, ¡°We mustn¡¯t let that little flirt Paratu laugh at us for fighting over a Mr. M! Humph, the lowlife from the border! She has no dignity at all! Not sparing even a betrothed man! We are the distinguished daughters of the Vineta family, how could we lose to her!¡±


    Having said that, Catherine laughed joyfully, her laughter clear and pleasant.


    Anna had intended to scold Catherine, but upon hearing the word ¡°little flirt,¡± she couldn¡¯t help but laugh along.


    The two of them ended up lying on the bed, laughing and frolicking, when suddenly there came an urgent ¡°thudding¡± sound from the stairs.


    Someone was coming upstairs.


    Anna and Catherine exchanged a glance, quickly got up, and hastened to tidy up their hair and clothes that had been disheveled during their roughhousing.


    The footsteps stopped at the door.


    What followed was three knocks.


    The knocker seemed eager yet dared not be too impatient, for fear that knocking too hard might displease the person inside. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Lady Navarre and Lady Navarre.¡± A male voice came from outside the door, ¡°May I come in?¡±


    It was Mr. M.


    Catherine straightened her body, reined in her laughter, and did not look at all like someone who had just recklessly said ¡°little flirt.¡± Instead, her demeanor carried a trace of Ellen Mitchell.


    ¡°Please come in,¡± Catherine replied steadily.


    Winters pushed the door open, and instead of finding the sisters in disarray on the bed, he was greeted by two respectable ladies.


    His gaze was fixed on Anna¡¯s eyelashes, pencil tip, and lips, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for making you wait so long.¡±


    ¡°No, you are mistaken,¡± Catherine said with a covered smile, not losing her courtesy, ¡°We weren¡¯t waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°I am truly sorry,¡± Winters said, growing more apprehensive.


    Anna subtly pinched the tender flesh on her sister¡¯s lower back.


    ¡°As the protector and guardian of Lady Navarre, I shall give you two space for a private conversation,¡± Catherine said as she rose elegantly, her expression solemn as the Goddess of Justice, emanating an inviolate air.


    Her gaze seemed to see through Winters to his core, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, even though my sister seeks no recompense, you should be aware of the trials she endured to get here. So, I hope you will respect her and not make any offensive moves.¡±


    Winters nodded vigorously, filled with guilt.


    ¡°I will leave now.¡± Catherine gave Anna a meaningful look and gracefully headed towards the door.


    ¡°Please take your time,¡± Winters stood respectfully.


    The door closed slowly, and the narrow space was left only with a pair of lovers who had once been separated by thousands of miles and yearned for each other.


    But neither knew what to say.


    Anna was still the same, unmarked by time on her face, instead taking on an added air of mature beauty.


    She still had that carefree, naive, and cheerful beauty.


    Winters had changed, though¡ªhammered in spirit and body, he was full of scars.


    The last time they met, they had been very close¡ªso close that Winters could weep on Anna¡¯s shoulder, and Anna would ask no questions.


    But now Winters couldn¡¯t do that anymore; he wanted to embrace Anna tightly, but he was unable to.


    An invisible wall separated them, a spiritual gap more difficult to bridge than the physical distance.

 Chapter 593 593 8 Moonlight_3

    ?Chapter 593: Chapter 8 Moonlight_3 Chapter 593: Chapter 8 Moonlight_3 Winters pulled out a chair, intending to sit across from Anna.


    ¡°No.¡± Anna looked down, her voice soft and calm, ¡°You sit over here.¡±


    Winters awkwardly sat down on the bed, beside Anna.


    They were a little distance apart, yet so close, close enough for Winters to feel Anna¡¯s body heat, close enough that Winters might have been scorched by the moonlight.


    Anna silently placed her hand between them, and Winters instinctively held onto Anna¡¯s slender hand.


    Anna¡¯s hand was very soft, burning hot. But it was thin, skin and flesh wrapping the bones, without the protection of calluses.


    Winters even worried his hand might scratch Anna¡¯s.


    ...


    Anna felt a sense of barrier too, which surprised and saddened her.


    She had come to her lover¡¯s side, yet it seemed to push the distance between them further.


    But at least they could feel each other, sitting silently, holding each other¡¯s hands.


    Anna broke the silence in a whisper, ¡°How¡¯s your leg? Does it hurt?¡±


    Winters¡¯ left leg was healing quickly, he didn¡¯t need a cane to walk anymore, and his steps were no different from a normal person¡¯s.


    Yet the feeling of strangeness was still there, turning sore and unbearable after walking a few steps, all endured by sheer will.


    That¡¯s why he had grown fond of swimming, for in the water, the pain from his old wound could temporarily ease.


    Everyone thought he had completely recovered, back to being the invincible Lieutenant Montaigne of the past.


    Winters neither wished nor wanted to explain, he had thought the pain and anguish were known only to himself.


    He didn¡¯t need to seek solace from others either, obstinately believing doing so was pointless.


    Anna was the first to ask him if it hurt.


    ¡°It hurts.¡± Tears filled Winters¡¯ eyes uncontrollably, ¡°It really hurts, it¡¯s been hurting all the time.¡±


    Anna leaned forward, Winters wanted to stop her.


    But Anna firmly told Winters, ¡°I want to look.¡±


    Winters¡¯ trousers were rolled up bit by bit, revealing the left leg that had been crushed by a horse¡¯s hoof and nearly devoid of any external injuries, leaving only a shallow red mark.


    Anna¡¯s fingertips brushed over that dark red mark, ¡°From the outside, it¡¯s almost impossible to tell there was a wound.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°But on the inside.¡± Anna¡¯s forehead rested on her lover¡¯s knee, gently embracing his left leg, ¡°It must be completely different, right?¡±


    Winters choked back his tears, ¡°Mm.¡±


    Anna let go of the rolled-up trouser leg, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles, and sat back beside Winters.


    This time there was no distance between them, tightly against each other.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to stay here,¡± Winters looked at the tips of Anna¡¯s hair, he didn¡¯t dare look into her eyes, ¡°Iron Peak County will become very unsafe.¡±


    ¡°Your hair is turning white.¡± Anna did not directly respond, she gently encircled her lover, ¡°Shall I pluck some for you?¡±


    Winters lay submissively on Anna¡¯s legs, like a little dog.


    Anna gently stroked the traces of pale white on her lover¡¯s forehead, ¡°This wound still hasn¡¯t healed.¡±


    Feeling the warmth and softness of Anna¡¯s body, Winters softly ¡°hmmed¡± in acknowledgment.


    ¡°It might never heal.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Anna¡¯s fingers ran through her lover¡¯s hair, ¡°Anyway, you were never handsome.¡±


    Winters moved his neck uneasily a few times.


    Feeling her lover¡¯s anxiety, Anna gently plucked out a white hair, ¡°However, you are a little bit handsome¡­ someone said you have a good presence.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Winters nodded. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    The two were clinging to each other, Anna searching for the sporadic white hairs in Winters¡¯ hair.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you go home? You promised me you¡¯d go home.¡± Anna asked gently.


    Winters was flooded with a myriad of thoughts.


    He thought of the piles of severed limbs outside the medical facility, the sensation of blood splattered on his cheeks and eyes, the faces of the soldiers, the Wolf Town farmers living in despair bringing the few eggs they had to visit him, the massacred girl from St. Giles Valley ¨C not even fourteen years old, the smiling faces of everyone, he thought of many, many things¡­


    But he couldn¡¯t tell Anna, he didn¡¯t know why, he couldn¡¯t speak of it, nor knew where to begin.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know either.¡± Winters answered bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Anna hugged her lover, gently kissing his forehead, ¡°You can tell me slowly later, I¡¯m willing to listen. You can take your whole life to tell me.¡±


    In an instant, Winters¡¯ tears broke through. His body shook, tears dripping onto Anna¡¯s clothes, dampening the fabric.


    Without asking why, Anna just held her lover, quietly shedding tears.


    The two clung to each other and wept, Anna involuntarily hummed a lullaby ¨C one her mother used to hum to her.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°Why thank you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for being wonderful,¡± Tears slid down Winters¡¯ face, ¡°It¡¯s really good, you¡¯re even better than I imagined.¡±


    Anna laughed through her tears, playfully tugging at Winters¡¯ hair, ¡°You¡¯re really something else!¡±


    Winters also broke into a smile.


    ¡°What about me?¡± Winters asked with concern, ¡°What did you imagine me to be like?¡±


    Anna lay on Winters¡¯ head, gently swaying, tenderly saying, ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot, and yet many things have not. You¡¯re a little different from the you I remember, but I¡­ I still¡­¡±

 Chapter 594 594 8 Moonlight_4

    ?Chapter 594: Chapter 8 Moonlight_4 Chapter 594: Chapter 8 Moonlight_4 The door was kicked open with a bang, and Catherine stormed into the guest room, ¡°Have you two had enough? What¡¯s so great about sweet nothings? Get to the point already! Kiss her! What are you thinking? And you, he won¡¯t kiss you, so you take the initiative! With that attitude, you still want to defeat Miss Paratu¡­ Little Miss? I¡¯m so mad!¡±


    Winters sat up straight in an instant.


    Anna¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment as she reached out to chastise her sister, but she remembered that her ¡°fianc¨¦¡± was still by her side, and that she shouldn¡¯t lose her composure.


    ¡°Miss Navarre, and Miss Navarre, I have come here with another matter to discuss,¡± Winters coughed lightly and apologized to the two ladies, ¡°I must make a quick trip to Revodan, leaving tonight. Iron Peak County will become very dangerous, so please, if you can, follow them back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°What? We¡¯ve come all this way, and it hasn¡¯t been a day yet, and you¡¯re off again?¡± Catherine was close to losing her mind with anger, ¡°What are you thinking? Do you really care about my sister? She¡¯s given everything to you! You should cherish it!¡±


    Winters also felt heartbroken, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ really sorry¡­¡±


    Anna took hold of her sister¡¯s hand and gently asked her lover, ¡°When will you be able to come back?¡±


    At her words, Catherine became furiously enraged, her chest heaving dramatically, ¡°Great, you two are standing together now! I¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make a fuss, Kate.¡± Anna calmly soothed Catherine, ¡°I¡¯m talking about something important.¡±


    ...


    Seeing her sister¡¯s expression, Catherine instinctively quieted down.


    ¡°The soonest would be three or four days, the latest six or seven,¡± Winters resolved himself, speaking with pain, ¡°I hope you will follow them back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Be careful on the road, I will wait for your return.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I have already come, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    Once the eldest daughter of Mrs. Navarre had made up her mind, there was nothing that could shake her.


    Winters bit his lip, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need, please tell Mrs. Mitchell and Mr. Mitchell.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    Anna curtsied slightly, ¡°I wish you a safe journey.¡±


    Winters turned and left, not looking back as he walked down the stairs.


    In the Michel residence on the first floor, in the drawing-room, another handsome young man sprawled carelessly on the sofa.


    This handsome young man wasn¡¯t a local from Wolf Town; he was dressed in civilian clothes, but the air of a soldier was unmistakably present.


    His belt was carelessly tossed on a side table, a simple, unadorned sword and a gold-handled, silver-sheathed dagger hung from it.


    ¡°Sigh.¡± When the young man saw Winters coming downstairs, he let out a sigh, ¡°I guess I can¡¯t convince you to come with me, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, senior,¡± Winters bowed respectfully.


    The handsome young man in front of him was none other than Lieutenant Juan, Centurion of the Third [Da Weineta] Legion, a direct subordinate of Antonio and a senior and comrade-in-arms of Winters.


    ¡°I brought twelve good men.¡± Lieutenant Juan asked in a carefree manner, ¡°But I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re pretty tough now; twelve men aren¡¯t enough to drag you away by force, right?¡±


    ¡°Not enough,¡± Winters answered seriously, ¡°At least a company of heavy-armored infantry and additional deployment of a large number of musketeers would be needed. And they could only kill me, there is no way someone could capture me alive.¡±


    Lieutenant Juan propped his feet on Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s cherished side table, smacked his lips and said, ¡°Your father has ordered me to bring you back, and your mother pleaded with tears for me to bring you back. If I return to Sea Blue empty-handed, how am I to explain to them?¡±


    ¡°I will write them a letter, carefully explaining everything. I¡¯m really sorry, senior,¡± Winters bowed his head deeply.


    ¡°What about your little sweetheart?¡±


    ¡°I hope you can take her away.¡±


    ¡°No way, I can¡¯t handle her. In my life, I¡¯ve never seen such a fiery woman,¡± Juan recounted with lingering fear, ¡°Her knife was right at her own throat, and she meant business. If she¡¯s willing to go with me, I¡¯ll naturally escort her. If she¡¯s unwilling, I can¡¯t force her.¡±


    Winters grew even more saddened.


    After sizing up his junior, Lieutenant Juan looked around and sighed, asking, ¡°What¡¯s so good about this miserable place? Is it better than a single street in Sea Blue? Why stay here? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve fallen in love with sheepherding?¡±


    ¡°Senior¡­¡± Winters replied weakly, ¡°Please don¡¯t joke like this. I have sufficient reasons; I can¡¯t leave.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lieutenant Juan stood up, circled Winters, and said in a weird tone, ¡°You¡¯re a captain now! A small lieutenant like me, how could I order a captain around, right?¡±


    ¡°Senior, please don¡¯t be like this¡­¡± Winters became more humble. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Alright! You just wait!¡± Lieutenant Juan scoffed, ¡°If I can¡¯t handle you, someone else can. On the way here, I already dispatched a messenger, that person will be arriving soon!¡±


    ¡°Who is coming?¡± Winters perceived a hint of danger.


    ¡°Who?¡± Lieutenant Juan laughed heartily, saying triumphantly, ¡°Your old commanding officer!¡±

 Chapter 595 595 9 Ravines

    ?Chapter 595: Chapter 9 Ravines Chapter 595: Chapter 9 Ravines In the Mitchell¡¯s living room, Winters changed into his tattered lumberjack outfit and asked earnestly, ¡°What do you think? Do I look like a refugee escaping famine?¡±


    Anna shook her head with a smile. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How long has it been since this outfit was washed?¡± Catherine evaluated while reclining on a chaise, wrinkling her nose.


    Mrs. Mitchell came into the living room, carrying a set of sparkling, translucent teacups.


    Seeing Mrs. Mitchell approach, Catherine immediately let go of her casual posture, sat up properly, and politely accepted the teacup¡ªas if a mouse had seen a cat.


    It was the same with Lieutenant Juan.


    Accepting the teacup with both hands, Juan sneered at his younger comrade, ¡°Come on! If refugees escaping famine had your physique, I¡¯d pack my bags and flee right now.¡±


    ...


    Juan¡¯s mouth was as venomous as it was slick, and both Anna and Catherine covered their lips to laugh lightly, even Mrs. Mitchell couldn¡¯t help but reveal a hint of a smile.


    Winters was neither fat nor thin, his long-term physical labor had made his body well-proportioned and sturdy¡ªhe hardly looked like a refugee who missed meals.


    ¡°Then should I disguise myself as a mercenary? A guard? A bodyguard?¡± Winters frowned slightly, ¡°Caman said the inspection in Revodan is very strict; besides soldiers, there are only disaster victims. Any other identity might be easily suspected.¡±


    ¡°You are yourself,¡± Anna reminded softly.


    Winters appeared thoughtful.


    ¡°Right, what else?¡± Juan scolded as if berating the less experienced, ¡°You are an officer to begin with, so why pretend to be a refugee? Just put on your uniform, mount a tall steed, and enter the city with confidence¡ªwho would dare to suspect you?¡±


    Winters had used this tactic before, entering Kingsfort through the main gate in uniform.


    But it was a bit risky in Revodan. At Kingsfort, many officers came and went, but in Revodan, there were only a few genuine officers, all with familiar faces.


    ¡°However, I¡¯ll have to adapt to the circumstances when the time comes,¡± thought Winters, and his furrowed brow relaxed, ¡°I¡¯ll take the uniform with me.¡±


    The garrison in Revodan wouldn¡¯t be unaware of where their gendarmes were going.


    From the moment the Wolf Town militia intercepted the gendarmerie scouts, it was only a matter of time before they were exposed to the eyes of Revodan.


    So he had to make a trip to Revodan as soon as possible.


    The time for gathering was always too brief; Winters had only reunited with Anna in the morning and had to depart again in the afternoon.


    When seeing him off, Juan sighed and asked, ¡°Do you want me to accompany you?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I brought a guard,¡± Winters replied with a smile, shaking his head.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Juan snorted lightly, ¡°You¡¯re so skilled, what need do you have for me?¡±


    Winters was too weary to parry, ¡°Senior¡­ I didn¡¯t mean that.¡±


    Patting Winters¡¯s horse, Juan unusually serious, cautioned, ¡°Listen, be careful in everything. Don¡¯t capsize in a ditch and die in Revodan. I went to great lengths to find you alive; I don¡¯t want to bring a corpse back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured.¡±


    ¡°Get going, don¡¯t waste time.¡±


    Winters looked toward Anna, Pierre, Mrs. Mitchell, and all the others who had come to see him off¡­ Scarlett was there too, with swollen eyes.


    He nodded to each in turn, then gently spurring his mount, rode away.


    His figure grew smaller and smaller until he crested a hill and disappeared from sight.


    ¡­


    For the Navarre sisters, the novelty of arriving in Wolf Town faded in less than three days¡ªmuch like it had for Winters.


    The vast and majestic scenery quickly grew tiresome, leaving nothing but endless horizons and the monotony of day after day.


    Rural life was hard and busy, with women from farming families working like men, and underage girls gathering wood, fetching water, weeding¡ªdoing whatever they were able to.


    Life was equally tedious and dull for families of estate owners because all the hired workers had left, so the women of Mitchell¡¯s also had to work the fields like men.


    Hence, Mitchell¡¯s estate now had only two forms of entertainment: one was housework, and the other was needlework.


    Even in the ¡°good old days,¡± life in the Newly Reclaimed Land plantations was far less vibrant compared to the colorful Sea Blue.


    For the estate owners of Wolf Town, the only respite in their day-to-day life was social gatherings.


    In the past, the estates would host parties in turn¡ªfine dining, free-flowing drinks, gossip exchange, and unrestrained dancing.


    This was also the only chance for the ladies and misses, aside from going to church, to leave their estates.


    At all other times, an estate owner¡¯s wife and daughter were expected to go beyond neither the main gate nor the secondary gate.


    But now, no one hosted parties anymore because everyone was struggling.


    Estate owners with connections in Revodan had already fled Wolf Town to seek refuge with relatives and friends.


    Several estates lay abandoned, inhabited now by foxes and birds.


    The owners who stayed in Wolf Town did so because they had nowhere else to go or because they had a deep attachment to the land and didn¡¯t want to leave their homes behind.


    In comparison, the average self-subsistent farming family might have had it a bit easier than the estate owners¡ªbut that was only relatively speaking.


    Despite this, Eileen didn¡¯t hesitate to offer the best her house had to host the two Miss Navarres.


    But for the two delicately nurtured ladies, it was still too crude.


    ¡°How can I eat these things?¡± Catherine complained to her sister every night in bed, ¡°I just can¡¯t swallow them. I know we¡¯re not at home, and there¡¯s no dedicated chef. But can¡¯t they at least sift the grass seeds out of the flour?¡±


    Compared to Scarlett, who always cleaned her plate, Catherine would leave quite a bit uneaten each meal.

 Chapter 596 596 9 Ravines_2

    ?Chapter 596: Chapter 9 Ravines_2 Chapter 596: Chapter 9 Ravines_2 It could be said that Miss Catherine Navarre was now surviving entirely on the milk candies and biscuits she had brought from Sea Blue.


    Although Anna also ate very little, she would always gently embrace her younger sister and earnestly comfort her, ¡°Mrs. Mitchell has been very kind and generous already. They are living a hard life now. As a cultured lady, you should be more understanding.¡±


    In truth, Lady Big Navarre was also struggling to adapt, but it was in her nature not to complain and to always bear her burdens in silence.


    Moreover, since Catherine had already shown her immaturity, Anna naturally fell into the role of ¡°the more mature elder sister.¡±


    Catherine grabbed her sister¡¯s hand and cooed, ¡°I¡¯m not complaining about Mrs. Mitchell, she is very nice, and there are few ladies in Sea Blue with her grace. But¡­ you know, I just can¡¯t swallow it.¡±


    ¡°Just endure it a little longer,¡± Anna replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, there¡¯s also that Mitchell¡¯s ¡ª young lady,¡± Catherine corrected herself at the last moment because Anna now strictly forbade her sister from using the words ¡®little slut¡¯ and ¡®little bitch¡¯: ¡°She eats almost everything on the plate at every meal, not knowing the etiquette of a lady at all. How can an unmarried young lady eat up everything on her plate? That is a privilege reserved for married women!¡±


    ...


    Anna¡¯s cheek rested on her sister¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I think Miss Michel is very carefree, genuine and unpretentious, and that¡¯s good.¡±


    At these words, Catherine angrily pushed her sister away, ¡°Go away, don¡¯t hug me, you might as well find that little slut to be your sister!¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop using the word ¡®little¡¯ ¡ª that one,¡± Anna had to put on her elder sister¡¯s air of authority: ¡°And, you¡¯re not much older than her, are you?¡±


    Although Catherine always prefixed Scarlett¡¯s name with ¡®little,¡¯ she was in fact only a year older than Scarlett.


    Catherine was sixteen, Scarlett was fifteen, and Anna was four months shy of nineteen.


    In Sea Blue, at the age of sixteen, ladies were to become the mistress of the house, and the Navarre sisters were soon to verge into the realm of spinsterhood.


    Gossip quietly spread through the living rooms, banquet halls, and small gardens, and the old rivals of Lady Navarre ¡ª the other women ¡ª were all eagerly awaiting to see a laughingstock.


    That was also why for the past two years Lady Navarre had sighed day and night, losing sleep over her hatred for the young Serviati man, grinding her teeth in frustration.


    ¡°Mister M sure left happily, riding off to town and leaving the two of us here,¡± Catherine turned her complaint towards that man.


    She bit her sister¡¯s finger and said, ¡°I can endure not eating well, or the bed being as hard as a rock, leaving me sore all over; I can bear it. But it¡¯s just so boring here, even more boring than the Monastery, and I¡¯m about to be smothered with boredom. Today, I counted the leaves on that big tree outside, and it took all day.¡±


    Even Anna had nothing to say to that; she just sighed softly, because she felt the same way.


    For them, the emptiness of the spirit was even harder to bear than the lack of material resources.


    Of course, Mrs. Mitchell wouldn¡¯t make the ¡°Sea Blue ladies¡± work in the fields, nor would she arrange for guests to do housework.


    Under these circumstances, Anna and Catherine found themselves with almost nothing to do on Mitchell¡¯s estate, while everyone else was busy.


    Scarlett went out every day to herd the cattle and sheep and also to cut hay for the horses.


    Without fine fodder, the horses had to be exercised less and were largely fed on water-boiled straw ¡ª as they had not yet fully adapted to the coarse feed.


    Curious and unwilling to admit defeat, Catherine followed Scarlett for a day.


    When she returned that evening, Lady Catherine Navarre collapsed on her bed and refused to get up the next day.


    To pass the time, Anna tried to learn embroidery from Mrs. Mitchell.


    By the end of the day, Anna¡¯s fingers were pricked and dotted with blood. Even Eileen didn¡¯t have the heart to let her continue, but she still persisted.


    And Catherine? She wanted whatever her sister had from childhood, so naturally, she insisted on learning embroidery too.


    But after pricking her fingers twice, Catherine played the petulant child. She still held her needlework basket while circling around her sister, not really sewing, merely chatting to distract Anna.


    Watching the behavior of the Navarre sisters, in the mouths of the few remaining maidservants at Mitchell¡¯s, the meaning of the term ¡°Sea Blue ladies¡± was rapidly changing from ¡°beautiful young ladies from a distinguished background¡± to ¡°good-for-nothing showpieces.¡±


    Needlework was an essential skill for all ladies, regardless of how exalted their status, and even women of ducal and princely houses had to learn it.


    However, Lady Navarre never forced her daughters to learn needlework because she had higher aspirations for them.


    Upon reaching Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s, Anna began ¡°catching up¡± with her lessons.


    Compared to the Navarre sisters, who couldn¡¯t even leave the estate, Tang Juan spent his days rather comfortably.


    After all, he was a man, and it was convenient for him to go anywhere.


    So, most of the time, Lieutenant Juan stayed in the military camp. When he truly had nothing to do, he would take his men out hunting.


    With its expansive forests and rich natural resources, the Newly Reclaimed Land offered Captain Juan the kind of hunting opportunities he rarely got in Vineta; he was thoroughly enjoying himself there.


    Rabbits, roe deer, gazelles, and stags¡­ Lieutenant Juan¡¯s game grew bigger and bigger. Within days of arriving in Wolf Town, he was already contemplating bear hunting.


    Seeing the giant bear and lion skeletons in the cellar of Mitchell¡¯s estate, Tang Juan too felt the stirrings of competitive desire.


    Lieutenant Juan¡¯s obsession with hunting actually eased the burden on Pierre. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lieutenant had brought with him twelve Cavalry soldiers, and with their horses, they added a significant strain to the already limited food reserves of the militia.

 Chapter 597 597 9 Ravines_3

    ?Chapter 597: Chapter 9 Ravines_3 Chapter 597: Chapter 9 Ravines_3 Tang Juan would head out for hunting before dawn every day, and not return until nightfall, which was a form of indirect participation in production, alleviating some of the sweat on Pierre¡¯s brow.


    Until August 11, the second Sunday of the month.


    It was finally possible for the Navarre sisters to leave the Mitchell Estate for a change of scenery.


    For the church in Wolf Town had been restored, and Priest Caman was to resume the weekly mass ceremonies, which was one of the only two reasons that ladies should leave the estate for.


    Early in the morning, Eileen led everyone to head to the town center by carriage.


    As soon as they left the Mitchell Estate, Catherine felt like her breathing became smoother. Like a merry little bird, she was chattering and laughing with Mrs. Mitchell and her sister.


    The old believers of Wolf Town all came, and people traveled from Dusa Village, the villages east of the river, and the villages west of the river to attend the mass.


    ...


    Since the church had been destroyed, this was the first time the town center had gathered so many people.


    Everyone greeted each other with joy, and the usually quiet two streets seemed extraordinarily lively.


    The church had only erected four wooden walls and installed a wooden roof, far more rudimentary than the previous church of Wolf Town.


    But those who came were proud, because they had also contributed to the reconstruction of the church.


    Priest Caman visited every old believer in Wolf Town, persuading them to provide some food to fund the reconstruction of the church.


    This was the meaning behind Caman¡¯s words to Winters: ¡°I won¡¯t let you labor in vain.¡±


    The persuasion process was similar to selling ¡°indulgences,¡± convincing the faithful with the promise of rewards in the afterlife in exchange for their contributions while still alive.


    No one wanted to be levied food by force, but to rebuild the church, the old believers eagerly dug out the grain stored in their cellars.


    The food collected by Priest Caman significantly relieved the urgent needs of the militia. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What Revodan failed to achieve, and what Winters also failed to do, Caman accomplished.


    Luckily, Winters was not in Wolf Town at this moment, otherwise, it is hard to know what kind of sharp comments he would have made.


    Many things had changed in the Wolf Town church, Father Anthony was gone, and so were the gold and silver liturgical vessels, but Priest Caman was still there.


    Under Priest Caman¡¯s leadership, the ceremony was simple and proceeded smoothly.


    It had always been Father Anthony who gave the sermon, but this time Priest Caman stood before the pulpit.


    Caman¡¯s sermon was also simple; he encouraged everyone not to give up hope or faith during hard times and to persevere for salvation would come eventually.


    Sitting in the front row of the church, Catherine felt somewhat disappointed and quietly asked Anna, ¡°Is that it?¡±


    Anna, listening intently, silently prayed and did not pay attention to her sister.


    Catherine looked around and her disappointment grew stronger.


    Compared to the majestic grandeur of the Sea Blue Cathedral, the resplendent temple, the exquisitely beautiful stained glass windows and murals, the elegantly dressed clergy, and the grand and solemn mass ceremonies.


    This small church in Wolf Town was too simple and modest, pitifully so.


    After the ceremony ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.


    In the past, every Sunday was like a small gathering in Wolf Town, where the men would line up to practice archery.


    But now no one organized these activities, and the Garrison Officer Montaigne was not present either.


    With the communion distributed, people chatted outside the church for a while before heading home.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Kate,¡± Anna took her sister¡¯s hand.


    Catherine sighed, ¡°I thought it would be fun to come to town, but it wasn¡¯t interesting at all.¡±


    ¡°I do have a fun game in mind, suitable for ladies,¡± Eileen said with a smile, taking Catherine¡¯s arm. ¡°Miss Navarre, do you play cards?¡±


    Anna and Catherine looked at each other and shook their heads vigorously, ¡°Mother said dice and cards are things that only the rudest soldiers play, and she forbade us from gambling.¡±


    A wistful look appeared in Eileen¡¯s eyes, and she chuckled, ¡°That¡¯s not entirely true. My husband taught me some card games suitable for ladies. Would you like to try? And since we won¡¯t bet chips, it¡¯s naturally not gambling.¡±


    ¡°Yes, please teach us,¡± Catherine immediately let go of her sister¡¯s hand and clung eagerly to Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s arm, her affectionate manner stirring a faint jealousy in Scarlett.


    The ladies of the Mitchell Estate got back into the carriage and started the journey home.


    Not far from Wolf Town, the surroundings once again became uninhabited wilderness.


    Only in such moments could one truly feel the desolation and loneliness of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    People lived in settlements spaced far apart, and beyond that, there was nothing.


    Catherine was still pestering Mrs. Mitchell about the rules of cards while Anna listened carefully.


    Suddenly, everyone heard a ¡°bang¡± from underneath the carriage.


    Followed by several ¡°rumble¡± sounds, the carriage shook violently and quickly leaned to one side.


    The ladies on the carriage were greatly frightened, with Catherine and Scarlett screaming.


    Mrs. Mitchell calmly soothed the two screaming women, while Anna pressed her lips together, gripping her sister¡¯s hand tightly, her face pale, but she made no sound.


    Panveche¡ªEileen¡¯s old servant from her family home¡ªjumped down from the driver¡¯s seat, hurried to help the ladies out of the carriage.


    Old Panveche lay on the ground to check for a while, then stood up and explained to Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Miss, it seems like the axle is broken.¡±


    ¡°Uncle, unhitch the horses,¡± was Eileen¡¯s only solution. ¡°Ride back first, then bring another carriage.¡±


    Though they were master and servant, Eileen still called Panveche ¡°Uncle,¡± and Panveche rarely addressed her as ¡°Madam,¡± rather by ¡°Miss,¡± the way he did when Eileen was a child.

 Chapter 598 598 9 Ravines_4

    ?Chapter 598: Chapter 9 Ravines_4 Chapter 598: Chapter 9 Ravines_4 ¡°What about you staying here? Miss,¡± he asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s very safe around here,¡± Eileen replied with a smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡±


    Panveche nodded, still somewhat uneasy, but he mounted his horse and left.


    After old Panveche left, only Eileen, Scarlett, Anna, and Catherine, four women, remained by the roadside.


    Left alone in the vast, uninhabited wilderness, looking into the distant horizon, Catherine suddenly felt a trace of fear.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t dangerous here, is it?¡± Catherine clutched her sister¡¯s arm tightly and asked timidly, ¡°Could there be wolves? Or bandits? Criminals?¡±


    ¡°Wolves? No, wolves rarely appear here. Montaigne has taken care of them quite thoroughly,¡± Eileen reassured Catherine gently.


    ...


    Scarlett wasn¡¯t scared at all; feeling a sense of triumph, she proudly informed Catherine, ¡°There are no bandits or criminals either, because Montaigne has also dealt with them quite thoroughly.¡±


    ¡°So there are still wolves, and there were bad people before, right?¡± Catherine grew even more afraid.


    ¡°Yes, but Montaigne has cleaned them all up,¡± Scarlett replied matter-of-factly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to stay here, sister,¡± Catherine cried, hugging her sister. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to Sea Blue, it¡¯s so dangerous here.¡±


    Anna, with nothing else she could do, hugged her sister and gave Lady Mitchell and Mrs. Mitchell an apologetic smile, her gaze thoughtful as she looked toward the horizon.


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Scarlett found it inconceivable and said, pointing at the hillside not far away, ¡°Look, isn¡¯t there someone over there?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Right over there.¡±


    Following the direction Scarlett pointed, Anna and Catherine witnessed a strange scene.


    Five bare-chested men and a very thin ox were slowly moving along the sunny side of the hill.


    ¡°Good heavens,¡± Catherine turned away sharply. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they wearing clothes?¡±


    Eileen sighed and replied softly, ¡°Clothes worn out can¡¯t be repaired; skin worn out can grow back.¡±


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± Anna asked, watching the five men, puzzled.


    ¡°Clearing land, plowing,¡± was the reply.


    But the two ladies from Navarre didn¡¯t even understand what plowing meant, and Scarlett had to explain it in detail.


    Eileen simply explained to Anna and Catherine the ins and outs of ¡°how the Garrison Officer Montaigne distributed the Newly Reclaimed Land to the refugees.¡±


    ¡°But today is Sunday,¡± Catherine asked, not understanding. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be working on Sunday. Don¡¯t they rest on Sundays?¡±


    Eileen and Scarlett fell silent.


    ¡°They,¡± Anna said softly, ¡°probably have reasons we don¡¯t know about.¡±


    Among the five men plowing, a middle-aged man, panting heavily, said to the old man leading, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s take a break.¡±


    The white-haired old man stopped, turned back to look carefully at the thin ox, its snout dripping with sweat, and said, ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a while, give the beast a break.¡±


    This old man was the one who had answered Winters in the town square.


    Plowing should have the beast in front and the person behind.


    But among these five men, four grown men stood in front of the beast, leaving only a young boy who had not grown into his strength to handle the plow behind.


    It wasn¡¯t that they were foolish, but that they did not have enough large animals to pull the plows.


    The soil of the Newly Reclaimed Land was sticky. The wilderness that had never been cultivated for thousands of years had become so compacted it was as hard as stone.


    It could only be cultivated with heavy draft horses and plows.


    Winters had few such large animals to begin with, and though he had given what he could to the refugees, it still wasn¡¯t enough.


    Without enough animals, they had to rely on men; men became the beasts of burden.


    ¡°Look, Grandpa,¡± the young lad pointed at the ladies by the roadside, ¡°some women are watching us!¡±


    The old man slapped the young man¡¯s arm away. ¡°Don¡¯t point at people!¡±


    The youth sheepishly turned around.


    The four men pulling the plow were drenched in sweat, sitting on the ground and gasping for air.


    The old man repeatedly admonished his sons and grandsons, ¡°Be careful not to fall. The plow blade can cut off a person¡¯s leg in an instant. If you fall, fall to the side, never towards the blade.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that so many times already¡­¡± the young man who had been slapped was getting impatient.


    Before he finished speaking, he received another slap from his father.


    The middle-aged man nodded to the old man, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad.¡±


    Another young man asked, ¡°Today is Sunday. Is it really okay for us not to go to church and worship instead?¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°The Lord won¡¯t blame us,¡± the old man swallowed. ¡°If we miss the season, we¡¯ll all starve next year. Then our piety will be no good. The Lord won¡¯t blame us. And if he does¡­ we will have no need to believe in him.¡±


    It was now August 11, and they needed to sow winter wheat by the end of September or beginning of October. Missing the season meant waiting until the next year.


    Though Wolf Town had large areas of unused land, those flattest and most irrigable top-quality lands had already been purchased and cultivated.


    What remained were gentle slopes, distant waters, and soil full of stones¡ªjust like the land the old man and his descendants were tilling.


    If the slope of this land had been any steeper, it would have been impossible to grow crops on it.


    They had to exert effort to move the stones first before they could even think of turning the soil with a plow; otherwise, the stones would easily break the plow blades.


    But having such a piece of land already filled the old man with content.


    In the distance, another carriage approached down the dirt road.


    ¡°Enough rest, back to work,¡± the old man said while bracing himself on his knees, struggling to stand up. ¡°And be careful of the plow blade!¡±


    The carriage picked up the ladies by the road and rumbled off towards the distance.


    The rope was again tightened around the old man¡¯s indented shoulders and bony back.


    He moved slowly and steadily, one step at a time.

 Chapter 599 599 10 1 pound

    ?Chapter 599: Chapter 10 1 pound Chapter 599: Chapter 10 1 pound Eileen also noticed that the Navarre sisters ate very little.


    She didn¡¯t say anything, but with six six-week-old chicks, she managed to get a bag of wheat in exchange. She first took great effort to pound off the bran, then ground it into flour.


    Mitchell¡¯s had a mill, but this tiny amount of wheat wasn¡¯t even enough to fill the gaps in the large grindstone.


    So, Eileen used a hand-cranked grinder, working the entire night, and sieved the flour several times until it was fine.


    By the next morning, when the Navarre sisters came downstairs, there was white bread on the Mitchell¡¯s dining table.


    Anna was delighted, thanking Mrs. Mitchell repeatedly for her concern.


    Catherine was also pleased, but still, a lot of food remained on her plate.


    ...


    Even Anna couldn¡¯t help but take her sister back to the room where she asked with suppressed anger, ¡°What? It doesn¡¯t suit your taste?¡±


    ¡°Although it¡¯s still a bit coarse,¡± Catherine replied with a light smile, not realizing why her sister was so serious, ¡°it¡¯s much better than before. I can barely swallow it.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you leave so much?¡±


    Catherine answered matter-of-factly, ¡°I can¡¯t possibly eat it all, can I?¡±


    Anna sighed, took her sister¡¯s hand, and asked, ¡°Do you think Mrs. Mitchell is good to us?¡±


    ¡°Very good.¡±


    ¡°What about the others?¡±


    ¡°They are also quite good, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Why are they good to us?¡±


    Catherine was stumped by this question.


    Anna spoke seriously, ¡°The people here are not being kind to Anna Navarre or to Catherine Navarre. They are being kind to ¡®his¡¯ fianc¨¦e and the sister of the fianc¨¦e. Here, we don¡¯t represent the Navarre family, we represent¡­ him. Our improper behavior will not shame the Navarre family but will diminish the respect others have for him.¡±


    Teasingly, Catherine asked, ¡°You¡¯re not even married to him yet, how do you already have the mentality of the mistress of the house?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh,¡± Anna said, pinching her sister¡¯s palm, then sighed again, ¡°The people here hold him in high regard. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing, nor do I understand why he¡¯s staying here. But at least I shouldn¡¯t damage his reputation by coming here.¡±


    Catherine flopped onto the bed, rolling lazily, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll listen to you. Next time I¡¯ll eat it all up like that little girl, won¡¯t that do?¡±


    Anna had no good way to deal with her sister; she gave her sister a light slap, ¡°Our grandfather would go mad if he saw you like this, he detests wasting food the most.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, he doesn¡¯t like me anyway. Grandfather only dotes on you, everyone dotes on you.¡± Catherine felt somewhat hurt.


    ¡°But I love you the most.¡±


    Catherine snorted softly and turned over, giving her sister her back.


    A series of rapid footsteps climbing the stairs was heard.


    The sounds were so violent it was as if someone was bounding up several steps at a time.


    Without giving the Navarre sisters any time to tidy up, Scarlett burst into the room like a storm, kicking open the door.


    At this moment, Scarlett Gerardovna was completely a little Dusack.


    The gentleness and tranquility inherited from Eileen had completely dissipated, and the wildness, impulsiveness, and fiery temper she got from Gerard were fully ignited.


    Scarlett was uncontrollable with rage, clutching the white bread Catherine had left over, held it up to Catherine¡¯s face, and yelled, ¡°You woman from Sea Blue! Do you think I eat coarse bread? Do you think my mother eats coarse bread?!¡±


    Anna and Catherine were startled, the two sisters stood frozen in place, speechless.


    Scarlett¡¯s expression was even somewhat fierce; her eyes were wide with anger, as if fire were about to spew from her pupils, nostrils, and mouth.


    ¡°I grew up eating white bread too! I had servants taking care of me from a young age! Do you think I don¡¯t understand that a lady¡¯s plate should have leftover food? Do you think I don¡¯t know?¡± The furious Scarlett, like a fierce lioness, screeched, ¡°But have you ever been hungry? Not dieting to fit into a corset dress, but real hunger, with absolutely nothing to eat! So hungry you think about eating your own hands! My mother and I, if we don¡¯t work we starve to death! You just have to sit there, and food is served on the table. How dare you leave leftovers? How dare you leave them!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Catherine was completely frightened, and even Anna was at a loss.


    But Scarlett grew angrier and angrier; she tore at the white bread, squashing and rending it, her eyes reddened as she loudly questioned, ¡°How dare you leave it? Do you know my mother went without rest the whole night for this flour?! And she has to prepare breakfast for you at dawn! How dare you leave it!!!¡±


    ¡°This kind of white bread, even if it fell to the ground, I¡¯d eat it!¡± Scarlett stuffed a piece of the bread crumbs into her mouth, tears streaming down as she asked, ¡°How dare you leave it?¡±


    With nothing left to say, Scarlett violently threw the white bread at Catherine¡¯s face and left crying.


    It took Catherine a while to recover from the shock; she had never seen such a degree of ¡°argument,¡± a surge of emotions¡ªgrievance, fear, indignation¡ªflooding her heart instantly.


    Suddenly, Anna felt her neck being choked.


    ¡°Why is she bullying me!¡± Catherine clung to her sister, crying heartbreakingly, her tears smeared her light makeup, and bread crumbs still hung in her hair, ¡°Why do they all bully me!¡±


    Anna quickly embraced her sister, comforting her by gently patting her back, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, no one is bullying you.¡±


    Catherine cried even more miserably, ¡°You don¡¯t help me either! You¡¯re bullying me too!¡±

 Chapter 600 600 10 1 pound_2

    ?Chapter 600: Chapter 10 1 pound_2 Chapter 600: Chapter 10 1 pound_2 ¡°I¡¯ll help you, I¡¯ll help you, I¡¯m your sister after all.¡±


    ¡°I want to go home!¡±


    Anna thought for a moment, then nodded, ¡°All right, you can follow Lieutenant Juan back to Sea Blue when it¡¯s time.¡±


    Catherine¡¯s tears were like a flood breaching the embankment, completely beyond her control now.


    She cried and rolled on the bed like a little child, refusing to let her sister come near her, and wouldn¡¯t say what she wanted.


    ¡°Is Miss Navarre all right?¡± Eileen stood at the door.


    Eileen had been picking vegetables in the western garden and had rushed back to the mansion as soon as she received the maid¡¯s message.


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Anna replied to Mrs. Mitchell with a bitter smile, ¡°Just a child.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, Miss Navarre.¡± Seeing the scene in the guest room, Eileen immediately understood what had happened, ¡°It¡¯s my failure in teaching, I will discipline Scarlett. Please accept my apology on her behalf for both you and your sister.¡±


    Anna quickly gestured with her hands, ¡°No, Scarlett did nothing wrong, you shouldn¡¯t discipline her, please don¡¯t.¡±


    Without allowing Anna to explain, Eileen lifted her skirt to curtsy and had already turned to leave.


    She kindly closed the door behind her, leaving only the Navarre sisters alone in the room.


    ¡­


    Late that same day, Scarlett reluctantly came to apologize to Catherine.


    Scarlett¡¯s face was still streaked with tears and her eyes were full of defiance; it was clear she was apologizing out of necessity.


    Catherine also looked like a tearful little calico cat, with her chestnut hair in complete disarray.


    She huffily turned her head away, avoiding eye contact with Scarlett.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize, Scar.¡± Anna answered for her sister, comforting Scarlett with a smile, ¡°Catherine just lacks a bit of discipline, I think you were right.¡±


    Catherine angrily punched her sister in the side.


    Scarlett curtsied with no emotion and recited flatly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was wrong.¡±


    After saying this, she turned and left without looking back.


    ¡°What kind of apology is that?¡± Catherine nearly fainted with anger.


    ¡°Come on, what are you unsatisfied with? I was even thinking of having you apologize to Mrs. Mitchell and the young lady.¡±


    Catherine threw herself at her sister, wildly flailing her fists and shrieking with tears, ¡°You go find her to be your sister! You all side with her, you all bully me!¡±


    But before she could do more, she was easily subdued by Anna.


    Anna wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but she was far more powerful than her sister.


    Catherine could neither argue nor fight her way out, feeling extremely wronged, and began to cry again uncontrollably, ¡°Why are you helping outsiders? Mother! Anna is helping outsiders to bully me!¡±


    It took Anna great effort to finally soothe her sister.


    ¡°Seriously, Kate,¡± Anna gently patted her sister¡¯s back, ¡°you should go back to Sea Blue. If Lieutenant Juan leaves, you won¡¯t have a chance to go back. You would have to stay here for a very long time.¡±


    ¡°If I go, what will you do?¡± Catherine asked through her sobs, ¡°You¡¯ll be all alone, won¡¯t you?¡±


    Anna smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Catherine spitefully used her sister¡¯s dress to wipe her tears and snot.


    Anna sighed deeply, ¡°Mrs. Mitchell has a point, this isn¡¯t home, this isn¡¯t Sea Blue. If you don¡¯t work, you starve. Didn¡¯t grandpa start from scratch too? Didn¡¯t he always tell us the story of how he went out to sea as an apprentice at twelve, dealing in fabrics, dying them, and traveling through the streets to sell them?¡±


    Catherine huffed angrily, ¡°Grandpa never told me that! He never told Olivia either, only you! He¡¯s biased.¡±


    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m staying here.¡±


    ¡°Stay here for what? You¡¯ve already met Mr. M, you should bring him back. All you have to do is ask, and he would go back for sure. Trust me, if you ask.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to go, and I don¡¯t want to sway his will,¡± Anna shook her head, murmuring wistfully, ¡°I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s staying here, nor do I know what he¡¯s been through in the past year, nor why people here respect him so much. But I want to touch him, I want to know the real him, not just the one in my memories.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re such a fool, with your head full of love, but marriage and love are not the same thing, are they?¡± Catherine couldn¡¯t help but remind her sister.


    ¡°Either way, I¡¯m not leaving, but I want you to go back to Sea Blue. You¡¯re sixteen and should be betrothed; you can¡¯t stay away from home too long. What about your reputation?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mother is there! She will be able to handle everything,¡± Catherine burst into a tearful smile, ¡°If I go back now, she¡¯ll be furious and definitely punish me severely. Besides, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s hard for me to captivate any man I want, is it?¡±


    ¡°But life here really is too hard, Mrs. Mitchell has already given us her best, and it¡¯s still tough.¡±


    Catherine was silent for a long time, thinking things through, she finally resolved, ¡°I¡¯ll stay¡­ I don¡¯t care about Mr. M or this damn place, but I can¡¯t just leave you here by yourself. Mother said we were like twin lotuses; we can¡¯t be apart. I won¡¯t leave you behind, I¡¯m not that bad guy Mr. M.¡±


    Anna smiled helplessly.


    ¡°As for mother, isn¡¯t Olivia there, the little fool? She won¡¯t be lonely. Olivia finally gets to have mother¡¯s affection all to herself, she¡¯ll be happy.¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes were swollen like peaches as she looked at her sister seriously, ¡°After all, I have to take care of you!¡±


    ¡­


    On August 11th, Wolf Town¡¯s church resumed its weekly proceedings.

 Chapter 601 601 10 1 pound_3

    ?Chapter 601: Chapter 10 1 pound_3 Chapter 601: Chapter 10 1 pound_3 A few days passed, and a staff officer arrived.


    This staff officer always looked half asleep and spent most of his time dozing off on the chaise lounge in the living room. Lieutenant Juan respectfully referred to him as ¡°Colonel Van Nassau.¡±


    A few more days went by, and Winters returned.


    Pierre, who went out to meet him, noticed the joy Winters could hardly conceal: ¡°Who did you meet? You seem so happy?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you in detail later.¡± Right now, Winters could only think of Anna. The impulse to see her after a long separation, followed by another brief one, was almost unbearable: ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go to your place first.¡±


    ¡°I have something important to report to you as well.¡±


    ¡°No rush, let¡¯s go to your house first.¡±


    ...


    Winters and Pierre galloped towards Mitchell¡¯s estate, with Pierre hearing the clinking of objects inside the Centurion¡¯s saddlebag.


    When the two stopped at the entrance to Mitchell¡¯s residence, Pierre couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What kind of bottles and jars did you buy from Revodan?¡±


    Winters felt a bit embarrassed and mumbled a word: ¡°Bribes.¡±


    The two dismounted, and Winters didn¡¯t even wait to tie up his horse before he strode into Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    The parlor, no one.


    The living room, no one.


    Winters went upstairs only to find no one in the guest room of the Navarre sisters either.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Winters asked, his eyes wide, turning to Pierre.


    Pierre was equally surprised: ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing the commotion, Eileen came out of the study, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, Pierre, we¡¯re in here.¡±


    There was a study in the Mitchell estate¡¯s layout, but there were few books in the house.


    Gerard couldn¡¯t read, and Eileen did her embroidery while handling the account books in the small living room, so the study was left unused.


    Finally able to relax, Winters laughed as he approached Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Are you seeking refuge here? It¡¯s not safe upstairs. Maybe someday, I¡¯ll dig you a basement.¡±


    Even Eileen joined in the light-hearted moment with a smile, ¡°That might indeed be nice, I¡¯d really like a basement for storage.¡±


    Now it was Winters who was at a loss for words: ¡°Then I¡¯ll bring people over to dig one tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You must be joking.¡±


    ¡°Where are the Misses Navarre?¡±


    ¡°In the study.¡±


    ¡°In the study?¡±


    ¡°The ladies need a bit of space for their work. Their rooms are too small, so I brought them here to the study.¡±


    ¡°Work?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    Eileen answered with a smile yet firmness in her voice, ¡°Yes, work.¡±


    The study¡¯s windows faced south and were well-lit.


    Inside was a large oak table and two rows of bookshelves lined with the estate¡¯s account books and documents from over the years.


    Anna sat in front of the desk, busy at work.


    Catherine leaned against her sister, idly whittling a feather quill out of sheer boredom.


    When Winters entered the study, Catherine¡¯s interest was piqued.


    Before anyone else spoke, and with furrowed brow, Catherine blurted out, ¡°Mr. M, I¡¯ve never seen account books as poorly done as yours since I learned to record them. Did you have those four hunting dogs outside keep them for you?¡±


    Lady Navarre¡¯s voice was soft and her manner graceful, yet her words were unsparingly blunt.


    Anna, maintaining her composure, lightly tapped her sister.


    Pierre coughed softly to hide his discomfort as he had been responsible for the militia¡¯s financial records until now.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad, can it?¡± defended Winters, smiling in support of Pierre.


    Catherine ignored Winters and fixed her apricot eyes on Pierre, ¡°What are you coughing for? Are these your accounts?¡±


    With no escape, Pierre stepped forward and replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then please tell me,¡± Catherine, propping her chin and adopting an even lazier pose, asked, ¡°the first line of the account book, ¡®[Wages disbursed, 39 Ducats],¡¯ ¡®[Barley purchased, 12 Ducats].¡¯ Where did this money come from? Did it appear out of thin air? And there¡¯s not even a date.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all Captain Montaigne¡¯s money.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± Catherine then turned to Winters: ¡°Where does your money come from?¡±


    Where does Winters¡¯s money come from?


    There was only one answer: Anna provided it.


    That night in Kingsfort, Winters exchanged a thousand Gold Coins from the goldsmith.


    Between the expenses from Kingsfort to Wolf Town, plus a hundred coins for the old pirate¡¯s travel fee, all the rest remained in Winter¡¯s possession.


    The militia had been sustained solely by that money until now.


    Winters¡¯s cheeks suddenly grew hot, and looking at Anna, he was too embarrassed to speak.


    Anna also felt her lover¡¯s gaze and quickly understood what was going on, her face turning a deep shade of red.


    Catherine glanced at her sister, then at Winters, and had an epiphany.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Catherine stared at Winters, her eyes full of incredulity and her brows furrowed, her tone laced with disbelief, ¡°are you really living off a woman¡¯s charity?¡±


    Out of the five people in the study, Mrs. Mitchell also covered her mouth to stifle a laugh, leaving only Pierre, clueless and awkward, standing still.


    ¡°I have other matters to attend to, if you would please excuse me.¡± Pierre swiftly made his exit from the hotbed of controversy.


    ¡°I won¡¯t disturb you either,¡± said Eileen, heading towards the door.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t go, Mrs. Mitchell, please stay,¡± Catherine quickly hugged Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°If you leave, he will definitely bully us two. How can a single man and woman be left alone without an elder to supervise?¡±


    Eileen looked at Winters curiously, then at Anna, and with a helpless smile, settled back down beside the desk.


    ¡°Actually, your sister lent me this money,¡± Winters explained, ¡°It was a big help, and I intend to repay it.¡±

 Chapter 602 602 10 1 pound_4

    ?Chapter 602: Chapter 10 1 pound_4 Chapter 602: Chapter 10 1 pound_4 ¡°How much did you lend her?¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes flickered rapidly. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°A thousand ducats.¡±


    Upon hearing the figure, Catherine, outraged, walked over to her sister and pinched her sharply on the lower back, ¡°You¡¯re not even married, yet you¡¯ve started keeping a lover? You reckless, bad woman!¡±


    Eileen too was slightly shocked by the amount.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± Anna maintained the polite smile on her face, forcefully tapping her sister on the knee.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Miss Navarre¡¯s funding, this business here today wouldn¡¯t exist¡­¡± Winters hesitated for a moment, but still used a concept familiar to the Venetians to describe what he was doing, ¡°¡­this ¡®business,¡¯ so you¡¯re actually my original shareholders already.¡±


    At these words, Catherine became serious, her emotions gradually subdued, and she put on the mask of ¡°Little Lady Navarre¡± once again.


    ...


    She shook her head politely but firmly, ¡°No need, I have an idea of what ¡®business¡¯ you¡¯re doing. The Navarre family doesn¡¯t deal in business that involves bloodshed. If one day you achieve fame and success, just don¡¯t forget that my sister has helped you.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Anna, both anxious and embarrassed, pulled her sister behind her and looked seriously at Winters, ¡°Do you mean that your personal wealth and the funds for this¡­ business are mixed together?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment and answered with a bitter smile, ¡°Something like that.¡±


    Catherine spoke up before her sister could, ¡°How can that be allowed? Public accounts, private accounts, how can they be mixed together?¡±


    ¡°Should I keep two sets of books?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Catherine frowned deeply, ¡°Should the expenses of Navarre Manor still go through the books of Navarre Commerce? There must definitely be two sets of books!¡±


    Not only did Winters fall silent, but Eileen, who had been listening, also seemed thoughtful.


    ¡°One set of books or two isn¡¯t the main issue.¡± Anna showed the ledger to Winters, ¡°Mr. Michel uses the single-entry bookkeeping system; expenses and income are all recorded together. It¡¯s primitive and makes it difficult to reflect the specific value of assets.¡±


    ¡°For a Venetian, you don¡¯t even understand the double-entry bookkeeping system,¡± Catherine pressed her advantage, relentlessly pursuing Mr. Michel.


    In fact, Winters did understand a bit, but he lacked the energy to handle bookkeeping, so he left it all to Pierre.


    Anna gently pulled Winters to sit at the table and continued to inquire patiently, ¡°I also saw some very odd items, ¡®distribution of one draft animal,¡¯ ¡®distribution of one set of plows,¡¯ are these given away for free?¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°They¡¯re not given for free; they will pay me in grain at harvest time.¡±


    Anna, holding her lover¡¯s hand, said softly, ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you do this, but if it¡¯s given away like this now, it shows up as a net loss in the books. A business that keeps losing money, no matter what it is, definitely won¡¯t last long.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do?¡±


    Winters Montagne had been raised from childhood strictly as a soldier.


    Training soldiers, going into battle¡ªthese tasks would never make him feel cowardice or fear. But he was indeed not adept at dealing with the current situation.


    And Winters could no longer think straight now because Anna was holding his hand, his head filled with her warmth, his cheeks uncontrollably reddening.


    ¡°It could be counted as a loan, that way your assets would still be balanced,¡± Anna, not yet noticing the change in her lover¡¯s emotions, explained meticulously, ¡°Even though the net assets on the books would decrease, it¡¯s not a straightforward loss.¡±


    ¡°But they don¡¯t have the money to pay back,¡± Winters replied with effort.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, they can pay back slowly. Over twenty years, thirty years, it¡¯s not a problem, even if the interest rate is set low. For you, you are going to distribute the resources to everyone anyway. But it needs to be reflected on your balance sheet.¡±


    Anna looked tenderly at her lover.


    Suddenly, Anna noticed the change in Winters¡¯ mood as well, and she let go of his hand as fast as if she had touched a hot iron.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, coughing lightly a few times.


    Eileen and Catherine might have noticed or they might not have, but they kept silent.


    Anna picked up pen and paper, beginning to calculate for Winters, ¡°If the debt can be steadily repaid over twenty or thirty years. Even if the annual interest is only 5%, the ultimate interest will exceed the principal. Then, this debt is profitable and it could even be sold. If someone is willing to take it over, you could even use this debt to secure cash.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that make me a tax farmer?¡± Winters suddenly realized.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to use it as collateral; it¡¯s just one way to handle the debt,¡± Anna continued methodically, ¡°There¡¯s another important asset, land. Land is a key and important asset, why would you give it away for free?¡±


    Winters sighed and briefly explained the situation of the Newly Reclaimed Land and the plight of the famine refugees.


    To Winters, with vast wastelands in the Newly Reclaimed Land, why not allow private reclamation? Ultimately, it¡¯s a matter of interests.


    Because of the interests of the manor owners and the New Reclamation Legion, reclamation was restricted, land prices were driven up, and all landless farmers were indirectly forced to become tenant farmers and laborers.


    If private reclamation were allowed, land prices would plummet, and it would be impossible for large manors to recruit laborers and tenant farmers¡ªno farmer doesn¡¯t want to own their land.


    This situation might not be someone¡¯s deliberate action, but it¡¯s not surprising that it evolved into the current state of the Newly Reclaimed Land, given those in power chase profit.

 Chapter 603 603 10 1 pound_5

    ?Chapter 603: Chapter 10 1 pound_5 Chapter 603: Chapter 10 1 pound_5 Anna, Catherine, and Eileen listened intently, especially Eileen¡ªshe was the wife of a major estate owner.


    But Eileen did not defend the estate owners; she just listened quietly.


    This was the first time Winters had shared his thoughts with others; he had not even discussed it with Pierre.


    ¡°Do you think the interests of the farmers are more important than those of the estate owners and the legion?¡± Catherine asked pointedly, although she did not really understand the history of the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°I believe everyone¡¯s interests are important,¡± Winters thought for a moment and answered, ¡°But those with power should not exploit the flesh, blood, and bones of those without power; they are also people striving to live.¡±


    After some thought, Anna summarized, ¡°In the end, it all comes down to land, land is always an important asset for everyone. Then you can include all the waste land in Wolf Town into your accounts. That way, your business would have a substantial net asset and capital. You could even do real estate mortgaging.¡±


    Winters thought about it; it was openly usurping the assets of the New Reclamation Legion, but it was exactly what he was doing, so he nodded his head.


    ...


    ¡°Land should not be distributed for free either. If something has no price, it won¡¯t be cherished,¡± Anna suggested softly: ¡°Land debts can also be held over the long term and can also bring profit.¡±


    At first, Winters was pleased, but the more he considered it, the more something felt off.


    Suddenly, he came to a realization and was startled to find he really was gradually starting to think of everything in terms of business.


    ¡°No, this won¡¯t do,¡± Winters was heartbroken as he looked at Anna sorrowfully, ¡°They have just climbed out of the mire of dire poverty; should they be squeezed by me until they have nothing left?¡±


    Anna was surprised as well; the pursuit of profit is human nature, and she never thought there was anything wrong with pursuing profit.


    But altruism is also a spirit celebrated by humans, even the profit-driven Sea Blue People have enthusiastically donated their family fortunes to Sea Blue.


    Anna gradually began to understand Winters¡¯ ideas. She was moved, and her heart ached for him.


    She came up with an alternative: ¡°Then you could set the price of the land a bit lower, low enough that even one silver coin would suffice. But don¡¯t give it away for free; at least let everyone get used to the idea of a price and a contract.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment and nodded with difficulty.


    Anna moved closer to Winters¡¯ ear and said with sadness, ¡°My dear, no one can save everyone¡­ but I will be with you.¡±


    This was the first time she had used the term ¡°my dear.¡±


    Winters felt like he had been doused with a bucket of ice water, the shock to his body and spirit indescribable.


    ¡°What are you whispering about?¡± Catherine protested dissatisfied, ¡°There are others here, and you¡¯re whispering in each other¡¯s ears, that¡¯s quite ignoring Mrs. Mitchell and me, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Anna apologized to Mrs. Mitchell.


    Eileen laughed and shook her head.


    Winters suddenly asked seriously, ¡°Anna, would you be willing to help me?¡±


    This was also the first time he had used the name ¡°Anna.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Catherine sprang up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, ¡°My sister is an unmarried lady, how can she show her face in such matters? Have you considered her at all?¡±


    ¡°I am willing,¡± Anna smiled and nodded, but then shook her head, ¡°But it¡¯s not possible, not only because it goes against etiquette and customs but also because it would cause your subordinates and everyone to lose respect for you. We still live in this world and are bound by its rules. I don¡¯t want your reputation to be damaged because of me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Winters showed his teeth in a smile, ¡°I¡¯m the boss here.¡±


    ¡°I can only keep the books, look at the accounts¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still better than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°You want my sister to manage all the accounts for you? Do you want to work her to death?¡± Catherine, anxious inside, came up with a compromise in her quick thinking, ¡°Anna and I can teach others how to keep the books. If you have a general ledger, just leave it to my sister to manage. She doesn¡¯t have to appear in public and attract criticism. Even my mother wouldn¡¯t personally keep track of every single account book.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, he laughed freely and said to the ladies, ¡°Since Miss Navarre arrived here, everything has gone particularly smoothly, like the monsoon winds filling the sails.¡±


    Winters walked out of the study to find Pierre not waiting at the door.


    He searched the first and second floors of the estate but did not find Pierre.


    Eventually, he found Pierre in the attic.


    Mr. Mitchell was intimately embracing another lady.


    Upon discovering someone ascending to the attic, the lady panicked and ran down the ladder, nearly knocking Winters over.


    Winters did not get a clear look at the lady¡¯s face, but he noticed the black veil tied in her hair.


    There were so few people in the Mitchell estate that it was easy to guess who she was.


    To tie one¡¯s hair with a black veil meant she was a widow.


    And there was currently only one widow in the estate¡ªMrs. Madeleine, the widow of a militia man who had perished in the wolf disaster and had been cornered by Bunting previously.


    Eileen had contributed money to help Mrs. Madeleine clear her taxes and hired her as a maid, bringing her and her young daughter to the Mitchell estate for care.


    Mrs. Madeleine was four or five years older than Pierre; as for whether she was attractive, Winters hadn¡¯t taken much notice.


    Caught in a compromising situation by his superior, Pierre awkwardly grabbed his hair and asked with a smile, ¡°Is your business done?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Winters said with a subtle expression, looking at Pierre with a complicated gaze.


    When he was Pierre¡¯s age, he had still been living the life of an Ascetic Monk.


    He would attend classes, perform duties, and serve as Aike¡¯s sparring partner, often coming home beaten black and blue without ever winning once.


    The only women in his life were the cook and the laundry woman, whose arms and thighs were more muscular than his.


    Nothing like Mr. Mitchell¡¯s¡­ colorful life.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to the camp,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°You said earlier there was something very important, what was it?¡±


    Pierre buttoned up and replied, word for word, ¡°Blackwater Town is willing to provide grain and asks you to be their protector.¡±


    In September, the autumn grain would be harvested, mainly barley, oats, and legumes.


    Anyone of sound mind could already predict that when the autumn grain ripened, what awaited the Newly Reclaimed Land would be another ruthless round of ¡°forcibly harvesting¡± and ¡°heavy taxation.¡±


    Through word of mouth, the people of Blackwater Town gradually learned about the deeds of the Garrison Officer of Montaigne.


    They knew about the grain levy team sent to Wolf Town being ambushed;


    They knew about the Garrison Officer of Montaigne cleaning out the bandits near Wolf Town;


    They also knew about the massacre in the Valley of Saint Gis and the trial¡ªthe bandit leader¡¯s carcass still hangs at the entrance of the valley, deterring any criminals with ill-intentions.


    Thus, the people of Blackwater Town conceived a bold idea: to invite the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town to become the protector of Blackwater Town.


    Not only to protect them from the hands of bandits and robbers but also from the grain levy teams.


    Of course, this was a covert agreement; outwardly, Blackwater Town would still pledge loyalty to Revodan.


    But should the grain levy team be intercepted, then nobody could blame Blackwater Town.


    ¡°That¡¯s the situation,¡± Pierre said hesitantly, ¡°Although we are in dire need of grain, becoming their protector would¡­ almost amount to directly opposing Revodan.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I want!¡±

 Chapter 604 604 11 Quicksand

    ?Chapter 604: Chapter 11 Quicksand Chapter 604: Chapter 11 Quicksand In the military tent at Wolf Town, Colonel Moritz sat at a desk, propping up his chin and gently swirling his glass.


    On the desk, there was also a small plate of almonds and green olives, all of which had been brought from afar from Revodan by someone.


    The person who had bought these things was now holding a bottle of wine, carefully recounting to Moritz his experiences over the past year.


    And whenever Moritz¡¯s glass was even slightly empty, he would immediately fill it up again.


    Tang Juan burst into the tent, seeing this scene, he was so angry that smoke seemed to be coming out of his seven orifices, ¡°It¡¯s not even noon yet, and you two have started drinking already?¡±


    ¡°Not him,¡± Moritz took a small sip of the pale gold ¡®water of life¡¯, smiling as he said, ¡°Just me.¡±


    ¡°I asked you to come here, to get rid of him! But look at you, a few bottles of wine and you¡¯re sold? Have you forgotten the general¡¯s orders?¡±


    ...


    Moritz yawned and looked at Lieutenant Juan, answering slowly and deliberately, ¡°His father wanted me to collect his body. I could try to kill him and bring back a corpse, but I can¡¯t guarantee success. If you expect me to twist his will and force him to do something against his wishes, that¡¯s something I can¡¯t do.¡±


    Winters found another cup and invited Juan, his senior, to take a seat.


    Juan gulped down half a glass of strong liquor in an almost venting manner, pouring it straight down his throat.


    ¡°Drink sparingly,¡± Moritz said, a hint of distress in his voice, ¡°I was planning on making it last for many days.¡±


    ¡°Many days?¡± Juan slammed the table as he stood up.


    ¡°Senior,¡± Winters earnestly requested, ¡°there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to ask for your help with.¡±


    ¡­


    At the Panto River ford, Winters was seeing off the old pirate.


    ¡°No need to escort me any further, my lord,¡± Gold said, his front tooth still not fixed, which made his smile whist when he laughed, ¡°We¡¯re already at Blackwater Town, please, go back.¡±


    When they had come from Vineta, there was a total of sixteen people including Gold, two ladies, and Juan¡¯s subordinates.


    But on the return trip, there were only three: Gold, one of Juan¡¯s cavalrymen, and one of Winters¡¯s Dusacks.


    ¡°Be careful on your journey,¡± Winters said with apology, ¡°Lieutenant Juan will have to stay here for some time, so only two people will escort you.¡±


    Gold laughed heartily, ¡°I know this road like the back of my hand; I don¡¯t need an escort at all. As long as I¡¯m alive, I guarantee to deliver your letter back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Juan, who had come looking for someone, was instead detained by Winters, and he had to explain the reason to Antonio.


    The only person Winters had at hand who could serve as a messenger and guide was Gold, so he had no choice but to send the old pirate on another journey.


    Winters and Juan selected two capable young men for the old pirate, on one hand as escorts, and on the other, to familiarize more people with the route between Newly Reclaimed Land and Vineta.


    Once others became familiar with the route, the old pirate would no longer have to be on the move.


    ¡°I¡¯m off, don¡¯t worry!¡± Gold laughed loudly, cracked his whip, and spurred his horse, racing away.


    Winters watched them until the three riders disappeared into the woods.


    Then he turned his horse back towards Wolf Town, his will firm, for he still had tasks to accomplish. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    It takes about six months for barley to grow from sowing to maturity; it is sown as soon as the weather turns warm at the end of February or the beginning of March, and harvested in September.


    Oats vary by type, and the Paratu strain of oats is late-maturing, requiring roughly four months of growth. They are usually sown in May and also harvested in September.


    Paratu agriculture generally follows a three-field system. The farmland is divided into three parts: one for winter wheat, another for supplementary grains, and the last left fallow.


    Barley, oats, rye, alongside some legumes and vegetables, are the main crops in the Paratu farmers¡¯ [spring-autumn] agricultural cycle.


    But before September when the grain is fully matured, a new round of collection would have already begun.


    The reason is simple; if one waits until the wheat is completely ripe, what would be left for the collection team? The farmers would have harvested everything clean already.


    ¡°Forced harvest¡± means one must collect before the wheat ripens.


    In the midst of this forced harvesting, the wheat matures.


    These are valuable experiences accumulated during the [Sovereignty War] thirty years prior, and pulling them out now is no less relevant.


    Wheat not yet matured may not be edible, but it is still a valuable commodity, suitable for feeding horses, and considered top-quality fodder.


    Warhorses favor and require this kind of nutritious and moisture-rich fine feed the most.


    As unripe crops are difficult to store due to their water content, the Paratu People invented the ¡°silage¡± technique.


    By chopping up the still-green crops, sealing them, and allowing them to ferment, not only is it possible to retain their nutrients and moisture, but it also ¡°detoxifies¡± them.


    The feed remains fresh for long periods without spoiling, and the slightly sour-tasting silage is particularly favored by cattle, horses, and sheep.


    However, creating silage feed requires high levels of expertise and technique from the handlers and is typically found only in large military horse farms.


    No one would be so extravagant as to use unripe grain for silage, for wouldn¡¯t that be a waste?


    Yet, this very thing was indeed happening to the farmers in the Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    The New Reclamation Legion was relatively polite in their approach, given that the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province was their own territory.


    The raiding parties of Red Rose and Blue Rose had no regard for human dignity, and the New Reclamation Legion had no power to stop them.


    As they watched the grain being taken away by the other two factions, the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s collection efforts grew increasingly aggressive.


    Iron Peak County, located at the southwesternmost point of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province and the most remote and backwards county, was also affected by this turmoil.


    Maplestone City received a categorical order from Revodan¡¯s garrison, prompting collection teams to set out from Revodan again and head toward various villages and towns.

 Chapter 605 605 11 Quicksand_2

    ?Chapter 605: Chapter 11 Quicksand_2 Chapter 605: Chapter 11 Quicksand_2 However, the conscription effort in Revodan ran into a little problem¡­


    ¡°My lord! Mercy!¡± The leader of the conscription team¡ª[Sergeant Peter]¡ªflung himself down, trying to kiss Winters¡¯ boots: ¡°I had no choice! I didn¡¯t want to leave the city to raid for grain. But my son and wife are in Revodan, and if I disobey military orders, my whole family will be punished! Please show some compassion¡­¡±


    Peter had his arms tied behind his back and was bound together with four other people, clearly unable to move.


    But the sight of the ¡°bandits¡¯ leader¡± approaching, the intense will to live made him drag the four people, still almost rushing in front of Winters¡¯ horse.


    It was Pierre¡¯s saber that quieted Sergeant Peter. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Take another step forward.¡± Pierre, his face covered, looked at the sergeant coldly. The second half of his sentence went unspoken, but the blade said it for him.


    Sergeant Peter lay on the ground, crying and begging for mercy, and so did the other Revodan soldiers.


    For a moment, pleas for mercy were everywhere, painfully hard to bear.


    Winters had seen and heard so much that he had become numb, everyone had their difficulties, everyone was compelled.


    ...


    But he hadn¡¯t come to listen to the grievances of these Revodan soldiers.


    ¡°Have all the weapons been confiscated?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°They have.¡±


    ¡°The wagons, the grain?¡±


    ¡°All taken care of.¡±


    Tang Juan came galloping over: ¡°What¡¯s the point of talking? Let¡¯s hurry up and go!¡±


    Winters nodded: ¡°Take them all away.¡±


    At the words ¡°take them all away,¡± Sergeant Peter sprang up like a spring from the ground: ¡°Take us away? Aren¡¯t you going to release us? You want to take us away?¡±


    ¡°Who said we¡¯re letting you go?¡± Pierre asked coldly in return.


    ¡°But, but in the past people were released!¡± Peter screamed hoarsely: ¡°We¡¯ve given up our weapons, surrendered our wagons, and didn¡¯t resist. According to the rules, we should be let go! Why kill us? We haven¡¯t done anything! Ah¡­¡±


    As Peter shouted, he suddenly burst into loud sobs, wailing with a mix of snot and tears: ¡°If I had known, I would¡¯ve fought you¡­ Ah¡­¡±


    The surrounding prisoners, hearing Peter¡¯s tragic cries, also started to grow restless.


    Winters, who had gone some distance, sensed something amiss and hurried back.


    He jumped down from the saddle and kicked Peter over: ¡°Stop your goddamn crying! Who said we¡¯re going to kill you?¡±


    With teardrops and mucus still on his face, Peter asked in surprise, ¡°Not kill us?¡±


    ¡°Cry again and you¡¯re the first I¡¯ll slay.¡±


    ¡°Then why won¡¯t you let us go?¡± Peter roughly wiped his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed with grief, and cried again: ¡°In the end, you¡¯re still going to kill us? Just somewhere else¡­ Mama¡­¡±


    Winters had no good solution for this rough man who cried so easily.


    He used an amplification spell to announce to the Revodan soldiers around him: ¡°From this moment on, you are all my prisoners. Don¡¯t court death, and you won¡¯t die. Take them all away!¡±


    ¡°Even bandits want prisoners?¡± Peter asked between sobs.


    Sergeant Peter¡¯s grain conscription team was led on their way.


    The more he walked, the more Peter felt that these people, who hijacked the grain carts, were not bandits, as there were never bandits this formidable in Newly Reclaimed Land.


    This group of ¡°bandits¡± had about twenty riders, with the remaining thirty-odd people on foot.


    At a whistle, all the bandits burst out from all directions at once.


    The grain conscription team had no time to respond before they were completely surrounded.


    In such a situation, the temporarily conscripted ¡°soldiers¡± of Revodan instantly lost their will to resist and obediently surrendered their weapons.


    Although the ¡°bandits¡± all wore masks, a few of the riding ¡°chiefs¡± spoke in a way that felt familiar to Peter.


    As they walked on, Peter had an epiphany¡ªthe chief had a distinct ¡°officer¡¯s accent,¡± unintentionally revealing a hint of the Guidao City dialect.


    The further they walked, the more familiar it became: Wasn¡¯t this the road to Wolfton Town?


    The more he walked, the more certain he became, no doubt, it was the road to Wolf Town.


    Why did the bandits not avoid people, still heading towards the town?


    Why was there a military camp in the town?


    Why was there a prison in the military camp?


    Peter exclaimed that he had been tricked: Damn it! What bandits? We were attacked by the militia of Wolf Town!


    Peter felt a bit happy, a bit angry, and mostly confused.


    Happy, because as long as they were not real bandits, there would be no senseless killing, and at least his life was spared.


    Angry, because the militia dared to disguise themselves as bandits and ambush him, the legit Revodan sergeant.


    Confused, because he didn¡¯t understand where the Wolf Town militia got such courage?


    Because he was a sergeant, Peter was imprisoned alone.


    He was taken to a quiet, cramped cell.


    Peter spent some time getting used to the dim light in the cell.


    He saw there were two other men in the cell, their heads unkempt and filthy, beards and hair in disarray, sitting leaning against the corner of the cell.


    To Peter¡¯s astonishment, the two men were¡­ making straw sandals.


    Their movements were swift, the straw as nimble as needles in their hands, and the soles of the shoes visibly extending at a pace visible to the naked eye.


    Peter dared not move.


    In the cramped cell, two disheveled men worked in silence on their straw shoes.


    The sight was too eerie, too terrifying, carrying a mysterious, almost religious atmosphere.


    ¡°Hmm? Another one¡¯s come?¡± One of the men, having finished a sole, glanced up at Peter, unfazed, and knocked on the wall: ¡°Hey! Someone else has arrived.¡±


    A head poked out from the bars on the wall¡ªit turned out there was another cell next door.


    ¡°Another from Revodan?¡± The man in the cell next door asked hoarsely.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯m Peter from the south of the city.¡± Peter carefully scrutinized the man, suddenly shouting: ¡°Ivan? Aren¡¯t you dead? Killed by bandits?¡±

 Chapter 606 606 11 Quicksand_3

    ?Chapter 606: Chapter 11 Quicksand_3 Chapter 606: Chapter 11 Quicksand_3 In the adjacent cell was the sergeant Ivan from Revodan, infamous for the saying, ¡°drunk men inevitably beat their wives.¡±


    However, Peter could hardly recognize Ivan any longer; the Ivan of the past was a burly, crude, and irascible sturdy man.


    The Ivan of today had become so emaciated as to be almost unrecognizable, and the savage vigor he once possessed had been ground down to nothing. All that remained in his eyes was endless weariness.


    ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± Ivan¡¯s lips trembled, his voice even carried a sobbing tone, ¡°you¡­ how did you end up here too¡­¡±


    ¡­


    The officers stationed at Revodan were all gathered in a room for a meeting.


    There was only one item on the agenda: the ¡°bandit problem.¡±


    ...


    The forced conscription leading to bandit uprisings was an inevitable situation.


    The stance in Revodan was to suppress when possible and use it as an opportunity for training; if they couldn¡¯t catch the bandits, then there was no help for it.


    But there was one group of bandits rampaging through the southwest of Revodan, whose actions had forced Revodan to take them seriously.


    These bandits were like the wind in their swiftness, and targeted specifically the grain conscription teams from Revodan.


    Any grain conscription team entering their territory would disappear without a trace, never to return.


    Initially, this group only operated within the vicinity of the three towns: Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, and Wolfton.


    In less than ten days, their reach had quickly extended to Niutigu Valley and Yuanhua Slope, and even Saint Town reported traces of these bandits.


    There was even a vague saying that once you crossed the St. George River to the south of Revodan, no place ahead was safe.


    While grain carriages being robbed was not common, it was happening with increasing frequency.


    Because there were so many bandits, and most of Revodan¡¯s soldiers were untrained recruits, even local defense was strenuous, let alone rooting out bandits.


    But unlike other bandit groups, the ones rampaging through the southwest of Revodan didn¡¯t just rob grain carriages; they also took people.


    None from the conscription teams that fell into their hands ever escaped.


    Even though recruiting soldiers was easy nowadays, such ceaseless loss was something Revodan could not afford.


    ¡°We must nip this in the bud. These bandits are not ordinary outlaws; the surrounding villages are sheltering them, they are plotting something big!¡± Major Ronald slammed his hand down, ¡°I suspect they were the ones who ambushed my gendarmes. Their lair must be somewhere in the forest between Wolf Town and Blackwater Town.¡±


    ¡°Is there any other intelligence? Like what the bandit leader¡¯s name is?¡± Captain Apel asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fog of mystery; these bandits have no known leaders,¡± Major Ronald mused. ¡°However, according to my informants, the surrounding villages all call them¡­ the Blood Wolf Gang.¡±


    At this, Major Ronald looked toward Lieutenant Chellini.


    At the mention of ¡°Blood Wolf Gang,¡± Andre boiled with rage, his eyes seething with fury and even hinting at tears, ¡°Blood Wolf Gang? Damn them! Winters Montagne is dead! He died by The Styx! Which bastard dares to misuse his name to play the bandit? I¡¯ll wipe them out myself!¡±


    ¡°You do indeed have to go; my informants say that the Blood Wolf Gang has quite a few horse thieves that only your Dusacks can handle,¡± Major Ronald sighed. ¡°I think they must be Winters¡¯ former soldiers who became deserters and then turned to banditry. Try to recruit them if you can, we are in need of experienced soldiers. I authorize that if they surrender, they will be pardoned and even recruited to serve in Revodan.¡±


    Lieutenant Andreya Chellini set out with his men, brimming with fury, to suppress the bandits.


    A week later, the disastrous news was relayed back.


    Chellini¡¯s hundred-man troop was annihilated. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bandits sent a message, demanding ransom from Revodan for their people.


    ¡°Ah, Andre was just too impetuous. He wouldn¡¯t have lost a fair fight; he must have been ambushed due to recklessness,¡± Lieutenant Bard commented with his usual composure.


    He summarized to the officers stationed at Newly Reclaimed Land, ¡°The bandits asking for ransom suggests that Lieutenant Chellini is still alive. The bandits wouldn¡¯t have come out unscathed after a direct clash with Andre¡¯s hundred men. This time, Captain Mason and I will go together, ostensibly to deliver the ransom for scouting purposes. We¡¯ll proceed cautiously and ensure the total annihilation of these bandits.¡±


    Next to Bard, Captain Mason nodded eagerly, like a pecking hen.


    Besides their local forces, Revodan¡¯s only mobile military power was these ¡°militia¡± teams sent back by Blue Rose.


    But Major Ronald still felt uneasy, ¡°I don¡¯t underestimate your combat skills, but you are not native to Iron Peak County. I¡¯ll have Lieutenant Akos accompany you as a guide. He¡¯s very familiar with all the towns in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Bard¡¯s smile was earnest, ¡°nothing could be better.¡±


    Six days later, bad news once again reached Revodan.


    Bard¡¯s hundred-man team and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team were both completely wiped out.


    Major Ronald¡¯s hand crashed down upon the table, splintering the surface as he cursed loudly.


    At the same time, Winters finally had his reunion with Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    ¡°What exactly do you want?¡± Bard had only one question for Winters, ¡°What, exactly, do you want?¡±

 Chapter 607 607 12 The Hammer

    ?Chapter 607: Chapter 12: The Hammer Chapter 607: Chapter 12: The Hammer Fifty years ago, at a wedding in the territory of the Earl of Menai, in front of the mountains, a few serfs from the Greenheart Monastery, fueled by drink, went wild and hung a ¡°peasant shoe¡± at the top of a tall pole in front of the Monastery.


    As the name suggests, a peasant shoe is the type of shoe worn by peasants.


    Unlike the high boots that represent knights and lords, peasant shoes have no bootlegs but are tied to the lower leg with straps.


    Hanging the shoe was originally just a crude joke, but the abbot of the Monastery, the elderly Earl of Menai, and the local municipal officials took the matter very seriously.


    They came with soldiers and gathered the serfs, proclaiming that hanging the peasant shoe was a grievous insult.


    After the lords¡¯ admonition, the serfs took down the shoe from the pole.


    Why would such dignitaries as the abbot and the Earl be frightened by a pair of shoes?


    ...


    Because they were acutely aware that these serfs were not really serfs; they were freeholder peasants and tenant farmers who had lived on these lands from time immemorial.


    For generations, the abbots of the Greenheart Monastery had resorted to strong-arm tactics, threats, bribes, and even the use of forged documents and false oaths to turn these free men into serfs of the Monastery.


    The peasants had never ceased to resist, through litigation, petitioning, and violence¡­ all of which were suppressed by the Earl of Menai in league with the Greenheart Monastery.


    The peasants lived in hardship and harbored anger, something the lords knew well, which is why they were afraid of a single shoe.


    The shoe in front of the Monastery was taken down, but the shoe in people¡¯s hearts could not be removed.


    The flag bearing the image of a peasant shoe subsequently became the symbol of every secret peasant society and their resistance to tyranny; these secret societies also came to call themselves the ¡°Shoe Society.¡±


    As the burdens imposed by the nobility and the church grew heavier, not only peasants but also city dwellers began to join the Shoe Society enthusiastically.


    Shoe Societies in various places tried to organize uprisings multiple times, which all failed due to leaks.


    Ten years later¡ªthat is, forty years ago¡ªin the territory of the Earl of Menai, another Shoe Society was born in a farmhouse.


    This time, the leader of the Shoe Society learned from past lessons and adopted unprecedented security measures.


    Secret signs, code words, oaths¡­ and merciless and swift execution for traitors.


    By virtue of tight security and the slogan ¡°To overthrow all ecclesiastical and secular nobility and eliminate serfdom,¡± the Menai Shoe Society quickly grew and expanded.


    In this period, the land in front of the mountains was a complete powder keg, with farmers full of rage and lacking only a leader.


    In the territory of the Earl of Menai alone, more than seven thousand farmers took the oath to join, and their network of contacts even extended to every region of the land in front of the mountains.


    The leader of the Menai Shoe Society devised a whole set of plans for the uprising:


    First, to seize the nearby city of Bruzza, as more than half of its residents either swore allegiance to the Society or sympathized with it.


    By capturing Bruzza¡¯s church treasury, city treasury, and armory and arming themselves, the assembled troops would march without hesitation toward the territory of the Marquis of Denba.


    Afterward, the advance should be relentless, not stopping anywhere for more than twenty-four hours.


    Constant attacks, ever-expanding scales, until the entire region in front of the mountains was brought into the alliance of the Shoe Society, ¡°to realize the Lord¡¯s justice on earth.¡±


    ¡­


    Bard sighed and then asked Winters, ¡°Do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    Winters and Andre looked at each other.


    ¡°We¡¯ve finally reunited, why be so serious?¡± Andre laughed loudly, pulling out something to show to Winters, ¡°Look at this!¡±


    Andre was overjoyed, he hadn¡¯t been as happy as he was today since returning from the wilderness.


    Winters saw clearly, a Sword Cross Medal in Andre¡¯s palm, identical to the one he had received.


    ¡°One for each of us.¡± Andre sneered coldly, then with some pride, ¡°They think to win hearts with this thing.¡±


    ¡°The matter I¡¯m talking about is very important,¡± Bard stubbornly interrupted Andre. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Senior Mason, sitting nearby, interjected, ¡°What Bard means is, your actions now don¡¯t look at all like someone preparing for a rebellion.¡±


    ¡°Yes, even the farmers¡¯ Shoe Society knows that rebellion is all about momentum,¡± Bard¡¯s gaze turned steely, ¡°You have to ride the wave forward, either getting smashed to pieces by the huge wave or unleashing a tsunami that destroys the world. But what are you doing? What do you really want?¡±


    Mason scratched his head in frustration and sighed, ¡°Bard and I have discussed this; if you really want to start a revolt, you shouldn¡¯t be putting out fires. Revodan conscripting grain? Not only should you not stop them, but you should also be helping Revodan.


    Only when the peasants are driven to a point where they can no longer live will they be your capital for rebellion. The fiercer and stronger the fire, the better. But what are you doing? Exterminating bandits, allocating land, reclaiming wasteland, attacking grain convoys¡­ this isn¡¯t adding fuel to the fire, but dousing it with water. Do you understand?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t answer; he wanted to keep listening to what Bard and Senior Mason had to say.


    The four were sitting by the riverbank, falling into silence.


    Bard, who was usually silent and reserved, had countless things to say today.


    ¡°To the peasants of Newly Reclaimed Land, you are not the Shoe Society; you are not the towering wave that changes the world. Instead, your actions serve to patch up the old power structure.¡±


    Bard grew increasingly agitated, speaking faster and faster, ¡°The peasants used to pay taxes to the army and the council, now they pay them to your Montaigne lordship, what¡¯s the difference? You¡¯re not a peasant revolution! You¡¯re nobility rebelling! This is [the lord of Wolf Town rebelling against his sovereign]!¡±

 Chapter 608 608 12 Hammer_2

    ?Chapter 608: Chapter 12 Hammer_2 Chapter 608: Chapter 12 Hammer_2 Andre and Mason also noticed the change in Bard¡¯s emotions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get so worked up,¡± Andre tried to put his arm around Bard¡¯s shoulder.


    But Bard shook off Andre, staring at Winters, and asked word by word, ¡°So I want to know, what exactly do you want to do by staying here?¡±


    Winters looked at the quietly flowing river and asked in return, ¡°Bard, what happened to the Menai Shoe Society in the story you just told? Did their rebellion succeed?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Bard responded expressionlessly, ¡°A member went to confess to a priest and leaked the secrets of the Shoe Society. The scale of the Menai Shoe Society spooked all the nobles from the foothill lands. They sent out troops together, capturing and killing. A few leaders of the Shoe Society got away, but those who didn¡¯t were executed publicly, and their bodies hung on the castles for all the peasants to see.¡±


    The river still flowed quietly.


    ¡°How do you know about events from thirty or forty years ago?¡± Andre said, somewhat unconvinced.


    ...


    ¡°These incidents, each and every one of them, are recorded in the annals of Green Heart Monastery,¡± Bard said with red-rimmed eyes, staring at Andre, ¡°These incidents, each and every one of them, have been passed on by the mouths of impoverished peasants.¡±


    Andre could only offer a wry smile, ¡°Have the peasants ever¡­ succeeded in their rebellions?¡±


    ¡°Yes! The Sovereign War! After the Menai Shoe Society massacre, came the Sovereign War! Peasants bled in the Sovereign War, a lot of blood was shed. But they never tasted the fruits of the war.¡±


    Andre pressed on, ¡°Before the Sovereign War, was there ever a success?¡±


    This time, it was Bard who fell silent.


    Winters picked up a small stone and threw it onto the surface of the water.


    The stone caused a string of ripples before sinking, and then the water returned to calm.


    After a long silence, Winters finally spoke, ¡°The people of Palatu have wronged me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Andre¡¯s temper flared at the reminder, ¡°When did those sheep-fuckers ever do right by any of us?¡±


    ¡°So when I first got back to Palatu, I actually didn¡¯t think too deeply,¡± Winters shifted to a more comfortable position.


    He looked at the river and said, ¡°I only wanted revenge. I wouldn¡¯t let off any of those who abandoned me and my men on the west bank of The Styx. I wanted them to die painfully, to live a fate worse than death. Those who treated me well, I would also repay them,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°That was my thinking.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Bard seemed unsurprised, his gaze steady, but with a hint of¡­ regret and disappointment.


    ¡°At the beginning, I wanted to go home, dreamt of it. But then on a whim, I stayed. Don¡¯t laugh, it was just a rash impulse. I felt like I could do something, couldn¡¯t just walk away,¡± Winters said softly, yet everyone could clearly hear, ¡°Apart from seeking revenge and repaying debts, I developed other thoughts.¡±


    Bard, Andre, and Mason waited for Winters to continue.


    But Winters suddenly changed the topic, laughing and asking his companions, ¡°What do you think about Wolf Town? Is it good or not?¡±


    ¡°Good or not in what sense?¡± Andre furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Good? Or not good?¡±


    Andre said loudly, ¡°Good! Haven¡¯t you been managing it well?¡±


    ¡°Good my fucking ass!¡± Winters slammed his fist on the ground, ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land at Wolfton, a total of one thousand two hundred sixty-six households. Sixty-five percent of the farmland belonged to sixteen manors. Most families were landless tenant farmers and laborers. The rich had fields stretching as far as the eye could see, while the poor had no place to call their own. The peasants¡¯ taxation was exorbitantly high; self-sustaining farmers could never save enough money to buy new land, and their sons had to become laborers.¡±


    His expression turned ferocious, he pressed aggressively, ¡°Good? Tell me where is it good? Where? Tell me!¡±


    Andre was taken aback and speechless, even Mason subconsciously swallowed, but only Bard remained calm.


    ¡°She¡¯s not good, she¡¯s very bad, but at least she¡¯s full of life!¡± Winters¡¯s voice grew acidic, ¡°At least there¡¯s something to eat, a place to live, at least people can survive. They respect me here, depend on me. I like it here, I like the wilderness, I like the fields, I like the sweat of labor. I¡¯d be willing to grow old here, build a little house, live out my life.¡±


    In the middle of the river, currents swirled and a flock of crows circled.


    ¡°But now what? She¡¯s dead!¡± Winters shouted, exploding with rage and resentment, ¡°Thirty years! It took thirty whole years to turn a wilderness into a bustling little town. Three months! The bigwigs only needed three months to turn it into what it is now. People nail their doors and windows shut, dragging their families to flee. Those farmers remaining will have their harvests taken away by the grain requisition squads.¡±


    ¡°The bigwigs crush Wolf Town to pieces with a mere flick of their fingertips. And they, they don¡¯t care at all! Not one bit! Not! One! Bit! If they cared, understood, felt the pain of the people of Wolf Town, they would never have done this!¡±


    Andre and Mason¡¯s expressions grew heavy, while Bard pressed his lips tightly together.


    Winters suddenly stood up, directed his fury towards the river surface, furiously venting the anger and unwillingness in his heart, ¡°Fuck your mothers! Fuck your mothers! Fuck you, you bunch of bastards!!!¡±


    He unconsciously entered a spellcasting state, his roar thundering like rushing thunder, scattering the beasts in the forest and causing the crows to flee in panic toward the distance.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Paratu that¡¯s wronged me, but those big shots! They have wronged not just me! They¡¯ve wronged many, many people! Those who decide the fate of Paratu, who control the flow of the rivers, don¡¯t deserve to sit in that position!¡±


    Winters gasped violently, his eyes shining as he looked at his companion, ¡°Now, I can only curse at the river like a useless fool. But sooner or later, one day, sooner or later, I will pull those people down! Smash them! Stomp them into the mud!¡±


    ¡°This is what I think! This is what I want!¡± Winters had never spoken these words to anyone because it was tantamount to a declaration of war against a nation.


    But at this moment, Winters Montagne opened up his chest, showing it off without reservation to others: ¡°I stay here to do this very thing! Fuck the Republic of Paratu! I¡¯m going to smash it to pieces and build a new one!¡±


    ¡°To hell with it! Fuck the Republic of Paratu!¡± Andre bellowed, leaping to his feet as well.


    His eyes red, he grabbed Winters¡¯ shoulders, ¡°Do you remember what I told you on the ship back from The Federated Provinces to Sea Blue, that there are tall shoulders to bear the sky when it falls?¡±


    His fingers dug deep into Winters¡¯ skin, ¡°I was wrong! Terribly wrong! It¡¯s not tall people bearing it; it¡¯s tall people using us to bear it! Let¡¯s no longer be tools. If anything, we should be the ones using others to bear it!¡± S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fucking donkey-rutting sheep herders won¡¯t let us go home! Fine! They ask us to leave, we won¡¯t leave! We¡¯ll go smash! Even if we shatter into dust, we will shake the earth and the heavens! We¡¯ll smash until it¡¯s cataclysmic!¡±


    Andre pulled out his Sword Grand Cross medal and with a great laugh, threw it into the river.


    That medal he had once longed for traced an arc through the air and with a plunk, sank into the water, disappearing in an instant.


    Bard stared intently at Winters, and asked word by word, ¡°Have you ever considered, if one day you sit in that position, will you become the person you loathe, hate, and desperately want to smash right now?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Winters laughed loudly, ¡°Who knows?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s okay.¡± Bard grabbed Winters and Andre¡¯s shoulders, ¡°I¡¯d rather it be you who sits there.¡±


    The river still flowed quietly.


    The three clasped each other¡¯s arms tightly, and from this moment on, they were not only classmates, friends, brothers, but they also began to share the same ideal.


    ¡°We need Revodan.¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°Hell yeah.¡± Andre laughed wildly, ¡°Let¡¯s go take it.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Bard shook his head, ¡°What we need is the whole Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re both wrong.¡± Richard Mason was the last to join in, his voice trembling slightly:


    ¡°Without control of Blackwater Town and Wugou Town, we can¡¯t cover Wolf Town; Without Revodan, we can¡¯t control the three towns; And without occupying Maplestone City, we can¡¯t hold Revodan.¡±


    Winters, Bard, and Andre all looked at their senior.


    Mason¡¯s voice grew firm, ¡°What we need is the entire Newly Reclaimed Land.¡±


    ¡­


    The crow tells me,


    Two young Venetians and two young United Provincials,


    On the frontier¡¯s frontier of Paratu,


    Have sworn to utterly overturn this country,


    That¡¯s what happened today;


    The elk tells me,


    They don¡¯t know how they will do it,


    They don¡¯t know how many difficulties they will face,


    But they swear they will do it,


    That¡¯s what happened today.

 Chapter 609 609 13 Visitors

    ?Chapter 609: Chapter 13 Visitors Chapter 609: Chapter 13 Visitors The sky was just beginning to lighten when Winters stepped out of the military camp and went for a swim in the river west of the town.


    He first warmed up with two back and forth swims and then began to try diving to the bottom of the river.


    By the time he got ashore, he found that Bard was waiting for him.


    ¡°When did you learn to swim?¡± Bard asked with a smile, sitting on Winters¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°I taught myself.¡±


    ¡°Still practicing diving?¡±


    Winters¡¯s heart ached at the mention of it, ¡°Our dear Lieutenant Cherini got so excited he threw the Grand Cross into the river. I¡¯m feeling the riverbed, maybe I can find it.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why bother fishing that thing up?¡± Bard was unconcerned.


    ¡°Why bother?¡± Winters was furious, ¡°That¡¯s gold! If you don¡¯t want it, you can at least exchange it for food! We should really look into Andre¡¯s lineage; I really don¡¯t know what kind of Venetian he is! Such a big piece of gold, thrown into the river in a moment of heat, and here I am, getting up early to fish it out.¡±


    Bard laughed heartily, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.


    He handed the clothes to Winters, ¡°I have a question for you. I heard that at the beginning of July, an assassin broke into Kingsfort Army Headquarters and killed Sekler. Was it you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s been spreading rumors about me?¡± Winters was furious, ¡°When have I ever engaged in assassination?¡±


    ¡°Mmm, good,¡± Bard said reassuringly, patting the assassin¡¯s arm, ¡°As long as you can respond with that attitude to anyone who asks, that¡¯s enough. Also¡­¡±


    Bard was interrupted because Winters hadn¡¯t finished yet, ¡°I marched in through the front gate with my military sabre, and I marched out the same way. How does that become an assassination? When have I ever engaged in assassination? I always act with integrity and openness!¡±


    Winters suddenly thought of the Monta gang at the Sea Blue docks.


    With a twinge of guilt, he repeated, ¡°When have I ever engaged in assassination in Paratu? I always act with integrity and openness in Paratu!¡±


    ¡°Oh? So you¡¯ve engaged in assassination elsewhere?¡± Bard sighed.


    ¡°That¡¯s none of your business,¡± Winters turned his head away, ¡°Just not in Paratu.¡±


    ¡°Did you leave any survivors?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not some villain. I wouldn¡¯t kill him if he didn¡¯t stand in my way. But it was dark then, and no one could see clearly who was who.¡±


    ¡°Your Spell, nobody would mistake it,¡± Bard sighed heavily, ¡°From what I see, this won¡¯t just end like that. But Kingsfort is thousands of miles away, and even if they knew you were in Wolf Town, they couldn¡¯t reach you. Right now, there are more important things¡ª are you distributing land to refugees to cultivate?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters pointed across the river with a hint of pride, ¡°There¡¯s Newly Reclaimed Land over there. They¡¯re landless tenant farmers and laborers, and I have wasteland, as well as oxen, horses, and ploughs; it¡¯s a perfect match.¡±


    Bard listened intently, then suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know the latest news from Maplestone City?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard a thing. Before I met you all, I could only get bits and pieces of information about Revodan.¡±


    Bard smiled slightly, ¡°Maplestone City has been as busy as you recently.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion is also recruiting refugees for land cultivation?¡± Winters asked, frowning.


    But soon he realized, ¡°That¡¯s not surprising. Without farming, they¡¯d starve. Maplestone City cannot simply give food to refugees for nothing.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. In Sea Blue, in Drenthe, there are many ways to make a living, even beggars have a loaf of bread to eat. But for farmers, if they don¡¯t farm, they starve ¨C that¡¯s the harsh truth of their lives.¡±


    Once separated from the land, people gradually forget that food is grown from the soil¡ª this was the case for Winters in the past.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t farm, you starve,¡± he hadn¡¯t understood the deep meaning of this phrase two years ago as he did today. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tenant farmers and laborers from all over were fleeing en masse, effectively removing a large labor force from production suddenly.


    The mountain of snow hadn¡¯t collapsed because there was still surplus grain from the previous year, or even the year before.


    But sooner or later, a greater disaster would strike the land, as the farmers still in production could not support so many mouths.


    It would be either famine or rebellion, not a choice between the two, and probably both would occur simultaneously.


    It was seeing this that Winters had made every effort to restore production. He didn¡¯t want to see a famine, nor did he want to see chaos, so he was like dousing fire with water.


    Bard fiddled with a few pebbles in his hand and said, ¡°Disasters are man-made to drive landless farmers to flee. Then recruit them, distribute land for cultivation. Henceforth, the legion suddenly becomes the largest landlord in the Newly Reclaimed Land.¡±


    ¡°Impressive, truly worthy of someone who wields the sword,¡± Bard looked up at Winters, sneered, and said, ¡°But the legion has always been the largest landlord in the Newly Reclaimed Land, so it doesn¡¯t really make a difference.¡±


    Issuing land for refugees to cultivate, something Captain Montaigne could think of, General Adams could too, and probably even more profoundly.


    ¡°Are you saying that all this was intentional?¡± Winters was surprised, yet not surprised.


    Bard stood up and walked to the riverside to skim stones. He spoke calmly, ¡°Not necessarily planned; it might also be just taking it one step at a time. However, since it has happened, we can only analyze the outcome.¡±


    Winters fell into deep thought.


    Wolf Town was too small, the population too low, the potential insufficient, and most importantly, there was no time.


    There was no time for him to accumulate strength. The legion might tolerate corrupt officers, it might tolerate incompetent officers, but it would never tolerate officers who rebelled.


    If the New Reclamation Legion stabilized its footing, it would take only a light punch to reduce Wolf Town to powder.


    That¡¯s why he wanted Revodan.

 Chapter 610 610 13 Visitors_2

    ?Chapter 610: Chapter 13 Visitors_2 Chapter 610: Chapter 13 Visitors_2 ¡°`


    If the Legion¡¯s strategy is effective, then as Senior Mason said, even Revodan wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard sat back down beside Winters, took a stone as a chess piece, and asked, ¡°The landless farmers now have land, the Legion has tenant farmers, and the self-sustaining farmers remain self-sustaining. Whose interests are damaged?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Manor lords.¡± Obvious, Winters responded without hesitation.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°So, the manor lords in places such as Wugou Town and Blackwater Town choose to support you vigorously, offering money and grain, and also providing you with hiding places.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    With a smile, Bard picked up the black stone that represented the manor lords: ¡°Perhaps they do not understand the deeper game, but it is easy to see how their interests are harmed. Without their serfs, what¡¯s left to farm? When the land value plummets, doesn¡¯t that mean their wealth is shrinking?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    It was precisely because of these ¡°local gentry¡± that his troops could appear and disappear like ghosts in the southwest of Revodan.


    ...


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Apart from supplying resources, the manor lords could also provide intelligence. They had widespread local connections and information channels.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°But they are not enough to rely on.¡± Bard tossed the black stone into the river.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°There are too few people,¡± Winters said softly.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    After the sovereignty war, the newly established Republics abolished all forms of personal dependency¡ªexcluding Hurd slaves, of course¡ªwhich was the priceless legacy left by the old Marshal¡¯s generation.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Although the manor lords of the Newly Reclaimed Land were influential, it was just influence.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    They were different from the nobles of the old era who could muster a large force of conscripted farmers when it came to war.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°In my view, the New Reclamation Legion has the right approach, remove the restrictions, recruit disaster victims to cultivate the land. Land prices will fall, but it doesn¡¯t matter to the Legion. If they can create a large group of self-sustaining farmers, we will stand no chance against them. Better return to Vineta early, and I¡¯ll get into small business with you,¡± Bard said, spreading defeatism with a laugh.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Winters tried to defend the Venetians: ¡°We Venetians¡­ aren¡¯t all merchants.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Worse, if we fail, not even a small business could be managed.¡± Bard¡¯s smile brightened: ¡°So we must follow the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s path, but be even more ruthless than they are. We must take larger, more decisive, and more comprehensive steps.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°More decisive?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard pointed across the river and asked Winters in return: ¡°It¡¯s the end of August now, and winter wheat should be sown in September. How many acres have you reclaimed?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°This¡­ I really don¡¯t know.¡± Winters indeed didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°With the few oxen, horses, and hundred-odd people we have, how many acres of wasteland could they possibly clear even if they worked themselves to death? Divided among everyone, it¡¯s barely enough to scrape by. To expect them to provide you with grain next year is wishful thinking! There might even be a great famine next year! Even if it could be cleared, it would be the worst land in Wolf Town! Because all the good land has already been sold off!¡± Bard¡¯s voice grew louder and his eyes brighter: ¡°Yet right before our eyes, thousands of acres of the best farmland¡­ are lying fallow!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Winters was startled: ¡°The lands of the manor lords? That is their private property!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°I know! We are not going to take it for free; we can offer some rent, leasing their land! Then allocate it to the disaster victims. Why doesn¡¯t the New Reclamation Legion dare to do this? Because they themselves are the manor lords! If we want to defeat them, we must follow their path, but be more decisive than they are!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard already had a plan in mind, and he explained patiently: ¡°Even the best land, if left fallow for too long, will go to waste. It¡¯s being wasted anyway, and the manor lords should be happy for someone to maintain the land for them.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What about afterward?¡± Winters asked in return: ¡°We can¡¯t occupy it forever, right? Won¡¯t that just turn them into tenants and laborers again?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°The most critical thing is to cultivate new land! The Federated Provinces is not a place where all wasteland has been cultivated; it has room for further development!¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard pointed to the wasteland across the river: ¡°It¡¯s too late to cultivate new land this year, and even next year might not be sufficient! Wasteland won¡¯t magically transform into arable land; it takes time! And where could that time come from? Only by supplementing from existing arable land.


    Farming the land in season and cultivating new land during farmer¡¯s leisure¡ªthat¡¯s what farmers have been doing for thousands of years. It¡¯s just that in the Newly Reclaimed Land, this natural process was artificially suppressed. And we only need to rebuild it.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    For the first time, Winters discovered how eloquent Bard could be.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What about afterward?¡± Winters asked again: ¡°Will we return the land to the manor lords?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Let¡¯s worry about the future when it comes, but I think we can return it,¡± Bard said earnestly: ¡°If we can cultivate enough new land, then we can give the land back to the manor lords. However, by then, it will be difficult for them to recruit enough tenants and laborers, unless there is new migration or we wait for natural population growth.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°What if they disagree?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Who disagrees?¡± Bard retorted, laughing as he pressed further: ¡°Who disagrees?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡°Yes!¡± Winters suddenly remembered the words of Brother Reed, bursting into laughter, ¡°Who disagrees? What¡¯s the army for? In the end, it all comes down to who holds the hilt of the sword. If we can grasp that hilt, no problem is a problem. Let¡¯s do it! As for war, I¡¯ve never been afraid of anyone.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    Bard took over the land cultivation affairs, while Winters focused solely on preparing for the confrontation with Revodan.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    As graduates of the same military academy, everyone was too familiar with each other for things to simply end there.


    ¡°`


    ¡°`


    On the sixth day after Revodan received the news that Bard¡¯s and Senior Mason¡¯s team of a hundred ¡°had been wiped out¡±¡ªwhich was the twenty-first of September.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 611 611 13 Visitor_3

    ?Chapter 611: Chapter 13 Visitor_3 Chapter 611: Chapter 13 Visitor_3 Xial came back, and he brought Little Lion with him.


    Winters now least wanted to see guests, but guests always seemed to come at times he least wanted to see them.


    ¡°Good luck and great prosperity, Batu.¡± Little Lion offered a saber as a gift, embracing Winters warmly.


    Besides the saber, Little Lion also brought thirty horses, likewise as gifts.


    It had been some time since he had heard the title ¡°Batu,¡± and Winters felt a subtle sensation.


    ¡°Good luck and great prosperity to you too!¡± Winters hugged Little Lion tightly, ¡°How is your brother? And your¡­sister, how is she?¡±


    ¡°Erhulan? She¡¯s fine. My brother, he¡¯s also fine.¡± Little Lion replied casually, ¡°He¡¯s recently been busy with household registrations, otherwise he would have come in person.¡±


    ...


    Winters¡¯s body instantly stiffened.


    He composed himself and asked as naturally as possible, ¡°Oh? Household registrations? What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Just household registrations.¡± Little Lion clearly did not wish to elaborate on this matter: ¡°Just like yours.¡±


    With a distant guest visiting, according to the customs of the wasteland as well as Paratu etiquette, family and friends should be introduced.


    Winters took Little Lion to the military camp to meet Bard, Andre, and Mason first.


    Bard and Andre had a deep impression of the slaves from Red Sulfur Island.


    Learning of Winters¡¯s experiences in the wasteland, everyone sighed with emotion.


    Then, Winters led Little Lion to meet Anna, Catherine, Mrs. Mitchell, Scarlett, and other ladies.


    Seeing a ¡°barbarian¡± visitor, the ladies were surprised, but they still extended their utmost courtesy to Little Lion.


    Little Lion could speak the common language and was also respectful to the ladies, except for one impolite act:


    When Winters introduced Anna as ¡°This is my fianc¨¦e,¡± Little Lion raised his eyebrows and sized Anna up thoroughly, making Anna quite uncomfortable.


    The smile on Winters¡¯s face also became somewhat stiff.


    Little Lion let out a long sigh, ¡°Now I know why Erhulan was defeated.¡±


    The ladies keenly sensed the subtle emotion in Little Lion¡¯s words.


    Catherine¡¯s almond-shaped eyes immediately glared at Winters as if she would have caused a scene if there were no guests present.


    Mrs. Mitchell shook her head helplessly, while Scarlett was still somewhat puzzled.


    Anna¡¯s brow furrowed slightly, and she asked Little Lion with a smile, ¡°May I ask who Erhulan is?¡±


    ¡°She is my benefactor,¡± Winters answered before anyone else could.


    ¡°I was asking Mr. Yahachi,¡± Anna¡¯s smile grew even brighter.


    Winters was all too familiar with that smile; the last time he saw it, he ended up with a solid slap on the face. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°May I ask, who is Erhulan?¡± Anna repeated the question with a smile.


    Little Lion swallowed hard and answered seriously, ¡°She is Winters¡¯s benefactor.¡±


    The matter was temporarily glossed over.


    When Winters left the Mitchell Manor, he tried to impress Anna with a favor, ¡°I¡¯ve made you a particularly beautiful easel, made by myself. Made of pine wood, light and sturdy, it can be carried on a horse¡¯s back and taken outdoors. I¡¯ll bring it to you tonight¡­¡±


    ¡°You should be careful, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Anna leaned on Winters¡¯s shoulder and said kindly, ¡°That golden sword you gave me, I¡¯ve also brought it. If you prove faithless, I¡¯ll just do as you taught me¡ªstab hard.¡±


    Having said that, Anna gently kissed Winters¡¯s cheek.


    Winters, with Little Lion in tow, fled from the Mitchell Manor as if escaping.


    Of course, Little Lion¡¯s visit to Wolf Town wasn¡¯t just for friendship.


    He came fully authorized to negotiate a deal on behalf of the White Lion, perhaps a significant one.


    After the formalities of hospitality, it was time to get down to business.


    Little Lion had just arrived in Wolf Town in the morning, and by the afternoon, he was holding a private meeting at the military camp.


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Winters got straight to the point.


    Only Winters, Bard, Andre, and Mason were in the tent; everyone else was absent, even a clerk.


    ¡°What do we want?¡± The meeting being confidential, Little Lion too was at ease, smiling bitterly, ¡°We want everything.¡±


    Food, iron, cloth, oil¡­ The Red River Tribe wanted everything.


    The Hurd wasteland was surrounded by mountains to the north and south, with a bitter cold plateau to the west, and more mountains beyond the plateau; there was only one exit to the east, which was sternly blocked by the Paratu people.


    Smuggling caravans going to the wasteland were either tools for the profit of the powerful or spies for the Parlatu Army, with most caravans playing both roles.


    The Hurd tribes, fully aware that the visitors were spies, still had no choice but to trade with them.


    Little Lion spread his hands, ¡°The great prairie produces nothing but grass; it lacks everything except for grass.¡±


    His words contained some exaggeration, but they were largely accurate.


    ¡°What is key, though, is what do you have?¡± Little Lion counter-asked.


    Winters flushed slightly, ¡°We also have nothing. Wolf Town has nothing but farmland, nothing but forests. But in the future, we will have everything.¡±


    Little Lion sighed, ¡°I can see that, you are rebelling¡­ What do you want then?¡±


    Bard and Mason smoked their pipes, silent.


    ¡°Captives.¡± Winters replied without hesitation.


    Little Lion nodded.


    ¡°And horses!¡± Andre finally reached a topic of interest.


    Mason spoke slowly, ¡°Horses, cattle, sheep, we need all these livestock.¡±


    Little Lion nodded again.


    Winters straightforwardly took out a quill and started to do the math for Little Lion,


    ¡°Vineta had a saying, [Only gold can be sold ten thousand miles away]. Goods with high profit margins per unit of weight and volume can withstand long-distance transportation. Wolf Town doesn¡¯t produce anything, and the Iron Peak County has only a bit of handicrafts. If your brother thinks of using Iron Peak County as a smuggling window, it¡¯s actually not quite suitable.

 Chapter 612 612 13 Visitors_4

    ?Chapter 612: Chapter 13 Visitors_4 Chapter 612: Chapter 13 Visitors_4 Iron Peak County is not directly connected to the Red River Tribe¡¯s grazing grounds. Transporting goods from other places to Wolf Town and then to Revodan, before transferring them to the Red River Tribe, is like making a big detour.


    Transporting goods from Vineta and The Federated Provinces to Paratu usually takes the water route. It¡¯s challenging enough to sail upstream, let alone overland, which makes the cost of goods surge significantly. Moreover, the road conditions in Iron Peak County are poor, which also increases costs.


    For goods like fabric that have a low unit price, transportation costs are normally one to two times higher than the value of the goods themselves. If there¡¯s a detour, transportation costs could rise to three to four times the value of the goods.¡±


    Winters concluded, ¡°We must strive to produce and process as much as possible within Iron Peak County before sending it to the wilderness in order to make the price affordable. If the Red River Tribe wants to sell raw materials such as leather to regions beyond the wilderness, they should also process it themselves first, transport it to Iron Peak County for further processing, and it¡¯s best to have the goods be finished products when they leave Iron Peak County to be competitive.


    I¡¯ve already sent someone to scout the land route from [Iron Peak County to Vineta]. If¡­¡±


    Winters talked on and on about business, which greatly surprised Andre and Bard.


    Senior Mason might not know, but Andre and Bard knew Winters inside out.


    ...


    Winters Montagne, a man who couldn¡¯t even keep his accounts straight, never counted the cost when spending money.


    When he went shopping, he wouldn¡¯t even bargain. Whatever price the seller asked for, he paid without haggling. If he thought it was too expensive, he would simply walk away.


    His understanding of business came solely from growing up in Sea Blue and Guidao City, absorbing the knowledge by osmosis.


    But to speak as fluently as he had today was completely unprecedented.


    Andre and Bard locked eyes with Winters, asking silently with their gazes.


    Realizing their looks, Winters coughed lightly and explained casually as if it were by chance, ¡°Miss Navarre told me.¡± S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I get your point. You want to establish forges and smelt iron in Iron Peak County and then sell it to us in exchange for people, horses, and hides. Isn¡¯t that what you implied when you told my brother about the iron mines?¡±


    Little Lion slouched back in his chair, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Actually, we also knew about the red iron in the Hanlan River. My brother sent people to explore upstream for mines. The problem lies in the steppe¡¯s lack of fuel for smelting iron and absence of blacksmiths.¡±


    ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land has forests, a vast expanse of them.¡±


    ¡°But according to what you said, the further the transport, the higher the cost. Have you considered the distance of transporting iron ore from the upstream areas of the Hanlan River to here?¡±


    Winters¡¯ pupils dilated slightly.


    The things Little Lion mentioned earlier were all part of a bargaining tactic, but the real message was in his concluding remarks.


    ¡°White Lion has a proposal for you,¡± Little Lion sat upright and spoke earnestly, ¡°Send us the iron smelters you have, the true masters who really know how to establish a forge and smelt iron. My brother is willing to help you ransom back the captives.¡±


    Little Lion fixed his gaze on Winters, stressing slowly, ¡°Not just the captives in Red River Tribe¡¯s hands, but all the captives. You want to start a rebellion? Those captives are all seasoned veterans. If you save them, they will be eager to die for your cause.¡±


    Once these words were uttered, Andre felt somewhat tempted. They were seriously lacking in seasoned soldiers.


    The majority of Bard, Andre, and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team were fresh recruits from Revodan, with veterans from the wilderness serving as Centurions and sergeants.


    ¡°Do you think I could agree to your terms?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°I suspect not, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to try,¡± Little Lion smacked his lips, ¡°Even if you manage to mine the iron ore, have you pondered over how you¡¯d transport it here? The distance is indeed considerable.¡±


    Winters smiled, revealing a row of neat teeth, ¡°By water.¡±


    Little Lion¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    ¡°If we can extract iron sand, we¡¯ll use the waterway. From the Hanlan River into the Ashen Stream River, the journey is downstream. It¡¯s upstream to Iron Peak County from Ashen Stream River, but we can use trackers to pull the boats. I¡¯ve seen trackers dragging ships, a dozen men can pull a large ship. Your tribe has plenty of beasts of burden, so there¡¯s no need for manual labor.


    Your Red River Tribe will have to put in some effort too, it¡¯s best if you can take control of the wilderness west of the Newly Reclaimed Land. Although I don¡¯t know who owns that area, it¡¯s certainly not yours. We need to control the entire route first to ensure the safety of the transports.¡±


    ¡°Water transport might be feasible, even if it presents some difficulties,¡± Little Lion suddenly sighed, ¡°But do you know who controls the land to the west of the Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    A sense of foreboding suddenly seized Winters, ¡°Who is it?¡±


    ¡°The Fire Bakers,¡± answered Little Lion with a complex expression, ¡°West of the Newly Reclaimed Land, past the unclaimed lands, all the way to the far west Ete River, are the grazing grounds of the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    The tent fell silent for a moment.


    Without another word, Winters walked over to the bookshelf, and when he returned, he was holding a map.


    He spread the map in the middle of the table, and the others gathered around it.


    Senior Mason traced the waterway with his fingertip and said, ¡°Taking the route through the unclaimed lands won¡¯t lead us directly through the Terdon Tribe¡¯s territory.¡±


    Winters was also aware of that fact. The critical question was whether the Terdon Tribe would intervene.


    The hundred kilometers of no-man¡¯s-land was a place where Hurd¡¯s light cavalry could pass like the wind, nothing was able to prevent the Fire Bakers from sending troops into that area.


    If the Fire Bakers did not agree, the business deal might fall through.


    ¡°We still need to keep it a secret, as secret as possible.¡± Winters was somewhat irritated, gritting his teeth, ¡°I am determined to make this deal happen, and if the monkeys with their red-butt faces refuse, they can answer to my saber first.¡±


    ¡°Reporting!¡± someone shouted from outside the tent, breaking up the discussion.


    Winters put away the map, glanced one more time at Little Lion, and then stood up to leave the military tent.


    A sentinel was waiting outside.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Sir, an officer from Revodan has arrived,¡± the sentinel replied somewhat anxiously, ¡°He¡¯s asking for you by name.¡±

 Chapter 613 613 14 Determination

    ?Chapter 613: Chapter 14 Determination Chapter 613: Chapter 14 Determination Revodan was bound to come eventually.


    Conversely, Winters was also waiting for them to come.


    Outside the town, Winters saw Captain Apel being stopped by sentries.


    The solitary Captain Apel.


    ¡°Just let me stand here then,¡± Captain Apel, with only one escort, saw Winters in the distance and laughed heartily, ¡°This is hardly the way to treat a guest!¡±


    Apel was not a direct senior to Winters, but he had helped Winters greatly with matters during his service in Little Dusack.


    Last time Winters visited Revodan¡¯s garrison, Apel had also welcomed him warmly.


    ...


    Seeing Apel, a smile appeared on Winters¡¯s face, ¡°Sorry, Captain. They¡¯re building houses inside, and with all the dust and dirt flying around, it¡¯s not suitable for receiving guests.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry about?¡± Apel laughed heartily, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a captain as well?¡±


    Having said that, Apel took a silk-wrapped package from his escort¡¯s saddlebag.


    He slowly unwrapped the package in front of Winters, revealing a set of captain¡¯s uniform.


    Apel gently explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t know your exact size, but I thought you¡¯d be about the same build as Asko, so I had this uniform made according to his. The tailor is the best in Revodan, and the material is top-notch.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said, without taking the uniform.


    Apel carefully looked over his junior, feeling somewhat emotional, ¡°Last year at this time, you were about the same size as Asko. Look at you now, the uniform I had made seems a bit large. Wherever it doesn¡¯t fit, just have it altered to suit yourself.¡±


    Winters sighed too, and as he took the uniform with both hands, he slowly asked, ¡°I would like to know, who is it that sends me this uniform¡­?¡±


    ¡°The Republic of Palatu,¡± Apel said with a smile.


    ¡°Which Republic?¡± Winters responded with an enthusiastic smile as well, ¡°The first? The second? The third? Or General Adams¡¯s Republic?¡±


    ¡­


    The news that Kingsfort was reorganizing the Grand Council to reform [the First Republic] into [the New Republic] spread like wildfire, creating a huge stir in Paratu and across the Alliance.


    The Blue Blood Faction, situated across the river from Kingsfort, immediately responded with fervor.


    Amidst a barrage of gunfire, the [Provisional Military Government of the Republic of Palatu] was established in the capital of the North River Province, Rainbow River.


    Alpad Duyome took the position of [Marshal of Palatu], controlling all significant and minor affairs.


    The officers who followed Alpad and the Blue Blood Faction legislators became prominent officials of the military government.


    The military government declared: the establishment of the [Pseudo Republic] goes against the ¡°Charter of Sovereignty,¡± and Palatu is thus in a state of war with the Pseudo Republic as the enemy.


    ¡°¡®Under the protection of divine justice and worldly fairness,¡¯ unless we eradicate the Pseudo Republic and purify the filth of Palatu, the provisional military government will not rest.¡±


    The Second Republic, on the other hand, had little to say on the matter, as they had long branded Alpad¡¯s group as [rebels].


    On the lands of the old Republic of Palatu, there appeared two factions, two governments, two nations at once.


    The situation changed so rapidly it was dizzying.


    Fortunately, the Republic of Palatu was vast in territory; even divided in half, it was still larger than The Federated Provinces and Vineta combined.


    To distinguish between ¡°two nations,¡± people informally referred to the Kingsfort government as [the Second Republic], while the Rainbow River Military Government was addressed as [the Third Republic].


    Of course, whether it was Kingsfort or Rainbow River, they still inscribed the official title [People¡¯s Republic of Palatu] on the crown, excluding descriptors like second or third.


    That¡¯s because the Second Republic claimed it was the legitimate successor to the First Republic.


    While the Third Republic declared that it had been the one and only First Republic from beginning to end.


    In May and June, both sides clashed in the heartland of Palatu, each achieving victories and suffering defeats. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Eventually, the two exhausted armies vaguely settled into a standoff across the river.


    However, with a steady stream of reinforcements and supplies, the Second Republic was already firmly suppressing the enemy.


    In July, the Kingsfort Blood Night ensued, and General Sekler met his death.


    Grand Speaker Grof of Kingsfort had been gradually usurping Sekler¡¯s military authority, but suddenly faced the collapse of his main pillar of strength.


    Eyeing the opportunity, Alpad launched a counter-offensive, routing Major Roland, whom Grof had personally appointed as the frontline commander, to the point of utter disarray.


    The Second Republic forces north of the Ashen Stream River were swept clean, an incalculable number of corpses floating downriver, even into the moat surrounding Kingsfort.


    But Alpad ultimately failed to break through the Ashen Stream River, and the standoff across the river not only remained but solidified over time.


    All these were matters of the previous September.


    While the two armies were shedding blood in vast quantities, causing another outbreak of vast conflict, Winters was blissfully unaware.


    During that time, all he thought about was ¡°What shall I eat tomorrow? The day after? The day after that?¡±


    It was only when Father Caman brought news of the remnants of the Montagne Brigade in Revodan, and Winters rushed to the county seat to rendezvous with his comrades, that he learned of the events in the outside world after his escape from Kingsfort.


    ¡­


    And now, Winters Montagne, one of the main participants of the Kingsfort Blood Night, asked Apel with a smile, ¡°Which Republic? The first? The second? The third? Or General Adams¡¯s Republic?¡±


    ¡°There is only one Republic of Palatu,¡± Apel did not answer directly.


    He brushed off a small speck of dust from the uniform, but the dust still left a small white mark on the fabric, ¡°You don¡¯t need to concern yourself with these things. Just think of it as a gift from Major Ronald.¡±


    ¡°Major Ronald, is he doing well?¡±

 Chapter 614 614 14 Determination_2

    ?Chapter 614: Chapter 14 Determination_2 Chapter 614: Chapter 14 Determination_2 ¡°He¡¯s fine,¡± Apel laughed heartily, ¡°just in a bit of a bad mood.¡±


    After the laugh, Captain Apel gradually became serious, looking straight into Winters¡¯ eyes and asking, ¡°Andreya Chelini, Richard Mason, and Bard, are they all here with you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters admitted plainly.


    ¡°Have them come out for a moment, I¡¯d like to see them.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    The sentry beside him turned and ran towards the barracks to call them.


    ¡°Is Asko still alive?¡±


    ...


    Lieutenant Asko had come to ¡°suppress the bandits¡± with Bard and Mason, naturally also vanishing without a trace.


    ¡°Senior Asko is fine, he hasn¡¯t been injured,¡± Winters said with a light smile. ¡°He¡¯s recently been learning how to weave straw sandals.¡±


    ¡°As long as he¡¯s alive.¡± Apel sighed with relief. ¡°He just got married four months ago, and all the way here, I was afraid, afraid of how to face Asko¡¯s newlywed wife. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s still alive.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    A change came over Apel, and his brows furrowed unconsciously, ¡°Those requisition teams sent south of Revodan, was it you who ambushed them?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters did not hide the fact.


    Apel chuckled lightly, his expression even showing a trace of relief, ¡°I knew it, if bandits had such skill, that would be terrible, wouldn¡¯t it? It had to be one of our own. I had suspected it was you, but everyone said you were dead, and some even insisted they had seen your body, so I dismissed the thought.¡±


    ¡°Many people died, I just happened to survive.¡±


    ¡°Do you know?¡± Apel put his hand on Winters¡¯ shoulder, speaking with emotion, ¡°When we realized it was you, Major Ronald, every one of your seniors, and I, we were not only not angry, we were genuinely glad because you were alive.¡±


    Winters too fell silent, his eyes lowered to the tip of Senior Apel¡¯s boot.


    With a bitter smile, Apel asked, ¡°But what I do find odd is, you¡¯re the Garrison Officer of Wolfton, and you intercept the requisition teams coming to Wolf Town that¡¯s understandable. But why intervene with the teams going to Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, Shizhen, and Niutigu Valley?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ the elders and folks of the five towns asked me to be their protector,¡± Winters said, his face flushing slightly. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Apel was stunned at first, then burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face.


    Suddenly, he stopped laughing and frowned, ¡°Protector? Are you the Earl of Wolf Town now? You¡¯re an officer, a guardian of the republican system educated for ten years! A protector? Do you really intend to carve out your own domain within the Republic, to dominate a territory, to become a noble lord?!¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to,¡± Winters looked right back into Apel¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t answer but counter-asked, ¡°What are you here to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to bring you dispatch orders!¡± Apel took out four sealed orders, ¡°Captain Montaigne, you can go back to Vineta.¡±


    He then carefully took out a small wooden box, inside was an olive leaf Gold Cross medal.


    Apel¡¯s expression turned reluctant, ¡°We¡¯ve wronged you, and we¡¯re grateful to you. But now, we can only ask you to go home. Go back to Vineta, Winters, go back with this uniform, with this medal.


    You don¡¯t need to worry about your military service, it will be fully transferred. Your military deeds will be recorded accurately, no one has the right to gossip about you. The dispatch orders for Chellini, Mason, and Bard are here too, if they want to leave, they can. Go on, leave.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t take the dispatch orders but took the wooden box instead.


    He pulled out the Gold Cross medal, carefully tucked it into his trouser pocket, and then carelessly threw the wooden box aside.


    ¡°Which Republic are these dispatch orders from?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Captain Apel¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly.


    ¡°I am an officer of the First Republic, I only obey the commands from Kingsfort Army Headquarters.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no longer an Army Headquarters at Kingsfort, only an Army Committee.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not my fault either,¡± the smile on Winters¡¯ face was bright.


    Apel simply asked outright, ¡°You don¡¯t want to leave?¡±


    ¡°Not leaving.¡±


    ¡°Well then, come to Revodan,¡± Apel tore the four dispatch orders to shreds, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to leave, you¡¯re most welcome. Major Ronald needs an assistant with rich combat experience.¡±


    ¡°Is Revodan going to continue with forceful levies and exactions?¡± Winters retorted.


    ¡°It¡¯s not Revodan¡¯s will, and Major Ronald doesn¡¯t want it either,¡± Apel explained bitterly, ¡°General Adams has issued a strict order, and the supplies we gather will also be sent to Maplestone City.¡±


    Winters spread his hands, ¡°Then I don¡¯t want to go to Revodan either.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want to do?¡± Apel glared, shouting.


    ¡°Farm,¡± Winters was not intimidated by his senior¡¯s demeanor, he sighed, ¡°provide food for everyone.¡±


    Apel stood dumbfounded for a while.


    Then suddenly grabbed Winters¡¯ shoulders, speaking so fast he nearly broke into a falsetto, ¡°You foolish boy, do you know what you¡¯re doing? You have just one small town, and you¡¯re going up against Revodan, the Newly Reclaimed Land, the entire New Reclamation Legion, even the whole of Paratu! With a flick of their fingers, you¡¯re done for! We¡¯re saving you! Stop being foolish, go home! You¡¯re Venetian, you don¡¯t need to shed blood for Paratu!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong, senior,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I¡¯m a proper Paratu officer, and my service record is still with Paratu!¡±


    Apel released his hands and took a few steps back, because he knew he could no longer persuade the young man in front of him.

 Chapter 615 615 14 Determination_3

    ?Chapter 615: Chapter 14 Determination_3 Chapter 615: Chapter 14 Determination_3 He thought the young man before him was foolish, naive, and too impulsive, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling a measure of respect.


    Bard, Andre, and Mason hurried over from the army camp.


    Apel looked at the three newcomers and asked calmly, ¡°You¡¯re going to follow him, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Andre answered loudly, ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to do this for a long time!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Apel nodded, then asked, ¡°Can I take Asko with me?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, senior,¡± Winters replied somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°That¡¯s not possible. Asko Senior likes to drink and wants to eat meat. Originally, he only owed fifteen hundred work hours, but now it has increased to two thousand.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Without further ado, Apel nodded at the group, stepped into his stirrups, mounted his horse, and galloped away.


    ...


    Winters watched Apel until the senior disappeared behind the hillside, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°And they sent you a new uniform?¡± Andre touched the captain¡¯s uniform and commented offhandedly, ¡°The material is not bad.¡±


    ¡­


    Apel did not go far, stopping after riding about two kilometers.


    He and his guards removed the iron bits from their warhorses and took two bags of corn from their saddlebags, as if they were resting the horses.


    Before long, several persons dressed as peasants in sackcloth shirts, baggy trousers, and straw sandals came out of the woods.


    Upon seeing Captain Apel, the ¡°farmers¡± saluted one by one.


    They were not farmers; they were Revodan¡¯s scouts and spies.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Apel asked.


    The lead scout replied, ¡°The several villages in Wolf Town appear normal, with no soldiers found lodging in the farmers¡¯ houses. But they¡¯ve built a large army camp right in the center of the town, very big, taking up half the area of the town. Plus, the inspections are severe; we couldn¡¯t get in.¡±


    ¡°I saw that army camp too,¡± Apel chuckled, shaking his head, ¡°But I couldn¡¯t get inside to have a look either. My junior brother is quite meticulous.¡±


    ¡°So?¡±


    Captain Apel re-bridled his warhorse, ¡°You wait here.¡±


    Apel and his guard resumed their journey, hastening towards the ford at Blackwater River.


    They covered the twenty-odd kilometers with only one stop to rest the horses.


    By the time they reached their destination¡ªthe forest on the north bank of Blackwater River¡ªthe warhorses were so exhausted that they were panting white foam, their flanks soaked with sweat as if they had just been pulled out of the water.


    A man dressed as a hunter was waiting for Captain Apel, who immediately led the captain deeper into the woods upon his arrival.


    Deep in the woods, Major Ronald was waiting for Apel.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Major Ronald asked.


    Apel shook his head with a bitter smile. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Major Ronald let out a heavy sigh, ¡°Then it is settled. Let¡¯s call everyone together, they¡¯ve had enough rest.¡±


    The drill sergeant¡¯s reprimands echoed through the woods, along with the sound of knocking on tree trunks, calling the sleeping men to wake.


    Under the canopy that formed a lid, a dark mass of people stood up.


    Winters, Ronald¡­ Everyone had received the same military training, they knew each other all too well.


    The annihilation of the Chelini Century could have been an accident.


    But after the forces of Bard and Mason were also ¡°completely wiped out,¡± Major Ronald would be a complete fool if he still didn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    Winters¡¯ actions were too obvious, so obvious that Revodan couldn¡¯t possibly have failed to notice.


    Therefore, Major Ronald came, bringing along two battalions as well.


    The negotiations had already broken down, attempts at reconciliation had failed, and Revodan¡¯s only option left was violence.


    Major Ronald intended to quell the rebellion with a swift and decisive blow.


    ¡°We set off now! Quickly! Don¡¯t give him time to react!¡± Major Ronald summoned all the officers, ¡°They haven¡¯t been lodging in the farmhouses; all the rebels are stationed in the army camp in the town center. This is good, we can eliminate them all at once.¡±


    The forest was quiet, the centurions silent.


    ¡°What we are facing is not bandits or marauders, but an organized, disciplined army. This army¡¯s commanders have received the same training as we have, and when it comes to real combat experience, they are even more seasoned than you or me. This is a genuine civil war, fighting among our own, we must be extremely careful.¡±


    The centurions¡¯ eyes grew somewhat dim.


    On both banks of the Ashen Stream River¡ªthe heart of Paratu¡ªhad already become a battlefield, but the flames of war had not yet reached the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    And they were about to fire the first shot of the civil war within the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°Our soldiers lack training and have low morale,¡± Major Ronald surveyed his subordinates, ¡°But there are two pieces of good news: their soldiers are equally poorly trained and low in spirit, and we have an absolute advantage in numbers!¡±


    This was Revodan¡¯s all-out strike, aiming for a clean and decisive kill.


    ¡°Intelligence shows that Winters Montagne is an extremely powerful spellcaster,¡± Major Ronald deployed standard anti-magic combat forces, ¡°Do not give him the chance to join the fray. The moment you spot him, blow the horn and send a message! Captain Apel!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°My best musketeers are at your command, do not fire a single shot unless you see Winters Montagne,¡± Major Ronald¡¯s gaze was stern, ¡°There is no camaraderie now, only a fight to the death!¡±


    Captain Apel nodded emphatically, ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    Major Ronald gave his centurions one last look. Who would make it back this time?


    ¡°Move out!¡± he gestured grandly with his hand.


    ¡­


    Two battalions from Revodan launched an attack at dawn.


    The town of Wolf Town was eerily quiet at dawn, like a wolf curled up in its den, deeply asleep.


    The new soldiers, on their first battlefield, charged toward the town center from the westward directions, shouting under the officers¡¯ lead.


    The soldiers of Revodan burst out from the forests surrounding the town, one battalion heading straight for the town center, while another encircled from the north side along the town¡¯s river.


    Five hundred meters, three hundred meters, one hundred meters¡­


    The wooden walls of the military camp were now clearly visible.


    But Wolf Town was still eerily quiet, so much so that it was unsettling.


    A new soldier suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the others, frightened, came to a standstill. They stood on the outskirts of Wolf Town, at a loss.


    A centurion¡¯s vine whip lashed down harshly, ¡°Go! Kill! Why the hell are you standing there!¡±


    The new soldiers started running towards Wolf Town again, but this time, they did not dare to run as recklessly as before.


    ¡°Major!¡± Captain Apel found Major Ronald out of breath, ¡°There¡¯s no one!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ronald leaped up in shock.


    ¡°There¡¯s not a soul in the barracks! Nor in the town. There were people here when I came this morning!¡±


    Ronald was first shocked, then puzzled, and finally furious.


    He slammed his fist into a tree with such force that the dry leaves and fruits fell like rain.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ronald cursed aloud, ¡°We¡¯re screwed!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters, Ronald¡­ they had both received the same training, understanding each other¡¯s tactical thinking.


    Ronald understood Winters, and Winters understood Ronald.


    But Ronald made one mistake¡ªhe underestimated Winters¡¯s determination and audacity.


    Meanwhile, at the gates of Revodan.


    ¡°Hey! Open the gate!¡± a soldier banged on the door, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±


    A head emerged sleepily from the gatehouse, slurring, ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±


    Revodan originally had no city walls or defensive fortifications, as the current earthen walls, wooden walls, and moats were all hastily constructed a few months before.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, Ish from Ganshui Town! Ish the sergeant?¡± the soldier outside reported his identity, ¡°Hurry up and open the gate for me!¡±


    ¡°Ish?¡± The person on the gatehouse muttered the name, confusion evident as he asked, ¡°Weren¡¯t you dead?¡±


    ¡°Who the fuck said I was dead?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ so you¡¯re not dead. We can¡¯t open the gate now, wait until daybreak and then you can come in.¡±


    The soldier outside flew into a rage, cursing, ¡°Bullshit! Open the damn gate for me! It was so hard for me to escape back here, I¡¯m almost starving to death!¡±


    ¡°Sigh, then wait a moment,¡± the soldier in the gatehouse said reluctantly, ¡°I need an officer¡¯s permission to open the gate now. I¡¯ll go find Lieutenant Alec, let him come to open it for you¡­¡±


    Before he could finish speaking, the soldier in the gatehouse suddenly shuddered.


    A steel nail shot into his skull, first causing him to lean back, then slowly collapse forward, and finally, he tumbled down from the city wall.


    Colonel Moritz and Lieutenant Juan emerged from the darkness, the noisy sound of footsteps following them, indicating an unknown number of men hidden behind.


    ¡°Why the hell did you waste words with him?¡± Tang Juan was unusually irritable now.


    Ish from Ganshui Town nodded sheepishly.


    ¡°Come on! Bring the tools over here!¡± Tang Juan bellowed his orders, ¡°Blow this damn gate open!¡±

 Chapter 616 616 15 Civil War

    ?Chapter 616: Chapter 15 Civil War Chapter 616: Chapter 15 Civil War The Revodan troops sent to ¡°quell the chaos¡± found themselves in a dilemma.


    Major Ronald, Apel, and all the Revodan officers still subconsciously regarded Winters as a ¡°bandit.¡±


    Since ancient times, it has always been the officials who suppressed the bandits; when have bandits ever dared to suppress the officials?


    ¡°No matter the situation in Revodan, it¡¯s too late for us to go back to support now,¡± Major Ronald clenched the hilt of his sword, his eyes full of bloodshot veins, ¡°This diversionary tactic by Montaigne couldn¡¯t have been devised in just a day or two¡­ we underestimated him!¡±


    The Centurions were equally dumbfounded.


    ¡°So what if it¡¯s a diversionary tactic?¡± Captain Apel tried to downplay the situation as lightly as possible, ¡°With just that small number of men, can they actually occupy Revodan? At most, they¡¯ll just steal some things.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make excuses for me, I lost this battle with one wrong move,¡± Ronald looked towards Wolf Town, gritting his teeth, ¡°but there¡¯s still a chance. Apel?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Montaigne is in Wolf Town, are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.¡±


    ¡°Chellini, Mason, and Bard?¡±


    ¡°They are there, too.¡±


    ¡°Search! Search thoroughly for me, find every footprint!¡± Ronald clenched his fists, resolute in his command, ¡°Capture them, and even if Revodan is razed to the ground, we can still consider it a win. If we let them escape, then this battle is an utter and complete loss!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± all the Centurions responded in unison.


    ¡°The news about Revodan must be kept strictly confidential, not a single word can be leaked!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The two battalions brought by Ronald were expanded from Revodan¡¯s city guard; the families of the core soldiers were all in Revodan.


    Upon hearing about the sneak attack on Revodan, what would they feel?


    Ronald didn¡¯t plan to guess, because he chose not to let the soldiers know the news straightforwardly.


    ¡°Lieutenant Istvan!¡±


    ¡°Present.¡±


    ¡°Take all the cavalry with you! Return to Revodan immediately! First, to ascertain the city¡¯s situation; second, to intercept all messengers!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    The cavalry under Ronald¡¯s command consisted of only twelve mounted couriers.


    ¡°As for Revodan¡­¡± Ronald let out a long sigh, ¡°they can only rely on themselves now.¡±


    ¡­


    Wolf Town had turned into a sea of fire.


    The Revodan soldiers set fires wantonly. The order had been given: anything and everything in sight was to be burned.


    Wolf Town itself wasn¡¯t large, just a few wooden houses by the roadside and one barracks.


    Anything that could be taken away had already been removed.


    But even just these simple wooden homes had taken many people and much sweat to build.


    And now, they were burning fiercely.


    Two Revodan soldiers, one tall and one short, with torches in hand, set fires along the way.


    ¡°There¡¯s a house by the river!¡± said the tall soldier.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check it out,¡± replied the short soldier.


    By the river was a makeshift wooden shed, not looking like a dwelling for people, and inside were some oddly shaped items.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± asked the tall soldier.


    ¡°Here? It¡¯s for sawing wood,¡± the short soldier observed the sawdust underfoot, ¡°Seems to be water-powered. But the saw blade and connecting rods aren¡¯t here.¡±


    ¡°How do you know this?¡± asked the tall soldier.


    ¡°I was a carpenter,¡± the short soldier replied, ¡°I used to be.¡±


    He walked to the wall and opened a wooden sluice.


    ¡°Gurgle, gurgle¡­whoosh, whoosh¡­¡±


    Sounds likerushing water pounding on large boulders came from outside the shed.


    Underneath the floorboards, a tooth-aching ¡°creak, creak¡± echoed as well.


    A wooden shaft on the wall spun rapidly, trying to drive connecting rods and saw blades that were no longer there.


    A waterwheel by the river began to turn slowly, supplying water to the reservoir.


    Despite no one laboring, the sawmill came to life.


    The simplicity yet cleverness of these devices made it clear to anyone just by seeing how much effort the designers and builders had poured into them.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± the tall soldier swallowed hard.


    Without any expression, the short soldier threw the torch into the sawdust, ¡°Burn it.¡±


    The sawdust caught fire immediately and the flames spread rapidly, quickly engulfing the water-powered sawmill.


    When the flames died down, there would be nothing left.


    At the intersection of two roads in the town center, a Revodan soldier tumbled towards the other soldiers, shouting in terror, ¡°This is terrible! We burned the wrong place! This is a church!¡±


    The other soldiers turned to look at the wooden building ablaze with fire on the side of the road.


    It was simple, with a roof and four walls. Some church characteristics such as the holy emblems could still be made out.


    ¡°It really is a church!¡± another soldier¡¯s knees were shaking.


    But the fire had already started.


    ¡°No matter, it isn¡¯t one now,¡± said a soldier, patting the trembling soldier on the shoulder, ¡°Once it¡¯s burned down, it ceases to be.¡±


    The soldiers were setting fires, while Major Ronald kept asking Captain Apel for confirmation, ¡°Montaigne, Chellini, Mason, and that one called Bard¡ªare all of them in Wolf Town? Can you be sure?¡±


    ¡°I can be certain. I specifically asked Winters to call the other three out to meet me,¡± Apel had answered this question three times already.


    ¡°That¡¯s not right!¡± Major Ronald¡¯s brows furrowed deeply, ¡°If all four officers stayed in Wolf Town as a decoy, then who led the troops to sneak attack Revodan?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Who led the troops to sneak attack Revodan?


    Of course, it was the mysterious masked man A and mysterious masked man B, along with Pierre Mitchell.


    Among them, the mysterious masked man A [Tang Juan] had just led his troops to blow open Revodan¡¯s gate.


    Revodan originally didn¡¯t have walls; the hastily built earthen fortifications were quite low, not even reaching two and a half meters.


    The gate was not a vertical lift gate, just a regular wooden door.


    The attacking soldiers jammed several small bell-shaped objects against the door hinges and bolts, holding them tightly in place, then lit the fuse on the gunpowder twists.

 Chapter 617 617 15 Civil War_2

    ?Chapter 617: Chapter 15 Civil War_2 Chapter 617: Chapter 15 Civil War_2 ¡°`


    Several booming sounds rumbled, the wooden walls shaking violently.


    As the gunpowder smoke dissipated, the gate still stood in place.


    Tang Juan stepped forward and with a kick, the ruined gate, its fastenings destroyed, crashed down.


    Cheers erupted from outside the city, shaking the heavens and earth.


    No one knew the weaknesses in Revodan¡¯s defenses better than Mason and Bard, for they had been the ones to build them.


    ¡°String up every rapist and plunderer! Don¡¯t you fucking get any funny ideas! Follow your own unit¡¯s flag! The standard-bearers know where to go! Don¡¯t bother with the fleeing enemy, just beat those who dare to resist!¡± Tang Juan roared orders to his soldiers, ¡°Attack!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai! Uukhai!¡±


    ...


    The soldiers shouted in unison.


    Mason and Andre¡¯s hundred-man squads poured through the gate, dividing into left and right flanks to climb the city and pounce on the bewildered foes. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The strongest troop¡ªWinters¡¯ ¡°Arrow¡±¡ªwas held in reserve by Tang Juan.


    Bard¡¯s hundred-man squad was merely on standby at the gate, not engaged in the battle.


    Across the river, numerous carts waited without having crossed the bridge yet.


    Winters gambled it all, deploying every bit of his available strength.


    The militia from Wolf Town and three hundred-man squads earned from Revodan all came to attack Revodan.


    Bard and Mason¡¯s troops never went to Wolf Town at all.


    The moment they were out of sight from Revodan, the two led their forces by a shortcut back to Saint Town, joining the allies waiting there.


    Winters emphasized his title as the ¡°Protector of the Five Towns¡± with the intention of misleading the Revodan officers.


    His real title was ¡°Captain of the First Republic, Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, and Protector of the Seven Towns¡±.


    The Legion¡¯s brutality and extortion had led to widespread resentment. Saint Town and King¡¯s Bridge Town had long sworn fealty to Winters¡ªto be precise, they had struck a deal.


    After combining forces, the troops had been hiding in Saint Town¡¯s Oak Manor.


    While keeping an eye on Revodan¡¯s movements, Tang Juan led the training and began preparing for the siege.


    The only ones who actually went to Wolf Town were Bard, Mason, and a handful of people.


    Pierre did not have the ability to command three hundred soldiers, and even the masked man B [Moritz] couldn¡¯t.


    Except for the four including Winters, only Tang Juan could command hundreds of soldiers with such composure.


    At this moment, Tang Juan was on the city wall, his brow tightly furrowed as he observed the battle. Lieutenants Pierre and Colonel Moritz were beside him.


    Pierre was just as somber.


    Moritz, on the other hand, was much more relaxed than the others, casually leaning against the parapet, smacking his lips non-stop.


    ¡°Major Ronald has defected! We are from the New Reclamation Legion! We¡¯ve come to quell the rebellion!¡± The soldiers shouted to anyone they encountered: ¡°Surrender and you won¡¯t be killed!¡±


    Like this, many Revodan guards confusedly laid down their weapons.


    Each hundred-man squad had dedicated personnel assigned to disarm, bind, and secure prisoners.


    The city walls were swiftly cleared.


    ¡°Good!¡± Tang Juan clapped his hands sharply, ¡°Sound the horn! Surround the military camp!¡±


    The piercing military horn echoed through Revodan.


    The various units within the city changed direction, rushing together toward the barracks of the defending forces.


    ¡­


    Wolf Town.


    Daylight had long broken.


    ¡°Major, I¡¯ve scoured every corner of the village to the northwest,¡± Captain Apel reported breathlessly, ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone! The houses are all empty! All that¡¯s left are some unharvested crops in the fields.¡±


    The expression on Major Ronald¡¯s face grew even more somber.


    Another Centurion, Lieutenant Adam, rode up on horseback with a person tied on the back.


    ¡°Major! This was the only person I found in the southern village, skulking in a cellar, so I brought him in,¡± he reported.


    ¡°Put him down!¡± Ronald¡¯s spirits lifted.


    The bound man was pushed off the horse, landing heavily on the ground, struggling to stand up.


    Ronald looked closely, seeing before him a seemingly honest and straightforward farmer.


    The man¡¯s face and neck were burnt dark by the biting sun. He did not seem old, but premature ageing had taken its toll.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Ronald asked as kindly as possible.


    The farmer did not dare to make eye contact, murmuring in reply, ¡°Koschmar.¡±


    ¡°Married?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Any children?¡±


    ¡°Had one, died young.¡±


    ¡°Why did you stay in the village?¡± the major cajoled gently.


    ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s still wheat to be harvested in the fields¡­¡±


    ¡°Where did everyone from your village go?¡±


    Koschmar¡¯s throat worked with difficulty, ¡°Lord Montagne said bandits were coming to kill us. He told us to hide in the forest. To come back only when he said so. He had us practice it a few times¡­¡±


    Adam instantly slapped the farmer, ¡°Quit your bullshit! Who are you calling bandits? Winters Montagne is the real bandit!¡±


    Adam¡¯s reaction was so swift, Major Ronald didn¡¯t have time to stop him.


    Koschmar staggered from the blow, clutching his face, letting out the repressed anger, ¡°I don¡¯t know who¡¯s the bandit! But that lord has been in Wolf Town for over a year and never once beat me!¡±


    ¡°You fucking asking for death?¡± Adam unsheathed his sword.


    Koschmar backed away in fear.


    He hung his head¡ªnot daring to look at the Centurion, yet he still spat out a mouthful of blood-stained saliva.


    ¡°Put it away!¡± Ronald glared fiercely at his subordinate.


    Adam, with a grim face, sheathed his sword.


    ¡°Keep searching! Keep looking! Keep interrogating!¡± Major Ronald ordered, ¡°I refuse to believe that everyone would just follow him!¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan.


    Dawn was breaking.


    Samuskin led his ¡°Arrow¡± as the first to burst into the Revodan military camp.


    He froze in place after kicking open the gate.


    The modest drill ground was teeming with several hundred soldiers in a state of panic, many not even fully dressed.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 618 618 15 Civil War_3

    ?Chapter 618: Chapter 15 Civil War_3 Chapter 618: Chapter 15 Civil War_3 The garrison at Revodan had a standing force of only eighty soldiers on the books.


    [Note: According to the system, if needed, they could at any time conscript Dusacks and militiamen from the county]


    The Revodan municipal government had a security team of twenty people, and over two hundred armed citizens registered.


    The four current companies in Revodan were expanded based on this core of troops.


    A major commanding four companies¡ªan event most unusual on ordinary days?


    But none of the four companies under Major Ronald¡¯s command were at full strength.


    They were either out foraging for grain or had gone foraging for grain and never returned.


    After the ¡°total annihilation¡± of three hundred-man troops and two companies leaving the city to ¡°suppress bandits,¡± the defending force was reduced to less than one company.


    ...


    At this moment, the majority were right in front of Samukin.


    The Revodan soldiers in the camp didn¡¯t even notice Samukin kick open the gate, only a few of them made eye contact with Samukin and stood there just as stunned.


    ¡°Major Ronald has betrayed us! We are the New Reclamation Legion! Here to suppress the chaos!¡± Samukin suddenly bellowed, brandishing his spear and overthrowing a Revodan soldier reaching for his weapon: ¡°Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    ¡°Those without red bands on their shoulders are not one of us!¡± Vashka led his archers into the back door: ¡°Kill!¡±


    Neither the soldiers from Wolf Town nor the Revodan soldiers had uniforms;


    For a time, the Revodan soldiers couldn¡¯t even tell friend from foe.


    Vashka, wearing one of the few suits of plate armor, brandished his war hammer as he broke into the barracks.


    He didn¡¯t care who was in front of him, as long as they didn¡¯t wear red bands on their shoulders; he aimed for the head with ruthless blows.


    More and more soldiers joined the carnage in the barracks; the small drill ground was crammed with men fighting to the death in the confined space.


    A Revodan soldier, clutching his stomach, cried loudly; his belly had been slashed wide open, spilling slimy intestines, which he desperately tried to shove back in, to no avail.


    He wailed and stumbled around, and accidentally stepped on his own intestines.


    The new recruits around him, regardless of their allegiance, could hardly resist the urge to vomit up everything in their stomachs at the sight.


    Even the soldiers from Wolf Town had never witnessed such gruesome carnage¡ªnot many of them, being merely farmers fleeing calamity, joined the army just for a loaf of bread.


    But the veteran soldiers who had returned from the wasteland did not utter a word; they didn¡¯t even glance at the man.


    Their lips were pressed tightly together, and their hands showed no mercy, stabbing ferociously at necks and soft bellies.


    One thrust, one twist, one pull, and the blood gushed out like a fountain.


    A voice echoed through every corner of the drill ground:


    ¡°Major Ronald has betrayed us! We are the New Reclamation Legion! Here to suppress the chaos! Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    The Revodan soldiers could no longer bear it and quickly threw down their weapons.


    ¡°He¡¯s lying!¡± a blood-soaked officer screamed with all his might in the drill ground: ¡°They are the rebels! They¡­¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence, a metal spike pierced through his skull.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother looking for death.¡± The same voice again.


    Another Revodan officer angrily exclaimed: ¡°You are¡­¡±


    The next second, he too was dead.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Tang Juan grabbed Moritz in a hurry.


    No one understood the true face of war better than Juan, but even he couldn¡¯t accept what was happening emotionally: ¡°Those are our own people! Why kill them?¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Brotherhood, as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a mountain of gold.


    Even Winters had never acted so ruthlessly against his fellow alumni¡ªexcept for Sekler.


    ¡°Do you know what civil war is?¡± Moritz countered in a detached tone, yet he couldn¡¯t hide the pain in his eyes: ¡°Civil war is when your own people kill each other.¡±

 Chapter 619 619 16 New Life

    ?Chapter 619: Chapter 16: New Life Chapter 619: Chapter 16: New Life The farmers of Wolf Town mostly hid in the nearby forest.


    They were quite adept at this process because when the conscription teams used to come wave after wave, the farmers would always burrow into the old woods.


    Many farmers had even dug hidden cellars in the woods to store their food.


    As for Winters, he knew he was the primary target, so he hid even farther away.


    He crossed the Big Horn River and ran into the uninhabited area.


    The wilderness was vast, and he was not short of horses. Let alone Ronald not knowing where he was, even if he did, there was no hope of catching up to him.


    ¡°So this is what rebellion is?¡± Little Lion was quite curious, ¡°Why do you always end up being chased wherever you go?¡±


    ...


    The two sat side by side on a hillside, which offered the best view within a five-kilometer radius, leaving no place for anyone trying to approach to hide. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°After all, it¡¯s my first time, I¡¯m not yet skilled at it,¡± Winters said with a smile, then asked, ¡°You mentioned that your brother is organising the people. Can you explain that to me in detail?¡±


    Little Lion handed Winters a stalk of sweet grass, ¡°Reed (Dexe Zen) taught him, and it¡¯s roughly about weaving the commoners together like weaving a basket. I don¡¯t quite understand it myself, and even if I did, I wouldn¡¯t want to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Weaving the people of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°No, my brother subdued the lord of the Kin and captured his people, so he first wove those of the Kin.¡±


    Winters chewed on the stalk of sweet grass, pondering the meaning of ¡°weaving the people together like weaving a basket.¡±


    The first time the term ¡°organising the people¡± was mentioned, he sensed a hint of danger.


    Little Lion also chewed on a stalk of sweet grass and lamented, ¡°Rebelling on the steppe is simpler, call your men and horses, and head straight for the enemy¡¯s lair. If you win, you win; if you lose, you run away¡ªsimple and clean.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh; that¡¯s how it is. Steppe society is loose, and everyone follows the strongest, same goes for battles. When war comes, the tribes gather and elect a leader as the commander. If the leader dies or is defeated, the army immediately falls apart.¡±


    ¡°And what if there¡¯s a victory?¡±


    ¡°It falls apart just the same,¡± Little Lion said with a light chuckle, ¡°but everyone feels a bit better about it.¡±


    Winters laughed openly, even startling Bard and the quiver bearer on the other side of the hill.


    After the laughter, Winters turned serious and said to Little Lion, ¡°Since you¡¯ve told me about the steppe, I¡¯ll tell you something from beyond the steppe. I¡¯ll teach you how to do business.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Little Lion¡¯s eyebrows slightly furrowed.


    ¡°Do you know what the most important thing is in business?¡±


    Little Lion answered bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyes were bright, ¡°Capital.¡±


    Little Lion looked in the direction of Wolf Town, ¡°But your capital is gone.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Ronald has destroyed my capital.¡± Winters, too, gazed in the direction of Wolf Town, then shifted his tone, ¡°But if all goes well, I should¡¯ve already taken Ronald¡¯s capital.¡±


    ¡°I was wondering why there were no soldiers here,¡± Little Lion said with a grin, ¡°I was even thinking of advising you to come find me sooner, at least then you wouldn¡¯t be chased around. Since you have capital, do you intend to do business with my brother?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Little Lion dusted off his hands and pulled out a rope, ¡°We can talk about the price of the captives.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to use this capital to ransom captives. I want to use it for a bigger deal,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°So, I¡¯m actually thinking of asking for credit.¡±


    Little Lion was at a loss for words, his Adam¡¯s apple moving, ¡°This¡­¡±


    Andre interrupted Little Lion with a loud shout, ¡°From the south! Someone is coming this way!¡±


    Winters and Little Lion sprang up and ran for their Warhorses.


    ¡°They have really tracked us down.¡± Andre said indignantly, ¡°Isn¡¯t Ronald tired? Why doesn¡¯t he just go back to Revodan? What¡¯s with dallying with us here? Can¡¯t he save everyone some effort?¡±


    ¡°If it were you, you would have been here even quicker,¡± said Bard while saddling a horse.


    Bard¡¯s pale yellow horse was no more, and neither was Andre¡¯s prized black horse; they were both riding Hurd horses gifted by Little Lion now.


    The people resting on the hillside had, in the blink of an eye, mounted up: Winters, Bard, Andre, and two Dusacks, as well as Little Lion and his six guards.


    Aside from their mounts, each person¡¯s saddle also carried three packhorses.


    Even if Ronald grew two more legs, he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up.


    ¡°I had another gift, which I intended to give you when we departed.¡± Little Lion said with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll just give it to you now.¡±


    He blew a whistle.


    A quiver bearer took out a roll of cloth from his saddlebag¡ªno, a banner.


    ¡°Could it be?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened suddenly.


    Winters would recognize what it was.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it,¡± Little Lion laughed heartily, ¡°It¡¯s the banner you were wrapped in when I found you. My brother told me to deliver it to you.¡±


    Winters accepted the former Jeska squadron, later Montaigne squadron¡¯s military flag, and tucked it into his chest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± he said as he gently tugged on the reins.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Andre called to halt everyone. He squinted his eyes towards the newcomers, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s our people. It looks like Heinrich!¡±


    Winters looked intently and saw two riders galloping towards the hillside.


    The rider on the left was the scout he had sent to monitor Revodan¡¯s army, and the one on the right was indeed Heinrich.


    Heinrich had returned to Paratu with Bard, and since he couldn¡¯t find his grandfather amid the chaos of war, he stayed with the army, serving as a constable under Bard.


    When Bard reunited with Winters, he too came back to Winters¡¯ side.

 Chapter 620 620 16 New Life_2

    ?Chapter 620: Chapter 16 New Life_2 Chapter 620: Chapter 16 New Life_2 While others went to fight in Revodan, Winters left Heinrich in Wolf Town.


    The esteemed Franz¡¯s great-grandson, a man of few words, handled matters with steady reliability.


    Winters liked him very much and specially assigned him and Xial to protect the ladies.


    Once Winters saw that it was Heinrich approaching, he immediately raced down the slope to meet him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked, his face betraying no emotion.


    ¡°It¡¯s Miss Mitchell! The other ladies and madams are fine!¡± Heinrich said succinctly, but panic was rarely seen in his eyes: ¡°A pregnant mare at the Mitchell estate is having difficulty giving birth. Miss Mitchell sneaked back while I wasn¡¯t paying attention!¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the city of Revodan.


    The battle had completely concluded.


    All the defenders had been disarmed, bound, and detained.


    The unattended bodies lying on the streets reminded the citizens that the dawn¡¯s battle was not a dream.


    Last night, while attacking the city, Revodan¡¯s citizens heard the attacking side claim to be ¡°the New Reclamation Legion here to quell the chaos.¡±


    At the break of dawn, they realized.


    The invaders were not the New Reclamation Legion at all, but the notorious ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± they had long heard of.


    And the actions of the ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± were nothing less than bandits storming into the city.


    Cart after cart entered Revodan, seemingly determined to take everything before stopping.


    Revodan was in utter chaos at this moment. Winters¡¯s soldiers wore no uniforms, only identified by the red bands tied on their shoulders.


    Many ruffians discovered an opportunity for mayhem and, tying red bands onto their shoulders, began looting and vandalizing.


    The displaced outside the city walls also noticed the chaos within Revodan. They, oppressed and starved, found an outlet for their anger.


    As day broke, streams of refugees poured into Revodan, incited by the ruffians, stealing food and goods.


    The Revodan Cathedral was even assaulted, with thugs from the city leading the outsiders into the cathedral¡ª not even God could keep his sanctuary safe.


    In the midst of the chaos, Anglu led more than twenty carts straight to Revodan¡¯s garrison.


    Pierre came up from behind, yelling angrily, ¡°Dammit! Where are you going? Hurry to the granary, the treasury, the Arsenal!¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Anglu stubbornly replied. ¡°Lieutenant Bard was clear. We can forsake gold and silver, but we must take the complete archives of the Revodan garrison.¡±


    ¡°What use are the damn documents! In these times, they¡¯re all just useless papers! To the granaries!¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard ordered me to move the archives!¡± Anglu¡¯s stubbornness flared up as well.


    Pierre could not outstubborn the tenacious young lad: ¡°Fine, you go then. I¡¯ll give you fifteen carts! Not one more!¡±


    The young lad drove the carts towards the garrison¡¯s archives.


    Pierre watched the chaotic scene on the streets: people with red bands on their shoulders¡ªGod knows who they were¡ªbreaking into houses, dragging the owners out into the streets to beat them; ragged refugees also joined in.


    Many sneaky figures ran into alleys, carrying gold, silver, and porcelain, disappearing from sight.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Pierre cursed uncontrollably.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do!¡± Pierre thought. ¡°I need to find Lieutenant Juan!¡±


    As Pierre thought this, a Dusack messenger arrived at a gallop.


    ¡°Pierre Girardnovich!¡± The messenger shouted from afar, ¡°Mr. A and Mr. B want you to see them immediately!¡±


    ¡­


    According to Scarlett¡¯s calculations, Botayun was due to give birth in late August. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her calculations were wrong, as mares are often bred multiple times to ensure conception.


    Botayun¡¯s actual due date was early September.


    Yet, until the day before yesterday¡ªSeptember 20th¡ªBotayun showed no signs of labor.


    During this time, Scarlett was so anxious she couldn¡¯t sleep. She stayed up all night beside Botayun, not leaving her side for a moment.


    Then, at noon yesterday, Botayun suddenly began to have contractions.


    At the same time, Mr. Montaigne sent Xial and Heinrich¡ªeveryone in Wolf Town had to hide in the forest immediately, as rehearsed before, because the Revodan bandits were coming.


    To ensure the secrecy of the operation, knowledge of the plan was kept to a minimum; even the women were among the last to know.


    Only the officers were fully aware of the battle plans.


    In anticipation of bandit attacks, Winters had previously led the people of Wolf Town in evacuation drills twice.


    When the real situation arose, it happened to coincide with Botayun¡¯s labor.


    Botayun lay in the straw pile, whinnying in agony, but the foal remained stubbornly unborn.


    Xial and Heinrich had almost to use force to carry Scarlett away.


    But Scarlett had fully inherited her father¡¯s stubbornness; while Xial and Heinrich were distracted, she slipped into the forest and ran back to Mitchell estate.


    And at this very moment, Scarlett was facing a grave crisis.


    Two Revodan soldiers barged into the Mitchell estate, grabbing whatever they saw, smashing anything they couldn¡¯t carry away.


    They wreaked havoc from the ground floor to the second and back again.


    One soldier burst into a room on the second floor and suddenly shouted to the other, ¡°I¡¯ve found the room of the daughter of a wealthy family!¡±


    The other soldier ran over in a panic, stopping in stunned surprise at the doorway.


    After a foolish standstill, one soldier threw himself onto the bed, sniffing it vigorously.


    ¡°If I could take a rich man¡¯s daughter, my life would be complete!¡± he exclaimed loudly.


    The other soldier followed suit.


    Initially they rubbed their faces against the bed sheets and the pillows, but soon this way of venting their desires was no longer satisfying.


    One of them plunged a knife into a pillow, tearing at it wildly.


    Down feathers danced around the room like a heavy snowfall.

 Chapter 621 621 16 Newborn_3

    ?Chapter 621: Chapter 16 Newborn_3 Chapter 621: Chapter 16 Newborn_3 ¡°Wait!¡± Another soldier grabbed his companion, ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡±


    They heard the neighing of horses.


    Following the noise, the two made their way to the stables and effectively trapped Scarlett inside.


    Scarlett was wearing dirty trousers, an old shirt, and her hair was tied back, making her look a bit like a boy.


    But the delicate features inherited from her mother couldn¡¯t be hidden by clothes.


    The two Revodan soldiers were stunned.


    The older one, since being conscripted into the army, hadn¡¯t touched a woman for a very, very long time.


    ...


    The younger one had never touched a woman.


    Scarlett grabbed a pitchfork, and although panicked, she didn¡¯t scream, ¡°My father is a Dusack, my brother is also a Dusack, if you dare touch me, I¡¯ll kill you and then myself!¡±


    ¡°Even if you¡¯re not a rich man¡¯s daughter! A coachman¡¯s daughter will do!¡± the older soldier shouted, lunging at the girl like a madman.


    ¡°Help!¡± Scarlett screamed, stabbing at the man who had turned into a beast.


    The older soldier ran onto the pitchfork, its sharp tines piercing his abdomen.


    ¡°You!¡± he exclaimed in panic, ¡°You killed me!¡±


    ¡°You!¡± he shouted angrily, ¡°You killed me!¡±


    ¡°You damned little wench!¡± The soldier, overcome with rage and with the pitchfork still in his belly, drew his saber and roared as he swung at the young girl, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡±


    Scarlett dodged the blow as she screamed, yet she never let go of the pitchfork.


    The younger soldier was too terrified to react.


    The sound of horse hooves grew closer.


    Two officers burst into the stables, one after the other.


    With just one glance, the two officers understood what had happened.


    The younger soldier was so frightened he wet himself, ¡°Ma¡­ Major Ronald¡­ Captain Apel¡­¡±


    Major Ronald¡¯s face turned blue with rage as he pulled down the older soldier and brutally kicked him in the jaw.


    The soldier was knocked out cold. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Apel knew exactly what to do; he drew his sword to finish off the solider on the ground and took the other soldier, still standing in shock, out of the stables.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Major Ronald asked the girl kindly.


    Scarlett, still clutching the pitchfork, looked at the unfamiliar officer with wide-eyed terror, her chest heaving violently.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away¡­¡± Ronald¡¯s gaze shifted to the white horse in the stall.


    As an officer who came from the cavalry, he quickly connected the dots, ¡°Is it because of her?¡±


    Ronald went into the stall and bent down to check the white horse.


    Seeing the unfamiliar officer approach Botayun, Scarlett, nerve-wracked, screamed as she stabbed at him.


    Ronald quickly knocked the pitchfork aside with the hilt of his sword, ¡°Calm down, young lady. She¡¯s having difficulty giving birth, and I can help you.¡±


    At the word ¡°difficulty giving birth,¡± the fear in Scarlett¡¯s heart was momentarily suppressed.


    What followed was relief, and tears spilled over as she sobbed.


    Major Ronald was at a loss facing the crying girl and quickly turned his attention back to the white horse.


    ¡°When was her due date?¡± Ronald asked.


    ¡°The fourth week of August,¡± Scarlett said through tears, trying to dry her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t wipe them, your hands are so dirty, you¡¯ll get an eye infection!¡± Ronald exasperatedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.


    He knelt on the ground to check the cervical opening, ¡°The foal is too big, and the position seems wrong; the mare can¡¯t give birth¡­ Is this her first foal?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    Ronald rolled up his sleeves, ¡°We have to pull the foal out! You, go find me two thick ropes! The thicker, the better!¡±


    Once again, the sound of horse hooves approached.


    Shortly after, someone walked into the stable.


    Hearing the footsteps, Ronald smiled with relief and looked up, ¡°Apel, you arrived just in time, come help¡­¡±


    His smile froze, as he was greeted by the face of Winters Montagne.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Apel?¡± Ronald asked.


    ¡°Passed out, not dead,¡± Winters replied.


    Scarlett, crying, threw herself into Winters¡¯s arms.


    ¡°You¡­ and her¡­ are you?¡± Major Ronald found himself at a loss for words.


    Winters gently patted Scarlett¡¯s back and asked, ¡°What happened to Botayun?¡±


    ¡°Difficult birthing. When did her labor start?¡±


    ¡°Last evening,¡± Scarlett answered, wiping her tears.


    ¡°The foal probably won¡¯t make it, the position is incorrect. But if we act now, we can still save the mare.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll help,¡± Winters said, as he started rolling up his sleeves.


    Ronald nodded.


    An infantry officer assisted a cavalry officer, and the two tried to help deliver Botayun¡¯s foal.


    Ronald washed his hands and reached into the mare¡¯s cervix, feeling around.


    Stimulated, Botayun kicked furiously, striking Winters.


    Winters grunted softly.


    Scarlett hurriedly knelt beside Botayun, gently stroking the horse¡¯s neck.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t be afraid¡­¡± she soothed the horse, unconsciously humming a childhood lullaby, ¡°Edelweiss, Edelweiss, greet me in the morning you bloom; small and white, clean and bright¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve found it!¡± Ronald, with a stern face, suddenly shouted excitedly.


    Clenching his teeth, he began pulling hard.


    As the Major shifted backward bit by bit, a pair of tiny hooves emerged from the cervix.


    ¡°Belts!¡± Ronald yelled.


    Winters quickly undid his belt.


    ¡°And mine!¡±


    Major¡¯s belt was removed as well.


    Ronald, panting heavily, said, ¡°Strap them on! Tie them around the hooves!¡±


    Each belt was secured to one of the foal¡¯s ankles.


    ¡°Pull hard! In one direction! Don¡¯t twist!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters wrapped the belts around his hands, took a deep breath, and started exerting his strength.

 Chapter 622 622 16 Newborn_4

    ?Chapter 622: Chapter 16 Newborn_4 Chapter 622: Chapter 16 Newborn_4 Botayun was in great pain, and it neighed agonizingly.


    Scarlett hugged the horse, crying and humming a lullaby intermittently, ¡°Flowers white as snow¡­ may you be fragrant¡­ forever in bloom¡­ grow¡­¡±


    First came the translucent amniotic sac, then the foal¡¯s legs.


    Suddenly, the foal¡¯s body got stuck.


    Winters had already exerted a lot of strength, but he couldn¡¯t use any more force.


    The little foal¡¯s legs looked so fragile; even a bit more strength could hurt it.


    ¡°Push!¡± Major Ronald helped with his hands, shouting at the clumsy infantry officer, ¡°Push harder! It can take it!¡±


    ...


    Winters clenched his teeth and slowly increased the pressure.


    ¡°The head is out!¡± Major Ronald exclaimed with joy, ¡°Push!¡±


    First a small, delicate nose appeared, and then the foal¡¯s head gradually emerged from the birth canal.


    Major Ronald methodically cleared the foal¡¯s nostrils, supporting its head and neck, assisting Winters in dragging it out.


    The foal¡¯s eyes were open, with a layer of pale white fetal membrane enveloping it.


    Once the head and neck emerged, the pulling resistance felt by Winters through the belt suddenly decreased.


    The foal was smoothly dragged out of its mother¡¯s body.


    With a ¡°pop,¡± the foal¡¯s hind hooves also left the birth canal.


    The pale white fetal membrane, along with the red placenta, followed the foal out of Botayun.


    Botayun¡¯s abdomen deflated, and it lay exhausted in a pile of hay, gasping for breath.


    ¡°We did it!¡± Scarlett kissed Botayun, ¡°We did it!¡±


    ¡°Is it alive?¡± Winters didn¡¯t dare to look because the Major had said the foal was stillborn.


    ¡°It¡¯s still alive! Oh God! Breathing!¡± Major Ronald tore off his shirt, wiping the foal¡¯s nostrils, head, and body, ¡°Breathe! Just breathe and you¡¯ll live!¡±


    The pale yellow amniotic fluid stained the Major¡¯s uniform, but he didn¡¯t mind at all.


    Winters quickly took off his shirt and handed it to the Major.


    The strong child¡¯s breathing was initially very weak, but it gradually became more robust, and its chest began to heave.


    It was a color between grey and black, completely different from its grey father and pure white mother.


    ¡°You¡¯re so beautiful,¡± Winters kneeled next to the strong child, gently stroking its wet mane.


    ¡°Such a big fellow! By the Holy Body above!¡± Major Ronald joyously wiped the foal¡¯s body, muttering continuously, ¡°Such a big fellow! No wonder the mare had difficulty giving birth! How could it grow so big? Good heavens!¡±


    He lifted the foal¡¯s hind legs and examined them closely.


    ¡°It¡¯s a little colt indeed!¡± Major Ronald laughed.


    Scarlett¡¯s tears turned into a smile, her face blushing with embarrassment.


    ¡°Is the mare yours?¡± Major Ronald asked Winters.


    ¡°No¡­ its father was my companion,¡± Winters suddenly recalled the beautiful gait of the strong runner, ¡°but he¡¯s no longer here.¡±


    Major Ronald¡¯s actions paused, and he said bitterly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about that. Give the little one a name. Don¡¯t worry, it will definitely be a top warhorse.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Tears filled Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I hope he never has to go to the battlefield.¡±


    The little foal, almost as soon as it was left alone, tried to stand up.


    It blinked its eyes, stumbled as it propped itself up on its knees, then fell over.


    Scarlett wanted to help the foal up.


    Major Ronald stopped the girl, ¡°Let it stand up by itself.¡±


    After several failures and repeated attempts, the son of the strong runner finally propped itself up on all fours.


    Its legs were still slender, but already nearly the length of an adult horse¡¯s.


    Although it stood shakily, it finally stood tenaciously on the ground by its own strength.


    Winters held the son of the strong runner in his arms.


    The foal didn¡¯t understand why the human in front of it was so gentle¡ªit didn¡¯t even have a concept of humans yet¡ªit just felt that it liked the scent of the ¡°thing¡± before it.


    It gently licked Winters¡¯ cheeks.


    ¡°I have thought of his name.¡± Two tears rolled down Winters¡¯ face, ¡°His name is Changsheng.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters and Ronald, two weary men, sat side by side outside the stable.


    Scarlett was in the stable, helping Botayun feed the foal.


    Major Ronald leaned against the wall, fumbling out a pipe, and slowly packing it with loose tobacco leaves.


    The tobacco was packed tight, but no matter what, he couldn¡¯t light it¡ªhis hands trembled, and he couldn¡¯t strike the flint properly.


    Winters took the pipe, and when he handed it back, the tobacco was lit. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ronald took a satisfying drag, slowly exhaling a wisp of smoke, ¡°What breed is its father?¡±


    ¡°A Lucian horse.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, no wonder.¡± Ronald smiled knowingly, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by its current size as a small black colt. Once it grows up, it will fade, gradually turning light gray.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Ronald continued to smoke, and both sat silently.


    ¡°You fought a good fight this time.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°How long had you been preparing?¡±


    Winters honestly replied, ¡°Over a month ago, when I went to Revodan.¡±


    ¡°And when did you start considering us the enemy?¡±


    ¡°Earlier.¡±


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Ronald said with a smile, ¡°No wonder you, lad, came to Revodan and didn¡¯t even stop by to see me.¡±


    Winters also smiled.


    The two fell back into silence.


    Ronald let out a bitter laugh, ¡°Calling it a bandit suppression really underestimates you. You have the right to use the word civil war.


    I thought I would be the one to fire the first shot in the Newly Reclaimed Land civil war. But now it seems, no matter how you look at it, that first shot was yours.


    But are you ready for this? Revodan, Maplestone City, Newly Reclaimed Land¡­ even the entire Paratu. Are you ready?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°But I will do my best to carry on.¡±


    Major Ronald let out a puff of blue smoke from his lungs, pointing to the dissipating smoke, he said lightly, ¡°The warmth of this moment is just like this smoke, it will disappear in the blink of an eye. Civil war is very cruel, it might be more brutal than what you or I can imagine at its worst, take care.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m off,¡± Major Ronald tapped the ash from his pipe against the wall, ¡°Next time we meet, it will be a matter of life and death.¡±


    He stood up and walked towards his warhorse.


    Winters watched the Major¡¯s retreating figure, ¡°Thank you for reaching out today.¡±


    Ronald, without turning back, waved his hand, ¡°Thank you for the mercy of not killing today.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters left with Scarlett, Botayun, and the foal.


    Ronald also rejoined his troops.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the Major looked somewhat dispirited as he called the Centurions together, ¡°It seems we won¡¯t catch Montaigne. He has planned this for a long time and won¡¯t give us such an opportunity. Withdraw, back to Revodan.¡±


    Lieutenant Adam tentatively asked, ¡°There are some crops in the fields of the nearby villages that haven¡¯t been harvested yet. Besides the crops, there are also houses¡­ Should we, burn them?¡±


    ¡°Burn? Why should we burn them?¡± Ronald retorted indifferently.


    Lieutenant Adam braced himself and replied, ¡°The people here are die-hard supporters of Montaigne¡¯s bandits, no different from the bandits themselves. Burning their food and houses would be like cutting Montaigne¡¯s bandits off at the roots.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Ronald laughed miserably, ¡°The peasants would rather follow a bandit than help a legitimate garrison officer like me. Is it our problem or theirs? By burning them, we would be no different from the bandits! Leave them be, consider it as a way to spend fewer days in purgatory after we die.¡±


    The two battalions of Revodan soldiers assembled and set off back to Revodan.


    Meanwhile, two messengers were making a desperate ride to Wolf Town during the night.


    One was Lieutenant Istvan, who would bring Major Ronald a message: Montaigne¡¯s bandits have not withdrawn from Revodan. On the contrary, they have taken the city.


    The other was Pierre Mitchell, who would bring Winters a message: Execute Plan B.


    ¡­


    Operation Plan A: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, conquer Revodan, take all the materials that can be taken, and continue to accumulate strength;


    Operation Plan B [reserve]: Draw the tiger away from the mountain, occupy Revodan, annihilate Ronald Division, and fully bring Iron Peak County under control.

 Chapter 623 623 17 Food

    ?Chapter 623: Chapter 17 Food Chapter 623: Chapter 17 Food Upon receiving the news that the ¡°Montaigne bandits¡± had occupied Revodan, Major Ronald was not surprised at all.


    Instead, Captain Apel was nearly driven mad, ¡°What on earth does he want to do? With his few men and horses, how does he expect to hold Revodan?¡±


    The other Centurions also looked grim.


    ¡°We need supplies,¡± Ronald muttered, biting his empty pipe.


    To ensure the element of surprise, Ronald¡¯s two battalions had set out lightly equipped, carrying no baggage apart from a seven-day supply of dry rations.


    Reducing their load as much as possible was the only way to march quickly.


    They didn¡¯t even have tents, and Ronald wrapped himself in his cloak to sleep at night.


    ...


    Getting his troops from Revodan to Wolf Town with the regiment fully intact had already made the Major very satisfied with his Centurions.


    But it wasn¡¯t the enemy that would break these raw recruits¡¯ morale¡ªit would take just one heavy rain.


    ¡°We are in no worse shape than Montaigne. If he is not afraid, what are you afraid of?¡± Ronald suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Continue scouting Revodan! The main forces will go to Shizhen first for supplies. Then to Saint Town. If Revodan is vulnerable, we will take it directly. Otherwise, we¡¯ll bypass King¡¯s Bridge Town and head for Hammer Fort!¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hammer Fort, originally a fortress north of Revodan, had gradually developed into a small town of more than fifty households.


    This small town had always been the gateway to Revodan, controlling the main entry and exit passages of Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Captain Apel.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    Ronald gave his command with emphasis, ¡°Take your hundred-man team and head to Hammer Fort ahead of the others. Spread Captain Apel¡¯s men the dry rations from the other Centurions¡¯ squads.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The Centurions were invigorated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! To Shizhen!¡± Ronald laughed loudly, ¡°I really want to see who truly rules Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    Some time later, Pierre also returned to Wolf Town.


    Winters was in the stable, helping Changsheng find milk¡ªChangsheng was a firstborn, and Botayun not only had insufficient milk but also refused to tend to the foal.


    Hearing the message that Pierre brought back, he was not surprised either, asking only, ¡°Did they explain the reasons to you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Pierre, who had been riding all day and night, could barely stand, ¡°But Mr. A and Mr. B both support the contingency plan.¡±


    Although Paratu and Vineta were at odds, each turning red in the face, and the situation within Paratu was complicated.


    Still, since Vineta had not formally intervened in Paratu¡¯s internal conflict, and to keep the identities of Moritz and Juan as secret as possible, Winters had ordered to refer to them as Mr. A and Mr. B.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Winters nodded to Pierre while holding Changsheng¡¯s small head gently with both hands, ¡°You go rest; leave the rest to me.¡±


    Pierre saluted with his hand and staggered out of the stable.


    Changsheng latched onto the milk again, nursing with determination.


    Eating, growing¡ªit was his instinct.


    On the flip side, to not do so meant death.


    Changsheng was like this, and so was Winters¡¯ faction.


    Seeing Botayun no longer resisting as before, Winters slowly let go of his hands.


    Changsheng sucked on the milk with ¡°slurp slurp¡± sounds.


    Both combat plans had their pros and cons. Of course, it was better to take a city like Revodan.


    But what if they couldn¡¯t hold it?


    What would General Adams, the ruler of Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, do?


    Although the New Reclamation Legion was currently restrained by both Red Rose and Blue Rose, how could they tolerate the fall of an entire county?


    With the troops at hand, could they withstand the thunderous strike from Maplestone City?


    And Plan A: to gradually take control of each township, turning Revodan into an island surrounded by land.


    That strategy was Winters¡¯ favored one, and it was also why he insisted on setting the [Capture of Revodan] as the contingency plan.


    Cities and the countryside depended on each other, but ultimately, it was the city that needed the countryside more.


    Cities required the influx of materials and manpower. Once Revodan became isolated, it would collapse without a fight.


    However, no plan can keep up with change.


    War had taught Winters : sometimes success or failure does not depend on how perfect the plan is, but on whether its execution is resolute enough.


    Moritz and Juan were of sound mind; their judgments must have their own considerations, and Winters trusted them.


    Since they had chosen a path, they just had to walk it.


    ¡°No matter what lies ahead, there will always be a way,¡± Winters thought to himself as he stroked Changsheng¡¯s soft mane.


    ¡­


    Wolf Town, once again struck by war, turned to ashes yet again.


    Amid the ruins, soldiers stood ready.


    All the Cavalry Winters had left in Wolf Town, including himself, amounted to a total of eighteen riders, each with two or even three horses.


    Women such as Anna, Scarlett, Eileen, and Catherine had come to the town center to see them off.


    Some Wolf Town residents from nearby spontaneously arrived to bolster the spirits, and even three wealthier tenant farmers came forward, riding horses and carrying javelins, volunteering to help.


    Bard, Andre, and Mason were absent, for they had already rushed to Revodan at the first opportunity.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Winters said to Anna, his voice full of guilt.


    In a moment, they were parting again.


    Anna clutched Winters¡¯ hand tightly.


    That night, she too had hidden in the forest with the people of Wolf Town, witnessed their terror and helplessness in the face of disaster, saw Wolf Town engulfed by towering flames, and saw the best and worst of humanity.


    She hugged Winters tightly and, standing on tiptoe, whispered into her lover¡¯s ear, ¡°Go. These wooden houses, the church¡ªthey haven¡¯t harmed anyone, yet they were destroyed. They shouldn¡¯t have done that, and they had no right to do it. Don¡¯t worry about me or anyone else; we can take care of ourselves.¡±

 Chapter 624 624 17 Food_2

    ?Chapter 624: Chapter 17 Food_2 Chapter 624: Chapter 17 Food_2 Having said that, Anna lightly kissed Winters¡¯ cheek and gently pushed him away.


    Winters looked at Anna one last time as if he wanted to capture this moment of her in his eyes.


    Then, he resolutely let go of Anna¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Rest assured, I will take good care of Longevity,¡± Scarlett said softly.


    Mrs. Mitchell, arm in arm with Scarlett, gave Winters a gentle nod.


    In that moment, Catherine, too, abandoned her usual demeanor and simply said to Winters, ¡°You must live, don¡¯t leave my sister alone¡­ don¡¯t forget, you still owe my family a thousand Ducats.¡±


    Winters thanked each of the people from Wolf Town who had come to see him off, and finally, he approached Pierre, ¡°I¡¯m leaving Wolf Town in your hands.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Pierre said, his face still pale as he raised his hand in salute.


    Winters nodded, then mounted his horse.


    His gaze slowly swept over the blacksmith¡¯s workshop, the sawmill, and the church, all burnt to ashes.


    ¡°One day, one day¡­ one day we will rebuild all of this,¡± Winters declared, looking into the eyes of his warriors, his voice stern yet steadfast as everyone listened clearly.


    Winters took the battle flag covered in bloodstains, bullet holes, and scorch marks from Heinrich¡¯s hands. ¡°But now, follow me to reclaim the right to rebuild our home!¡±


    He pulled the reins harshly, charging toward the battlefield.


    Without hesitation, his warriors followed him.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Major Ronald¡¯s retreat was incredibly difficult.


    He was unable to secure enough supplies in Blackwater Town or in Shizhen.


    Although Blackwater Town and Shizhen had not been evacuated, hiding their food had become a habit for the farmers.


    Before the soldiers could even enter the villages, the villagers had already fled without a trace. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even if they caught some farmers who had not managed to escape, their interrogation would yield nothing but ¡°No,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± ¡°We¡¯re starving too, sir.¡±


    Seeing the farmers¡¯ ¡°simple and honest¡± faces, Ronald ordered them to be coerced into talking with sabers.


    The shining steel blade resting on their necks, those farmers who just moments ago claimed to have no food, now obediently disclosed the location of their grain cellars.


    Yet there were farmers who were exceptionally stubborn, stubborn to the point where Major Ronald began to doubt whether they actually had any food.


    ¡°Regardless, if they won¡¯t talk, kill them!¡± Lieutenant Adam¡¯s thought process was simple and brutal. ¡°We need to set an example for the other farmers. Otherwise, they¡¯ll all follow suit!¡±


    Major Ronald remained silent.


    ¡°Commander, what time is it? Are we still debating whether we¡¯re soldiers or bandits?¡± Seeing that the major didn¡¯t respond, Lieutenant Adam gritted his teeth and said, ¡°Montaigne is in Revodan. We¡¯re bandits whether we like it or not! I¡¯ll handle this! You don¡¯t have to worry, nor inquire.¡±


    Having said that, Lieutenant Adam picked up his sword and left.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Major Ronald bellowed at the Centurion, ¡°Are you the garrison officer, or am I the garrison officer? If I say no, then it¡¯s no! Release them all! How much grain can you squeeze out of one or two stubborn farmers?¡±


    ¡°But what if?¡± Lieutenant Adam was reluctant.


    ¡°What if?¡± Major Ronald glared, ¡°Follow orders!¡±


    After consuming the meager food they had conscripted in Blackwater Town and Shizhen, Ronald led over eight hundred soldiers on the road to Saint Town.


    It was in the wilderness between Saint Town and Shizhen that Winters¡¯ cavalry caught up with this exhausted and starving Revodan troop.


    The Revodan officers and soldiers saw Winters too.


    After all, light traveled in a straight line, and there was little to no cover in the wilderness.


    More importantly, Winters had no intention whatsoever to conceal his presence.


    He stood alone on horseback, carrying a flagpole, at the top of a hill a mile away, openly surveilling the Revodan troops.


    If the Revodan troops moved, he moved with them;


    If the Revodan troops stopped, he stopped as well;


    If the Revodan troops rested, he also planted the flagpole in the ground and dismounted to eat his dry provisions.


    This was blatant insult and contempt.


    ¡°What does he want?¡± Lieutenant Adam roared furiously, ¡°Does he think he can kill us all by himself?¡±


    ¡°Ignore him, just keep marching,¡± Major Ronald explained calmly. ¡°He¡¯s waiting for nightfall. Those who could catch up are undoubtedly elite cavalry, but their number won¡¯t be large. Night is the time when small contingents of elite cavalry can showcase their skills.¡±


    A Centurion could no longer endure such public humiliation and suddenly broke away from the column, charging toward the rider on the hillside.


    ¡°Ferenc, that idiot!¡± Major Ronald was furious, ¡°Bring him back for me!¡±


    Hearing his command, a Centurion and another messenger rider immediately spurred their horses to follow Lieutenant Ferenc.


    Ferenc, enraged, ignored the shouts and galloping sounds coming from behind him and spurred his warhorse even faster.


    ¡°To hell with Spellcasters! I refuse to believe in such nonsense!¡± Ferenc bellowed uncontrollably. The two revolver guns inserted in the holsters on both sides of his saddle were ready to be fired at any moment.


    ¡°Come on, Monta!¡± Ferenc roared like thunder, ¡°If you¡¯re as powerful as they say, try my two guns!¡±


    Ronald, Adam, and all the Revodan soldiers could only watch as Centurion Ferenc charged like a madman towards the rider on the hill.


    A gunshot rang out.


    The rider remained unharmed.


    Centurion Ferenc, on the other hand, swayed and tumbled off his saddle.


    The two who went to his rescue didn¡¯t escape either, as the rider shot them all down.


    A small troop of strange cavalry leaped out from behind the hill, capturing the three dismounted men as if snatching sheep and also taking their warhorses with them.


    The hillside returned to peace.

 Chapter 625 625 17 Food_3

    ?Chapter 625: Chapter 17 Food_3 Chapter 625: Chapter 17 Food_3 The rider stood on the hillside, continuing to openly insult the Revodan officers and soldiers.


    ¡°Ignore him,¡± Major Ronald ordered, ¡°keep moving! At least we know he¡¯s not alone.¡±


    Lieutenant Adam was fuming with anger, ¡°Ferenc! You rush to your death if you must! And damn it, gifting away three horses for nothing!¡±


    ¡­


    At nightfall, the Revodan troops rested in a forest.


    Their encampment had no defensive fortifications¡ªsoldiers were too tired and hungry to dig or to bring tools.


    They each formed groups, haphazardly making beds with branches and dry leaves, and promptly lay down to sleep.


    ... Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Apart from a few sentries, there were no additional defenses in the Revodan encampment.


    But deadly threats were hidden in the still of the night.


    This forest terrain was specially chosen by Major Ronald, not only because cavalry could hardly maneuver in the woods, but also because it offered a better layout for ambushes.


    Using tree trunks as stakes, the Revodan soldiers strung up three layers of tripwires around the camp¡ªthey had no iron tools, but they did have hemp ropes.


    The forest deep in the night was pitch-black, the tripwires hidden in the darkness.


    All Revodan soldiers stood ready for action, quietly awaiting their guests.


    ¡°Come on, lad,¡± Major Ronald gripped his weapon tight, leaning against the trunk of a tree, waiting for the sound of horse hooves.


    He thought, ¡°I¡¯ll show you that this old-timer still has some skills, let me give you a lesson¡­¡±


    By the time Major Ronald regained consciousness, it was already daylight.


    He sprang up, ¡°When did I fall asleep?¡±


    Of course, people don¡¯t know when they fall asleep.


    The major didn¡¯t know, nor did the other officers and soldiers, because everyone was sound asleep.


    ¡°What? What¡¯s happening?¡± Lieutenant Adam rubbed the drool from his mouth as he woke from his sleep, ¡°Has Montagne come?¡±


    No, he hadn¡¯t come.


    Nothing happened last night.


    No night raid, no ambushes, no bloodshed; a calm night and everyone slept soundly.


    Major Ronald could only force a wry smile.


    The soldiers were happy there was no fight, but it meant they had to continue marching.


    On the road just outside the forest, Major Ronald received a gift: three men, tightly bound.


    Lieutenant Ferenc, another Centurion, and that messenger.


    All three were alive, and even their wounds had been carefully treated.


    An accompanying note read:


    ¡°They are no good at braiding straw sandals, best you keep them.


    ¡ªW.M, Officer Stationed at Wolfton, Protector of the Eight Towns¡±


    ¡°Eight Towns?¡± A foreboding feeling surged in Major Ronald¡¯s heart, ¡°Eight Towns?!¡±


    ¡°At least he sent back the horses! We just got three burdens returned!¡± Lieutenant Adam cursed loudly, ¡°Damn stingy Vineta miser!¡±


    ¡­


    The day after the failed ambush night, in the afternoon.


    Gedani¡ªthe southernmost small village of Saint Town¡ªwas surrounded.


    About conscription, Major Ronald amassed some experience: one must never take the main road, there are ¡°watchpoints¡± in the villages along the main road, even an inconspicuous child could be a lookout.


    If they see troops coming on the main road, the peasants could run away clean in the blink of an eye.


    One had to take the back roads, detour through the forest, first encircle the village from afar, then slowly tighten the circle to ensure not a single person could escape.


    But this whole tactical maneuver was too difficult for green soldiers, who had no ability to complete such a graceful strike.


    Ronald had good reason to believe that if he dispersed his troops in the forest, at least half of them would disappear by the time they reconvened.


    Luckily, Major Ronald wasn¡¯t striving for perfection; catching half or a third of the peasants was enough.


    So, each squad was still led by a Centurion, forming a net full of holes that closed in on the small village of Gedani.


    The battle plan was executed well, even better than anticipated.


    Major Ronald was satisfied with his Centurions; the encirclement was closing, and the villagers of Gedani remained utterly unaware.


    Even not a single person ran out.


    Wait, not a single one ran out?


    Lieutenant Adam charged towards the Major on his galloping steed, ¡°Sir! There¡¯s not a soul in the farmstead! It¡¯s even cleaner than the previous ones we¡¯ve come across!¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Major Ronald asked calmly, ¡°As clean as the ones in Wolf Town, right?¡±


    Lieutenant Adam hesitated, ¡°Cleaner¡­ cleaner than the farmsteads in Wolf Town¡­¡±


    ¡°The protectors of the Eight Towns? Including Saint Town?¡± Major Ronald heaved a long sigh, ¡°Forget it, no need to waste any more effort, I¡¯m afraid all the farmsteads ahead are the same as Gedani, all deserted. Head straight to Hammer Fort!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Here, this gun is for you,¡± Winters handed a captured revolver to Little Lion, ¡°Consider it a thank you for your help.¡±


    Little Lion and his four quiver bearers were also in Winters¡¯ cavalry ¡ª Little Lion had originally brought six guards, but two had gone back to the Red River Tribe to deliver messages.


    ¡°I¡¯d be willing to fight the Paratu People even without a reward,¡± Little Lion took the revolver with a playful smile, ¡°Just don¡¯t send us on a suicide mission.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, sure,¡± Winters seemed unfeeling.


    The lack of reaction from Winters left Little Lion quite disappointed.


    ¡°You learn quickly, aren¡¯t you using my brother¡¯s strategy now? Keeping them on the hook, not biting, nor letting go,¡± Little Lion continued to tease.


    But Winters still had little reaction.


    ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right,¡± Winters answered absentmindedly.


    Little Lion, finding no amusement, went on to fiddle with the revolver by himself.


    In fact, Winters¡¯ thoughts were already occupied with another matter, hence his apparent obtuseness.


    ¡°Strange,¡± Winters kept recalling, ¡°The shot Ferenc fired at me seemed to penetrate the Deflection Spell¡­ Could it have been my imagination?¡±


    He silently took out a small, black notebook and a tiny piece of graphite, making a few cursory notes.


    ¡­


    St. George River diagonally divides Iron Peak County into two parts, roughly North Eight Towns and South Eight Towns.


    South Eight Town is more desolate, while North Eight Towns are more affluent.


    Revodan is situated on the St. George River.


    If Major Ronald wished to reach Hammer Fort, there were only two routes across the river.


    Either through Revodan or King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    With Revodan no longer an option, Major Ronald had no choice but to lead his troops on a longer route, turning towards King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    Hunger, fatigue, and an uncertain future.


    These three formidable challenges nearly crushed the troops; even the officers could not effectively maintain discipline.


    Some soldiers simply sat on the ground, refusing to go any further, no matter what was said to them.


    Others just ran off into the forest, deserting then and there.


    Under such circumstances, if the officers of Revodan¡¯s forces did not enforce military law, they could only watch as their troops slowly but surely fell apart.


    If they enforced military law, the army would collapse immediately.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already lost this war.¡±


    The officers of Revodan could see this truth confirmed in the eyes of their colleagues whenever their gazes met.


    Numbly, they marched on, waiting for someone to draw a period at the end of their sentence.


    Eventually, outside King¡¯s Bridge Town, they encountered the very people they least wanted to see, yet also most hoped to meet: the three companies led by Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    Ronald led the remnants of his force to set up camp outside King¡¯s Bridge Town, gathering food, waiting for Winters¡¯ forces to attack.


    But Winters didn¡¯t strike; he merely waited until evening to set up a few fires on the upwind, roast a few pigs, lay out baskets of freshly baked bread, and prepare a few pots of lamb soup.


    He also shouted a few phrases like ¡°Hammer Fort has already surrendered,¡± ¡°Surrender and you will not be killed,¡± ¡°There¡¯s food and drink here,¡± ¡°Ronald is a traitor,¡± ¡°The Sixteen Towns¡¯ protectors put down the rebellion.¡±


    The cohesion of the force Ronald desperately tried to maintain completely collapsed.


    One soldier dropped his weapon and ran out to surrender, and then all the soldiers started running out, they rushed towards the bread, roasted pigs, and lamb soup, stuffing their mouths with the scalding meat and broth without care.


    They were starving! Truly starving!


    The Revodan officers with warhorses made attempts to break out, but not one managed to escape¡ªtheir warhorses were even hungrier.


    Andre led the cavalry in a decisive charge into the enemy¡¯s camp, seizing the military banner.


    From Ronald down, all officers and soldiers garrisoned by Revodan were captured.


    The following noon.


    Winters Montagne rode his horse through the main gate into Revodan.


    The elders of Revodan welcomed him on both sides of the street.

 Chapter 626 626 18 Switching Days

    ?Chapter 626: Chapter 18 Switching Days Chapter 626: Chapter 18 Switching Days Winters entered the city, and Andre immediately dragged him to see the warehouse.


    ¡°Revodan is simply oozing with surplus!¡± Andre was all smiles, riding horses with Winters speeding towards the barracks, ¡°Now we have everything we need!¡±


    The parade ground of the military camp still had many dry bloodstains, only the corpses had been cleared away.


    The granary was in the corner of the barracks, cornered off by walls into a yard.


    Andre kicked open the door of the granary, and a series of widely spaced plank houses and grains appeared in front of Winters.


    It had been a long time since Winters had seen so much food. Although he was somewhat mentally prepared, he was still quite shocked.


    Andre introduced with a beaming face, ¡°I¡¯ve checked, the grains are split equally between miscellaneous grains and wheat, all from this year. Not bad, eh?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Good, I¡¯m happy, and a bit unhappy,¡± Winters looked at the granary with a complex gaze, ¡°With these grains, we won¡¯t have to starve then feast. But we¡¯ve got to know, all this was snatched from the common folk.¡±


    ¡°Why think so much? In our hands, it¡¯s ours!¡± Andre laughed heartily, wrapping his arm around Winters¡¯ shoulder, full of ambition, ¡°And there¡¯s the treasury! The armory! All ours! The city is the place to be!¡±


    After inspecting the granary, Andre was eager to check the treasury and the armory with Winters.


    Wealth tends to concentrate in cities, and just considering the spoils of capturing Revodan, raiding a thousand grain carts couldn¡¯t compare.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bard?¡± asked Winters.


    ¡°Old Bard is in the archives, fussing about who knows what. They¡¯re just scraps of paper, what¡¯s there to care about?¡± Andre dismissed, pulling Winters along, ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s look at the armory!¡±


    Speak of Bard, and Bard would appear.


    He came into the granary with a scroll, and seeing both men there, he asked with a smile, ¡°How is it? Is the granary good?¡±


    ¡°Great! Just fantastic!¡± Andre laughed boisterously.


    ¡°I bring you something even better,¡± Bard handed the scroll to Winters, ¡°Better than ten, a hundred granaries. If you ask me, add up all other spoils of Revodan, none is as valuable as this.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Winters took the scroll.


    ¡°Records of all land transactions, tax payments, and population migrations in Iron Peak County for the past thirty years,¡± Bard¡¯s eyes twinkled with a hint of mirth, ¡°All of them.¡±


    Winters unrolled the scroll; he was holding a list of all the archives and records of the Revodan garrison¡¯s possessions¡ªso long it seemed to have no end.


    ¡°Land deeds require triple verification; the archives in each town are kept in the town halls, many of which have been destroyed. The deed held by the buyer is insufficient and unreliable! Only Revodan¡¯s records are the most dependable,¡± Bard¡¯s voice quivered slightly.


    Wolf Town¡¯s deeds had turned to ashes with the old town hall, and many other towns¡¯ deeds were also lost.


    The contracts in the hands of purchasers were hard to tally and could be forged, but Revodan¡¯s deeds were beyond mistake.


    Hearing Bard¡¯s words, even Andre seemed contemplative.


    ¡°Having these, we¡¯ll know which lands are owned, which are not; we could measure the acreage, distribute arable land; we could plan and map out the land as per our wishes!¡± Bard¡¯s eyes reddened with emotion as he asked Winters, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to smash this goddamn world? This is your first cornerstone.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡¯re wrong,¡± Winters grabbed Bard and Andre¡¯s arms, ¡°It¡¯s ours.¡±


    ¡­


    At noon, Captain Montaigne entered the city.


    In the afternoon, the [city councilors] were ¡°invited¡± by ferocious-looking soldiers to attend a meeting at the city hall.


    There were in total twenty-one city councilors in Revodan, twelve selected from within the city, nine from the outside.


    A complete Revodan included not only the city area but also the surrounding villages.


    Some farmers near the city would even go out to farm during the day and return to the city to rest at night.


    Although not ¡°citizens¡± in the usual sense, these farmers too had the civic rights of Revodan city.


    Additionally, now that Revodan had city walls¡ªalthough quite low¡ªit could also be referred to as a ¡°city,¡± not just a ¡°market.¡±


    The city councilors, trembling with fear, arrived at the hall, ready to be intimidated.


    However, what they met was a kind-looking young officer: broad-shouldered, big-handed, with a wide mouth and a high nose, his eyes always smiling, giving off a very sincere appearance.


    This young officer, named ¡°Bard,¡± almost immediately won the trust and favor of the councilors.


    Lieutenant Bard patiently explained the policies to the city councilors.


    Simply put, it was one word: unchanged.


    No additional levies, no apportionment, and no demands for the councilors and citizens to swear allegiance.


    Whatever the former garrison was responsible for, the new one would handle similarly.


    The old garrison collected a certain amount, the new one would collect the same, with consideration given to eliminating some unreasonable charges.


    Yes, even the signboards and office locations would be the same, ¡°Blood Wolf Gang¡± was now officially referred to as ¡°(New) Garrison.¡±


    If they could stay in Revodan, the ¡°New¡± before [Garrison] would likely soon be omitted. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The city councilors breathed a sigh of relief; they were well-off, living stable lives, and the last thing they wanted was chaos.


    If it went as Lieutenant Bard said, their lives would be almost unaffected, just a change of personnel managing the garrison.


    Because Revodan was always autonomous, the garrison only managed three things: collecting taxes, selling lands, and dealing harshly with any troublesome bandits.

 Chapter 627 627 18 Change Day_2

    ?Chapter 627: Chapter 18 Change Day_2 Chapter 627: Chapter 18 Change Day_2 Moreover, Revodan was small, with just over five hundred households and a population of fewer than three thousand. There wasn¡¯t much in the way of government affairs.


    The municipal committee only met once a week, and their discussions were mostly about trivial matters like, ¡°The sewers need to be cleaned, let¡¯s all chip in some money.¡±


    Seeing that Lieutenant Bard was easy to talk to, the always bold blacksmith and municipal committee member [Shaoyi] asked, ¡°Lieutenant, previously Major Ronald¡­ no, the Ronald gang of bandits! They¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to put it that way!¡± Bard said with a smile, interrupting him, ¡°We are family with Major Ronald, we just have a little bit of a disagreement. Continue to call him Major Ronald. And I am not ¡®Lieutenant, sir,¡¯ you can just call me Lieutenant or Lieutenant Bard, either is fine.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Despite the other party¡¯s smile, Shaoyi¡¯s knees still involuntarily trembled.


    He steeled himself and continued, ¡°Lieutenant Bard, sir, previously Major Ronald conscripted the Revodan security forces into enlistment. Without the security forces, all the bad elements came out, theft and robbery went unmanaged. Could you see if you could¡­ ¡± S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Rest assured, we have taken it into consideration. Public security will be managed by the garrison for now. Former members of the guard will be given priority for screening, and if there are no issues, they will be released. In the future, public security in Revodan will still be the responsibility of the city hall.¡±


    The governing committee members sighed in relief, a stone lifted from their hearts, as many had been worried for the blacksmith Shaoyi.


    ...


    The Revodan guard only had twenty men, with families all in town; releasing them wouldn¡¯t be an issue¡ªthis was the result of a discussion by the group of six.


    ¡°You should have just said so,¡± Bard said to the blacksmith Shaoyi with a smile, ¡°Even though Major Ronald conscripted the city guard, he also tightened up security, doing it very well at that. Our arrival, on the contrary, was not as effective.¡±


    The relieved hearts of the people were suddenly pulled up to their throats again.


    ¡°No, no, not at all¡­¡± Shaoyi¡¯s head shook like a windmill.


    Bard looked at the municipal committee members with a smile, ¡°This is the fact, isn¡¯t it? What¡¯s there to hide? The new garrison has no ulterior motives; all we want is to be honest and open with everyone.¡±


    He smiled shockingly, ¡°I know that what you want the most is the [City Arsenal].¡±


    The breath of every member of the municipal committee halted.


    ¡­


    The warehouse of the garrison and the warehouse of Revodan city are two different matters, just as the garrison and city hall are two separate entities.


    But the impulsive Lieutenant Tang Juan didn¡¯t care about that; upon seeing the warehouse, he first searched for the key, and if there was no key, he would blow the door or tear down the wall, not sparing a single warehouse.


    According to the original plan, the Revodan warehouse should have been emptied.


    But Juan and Moritz decided to switch to a reserve plan, hence all the warehouses were sealed and closely guarded.


    ¡­


    Bard reassured everyone with a kind demeanor, ¡°I know the members want to request the City Arsenal, but dare not speak up. You fear we kill without batting an eye, fear that we can¡¯t save face and will secretly seek revenge, fear that being too straightforward will leave no room for negotiation. I promise that none of that will happen. We are a garrison, not bandits.¡±


    Seeing Bard¡¯s serene gaze and sincere tone, not seeming at all deceitful, the members of the municipal committee relaxed a bit.


    Since meeting Lieutenant Bard, their hearts had been like waves, rising and falling.


    It was Shaoyi who gathered his courage, speaking softly, ¡°We indeed wanted to inquire about the City Arsenal, but there was absolutely no intent to demand it¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s be frank, there¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t discuss. It¡¯s better to be open so we can talk properly.¡± Bard¡¯s voice was rich and deep, comforting to listen to, but what he said was quite the opposite, ¡°I can tell you all clearly right here that the arsenal, we will keep. The granary, we will also keep. We need weapons and food.¡±


    The municipal committee members couldn¡¯t hide their disappointment because Revodan had spent a lot of public funds on both the arsenal and the granary.


    After ruthlessly bursting the bubble of hope, they rather easily accepted the reality.


    After all, how could the other side possibly return the weapons and food?


    ¡°The arsenal and granary are special cases. I hope everyone can understand. But the Revodan Gold Reserve¡­¡± Bard changed the subject with a smile, ¡°The garrison will return it to everyone completely intact, ensuring not even a silver piece is missing.¡±


    The members of the municipal committee all let out a long sigh, their tense cheeks and furrowed brows relaxing.


    Having the Gold Reserve was good, contentment brings happiness.


    Bard continued, ¡°As for the re-established city guard, the garrison will provide them with weapons and training free of charge. Ensuring they can take up the responsibility of maintaining public order.¡±


    On hearing Bard¡¯s words, the twenty-one members of the municipal committee all showed expressions of happiness.


    After all, previously they had only agreed to return personnel, not weapons. It seemed the city hall would have to dip into its funds to equip the guard.


    But now that Lieutenant Bard had agreed to supply the guard with weapons, they wouldn¡¯t have to spend extra money, so let the arsenal be given away then.


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Bard wasn¡¯t finished, he smiled as he declared, ¡°The contents of Revodan¡¯s arsenal and granary will also be compensated for at a fair price. We, the Revodan garrison, will never arbitrarily seize the precious property of the citizens!¡±


    The blacksmith Shaoyi stood up abruptly, clapping his hands vigorously.


    The other members of the municipal committee, some quickly, some slowly, also stood up, joining Shaoyi in applause.


    A thunderous round of applause erupted in the city hall, as if hundreds were in a heated meeting.


    ¡­


    The group of six¡ªWinters, Bard, Andre, Mason, Juan, and Moritz¡ªhad already carefully discussed: food and weapons could not be returned, but the money could be.


    Winters wasn¡¯t short of money, not only did he have money on hand, he also had two tons of gold buried in the Great Wilderness.

 Chapter 628 628 18 Change of Day_3

    ?Chapter 628: Chapter 18 Change of Day_3 Chapter 628: Chapter 18 Change of Day_3 Given the current situation in Iron Peak County, one couldn¡¯t buy food or weapons even with gold or silver.


    So the Six-man Group decided to simply ¡°redeem¡± the Arsenal and the granaries from the town hall.


    The price was negotiable, but as long as it wasn¡¯t too exorbitant, the town hall would happily accept a little loss.


    No one understood better than Winters and his associates: stealing money would enrage a city even more than taking lives.


    Through equal trade and gaining mutual trust, Revodan could be stabilized.


    What the Six-man Group most wanted was ¡°stability,¡± and no one wished to see Revodan in flames.


    They did not intend to take over Revodan completely, as long as taxes were paid on time, it was better for Revodan to continue its self-governance.


    ...


    Bard had already obtained all the files from the Revodan garrison and was organizing them.


    The Six-man Group was clear about how much tax Revodan should pay and when; they were not afraid of being bullied by the town council.


    ¡­


    Bard raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.


    The town hall suddenly returned to silence.


    ¡°There¡¯s also good news from the garrison, I¡¯ll tell you all here!¡± Bard continued to announce, ¡°The millstone tax within the territory of Iron Peak County is hereby abolished! There will no longer be a need to pay it! Everyone is free to use and manufacture millstones!¡±


    The town council members cheered and applauded once again.


    But they were merely putting on a show this time, not genuinely clapping as before.


    Because they were people of status, identity, and wealth, they were not very sensitive to the ¡°millstone tax¡±.


    The millstone tax was, in essence, a tax on millstones.


    People couldn¡¯t eat wheat; they needed flour, so the wheat had to go through a millstone first.


    Therefore, taxing the millstone became an obvious choice for the rulers.


    The Republic of Palatu was relatively lenient, taxing millstones just once each quarter.


    And it strictly restricted the number of artisans allowed to manufacture millstones to ensure every millstone was registered.


    During the feudal era in Palatu, commoners had to go to the mills designated by their local lords to have their wheat ground.


    Privately owning a hand-cranked millstone was a grave offense: the first time, five lashes; the second, forced labor; the third, direct amputation of the arm; and those who manufactured millstones were executed.


    You would take a pound of wheat to be ground and only get back seven or eight taels of flour. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The reduced amount represented ¡°loss¡± that went into the miller¡¯s pocket and then to the lord¡¯s purse.


    The millstone tax was the most hated and direct tax for people still struggling for survival.


    Bard, announcing the abolition of the millstone tax, wore a satisfied and sincere smile.


    Later, he announced another significant matter:


    ¡°This weekend!¡± Bard¡¯s smile grew brighter, ¡°The garrison will hold a [public trial assembly] in the city square. I hope members of the town council will set an example, do their work, and ensure that every citizen of Revodan participates.¡±


    The smiles on the faces of the town council members stiffened.


    ¡­


    The meeting concluded, and the town council members bid each other goodbye and went their separate ways.


    But not even half an hour passed before the twelve members of the committee met again at the home of the sugar merchant [Priskin].


    They sat around the elder Priskin, taking turns recounting the day¡¯s events.


    The elder Priskin was sixty-four years old, still robust, and was once the most esteemed member of the Revodan town council.


    However, he had fallen gravely ill at the beginning of the year and resigned from his position on the council.


    The others had wanted to nominate his second son, young Priskin, as a replacement, but the old man strictly forbade it, and they had to drop the idea.


    After resigning from the town council, the elder Priskin¡¯s health gradually improved.


    Although he had retired, he remained the backbone of the town council, with others still coming to him for advice on important matters.


    ¡°The new lieutenant called Bard, he¡¯s so capable! Truly capable!¡± said the blacksmith, Shao Yi, struggling to swallow his saliva, with a sense of awe: ¡°It¡¯s as if he¡¯s toying with us, leading us to feel joy and fear on his command, completely at his mercy.¡±


    After hearing the account, the elder Priskin furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°That Lieutenant Bard, does he always refer to himself as [the garrison]?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone nodded, and someone mockingly said, ¡°The Rebels enter the city and claim to be officials; quite amusing, really.¡±


    ¡°Foolish!¡± The elder Priskin slapped the table, scolding, ¡°Would you be happier if he didn¡¯t claim to be an officer and instead terrorized us as an outright bandit?¡±


    The one who made the jest was frightened into trembling by the rebuke.


    Elder Priskin¡¯s frown relaxed, ¡°If they don¡¯t want to be officers, we have to coax them to be; now they want to be, we must flatter them even more. Business as usual, life goes on, isn¡¯t that good? Our fortunes and properties are all in Revodan, do you actually wish for them to turn into bandits?¡±


    ¡°What about that¡­ that so-called public trial assembly?¡± Shao Yi licked his lips inquiringly, ¡°Shall we attend? He didn¡¯t say who he would judge, only that there would be a trial.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t we go? Not only should we go, but we should also bring friends and family along!¡± The elder Priskin rebuked, exasperated: ¡°Since he claims to be an officer, if we act righteously and sit straight, why would we fear his judgment? We need to support them, understand? Put them high on a pedestal. The higher their stature, the safer Revodan will be.¡±


    Hearing this, the others silently nodded in agreement.


    After a moment of silence, the elder Priskin pondered and queried, ¡°That leader, who is known as [Blood Wolf], did any of you see him this time when you went?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± replied Shao Yi, shaking his head, ¡°We only saw him from a distance when he entered the city, riding a tall horse, dressed in an officer¡¯s uniform, also quite young, but he seemed very imposing.¡±


    ¡°He used to be the Garrison Officer of Wolfton?¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s said.¡±


    ¡°Blood Wolf¡­¡± The elder Priskin chewed on the name, asking those present, ¡°Such a dangerous nickname. Does anyone know how it came about?¡±

 Chapter 629 629 18 Day Change_4

    ?Chapter 629: Chapter 18 Day Change_4 Chapter 629: Chapter 18 Day Change_4 ¡°Wolfton,¡± someone said with a toothy grin.


    ¡°No.¡± Old Priskin shook his head, ¡°I think there¡¯s more to it. What¡¯s his name again?¡±


    ¡°Surname¡¯s Montaigne, don¡¯t know the first name,¡± another replied.


    Old Priskin furrowed his brow, ¡°Montaigne¡­ That¡¯s certainly not a Paratu surname.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s from out of province?¡± Shaoyi ventured a guess.


    ¡°Go find out, but be very careful,¡± Old Priskin cautioned, ¡°Do not exhibit any malice, we¡¯re just curious about the origins of the nickname ¡®Blood Wolf.¡¯ Do you all understand what I mean?¡±


    All the city council members nodded in agreement.


    ...


    After thinking for a moment, Old Priskin asked again, ¡°You didn¡¯t see him at the city hall, so where is he now? Does anyone know?¡±


    ¡°I do,¡± Shaoyi answered eagerly, ¡°My brother-in-law told me that the captain called ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ only stayed in town for a short while. He left the city again before noon had even passed.¡±


    ¡°He left the city?¡± Old Priskin¡¯s pupils dilated, ¡°Which way did he go out?¡±


    ¡°The north gate!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was unaware that someone was investigating him.


    He had been in town for less than an hour when he left again with Andre and Senior Mason, leading a squad of cavalry.


    The cavalry, with their secret weapon, hastened to Hammer Fort to meet up with Juan by the river and Moritz.


    Juan and Moritz were laying siege to Hammer Fort.


    Hammer Fort and Hammer Fort Town were not one and the same; Hammer Fort specifically referred to the wooden fort at the town¡¯s center.


    ¡°Hammer Fort has surrendered,¡± was actually a bluff by Winters, just like ¡°Protector of the Sixteen Towns.¡±


    He was currently only the Protector of the Seven Towns; Forging Village had not struck a deal with him.


    Since Forging Village was right beside Revodan, Winters¡¯s reach wasn¡¯t that far.


    Despite numerous difficulties, Captain Apel had managed to occupy Hammer Fort first¡ª because Tang Juan had no clue that there was such an unremarkable small fortress to the north of Revodan.


    To conceal his movements, Apel took the route through St. George River near King¡¯s Bridge Town.


    Though small and wooden, and suffering from neglect over the years,


    Hammer Fort was indeed a fortress, and a direct assault would be costly and futile.


    So at this moment, the man approaching Hammer Fort with a large door plank, the very Winters ¡°Blood Wolf¡± Montaigne whom Old Priskin was talking about,


    ¡°Senior Apel!¡± Winters called out, ¡°You might as well come out and surrender!¡±


    There was no response from the fort.


    ¡°The bandit leader Ronald has already surrendered! It¡¯s just you left!¡± Winters waved two flags from behind the door plank, ¡°Here are his battle flags, look!¡±


    At the sound of ¡°ding,¡± an arrow pierced the door plank. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Captain Apel stuck his head out, yelling furiously, ¡°I¡¯d rather die than surrender!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t kill you! Surrender for immunity!¡± Winters replied, poking his head out too.


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± Captain Apel shot another arrow.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t surrender,¡± Winters continued his attempt to reason, ¡°then I¡¯ll have to start bombarding you! Once the cannon fires, you all will be turned to ash! Think it over!¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Captain Apel cursed, ¡°Revodan doesn¡¯t even have cannons! Where did you get your cannons!¡±


    ¡°Alright, you just wait!¡±


    Having said that, Winters, carrying a door panel, walked away abruptly.


    His attitude somewhat unnerved Apel.


    Even more anxious were Apel¡¯s subordinates, who peered nervously outside through the gaps in the wooden walls.


    ¡°Senior.¡± Winters returned to Mason¡¯s side. ¡°Senior Apel wants you to bombard him.¡±


    ¡°Why the hell talk to him?¡± Tang Juan was always exceptionally irritable on the battlefield. ¡°Just blow him up, and it¡¯s done, right?¡±


    ¡°If we can persuade him, we still have to try.¡± Moritz sighed.


    Senior Mason was quite cautious. ¡°My cannon can only fire shrapnel, and its destructive effect on wooden walls isn¡¯t really that great.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ ¡± Tang Juan suddenly realized Mason was his senior and struggled hard to hold back the curse words. ¡°You, you don¡¯t even need to load the cannonballs. Just fire two blanks, and those green recruits inside will be scared pissless. The key is for the sound to be loud and the caliber to be big!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Winters laughed as well. ¡°My words weren¡¯t meant for Senior Apel, but for the soldiers inside Hammer Fort.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s give it a try.¡± Mason said with a smile. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve gone through all the trouble to bring it here; it wouldn¡¯t be right not to fire a few rounds.¡±


    He called out to Andre, ¡°Come on! Bring the cannons over!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Andre lifted the tarp.


    He and the other Cavalry spurred their Warhorses and slowly moved four big, black cannons toward Hammer Fort.


    From afar, the calibers of the four cannons looked terrifyingly enormous, and their size was equally astonishing.


    But a closer look would give them away, for they were made of wood.


    This was the secret weapon that Winters, Mason, and Andre had brought from Revodan.


    Because they were made of wood, they could keep up with the speed of the Cavalry. They were transported here, bouncing up and down in the wagons all the way.


    To deceive the enemy, Winters even had someone paint the four wooden cannons black.


    Together with the hastily assembled gun carriages and the method of ¡°two draft horses struggling to drag the cannons,¡± they really looked quite convincing.


    Seeing the cannons draw near, Apel stood frozen on the spot, never having expected Winters to actually possess cannons.


    However, the more he looked, the more he felt there was something off about the adversary¡¯s cannons.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± He cursed loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid! Those are freaking wooden!¡±


    But the roaring of the cannons drowned out his curses.


    The four wooden cannons bellowed one after the other, with only one of them loaded with cannonballs¡ªweights, scrap iron, and other pieces of junk iron.


    The wooden cannon barrels, reinforced with iron hoops, cracked from the vibrations, but still withstood the internal pressure.


    The gunpowder gas propelled the contents within the barrels out, sending them flying towards Hammer Fort.


    The ¡°cannonballs¡± caused the outer wall of Hammer Fort to resound with a pinging noise and sent wood chips flying.


    Behind the smoke, a voice thundered, ¡°Surrender now or be blown to smithereens!¡±


    The green recruits inside Hammer Fort panicked, prying open the wood-planked door, tumbling out as they ran, ¡°We surrender! Please have mercy, sir!¡±


    In despair, Apel drew his sword, intending to commit suicide.


    But the blade stopped at his neck, as he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. The more he hesitated, the less he could bear to go through with it.


    He discarded the sword and sat in the corner, crying out of frustration.

 Chapter 630 630 19 Letters

    ?Chapter 630: Chapter 19 Letters Chapter 630: Chapter 19 Letters Ronald Division and Apel Division were successively annihilated, and the New Reclamation Legion had no available soldiers left in Iron Peak County.


    After sweeping through Iron Peak County, Winters first sent a letter to Maplestone City.


    He still used the messengers from the Revodan garrison and followed the communication channels of the New Reclamation Legion.


    The ¡°Rebels¡± had captured the county capital, and it was impossible to keep it a secret from the legion¡¯s intelligence network.


    Moreover, Ronald and Apel had long since sent messengers to request troops and assistance from the legion.


    Therefore, Winters did not plan on hiding anything, and he openly wrote a letter to General Adams.


    Compared to the audacity of sending the letter itself, the words Winters used in the letter were quite humble.


    ...


    He reported to General Adams in the formal tone of a subordinate, ¡°Major Ronald led his troops out of the city to quell the disorder, and they were ambushed on the road, resulting in total annihilation.¡±


    Revodan is currently under the control of his troops, with him acting as the interim garrison officer.


    Lastly, Winters wished General Adams good health and hoped that the legion headquarters would send a new garrison officer soon.


    The recipient of the letter was ¡°the supremely honorable General Kevin J. Adams.¡±


    The sender¡¯s signature was ¡°Captain Winters Montagne of the Republic of Palatu Army.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± the temporary copyist Xial asked with confusion, ¡°why do I feel like you¡¯re deliberately provoking General Adams while also seeming to talk softly?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re improving,¡± Winters said, focused on carving a chess piece with a small knife with a leather handle, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I am doing.¡±


    ¡°Talk softly¡­ so General Adams won¡¯t attack us?¡± Xial stopped writing and looked up to ask.


    ¡°No, the softer I speak, the more likely it is that Maplestone City will send troops to attack us,¡± Winters blew the wood shavings off the chess piece, revealing the form of a horse¡¯s head representing a knight.


    Xial was puzzled, ¡°Then why¡­¡±


    ¡°If I talk tough, will Adams let us off?¡± Winters handed the finished chess piece to Heinrich and picked up a new piece of wood.


    Heinrich took the chess piece and carefully began to color it.


    In front of Heinrich were many [soldiers], [knights], and [cannons] already lacquered and now drying.


    Ronald¡¯s office had now become a woodcarving workshop.


    ¡°Anyway, General Adams is going to attack us no matter what,¡± Xial pondered, making an exploratory guess, ¡°Instead of appearing strong, isn¡¯t it better to appear weak?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Winters coughed and opened the windows, ¡°The smell of varnish is suffocating; we need to go somewhere with better ventilation.¡±


    Heinrich nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Did you find any news about your grandfather?¡± Winters asked Heinrich.


    Heinrich shook his head sadly.


    Heinrich¡¯s grandfather¡ªthe executioner ¡°Maestro¡± Franz¡ªwas untraceable, neither in Revodan nor in Iron Peak County.


    ¡°No matter, keep searching,¡± Winters felt a pang of sadness remembering the silent and resolute old man, ¡°The cavalry will soon scout the neighboring county, and they will help look for information as well.¡±


    ¡°A wandering executioner has no fixed dwelling; he goes wherever there is someone to be killed,¡± Heinrich tried to smile, ¡°Maybe my grandfather just retired. In today¡¯s world, the last thing we lack is executioners.¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters was writing the letter to Adams.


    In Sea Blue, Chief Magistrate Debela and the four satraps were also having a closed-door meeting.


    Apart from the five-member governing group, Antonio and Merser Monte¡ªthe commander of the Fourth Standing Army¡ªwere also present.


    The Third Army is currently stationed in the Tanilia Archipelago.


    The Fourth Army is currently stationed on the southern bank of Torrent River, confronting the second army of The Federated Provinces.


    Secretly summoning the two army commanders back to Sea Blue was to discuss a major issue¡ªhow much military force could the two armies allocate to intervene in Palatu?


    The five-member governing group had already reached a consensus:


    [The noble Republic must punish the ¡°malicious breach of contract¡± of the Paratu People with the most severe measures; otherwise, all of Veneta¡¯s debtors will become restless]¡ªthese were just the overt reasons. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The governing council was determined to ¡°arm themselves for debt collection,¡± and calling back the two generals was not to discuss ¡°whether to,¡± but rather ¡°how to.¡±


    However, Antonio unusually took a firm stand against the decision of the ruling council.


    ¡°Once our troops enter Paratu, it will be equivalent to declaring war against the United Provincials!¡± Antonio directly questioned the group of five: ¡°Your Excellencies, do you have the resolve to go to war with the United Provincials? Is Vineta ready?¡±


    According to Antonio¡¯s beliefs, military personnel should not be involved in political decision-making.


    But this time, Antonio went against what he had long stood for.


    The most loyal general of Vineta, Governor De Bella, showed great patience.


    He carefully explained the secret agreement with Alpad: ¡°Our forces will serve as mercenaries for the Paratu military government, and we will avoid a frontal conflict with the Republic of the United Provincials as much as possible.¡±


    Grief was evident in Antonio¡¯s eyes: ¡°These are nothing but self-deception! Your Excellencies are all hoping for the best outcome, but reality often takes a plunge in the worst direction. Military intervention in Paratu will inevitably lead to a war against the United Provincials. That would be a real civil war within the Alliance! Brother fighting brother! But we are not ready, far from it!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Zio interrupted his favorite officer, not letting him speak further: ¡°Does the weighing and consideration of the governing council need to be taught by you?¡±


    ¡°Militarily, Vineta may not be ready. But politically, we must respond.¡± De Bella said slowly to the commander of the Third Legion: ¡°What if all of Vineta¡¯s debtors start copying the Paratu People? What if we allow the United Provincials to intervene and take control of Paratu?


    If Monta and Varn are already puppets of the United Provincials, and they gain control over Paratu, can Vineta continue to exist independently in the world? No matter what the cost, Vineta must at least ensure the independence of Paratu, at the very least prevent it from falling to the United Provincials, in order to maintain the internal balance within the Alliance.¡±


    Antonio could not refute De Bella, because he knew De Bella was right.


    The territory of the United Provincials is small, just over one hundred thousand square kilometers, roughly a third of Vineta¡¯s size.


    Although the population of the United Provincials is dense and the cities are wealthy, in terms of war potential, they are far from comparable to Vineta and Paratu.


    It is with their formidable military strength and the two ¡°puppets¡± Monta and Varn that the United Provincials maintain an equilibrium with Vineta and Paratu.


    The three parties are like a triangle, mutually restraining and dependent on each other, barely maintaining balance within the Alliance under external pressure.


    If this triangle were broken, and Paratu were to fall to the United Provincials, then Vineta would be the next to be swallowed up.


    ¡°If Your Excellencies are determined to deploy troops, then I request that the governing council immediately start preparing for a full-scale war with the United Provincials.¡± Antonio clenched his teeth: ¡°[Ancient Language] If you want peace, prepare for war! [Modern Language] I request Your Excellencies to allow me to devise a war plan to take Golden Harbor and annihilate the First Legion.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the State Palace of Guidao City, the office of the United Provincials¡¯ State Secretary Lionel, a fierce argument was also taking place.


    ¡°Mr. Secretary! Are you going to just stand by and watch Vinetians take control of Paratu?¡± General Taylor, the leading figure of the Provincial Army, shouted at the nominal head of state of the United Provincials: ¡°Vineta plus Paratu! The United Provincials will be forced to fight on two fronts! Can you bear the responsibility of the nation¡¯s downfall?¡±


    ¡°General Taylor, you¡¯re getting the cause and effect wrong.¡± The State Secretary suppressed his anger, speaking as calmly and gently as possible: ¡°If your army hadn¡¯t interfered with Paratu, Vineta wouldn¡¯t have acted on their own.¡±


    ¡°By the time they really intervene, it will be too late!¡± the leading figure of the army yelled.


    ¡°By the time they really intervene, it will still be timely for us to get involved.¡± The State Secretary replied calmly and unhurriedly.


    ¡°Mr. Secretary.¡± Taylor asked with a sneer: ¡°Are you a United Provincial, or a Vincentian?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency General.¡± Lionel¡¯s facial muscles twitched, and he asked in a calm and composed manner: ¡°Then are you a United Provincial? Or a person of the Provincial Army?¡±


    ¡°The army has always been for the protection of the United Provincials.¡± Taylor left the words coldly and stormed out.


    The meeting between the army general and the State Secretary ended without reconciliation.


    ¡­


    At the same time, in the heart of the Empire¡ªWorry-Free Palace.


    The returning envoy, Count Narzia, walked through the long corridor and entered a small room at the southwest corner of Worry-Free Palace.


    Not only was the room small, but it was also exceptionally plain, with only one desk and one chair.


    A man sat on the room¡¯s only chair, writing something.


    Behind the man hung a portrait¡ªit was the only decoration in the room.


    In the picture frame, an older man in military attire, bearing a resemblance to the man, gazed down with an authoritative look, overseeing everything in the room.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Narzia approached the desk and helped the man open the letters in the yellow wooden box, which came from the northern border, the southern regions, and even the ends of the colonized world: ¡°The Rebels are about to engage in fratricide again.¡±


    ¡°No rush.¡± The man trimmed the excess part of the letter, folded it, sealed it with wax, and placed it in the red wood box on the desk.


    His movements were quick and clean; the trimmed pieces of the letter were placed in a drawer for future use.


    He personally handled these trifling matters, which others might find unworthy of attention, never delegating them.


    ¡°Just wait.¡± He said.

 Chapter 631 631 20 The Millstone

    ?Chapter 631: Chapter 20 The Millstone Chapter 631: Chapter 20 The Millstone What does it feel like when a new sun rises in the sky?


    The answer is simple: if it¡¯s the same as the previous sun, then there¡¯s no feeling at all.


    That¡¯s exactly how the citizens of Revodan felt.


    They watched in a daze as people left the city and others entered.


    The most widespread and logically sound explanation on the streets and in the alleys went like this:


    The garrison official went out of the city to suppress bandits, died;


    Bandits entered the city, looted at will, chaos ensued;


    The new captain chased away the bandits, became the new garrison official, all was well.


    The ¡°new garrison¡± didn¡¯t bother to correct this perception but reinforced it instead.


    Because Winters¡¯ strategy towards Revodan was ¡°inaction.¡±


    ...


    He only had four legitimate military officers at his disposal¡ªMoritz and Juan were not under his command.


    And among his subordinates, fewer than two dozen could read and write.


    Winters was very clear that he had no capability to take over Revodan, nor did he have the intention or the need.


    All he wanted was stability; as long as there was no added chaos, it was fine.


    The disadvantage of the [unchanged] strategy was ¡°no feeling.¡±


    The citizens of Revodan felt nothing, so naturally, they formed no recognition of the new regime.


    Bread still had to be eaten, work still had to be done, shops still had to open.


    Whatever it was like before, it remained the same now; everyone lived in peace and continued with their lives.


    Not only did the citizens of Revodan feel nothing, but the sixteen towns of Iron Peak County also felt nothing.


    Farmers and townsfolk in South Eight Town at least knew some news; North Eight Town hadn¡¯t even realized that Revodan had changed hands.


    However, after discussing it within the group of six, Winters decided to still notify everyone.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village.


    Three cavalrymen dashed into the village center like lightning, with the leading cavalryman holding aloft a green banner, signifying that he brought important news.


    Following familiar procedures, the three cavalrymen first found the village chief, rang the bell, and gathered the villagers.


    Many villagers, seeing the cavalrymen storm into the village, had already hidden in the forests around the settlement.


    Gathering them all back would require quite an effort.


    The leading cavalryman did not waste this time and, seeing that several dozen people had come to the village square,


    he found a cart to stand upon and read out the announcement to the villagers of Shibi Village.


    After finishing, he posted the announcement on the village square¡¯s noticeboard. Then he immediately mounted his horse and left for the next village.


    After the cavalrymen left, the farmers who had run into the forest gradually returned to the village.


    They gathered in the village square, looking at the announcement on the noticeboard.


    The newly posted announcement was exceptionally large, occupying half of the noticeboard with a single sheet of paper.


    The letters written on it were also particularly large, as if afraid the readers might make a mistake.


    In the bottom right corner of the announcement, there was a huge wax seal, and even the most ignorant villager understood its meaning: whoever dared tear it down would be hanged.


    The few literate individuals in the village squeezed in front of the announcement and squinted their eyes, reading it aloud for the others to hear.


    ¡­


    Winters initially had no intention of writing an announcement, thinking that the farmers wouldn¡¯t be able to read, making it useless.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong there,¡± Bard explained with a smile. ¡°Most farmers can¡¯t read, but there¡¯s always someone in the village who can, and they can read it out to the others. Pamphlets printed with doctrines were once a key approach by the Galen Church to recruit followers. Rest assured, they¡¯ll know what¡¯s on the announcement.¡±


    So Winters personally drafted an announcement.


    After reading it, Bard laughed even more: ¡°You can¡¯t use this kind of grammar, there are literate people in the villages, but they can only grasp the gist of it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this sufficient? I already simplified the syntax as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Writing an announcement is not a simple task; you have to write it so that even an eight-year-old child could understand,¡± Bard¡¯s smile grew wider: ¡°And it needs to be concise, sticking to the main points. Otherwise, by the time you finish listening, the beginning is already forgotten. It¡¯s best if it can rhyme, catchy like a nursery rhyme.¡±


    Standing aside, Andre coughed and said, ¡°I¡¯ve thought of a good line.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Clearing his throat, Andre intoned, ¡°Bite his mom! Wear his mom! The Blood Wolf comes, no tribute paid!¡±


    ¡°No tribute paid!¡± Winters crumpled the draft into a ball and hurled it fiercely at Andre: ¡°What will you eat if you don¡¯t pay tribute!¡±


    ¡°Political promises, aren¡¯t they meant to be broken?¡± Andre said nonchalantly: ¡°If we really take Maplestone City, would anyone dare to come ask us why we¡¯re collecting tribute?¡±


    ¡°Alright, stop riling him up,¡± Bard knew the issue was actually the name ¡°Blood Wolf.¡±


    Winters felt very wronged, truly wronged.


    He had never called himself [Blood Man] or [Blood Wolf]; he wasn¡¯t one of those soldiers who took pride in a terrifying nickname.


    But for some reason, his nickname kept getting worse, spreading wider and becoming more bizarre as it went.


    Captain Spire had once admonished him, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to live with an unpleasant nickname for life, then avoid getting involved in such dirty work.¡±


    He didn¡¯t take it to heart at the time, and now he deeply regretted it.


    On the third day after he entered the city, the various guilds of Revodan suddenly donated a large sum of money.


    Winters was initially very pleased, personally receiving and thanking the guild chairmen.


    Until one of them let slip, saying this was money ¡°for Lord Blood Wolf.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters¡¯ face immediately turned sour.


    The speaker was too timid and even wet himself on the spot from fright.


    In the end, it was Bard who cleaned up the mess for ¡°Lord Blood Wolf¡± and later gave Winters a thorough scolding.


    All in all, the word Winters least wanted to hear was ¡°Blood Wolf.¡±


    ¡°Still, this slogan isn¡¯t bad,¡± said Bard with a smile, taking the paper and pen: ¡°Let¡¯s change it to [Eat his mom, wear his mom, no tax this autumn].¡±


    ¡­


    Yevgeny ¡°Big Eyes¡± from the west end of Shibi Village cautiously lingered in the forest for an extra while.


    He did not step out of the woods until he was certain that the cavalry carrying the green flags had not returned, so he was late getting back to the village.


    When he finally reached the village square, he found the villagers all gathered there, chatting in groups of three or five.


    The announcement had already been read, several times over.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? What did they say?¡± Big Eyes Yevgeny hurriedly sought his neighbor¡ªIlya, a fisherman and farmer.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t quite catch it all,¡± Ilya, scratching the back of his head, said, ¡°It seems like the garrison in town got a new master.¡±


    ¡°Has the village chief been replaced?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Has the town chief been replaced?¡±


    ¡°No, neither.¡±


    ¡°Pah, what does that have to do with us peasants?¡± spat Yevgeny.


    The farmers still left in Shibi Village were all freeholders. They had land and houses, and couldn¡¯t just up and leave like hired hands or tenant farmers.


    In peaceful times, the life of a freeholder was much better off than the bottom-tier landless peasants.


    But now, they were simply struggling to stay alive.


    However, this did not mean they were willing to suffer exploitation¡ªthey just couldn¡¯t escape it.


    ¡°The new master is quite good; he has exempted this year¡¯s autumn grain tax,¡± Ilya muttered, ¡°Eat his mother¡¯s, wear his mother¡¯s, no tax this autumn harvest.¡±


    ¡°Bullshit!¡± Big Eyes Yevgeny¡¯s eyes widened even more: ¡°We¡¯re almost ready to plant the winter wheat! What¡¯s this about autumn! Besides, didn¡¯t they just send down a grain-levying squad recently to take our wheat?¡±


    Another farmer, Pushkin, interjected, ¡°The new master also said he wanted to eliminate the bandits.¡±


    ¡°Which master hasn¡¯t talked about eliminating bandits? But which one has ever really taken care of it? Aren¡¯t the bandits still bullying us regardless?¡± Yevgeny grew angrier as he spoke, stomping his foot hard, ¡°Damn it! What dogshit new master, he¡¯s still the same old crap, just with his pants¡¯ fly sewn at the back! Fuck!¡±


    Several of the surrounding farmers could relate to this hurtful truth.


    Bandits, taxes, and military calamities plagued the peasants who toiled hard on their lands, made to suffer oppression all year round.


    In Shibi Village alone, several peasant families had been driven to desperation, fleeing their homes. Who knows whether they became soldiers, joined the bandits, or simply died.


    The circle of farmers around fell silent.


    ¡°By the way,¡± Ilya said, brightening as he told his neighbor, ¡°the new master also said we won¡¯t have to pay the millstone tax anymore! Mill as you please, sweep as you please, anyone who wants to build can just build!¡±


    Yevgeny was taken aback.


    After standing dumbfounded for a moment, Yevgeny finally said, ¡°Then the newcomer is a good master.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯s strategy was not just to keep Revodan ¡°still,¡± but also the rural areas.


    ¡°It¡¯s been too chaotic recently,¡± Winters explained his thinking to the others, ¡°Everyone longs for the life we had before, everyone craves for a sense of security. That¡¯s why we should first stabilize Iron Peak County, to stay as still as possible.


    Besides, we have no administrative experience managing a county. If the cart ain¡¯t broke, don¡¯t go banging on it, if Iron Peak County can still function normally, we better not mess with it. Do we really need to interfere with farmers tending their fields?¡±


    However, Winters quickly realized he was preaching to the choir.


    Currently, six people could take part in the decision-making meetings: Winters himself, Bard, Andre, Mason, Moritz, and Juan.


    Juan Senior and Andre simply didn¡¯t care about these issues;


    Colonel Moritz always seemed sleepy during meetings;


    Senior Mason was obsessed with his ¡°horse-drawn cannon¡± concept, his mind filled with ¡°where could we get a couple of real cannons.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not to mention that Colonel Moritz and Juan Senior had their own agenda.


    ¡­


    ¡°Do you know what other tasks I have apart from collecting your corpse?¡± Moritz asked Winters.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters replied, ¡°but I guess it has to do with your choice of Plan B.¡±


    Moritz then pointed at Andre and Bard and asked, ¡°Do you know why they¡¯ve been left without Vineta?¡±


    Winters had some idea, but he didn¡¯t want to say it out loud.


    ¡°It¡¯s Vineta that wants them to stay here,¡± Moritz sighed, ¡°Your motherland not only doesn¡¯t want you back, they also want you to stay in Paratu. Back home in Vineta, you would just be a few more junior officers. But if you stay in Paratu, Vineta has many precious leverage points and sources of intelligence.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± asked Winters to Andre.


    Andre nodded, his expression complex.


    ¡°Same as always, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Winters numbed himself, ¡°Neither the Paratu People nor Vineta regard us as human.¡±


    ¡°You seem quite mature,¡± Moritz said with a wry smile.


    Winters pressed him, ¡°So what now? Do you and Juan Senior think that this little venture of mine is a good investment opportunity, that if it grows quickly, we could contain the New Reclamation Legion and even the Red Rose of Kingsfort? That¡¯s why you¡¯ve decided to go ahead with the backup plan? For Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Not quite, I¡¯m helping you because I feel like it,¡± Moritz honestly replied, ¡°I just prefer Plan B. If we can wipe out Ronald Division in one fell swoop, there¡¯s no need to cause more harm than necessary.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that for me, I just came to take you back,¡± Tang Juan intervened, ¡°I¡¯m helping you fight because I¡¯ve got nothing better to do. Besides, didn¡¯t you ask for my help?¡±


    ¡­


    In the end, Winters sorrowfully realized that in the small meeting room, the only two who really cared about the peasants were Bard and himself.


    The six-person meeting became a mere formality; eventually, it was just Bard and Winters consulting each other.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Bard agreed, ¡°If the cart isn¡¯t broken, don¡¯t fix it. With our current capabilities, we¡¯re not equipped to control the entire Iron Peak County. So keeping everything as is would be for the best.¡±


    So, the rural areas of Iron Peak County also remained ¡°still¡± for the time being.


    The downside of inactivity is not feeling.


    The benefit of inactivity, also, is not feeling.


    People not feeling, life goes on as usual; that was precisely the outcome Winters wanted.


    Citizens have no feelings, freeholders have no feelings, but that does not mean nobody else has feelings.


    The refugees and disaster victims gathered outside Revodan, and the captives in Winters¡¯s hands¡­ their lives were undergoing earth-shattering changes, leaving them deep feelings of unease, anxiety, and fear.


    Because Winters wanted to ¡°register and organize the households.¡±

 Chapter 632 632 21 Household Registration

    ?Chapter 632: Chapter 21: Household Registration Chapter 632: Chapter 21: Household Registration ¡°`


    ¡°Are you going to kill us or release us!¡± Lieutenant Adam kicked the door fiercely, roaring at the guards with a furious bellow, ¡°Make it quick! Why torture someone like this! Bastard!¡±


    Regrettably, the soldiers outside were like the deaf, turning a blind eye to the raging lieutenant captive.


    This only fueled Lieutenant Lofvensikes Adam¡¯s rage even more as he slammed the door violently, ¡°Open the door! Open the door! Open the door!¡±


    The ceiling quivered with his pounding, fine dust falling and dancing in the sunlight.


    The soldiers outside remained silent, simply propping up the door with several pieces of wood.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Major Ronald from the cell next door scolded the lieutenant, ¡°Save your energy! Don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡±


    At the words of the major, Adam stopped, panting heavily.


    ...


    The captured officers were confined alone in a farmhouse outside of Revodan.


    They were neither killed nor released; they were simply detained with two meals a day.


    Initially, some believed that Winters intended to persuade them to defect, and they all agreed not to be traitors.


    But the younger brother hadn¡¯t shown his face from the beginning to the end.


    Then, some thought that Winters was using them to exchange for ransom, or as bargaining chips for negotiations.


    But the guards outside never seemed to indicate this; to be precise, they simply didn¡¯t communicate with the prisoners at all.


    Thus, the agitation and unease in the hearts of the captured officers grew with each passing day.


    ¡°Senior!¡± Adam approached Captain Apel, ¡°Say something, will you? What¡¯s happening outside? When can General Adams send troops? What¡¯s actually wrong with you?¡±


    The farmhouse was tiny, with only two rooms. One for Major Ronald, the other for the junior officers.


    Among the officers, Captain Apel had been the major¡¯s second-in-command, so naturally, the other officers looked to him as their backbone.


    But ever since the captain had been locked up, he hadn¡¯t said a single word.


    He became like a soulless body that moved but showed no worry, anger, or anything but numbness.


    Despite Adam¡¯s yelling and shouting, Apel didn¡¯t even glance at him, continuing to hug his knees and gaze out the window.


    ¡°Montagn¨¦ that bastard, what exactly did he do to you to make you like this?¡± Adam was heartbroken and angry, rushing to the window and yelling at the guard, ¡°Bring Winters Montagn¨¦ here! What kind of sorcery has he used on senior Apel! [Racially discriminatory remarks against the Venetians]¡±


    ¡°Adam.¡± Apel suddenly spoke up, ¡°Come here.¡±


    Adam was startled at first, then subconsciously walked over to his senior.


    Apel patted the floor, ¡°Sit down.¡±


    Adam obediently sat down.


    Then, Apel returned to his prior state, looking out the window without a word.


    Adam sat for a while, then stood up angrily again.


    ¡°[In old language] I think I have an idea of what Winters is up to,¡± said Lieutenant Istvan, arms crossed, leaning near the window, carefully observing the outside of the farmhouse, ¡°[In old language] Quite interesting.¡±


    When the officers didn¡¯t want the guards to understand their conversation, they would switch to the old language.


    ¡°[In old language] You know what he¡¯s scheming?¡± Adam asked excitedly.


    Istvan exhaled a single word, ¡°[In old language] The Reclamation Decree.¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°[In old language] What?¡±


    ¡°[In old language] The ¡®Reclamation Decree¡¯ from the Legion headquarters ¡ª it¡¯s for recruiting refugees to develop new land. Haven¡¯t you noticed, not a single refugee has been seen around here these past few days?¡±


    ¡°[In old language] Whatever Montagn¨¦ is up to isn¡¯t important,¡± Adam¡¯s mind was entirely on another matter, ¡°[In old language] Senior Apel¡¯s mind has been damaged by witchcraft. You take the lead, let¡¯s figure out a way to escape!¡±


    ¡°[In old language] There¡¯s no escape. We don¡¯t even have horses, how can we flee?¡± Istvan chuckled lightly, ¡°[In old language] But we can try.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was not intentionally leaving the seniors hanging; he was simply too busy, so busy that he had forgotten about them.


    Winters had deployed all his available Scouts toward Iron Peak County and the neighboring counties of Mont Blanc and Vernge, to monitor every move of the New Reclamation Legion.


    Meanwhile, Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, Lieutenant Juan, and Andre were leading cavalry patrols day and night, monitoring all the major and minor roads leading into and out of Iron Peak County, setting up nets to intercept scouts coming from Mont Blanc and Vernge Counties into Iron Peak County.


    Winters had issued a [Blockade Order]: Without permission from the garrison, no one was allowed to leave Iron Peak County, nor allowed to enter.


    He wanted to hide Iron Peak County as much as possible in the mist.


    And all of Winters¡¯ energy was now focused on the refugee camp outside the city, where he even ate and slept.


    Most of the time, Bard stayed in the city, handling all matters of Revodan.


    As for Captain Richard Mason, ranked second in military status, Senior Mason disappeared all day, riding out of the city every morning and only returning at night, reportedly looking for a bell maker.


    ¡­


    In the refugee camp, the atmosphere was somber.


    A great number of fleeing peasants arrived in Revodan begging for aid, but Revodan didn¡¯t allow the refugees into the city, only serving congee outside the gates daily, even hastily constructing makeshift walls to block them off.


    The displaced people outside set up their tents with a few sticks and barely settled in; they kept gathering, eventually forming a huge, dirty, and muddy camp.


    This so-called camp had neither camp walls nor any ¡°boundaries.¡±


    But now, it did.


    After Moritz and Tang Juan stormed Revodan, their first move was to take control of the refugee camp.


    When Bard arrived in Revodan, he even tightened the control over the refugee camp.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 633 633 21 Household Registration _2

    ?Chapter 633: Chapter 21: Household Registration _2 Chapter 633: Chapter 21: Household Registration _2 The refugee camp, once without boundaries, was now encircled by two rings of ¡°walls¡± made of wooden stakes and ropes.


    Approximately six meters separated the two walls, and soldiers clad in armor patrolled the space in between.


    Any refugee who dared to enter the open space between the walls would be whipped as punishment, and if they reoffended, they would be hanged¡ªthese were the rules personally established by Bard.


    ¡°No escaping! No shouting! Don¡¯t snatch food during porridge distribution!¡± These were the three rules Bard set for the refugees, and the punishments were monotonous, only two: whipping for first-time offenders and hanging for repeat offenders.


    The corpses hanging from the stakes in the open space served as the most straightforward warning.


    Even Andre and Tang Juan felt that Bard was going too far, not to mention Winters, Moritz, and Mason.


    But Bard was determined to carry on this way.


    ...


    Major Ronald had no good solutions for dealing with the refugees; he selected young and strong men to be soldiers, and the rest were thrown outside the city, receiving some overcooked wheat porridge daily.


    He was only delaying.


    Winters and Bard, on the other hand, wanted to address the issue thoroughly.


    ¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters asked without looking up.


    The trembling refugee farmer in front of him replied, ¡°Peter.¡±


    Behind Peter, disaster victims wearing tattered clothes formed a long queue that seemed endless, stretching deep into the refugee camp.


    They weren¡¯t queuing out of discipline; the pain from the whips and batons was too much.


    Hearing the farmer calling himself Peter, Winters felt a splitting headache, for this was the fourteenth Peter he had encountered that day.


    There was little choice, as commoners and nobles alike repetitively used those typical names.


    Not to mention that some noble clergy even restricted the choice of names, decreeing that their subjects must pick from the scriptures.


    Many farmers never left their small villages in their entire lives; with a limited population, having duplicate names wasn¡¯t an issue.


    But Winters now needed to ¡°assign identities,¡± and the duplication of names became a significant problem that plagued him.


    Fortunately, he had already thought of a solution.


    ¡°Which town, which village are you from?¡± Winters asked the farmer.


    ¡°Qingfeng Town,¡± the farmer answered softly, ¡°Shibi Village.¡±


    He dared not speak loudly because the refugee camp was under military law, which strictly forbade noise.


    Anyone who yelled was immediately seized and whipped.


    Only through such severe methods could the less than three hundred soldiers temporarily suppress the refugees, whose numbers were several times theirs.


    This was not a sustainable strategy, and Winters had to relieve the pressure before an explosion occurred.


    Looking at the farmer¡¯s face, darkened from years of labor, Winters said helplessly, ¡°You¡¯re dark-skinned; you¡¯ll be called Peter Black.¡±


    The farmer named Peter was stunned and took a while to nod.


    Winters quickly scribbled a few rough characters on a piece of paper: ¡°You are Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village. Don¡¯t get confused with other Peter Blacks.¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­¡± Peter asked timidly, ¡°Is there another Peter Black?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters hummed lightly. ¡°Plenty. How old are you?¡± S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°How old are you?!¡±


    ¡°Thirty-one.¡±


    ¡°Do you have land at home?¡±


    ¡°No, I grow sugar beets for Lord Kvass.¡±


    ¡°Married?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t have children, right?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Your father, mother, are they still alive?¡±


    Peter¡¯s nose tingled: ¡°They¡¯re both gone.¡±


    ¡°Condolences,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°Keep living well; there will be a way out.¡±


    Peter, not understanding, just nodded blankly.


    Winters then took out a small wooden tag, wrote ¡°Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village¡± on it, and handed it to him.


    ¡°This is your name; you¡¯ll need this to receive food from now on,¡± Winters pointed behind him. ¡°Go over there, show this to that person, and proceed to the Qingfeng Town camp.¡±


    Peter hadn¡¯t come to his senses yet; he stood there dumbfounded.


    ¡°Go!¡± Winters¡¯s eyes unconsciously widened.


    At that, Peter understood and ran forward.


    He couldn¡¯t resist pulling out the wooden tag to look again; it had a line of letters and a string of numbers.


    ¡°Is this my name?¡± Peter thought. Someone had taught him to recognize his name, but he could never remember it.


    He hadn¡¯t run far when another soldier stopped him.


    The soldier roughly snatched his wooden tag, glanced at it, and then roughly stuffed it back into his hand.


    ¡°From Qingfeng Town! To the southernmost camp!¡± the soldier advised gruffly: ¡°Choose wrong, and you¡¯ll get a whipping!¡±


    Peter Black from Qingfeng Town, Shibi Village, continued to the very southern end.


    After his tag was checked again, the soldier guarding the entrance let him into the Qingfeng Town camp area and even gave him a large piece of black bread.


    In the camp, he unexpectedly met a fellow townsman¡ªanother Peter.


    Before that, he didn¡¯t even know that his fellow townsman, known as ¡°Fisheye Peter,¡± was also in the refugee camp.


    ¡°What Peter are you?¡± Fisheye Peter asked eagerly, saying happily, ¡°The lord said Fisheye was unpleasant and awkward, so I¡¯m not called Fisheye anymore. I¡¯m Peter Fisher now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m now called¡­ Peter Black,¡± Peter Black replied with a hint of pride.


    On the other side, another farmer approached Winters.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters asked without raising his head.


    ¡°Peter,¡± the farmer replied softly.


    A groan emanated from the deepest part of Winters¡¯s chest as his head ached even more.


    ¡­


    Separating the refugees was seen as an imperative by the group of six; they could not be allowed to congregate.


    For the refugees, numbers equaled courage.


    A single disaster victim might be timid, but a hundred could raid a village, while ten thousand could plunder a city.

 Chapter 634 634 21 Registration and Household

    ?Chapter 634: Chapter 21: Registration and Household Management_3 Chapter 634: Chapter 21: Registration and Household Management_3 We must separate the refugees, but we cannot spread them too thin, otherwise it would be inconvenient to manage.


    Dividing them into sixteen sub-camps based on their places of origin became the most reasonable strategy.


    Moreover, staying with fellow townspeople, the refugees would feel more secure.


    Winters didn¡¯t know exactly how the White Lion ¡°organized the population¡±, so he could only proceed according to his own thoughts.


    ¡°To organize the population like weaving a basket,¡± he first needed to know how many people there were.


    Winters registered all the refugees outside the city by family, logging their [gender], [age], [place of origin], [physical health], and [family members and property].


    All of his literate soldiers were pulled in to register the refugees, including Winters himself taking to the field.


    ...


    He also borrowed thirty-three accountants and scribes from various businesses within the city.


    When the Blood Wolf spoke, the merchants happily sent over their employees.


    Winters even held temporary classes for some of the sharp soldiers, teaching them to recognize the most basic words.


    For example, the soldier guarding the Qingfeng Town camp, he couldn¡¯t read at all¡ªsending a literate soldier for such a task would be too wasteful.


    Yet he was still able to fulfill his duties well because Winters taught him to recognize the word [Qingfeng Town].


    After leaving the main camp, the refugees went through screening and registration before entering the various town sub-camps.


    This process had its hiccups but was generally orderly.


    As everyone gradually became familiar with their jobs, efficiency also increased.


    Moreover, compared to the dirty and grimy refugee camps, the sub-camps, planned like temporary military camps, were obviously more comfortable.


    Winters even personally supervised the digging of latrines for each camp¡ªprevention of epidemics was of utmost importance.


    Upon entering the sub-camps, the first thing was to distribute food to the refugees.


    Not watery porridge, but bread; with full stomachs, they wouldn¡¯t panic.


    After all, the refugees didn¡¯t have much in terms of possessions; everything they owned was either carried on their backs or in their hands, moving wherever there was food to eat¡ªsomewhat like the nomadic Herders.


    Winters hated repetitive labor.


    Registering the refugees until he was dizzy and writing letters until he hardly recognized the words, he couldn¡¯t help thinking, ¡°How great it would be if the refugees could read and write! They could do it themselves, and I¡¯d just need to have a look.¡±


    But he quickly dismissed that idea.


    How could everyone read and write? That would be heaven, wouldn¡¯t it?


    ¡°Or should I teach all the soldiers?¡± Winters came up with an alternative plan, ¡°Let them do this work, and I wouldn¡¯t have to.¡±


    While he was thinking this, Xial ran over, out of breath.


    ¡°Why are you still here?¡± Xial asked, gasping for air and leaning on his knees, ¡°Did you forget who¡¯s coming today?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Winters asked in return, his movements continuing unfettered, deftly placing a registration paper into one of the sixteen wooden cases.


    ¡°Miss Navarre is coming to Revodan today!¡±


    Winters stood up abruptly, knocking the chair backwards.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters picked up the chair, pushed Xial into the seat, and thrust the feather pen back into his hand, ¡°You take over!¡±


    That said, he leapt onto the saddle and galloped away as if flying.


    ¡­


    Although bringing his family to Revodan in haste before getting settled was very unwise.


    But Winters missed Anna so dearly, and Anna missed Winters just as much.


    So when Pierre came to Revodan to meet them, he also escorted the female family members.


    Winters should have gone to meet them, but when he saw Anna, she was already waiting for him at the officers¡¯ residence in the garrison.


    ¡°The honor you bestow upon me and my sister by taking the time to visit us in the midst of your busy schedule is truly humbling,¡± Catherine said with a sunny smile, curtsying toward Winters. Unwilling to leave her sister behind, she had also come to Revodan.


    Winters could already ignore such a degree of sarcasm.


    He went straight up to Anna and hugged her tightly.


    Catherine let out an exclamation and indignantly kicked Winters on the shin before turning and leaving the room.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have come; it¡¯s too dangerous here,¡± Winters held his beloved firmly.


    Anna wrapped her arms around her lover¡¯s neck. ¡°But you are here, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters found Pierre and Scarlett in the stables.


    Tess and Botayun were also brought to Revodan; Scarlett was nursing Tess, while Pierre kept his sister company.


    Upon seeing Winters, Scarlett¡¯s first words were, ¡°Botayun isn¡¯t producing milk. I want to feed Tess goat¡¯s milk and cow¡¯s milk.¡±


    Tess already somewhat resembled a little pony, shedding some of the fragility of a newborn.


    Winters stroked Tess. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go look for some.¡±


    ¡°A horse raised on goat¡¯s milk?¡± Pierre joked. ¡°Can it still be ridden? You should find another Dusack mare with a foal.¡±


    Leaving Scarlett in the stable, Winters and Pierre needed to discuss a matter of great importance.


    ¡°There¡¯s a task only you can do,¡± Winters said to Pierre.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Pierre replied without hesitation.


    Winters didn¡¯t mention anything else. Between him and the young Dusack, nothing much needed to be said.


    He didn¡¯t need to explain how important the matter was, or why it had to be Pierre.


    Pierre wouldn¡¯t complain about the exhausting travel back and forth between Revodan and Wolf Town, never having had a moment¡¯s rest.


    ¡°Berlion Soya,¡± Winters said a name.


    ¡°Blacksmith, cook,¡± Pierre nodded.


    ¡°He¡¯s being held by the Blue Rose, that is, in Alpad¡¯s hands,¡± Winters looked at Pierre. ¡°I need you to confirm his location.¡±


    Pierre nodded calmly.


    Alpad had a large number of Dusack Cavalry at his disposal, so the steady and savvy Dusack, Pierre, was the only one suitable for this mission.


    ¡°Who do you want to take with you?¡±


    ¡°Vashka, and another Dusack who¡¯s a bit older.¡±


    ¡°What else do you need?¡±


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    ¡°Go find Lieutenant Bard. Whatever you need, you can ask him.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Be extremely careful,¡± Winters squeezed Pierre¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Just confirming the location is enough. There¡¯s no need to force a rescue; I¡¯ll go in person.¡±


    ¡°Please rest assured,¡± Pierre said with a hint of a smile.


    This was one of the rare times Winters said ¡°for me¡± rather than ¡°with me,¡± but he was no longer a Centurion; he had to adapt to letting subordinates work on their own and learn to trust and rely on them.


    Winters wanted to give a few more words of caution.


    But the hasty sound of horse hooves interrupted him as a red-maned warhorse galloped into the courtyard, and upon it was Anglu.


    ¡°Centurion.¡± Anglu dismounted quickly, handing Winters two letters, ¡°Mr. B wants you to have these.¡±


    Two letters, one bearing the seal of the New Reclamation Legion, the other marked with a black cross¡ªsignifying extreme urgency.


    Winters read the letter from the New Reclamation Legion first, his eyebrows slightly raised as he did.


    Then he glanced at the letter with the black cross.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Pierre asked with some concern.


    Winters handed the letters to Pierre.


    The first letter came from Maplestone City, the headquarters of the New Reclamation Legion.


    It did not specify the recipient but used the term ¡°The Garrison of Revodan.¡±


    The content was simple; the legion headquarters was requesting the autumn grain tribute owed by the Garrison of Revodan for that year.


    The second letter was from Major Moritz.


    The content was even simpler: the New Reclamation Legion troops of Mont Blanc County and Vernge County were assembling.

 Chapter 635 635 22 Resistance to Taxation

    ?Chapter 635: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation Chapter 635: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation With the current storage in Revodan, there is more than enough to meet the quota demanded by Maplestone City.


    But¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t give them anything! Damn it! Not a single grain!¡± Andre shouted angrily, ¡°They send a piece of paper over and expect us to obediently hand over grain and money? What if they demand our lives next? Should we give those too?¡±


    Winters fiddled with a small knife, ¡°I think that even if we give them the grain, Adams would still send his troops.¡±


    On the matter of refusing to send grain, the six of them reached a consensus without needing discussion.


    Refusing to give up the grain is easy, but what should they do next?


    The current situation is fraught with internal and external troubles.


    ...


    Outside, in Vernge County and Mont Blanc County, at least eight large enemy squads are gathering.


    Inside, the displaced people are a powder keg that could explode at any moment, and Revodan is similarly rife with undercurrents.


    Winters has no control over North Eight Towns and his influence in South Eight Towns is based on the support of the landowning class.


    Once the rebellion-quashing troops arrive, Revodan will welcome them again with open arms, and the gentry of South Eight Town will quickly prostrate themselves at the feet of the New Reclamation Legion.


    When it comes down to it, only the people of Wolf Town genuinely support Winters with all their hearts.


    The rest are all fair-weather friends, ready to follow whoever wins.


    In the battle to take Revodan, they had bitten off more than they could chew by swallowing a bigger fish. Before they could properly digest it, the Legion¡¯s fist swung their way.


    The second person responsible for the current predicament, Lieutenant Tang Juan said carelessly: ¡°The Colonel and I haven¡¯t been without consideration. Empty the granary, give up Revodan, and retreat to Wolf Town. If he wants to come, let him.¡±


    ¡°If he comes, we retreat; if he doesn¡¯t, we hold onto Revodan. At worst, it will just be the original planned outcome,¡± Colonel Moritz wasn¡¯t in a hurry either.


    It¡¯s easy to swallow but hard to spit out.


    Fortunately, they were not so enamored with a frontier city like Revodan that they lost sight of what mattered.


    Andre slammed the table with a bang, saying viciously, ¡°If we can¡¯t hold it, we won¡¯t leave it for them! Burn Revodan to the ground! Take the grain and retreat to Wolf Town and Blackwater Town! Two hundred kilometers of barren land will be enough for their supply line to suffer! If they dare to come, we¡¯ll eat them alive and push into Mont Blanc County and Vernge County.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Senior Mason couldn¡¯t suppress his laughter, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Maplestone City isn¡¯t determined to eliminate us at all costs this time. Not only should we not retreat, but we should also fight. If we hurt them enough, we should be able to remain stable until next May.¡±


    Senior Mason had been downcast since his return today, absent-minded in the meeting, and this was the first time he laughed heartily.


    Andre, irritated by the laughter, said, ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Mason propped his chin on his hand, asking in return, ¡°What happens in May next year?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Andre pressed on.


    Winters had already grasped Senior Mason¡¯s meaning, ¡°The wheat ripens!¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Mason said matter-of-factly. ¡°If I were General Adams, I would never launch a major offensive this winter. The Paratu People attack the Herders specifically during winter because the steppe roads are easier to travel, and it¡¯s also when the Herder¡¯s livestock are most vulnerable. On Paratu territory, the opposite is true.¡±


    Seeing the others listening intently, Senior Mason suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.


    He swallowed and explained, ¡°Winter is conducive to defense, not offense. If General Adams still has his wits about him, next May would be the best time for him to move his troops. The wheat ripens, reducing the pressure on supplies. If we abandon the city and retreat, they can harvest our wheat. If we stand firm, they can annihilate us.


    Our soldiers lack training and morale is low, and General Adams¡¯ troops also need training. Instead of rushing to fight us, it¡¯s better for him to train his troops this winter and launch an offensive next year when the wheat ripens. General Adams has greater financial resources, grain reserves, and military strength than us, so no matter how you look at it, time is on his side.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is,¡± Senior Mason said, spreading his hands and smiling awkwardly.


    The conference room was very quiet. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Well said!¡± Winters banged the table, cheering for Senior Mason.


    Banging tables, clinking glasses, and stomping feet were common ways to enliven the atmosphere in the Land Academy and the army. Winters had no glass at hand, and stomping feet would be lacking decorum, so banging the table was his only option.


    Bard and Tang Juan responded immediately, followed by Andre and Moritz.


    They banged the table so loudly it thundered like the sound of galloping hooves.


    The soldiers and clerks on the first floor looked up towards the conference room on the second floor, puzzled. Those unaware might have thought the officers were tearing down the house.


    ¡°We are earthen pots, and Adams is a porcelain vase,¡± Winters said, reminiscently quoting the teaching of a predecessor, ¡°Porcelain does not clash with earthenware.¡±


    Moritz lowered his eyelids and sighed softly.


    ¡°Adams, that cunning fellow, definitely doesn¡¯t want to fight us tooth and nail. In my view, he¡¯s preparing for both possibilities. If we collapse easily, he¡¯ll reclaim Revodan. If our ¡°earthen pot¡± turns out to be tough, he¡¯ll wait until next year and bring out a hammer to smash us. The actions this winter, at most, serve as a military exercise.¡±


    Winters declared definitively, ¡°We can¡¯t surrender Revodan!¡±


    With the goal now clear, the next step was to formulate a battle plan around it.


    Winters brought out a large-scale map that was still a work in progress, drawn based on maps collected by Colonel Jeska.


    As if suddenly remembering something, Colonel Moritz mentioned to Winters, ¡°With that being said, there¡¯s someone you need to meet.¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Of course, the one who brought the letter,¡± Colonel Moritz sipped the water from his glass, ¡°I¡¯ve brought him here.¡±

 Chapter 636 636 22 Resistance to Taxation_2

    ?Chapter 636: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation_2 Chapter 636: Chapter 22 Resistance to Taxation_2 ¡°`


    Winters went to see the messenger from the New Reclamation Legion. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tang Juan warmly embraced Senior Mason¡¯s shoulders in the conference room. ¡°Senior, our infantry and artillery are inseparable; we should drink together more often in the future.¡±


    Mason and Winters had a close relationship, and Juan had fought alongside Winters, who was also his direct senior.


    But Tang Juan and Richard Mason weren¡¯t really familiar with each other.


    Mason was from the artillery branch, while Juan was from the infantry; the two were only related as alumni.


    Moreover, with Juan¡¯s naturally awkward disposition and his reluctance to get close to others, it couldn¡¯t be said that they were particularly friendly toward each other.


    Juan¡¯s sudden warmth caught Mason off guard, and he could only nod repeatedly.


    ...


    Juan joked, ¡°Why don¡¯t you count, there are three from the cavalry branch, and just like that, cavalry occupies three votes. We from the infantry and artillery must unite to gather three votes and form a strategic balance with them.¡±


    Mason returned to his gloomy demeanor, nodding absentmindedly.


    ¡°Got a trouble weighing on your mind? Want me to share your worries?¡±


    ¡°Sigh,¡± Mason showed a bitter smile, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Come on, tell me.¡±


    ¡°I found time to visit the ranch today.¡±


    ¡°The ranch?¡± Juan frowned slightly. ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Damn Ronald!¡± Mason¡¯s voice trembled with sorrow and rage that he could no longer contain, and he cursed while slamming the table, ¡°He slaughtered all the breeding pigs that I raised with all my heart and effort!¡±


    ¡­


    In the garrison¡¯s prison, Winters met the messenger from the New Reclamation Legion.


    To his surprise, the messenger turned out to be a staff officer.


    The man was leaning against the wall, dozing off as if he was not in a damp and dark prison, but just napping in his living room at home.


    Upon seeing Winters, the officer greeted him with composure, ¡°Good day, Captain Montaigne.¡±


    Winters had never seen the man, and presumably the officer had never seen him either.


    ¡°And how should I address you?¡± Winters asked in return.


    ¡°Stiebel Zoltan, Major,¡± replied Major Stiebel with a smile, ¡°No need for salutes, or I¡¯d have to return it.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°Did you receive the headquarters¡¯ documents?¡± Major Stiebel shifted to a more comfortable position.


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°Good, even though I didn¡¯t personally hand them to you, my mission is accomplished,¡± Stiebel said with a smile, ¡°So what¡¯s your response?¡±


    Winters pulled a chair over and sat down, replying succinctly, ¡°No handover.¡±


    ¡°Captain Montaigne,¡± Major Stiebel brushed dust off his trousers, asking unhurriedly, ¡°Do you aspire to be a warlord?¡±


    ¡°Warlord? A warlord carves out territory, exploits the people, gambles on opportunities. I¡¯ve no desire to become a warlord,¡± Winters scoffed, ¡°In the Newly Reclaimed Lands, isn¡¯t Kevin Adams the biggest warlord?¡±


    The air in the cell grew three degrees colder.


    ¡°Regardless, General Adams has maintained order in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province; he didn¡¯t let the flames of war spread to the Newly Reclaimed Land.¡± Stiebel sighed, ¡°Do you think the people of the Newly Reclaimed Lands are suffering miserably? You should take a look at both shores of the Ashen Stream River¡ªthose were once Paratu¡¯s most fertile lands; you would know what hell on earth is.¡±


    Winters did not respond.


    ¡°General Adams is recruiting refugees to clear the land; he¡¯s pushing things in a positive direction,¡± Major Stiebel stared sternly at Winters, ¡°Pay up your quota, and if you want to play house in Iron Peak County, be my guest.¡±


    ¡°Not a single grain of wheat, not a spoonful of flour, I will give,¡± Winters said, locking eyes with the major, ¡°If General Adams wants them, let him come and get them himself.¡±


    ¡°General Adams keeps the flames of war out of the Newly Reclaimed Lands, yet you wish to start a raging inferno here,¡± Major Stiebel narrowed his eyes, ¡°Do you realize how many people you¡¯ll be killing? The number of people General Adams has killed to date won¡¯t even equal a fraction of those you¡¯ll end up killing.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to tell me this! Without shedding blood, there¡¯s no victory. We both know that,¡± Winters said, his gaze still fixed on the major¡¯s eyes, ¡°If my men aren¡¯t willing to die for me, you¡¯ll come to know. And if they are willing, you¡¯ll find out just the same. What I¡¯d like to know is, how many are willing to die for General Adams?¡±


    Stiebel let out a laugh mixed with a sigh, ¡°It seems I can¡¯t persuade you.¡±


    Winters did not speak. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught Major Stiebel¡¯s left thumb pressing against his ring finger.


    Winters¡¯s body felt as though plunged into icy water, his every hair standing on end.


    Without thinking, he immediately entered a spellcasting state and unleashed a fissure spell with all his might, pouring all his ¡°magic¡± into Major Stiebel¡¯s skull.


    With a ¡°bang,¡± Major Stiebel¡¯s skull was ripped apart.


    Blood and brains splattered all over Winters.


    Upon hearing the noise, Moritz burst into the cell.


    The sight that met his eyes was unnaturally gruesome: the messenger¡¯s skull had been torn to pieces, hanging off his shoulders. The slippery brain was exposed, only half remaining. The man¡¯s heart had not yet ceased to beat, with red fluid gushing out in spurts from the severed arteries.


    And Winters stood before the corpse, motionless.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Moritz frowned as he approached the body, starting to examine the deceased.


    ¡°This man,¡± Winters pondered aloud, ¡°might have been a Spellcaster.¡±


    ¡°Reason?¡± Moritz reached for the hidden pocket on the dead man¡¯s coat, trying to find casting materials.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 637 637 22 Tax Resistance_3

    ?Chapter 637: Chapter 22 Tax Resistance_3 Chapter 637: Chapter 22 Tax Resistance_3 Winters made a gesture¡ªhis left thumb pressing down on his ring finger, showing it to Colonel Moritz.


    His gesture was the standard spellcasting hand sign used by the Alliance spellcasters.


    Moritz stopped his movement, his brow furrowing even tighter.


    Winters had stopped using hand signs for spellcasting, since he fought using only two spells and saw no need for gestures; he was now pursuing speed and explosive power.


    Colonel Moritz had even less need for hand signs in his spellcasting, as he fought using only one spell.


    Perhaps it was precisely this slight advantage in speed that had just saved Winters.


    However, he was now uncertain whether the other party was indeed a spellcaster.


    ...


    Seeing through Winters¡¯ thoughts, Moritz spoke gravely, ¡°Don¡¯t fuss over it; if you killed him, you killed him. You did right¡ªif error must be made, better to kill wrongly than give him a chance.¡±


    General Adams was doomed not to receive Captain Montaigne¡¯s reply.


    Perhaps the absence of a reply was a clear response in itself. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a civil war, there¡¯s not only a complete absence of warmth but also a cruelty that exceeds outright combat between enemies and allies.


    Major Ronald¡¯s warnings were quickly confirmed by Winters.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Even though the flames had reached the edges of their boots, there were still things that needed to be done one by one.


    The top priority at the moment was dealing with the refugee camp.


    On the day following the delivery of the legion headquarters¡¯ documents, all the refugees outside the city had finally been screened, registered, and based on their region of origin, placed in sixteen small camps.


    Carrying a thick registry, Bard suddenly asked Winters and the others, ¡°Do you know what the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ is?¡±


    Religious matters had always been a blind spot in Winters¡¯ knowledge.


    But even the others didn¡¯t know what the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ was, finding the title quite scary just to hear.


    ¡°About 500 years ago, a king ordered a comprehensive survey of all the estates, tools, livestock, and population across the nation, measuring the area of all grasslands, pastures, farmland, forests, and ponds and estimating their value,¡± Bard said slowly.


    ¡°The final results were compiled into a book, which came to be known as the ¡®Domesday Book.¡¯ Its real name was actually ¡®The Land Tax Survey,¡¯ but it got its name because the king¡¯s surveyors were as stern as the Last Judgment, hence people called it the ¡®Domesday Book.''¡±


    Bard spoke earnestly, and Tang Juan and Andre pricked up their ears to listen closely.


    ¡°Guess how many years the nobles used a ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ for?¡± Bard asked again.


    ¡°A hundred years?¡± Andre ventured.


    ¡°No, it was 500 years. The Empire is still using the ¡®Domesday Book¡¯ to this day,¡± Bard said, his rough fingers caressing the thick spine of the registry: ¡°This is our ¡®Domesday Book.''¡±


    The massive effort of the census revealed that the total number of refugees outside the city of Revodan was 22,173.


    Among them, there were 6,873 males over the age of sixteen, making up 31%;


    8,869 females over the age of sixteen, comprising 40%;


    and 6,431 children under the age of sixteen, accounting for 29%.


    This one book represented 22,173 mouths waiting to be fed, 22,173 famished stomachs.


    But it also represented 22,173 pairs of hands capable of labor.


    The key was how to get them back into production.


    ¡°The population census is complete,¡± Winters announced proudly and excitedly, slapping a small knife on the table. ¡°Next, we distribute farmland to them!¡±


    ¡°Distribute land?¡± Bard closed the book, his eyes cold and firm: ¡°No, not a single acre of land will be given away!¡±

 Chapter 638 638 23 Colonization and Farming

    ?Chapter 638: Chapter 23 Colonization and Farming Chapter 638: Chapter 23 Colonization and Farming The sun had just risen when the refugee camp at Qingfeng Town fell into turmoil.


    Soldiers with long spears drawn in a line aggressively drove the refugees out of their tents, forcing them to assemble in the open space.


    Peter Black and Peter Fisher were among them.


    Bard stood on the cart in front of the open space, waiting for the refugees to gather.


    In his hand, he held a flagpole. There was no flag on it, but rather it was covered with a burlap sack.


    The shabbily dressed refugees stood silently, their bellies gnawing with hunger, utterly exhausted, their eyes numb.


    Seeing that all the people in the camp had been brought over, Bard leveled the flagpole and slowly removed the burlap sack covering its top.


    ...


    The refugees couldn¡¯t help but gasp softly.


    The dirty coarse burlap was torn away.


    A large emblem made of gold shone brilliantly in the sunlight.


    Twelve pigeon egg-sized rubies were intricately inlaid on the emblem, reflecting a captivating halo.


    Those with keen eyesight had already recognized what it was.


    ¡°This is the emblem of Saint Ados! The relic fragment is preserved within it!¡± Bard held the flagpole with both hands in front of him, sweeping his gaze over the crowd, his voice demanding, ¡°Those who believe in the only Savior! Kneel immediately to pay homage!¡±


    An elderly woman at the forefront of the crowd was the first to prostrate herself on the ground,


    and like a great wave passing over, others quickly knelt down one after another, including the soldiers who also knelt on one knee.


    ¡°Our Father in heaven!¡± Bard recited the Lord¡¯s Prayer loudly.


    The people murmured in a soft chorus, ¡°Our Father in heaven.¡±


    Bard continued to recite, ¡°Hallowed be thy name¡­¡±


    He recited a line, and the crowd followed in kind, ¡°Hallowed be thy name¡­¡±


    The voices of the people praying in unison became louder and louder, converging together; many even shed tears. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Refugees from other camps rushed as well, crowding by their fences, eager to see what was happening.


    ¡°For ever and ever!¡± As Bard finished, he said, ¡°Rise!¡±


    ¡°For ever and ever!¡± The crowd followed suit and stood up.


    Bard handed the [Saint Ados Emblem] to Ish beside him¡ªthe Ish from Ganshui Town.


    The Ish from Ganshui Town, overcome with emotion, grasped the flagpole firmly, not allowing it to tilt in the slightest.


    On the day the city fell into chaos, the Revodan Cathedral was first looted and then set ablaze. Although the fire was quickly extinguished, all the valuable liturgical vessels inside the cathedral had been stolen.


    The Saint Ados Emblem held by Bard was indeed recovered from the hands of the criminals.


    ¡°Those who follow the will of the Lord, you will be saved!¡± Leading the crowd in prayer, Bard naturally began to preach to the people, ¡°Many centuries ago¡­ the Prophet parted the sea, leading the people into the wilderness¡­¡±


    His sermon was simple, merely recounting the scriptural story of ¡°the Prophet parting the sea, leading the people to wander in the wilderness for forty years, and finally reaching the land flowing with milk and honey.¡±


    Bard was not a Protestant, nor was he old church clergy; he had no right to carry out the rituals.


    But when he preached, everyone listened.


    After the sermon, the son of a serf from Greenheart Monastery¡ªBard from Gerard Village¡ªlooked into the eyes of the refugees, his face expressionless as he announced their fate:


    ¡°Yesterday, the military administration of Iron Peak County passed the [Poor Relief Decree]. According to the decree, all refugees are subject to martial law with immediate effect, and the military administration will provide you with food! Housing! Agricultural tools! And land!¡±


    Bard allowed no time for contemplation, his voice cold and merciless, ¡°But from today, you will no longer be completely free people. You will be equivalent to serfs, henceforth farming and clearing land within the settlement farms!¡±


    Even the most uninformed refugees were shocked at this moment.


    The crowd began to whisper among themselves, their voices spreading and the camp getting louder.


    Bard bellowed, ¡°Silence!¡±


    People abruptly closed their mouths, and the camp fell suddenly quiet, a testament to the lingering influence of punitive discipline.


    ¡°The Prophet led the people through the wilderness for a full forty years before entering the Promised Land,¡± Bard pronounced to the refugees, unquestioningly, like a sermon: ¡°By the grace of the Republic and the Lord, you only need seven years!¡±


    The refugees were confused; even the soldiers listened carefully.


    The autumn wind swept through the camp, carrying Bard¡¯s voice to every ear: ¡°In the witness of the Lord, the Republic makes a covenant with you. After three years of labor as serfs, you will transition to being sharecroppers, no longer subject to martial law. After another four years of labor as sharecroppers, you will be eligible to redeem the land, regain your complete freedom, and become true freehold farmers.¡±


    Bard opened the [Book of Judgment] and handed it to the proclaimer who had come from Revodan, ¡°As I call each name, step forward. Kiss the emblem, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Swear your allegiance!¡±


    The proclaimer took the [Book of Judgment] with both hands. His usual job was tallying votes in town meetings and reading announcements in marketplaces; he had never experienced a situation like this before.


    His Adam¡¯s apple bobbed as he struggled to read out the first name, ¡°Peter Black from Shibi Village!¡±


    Upon hearing his name called, Peter Black¡¯s legs shook uncontrollably.


    He hadn¡¯t expected to be the first called, nor had he clearly heard what the priest was saying.


    All he vaguely heard was ¡°distribution of food,¡± ¡°distribution of land,¡± and ¡°becoming a serf.¡±


    ¡°Survive, and there will be a way.¡±


    Suddenly, Peter Black recalled the words of the gentleman he didn¡¯t know.


    He swallowed with difficulty, his body stiff as he walked forward, kissed the gold and jeweled emblem, and swore his allegiance.

 Chapter 639 639 23 Agricultural Colonization_2

    ?Chapter 639: Chapter 23 Agricultural Colonization_2 Chapter 639: Chapter 23 Agricultural Colonization_2 ¡°Peter Campbell of Waterside Village!¡± Bard read out the second name.


    No one stepped forward.


    Bard narrowed his eyes and repeated, ¡°Peter Campbell of Waterside Village!¡±


    A young man reluctantly walked out of the crowd; he was lean and gaunt with exceptionally large eyes that were darting about. His mouth was slightly crooked, which was why he was registered as Campbell.


    The young man shuffled to the side of the carriage but was unwilling to kiss the holy emblem. He sneakily glanced at the ¡°father officer¡¯s¡± expression and stammered, ¡°Sir, I am not a peasant, I am from Revodan, I can¡¯t farm.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you claim to be a peasant when you registered?¡± asked Bard, expressionless.


    The young man had no answer.


    ...


    He was an idler from Revodan, who, on the day the city fell, had hoped to profit from the chaos by tying a red string on his shoulder and going out to loot the streets.


    However, the attacking army swiftly turned to suppress the unrest, restore order, and round up the looters.


    Fearful, he followed the refugees out of the city and hid in the refugee camp. He slipped through the screening process, claiming to be a tenant farmer when he registered.


    Seeing that he was silent, Bard asked kindly, ¡°You don¡¯t want to farm?¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± the rogue braced himself and replied, ¡°I can¡¯t farm.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    The rogue was overjoyed, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, Sir! Thank you¡­¡±


    Bard pointed at him, showing no emotion, ¡°Seize him!¡±


    Ish passed the flagpole to someone else and with one kick, knocked the rogue to the ground, quickly binding him securely.


    Now, the young rascal was completely panicked, ¡°Sir! I am willing to work on the farm! I really am!¡±


    ¡°Shut him up!¡± Bard ordered.


    Ish, wearing iron gloves, delivered a hard slap, knocking the rogue out cold.


    ¡°Anyone who does not accept the Poor Relief Contract is a criminal,¡± Bard decreed mercilessly to the now unconscious rogue, ¡°By the power granted to me under the ¡®Poor Relief Decree,¡¯ I sentence you to twenty years of labour. Take him away!¡±


    Ish dragged the rogue, who had passed himself off as Peter, out of the camp as if he were dragging a corpse.


    ¡°You have only two paths to choose from!¡± Bard looked at the refugees again, ¡°Either go and farm on the military estates, regaining your free status after seven years; or serve a twenty-year labor sentence and gain freedom after that. Choose how you want to live! Next!¡±


    ¡°Peter Fisher of Shibi Village!¡± the crier called out, trembling.


    Peter Fisher, who had just been feeling sorry for Peter Black, was now so frightened he was near soiling himself.


    He clenched his teeth and moved his feet. Not quite understanding what was said, he only caught two words ¡°seven years¡± and ¡°land.¡±


    Being nothing more than a destitute hired hand, even the worst situation could not rob him of much more.


    Peter ¡°Dead Fish Eyes¡± Fisher approached the carriage, bowed his head, and kissed the holy emblem, swearing his loyalty.


    Following the lead of Peter Black and Peter Fisher, the others, whether willingly or not, obediently accepted their fate.


    Even if they wanted to resist, they couldn¡¯t do it.


    The control that Winters and Bard exercised over the refugees was divided into three phases:


    The first phase [encirclement], not letting a single refugee slip away;


    The second phase [screening and registration], identifying those bandits and scoundrels hiding among the peasants, selecting craftsmen and self-sufficient farmers from the refugees, and registering the remaining landless farmhands;


    The third phase [redistribution], splitting up the mass of refugees into smaller groups to prevent any coordinated effort or uprising.


    By the third phase, more than twenty thousand refugees had been divided into sixteen camps.


    Some camps had as many as two thousand people, while others had fewer than nine hundred, with nearly one-third of them being children.


    Although the population of each camp still far outnumbered Bard¡¯s soldiers, with the help of three hundred-man teams, they could easily suppress any dissent in an individual camp.


    Moreover, many of the refugee farmers had families to care for; even if they wanted to rebel, they had to think of their loved ones. They didn¡¯t have the capacity to fight.


    The farmers with families did not oppose this ¡°contract¡±; they were eager to secure sustenance for their wives, children, and elderly.


    Some farmers were reluctant in their hearts, but after being called upon, just like the others, they went to the carriage, kissed the holy emblem, and swore their loyalty¡ªeven they didn¡¯t know why they did so.


    ¡­


    As Bard watched the refugees come forward one after another, he remembered the words he had spoken in the barracks meeting room yesterday:


    ¡°Distribute land? What land to distribute? We are not building a utopia!¡±


    ¡°Self-sufficient farmers need land, from where do we get land for them? All arable land has owners; land without owners is waste land! The self-sufficient farmers need houses, from where do we get houses for them? Self-sufficient farmers need livestock and ploughs, and again, we can¡¯t provide those!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t possibly turn refugees into self-sufficient farmers overnight! Not to mention, I never intended to do such a thing!¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about saving the world. Playing the savior is more hated than being simply a villain. The peasants can accept you treating them like the nobility, but they can¡¯t accept you being a good person!¡±


    ¡°They can accept a god as a savior, but they can¡¯t accept a person as one!¡±


    ¡°You distribute land and food to them, they might momentarily see you as a god! But the day they realize you are human, they will immediately spit on you, betray you.¡±


    ¡°So whatever we do, it has to originate from our interests. Only in this way, when one day they betray us, can we accept it without complaint.¡±


    ¡°If someone thinks this is exploitation, then that¡¯s exactly what I am going to do¡ªI will exploit them!¡±

 Chapter 640 640 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3

    ?Chapter 640: Chapter 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3 Chapter 640: Chapter 23 Colonize and Cultivate_3 ¡°Don¡¯t think about saving everyone; that¡¯s a feat only a god can achieve,¡± Bard said, clenching his fist and looking directly into Winters¡¯ eyes. ¡°If we can save half of the people, we can rest easy in heaven, or in hell.¡±


    ¡­


    All refugees at the Qingfeng Town camp took oaths, and Bard ordered the documents to be posted on the camp¡¯s bulletin board. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next day at dawn, [Qingfeng Camp] would set off for South Eight Town in Iron Peak County, and the other fifteen ¡°camps¡± would also depart in sequence.


    Bard planned to take all the refugees to Wolfton Town, Blackwater Town, Wugou Town, Niutigu Valley, and Shizhen.


    These were the most desolate lands at the southwestern tip of Iron Peak County and farthest from the enemy.


    He knew that the vast majority of refugees hadn¡¯t fully grasped what he had said, and he also lacked the time to explain things to them in detail. But that was alright; they would understand in time.


    ...


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bard mounted his horse with a step and took the Saint Ados Emblem. ¡°To the next camp.¡±


    ¡­


    Compared to the solemn and oppressive atmosphere of the refugee camps, the mood where Winters was seemed relatively relaxed.


    The looming great war meant that Bard and Mason were handling the big and small affairs of the refugee camps.


    Winters was completely focused on reorganizing the military forces.


    Of primary importance was turning the captives from the Ronald Division into his own soldiers.


    Initially, Montaigne¡¯s stationed officers had wanted to select able-bodied refugees for enlistment, but they soon realized there was no need to do so.


    Because Major Ronald had already completed that task for them.


    The troops under Ronald¡¯s command were composed of the strongest adult males from among the refugees.


    Moreover, the officers from the former Revodan garrison had provided these ¡°new recruits¡± with basic military training.


    Recruiting, training¡ªthe commendable Major Ronald had taken care of it all, sparing Winters much trouble.


    The four large squads that originally belonged to Ronald now had four different destinations.


    Three centurion teams were led away by Bard, Andre, and Mason;


    A small portion were currently on the ¡°labor farm¡± in Wolf Town¡ªthose caught when Winters ambushed the sortie for food supplies.


    Samukjin was in charge of overseeing them with the militia from various villages in Wolf Town, and as per Winters¡¯ arrangement, they were likely felling trees and building houses.


    An additional small portion had deserted on the retreat route; back then, they were still Ronald¡¯s soldiers.


    The rest were captured by Winters, totaling 1,178 men.


    Winters firstly eliminated all soldiers of Revodan origin.


    Afterward, he added a small number of strong men from the refugees.


    Finally, he appointed his old subordinates as centurions and decurions in the new troops.


    According to Winters¡¯ structure, the new troops were reorganized into one hundred arrows, 1,200 men in total.


    If this were a standing army, such size could already employ phalanx tactics.


    But Winters was short on muskets, so all the hundred arrows were spearmen.


    In the previous Imperial military system, soldiers recruited from different territories, counties, and states were separately organized into regiments.


    A ¡°regiment¡± was not only a military unit but also a recruitment and administrative unit, which suited the current situation of Winters¡¯ forces well.


    The provisional number that Winters gave to these 1,200 soldiers was [Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment], with ten provisional centurion teams under its command.


    In addition, there were three centurion teams of ¡°old troops¡± led by Bard, Andre, and Mason¡ªstructured outside of the infantry regiment.


    Winters had originally planned to mix these battle-experienced soldiers into the new troops, but the counterattack from the New Reclamation Legion came too quickly for the new troops to develop combat effectiveness.


    So rather than spread himself thin, it was better to form a tighter fist.


    Thus, Winters refrained from making major changes to his three most reliable centurion teams for the time being, only drafting some of the veterans to serve as military officers in the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment.


    His troops now had flesh and bones, but the army was still lifeless, hardly even qualifying as an army.


    They were nothing more than a group of refugees struggling for a scrap of bread.


    This army lacked a soul.


    Next, Winters had to ensure his soldiers truly became his ¡°warriors.¡±

 Chapter 641 641 24 Granting Fields

    ?Chapter 641: Chapter 24 Granting Fields Chapter 641: Chapter 24 Granting Fields The troops once stationed by Ronald¡ªnow known as [the newly-formed Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment]¡ªwere led by Commander Montaigne towards the southwest of Revodan.


    They marched on a country dirt road, their sight dominated by desolate wild fields.


    Only Iron Peak stood solitary in front of them, like a friend.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t know where they were headed, which made them somewhat anxious.


    After their surrender, life had been relatively good for them. They hadn¡¯t been beaten nor starved, and no one had been executed.


    So they docilely accepted the authority of the ¡°Montaigne-stationed officers,¡± like sheep acquiring a new master.


    What else could it be? It was just someone else handing out bread.


    ...


    ¡­


    After half an hour¡¯s march towards Forging Village with the [New Iron Regiment], Winters saw some signs of life again.


    Hence, the troop stopped in front of a small hillside.


    The centurions and sergeants ran and cursed among the ranks, shaping the formation into orderly lines.


    Winters, mounted on his horse, inspected his troops.


    Twelve hundred men, one hundred arrows. Not much, thirty times forty.


    But also not a small number; twelve hundred warriors would be a force not to be taken lightly.


    Once the formation was complete, it was time for the commander to give a speech.


    Winters dismounted and stood on the hillside where everyone could see him.


    ¡°Among you, those without land,¡± Winters didn¡¯t have to shout, but his words carried well to the soldiers, ¡°take one step forward.¡±


    The soldiers looked at each other, and Tamas¡ªnow the centurion, formerly decurion, one of Winters¡¯s old veterans from Wolf Town, a long-term worker from the Bunting family¡ªstepped forward with an expressionless face.


    The others followed, taking a step forward.


    ¡°Among you, those who have ever tilled the land for others,¡± Winters¡¯s voice echoed on the hillside, ¡°take one step forward.¡±


    Tamas and the other centurions took the lead again, and the soldiers moved another step forward.


    ¡°Among you, those who wish to own and cultivate their own land¡ªtake one step forward.¡±


    All moved neatly forward, as though the forest itself shifted.


    Winters hadn¡¯t rehearsed, nor had he colluded with his old subordinates; for a small scene like this, he didn¡¯t need to prepare in advance.


    The New Iron Regiment was the unit he had poured all his efforts into; each soldier, sergeant, and centurion was carefully selected by him.


    He deliberately shaved off soldiers from Revodan origin, deliberately excluded those from freeholder families, and deliberately didn¡¯t assign any old Dusack veterans into it.


    The New Iron Regiment¡¯s one hundred arrows, its twelve hundred men, all came from landless peasant backgrounds.


    Winters had even higher expectations for this regiment than for the three hundred-man units of Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    ¡°Sit,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°sit down to talk. If you all stand, those at the back will be blocked by those in front.¡±


    The old soldiers promptly sat on the ground, followed by the others settling down.


    ¡°Why are you unwilling to cultivate land for others?¡± Winters asked.


    No one answered, which was expected.


    Winters pointed to a soldier in the front row, ¡°You, stand up, you speak.¡±


    The short soldier stood up, baffled.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Peter,¡± the short soldier replied nervously. He hastily added, ¡°Peter Buniel¡­ the one you named¡­¡±


    Winters walked over to him and asked again, ¡°Why are you unwilling to cultivate land for others?¡±


    Peter swallowed, stammering, ¡°Being a long-term worker, you only get¡­ only wages¡­¡±


    Peter¡¯s voice was faint, yet to his surprise, it carried loudly in his ears.


    His voice clearly reached every person¡¯s ear, albeit slightly unstable, fluctuating in volume.


    This was a spell technique once demonstrated by Colonel Field, not to amplify the spellcaster¡¯s voice but to provide a stable amplification for an external source of sound.


    Winters couldn¡¯t quite achieve Field¡¯s finesse, but it was sufficient.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t good wages enough?¡±


    Peter looked down, fixating on the tips of his shoes, ¡°Hired workers can¡¯t save money.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t hired workers save money?¡±


    Peter couldn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°I have seen such a thing happen,¡± Winters let Peter Buniel sit down and spoke to the other soldiers, ¡°A team of hired workers protected a caravan to Revodan. This was their only chance to save up for the whole year, so they willingly risked their lives. The manor lord kept his word, paying them their bounty and wages in Revodan.¡±


    The soldiers listened in silence, hearing of their own experiences.


    ¡°Tell me, what happened next?¡± Winters asked, ¡°Did the hired workers save any money?¡±


    No one responded again.


    When silence fell upon the hillside, Winters calmly began, ¡°No, not a penny. They spent all their money on drink and women.¡±


    As a cloud obscured the sun, some soldiers bowed their heads. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Should we blame them for this?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze swept the crowd; eyes looked away wherever his gaze landed, ¡°Of course! Whose fault is it that they couldn¡¯t resist spending the money as soon as they got it?¡±


    An ever more oppressive silence fell on the hillside; one could almost hear the beating of hearts.


    ¡°But you must understand!¡± Winters declared, ¡°This was precisely what the manor lords wanted! They knew the peasants labored all year, longing for even momentary pleasure! And yet, they deliberately settled the wages in Revodan! They intentionally let it come to this and then condemned the peasants¡¯ morality!¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you gone through these things? Haven¡¯t you ever thought about it?¡± Winters pressed, spelling out each word, ¡°What the manor lords want is for slaves to remain slaves generation after generation, for tenant farmers to remain tenant farmers generation after generation. For hired workers to stay hired workers their whole lives until, old and unable to work, they are kicked to the curb for younger, stronger ones.¡±

 Chapter 642 642 24 Granting Land_2

    ?Chapter 642: Chapter 24 Granting Land_2 Chapter 642: Chapter 24 Granting Land_2 All soldiers subconsciously swallowed.


    ¡°You, stand up.¡± Winters forcefully pulled a front-row soldier up from the ground, ¡°You tell me! You don¡¯t have land, why don¡¯t you clear the wilderness?¡±


    ¡°The wasteland¡­ the wasteland belongs to the government¡­ needs to be bought¡­¡± The soldier looked around in panic, seeking help, ¡°Clearing land at will is illegal.¡±


    Winters pressed down the answering soldier and pulled up another one, ¡°Why don¡¯t you buy it?¡±


    ¡°Buy¡­ can¡¯t afford it.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you afford it?¡± This time he asked a third soldier.


    The questioned soldier couldn¡¯t come up with an answer.


    ...


    ¡°Speak! Why can¡¯t you afford it?¡± Winters glared.


    The questioned soldier still couldn¡¯t come up with an answer.


    ¡°Why?!¡± Winters asked a third time, ¡°Can¡¯t afford it?!¡± Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have money!¡± The questioned soldier answered, trembling.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just because you have no money. It¡¯s also because the land is too expensive! Land prices have been pushed so high that even self-sustaining farmers can¡¯t afford new land. Only the manor lords, only they have the money to buy land. So they own more and more land, while others can only labor for them.¡±


    ¡°I will not hide my intentions from you.¡± Winters looked into the eyes of these soldiers of impoverished backgrounds, ¡°I have raised an army in rebellion, to smash the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s unfair dominion over this land, and to establish a new Republic on top of their corpses. A Republic where the majority can survive! This is my ideal, and I can tell you now clearly and plainly.¡±


    The hillside was silent.


    ¡°You may not understand it now, but you will understand it eventually.¡± Winters sighed softly in his heart, smiled, and said loudly, ¡°I brought you here today, not to preach grand principles to you, nor to spout nonsense, empty talk, crap! I brought you here, to let you understand what I am going to do!¡±


    He infused a hint of unease and a hint of anticipation in the crowd.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Winters shouted, ¡°Those who want to own their land, all stand up for me!¡±


    One thousand two hundred soldiers stood up in unison.


    ¡°March! Walk!¡±


    Winters leapt onto his horse and led from the front. The column followed him, marching towards the top of the hill along the road.


    When the soldiers stood on the hilltop, fields of farmland appeared before their eyes.


    Half of the fields were overgrown with weeds, while the soil of the other half had been turned over, presenting two distinct colors: yellow-green and dark black.


    Many warhorses pulling heavy plows with moldboards struggled to walk through the fields, reclaiming more abandoned farmlands, preparing for the planting of winter crops.


    The soldiers looked at the farmland below the hillside with longing¡ªno farmer does not want more land.


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Winters rode in front of them, laughing heartily and joyously, ¡°Each of you¡ªevery single one! From the moment you serve as soldiers for me, each will receive twenty hectares! As long as I am alive, this land is yours, and no one can take it away!¡±


    The soldiers stood still, dazed by the news and also because they did not understand what twenty hectares meant.


    The farmers of Paratu were more accustomed to using the old system to calculate land.


    Twenty hectares? Seems like a lot?


    ¡°Twenty hectares!¡± Winters pointed with his riding crop towards the farmland below, ¡°That¡¯s two Munce! Nineteen Bonnier! Two hundred thousand square meters!¡±


    Munce, a land tax unit, was enough to sustain a peasant family¡ªnot a small family of three to five, but a large extended family of over twenty people.


    In the Newly Reclaimed Land, owning half a Vergt¡ªfive hectares of land¡ªwas enough to be considered a middle farmer.


    Two Munce? Everyone subconsciously swallowed again.


    ¡­


    The land given to soldiers must be more than what is given to the displaced!


    Very utilitarian, but such is reality.


    Displaced persons only need to work for seven years to redeem the land and become self-sustaining farmers, who would then be willing to serve as soldiers?


    According to Bard¡¯s plan, each soldier would be given ten hectares, roughly one Munce. Upon completion of their service, they would receive this land.


    But Winters determined straight away¡ªtwenty hectares!


    ¡°Am I a Venetian, or are you? The battle hasn¡¯t been won yet! There¡¯s no need to be stingy now,¡± Winters retorted to his companions, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between Dusack and the farmers?¡±


    ¡°No difference!¡± He answered his own question, ¡°It¡¯s just more land! Enough land to afford their warhorses and weapons! Enough land that they are willing to pay the blood tax!¡±


    ¡°And in this world, the most warlike and capable fighters are self-sustaining farmers! Not knights! Nor are they citizens!¡± Winters pushed through the ¡°twenty hectare¡± decree incontrovertibly, ¡°Give twenty hectares!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°Go down and take a look!¡±


    The column moved down the hillside, heading towards the estate below the hill.


    Many people ran out from the fields and houses, rushing toward the soldiers.


    ¡°That¡­ that¡¯s my wife!¡± A soldier shouted with joy, ¡°It¡¯s mine!¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s my family!¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡±


    The decree was twenty hectares for each soldier, but it could not be implemented immediately.


    Moreover, the soldiers were all serving, and giving them the land would mean it lay fallow.


    But Winters wanted them to see a real, tangible twenty hectares.


    So he sifted the soldiers¡¯ families out from among the displaced people, bringing them to Forging Village.


    All the land of the estates in Forging Village was now in Winters¡¯ hands, acquired either through lease, redemption, or intimidation and persuasion.

 Chapter 643 643 24 Granting Fields_3

    ?Chapter 643: Chapter 24 Granting Fields_3 Chapter 643: Chapter 24 Granting Fields_3 The next step was simple: he distributed land to the soldiers¡¯ families, along with farming tools, draft horses, and seeds.


    He needn¡¯t worry about the rest ¡ª did peasants need him to teach them how to farm?


    Lonely soldiers looked on enviously as other soldiers waved their arms frantically to their families.


    They dared not call out because military discipline restrained them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold back!¡± Winters ordered loudly, ¡°Shout it out!¡±


    There was silence in the ranks at first.


    ¡°Jenna!¡± Suddenly, a soldier cried out for his wife.


    ...


    In an instant, countless names were flung in all directions.


    The soldiers¡¯ families also called out their names; some women covered their faces and wept, while soldiers surreptitiously wiped away tears.


    ¡°Dad!¡± Tamas shouted to the sky, ¡°Mom!¡±


    The soldiers watched as the Centurion yelled himself hoarse, but few knew that Tamas¡¯s parents were no longer of this world.


    The Iron Peak County Infantry reformed on the dirt road amid the fields, watched by the families of soldiers.


    Winters read out the ¡°Twenty Hectare Decree¡± to everyone.


    The decree was straightforward: modeled on Dusack¡¯s land grant system, each male was granted twenty hectares, serving a term of seven years;


    Achieve merit, and the term of service is reduced;


    Gain promotion, and be granted more land;


    If killed in action, the land is directly inherited by family members;


    Show cowardice, desert, or violate military discipline, and, in addition to punishment, land grants are partially to completely revoked depending on the severity.


    Afterward, Xial and Heinrich distributed three silver shields to each soldier along with a deed.


    ¡°Three silver shields, that¡¯s your first term of military pay. On the paper, the complete ¡®Twenty Hectare Decree¡¯ is printed.¡±


    Winters rode slowly past the front of the column, inspecting his troops again: ¡°From today on, you are my soldiers. As long as I am alive, as long as I haven¡¯t been defeated, this land is yours, and no one can take it away!¡±


    The soldiers of Iron Peak County Infantry looked at Commander Montaigne, each with a different expression.


    Winters didn¡¯t expect to turn peasants into warriors in the blink of an eye; they would need tempering.


    Only through tempering could they be transformed from raw iron into weapons.


    Winters also didn¡¯t expect to win the soldiers¡¯ loyalty immediately with the ¡°Twenty Hectares.¡±


    Only when the soldiers sweated on their own plots of land, only when they walked the furrows with a plow, only when they personally harvested the heavy heads of wheat.


    Only then could he truly earn their loyalty.


    Winters was well aware that if he failed, all this would vanish like smoke in the air.


    He had to erect an enemy, turn the enemy into something like a ¡°person¡± but not a ¡°person.¡±


    This was a skill Winters learned from the White Lion, a cruel yet realistic Machiavellian tactic.


    ¡°The land, I have given it to you,¡± Winters took a deep breath, his voice demanded an answer, ¡°But what if someone disagrees, what then?!¡±


    ¡°If someone wants to snatch your land back from your hands, what then?!¡±


    ¡°If someone wants to turn you back into serfs, hired hands, tenants, what then?!¡±


    ¡°Will you agree to hand over the land again?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!!¡± Tamas shouted loudly.


    ¡°Only you disagree?¡± Winters sneered, ¡°What about the rest of you? Are you all spineless, deserving to be bullied? Oppressed? Doomed to be laborers generation after generation?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!¡± the soldiers began to speak.


    ¡°I can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!¡± the soldiers raised their voices. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I! Can¡¯t! Hear! You!¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t agree!!!¡± The newly independent freehold farmers yelled at the top of their lungs.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters lifted his riding crop, ¡°Then follow me into battle! Defend everything you have gained today! The devils that come to seize your land, slay them all!¡±

 Chapter 644 644 25 Poppy Flowers

    ?Chapter 644: Chapter 25 Poppy Flowers Chapter 644: Chapter 25 Poppy Flowers ¡°`


    Leaving Revodan and trekking two hundred kilometers east along the main road, one would arrive at Falconflower Fort.


    Falconflower Fort is the capital of Mont Blanc County, located on the plains in the heart of the county, named after the iris flowers that blanket the hillsides.


    As Winters was pointing out the enemy to his soldiers, one of the enemy ¡ª Captain Hudson, who oversaw intelligence at Falconflower Fort, entered a mysterious room deep within the fortress.


    Inside and outside the room were like two different worlds: it was crisp and autumnal outside, while inside, mist hung in the air, warm and comfortable.


    This was a single-person bath, and within the roughly two-meter-wide, three-meter-long bathtub, a man was soaking leisurely in the bath.


    However, from Captain Hudson¡¯s perspective, all he could see was a head as smooth as an egg¡­


    People generally consider long, thick, and lustrous hair to be beautiful. Many would even spend a fortune on wigs just for the sake of vanity.


    ...


    Therefore, there was only one scenario that would lead a man to become bald.


    That was if he tragically lost his hair and, in despair, shaved off what remained until his scalp was polished smooth.


    From this minor detail, one could deduce that his heart must be as cold and unfeeling as stone.


    ¡°Colonel,¡± Captain Hudson reported, ¡°the Floating Bridge is ready.¡±


    The bald man referred to as ¡°Colonel¡± nodded, without a word.


    ¡°Lieutenant Woods has selected a few bridge-laying spots, would you like to take a look?¡±


    ¡°Study it amongst yourselves,¡± the bald colonel stretched his shoulders languidly: ¡°By the way, what¡¯s that kid from Iron Peak County up to lately?¡±


    A conflicted expression crossed Captain Hudson¡¯s face: ¡°According to our informants, the rebel leader Winters Montagne has been¡­ extorting wealth recently.¡±


    ¡°Extorting wealth? Tell me more,¡± the bald colonel¡¯s interest was suddenly piqued.


    He turned to face Captain Hudson, revealing to him a face that had half been destroyed.


    A huge dark red scar tissue covered his left cheek, as if someone had blown up his face and then haphazardly pieced it back together.


    No matter how many times Hudson saw that scar, it always filled him with an intrinsic fear.


    How the colonel had survived such a grave injury was even more curious.


    Unfortunately, the bald man never spoke of the incident, and neither did anyone dare to ask.


    ¡°He¡¯s been forcing donations from the Revodan merchants. He¡¯s also issued numerous recorded debts, coercing the merchants from Revodan to subscribe to them. It¡¯s creating quite a stir,¡± Captain Hudson sighed helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s a disgrace to the Land Academy.¡±


    The bald colonel laughed heartily, causing the water to tremble.


    He then made excuses for the rebel leader: ¡°There was no other way, who made Iron Peak County so poor. He needs to fund his troops but has no money, so he has to scrape it off the merchants.¡±


    ¡°Venetian,¡± Captain Hudson let out a chuckle.


    ¡°Got any more intelligence? He can¡¯t just be busy scraping money together all the time, right?¡±


    ¡°Rebel leader Winters Montagne is also repairing walls and digging deep trenches. Looks like he wants to hunker down in Revodan and have a tough fight with us,¡± Hudson informed. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Given his fewer men, holding the city is the most logical strategy,¡± the bald colonel smacked his lips and said, ¡°But his determination to retreat into a shell makes things a bit difficult.¡±


    Hudson spoke dismissively, ¡°I don¡¯t think he has what it takes. They say the first thing he did after breaking into Revodan was to bring in his wife. The commander is completely indulgent in pleasures. How can his troops possibly be combat effective?¡±


    ¡°Then how did Ronald lose?¡± the bald colonel asked with a sneer.


    Hudson fell silent, considering his words carefully: ¡°Rash, underestimated the enemy, bad luck¡­¡±


    The bald colonel laughed again, ¡°You might as well just say Ronald is incompetent.¡±


    Hudson looked embarrassed.


    ¡°But Ronald is not incompetent, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been entrusted with the military leadership of a county as a lieutenant colonel,¡± the bald colonel mused, scratching his scalp: ¡°Besides, considering that kid¡¯s anti-tax proclamation, he doesn¡¯t seem like someone greedy for material pleasures.¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t think so either. He is from Sea Blue, how could he become so indulgent after entering Revodan? But judging by his actions, he has indeed become corrupt,¡± Hudson remarked.


    A smile crossed the bald colonel¡¯s face, ¡°Maybe he¡¯s doing it to deliberately confuse us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a possibility.¡±


    ¡°Either way, it doesn¡¯t matter,¡± the bald colonel settled back into the water comfortably: ¡°He¡¯s got just over a thousand soldiers, and what¡¯s more, they¡¯re all captive. Eight battalions striking from two sides; no matter how cunning he is, he¡¯s doomed.¡±


    Hudson nodded.


    Then, he started again, ¡°Moreover, the intelligence indicates that there¡¯s severe power struggle within the rebels. One can assume that their combat capabilities have further weakened.¡±


    ¡°Power struggle?¡± the bald colonel raised an eyebrow: ¡°Already? Are they starting a fight for supremacy now?¡±


    ¡°Yes, power struggle. Rebel leader Winters Montagne has been pushing aside rebel commanders Bard Gerald and Richard Mason. He¡¯s stripped them of their military power and sent them off to relocate refugees.


    Another rebel commander, Andreya Chelini, has been absent for a long time; it is presumed that she died in the internal strife. The rebels are now completely dictated by Winters Montagne alone, young and vigorous, yet not understanding the need to share power, which is to be expected.¡±


    The bald colonel showed no concern for the other information; he furrowed his brow and queried, ¡°Relocating refugees? What¡¯s that about?¡±


    ¡°Our informant reported that Montagne is driving the refugees around Revodan to the southwestern area of Iron Peak County. He has assigned Bard and Mason to oversee this,¡± Hudson explained.


    The bald colonel abruptly stood up from the water, unconcerned about his nudity: ¡°The report, bring it to me.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 645 645 25 Swallowtail Flower_2

    ?Chapter 645: Chapter 25 Swallowtail Flower_2 Chapter 645: Chapter 25 Swallowtail Flower_2 ¡°`


    Captain Hudson had grown accustomed to such scenes and had long since averted his gaze. He took out a copied letter and handed it to the colonel.


    The bald colonel opened the window regardless of the chilly autumn wind, squinting his eyes to carefully read the intelligence report in the light from outside.


    After a while, he closed the window and handed the letter back to Captain Hudson.


    ¡°No wonder he¡¯s eager to send troops in autumn and winter,¡± the bald colonel sighed heavily. ¡°If we don¡¯t act now, he¡¯ll become a real threat.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Hudson.


    ¡°Draft a letter to Colonel Zibeer Zoltan,¡± said the bald colonel, stepping out of the bath. ¡°We must mobilize our forces sooner.¡±


    ¡°Sooner? How much sooner?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The sooner, the better,¡± the bald colonel glared with stiff muscles on his left cheek that made his expression look somewhat grim. ¡°That kid has sent who knows how many scouts over here. He knows our preparations better than we do. If we are to fight, we must do so swiftly, while the weather is still warm, and catch him off guard!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    In Revodan, the officer¡¯s quarters.


    Since Winters allowed Major Ronald¡¯s family to continue living in the official military residence, Anna and Catherine only had the option to stay in the bachelor officer¡¯s quarters temporarily.


    Anna sat at a desk with a ledger in front of her, chin propped on her hand, writing and calculating.


    Winters was severely short-staffed. He had many capable of manual labor, but very few capable of intellectual work. In fact, he could count them all on two hands.


    He didn¡¯t even have a subordinate who could accurately measure land and calculate its area. The system for distributing land to soldiers was still a broad approach of ¡°divvying up land, livestock, and grain to the military families to farm as much as they can manage.¡±


    So all of Winters¡¯ personal accounts, the new garrison¡¯s accounts, and all the public accounts were currently managed by Anna.


    No one else was capable of managing them.


    Catherine paced the room with a sigh, unsettling Anna as well.


    The Newly Reclaimed Land Province was conservative, and city customs restrained unmarried women even more strictly than those in the countryside.


    Having arrived in Revodan, Catherine felt less at ease than she had in Wolf Town.


    ¡°If you¡¯re idle, Kate, come and help me with the accounts,¡± Anna couldn¡¯t help but speak up. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Alright, Lady Montaigne,¡± Catherine collapsed onto her sister. ¡°You, as a pretend wife, are more attentive than a real wife would be.¡±


    A blush spread across Anna¡¯s cheeks instantly.


    Her current public identity was as Captain Montaigne¡¯s wife.


    Unofficial cohabitation was too scandalous, but nobody found it strange if she was his wife.


    Although officially, not only were they not engaged, they hadn¡¯t even formally met each other¡¯s parents.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m being attentive,¡± Anna said with a flushed face. ¡°It¡¯s just that there are so many accounts to manage, I¡¯m struggling to keep up.¡±


    ¡°Then don¡¯t manage them,¡± Catherine said coquettishly. ¡°It was one thing for you to handle his private accounts, but managing the public accounts as well, that¡¯s stinginess. Can¡¯t he hire a few accountants?¡±


    Anna sighed softly, ¡°He can¡¯t hire any.¡±


    ¡°Right, who would work for him in a legitimate business?¡± Catherine grew more irritated as she spoke. ¡°He can only rely on you.¡±


    The wind tapped gently against the window panes. Anna laid down her quill, embraced her sister, and said, ¡°You should go back to Wolf Town; it¡¯s safer there.¡±


    ¡°He urged you to go back to Wolf Town too, didn¡¯t he? Why don¡¯t you leave?¡±


    ¡°If I left, things here would become even more chaotic,¡± Anna shook her head. ¡°Everyone treats me as Lady Montaigne, so I have truly become Lady Montaigne. If I were to leave now, everyone would think his resolve had collapsed.¡±


    Catherine huffed lightly, her voice tinged with jealousy as she complained, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you this good to me?¡±


    ¡°Who says I¡¯m not?¡± Anna flicked her sister¡¯s forehead hard, laughing, ¡°Haven¡¯t I always been tolerating you since we were little?¡±


    Catherine sprang up like a cat that had its tail stepped on, asking indignantly, ¡°Tolerating me?¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s you who have been tolerating me,¡± Anna conceded.


    ¡°If you¡¯re not leaving, I¡¯m not leaving either!¡± Catherine said petulantly. ¡°You say you¡¯ve always been tolerating me, so keep on tolerating me!¡±


    ¡°You can stay, but you need to find something to do,¡± Anna suggested with a positive example. ¡°You should learn from Mrs. Michel; she leads such a fulfilling life every day.¡±


    ¡°You want me to learn from that wild girl?¡± Every time her sister mentioned Scarlett, Catherine felt particularly aggrieved. ¡°She spends all day in the stables, that¡¯s not how a respectable lady should behave.¡±


    Since their last heated conflict, Catherine no longer used the word ¡°little hussy¡± but instead referred to her adversary as the ¡°wild girl.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°No, she¡¯s doing very well, and I¡¯m actually quite envious of her.¡±


    Catherine fumed, ¡°You, you, you¡­ you have her to be your sister! Then you sisters fight over a husband, that would be great!¡±


    Anna remained unperturbed, deep in thought, suddenly took out a piece of paper, quickly wrote a few lines, folded it, sealed it, and rang a bell, softly calling, ¡°Mrs. Madeleine?¡±


    Not long after, Mrs. Madeleine, her hair bound with a black scarf, pushed open the door: ¡°Miss Navarre?¡±


    Mrs. Mitchell remained at the estate, but she was worried about Anna, Catherine, and Scarlett, so she asked Mrs. Madeleine and another nanny to look after the three of them.


    ¡°I have another matter I need to trouble you with,¡± Anna handed over the sealed letter to Mrs. Madeleine: ¡°Please deliver this letter to Xial, Mr. Winters¡¯ guard. And also, could you call for a carriage?¡±


    As a widow, Mrs. Madeleine, by custom, could appear in public and attend to matters unaccompanied.


    She took the letter, nodded, and then closed the door behind her as she left.


    Anna stood up, removed her cuffs, and said to her sister, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get dressed up, we¡¯re going out to see a visitor.¡±


    ¡°Who are we going to see?¡± Catherine was surprised.


    They didn¡¯t have any acquaintances in Revodan, and the nearest branch of Navarre Commerce was in Maplestone City.


    Anna favored quiet, which also meant that Catherine had few opportunities to participate in Revodan¡¯s social events.


    ¡°The volume of these accounts has indeed become more than I can handle. And it will only increase in the future,¡± Anna made up her mind: ¡°Since we can¡¯t hire an accountant, we might as well train one ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Are you out of your mind?¡± Catherine was scared pale by her sister¡¯s idea: ¡°We are women, how can we just come into contact with men outside? Even Mr. M¡¯s subordinates are off-limits.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I won¡¯t be teaching personally,¡± Anna smiled, soothing her sister.


    Catherine sighed a sigh of relief, then raised an eyebrow: ¡°Then who will teach?¡±


    ¡°We can hire an experienced accountant,¡± Anna patted her sister¡¯s back, ¡°Let¡¯s go visit old Lady Priskin. It¡¯s also about time I made an appearance.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the stables, Pierre was saying goodbye to his sister.


    Scarlett was helping the foal drink milk; Botayun refused to nurse, and even kicked with her hooves when she saw the foal.


    The little foal only had seven days of his mother¡¯s milk before Botayun weaned him completely.


    As a last resort, Winters brought in several ¡°nannies¡± for the little foal: a mare currently with a foal, and two sheep.


    The mare with the foal was extremely temperamental and did not let the little one nurse.


    For now, the little foal relied on sheep¡¯s milk to live, and the ewes that produced milk were not even as tall as he was.


    Therefore, the ewes had to be propped up before the foal could drink, a process that required assistance from someone nearby.


    Winters used to help with this task, but now that he was preoccupied with military duties, the responsibility fell solely on Scarlett.


    ¡°A foal raised on sheep¡¯s milk, can it still be ridden later on?¡± Pierre teased.


    Scarlett frowned, cutting her brother a sharp look, ¡°Why can¡¯t he be ridden? Longevity is doing just fine.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving now.¡±


    ¡°Go on then.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s lips moved, and in the end, he managed to say with difficulty, ¡°The Centurion asked me to look for a blacksmith, dad might be there too, we might find dad.¡±


    Scarlett didn¡¯t turn around, tears kept streaming down to her jaw, she tried to sound calm as she said, ¡°Then go. Don¡¯t be sad if you can¡¯t find him, if dad is alive, he will definitely come back.¡±


    ¡°Yes, dad is much tougher than me,¡± Pierre said with a smile: ¡°I brought Vasya along with me, maybe we can bring Uncle Sergei back too.¡±


    Scarlett wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, ¡°You guys be careful.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m most worried about you,¡± Pierre for the first time adopted a brotherly tone, ¡°You, from now on, stop picking fights with little Miss Navarre.¡±


    Scarlett, annoyed, turned around and hurled the sheep¡¯s milk at her brother.


    ¡°If that fox-eyed girl doesn¡¯t come to provoke me!¡± Scarlett said with grievance, ¡°Would I go out of my way to provoke her? You take her side, you can find her to be your sister!¡±


    With that, Scarlett grabbed a pitchfork angrily.


    And so Pierre was chased out of the stable.


    When he walked out to the yard, he happened to come across Mrs. Madeleine heading out to deliver the letter.


    The two of them walked one after another to a secluded place where they embraced each other tightly.

 Chapter 646 646 26 Tip-offs

    ?Chapter 646: Chapter 26: Tip-offs Chapter 646: Chapter 26: Tip-offs Through an informant, the bald Colonel Gaisa Adonis confirmed that Winters Montagne was in Revodan.


    The four infantry battalions of Mont Blanc County quietly left Falconflower Fort and hastened west towards Iron Peak County.


    At the same time, the rebellion-suppressing troops of Vernge County were also fully equipped and ready to depart.


    With the impending battle and the enemy¡¯s formidable approach, Revodan was equally shrouded in ominous clouds.


    The city councilors were once again ¡°politely¡± escorted to the city hall by the menacing soldiers.


    Trembling, the blacksmith Shao Yi entered the council hall only to be surprised to find the former city councilor and tobacconist, old Priskin, also present.


    Seeing old Priskin, Shao Yi felt his heart drop by two inches.


    ...


    He believed that old Priskin had reached some sort of agreement with the Blood Wolf.


    But the well-informed city councilors knew that this very morning, the gendarmes had barged into Priskin¡¯s home and taken the old man¡¯s grandson, young Priskin whose fate was still unknown.


    Old Priskin sat with his eyes closed, resting and maintaining a calm demeanor.


    Yet his thumb was nearly stripping a layer of paint off his cane.


    The committee was all present, and before anyone could exchange words, the Blood Wolf, adorned in full military attire, entered the council hall carrying his military saber.


    Some of the councilors shook involuntarily.


    To show as much goodwill as possible, Winters never wore weapons when meeting with the city councilors.


    This time, he brought a cavalry saber.


    And the moment he spoke, his tone was filled with lethal intent, ¡°I said we¡¯d have a public trial before, and it hasn¡¯t happened yet. Not because I forgot, but because there are more and more people to deal with. It¡¯s better to save them up for a satisfying reckoning.¡±


    Some of the more cowardly councilors were on the verge of tears.


    ¡°So you¡¯ve enjoyed playing your plots and schemes? Thinking I knew nothing, did you feel very smug?¡± Winters slapped the saber on the table, ¡°Come! Bring him out to me!¡±


    Heinrich escorted a young man into the council chamber.


    Upon seeing this, old Priskin¡¯s cane dropped from his hand.


    The young man was none other than his grandson, young Priskin.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Winters said leisurely, ¡°tell these respectable gentlemen what you¡¯ve been up to recently.¡±


    Although the young man¡¯s clothes were somewhat dirty, there were no bloodstains to be seen, but his face was exceptionally pale.


    ¡°I¡­¡± The young man¡¯s knees shook, and he swallowed hard, ¡°I¡­¡±


    The council hall was dead silent, the heavy breathing of those present echoing clearly.


    Old Priskin suddenly stood up, ¡°What on earth did you do! You¡­¡±


    The old man couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as he broke into a violent cough, and those beside him quickly helped him sit back down.


    Heinrich pushed the young man toward the center of the chamber, where he fell to the ground.


    ¡°Hiding the fake mayor of Wolfton, Bunting, was it you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the young man replied tremblingly.


    ¡°Passing messages to the New Reclamation Legion, was that you?¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Secretly preparing weapons, intending to seize the city gates surreptitiously.¡± Winters sneered, ¡°I never thought you¡¯d have the audacity to do so.¡±


    The young man¡¯s head hung down almost to the floor.


    The council chamber erupted into a commotion, and old Priskin¡¯s chest tightened so much he nearly fainted on the spot.


    Ever since invading Revodan, Pierre had been looking for Bunting.


    After Winters entered the city, he had people search the entire city for him.


    But turning over every inn, brothel, and tavern in the city, they found neither a living person nor a corpse.


    That meant certainly someone was deliberately hiding Bunting, and it was someone with considerable resources to do so.


    Bunting had neither money nor power; the only thing valuable about him was information on Winters Montagne¡ªaside from Winters¡¯s own people, he was likely the person in Revodan most knowledgeable about Winters.


    Meanwhile, Winters received a report: scouts had found hoof prints indicating someone had tried to cross the blockade.


    Who would want information on Winters Montagne? The names could be written on a piece of paper.


    And who would have the desire and capability to send messages outside? The list narrowed once again.


    Every passage taken leaves a trace.


    Following these traces back, two lines eventually converged on old Priskin¡¯s grandson.


    Winters waited patiently.


    And now, the time had come to close the net.


    ¡°Who else was involved in Mr. Priskin¡¯s lovely plan?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze swept over the city councilors, ¡°Step forward.¡±


    Were there others involved? The blacksmith Shao Yi gasped inwardly. He dared not make any movements, for fear of being misunderstood.


    Suddenly, the city councilor sitting next to Shao Yi struggled to his feet.


    ¡°Oh, so it was just him.¡± Winters smiled.


    As soon as he finished speaking, another councilor also stood up.


    With a slight wave of his hand, Winters watched as Heinrich led gendarmes to rush into the midst of the councilors, dragging four others from their seats.


    They didn¡¯t touch the blacksmith Shao Yi, the two men who had stood up, nor old Priskin.


    Shao Yi realized in horror that out of the twelve city councilors from the urban district, a full half were involved in the conspiracy.


    None of the nine councilors from the rural district were taken away.


    Shao Yi was both angry and relieved¡ªangry that such a major matter had not been hinted to him, yet relieved that no hint had reached him.


    ¡°I have no extravagant expectations of you all. If I win, you continue living as usual. If I lose, you simply become compliant citizens to the New Reclamation Legion.¡± Winters, leaning on his saber, spoke slowly, ¡°This small request, you couldn¡¯t manage it either, could you?¡±


    As if a chilling, invisible wind swept through, Shao Yi suddenly felt very cold, his upper and lower teeth clattering together.


    No one dared to guess what the man known as Blood of the Wolf could do, and the city councilors finally understood the words of old Priskin¡ª¡±Would you be satisfied if he tore off his mask and went on a rampage?¡±

 Chapter 647 647 26 Tip-off_2

    ?Chapter 647: Chapter 26 Tip-off_2 Chapter 647: Chapter 26 Tip-off_2 ¡°`


    ¡°Sir,¡± the elder Priskin rose, his visage seemingly aging in an instant, ¡°please punish my grandson severely. But also please discern that this was only a conspiracy by a small group of people. Revodan will spare no effort to supply you with military funds, and I am willing to donate all of my family¡¯s assets. I beg for your mercy.¡±


    Winters scoffed, ¡°Do you really think I care about your money? Bring them up!¡±


    Xial led his men in, carrying several heavy wooden chests into the council hall.


    ¡°I forced you to subscribe to the bonds, but it was just a loan, not theft. It was merely to make some noise, for the audience to watch.¡±


    Winters kicked over the chests one by one, gold and silver coins spilling out: ¡°Your money is all here, not a single silver coin less. Not satisfied? Well, I will return it to you now.¡±


    Winters forced Revodan¡¯s merchants to subscribe to bonds for three purposes: one was to create illusions; the second was to lure the snake out of its hole; and the third was to raise funds for the redemption of land in Forging Village.


    The third item cost far less than expected; he didn¡¯t have to use the money raised from the bonds.


    ...


    ¡°Please wait until after your victory to repay us,¡± the elder Priskin¡¯s frame bent even more.


    The elder Priskin had not taken part in his grandson¡¯s conspiracy and indeed did not know about it.


    But now these words were meaningless. What prestige did his grandson have to command the allegiance of half the district council members?


    It must have been done under his banner.


    The old man knew very well that all he could rely on now was the mercy of the Blood Wolf.


    He was sitting in the town hall¡¯s council chamber and not by a court or execution ground, which in itself was the greatest act of mercy.


    ¡°Very well! Since you¡¯ve asked for this, I cannot refuse,¡± Winters picked up his military saber, ¡°From this moment forward, Revodan is in a state of martial law. No entry! No exit! The soldiers stationed here will be responsible for transferring supplies needed by the citizens.¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen, pray for my victory,¡± Winters said with an amused smile, ¡°If I am defeated, your money will die with me.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s troops advanced rapidly, traveling fifty kilometers in less than two days to reach the east bank of the Anya River.


    The colonel had dispatched supply officers to gather resources from villages and towns along the way, allowing his troops to march lightly.


    Upon reaching the Anya River, the troops from Mont Blanc County started building a floating bridge without delay.


    The Anya River is the natural boundary between Iron Peak County and Mont Blanc County, named ¡°Mother¡± for its gentle, nurturing waters that seldom overflow.


    [Note: Anya, in the Paratu dialect, means mother, translating directly to ¡°Mother River.¡±]


    Towns and villages are scattered along both sides of the river, but in the river section that borders [Iron Peak] and [Mont Blanc] counties, the main way to cross over is still by boat.


    There was originally a bridge over the Anya River, located in Manyun Valley.


    Manyun Valley is only fifty kilometers from Falconflower Fort but one hundred fifty kilometers from Revodan.


    Therefore, after Winters captured Revodan, he immediately sent men to destroy the Manyun Bridge.


    If rebels can destroy bridges, then the loyalist forces can build them.


    After all, it¡¯s about suppression; where there are conditions, suppress, where there are none, create conditions to suppress.


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s temporary command post was set up on the southern hillside of the floating bridge, from where he could have a clear view of both sides of the river.


    ¡°It seems the rebels do not plan to defend the river,¡± the colonel said to his centurions with a note of disappointment, ¡°It¡¯s become a bit more troublesome.¡±


    A chorus of centurions chuckled heartily.


    Captain Hudson brought the colonel a camp chair.


    Hearing this, he didn¡¯t hesitate to retort, ¡°Did you still hope they would defend the river?¡±


    The bald-headed colonel steadied himself on the armrest and slowly sat down.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he stretched out his legs and let out a long breath, the scars on his face quivering, ¡°Defending the river could stop me, but then Zibeer over there could knock them dead with one punch.¡±


    Upon learning of the fall of Revodan, Colonel Gaisa immediately sent troops to seize Manyun Bridge.


    However, he was one step too late, and the bridge had already been destroyed.


    Consequently, Colonel Gaisa deployed engineers to measure the water depth, prepare the floating bridge components, and accumulate supplies in the border villages.


    He had made preparations for this battle even before receiving orders from Maplestone City.


    ¡°I and Zibeer are like two fists in a fight; if our armies meet below Revodan, then the rebels have already lost.¡±


    ¡°`


    Colonel Gaisa spoke lethargically, lecturing the centurions, ¡°His only chance of victory is to concentrate his forces and repel one fist; then the other fist will crumble without attacking.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think he has any chance of winning,¡± Captain Hudson sniffed.


    ¡°There is still a chance,¡± Colonel Gaisa said, watching the soldiers moving the pontoons. ¡°Instead of thinking like that, if you were Montaigne, would you strike at me first, or at the forces in Vernge County?¡±


    ¡°At Colonel Zibeer¡¯s troops first.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because of Colonel Zibeer¡¯s experience, intelligence, and moral standards¡­¡± Captain Hudson chose his words carefully.


    Colonel Gaisa lashed out with a whip at the captain, ¡°You might as well outright say that Zibeer is useless!¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk like that,¡± Captain Hudson said with some embarrassment.


    Colonel Gaisa smacked his lips, ¡°I¡¯m far away from him, Zibeer is close. Common sense says one shouldn¡¯t choose the far and forsake the near. So, I need to be fast and fierce, while Zibeer needs to be slow and steady.¡±


    ¡°So you also think he will go after the Vernge County troops first?¡±


    ¡°He has just over a thousand defectors,¡± Colonel Gaisa scoffed, rubbing his scalp. ¡°How can he win by common sense?¡±


    ¡­


    [Nailhammer Town] is located northwest of Revodan, 140 kilometers from Revodan, in the territory of Vernge County.


    The four large battalions of Vernge County currently involved in the rebellion suppression operation are stationed here.


    The ¡°useless¡± Colonel Zibeer Zoltan, mentioned by the bald Colonel, was holding a meeting with his subordinates.


    The tent was filled with a dead silence; most of the centurions stood as they listened.


    Colonel Zibeer toyed with a small spellcasters¡¯ badge, speaking indifferently, ¡°Intelligence reports indicate that the rebel leader Winters Montagne is still in Revodan. Based on the timing, the bald man should have already made his move.¡±


    Communication and coordination have always been key issues in war.


    Revodan, Falconflower Fort, and Iron Cavalry City are the closest at 150 kilometers apart, and at times, as far as 200 kilometers.


    The forces of Vernge County and Baishan County rely entirely on Pegasus messengers for communication, and even the fastest one-way journey takes a day.


    Hence, coordination between the two forces can only rely on understanding.


    No one in the tent spoke out because the centurions all understood that Colonel Zibeer didn¡¯t listen to his subordinates.


    Colonel Zibeer¡¯s interrogative sentences were, in fact, declarative, and his declarative sentences were actually imperatives.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s set out as well,¡± Colonel Zibeer said, pinning the spellcasters¡¯ badge on his chest. ¡°We¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning.¡±


    The gathering of centurions responded in a low voice in agreement.


    ¡­


    The floating bridge was successfully completed, and the Baishan County army crossed the Anya River that very day.


    At night, they lodged in the small town of Manyun Valley.


    Apart from the town residents whose homes were occupied, no one else resisted the arrival of the Baishan County army because they didn¡¯t support any side.


    If anything, the townsfolk leaned more toward the ¡°official army,¡± as they were very dissatisfied with the rebels blowing up the Manyun Bridge.


    The Manyun Bridge was built with funds raised by the town¡¯s people, and the tolls collected each year significantly supplemented public use. Its destruction, without their consent, was a unilateral decision.


    In addition to providing army labor, the mayor of Manyun Valley tentatively asked if they could make use of the military¡¯s floating bridge.


    The villages across the Anya River have a very close relationship with each other. Compared to Revodan, Manyun Valley is more like a family with the villages on the opposite side of the river.


    The destruction of the Manyun Bridge added much difficulty to the lives of the people on both sides of the river.


    Colonel Gaisa denied the mayor of Manyun Valley¡¯s request, but he did some accounting for the old mayor.


    The bald Colonel used mathematical tools to prove that hiring his troops to build another bridge was superior in both time and money, compared to hiring other builders, stonemasons, and carpenters.


    ¡°I have top-notch military engineer officers and reliable labor at my command, guaranteed to build a bridge that¡¯s sturdy and long-lasting. We can start construction once this battle is over,¡± Colonel Gaisa assured the mayor, slapping his chest while draping his arm around him, ¡°As a middleman, you can also get a salary¡ªof course, it is confidential.¡±


    The mayor of Manyun Valley was overwhelmed with honor and nodded eagerly.


    While the officer of Baishan County was striving to expand his jurisdiction to Iron Peak County, a troop of cavalry was wreaking havoc within Baishan County. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    No sooner had Colonel Gaisa¡¯s four battalions crossed the Anya River than Lieutenant Andrea Chelini lit a fire under him.

 Chapter 648 648 27 Planning

    ?Chapter 648: Chapter 27 Planning Chapter 648: Chapter 27 Planning Shuangxi Town was part of Mont Blanc County, located on the East Bank of Anya River, facing Manyun Valley across the river.


    It was a peaceful agricultural town with only twenty-two permanent resident families.


    Tonight, this tranquility was doomed to be shattered by iron hooves.


    A squad of cavalry approached the town quietly and launched a sudden attack after dark.


    The sound of hooves thundered like a storm, scaring the mayor and his wife so much that they fell out of bed.


    The mayor, ignoring his wife¡¯s attempts to stop him, rushed out the door to ring the bell.


    Barefoot, he had just run onto the street when he heard a whizzing sound behind him.


    ...


    He turned around in fright, only to see the glinting blade coming straight for him.


    The old mayor collapsed in the dust.


    ¡°The army is quelling the chaos! It has nothing to do with you lot!¡± Andre said sternly, wiping the blood off his knife, and warned the townspeople behind the doors and windows, ¡°Step out, and you die!¡±


    The small town was almost crushed by the sound of hooves, and the townspeople had no idea how many cavalry had come.


    If the intruders had broken into their homes, committing murder and looting, they might have been willing to fight to the death.


    But as the intruders merely occupied the streets with a fearsome presence, they simply couldn¡¯t muster the courage to fight desperately.


    Seeing that no one dared to come out onto the streets anymore, Andre finally sheathed his knife.


    His right arm was somewhat unresponsive and took several attempts to aim properly.


    A centurion rode up to him and saluted, reporting, ¡°Sir, the garrison has surrendered.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini coldly spat out a word, ¡°Burn.¡±


    ¡°The warehouses are empty.¡±


    ¡°Burn whatever there is.¡±


    The centurion saluted again and rode off.


    Andre had chosen to raid Shuangxi Town because it was the location where Mont Blanc County¡¯s army stored their supplies.


    He had crossed the river much earlier than the enemy had.


    The garrison of Mont Blanc County was still gathering its forces when Winters had already assembled his warhorses and all the men capable of riding and handed them over to Andre¡¯s command to cross the river by boat from upstream of Anya River.


    As soon as it was confirmed that the army of Mont Blanc County had entered Iron Peak County, Andreya Chelini, the fierce war dog, was let off the leash.


    However, the raid on Shuangxi Town yielded very limited results. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was little of value in the warehouses, as the army supplies had already been taken by the Officer of Mont Blanc County, leaving only a ten-man squad to guard.


    Upon the arrival of the cavalry, eight of the defenders promptly surrendered their weapons.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± another centurion came riding fast and called out from a dozen meters away, ¡°We can¡¯t read what¡¯s written on these papers!¡±


    ¡°What are you yelling for?¡±


    His old subordinate sheepishly closed his mouth and handed a scroll of paper to the centurion.


    Andre took the scroll and tried to read it in the moonlight.


    His right arm trembled slightly involuntarily, making it difficult for him to read the small print.


    The dim moonlight tired his eyes further.


    Andre, frustrated, threw the scroll back to his subordinate and angrily pressed down on his right arm, saying, ¡°Read for what! Take with you any paper with writing on it!¡±


    The centurion saluted and rode off.


    Andre¡¯s left hand clutched his right arm, the grip so tight that his fingers turned white.


    ¡­


    Winters had only two demands of Andre, the rest he could handle as he saw fit.


    First, don¡¯t damage the property of common folk; burning down the houses of farmers and townspeople wouldn¡¯t harm the Baishan County garrison¡¯s headquarters.


    Second, constantly collect the archives, land deeds, case files, and gazettes stored in each town of Baishan County.


    Therefore, after seizing the supply warehouses, Andre¡¯s cavalry immediately broke down the doors of the town hall.


    After that, however, they faced a problem as none of them knew how to read¡­.


    Fortunately, Lieutenant Chelini had a simple and crude solution.


    Can¡¯t read? Then take any paper that has writing on it.


    ¡­


    The cavalry arrived and departed like a nightmarish howl, like a brief but lucid nightmare.


    They left behind a body in Shuangxi Town, along with the burning warehouses, town hall, and police station.


    When the sound of hooves finally vanished, the townspeople emerged from their homes, their hearts racing with fear.


    They gathered around the mayor¡¯s body, mourning for the old man who had always been so dutiful.


    For Shuangxi Town, the disaster of the night had ended.


    But for Mont Blanc County, the ravaging was far from over.


    Winters had originally gathered a hundred cavalry, but Andre, without a second thought, weeded out more than half, leaving only forty-six, not even a full platoon.


    Each of these forty-six was equipped with a warhorse and four remounts.


    To facilitate water irrigation, settlements on both sides of the river were close to the stream and densely packed, which saved Lieutenant Chelini quite some trouble.


    The cavalry led by Andrea Chelini swept through eleven large and small villages and towns on the East Bank of the Anya River in one night like a devastating gale.


    ¡­


    That evening, Colonel Gaisa learned of the attack on Mont Blanc County.


    The night sky ablaze on the other side of the river couldn¡¯t be hidden.


    Yet Gaisa issued no orders, instead, the messenger who woke him was sternly reprimanded.


    After scolding the messenger, the colonel turned back to bed.


    The soldiers of Mont Blanc County continued to sleep soundly in the civilian houses and tents until dawn.


    The next morning, as soon as reveille sounded, Captain Hudson brought a briefing to Colonel Gaisa.


    Gaisa casually tossed the briefing onto the table and went behind the house to relieve himself.


    ¡°A damn small town, no place to take a bath,¡± the colonel complained as he walked back, yawning, ¡°I ache all over if I don¡¯t bathe.¡±


    Captain Hudson disagreed, ¡°The Anya River is just beside us, you could just wash up there.¡±


    ¡°A bath has to be with hot water!¡± Colonel Gaisa roared furiously, his scalp wrinkling, ¡°Can you call it a bath with cold water?¡±


    ¡°Right, yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Hudson replied perfunctorily, handing the briefing to his superior, ¡°The rebels have made quite a stir.¡±

 Chapter 649 649 27 Plan_2

    ?Chapter 649: Chapter 27: Plan_2 Chapter 649: Chapter 27: Plan_2 But overnight, the East Bank of the Anya River was ablaze with beacon fires.


    In all the villages and towns, they were either already raided by the Rebel Cavalry, or traces of the Rebel Cavalry had been spotted nearby.


    ¡°These little bastards are using Herdman¡¯s tactics,¡± Colonel Gaisa scanned the briefing ten lines at a glance, tossed it back onto the table, stretched his arms languidly, and asked, ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°White bread, red soup, boiled eggs,¡± Captain Hudson replied rapidly, pressing further, ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to do something about it? Sending a few men back wouldn¡¯t hurt, rather than letting the Rebels have their way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking what the grunts are having for breakfast?¡±


    ¡°Coarse bread, mixed vegetable soup.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not too bad.¡±


    ... S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re really not going to deal with it?¡± Captain Hudson asked again.


    ¡°Why should we?¡± Colonel Gaisa used a wet towel to wipe his face and scalp as if washing up.


    ¡°The Rebels are pillaging our villages!¡±


    ¡°Let them loot,¡± Colonel Gaisa snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by the emergency calls from twenty or thirty villages at once; it¡¯s actually just a small cavalry team. Even I don¡¯t have many cavalrymen at hand; how much can the Rebels have?¡±


    ¡°Even with just thirty cavalrymen, that¡¯s not something the villages and towns can withstand.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa sat down heroically and motioned for Hudson to bring the breakfast, ¡°That¡¯s where the Rebels are being foolish. They¡¯re using Herd Barbarians¡¯ tactics, but they are not Herd Barbarians. Barbarians kill people, burn villages, steal goods. Given the small number of Rebel Cavalry, if they dare do so, the village militias would drain them dry.¡±


    ¡°You mean to let them loot?¡±


    ¡°Let them loot! The more they loot, the less likely they are to occupy Mont Blanc County. The Rebels won¡¯t take Mont Blanc County, so what are we afraid of?¡±


    Captain Hudson sighed, ¡°You¡¯re the Officer of Baishan County; it¡¯s your call.¡±


    The Captain turned to leave.


    ¡°Wait a second, I do have a question,¡± Colonel Gaisa, resting his chin in his hand, asked, ¡°The intel says that Rebel Bard and Rebel Mason have been stripped of their command?¡±


    ¡°Correct,¡± Captain Hudson nodded, expressionless.


    ¡°Rebel Cherini dead?¡±


    ¡°Presumed dead.¡±


    ¡°Rebel Montaigne is in Revodan.¡±


    ¡°Right, reportedly still peddling his bonds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s strange,¡± Colonel Gaisa¡¯s smile was full of amusement, ¡°Then who¡¯s commanding this cavalry in Mont Blanc County?¡±


    Captain Hudson gave a light snort, ¡°It could be someone recently promoted by Rebel Montaigne; it¡¯s said he has quite a few Dusacks under his control.¡±


    ¡°In my opinion, there¡¯s a serious problem with your intel.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s intelligence sent by the big households within Revodan City,¡± Captain Hudson furrowed his brow, ¡°They wouldn¡¯t side with the Rebels.¡±


    ¡°Alright then,¡± Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily, ¡°Issue the order to eat well and drink plenty, and continue our march toward Revodan!¡±


    ¡­


    Despite the fire under his rear, Colonel Gaisa was unmoved.


    Leaving two companies of a hundred men each to guard the Floating Bridge, the Mont Blanc County army set out once again.


    Their fist hadn¡¯t changed course, still aimed at Revodan.


    And all of this was witnessed by Winters.


    Because he was in the Manyun Valley.


    More accurately, he was in the forest between Manyun Valley and Tuo Song Street.


    Moreover, he was with the troops of Bard, Andre, and Mason¡ªnow reorganized into the First, Second, and Third Hundred-Men Teams.


    After declaring martial law in Revodan, Winters rushed to Manyun Valley overnight to join up with the three hundred-men teams already waiting there.


    If Andre¡¯s Cavalry could hold the Mont Blanc County army in check, all the better.


    If the Cavalry couldn¡¯t manage it, then Winters would take to the field himself.


    The depths of Iron Peak County were much greater than Mont Blanc County; Manyun Valley was 150 kilometers from Revodan, and less than 60 kilometers from Falconflower Fort.


    If the fire under the butt wasn¡¯t enough to shake the Officer of Baishan County, then it¡¯s time to plunge in another harsh blow.


    So after the Mont Blanc County army had left Manyun Valley, Winters patiently waited a whole day.


    Until Xial, who was tailing the enemy¡¯s scouts, returned.


    ¡°They¡¯ve set up camp!¡± Xial¡¯s voice could hardly contain his excitement, ¡°Just as you predicted, thirty kilometers away, right between Tuo Song Street and Manyun Valley.¡±


    ¡°Move out!¡± Winters grabbed his sabre and mounted his horse, ¡°Follow me and break the Floating Bridge garrison!¡±


    The soldiers hidden in the woods rose to their feet, and military orders forbad speaking, so the warriors pounded their chests.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    The muffled sounds were like the drumbeats of heavenly gods, scattering flocks of birds into the air.


    Entering Iron Peak County meant enemy territory, and Winters had gauged that the Officer of Baishan County would not force a march.


    So they would cover the sixty kilometers between Manyun Valley and Tuo Song Street in two days.


    Now, the Mont Blanc County army was in a delicate position.


    They were approximately ninety kilometers from Falconflower Fort, and about one hundred kilometers from Revodan.


    They were situated halfway between Revodan and Falconflower Fort¡ªslightly closer to Falconflower Fort.


    Choosing this moment to strike, Winters was virtually teasing the Officer of Baishan County.


    Because their location was just right.


    If they marched another day to reach Tuo Song Street, perhaps the commander of Mont Blanc County, driven by impulse, would head straight for Revodan without care.


    His gaze swept over his most elite troops, and Winters raised his sabre. The drumming in the woods ceased at that moment.


    Silently slicing toward the direction of the Floating Bridge, Winters Montaigne charged out of the forest in the lead.


    His standard-bearer Heinrich was the second to break through the trees, with the three hundred-men teams close on their heels.


    Three against two, and with a formidable Spellcaster like Winters, the defending forces at the Floating Bridge collapsed at the first blow.


    Winters didn¡¯t have time to pursue the fleeing enemy; after crossing the river, he set the Floating Bridge ablaze till there was nothing left.

 Chapter 650 650 27 Plan_3

    ?Chapter 650: Chapter 27 Plan_3 Chapter 650: Chapter 27 Plan_3 ¡­ S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When Colonel Gaisa led his troops back to Manyun Valley, what greeted them were the remnants of the Floating Bridge and the crippled forces left to hold the fort.


    By the riverbanks, they found Lieutenant Matt, who was in charge of defending the Floating Bridge.


    Lieutenant Matt sat on a large boulder, his face deathly pale, his body quivering uncontrollably.


    He stared at the tips of his boots, murmuring, ¡°So powerful¡­ truly so powerful¡­¡±


    Lieutenant Matt had resisted until the very last moment, and seeing the defending army utterly defeated, he had leaped into the Anya River to escape with his life.


    ¡°A blanket,¡± Colonel Gaisa said to Captain Hudson, ¡°and bring some liquor.¡±


    ...


    Gaisa wrapped his Centurion in a blanket and poured a full cup of strong alcohol.


    He scratched the back of his head and asked sternly, ¡°Can you confirm if the one who led the surprise attack last night was Winters Montagne?¡±


    Lieutenant Matt drank the entire cup of strong alcohol in one gulp, his hand holding the empty cup still trembling uncontrollably, ¡°I can¡¯t be sure.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa waited for the Centurion to continue.


    Lieutenant Matt¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed, having just drunk a full cup of liquor, his mouth still felt dry, ¡°That man¡­ he kills like he¡¯s target shooting, no emotion at all¡­ kill, kill, kill¡­ blood everywhere¡­ A court Spellcaster couldn¡¯t be much different, right?¡±


    Colonel Gaisa¡¯s expression grew grave and he silently poured the Centurion another cup of liquor.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that man is Montagne,¡± said Lieutenant Matt as he downed another full cup, ¡°but that man¡­ it could only be him¡­¡±


    The lieutenant suddenly grabbed the colonel¡¯s hand, his cup crashing onto the pebbly strand, terror filling his eyes, ¡°You must be careful! You must be careful! That man could break through the formation and kill you! He could definitely do that! You have to be careful!¡±


    Colonel Gaisa patted the Centurion¡¯s hand, ¡°Relax, get some rest, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    Lieutenant Matt returned to his own world, his eyes fixed on his boot tips, muttering softly, ¡°So powerful¡­ how can he be so powerful¡­¡±


    Colonel Gaisa stepped aside and let out a sigh he could no longer suppress.


    ¡°What in the world happened?¡± Captain Hudson clenched his teeth, ¡°How could Matt be broken like this?¡±


    ¡°Broken?¡± Colonel Gaisa glared at his subordinate, ¡°When we return to Falconflower Fort, I¡¯ll treat the lad to some good food, good drink, and a nice bath. He¡¯ll naturally recover.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa had previously informed his Centurions: The rebel leader Winters Montagne was believed to be a powerful Spellcaster.


    However, nobody had anticipated he would be so formidable as to terrify a stout man into such a state.


    There, in the clearing by the river, Colonel Gaisa called an impromptu meeting with all his Centurions.


    After briefing them on the latest situation, the colonel, gripping his jaw-beard, analyzed, ¡°Based on the description and the inspection of the battlefield, Montagne¡¯s combat style is quite simple, all direct damage. He is unlikely to use indirect damage spells like poison smoke, so apart from the musketeers continuing to concentrate their fire, all other anti-magic configurations are to be dismissed.¡±


    The Centurions nodded somberly, chilled by the sight of Matt¡¯s wretched condition.


    ¡°Remove all items that could identify officers and sergeants. Stow the regimental flags,¡± Colonel Gaisa squinted his eyes, ordering his Centurions, ¡°Change into civilian clothing and dirty up your faces. From this moment on, orders will only be given by small drums and bugles.¡±


    Mingling officers among the soldiers would inevitably decrease command efficiency but also reduce the likelihood of officers being preferentially targeted by Spellcasters.


    It was a matter of trade-offs, and no Centurion would question Colonel Gaisa¡¯s judgment.


    ¡°Do we continue the fight?¡± Captain Hudson narrowed his eyes, his smile harsh, ¡°Sir?¡±


    ¡°Continue! Montagne might be a decent Spellcaster. But I believe his brain must have been damaged while fighting with the Herd Barbarians. He used this tactic against Ronald, now he thinks he can use it against me as well,¡± the bald man slapped his thigh, laughing wildly, ¡°He really underestimates people, damn it!¡±


    His Centurions, holding onto their swords, also wore smiles with a fierce gleam in their eyes.


    Colonel Gaisa rose abruptly, commanding fiercely, ¡°In this battle, our target is still the sole rebel leader Winters Montagne. Killing him will cause the rebels to collapse. If he escapes, they will rise again. Revodan, don¡¯t bother with it! If he dares enter Mont Blanc County, then he shouldn¡¯t think of leaving!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± The Centurions pounded their chest armor, roaring in unison.


    On the west bank of the Anya River.


    The soldiers of Mont Blanc County pulled the tarp off the wagons, and half of the supply wagons weren¡¯t loaded with provisions but with prefabricated components for another Floating Bridge.


    The new Floating Bridge was being constructed at twice the speed of the first, extending towards the East Bank.


    Colonel Gaisa brought two Floating Bridges, just waiting for the rebel leader to fall into the trap.


    Mont Blanc County had become a snare.


    Winters was still unaware of this as he was occupied with seizing state messengers.


    Colonel Zibeer was also oblivious, his path blocked by a fortress.

 Chapter 651 651 28

    ?Chapter 651: Chapter 28 Chapter 651: Chapter 28 As soon as they crossed the river, Winters immediately led his troops straight to Falconflower Fort.


    He took the main road, sang songs of triumph, banners and drums abounded, marching majestically without any desire to hide his tracks.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry also arrived to join him. With both foot soldiers and cavalry, the force was even more imposing.


    However, the situation was not as optimistic as he made it appear.


    The sword still hung over their heads, the thread holding it could snap at any time.


    The battlefield was currently shrouded in fog; the more they could see, the closer they were to victory.


    Winters had already deployed all of his reconnaissance cavalry, and most of Andre¡¯s had been sent out as well.


    ...


    Because they kept capturing horses and using them in concentration, Winters actually had a cavalry advantage over the Newly Reclaimed Land garrison troops.


    Apart from the three cavalry scouts leading the way, the rest of the cavalry closely monitored the movements of the Mont Blanc County garrison troops.


    According to Winters¡¯ calculations, if the enemy were to send reinforcements, he would have at least a two-day advantage.


    Firstly, it would take the Mont Blanc County garrison a day to return to Manyun Valley.


    Secondly, they did not have bridges.


    Destroying bridges was easy, building them was hard, and repairing them more troublesome still; this could delay them by another one to two days at least.


    It was a risky move because no one could guarantee how the enemy commander would make his decisions.


    War is the art of gambling, and Winters had made his move; now it was his opponent¡¯s turn.


    How the opponent would respond was up to them; he had no control over that.


    But the situation was as precarious as a pile of eggs; without taking risks, there could be no victory.


    ¡°Turn back to reinforce?¡± Winters mused as he sketched on the map board, ¡°Or clench their teeth and charge toward Revodan?¡±


    With too little information, his understanding of the situation in Mont Blanc County was very limited.


    From Major Ronald, not a word could be wrung. The major simply wouldn¡¯t speak; he refused to have any form of communication with the rebels.


    Winters could only obtain intelligence through public channels. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He knew that the officer of Mont Blanc County was a colonel named Gaisa Adonis, and that was all.


    As for what kind of person he was, what his combat style was like, or how experienced he was, Winters knew nothing.


    He had only heard that Colonel Gaisa seemed to be quite fond of money and was adept at accumulating wealth.


    ¡°Gaisa Adonis,¡± Winters silently repeated the name of his adversary, pondering, ¡°Adonis? An ancient term meaning ¡®handsome.¡¯ Could he be a handsome man?¡±


    Distracted, he pressed too hard, and the graphite stick ¡°snap¡± broke in half.


    Winters was accustomed to this. He put away the broken piece and took out a new one.


    Drawing with graphite was far more convenient than using a quill pen for quick sketches, except for one downside¡ªthe graphite was too brittle and would break easily if not handled carefully.


    Winters straightened his back, taking in the surrounding terrain by heart, and continued to sketch on the map board.


    The jostling saddle made his lines squiggly.


    Conditions on the march were limited; he would have to redraw a detailed map in the evening.


    After occupying Revodan, Montaigne¡¯s cartographers finally didn¡¯t have to worry about running out of graphite.


    He had cleared out all the graphite from the shelves in Revodan, drawing whatever he pleased.


    So now, wherever he was, Winters always tried to record as much of the surrounding terrain as possible.


    Colonel Jeska¡¯s map collection hadn¡¯t been updated in a long time, and he was working hard to fill the twelve-year void left by John Jeska.


    Xial ran back panting and brought news: ¡°Brother! The town of Deer Horn is just ahead!¡±


    Winters sighed and put away the map board: ¡°Any news from the back?¡±


    ¡°Uh,¡± Xial scratched his head, ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°That will do.¡±


    ¡°So, what about Deer Horn Town?¡± Xial asked excitedly, ¡°Are we attacking?¡±


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Winters smiled as he pulled out his baton and tapped Xial on the head, ¡°Having come all this way, who wouldn¡¯t take the opportunity for a meal?¡±


    ¡­


    Newly Reclaimed Lands Province was overall an underdeveloped area, Iron Peak County was even less developed within these areas, a comparative degree of underdevelopment.


    Like other frontier provinces, Mont Blanc County was much richer than Iron Peak County; she was like the better-off small family within a poor large family.


    The most obvious difference was in the roads.


    Upon entering Mont Blanc County, Winters immediately felt the roads were much better than those in Iron Peak County.


    In Iron Peak County, the main roads were simply compacted earth, and in some places, there wasn¡¯t even that¡ªwhere many walked became a path.


    Meanwhile, Mont Blanc County even had paved ¡°Guzhi Roads,¡± clearly the work of the military.


    Winters was surprised that the commander of the enemy¡ªColonel Gaisa whom he had never met¡ªturned out to be a diligent and people-loving officer, which made Winters feel rather ashamed.


    After all, Montaigne as a garrison commander (self-appointed) had not really done anything practically beneficial for the people of Iron Peak County.


    Winters secretly resolved that when he got the chance to breathe, he would pave the roads of Iron Peak County as well.


    Despite his respect for the ¡°handsome¡± colonel, it did not hinder Winters from attacking the towns under his control.


    Having come all this way, he wasn¡¯t about to return empty-handed. The finances of Iron Peak County were a bit tight at the moment, and any subsidy for household expenses was good.


    Therefore, Winters had no qualms about blowing open the gates of Deer Horn Town.


    This was another difference from Iron Peak County:


    Compared to the ¡°bachelor¡± towns under Winters¡¯ control, the towns of Mont Blanc County not only had more people but many had also built walls.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry could do nothing against towns with walls.


    Once they joined forces with Winters, not only would they be able to knock on the door of a walled town but Falconflower Fort as well.


    Winters had twenty ¡°Battering Rams¡± specifically brought for shelling the turtle¡¯s shell.


    Deer Horn Town had built a wooden wall as a precaution against bandits and marauders, never imagining that one day they would face an army.


    The alarm bell had just sounded, the militia were still scrambling to assemble, when ¡°boom¡± the town gate was blown open.

 Chapter 652 652 28_2

    ?Chapter 652: Chapter 28_2 Chapter 652: Chapter 28_2 A cavalry unit charged into Deerhorn Town with a roar, sending the townspeople scattering in panic.


    The militiamen of Deerhorn Town rummaged through their belongings, struggling to find weapons.


    When they stepped out of their homes, however, they discovered that the townspeople had long fled, and the streets were full of unfamiliar soldiers.


    Without a word, they turned around and went back inside to move furniture and barricade their doors.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini was quite experienced with the process of ¡°raid, loot, and leave.¡±


    Breaking morale was a more effective use of cavalry than sword slashing.


    Thirty cavalrymen could drive hundreds of civilians into headlong flight; a hundred riders could encircle and control thousands.


    ...


    Andre¡¯s cavalry first went to seal the supply depot, then took over the town hall and the public security bureau.


    By the time Winters entered the town, the job was already done.


    It was the same old story, the supply depot was empty, not even a mouse to be found.


    Winters and Andre talked it over and felt something was amiss, fearing that the enemy had been well prepared.


    ¡°Think they can starve us out? That¡¯s wishful thinking,¡± Andre sneered. ¡°Can people really be starved to death?¡±


    Apart from weapons, ammunition, and seven days¡¯ worth of dry food, the troop that invaded Mont Blanc County brought nothing else.


    The situation of the troop under Winters was similar to Ronald¡¯s raid on Wolf Town, both sacrificing supplies for speed.


    But Mont Blanc County was far richer than Iron Peak County, and locally recruiting food supplies would be much easier.


    Winters found it odd too; he sent out three cavalrymen once again, scouting toward Manyun Valley for enemy intelligence.


    Xial ran over with a gloomy face, holding several gazettes.


    ¡°Couldn¡¯t find anything new; the latest is from last quarter,¡± Xial said.


    The gazette, also known as ¡°Record of Events,¡± was an official communication from the New Reclamation Legion to its subordinate units. It¡¯s usually published once a quarter and sometimes supplemented in case of urgent matters.


    Winters first learned about the information channel of the New Reclamation Legion during his initial meeting with Senior Mason.


    He was desperately in need of intelligence, and the gazette was the best source of open information.


    But the gazettes couldn¡¯t be bought; they had to be seized from the territories of the New Reclamation Legion.


    Winters took the gazettes, scanning them ten lines at a glance: ¡°No matter, take them all. Old gazettes are useful too, take as many as there are.¡±


    Xial saluted, turned around to leave.


    ¡°Wait a second,¡± Winters stopped Xial. ¡°I asked you to gather the businessmen of Deerhorn Town, why don¡¯t I see them?¡±


    Xial replied with a bitter face, ¡°The townspeople are all mixed together, and it¡¯s hard to distinguish who is a merchant.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? Take a torch and call them all together, ask from one shop to the next. Understand?¡±


    Unconsciously standing out, all their shops will be burnt down, go with the torches.¡±


    ¡°Understood, understood.¡±


    ¡°Make it clear to them beforehand, just two questions, it won¡¯t cost them their lives.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xial nodded vigorously and left.


    Winters found a brightly lit place and continued reading the gazette.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t they all old?¡± Andre asked, with his right hand tucked inside his jacket. ¡°Are they still useful?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re useful,¡± Winters replied without looking up.


    ¡°How are they useful?¡±


    ¡°The contents of the gazette are mainly policies, wars, parliamentary debates, civil and criminal cases, as well as news on religious celebrations,¡± Winters flipped a page. ¡°For now, it seems that the New Reclamation Legion still pledges allegiance to Kingsfort. The gazette refers to Kingsfort as ¡®the supreme Republic.¡¯


    ¡°Adams, a weathervane, is always thinking of hedging his bets depending on the situation,¡± Andre snorted disdainfully and then asked, ¡°But aren¡¯t these all from the last quarter?¡±


    ¡°If the Legion has broken with Kingsfort, there should be supplements, right?¡± Winters said matter-of-factly.


    Andre burst into laughter.


    ¡°We should also publish a gazette,¡± Winters suggested as he read. ¡°It¡¯s quite useful.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s start one when we get back.¡±


    Winters sighed, ¡°If we manage to hold onto Revodan.¡±


    Winters flipped another page and suddenly his eyes lit up, ¡°Farmers from South Mountain Town secretly cut grass from the military horse farm, military court sentenced two to hard labor?¡±


    Andre¡¯s ears perked up instantly, ¡°Military horse farm?!¡±


    ¡°South Mountain Town,¡± Winters savored the name, pulling out a map: ¡°Seems it¡¯s in Mont Blanc County!¡±


    Both men crouched on the ground, eagerly flipping through maps.


    ¡°It is in Mont Blanc County!¡± Andre exclaimed ecstatically while searching, ¡°Right to the south!¡±


    Winters took the map, first with delight then with confusion, ¡°It¡¯s not marked on the map? Mont Blanc County has a military horse farm, so why haven¡¯t we seen any enemy cavalry?¡±


    ¡°All the military horses must have been conscripted already! Plus, this map is too old; it¡¯s normal not to be marked,¡± Andre clapped his thigh, genuinely happy. ¡°We must visit it no matter what. There might not be any draft horses, but foals and breeding stallions are also valuable goods!¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Winters, infected by Andre¡¯s joy, smiled and said, ¡°Let¡¯s pay a visit. But it seems no one in Iron Peak County has ever managed a military horse farm; we¡¯ll have to take the horse farm staff as well.¡±


    Andre considered it inconsequential: ¡°Didn¡¯t Senior Mason used to raise pigs and manage a labor ranch? Let him handle it.¡±


    Exchanging glances, they couldn¡¯t contain their laughter, growing more joyful as they laughed.


    Xial, escorting the merchants of Deerhorn Town, saw from a distance Captain Montaigne and Lieutenant Chellini squatting face to face, inexplicably laughing like fools.


    ¡°Captain! I¡¯ve brought the people over!¡± he called out loudly as a reminder.


    Winters and Andre quickly stood up, straightening their appearances.

 Chapter 653 653 28_3

    ?Chapter 653: Chapter 28_3 Chapter 653: Chapter 28_3 Fortunately, the merchants of Staghorn Town were scared to death and didn¡¯t notice the two men¡¯s loss of composure.


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Winters coughed lightly and said kindly to the frightened merchants, ¡°Traders have their ears to the ground. I¡¯ve called you here because there are some questions I need to ask. As long as you answer honestly, I guarantee your lives and property will be safe.¡±


    The merchants of Staghorn Town nodded eagerly as if pecking for grain.


    ¡°You, start.¡± Winters¡¯s cane pointed at the oldest merchant present.


    The other man was puzzled, ¡°You¡­ You haven¡¯t said what you want to ask?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about what I want to ask,¡± Winters spoke calmly, ¡°just start talking, and when I hear what I want to know, naturally you¡¯ll be let go.¡±


    The elderly merchant was dumbstruck, after a long while, he gathered his courage to ask again, ¡°Where should I start?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Start with the latest and biggest event.¡±


    The old merchant¡¯s lips quivered. It took him a great effort to finally speak, startling both Winters and Andre when he did, ¡°The Herd Barbarians are back.¡±


    ¡°Continue,¡± Winters maintained a neutral expression as he locked eyes with Andre.


    From Andre¡¯s tense cheeks and surprised gaze, he saw the same emotions as his own.


    The old merchant rambled on:


    In mid-September¡ªabout the same time Bard and Mason¡¯s hundred-man team ¡°perished entirely,¡±¡ªthe Herd looting army once again invaded from the east.


    Clearly, the Herd tribes that attacked Paratu at the beginning of the year had grabbed a bounty, causing massive envy among the other tribes.


    ¡°The Barbarians came killing from both banks of the Ashen Stream River; you couldn¡¯t even count them!¡± the old merchant¡¯s excitement grew as he spoke.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters nodded nonchalantly, ¡°go on.¡±


    What ¡°coming from both banks at the same time¡±?


    What ¡°unable to count them¡±?


    There was no one present who understood the inner workings of the Herd tribes better than Winters.


    It was clearly two Herd looting squads, entering Paratu separately from the south and north banks of the Ashen Stream River.


    Since the Herd tribes were also attacking each other, the two groups of robbers simply chose to operate separately to avoid bloody conflicts if they met.


    And how could there possibly be ¡°impossible to count¡±? Winters had long guessed roughly how many assets the three major tribes had.


    Which tribe would dare to mobilize in full? Aren¡¯t they afraid of having their home base taken?


    Nevertheless, this information was still very valuable.


    The elder merchant, his enthusiasm growing, continued with the second-hand information he had heard, unsure how many times it had been passed down:


    The Barbarians invaded the North River Province from the northern bank; it was said they fought fiercely with the ¡°Rebels.¡±


    The Barbarians from the southern bank invaded Mirror Lake County and were defeated by the wise and valiant General Adams and the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort.


    [Mirror Lake County belongs to the Newly Reclaimed Land, situated at the northernmost end of the province, adjacent to Mirror Lake. With its advantageous geographical conditions and convenient transport, it is the wealthiest and most densely populated county in the Newly Reclaimed Land.]


    Winters stroked his chin; this half-true, half-false news was becoming more and more valuable.


    Not only did the large-scale eastern invasion and looting by the Herd tribes fail to provoke a new round of war between the Red and Blue Roses, but it also eased the situation.


    Nothing unites the people of Paratu like ¡°a common enemy.¡±


    The most interesting part was ¡°the reinforcements sent by Kingsfort,¡± which was essentially the Red Rose troops advancing into Newly Reclaimed Land.


    ¡°It seems that in the end, it is Adams who has the bigger headache,¡± Winters thought it was rather amusing. He nodded expressionlessly, ¡°Keep talking.¡±


    Other merchants took their turns, talking about various scattered issues.


    Things like ¡°a general from Kingsfort being assassinated,¡± ¡°they said it was over a woman,¡± ¡°Blood Night,¡± they spoke with such detail as though the narrators had been with the assassin throughout the ordeal.


    Merchants dealing in tobacco, ceramics, and wool lamented bitterly. The economic crops of the Newly Reclaimed Land couldn¡¯t be shipped out and were all stockpiling in their hands.


    Import traders followed suit, complaining that goods from outside couldn¡¯t enter, souring their business greatly.


    Both groups became more and more animated as they argued, nearly coming to blows over who was more miserable.


    Newly Reclaimed Land has always relied on selling agricultural produce and buying in what cannot be produced; now both lifelines had been cut off by the war.


    Winters took notes in a little book as he listened.


    The rapid, drumming sound of horse hooves approached. A scout cavalry soldier rushed to Winters, dismounting swiftly, and whispered a report in Winters¡¯s ear.


    The merchants of Staghorn Town witnessed the emotional change of the Rebels¡¯ commander, from calm and indifferent to outright laughter. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The scout cavalry soldier had only said one sentence, ¡°They¡¯re here.¡±


    Winters¡¯s reply was just one word, ¡°Good!¡±


    The garrison forces of Mont Blanc County turning back to provide support was a piece of great news.


    If Colonel Gaisa lost his head and charged headlong towards Revodan.


    Then Winters would have no choice but to give up on Revodan and see if he could recoup the losses by taking Falconflower Fort.


    Revodan had too few soldiers, divided loyalties, defenses too feeble to withstand a single blow, and an extreme shortage of military supplies.


    All members of the newly formed infantry were using short spears because they could not find long, straight spear shafts, nor did they have enough steel.


    Only the core soldiers were issued with swords and helmets.


    A few dozen muskets had been captured from Ronald, but with the quality of the troops in the newly formed infantry, they couldn¡¯t be effective.


    They only dared to aim and shoot with their hands, not resting their chins on the musket stocks to fire.


    There were even fewer crossbows, which could be counted on one hand.


    Single bows were indeed confiscated by the hundreds from the Arsenal, but Ronald didn¡¯t use such things, and Winters was even less likely to.


    In Winters¡¯s hands, there were barely any landless peasants who could shoot a bow and arrow.


    Such troops could only fight when the wind was in their favor, a crowd of men shouting and charging forward.


    If they felt they could win, each one was braver than the next.


    If they felt they couldn¡¯t win, they could run away in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind.

 Chapter 654 654 28_4

    ?Chapter 654: Chapter 28_4 Chapter 654: Chapter 28_4 In the situation of Revodan, if it were to be surrounded by two large armies, even the old marshal would be facing certain death in command.


    Moreover, from the beginning, the old marshal would never fight such a battle.


    To win, one must restrain one flank and attack the other, shattering one will make the other too scared to approach.


    Right from the start, Winters¡¯ plan was to hold back Mont Blanc County and strike hard at Vernge County.


    But if he couldn¡¯t restrain the garrison troops of Mont Blanc County and they rushed towards Revodan without a care,


    Then Winters would have to resort to his backup plan:


    Give up Revodan, retreat to the south of St. George River, to Wolf Town, or even further back to the Great Wilderness.


    After all, he didn¡¯t have much in terms of pots and pans in Revodan, nothing worth grieving over if lost or smashed.


    The storages in Revodan had long been emptied. Most of the food was taken away by Bard. Winters had spent all the money.


    ...


    As long as the enemy dares to approach Revodan, he dares to attack Falconflower Fort.


    Both sides would stab each other once, to see who bleeds more, who hurts more¡ªno matter how Winters calculated it, Mont Blanc County would be the one in more pain.


    Anna refused to evacuate early, for this reason, Winters left Little Lion in Revodan.


    If the situation worsened, he asked Little Lion to take the womenfolk directly into the uninhabited area, seeking refuge with the Red River Tribe.


    Little Lion was unexpectedly entrusted with Winters¡¯ family, his nose a bit sour, he rarely gave Winters a big hug.


    Fortunately, none of the above happened.


    Winters was willing to give up his ¡°pots and pans¡± in Revodan, it seems Colonel Gaisa couldn¡¯t bear to lose his ¡°pots and pans¡± in Falconflower Fort.


    ¡°Good! Gather the troops and prepare to depart,¡± Winters laughed and patted his hands, saying to Andre and his subordinates, ¡°The rest is up to Mr. A and Mr. B. Let¡¯s think of a way to see if we can get this ¡®handsome¡¯ colonel to take another stroll with us.¡±


    ¡­


    The news of Mont Blanc County¡¯s force turning back to assist spread in all directions.


    Stationed within the borders of Iron Peak County, keeping an eye on Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison, Dusack immediately sent back the intelligence to Revodan.


    Winters also dispatched scouts by boat across the river to bring news back to Revodan.


    As for the Mont Blanc County troops, Colonel Gaisa sent messengers, delivering letters to Colonel Zibeer, the garrison commander of Vernge County.


    In the letter, Colonel Gaisa explained his plan: ¡°The key is not Revodan, the rebels have legs and can abandon the city at any time. The key is to annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, and the key is to kill the rebel leader, Winters Montagne.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Eliminating either will ensure the rebels¡¯ inevitable collapse.¡±


    Therefore, Colonel Gaisa urged Colonel Zibeer to ¡°temporarily withdraw from Iron Peak County¡± and continue to ¡°contain the main rebel forces¡± at the border of the two counties while waiting for news from Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°Victory or defeat does not lie in a single moment. If my troops annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, the Revodan proclamation can be settled. If my troops fail to annihilate the enemy¡¯s main forces, a pincer attack from both sides can be carried out later.¡±


    ¡­


    After dispatching the messenger, Gaisa immediately commanded his troops to march rapidly towards Manyun Valley.


    Because of the inevitable delay in information transmission.


    By the time Winters learned that the enemy was returning to help, Mont Blanc County troops had nearly completed their second Floating Bridge.


    At the same time, Gaisa¡¯s messenger cavalry had also arrived at Vernge County¡¯s garrison camp.


    When the messenger arrived, Colonel Zibeer was in a state of agitation.


    The territory between Vernge County and Iron Peak County was separated by forests and hills, perfect for ambushes.


    Thus, Colonel Zibeer proceeded with extreme caution, fearing to fall into rebel traps.


    Unexpectedly, there were no rebel arrangements, but at the end of the forest, ¡°Hammer Fort¡± blocked their path.


    Intelligence said that Hammer Fort was a wooden fortress in disrepair, low and old.


    But the ¡°Hammer Fort¡± that stood before him was nothing like the one described in the reports.


    The Hammer Fort blocking their way was not large, yet it had deep moats, tall walls, and bastions, a veritable miniature star-shaped fortress¡ªit was clear someone had flattened the old Hammer Fort and raised a new one in its stead.


    The most infuriating thing was that the rebels even had cannons.


    Though they appeared to be wooden cannons, these were not something Zibeer¡¯s green troops could withstand.


    The wooden cannons mounted on the walls fired two rounds of crossfire, causing Vernge County¡¯s new recruits to flee in utter disarray, crying out for their fathers and mothers.


    Colonel Zibeer was seriously considering bypassing this tough nut and going straight for Revodan.


    ¡°What did the baldy send you for?¡± Colonel Zibeer asked the messenger irritably, ¡°Where is he now? According to the time, I should be seeing him, not you!¡±


    The messenger replied somewhat awkwardly, ¡°Colonel Gaisa, he¡­ he¡¯s gone back to Mont Blanc County.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± bellowed Colonel Zibeer, enraged.


    The messenger hurriedly handed the letter to Colonel Zibeer, ¡°The colonel says to wait in Vernge County for his orders. He tells you to come, then you come.¡±


    The condescending tone irritated Colonel Zibeer beyond measure, but he didn¡¯t want to pick a quarrel with a mere messenger.


    He tore open the envelope and quickly scanned the contents.


    The letter was genuine, its pattern produced by a special process that couldn¡¯t be forged;


    The hidden codes at the beginning and end of the sentences were correct;


    And Zibeer recognized Gaisa¡¯s handwriting.


    Confirming the letter was not fake only fueled Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fury. He slammed the table and bellowed, ¡°He¡¯s a colonel, and I¡¯m a colonel too! What right does Gaisa Adonis have to order me around?!¡±


    The messenger did not dare to reply, keeping his head bowed even lower.


    The other officers in the tent followed suit, no one daring to cross the furious Colonel Zibeer.


    ¡°What else did the baldy say?¡± Colonel Zibeer demanded.


    ¡°The colonel says¡­ says if he kills the bandit leader Montagne, there won¡¯t be a need to attack Revodan.¡±

 Chapter 655 655 28_5

    ?Chapter 655: Chapter 28_5 Chapter 655: Chapter 28_5 ¡°Bravo! Bravo!¡± Zibeer laughed furiously, ¡°He gets the glory, I do the grunt work, right? Is that it?¡±


    The tent grew ever quieter.


    ¡°Order! The First Brigade continues to besiege Hammer Fort!¡± Zibeer bellowed, ¡°The Second, Third, and Fourth Brigades, follow me to Revodan.¡±


    The Centurions of Vernge County were shocked.


    ¡°No!¡± Captain Sale¡ªthe Chief Centurion of Vernge County¡ªblurted out in opposition to his superior in desperation, ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°And why not?¡± Colonel Zibeer clenched his fist tightly and retorted with a cold laugh.


    Although he knew he had angered the garrison officer, Captain Sale felt he had to stop the other¡¯s foolish plan, ¡°Sir, dividing our forces on the eve of battle is a taboo. With just the strength of our four brigades, we don¡¯t have an overwhelming advantage over the Rebels. Please reconsider!¡±


    ...


    Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fist pounded the table, like he was hammering on everyone¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°The main force of the Rebels has already been led away by bandit leader Montaigne.¡± Zibeer ground his teeth and asked, ¡°Are you implying that I can¡¯t handle a bunch of misshapen melons and split dates? Is that what you are saying?¡±


    ¡°I would never mean that, sir!¡± Captain Sale was nearly in tears with anxiety, ¡°If we leave one brigade to besiege Hammer Fort, it¡¯s like letting the Rebels tie up a quarter of our forces with just one-sixth or one-eighth of their strength. We would have no advantage in strength to speak of! We should stick to Colonel Gaisa¡¯s plan¡ªit¡¯s much more reliable.¡±


    Colonel Zibeer suddenly drew his sword and slashed it fiercely onto the campaign table.


    The blade sank deep into the table, and the supports beneath could not hold and shattered into several pieces.


    ¡°Damn baldy!¡± Zibeer gasped furiously, cursing.


    The tent was as silent as death, and not one of the others dared to breathe, leaving only the sound of the Colonel¡¯s heavy breathing.


    It took a while before Colonel Zibeer calmed down.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± he ordered fiercely, ¡°Fall back to Hammer Fort!¡±


    A few officers in the tent breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll notify everyone right away.¡± Captain Sale saluted happily and turned to leave.


    Colonel Zibeer took out a pouch of coins and threw it to Gaisa¡¯s messenger without counting it.


    ¡°Get out.¡± Colonel Zibeer sat back down in his chair, his anger now even greater than before.


    He saw Gaisa¡¯s messenger open the pouch, seemingly counting the coins.


    This only increased Colonel Zibeer¡¯s fury, but he did not want to take it out on a common messenger.


    So he closed his eyes to calm his mind, out of sight, out of mind.


    The next second, a silver coin flashed from the messenger¡¯s hand, flying towards Zibeer¡¯s forehead.


    The silver coin, moving at nearly two hundred fifty meters per second, easily sliced through the skin and collided with Zibeer¡¯s skull.


    The hard skull cracked open a notch, with the silver coin drilling in, tumbling through the soft brain tissue, creating an instant large cavity.


    Finally, it struck the other side of the cranium and rebounded back.


    Zibeer stiffened, then suddenly fell backwards.


    The other officers in the tent had not yet grasped what happened and were successively ¡°called out¡± by gold and silver coins within a few breaths. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The messenger bowed his head in silence for the dead officers.


    The mourning was brief; the messenger grabbed a sword from one of the bodies¡ªhe had been stripped of any weapon upon entering the camp¡ªand then placed the oil lamp next to the tent.


    The fire spread quickly, and the main tent was rapidly consumed by flames.


    The messenger left the tent with the sword in hand, and a roaring sound spread in all directions, ¡°The garrison officer is dead! Surrender and you will not be killed!¡±


    Chilling bugle calls responded to this Sonic Blast Spell from all directions.


    ¡°The Lieutenant Colonel has done it!¡± Tang Juan¡¯s facial muscles twitched with excitement, he leapt up, drawing his sword and yelled, ¡°Attack!¡±


    ¡°Attack!¡± The soldiers of the Iron Peak County Infantry roared to bolster their courage and, grinding their teeth, charged towards the enemy¡¯s camp.

 Chapter 656 656 29 Contempt

    ?Chapter 656: Chapter 29 Contempt Chapter 656: Chapter 29 Contempt The infantry of the 200th men squadron of Iron Peak County, [Peter Buniel], did not know where to go, and his centurion, [Tamas], would not allow him to ask any questions.


    Bunir in the old language means dwarf, fitting for him as he was born short-statured. Therefore, an officer, who got a headache just from hearing ¡°Peter,¡± registered him angrily with this apt nickname.


    Before setting off, everyone received a stick, and the dwarf got one as well.


    The centurion strictly ordered everyone to bite down on their sticks like horses with bits, not allowing them to fall out. If one did, it meant a whipping.


    There was no pre-battle speech. The centurion¡¯s face was overcast as he spat out one sentence, ¡°Whether you¡¯re worth three hundred acres depends on today!¡±


    With that said, he waved his hand.


    Biting on a stick, the dwarf hoisted his spear and set out.


    ...


    The squad moved through the forest without any real path to speak of; the slightest carelessness could cause dispersal.


    The dwarf¡¯s squadron had followed the centurion through the old woods twice before, not knowing the purpose at the time, which now seemed likely to have been in preparation for today.


    The dense branches of the trees not only made marching difficult, but also provided many with the opportunity to desert.


    The dwarf watched with opened eyes as the comrade ahead dropped his weapon and ran into Chestnut Forest, disappearing without a trace.


    But the dwarf did not run. He did not dare, and besides, he was fixated on those three hundred acres.


    So he quickened his pace, catching up with those further ahead.


    The squad eventually stopped in a piece of forest, unaware of its location or purpose, and the enemy was nowhere to be seen.


    The centurion ordered everyone to lie down, one by one whispering into their ears:


    ¡°When the signal sounds, you rush forward for me. If you see someone without a red scarf, kill mercilessly for me! Three hundred acres! Remember, three hundred acres!¡±


    The moment for truth had arrived. The dwarf lay on the ground, his mouth dry, his limbs numb.


    He was merely a cowardly, honest farmer who had lived his life dealing with the land, without even having killed a pig, let alone a man.


    To kill a man was to go to hell!


    But three hundred acres, those were inconceivable even in dreams.


    He longed to hear the signal, yet he also dreaded it.


    After an unknown wait, the life-or-death charge finally reached his ears.


    Loud cries of killing erupted in the woods, and many impulsively charged out with spears gripped tight.


    The dwarf lay motionless on the ground, his limbs refusing to obey him.


    He was genuinely terrified, fearing death itself.


    During his days serving the previous lord, he only received two pieces of black bread a day.


    So when he laid down his arms to surrender, he felt no burden whatsoever.


    On the contrary, not having to fight relieved him immensely.


    Serving under this current lord, he got not only bread but also three silver coins.


    The silver coins were now hidden in a secret pocket close to his body, pressing painfully against his ribs.


    But what worth were three silver coins next to life? War truly was deadly!


    The dwarf was not certain he was heaven-bound; he was not very devout and had never donated money or grain to the church.


    Even if the Lord were merciful and allowed him into heaven, it was better to delay the journey as much as possible.


    After all, he had already pocketed those three silver coins¡­


    He had also received a land grant document, which he cared for as much as the silver coins, placing them together cautiously.


    The dwarf yearned for land, so much so that it drove him mad, but he had not truly taken possession of any yet.


    The three hundred acres existed only in description; the dwarf had neither set boundary markers nor ploughed furrows.


    Nobody had pointed to an actual piece of land and told him in concrete terms, ¡°This land is yours, belongs to no one else but you.¡±


    ¡°What if it¡¯s a lie?¡± a voice inside him desperately tried to convince the dwarf: ¡°Who knows if they¡¯ll really give you the land? When has a lord ever been kind? Hide, just hide here! Wait till the fighting¡¯s done before coming out!¡±


    Another voice incessantly muttered: ¡°Three hundred acres, those are three hundred acres! Go for it!¡±


    Suddenly, a searing pain struck the dwarf¡¯s back.


    He turned to see the furious face of Centurion Tamas looming over him.


    Tamas, holding a vine whip, lashed the small soldier lying on the ground furiously, bellowing like thunder, ¡°Coward! Trash! Charge! Look with your pig eyes! We¡¯re winning! Charge, and we win! A free three hundred acres! Three hundred acres for nothing, and you don¡¯t want it!¡±


    The dwarf screamed miserably, his body curling up into a tiny ball, begging for mercy continuously.


    Centurion Tamas lashed out so furiously that the whip could not endure and ¡°snapped¡± into two pieces.


    Tamas¡¯s arm trembled, he tossed the remaining half of the vine toward the small soldier and reached for his sword, ¡°You don¡¯t want your three hundred acres! Fine! Fuck you! I¡¯ll kill you right now!¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The dwarf clawed at the soil, struggling to his feet.


    Pain, shame, greed, fear, hate¡­ His mind was nearly a mushy mess.


    ¡°Ahhhh!!!¡± A chilling scream erupted from the dwarf¡¯s chest, as the simple farmer, eyes bloodshot and unarmed, burst out of the forest, ¡°Kill the devil! Three hundred acres!¡±


    The other cowards, either infected by the dwarf¡¯s frenzy, or scared of military punishment, or muttering about the three hundred acres, or a bit of everything, began to rise, panting heavily.


    ¡°The devils are up ahead! They¡¯re here to steal your land! Kill! Killing devils doesn¡¯t count as killing people!¡± Tamas, brandishing his military saber, bellowed fiercely, ¡°Whoever the fuck doesn¡¯t move, I¡¯ll kill them right here!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡± Their faces twisted fiercely, they filled with roars and charged towards where the devils were.


    ¡­


    [Tang Juan] was never afraid of battle; on the contrary, fighting could get him so excited it was addictive.


    But this time, he felt anxious for the first time.


    The enemy¡¯s arrangement was methodical, with a double-layer wooden fence surrounding the camp, and sentries scattered early on.

 Chapter 657 657 29 Contempt_2

    ?Chapter 657: Chapter 29 Contempt_2 Chapter 657: Chapter 29 Contempt_2 In order to conceal their movements, Juan had no choice but to set up the attack position a mile away.


    But he still ran into the enemy sentries, fortunately, the sentries were also startled and were killed before they could raise the alarm.


    The charge of over a mile, not to mention how much strength the soldiers would have left when they reached the enemy, just running a mile through the forest without deviating from the path is something few could achieve.


    So Tang Juan was taking a gamble, with the disadvantages of a reckless assault on one side of the scale, and the fragile morale of the enemy soldiers and Moritz van Nassau on the other.


    The original plan was to wait for the enemy troops to split up, then ambush them in the open ground between Hammer Fort and Revodan.


    However, the enemy commander was unusually cautious, fighting by the book.


    This made Tang Juan uncertain whether the enemy would still divide their forces.


    ...


    Observing the enemy¡¯s several failed attacks on Hammer Fort, Lieutenant Tang Juan concluded that the enemy soldiers had low morale and lacked the will to fight.


    Therefore, he decided to adopt a more dangerous battle plan¡ªto annihilate them in front of Hammer Fort, regardless of whether the enemy divided their troops! sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Successfully intercepting Colonel Gaisa¡¯s messenger offered him a godsent opportunity.


    Tang Juan had not proposed ¡°taking advantage of the situation to decapitate,¡± perhaps because he hadn¡¯t thought of it or because he didn¡¯t want to.


    But Colonel Moritz himself suggested this perilous plan.


    It was a surprise to everyone that Moritz, with his rank of Colonel, volunteered to risk his life to assassinate the enemy commander,


    Tang Juan was extremely moved.


    ¡°Do unto them as they have done unto us,¡± Moritz chuckled with his usual casualness, ¡°If they can send Spellcasters disguised as messengers to assassinate, we might as well give it a try.¡±


    Juan, with his military saber in hand, was sprinting through the woods, silently praying, ¡°Don¡¯t let anything happen, Colonel.¡±


    Breaking out of the forest, the view opened up, and just as he expected, there were only a few people who accurately followed him and ran to the side of the enemy camp.


    The formation of the Iron Peak County Infantry had become fragmented after the mile-long cross-country charge.


    Many soldiers ran out of the forest and stood on the road only to find the enemy camp was still three or four hundred meters away from them.


    Some soldiers even ended up behind Hammer Fort.


    ¡°Damn it! What were they thinking?¡± cursed Juan angrily, ¡°Pull out the stakes!¡±


    He was the first to rush to the wooden barrier, followed by the other soldiers like they had just woken from a dream.


    They inserted stakes carried with the army into the ground, spaced two fist-widths apart, with sharp ends pointing outward to form a wooden barricade¡ªtextbook temporary defensive fortifications for a camp.


    The enemy had two circles of wooden barricades, inner and outer.


    Just as Tang Juan was pulling a gap wide enough for two men in the outer circle, enemy troops inside the camp came running over.


    Some of the enemies began firing bows and arrows at Tang Juan and his men.


    The enemy¡¯s bows were weak, the arrows flying erratically, but they still scared the Iron Peak County Soldiers into a panic.


    As arrows whizzed past them, they turned and ran.


    ¡°[Vulgar expletive denoting extreme anger and frustration]!¡± Tang Juan cursed furiously, ¡°I¡¯m not running! What are you running for? Where is the disciplinary team?¡±


    The disciplinary team didn¡¯t respond because they too had strayed from the path.


    Tang Juan shouted frantically, raising his military saber and dragging down one of the fleeing soldiers, ready to enforce discipline himself.


    Otherworldly howls came from the woods; the noise startled everyone, friend and foe alike, leaving even Tang Juan momentarily stunned.


    The howling grew closer and louder.


    A short soldier burst out of the foliage, unarmed¡ªnobody would have imagined that such a chilling battle cry could come from such a diminutive man.


    The small soldier broke into the space between the two barricades, crazily pulling up the stakes.


    The enemy shot arrows at him, but he didn¡¯t dodge.


    ¡°Kill the demon!¡± After pulling out a stake, he let out a roar: ¡°Kill the demon!¡±


    Many of the fleeing Iron Peak County Soldiers stopped in their tracks, hesitating.


    Seizing this opportunity, Tang Juan completed what he had to do; he slashed the deserter to death with a sword and commanded fiercely, ¡°Whoever dares to run, execute on the spot!¡±


    More and more Iron Peak County Soldiers emerged from the forest.


    Most of them hadn¡¯t followed Tang Juan¡¯s initial charge and found it easy to drop to the ground, but hard to stand up again.


    So, they lay on the ground, hoping to last until either victory or defeat.


    It was only with the centurions¡¯ curses, whips, and threats of confiscating three hundred acres of their land that the frightened soldiers stood up and joined the fight.


    The fresh troops swept up the would-be deserters and charged toward the enemy camp; with an army lacking resolve, sheer numbers were a source of courage.


    Seeing their comrades by their side, even the most cowardly soldiers suddenly mustered some bravery.


    Iron Peak County Soldiers swarmed toward the wooden barricades, following the short soldier in pulling out the stakes.


    ¡°Shout! Give me a damn shout!¡± Tang Juan bellowed.


    His emotions were extreme, yet Tang Juan¡¯s thoughts were unusually calm.


    He knew that both sides were ragtags, fighting purely on momentum.


    If they could just appear as if they could win, then they would truly win!


    Tang Juan raised his blood-dripping saber high, leading his soldiers to chant, ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill!¡±


    ¡°Kill!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers pulled out the outer stakes.


    ¡°Kill!!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers pulled out the inner stakes.


    ¡°Kill!!!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers surged into the enemy camp like a flood.


    ¡°The Vernge County garrison officer is dead!¡± Suddenly Tang Juan realized something was amiss, ¡°Surrender and live!¡±


    ¡°Die!¡± The Iron Peak County Soldiers, with bloodshot eyes, screamed, ¡°Kill!¡±


    ¡­


    By the time Richard Mason, in charge of defending Hammer Fort, arrived with his artillery team, the Iron Peak County Infantry had already broken through the barricades and entered the enemy camp.


    The two sides were locked in close combat amongst tents and campfires.


    With no uniforms, it was almost impossible to tell friend from foe.

 Chapter 658 658 29 Contempt_3

    ?Chapter 658: Chapter 29 Contempt_3 Chapter 658: Chapter 29 Contempt_3 The vast majority of soldiers fighting each other were without armor; sharp swords drew blood with a light slice, and long spears could take a life with a thrust to the chest.


    In the midst of screams, shouts of killing, and pleas for mercy, someone hoarsely cried out in desperation, ¡°The ones with red scarves are the rebels! Red scarves! Rebels!¡±


    Next to a gap in the wooden palisade, Mason found an anxious Tang Juan.


    The latter had two soldiers holding his legs, lifting him up as he watched the battle with a serious expression.


    ¡°Where is Mr. B?¡± Mason asked as soon as he saw him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Juan bit his lip tightly.


    ¡°How¡¯s the battle going?!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Tang Juan¡¯s handsome features were somewhat distorted as he tightly clutched the hem of his garment, ¡°There¡¯s no way to escape, we¡¯re all trapped inside! It¡¯s turning into a bloodbath!¡±


    Fear can make a person succumb to the ¡®fight or flight¡¯ survival instinct; if it truly escalated to a bloodbath, the outcome would be hard to predict.


    Juan jumped back to the ground and bombarded his senior with questions: ¡°What about your cannons?¡±


    ¡°Brought the ones that can still shoot,¡± Mason pointed to the log-like objects his soldiers were carrying.


    ¡°Good! Wait for my signal, then fire all at once! Aim where there are more people, don¡¯t mind the friendly fire, just bombard them!¡± Juan swung his arms, ordering the soldiers he could still command, ¡°Everyone else, follow me!¡±


    With that, Juan ran north along the palisade, and the soldiers followed without understanding why.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Mason yelled at his junior¡¯s retreating figure.


    Juan didn¡¯t look back: ¡°I¡¯m going to open the camp gate!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters had deliberately spread the rumor that Captain Mason and Lieutenant Bard were tasked with relocating the refugees and had already left Revodan.


    In reality, only Bard had gone to relocate the refugees while Mason secretly led the troops to build the ¡°new¡± Hammer Fort.


    During this time, Mason had also improved the wooden cannons.


    The original wooden cannons required long, straight, and thick timber reinforced with iron hoops, which proved too cumbersome to build and found to be usable only a few times upon testing.


    So the artillery captain gave up on pursuit and directly made disposable wooden cannons instead.


    Difficult to get large timber?


    Then use smaller ones, makeshift with wood of about a foot in diameter.


    Too troublesome to hoop with iron?


    Then don¡¯t hoop it, since it¡¯s disposable anyway.


    Timber is thin and not hooped with iron, which makes it easy to burst?


    Then reduce the gunpowder.


    The result was these log-like ¡°wooden cannons.¡±


    To call them cannons was a stretch; they were more like oversized wooden matchlocks.


    They didn¡¯t even fire lead or iron shot¡ªthere wasn¡¯t enough lead or iron to waste¡ªbut rather stone fragments.


    Killing the enemy was difficult; the primary purpose was the noise, and to shower the enemy¡¯s face with debris.


    This extreme ¡°corner cutting¡± did result in tragically weak wooden cannons, but the cost was also as low as it could be¡ªafter all, it was just drilling a hole in a piece of wood.


    Therefore, Captain Mason had made hundreds of them in one go and was still continuously producing more.


    Now, what limited the size of Mason¡¯s artillery unit was no longer the number of cannons, but the insufficient supply of gunpowder.


    ¡­


    In the barracks of Vernge County, no high ground could be found suitable for mounting cannons, and the range of the disposable wooden cannons was too short.


    Mason was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan.


    He looked around and couldn¡¯t find any place to set up the cannons.


    Clenching his teeth, he ordered, ¡°Fire while holding them!¡±


    The ¡°artillerymen¡± were stunned and motionless.


    Even with reduced gunpowder, these crudely made wooden cannons would occasionally burst.


    Firing while holding the cannons in hand was like drawing lots for suicide.


    Seeing no one move, Captain Mason snatched a wooden cannon from his subordinate: ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡±


    He held the wooden cannon, stepping on something that allowed him to raise his feet, and strained to stand at a somewhat elevated position.


    But holding it was still too low, so Mason simply hoisted the wooden cannon onto his shoulder.


    His subordinates were so frightened they dared not speak. Firing while holding the cannon might result in a lost hand if it burst; hoisting and firing could mean loss of life.


    Juan had already circled to the north side of the camp, had opened the gate, and was frantically waving a flag at Mason.


    ¡°Light the fuse!¡± Mason bellowed.


    The soldiers were too scared to move.


    ¡°Light it for me!¡± Mason roared in anger.


    A ¡°gunner¡± with a large red birthmark on his face silently lit the fuse of the wooden cannon in his hands, pushed his senior officer aside, and stood on a stepping stone with the cannon hoisted on his shoulder.


    There was a loud ¡°boom,¡± and smoke billowed out as the force of the gunpowder explosion far exceeded human strength.


    The people fighting in the camp were startled by the blast.


    Mason dashed through the smoke and saw that his old subordinate with the red birthmark was still alive; he breathed a huge sigh of relief.


    ¡°Red Birthmark¡± was pale, with blood trickling from one ear, his hands trembling uncontrollably.


    He tossed away the still-smoking wooden cannon, squeezed out a smile, and began to cough desperately.


    Mason suddenly realized how foolish he¡¯d been; firing cannons at people was useless, with the range of these wooden cannons, how many could he hit?


    The noise was enough!


    ¡°Fire from the ground!¡± Mason frantically ordered his subordinates, ¡°Everyone, fire from the ground!¡±


    A series of booming sounds erupted outside the palisade, and the melody of the bloody battle paused for a beat.


    With the smoke spreading, soldiers on both sides were unsure where the bombardment was coming from.


    ¡°Vernge County is defeated! The garrison commander is dead!¡± At the gate, Juan commanded the soldiers beside him to yell in unison, ¡°Surrender and you won¡¯t be killed! Run!¡±


    ¡°Victory!¡± Mason also led his subordinates to shout in unison, ¡°Victory¡ªvictory!¡±


    The soldiers of Iron Peak County quickly caught on and fervently yelled along, ¡°Victory¡ªvictory!¡±


    ¡°Run! Run north! Home!¡± Vernge County soldiers pointed at the gate and cried out.


    The ferocity and blood-courage of both sides seemed to have been drained during that pause just before, and the soldiers of Vernge County were fleeing towards the gate, towards home. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 659 659 29 Contempt_4

    ?Chapter 659: Chapter 29 Contempt_4 Chapter 659: Chapter 29 Contempt_4 The soldiers from Iron Peak County did not stop them, just now they could madly stab the enemy with spears, but for some reason they could not bring themselves to stab anymore.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet!¡± the chief centurion of Vernge County, Captain Salai, cried out in anger and grief, ¡°We haven¡¯t lost yet! Come back!¡±


    Captain Laisa raised his military saber, trying to stop the flood of defeat.


    Suddenly, a soldier from the crowd behind Laisa shot a dark silver coin, hitting Laisa in the back of the head.


    Laisa fell to the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood, and his consciousness was extinguished.


    ¡­


    Over at Winters¡¯, he still did not know the outcome of the battle at Hammer Fort.


    ...


    Separated by hundreds of kilometers, he couldn¡¯t possibly remote control his troops.


    At the same time, Winters had ample confidence in the military talents of his senior, Juan.


    The vast battlefield was roughly divided into the Eastern and Western fronts, Winters was in charge of the Eastern front, while Lord Juan had absolute command of the Western front.


    Mysterious Man A and Mysterious Man B were the most powerful secret weapons Winters had.


    Just as Lord Juan had secured a great victory on his front, Winters had encountered a bit of trouble on his.


    Winters discovered that the enemy from Mont Blanc County was approaching fast.


    In Deerhorn Town, he received the message that ¡°the enemy army has turned back to help.¡±


    Before he could leave Deerhorn Town, another scout returned with the news that ¡°the enemy is building a Floating Bridge, and they¡¯re making rapid progress.¡±


    Considering the situation within Mont Blanc County, Winters concluded the enemy had been prepared early on.


    Three hundred-men units quickly assembled in the square of Deerhorn Town.


    Facing his soldiers, Winters ordered without mercy, ¡°Throw away all the plundered goods!¡±


    The soldiers were undersupplied, wore threadbare clothes, endured strict military law, and had to fight for their lives; looting was one of the few outlets they had.


    Or rather, looting after battles had become a ¡°sacred and inviolable right¡± of the soldiers.


    Winters deeply detested this, but he couldn¡¯t eradicate this tradition overnight.


    He could restrain his soldiers from theft, arson, or rape, but as for petty thievery, he chose to turn a blind eye for the time being.


    Entering prosperous places like Deerhorn Town, his soldiers had all made a little fortune.


    Some soldiers had even changed into new clothes and shoes, creating a mix that was both comical and sad with their old garments.


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ order, everyone was very reluctant.


    ¡°Throw it away!¡± Winters repeated the order, a rare occurrence.


    His old subordinates¡ªcenturions and sergeants¡ªhesitated no more, taking out coins, fabrics, silver cutlery, fine little porcelain, and other trinkets from their backpacks and resolutely threw them to the ground.


    With the centurions and sergeants leading by example, other soldiers followed suit.


    But they truly didn¡¯t want to part with their spoils, with some even crying as they threw them away.


    On the other side, Andre was leading a cavalry unit to raid the bakeries, taverns, and all places where food might be stored in Deerhorn Town.


    Andre, wielding a military saber, kicked open the door of the baker¡¯s house and ordered, ¡°Take all the bread!¡±


    The fierce-looking cavalry immediately started looting the baker¡¯s home. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Sir! This isn¡¯t my bread!¡± the baker wailed, ¡°I¡¯m baking it for someone else! If you take it, what am I supposed to say?¡±


    Andre indifferently threw a bag of silver coins to the baker.


    The baker weighed the bag and nodded in resignation.


    Back with Winters¡¯ group, after seeing the soldiers clear all the burdensome items, he went through the ranks to inspect personally.


    Six soldiers still had ¡°spoils of war¡± in their backpacks, and he singled them out.


    ¡°Throw it away,¡± he repeated the order for the third time.


    The six soldiers dutifully threw away the items they had looted.


    Returning in front of the troops, Winters told his men directly, ¡°The enemy is coming to kill us, they swear to wipe us out. The speed of the march is life itself. Carry nothing but weapons, rations, and ammunition! Don¡¯t covet these petty profits, the money from the Deerhorn Town treasury is being transported by the horse team, and everyone will get a share after the battle!¡±


    The soldiers turned from sorrow to joy, with the particularly heartbroken ones instantly laughing through their tears.


    Andre¡¯s cavalry unit returned to the town square, distributing the requisitioned bread and salted meat and other portable food and drink to everyone.


    Having shed their burdens and replenished food, Winters waved his hand, and the troops left Deerhorn Town, continuing their march to Falconflower Fort.


    Winters did not know the status of the battle on Juan¡¯s front, but the longer he tied down enemy forces, the more breathing room the Western front would have.


    So even though he knew the enemy had prepared early, Winters chose to stick to the original plan and continue to feint an attack on Falconflower Fort to keep pulling at the enemy¡¯s attention.


    Upon leaving Deerhorn Town, a scout reported, ¡°The enemy¡¯s floating bridge is now in place.¡±


    Winters did not say a word.


    He led his troops less than five kilometers out of Deerhorn Town when another scout reported, ¡°The enemy¡¯s advance guard is fast and lightly equipped, only fifteen kilometers away from Deerhorn Town.¡±


    The speed of Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison was astonishing, like bloodhounds that had caught the scent, hot on Winters¡¯ tail.


    ¡°Right.¡± Andre also figured it out and laughed heartily, ¡°It looks like they¡¯ve been waiting for us to leap into the outer lines and want to devour us whole.¡±


    ¡°No need to go further ahead. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the militias from the various towns of Mont Blanc County have already started to assemble, and wherever we go we¡¯re likely to hit a wall,¡± said Winters, looking at the map with a furrowed brow.


    Andre yawned, completely unconcerned that they were surrounded.


    ¡°The garrison officer of Mont Blanc County¡­ he wouldn¡¯t think I had dashed recklessly into his territory without any preparation, would he?¡± Winters Montagne was utterly dumbfounded.


    He laughed out of frustration, ¡°This guy, he really fucking looks down on people!¡±

 Chapter 660 660 30 The Sound of the Bell

    ?Chapter 660: Chapter 30 The Sound of the Bell Chapter 660: Chapter 30 The Sound of the Bell Hundreds of soldiers marched briskly toward Deerhorn Town.


    Strangely, there were no troops wielding halberds and wearing armor to maintain order, nor officers riding high-headed horses and dressed in splendid uniforms.


    Only soldiers, and nothing but soldiers.


    A rider came from the opposite direction, squinting his eyes, trying hard to find his superior among the soldiers.


    A bald man impatiently waved his arm at the rider.


    Relieved, the rider happily ran to the colonel, saluting automatically.


    Gessa slapped away the rider¡¯s hand in a fit of anger, ¡°How many times have I said it? No salutes!¡±


    ... sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The colonel had also changed into coarse clothes, his face smudged haphazardly with soot.


    But no matter what he wore, his shiny bald head was too eye-catching, so he had also gotten a dirty hemp freedom hat.


    At a glance, this baldy actually did look like a rough peasant¡ªjust a bit too plump.


    ¡°The rebels are on the main road between Deerhorn Town and Falconflower Fort!¡± the rider blurted out urgently, ¡°Lots of flags! At least a thousand men!¡±


    ¡°Fake!¡± Gessa dismissed with contempt, ¡°If the rebels truly had a thousand elite troops, would they need to take such a risky gamble? They would simply deploy and fight us, and that would be that, right?¡±


    The rider scratched his head.


    ¡°However, the rebel¡¯s cavalry is indeed quite formidable,¡± Gessa¡¯s eyes lit up, his voice filled with envy, ¡°If we could capture them, it wouldn¡¯t be a waste of our efforts.¡±


    Gessa had concentrated all of the officers¡¯ mounts to strengthen his scouts. Even so, Gessa¡¯s cavalry was far smaller than the enemy¡¯s.


    It was not that Mont Blanc County didn¡¯t produce horses, but the warhorses had long been conscripted away.


    ¡°So should I give the order to try and spare the warhorses as much as possible?¡± the rider inquired tentatively.


    ¡°Are you fucking stupid?¡± Gessa fumed, steam almost rising from his seven orifices, ¡°Without killing horses, how are we to deal with the cavalry? You¡¯re thinking of dividing the spoils before even winning the battle?¡±


    The rider just chuckled sheepishly.


    Gessa held his forehead and sighed, ¡°Have the messengers sent to the towns returned yet?¡±


    ¡°Some from the nearby towns have, the ones from farther away have not,¡± the rider stifled his laughter and answered earnestly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the militia from the towns should already be assembling. As for the villages¡­ the peasants are playing ghosts! We couldn¡¯t conscript any grain from them; I don¡¯t believe the rebels could have, either.¡±


    ¡°Is the bridge to Lin County demolished?¡±


    ¡°All demolished.¡±


    ¡°Good! The rebels following the bandit chief to Mont Blanc County are surely all veterans and the main force. Killing one lessens one danger,¡± Gessa sneered, ¡°Don¡¯t let a single one escape.¡±


    ¡­


    Mont Blanc County is naturally enclosed, surrounded by water on three sides and mountains on one.


    Winters was currently located in the heartland of Mont Blanc County¡ªbetween Deerhorn Town and Falconflower Fort.


    Scout reports indicated that the enemy¡¯s vanguard was less than ten kilometers from Deerhorn Town.


    Having carefully considered it, Winters thought that if he were commanding the enemy forces, he would deploy troops after reaching Deerhorn Town and envelop from three or more directions.


    This was the enemy¡¯s territory; if defeated, there would be no escape.


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t very anxious.


    He gathered the acting centurions and sergeants of his three hundred-man squads.


    Twelve of them, standing in line, each received a map from Winters¡¯s hands.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot to learn from this map. This is something Colonel John Jeska told me,¡± Winters gestured for everyone to sit.


    His subordinates sat before him, as if attending an evening class on an ordinary day.


    Winters rested his chin on his hand, making eye contact with each of his former comrades, ¡°The longest among you has known me for over a year; the newest, less than three months. Thinking you can understand the map in just three months is daydreaming.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± his tone shifted as he smiled, ¡°as long as what you¡¯re carrying on your shoulders is a head, not a rock. Using a map to avoid getting lost is more than enough to learn in three months.¡±


    An acting centurion from Wolf Town suddenly laughed out loud, the less seasoned acting sergeants not understanding why.


    ¡°Bart Xialing!¡± Winters raised his arched eyebrows, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡­


    Bart Xialing hailed from Nanxin Village in Wolf Town. He was tall, with a square face that made him easy to spot in a crowd.


    During the militia draft in Wolf Town, he was the first to draw the lot. As a result, Winters remembered this big fellow right away.


    During the Great Wilderness battle, he was promoted to sergeant. Now, he had become an acting centurion.


    ¡­


    Bart Xialing tried desperately to hold back his laughter, his face turning red as he responded, ¡°Report to the Centurion, nothing, sir!¡±


    ¡°Impudent! Do you think I don¡¯t know why you laughed?¡±


    After stopping his subordinate¡¯s disrespectful act, Winters returned to the main topic.


    ¡°I won¡¯t hide the battle situation from you¡ªthe situation is dire,¡± Winters analyzed calmly, ¡°The enemy forces are encircling us, their strength at least six times ours. This is their well-established stronghold; the nearby villages and towns, not one will help us.¡±


    The relaxed atmosphere dissipated gradually, and the expressions of Winters¡¯s newly promoted commanders turned solemn involuntarily.


    ¡°We can¡¯t fight head-on¡ªwe¡¯d be outmatched. Even if we could, all of our resources would be spent,¡± Winters continued, ¡°The objective of containing the enemy forces has been successfully completed. It¡¯s time for our triumphant return.¡±


    He tapped the map in his hand, ¡°Do you understand what this means?¡±


    Bart Xialing spoke up eagerly, ¡°Does it mean we¡¯re retreating separately?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°Even in retreat, there must be order. If we all leave together, it¡¯s too big a target and too easy to be caught. The enemy commander is just waiting for me to gather my troops all in one place¡ªhe wishes!¡±

 Chapter 661 661 30 Bell Sounds_2

    ?Chapter 661: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_2 Chapter 661: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_2 ¡°`


    The crowd burst into laughter.


    ¡°Listen up,¡± Winters said, his eyes gleaming with a cold light, his smile stern yet confident, ¡°An attack usually relies on a coordinated advance, but this time I¡¯m going to do the opposite. We¡¯ll disintegrate and scatter, then regroup as we retreat. The enemy commander underestimates me, thinking that with this old trick he can trap me in Mont Blanc County. I¡¯ll give the old-timer a free lesson! However, the success or failure of this battle ultimately depends on you!¡±


    The twelve newly-minted commanders straightened their backs, ready to receive orders.


    ¡°Bart Xialing!¡± Winters called the first name.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    Winters called Xialing over to his side, handed him an arrow, and explained using the map:


    ¡°You¡¯ll take three squads of ten, following Lieutenant Celeni¡¯s cavalry. Head to Brine Town first, then turn south from here and follow this river all the way to South Mountain Town! Raid Mont Blanc County¡¯s cavalry yard for me!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Humans, livestock¡ªonly take the long-legged ones, burn everything else! After leaving South Mountain Town, head west along the foothills, avoid villages and towns. To here!¡± Winters pointed on the map at [Wooden Flute Town]: ¡°I¡¯ve arranged boats to wait there for you. As soon as you reach the riverbank, someone will receive you and get you across the Anya River.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bart Xialing laughed heartily and raised his hand in salute.


    Winters passed Xialing a horse-head chess piece: ¡°Repeat your route.¡±


    Bart Xialing took the chess piece and retraced the complete route on the map.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters punched his subordinate on the shoulder: ¡°Next!¡±


    Another acting Centurion stepped forward.


    Winters handed down an arrow, a chess piece, and continued to explain on the map: ¡°You too will lead three squads. Just head southwest for me. Take this ravine here and keep going until the end. The area is densely populated with villages, so you¡¯ll need to rush through under cover of night, straight to the Anya River. As soon as you get here, there¡¯ll be boats to meet you¡­¡±


    The twelve acting Centurions and sergeants in turn took an iron arrow from Winters, and he mapped out a route for each of them.


    Before coming to Mont Blanc County, Winters had gathered boats and set up four river crossing points on the Anya River¡ªAndre had crossed the river that way.


    According to the original plan, as long as he could lead his troops to any of those points, he could withdraw all three of his hundred-man squads.


    There were four retreat plans corresponding to the four river crossing points, and now they were all put to use.


    ¡°Each of you was carefully chosen by me, I personally taught you all you know, and I personally devised each of your retreat routes.


    You will lead twenty to thirty soldiers in enemy territory, where one false step could mean a bottomless abyss. I can¡¯t be sure whether you will be able to return to Iron Peak County alive.¡±


    At this point, Winters smiled through tears:


    ¡°But if our army is to grow, you will all sooner or later command more soldiers and undertake more arduous tasks. I can¡¯t always be by your side to supervise and direct you.


    This is your first trial! If you fail, that¡¯s it¡ªthere¡¯s no second chance. If you pass, you prove you¡¯re worthy to move forward! Whether you are gold or mere iron will be known once you¡¯re tested! Dismissed!¡±


    ¡­


    As soon as Mont Blanc County¡¯s garrison arrived in Deer Horn Town, Colonel Gaisa was shocked.


    ¡°Gone?¡± Gaisa glared, cursing the Scout: ¡°What do you mean, gone?¡±


    Captain Hudson replied with a pale face: ¡°The Rebels have rolled up their flags and run off.¡±


    ¡°Where did they run to?¡± Gaisa slammed the table and roared, ¡°Can living people just vanish into thin air?¡±


    ¡°The problem is we don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve gone!¡± Hudson gritted his teeth, ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ like they ran off in all directions at once!¡±


    Gaisa immediately led his vanguard directly to Montaigne¡¯s group¡¯s last known location, but, as expected, came up empty.


    Later that day, people from a dozen villages and towns came in simultaneously to report sightings of ¡°Rebel traces¡± or ¡°Rebels right there.¡±


    Fortunately for Colonel Gaisa, he was bald, otherwise who knows how much hair he might have lost.


    The officers of Mont Blanc County gathered around the map, sticking a small flag wherever there was enemy activity.


    In the end, with mixed feelings, they realized that small flags had been placed near almost every village and town, covering every direction.


    Colonel Gaisa was in agony, a moan emanating from deep within his chest as his hands pressed firmly against his skull.


    ¡°It¡¯s all fake, just smoke and mirrors,¡± Lieutenant Woods assessed calmly, ¡°They¡¯re using small units to create illusions, to distract us and cover their main force¡¯s withdrawal.¡±


    The other Centurions nodded in agreement.


    ¡°So where¡¯s his main force?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked with his eyes closed, while the huge scar on his cheek twitched uncontrollably.


    ¡°This¡­¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Search!¡± another Centurion said, furious, ¡°We have to find them! Men and horses eat and drink, I don¡¯t believe they can stay hidden!¡±


    In the midst of the clamorous arguing, Lieutenant Woods asked quietly, ¡°What if, and I mean just what if, they¡¯re all real?¡±


    Lieutenant Woods was rather short and had come from the artillery. Since Mont Blanc County had no artillery units, he was currently serving in the fortress defense.


    Because Woods was diligent and trustworthy, the Colonel trusted him greatly with any engineering task that came his way.


    But also because he came from the artillery, he seldom spoke up during military meetings.


    ¡°Alerts from over a dozen towns at the same time,¡± Captain Hudson had to dismiss his artillery colleague¡¯s suggestion, ¡°How could they all be real? Unless Monta can split his forces into a dozen pieces?¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 662 662 30 Bell Sounds_3

    ?Chapter 662: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_3 Chapter 662: Chapter 30 Bell Sounds_3 Woods bowed his head and said no more.


    Colonel Gaisa suddenly chuckled coldly.


    ¡°This kid may have really pulled off a divide-and-conquer strategy,¡± he remarked with some emotion.


    ¡°Divide and conquer? Isn¡¯t he afraid that once his troops scatter, he¡¯ll never be able to gather them again?¡±


    ¡°If he dares to do so, he must be relying on something.¡± Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily as he stroked his palms. ¡°Young man, truly remarkable!¡±


    Captain Hudson and the other centurions in the tent felt their faces grow hot.


    The colonel¡¯s praise for the enemy was like a knife cut, more painful for the Mont Blanc County officers than being whipped.


    ...


    Someone, unconvinced, interjected: ¡°I still don¡¯t think the rebels can manage to divide and conquer.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked his subordinate calmly. ¡°If I had you lead your own troops independently, would you be able to do it? Could you?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the centurions answered in unison.


    ¡°Then why can¡¯t the rebels?¡± asked the colonel with a smile.


    ¡°Because¡­ we have received comprehensive military education and training,¡± Captain Hudson organized his thoughts. ¡°As commissioned officers, we have the ability to command our troops independently. How could the rebels have so many officers?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I was wondering the same¡ªI bet Mad Richard was even more puzzled thirty years ago,¡± Colonel Gaisa said, stroking his chin and smiling mockingly. ¡°Where would the rebels get so many officers?¡±


    ¡­


    Convinced that Montagne¡¯s forces had dispersed, Colonel Gaisa made a swift decision¡ªto pursue them separately.


    He sent pursuit troops in units of a hundred men, wherever there was enemy activity, there they would head.


    ¡°The rebels scatter, and you chase after them,¡± Colonel Gaisa deliberately provoked his centurions: ¡°Mont Blanc County is our turf. If you can¡¯t keep up, then you¡¯re simply outmatched; there¡¯s nothing more to say.¡±


    ¡°Just you wait,¡± Captain Hudson huffed, raising his hand in salute.


    The rest of the centurions, with eyes wide and breathing heavily, also saluted and set out with their hundred-man units. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Talking big was easy, but when it actually came time to lead troops in pursuit, Captain Hudson realized what an arduous task he was up against.


    The size of the enemy force he was pursuing was quite small; judging from the traces left behind, it couldn¡¯t have been more than thirty or forty men. In a direct battle, he was utterly confident.


    But the enemy didn¡¯t engage in battle at all; they just ran.


    And their cross-country speed was astonishing, as if they were running for their lives.


    One moment they were in the eastern village, and the next, an alarm came from a village a few kilometers to the west.


    Hudson was left confused as to whether it was the enemy¡¯s speed that was remarkable or if it was a different group entirely.


    What drove Hudson crazier was that his enemy seemed to be more familiar with Mont Blanc County¡¯s terrain than he, the rightful stationed captain, was.


    The enemy would often dive into some ravine he didn¡¯t know existed and then reemerge from a mystifying place, leaving Captain Hudson disoriented,


    So he also couldn¡¯t figure out whether the enemy was fleeing aimlessly without a destination or if every step was planned¡­


    The boasting had been made, so Hudson could only grit his teeth and stubbornly follow behind the enemy.


    Hudson might have been able to endure, but his soldiers could not.


    After a day of traversing forests and hills, the soldiers refused to go another step.


    ¡°Sir, even if you beat me to death, I can¡¯t walk any further,¡± a soldier, on the brink of both mental and physical collapse, said to Hudson with a sobbing voice: ¡°I really can¡¯t do this, just leave me here.¡±


    Hudson was equally exhausted, and surveying his disheveled subordinates, he sighed in agony: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s rest for a while then.¡±


    ¡­


    In a nameless ravine in the southern part of Mont Blanc County, Bart Xialing was also leading three squads of ten men each.


    Lieutenant Cherini¡¯s cavalry had already raced to the South Mountain Town¡¯s military horse farm, and Xialing was to meet up with the cavalry there.


    The small thirty-odd man unit trudged on tormentingly; they too were nearing their limits, each step a huge ordeal.


    One soldier could bear no more and flopped down onto the ground.


    The entire small unit also came to a stop.


    Bart Xialing quickly walked over, wanting to help his subordinate up.


    ¡°Centurion, even if you beat me to death, I can¡¯t walk any further,¡± the other cried. ¡°I really can¡¯t do this; just leave me here.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak such disheartening words,¡± Xialing replied, panting heavily. He took out his water flask and passed it over: ¡°Take a small drink.¡±


    The soldier sitting on the ground grabbed the flask and eagerly guzzled from it.


    Xialing was similarly parched, but he could still endure: ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much; it¡¯ll cause problems.¡±


    The soldier nodded in agreement, squeezing out the last drop of water from the flask.


    ¡°How about now, after drinking water, can you walk?¡± inquired Bart Xialing, the acting centurion.


    The soldier looked down and gently shook his head.


    Bart Xialing desperately tried to recall what his centurion would do in such a situation.


    But Xialing sadly realized he couldn¡¯t emulate what his centurion did: his centurion could address hundreds upon hundreds of men without a change in facial expression, his few words were enough to stir everyone¡¯s fighting spirit.


    But Bart Xialing admitted he didn¡¯t have that gift; he would even tremble talking in front of a hundred or so people.


    Bart Xialing wasn¡¯t Winters Montagne, Bart Xialing could only do it Bart Xialing¡¯s way.


    ¡°Bro, I¡¯m not good with words, and I don¡¯t know what to say¡­¡±


    Bart Xialing licked his dry lips, struggling to articulate his inner thoughts into coherent words: ¡°Here¡¯s the thing. I¡¯m tired too, I can¡¯t walk another step. But I¡¯ve got three hundred acres of land waiting for me back home, and I haven¡¯t yet pocketed the money we looted in White Mountain County. If we stay here and don¡¯t go back¡­ that would be a monumental loss, as if I¡¯ve let down my grandmother.¡±

 Chapter 663 663 30 Bell_4

    ?Chapter 663: Chapter 30 Bell_4 Chapter 663: Chapter 30 Bell_4 Hearing about land, hearing about money, the soldiers¡¯ eyes shimmered with hope.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you agree?¡± Bart Xialing looked at his subordinates, his words meant for everyone: ¡°If we haven¡¯t got the land and money yet and die here, wouldn¡¯t that be like working a whole year without getting paid? Come on, let¡¯s persevere a bit longer.¡±


    With that, Bart Xialing reached out his hand to a soldier sitting on the ground.


    The latter also grasped the acting Centurion¡¯s hand.


    Bart Xialing gave a strong pull, lifting the soldier up from the ground.


    The small detachment of thirty-seven men resumed their march; everyone was still tired, but their steps were firmer than before.


    ¡°Hold on, just a little further,¡± Bart Xialing waved his arms, trying to boost morale: ¡°Once we rendezvous with Lord Chelini¡¯s Cavalry, we¡¯ll have horses to ride.¡±


    ... Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± A soldier suddenly remembered something and asked loudly: ¡°What if I can¡¯t ride a horse? What do I do?¡±


    Faced with someone ruining the mood, Bart Xialing was furious: ¡°Why all the nonsense? We¡¯ll tie you to the horse¡¯s back! Or drag you if we have to!¡±


    The soldiers burst into laughter.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Another soldier spoke up: ¡°If I die here, will Lord Montagne give my wife and children the land?¡±


    Centurion Xialing initially wanted to directly answer, ¡°Of course.¡±


    But after mulling it over, he decided to answer differently.


    ¡°Brother,¡± Xialing said to a soldier clearly much older than himself with a smile: ¡°If you have a wife and kids, then you¡¯ve got to live to go back to them. Think about it; if you die here, your wife remarries with the kids, your child calling another man ¡®dad,¡¯ that man sleeping with your wife, hitting your kids, all on the land you died for¡ªdon¡¯t you think you¡¯d be losing out?¡±


    The laughter exploded, filling the entire valley with a cheerful atmosphere.


    ¡­


    When Bart Xialing finally crossed the threshold, his Centurion was not idle either.


    Winters Montagne was in a simple grass hut, speaking to a man who was tied up.


    He puzzledly offered water to the man: ¡°Senior, how could you dare come after me with just eighty men? I¡¯m not alone; I have a Cavalry, you know!¡±


    Winters had his Cavalry reassigned:


    Half to Andre, to make a detour and raid the military stables;


    The other half he led himself, looking to create some chaos in Mont Blanc County, to draw the enemy¡¯s attention and make space for the other small units to retreat.


    Washington, the ensign securely tied up, kept drinking as he grumbled resentfully: ¡°I was just unlucky to run into you. Your men won¡¯t be as lucky! The others will definitely catch up to them!¡±


    ¡°Good! That¡¯s right! You are correct!¡± Winters asked helplessly: ¡°Would you like something more to eat?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ensign Washington was famished.


    Winters took out some bread, breaking it into pieces and feeding it to his senior.


    ¡°Got any meat?¡± Washington chewed on the bread: ¡°Give me some more water; this bread is too dry!¡±


    Washington, fellow infantryman, was two grades senior to Winters. While they had not been close at the Land Academy, they recognized each other¡¯s faces.


    Captured by a junior, Washington let himself go, eating what was given and drinking what was available.


    Winters took out his water skin and offered it to Washington: ¡°Senior, eat well and drink well; we¡¯ll be on the road shortly.¡±


    Washington spat out the bread crumbs mixed with water in his mouth, choking on a foreign object that went down the wrong pipe, which caused him to cough violently: ¡°You¡­ you really going to kill me?¡±


    ¡°Oh! Where did that come from!? Of course not!¡± Winters patted Washington¡¯s back vigorously.


    ¡°Then what are you going to do?¡± Washington became bolder: ¡°Straight out¡ªkill or release, give me a straight answer!¡±


    ¡°An officer is a precious resource in war. Why would I simply kill you?¡± Winters said with a smile: ¡°You¡¯re coming back with me to Iron Peak County, to learn basket weaving.¡±


    After securing a gag in his senior¡¯s mouth and tying him onto the horse¡¯s back, Winters gave a whistle.


    The resting Cavalrymen got up one after the other, silently mounting their horses.


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave the prisoners here, it¡¯s time for us to go,¡± Winters laughed loudly: ¡°My guess is, Colonel Gaisa should be rushing to the Anya River by now, trying to catch us on the riverbank!¡±


    ¡­


    Winters guessed correctly; Colonel Gaisa was indeed hurrying toward the Anya River.


    Gaisa had it clear in his mind that no matter how Montagne¡¯s forces fragmented, they would ultimately have to return to Iron Peak County.


    To return to Iron Peak County, they would have to cross the Anya River.


    However, the stretch of river forming the border between Iron Peak County and Mont Blanc County spans over one hundred fifty kilometers.


    With half of Gaisa¡¯s troops in pursuit of the enemy, he had only about a thousand men left¡ªinsufficient to control such an extensive riverside.


    Therefore, Gaisa ordered the local militias of the villages along the riverbank to keep a close watch on the Anya River, while he took his troops to an anticipative yet logical place¡ªManyun Valley.


    To be precise, the opposite bank of Manyun Valley.


    Because after the troops of Mont Blanc County crossed the river, the second Floating Bridge had been dismantled under Gaisa¡¯s orders to prevent Montagne¡¯s forces from using it to cross the river again.


    While Gaisa waited in vain on the East Bank of Anya River, Winters had already crossed the river quietly upstream and paid a visit to Manyun Valley along the way.


    Upon arriving in Manyun Valley, Winters called a town meeting in the square as usual.


    First, Winters declared the rights to the citizens of Manyun Valley.


    Put simply, he told everyone that Manyun Valley would still fall under the rule of Revodan.


    Then, Winters compensated for Manyun Bridge at a fair price¡ªof course, with money looted from the public treasuries of the towns in Mont Blanc County.


    Whether to remain loyal to Revodan or Falconflower Fort was of little concern to the townspeople of Manyun Valley.

 Chapter 664 664 30 The Bells_5

    ?Chapter 664: Chapter 30 The Bells_5 Chapter 664: Chapter 30 The Bells_5 The burning of Manyun Bridge was a painful cut to them, and when they learned that the Garrison Officer, Winters Montagne, would compensate for Manyun Bridge on the spot, the townspeople of Manyun Valley were overjoyed to the point of madness.


    The church bell tower rang twelve times to celebrate.


    However, Winters also cautioned the mayor of Manyun Valley: although the money was compensated to the townspeople, the bridge could not be rebuilt; if it was rebuilt, he would send someone to burn it again; next time, there would be no compensation.


    The mayor of Manyun Valley swore with curses that he would absolutely not use the money to repair the bridge.


    ¡°I know it¡¯s inconvenient for everyone, just bear with it for a bit, and use this money to build some ferries first,¡± Winters patted the mayor¡¯s shoulder, ¡°When conditions allow, I will personally come and build a bridge for you, free of charge.¡±


    The mayor of Manyun ancient town was flattered and nodded repeatedly.


    Having resolved the issue of Manyun Valley, Winters ordered his subordinates to pack up, as he wanted to rush back to Revodan overnight¡ªhe actually felt a bit ¡°homesick.¡±


    ...


    Xial came running with an odd expression, reporting, ¡°Someone wants to see you?¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Which one wants to sue? Which one wants to petition?¡±


    ¡­


    Winters became the nominal master of Manyun Valley, and the nominal obligations also fell on his shoulders.


    With the exit of the old garrison and the Revodan circuit court, Winters had no choice but to personally adjudicate three civil lawsuits for Manyun Valley.


    The more reputable gentlemen in town even petitioned him together, requesting a speedy restoration of the Revodan circuit court operations.


    Although trivial governmental affairs tired Winters, his mood was incredibly uplifted.


    In this battle, he had won.


    He had won the right for the new Iron Peak County regime to survive; as for other problems, they could all be solved slowly.


    Such as¡­ the petty lawsuits and the endless petitions.


    ¡­


    Xial laughed heartily, showing his teeth, ¡°It isn¡¯t someone from Manyun Valley who wants to see you¡­ it¡¯s someone from across the river¡­¡±


    On the west bank of the Anya River, Colonel Gaisa finally met face to face with his adversary.


    Gaisa only brought two people and arrived at the western bank by boat.


    ¡°The rebel leader¡± also only brought two people.


    Gaisa scrutinized his opposite carefully¡ªthe man in front of him was very young, his body bursting with vibrant vitality;


    Rather than saying he was handsome, it was more accurate to say he had a charm that was different from handsomeness;


    Although he was in civilian clothes, he was evidently military at first glance;


    On the left side of the saddle hung a saber;


    On the right side was a walking stick, its handle fashioned in the likeness of a galloping horse.


    ¡°Are you Winters Montagne?¡± Colonel Gaisa raised his eyebrows slightly, asking with a smile.


    ¡°I am,¡± the young man in front of him replied with a gentle smile, countering, ¡°And you are Gaisa Adonis?¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Gaisa replied, straightening his back with pride.


    The young man in front of him burst into uncontrollable laughter, trying to hold it back, but to no avail.


    Gaisa touched his bald head and said with a hint of grievance, ¡°Don¡¯t judge by how I look now, I used to be quite handsome too!¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± the young man apologized repeatedly.


    The somber air was diluted by laughter, and the atmosphere of the conversation seemed more like two alumni encountering each other on the road and chatting casually.


    ¡°You wanted to see me?¡± the young man asked, ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. Just my own curiosity, I couldn¡¯t help wanting to meet the junior who gave me the runaround,¡± Gaisa chuckled, ¡°Ah, the younger generation surpassing the old, it¡¯s really something.¡±


    The young man nodded slightly, not picking up the conversation.


    ¡°Actually, I was also worried what if you are a malevolent star that¡¯d simply kill me? But I guess I¡¯ve lived long enough, not meeting face to face, even if I could live another thirty years, I wouldn¡¯t be content.¡±


    ¡°For now, it has ended, and enough blood has been spilled,¡± the young man spoke calmly, ¡°There¡¯s no need for bloodshed today.¡±


    ¡°But have you thought about what you¡¯ll do later on?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°What will you do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not telling you.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa laughed heartily, ¡°From your tone, it sounds like things have already been decided over at Revodan, huh?¡±


    The young man nodded slightly.


    Gaisa sighed, then asked with some curiosity, ¡°Your cavalry, it¡¯s commanded by Andreya Chelini, right?¡±


    The young man nodded again.


    ¡°Then who¡¯s commanding the forces of Revodan?¡±


    The young man smiled, offering no answer.


    ¡°Richard Mason, Gerard¡¯s Bard,¡± Gaisa chewed over the two names, shaking his head with a bitter smile, ¡°The younger generation is indeed formidable¡­ formidable!¡±


    The young man continued to smile.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m satisfied and I¡¯ll be going. Allow me a personal question,¡± Gaisa said, pointing to the young man¡¯s walking stick, ¡°What¡¯s with that? Injury to the leg?¡±


    Winters was stumped by a question for the first time in this conversation.


    He now could walk normally without the need for the walking stick, yet he still carried it with him, as if the good luck was still by his side.


    ¡°Thank you for the concern,¡± Winters nodded slightly, ¡°Just a minor injury.¡±


    ¡°From a horse?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve sustained a similar injury,¡± Colonel Gaisa sighed, ¡°It¡¯s bearable in the summer, but quite painful in winter. If it aches and tingles, soaking it in hot water can relieve a lot of the discomfort.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t speak; he slowly raised his hand in salute.


    Gaisa returned the salute, smiling as he said, ¡°If one day we stop fighting, come to Falconflower Fort and I¡¯ll treat you to a hot bath, it¡¯s quite comfortable.¡±


    Winters nodded with a smile.


    Gaisa waved his hands nonchalantly, ¡°Off I go!¡±


    The boat was pushed from the shore, drifting slowly towards the other bank. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters watched this adversary, whom he had just met yet seemed like an old friend, until the figure on the boat grew too small to make out the face, then rode away.


    The riverbank returned to tranquility, the Anya River continued to flow quietly.


    ¡­


    Two days later, at Falconflower Fort.


    ¡°What? The military horse farm at South Hill Town was raided?¡± Gaisa Adonis slammed the table and stood up, the scar on his left cheek nearly turning purple as he yelled skywards, overwhelmed with rage, ¡°Dare to steal my horses?! Montagne lad! I¡¯ll never stand on the same ground as you!¡±

 Chapter 665 665 31 Adaptation

    ?Chapter 665: Chapter 31 Adaptation Chapter 665: Chapter 31 Adaptation Winters didn¡¯t head straight back to Revodan; instead, he made a brief stop on Tuo Song Street to regroup his troops.


    Andre and Bart Xialing, who were herding the horses, were the first to return.


    More than seven hundred Kai horses were divided into several herds, each led by an extremely energetic groom.


    Just by walking briskly, the herds could kick up clouds of dust, and when they ran, the sight was even more impressive, a magnificent spectacle to behold.


    ¡°Damn, we struck it rich!¡± That was the first thing Andre said when he met up with Winters.


    The former, with tears welling up in his eyes, grabbed the latter¡¯s shoulder, as if he was about to break down in tears.


    The spoils from the military horse farm in the southern hills far exceeded Winters and Andre¡¯s wildest imaginations.


    ...


    Mont Blanc County wasn¡¯t famous for its horses; it was the Thunder Group County further east that was known for producing fine steeds¡ªThunder Group, as in ¡°a thousand horses marching, their momentum like thunder.¡±


    So Winters didn¡¯t have high expectations to begin with.


    If he could get a hundred horses, he would be completely satisfied.


    If he managed to get two hundred, then it was time for a grand celebration.


    But Andre brought back more than seven hundred Kai horses in one go, plus several hundred foals of varying ages.


    The larger foals followed the mares while the smaller ones that weren¡¯t able to travel long distances were transported by wagon.


    It wasn¡¯t just horses; even the grooms were bound and brought over by Andre.


    Without the grooms, Andre¡¯s people alone couldn¡¯t have handled such a large herd of horses.


    Thus, a curious sight unfolded across the Iron Peak County landscape: nervous grooms herding horses while Iron Peak County Cavalry watched over the grooms.


    Poor bald middle-aged man had saved diligently for years, only for others to reap the benefits overnight.


    ¡°Ugh, this is so boring! They¡¯re all mares.¡± Andre was extremely disappointed. ¡°It¡¯s such a waste to use them for war; there¡¯s not a single proper warhorse among them!¡±


    Look at that¡ªthe terrifying nature of human greed.


    Not long ago, Andre couldn¡¯t stop smiling about capturing three military horses.


    Now that he had taken more than a thousand horses in one go, he started to sigh and lament.


    Winters, on the other hand, didn¡¯t harbor any discontent; he was too busy being ecstatic about the windfall of over a thousand horses.


    But managing such a large herd also worried him: ¡°Winter is coming. We need to quickly prepare a place and forage for the herd to hibernate. Over a thousand horses, big and small¡­ we probably won¡¯t be able to take care of them all.¡±


    Andre remained as optimistic as ever: ¡°Let¡¯s just have Senior Mason take care of them.¡±


    Lieutenant Chelini had always been one to ¡°ride, not tend.¡±


    ¡°Just having Senior Mason might not be enough,¡± Winters said with a knowing smile. ¡°Let¡¯s call Bard too.¡±


    Captain Montani was also of the ¡°ride, not tend¡± persuasion.


    And just like that, the burden was lightly pushed aside; the captain and the lieutenant were carefree and went merrily to see the foals.


    ¡­


    After waiting for a day on Tuo Song Street, Winters¡¯ centurions and soldiers gradually came to meet up with him.


    The troops that had been scattered were now reassembled into a whole again.


    The soldiers¡¯ bodies were extremely weary, but their fighting spirit was even stronger than when they had set out.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Winters asked his other centurion, Gail.


    ¡°Want to sleep.¡± The other replied honestly. ¡°Want to eat meat.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Back in Revodan, we¡¯ll slaughter pigs and sheep!¡±


    He had sent out twelve iron arrows and only nine had returned.


    Three arrows might come back, or they might be lost forever.


    Leaving behind some men on Tuo Song Street to remain on standby, Winters took one last long look towards Mont Blanc County, then set out once again.


    Instead of heading straight back to Revodan, Winters led his troops on a detour to Hammer Fort¡ªthe current location of Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry battalion, where they successfully rendezvoused with Mason, Juan, and Moritz.


    It wasn¡¯t because Winters wasn¡¯t in a hurry to return home¡ªhe was practically going crazy thinking about Anna.


    But the chaos after the battle was more troublesome than the fighting itself: injured needed treatment, the battlefield needed to be cleaned, seized materials had to be inventoried, and soldiers¡¯ merits urgently needed recognition.


    All of the above weren¡¯t considered major issues, because the military had its own procedures to deal with them. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What troubled Winters most at the moment was nothing other than¡ªthe prisoners of war.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say thanks,¡± Lieutenant Tang Juan said, cockily resting his leg on a table. ¡°I didn¡¯t help you fight for your sake, so you don¡¯t have to bother with sending gifts to thank me. A few horses or some gold will do.¡±


    ¡°I really appreciate it, Senior,¡± Winters said, his expression complex.


    The original battle plan was to contain the enemy forces of Mont Blanc County and repel the enemy forces of Vernge County.


    Winters executed the containment mission in the east perfectly.


    But in the west, Tang Juan had turned the engagement into a complete encirclement battle.


    Zibeer¡¯s forces were completely annihilated, with some soldiers dying, some escaping, and more than thirteen hundred being captured.


    There might still be a bit of defensive force left in Vernge County, but their field units had been thoroughly wiped out.


    Vernge County was now like an egg stripped of its shell, exposing its vulnerable insides.


    On the surface, Vernge County was completely at Winters¡¯ mercy.


    In reality, north of Vernge County lay the direct jurisdiction of Maplestone City¡ªthe heart of the legion.


    In other words, the road to Maplestone City was now open, and the heart of the legion lay bare to the edge of Winters¡¯ blades.


    And the last thing Winters wanted was to provoke the New Reclamation Legion.


    The New Reclamation Legion was a cumbersome, large, and bureaucratic machine, but once it felt its life was in danger, its retaliation would be swift and fierce.


    ¡°Well, that settles it! It¡¯s all been fought anyway.¡± Winters, now resigned to his problems, laughed and saluted Tang Juan and Moritz, ¡°Senior, Lieutenant Colonel, surrounding a thousand men and defeating two thousand, that was a beautifully fought battle!¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Moritz silently sipped his drink.


    ¡°Like you don¡¯t know who commanded it,¡± Juan¡¯s expression was just as cold, but he couldn¡¯t hide the amusement in the corner of his eyes. ¡°That was quite satisfying. Even as a senior officer in Vineta, I would never have the chance to command forces of that scale.¡±

 Chapter 666 666 31 Adaptation_2

    ?Chapter 666: Chapter 31 Adaptation_2 Chapter 666: Chapter 31 Adaptation_2 ¡°If you stay, you can command as much as you want in the future.¡±


    Tang Juan snorted coldly, his handsome features revealing a trace of loneliness, ¡°I¡¯m just waiting for a message from your father. I can¡¯t bind you to stay, neither can the Lieutenant Colonel, let¡¯s see what the Brigadier General can do! Once the new orders come through, I still have to return to Vineta.¡±


    Speaking of home, Winters was filled with guilt; he couldn¡¯t face his family.


    He sighed and said to Senior Mason and Lieutenant Colonel Moritz, ¡°I need to write a letter to the Legion.¡±


    It was Winters himself who put pen to paper, painstakingly choosing his words and reading aloud as he wrote, while the others listened.


    The Legion had a claw chopped off in this battle, but Winters¡¯s tone was even more humble than last time.


    In the voice of a personal letter, he laid bare his heart to General Adams: from the moment he was assigned to Paratu, he had been filled with gratitude for the land, and he never entertained the idea of betraying Paratu.


    ...


    He expressed regret for the accidental harm done to friendly troops in the neighboring county; for the missing Vernge County officers, he was willing to assist in the search; and for the captured Vernge County weapons, he was also willing to return them.


    The letter ended with the signature, ¡°A loyal guardian of the Republic, W¡¤M.¡±


    In short, the letter was written with a plain style and sincere emotions, arguably Winters¡¯s best piece of writing since his school days.


    ¡°What¡¯s the use of writing this thing?¡± Tang Juan was very impatient.


    ¡°It¡¯s to save face for General Adams. Of course, it would be even better if he could be fooled by this letter,¡± Winters replied with a smile, passing the draft paper behind him.


    Xial took the draft to copy it¡ªcurrently performing multiple duties for Winters as bodyguard, scribe, gendarme, and communications officer.


    Winters changed the subject, ¡°The Legion¡¯s Spellcaster assassin and Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s¡­ surprise attack have reminded us that we need to establish a ¡®security trench¡¯ to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.¡±


    ¡°Security trench?¡± Mason was particularly interested in this topic; Moritz¡¯s beheading strike was frightening enough to give him a lingering fear, ¡°How do we set that up?¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°First, commanders should never meet any messengers directly. The collection and dispatch of letters must go through an intermediary to eliminate chances for Spellcasters disguising as messengers to assassinate. And then¡­¡±


    ¡°And then, I haven¡¯t thought it through,¡± Winters said with a laugh, ¡°We need to brainstorm together and identify any shortcomings.¡±


    Mason thought for a moment then added, ¡°Officer uniforms, helmets, sashes, belts, tassels, and hems¡ªthese things are too conspicuous. Placed before you and the Lieutenant Colonel, they are practically live targets.¡±


    ¡°Without being a little conspicuous, how would officers command soldiers?¡± Andre retorted, ¡°Without being a little conspicuous, the grunts might think their officers have fled.¡±


    Winters had also considered this issue, ¡°The dress uniform and the one worn in battle should be completely different. The uniform doesn¡¯t need to be too flashy, but it should also allow soldiers to recognize who the officers are at a glance.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a contradiction,¡± Mason spread his hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it too much. We can worry about what the uniforms should look like when we have the money to issue them to the troops,¡± Andre yawned and waved his hand dismissively, asking Winters, ¡°Are you really going to return the captured weapons?¡±


    Iron Peak County could only manufacture agricultural-grade weapons like spears about two meters long.


    With the prosperity of Steel Fortress¡¯ metal industry, Revodan¡¯s only weaponsmith, [Saosha], had long abandoned the art of sword forging, now relying on trading ready-made Steel Fortress sword blades.


    As for crafting armor and firearms, it was unthinkable.


    The Iron Peak County Military was entirely armed with captured weaponry and armor.


    So when Winters mentioned returning the captured materials, Andre was very sensitive.


    ¡°I would like to return them,¡± Winters said nonchalantly, ¡°If they dare to claim them, then they¡¯ll have them.¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The others started laughing.


    Winters¡¯s smile faded, ¡°There¡¯s another matter, I think the time has come.¡±


    ¡°That matter again?¡± Tang Juan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Correct.¡± Winters looked around at the other officers and announced word by word, ¡°It¡¯s time to reorganize the army. Now is the right time.¡±


    ¡°Reorganize the army right after a battle?¡± Andre disagreed, ¡°That seems too hasty.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s precisely because we have just won a battle that it¡¯s a good time,¡± Winters said resolutely, ¡°Reorganizing after several more battles would be worse. Right now, our military is a blank slate, but we already have the semblance of an army. The timing couldn¡¯t be better!¡±


    The organization of the Iron Peak County Military was in complete disarray, which troubled Winters greatly.


    To reduce internal resistance, Winters had taken on the role of garrison commander and operated under the guise of the garrison to this day.


    Theoretically, all units were under the jurisdiction of the garrison, but in reality, the garrison had no power; it was just a shell, and the soldiers listened to their own leaders.


    The cavalry was commanded by Andre, the infantry took orders directly from Winters, and Mason had a small troop of engineers doubling as artillerymen.


    Moreover, the organization of the different units varied greatly.


    Among the infantry, there were old units like Bard, Chelini, and Mason¡¯s hundred-man teams that used the old structure but were the strongest in battle.


    There were also units like the Iron Peak County Infantry, which used a new configuration but had less impressive combat capabilities.


    The cavalry and artillery were entirely Andre¡¯s and Mason¡¯s private forces, with no set organization; the number of men depended entirely on the whims of their commanders.


    The logistics were even more chaotic¡ªdown the ranks, they demanded as needed, and higher up, they distributed as long as supplies were available. Everything depended on virtue and integrity to keep going, with a severe lack of institutional constraints.


    Winters had discussed this issue more than once with others.


    Winters had also pointed out on more than one occasion, with heated words: The reason this chaos could persist was solely because the military was too small. If it continued to grow, they would suffer the consequences inevitably.

 Chapter 667 667 31 Adaptation_3

    ?Chapter 667: Chapter 31 Adaptation_3 Chapter 667: Chapter 31 Adaptation_3 There were a total of six officers who could participate in the decision-making: Tang Juan and Moritz did not express their positions, while Bard, Andre, and Mason were successfully persuaded by Winters.


    The matter of reorganizing the army was already on the agenda, yet the New Reclamation Legion did not provide the opportunity.


    No sooner had Winters drafted the reorganization plan than the forces of Mont Blanc County and Vernge County came bearing down with great momentum.


    ¡°The crisis has been temporarily averted,¡± Winters said with an intense gaze, ¡°but the legions will inevitably come again. If we are to reorganize the army, now is the time!¡±


    The atmosphere grew somewhat tense.


    ¡°When have I not supported you,¡± Andre slapped his thigh, ¡°then let¡¯s reform!¡±


    Mason also nodded, ¡°The current situation is unacceptable; the organization indeed needs to be sorted out. Without clarifying the structure, we will always be the rebels.¡±


    ...


    Lieutenant Tang Juan and Colonel Moritz exchanged glances.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to consider the colonel¡¯s and my opinions,¡± Juan shrugged, ¡°you are Paratu officers; we are not.¡±


    And so, Xial silently wrote in the meeting minutes, ¡°Lieutenant Bard absent, A and B abstained, the remaining three unanimously pass the resolution.¡±


    ¡°A small boat turns easily; there are advantages to having a smaller troop size,¡± Winters pulled out a thick stack of draft papers, excitedly saying, ¡°I propose to restore the legion¡¯s structure!¡±


    Lieutenant Tang Juan nearly choked on his saliva, ¡°Are you trying to be on the same level as your father?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Winters reddened and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a legion commander.¡±


    ¡°Stop being so modest,¡± Andre slapped his thigh again, ¡°the decision is yours; you should be the commander.¡±


    Winters¡¯s face grew even redder, shaking his head again and again, ¡°The legion is only a nominal organization, not set up to truly establish a legion. It¡¯s impossible for the artillery and cavalry to fall under the command system of the infantry corps, so we need a higher-level legion organization.¡±


    ¡°So, leave the position vacant?¡±


    ¡°Just leave it vacant.¡±


    Winters distributed papers with the reorganization content to the others, ¡°Above the legion, there should be formed an officers¡¯ council, responsible for coordinating all military administration and command, just like the current council of six.¡±


    Unofficially, the council of six, which was not documented, changed its signboard to become a formal military council, without any objections.


    If viewed from an organizational standpoint, the members of the military council would have a higher rank than that of a legion commander.


    Only Moritz quietly spoke up, ¡°Don¡¯t assign honorary titles to Juan and me; we are still officers of Vineta.¡±


    ¡°Then we continue to call you Mr. A, Mr. B,¡± Winters said nonchalantly.


    Moritz sighed and did not speak.


    ¡°The cavalry and artillery don¡¯t need much reorganization,¡± Winters looked at Andre and Mason, ¡°they only need to have their personnel and equipment standards set and their bylaws written; you two are responsible for writing the regulations.¡±


    Andre grimaced, struck by an idea, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Bard to write it! Wouldn¡¯t that solve it?¡±


    Mason also smiled bitterly, ¡°I don¡¯t even have a single cannon in my hands; what personnel should I set?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a legion either, but we¡¯ve also set up a legion structure,¡± Winters comforted Senior Mason, ¡°set the structure first; the cannons will come sooner or later.¡±


    Senior Mason sighed and absentmindedly sketched the lines of cannons on a piece of scrap paper.


    ¡°The infantry really needs a major overhaul,¡± Winters¡¯s expression became serious, ¡°the army will sooner or later fight a proper and hard battle, the existing organization is simply not enough for a true battle, it must change!¡±


    In Winters¡¯s reorganization plan, ¡°regiments¡± as recruitment units would still be tied to regions and retained.


    For ease of troop replenishment and logistics management, hundred-man units would nominally remain directly under the regiment.


    However, from a tactical perspective, hundred-man units should be formed into ¡°battalions¡± for combat.


    The size of a ¡°battalion¡± would be close to that of the current large unit, but slightly different.


    ¡°The minimum standard for a battalion should be its ability to form a square formation independently for combat,¡± Winters¡¯s eyes sparkled when discussing infantry tactics, ¡°A thousand or even three thousand men in a big square formation is too cumbersome. The Paratu Standing Army generally uses five hundred men in small square formations in combat on the plains, which is very effective.¡±


    Tang Juan became interested, ¡°What happens when a five hundred man small square formation encounters cavalry? Can it withstand the charge?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters unconsciously leaned toward Juan, recounting his combat experience on the plains, ¡°a five hundred man small square formation can still prevent Hurd Cavalry from breaking through. And with smaller squares, the musketeers can really demonstrate their firepower. Especially the area between two squares, it¡¯s practically a killing field¡­¡±


    Among the officers present, only Juan and Winters were infantry officers.


    When it came to discussing infantry tactics, the two could talk all day sitting on stones.


    The others had less interest in infantry, with Senior Mason idly drawing cannons, Colonel Moritz quietly dozing off, and even Andre struggling to stay awake.


    In contrast, Winters and Tang Juan were so engrossed in their conversation they nearly had their faces touching across the table.


    Caught up in the excitement, Winters grabbed scrap paper to draw maps and used chess pieces to represent the two armies, explaining and strategizing for his senior.


    Tang Juan too was thoroughly engrossed, at times marveling, at times emoting, and at times sighing with regret.


    ¡°You two find time to discuss this on your own some day!¡± Andre burst out in anger, slamming the table, ¡°Let¡¯s finish the important matters first!¡±


    Winters and Juan both glared at Andre, which made him feel somewhat guilty.


    Andre said softly, ¡°I¡¯m so hungry, let¡¯s wrap up this meeting and go have dinner.¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tang Juan glanced at Andre and let out a light snort with a slight shake of his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m expanding the hundred-man unit to 120 men; if a ¡®large unit¡¯ is still made up of six hundred-man units, it would no longer be appropriate,¡± Winters returned to the subject, ¡°So we will use the battalion structure, with four hundred-man units in each battalion, totaling 480 men.¡±

 Chapter 668 668 31 Adaptation_4

    ?Chapter 668: Chapter 31 Adaptation_4 Chapter 668: Chapter 31 Adaptation_4 ¡°`


    ¡°Only four squads? Then how should we deploy sword and shield troops, musketeers, and spearmen?¡± Juan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°We won¡¯t have sword and shield troops; each battalion will consist of one squad of musketeers and three squads of spearmen,¡± Winters explained. ¡°Sword and shield troops are too difficult to train and require high-quality equipment. Colonel John Jeska simply did without them, and the results were very good.¡±


    ¡°Musketeers and spearmen, a ratio of one to three?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough musketeers,¡± Winters sighed deeply, then smiled. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d like to raise it to one to one, with each battalion comprising two squads of musketeers and two squads of spearmen.¡±


    Doubtful, Tang Juan asked, ¡°Half of the troops as musketeers? What about melee combat?¡±


    Winters¡¯s smile grew wider, and he took a piece of white paper, drawing on it while explaining to Juan, ¡°If the musketeers employ rotating firing tactics, they can significantly weaken the enemy before getting to melee combat. Even in close quarters, we can intersperse musketeers among the spearmen like this¡­¡±


    Juan leaned in eagerly to take a look.


    ...


    ¡°Can¡¯t you two ever finish?!¡± Andre, unable to stand it any longer, slammed the table and asked.


    ¡°Alright, alright, back to the main topic,¡± Winters placated Andre, gently patting Senior Juan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you later when we have time.¡±


    ¡°You have my word,¡± Juan said regretfully.


    Winters continued explaining the reorganization, ¡°Simply put, I want to establish the [battalion] as a tactical unit. Each battalion will have four centurion-led squads. Everything else remains the same.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t a battalion just a large squad?¡± Andre was confused.


    ¡°No, the numbers are the same, but it¡¯s a bit different,¡± Winters explained. ¡°A battalion has more officers, but commands fewer troops.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s just get rid of those century and large squad designations from the Ancient Empire,¡± Andre suggested delightedly. ¡°Let¡¯s go with [company] instead. And no more centurion or large squad leader. Just call them company captain and battalion commander.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t centurion sound quite nice?¡± Winters was puzzled.


    Andre scoffed, ¡°Those who don¡¯t even know which way the gates to the Land Academy open dare call themselves centurions? It makes me so angry I could die. Those individuals don¡¯t deserve the title of centurion yet. Just call them company captain, that¡¯s fine!¡±


    Regiments and companies were the organizational names of the mercenary forces of Vineta.


    When Marshal Ned implemented military reforms, he deliberately used the designations of [century], [large squad], and [legion] from the Ancient Empire to differentiate from mercenary units.


    Andre insisted particularly on this matter, and Winters also began to feel that a complete overhaul was in order.


    So he crossed out [centurion] from his draft and wrote down [company captain].


    Winters gathered the papers and concluded gravely, ¡°After all the changes, they don¡¯t really matter. What truly matters is that ¨C I want to say it at the end ¨C [the Military Resolution Council possesses all military powers].¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Andre replied nonchalantly.


    ¡°What I mean is, even if one day, the Military Resolution Council passes a resolution against my wishes, or yours,¡± Winters stared at Andre. ¡°We must still comply. Can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Do we need to talk about this?¡± Andreya Chelini answered resolutely, ¡°I will always support you.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That wasn¡¯t the answer Winters was looking for, but he had no reason to be dissatisfied.


    ¡°There¡¯s still something that must change,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°Though, there shouldn¡¯t be much resistance, since our army is still a blank slate, not yet tarnished by those so-called traditions.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Tang Juan was puzzled.


    ¡°Enforcing discipline and making confiscations public property.¡±


    Tang Juan shook his head, ¡°It could be difficult, or not difficult at all. It depends on your ability.¡±


    ¡°Senior Mason?¡± Winters called out gently.


    Lost in the world of his doodling, Mason was suddenly brought back to reality.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Mason instinctively covered the drawings of the artillery on the paper. ¡°Is the meeting over?¡±


    ¡°I would like you to return to Revodan ahead of time,¡± Winters said. ¡°I¡¯ll bring the main forces and follow soon after.¡±


    Mason¡¯s eyebrows rose, ¡°Return early? Is something going on?¡±


    ¡°Two things,¡± Winters tapped the table. ¡°After you get back, I want you to construct a gallows in the town square, the kind that can hang a lot of people.¡±


    The other four seated at the table were slightly surprised, even Moritz woke up and looked at Winters, puzzled.


    ¡°A public trial hasn¡¯t been held yet, has it?¡± Winters leaned back, ¡°Let¡¯s accumulate them and settle the total account.¡±


    Moritz blinked and nodded slightly.


    ¡°And the other matter?¡± Mason looked into Winters¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°The other is a piece of good news,¡± Winters laughed. ¡°I would like you to prepare for a triumphal return.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 669 669 32 Trial

    ?Chapter 669: Chapter 32: Trial Chapter 669: Chapter 32: Trial The trumpets sounded the melody of victory, cheers deafening as everyone vied to catch a glimpse of the hero¡¯s noble visage.


    Over fifteen hundred years ago, a grand triumphal procession was taking place in a majestic city on the plains downstream of the Bythos River.


    A triumph, by definition, celebrates someone¡¯s victorious return. And those who could hold a great triumph were known as triumphators.


    The triumph started with a parade, shackled, ragged men and women at the front, in a column so long it seemed endless.


    They were captives, the defeated, the spoils of the victor; some of them were destined for execution while the rest would be sold into slavery.


    The captives looked upon the cheering crowds on both sides of the road with hatred and fear.


    Carts laden with captured weapons, armor, heretic idols, and gold and silver treasures followed the captives.


    ...


    These spoils were also a testament to the triumphant hero¡¯s great deeds.


    Flag bearers holding up paintings, sculptures, and placards came third, proudly recounting the great battles and the triumphator¡¯s glorious victories.


    Members of the senate, dressed in red-bordered white togas, adorned with gold and iron rings, and donning purple sashes, formed the fourth part of the grand procession.


    Even the most powerful senators had to walk on foot at this time, paying their highest respects to the triumphator.


    For in the triumphal ceremony, the triumphator ranked just below the gods, above all others.


    The climax of the great triumph was fast approaching, with the triumphator soon to make his appearance.


    People trembled with excitement, everyone engulfed in an almost frenzied, enraptured celebratory atmosphere.


    At last, lictors clothed in crimson-robed regalia entered the Eternal City, heads held high.


    They wore crowns of laurel leaves, symbols of a victor¡¯s high honor.


    They were the loyal followers of the triumphator, clearing the way before him. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone involuntarily held their breath, and the noisy square became eerily silent as they awaited the triumphator¡¯s arrival.


    The silence was but a brief moment, shattered immediately by the thundering sound of rolling wheels.


    Four pure white warhorses with not a single blemish pulled a dazzling chariot into the square.


    A man stood upon the chariot, holding the laurel branch symbolizing victory in his left hand, and the eagle-tipped scepter denoting power in his right hand.


    Cheers rose like a tsunami, frenetic shouts bursting forth from every chest.


    The shouts reached the clouds and ascended to heaven, surely awakening even the gods on their high mountain.


    But the triumphator wore no expression.


    He was clothed in a pure purple embroidered robe, each pattern stitched with golden threads, dazzling to the eyes.


    That was the attire of a king, which he could wear only on this day in his life.


    His face was painted red, and the crown of Jupiter, the chief god, rested on his head.


    That was the crown of a god, which he could wear only on this day in his life.


    In this sacred celebration held just for him, he was granted both divinity and kingship.


    At this moment, the triumphator became the king of the Republic, standing shoulder to shoulder with the gods.


    His grand and glorious triumph would be recorded in the ¡°Book of Victories,¡± and as long as the Eternal City endured, his fame would be everlasting.


    And the title of [triumphator] would ultimately become a more revered one than that of king¡ªemperor.


    At his moment of triumph, a slave whispered in his ear, ¡°Remember! Remember! You are but a mortal, and mortals¡ªmust one day die.¡±


    More than fifteen hundred years after that brilliant triumph, in a place far south of the Eternal City, a town named Revodan was preparing for its own triumph.


    The leading figure, naturally, was Winters Montaigne, the returning victor.


    According to custom, a feast should have been held for the whole city. But Winters, known for his frugality, opted not to do so.


    Another tradition required the distribution of gifts to all the city¡¯s inhabitants. But Winters had no money, so that too was forgone.


    In any case, Winters did away with all ostentatious preparations.


    But as Winters rode his horse with head held high into Revodan, his emotions were in line with those of the great triumphators of history.


    The last time he entered Revodan, citizens greeted him to his face, yet no one believed he could last long in the city.


    This time, he entered the city a conqueror, having soundly defeated the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s punitive forces, leaving no one to doubt him.


    And this was precisely what Winters wanted.


    He wished to declare his victory, to tell everyone that the storm had not broken him, but had made his roots grow deeper instead.


    If previously there had been suspicions of theft in Winters¡¯s allocation of the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s land,


    then through this battle, the ownership of Iron Peak County had transferred to his name through conquest, at his disposal to divide and distribute.


    Winters, Andre, Tang Juan, Mason, and all the officers and soldiers were reveling in this moment.


    They were victors entitled to their acclaim.


    Not only did the soldiers enjoy their victory, but they were overwhelmed by ¡°victory.¡±


    The people of Revodan were struck even more deeply than the soldiers.


    Even in the Ancient Empire, which reveled in conquest and celebration, a citizen might never see a triumph in their lifetime, let alone for those living in the far-flung frontier of Revodan today.


    The endless line of captives, carts filled with captured arms, exquisite seized military banners, and the awe-inspiring cavalry¡ªall these firmly held the gaze of the people of Revodan.


    Every single thing in the procession told them¡ª¡±Victory! Beyond a doubt.¡±


    Excitement is infectious. When caught in the whirlwind of fervor, it becomes extremely difficult to remain rational.

 Chapter 670 670 32 Judgment_2

    ?Chapter 670: Chapter 32 Judgment_2 Chapter 670: Chapter 32 Judgment_2 Some Revodanians couldn¡¯t help but cheer, and the cheerers were the poorest citizens.


    Even for the mere millstone tax, they longed for Blood Wolf¡¯s victory.


    Gradually, everyone started to cheer and shout, and Revodan instantly turned into a boiling ocean.


    Anna, Catherine, and Scarlett were also among the crowd.


    Revodan had conservative customs, so the three ladies wore large hats, covering their features with thin veils.


    Even so, Winters spotted Anna immediately among the vast sea of people.


    Their eyes met, and Anna smiled restrainedly, bowing slightly to Winters.


    ...


    Winters yearned to push through the crowd, forcefully kiss Anna, then lift her up amidst her screams and take her away on his horse.


    He also restrained himself and simply winked at Anna.


    The scenes to come wouldn¡¯t be pleasant, and he didn¡¯t really want Anna to witness them.


    ¡°But sooner or later, you¡¯ll have to see my true face,¡± Winters thought sadly, fearful of disappointing, frightening, or even disgusting her; he looked down at his clean hands: ¡°Sooner or later.¡±


    And so, Winters rode his horse far away.


    Anna¡¯s brow furrowed slightly; she detected a subtle change in her lover¡¯s emotions but didn¡¯t understand why.


    Catherine, on the other hand, was completely carried away by the atmosphere of the streets and became exuberant.


    Extremely excited, Catherine suddenly embraced her nemesis, Scarlett, as if intending to dance with her.


    This panicked Scarlett, who became both angry and alarmed, disregarding all politeness.


    ¡°Fox eyes!¡± Scarlett struggled to push Catherine away: ¡°What are you doing?!¡±


    ¡°Parade! Triumph! Celebration!¡± Catherine laughed happily: ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a celebration! Wild girl!¡±


    The parade continued to the city square, and the people of Revodan also gathered there.


    Soldiers stood in tidy rows, captives were corralled into a small corner, some citizens stood in pairs or groups at the back, while others desperately pushed forward¡ªturning the square instantly crowded.


    Only then did many Revodanians realize: apart from the triumphal ceremony, the new garrison had also prepared an execution stage.


    There was no grand banquet for the whole city, so the ceremony concluded with the presentation of captives and flags.


    Winters, Andre, and Mason stepped onto the platform, and the soldiers threw the captured flags one after another in front of the platform.


    The enemy¡¯s revered banners thus fell into the dust, each flag representing at least a hundred-strong unit annihilated.


    With each flag thrown down, the soldiers would shout in unison, each shout louder than the last, splitting the clouds, piercing the sky.


    Following that, the captives were brought forth.


    Traditionally, the higher the status of the captives presented, the better. At least one must be executed to spare the others.


    Winters hadn¡¯t brought the four remaining officers from Vernge County for public humiliation, so the presentation of captives was kept brief, their lives spared, and then they were taken away.


    After the presentation of captives and flags, the mood in the square remained highly elevated.


    Winters signaled to Xial to proceed to the next phase.


    Xial nodded and left quickly.


    Soon after, Xial and Heinrich arrived with a team of prisoners¡ªit was time for an immediate public trial.


    Yet most people were not afraid but even more excited.


    Many Revodanians, although living in the city, had it harder than farmers.


    They didn¡¯t have Revodanian civic rights, having come to the city for work only because they had no land.


    Life was tiring and dull, and watching executions was a rare form of entertainment.


    Whenever an execution took place, even without distinguished gentlemen leading, the square would become as lively as a market.


    Men, women, the elderly, and children would all don their best clothes to watch the execution.


    Ladies, by custom, had to show compassion, so they would watch through the gaps between their covered eyes.


    Not to mention that this time, the city council members exerted great effort to collaborate with Winters.


    Just as an even more thrilling part was about to begin, the Revodanians, excited, suddenly noticed something unusual.


    ¡°Eh? Isn¡¯t that my neighbor?¡± someone shouted: ¡°Bubble eyes?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ the one on the far left! Seems to be my neighbor too!¡± another person shouted.


    Twenty prisoners were brought onto the execution stage, with at least nearly a hundred more below.


    The Revodanians in the square tried hard to recognize them and realized that these hundreds of prisoners were all Revodanians.


    There were idle ruffians who lived by no trade, as well as those who resided in slums, scraping by with petty theft and odd jobs.


    The crowd was abuzz with discussion, some perplexed, some saying ¡°they deserved it,¡± and others loudly complaining.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Following three cannon shots in a row, the crowd suddenly fell silent.


    By the execution stage, a man with a red birthmark on his face kicked the still-smoking wooden artillery and gestured to his men to take it away.


    ¡°Half a month ago, there was a riot in Revodan,¡± Winters announced as he stepped on the platform, gazing into the dense crowd.


    To speak one against thousands, only Winters could do it, and only he was fearless of it.


    The square was vast, and echoes caused severe interference.


    To ensure everyone could hear him clearly, Winters elongated the intervals between his words: ¡°These people had robbed, committed arson, or even murder during that riot, and the evidence against them was conclusive.


    They all wore red ropes on their shoulders, so many believed it was my warriors committing robbery and murder. Therefore, today, they will be tried by military law.¡±


    Winters¡¯s voice was loud and steady, calm yet imbued with authority and strength, clearly audible to everyone.

 Chapter 671 671 32 Judgment_3

    ?Chapter 671: Chapter 32 Judgment_3 Chapter 671: Chapter 32 Judgment_3 The square was silent, many among them victims of the riots.


    On the day Tang Juan led his troops to attack the city, refugees outside the city joined with the ruffians inside to create chaos, plundering many shops, setting ablaze houses, and even Revodan Cathedral was first looted and then set on fire.


    This was why Colonel Moritz insisted on staying in Revodan to quell the violence.


    Winters continued to proclaim to those on the square, ¡°According to the military law of the Republic of Palatu, the military commander has full jurisdiction and authority to judge and decide.


    As the highest military commander of this county, I¡ªWinters Montaigne, Captain of the Republic of Palatu Army, member of the Military Decision Council, make the following judgment.¡±


    ¡°Those who have injured or stolen, flogging and labor to atone for their crimes! Murderers, hang!¡± Winters swept over the square, ¡°Execute them immediately! Gendarmerie! Take them to the gallows!¡±


    Cries of alarm rose from the square; the people of Revodan were mentally prepared, but they had not expected such violent measures.


    ...


    By the City Hall, adjacent to the square, Catherine also gasped softly and instinctively looked towards her sister.


    Anna bit her rosy lips, her expression grave.


    ¡°Justice and judgment.¡± Catherine grasped her sister¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t count as murder.¡±


    Scarlett nodded her head repeatedly by their side.


    ¡°I know, how could I not know?¡± Anna also held her sister¡¯s hand tightly, sadly saying, ¡°I just pity him¡­ his nature is not like this.¡±


    Sentenced to death in a single utterance, some prisoners fainted on the spot, while others lost control of their bladder and bowels and knelt to beg for mercy.


    And there were prisoners who protested loudly, ¡°Sir! I¡¯m not a soldier! Really not!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not soldiers! We shouldn¡¯t be subject to military law!¡± Immediately, prisoners with quicker wits followed in pleading, ¡°Sir! Let Revodan Court judge us! Please!¡±


    Winters strode over to the prisoners and used an amplification spell to enhance the vibration of the air nearby, thereby magnifying the prisoners¡¯ voices.


    ¡°You are not a soldier?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Not, sir, really not,¡± the prisoner begged with tears and snot.


    ¡°Then why is a red ribbon tied around your shoulder?¡±


    The prisoner, caught red-handed for arson, robbery, and rape, bobbed his adam¡¯s apple but didn¡¯t dare to answer.


    Without Winters¡¯s signal, Heinrich elbowed the prisoner¡¯s chin with force.


    The prisoner¡¯s molars were loosened by the blow, and blood and saliva sprayed from his mouth as he confessed through a flood of snot and tears, ¡°That day¡­ seeing your army all wearing red ribbons¡­ so I also tied one on¡­¡±


    The prisoner¡¯s words were clearly heard by everyone in the square.


    There was a wooden plaque hanging on the prisoner, inscribed with his crimes, so Winters could tell at a glance what sort of scum he was dealing with.


    ¡°You¡¯re not a soldier?¡± Winters asked. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Not! Begging your mercy!¡±


    ¡°I can hand you over to Revodan Court, but you answer whatever I ask you.¡±


    The prisoner nodded desperately.


    ¡°Robbery.¡± Winters asked with a stern face, ¡°Do you admit your guilt?¡±


    The prisoner said nothing.


    Heinrich immediately dragged the prisoner towards the noose.


    ¡°I admit!¡± the prisoner shouted, ¡°I admit!¡±


    ¡°Arson, do you admit your guilt?¡±


    The prisoner¡¯s defenses completely collapsed, ¡°Guilty!¡±


    ¡°Rape.¡±


    ¡°Guilty! It was all me!¡± the prisoner cried out sobbing.


    The people in the square were utterly furious; arson and rape were top-tier serious crimes, and death was not as quick as hanging.


    Yet seeing the profoundly evil criminals temporarily cling to life, the citizens felt a choke in their hearts.


    Winters didn¡¯t waste words; he directly ordered all the prisoners, ¡°Those among you who are not soldiers and who admit their guilt, step forward! If you¡¯re not a soldier, you will be handed over to Revodan Court for judgment.¡±


    The prisoners stepped forward in unison, some even taking two or three steps.


    ¡°Good! You will be handed over to Revodan Court for trial!¡±


    The prisoners breathed a sigh of relief en masse, some in a mix of grief and joy collapsed to the ground, their bodies limp.


    ¡°Gendarmerie!¡± Winters commanded, ¡°Please bring up the judges from Revodan.¡±


    Iron Peak County, located on the border of the Republic of Palatu, commonly used customary law. Few written laws existed, most of which related to taxation.


    Therefore, Revodan¡¯s judges were elected by the citizens with municipal rights, with elections every four years, three judges chosen at a time.


    The minor criminal and civil cases outside Revodan were adjudicated by the town mayors and Garrison Officers.


    An emaciated elderly man over sixty trembled as he walked onto the execution platform.


    The old man was dressed meticulously, which showed that he was well-to-do¡ªotherwise, he would not have been elected as a judge.


    ¡°Mr. Haifitz,¡± Winters asked directly, ¡°are you one of the three current judges of Revodan?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the old man answered with a stiff upper lip.


    ¡°Their cases are for you to adjudicate.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Judge Haifitz was also somewhat troubled, ¡°Revodan Court is very small; afraid it will take¡­ take a long time to try.¡±


    ¡°No trouble is needed.¡± Winters narrowed his eyes, ¡°Impersonating a soldier to commit a crime, how should one be judged according to customary law?¡±


    Judge Haifitz was taken aback, he hesitantly replied, ¡°Should be judged by the garrison of the county.¡±


    ¡°Loudly, please.¡±


    The old judge cleared his throat, ¡°Impersonating a soldier to commit a crime! To be judged by the garrison of the county!¡±


    The old judge¡¯s voice reached every corner of the square.


    The criminals on the platform thought they had been saved, but in the blink of an eye, they plummeted back into the abyss.


    ¡°According to military law,¡± Winters scanned the criminals coldly, ¡°those who have committed assault to be flogged and put to labor! Those who have committed murder and arson, to be beheaded! Execute them now!¡±


    The square was first quiet, then suddenly erupted into cheers.


    Several tree stumps were brought onto the gallows, instantly transformed into an execution block for beheading.

 Chapter 672 672 32 Judgment_4

    ?Chapter 672: Chapter 32 Judgment_4 Chapter 672: Chapter 32 Judgment_4 The condemned could no longer hope to be granted the gallows and have a body left intact; those sentenced to flogging and labor could not help but feel relieved, fortunate that they hadn¡¯t committed capital offenses.


    The weeping convicts were forcibly dragged to the stump.


    The man with the red birthmark received the order and lit the fuse.


    With the blast of the cannon, the heads of the prisoners on the platform were separated from their bodies, and then the next batch was dragged up.


    ¡°I want to make a final confession! Have mercy, my lord!¡± one of the condemned wailed desperately, ¡°I want to see a priest! Bring me a priest!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late,¡± Winters ordered coldly, signaling to fire the cannon, ¡°Confess in hell!¡±


    Another blast, and four more criminals were beheaded. Their bodies were dragged away, and the next batch of prisoners was brought forward.


    ...


    On the execution platform, blood flowed everywhere. The thick blood dripped down through the gaps in the wooden planks, forming lines as it fell to the ground.


    The people of Revodan Square felt their mouths dry, their limbs cold. They were both exhilarated and terrified.


    Where had they seen such a rolling of heads before?


    Usually, one hanging would be talked about for half a year, yet now there were already twelve heads severed on the execution platform, and more convicts were being dragged up.


    In the army¡¯s square formation, the soldiers watched in silence¡ªWinters was executing not just for the public to see, but for his warriors as well.


    On the second floor of the city hall, Catherine, who had just been comforting Anna, had fainted.


    Anna and Scarlett held Catherine, exchanging wry smiles, their faces ashen.


    In the square above, old Priskin was in utter despair¡ªhe had still underestimated the Blood Wolf¡¯s savagery.


    Old Priskin¡¯s eldest son had died at a young age, leaving behind only one son, and his younger son was not up to the task.


    Thus, old Priskin had placed his hopes on his eldest grandson, never expecting the boy to be even more trouble-prone than his younger son.


    The blacksmith, Sasha, supported old Priskin and unexpectedly found that the old man was trembling and felt so light.


    The first batch of prisoners had their heads chopped off if they were to be beheaded, and were flogged if that was their sentence.


    Winters nodded, and the second batch of prisoners was brought up.


    The citizens of Revodan did not recognize the second batch of prisoners, but the soldiers in the square were shocked because they knew these men.


    The second batch of prisoners were deserters, cowards, and soldiers who robbed and raped during the campaign.


    If the first batch of prisoners had been disposed of at Winters¡¯ whim.


    Then their handling of the second batch was a true ¡°public trial.¡±


    Winters, Mason, Judge Haifitz, and a soldier representative formed a temporary tribunal.


    The accused soldiers were allowed to defend themselves, present evidence, just like in a normal trial.


    Killing a few serious offenders was just the appetizer.


    Extending the military court to the ranks of soldiers was the real reason behind Winters¡¯ ¡°public trial¡± in full view of everyone.


    The Military Code was nothing new, but only officers were eligible to be tried by a military tribunal.


    Soldiers did not have the right to a military tribunal; the fate of a soldier who disobeyed orders and committed crimes was entirely up to the commanding officer.


    In times of war, a Centurion could execute a soldier directly; in peacetime, a senior officer could execute a soldier directly.


    There was no trial, no laws to follow, with leniency or severity entirely at the commanding officer¡¯s discretion.


    For Winters to enforce military discipline, there first had to be military law.


    Without proper military law, there could be no real military discipline.


    If they continued to use the customary military laws of old Parlatu Army¡ªwhich many were inherited from the nomadic era¡ªthere would never be a new army.


    Without real military law, no matter how hard Winters tried, what he could achieve was at best a slightly better version of the old army.


    So, the first codified Military Code in the history of the continent was born under the hand of Winters Montagne.


    The most eloquent Bard was not present, and the officers there lacked literary talent.


    Hence, Winters named it simply the ¡°Military Code,¡± while Tang Juan secretly called it the ¡°Montaigne Military Law.¡±


    This fledgling military law strictly defined the boundaries between law enforcement and judicial powers:


    The military police had the authority to enforce the law, and they could arrest soldiers and officers;


    But trials and prosecutions had to be handed over to military tribunals;


    The commanding officer of each battalion also served as the presiding judge of the military tribunal, with other members drawn from various ranks of the army, including at least one soldier;


    Battalion-level military tribunals were responsible for trying misdemeanors, while serious crimes were to be tried by higher-level corps tribunals; S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only in very few circumstances were commanding officers allowed to execute soldiers without a trial¡ªfor example, cowardice in the face of the enemy or desertion.


    The commanding officers of each company had to read the ¡°Military Discipline¡± to the soldiers at least once a month, and the ¡°Military Discipline¡± roll was the martial discipline closer to the soldiers and also Winters¡¯ original intention.


    In summary: all booty was to be communal; mild punishment for minor offenses; severe punishment for serious crimes such as theft, cowardice, robbery, rape; and others.


    Winters pondered long over the issue of looting after battles.


    Most of the time, soldiers robbed because if they didn¡¯t, they wouldn¡¯t survive¡ªthe rations were insufficient, and military pay was chronically in arrears.


    If they didn¡¯t rob, the soldiers would starve. What started as necessity turned into habit.


    And many generals were happy to see such things happen, as soldiers looting relieved the pressure of supplying them.


    However, after discussions with Tang Juan and Mason, Winters unanimously agreed that it was better to abandon this ¡°tradition¡± sooner rather than later.


    The ¡°Penalties¡± section strictly defined the range of mild and severe penalties: anything less than flogging was considered mild, including the most common additional physical labor; there was only one severe penalty¡ªhanging.

 Chapter 673 673 32 Judgment_5

    ?Chapter 673: Chapter 32 Judgment_5 Chapter 673: Chapter 32 Judgment_5 Winters abolished corporal punishments, because he believed preserving the labor abilities of the criminals was better than rendering them disabled.


    And at that moment, on Revodan Square, the public trial was the first implementation of the Military Code.


    One by one, soldiers who had looted amidst chaos confessed and faced the law. Their granted lands were taken away, and they were sentenced to death.


    However, since there had been no written military law explicitly stating ¡°looting equals death penalty¡± during the chaos of the battle at Hammer Fort,


    Their sentences were reduced by one degree, to the loss of granted lands and five years of hard labor.


    Most deserters did not plead guilty, insisting they were not soldiers; but when soldiers from their same unit testified, their sophistry became meaningless.


    Deserters had no room for a reduced sentence: they were hanged.


    This was the first efficacy of the Military Code that Winters had to witness, heart heavy with reluctance, yet he still gave the hanging orders with no expression on his face.


    ...


    One by one, the deserters were pushed to the edge of the execution platform.


    Winters watched as their bodies fell naturally, only to be violently snapped by the noose.


    Their necks could not withstand such force and were instantly broken. Consciousness extinguished, leaving nothing but corpses gently swaying on the rope.


    Within Winters¡¯ knowledge, these were the first bodies of deserters executed after a trial in history.


    From the outcome¡¯s perspective, it was simply a death. But from the process, these deaths might bear extraordinary significance.


    Winters sighed deeply in his heart and faced his soldiers, reading the Military Code to them for the first time.


    The soldiers listened intently, not needing to understand fully as they would hear it recited again and again in the future.


    They only needed to know that this harsh yet fair code held inviolable efficacy¡ªas evidenced by the dangling corpses before them.


    The citizens of Revodan also listened in silence.


    They were likely hearing about written military law for the first time, and it was probably the first time they heard of military discipline being enforced so ¡°well.¡±


    That the military did not plunder or disturb civilians was most agreeable to them. Yet, they couldn¡¯t help but wonder: could any army really adhere to the laws as well as claimed?


    Seeing the swaying bodies and the young man on the platform who was reading out the code, a glimmer of hope arose in the hearts of Revodan people¡ªperhaps it was possible.


    The first edition of the Military Code was publicly read in its entirety for the first time. It wasn¡¯t perfect, it had loopholes, yet it already took a small yet significant step.


    Revodan Square was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.


    ¡°For Blood Wolf!¡± Former acting Centurion, now Captain of the first company of the Iron Peak County Infantry, Thomas suddenly flushed red, ¡°Three cheers!¡±


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡± Thomas bellowed, leading the cheer.


    ¡°Uukhai!¡± the soldiers roared in response.


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡± Other Company Commanders and non-commissioned officers joined Thomas, thumping their chests to guide everyone.


    ¡°Uukhai!!¡± The cries grew more synchronized and louder.


    ¡°wooah! wooah!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!!!¡± Soldiers from all twelve companies used the last of their strength to scream: ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    This was a cheer that not even the triumphant hero from over fifteen hundred years ago had heard.


    And Winters, like that hero from fifteen hundred years before, calmly accepted it.


    ¡°Bring the third batch of prisoners up,¡± Winters said to Heinrich.


    The matter wasn¡¯t finished; there remained a group of people to be dealt with. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Heinrich, upon the order, escorted the third batch of prisoners out of the carriage.


    Sasha, supporting the elderly Priskin, felt the old man¡¯s body tense up instantly.


    Those who emerged from the carriage were prominent citizens of Revodan, including six members of the city council, and startlingly, Priskin¡¯s grandson among them.


    Heinrich led the third batch of prisoners toward the execution ground.


    Out of the blue, old Priskin dashed towards the execution platform with agility that belied his age, leaving the blacksmith Sasha who never expected such vigor from the elder, quickly following behind.


    Winters also noticed the small commotion up ahead and, seeing the old man running over, thought he was coming to plea.


    Old Priskin, with tears streaming down his face, pulled out a purple sash from his bosom and shouted, ¡°I, John Priskin, on behalf of all the citizens of Revodan, wish to nominate Captain Winters Montagne as the Military Protectorate of Iron Peak County!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry smile.


    However, with the crowd¡¯s emotions running high, people arranged by Priskin ahead of time began to cheer in response: ¡°Protectorate! Protectorate!¡±


    ¡°Protectorate!¡± the soldiers, unwittingly caught up in the moment, began to join the chorus, ¡°Protectorate!¡±


    They actually had no idea what a [Protectorate] was, but since everyone was shouting fervently, it surely must be something good, right?


    Winters heard clearly, Priskin had distinctly said ¡°Military Protectorate,¡± yet eventually everyone in the square was shouting ¡°Protectorate.¡±


    Military Protectorate and Protectorate were completely different things, and Winters didn¡¯t know how to explain to the thousands of cheering people in the square.


    Even Andre and Senior Mason were rowdily joining the shouting.


    Winters raised his hand for silence, and the cheering slowly faded away.


    The title of Military Protectorate was dug up by Priskin from some old documents, clearly with consideration.


    It was a role between a legion commander and a centurion, neither too high nor too low, perfectly fitting for the size of the Iron Peak County¡¯s forces.


    How could he not know the old man¡¯s intentions? By nominating Winters as the Military Protectorate in his name, it was a move to completely strip away the facade of the garrison, to pledge direct allegiance to Winters.


    The motive? Nothing but to exchange his grandson¡¯s life¡ªthat said, Winters had never planned on executing Priskin¡¯s grandson from the start.

 Chapter 674 674 32 Trial_6

    ?Chapter 674: Chapter 32: Trial_6 Chapter 674: Chapter 32: Trial_6 ¡°I¡­¡± Winters slowly began, ¡°I would like to nominate Andreya Chelini as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!¡± people in the square cheered.


    ¡°I would like to nominate Richard Mason as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!!¡±


    ¡°I would like to nominate Bard of Gerard as a civil-military tribune simultaneously!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!!!¡± The atmosphere reached its peak.


    ¡°Bring up the third batch of prisoners!¡± Winters ordered with a wave of his hand.


    ...


    The smile froze on old Priskin¡¯s face.


    Seventeen noblemen of Revodan were tremulously brought up to the execution platform, where the blood had not yet dried, leaving a trail of bloody footprints as they stepped on it. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The short journey felt like walking towards an abyss.


    ¡°Kneel,¡± Winters commanded coldly.


    In the blink of an eye, all seventeen knelt down, those standing in blood knelt directly in it.


    Winters drew his sword and rested it on little Mr. Priskin¡¯s shoulder.


    Old Priskin¡¯s vision darkened, nearly fainting.


    Winters said slowly, without urgency, ¡°You have been secretly conspiring with the New Reclamation Legion, passing messages, and plotting to attack the city gates to help my enemies take Revodan.¡±


    Little Priskin couldn¡¯t even speak, shaking like chaff and sobbing uncontrollably.


    ¡°I respect loyalty, so I don¡¯t blame you,¡± Winters said without using a voice amplification spell, ¡°After all, at that time, you were loyal to the New Reclamation Legion, and since my appointment as garrison officer, I have never required you to swear fealty to me. But from this perspective, you are still my enemies, and I must still kill you.¡±


    Someone among the seventeen began to cry out loud.


    ¡°So I¡¯ll give you an opportunity,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Swear your loyalty to me.¡±


    He hadn¡¯t planned to massacre in Revodan. It was easy to kill seventeen people, but ruling Revodan afterward would be difficult.


    Little Priskin grasped Winters¡¯ sword and kissed it fiercely, not minding that the blade cut his palm open.


    The others scrambled over and did the same.


    Winters sheathed his sword, picked up little Priskin from the ground, and casually said, ¡°You only get one chance.¡±


    Little Priskin shuddered, tears swirling in his eyes, and he nodded frantically.


    ¡°No crying,¡± Winters patting little Priskin¡¯s shoulder, raised his hand and waved cheerfully to the crowd in the square, ¡°Smile!¡±


    Little Priskin forcefully pushed back the tears in his eyes.


    People in the square couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying, only seeing the newly appointed civil-military tribune lay his sword on old Mr. Priskin¡¯s grandson¡¯s shoulder, then pull him up and wave towards the square.


    They saw little Mr. Priskin smiling, smiling as if he was truly delighted.


    ¡°Centurion, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Peter [the Short] Bunir quietly asked Tamas in front of the execution platform.


    ¡°What centurion? Call me platoon leader!¡± Although Tamas was clueless as well, he put up a front and replied, ¡°Can¡¯t tell? It¡¯s the knighting of a knight!¡±


    ¡°Civil-military tribune!¡± Tamas roared again to add excitement.


    He didn¡¯t know what the word meant; he thought it was a new battle cry or cheer.


    After his shout, the soldiers of his platoon started shouting, soon followed by everyone in the square.


    Cries of ¡°civil-military tribune¡± echoed once again to the heavens.


    In the thunderous cheers, Xial came running, saying with concern, ¡°Brother, looks like we¡¯ll have to treat everyone well today¡­¡±

 Chapter 675 675 33 Land

    ?Chapter 675: Chapter 33: Land Chapter 675: Chapter 33: Land Historical experience tells us that a celebration must always end with feasting and drinking, something inevitable and unstoppable.


    Winters had originally intended to spend less and accomplish more, but the atmosphere in the square had just been whipped into a climax.


    He really couldn¡¯t bear to tell the cheering crowd, ¡°The garrison can¡¯t afford to host a feast for the whole city, everyone should go home, that¡¯s all.¡±


    Watching his purse inevitably bleed out, Winters¡¯s smile grew sadder and sadder.


    Old Priskin tottered up to the scaffold, confirmed his grandson was truly unharmed, and the first thing he did was to give little Priskin a hard slap while tears streamed down his face.


    After the slap, Old Priskin didn¡¯t say a word to his grandson.


    Wiping away his tears and with a smile, he came just in time to relieve the financially strained new Burgher of his worries, ¡°My lord, the guilds of Revodan beg to arrange a great banquet in your name and hope you will grant us this honor.¡±


    ...


    Old Priskin had seen clearly, among the parade were prisoners, military flags, and a good number of captured weapons, but not a single Gold Coin or silver coin was in sight.


    Winters was torn between great sorrow and joy, feeling relieved as he clasped the old man¡¯s hands, ¡°Mr. Priskin, the mayor of Revodan, I think you should do it.¡±


    As a military province, Revodan had no mayor, only a garrison commander. And Old Priskin had wisely kept out of harm¡¯s way, falling ill and resigning even from the municipal council long ago.


    But in this moment, he nodded vigorously without hesitation, ¡°No problem, I will do it!¡±


    And so the feast began right there in the square.


    Pigs and sheep were led directly to the open space for slaughter, with Revodan¡¯s two butchers busier than ever.


    Cows and horses, however, which Winters had ordered to be protected as precious draft animals, luckily escaped this fate. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a little frontier town like Revodan, there weren¡¯t exotic delicacies or fine wine, but everyone brought out their best.


    Spits were set up across the square, and the few large iron pots the city had were brought out.


    Cheese and smoked meats were continually brought out, and bread was freely supplied.


    Even more precious was the beer!


    No one knew by what means Old Priskin had managed it, but the typically stingy beer merchant [Widow Airen] had also opened her purse.


    Like rolling hoops, barrel after barrel of beer rolled into the square. Without Mrs. Airen opening the lids, there were already several drunkards waiting respectfully with bottles and jars in hand.


    The people of Revodan contributed tables from their homes, forming long lines across the square.


    Soldiers mingled with townsfolk, and the square could no longer contain them all, so the tables continued along the streets.


    Children ran amok among the adults, while the women exchanged news and gossip.


    Some drunken men dragged their reluctant wives to dance, prompting shouts and laughter.


    And all of this, nominally provided by the new Burgher, was in fact funded by various guilds of Revodan.


    Winters was very pleased, for he had saved a significant sum, successfully achieving the impossible goal of ¡°spending less and accomplishing more.¡±


    Old Priskin and the gentlefolk were at ease, and the citizens of Revodan were also very happy.


    In such a cheerful atmosphere, Winters crossed the bustling square, weaving through the crowd and long tables, to see Anna.


    Standing face to face, it seemed as though another barrier had sprung up between them.


    Winters wanted to embrace Anna, but although he reached out his hand, he dared not touch his beloved.


    Anna threw herself into Winters¡¯s arms, holding him tightly as if afraid he would fly away.


    ¡°The more you understand me,¡± Winters strained to control his emotions, ¡°the more disappointed you might become.¡±


    ¡°I want to know even more about you,¡± Anna murmured against his chest, silently shedding tears.


    Winters hugged Anna tightly, as if trying to merge her into his very being.


    ¡­


    The rooftop of the town hall was the best place to watch this grand feast.


    Winters brought Anna up there.


    The two of them picked the lock, hand in hand, and snuck up to the roof, just like when Winters used to take Anna, who ditched classes, to the mercenary arcade.


    Anna¡¯s heart raced, clueless about where they were going, she just followed along naively and ended up on the rooftop.


    The rooftop was windier and colder without the obstruction of surrounding buildings.


    ¡°Sit down for a moment, I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Winters told Anna as he took off his coat to drape over her shoulders, then ran off fleet-footed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go! What are you doing?¡± Anna asked in a panic, but Winters was already out of sight.


    Lady Navarre was left alone on the desolate rooftop, wearing an officer¡¯s coat, standing in the cold autumn wind.


    Just as she was lost in thought, Winters came back beaming, holding two cups of beer.


    Lady Navarre was truly both angry and annoyed.


    Winters, completely oblivious, extended the beer to Anna with an innocent grin.


    However, Anna caught hold of his arm and bit down hard.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters did his best not to spill the beer.


    ¡°Who told you to take me to drink?¡± Anna felt wronged.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you eighteen already?¡± Winters sipped a little beer, ¡°Wow, this beer is bitter.¡±


    According to church regulations, a girl could marry at twelve, Sea Blue females generally married at fifteen, so having a bit of alcohol at eighteen surely was no problem.


    Before he could finish, another set of teeth marks appeared on Winters¡¯s arm.


    In the time that followed, the two sat on the rooftop, sipping the bitter beer in small mouthfuls.


    ¡°I still prefer sweet,¡± Winters commented.


    Anna responded softly with a ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Winters explained, ¡°Revodan¡¯s beer is bitter because it¡¯s brewed with hops for long-term preservation.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Anna gazed at the crowd in the square.

 Chapter 676 676 33 Land_2

    ?Chapter 676: Chapter 33 Land_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 33 Land_2 ¡°Even these bitter ones are diminishing sip by sip,¡± Winters sighed deeply. ¡°These were all brewed last year. The barley was confiscated by the garrison earlier this year, and then I managed to get it. It¡¯s impossible for me to use grain to brew beer, and the farmers are unwilling to sell their grain. So today is the last day of drinking to our heart¡¯s content; after this, Revodan might go a long time without beer.¡±


    Anna looped her arm through her lover¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯ve already done very well.¡±


    Winters sighed again, deeply. ¡°I could have done better.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t save everyone,¡± she said.


    ¡°That,¡± Winters said with a soft chuckle, ¡°is the third time I¡¯ve heard it.¡±


    ¡°Who were the first two?¡± Anna asked, curious.


    ¡°Bard, and a great sage,¡± Winters took a deep breath, brushed away the gloom, and declared with a chest full of fierce pride, ¡°Watch, Anna. In one year¡ªtwo at most¡ªI will restore Revodan and even Iron Peak County to their former states. I will bring prosperity back to the cities, vitality to the countryside. Believe in me, witness me.¡±


    ...


    Anna gently rubbed Winters¡¯ shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t come here because of any achievements you might have¡­ I just want you to live well.¡±


    ¡°How do I deserve you¡­¡±


    ¡°Knowing that is enough,¡± Anna huffed slightly, discontented.


    The feast gradually drew to a close, and residents of the square fetched their instruments to play and enliven the atmosphere.


    A citizen cradled a bagpipe and began to play, cheeks puffed.


    The piercing sound of the bagpipe cut through the noisy chatter of the square with its melodious tune.


    A woman¡¯s voice began to hum along, and more and more people softly sing together:


    ¡°The money I had,


    has all been shared with my mates;


    The harm I¡¯ve caused,


    ultimately only wounds myself;


    The wisdom I sought,


    has long since vanished like smoke and clouds;


    So fill up this cup of Stirrup Wine,


    may joy always be by your side;


    ¡­¡±


    According to Paratu customs, as a parting friend steps into the saddle, the send-off party will hold up one final cup of wine.


    This parting cup is hence termed ¡°Stirrup Wine,¡± and natives of Paratu all know how to sing this farewell song named after it.


    Anna nestled against Winters, quietly listening, watching the life on the square¡ªa painting of such vibrant life.


    She regretted, ¡°I should have brought my easel.¡± S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen someone paint outdoors like you,¡± Winters teased.


    Anna, however, earnestly described to Winters the scene she accidentally saw in Wolf Town: five men and a skinny ox ploughing the field.


    ¡°The scene wasn¡¯t pretty, but it was very¡­¡± Anna searched anxiously for the right adjective.


    Winters gently took Anna¡¯s hand. ¡°Shocking, sad, yet also peaceful, natural, and serene. Right?¡±


    Anna nodded with a smile. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s complex emotion. That¡¯s why it¡¯s also beautiful. I want to paint it, which is why I asked you for an easel.¡±


    Winters was moved too. ¡°Is it finished?¡±


    ¡°Only the draft,¡± Anna blushed slightly. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have any paints.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll find you paints,¡± Winters said with deep regret. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    Anna clung tighter to Winters¡¯ arm, not speaking, just snuggling up to her lover¡¯s shoulder.


    Suddenly inspired, Winters pulled out a map book and a small bundle of graphite sticks from his pocket. ¡°How about using these for a little sketch in the meantime?¡±


    Anna, puzzled, accepted the two items and beamed in delight.


    ¡­


    Winters returned to domestic life, sweetly and comfortably nestled with Anna.


    But a hundred kilometers southwest of Revodan, in Blackwater Town, Lieutenant Bard was weary.


    Because the courier was still en route, Bard neither knew that he had been elected as both ¡°Military Protector of the People¡± and ¡°Protector of the People,¡± nor was he aware of Winters¡¯ grand feast for the entire city of Revodan.


    In any case, Bard faced the most challenging task of the campaign: ensuring the stability of the refugee camps and bringing them to South Eight Town.


    While Winters fought a visible enemy, Bard sat on a powder keg, trying not to let it explode. And he faced a severe shortage of manpower and resources.


    All of Iron Peak County¡¯s resources were being poured into the war effort, leaving very little for the refugee camps.


    Bard had only forty soldiers, ten horses, barely anybody skilled with a knife, let alone those who could read and write.


    And yet he faced over twenty thousand refugees.


    But Bard¡ªa tenant farmer¡¯s son and servant of the monastery¡ªcontinued on without complaint or lament, quietly solving problems as they came.


    He called up militia from Wolf Town and Saint Town to bolster the ranks.


    He selected guards from within the refugee camp, using the refugees to police themselves; he implemented a harsh code of joint accountability and maintained limited autonomy within each of the sixteen camps to balance the pressure.


    Thanks to Bard¡¯s tireless, sleep-deprived efforts, no refugee disappeared without reason, nor did any riots break out.


    During the migration, the refugee camps did no harm to the villages they passed through. Neighboring farms gradually lowered their defenses and even brought food as gifts.


    But there was one problem that Bard himself could not solve¡ªland.


    So once he led the refugee camp halfway between Niutigu Valley and Blackwater Town, Bard camped down and stayed put.


    He ordered the refugees to make farm tools and get plows and harrows ready; where there was no iron, they used wooden ones, and where there were no oxen, they used human strength.


    Rumors spread rampant in South Eight Town, and the landowners were on edge.


    The abandoned fields were all in the hands of the estate owners, and the refugee camp was not breaking new ground¡ªstarting now wouldn¡¯t catch up to the farming season¡ªso it was clear what Lieutenant Bard planned to do.

 Chapter 677 677 33 Land_3

    ?Chapter 677: Chapter 33 Land_3 Chapter 677: Chapter 33 Land_3 But beyond preparing farming tools, Lieutenant Bard made no other moves.


    He did not confiscate the estates¡¯ produce, nor did he order the displaced people to work the fields directly, and he wouldn¡¯t even meet with the visiting landowners.


    As the planting window for winter crops shrank day by day, he still held his forces in check.


    He was waiting, waiting for the outcome at Revodan.


    Finally, after an agonizing wait, the first light of dawn broke over the horizon.


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard!¡± Anglu shouted as he ran into Bard¡¯s tent, ¡°We won! A great victory!¡±


    The young groom was so excited that he trembled, yet Bard¡¯s demeanor remained as calm as usual.


    ...


    He took the letter, read it from beginning to end, and finally could not help but say ¡°Good¡± three times in a row.


    What Bard received was the first letter sent to him by Winters after he had met with Tang Juan.


    More victory reports were still on their way.


    ¡°Anglu!¡± Bard bellowed.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The groom snapped to attention.


    ¡°Raise the army flag! Go to all the nearby villages and towns, and spread the news of this great victory for me!¡± Bard laughed loudly.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu turned to leave.


    ¡°Come back!¡± Bard called the groom, ¡°You can delegate the task of spreading the victory news to someone else. I have a more important task for you.¡±


    Anglu¡¯s smile faded, and he looked earnestly into Lieutenant Bard¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You go to Blackwater Town.¡± Bard narrowed his eyes, ¡°Bring all the landowners here.¡±


    The camp of displaced people needed some cavalry for better management, so Winters assigned Anglu to Bard.


    In Winters¡¯ view, the two had compatible temperaments. Having Anglu follow Bard, the young groom could learn a lot.


    And indeed, Bard and Anglu shared many similarities, but Bard was more resilient, more mature, and more determined. The groom¡¯s awe of Lieutenant Bard had gradually turned to admiration, and Bard¡¯s position in his heart was now second only to Winters.


    When Bard gave an order, Anglu had no trace of doubt. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The groom gave a firm salute and turned to leave the tent.


    ¡­


    Anglu acted swiftly, and the landowners of Blackwater Town, whether willingly or not, were all brought to the camp of the displaced.


    The landowners of Blackwater Town, who could be considered distinguished local families in this small place, waited in terror for the young lieutenant¡¯s judgment.


    ¡°Time is short! I don¡¯t intend to waste words with you.¡± Bard cut to the chase, speaking briskly, ¡°I have twenty thousand people; I can¡¯t support them all. So I need your land to grow food, and I can compensate you with some rent. When we eventually reclaim the wilderness, I¡¯ll return your land to you.¡±


    Even though they were mentally prepared, the landowners of Blackwater Town were still stunned by the bombshell.


    ¡°Sir, may I be so bold as to ask a question?¡± Richard, the largest landowner of Blackwater Town, began, mustering his courage.


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    Richard plucked up his courage, ¡°It seems to me, sir, that you are about to turn all the displaced into farmers and tenants for you¡­ or rather, for the new garrison here.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just like that.¡± Bard didn¡¯t bother to hide it, ¡°The refugees must work for us for seven years to regain their freedom. In the future, we won¡¯t just hand out land to them; they must redeem it.¡±


    ¡°Then why go through all this trouble, sir?¡± Richard, being a large landowner, proposed, ¡°Why not let the refugees work as tenant farmers for us, and we will supply the provisions for the garrison, wouldn¡¯t that be better?¡±


    Bard clapped his hands and laughed heartily, laughing so hard he doubled over, leaving the landowners puzzled.


    After wiping away his tears, Bard¡¯s face suddenly turned stern, ¡°You wish!¡±


    The landowners in the tent trembled with his angry shout.


    Bard made his stance crystal clear, ¡°Having peasants continue to be tenant farmers for you, tying the labor to your estates, that¡¯s not going to leverage their full potential! They¡¯re going to be squeezed by someone no matter what, and I¡¯d rather do the squeezing than let you fatten up at their expense.¡±


    Even the kind and generous Bard could be intimidating as he glared, making them quiver in their boots, ¡°I¡¯m not scared to tell you that we are at war with the New Reclamation Legion. We need food! We need troops! Without food and troops, we will be wiped out! We will be killed!¡±


    ¡°So, whoever doesn¡¯t supply us with food, whoever doesn¡¯t provide us with troops, is our mortal enemy!¡± Bard¡¯s gaze swept over everyone; the landowners lowered their heads, ¡°This is a matter of life and death, and we will show no mercy! If you agree, we will give you some compensation. If you don¡¯t agree, I will see to the ruin of your homes and families!¡±


    The landowners, who had been involuntarily swallowing their saliva just moments ago, now found their mouths dry and bitter.


    Bard picked up a stack of land deeds, all archives from the Revodan garrison: ¡°We are clear about how much land you have. Whether you have been secretly cultivating more land, you know that better than I do.


    I don¡¯t even need to investigate your secret cultivations! Next year¡¯s property tax, multiplied by five! And if that seems too little, by ten! If you can¡¯t pay it, we¡¯ll confiscate your land and property!


    Let me tell you, in the face of life and death, there is no good or evil, we have ways to deal with you. Right now, the fact that we are negotiating kindly is a show of our mercy.


    Iron Peak County has sixteen towns, and I must get this done in Blackwater Town no matter what, or else wouldn¡¯t the other fifteen towns follow the example? You better think it through. If you agree, come and sign the contract. If you don¡¯t agree, go home and await your death!¡±


    Richard spoke bitterly, ¡°Sir, our family fortunes were accumulated over several generations. We worked hard, bought land, and managed our family businesses; is that also a crime?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡± Bard drew his sword and pointed it at Richard, asking, ¡°This is about life and death. We are not out to kill you, but you¡¯re killing us! Letting labor continue to be tenant farmers for you? Who will provide us with troops? Who will supply us with grains? Without troops and grains, we will die. Aren¡¯t you the ones killing us?¡±


    Richard stepped back repeatedly, shaking his head frantically.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m actually saving you,¡± Bard drove his sword into the ground, gesturing fiercely toward the refugee camp outside, ¡°There are more than twenty-thousand starving people out there, if we don¡¯t let them cultivate the land, the day they eat through their provisions, they will come and eat you! Don¡¯t you understand? Or are you pretending not to understand?¡±


    Richard was left speechless by the question.


    ¡°And it¡¯s not like we¡¯re taking your land for nothing,¡± Bard¡¯s tone became gentle and calm, ¡°Once the wastelands are cultivated, we will return your land to you. That¡¯s why we need to draft a contract with you, to protect your private property. Moreover, isn¡¯t your land lying fallow now anyway? Even the best land, left uncultivated for two years, will become wasteland. We are here to help you take care of the land and even compensate you; where else could you find such a good deal?¡±


    He became more and more affable, nothing like the impassioned man from before, ¡°If we really wanted to rob you, would I have wasted my breath talking to you? Wiping out your entire family, the land without heirs would naturally revert to the garrison. Isn¡¯t that simpler?¡±


    Richard, along with the other landowners, couldn¡¯t tell if the man before them was a devil or an angel.


    ¡°No need to say more,¡± Richard said with difficulty, ¡°The hilt of the knife is in your hands, you call the shots. I¡¯ll sign this contract, but I hope you won¡¯t forget your promise. When the time comes, you still have to return the land to us!¡±


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t trust me, so I¡¯ve brought something.¡± Bard took out a wooden box.


    Upon opening the lid, it shone with the golden luster of the Saint Ados Emblem.


    The landowners were startled¡ªthey recognized what it was.


    ¡°I swear in front of the relic of the true Saint Emblem,¡± Bard placed his hand on the Saint Ados Emblem, ¡°If I break this contract, may I be eternally damned in hell, may my soul be eternally burnt by the fires of Hell! Even the Lord¡¯s forgiveness could not save me!¡±


    The oath was so severe, so ruthless, that probably not even the Pope himself could absolve it.


    Richard, gritting his teeth, went to the table, and signed his name on the document, officially handing over his land.


    With him leading the way, the other landowners also stepped forward to mark their signatures.


    ¡°Gentlemen, you will forever have my gratitude.¡± Bard bowed deeply and, upon rising, asked casually, ¡°Have you ever considered moving to Revodan?¡±

 Chapter 678 678 34 Tiefeng

    ?Chapter 678: Chapter 34 Tiefeng Chapter 678: Chapter 34 Tiefeng The day after the feast, in the early morning, the newly formed three infantry battalions stood in neat rows on the Revodan Military Camp parade ground.


    ¡°Someone said to me the other day, after winning a battle, he wanted to eat meat, wanted to sleep. I promised him, ¡®Back in Revodan, we¡¯ll slaughter pigs and sheep!''¡± Winters stood in front of the podium and asked the entire army, ¡°Yesterday, did we kill pigs?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡± the soldiers answered.


    ¡°Did we slaughter sheep?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡±


    ¡°Then, did everyone eat their fill? Drink their fill? Sleep enough?¡±


    ¡°We did!¡± shouted a soldier.


    ...


    Some soldiers caused a stir, ¡°We want to eat another meal!¡±


    ¡°You want another meal?¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I do too! Sheep offal soup, so delicious! Roast pork, so tasty!¡±


    The soldiers laughed uproariously.


    ¡°But we can¡¯t!¡± Winters suddenly changed his tone, ¡°We can¡¯t afford to eat or drink it! To put on a feast like yesterday¡¯s again, the Iron Peak County Government would go bankrupt!¡±


    Winters took out a money bag, turned it upside down to show to the soldiers, ¡°Look! Not a single silver coin left.¡±


    The situation was actually very serious, but Winters¡¯ relaxed tone eased a lot of anxiety.


    ¡°So,¡± Winters stated emphatically, ¡°we have to farm! If we don¡¯t farm, there will be no bread to eat!¡±


    Only then did the soldiers realize that they were going to be allocated land, and everyone was excited and nervous.


    ¡°In the first year of land distribution, much is to be recovered! There is a limited number of agricultural tools and draft animals,¡± Winters announced, ¡°Therefore, this year, tools, draft animals, seeds, and rations will all be distributed on a company level, to be used collectively! You were a unit in battle; you will still be a unit in dividing and cultivating the land! A company is a village, understood?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the soldiers shouted in unison.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters laughed boldly, waving his right hand, ¡°Everyone, go farm! Plant as much as you can!¡±


    When Winters disbanded the army, one hundred kilometers southwest of Revodan, Bard was also giving a speech.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about whether it¡¯s a three-field or a two-field system!¡± he stood on a wagon, scattering hope to the hundreds of thousands of cold and hungry people, ¡°This year, there¡¯s no need to fallow! Every piece of land that can be turned over, plant it all!¡±


    ¡°Wheat! Barley! Buckwheat! Plant whatever you have!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make ridges or divide the fields among households! There¡¯s no time to waste!¡±


    ¡°Ploughs, draft animals, uniformly distributed! Men plough! Women and children sow seeds, rake the soil! If you want to eat, you must work!¡±


    ¡°Make it through the winter! Hold on until the summer harvest next year!¡± Bard¡¯s voice was firm and powerful, ¡°Then you can eat your fill!¡±


    The planting of overwinter crops usually takes place between late September and early October.


    It is now October 20, and we must race against time to plant the overwinter crops before the temperatures drop.


    ¡°Letting refugees farm again,¡± though easy to say, Bard knows all too well the difficulty of carrying it out¡ªWinters knows some of it.


    Because everything is in shortage.


    Lack of shovels, rake frames, ploughs, draft animals¡­ anything imaginable is in extreme scarcity.


    Not only is the recovery of agricultural production very difficult, but ensuring the survival of the refugees is also a big challenge.


    Refugees are people; they need to eat, to drink, to have shelter.


    Winter is approaching, and the refugees lack warm clothing; thus, they will need a lot of fuel for heating.


    Such a thorny situation would give anyone in charge a headache.


    Yet a smile lingered on Bard¡¯s lips, for in his view, the key issue that would decide life or death had been resolved by Winters.


    The government had won the right to survive; all other difficulties were minor in comparison. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And as for solutions¡ªthere are always more than there are difficulties.


    Forty veterans, three hundred militiamen selected from the refugees, that was all the manpower Bard had at his disposal, standing before him at that moment.


    ¡°Montaigne, the civic officer, won the bloody battle! A resounding victory!¡± Bard spoke coldly, ¡°The bloodless battle is up to us to fight. If we don¡¯t win, then the blood of others is spilled in vain.¡±


    The atmosphere was solemn and serious, every person tense.


    ¡°Ish of Ganshui Town!¡±


    Ish was no longer the timid farmer he once was; he perked up, answering loudly.


    Bard ordered, ¡°Take your men, grab the property inventory of Blue Mountain Manor, and go count them for me. Tools, bring them back. Houses, seal them for now! To be allocated later!¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°What are you waiting for? Go now!¡±


    Ish took the orders, leading a group of men and setting out immediately.


    Because Bard successfully achieved a ¡°peaceful handover,¡± the property of the various manors was well preserved.


    Following the lead of the owner of Blue Mountain Manor, Richard Mata, the manor owners cooperated and provided a list of fixed assets including agricultural tools and houses.


    If a violent seizure had occurred, it would have led to losses; it wouldn¡¯t have gone as smoothly as it did now¡ªthis was why Bard was willing to give money rather than forcefully plunder.


    Houses, agricultural tools, these were all things Bard urgently needed.


    The houses were accommodations provided by the manors for their laborers and tenants, mostly now empty.


    Although these houses were rundown, they were perfect for the refugees to inhabit.


    The agricultural tools of the various estates were likewise precious resources.


    In other words, Bard was going to ¡°use the chicken to hatch eggs.¡±


    Still the same lands, the same tools, the same houses, cultivated to produce grain as usual.


    But the people working the land had to be replaced, and so did the ones collecting taxes.


    One after another, groups were dispatched to check the inventory of items, leaving only the young groom Anglu without orders.


    Anglu waited silently.


    ¡°Anglu,¡± Bard called him over softly to his side, ¡°make a trip to Revodan for me.¡±

 Chapter 679 679 34 Tiefeng_2

    ?Chapter 679: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_2 ¡°Let someone else deliver the message!¡± Anglu said, somewhat anxiously, ¡°I¡¯ll stay here to help you!¡±


    Bard sighed, ¡°You have to go. If it weren¡¯t for the circumstances, I would go myself!¡±


    ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll go!¡± Anglu nodded emphatically.


    ¡°You will deliver a verbal message.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Find your Centurion,¡± Bard said seriously, ¡°and demand things from him!¡±


    Anglu was stunned; his Centurion was Winters Montagne.


    ...


    ¡°Demand what?¡± Anglu whispered.


    Bard gestured for Anglu to sit down and said with a bitter smile, ¡°Demand whatever we need! The old farming tools are far from enough; we must make new ones. Tell that guy to stop focusing on throwing banquets and come help me out instead!¡±


    Anglu didn¡¯t dare to speak and just nodded frantically.


    The more Bard spoke, the more helpless he became. He instructed the young groom, ¡°Remember to tell your Centurion¡ªno more making ploughs! We have enough ploughs; any cleared land can be worked with wooden ploughs. Does he only know ploughs? Make other agricultural tools instead! Even sending me some axes would be good! What am I to do with a pile of ploughs when I don¡¯t have the draft animals? Am I expected to pull the ploughs with people? Is a heavy plough something humans can pull?¡±


    Anglu had never seen Lieutenant Bard complain like this before; these grievances were new to his ears.


    He faintly felt that Lieutenant Bard was treating him as though he were Centurion Montagne himself, hence pouring out all his grievances.


    ¡°Have Forging Village make more small farming tools,¡± Bard continued, ¡°Don¡¯t make them purely of iron! It¡¯s wasteful! Make iron-clad ones! Make do for now, consider durability later.¡±


    Only Forging Village in Iron Peak County could make heavy ploughs; other villages and towns obtained their iron goods from there. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For example, Misha, the old blacksmith from Wolf Town, whose physical condition no longer allowed him to do heavy work, only repaired tools, not manufactured them, occasionally making small ironware.


    After Winters took over Forging Village, he ordered the blacksmiths to focus solely on making ploughs.


    In his view, what else was needed for farming if not ploughs?


    But the reality was¡ªin the refugee camp, there were more ploughs than livestock.


    Heavy ploughs were for use with horses, requiring two or even three horses to be able to pull them.


    If relying solely on human power, the lighter the plough, the better; such heavy ploughs were completely unnecessary.


    Without Bard, even though some might realize the flaw in Winters¡¯ orders, no one dared to correct him.


    The mistake thus perpetuated.


    Meanwhile, Winters was still pleased with himself, believing he had done something right and good.


    ¡°Also, after the war is over, don¡¯t focus the use of horses,¡± Bard rambled on, ¡°Whether warhorses or nags, farming is the top priority now! Distribute the horses, which would also save on fodder. Andre will surely disagree; leave him a few more horses, and he¡¯ll come around in a few days¡­¡±


    Bard had a lot of instructions, all things he had wanted to tell Winters but hadn¡¯t been able to get through to him.


    ¡°Did you get all that?¡± Bard asked Anglu.


    Anglu nodded vigorously, then shook his head just as vigorously.


    ¡°What did I say?¡±


    ¡°Ploughs!¡± Anglu swallowed hard, ¡°And horses!¡±


    ¡°Not the ploughs! We need the horses!¡± Bard sighed deeply, ¡°Alright, off you go.¡±


    ¡­


    The lives of the refugees had begun a new chapter.


    The officer who had them swear loyalty under the Saint Ados Emblem actually distributed land, farming tools, and houses to them.


    They were no longer ¡°refugees¡± but had regained the status of ¡°farmers.¡±


    Just this was something they had never dared imagine in the past.


    Yet, their mode of production was different from that of ordinary tenant farmers and serfs.


    Instead of the common [landlord and tenant] or [government and self-cultivating farmer] models, their much talked-about ¡°new government¡± adopted a brand-new yet outdated system.


    The new government didn¡¯t allocate land per capita. Instead, they collectively farmed a large tract of land called a ¡°farm,¡± using shared tools, draft animals, and seeds in units of ¡°camps.¡±


    This system was considered outdated because it was an outright copy of the feudal manorial system.


    Noble estates were just like the farms of today, where the lord¡¯s and the tenants¡¯ or serfs¡¯ lands were intermingled without clear boundaries marked by ditches and ridges.


    Tenant farmers and serfs had to cultivate both their own allocated land and the lord¡¯s land.


    In this respect, the relationship between the new farmers and the new government closely resembled that of lords and serfs.


    The new farmers¡¯ rights were restricted; whether they liked it or not, they had to labor.


    The land was not divided; it was cultivated as a whole.


    Many elders still remembered working on noble estates, so they readily accepted the new status quo¡ªit was still working the land for the lord, after all.


    But this system was also unprecedentedly novel:


    It meant that a regime had bypassed intermediaries and reached a ¡°deal¡± directly with the lowest class of farmers.


    There were no lords, no tax farmers, no masters, nor masters¡¯ masters.


    Just as there is only one sun in the sky, although the farmers were still working for the ¡°lord,¡± they were working for the largest and only lord¡ªthe new government of Iron Peak County.


    Bard was not unaware of the concept that ¡°only when land is distributed to households will farmers be motivated.¡±


    He also knew very well that ¡°refugees will work hard this year not because they are diligent, but because they are scared of hunger. Once they can eat their fill, the collective farming model will make them lazy.¡±


    But his decision to use this method was also well-considered.


    There was no choice; the refugee camp did not have the conditions to ¡°distribute land to families.¡±


    Resources were too scarce; they had to be used collectively.

 Chapter 680 680 34 Tiefeng_3

    ?Chapter 680: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_3 Chapter 680: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_3 To distribute land to each household, one must first ¡°divide the land.¡±


    Dividing the land requires drawing boundaries, which uses furrows and ridges. There isn¡¯t enough time to rush planting wheat, let alone do all this.


    Moreover, Bard doesn¡¯t have anyone capable of measuring land or calculating areas.


    Measuring land and calculating areas isn¡¯t simple, the terrain is uneven and the shapes aren¡¯t square. Calculating the area of a polygon requires at least a basic knowledge of ¡°Geometry.¡±


    Not to mention that furrows and ridges would take up already precious arable land area.


    Growing up in the Federated Provinces where arable land is tight, Bard had seen farmers whose lands had been carved into disconnected small plots, with ditches and ridges occupying up to one-fourth or even more of the total cultivable area.


    He was also short of livestock and farming tools.


    ...


    To maximize the use of the scarce cattle, horses, and farming equipment, they had to be used collectively.


    Bard wasn¡¯t short of manpower, so ¡°men rest, the plow doesn¡¯t¡± was the ideal situation for the time being.


    After settling some of the migrants in Blackwater Town, Bard led the remaining migrants to continue their migration to Wolf Town and Wugou Town.


    Blackwater Town alone couldn¡¯t accommodate all the migrants.


    Nevertheless, Blackwater Town had set a good precedent for Wolf Town and Wugou Town.


    Why migrate the migrants to such remote places?


    This was also the consensus that Winters and Bard reached after long discussions.


    ¡°The North Eight Towns may be richer, but the people¡¯s hearts aren¡¯t with us, and there¡¯s no defensible position. The eight towns south of the St. George River are our core territory,¡± Winters had concluded, ¡°The farther west and south the migrants move, the better they are away from the New Reclamation Legion¡¯s reach. Even if it means moving closer to the Herders¡¯ sphere of influence, it¡¯s worth it.¡±


    Therefore, Bard prioritized settling the migrants in Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.


    If there was no room left for settlement, they would then be redirected to other towns according to the principle of proximity.


    After a major victory in Blackwater Town, Bard set off on his long journey once again.


    Many challenges lay ahead, and he knew this and was well prepared.


    So at this very moment, what is Winters Montagne doing?


    If Bard knew the answer, he might be infuriated ¡ª Winters was feeding a baby.


    To be precise, Winters was bottle-feeding a little colt.


    ¡°You scamp! There¡¯s no one else competing for it!¡± Winters was nearly driven crazy as he tugged at the colt¡¯s neck, trying desperately to prevent it from plunging its entire head into the bowl of milk: ¡°You¡¯re not afraid of choking to death!¡±


    Scarlett was laughing convulsively at the side, leaning forward and backward.


    Anna was there, too, smiling elegantly¡ªit was the first time she had willingly come to the stables.


    Because it was its first birth and was difficult, the colt¡¯s mother didn¡¯t let it drink milk, and eventually stopped producing milk altogether. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters had no choice but to find two nanny goats to serve as wet nurses for the colt¡ªlater, a cow was added.


    The colt was born on September 21st and was now exactly one month old.


    Colts are born with sixteen teeth, including four incisors, similar to human front teeth.


    By four weeks, the colt had already grown four more incisors and its sucking strength had increased substantially.


    The colt¡¯s suckling was too painful for its three ¡°wet nurses,¡± leading both the nanny goats and the cow to refuse it direct access to their milk.


    Out of desperation, Scarlett had to first milk them and feed the colt from a bucket.


    A new problem arose¡ªthe colt wouldn¡¯t drink milk from the bucket.


    When Scarlett came to Revodan, she also brought two puppies from her hunting dog¡¯s recent litter.


    Due to recent wartime mobilization, Revodan¡¯s horses were conscripted, leaving the colt with only the puppies as companions, playing with them daily. This caused his behavior to resemble a puppy¡¯s more than a colt¡¯s.


    He was also at an age where he needed to drink a lot of milk and was constantly hungry.


    So every time Scarlett placed the milk bucket before the colt, it would eagerly plunge its entire head into the bucket.


    It even submerged its nostrils below the liquid surface, often choking while drinking.


    Given that the colt¡¯s ¡°godfather¡±¡ªWinters had returned to Revodan, Scarlett left the daunting task of solving this issue to him.


    Winters wasn¡¯t surprised.


    When Winters was little, Elizabeth once secretly brought home a kitten that was only a few days old from the garden.


    Scared of letting their mother know, Ella pleaded with Winters for help.


    Winters had always been his sister¡¯s ¡°puppet,¡± and he couldn¡¯t bear to see the kitten die, so he came up with all sorts of ways to feed it milk.


    Back then, he found that newborn kittens don¡¯t understand how to lap milk from a dish.


    The kitten could smell the milk and gnawed at the edge of the dish but didn¡¯t know how to drink it.


    Later, he secretly snipped a scrap from his aunt¡¯s silk garment, cut it into soft pieces, and used them to guide milk to the kitten¡¯s mouth, which saved its life.


    Eventually, the kitten naturally learned how to lap milk. Because of the silk garment, Ella was severely punished by their mother, but the kitten stayed with Winters¡¯ family and was named ¡°Little General.¡±


    So Winters confidently took on the task of teaching the colt how to drink milk. When Anna learned of this, she wanted to come and watch.


    ¡°The stables are dirty and smelly,¡± Winters discouraged Anna, ¡°There¡¯s nothing interesting about feeding a foal milk.¡±


    ¡°I want to learn more about you,¡± Anna replied softly.


    Thereby creating the awkward scene before them, where Winters of course failed. The colt continued to drink in its usual diving style, and the ladies¡¯ eyes brimmed with laughter.


    It was only when the colt had drunk almost all the milk, leaving just a bottom layer, that its nostrils finally emerged completely.

 Chapter 681 681 34 Tiefeng_4

    ?Chapter 681: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_4 Chapter 681: Chapter 34 Tiefeng_4 ¡°From now on, give this naughty boy a plate to drink from!¡± Winters said angrily.


    ¡°But what will Longevity do if he can¡¯t drink milk?¡± Scarlett asked.


    ¡°Let him go hungry! If he¡¯s hungry enough, he¡¯ll naturally learn to drink milk.¡±


    Scarlett blinked: ¡°Alright then.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Winters sighed, giving a bitter smile as he looked towards the blacksmith Shaosha beside him: ¡°I¡¯ve made a fool of myself in front of you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all, Magistrate Sir.¡± Shaosha smilingly replied: ¡°Quite amusing! I used to be a farrier too; I¡¯m very fond of horses!¡±


    Blacksmith Shaosha had been summoned by Winters for a meeting.


    ...


    Winters wanted to revive agricultural production, and the most urgently needed items were iron farming tools.


    Thus, as the most respected blacksmith in Revodan who had not partaken in the previous rebellion conspiracy, Shaosha was heavily relied upon by Winters.


    Winters had previously ordered that if Blacksmith Shaosha sought an audience, no one should obstruct him. Therefore, Xial didn¡¯t think much of it and brought Shaosha directly to the stables.


    The stables housed Winters, Anna, Scarlett, and Longevity, creating a private and intimate atmosphere.


    Shaosha¡¯s accidental intrusion made him quite embarrassed.


    Noticing that Winters and Shaosha were about to discuss official matters, Anna said to Scarlett: ¡°Lady Michel, I have a gift for you, come with me.¡±


    With that, Anna curtsied gently, taking Scarlett¡¯s hand to leave.


    ¡°Let me introduce.¡± Winters stopped Anna, smiling at Shaosha: ¡°This is my wife.¡±


    He then turned to Scarlett, ¡°And this is my sister.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna¡¯s cheeks suddenly flushed red; while Scarlett¡¯s eyes dimmed somewhat, but she quickly returned to her usual wild and energetic self.


    ¡°My wife¡¯s opinions are very important to me,¡± Winters explained to Shaosha earnestly: ¡°So whatever the matter, you can speak in front of them. It also saves me the trouble of repeating it later.¡±


    Shaosha had never imagined that inside the home of the fearsome ¡°Blood Wolf¡± there would be an even more imposing ¡°She-Wolf¡±.


    Nor could one tell by her appearance that Lady Montaigne, who at first glance clearly came from a distinguished background, had the ability to dominate her husband.


    But Shaosha heard Magistrate Montaigne personally say, ¡°My wife¡¯s opinions are very important to me.¡±


    A competent Paratu man would never listen to his wife¡¯s opinions, unless he couldn¡¯t defeat her in a fight¡ªthinking this, Shaosha felt a trace of pity towards the Master Blood Wolf and a newfound respect for Lady Montaigne, who appeared gentle and caring but possessed astonishing martial prowess.


    Noticing Shaosha¡¯s distraction, Winters brought him back to reality: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say Iron Peak County has an iron mine? I asked you to write a report about it, how is it coming along?¡±


    Shaosha hurriedly took out a folded sheepskin from his bosom: ¡°Magistrate Sir, it¡¯s my first time writing a report, so if it¡¯s not well written, please¡­¡±


    Winters smoothly took the sheepskin: ¡°Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve written; go ahead and talk.¡±


    Shaosha cleared his throat and started: ¡°Iron Peak County is called so because of the Iron Peak Mountain to the northwest. And Iron Peak Mountain is named after its iron ore deposits.


    Before the border was opened, this was where the Herders worked the iron. When my father-in-law¡¯s family moved here thirty years ago, that iron mine was still being mined. But now we use the steel produced from the Steel Fortress, and that mine has been abandoned.¡±


    Anna listened intently, while Scarlett was equally captivated.


    ¡°Are there still reserves?¡± Winters asked, most concerned about this.


    ¡°There are,¡± Shaosha nodded repeatedly: ¡°My father-in-law said there are, the vein hasn¡¯t run out, and it¡¯s still rich.¡±


    ¡°Then why stop mining?¡±


    Shaosha scratched his head, speaking honestly: ¡°To be truthful, I don¡¯t know either; I only moved to Revodan fourteen years ago, and by then the Iron Peak Mine had already stopped production. So, all I know are the things my father-in-law told me, please forgive any mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you know,¡± Winters said, his brow involuntarily furrowing.


    Shaosha was frightened by the reaction, nodding his head frantically: ¡°Yes! Yes.¡±


    Anna noticed Shaosha¡¯s change in emotion, kept it in mind, but made no comment or action, just listened quietly.


    Shaosha continued: ¡°My father-in-law said that the ore from the Iron Peak Mine was substandard; the iron produced was brittle and prone to rust. Moreover, the blacksmiths in Forging Village melted iron in small forges, and buying ore and charcoal cost money, so it was time-consuming, costly, and labor-intensive.


    It¡¯s simply more cost-effective to buy bar steel directly from Steel Fortress. The bar steel from Steel Fortress is shipped via waterways, very cheap, and of top quality. Items made with bar steel from Steel Fortress can be sold at a slightly higher price, and people are willing to buy them. Thus, no forge master bothered with smelting iron anymore.¡±


    Winters pondered for a moment then said: ¡°Just like with sword blanks, you also only buy them from Steel Fortress, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly like the sword blanks from Steel Fortress. Everyone buys pre-made ones because they¡¯re cheap and effective, so no one bothers to forge swords anymore.¡± Shaosha said with a rueful smile: ¡°To be honest, even my sword-forging skills have rusted away. I used to be a master swordsmith, and now I can only make handsome hilts and scabbards.¡±


    Winters burst into hearty laughter, his laughter both easy-going and pleased.


    He was not laughing at Shaosha but at his stroke of fortune with Iron Peak¡ªwasn¡¯t it cause for laughter when you want to sleep and someone brings you a pillow?


    ¡°Mr. Shaosha, could you please invite your father-in-law to speak with me?¡± Winters asked, his smile fading as he turned serious.


    Shaosha¡¯s expression was complex: ¡°Sir, my father-in-law was crippled by a back injury eight years ago and now he¡¯s bedridden. That¡¯s why he brought me in as his son-in-law, to take over his forge¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear about this misfortune,¡± Winters said as he patted Shaosha¡¯s shoulder: ¡°Then, I¡¯ll pay a visit myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary¡­ really not necessary¡­¡± Shaosha hastily demurred.


    But Winters wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer and after scheduling a time, he saw Shaosha off.


    Anna also left the stables with Scarlett, gesturing to Winters to find her later as she did so.


    ¡°Xial!¡± Winters called out loudly.


    Xial, who had just seen off Shaosha, ran over in a panic: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Brother?¡±


    ¡°When Miss Navarre is with me,¡± Winters said, frustration evident at Xial¡¯s clueless expression, ¡°do not bring guests straight to me!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Right.¡± Xial saluted comically, standing at attention: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Off with you,¡± Winters said, waving him off with a laugh: ¡°Send Carlos Soya to me!¡±

 Chapter 682 682 35 The Blacksmith

    ?Chapter 682: Chapter 35: The Blacksmith Chapter 682: Chapter 35: The Blacksmith ¡°Can you really forge iron?¡± Winters asked Carlos Soya¡ªbrother of the great blacksmith Berlion¡ªseriously.


    Carlos was somewhat flustered by the sudden query, as he stuttered and stammered, ¡°Yes¡­ my lord, wasn¡¯t it agreed that we would start the furnace only after my brother is rescued?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you, can you?¡± Winters¡¯s brows furrowed slightly: ¡°Or can¡¯t you?¡±


    Backed into a corner, Carlos answered resolutely: ¡°I can!¡±


    Seeing Carlos¡¯s evasive demeanor, Winters guessed that the likelihood was the young man was not well-versed in his craft.


    In fact, Carlos harbored another layer of thought; he neither wanted to show his mettle before his brother returned nor feared proving his worthlessness would mean no one would go to rescue his brother.


    ¡°Ease your mind,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°Whether you help or not, I will rescue your brother. I¡¯ve already sent people to look for Berlion, and we should have news soon. You don¡¯t have to be afraid; your brother was one of my men, and the camaraderie between us is far deeper than you think. That¡¯s why Pierre took you in and protected you, and why I won¡¯t trouble you.¡±


    ...


    Carlos felt a surge of emotion and nodded emphatically.


    Of the Soya family¡¯s three brothers, Carlos¡¯s father and older brother were already gone; everything he did was for the sake of his eldest brother¡¯s safe return.


    Winters sighed. Without the little blacksmith, the little blacksmith should be able to manage as well¡­ he supposed.


    Time was of the essence. Taking Carlos with him, Winters immediately picked up a gift and went to visit the father-in-law of the blacksmith Shosa.


    Shosa¡¯s father-in-law, named Poltan, had many honors: one of Revodan¡¯s first settlers, Revodan¡¯s first blacksmith, and the inaugural president of the Revodan Blacksmith Guild Alliance¡­


    Even when Revodan was nothing more than a few grass huts by the St. George River, flames were already licking the inside of Poltan¡¯s forge.


    The history of his forge even predates the name ¡°Revodan.¡±


    True to his self-made roots, regardless of how much property he accumulated, Poltan still worked beside the anvil every day, earning the reputation for being ¡°hardworking, astute, and robust.¡±


    Thanks to his booming voice, sense of responsibility, and decisive action, blacksmith Poltan gradually became one of Revodan¡¯s most prominent figures, his words carrying a weight no less significant than that of another gentleman leader¡ªthe old tobacco merchant Priskin.


    But all that came to an end with an accident eight years ago.


    Poltan, then beyond fifty, was struck in the back by a falling beam, rendering him unable to feel anything below his waist.


    The capable and astute great blacksmith was transformed into a helpless invalid dependent on others for his every need.


    The people of Revodan expressed their regret and pity for him, but even the combined sighs of the entire population, magnified a hundredfold, couldn¡¯t equal the old man¡¯s mental and physical suffering.


    It was around that time that Shosa, a young blacksmith working at Poltan¡¯s forge, was taken in as his son-in-law.


    Blacksmith Shosa became the new master of the forge while old Poltan withdrew from public life, so much so that he was no longer seen even at weekly religious services.


    But today, Poltan¡¯s house received an unexpected visitor¡ªMilitary Governor Winters Montagne.


    Winters had not arranged to meet with Shosa at this time, but he had a habit of acting on his impulses, so he arrived early.


    Both Shosa and old Poltan were astonished.


    ¡°To have such an esteemed gentleman come to see an invalid like me who¡¯s close to death,¡± old Poltan tried to prop up his upper body: ¡°is truly an honor.¡±


    The old man was emaciated, like skin draped over bones. Years of being bedridden had caused his muscles to atrophy, and his cheeks were sunken and sagging.


    Seeing old Poltan now, no one would believe he once was a tall, robust blacksmith with a voice like a tolling bell who laughed and cursed loudly.


    Shosa hurried to assist his father-in-law.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for trouble; let the old man be comfortable as he wishes,¡± Winters said frankly. ¡°Actually, I came to seek assistance on a matter.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± old Poltan replied with a calm expression. ¡°I will withhold nothing.¡±


    ¡°I want to know everything about Iron Peak Mine: where are the mineshafts located? What are the reserves like? How is the quality of the ore? Can it still be mined? You are the person most knowledgeable about the history of Iron Peak County and Revodan, so I¡¯ve come to seek your advice without permission. I hope, sir, that you won¡¯t mind.¡± S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When he heard ¡°the person most knowledgeable about the history of Iron Peak County and Revodan,¡± a flicker of emotion crossed old Poltan¡¯s face, but it vanished just as quickly as a ripple disappears on the water.


    ¡°There¡¯s so much to tell, I hardly know where to start,¡± the old man replied.


    Winters simply pulled up a chair and sat down, then motioned for others to do the same: ¡°Then let me ask, and please don¡¯t hesitate to answer. Can Iron Peak Mine still be mined?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the old man nodded. ¡°Iron Peak Mountain is essentially a mountain of iron. The Herders only exhausted the shallow veins; they didn¡¯t know how to mine any deeper. When we arrived here, we dug three slanted shafts on the north side of the mountain, which is what we call Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    Winters nodded, listening, and then took out a small notebook. ¡°Then why was mining discontinued later on?¡±


    Old Poltan sighed deeply: ¡°The ore from Iron Peak Mine¡­ it¡¯s what blacksmiths call ¡®poisoned ore.¡¯ You might not understand, but Shosa and this youngster here probably do,¡± he said, nodding towards Carlos.


    Although Winters had not introduced Carlos, the young blacksmith¡¯s identity was immediately recognized by the old man.


    ¡°Poisoned ore means it¡¯s bad ore,¡± Carlos said, his voice growing fainter. ¡°The iron smelted from it is also bad; it needs to be¡­ detoxified.¡±


    When he heard the compound word ¡°detoxified,¡± a hint of skepticism flashed in old Poltan¡¯s eyes.


    But the old man didn¡¯t press on and continued: ¡°The best iron for forging is red iron, black iron, and magnet iron, and a purer form of spathic iron is passable, brown iron can also be used. But if the ore contains too much pyrite or siderite, the smelted iron is no good. It becomes brittle and easily breaks.¡±

 Chapter 683 683 35 Blacksmith_2

    ?Chapter 683: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_2 Chapter 683: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_2 Winters listened and took notes, barely understanding the blacksmith jargon spouted by the old man.


    But the old man was in high spirits, and Winters thought it best not to interrupt him.


    Old Poltan reminisced about the past, ¡°Iron Peak Mine could be considered a rich mine, but because the ore was too toxic, we only used the ore from Iron Peak Mine to smelt iron during the first few years. Later, when bars of iron from Steel Fortress became available, Iron Peak Mine gradually declined.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible to resume mining?¡± Winters asked seriously.


    ¡°Of course,¡± the old man said with a soft smile, ¡°The ore is in the mountain; what can¡¯t be mined?¡±


    ¡°To be honest with you,¡± Winters confessed, ¡°I want to reopen Iron Peak Mine and start smelting iron.¡±


    ¡°Why bother?¡± Old Poltan, leaning against the headboard, asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it good to buy bars of iron from Steel Fortress?¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Winters answered truthfully, ¡°We can¡¯t get bars of iron from Steel Fortress anymore, and all the blacksmiths in Iron Peak County are using stockpiles. If we continue like this, I¡¯m just waiting to die.¡±


    As his words fell, the small room suddenly fell silent.


    ¡­


    The Steel Fortress of Solingen is located in the Monta Republic, nestled within the Sheltering Mountain range.


    Thus, the transportation of Steel Fortress¡¯s ironware and bars of iron into Paratu was by water, flowing down the stream until reaching Ashen Stream River.


    To reach Iron Peak County, the shipment must set forth from Ashen Stream River, arriving at Mirror Lake, then moving against the flow of Big Horn River, all the way to Shovel Port on Shovel Lake to offload the ships.


    In peaceful times, of course, there would be no issues, but currently, Blue Rose and Red Rose are at war.


    The power of Blue Rose stretches between the controlled area of Red Rose and the Monta Republic.


    Want to reach Ashen Stream River?


    At the barrier of Blue Rose, Steel Fortress¡¯s goods cannot pass¡ªAlpad would cut off the iron supply to Red Rose from Steel Fortress as soon as possible as long as he is of sound mind.


    More unfortunate still is that even if one gets past the barrier of Blue Rose, there¡¯s still the barrier of Red Rose. Kingsfort wouldn¡¯t stand idly by watching the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, which is lukewarm in their allegiance, receiving a supply of ironware.


    Even if one could get past the barrier of Red Rose, there¡¯s still the New Reclamation Legion!


    Iron Peak County is currently under a triple blockade, one layer stricter than the next.


    Let alone ready-made bars of iron, not even a single iron scrap can make it through.


    And Winters needs iron for too many things right now.


    Farming requires tools; tools require iron;


    Winters needs to build houses for refugees and soldiers, which requires tools, and tools also require iron;


    He must also rearm his army as much as possible¡ªyou can¡¯t expect soldiers to fight with just spears, right?


    He wants armor, wants swords and spears, wants firearms; all require iron.


    Winters, victorious in battle, found it tragic that this land could make tables and chairs, pottery, grow crops, grind flour, make paper, but couldn¡¯t produce a pound of iron, a yard of woolen cloth, or a single suit of armor.


    Iron Peak County is a thoroughly backward, agricultural frontier county with undeveloped commerce and only small-scale handicrafts.


    A large estate economy leads to poverty among all except the estate owners.


    In the past, Iron Peak County survived by selling crops and then buying goods it could not produce.


    Now, Iron Peak County¡¯s logistics channels with the outside world have been severed.


    Presented with only two choices, Winters can either sit around until depletion and quietly await death, or he can fight vigorously for self-sufficiency.


    ¡­


    ¡°So that¡¯s it,¡± Old Poltan pondered for a moment, ¡°Then I can understand your urgency to restart Iron Peak Mine, but it¡¯s not going to be easy.¡±


    ¡°This is not only about survival,¡± Winters said earnestly, ¡°A sage once told me, ¡®The more times money circulates, the more money there will be.¡¯ Have you ever heard of this?¡±


    ¡°No, shouldn¡¯t money decrease the more it circulates?¡± Old Poltan¡¯s voice was deep.


    Winters seized the opportunity to spread the concept of [Circulation Theory], ¡°For an individual, money decreases with circulation. A dockworker gets his wages and buys bread. The baker earns money and then goes to the mill to buy flour. With each transaction, a little money is lost. In the end, only a small part ends up in the pockets of the farmers.¡±


    He quoted Anna verbatim, ¡°But when the baker earns money, he can support his family. When the mill owner earns money, he too can support his family. Each circulation of money makes the city, even the country, more prosperous; in this sense, the overall wealth is ¡®increasing.¡¯


    Compared to being hoarded and deeply buried by misers and wealthy tycoons. Money should circulate more and more. The more frequent the circulation, the better!¡±


    Young blacksmith Carlos was bewildered, middle-aged blacksmith Tess was thoughtful, and old blacksmith Poltan grew increasingly astonished as he listened.


    The [Circulation Theory] described by the Protector, he too had once vaguely conceived. But he had never managed to sum it up into a clear, concise, and plainly stated theory.


    ¡°To make money circulate more, first, reduce the resistance in the channels of circulation, which is to promote commerce;¡± Winters spoke confidently: ¡°Second, we need to create sources! Money is like water; it needs a source to keep flowing.¡±


    He looked straight into Old Poltan¡¯s eyes, ¡°I want to smelt iron to create a source. I don¡¯t just want to smelt iron; I want to engage in any production I possibly can. Even if ¡®making¡¯ costs more than others, it¡¯s better than buying!


    I have no desire to disguise my thoughts. My primary goal is to save myself, to become stronger. If, in the process, I can seek welfare for the countless people of Iron Peak County, I will do my best.


    Currently, under my authority, Iron Peak County, if not a beneficiary to everyone, will at least not be worse off than the New Reclamation Legion!¡±

 Chapter 684 684 35 Blacksmith_3

    ?Chapter 684: Chapter 35: Blacksmith_3 Chapter 684: Chapter 35: Blacksmith_3 The room fell into a profound silence; neither Sasha nor Carlos dared to breathe.


    ¡°True heroes emerge from youth, and I, an old man, am genuinely a bit scared,¡± Old Poltan said with a bitter smile, shaking his head: ¡°These thoughts of ¡®the more money circulates, the more it grows,¡¯ did you come up with them yourself? The sage, you¡¯re referring to yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t dare take the credit; it was truly a wise person who told me,¡± Winters replied.


    ¡°Who is this wise person?¡± Old Poltan asked with some anticipation: ¡°May I meet them?¡±


    ¡°Another day I will personally bring the sage to visit,¡± Winters said with a hint of red on his cheeks, proudly telling the old man, ¡°These were all taught to me by my wife.¡±


    ¡°Ah? The She-Wolf? The female warrior?¡± Sasha thought in shock, ¡°Could it be that Lady Montaigne is not just good at fighting?¡±


    Old Poltan¡¯s smile grew more bitter, and after the bitterness, it turned into unconcern: ¡°Hahaha! Heroes emerge not only from young men but also from young women!¡±


    ...


    Winters laughed heartily too.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve had similar ideas to what you mentioned,¡± Old Poltan said, sitting up straight: ¡°Back then, I considered why Iron Peak Mine couldn¡¯t compete with the imported Steel Fortress bar iron, and it wasn¡¯t just because of poor quality.¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s expensive, the cost is high, right?¡± Winters immediately understood.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Old Poltan nodded: ¡°If it were cheap enough, even if it was slightly inferior in quality, the Steel Fortress bar iron would absolutely not be able to compete with Iron Peak Mine¡ªthe Steel Fortress bar iron has to be transported across the entirety of Paratu to arrive at Revodan, and the shipping costs alone are immense! How could it compete with them?¡±


    The more the old man spoke, the faster his speech became; he reverted to the once booming-voiced Master Ironsmith Poltan: ¡°If the iron smelting of Iron Peak County could turn into a big business like that of Steel Fortress, Revodan would be better off, Iron Peak County would be better off.¡±


    ¡°But buying the mine costs money, buying charcoal costs money, flattening the furnace costs money, hiring people costs money; everything costs money. All these expenses added up end up being more trouble than it¡¯s worth compared to just buying Steel Fortress bar iron!¡±


    Master Ironsmith Poltan cursed with fervor: ¡°Especially the charcoal! You need good charcoal for smelting iron, but the forests belong to the legion. Want to cut down trees for charcoal? Fork over the cash! Money, money, money! That¡¯s all the goddamn garrison cares about! Selling land for money, selling trees for money, selling the mine for money¡ªthe legion has never thought about how important it is to support an industry for us common folk!¡±


    Sasha¡¯s face turned pale with fright. Although Iron Peak County had changed hands, openly criticizing the New Reclamation Legion was still unimaginable.


    This kind of insult to the old authority was fundamentally a disdain for authority. It could easily attract the resentment and suppression of the new authority, even if it was criticizing enemies of the new authority¡ªa commoner could not publicly criticize a former duke.


    ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right!¡± Winters found a kindred spirit, unable to hold back: ¡°The New Reclamation Legion doesn¡¯t care about the people¡¯s lives at all. What they want is money, grain, and soldiers. They don¡¯t represent the interests of the people of the Newly Reclaimed Land because they only have their own interests in mind! All their actions are aimed at extracting more and more!¡±


    Left to the side, Sasha and Carlos watched as Winters found an unexpected bond with the bedridden, frail old man.


    ¡°Back in the day, I calculated carefully; using stone coal for smelting iron would greatly reduce costs. Then the iron produced by Iron Peak Mine could compete with the Steel Fortress bar iron.¡± Old Poltan¡¯s pain, sorrow, and despair resurfaced.


    Tears flowed down his face as he muttered, ¡°Those years, not a day went by that I didn¡¯t study how to smelt iron with stone coal. I spent sleepless nights buying charcoal, setting up furnaces, sifting ore¡­ But what did it get me? I ended up a wreck of a man. This is the blessing the gods bestowed upon me; this is the reward fate has given me¡­¡±


    Winters was unaware of such complexities. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Please rest assured.¡± Winters could only try his best to console the old man, ¡°The New Reclamation Legion has already screwed off! Iron Peak County is now under my control, iron ore, charcoal, you needn¡¯t pay a dime for them! I hope you won¡¯t hesitate to help me revive Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    ¡°As one grows old, they tend to ramble on,¡± Old Poltan wiped away his tears, striving to straighten his back, and asked Winters seriously, ¡°You want to restart Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    ¡°The trees and the iron mine are yours?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll also need manpower, lots of it. Do you have that?¡±


    Winters softly coughed once, ¡°Yes, I have more than a thousand captives.¡±


    ¡­


    Tang Juan had captured over a thousand captives from Vernge County; these captives couldn¡¯t be released, killed, or directly granted land to enlist soldiers¡ªbecause there were not enough resources to maintain them.


    Winters had decided to provide the captives with something to eat, but they had to work three years without compensation.


    In name, the captives would perform labor due to their hostility towards Iron Peak County; in reality, they were slaves with a three-year term.


    At present, the captives had already been taken to Forging Village, where under the supervision of the military, they were working with Winters¡¯ soldiers to rush the sowing of winter crops.


    Once the winter wheat and winter barley were sown, Winters planned to group the captives into logging and construction teams to build houses for the refugees.


    Selecting personnel to work in the iron mine from them posed no legal or logical problems.


    ¡­


    ¡°Then we can start working!¡± Old Poltan regained his decisive demeanor: ¡°With the mine, the charcoal, and the people, what¡¯s to fear? If we encounter mountains, we pave the way; if we come across water, we build bridges. Let¡¯s strike the first blow! Whatever problem arises, we solve it then and there!¡±


    The more Winters interacted with the old ironsmith, the more he admired his spirit: ¡°Well said! Let¡¯s strike the first blow!¡±


    ¡°Sasha!¡± Old Poltan reached out for the paper and pen on the table.

 Chapter 685 685 35 Blacksmith_4

    ?Chapter 685: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_4 Chapter 685: Chapter 35 Blacksmith_4 Shaun hurriedly brought the paper and pen to his father-in-law, Winters. On his desk lay a thick stack of parchment, covered with handwriting. There were also many sketches and crumpled draft papers.


    ¡°You go to Forging Village and call Gangchalov over for me,¡± the old man scrawled messily on the paper. ¡°He led the crew that dug the slanted shaft back then, he knows the workings of the mine vein best!¡±


    Shaun¡¯s body trembled, and he swallowed before saying in a low voice, ¡°Old Gangchalov is dead. He died the year before last.¡±


    Old Poltan¡¯s pen paused, and he asked blankly, ¡°How did he die?¡±


    ¡°Of old age,¡± Shaun ventured. ¡°The year before last, Mary and I told you, it was the day before Ascension Day. At that time, you were writing your book and didn¡¯t want us to disturb you¡­¡±


    ¡°What about Paulo? Paulo Vinius?¡± Old Poltan¡¯s lips trembled as he asked, ¡°Is he still alive?¡±


    ¡°Old Mr. Vinius also died, drunk to death,¡± Shaun answered. ¡°His Forge is now run by his youngest son.¡±


    ...


    ¡°They¡¯re all dead! We¡¯re all of age!¡± Old Poltan first cried and then laughed, ¡°I¡¯m going to die soon too! So I can¡¯t waste any more time!¡±


    Struggling at his desk, old Poltan eventually found a map and handed it to the new lord of Iron Peak County, ¡°Your Excellency, this is a map from twenty-eight years ago. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s accurate anymore. You go to Forging Village and just find any old blacksmith. With this map, have him lead you to the mine.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Winters smiled as he took the map. ¡°As long as there¡¯s a map, I can find the way.¡±


    Old Poltan said regretfully, ¡°It¡¯s a pity I¡¯m crippled, or I would certainly go with you! Being stuck in this broken bed, I¡¯ll just stay in Revodan and recruit soldiers and buy horses for you. Cough, I dream of the day when the furnaces of Iron Peak Mine are smoking again! Please, let me see that day before I die! With that, I¡¯ll die with no regrets.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of furnaces,¡± Winters laughed out loud. ¡°I¡¯ve brought something new to Iron Peak County, something that can completely change the Iron Peak Mine, and it¡¯s also my ace in the hole!¡±


    Shaun¡¯s eyes widened, while old Poltan was also tantalized.


    ¡°It¡¯s him,¡± Winters patted Carlos¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Him?¡± Shaun was puzzled.


    Winters said emphatically, ¡°This lad¡ªhe knows how to smelt iron with a blast furnace!¡±


    ¡°Him? He knows?¡± Shaun was astounded, having thought the young boy beside the bailiff was just an attendant: ¡°Such a young master craftsman?¡±


    ¡°Having a blast furnace would of course be best.¡± Old Poltan was somewhat disappointed, clearly not believing that a boy, not yet fully grown, knew about blast furnaces: ¡°But it¡¯s okay if we don¡¯t have one.¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old man sighed, reminiscing about the old days, ¡°Back then we all used the traditional bloomery to smelt iron. It¡¯s also why the iron from Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t beat the steel bars from the Steel Fortress¡ªthe iron from the Fortress is smelted with blast furnaces, saving time and effort. I¡¯ve also tried to construct a blast furnace, but didn¡¯t succeed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Winters was all smiles. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to try, right?¡±


    Carlos was on the verge of tears.


    As they were parting, Winters asked old Poltan, ¡°I heard you mention earlier that you¡¯ve tried to smelt iron with coal?¡±


    ¡°The coal is toxic, smelting iron with coal, good iron ore was all ruined,¡± Poltan sighed again. ¡°So I¡¯ve always wanted to remove the toxicity of the coal, but I didn¡¯t succeed.¡±


    ¡°Where did the coal come from?¡± Winters asked with a slight lift of his eyebrow: ¡°Does coal come from the neighboring county?¡±


    ¡°Iron Peak County has coal,¡± Poltan replied as if it were obvious. ¡°It¡¯s in Shizhen. Shizhen is really Coal Town, but it¡¯s wet coal, we need to drain it, and mining is a bit difficult.¡±


    With a soft gasp, Winters bowed in farewell to the old man.


    Shaun escorted the bailiff all the way to the door. Winters casually asked Shaun, ¡°Mr. Poltan is writing a book?¡±


    ¡°Mhm, he¡¯s writing a book about the life of a blacksmith,¡± Shaun nodded.


    ¡°When I return, I¡¯ll make a stand for Mr. Poltan so he can write more easily,¡± Winters thought for a moment and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll also need to make a recliner, so the old man can lie down more comfortably.¡±


    ¡°I dare not, I dare not.¡± Shaun hastily declined.


    ¡°When it¡¯s done, I¡¯ll bring it over to you.¡± Winters instructed further, ¡°Hire a servant to massage the elder¡¯s limbs every day. I too once lay in bed for a long time due to an injury, and it was only because someone massaged my limbs that my muscles did not atrophy.¡±


    ¡°Massaging the limbs is useful?¡± Shaun heard of this therapy for the first time.


    ¡°It is.¡±


    ¡°I will arrange it right away.¡± Shaun said with gratitude, bowing his head, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters patted Shaun on the arm and left with Carlos.


    While riding on the road, Winters suddenly spoke up, ¡°Carlos!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Carlos jerked to attention, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve talked you up quite a bit,¡± Winters said with a benevolent smile, ¡°Don¡¯t let me down.¡±


    Carlos also smiled, an even uglier smile than if he had cried.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m just teasing you. I know what you¡¯re made of without weighing you,¡± Winters tapped the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulder with his riding crop, ¡°Just do your best.¡±


    Carlos nodded furiously, then suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, ¡°To make a high furnace, clay kilns won¡¯t do, we need fire-resistant bricks. You have to find me a brickmaker too.¡±


    ¡°Another brickmaker? Revodan only has stone masons, where am I supposed to find you a brickmaker? If there¡¯s no brickmaker, you¡¯ll have to make the bricks yourself!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Carlos had just climbed out of a deep valley, only to fall back in.


    Memories seemed linked by threads of silk, drawing Winters¡¯s thoughts back to several months ago.


    Contemplating, Winters said to the young blacksmith, ¡°I do actually have a pair of brickmakers.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Carlos was immediately excited.


    ¡°You know them.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°The kiln worker Shaun, and his brother Shaun Ping,¡± Winters chuckled softly, ¡°The brothers who helped old Misha and you back in Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re brickmakers?¡± Carlos exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Weren¡¯t they just bellows-pullers?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send for them right away!¡±


    Seeing that the last obstacle to building the high furnace was removed, Carlos looked glum again.


    ¡°No.¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I want to go back to Wolf Town myself!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to go just to fetch a brickmaker,¡± Carlos said frankly, ¡°I¡¯ll go fetch them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not only going to fetch the Shaun brothers.¡± The smile on Winters¡¯s face grew wider, ¡°I am also going to fetch a priest!¡±

 Chapter 686 686 36 s School

    ?Chapter 686: 36 Chapters School Chapter 686: 36 Chapters School Winters was always a man of action, and he immediately wanted to set out for Wolf Town to meet up with Caman and the kiln-building brothers.


    But after a bit of thought, he decided to depart the next day instead.


    The straight-line distance from Revodan to Wolf Town was nearly three hundred miles¡ªa real journey. Winters had many affairs related to Wolf Town on his hands, and if he could handle them all in one trip, it would save him the trouble of making another.


    ¡°Xial.¡± Having returned to his quarters, Winters began to arrange the trip, ¡°Go find Andre and have him prepare the horses to be sent to Bard. We¡¯ll take them along tomorrow.¡±


    Xial nodded, affirming the instruction, and quickly left.


    From Mont Blanc County, Andre had acquired over a thousand mares and foals, and together with the existing three hundred or so horses from Iron Peak County, the garrison suddenly found itself with a side group of almost fifteen hundred horses.


    Andre and Mason were overseeing the construction of stables and the cutting of hay, preparing for the herd¡¯s winter.


    ...


    Mason was temporarily unaware that he had been ¡°elected¡± as the head of the horse farm¡ªWinters was still seeking a good opportunity to discuss the matter with his senior.


    According to Bard¡¯s suggestion, the horses of Iron Peak County would no longer be raised collectively.


    Only the best warhorses were kept; the second-rate warhorses and riding horses were distributed among the military outposts and farms. Even mares without foals were selected and readied to be sent out.


    In such trying conditions, any horse had to be put to work.


    Andre was less than pleased, but since Winters had approved, he had no objections.


    Mason, on the other hand, was relieved. If the fifteen hundred horses were all kept in Revodan for the winter, surely a large number would die of starvation or freeze¡ªa maintenance they simply could not afford.


    Distributing them, although risky, would greatly reduce the demand for hay and stables.


    ¡°The iron goods meant for Lieutenant Bard will also be taken along this time.¡± Winters called over his taciturn standard-bearer, ¡°Go tally them and load the wagons, Heinrich.¡±


    Heinrich nodded, silently awaiting the next command.


    ¡°Go to the prison,¡± Winters said, with what appeared to be a smile, ¡°and take that rascal Bunting along tomorrow.¡±


    Heinrich nodded again.


    ¡°That¡¯s all, you may go.¡±


    With a salute, Heinrich left without uttering a word.


    Xial was lively and quick-witted; Heinrich was composed. Winters truly liked and trusted these two ¡°children¡± from the bottom of his heart. From the beginning, both had served as his gendarmes, later doubling as his guards, orderlies, messengers¡­


    Winters wanted to send the two boys out to take on greater responsibilities. But he was reluctant; Xial and Heinrich took care of the major and minor matters of his life, significantly improving his work efficiency and life quality. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But what kind of man could be content being a guard for life?¡ªthis was Winters¡¯ plain thinking.


    He decided to respect the wishes of the two children, to ask their opinions before deciding what was next for them.


    At this thought, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply. He absently fiddled with the small knife, regretful that there were so few competent people at his side.


    What are ¡°competent people¡±?


    They are the ones who, when given the order by the military council to ¡°build stables,¡± depart to fulfill the command and return with the stables completed, all without the need for much oversight.


    Apart from Winters himself, only a few such as Bard and Mason possessed the ability to plan, execute, and make decisions independently.


    Even Andre had been pulled out to serve as the Chief Paymaster¡ªthere was simply a shortage of personnel.


    Even Winters¡¯ personal accounts and the garrison¡¯s ledgers were currently managed by Anna.


    The human resources at the new garrison were not at all comparable to those at the old one. Major Ronald had over twenty officers under him, while Winters had only six in total, and among them, one mystery handsome man always shirked responsibility, while another mystery handsome man was too lazy to care.


    Revodan was not lacking in financial experts; old Priskin was clearly also capable of managing the accounts with precision, but Winters did not trust the old tobacco merchant.


    Those with ability could not be trusted; those Winters trusted did not have such ability.


    In the end, ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± had to take charge.


    ¡°The matter of the accounting school also needs urgent attention.¡± Winters unconsciously etched line after line on the table with the knife, ¡°We have to train and shape trustworthy people into capable ones.¡±


    The establishment of the ¡°Crash Course in Accounting¡± was Anna¡¯s suggestion, which Winters had happily noted, but now it seemed more urgent than he had imagined.


    ¡°So, who should be put in charge of the accounting school?¡± Winters¡¯ headache began anew.


    Thinking it over only led to one conclusion: he had to do it himself.


    ¡°Location, funding, student body, teachers¡­¡± Winters listed on paper the things needed to start a school.


    All at once, he took a deep breath and smacked the desk, ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s all these things, so why not expand the military training classes as well?¡±


    Previously, Winters¡¯ ¡°Military Classroom¡± mainly operated as an evening course.


    As night fell and the other soldiers prepared to sleep after dinner, the soldiers and Centurions selected by Winters would gather to attend his class.


    It was truly a bitter experience; Winters was driven to fury every day. Those who came to the class were utterly ignorant, having to be taught the most basic words on the spot.


    An even bigger problem was their lack of seriousness; they didn¡¯t take it to heart at all. Some even stole many of the chess pieces that Winters used to demonstrate tactics.


    After experiencing just one evening class, Winters completely abandoned the gentle approach to teaching and embraced the banner of stick education without looking back.


    Can¡¯t memorize the alphabet?


    Whack!


    Can¡¯t distinguish north, south, east, west?


    Whack!


    Can¡¯t recognize map symbols?

 Chapter 687 687 36 School_2

    ?Chapter 687: Chapter 36 School_2 Chapter 687: Chapter 36 School_2 Whack!


    The vine whips kept breaking so often that the warriors attending the class secretly nicknamed Xial ¡°Another One¡± behind his back.


    Because every time Winters broke a vine whip, Xial would immediately hand him a new one.


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, Samujin¡­ They were all made into ¡°Centurions¡± by Winters through relentless beatings with the vine whip.


    Since a crash course accounting school could be set up, setting up a crash course military school didn¡¯t seem too difficult either.


    The more Winters thought about it, the more elated he became.


    ¡°We must have an Infantry Department! I¡¯ll be the headmaster,¡± Winters muttered to himself as he wrote on the paper, ¡°The Cavalry Department is a must, too! Andre, well¡­ let¡¯s have Bard do it. Artillery Department, Senior Mason! Even though we don¡¯t have a single cannon right now¡­¡±


    ...


    Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery, the classic triad of the Ned Smith military system.


    Winters stared blankly at the three words on the paper, and a bold idea sprang up in his mind, ¡°Maybe¡­ I can break free from the old Marshal¡¯s shackles.¡±


    This thought made him feel guilty¡ªhow dare he compare himself with the old Marshal?


    Yet, the idea thrilled him to the core.


    Winters realized he was starting from scratch, with a blank slate before him. So he could do things any way he wanted!


    He crossed out the words Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry with force. He took a new sheet of paper and, in the most solemn font, wrote first:


    Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery.


    These three categories were fundamental.


    Chewing on his pen, he remembered the sieges one after another in the battle of the islands, the attacks on Bianli in the Great Wilderness, and firmly wrote down a fourth word¡ªEngineers.


    In Ned Smith¡¯s military system, the Engineers and Artillery were not separated; the Artillery Department was responsible for everything other than infantry and cavalry.


    That wasn¡¯t a problem, because back then artillery units were small; for many lords, maintaining an artillery unit was too expensive. So they didn¡¯t establish artillery units and hired artillery battalions from outside when going to war.


    Turning artillery into a regular branch of the military, on a par with infantry and cavalry, was already a leap forward by Ned Smith.


    Winters Montagne planned to take an even bigger step¡ªhe wanted to separate Engineers from Artillery, making it a distinct academic discipline.


    Every siege battle he had experienced reminded him that the role of engineers in war could no longer be overlooked.


    Chances for the ancient style of open-field battles where two armies would line up in formation were now pitifully rare. Siege warfare was the main theme! Engineers deserved their own branch.


    After writing down Engineers, Winters thoughtfully wrote down a fifth word¡ªLogistics.


    In the current military system of the Republic, whoever was appointed by the ¡°Legion Commander¡± to manage logistics would do so. It was mainly people from the Artillery Department, because with so few cannons and so many artillery soldiers, who else would take care of it if not them?


    Some unlucky cavalry and infantry officers would also be assigned to transport logistics, like the once Jeska¡¯s unit.


    Now that engineers had been separated, logistics should also be singled out for specialized training.


    In that case, artillery would simply be artillery. Artillery officers wouldn¡¯t have to be bothered with all sorts of miscellaneous tasks anymore; they only needed to focus on handling the cannons.


    Winters pondered for a moment longer, then carefully folded the white paper and tucked it into his little notebook. This was a big deal, and he needed to consult with comrades like Bard, Andre, and Mason.


    By comparison, the crash course accounting school was a minor issue.


    ¡°Let Anna be responsible for planning the accounting school,¡± Winters thought. ¡°I¡¯ll just implement it.¡±


    ¡­


    Early the next morning, a convoy departed from Revodan.


    Winters set off for Wolf Town with over four hundred horses, seven carts of axes, shovels, rakes, plows, and a death row prisoner.


    There was no special ceremony. Just a few people like Mason, Anna, Shao Sha, and Carlos came to see them off.


    ¡°Safe travels,¡± Anna carefully smoothed out Winters¡¯ collar and lapels. ¡°May the wind be at your back.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± Winters laughed heartily. ¡°Back in the day, I would ride alone, and in just two days, I could make a round trip between Wolf Town and Revodan. Now it¡¯s become troublesome, and not in the least bit free.¡±


    The prospect of getting out of the city and breathing some fresh air made Winters practically radiate with joy. The Little Lion insisted on coming along¡­ He was also dying of boredom.


    Anna gave a light snort and stealthily pinched Winters¡¯ waist with her nail, causing him to sharply inhale from the pain.


    ¡°Come back early,¡± Anna¡¯s smile was as pure and spotless as that of a saint.


    Winters nodded fervently. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their movements were subtle; those beside them didn¡¯t understand what had happened. But the brief scene did not escape the blacksmith Shao Sha, who had been sneakily observing. To him, it looked as if the she-wolf gently moved a finger and the Blood Wolf trembled all over, immediately begging for mercy.


    This made blacksmith Shao Sha empathize with the poor Public Protector and admire Lady Montaigne even more.


    Winters approached Shao Sha and Carlos, sensing an inexplicable hint of pity in the middle-aged blacksmith¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Give it your all, you two,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°When I come back, I hope to see at least enough raw ore and charcoal for one trial production.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured!¡± Shao Sha and Carlos nodded vigorously.


    ¡­


    Yesterday afternoon, unable to contain himself, Winters took a map and headed straight for Tie Feng Mountain. Along the road paved with slag, he easily found the abandoned mine shaft.


    Just as the old blacksmith Poltan had said, the entire Tie Feng Mountain was a ¡°mountain of iron.¡± Standing on top and plunging a shovel into the ground, the shovel¡¯s tip would hit the hard bedrock before it was fully submerged in the soil.


    That¡¯s why Tiefeng was bare, not a single tree grew. At the base of the mountain, the situation was slightly better¨Cthe weathered rock debris blown to the foot of the mountain formed soil. As one went higher, Tiefeng became more desolate, with just a few stubborn clumps of grass managing to survive in such harsh conditions.

 Chapter 688 688 36 School_3

    ?Chapter 688: 36 Chapter School_3 Chapter 688: 36 Chapter School_3 Historically, Tie Feng Mountain had changed hands several times. Neither the Herders nor the Paratu People would pass up such a natural iron mine.


    Therefore, the surface outcrop mines on Iron Peak had been exhausted long ago.


    Seventy years ago, the Suta Faction among the Herders once again occupied this place. They followed the ore veins to dig shafts, gradually exploiting the shallow deposits. The remnants of their old smelting furnaces still exist on Iron Peak.


    Then, thirty years later, the land was recaptured by the Paratu People.


    Driven off the land, the Suta Faction sadly sang, ¡°Without Tie Feng Mountain, our swords and blades dull; without Nine Bend River, our livestock lack fence and stall.¡±


    Forced to migrate west after losing Tie Feng Mountain, the Suta Faction was ultimately crushed in the brutal tribal warfare of the wilderness and was swallowed up by the Terdon Tribe. The once powerful Suta Faction was thus swept into the dustbin of history, much to everyone¡¯s lament.


    There is no need to mention the past of the Herders, as the pages of time have already turned.


    ...


    Thirty years ago, the blacksmith Poltan moved here and lived off the mountain. He mined the ore, forged iron, smelted agricultural tools, and then sold them to new immigrants.


    The newly arrived farmers were in dire need of agricultural tools, and ironware was in short supply. Seizing the opportunity, blacksmith Poltan made his first fortune.


    With money came ambition. To obtain better quality ore, blacksmith Poltan led his men to dig a slanting mine shaft two hundred steps into the mountain, then extended the working face to both sides.


    The ore veins here were sandwiched between layers of quartz, making mining even more difficult.


    But compared to the Herders¡¯ method of vertical shafts, baskets, and slave labor as the main workforce, the mining efficiency of old blacksmith Poltan¡¯s era had greatly improved.


    Forging Village became prosperous, and Iron Peak County even started exporting ironware to neighboring counties.


    After that, the winds of change shifted once more¡ªafter years of negotiation and debate, the Senas Alliance was officially declared.


    The various Republics reduced tariffs among themselves, beginning to trade on a broader scale. This promoted commercial prosperity, which was good for the Republics but bad for Forging Village and blacksmith Poltan.


    Cheap ironware and bar iron produced in the Steel Fortress were transported through waterways into Paratu, devastating the Paratu blacksmiths who were still at the stage of handcraft workshops, quickly overtaking the Paratu ironware market.


    Old blacksmith Poltan was one among those ¡°routed.¡±


    What Winters saw later was the result¡ªalmost no Paratu blacksmiths were smelting iron anymore, all were buying ready-made bar steel; nobody was forging swords, all were buying ready-made sword blanks.


    This might have been good for the Alliance as a whole, but it was bad for the present Winters, a terrible misfortune.


    He intended to change this phenomenon.


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    Winters had already sent people to explore the mine tunnels, and he ordered Sasha and Carlos to mine small-scale ores in preparation for trial building a blast furnace.


    It was impossible to restart the abandoned Iron Peak Mine all at once, but it was not difficult to extract a few hundred kilograms of ore for a trial.


    That¡¯s because the very act of ¡°mining¡± had not seen any significant leaps forward in thousands of years.


    Slaves centuries ago and today¡¯s miners still carried chisels and hammers into the mines, chipping away with their arms ¡°cling-clang.¡± It was simply a matter of changing from bronze chisels to iron chisels, and then iron chisels to steel ones.


    According to old blacksmith Poltan, there was also a ¡°cracking method¡± that involved burning with fire before dousing with water. But in poorly ventilated mines, this method often resulted in fatalities, so few mine owners would use it.


    Finally, Winters stood before Senior Mason, ¡°Senior, I trust Revodan to your care.¡±


    Juan was addicted to hunting, Andre to leisurely horse-runs, and Colonel Moritz to alcohol; with Bard absent and Winters leaving, the only reliable decision-maker left in Revodan City was ¡°Richard Mason, Military Protector of the People.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Mason said with a reluctant, bitter smile, ¡°nothing will go wrong.¡±


    In fact, Senior Mason had recently been carried away by his new cannon carriage and casting plans. However, the Senior had a strong sense of responsibility and was easy to talk to, unlike the other three who, when they said they would disengage, truly did disengage.


    Without a word, Winters saluted the Senior with his hand¡ªan unspoken acknowledgment that of the six people in the military council, three did no work, leaving the pain known only to the remaining three.


    Mason solemnly returned the salute¡ªbut his mind was still on his new cannon carriage.


    ¡°If the axle is strong enough,¡± Mason mused as his thoughts drifted far away, ¡°perhaps it could work even without a shock-absorbing structure?¡±


    After a simple farewell, Winters mounted his horse, nodding a final salute to the others.


    Anna approached Winters with a cup in hand, presenting him with the parting Stirrup Wine before his departure.


    He drained the cup in one gulp, raised his whip, and began his journey.

 Chapter 689 689 37 Harvest Festival

    ?Chapter 689: Chapter 37 Harvest Festival Chapter 689: Chapter 37 Harvest Festival The winter came somewhat late this year.


    It was almost November, yet the evening sun still cast a sliver of warmth over the fields.


    The dreamlike pure blue sky was smeared with a layer of vast twilight, enveloping farmhouses, open fields, rivers, and the distant forests and mountains shrouded in light purple haze. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Night was drawing near, and the farmers from the villages east and west of the river had long returned home to drink barley porridge.


    But on the land that was once Mitchell¡¯s estate, now the first ¡°Harvest¡± farm of Wolfton town, there were still people laboring.


    An old man with his coat open, stubbornly lifted his wrinkled forehead, firmly holding the plough with both hands, walking barefoot in front.


    Two draft horses struggled to pull the plow, walking ahead of the old man. Moist steam blew from their nostrils, and sweat gathered on their ribs, streaming down in beads.


    ...


    Behind the horses, the deep plow blade dug a long furrow into the soil.


    The subsoil was turned over, large clumps of turf spiraled in the air following the moldboard, eventually lying upside down next to the furrow.


    In front of the plow blade were a pair of wheels, which alleviated the horses¡¯ burden and ensured the blade entered the soil a perfect nine inches deep, no more, no less.


    This was the heavy plow, equipped with a yoke, wheels, and a moldboard fit for turning soil.


    It was cumbersome and slow, requiring significant effort to turn. To minimize the number of times the plow had to be turned while plowing, the smallholder farmers¡¯ plots were narrow and elongated, arranged side by side like zebra stripes.


    Having discussed the disadvantages, let¡¯s move on to the advantages. Simply put, it could cultivate the tough, heavy clay that was otherwise difficult to farm.


    The soil of Paratu was sticky and heavy, with plenty of rocks. Before the invention and spread of the heavy plow, this kind of land was utterly worthless. It was left to grow trees and grass, unfit for settled agriculture and at best used for grazing.


    So, the people of the Ancient Republic disdainfully called the fishing and hunting tribes living here ¡°pig herders,¡± because one of their major food sources was to drive pigs into the forests to forage and then hunt the semi-wild pigs in the autumn.


    It could be said that the history of the Ancient Empire¡¯s expansion into the wilderness was the history of the spread and branching out of the heavy plow.


    The horse-drawn heavy plow had another advantage over the ox-drawn one¡ªspeed.


    The old man managed the plow, and in the blink of an eye, he had already covered a hundred meters.


    Merely turning the soil over was far from enough; it also needed to be ¡°harrowed¡± to make it loose and airy.


    So, behind the old man followed a dozen or so youths. The ones in front wielded sticks and pickheads, shattering the large chunks of hardpan as they went; the others dragged a rake like that of a bed of nails behind them, gently scraping the surface of the earth and further breaking apart the clods, slightly leveling the field.


    Harrowing was usually done by horses pulling a harrow frame. But Harvest Farm had more manpower than animal power, and the valuable horses were harnessed to ploughs, naturally leaving the harrowing to the half-grown youths.


    Following the youths were their parents.


    A short middle-aged farmer shouldered a small basket of seeds, rhythmically swinging his arm. The seeds leaked from his fingers like dripping rainwater from the eves, scattering evenly over the loose soil.


    This was literally ¡°broadcast sowing,¡± completely done by hand.


    It might seem like an easy job, since the short middle-aged farmer was hardly sweating. He walked unhurriedly under the slanted rays of the autumn sun, as if a knight were surveying his estate. Meanwhile, everyone else, old and young, was already drenched in sweat.


    In reality, sowing was the most difficult task, requiring great skill. Only if the seeds were sown evenly could the wheat grow uniformly.


    You might slack off on other farm work, and if done poorly, there was a chance to do it over. But if the seeds were sown unevenly, there was no second chance.


    The sowing had always been supervised by the plow-holding old man himself. But now he was too old, and his hands had grown unsteady, so with mixed emotions, he handed the seed basket to his eldest son and went to man the plow instead.


    Four adult farmers tugged a log roller, walking behind the sower.


    The roller flattened the field the seeds were embedded into the soil, and the ground was appropriately compacted for easier harvesting later on.


    Lastly, a few women carrying water jugs followed, bending over from time to time to water the ground where the wheat had been sown. Only after tasting water would the seeds germinate and root.


    Watering was another activity requiring patience and precision; over-watering wasn¡¯t okay, and neither was under-watering, so this task was given to the women.


    Two horses, a plow, and a group of diligent people slowly progressed across the open field, with the wheat seeds thus being sown.


    Compared to the desolate, silent land, the seeds were tiny. But they were life, and life could grow. One day, the small seeds would stand tall on the earth in their golden bodies, bearing new life.


    By then, this dead silence of the wilderness would be transformed into a golden ocean.


    Three men sat atop the farm¡¯s fence, watching this ordinary yet grand scene enthralled.


    From left to right, they were Bard, Winters, and Little Lion.


    ¡°Do you know what the easiest crop to grow in the world is?¡± Bard suddenly asked.


    ¡°Rye?¡± Little Lion asked curiously.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s people.¡± Bard sighed softly, ¡°[Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it]. These crops, once sown, will stubbornly grow even if left unattended.¡±


    Winters and Little Lion chewed on these words, falling into thought.


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion has delayed us for too long,¡± Bard lamented, ¡°We simply don¡¯t have enough time to properly tend the fields. Right now, we must plow and sow as widely and quickly as possible, so we can¡¯t afford to be meticulous.¡±

 Chapter 690 690 37 Harvest_2

    ?Chapter 690: Chapter 37 Harvest_2 Chapter 690: Chapter 37 Harvest_2 ¡°Isn¡¯t this meticulous? There¡¯s a vanguard, a central unit, and a rearguard, just like marching into battle,¡± Winters solemnly appraised, ¡°It¡¯s more interesting than slaughtering pigs.¡±


    ¡°Normally, farming isn¡¯t done this way; one only does one task at a time. First, plow the field, and for more careful work, plow it three times. Then rake, seed, and compress. Finally, water it thoroughly,¡± Bard patiently explained, ¡°We¡¯re doing it like this now because we¡¯re short on time and we have plenty of manpower.¡±


    When Winters returned to Wolf Town, Bard took him to see the results at the farm.


    There were several farmers near Winters, digging and trenching.


    Looking around, he could see an additional three sets of plows. They were far off, small like ants crawling on the ground, yet they were also moving slowly but steadfastly forward.


    [First Harvest Farm], the number ¡°First¡± was assigned by Bard, while the name ¡°Harvest¡± was chosen by the refugees themselves, bearing their deepest hopes.


    ¡°What are they doing over there?¡± Winters asked, looking at the nearby diggers.


    ...


    ¡°Digging drainage ditches to prevent waterlogging in the fields.¡±


    The farmers digging the drainage ditches mostly had wooden tools, with only one pickaxe and one spade made of iron; some even used ox scapulae¡ªas shovels.


    Winters sighed, ¡°It would be nice if we had more iron tools.¡±


    ¡°So you brought me thirty more heavy plows?¡± Bard¡¯s smile hid a tease.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I also bring a hundred axes?¡± Winters¡¯ cheeks turned slightly red, ¡°There¡¯s still some iron left in Forging Village, but now there¡¯s a shortage of blacksmiths. Rather than recasting the iron which is time-consuming and laborious, it¡¯s better to make new tools. Besides, they¡¯re already made, it would be a pity to melt them down. If they¡¯re not needed this year, we¡¯ll keep them for next year. Plows are items that will eventually come in handy¡­¡±


    Bard nodded slightly, without saying a word.


    Feeling increasingly sheepish, Winters added, ¡°I¡¯m working on reopening Iron Peak Mine. Don¡¯t worry, there will be pickaxes and spades. In the future, everyone will have two, toss one and keep the other.¡±


    Bard continued to smile and nod.


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°I¡¯m an idiot.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Little Lion burst into raucous laughter, nearly falling over the fence.


    ¡°What are you laughing about? Do you understand farming?¡± Winters fumed.


    ¡°I actually do.¡± Little Lion¡¯s eyes curved like crescents¡ªbearing a resemblance to his sister, ¡°I grew sugarcane on Red Sulfur Island for seven years and received awards every year.¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters felt his anger rebounding back into his chest, almost to the point of spitting blood.


    It wasn¡¯t just working in the fields; Kosha¡¯s darling nephew hadn¡¯t even planted flowers. Before coming to Wolf Town last year, he had never even touched a plow. Back then, he was only slightly smarter than those who believed ¡°flour grows out of bags.¡±


    Bard, swinging a leg, spoke leisurely, ¡°Actually, I know nothing about farming myself.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Bard said matter-of-factly, ¡°I entered the Monastery of Greenheart to serve when I was very young and never did a day¡¯s farm work. I know a bit about herding sheep and raising horses, but I¡¯m clueless about fieldwork.¡±


    Winters felt truly on the verge of spitting blood, ¡°Then how come you speak with such authority?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Bard replied seriously, ¡°But I ask questions.¡±


    He pointed toward an old man in an open shirt handling a plow in the distance, ¡°Everything I know about farming, I learned from that old man. And he has known you longer than he has known me.¡±


    Winters remembered the old man who had explained to him ¡°what a farming season is¡± in the square of Wolf Town.


    With a sentence, Winters understood what Bard wanted to say and he, too, composed himself, regaining his seriousness.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so solemn,¡± Bard chuckled, ¡°To be honest, no one else could¡¯ve done it better than you. I just wanted to have a casual chat; didn¡¯t we use to talk for ages in the past?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters smiled, but he felt a tinge of sadness because he felt distanced from Bard.


    Little Lion pricked up his ears to listen.


    ¡°You see, it¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t understand farm work,¡± Bard said sincerely, ¡°But could it be that not a single person in Revodan has a clue? The blacksmiths in Forging Village have been supporting their families by making farming tools for decades; surely they understand, don¡¯t they?¡±


    The more Bard spoke, the more earnest he became, ¡°But what about them? Everyone watched you use materials, manpower, and time to build plows, and not one person spoke up to say, ¡®That¡¯s wrong, you should be making smaller farming tools like hoes and rakes.¡¯ Not one person.¡±


    Listening to Bard¡¯s voice, Winters recalled the words Anna had said to him.


    That day, after Anna indicated Winters should dismiss the blacksmith Shosha and come find her, she too had seriously told him in the garden, ¡°When you slightly frowned just now, Mr. Blacksmith was trembling with fright¡ªdid you notice? They¡¯re already frightened enough of you, don¡¯t make them more so. I don¡¯t understand politics, but if a company¡¯s employees only fear their employer, the business won¡¯t last.¡±


    At that time, Winters wanted to explain to his wife that he wasn¡¯t angry, nor did he intend to intimidate anyone.


    ¡°I know, of course, I know,¡± Anna shook her head, her fingertips gently smoothing the furrows on her husband¡¯s brow, ¡°You were just unconsciously frowning; of course, I know you didn¡¯t mean to get angry. But others don¡¯t know that, to outsiders¡ªto the blacksmith, for example¡ªyou appear to be angry. Look, you¡¯re unconsciously frowning again.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± Winters was surprised.


    ¡°Yes. And even with a neutral expression, you look angry. So the first lesson my mother taught me was to smile; a good businessperson must always smile.¡± Anna said with a smile, gently pulling at Winters¡¯ cheeks, ¡°Don¡¯t frown or look stern; smile!¡±

 Chapter 691 691 37 Bountiful Harvest_3

    ?Chapter 691: Chapter 37 Bountiful Harvest_3 Chapter 691: Chapter 37 Bountiful Harvest_3 Winters was indeed smiling then, but at this moment, Winters fell into silence.


    The atmosphere gradually grew colder, and Little Lion couldn¡¯t help but wrap his clothes more tightly around himself.


    Bard waited patiently.


    ¡°Bard, why did you have to speak to me like this?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes were filled with pain, ¡°Why did you have to tell me in such a manner?¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you just punch me hard and say directly, ¡®You are going against the current now and nobody dares to correct you! Sooner or later you are going to be ruined¡¯?¡± Winters felt genuinely upset, he even felt a sense of betrayal and anger.


    This emotion had been building up in his heart for a long time: ¡°Am I some kind of dictator or tyrant? Are you my vassal, my subordinate? You are my classmate, my friend, my brother in arms! Even you need to beat around the bush to say these things? What¡¯s going on? Don¡¯t you trust me anymore? Can a little power really change a person like this?¡± sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It should have been just an advising between friends, only scratching the surface, not cutting deep. Bard never thought that Winters would split open the flesh to expose the bone,


    His eyes shining with tears, he said with equal pain, ¡°Winters Montagne, I tell you! You are a dictator now! And a dictator can easily become a tyrant! If you keep going like this, you¡¯ll end up being emperor in the Republic Valley! I won¡¯t stop you from being an emperor! But I don¡¯t want to see you become one! Not just for the sake of our cause, but for your own good! Do you understand? I¡¯m really worried!¡±


    ...


    Winters, gasping for breath, pushed Little Lion with force: ¡°You! Stay away!¡±


    Little Lion obediently walked away.


    Winters and Bard looked at each other for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing, their laughter mingled with tears.


    Winters, wiping away his tears, asked helplessly, ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    ¡°If I goddamn knew, wouldn¡¯t I have just done it?¡± Bard sniffed, swearing unusually, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to tell you all this.¡±


    ¡°Since we have military governors and civilian governors,¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°should we also set up a Senate? Always using the name of a garrison does indeed feel improper and awkward.¡±


    ¡°Cut it out,¡± Bard scoffed, speaking irritably, ¡°A tiny, impoverished place that birds wouldn¡¯t even crap in, and you think it¡¯s fit for a Senate? Gathering old farmers from miles around to check you? Isn¡¯t that asking for trouble? Things are fine as they are now; only with you making unilateral decisions can anything get done.


    Emperor, Senate, what¡¯s the use of pondering over these now? If one day the Legion¡¯s troops come, Iron Peak County might just turn into dust. When that day comes, I guess I¡¯ll have to flee with you to Vineta to do some small business!¡±


    Bard settled it decisively: ¡°Take it one step at a time. Who thinks about taking a dump before they¡¯ve even eaten? It won¡¯t do. The New Reclamation Legion could kill us at any moment; let¡¯s survive first before anything else!¡±


    ¡°Agreed! If we ever truly reach the end of the road but somehow survive, let¡¯s run back to Sea Blue to do business!¡± Winters laughed heartily. Suddenly he remembered his little she-wolf and said with a bit of embarrassment, ¡°Actually, even if we were to do some business, it wouldn¡¯t be up to us¡­ Ah, my maternal grandfather was said to be a rather famous merchant¡­¡±


    ¡°As for the garrison¡¯s sign, I think we¡¯d better keep using it for now.¡± Bard interrupted Winters, having too much to say: ¡°With this sign, people can at least make peace with it superficially. If we change it, it¡¯s like forcing others to re-swear their loyalty. I¡¯m afraid many people¨Cespecially those from North Eight Towns¨Cwouldn¡¯t like it.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s continue using it,¡± Winters said, chuckling softly: ¡°But some estate owners in North Eight Towns who are building fortresses and attracting refugees, I¡¯m getting ready to deal with them.¡±


    Bard spoke slowly, ¡°Estate owners want the refugees to return home, to continue working for them as hired hands or tenants. This fundamentally conflicts with our needs. They were willing to support you before because you brought order. Once they realize we are undercutting their basis, turning against us is only a matter of time. A confrontation is inevitable, but if we can pacify, it¡¯s best to do so.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also reluctant to fight; it would smash all our pots and pans,¡± Winters said, jumping off the fence with a laugh: ¡°What about that old man holding the plough, what if I invite him over to Revodan to be my agricultural advisor? If nobody dares teach me, then I¡¯ll just ask more questions.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± Bard said also laughing, ¡°That¡¯s actually what I came to talk to you about today. Who made you drift onto tyrants and dictators?¡±


    ¡°This matter has actually been brewing in me for a long time.¡± Winters sighed, but quickly, his smile returned: ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Come on, let¡¯s head back to Mitchell Estate for dinner!¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I¡¯d better not go.¡± Guilt flashed in Bard¡¯s eyes: ¡°Mrs. Mitchell¡­ she even helped me persuade the other estate owners to give up their land. She is genuinely a noble and good person; I dare not face her.¡±


    Not far away, Little Lion, growing impatient, shouted, ¡°Are you done talking? Let¡¯s go! I¡¯m starving!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s not go,¡± Winters said, pulling Bard down from the fence, ¡°Let¡¯s just grab something to eat at the labor camp.¡±


    The other man gave a wry smile and nodded.


    The three mounted their horses and soon rode off into the distance.


    On the land of Harvest Farm, many more hungry people were still toiling, hoping for a bountiful harvest in the future.

 Chapter 692 692 38 Factory

    ?Chapter 692: Chapter 38 Factory Chapter 692: Chapter 38 Factory Ivan¡ªa former sergeant notorious in Revodan for his alcoholism and domestic abuse¡ªfinally grasped the true essence of life: life was not about peaks and troughs, but troughs and even deeper troughs.


    He was the first enemy captured by Winters during his first engagement with the New Reclamation Legion. In this sense, prisoner Ivan¡¯s existence was a testimony to Winters formally raising the banner of rebellion. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the moment he was captured, Ivan¡¯s experiences could be summarized as: being brutally beaten, interrogated, escorted, imprisoned, and most importantly, forced to make straw shoes.


    There was no coercion; the orders from above were simple and clear: no work, no food.


    Managing the prisoners was handed over to Winters by Samukin, at that time there were only three prisoners.


    To prevent anyone harboring resentment from sabotaging the straw shoes, Ivan and the other two prisoners were required by Samukin to leave a special mark on the shoes they made.


    Samukin earnestly told Ivan, ¡°If there¡¯s a problem with the quality of the shoes, then you will have a problem.¡±


    ...


    Ivan nodded desperately. There was a moment when he truly thought he was going to die; miraculously surviving made Ivan extraordinarily cherishing of his life.


    Samukin brought an old man who knew how to make shoes from Nanxin village. The old man taught the prisoners for a day, then left them with a few frames as well as a big bundle of wicks and flax, shaking his head.


    For the first two days, Ivan survived solely on water. The straw shoes he made would fall apart before they could even be worn, naturally, they couldn¡¯t be traded for food.


    People in desperate situations can occasionally burst with power that astonishes even themselves. On the third day, Ivan, having grasped the trick, successfully made a pair of shoes.


    Although the quality of his shoes still didn¡¯t pass muster, Samukin still gave Ivan two small pieces of black bread as encouragement.


    On the fifth day, Ivan received his normal ration of black bread.


    After that, Ivan¡¯s life consisted of continuously improving his shoemaking skills, while one by one, he was reunited with his former colleagues.


    During that time, Winters focused on destroying the microstructure of Revodan¡¯s garrison forces. Whichever requisitioning squad he ambushed, the new recruits were allowed to depart after surrendering, but he didn¡¯t let go of any of the old soldiers or sergeants.


    The prison in Wolf Town became increasingly crowded, and despite multiple expansions, it was still stuffed to the brim with Revodan¡¯s sergeants.


    Initially, the prison warden Samukin insisted on solitary confinement to prevent collusion. Later on, as the number of prisoners captured was just too many, he relaxed the standards, and stuffing four or five people into a cell became normal.


    This even made Ivan somewhat nostalgic for the days when he had a cell to himself just after being captured.


    As the number of prisoners surged, Ivan gradually moved away from the frontline shoemaking position and began trading his skills in teaching others how to make shoes for bread, significantly improving his living conditions.


    It was during this phase that the ¡°labor camp¡± started producing more straw shoes than needed. Originally, one pair of straw shoes could be traded for a day¡¯s full meal; soon, it became three pairs of straw shoes for two-day¡¯s full meal, then two pairs of straw shoes for one day¡¯s full meal.


    One only has two hands, and there¡¯s a limit to how quickly one can make shoes. Ivan wasn¡¯t a businessman, but he realized if this went on, he would either starve or work himself to death. The demand for straw shoes was saturated; he had to find something new that would be equivalent to more bread.


    It was all ¡°making¡± anyway, and Ivan thought about making baskets, mats, and hampers. He petitioned Samukin, hoping to invite a master basket-weaver to teach them the skill and also requested raw materials like reeds, wheat straw, and thin willow branches.


    He petitioned the day before, and the next day, the prisoners were transferred.


    When Ivan walked out of the barracks, he was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. He thought they were being taken to the execution grounds. Instead, they were just brought to a hidden camp deep in the forest.


    It was in this camp that Ivan met another prisoner¡ªLieutenant Asko¡ªin a state of breakdown.


    Asko had been ordered to assist Bard and Mason in suppressing bandits but got captured just after leaving Revodan. In fact, Asko had been brought to Wolf Town long ago, but because he was held in solitary confinement, Ivan had never seen the lieutenant.


    ¡°How did you get caught too?¡± Ivan¡¯s tears flowed out instantly: ¡°Is Revodan also gone?¡±


    ¡°I was set up,¡± Lieutenant Asko was quite calm: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The fact that the rebels are urgently moving us now indicates that Major Ronald is coming¡ªor he might have already arrived. I reckon if we hold on for a few more days, he will come to rescue us.¡±


    Hearing this, Ivan felt both joyful and slightly regretful.


    He actually wanted to try making baskets and mats; these were the only two things he pursued with hope in his muddled life¡ªthe other being getting married.


    Ivan waited for Major Ronald¡¯s appearance for a very long time.


    He waited until they were brought back to the scorched earth of Wolf Town, until Samukin invited the master basket-weaver, until the willow branches and wheat straw were delivered¡­ but Major Ronald never showed up.


    Ivan began to learn how to make baskets and mats. The once calm and collected Lieutenant Asko nearly lost control of his emotions, and it fell to Ivan to reassure him.


    ¡°You should stop drinking and eating meat. Those are counted as labor hours,¡± Ivan suggested cautiously: ¡°You should come and learn how to make baskets with me. If you make a lot, it can compensate for the labor hours.¡±


    Asko looked at the former sergeant, now novice basket-weaver, through his bleary drunken eyes: ¡°If the rebels win, what¡¯s the point of all this? If they lose, I will naturally regain my freedom. Making baskets? Drink! Drink!¡±


    Food was scarce; where would there be enough alcohol for the lieutenant to drink? Ivan silently wove with the straw, watching the lieutenant trying to drown himself in diluted bootlegged liquor, thereby accruing more ¡°labor hours.¡±


    Ivan didn¡¯t think as much as the lieutenant; he had a simple mind. He was just terrified of hunger and had learned to be wise. The brutish and violent Sergeant Ivan didn¡¯t survive, but the timid, life-fearing prisoner Ivan did.

 Chapter 693 693 38 Factory _2

    ?Chapter 693: Chapter 38 Factory _2 Chapter 693: Chapter 38 Factory _2 Major Ronald eventually appeared before Ivan, but he too arrived at the labor camp as a prisoner. Not just the Major, every living officer from the Revodan garrison had come.


    Ivan had become numb; now, even if General Adams appeared before him in shackles, he wouldn¡¯t have felt the slightest surprise. He was promoted to an instructor, responsible for teaching his former superiors how to weave baskets.


    Lieutenant Asko¡¯s will completely disintegrated. First, he tried to commit suicide and after being saved from the noose, he quit drinking and diligently learned basket weaving from Ivan.


    Depths and even deeper troughs are the reality; days passed just like this, unremarkably.


    That day, as usual, Ivan brought over the straw and distributed it to each cell. Then he went to the warehouse to inspect the products made by each cell the day before.


    To prevent other prisoners from sabotaging the work out of resentment, Ivan firmly insisted on retaining the ¡°marking measure.¡± If any item was substandard, he would follow the ¡°mark¡± back to the responsible person and deduct from their rations.


    Now Ivan could not only eat his fill, occasionally eat meat, but he also received a wage.


    ...


    As the proverb goes, ¡°Though the sparrow is small, it too possesses blood, innards, and bones.¡±


    With its expansion, the Samukin labor camp gradually differentiated into many ¡°organs,¡± resembling a miniature society.


    For example, Ivan now only handled teaching and quality control and no longer worked all day like an ordinary prisoner.


    As basket weaving, shoe making required a large amount of raw materials, Samukin dispatched well-behaved prisoners to cut branches and collect straw as a reward.


    Hard-working prisoners were in charge of light, significant tasks; they occasionally received ale and meat and could have a breath of air within the walls of the labor camp.


    Prisoners with poor skills or attitudes were at the bottom of the camp¡¯s social hierarchy, spending their days sitting idly in their cells.


    Unseen, basket production was divided into several processes, each managed by prisoners from different ¡°levels.¡±


    In the labor camp, life was very cheap. If one intended to die, all they had to do was refrain from working, and they would soon starve.


    Samukin, who ran the labor camp, had no fixation on ¡°keeping everyone alive.¡± His attitude had always been, ¡°If you want to die, go ahead,¡± leaving only those who wished to live.


    The initial operation of the labor camp encountered some setbacks, including incidents of prisoners hiding tools in an attempt to kill guards and escape. But it continued to develop in a favorable direction¡ªat least from Samukin¡¯s perspective.


    The output of woven products steadily increased, eventually differentiating into large baskets, small baskets, wide-mouthed, narrow-mouthed, and other styles.


    Samukin hauled the baskets away on wagons to trade with farmers from nearby villages for food.


    At first, the wagons only went to the villages around Wolf Town because they were closer. But the farmers of Wolf Town soon had their fill of baskets, while the labor camp¡¯s basket-making capacity kept increasing, and Samukin had to send the wagons to neighboring towns.


    The two basket-makers of Wolf Town were squeezed out; they couldn¡¯t compete with free materials, labor costs nothing, and the ¡°one person, one task¡± production method.


    One basket-maker was recruited by Samukin to work as a supervisor in the labor camp. The other had land; basket and mat weaving were just a way to supplement their household income.


    The basket-makers from Blackwater Town and Wugou Town were also on the verge of succumbing, much like their counterparts in Wolf Town.


    The reputation of the labor camp spread quickly, and even itinerant merchants from Saint Town came by cart to buy goods.


    Samukin was ruthlessly destroying the ¡°family-based¡± production tradition of the rural regions, but he was not aware of this himself; he was merely trying his hardest to maintain the operation of the labor camp.


    Although Ivan was Samukin¡¯s ¡°accomplice,¡± he couldn¡¯t view the problem from a higher perspective. Honestly, he was merely working for food rations, to offset work hours, and also to earn a little money.


    Ivan inspected the previous day¡¯s products, picking out those with evident quality defects¡ªhe even let pass those that were carelessly done, but some prisoners were just too careless.


    After inspection, as usual, he patrolled each cell. Nowadays, Ivan was less a prisoner and more akin to a half-guard.


    A real guard came over and affectionately patted his shoulder, ¡°Old pal Ivan!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Officer Hamir?¡± Ivan recognized the voice without having to look.


    ¡°Commander Samukin is asking for you,¡± Hamir whispered, adding, ¡°Montaigne is here, and he specifically asked to see you.¡±


    Ivan walked uneasily towards the camp office, his mind racing with anxious thoughts along the way. Finally, he reached the office of Samukin and hesitated for a long time before mustering the courage to knock.


    ¡°Come in,¡± came the voice of Commander Samukin.


    Ivan swallowed hard and pushed the door open. He saw Commander Samukin and ¡°Montaigne¡± engaged in a pleasant chat.


    Winters turned around at the sound, encountering again this soldier from Revodan, infamous for his drinking and wife-beating.


    Winters scrutinized the former soldier¡ªnow emaciated and skeletal, visible neck, shoulders, and wrists were all skin and bone, old clothes hanging on his body like tattered cloth on branches; only the hands remained unusually large, the knuckles swollen.


    ¡°Are you the one who likes to beat his wife, Ivan?¡± Winters asked, frowning slightly.


    Ivan would wake up startled from dreams at this voice, which once belonged to the man who had dragged him out like a dead dog and smashed three of his molars with a punch. He shivered and dared not answer.


    But Ivan was wronging Winters. It was Pierre who had beaten him that night. Winters had only asked questions, even telling Pierre to go easy.


    However, Ivan¡¯s memory was already confused, convincing him it was Winters, and this misunderstanding might never be cleared up until death. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 694 694 38 Factory_3

    ?Chapter 694: Chapter 38 Factory_3 Chapter 694: Chapter 38 Factory_3 Seeing the other party¡¯s shivering figure, Winters sighed.


    ¡°Your wife is truly¡­ remarkable,¡± he said with emotion as he addressed the prisoner. ¡°When she heard you were still alive, your wife, holding one child and leading another, blocked the entrance to the garrison every day to petition for your pardon. From morning until evening, she blocked the way every day¡ªI don¡¯t even know what she ate or drank, it was utterly exasperating.¡±


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ words, Ivan¡¯s gaze became fixed, his limbs stiff, as though his soul had been shattered.


    ¡°What in the world are you two suffering from?¡± Winters, propping his chin, asked with interest, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that whenever you drink to excess, you beat your wife so loudly that even the neighbors across the street can hear. Despite this, your wife remains unwaveringly loyal. And despite having such a good wife, you beat her every now and then. Are you possessed, or is she?¡±


    Ivan hung his head deeply.


    Winters turned to look at Sopujin, ¡°Is this some kind of peculiar custom among you Paratu People? Alcohol abuse, wife beating, and the other desperately seeking to save?¡±


    ¡°How can you say ¡®you¡¯? I¡¯m deeply aggrieved,¡± Sopujin said. ¡°My family moved here just ten years ago!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters chuckled as he picked up a paper from the table and tapped it against the prisoner, ¡°This is the first list of pardons, and you were not originally on it. In my opinion, you should have continued to be detained, until you had served enough work hours to be released.¡±


    Ivan tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.


    ¡°But Sopujin said you¡¯ve been quite diligent and your attitude is good,¡± Winters picked up a quill, hastily wrote the prisoner¡¯s name at the bottom of the list, and said indifferently, ¡°It¡¯s also in consideration of your wife¡¯s petition¡ªyou¡¯re free.¡±


    Ivan still stood rigidly in place.


    ¡°What are you still standing there for?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow lightly, ¡°Go on, leave!¡±


    Sopujin stood up, patted Ivan on the shoulder, and escorted him to the door, saying, ¡°The pardon will be officially announced tomorrow, and then a carriage will take you back to Revodan.¡±


    Ivan nodded gratefully.


    ¡°Go,¡± Sopujin waved his hand, ¡°Go get yourself together.¡±


    Winters watched Sopujin leave and return, his expression calm, but his mood somewhat rippled. His concern was not for the prisoner but for Sopujin.


    Sopujin Sopujin was one of his old subordinates from Wolf Town, one of the ones he trusted most and found most capable. When he had only thirty or so men, Sopujin was already a Centurion, one of the first three Centurions he had picked out.


    The other two Centurions were Vashka and Tamas, the latter now having become the first company commander of the Iron Peak County infantry.


    If Sopujin had gone to Revodan, that company commander position should have been his. But at the time, Wolf Town had a large number of captives needing control, and Sopujin was the only one capable of managing them, so he had been in charge of the prisoners all this time.


    That¡¯s why Sopujin stayed in Wolf Town, missing the battle of Revodan, the battle of Hammer Fort, and the reorganization of the troops.


    For Sopujin, Winters felt guilty.


    He had many things he wanted to do when he returned to Wolf Town. The initial motive to look for the brick-burning Shaun and Shaun Ping brothers became a secondary concern.


    He wanted to see Bard, he wanted to abduct Caman, he wanted to hold a public trial for Bunting in Wolf Town, he wanted to chat with Ronald and the others¡­ And, he intended to take Sopujin to Revodan.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen too much of this kind of thing,¡± Sopujin chuckled as he walked back in, ¡°Everyone in the village knows, if you intervene in a couple¡¯s quarrel, you end up getting scolded by both of them. You really don¡¯t need to speak up for Ivan¡¯s wife. Since that woman sought you out to petition, if she gets beaten to death, she has only herself to blame.¡±


    ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t block the door, it¡¯s fine,¡± Winters gave a wry smile, ¡°Blocking the entrance to the garrison every day, she made me have to climb the wall to get around.¡± S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sopujin burst into laughter.


    Winters, looking at Sopujin, reflected, ¡°Managing a few hundred people with just a few dozen, and still getting productivity out of them. You really run this labor camp very well¡­ better than I imagined.¡±


    ¡°Just messing about, it¡¯s good as long as you don¡¯t blame me,¡± Sopujin said, scratching his head embarrassingly, ¡°There are things lately that have been troubling me, not knowing what to do about them.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Too many people,¡± Sopujin said, gesturing towards the prison area with resignation, ¡°There are people starting to form cliques¡ªthose from Revodan, North Eight Towns, and South Eight Town. There was a brawl just last week, and I wonder if I¡¯ve been feeding them too much!¡±


    ¡°The fact that you¡¯ve noticed this shows you¡¯re stronger than all the company commanders,¡± Winters was not just satisfied but pleasantly surprised, and he wanted to give Sopujin some advice, ¡°I remember something I didn¡¯t understand before but now can see a bit clearer. Do you know about the docks of Sea Blue?¡±


    Winters went on to tell the story of the competition, undercutting, and strife among the Montans, Vaughan People, and Paratu People on the docks of Sea Blue.


    Sopujin listened attentively and asked, ¡°Do you mean that those above the dockworkers deliberately divided them into three groups so they would fight each other? So here I should also¡­¡±


    Winters flipped the paper over and drew a triangle on the back, ¡°Not necessarily ¡®deliberately¡¯, it might be more ¡®permissive¡¯. Customs doesn¡¯t want to manage all the dockworkers directly and doesn¡¯t want to see the dockworkers form a unified front. So gangs and trade unions filled that space.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters divided the triangle into three layers, writing customs, gangs, and dockworkers on each layer respectively.


    ¡°What are the benefits of doing this?¡± Winters guided the question.


    Sopujin bit his lip, ¡°Uh¡­ it¡¯s easier to manage people when they fight among themselves?¡±

 Chapter 695 695 38 Factory_4

    ?Chapter 695: Chapter 38 Factory_4 Chapter 695: Chapter 38 Factory_4 ¡°The downside?¡±


    ¡°There are fewer people doing the real work.¡± Sopujin thought hard, ¡°And¡­ it¡¯s very dangerous. Small gangs can lose control at any time. Last week¡¯s brawl, two were crippled, and I hanged another two, just like that, four able workers gone.¡±


    ¡°So what do you plan to do?¡± Winters put down his pen.


    ¡°I can manage for now, I think it¡¯s best to make the prisoners understand that there¡¯s only one fist that rules in the labor camp. If it becomes unmanageable, then I¡¯ll think of ways to separate them.¡±


    ¡°Very good, really very good.¡± Winters sat up straight, putting away his smile, and called out, ¡°Sopujin! Sopujin Sopujin!¡±


    Sopujin stood up abruptly, as if he were sitting on a hot iron, ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Pardon of prisoners is ostensibly in response to the petitions from Revodan and North Eight Towns,¡± Winters enunciated each word, ¡°In reality, I couldn¡¯t care less about the prisoners. I am here to set you free!¡±


    ...


    Winters took out an iron arrow from his bosom, his tone solemn, ¡°One iron arrow represents ten little arrows, now called a company, making a total of one hundred and twenty men. This iron arrow¡ªit¡¯s yours.¡±


    Sopujin looked at the iron arrow, his nose tingling a bit.


    ¡°The units are already formed, and it¡¯s difficult to directly integrate into them. So I plan to set up a separate military police company, and you¡¯ll be the company commander.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Sopujin choked up, tears swirling in his eyes, ¡°You still remember me, Centurion.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t want you to be the military police company commander anymore.¡± Winters exerted force on his hand, and the iron arrow ¡°bang¡± snapped into pieces.


    Winters slapped the broken arrow on the table, ¡°One hundred and twenty men, that¡¯s too little for you! I am giving you twelve hundred men!¡±


    ¡°Twelve hundred?¡± Sopujin was stunned. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s twelve hundred men,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°But not twelve hundred soldiers, rather twelve hundred prisoners, from the captives of Vernge County. Revodan has no one, and I must personally take charge of the large labor camp. But now, it seems, you are qualified to take on this burden. Your official position is still company commander, but the men underneath you will be ten times that of other company commanders. Pack up, you¡¯re coming back to Revodan with me the day after tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°What about the labor camp in Wolf Town then?¡±


    ¡°Those not pardoned will be moved, joining up with the twelve hundred prisoners you¡¯re about to take over. They will all be taken to Forging Village, where the troops are stationed.¡±


    ¡°What about the captured officers from Revodan, what¡¯s to be done with them?¡± Sopujin looked troubled, ¡°Take them to Forging Village too? Isn¡¯t that a bit too close to Revodan?¡±


    Winters also felt a headache mentioning it, ¡°They will continue to stay in Wolf Town. You delegate some reliable men to Lieutenant Bard, let Lieutenant Bard take care of them for now.¡±


    Sopujin raised his hand to salute.


    Winters sighed, not intending to hide his true thoughts, ¡°Twelve hundred people, I don¡¯t know if you can manage such a large labor camp. I need to restart the mining at Iron Peak Mine, I need to organize logging teams. There are many tasks depending on these prisoners. Therefore, this position is crucial; I wouldn¡¯t feel confident entrusting it to anyone else.¡±


    Sopujin inclined his body, pursed his lips, his eyes also very tense.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so tight-faced, why so serious?¡± Winters said with an easy laugh, ¡°You¡¯ve fought alongside me the whole way, you¡¯re scared of me too?¡±


    Sopujin forced a smile, but his cheeks were still very stiff.


    ¡°But I can¡¯t personally handle everything. Sooner or later you¡¯ll have to share my responsibilities. I believe you¡¯re ready to take on more significant duties, and you are the first among my old subordinates to shoulder such responsibilities. Go for it, I¡¯ve got your back.¡±


    Winters casually tossed the two pieces of the broken arrow to Sopujin with a resigned smile, ¡°If you don¡¯t do well in the large labor camp, just find a blacksmith to weld this iron arrow back together, and come back to continue as my military police company commander.¡±


    Sopujin held the iron arrow, silent for a long time, then stood up and saluted.


    Winters also stood, returning the salute with solemnity.


    ¡­


    Leaving the labor camp, Winters felt a sense of relief, having resolved another concern.


    He had yet to conduct a public trial for Bunting, nor had he had a chance to talk with Major Ronald, but these were minor issues.


    Having arranged Sopujin¡¯s future, Winters had only one major matter left in Wolf Town¡ªto coax his beloved Father Caman to Revodan.


    He had deliberately left this matter for last; in fact, he had not even spoken privately with Father Caman up until now.


    Because he was well aware that enticing Father Caman to Revodan¡­ the key was not with Father Caman himself.

 Chapter 696 696 39 The Church

    ?Chapter 696: Chapter 39: The Church Chapter 696: Chapter 39: The Church This was Winters¡¯ fourth morning back in Wolf Town, also a Sunday morning.


    Winters enjoyed walking around town, occasionally picking up a nail or two from the scorched earth.


    Those on their way to Mass saw the Garrison Officer from a distance and waved to greet him; Winters also exchanged greetings with the townsfolk.


    When the town was initially formed by merging villages, the center of Wolf Town had only the town hall and a church ¡ª to be precise, it was the church that first established the town center.


    The majority of Wolf Town¡¯s people lived off the land, with the little industry they had scattered across various villages.


    Gerard pulled out all the stops to make Wolf Town grow into what Winters had seen upon his first arrival.


    Take for instance the blacksmith workshop ¡ª Gerard had to get Misha dead drunk several times before he successfully persuaded his old buddy to move the workshop from Dusa Village to the town center.


    ...


    Fate is a cruel mistress; the people of Wolf Town toiled for thirty years, yet a single military calamity reduced everything to rubble.


    Fortunately, Winters came back here, to rebuild her with his own hands.


    Then came another military calamity, and all of Winters¡¯ hard work went up in flames¡­


    As the saying goes, ¡°Don¡¯t spit into the well; you might drink from it someday.¡±


    The main person responsible for the ¡°second destruction of Wolf Town¡± was now atoning for their sins in the labor camp, weaving baskets, while the town Winters so dearly loved was once again brimming with life.


    The cold forge burst into flames, and the crisp sounds of hammering were once again heard from the blacksmith¡¯s shop. Key components and blueprints remained, so the sawmill was quickly back in production.


    The prison rose from the ruins of the barracks ¡ª it would be wasteful to abandon the ground that had been so strenuously leveled.


    Samukin learned from his Centurion and did well.


    Father Caman might be a bit unhappy, though, because his church had just been rebuilt when it was razed by fire once again.


    In theory, there was nothing to it; they could just rebuild. Wolf Town had the tools, the manpower, and the timber. Being burned down was actually an opportunity to build a prettier one.


    The problem was that Caman was formally consecrated as a clergyman of the Old Church, while Samukin¡­ Samukin was a Protestant.


    Therefore, Samukin was able to objectively and calmly assess the importance of the Wolf Town church ¡ª undoubtedly at the very bottom of the reconstruction list, and prone to be bumped even lower.


    Samukin built a temporary shelter without walls for Father Caman, a place for the Old Church followers to hold their services.


    Caman didn¡¯t come to Winters to argue, and Winters didn¡¯t apologize to Caman or offer an explanation either.


    On the first day back in Wolf Town, Winters had sent someone to escort the potter Shaun to Revodan. For the following days, he spent most of his time at Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s estate.


    Father Caman was indifferent to Winters, but Mrs. Mitchell was quite glad that Winters had returned.


    Winters chatted with Mrs. Mitchell about Pierre and Scarlett: Pierre¡¯s experiences in the wilderness? What was Scarlett busy with lately?


    They also occasionally discussed the current affairs of the Federated Provinces and Vineta, as well as interesting anecdotes and the customs and cultures of the Tanilia Archipelago.


    When Winters first met Caman, Caman always had a gentle smile on his face, while Winters was impatient and too busy to pay him any attention.


    Now, the way they interacted had completely reversed: Caman looked anxious and irritable whenever he saw Winters, while Winters would amiably initiate a greeting to the priest.


    But Winters never once brought up the suggestion to ¡°come to Revodan with me.¡±


    The sound of bells from the old church site signaled that the ceremony was about to begin.


    Upon hearing the bells, Winters walked back to the labor camp, where Samukin was waiting at the entrance.


    ¡°Have the captives assembled?¡± Winters asked with a smile.


    ¡°They¡¯re all ready,¡± Samukin saluted.


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters handed over the nails he had collected to Samukin, ¡°These can still be used, why not recycle them?¡±


    Samukin, trying not to laugh, realized the Blood Wolf had been digging in the ground like searching for food, just to pick up junk.


    Suppressing a laugh, Samukin answered seriously, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll arrange for someone to pick them up.¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all morning; I probably picked them all up.¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other side, Father Caman saw that the congregation was nearly complete and began to preside over the entrance rite.


    Caman was dressed in a long white robe, wrapped in a dark green velvet embroidered chasuble, with the stole hanging in front around his neck, appearing quite sacred and solemn.


    He made the sign of the cross, just about to speak, but saw Winters cheerfully walking into the ¡°church tent.¡±


    Caman took a deep breath and continued to preside over the entrance rite.


    The next moment, the words he had yet to speak were choked back by the chant of ¡°Right! Left! Right¡­¡±


    The captives marched out of the labor camp in columns, forming a long line like a snake crawling toward the new site of the church. They walked up to the wooden shelter and sat down in the dust in turns, directed by the guards¡¯ commands.


    The Old Church followers of Wolf Town were confused and even a bit panicked, looking around at each other.


    Even the usually composed Caman couldn¡¯t contain himself anymore.


    He stormed over to Winters, gritting his teeth and asking, ¡°What exactly are you up to?¡±


    Winters was sitting in the front row of the simple church tent, and upon seeing Caman approach in a fury, he thought, ¡°If you initiate a conversation with me, then I¡¯ve won.¡±


    In response to Caman¡¯s question, Winters replied uprightly, ¡°Attending Mass.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a magic user, what Mass could you possibly be attending?¡± Caman¡¯s face turned red with anger.


    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Winters reprimanded, ¡°It¡¯s not nice for the congregation to hear you swearing.¡±


    ¡°Winters Montagne! Do you think just because you¡¯re a magic user, I can¡¯t deal with you? Is that it?¡± Caman was clenching his teeth so hard, his cheeks started twitching, ¡°Do you think you can keep pushing my patience over and over? Is that it?¡±

 Chapter 697 697 39 Church_2

    ?Chapter 697: Chapter 39 Church_2 Chapter 697: Chapter 39 Church_2 ¡°It¡¯s not because I am a Spellcaster,¡± Winters said, putting his hand on Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°it¡¯s because we are friends that you can¡¯t deal with me.¡±


    Caman violently shook off Winters¡¯s arm: ¡°I am not your friend!¡±


    ¡°But I am your friend!¡± Winters tried to muster his most sincere smile.


    ¡°What on earth do you want?!¡± Caman almost snapped.


    ¡°Do you really want to know?¡±


    ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°I intend to pardon most of the prisoners in the labor camp,¡± Winters replied seriously, ¡°Before I announce the pardon, I wanted them to hear a sermon once, to give them some religious admonition, to prevent them from doing evil again in the future.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Caman felt like he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.


    ¡°That¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s all?¡±


    ¡°Truly, that¡¯s all,¡± Winters answered truthfully: ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no second purpose in bringing the prisoners here.¡±


    Caman sneered and turned around, half in doubt, returning to the altar.


    After presiding over the earlier part of the ceremony, it was finally time for the sermon. Caman sighed, set aside the prepared speech, and began to tell the congregation about ¡°The Calling of Saint Matthew.¡±


    ¡°[I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance]¡­¡± In light of today¡¯s unforeseen events, Caman wove together teachings on rebirth, penitence, and salvation.


    The green vestments he wore also happened to symbolize ¡°hope and rebirth.¡±


    Winters listened and observed carefully. But he was not listening to the content; he was listening to the voice. He wasn¡¯t observing the altar, but Caman¡¯s demeanor.


    The sound retention in the four-walled tent was very poor, and the prisoners were seated outside the tent, stretching out for dozens of meters.


    Caman had to preach loudly to ensure the followers at the back could hear clearly.


    Caman¡¯s voice was indeed sonorous, clear, sacred, and solemn, even the prisoners seated at the very end were listening attentively.


    However, as an experienced speaker, Winters was certain that such a level of vocal strength could not be achieved without straining, at least not without turning red-faced, hoarse, and shouting until exhausted.


    Therefore, Winters deduced that Caman must be using Divine Arts similar to an [Amplifying Spell] to preach; or conversely, Divine Arts could also achieve the effect of an [Amplifying Spell].


    Winters even felt the urge to jot down this discovery on the spot and had to make a great effort to resist reaching for his notebook.


    And so, the ceremony proceeded smoothly.


    When it was time for the Eucharist, Winters also walked to the altar with a smile, not avoiding it deliberately as he had in the past.


    Winters now thought more thoroughly¡ªthere was no need to willfully display the attitude of a nonbeliever; doing so was actually beneath him. He would eat and drink as needed, considering the host nothing more than a free cracker.


    But when Caman saw Winters approaching to receive communion, he intentionally selected an unconsecrated cracker for Winters and did not offer ¡°the blood of Christ¡± to him. Dismissively, he sent Winters away, which Winters felt was quite unfair. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the ceremony, Winters had the prisoners lineup in formation on the open ground, with the followers of Wolf Town watching from not far away.


    The Paratu People have a tradition of enslaving prisoners of war¡ªslavery itself should hardly be considered a tradition, as records of ancient nations all include slavery. It¡¯s just that, while others gradually abandoned slavery, the Paratu People carried it on.


    From a practical standpoint, it is somewhat understandable that the Paratu would enslave Herders. They needed to weaken the Herder tribes without incorporating them as ¡°savages within,¡± so merely killing the men was not meaningful; women and children were the key.


    But the Paratu were equally relentless on their own kind. In past civil brawls among Paratu nobles, prisoners of war without the means for ransom ended up either as serfs or sold overseas. Before the wool textile industry thrived, slaves were Paratu¡¯s main export.


    So even though Winters¡¯s prisoners were reluctant, to a certain extent, they accepted their forced labor fate¡ªafter all, not being sold overseas meant their situation wasn¡¯t too dire.


    Seeing that all the prisoners who were about to be pardoned had arrived, Winters stood up on the makeshift platform of carts and asked loudly, ¡°Do you recognize me?¡±


    His gaze swept across the crowd. The prisoners lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze or answer.


    Who wouldn¡¯t recognize the Blood Wolf? It was the Blood Wolf who captured them and brought them here.


    ¡°Then do you know why I treat you as if you were slaves?¡±


    Still, no one dared to speak.


    Winters paused for a moment, then answered for the prisoners, ¡°Because you lost the battle, right?¡±


    This hit home for most of the prisoners, as the majority of them were members of the later ambushed grain conscription teams. The early ambushed teams, after being screened, mostly had been released.


    ¡°Completely wrong! You labor because you deserve to starve if you don¡¯t work! You stand here, not because you lost a battle!¡± Winters rebuked loudly: ¡°Lift your heads, look at me! You stand here because you once forcefully took the common people¡¯s grain! You made it impossible for them to survive! If we didn¡¯t deal with you, only you would live, while everyone else would starve to death!¡±


    The expressions of the majority of the prisoners were blank and confused.


    How many could understand this rationale? Winters didn¡¯t know, perhaps the logic of ¡°enslaved for losing battles¡± was easier to accept.


    Winters sighed inwardly. Bunting had escaped with his life today and continued to be jailed in Bard¡¯s custody. Bard was utterly opposed to a public trial for Bunting, arguing that as long as Winters still wore the trappings of the garrison, he had no legitimate reason to judge the ¡°dutiful and responsible Mayor Bunting.¡±

 Chapter 698 698 39 Church_3

    ?Chapter 698: Chapter 39 Church_3 Chapter 698: Chapter 39 Church_3 Where exactly does the legitimacy of the regime he wants to establish come from? Divine right? Might? The will of the people? This was the question that Winters agonized over.


    But Winters was not here today to hold a meeting with the prisoners.


    ¡°Among the enemies I have captured, those who have committed heinous crimes such as murder and rape during the levy process.¡± Winters pointed outside the labor camp to the gallows, his voice chilling every captive: ¡°they have all paid with their lives.¡±


    ¡°Among the enemies I have captured, those who have committed lesser crimes such as wounding during the levy process.¡± Winters declared unequivocally: ¡°Continue to serve your sentence.¡±


    ¡°The rest of you! The rest of you mediocre evildoers! I am giving you the chance to regain your freedom, I will give you the chance to return to your families.¡±


    With a grand gesture, Winters had Samukin bring out a brazier with six branding irons inside it.


    ¡°But opportunity, is granted only once!¡± Winters pointed to the brazier, his demeanor cold and commanding: ¡°Those who want it, step forward.¡±


    ...


    The captives looked at each other, but no one dared to move.


    Samukin strode over to a skinny prisoner in the front row: ¡°You! Do you want to go home?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The prisoner panicked and swallowed, hesitatingly mumbling: ¡°I do.¡±


    Samukin dragged the prisoner back to the side of the brazier and took out a branding iron. The head of the branding iron was shaped like a holy emblem and was already glowing red.


    ¡°Tear open his shirt.¡± Samukin coldly commanded his subordinates.


    Two burly guards immediately grabbed the prisoner, while a third guard ripped open the latter¡¯s shirt.


    Samukin applied the branding iron without any expression.


    The branding iron ruthlessly pressed into the prisoner¡¯s left chest, and those close by could hear a sizzling sound like fat hitting a hot pan. The prisoner¡¯s screams were unbearable to hear, and the onlookers from Wolf Town unconsciously looked away.


    Samukin was not trying to kill the prisoner, so he only touched the branding iron for about a second before taking it away. A holy emblem brand remained on the prisoner¡¯s left chest.


    The guards dragged the prisoner aside, treating him with a burn paste made of turpentine, egg yolk, and rose oil.


    ¡°Opportunity is granted only once.¡± Samukin issued the most genuine threat on behalf of his Centurion to the prisoners: ¡°Dare to take up arms in rebellion again, and a sword plunged through the emblem awaits you! Those unwilling, return to serve your sentence! Next one!¡±


    The prisoners were shaken, but still, no one dared to be the first.


    From the back came a man¡ªprisoner Ivan stepped out of the line, tremblingly standing by the brazier.


    He didn¡¯t need anyone to hold him, instead, he first swore an oath to the holy emblem iron, then exposed his chest on his own, closing his eyes waiting for Samukin to proceed.


    Samukin nodded without saying anything, touching the iron for only about half a second before releasing it.


    ¡°Follow his example!¡± Samukin pointed to another prisoner in the front row, ordering: ¡°You, the next one!¡±


    With Samukin around, Winters didn¡¯t need to do everything himself. He dismounted from the carriage, saw Caman who had taken off his ceremonial robes and put on ordinary clothes, approaching him.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Caman asked, frowning.


    ¡°A reminder for the prisoners, so they don¡¯t stand against me again. We can¡¯t just release them directly, right?¡± Winters answered honestly, adding with a smile: ¡°I even selected a symbol that is more acceptable to everyone.¡±


    Not far away, the prisoners took oaths, were branded, and were then taken aside for treatment. One scream after another rang out, and the air filled with the sickening scent of cooked meat.


    A symbol that is more acceptable? Caman was perplexed, then he saw the holy emblem brand on the prisoners.


    He was first angry, then helpless, and finally, he sighed deeply.


    ¡°You¡¯re not making them slaves anymore, that¡¯s a good deed no matter how you look at it.¡± Caman rationalized to himself as he watched the prisoners on the ground: ¡°This emblem, it fits well here.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were going to fight with me.¡± Winters said with slight regret.


    Caman snorted disdainfully.


    ¡°Do you want to know how I became the Protector of the Seven Towns?¡± Winters asked suddenly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to know.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯m willing to tell you.¡± Winters said nonchalantly: ¡°I ambushed the levy team and took the prisoners back to the villages for the common folk to identify. Who committed murder, arson, ravaged women? Who thieved, injured? It was a foolish method to sort out the prisoners, but having done it enough, I became the Protector of the Seven Towns. That¡¯s why the seven towns south of the St. George River are willing to support me, while the eight towns to the north are ambivalent towards me. That¡¯s how it is.¡±


    Caman sighed deeply once more. He looked Winters in the eyes as if trying to see deep into his heart, but Winters met his gaze unflinchingly.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne, I respect you, and I know you¡¯re a good man.¡± Caman told Winters earnestly and solemnly: ¡°But I have taken an oath of secrecy, and I won¡¯t tell you any secrets of the Divine Arts. Even without the oath, I don¡¯t want to tell you. And don¡¯t try to investigate, because it¡¯s not a realm you can touch. I hope you understand.¡±


    ¡°Why the rush?¡± Winters asked with a smile: ¡°I haven¡¯t asked you anything, have I? Not a single question, right?¡±


    ¡°Stop pretending.¡± Caman became agitated: ¡°You might as well just ask me directly, and let me plainly refuse you. Did you not come back to Wolf Town to pry secrets of the Divine Arts from me? I¡¯m telling you, it¡¯s impossible! You can forget about getting anything about the Divine Arts from me!¡±


    ¡°I am indeed very curious about the principles of the Divine Arts. But my return to Wolf Town this time is truly to pick up the potter Shaun and his brothers!¡± Winters protested his innocence. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 699 699 39 Church_4

    ?Chapter 699: Chapter 39 Church_4 Chapter 699: Chapter 39 Church_4 He also composed his features, speaking solemnly and seriously, ¡°I know you don¡¯t believe me. I swear on my parents¡¯ graves that I will never ask you about any secrets of the Divine Arts¡ªwithout your permission. How is that?¡±


    ¡°Without my permission?¡± Caman scoffed coldly.


    ¡°Maybe one day you¡¯ll tell me voluntarily?¡± Winters¡¯ smile was suggestive.


    ¡°I can tell you now,¡± Caman said, astonishingly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡±


    ¡°Divine Arts come from devout faith in the one and only savior. The Divine Arts do not belong to me, but are actions of the Lord through me. You wouldn¡¯t understand,¡± Caman spoke coldly to Winters, ¡°You, a non-believer, want to use Divine Arts? Convert first.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is that so?!¡± Winters was thrilled, ¡°I¡¯ll convert right now! You teach me!¡±


    ...


    Caman clutched his chest, bent over, and took a while to catch his breath.


    ¡°You¡­¡± Caman looked at Winters, about to speak, then stopped with a complicated expression, ¡°You¡­ you have changed.¡±


    ¡°All thanks to Father Reed¡¯s teachings.¡±


    ¡°No wonder,¡± Caman coughed, ¡°No wonder indeed.¡±


    ¡°Brother Caman, I¡¯m going back to Revodan,¡± Winters said, holding onto Caman¡¯s arm, reluctant to part, ¡°As a farewell, let me give you a gift.¡±


    Caman shook off Winters¡¯ arm vigorously, ¡°No need, just hurry off.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, it took me a long time to think of this gift,¡± Winters said, batting his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a cathedral.¡±


    ¡°The Revodan Cathedral, huh,¡± Caman sneered, ¡°You¡¯ve already stripped off the Saint Ados Emblem, there¡¯s nothing you wouldn¡¯t do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really wronging me this time,¡± Winters first appeared surprised, then wronged to the extreme, and gave a wry smile, ¡°The Revodan Cathedral was looted and set on fire by mobs, it was my men who saved it. The lost artifacts were also recovered by my men.¡±


    His words hit Caman like cannonballs, ¡°Do you know how much I need money right now? It was out of respect for you that I didn¡¯t melt down those gold and silver relics! The Saint Ados Emblem is in Bard¡¯s hands, but it was only borrowed, with a debt note! It was for doing good deeds! This time coming to Wolf Town, it was to bring the Saint Ados Emblem back!¡±


    ¡°Father Caman, we¡¯ve been through fire and blood together. How can you accuse me so seriously without any discernment?¡± Winters covered his chest and concluded with sorrow, ¡°I¡¯m so heartbroken!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t destroy the Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t take any wealth from the Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t harm any clergy?¡±


    ¡°I did not!¡± Winters added, ¡°Although the bishop died, it was because he panicked, ran to the rooftop for refuge, and accidentally fell off. It wasn¡¯t me or my men who killed him.¡±


    Caman stood for a while, struggling to speak, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, I am very willing to forgive you,¡± Winters laughed heartily, putting an arm around Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Although the church in Wolf Town is destroyed, I¡¯ve got a bigger one, how about that? Not bad, right?¡±


    ¡°Not impressive,¡± Caman knocked Winters¡¯ arm off again, countering coldly, ¡°A cathedral is the property of the church, not your gift to make. How could you presume to confer a bishopric privately? Moreover, Wolf Town is my parish, how could I just leave? What would happen to the believers in Wolf Town if I left?¡±


    ¡°Then send over another one from Revodan,¡± Winters replied nonchalantly, ¡°As for the bishopric of Revodan¡­ I call the shots there at the moment, I can nominate you.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Mr. Montaigne. So you¡¯re not just the Garrison Officer of Wolf Town, but also our Pope?¡± Caman retorted sarcastically, annoyed, ¡°You say you nominate, you think your word is law?¡±


    ¡°Alright. If you don¡¯t want this gift, I won¡¯t force you,¡± Winters said with regret, patting Caman¡¯s shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m returning to Revodan today.¡±


    Caman sneered and waved his hand dismissively.


    Winters nodded in acknowledgment, then walked away without looking back.


    Caman watched Winters¡¯ retreating figure until he disappeared on horseback from sight. Only then did he realize in surprise: Winters really left.


    After a while, Xial ran over, ¡°Father Caman!¡±


    ¡°I knew it wasn¡¯t over!¡± Caman was both annoyed and amused, ¡°Now what?¡±


    ¡°My brother asked me to tell you, Mrs. Mitchell is also going with us to Revodan. We¡¯re leaving today.¡±


    Blood rushed to Caman¡¯s throat, ¡°What?! Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me?¡±


    ¡°My brother said, if you ask that, I should reply like this,¡± Xial cleared his throat and mimicked Winters¡¯ inexplicable tone, ¡°Who are you? Why should I tell you?¡±

 Chapter 700 700 40 Prison

    ?Chapter 700: Chapter 40: Prison Chapter 700: Chapter 40: Prison Visiting Major Ronald and other seniors was the last concern on Winters¡¯ mind.


    The contemplation on ¡°why should I (we) rule over Iron Peak County¡± made Winters realize: none of these captured alumni would side with him. If there were any, they must harbor malicious intent.


    Winters acknowledged that he had defeated the former ruler with ¡°military force¡± and thereby ¡°conquered¡± Iron Peak County.


    If he were to openly rebel against the New Reclamation Legion and send out battle proclamations in all directions, perhaps one or two ambitious Paratu officers might come to join him.


    However, should he do so, an expeditionary force might come knocking on his door as soon as next week¡ªGeneral Revodan would not be able to stop them.


    General Adams had many troubling issues on his hands, and Winters did not wish to become the most troubling of them for His Excellency.


    Therefore, he showed weakness as much as possible, intentionally adopting an attitude of contentment with his lot. Vernge County¡¯s field forces had been swept clean by Tang Juan, but Winters had not sent any formal troop across the border.


    ...


    On the contrary, he sent a letter to Maplestone City to explain, and symbolically paid a bag of Gold Coins as arrears of tax. To this day, he still displayed the signboard of ¡°Revodan Garrison¡±.


    This mild attitude also had benefits internally: less pressure to rule, the ability to maximize identification, and inheriting the authority of the old garrison.


    Just like North Eight Towns, they did not truly support Winters, and Winters currently had no energy to directly govern North Eight Towns.


    Therefore, Winters issued orders in the name of the garrison. They could maintain face this way, and North Eight Towns tacitly accepted it.


    Of course, there were always those particularly ¡°brave¡± individuals who resisted control. Winters had been busy with autumn farming lately, having no time to pay attention to such annoyances, he simply observed their dance from the sidelines.


    ¡°When things settle down a bit,¡± Winters caressed the hilt of his sword, ¡°we¡¯ll see whose hammer is harder.¡±


    But this ambiguous attitude also had clear downsides; if the enemy looked down on Winters, potential allies would look down on him even more.


    Not to mention, from any perspective, the New Reclamation Legion had an overwhelming advantage. In many people¡¯s eyes, it was uncertain whether the Iron Peak County¡¯s new government could last until this time next year, so naturally, they would not easily place their bets.


    The only real support Winters could rely on was his companions, his old troops, and those warriors who had been granted land. Even his old troops and warriors might feel insecure, all held together by his prestige.


    Therefore, he simply gave up on the idea of recruiting the captured alumni and earnestly managed his true foundation.


    As Winters rode on horseback, he couldn¡¯t help feeling melancholic, as he gradually understood why the feudal system had emerged: ¡°To gain the support of the majority, one must benefit the majority, which is too difficult. It¡¯s simpler to only benefit a small group and then conquer the majority with force. Knights? Aren¡¯t knights just ¡®soldiers¡¯ with warhorses, attendants, and estates, like Hammer Chuck?¡±


    Riding along, he arrived at a camp on the north side of Wolf Town, far from villages and farms.


    The guard saw that it was Winters coming and immediately lowered the drawbridge.


    This camp was interesting; its drawbridge faced inward because it was a prison. The soldiers staying at Wolf Town called it ¡°Wolfwood Prison¡±.


    After an unpleasant prison break occurred, all officer prisoners were transferred to Wolf Town. Sarmukhjin did not want the officers to come into contact with ordinary prisoners, so this prison was built specifically to detain officers.


    Major Ronald was writing a letter when he heard the sound of hooves outside. Looking up, he saw Winters approaching the door.


    ¡°What brings you here?¡± Ronald put down his paper and pen, smiling.


    ¡°Winter is almost upon us,¡± Winters said, carrying a package as he entered the cell, smiling back, ¡°Your esteemed wife entrusted me to bring you a coat and a wool blanket.¡±


    He also took out a pipe and a large bag of cut tobacco from the package, apologizing, ¡°This is the best I could find. No one grew tobacco this year, please don¡¯t mind it. There are also two cans of sugar in the bag.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be polite, then,¡± Ronald took the tobacco leaves, took out his pipe from a box nearby, and began to fill it up: ¡°Ha, I ran out of my stock a long time ago.¡±


    After Ronald finished packing the tobacco, Winters naturally took the pipe to light it for his senior.


    ¡°Your wife still lives in the official residence, and the families of other seniors in Revodan too,¡± Winters returned the pipe to his senior, ¡°Salaries are paid as before, and flour and side dishes are delivered to each family every week. There¡¯s no need to worry.¡±


    Winters spoke without any hint of charity or pity, as if he were chatting with a senior about family matters.


    Receiving the pipe, Ronald took a comfortable puff and exhaled slowly, ¡°How¡¯s Changsheng doing?¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get me started,¡± Winters replied, exasperated at the mention of Changsheng, ¡°Changsheng drinks sheep¡¯s milk, plays with dogs, and bounces around all day wagging his head like a puppy, even wants to learn how to bark, he¡¯s completely been led astray.¡±


    Laughing until tears appeared, Ronald wiped them away and smiled, ¡°Your coming to see me means you have won your battle.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± Ronald asked curiously, ¡°Can you tell me about it?¡±


    Winters took up paper and pen, pulled out two chess pieces, and sat down face-to-face with his senior, beginning to demonstrate. The two exchanged words back and forth, the atmosphere very lively.


    In the end, Ronald couldn¡¯t help but admire, ¡°Your battles are getting more and more impressive.¡±


    ¡°You flatter me.¡±


    ¡°You have both a sword and a dagger in your army. Your enemies keep their eyes on your sword but fail to notice the dagger hidden behind your back. No wonder they lose battles.¡±

 Chapter 701 701 40 Prison_2

    ?Chapter 701: Chapter 40: Prison_2 Chapter 701: Chapter 40: Prison_2 Winters thought of Tang Juan and Moritz and said with embarrassment, ¡°I am actually the dagger; it¡¯s the one hidden behind that is the lethal sword.¡±


    ¡°Youth is truly a terrifying force,¡± Ronald said with some sentiment, then asked, ¡°How is Lieutenant Colonel Zibeer from Vernge County doing?¡±


    Winters remained silent.


    Ronald let out a long sigh but comforted Winters instead, ¡°Only the dead do not suffer the calamity of the sword and spear; these things are unavoidable, don¡¯t dwell on them too much.¡±


    The two chatted idly for a few more sentences, but there was nothing more to say.


    Winters stood up, ¡°Do you have any letters that you need me to take back?¡±


    ¡°Just in time, I have three.¡± Ronald carefully took out two letters and hastily finished writing the third one on the table, handing them all to Winters, ¡°Please give them to my wife.¡±


    ...


    Ronald handed over the letters without sealing or folding them.


    Without looking at them, Winters carefully folded the letters and put them into his chest, ¡°I will make sure they are delivered. When I return to Revodan, I will send you some leisure items like chessboards and books.¡±


    ¡°Nothing could be better,¡± Ronald said with a smile and a nod, and gently pointed next door, ¡°Where the junior officers are staying, you should take a look there as well. Lieutenant Adam¡­ is a bit off, and you¡¯ll need to talk to him.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go right now,¡± Winters turned and walked towards the prison door.


    Ronald was silent until one of Winters¡¯ boots stepped outside the threshold, then softly spoke, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    What exactly was Ronald thanking him for? Was it for the care of his family? For the respect shown to him? For not saying anything about trying to persuade him to defect?


    Winters didn¡¯t know. He nodded in acknowledgement, left, and the door to the cell closed once more.


    The situation with the junior officer POWs was different from Ronald¡¯s. Ronald stayed in a single cell, while the junior officers lived in several large, adjoining cells.


    Winters had actually captured some junior officers from Mont Blanc County and Vernge County as well, but he temporarily left those seniors in Revodan, not mixing them with the captives from Iron Peak County.


    Apel and Asko, who had entertained suicidal thoughts, lived together, silently weaving baskets like skilled craftsmen.


    Istvan and Adam shared a room. The former sat leaning against the wall, eyes gazing out at the blue sky through the window; the latter lay on a straw mat with his head covered, sound asleep. Both wore shackles on their hands and feet, a small memento from a failed escape attempt.


    Most of the other officer POWs were the same¡ªlackluster, leaning against something, casually fiddling with wheat straw and willow branches. Aside from Apel and Asko, no one took basket weaving seriously.


    The ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± of footsteps approached from the corridor, and the officer POWs instantly became alert, with even Adam abruptly sitting up straight. Only Apel continued to weave his baskets with focus.


    They recognized the sound all too well; while the guards all wore straw sandals, wooden clogs, or leather-soled shoes, these were clearly the sounds of a pair of military boots studded with iron nails.


    Then, Adam saw a particularly despicable junior standing before him.


    Without waiting for Winters to speak, Adam violently rammed the prison door, shaking the wooden bars, ¡°Winters! To kill or whatever else¡ªmake it quick! Don¡¯t humiliate us!¡±


    ¡°Sergeant, good to see you!¡± Winters saluted, ¡°By rank, you should salute me first, but you will always be my sergeant!¡±


    ¡°Cut the crap!¡± Adam violently shook the prison door, the shackles clanging loudly, ¡°Let me out, and we¡¯ll duel! Let¡¯s settle life and death once and for all!¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters dismissed this with a smile and turned to salute the other seniors. No one responded to him, except for senior Apel who nodded his head slightly and continued weaving.


    Silently, Winters placed a paper bag filled with raisins and tobacco at the door of each cell, without a word. He was just delivering things.


    Adam glared at Winters with unrestrainable fury and bellowed, ¡°With these small favors, you think you can buy us off?¡±


    ¡°In your dreams!¡± Adam kicked the paper bag forcefully.


    The paper bag tore open, scattering its contents, and spun to hit the wooden bars on the opposite side of the corridor, flinging dark green raisins and tobacco leaves all over the ground.


    Even though Winters¡¯ patience had grown, he still felt provoked. He glared at Adam, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    Adam was stunned at first, then grew even more furious, ¡°You dare to ask me?!¡±


    ¡°The soldiers guarding you don¡¯t have raisins to eat, nor do I,¡± Winters said expressionlessly, picking up a raisin, ¡°If you don¡¯t want it, give it back. Don¡¯t waste things.¡±


    Now in a rage bordering on madness, Adam started banging against the bars again, ¡°[Venetian insult laden with venom and filth]!¡±


    Winters blew the dust off the raisin, wiped it, and ate it. Ignoring Adam, who was like a mad bull, he turned and went to Apel¡¯s cell.


    Istvan, who shared a cell with Adam and also wore shackles, grabbed Adam and asked coldly, ¡°Winters, what exactly do you want by keeping us locked up here?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Winters answered honestly, ¡°I¡¯m keeping you locked up because I can¡¯t let you go. Officers are a valuable resource in war, and releasing you would be like giving aid to the enemy. I cannot release, and I do not wish to kill, so I have to keep you imprisoned.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Adam laughed manically, ¡°You say you don¡¯t wish to kill?¡±


    Winters frowned slightly and retorted, ¡°Sergeant, do you want me to kill you?¡±


    ¡°Come on then!¡± Adam roared like thunder, ¡°Kill me! I won¡¯t make a sound! Open the door! Duel!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡± Apel, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly shouted.

 Chapter 702 702 40 Prison_3

    ?Chapter 702: Chapter 40 Prison_3 Chapter 702: Chapter 40 Prison_3 ¡°`


    Apel¡¯s voice seemed to have a magical effect. Although Adam was glaring, panting heavily, and his face was blood red, he clamped his mouth shut.


    Among the captive officers, only Apel and Asko could earn a full portion of bread; the other prisoners who refused to work could only get half. When Adam was dizzy with hunger, it was Apel who always shared his bread with him. So when Apel spoke, Adam complied even though he did so reluctantly.


    ¡°Stop disgracing yourself!¡± Apel said sternly, ¡°If you want to die, go kill yourself. If someone truly wants to die, who can stop them? Sit down!¡±


    Adam felt his nose tingle, the tears swirling in his eyes, as he walked back to the corner, defeated, and sat down on the floor. The clinking of his chains made a cold sound.


    ¡°Winters.¡± Istvan leaned against the prison door, asking with a playful smile, ¡°You don¡¯t really expect to subdue us with this sort of method, do you?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? I have never thought of reforming you through labor.¡± Winters smiled too: ¡°I could not possibly use you because I do not trust you. You are like what I once was, and your everything is tightly bound to Paratu. If one day I take Maplestone City, perhaps I will have the standing to ask for your help. Now? Forget it. The reason you are made to work is because my soldiers work hard in the fields, and if you were to get food and drink without laboring, it would be unfair to them.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Istvan laughed, ¡°If you conquer Maplestone City, remember to come find me.¡±


    ...


    Winters just nodded with a smile.


    Still, Adam couldn¡¯t resist asking sarcastically: ¡°Work? So you¡¯re going to have us make baskets?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°[Incoherent expletive of frustration]!¡± Adam suddenly jumped up, ¡°You just want to humiliate us! Making baskets! Making baskets? Making baskets is women¡¯s work!¡±


    Winters raised an eyebrow, countering, ¡°Women¡¯s work? Have you ever seen a basket weaver?¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instinctively, Adam wanted to say ¡°Yes,¡± but as he searched his memory, he realized he had not indeed seen one. His desire to preserve his dignity tempted him to stubbornly say ¡°Yes,¡± but a deeper sense of self-respect prevented him from lying.


    He fell silent, and his bravado diminished instantly.


    ¡°Basket weavers can be men or women, but it is mainly men who do this work; who says it¡¯s women¡¯s work?¡± Winters¡¯s presence climbed slowly as he continued, ¡°Making you weave baskets is because it¡¯s the simplest, easiest task. Weave one basket a day and you get your bread, sometimes even meat and wine. Where else would you find such a good deal? Go to the labor camps and see. See how many baskets the prisoners have to weave there just to fill their stomachs!¡±


    ¡°Come on!¡± Winters took a semi-finished basket and expertly wove three layers. His weaving was crooked, but he managed to produce a basket: ¡°I would never force you to do something I couldn¡¯t do myself! If I can do it, why can¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easily said, but you could give us some carpentry or blacksmith work which is much better than basket weaving,¡± Istvan suggested with a smile still on his face.


    ¡°Carpentry? Blacksmith work?¡± Winters scoffed, ¡°If I give you an axe, will you not strike it upon my soldier¡¯s head? I¡¯ve made it clear, I don¡¯t trust you. My people¡¯s lives are more important to me than your dignity, so you will just weave baskets.


    I also have a question for you that troubled me for a long time¡ªaside from killing and destruction, what else can you do? What else are you capable of doing? What else do you want to do?¡±


    Istvan¡¯s smile gradually solidified. The question made his body stiffen, his chest felt as if it were struck by a hammer, stifling him.


    Those who think more on regular days have a stronger reaction to this question.


    Adam didn¡¯t seem to care as much, as he stubbornly shouted, ¡°Then I refuse to weave baskets too!¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to weave baskets?¡± Winters asked coldly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t weave them!¡±


    ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll find you another task!¡± Winters declared and started to leave.


    Before he left, he paused briefly at the door of Apel¡¯s cell: ¡°Many records from the towns in Iron Peak County are missing, and you used to manage these records. Bard would like to ask for your assistance there. If the Legion were to return to Iron Peak County, they would need these records too.¡±


    ¡°No need to console me.¡± Apel, head down weaving a basket, replied, ¡°Tell Bard to come and talk to me in detail.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Winters left the prison without looking back.


    ¡­


    After visiting Wolfwood Prison, Winters was ready for the journey back to Revodan.


    He had arrived with a large contingent, and he returned with an even larger one.


    Thus, Winters instructed Samukin to lead the captives on a slow march, while he himself proceeded ahead with the Mitchell Family and the ¡°accounting school preparatory students.¡±


    Bard, following the principles of ¡°honesty, intelligence, and numerical literacy¡± in ascending order, selected thirty young people from the farms across the towns. The youngest was barely sixteen and the oldest twenty-two. The best prospects were both honest and numerate, the least promising merely honest. They were to become the first students of the accounting school¡ªor part of the first cohort, as Winters was also actively recruiting students from among the families of Revodan and the military.


    When Winters helped Mrs. Mitchell into the carriage, Caman, just like during the days when the Hundred Men of Wolf Town set out for battle, led a riding horse and a packhorse and approached the town square.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask!¡± Caman¡¯s eyes blazed with anger: ¡°And I won¡¯t answer.¡±


    Winters nodded expressionlessly, but inside, he was pleased.


    Just what was the relationship between Caman and Ellen Mitchell? Winters was not sure yet, but he was certain it was not romantic. Even assuming such a thing gave Winters a sense of offending two respectable individuals.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 703 703 40 Prison_4

    ?Chapter 703: Chapter 40 Prison_4 Chapter 703: Chapter 40 Prison_4 The two had quite an age difference! Mrs. Mitchell was in her mid-forties. As for Caman? Winters¡¯s first impression of Caman was that of youthfulness, not exceeding thirty years old.


    Winters had limited knowledge, but one thing he could confirm was that Caman had always been silently protecting the Mitchell Family. This desire to protect was so strong, it even reached the level of recklessness.


    Winters noticed this and took advantage of it, which already made him feel guilty. To him, it was enough that Caman could go to Revodan, he did not want to pry into Caman¡¯s privacy. If Caman didn¡¯t want to talk, he would never ask proactively.


    ¡°Pierre and Scarlett are both in Revodan, and the Mitchell estate has been turned into a farm. There¡¯s no point for Mrs. Mitchell to stay in Wolf Town, she might as well have some company in Revodan,¡± Winters explained earnestly, ¡°Besides, I think Mrs. Mitchell prefers city life.¡±


    Caman sneered, without a word.


    Winters was fixing the horse tack and casually said, ¡°Believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you. Whether you go to Revodan or not, I won¡¯t leave Mrs. Mitchell alone in Wolf Town.¡±


    He was telling the truth. Scarlett missed her mother, and Eileen missed her children; it would also be nice to take Eileen to stay in Revodan temporarily.


    ...


    Caman snorted lightly and climbed onto his horse, ¡°I won¡¯t let you learn any secrets about the Divine Arts, so you might as well give up.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters replied with a double meaning.


    Winters recalled the great deeds of Antoine-Laurent, the father of Spellcasters, his attitude as optimistic as ever: guarding a cleric and worried about not getting information? Moreover, who said that information had to be given ¡°voluntarily¡± by Caman?


    On the way back, Winters rode side by side with Caman, gently prodding him with a needle, ¡°Isn¡¯t the dispatch of a priest supposed to be approved by the Pope?¡±


    Caman struggled to defend himself, ¡°I was never really part of Wolf Town Church to begin with, the formal chief priest of Wolf Town Church is Father Anthony. My actions¡ªare somewhat more independent.¡±


    ¡°What about the believers in Wolf Town if you leave?¡±


    ¡°I will write to the bishop of the region and have another priest sent from Revodan.¡±


    ¡°So, are you planning to take up a position at Revodan Cathedral?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to become the bishop of Revodan¡­¡±


    As the questioning continued, Caman started playing dumb. No matter how Winters prodded him with the needle, he simply ignored him. In the end, Caman outright avoided riding a horse and took refuge in the student¡¯s carriage, thoroughly evading Winters.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to experience the Suppressing Divine Art.¡± Winters wrote regretfully in his book of spells, biting a feather, and added another note: ¡°The Lethal Divine Art¡­ requires a safer method of testing.¡±


    ¡­


    The situation in Samukhin¡¯s area was also interesting.


    The prisoners of the labor camp were principally destined for two routes: continue serving their sentences or receive a pardon.


    And within those who were pardoned, there were actually two categories. Those like Ivan and the former gendarme sergeant Gulaxi from Revodan naturally wanted to return to Revodan, back to their families.


    Sure enough, the two had already agreed to travel home together, providing mutual support along the way.


    Many other prisoners were landless peasants; they were not from Revodan and did not know where their families were at present.


    ¡°Take me with you, Officer Samukhin,¡± a prisoner named Leman came to Samukhin, pleading miserably, ¡°I have nowhere to go, and I don¡¯t know where to get food. Winter is coming, I really have nowhere to turn¡­ Please take me with you, let me continue to work for you.¡±


    Samukhin had once been a landless farmer too, he watched in silence as the outline of a holy mark was faintly visible under Leman¡¯s coarse clothes.


    ¡°The Protector Officer Montaigne always used to tell me ¡®there will be a way out,''¡± Samukhin patted Leman on the shoulder, ¡°I will apply to the Protector Officer. Tell everyone¡ªif you have nowhere to go, just stay with me, as free people.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters had left, Samukhin had left, but things at Wolfwood Prison were not yet over.


    The day after Winters left, the former lieutenant Adam was taken to chop wood.


    The autumn wind was cold, and wood chopping was hard work. Adam¡¯s hands and feet were still shackled, and his arms soon swelled up. On the first day of his lumberjack career, he clenched his teeth and persevered.


    Then came the second and the third day.


    On the fourth day, Apel sent word to Bard, asking him to call Adam back to make baskets.


    When Adam started learning basket weaving, Winters had just returned to Revodan.


    ¡°How is it going?¡± Winters greeted Senior Mason with a tight hug, ¡°Anything happened?¡±


    ¡°What could have happened?¡± Senior Mason replied with a laugh, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. They¡¯ve already extracted a few tons of ore at Iron Peak Mine, Carlos and Sasha are busy with something called ¡®roasting¡¯? I think that¡¯s the word. The bricks prepared by the Shaun brothers are also progressing well. If it weren¡¯t for Carlos insisting on waiting for your return before firing the kiln, I would have done the next steps for you.¡±


    Hearing this, Winters almost wanted to kiss Senior Mason in gratitude. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He hugged Mason again, nearly with tears in his eyes, ¡°I knew you were the only one I could count on!¡±


    Mason coughed from the tight embrace, managed a helpless smile, and said, ¡°However, there¡¯s something you¡¯ll need to deal with yourself¡ªthe people from Mont Blanc County have come over.¡±

 Chapter 704 704 41 Salt and Iron

    ?Chapter 704: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron Chapter 704: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron For safety reasons, Winters should not meet any enemy face to face. However, the envoy from Mont Blanc County was an exception, and Winters could not break the rule¡ªa bald Colonel Gaisa sent a direct subordinate squad leader, Baratz Yussas.


    The last time they had met was at their senior¡¯s swearing-in ceremony, and time had flown by¡ªthree years had already passed.


    After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the senior cut to the chase, ¡°Colonel Gaisa wants his horse back.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters answered succinctly.


    ¡°You probably don¡¯t know,¡± the senior sighed helplessly, ¡°my commanding officer¡­ also likes money very much.¡±


    ¡°Also?¡± Winters detected a hint of regional discrimination.


    ¡°No one dislikes money, so I¡¯m not here to ask you for something for nothing,¡± the senior mentioned casually and then seriously informed Winters, ¡°For the horse in your possession, Colonel Gaisa is willing to provide supplies in exchange¡ªprovided you agree.¡±


    ...


    ¡°A secret deal?¡± Winters thought to himself.


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s secret.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the exchange?¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡± the senior asked in return.


    ¡°What do you have?¡± Winters returned the question verbatim.


    The conversation hit an impasse as neither side trusted the other.


    ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s not keep probing,¡± the senior said straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the truth. Mont Blanc County cannot exchange grain, weapons, or ammunition with you for the horses. But we have something you need very much.¡±


    Winters remained noncommittal.


    Seeing no reaction from Winters, the senior did not play coy, ¡°It¡¯s nothing else but salt. A person can live without horses, but they will die without salt. Without enough salt, you can¡¯t even take good care of those horses.


    Mont Blanc County will continue to block the Anya River, and Iron Peak County will not receive any salt supply through normal channels. However, we can supply salt specifically to you. With salt in your hands, in Iron Peak County, it can be used as hard currency.¡±


    Winters was surprised but did not show it, ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°We can discuss if you want something else. If you want money, that¡¯s not off the table either.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion¡¯s stud farm,¡± Winters said with a light laugh. ¡°The Legion hasn¡¯t come to me, but Colonel Gaisa is in a hurry.¡±


    Baratz did not respond.


    ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Winters said as he stood up to take his leave. ¡°You stay in Revodan for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Is Lieutenant Washington still alive?¡± the senior suddenly asked.


    Washington was the Mont Blanc County officer who had led a hundred men in pursuit of Winters and was subsequently captured.


    Winters replied truthfully, ¡°He¡¯s alive and well, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡­


    After leaving the place where Baratz was located, Winters headed straight for his residence¡ªthe terraced houses for single officers.


    Entering Anna¡¯s bedroom amidst Catherine¡¯s cries of surprise, Winters asked, ¡°Have we run out of salt at home?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Anna, who was napping, woke up groggily, still in a haze. Recognizing who was beside her bed, she stretched out her arms with a happy expression, ¡°You¡¯re back!¡±


    At that moment, Anna seemed as vulnerable and adorable as a kitten yet to be weaned, a stark contrast to her usual composure and reserve, which could trigger an infinite protective desire in anyone.


    Unable to resist, Winters picked up the little cat and repeated, ¡°Have we really run out of salt?¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Anna, leaning on Winters¡¯ shoulder and rubbing her eyes, said softly with a hint of reproach, ¡°You haven¡¯t said you missed me.¡±


    Catherine, witnessing this scene from the doorway, blushed and quickly turned to leave.


    This matter required checking with the relevant person, so Winters called for the officers¡¯ quarters¡¯ cook and asked straight out, ¡°Is there any salt left in the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± replied the cook, a robust woman, plainly, ¡°We still have several jars left.¡±


    ¡°Can salt still be bought in the market? And what price is it?¡± Winters continued, ¡°How much has the price increased?¡±


    ¡°It is still available, but the price has been going up,¡± said the cook, who was strong-looking with a round face and broad shoulders, but her voice grew fainter as she spoke.


    Anna quietly nudged Winters¡¯ boot.


    Understanding the hint, Winters smiled as naturally as he could, ¡°When did the price start to rise? By how much?¡±


    ¡°The price started rising not too long ago,¡± the change in her employer¡¯s expression left the cook a bit confused, ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly by how much¡­ I bought several jars in advance.¡±


    Finding no more useful information through further questioning, Anna took a silver ring from her jewelry box to thank the cook, who left beaming with joy.


    Winters¡¯ mood fell. He rested his forehead on his hand, inadvertently frowning, ¡°I still need to go to the market myself to see.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna asked, holding Winters¡¯ hand.


    Winters then told Anna about the Mont Blanc County and the salt issue.


    ¡°We¡¯re out of salt? I¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± Anna was also surprised and said earnestly, ¡°Indeed, we should go to the market and ask directly the people who buy and sell salt.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go right away,¡± Winters grabbed his coat and sword.


    ¡°Salt is a big business, I don¡¯t understand,¡± Anna reminded her loved one hesitantly as she saw him out, ¡°But if everyone is afraid of the price going up and stock running out, they¡¯ll likely rush to buy salt, and the shops will be emptied of however much salt they have.¡±


    ¡°I understand the gravity of the situation. Don¡¯t worry, there will be a way,¡± Winters said, gently holding his loved one¡¯s hand before leaving.


    ¡­


    Later that day, Winters met with Mason, Andre, and Moritz in the garrison¡¯s conference room.


    Bard was attending to displaced people elsewhere, Tang Juan had not returned from hunting, and now only the four of them remained from the [Council].

 Chapter 705 705 41 Salt and Iron_2

    ?Chapter 705: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_2 Chapter 705: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_2 Winters informed his companions about the proposal from Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°They¡¯re threatening us?¡± Andre burst out angrily, ¡°Even better if he doesn¡¯t sell! When winter comes, we¡¯ll gather the troops and cross the Anya River! I want to see what that baldy can do!¡±


    ¡°Looting is also an option, let¡¯s keep it in mind as a backup plan,¡± Winters said with a smile. ¡°Actually, the most interesting part is the fact that Mont Blanc County is willing to ¡®trade¡¯ in the first place.


    It seems that the New Reclamation Legion is not as united as we thought. I suspect General Adams¡¯s fence-sitting attitude has caused some disunity within the counties as well.¡±


    Moritz glanced at Winters nonchalantly, only to find Winters was also looking at him.


    Winters spread his hands and explained helplessly to his former superior, ¡°If we¡¯re really out of options¡­ we¡¯ll have to resort to looting¡­ like the Hurd tribe.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just a bit curious,¡± Moritz smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, please continue with the important matters.¡±


    ...


    Before the meeting, Winters first found Old Priskin and, through him, conducted a survey of Revodan salt merchants; he had come to roughly understand the situation with salt:


    Iron Peak County really doesn¡¯t produce salt; they rely entirely on buying it from neighboring Mont Blanc County. Though only separated by the Anya River, the natural endowments of the two counties are worlds apart.


    Iron Peak County only has what some farmers call ¡°salty land.¡± The soil of the salty land is poor, unfit for crops or salt extraction. Its greatest use is for farmers to take their livestock there to ¡°lick the earth¡± during the agriculture off-season.


    Mont Blanc County, on the other hand, boasts high-quality salt wells; Brine Town¡¯s well salt supplies the entire Newly Reclaimed Lands Province. Salt is called white gold, and Mont Blanc is the mountain of white gold.


    After giving a brief explanation, Winters concluded, ¡°Mont Blanc County is indeed blatantly threatening us.¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Not only that,¡± Senior Mason, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, ¡°Newly Reclaimed Lands is a military-controlled province, and so is the salt. Salt merchants have to pay taxes to Maplestone City first, and then they are allowed to buy salt from Brine Town. It¡¯s essentially a disguised poll tax.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we buy salt from outside?¡± Andre asked anxiously.


    ¡°The Legion forbids salt from outside to enter Newly Reclaimed Lands,¡± Mason sighed deeply. ¡°The corv¨¦e ranch I used to manage had many smugglers of illicit salt. The lightest punishment was losing an arm¡ªsalt is not just salt, it¡¯s also the Legion¡¯s money bag.¡±


    ¡°Then we must fight them!¡± Andre slammed the table and glared at Winters, ¡°Let¡¯s do this! It¡¯s all or nothing, we¡¯ll take down Mont Blanc County as well!¡±


    Mason sighed again, ¡°It¡¯s impossible.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Andre glared at the senior.


    ¡°No food,¡± Mason spread open his notebook, his face clouded with concern, ¡°Most of the storage in Revodan has been given to Bard to settle the refugees. The reserves left in the granary¡ªby my calculations¡ªare not enough to last until next summer¡¯s harvest.¡±


    Andre was stunned into silence.


    Mason asked Andre, ¡°Do you know what ¡®the Hungry Gap¡¯ means?¡±


    Andre shook his head.


    ¡°No matter,¡± Mason patted his junior¡¯s shoulder, ¡°You¡¯ll find out in a few months.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t it said that maintaining ¡®the bare minimum food supply¡¯ would last until next year¡¯s crop?¡± Winters was also surprised, ¡°Why is it not enough now?¡±


    Senior Mason answered leisurely, ¡°It was barely enough before, but it¡¯s not enough with an additional thirteen hundred mouths to feed.¡±


    Winters immediately realized¡ªprisoners, the prisoners from Vernge County.


    ¡­


    The fundamental logic of agriculture is simple¡ªno sowing, no harvest.


    Though lacking statistical data, Winters was confident that the mass flight of hired laborers and tenant farmers had led to a sharp decline in the total grain production of Newly Reclaimed Lands.


    The current situation was still manageable because 1) subsistence farmers were generally still tending their land; 2) estates primarily cultivated cash crops; 3) the stockpile from the last quarter hadn¡¯t run out yet.


    If they continued down this path, a major famine was waiting not far ahead. The famine would further escalate the chaos, and eventually, subsistence farmers would also flee, leading to an even greater famine¡­ utter darkness with not a glimmer of light.


    Driven by the simple idea of ¡°finding ways to survive¡± for everyone, Winters wanted to get the refugees back into agricultural production.


    However, the mad bull had already escaped its cage and was rampaging and trampling the earth. Was it so easy to get it back in?


    Winters could have ignored the refugees and only needed to feed over fifteen hundred soldiers and their dependents; with Revodan¡¯s storages, it would have been more than enough. But he decided to take on a bigger challenge.


    So, from the moment he decided to shoulder more responsibility, the new government¡¯s finances sprinted towards bankruptcy.


    Winters had no choice but to tighten his belt.


    Throughout the army, irrespective of rank, food was rationed strictly per person. Rations were limited, and even the smallest appetites could only be satiated by two-thirds. As for the refugee camp, the amount of food per person there was even less.


    Everyone was in a state of semi-starvation. Refugees and soldiers not only had to till the land and sow seeds but also had to devise ways to find food: digging wild vegetables, picking wild fruits, fishing, hunting¡­


    Thus, Tang Juan would be out hunting for days at a time. Winters also never went home for meals, opting to stay in the garrison with his troops.


    The only piece of good news was that Winters had become completely numb to it all. When he used to wake up to thirty-some people eating and defecating, he was constantly worried; now, waking up to over twenty thousand people doing the same, he felt nothing at all.


    According to Senior Mason¡¯s estimates, by reducing consumption, the current stockpiles should last until next summer¡¯s harvest. Once the summer grain is reaped, the situation will greatly improve.

 Chapter 706 706 41 Salt and Iron_3

    ?Chapter 706: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_3 Chapter 706: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_3 Only when the new government truly began to collect grain taxes could this small, impoverished, but tenacious regime be considered on the right track.


    But plans could never keep pace with changes. Juan had fought a delightful battle, thoroughly enjoying himself, yet inadvertently opened up more than a thousand tiny cuts under the grain storage.


    Prisoners were people, too, and all of them were adult men capable of eating and drinking.


    There wasn¡¯t enough food.


    ¡­ S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The atmosphere in the meeting room immediately turned heavy, and even Moritz could not help but look worried.


    ¡°Why all the long faces?¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°We are pushing back the waves with a tsunami bearing down on us. It is normal to face difficulties; it would be abnormal not to. The greater the challenge, the greater the reward! Come next year¡¯s harvest, all of today¡¯s troubles will be solved.¡±


    ...


    Winters grinned widely, ¡°Don¡¯t frown. If we have stern faces and furrowed brows all day, what will the soldiers think? They will only worry more. So smile, we must not be anxious.¡±


    Mason sighed helplessly but then smiled wryly.


    Andre, however, didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, ¡°You could stop smiling¡ªyour smile is scarier than your frown.¡±


    ¡°That being said, we still need to solve the lack of grain, and there¡¯s also the issue of salt,¡± Mason said seriously, ¡°Otherwise, when the time comes between planting and harvest, we¡¯ll be forced to beg.¡±


    ¡°How to solve it? Isn¡¯t that fucking obvious?¡± Andre said with a bared-teeth smile, ¡°Steal!¡±


    Moritz began coughing violently, thumping his chest hard.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just dismiss what I¡¯m saying! I¡¯ve thought this through!¡± Andre protested, feeling wronged, ¡°As long as we¡¯re willing to steal, we can solve any problem. Besides, how quickly can we gain through theft? Working hard to accumulate¡­ in the end, we¡¯d only gather a couple of hundred horses. But to steal? You could get thousands in one go! Isn¡¯t that easier and more satisfying than digging and farming?¡±


    ¡°Right, that¡¯s correct!¡± Combing through the issues like grooming a fiery steed, Winters was very adept, ¡°I¡¯ll note that down¡ªas a contingency plan.¡±


    Andre sat down huffily.


    Mason fiddled with his quill, pondering, ¡°There are only two ways to address the food issue: increase income or reduce expenses. Reducing expenses is impossible¡ªif we do, we¡¯ll all starve to death.¡±


    ¡°We can still reduce expenses,¡± Winters determined, his decision firm, ¡°After the autumn sowing, we¡¯ll vet the prisoners from Vernge County. Release any who are too old, too young, or too weak, and let the New Reclamation Legion worry about them.¡±


    ¡°Release them?¡± Andre¡¯s eyes widened, ¡°I think it¡¯s better to kill them all! They know our internal situation! If you release them now, they will come back with weapons to fight us next year!¡±


    ¡°There are pros and cons. If we kill them all, the enemies that come next year will fight even more desperately. Let¡¯s just give each of them a bit of travel money and release them.¡±


    ¡°Give them travel money?¡± Andre said, incredulously laughing.


    ¡°Releasing prisoners doesn¡¯t necessarily mean doing them a favor. Vernge County is short on food just the same; the old, weak, and sick might just starve even if they make it back there,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°I suggest we put it to a vote.¡±


    Andre was clearly impatient, ¡°A vote? Why make it so complicated? If you say to release them, would I even object? Just let them go.¡±


    But Winters insisted on a show of hands to vote.


    The final result: Mystery Man A abstained, while Winters, Andre, and Mason all agreed. The matter was thus settled.


    ¡°As for increasing income,¡± Winters said with a pained expression, ¡°Hunting, fishing¡ªthat¡¯s what every military village and farm is doing. Winter is coming, and there¡¯s little left to forage. When it comes down to it, we¡¯ll still need to buy food.¡±


    ¡°Buy from where?¡± Mason asked, puzzled.


    ¡°From the independent farmers. Buy first from Iron Peak County, then from Vernge County,¡± Winters tapped the table lightly, ¡°Samukin is doing quite well with that scheme.¡±


    Winters explained in detail how Samukin organized prisoner labor to produce shoes, baskets, and traded them with the villages for food.


    Did the independent farmers of Iron Peak County have any grain?


    Yes!


    After the autumn harvest, how could there not be any grain?


    The harsher the old garrisons collected, the better the farmers hid their grain. Those who hadn¡¯t hidden it well had already fled their homes, and the ones remaining inevitably had grain.


    Winters was reluctant to impose levies, and he had no desire to do so. In the past year, the game of ¡°hide and seek¡± between the collection teams and the farmers had pushed the cost of levying to unprecedented heights.


    This autumn, many independent farmers didn¡¯t even work their registered land, instead, they fled to desolate gullies to cultivate¡ªhaving been driven to act like startled birds. Even though Winters had publicly stated he would not impose levies on the grain, the farmers did not believe him.


    If they couldn¡¯t impose levies, then they would have to trade. Farmers had many needs that they were willing to trade for.


    ¡°Salt and iron,¡± Winters said emphatically, ¡°Farmers cannot produce these two things, so these are what they desire the most.¡±


    ¡°Salt?¡± Andre frowned, ¡°Are you going to return the horses?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± Winters laughed loudly, ¡°Once it¡¯s in my pocket, how could I possibly give it back? He can dream on! Trading horses for salt is like quenching thirst with poison. He thinks I¡¯m desperate, then I must carve out a new path!¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s no salt, our focus must turn to iron.¡±


    ¡°The Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡± Winters looked at Senior Mason, his eyes burning with determination, ¡°Senior, there¡¯s no time like the present, let¡¯s start smelting iron tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome, let¡¯s strike the first hammer and see!¡±


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll start preparing right away,¡± Mason, having quietly listened to the younger men¡¯s conversation, could not help but remind, ¡°But have you thought about how to resolve the salt issue? Iron Peak County doesn¡¯t produce salt, after all.¡±

 Chapter 707 707 41 Salt and Iron_4

    ?Chapter 707: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_4 Chapter 707: Chapter 41 Salt and Iron_4 Winters said something surprising, speaking lightly, ¡°In fact, regarding the salt issue, I¡¯m really not that worried. I had already resolved it before seeking you out.¡±


    Mason, Andre, and Moritz all looked at Winters, faces a mix of shock and awe.


    ¡°I had a chat with Little Lion,¡± Winters didn¡¯t keep them in suspense, ¡°Andre, senior, do you remember those rock salts on the western shore of The Styx¡­ licked by the cattle and sheep?¡±


    Last year, when the war was raging, as soon as the Paratu Expeditionary Force crossed The Styx, the Paratu Shepherds rushed their herds to the western shores, because there was rock salt there.


    Winters played with a small knife, his demeanor refreshing as he spoke, ¡°When I talked to the Revodan salt merchants, they told me that, aside from buying military salt from Mont Blanc County, there was also a smuggling route for rock salt coming from the Hurd wilderness in the past.


    ¡°Caravans would take their goods to trade in the wilderness, then carry back salt. Later, when the Parlatu Army cracked down hard and blockaded the various Hurd tribes, that route too was cut off.¡±


    Thanks to Mayor Priskin¡¯s efforts, otherwise the salt merchants would never have disclosed these hidden secrets to Winters.


    ...


    ¡°It turns out that speaking with a smile really works,¡± Winters summarized, forcing out a grin, ¡°One must smile more.¡±


    ¡°Rock salt?¡± Andre was stupefied, ¡°Cattle and sheep can lick it. Can people eat it?¡±


    ¡°The Herders eat rock salt, Little Lion said so,¡± Winters stated matter-of-factly, ¡°If the Herders can eat it, so can we. Salt bricks are even a form of ¡®currency¡¯ among the Hurd tribes.¡±


    Andre took a deep breath, feeling relieved that he wouldn¡¯t have to give up the horses whatever the cost.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe will give us rock salt for free?¡± Mason narrowed his eyes slightly.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters sighed, putting on a wry smile, ¡°We trade iron for it.¡±


    Mason¡¯s expression turned grave and he asked in a deep voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just like giving the lion steel teeth? The Herders are not on our side. Having occupied Tie Feng Mountain for decades, how could they possibly not know about Iron Peak Mine? But did Little Lion ever mention it to you?¡±


    ¡°I understand, senior. It¡¯s like two cups of poison before me, one kills immediately upon drinking, the other kills slowly,¡± Winters shook his head gently, ¡°We still have to drink the slow poison, for only in living might there be a chance.¡±


    Mason also couldn¡¯t help but sigh heavily, ¡°Yes, survival gives us a chance.¡±


    ¡°Actually, Mr. Poltan, the old blacksmith, has a good idea,¡± Winters said, somewhat embarrassedly, ¡°He mentioned that the iron from Iron Peak Mine is of poor quality, brittle, and difficult to forge into weapons, but it¡¯s just right for casting into pots. There¡¯s no need to sell steel to the Herders, just pots would do.¡±


    ¡°Would the Red River Tribe agree to that?¡± Mason almost laughed in disbelief.


    ¡°When it comes to business, negotiations must be had,¡± Winters shrugged, speaking teasingly, ¡°If their rock salt isn¡¯t sold to us, there¡¯s no other buyer. We ourselves don¡¯t have steel, where would we get steel for the Red River Tribe? That¡¯s the offer, take it or leave it. If we can¡¯t strike a deal, then we may as well go raid Mont Blanc County.¡±


    ¡°We should have just gone on a raid right away!¡± Andre perked up with enthusiasm.


    ¡°Did you tell Little Lion?¡± Mason asked Winters about the pots, ¡°about this matter.¡±


    ¡°Not yet, I just told him we would trade iron with him. He seemed quite pleased anyway,¡± Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°In the end, we still need to smelt iron. Without iron, we might as well change our name to the Iron Peak Tribe, paint our faces, and go looking for baldies to fight in Mont Blanc County.¡±


    Mason also sighed deeply, ¡°Yes, in the end, we still need a mainstay industry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t fret,¡± Winters revealed a smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t we much better off now than when we had only five or six towns? There¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    With the issues of salt and iron resolved, they should have adjourned the meeting, but Winters wouldn¡¯t let Andre and Moritz leave, insisting on continuing the meeting.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who used to hate meetings the most?¡± Andre couldn¡¯t help asking Winters.


    ¡°Let¡¯s endure it a bit longer,¡± Winters put on a serious tone, ¡°I feel¡­ that the salt incident has exposed two issues, issues that must be resolved.¡±


    ¡°What issues?¡± Andre retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t the problem simply the lack of salt?¡±


    ¡°The first issue,¡± Winters said slowly and deliberately, ¡°is that at present, Iron Peak County cannot survive independently without external support; many things still need to be imported from outside. The New Reclamation Legion has already started to blockade us, it¡¯s just that it¡¯s been too short a time to show its power.¡±


    Mason sat up straight, his expression turning serious. He thought Winters just wanted to chat casually but hadn¡¯t expected these topics to come up. Andre also stopped clamoring to leave. Even Moritz opened his eyes, listening curiously.


    ¡°For all kinds of goods that Iron Peak County needs, if it is possible to produce them ourselves, we should find a way to do so. For those we cannot produce on our own, then we resort to trade, smuggling, or raiding.¡±


    ¡°A living person can¡¯t be allowed to die from holding in their pee.¡± Andre smacked his lips, ¡°That¡¯s all there is to it.¡±


    ¡°The second issue.¡± Winters gently brushed the blade, ¡°Our military government doesn¡¯t know what the common people need. Salt prices are rising, but it wasn¡¯t until the enemy reminded me that I realized it. This shows that our eyes and ears are blocked. We need to open them, or even if we solve the salt problem, other issues will emerge.¡±


    ¡°How do we open them?¡± Mason asked.


    ¡°I have a rough idea¡ªgather the merchants from Revodan and the farmers from all the towns to listen to their needs. In the past, when the lords were particularly lascivious and brutal, the common people would petition for a grievance meeting; we could hold one too,¡± Winters said with a smile: ¡°But a grievance meeting doesn¡¯t sound too pleasant, how about we call it a negotiation meeting?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that just a county council then?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly, a county council has power. But I don¡¯t want to delegate power right now. Let¡¯s vote on it.¡±


    As usual, there was one abstention, and three votes in favor.


    ¡°It¡¯s not only about listening to what the common people say.¡± Winters stroked his chin, ¡°We also need to tell the common people what we want to say. Andre, remember the gazette from Deerhorn Town?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the racetrack something we saw in the gazette?¡± Andre replied.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking of starting a gazette in Revodan¡­ It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be called a gazette, just a regular set of announcements, posted to every village and town. Sea Blue has a group of information peddlers who specialize in selling hand-copied ¡®Sea Blue Bulletins¡¯; we could do something similar.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°We must not only achieve victory but also let more people know about our victories. They need to understand that we are fighting for their interests.¡±


    Andre frantically waved his hands, ¡°Suit yourself, just don¡¯t make me write it, suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°Upperclassman.¡± Winters grabbed Mason¡¯s hand, ¡°I know, you are the most reliable person.¡±


    Mason calmly pulled his hand away, ¡°I¡¯m no good with writing and paper work either¡­¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant Colonel?¡±


    Moritz had already fallen asleep.


    ¡°All of you?¡± Winters slammed the table, infuriated, ¡°I¡¯m going to find Bard!¡±


    ¡°Bard has enough on his plate, and he¡¯s so far away¡ªhe can¡¯t be bothered with Revodan.¡± Mason patted Winters on the shoulder, ¡°You¡¯d better do it yourself.¡±


    ¡­


    Little Lion quickly got Winters¡¯s offer.


    ¡°Little Lion, do you want a cast iron pot?¡± Winters pulled Little Lion¡¯s hand eagerly, ¡°I¡¯ll add money, and I can also get you an iron stove!¡±


    ¡­


    Baratz Yussas from Mont Blanc County also quickly got a response from Winters.


    Clutching a saddle, Winters tearfully informed the upperclassman, ¡°You¡¯re right, without salt, it¡¯s indeed hard to raise good horses. So, with a heavy heart, I ordered all the horses to be slaughtered. Take this saddle back for remembrance¡­ oh no, for Colonel Gaisa to keep as a memento.¡±


    ¡­


    A day later, the bald man who had been anxiously waiting on the East Bank of the Anya River finally saw the returning messenger.


    ¡°How are my horses?¡± Colonel Gaisa asked Baratz impatiently, ¡°Does he agree or not?¡±


    Baratz took out a saddle, with a cry and a laugh, ¡°That kid spouted nonsense, but he just wouldn¡¯t agree.¡±


    ¡°I tried to barter and negotiate with him, but he wouldn¡¯t agree.¡± Gaisa was frustrated, ¡°Does he want to force me to take them by force?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it either.¡± Baratz smacked his lips, ¡°The kid asked if you had something else in mind to trade, tobacco, sugar beet, hemp oil, stock is limited, bulk orders preferred.¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Baratz added at the end, ¡°Secret agreement.¡±

 Chapter 708 708 42 The Crucible

    ?Chapter 708: Chapter 42: The Crucible Chapter 708: Chapter 42: The Crucible The weather was turning cool, with life retracting and grass and trees withering into yellow.


    It wasn¡¯t just ordinary people who were gradually reluctant to go out; the battered Red Rose and Blue Rose also each called a truce and returned to their dens to lick their wounds and accumulate strength, waiting for the next year.


    The scarred Paratu finally got a brief respite, as people mended their clothes and prepared for winter storage, enjoying the hard-won peace and tranquility.


    However, in the remote and barren Iron Peak County to the southwest of Paratu, a scene of bustling activity prevailed.


    Cavalry bearing green flags were en route to each village and town, delivering the first issue of the ¡°Communications Bulletin.¡±


    The first Iron Peak County Consultative Meeting was also under intense preparation.


    Refugee farms and military settlements were racing against time to till the land and sow seeds. With winter approaching and the days getting shorter, everyone¡¯s efforts only intensified.


    ...


    If the draft animals were too exhausted to continue, people took turns pulling the plow; and if daylight was insufficient, they lit bonfires at night to carry on.


    The human mindset is always quite wonderful, for as the chance of success dwindles, people become even more unwilling to give up. If one were to talk about sheer enthusiasm, the final days surpassed the initial days of autumn tilling by far.


    The refugees and land-granted soldiers were working furiously, while the old self-sufficient farmers arrived at the most comfortable time of the year.


    The winter wheat, barley, and rye of the self-sufficient farmers, mostly sown at the end of September and the beginning of October, were now growing pleasingly well.


    The seedlings emerged in clusters from the soil, covering the fields in green, resembling recently laid lawns and adding a rare touch of vitality to the autumn-winter season.


    In fact, the wheat fields of the self-sufficient farmers were in great peril.


    The problem wasn¡¯t poor growth, but rather that the crops were growing too well. This year¡¯s warm winter had brought on early jointing in parts of the sown fields.


    In a few days, when the real cooling arrives, the seedlings that jointed early would all be frozen to death.


    Elder Falmer¡ªWinters¡¯ ¡°agricultural adviser¡± recruited from Wolf Town¡ªwas very worried about this.


    A solution?


    Winters didn¡¯t have one, but he knew where to find one.


    He had already sent messengers at the earliest opportunity to convene the prominent grain farmers from nearby villages and towns to discuss strategies at Revodan.


    ¡°My lord, what if no one can think of a good solution?¡± Elder Falmer was still deeply concerned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sir,¡± Winters, now heavily in debt, said with a laugh, ¡°If it really comes to a famine, I still have Andreya Chelini.¡±


    ¡­


    October 30, 559 of the Imperial calendar. The day after Winters returned to Revodan, an ordinary yet special day.


    Ordinary, because the sun rose as usual and would set as it always did.


    Extraordinary¡ªperhaps worth commemorating¡ªbecause it was today that Winters would officially start smelting iron.


    After the hard work of Senior Mason, the kiln craftsmen brothers, and the Revodan bricklayers, the blast furnace had been completed.


    The forge was located on a flat terrace atop Tie Feng Mountain, far from residential areas but close to the mine, for convenient access to ore.


    Following Carlos¡¯ requirements, the furnace was built with double layers of refractory bricks and stretched over four meters high. From a distance, it looked like an enormous vase with a long neck placed on the mountainside.


    If it hadn¡¯t been for Carlos¡¯ insistence on waiting for Winters to return before lighting the fire, Senior Mason would have moved on to the next step long ago.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already touted your skills for you, go ahead with full confidence,¡± Winters said, laughing heartily and slapping the young blacksmith on the back, ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Stand tall and puff out your chest!¡±


    Carlos¡¯ upper teeth chattered against his lower ones as he swallowed hard and nodded desperately.


    It was evident to everyone that the young blacksmith was on edge.


    Carlos fasted for three days in advance, took a bath this morning, and put on a new set of clothes. He also didn¡¯t allow anyone to utter words like ¡°extinguish¡± or ¡°failure,¡± becoming irate at anyone who did.


    To be honest, Winters didn¡¯t hold out much hope for the young blacksmith¡¯s skills.


    If it had been his brother Berlion who said ¡°it can be done,¡± Winters would not have hesitated to bet everything on it;


    But Carlos Soya¡­ Merely seeing him hit it off with a smart fellow like Vashka gave Winters an ominous intuition.


    However, he sincerely hoped that the young blacksmith would prove his intuition wrong with his actions.


    Firing up the smelter was a truly significant event; the blacksmiths from Forging Village, upon hearing the news, all wanted to come and widen their horizons. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not just blacksmiths, but prominent citizens of Revodan and even Little Lion were curious to have a look.


    Winters didn¡¯t agree and fended them all off.


    Especially Little Lion, who was both a friend and a rival and keenly astute¡ªalthough Winters felt a bit guilty, he resolutely insisted that Senior Juan take Little Lion hunting.


    On one hand, he didn¡¯t want to divulge technological secrets; on the other, he didn¡¯t want to lose face.


    As a result, the ¡°lighting ceremony¡± was quite private, with only a few attendees present.


    Senior Mason came with great enthusiasm, and Andre was dragged along by him.


    Moritz was absent, the supply of life water had ceased recently, leaving the colonel listless, often anxious, and he disliked public appearances.


    Besides the four military administrators, only the blacksmith father and son-in-law¡ªPoltan and Soria¡ªwere present.


    ¡­


    Upon returning to Revodan, Winters immediately paid a visit to Elder Poltan, inviting the latter to be his adviser¡ªnot officially, with no title or record, which suited the old blacksmith just fine.


    Also invited as an adviser was Poltan¡¯s longtime rival, the tobacco merchant and elder mayor Priskin.


    Together with Elder Falmer, the farmer from Wolf Town, Winters formed a small advisory group¡­ Of course, the designated chief adviser was none other than ¡°Lady Montaigne.¡±

 Chapter 709 709 42 The Crucible_2

    ?Chapter 709: Chapter 42: The Crucible_2 Chapter 709: Chapter 42: The Crucible_2 ¡­


    The old blacksmith had once wished to see the black smoke rising from the furnace through his window. Winters went a step further, directly inviting the old man to participate in the lighting ceremony.


    The old blacksmith gladly accepted, first by carriage, then by stretcher, taking great effort to reach the foot of Tie Feng Mountain¡ªhis first departure from Revodan in eight years.


    And then there was Caman.


    The young Priest was now reluctantly sprinkling Holy Water on the high furnace, holding a gold bowl in one hand and a small broom in the other.


    The Paratu People have a morbid love for ¡°blessing ceremonies.¡± Men can be blessed, weapons can be blessed, agricultural tools can be blessed¡­ Anyway, splashing some Holy Water never hurts.


    So Winters spent quite some time impressing upon Caman the grand principles, dragging him along to consecrate the high furnace.


    ...


    All Caman did was carelessly sprinkle twice; the remaining Holy Water in the bowl he briskly splashed against the furnace wall, then turned back to Winters, ¡°Done, that¡¯s it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to recite a few verses?¡± Winters asked with a twinkle in his eye.


    ¡°Recite verses? Would you like me to carve a holy emblem for you, too?¡± Caman was instantly riled up, ¡°Tell me which scripture or gospel deals with stoking fire.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s leave it at that,¡± Winters did not insist, ¡°If this works out, the people of Iron Peak County will benefit immensely. Thank you, Mr. Caman.¡±


    Caman pursed his lips, staring fiercely at Winters for a while and then, in a huff, turned back to the furnace, leaning against its wall to perform a benediction, muttering under his breath.


    Carlos had already prepared the preliminary work. Charcoal was neatly stacked into a funnel shape inside the furnace chamber, just awaiting Winters to light it.


    Winters was not planning on ¡°saying a few words¡± himself; once Caman¡¯s blessing ceremony was over, he slowly closed his eyes, entering a state of casting.


    When he opened his eyes again, the torch in his hand ¡°pfft¡± flared into flame.


    Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Winters solemnly lit the hopeful flame.


    Two oxen slowly chewed their half-digested fodder, casually operating the bellows.


    As the air was steadily pumped into the furnace chamber, the charcoal gradually heated to white-hot, the heat wave palpable even several meters away.


    Seeing the fire at the right temperature, Carlos fed initial-refined iron ore and limestone into the high furnace from above.


    The raw ore extracted from old mines, after being screened, roasted, crushed, and washed, resulted in what Carlos called ¡°initial-refined iron ore.¡±


    And then?


    And then, there was no ¡°then.¡±


    Amid the long, tedious wait, only the dark red slag and a small amount of golden molten iron fell to the bottom of the furnace. No matter how devoutly Carlos prayed, the iron wouldn¡¯t flow out.


    Carlos was frantic with anxiety, Senior Mason was quite disappointed, and Andre had already grown impatient.


    But Winters felt nothing¡ªhe had never expected success on the first attempt.


    ¡°You lad insisted on waiting for me to come back before starting the furnace,¡± Winters teased the young blacksmith, ¡°Were you afraid Captain Mason would thrash you if I wasn¡¯t here?¡±


    Carlos was about to cry on the spot for Winters to see.


    ¡°Your Excellency, it¡¯s fine to leave Mr. Soria here. In the early years when we used block furnaces, starting it up meant a whole day¡¯s work; it wasn¡¯t this quick,¡± the old blacksmith, Poltan, was very calm.


    He suggested to Winters, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to wait here. How about I accompany you to Forging Village and introduce you to some of my old mates?¡±


    Winters thought the old man made sense. Whether it worked or not, they would know the outcome tomorrow; waiting around was pointless.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble you.¡± Winters nodded with a smile.


    Senior Mason had come with great hopes and heard that they¡¯d only have results by tomorrow, his disappointment written all over his face. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back first,¡± Senior Mason said listlessly, bidding his farewell, ¡°They¡¯re organizing people to cut grass at the racetrack, I¡¯ll go check it out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go, too,¡± Andre said, ready to leave.


    Hearing the word ¡°racetrack,¡± Winters quickly held back the Captain, ¡°Join me on a trip to Forging Village. The matters at the racetrack can wait till tomorrow.¡±


    As he said this, Winters gave Andre a meaningful glance without uttering a word.


    Andre understood and immediately changed his tune, ¡°Exactly! Exactly! Let¡¯s go to Forging Village and look around. Maybe someone there knows about cannon casting!¡±


    The reason for not letting Senior Mason leave was that they hadn¡¯t yet dared to discuss the matter of [racetrack steward] with him; now was a perfect opportunity.


    The more Andre talked, the more Senior Mason¡¯s heart ached, ¡°I¡¯ve asked around, no one in Forging Village knows how to cast bells or cannons.¡±


    ¡°But what if they¡¯re hiding something?¡± Winters didn¡¯t let go of the Captain, ¡°With Mr. Poltan accompanying us, their attitude will be different.¡±


    Senior Mason sighed and agreed unwillingly.


    The group set off for Forging Village, leaving Carlos with a few apprentices to watch over the high furnace. With no one to supervise, Carlos finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    Forging Village was located at the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, next to St. George River, very close to the high furnace.


    On the way, the old blacksmith, Poltan, chatted with the security officers about various major and minor matters regarding iron smelting.


    ¡°The principle behind iron smelting is actually quite simple¡ªjust place wood charcoal and iron ore together and set it on fire,¡± said the old blacksmith, Poltan, leaning back energetically as he talked about iron smelting, ¡°From the earliest I can remember, that¡¯s what blacksmiths have done.¡±


    ¡°The simpler it sounds,¡± Winters commented wistfully, ¡°the harder it might be to execute.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± the old blacksmith clapped and laughed heartily, ¡°The same iron and charcoal put together to burn¡ªsome can smelt excellent sponge iron, some can smelt steel, yet others can only manage to produce crumbly, charred lumps. Iron smelting isn¡¯t difficult in principle, but in the craftsmanship¡ªthat is, the formula, experience, and process.¡±

 Chapter 710 710 42 Furnace_3

    ?Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Chapter 710: 42 Chapter Furnace_3 Following that, Old Blacksmith Poltan continued to discuss the differences between the ¡°bloomery¡± and Carlos¡¯s ¡°blast furnace.¡±


    The reason why a bloomery is called a ¡°bloomery¡± is that it ¡°smelts a large bloom of iron at one time.¡±


    ¡°Iron doesn¡¯t have legs; it won¡¯t walk out of the furnace on its own,¡± the old blacksmith gestured vigorously. ¡°So with a bloomery, after smelting a batch of iron, you have to take apart the furnace wall to remove the iron and then rebuild it.¡±


    Mason¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Can¡¯t you just melt the iron into liquid¡ªlike bronze and gold¡ªso it pours out on its own?¡±


    Being able to melt iron into liquid would mean being able to cast cannons, Senior Mason¡¯s thinking was very direct.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, the temperature of a bloomery is not enough to melt iron into liquid. Iron is not like gold or bronze; it¡¯s extremely difficult to melt. The forges we common blacksmiths use can only make iron slightly softer. It¡¯s far from being able to melt iron into liquid.¡±


    ¡°The iron isn¡¯t melted during the smelting process? Then how is it smelted?¡± Winters asked curiously.


    ...


    ¡°Err¡­ I actually don¡¯t know,¡± Old Blacksmith Poltan answered somewhat embarrassedly with a wry smile. ¡°Blacksmiths can smelt iron, but why can you get iron by just burning iron ore with charcoal? Nobody knows. Why does iron get soft when heated? Nobody knows that either. Why? Maybe it¡¯s because of magic.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    Old Blacksmith Poltan suggested to Mason, ¡°Casting is much harder than forging. Any blacksmith can forge, but there are very few that understand how to cast. If you want to cast cannons, it¡¯s best to use bronze.¡±


    ¡°But where can I find copper material?¡± Mason was somewhat disappointed.


    ¡°You can¡¯t make a silk purse from a sow¡¯s ear,¡± the old blacksmith admitted, unable to help. ¡°Without straw, you can¡¯t make bricks.¡±


    Mason sighed heavily.


    ¡°There will be a way,¡± Winters consoled Senior Mason. ¡°Worst comes to worst, we¡¯ll buy copper from outside.¡±


    ¡°However,¡± Old Blacksmith Poltan¡¯s tone was hesitant. ¡°There¡¯s a rumor that the royal blacksmiths in the north have invented a method that allows you to melt iron into water and cast it. Some people call that kind of iron ¡®cast iron.¡¯ It¡¯s just hearsay, though; I¡¯m not clear on the specifics of how it¡¯s done. In my guess, you would need a really powerful smelting furnace.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mason was overjoyed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true¡­¡±


    After remaining silent for a while, Andre spoke up gruffly, ¡°We don¡¯t even know if that furnace from earlier works, so you shouldn¡¯t worry about some cast iron business that we can¡¯t even see. If you ask me, you¡¯d better start thinking about what to do if we can¡¯t smelt any iron¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll research it when we return,¡± Winters said casually, asking the elder for more information, ¡°Please continue telling us about the smelting furnace.¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan earnestly replied, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t understand the blast furnace either, otherwise I would have personally helped you with it. Mr. Soria is methodical and has rules for smelting iron. Even if he isn¡¯t an expert, he¡¯s learned from one. When I first met Mr. Soria, I only had ten percent confidence; now it¡¯s at least fifty percent.¡±


    The old blacksmith lamented, ¡°Although Mr. Soria is still young, his skills have already far surpassed mine. My whole life¡­ sigh, it¡¯s been busy doing nothing.¡± S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Winters chuckled, shaking his head. ¡°As far as I see, young Mr. Soria¡¯s smelting furnace has been set up, but the real problems are still to come.¡±


    ¡°After all is said and done, just what is a blast furnace?¡± Andre yawned. ¡°That brick tower from earlier is a blast furnace? It didn¡¯t seem like much.¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan explained it to Andre again.


    To put it simply, a bloomery is like a cup with an opening on top for charging materials. You have to take it apart after each use and put it back together;


    A blast furnace, however, is like a cup with a tap: you charge it from the top and draw off the iron from the bottom, allowing for continuous melting.


    The old blacksmith used a crude but vivid metaphor, ¡°A blast furnace is like a person constantly drinking water from the top and urinating from the bottom. A bloomery is like drinking a large glass of water once a day and urinating once. Naturally, it can¡¯t compare to continuously drinking and urinating.¡±


    Andre laughed so hard the carriage began to tremble.


    ¡°What if we repair the road after the autumn harvest?¡± Winters contemplated, ¡°Build it to the standard of a Legion main road and turn it into a paved Guzhi Road?¡±


    Old Blacksmith Poltan could only ride in a carriage due to physical limitations. Winters, wanting to consult the elder more, also took the carriage, and he brought Andre and Senior Mason along.


    The carriage was not small, but it was quite crowded with three military officers inside. Winters and Andre had to endure the discomfort of cramped knees.


    Moreover, the road between Revodan and Forging Village was in poor condition, jostling them severely, which reawakened Winters¡¯s obsession with road construction.


    ¡°Road construction in winter?¡± Mason asked instinctively.


    ¡°That¡¯s the only time we¡¯re free.¡±


    ¡°We might not have enough manpower.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll start small, fixing the road from Revodan to Forging Village for now. The rest can be slowly repaired when we have time,¡± Winters said, supporting his forehead. ¡°Big and small issues abound like a tangled ball of yarn. Let¡¯s tackle them one at a time.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s about right,¡± Mason nodded, then suddenly realized something seemed amiss. ¡°Who¡¯s going to do the construction?¡±


    Mason looked at Winters, Winters silently looked out the window;


    Mason then looked at Andre, who also silently looked out the window.


    ¡°Why is it called an Artillery branch?¡± Mason¡¯s expression was complex as he muttered. ¡°It should be called the ¡®Miscellaneous Troops¡¯ Branch!¡¯


    ¡°Senior, you might want to consider this,¡± Winters earnestly flattered, his praise thick as he said, ¡°In the entire army, from top to bottom, who else has the capability, except for you?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Andre agreed firmly, ¡°The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.¡±

 Chapter 711 711 42 The Furnace_4

    ?Chapter 711: Chapter 42: The Furnace_4 Chapter 711: Chapter 42: The Furnace_4 ¡°Alright, stop flattering me. I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± Mason sighed deeply. ¡°But I have a condition.¡±


    ¡°Please, go ahead,¡± Winters sat up straight with a serious expression, as it was rare for the elder student to actively make a request.


    ¡°Find some copper, I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t scrape together a hundred kilograms of copper material in Iron Peak County.¡± Mason also looked out the window. ¡°If we can¡¯t cast a large one, let¡¯s cast a small one for fun. If I don¡¯t fire a couple of shots soon, my skills will go to waste.¡±


    ¡­


    As Winters rode the carriage to Forging Village, the students of Revodan Accounting School were attending their first class.


    Without paper or pencils, each student carried a shallow square tray sprinkled with fine sand, using a stick to draw in it;


    There were no textbooks¡ªLady Montaigne was still composing them;


    There were no professional teachers, and the lecturer was the most senior accountant from Priskin trading;


    And there was no specialized venue, so the municipal hall¡¯s council chamber was temporarily used as a classroom.


    As arranged by Lady Montaigne, the first class did not teach arithmetic or literacy but rather the logic of ¡°double-entry bookkeeping.¡±


    ...


    ¡°The teacher¡± was a bit restrained, stumbling as he spoke: ¡°¡­Double-entry bookkeeping is actually quite simple, a column on the left, a column on the right¡ªone for expenses, one for income¡­¡±


    This senior accountant was already over fifty, but lecturing in front of dozens of people was a first for him, inevitably he was nervous.


    The council chamber was a two-story building, with the first floor being a place for citizens to debate and conduct affairs, and the second floor for observers to take their seats.


    Anna was sitting on the second floor at that moment, resting her chin on her hands as she listened on the side.


    She didn¡¯t have a deep connection with Wolf Town, Revodan, or Iron Peak County, nor did she feel much for the accounting school. It was for that person that she¡¯d been bustling about without complaint.


    But now, a strange feeling was entangling her thoughts¡­ Pride? Satisfaction? Arrogance? It seemed none of these, yet also a bit of all.


    Anna couldn¡¯t figure it out, which made her slightly distressed and mostly perplexed.


    However, it was indeed interesting: a school founded by a woman, admitting men to study¡ªa first in the history of Iron Peak County, let alone Newly Reclaimed Land¡ªalthough she was hidden behind Winters.


    ¡°¡­In double-entry bookkeeping, each transaction is recorded simultaneously as both an expense and an income in two separate ledgers. Each ledger serves as a check for the others, creating an interlocking system¡­ Double-entry bookkeeping isn¡¯t for convenience, but to restrain greed. Never harbor evil thoughts, remember this! It¡¯s the devil whispering to you¡­¡±


    Anna listened with a scrutinizing gaze.


    ¡°This teacher is not very competent, we need to replace him,¡± Anna thought to herself. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t have gone for the most senior accountant, but for the one with the loudest voice.¡±


    Anna put her hat back on, preparing to leave the council chamber. A casual glance at the students¡¯ seats downstairs almost made her cry out in surprise.


    She saw Scarlett dressed in men¡¯s clothes and trousers, her hair cut as short as a man¡¯s, with dirt on her face, quietly sitting in the corner of the ¡°classroom¡± taking notes.


    Although she looked just like a young boy, Anna was certain that the boy was Scarlett Mitchell.


    Anna felt a bout of dizziness; she knew Mrs. Michel was daring, but she hadn¡¯t anticipated it to this extent.


    ¡­


    After class, Scarlett was thinking about sneaking out of the council hall.


    A woman wrapped in a black veil stood in her way¡ªit was Mrs. Madeleine, Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s maid.


    Scarlett tried to pretend she didn¡¯t recognize Mrs. Madeleine, but Mrs. Madeleine had clearly recognized her.


    So Scarlett was taken away on the spot.


    Mrs. Madeleine did not take Scarlett back to see Mrs. Mitchell, but instead led her to an officers¡¯ quarters near the garrison.


    Scarlett thought she was going to be reprimanded by Mr. Montaigne, but it was ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± who awaited her. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You silly girl.¡± Anna caressed Scarlett¡¯s hair with compassion: ¡°How could you bear to cut it off?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it will grow back,¡± Scarlett sniffed audaciously.


    ¡°Does Mrs. Mitchell know?¡±


    Scarlett instinctively shuddered, begging pitifully, ¡°Please don¡¯t tell my mother, she¡¯ll surely faint from anger.¡±


    ¡°Can you keep it a secret forever?¡±


    ¡°The longer I can keep it, the better¡­¡±


    ¡°Why did you cut your hair?¡± Anna, feeling pity, pain, and bewilderment, asked: ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I want to take classes.¡± Scarlett answered defiantly, ¡°I want to learn accounting.¡±


    Anna was about to ask, ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you come directly to me?¡±


    But recalling the awkward scene she had encountered when she first arrived at the Mitchell estate, she had some understanding.


    The early stirrings of a young girl¡¯s heart, a stubborn nature, fragile and delicate pride¡­ Anna felt as if she were looking into a mirror.


    She wasn¡¯t angry, just more sympathetic, and a seed began to sprout in her heart.


    ¡°If you really want to learn accounting.¡± Anna took Scarlett¡¯s hand, asking gently, ¡°Would you let me teach you?¡±

 Chapter 712 712 43 Forge

    ?Chapter 712: Chapter 43 Forge Chapter 712: Chapter 43 Forge ¡°`


    Forging Village had seven forges, a fact that had remained unchanged for over twenty years.


    The ¡°Seven Forges¡± not only referred to the literal, physically existing seven forges but also represented seven workshops.


    Ever since [Mejery Poltan] moved his forge to Revodan twenty years ago, [Peter Ganchalov] had leapt to the position of the wealthiest man in Forging Village.


    The elder Ganchalov had three sons who had grown to adulthood, all of them skilled workers, and the elder Ganchalov was also very good at accumulating family wealth.


    The four of them working together had made their workshop prosper.


    Ten years ago, the elder Ganchalov spared no expense to invite craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to create Forging Village¡¯s first water-powered hammer.


    From then on, the ¡°thud, thud, clang, clang¡± from his workshop never stopped, and the other workshops couldn¡¯t compare.


    ...


    The elder Ganchalov passed away in his sleep the year before last, and now the forge was managed by his eldest son. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In addition to the three brothers, the Ganchalov family also had nine assistants and apprentices, recognized as the foremost workshop in Forging Village.


    The smallest workshop in Forging Village was the [Vinius] family¡¯s.


    In his youth, Paulo Vinius was also a top-notch blacksmith, with craftsmanship even better than Poltan¡¯s.


    In those years of iron smelting, it was Poltan, Vinius, and Ganchalov who had partnered up to build the first smelting furnace.


    Latter, Poltan moved his furnace to Revodan, while Paulo Vinius began to drink heavily.


    The elder Vinius¡¯s body was ruined by alcohol, and his spirit shattered along with it. Five years ago, he died, and everyone said it was the drink that killed him.


    Now, only the young Vinius and two underage apprentices remained, barely keeping the workshop afloat.


    ¡­


    Upon learning that three justices had come to visit Forging Village, all the owners of the seven workshops hurried to the town hall to greet them. This included the Ganchalov brothers and the young Vinius.


    The workshop owners were shocked to discover: Mister Poltan himself had also come.


    It had been nearly ten years since anyone had seen the elder Poltan, many had assumed him dead, but no one had ever attended his funeral.


    The Ganchalov brothers, the young Vinius, and other younger [Forge Masters] all came forward to greet the elder Poltan.


    Poltan had grown old, and so had his peers, all too old to continue the hard work.


    Some had passed their forges onto their sons or sons-in-law, while others had sold theirs away.


    A new generation of Forge Masters had taken over, now all managed by the second or even third generation.


    [Winters] stood by the old blacksmith Poltan, carefully observing each of the workshop owners, especially the Ganchalov family.


    The seven workshop owners of Forging Village all belonged to the same [Guild Alliance], the Iron Peak County Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild.


    Not just them, but other village and town blacksmiths¡ªlike old Misha from Wolf Town¡ªwere also members of this guild.


    The first leader of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild was naturally the elder Poltan, while the current nominal leader was Shosha.


    But Shosha did not have the same level of prestige as his father-in-law, and his forge was not in Forging Village, so the blacksmiths of Forging Village all looked to the Ganchalov family for leadership.


    Winters casually sized up the Ganchalov brothers: the second and third brothers appeared to be hot-headed, but the eldest was quite steady.


    As for the young Vinius¡­ he seemed very tired, his shoulders and back slumped. And he just passed by, leaving no lasting impression on Winters.


    Winters had actually come to Forging Village without any particular business in mind, merely stopping by to have a look.


    After all, Forging Village was the only place in the county capable of manufacturing large ironware, and Winters was quite curious about it.


    He also planned to visit the nearby military settlement to check on the autumn farming.


    ¡°Your Excellency, how is the progress of your smelting furnace?¡± The elder Gancha smiled ingratiatingly as he took the initiative to greet the justice.


    The eldest son of Ganchalov was tall and muscular, with only his small eyes looking out of place, disappearing when he smiled.


    Upon hearing the elder Gancha¡¯s question, the other workshop owners all pricked up their ears for the answer.


    ¡°I¡¯m expecting it to fail,¡± Winters said with a light chuckle.


    At this reply, the atmosphere suddenly chilled.


    Winters¡¯s tone was relaxed, ¡°No big deal, just do it again.¡±


    The elder Gancha flattered, ¡°My father always said, the greater the failure, we are all waiting for your success. Cheaper iron would be a huge boon for us blacksmiths. We are all waiting for your success.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your kind words,¡± Winters replied with a modest smile.


    The workshop owners all joined in the laughter, and the small town hall filled with their mirth.


    Andre stood beside Winters, letting out a cold snort.


    The relationship between Forging Village¡¯s [workshop community] and the new government could be summarized in two words: warm outwardly, cold inwardly, strictly business.


    For Forging Village, which only presided over two villages, having seven forges was clearly excessive.


    As a result, Forging Village¡¯s ironworks relied on consumption from other villages and towns, and Forging Village mainly produced those large pieces that small smithies found inconvenient to make.


    Forging Village needed to sell ironware, Winters needed to buy ironware;


    Forging Village feared the ¡°Rebels¡± would strike hard, Winters didn¡¯t want to see the forges of Forging Village extinguished.


    Thus, a silent agreement of ¡°well water not offending river water¡± was formed between the two parties.


    After a brief conversation, Winters proposed visiting each of the workshops.


    The elder Gancha was reluctant, but still agreed readily. Since he agreed, none of the other workshop owners objected.


    Blacksmith workshops were much of a muchness, even the largest Ganchalov workshop and the small shop of old Misha from Wolf Town had no essential difference¡ªboth were filled with men with taut cheeks, working around red-hot metal.


    The workshops contained just a few essentials: the forge, anvil, molds, and various specialized small tools.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 713 713 43 Forge_2

    ?Chapter 713: Chapter 43 Forge_2 Chapter 713: Chapter 43 Forge_2 The only interesting thing was the water-powered hammer.


    Ever since old Gangchalov spent a fortune to invite craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to build the first water-powered hammer ten years ago, water-powered hammers have been blooming all over Forging Village.


    Because the principle and the mechanical structure of this device are not complicated, one glance is enough to understand how it works.


    The biggest problem is the cost; both construction and maintenance require money, which small shops like the one in Wolf Town run by old Misha just can¡¯t afford.


    Before even entering the town, Winters had seen the waterwheels by the river, which is why he took the initiative to ask for a tour of the workshop.


    ¡°My lord, please look. This is the hammer that my father commissioned master craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to make. It has been ten years, but it is still the best hammer in Forging Village,¡± Gangchalov proudly introduced one of the hammers.


    Winters examined it inside and out, ¡°This hammerhead¡­ it¡¯s pretty heavy, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Of course, a three hundred kilogram hammerhead.¡±


    ¡°Wow, three hundred kilograms, that¡¯s impressive!¡± Winters blinked with curiosity, asking, ¡°Can you make it move? It must be even more impressive when it¡¯s in action, right?¡±


    Gangchalov naturally agreed. He led several apprentices in a bustle of activity, and the workshop¡¯s waterwheel outside, three meters in diameter, began to slowly turn.


    The immense force was transmitted through an iron axle, a set of gears for reduction, and a series of cranks and connecting rods.


    In the end, the hefty hammerhead awoke, and with an unstoppable momentum, it repeatedly slammed down onto the iron anvil.


    An apprentice placed a glowing, bright yellow block of steel under the hammerhead, and as it was struck with thudding blows, the bar of metal was first thickened and then gradually flattened.


    ¡°That¡¯s how ploughshares are made,¡± Gangchalov explained, ¡°The bending, drilling, and sharpening all have to be done by hand.¡±


    Winters, with his hands behind his back, nodded repeatedly in wonder.


    In fact, he was calculating the time by counting his pulse; his heartbeat ticked seventy times¡ªroughly one minute¡ªwhile the hammerhead repeated one hundred and four up-and-down movements.


    ¡°Quite powerful!¡± Winters casually asked, ¡°How do you adjust the force?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Gangchalov scratched his head, ¡°You adjust the water flow.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Does your family only make ploughs?¡± Winters, after touring Gangchalov¡¯s workshop, did not see any plough carts, only ploughshares.


    ¡°Heavy plough carts are too troublesome to make, so each of our seven workshops makes a part,¡± Gangchalov explained cautiously, ¡°Our hammer is better, so we specialize in making steel ploughshares. There are also workshops dedicated to making wheels and frames.¡±


    ¡°What about smaller items, like axes and sickles?¡±


    ¡°Those are individually made by each workshop.¡±


    Having visited all seven workshops, Winters did not linger any longer.


    This was his first meeting with the workshop owners of Forging Village, and both sides had a fairly good impression of each other.


    Time was almost up, and the old blacksmith Poltan was feeling a bit tired and planned to go back to Revodan. Winters, taking Andre and Senior Mason with him, decided to visit a nearby military village.


    Thus, the three parted ways.


    Just after leaving Forging Village, Andre¡¯s face turned grim.


    ¡°These sons of bitches, all with fake smiles plastered on their faces,¡± Andre gritted his teeth, ¡°I think they just don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for them.¡±


    Senior Mason also sighed.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite normal.¡± Winters understood the mentality of the workshop owners; he was uncharacteristically melancholic, ¡°We are the ¡®conquerors¡¯ now; no one will pledge allegiance to us immediately. Besides, they genuinely believe that we won¡¯t last long.


    If that Gangchalov had suddenly knelt down and sworn his loyalty, he would either be insane, or there would be a knife held to his throat.¡±


    ¡°Then damn it, put a knife to his throat!¡± Andre laughed heartily, ¡°Let¡¯s turn around and go back right now, I guarantee I¡¯ll make that bastard sob and kneel to swear an oath.¡±


    ¡°That would work, but it would be pointless,¡± Winters said lightly as he spurred his horse gently, calling out to his horsemen, ¡°Move out! To the military village!¡±


    Back in Forging Village, the workshop owners who had just sent off the unwelcome guests gathered together.


    ¡°I previously thought the leader of the Rebels would be at least thirty or forty years old,¡± one shop owner was still surprised, ¡°To think it¡¯s just a young lad? Barely twenty years old, right?¡±


    ¡°Watch your mouth,¡± Gangchalov cautioned coldly, ¡°You must call him the Lord Protector.¡±


    ¡°Ha! What Lord Protector? It¡¯s like playing house,¡± the shop owner retorted mockingly, ¡°If I make a plaque tomorrow and carve ¡®Duke of Revodan¡¯ on it, does that make me the Duke of Revodan?¡±


    The others laughed recklessly, but Gangchalov neither spoke nor laughed.


    Another shop owner sighed in distress, ¡°But honestly, once the Rebels are exterminated, our days of prosperity will also come to an end.¡±


    At this comment, the other shop owners felt a twinge of regret.


    Ever since the ¡°Rebels¡± had taken Revodan, business in Forging Village had been booming day by day.


    The workshops no longer had to worry about sales, for the Rebels would purchase as many iron goods as they could produce.


    What was even more valuable was the Rebels¡¯ fair trade¡ªalways paying on the spot, never in arrears.


    Each time the shop owners thought that such good days might not last, they sighed heavily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much and don¡¯t gossip about such things,¡± Gangchalov spoke up gravely, ¡°Be careful¡ªwhen the army from Maplestone City arrives, they¡¯ll hang you all as complicit with the Rebels!¡±


    The atmosphere turned cold again, and the shop owners chatted idly for a while before dispersing.


    Mr. Vinius had remained silent on the fringes, not joining in the conversation.


    The shop owners of Forging Village were all part of ¡°Gangchalov¡¯s group,¡± but Vinius¡¯s family had been at odds with the Gangchalov family since his father¡¯s time.


    Seeing others leave, Mr. Vinius also walked out of the town hall. He had barely gone a few steps when he was called from behind by Gangchalov.

 Chapter 714 714 43 Forge_3

    ?Chapter 714: Chapter 43 Forge_3 Chapter 714: Chapter 43 Forge_3 ¡°Chengfu!¡± Gangchalov greeted proactively: ¡°Mr. Vinius!¡±


    The younger Vinius managed a forced smile: ¡°Chengfu.¡±


    ¡°How are you considering it?¡± Gangchalov asked courteously: ¡°About the matter I discussed with you before.¡±


    Vinius looked as if he had been severely stabbed by a needle; his whole body tensed up violently, with rage spewing from his eyes: ¡°Forget it! As long as I am alive, you can forget about buying my forge!¡±


    ¡°Why be so stubborn? Your family is still deep in debt outside, no? If you don¡¯t sell the forge, how do you plan to clear the debts? Even if you sell the forge, you could work as an employee in my house. With your skills, I assure you that you won¡¯t earn less than you do now.¡± Gangchalov persuaded kindly.


    ¡°Gangchalov! You and your son have already taken enough! Why must you fixate on my forge?¡± the younger Vinius exploded in anger: ¡°I¡¯m telling you, your greed knows no bounds, and sooner or later, you will have to spit it out!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to buy your forge either. I have three brothers, but my family only has one forge. I need to provide for my younger brothers, don¡¯t I?¡± Gangchalov smiled, his eyes narrowing threateningly: ¡°If you don¡¯t sell, I have ways to buy. It¡¯s just that the price won¡¯t be the same by then.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Go to hell!¡± the younger Vinius spat on the ground, leaving in a huff.


    Gangchalov smiled contemptuously, shook his head helplessly, and strolled away.


    The town hall reverted to its silent state, with only the faint sound of hammering coming from afar: ¡°Dong, dong, dong¡­¡±


    ¡­


    After arriving in the military village, Winters felt much more at ease than when he was in Forging Village; he even felt a sense of returning home.


    Upon entering the village, someone immediately took the horse to feed. Knowing the ¡°protectors of the people¡± had arrived, villagers of all ages left their farm work to come and greet.


    The women, particularly fond of the comparatively handsome ¡ª at least relative to the farmers ¡ª Captain Montaigne, sashayed their hips, pushing earnestly towards Winters with square plates, competing to offer salt and bread.


    Winters was swamped by women, unable to move.


    As per the protocol for welcoming guests, he had to taste the bread sprinkled with salt. But as he reached out his hand, someone caressed the back of it.


    The scorching touch of a woman made Winters¡¯s body tense up suddenly. Then, another hand touched his thigh from behind.


    If it weren¡¯t for the public setting, he might have been devoured on the spot.


    The innocent Captain Montaigne, who had never encountered such a situation, nearly went into a spell-casting reflex.


    It was Captain Thomas who charged into the crowd and rescued Winters.


    Winters, with tears in his eyes: ¡°What¡¯s all this for?¡±


    Tamas grabbed a piece of bread casually: ¡°Run for it, Centurion!¡±


    After escaping the overly enthusiastic welcomers, Winters and Andre followed Tamas to the fields outside the first village ¡ª unfortunately, Senior Mason had gone missing.


    Because of a lack of expertise in naming, the military villages were unceremoniously named in sequence as [First Village], [Second Village], and so on.


    Tamas ran off in a puff of smoke, soon returning with two dripping bags, leaving wet trails on the irrigation ridges.


    ¡°Sour curd!¡± Tamas exclaimed, holding up the bags from afar, shouting excitedly: ¡°I¡¯ve brought you some sour curd.¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So the three sat on the ridge, picking at sour curd from their pockets and chatting idly.


    The wheat seedlings in the field in front of them presented an interesting gradient.


    To the west were the earliest sown fields, where seedlings had already broken two feet above the soil, lush and verdant.


    Moving from west to east, with progressively later sowing times, the height of the seedlings decreased accordingly.


    Right to the easternmost side, where seeds were just sown, the fields appeared lifelessly black.


    ¡°How¡¯s the autumn plowing?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°All the land that could be plowed has been turned over,¡± Tamas replied, swallowing the curd and acting subservient: ¡°How much it will yield, we don¡¯t know. Some lands were sown too late; I fear they won¡¯t survive the winter.¡±


    Winters chewed on the curd: ¡°Do your best; that¡¯s all that can be done. I didn¡¯t specify how much land to assign this year because I wanted you to cultivate as much as possible.¡±


    Sugar is expensive, so farmhouse curd is hardly sweetened; the taste is sour and slightly refreshing.


    ¡°Anything unusual in Forging Village?¡± Winters seemed to ask casually.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Tamas responded earnestly: ¡°The workshop owners have been fairly honest thus far; no signs of them trafficking weapons to the North Eight Towns.¡±


    ¡°Any suspicious people lately?¡±


    ¡°None. You can rest easy; we are keeping watch.¡±


    ¡­


    Why were the refugees settled as far from the enemy as possible, yet the military village was established near Forging Village?


    Winters had several considerations:


    Firstly, Forging Village lay south of the St. George River, relying on the river as a natural barrier, blocking much prying;


    Secondly, Forging Village was close to Revodan, allowing troops to assemble rapidly in case of emergency;


    Third, Forging Village had only two natural villages with the rest of the land held by manors, making redemption convenient;


    Lastly, and most covertly thought by Winters ¡ª to control and monitor Forging Village with the military settlers.


    Forging Village, being the county¡¯s ¡°stronghold¡± for ironwork production, could not be left unsecured.


    The twelve military villages now enwrapped Forging Village and Iron Peak Mine, forming a human barrier.


    Whether it be smuggling ironwork or disguising to spy, one would have to get past the military¡¯s watchful eyes first.


    ¡­


    The two bags of sour curd were quickly consumed, and Winters stood up, stretching lazily. ¡°Crack, crack¡± noises came from all his joints.


    ¡°That will do.¡± Seeing that it was getting late, Winters yawned and said to the captain: ¡°I¡¯ll stay at your place tonight. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll take a look at the other villages.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Tamas was overjoyed: ¡°I¡¯ll go arrange the accommodations right away. What would you like for dinner tonight?¡±


    ¡°That depends on what you have.¡±


    Later that day, Winters saw Senior Mason, his clothes disheveled.


    Even later, Carlos brought one piece of bad news and one of good.


    The bad news was that, as expected, Carlos¡¯s blast furnace had failed.


    The good news, Carlos had successfully smelted Iron.

 Chapter 715 715 44 Smelting Furnace

    ?Chapter 715: Chapter 44 Smelting Furnace Chapter 715: Chapter 44 Smelting Furnace When the three Military Settlement Officers hurried back to the smelter, Carlos was leading the apprentices in ¡°dismantling¡± the iron smelting furnace, and Soria was there too. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Carlos¡¯s face was covered in forge ash, which had mixed with sweat to form a mud-like substance, smearing his face to look like a calico cat.


    Yet the dirt on his cheeks could not hide Carlos¡¯s excitement. The young blacksmith, having shaken off his earlier dejection, rushed over to Winters, gesticulating excitedly, ¡°It worked! Sir! It worked!¡±


    Carlos was so excited that he was tripping over his words.


    ¡°Soria!¡± Winters called over the middle-aged blacksmith, ¡°You tell me.¡±


    When Winters and the old blacksmith Poltan had gone to Forging Village, Soria did not follow but stayed to watch over the furnace.


    It turned out to be a day from dawn to dusk without any ¡°liquid iron¡± flowing out. Carlos was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, and Soria was somewhat frustrated as well.


    ...


    For fear of blowing up the furnace, the two decided to put out the fire.


    They plugged all the inlets with wet cowhide to smother the flames inside the furnace and decided to break apart the smelting furnace to see what was going on inside.


    Upon examination, the flow outlet was blocked by solidified iron slurry and slag, a big clump of iron stuck in the bottom of the furnace with slag wrapped around it, like a baby stuck during a difficult birth.


    Carlos had successfully extracted iron from ore, just as the old blacksmith Poltan said, ¡°Just put the charcoal and iron ore together and burn it.¡±


    However, the young blacksmith soon encountered his second challenge: he had the iron, but it was stuck inside the furnace and couldn¡¯t be extracted. What was he to do?


    The answer was only one: Dismantle!


    And so the scene before Winters unfolded: six or seven apprentices were wielding pickaxes and hammers, sweating profusely as they chiseled at the wall; accompanied by the ¡°ding ding dong dong¡± sounds, a massive gap had been broken open at the bottom of the furnace wall.


    After knocking open the slag, the red-hot ¡°iron¡± was exposed¡ªthough at the moment, the large mass of iron was still stuck in the furnace and immovable, the opening needed to be further enlarged.


    ¡°We¡¯d just finished building it and now we¡¯re tearing it down?¡± Mason asked regrettably.


    Seeing the blast furnace he had worked hard to build being forcefully destroyed, the elder apprentice felt a bitter taste in his heart.


    Winters¡¯ brow knitted unconsciously into a knot, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just a big lump smelting furnace? Why do I get the feeling¡­ it¡¯s even worse than a lump smelting furnace?!¡±


    ¡°I did it!¡± The young blacksmith, oblivious to what others were saying, kept repeating to himself, ¡°I did it!¡±


    Winters had just fallen asleep when he was awakened, and was in a particularly bad mood.


    Seeing the young blacksmith¡¯s frantic behavior, he couldn¡¯t contain his anger and kicked the latter¡¯s backside, ¡°Successful, you say?!¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t kick hard, but at that moment, Carlos was as stable as a post, and toppled over easily.


    It wasn¡¯t until he crashed heavily to the ground that Carlos became lucid, the pent-up stress and emotions in his heart suddenly breaking like a dam, and he lay there on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.


    ¡°How could you kick someone?¡± Mason chided, ¡°He¡¯s not one of your soldiers.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kick hard,¡± Winters said, feeling extremely aggrieved.


    Mason sighed, squatted down, and gently patted Carlos on the shoulder, ¡°You¡¯re almost an adult now, what¡¯s there to cry about?¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh, and also came to the young blacksmith¡¯s side, ¡°Alright, alright, I apologize to you, I shouldn¡¯t have resorted to violence¡­¡±


    It had been a long time since Winters had offered an apology, and he was still somewhat unaccustomed to it.


    Soria, the blacksmith, watched as the Settlement Officer apologized to the young blacksmith, his jaw dropping in astonishment.


    Forty years ago, if a master hit you, that was that. An apology? Did you also want another slap on the face?


    That a Settlement Officer and a young blacksmith could be equals in personality¡ªthis was beyond Soria¡¯s imagination.


    ¡°What kind of master is this? Not a shred of the authority and grace that a master should have!¡± A voice in Soria¡¯s head said with disdain.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it should be! Haven¡¯t the masters been driven away already?¡± Another voice in Soria¡¯s head shouted.


    No one knew the turmoil within the middle-aged blacksmith¡¯s heart, it was but a minor episode.


    Winters and Mason helped the young blacksmith up, who was still sobbing.


    ¡°How about this,¡± Winters thought for a moment. ¡°You kick me as well? Then we¡¯re even?¡±


    Carlos¡¯s tears turned into laughter, and he blew a big bubble from his nose.


    It wasn¡¯t the kick that had made him cry. He had accumulated too much stress and negative feelings, and unable to control it any longer, it all turned into tears, with the boot on his buttocks being just the last straw.


    After all, he was only seventeen.


    And Winters, inadvertently treating him as an adult, had placed too much burden on Carlos¡¯s shoulders.


    Andre sneered, ¡°This kid, is he made of mud? Does he also leak water?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you can laugh,¡± Winters said, holding the young blacksmith¡¯s shoulders, a trace of helplessness in his tone, ¡°You¡­ never mind, let¡¯s talk when your brother comes back.¡±


    After a good crying and a heavy vent, Carlos¡¯s spirits were indeed better than before.


    While wiping his tears with the back of his hand, he stammered, ¡°I¡­ I really can smelt iron, I truly succeeded.¡±


    ¡°What sort of success is this? Don¡¯t wipe with your hand! Watch out for eye styes!¡± Winters pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the young blacksmith¡¯s tears, ¡°You dismantle a furnace for every batch of iron? Only I can afford to do smelting at such a cost. If it were a business, you¡¯d have bankrupted me!¡±


    Coming back to himself, Soria explained, ¡°No need to dismantle the whole thing, just a part of it. Mr. Soria and I thought about it¡ªwe modify this iron smelting furnace for extracting ¡®furnace bottom iron¡¯.¡±


    Listening to Soria gesture and explain for a while, Winters understood what the two blacksmiths meant¡ªthey were making the best of a bad situation.


    To put it simply, Carlos and Soria¡¯s ¡°blast furnace dream¡± was brutally shattered by harsh realities. There was no way they could build the blast furnace now, at least the current iron smelting furnace was definitely problematic.

 Chapter 716 716 44 Furnace_2

    ?Chapter 716: Chapter 44 Furnace_2 Chapter 716: Chapter 44 Furnace_2 As for where the problem lay? The two blacksmiths hadn¡¯t figured it out yet.


    But the iron smelting furnace that had taken a vast amount of manpower, resources, and time to build couldn¡¯t just be wasted, could it?


    So, after some deliberation, they decided to abandon their dream, embrace reality, and made do with the mistake by transforming the ¡°blast furnace¡± for use as a ¡°bottom-blown furnace¡±.


    The traditional bloomer furnaces usually had air blown in from the top or the middle, while, as the name implies, bottom-blown furnaces introduce air from the bottom. This is because the larger the furnace body, the worse the effect of top blowing.


    The two weren¡¯t planning on letting the ¡°iron¡± flow out on its own, as it was too troublesome. They simply let the smelted iron settle at the bottom of the furnace to be taken out in one go, hence the term ¡°bottom iron¡±.


    Without the ability for the iron to flow on its own, continuous operation was impossible. Therefore, each time a batch of iron was smelted, the furnace had to be dismantled. This kind of drastic step backward also had one advantage: simplicity.


    Winters mused and retorted, ¡°I understand what you two are getting at. Although the original plan was to buy a horse, you are preparing to lead a donkey back to me.¡±


    ...


    Carlos, choking back tears, flattered, ¡°Your analogy is quite apt.¡±


    In fact, according to Carlos¡¯s thoughts¡ªalthough he didn¡¯t mean it, leading back a donkey was better than leading back a horse. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tess was very afraid: If he truly succeeded with the blast furnace, Winters wouldn¡¯t save his brother¡ªalas, clever Tess.


    Winters suppressed the urge to kick the young blacksmith again and asked Soria, ¡°You mean to say that we should use this iron smelting furnace as a large bloomer furnace, right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly like that, my lord,¡± Soria quickly joined the ranks of flatterers, after all, he was partly responsible for the failure of the iron smelting furnace.


    Soria squeezed out an ingratiating smile: ¡°A bottom-blown furnace is still much better than the old-fashioned bloomer furnaces. If I have to say something, the bottom-blown furnace could be considered the father of the blast furnace. Although we couldn¡¯t ¡®lead¡¯ back a blast furnace, we¡¯ve managed somewhat to ¡®lead¡¯ back the father of the blast furnace to you¡­¡±


    The gap in the furnace wall had opened up large enough for a huge clump of fiery ¡°something¡± to be hooked out from the furnace chamber.


    Winters and the others approached to see what it was.


    Winters had never seen an iron-smelting workshop, but this clump of ¡°something¡± was far different from the ¡°iron¡± he knew.


    The thing before him was glowing red at the edges and intensely yellow inside. It appeared loose and porous, with very uneven material. If pressed to describe it, it did indeed resemble heated iron.


    At least there were some black slag scattered on it, resembling sesame seeds sprinkled on bread.


    ¡°Is this iron?¡± Winters frowned.


    Soria bent over and examined it closely for a while, then assured with a strike of his palm, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s iron! It looks a bit like sponge iron, but it¡¯s also not quite like it! Come, give me an axe!¡±


    A small worker hurriedly handed Soria an axe.


    ¡°Gentlemen, please step back a bit,¡± Soria requested, ¡°everyone else too, stand back, Mr. Carlos, you stay!¡±


    Including Winters, everyone consciously retreated about four to five meters away.


    Soria picked a good spot on the lump of iron, placed the axe blade on it, held the handle with both hands, and yelled to Carlos, ¡°Mr. Soria! Come!¡±


    Carlos also dried his tears and briskly picked up a sledgehammer.


    The young blacksmith first tapped lightly three times on the back of the axe. Once the blade was embedded half an inch into the iron lump and could withstand the force, Carlos steadied himself, gathered his strength, and with a grunt, swung the sledgehammer down hard onto the back of the axe.


    Winters, who was watching, thought he saw a hint of two-handed swordsmanship in that powerful hammer blow.


    The loose and porous iron lump was instantly cleaved open, revealing an even hotter, more dazzling core.


    Carlos¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop, he continued to hammer down hard, his strikes accurate, always landing squarely on the back of the axe.


    Sparks flew and slag scattered, but Soria was undeterred, steadying the axe firmly.


    At this moment, Carlos was no longer the crybaby, and Soria was no longer the paunchy, smooth-talking city council member.


    Now they were both just blacksmiths.


    The rhythm and beauty of the sound from the hammer striking the axe were like a metronome, and Winters barely resisted the urge to clap along.


    The middle-aged blacksmith and the young blacksmith worked closely together, quickly cutting the still-burning large lump of iron into eight smaller pieces.


    ¡°That¡¯ll do,¡± Soria wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiling, approached Winters, ¡°Sponge iron is easier to handle when it¡¯s just out of the furnace, as it gets harder when it cools. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve gotten my hands dirty. My apologies for any unprofessionalism.¡±


    Soria¡¯s cotton clothes had been peppered with small holes burned by the flying slag, but his smile was carefree.


    It was only then that Winters realized that Soria was a blacksmith who could swing a hammer and bend metal. Until now, he had actually lumped Soria in with the likes of businessmen like Priskin.


    ¡°You did quite well,¡± Winters commended, then followed up with a question, ¡°Cut it into small pieces? Why?¡±


    Soria answered, ¡°A big lump of iron is hard to handle. Smaller pieces are more convenient for forging.¡±


    ¡°Forging? You still need to forge it?¡± Winters continued to inquire.


    Asking when unsure was one of Winters¡¯s good habits; he didn¡¯t care about saving face.


    ¡°There¡¯s slag mixed in the iron, so forging will help clean it out,¡± Soria patiently explained to the young Bailiff, ¡°It involves first forging it into thin plates, from which the slag will naturally peel off. Next, you fold it, then forge it into thin slices again¡­ that¡¯s the meaning of ¡®thousand hammerings, hundred foldings¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Forge?¡± Winters immediately thought of water-powered trip hammers and half-jokingly said, ¡°Are we really going to have to hand this over to the workshops of Forging Village to ¡®forge¡¯ it next?¡±

 Chapter 717 717 44 Furnace_3

    ?Chapter 717: Chapter 44: Furnace_3 Chapter 717: Chapter 44: Furnace_3 ¡°Exactly,¡± Sasha answered as if it were only natural. ¡°Forging Village has water-powered hammers, which are most suitable for this task. Relying solely on manual forging, who knows until what year and month it would take to forge this huge lump of iron.


    Although in recent years we¡¯ve been using steel fortress iron, the skill of forging iron is a blacksmith¡¯s basic skill and shouldn¡¯t be lost so quickly. Worst case scenario, we could still ask my father-in-law¡¯s old brothers to come and give some guidance¡­¡±


    Andre and Mason fiddled with the lump of iron curiously as the young blacksmith proudly explained to the two officers.


    Only Winters and Sasha stood in the cold autumn breeze, discussing the matter of ¡°forging¡± seriously.


    ¡°Forging¡­ isn¡¯t free, is it?¡± Winters narrowed his eyes.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s not free.¡± Sasha introduced the internal rules of blacksmithing to Winters, ¡°The simplest way¡ªgive all the iron ore to the master of the workshops in Forging Village, and you don¡¯t have to worry about anything else. Trade directly with them for forged iron, and you¡¯ll get about half the weight of the iron ore in forged iron.¡±


    ¡°Half?¡± Winters exclaimed in disbelief, ¡°We toil to refine the iron, and just by passing their hands over it they want to take half? Isn¡¯t this fucking daylight robbery?¡±


    ...


    Sasha looked helplessly and whispered, ¡°Getting half is only because of your face. What you¡¯ve refined is not iron but raw iron. It contains a lot of poisonous slag; it¡¯s unusable without proper forging.¡±


    Winters laughed in anger, ¡°Then I might as well build a few hydraulic forging hammers myself! What the hell with the renowned steel fortress¡¯s craftsman hydraulic hammers; I can construct another one after just one look, a hundred if I need to!¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°That¡¯s also possible,¡± Sasha nodded, ¡°But think about it carefully¡ªapart from Mr. Soria, you don¡¯t have any other blacksmiths at your disposal. Even if I come to help, just Mr. Soria and myself won¡¯t be able to cope. You still should give the ore to the workshops in Forging Village, and focus on your iron smelting.¡±


    For the first time, Winters discovered that Sasha too had a way with words.


    ¡°I¡¯ve set up an accounting school, I might as well establish a blacksmith school too!¡± Winters pointed at the laborers who were cleaning the furnace, ¡°I¡¯ll train them all to become blacksmiths!¡±


    Sasha became serious, he asked slowly, ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I said, I want to train them all to become blacksmiths.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that won¡¯t do. Those laborers are farmers with their own land, idle in winter. Even if you let them work in the blacksmith shops, they won¡¯t agree. Additionally, apprentices don¡¯t earn money during their apprenticeship.¡±


    ¡°Whoever is willing, I will train. Apprentices don¡¯t get paid? Then I¡¯ll pay apprentices too!¡±


    Sasha¡¯s expression grew even more solemn, and he earnestly warned the sheriff, ¡°If you do this, I can assure you that all the blacksmiths in Iron Peak County will revolt immediately! Even if they don¡¯t revolt, they will definitely not stand by your side in the future.¡±


    Sasha¡¯s words sounded like a threat to Winters, and at first, Winters thought so too.


    But he quickly realized it wasn¡¯t that; Sasha was cautioning him. In a sense, because Sasha already considered himself a member of his faction, he used a blunt warning to his face.


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters asked earnestly.


    ¡°Being able to forge doesn¡¯t make one a blacksmith,¡± Sasha also answered honestly, ¡°Only those who are recognized by the blacksmith guild are blacksmiths. The guild has a complete set of rules for apprentice promotion, and these rules are the foundation of the guild. If you set up a blacksmith school, you¡¯ll be undermining the very foundation of the guild.¡±


    Guild! Winters stroked his chin. Having lived in Paratu for too long, he had almost forgotten what life dominated by guilds in a city was like.


    Sea Blue had hundreds of guild alliances, the guilds of the same industry merged into syndicates, and above the syndicates was the overarching Guild Alliance.


    Before the Sovereignty War¡ªwhen there was no Republic of Vineta, and the ¡°Distinguished Sea Blue Republic¡± influence was limited to Sea Blue City and its surroundings¡ªthe position of president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance was held by the chief executive.


    To be more precise, one automatically became the chief executive upon being elected as the president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance.


    After the Sovereignty War, the small commercial city-states of Vineta and the inland noble lands unified to become the ¡°Distinguished Republic of Vineta,¡± and the president of the Sea Blue Guild Alliance continued to be held concurrently by the Republic¡¯s grand chief executive. The revered position of the guilds is evident from this.


    It wasn¡¯t cities that gave birth to guilds, but guilds that built cities. Cities did not belong to the citizens; cities belonged to the guilds.


    Who would have thought that in the impoverished and isolated Iron Peak County on the fringes of the Alliance, they would also play this guild game?


    Winters shook his head, then broke into a smile, asking the middle-aged blacksmith, ¡°How about you becoming my advisor, Mr. Sasha? An honorary one, so even if one day I¡¯m defeated, it won¡¯t come back to you. There are many things I¡¯d like to consult you about.¡±


    Sasha was a bit taken aback by the honor, and he nodded vigorously, ¡°It would be my utmost pleasure.¡±


    Sasha further suggested, ¡°Regarding the matter with the blacksmith guild¡­ you¡¯d better talk to my father-in-law. The iron blacksmith guild of Iron Peak County was founded by him.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Winters chuckled without objection.


    Meanwhile, Mason excitedly pulled Carlos over.


    ¡°If we push a little harder, I see no problem even in manufacturing cast iron cannons,¡± the elder classmate envisioned with boundless enthusiasm, ¡°The Pretender Emperor¡¯s blacksmiths don¡¯t have more eyes or hands than we do!¡±


    Carlos listened in stunned silence.


    ¡°How much ore has been produced?¡± Sasha asked Carlos.


    ¡°The furnace temperature wasn¡¯t high enough, I think what we got is forged iron, not pig iron. Estimating from the materials put in, there should be around four hundred kilograms of forged iron,¡± Carlos added hurriedly, ¡°But we shouldn¡¯t count on it being too precise, even two hundred and fifty kilograms would be good. We¡¯ll need to weigh it to get the exact amount.¡±

 Chapter 718 718 44 Smelting_4

    ?Chapter 718: Chapter 44 Smelting_4 Chapter 718: Chapter 44 Smelting_4 ¡°How much charcoal did we use?¡± Sasha asked again.


    ¡°For the initial smelting of ore and charcoal, it¡¯s a three to one ratio,¡± Carlos calculated and answered.


    ¡°What does ¡®three to one¡¯ mean?¡± Winters asked, once again entering a field he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°It means three parts charcoal to one part ore¡ªby volume,¡± Sasha explained, laughing as he said, ¡°That¡¯s actually quite good! My father-in-law mentioned that when they smelt iron, it takes six or seven parts charcoal to smelt one part of ore.¡±


    ¡°When can we fire up the forge again?¡± What Winters cared about was the production capacity. After all, to him, charcoal was free.


    ¡°The furnace walls need to be repaired, and I also want to make some modifications to the smelting furnace with Mr. Sasha,¡± Carlos counted on his fingers, ¡°The day after tomorrow we should be able to fire it up again. But by that time, we will need more people for mining, smelting, and even more for charcoal burning.¡±


    ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll have Samukin prepare them for you,¡± Winters patted Carlos on the shoulder, ¡°And don¡¯t you slack off during this time. Although we failed this time, who knows, maybe next time we¡¯ll succeed?¡±


    ...


    Upon hearing Winters¡¯ words, Carlos¡¯ eyes widened in horror.


    ¡°Senior, the site you picked for the smelting furnace isn¡¯t good,¡± Winters turned to Senior Mason, ¡°Look at the blacksmith workshops in Forging Village, each one is situated by the river! Without the river, where would we get the water power?¡±


    Mason was greatly surprised, ¡°Ah? Is there such a thing? Does smelting iron require water power?¡±


    ¡°Water-powered bellows! I also discovered this after a trip to Forging Village,¡± Winters laughed proudly, ¡°All the workshops there use water-powered bellows. Here, however, they use oxen to pull the bellows. Oxen are for plowing, already in high demand. If we keep scaling up, where are we going to find more oxen? We must be near the river.¡±


    Senior Mason nodded thoughtfully.


    Winters led the young blacksmith to the edge of the hill and pointed down towards St. George River, ¡°I¡¯ve found a good spot for you. See that? Right there! Go build me another smelting furnace there! If it doesn¡¯t work this time, it will the next, and if not the next time, then the time after that. We must make the blast furnace work!¡±


    Winters laughed and patted the young blacksmith on the shoulder, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually expect you to be able to smelt iron. In my mind, if you hadn¡¯t succeeded, I would revert to using the old smelting furnace from Mr. Poltan¡¯s days. High-cost or not, we must smelt iron. But since you succeeded, keep it up!¡±


    Carlos was dumbstruck, on the verge of tears.


    ¡°My lord, should we tear down this smelting furnace then?¡± Sasha asked abruptly.


    ¡°Why tear it down?¡± Winters asked back with confusion, ¡°We¡¯re after quantity right now, not quality. Isn¡¯t this smelting furnace usable? Can¡¯t we just make do with it?¡±


    ¡°I fear there might be a problem,¡± Sasha explained with difficulty, ¡°The number of forges in Iron Peak County is strictly limited by the blacksmith guild. You can have less, but not more, and every forge has an owner. If you want to start another forge, you¡¯d need to purchase another one.¡±


    Winters¡¯ brow furrowed without him noticing, ¡°Then what¡¯s the deal with this smelting furnace?¡±


    Only then did Sasha reveal the truth, ¡°This smelting furnace of Mr. Soria was built after my father-in-law dismantled his forge, using the quota of my and my father-in-law¡¯s forges. So there¡¯s no problem. There¡¯s no forge left in our workshop now.¡±


    Winters went silent, raising his hand to salute Sasha, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Not at all¡­ Not at all,¡± Sasha hurriedly bowed in return.


    ¡°But mine is a smelting furnace, and yours is a forge,¡± Winters mused, asking again, ¡°Can¡¯t we play some word games here?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Sasha smiled wryly, ¡°The guild¡¯s regulations are very strict. Anything [that uses fuel and fire to process iron and ore, be it melting furnace, forge, or smelting furnace] falls under ¡®forge¡¯ and is subject to number limitation. Every forge has its owner. Just one forge quota is worth a lot of money.


    Only a blacksmith recognized by the guild is a blacksmith, and only a forge master registered with the guild can open a workshop.¡±


    ¡°Damn, they¡¯re pretty thorough,¡± Winters said with a mix of frustration and amusement, ¡°Who made these rules?¡±


    The smile on Sasha¡¯s face grew even more bitter and helpless, ¡°My father-in-law¡ªMr. Poltan.¡±


    Andre, who had been silent until now, suddenly spat disdainfully, pulled out his saber, and showed it to Sasha.


    With an expressionless face he asked, ¡°Do you recognize what this is?¡±


    Sasha trembled with fear, nodding desperately.


    Andre snarled with a fierce grin, ¡°Then we¡¯ll start as many smelting furnaces as we want!¡±


    ¡°Put the knife away, Mr. Sasha is a friend. Why are you threatening him?¡± Winters nudged Andre with his elbow.


    Andre scoffed, but obediently sheathed his knife.


    ¡°It seems,¡± Winters sighed, smiling as he told Sasha, ¡°I still need to have a talk with your father-in-law.¡±


    S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 719 719 45 Guilds

    ?Chapter 719: Chapter 45 Guilds Chapter 719: Chapter 45 Guilds Twenty-nine years ago, an ordinary day in spring.


    A tired young man entered a nameless settlement in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    The young man was tall and thin, with a sallow complexion, dressed in old clothes sewn from burlap sacks.


    He wore no shoes, but that was no problem. The soles of his feet had developed thick calluses, so that even sharp stones did not cause him pain.


    Two pairs of pincers and a hammer were his only possessions, now slung in a knapsack across his shoulder.


    Along the way, the young man made his living by using these few tools to repair things in exchange for food and lodging.


    Though he could twist steel with his arms and shape metal, he was not yet a blacksmith, for he had not completed his apprenticeship.


    ...


    And because he disagreed with extending the period of his apprenticeship, he had fallen out with his master and feared he would never become a licensed smith.


    Without completing his apprenticeship, he was not a certified blacksmith; not being a certified blacksmith, he could not practice the trade; unable to practice the trade, he would starve to death, no matter how much better his skills were than his master¡¯s.


    The young man¡¯s master was certain of this, waiting for him to come back, cap in hand, to apologize, admit his mistake, and continue as an unpaid apprentice for another four years.


    But the young man chose to leave his hometown, traveling across the whole of Paratu to the unknown Newly Reclaimed Land, where he heard that no blacksmith¡¯s guild had yet been formed.


    For this, he journeyed far, braving the elements, enduring countless hardships until finally, he arrived in the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Unfortunately, he was a little late¡ªevery settlement he went to already had the figure of a blacksmith at work.


    The young man continued walking further and further into more remote and desolate areas. At last, in this remote and desolate settlement, he found no sign of his peers.


    The young man spent his first night under the eaves with his knapsack as his pillow. The next day, he traded one of his pincers for a hot meal and a piece of wood.


    After drinking the last drop of soup from the plate, he solemnly carved onto the wood:


    [Blacksmith Poltan Mejery ¨C repair, forging, and smelting]


    ¡­


    Twenty-seven years ago, an ordinary day in summer.


    Poltan and his two assistants were busy in the backyard of the smithy.


    The three, each with their tools, worked together to dismantle a half-person-tall clay smelting furnace.


    This was the third year since [Poltan Mejery] came to the Newly Reclaimed Land. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The once nameless settlement now had a resonant name¡ªRevodan.


    The once young apprentice blacksmith who had only a wooden board, a pair of pincers, and a hammer now owned a small shop; the residents of Revodan respectfully referred to him as ¡°Blacksmith Poltan.¡±


    After breaking apart the furnace, Poltan carefully extracted a lump of sponge iron from the hearth as though handling a precious piece of porcelain.


    ¡°It¡¯s done!¡± Paulo Vinius¡ªPoltan¡¯s assistant¡ªwas ecstatic, laughing and flailing at the air: ¡°We¡¯ve done it!¡±


    The other assistant, the silent Peter Ganchalov, although not vocal, could not hide the joy in his eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not done yet!¡± said Poltan, although a smile was already spreading across his face.


    The three quickly moved the sponge iron onto the anvil; Poltan held the tongs while the other two wielded hammers, starting to forge the sponge iron.


    Accompanied by the rhythmic hammer blows, the porous sponge iron gradually became compact and dense, beginning to take on the appearance of ¡°iron.¡±


    Working from noon until night, repeatedly reheating the iron in the furnace, the three finally forged the small piece of sponge iron into a mature iron ingot.


    ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Poltan wiped the sweat from his forehead and announced to his companions with a smile.


    Paulo Vinius, almost delirious with joy, clapped his friends on the shoulder and laughed: ¡°With iron, we can now get down to business!¡±


    Without iron, a blacksmith could not flex his muscles; without smelting iron, the three men of Poltan could only patch things up, making do with a little bit of scrap iron.


    ¡°We¡¯ve used too much charcoal,¡± Peter Ganchalov said, pursing his lips, the joy starting to fade: ¡°The smelting furnace also needs to be moved; it¡¯s too far from Iron Peak Mine.¡±


    ¡°Hey! Why do you always have to dampen the spirits? Let¡¯s celebrate first!¡± Paulo Vinius was exuberant: ¡°Let¡¯s go! Drinks on me!¡±


    The three didn¡¯t even bother to lock up, strolling out of the smithy with their crude jokes and arm-in-arm antics.


    They bought beer from the young widow Airen across the street and sat comfortably under the eaves, drinking and dreaming of the future.


    Meanwhile, three cavalrymen bearing green flags raced past, kicking up a trail of dust.


    Paulo Vinius, caught off guard, got a mouthful of dust and cursed: ¡°Damn beasts! What, trying to season my food for me?¡±


    Peter Ganchalov watched the backs of the cavalrymen, silent for a long while.


    The leading officer among the three cavalrymen headed straight into the town hall, rang the bell to gather the residents, and read aloud the proclamation:


    ¡°According to the resolution passed by the Great Council of Paratu¡­ The Newly Reclaimed Lands Province is officially under military governance¡­ by virtue of the ¡®Tord Agreement¡¯, all forests, rivers, land, and mining rights in the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province belong to the military government¡­ The old pioneering policy is hereby null and void¡­¡±


    The blacksmith trio arrived a bit late, and Paulo Vinius, being short, couldn¡¯t see anything from the back of the crowd, and anxiously asked his friends: ¡°Hey? What did he say? Can¡¯t hear clearly!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s it to us?¡± Poltan, with his arms crossed: ¡°No matter how cheerfully the birds sing, we still have to earn our bread by our craftsmanship.¡±


    Peter Ganchalov remained silent. ¡°Change is coming,¡± he thought.


    Meanwhile, a thousand miles away at Kingsfort.


    Six somber-faced representatives from the Monta Republic strode into the first chamber of the Great Council Hall, where six representatives from Paratu were waiting, along with observers from The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Varn.

 Chapter 720 720 45 Guild_2

    ?Chapter 720: Chapter 45: Guild_2 Chapter 720: Chapter 45: Guild_2 The representatives in the first meeting room were about to discuss a matter that would change the fate of many:


    Unifying the commercial laws, currency, and measurements of the various republics, abolishing checkpoints, transit taxes, and consumption taxes, to achieve the free circulation of goods within the Alliance, and to reach the ultimate goal ¡ª the establishment of the ¡°Grand Senas Customs Alliance¡±.


    ¡­


    Twenty-one years ago, on an ordinary autumn day.


    At the tavern of widow Airen, Poltan, Paulo Vinius, and Peter Ganchalov were brooding over their drinks.


    ¡°Mejery, you have to come up with a solution!¡± Paulo Vinius broke the silence, slamming the table and shouting, ¡°We all listen to you.¡±


    Poltan shook his head.


    Peter Ganchalov silently sipped his beer.


    ...


    This was Poltan Mejery¡¯s ninth year since he arrived at the Newly Reclaimed Land.


    Little widow Airen had become widow Airen, and a silver hair or two had crept into Poltan¡¯s temples.


    Six years earlier, Poltan had moved his Forge to a new site at the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, by the St. George River, and since then his business flourished more each day.


    Paulo Vinius and Peter Ganchalov were no longer Poltan¡¯s assistants; they had their own forges, assistants, and apprentices, but the three friends still did business together.


    Specializing in iron smelting, the three men sold the iron directly to other blacksmiths to avoid the hassle.


    At first, blacksmiths from nearby villages and towns traveled a long way to buy their iron. Later, to save on transport costs, some blacksmiths simply moved their forges next to the workshops of Poltan and his friends.


    Around Poltan¡¯s workshop, the population gradually thickened. Because there were many forges, the local farmers called this cluster of blacksmiths¡¯ villages ¡°Forging Village¡±.


    Poltan liked the name, but he didn¡¯t know how much longer the name would last.


    He drained his cup and, with a grave face, began to speak, ¡°The iron ingots of Forging Village are not selling in the neighboring counties anymore, and the iron we smelted last month is still lying in the warehouse today. The barrier iron from Steel Castle is about to crush us. If we continue like this, we are just waiting for death.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± Paulo Vinius retorted impatiently, ¡°All thanks to that damned treaty!¡±


    Due to the refusal of the various republics to make concessions, the effort to establish the ¡°Grand Senas Customs Alliance¡± ultimately failed. However, the stillborn Customs Alliance plan left behind some legacies.


    For example: Under the strong recommendation of General Antoine-Laurent, the republics agreed to unify measurements at an official level ¡ª of course, unifying currency was out of the question.


    And: The republics, in principle, agreed to lower tariffs and unanimously agreed that for the time being, the ¡°Bilateral Tariff Treaty¡± would serve as a substitute for the ¡°Grand Customs Alliance¡±.


    After Paratu and Monta signed the Bilateral Tariff Treaty a year earlier, Steel Castle¡¯s iron and iron goods flooded into Paratu like a dam burst.


    For the Paratu People, being able to buy cheaper ironware was a good thing. But for iron smelters like Poltan, the situation couldn¡¯t be worse.


    Were the good days from just six years ago over already?


    ¡°If I have a method,¡± Poltan gritted his teeth and asked his two comrades in a deep voice, ¡°Would you be willing to support me?¡±


    Peter Ganchalov blinked but said nothing.


    Paulo Vinius agreed impatiently, ¡°Just tell us!¡±


    ¡°A guild! We need to set up our own Iron Peak County Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild Alliance!¡±


    ¡­


    At this moment, on an ordinary winter¡¯s day.


    ¡°Your Excellency, please allow me to keep you in suspense.¡± Facing the Montaigne Civil Protector who visited late at night, old blacksmith Poltan struggled to sit up, ¡°Do you know what the core of the guild is?¡±


    Winters smiled, not quite smiling: ¡°Monopoly.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan sat in the recliner built by Winters, his speech calm and slow: ¡°The core of the guild is democracy within and monopoly without. Then do you know why I dragged the blacksmiths of Iron Peak County to form a guild twenty years ago?¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Winters chuckled lightly, ¡°You wanted to monopolize the iron supply of Iron Peak County, keeping Steel Castle¡¯s bar iron out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan did not deny it: ¡°Quite despicable, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°No, quite normal.¡± Winters shook his head with a smile: ¡°That¡¯s what guilds are for. If you hadn¡¯t done that, it would have been strange. I¡¯m more curious about why you failed.¡±


    Old blacksmith Poltan fell silent.


    ¡°The fortress is easiest to breach from within.¡± Winters stroked the handle of his knife, ¡°There must have been a traitor.¡±


    ¡°One of my business partners chose to stand on the other side.¡± Old blacksmith Poltan managed a smile, ¡°That¡¯s the guild for you, internal democracy. I didn¡¯t realize this until the vote.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ganchalov?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters laughed lightly.


    Old blacksmith Poltan laid back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling and saying, ¡°The problem you¡¯re facing now is really just two methods to solve it: a quick and a slow. You don¡¯t need me to explain the quick method. But I can assure you, not a single blacksmith from Forging Village would dare to openly oppose you. However, the guild is the foundation of the city. If the blacksmith¡¯s guild is moved, the other guilds will feel insecure.¡±


    ¡°If I had wanted to take the quick way, I would not have come to seek your advice. If there is a method, please speak freely.¡± Winters smiled, ready to use the old blacksmith as a weapon against the blacksmith¡¯s guild if he was intent on seeking revenge.


    ¡°May I ask you another question?¡± Old blacksmith Poltan changed the subject, ¡°Do you know why Peter Ganchalov opposed me twenty years ago?¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Winters played along with the old blacksmith.

 Chapter 721 721 45 Guild_3

    ?Chapter 721: Chapter 45 Guild_3 Chapter 721: Chapter 45 Guild_3 The old blacksmith Poltan let out a long sigh, ¡°He believed that we couldn¡¯t surpass the steel of Steel Castle, and there¡¯s one simple reason for that¡ªtheir iron is indeed better and cheaper. Monopoly can¡¯t make up for the gap in quality and price. Relying on monopoly to delay failure will only lead to a more miserable defeat in the end, it¡¯s better to admit defeat honestly.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not angry that the ironworking business has been crushed, at worst I could just go back to forging iron.¡± The old blacksmith said wistfully, ¡°What I really can¡¯t accept is the betrayal of a friend. But do you know what¡¯s even more painful than the betrayal of a friend? Old Gangchalov¡¯s betrayal was right.


    The more I think about it, the more I agree with Old Gangchalov. Steel Castle is winning because their iron is truly superior. If we wanted to push out Steel Castle¡¯s steel with the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, we¡¯d have to use large donations to bribe the New Reclamation Legion. In the end, the blacksmiths will earn less money, and the ironware will be sold for more. The money will flow into the pockets of the New Reclamation Legion, so it might as well give up right away.¡±


    Winters was somewhat surprised, he listened quietly, as the old blacksmith¡¯s words were clearly not finished.


    ¡°But over these ten years, I¡¯ve come up with another idea. Old Gangchalov is right, yet he¡¯s also not! What if our iron could also be cheap and good? What if one day we could produce steel like Steel Castle? If we surrender, then there¡¯s no hope at all.¡±


    Old blacksmith Poltan summed up heavily, ¡°This is my thought for the past ten years. Monopoly is not unacceptable, as long as it aims to defeat Steel Castle fair and square! We need to find more efficient mining methods, better furnaces, cheaper fuel¡­ Whatever Steel Castle does, we must learn from them! And eventually, defeat Steel Castle!¡±


    The old blacksmith Poltan got more and more excited as he spoke, and by the end, he was somewhat out of breath.


    ...


    Winters thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°Is it with this thought in mind that you went to research how to smelt iron using coal?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I failed.¡± The old blacksmith sagged into the lounge chair, offering a wan smile: ¡°To arm-wrestle with Steel Castle, the blacksmiths¡¯ guild isn¡¯t up to par. The monopoly over Forge has already satisfied the blacksmiths. The existence of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild isn¡¯t for producing more, but for less. That¡¯s their fundamental difference with Steel Castle.


    The blacksmiths¡¯ guild has neither the desire nor the ability to improve, while Steel Castle gets stronger each day. Sooner or later, the blacksmiths¡¯ guild of Iron Peak County will be completely crushed by Steel Castle. That¡¯s why I gave up hope a long time ago.¡±


    He stared intently at Winters, his gaze burning, ¡°Now, what I don¡¯t know is¡ªcompared to the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, do you possess a stronger will and ability to arm-wrestle with Steel Castle?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± Winters retorted with a laugh.


    ¡°You actually don¡¯t,¡± said the old blacksmith Poltan decisively, ¡°You don¡¯t even realize you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters asked, puzzled.


    The old blacksmith asked coldly, ¡°Who mines for you?¡±


    ¡°For now, it¡¯s hired farmers, later it should be captives¡­ that is, slaves.¡±


    ¡°Does the ore cost money?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What about the coal?¡±


    ¡°That neither.¡±


    ¡°Iron from the outside can¡¯t get in,¡± the old blacksmith asked squinting, ¡°Is there anyone else in Iron Peak County who can smelt iron?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°The raw materials don¡¯t cost money, the labor you use are slaves, and you¡¯ve monopolized the iron materials of Iron Peak County,¡± said the old blacksmith Poltan coldly. ¡°I really don¡¯t see why you would want to change the status quo!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Because I don¡¯t plan to stay in Iron Peak County for a lifetime. I¡¯m going to war! I want to arm the troops! I want to topple the New Reclamation Legion! So, I need a lot of iron, the more the better!¡±


    ¡­


    When Winters returned to his residence, the sky was already dimly lit.


    He had barely rested in the past day and night, spending the morning at the Forge, the afternoon in Forging Village and the military station village, and he had just fallen asleep for a short while at night before being woken up, then hurried non-stop back to Revodan to visit Mr. Poltan.


    Right now, all he wanted was to get some good sleep.


    An unexpected person was waiting for him outside his door¡ªLittle Lion.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you hunting with Juan?¡± Winters¡¯s head was groggy, ¡°You¡¯ve returned early.¡±


    Little Lion flashed a toothy smile, ¡°There was something, so I came back first.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Winters yawned, ¡°Whatever it is, let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow¡ªno, it¡¯s already today.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion¡¯s smile grew more mischievous, ¡°I don¡¯t mind. But if I tell you tomorrow, I¡¯m afraid you might regret it¡ªsomeone is waiting for you.¡±


    Touching a hot iron, Winters instantly became alert, he was tensely on the verge of suffocation, ¡°It can¡¯t be that person¡­ has come, right?¡±


    ¡°Which person?¡± Little Lion asked with a smile, deliberately inquiring back.


    ¡°You¡­¡±


    ¡°Cut the nonsense,¡± Little Lion couldn¡¯t help but laugh, entering the room, ¡°Come on, they are waiting for you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s chest tightened, his head throbbed, and a strong urge to flee surged through him.


    After standing for a good while, he clenched his teeth, steeled his nerves, and entered his residence with trepidation.


    A man was sitting in the reception room waiting for him.


    Winters felt like he had received a reprieve, his body went limp as if all strength had been drained from him.


    But the next moment, his spirit and body tensed up again.


    The man sitting in the reception room had changed¡ªbecome gaunt, haggard, and missing a left arm, but Winters would never mistake that face.


    It was Colonel Bod.


    Before anyone else could speak, Winters had already dashed to Colonel Bod¡¯s side.


    He grabbed at the Colonel¡¯s empty sleeve, turned his head sharply to look at Little Lion.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Winters,¡± Colonel Bod said with a smile, his voice a bit hoarse, but still as easygoing as ever, ¡°If they hadn¡¯t helped me amputate my arm, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to sit here.¡±


    ¡°What are you staring at me for?¡± Little Lion stared back at Winters, ¡°What Mr. Bod says is right.¡±


    Winters was overwhelmed with emotion, he embraced Colonel Bod, and despite his efforts to hold back, tears still streamed down his face.


    Colonel Bod patted Winters on the back with his remaining right hand, ¡°Hey, no need to cry, it¡¯s all right¡­¡±


    As Colonel Bod said this, tears also trailed down his cheeks.


    Colonel Bod was a ¡°gift¡± from the White Lion.


    The White Lion had sent another gift, a message.


    ¡°The Fire Stoker is coming,¡± Little Lion said.

 Chapter 722 722 46 Autumn Hunting

    ?Chapter 722: Chapter 46: Autumn Hunting Chapter 722: Chapter 46: Autumn Hunting ¡°The Pyromancer is coming.¡±


    A single sentence made the air in the room as cold as ice.


    ¡°Baboon¡¯s butt face?¡± Winters¡¯s gaze was as dangerous as a wild beast, ¡°Does he know I¡¯m in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°He?¡± Little Lion toyed with the tassel of his knife slowly, ¡°He probably doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t know?¡± S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then why is he coming?¡±


    ...


    ¡°What else would he do?¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°Robbery.¡±


    The affair of the Pyromancer has to be traced back to two months ago.


    During the season when horses grow fat in autumn, September and October are traditionally the Herders¡¯ season for raiding and waging war.


    As early as the beginning of spring, when the Paratu Standing Army returned in a crushing defeat, the tribal chiefs were already contemplating a raid in autumn.


    By June, new news came¡ªthere was infighting among the Paratu People! The tribal chiefs were even more elated and busily prepared their armies, intending to strike big.


    The Haidong Tribe¡¯s [Grey Eyes] and the Suz Tribe¡¯s [Healthy Eater] both organized their own raiding warbands.


    To the Herders, ¡°raiding¡± and ¡°waging war¡± were the same thing. The amount of spoils concerned the chief¡¯s prestige, and distributing spoils was directly linked to one¡¯s status.


    On one hand, the Red River Tribe had just fought a big battle with the Chief¡¯s diligent tribe and had not fully digested their gains; the White Lion declared in advance that it would not participate in the autumn raids, but he agreed to let other tribes pass through.


    On the other hand, the Pyromancer urgently needed a successful raid to restore his reputation; but his influence was not what it used to be, so he pragmatically joined the Healthy Eater warband, combining forces with the Suz Tribe.


    By the end of August, both major warbands had finished assembling.


    In early September, after the warhorses had their last fill of grass seeds and wild beans, both warbands set off to invade the east at the same time.


    Since the most fertile lands of Paratu are along the banks of Ashen Stream River, the two warbands split up, one south and one north. Grey Eyes went along the north bank, and the Pyromancer joined Healthy Eater along the south bank.


    Both sides verbally agreed ¡°not to cross the river with bows and horses¡± to prevent an unpleasant encounter.


    After dividing their raiding territories, the Herders joyfully entered Paratu, and then¡­ they were met with a painful counterattack.


    It turned out that the dozens of mediations and negotiations by the Alliance government were less useful than a Herder¡¯s horseshoe.


    Without waiting for the Herd Raiders¡¯ vanguard to cross the Border River, the previously at-odds Red and Blue Roses had already tacitly turned their guns against the common foe.


    At a river crossing in North River Province, Grey Eyes¡¯s warband was intercepted and its center army smashed by Alpad.


    Grey Eyes wisely fled, abandoning their banner, and the smaller tribes naturally scattered in panic.


    Alpad led the Piaoqi Troops on a chase thirty kilometers beyond the Border River, killing until satisfied before returning.


    In contrast, cleaning up the scattered small groups of Herd Raiders, after the battle took more time and was more exhausting.


    Meanwhile, south of Ashen Stream River, the Healthy Eater and Pyromancer warband were ambushed and repelled in Mirror Lake County by the New Reclamation-Red Rose alliance¡ªthe New Reclamation Legion led by General Adams, the commander of the Red Rose troops unknown.


    Because the ambush was exposed too early, the Paratu Alliance could not inflict heavy casualties on the Herd Barbarians; plus, the lack of cavalry in the Paratu Alliance made it difficult to amplify their victory.


    Thus, the Pyromancer and Healthy Eater merely escaped with a bruised nose, retreating back to the Great Wilderness fully intact.


    The Paratu Alliance also did not dare to pursue lightly¡ªfor in such matters of pursuit, they had suffered too many losses in the past.


    Perhaps it was the Barbarians¡¯ fierce advance that prompted a sense of shared enmity in the warring parties. After two battles, the Red and Blue Roses temporarily settled down.


    Without a new round of war breaking out, the lands of Paratu quietly welcomed winter.


    Paratu may have quieted down, but the Great Wilderness had not.


    Not only did they fail to feast on meat, but they also got their teeth knocked out. Just this incident alone was enough to spark countless absorptions and overthrows. Yet no one was overlooked, as everyone was already part of the game.


    ¡°My brother received some interesting news,¡± Little Lion said lightly, ¡°The Terdon Tribe is regrouping again.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°If the Pyromancer hasn¡¯t been kicked in the head by a horse, he wouldn¡¯t go to war with the tribes at this time. His forces are also insufficient to make another frontal attack on Mirror Lake County. My brother thinks he might try his luck nearby, so he asked me to remind you.¡±


    ¡°How does the White Lion know the affairs of the Terdon Tribe?¡± Winters seemingly asked casually.


    ¡°Believe it or not,¡± Little Lion snickered, ¡°The Red River Tribe has its own sources of information.¡±


    Winters solemnly saluted Little Lion, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks. My brother said, if you can hold off the Terdon Tribe, extending credit is no problem; but if you can¡¯t even beat the Terdon Tribe, then let¡¯s just be friends and forget about business.¡±


    Little Lion affectionately draped his arm around Winters¡¯s neck, teasingly saying, ¡°There¡¯s been a lot of miscellaneous things this year, no autumn hunt, so the winter hunt will be a bit bigger. My brother invites you to join the hunt, someone¡¯s looking to meet you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s scalp tingled, neither refusing nor accepting.


    Winters understood what the White Lion meant:


    The offensive-defensive dynamic between Paratu and the Herder tribes had reversed, and although Paratu was still far stronger than the Herder tribes as a whole, they could not afford to be involved now;


    In contrast, the Herder tribes were always yearning for the ¡°good old days¡± of the annual autumn raid;


    This September¡¯s grand raid was just the beginning, and as long as the offensive-defensive situation does not change, more raiding warbands will come to Paratu;


    The agreement on the ¡°hundred-kilometer buffer zone¡± became a mere scrap of paper, as no Herder tribe would continue to abide by an agreement without the backing of force;


    If Iron Peak County can¡¯t hold off the Terdon Tribe this time, then next time the Pyromancer will come with even more raiders.

 Chapter 723 723 46 Autumn Hunt_2

    ?Chapter 723: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunt_2 Chapter 723: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunt_2 ¡°War is coming,¡± Winters thought.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    At the crack of dawn, the orders to prepare for battle had been delivered to every military village.


    Dwarf Peter Buniel from the first village ran to find his platoon leader, asking with a worried face, ¡°Platoon leader, why do we have to go to war again?¡±


    Platoon leader Tamas had already packed his bag and was wrapping his leg bindings. He glanced sharply at Dwarf Peter, ¡°Do whatever you¡¯re told. If you dare to whine again, I¡¯ll strip you of your sergeant rank!¡±


    Because of his outstanding performance in the battle of Hammer Fort, Dwarf Peter had been promoted to sergeant.


    ...


    Hearing the platoon leader¡¯s threat, he actually felt relieved, ¡°Oh! Why not strip it now? Ever since I became a sergeant, no matter where I go, it feels like someone¡¯s watching my back, and I can¡¯t relax. You honored me, and I¡¯ll remember your kindness for a lifetime. But I¡¯m just a farmer; I truly don¡¯t have the ability to be a sergeant!¡±


    Tamas put down the leg bindings and grabbed a vine whip in one hand.


    Dwarf Peter wanted to run but didn¡¯t dare. He closed his eyes tightly, shrank his body, and instinctively leaned in the opposite direction, waiting for the platoon leader¡¯s whip to come down.


    The vine whip, dried in the shadows, was tough and gave a fiery sting with each strike. The wounds Dwarf Peter had received from the vine whip during the battle of Hammer Fort had yet to fully heal.


    Dwarf Peter waited anxiously with his eyes closed for a long time but didn¡¯t hear the sound of the whip cutting through the air.


    Tamas¡¯s arm was raised in mid-air. Seeing his diminutive subordinate¡¯s fearful demeanor, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to strike.


    He threw away the vine whip and continued to wrap his leg bindings, his tone still as cold as ice, ¡°Who do you think you are? To promote or demote as you please. You want to be platoon leader? Why not just go ahead and take the position of Military Civil Official too?¡±


    Dwarf Peter didn¡¯t dare speak again and shook his head vigorously.


    ¡°This is the military; promotions and demotions aren¡¯t up to you! Can¡¯t get used to it? Fight a few more battles and you will,¡± Tamas scolded sternly as he finished his leg wrappings. ¡°Let me tell you, not only promotions and demotions, even life and death aren¡¯t in your hands! Do you think you were given three hundred acres of land for nothing? Being a soldier, count yourself lucky if you find a superior who values your life. Just be grateful for that!¡±


    Dwarf Peter scratched his head in thought for a while, then hesitantly asked, ¡°Platoon leader¡­ are you talking about yourself?¡±


    Without a word, Tamas picked up the vine whip again.


    Dwarf Peter shrank back in fear.


    Tamas kicked his subordinate, ¡°I¡¯m talking about lord Montaigne, the Military Civil Official! I¡¯m talking about Blood Wolf!¡±


    Dwarf Peter, kicked to the ground, got up quickly, thinking, ¡°How would I know what Lord Montaigne is like? I¡¯ve only ever seen you.¡±


    ¡°Go back and get ready,¡± Tamas said fiercely. ¡°If you¡¯re late, you¡¯ll get a taste of the whip!¡±


    ¡°But I still have a lot of land to plow and sow!¡± Dwarf Peter begged pitifully, ¡°Platoon leader, can you give me two more days? With two more days, I can get it all planted! Even one day would be enough.¡±


    ¡°Forget the rest; leave it for the women and old men to plant.¡±


    Dwarf Peter said sadly, ¡°My home¡­ has no women or old men, it¡¯s just me¡­¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t I a bachelor too? What can I do about it except leave my land fallow?¡± Tamas revealed a rare touch of melancholy. ¡°Never mind! If we can make it back alive, the land we¡¯ve already planted is enough for us to eat our fill. We only have one mouth, how much can we eat? Don¡¯t be greedy over small gains; packing your gear is what¡¯s important.¡±


    Dwarf Peter fidgeted with the corner of his clothes and said desolately, ¡°Oh.¡±


    ¡°What are you standing around for?¡± Tamas glared again, ¡°Get moving and pack your gear!¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After being chased out of the platoon leader¡¯s home, Dwarf Peter returned to his own. Anyone who saw it would laugh.


    What kind of ¡°home¡± is this?


    A shabby plank house, with drafts on all sides; a huge chunk of the thatched roof had collapsed, looking like an old grandmother¡¯s missing tooth.


    Luckily it was autumn, and there was little rain. If it were summer, well, he¡¯d be watching a waterfall inside!


    Rickety willow branches fenced a yard in front of and behind the plank house, many showing signs of being nibbled by cattle and sheep.


    A wooden sign reading [Iron Peak County Regiment First Platoon | Peter Buniel] was nailed squarely on the gate, proudly proclaiming to passersby¡ªeven if it¡¯s a dilapidated hovel, it has an owner!


    The shack used to be worker¡¯s quarters for Perilla Manor. The houses for workers had poor materials and construction quality and would fall apart in a few months without care.


    Better houses were prioritized for soldiers with families, leaving the run-down shack to the bachelor Peter Buniel.


    The new owner, focused on the land, had no time to renovate it.


    That¡¯s why everything in the house and yard was old, except for the cowshed, which was newly built.


    Inside the cowshed was a very thin six-year-old bull, its ribs sticking out and belly hollow. Endless labor had worn down both the man and the bull.


    The skinny bull was now carefully regurgitating its chewed cud, savoring it bit by bit.


    Dwarf Peter sat silently on his bed.


    Was this courtyard dilapidated?


    It was.


    But to Dwarf Peter, there was no better, more beautiful, or more lovely house and courtyard in the world!


    Because it belonged to him, it truly belonged to Peter Buniel. Since leaving his mother¡¯s womb, this was the first time he had his own land, his own house.


    He always felt as if he was in a dream, afraid to wake up, but the wooden plaque nailed to the gate firmly told him: this is yours.


    Dwarf Peter looked around his humble yet comforting house. Everything was fine¡ªit just lacked a woman, missing the flavor of life.


    A single man¡¯s life inevitably became carefree.


    That¡¯s how it was for Dwarf Peter, and so it was for his platoon leader Tamas¡ªafter coming back from the fields, they would just lie on the bed, too lazy to move or eat, and wear sour-smelling clothes all the same.

 Chapter 724 724 46 Autumn Hunting_3

    ?Chapter 724: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunting_3 Chapter 724: Chapter 46 Autumn Hunting_3 If there were a woman in the house, things would be different: someone to wash your clothes, prepare your food and drink, and keep the house and yard clean and tidy.


    Every time Dwarf Peter saw other soldiers¡¯ wives bringing food and drink to their husbands in the fields, and the couples affectionately nestled together at the edge, he was so jealous his eyes almost bled.


    Dwarf Peter sat silently on his bed, hoping that one day he, too, could have a wife. But then he remembered the conscription order that followed.


    Three hundred acres of land were great, and so was the house. He had gained what he never had before, but it was all to be exchanged for his life.


    Dwarf Peter did not want to fight; he was afraid of dying, very afraid.


    Everything in front of him was too good, he hadn¡¯t repaired the roof yet, nor had he properly fenced in the yard. The crops had just been planted and still needed weeding and watering.


    He couldn¡¯t bear to leave, he really couldn¡¯t.


    ...


    But it was also because he couldn¡¯t bear to leave everything behind that he had to go to war.


    If he didn¡¯t go to war, all these things would no longer belong to him. He could still dream of the lifeless eyes of executed deserters.


    Dwarf Peter sighed, took the yoke off the wall, walked slowly to the cattle pen, and harnessed the lean ox.


    ¡°Good buddy, one more hardship.¡± Dwarf Peter stroked the ox¡¯s head and couldn¡¯t help crying: ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave you either.¡±


    Dwarf Peter picked up the plowing tools and led the skinny ox out of the house. The thought of the remaining unplowed land made his heart ache like it was being scratched by a cat.


    In the end, his smallholder mentality prevailed, and the platoon leader¡¯s instructions were forgotten.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just work harder; I should be able to finish the rest of the work before departure.¡± Dwarf Peter calculated. ¡°As for the gear, it¡¯s not too late to prepare it later.¡±


    Working on his own land, Dwarf Peter felt incredibly at ease.


    Survival or death? That wasn¡¯t the question at all, because Peter Buniel had already stopped thinking about these things.


    He saw many comrades with the same mindset, also leading their draft animals from home to the fields.


    ¡­


    The first army settlement was a sight to see, while the second army settlement was a different scene altogether.


    Bart Xialing was addressing the soldiers granted farmland in the second company.


    The warriors stood in straight lines, while girls, wives, elders, and children watched from not too far away, whispering to each other and making the small square noisy.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Bart Xialing frowned and scolded the onlooking family members: ¡°You bunch of sparrows! If you want to watch, then watch, but don¡¯t chirp all the time! Whoever dares to make another sound, I will whip your husband, your son! Just try me!¡±


    The crowd immediately fell silent, and the soldiers burst into laughter.


    Bart Xialing had become more comfortable with public speaking. He no longer trembled in his legs, and he dared to speak up without blushing or getting flustered.


    After quelling the family members, Bart Xialing addressed the soldiers:


    ¡°The conscription order has come, you all know that. But do you know what¡¯s going on? Do you know why you have to drop your farm work and pick up spears and muskets?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you! The Herd Barbarians are coming!¡±


    ¡°When barbarians come, they want to steal your livestock, kill your children, rape your wives!¡±


    ¡°Which one of you wants someone to sleep with his wife.¡± Bart Xialing roared crudely. ¡°Then contribute your wife, let everyone have a turn, and you won¡¯t have to go to war!¡±


    The square fell dead silent, and many warriors showed displeasure. Even if they were willing to fight, they did not want to be subjected to such an insult.


    Bart Xialing had now gradually grown to be able to manipulate the emotions of his audience, seeing the effect he wanted, he changed his tone:


    ¡°Listen up! My words are harsh, but that¡¯s just the way it is!¡±


    ¡°Where do the Herd Barbarians live? They live in the far west! It takes ten days and nights to walk from there to here!¡±


    ¡°Dammit, the barbarians come all this way, do you think they are coming as guests? Are they your second cousins who can¡¯t lift the potlid, who will leave for a couple bags of flour?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re coming to get rich! And get rich off of you! They want to loot, to burn, to kill!¡±


    ¡°Loot you! Burn you! Kill you!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe it?!¡± Bart Xialing tore open his shirt, exposing the horrifying scars on his chest: ¡°These were all left by the barbarians!¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not just the warriors were frightened, but a few gasps also came from the onlooking family members.


    ¡°Let¡¯s stop the damn nonsense here!¡± Bart Xialing slowly buttoned up, dismissively disbanding the formation. ¡°Go pack your gear! Prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of dry food! Those willing to join me in killing barbarians, assemble the day after tomorrow morning!¡±


    The warriors saluted silently and the formation quietly dissipated.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the third army settlement, a soldier in his thirties hurried back home.


    ¡°Mother!¡± he called out as he entered: ¡°Prepare some ¡®son¡¯s rations¡¯ for me!¡±


    ¡°Oh? What¡¯s happened?¡± The soldier¡¯s mother rushed out shakily, asking in alarm: ¡°Is it war again?¡±


    The soldier¡¯s mother was a very thin elderly woman, with wrinkles on her face and arms as dense as a spider¡¯s web, aged prematurely by a hard life.


    ¡°Never mind that!¡± said the soldier, taking a sword from the wall and striding into the bedroom.


    The voice of her son pierced the thin wall into the mother¡¯s ears: ¡°Go prepare my son¡¯s rations.¡±


    Dusack left for service, and his mother stuffed dry food into his knapsack before leaving¡ªthis was ¡°son¡¯s rations.¡± Only Dusack would use this term.


    But all the Able-bodied Dusacks had already been enlisted, and those left were¡­ deserters.


    To avoid going to war, the thirty-something Dusack had left with his mother, changed names, and left his home behind. Yet, fate had it that he had to eat his son¡¯s rations once again, here of all places.


    The elderly mother, with tears streaming down her face, went to knead the dough.


    ¡­


    In the twelve military settlements, many similar and different stories were unfolding.


    The reason was the same¡ªfor war was at hand.

 Chapter 725 725 47 Preparing for War

    ?Chapter 725: Chapter 47: Preparing for War Chapter 725: Chapter 47: Preparing for War The western side of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province is marked by the Big Horn River as a natural boundary.


    Crossing the Big Horn River and traveling a hundred more kilometers to the west, one arrives at the Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing grounds.


    In the past month, tens of thousands of Terdun people had continuously migrated to this area, making the number of tents in the winter grazing grounds unprecedentedly high.


    Yet, no matter how numerous the tents were, one could not witness the spectacle of tens of thousands of horses galloping across the plains, with at most small groups of riders rushing along the horizon.


    Felt tents were distant from each other, herds too kept to themselves, each maintaining a cold distance as if they were isolated islands on a vast yellow-green ocean.


    The reason such a scene presented itself was partly due to the social structure of the Herders, and partly due to the dictates of survival.


    The Herders could roughly be divided into three classes:


    Kota¡ªthe unbonded warriors, military aristocracy;


    Haran¡ªmeaning commoners, subjects of the nobles;


    Tiher¡ªslaves.


    ...


    Because the living environment was harsh and dangerous, there was little difference in the standard of living and political status between the commoners and the slaves.


    The slaves of a great noble certainly ate better and dressed warmer than an ordinary commoner, and their status was higher as well.


    At the same time, the flattening of the society meant that there was considerable social mobility.


    After all, a Herder could be a commoner today and be captured as a slave tomorrow, achieving a leap across social classes.


    Even the Terdun Tribe, esteemed as one of the ¡°big three¡±, still operated on the organizational mode of ¡°a group of minor military aristocrats loyal to a greater military aristocrat¡±.


    A minor military aristocrat, along with his attendants, guards, subjects, and slaves, constituted a micro-tribe.


    The fireside ruler was not only the object of loyalty of the minor military aristocrats but also the strongest among the military aristocracy.


    There was a limit to the number of livestock the grasslands could support, necessitating Herder families to spread out to graze; the increased distance in turn resulted in skyrocketing costs of rule. This naturally evolved into a loose social structure.


    To Herder society, this was a necessity for survival; but to the rulers, it signified a dispersion of power.


    The fireside ruler wanted to make changes. He had heard that the White Lion was conducting ¡°household registrations for all citizens¡±, and he too wished to reorganize the Terdun Tribe just like the White Lion. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet, his prestige was not as great as before, especially since the loss of the sacrificial golden statue had drawn much criticism. Every time the fireside ruler saw the Kotas whispering among themselves, he felt they were mocking and scorning him.


    The core of the White Lion¡¯s ¡°household registrations for all citizens¡± was to shrink the power gap allotted to the minor military aristocracy¡ªthis much the fireside ruler saw clearly.


    However, there was one characteristic of nomadic life: ¡°A herdsman¡¯s wealth was either on legs or could be carried away by legged beasts, always ready for escape¡±.


    If the Kotas were not happy with the fireside ruler, they could at any moment pack up all their belongings, walk away, and continue to be Kotas in another tribe, or even set up on their own.


    Of course, this kind of ¡°moving house¡± akin to defection certainly came with procedural problems, was quite troublesome to deal with, and could even provoke warfare among the tribes.


    But when it came down to their interests being harmed, the Kotas would not hesitate for a moment.


    Therefore, the fireside ruler dared not act rashly; he had to first stabilize the Terdun Tribe and then gradually squeeze power from the hands of the Kotas.


    To regain prestige, the swiftest method was to win a battle.


    For the Herders, there was no issue that spoils of war couldn¡¯t solve. If not, surely it was because there weren¡¯t enough spoils.


    And the fireside ruler had already spotted a prime target.


    ¡°Warriors of Terdun!¡± The fireside ruler entered the great tent with an imposing presence, ¡°Has everyone arrived?¡±


    The Kotas within the great tent ceased their clamor and paid their respects to the fireside ruler one after another.


    The fireside ruler had summoned the Kotas to discuss matters under the guise of ¡°dividing the winter grazing grounds¡±.


    The agreement with the Paratu People held no binding power now, and the Terdun Tribe no longer needed to maintain a buffer zone of a hundred kilometers.


    As a result, the Terdun Tribe had, as if out of thin air, gained a large expanse of rich winter grazing grounds, and the Kotas were all eagerly waiting for the fireside ruler to distribute the spoils.


    Surveying the great tent, the fireside ruler began with another matter, ¡°In the battle last fall, both you and I were present. We captured few treasures or women, and it only tired our horses. It was my error in command, and you may blame me.¡±


    By pointing out his own shortcoming, the fireside ruler prevented the Kotas from speaking carelessly.


    ¡°The warriors did capture quite a few things, though.¡± A cautious, older Kota spoke up, ¡°This is all thanks to your grace, fireside ruler.¡±


    The fireside ruler sneered, ¡°We missed the truly tender and plump lamb legs. Some bone scraps and offcuts, how can they be enough for the warriors to share?¡±


    The true purpose of the fireside ruler¡¯s great tent council was clear to the Kotas, but none were willing to express their positions.


    It was the fireside ruler¡¯s own uncle who stood up first, bluntly questioning, ¡°Fireside ruler, just speak plainly. We¡¯re all ready to raid, but you need to explain the plan. Just like a herd follows the lead horse, tell us clearly where we¡¯re headed so we can follow you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. Despite their defeat, the bipeds are still a tough bone to chew.¡± The fireside ruler said gruffly, ¡°A direct clash of knife against knife, arrow against arrow, we might not win, and even if we do, it could cost many lives.¡±


    The Kotas of the Terdun Tribe nodded in agreement.


    Thirty years of decline could not be overturned with a single victory, and if it came down to setting up for another battle, the Paratu People would surely win.


    ¡°That¡¯s why we must walk the path of our grandfathers and ancestors. Like a wolf pack hunting gazelles, we should first target the small and the weak, avoiding the big and strong,¡± the fireside ruler bared his teeth, ¡°Once the small and the weak are devoured, the big and strong will be ripe for slaughter¡­¡±

 Chapter 726 726 47 Preparing for War_2

    ?Chapter 726: Chapter 47 Preparing for War_2 Chapter 726: Chapter 47 Preparing for War_2 The Kotas all agreed with the statement but also felt that the hearth-keeper would not have come up with such reasoning themselves. Among them, one Kota thought to himself, it must have been the hearth-keeper¡¯s ¡°Echegke¡± who had prepared the words for him.


    Echegke is a term for father, and as the hearth-keeper¡¯s biological father had passed away, the only one who could be respectfully referred to by him as Echegke was the ¡°Translator¡± who had escaped to the wilderness thirty years ago.


    ¡°Just tell us what to do!¡± the hearth-keeper¡¯s uncle interrupted his nephew rudely, ¡°Enough with the reasoning!¡±


    ¡°All right!¡± the hearth-keeper didn¡¯t dilly-dally and declared resolutely, ¡°This winter is warm, the pastures have not all withered, the horse herds have not lost much fat, and still have strength for another campaign. The bipeds will definitely not expect us to mount an offensive again.


    ¡°Let every Kota go back and gather their men and horses, this year¡¯s winter pasture will be divided according to contribution, more contribution gets the richer, closer pasture, less contribution gets the poorer, farther ones. There¡¯s nothing else to say, let¡¯s decide by casting beans!¡±


    Having said that, the hearth-keeper slapped the table, and two slaves brought in a gold vase and two bowls, each bowl containing red beans and black beans.


    The hearth-keeper took the lead, taking one bean from each bowl and walking over to the gold vase. With a clang, he dropped one bean into the vase.


    ... S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Other Kotas, according to their status and power, picked up the beans and cast them into the vase in turn.


    Kotas without sufficient power did not have the right to cast beans, and those who were qualified to cast beans were not allowed to abstain, each Kota had to choose a side. This was the method of decision by casting beans, a simple, crude but highly efficient voting method of the Herders.


    With his back to the gold vase, the hearth-keeper waited until the bean casting was over before turning around.


    He shook the gold vase up and down three times and in one breath, emptied the beans from the vase onto a clay plate.


    The red and black beans were clearly distinguishable; apart from two black beans, the rest were red.


    ¡°Witnessed by the gods!¡± the hearth-keeper bellowed, and with a fierce smash, broke the clay plate, declaring the ceremony complete.


    ¡­


    As the Terdon Tribe began to assemble their troops, Iron Peak County, a hundred kilometers away, was also mobilizing their forces.


    The assembly order was sent to each garrison village at the earliest opportunity. Horse-drawn carts laden with weapons rumbled out of the Arsenal, closely following the messengers.


    The weapons and armor of Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry regiment were usually centrally stored but were now distributed to individuals.


    To minimize logistical pressure as much as possible, Winters instructed his soldiers to prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of rations themselves.


    Smoke rose from every military village as each household was busy grinding flour, kneading dough, and baking.


    It was at this time Second Lieutenant Bart Xialing discovered a serious problem¡ªthere were simply too many bachelors under his command.


    The infantry regiment of Iron Peak County had been reconstituted from the surrendered Iron Peak garrison. When Major Ronald had recruited the army, he had deliberately chosen the homeless without families to enlist.


    Homeless people without family responsibilities were more dangerous and needed less food because they had no families to burden.


    The new infantry regiment naturally inherited this structure, so the majority of the soldiers had only themselves to feed.


    On ordinary days, they could make do with a meal. But when it came time to prepare two weeks¡¯ worth of rations, everyone was in over their heads¡ªincluded Bart Xialing himself.


    After walking around the village, Bart Xialing immediately called a halt to the one-family-one-household method of military food production.


    He gathered the men, women, the elderly, and children of the whole village. The second lieutenant had seen how old Saint Reed organized the soldiers for baking dry rations and decided to imitate that method, collectively preparing dry rations for all the soldiers of his platoon.


    Muscular tasks such as kneading and grinding were left to the men, while the few women in the second village handled delicate work like baking and water adjustment.


    A temporary oven was set up in the village square, and everyone worked together, sweating profusely¡ªit felt like a festival. However, witnessing the bustling scene, Bart Xialing suddenly felt a pang of desolation.


    While the second lieutenant was frantically busy, Winters was equally occupied.


    Dealing with the blacksmith guild¡¯s matters, Winters left it entirely up to the blacksmith Poltan and his son-in-law, the playwright.


    As the founder of the blacksmith guild, old blacksmith Poltan knew the guild inside and out. Since they had chosen to ¡°play the long game,¡± there was no one more suitable than old blacksmith Poltan to handle the task.


    After discussions with the old blacksmith, Winters¡¯ perspective wasn¡¯t limited to just the blacksmith guild any longer. He arranged for Xial and Tess to work together secretly, to survey all the guilds in Iron Peak County.


    But all these things had to give way to the war. Winters organized the assembly routes for each company of the infantry regiment, collapsed on the bed for less than two hours, and then was woken up by Xial.


    Elders from nearby villages and farmers recognized for their skill in cultivation had been summoned to Revodan, waiting for the Protection Officer to discuss matters.


    It couldn¡¯t be helped; one must eat bread one bite at a time and handle matters one step at a time.


    Although war loomed close, the first issue Winters had to resolve was the agricultural disaster caused by the warm winter.


    In a sense, this matter was even more important than guarding against the Herd Barbarians.


    Warm winters were rare but not unprecedented. Regarding the premature jointing of wheat, the farmers suggested all sorts of strange methods, such as holding a market in the wheat field.


    A farmer from Saint Croix Village earnestly promised that simply holding a market in the wheat field would easily solve the problem of the wheat sprouting early.


    Winters appeared to listen seriously, nodding occasionally with ¡°hmm-hmms.¡± In reality, his thoughts had already flown to the wilderness; his mind was full of the topography of Iron Peak County.


    Compared to governing a county, marching and fighting were his stronger suits, more comfortable and more secure work for him.


    Colonel Bod was also present at this meeting.


    Regarding Winters¡¯ ¡°rebellion,¡± Colonel Bod remained non-committal, and the two got along as harmoniously as ever, as if Winters was still the Centurion of the Expeditionary Force.

 Chapter 727 727 47 Preparation for War_3

    ?Chapter 727: Chapter 47 Preparation for War_3 Chapter 727: Chapter 47 Preparation for War_3 Winters did not take the initiative to ask either.


    In Winters¡¯ view, Colonel Bod must have been struggling with confusion:


    Having lost his left arm and returned to his homeland with a disabled body, he found his homeland dead; it was still disputed which of the two new republics could truly represent Parlatu; Winters Montagne was undoubtedly rebelling, yet it was because of this rebellious former subordinate that he had miraculously survived the wastelands.


    All feelings and grudges were entangled, impossible to separate or make sense of.


    Winters had no ability to offer solace to the colonel and could only leave him to resolve it on his own.


    Winters asked the colonel to attend the meeting, and the colonel did not object. Thus, a silent one-armed middle-aged man joined the corner of the conference room.


    Colonel Bod accompanied Winters like this, first taking part in a civil administration meeting, then listening to Revodan citizens¡¯ petitions, and after that inspecting the storage situation in Revodan.


    Before the warehouse inspection was complete, news came from outside the city¡ªSamukin had just arrived at the suburbs with the labor camp from Wolf Town.


    ...


    Thus, Colonel Bod hurriedly left the city with Winters to hand over the ¡°great labor camp¡± to Samukin.


    Previously, the war prisoners from Vernge County had been disrupted and distributed to various military villages to assist with the autumn farming, also using the power of the villages to monitor the prisoners of war. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now that the soldiers of the villages had regrouped, the prisoners could no longer stay in the villages and had to be concentrated again.


    After a flurry of things were taken care of, and Winters returned to Revodan with Colonel Bod, dragging his weary body, it was already nearly dark.


    The colonel had been like a shadow to Winters all day, hardly speaking, just silently observing. Many people even thought that the one-armed middle-aged man was the civil officer¡¯s attendant or guard.


    But the day was not yet over; Andre and Senior Mason were waiting at the station for Winters to have a meeting.


    Colonel Bod followed Winters to the meeting, while Tang Juan and Moritz did not attend¡ªWinters did not want the colonel to know about the presence of the two Vineta officers for the time being.


    Colonel Moritz was too lazy to attend meetings in the first place, and Tang Juan had already led a light cavalry into the wastelands for reconnaissance. Both always abstained from voting, so their absence did not affect decision-making.


    How should the dispatched warhorses be gathered? Where should the supply depot be located? How to defend nearly three hundred kilometers of riverside? Whether to conscript militia¡­ one issue after another was discussed and decided upon, until only one question remained: should they inform the New Reclamation Legion of the enemy situation?


    ¡°Report my ass!¡± scoffed Andre. ¡°Never mind whether the legion on that side would believe us or not. If they ask us, ¡®How did you know about the barbarian movement?¡¯ how do we answer?


    ¡®Another group of barbarians told us.¡¯


    ¡®Rebels colluding with barbarians! Annihilate them!''¡±


    After playing both roles, Andre concluded, ¡°Damn it, in the end, the legion and the barbarians will join forces to attack us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily like that,¡± Senior Mason retorted weakly.


    ¡°Not like that?¡± Andre sneered. ¡°We are rebels, and the Herders are barbarians. If the rebels fight the barbarians, the legion wins no matter who dies. Just watch!¡±


    Getting more worked up, Andre said, ¡°If you ask me, not only should we not inform the New Reclamation Legion, but we should also find a way to lead the barbarians towards Vernge County. Isn¡¯t Vernge County much richer than Iron Peak County? Let them fight each other! That would be perfect for distracting the legion¡¯s attention from us.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to deliberately lead them to Vernge County; those ass-faced monkeys will go there on their own,¡± Winters mused. ¡°Last time, he came at us with a clenched fist and suffered a loss. This time, he will definitely spread his hand and attack from multiple points, making us worry about one thing and lose sight of another. The border of Newly Reclaimed Land is over seven hundred kilometers long¡­ nowhere is safe.¡±


    Hearing this, Colonel Bod, who had been silently listening the whole time, suddenly spoke up with a sense of lament, ¡°The roles in attack and defense have changed.¡±


    Winters, Andre, and Senior Mason all turned to look at the colonel.


    With a bitter tone, Colonel Bod asked the young people, ¡°Do you know why we have never touched the Terdon Tribe over these years?¡±


    Winters shook his head. How could they, the outsiders, know the decision-making process of the Parlatu Army?


    ¡°Because they¡¯re the most honest, the most obedient,¡± Colonel Bod said bitterly, ¡°To maintain a balance within the Herders, we fight the north bank Herders, let the south bank Herders be. Now it¡¯s their turn to bite back at us.¡±


    ¡­


    As dark clouds hovered over the city and a storm seemed imminent, while Winters, Bart Xialing, and many others were tirelessly preparing for war, a seemingly insignificant event took place in Revodan: a man returned to his home.


    Aksinya, who was soothing her children to sleep, heard someone knocking at the door.


    It was already dark, only the wandering, advantage-seeking drunkards would come knocking on her door at this hour.


    Aksinya thought about pretending no one was home, but the knocks continued at a steady pace.


    Fearing slightly, Aksinya first hid her two children in the wardrobe, then, holding the fire tongs, cautiously moved towards the door.


    ¡°Who is it?¡± she asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± a weary voice responded.


    Aksinya¡¯s heart pounded fiercely, and she flung the door open. There stood her husband¡ªIvan.


    The fire tongs fell to the ground with a bounce and then lay still.


    There were no embraces, no tears, and no smiles, Aksinya just stood there quietly.


    At seventeen, Aksinya had married Ivan. The previous autumn, her father had raped her, and then he was beaten to death with a cart shaft by her brother and mother.


    And so, Aksinya married far off to Revodan from King¡¯s Bridge Town in silence. The day after the wedding, the newlywed husband beat his bride severely. After the children were born, the violence decreased a little, but he still couldn¡¯t forgive her for the shame he felt she had brought upon him.


    During their courtship, Aksinya might have had some affection for the tall Ivan. But now, there was no love left, only a woman¡¯s pity and a numb, habitual attachment to life.


    Aksinya hardly recognized the person outside the door: he was very tall, but oh so thin, like reeds that might be toppled by the wind; unconsciously hunched over, shoulders collapsed.


    The person outside seemed to be her husband, and yet seemed not to be.


    ¡°I¡­¡± the person outside licked his parched lips, struggling to speak, ¡°¡­did you petition the magistrate on my behalf?¡±


    Aksinya didn¡¯t nod, nor did she shake her head, she just stood there quietly.


    The man¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple worked hard to move up and down, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    A few drops of something hot landed on the back of Aksinya¡¯s hand, tears.


    The scalding tears rolled down her cheeks, and the strong Aksinya bit her hand, knelt on the floor, and wept aloud.


    The man outside hugged Aksinya, swearing as if making a vow, ¡°I¡­ I will¡­ I will never hit you again¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve said that before,¡± Aksinya murmured in pain. ¡°You¡¯ve said it before.¡±


    The man outside shivered all over, tears spilling from his eyes as well. He grabbed his wife¡¯s hand and placed it on the holy symbol scar on his chest.


    ¡°This is the last time I say it,¡± he swore.

 Chapter 728 728 48 Announcement

    ?Chapter 728: Chapter 48 Announcement Chapter 728: Chapter 48 Announcement In the early morning, Shovel Port was awakened by the sound of horse hooves as three unfamiliar cavalrymen carrying green banners charged into the small town like a bolt of lightning.


    They first rang the church bell to gather residents, then affixed three notices to the church door without reading them out¡ªliterate townsfolk would read to the others¡ªand promptly left for the next village.


    ¡­


    Shovel Lake, located to the northwest of Revodan, is the largest lake within Iron Peak County.


    Legend has it that in ancient times, to enlighten the Paratu People, the saint Ados performed a miracle in public, digging out a lake with just one shovel.


    From then on, the local Paratu People converted to the public faith, and the lake thus came to be known as Shovel Lake.


    The port town situated by the lake naturally took the name Shovel Port.


    ...


    The main livelihood of the people of Shovel Port was farming and fishing, with a portion also engaged in trade and manual labor.


    Goods transported from downstream were unloaded here, and many of the agricultural products sold by Iron Peak County were also shipped from here.


    Thanks to its unique geographical advantages, Shovel Port gradually became the second wealthiest town in Iron Peak County after Revodan.


    ¡­


    After the strange cavalrymen had departed, village folk gradually congregated in front of the notices. An elderly gentleman dressed in nice clothing squinted his eyes and began to read them with feigned profundity.


    The three notices were straightforward and addressed three distinct matters.


    ¡­


    The first notice, ¡°Encouraging Agriculture.¡±


    This year¡¯s winter was warm, and the early wheat had already sprouted. Montaigne, the protector of the people, ordered all town and village heads to immediately organize manpower to ¡°press down the wheat seedlings¡± and arrange for ¡°livestock to lie on the ground,¡± without delay.


    ¡°Pressing down the wheat seedlings¡± meant flattening the sprouts with rollers or logs.


    Overdeveloped winter wheat, after being flattened, would not only remain unharmed but also benefit, resulting in a more robust growth come springtime.


    What the experienced farmer from Saint Town described as ¡°holding a market in the wheat field¡± was based on this principle¡ªa concept Winters had also taken great pains to understand.


    However, holding a market meant trampling the sprouts with foot traffic, while Winters went a step further, directly ordering each town and village to take rollers and logs to ¡°press down the wheat seedlings.¡±


    ¡°Livestock to lie on the ground¡± was a technique shared with Winters by another famed farmer named ¡°Arator.¡±


    When winter wheat first sprouted, it was very delicate and could not withstand any contact or trampling; carelessness would result in uprooting.


    But now was different; after nearly a month of growth, the wheat¡¯s roots had become very sturdy.


    Even if livestock were to graze on it, the root system beneath the soil remained undamaged; grazing off the top sprouts was actually beneficial for the wheat¡¯s development next year.


    Furthermore, grass withers away in winter, and livestock feeding on dry hay tend to lose weight.


    Allowing large animals to feed on the tender wheat sprouts would not only help them overwinter and maintain body weight, but also tread on the wheat field, achieving the ¡°rolling¡± effect.


    Moreover, the dung and urine from the livestock left in the field would lead to vigorously growing wheat next year, truly a trifecta of benefits.


    This farmer named ¡°Arator¡± was forcibly brought to Revodan, traveling in fear and trembling.


    Only when he laid eyes on the Blood Wolf did he realize the protector of the people summoned everyone not for extortion, but truly to ¡°protect the people.¡±


    A sense of relief, as well as gratitude, filled Arator¡¯s heart.


    That was why he no longer kept his farming secrets, spilling every last one of them.


    Properly managed, a disaster where warm winter caused the wheat to sprout could actually become an asset¡ªan unexpected gain for Winters.


    ¡­


    Following ¡°Encouraging Agriculture¡± was the ¡°Preparation for War.¡±


    The content of the ¡°Preparation for War Order¡± was even more straightforward. As the supreme commander of the garrison forces, Winters notified all villages and towns in Iron Peak County:


    The day before, the garrison captured barbarian scouts. The barbarian scouts confessed that due to the warm winter and abundant fodder, the barbarians would attack the Newly Reclaimed Land a second time.


    Part of this information was false, and part of it was true¡ªWinters had no intention of elaborating on the source of the intelligence.


    Montaigne, the Garrison Officer, immediately ordered all town [Garrison Officers] and [Acting Garrison Officers]: to blockade roads, scrutinize suspicious individuals, and arrange sentries.


    Most importantly: to immediately recruit militia and set up beacon towers along the Big Horn River and within every village and town.


    Upon detecting any move from the barbarians, they must instantly light the beacons to signal a warning; Revodan would dispatch troops for rescue. Those who delayed military information would be severely punished without mercy.


    The beacon towers were to be ready within three days, to be inspected by the garrison forces once the deadline arrived. Delayers would face severe punishment as well.


    The militia and beacon towers were emergency measures.


    The Big Horn River acted as a barrier between the wilderness and the Newly Reclaimed Land; defending along the river might be a good strategy.


    But the border was too extensive, and the places Winters was tasked to defend were too many while his troops were too few and lacked the mobility of Hurd¡¯s swift cavalry.


    Could the militia hold off the Terdun Barbarians? S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters was not optimistic, but if there was even a sliver of hope, he had to try.


    The plan for recruiting the militia was personally devised by Winters and consisted of two phases.


    The first phase: Each village and town was to form a militia, responsible for local defense.


    Would each village and town comply? Of course not¡ªWinters was prepared for this.


    Towns like Wooden Flute Town and Fuyuan Town, hundreds of kilometers away from the border, wouldn¡¯t feel threatened until the barbarians were right at their doorstep.


    Not to mention, Winters couldn¡¯t provide any weapons or supplies to the militias everywhere.


    The first phase was already troublesome enough to implement, but its difficulties were nothing compared to the plan for the second phase.


    As for what the second phase plan was, the esteemed Montaigne protector of the people didn¡¯t even mention it in the ¡°Preparation for War¡± notice.


    At present, if each village and town could organize militia forces in an orderly manner, Winters would have no further demands.

 Chapter 729 729 48 Notice_2

    ?Chapter 729: Chapter 48 Notice_2 Chapter 729: Chapter 48 Notice_2 ¡­


    Compared to the first two announcements, the third announcement seemed less urgent.


    The third announcement had no title and read as follows:


    [Order for each village and town to select representatives of public opinion, to prepare for travel to Revodan to attend the ¡°Grievance Petition Meeting,¡± with specific times to be notified separately.


    The new government hopes to investigate the hardships of the people of Iron Peak County, and the travel and accommodation expenses of the representatives will be provided by the new government.]


    The announcement essentially contained two points: one was to convene representatives for a petition and grievance meeting, and the other was a guarantee to reimburse food and lodging expenses.


    Talking about consultation meetings, the commoners of Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t understand. But when it came to a ¡°Grievance Petition Meeting,¡± the elderly who had lived under the authority of the emperor all understood.


    The latter point seemed rather silly and laughable, but it was a strong suggestion made by the tobacco trader [Old Priskin].


    ¡­


    ...


    The three announcements were short, and the old gentleman finished reading them quickly, prompting the townsfolk around him to start chattering animatedly.


    ¡°Read it again, good sir!¡± Some latecomers jeered: ¡°We arrived late!¡±


    The old gentleman slightly furrowed his brows, cleared his throat, and began to read from the beginning once more.


    The latecomers listened attentively. The three announcements were brief and straightforward, using simple words and grammar that were so colloquial they bordered on ¡°vulgar.¡±


    To draft these three announcements, Winters had racked his brains. Without Bard around, he didn¡¯t even have a qualified scribe by his side.


    When he had a splitting headache, Winters had a moment of inspiration and came up with an ultimate solution:


    He called over six illiterate old farmers and read the drafted announcements to them; if the farmers couldn¡¯t understand or found ambiguities, he would revise them, continuing until at least five of the six could understand.


    For example, the sentence ¡°Herder scouts of the Terdon Tribe are touching the Iron Peak County border¡± was revised over and over until it finally became ¡°The barbarians are going to kill their way over here.¡±


    After the old gentleman read it for the second time, people caused a ruckus once again, asking for another repeat. The old gentleman ignored them and walked away shaking his head.


    The townspeople¡¯s discussions grew even more fervent.


    The farmers were concerned about the wheat jointing, while the fishermen and merchants were concerned about the militia¡ªsince Shovel Port already had a militia, the Grievance Petition Meeting, for the time being, was of little concern to anyone.


    ¡°Mayor Botar is here!¡± Someone announced loudly: ¡°Make way, make way!¡±


    The crowd parted to make a path for a broad-shouldered, tall Dusack man with a somber face to walk up to the announcements.


    Dusack Botar, as both the mayor of Shovel Port Town and the acting Garrison Officer, was in other words, the actual ruler of Shovel Port in the political system of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    He did not reside in the town, but in the fortress-like ¡°Botar Manor.¡±


    Adult Dusacks, regardless of their status, had already been conscripted. However, no one knew what means Mayor Botar had used to keep himself off the conscription list.


    The townspeople held their breath and watched in complete silence as Mayor Botar walked up to the church doors and ripped off the three announcements.


    Botar stood on the steps, crumpled the three announcements into a ball of waste paper, and scolded with glaring eyes:


    ¡°Trampling over the wheat seedlings? It¡¯s all fucking nonsense! It¡¯s the rebel leaders who are trying to harm you!¡±


    ¡°Barbarians coming? Shovel Lake is to the west of Shovel Port! Barbarians coming? Nonsense!¡±


    ¡°A militia? Does it need the rebels to worry about? We in Shovel Port have had a militia for a long time!¡±


    ¡°Fellow villagers, let me tell you! A militia? Bullshit! The rebels want to conscript you into their army!¡±


    ¡°Disperse now!¡±


    The crowd left sheepishly.


    Seeing that his goal was accomplished, Mayor Botar immediately signaled his followers to bring his horse over.


    He carefully tucked the crumpled ¡°waste paper¡± of the three announcements into his chest and leapt onto his horse, dashing towards Botar Manor outside of town.


    As one of the first settlers, when Botar was resettled in Iron Peak County, small bands of barbarians crossing the river to raid were common occurrences; isolated new immigrants were often slaughtered.


    Therefore, Botar Manor was constructed with the feel of a fortress from the beginning¡ªa ditch, walls, and none other than a sturdy stone house that was truly the main keep of a castle.


    Seeing the lord returning, the tenant farmers guarding the manor¡¯s gate hurriedly lowered the drawbridge.


    Botar rode into the manor without breaking pace, and the drawbridge was slowly raised again.


    Compared to other villages and towns that had become dilapidated due to war, Botar Manor was thriving.


    Around the manor, whether it was wasteland or farmland, all had been reclaimed, with wheat seedlings growing lush.


    Early on, when tenant farmers and hired workers from other villages and towns fled, Botar joined with the landowners of Shovel Port to control the landless peasants of their town.


    Latterly, he gathered the refugees from other places, distributing food to them. The refugees respectfully called him ¡°Lord Botar, the Benevolent.¡±


    Botar didn¡¯t spare his horse, galloping all the way to the castle-like house. He asked his eldest son bluntly, ¡°Where is Mr. Alpha?¡±


    ¡°Upstairs,¡± Botar¡¯s eldest son replied anxiously.


    Botar threw the reins to his son and rushed into the house, running upstairs to the small drawing room on the second floor.


    There were no others in the small drawing room, only a young man. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young man was leaning by the window, reading a letter. He wore a pale green hunting suit with a plain small sword hanging from his belt.


    Just by his facial features, the young man could not be considered handsome.


    But his smile was so affable that it naturally made people fond of him. Moreover, his physique was impressive¡ªhis fingers were slender and his limbs were both sturdy and well-proportioned.


    Botar¡¯s youngest daughter and several young maids were already smitten with this ¡°Mr. Alpha.¡±


    Upon seeing Botar hurrying upstairs, Mr. Alpha put away the letter and began with a smile, ¡°Tomorrow evening, another shipment of weapons and gunpowder will arrive at Shovel Lake.¡±

 Chapter 730 730 48 Announcement_3

    ?Chapter 730: Chapter 48 Announcement_3 Chapter 730: Chapter 48 Announcement_3 Botar was first taken aback, then elated, ¡°That¡¯s great!¡±


    ¡°You still need to send someone to respond,¡± Mr. Alpha politely added.


    In his excitement, Botar had forgotten the original purpose of his visit to Mr. Alpha and assured with a slap on his chest, ¡°Your Excellency, please rest assured, I will personally lead people there!¡±


    ¡°Is there any movement from Revodan?¡± Mr. Alpha asked.


    Snapping out of it, Botar hurriedly took out a crumpled piece of paper from his bosom, ¡°The Rebels have sent three notices.¡±


    Botar tried to unfold the notices, but his fingers were too clumsy, and he inadvertently tore a big hole in one. Mr. Alpha took over, smoothing out the crumpled trio of papers.


    ¡°This¡­ why is it written like this¡­¡± After reading through the notices, Mr. Alpha couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Why is it written in this manner?¡±


    ...


    Botar immediately echoed, ¡°It shows that the Rebels are unpopular, just a bunch of illiterate hooligans.¡±


    In fact, Botar thought the notices were rather well written. At least he, who only recognized simple words, could understand them.


    ¡°The Rebels might be unpopular, but they are not illiterate hooligans,¡± Mr. Alpha corrected him. He tapped his fingers on the windowsill and narrowed his eyes, asking, ¡°Do you think what the Rebel leader said is true?¡±


    ¡°Which matter? Sending sheep to graze on wheat seedlings?¡± Botar scoffed disdainfully, ¡°Unheard of.¡±


    ¡°About the Herders possibly returning.¡±


    ¡°That¡­ might be true. Indeed, this winter has not been as cold as in the past years. But it could also be false¡­ who knows?¡± Botar replied.


    After thinking for a moment, Mr. Alpha nodded, ¡°Since the Rebel leader wants the villages to form militias, we can use the militia as a cover to train the refugees. As for signal fires, we can set up a few. Since the Herders might come back, we should prepare. Send someone to Revodan for a message, requesting weapons and food from the Rebels, saying the militia needs them.¡±


    ¡°Will the Rebels provide them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good if they can provide; it doesn¡¯t matter if they don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Botar nodded emphatically.


    ¡°Go now.¡±


    Botar saluted and turned to leave.


    Mr. Alpha looked out of the window and let out a nearly inaudible sigh.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, more than a hundred kilometers away in the Blackwater Town office, a messenger Cavalry was handing over a letter personally written by Winters and three notices to Lieutenant Bard.


    Bard broke the seal, carefully read the letter, and then skimmed through the notices.


    He sighed deeply as well.


    Lately, he had been running between the farms, dealing with all kinds of significant and minor issues.


    Over here, he was even more short-staffed than Winters, almost every task requiring his personal attention.


    He had to manage the distribution of farming tools, draft animals, and seeds, as well as supervise and inspect the autumn farming conditions of each farm.


    In less than a month, the settled refugees and local farmers had already broken into several violent fights. It was only due to his mediation and decisions that further escalation was avoided.


    As the weather grew colder, the farms needed to repair houses and gather fuel, and he had to arrange and plan for that as well.


    Bard had visibly become more fatigued and even seemed to age.


    Seeing the farms gradually getting on track, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief and take a good rest, but¡­


    Dwelling on it was useless, so Bard calmly accepted reality. After composing himself, he opened the window and called out loudly for the stable boy.


    Hearing the call, Anglu, who had been brushing horses in the backyard, ran into the office, still holding the grooming brush. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Gather the horses that have been sent to each farm,¡± Bard instructed.


    ¡°Gather them?¡± Anglu asked, puzzled, ¡°Wasn¡¯t it said that the horses would stay at the farms for the winter?¡±


    Bard handed Anglu the letter and notices, his heart ached but his tone was flat, ¡°After gathering them, arrange for them to be kept close, on the farms at Blackwater Town. Let the horses graze on the wheat seedlings. I will also allot you some concentrated feed.¡±


    Although Anglu had been learning to read, he still struggled with it. Only after looking at the notices did he understand what had happened.


    ¡°There is too little time,¡± Anglu said bitterly, ¡°The horses won¡¯t be able to put on much fat.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll put on as much as they can. Call Ish over,¡± Bard instructed.


    Anglu saluted and ran out to prepare the saddles.


    Before long, a sweaty Ish walked into the office.


    ¡°You called for me?¡± Ish had been chopping wood. Upon learning that the Lieutenant needed him, he had hurried over.


    ¡°Gather all the adult men from the farms and prepare weapons,¡± Bard said sternly, ¡°It¡¯s time we defended ourselves.¡±

 Chapter 731 731 49 Iron Bar

    ?Chapter 731: Chapter 49 Iron Bar Chapter 731: Chapter 49 Iron Bar A piece of iron bar lay quietly in the storeroom, devoid of thought. But if it had any, it surely must have wondered what life it would lead as a certain object.


    An agricultural plow for tilling the soil?


    Or a sickle for reaping the harvest?


    The door opened, light poured in, and the iron bar was taken out of the storeroom by the craftsman.


    It was thrown into the furnace, buried deep beneath the glowing charcoals. The bellows huffed and puffed, the fierce flames scorching the body of the iron bar.


    After enduring for who knows how long, the iron bar finally escaped the fiery hell. Almost immediately, it was clamped onto the hydraulic forging press by the craftsman, repeatedly hammered.


    Soon, the iron bar disappeared, leaving behind a small arm-length, tapering at both ends, and the thickness in the middle about the size of a human grip¡ªa metal spike.


    ...


    No sooner had the spike taken shape than the blacksmith tossed it at the apprentice¡¯s feet. The craftsman had already gone to fetch another iron bar even before the apprentices moved.


    The spike was then handed over to the apprentices, its core still harboring astonishing heat.


    Its surface was coated by the apprentices with soap: if it turned yellow, back into the forge; if it turned white, buried in hot sand to cool.


    The spike was repeatedly adjusted until its color was somewhere between gold and silver, only then did the apprentices toss it into the oil barrel;


    The moment the burning hot spike touched the cold oil, it hissed sharply.


    In the blink of an eye, it turned from bright yellow to blood red, then the apprentices clamped it out of the oil barrel and hung it in the air;


    The color of the spike continued to fade, the blood-red dimmed, and shades of violet slowly emerged.


    It was once again immersed in oil for a slow cooling.


    While the apprentices were busy with this work, a chubby man, wiping sweat from his brow, his belly protruding, and eyes glaring, patrolled among them, scolding and correcting mistakes.


    Quenching and tempering were always the closely guarded secrets of master craftsmen, with the judgment on timing based entirely on eyesight, experience, and secret techniques.


    If a master was willing to teach these two skills to an apprentice, he was either drunk, or the apprentice was his illegitimate child.


    In all of Iron Peak County, the one most skilled at these two techniques was none other than the swordsmith and municipal council member¡ªShosha.


    Now, Shosha was digging deep into his tricks of the trade. Although the apprentices were scolded, they were secretly overjoyed.


    Merely learning to recognize the three colors of steel could sustain them for a lifetime.


    After completing quenching and tempering, the spike continued to be passed to the newly initiated apprentices for edging.


    In the strict hierarchy of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild, young apprentices had no right to learn more advanced skills; they simply had to earnestly grind the metal.


    The foot-operated grinding wheel spun rapidly, sparks flying in all directions, sharpening the spike to an extreme point.


    Swords were seldom edged with a grinding wheel, as the blade could easily be spoiled without care. But now there was no time for fine work; it was all about speed.


    The spike, which had been through burning, forging, quenching, tempering, and edging, was sent to the town hall where the carpenter was waiting for it.


    What came next was simple: the spike was hammered into a hefty wooden stick, one end deeply buried in the wood, the other sharp end exposed.


    It was hastily secured by the carpenter with nails and ropes, then taken to the town square, joining its kindred spirits.


    At this moment, the iron bar understood its destiny¡ªit was a weapon.


    ¡­


    With the forge aglow and hammers thundering, Forging Village was like a steed being mercilessly whipped by its rider, now running at full capacity.


    Nobody was making plows or sickles anymore; whether craftsmen or apprentices, they were all frantically producing weapons.


    Swords took too much time, axes and halberds wasted too much material. The simpler the weapon for killing, the better.


    The Stinger Hammer became the obvious choice. There was no other reason; it was simply easy to make.


    As the name suggests¡ªa club with the capability to stab.


    No need for high-quality steel or fine wood. An iron spike and a wooden stick used for farm tools, when put together, made a Stinger Hammer. Not as good as a spear, but at least better than a pointed stick.


    The Stinger Hammer itself was one of the most rudimentary of weapons.


    The ones hurriedly produced by Forging Village were the most rudimentary even within the Stinger Hammer family, without a doubt.


    Using rough wooden sticks, sacrificing weight and maneuverability for structural strength; and the spike not firmly fixed in place, further trading structural strength for time.


    There must have been those in Iron Peak County who did not believe the ¡°barbarians are coming to kill,¡± but the blacksmiths had no doubts.


    If it were not an emergency, why would Montaigne, the civic protector, order such crudely made weapons?


    In such urgent and suffocating circumstances, no one would concern themselves with the transfer of ownership of a forge¡ªexcept for Gangchalov.


    Gangchalov had no idea what had happened.


    In any case, young Vinius had made a trip to Revodan, and upon his return, the paperwork was all sorted out. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without a sound, Vinius¡¯ forge had been traded to Shosha, with procedures like public notice and voting drastically streamlined.


    Gangchalov got the short end of the stick, after all, the nominal head of the blacksmiths¡¯ guild was still Mr. Shosha.


    And behind Shosha? Even with his knees, Gangchalov could guess who it was.


    At this very moment, that man was standing right in front of him.


    ¡°Civic Protector, sir.¡± Gangchalov approached with a careful smile, ¡°Three hundred Stinger Hammers, six hundred spikes, all loaded onto the carts.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± nodded the military civic protector.


    The young military civic protector, clad in full armor, holding a riding crop, and wearing a long sword at his side, made Gangchalov feel somewhat breathless for some reason.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment, sir. I¡¯m truly undeserving¡­ undeserving.¡±


    ¡°Seven Forge Masters fled, five with their families to Revodan, leaving only you three brothers and young Mr. Vinius willing to stay.¡± The military civic protector revealed a hint of a smile, ¡°You¡¯re really quite good, I hope we can still use you in the future.¡±


    Gangchalov¡¯s forehead was beaded with cold sweat, and his spine felt a chill. Even as he walked away, he hadn¡¯t recovered his strength.

 Chapter 732 732 49 Iron bar_2

    ?Chapter 732: Chapter 49 Iron bar_2 Chapter 732: Chapter 49 Iron bar_2 Winters had no intention of knocking Paratu, just that the latter had performed well, and he casually reminded him.


    As for what Paratu thought, that was Paratu¡¯s business, Winters couldn¡¯t control it, nor did he care.


    In the square of Forging Village, a convoy was ready to depart, with the unit in charge of the escort being Captain Thomas¡¯s First Company.


    ¡°Don¡¯t save the horses¡¯ strength, the faster it reaches Lieutenant Bard the better. Tell Lieutenant Bard, this is the first batch, there will be more being sent continuously,¡± Winters instructed Thomas, ¡°Once there, leave the draft horses. Bring back the horses that are distributed to each farm.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Thomas saluted forcefully. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters helped the company commander adjust his helmet, and sighed, ¡°Don¡¯t disgrace me again.¡±


    Thomas felt so wronged that his nose tingled, and he saluted again: ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    Just this afternoon, Captain Thomas had been severely criticized by Winters in public.


    If it weren¡¯t for the inconvenience of reassigning units under the new organization, Captain Thomas would now be Captain of the Twelfth Company.


    Because, after Winters¡¯s personal inspection, he found the food preparation situation of each company was a complete mess.


    Especially a short soldier from the First Company, who brought only a piece of bread, which was a far cry from the ¡°two weeks¡± standard.


    Slightly fermented dough, baked twice, was both lightweight and didn¡¯t take up space; that was military food. Bread, a fluffy food, didn¡¯t even count as dry rations.


    Winters didn¡¯t discipline the soldier; he disciplined the company commander, especially the commander of the First Company.


    According to the tradition of the legion, the sequence of each company and its combat strength were closely related. The First Company had the strongest combat power, and that was why he was the commander of the First Company.


    But as a result of his inspection, the First Company¡¯s preparations for battle were the worst.


    On the contrary, Second Company Commander Bart Xialing did an excellent job.


    The Second Company averaged three and a half weeks of rations per person, and there was no situation where ¡°some soldiers had more, others less,¡± which was particularly commendable.


    On the spot, Winters took out a gold cross medal and hung it on the flag of the Second Company.


    [Note: Andre¡¯s medal, and the two medals of Winters, had already been melted down]


    ¡­


    ¡°Alright,¡± Winters waved his hand: ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Thomas mounted his horse, saluted again, and rode off.


    Winters watched the wagons rumble out of Forging Village, until the convoy vanished into the night.


    He could not spare any troops for Bard, not even a company.


    With Iron Peak County bordered by a river, if the troop strength was sufficient or if there was a fleet, obviously the best strategy would be to defend along the river.


    But he had neither troops nor a fleet.


    He had to clench his fist and punch hard at the noseridges of those by the fire. Even a ten-man team¡¯s difference in strength could determine the success or failure of that punch.


    So, he couldn¡¯t spare any troops for Bard; Bard and the refugee camp could only rely on themselves.


    A one-armed middle-aged soldier stood behind Winters, silently observing all this.


    In a soft voice, the one-armed soldier asked, ¡°Not giving a single soldier, can Lieutenant Bard really manage?¡±


    ¡°He has to manage, there¡¯s no choice,¡± Winters said after a long silence: ¡°I trust Bard, and he trusts me.¡±


    The wind gently blew, bringing with it the distant muffled sounds of hammers from the forge.


    ¡°The last time I saw this level of trust,¡± the one-armed soldier revealed a reminiscent smile: ¡°was between a hammer and a shield.¡±


    Winters burst into loud laughter, grabbed the one-armed soldier¡¯s arm: ¡°Enough. Colonel, don¡¯t jinx us. Let¡¯s head back to Revodan. Have you forgotten that Mrs. Mitchell is hosting you tonight?¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go. I¡¯m afraid when I see that lady.¡±


    ¡°Are there still women that can make you feel afraid?¡±


    ¡°At least there¡¯s one right now.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Colonel Bod had returned to Paratu three days ago.


    According to the customs of the Paratu People, an occasion as joyous as Colonel Bod¡¯s regaining his freedom and returning to his homeland required inviting family and friends to celebrate with a feast, as a way to signify the break from past misfortunes.


    Although the current situation was special, Winters still wanted to give the Colonel a proper reception.


    After much consideration, he could only ask Mrs. Mitchell for help.


    Winters felt greatly indebted to Mrs. Mitchell. Gerard¡¯s fate was unknown, he had sent Pierre on the most dangerous mission, and he had also taken advantage of Mrs. Mitchell.


    Mrs. Mitchell never showed him the slightest reproach, which made Winters feel even more guilt.


    Therefore, in the end, it was Anna who reached out to Mrs. Mitchell for help.


    Ellen Mitchell graciously agreed, and thus the ¡°family banquet¡± was arranged.


    Mrs. Ellen Mitchell was the hostess, with Colonel Bod Gates as the guest of honor.


    The male guests included Winters, Mason, and Father Caman.


    Andre wasn¡¯t there, as he and Tang Juan were both leading scouts into the wilderness; Lieutenant Colonel Moritz avoided Colonel Bod and did not attend the banquet either.


    The female guests included Anna and Catherine, with Scarlett not present.


    Because Scarlett had taken it upon herself to cut her hair, Mrs. Mitchell didn¡¯t allow her at the dining table.


    However, this suited the little wildcat perfectly, as she was now hiding in the kitchen, indulging in sneaking tastes of the food, no dish had escaped her ¡°poisonous hands¡±¡ªclearly, Ellen had not anticipated this.


    With only six guests, Ellen chose a two-meter-long dining table, neither too distant nor too cramped.


    Ellen also opened two bottles of wine brought from Wolf Town. In Revodan today, wine was a rare commodity.


    The guests toasted and chatted, intentionally avoiding topics like war, politics, and the Herders, creating a pleasant and intimate atmosphere.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s humorous anecdotes followed one after another, and laughter never ceased at the table.

 Chapter 733 733 49 Iron Bar_3

    ?Chapter 733: Chapter 49 Iron Bar_3 Chapter 733: Chapter 49 Iron Bar_3 Of the three gentlemen present, who is more skilled in marching and warfare, or in controversy.


    But when it comes to winning women¡¯s hearts, even if you tied Winters, Bard, Andre, Mason, Tang Juan, and Moritz together, they would still be no match for Bod Gates alone.


    Although the hardship of the wilderness had nearly worn the Colonel down to an old man, it had not crushed his sense of humor.


    As they chatted, it was time for the dessert to be served.


    There should have been seven desserts for one host and six guests, but only six were brought to the table.


    Eileen discreetly passed the desserts to the others while she herself did not take one, ¡°Speaking of desserts, the price of flour in the city has been changing every moment these past few days.¡±


    Winters immediately focused his attention, ¡°Flour prices have gone up?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes, the poor believers can¡¯t even afford gruel anymore.¡± Father Caman coldly retorted, ¡°The increase is quite severe. Is this your responsibility? Can you give an explanation?¡±


    Colonel Bod stopped telling jokes and silently savored his dessert as if he were invisible at the table.


    ¡°This¡­ I will look into it.¡± Winters seriously nodded to Mrs. Mitchell and Caman in thanks, ¡°Thank you both for bringing this to my attention.¡±


    Caman scoffed and looked away from Winters.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple?¡± Senior Mason, who had a low alcohol tolerance, spoke with bleary and unfocused eyes, ¡°I heard the Herd Barbarians are coming to kill us. Every household with a little property in the villages nearby has fled into Revodan! We have city walls! How could flour prices not rise? What do you say? Couldn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°And you just stand by and watch?¡± Father Caman frowned and questioned.


    ¡°What can be done? Cap prices? The prices would rise even higher! Limit purchases? Everyone would rush to buy!¡±


    Messily fidgeting with his wine glass and sniffling, Senior blew his nose and retorted unapologetically, ¡°To completely solve the problem, we need to open the granaries and sell grain! But do we have any grain? We don¡¯t have surplus grain! The grain in the storage is getting less by the day, and we still need it to fight the Herders! Do you understand our difficulties, Father Caman?¡±


    Senior did not only have a poor tolerance for alcohol, but his demeanor when drunk was not the best¡­ at least at this moment, Mason was nothing like his usually genteel self.


    Caman was left speechless by the retort, and as a priest, he had no desire to argue with a drunkard.


    And there, Colonel Bod had already finished his dessert.


    ¡°I will discuss a solution with Mayor Priskin,¡± Winters assured Caman and Senior with a smile, ¡°There will be a way, rest assured.¡±


    Seeing that Senior Mason was already quite drunk, Winters had an idea and asked him, ¡°How is that ranch of yours doing now?¡±


    ¡°Which one?¡± Senior asked, slightly bewildered.


    ¡°The one I visited for the first time,¡± Winters said.


    Winters shouldn¡¯t have mentioned it, as by doing so, he had touched on a sore point for Senior.


    Under the influence of alcohol, pent-up frustrations, and the emotional banquet atmosphere, Senior Mason suddenly broke down crying, making the mood turn delicate.


    Had he overstepped the mark? Winters was a bit panicked himself.


    Winters felt a kick under the table and looked up to meet Anna¡¯s radiant smile.


    Something was wrong!


    With an expressionless face, Winters scratched Anna¡¯s ankle.


    Lady Navarre nearly spilled half her glass due to a careless move. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Catherine squinted her eyes suspiciously, watching the two of them.


    Soon after, Winters¡¯s shin was kicked even harder.


    Bearing the sharp pain, Winters put an arm around Senior¡¯s shoulder, consoling him, ¡°I just wanted to ask how those breeding pigs of yours were doing?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re all gone, haven¡¯t I told you?¡± Senior Mason said as he wiped his nose.


    Winters was of course aware, as there was the testimony of the victim, Tang Juan. Last time Senior got drunk and caused a scene, he dragged Juan into a whole night of discussing livestock breeding.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright if they are gone, you can breed them again.¡± Winters guided Senior.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s not the same,¡± Senior slurred, ¡°For improving breeds, the fastest way is using boars, but the most direct effect comes from sows. I had both boars and sows, all painstakingly selected through breeding, and now they¡¯re all gone¡­ Ronald¡­ Raising pigs for meat is one thing, but who slaughters breeding pigs for meat? I am so angry¡­¡±


    Winters listened and nodded his head.


    Anna, however, was somewhat annoyed; was this really the time to talk about sows and boars at the dinner table? She had clearly signaled to Winters not to continue the topic, but the scoundrel acted as though he couldn¡¯t hear or see, continuing to lead Mr. Mason further into the conversation.


    Anna suddenly heard her sister speak up, ¡°Can¡¯t you just buy more from outside?¡±


    There was a lady interested in the topic, and Senior Mason became even more enthusiastic, getting his energy back as he explained, ¡°Most pigs are raised separately by families, lacking the awareness and conditions for breeding. Rearing a large number at once offers many more opportunities to select and improve the breed.¡±


    Catherine smiled charmingly, curiously asking, ¡°Then can¡¯t you just start raising a lot again?¡±


    Lady Walei was much sharper than her sister in some aspects¡­ For example, it was clear that Mr. Winters was intentionally leading Mr. Mason into discussing certain matters.


    ¡°Recovering the size of the livestock¡­ that would take many years,¡± Senior said, his gloom and sorrow deepening, ¡°Gestation takes time, and the young need time to grow, alas.¡±


    ¡°What about breeding horses?¡± Winters asked.

 Chapter 734 734 50 The Way Forward

    ?Chapter 734: Chapter 50 The Way Forward Chapter 734: Chapter 50 The Way Forward When the last drop of wine had been drunk, it was time to end the farewell banquet.


    In accordance with Paratu customs, Mrs. Mitchell presented the colonel with a new pair of stirrups and boots as a gift.


    Bod laughed heartily as he changed into the new boots, then forcefully tossed his old shoes out the window, signifying that he had completely rid himself of bad luck.


    Interestingly, Winters hosted the welcome banquet for Colonel Bod in the style of the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, yet the only Paratu person present was the colonel himself.


    Captain Mason, his mind blurred, was taken back to his residence by Heinrich, still mumbling about his breeding experiences on the way.


    And Colonel Bod wanted a private word with Winters.


    Leaving the Mitchell residence, the two men strolled along the bank of the St. George River, chatting casually about the anecdotes from the Land Academy.


    ...


    ¡°I can¡¯t walk anymore,¡± Colonel Bod said, looking at two large rocks by the shore, ¡°Let¡¯s sit for a while.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Winters had been longing to stop anyway.


    After sitting down, Winters slowly stretched his left leg and unconsciously let out a grunt.


    ¡°Why do you sound like an old man?¡± Colonel Bod teased, ¡°All groaning when you sit down and get up.¡±


    Winters tapped his left knee and replied casually, ¡°During the battle on the western bank of The Styx, my leg got stepped on by a horse hoof. It was almost healed, but with the recent turn of the weather, it started to feel sore and itchy again for no reason.¡±


    Colonel Bod remained silent for a long while before he spoke, his tone full of remorse, ¡°I haven¡¯t thanked you yet. If you hadn¡¯t turned back to save me that night, I would have been dead.¡±


    ¡°No need to thank me,¡± Winters pointed to the back of his head, smiling, ¡°I took a blow here, and I can¡¯t remember much from that night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about it.¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters just smiled and said nothing.


    Winters had changed, and so had Colonel Bod.


    The colonel of the past was burly, enthusiastic, laughed loudly, cursed fiercely, like a majestic stallion;


    Now, the one-armed soldier was silent, quiet, gaunt to the point he couldn¡¯t fill out his clothes, his outward appearance aging ahead of his years while his soul aged even more than his appearance.


    Although he still retained a sense of active humor, it was hard for him to come out of his shell¡ªthis Winters understood best.


    The two sat on the large rock, listening to the river water churn in the dark, again without speaking for a long time.


    It was Colonel Bod who broke the silence, his attitude as humorous as ever, jokingly saying, ¡°No wonder back then when I wanted to marry off my daughter to you, you steadfastly refused. Turns out you already had a bridle on.¡±


    Winters¡¯s breath hitched, ¡°Please don¡¯t mention this to Miss Navarre.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It is not that I¡¯m afraid¡­ never mind, I¡¯m formally asking you.¡±


    ¡°Relax,¡± Bod chuckled, patting his junior¡¯s shoulder, ¡°How could gentlemen¡¯s business be told to a lady?¡±


    ¡°Exactly! You¡¯re right!¡±


    ¡°You kids from juvenile school,¡± Bod¡¯s eyes filled with a hint of pity, ¡°have too little contact with women from a young age, and I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s good or bad.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t attend juvenile school?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even go to preparatory school at that time!¡± The colonel laughed heartily, ¡°I entered the academy at the age of twenty, after my coming-of-age ceremony was already done.¡±


    ¡°Times have changed,¡± Winters defended weakly.


    Colonel Bod laughed even more heartily, as though asking casually, ¡°Do you have any plans for dealing with the Terdon Tribe?¡±


    ¡°If a sword swings at you, block with a shield. If an arrow flies at you, deflect with armor,¡± Winters picked up a few pebbles, launched them with Arrow Flying Spell, and twisted their trajectory with Deflection Spell, ¡°No plans, just ideas.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me about them?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing that can¡¯t be discussed,¡± Winters started drawing a map in mid-air with his finger, smiling, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of dividing Iron Peak County into upper, middle, and lower parts, according to the direction and distribution of the rivers.¡±


    ¡°Dividing by the upstream and downstream?¡±


    ¡°No, by watersheds,¡± Winters explained, ¡°So the lower Iron Peak County only includes Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.¡±


    Colonel Bod softly uttered a name, ¡°Lieutenant Bard.¡±


    ¡°The population is sparse across the vast expanse of the lower Iron Peak County, and over twenty thousand refugees are settled there. Bard is in charge.¡±


    ¡°From that perspective,¡± Colonel Bod pondered, ¡°does the middle Iron Peak County comprise the remaining areas south of the St. George River?¡±


    ¡°Yes, the remaining five towns of South Eight Town make up the middle Iron Peak County. North of the St. George River is the upper Iron Peak County.¡± Conversing with someone as quick-witted was convenient, Winters simply added, ¡°The upper Iron Peak County is the richest and most populous. Strictly speaking, Revodan, situated on the north bank of St. George River, also belongs to the upper Iron Peak County.¡±


    Colonel Bod seemed to imagine a map in the air, smiling as he said, ¡°I see¡­ Your method is like peeling an onion, one layer after another.¡±


    ¡°If up against New Reclamation Legion, it¡¯s indeed like an onion. The outer you go, the more dangerous it is, the inner, the safer,¡± Winters didn¡¯t deny it, but swiftly changed his tone to a more serious one, ¡°However, if up against the Herders, it¡¯s like an onion being sliced open, with the flanks completely exposed.¡±


    ¡°At the lower Iron Peak County, you¡¯re not deploying troops?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters said, expressionless, ¡°That¡¯s left to Bard.¡±


    ¡°What about the upper Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Not deploying there either. North Eight Towns don¡¯t swear allegiance to me.¡±


    ¡°Because of that reason, you won¡¯t deploy troops to help them?¡± Colonel Bod appeared to smile.


    ¡°No,¡± Winters was forthright, ¡°Since they don¡¯t swear allegiance to me, it¡¯s difficult for me to secure supplies and mobilize manpower in the upper Iron Peak County. It¡¯s not suitable for combat, so I won¡¯t deploy troops.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your plan then?¡± asked Colonel Bod, his expression gradually becoming serious.

 Chapter 735 735 50 The Road Ahead_2

    ?Chapter 735: Chapter 50 The Road Ahead_2 Chapter 735: Chapter 50 The Road Ahead_2 A pebble flew from Winters¡¯s hand, only to burst into pieces midair, ¡°I want to fight a decisive battle in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°The prerequisite for a main-force battle is that both sides are willing to engage in a main-force battle,¡± Colonel Bod asked curiously, ¡°How do you know the people of Terdun want to fight a decisive battle in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± Winters said somberly, ¡°And if I were the enemy chief, I¡¯d do everything to avoid a main-force battle.¡±


    ¡°The barbarian tribes are many, factions are many, and the system is fragmented. The downside is that during major battles, they can easily collapse at the slightest touch. The upside,¡± the colonel sighed deeply, ¡°is flexibility. Just a few dozen light cavalry can constitute an army.¡±


    Winters said cheerfully, ¡°So the focus of this battle is not on commanding my troops, but on commanding Terdun¡¯s troops. I have to make them fight me on the battlefield of my choosing.¡±


    Colonel Bod was first stunned, then his brows furrowed, and finally, he laughed heartily.


    ¡°I now see why Alpad is so fond of you,¡± the colonel slapped Winters¡¯s shoulder hard, ¡°Young people are indeed terrifying, daring to think and act; I truly feel old!¡±


    ...


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too quick to praise me,¡± Winters said quite helplessly, ¡°I still haven¡¯t figured out how to mobilize the enemy. The outcome couldn¡¯t possibly be worse, so I have nothing to lose.¡±


    Colonel Bod deliberately put on a stern face, ¡°Once the strategy is determined, the process of doing everything possible to approach the strategic goal is tactics. If I were in command, I wouldn¡¯t even entertain the idea of ¡®commanding the enemy¡¯; and even if I did, I would dismiss it with various reasons. Aren¡¯t you already heading in the right direction? Isn¡¯t that good enough?¡±


    Praise from an elder was harder to bear than scolding, so Winters swiftly changed the subject, ¡°You mentioned Alpad? What about him?¡±


    ¡°He thinks highly of you.¡±


    Winters fiddled with the pebble disinterestedly, ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed.¡±


    ¡°He gave you his flask, isn¡¯t that appreciation enough?¡± Colonel Bod raised an eyebrow, ¡°When I was still a warrant officer, I never saw him without that flask.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Winters chuckled, having always thought the flask was something Alpad had tossed to him on a whim.


    ¡°Of course, everyone knows about General Alpad¡¯s lucky flask; it¡¯s his talisman!¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t protect him.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but grin, ¡°It¡¯s ruined.¡±


    ¡°Ruined?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s eyes bulged.


    ¡°It blocked a lead bullet for me,¡± Winters pointed to his left chest, ¡°Right here.¡±


    Colonel Bod laughed boisterously, tears streaming down his face. After his laughter subsided, he wiped his tears and said, ¡°Now that we¡¯ve mentioned Alpad, there¡¯s something else I wanted to ask you.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± Winters sighed inwardly.


    ¡°Was it you who killed General Sekler?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s face changed, and his eyes became sharp.


    ¡°I killed him,¡± Winters admitted readily.


    ¡°Why did you kill him?¡±


    ¡°There are many reasons, but in the end, it boils down to one: I wanted to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Killed because you wanted to?¡± Colonel Bod questioned.


    Winters answered calmly, ¡°Exactly, I killed because I wanted to.¡±


    ¡°Do you still want to kill others?¡± the colonel asked with a scoff.


    ¡°I used to.¡±


    ¡°And now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s faded.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s faded?¡±


    ¡°The hate has faded,¡± Winters wrinkled his nose, ¡°Besides, I realized that killing one person doesn¡¯t help. Kill Sekler, there¡¯s Tekler. Kill Alpad, there¡¯s Valpad. Kill one, and ten more are waiting to take his place. It¡¯s pointless.¡± sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Killing one person doesn¡¯t help, so you plan to kill more?¡± Colonel Bod said through clenched teeth, ¡°What exactly are you trying to do?!¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡°What do I think?¡± Colonel Bod glared furiously, bellowing, ¡°I think you¡¯re an ambitious man! Eyeing an opportunity, you ruthlessly grab power by any means necessary! You want to trample everyone underfoot, even if it means killing thousands to do so!¡±


    Winters took a deep breath, let out a long sigh, and asked with a smile, ¡°Tell me, if an animal looks like a wolf, howls like a wolf, and walks like a wolf, is it not a wolf?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s not a wolf, is it still a dog?¡± Colonel Bod sneered.


    ¡°Exactly. Everyone will treat it as a wolf, and act towards it as they would towards a wolf. Does what it really is even matter?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it matters!¡± Colonel Bod roared like thunder, ¡°Stop beating around the bush with me! I just want to know what you¡¯re up to? If you¡¯re not a wolf, then tell me, how are you any different from a wolf?¡±


    ¡°What do I want to do?¡± Winters said bitterly, ¡°If only I knew that myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll beat the living daylights out of you, boy!¡± Colonel Bod suddenly stood up, violently swinging his lone arm. The vigorous, wild stallion within him burst forth from his aged body.


    ¡°You can¡¯t beat me,¡± Winters pushed the colonel back onto the stone, ¡°Calm down, calm down, I¡¯ll explain it slowly to you.¡±


    Colonel Bod breathed heavily, coughing violently.


    Once the colonel¡¯s breathing settled, Winters began to speak.


    Gazing at the black river waters beneath the night sky, he reminisced with some longing, ¡°At the beginning, I posed as a robber to ambush the grain levy team, keeping Revodan from forcing grain requisitions on Wolf Town. Back then, I knew what I wanted to do.¡±


    ¡°Posed as a robber?¡± the colonel scoffed.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t really be a robber, right?¡± Winters retorted matter-of-factly, ¡°I¡¯m a commissioned military officer stationed in the town, do I need to be openly hostile against Revodan?¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then I realized that just protecting Wolf Town was meaningless. Although I had no connection to other towns, if the whole Iron Peak County was aflame, Wolf Town would surely turn to ash as well.¡±

 Chapter 736 736 50 The Way Forward_3

    ?Chapter 736: Chapter 50 The Way Forward_3 Chapter 736: Chapter 50 The Way Forward_3 ¡°So your territory keeps expanding¡­¡±


    ¡°So, I started to consider the root of the problem,¡± Winters said, lowering his head and fiddling with the small pebble in his hand. ¡°The problem isn¡¯t with the common folk, nor with the soldiers who follow orders, not even with people like Major Ronald who give the orders directly.


    People hate the soldiers who conscript labor and grain, and by extension, they hate the masters in the city of Revodan, because those are the ones they come into direct contact with.


    But the real issue lies with the higher-level decision-makers, who are hidden behind their agents, so there¡¯s always this illusion¡ªthe duke is good, his servants are evil.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re going after General Adams?¡± Colonel Bod narrowed his eyes. ¡°After the war begins, the only important thing is how to end the war. Even if you really manage to defeat General Adams, have you thought about how you¡¯re going to settle it all?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t respond directly but said with a smile, ¡°Not to hide anything from you¡ªdon¡¯t laugh at me. I truly started off with a bit of a ¡®savior¡¯ complex when I took over Revodan and Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Savior?¡± A muffled snort came from the depths of Bod¡¯s nostrils. ¡°What about now?¡±


    ...


    Winters appeared somewhat dispirited, ¡°Now I realize: it was my salvation that led to the people of Iron Peak County no longer needing to be saved.¡±


    Winters simply faced the Colonel, looking him straight in the eyes, ¡°If not for me, if Iron Peak County were still under the control of the New Reclamation Legion, what do you think it would be like now?¡±


    Colonel Bod turned his head to look at the river, not making eye contact with Winters, and didn¡¯t speak.


    ¡°Then let me spell it out for you. The conscription of grain and labor would continue! The conscription of men would continue! Farmers would flee! The fields would become barren! Sooner or later the grain reserves from last year and this year would run out, and then come famine, bandits, and rebellion, followed by an even greater famine!¡±


    Colonel Bod couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    ¡°Am I telling any lies?¡± With each word he spoke, Winters¡¯s voice rose higher, ¡°You say I want to kill thousands? Yes, you¡¯re correct! The people General Adams personally killed probably aren¡¯t even a fraction of the number I¡¯ve killed!¡± Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters pointed towards Revodan Square in the distance, his demeanor suddenly intensifying, ¡°Right there, I beheaded dozens, hung dozens more. Even further north¡ªnorth of Hammer Fort! Colonel Zibeer, many of my seniors, they all died because of me!¡±


    He glared, questioning Colonel Bod, ¡°Taking life with a sword is murder, but taking life with famine and war is not? General Adams¡¯s hands are clean, and mine are bloody, so he¡¯s more noble than me? Yeah, if General Adams wants to be a hypocrite, there would still be people singing his praises for his compassion for the world!


    Damn! What kind of reasoning is that under the sun? Let me tell you, General Adams is the biggest executioner! The masters who rule over the Republic Valley of Paratu are the biggest executioners! I stain my hands with blood, but they smear blood on others!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve used this statement in my answer before, and I¡¯ll use it again now,¡± Winters stood in front of Colonel Bod, looking him in the eyes and declared, word for word, ¡°Yes! Many will die. But if my men are willing to die for me, my enemies will know it. If my men are unwilling to die for me, my enemies will also know it. I would like to see how many are willing to die for my enemy?¡±


    Colonel Bod subconsciously wanted to defend himself, struggling to speak, ¡°How could the New Reclamation Legion just watch the farmers starve to death? As far as I know, isn¡¯t General Adams also recruiting refugees to cultivate the land?¡±


    ¡°But did he succeed? He didn¡¯t!¡± Winters patted his chest, ¡°Sorry, but I did.


    What Adams cannot do, I do; what he dares not do, I dare; what he¡¯s unwilling to do, I¡¯m willing. If it weren¡¯t for that monkey-faced guy causing trouble, by next May or June, you¡¯d be able to see barren lands turn into golden wheat fields.¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s morale was completely suppressed.


    After a long silence, he acknowledged generously, ¡°You¡¯ve indeed done well. At most, General Adams would recruit the fit men among the refugees to become soldiers and let the remaining refugees reclaim the land.


    As for confiscating the land, houses, and draft animals of the manor lords and redistributing them to the refugees. General Adams can¡¯t, doesn¡¯t dare, and is unwilling to do that¡ªhe and his subordinates are themselves large manor lords.¡±


    But Winters did not have the joy of victory, he quietly sat back on the rock, shooting the pebbles one after another into the river.


    ¡°Violent delights have violent ends,¡± Winters¡¯s voice carried deep disappointment, defeat, and confusion, ¡°but I don¡¯t know what else I can bring to the people.¡±


    The Major listened silently.


    ¡°Now I¡¯ve only managed to restore Iron Peak County to what it was before, which essentially means nothing has changed. That¡¯s why North Eight Towns are cool towards me, lukewarm and distant.¡± Winters propped his forehead, ¡°I not only understand them, but I also think they are completely justified.


    To them, my replacing the New Reclamation Legion just means changing who collects the taxes. That¡¯s what North Eight Towns believes now, and sooner or later, South Eight Town will think the same way.¡±


    The Colonel patted Winters¡¯s shoulder, his words fraught with double meaning, ¡°To live is a gift itself.¡±


    ¡°Assuming one can take a life at any time,¡± Winters¡¯s voice was clear in the quiet night, ¡°Before confronting death, people don¡¯t consider survival a gift but an entitlement. It¡¯s not arrogance; it¡¯s simply their nature.¡±

 Chapter 737 737 50 The Path Ahead_4

    ?Chapter 737: Chapter 50 The Path Ahead_4 Chapter 737: Chapter 50 The Path Ahead_4 He laughed and asked, ¡°If I knew my own death was coming, would I still be here chatting with you? I would have already gone to marry Miss Navarre and had children.¡±


    Colonel Bod laughed heartily towards the heavens.


    These two men, who had faced death directly, could understand best: when death approaches, many things that seem unimportant now will become important; and many things that seem very important now will become unimportant.


    Winters sincerely expressed his confusion to Colonel Bod:


    ¡°The situation now is that I saved Iron Peak County from the legion¡¯s hands, yet I found that Iron Peak County can do very well without me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve reflected seriously¡ªmaybe from the very beginning, I should not have thought about resuming production. I should have just eaten the food from the warehouses, quietly awaiting famine.¡±


    ¡°When everyone starts to feel hunger, we could distribute weapons to every starving person, lead them to attack Mont Blanc County and Vernge County, devour and drink everything like locusts. Then involve more refugees to attack other places, eventually blazing to success or failing spectacularly.¡±


    ¡°That would indeed be exhilarating,¡± Winters said with a wry smile, ¡°much more satisfying than hanging in limbo in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Why not do it?¡± Colonel Bod seriously rebutted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you trying to be a savior? Ignite a great fire that consumes the world, and you become the savior of the refugees.¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want to,¡± Winters replied disdainfully, ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a savior, and I am not one. I¡¯m an executioner¡ªI never deny this.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know! But I can¡¯t say this to anyone; it¡¯s like being the one holding a torch at the front of thousands, and if I say ¡®I don¡¯t know where to go anymore¡¯ and then stomp out the torch, what would they do?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell others, but you can tell me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, only you,¡± Winters spread his hands, ¡°after all, you are an observer.¡±


    Colonel Bod snorted lightly.


    ¡°But I¡¯m not worried,¡± Winters said with an unconcerned laugh, ¡°Didn¡¯t the old marshal also join the Rebels reluctantly? Did he know where to go back then? Did he know where he would end up? Wasn¡¯t it just a step at a time?¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± Colonel Bod instantly became agitated upon hearing this. He leaped up from the rock, pointing at Winters, almost beside himself with anger, ¡°Iron Peak County isn¡¯t enough, Newly Reclaimed Land isn¡¯t enough, Paratu isn¡¯t enough? You still want to be a marshal?! Why don¡¯t you become emperor instead?¡±


    Colonel Bod trembled with anger.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get worked up; I was just giving an example,¡± Winters pulled the colonel back to sit down, patient and pacifying, ¡°Perhaps by next year, when the Red and Blue Rose have determined the winner, and the victor¡¯s army presses on our borders, I¡¯ll flee back to Vineta to do small business, right? Who can tell for sure about the future?¡±


    Colonel Bod huffily shrugged off Winters¡¯ arm.


    ¡°In any case, I want to stop and think,¡± Winters told the colonel earnestly, ¡°I won¡¯t expand any further until I¡¯m clear about what I can bring to the people, and until I¡¯ve thoroughly won the loyalty of Iron Peak County. If even Iron Peak County won¡¯t completely align with me, what grounds do I have to attack other counties? I want to see clearly where to go before continuing forward.¡±


    Colonel Bod sneered, ¡°At least you¡¯re not blinded by ambition.¡±


    ¡°I also want to ask you, what do you swear allegiance to, care about, are concerned about? The government? The military? The Republican system? Or the people?¡± Winters countered.


    Colonel Bod had no answer. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I would like to ask you to stay and help me,¡± Winters bowed deeply to Colonel Bod in earnest request.


    ¡°Help you?¡± Colonel Bod grunted, ¡°A distinguished colonel of the Republic to join you as a Rebel?¡±


    ¡°If you won¡¯t help, then forget it,¡± Winters straightened up and sat back on the rock.


    Neither the elder nor the younger looked at each other, just sitting in silence.


    They sat for a long, long time, with the river flowing quietly in front of them.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod suddenly spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a horse for you,¡± Winters nodded briskly, neither surprised nor disappointed, ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for someone to escort you¡ªrest assured, it¡¯s a genuine escort, not to kill you.¡±


    Bod gave Winters a slap out of anger, ¡°You young man, how cruel you¡¯ve become!¡±


    ¡°How can you call me cruel if I¡¯m not killing you?¡± Winters looked utterly aggrieved.


    ¡°Having the thought alone is cruel enough!¡±


    ¡°Alright then, fine. When would you like to leave?¡±


    ¡°Trying to send me away because the recruitment failed?¡± Colonel Bod laughed angrily and gave Winters another slap on the back.


    ¡°It¡¯s all up to you; I was hoping you would stay a few more days,¡± Winters also felt a bit reluctant, ¡°Whenever you decide to leave, I¡¯ll arrange the transportation and escort.¡±


    ¡°In the next few days then.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going back to Kingsfort.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not like you foreign bachelors; my wife and daughter are still in Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod sighed deeply, ¡°I need to bring them over.¡±

 Chapter 738 738 51 Beacon Fire

    ?Chapter 738: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire Chapter 738: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire The next day, upon learning of Colonel Bod¡¯s decision, Mason was very pleased.


    Because of a hangover, his head throbbed with emptiness.


    He spoke candidly, ¡°Great! This is wonderful! Now we¡¯re no longer ¡®a handful of foreigners commanding a large crowd of Paratu People¡¯.¡±


    Senior Mason had been truly hoping that the colonel would join them.


    As the new government for Iron Peak County under the Paratu local government, composed entirely of Venetians and United Provincials, their composition was indeed awkward.


    It was only because they currently controlled a small territory, had a small population, and the fearsome reputation of the Blood Wolf still deterred those eager to make a move, that the new government hadn¡¯t been viciously targeted over this point of weakness.


    But with Bod Gates joining, the concentration of Paratu People in the decision-making layer would jump from [0] to [14.3%], which could be described as ¡°a small step for the colonel, a giant leap for the new government.¡±


    ...


    However¡­ the military presence was still one hundred percent.


    Beyond the above reasons, the senior also had a bit of self-interest.


    With Bard absent, Winters not interfering, and others not seeing, all the big and small matters inside and outside Revodan currently fell squarely on Mason¡¯s shoulders, causing his hairline to recede at a visibly alarming rate.


    Having another hand to help with the daily affairs was something the senior longed for.


    But Mason had never actively invited Colonel Bod.


    Who was Bod Gates?


    In terms of status, he was the chief captain of the Sixth Legion, only a half-step away from the position of legion commander; and one day in the future, it would naturally follow that he would hold a general¡¯s baton.


    As for background, he came from a famous Paratu family; the [Bod] family history was as long and prestigious as that of the [Alpad] family, both tracing back to the time of the ancient seven tribes of Paratu.


    To recruit him to join the ¡°rebels¡±? The possibility was next to none.


    Mason didn¡¯t know what means his junior had used to persuade the colonel, and although he was pleased, he always felt a bit uneasy.


    ¡­


    Colonel Bod¡¯s participation in the council required no ceremony, nor did it necessitate an introduction¡ªWinters and the others had once been his subordinates. Adding an extra chair beside the table was all it took to complete the formalities.


    Winters started off, ¡°The council¡¯s total vote count had always been even. With the colonel joining, we will no longer have to worry about tie votes!¡±


    Senior Mason clapped weakly.


    Colonel Moritz was not present¡ªWinters had not yet found the opportunity to inform the colonel of the existence of Mr. A and Mr. B, so there were only Winters, Mason, and Colonel Bod in the meeting room.


    ¡°Wait a minute, I haven¡¯t agreed to rebel with you yet,¡± Colonel Bod leaned back in his chair and mocked, ¡°Don¡¯t count me in so hastily.¡±


    ¡°How can it be called a rebellion?¡± Winters asked puzzledly, ¡°We are all appointed officers of the Republic of Palatu.¡±


    Colonel Bod snorted lightly without engaging with Winters.


    ¡°Winters came to me excitedly this morning to tell me you had joined us,¡± Mason joked, ¡°Was that a false report of military intelligence?¡±


    Colonel Bod raised his eyebrows, ¡°Joined you? What are you, bandits? Do we need to take an oath too?¡±


    ¡°If you want to take an oath¡­ there¡¯s absolutely no problem. I can lend you a holy relic.¡± Winters offered enthusiastically, ¡°How about the Saint Ados Emblem? It¡¯s said to contain a genuine fragment of the true holy emblem.¡±


    ¡°Stop beating around the bush, I wasn¡¯t that drunk last night. I can stay in Iron Peak County¡ªI don¡¯t want to go to Alpad; and I don¡¯t care to serve those foolish MPs sent from Kingsfort,¡± Colonel Bod abruptly changed his tone, his eyes becoming serious, ¡°But there are two things I must ask clearly.¡±


    ¡°Please ask,¡± Winters replied, sitting upright and fixing his clothes, ¡°I will not lie to you about any question that I can answer.¡±


    Colonel Bod stared intently at Winters, trying to find any clues in his gaze and expression, ¡°What exactly is your relationship with the Herders?¡±


    ¡°A hostile one,¡± Winters spread his palms open.


    ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the Terdon Tribe.¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s body leaned forward involuntarily, ¡°I¡¯m asking about the Red River Tribe! The one that battled us fiercely, took me prisoner, and then let me go!¡±


    ¡°Two years ago I inadvertently saved the younger brother of Yasin of the White Lion, it¡¯s as simple as that.¡±


    ¡°Yasin owed you a favor, so he let me go too?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t always try to make me a scapegoat,¡± Winters propped his chin and said with a light laugh, ¡°In Palatu, in Bianli, on the Styx, I have fulfilled my responsibilities. If you¡¯re unsatisfied, you should vent your anger on Yanosh, Alpad, and Sekler. Why go after us few centurions?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t evade the issue! I¡¯m not venting about losing a battle on you; you know what I mean,¡± Colonel Bod pressed.


    ¡°Then let me answer you squarely,¡± Winters dropped his smile and looked directly at Colonel Bod, ¡°The White Lion let me go, perhaps as a favor. Because back then, I was all alone, with nothing. But releasing you was clearly to assist me. The purposes are threefold.


    ¡°First, if I can stand firm, he can trade with the outside world through me; second, Iron Peak County rebelling against the New Reclamation Legion, no matter who wins or loses, is depleting Paratu¡¯s strength; third, Iron Peak County borders the Terdon Tribe¡¯s territory, and since I have a long-standing grudge with the fire-warmers, he can use me to contain them.


    One stone killing three birds, why not do it? And what the White Lion has paid so far is merely one of his slaves. Since he sent you back to me, should I say ¡®no¡¯ and send you back again?¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s complexion turned red, then pale, and finally ashen. His cheeks tensed, and he said nothing. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 739 739 51 Beacon Fire_2

    ?Chapter 739: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_2 Chapter 739: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_2 Mason listened from the side, his heart pounding with fear. He gently tugged at Winters, gesturing for his junior brother to not be so aggressive.


    Winters ignored Senior Mason and continued, ¡°I have never betrayed the interests of Paratu to the Herders, nor have I betrayed the interests of the Paratu People. I am open and honest, with a clear conscience.


    But if the Hurd tribes profit from my actions, even though it is against my wishes, I won¡¯t just stand by and do nothing. If the New Reclamation Legion attacks me, surely I can¡¯t just sit back and not fight back because the Herders might benefit?¡±


    Colonel Bod was left speechless.


    After sitting quietly for a while, he let out a deep sigh and asked, ¡°The second question. Since you have contact with the Red River Tribe, those prisoners in the wasteland, do you have a way to bring them back?¡±


    ¡°There is a way! And I will do my utmost to rescue them¡ªthe slaves include my own men.¡± Winters produced a small knife, ¡°I have a verbal agreement with White Lion, to exchange goods for prisoners. Just give me the chance, and I¡¯ll open up trade routes to the Red River Tribe and bring our people back, little by little.¡±


    ¡°Exchange goods for prisoners?¡± Colonel Bod frowned and asked. For Paratu, maintaining a blockade on the wasteland and trading goods for prisoners was essentially smuggling.


    ...


    ¡°If not that, then what?¡± Winters retorted, ¡°Exchange with gold or silver? Not only do I not have gold or silver, but what use is gold or silver in the wasteland? White Lion values tangible benefits and will never trade people for money.¡±


    Colonel Bod was speechless again and, grinding his teeth, warned Winters, ¡°White Lion and the Red River Tribe are more dangerous than all the other Hurd tribes combined.¡±


    ¡°I know, I am well aware. It¡¯s like feeding meat to a lion,¡± Winters admitted frankly, ¡°But exchanging our veterans to make us stronger is also important. In the end, ¡®my¡¯ survival is what matters most.¡±


    The colonel pressed on, ¡°And after you get them back? Continue to let them fight for you?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, that was my initial thought,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°But after meeting you, I realized that they are living people, with families, with loved ones. They are not puppets, weapons, nor are they my tools. So¡­ that¡¯s it.¡±


    Winters, with his mind made up, smiled at the colonel, ¡°They are free to stay or leave. Those who wish to stay can continue to fight for me; those who are injured, I will allocate land to them; those who want to return home, I will provide them with travel expenses. How about that? Are you satisfied?¡±


    ¡°What could I possibly be unsatisfied with?¡± Colonel Bod snorted.


    He straightened his uniform with his remaining right arm, stood up, and saluted Winters with great formality, ¡°If you can accomplish this, on behalf of all the Paratu veterans lost in the wasteland, unable to return home, and my men, I thank you!¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters received the salute and returned it.


    Senior Mason, who had been tensely listening up to this point, finally felt a huge weight lift from his heart. After somewhat understanding Colonel Bod¡¯s motives, the senior felt somewhat less uneasy.


    But then, his tension returned.


    Because he heard the colonel say to Winters, ¡°I want to ask you for something.¡±


    ¡°What do you want? Ask for anything you want,¡± Winters first agreed readily, then quickly clarified, ¡°But not money, as finances are tight right now.¡±


    ¡°I want an official position.¡±


    ¡°Which position?¡±


    ¡°The highest official position,¡± Colonel Bod sneered, ¡°Whichever is the biggest, just give it to me.¡±


    The atmosphere suddenly turned cold, and Mason instinctively shrank his neck. He was mild-mannered and disliked struggle, especially disputes over power and internal fighting.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this,¡± Winters blinked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t have to do what?¡± Colonel Bod feigned confusion, ¡°I am a dignified colonel; what¡¯s wrong with wanting a high official position?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to consider our future for us. Since we have taken this path, we are ready to bear the risk of not getting out whole.¡±


    The air was no longer scarily cold, but the meeting room remained very quiet.


    ¡°Are you naive or brave?¡± Colonel Bod heaved a deep sigh, ¡°You few junior officers can¡¯t handle this thunder. Use me as a shield, and when times become desperate, hand me over, and you might even manage to become higher-ranking officers, right? Wouldn¡¯t that be nice?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re too pessimistic,¡± Winters said with a smile, proposing his backup plan, ¡°If all else fails, you can join us in Vineta. After all, one more partner in doing business doesn¡¯t hurt.¡±


    Colonel Bod¡¯s anger surged again, ¡°Foolish boy, when that day comes, do you really think Vineta will protect you?¡±


    ¡°Then we flee overseas, to the west,¡± Winters drew a circle in the air, ¡°I¡¯ve heard if you keep going west, you can reach the Far East.¡±


    Colonel Bod, leaning on the table, was unable to speak for a long time.


    ¡°The official position is nothing but a seal. I can carve one out for you, can¡¯t I?¡± Winters explained earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s your demand¡ªfor the highest position, that is a little¡­¡±


    ¡°You yourself said it¡¯s just a seal.¡± Colonel Bod bristled and glared, ¡°Are you even stingy with a seal?¡±


    ¡°The highest rank here is Marshal,¡± Winters asked tentatively, ¡°Shall I carve out a Marshal¡¯s seal for you?¡±


    The colonel¡¯s breath hitched for a beat. Senior Mason stared at his knees, desperately trying to hold back laughter.


    Colonel Bod¡¯s chest felt tight, and he struggled to speak, ¡°A mere thousand men and a territory no bigger than a horseshoe, and you already have a marshal? Does that mean you must also have a legion commander?¡±


    ¡°We have those as well. They are placeholders in the organization,¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°So¡­ would you like to pick a favorite?¡±

 Chapter 740 740 51 Beacon Fire_3

    ?Chapter 740: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_3 Chapter 740: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_3 ¡°Forget it, forget it,¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s face turned red as he struggled to catch his breath, ¡°I¡¯m old and thin-skinned, I can¡¯t afford to lose face.¡±


    In Senior Mason¡¯s eyes, the colonel¡¯s posture and expression had become natural amid their joking, and the previous sense of being an outsider or foreigner had gradually dissipated.


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about serious matters,¡± Senior Mason steered the conversation towards official business, chuckling as he said, ¡°Shovel Port has sent us an official document.¡±


    Upon hearing ¡®Shovel Port,¡¯ Winters¡¯s attention suddenly sharpened, and he unconsciously furrowed his brow, ¡°What does it say?¡±


    ¡°Mayor Botar says the militia recruitment is complete, but they¡¯re urgently in need of food and arms, and they hope we can allocate some to them.¡±


    ¡°Botar? Asking me for arms and food?¡± Winters stroked his knife hilt, scoffing with laughter, ¡°Does he also want a fissure spell from me?¡±


    ¡°Shall I reply to him like that?¡± asked Senior Mason, smiling.


    ...


    ¡°Tell him to guard the East Bank of Glory River, and if there¡¯s an enemy situation, light the beacon, and reinforcements will naturally go there,¡± Winters snickered, ¡°As far as I can tell, he probably doesn¡¯t even want us to go there!¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Senior Mason immediately set about drafting a reply.


    Seeing that Colonel Bod did not speak, Winters explained to the colonel, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to help, but that¡­ Botar, he¡¯s never had good intentions.¡±


    Colonel Bod listened in silence.


    Winters left his chair, retrieved a map, and spread it on the table, inviting the colonel to stand close and study it.


    ¡°The riverbank of Central Iron Peak County is nearly eighty kilometers, and that of Lower Iron Peak County exceeds a hundred kilometers,¡± Winters said of Iron Peak County¡¯s terrain with ease, ¡°Only Upper Iron Peak County has less than twenty kilometers of riverbank to defend. The river is widest and the current fastest there, making it the easiest position to defend.¡± sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What lake is this?¡±


    ¡°Shovel Lake.¡±


    ¡°In winter when the water recedes, is the actual size of the lake as big as it¡¯s drawn on the map?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s even bigger, this is an old map.¡±


    Colonel Bod stroked his beard, asking, ¡°Since it¡¯s a port, there must be boats. Why not requisition them?¡±


    ¡°They were all confiscated by that damn town mayor,¡± Winters¡¯s brows locked tighter, ¡°Previously, Botar has been hoarding food, attracting migrants, and disobeying Revodan¡¯s directives in secret.¡±


    ¡°As for arms, it¡¯s hard to say. As for food, I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s better stocked than I am. I haven¡¯t touched him out of consideration for maintaining town peace.¡±


    ¡°But this scoundrel,¡± Winters sneered coldy, ¡°is becoming less and less honest.¡±


    Colonel Bod bent down to examine the map, muttering to himself, ¡°There¡¯s a lot to learn at the seams of maps¡ªthat¡¯s something I heard from John Jeska. In terms of map work, I¡¯ve never seen anyone better than him, what a pity.¡±


    A thought struck Winters, ¡°Do you know where Major Jeska is?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know whether he¡¯s alive or dead,¡± Colonel Bod responded with a wry smile, shaking his head. His fingertips traced the border between Vernge County and Iron Peak County on the map, ¡°Have you considered the seam here¡ªthe riverbank at the junction of the two counties?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve considered it; that area is forested.¡±


    ¡°Forests can still be traveled by horse.¡±


    ¡°But Revodan can¡¯t send troops,¡± Winters felt helpless, ¡°otherwise, we¡¯d end up fighting with the Legion before the Herders even arrive. We can only ask the militia at Shovel Port to be more vigilant.¡±


    Colonel Bod didn¡¯t say anything more, heavily sat back in his chair, and smilingly asked Winters, ¡°Earlier you were discussing whether to report to the neighboring counties, did you report it?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± Winters replied with a touch of bitterness, ¡°But I didn¡¯t disclose the source of the intelligence. The Legion didn¡¯t respond to me nor send a reply; they probably don¡¯t believe it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea,¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s smile grew more profound, ¡°What if¡­ the intelligence came from me?¡±


    Winters straightened up instantly, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, also smiled broadly, ¡°Then we¡¯d need to come up with a good story.¡±


    ¡°Do we need to? Just say I escaped from the Terdon Tribe, bringing back important intelligence that the Terdon people are amassing looters,¡± Colonel Bod laughed heartily, ¡°Perfect, it will also let me shine a little.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll personally take a trip to Vernge County and Mont Blanc County,¡± Colonel Bod said naturally.


    Even Senior Mason, who was in the middle of drafting the reply, stood up abruptly, and Winters even more so grabbed the colonel¡¯s hand, ¡°Then we¡¯ll be in your debt.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a trivial matter, dealing with the Herders is the main event,¡± Colonel Bod waved his hand dismissively, then asked, ¡°Is the chief military officer of Mont Blanc County still Colonel Gaisa Adonis?¡±


    Winters was thrilled, ¡°You know that bald guy?¡±


    ¡°I outrank him, I was his mentor when he entered the academy,¡± Colonel Bod sighed with a trace of melancholy, ¡°Gaisa suffered serious injuries and barely came back with his life, that¡¯s why he looks like that. Originally, he was a very handsome and charming man, such a shame.¡±


    ¡°So, that bald man was telling the truth,¡± Winters thought to himself, showing deep humility as he requested the colonel, ¡°Could you go to Mont Blanc County first? I¡¯ve got a little deal with Colonel Gaisa, and I¡¯d like to ask for your help to facilitate it¡­¡±


    ¡­


    By noon of that same day, Lieutenant Washington from Mont Blanc County, who was currently imprisoned in Revodan, was granted his freedom.


    Colonel Bod had a few words with Washington in private.


    Upon learning that the one-armed colonel before him had crossed a hundred kilometers of uninhabited land alone, surviving great peril to return from the wilderness to Paratu, Washington was so moved that he broke down in tears, his heart swelling with endless respect.


    Upon further learning that Colonel Bod had also returned with important military intelligence, Washington immediately wanted to return to Mont Blanc County.

 Chapter 741 741 51 Beacon Fire_4

    ?Chapter 741: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_4 Chapter 741: Chapter 51 Beacon Fire_4 Winters picked out a male stud and a female broodmare from the herd of horses they had acquired to give as a gift, asking Lieutenant Washington to take them back to Mont Blanc County.


    ¡°Please convey a message to Colonel Gaisa for me,¡± Winters sincerely said to his senior Washington, ¡°Just as Adam and Eve started with one man and one woman and ended up with so many people today. With patience, a pair of horses can also turn into a herd again.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better tell the colonel yourself,¡± Lieutenant Washington said with a complex expression, ¡°I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll beat me up.¡±


    After returning from the wilderness, Colonel Bod merely made a brief stop at Revodan before setting off on his arduous journey again.


    ¡­


    Winters was busy with another matter¡ªbuilding a town.


    To be precise, expanding Revodan.


    ...


    Unlike ordinary farms, once the soldiers were conscripted, the military settlements had no means of defending themselves.


    Winters simply issued the ¡°scorched earth¡± order, relocating the families of the twelve military settlements to Revodan to allow the soldiers to fight with peace of mind.


    Revodan was already quite small, and with the addition of military families and civilians seeking refuge, it became very crowded immediately.


    Luckily, the weather was getting cooler, or else a major epidemic might have broken out.


    Moreover, Winters and old Priskin agreed that more civilians would definitely flood into Revodan¡ªthe towns and villages of Iron Peak County had no walls, making them easy prey for the Herder Cavalry.


    Winters decisively decided¡ªto build a new town capable of accommodating all the refugees.


    Old Priskin suggested expanding the city on the basis of the existing city walls, while Winters insisted on building the new town south of the St. George River.


    Winters¡¯ reason was ¡°building against the riverbank can reduce the construction work as much as possible.¡±


    This reason was sufficient, and Priskin did not object.


    So, while the Terdon Tribe¡¯s wildfire was about to scorch their hair, Winters was busy with civil engineering.


    The new town located on the south bank of the St. George River, instead of being called a ¡°town,¡± it was more apt to call it a ¡°fortress.¡±


    Because it was essentially a half-circle of city walls and moats backed by the riverbank, with no living facilities inside, though the defense works were very solidly built¡ªafter all, the barbarians were coming.


    There was also something interesting: following Winters¡¯ division method of upper, middle, and lower Iron Peak County, the old Revodan town area was entirely north of the St. George River, thus undoubtedly belonging to upper Iron Peak County.


    However, the new town was built on the south bank of the St. George River, meaning that Revodan had one foot stepping back into middle Iron Peak County, like a child straddling a threshold.


    In the morning, there was a meeting, at noon he saw off Colonel Bod and Lieutenant Washington, and in the afternoon, he went to supervise the construction, not until late at night did Winters drag his exhausted body back to his residence.


    He fell asleep on the bed without even taking off his clothes.


    Just as Winters lost consciousness, about forty kilometers downstream from Shovel Port¡ªthat is, at the junction of Vernge County and Iron Peak County, at the seam of the map, the Herders took advantage of the night to launch their sheepskin rafts.


    Men on rafts, horses wading, they crossed over what Winters had said was ¡°the easiest position to defend¡± under the cover of darkness.


    For Winters, it seemed like less than a second from the moment he closed his eyes until he was awakened by Xial.


    ¡°Brother!¡± Xial shook Winters anxiously, ¡°Wake up, hurry!¡±


    Winters was in extreme pain, his head ached, and his breathing was not smooth, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? How long have I slept?¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port has lit the beacon fires!¡± Xial said compassionately as he poured water for Winters to drink, ¡°You¡¯ve slept for less than two hours.¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port?¡± Winters asked, supporting his forehead. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡±


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s definitely beacon fires! I¡¯ve confirmed it!¡±


    ¡°Never mind,¡± Winters took the cup of water and drained it, then flopped back onto the bed, ¡°Sleep.¡±


    Xial was stunned for a moment, but Winters was already asleep again.

 Chapter 742 742 52 s Contact

    ?Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact Chapter 742: 52 chapters Contact For Winters, it seemed like less than a second had passed before he was awakened by Xial.


    ¡°Bro!¡± Xial shook Winters anxiously, ¡°Wake up, quick!¡±


    Winters¡¯s head ached, and his breathing was labored, ¡°What is it? How long did I sleep?¡±


    ¡°The beacon fires of Shovel Port have been lit!¡± Xial helped Winters up, ¡°You¡¯ve slept for less than two hours.¡±


    ¡°Shovel Port?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Beacon fires?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Yes! It¡¯s definitely beacon fires! I¡¯m sure of it!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Winters lay back down on the bed, ¡°Go to sleep.¡±


    Xial was stunned for a moment but Winters was already back asleep.


    ¡°Bro!¡± An anxious Xial tried to wake Winters a second time, now both worried and angry, ¡°That mayor might not be a good guy, but Shovel Port is our ally no matter what! If Shovel Port falls, wouldn¡¯t that be like letting the Herders in? Please, wake up¡­¡±


    Roused forcefully twice in succession, Winters sat up from the bed slowly, like a puppet.


    Xial didn¡¯t dare to speak again.


    Winters, supporting his forehead with his knees, let out a pained grunt from deep within his chest, ¡°Water.¡±


    Xial hurriedly brought water, and Winters drank it all at once.


    The cold water made Winters¡¯s stomach uncomfortable, but his consciousness became much clearer.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the beacon fire at Shovel Port,¡± Winters lit the oil lamp with a flick of his wrist, his voice somewhat hoarse, ¡°It will go out by itself.¡±


    Just as Xial was about to ask, heavy footsteps sounded from downstairs.


    The newcomer strode quickly up the stairs and headed straight for Winters¡¯s room, first knocking and then entering ¡ª it was Heinrich.


    ¡°Commander,¡± Heinrich reported calmly, ¡°The beacon fire in the direction of Shovel Port has just been extinguished! I fear the beacon tower there has been removed.¡±


    ¡°How could it be removed?¡± Winters chuckled helplessly, ¡°That was the people of Shovel Port putting it out themselves.¡±


    Not just Xial, but Heinrich too looked puzzled.


    ¡°Are the beacon towers along the way still there?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°They are.¡±


    ¡°They will be extinguished one by one,¡± Winters leaned against the head of the bed, looking decidedly uncomfortable but with a firm expression, ¡°And next, a messenger from Shovel Port will come to inform us that [the Revodan Barbarians have been annihilated, and Shovel Port is unharmed], rest assured.¡±


    Seeing Xial and Heinrich standing silent and stunned, Winters sighed and pointed to the bed and chair, ¡°Sit.¡±


    They obediently took their seats.


    ¡°Have you seen how a pack of wolves hunts?¡±


    Xial nodded, Heinrich shook his head.


    ¡°In the winter when prey is scarce, wolves must hunt larger animals together to survive,¡± Winters explained patiently to his most trusted ¡®Attendants¡¯, ¡°But the pack doesn¡¯t just recklessly charge in. Instead, they get as close to their prey as they can, then watch and select their target ¡ª usually a weaker, frail individual, and only then do they attack.¡±


    Xial was quick to catch on, ¡°So you mean¡­ Monkey Butt Face is probing us?¡±


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s a probe or not, there won¡¯t be many soldiers,¡± Winters yawned, ¡°Otherwise, Andre and Mr. A wouldn¡¯t have no news.¡±


    Xial eagerly countered, ¡°But what if something goes wrong with Captain Cherini¡¯s side? Or worse, if they¡¯ve been annihilated¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s possible, and good thinking,¡± Winters propped a pillow behind his back, reminding them with satisfaction, ¡°But don¡¯t rush, before thinking about how the Terdun Barbarians fight, think about how they maintain their army. Do you know how the Herders rally their forces?¡±


    This time Xial and Heinrich both shook their heads.


    ¡°No different from the Empire¡¯s nobility, a small Kota with his guards, vassals, and slave attendants goes to look for intermediate Kotas, who then take their men to seek the big Kota ¡ª that is, Monkey Butt Face. How much time does this process take?¡±


    Xial and Heinrich shook their heads again. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either,¡± Winters chuckled.


    Xial caught his breath, and Heinrich¡¯s face went a little red.


    ¡°But it won¡¯t be easy because the Herders have to bring their own provisions,¡± Winters¡¯s expression quickly turned serious, ¡°Now, as the weather cools and the grass turns yellow, the horses will lose condition from eating all day, not to mention during a march. And the drier the grass, the more land each horse needs every day. If you were Monkey Butt Face, would you concentrate many warhorses in one place?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Xial shook his head.


    ¡°And you?¡± Winters asked Heinrich.


    Heinrich spoke with some difficulty, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t either.¡±


    Winters guided them, ¡°Then if you were the fire lighter, what would be your best strategy?¡±


    ¡°Spread out the horses to graze,¡± Xial rushed to answer, ¡°The more horses in one place, the less they will eat. And you¡¯d have to move slowly so as not to tire the horses out. Ideally, you¡¯d eat as you move ¡ª like herding!¡±


    Heinrich silently nodded.


    ¡°So do you think the Barbarians encountered by Shovel Port are the main force of the Terdon Tribe?¡±


    Xial hesitantly answered, ¡°They probably¡­ aren¡¯t, right?¡±


    Without agreeing or disagreeing, Winters continued to question his two Attendants, ¡°If you were me, how would you make your first move?¡±


    ¡°Strike at them while they¡¯re scattered, before they can rally, by crossing the river and hitting them first?¡± Xial asked tentatively.


    Winters sighed deeply and knocked on Xial¡¯s head hard, ¡°What did I tell you to think about first? What the Terdun lack most, we make them lack even more!¡±


    Xial covered his head, tears streaming down from the pain.


    ¡°Destroy the grass,¡± Heinrich answered softly.


    Winters sat up suddenly, nodding approvingly, ¡°Good, how to destroy?¡±


    ¡°Fire.¡±

 Chapter 743 743 52 Contact_2

    ?Chapter 743: Chapter 52 Contact_2 Chapter 743: Chapter 52 Contact_2 ¡°Yes.¡± Winters patted Heinrich on the shoulder, ¡°This is the first step to dealing with the people of Terdun. The enemy has more soldiers, we have fewer; the enemy is strong, we are weak; the enemy attacks, we defend.


    We must first find ways to weaken the enemy before we can have the power to fight. Aren¡¯t you called the fire-maker? Just right to set a fire for you¡ªThe two lieutenants are doing exactly this in the no-man¡¯s land.¡±


    Xial asked with a pained expression, ¡°What about Shovel Port? Are we just going to ignore it?¡±


    ¡°No need to mind it,¡± Winters dismissed with a wave of his hand, ¡°The town mayor of Shovel Port Town is the old soldier Dusack, with thousands of able-bodied refugees under his command. Isn¡¯t he busy training the refugees lately? With two companies of militia at hand, if they can¡¯t even block the river mouth, they might as well die early.¡±


    ¡°If he dies, he dies, but what about the people of Shovel Port?¡± Xial felt uneasy, ¡°Should we not gather our troops first?¡±


    ¡°Even if we need to send reinforcements, we¡¯ll wait until daybreak. Isn¡¯t marching forcibly at night just like delivering meat into the wolf¡¯s mouth?¡± Winters knocked on Xial¡¯s head again, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about tomorrow¡¯s matters tomorrow. Even if we are to fight tomorrow, we still need a good night¡¯s rest tonight.¡±


    Xial rubbed his head and let out an ¡°Oh.¡±


    ...


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this, the thing Shovel Port fears the most right now is ¡®reinforcements¡¯.¡± Winters sneered, ¡°They¡¯re afraid I¡¯ll take the opportunity to send troops and occupy Shovel Port. With barbarians in front and rebels behind, the war would be difficult to fight. So we might as well stay put and let them focus on dealing with the Herders. How the battle goes, we¡¯ll find out tomorrow morning.¡±


    Xial and Heinrich saluted with their hands.


    Winters began unbuttoning his clothes¡ªhe hadn¡¯t taken them off before sleeping due to exhaustion¡ªand said, ¡°I estimate¡­ the messenger from Shovel Port is on his way to Revodan now. It must be a great victory, the garrison need not worry, and by no means should they come to help, hmm.¡±


    Seeing that Winters was about to sleep, Xial and Heinrich prepared to leave.


    Winters called the two men back, ¡°After this battle, I plan to establish a military school. The students¡­ tentatively would be officers at the Centurion level. Would you be interested in going?¡±


    Xial and Heinrich were both stunned.


    ¡°You two can¡¯t always be my guards,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Do you not want to lead troops?¡±


    Xial¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened, ¡°I¡¯ll be your guard, for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush to answer, take your time to think about it. First, we have to deal with this mess from the ¡®fire-maker¡¯.¡± Winters pushed the two Attendants out of the room, ¡°Unless the barbarians break into Revodan, don¡¯t disturb my sleep!¡±


    Xial and Heinrich, unable to recover from the shock, stood at the door looking at each other for a while before tiptoeing softly down the stairs.


    ¡­


    Before dawn, Shovel Port.


    Mr. Alpha dismounted his horse, sword in hand, and walked into the town church. His features concealed under his helmet, his breastplate covered in bloodstains.


    The church was Shovel Port¡¯s tallest and sturdiest stone building, and naturally served as the command post during war, with the great beacon tower on the bell tower.


    Mr. Alpha walked through the altar and entered the spiral staircase, heading straight for the roof.


    Mayor Polta was on the roof.


    Upon meeting, Mr. Alpha immediately confronted Polta, ¡°Didn¡¯t I say, ¡®Do not light the great beacon tower without my consent¡¯?¡±


    His voice, muffled from inside the helmet, sounded somewhat dull.


    ¡°Seeing the beacon fires on the riverbank, the lads in charge got panicked and lit the great beacon tower,¡± Polta pointed to a few young men with sooty faces in front of him, ¡°I was just in the process of scolding them.¡±


    The beacon fires were a system, with large and small beacon towers, each being a part of a whole.


    The small beacon towers were set along the riverbanks, while the large beacon tower was established on the church of Shovel Port.


    If the large beacon tower did not light up, the information would be contained within Shovel Port; if the large beacon tower was lit, Revodan would receive the warning.


    Having dismissed the beacon tower guards, Polta anxiously asked, ¡°How is the battle situation?¡±


    ¡°What could be resolved has been resolved,¡± Mr. Alpha removed his helmet, shaking off the sweat from his hair, ¡°Some remaining enemies fled into the woods while others took advantage of the chaos to break through to the east. Altogether, there are probably about a dozen or so.¡±


    ¡°The barbarians truly came!¡± Polta gritted his teeth and thumped his thigh, genuinely thanking Mr. Alpha, ¡°We owe it to your presence.¡±


    Mr. Alpha shook his head without expression.


    Polta had not been very attentive to the defenses against the barbarians. In his mind, the Herders were severely defeated in September, so how could they dare to come again?


    On the contrary, Mr. Alpha took it seriously; he was personally responsible for arranging the defenses along the Glory River and the beacon towers.


    After receiving the beacon fire alert tonight, it was Mr. Alpha who was first to provide support.


    Time was the key element.


    Time was not on the side of Terdun¡¯s men:


    The waters of Glory River were wide, and each time the sheepskin rafts crossed the river, they were swept far downstream, needing to be carried back upstream by horse, hence wasting a lot of time;


    Time wasn¡¯t on the side of Shovel Port¡¯s men either:


    The crossing point chosen by Terdun¡¯s men was forty kilometers away from Shovel Port. Even if adults walked non-stop, it would take a whole day to cover forty kilometers.


    It was thus a race against time, favoring only the party that was faster.


    Therefore, Mr. Alpha chose to get a head start¡ªtime also favored those who prepared in advance.


    Mr. Alpha divided the Shovel Port militia into six teams, assigned along the river. By careful calculation, he ensured that Shovel Port militia would not be more than two hours¡¯ distance from any point on the riverbank. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 744 744 52 Contact_3

    ?Chapter 744: Chapter 52 Contact_3 Chapter 744: Chapter 52 Contact_3 ¡°`


    There are advantages and disadvantages to this approach.


    The benefits need not be mentioned, but the downside is that Shovel Port¡¯s defenses have become extremely weak.


    Now that Shovel Port¡¯s attention is all on the riverbanks, it¡¯s like exposing our backs to Revodan¡¯s blades.


    Keep in mind that Shovel Port is less than forty kilometers from Revodan, and Revodan has cavalry¡­


    ¡°Has the messenger been dispatched?¡± Alpha asked, holding his helmet.


    He had. ¡°I¡¯ve already told Revodan that we¡¯re safe here and that we don¡¯t need any support,¡± Polta said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Otherwise, should we call the troops back? We suffered a defeat tonight, and the Herd Barbarians probably won¡¯t come again. And the more we try to keep the Rebels away, the more likely they are to come. It¡¯s more important to deal with the Rebels right now.¡±


    ¡°Gathering the militia in the first place took great effort, and calling them back would be even harder,¡± Alpha replied, shaking his head. ¡°What if the Herders notice our movement and cross the river again? We didn¡¯t manage to destroy their boats.¡±


    ...


    Polta asked anxiously, ¡°But what if the Rebels come to attack us?¡±


    ¡°The Rebel leader knows what¡¯s at stake,¡± Alpha said with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s not a despicable man.¡± S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    Before dawn, just outside the north gate of Revodan.


    ¡°Open the gate! Open up!¡± a dust-covered rider shouted, pounding furiously on the gate: ¡°I have urgent military intelligence to report to the garrison officer!¡±


    The walls of Revodan were low, but not so low that one could just climb over.


    ¡°What¡¯s all the noise for?¡± the Centurion on the city¡¯s head scolded the newcomer. ¡°Seek the military protection officer his excellency, and wait till morning to speak!¡±


    ¡°I have urgent intelligence!¡± the rider shouted. ¡°I am a messenger from Shovel Port!¡±


    ¡°Even so, that¡¯s not allowed!¡± the Centurion responded. ¡°Who knows whether you¡¯re a spy for the barbarians?¡±


    ¡°Then lower a basket down, and I¡¯ll climb up!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no basket.¡±


    ¡°Lower a rope, and I¡¯ll send the letter up.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no rope.¡±


    The Shovel Port messenger stood dumbstruck for a while, then suddenly pointed at the city head and cursed: ¡°Are you deliberately refusing to let me in? Can you afford to delay urgent military intelligence?¡±


    Without further words, the Centurion on the head of the city gestured, and seven dark gun muzzles pointed at the rider.


    ¡°Military protection officer Montaigne said,¡± the Centurion looked down at the messenger. ¡°¡®Anyone who disturbs his sleep will be shown no mercy and executed on the spot.¡¯


    ¡­


    Winters slept soundly in the second half of the night, as no one came to disturb him.


    Still, he didn¡¯t get much sleep, as habit caused him to wake up naturally at the crack of dawn.


    After washing up, he went for breakfast at Anna¡¯s residence, full of energy.


    The ¡°Montaigne couple¡± were publicly separated at the moment, and breakfast was a rare opportunity for him to spend time with Anna.


    However, the table was starkly divided: the women¡¯s food was still quite ample, but on Winters¡¯s plate were only two pieces of black bread ¡ª the standard ration for the Iron Peak County Military.


    Catherine, resting her chin in her hand, looked at Winters and said with a tone that was half admiration, half jest, ¡°You really do set an example.¡±


    Winters was particularly bad at dealing with Lady Navarre, so he just nodded with a smile and said nothing.


    Anna gently stepped on her sister¡¯s foot and poured Winters some warm water.


    ¡°Will you still be on the south bank all day today?¡± Anna asked softly.


    Winters replied guiltily, ¡°That should be the case for the near future.¡±


    Xial knocked and came in, whispering to Winters, ¡°The messenger from Shovel Port has arrived.¡±


    ¡°When did he arrive?¡±


    ¡°Last night, and he¡¯s been waiting since then. Do you want to see him?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°He brought a letter.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t accept it.¡±


    ¡°Send him away?¡±


    ¡°Tell him to bring a message back to Polta,¡± Winters said, gnawing on the hard black bread. ¡°¡®Send over twenty heads.¡¯


    ¡°`

 Chapter 745 745 53 Relief

    ?Chapter 745: Chapter 53 Relief Chapter 745: Chapter 53 Relief Several days had passed, and the council members of Revodan had once again gathered together.


    Most of the members were familiar faces, with a few new ones among them.


    The senior mayor Priskin sat in the front row with his eyes closed, resting. His second son had been elected as a council member a few days ago and now sat beside his father.


    The council members were well aware of the reason why the Public Welfare Officer had convened the council meeting¡ªit was none other than to address the issue of flour.


    Though there was no sign of the Herd Barbarians, the price of flour was unmistakably rising. The poor could no longer afford even a paste made of flour, yet the price continued to soar.


    The complaints of the impoverished were ever-increasing, and even the well-off citizens were beginning to feel the strain, the situation having reached a critical level that demanded resolution.


    With the Public Welfare Officer absent and the mayor remaining silent, the members whispered and murmured among themselves:


    ¡°Your mill must be raking in profits lately, huh?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hey! Flour¡¯s so expensive, I can¡¯t even sell it. What profit is there?¡±


    ¡°Come on, cut the act. If it¡¯s too expensive to sell, would you bear to sell it cheaply?¡±


    ¡°There are so many mills and grain shops in the city, why are you picking on me?¡±


    ¡°Just wait, Blood Wolf will definitely use us as an example.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of fixing a price limit. If he tells us to fix a price, then I¡¯ll sell at that fixed price.¡±


    Suddenly, the door burst open, and all the council members fell silent.


    Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Winters, clad in armor and with a sword at his side, walked into the council hall carrying two round, hairy objects.


    Priest Caman followed Winters with a look of reluctance on his face.


    ¡°Heads of Terdun men.¡± With a casual toss, Winters threw the two heads to the ground: ¡°Shovel Port fought a battle last night, a minor victory.¡±


    The heads rolled on the ground for several turns, eventually stopping by Xial¡¯s feet. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glancing down, Xial met the lifeless, hollow eyes of the deceased. Despite the lack of any real odor, Xial sensed an overpowering stench of blood and putrescence. He fought back the urge to vomit and forced himself to look away.


    Xial and Heinrich brought in a box covered in Herdman helmets, scale armor, and curved swords still stained with blood¡ªall requisitioned from Shovel Port.


    After briefly explaining last night¡¯s battle at Shovel Port, Winters politely informed the council members: ¡°There are eighteen more heads, already sent to various towns for display. Those among you who still don¡¯t believe that the barbarians intend to kill us, feel free to take a closer look.¡±


    ¡°We have already seen, Your Excellency,¡± Xial said hastily, not daring to look down at the feet, ¡°Please, take these corpses away.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± ordered Winters to Xial and Heinrich, ¡°Show the helmets and armor to the members, but let¡¯s leave the heads out of this.¡±


    Passing around the armor and weapons amongst the council members didn¡¯t take too long.


    ¡°These items will be displayed to the public in Revodan Square. If you¡¯re interested, you¡¯re welcome to take a look there,¡± said Winters, signaling his men to collect the war trophies. ¡°Today, I¡¯ve called you here not to show you heads but to resolve the flour pricing issue.¡±


    After speaking, Winters patted Priest Caman¡¯s shoulder.


    Caman sighed and moved to the front of the council to bow solemnly to the council members: ¡°It is thanks to your generous donations that the Monastery of Revodan has been able to distribute wheat porridge to the needy believers. Please accept my respects.¡±


    None of the council members dared to remain seated, quickly returning the gesture.


    The clergy managed matters of life after death, and everyone naturally felt a certain awe and respect towards the clerics.


    Priest Caman continued with a grave expression, as if preaching: ¡°But lately, the price of flour and wheat has soared, and the monastery is no longer able to provide relief to the faithful. In the poor districts, it has become common to eat tree leaves and dig up roots to stave off hunger; some believers are even selling their children. Revodan is now like sitting atop a volcano, and it would only take a spark for the refugee riots to happen again.


    [¡®Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.¡¯] I hope the gentlemen here will extend your helping hand in this difficult time.¡±


    Winters followed on Caman¡¯s remark: ¡°I have drafted a law, which we can all look at and discuss. If there is anything inappropriate, please bring it up.¡±


    The draft of the law, written on a sheet of paper, was circulated among the council members. The content of the draft was simple: it was to impose price limits on flour, wheat, barley, and rye.


    Among the council members were mill owners, grain merchants, or stakeholders in the grain business; they all had mentally prepared for price control policies. Now that the shoe had finally dropped, they felt a sense of relief.


    ¡°Sir, my old eyes are dim, I can¡¯t see the text clearly,¡± the elder Priskin trembled as he stood up, asking respectfully, ¡°May I ask, do you intend to fix prices?¡±


    ¡°Please, have a seat, Mr. Priskin,¡± nodded Winters, ¡°Yes, I do intend to impose price controls.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Old Priskin suddenly opened his eyes wide, declaring in a forceful tone, ¡°Price fixing is absolutely out of the question!¡±


    The council members within the hall shivered at the outburst.


    ¡°Explain yourself,¡± said Winters, crossing his arms, ¡°Why not?¡±


    Standing resolute with his walking stick, the old Priskin announced, ¡°The number of people in the city is increasing, the city¡¯s grain is getting scarcer, and price increases are a natural consequence!¡±


    Winters remained silent, and instead, it was Caman who couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°So we just don¡¯t do anything?¡±


    ¡°You can set price controls, but merchants are also free not to sell! The more you impose price controls, the less willing the merchants will be to sell. If it¡¯s not available in the marketplace, flour will flow into the black market, and then the actual grain prices will end up being pushed even higher.¡±


    Priest Caman was at a loss for words.


    ¡°If you want to solve the grain price problem, you can only use my method.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    Old Priskin forcefully spat out a term: ¡°Confiscate!¡±

 Chapter 746 746 53 Relief_2

    ?Chapter 746: Chapter 53 Relief_2 Chapter 746: Chapter 53 Relief_2 The council hall erupted into chaos, councilors expressing shock, doubt, or rage.


    Old Priskin¡¯s words landed with a thud, ¡°With the hoofbeats over our heads and scimitars at our necks, whoever dares to hoard or speculate is a criminal! They should be stripped of their property and have their families wiped out!¡±


    Some councilors turned angry, others panicked, and still others had already left their seats, nearly ready to flee the scene.


    Winters looked around the hall, taking in everyone¡¯s expressions, and suddenly burst into laughter, slamming his hand on the table.


    Caman, Xial, and the councilors were all baffled, not even old Priskin understood.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, let¡¯s not bring up such a method again. If I had wanted to kill someone, I would have done so already; why would I need to call you all to a council meeting?¡± Winters laughed heartily, leaning forward and back, pointing at the people in the hall, ¡°Look, they all think I¡¯ve conspired with you in advance, putting on a show.¡±


    Old Priskin turned to look back, and the other councilors, not daring to meet his gaze, bowed their heads.


    ...


    ¡°I swear to Saint Peter, I never discussed today¡¯s matter with the lord protector in advance,¡± old Priskin glared at the other councilors, ¡°You short-sighted fools. Revodan may be short on grain, but it¡¯s not to the point where one Malte of rye costs one kilogram of silver!¡±


    Old Priskin grew angrier as he spoke, his face turned as red as blood, and the tips of his mustache trembled, ¡°This year¡¯s wheat harvest was already low, and grain prices soared, the poor haven¡¯t been able to afford bread for a long time!


    And look at you! The barbarians haven¡¯t even arrived, yet you dare to raise prices without restraint! If you really push the Lower City¡¯s people to a dead end, you, me, do we still have lives to live? There¡¯s no need for barbarians¡¯ intervention, Revodan will immediately descend into chaos¡­¡±


    The council hall fell silent, only the old man¡¯s thunderous roar could be heard.


    ¡°That¡¯s enough,¡± Winters gestured for Priskin to stop, ¡°I have other matters today and don¡¯t want to waste time. Please, just state your solution directly.¡±


    Old Priskin gave a deep bow to the protector, ¡°Please confiscate all the property of those speculators, and the grain price issue will resolve itself!¡±


    ¡°No, that won¡¯t do,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°find another solution.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s only one option left,¡± Priskin said.


    ¡°Speak,¡± Winters said.


    Old Priskin, gritting his teeth, said, ¡°Please allocate military rations to relieve the poor.¡±


    Xial glared at Priskin, councilors who had just relaxed tensed up again, and even Father Caman was somewhat surprised.


    Winters was not angered; he asked calmly, ¡°How many days will my military rations last? When the rations run out, what will my soldiers eat?¡±


    ¡°Please establish a relief granary!¡± Priskin pressed his right hand to his chest, ¡°The military and the Revodan city government should jointly supply grain, sharing the responsibility of aiding the poor.¡±


    ¡°Can you represent Revodan?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°I am the mayor of Revodan, of course, I can represent,¡± old Priskin¡¯s hawk-like gaze swept over the councilors, ¡°If anyone thinks I am not qualified, please, stand up now.¡±


    Winters chuckled coldly, ¡°I am willing to supply grain, but are the people of Revodan willing?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯re not willing!¡± declared old Priskin openly, ¡°That¡¯s why we can¡¯t take it for free, it should be bought in the form of a loan, at prices referenced from previous years. The military supplies one Malte, and the Revodan city government two Maltes. All the grain going into the relief granary should be considered a debt of the Revodan city government, to be repaid slowly over time.¡±


    ¡°Where there¡¯s a buyer, there¡¯s a seller,¡± Winters stroked his chin, ¡°Given the current situation, how do you plan to sell? As much grain as you release will be bought up. Meanwhile, the price of flour will not come down. To just give it away? How much grain is there to give out?¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Gathering grain is only the first step! The key is in the second step!¡± old Priskin once again bowed deeply, raising his voice to petition, ¡°I, Priskin, beg the lord to allow work-for-relief!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Xial, clutching a letter from Colonel Bod sent back from Mont Blanc County, braved the early winter chill as he crossed the church bridge to the south bank.


    What used to be woods, wastelands, and farmlands on the south bank had now turned into a bustling construction site.


    The men and women laboring numbered over three thousand, including more than thirteen hundred captives from Vernge County, and many unemployed people and farmers hired from Revodan and nearby villages.


    On the construction site, every two hundred people were divided into a team, with designated primary and secondary captains, responsible for different work sections.


    Men dug trenches and built walls, women carried soil, and the elderly who couldn¡¯t work were gathered to cook.


    There were also several teams in charge of leveling land and cutting down trees.


    The last five teams, behind on progress, could only claim half the food, other teams received full rations, and the top three teams even had meat supplies.


    ¡°Team performance assessment¡± was a lazy approach, but it was highly effective in the short term. Like being whipped by an invisible force, every team worked hard.


    Besides ¡°food¡±, the reason people worked so hard was something else¡ª¡±The barbarians are coming to kill us.¡±


    No matter how eloquently Winters spun words, they paled in comparison to the raw impact of the blood-soaked heads from Terdun.


    Confronted with the rotting, stinking, twisted faces of barbarian heads, even the most numb, bravest, and most dismissive of the Iron Peak County people realized, ¡°The barbarians really are coming.¡±


    The impact of Winters¡¯ display of ¡°heads across fifteen towns¡± had its pros and cons.


    The good: he no longer needed to urge and advise, the farmers of Iron Peak County, like squirrels preparing for winter, spontaneously began frantically digging cellars to hide grains and valuables.

 Chapter 747 747 53 Relief_3

    ?Chapter 747: Chapter 53 Relief_3 Chapter 747: Chapter 53 Relief_3 The bad side: people from various villages and towns who had some money all took their families to Revodan for refuge, causing even greater shortages of food and living space in Revodan.


    Therefore, the construction of the southern city had to be not only bigger but faster.


    When Xial found Winters, Winters was discussing with Captain Mason, old Mayor Priskin, and the blacksmith Shao Yi.


    ¡°Lover¡¯s Forest must be cleared quickly,¡± Winters instructed Senior Mason. ¡°If we can¡¯t chop it down, burn it down.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for people right away.¡±


    ¡°Lover¡¯s Forest needs to be chopped too?¡± Shao Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.


    Lover¡¯s Forest was a sparse grove on the southern outskirts of Revodan, so named because it was a common spot for lovers to meet in secret.


    ...


    ¡°Use the wood for building the city and the branches for fire,¡± Winters tapped the map gently. ¡°In any case, we can¡¯t leave it for the people of Terdun. Mr. Shao, Forging Village also needs to evacuate immediately.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Shao Yi nodded first and then hurriedly asked, ¡°Evacuate to where?¡±


    Winters revealed a hint of a smile and pointed to the ground beneath his feet, ¡°Just evacuate here, and move everything that can be moved to ¡®South City¡¯.¡±


    ¡°My lord,¡± old Mayor Priskin respectfully asked, ¡°the city walls that have been completed seem to be only two meters high?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, just two meters high,¡± Winters answered.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit too short,¡± old Priskin¡¯s face showed concern. ¡°If it¡¯s only two meters high, it seems it can be scaled over.¡±


    ¡°There are advantages to low walls. They are quick to build. The city we are constructing is too large. If we built tall walls, the Terdun people would have arrived before we finished.¡± Winters reassured the old gentleman, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have it under control.¡±


    Having heard the Revodan magistrates say this, old Priskin did not say any more.


    Winters picked up a stick of graphite and marked three small stars on the map, pointing to them with a smile, ¡°According to my initial plan, not only do we need walls, but we also need to build three star-shaped fortresses outside the city, each covering one side of the walls. Only then could we be impregnable.¡±


    Senior Mason nodded in agreement, while old Priskin and Shao Yi were confused.


    Winters tossed the graphite aside with a sigh. ¡°However, we don¡¯t have the time, so all these are omitted. I hope the enemy leader is about the same level as last time. If so¡­ my confidence increases by a few more points.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve fought the chieftain of the barbarians who came this time?¡± Shao Yi perked up.


    ¡°I¡¯ve fought him.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Shao Yi asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Back then, I was only a Centurion, so the battle was not commanded by me.¡± Winters laughed heartily and patted Shao Yi on the shoulder, ¡°But in that battle¡ªour army won a great victory!¡±


    Shao Yi also laughed along. Seeing that battle was truly imminent, he didn¡¯t have much confidence, so he desperately sought any piece of good news, even the most trivial.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± Winters casually asked, ¡°how do the municipal committee members and the grain merchants feel? Are they content?¡±


    ¡°Dissatisfied,¡± old Priskin replied submissively, ¡°but given the current conditions, they can still accept it.¡±


    The most ingenious part of old Priskin¡¯s strategy of ¡°work-relief¡± was to clarify the property rights.


    The South City under construction was clearly also a part of Revodan, so it was only right for the city of Revodan to fund this project.


    The relief process became [Revodan incurred debt to buy grain from the army and grain merchants, then used it as compensation to give to the unemployed who came to work].


    The army and the grain merchants gave food in exchange for debt. As long as Revodan¡¯s city government didn¡¯t go bankrupt, the debt could be paid off slowly.


    The city government of Revodan owed a huge debt, but in exchange, they gained a new urban area. Doesn¡¯t seem like a loss, right?


    The unemployed poor got food for work, avoiding the phenomenon of a run that might have been caused by giving away or selling at a low price.


    All three parties took a bit of a loss, but also gained something, and in a way, it seemed to be a happy ending for all involved.


    Unable to help himself, Winters asked old Priskin, ¡°How did you come up with the idea of work-relief?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t my idea.¡± Old Priskin bowed slightly, smiling as he asked, ¡°My lord, do you know how Revodan prospered?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the county capital, naturally it¡¯s prosperous.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Old Priskin gently shook his head. ¡°Revodan first prospered, and then it became the county capital. And the reason for Revodan¡¯s prosperity is the Revodan Cathedral.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters¡¯ curiosity was piqued.


    Old Priskin reminisced, ¡°When there were only a few dozen settlers here, the public church decided to build a large cathedral here as the bishop¡¯s cathedral for Iron Peak County.


    The cathedral took twelve years to build. During those twelve years, craftsmen and merchants from all over flocked here. By the time the cathedral was completed, Revodan had already transformed from an inconspicuous village into the most prosperous town in Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters listened intently, pondering, ¡°What you mean is¡­ a long-term, large-scale project can make a barren place prosper.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s my feeling.¡± Old Priskin stroked his beard. ¡°To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve traveled far and wide. In many of the towns I¡¯ve seen, their centers are either a castle or a cathedral.


    Projects to build cathedrals or castles lasted for years or even decades. Craftsmen settled nearby, and merchants followed. A village might become a town because of it, a small town might become a bustling large town. It seems to me that¡¯s how it is.¡±


    ¡°Very interesting.¡± Winters¡¯ eyes shone. He laughed and said, ¡°Your ideas are really interesting. After we drive off the Terdun people, let¡¯s have a good talk about this.¡±


    Old Priskin readily agreed.


    Seeing the conversation between the few men come to a break, Xial hurriedly handed the letter to Winters.


    ¡°Colonel Bod¡¯s letter.¡± Xial spoke softly.


    Winters opened the letter without changing his expression, swiftly reading through it.


    ¡°How does it look?¡± Senior Mason asked.


    Old Priskin and Shao Yi did not know who Colonel Bod was, so they discreetly excused themselves.


    But Winters called out to old Priskin and Shao Yi, ¡°There¡¯s no need for the two of you to leave; this letter concerns you both as well.¡±


    Shao Yi looked puzzled, while old Priskin listened quietly.


    ¡°The bald colonel from Mont Blanc County agreed,¡± Winters laughed heartily. ¡°Take inventory of the goods we haven¡¯t had the chance to transport out; Mont Blanc County will trade grain and salt with us.¡± S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 748 748 54 Blazing Fire

    ?Chapter 748: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire Chapter 748: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire Fire.


    A fire that raged to the horizon.


    The monsoon cheered it on, turning the blaze into a line that swept towards the east, spreading beyond the field of vision in the blink of an eye.


    The wild beasts trapped within the firescape frantically scattered in all directions, while ground squirrels, driven by instinct, burrowed deeper into the ground.


    Billowing smoke surged straight into the sky. The haze, carried by the westerly wind, traveled dozens of kilometers to Iron Peak County.


    Lieutenant Andreya Chelini spat out the black ash from her mouth, her expression blank as she rode her horse across scorched earth ravaged by the fierce fire.


    The air was scorching, the remaining smoke choking; the horses were nervously snorting due to their restlessness, just like Andre¡¯s subordinates who were also coughing incessantly.


    ...


    Arson didn¡¯t require too many people; Andre divided his subordinates into five teams, each headed to different parts of the desolate areas.


    ¡°The flames are smaller over there,¡± Andre pointed towards a hillside in the northeast, ¡°go and patch it up.¡±


    Two cavalrymen saluted and galloped away.


    Fire outbreaks on the grasslands were not uncommon; a single lightning strike or a moment of negligence could invoke the wrath of the fire god.


    However, for the Herders, deliberately setting a fire to provoke the fury of the heavens was unprecedented and unheard of.


    Unlike the towering infernos of forest fires, grassland fires had low flames that seemed like a low wall from a distance.


    The tall vegetation of forests hindered the flow of wind, whereas the open expanses of the grasslands allowed the fierce winds to sweep the flames across the land unchecked.


    Especially on windy days, the speed at which the flames spread was terrifying.


    Panicked animals either got caught up in the explosive front of the fire or collapsed while running.


    Andre¡¯s warhorse stepped on a stone, its charred outer layer scraped off by the hoof, revealing tender, dark red flesh inside.


    Andre focused on the ¡°stone,¡± recognizing it for what it was¡ªit should be a young antelope. The poor creature, born in spring, grown in the height of summer, had not even experienced its first winter before perishing in a sea of fire.


    Gently tugging the reins to steer clear of the young antelope¡¯s body, Andre looked around; the once thriving grassland was now a hellish landscape of death. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The earth was charred as far as the eye could see, with only a few dark red embers flickering dimly, like the last breaths of the dying.


    The sound of hooves approached from afar; a squadron of cavalry was racing towards Andre.


    ¡°It¡¯s the command of Officer A,¡± a guard hurriedly reported to Andre.


    Tang Juan, leading his squadron, sped all the way to Andre¡¯s side.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Juan, with his carefree attitude, said to his junior, ¡°The barbarians are already heading this way.¡±


    Clutching the reins, Andre¡¯s face revealed no emotion; after a long silence, he slowly spoke, ¡°Not enough.¡±


    ¡°Not enough?¡± Tang Juan, puzzled, asked, ¡°What¡¯s not enough?¡±


    ¡°The burning¡ªit¡¯s not enough.¡±


    Tang Juan was first stunned, then burst into laughter, eventually roaring with laughter, ¡°At least several hundred thousand hectares of pasture have been burned, and that¡¯s not enough? The grasslands are vast, how could it all possibly burn to ash? It¡¯s enough already.¡±


    Finished speaking, Tang Juan called out to the Iron Peak County cavalry, ¡°Ahead is the fire, behind us the enemy. Let¡¯s head north, bypass the fire, and go through Vernge County back to Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡°Affirmative!¡± replied the cavalry in unison.


    Iron Peak County was upstream, while Vernge County was downstream. The further downstream one went, the larger the water volume of the [Big Horn River-Glory River] became, making it more difficult to cross.


    Therefore, Winters arranged for the squadrons to focus on burning the upstream areas¡ªthat is, the pastures at the border between Upper Iron Peak County and Middle Iron Peak County.


    The cavalry squadron from Iron Peak County was limited in manpower; they could not afford to attend to Upper Iron Peak County and the even further north territories.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Tang Juan, tugging at Andre¡¯s sleeve, said, ¡°Have you become addicted to the burning or what?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not enough,¡± Andre said, his gaze icy, ¡°The fire is good, but the wind direction is wrong.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tang Juan let go of him.


    Andre pointed towards the smoke on the fire with his riding crop, ¡°The summer wind blows west, the winter wind east. And we are to the east, with the Herders to the west. Burning like this, we can only burn the pasture, reach Iron Peak County, but not the Herders.¡±


    ¡°Then what?¡± Tang Juan smirked, ¡°Can¡¯t exactly ask the Lord to bless us and change the direction of the wind, can we?¡±


    ¡°Senior,¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°To burn towards the Herders, we need to go even further west of the Herders¡¯ land,¡± Andre¡¯s expression was very calm, ¡°Give me all of your squadron¡¯s warhorses.¡±


    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Tang Juan¡¯s face hardened, ¡°Have you gone mad?¡±


    Andre didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°West?¡± Tang Juan pointed sharply, demanding, ¡°The barbarians are sweeping in like a net, Herder scouts are everywhere, how will you get through?¡±


    Andre didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Even if you could break through that net, further west is still the domain of the barbarians,¡± Tang Juan, seizing Andre¡¯s collar, pressed, ¡°Without a guide, and language barriers, with enemies all around, how will you survive?¡±


    Andre remained silent.


    ¡°No rear support, no reinforcement, not even a plan!¡± Tang Juan chastised loudly, ¡°What kind of foolhardy battle strategy is this? One wrong step and the entire army could be annihilated! Reckless, stupid, utterly clueless!¡±


    Casually, Andre asked, ¡°So are you coming with me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡±


    ¡­


    The thick smoke from the burning grasslands drifted dozens of kilometers away, shrouding Shovel Port in haze as well.


    Mayor Botar of Shovel Port Town coughed as he walked into the church, complaining loudly, ¡°Damn it! What is this godawful weather? Where exactly did the fire start?¡±


    Mr. Alpha was sitting in a seat in front of the altar, engrossed in reading a notice.


    Hearing Botar¡¯s crude language, Mr. Alpha, without looking up, pointed to the holy symbol, ¡°Watch your language, Mr. Botar.¡±

 Chapter 749 749 54 Blazing Fire_2

    ?Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Chapter 749: Chapter 54: Blazing Fire_2 Mayor Botar hastily made a polite gesture.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Mayor Botar asked with a sycophantic smile.


    ¡°This?¡± Mr. Alpha lifted the notice in his hand, ¡°The ¡®Hostage Preparation Guide,¡¯ Revodan sent it over this morning.¡±


    The severed heads of the Terdun people were distributed to various villages and towns for display, along with the ¡®Communication Bulletin¡¯ and the ¡®Hostage Preparation Guide.¡¯


    Because Shovel Port received a greater number of severed heads, there was no need for ¡®head delivery¡¯; only bulletins and guides were distributed.


    In the special edition of the ¡®Communication Bulletin,¡¯ the Rebels fervently trumpeted their victory at Shovel Port to all the villages and towns in Iron Peak County and even the neighboring counties.


    However, in the bulletin, the author deliberately blurred the lines between the ¡°Shovel Port Government¡± and ¡°Iron Peak County Government¡± ¡­ That¡¯s probably the advantage of having control over the narrative.


    ¡°We fight to the death, and the Rebels take the opportunity to claim credit,¡± Botar cursed loudly, ¡°It¡¯s damn infuriating!¡±


    ...


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly claiming credit. Didn¡¯t they also praise the people of Shovel Port?¡± Mr. Alpha gently tapped on the paper, ¡°But this Hostage Preparation Guide is rather interesting.¡±


    ¡°Interesting?¡± Mayor Botar was a bit confused.


    Mr. Alpha took out several previous bulletins and said with a smile, ¡°Although I¡¯m not certain who the scribe is, their skill at creating catchy rhymes is getting better and better.¡±


    Mayor Botar was even more perplexed.


    ¡°[Hide your grain, prepare your gun; when Barbarians come, do not run]; [Avoid them, outmaneuver them, but do not engage in a head-on clash]; [If few Barbarians, encircle them; if many, hide from them] ¡­¡± Mr. Alpha¡¯s smile was nearly impossible to conceal, ¡°Actually, these are tactics from the ¡®Forest Beggars¡¯ during the sovereignty wars, turned into catchy rhymes.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Botar replied, half comprehending.


    Botar knew about ¡°Forest Beggars¡± and ¡°tactics,¡± but when these two terms were put together, he was oblivious. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet, he understood the content of the guide immediately; it was nothing more than instructing the farmers to hide their grain and finances well and to flee into the forests when the Herd Barbarians came.


    ¡°Distribute it,¡± Mr. Alpha handed the guide to Botar, ¡°Post it in all the villages.¡±


    ¡°Distribute it? Not intercept it?¡± Botar was shocked.


    Prior notices sent by Revodan were all intercepted and not distributed in Shovel Port unless the Cavalry themselves delivered them to each village or town.


    ¡°No need to intercept this guide,¡± Alpha said with a mild smile, ¡°I could never write something like this.¡±


    ¡­


    The raging wildfire caused panic throughout the Terdun Tribe.


    When the fire had just begun to spread, the people of Terdun, fifty kilometers away, noticed the signs ¡ª the Great Wilderness was flat terrain, and the billowing smoke could not be hidden.


    The firemasters hastily convened all the Kota in the large tent for a meeting.


    The marching style of the Terdun Tribe resembled migration; depending on the number of horses under their command, each Kota occupied an area several kilometers to tens of kilometers in width.


    At this moment, the entire Terdun Tribe lay sprawled out like a long snake over a grassland stretching more than two hundred kilometers.


    As a result, only a few leaders managed to arrive at the large tent in time, mostly the blood relatives and direct followers of the firemasters.


    ¡°Vile! Such a vile heart!¡± The firemaster¡¯s uncle roared as he entered the tent, ¡°Do those bipeds not fear that the fire will consume them too?¡±


    For the Herders, arson was tantamount to cutting off the lifeline of all creatures, a crime as grave as quartering. The soil of the grasslands was inherently thin; once it burned and the winds blew, it would diminish even further.


    The firemaster sat on the ground with a stony face, silent.


    ¡°Tie Chi, what¡¯s the use of saying this now?¡± The old Translator rebuked the firemaster¡¯s uncle, ¡°Sit down first, let¡¯s come to a reasonable decision.¡±


    Tie Chi¡ªthe firemaster¡¯s uncle¡ªheld some respect for the old Translator and, upon hearing this, no longer said anything, taking a seat grumpily.


    Seeing that most were present, the firemaster spoke with an ashen face, ¡°In this tent, if you¡¯re not my kin, you¡¯re my companions. You all are my whips, shadows, and arrows. Speak your mind directly; there¡¯s no need to mince words.¡±


    ¡°What else is there to say?¡± Tie Chi bellowed with irrepressible anger, ¡°The grasslands are scorched bare, what good is it to dawdle in our retreat? We either retreat, detour, or charge straight through!¡±


    The other leaders in the tent murmured their agreement.


    Without access to flour or gunpowder, the vitality of the horses was the most precious military resource for the Herders.


    Even more valuable than cattle and sheep, a horse in poor condition could lose nearly a hundred pounds in as little as a week, a frighteningly swift decline.


    To save the horses¡¯ fat, the firemaster carefully controlled the marching speed to ensure that the horses could continue to eat as they travelled.


    The firemaster even went as far as to prohibit the milking of mares¡ªsince milking too could lead to a horse losing condition.


    Without horse milk as a source of food, the Terdun people were forced to drive out thousands of ewes from the winter pastures to follow the raiding troops. Moving with a flock also slowed down the pace of the Terdun Tribe.


    And ewes were also precious livestock; inevitable losses would occur during a long and arduous journey. By taking the ewes out, the firemaster had no intention of bringing them back.


    With thousands fewer ewes, the Terdun Tribe would be short tens of thousands of lambs in the coming years.


    In other words, the cost of raiding at the end of November was far higher than that of raiding in mid-September.


    The firemaster, and indeed the whole Terdun Tribe, were gambling heavily.


    ¡°Retreat, detour, charge,¡± the old Translator raised his voice, ¡°Tie Chi is right, these are the only three options we have!¡±


    The Translator turned the conversation, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about detouring first. Where can we detour to?¡±

 Chapter 750 750 54 Blazing Fire_3

    ?Chapter 750: Chapter 54 Blazing Fire_3 Chapter 750: Chapter 54 Blazing Fire_3 ¡°Circle upriver or downriver.¡± Tie Chi answered without a moment¡¯s hesitation, ¡°Where else can we circle?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve scouted ahead.¡± The old Translator said in a deep voice, ¡°The fire is huge, circling upriver means heading into the mountains!¡±


    ¡°Then we circle downriver.¡±


    ¡°Downriver is marked for other chiefs¡¯ routes.¡±


    Tie Chi grunted, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just say, ¡®We can¡¯t circle,¡¯ and be done with it?¡±


    The arsonists had a pre-agreed ¡°marching route¡± that was not merely a route, but also a ¡°plundering range.¡±


    Upriver was obviously easier to cross than downriver, which is why the arsonists had been somewhat self-serving in allocating the marching routes.


    ...


    The arsonists allocated the upriver route to [Bao Wuer]¡ªnamely, their kin, the lineal descendants¡ª;


    And allocated the downriver marching route to [Ah Heita]¡ªnamely, those minor chiefs who were originally independent but forced or willingly attached to the Terdon Tribe¡ª.


    Paratu People set a massive fire in the upriver grasslands, squarely blocking the arsonists and their cronies¡¯ route.


    ¡°Circling won¡¯t do.¡± The old Translator flatly opposed, ¡°We don¡¯t know how long this fire will last, once we detour it might be hundreds of kilometers. Not to mention the delay; what would the Ah Heitas think?¡±


    ¡°Heck!¡± Tie Chi threw a fierce punch at his thigh, spewing saliva clear across the tent as he cursed, ¡°How did these bipeds learn our movements? Who¡¯s the rotten meat that crows wouldn¡¯t touch that leaked the information? Find this gut-rotten traitor! Shoot him with a thousand arrows!¡±


    The arsonists clenched their fists, and everyone in the tent shivered with fright.


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss these things later.¡± Seeing the situation, the old Translator immediately spoke to ease the atmosphere, ¡°In any case, the rebels from Newly Reclaimed Land have gotten wind that we¡¯re coming to plunder. However they found out, they know now.


    We are like wolves lying in the grass, discovered by the gazelles before even getting close. The gazelles are about to run, and the wolves only have two choices: either save their energy and watch the gazelles escape, or chase after them and take a gamble. Let¡¯s discuss and decide how to choose.¡±


    The arsonists¡¯ face was ashen, and the others¡ªwhether his own cousins or cronies¡ªdared not speak.


    In the end, it was Tie Chi, the uncle who had supported the arsonist in acquiring the ¡°khan position,¡± who spoke first.


    Tie Chi looked at his nephew, and said bluntly, ¡°Enough, arsonist. If the bipeds to our east know we¡¯re coming, then those in other places surely know as well. A wolf spotted far away by the gazelles shouldn¡¯t waste any more energy chasing them.


    Our losses aren¡¯t too severe; just a few horses and some sheep dead. There¡¯s still time to return to the winter pastures. Let the Ah Heitas go if they wish; we should head back now!¡±


    The other Kotas in the tent murmured agreement.


    While the arsonist might need a great plunder to reestablish his prestige, the other Kotas did not.


    Compared to the elusive spoils of war, the Kotas cared more about their own horses tired to death, their sheep eaten¡ªeven if they were the arsonist¡¯s blood relations and attendants.


    The arsonist gazed down at his fists, silent.


    ¡°Arsonist, what does your silence mean?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s temper flared uncontrollably as he shouted, ¡°If you won¡¯t speak, then we¡¯ll decide by casting beans!¡±


    The atmosphere in the tent plummeted.


    The arsonist raised his head and spoke coldly, ¡°Any of you who wants to decide by casting beans, stand up.¡±


    Naturally, no one dared to stand, including Tie Chi who continued sitting.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already had one decision by casting beans; there¡¯s no need for a second. My mind is made up, cross the scorched earth straight to the bipeds¡¯ territory.¡± The arsonist drew an arrow and held it above his head, snapping it with a fierce movement, ¡°Whoever dares to undermine the morale of our forces, meet the fate of this arrow!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Tie Chi grunted angrily, turned his head away from the arsonist, and said no more.


    The others in the tent lowered their heads in submission as well.


    ¡°The Kotas needn¡¯t worry.¡± The old Translator smiled and said, ¡°The rebels have only set fire to a few dozen kilometers of grassland; we can cross it in a few strides. Once we cross the river and reach the rebels¡¯ lands, there will surely be plenty to eat and drink. The rebels can set fire to the grasslands where nobody lives, but could they also burn their own land?¡±


    This reassured everyone in the tent somewhat, and all the Bao Wuer rallied, patting their left chests in agreement.


    Meanwhile, in the first military farming village of Forge Village, Iron Peak County.


    Peter Buniel, nicknamed ¡°Dwarf Peter,¡± was held down by four or five soldiers as he cried hysterically, ¡°That¡¯s my house, don¡¯t burn it! Ah! Don¡¯t burn! Please! Have mercy! Ah¡­¡±


    Captain Thomas watched the grass shed before him and, gritting his teeth, ordered, ¡°Burn! The council has decreed it; burn it all down!¡±


    Dwarf Peter¡¯s cries were heartbreakingly shrill, and no one had the heart to do it.


    Thomas snatched a torch and personally ignited Dwarf Peter¡¯s ramshackle wooden house.


    The flames swirled up from the walls to the roof, eventually engulfing the entire shack as Dwarf Peter¡¯s wails became inhuman.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Thomas lifted the torch, ¡°Next, we burn my house!¡±

 Chapter 751 751 55 Confrontation

    ?Chapter 751: Chapter 55: Confrontation Chapter 751: Chapter 55: Confrontation The sparse stars twinkled in the dawn¡¯s blue-gray sky, while a pale white mist swirled and spun over the Big Horn River.


    Without the presence of humans, all this was but a typical early winter morning.


    But beneath the tranquil scene lurked deadly intentions.


    ¡°Boat.¡±


    ¡°Boat.¡±


    Sounds like the slap of a fish tail against the water echoed across the river¡¯s surface.


    Shortly, the silhouette of a sheepskin raft emerged from the thick fog, then a second, and a third¡­


    ...


    These sheepskin rafts were small, each capable of carrying only five or six people.


    Among the five or six, two were sweating profusely as they paddled. The others, armed with horn bows, knelt still, daring not to move their lower bodies as they looked around.


    Fear, excitement, and greed mingled on each person¡¯s face and in their eyes.


    Without signal fires, battle cries, nor arrows and bullets, eight sheepskin rafts crossed the Big Horn River without any resistance, smoothly making their way into Iron Peak County, within the boundaries of Wolfton.


    ¡°Sweetwater! We¡¯ve made it!¡± A young Herder named Stone Arrow could hardly contain his delight as he whispered to another young Herder, ¡°The Two-Legs haven¡¯t spotted us!¡±


    The young Herder known as Sweetwater, with a scar across his nose, hissed at the speaker to ¡°shut up!¡±


    The former immediately fell silent.


    Sweetwater moved closer to another elder Herder and whispered his order, ¡°Old Baldtail! Count the men. Sound the horn, and signal for the rest to come over.¡±


    The elder Herder named Old Baldtail, with deep wrinkles etched on his face, nodded. He took out a deer bone flute and gently blew into it at his lips.


    ¡°Wooo¡­ Wooo¡­¡±


    The sound of Old Baldtail¡¯s playing was like the call of a deer¡ªnot very loud, but incredibly piercing.


    Across the river, another young Herder named Green Horse waited anxiously.


    Suddenly, Green Horse heard the sound of a deer call coming from behind the dense fog, signaling that Sweetwater and the others had successfully crossed the river.


    ¡°Drive the horses into the water!¡± Green Horse ran and shouted, ordering slaves and subjects, ¡°Drive the horses into the water!¡±


    The horses began to move, their slow, small steps building up to a thunderous noise.


    ¡°Hurry up! Hurry up!¡± Green Horse lashed out with the sheath of his knife at the sluggish slaves and subjects, his mean, narrow eyes revealing a fierce light, ¡°Don¡¯t let the horses drink! Keep them moving! They¡¯re not made of salt; they won¡¯t dissolve! Move! You sneaky lazybones!¡±


    The chill of the early winter river water pierced to the marrow, and the horses huddled together, reluctantly stepping into the icy currents.


    The Herders shouted, waving their long whips to herd the horse crowd.


    The leader of the horse herd¡ªa large, light chestnut horse with a white stripe down its nose¡ªtook the lead and began to swim.


    This wasn¡¯t the horse leader¡¯s first swim.


    The river¡¯s waters battered its robust body, and the horse leader struggled to breathe, its chest swelled larger than usual, its body floated on the water, with its neck and back emerging above the surface.


    The rest of the horses followed their leader, parting the water and slowly stepping forward until their hooves no longer touched the riverbed, and then they began to paddle and tread.


    About a dozen Herders rode on three sheepskin rafts following behind the horse troop. Each man carried a lasso pole and rope, ready for any emergency.


    But an accident still happened; an old horse with a white forehead ran out of strength and suddenly lost balance while swimming.


    The uncontrolled body of the old white-foreheaded horse turned sideways, and it drifted away from the herd, caught by the river and carried downstream.


    The Herders on the raft hurriedly threw out lassos, but the incident unfolded too quickly; the old horse had already disappeared into the fog in an instant.


    Green Horse, livid with rage, his eyes aflame with fury, shouted, ¡°Blind fools! Don¡¯t paddle forward! Have the herd angle against the current! Don¡¯t let the water sweep them away!¡±


    Not far downstream, the eight sheepskin rafts that had crossed the river earlier rowed back again. During the back and forth, it was inevitable that they drifted downstream by several hundred meters.


    The old white-foreheaded horse just happened to float past them, but it was no longer able to continue.


    The paddling Herders silently watched as the horse rose and fell in the gloomy waters.


    The first trip was for the people, the second for the horses, the third for the horse saddles, weapons, and armor, and the fourth and fifth also for people.


    After five exhausting trips, they had transported around a hundred riders and more than two hundred horses from the west bank of the Big Horn River to the East Bank.


    The leader of this hundred-man troop from the Terdon Tribe was ¡°Helge Grey,¡± meaning Sweetwater.


    The narrow-eyed Green Horse and another young man named Stone Arrow were Sweetwater¡¯s ¡°attendants¡±¡ªthe full-time warriors of this small tribe.


    The rest were Sweetwater¡¯s subjects and slaves, like the old slave Old Baldtail, who had been given to Sweetwater by his grandfather when Sweetwater was still too young to walk.


    By lineage, Sweetwater was of notable heritage. He was the son of his fire-maker¡¯s granduncle¡¯s grandson, his fire-maker¡¯s first cousin once removed.


    But in terms of strength, Sweetwater had only a little over a hundred riders and more than two hundred horses cobbled together, with old and young among his followers, making his combat force rather meager.


    For the Herders, being the vanguard was a great honor, with the custom of receiving a larger share of the spoils. Therefore, by all logic, Sweetwater should not have been the one to lead the charge.


    But who made Sweetwater the fire-maker¡¯s kin?


    The fire-maker took care of his property-less nephew, allowing Sweetwater to become one of the vanguards and arranging his marching route up the Big Horn River. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The day after the night battle at Shovel Port, Sweetwater quietly arrived at the border of the lower Iron Peak County with his hundred-man troop.


    Crossing from upstream of the Big Horn River was much easier than from downstream of Shovel Lake.


    Sweetwater first found a place with gentler water flow, then promptly prepared animal hide bags and rafts overnight and, the next morning, took advantage of the thick fog to successfully force his way across the Border River.

 Chapter 752 752 55 Confrontation_2

    ?Chapter 752: Chapter 55: Confrontation_2 Chapter 752: Chapter 55: Confrontation_2 Ganquan was the first of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s ¡°Turu Koda¡± to lead an organized crossing of the Border River¡ªhe just didn¡¯t know it yet.


    [Note: Turu Koda is roughly equivalent to a Centurion.]


    Compared to the failed ambush downstream of Shovel Lake, the process of crossing the river was surprisingly smooth; the Paratu People didn¡¯t even raise any alarms.


    After the initial ecstasy, deep confusion followed.


    Ganquan, Green Horse, Stone Arrow, and the old slave Bald Tail had to decide their next move.


    ¡°Is there a need to think about it?¡± Green Horse said impatiently, ¡°The Fire Roaster has ordered us to plunder villages, to disperse the bipeds¡¯ forces. Just saddle the horses and string the bows, and kill any biped in sight, right?¡±


    Bald Tail¡¯s hoarse voice countered, ¡°Green Horse, do you know where the villages of the bipeds are? Do you know where their army camps are? Could we run head-first into them?¡±


    Green Horse was left speechless.


    ...


    The Paratu People had suppressed the various Herder tribes for thirty years; the Herders were completely in the dark about the internal situation of the Paratu.


    During these thirty years, the only way the Herders learned about the Paratu was through intelligence gathered by smuggling caravans.


    However, most smuggling caravans had backgrounds of Paratu nobility, and the information they provided was a mix of truth and lies. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ganquan only knew that they were in the most remote ¡°grassland¡± owned by the bipeds; as for how many people, villages, and towns there were on the grassland, he had no idea.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry so much! If you¡¯re afraid of wolf bites, do you stop building enclosures?¡± Ganquan licked his teeth, with a fierce gleam in his eyes, ¡°We are the vanguard. The Fire Roaster ordered us to make a grand scene. Send someone to inform the Fire Roaster that we have crossed the river. Let¡¯s spread out and find the camps of the bipeds first.¡±


    Seeing Nayen give the orders, Bald Tail didn¡¯t say anything more.


    While Ganquan sent someone with a message for the Fire Roaster, he ordered his men to conceal the goatskin rafts and led over a hundred cavalrymen rushing towards the inhabited areas.


    Once the battlefield expands to hundreds of kilometers in length and width, the ability of individual units to make independent decisions becomes crucial.


    And this is precisely the Herders¡¯ strength.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, as Ganquan was crossing the Big Horn River upstream unharmed and entering Iron Peak County,


    Another Terdon Nayen, ¡°Taltai [Fatso],¡± was also crossing the Big Horn River downstream, entering the Middle Iron Peak County.


    Taltai, a relative of the Fire Roaster¡¯s legitimate wife, was supposed to cross the river downstream of the Big Horn River and upstream of Shovel Port, according to his route.


    In the common language, what is called a ¡°route,¡± the Herders refer to as ¡°Zasahak.¡± In the Herder language, Zasahak also means ¡°military orders,¡± ¡°law,¡± and ¡°command.¡±


    From this, it is clear that for the Herders, the concepts of [route] and [military orders] are one and the same; adherence to the route and punctuality are among the most important concepts in Herder military actions.


    Once the great chieftain sets a route, all the lesser chieftains must strictly follow that route.


    Deviating from the route without permission is severely punished, and so is failing to arrive on time.


    This military custom stems from the Herders¡¯ tradition of surround hunting. During the hunt, any small unit deviating from the route could cause the prey to break out of the encirclement.


    Therefore, during hunts that last a month or even three months, each unit must strictly follow their assigned route.


    The Herders hunt this way, and they wage war in the same fashion.


    The Fire Roaster assigned crossing areas to his forward officers, so the Kotas were to cross in their designated areas because other areas were other Kotas¡¯ ¡°routes.¡±


    Lacking the engineering capabilities of the Paratu Standing Army to fell trees for bridges, the Herders even had few people skilled in constructing Floating Bridges.


    Thus, Fatso Taltai¡¯s method of crossing the river was very similar to that of Ganquan: first, a small team of archers took advantage of the thick fog to reach the East Bank, seizing a ¡°landing area.¡±


    Then the goatskin rafts returned to the West Bank to carry more people across.


    The only difference was that Fatso Taltai was more cautious, more experienced, and commanded a larger force.


    This time, Fatso Taltai had brought out three hundred-man squads, each man handpicked and in his prime.


    For the first crossing, Fatso Taltai set up two leather ropes across both banks of the Big Horn River.


    Using the ropes firmly anchored to both banks, the goatskin rafts could pull them across the river without being swept downstream.


    The first crossing took a bit of time, but the second went quickly.


    As the sun rose and the mists gradually dispersed, the goatskin rafts had already made two round trips.


    His personal slave ¡°Chat Han [White]¡± respectfully reported to Taltai, ¡°Nayen, there are already over a hundred young men on the opposite bank.¡±


    Taltai was so named for his stoutness, which wasn¡¯t seen as a compliment. He detested being called ¡°Fatso¡± the most, so his companions, subjects, and slaves always referred to him as ¡°Nayen [Chief]¡± to his face.


    ¡°Have the scouts been sent out?¡±


    ¡°They have.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Taltai ordered, stroking his soft whip, ¡°Send the horses over then.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye.¡± Chat Han bowed and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t send them yet!¡± Fatso Taltai narrowed his eyes, which nearly disappeared into slits, ¡°First send ten horses over. Launch a light cavalry to scout further afield.¡±


    ¡°Aye, aye.¡±


    So ten horses were sent over, causing some further delay.


    The Terdon people on the East Bank did not have time to saddle the horses; they rode off bareback as swiftly as possible.


    Before the sounds of horse hooves could fade into the distance, a chilling war cry suddenly erupted from the thinning mists: ¡°[Common language] Draw your swords!¡±

 Chapter 753 753 55 Confrontation_3

    ?Chapter 753: Chapter 55 Confrontation_3 Chapter 753: Chapter 55 Confrontation_3 ¡°`


    It seemed as if hundreds or thousands of men were roaring at once, ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an ambush! Idiots! The sentry is dead!¡± Fat Taltai cursed nonstop, ¡°Pull the men back!¡±


    But it was too late. Two muffled booms sounded from across the river, and the piercing bugle calls cut through the thin mist, echoing along both banks of the Big Horn River.


    Captain Thomas sprang out of the field path, holding a pig-hunting spear and charging at the very front.


    To Thomas¡¯s surprise, someone was even ahead of him: a short figure holding a pig-hunting spear horizontally charged into the mist, howling.


    Ever since that ramshackle shack was burned down, Dwarf Peter hadn¡¯t said a word. He didn¡¯t cry or laugh, would eat when given food, drink when given drink, living like a walking corpse.


    Even as Captain Thomas repeatedly assured him, promising to help him rebuild his house after they defeated the Herd Barbarians, it failed to spark any light in Dwarf Peter¡¯s eyes.


    ...


    However, at this very moment, Dwarf Peter was howling and charging toward the riverbank like a madman, which shocked his comrades.


    When the shack with a big hole in its roof and leaking walls was burned down, a piece of Peter Buniel¡¯s heart turned hollow as well.


    But now, that missing part was filled with hatred and rage. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Peter Buniel didn¡¯t dare to hate the ¡°Blood Wolf¡± who had given him his surname, nor did he want to hate the company commander who treated him like a brother. He could only hate the Herd Barbarians.


    The damned Herd Barbarians!


    The cursed Herd Barbarians!


    Why did you have to come here?


    I¡¯ll kill you all!


    The hundred or so Terdun people crossing the river huddled together, backs against the water; the mist hadn¡¯t yet lifted, and they could only hear the sound of war cries coming from all directions.


    ¡°Spread out! Don¡¯t bunch up!¡± a red-plumed Hong Lingyu junior leader yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Spread out!¡±


    Apart from Hong Lingyu, not a single person from the East Bank of Terdun was wearing armor¡ªwearing armor on a boat meant sinking if you fell overboard, and their only weapons were horn bows and curved blades.


    Each person was eager to press toward the shore, into the safety of the crowd, leaving no room to even draw a bow.


    Hong Lingyu became fierce, pulling his subordinates out of the crowd one by one, ¡°Spread out and notch your arrows!¡±


    The cries of battle drew nearer and nearer; some Terdun people couldn¡¯t bear the psychological pressure, loosened their bowstrings, and shot arrows into the pale mist.


    The arrows were swallowed by the white fog, and it was unknown whether they hit anyone.


    Other Terdun people followed suit, shooting wherever they heard noise.


    The people on the other bank were frantically paddling, dragging the leather rafts across the river.


    Hong Lingyu watched anxiously.


    The Herders generally believed that a bowman¡¯s first twelve arrows were his ¡°best,¡± and after that, the archer¡¯s strength would gradually wane, thus affecting accuracy, power, and the speed of shooting.


    However, due to the psychological pressure, the Terdun people had already wasted their ¡°best arrows¡± shooting at the mist.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Hong Lingyu, frustrated and angry, lashed at his subordinates with his whip, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot until you see two-legged men! Shoot only when you see them!¡±


    Suddenly, a great force came from behind, and amid his subordinates¡¯ exclamations of alarm, Hong Lingyu, who was standing at the forefront of the crowd, was violently knocked down by a short Paratu soldier charging out of the white mist.


    The pig-hunting spear couldn¡¯t penetrate the breastplate; Hong Lingyu¡¯s ribs were crushed by sheer brute force, and he fell flat to the ground.


    Hong Lingyu struggled to get up, but the small Paratu man, like a madman, kept pounding down on Hong Lingyu¡¯s back, as if he was executing a hated enemy.


    The stunned Terdun people had never seen such ferocity, not even amongst the Herders.


    ¡°Shoot him! Ah!¡± Hong Lingyu spat blood from the beating over his armor and even heard the crisp sound of his spine breaking, ¡°Shoot him!¡±


    The Terdun archers finally came to their senses and shakily drew their bows and notched arrows.


    ¡°Die!¡± Another tall Paratu man leapt out from behind the white mist, lunging at the Terdun people without hesitation.


    The large Paratu man¡¯s pig-hunting spear aimed straight for the throat of the Terdun man in front of him, only pausing slightly as it reached the windpipe before piercing through to the spine.


    The Terdun man screamed, clutching the spear shaft.


    The tall Paratu man tried to pull back his pig-hunting spear, but the Terdun man refused to let go.


    If he had been a new soldier, he might have foolishly played tug-of-war with the Terdun man at this moment.


    ¡°`


    But the tall Paratu soldier was Captain Thomas, and seeing the spear shaft seized, he made a snap decision to let go of the spear and draw his sword without paying any more attention to the barbarian with the long spear in his throat, swinging his blade at others.


    The event happened in an instant, with more and more Iron Peak County Soldiers emerging from the white fog.


    Upon seeing the hundreds of Terdun people on the riverbank, the soldiers of the first company mostly froze in shock before crying out and rushing towards the enemy.


    Both sides commenced a chaotic fight within the thin mist, those in leather coats were Herders, those in cloth were Paratu People, with each face twisted in ferocity, and jaws clenched tight.


    The already crazed Dwarf Peter kept fiercely smashing Blood Wolf with blow after blow, even though the tip of his boar spear had snapped off, he continued to use the broken spear to smash.


    Blood Wolf screamed incessantly, continually scratching at the ground trying to rise, but his lower body wouldn¡¯t respond anymore.


    A strong wind howled in, dispersing the thin mist in an instant.


    With the fog that obscured their view now gone, the plump Taltai on the opposite shore immediately commanded his troops to loose arrows.


    Arrows poured down onto the East Bank like hail, flying indiscriminately at those engaged in the fierce battle.


    It was at this moment that Bart Xialing arrived at the battlefield with the second company.


    Upon surveying the situation at the shore, Bart Xialing cursed in dismay.


    The Herd Barbarians had no way to retreat, and the first company was in high spirits, both sides at the bank had already seen red in the heat of battle.


    And the barbarians across the river were clearly not planning to rescue their comrades but to kill as many Paratu People as possible.


    ¡°Company commander, should we go in?¡± the sergeant, ¡°Nine Fingers,¡± asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.


    ¡°Go in my ass!¡± Bart Xialing roared, ¡°Sound the retreat!¡±


    ¡°Retreat?¡±


    ¡°Just blow the damn signal!¡±


    The melody of retreat began to sound.


    Captain Thomas, although confused, still bellowed the command to the surrounding soldiers, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    ¡°Retreat!¡± echoed the NCO of the first company, repeating the command and pulling the bloodthirsty soldiers next to him away from the battlefield.


    As Thomas passed by Peter Buniel, he noticed the latter still furiously pounding the back of a Blood Wolf.


    The Blood Wolf was barely clinging to life, astonishingly not yet dead.


    Thomas kicked Dwarf Peter aside, lifted the armor flap behind Blood Wolf¡¯s neck, and mercifully ended the suffering of the dying Blood Wolf.


    ¡°Enough,¡± Thomas said sternly, pulling the distraught Dwarf Peter back toward the starting position of the attack.


    The Terdun people on the East Bank fought solely on their will, becoming bewildered when they suddenly lost their enemy.


    ¡°Herde Language rafts!¡± exclaimed one Terdun man, dropping his weapon, shouting with joy, ¡°Herde Language rafts are coming!¡±


    This cry sounded like a starting gun, and the surviving Terdun people scrambled towards the sheepskin rafts that had not yet reached the shore.


    ¡°Herde Language don¡¯t leave me here!¡± cried out a severely wounded Terdun man, beseeching miserably, ¡°Herde Language don¡¯t leave me here!¡±


    But no one paid any attention, and those who were still alive in the desperate situation became utterly selfish.


    ¡°Herde Language It¡¯s over!¡± The incensed plump Taltai threw his riding whip into the river viciously.


    ¡°Herde Language Surrender for mercy!¡± shouted the soldiers of the second company in broken Herde language, forming a loose line as they advanced towards the shore, ¡°Herde Language Surrender for mercy!¡±


    Bart Xialing wasn¡¯t leading at the very front; he remained on the higher ground of the riverbank, frowning as he observed the situation on the battlefield.


    Sergeant ¡°Nine Fingers,¡± following Bart Xialing¡¯s orders, cut the connecting hide rope between the two banks immediately.


    The Terdun people¡¯s sheepskin rafts were carried downstream unexpectedly by the river.


    The Terdun people, having lost their will to resist, dropped their weapons and kneeled to surrender.


    Seeing that all was lost, the Terdun people on the opposite bank fired a few rounds of arrows symbolically, then ceased to waste any more.


    Several bodies floated on the water¡¯s surface, silently carried away by the river.


    The first direct confrontation of the two armies in Iron Peak County ended with a minor victory for the defenders.

 Chapter 754 754 56 Commendation

    ?Chapter 754: Chapter 56 Commendation Chapter 754: Chapter 56 Commendation The sentinel on the watchtower had seen a cavalry troop charging toward the main gate from afar.


    The alarm bell rang, and the armed defenders hurriedly made their way to the battlements, while the civilians who were digging trenches outside the fortress swarmed toward the gates.


    This was a small fortress standing just outside of Niutigu Valley, no more than fifty meters in length and width.


    It was surrounded by two layers of earthen walls, with the main wall two meters higher than the inner one, which barely reached one meter, and there were only two gates, front and back.


    For a moment, the soldiers wanted to go out, and the civilians wanted to get in, causing a blockade at the gate that was impassable.


    ¡°Where did the Herders cross the river?¡± Captain Thomas, frazzled and desperate, climbed the battlements and bellowed, ¡°Don¡¯t block the gate! Let our men out first!¡±


    The civilians were bent on seeking refuge inside the fortress and ignored him.


    ...


    Thomas stomped his foot hard, ¡°Make way! Let them come in first!¡±


    The soldiers stepped aside, and the crowd flowed into the fortress like a tide, packing the small enclosure to the brim.


    Thomas was anxious, but then he heard the sentinel on the watchtower shout, ¡°Captain! It¡¯s the military council banner of Montaigne, the Civilian Protector!¡±


    Thomas looked toward the approaching riders and saw a blood-red banner fluttering on the tip of a spear, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.


    The legion¡¯s company banners were blue with four quadrants, while the Herders used a green horse-tail banner.


    In all of Iron Peak County, only one person carried a blood-red banner¡ªbrought back from the Great Wilderness, it was a unique personal military flag.


    Thomas jumped down from the battlement and started to reassure the civilians. His forehead was still sweating when he heard a thunderous roar from outside the walls, ¡°What the hell is going on? Thomas! Bart Xialing! Get out here!¡±


    When Winters arrived at Niutigu Valley, it was already midday, the day after the ambush.


    He was very unsatisfied with the condition of the Niutigu Valley fortress. From the time he heard the alarm bells to when he reached the outside of the fortress walls, there were still a large crowd of civilians congested at the gates, not yet accommodated inside.


    With people crammed at both front and back entrances, Thomas was at a loss until he finally climbed over the wall in an embarrassing exit.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bart Xialing?¡± Winters asked with a stern face as he approached Captain Thomas.


    Thomas answered swiftly, ¡°By the riverbank, second company is monitoring the barbarians¡¯ movement.¡±


    Winters pointed at the disordered fortress, his anger barely contained as he questioned, ¡°If I were a Herder, would you still be alive?¡±


    Thomas was at a loss for words.


    Without saying another word, Winters rode around the wall of the fortress.


    Thomas stood there, not knowing what to do, as Xial dismounted sympathetically and patted the captain on the back.


    Xial whispered to Thomas, ¡°The captain is here to commend you. He¡¯s happier about your victory than if he had won the battle himself.¡±


    ¡°Why did the Centurion come himself?¡± Thomas asked softly, ¡°What about Revodan?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Captain Mason is in charge there.¡±


    During their conversation, Winters had completed a circuit around the fortress and returned to the main gate.


    ¡°A hundred paces?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Thomas replied, saluting: ¡°It¡¯s a hundred paces wide and long.¡±


    ¡°Too small!¡± Winters dismounted and pointed out the issue bluntly, ¡°It¡¯s fine for housing two companies, but how could it accommodate all the nearby civilians? Didn¡¯t anyone consider the future when building this fortress?¡±


    Thomas stood there, crestfallen.


    Winters intended to scold him further, but then he remembered none of his captains had received complete military training.


    Constructing a standard military fortress with double walls and a trench was, in fact, an overachievement on their part, after observing, learning by themselves, and putting it all into practice.


    A few more words of reprimand, he feared, might destroy the self-confidence and dignity of these ¡°self-taught¡± commanders.


    ¡°You fought well in this battle.¡± Winters sighed inwardly as he produced a commendation, ¡°Have the fallen soldiers been gathered? Where are the wounded? I have brought Father Caman with me.¡±


    Thomas, with tears he could not hold back, received the commendation.


    ¡­


    Winters¡¯ sudden arrival caused a bit of a commotion, but it settled down quickly.


    Thomas and Bard Xialing explained in detail the course of the ambush.


    ¡°We were planning to move after the warhorses were delivered.¡± Bard Xialing lamented, ¡°The barbarians on the opposite bank are cunning, only sending ten horses at a time. Our men were hiding under the riverbank, and they wouldn¡¯t have withstood a careful search.¡±


    Winters studied the map, using a compass to measure, ¡°How many horses do the Herders on the other side have?¡±


    ¡°At least five or six hundred.¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Five or six hundred? That¡¯s extravagant!¡± Winters cast aside the compass, a trace of regret in his voice: ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t even muster a hundred horses right now.¡±


    ¡°How come?¡± Thomas asked, puzzled, ¡°Didn¡¯t we just get more than two hundred horses from Lieutenant Bard?¡±


    Just mentioning that gave Winters a headache, ¡°All taken by Lieutenant Chelini and Lieutenant A¡­ without even a word to me.¡±


    Amid complaints between Civilian Protectors, a humble captain dared not say much.


    Andre and Tang Juan, with more than a hundred cavalry and over five hundred horses, had left without looking back, heading west.


    Winters silently accepted the decisions of Andre and Senior Tang Juan. This was not his war alone; everyone had their own duties.


    Winters perked up and asked the two captains, ¡°How did you know the Herders would cross the river at Pangtuo Forest?¡±


    ¡°It was all the second captain¡¯s idea to arrange concealed sentries on the opposite bank,¡± Thomas swiftly replied, ¡°Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have won this battle.¡±


    Winters nodded.


    Thomas and Bard Xialing were two captains Winters valued the most. The latter was flexible in thinking, always with unusual ideas; the former was generous and amiable, able to command respect.

 Chapter 755 755 56 Rewards_2

    ?Chapter 755: Chapter 56 Rewards_2 Chapter 755: Chapter 56 Rewards_2 All the company-level commanders under Winters were honed in blood and fire; they just lacked systematic learning.


    Winters drew a line on the map with a graphite stick, ¡°The eleventh and twelfth companies are on their way to Niutigu Valley to reinforce you.


    ¡°Four companies for Niutigu Valley?¡± Bart Xialing asked in surprise.


    ¡°Correct,¡± Winters circled Niutigu Valley on the map, ¡°Your current stronghold is too small. I suggest you build a fort directly around Niutigu Valley and completely enclose Niutigu Valley Town.¡±


    ¡°You just have to give the order,¡± Tamas said with a simple smile, ¡°What¡¯s there to suggest?¡±


    ¡°No, you are the frontline commanders. You need to make decisions based on the situation at hand, I can only offer suggestions,¡± Winters took out two appointment letters from his bosom, ¡°Four companies make a battalion. Starting now¡ªTamas, you are the acting battalion commander of the first battalion.¡±


    Tamas sprung out of his chair like a spring, his lips trembling, not knowing what to say.


    ...


    ¡°Bart Xialing,¡± Winters handed an appointment letter to the commander of the second company, ¡°Starting now, you are the acting deputy commander of the first battalion.¡±


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Tamas suddenly spoke, ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Winters raised his eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Let Bart be the commander¡­¡± Tamas hung his head, ¡°¡­I don¡¯t have the ability to lead a battalion.¡±


    Winters tossed the appointment letter on the table, crossed his arms and asked, ¡°Are you the military civil officer, or am I the military civil officer?¡±


    ¡°You are¡­¡±


    ¡°Then why the unnecessary words?¡± Winters flung the appointment letter at the commander of the first company, ¡°Whoever I say is in charge, is in charge. Bart Xialing, do you have a problem with that?¡±


    Bart Xialing hastily protested his innocence, ¡°Centurion, how could I possibly be unhappy? I didn¡¯t say a thing!¡±


    ¡°So you don¡¯t have a problem with it?¡± Winters looked at the commander of the first company, ¡°Mr. Tamas?¡±


    Tamas silently picked up the appointment letter and saluted.


    ¡°I¡¯m giving you reinforcements and two more tasks,¡± Winters said while marking the map, ¡°First, evacuate the villages near Niutigu Valley, bury grain and valuables on the spot, gather all people, livestock, and carts in Niutigu Valley Town.¡±


    Tamas and Bart Xialing nodded continuously.


    ¡°Second, demolish the bridges between Niutigu Valley and Blackwater Town and set up beacon towers along the Panto River.¡±


    ¡°So¡­ are we abandoning Iron Peak County?¡± Bart Xialing asked gravely.


    ¡°As long as the Herders from Iron Peak County don¡¯t cross the Panto River,¡± Winters answered decisively, ¡°don¡¯t bother with them.¡±


    Tamas pointed at the map and asked, ¡°There¡¯s another bridge by Shizhen, what should we do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the third company to evacuate Shizhen, you don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Winters looked at his subordinates, his heart filled with an indescribable sentiment. He cautioned them, ¡°Revodan is nearly a hundred kilometers from Niutigu Valley, the outcome here will rest on your shoulders. The Herders are poor in engineering and their arms are not sharp; their only advantage lies in mobility. Maintain your resolution, and remember not to be led around by them.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tamas and Bart Xialing saluted solemnly.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t be so serious,¡± a hint of a smile appeared in Winters¡¯ eyes, ¡°I¡¯m here to commend you.¡±


    Thus, a simple commendation ceremony was held in the square of Niutigu Valley Town.


    Under the gaze of soldiers and civilians alike, a diminutive soldier named Peter Buniel was the first to receive the award.


    The new government was financially strapped, so the rewards were straightforward¡ªgranting more land.


    Because he bravely charged into enemy lines during battle and took down an enemy Hong Lingyu, Peter Buniel¡¯s land grant was increased from three hundred to six hundred mu (note: 40 hectares), simply doubled in a blunt manner.


    On hearing the words ¡°three hundred mu,¡± the onlooking farmers and townspeople were already whispering among themselves¡ªthree hundred mu was enough to make any common farmer envious. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When ¡°six hundred mu¡± echoed across the square, the crowd gasped in unison, even louder than the magically amplified voice.


    Even Captain Thomas was taken aback when he first learned about the extent of the rewards. Although Dwarf Peter was one of his soldiers, Thomas still earnestly advised Winters to reconsider and exercise restraint.


    Winters countered this by telling Thomas a classic joke from the Land Academy, ¡°It¡¯s said that madman Richard once threatened Marshal Ned with ¡®a hundred thousand troops¡¯ to fight the Alliance. The old marshal replied evenly, claiming the Alliance could also muster a hundred thousand.¡±


    ¡°So madman Richard said, ¡®Then I¡¯ll send two hundred thousand troops,''¡± Winters smiled at Thomas, ¡°Guess what the old marshal replied?¡±


    ¡°The Alliance could also muster two hundred thousand troops?¡± Thomas ventured a guess.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, the Alliance can¡¯t mobilize two hundred thousand troops. The old marshal said¡­¡± Winters patted the commander of the first company on the shoulder, ¡°¡®then we¡¯ll just fire two shots each.''¡±


    Thomas pondered for a long time, then timidly asked, ¡°I don¡¯t understand Sir, could you explain further?¡±


    Winters sighed. Bart Xialing of the second company interjected, ¡°What the Centurion means is, if everyone could take down a Hong Lingyu, we would¡¯ve won the war a long time ago!¡±


    So is six hundred mu a lot? Of course, it¡¯s not much. But for the lonesome Peter Buniel, it could be said to be too much.


    Onlookers looked on in shock; other soldiers with feats of valor were elated, but only the diminutive Peter Buniel showed no hint of joy on his face.

 Chapter 756 756 56 Reward_3

    ?Chapter 756: 56 Chapter Reward_3 Chapter 756: 56 Chapter Reward_3 He numbly accepted the commendation, his movements like those of a marionette.


    Centurion Thomas was so angry he wanted to punch someone; he bit his teeth and scolded his subordinate, ¡°Short Peter, who are you frowning at? Thank the official, damn it!¡±


    Peter Buniel heard the company commander¡¯s words and stiffly saluted the military civil official.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, aren¡¯t you happy about getting the land?¡± Winters didn¡¯t get angry but appeared somewhat puzzled.


    ¡°No,¡± Short Peter shook his head.


    Winters raised his eyebrows, ¡°No what? Happy? Or not happy?¡±


    Short Peter was silent for a long time, then suddenly pleaded in a tearful voice, ¡°Lord Blood Wolf, you promised to help me rebuild my home, you must not go back on your word!¡±


    ...


    If it hadn¡¯t been in front of a crowd, Thomas would have kicked him hard long ago.


    The word ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ was a big taboo, all the old troops of Centurion Montagne knew it, and Thomas desperately prayed in his heart that the Centurion wouldn¡¯t be in a too bad mood today.


    Perhaps the prayers were answered, as Thomas heard Blood Wolf¡¯s loud laughter, ¡°I¡¯ll build you a better one!¡±


    Just as the stone in Thomas¡¯s heart fell, it was hoisted up violently again¡ªsince the small Peter Buniel stubbornly wiped his tears and said, ¡°No! I want the same old one!¡±


    Perhaps the Centurion really was in a good mood today, Thomas thought, as he saw Winters Montagne take out a notebook, write down a promissory note, and solemnly hand it to the soldier Peter Buniel, ¡°You¡¯ll get the same house built, let¡¯s shake on it as a promise.¡±


    ¡­


    While the commendation ceremony was underway with great enthusiasm, the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe were being interrogated one by one in the dungeon of the camp.


    If it was just to deliver the commendation order, sending a messenger would have sufficed. Winters came to Niutigu Valley not only with Father Caman, but also brought Little Lion along.


    With Hunter Bell absent, Little Lion was the only one by Winters¡¯s side who could speak two languages.


    As Winters¡¯s experience grew and his horizon broadened, he placed increased importance on intelligence.


    The battlefield was like being enshrouded in fog; the passive acquisition of intelligence could no longer satisfy Winters.


    In yesterday¡¯s dawn ambush, it was ultimately Iron Peak County¡¯s side that controlled the battlefield. More than half of the hundreds of Terdon people crossing the river were killed or injured, and all those who still had breath were captured.


    The people of the Terdon Tribe from the citizen and slave strata had no staunch loyalty. Without needing torture, a few threats made them spill everything, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.


    Once Little Lion had finished the interrogation, it coincided with Winters¡¯s arrival.


    Little Lion got straight to the point, informing Winters, ¡°Your captives are all ¡®Wurus,¡¯ just ordinary members; they don¡¯t know anything useful.¡±


    ¡°How many of them are there in total?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    ¡°Three Tulurs, over three hundred horsemen, plus some servants who wait on them.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that very useful?¡± Winters¡¯s frown slowly eased, ¡°Who is their commander?¡±


    ¡°Belig Taltai.¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°I know this man. He is a blood relative of the chief¡¯s lawful wife, the chief¡¯s ¡®Nakor,¡¯ that is, one of the chief¡¯s own men.¡±


    ¡°His own man?¡±


    Little Lion sighed and began to explain with gestures.


    It was impossible to neatly sort out the social dependency relationships within Herder society because even the Herders themselves were unclear about it.


    Take, for example, the relationship between the chief and Taltai: Taltai was an external relative of the chief, less closely related by blood than the chief¡¯s uncle Tie Chi;


    But Tie Chi was a semi-independent leader, who could choose whether to obey the chief¡¯s commands. Taltai, on the other hand, had almost no independence; the chief could even decide on Taltai¡¯s family marriages. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Independence¡± was a flexible indicator, not a fixed value. It changed with the shift in relative strength, closeness of the relationship, and level of trust between the parties.


    In simple terms, the Terdon Tribe is a large faction, and the chief¡¯s faction is the strongest smaller faction within the larger one.


    The [Tie Chi faction] and [chief¡¯s faction] are roughly on par with each other, with the [Taltai faction] being a subordinate branch of the [chief¡¯s faction].


    The Taltai faction itself is also a smaller tribe, and Taltai has his own guards, companions, citizens, and slaves.


    Winters couldn¡¯t be bothered to arrange the chief¡¯s genealogy; he cut to the chase and asked, ¡°If Taltai across the river loses the battle, the chief¡¯s control over the Terdon Tribe will be weakened, am I right?¡±


    Little Lion cocked his head and thought about it, ¡°Pretty much.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters clapped his hands, ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡±

 Chapter 757 757 57 Triumphal Song

    ?Chapter 757: Chapter 57: Triumphal Song Chapter 757: Chapter 57: Triumphal Song ¡°`


    The night was deep, but Taltai couldn¡¯t sleep.


    Not only Taltai couldn¡¯t sleep, but his close confidants were also restless.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division had a sleepless night not because of the defeat at dawn yesterday¡ªslaves can be recaptured, subjects can be reconquered, and as long as the horses and armors weren¡¯t lost, the Taltai Division wouldn¡¯t be considered to have taken a fundamental hit.


    It was because they were trapped on the riverbank, unable to move.


    As to what to do and where to go, leaders big and small had been arguing for two days.


    ¡°Nayen! Esteemed ones!¡± The old slave Chahan pleaded desperately, ¡°Look at your feet, it¡¯s all black! There¡¯s not a palm-sized patch of turf! This is a death trap! Let¡¯s leave quickly while we still can!¡±


    As Chahan spoke, he bent over to grab a handful of soil, and, with tears in his voice, said, ¡°Esteemed ones, open your eyes! The bipeds have become ruthless, even the grass roots have been scorched dry! In the cold and freezing weather, the children can¡¯t find wood for heating and can burn only wet horse dung! Their eyes are smoked red and sickened, how can we still raid and plunder?¡±


    ...


    The old slave Chahan wanted to leave, but the ¡°nobility¡± of the Taltai Division didn¡¯t want to. Their status and wealth, even their life and death, were tied to the success or failure of plundering and raiding.


    Immediately someone scolded the old slave Chahan, ¡°Why does the crow rant so madly? The Fire Maker commands us to cross the river from here, but can we just leave because we want to? The Fire Maker won¡¯t kill you, but he will kill those with quivers!¡±


    Another Hong Lingyu with graying hair and beard spoke up, ¡°We can¡¯t stay, but we can¡¯t just waste away either. Why not take another route, upstream or downstream?¡±


    ¡°Is the route of other tribes something we can take?¡± The man who had spoken earlier became even angrier, ¡°Father, oh father! Don¡¯t be silent! To leave! To fight! Make a decision!¡±


    It turned out the speaker was Taltai¡¯s son.


    ¡°Tuoduoge, don¡¯t be anxious,¡± Taltai glanced at his eldest son and his eyelid twitched, ¡°You both make sense.¡±


    Did Taltai want to leave? Not really. To back down now would mean admitting the loss of a hundred-odd subjects and slaves for nothing.


    But he also felt that they couldn¡¯t afford to wait¡ªbipeds had been too vicious, turning the west bank into scorched earth. The Herders relied on livestock for warfare, and the livestock relied on grass for sustenance. Without grass to graze, how could they raid and plunder?


    He had thought commanding the vanguard would be an easy benefit but now found himself in a dilemma, and Taltai deeply regretted it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the bipeds on the east bank, they aren¡¯t as numerous as us. They didn¡¯t come out of yesterday¡¯s battle unscathed either.¡± Taltai looked around, and the jerky in his hand was almost twisted into floss, ¡°Tomorrow divide the young warriors into left and right flanks, each crossing the river upstream and downstream, while my banner remains here as bait for the people on the opposite bank.¡±


    ¡°What if they find out?¡±


    ¡°Even if they find out, it doesn¡¯t matter¡ªcross the river a distance of about a horse away. If they follow us, you continue to draw them. They only have two legs and can¡¯t go far.


    If they don¡¯t find out, you wait for me to feign a crossing here, and then we¡¯ll attack them from behind.¡±


    [Note: ¡°A distance of about a horse¡± refers to the distance a grazing horse would travel in one day, approximately 10 km]


    ¡°What if that still doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, then let¡¯s leave! We have done our utmost, and the Fire Maker cannot blame us.¡±


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division couldn¡¯t think of a better solution, and gradually, they agreed to Taltai¡¯s strategy.


    Chahan was Taltai¡¯s personal slave, and his status was an extension of Taltai¡¯s authority. Although anxious, Chahan couldn¡¯t go against Taltai¡¯s word.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Taltai Division defined their left and right flanks, and after no further disputes, each returned to their tents to sleep.


    Chahan also returned to his dwelling; he had no tent¡ªthe people below heads of the Terdon Tribe didn¡¯t have tents.


    With the onset of winter, the weather turned chilly, it was cold during the day, and colder at night, the ordinary members of the tribe could only warm themselves with heated stones tucked in their embrace.


    Chahan¡¯s son and grandson had also joined the campaign this time; father and son sat by the campfire without sleep.


    ¡°How is it, father?¡± Chahan¡¯s son asked.


    Chahan shook his head.


    Seeing his son and grandson¡¯s eyes reddened by smoke, the old man sighed deeply and lay down wrapped in his fur robe. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chahan¡¯s grandson angrily poked at the horse dung cakes, uttering resentfully, ¡°If the battle is lost, you and I die. If we win, the heads divide the spoils. They¡¯re like wolves that have tasted blood for the first time and will never let go easily.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the middle-aged Herder chided his son in a low voice, ¡°Nayen will cut out your tongue if he hears you!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll hear me every day until he does,¡± Chahan¡¯s grandson stubbornly retorted to his father, ¡°People passing by say that in the Red River Tribe even ordinary members can get a share of the spoils. But the head of the Taltai? Everything goes into his saddlebag; not even a Horse Palm coin is given to the tribespeople!¡±


    The middle-aged Herder couldn¡¯t argue with his son and, frustrated, admonished, ¡°The Red River Tribe is the Red River Tribe; the Terdon Tribe is the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    ¡°The gold is gone! What Terdon Tribe is there to speak of?!¡± Chahan¡¯s grandson¡¯s voice grew louder.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the middle-aged Herder burst out in anger, whirling his arm and striking his son across the face.


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    It was as if thunder exploded by their ears, the slap shaking the earth itself.


    The horses neighed in terror, and old Chahan leaped up, spryly defying his age.


    ¡°What was that sound?!¡± old Chahan¡¯s eyes bulged like a bull¡¯s.


    ¡°I¡­,¡± the middle-aged Herder was at a loss, ¡°¡­I just slapped him¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡± old Chahan shouted vehemently, ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡±


    A flash of red.


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    This time the thunderous explosion occurred right beside Chahan and his grandson, invisible shrapnel whirling through the air, and a blast of air instantly knocked Chahan to the ground.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 758 758 57 The Triumphal Song_2

    ?Chapter 758: Chapter 57: The Triumphal Song_2 Chapter 758: Chapter 57: The Triumphal Song_2 Chatan¡¯s head collided with something hard, and darkness clouded his vision as he lost consciousness.


    Thirty meters from the Taltai Division camp, with his hair still dripping wet, Winters raised his military saber and barked an order, ¡°Ready!¡±


    Behind Winters, hidden in the darkness, crouched eighteen warriors, their lips purplish-blue, bodies shaking.


    In front of Winters stood four stalwart warriors, carefully chosen.


    To evade the Terdun sentries, twenty-two warriors had followed Winters, swimming across the river upstream from two kilometers away, clutching sheepskin bags.


    The Herders would never have imagined that they had unintentionally taught the enemy how to use sheepskin bags to stay afloat.


    The four stalwart warriors each lifted a palm-sized iron-gray grenade to eyebrow height, with a long fuse extending from the top of the iron sphere.


    ...


    Winters walked behind the four, not striking a flint but four strands of gunpowder fuse had already begun to burn.


    ¡°Throw!¡± Winters roared. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Like ancient athletes throwing the discus, the four stalwart warriors took long strides into a run, spinning a full circle, using all their strength to propel the grenades toward the Taltai Division camp.


    The hissing grenades vanished into the darkness, overpowered by the roar of Winters¡¯ voice, even muffling the dull thuds of explosions, ¡°Again!¡±


    The iron from the Iron Peak Mine smelted by the apprentice blacksmith Carlos was of poor quality, brittle. But Winters found a use for the brittle iron¡ªmaking grenades.


    Through improved techniques, the weight of the grenades produced in Iron Peak County was reduced to under 1kg.


    With the reduced weight, there was no longer a need to use the ¡°chain-ball¡± throwing method¡ªthis was far too dangerous, with a slight mishap potentially sending a grenade onto the heads of one¡¯s own troops.


    Men were running about frantically, and warhorses neighed violently; the Taltai Division camp was in utter chaos.


    The Taltai Division, equipped to ward off the cold, had arranged their horses on the outer circle of the camp with sticks and ropes to block the wind.


    Bright lights, gunsmoke, and loud bangs¡ªany one of these could cause horses to lose control, let alone all three assaulting the horses¡¯ senses simultaneously.


    A horse, overtaken by its instinct to flee, wildly struck the other horses around it, broke through the ropes, and bolted into the night.


    More panic-stricken horses rampaged through the camp, trampling the crowds and spreading panic to more horses and people.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Taltai shouted himself hoarse as he ran about, yelling, ¡°Open the rope barriers! Scatter the horses!¡±


    The deep rumble of military drums drowned out Taltai¡¯s desperate cries, and a single glance at the scene before them was enough to make the Taltai Division¡¯s warriors¡¯ knees go weak.


    Hundreds¡ªno, thousands¡ªof torches burst forth like a monstrous wave from the riverbank, charging toward the riverside, rising above the water, pressing onwards to the West Bank.


    They were determined to force a crossing of Big Horn River!


    ¡°What? How can this be?¡± Taltai grabbed a slave trying to flee at his side, his eyes red, questioning in a confused frenzy, ¡°Watch out for us! The bipeds should be watching out for you and me! Why? Why are they crossing the river?¡±


    The slave, usually subservient, showed a fierce look, shoved Nayen away forcefully, and struggled onto a horse that had neither a halter nor a saddle, and fled without looking back.


    ¡°Father!¡± Taltai¡¯s son, accompanied by two personal guards, spotted Taltai at once amidst the scattering crowd, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fake!¡± Taltai suddenly realized, ¡°The bipeds can¡¯t have that many soldiers; those torches are all fake!¡±


    ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Draw swords! Mount up! To the riverbank!¡± Taltai roared with a ferocious look, ¡°Kill anyone that comes!¡±


    Meanwhile, on the East Bank of the Big Horn River, Bart Xialing¡¯s throat was already hoarse beyond recognition, but he was still desperately shouting, ¡°Yell! Everyone yell! [Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    The battle at dawn yesterday saw almost equal casualties for both armies.


    That night, Winters took with him the twenty best soldiers and veterans.


    Bart Xialing had just over a company of soldiers left; the great disturbance they created was due to mobilizing every man, woman, and child in Niutigu Valley who could walk.


    The fighters were rowing rafts made of door panels and logs with all their might, heading towards the opposite bank of the river.


    The mobilized civilians, lacking the courage to cross the river and fight, could only shout.


    ¡°Yell! Goddammit, yell for me!¡±


    The disjointed shouts began to rise, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    Within those shouts were the naive voices of children, the muffled tones of the elderly, and the sharp pitch of women.


    ¡°Yell! Yell!¡± Bart Xialing was almost frantic with tears, ¡°If you don¡¯t yell, Blood Wolf will die! One! Two! Three!¡±


    The people gradually raised their voices louder, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    ¡°One! Two! Three!¡±


    The awkward shouting merged into one sound that pierced the sky, ¡°[Herde Language] Taltai is dead!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not dead!¡± Taltai cried out in fury, madly whipping his warhorse, ¡°I¡¯m not dead! I¡¯m right here!¡±


    On the perimeter of the camp, eagle-eyed Winters drew his military saber, pointing directly at a notably conspicuous, corpulent Herder: ¡°There!¡±


    The twenty-two warriors stopped concealing themselves, removed the coverings from their spears, and leapt up.


    ¡°That man is Taltai!¡± Winters seemed to enter another persona, letting loose all the emotions suppressed for so long in this moment, laughing wildly with unrestrained, cruel delight, ¡°Gentlemen! Follow me!¡±


    But before Winters could take his first step, he was halted by someone grabbing him from behind, ¡°No!¡±


    It was Xial.


    ¡°What are you doing!¡± Winters roared furiously.


    ¡°You can¡¯t go!¡±


    ¡°You have no armor! No horse! You¡¯re not a Centurion anymore! I am!¡± Tamas stood in front of Winters, holding up his long spear and bellowing, ¡°Follow me!¡±

 Chapter 759 759 57 Triumph_3

    ?Chapter 759: Chapter 57 Triumph_3 Chapter 759: Chapter 57 Triumph_3 Tamas led the charge towards the enemy camp, without a battle cry or war shout, as twenty brave warriors followed silently behind him, like a pitch-black dagger thrusting straight into the enemy¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Let go!¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Winters roared like thunder, and with a fierce burst of strength, he dislocated Xial¡¯s right shoulder.


    Xial let out a wretched scream but still clutched his right wrist tightly with his left hand, refusing to let go.


    Perhaps awakened by Xial¡¯s scream, Winters slowly quieted down and fell silent, his breathing and heartbeat gradually returning to normal.


    Sensing the subsiding of Winters¡¯ fervent emotions, Xial tentatively relaxed his grip, but remained on guard.


    ...


    ¡°All right,¡± Winters suddenly spoke, ¡°let it go.¡±


    Only then did Xial obediently release his grip, standing with his head bowed, holding his right arm.


    Winters tossed his knife into the ground with a backhanded throw and silently reset Xial¡¯s right shoulder.


    ¡°Tell me,¡± Winters said, looking at Tamas, who was shouting and charging into battle, and spoke dispiritedly to himself, ¡°Will I never get the chance to enter the fray myself again?¡±


    Xial didn¡¯t know how to respond. After some thought, he replied softly, ¡°At least not this time. The company commander is right, we didn¡¯t bring our armor or warhorses when we forded the river¡­ What would we do if something happened to you?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, indeed. Hah, a court mage, no wonder,¡± Winters suddenly recalled an old man, ¡°Let¡¯s forget it this time.¡±


    Xial nodded repeatedly, thinking, ¡°It would be best if you forget it every time.¡±


    ¡°Give me your spear,¡± Winters flicked his wrist.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Xial hugged his spear warily.


    Without a word, Winters took the spear, steadied his breath, took four running steps, and with the fluidity of flowing water, hurled the spear.


    The spearhead shot across the battlefield like a meteor, instantly knocking a mounted Red Feather from the edge of the rope barricade.


    ¡°Count it,¡± Winters declared triumphantly, ¡°In this battle, Winters Montagne has slain an enemy by hand.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Xial cheered towards the tranquil river, ¡°Winters Montagne! Slain an enemy by hand!¡±


    The rafts carrying reinforcements touched the west bank, and the warriors leaped into the knee-deep river water, shouting as they rushed towards the enemy camp.


    ¡­


    The clash on the west bank didn¡¯t last long. Initially, there were still glimpses of firelight, but eventually, even the brightness of the torches completely faded.


    Yet the sound of horse hooves and cries of battle continued intermittently until dawn.


    On the East Bank, Bart Xialing anxiously awaited the outcome of the victory or defeat.


    Not just Bart Xialing, but thousands of civilians from Niutigu Valley also remained on the riverbank, unwilling to leave for a long time.


    Many whispered prayers under their breath.


    Finally, as the first light of dawn began to show, someone excitedly shouted, ¡°The drums of war!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the sound of the drums!¡±


    ¡°The small drums!¡±


    ¡°I hear it too!¡±


    The drums of war! Bart Xialing could hardly contain his excitement as he ran towards the riverbank, stood in the river water, and cheered ecstatically.


    The civilians of Niutigu Valley also ran to the riverbank, waving caps and handkerchiefs, cheering from the bottom of their hearts.


    On the west bank of the Big Horn River, Winters urged the drummer, ¡°March! Hit it harder! Louder!¡± S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Taltai Division had been defeated, its members scattered and fled, and their chief, Taltai himself, was captured alive by Tamas.


    ¡°What a pity,¡± Tamas, wounded on his left arm and leg, looked somewhat pale, ¡°Many horses ran away; we only managed to round up a little over two hundred.¡±


    ¡°The meadows for miles around have been scorched clean. Let Bart Xialing get some wheat seedlings, clean water, and bring in a few mares in heat. By nightfall, all the runaway horses will be back,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°It seems Lieutenant Cherini was right. Looting is faster than any method.¡±


    The drummer¡¯s face turned red with effort as he vigorously pounded out the march.


    Washing away the dust of the march and traces of blood with river water, the soldiers awaiting their triumphant return hummed along softly.


    Winters always felt something was missing.


    After a moment of thought, he had an epiphany¡ªthe singing was missing.


    The army¡¯s marches, assembly tunes, charges¡­ all had music but no lyrics. The warriors could only hum along, unable to sing out joyfully.


    ¡°Come on! Get up, everyone!¡± Winters, without a second thought, came up with a new ¡®catchphrase¡¯ that began to take shape in his mind, ¡°Some admire Alexander! Sing along!¡±


    The soldiers, unsure of what to make of it, unevenly and stumblingly repeated, ¡°Some admire Alexander.¡±


    ¡°Some revere Hercules!¡±


    ¡°Hector, Lysander!¡±


    ¡°The names of heroes are countless!¡±


    ¡°But even the greatest of heroes¡±


    ¡°Do not compare to the volunteers of Paratu!¡±


    Tamas, following the Centurion, sang enthusiastically, but he didn¡¯t catch the last line clearly, so he substituted his own idea for the final line.


    The cheerful song gradually came together, finally echoing across both banks of the Big Horn River.


    ¡°Some admire Alexander!


    Some revere Hercules!


    Hector, Lysander!


    The names of heroes are countless!


    But even the greatest of heroes!


    Do not compare to the Blood Wolf¡¯s guardsmen!¡±

 Chapter 760 760 58 Part-time

    ?Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Ganquan ¡ª the grandnephew of the Firestarter, Turu Koda of the Terdon Tribe ¡ª did not yet know that the Taltai Division had been utterly destroyed.


    Ganquan was even unaware that the cunning bipeds had lured away the majority of the nearly thousand horses of the Taltai Division with estrus-generating mares, clear water, and wheat sprouts.


    In contrast to the Taltai Division, which had been pummeled from the start, the Ganquan Tribe¡¯s invasion of the lower Iron Peak County was almost effortlessly accomplished because there were simply no defenses upriver along the Big Horn River.


    But Ganquan had his own troubles ¡ª he couldn¡¯t find any people.


    Following the streams that flowed into the Big Horn River upstream, Ganquan quickly found the first village. Continuing down the road, they found the first town.


    But everywhere was dead silent, houses were all abandoned, possessions had been taken, there was no barking of dogs, no sign of human life, the empty villages and towns were eerily quiet.


    The Hong Lingyu of the Ganquan Tribe were all in their early twenties, a new generation who had never witnessed such a scene, and they were at a loss.


    ...


    ¡°Bald-tail, you served my grandfather.¡± Ganquan called his old slave over: ¡°You tell me, what should we do?¡±


    [Note: Ganquan¡¯s grandfather, that is, the father of the Firestarter]


    ¡°The Paratu People cannot migrate like the other tribes,¡± the old slave [Bald-tail] said while clutching his prayer beads, his eyelids drooping: ¡°They are just hiding.¡±


    ¡°Hiding where?!¡± The young Hong Lingyu [Qingma] glinted fiercely in his triangular eyes.


    The old slave Bald-tail did not answer directly but looked at Chief Ganquan¡¯s boots: ¡°You can look for soil that is moist, loose, and darker in color both inside and outside the villages.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The farmers couldn¡¯t possibly have taken all the food and possessions with them; they must have buried them nearby.¡±


    The chief ordered his people to search around, and soon they found some clues in courtyards, under cattle sheds, and between ridges.


    Without shovels, the people of Terdon used their hands and wooden boards to dig, uncovering these poorly hidden caches one after another.


    The caches mostly contained food, but also farming tools, ironware, bottles and jars, and cloth¡­ Anything the farmers couldn¡¯t take with them in time was buried there.


    The members of the Ganquan Tribe were grinning ear to ear, delirious with joy.


    The group from Terdon first mixed flour to bake naan and enjoyed a hearty meal. Then they rubbed their hands in anticipation, preparing to work hard and dig deep.


    Everyone was in high spirits, but Ganquan was increasingly dissatisfied.


    Seeing his people quarreling and even fighting over a hemp cloth, a plate, a kitchen knife, Ganquan felt his anger burning more fiercely.


    For the impoverished Terdon people, a nail, a straw mat was valuable; even the things the Paratu People couldn¡¯t be bothered to bury were valuable to them.


    But Ganquan wanted more than these.


    ¡°Ho ya ya¡­ Look what this is?¡± Shi Jian called out excitedly as he ran to Ganquan, holding something carefully in both hands: ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a treasure! It¡¯s like stone, but it¡¯s like water too! Transparent!¡±


    The object Shi Jian held was a square foot, crystal clear, its surface as smooth and fine as porcelain. It appeared to be crystal, but it wasn¡¯t quite right.


    ¡°What is this thing?¡± Qingma approached with curiosity, reaching out cautiously to touch: ¡°Where is it from?¡±


    ¡°From the south, there¡¯s this big tent, I took it from the wall of the house.¡±


    ¡°This is glass.¡± The old slave Bald-tail¡¯s eyelids drooped, his eyes as dull as dried-up wells: ¡°The bipeds call it [Common Language] ¡®glass¡¯.¡±


    The old slave Bald-tail¡¯s pronunciation of Common Language was a bit awkward, probably because he hadn¡¯t spoken it in many years.


    ¡°Glass?¡± Shi Jian exclaimed: ¡°Shouldn¡¯t glass be colored?¡±


    ¡°Such transparent and smooth glass, I have also never seen before,¡± the old slave Bald-tail said huskily: ¡°It must be something very precious, it can be presented to the Great Khan of the Firestarters.¡±


    ¡°Very precious?!¡± Shi Jian¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°There¡¯s a whole wall of it in that big tent! I¡¯ll go take it all down right now.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Qingma said happily: ¡°I¡¯ll go too.¡±


    Ganquan¡¯s face was ashen as he snatched the glass panel from Shi Jian¡¯s hands and fiercely smashed it to the ground.


    The glass panel shattered against the rocks.


    Shi Jian¡¯s expression changed from shock to heartbreak as he knelt down, picked up a fragment of glass, and asked Ganquan, ¡°What are you doing?¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This is something the bipeds use to build walls!¡± Ganquan pushed Shi Jian away, his scarred face was especially fierce as he roared: ¡°And you still treasure it!¡±


    Both Shi Jian and Qingma were stunned by Ganquan¡¯s actions, frozen in place.


    With downcast triangular eyes, Qingma tried to console him: ¡°Haven¡¯t we seized so much food and possessions, easier than catching horses, isn¡¯t that good?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s good about it?¡± Ganquan glowered at Qingma fiercely: ¡°The bipeds have taken away the choice meats, leaving us a heap of rotting bones to treasure!¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Shi Jian countered: ¡°Isn¡¯t the grain, the black money, all good?¡±


    [Note: Iron can be used as currency on the frontier, hence the herders call it black money]


    ¡°Then don¡¯t you want slaves? Don¡¯t you want women? Don¡¯t you want gold and silver?¡± Ganquan erupted in fury: ¡°Are you satisfied with just these things now? After the loot is presented to Nayen, to the Firestarter, how much will be left for us?¡±


    Qingma and Shi Jian gradually understood what Ganquan meant, and both fell silent.


    The old slave Bald-tail showed no emotion, bowing at the chest, he asked Ganquan: ¡°Kota, isn¡¯t the plunder enough now?¡±


    ¡°Not enough!¡± Ganquan bellowed: ¡°Far from enough!¡±

 Chapter 761 761 58 Part-Time Job_2

    ?Chapter 761: Chapter 58 Part-Time Job_2 Chapter 761: Chapter 58 Part-Time Job_2 ¡°What does Kota want?¡±


    ¡°Slaves! Gold and silver! More wealth!¡±


    ¡°And after obtaining all these?¡± The old slave, Bald Tail, raised his head, looking into the eyes of the people of the Ganquan Tribe.


    Feeling uneasy under the stare, the man from the Ganquan Tribe scolded, ¡°You old slave! What are you suggesting?¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s burn down the village,¡± suggested Bald Tail, bowing his head. ¡°Divide our forces into two, hide a small group, and have the majority set the fire and pretend to retreat after the blaze. We wait for the two-legged ones to come back to put out the fire before following them. Just like hunting, following their path will lead us to where the prey hides.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow¡¯s eyes shone with excitement.


    After some thought, the man from the Ganquan Tribe decided to go with Bald Tail¡¯s plan.


    ...


    A little over a hundred tribesmen were divided into two wings.


    The left wing, led by more than seventy riders including Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, took most of the horses and plunder. After setting the fire, they left with grand presence.


    The right wing, personally led by thirty riders from the Ganquan Tribe, hid in a depression near the village, leaving only a few outposts on the slopes to blow the horn as a signal.


    The village of the Paratu People was mostly made of wood and straw, and the fire spread quickly once it started. In no time, the whole village was engulfed in flames.


    Black smoke shot up straight into the sky, visible from miles away.


    Like a hunter who had laid a trap, the man from the Ganquan Tribe waited patiently.


    Waiting¡­


    Waited¡­


    He waited until the farmhouse was burned to the ground, the fire shrank to embers and then died out, and still there was no sound from the outposts¡¯ horns.


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe scarcely held his composure, but Blue Horse and Stone Arrow could not. They sent a rider to inquire about the situation, only to be harshly scolded by him.


    After venting his anger on the messenger, the man from the Ganquan Tribe found Bald Tail: ¡°It was your idea, you tell me, what do we do now?¡±


    Bald Tail shook his head: ¡°The leader of the two-legged ones from this village is very tenacious.¡±


    ¡°Tenacious?¡± The man from the Ganquan Tribe ground his teeth, saying fiercely, ¡°Then burn the forests! I refuse to believe we can¡¯t smoke him out!¡±


    Bald Tail twirled his prayer beads: ¡°Setting fire to the woods is one way to go.¡±


    ¡°Burn!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go prepare the fire-starter now.¡±


    But the man from the Ganquan Tribe wavered slightly: ¡°Are you sure this will drive the two-legged ones out?¡±


    ¡°Not certain. This is Kota¡¯s method,¡± Bald Tail said, straining to open his rheumy eyes and asked, ¡°Does Kota want living slaves or dead ones?¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe¡¯s eyes widened: ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Fire is the might of the heavenly gods, beyond mortal control. By setting the forest ablaze, maybe before the two-legged ones can run out, they¡¯ll be burned to death.¡±


    ¡°So what should we do?¡±


    Bald Tail spoke calmly: ¡°There are other villages here. If this one can endure, the next one may not be able to. Kota could burn through the villages, one by one.¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe thought it over but still couldn¡¯t decide.


    ¡°Starting a wildfire is not out of the question,¡± Bald Tail said, looking at the toe of the man¡¯s boot, ¡°but has Kota considered that the young of birds and beasts will also be burnt to death? For whatever reason, one who recklessly starts a wildfire will have their spirit wander the wilderness for a hundred years before the spirits will accept them again.¡±


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe wasn¡¯t content: ¡°So I come to this village and obtain nothing?¡±


    ¡°Hasn¡¯t Kota already taken a lot of things?¡±


    ¡°What plunder? Those are mere trinkets!¡± The man from the Ganquan Tribe flew into a rage.


    Bald Tail lowered his head: ¡°Then please, Kota, continue to wait here. It¡¯s cold and the ground is frozen¡ªthese two-legged ones are not as hardy as the children of the tribes, they will eventually start fires to warm themselves and cook food. Kota can set up outposts on high grounds and head where the cooking smoke rises.¡±


    ¡°What if it still doesn¡¯t work?¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll burn the next village,¡± Bald Tail replied matter-of-factly. ¡°Kota is a hunter, and as long as a hunter is patient, the opportunity will come.¡±


    And so the man from the Ganquan Tribe continued to wait, from noon until dusk.


    The men of the Ganquan Tribe, initially high-spirited because of the raid, gradually became yawning ceaselessly. The man himself was no less worn out.


    Just as he was arranging for the men to rest in shifts, an outpost came tumbling and scrambling down from the hill: ¡°Kota! Smoke! There¡¯s smoke!¡±


    Suddenly invigorated, the man from the Ganquan Tribe rushed up the hillside.


    Beneath the dying sunlight¡ªthough faint, plumes of purplish smoke could be seen rising from the treetops in the distance.


    He observed for quite some time until he was certain it was smoke from a fire rather than the evening mist.


    Leaving a few men to mark and direct to the site, the right wing of the Ganquan Tribe burst out of the hollow and galloped towards the source of the smoke.


    Just as they set foot on the charred soil of the village, bursts of horn signals came from nearby.


    An outpost charged towards them: ¡°Kota, there are people sneaking around trying to get close to the village!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°There!¡± the outpost said, pointing to the edge between the farmland and the forest.


    With vicious laughter, the man from the Ganquan Tribe said to Bald Tail, ¡°The two-legged people have tenacious willpower? They couldn¡¯t resist coming out!¡±


    Bald Tail made a gesture of salutation over his chest, bowing his head deeply.


    The man from the Ganquan Tribe checked the bearings: the smoke was to the northwest, the figures to the southwest; the smoke was farther, the figures closer.


    ¡°Go for the closest first,¡± Bald Tail suggested. ¡°The far one is not urgent.¡±


    ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll go for the closest. Kill the men! Keep the women!¡± the man from the Ganquan Tribe sneered as he turned his horse around, ¡°I¡¯ll reward each of you with a female slave!¡±


    The thirty-plus riders changed direction, charging towards the southwest. Their horses trampled the wheat field, uprooting some of the newly sprouted wheat. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the forest edge, a woman carrying a bucket in each hand was walking along the furrows towards the village.


    The sound of horse hooves rang out, the Herdman riders came thundering in, and the woman, in fright, dropped her buckets and ran towards the forest.

 Chapter 762 762 58 Part-time_3

    ?Chapter 762: Chapter 58 Part-time_3 Chapter 762: Chapter 58 Part-time_3 The Herders chased in haste; the woman could no longer bother with modesty. Holding her headscarf, she ran for her life. Her long skirt was lifted by the wind, revealing her fair, smooth legs.


    The Ganquan Tribe members on horseback couldn¡¯t help but swallow their saliva.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill her! Don¡¯t shoot arrows!¡± The sneering laughter of Ganquan echoed loudly, ¡°Play with her! Let her lead you and me to the old camp!¡±


    Like a wildcat toying with a mouse, the members of the Ganquan Tribe scared the woman with strange cries while slowing down their horses.


    At the edge of the dense forest, the sparse vegetation offered no cover for the woman. She fled deeper into the forest, her clothes torn by the brambles, exposing more skin.


    The men from the Terdon Tribe grew increasingly excited, shouting even louder.


    The woman¡¯s strength gradually drained, and she ran slower and slower.


    ...


    Ganquan roared with laughter as he drew a whistling arrow, stood up in his stirrups, and took aim to shoot.


    The whistling arrow flew towards the woman¡¯s back, and while the horse archer¡¯s shooting was imprecise, the arrow landed near the woman, causing the poor woman to fall in fright.


    The woman scrambled to her feet and continued to flee, running faster than before.


    The men from the Terdon Tribe laughed uproariously, all except for the old slave Baldy, who remained silent.


    Most of these men from the Terdon Tribe were also slaves who regularly endured humiliation and oppression. But in the act of violence against a weaker target, all their resentment seemed to be released.


    ¡°Spread out!¡± Ganquan shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t let her escape, surround her from both flanks!¡±


    The members of the Ganquan Tribe behind sped up to the sides, and more than thirty men from the Terdon Tribe slowly fanned out.


    Ahead, the woman whose clothes had been torn to shreds lost her footing and fell again, tumbling into a pile of dead leaves.


    Ganquan, impatient with excitement, urged his Warhorse to chase after her.


    ¡°After all, Baldy can speak the language of the two-leggers,¡± Ganquan thought. ¡°I¡¯ll capture her first, then¡­ interrogate¡­¡±


    Just as Ganquan¡¯s excitement reached its peak, he suddenly felt the world spin; he felt as if he was flying through the clouds.


    The other men from the Terdon Tribe saw only their leader¡¯s Warhorse stumbling with its knees bending at unnatural angles before collapsing with a neigh as their leader was hurled from the saddle, cartwheeling through the air.


    Immediately thereafter, they saw a figure leap out of the dead leaves, wielding a big staff and cruelly striking down on their leader¡¯s head.


    The skull broke before the staff snapped.


    Thus ended the life of Ganquan, the direct descendant of the Terdon Tribe, the relative of the fire lighters and the ambitious Helge Grey.


    Like a signal had been given, dozens of figures appeared out of nowhere, like ghosts rising from the ground¡ªin fact, they really did spring from the ground.


    These ghostly figures all held pointed staves, stabbing and smashing anyone on horseback. In an instant, several had fallen from their horses.


    ¡°Ambush!¡± A man from the Terdon Tribe screamed in terror: ¡°Run!¡±


    The Terdon men spurred their horses fiercely, whipping them to accelerate and break through.


    Before they could get ten meters away, the two men leading the charge fell into the same trap as Ganquan¡ªthere were more tripwires in the woods, and who knew where that woman had led them!


    ¡°There¡¯s no escape! Kill!¡± A member of the Terdon Tribe drew his curved sword, slashing wildly in frenzy.


    Another member of the Terdon Tribe took off his horn, attempting to call for aid.


    ¡°Whoosh.¡±


    Accompanied by a sharp piercing sound, the man trying to blow the horn cried out in agony as a javelin pinned his left hand and face together.


    Under the intense pain, the horn slipped from his grasp.


    The one who threw the javelin was a majestic middle-aged man, who calmly drew another javelin and said, ¡°[Common language] Beware the savages¡¯ desperate retaliation! Lasso their horses!¡± S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sound of heavy footsteps grew closer, and a somewhat pale young man emerged from the bushes with a group of men wielding various farming tools.


    The young man saluted the middle-aged man, ¡°Major! We have arrived.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not needed here,¡± the middle-aged man directed him toward the direction from which the Terdon men came, ¡°Circle around the battlefield from the east. If barbarian soldiers follow, engage them.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The young man raised his hand in salute.


    ¡°Mr. Apel,¡± the middle-aged man returned the salute with gravity, despite his trust still unable to shake off his concern: ¡°Take care.¡±


    Apel nodded, raising his Stinger Hammer as a flag and leading the militiamen into the woods.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the northwestern part of the village where the forest was densest, Lieutenant Asko was riding at breakneck speed.


    Following the valley, he charged like lightning into a concealed camp.


    ¡°Who lit a fire!¡± Asko reined in his horse and barked furiously, ¡°Who lit a fire?¡±


    Seeing that the newcomer was not a barbarian, the people in the camp gradually gathered.


    This concealed camp was almost as large as a small town, yet only women, elders, and children were present; not a single able-bodied man could be found.


    ¡°Sir,¡± an elderly woman approached him with trembling steps, ¡°It was I.¡±


    Facing an old woman, Asko had no outlet for his anger and bellowed, ¡°Major Ronald strictly ordered that no one is permitted to light a fire without permission! Did it go in one ear and out the other? Put it out! Now!¡±


    An uncomfortable silence filled the crowd.


    A farmwife in her forties complained bitterly, ¡°I lit a fire too. It¡¯s just too cold! The children are getting sick from the cold. Without fire, we can¡¯t even have a warm meal. You, sir, might endure it, but we cannot!¡±


    As one person took the lead, others also began to complain.


    The women and children had been stationed here, crammed into a single tent¡ªno fire allowed, no leaving, not even loud talking was permitted. Resentment had been brewing among them for a while.


    ¡°Fools!¡± Asko cursed in rage, ¡°You light a fire here, smoke rises! Visible from five kilometers away! This camp is exposed! If we hadn¡¯t diverted the barbarians, they would¡¯ve already killed us! Because of your fires, your husbands and sons are fighting barbarians for their lives!¡±

 Chapter 763 763 58 Part-time_4

    ?Chapter 763: Chapter 58 Part-time_4 Chapter 763: Chapter 58 Part-time_4 ¡°`


    Asko heard a scream, and then he was surrounded by a group of women.


    The women and children asked about the news with a flurry of questions:


    ¡°Is my son safe?¡±


    ¡°What about my father?¡±


    ¡°How are the men doing?¡±


    ¡°Why is the village on fire?¡±


    Asko was so annoyed by the noise that he shouted, ¡°Quiet down!¡±


    No one paid him any attention.


    ...


    Determined, Asko lightly spurred the flank of his horse, squeezed through the crowd, and after dropping the words ¡°Pack up, and wait for orders to change the camp,¡± he hurried off.


    ¡­


    On the other end of the forest, the battle did not last long.


    The bows, fast horses, and scimitars upon which the Terdun people relied could not show their strength in the forest, where the melee depended on numbers and a tenacious spirit.


    The overzealous thirty or so light cavalry were quickly annihilated, and the following seventy or more cavalry were repelled by the militia.


    ¡°Take away all the horses that can still walk! And take away the living Herders! Leave the corpses,¡± Major Ronald, leaning on a javelin, commanded the Wolf Town militia to clean up the battlefield.


    ¡°What about the horse corpses?¡± someone asked.


    ¡°Take away all the meat that you can take, leave the rest here.¡± Major Ronald urged, ¡°Hurry up! We need to leave quickly!¡±


    Second Lieutenant Adam, his clothes torn to shreds, unwound his headband and rolled his skirt up to his waist, exposing his thighs.


    He muttered curses as he butchered the horse corpses with an ax: ¡°Yeah, hurry up. If we don¡¯t drive off the Herders quickly, how are we ever going to go back to basket-weaving?¡±


    The bracing Terdun people, who had been so excited that they trembled earlier, would surely have mixed feelings if they saw that the ¡°barefoot woman¡± was actually a Paratu man cursing like a sailor.


    Fortunately for them, they didn¡¯t have to see it, because most of them were dead.


    Apel walked past Adam and scolded in a low voice, ¡°Speak less nonsense.¡±


    Adam huffed and shut his mouth.


    The three officers formerly stationed at the garrison led more than two hundred Wolf Town militiamen to quickly clean the battlefield.


    Dozens of Terdun people were stripped naked and lay on the ground; their robes, boots, scimitars, and bows were all reused.


    ¡°Should I cut off the ears?¡± Apel asked Ronald.


    Ronald chuckled and shook his head, ¡°No one¡¯s giving us credit for it now.¡±


    ¡°Cut them!¡± Adam fumed, ¡°One ear reduces one hundred labor hours, isn¡¯t that fair? You can¡¯t let us work for nothing, right?¡±


    Ignoring Adam, Apel continued, ¡°Where are the wounded to be taken?¡±


    ¡°To the women and children¡¯s camp.¡±


    Upon hearing the term ¡°women and children¡¯s camp,¡± a militiaman tentatively asked, ¡°Sir, when can we be reunited with our wives and children?¡±


    The other militiamen pricked up their ears too.


    ¡°As long as the Herd barbarians haven¡¯t left Iron Peak County,¡± Ronald explained with a smile, ¡°we cannot join the camps. Rest assured, as long as the men¡¯s camp is not exterminated, the women and children¡¯s camp is safe, and so are your wives, children, and parents.¡±


    The militiamen¡¯s faces showed disappointment.


    Adam, leaning on his ax, couldn¡¯t bear to see it and rebuked loudly, ¡°If we let you reunite with your wives and children, would you motherfuckers still have the mind to fight? Wouldn¡¯t you all be busy pacifying children and sleeping with your wives? You would be comfortable, but as soon as the barbarians come, you¡¯d all be ready to have your throats slit, right?


    This is war! A matter of life and death! What the fuck do you think it is, a picnic? Until the barbarians leave, whoever dares to sneak into the women and children¡¯s camp, I¡¯ll strangle you in front of your wives and children! Don¡¯t believe me? Just try it!¡±


    The Wolf Town militiamen fell silent.


    ¡°Officer!¡± someone shouted from afar, ¡°We have found a survivor! He can speak our language!¡±


    Major Ronald perked up and walked over briskly. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An old Herder sat under a tree holding a string of rose prayer beads, resting with his eyes closed. The man¡¯s face was deeply lined, indicating he was of advanced age.


    The recent battle hadn¡¯t reached him because he had dismounted well before he could be enclosed.


    Major Ronald eyed the old Herder, ¡°Can you speak the common tongue?¡±


    ¡°Is that what you call it?¡± the old Herder slowly opened his eyes and said stiffly, ¡°In my youth, we called it the Empire¡¯s tongue.¡±


    ¡°Wow, he really can speak it,¡± Second Lieutenant Adam marveled, ¡°Where did you learn it?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t learn it, I just naturally know how to speak it.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°The Herders call me ¡®the Horse without a Tail¡¯ ¡ª Baldy. The Paratu people call me¡­¡± The old Herder smiled cryptically, ¡°Father Saul.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 764 764 59 Counting Stoves

    ?Chapter 764: Chapter 59 Counting Stoves Chapter 764: Chapter 59 Counting Stoves In the days following the destruction of the Taltai family, squadrons from the Terdon Tribe killed their way to the west bank of the Big Horn River one after another.


    For a time, the west bank was filled with the neighing of horses and the rising of dust; the civilians in Niutigu Valley all said ¡°it¡¯s thundering in winter¡±¡ªwhich was actually the thunderous rumbling of a myriad of horses trampling the ground.


    Moreover, because of the winter winds, the people of Terdon were upwind, while Niutigu Valley was downwind.


    The smoke from the barbarians burning cattle and horse dung mixed with the dust kicked up by hooves, carried by the westerly wind towards the East Bank, made the people of Iron Peak County cough from morning till evening.


    Just the smoke from the barbarians¡¯ fires was so terrible, what if those barbarians crossed the river?


    The hearts of the people of Niutigu Valley trembled with fear, and not a few civilians even thought about abandoning their homes to flee. Even the willpower of the warriors unavoidably wavered a bit.


    But seeing the blood-red flag flying on the church bell tower, everyone felt reassured¡ªBlood Wolf was still in Niutigu Valley, what were we afraid of?


    ...


    Niutigu Valley was now the front line for both armies, so Winters had stayed.


    As the Terdon Tribe¡¯s large forces killed their way here, the troops under Winters also arrived at Niutigu Valley one after another.


    The first to arrive to provide support were the Eleventh and Twelfth Companies.


    The second batch of reinforcements was the ¡°Volunteer Brigade¡± led by Samukin¡ªthough soldiers from other companies usually called them the ¡°Basket-weaving Brigade¡±.


    Because the Volunteer Brigade was recruited from captives, all of whom were carefully selected by Samukin as the best at weaving baskets¡ªalso the captives with the best obedience.


    The name ¡°Captives Brigade¡± didn¡¯t sound good, so Winters personally bestowed them with the designation ¡°Volunteer Brigade¡±.


    He had already signed a new contract with the captives from Vernge County:


    [For each Terdon head taken, freedom after the war; for two Terdon heads taken, allowed to be known as a land-grant soldier; for more than two heads, merit accrued according to the standards of active soldiers.]


    Originally, Niutigu Valley was garrisoned by the First and Second Companies, and with the arrival of the Eleventh and Twelfth Companies and the [Basket-weaving Brigade], the total military strength had nearly reached a thousand.


    If the civilians of Niutigu Valley were counted as auxiliary troops, the size of the army could instantly swell to five thousand.


    By the rules of exaggerating a bit, saying that Winters Montagne personally led a twenty-thousand-strong army to stand off against the Terdon Tribe¡¯s hundred thousand Iron Cavalry across the river¡­ obviously, this was very reasonable.


    To monitor the enemy¡¯s movements, Winters mobilized manpower to build a series of watchtowers along the East Bank of the Big Horn River.


    At this very moment, he was standing atop one of them, leaning on the railing and gazing across the river at the Terdon people.


    ¡°What do you think,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, suddenly asked with a laugh to the few people behind him, ¡°are the Herders so poor that they only have horses left?¡±


    Upon hearing this, everyone present laughed along.


    Winters wore a tattered hat on his head and a triangular cloth over his face, looking like a highwayman without a trace of the ¡°Honorable Civil Officer.¡±


    The others were dressed similarly, wrapped up tightly, with only their eyes showing.


    It also served Winters right, for the west bank meadow had been burned to the ground by his fire, and even without human activity, the wind would kick up dust storms. Now with the large forces of the Terdon Tribe, the dust storms were even more powerful.


    ¡°Besides horses, they also have cattle and sheep,¡± laughed Bart Xialing, his eyes reduced to mere slits, ¡°Of course, horses are the most valuable! Centurion, the barbarians have sent us a generous gift, we must properly thank them!¡±


    According to the initial estimate by Tamas and Bart Xialing, the Taltai Division had about five to six hundred horses.


    But after the battle, upon tallying up, close to a thousand horses were counted¡ªeffectively a windfall. Poor Taltai Division, their hard-earned assets ended up in Winters¡¯ pocket.


    The highly profitable raiding business indirectly caused a tendency towards ¡°nomadization¡± among Winters¡¯ officers.


    Saving and scrimping, they still ended up tight, and Winters couldn¡¯t even muster a hundred warhorses.


    A single victorious battle brought in nearly a thousand horses¡ªsome good, some bad. Why bother breeding any longer? Isn¡¯t it quicker to just take them? How satisfactory.


    Winters felt obliged to correct the Second Company commander: ¡°Indeed, the Terdon people have sent a generous gift, but the most valuable gift is not the horses.¡±


    Bart Xialing bowed respectfully: ¡°I am dull-witted, please enlighten me.¡±


    Winters slightly tilted his chin upward: ¡°It¡¯s that fat man Taltai; his value alone is worth a thousand horses. Tamas, well done.¡±


    Tamas scratched his head with a silly smile. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the surprise attack on the Taltai Division, Tamas captured the enemy chieftain, doing even better than Winters¡ªafter all, if Winters had made the move, the chances of Taltai surviving would¡¯ve been somewhat lower.


    ¡°The Terdon people are unaware of our true strength, but we have already grasped the full extent of theirs,¡± Winters pointed at the grand encampment of the Terdon across the river, ¡°No matter how many men or horses they have over there, they are just coming to deliver gifts to us!¡±


    The officers laughed heartily. In addition to officers, the mayor of Niutigu Valley was also present.


    The mayor smiled awkwardly; with the barbarians from across the river, they could trample Niutigu Valley flat with just their horses¡ªhe truly couldn¡¯t laugh.


    ¡°Mayor, don¡¯t look so down,¡± Winters said with a smile to the mayor of Niutigu Valley.


    The mayor¡¯s heart quivered, and his smile grew even more awkward.


    Winters leaned against the fence, smirking: ¡°You think I¡¯m boasting, right?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, sir, not at all,¡± the mayor hurriedly shook his head.


    ¡°Not at all means you do have that thought, huh?¡± Winters¡¯ eyes crinkled into a smile.


    At his counterpart¡¯s question, the mayor of Niutigu Valley was just about ready to burst into tears, clueless as to what had displeased this killing god.

 Chapter 765 765 59 The Number of Stoves_2

    ?Chapter 765: Chapter 59 The Number of Stoves_2 Chapter 765: Chapter 59 The Number of Stoves_2 ¡°Come,¡± Winters beckoned with a hand. ¡°Stand by the railing.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley walked to the fence, trembling. He couldn¡¯t resist looking down and immediately felt the world spinning.


    The watchtower was over five meters high, with a soft riverbank below, but to the mayor of Niutigu Valley, it seemed as daunting as a hundred-meter cliff.


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley felt a push from behind, let out a scream, and then realized he was still alive.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Winters, with his arm around the mayor¡¯s shoulder, asked with a smile, ¡°You gave me a fright.¡±


    The nearly forty-year-old mayor, embraced by Blood Wolf, turned pale and stammered, ¡°Raging¡­ your subordinate¡­ your subordinate is so overwhelmed with emotion¡­ that I yelled out in surprise¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Winters pointed enthusiastically to the horses across the river. ¡°Afraid you might not understand, let me explain to you. See that? Those are people from Terdun watering their horses.¡±


    ...


    ¡°See, see, see, seen it.¡±


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve observed, the people from Terdun water their horses three times a day, probably due to a lack of fresh grass,¡± Winters asked with a smile. ¡°Tell me, how many horses are there in the herd by the river?¡±


    The mayor¡¯s eyes brimmed with tears: ¡°This, this, this¡­ Your subordinate truly doesn¡¯t know!¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Let me tell you, there are about a hundred horses, and each time they water the horses, it¡¯s this number. I speculate that it¡¯s inconvenient for too many horses to drink at once, so the people from Terdun water them in groups of about a hundred, taking turns.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency is wise!¡±


    ¡°Less flattery, listen carefully,¡± Winters said with a twinkle in his eye. ¡°All of this is military secret.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley nodded with a woeful face, as if pounding garlic.


    ¡°Now to the crucial part.¡± Winters put his left arm over the mayor¡¯s shoulder and with his right hand took out a small notebook. ¡°According to the record from the coastal watchtowers, the people from Terdun watered their horses a total of 402 times yesterday¡ªthere may be omissions or repetitions, but the number is roughly accurate. Tell me, how many savages are there across the river now?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley felt as if struck by thunder: ¡°I, I, I¡­ Your subordinate, how would I know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay,¡± Winters reassured the mayor, then added seriously, ¡°I forgot to tell you, though there are rich and poor, statistically speaking, the main force of Terdun has an average of 3.1 horses per person. Want to calculate again?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley shook his head desperately.


    Winters closed the notebook. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you the answer. The military force on the other side from Terdun should be around four thousand. This corroborates with the information provided by their chieftain ¡®Taltai,¡¯ who was captured by our army. Do you know how many of our troops are in Niutigu Valley?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley swallowed and shook his head.


    ¡°Four platoons, plus a company, not even a thousand men. These are military secrets.¡± Winters patted the mayor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Mr. Mayor, I¡¯ve told you all this, you must keep it secret for me, okay?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley could no longer hold himself together, his knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground, hugging Blood Wolf¡¯s legs, wailing pitifully, crying for mercy.


    Tamas and Bart Xialing stepped forward to grab the mayor of Niutigu Valley and, together, they lifted him up.


    ¡°Everyone was laughing just now, but you didn¡¯t,¡± Winters¡¯s gaze turned icy. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you laugh?¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley was crying too much to speak.


    The conversation couldn¡¯t continue.


    Without waiting for an order from Winters, Bart Xialing punched the mayor of Niutigu Valley in the abdomen, effectively stopping his tears.


    The conversation could continue.


    Winters leaned back against the fence, his sword resting on his knee: ¡°You¡¯re not laughing because you¡¯re afraid. Of course, you should be afraid, with the enemy outnumbering us four to one, defeat is certain by any calculations.


    I might as well tell you, the chief¡¯s personal army hasn¡¯t even arrived yet. Once the Hearth-Warmers arrive, it¡¯ll be seven to one. Ho, certain death. That¡¯s why you don¡¯t laugh, and you even find our laughter ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± The mayor¡¯s head shook like a rattle drum as he cried, ¡°Your subordinate has never thought that way¡­¡±


    ¡°No?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow, drew his sword: ¡°Come, kiss the blade, swear you¡¯ve never said ¡®defeat is certain, better flee early,¡¯ swear you haven¡¯t been spouting nonsense in the church, swear you haven¡¯t been secretly forming factions against me. Swear, and you can go.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley trembled all over, silent.


    ¡°Hmm, at least you¡¯re honest.¡± Winters sheathed his sword, his expression lightened, and his smile returned: ¡°Of course, you can think this way and even say it at the dinner table. I could forgive you for that. But you cannot say it in public because you are the mayor. In front of the people, you represent my authority and stance.¡±


    Winters sat down with the mayor by the fence: ¡°Mr. Mayor, consider this, if we¡¯re outnumbered, what if I went around crying ¡®this battle is lost¡¯ all day? Or if I looked mournful, what would happen then?¡±


    ¡°The dangers of this battle, I understand them better than you do.¡± Winters gently pulled the mayor¡¯s arm, speaking with a slight smile: ¡°But we must laugh, not cry. If I laugh and you cry, if I cry, wouldn¡¯t you be scared to death?¡±


    The officers roared with laughter, and the mayor of Niutigu Valley also managed a faint smile.


    Winters looked at the mayor, speaking earnestly and kindly, ¡°I laugh to set an example for my soldiers. I hope you can also set an example for the people of Niutigu Valley, and stop forming your little circles against me, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay! Okay! Your subordinate dares not anymore!¡± The mayor¡¯s triangular hat was soaked with tears, and he nodded frantically.

 Chapter 766 766 59 Counting Stoves_3

    ?Chapter 766: Chapter 59: Counting Stoves_3 Chapter 766: Chapter 59: Counting Stoves_3 ¡°I¡¯m glad you agree. Didn¡¯t you send your wife and children to Revodan the day before yesterday?¡± Winters said amiably, ¡°I have brought them all back to Niutigu Valley. Weren¡¯t you also hiding three horses ready to flee? They¡¯ve been confiscated as well.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley¡¯s eyes went dark, and it was only with Winters¡¯ support that he didn¡¯t topple down from the watchtower.


    Winters patiently explained, ¡°With the battle looming, sending away your wife and children isn¡¯t good. You are the mayor, and it¡¯s your duty to defend our land. If you run, everyone else will follow to Revodan, and then Niutigu Valley would be indefensible. But as it is now, ¡®if we hold, we live together; if we fail, we die together,¡¯ that¡¯s much better.¡±


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley, who had just stopped crying, felt tears well up again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry,¡± Winters comforted the mayor. ¡°Rest assured, facing the Terdon Tribe, I¡¯ve technically been victorious in every battle so far. Are you listening?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± the mayor of Niutigu Valley said, his eyes swollen from crying: ¡°Victorious in every battle.¡±


    ¡°Good, as long as you understand, tell this to everyone in Niutigu Valley,¡± Winters patted his arm, ¡°You can go now.¡±


    ...


    The mayor of Niutigu Valley hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock until Bart Xialing signaled him, and it was then that he snapped out of it.


    Feeling like he had been granted a reprieve, the mayor left with frequent backward glances. As he stepped onto the ladder, he heard the magistrate¡¯s gentle voice:


    ¡°Mr. Mayor.¡±


    Like being seared with a hot coal, the mayor¡¯s body tensed up, and he felt a chill down his spine. ¡°Present! Your Excellency!¡±


    ¡°After this battle,¡± Winters said with a smile, waving goodbye, ¡°hand in your resignation.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°That son of a bitch, you really didn¡¯t need to waste words on him.¡± Watching the mayor¡¯s retreating figure, Bart Xialing said indignantly, ¡°A duplicitous backstabber who inflates prices and incites townspeople against us. He should be drawn and quartered in public!¡±


    ¡°He wanted to flee to Revodan. The better we defend, the less able he is to leave,¡± Winters said, leaning on the railing. ¡°So he tries his best to sabotage our preparations for battle. This is ¡®burning the barn to steal some wheat.''¡±


    ¡°How can there be such people?¡± S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters sighed softly, ¡°There are plenty of such people, you might say¡­ they are everywhere.¡±


    A few company commanders became sullen for a moment.


    ¡°But still¡ªthere are more good people after all.¡± Winters saw the mood dip and smiled to lighten the atmosphere, ¡°Humanity is like the vast ocean, though there may be some dirty water, there are still more good people.¡±


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, and Samujin exchanged glances with each other, their expressions somewhat strange.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Winters asked with a chuckle, ¡°Don¡¯t you believe me?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t believe you,¡± Tamas said, forcing himself to speak out, ¡°None of us¡­ has ever seen the sea.¡±


    Winters took a deep breath and corrected his metaphor, ¡°Human kindness is like the prairie. Even if it gets scorched to barren land by a fire, it will eventually come back to life.¡±


    ¡°That we understand!¡± Bart Xialing said with a beaming smile.


    Winters gathered the company commanders not just for observation.


    ¡°How is the collection of wagons going?¡± Winters asked, his smile disappearing.


    ¡°We¡¯ve conscripted all that we can,¡± Tamas immediately responded, adding in a softer voice, ¡°just that the strong-arming of wagons is causing some resentment among the farmers.¡±


    ¡°Make sure to mark them, and register. Tell them, what is borrowed will be returned; what is damaged will be compensated.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Tamas saluted.


    Bart Xialing, gripping his sword hilt, asked, ¡°Should we burn down the villages near Niutigu Valley?¡±


    ¡°No need, there¡¯s no need to burn anything for now,¡± Winters said, shaking his head with a smile, ¡°We can¡¯t burn everything down¡ªthe common folk still need to make a living. If we burn a house now, we have to compensate for one later. The house burns, but the pain is in my heart.¡±


    The company commanders smiled understandingly.


    Then, Winters assigned new tasks to each company.


    That afternoon, four companies of the Iron Peak County Infantry left Niutigu Valley, each constructing small fortifications along the riverbank.


    There was also a logging team cutting down trees nearby Niutigu Valley, to build rafts and boats.


    The fortifications of Niutigu Valley were basically complete, with the new defenses wrapping around the town of Niutigu Valley. What followed was the continuation of fortification¡ªa task delegated to the civilians.


    Samujin¡¯s Volunteer Brigade was stationed in the town of Niutigu Valley. For now, their main job was still¡­ making baskets.


    At dusk that day, a previously unseen cyan horsehair banner appeared on the hillside west of Big Horn River.


    The Revodanians had come.

 Chapter 767 767 60 Intelligence

    ?Chapter 767: Chapter 60 Intelligence Chapter 767: Chapter 60 Intelligence The War-Standard paraded along the river, and wherever it went, the people of Terdon could not help but cheer until their voices broke.


    Only the roar of battle from the opposite bank sounded like muffled thunder, one peal after another, first approaching and then receding. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The residents of Niutigu Valley ran out of their homes one after another, eager to find out what was happening, but upon learning what the ¡°thunder¡± signified, they were so scared they were beside themselves with fear.


    Some even cried out in alarm, ¡°It¡¯s the horn! The horn of Judgment Day!¡± scrambling and tumbling towards the church for sanctuary.


    ¡°So this is Armageddon?¡± Winters smiled atop the church bell tower, asking Caman beside him, ¡°Isn¡¯t the spectacle a bit too small?¡±


    Honestly, seeing the chaos in Niutigu Valley, even Winters felt it was a bit of a sacrilege.


    Caman sighed softly, making a sign with his hand, and asked coldly in response, ¡°The world is but what mortals can see. Isn¡¯t this battle for them akin to a battle of doomsday?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Not if they survive. But if everyone only wants to save their own skin, then no one will survive. Bard¡¯s approach of separating the men from the women and children has been significantly effective. It ensures the safety of the vulnerable and inspires courage in the men to fight.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll need your help with this.¡±


    Caman snorted lightly, expressing a sort of ¡®inevitable¡¯ disdain.


    He gazed at the people fleeing in all directions on the town square, and without lifting his head, he answered, ¡°It¡¯s not for you.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, began to descend the stairs: ¡°By the way, Bard¡¯s side captured a prisoner who claims to be ¡®Father Saul.¡¯ When you have time, help me verify that.¡±


    Caman paid no heed to Winters, but the holy emblem in his hand inadvertently slipped and plummeted to the ground.


    ¡­


    At the church entrance, Xial and Heinrich had prepared their horses and were standing by.


    The fully-armed Samukin saluted with his sword hand: ¡°The Volunteer Brigade is ready to sound the bells for battle at any moment.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hasty.¡± Winters stepped into the stirrup and mounted his horse, with an easy demeanor: ¡°Even if there¡¯s a battle in the afternoon, the morning is for everyone to rest well, to prepare for the fight. Besides, we won¡¯t be going to war today.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ where are you going?¡± Samukin was slightly panicked.


    Winters pulled the reins and gently nudged the horse¡¯s flanks: ¡°Choma Khan is showing off over there, I¡¯m going to check out the commotion.¡±


    As the Warhorse trotted off, Samukin followed behind, calling out anxiously, ¡°Are you just taking Xial and Heinrich with you? Take some more guards with you! Wait for me, I¡¯ll come along too!¡±


    Winters laughed heartily and spurred his horse away from Niutigu Valley.


    ¡­


    The Green Plumed Feathers War-Standard advanced along the west bank, declaring to both friends and foes the arrival of the ¡°Khan¡± on the battlefield.


    Winters rode near the east bank, continuing until the War-Standard on the opposite bank turned around and the roar of battle subsided.


    ¡°Look.¡± Winters pointed with his whip across the river: ¡°Choma Khan is turning back.¡±


    ¡°Shall we also return?¡± asked Xial.


    ¡°Map.¡±


    Heinrich carefully withdrew a large map from his saddlebag and handed it over to the military commissioner for public welfare.


    Surveying the land, Winters found some landmarks to identify their location, and he laughed, ¡°Ho, we¡¯re almost at Forging Village.¡±


    Xial exclaimed in surprise, ¡°Forging Village? Isn¡¯t that some twenty kilometers away?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s twenty-three kilometers.¡± Winters made a mark on the map: ¡°One round of war cries marks one camp, that¡¯s why I had you two keeping count.¡±


    ¡°A camp? Choma Khan¡¯s camp actually stretches out for twenty kilometers?!¡± Xial was even more astonished.


    ¡°The Herders have plenty of livestock, if they don¡¯t spread out, there would be no room for the horses to graze.¡± Winters rolled up the map, followed by knocking on his left shin several times with his boot:


    ¡°Even though the west bank is scorched ground, without the upcoming battle, the middle-level leaders of the Terdon Tribe still dare not change their marching route. But now Choma Khan has arrived, and this pack of starving wolves from the Terdon Tribe are getting restless.¡±


    Perhaps it was because the river water was too cold, since the day he made a surprise crossing to attack the Taltai Division, Winters¡¯ old leg injury had flared up again, and he had no choice but to walk with a cane.


    ¡°Should we return now?¡±


    ¡°No hurry, let¡¯s go a bit further, past this hill is Forging Village. Come on, let¡¯s go and see.¡±


    Winters leapt onto his horse and galloped away. Xial and Heinrich swiftly followed. The three men crested the hill and set out towards Forging Village.


    ¡­


    In the great tent of the Terdon Tribe, all the chiefs, both great and small, had been summoned for a council.


    The skylight was covered with cowhide, leaving the inside of the tent dim, lit only by the flickering firelight.


    Nayen, Kota, and others sat in a circle around the campfire, indicating that the military council distinguished no rank or status, and everyone could speak their mind.


    ¡°We can¡¯t delay any longer!¡± Tie Chi, the uncle of the pyromancers, bellowed, his voice almost bursting through the tent: ¡°Decide on a forceful attack or a detour, we must take a stand!¡±


    Voices of agreement rose one after another:


    ¡°Tie Chi is right!¡±


    ¡°The little hay we brought has been eaten up. Now, the divine beasts are digging up roots to eat, and how can they get full on that?¡±


    ¡°Roots? A bit of fire from the two-legged creatures and even the roots are charred!¡±


    An elder with white at his temples among the Green Plumed Feathers stood up to speak, ¡°Our young messengers have sent word that the defense upstream is very lax. The warriors from Ganchor and Choma Khan have already crossed the river. If the two-legged creatures are blocking us here, we should avoid them and go around upstream or downstream.¡±


    Once again, the tent filled with voices of agreement.


    The Herders had no qualms about ¡°fleeing without fighting.¡± In Herder culture, there wasn¡¯t even a moral judgment against ¡°running away.¡±


    If it was advantageous they would advance, if not, they¡¯d retreat. What was so strange about running if they couldn¡¯t win?


    However, reality was often more amusing than rational.


    At this moment, the nobles of the Terdon Tribe who were present in the tent were all chiefs who hadn¡¯t been able to cross the river. The reason they hadn¡¯t crossed was because there were defending troops on the other side.

 Chapter 768 768 60 Intelligence_2

    ?Chapter 768: Chapter 60 Intelligence_2 Chapter 768: Chapter 60 Intelligence_2 ¡°`


    Logically speaking¡­ if you¡¯re blocking me downstream, can¡¯t I just go upstream to raid?


    But the Terdon nobles can¡¯t bypass; they can make small detours, but they can¡¯t maneuver over hundreds of kilometers.


    It¡¯s not because they¡¯re stubborn, inflexible, or reluctant to take a detour¡ªin fact, they¡¯re dying to.


    Take Tie Chi for example.


    When he heard others had entered the Newly Reclaimed Land and made a fortune, and then saw his own livestock growing thinner by the day, Tie Chi¡¯s heart ached as if it were being seared on a red-hot iron plate.


    But Tie Chi could not leave due to the military orders of the fire starters; he had to stay here.


    The marching routes of the Terdon people are not merely about ¡°how to walk,¡± they¡¯re also a means of allocating interests.


    ...


    If Tie Chi were to raid elsewhere, it would be like milking someone else¡¯s sheep.


    Only the fire starters, who decided on the marching routes, also have the authority to change them.


    Whatever the Kotachiefs decideis as solid as gold; for matters beyond the Kotachiefs¡¯ decision, any attempt to overstep would incur the severest punishment¡ªthe alpha wolf would not allow any member of the pack to challenge his authority, not even his own uncle.


    The Terdon nobles in the great tent waited eagerly, desperately, for three days, until they finally saw the fire starters.


    Everyone was waiting for the fire starters to speak so they could quickly leave behind this tough nut to crack and gorge themselves somewhere easier to bite.


    When the fire starters finally spoke, his first sentence was a question: ¡°Is Taltai alive or dead, do any of you know?¡±


    No one knew.


    A Kotachief informed the fire starter: ¡°Among the living, there¡¯s none; the dead¡­ the bipeds took all the corpses away.¡±


    ¡°The people of Taltai that you sheltered, give them to me,¡± the fire starter said roughly. ¡°I have questions for them.¡±


    And no one objected, after all, there were hardly any survivors from the Taltai Division.


    ¡°What about Taltai¡¯s horses and goods?¡± asked a Kotachief.


    ¡°Keep those for yourselves.¡±


    Seeing it was only about handing a few people over, there was even less opposition.


    The great tent quieted down once again; everyone was waiting for the fire starter to speak, to talk about something more critical.


    The fire starter mused aloud, ¡°You and I¡­¡±


    ¡°Great Khan!¡± an urgent shout from an arrow tube soldier outside interrupted the fire starter; a military council was in session inside, and the arrow tube soldier did not dare to enter: ¡°The opposite bank has sent a messenger!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The fire starter rose abruptly, and in three strides he reached the tent entrance, kicking open the tent curtain: ¡°Where?¡±


    The tent also erupted into chaos, with the Kotachiefs standing up one after another, whispering and inquiring among themselves.


    ¡°Silence!¡± the fire starter bellowed.


    The tent suddenly fell silent.


    Then they removed the felt covering, opened the skylight, and the tent became instantly bright. The fire starter returned to his seat, while the Kotachiefs sat on either side, and everything was restored to its original state.


    The messenger was brought forward.


    As soon as he entered the great tent, the messenger fell to his knees, almost burying his face in the carpet.


    The fire starter said nothing. The old Translator understood and asked in the common language: ¡°Who are you?¡±


    The messenger spoke, but in Hurd¡¯s tongue, and his voice was so faint it was almost indiscernible.


    The Terdon nobles exchanged glances, and ultimately it was Tie Chi who couldn¡¯t contain his temper: ¡°You gelded horse! Speak up!¡±


    ¡°Taltai¡¯s headman! I am Taltai headman¡¯s servant!¡±


    Servant, that means slave. A servant of the house meant a favored and trusted slave.


    The fiestarter¡¯s face darkened.


    ¡°Taltai?¡± the old Translator squinted his eyes, asking on behalf of the fire starter: ¡°Is Taltai alive or dead?¡±


    ¡°No no no¡­ I do not know.¡±


    ¡°How did he cross the river?¡± the old Translator asked the arrow tube soldier escorting the messenger.


    ¡°On a raft.¡±


    ¡°Just him alone.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Impatient, Tie Chi slammed the table and demanded from the messenger: ¡°What do the bipeds want you to do?¡±


    The messenger, trembling on the ground, answered shakily: ¡°To deliver a message.¡±


    ¡°What message? Speak!¡±


    The messenger¡¯s adam¡¯s apple bobbed, afraid to speak.


    ¡°Speak!!!¡±


    With a quavering voice laced with a sob, the messenger stammered out a shout: ¡°The chief from the opposite bank¡­ Major Ronald wants to invite the Great Khan to cross the river and fight him¡­ he guarantees he will not obstruct the Great Khan¡¯s crossing¡­¡±


    ¡­


    While the Terdon Tribe was holding a military meeting on one side, Winters was conducting one in the Niutigu Valley as well.


    Compared with the Terdon Tribe, Winters¡¯s meeting was small in scale, consisting of five company commanders plus himself, a total of six people.


    ¡°I¡¯ve found a prisoner to send a message to the monkey-faced bastards across the river,¡± Winters announced with a smile: ¡°In Major Ronald¡¯s name, I¡¯ve invited the monkey-faced chieftain to cross the river and have a decisive battle with me.¡±


    Tamas, Bart Xialing, and other company commanders were first shocked, then utterly baffled.


    Swallowing hard, Bart Xialing asked, ¡°But¡­ will the Barbarian Chief agree?¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Winters said as he unfolded a map on the table. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve promised the monkey-faced chieftain that I won¡¯t intercept him while he¡¯s crossing the river.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tamas exclaimed in surprise: ¡°But what if the barbarian actually crosses the river?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll strike the foe mid-crossing!¡± Winters replied as a matter of course.


    First, there was silence in the small room, which was soon followed by a burst of laughter.


    ¡°Are you trying to enrage the barbarian chieftain?¡± S?mukhin asked, blinking.


    ¡°If that¡¯s enough to enrage the monkey-faced chieftain, it shows he hasn¡¯t made much progress,¡± Winters said, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth: ¡°I want to see his reaction.¡±


    ¡°And if the Barbarian Chief doesn¡¯t respond?¡±


    ¡°No response is a response in itself.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 769 769 60 Intelligence_3

    ?Chapter 769: Chapter 60 Intelligence_3 Chapter 769: Chapter 60 Intelligence_3 Tamas curiously asked, ¡°Why should it be done in the name of Major Ronald?¡±


    Winters gazed out the window, a touch of helplessness in his voice, ¡°Our grudge with that monkey butt face is just too big. If he learns his opponents are me, or you all, then what he would do next¡­ would be very hard to gauge using common sense.¡±


    The room burst into laughter once again.


    ¡°If you ask me, get a pot, melt some gold and pour it over the top. Take it to the riverbank and hail the barbarians across the way like that,¡± Bart Xialing said with a sly smile, ¡°Who knows, maybe in the heat of the moment the barbarians would charge over recklessly. We could then take the chance to strike them on the head, knocking them all dead on the riverbank.¡±


    Winters was noncommittal, casting a glance at the others, ¡°Do all of you think the same?¡±


    Some nodded.


    Tamas shook his head, speaking softly, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. The Barbarian Chief on the opposite bank suffered a heavy loss at your hands last time. If he knew you were here, he would definitely be more cautious.¡±


    ...


    ¡°How could barbarians be that smart?¡± Bart Xialing retorted.


    Tamas fell silent.


    ¡°If you were monkey butt face and knew I was across the river, what would your decision be?¡± Winters put his subordinates to the test, ¡°Think carefully, I want everyone to answer.¡±


    Bart Xialing, quick-witted as ever, was the first to speak up, ¡°If I were the Barbarian Chief, I would recklessly attack. If it were me¡­ I would avoid you and strike elsewhere.¡±


    After Bart Xialing spoke, there was a long silence before anyone else chimed in.


    Seeing his subordinates were not eager to respond, Winters started calling on them, ¡°Tamas, you¡¯re a company commander, you go first.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Tamas muttered, ¡°If it were me¡­ I would retreat to the wastelands.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Winters, puzzled.


    Tamas¡¯s voice grew fainter, ¡°¡­I wouldn¡¯t dare fight you.¡±


    Winters, caught between laughter and tears, without a vine whip to use, picked up his walking stick and gave Tamas a sound thump, ¡°Am I asking for flattery here?!¡±


    Tamas didn¡¯t dare to dodge and took the hit squarely, stammering out, ¡°I meant I¡­ I can¡¯t beat you, so¡­ so if I can avoid fighting, I should¡­¡±


    Before he finished, Tamas took another hit.


    Winters spoke slowly, ¡°Retreating to the wastelands to conserve strength for a future battle is indeed a reasonable decision.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what I meant,¡± Tamas quickly agreed, relieved.


    Winters sighed deeply, ¡°Samukin, you tell me.¡±


    Samukin, who had been enjoying the spectacle, was as struck by lightning. After much thought, he finally said, ¡°I think I could leave some troops to pin you down, then attack where our defenses are weak. Alternatively, cross into Vernge County via the river, and then take the land route into Iron Peak County.¡±


    Each unnamed company commander gave their responses, varied only slightly between a direct assault, retreat, or flanking maneuver.


    ¡°Do you understand my point now?¡± Winters leaned on his cane, ¡°The moment the fire baker knows I am here, it will change his decision-making process. Whatever he decides, it won¡¯t be the same as when he knew nothing. What¡¯s the advantage of the people of Terdun?¡±


    ¡°Manpower,¡± Bart Xialing jumped in, ¡°They have many more men than us. They all ride horses, so their mobility is also stronger than ours.¡±


    ¡°Manpower, mobility. Exactly these two things,¡± Winters nodded in approval, then continued to ask, ¡°What are our advantages?¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Terrain. We¡¯re defending along the river. As long as the river doesn¡¯t freeze over, they can¡¯t cross,¡± Bart Xialing answered again.


    ¡°What else?¡±


    ¡°Supplies,¡± Samukin said softly, ¡°We still have food. The west bank was burned, the longer the Terdun Barbarians drag it out, the less they have to eat. And the weather is getting colder.¡±


    ¡°Right, time is also on our side. The longer it drags on, the more uncomfortable the people of Terdun get,¡± Winters nodded, ¡°And there¡¯s one more thing where our army has an absolute advantage.¡±


    Bart Xialing pondered hard, suggesting ¡°weapons,¡± ¡°tactics,¡± and a slew of other things, but Winters shook his head each time.


    Tamas carefully ventured, ¡°There¡¯s you. With you in command, our side has an absolute advantage.¡±


    Then the company commander took another hit, Winters hitting so hard that the cane broke.


    ¡°You just wait,¡± Winters slapped the broken stick on the table, saying bitterly, ¡°you wait until I bring a lead-filled cane next time.¡±


    Seeing that no one could come up with the answer, Winters pulled out a box of chess pieces, ¡°The people of Terdun don¡¯t know our true situation, while we know the details about the Terdun people¡ªbesides time and terrain, intelligence is indeed our most important advantage!¡±


    He arranged the chess pieces on the map, using knights to represent the Terdun people and castles to represent the Iron Peak County troops, making the situation of both sides crystal clear.


    On the southern front, the people of Terdun had penetrated Lower Iron Peak County and were wreaking havoc in Wolfton, Blackwater, and the Three Dog Town.


    On the northern front, the Terdun people had failed to take Shovel Port and were now turning towards Vernge County.


    On the central front, the main force of the Terdun Tribe led by the fire baker was blocked on the west bank of the Big Horn River.


    While the main forces of Iron Peak County were stationed in Saint Town, with troops also deployed to guard Niutigu Valley, Little Stone Town, and Forging Village.


    On the map¡¯s circle representing Revodan, there were no chess pieces placed.


    Winters¡¯s smile faded, his expression turning serious. Knowing that he was about to issue orders, everyone sat up straight.


    ¡°Take down my personal flag.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Without my permission, combat plans must not be passed down to commanders below the company level.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°The fire baker has people by his side who can use the common language, so combat plans and troop identifiers must all be encrypted.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Effective immediately,¡± Winters said, bringing his fist down hard on the map, ¡°Operation ¡®Storm¡¯ is officially launched!¡±

 Chapter 770 770 61 Confrontation

    ?Chapter 770: Chapter 61 Confrontation Chapter 770: Chapter 61 Confrontation The eve of the storm wasn¡¯t always peaceful.


    The arrival of the blue tasseled battle flags was like the beating of war drums, stirring the people of Terdun into action.


    Throughout the night, the sentries on the riverbank could hear the clamor of voices, the striking of hammers, and the turning of wheels on the opposite bank.


    At the same time, Terdun¡¯s light cavalry scattered in all directions, sweeping the riverbank inch by inch.


    The scouts Winters had stationed on the opposite bank were either forced to retreat or, unfortunately, perished.


    A supple, invisible, yet impenetrable net stretched across the west bank of the Big Horn River, cutting off any outside view.


    Evidently, the Terdun people were hurriedly assembling river-crossing equipment, possibly hide rafts, perhaps a floating bridge or even warships.


    ...


    No one knew what exactly the Terdun Tribe was constructing, but one thing was clear¡ªthe fire keepers intended to cross the river, and they didn¡¯t care if the people on the other side were aware of it.


    The Iron Peak County Military and citizens were also preparing for battle day and night.


    Reeds, shrubs, and woodlands near the water were all cut down and burned; watchtowers and bunkers rapidly rose from the ground, tightly controlling every inch of the river to deny the enemy any chance to cross unseen.


    The situation resembled that of two fierce beasts confronting each other, without growling or bristling, because both knew full well the other could not be intimidated.


    So the two beasts adopted a truly deadly stance: bodies hunched, muscles tensed, glaring at the enemy, silently building strength.


    Without a sound, the atmosphere became heavy. Even hardened soldiers couldn¡¯t help but grow tense, not to mention the ordinary citizens.


    If anyone could still eat heartily or sleep soundly, it seemed to be only Winters Montagne.


    At least, among the haggard and weary representatives of Niutigu Valley, Winters was the only one to wear a smile.


    ¡°Gentlemen,¡± Winters got straight to the point, ¡°you are all respectable gentlemen of this town, the true heads of Niutigu Valley. In light of the formidable enemy, I have gathered you here for one thing only.¡±


    Upon hearing this, some representatives turned pale, some had lifeless eyes, and others looked numb.


    What else could it be but more taxes, more conscription?


    The silence in the town hall was so deep you could hear a pulse beating; everyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop.


    Winters paused briefly, looking around at everyone, and clearly enunciated one word: ¡°Latrines.¡±


    Half the people in the hall thought they had misheard.


    The other half uncomfortably shifted in their seats, believing the civil protector was going to impose a new type of tax¡ªthe latrine tax.


    ¡°From dawn today, Niutigu Valley is officially under martial law,¡± Winters explained amicably to the representatives, ¡°Martial law requires military discipline. Military discipline strictly prohibits defecating and dumping excrement anywhere.¡±


    He admonished them, ¡°I¡¯ve seen people place two planks across a windowsill and squat directly over it to relieve themselves. Such behavior is henceforth strictly forbidden. Violators will be fined, whipped, or put to hard labor. I hope each of you will set a good example and convey this seriously. Do you understand?¡±


    The temporary meeting was over as quickly as it had started.


    The civic representatives stumbled out of the town hall, standing on the street corner, looking at each other speechlessly.


    Even if Montaigne¡¯s civil protector had ordered taxes to be collected thirty years in the future, they wouldn¡¯t have been as shocked.


    But no matter what, the gentlefolk couldn¡¯t fathom that the civil protector had solemnly convened them just to discuss ¡°digging latrines.¡±


    ¡°This, this, this¡­¡± A tall, thin representative¡¯s face turned a beet red as he whispered in complaint, ¡°What is this nonsense? The barbarians are just across the river, and instead of thinking about fighting, he¡¯s teaching us to dig latrines? What kind of general does that? Can you even fight a war like that? I tell you, Niutigu Valley will be destroyed sooner or later! We should think of a way to move to Revodan.¡±


    Another short, fat representative disagreed, ¡°What do you know? Fearless in the face of danger, composed in command¡ªthat¡¯s the mark of a great general. I think Blood Wolf truly has the skill, a reputation well-earned.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, and you do?¡± the tall, thin representative retorted incredulously.


    ¡°I really do,¡± the short, fat representative said proudly, ¡°Back in the day, I was a personal attendant to General Yanosh. If it weren¡¯t for an arrow wound to my arm, who knows, I might have also¡­¡± S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What rubbish about being a personal attendant! Taking the chance to boast,¡± the tall, thin representative mercilessly burst his bubble. He scoffed, ¡°A servant, that¡¯s all! If you were a personal attendant to General Yanosh, would you still be here?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that, I just know more than you,¡± the short, fat representative, face flushing and paling in turn, confronted the taller man, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this! When General Yanosh was at war, he would check every day, above all else, that the laborers had enough to eat. By your logic, you think General Yanosh didn¡¯t know how to fight either?¡±


    The tall and short representatives were long at odds; any chance would lead to an argument, occasionally escalating to a real fight.


    An older and more experienced representative intervened and tried to smooth things over, ¡°Both are right, you both make valid points. And His Excellency the civil protector is also correct; Niutigu Valley originally had fewer than three hundred people, and now? Thousands! If an epidemic broke out, none of us would be able to avoid it. His Excellency wants us to dig latrines, so let¡¯s dig. And latrines can still be used for saltpeter, isn¡¯t that good too?¡±


    ¡°He also wants to separate men and women!¡± the tall man exclaimed angrily, ¡°My family was living well together; why should we live apart? And give our house to someone else to live in? Why should we?¡±


    ¡°Keep it down! Do you have a death wish?¡± the older representative quickly interrupted, ¡°If someone overhears you talking to me like this, I¡¯ll get dragged into it. You may not care about your life, but we do!¡±


    The short, fat representative said resentfully, ¡°Don¡¯t stop him, and don¡¯t reason with him. Let him clash with Blood Wolf and see if Blood Wolf doesn¡¯t sort him out!¡±

 Chapter 771 771 61 Confrontation_2

    ?Chapter 771: Chapter 61 Confrontation_2 Chapter 771: Chapter 61 Confrontation_2 Having said that, the short and plump representative flung his hands and walked away.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± the tall and thin representative suddenly felt afraid¡ªafraid that the other would go to tattle.


    ¡°Cleaning the toilets!¡± the short and plump representative left without looking back.


    The other representatives found the situation dull and also dispersed.


    Samujin, who had come to see Winters, had just witnessed this little farce.


    ¡°Centurion! These guys really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for them.¡± Samujin reported to Winters indignantly: ¡°You teach them disease prevention, yet they dare to complain about you! I used to think these sirs were respectable people, but now I see they are all good-for-nothings.¡±


    Winters smiled and patted Samujin¡¯s arm: ¡°Do you have serious matters to report?¡±


    ...


    ¡®The Centurion is still too soft-hearted.¡¯ Samujin thought to himself: ¡®Wait, I¡¯ll handle this.¡¯


    Thinking this, Samujin stood at attention and replied: ¡°One of my boys, a scoundrel, just came back from a scouting mission across the river.¡±


    ¡°Across the river for scouting?¡± Winters¡¯s brow creased slightly: ¡°I didn¡¯t assign any river-crossing scouting missions to any of you.¡±


    Scouting was a task that could only be entrusted to the most reliable and competent individuals. One false step in gathering enemy intelligence could turn into delivering information to the enemy.


    ¡°He¡­ he went on his own,¡± Samujin¡¯s face was filled with helplessness: ¡°That kid, sigh, is too cunning and a strong swimmer. He floated a basket with a Hurd cloak across to the other side and swam across the river.¡±


    Winters sighed deeply: ¡°It¡¯s good he¡¯s back, bring him to me.¡±


    ¡°That kid.¡± Samujin hung his head down, fiddling with his hat as he spoke: ¡°He¡¯s seriously injured, nearly gone, can¡¯t even speak. He just keeps repeating ¡®wood,¡¯ ¡®wood¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is he still alive?¡± Winters braced himself on the tabletop and suddenly stood up.


    ¡°Barely hanging on.¡±


    ¡°Take me to him.¡± Winters, ignoring the stiffness in his left leg, strode towards the door: ¡°Xial!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Xial, who was brushing the horses, quickly ran over.


    ¡°Go find Caman!¡±


    ¡­


    It was a boy who had crossed the river for an unauthorized scouting mission.


    The boy had large eyes, large ears, and also a rather large head, with a small scar on the tip of his nose¡ªan instantly likeable mischievous sprite at first glance.


    Judging by his appearance¡­ he wasn¡¯t even fifteen yet.


    But Samujin said that this ¡°boy¡± was actually already seventeen, just undernourished and therefore small and thin.


    One could tell he had become a qualified man by looking at the calluses on his hands.


    Now, his life might be permanently halted at seventeen.


    Because he had been hit by three arrows, one in the left arm, another in the left leg, both pass-through injuries.


    The arrows in his left arm and leg were not the deadliest, the most fatal was the third arrow that entered from his back and exited through his abdomen.


    The young man on the brink of death still had his lips slightly moving.


    Only by getting as close as possible, could one barely make out the word he was repeating: ¡°wood.¡±


    It was just Winters, Caman, and the injured in the room, no fourth person.


    An unprecedented argument had just erupted between Winters and Caman¡ªover the latter¡¯s refusal to use Divine Arts.


    ¡°Listen to me, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help.¡± Caman, though he looked terrible, still patiently explained to Winters: ¡°Divine Arts¡­ Divine Arts can¡¯t achieve everything¡­¡±


    Winters suppressed his anger: ¡°Isn¡¯t the Divinity omnipotent?¡±


    ¡°The Lord certainly is omniscient and omnipotent!¡± Caman, too, lost his temper: ¡°But I have limitations!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to bring back the dead! He¡¯s alive! He¡¯s not dead! He¡¯s still alive!¡± Winters gritted his teeth, even begging humbly: ¡°I¡¯m asking you, I¡¯m pleading you! I¡¯m simply asking you to mend his wounds, just like you did for Andre! I beg you! Please!¡±


    Caman hesitated, struggled, and stared fiercely into Winters¡¯s eyes, searching for any signs that Winters was trying to uncover the secrets of Divine Arts. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he found nothing, and it only reinforced his belief that Winters genuinely wanted to save this child.


    Caman struggled, struggled, and struggled, barely managing to articulate: ¡°Andre¡¯s organs weren¡¯t damaged!¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t it be done with organs?!¡± Winters shouted.


    Caman, nearly losing control of his emotions, shouted back: ¡°It can¡¯t be done because it can¡¯t be done! Organs just can¡¯t be done! Andre received timely treatment for bleeding, this child has already lost too much blood! Forcing Divine Arts might kill him immediately! Do you understand?! Do you understand?!!!¡±


    Winters still had a shred of lucidity left, and he realized that his current actions amounted to exploiting an opportunity to probe into the mysteries of Divine Arts.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask! I¡¯ll ask nothing! Nor will I look or listen!¡± Winters clutched at Caman¡¯s arm: ¡°Just save him, just that! Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±


    Caman was silent.


    ¡°I know, I know it¡¯s not fair to you! It¡¯s very unfair, the most unfair sort of unfair! But only you can save him now! He is a believer too! He is also one of your flock!¡±


    Caman steadied his mind and said coldly: ¡°Then assume I don¡¯t want to save him!¡±


    ¡°Using Divine Arts might kill him, but without it, he will definitely die!¡± Winters strived to keep his emotions in check, clinging to reason: ¡°We have to try!¡±


    ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t die right away, he might still die within the next few days.¡± Caman pulled his arm away, his eyes cold: ¡°If you really care about him, you would let me prepare him for his last rites. Not ask me to extend his life, to let him struggle in pain for a few more days before he receives the Lord¡¯s grace!¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Winters felt as though he had been betrayed.


    ¡°You know what I mean.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I want to save him for the intelligence in his head?¡± Winters¡¯s shoulders and fingertips were trembling: ¡°Is that what you think?¡±

 Chapter 772 772 61 Confrontation_3

    ?Chapter 772: Chapter 61 Confrontation_3 Chapter 772: Chapter 61 Confrontation_3 ¡°What you think is known only to you,¡± Caman said with a hardened heart, clutching the holy emblem and avoiding Winters¡¯ gaze.


    ¡°The arrow in his thigh was enough to cripple his ability to move! The arrow in his stomach could have killed him instantly!¡± Winters¡¯ emotions erupted like a flash flood as he bellowed furiously,


    ¡°Even so, he struggled to swim across the Big Horn River! The Big Horn River that could freeze a man to death! Why don¡¯t you understand? He wants to live! Even if it¡¯s painful, he wants to live! It is not me who wants him to suffer; it is he who wants to live! Even if there¡¯s just a glimmer of hope, he wants to live! Why can¡¯t you see that?¡±


    Caman, with his back to Winters, couldn¡¯t see his expression.


    The golden chain tied to the holy emblem pressed into the nape of Caman¡¯s neck, leaving a deep furrow. Eventually, the chain couldn¡¯t bear the strain and was violently torn apart.


    Caman whirled around, swinging his arm wide, and delivered a harsh right hook to Winters.


    In the instant the punch came flying, Winters instinctively entered a spellcasting state, but he suppressed his urge to counterattack and defend, clenching his teeth and taking the punch head-on.


    Winters staggered from the blow, gradually regaining his balance and moving his jaw, asking, ¡°Do you want to hit me again? I¡¯ll let you have another punch.¡±


    ...


    Leaning on his knees and panting heavily, Caman ultimately did not throw a second punch. He walked to the bedside, set down the holy emblem, and solemnly cleansed his hands.


    Winters discreetly stepped away.


    The commander and soldiers outside had already heard the intense argument inside the room and had consciously moved even further away.


    So now, outside the door, there was only Winters.


    Winters held his jaw, sitting silently outside the door. The pain gradually subsided, and a hint of swelling began to set in.


    Upon hearing the dispute quiet down and seeing Winters step outside, Tess approached cautiously.


    Seeing Winters¡¯ swollen left cheek, Tess gasped in shock, ¡°What¡­ he¡­ Caman¡­ Priest Caman hit you?¡±


    ¡°Come here,¡± Winters beckoned Tess.


    Tess, without doubting, obediently walked up to Winters, and then received a solid kick from his boot.


    ¡°Hit me?¡± Winters was so infuriated that he began to laugh, ¡°Come on, explain to me, what does ¡®hit me¡¯ mean.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s this¡­ How did you end up like this?¡± Tess was utterly bewildered.


    After thinking for a moment, Winters replied, ¡°Priest Caman¡¯s condition for providing aid was that I take a punch from him without retaliating.¡±


    A trade like this? Tess didn¡¯t believe it, but nodded vigorously, ¡°I see, I understand now.¡±


    Winters held his cheek, slowly moving his jaw, ¡°I hope the kid can pull through, so I didn¡¯t take this punch for nothing.¡±


    Tess stood up straight, his expression serious as he saluted solemnly, ¡°Centurion, I thank you on behalf of that kid.¡±


    Winters returned the salute nonchalantly, ¡°One punch for a chance at life, it¡¯s quite a bargain.¡±


    ¡°To be able to punch you, Priest Caman also is¡­¡± Tess struggled to find the words and finally squeezed out, ¡°Worthy of remembrance for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°If he can save a life, that¡¯s what¡¯s truly worthy of remembrance for a lifetime.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Centurion,¡± Tess assured confidently, ¡°That kid has a huge will to live; he always manages to escape death. He¡¯s tough, like a poplar or a willow, tough enough that even dead branches can sprout when stuck into the ground. He¡¯s also adept at making baskets.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his name.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Claude.¡±


    While they were speaking, Caman stepped out of the room, looking at Winters with a cold gaze, ¡°I¡¯ve repaired his organs and treated the wounds on his left arm and leg. I left a small opening in the abdominal cavity to allow the pus and blood to drain out.¡±


    ¡°Repaired the organs?¡± Tess exclaimed with wide eyes. But he was quickly silenced by a look from Winters. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Winters said to Caman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t thank me. He was lucky enough not to die on the spot. Even so, I¡¯ve only just barely extended his life. Death is merely postponed, and before the grace of the Lord, he will endure unimaginable torment.¡± Caman stared at Winters, ¡°I hope you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t regret it,¡± Winters said calmly, meeting his gaze, ¡°and you needn¡¯t either.¡±


    Caman walked away expressionless. He had underestimated the vitality and will to live of this young man named Claude.


    That night, just four hours later, Claude regained consciousness from his coma.


    ¡°Wood.¡± Claude¡¯s voice was faint, ¡°The barbarians are gathering firewood that has been burned, still dragging wood back from farther away.¡±

 Chapter 773 773 62

    ?Chapter 773: Chapter 62 Chapter 773: Chapter 62 The dim moon hung diagonally in the sky, with the stars glittering all around.


    The people of Terdun lifted the sheepskin rafts into the water, quietly paddling towards the East Bank.


    The dead of night was actually not the best time for a sneak attack; in the utter silence, even the smallest sounds of the day could be easily detected.


    Therefore, the people of Terdun chose to strike before dawn.


    The river babbled, birds circled and chirped, and packs of wolves howled in the wilderness. The continuous chopping, hammering, and neighing of horses and men still persisted in the Terdun camp. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In this way, the sound of the oars blended into the background noise of nature and was almost indistinguishable.


    Before they realized it, the sheepskin rafts had already floated across the heart of the river; the East Bank of Big Horn River was tranquil.


    ...


    Apart from a few crows, the people of Terdun didn¡¯t notice any living creature being disturbed by their presence.


    However, atop the riverbank, there were two pairs of eyes watching everything unfold.


    ¡°How many rafts?¡± Tamas laid atop the riverbank, squinting to discern the number. ¡°Can you see clearly?¡±


    ¡°Sergeant.¡± Peter [the Dwarf] Bunir lay beside the sergeant, timidly answering, ¡°I am like a bird blinded by the fog.¡±


    ¡°Blinded by the fog? Eat more fish then.¡± Without thinking, Tamas said, ¡°I used to have trouble seeing at night too, but I got over it by following Blood Wolf and eating deer offal for a while.¡±


    Even before the people of Terdun entered the water, the sentries in the watchtower on the embankment had already noticed the unusual activity of the barbarians on the opposite shore.


    The first platoon stationed along this stretch of the river was quickly readied for action, now hiding just behind the riverbank.


    In just a few moments, the rafts drew closer and closer to the shore, and little Peter¡¯s forehead began to sweat more and more.


    ¡°Sergeant, the barbarians are coming ashore.¡± Peter¡¯s voice was dry and his palms cold; he couldn¡¯t help but urge, ¡°Hurry up and let everyone else come up!¡±


    Tamas stopped staring at the river in front of him and turned to look upstream and downstream instead, ¡°Don¡¯t rush, let¡¯s wait for them to land.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be too late once the barbarians land,¡± Peter said, sweating profusely.


    ¡°What?¡± Tamas glanced at his subordinate. ¡°You want to command the first platoon?¡±


    The dwarf Peter deflated suddenly.


    ¡°We only have two grappling hooks in hand, which are meant for signaling. The barbarians aren¡¯t ashore¡ªcan you reach them?¡±


    Peter sulkily replied, ¡°Oh.¡±


    After lecturing his subordinate, Tamas¡¯s attention returned to the enemy, his eyebrows furrowing ever tighter. ¡°Something¡¯s not right, a little off. Only ten rafts?¡±


    ¡°Ten¡­ is that too many or too few?¡±


    ¡°Few, way too few.¡± Tamas scratched at the whiskers on his temples, utterly puzzled. ¡°They think they can occupy the riverbank with just ten rafts? What are the barbarians up to?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking me.¡± Little dwarf Peter spoke as if he were a fly. ¡°I haven¡¯t a clue either¡­¡±


    What happened next took Tamas and Peter completely by surprise¡ªthe barbarians¡¯ sheepskin rafts didn¡¯t even approach the shore.


    At a distance of a dozen meters from the riverbank, the men on the rafts lifted an object and threw it into the river.


    ¡°What on earth is that about?¡± Peter, unable to see clearly, was anxious.


    Tamas could see clearly, but was just as clueless.


    Struggling to understand, Tamas suddenly realized the rafts had stopped drifting downstream¡ªa flash of insight struck him: ¡°It¡¯s an anchor! The barbarians are setting down anchors!¡±


    ¡°Anchors?¡± Peter had an epiphany, then asked with confusion, ¡°Do sheepskin rafts even use anchors?¡±


    ¡°They do now,¡± Tamas said, his eyes growing more severe by the second.


    ¡°So what do we do now, Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°Wait a bit longer, let¡¯s see what the barbarians are up to.¡±


    Nine sheepskin rafts were anchored in the riverway, while one drifted towards the riverbank.


    Tamas began to grasp the situation: the raft floating towards the shore was probably a sentry, but the focus was clearly on the nine rafts in the river.


    Unable to wait any longer and seeing that the enemy had no intention of landing, Tamas decided to take the initiative to strike.


    ¡°Bring the horses here.¡± Tamas whispered to Peter, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the cavalry charge first. Once the barbarians notice me, then the rest will move.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± Little Peter panicked: ¡°There are only six in the cavalry, it¡¯s too dangerous! You can¡¯t die! We should all go together, it¡¯s safer.¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Tamas scoffed. ¡°The barbarians won¡¯t go head-to-head with us. I¡¯ll see if I can catch a prisoner to interrogate before they can flee.¡±


    ¡­


    After a brief preparation, as the night sky turned a deep shade of blue, Tamas led five riders to leap out from the riverbank and charge towards the landing point.


    Just as the thundering sound of the horse hooves began, the barbarians on the shore immediately pushed off in their sheepskin rafts, fleeing in panic.


    Tamas spurred his horse to pursue them into the river, but the animal refused to move forward once the water reached its knees.


    Tamas watched the barbarians¡¯ sheepskin rafts row into deeper waters and pounded his thigh in frustration.


    The people of Terdun on the other nine rafts drew their bows and took aim at the riders on the shore.


    Arrows screeched through the air heading for Tamas and his men.


    The rafts were unstable, and the Terdun archers, kneeling to shoot and further challenged by the undulating water, could not perform their archery skills to their fullest.


    But Tamas wasn¡¯t willing to test his luck and blew a whistle, leading his men to quickly leave the riverbank.


    When the majority of the first platoon reached the shore, the battle situation became somewhat odd.


    The barbarians in the river couldn¡¯t make it ashore, and the soldiers from the bank could not descend into the water.


    With the two sides separated by a dozen meters of water, they ¡°fought¡± each other, and it was Iron Peak County, despite its numerical advantage, that seemed to be at a slight disadvantage.


    Because Iron Peak County¡¯s infantry were organized into ¡°pure squads¡± and, according to formation, the first platoon was equipped with long spears, the soldiers currently only had lances and javelins at hand.


    Whereas the men of Terdun, even though the stability of their ¡°shooting platforms¡± was terrible, each had a bow in hand.

 Chapter 774 774 62_2

    ?Chapter 774: 62_2 Chapter 774: 62_2 Peter Buniel leveled his boar spear and, shouting haphazardly, charged towards the riverbank.


    During the charge, Peter¡¯s hands and feet were icy cold, and his mind was a blank slate. He mechanically moved his legs, planted his feet, moved his legs again, planted his feet again¡­


    When he came back to his senses, he found himself standing in the icy river with not a single comrade by his side, while the barbarians a dozen meters away were shooting arrows at him.


    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Peter turned and ran.


    Running was almost instinctual for him; being bullied, swallowing grievances, escaping¡­ He had been living like this for all of his twenty-three years. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But this time he couldn¡¯t escape, as the warriors who had caught up with him from behind blocked his way.


    ¡°I¡¯m begging you, Sergeant Bunir, please show some mercy next time when you charge, slow down a bit,¡± someone panted and complained. ¡°We know you¡¯re ¡®Six Hundred Acres.¡¯ You¡¯re brave, you¡¯re not afraid of death, but you¡¯ve got to wait for us to catch up with you, right?¡±


    ...


    Following the commendation ceremony of the previous days, the soldiers, with a mix of awe, envy, and jealousy, had given Peter Bunir, the sergeant, a new nickname¡ª¡±Six Hundred Acres.¡±


    The new nickname spread like wildfire, not only throughout other units but also among civilians. In just a few days, ¡°Six Hundred Acres¡± had become a household name in Niutigu Valley.


    Everyone said, ¡°Don¡¯t look at Sergeant Bunir¡¯s short stature and his usual listlessness; once he is in battle, he becomes as ferocious as a wild beast.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± A centurion scolded the warrior who was speaking. ¡°Show some respect!¡±


    Another warrior asked Peter in a panicked manner, ¡°We can¡¯t cross, what do we do, Sergeant?¡±


    Probably for the first time since he could remember, someone was asking Peter Buniel, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Peter wanted to swallow his saliva, but his mouth was dry. His lips parted and closed several times, but in the end, he didn¡¯t make a sound.


    The frightened warrior asked again, ¡°What do we do, Sergeant?¡±


    If it were a matter of degree of panic and fear, Peter was more petrified than the warrior asking him, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    The Herders had a habit of using whistling arrows; these arrows would scream as they pierced the air and were utterly horrifying as they whooshed by. The sound reminded the listener: The Grim Reaper¡¯s scythe had missed by just an inch¡ªnext time, you wouldn¡¯t be so lucky.


    Peter was running at the front and was also wearing a helmet. The Terdun saw him as a leader and concentrated their volleys of arrows on him.


    Arrows whistled through the air like hailstones; Peter wanted to run. He wanted to run back to the river embankment, back to Niutigu Valley, back to his little burrow.


    ¡°Will you make a decision?¡± The same warrior asked for the third time.


    He was so frantic he was almost in tears, and the others were all looking expectantly at Peter.


    Peter¡¯s lips quivered, and he struggled to voice the syllables, ¡°Retreat.¡±


    The centurion and the warriors around him immediately raised their arms and signaled to the others, ¡°Retreat! Retreat!¡±


    Without ranged weapons like bows, crossbows, or muskets, standing on the shore meant only taking hits, so logically, they should retreat.


    However, Captain Thomas¡¯s whereabouts were unknown, no one was there to lead in battle, and without military orders, no one dared to retreat.


    At a time of such dilemma, a cry of ¡°retreat¡± was as welcome as rain from heaven. The soldiers, helping the injured, quickly followed Sergeant Peter Buniel back to the river embankment.


    Seeing the people on the bank retreat, the Terdun on the sheepskin rafts acted as if they had won a great victory. They beat their chests, howled and screamed wildly, making all sorts of indecent gestures.


    Seeing the barbarians pull down their trousers to urinate at them, a hot-tempered centurion was unable to contain his rage and cursed endlessly.


    ¡°What do we do, Sergeant Bunir?¡± The centurion asked Peter with red eyes, ¡°Are we just going to watch?¡±


    Peter didn¡¯t answer; his full attention was on an arrow.


    It was a trembling arrow, its sharp head deeply embedded in someone¡¯s flesh. The person trembled with pain, causing the arrow to quiver along.


    Peter¡¯s ¡°soul¡± trembled, much like that arrow.


    He realized there were many moments when, if he had just taken one more step or one fewer, there would have been an arrow, or perhaps many arrows, embedded in his flesh.


    ¡°What do we do, Sergeant?¡± The enraged centurion shouted again.


    ¡°Arrows,¡± Peter said vaguely. ¡°Take¡­ take them out.¡±


    ¡°You mean to prioritize treating the wounded?¡± another, older centurion asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Peter repeated numbly. ¡°Prioritize treating the wounded.¡±


    The older centurion saluted and organized the stretcher-bearers to go.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± The centurion from before asked angrily, ¡°Are we going to just ignore the barbarians?¡±


    No one had ever asked Peter ¡°What do we do?¡± before, but today the question kept recurring.


    ¡®What do we do? What do we do? What do we do? Why keep asking me what to do? How would I know what to do?¡¯ Peter Buniel¡¯s head spun; he suddenly thought, ¡°Who do I usually ask ¡®What do we do¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­ The captain!¡± Like grasping at a lifeline, Peter hurriedly asked those around him, ¡°Where¡¯s the captain?¡±


    ¡°The captain seems to have been hit by an arrow!¡± someone replied. ¡°I saw the cavalry head north.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the highest ranking now,¡± another person answered.


    Upon hearing, ¡°You¡¯re the highest ranking now,¡± it was as if Peter Buniel had been struck by lightning.


    The small, timid Peter was cowardly because he himself admitted he was a coward; thus, he resigned himself to his cowardice.


    Peter lifted his head, and nearly a hundred pairs of eyes were looking directly at him¡ªall eyes were on him.


    Nearly fifty pairs of eyes stared intently at him¡ªwith nowhere to hide or escape, no matter where he looked, he would meet someone else¡¯s gaze.

 Chapter 775 775 62_3

    ?Chapter 775: 62_3 Chapter 775: 62_3 It was just a moment, but from Peter¡¯s knees to chest, he was trembling¡ªnot a tremble of the mind, but a physical shaking.


    He bowed his head deeply, not daring to raise his eyes to look at everyone.


    ¡°Wait¡­ wait for the Centurion.¡± Peter stared at the tips of his shoes, fiddling with the corner of his clothing, a certain invisible force almost crushing him: ¡°Wait for the Centurion to return¡­¡±


    ¡°What did you say? Can you speak up?¡± someone asked tentatively. Sergeant Bunir¡¯s voice was too low; no one could clearly hear what he was saying.


    Accustomed to obedience, and ¡°Can you speak up?¡± sounded like a command, Peter instinctively raised his voice and repeated, ¡°Wait for the Centurion to return!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Centurion and soldiers of the company answered in unison.


    Peter was startled.


    ...


    For everyone, waiting for Centurion Tamas to return was the safest approach.


    ¡°So we just stand here and watch?¡± An irate Centurion pointed at the river, his anger boiling over as he asked, ¡°You own six hundred acres! Are you going to let savages shame us for nothing? Shame you?¡±


    The first company had already pulled back to a place beyond bowshot, and it seemed the Terdon people did not intend to waste arrows.


    Some of the Terdon people put away their bows and arrows, apparently busy with something else; other Terdon people remained on guard with their bows, provocatively gesturing at the people of Iron Peak County atop the river embankment, their actions crudely offensive.


    ¡°You¡¯re angry, but do you think we¡¯re not? Isn¡¯t the problem the lack of weapons?¡± another round-faced Centurion couldn¡¯t suppress his irritation, schooling the former, ¡°Or should we run to the shore like dumb donkeys and make targets of ourselves? In my opinion, we¡¯d better send someone back to Niutigu Valley right away to request reinforcements from the Protectorate Official.¡±


    ¡°For just a few dozen savages, calling for reinforcements from the Protectorate Official? You might not think it¡¯s shameful, but damn it, I find it shameful!¡±


    ¡°We should at least get some muskets sent over!¡± the round-faced Centurion asked Peter, ¡°What do you think? Sergeant.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter Bunir nodded subconsciously.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll have someone go¡­ Ah, this way,¡± the round-faced Centurion felt uneasy and decided with a wave of his hand, ¡°Sergeant if you agree, I¡¯ll go myself.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter nodded.


    The round-faced Centurion gave a salute and hurried off toward the direction of the watchtower¡ªto presumably borrow a horse.


    ¡°Even if we managed to get muskets, we wouldn¡¯t know how to use them,¡± another Centurion with grey eyes said with a sneer, ¡°Do any of you know how to use a musket?¡±


    Everyone shook their heads.


    Those in the battalion who knew how to use a musket had been assigned to the musketeer company, and even then, Montaigne the Protectorate Official had not managed to muster a full company of musketeers, adding some more mentally agile folk to barely make the numbers.


    ¡°Actually, we don¡¯t need muskets,¡± the grey-eyed Centurion weighed his spear, jokingly suggesting, ¡°We might as well throw these things over there, might nail a savage or two, and it¡¯d save us some effort on the way back to camp.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter nodded.


    The grey-eyed Centurion was taken aback and quickly gestured, ¡°Losing a weapon is cause for a whipping, just a joke.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Peter mechanically nodded.


    The grey-eyed Centurion¡¯s eyes darted around, his smile taking on a sly edge, ¡°Better to keep the spears.¡±


    ¡­


    The Terdon people on the rafts noticed the two-legged folk on the earthworks once again approaching the riverbank.


    The leading Hong Lingyu hastily called his kin to arms.


    Aside from a few busy with more pressing matters, all the Terdon people took up their bows and notched their arrows, waiting for the command.


    The day had already grown dimly bright, and Hong Lingyu took out a red-fletched arrow, considering the angle as he shot it.


    The arrow traced an arc and stuck in the riverbank, its red feathers visible.


    Instead of running or charging, the two-legged folk formed a loose horizontal line and advanced slowly toward the riverbank.


    The most peculiar thing was¡­ they were not carrying weapons.


    ¡®Could it be they¡¯re coming to negotiate?¡¯ Hong Lingyu puzzled, ¡®Or to surrender?¡¯


    No matter what the two-legged folk were up to, the moment they crossed the red-fletched arrow, Hong Lingyu bellowed a command, drawing his bow and firing an arrow.


    The rest of the Terdon people followed Hong Lingyu¡¯s lead, the ¡°twang, twang¡± of bowstrings vibrating in chorus as sparse arrows flew towards the loosely formed line of two-legged folk. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two-legged folk also started running, using their legs to their fullest.


    A small individual wearing a helmet adorned with mane decoration was at the forefront of the charge.


    Hong Lingyu recognized this person and urgently called his subordinates to target him. Last time, it was this person who had led the charge, clearly a leader among the two-legged folk.


    But that small two-legged individual ran like a wild horse; he had reached the water¡¯s edge before the third volley of arrows could be loosed.


    The sheepskin rafts of the Terdon Tribe were only a dozen meters away from the shore, and that short individual flung his arms with all his might, hurling an object viciously at the sheepskin rafts.


    The object, akin to a grey meteor, skimmed across the water, and Hong Lingyu, unable to dodge in time, was hit squarely on the forehead.


    First there was intense pain, then blood blinded his eyes, Hong Lingyu lost his balance and fell into the river.


    The other two-legged people also reached the riverbank, one after another, swinging their arms to hurl objects at the sheepskin rafts. There were also two-legged individuals waving what seemed to be fabric torn from their clothes, whistling in the air before being thrown.


    ¡°Stones, they¡¯re stones.¡±


    Hong Lingyu had a sudden realization, his last conscious thought before sinking to the bottom of the river.

 Chapter 776 776 63 Testing

    ?Chapter 776: Chapter 63: Testing Chapter 776: Chapter 63: Testing The sun rose to the height of the tree branches as two riders galloped swiftly atop the river embankment.


    Tamas suddenly slowed down in front, and seeing this, Winters also abruptly pulled the warhorse to a halt.


    ¡°Over there, Centurion,¡± Tamas pointed to a bend in the Big Horn River. ¡°The barbarians anchored right there.¡±


    The warhorse shuffled its legs restlessly, as if it could smell the lingering scent of blood in the air.


    Winters gently tugged at the reins, scrutinizing and evaluating the dam, slopes, ditches, and rivers before him.


    After a moment of contemplation, he pulled out a map book whose cover had already turned dark, made a few markings, and then put it back in the saddlebag. ¡°Let¡¯s go down and take a look!¡±


    Winters merely applied slight pressure with his legs, and the sensitive warhorse immediately understood.


    ...


    The mix-blood steed of tan black color, with a white star on its forehead, and a tall, slender body, leaped down from the embankment and raced towards the riverbank, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    Lacking such horsemanship, Tamas carefully slid down the slope at an angle, hurriedly following behind.


    The battlefield had been cleared, birds chirped continuously, and the river flowed quietly towards the north.


    If one didn¡¯t closely observe the red-black bloodstains between the stones, it would be impossible to tell that a fierce battle had taken place here just a few hours ago.


    Question: In a close-range contest between bows and arrows and stones, who wins?


    Answer: The side with more people wins.


    It was unlikely that any of the Terdun people were killed on the spot by the stones, but many were injured. Seeing the battle going poorly, they did not hesitate to cut the anchor ropes and floated back to the West Bank.


    After the battle, a headcount revealed three corpses retrieved from the water, all drowned, including one wearing a helmet adorned with red feathers; downstream, the second cohort reported six floating bodies.


    In total, nine enemies killed, number of wounded unknown, two horn bows captured, and eighty-two arrows recovered; on our side, three seriously injured and a number of minor injuries.


    By the numbers alone, this battle seemed like child¡¯s play.


    However, for the participants, they were actively trying to kill each other with the constant risk of losing their lives at any moment¡ªthis truth could only be comprehended by those who have truly faced the hail of arrows and stones, with trembling knees and clenched jaws.


    So it was a victory, albeit a small one, but undeniable nonetheless. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was only after dawn that Winters learned of the first cohort¡¯s small-scale encounter.


    It wasn¡¯t because he overslept, but rather when the messenger returned to Niutigu Valley, he had already rushed to another battlefield.


    It wasn¡¯t just the first cohort that had seen action last night; three battles had erupted in succession, with the other two engagements taking place in the twelfth cohort¡¯s defense area, bigger and fiercer than the first.


    Three forces of Terdun people crossed the river within less than two hours of each other, spanning nearly forty kilometers.


    Winters had changed horses five times just going back and forth, riding more than sixty kilometers.


    Thus, at this very moment, the ever-present Xial and Heinrich were not by Winters¡¯ side¡ªboth were barely able to walk straight when they dismounted and had been ordered by Winters to rest.


    Upon reaching the riverbank, Winters dismounted and strolled along the shoreline. His gaze swept over the water and up the hillside, extending all the way to the horizon of the river valley.


    Seeing the Centurion observing the terrain, Tamas didn¡¯t dare to interrupt. He tried observing the surroundings as well, but all he could see were water, grass, stones, and earth.


    Suddenly, Winters stopped walking. Tamas saw the Centurion bend over, apparently picking something up.


    After examining it briefly, Winters passed the object to the cohort leader, saying nonchalantly, ¡°Bone arrow.¡±


    Tamas looked intently and saw¡ªit was a polished bone arrowhead, though the tip had broken off.


    As a veteran who had experienced the battles of the Great Wilderness, Tamas was aware of some enemy details. Although the Hurd tribes still commonly used stone and bone arrows, at least the Terdon Tribe had iron arrowheads.


    So Tamas was somewhat confused. ¡°The Terdun barbarians also use bone and stone arrows? Don¡¯t they have iron arrows? Is it just to prevent us from using their arrowheads?¡±


    ¡°How many arrows were recovered?¡± asked Winters.


    ¡°Only about eighty with intact heads, and some shafts,¡± Tamas said with a hint of frustration. ¡°The ones with stone and bone heads shot at rocks were all chipped.¡±


    ¡°None of iron?¡±


    After careful recollection, Tamas answered earnestly, ¡°None of iron.¡±


    ¡°Others may not be aware,¡± Winters mused as he paced. ¡°The direct vassals of the Fire-bearers should have iron arrowheads.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying¡­ the forces last night weren¡¯t the barbarians¡¯ elite?¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they send the elite as the vanguard to ford the river?¡± Winters countered the question.


    ¡°I¡­ I do not know,¡± Tamas began to sweat on his forehead.


    ¡°You are already acting as the camp commander; you need to think further ahead.¡±


    Tamas hesitated before suggesting, ¡°Maybe it was to test us, or perhaps to wear us down.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters nodded. ¡°On the surface, that seems to be the case.¡±


    ¡°And¡­ what about underneath?¡±


    ¡°I do not know either,¡± Winters¡¯ eyes twinkled with a hint of amusement. ¡°War is, after all, the art of deception, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Tamas was utterly perplexed.


    Winters, however, changed the subject. ¡°The barbarians anchored here last night?¡±


    ¡°Yes, right here.¡±


    Winters stood precisely at the river bend, where the water flowed in a clockwise direction.


    The outer side of the river bend on the West Bank had fast waters and a deep riverbed, while the inside of the river bend on the East Bank had slower waters and a shallow riverbed.


    ¡°The Terdun people have a good eye, it¡¯s a good crossing,¡± Winters remarked. ¡°From here, there¡¯s no need to send men all the way to the shore; just into the shallow waters will do. The remaining distance can be crossed on foot. Besides anchoring, what else did the Terdun people do last night?¡±

 Chapter 777 777 63 Testing_2

    ?Chapter 777: Chapter 63: Testing_2 Chapter 777: Chapter 63: Testing_2 ¡°I¡¯m not very clear on that.¡± Tamas said, ashamedly, ¡°My horse was hit by two arrows and crazily ran off for several kilometers. Last night¡¯s battle was commanded by Bunir¡¯s soldiers. According to him, it seemed like the barbarians were pulling something out of the water.¡±


    ¡°Pulling something out?¡± Winters shook his head, ¡°I think they first dropped it in and then pulled it up¡ªit must have been a way to measure the depth of the water.¡±


    ¡°Measure the depth?¡± Tamas was taken aback and asked incredulously, ¡°Do you mean the Terdun barbarians are trying to learn on the fly? To build a bridge over the Big Horn River just like us?¡±


    ¡°I doubt those monkey-ass-faced fools would be that dumb.¡± Winters smiled, ¡°If the people of Terdun start driving piles and building bridges across the river, it would be like putting a noose around their own necks.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Tamas¡¯s mood was a rollercoaster of emotions.


    ¡°Time,¡± Winters said flatly, ¡°the weather is getting colder by the day, and the food supplies are dwindling; they don¡¯t have much time. But this place indeed is a good crossing point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to keep a close watch on this area!¡± Tamas immediately perked up.


    ...


    Winters asked leisurely, ¡°How do you know they will cross the river here?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ uh¡­¡± Tamas found himself at a loss for words.


    ¡°Purely from a terrain perspective, there are over forty places suitable for a forceful crossing in Iron Peak County,¡± Winters patiently explained to the battalion commander and acting camp head, ¡°We might be able to control these forty-plus locations if we stretch ourselves thin, but this mindset could also be exploited by the people of Terdun.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what should we do?¡±


    ¡°War is the art of deception, remember that,¡± Winters¡¯ expression turned serious and his tone formal, ¡°We make every effort to deceive and mislead the people of Terdun, and the people of Terdun are trying their utmost to deceive us. Tell me, are the fire-makers still on the other side of the river?¡±


    ¡°They are?¡± Tamas dared not answer.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°That flag is still there¡­¡±


    ¡°When I was in Niutigu Valley, was my flag raised there?¡± Winters spoke with such calmness it was as if devoid of any emotion:


    ¡°The fire-makers might already be gone from the opposite bank, and Terdun¡¯s elite might have silently broken camp; these recent raids could be smokescreens or perhaps indeed preparations for a forceful crossing; as for the enemy that came last night, they might be elites deliberately using bone arrows, or they could just be a bunch of slave soldiers. Even the intelligence that reaches our mouths could be poisoned meatballs.¡±


    Tamas struggled to keep up with the Centurion¡¯s line of thought: ¡°Then¡­ what do we do?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no way to tell,¡± Winters said as if discussing the weather, ¡°Intelligence is always incomplete, a mix of truth and falsehoods, complex and messy. The old marshal once said¡ªthe duty of a commander is to make the right decisions based on the limited information, true or false as it may be.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here,¡± Tamas licked his lips and said wholeheartedly, ¡°so I don¡¯t need to think about this kind of thing, or else I would certainly go mad.¡±


    Normally when faced with such blunt flattery, Winters would put on a stern face and give a lecture.


    But this time, he said nothing and merely sighed, casually kicking a small pebble into the river by his boot.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to disappoint you,¡± Winters said somewhat indifferently, ¡°I don¡¯t have that ability either. For example, I can¡¯t figure out what¡¯s happening on the other side of the river, nor can I fathom what the fire-makers are planning.¡±


    Hearing such a disheartening comment from the seemingly infallible Centurion sparked a sudden fear in Tamas. His forehead and back broke out in sweat, his heart pounding wildly, and he became involuntarily parched with cold palms.


    But as his unease surpassed a certain threshold, Tamas began to feel completely numb. There was only one thought left in his mind, solid like a foundation.


    ¡°Wherever you point, that¡¯s where I¡¯ll strike,¡± Tamas said with heartfelt determination, ¡°You tell me what to do, and I¡¯ll get it done.¡±


    ¡°Having the mentality of a tool is not right.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m willing to be your tool. Just tell me what we should do,¡± Tamas pleaded.


    ¡°What should we do? Since we can¡¯t figure it out, let¡¯s not bother guessing,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°Let the storm rage on, for I shall remain unmoved.¡±


    ¡°Let the storm rage on, for I shall remain unmoved,¡± Tamas mused over these words.


    Winters gazed into the eyes of the battalion commander and asked, ¡°What is the first phase of the ¡®Storm Plan¡¯?¡±


    Tamas responded reflexively, ¡°Hold the river! Don¡¯t let a single person cross!¡±


    ¡°Time is not on the enemy¡¯s side,¡± Winters¡¯s words were clear and distinct, ¡°No matter the cost, no matter what tricks and schemes the baboons¡¯ asses have, our only concern is to hold the line along the riverbank of Central Iron Peak County. We cannot be led by them, we must instead force them to take the path we¡¯ve drawn for them, it¡¯s that simple.¡±


    Tamas saluted with his hand.


    He earnestly requested, ¡°In last night¡¯s battle, the first platoon suffered losses because they couldn¡¯t reach the barbarians. Please issue us some muskets and bows and arrows. Even if many more barbarians come, I will hold out until the reinforcements arrive.¡±


    ¡°The losses are my neglect,¡± Winters said with a light laugh, ¡°The old Marshal¡¯s manual states that if sword and shield soldiers lack the covering fire of crossbows and muskets, they should be issued javelins. The manual also says ¡®sword and shield soldiers should carry six stones.¡¯ I used to wonder what the stones were for, thinking it was a typographical error. Now, I understand.¡±


    ¡°If there are no bows and arrows or muskets, some hemp rope would also do,¡± Tamas said urgently, ¡°I¡¯ve already started training the first platoon to use slings.¡±


    ¡°Good, keep training. Have the other platoons train as well,¡± Winters patted Tamas on the shoulder, ¡°Additionally, I¡¯ve prepared eighty archers for you¡ªyou¡¯ll have eighty men per platoon. Whether you can control them, that¡¯s up to your ability.¡±


    ¡­


    With the assistance of Father Caman and the Priest of Niutigu Valley Church, the men, women, and children within Niutigu Valley town were smoothly divided into separate encampments for men and women.


    Winters cordoned off a separate area in the town for women and children to live, even going as far as building a small inner town and strictly forbidding adult males from entering.


    One reason was to ensure the safety of women and children; another was to physically separate the women¡¯s camp from the men¡¯s camp.


    ¡°The barbarians are just across the river. With the great enemy before us, anyone who dares to misconduct themselves, disrupting public order and morals, will be hanged as a traitor,¡± Winters announced publicly to the civilians of Niutigu Valley, ¡°Gentlemen, show your courage. Your sons, wives, and mothers are counting on you. To defend Niutigu Valley is to protect them! Whoever shows cowardice or hesitates in battle betrays everyone.¡±


    If it were the open and enthusiastic Sea Blue, forcibly separating the men from the ladies would certainly cause considerable trouble.


    However, Iron Peak County, located on the edge of Paratu, is insular and conservative in its social mores.


    Winters¡¯ policy of separating men and women actually received praise from everyone¡ªespecially among the ladies and the older men.


    Because soon after the flood of refugees poured into Niutigu Valley, there was a shocking gang rape case in the temporary shanty areas where the refugees had settled.


    The perpetrator was swiftly taken through the entire trial process and publicly hanged.


    According to local customs in Paratu, the victim¡¯s father first stabs each criminal in the chest with a dagger on behalf of the victim¡ªsince it does not cause immediate death, it is not considered murder.


    Then, the Montaigne civic official personally pulled the lever, snapping the necks of the criminals.


    Although ¡°justice was swiftly delivered,¡± the impact of the horrific case on the people of Niutigu Valley could not be easily calmed.


    For a time, the original residents of Niutigu Valley viewed the refugees as a scourge¡ªthousands of people had suddenly crammed into the small town, resulting in more than just serious criminal cases, but also an increase in petty theft.


    The local residents were even unwilling to let the refugees enter the church to pray.


    And the refugees were equally indignant, being farmers with homes and livelihoods in nearby villages, who had left their homes unwillingly to flee to the town.


    Now living in lowly shanties, eating coarse food, and suffering the cold stares of the town¡¯s people.


    Tensions escalated overnight.


    It started with a few verbal exchanges, followed by several young lads scuffling, and quickly the town¡¯s youth and farmhands went to gather their friends, and more and more people thronged the square.


    Both sides were armed, and it looked like a full-blown fight was about to break out, beyond the control of the town mayor and the village chiefs.


    At that time, Winters was inspecting the river defenses, and in the end, it was Samukin who stepped forward to resolve the situation.


    Samukin, with his considerable experience dealing with mobs, first sent out a cavalry troop; thirty riders managed to separate the two groups with just one charge.


    The riders swung their vine whips like sabres, striking those confronting each other in the square until they were crying for their parents.


    Then Samukin fired a volley of guns¡ªwithout lead bullets, effectively dispersing the crowd.


    After the Montaigne civic official returned to the city, the dispersed people were then rounded up house by house by the gendarmerie. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°So you like brawling, huh?¡± Faced with hundreds of battered and listless brawlers, Winters issued a cold judgment, ¡°I¡¯ll give you a taste of a real battlefield.¡±

 Chapter 778 778 64 Width

    ?Chapter 778: Chapter 64: Width Chapter 778: Chapter 64: Width The flames rose, and the farmhouses with wooden walls and thatched roofs were engulfed by fire in an instant.


    While Iron Peak County and Upper Iron Peak County still retained their last vestige of peace, it was not the case elsewhere.


    Vernge County, Hammer Town, Oak Village.


    Unarmed men and women were tied up with hemp ropes in chains, mercilessly whipped on their backs as they stumbled away from their homes, a trail of their cries behind them.


    Among the hundreds of captured Paratu civilians, not a single elder could be seen, for those without the ability to work were either left in houses to be devoured by the inferno or were outright killed.


    On the road, besides the captives, there were carriages loaded with grains and utensils, pack horses loaded with clothing and valuables, and¡­the Terdun people, laughing and joking.


    Go a bit further, past the small woods up front, and these Paratu people would be stepping onto the road of no return.


    ...


    Suddenly, a young Paratu man broke free from his bonds. He had hidden a small knife on him and quietely cut the rope while his captors were off guard.


    The young man¡¯s first impulse was to untie the woman behind him, but the woman pushed him away from the road with tears in her eyes.


    The sound of horse hooves and whistles came from behind, and the young man, also with tears streaming down, stumbled toward the woods.


    But two legs cannot outrun four, and the sound of hooves drew ever nearer.


    Fear took over the young man¡¯s mind, and he instinctively looked back to see a dark shadow looming towards him.


    Amidst his mother¡¯s screams, the young man was knocked down by a cudgel.


    The one who had knocked down the young Paratu man was a Herder of about the same age.


    Under the urging of other Herders, the young Herder dismounted. He trembled as he pulled the bowstring, aiming at the heart of the person on the ground, his back turned to the others, and released it with his eyes closed.


    With a ¡°twang¡± of the horn bow, the other Herders cheered and applauded.


    The young Herder opened his eyes to see the arrow had veered off course, landing in the ground. He said nothing, silently retrieved the arrowhead, stepped back onto the saddle, and rode off to follow the other Herders.


    This young Herder was the son of Yunguang, the chief of a village with forty households, and Yunguang was a companion and subordinate to Nayen ¡°Hongyue¡± of the Green Plumed Feathers. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ ¡°Hongyue¡± boasted six hundred households and was considered a minor but influential external tribe within the Terdun Tribe.


    According to the Herders¡¯ tradition of marching and fighting, the Chief Harald arranged the Terdun Tribe into left and right wings.


    The left wing comprised mainly the less reliable external Nayens, amounting to over ten thousand cavalry;


    The right wing was mostly made of directly related Nayens of the Golden Clan, nearly eight thousand strong, commanded personally by the Chief Harald.


    Following the route decided before the war, the Terdun wings would, like the spread of a bird¡¯s wings, separately plunder the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province.


    The left descended the river, generally raiding the Newly Reclaimed Land from Vernge County and Maplestone City.


    The right ascended the river, generally infiltrating the Newly Reclaimed Land from Iron Peak County.


    Another wing of troops feigned an attack on Mirror Lake County, pulling the Paratu forces¡¯ attention.


    On the surface, the upstream was poor and sparsely populated, and the downstream was rich and densely settled, making sending the external Nayens for plundering downstream appear to be a favor.


    In reality, the opposite was true. According to Chief Harald¡¯s plan: though the downstream was richer, crossing the river was also more difficult, and Paratu¡¯s main battle forces were stationed downstream.


    In the great raid in mid-September, not even the allied forces of the southerly Herder tribes could gain much in Mirror Lake County.


    Sending external Nayens downstream to engage the Paratu People while leading the direct kin to plunder the upstream and then adapt to the situation by moving north, marching east, or pulling back¡ªthat was Chief Harald¡¯s original plan.


    The Terdun people compliantly accepted this plan that clearly favored one over the other, and even the external Nayens found nothing strange about it. Shouldn¡¯t the fat be reserved for kin instead of strangers?


    However, things did not always progress as smoothly as planned.


    When Iron Peak County displayed an extremely tenacious will, staunchly preventing the Terdun right wing from crossing the Big Horn River, it was the Terdun left wing that wreaked severe havoc in Vernge County, even threatening the jurisdiction of Maplestone City.


    Knowing their military strength was inadequate and lacking a leading chief, the left-wing Nayens simply abandoned the notion of ¡°fighting a battle.¡±


    Without even entering the Newly Reclaimed Land, the Terdun left wing scattered. Various Nayens and Kotas acted independently, each showing their cunning in crossing the river, claiming spoils for themselves.


    Some Nayens even quietly turned their livestock around and, without making a sound, headed back home.


    On the other hand, the military commander of Vernge County did not follow the advice of the rebel leader Montaigne¡ªevacuating villages, consolidating forces, and focusing on defense.


    He spread his troops along a riverbank line of over two hundred kilometers, structurally resembling an egg, ¡°hard on the outside, soft in the middle,¡± with a Piaoqi troop squadron responsible for sweeping scattered enemies within.


    It is hard to say whether his decision was bad and that of Winters¡¯ was good.


    Winters made his judgment on the premise that Vernge County was devoid of military strength.


    Lack of strength meant ineffective defense along the river; therefore, Winters suggested Vernge County cede the riverbank, evacuate the villages, garrison the strongholds and towns, and minimize losses as much as possible.


    But the reality was [in preparation for next year¡¯s campaign to suppress the rebels, six infantry battalions were secretly gathering in Vernge County]¡ªsomething Winters was certainly unaware of.


    If arranged properly, perhaps Vernge County could, like Middle Iron Peak County, keep the Terdun barbarians at bay.


    However, the Terdun arrived much faster than the military commander of Vernge County had anticipated; before Vernge County¡¯s troops were in place, the Terdun left-wing vanguard had already crossed the river.

 Chapter 779 779 64 Width_2

    ?Chapter 779: Chapter 64 Width_2 Chapter 779: Chapter 64 Width_2 The people of Terdun, upon bursting into Vernge County, scattered like mercury spilled on the ground.


    The Vernge County¡¯s defense forces, lacking cavalry, were caught in a passive situation where they ¡°could fight but couldn¡¯t chase.¡±


    If it came to setting up a formation and engaging in an upright battle, the numerically inferior Paratu army could still send the people from Terdun scampering in retreat.


    But the Herders had always been ¡°not ashamed to flee¡±; wherever the resistance was fierce, they would simply avoid it¡ªshould reinforcements arrive at one place, they would move to another.


    There were only about a hundred Piaoqi Troops in Vernge County, while the first wave of invaders from Terdun numbered fourteen Tulus¡ªover a thousand cavalry.


    A squadron of Piaoqi could not possibly handle so many enemy riders and might even risk being devoured if they weren¡¯t careful.


    The commander of Vernge County steeled his heart and didn¡¯t redeploy any troops from the river defense line for reinforcement; instead, he urgently pressured all units to rush to their deployment positions.


    ...


    As for the Terdun Barbarians who had already entered Vernge County, the commander¡¯s counterstrategy was to ¡°wait for the enemy to cross the Glory River westwards, and retreat from Vernge County before launching an ambush.¡±


    For a military officer responsible for the safety of an entire county, this was perhaps the most rational decision. For if the riverside defenses were to collapse, many more barbarians would flood into Vernge County.


    However, for the unprotected villages that could not evacuate in time, this was nothing short of a disaster. They were like eggs without shells, at the Terdun¡¯s mercy.


    The tragedy of Oak Village thus unfolded.


    When the Hammer Fort Cavalry arrived at Oak Village, the village had already been erased from the map, leaving only charred ruins and flickering embers.


    As the gateway to Iron Peak County, Winters had left a small detachment of troops stationed at Hammer Fort.


    Seeing the billowing smoke to the north, the commander of Hammer Fort immediately led his cavalry to help, but it was a step too late.


    Smelling the stench of death, the warhorses snorted restlessly.


    The commander of Hammer Fort was a sullen man with half of his face covered by a red birthmark.


    ¡°Search,¡± he ordered succinctly and to the point.


    The scouts dispersed, searching separately for survivors and any trace of the enemy. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Found some bodies, all burned beyond recognition. No living,¡± reported a veteran soldier, throbbing veins on his angered forehead: ¡°They didn¡¯t spare anyone, killed or taken.¡±


    The man with the red birthmark¡¯s expression grew even darker.


    ¡°There are fresh wheel and hoof prints on the road west of the village!¡± another scout reported: ¡°The barbarians must have headed westward!¡±


    ¡°How many?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Can¡¯t tell,¡± the scout shook his head: ¡°The tracks of people and livestock are mixed up, at least a hundred men and horses.¡±


    ¡°Pursue!¡± the birthmarked man ordered.


    ¡°Commander, no! Wait!¡± the elder soldier quickly blocked the birthmarked man¡¯s path, his horse rearing: ¡°We¡¯re too few, only eighteen riders in all, catching up will be useless!¡±


    The birthmarked man said nothing, just stared intently at the older soldier.


    The elder soldier was of Dusack origin and the most experienced among the eighteen cavalry present; even he felt unnerved under the birthmarked man¡¯s gaze.


    He persisted, albeit unwillingly: ¡°If the Herd Barbarians have a force of a hundred, it¡¯s not something we can deal with. If they can appear here, they can travel by land into Iron Peak County. The priority should be to send word to Revodan.


    Moreover, this is Vernge County. We¡¯re not even supposed to be here. If someone sees us, we could end up taking the blame!¡±


    ¡°This man¡¯s not dead!¡± another scout shouted from afar.


    The birthmarked man and the elder soldier, hearing the shout, immediately spurred their horses closer.


    They saw a young man lying in the field, his face covered in blood; if not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, one could hardly tell him apart from a corpse.


    The elder soldier dismounted laboriously, checking the young man¡¯s neck, and then looked up at the one with the birthmark: ¡°He¡¯s alive. ¡±


    ¡°Take him,¡± said the birthmarked man as he tugged the reins: ¡°Withdraw.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Niutigu Valley.


    Following the orders of the Montaigne Civil Protection Officer, nearly a hundred ¡°chopping posts¡± were erected in the town square, filling the space completely.


    The so-called chopping post is a sturdy log half-buried in the ground with the other half exposed above.


    Whether they¡¯re military nobles or common soldiers, the first lesson in learning swordsmanship is to chop at these posts, practicing one¡¯s power.


    There is a saying ¡°Three days of chopping at posts, and even a fool can go to war.¡± which embodies this idea.


    ¡°Exerting power¡± may sound simple, but it¡¯s difficult to achieve. Just the trivial matter of keeping the blade aligned with its swinging trajectory requires persistent practice.


    If the blade¡¯s posture is off, it¡¯s the same as slapping someone with the flat of the sword, not only failing to exert force but the sword can easily break.


    In that case, you might as well use a club¡ªsince a club doesn¡¯t care about angles.


    Therefore, Winters modified the chopping posts by adding a horizontal bar to the plain logs.


    ¡°Many of you have never touched a weapon before,¡± Winters spoke from atop a platform, a Stinger Hammer in his grip, his voice clearly reaching everyone: ¡°This is good.¡±


    Among the adult men of Niutigu Valley, those who could ride, shoot arrows, or handle muskets had already been selected, leaving behind the ¡°know-nothings¡± on the square.


    The weapons distributed to these men were literally ¡°clubs¡±¡ªStinger Hammers.


    ¡°Those who have learned to use weapons usually think too highly of themselves and refuse to accept new knowledge, so you blank slates might be better off,¡± Winters said sternly, sweeping his gaze across the square: ¡°Listen well, in a battle, you don¡¯t need much, just one move will suffice.¡±

 Chapter 780 780 64 Width_3

    ?Chapter 780: Chapter 64 Width_3 Chapter 780: Chapter 64 Width_3 Winters demonstrated the weapon grip first: ¡°Right hand holds the end, left hand in the middle.¡±


    Then he walked over to a chopping block and demonstrated the footwork.


    Finally, he demonstrated how to use it: first, a deflection¡ªknocking the crossbar aside, followed by a step forward to thrust.


    ¡°Just these two movements, practice them.¡± Winters released his hands, the Stinger Hammer deeply embedded into the wooden post, trembling at the tail.


    The civilians from Niutigu Valley at the square were initially clueless but began to practice stiffly under the soldiers¡¯ scolding.


    Winters stepped down from the platform, and Xial ran over to ask, ¡°Is there still time, Centurion?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no time, that¡¯s why I¡¯m only having them practice two movements.¡± Winters shook his wrists, retorting, ¡°Believe it or not, if they really had to go into battle, even with just two movements, they would forget them completely. In the end, they¡¯d just swing their maces wildly.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Believe it.¡± Xial chuckled: ¡°When I was in my first battle, I just kept hitting people hard with my spear, never remembering that the spear was pointed. Since there¡¯s no time, is it useful for them to practice these things?¡±


    ¡°Useful or not? There might be a little use, or there might be none. But practicing is more useful than not practicing.¡±


    Xial nodded and then asked, ¡°Some of the Niutigu Valley people, after being issued Stinger Hammers, have come to me saying they have guns and want to join the musket team. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Not allowed.¡± Winters said coldly: ¡°What were they doing earlier?¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    ¡°Have the scouts that crossed the river returned?¡± It was the fifth time Winters had asked.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± Xial tentatively asked, ¡°If they haven¡¯t come back, do we send more?¡±


    ¡°Send more.¡± Winters said firmly: ¡°Keep sending more. I will go personally!¡±


    The probing attacks from the Terdon Tribe became more frequent.


    The first day was three times, the second day six times, the third day twelve times, and on the fourth and fifth days, sixteen times each. Each time, they would deploy at least thirty to forty people, and often over a hundred. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The time was not limited to dawn, sometimes it was morning, sometimes afternoon, and sometimes deep in the night.


    The distance between attack points was also increasing, stretching south to the confluence of the Panto River and north to Forging Village.


    The people of Terdun didn¡¯t just measure the water depth. Seizing opportunities, they would also stealthily transport small groups of troops ashore to probe into the realities of Iron Peak County.


    Just in the first three days, the four companies stationed in Niutigu Valley and the two companies stationed in Forging Village were already exhausted from rushing about.


    What the fire-warmer was plotting, Winters was well aware.


    The tactics of the Terdon people were like ¡°bullfighting¡±: waving red flags around the arena to entice the bull to chase and run until the bull was completely exhausted before striking.


    The enemy had many soldiers, all cavalry. Winters had fewer troops, mainly infantry.


    And the battlefield was so vast¡ªjust the Iron Peak County alone had an eighty-kilometer shoreline.


    With the mobility of the Terdon Tribe, if they didn¡¯t take advantage of the width of the battlefield, Winters would actually be uneasy.


    Winters¡¯ counter-strategy was one word: ¡°Reinforcements.¡±


    On the one hand, he began to mobilize another five companies stationed in Saint Town.


    On the other hand, he expanded his forces on the spot.


    Under the authority granted by the ¡°Tord Agreement¡± to the garrison commander, Winters boldly conscripted all the adult males of Iron Peak County¡ªnow, everyone was a militiaman.


    And Winters was quite willing to continue this low-intensity war with the Terdon people.


    The fire-warmer wanted to exhaust the energy of the people from Iron Peak County.


    Whereas Winters was wearing out the fire-warmer¡¯s time.


    The longer the delay, the longer the drag, the more advantageous it was for Winters.


    The situation seemed to be developing in a good direction, but there was a small dark spot on the clean white paper: Where did the people of Terdun, who didn¡¯t even have straw to eat and had to dig for roots, get the confidence to continue the consumption?


    This point was of great concern to Winters.


    The frequent probing attacks also pulled at the resources of the Terdon people, causing their defenses along the river to have gaps.


    According to the records of the watchtowers along the coast, the patrolling frequency of Terdon light cavalry had been significantly decreasing over the past three days.


    Therefore, Winters began sending out Scouts to conduct reconnaissance across the river, sparing no expense in reconnaissance.


    ¡°They¡¯re back!¡± Xial shouted as he spurred his horse forward: ¡°The men are back!¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°At the infirmary, with Father Caman.¡±


    In the Niutigu Valley church, which had been temporarily requisitioned as an infirmary, Winters saw the bravely returned, injured Scout.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± It was only upon seeing Winters with his own eyes that the Scout finally spoke: ¡°Empty! The Terdon people¡¯s main camp is empty! The savages¡¯ main force is no longer across the river! Their whereabouts are unknown!¡±


    At these words, all were stunned.


    Only Winters was not surprised at all: ¡°Hmm, then we just need to find out where they went.¡±

 Chapter 781 781 65 Opportunity

    ?Chapter 781: Chapter 65 Opportunity Chapter 781: Chapter 65 Opportunity A single stone stirred up a thousand ripples, shocking cold spread across three counties and nineteen states.


    Messengers sped through the starry night to Revodan, Shovel Port, Vernge County, and Mont Blanc County, conveying the latest military intelligence.


    Within Iron Peak County, order-transmitting cavalry frequently traveled between towns, and the number of patrolling troops on the roads surged.


    As the war¡¯s blockade made the public increasingly thirsty for news from the outside, the temporary military headquarters began posting announcements in the town square every morning since the military control of Niutigu Valley began, reporting on enemy movements, battle outcomes, captures, and casualty lists.


    In an atmosphere of extreme oppression, the men distracted themselves by discussing the war situation, while the women anxiously searched the casualty lists.


    Originally, the announcement had no formal name, but the people referred to it as ¡°War Communication.¡±


    Ever since the inception of War Communication, the town square was always crowded with people, who occasionally requested, ¡°Read it again.¡±


    ...


    Everyone ¡°read¡± the War Communication with an insatiable thirst, eagerly awaiting the next day¡¯s news as soon as they had finished with today¡¯s.


    Today¡¯s War Communication was posted later than usual, which greatly dissatisfied those who had been waiting by the bulletin board since early morning.


    As soon as the notice was put up, the crowd gathered around it.


    Though it arrived late, the notice was also larger than usual; normally it was one and a half sheets, but today there were three full sheets.


    [The enemy chief¡¯s personal army has an unknown destination]¡ªThis first line alone triggered panic among the crowd.


    Like a solid cannonball plowing through a column of troops, the crowd erupted like a boiling kettle. Those at the front shouted and clamored nonstop, while those at the back desperately inquired about what had happened.


    After careful consideration, Winters decided to inform the public of the real enemy situation.


    For bad news is like a bald head: no matter how thick the wig, there will come a day when it¡¯s exposed. Better to face the music and inform the military and civilians uprightly than sit idle and watch rumors spread.


    ¡°Quiet down!¡± an elderly man with hair as white as snow and a walking stick shouted in front of the announcement, ¡°It¡¯s not done being read yet! If you don¡¯t want to listen, I¡¯ll just leave!¡±


    The old man was an esteemed doctor and gentleman from Niutigu Valley, well-known for his kindness in reading letters and announcements to the illiterate every day, commanding great respect among the townspeople.


    Hearing the rebuke from the old doctor, the crowd gradually quieted down. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old doctor squinted his eyes at the bulletin board, his upper body unconsciously leaning back.


    ¡°What¡¯s it say, good doctor?¡± an inpatient person couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    The old doctor gripped his cane tightly, a glint in his eye: ¡°The next piece is a personal letter from the protector of the people, Montaigne.¡±


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, Shovel Port, at the church,


    Alpha leaned against a bench reciting word by word, ¡°¡­If you ask what our goal is, I can answer with a single word, victory! At all costs, we must seize victory! In the face of all terror, we must seize victory! No matter how perilous the road ahead, we must seize victory! For without victory, there is only destruction¡­¡±


    The old doctor from Niutigu Valley wasn¡¯t accurate; not only the letter but all the words of War Communication were painstakingly chosen and written by Winters, who had chewed through countless feather quills.


    However, all other communications were issued in the name of the temporary military headquarters. It was only this public letter that bore Winters Montagne¡¯s full name.


    This public letter was also the first ¡°emotional¡± article published in War Communication.


    Previous reports were mechanical in nature, devoid of emotion and warmth, as if a steel automaton were spitting out cold, hard numbers.


    But this public letter was different; one could feel the passionate fervor of the person behind the pen between the lines.


    After listening to the entire text in silence, Mayor Botar asked, ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s also a title,¡± Alpha flipped through the earlier pages of the announcements, a barely perceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: ¡°A Letter to All Military and Civilians of Iron Peak County¡ªhis rhyming has improved a lot, but his naming ability remains as lackluster as ever.¡±


    ¡°A Letter to All Military and Civilians of Iron Peak County?¡± Mayor Botar noticed something unusual: ¡°Does that mean every village and town will receive this announcement?¡±


    ¡°Should be,¡± Alpha dusted off the announcement. ¡°If we can receive it, other villages and towns certainly can.¡±


    Mayor Botar¡¯s guess was correct; it was indeed the first edition of War Communication sent to the entire Iron Peak County.


    Previously, due to printing limitations, War Communication was only posted in limited quantities in Niutigu Valley and Revodan.


    It was thanks to Senior Mason¡¯s idea: Winters would write the content the night before, and it would be sent swiftly by horse to Revodan. Making use of Revodan¡¯s printing facilities, they would print overnight and then distribute across the entire county and to neighboring counties.


    Mayor Botar smacked his lips: ¡°Aside from these notices, the rebels also sent us fifty warhorses and three hundred iron-tipped clubs¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re called Stinger Hammers,¡± Alpha corrected him, adding with a chuckle: ¡°But ¡®iron-tipped clubs¡¯ does have a certain ring to it.¡±


    ¡°Right, Stinger Hammers.¡± Mayor Botar¡¯s expression grew subtle: ¡°Previously when we asked them for weapons, they refused. Now they suddenly turn so generous; it¡¯s really unclear what they¡¯re up to¡­¡±


    ¡°They refused before because they could send troops to Shovel Port at any time. Giving us weapons and warhorses now is to tell us¡ªShovel Port must rely on itself henceforth.¡± Alpha let out an almost imperceptible sigh: ¡°Winters Montagne is going to fight with all his might.¡±


    ¡­


    Late at night,


    Winters Montagne stood fully armored with his hand on his sword at the banks of the Big Horn River, a blood-red military flag rustling behind him.


    It was not the East Bank, but the West Bank.


    A floating bridge that spanned across Big Horn River lay quietly before him, hundreds of soldiers and warhorses were crossing the bridge to the West Bank.

 Chapter 782 782 65 Opportunity_2

    ?Chapter 782: Chapter 65 Opportunity_2 Chapter 782: Chapter 65 Opportunity_2 Every person who crossed the Floating Bridge saluted the military civil officer waiting at the bridgehead.


    This fleet had been concealed by Winters for a very long time¡­


    The key to defending Iron Peak County lay in defending the river, and the focus should be on defending the waterway, not the riverbank.


    The water combat capability of the sheepskin rafts was pitiful; to avoid capsizing, those from Terdun would even kneel when riding them.


    The small rafts would flip over at the slightest collision, while the larger ones, although stable, were unwieldy and most vulnerable to fire ships.


    Speaking bluntly, Gold¡¯s pirate ship, ¡°Good Luck¡±, would undoubtedly be the overlord of Big Horn River were it to be placed there.


    Did Winters have ships?


    ...


    No, because the ships of Iron Peak County were all in Shovel Port, confiscated by the mayor, Botar.


    But upon learning that the Terdun Tribe planned to launch a second offensive by taking advantage of the warm winter, he immediately ordered Samujin to start building rafts and small boats.


    The navy was also of great use in Paratu¡ªthis was the painful lesson of the Fifth and Sixth Legions in the battle of The Styx, one he had never forgotten.


    Yet Winters had never used this fleet.


    During the fierce attack on Taltai Division, he deliberately used the rafts, while leaving the small boats idle.


    After the Terdun Tribe¡¯s main forces reached Big Horn River, he deployed defenses along the riverbank, giving up the waterway.


    The Terdun people employed exhaustion tactics, disturbing the west bank more than twenty times in one night, pushing everyone to the brink of breaking. The command to ¡°launch boats into the water¡± almost passed his lips several times, but Winters clenched his teeth and swallowed it back each time.


    This fleet had always been hidden away, concealed with great difficulty.


    Tonight, at last, he could show it to the Terdun people.


    After confirming once again that the blue banner with nine horse tails was merely a bluff, and that the kindled fire was indeed his own advancing troops, Winters immediately ordered the units of Iron Peak County to withdraw from the river fortresses, to be replaced by Samujin¡¯s ¡°Valiant Squad¡± and the ¡°Grown Soldiers¡±.


    The city defense of Niutigu Valley, originally under the responsibility of Samujin¡¯s ¡°Valiant Squad¡±, was turned over to the ¡°Stout Soldiers¡± hastily conscripted from Niutigu Valley. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By way of deception, Winters freed up a mobile force.


    This unit was not very large, including himself, a total of six hundred forty-seven men.


    There was but one criterion for selection¡ªstay on the horseback without falling off.


    Having seized nearly a thousand Herder horses from the Taltai Division, equestrian training became an urgent addition to the units¡¯ training content.


    This hastily assembled ¡°Cavalry Division¡± looked very strange:


    A small part of the men used the Paratu People¡¯s long-stirrup saddles suited for melee combat;


    Another part used the Herders¡¯ short-stirrup saddles meant for mounted archery;


    And yet another part didn¡¯t have saddles at all, only binding a layer of padding on the horseback, making do with crude iron rings or wooden hoops as stirrups.


    Among these men were both natural riders like the Dusacks, who had grown up on horseback, and foot soldiers forced into service, as well as able-bodied men conscripted from the towns and villages.


    Andre and Tang Juan¡¯s arbitrary removal of the cavalry squadron only added to the plight of Iron Peak County.


    But Winters had never complained; he¡¯d never fought a battle where everything went perfectly to plan.


    Making do with the crudest means¡ªsharpening a spear on both ends for use¡ªwas the norm.


    If there were no warhorses, he would seize them; if there were no cavalry, he would train them; if there were no saddles, he would make do with blankets.


    The ¡°Cavalry Division¡± had already crossed the river, and Samujin began dismantling the Floating Bridge.


    Winters stepped into the stirrup, his other hand on the pommel, and turned to look at the faces of the men¡ªdetermined, calm, fearful, or weary.


    Without any fancy talk, he cut straight to the point, ¡°You all know by now, the Barbarian Chief¡¯s personal troops have started to move. They might be moving north, to attack Shovel Port and Vernge County. If that¡¯s the case, central Iron Peak County is temporarily safe.¡±


    The winter night was very quiet, without even the sound of insects, only the heavy breathing of men and horses could be heard.


    ¡°But it¡¯s more likely that the Terdun people will head south, for the further north they go, the more difficult it is to cross the river,¡± Winters analyzed the predicament of Iron Peak County calmly. ¡°Heading south, they can cross from lower Iron Peak County and take the land route around to the back of Niutigu Valley¡ªa brilliant flanking maneuver.


    By then, we¡¯ll be facing a pincer attack. The Terdun forces on the west bank will hold us in place, and the troops that have circled to the East Bank will smash us like a hammer. The noose is tightening, and our only chance is to strike the Terdun forces on the west bank first.¡±


    ¡°Though the Terdon Tribe is numerous, they are scattered along the river for a hundred miles; their generals are many, yet they are divided in heart, competing in secret schemes; their approach is fierce, but we too have the strength for one battle.¡±


    ¡°Some of you are soldiers recently granted land, some are Dusack warriors with generations of service, some are civilians conscripted, and some were captives just a few days ago. Who you were before doesn¡¯t matter. From this moment on, you, me, he, we are all warriors fighting for our survival and our homes.¡±


    Winters extended his hand toward a small boat on the riverbank, ¡°Whoever lacks the courage to fight this battle, take the boat back to the East Bank¡ªwithout any blame. Because I don¡¯t wish to die with such a person¡ªwho is afraid to die with us.¡±


    No sooner had these words been spoken than a deathly silence fell over the crowd; even the sound of breathing gradually subsided.


    The tall, thin representative and the short, fat representative, who had argued outside the town hall, were both there because they knew how to ride and had therefore been conscripted as ¡°able-bodied soldiers.¡±


    Upon hearing that they could take a boat back, beads of sweat uncontrollably formed on the forehead of the tall, thin representative.


    He had once mocked the ¡°childish fight¡± combat report in the public notice that boasted ¡°slain nine enemies, wounded numerous others.¡±


    But now that it was his turn to go to battle, his heart was filled not with blood, but with liquid fear.


    Realizing that one could actually die versus reading about deaths in a notice were two completely different matters.


    He wanted to move his feet, but they seemed frozen to the ground. He couldn¡¯t explain why he was paralysed¡ªhonor? Dignity? Not wanting to be laughed at by the fat man? The smiling faces of his daughter and son appeared in his mind, and the cries of his granddaughter in swaddling clothes echoed in his ears.


    A hand grabbed the shoulder of the tall, thin representative, squeezed, and then let go¡ªit was the short, fat representative.


    The short, fat representative was also pale, but he nodded gently to the tall, thin one.


    The eyes of the tall, thin representative became a little moist, and he nodded back. Decades of rivalry melted into a silent empathy.


    ¡°From this night until the end of the world, our bravery shall be forever remembered.¡± Seeing no one step out of ranks, Winters mounted his horse, ¡°Advance!¡±


    The tall darkey chestnut warhorse shook slightly and Winters sat firmly in the saddle, as if he had grown there, and spurred his horse northward.


    The riders quickly mounted their horses and followed.


    ¡°Stick close to me, I¡¯ll look after you,¡± the short, fat representative said hurriedly to the tall, thin one.


    After speaking, he deftly hoisted his bulky body onto the saddle, smoothed the folds of his jacket, and then spurred his horse¡¯s ribs and charged out. The scabbard of his cavalry sword swung with the rhythm of the gallop, reflecting a dim glow in the moonlight.


    The tall, thin representative wiped away his tears and also spurred his horse to catch up.


    ¡­


    The thundering sound of hoofbeats was like muffled thunder, impossible to hide.


    The cavalry rode fast along the west bank, while on the eastern shore, the beacon towers, watchtowers, and Dangbao lit fires in succession, both as a salute and a measure of distance.


    Winters rode swiftly at the very front, with his standard-bearer Heinrich holding high the military flag behind him.


    Many who had just learned to ride didn¡¯t dare to sit up straight; they pressed themselves tightly against the necks of their horses, occasionally someone fell off.


    The riders had to be vigilant not only for potholes in the road but also to avoid trampling fallen comrades.


    Some warhorses carried two people¡ªone who could ride and one who could not, with several lead horses tethered to the saddle.


    In everyone¡¯s heart, there was only one thought: Keep up with that flag.


    When the Terdon people were most ferocious, they harassed twenty-three times in a day and night, with the two furthest river crossings nearly sixty kilometers apart; during several attacks, they even managed to land small groups of light cavalry on the shore.


    The garrison of Iron Peak County was exhausted from constantly responding, but at the same time, the camps of the Terdon people were becoming stretched thin.


    However, as the tides of war change, once the attacker-defender roles are reversed, a rare opportunity arises.


    It was Winters Montagne¡¯s duty to not let the opportunity slip away.


    Winters keenly observed that the number of beacons on the watchtower on the opposite shore had changed from one to two.


    ¡°Spread out!¡± The agreed signal appeared, and Winters drew his cavalry sword, ¡°This is the place!¡±


    As they crested a hillock, a small Terdon Camp came into view.


    Winters charged down on his horse.


    The cavalry shouted and followed.


    And those warriors who had just learned to ride dismounted, drew their weapons, and charged with feet flying towards the scattered fleeing Terdon people.

 Chapter 783 783 66 The Struggle

    ?Chapter 783: Chapter 66: The Struggle Chapter 783: Chapter 66: The Struggle ¡°`


    The war was not only raging through Vernge County and Central Iron Peak County, but also a far more brutal conflict was unfolding in Lower Iron Peak County.


    This war had no shining armor, no fluttering banners, and it was devoid of magnificent and dramatic stories; even less so any etiquette, rules, or mercy.


    There were only a group of ordinary people struggling desperately for survival and their homeland.


    The Terdon Tribe saw them as prey and livestock, taking their properties, freedom, and even their lives at will.


    They were forced to abandon their homes and hide in the mountains and forests, seeking a way to live. Yet, even so, the Terdon Tribe would not let them go.


    They had no reinforcements, no rear guard, and many of them didn¡¯t even have a real weapon.


    Nor were they warriors; they were just farmers, craftsmen, and traders who toiled to fill their stomachs.


    ... S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For them, this war had no honor, dignity, or glory.


    Only survival mattered, for survival was victory.


    As Bard said when he released Ronald and the others, ¡°There are no soldiers, no army here, only farmers. You, me, all of us must fight¡ªand can only fight¡ªin the way farmers do.¡±


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, the town of Wolfton, the wilderness forest on the northern foothills of the Golden Summit Mountain range.


    With his mouth tightly closed and eyes vigilantly scanning, a Terdon warrior named ¡°Stone Arrow¡± was leading a horse with a bow in hand, carefully treading on a forest path.


    There were originally no paths in the forest, but where living creatures often traveled, a path was trampled into existence.


    Unfortunately, this path was not safe, which is why Stone Arrow had a young slave walk ahead.


    The young slave held a long stick, first using it to check for pits before daring to step forward.


    Following behind Stone Arrow were some thirty vassals and slaves, all leading their horses by the reins to minimize noise.


    The terrain of the northern foothills of the Golden Summit Mountain range was undulating and covered with towering trees, greatly obscuring visibility, which made the Terdon people, accustomed to ¡°seeing cattle and sheep beyond the low windswept grass¡±, quite uncomfortable.


    About ¡°one calf¡± distance from Stone Arrow, a warrior named Green Horse and his men were also advancing deeper into the forest, yet neither party could see the other.


    [Note: Since a calf cannot walk far, it is often used metaphorically for distances near tents, approximately one kilometer.]


    After the death of Ganquan, the properties originally belonging to Ganquan¡ªherds of horses, vassals, slaves, and spoils of war¡ªwere divided between Stone Arrow and Green Horse.


    Although Ganquan had a two-year-old son, in the wilderness where the law of survival of the fittest prevailed, a man who couldn¡¯t draw a bow had no rights to inheritance.


    Between the left and right wings led by Stone Arrow and Green Horse was a central army nearly two hundred strong, commanded by Turu Koda ¡°Bald Dog¡±.


    The left and right wings and the central army were quietly advancing in a fan-shaped formation, closing in on their prey.


    This was a hunt with Bald Dog in charge of the arrows, and all the spoils of war were also Bald Dog¡¯s.


    Stone Arrow and Green Horse did not want to come; they were of low status and weak strength, without the privilege to refuse.


    Reluctance in their hearts slowed their steps. Stone Arrow dragged his feet, making sure each step landed in the footprints of the slave ahead¡ªhe was genuinely afraid.


    Ganquan died rather quickly; he was felled by a neat ambush, so he didn¡¯t have the chance to understand what ¡°the way of the farmers¡± meant.


    But Stone Arrow and Green Horse had already ¡°tasted¡± the bone-deep hatred.


    Those who ate in the morning from a ¡°carelessly hidden¡± cellar would show symptoms of poisoning in the afternoon.


    The mild cases would vomit and suffer from diarrhea, while the severe ones would turn red in the face, struggling to breathe until death.


    More terrifying than humans being poisoned was the poisoning of horses.


    Apparently ordinary bits of hay mixed with deadly yew leaves and twigs; just one bite, and the horses would rapidly spasms and die.


    Many horses died without understanding, still chewing their last meal.


    Poisoning, traps, ambushes¡­ The members of the Terdon Tribe gradually became like terrified birds, not daring to feed their horses dry grass anymore, and even their own food had to be tested by captured women first.


    However, these tactics were unlikely to significantly hurt the Terdon Tribe in the short term.


    War dogs ravaged the land uncontrolled; the Terdon people burned villages, trampled fields, violated women, and killed every Paratu man they could find, with the billowing smoke clearly visible even from Central Iron Peak County.


    The people of Lower Iron Peak County also killed, no, tortured, every Terdon person they managed to capture as retaliation.


    Those ambushed by legitimate officers like Bard and Ronald could even be considered fortunate, because Terdon people who fell into the hands of the militia would literally be gutted and beheaded, their corpses discarded.


    Even with orders reiterated thrice by Bard and Ronald, they couldn¡¯t stop the spread of such actions.


    Therefore, as Stone Arrow led the group through the treacherous forest path, with every step he felt as though he was getting closer to another mutilated corpse.


    Just when you fear something, it often happens; a series of flapping sounds and neighs suddenly came from behind Stone Arrow.


    Stone Arrow felt a chill down his spine and instinctively wanted to mount his horse and flee.


    He stiffly waited for a moment, not hearing the terrifying screams of slaughter.


    Looking back, he saw a sorrel horse with a short tail lying on the ground, snorting as it exhaled hot breath.


    The sorrel struggled to rise, but its right foreleg was caught deep in the earth, up to its knee.


    ¡°Pull it out! Get the horse¡¯s leg out!¡±


    ¡°Stand back! Watch out for its kicks!¡±


    The sorrel, agitated from the fright and pain, made the Terdon people around it helpless as they circled the thrashing animal.


    At that moment, another disturbance occurred.


    A middle-aged slave cried out in agony, seeming to have suddenly shrunk¡ªas with the sorrel, one of his legs had sunk into a pit.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 784 784 66 Competition for Position _2

    ?Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 Chapter 784: Chapter 66: Competition for Position _2 The other Terdun struggled to lift a man and a horse out of the pitfall.


    An old slave felt around the injured leg and ankle of Gancao Huang, thankfully saying, ¡°It¡¯s not broken, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    The old slave led Gancao Huang forward, the latter whining incessantly, its right front leg not daring to touch the ground at all.


    It seemed that although Gancao Huang had not broken its hoof, it would need some time to recover before it could be ridden again.


    On the contrary, the middle-aged slave who stepped into the pitfall was more severely injured: a sharp wooden spike had pierced through his boot sole, leaving a deep bloody hole in the sole of his foot.


    Seeing a man and a horse in such a sorry state, the morale of commoners and slaves sank even lower.


    At first, the Terdun encountered large pitfalls with spikes and bear traps.


    ...


    These large pits and bear traps were deadly but quite easy to detect.


    Especially the bear traps¡ªwith several jin of good iron, the Terdun were too pleased to care.


    But then, the Terdun could no longer laugh, as the pitfalls they encountered became more concealed day by day, and the materials used became increasingly simple.


    By now it was all ¡°a dirt hole, a wooden spike¡± small traps, and pitfalls hardly larger than rat holes, aimed specifically at horses.


    Perhaps the nobles still thought two-legged people were just docile prey like lambs, but the ordinary members of the tribe were very clear that the Paratu People were definitely not sheep¡ªat least not the ones here.


    Shi Jian looked at the injured slave and the injured Gancao Huang, not only not angry but somewhat pleased.


    Just as Shi Jian was contemplating, three riders came through the forest, led by none other than Turu Koda [Bald Hound] himself.


    Shi Jian and his men hastily paid their respects.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this commotion?¡± Bald Hound asked with a somber face.


    ¡°My man stepped into a pitfall.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about stepping into a pitfall? March quickly.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Shi Jian hesitated: ¡°We need to send some people to take the injured back.¡±


    Bald Hound narrowed his eyes, gripping the gold-inlaid handle of his knife: ¡°Who is injured?¡±


    Hearing this, the middle-aged slave who had stepped into the pitfall scrambled up in a panic. Enduring the pain, he stood straight, blood seeping from the bottom of his boot and into the earth.


    ¡°March quickly,¡± Bald Hound ordered: ¡°If you delay the hunt, I¡¯ll kill you.¡±


    Shi Jian held back his anger and paid respects.


    For Herders, manly courage is an important part of authority, but Shi Jian had no time for that now.


    Bald Hound had clearly come for him, and any slip of the tongue could result in him being executed on the spot.


    Shi Jian left behind the injured man and horse and continued moving forward. Despite having just encountered a trap, they still had to follow this trail.


    Because there might be traps by the side of the road, and not using the ready-made path to walk through the wild forest would be a waste of time.


    This wasn¡¯t the vast steppe, where one could go in any direction. This was a primeval forest where every step might be deep or shallow, and carelessness could easily lead to getting lost. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shi Jian walked forward reluctantly.


    Bald Hound didn¡¯t let it go but became even more demanding. He rode behind the column like the true master of these members, supervising the troops on horseback.


    Following the trail to the end, they came to a river valley.


    The valley ran east to west, with no signs of habitation on either side.


    Bald Hound sniffed against the wind and commanded Shi Jian to lead the men east.


    The dog¡¯s nose was indeed keener than a horse¡¯s, and just after turning a bend, a concealed encampment on the south bank of the valley was exposed to the Terdun.


    The camp was surrounded by walls made of inserted branches. Inside the walls, one could see tents and roofs made of birch bark and wheat straw, and even vague human figures.


    This was the prey, this was the reason the Terdun had come to this place¡ªthe Paratu People¡¯s secret encampment.


    ¡°Ha! A two-legged people¡¯s secret camp!¡± Bald Hound was overjoyed: ¡°Conceal yourselves and wait for the right flank and the central army to arrive. If you startle the two-legged people, I¡¯ll show no mercy in executing!¡±


    After leaving behind a few threats, Bald Hound went to find his own men.


    ¡­


    Hiding in the woods, setting up concealed camps, leaving behind empty villages and towns¡­


    The two-legged people¡¯s acts of survival did not surprise the Terdun at all¡ªbecause that¡¯s exactly what the Herder tribes did.


    Whenever there was a conflict, all adult men in the Herder tribes had to go to battle.


    The leaders would then gather all the cattle and sheep, goods, women, and felt tents and settle them in a remote and concealed place, which is called an ¡°old camp.¡±


    While the men fought, the elderly, women, and children hid in the old camp waiting for news. If it came to abandoning the old camp, the tribal leaders would not hesitate at all.


    So, for the tribes, scouring the old camps was one of the crucial phases of war.


    Since there was nothing to be gained from fighting on the battlefield, the fat cattle and sheep, beautiful women, and glorious palaces were all within the old camp.


    In Shi Jian¡¯s view, the two-legged people here were simply using many small camps to replace a large centralized old camp that held all their wealth.


    After pillaging the floating wealth of the villages and towns, the Terdun who were not satisfied with their haul naturally turned their eyes toward the forest.


    The Terdun pursued, defined their boundaries like a hunt, tracked shadows, combed the mountains, and dug three feet into the ground.


    Although secret, the camp could not grow legs and escape. A wisp of smoke, a flock of birds, a trail tread by humans or livestock, or even a stroke of bad luck could reveal the encampment.


    As the secret camps were found one after another, some Terdun leaders had already filled their saddlebags with plunder, with no horse left that could carry it all.


    Leaders who returned empty-handed were green with envy¡ªlike Bald Hound.


    ¡­


    Shi Jian had little interest in this ¡°old camp¡± in front of him; he wouldn¡¯t get a share of the spoils.

 Chapter 785 785 66 Competition for _3

    ?Chapter 785: Chapter 66: Competition for _3 Chapter 785: Chapter 66: Competition for _3 The Bald Dog didn¡¯t say it outright, but Stone Arrow was clear that the Bald Dog would share nothing with him, leading to the second reason¡ªthe Bald Dog was crazed with hunger, whereas Stone Arrow had his fill.


    After an indeterminate wait, Stone Arrow heard the sound of horns coming from ahead.


    Hundreds of Terdun light cavalry charged out of the forest and headed straight for the dense camp, with the Bald Dog at the forefront.


    Another horn sounded from a different direction, and the Green Horse also led his men toward the dense camp.


    Stone Arrow ordered the horns blown, stepped into the stirrups, and made his unhurried way toward the dense camp.


    ¡­


    Flashes of swords and shadows of daggers, human cries and horse whinnies.


    Two groups were fighting to the death in a rudimentary camp: one was small, the other large.


    ...


    The smaller group wielded long spears, bows and arrows, and scimitars, drawing bows, riding fast, and charging; the larger group was armed with Stinger Hammers, javelins, and even farm tools like flails and scythes, fighting in a dense formation.


    Without a doubt, the former were the people of Terdun, and the latter the militia from Iron Peak County.


    In this battle of hundreds against dozens, Major Ronald¡¯s commanded militia had firmly suppressed the Terdun people.


    The militia pushed wheels and lifted gates, advancing in a clumsy but unstoppable manner toward the Terdun camp¡ªindeed, this battle was not taking place in the dense camp in the valley but in the Bald Dog¡¯s own camp.


    In the past, the people of Terdun would have long since fled at breakneck speed.


    But now that was impossible, as their spoils of war were stored within the camp.


    The Terdun people were like merchants pushing a cart uphill, bitten in the rear by a wolf that had long been lurking.


    If he let go to fight the wolf, he would lose the cart; but if he continued to push, he would lose his rear.


    Major Ronald¡¯s brows were tightly knit as he watched the small detachment of Terdun armored cavalry on the hillside who had not yet joined the fight¡ªnow, he should be more rightfully called Major Ronald.


    Captain Apel had come up with a peculiar and clumsy tactic, which he called ¡°wheel warfare.¡±


    In simple terms, it involved stringing a wheel with a thick, long spear.


    While advancing, the wheel could be rolled along. As soon as the enemy cavalry arrived, the wheel was dropped.


    The wheel, the long spear, and the ground created a triangular structure, effectively making a movable obstacle for horses.


    If there was a peculiar scene on the battlefield:


    The militiamen, sweating profusely and gasping, ¡°advanced¡± by pushing the cart¡¯s wheels forward;


    The Terdun light cavalry, despite their strong bows and fast horses, could only shoot arrows from outside.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Major Ronald thought.


    ¡°Now is the moment!¡± Hong Lingyu of Terdun drew his scimitar, stabbed his horse in the ribs, and led the charge.


    Lieutenant Adam (formerly), wearing only a single vambrace, roared as he swung around the Stinger Hammer, meeting Hong Lingyu¡¯s scimitar head-on.


    The Stinger Hammer was essentially a club with an iron tip; for strength, very thick wood was used.


    Hong Lingyu was on horseback, Adam on foot. The former had the height advantage and theoretically held all the benefits.


    However, at the moment of impact between sword and hammer, Hong Lingyu felt an unstoppable force traveling back through the weapon.


    His palm went numb, the base of his thumb was torn apart, and even his wrist was twisted.


    What surprised Hong Lingyu even more was that his scimitar had sunk deep into the handle of the opponent¡¯s bizarre weapon, stuck fast.


    The scene surprised Adam as well.


    Normally, the wooden handles of polearms should be oiled, sun-dried, and even reinforced with metal straps to prevent them from being chopped off.


    Adam had no time to complain about the quality of the Stinger Hammer; he bellowed and, summoning all his strength, gave a fierce downward yank, and Hong Lingyu¡¯s scimitar flew from his hand.


    Adam followed through with a downward thrusting step, aiming straight for Hong Lingyu¡¯s right rib.


    Sparks flew where the hammer tip met the armor.


    The final impact on the armor left only a dent, but the momentum was transmitted through the armor scales to the body.


    Four of Hong Lingyu¡¯s ribs snapped instantly; he was in so much pain he couldn¡¯t make a sound and fell to the other side of the saddle.


    The crudely made Stinger Hammer also reached its limit, the front end of the wooden handle exploding with a ¡°bang,¡± and the iron spike flew who knows where.


    The warhorse, startled, fled wildly. Hong Lingyu, with his left foot trapped in the stirrup, was dragged away by the warhorse, screaming in agony.


    ¡°What kind of rubbish is this!¡± Lieutenant Adam roared like thunder, furiously smashing the wooden stick with the scimitar hanging from it onto the ground. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 786 786 67 The Twins

    ?Chapter 786: Chapter 67 The Twins Chapter 786: Chapter 67 The Twins The night seemed endless, as if there was no end in sight.


    Foam spewed from the mouth of Winters¡¯ black warhorse, its ears pinned tightly back, its long neck thrusting forward, its heart seemingly ready to tear through the ribs and leap out.


    Winters, on the horse¡¯s back, struggled to keep his body steady, gasping for breath, his boots planted deep into the stirrups.


    With each encampment breached, the number of followers behind him dwindled; each hill crossed resulted in a rider¡¯s body swaying, then falling rigidly from the saddle.


    The thunder of hooves by his ears grew sparser, while the rumbling thunder ahead became increasingly deafening.


    Perhaps Winters still held a hint of surprise when he burst into the first two campsites.


    But the farther he moved forward, the better prepared the Terdun people were. They knew what had happened from the mouths of those who had fled. Even without informers, the clash of blades would have reached their ears long ago.


    ...


    There was no more surprise or unguarded attack, only a series of brutal, head-on clashes.


    As he surged over the hill on his horse, a hundred Terdun Cavalry appeared abruptly before Winters¡¯ eyes.


    Heinrich closely followed Winters up the crest of the hill. When the enemy riders spotted Winters¡¯ banner, they charged down from the opposing slope, heading straight for him.


    The Terdun campsites, not fortified with walls or trenches, made a defense tantamount to sitting ducks. Some Kota immediately fled, but the leader of this cavalry chose to confront Winters directly.


    Winters reined in his horse and removed his helmet.


    The cotton and silk lining inside the helmet felt as if it had just been fished out of water. The warhorse, too, was drenched; sweat poured unstoppably from the flanks, dripping steadily to the ground.


    He surveyed to count his men, only twenty-eight remained, nearly all of them wounded. Xial wasn¡¯t among them, Tamas wasn¡¯t there either; many were missing.


    Perhaps some others were lagging behind, but it was unlikely they would catch up.


    Representatives from Niutigu Valley, both short and stout, and tall and thin, were there, the only civilians among the twenty-eight riders.


    ¡°You two stay,¡± Winters told the short stout and tall thin representatives.


    Having said this, he shook the sweat from the padding, fastened his helmet, and secured the clasps.


    The short stout representative glanced over Winters¡¯ shoulder and saw the Terdun Cavalry spreading out, surging up the hillside like a tidal wave.


    His parched lips parted slightly, as if to say something, but Winters had already drawn his sabre and spurred his horse down the hill.


    The short stout civilian representative stared at Winters¡¯ receding figure, then suddenly raised his sabre high, struck the horse¡¯s hindquarters hard with the back of the blade, gritted his teeth, and galloped down the hill.


    The tall thin representative followed blindly all the way, not even knowing where he had dropped his sabre. It was not until he was alone on the hill that he came to his senses, awakened as if from a dream.


    A trace of relief surged through him, but was quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of shame.


    He stood dumbstruck for a moment, then suddenly started shouting at the top of his lungs, spurring his horse down the hill. But before he had run a hundred paces, he abruptly reined in his mount, unable to move any further. The middle-aged man, who already had a son, broke down in tears. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The distance between the two sides closed swiftly; Winters targeted the enemy leading the charge.


    The adversary rode a chestnut warhorse with a high head, brandishing a curved sword with a gold-inlaid scabbard swinging at his side.


    Not all Terdun people had swords; those with long spears charged at the forefront were how Winters identified the leaders of the Terdun.


    The Terdun leader also recognized Winters as a formidable opponent; he pushed his warhorse to speed up, bearing down on Winters.


    The Terdun man lifted off his saddle, his upper body leaning forward, the curved sword held high.


    Winters held his sabre at shoulder height, equally poised to strike.


    The moment the cavalrymen crossed paths was fleeting. Yet in that instant, the full force of man and horse combined¡ªno longer just their own, but also that of the enemy.


    Simply misjudging the angle of the slash could send the sabre flying from one¡¯s grip, and dislocate a wrist.


    Winters¡¯ martial skill in mounted combat came not only from his academy training but more so from real combat experience and practice after leaving the Ivory Tower. He had become highly adept at slashing from horseback.


    In the moment they passed, Winters and the Terdun man swung their weapons simultaneously.


    Winters struck first although he moved after, his sabre cutting with precision at the tip of his opponent¡¯s blade. In a single blow, the Terdun man¡¯s palm and arm went numb.


    A chill spread across the Terdun man¡¯s chest; he gripped his curved sword, trying to swing it back in defense while desperately pulling on the reins, hoping to widen the gap.


    But it was too late; they had barely missed by half a horse¡¯s length when Winters¡¯ sabre swung in an arc back over his head.


    Standing in his stirrups, he lunged his body forward, slashing viciously at the back of his foe while pulling the hilt back hard.


    The back of the Terdun man was cleaved open by a hefty wound, and like a sack of lifeless flour, he slid heavily from his saddle.


    Winters didn¡¯t look back at the man; after the charge, both sides clashed on the small hillside.


    His armor made him particularly conspicuous, and a second, then a third Terdun charged at him, senselessly desperate.


    Winters struck the second enemy with a Rending Spell; blood surged instantly from his nostrils, ear canals, and the bottom of his eyes, as he collapsed limply.


    The third enemy hadn¡¯t even realized what had occurred and continued to urge his horse forward, thrusting his spear towards Winters.


    Putting all his strength into the reins, Winters narrowly avoided the thrust aimed straight at his chest.


    Sparks flew as the spearhead grazed his left rib, leaving only a slight dent on his breastplate.

 Chapter 787 787 67 Gemini_2

    ?Chapter 787: Chapter 67 Gemini_2 Chapter 787: Chapter 67 Gemini_2 With his left arm, Winters trapped the spear shaft and slanted his cut toward the opponent¡¯s neck, which was bent down and wrapped in a leather gorget.


    His saber was blunted, so the cut, which should have been fatal, was stopped by the tough leather gorget. Still, the blunt force of the blow struck the foe hard enough to see stars.


    Unable to use his saber effectively, Winters drove the dulled blade into the opponent¡¯s chest. As he did so, he felt no emotion.


    Instinctively, the enemy grabbed the blade and screamed as he fell from the saddle.


    Winters let go of the saber and picked up the enemy¡¯s long spear instead. Using Spell to kill might have been faster, but the night was far from over, and he needed to conserve his magic power.


    The Terdun Cavalry had already realized that this armored warrior was extraordinarily brave, and no one dared to confront him anymore.


    In the chaos of battle, Winters saw a cluster of swaying red feathers. He gripped the long spear and jabbed at the horse¡¯s ribs, charging straight toward the red feathers.


    ...


    The people of Terdun, who were in his way, fled for their lives, not daring to stand in his path.


    The one with the red feathers realized he was alone with the fearsome armored warrior and didn¡¯t hesitate to spur his horse into a run.


    Seeing this, the will of the Terdun people wavered, and they too withdrew from the melee, riding off in all directions.


    Winters spurred on his warhorse, continuing the pursuit. Just then, the Dan-black warhorse with a white star on its forehead let out a heartrending neigh.


    The horse¡¯s front legs could no longer support its body, and with a ¡°thump¡±, it knelt down, its chest harshly slamming into the ground. Its body slid forward a short distance due to inertia, immediately staining the contact area with blood.


    It was as if the ground suddenly collapsed beneath him; Winters sank down and was then thrown from the saddle.


    The world spun as he tumbled several times before coming to a stop. Warmth trickled down his forehead into his ears, a buzzing filled his skull, and pain throbbed everywhere¡ªshoulders, arms, neck¡­


    Struggling to his feet, Winters saw his horse lying on the ground, mouth open, hooves twitching slightly, and looking at him with sad eyes, almost as if to say, ¡°I can go no further.¡±


    The red feather, having fled a distance, saw Paratu¡¯s armored warrior fall and was overjoyed. He loudly shouted and blew his whistle, ordering his men to return.


    Nearly half of the fleeing Terdun Cavalry regained their spirits and turned their horses to come back to the fight.


    Leaning on his long spear, Winters struggled to his horse¡¯s side. He hadn¡¯t named this warhorse, and his emotions were hidden beneath his helmet, unknown whether he was crying, enraged, sorrowful, or numb.


    The battlefield doesn¡¯t need a person with feelings; feelings make one appear weak. It needs a numb, heartless, armored killing machine.


    The Cavalry of Iron Peak County, realizing Winters was in danger, abandoned their current foes and rushed over to protect him, risking their lives.


    The people of Terdun, seeing this unfold, became even more convinced that the downed knight was someone of high rank, and they desperately whipped their mounts to attack Winters.


    Arrows accompanied by whistling sounds flew toward him, either falling into the dirt or ricocheting off armor.


    Winters no longer looked at his horse. Clenching the long spear tightly, he rested it on his knee and with a forceful push, snapped it in two.


    The red feather wondered why on earth the opponent would break the long spear, and then saw something flash by in a blur.


    Pain came to the red feather slower than the realization, a crushing agony as if a bone club had slammed into his chest.


    The red feather too fell from his horse.


    What the surrounding Terdun people saw was the knight breaking the long spear and throwing the upper half with unbelievable force, knocking their leader Kota to the ground.


    More hoofbeats were approaching from afar¡ªthe likes of Xial, Tamas, and others who had lagged behind were reaching the battlefield one after another.


    Nothing could impede the terrible rout of the Terdun forces now. They hunched over their horses and fled like startled birds from this field of death.


    Before losing consciousness, the red feather¡¯s last vision was of the knight approaching with the other half of the long spear, speaking words he couldn¡¯t understand.


    What Winters actually said was, ¡°Now it¡¯s just you and me.¡±


    After crushing this strong force of Terdun centurions, Winters paused briefly to regather his scattered men.


    Tamas brought Winters another chestnut warhorse.


    ¡°Leave the wounded.¡± Winters mounted, his voice cold and clear, ¡°Signal the other side to come for them and clean up the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    After a brief rest and changing horses, the cavalry once again charged toward where the enemy was.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Revodan, Mitchell Manor.


    In front of the house at Mitchell Manor, many iron pots were set up, bubbling and boiling with something inside.


    Inside the house, it almost transformed into a tailor¡¯s workshop as women cut undyed hemp and cotton fabric into strips.


    Behind the house, numerous clotheslines were set up, and the strips of boiled fabric fluttered in the wind like tassels on clothing.


    Tying her hair with a scarf like a married lady, Anna oversaw everything inside and outside the manor¡ªas well as three other similarly sized ¡°workshops.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Montaigne, we¡¯re running out of firewood!¡± A little girl with her hair and cheeks smeared with ash ran over to Anna in a panic.


    The girl was likely rubbing her eyes because ashes had gotten into them while she spoke.


    ¡°Don¡¯t rush, speak slowly,¡± Anna said as she took the girl aside, delicately wiping her with a handkerchief and patiently asked, ¡°How could that happen? Didn¡¯t Captain Mason bring two carts last night?¡±


    Indeed, Captain Mason had sent two carts of firewood last night, but women working here had secretly taken some home.


    Each person only took a handful, but with everyone taking a little, it wasn¡¯t enough for today¡¯s work.


    The girl didn¡¯t dare to say, but Anna, with her keen mind, roughly figured out what had happened.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t dare to come to me and sent you instead, right?¡± Anna asked gently.


    The little girl nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Anna said as she patted the girl¡¯s head. ¡°Go back. I¡¯ll handle it.¡±


    Obediently, the girl walked away.


    Recently, Revodan had also been trying to implement a system of gender-segregated camps, but progress was not smooth. In Winters¡¯ absence, Mason couldn¡¯t suppress the local gentry and merchants.


    With no other choice, Mason had to settle for a less comprehensive implementation of gender segregation, applying it only among the families that came for shelter.


    Thus, residences like Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s and the Navarre sisters became home to many women and girls.


    Just as Anna thought of Mason, he walked into the yard from outside.


    ¡°Mr. Mason,¡± Anna curtsied in greeting. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Lady Montaigne,¡± Mason removed his cap.


    ¡°Is there news of Winters¡­¡± Anna¡¯s eyes brightened with hope as she asked, but feeling shy to speak his name directly, she corrected herself, ¡°Do you have news of Mr. Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, no,¡± Mason shook his head with a trace of regret.


    There was news, but ¡°No word from Winters since he crossed the river for battle¡± was something Mason couldn¡¯t bring himself to say. He¡¯d rather wait until he had definite information.


    Anna¡¯s expression dimmed slightly as she politely requested, ¡°If there¡¯s any news, please inform me right away. Whether it¡¯s good or bad.¡±


    ¡°Certainly, certainly,¡± Mason answered, his voice betraying unease, and he shifted the subject. ¡°How about Mrs. Mitchell and Miss Catherine?¡±


    Anna felt a twinge of fatigue¡ªthe man had departed and since then, there had been no word from him although geographically close, not even a letter.


    She maintained a strained smile, ¡°They are preparing for another fundraiser.¡±


    ¡°You are truly a great help to us,¡± Mason sincerely praised, lavish in his compliments, ¡°If the troops were in charge of preparations, who knows how long it would take and the quality would be uneven. Clean bandages like these, packed three to a bundle, are unheard of.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re only doing what we can.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I can assist you with?¡±


    ¡°There are a few matters,¡± Anna perked up, stepping back into the role of Lady Montaigne, ¡°What restricts this little ¡®shop¡¯ now is not manpower, but rather supplies and tools. We need more pots¡ªfour iron pots are no longer sufficient¡ªand more firewood. The same goes for materials; donated fabrics are limited and relying on them is not sustainable¡­¡±


    Mason took out a notebook, listening and noting, nodding frequently.


    ¡°That¡¯s all for the moment,¡± Anna stated as she held the hem of her dress, curtsying slightly, ¡°I appreciate your attention, Mr. Mason.¡±


    With respect, Mason returned the gesture, ¡°It¡¯s my duty to help. The fabric might be a bit tricky, but pots and firewood are an easy fix; I¡¯ll send a few carts your way first.¡±


    With nothing else to discuss, Mason took his leave.


    Anna gazed towards the horizon, her thoughts drifting far away to the south.


    ¡°Winters, where are you?¡± she wondered.

 Chapter 788 788 68 Eve

    ?Chapter 788: Chapter 68 Eve Chapter 788: Chapter 68 Eve Where is Winters Montagne? This question was also troubling Samujin.


    As dawn was about to break, an anxious Samujin, who had waited the entire night, finally saw a torch waving on the opposite shore. He immediately dispatched a small boat to ferry people across the river.


    Night battles are chaotic; both sides fight recklessly with courage and skill, without any formation.


    Under such circumstances, once the infantry are scattered by the cavalry, all that awaits them is slaughter.


    Hence, Winters issued an order: only upon seeing the signal may the troops guarding the coast be permitted to cross the river.


    Winters did not expect the conscripted civilians to fight tough battles; doing well in treating the wounded, cleaning the battlefield, and gathering stragglers and the dispersed was difficult enough.


    ¡°We won.¡± Carrying boundless joy, Samujin took a boat to the western shore, only to be dizzied by the bad news delivered by Bart Xialing shortly after.


    ...


    ¡°The Centurion is not here.¡± Bart Xialing dismissed the others and whispered to Samujin.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Samujin was startled.


    ¡°Keep your voice down.¡± Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes were solemn, his cheeks tense: ¡°Not many people know about this yet.¡±


    ¡°What on earth happened?!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve run through several battlefields on the western shore¡ªcan¡¯t find the Centurion.¡± Bart Xialing maintained his last bit of calm: ¡°But Xial and Heinrich are also missing, probably nothing happened.¡±


    ¡°Where is Tamas?¡± Samujin pressed. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°With me.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t know where the Centurion is?¡± Samujin raged: ¡°What is he good for?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s wounded, quite badly.¡± Bart Xialing said softly.


    Samujin clenched his fists tightly, looked around, and suddenly struck his thigh: ¡°Ah!¡±


    The situation on the western shore was vast disarray.


    Last night, Winters fought through seven battles, successively captured sixteen camps¡ªthe ones he faced were shattered, those he struck were routed.


    The leaders of the Terdon Tribe were also unclear about the exact number of enemies; they only saw defeated groups fleeing in waves. Thus, the thought to preserve their own strength prevailed, and they hastily chose to depart first.


    In the end, wherever Winters¡¯ banner went, the Terdon people crumbled upon sighting it.


    Winters¡¯ forces too had a large number of riders who had fallen behind, scattered. Compared to those killed in battle, there were more injured from falling off their horses.


    After the sounds of slaughter disbanded, the situation became even more unordered.


    Some defeated Terdon people wandered the battlefield like crows, scavenging valuables and stripping clothes from the dead.


    There were also fleeing Terdon leaders who felt there was an opportunity, and so they quietly circled back with their followers.


    The injured of Iron Peak County and the bodies of its riders were scattered in various places along the shore. Those who could make it to the riverbank to wait for the rescue fleet were considered lucky.


    There were riders who broke their legs when they fell from their horses and could not move. Had it not been for the search and rescue teams looking for them along the way, they could only await death in despair¡ªand there was more than one wounded in such a state.


    ¡°An injured man said¡­ the Centurion went after the Barbarian Chief¡¯s tent.¡± Bart Xialing gritted his teeth: ¡°I think it makes sense. Let¡¯s round up those who are still able to fight and send them to reinforce the Centurion. What do you say?¡±


    ¡°Lieutenant!¡± A scout cavalryman came galloping in, barely stopping before Bart Xialing¡¯s nose. The scout quickly dismounted and reported breathlessly: ¡°Six or seven dozen barbarians are riding along the riverbank towards us!¡±


    Upon hearing this, Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes widened like an eagle¡¯s.


    Samujin looked at the chaotic scene of this temporary ferry port: the wounded being continuously brought back, fathers and sons crying over bodies, and the swords, spears, and armors that were piled up hurriedly without time to be transported across the shore¡­


    ¡°Hold off the Terdon people¡¯s matter!¡± Bart Xialing looked at Samujin: ¡°How many men who can ride do you have at your disposal?¡±


    ¡°No need to go reinforce the Centurion.¡± Samujin made up his mind: ¡°The Centurion always said that everyone has their own responsibilities, and victory relies on everyone doing their duty. Montaigne, the Protector of the People, has his responsibilities; Xialing the Lieutenant has his, and I have mine.¡±


    ¡°Quit using the Centurion¡¯s words to press me!¡± Bart Xialing burst into a sudden fury: ¡°If a real accident¡­ have you thought about what would happen to Iron Peak County if the Centurion truly met with misfortune?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll hand over all the brave men under my command to you.¡± Samujin looked directly into Bart Xialing¡¯s eyes: ¡°Still, according to the original plan, it¡¯s up to you to ambush the barbarians trying a counterassault, and leave the battlefield cleanup to me.¡±


    Bart Xialing initially wanted to say something more but suddenly pursed his lips, his eyes fixed.


    Samujin followed his gaze, turning to look back, only to see two columns of smoke rising in the southwest direction, one white and one gray¡ªit was from Lower Tiefeng County.


    Lower Tiefeng County had raised white smoke before, and gray smoke too, but two plumes of smoke, one white and one gray, were unprecedented.


    Bart Xialing subdued his anger, gradually becoming calm: ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°Mhm,¡± Samujin acknowledged, staring at the two columns of smoke: ¡°They¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡­


    Lower Tiefeng County, by the Big Horn River.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dump it all in at once!¡± The young stable boy Anglu desperately pushed the bellows, shouting loudly: ¡°It will put out the fire! Burn it bit by bit!¡±


    Burning oak would produce white smoke; mixing it with decomposed leaves would turn it into gray smoke.


    The panicked men were running around the two massive earthen stoves, wishing they could pour all their wood and decayed leaves into the furnace all at once.


    The insufficiently burned wood and humus turned into thick smoke. Channeled through two long chimneys, it flew towards the sky.


    This point, less than a mile from the riverbank, had been hidden until today when it was used for the first time. Further to the north, there were many more hidden spots with two beacon stoves each.


    Two columns of smoke would arise only under one condition¡ªthe ¡°crossing of the river¡± by the Terdon people; not a small-scale shallow crossing by a few hundred but the crossing of the Khan Court¡¯s main forces into the thousands.

 Chapter 789 789 68 Eve_2

    ?Chapter 789: Chapter 68 Eve_2 Chapter 789: Chapter 68 Eve_2 ¡°`


    ¡°Captain of ten! Disaster!¡± A rider charged into the camp, ¡°Barbarian light cavalry have seen the signal fires! They¡¯re killing their way here!¡±


    Anglu dropped the bellows, grabbed the newcomer¡¯s collar, and asked angrily, ¡°I sent you to check if the Barbarian Chief¡¯s Khan flag had crossed the river! Has it or has it not?¡±


    ¡°It has! Horse-tail banners! At least a few dozen poles!¡±


    Anglu let go, shouting to the others, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Anglu mounted Redmane, the other men quickly saddled their horses and rode away swiftly, leaving the Terdun people with nothing but an empty camp.


    ¡­


    Below Iron Peak County, in the town of Wolfton, the secret camp of the Ronald Division.


    ... S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Major Ronald was conversing with the mysterious Father Saul.


    The old Herde slave who called himself ¡°Brother Saul,¡± known as ¡°Baldytail,¡± was fluent in Herde Language, Universal Language, Old Language, and the Ancient Church Language, and he was familiar with the customs and cultures of the Paratu, The Federated Provinces, and even the Empire.


    But other than his clergy rank and the name ¡°Saul,¡± he never spoke of which monastic order he belonged to, where and when he was born, or who had ordained him.


    Even with a knife held to his throat, he would only answer, ¡°The Public Church can prove my identity.¡±


    The officers didn¡¯t believe that the old slave before them was the so-called ¡°Father Saul.¡± They still managed him as closely as they would a slave or a captive, and the old slave never resisted, passively accepting their treatment.


    Soon enough, the old slave proved his worth¡ªno one in Newly Reclaimed Lands Province knew more about the insider affairs of Terdun than this ¡°Paratu person.¡±


    From interrogating captives to identifying enemies¡¯ affiliations to the temperament of Kota, and the favorite tactics of the Terdon Tribe, old slave Baldytail knew everything.


    The intelligence on the [Ambush on Bald Dog Tribe] was provided proactively by the old slave and turned out exactly as he described: although there were two other groups of Terdun people near Bald Dog Tribe¡¯s camp, none came to the rescue.


    Because ¡°Bald Dog was formerly a guard to the Fire Lighter, and he abused the Fire Lighter¡¯s trust to lord over others. The other lords of the Terdun were only too happy to see Bald Dog¡¯s demise.¡±


    Old slave¡¯s status in the small force commanded by Ronald rose significantly, and people gradually started referring to him as ¡°Father Saul,¡± even letting him officiate Masses.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t quite understand,¡± Father Saul asked lightly, ¡°Why you, Mr. Apel, and Mr. Adam are fighting to the death for a bunch of countrymen? If you hide in a strong fortress, the people of Terdun would naturally leave after they have looted enough. Many years ago, this is what the nobles of Paratu did.¡±


    ¡°Brother,¡± Ronald replied as he sharpened arrowheads, not looking up, ¡°There are no longer any nobles in the Republic, my father was a common merchant.¡±


    ¡°When the Lord created the world, He did not create a separate class of people called nobles,¡± Father Saul said, holding his rosary beads and looking down as if gazing into a deep pool, ¡°You were shaped to serve the regime in the form of violence. Not only to repel foreign enemies but to suppress the internal ones, this behavior is consistent with nobility.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we citizens?¡±


    ¡°But there are still slaves beneath the citizens, in this sense, even the freemen who are citizens can be seen as nobles. Their status is lower than some people but higher than others.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying¡­ might have some sense,¡± Ronald put down one arrowhead and picked up another broken one, ¡°But as you said, we were not shaped by emperors, kings, or grand dukes, it was the nation that shaped us. So we don¡¯t pledge loyalty to the crown but to the nation. As for what the nation is¡­ I haven¡¯t figured that out either. I¡¯m just doing all this following my heart¡¯s guidance.¡±


    Footsteps sounded, and Lieutenant Adam, gasping for breath, ran over.


    ¡°Signal fires, two of them,¡± Adam said, panting and swallowing saliva, ¡°One white, one gray, they¡¯re coming.¡±


    ¡°Yes, they¡¯re coming,¡± Ronald ground down on the arrowhead.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, by the banks of Panto River.


    The refugee Bard also saw the two rising signal fires.


    ¡°Get everyone ready.¡± Bard said to Ish, ¡°The people of Terdun are coming.¡±


    ¡­


    The Great Wilderness.


    A dozen Terdun Quiver Bearers were frantically urging their warhorses, relentlessly whipping them on without pause.


    A Quiver Bearer looked back in terror, and then with a crying tone shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] They¡¯re still behind us, we can¡¯t escape! Burn it! Burn it all!¡±


    His words were muffled by the wind and hoofs, sounding like sobs.


    The leading Quiver Bearer cursed, ¡°[Herde Language] Burn? Who has time for that? Run!¡±


    The Quiver Bearers had been fleeing for who knows how long, from the night straight into the day.


    They were the guards of the Fire Lighter, originally seventy strong.


    Their pursuers were only three people, but when they first appeared behind them, the Quiver Bearers sent half of their number to intercept, without success.


    Another half was sent, and yet the pursuers kept biting at their heels.


    The Quiver Bearers no longer dared to fight and buried their heads in a mad dash westward.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Split up!¡± another Quiver Bearer shouted, ¡°[Herde Language] Into two wings!¡±


    The leading Quiver Bearer clenched his teeth and nodded.


    ¡­


    Newly Reclaimed Land, Maplestone City, New Reclamation Legion Headquarters.


    The office door of Colonel Chloe, the Legion Administrative Officer, was kicked in fiercely as Colonel Bod stormed in, his imposing frame not even slightly impeded by the two burly guards.


    Colonel Bod skipped any pleasantries, pressing with an unmistakable sense of urgency the moment he entered, ¡°What happened? Have you achieved any results?!¡±


    Colonel Chloe signaled for the two guards to stand down, gave a placating smile to Colonel Bod and replied, ¡°We just finished a military intelligence meeting, and I was about to seek you out to discuss this.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 790 790 68 Eve_3

    ?Chapter 790: Chapter 68 Eve_3 Chapter 790: Chapter 68 Eve_3 ¡°Speak!¡±


    ¡°Vernge County has become a mess, sending twelve messengers a day to ask for assistance. The border of Mirror Lake County is also unstable¡­¡±


    ¡°Can they do it or not?¡± Colonel Bod slammed the table and bellowed, ¡°Just say it, be quick about it!¡±


    ¡°After the battle in mid-September, a large part of the conscripted defense forces was disbanded and is currently regrouping. The Military Command¡¯s view is that, to be on the safe side, troops should be dispatched from Maplestone City and take the northern route. First, repel the Herders of Vernge County, then move on to subdue Iron Peak County¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the defense forces of Riverside County, Mont Blanc County, and Thunder Group County?¡± Colonel Bod¡¯s brows knitted tightly together, ¡°You can¡¯t move, and neither can they?!¡±


    ¡°If necessary, we can take in refugees from Iron Peak County; the provisional battle plan¡­still involves setting up defenses along the Anya River line.¡± Colonel Chloe¡¯s expression was complex, ¡°Senior, the situation in Iron Peak County¡­it¡¯s already at that stage, and if the Herders break through Anya River and enter Mont Blanc County¡­that would truly be like letting the Herders stick a knife right into our belly¡­¡±


    Colonel Chloe went on and on about the reasoning, but Colonel Bod stayed silent.


    ...


    In the end, Colonel Chloe stopped talking as well, and both sat in silence.


    ¡°Right, weren¡¯t you going back to Kingsfort?¡± Colonel Chloe said with a forced smile to Colonel Bod, ¡°The legion has already arranged for your carriage, escort, and credentials. They welcome you back at Kingsfort and even said they want to invite you into the new Army Committee as a permanent member, and there¡¯s also a promotion¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha.¡± Colonel Bod suddenly burst into uproarious laughter, his merriment surprisingly carefree and blissful, leaving Colonel Chloe somewhat at a loss. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You?¡± Colonel Chloe asked with some concern, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°In the end¡­¡± Colonel Bod said, still laughing heartily, ¡°¡­you all still have ambition without the capacity, strategy without the talent! Damn it, you¡¯re not even as good as Alpad, that guy whose guts are as straightforward as a fart!¡±


    Colonel Chloe was taken aback.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your carriage, escort, or credentials.¡± Colonel Bod stood up and straightened his attire a bit, ¡°Give me three horses and a bag of army rations; I can manage on my own.¡±


    An hour later.


    The drawbridge of Maplestone City slowly lowered, and an old one-armed soldier galloped out of the city, swiftly disappearing into the distance.


    ¡­


    At about the same time, far to the west of Maplestone City¡ªin the Terdon Tribe¡¯s winter pasture, another story was unfolding.


    The Herders call the winter pasture ¡°winter nest,¡± typically choosing lower ground near rivers or valleys surrounded by hills.


    In short, they would go wherever it was better to spend the winter.


    As one of the three great tribes, the Terdon naturally occupied one of the best winter pastures. Their pasture bordered the Ashen Stream River¡ªprobably the lowest and warmest place in the wilderness during winter.


    Although this year¡¯s winter had arrived a bit late, it had finally come. At a glance, the winter pasture had already turned to hues of withered yellow, with not a hint of green to be seen.


    In this ocean of yellow and green was an unremarkable little hillock, where seven felt tents were pitched against the wind, with wagons encircling them from the outside.


    Seven felt tents, dozens of cattle, around a hundred horses, and several hundred sheep¡ªthis was about the size of a ¡°small tribe¡± in Herder society.


    Such micro-tribes were typically held together by kinship, supporting two or three full-time warriors, as part of a small family within a larger tribe, capable of mustering several dozen subjects or slaves in times of war.


    Because of the practice of spreading out for winter, the freemen of the tribe did not stay here but were scattered throughout the pastures in a radius of tens of kilometers.


    But at this moment, hundreds of horses were quietly grazing on the hillside, far more than the number a family with seven tents should have.


    In the camp, some were slaughtering sheep, and others were heating stones for cooking: putting fresh lamb meat into sheepskin bags, adding a little water and salt, and then placing hot stones inside before tying the bags shut tightly.


    Quietly lying around outside the camp were more than twenty bodies of men and women.


    A man came down from the hillside, cursing under his breath.


    The wind was strong, and the man was wrapped tightly all over, with only a handsome face exposed.


    The man yanked open the tent flap, his delicate features grotesque with emotion, ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ve pissed blood! Are we there yet? Do we need to go further west?¡±


    Another tall man sat inside the tent, silently shaving with a military saber.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there to admire your looks?¡± The handsome man said, unable to contain his irritation, ¡°Is there anyone to see?¡±


    ¡°Just today,¡± the tall man replied, putting down the saber, ¡°No need to go further west.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± The handsome man was overjoyed, ¡°Do you know where we are?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said the tall man, taking off his ill-fitting robe and carefully extracting a Piaoqi Cavalry uniform from his saddlebag, meticulously brushing off dust and smoothing out wrinkles, ¡°We¡¯ll make do where we are.¡±


    When Lieutenant Andreya Chelini emerged from the tent, he was dressed in the full regalia of a Piaoqi Cavalryman.


    The sound of the bugle resonated from the hillside, as Cavalrymen gathered and formed lines from all around the camp.


    Sometime later, nearly a hundred Cavalrymen rode off, and a great fire rose from the base of the hill.


    ¡­


    Only when the battlefield on the west bank was cleared did Winters return to the side of Big Horn River with Xial and Heinrich.


    The tense look on Samukhin¡¯s face finally broke into a smile, the immense invisible weight on his chest shattering abruptly.


    Without waiting for Samukhin to report the victory, Winters, exhausted to the point of collapsing, pulled a large, blood-stained, woolen mass from his saddlebag and threw it to Samukhin, ¡°Get someone to clean it up.¡±


    Samukhin looked it over several times before figuring out what he was holding in his hands. His eyes widened suddenly, ¡°This¡­ how did you manage to take this¡­¡±


    Before Samukhin could say anything else, Winters slumped over on his horse.


    The people hastened to help the civil guardian.


    ¡°Two beacons, one white, one gray,¡± Bart Xialing reported, ¡°The main forces of the Terdun people have gone around Iron Peak County; they¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± was the response.


    People only heard the civil guardian utter a single word, then realized that the civil guardian had lost consciousness.

 Chapter 791 791 69 Torrential

    ?Chapter 791: Chapter 69 Torrential Chapter 791: Chapter 69 Torrential The battle started without any sense of ceremony.


    The sound of horns and military drums echoed along both banks of the Panto River, as the Terdun Cavalry charged into the shallows, heading towards the Iron Peak County militia on the north bank.


    Bard took a deep breath, pulled out a flat-headed arrow, and nocked it onto his bow.


    He sank his shoulders, extended his left arm, half-turned his elbow, shifted his weight onto his left leg while reaching forward with his upper body, and pulled the bowstring back to his ear in a slightly awkward posture.


    To master his 140-pound longbow, Bard¡¯s arms, back, and abdominal muscles were all exerting force.


    His back muscles bulged, his waist and abdomen tightened, the veins in his arms swelled, and his left hand, which was holding the bow, had turned a painful red.


    The process of shooting an arrow was both long and fleeting: the bowstring and the bow made a delicate sound from the tension, and Bard¡¯s body trembled slightly.


    ...


    Strictly speaking, he wasn¡¯t aiming since his line of sight wasn¡¯t directly aligned with the arrow.


    His target wasn¡¯t a fixed bullseye, but an enemy galloping on horseback.


    He wasn¡¯t even holding the bow so much as bracing the bow against the heel of his hand, using his fingers for assistance.


    At a certain moment, as if his heart suddenly stopped or a cold breeze swept over his spine, Bard followed his instinct and relaxed his right hand.


    The bowstring sounded like a plucked string instrument, propelling the arrow swiftly from the bow.


    The arrow flew astonishingly close to the water¡¯s surface, hitting a Terdun Cavalryman shooting arrows while galloping, ten meters away.


    After a brief delay, the flat, sharp arrowhead pierced through the robe, skin, and flesh, plunging deeply into the lung below the left rib, until its energy was spent.


    Air poured into the chest cavity, blood and lung bubbles rushed back into the windpipe, and the struck Terdun man instantly lost his strength. He clutched his throat and tumbled from the saddle, plunging into the knee-deep river.


    The battle¡¯s prologue was heralded by this single arrow, and seeing the enemy fall from his horse, the militia couldn¡¯t help but cheer excitedly.


    Bard didn¡¯t witness this scene because he didn¡¯t care about the battle outcome.


    Only rookies who were new to battle would release an arrow and then eagerly watch its feathery trail, cheering if it hit and fretting if it missed.


    While the stricken man was still atop his horse, Bard had already drawn another arrow and readied his bow once more.


    If every member of the militia had even half of Bard¡¯s archery skill, repelling this small group of over a hundred Terdun Cavalry wouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    Unfortunately, most of the militia didn¡¯t.


    As a result, as soon as the battle commenced, the Iron Peak County militia, outnumbering their enemy four to one, were subtly suppressed by the Terdun forces.


    If it weren¡¯t for the fences and chevaux-de-frise Bard had preemptively placed along the riverbank, his men would have been crushed by the Terdun Cavalry¡¯s initial charge.


    The militia archers shot in a way similar to Bard: four fingers on the string, body leaning forward, bundles of arrows stuck in the ground at their feet, shooting one and then grabbing another.


    The Terdun Cavalry, on the other hand, used a completely different shooting method: they stood up in the stirrups, holding both bow and arrow in the left hand, thumb nocking the string; like a gust of wind they swept past the front, loosing several arrows in rapid succession while galloping, breaking away after each shot.


    Hail-like arrows accompanied by thunderous hoofbeats descended¡ªthe intimidation of mounted archery was truly frightening.


    If it weren¡¯t for the stern military discipline of the displaced people¡¯s camp and the presence of supervisory teams, many of the militia would have already fled in panic.


    ¡°Cowards! What are you scared of?!¡± Ish, carrying a rattan whip, walked among the militia, barking harshly.


    He grew vicious, lashing out with his whip at the trembling militia who hid behind their shields: ¡°Think of your wives and children! No hiding allowed! Deserters will be hanged!¡±


    With the encouragement, coercion, and even threats from various non-coms, even the timid militia stood up and shakily fought back against the Terdun men.


    For the militia, bows and arrows were also luxuries; half of them carried only rudimentary slings.


    Slings had one advantage¡ªthere was no shortage of ammunition as stones were everywhere on the riverbank.


    Occasionally, a militiaman was struck by an errant arrow, screaming for help, and immediately someone would carry him to the rear to avoid affecting morale.


    Just as often, Terdun men would fall from their horses, their fate much more pitiful. With no one to help, they were sometimes trampled by passing cavalry, their entrails spread across the field.


    ¡°Full draw! Don¡¯t waste your damned arrows!¡± Ish fumed, seeing some of the militia carelessly releasing their arrows: ¡°Don¡¯t aim at the men! Shoot the barbarians¡¯ horses! Fire two horse lengths ahead of them!¡±


    The shallows the two forces were contesting over had no official name; the people of Iron Peak County simply called it the ¡°Ford¡± or ¡°Panto River Ford.¡±


    There was a time when Horse Palm Ivan¡¯s bandit group ambushed caravans from Wolf Town here.


    Now it was Bard¡¯s turn to defend this spot against the Terdun men.


    The repeated bloodshed at this location was no coincidence.


    Being a tributary, the Panto River didn¡¯t carry as much water as the Big Horn River, but the mountainous forests along its banks were dense, and there weren¡¯t many suitable crossing points.


    For a long time, there had only been two routes to cross the Panto River:


    You could either go through Shizhen, where the terrain was flat and the river narrow, with a bridge spanning the water, or use the shallows between Blackwater Town and Niutigu Valley¡ªthe ¡°Ford.¡±


    From a geographic standpoint, the Ford was the gateway to Iron Peak County. It was inevitable that the Terdun men would attack and the locals would defend, leading to a brutal struggle for control over these shallows.


    After curtly enduring the first few exchanges of arrows, the numeric superiority of the Iron Peak County militia began to take shape.


    Prioritizing firing speed, the Terdun mounted archers¡¯ accuracy and power were limited.


    The precision and force of Iron Peak¡¯s rock-throwing and foot archery weren¡¯t impressive either, but the militia had strength in numbers.


    When the battle became a matter of exchanging casualties, victory¡¯s balance started to tilt toward Iron Peak County.


    Turu Koda, leader of this band of a hundred Terdun horsemen, observed the battle from the south bank, where the situation was clear: the bipeds could only hold on because of the obstacles¡ªthe chevaux-de-frise and palisades. Once it came down to hand-to-hand fighting, the bipeds would immediately collapse.


    sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 792 792 69 Torrential Rain_2

    ?Chapter 792: Chapter 69 Torrential Rain_2 Chapter 792: Chapter 69 Torrential Rain_2 Seeing the ¡°Beast Driven¡± tactic had failed, Bard summoned his trusted Hong Lingyu and whispered a few words to her. She immediately led a dozen armored riders around to the edge of the shallow bank from the right.


    As the Terdun armored riders broke formation, it caused a stir among the Iron Peak County militia.


    For these armored riders were clad not in the common lamellar armor of the tribes but in full suits of black three-quarter plate armor.


    With the sound of horns coming from the southern bank, the Terdun light cavalry tightened their formation and focused their arrows on the direction where the armored soldiers were attacking, suppressing the Paratu People.


    The Terdun armored riders dismounted about thirty paces away, carrying shields and ropes as they approached the riverbank.


    They stayed outside the range of long-handled weapons like halberds and spears, looping the ropes around the caltrops and barricades just as one would rope a bull, then used the warhorses¡¯ strength to drag the stakes away, roots and all.


    The stones thrown and arrows shot by the militia were unable to harm the vital areas of the armored soldiers.


    ...


    Relying on their sturdy plate armor, the Terdun soldiers seemed unconcerned about the incoming arrows and stones, storming the militia¡¯s psychological defenses with an unstoppable demeanor.


    The barricades Bard had constructed had no horizontal beams, resembling vertical caltrop stakes; each one stood alone. The downside was that they could be easily toppled, but their advantage was that they couldn¡¯t be removed in rows.


    Bard sighed softly to himself; the last time he had seen such black three-quarter armor, it had been worn by the pistol cavalry under Castor¡¯s command.


    ¡°Sound the horn, the second section,¡± Bard instructed the hornblower beside him, putting down his bow.


    As if in response to the horn¡¯s call, a shrill military trumpet also sounded on the northern bank, even drowning out the deeper horns.


    The Iron Peak County militia¡¯s formation changed, with the separate group of skilled longbowmen shifted to the left wing, beginning to suppress the Terdun bow cavalry.


    A Terdun armored soldier heedlessly removed barricades and caltrops, paying no attention to the sound of the trumpet. He was clad in the best armor available for humans; unless Tengri turned his back, arrows would hardly be able to harm him.


    A small gap was all that was needed, just wide enough for three horses to ride abreast¡ªthen the cavalry could charge into the midst of the humans. When that time came, he would earn the distinction of being the first to break through enemy lines.


    Suddenly, the sound of thunder roared in his ears, and a massive force struck from above. Even through his helmet, the blow cracked his skull and left blood flowing from all orifices.


    The Terdun armored soldier¡¯s vision darkened, and he slowly toppled into the river. The blunt force did not kill him instantly; he ultimately died of drowning while unconscious.


    The soldier never understood what had killed him, but Bard, watching from afar, saw everything clearly.


    On the opposite bank, the two-legged beings lifted long wooden poles as used in sky-burying ceremonies, and swatted his elite armored soldiers down like flies.


    [Note: approximately six meters]


    Bard finally understood why the barricades had no horizontal beams¡ªif they had, the long poles couldn¡¯t pass through the gaps to strike.


    The few remaining armored soldiers fled the riverbank in disarray. The reach of the long poles was limited; once they put some distance between themselves and the poles, they would be safe.


    Once the armored soldiers retreated, the battle returned to both sides throwing stones and shooting arrows at each other.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fall back, Kota! Tie Chi sent us to assess the water situation, not to fight to the death,¡± pleaded Hong Lingyu, who followed Bard, ¡°If we delay any longer, all of our tribe¡¯s sons will be sacrificed in vain!¡±


    Bard shook his head.


    The Terdun light cavalry in the fording area, like a swarm of bees, seemed to run chaotically but actually maintained a certain order. Amidst the sound of horns, they once again regrouped.


    Only this time, they didn¡¯t break through from the right flank but concentrated their forces for a charge on the left wing.


    The fording area was about a hundred paces wide¡ªinfantry wouldn¡¯t be easily outmaneuvered by cavalry. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bard also adjusted his formation, moving his best longbowmen to his own right wing (which corresponded to the Terdun left flank).


    The Terdun people formed three rows and suddenly charged towards the caltrops like an avalanche, faintly resembling the momentum of a Paratu cavalry group¡¯s charge.


    At least half of the Paratu people believed the Terdun people intended to clear the caltrops with their lives, while the rest of the Paratu people¡ªmainly old soldiers¡ªthought the Terdun people wanted to commit suicide.


    But this impressive charge ultimately just curved in front of the caltrops, and this force of Terdun cavalry turned and ran back to the southern bank.


    Meanwhile, taking advantage of the Paratu people¡¯s attention being drawn to the grand charge on the left flank. A few Terdun riders quietly raced to the right flank and dragged away the bodies of armor-clad soldiers who had been knocked dead.


    The Terdun people retreated to the riverbank like that, disappearing into the woods, as if they had never been there.


    The militia looked at each other, standing there dazed, unable to speak for a long time.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Ish slapped his leg hard, swearing, ¡°The barbarians just couldn¡¯t bear to part with those sets of plate armor!¡±


    Next to Ish, a middle-aged farmer asked timidly, ¡°Lord Ish, did we¡­ did we win?¡±


    ¡°Old man, we¡¯ve won!¡± Ish laughed heartily, wrapping his arm around the shoulders of the middle-aged farmer, ¡°Laugh! Sing! Cheer!¡±


    Ish wanted the militiamen to shout the war cry that once struck terror into the hearts of the Herders, ¡°Uu! Uu!¡ªkhai!!!¡±


    He waved his arms, stirring up the crowd¡¯s emotions, shouting until his voice broke, ¡°Come on! Everyone, follow me!¡±


    The Paratu people¡¯s victory cries during celebrations differed from their charges; a charge involved only one [Uukhai], while the victory cry echoed with two [Uu]s and one [khai].


    Ish climbed up the watchtower, yelling to guide everyone, ¡°Uu! Uu!¡ªkhai!!!¡±


    The victory felt so surreal that many realized for the first time that they had just won the first battle of their lives.


    At first no one spoke out, but gradually people began to whisper. As the militiamen¡¯s voices grew louder, the cheers became louder and more synchronized.


    ¡°Uu! Uu!¡± That was Ish¡¯s lead.


    The militiamen raised their weapons high, tears brimming in their eyes as they cried out in response, ¡°khai!!!¡±


    ¡°Uu! Uu!¡±


    ¡°khai!!!¡±


    The roar was deafening and shook the clouds; the river and the forest trembled along. Flocks of birds in the distance were startled and flew into the sky.


    Jaws, who was retreating, and his subordinates also heard this jubilant post-victory war cry. Jaws¡¯s expression gradually darkened, while the eyes of his followers grew dim.


    Amidst the sky-piercing war cries, Anglu galloped up to Bard, pulling out a letter from his bosom, ¡°Lieutenant, a letter from Centurion Montaigne for you.¡±


    Bard took the letter, broke the seal, and quickly scanned it.


    Anglu, looking at the people jumping and cheering around him, said with some emotion, ¡°It feels a bit¡­ like an army now.¡±


    ¡°Win one more battle.¡± Bard put away the letter, sighed, ¡°Then they can go to the battlefield.¡±


    This was how the Terdun Tribe¡¯s first assault on the Panto River line of defense began, with a sudden fierce attack and ended absurdly, leaving behind thirty-something bodies and twice as many wounded.


    The defending militiamen might think they could breathe a sigh of relief, even believing they had already won.


    But that very night, the Terdun people launched a second raid.

 Chapter 793 793 70 Time

    ?Chapter 793: Chapter 70 Time Chapter 793: Chapter 70 Time [The Battle of Terdun in Iron Peak County] will be a significant challenge to verify.


    Due to the lack of scribes, the Iron Peak County Military couldn¡¯t leave much in the way of written records.


    The new government also failed to inherit the good practice of the old military officer system of ¡°writing war history.¡±


    The remaining directives, orders, and letters were filled with jargon and ciphers, leaving them incomprehensible.


    As for the people of Terdun? They didn¡¯t have a written language at all.


    For the Herders, memories of war are romantic heroic epics chanted by old Shamans by the bonfire, mixed with a large amount of improvisation, classic tributes, and completely fictional scenes.


    Perhaps in the future, some who witnessed this battle will publish their memoirs.


    ...


    But we all know that memory is the most unreliable record because everyone distorts and embellishes their memories to suit their needs.


    Even those who lie may not necessarily be lying, since they genuinely believe the memories are true.


    Only the issues of ¡°War Communication¡± printed on grass paper can help bystanders sketch a vague outline of the war.


    Skilled propagandists are adept at presenting bad news as regular news, unacceptable news as tolerable, tolerable news as good, and good news as a splendid victory.


    Winters obviously wasn¡¯t skilled in this respect, because he honestly informed all of Iron Peak County in ¡°War Communication¡± that Terdun had taken control of the Panto River ford.


    On the night Bard led the militia to repel the first round of attacks, the second wave of Terdun¡¯s assault followed closely behind.


    Before that, Bard had already fended off several probing attacks by small squads of Terdun light cavalry.


    Unlike Wolf Town, secluded in one corner, Blackwater Town and Wugou Town were separated from central Iron Peak County by only a stretch of water, providing convenient access.


    By the time the people of Terdun invaded lower Iron Peak County, a large number of civilians from Blackwater Town and Wugou Town had been evacuated into central Iron Peak County territory.


    The Terdun raiders who looted Blackwater Town and Wugou Town gained little and hoped to quietly enter the hunting grounds of other tribes¡ªcentral Iron Peak County¡ªto try their luck, but they were easily repelled by Bard¡¯s militia.


    However, when Terdun launched their real offensive, the pressure on Bard¡¯s shoulders increased sharply.


    A handful of sneaky plunderers attempting ¡°poaching¡± were clearly not on the same level as the determined Terdun Cavalry aiming to seize the ford.


    The first offensive was merely a probe by the vanguard.


    In the second wave that night, Terdun not only committed more hundred-cavalry units but also concentrated a group of armored infantry for dismounted combat, viciously attacking the weak points of the chevaux-de-frise and wooden palisades.


    Bows and slings were difficult to use effectively in nighttime battles, and as Terdun persistently attacked a single point, the combat became exceptionally brutal.


    The whistling arrows of the Herd Barbarians, accompanied by terrifying screams, on several occasions even whizzed past Ish¡¯s ears.


    Exhausted, Ish raised his mace high and let out an involuntary groan of pain. With a concerted effort from his waist, abdomen, and arms, he swung the mace downward from above, viciously slamming it outside the palisades.


    He couldn¡¯t see where the barbarians were, just smashing in the direction of any moving shadows.


    The makeshift mace, with a core of oak, had layers of linen cloth wrapped around it to increase tenacity, finished with tung oil and pitch.


    Because there wasn¡¯t enough time to dry the wooden core, the so-called mace was exceedingly heavy, more strenuous to use than pushing a stone roller uphill, but it was also more devastating.


    As the mace was about to hit the ground, the shaft suddenly transmitted a jarring shock back into Ish¡¯s hands, numbing them.


    With a ¡°crack,¡± the mace broke in two.


    Ish thought he heard a scream, the crisp sound of a skull being crushed. It was possibly all an illusion, for the battlefield was too noisy, and he could hardly make out anything at all.


    Many of the chevaux-de-frise had been pulled out, leaving behind only a thin wooden palisade between the two sides.


    The Iron Peak County militia used all their might to batter the barbarians outside the fence, using not only maces but also flails with long handles.


    The flail, originally a tool for farm work, now had its striking bar coated with brains.


    Meanwhile, archers and stone slingers gritted their teeth, hurling arrows and rocks over the fence, most of them blindly targeting the general direction of the enemy, as if firing faster would make them safer.


    The Terdun fighters were doing the same thing¡ªconstantly shooting arrows at any shadowy figures through the fence. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ish noticed his mace was broken, yet it seemed not to have broken.


    The linen cloth wrapped around the wooden core barely held the two segments together, leaving the mace looking like a broken arm, with the small section dangling.


    The mace had turned into a large-sized flail, and Ish, out of complaints, lifted it again, panting heavily.


    Another shriek approached from the distance, but this time, instead of soaring into the distance as before, it burrowed into Ish¡¯s left leg.


    Dulled by the fight, Ish paused for a moment before realizing he had been hit by an arrow.


    With his last bit of strength, he swung the shaft against the barbarians outside the palisade, collapsing heavily onto the rocky shore.


    The militia nearby, witnessing the sergeant wounded, chaotically lifted Ish to the rear of the line.


    Seeing more and more injured being brought to the back, while Terdun¡¯s assault showed no sign of weakening, the young horse boy Anglu was sweating profusely with urgency.


    ¡°Send in the reserves! Lieutenant,¡± Anglu urged as he rode up to Bard, requesting again, ¡°This can¡¯t go on, or the line will collapse!¡±


    Bard, who was observing the battle, seemed devoid of any emotion, ¡°It¡¯s not time yet.¡±

 Chapter 794 794 70 Time_2

    ?Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 Chapter 794: Chapter 70 Time_2 ¡°They won¡¯t hold out.¡±


    ¡°They can hold on, I know their limit,¡±


    ¡°Then send in the cavalry!¡± Anglu gripped his knife handle tightly, ¡°I¡¯ll lead a charge from the side.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the time yet.¡±


    Anglu wanted to argue more, but Bard gestured for him to be silent.


    Bard narrowed his eyes, listening attentively. Soon, Anglu heard it too.


    The dull sound of hooves grew louder and closer.


    Anglu¡¯s pupils dilated suddenly¡ªThe sound of hooves wasn¡¯t coming from the opposite bank of the river, but from behind them!


    ...


    Was it reinforcements? Or¡­


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Bard shouted, ¡°Reserves! Get into chariot formation!¡±


    There were no reinforcements tonight, only enemies.


    From the southeast direction, on the road leading to Shizhen, groups of cavalry were cresting the hill, charging straight towards the ford.


    Spears glinted with cold light, the sound of hooves was like sudden, fierce rain.


    In the Herde language, ¡°to battle¡± and ¡°to rob¡± are the same word, meaning that war is actually an economic activity.


    Therefore, Herders dislike direct confrontation in battle, as even victory would be a losing deal. Flanking, encircling, pulling away, leveraging the advantage of four legs to annihilate the enemy in motion¡ªthat¡¯s the true skill of the Herders.


    If Herders choose to face the enemy head-on, there must be a compelling reason¡ªfor instance, a ¡°surprise troop¡± that had secretly crossed the river upstream.


    The one leading this cavalry was none other than the centurion ¡°Corpse Chewer,¡± who had just confronted Bard.


    Corpse Chewer¡¯s previous mission wasn¡¯t actually to capture the ford, but to scout for intelligence. Attacking the ford with a hundred cavalry was Corpse Chewer¡¯s own initiative.


    A victory would naturally be a great achievement. If they lost, well¡­ then they would have to atone for their failure with their achievements.


    Having been repelled last time, Corpse Chewer had left behind over thirty corpses. This time, while crossing the heavily wooded upstream, many of his men were swept away by the river.


    Without having obtained any spoils of war, about half of his hundred or so men had already perished. Without a substantial profit, it was hard to say what awaited Corpse Chewer.


    It was with this strong motive that Corpse Chewer plunged headfirst into a pitfall.


    Those following Corpse Chewer, the Terdun riders, hurriedly pulled their horses to a stop, but some were too slow to react and heavily trampled Corpse Chewer and his warhorse into the pit.


    It was when his chest vertebrae were crushed by his men¡¯s warhorses that Corpse Chewer finally realized¡ªthe bipeds had also set up defenses behind them. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With Kota¡¯s life or death uncertain, the other Terdun riders panicked for a moment.


    A red-plumed rider gritted his teeth and roared, ¡°[Herde Language] Corpse Chewer is dead! I am Kota! Quick, go kill the bipeds! Kill!¡±


    Leading by example, the red-plumed rider stepped over Corpse Chewer¡¯s body and warhorse, crossing the pit and attacking the ford from behind. The other Terdun people subconsciously followed the one daring enough to command.


    ¡°Smaller scale than I expected,¡± Bard watched as the Terdun cavalry clashed with the chariot formation again, ¡°Anglu!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu was invigorated.


    ¡°Take the hidden path out, and give me a stab at the Terdun people¡¯s flank!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Anglu¡¯s spirits soared, and he quickly drew his cavalry saber and rushed back to his men.


    Including Anglu, there were only thirty riders in the cavalry unit, each with their saddles prepared, just waiting for the signal to charge.


    ¡°Pantalevich!¡± a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, waving his father¡¯s handed-down Dusack cavalry saber, excitedly asked Anglu, ¡°Is it our turn?¡±


    ¡°You, stand at the very back.¡± Anglu kept a straight face, unusually serious for once and adopting the air of a commander, ¡°Keep close to the formation, and don¡¯t piss your pants in fear later.¡±


    The cavalry unit under Bard was a mixed bag, including the underage Dusacks, well-off farmers who knew how to ride, and even sons from manor owners who volunteered to join.


    Anglu was not eloquent; he didn¡¯t know how to stir morale with words, nor was there time for it.


    He drew his cavalry saber, looked at the faces before him¡ªsome weather-worn, some still youthful¡ªsniffed, and said, ¡°Follow me, I¡¯ll be at the very front. If I die, keep charging forward.¡±


    Finished, he gently tapped his red-maned mount with his boot heel and without looking back, plunged into the woodland along the riverbank.


    The fight around the chevaux-de-frise and barriers had reached a critical moment; Terdun people, Paratu people¡­ they were all human, and facing imminent death, they all wanted to turn and flee.


    Both sides were hanging on by a thread, and whoever showed sign of defeat first would trigger a domino effect of collapse, because no one dared to retreat even a step.


    The men gritted their teeth, their eyes wide, breathing heavily, enduring pain and torment as they desperately tried to kill one another.


    The Terdun people heard the sound of battle coming from behind their camp and knew that the encircling surprise flanking soldiers had arrived, boosting their morale.


    A burly Terdun man known as ¡°The Bear¡± bellowed as he rushed towards the barrier, confronting the swinging billhooks and flails.


    The militia of Iron Peak County only saw a figure encased in iron armor, two shields strapped to his shoulders, a bear-like beast embracing the barrier and, with a roar like a bear uprooting a tree, he violently pulled up a wooden stake from the ground.


    The militiamen swung their flails in terror at this humanoid beast, but the enemy, seemingly impervious to pain and without a weapon, simply lifted the wooden stake and roared into the barrier¡¯s defenses.


    ¡°The Bear,¡± relying solely on his brutish strength, swung the over three-meter-long log in his hands. The Iron Peak County militiamen who couldn¡¯t dodge in time had their chests collapsed, and no one could get near ¡°The Bear.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Break the formation! Break the formation!¡± Other Terdun people were incited until their eyes reddened, howling as they squeezed towards the small breach, ¡°[Herde Language] The gods above!¡±

 Chapter 795 795 70 Time_3

    ?Chapter 795: Chapter 70 Time_3 Chapter 795: Chapter 70 Time_3 The sound of hooves thundered, and a succession of warhorses splashing through water came from behind, making the Terdun people by the fence believe some noble was eager for glory.


    A few members of the Terdun Cavalry cursed in fury and desperation, but before the words had fully escaped their mouths, they turned into shrieks of alarm.


    For they saw a chestnut warhorse floating on the surface of the water like Pegasus, charging toward them with irresistible force.


    More and more riders emerged in quick succession from the bushes on the riverbank, their warhorses seemingly unable to sink into the water, storming toward the Terdun people from the side and rear.


    Those besieging the fence tasted once more the classic Anvil Hammer Tactic.


    ¡°§µ§â§Ñ!¡± Anglu roared, his blade rose and fell, slicing off half a head¡ªthe victim never even realizing what happened. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Equipped with felt breastplates, the red-maned horses charged through the Terdun lines, not slowing in the slightest.


    ...


    The Terdun people scattered in terror, avoiding the red manes only to be met by the yellow and white ones, and other Iron Peak County riders, fiercely spurring their warhorses to charge.


    Terdunden fell, sliced, smashed, trampled; their will to fight evaporated.


    They were a horse-taming clan, ill-prepared for infantry battle, let alone experiencing a full-force side charge.


    The Terdun people scattered, fleeing in every direction as Anglu swung his saber, mercilessly driving them into deeper water.


    The water grew deeper and swifter; the fleeing Terdun people realized too late that the icy river had risen above their knees.


    Barely able to stand, they found even more fierce cavalry herding more Terdun people into the deep water.


    Eventually, one by one, Terdun men¡ªexhausted¡ªlost their balance and were swept away by the river, vanishing after a few bobs.


    With fewer and fewer Terdun men left on the riverbed, Anglu ordered decisively, ¡°No captives! Kill them all!¡±


    Just as Anglu tightened his knees, ready for one last charge, a hail of hoofbeats approached from the south bank.


    The Terdun commanders had dispatched another troop of cavalry aimed straight at Anglu¡¯s backend.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± Anglu pulled the reins, leading his men back along the original route to the north bank.


    The pursuing Terdun Cavalry, attempting to follow Anglu onto the north bank, repeatedly slipped and fell into the water.


    Not until the following morning, when the Iron Peak County militia began removing submerged stakes and dismantling the bridge, would the Terdun people fully understand what had happened.


    The incursion of the armored Terdun warriors called ¡°Bear¡± finally faded; Anglu¡¯s charge swept away the remaining Terdun forces.


    No Terdun person crossed the gap in the fence again, except for ¡°Bear,¡± who, panting heavily, leaned against a stake barely supporting himself.


    A militiaman cautiously approached this bear-like brute, who did not react¡­ he simply had no strength left.


    Suddenly, all the militia grew bold, swinging muskets, flails, and clubs from every direction at ¡°Bear.¡±


    ¡°Bear¡± was struck down by a rain of blows, the militiamen pummeling the bear-like brute frantically as if to vent some long-suppressed emotion.


    Many shouted as they swung, having fought in silence earlier, teeth tightly clenched, uttering not a sound.


    ¡°Enough!¡± Bard commanded coldly.


    The militia halted one after another, some standing dumbfounded, others crying.


    Perhaps due to sturdy armor, tenacious vitality, or a last resurgence of energy, ¡°Bear¡± was not yet dead; a sigh-like groan escaped his throat.


    ¡°He too was a brave man.¡± Bard removed his cap, ¡°Give him a quick end, and do not cut off his ears or head.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Ish, who had already had the arrow removed from his leg, limped to the dying Terdun man¡¯s side.


    He drew his dagger, made a bow, removed ¡°Bear¡¯s¡± neck protection, and slit ¡°Bear¡¯s¡± throat.


    The sound of throat-cutting was unpleasant, blood gushing out, some militiamen unable to help vomiting.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Ish remarked, wiping his dagger.


    Meanwhile, Bard received a letter, delivered by a green-crested messenger riding at full speed.


    ¡°Prepare for evacuation,¡± Bard handed the letter to Anglu, who had returned to camp, ¡°Captain Montaigne is coming.¡±


    Just under a kilometer to the northeast of the forded field,


    Winters arrived at the ¡°battlefield¡± with the main force.


    But the ¡°battlefield¡± he chose was serene, and most of his ¡°troops¡± were armed not with weapons, but with shovels, picks, and baskets.


    ¡°This is it.¡± Winters reined in his warhorse, looked back at the hundreds of faces behind him, ¡°Begin.¡±

 Chapter 796 796 71 Space

    ?Chapter 796: Chapter 71 Space Chapter 796: Chapter 71 Space ¡°No need for me to say more,¡± Ronald¡¯s voice echoed in the quiet forest, ¡°You¡¯ve come here because on that small river beach lie your daughters! Wives! Mothers!¡±


    Standing before Ronald were hundreds, perhaps thousands of fathers, husbands, and sons filled with rage, old ones in their forties or fifties, young ones but fifteen or sixteen.


    Among them, only a small fraction had knives, spears, bows, and arrows; most clutched clubs with the bark not yet scraped off.


    But without exception, each man gripped his weapon tightly, so tightly his knuckles turned white.


    ¡°The Herd tribes are like clumsy thieves,¡± Monk Saul had once asserted, ¡°setting out full of confidence and insatiable greed. But once they actually seize some valuable goods, they become terrified and skittish, ready to flee at the slightest rustle in the grass. When Terdon people are on their return journey, that is when they are at their most vulnerable.¡±


    Just as Monk Saul said, the elated Terdon chieftains could hardly wait to transport the looted women, livestock, and treasures away.


    Ronald watched the Terdon people select the ford, divide the camp, and gather the sheepskin rafts¡­


    ...


    At the same time, men from the Iron Peak County Military, still willing to fight, continuously flocked to this location from various secret camps.


    Monk Saul urgently advised Ronald to hold back until half of the Terdon people had crossed the river.


    But for Ronald, half of the Terdon crossing meant hundreds of Paratu People were being taken away.


    He couldn¡¯t wait for that moment; he had to strike now.


    ¡°Just beyond that river,¡± Ronald said, his cheekbones marked with two stripes of blood, ¡°your daughters, wives, mothers will be driven into the wilderness like livestock, to become slaves of heretics! Forever, forever, unable to return!¡±


    Red stripes on the face were a custom of the Paratu clan, signifying that the person bearing them carried a great shame. Yet at that moment, men in the forest of all bloodlines, religions, and origins, bore the blood marks.


    After leaving the Land Academy, Ronald had spent years in civil service, and making speeches in front of troops was not his forte.


    He took the lance from Adam¡¯s hand, and ended his mobilization with a short address, ¡°Those who wish to give their wives and daughters to the Herd barbarians, stay here. Those who wish to kill the Herd barbarians, follow me!¡±


    ¡­


    As the men of Iron Peak County bellowed and charged the crossing, a hundred kilometers to the northeast, the Terdon Tribe vanguard, the great Nayen, uncle of the Fire-Starter [Tie Chi], was also fiercely attacking the Fort Via Panto.


    Time and space, how ordinary yet how magical they are.


    They do not shift for anyone¡¯s will, but both sides of the war desperately vie for them.


    Ronald was racing against time; he had to defeat the barbarians at the ford before the enemy reinforcements arrived, otherwise it would be his own annihilation.


    The same was true for Tie Chi; every moment of delay meant a diminution of the great encircling power of the Terdon Tribe; he had to take Fort Via Panto before the Iron Peak County Military could react.


    And seizing time was inherently about gaining space, such was the marvel of war.


    After the first two attacks, Tie Chi had confirmed that the garrison at Fort Via Panto was not elite ¨C four to five hundred men, no armored soldiers, not even a single musket to be found.


    As more troops arrived, Tie Chi¡¯s forces gained an overwhelming advantage.


    Storming fortresses was not a strength of the Herd tribes, but Tie Chi, who had seen much, had also accumulated some experience.


    Facing barricades, fences, and ditches, the horses, which the tribe¡¯s men treated as extensions of their limbs, were not only useless but a hindrance.


    Therefore, Tie Chi concentrated his armored men to dismount and fight on foot, attacking the enemy¡¯s barricades on the left and right flanks, covered by powerful archers.


    At the same time, Tie Chi selected three hundred-man cavalry units to cross upstream through the woods and over the river.


    One part to cut off the retreat from Fort Via Panto, another to feign an attack on the upstream town, distracting the forces of Iron Peak County.


    Tie Chi was determined on his third assault.


    Just as Tie Chi had predicted, the defenders at Fort Via Panto fought valiantly but were simply too few and could not cover all sides.


    Even before the encircling surprise troops arrived, the defenders at Fort Via Panto were already on the verge of collapse.


    But [Bard of Gerard] probably would not agree with the term ¡°collapse.¡±


    As the Terdon people charged fiercely, Bard followed the pre-set plan and organized his men to retreat in an orderly fashion.


    The wounded from the previous day had already been evacuated before dawn, and Bard personally led most of the militia and the newly injured towards the wilderness to the northeast.


    The remaining militia were led by Anglu, covering the rear.


    After the Terdon people broke into the camp, Anglu set fire to both the fortifications and the coastal woods, leading his cavalry laden with non-riding militia along the road toward the direction of Shizhen.


    And what was Winters doing at this moment, having arrived at the battlefield the night before?


    He was killing.


    ¡°Lance!¡± Winters reached out his hand behind him.


    Xial, who was originally holding a short javelin, promptly unhooked the lance and passed it to Winters with understanding.


    Winters raised the lance high and swept it downward fiercely, the swallowtail flag on its head fluttering loudly, ¡°Push them into the river!¡±


    His roar echoed through the mountains and across the river.


    The bugler sounded the charge, and the small drums of the infantry platoons followed in rhythm.


    The soldiers held their spears level, stepping quickly to the urgent beat, and pressed in large strides against the enemy.


    The road linking Fort Via Panto and Shizhen was a narrow path squeezed between a mud cliff and the Panto River, aptly described by ¡°mountain and river, inside and out.¡±


    On this narrow path, at its widest less than thirty meters and at its narrowest under ten meters, the three Terdon one-hundred-man cavalry units intent on a flanking maneuver met their doom.


    S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 797 797 71 Space_2

    ?Chapter 797: Chapter 71 Space_2 Chapter 797: Chapter 71 Space_2 The battle was like catching a thief in a narrow alley.


    The Fifth Company stationed in Shizhen was blocking the south, while the Sixth Company, personally led by Winters, was blocking the north.


    The surviving Terdun Barbarians were trapped between the river, the earthen cliffs, and two forests of long spears, with their space to move growing ever smaller.


    A trapped beast will still fight; the Terdun Barbarians made several attempts to break through the lines of the Fifth and Sixth Companies, all ending in failure¡ªWinters¡¯s warriors were not so easily shaken by a few daredevil men of Terdun.


    The front-line soldiers and Centurions, clad in armor, were hardly hurt by the bows and arrows of the Terdun people.


    Some of the desperate Terdun people threw themselves into the Panto River, hoping to swim back to the West Bank.


    Others, however, were unwilling to enter the water no matter what; to wade to the East Bank and soak in the icy, bone-chilling river water was an experience no one wanted to taste again.


    ...


    Moreover, a good number of Terdun people had already drowned on their way here. To swim back now? Better to die swiftly under a sharp blade!


    There were also Terdun Barbarians who desperately decided to abandon their Warhorses, scale the earthen cliff on the eastern side of the road, and flee into the mountain forest.


    Winters watched the flustered Terdun people jumping into the river and climbing up the cliff, then turned to give the bugler instructions, ¡°Charge step.¡±


    The bugler was slightly stunned at first but soon snapped to attention, his cheeks puffed out and face turned red as he blew a different tune.


    Upon hearing the charge music, the small drums in each company began to echo back, the rhythm of the drumbeat suddenly accelerating from eighty to one hundred and twenty beats per minute.


    In both the southern and northern frontlines, many soldiers fell out of step due to not being able to react in time, causing the lines to become loose and chaotic.


    However, the fighting will of the Terdun Barbarians, who only wanted to flee, was already gone, and they lacked the ability to take advantage of the opportunity.


    The displaced soldiers quickly caught up with their rows, and the lines became complete and unbreakable once again.


    Winters had no complaints about this.


    There are basically two forms of combat:


    One is a chaotic fight with around a hundred people, where there is no formation or order, it¡¯s like a fierce wind and sudden rain, testing courage, martial skill, and the commander¡¯s voice;


    The other is where thousands of troops are deployed in the open field, where the brave cannot advance alone and the cowardly cannot retreat alone, relying on discipline, willpower, and collaboration.


    Winters had only commanded thousands of troops once, and that was under the walls of Bianli City.


    Even then, he was only an adviser; the decision maker and executor were someone else.


    Since the establishment of Wolf Town¡¯s army, Winters hadn¡¯t fought a true ¡°pitched battle,¡± and his troops naturally hadn¡¯t amassed any experience in large-scale battles.


    On the contrary, the company commanders and soldiers under Winters¡¯s command were all battle-hardened veterans¡ªthose with ¡°wild¡± experience.


    They were experts in the former style of combat: a hundred or so men, in a limited battlefield, conducting raids or counter-raids, short in duration but intense.


    Like taking a bucket with a short plank to put out a fire, Winters wasn¡¯t considering how to fix the short plank for the time being, but rather how to better use the existing bucket to carry more water.


    Winters¡¯s encirclement was tightening, and as if some barrier had shattered, the desperate Terdun people began abandoning their Warhorses in droves, climbing towards the low cliff.


    Compared to swimming across, the chance of survival by escaping into the mountain forest was indeed higher.


    The low cliff was less than three meters high, and a thin Terdun slave called ¡°Monkey,¡± true to his name and as agile as one, had already reached the top of the cliff after a few steps.


    Monkey thought he was saved; he hung off the edge of the cliff, fumbling for a spot on the grassy top where he could find leverage to pull himself up.


    Suddenly, an agonizing, bone-piercing pain shot through his hands, followed by a second blow.


    Monkey screamed in terror as he lost feeling in his right hand; amidst the excruciating pain, he could even feel blood spurting from his wrist.


    With a wail of misery, Monkey fell heavily, clutching his mangled wrist¡ªhis right hand remained on the low cliff.


    The one who had severed Monkey¡¯s right hand was a small axe, not particularly sharp.


    Before this, the axe had mostly leaned against the side of an earthen stove, occasionally used to split some firewood.


    Holding the axe was a Paratu boy, of similar age and stature to the monkey.


    Coincidentally, this boy named ¡°Paulo¡± also had a nickname ¡°Little Monkey,¡± which was what his mother called him.


    Little Monkey¡¯s mother had been captured by the barbarians, and his father had sent him to the north bank of the Panto River, then returned to join the militia in lower Iron Peak County.


    And Little Monkey had cut off a barbarian¡¯s hand, chopping twice.


    The barbarian screamed as he fell off the cliff, and Little Monkey saw that dry, mangled, blood-stained hand twitching faintly, as if still attached to its owner¡¯s wrist.


    Aside from the thrill of revenge, Little Monkey¡¯s heart was filled with endless fear.


    He stared wide-eyed, shouting¡ªas if he were the one who had his hand chopped off¡ªand swung his axe down upon the severed hand, hacking at it several times fiercely.


    Until he was awakened by a slap from an older militiaman.


    The older militiaman didn¡¯t have time to say anything to Little Monkey, after giving him a slap, he lifted his Stinger Hammer and smashed it down on the head of a barbarian poking out from the edge of the cliff.


    One after another, Terdun men fell from the low cliff. Either their bodies were pushed down, or they were struck down while still alive.


    Winters was expressionless¡ªthe militia was late, but at last they had arrived.


    If the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment merely lacked experience in large-scale battles, then the hastily recruited militia was completely incapable of front-line combat.


    The militia only knew how to fight chaotically, to beat down drowning dogs.


    While the fifth and sixth companies formed lines to battle on the main road, Winters sent the militia into the mountain forests to cut off the fleeing remnants.


    With no way to heaven and no door into the earth, the will of the living Terdun people completely collapsed as they threw away their bows and long spears, crawling on the riverbank, crying out and begging.


    The Paratu People could not understand what the barbarians were saying, but they were not mistaken in what the barbarians intended to do.


    The bugler looked to Montaigne the Civil Guard Officer, as did the drummer, and many others cast their glances intentionally or unintentionally towards the silhouette beneath the military flag.


    However, Winters pursed his lips tightly, and until the Terdun people were all pushed into the Panto River, he did not say a word.


    Leaving a small portion of the militia to clean up the battlefield and watch over the riverbank, Winters led the fifth and sixth companies, along with other militiamen, rushing non-stop straight to the northernmost end of the mountain path to [Small Stone Town].


    There, another fierce battle was unfolding.


    Upon seeing the corpses floating downstream from the upper reaches of the Panto River, Tie Chi knew the fate of those three hundred cavalry forces.


    For the various Hurd clans, the annihilation of a hundred cavalry was not just the loss of three hundred men, it was nearly the extinction of a family.


    Even though Tie Chi was accustomed to such sights, there was still an indescribable feeling. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, now Tie Chi had no time to mourn those three Kota because he had hit a wall.


    That was a wall that spanned east to west, a solid barrier blocking his path¡ªand a moat.


    ¡°Where did this wall and moat come from?!¡± Tie Chi¡¯s rage was explosive, his eyes bloodshot, as he grabbed a Green Plumed Feather scout and bellowed like thunder: ¡°The land beyond Small Stone Town was supposed to be open ground for horses! That¡¯s what you told me! You swore by it! You saw it with your own eyes!¡±


    ¡°Nayen! When I scouted across the river yesterday, here¡­ here¡­¡± The Green Plumed Feather scout turned pale, so anxious that he even had a hint of a sob in his voice: ¡°There really was no wall here! Really, no wall! I swear to the gods! I swear on broken arrows! If I lie, let me be shot to death by chaotic arrows! Let me be trampled to death by ten thousand horses! It must be the two-legged ones! It must be them, they are the ones who built the wall overnight!¡±


    In a fury, Tie Chi swung his massive fist, knocking the Green Plumed Feather scout to the ground: ¡°Nonsense! Mad talk! Do you mean to say that two-legged beings could build a wall in one night!¡±


    The Green Plumed Feather scout swallowed a mouthful of blood, having a sudden realization: ¡°That¡¯s right! Yes! Built in one night! Not just a wall but a fortification! They must have used some sorcery, just like the songs sung by bards! Monsters! The two-legged beings must have summoned monsters, built a fort in one night!¡±


    Tie Chi could no longer tolerate such madness, and with a fierce kick to the Green Plumed Feather¡¯s chin, the scout immediately passed out.


    However, even if Tie Chi had slit the Green Plumed Feather¡¯s throat then and there, the wall in front of him would still be solidly there.


    The wall stood silently, observing this farce, its silent demeanor seemed like the cruelest mockery.


    Just as Tie Chi¡¯s forces struck the wall, a hundred kilometers to the southwest, the battle for the crossing had entered its most brutal phase¡ªclose combat.

 Chapter 798 798 72 Interlude

    ?Chapter 798: Chapter 72 Interlude Chapter 798: Chapter 72 Interlude Raid, the magician¡¯s trick for playwrights, often glossed over by historians in their writings. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Records and historical materials often focus on the outcomes of raids, while the preparation processes receive only scant mention.


    As if generals only need to give the resounding command ¡°raid,¡± and everything else will fall into place.


    However, the essence of raiding actually lies not in the moment the battle commences, but in the time preceding the strike.


    High-risk military operations need meticulous planning and reconnaissance: What about the fortifications? The terrain? How many sentries? From which direction should we attack to catch them off-guard?


    Raiding the camps of the Herders is even more challenging.


    Because the Herders know their defenses are weak, they often set up a mass of mounted patrols and roaming sentries, with very close communications between the watchmen.


    ...


    Advancing with infantry, unless favored by Lady Luck, would likely expose their tracks before they could get close.


    The only method is to use a large force of Cavalry, to outpace with speed, to strike horsemen with horsemen, breaking the Herders before they can organize effectively.


    Unfortunately, Ronald didn¡¯t have this capability.


    He only had a few dozen horses seized in raiding, most of which were unfit for use. Moreover, to avoid the Terdon Tribe¡¯s patrols, he had set up his striking position two kilometers away from the crossing.


    Two kilometers, too far, a charge would be nothing but a waste of energy.


    So Ronald chose a different form of ¡°raid¡±¡ªto walk there.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t as simple as just ¡°walking¡±; more precisely, it was ¡°walking across the riverbed.¡±


    Witnessing thousands of Paratu People file out of the forest and slowly advance along the riverbank, Duodai from Green Plumed Feathers instinctively wanted to flee.


    It wasn¡¯t that Duodai was cowardly, but for the Herders, who live a nomadic life, fleeing was almost instinctive.


    An instinct honed from living in an environment perpetually surrounded by predators.


    Like horses. Horses seem very skittish, even bolting at the sight of a rabbit darting from a hole.


    But if it took the time to identify the threat, the next thing might not be a rabbit, but a bear ripping open its belly.


    In any case, fleeing is never wrong.


    If the enemy is strong and we are weak, fleeing is appropriate; if the enemy is weak and we are strong, first flee to clarify the situation, then you can turn around and charge back, right?


    Duodai couldn¡¯t make sense of the intentions of the bipeds, and was more worried about ambushes in the forest.


    The force from the Terdon Tribe at the crossing was about the size of three hundred-strong Cavalry squads, but ¡°three hundred tribesmen¡± does not equate to ¡°three hundred-strong Cavalry squads.¡±


    These tribesmen belonged to over a dozen different families and leaders, disunited in heart and weak in strength.


    If there were a direct confrontation, who would fall was uncertain.


    Conversely, if they fled temporarily, things would be much simpler.


    The Paratu People only had two legs and could neither catch up with them nor carry off any women and wealth.


    Once there was a gap, the Terdon Tribe on horseback could easily seize the initiative.


    By then, wouldn¡¯t it be easy for three hundred Terdon light-horsemen to deal with a group of Paratu People burdened by women and children?


    The ¡°battle plan¡± was lovely, but difficult in practice.


    Perfect, but challenging to execute,


    for one, Duodai couldn¡¯t force others¡¯ kin to move¡ªKotas were already scrambling for sheepskin rafts, each one eager to ferry his own spoils across the river first.


    For another, Duodai couldn¡¯t bear to abandon his plunder.


    He had already experienced the way of the Paratu People¡ªif they couldn¡¯t take it with them, they¡¯d burn it all, ruthless and devoid of mercy, even more so than the Terdon Tribe¡¯s cherish of wealth.


    If Duodai forced the Kotas to leave behind their belongings only to have the bipeds burn everything, then there would indeed be trouble.


    The drama ¡°The Wheelbarrow, The Miserly Merchant & The Wolf¡± was being played out again at the crossing on the banks of Big Horn River.


    Was it to be the flesh on their backs, or the goods in the cart? Duodai of Green Plumed Feathers faced a tough decision.


    Once, a great military strategist wrote this principle: ¡°If you want to win an assault, you must attack where the enemy¡¯s defense is weakest.¡±


    Sometimes, this adage can be applied in reverse.


    For example, the crossing that Ronald led the militia to attack¡ªTerdon Tribe¡¯s defensive strength was not very formidable, but their will to defend was not weak at all.


    His personal guard quickly brought news to Duodai¡ªthe nearby forests had been scoured, and no ambushers were found.


    That is to say ¡­ were these Paratu People a standalone force? Duodai suddenly felt confident about a significant victory.


    Elsewhere, Ronald held unwavering faith in victory.


    With both army commanders harboring certain conviction of triumph, a clash was inevitable.


    Just as a shepherd easily sorts mixed sheep herds, the Terdon chieftains arranged their tribesmen.


    Duodai himself took command of the armored elite, dismounting at an elevated position to observe the battle. The armored Terdon soldiers sat on the ground, quietly awaiting their opportunity.


    The unarmored subjects and slaves were led by their leaders, groups of about a dozen.


    They either shot arrows from afar, skirting around the formation, or suddenly charged directly, taking turns probing and pulling at the Paratu People.


    This tactic might disperse a disorganized mob, but it could not shake Ronald¡¯s ¡°Mournful Soldiers.¡±


    It was precisely these men, full of rage and volunteering for battle, that emboldened Ronald to go all out.


    The militia of Iron Peak County formed up by the river, using palisades and barricades to withstand the savages¡¯ assault.


    To their north lay an inward-curving river channel, and to their east, a mound created by the collapse of the riverbank.


    The shape of the mound was somewhat like a terrace, with a height of about a meter. The drop was greater the closer one got to the riverbank, and lessened towards the land.


    The militia of Iron Peak County hadn¡¯t occupied the mound, putting them at a disadvantage.

 Chapter 799 799 72 Interlude_2

    ?Chapter 799: Chapter 72 Interlude_2 Chapter 799: Chapter 72 Interlude_2 In contrast, the Terdun men, riding and shooting from atop the mounds, did hold the advantage of high ground.


    Seeing no signs of the Paratu formation weakening, the observing Green Plumed Feathers [Duodai] withdrew the white horsehair signal flag and raised a red one.


    Like bees dispersing and then regrouping, the Terdun light cavalry reassembled and formed a horizontal line in front of the Iron Peak County farmers¡¯ barricades.


    Although Major Ronald lacked extensive combat experience, he could not fail to recognize what this meant, and he bellowed a warning to his subordinates and militia, ¡°The barbarians are going to use Tykes Tactics!¡±


    In the midst of the somber horn calls, the rightmost flank of the Terdun line was the first to move, with other leaders following in sequence.


    The Terdun light cavalry, like a long serpent, encircled the barricades in a counterclockwise motion, tightly gripping the Paratu people.


    At the same time, the Terdun heavy cavalry, clad in armor, still bided its time.


    ...


    Ronald¡¯s barricades were being ¡°wrapped¡± by the Terdun light cavalry, with the thunderous sound of hooves nearly suffocating everyone.


    From the west, the sounds carried over were not just hooves, but also the piercing screech of whistling arrows.


    A middle-aged farmer holding a door plank silently fell, an unfeathered arrow lodged in his nape, still trembling slightly.


    The Terdun men circled the barricades, firing from all angles, rendering the Iron Peak County people¡¯s shields almost entirely ineffective.


    Circling and shooting from horseback, this was the ¡°Tykes Tactics¡± the Paratu people spoke of.


    The horror lay not only in the lack of any dead angle for shooting but also in keeping the Paratu within shooting range of the Terdun archers at all times.


    The hit-and-run technique of shooting from horseback offered the riders a very brief window to shoot, typically loosing no more than three or four arrows with each pass.


    Yet, the Terdun light cavalry circling the barricades could shoot indefinitely, emptying their quivers.


    Against Tykes Tactics, the best strategy was to armor the warriors and respond with a large volume of projectile weapons.


    Armor and long-range weapons¡­ Ronald was sorely lacking in both.


    The militia fought back with difficulty using hunting bows and stone slings, every fallen Terdun rider costing the lives of ten Iron Peak County residents.


    Witnessing the militia fall to arrows one after the other, Major Ronald nearly crushed his teeth in frustration.


    Tykes Tactics meant relentless running, and the Terdun horses¡¯ stamina was being rapidly depleted.


    As the Iron Peak County barricades wobbled on the verge of collapse, the Terdun light cavalry began to show signs of fatigue.


    Finally, Ronald saw more and more Terdun warhorses struggling to even leap onto the knee-high mounds.


    ¡°Bagpipers!¡± the Major roared.


    The militia had no drums, much less bugles, only two bagpipes to serve as signaling tools.


    When the bagpipers heard the command, they took a deep breath and squeezed the airbag tightly. They couldn¡¯t play military tunes, so the Major just wanted them to make noise, the louder the better.


    The tumultuous sounds of galloping hooves, screeching arrows, dying humans¡¯ cries and screams¡­ the sharp, piercing sounds of the bagpipes cut through the battlefield¡¯s chaos, reaching everyone¡¯s ears.


    This sound was so peculiar that no one could mishear it.


    The Terdun people were perplexed, while the Iron Peak County farmers gripped their weapons tightly¡ªthe moment the bagpipes sounded, it was time for a general assault.


    ¡°Lieutenant Adam Ortola!¡± the Major shouted sternly.


    Adam responded with a roar.


    The barricades on one side of the river suddenly opened, and Adam, along with his men¡ªall the militia who had seen blood¡ªcharged out from the barricades, stamping across the beach and water, fiercely thrusting into the flow of the Terdun light cavalry.


    At the same time, another group of militia, carrying sharp stakes, surged out from the barricades, erecting a barrier between the barricades and the river.


    Like an axe splitting heaven and earth, the serpent entwined around the Paratu people was cleaved in two in a flash.


    The Terdun light cavalry outside the row of stakes gazed back in confusion, not understanding what had happened.


    The Terdun light cavalry trapped between the stakes, river, mound, and Paratu people instantly went from encircling the enemy to being encircled, struck with terror.


    Others among the Terdun, too slow to rein in their horses, plunged headlong into this death trap.


    The Paratu people, who had been clashing with the Herders for hundreds of years, understood Tykes Tactics equally well.


    To some extent, as the victims, the Paratu people knew the strengths and pitfalls of Tykes Tactics even better than the Herders did.


    The core of Tykes Tactics lies in ¡°encirclement,¡± and it must be done counterclockwise.


    Since the vast majority of people are right-handed, and even those who could shoot left-handed could not match the strength of their right hand.


    Holding the bow with the left hand and pulling the string with the right, it was naturally more comfortable to shoot on the left side of the horse.


    By the same principle, for cavalry performing hit-and-run shooting, the riders had to encircle clockwise.


    It wasn¡¯t that Ronald was forced to form up here, but that he had chosen this battlefield.


    Forming up by the river compressed the maneuvering space of the Terdun light cavalry.


    The mounds were traps, too.


    It might seem that the Terdun holding the high ground had all the advantages, but once they resorted to Tykes Tactics, this one-meter drop would become a one-way valve.


    The logic was simple: when running counterclockwise, the Terdun leapt down from the higher riverbank and then had to jump up from the lower inland side. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A one-meter high mound might seem trivial, easy to descend but not so easy to ascend¡­


    The encircled Terdun light cavalry were like that, in normal times perhaps they could have leapt onto the high ground with a horse¡¯s jump.


    But now their warhorses were severely exhausted, let alone a meter-high mound, the horses wouldn¡¯t even attempt a half-meter barrier.

 Chapter 800 800 72 Interlude_3

    ?Chapter 800: Chapter 72 Interlude_3 Chapter 800: Chapter 72 Interlude_3 Adam had already led the farmers in a charge, leaving the barbarians no time to think.


    Half of them wielded Stinger Hammers, and the other half long poles with lassos.


    If one person caught a barbarian cavalryman with a lasso, two or three others would come to collaboratively drag the rider off the warhorse. Once a barbarian was unhorsed, he would immediately be clubbed to death.


    The so-called Terdun light cavalry were not full-time fighting warriors; most of them were slaves and ordinary herders.


    Relying on their warhorses to shoot arrows from a distance was something many could do.


    But face-to-face, blade against blade, exchanging blows up close, that was a different matter.


    Without their warhorses, the Herders were no different from the Paratu People; full of hatred, the Paratu People were braver, more ruthless, and merciless than the Herders.


    ...


    The Terdun people in the west who wanted to come to the rescue were blocked by the farmers of Iron Peak County, stationed beside sharpened wooden stakes.


    The Terdun people on the eastern plateau desperately shot arrows, but no matter how many they fired, they couldn¡¯t save those Terdun trapped in the pitfalls.


    If the Terdun could be dragged into close combat, the people of Iron Peak County, with their greater numbers and higher morale, could not possibly lose.


    The panicked Terdun light cavalry either charged into the river or abandoned their horses and crawled away, with some Terdun trying to climb onto the plateau by stepping on the bodies of fallen men and horses.


    ¡°Move the bodies!¡± Adam roared as he swung his long spear, knocking down light cavalry that stepped on corpses: ¡°Move the bodies away!¡±


    ¡°Blow harder!¡± Ronald, who was watching anxiously, bellowed at the bagpipers with bulging eyes: ¡°Blow with all your might!¡±


    The sound of the bagpipes suddenly increased by a third, straining to accompany this bloody spectacle.


    Ronald looked toward the position of the horse-tail banner, waiting for the Terdun commander¡¯s judgment.


    Would it be a desperate measure, or a gamble of fate?


    On the high ground of the riverbank, Duodai of Green Plumed Feathers again had thoughts of ¡°running away.¡±


    Duodai truly hadn¡¯t expected the enemy to have such tactics; he admitted he lost one round, but he hadn¡¯t lost yet ¡ª because not many of his men had fallen into the traps.


    Ronald¡¯s position offered limited visibility. But Duodai had a clear view of the enemy opening their maw wide, devouring close to a hundred of his men at least.


    The balance of power had already shifted significantly, and Duodai felt it was better to retreat and plan for the long-term.


    Before Duodai could issue the order, six armored warriors had already mounted their horses and were charging towards the chevaux-de-frise with roars.


    Duodai could run because he had not suffered many casualties, but it wasn¡¯t the same for other leaders.


    Those six armored warriors who charged without orders, their followers, relatives, and slaves were all trapped within the chevaux-de-frise. If they ran, they would lose everything.


    Duodai cursed in fury, and the remaining armored warriors looked at each other uneasily.


    ¡°Nayen!¡± an armored warrior confronted Duodai and demanded, ¡°The infantry can barely hold on! What are you hesitating for?¡±


    Among the Herder tribes, an armored warrior was not simply ¡°a soldier in armor,¡± the armor itself symbolized a rank in the hierarchy of power.


    Most of the Terdun who could afford armor were chieftains¡¯ descendants, attendants, and personal guards.


    The armored warriors beside Duodai were not his employees, but his shareholders.


    Torn between retreating and going all in, Duodai struggled to decide.


    Seeing Duodai¡¯s hesitant demeanor, the other armored warriors urged him loudly. Some even mounted their horses indignantly, looking ready to take action on their own.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s charge in and fight! Leave life and death to the gods!¡± Duodai clenched his teeth and stomped his foot, ¡°But don¡¯t just charge blindly! You all follow closely behind me, we¡¯ll cut through those wooden forks and behead the infantry leaders first!¡±


    The armored warriors shouted excitedly, each grabbing their spears and mounting their horses.


    Duodai led more than twenty armored cavalrymen down the slope in a formation sharp as an arrowhead, heading straight for where Ronald was.


    This was a true heavy armored lance cavalry, a unit no longer found in the structure of the Paratu Standing Army.


    Because with the increasing power of firearms, the cost and effectiveness of heavy armored lance cavalry did not match up.


    But on this battlefield, this group of fully armored cavalry, some even equipped with horse armor, was the toughest iron hammer.


    Ronald watched the armored Herders charge down the slope with a roar.


    The decisive moment had arrived ¡ª that thought unexpectedly sprang to Ronald¡¯s mind.


    How to counter the shock of heavy cavalry?


    Use fortifications to block, or fill with human lives. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the chevaux-de-frise in tatters, only human lives could fill the gap.


    Fill it with the barbarian armored cavalry, victory; get crushed by the barbarian armored cavalry, defeat.


    ¡°The decisive moment has arrived!¡± Ronald drew his saber and screamed with a martyr¡¯s determination to everyone beside him: ¡°Take up arms! For your families! For your bloodlines! Long live the Republic of Palatu!¡±


    The farmers might have clearly heard what Ronald was saying, or they might not have, and it¡¯s very likely they didn¡¯t care at all about the Republic of Palatu, but everyone roared ¡°Long live!¡± nonetheless, leaning on the chevaux-de-frise stakes, awaiting the moment to decide life or death.


    The Terdun heavy cavalry struck towards Ronald with the force of thunder, and at the last moment¡­


    At the last moment, they suddenly turned and ran away.


    The farmers from Iron Peak County were lost in a fog, not understanding what the barbarians were up to.


    ¡°Rats! Cowards!¡± Having come back to his senses, Ronald immediately hurled insults at the Terdun: ¡°Go back and crawl into your mothers¡¯ skirts!¡±


    Duodai couldn¡¯t hear these words, and Ronald did not shout them for the enemy¡¯s benefit.


    His audience ¡ª the farmers of Iron Peak County ¡ª laughed triumphantly, hurling all manner of foul language at the backs of the barbarian cavalry.

 Chapter 801 801 72 Interlude_4

    ?Chapter 801: Chapter 72 Interlude_4 Chapter 801: Chapter 72 Interlude_4 A frontal collision with the caltrop formation simply meant mutual destruction, and it was clear that Ronald was testing and pulling when the barbarians attacked.


    Facing their first charge, the hot-blooded farmers might have had the courage to fight to the death. But facing the second and third charges, Ronald had no idea what would happen.


    While Major Ronald racked his brains, calling to mind the most virulent curses to insult the enemy and striving to maintain the farmers¡¯ morale from collapsing.


    The barbarian cavalry did not, as he had anticipated, turn around and charge again but instead turned tail and ran, each stride carrying them further away.


    Not only did the horse tails and banners flee, but the other inhabitants of Terdun around the caltrop formation also dropped their bodies and kinsmen and fled.


    At first, the farmers were stunned, silent, then they cheered with all their braying hearts. To them, the battle was already won.


    Ronald¡¯s heart bled, and he could barely stand.


    ...


    To have a chance of rescuing the captured women and children, it was imperative to destroy the organization of the Terdun people at the ford. Without a complete rout of Terdun, this battle could not be considered a victory.


    Likewise, Ronald faced a difficult choice:


    Retreat, the safest option;


    Advance, take the ford, possibly win, but certainly be unable to escape.


    They could only hold fast in camp, otherwise, leading a troop of the old, weak, women, and children, the militia forces would be dragged to death.


    Just as Ronald had made up his mind, the ¡°thud, thud¡± of war drums came from the river.


    Ronald finally realized why the barbarians had fled: a convoy of ships was making its way upstream, and the Terdun¡¯s ford had been taken.


    Terdun only had rafts, not boats.


    A boat meant¡­


    ¡°Reinforcements!¡± The people of Iron Peak County at this moment, with tears streaming down their faces, embraced and cried out, ¡°Reinforcements!¡±


    Sometime later, Ronald met the commander of this fleet¡ªSamujin.


    Coming ashore with him was Captain Apel, whom Ronald had sent to seek reinforcements.


    In the makeshift camp built by the people of Terdun, all the captured Paratu People were rescued, and the reunited families celebrated joyfully and wept bitterly.


    Ronald felt almost oblivious to this atmosphere of jubilation, and he directly asked Samujin, ¡°How many men did you bring?¡±


    Facing Major Ronald, his former ¡°enemy boss,¡± Samujin always felt uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t know how to address him, so he simply opted not to.


    ¡°Just what you see,¡± Samujin pointed towards the ford, where thirty-odd simple boats were moored, ¡°These boats.¡± S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With this answer, Ronald¡¯s expression was pained, ¡°What about Winters?¡±


    Hearing his direct address of the Centurion¡¯s name, Samujin frowned slightly, ¡°I do not know.¡±


    ¡°He just sent you?¡±


    ¡°He just sent me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s too few! Too few! What is Winters really doing?! What use is sending so few people?!¡± From the peaks of hope to the valleys of despair, Major Ronald¡¯s emotions erupted uncontrollably as he pointed at the jubilant crowd around him and roared:


    ¡°Look! Look at them! What will happen to them if the Herders return? What if more Herders come back to kill? They have nowhere to run! Nowhere to hide! They cannot defend nor escape! Winters! What in the world is he thinking!¡±


    Samujin was startled at first, then quietly waited for Ronald to vent.


    ¡°I do not know what you have to complain about,¡± Samujin, dropping any polite fa?ade, coldly said to Ronald, ¡°The blood Captain Winters Montagne has shed, the tears he has cried, the burdens he has carried, have been far, far more than yours! Do you know of his sacrifice? Could you possibly do better than him? What right do you have to criticize him?¡±


    Confronted face to face by a rebel, not even an officer, and not knowing how to describe his rank¡­ and inwardly admitting that the rebel had some truth in his words, Ronald for a moment felt a tightness in his chest and was at a loss for words.


    ¡°Do not worry,¡± Captain Apel quickly tried to smooth things over: ¡°Captain Montagne also thought of a way.¡±


    ¡°What way?¡± Ronald asked, unenthusiastically.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer delegated me here, naturally after thorough consideration,¡± Samujin stated proudly, ¡°The Civil Guard Officer, amidst a bloody battle with Terdun at Central Iron Peak County and learning of your call for help, still decided to split his forces. Please understand the significance of that decision.¡±


    Ronald fell silent for a moment, then put away his anger and asked seriously, ¡°What way does Captain Montagne have?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple, take all of you¡­¡± Samujin raised his hand pointing to the west, ¡°across to the other side of the river.¡±


    ¡­


    The battle at the Blackwater Town ford thus comes to an end. Although it was a small-scale battle¡ªthree hundred cavalry against more than a thousand infantry¡ªit was, in strict terms, also a frontal confrontation.


    Samujin said that Winters was ¡°fighting bloodily¡± with the Terdun Khan¡¯s tent, his emotions somewhat exaggerated.


    Because in Central Iron Peak County, you hardly see such direct combat.


    Tie Chi indeed very much desired to pick a good spot, set up formations, and have a gong-to-gong, drum-to-drum, legitimate main force battle.


    However, Winters did not give the people of Terdun a chance.


    As Tie Chi was desperate for a main force battle, Winters was still busily building his wall¡ªand weaving more baskets.

 Chapter 802 802 73 Weakening

    ?Chapter 802: Chapter 73: Weakening Chapter 802: Chapter 73: Weakening Twenty-six years ago, on a sweltering summer afternoon.


    In the grand auditorium of the Army Officer Academy, an old soldier was lecturing.


    The auditorium, theoretically able to accommodate all the cadets and faculty, was packed to the brim. It wasn¡¯t just the entire Land Academy that had gathered together; many commissioned officers had also rushed to attend the lecture.


    The identity of the old soldier was self-evident. It was Ned Smith¡ªthe Marshal of the Allied Army, the creator of the Allied Army, and the principal of the Army Officer Academy.


    ¡°¡­People today think that decimation is a barbaric military law. But in the Ancient Empire, decimation was just severe, not barbaric.¡± Principal Ned paused for a moment, ¡°In different eras and societies, the moral standards of war vary. We cannot judge the past by today¡¯s standards, nor can we use the moral standards of the past to excuse today¡¯s actions.¡±


    Perhaps to the disappointment of some who met him for the first time, Ned Smith did not possess the so-called ¡°bearing of a famous general.¡±


    On the contrary, he looked more like an old blacksmith in a dimly lit small shop: with large knuckles, rough, dark hands, and a bit of a hunchback, because his eyes were a bit blurry, so he always unconsciously leaned back slightly.


    ...


    Principal Ned looked at the young faces, ¡°War is moral, and war is unfair. It seeks to overpower the weak with strength, overcome the few with numbers, to win with more against less¡­¡±


    In the silent grand auditorium, a young man suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with the rebelliousness and stubbornness typical of his age, and asked loudly and defiantly, ¡°What if we cannot overpower with strength?¡±


    The faculty sitting in the front row turned to look and see which incredibly bold person had asked the question.


    The questioner¡¯s friend¡ªa handsome young man¡ªwas pulling him hard, trying to get him to sit down.


    But he refused to sit, standing stiff-necked, staring intently at the Marshal of the Alliance on the stage.


    ¡°If the enemy is strong and we are weak,¡± Principal Ned signaled the faculty not to worry and answered sincerely, ¡°it¡¯s best not to fight.


    Years later, some people still remembered this scene in the auditorium, some had forgotten it, and others mistook the questioner for someone else.


    We mention this because, twenty-six years later, that young man¡¯s son happens to be facing a perilous situation where ¡°the enemy is strong and I am weak, yet I must fight.¡±


    ¡­


    What strategy should be adopted when the enemy is strong and we are weak? Winters didn¡¯t know, because the Army Officer Academy didn¡¯t teach strategy.


    When Marshal Ned designed the curriculum for the Army Officer Academy, he divided all courses into two categories: ¡°Military Studies¡± and ¡°General Studies.¡±


    If the time allocated for general education subjects such as mathematics and grammar is [ten], tactical courses are [six], content on war history is only [one], and courses related to strategy are [zero].


    To be precise, as the scale of wars has been limited, nobody has been able to clearly define the differences between ¡°strategy,¡± ¡°tactics,¡± and ¡°grand tactics¡± to date.


    When a single battle can determine the outcome of a war, it is very difficult to distinguish between the subtle differences of strategy, tactics, and grand tactics.


    Winters had an imperfect understanding of strategy and naturally had no strategy to speak of.


    However, facing the entirely cavalry-based Terdun Tribe, Winters developed basic combat principles.


    Winters distilled this into three words: [weaken, limit, annihilate]¡ªsymbolized as ¡°Storm.¡±


    Turning back the hands of time, let¡¯s return to when Winters first learned that the Terdun Tribe was coming to raid the grass valley.


    ¡°I recalled all the battles I knew of,¡± he explained the Storm operation to his subordinates, ¡°When fighting with fewer against more, with less to win against many, they all relied on terrain.¡±


    ¡°Our side also has the advantage of terrain. Big Horn River is a natural city wall, and the river channels in the lower Iron Peak County are like a sieve. Big Horn River, Wolf Town River, Blackwater River, Whitewater River, Panto River¡ªevery river we cross, the Terdun Tribe¡¯s combat power will be weakened once. For every kilometer they travel, the Terdun Tribe must detach troops to raid the land.¡±


    ¡°Whether we can defend Iron Peak County, even annihilate the Terdun Tribe¡¯s main force, success or failure depends on whether we can force the Terdun people to change their direction of attack, force the Terdun people to take the route we have set for them, force the Terdun people to enter the battlefield we have chosen for them.¡±


    ¡°Weaken, limit, annihilate; this is the Storm operation.¡±


    ¡­


    The hourglass was turned over for the twenty-sixth time, and Xial woke Winters beside the campfire.


    ¡°The seventh company has also arrived,¡± Xial said softly.


    ¡°Time.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°One-fifteen in the morning.¡±


    ¡­


    Time, time, every second is incredibly precious.


    Under favorable road conditions, infantry can cover 24 kilometers a day, and by forcing a march without any heavy baggage, this distance can be doubled.


    At first glance, 24 kilometers seems close, and 48 kilometers not far.


    However, it is unknown how many undefeated generals have died within this short day¡¯s journey, leading to the loss of their troops and country, disgrace, and a ruined reputation.


    The battle that took place in the central Iron Peak County was fundamentally a struggle for time.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s grand flanking strategy was to take advantage of the defending forces being drawn along the Big Horn River, to circle around to Winters¡¯ rear and attack from both sides.


    Herein lay the opportunity.


    Seizing the time difference, Winters struck a piercing blow towards the opponent¡¯s chest as the fire-warming opponent threw a right hook, repelling the dispersed Terdun fighters, possibly numbering around twenty hundred-man cavalry units.


    Though it was not a rout, and certainly not an annihilation, it temporarily lifted the threat from the western flank and gave the troops a chance to regroup into a unified force.


    The day after Winters repelled the restraining enemies, the Terdun vanguard attacked the fording site for the first time at noon.


    At that point in time, nine of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment¡¯s twelve companies were deployed along the Big Horn River; these nine companies were generally understaffed and exhausted, in the process of regrouping.


    One company was stationed at Shizhen town, and its combat strength was relatively intact.


    The remaining three companies, as a general reserve, were originally stationed at Saint Town and were hurrying to Shizhen town and the fording site.


    The Terdun Tribe, like an arrow, already had its tip pressed against the heart of central Iron Peak County, with the rest of their forces rushing in at full speed.


    If the fording site were to be breached, then Winters¡¯ efforts in crossing the Big Horn River twice would all be in vain.


    His scattered companies would be defeated one by one by the Terdun forces, just as he had repelled their dispersed forces.


    The difference was that the Terdun could escape on horseback, while Winters¡¯ men wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to flee.


    It was Bard leading the refugee camps that held off the enemy¡¯s first and second attacks, securing yet another day for Winters.


    Within that day, Winters had constructed a second line of defense behind the crossing field.


    At the same time, the twelve companies of Iron Peak County Regiment as well as all of the militia from Niutigu Valley, Shizhen, and Saint Town were converging on the crossing field.


    Thus, Tie Chi had actually wronged his Green Plumed Feathers, because Winters indeed had ¡°built a wall overnight.¡±


    As for how bipeds could build a wall more than ten kilometers long overnight, Tie Chi still had no idea.


    What Tie Chi knew even less was that Winters was also building a third wall.


    ¡­


    The warriors of the fifth company marched in silence, in single file, without drums or slogans, even the military flag was rolled up.


    Riding at the very front was the commander of the fifth company, Lannis.


    Tonight the moon was full, a good night for both sides to engage in combat.


    Hoofbeats could faintly be heard in the distance, as if cavalry was approaching the column of the fifth company.


    Lannis raised his hand to signal, the flag bearer unfurled the banner, and the provost marshal immediately took out an arrow, turned around, and handed it to the warrior behind him.


    Each soldier who received an arrow would immediately pass it on to the person behind, while dropping all excess items and gathering toward the flag with only their weapons and armor.


    Without any commands, the fifth company formed a square formation in silence.


    Lannis listened carefully, the sound of hoofbeats grew closer, confirming that they were indeed heading toward the fifth company.


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Lannis broke the silence.


    The rapid sound of the snare drum rose up, signaling to the warriors of the fifth company that their position had been exposed and to prepare for battle immediately.


    The newcomers halted their horses in front of the square formation, just a dozen or so riders.


    ¡°Who goes there?¡± Lannis demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Winters replied.


    Lannis rode out of the formation and solemnly saluted Winters.


    ¡°Are you still fit to fight?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It would be best to rest for two hours,¡± Lannis answered truthfully.


    ¡°Change direction to Niutigu Valley,¡± Winters was not one for courtesy with his old troops: ¡°Tamas is building a third line of defense there, you will temporarily be under his command.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Lannis saluted again.


    Winters assigned a guide to Lannis, took one last look at his old subordinate, and rode off.


    The fifth company returned to marching formation, heading now in a southwest direction.


    ¡­


    If it were a head-on confrontation in formation, a five by five-kilometer open space would be enough to accommodate a grand battle of a hundred thousand people.


    The tricky part about the Terdon Tribe and all nomadic tribes was that with their mobility, they could stretch five kilometers into fifty, or even a hundred and fifty.


    Advance when it¡¯s advantageous, retreat when it¡¯s not, not ashamed to flee, strike only when certain of victory; this was the great tactical advantage brought by high mobility.


    For instance, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s grand detour this time, just the straight-line distance on the map was already over a hundred and fifty kilometers.


    Humans might compete with horses in endurance over two thousand kilometers; but if it were a two hundred kilometer race, they could never be faster than horses no matter what.


    Winters had chosen the central Iron Peak County as the battlefield from the beginning, simply because central Iron Peak County was small enough.


    The Terdon Tribe needed to detour a hundred and fifty kilometers, while the Iron Peak County troops fighting on the inside needed to travel only fifty kilometers, using the advantage in distance to compensate for the disadvantage in speed.


    For this reason, Winters abandoned Wolf Town, Blackwater Town, and Wugou Town.


    The decision sounded easy but was heavier than a mountain of millions of tons of rocks.


    Now, as the Terdon Tribe made a hundred and fifty-kilometer detour, crossing five rivers, they arrived in central Iron Peak County after a difficult journey.


    The first step of combat in a storm, ¡°weakening,¡± had been achieved.


    ¡­


    Unlike the previous battles where the Herders avoided war and the Paratu People sought it out, at this moment, the Terdon Tribe was the one most eager to have a proper fight.


    Tie Chi was crazed with the desire to fight the bipeds with sword against sword, spear against spear.


    A wall stood in their way¡ªmore precisely, two walls.


    One wall was shorter, standing on the mountain road between the crossing field and Shizhen.


    The other wall was long, blocking the Terdon Tribe from entering Niutigu Valley.


    Both walls were rather short, about the height of a man, and an adult male could climb over with little effort.


    The problem was, if people could climb over, what about the horses?


    The people of Iron Peak County called the long wall the ¡°Shield Wall¡± and the short wall the ¡°Dagger Wall.¡±


    The Terdon Tribe simply called both obstructive walls as horse-blocking walls, for those walls were never meant to block people, but to block horses.


    The chiefs of the Terdon Tribe gathered in a military council, determining there were only three methods: breach the wall, pile up soil, or take a detour.


    Taking a detour was immediately ruled out, as another detour would only lead further south, passing through Shizhen to cross the river.


    Not to mention the delay in time, the bridge of Shizhen had already been demolished. Were they supposed to build another bridge upon arrival?


    ¡°Stop hiding your treasures, hand over all the armors and sheepskin bags,¡± spat out Tie Chi viciously: ¡°Without gnawing on bones, there¡¯s no marrow to eat.¡±

 Chapter 803 803 74 Desperate Situation

    ?Chapter 803: Chapter 74: Desperate Situation Chapter 803: Chapter 74: Desperate Situation The essence of the Storm Plan boiled down to just one sentence: force the Terdun people into a battlefield where cavalry could not exert their full power.


    How to accomplish this?


    Winters¡¯s strategy was simple and straightforward¡ªblock all other routes.


    Defense must rely on the dangers of mountains, rivers, and streams. But what to do at the Panto River, where there was no natural terrain to defend?


    The only solution was to create man-made mountains and rivers.


    Walls, that is, man-made mountains.


    Between the two fortifications, the Shield Wall was constructed under the supervision of Bard, having broken ground concurrently with Winters¡¯s mobilization and evacuation of the lower Iron Peak County population.


    ...


    The manpower Bard used came from the refugees of Blackwater Town and Wugou Town.


    Conscripting refugees to build the wall was not solely to meet military needs but also a way of managing and providing relief.


    The total length of the Shield Wall was about 18 kilometers, mostly across uneven terrain difficult for a large army to traverse. The construction method used the traditional ¡°dig trenches and pound earth into walls.¡±


    Bard deliberately left open the roads leading to Niutigu Valley and to the small town of Shizhen¡ªper Winters¡¯s demands.


    So Tie Chi had actually wronged his subordinates.


    The scouts with Green Plumed Feathers did not lie; when they crossed the river to inspect the two main roads, they indeed saw nothing. Not walls or trenches¡ªthe roads were as flat as a pancake, without even a ditch in sight.


    On the night of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s second attack on the fording point, Winters led the main force to the battlefield and used stakes, baskets, mud, and a new method of earthworks to construct nearly 4 kilometers of the Dagger Wall overnight.


    When the Terdon Tribe¡¯s army crossed the river the next day, they were confronted with the sight Tie Chi saw before him: a short wall, not very tall, blocking their way, stretching endlessly to the horizons at both ends.


    Subjects and slaves might feel fear at the rumors that ¡°demons helped the bipeds build a city overnight,¡± but people like Kota and Nayen were somewhat accustomed to such strange occurrences.


    Although the Terdon nobility still had no idea how the bipeds had constructed a wall several kilometers long overnight, they had seen sturdier defensive structures in their years of warfare.


    The real question was, how to breach it?


    ¡­


    Terdun horsemen loaded with soil-filled sheepskin bags took turns charging to the trench side, dropping the soil bags.


    The Iron Peak County militia counterattacked with bows and arrows while hurling fierce fire pottery jugs filled with kerosene, yet they still couldn¡¯t prevent the dirt bags from piling higher and higher.


    The wall was embarrassingly low, low enough that an adult could clamber over it with some effort. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, the Terdun Barbarians wouldn¡¯t miss this detail.


    While horsemen attacked head-on with soil bags, armored soldiers quietly circumvented to approach the wall, cooperating with each other to scale it.


    The watchtowers on the wall saw this, immediately sounded the alarm bells, and waved flags to signal their location.


    A Terdun armored soldier had just climbed onto the wall when a gust of wind sounded by his ear; the next moment, a flail smashed his skull, sending him tumbling down, his head bloody and broken.


    On the other side of the wall, a simple and honest militiaman couldn¡¯t help but excitedly shout, ¡°I killed one!¡±


    Most of the militia were just ordinary farmers half a month ago. Compared to the brutal hand-to-hand combat, they were braver when swinging flails at ¡°thieves¡± climbing the wall.


    Before the simple militiaman could rejoice for long, consecutively more Terdun armored soldiers vaulted over the wall.


    Having just ¡°claimed a level¡± his courage bolstered, the simple militiaman yelled and swung his flail at the Barbarians.


    However, the Terdun soldier calmly raised his shield, meeting the flail with a slight angle.


    The flail head merely left a scrape on the shield. The Terdun warrior took a large stride forward, raising his curved sword and viciously chopping down.


    The stunned, simple militiaman, slow to react, nearly had his neck split in two, dying instantly.


    Witnessing their comrade¡¯s brutal death, the other militiamen scattered in panic.


    The Terdun soldier laughed ferociously, his personal slave uncontrollably knelt and dry heaved.


    However, the Terdun soldier¡¯s laughter was short-lived, and his slave couldn¡¯t vomit anymore¡ªbecause they were both dead.


    The slayer of the Terdun soldier wielded a cavalry lance. The man holding the lance was Bart Xialing.


    Bart Xialing didn¡¯t linger by the body; he had other Terdun soldiers to pursue.


    Ancient military strategists described the Herders thus: ¡°These barbaric people have short and weak lower limbs, atrophied from years of horseback riding, to the extent that they cannot walk for extended periods, let alone fight on foot.¡±


    Of course, this was a complete misconception. The Herders could, when necessary, fight on foot.


    But the very existence of this misunderstanding illustrates that the Herders would avoid dismounted combat if possible, to the point where their enemies almost never witnessed it.


    Once deprived of their warhorses, the Herders were stripped of their most powerful weapons.


    Take, for example, these first-to-scale Terdun armored elites. They never imagined they would become the bipeds themselves, with the bipeds mounted on horses, spears clasped tight, charging at them.


    Bart Xialing, leading three teams of ten cavalry, overthrew the wall-scaling Terdun soldiers with a single charge.


    Then the Terdun soldiers took to their feet in flight, while the Paratu Cavalry raised bone maces high, smashing down on the back of the Terdun¡¯s heads.


    This scene occurred not only in Bart Xialing¡¯s sector but also simultaneously in three other flat areas suitable for cavalry assault.


    ¡­


    Although it was just a low wall, Winters and Bard had made careful plans:


    On one hand, they adapted their construction to the terrain, minimizing the amount of work; on the other hand, they selected positions difficult for cavalry to traverse, taking advantage of the natural landscape.


    A glance at the map might easily give the impression that Iron Peak County was flat terrain.

 Chapter 804 804 74 Deadly Ground_2

    ?Chapter 804: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_2 Chapter 804: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_2 In reality, Iron Peak County is situated at the northern foot of the Golden Summit Mountain range; it is the last ripple of the mountains with uneven terrain and limited pathways suited for large-scale cavalry movements.


    Based on this, Winters had his main forces deployed in three critical ¡°throat areas,¡± while he, himself, was stationed at [the Dagger¡¯s Wall].


    The second and fourth companies, along with the militia support brigade, were stationed where the cavalry could best be deployed¡ªbecause the main artery of Iron Peak County ran right through here.


    ¡­


    Tie Chi and the other Terdon Nayens couldn¡¯t see what was happening on the other side of the wall.


    This wall not only blocked the warhorses but also obstructed the Terdon people¡¯s line of sight, preventing them from knowing the defenders¡¯ deployment.


    Under the banner of horsetail streamers, a few Terdon Green Plumed Feathers could only see those soldiers who climbed over the wall either crawling out bloodied and with shattered heads or not returning at all.


    ...


    Tie Chi looked around; the faces of the Nayens were more unsightly than one another.


    Even without speaking, Tie Chi knew what the Nayens were thinking.


    In the winter and spring battles at Bianli and The Styx, the Terdon Tribe lost many of their people, with many leaders still not recovered to this day.


    During the full moon when the horses were fattened, the Terdon Tribe had planned to join forces with the Suz Tribe to raid and plunder.


    And the result? They barely gained any advantage.


    Then there was this expedition, which was supposed to be about raiding for grain and slaughtering fat sheep¡ªso why had it turned into a matter of life and death?


    The plundering during the full moon could barely be considered break-even; while in this raid of the slaughter month, if they had to gnaw on every bone bit by bit, then no matter how much they looted, it would be a loss.


    [Note: The full moon refers to the eighth lunar month; Blue moon, the tenth lunar month.]


    It was like a thief suddenly realizing theft had turned into robbery, or like a robber horrified to find out that the heist was too hot to handle. Many Terdon leaders began to entertain thoughts of retreat.


    To understand this mindset, one must remember the fact that in Hurd¡¯s low-productivity society, the motives for war were more economic than political.


    All in all, looting the valleys had become filling the moats, and the Terdon nobles were quite unwilling in their hearts.


    Not to speak of winning, but even if they did, so what? Profit? No, loss!


    Currently, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s right-wing army could basically be divided into two factions.


    One faction comprised leaders who had gained their fill and just wanted to quickly send the loot back to their tribe. Consequently, they were lazy in their labor, showing little enthusiasm for filling the moats;


    The other faction included chiefs who had gained nothing and had even lost a considerable number of warhorses and sheep. Naturally, they were eager for a major raid across the river.


    However, the resistance from the bipedals was too fierce, too adamant. Fighting on like this, the Nayens worried that trying to steal a chicken might lead to losing a handful of rice.


    According to what Tie Chi knew, the latter group of leaders were conspiring with each other, wanting the Fire Warmer to intervene and redistribute the spoils of the former group.


    Look at that, under Winters¡¯ rule, Iron Peak County was divided between north and south, and the Terdon people inside were just as fraught with conflict.


    That¡¯s how absurd and bizarre things were; rather than saying this war was a contest of two chess players, it would be more fitting to say it was a scrawny guard dog¡¯s desperate struggle against a lame wolf.


    What the conditions of the battle were on the other side of the wall, Tie Chi didn¡¯t know, but the sack earth siege was going quite smoothly¡ªthe slope piled up with sheepskin sacks was nearly ready for horses to run up.


    ¡°Who wants to climb it first?¡± Tie Chi turned around and asked the Nayens.


    The first to climb would not only receive a rich reward but, according to tradition, also had the first pick of the spoils. However, given the current situation, it seemed the bones would be hard to chew, so no one paid any attention to Tie Chi.


    Tie Chi¡¯s eldest son, seeing his father disrespected, became furiously indignant, plucked up the banner of horsetail streamers, and roared, ¡°Are you all mice or sparrows? So cowardly? Father! I¡¯m going up!¡±


    Some Nayens were annoyed, others laughed coldly, but all remained silent.


    Tie Chi glanced at his eldest son and pointed to another Nayen who often clashed with him: ¡°Wulanghe, go and make a charge.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feather named Wulanghe knew Tie Chi was deliberately picking a fight, yet he said nothing, just thumped his chest in salute before returning to his own people.


    Wulanghe wondered how many bipedals might be on the other side of the wall, not knowing was it not merely gambling with life to rush over so recklessly?


    He thus summoned a Turu Koda subordinate he didn¡¯t particularly like, ordering the other to lead his men over to test the waters. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wulanghe specifically instructed him to retreat back if the situation turned dire.


    For the Turu Koda, however, the prospect was exhilarating; to shoot the first arrow on the battlefield was not only a great honor for a Hurd noble, but the rewards were also extraordinarily generous.


    As for the Nayen¡¯s concerns, he dismissed them.


    In his view, the bipedals¡¯ arrows were weak and powerless, obviously wielded by mere farmers and commoners; the only thing that had allowed them to hold out this far was relying on the low walls.


    Once the Terdon Iron Cavalry leaped over the low walls, trampling everything under their hooves, how could the bipedals not flee in disarray?


    With this confidence, the Turu Koda readied his bow in hand, sped on his horse, and with a roar, charged up the wall.


    Then he tried to pull his horse to a stop in terror, because he finally saw clearly what was in front of him.


    Inertia didn¡¯t allow the Turu Koda to do so; his warhorse neighed as it leapt down from the top of the wall.


    With the wall¡¯s height nearing two meters, the Turu Koda¡¯s warhorse still managed to stand firm, truly a remarkable steed.


    Some Terdon riders couldn¡¯t dodge in time and also followed, leaping down and breaking their horses¡¯ legs.


    The quicker Terdon riders promptly steered their mounts away or simply abandoned their horses to jump down the slope, causing chaos among the hundred cavalrymen charging up the ramp.


    Tie Chi wore an expression as unruffled as still water, as if he had anticipated such an outcome.


    Having jumped over one wall, the Turu Koda despaired at seeing another¡ªor, to be precise, three.


    Wulanghe charged before Tie Chi, cursing, ¡°Tie Chi! The bipedals have built a double wall! You knew it all along, didn¡¯t you?!¡±

 Chapter 805 805 74 Deadly Ground_3

    ?Chapter 805: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_3 Chapter 805: Chapter 74: Deadly Ground_3 The ¡°clamped wall¡± mentioned by the Herders is what is commonly referred to as ¡°multiple layered city walls,¡± or the ¡°Urn City.¡±


    On the second defensive wall, Bard issued the first musket fire order, ¡°Fire!¡±


    The first row of Musketeers pulled their firing levers without hesitation, followed by the second and the third rows.


    After three rounds of volley fire, Tie Chi had been beaten to a bloody pulp, with very few of the other Terdon Tribe members left alive in the Urn City.


    The losses in men and horses did not surprise Nayen. On the contrary, it was the successive musket shots underneath the cavalry banners that shocked everyone.


    The number of muskets was limited, so they were concentrated into use by Winters. This was Iron Peak County side¡¯s first time deploying the musket squadron.


    Tie Chi listened intently to the sounds of volley fire, then opened his eyes wide, ¡°The two-legged ones¡¯ Musketeers, they fire in well-disciplined volleys!¡±


    ...


    Instead of a scattered popping noise, the air carried an evenly spaced, synchronized firing sound, like the beat of a drum.


    Tie Chi strained to remember the last time he had heard such musket shots, where was it?


    He remembered now, it was at a small fortress in the northwest part of Bianli. Last time too, the Terdon Tribe had bashed their heads bloody against trench and palisade.


    ¡°Is it that all two-legged people understand this firing method?¡± Tie Chi pondered, ¡°Or have they run into an old adversary?¡±


    ¡°A two-legged one with a musket? Not an ordinary one, certainly a guard-like elite.¡± Another of the Green Plumed Feathers inquired, ¡°Continue to fill the trenches? Tie Chi? Perhaps we should retreat first and then decide.¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s face was stoic, ¡°Wait a bit longer.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers looked at each other, none knowing what Tie Chi was waiting for.


    On the other side of the wall, it was Bard who was awaiting Winters.


    ¡°I made a mistake in judgement; we shouldn¡¯t have deployed the musket squadron.¡± Bard said tiredly to Winters, ¡°Once the muskets were fired, the Terdon Tribe was going to retreat, we should have waited.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Winters took off his helmet, took a deep breath of fresh air, and signaled to other cavalry to remove their saddlebags, ¡°Pick these up, let¡¯s show them.¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers, the Red Plumed Feathers, and the ordinary Terdon Tribe were shocked to see poles with heads mounted on them being raised one after the other from behind the low wall,


    Not just poles with heads, but also with bloody armor and cavalry banners.


    Other Nayen looked back at Tie Chi, whose face was iron-blue, his hands gripping the reins tightly, his teeth grinding audibly.


    The western riverbank of Iron Peak County stretched about 80 kilometers wide, with both the Dagger Wall and Shield Wall adding up to approximately 22 kilometers.


    After the Terdon Tribe redirected their main offensive, Winters shortened the width he needed to defend.


    But 22 kilometers was still too wide. In some respects, the defense line was full of holes everywhere.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s advantage lay in their mobility, while Iron Peak County¡¯s was in the terrain.


    Thus, Winters focused on defending several strategic chokepoints, while dealing with other areas with cavalry against cavalry.


    The Terdon Tribe could send small elite forces over the mountains and through the valleys to flank, and Winters could deploy cavalry for counter-cleansing.


    Once the surprise troops were destroyed, Tie Chi chose to retreat.


    The other attacking and feinting Terdon forces also returned without achieving anything.


    Winters ordered the militia to collect all the soil bags the Terdon had abandoned outside, for after all, sheepskin is valuable.


    The battle during the day took place at the Shield Wall, while the battles at night were initiated by the Dagger Wall.


    ¡°Why doesn¡¯t the enemy commander defend the riverbanks, and instead give up the riverbanks and establish defenses inland?¡± This question baffled Tie Chi.


    He understood it that very night¡ªat least he thought he did.


    The terrain dictated that the Shield Wall and Dagger Wall were roughly in an L-shaped structure.


    If the [L] was small enough, small enough to fit within the range of muskets and cannons, then the open ground between the two walls would have a term, ¡°killing fields,¡± also known as ¡°kill zones.¡±


    Although the Dagger Wall and Shield Wall were measured in kilometers, their relative positioning still meant a pincer movement.


    The wall was not only a shield to defend against enemies but also a launchpad for attacks¡ªcontent from siege warfare tactics classes.


    That night, upon hearing that a large force was striking out from the ¡°Long Wall,¡± Tie Chi was not surprised; rather, he heartily exclaimed thrice, ¡°Good.¡±


    [Note: ¡°Long Wall¡± and ¡°Short Wall¡± are the Terdon Tribe¡¯s terms for ¡°Shield Wall¡± and ¡°Dagger Wall.¡±]


    He had calculated that the others were bound to attempt a night raid and that it would surely come from the Short Wall; the din of the Long Wall was merely a decoy.


    In any case, once the opposition chose to leave their fortifications for open field battle, it gave the Terdon Tribe an opportunity. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As per Tie Chi¡¯s arrangement, the scattered camps of various leaders gradually contracted, drawing in the two-legged ones deeper.


    Tie Chi¡¯s own elite troops stayed near the low wall, waiting to ambush the assault troops moving out from the low wall.


    As expected, after the commotion from the Long Wall¡¯s sortie, the low wall stirred as well.


    Torches were lit in succession, with endless shouts of men and neighs of horses, and Tie Chi waited patiently.


    Only when the thunderous sounds of horse hooves rang out from behind did Tie Chi realize something had gone wrong.


    Winters was not launching an attack from the Dagger Wall or the Shield Wall.


    He had set up a Floating Bridge at an upstream position where the Terdon Tribe¡¯s vanguard had previously forded, leading a cavalry unit through the woods, striking at the barbarians from behind.


    After a chaotic night of fighting, the Terdon Tribe withdrew to the south bank of the Panto River, with Tie Chi retaining only a small elite force on the north bank to control the fording field.


    Iron Peak County side ultimately controlled the battlefield, from this point of view, the Terdon had lost.


    But the Terdon¡¯s loss was short-lived, at daybreak, they re-entered the north bank.


    Meanwhile, Iron Peak County¡¯s forces had already contracted back beyond the two walls.

 Chapter 806 806 74 Death Ground_4

    ?Chapter 806: Chapter 74 Death Ground_4 Chapter 806: Chapter 74 Death Ground_4 The second day¡¯s assault was even more ferocious than the first. If the first day involved only earthen bags and flanking, the second day saw Terdun people starting to use brute force to break the walls.


    Winters also held nothing back, committing the reserve troops to defend the Shield Wall steadfastly, while simultaneously making a cavalry charge on the Terdun people¡¯s flank.


    As bullets flew and Warhorses dashed, by the afternoon of that day, the Terdun people who had been fiercely attacking just moments before, suddenly retreated like a receding tide.


    At dusk, a messenger with a pale face brought Winters some bad news.


    ¡°Sir, the barbarians¡­ the barbarians have destroyed the horse-blocking wall on the north bank of the Panto River.¡± The young messenger could barely stand, and said with a sobbing tone, ¡°They went west along the narrow paths through the valley!¡±


    When the messenger found Winters, Winters was in the medic tent treating his wounds. Representatives from Niutigu Valley, both cavalry members and both wounded, a tall slender one and a short plump one, were also present.


    ¡°Damn!¡± the short plump representative¡ªcalled ¡°Fatty Nandor¡±¡ªimmediately felt dizzy and grabbed the messenger¡¯s collar, shaking as he asked, ¡°How could the barbarians know about the canyon path? Only locals know it! Who betrayed us?!¡±


    ...


    Tears in his eyes, the messenger shook his head desperately.


    ¡°That path?¡± Fatty Nandor¡¯s emotions were nearing uncontrollable, ¡°That path is so narrow! How could a large army pass through?¡±


    The tall slender representative¡ªcalled Jacob Green¡ªalso turned pale, swaying as if he might collapse.


    Winters spoke slowly, ¡°When the water recedes, more dry banks are exposed, allowing more troops to pass.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be! That path is not visible in summer at all! Even when the water is shallow in winter, it can only allow passage for one person and one horse! How could a large army pass? Sir!¡± Fatty Nandor, as if clutching at a lifeline, violently grabbed the corner of Winters¡¯s clothes, ¡°There must not have been many Herd Barbarians who crossed! There¡¯s still time! We can still make it now!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s too late.¡± Winters leaned against a tree trunk, gently shaking his head, ¡°If even the Terdun people¡¯s main force couldn¡¯t pass, why would I be building a dam upstream to block the water?¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ was it all in vain?¡± Fatty Nandor was completely disheartened and cried out in sorrow, ¡°All the fighting we¡¯ve done, all the blood we¡¯ve spilled, was it all for nothing? We still couldn¡¯t stop them¡­¡±


    Regaining his composure, the tall and slender Jacob Green grabbed the old rival and respectfully asked Winters, ¡°Sir, what did you mean by¡­ the dam?¡±


    ¡°The dam.¡± Winters, relieved, breathed a sigh of relief and slowly lay down on the pine branches and dry leaves, as if a thousand-pound weight was lifted from his shoulders, ¡°It¡¯s just a dam.¡±


    ¡­ sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Eighty kilometers upstream of the Panto River, within the bounds of Shizhen.


    Between the gorges, a rudimentary dam made of wooden stakes, stone cages, and mud had already filled with water, leaving only a small gap to discharge water outward.


    Proceeding from the dam, walking ten kilometers downstream along the river, the river would meet another watercourse.


    Further downstream, that was called the Panto River.


    And the river blocked by the dam was a tributary of the Panto River, the Huiqing River.


    Consequently, the water volume of the downstream Panto River originated from the tributary Huiqing River and the main Panto River.


    The winter was already a season of low water, and with Winters blocking the Huiqing River, the water volume of the Panto River had reached its lowest point in thirty years.


    ¡­


    Niutigu Valley, southwest direction, wilderness.


    Everyone in Niutigu Valley, regardless of gender or age, was mobilized. Under the leadership of Captain Thomas, they worked tirelessly throughout the night to build another wall.


    Here, this was the death ground Winters had chosen for the Terdun people.

 Chapter 807 807 75 Storm

    ?Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm Chapter 807: Chapter 75 Storm In Iron Peak County, Shizhen.


    Within the mountain path, a messenger holding a red flag hastened on horseback.


    ¡°Red flag!¡± The sentinel on the watchtower saw the rapidly approaching red flag from afar and shouted loudly, ringing the alarm bell: ¡°Red flag!¡±


    The sound of the alarm bell reached the town center ahead of the horse hooves, and the company commander of the Seventh Unit stationed in Shizhen, Li Wei, rushed to the town square.


    Three warhorses frothing at the mouth stopped in the square, the leader, a blue warhorse, suddenly reared up, its hind legs buckling as it collapsed.


    Amidst the gasps of the others, the messenger tumbled off the saddle, nearly crushing his left leg on the spot.


    ¡°Military orders?¡± Li Wei strode meteorically to the side of the messenger.


    ...


    The messenger immediately reached for the saddlebag, but it had been pressed down by the warhorse, and the exhausted messenger couldn¡¯t pull it out no matter what.


    Li Wei pushed the messenger aside, steadied his footing, and with a surge of strength from his waist and legs, he forcibly lifted the several hundred jin horse corpse.


    A nearby gendarme swiftly removed the saddlebag.


    Li Wei snatched the saddlebag, pulled out the military order, and tore open the lacquer seal. There were no letters on the note, just a red cross smeared with blood.


    Li Wei was illiterate, but he couldn¡¯t mistake this symbol.


    Shizhen had no separate town or village districts; everyone who could still walk was mobilized.


    The booming sound of explosions echoed through the canyon. The dam blocking Huiqing River was dismantled layer by layer, and the river water, full of potential energy, roared down to the downstream.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, Revodan New Town.


    As the slanting sun set in the west, the vanguard, Ivan, stood on the arrow tower, watching for any stirrings on the horizon, with moist heat seeping from the palm of his hand. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was waiting for news from Panto River.


    Revodan was situated on solid ground in the middle of the valley, surrounded by flat plains; apart from the moat fortification works under construction, there were no natural defenses.


    The main force of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had all rushed to Panto River, and Revodan¡¯s defenses were now entirely taken over by the city guard.


    Whether Ivan liked it or not, as a former city guard sergeant, he once again took up weapons.


    Ordinary people who knew nothing of war could easily develop blind trust in the Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    But Ivan was different; he had experienced the most fickle side of war and feared it deeply.


    Moreover, he was well aware that the outcome of this battle hinged not on Revodan but on the fierce battles a hundred kilometers away.


    However, Ivan didn¡¯t know the situation at Panto River¡ªno one did. Citizens of Revodan and refugees alike were anxiously awaiting the new issue of ¡°War Communication.¡±


    Ivan¡¯s peripheral vision turned toward the central square of the new town. There, men and women who had finished a day¡¯s labor were lining up to receive their pay¡ªfood.


    Richard Mason was also in the square, accompanied by his assistant; he walked past the food distribution stalls, randomly taking bread for inspection.


    At first, following tradition, the people involved in the works were paid with food.


    But the refugees who had come to Revodan had neither mills nor cooking utensils; receiving grain, they had to exchange it for bread, fattening the millers and bakers in the end.


    After much consideration, Mason decided to adopt the method of the Second Unit¡¯s army rations: uniformly producing the bread and distributing the ¡°pay¡± in the form of bread.


    One problem subsided, and another arose.


    The uniform bread production model seemed to benefit the people, but it also gave weevils the opportunity to shirk their duties and engage in fraud.


    Another might have been deceived, but Captain Richard Mason, more proficient in statistics than artillery, was not fooled.


    Mason urgently recruited students from accounting schools to Revodan and began implementing a new, computationally demanding inspection method in bread production¡ªstatistical sampling.


    The increase in scale was an opportunity for the weevils, but it was also a chance for Richard Mason to practice his statistics. The larger the total and sample size, the smaller the statistical sampling error.


    The weevils, ignorant of mathematical tools, were repeatedly exposed, although there might still be some that slipped through the net. But the corpses dangling from the gallows sufficiently deterred the petty criminals for a while.


    Yet another cart carrying baked bread crossed the wooden bridge, and Mason saw who it was and quickly walked over to meet them.


    Mason took the horse by the bridle and apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have you come personally; I¡¯ll send a driver for you.¡±


    Driving the cart were two ladies. Scarlett, dressed as a boy, held the reins, while Anna, wearing a large top hat, sat beside Scarlett.


    Anna nodded slightly, and Scarlett gave Captain Mason a somewhat comical military salute.


    The flames of war had not spread to Revodan, the eye of the storm, enjoying the last peace of Iron Peak County.


    Yet, Revodan ultimately failed to implement a male and female segregation system. However, with the aid of the church, Mason had temporarily placed all the women and children among the refugees in the Old Town.


    Baking bread required a lot of manpower, and the women and children housed in the Old Town also took on a significant part of the baking work.


    Mason knew what Lady Navarre had come to ask personally, and his apology deepened, ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s still no news of Winters.¡±


    A hint of disappointment rose in Anna¡¯s eyes, but she quickly brightened, smiling sincerely, ¡°I think, no news might be good news.¡±


    Scarlett also seemed disappointed, but Michel tried not to show it. She gazed into the distance and asked, ¡°Captain, is the city wall finished?¡±


    ¡°A total of 128 work sections, 113 of which are completed,¡± Mason answered precisely.


    ¡°If the city wall gets finished and the Herdmen ultimately don¡¯t come,¡± Scarlett said with slight regret as she sat back in the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°what a pity that would be.¡±


    Mason smiled faintly and shook his head, ¡°Miss Michel. Preventing the Herders from coming here¡ªthat¡¯s the very purpose of building this new city.¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Hammer Fort.


    Hammer Fort town had two Hammer Forts in total, with the Old Hammer Fort being an aged wooden tower fort.


    The New Hammer Fort, constructed under the direction of Captain Richard Mason, served the purpose of fending off the assaults from Vernge County and was situated further north.


    The new and the old Hammer Forts, one in front of the other, stretched across the main thoroughfare between [Vernge County-Iron Peak County], firmly guarding the gateway into Iron Peak County.


    However, both the new and old Hammer Forts had a design flaw: due to the lack of connecting wall structures, the forts could only block the passage of large forces but struggled to fend off smaller groups of enemies.


    At this moment, the commander in charge of defending Hammer Fort, the ¡°Birthmark¡± Lieutenant, crouched beside a pile of horse manure, his brow deeply furrowed.


    ¡°There must have been Herd Barbarians that got through,¡± old Sergeant Dusack poked the horse manure, ¡°It¡¯s frozen solid, definitely from last night. Judging by the hoof prints, not many people or horses, probably Herd Barbarians chased into our territory from Vernge County.¡±


    ¡°Light the beacon fires,¡± ordered the Birthmark Lieutenant tersely, silently thinking, ¡°Even Iron Peak County is no longer peaceful.¡±


    ¡­


    Lower Iron Peak County, beside Big Horn River.


    Samujin¡¯s fleet not only captured the ferry crossing but also seized a large number of sheepskin rafts.


    With small boats and the confiscated sheepskin rafts, Major Ronald led the militia and women and children across the Big Horn River, setting up a camp on the West Bank.


    A curious reversal of fortunes unfolded:


    The people of Lower Iron Peak County, who originally lived on the East Bank, were now establishing a camp on the West Bank;


    While the people from Terdun who came from the West Bank, left without boats, were standing on the East Bank, helpless and bewildered.


    After leaving behind a portion of sheepskin rafts, Samujin took his fleet and hurried to the downstream battlefield.


    Before departing, Samujin informed Major Ronald, ¡°The right wing army of Terdun Tribe must have seven to eight Thousand-Men Squads.


    The fire tenders have left at least two Thousand-Men Squads on the West Bank as a constraint, and although this part of the Terdun people has been repelled, they may gather for a comeback at any time.


    Civil Guard Officer Montaigne wishes you to be aware that you must guard not only against enemies from the East Bank crossing the river but also be wary of surprise attacks from the Terdun people on the West Bank.¡±


    ¡­


    Great Wilderness, Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing field.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s fertile and lush winter grazing fields have now turned into a hellish scene of bloodshed and fire.


    In the wilderness, the wind direction is unpredictable on a small scale, yet on a large scale, the rules of the monsoons are inexorable.


    Spring-Summer monsoons blow from east to west, Autumn-Winter monsoons blow from west to east¡ªthis ironclad law between the two mountains hasn¡¯t changed for thousands of years.


    Andrea Cherini and Tang Juan led the Cavalry, initially charging westward with ferocity, slaughtering Terdun cattle when hungry, and milking Terdun sheep when thirsty, seizing Terdun horses when theirs died from exhaustion.


    Then, turning back, they used the power of the seasonal winds to set fire to the grazing lands as they passed.


    Like a spark falling into a haystack, with no rain and dry conditions of winter, once the flames spread, they became uncontrollable.


    Dense smoke engulfed the skies over Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter fields, with the scattered Terdun people desperately herding cattle and sheep, and carrying belongings as they fled.


    But where could they run to?


    If the fire didn¡¯t kill them, the smoke could suffocate them. Even if they luckily escaped the flames, the winter pastures were left charred and barren.


    Watching the infernal scene he helped create from the hillside, Tang Juan¡¯s face was slightly grave, ¡°Maybe we went too far; even if the Herders have nothing to eat or drink, they¡¯ll come back next year.¡±


    ¡°They would come back even if they had food and drink,¡± Andre replied in a subdued tone, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll skirt the fire and head home.¡±


    ¡­


    Central Iron Peak County, Panto River ford.


    The river at the ford was once again stained red with blood, a strategic location that had again changed hands.


    The Terdun people stationed nearly a hundred armored soldiers to defend the Panto River camp, while Winters personally led four main infantry companies along with the militia auxiliary forces to encircle and annihilate them.


    Compared to the Terdun people¡¯s previous strategy of hit-and-run or fleeing if the battle turned, the defenders at Panto River displayed remarkable resilience.


    The nature of the war, no longer a low-intensity conflict quickly resolved with one decisive strike and disengage, was revealing a far more brutal face.


    ¡°We¡¯ll establish a camp here,¡± Winters switched to a fresh Warhorse, calling Lieutenant Bart Xialing to his side, ¡°I¡¯m giving you two companies and four Hundred-Men Squads. Do not let a single Terdun get away, nor allow one to enter.¡±


    Bart Xialing, with his right arm wounded, saluted awkwardly using his left.


    ¡°The water¡¯s rising!¡± Xial, galloping in, shouted excitedly, ¡°The water¡¯s rising!¡±


    Xial rushed up to Winters and Bart Xialing, panting heavily, ¡°The water has exceeded the second stone pillar!¡±


    Twenty years earlier, when the Panto River was regulated, masons placed five stone pillars downstream from Shizhen, to indicate the water level.


    Once the water surpassed the second pillar, it meant that the gorge paths exposed by the dry water level would be sealed once more by the rising water.


    ¡°Have the fourth company reinforce the horse barriers in the gorge!¡± Winters ordered without hesitation, ¡°Since they¡¯ve gone in, don¡¯t let the Terdun people come back out.¡±


    Xial and Bart Xialing looked at each other, unsure in what form to convey this military order.


    ¡°Xial, you go. Just relay my command,¡± Winters donned his helmet again.


    Xial saluted and rode off.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 808 808 76 Dead End

    ?Chapter 808: Chapter 76: Dead End Chapter 808: Chapter 76: Dead End The river water was rising, and the fish in the Panto River were the first to sense it.


    Due to the viscosity of the fluid and its internal resistance, mere kilometers from the dam, the cresting waves were almost invisible.


    But there was no doubt that the water level of the Panto River was rising¡ªin a very unnoticeable way.


    ¡°Look! Nayen! Look at those fish!¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s eyes widened as things like bubbles kept appearing in the river channel.


    The undercurrent stirred up the silt from the riverbed, forcing the fish that hibernated in the deeper waters during winter to constantly surface for air.


    Lacking landmarks and hydrological data, the Terdon Tribe found it difficult to determine whether the rise in water level was a normal fluctuation or¡­


    ...


    ¡°You¡¯re saying the two-legged beings have built a dam?¡± Tie Chi asked sternly, questioning another one of his subordinates, ¡°Why have none of you discovered it?¡±


    The reproached Hong Lingyu was at a loss for words: ¡°Nayen, the upstream area for hundreds of kilometers has been thoroughly searched by our scouts, but indeed no traces of a dam have been found!¡±


    ¡°Silence!¡± Tie Chi shouted angrily: ¡°Could the rising water be due to the two-legged beings peeing into the river?!¡±


    ¡°Nayen¡­¡± Hong Lingyu licked his lips, struggling to speak: ¡°Since the two-legged beings can build a city overnight, perhaps¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Tie Chi lashed out fiercely with his whip across the man¡¯s face: ¡°Silence!¡±


    Hong Lingyu took a solid blow from the whip, the struck area burning with pain as he knelt on his left knee, not daring to speak any further.


    If the enemy were to be broken by the force of the river water, the dam¡¯s location would naturally be as close to them as possible. However, the closer it was, the more easily the dam could be exposed.


    Choosing between the two options, Winters eventually decided to build the dam eighty kilometers upstream to intercept the waters of the Huiqing River.


    At such a distance, by the time the water released from the dam reached the downstream, it came as undercurrents, with no waves in sight.


    Sacrificing impact force in exchange for secrecy and suddenness.


    As a tributary of the Panto River, the Huiqing River flowed to the north of the Panto River.


    In other words, for the Terdon Tribe raiding on the southern bank, the Huiqing River was an ¡°invisible river¡± hidden behind the Panto River.


    The side paths of the narrow valley that once allowed four horses to pass side by side were narrowing to barely allow two.


    If the water level of the Panto River continued to rise, this passage would revert to a narrow path that could only accommodate single-file passage.


    Worse news followed: The two-legged beings had taken the ford, defeated the rear guard stationed at the entrance of the valley, and were building new horse-blocking walls, apparently to completely cut off the Terdon Tribe¡¯s retreat.


    At this point, Tie Chi knew they had fallen into a trap.


    ¡°Build a city overnight? Build a dam overnight?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s face was ashen, his eyes glaring with rage, yet he couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Does the leader of the two-legged beings think I am a dull ox or a stupid donkey? He draws a path for you and me, and we are expected to obediently follow?!¡±


    ¡°Should we have the scouts turn back first?¡± An elder Green Plumed Feathers cautiously requested: ¡°Even a rabbit knows to keep several secret passages. At least take back the valley exit first, secure the escape route, and then push forward?¡±


    ¡°Ha! Is there even time left?¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son was uncontrollably furious: ¡°This narrow path is not even as wide as a tripwire! How can our scouts maneuver? The only way now is to mount up on fast horses, charge forward with all our might, and break out from the other end of the valley!¡±


    ¡°Charge forward!¡± Tie Chi straightened his riding crop, his decision allowing no rebuttal: ¡°Go to the ¡®Curving River,¡¯ once at the riverbank, there will be a way!¡±


    ¡°But what if?¡± The elder Green Plumed Feathers was reluctant.


    ¡°What ¡®but if¡¯?¡± Tie Chi glared fiercely, looking straight at him: ¡°I have said, once at the riverbank, there will be a way!¡±


    [Note: The ¡®Curving River¡¯ mentioned by the Terdon Tribe is known as ¡®Big Horn River¡¯ among the Paratu People.]


    Seeing the Great Nayen so determined, the other Terdon chiefs all clasped their chests and agreed.


    ¡­


    Below Iron Peak County, Blackwater Town.


    The change of hands at the ford triggered a chain reaction.


    According to the military orders from the Terdon Tribe¡¯s council, those looting ¡°that river¡± to the south were supposed to act as reinforcements, attacking the north bank in the second wave.


    What the Terdon Tribe called that river was the Panto River; it might have had a name in the past, but as time passed, even the elders of the Terdon Tribe could not remember what that river was actually called, so they simply referred to it as ¡°that river.¡±


    Little did they know that as soon as the main forces crossed the river, the ford was taken over by the two-legged beings again.


    The Terdon raiders who had entered Iron Peak County were split into two groups, unable to make contact with each other, and in the lower Iron Peak County among the Terdon people, rumors started to spread.


    Some leaders were watching and waiting, some wanted to run away. There were also leaders who saw this as an opportunity for glory, urging their people towards ¡°that river.¡±


    Among the large and small leaders, [Blue Horse] and [Stone Arrow] could be said to be the most inconspicuous two.


    For in terms of social status, they were not considered true ¡°nobility,¡± they were enforcers for the nobility.


    In the flattened Herder society, they stood between the nobility and the subjects. Better off than the latter, but still lacking compared to the former.


    Right now, these two inconspicuous Terdon people were doing something they had never thought of before¡ªthey were beheading a ¡°Bald Dog.¡±


    The short knives carried by Herders were normally used for cutting meat, and thus were quite inconvenient for beheading.


    Blue Horse and Stone Arrow fumbled with the task, sawing and prying; the two strong men expended much effort to completely separate the Bald Dog¡¯s head from his body.


    The tent was a mess, with plates and bowls turned over during the struggle, wine and blood splattered everywhere, turning the original clean fur rug muddy.


    Gasping for breath, Blue Horse looked at the head of the Bald Dog and suddenly burst into violent sobs: ¡°You bald cur! Gelding! Why did you force me and others!¡±


    Crying, Blue Horse frenziedly used his knife to slash and stab, pouring out his grief and hatred, destroying the already savage visage of the Bald Dog into a pulpy mess.


    Stone Arrow collapsed on the ground, looking at the crazed Blue Horse, utterly exhausted.


    The two had come to bribe the Bald Dog but ended up in a deadly feud.


    Ever since the Bald Dog had crossed the river, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow had been under close scrutiny.


    The Bald Dog made no secret of his greed to swallow up the forces of Blue Horse and Stone Arrow, causing them trouble at every turn.


    Especially after the Bald Dog¡¯s old camp was raided and burned, getting nothing and losing many assets, he blatantly occupied the campgrounds of Blue Horse and Stone Arrow under the guise of a master.


    Green Horse and Stone Arrow were fully satisfied with their haul and wanted nothing more than to return home quickly.


    The Bald Dog¡¯s attempt to drive the two men to ¡°the river¡± escalated the conflict, and his blatant humiliation of Green Horse while accepting a bribe was the spark that ignited the flames.


    In this internal struggle amongst the Terdun People, the temporary victors were Green Horse and Stone Arrow. After all, Bald Dog was decapitated, while Green Horse and Stone Arrow still had their heads firmly on their shoulders.


    Next, without any surprises, Bald Dog¡¯s Nakors would kill Green Horse and Stone Arrow and then divide the belongings of the three deceased. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Stop it!¡± exclaimed an exhausted Stone Arrow suddenly.


    Green Horse acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard and continued to hold Bald Dog¡¯s hair with one hand while desperately stabbing at Bald Dog¡¯s face with a knife in the other.


    Bald Dog¡¯s eyes had turned into something resembling bloodstreaked cakes, nauseating to behold.


    Stone Arrow stood up and heavily punched Green Horse: ¡°Stop losing your mind!¡±


    Green Horse fell hard into the blood-soaked ground, his normally fierce triangular eyes brimming with despair: ¡°Why did he have to push me! Why¡­¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± Stone Arrow bared his teeth and kicked his companion fiercely: ¡°Don¡¯t alert Bald Dog¡¯s personal guards!¡±


    ¡°Bald Dog¡¯s personal guards?¡± Green Horse¡¯s eyes suddenly turned fierce, grasping at the last straw, ¡°Kill! Kill them all!¡±


    ¡°Have you gotten drunk on mare¡¯s milk? Just the two of us, how can we possibly take them on?!¡±


    Green Horse sprung up, intent on heading out: ¡°Kill them one by one!¡±


    ¡°And what then after killing them?¡± Stone Arrow pushed his companion forcefully: ¡°Can you and I escape?¡±


    ¡°Say it was the Two-Legs who killed them!¡±


    ¡°Who would that deceive?¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest we do?¡± Green Horse cried hysterically: ¡°Then tell me, what do you propose we do?!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Stone Arrow forcefully held down Green Horse, biting his teeth: ¡°We must run! Only by fleeing do we stand a chance to live.¡±


    ¡°How can we possibly escape?¡± near breakdown, asked Green Horse.


    ¡°Just the two of us!¡± Stone Arrow racked his brain, planning: ¡°Apart from horses and provisions, take no other goods. Run day and night! If we make it back to the grasslands, we can live!¡±


    ¡°Even if we run back to the grasslands, there¡¯s nowhere for us to go!¡± Green Horse lamented: ¡°The fire tenders won¡¯t spare us!¡±


    Green Horse violently grabbed Stone Arrow, trembling in his shoulders: ¡°Let¡¯s surrender! To the Two-Legs! Better to be slaves or to be riders, the Two-Legs will give us a chance to live.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish!¡± Stone Arrow¡¯s mood gradually cooled: ¡°The Two-Legs won¡¯t give us a way out.¡±


    ¡°We could be picked on poles for a thousand arrows to shoot us to death, or be stuffed in hides for ten thousand horses to trample us to death¡­¡± Green Horse looked at the knife in his hand: ¡°Better to end it quickly ourselves.¡±


    ¡°The Terdun Tribe can no longer accommodate us, and a lone horse cannot survive.¡± Stone Arrow had made up his mind, clutching his companion¡¯s shoulders fiercely: ¡°Red River Tribe! White Lion! Let¡¯s go to White Lion!¡±


    Green Horse¡¯s body went stiff, shock rendering him speechless.


    Somewhat later, the flames consumed the camp, and the remaining Terdun People were too busy salvaging their goods and livestock to notice that Stone Arrow and Green Horse had fled.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, within Niutigu Valley, on the East Bank dam of Panto River.


    Enclosed by hopelessness, Stone Arrow and Green Horse abandoned everything for a slim chance of life.


    And at that moment, Tie Chi could not even see that slim chance of life.


    ¡°We¡¯ll find a way at the riverbank,¡± were Tie Chi¡¯s original words.


    The south of the Terdun People bordered the river, the North was the valley, beyond that the forests, and to the East, their escape route was already blocked.


    Because of Tie Chi¡¯s assurance, the chieftains of the Terdun Tribe suppressed their disquiet and fear, leading their people westward along the river valley.


    The further west they went, the closer they got to the confluence of the Panto River and Big Horn River, the lower the riverbanks on both sides became, gradually enough to climb.


    Tie Chi sent swift riders lightly up the mountains to scout for enemies in the North, while he urged his people to rush westward.


    However, upon reaching the riverbank, Tie Chi had no plan¡ªfor across the waters, a flotilla patrolled back and forth.


    The Terdun People had no boats, only rafts.


    Whose small oared boats were on the river was clear without saying.


    Tie Chi could feel the piercing stares stabbing into his back.


    ¡°A way?¡± Each Terdun chieftain asked with their eyes: ¡°Where is the way?¡±


    ¡­


    Niutigu Valley, the third line of defense.


    Tamas received a letter¡ªa letter sent by the Terdun People.


    The letter was written with charcoal on sheepskin.


    ¡°What¡¯s it written?¡± Tamas handed the letter to the captain of the fifth company, Lannis; he was illiterate: ¡°Looks to me like Common Tongue.¡±


    Lannis took the sheepskin, glanced over it briefly, and raised his eyebrows slightly: ¡°It¡¯s indeed the Common Tongue¡­ There might be¡­ one of our own amongst the barbarians.¡±


    Because of an arrow wound, Tamas¡¯s shoulder was swollen high, and lifting his arm was a struggle. He asked wearily: ¡°What does it say?¡±


    Lannis calmly rolled up the sheepskin: ¡°The Barbarian Chief requests to surrender.


    The letter was immediately sent to Winters and quickly returned.


    No reply was written, only one more word added to the sheepskin:


    ¡°Denied.¡±

 Chapter 809 809 77 Cornered Beast

    ?Chapter 809: Chapter 77 Cornered Beast Chapter 809: Chapter 77 Cornered Beast Bard, who had rushed from the refugee camp to the front line, came to see Winters first, ¡°The people of Terdun want to surrender?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters, hunched over a map, and sketching, took a sheepskin bag with his left hand and handed it to Bard without lifting his head, ¡°I haven¡¯t agreed.¡±


    Comrades in arms didn¡¯t need pleasantries or formalities.


    Bard took the sheepskin bag, took a sip of clear water, and quietly waited for Winters to continue.


    Winters tossed aside his charcoal pencil and called over a runner to take the map away.


    With no one else in the temporary command post, he didn¡¯t need to hide his weariness any longer.


    He walked over to the bucket in the corner of the tent and washed his face vigorously with cold water, ¡°The Herders claim they¡¯re willing to return all the plunder and offer up three thousand warhorses, calling for an end to hostilities¡ªretaining their weapons, flags, a dignified surrender. Humph, now the Herders are playing this game, too!¡±


    ...


    The temporary command post was located on a high ground that overlooked the southeast direction, from which one could see the third line of defense, as well as the forests farther away.


    Messengers would occasionally come galloping in, reporting to Winters verbally and then hurriedly leaving with a reply.


    ¡°The people of Terdun aren¡¯t making any movements?¡± Bard studied the map, assessing the situation of the two armies.


    Winters shook his head slightly, a frown involuntarily forming, ¡°No movements¡­ so I¡¯m somewhat baffled as to what that baboon-faced is up to.¡±


    At the moment, Terdun¡¯s right wing had been segmented into three parts:


    One part was on the West Bank of the Big Horn River, having been repelled in the previous battles;


    One part was on the south bank of the Panto River, that is in the Lower Iron Peak County;


    The elite of the Khan¡¯s tent were trapped in the space formed by the Big Horn River, the Panto River, and the encirclement of the third defensive line.


    The situation was very favorable for the Iron Peak County Military, as long as they could annihilate the elite of the Khan¡¯s tent, the rest of the disorganized rabble would collapse without a fight.


    ¡°Even a trapped rabbit will struggle desperately before dying. Baboon-face is cornered and yet he is asking to surrender and showing weakness,¡± Winters voiced his doubts to Bard, ¡°Assuming baboon-face was in my position, do you think he would accept the terms he is offering?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Bard followed up on Winters¡¯s train of thought, helping him to clarify his mind.


    ¡°Which means,¡± Winters toyed unconsciously with a small knife, ¡°baboon-face is attempting something he knows won¡¯t succeed.¡±


    Bard pondered briefly, ¡°Herders have another purpose?¡±


    ¡°Indeed so.¡±


    ¡°Buying time?¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± Winters evaporated a few droplets of water on the table as a stimulus to his mind, ¡°The longer time drags on, the higher the walls, the deeper the trenches, the more formidable the defensive line that the people of Terdun will face.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps they want to feign weakness to lull us first, then gather all their strength to break through our defensive line.¡±


    ¡°But from what I can see, with the people of Terdun¡¯s cavalry advantage, they should opt for a swift attack rather than wait until our wall and trench system is fully established to strike¡­¡±


    His voice abruptly stopped, and Winters fell silent.


    After a moment, he spoke softly, ¡°Or, the people of Terdun are waiting for reinforcements, inside and out, to annihilate us here.¡±


    Bard didn¡¯t chime in, knowing this was not the time to interrupt Winters.


    Winters sank into deep thought, his hands propped on the table, intently staring at the map, ¡°Reinforcements¡­ reinforcements¡­ If Terdun had reinforcements, where would they come from? The West Bank? The South? The North?¡±


    Bard sighed, patting Winters¡¯s shoulder.


    Winters came back to his senses, looking blankly at his friend.


    ¡°How long have you been without sleep?¡± Bard asked.


    ¡°One day? Two days?¡± Winters¡¯s eyes were full of blood vessels, ¡°I¡¯ve dozed off a few times, I can¡¯t quite remember.¡±


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Bard¡¯s expression grew more stern, ¡°The second precept, [When the commander is utterly exhausted, at the end of his tether¡­]¡±


    For the first time, a smile appeared on Winters¡¯s face, responding to the password-like sequel, ¡°[¡­he will overlook truly important matters.]¡±


    ¡°Go to sleep,¡± Bard handed a greatcoat to Winters, ¡°I¡¯ll watch over this place.¡±


    Winters was about to say something but thought better of it and wrapped himself in the greatcoat heading to the inner part of the tent.


    He made up his mind, ¡°Anyway, respond to every change with unchanging principles. No matter what tricks the people of Terdun are up to, as long as we tighten our grip, we¡¯ll force them out!¡±


    Bard watched Winters¡¯s retreating back, then looked around the command post, his eyes somewhat complex.


    There were only four tents in this command post, which could be described as extremely simple. But at this moment, its issued orders were directing the movements of tens of thousands, and its decisions were critical to the life and death of Iron Peak County.


    To put it bluntly, these four tents were the brain and core of the Iron Peak County Military.


    Yet it faced a severe shortage of personnel: the literate clerks could be counted on two hands, and as for trained professional soldiers besides Winters and Bard, there were none.


    The reason why the Iron Peak County Military was still functioning normally and hadn¡¯t fallen into total chaos was entirely because everything was stored in Winters¡¯s mind, calculating with his mental capacity.


    ¡°This can¡¯t go on,¡± Bard suddenly spoke, ¡°You need assistants.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you here now?¡± Winters unfurled a camp cot and replied leisurely.


    ¡°Many assistants, lots and lots of them.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Winters lay down heavily and quickly fell asleep.


    Meanwhile, Bard picked up the paper and pen, beginning to compose a list from memory.


    ¡­


    In Iron Peak County, at the third line of defense.


    Four sturdy farmers operated a pile driver.


    The men shouted rhythmically as they cranked the lever, drenched in sweat despite the cold winter air.


    Wrapped around the axle of the turning wheel was a thick rope, the other end of which was tied to a large stone. As the wheel tightened the rope, the stone was slowly hoisted up.


    After the stone was lifted a certain distance, the farmers smashed the trigger.


    The stone plummeted down fiercely, striking heavily upon the wooden stake.


    This process repeated over and over, and it only took six or seven tries to drive a four-meter-long log into the ground, leaving around two meters of stake exposed above the surface.


    Once the stake was in place, the farmers no longer paid it any attention.


    Other farmers moved to the side of the pile driver, where, working together in teams of about ten, they moved the crude piece of machinery two steps over.


    Then another group of farmers took over, beginning to drive in another stake.


    To the southwest, behind a hillside, Tie Chi was watching the primitive but efficient machinery in the distance, his face turning green.


    Where his gaze landed, at least eight pile drivers were working simultaneously.


    One after another, stakes were driven into the ground, creating a continuous ¡°stake wall¡± in the valley with a gap of about two steps between each one.


    Bard¡¯s arrival provided Winters with a brief respite, while at the same time, Tie Chi led his personal guard through the forest to get close and scout out the enemy.


    From a distance of three hundred paces, Tie Chi could finally see clearly how the other side had ¡°built a city overnight¡±:


    First, they would drive in wooden stakes, then fit something like wicker baskets over them;


    They would dig earth in front of the stakes, filling the baskets with it;


    Once a basket was filled with earth, another new basket would be placed on top;


    Like skewering meat onto a stick, the stakes were fitted with six baskets; the first four baskets were fitted before being filled with earth, and the last two were filled with earth before being placed;


    The large gaps between the wooden stakes were filled with earth-laden wicker baskets, and then two-legged men covered the outer surface of the wall with loose soil, seamlessly integrating it so that the inner intricacies were indistinguishable;


    Finally, the earthen wall was completed, and the pits dug for earth also became moats.


    ¡°Do you understand?¡± Tie Chi asked his son through gritted teeth.


    ¡°I understand. The wooden stakes are the spine, the wicker baskets are the ribs, the earth is the flesh and skin,¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son replied, licking his lips. ¡°To take down this wall, you can only drag down the stakes. If the stakes fall, the wall will fall with them.¡±


    ¡°How can you drag them down when the stakes are at least three steps deep into the ground?¡± Tie Chi glared.


    Tie Chi¡¯s son also widened his eyes, mirroring his father¡¯s expression: ¡°If one horse can¡¯t pull it down, use two; if two can¡¯t, use four.¡±


    Tie Chi looked at his son and heaved a bitter sigh. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the two-legged people are just waiting for us to do exactly that.¡±


    ¡­


    The materials for wall construction are nothing more than earth, wood, and stone.


    For something to last for ages, stone is the best material, such as lime mortar or volcanic ash mortar.


    However, Winters wasn¡¯t looking to build a cathedral; he needed to construct field fortifications, and speed was the key. His choices were narrowed down to earth and wood.


    Building a wall from wood is the simplest method: drive logs into the ground, one tight against the next, and you¡¯ve got a wall. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, this method requires hundreds of thousands of logs, which Winters did not have. His only choice left was earth.


    The problem with earth is that it¡¯s not sturdy and can slide.


    If you just pile up the earth, it will naturally form a slope. This is why there¡¯s a saying, ¡°a six-foot wall corner and an eight-foot moat, the proper wall should be seven feet tall.¡±


    If the slope is too great, it loses its purpose as an impediment to warhorses. Therefore, the most crucial technique in earth wall construction throughout history has been ¡°bundling earth.¡±


    Tamping earth is one method, but it¡¯s still not quick enough.


    Using sheepskin bags or hemp cloth bags to carry earth and build the wall would be ideal, but Winters lacked both sheepskin bags and hemp cloth bags.


    Without any resources, one must make do with a simple solution, adapting to the materials at hand.


    After much thought, Winters blazed his own trail, improving upon the construction methods Colonel Volbon used on Red Sulfur Island for building galleries.


    Red Sulfur Island¡¯s galleries were ¡°earth bound with cages,¡± while Winters used ¡°earth bound with baskets.¡±


    Because the structural strength of baskets was not as great as cages, and because baskets could not be stacked as neatly as cages,


    Winters added an extra wooden stake as the ¡°mainstay¡± to the basket structure, both to increase the wall¡¯s strength and to firmly secure the earth baskets.


    Such a ¡°wall,¡± though perhaps a challenge to withstand cannon fire, would have no issue stopping warhorses.


    Compared to a regular earth wall, using baskets to bind the earth allowed for a steeper wall to be built, ensuring that warhorses couldn¡¯t even find a place to get a foothold. Moreover, the method wasn¡¯t picky about materials; even mushy mud and broken stones could be used.


    The construction efficiency was slower than using sheepskin bags or hemp cloth bags, but it was much faster than methods like tamping earth or using mortar.


    ¡­


    While Tie Chi was sighing over the wall, on the other side, Winters suddenly awoke from a deep sleep.


    Winters sat up abruptly, his gaze fixed on the tent¡¯s canvas, motionless.


    Bard, hearing the noise, entered the inner tent. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I dreamt of something terrifying,¡± Winters replied.


    Bard was shocked to see Winters¡¯ forehead covered in cold sweat.


    Winters threw off his coat, leaped to his feet, and bellowed outside the tent, ¡°Get me a horse! Gather all the company commanders!¡±


    The small command post was thrown into chaos.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± Bard, normally composed, was also taken aback by Winters¡¯ appearance.


    ¡°I think I know what the people of Terdun are planning to do.¡± Winters clenched Bard¡¯s arm tightly. ¡°We can¡¯t delay any longer! We must act fast!¡±

 Chapter 810 810 78 The Dagger Appears

    ?Chapter 810: Chapter 78: The Dagger Appears Chapter 810: Chapter 78: The Dagger Appears The west wind swept through with scorching, poisonous smoke, engulfing the land as terrifying explosions erupted one after another.


    Wildfires spread from the riverbanks inland, roaring flames consuming dry leaves, bushes, and pine and cypress trees until they converged into a sea of flames floating above the canopy.


    No matter what plans the people of Terdun had, those who were trapped did not choose to break out immediately.


    Winters also did not rashly launch a general assault, and the battlefield thus fell into an unsettling silence.


    The silence was broken by a fire, a massive blaze from the surface of the water¡ªSamujin¡¯s fleet, taking advantage of the night, landed and set the forest ablaze, igniting multiple areas along the coastline in one go.


    The execution of a scorched earth policy had destroyed most of the trees along the coast, all except for this patch of forest at the confluence of the two rivers, left deliberately for a surprising effect during a general assault.


    The fire took advantage of the wind, and the wind fueled the fire, quickly connecting the scattered burning areas into one line, illuminating the ten-mile riverbank with a blood-red glow.


    ...


    The camp of Tie Chi was thrown into chaos, the fire not yet reaching there, but the fierce wind already brought with it scorching heatwaves.


    The panicked birds and beasts, terrified out of their wits, fled in droves, even rushing heedlessly into the crowds of people.


    A slave near the forest only heard hooves from behind and before he could see clearly what it was, he was knocked down by a fully-grown stag.


    The stag broke its neck and died on the spot; the unarmored slave too was penetrated by the twelve prongs of the stag¡¯s antlers and quick with his blood flowing out, he soon stopped breathing.


    But at this moment, no one cared about the life and death of a stag and a slave.


    The people of Terdun in the camp were cursing, shouting, and running around, trying to save their belongings and their lives.


    ¡°Prepare the saddles! Quick, prepare the saddles!¡±


    ¡°Take everything!¡±


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no waiting! Move the horses! Move the horses!¡±


    The people were in a panic, and the horses were even more restless. Horses¡¯ senses are far sharper than humans¡¯; they had already smelled the peculiar scent in the wind long ago.


    A warhorse, without any warning, threw off its rider, kicking and thrashing about, while the people of Terdun around it rolled and scrambled to dodge.


    ¡°Catch it! Catch it!¡±


    ¡°Damn beast!¡±


    ¡°Watch out!¡± Amidst the chaos, another Terdun person shouted, ¡°The horses are spooked!¡±


    Another panic-stricken warhorse charged forward, striking a slave who failed to dodge in time, sending him flying out with blood spewing from his mouth.


    The spooked horse also received a great deal of recoil and, neighing loudly, reared up on its hind legs.


    Right at that moment, two lassos, one from the front and one from behind, snared the frightened horse and stopped it in its tracks.


    A man with salt-and-pepper hair and a robust frame pounced forward, wrapping his arms around the frightened horse¡¯s neck, trapping it under his armpit.


    The robust man exerted his whole body, pressing down the horse¡¯s head while pushing heavily against its side.


    Because of their joint structure, horses can resist vertical but not sideways pressure, so the struggle between man and beast lasted less than a few breaths.


    Followed by a thunderous roar, the Terdun strongman ¡°threw¡± the frightened horse to the ground.


    The panicked warhorse wailed as it fell, kicking and flailing about.


    The strongman stubbornly pressed down on the horse¡¯s neck, neither allowing it to get up nor giving it a chance to bite someone.


    The rest of the Terdun people swarmed over, tying up the frightened horse¡¯s legs clumsily with many hands, controlling the crazed animal.


    When the crowd recognized the strongman who displayed such mastery in handling horses, they couldn¡¯t help but cheer; it was none other than Tie Chi.


    Tie Chi propped himself up with both hands, struggling to lift his hefty body as if to silently say, ¡°What is this? I¡¯ve handled much worse than this when I was young.¡±


    Tie Chi¡¯s personal guard¡ªwho had just thrown the lasso that caught the frightened horse¡ªran over to support him, speaking in a gruff voice, ¡°Nayen¡¯s strength remains as strong as in his prime.¡±


    Tie Chi spat out a mouthful of saliva fiercely, ¡°Save the flattering for later; did the people sent to find the other leaders come back?¡±


    The personal guard shook his head.


    ¡°Father! Kota¡ªthey refuse to join us!¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son shouted as he sprinted over, ¡°We must go now! Father!¡±


    Although the camp of Terdun people was located on higher ground, the forest obscured their direct view of the fire.


    The night sky was already burned red, and the choking smoke grew thicker¡ªclearly, the fire was approaching rapidly while they spoke.


    And Tie Chi¡¯s troops were still rushing about, either salvaging wealth or rounding up the warhorses.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time to gather them.¡± Tie Chi, fierce, commanded firmly, ¡°Take only the bows, arrows, armor, and provisions! Leave everything else! Come with me quickly to escape the fire!¡±


    The Terdun people were dispersed and camped by family units; in this moment, the only ones Tie Chi could control were his immediate followers.


    Tie Chi¡¯s son first froze, then rushed into the camp, striking at the clansmen rolling up their valuables, ¡°Leave it all!¡±


    ¡­ sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Behind the third line of defense, on a hill, Winters and others from the command post were watching the fire.


    The fire was better than he had hoped; seems like Samujin had completed his task beautifully.


    The fire sea, like semi-transparent red mist floating above the canopy, twisted with smoke and flame surging into the sky, as if a light veil fluttering in the wind.


    Thunderous explosions followed one after another, mixed with the occasional screams of those being burned alive.


    The hellish scene caused the civilian-born clerks in the command post to show looks of pity, some turned away not to look, others covered their ears not wanting to hear.


    Winters, having experienced several fire attacks, knew well that being burnt to death was only a small part; most victims died of smoke inhalation¡ªrunning and then collapsing, never to rise again.


    His command post had just undergone a reorganization, incorporating a group of administrative personnel who had originally belonged to Bard.


    These literate and numerate clerks freed Winters from part of the mechanical labor, at least he no longer needed to write every command and memorandum by hand, verbal orders sufficed.

 Chapter 811 811 78 Dagger Appears_2

    ?Chapter 811: Chapter 78: Dagger Appears_2 Chapter 811: Chapter 78: Dagger Appears_2 This made it possible for Winters to concentrate his energy on more crucial matters.


    Bard gazed at the fiercely burning forest, his face showing worry, as he murmured to himself, ¡°We¡¯ve cornered the Terdon Tribe; they¡¯re going to fight desperately.¡±


    Winters pursed his lips and remained silent.


    According to the original battle plan, the fire was to be the signal for the general attack, which should at least have waited until the third and even the fourth line of defense was fully constructed.


    By that time, even if the Terdon Tribe wanted to fight to the death, the troops from Iron Peak County could rely on their fortifications and fortresses to block the enemy, exhausting their vigor.


    If possible, it was even better to delay the Terdon people as long as possible until they were weary and their horses tired.


    But now the cage was not yet secure, and the fierce beast had been startled, leaving the people of Iron Peak County facing a bloody battle, perhaps even a failure to achieve their goals.


    ...


    ¡°If my conjecture is not wrong,¡± Winters clenched his fists tightly, a statuette of a shield-bearing goddess in his palm, ¡°the Terdon tribe¡¯s counterattack won¡¯t be as strong as previously expected¡ªI really hope I am wrong.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about whether you¡¯re right or wrong,¡± Bard said to Winters. ¡°To avoid greater risk, this is a risk that needs to be taken.¡±


    Winters¡¯ warhorse lowered its head, snorting loudly, and continually pawing at the ground. Perhaps it scented the pungent smoke, or perhaps it sensed its master¡¯s anxious mood.


    Leaving Bard in command of headquarters, Winters led Xial and Heinrich down from the hill, galloping along the battle line.


    In the original battle plan, the third line of defense was not just a ¡°wall.¡±


    Walls and trenches formed the basis of all defenses, and on this base could be built bastions, arrow towers, breastworks. With each day¡¯s preparation, this defense line would become stronger, increasing Winters¡¯ confidence.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± Winters asked himself; he did not know.


    But he could not let this emotion show, because the soldiers, militiamen, and even women guarding various valleys, narrow passes, and chokepoints placed all their hope in him.


    As the formidable Herdman gradually got trapped in this constrained area, the people of Iron Peak County developed a fervent admiration for Winters.


    Since very few people had seen Winters in person, their fervent adoration shifted to his red flag.


    As Winters rode along the battle line, men and women who saw the red flag passing through the night cheered excitedly, as if its mere sighting signified victory.


    Such enthusiasm could be harmful to some extent¡ªWinters realized this calmly.


    However, he could not only not suppress this fervor, but he had to strive to maintain it.


    In a battle, what was contested was not just armor and stamina, but also courage and will.


    If an army believed they would undoubtedly win, it meant they could endure greater casualties, withstand more pain, persist longer, which meant they could indeed achieve victory.


    Winters had never learned how to be a general; did the old Field Marshal feel the same perplexity when faced with the roar of thousands of troops? He did not know.


    Did the famous generals shining in history books accept such enthusiastic emotions calmly, even naturally considering themselves divinely chosen?


    Or did they feel uneasy, always reminding themselves that ¡°all men must die¡±? sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Growing up, Winters¡¯ role model had been his adoptive father. He looked to Antonio Serviati¡¯s retreating figure, groping his way here in the absence of guidance.


    But only when he was about to truly touch his adoptive father¡¯s shadow did he realize that he knew nothing of his adoptive father¡¯s inner world.


    Had Antonio never been confused, or did he simply not show it? Winters did not know; he had never discussed these matters with his adoptive father.


    He longed for Antonio¡¯s guidance, but with thousands of miles between them, he could only emulate Antonio:


    Concealing emotions, silently accepting cheers and salutations, returning them in silence, revealing nothing.


    ¡­


    The fire continued until dawn and had not yet burned out when the Terdon people launched their attack.


    Suddenly, the entire line was in distress, messengers seeking assistance came as frequently as hail, as if every platoon and every defensive line was under full-force attack by the elite of the Terdon Tribe tents.


    This was clearly a specialty of the Herders: to feint or simply divide forces, stretching the defenders¡¯ manpower; as soon as defenders showed a weakness, the dispersed Herder cavalry would regroup and strike forcefully at one point.


    This time, the Terdon people were no longer half-hearted; they had been driven to desperation;


    The people of Iron Peak County were also aware that victory or defeat was at this moment, everyone in Shizhen and Niutigu Valley was mobilized including women and children who were also transporting dirt and stone on the battlefield, collecting arrows, or even wielding weapons themselves.


    Terdon men hung with soot raised crude siege ladders, siege hammers, and broad shields¡ªstaying put did not mean they were idle.


    However, hastily made siege engines were few in number, and more than half had been destroyed by the great fire.


    Thus, most Terdon people still employed the old tactics: shield-bearers advanced on foot, archers dismounted to cover, while others dug and filled trenches or tore down walls, with small groups of cavalry navigating difficult terrain for flanking maneuvers.


    The first and twelfth platoons, stationed on the main road, faced repeated charges by at least four Terdon hundreds squads.


    The Herders might be barbaric, but they were not merely instinct-driven beasts.

 Chapter 812 812 78 Dagger Revealed_3

    ?Chapter 812: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_3 Chapter 812: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_3 The Terdun people, having been frustrated in their assault on the second defensive line, had specifically crafted siege ladders targeting the weakness of the Shield wall¡ªthe low wall height.


    Dozens of Terdun warriors arranged themselves into a shield wall formation, laboriously carrying large shields that could block arrows as they slowly advanced toward the trench.


    Bows and arrows couldn¡¯t penetrate the wooden shields, and even lead shot would get stuck in the wood. Lacking the angled structures of the Bastion, the defenders of the Shield wall could only watch helplessly as the shield wall formation drew nearer to the trench.


    When the advance reached within five steps of the trench, the sides of the shield wall formation opened up, and two teams of Terdun warriors, lifting the siege ladders and shouting, charged toward the Shield wall.


    Other Terdun people used the large shields as cover to shoot arrows at the defenders.


    The Shield wall was only two meters high, and the siege ladders easily rested against the wall top, even bridging the trench in one stride.


    The soldiers defending the Shield wall, armed with battle-axes and pushing poles, tried desperately to chop down or topple the siege ladders.


    ... sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The instant the shield wall formation opened, Tamas, commanding despite an injured arm and a high fever, shouted orders: ¡°Throw!¡±


    The grenadiers, having waited for a long time, first lit the fuses, then stuffed the lit end into grenades, and hurled them fiercely at the Terdun people¡¯s shields.


    Winters had always used ¡°insert the fuse first, then light it¡± for grenades. Elite soldiers who had undergone extensive training probably wouldn¡¯t have any issues with this method.


    However, when grenades were distributed to the militia, the tactic of ¡°insert the fuse first, then light it¡± caused a series of accidents.


    Some militiamen, in their panic, even threw grenades that hadn¡¯t been lit, which were picked up by Terdun people and thrown back onto the heads of the Iron Peak County people.


    After a costly lesson in blood, the grenadiers completely changed their throwing procedure to ¡°light the fuse first, then insert it.¡±


    Hissing grenades flew toward the shield wall formation.


    One grenade hit a shield and rolled, gurgling, into the trench;


    A lucky grenade flew through the gaps between the shields into the crowd;


    More grenades were not thrown directly at the shields but targeted the recently opened, unprotected flanks of the shield wall formation.


    The Terdun people didn¡¯t hesitate, either stepping on the fuses or chopping at them with knives, quickly extinguishing them.


    The bipeds¡¯ firepower is formidable¡ªthe Terdun people already had a clear understanding of this.


    Especially the ¡°black thunder¡± just thrown, which exploded like a roar of thunder, ¡°shattering men and horses alike¡±; they had suffered many losses during the assault on the second defensive line.


    As the people of Iron Peak County paid tuition in blood, the Terdun people were also learning at the cost of lives, both sides forced by war to rapidly advance in the craft of killing each other.


    Tamas saw it clearly, some Terdun people even carried water bags, immediately dousing any incoming grenades with water, causing the grenades to fail to explode.


    Tamas, pounding his thigh furiously, bellowed orders: ¡°Cut the fuses in half! Wait for my command to throw!¡±


    Just then, a sudden commotion erupted from the shield wall formation, and Terdun people started jumping out as if running for their lives.


    The lucky grenade that had flown into the shield formation would have met the same fate of being extinguished, if not for a dark-faced Terdun warrior who acted quickly, drawing a knife and slashing at the powder cord.


    However, it was too crowded inside the shield wall, and the knife¡¯s tassel was accidentally snagged by someone else¡¯s belt.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior yanked his knife hard, but the powder cord had almost burned up in the blink of an eye¡ªit was too late.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior recoiled in terror, shouting, ¡°Herde Language: Black thunder! Black thunder!¡±


    When the other Terdun warriors heard these words, they let out the agonized cries of mortally wounded beasts, shrinking their necks, abandoning their large shields, and fleeing heedlessly into the distance.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior watched in despair as the fuse continued to burn into the ¡°black thunder.¡± After a brief moment of delay, the black thunder exploded under his gaze.


    A large shield was blown away by the blast wave, and within two meters of the explosion¡¯s epicenter, it was a bloody mess.


    The dark-faced Terdun warrior had both legs blown off, and his breastplate revealed several dents. Coughing up blood, he couldn¡¯t even make a sound, only whimpering intermittently.


    Several more ¡°black thunders¡± were thrown in, and the dark-faced Terdun warrior, thinking of the faces of his mother and son, closed his eyes.


    Of course, Tamas wouldn¡¯t miss such an opportunity; he yelled hoarsely, ¡°Fire! Arrows! Hit them hard!¡±


    More grenades, lead shot, and arrows flew into the shield formation from the breach, stirring up the bloody debris.


    The Terdun people¡¯s first assault was repelled, and immediately their commander sent out another hundred-man team with more large shields and siege ladders for a second assault.


    After being vigorously repelled a second time, the Terdun people sent in the third hundred-man team, and then the fourth.


    During the fifth assault, the Terdun people committed all their forces.


    In the previous four attacks, they had already climbed over the Shield wall, turning the fight into close-quarters combat.


    It was Tamas who eventually opened a secret gate, leading a cavalry charge from behind the Shield wall, sweeping from the flank and cutting off the enemies outside the wall that drove back the Terdun people.


    Facing the fifth assault, Tamas was already prepared to retreat to the next line of defense.


    However, the Terdun people retreated.


    At the same time, three kilometers to the north of Tamas¡¯s Fortress, another valley passable by a large army.


    The son of Tie Chi, his armor stained with blood, was directing his troops to dismantle the Shield wall.


    The Terdun people advanced and retreated three times, not waiting for a fourth assault before the defending Paratu People abandoned their positions, retreating along the valley.


    Tie Chi was growing older and fatter, no longer able to take to the field.

 Chapter 813 813 78 Dagger Appears_4

    ?Chapter 813: Chapter 78 Dagger Appears_4 Chapter 813: Chapter 78 Dagger Appears_4 He inspected each body of the Paratu People on the battleground and did not find any that had fatal wounds on their back.


    ¡°Tough bones,¡± Tie Chi called to his son, half in admiration, half gravely, ¡°Tough bones.¡±


    ¡°My Nakor all broke in two,¡± Tie Chi¡¯s son spat out a mouthful of filthy blood. ¡°That firemaker, this castrated pig! All our young men are being worn away! I think he had this in mind from the start!¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Tie Chi reprimanded. ¡°He is your Khan King, and he is also your clan and kin; it¡¯s your duty to take care of him.¡±


    After the bloody battle, Tie Chi¡¯s son felt his temper rising uncontrollably, ¡°What a worthless Khan King! You are the youngest son of our grandfather; by all rights, you should be the one to ascend as the Khan!¡±


    Instantly, Tie Chi raised his riding crop and harshly struck his son. However, seeing his only son¡¯s face covered in gunpowder and blood, he couldn¡¯t bear to hit him again.


    ¡°Do not speak of this ever again, or even I won¡¯t be able to protect you!¡± Tie Chi scolded with a cold face.


    ...


    First, find wooden posts, then use several horses to wrap around and pull them down.


    Once the posts fell, the baskets and earth fixed to them tumbled down together.


    Using this method, Tie Chi¡¯s troops dismantled a large section of the horse barricades, allowing the valley to again accommodate large troop movements.


    At the same time, warriors from other parts of the Terdun Tribe also gathered together rapidly.


    In this desperate breakout, the Terdun Tribe didn¡¯t fake any attacks, they assaulted with full force, hitting hard wherever they broke through.


    Besides warhorses, weapons, and provisions they carried, they now had nothing else. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was when the Herders¡¯ combat power was at its strongest, as they had no material wealth to encumber them and were solely focused on survival.


    After most of Kota¡¯s troops had assembled, Tie Chi didn¡¯t wait for the last few men; he led the Terdun cavalry forwards.


    Breaking through this blockade, the Terdun Cavalry would then be able to gallop freely across the lands of Iron Peak County¡ª unstoppable, unblockable.


    But the deeper they pushed forward, the more uneasy Tie Chi felt.


    The valley was eerily silent, not even the chirping of birds could be heard. The wind carried a chill, and the mountainsides grew steeper, reeking of death traps ahead.


    Tie Chi urgently summoned the leader of the vanguard light cavalry. However, before Kota arrived, the first cannon shot fired from both sides of the slope.


    A red flag was raised at the top of the valley.


    Then came a battle cry well known and spine-chilling to the Herders, ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    Dozens of blazing fireballs rolled down from the slopes, gaining speed, and with unstoppable quickness, smashed into the Terdun line.


    These ¡°fireballs¡± were spherical cages made of branches, filled with dried grass, resin, and lamp oil; they couldn¡¯t explode, and their killing power was limited. However, they effectively severed the Terdun troops.


    The Terdun tribe, marching along the valley shaped like a long snake, was instantly segmented by the roaring fireballs.


    Seeing the bad turn of events, the trailing Terdun leader didn¡¯t hesitate to turn and flee.


    ¡°Rotten flesh! Our retreat has been cut off!¡± Tie Chi furiously cursed. He frantically whipped his riding crop, shouting orders to his panicked troops: ¡°Forward charge! Forward charge! Kill! The gods are watching us!¡±


    ¡°Fire oxen!¡± a Terdun warrior suddenly shouted in panic, ¡°Fire oxen!¡±


    Tie Chi looked in the direction of the shout, and what charged down the slope next was hundreds of burning, frenzied oxen.


    The stampeding power of the fire oxen was not inferior to that of warhorses, even fiercer, as the maddened oxen would not stop for spears.


    The Terdun people had the courage to fight a decisive battle against the Paratu People, but no one dared stand in front of a rampaging bull.


    The herd of oxen trampled the ground, their hooves thundering, and the Terdun warriors scattered in all directions.


    Tie Chi wanted to fight to the death, but could not find an opponent to clash with.


    Winters watched the tragic scene in the valley with a stern gaze, waiting for the opportunity¡ªgoing down now would risk getting accidentally trampled by the frenzied oxen.


    The military books say to surround on three sides and leave one side open to prevent the enemy from fighting desperately.


    However, Winters chose to reverse this adage. In his view, rather than spreading his limited military forces thinly across the front like sprinkling salt, it would be better to intentionally give the Terdun people a way out and then strike them hard using the terrain.


    It was from the Herders that he learned to use fire oxen and fire horses as tactics.


    Who else but the Herders could bear to use valuable horses and draft oxen as expendable items?


    Previously, he avoided this tactic because it was highly unstable.


    The Terdun people had once used fire horses in a charge. Facing a well-organized, heavily armed square formation, the fire horses had been ineffective.


    Frightened animals cannot be predicted, and no one knew whether the next moment a frenzied fire ox might turn around and charge back at their own ranks.


    But using fire oxen in a charge was no longer a concern here in ¡°a gorge flanked by two mountains,¡± since the fire oxen would instinctively rush downward along the slope.


    And the more the targets ran, the more the oxen chased them; the panicked and scattering Terdun people were their primary targets.


    Seeing the dispersed Terdun warriors, Winters nodded, and Xial, understanding the cue, removed his horn.


    The sharp sound of the charge echoed in the valley. Under the red flag, the militia, positioned on the reverse slope, shouted together, picked up their spears and Stinger Hammers, and charged down the hill.


    The main forces had been deployed at various defensive points, and the assault force in this ambush comprised the ¡°prime¡± and ¡°adult¡± soldiers, the militarily strongest part of the militia.

 Chapter 814 814 78 Dagger Revealed_5

    ?Chapter 814: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_5 Chapter 814: Chapter 78: Dagger Revealed_5 These militiamen were not good enough for hard battles, barely managing in skirmishes, but excelled at chasing down fleeing enemies.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Towards that red flag!¡± Tie Chi drew his scimitar, calling out hoarsely to his guards and warriors, ¡°[Herde Language] Follow me and attack!¡±


    Until this moment, Tie Chi had not given up on his last attempt. If the entire enemy army was advancing, it meant that the enemy¡¯s commander¡¯s base was left with minimal defense.


    Warhorse struggled to exert force on the uphill terrain, yet four legs were always faster than two.


    For Tie Chi, slaying the generals and capturing the flag appeared to be his only chance to turn defeat into victory.


    The desperate people of Terdun also unleashed their ferocity; the warriors started to rip off their armors and cut the saddles to lighten the load on their horses.


    Nobles, guards, and Nakor¡­ all the courageous Terdun people gathered under Tie Chi¡¯s leadership, charging desperately upstream towards the position of the red flag.


    ...


    Winters also noticed the movements of this small group of Terdun people.


    ¡°You go first,¡± Winters drew his saber and turned to Bard.


    Bard sighed and also drew his saber.


    Tie Chi hugged the neck of his Warhorse tightly to reduce resistance. The horse, frothing at the mouth and trembling in the knees, struggled up the slope.


    Suddenly, Tie Chi heard his son shouting loudly from behind.


    It turned out that the fleeing leaders were desperately waving their horse-tail standards, clearly indicating that the escape route wasn¡¯t cut off.


    Without waiting for Tie Chi¡¯s command, the other Terdun nobles turned their horses around and fled, their guards and attendants following their masters.


    The desperate courage dissipated in an instant, and Tie Chi suddenly realized the opponent¡¯s ruthless strategy:


    He could see clearly, most of the enemies were ¡°slaves¡± without helmets, without armor, without even swords, just wielding wooden clubs;


    If surrounded on all sides, the young warriors of Terdun might have had a chance to turn defeat into victory by fighting desperately;


    But once there was a way to escape, the young warriors of Terdun only thought of fleeing;


    The valley was narrow, how many could actually escape? Those who fled discarded their weapons, their armors, even their saddles, how could they fight again even if they escaped?


    Tie Chi howled in agony three times, gave a fierce tug on the reins, and also fled with his son.


    Winters sheathed his sword; this battle was undoubtedly a great victory, but his expression grew increasingly solemn.


    So did Bard¡¯s.


    What they most feared usually happened¡ªthe ¡°elite tent warriors¡± of this Terdon Tribe were far fewer in number than they should have been¡­


    ¡­


    That night, the humiliated people of Terdon requested to surrender for the second time within the blockade line.


    This time with sincerity: Tie Chi, along with two other Green Plumed Feathers, personally requested to surrender.


    They finally met the opponent¡¯s commander, a man much younger and more stern than they had imagined.


    Even so, the three prominent Terdon nobles still dared not look him in the eye¡ªthey had been thoroughly beaten and lost all courage.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Our young warriors are scattered; I request the general to grant us a few days,¡± Tie Chi licked his lips, kneeling subserviently, gone was his usual commanding presence, ¡°[Herde Language] Allow me to gather our young warriors; the Terdon Tribe is willing to surrender its weapons and submit to the general.¡±


    Worried that the opponent might not have slaves who understood the Herde Language, Tie Chi and the other two had specifically brought a Translator.


    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Winters scanned the three men with a scrutinizing gaze, asking.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Dare not¡­ do not recognize,¡± after hearing the Translator¡¯s interpretation, Tie Chi responded hunched over.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recognize who you are either,¡± Winters squinted coldly, ¡°But I recognize an ass face¡­ huh, that¡¯s your chief, the Fire Maker.¡±


    Translator stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do; under the urging gaze of a few of Tie Chi¡¯s group, he translated the phrase ¡°monkey butt face¡± into Herde Language.


    Tie Chi instinctively raised his head, only to lock eyes directly with the other.


    For a moment, Tie Chi felt as if he was seen through from head to toe, his hair stood on end, and cold sweat seeped down his back.


    Another Green Plumed Feathers had a sudden realization, his face turning pale as he incredulously pointed at Winters and exclaimed, ¡°Herde Language You¡­ you are¡­ you are¡­¡±


    The third Green Plumed Feathers was at a loss, making no sense of the situation.


    Not until he heard his companion blurt out the name, ¡°Herde Language You are Paratu Balatu!!!¡±


    His knees went weak, his vision darkened, and he fell straight backwards.


    ¡°Stalling for time, waiting for the fire makers to rescue you?¡± Winters kicked over a wooden box leaking blood next to him and demanded sharply, ¡°Did you think I was unaware of your intentions?¡±


    Tie Chi didn¡¯t understand what the other was saying, but he could still feel the thunderous fury in his tone, causing him to shudder involuntarily.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it strange where the fire makers have gone? Come!¡± Winters said with a cold laugh, ¡°Meet your great chieftain.¡±


    Winters kicked the wooden box again, and a head that was no longer recognizable as human rolled out.


    Along with the head, a blue horse tail standard tangled with blood and brain matter rolled out¡ªthe Khan¡¯s token.


    The Green Plumed Feathers who recognized Winters saw the blue horse tail standard, his vision went dark, and he collapsed limply.


    Tie Chi knelt down with a thud, cradling the head.


    The head looked as though it had been torn by a wild beast, and as if it had exploded from inside, with the nose and eyes hanging out, as if it had undergone the most painful torture in the world.


    But the blue nine-horse tail standard was unmistakable.


    Tie Chi was overwhelmed with grief and began to sob loudly.


    Winters watched silently as the devastated people of Terdun, the fire makers¡¯ own uncle, suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Stop pretending; they really believed it, but I see you didn¡¯t. Translator, translate for him!¡±


    The Translator, utterly shocked by the series of dramatic events, translated the words tremblingly.


    Tie Chi wiped his tears and slowly stood up.


    ¡°Either the fire makers die, or you die, choose one.¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, slowly sat down in the campaign chair, resting against the back, and said evenly, ¡°You are a smart man, you can understand what I am saying.¡±


    After hearing the Translator¡¯s words, Tie Chi thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Herde Language If my people surrender, will Batu spare my tribe?¡±


    ¡°I will not kill you, nor will I sell you into slavery,¡± Winters said, looking straight at Tie Chi. ¡°If the fire makers kill me, you can still go back to being Nayen. Either way, I am going to deal with you and then the fire makers. Time is precious, give me your answer now.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language How can I trust that Batu will not break his oath?¡± Tie Chi asked solemnly.


    ¡°I can conduct a ritual with you,¡± Winters narrowed his eyes, ¡°the Kulxit ritual.¡±


    ¡­


    Tie Chi was decisive in his actions, and so was Winters.


    Having agreed on the terms, Winters immediately accompanied Tie Chi alone into Terdun Camp to swear an oath with the Terdun people.


    While Winters was conducting the Kulxit ritual with Tie Chi in the presence of over two thousand surviving warriors of the Terdun Tribe, the true elite of the Terdun Tribe had already forced their way across the Big Horn River from Forging Village.


    The fire makers had constructed a Floating Bridge. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And at this very moment, Revodan had not a single soldier.

 Chapter 815 815 79 New Town

    ?Chapter 815: Chapter 79 New Town Chapter 815: Chapter 79 New Town Big Horn River, by the Floating Bridge.


    A slender man dressed in Herder¡¯s robes stared at the tips of his boots, and spoke intermittently to another group of shabbily clothed men, ¡°The Khan praised us¡­ You¡¯ve done well, after disbanding, you¡¯ll get felt tents, cattle, sheep¡­ and female slaves¡­¡±


    Despite the rewards, why were the men in such pain?


    They showed no joy or pride, only numbness in most of their eyes, and a few bore expressions of anger and unwillingness.


    Another gaunt man, his face covered, suddenly yanked off his scarf and spat harshly.


    The sound of spitting wasn¡¯t loud, but it stung the slender man in Herder¡¯s robes as if he were stung by a wasp.


    He jerked his head up, scanning the crowd before him and screamed hysterically, ¡°You think you¡¯ve got guts to run away! You refuse to work! Why blame me? What do you hate? You treat me like a dog of the Herders, but does anyone damn care about me! You¡­¡±


    The man who had torn off his scarf stepped out of the crowd, walked up to the man in Herder¡¯s robes, and said coldly, ¡°Enough.¡±


    Anyone who looked directly at the scar-faced man¡¯s face was deeply shocked.


    ...


    Where his nose should have been, there was only a hideous scar and two hollow pits leaking air.


    Upon closer inspection, even within his hair, the ears that should have been there were missing.


    The scar-faced man wasn¡¯t born with deformities; his nose and ears had been cut off.


    Herders didn¡¯t chop hands or ankles¡ªthey still needed those for work. So for escaped slaves, they would cut off body parts that didn¡¯t hinder labor or burn them with a branding iron until death.


    The slender man in Herder¡¯s robes dared not meet the scar-faced man¡¯s gaze; he shivered and instantly fell silent, tears welling up, ¡°Captain¡­¡±


    The scar-faced man rewrapped his scarf, his gaze turning dim, ¡°I am no longer your captain.¡±


    Across the vast Big Horn River, a Floating Bridge spanned the two banks.


    What was once an impassable barrier became a thoroughfare, with hundreds of armored soldiers and warhorses crossing the Floating Bridge into Iron Peak County, amid shouts and curses in Herder¡¯s language, except for this small group, who spoke what seemed like common language with a Paratu accent.


    Among the ragged men, suddenly one fell to his knees and burst into heart-wrenching, grievous sobs.


    Why was he crying?


    Was it because, although he had returned to his homeland, he couldn¡¯t go home?


    Or was it because he had personally constructed this Floating Bridge?


    ¡­


    As the smoke of war had yet to reach Niutigu Valley and riders seeking help were still rushing there, Winters had already learned from Tie Chi about the existence of that Floating Bridge.


    The spread of technology is one of the byproducts of war.


    During the Great Wilderness War, a massive number of expeditionary craftsmen from Paratu were captured, and the Terdon Tribe thus mastered the technique of erecting Floating Bridges using prefabricated parts and even more advanced skills.


    That relentless hammering sound, Winters now finally understood what it was for¡ªpreparing the construction of the Floating Bridge.


    Winters¡¯s bargaining chip was a choice for Tie Chi: to believe or not to believe that the Fire-Maker¡¯s head was real.


    If Tie Chi didn¡¯t believe the Fire-Maker was dead, Winters, under any circumstances, would first annihilate Tie Chi¡¯s tribe and then deal with the Fire-Maker;


    Or¡­ if Tie Chi chose to believe the news of the Fire-Maker¡¯s death, he would lay down his weapons and surrender, giving Winters time, and sparing Tie Chi and his tribe¡¯s lives.


    Choosing between the two, Tie Chi unhesitatingly chose himself.


    The premise of negotiation is trust. Does Tie Chi trust Winters? Probably not. Winters felt the same.


    But when drowning, even if it¡¯s an enemy throwing a rope, one must cling to it tightly.


    Since he had resolved to abandon the Fire-Maker, Tie Chi right away revealed the Fire-Maker¡¯s plans entirely, his decisiveness even surprising Winters.


    The Terdon Tribe lacked fodder, making it difficult for the warhorses to travel long distances.


    Thus from the start, the Fire-Maker had only sent part of his main force to detour, while his direct followers retreated to unburned pastures to wait for an opportunity.


    Perhaps the presence of the ships disrupted the Fire-Maker¡¯s ¡°strategems,¡± or maybe the Fire-Maker harbored even darker intentions.


    When Tie Chi led his troops to the east bank of the Big Horn River and held back all of Winters¡¯s forces, the elite of the Fire-Maker¡¯s tent did not appear.


    Where was the Fire-Maker? Tie Chi no longer cared. Winters could roughly guess, but he needed to first calm the remnants of Tie Chi¡¯s tribe before he could deal with the Fire-Maker.


    Joining hands in an oath, Winters went alone with Tie Chi into the camp of Terdon¡¯s remnants.


    Tie Chi, holding the symbol of the khan¡ª the blue flag with nine horse tails, along with the Fire-Maker¡¯s head, announced the Fire-Maker¡¯s death to the people of Terdon.


    The head was fake, but the flag was real.


    The khan flag had initially been left by the Fire-Maker at the west bank camp as a feint. During the second crossing of the Big Horn River, the Terdon west bank camp was breached by Winters, and the guard of the flag fled with the banner.


    Winters pursued the flag-guarding archer for fifty miles, eventually retrieving the flag from beneath a corpse.


    With the genuine blue flag with nine horse tails and Tie Chi¡¯s acknowledgment, the fake head became real.


    The people of Terdon passively accepted the news of the Fire-Maker¡¯s death; they had been beaten into a loss of will to fight, their lust for plunder dissipated, leaving only the instinct to survive.


    Winters, in his role as ¡°Hestas,¡± publicly swore an oath with Tie Chi not to harm the surrendered.


    The surrender ceremony was simple; Winters personally oversaw the Terdon camp as the people of Terdon one by one emerged from the camp, leaving behind their weapons, armor, and warhorses in front of his flag, and taking away a piece of bread.


    The captives were escorted to the south bank of the Panto River¡ªthere were no extra hands now to guard them.


    Winters gave Tie Chi a hundred horses, fifty bows, and still expected Tie Chi to control his tribe.


    After all these matters, Winters finally convened all his commanders, village heads, town mayors, and representative gentry.


    Silence filled the grand tent, the air as cold as an ice cellar. Everyone who walked cheerfully into the tent sensed the abnormal atmosphere.


    The intermittent cheers penetrated the tent¡ªsurvivors from Iron Peak County were celebrating their victory.


    Under a series of inquiring gazes, Winters calmly informed everyone, ¡°The battle is not yet won, the elite of the Terdon Tribe might be attacking Revodan.¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan, another mundane day.


    Recent issues of ¡°War Communication¡± were long overdue, and although people eagerly awaited the latest battle reports, life had to go on as usual.


    Compared to the news from Panto River, the citizens were more concerned about police conditions on the north bank.


    It was said that small bands of barbarian cavalry had slid into North Eight Towns and were looting and burning in the rural areas.


    Revodan was fully under martial law, and citizens, alarmed at every rumor, saw flour prices starting to rise again. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other hand, farmers and townspeople who had fled to Revodan had become somewhat desensitized to such news; they exchanged their physical labor for bread, indifferent to the rising flour prices.


    The city walls of New Town were largely completed, but the refugees couldn¡¯t rest for a moment.


    Following the plans of Mason, the Civil Guard Officer, labor teams began to build bulwarks on the outskirts of New Town and construct houses, pave roads, and lay sewer pipes inside the city.


    What originally resembled a large military camp, ¡°New Town,¡± was truly beginning to acquire an urban atmosphere.


    New Town was like a massive construction site, where among the hard-working refugees, there was an inconspicuous one-eared man.


    The one-eared man rarely spoke, making many assume he was mute. But his hard work was evident, so whether he was mute did not matter.


    At noon when the bread was distributed, the one-eared man encountered another man and exchanged a few words.


    That night, Ivan, who had been appointed temporary sheriff, rushed to the officer¡¯s residence and cautiously woke the Mason Civil Guard Officer, reporting anxiously, ¡°Sir, someone has gone missing!¡±


    At this moment, the one-eared man referred to by Ivan had arrived at Forging Village, twenty kilometers away.


    He was not called One-Ear; he used to be known as Yilsi, a name some from Vernge County might recall attached to a somewhat notorious bandit and smuggler.


    ¡°Great Thief Yilsi,¡± wanted for robbing an army carriage, had eventually fled into the wilderness, disappearing without a trace, but not without his family suffering the consequences.


    Now, he often used his Herder language name, Bruhe, meaning Red Dog.


    Red Dog knelt on one knee, staring at his boot tip, recounting the details of New Town in Revodan: ¡°¡­the leader stationed in Revodan is called ¡®Mason¡¯¡­¡±


    The person standing before him was none other than the Firemaker and the old Translator.


    ¡°Mason?¡± the Firemaker interrupted, ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Red Dog racked his brains to explain, ¡°It means a stonemason, a builder working with stones.¡±


    ¡°Pardon? He¡¯s a stonemason?¡± asked the Firemaker.


    ¡°The names of the two-legged people are different from those of the tribes, having lost their literal meaning,¡± the old Translator slowly opened his eyes and spoke, ¡°Go on, focus on the important details¡ªstart with the city defenses.¡±


    Red Dog picked up a twig and began sketching on the ground: ¡°There used to be no city on the south shore of Revodan. Now, this city, newly built by the stonemason leader, safeguards livestock, valuables, and food inside.¡±


    ¡°How many people? How much wealth?¡± the Firemaker squinted.


    ¡°Thousands of people, men and women. They fled to New Town, carrying their valuable belongings. Moreover, there¡¯s plenty of food. Food delivered from the neighboring county is stored in New Town on the south shore, nourishing the people and also being transported southward.¡±


    ¡°How high are the city walls?¡±


    ¡°Not tall, quite low, only about one and a half men high,¡± Red Dog pointed with a twig to where the city wall met the river, ¡°And there¡¯s a vulnerability right here.¡±


    ¡°A vulnerability?¡± the Firemaker¡¯s eyes widened.


    Red Dog suggested, as if offering a strategy, ¡°The stonemason leader only built half a circle of walls along the shore. There¡¯s no tall wall or moat on the river side; I presume¡­ it could be crossed by wading through the water.¡±


    ¡°How can one wade through the water with the temperature so cold?¡± the old Translator immediately reprimanded sharply and then asked, ¡°How many are defending the city?¡±


    ¡°There are no troops; the defenders have all gone south.¡± Red Dog shook his head vigorously, suddenly looking up at the Firemaker before quickly dropping his gaze, ¡°The Khan could move quickly, taking advantage of the defenders¡¯ slow reaction to strike and capture it in one move.¡±


    A hint of dissatisfaction appeared in the old Translator¡¯s eyes, but he remained impassive.


    ¡°Did they discover you?¡± asked the Firemaker.


    ¡°Absolutely not!¡±


    ¡°What about others? Have they discovered anyone else?¡± asked the Firemaker again.


    ¡°Nor them either.¡±


    ¡°Very well, you may go and rest,¡± said the Firemaker and pulled out a gold tablet, throwing it to Red Dog.


    Red Dog picked up the gold tablet, then returned it to the Firemaker, ¡°Thank you, Great Khan, but I do not wish to keep the gold tablet.¡±


    The Firemaker frowned, ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°I wish to be a servant within the Great Khan¡¯s household! To be your eyes by day and your ears by night!¡±


    The old Translator narrowed his eyes.


    The Firemaker was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, ¡°Then I grant you permission to stay by my side as a household servant.¡±


    Nearly throwing his head between a pair of boots, Red Dog fervently thanked him.


    ¡°You may go.¡±


    With profound gratitude, Red Dog left, leaving the Firemaker and the old Translator¡¯s sight. As soon as he was out of view, his smile rapidly vanished, as if the subservient man from moments ago was not him.


    Late into the night, the main force of the Terdon Tribe¡¯s tents, which had just arrived in Forging Village, headed non-stop towards New Town in Revodan.


    At the same time, the regrouped troops of Iron Peak County also advanced towards Revodan.

 Chapter 816 816 80 Mason

    ?Chapter 816: Chapter 80 Mason Chapter 816: Chapter 80 Mason The night was deep, and it was uncertain when and where this was.


    Soldiers carrying spears and muskets gasped for breath as they followed their comrades at a quick march.


    On the other side of the road, horses laden with armor took up space, occasionally causing an out-of-control horse to break into the marching column, prompting a wave of exclamations and curses.


    ¡°This won¡¯t do,¡± Bard surveyed the people around him, furrowing his brow into a knot, ¡°The leading companies are almost at Saint Town, and the militia from the back haven¡¯t even left Niutigu Valley. There¡¯s nothing to eat, nothing to drink. Soldiers can¡¯t find the ammunition wagons, and the packhorse teams can¡¯t find the soldiers.¡±


    Winters, holding a lantern, marked the map in silence.


    Present were two formal officers and all the company-level commanders and militia-appointed captains that could be summoned.


    Everyone knew that a forced march at night was dangerous, but was it possible to go slowly?


    ...


    The majority of the supplies for this nearly ten-thousand-strong force¡ªif the militia were included¡ªwere in Revodan.


    The battle of Panto River relied on the [Revodan-Shizhen-Panto River] artery to supply provisions; only then did the front line have food, drink, and ammunition.


    If Revodan were lost, it wouldn¡¯t just be like an artery being blocked, but the heart being gouged out.


    Not to mention that Revodan was also the evacuation site for military families, and while the militia might lack sympathy for this, the soldiers whose families were in Revodan wished they could sprout wings and fly back there.


    ¡°Soldiers with sweat-soaked backs, warhorses foaming at the mouth¡ªsuch a force can¡¯t fight!¡± Bard said emphatically, seeming to address his subordinates, but in fact aiming more at Winters:


    ¡°In this state, five hundred cavalry could break our entire army. Until there¡¯s confirmed news from Revodan, we should assume it has been lost and make further operational plans based on this.¡±


    People listened in silence; here there were only two officers in the true sense, and only one person who could direct this army.


    ¡°Change the destination. Have the Second and Third Battalions head to Saint Town to regroup and reorganize; let the mounted infantry battalion cross the river from King¡¯s Bridge Town, taking the north bank to Revodan,¡± Winters suddenly commanded, clearly issuing his orders:


    ¡°Have Tamas¡¯s First Battalion turn back, take the Niutigu Valley militia to the [Tie Feng Mountain mouth], and build fortifications there¡ªnail down the entrance to Tie Feng Mountain.¡±


    [Note: Tie Feng Mountain mouth means the narrow, perilous path between Niutigu Valley and Forging Village. Winters surveyed the terrain there in Chapter 60.]


    Before others could react, Bard already took out his notebook and began transcribing the verbal instructions into written orders.


    ¡°What about the arrangements for the other militia units?¡± Bard asked, his hand never pausing.


    ¡°Any units without specific orders must converge on Saint Town,¡± Winters folded the map and handed it to Bard, ¡°Hand the map over to the acting battalion commanders. Have messengers from various towns and villages been dispatched?¡±


    ¡°All have been sent out.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Send more, set the rally point at Saint Town. Collect provisions from Saint Town and King¡¯s Bridge Town, compenate at equivalent value after the battle.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Bard nodded; he was still nominally the Garrison Officer of Saint Town.


    The two clarified the military deployment with a quick question and answer.


    The subordinates received their orders and returned to their units, leaving only Winters, Bard, and a few guards behind.


    Bard looked at Winters, unsure what to say.


    From the moment Winters learned Revodan was threatened, his emotions gradually became calmer and detached, as if stripped of human sentiment.


    It seemed to be some kind of stress response or self-protective instinct, Winters would never talk about his worries for Revodan.


    This instead showed that Revodan held treasures dear as life to Winters, precious to an extent he could not bear to envision losing them. So he filled his mind with endless battle deductions, refusing to think of anything else.


    Bard felt sorry for his close friend and wanted to say something to comfort Winters.


    But it was Winters who spoke first, ¡°Has the fleet set out?¡±


    Bard paused slightly, ¡°A messenger from Samujin has come; he has already set out.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± Winters nodded and turned to walk into the inner tent.


    When Bard looked at Winters again, the latter had already fallen asleep on his camp bed.


    ¡­


    At dawn, Revodan came into view of the vanguard of the Terdon Tribe.


    Revodan situated in the middle of the valley¡¯s steady plain was also the lowest part of the river plain terrain, open on all sides with no natural defenses on which to rely.


    The people from Terdun looked down from their high ground, with an unobstructed view of Revodan: the north and south towns faced each other across the river, connected by a wooden bridge.


    At this moment, the lights were bright around the city walls, indicating that the defenders were preparing in earnest.


    The men tending the fires seemed unsurprised; once the army was on the move, its presence was inevitable¡ª they had been spotted by coastal watchtowers while crossing the river.


    A predator must approach its prey quietly, but it is the final sprint that decides whether it will feast.


    The fire keeper, pointing to the outline of the city wall limned by the lights on the south bank, laughed heartily, ¡°Are these pitifully low walls worthy of being called city walls?¡± in Herde language.


    His guards also laughed unrestrainedly.


    The ¡°city wall¡± in sight was embarrassingly low, barely higher than one person, not much different from a farmer¡¯s fence.


    Not to mention comparing it to the sturdy walls of famous cities and towns, it seemed quite short even when compared to the enclosures around noble estates.


    In the previous war on the plains, the fire keeper¡¯s own men suffered heavy losses. Now, the guards of the night and the arrow bearers included many who had been newly promoted.


    These young men of Terdun nobility all eagerly sought to prove their bravery, to achieve honors and rewards.

 Chapter 817 817 80 Mason_2

    ?Chapter 817: Chapter 80 Mason_2 Chapter 817: Chapter 80 Mason_2 The fire-maker bent his bow and fitted an arrow, releasing it into the sky with a whizzing sound: ¡°[Herde Language] Great gods above!¡±


    Like unleashed hunting hounds, the leaders each led their own kinsmen and horses, howling as they charged toward Revodan.


    When the Terdun people spied on Revodan, Mason also noticed the dark silhouettes on the horizon.


    ¡°What a difficult problem he has given me,¡± Mason complained helplessly in his heart.


    Yet to the trembling defenders of the city, Mason stirred up great enthusiasm with a different argument: ¡°The Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has already wiped out the barbarians at the Panto River! What¡¯s coming now is just a bunch of stragglers!¡±


    The walls of Revodan were about two meters high, made of rammed earth, with wooden frames inside for people to stand on.


    Faced with the great foe, the city¡¯s labor teams were directly conscripted, becoming the honorable militia assigned to defend the city. The method of assigning positions was simple: you defend the section of the wall that you built.


    ...


    The only fighting force in the city¡ªthe City Guard consisting mainly of armed citizens¡ªwas held in Mason¡¯s hands and not stationed on the walls.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, senior,¡± Mason gently soothed the mayor beside him, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry too much.¡±


    Although Priskin had weathered major storms, his knees still uncontrollably trembled in the face of the barbarians¡¯ tsunami-like onslaught.


    Learning that the barbarians had crossed the river from Forging Village, Priskin had strongly urged Mason to retreat to the Old City, burning down the south bank¡¯s New Town in the process.


    But Mason firmly disagreed.


    In desperation, Priskin tearfully said farewell to his family and, putting his life on the line, stood with Mason Commissioner on the walls of New Town.


    As the Terdun people were about to reach the walls, Mason began calmly explaining his decision to Mayor Priskin: ¡°There are nearly ten thousand civilians in New Town, and our supplies are stockpiled here. Burning it all would be tantamount to cutting off Montaigne Civil Guard Officer¡¯s retreat.¡±


    Priskin was at a loss for words: ¡°If we don¡¯t burn it down, won¡¯t these supplies fall into the barbarians¡¯ hands, cutting off Montaigne Civil Guard Officer¡¯s retreat anyway?¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I stayed in Revodan?¡± asked Mason with a smile.


    Priskin, hardening his heart, could not bother with flattery anymore: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Mason smacked his lips and sighed, ¡°Because I¡¯m best at defending a city. I designed this city myself, and I¡¯m confident in it.¡±


    Priskin wanted to cry: Such low walls, so few people, where does this confidence come from? My goodness!


    Elsewhere, the fire-maker and the old Translator were observing the fight from a hillside.


    The land surrounding Revodan showed a strange pitch-black hue, not the common yellow-brown of autumn and winter.


    The old Translator always felt something off, and after pondering for a long while, he noticed something¡ªtoo barren. The earth was bare.


    The area around a city could not possibly be barren since the process of citizens moving to the outskirts was the growth of the city.


    However, the south side of the city was bare, with no houses, no woods, no villages¡­ nothing at all.


    The old Translator looked around and saw the same by his side: Unable to find a tree for timber, unable to find a handful of grass for the horses.


    ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a tough nut to crack,¡± the old Translator thought spontaneously.


    Outside the city, the deafening sound of horse hooves drew nearer.


    Inside the city, a group of refugees were stealthily approaching the western gate of New Town.


    ¡°Halt, what are you doing?¡± Ivan, the soldier guarding the gate, barked a question.


    ¡°We were sent by the Civil Guard Officer, to bring some drinks for you gentlemen,¡± the leading refugee said with a sly grin, but his steps never stopped.


    Ivan, without responding, saw the man continuing to approach and promptly pulled out his whistle, puffing his cheeks to give a blast.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± the leading refugee drew a shortsword from within his cloak and lunged at the guards: ¡°Kill!¡±


    The other Terdon Tribe [affiliates] who had infiltrated the city also surged forth, attacking the guards.


    ¡°Spies!¡± Ivan bellowed a warning, hefting his shield and swinging his broadsword to meet the leading spy: ¡°Protect the gate!¡±


    The guards were fully armored but few in number; the affiliates were many but only armed with shortswords. Blades clashed in a fierce melee.


    On the other side, Mason heard the whistle from the west gate.


    Mounting his horse, Mason turned back with a smile to Mayor Priskin, ¡°I leave this place to you, Mr. Mayor.¡±


    With that, he led the guards and City Guard cavalry toward the western gate.


    ¡°Old man¡­ old man¡­¡± Even in the face of Montaigne Civil Guard Officer, Priskin never felt so disheveled. In his urgency, the old man even cried out with a cracked voice: ¡°I¡¯ve never fought a battle!¡±


    On the hillside, the fire-maker watching the fight noticed flames flickering on the southern side of the walls, with the gate wide open.


    ¡°We¡¯ve succeeded!¡± exclaimed the fire-maker, unable to hide his excitement.


    The old Translator looked on with an enigmatic expression, noncommittal.


    The somber blare of horns pierced the battlefield as a squad of armored Cavalry broke away from the main force, charging directly toward the flaring gate.


    The rest of the Terdun Cavalry continued to weave around the city walls, shooting arrows and drawing the defenders¡¯ attention.


    Charging the walls with cavalry¡ªeven a short wall¡ªwas foolish without siege equipment, but for the Terdun people lacking such gear, the ideal strategy was an inside-outside collaboration.


    In mid-September, right after the first failed raid, the fire-maker was already planning the second. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The time the Terdon Tribe [affiliates] had infiltrated Iron Peak County and Vernge County was even earlier than the first raid.


    The so-called affiliates were those who fled into the wilderness for various reasons and joined the Herde tribes, with the most common source being criminals. It was only through the affiliates that the Herde tribes could glimpse the internal situation of Paratu.

 Chapter 818 818 80 Mason_3

    ?Chapter 818: Chapter 80 Mason_3 Chapter 818: Chapter 80 Mason_3 The affiliated troops had successfully seized control, and now the most elite armored guards were to burst through the city walls to expand their victories.


    The Terdun nobleman awarded this great honor was called Moritz, from the family of the fire makers¡¯ mother.


    ¡°Herde gods above!¡± Moritz roared, charging through the city gate at the forefront, ¡°Leave no one behind!¡±


    The other Terdun armored fighters followed closely, screaming weirdly, howling fiercely, and laughing cruelly as they followed Kota into the city gate.


    However¡­ where were the bipeds?


    Moritz realized there was another wall ahead and abruptly reined in his warhorse. The following cavalry couldn¡¯t evade in time and crashed into him.


    It was only by the light of the fire baskets that Moritz realized what was in front of him was not another wall, but a linked convoy of wagons.


    ...


    ¡°Ambush!¡± Moritz¡¯s eyes nearly burst with despair as he bellowed, ¡°Retreat!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The gate came crashing down.


    With a flash of cold steel, Moritz¡¯s face was left with a gaping bloody hole. His hands flailed weakly backward and then his body slowly at first, then swiftly, fell from the saddle.


    ¡°Open fire,¡± Colonel Moritz, with a slight drunkenness, turned his head and ordered Sergeant Mason.


    Blacksmith Mason¡ªtemporarily appointed as a sergeant¡ªcried out with a sobbing voice, ¡°Open fire!¡± and then pulled the firing lever.


    The other civilian musketeers also gritted their teeth and held their breath as they pressed down on their firing levers.


    The cavalry that lost their speed were sitting ducks, and the Terdun armored soldiers panicked. Several Terdun men stepped onto their horses¡¯ backs and jumped towards the city wall, hoping to get over to the other side.


    Another burly Terdun armored warrior burst into a wild rage, leaping directly onto a wagon, slashing his way into the ranks of the civilian musketeers, and with one swing partially severed the shoulder of a Paratu in front of him.


    The citizens of Revodan had never seen such a sight; those who were normally the most boastful were now so scared they wet their pants, while others simply threw away their guns and ran.


    Moritz raised his hand, and no one could see clearly what he did, but the barbaric brute instantly dropped dead.


    Moritz raised his hand again, and the leading citizen felt a sharp pain in his knee, collapsing to the ground.


    ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡± Cried the rotund blacksmith Mason as he reloaded his musket, ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll live if you run? Keep fighting the barbarians!¡±


    Meanwhile, Richard Mason had already led his cavalry to cleanly dispatch the infiltrators who tried to sneak attack Simon Gate.


    The Terdun Tribe¡¯s affiliated troops attacked Simon Gate, but it was the South Gate that had just been opened. Simon Gate was the decoy, and so was the South Gate.


    The labor crews were managed under military law with daily headcounts. Knowing how much bread was baked each day meant knowing how many people were in each labor crew.


    Learning of the continuous disappearances, Mason had to prepare for the worst-case scenario¡ªthere were Terdun spies inside the city.


    But with too many refugees and too few men, Mason found it hard to carry out an investigation. If a large-scale search for spies created panic amongst the city residents, it would do more harm than good.


    ¡°Leave some alive,¡± Mason ordered, shaking the blood from his sabre and trying to stabilize his breathing uneven from the intense exertion, ¡°Sergeant Ivan!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Secure Simon Gate.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Gentlemen! Sergeant Mason at the South Gate is still waiting for us,¡± Mason said with an inviting smile, ¡°Let¡¯s not keep him anxious.¡±


    No sooner had he spoken than he spurred his horse and took off. The other riders quickly followed suit.


    Outside the city walls, the Terdun Cavalry encountered a huge problem.


    That was the ¡°remarkably short¡± walls the fire makers spoke of, which were, in reality, not short at all but rather too tall to surmount.


    This was a ¡°wall and moat combined¡± fortification; this was a wall that Captain Richard Mason had specially prepared for the Terdun people.

 Chapter 819 819 81 Cannon

    ?Chapter 819: Chapter 81: Cannon Chapter 819: Chapter 81: Cannon The gates fell, and the drawbridge rose, trapping the armored soldiers from Terdun who had breached the city gates in a deathtrap.


    The crisp clash of steel blades pierced through the sound of horse hooves, carrying far into the distance; flashes of fire intermittently flickered within the city, likely the red flames of gunshot.


    ¡°There must be interlocking walls inside the city,¡± the man by the fire said, his face showing displeasure, ¡°Where are those who pledged their allegiance? Bring him over!¡±


    Without another word, the archer quickly led his men to look for Red Dog.


    Old Translator, not particularly surprised, sat steadily on his horseback, observing the battle, and confidently stated, ¡°It seems that those defending the city indeed don¡¯t have many troops; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t resort to such risky tactics.¡±


    The Hundred-Men Squad leading the assault were ambushed, making the situation seem unfavorable for the people of Terdun.


    However, ¡°a pouch of water can quench thirst, a pool of water can drown a person,¡± those from Terdun who broke into the city were the fiercest and bravest armored guards. Trapped in a desperate situation, they would inevitably fight to the death.


    ...


    Taking down the leading guards would cost the defending troops a few teeth. Working together from inside and outside, on the contrary, was an opportunity to breach the city.


    Luring the enemy into the trap was a risky move, and the slightest mishap could backfire.


    In Old Translator¡¯s memory, there were hardly any defending forces that would actively let enemies into the city.


    Even commanders with rationality would not take such a risk, not to mention dealing with a small city surrounded by merely a simple, low earthen wall.


    ¡°Rebel officer named Mason, are you incredibly bold,¡± Old Translator wondered, ¡°or are you driven to a desperate jump?¡±


    If Mason himself heard Old Translator¡¯s question, he would probably just smile helplessly and not respond.


    The subsequent development of the battle made the man by the fire even more furious¡ªthe city walls were low and the moat not deep, yet the troops from the Terdon Tribe halted at the edge of the moat, unable to advance.


    From the vantage point of the man by the fire, frequent flashes of red light and the sound of fierce fighting came from inside the southern gate, while almost no muzzle flashes were seen along the city wall.


    This meant the leading guards who had entered the city were still fighting the defenders and had attracted a large section of the defending army.


    The other Hundred-Men Squads outside the city should have taken this chance to reach the city walls immediately, attacking from both the inside and the outside together with the leading guards to capture the city.


    Yet, every Hundred-Men Squad stopped at the edge of the moat and would not advance further.


    To the man by the fire, the walls of Revodan were barely taller than a person, and even with armor, climbing over them shouldn¡¯t be difficult.


    However, the actual scene witnessed by the people of Terdun standing at the edge of the moat was different:


    Ahead, the earthen wall and the moat merged seamlessly; the wall and the moat¡¯s sides formed a continuous plane with no ¡°corners¡± as boundaries.


    From the ground level, this wall was merely taller than a person and hardly noticeable.


    But once inside the moat, the depth of the moat added onto the height of the wall would instantly make it more than twice the height of a person¡ªthat was not something humans could easily climb over.


    Designed by Richard Mason himself, the defensive works of Revodan featured walls 2 meters high, with a moat 2.5 meters deep and 4 meters wide. The bottom of the moat was lined with a series of sharp wooden stakes; once down, there was no coming back up.


    Those from Terdun outside the moat listened to the gunshots and screams from inside, unarmed with any siege equipment, and could only shoot arrows toward the source of the sounds blindly.


    The leading armored guards climbed the wall and fell into the moat, either dying on impact or being pierced alive by the wooden stakes.


    The men from Terdun circled the walls urgently looking for places where they could land and climb up.


    In desperation, a young and reckless man from Terdun harshly spurred his Warhorse, charging toward the moat.


    The Warhorse, in pain, leaped high at the edge of the city moat.


    The rider stepped on the Warhorse¡¯s back mid-air and daringly jumped onto the city wall. The poor Warhorse, unable to escape the laws of fall, crashed heavily into the bottom of the moat, instantly impaled and killed by the stakes.


    The other men from Terdun, both shocked and admiring, did not dare to follow suit.


    Soon, the reckless young man who had jumped onto the city wall climbed back up, covered in blood. He had barely revealed his upper body when invisible hands dragged him back, followed by a few screams before quickly going silent.


    The city wall stood like a gate between two worlds; those outside from Terdun had no idea what was happening inside.


    They shot arrows, cursed, and shouted, but the wall absorbed it all, responding only with silence.


    Before long, the sounds of fighting inside gradually quieted down, causing several red-feathered men at the edge of the moat to sink their hearts.


    Soon, dark muzzles protruded from the city wall¡ªMason, having dealt with the enemies inside, finally had the time to address the barbarians outside.


    Old-time city walls were built tall and strong, not only to increase the difficulty for besiegers but also because height was a weapon in itself.


    The concept is simple, even children understand it: the higher the position from which an object is dropped, the stronger the destructive power.


    But as firearms began to be slowly employed in siege warfare, military engineers soon realized that towering walls were not only fragile but also ineffective for the power of firearms.


    Gunpowder-driven bullets traveled much faster than arrows, had greater impact, and could even penetrate through bodies continuously.


    Besides the trajectory fall during flight, bullets that travel closer to the ground made the cannons more lethal. From the standpoint of maximizing firepower, perhaps shorter walls were better.


    Thus, the low wall integrated with a moat gradually took center stage.


    This design wasn¡¯t a new gimmick. Outer fortifications of the old-time defensive system¡ªretaining walls, low outer walls, and parapets¡ªall had similar structures.


    But applying the integrated wall and moat as the main city wall structure was a complete breakthrough of the new era.


    This wall was Richard Mason¡¯s ¡°gift¡± to those from Terdun, who remained stuck in the old times, using a design of the new era.


    Undeterred, those from Terdun still tried to use bows and arrows to harm the defending forces behind the wall; however, two thunderous booms extinguished all their fight. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At the focal area of the attack and defense¡ªthe outside of the southern city gate, two blasts enveloped with shards of stone and scrap iron swept across the ground.


    The injured Warhorse neighed in panic and bolted away; the rider who was hit fell off the saddle, his clothing slowly soaked with blood from the blackened holes.


    Standing atop a wooden platform, musketeers who were only half-visible above the wall also opened fire.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Great Thunder!¡± Amidst the smoke and continuous screams, someone exclaimed, ¡°[Herde Language] The bipeds have Great Thunder!¡±


    [Note: Herders refer to gunpowder weapons as ¡®Thunder,¡¯ with muskets generally known as Great Thunder, cannons as Small Thunder, so throwing grenades is called Black Thunder]


    The distance was too close, and the people of the Terdon Tribe near the trench were almost blasted in the forehead by two cannon shots from the defenders.


    No one understood the destructive power of cannons better than the people of the Terdon Tribe, who had tasted the bloody water of assault during the battle in the Great Wilderness.


    Cannons, city walls, and resolute defenders¡ªthough this city wasn¡¯t impregnable, it certainly wasn¡¯t meat to be easily seized by the people of the Terdon Tribe either.


    Seeing that the situation was hopeless, another leader from Hong Lingyu gritted his teeth and ordered a retreat.


    The sound of the bugle resonated, and the attackers at the south gate of the Terdon Tribe began retreating, dragging corpses and wounded, quickly disengaging from their feigned attacks upon hearing the bugle sound.


    Revodan¡¯s New Town fell into prolonged silence until the barbarians¡¯ hoofbeats gradually faded away.


    ¡°Did we win?¡± asked a militiaman timidly.


    ¡°We won!¡± Mason affectionately patted his third-generation wooden cannon.


    Instantly, New Town erupted into cheers, the survivors crying and shouting.


    For the majority of the militia, who had been laborers just the day before, they had barely done anything, yet this did not diminish their joy and sense of happiness.


    The fervent emotions spread across St. George River, infecting the anxious citizens of Old City waiting for news.


    In the northern bank¡¯s Old Town, every household was knocking on doors and windows, the sounds of cheer floated back across the river to the southern city.


    The faithful waiting at Revodan Cathedral prayed in unison, praising the Savior.


    While Revodan¡¯s real savior was, at that moment, meticulously checking his heavy cannon.


    The first-generation wooden cannon comprised a raw log encased in an iron tube, which could only be used a few times before it became scrap.


    The second-generation wooden cannon advanced further, simply a hollow wooden post for one-time use.


    But the third-generation wooden cannon was a genuine cannon, and it should no longer be referred to as a ¡°wooden cannon.¡±


    With the full support of Forging Village, the third-generation wooden cannon was forged around a well-honed iron barrel. The process resembled the forging of a gun barrel.


    The original gun barrels were then tightly wrapped with iron hoops and belts before having fresh, tough wood cores hammered into them to further reduce the likelihood of bursting.


    Though the tri-layer structure¡ªiron, leather, wood¡ªmade the cannon cumbersome, it posed no significant issue in city defense.


    ¡°Well done,¡± Mason noted after a thorough inspection, not finding any cracks or signs of air leakage.


    He then ordered his subordinates to cool down the barrel with grease since the three-layer wrapping structure caused poor heat dissipation.


    The captain of the artillery looked at his ¡°beautiful daughters,¡± thinking slightly proudly, ¡°I¡¯m truly a genius.¡±


    At the same time, on the northern bank of St. George River, Anna, Catherine, and Mrs. Mitchell arrived at Revodan Cathedral.


    Catherine held Anna¡¯s hand tightly, as if fearing that releasing it would cause her sister to disappear.


    Anna felt the same, with warmth from Catherine¡¯s palm reminding her that she still had a sister at least.


    The Navarre sisters were not new to war, but they had never been this close to it before.


    Merely by standing across the river and watching from afar, both ladies¡¯ hearts clenched tightly. Occasionally, even grimmer possibilities crossed their minds.


    But they couldn¡¯t¡ªand didn¡¯t¡ªshow any sign of worry.


    To everyone else, one was Lady Montaigne, and the other was Lady Montaigne¡¯s sister. Any negative emotion they showed would be interpreted, magnified, and then spread throughout their small city.


    In this respect, Catherine handled it better than Scarlett and even Anna.


    Scarlett rarely hid her emotions; her feelings towards her father, brothers, and Winters were nearly written on her face. In her view, expressing emotions openly didn¡¯t mean weakness.


    Catherine quickly adapted to this burden. While Anna was busy helping Mason manage the camp for women and children, it was Catherine who accompanied Mrs. Mitchell to meet with the women of Revodan, infusing confidence into them with her smile, and spreading that confidence further.


    Because Anna disliked these occasions, Lady Navarre easily tired of salons, tea parties, complimentary words, and polite smiles¡ªMiss Navarre, on the other hand, thrived on them.


    In some ways, they each had inherited half of their mother¡¯s persona.


    Mrs. Mitchell led Anna and Catherine through the crowd to the altar of the cathedral.


    Anna joined Mrs. Mitchell in carefully placing candles on the altar, praying in silence.


    In this small city on the edge of the world, Mrs. Mitchell, like a mother, sheltered Anna and Catherine under her wings.


    ¡°What are you praying for?¡± Catherine asked.


    Mrs. Mitchell looked at the two children with compassion: ¡°I pray¡­ that you never have to become strong.¡±


    ¡­


    When the Terdon Tribe¡¯s first attempt at storming the city was repelled, Winters¡¯s first counterattack had already commenced.


    He watched as Samujin¡¯s fleet left the Niutigu Valley and drifted downstream.

 Chapter 820 820 82 The Enemy

    ?Chapter 820: Chapter 82: The Enemy Chapter 820: Chapter 82: The Enemy On the Big Horn River, a small boat loaded with stones drifted downriver towards the floating bridge.


    At the same time, in the wilderness south of Revodan, Dusack [Tulin] urged his horse into a frenzied run as he was chased by the people of Terdun.


    Tulin kept looking back, and seeing the pursuing Herd Barbarians, he doubled his efforts, digging his spurs into the horse¡¯s flanks.


    The warhorse, distressed by the intense pain, exerted its strength crazily, its hooves thunderously striking the ground.


    Tulin stood in the stirrups to alleviate as much of the burden on the horse as possible.


    The horse¡¯s legs were long and powerful, and its fetlocks were flawless¡ªa descendant of shield river chargers brought from the north thirty years ago.


    Usually, Tulin was extremely careful with the horse, rarely even using a whip.


    ...


    But at this moment, the horse¡¯s belly and flanks were covered in sweaty blood.


    Terdun¡¯s horses were shorter and slower, no match for Tulin¡¯s in speed.


    However, the Herders¡¯ warhorses, like their owners, were tenacious. They pressed closely behind Tulin¡¯s horse and refused to give up.


    The battlefield was shrouded in a mist, with both armies dispatching many scouts to track the enemy¡¯s movements.


    Scout cavalryman Tulin unexpectedly encountered the Terdun scouts, outnumbered, he decisively retreated, though the Terdun people followed closely.


    The two sides crossed wilderness, streams, and hills, chasing from the southern outskirts of Revodan all the way into the territory of Saint Town.


    The people of Terdun were eager to capture Tulin alive, while Tulin led them into an ambush.


    Tulin raced through abandoned farmland, passing a lane flanked by rows of birch trees, just as reinforcements arrived.


    More than ten cavalry from Iron Peak County outflanked the Terdun forces from both sides, led by a rider on a spry reddish-brown horse¡ªit was Anglu.


    ¡°[Herde Language] It¡¯s the Big Beard!¡± panicked exclamations filled the air as the Terdun people recognized the rider and the distinctive saber.


    Dusack, with his beard, forehead hair, and a silver earring, could be easily distinguished from standard Paratu people.


    The long wars had left the Herders with deep impressions of these skilled, fierce fighting cavalrymen, giving Dusack a nickname blending fear and respect¡ª¡±Big Beard.¡±


    The Terdun¡¯s Hong Lingyu initially thought of retreating, but seeing that the approaching cavalry was not numerous, boldness took over.


    He whistled sharply, signaling his troops to rally around him.


    Horses galloped wildly, the sabers whishing through the air as Anglu led the Dusacks in a tangled, fierce fight with the Terdun people.


    Before long, the Fire Tender and the old Translator learned about this small-scale encounter.


    The Fire Tender, eyes ablaze, asked in a sharp tone facing Hong Lingyu, ¡°[Herde Language] Is the command tent of the two-legged ones in the town to the south? You saw it with your own eyes.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] There is plenty of foot traffic and wagon tracks everywhere, it can¡¯t be faked,¡± replied Hong Lingyu, pale-faced, grimacing in pain: ¡°[Herde Language] And lots of Big Beards!¡±


    Cavalry battles test horsemanship and saber skills, which Dusacks excel at. Hong Lingyu lost half an ear; had there not been an iron plate sewn in his sleeve, his arm would have been severed as well.


    The Fire Tender rewarded Hong Lingyu with a medal of gold and promised two tents full of goods and slaves. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Hong Lingyu gratefully departed, the Fire Tender¡¯s expression suddenly darkened: ¡°[Herde Language] They¡¯re already in the south? How did they get here so fast?¡±


    The old Translator tugged at his beard, his brows deeply furrowed: ¡°[Herde Language] Tie Chi¡¯s troops have likely been scattered!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] How is that possible?¡± the Fire Tender exclaimed in horror: ¡°[Herde Language] It has only been a few days!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Otherwise, there¡¯s no way to explain how their reinforcements have managed such swift action,¡± the Translator¡¯s wrinkles deepened.


    The Fire Tender slapped his thigh, eyes flickering fiercely: ¡°[Herde Language] Let them come! Good, we¡¯ll slaughter them all. Then we¡¯ll plunder at will!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] If they rush at us like animals with tails on fire, we¡¯ll fight a big battle. They¡¯ve just fought a fierce battle with Tie Chi¡¯s troops, are tired and hungry, we can easily crush them,¡± the Translator paced within the tent: ¡°[Herde Language] But they¡¯ve stopped in the southern town and aren¡¯t rushing their support. A cornered bull fights back; we can¡¯t battle recklessly.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] What should we do then?¡± the Fire Tender asked impatiently.


    ¡°[Herde Language] When a fox hides in its hole and you want its fur, you must force it out,¡± the Translator stopped pacing, confident: ¡°[Herde Language] The biggest knot on this rope is still that small city. If the city on the southern bank is threatened, they¡¯ll have to face us.¡±


    The Fire Tender abruptly stood: ¡°[Herde Language] I¡¯ll send my troops to attack the city now!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t overexert, but make enough noise; since their main camp is in the southern town, send several hundred cavalry squads to flank them, kill their able-bodied, and burn their supply carts; also send troops to gather supplies and rally dispersed forces¡­¡± the Translator slowly added.


    The Fire Tender nodded continuously. Although he usually called the Translator ¡®Echegke¡¯ [father], the relationship between them was still master and servant.


    However, in front of the old Translator, the Fire Tender did indeed seem like a son receiving lessons from a father.


    Meanwhile, Anglu, along with Tulin, also made it to Winters¡¯ command post.


    Winters¡¯ troops assembled at Saint Town, with the command post situated within the town¡¯s church.

 Chapter 821 821 82 Enemy_2

    ?Chapter 821: Chapter 82 Enemy_2 Chapter 821: Chapter 82 Enemy_2 As soon as they entered the church, Tulin reported anxiously, ¡°Commander! Revodan has not yet fallen!¡±


    Due to the church¡¯s echo structure, Tulin¡¯s voice sounded particularly ethereal, its content akin to the gospel.


    The spirits of others in the command post were lifted. Winters, who had been poring over the map, suddenly looked up and gestured for Tulin to explain in detail. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Revodan was surrounded by the forces of Terdun, with Terdun¡¯s cavalry patrolling along the southern shore.


    Communication in and out of the city was completely cut off, and the messenger who took a detour along the north shore hadn¡¯t returned. Tulin was the first Scout under Winters¡¯s command to break through the blockade.


    Tulin did not dare to delay or take credit for his findings. Glancing around, he spoke loudly and clearly, ¡°There are many barbarian patrols; I couldn¡¯t enter the city but did catch a glimpse of the western slopes. I can assure you, the flag atop the city walls is still our blue army flag, not the barbarians¡¯ horsetail banner!¡±


    Many in the command post were citizens of Revodan, with their families in the city.


    ...


    Upon hearing this, the clerks could not help but cheer out loud, sweeping away the gloom that had accumulated over the past few days.


    The sound waves spread out of the church, transmitting the news that ¡°Revodan is still holding strong.¡±


    Upon hearing the news, the soldiers and laborers who had been constructing fortifications around the town threw down their tools and also began to shout wildly, venting the emotions pent up inside them.


    In the frenzy, only one person maintained his calm and restraint.


    Winters tapped his fingertips lightly on the tabletop and slowly asked Tulin, ¡°Is Revodan¡¯s city defense still intact?¡±


    ¡°Intact!¡± Tulin replied without hesitation, ¡°The city walls are all in good condition. There¡¯s no sign of fires. I also observed carts and pedestrians on the bridge, seeming to transport something!¡±


    Bard strode energetically into the church, and as soon as he entered, he joyfully asked, ¡°Heard Revodan is safe and sound? Our senior really is capable!¡±


    ¡°Safe and sound. Since our senior has held Revodan, we have more options now.¡± Winters unconsciously stroked a simple knife, lost in thought.


    Seeing this, Bard signaled for everyone else to remain, and silence fell over the church again.


    Winters stood below the altar, deep in thought. Sunlight streamed through the church¡¯s mosaic glass windows onto him, giving his figure a mottled look.


    His subordinates and clerks looked on reverently, some silently praying in their hearts.


    ¡°Bard,¡± Winters spoke slowly and deliberately, ¡°Conscript all persons in Iron Peak County over the age of fifteen and under sixty.¡±


    ¡­


    Green-flagged messengers raced in all directions, carrying two orders.


    The first order called for the conscription of all men over fifteen and under sixty from Middle Iron Peak County and Upper Iron Peak County as militia; those who joined were to receive a specified allotment of land, with thrice the amount for those who fell in battle.


    The second order had spread throughout Saint Town before it was even fully copied.


    It had no official name, but everyone spoke its nickname with a hint of fear and shiver¡ª¡±the beheading order.¡±


    It stated that in Iron Peak County, regardless of gender, age, or civilian status, anyone who could bring an enemy¡¯s head, along with a helmet or hat as proof, would receive an allotment of land.


    Land was Winters¡¯s capital, and his only capital. But when the time came to use it, Winters was never stingy.


    ¡­


    Mason also received a message from Winters¡ªthe messenger who had crossed the river through King¡¯s Bridge Town had finally reached Revodan.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Mason sighed deeply as he handed the note to Moritz, ¡°Is it some special script used by the Venetians?¡±


    The hastily created cipher was too simple to carry much information.


    Yet the risk of interception was not to be ignored, so Winters¡¯s message was written in code.


    Mason couldn¡¯t understand it.


    Moritz, who was listless, took the note, glanced at it, and quickly handed it back, saying, ¡°No.¡±


    Due to the lack of grain for brewing, Moritz had been suffering severe withdrawal symptoms.


    At the moment, he was fiddling with a small silver flask, the last of Revodan¡¯s strong liquor inside.


    The colonel was so focused on every detail of the flask that it seemed mere contact might quench his thirst.


    Only Mason knew that the colonel was saving the last of the liquor for the battle.


    ¡°What else did the Civil Guard Officer Montaigne say?¡± Mason asked, resigned, to the messenger.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer said,¡± the messenger replied, ¡°Go find A and B.¡±


    ¡­


    Usually, within the military, A referred to Lieutenant Tang Juan, and B stood for Moritz.


    Tang Juan had been missing for a while, but Mason was aware of another A, and at this moment, this Ms. A was right here in Revodan.


    Ms. A¡ªAnna Navarre took the note, looking at the jumbled letters with a slight frown.


    Catherine also peeked over her sister¡¯s shoulder, but she was equally clueless.


    ¡°It¡¯s from Winters,¡± Mason said, embarrassed, ¡°I think only you can understand it.¡±


    Hearing that name, Anna¡¯s brow smoothed over, and she answered modestly and with a touch of shyness, ¡°Then I probably understand how to interpret it.¡±


    Anna went on to simply explain the reason, her cheeks growing redder as she did.


    Since Winters¡¯s letters to Anna were always being spied on, when Anna once mentioned it in jest, Winters had told her about a method of encryption.


    ¡°In ancient times, a commander would shift each letter in the military orders by several places down the alphabet,¡± Winters had thought he was solving a problem, ¡°thus, the original sentences would turn into a jumble of letters.¡±

 Chapter 822 822 82 Enemy_3

    ?Chapter 822: Chapter 82 Enemy_3 Chapter 822: Chapter 82 Enemy_3 Catherine hummed lightly.


    Anna picked up the letter, her confusion resurfacing, ¡°But there¡¯s something strange about this letter, it¡¯s not like the usual cipher sequences¡­ Why are there only ten letters? I¡­ Oh! I understand now¡­¡±


    Mason and Catherine were both clueless.


    Anna hurriedly explained, ¡°It¡¯s a different encryption method, one that I just mentioned in passing to Mr. Montaigne¡­ It¡¯s not merely ten letters, but one to ten. We also need a book. Did Mr. Montaigne mention which book?¡±


    Mason quickly answered, ¡°He said to look for A and B.¡±


    ¡°It must be a book that both he and I have, at least something that¡¯s not hard to find. B? What is that?¡± Anna¡¯s gaze swept over the shrine, and in an instant, she understood all the nuances.


    With a smile, she pointed to the holy emblem, ¡°It¡¯s a scripture.¡±


    ...


    After borrowing the ¡°folio¡± from Revodan Cathedral, the contents of the letter were quickly decrypted.


    It was a wholly military communication, in which Winters briefly and forcefully described the course and outcome of the Battle of Panto River, calmly analyzing the current predicament of the troops¡ªshortage of supplies; no chance to rest after the bitter battle, the soldiers weary and old.


    Then, Winters informed Senior Mason of his next battle plan, while Revodan would temporarily receive no reinforcement.


    The austere emotions of an iceberg only cracked at the very end of his letter, as Winters painfully and restrainedly wrote two words, ¡°Sorry, sorry.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to be sorry about?¡± Mason spread his hands helplessly, ¡°In war, anything can happen¡­¡±


    Mason¡¯s voice became quieter and he stopped abruptly. He noticed Anna¡¯s eyes, slightly reddened as she translated the letter.


    Anna quickly composed herself, smiling with the same grace as Mrs. Mitchell, ¡°Yes, in war, anything can happen.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, on the Big Horn River.


    Samujin, standing at the bow, could already faintly see the silhouette of the Floating Bridge.


    The Floating Bridge that spanned both banks resembled a delicate ribbon on the water¡¯s surface.


    As a firsthand witness to the Battle of the Great Wilderness, Samujin had seen the Herders collide the Floating Bridge with logs and rafts, destroying half of it at the Styx.


    Now the situation was reversed, and it was Samujin¡¯s turn to lead the flotilla against the Floating Bridge of Terdun.


    ¡°The water is too low,¡± Samujin thought to himself.


    In the winter low water season, the volume of Big Horn River was reduced, and the current slowed; not to mention Shovel Lake, the large reservoir behind the Floating Bridge.


    Could the small boats loaded with stones destroy the Floating Bridge? Samujin wasn¡¯t sure.


    Would the Terdun people rebuild it after its destruction? Samujin dared not think about it.


    If they could intercept the Terdun Barbarians as they were setting up the Floating Bridge, it would certainly not be completed.


    Now that the Terdun people occupied both banks, even if the Floating Bridge were destroyed, as long as they had craftsmen and materials, they could rebuild it.


    Regret and self-reproach surged in Samujin¡¯s heart. Centurion Montaigne had entrusted him with the flotilla and significant battlefield command rights, but he wrongly concentrated all boats in the Battle of Panto River, failing to allocate some for controlling the waterways.


    Samujin had thought that the Terdun people had exhausted their tricks, but this idea had led to a major mistake. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters did not blame Samujin; he only blamed himself for not advising Samujin in advance. This made Samujin feel even more agonized and ashamed.


    ¡°The only way to wash away disgrace,¡± Samujin thought, looking at the ever-closer Floating Bridge and ordered the drums to be beaten, ¡°is to destroy it.¡±


    ¡°Even if it costs us our lives,¡± he added to himself through gritted teeth.


    The Terdun people defending the Floating Bridge noticed the downstream boats, shouting, running, grabbing long poles with iron hooks as they rushed onto the Floating Bridge¡ªboth sides had learned a lot in this war.


    In the nearby camp on the riverbank, a captain ripped off his scarf like a hawk eyeing the river, and his thin body seemed to be injected with endless strength. ¡°It¡¯s the sound of drums!¡± the captain¡¯s pupils dilated and he thumped his thigh forcefully, ¡°The little military drums!¡±


    The other captives were also startled, unable to resist raising a clamor.


    ¡°Little military drums?¡±


    ¡°Our people are coming?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Will they come to save us?¡±


    ¡°Quiet!¡± the captain shouted, and the captives instantly silenced.


    Suddenly remembering something, the captain punched his thigh hard, ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± another captive asked.


    The captain had no time to explain, stretched out his legs, and commanded harshly, ¡°Split it open!¡±


    Iron shackles bound the captain¡¯s legs. Although the captives had axes, none dared to move. Helping the captain would mean sharing his fate.


    Furious, the captain ordered again, ¡°Do it!¡±


    Still, no one moved.


    ¡°Do it!¡±


    Finally, another captive, after much struggle, stopped thinking. With a grotesque expression and hysteria, he cried out, ¡°Damn it! Do you want to be slaves to the Herd Barbarians for the rest of your lives?!¡±


    On the other side, Samujin beat the drum himself, the rowers pulling hard. The small boats laden with stones sped toward the Floating Bridge.


    The preparations of the Terdun people seemed insufficient; they just kept firing arrows from the banks. Samujin¡¯s flotilla, moving in mid-river, stayed as far from the banks as possible.


    Suddenly, Samujin caught sight of a group of ragged people bursting out from the north bank, waving their hands, shouting, and jumping towards him.


    With the drumbeat piercing through the air, Samujin couldn¡¯t make out what they were yelling, only seeing them desperately waving their arms.

 Chapter 823 823 82 Enemy_4

    ?Chapter 823: Chapter 82 Enemy_4 Chapter 823: Chapter 82 Enemy_4 ¡°Are these our captured brothers?¡± Samujin thought in agony, ¡°But I have no strength left to save you!¡±


    The captives on the shore were actually shouting just one sentence¡ª¡±Don¡¯t come over!¡±


    However, the boats on the river were speeding up instead of slowing down.


    The captain with his face covered became frantic, his eyes bloodshot, as he grabbed an axe, ¡°It¡¯s too late! Follow me!¡±


    With those words, he charged ahead, leading the way toward a tent of the Terdun people on the shore.


    The other captives hesitated slightly, but quickly picked up tools and even stones, following the masked captain towards the Terdun people.


    Meanwhile, accompanied by the grating sound of winches turning, the oarsmen in the leading boat were horrified to see a long serpent leap up from the surface of the water, blocking their way.


    ...


    No, not a serpent! Samujin recognized at a glance what it was¡ªa thick cable stretched between both banks of the river.


    The cable hung naturally, with the near-shore portion suspended above the water¡¯s surface and the far-shore portion half-submerged.


    The leading boat, caught off-guard, struck the cable and spun out of control.


    As it turned, the small, stone-laden boat swayed like a leaf before abruptly capsizing.


    The hastily constructed boats were flat-bottomed, shallow in draft but not shallow enough to glide over the cable, especially now that they were fully loaded.


    ¡°To the shore!¡± Samujin shouted with all his might, giving the order, ¡°To the river shore!¡±


    Before the sound of his voice faded, another boat crashed into the cable and overturned. The other oarsmen quickly turned their boats and drifted toward the shore.


    With the near-shore cable hanging above the water, the small boats, now armed with axes and swords, could cut through it.


    However, the Terdun archers were also on the shore, and as the fleet approached, they began shooting arrows.


    Arrows fell like rain, and even the shields were not enough protection; oarsmen kept getting struck and falling into the water.


    What happened next drove Samujin to despair¡ªthe watercourse successively rose with a second and then a third cable.


    Even if the cables were not made of iron chains, three barriers were enough to destroy the entire fleet.


    ¡°Retreat!¡± gritting his teeth, Samujin gave the order.


    It was at that moment that something unexpected occurred.


    As if suddenly released from their constraints, the first cable violently retracted and then went limp, floating on the water¡¯s surface.


    The masked captain, having slashed through the cable, delivered a mighty axe blow to a Terdun attacker, nearly faltering himself.


    He steadied himself and roared to his surviving men, ¡°The next one!¡±


    Seeing the commotion on the West Bank, Samujin realized that someone was risking their life to help.


    ¡°Do not fail them!¡± Samujin banged the war drums forcefully, ¡°Row! Charge!¡±


    The fleet returned to its original course, the oarsmen chanting as they swung their arms, the stone-laden boats ramming against the Floating Bridge with full force.


    The Terdun were caught off guard, and the second and third cables were also severed by the masked captain.


    The sound of hoofbeats came from behind, but the captain paid no heed; he just stared as the boats crashed into the Floating Bridge he had helped build, feeling a sense of satisfaction.


    Aboard the boat, Samujin noticed the strange man wearing a mask, leaning on an axe, standing alone on the shore.


    Samujin rose to his feet and saluted the man from a distance.


    Beneath his scarf, a faint smile crept across the masked man¡¯s face as he returned the salute with gravity.


    More than ten boats broke through the river-blocking cables and resolutely smashed into the Floating Bridge. A few Terdun still held their positions, but most of them dropped their poles and turned to run.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Your people really are clumsy¡­¡± On the riverbank, a man watched the chaotic scene of horses and men fleeing, then turned to the others and said resignedly, ¡°[Ancient Language] Help them¡­ fortunately, the river is low now.¡±


    Amidst the booming of the war drums, oarsmen leaped overboard to survive, and the leading small boats fiercely collided with the Floating Bridge.


    The Floating Bridge tensed instantly, trembling slightly as if in pain.


    Several anchor ropes securing the pontoons snapped, the boats capsized, and the bridge rebounded significantly.


    ¡°Good!!!¡± both Samujin and the masked captain shouted simultaneously. With ongoing collisions, the Floating Bridge would inevitably fail.


    However, at that moment, the Big Horn River, which had been flowing quietly, began to swell.


    At first, there were only a few ripples, but quickly the ripples amplified into waves.


    Under the gaze of everyone on both banks, the waves visibly grew more turbulent and the crests increasingly high.


    The flat-bottomed inland vessels simply couldn¡¯t withstand such large waves.


    ¡°Damn! This is¡­¡± Samujin cursed in anger and despair. Before he could finish, a wave as high as a man flipped over his boat. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Floating Bridge, too, was rocked by the ¡°tidal wave,¡± smashing back down onto the water¡¯s surface and snapping a dozen more anchor ropes.


    The river pulled people and splintered planks under the water, with the remnants of the wave reaching far and wide. The waves gradually subsided, and the raging river slowly returned to its usual calm.


    Witnessing this ¡°miracle,¡± the Terdun fell to their knees in worship.


    The masked captain had no time for contemplation; he discarded his clothes and dived into the frigid waters.


    Samujin could swim, but after gulping down a couple of mouthfuls of water, all that remained was the instinctual flailing of his arms. Soon, he lost consciousness.


    As Samujin sank deeper and deeper, a pair of iron arms wrapped around him from behind, dragging him toward the surface.


    Slightly conscious, Samujin faintly felt someone poking his mouth and throat, urgently, then he felt the air.


    ¡°Breathe!¡± said the stranger anxiously.


    Samujin instinctively drew a deep breath, as if to burst his lungs. His body curled involuntarily like a shrimp, and his consciousness became clearer.


    Then Samujin saw a face, a face without a nose, without ears, one side horribly scarred from burns.

 Chapter 824 824 82 Enemy_5

    ?Chapter 824: Chapter 82 Enemy_5 Chapter 824: Chapter 82 Enemy_5 ¡°Who are you?¡± Samujin struggled to rise.


    ¡°Moro.¡± The disfigured man¡¯s voice was low, ¡°Danzel Moro, Captain.¡±


    ¡°Bridge?¡± Samujin seemed to find an anchor for his consciousness and suddenly stood up, eagerly looking towards the Floating Bridge.


    ¡°The Floating Bridge suffered some damage, but it can all be repaired,¡± Captain Moro said coldly.


    Captain was right. Although the Floating Bridge was damaged in several places, it still stretched across the river, as if mocking Samujin.


    ¡°Damn!¡± Samujin suddenly felt dizzy. His knees weakened, and he fell to the ground, desperately pounding the sandy earth, ¡°Damn! Damn!¡±


    ¡°Save your strength.¡± Captain Moro just spoke and made no move to stop him, ¡°The Herder¡¯s search team is coming. If you don¡¯t leave, you¡¯re waiting for death.¡±


    ...


    Samujin turned a deaf ear, the iron man suddenly wrapping his arms around his knees and bursting into tears.


    ¡°What are you crying for?¡± Captain Moro couldn¡¯t feel Samujin¡¯s grief and just sneered, ¡°With your stupid method, it was never possible to completely destroy the Floating Bridge¡­ I have a better way, take me to see your commander.¡±


    Samujin suddenly looked up, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw, ¡°You still have a way to destroy the Floating Bridge.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Captain Moro looked coldly at the Floating Bridge, ¡°I built that bridge. Every moment I think about how to destroy it.¡±


    ¡­


    On the other side, Mason summoned Revodan¡¯s civil commissioners and representatives of all levels to read a part of Winters¡¯ letter.


    ¡°Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has just fought hard and needs a few days to regroup and gather,¡± Captain Mason concluded, ¡°So we have no reinforcements during this period and must rely on ourselves.¡±


    The town hall erupted into tumult, although repelling one attack from Terdun had greatly boosted the citizens¡¯ confidence, the news of no reinforcements still shook their resolve.


    ¡°Montaigne Civil Guard Officer agrees, if necessary,¡± Mason paused for a moment, ¡°to abandon the southern city.¡±


    Another grenade thrown into a chicken coop, the citizens of Revodan loudly agreed, the representatives of the refugees were anxious, and some openly objected.


    ¡°Quiet!¡± Mayor Priskin banged the table vigorously.


    When the town hall quieted down again,


    Mason carefully explained, ¡°Even if we must abandon the southern city, we need a strategy. Supplies must be moved north, there must be a place for the elderly and children, and we have to figure out how to destroy what can¡¯t be moved¡­¡±


    Mason spoke slowly, with a calm and gentle tone, but his gentleness and calmness contained a kind of strength.


    The town hall grew quieter and quieter, everyone listening intently.


    ¡°Just tell us what to do!¡± the top supporter of the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer, the blacksmith Shosa, was the first to respond, ¡°We all follow you. With the enemy at our door, who wouldn¡¯t listen! Just deal with him!¡±


    The crowd was bustling, and seeing this, Mayor Priskin simply said, ¡°Those who agree with Commissioner Shosa, cheer for Civil Guard Officer Mason three times!¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Three cheers, each louder than the last.


    Mayor Priskin hammered down, ¡°Three cheers passed!¡±


    ¡°Now that everyone is listening to me,¡± Mason stood up, slightly embarrassed, ¡°let¡¯s first evacuate the women and children to the northern shore.¡±


    The evacuation progressed quickly, as most of the women and children were already settled on the northern shore.


    After evacuating the women and children, it was time to move the supplies.


    Men of Revodan city¡ªboth citizens and refugees¡ªwere formed into militia squads and came to the southern shore to move items.


    With only one bridge over the river, it was jam-packed for a time.


    Seeing this, Mason ordered that after leaving necessary defense personnel on the northern shore, all other militia and city guards concentrated on the southern shore to move supplies in an orderly manner.


    After clearing the bridge, Mason ordered the bridge to be dismantled.


    Not using explosives¡ªbecause gunpowder was very precious;


    Nor using kerosene¡ªbecause fuel was also very precious;


    Every piece of wood was carefully collected for reuse¡ªthrift and prudence, very much Mason¡¯s style.


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided,¡± Mason stood in front of the panic-stricken crowd, smiling as he announced, ¡°We will not abandon the southern city.¡±

 Chapter 825 825 83 Sightseeing

    ?Chapter 825: Chapter 83 Sightseeing Chapter 825: Chapter 83 Sightseeing Revodan, the southern city.


    ¡°Learning so quickly.¡± Mason watched the earth thrown up by the Terdun people, his mood heavy as he thought, ¡°Winters was right, the intangible dissemination of technology is a greater threat than tangible losses of troops and generals.¡±


    The artillery captain thought this way, but his emotions didn¡¯t show.


    He turned his head and sternly reprimanded his ashen-faced subordinates, ¡°Where are the cannons? Why are they not yet in position?¡±


    The Terdun people chose to approach from the west of the city by digging trenches, while Mason¡¯s cannons had been previously positioned at the southern gate.


    The third generation ¡°wooden cannons,¡± to prevent burst barrels, adopted a three-layer structure of iron, hide, and wood, making the barrels heavy and difficult to transport.


    The questioned temporary sergeant looked left and right, hesitating for a moment before confirming that the Civil Guard Officer was indeed speaking to him.


    ...


    Sweat broke out on the sergeant¡¯s forehead, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what are you standing around here for?!¡± Mason suddenly raised his voice and yelled.


    Not just the questioned sergeant, but all the surrounding militiamen were startled into a tremor.


    The sergeant started to leave, feeling he should salute first. But he was not a military man, just a temporarily appointed citizen of Revodan; he didn¡¯t even know if he was entitled to salute.


    The sergeant¡¯s mind went blank, and in the end, he gave a half-hearted knee-bend of a salute and turned to run away.


    The sergeant¡¯s dozen or so militiamen looked at each other and hastily followed suit.


    Mason kept a stern face and continued to inspect the city walls. He scolded the panicked laborers, whipped the cowards hiding behind walls and occasionally gave some praise to the brave.


    Although no one liked to be insulted and yelled at, for some reason, a strange sense of security spread among the militiamen.


    It was too quiet, too quiet on the battlefield.


    Besides the sound of the St. George River flowing, there was only the sound of the Terdun people digging.


    The majority of the militiamen standing behind the city walls had dry mouths and cool palms, even able to hear their own carotid arteries throbbing.


    Under these conditions, hearing the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s robust scolding, a few militiamen were even moved to tears.


    The gentle and quiet Civil Guard Officer had become a walking curse machine. On the one hand, this was deliberate on Mason¡¯s part, and on the other hand, it was because his mood was indeed not good.


    In his last encounter with the Terdon Tribe, their level of siege warfare was still stuck thirty years in the past:


    Shield carts, siege ladders, catapults; filling bags with earth, digging trenches, even absurdly trying to level the bastion with human lives.


    The result, of course, was a resounding defeat, thousands of Terdun Cavalry were crushed by the teeth of the small fortress manned by a mere thousand men.


    In this defense of Revodan, the city walls were much weaker compared to the former Bridgehead Fortress, yet the Terdun people showed a greatly improved technical capability.


    They began using specialized earth-moving tools¡ªthis fact alone made Mason feel more threatened than using sheepskin bags to carry dirt.


    What was more surprising was yet to come: carts arrived continuously, the Terdun people unloaded four cannons after some effort.


    In order to unload these four cannons, the Terdun people assembled a small crane.


    Mason could tell at a glance that the enemy was using six-pound long cannons. He could not mistake them, as these were the models he had used in the battle at Bianli.


    When they retreated from Bianli, all captured artillery was secretly nailed shut and sunk in the river.


    Where did these cannons come from? Whether the Terdun people dredged them up from the river¡¯s bed after interrogating captives, or if they were newly acquired, Mason did not know.


    But one thing was certain¡ªthe Terdun people now had cannons.


    As for whether the Terdun people had the ability to use the cannons?


    ¡°We¡¯ll know soon enough,¡± Mason thought.


    The temporarily appointed militia captains were summoned by Mason for a meeting.


    Among the militia captains, there were original village and town leaders, Revodan city council members, estate owners, and common farmers¡ªpeople of influence elected by the militiamen themselves.


    From this perspective, the Revodan militia naturally possessed a certain level of cohesion, as the commanders at all levels were elected from the bottom up.


    ¡°Officers¡± did not need to earn their authority through actions; they were appointed ¡°officers¡± because they already had authority.


    The bottom-up structure had its drawbacks¡ªthe highest commander lacked binding power over the officer corps, after all, the Civil Guard Officer was not elected.


    To harness the troops¡¯ cohesion, it was prerequisite that commanders at all levels had to set an example, which was exactly what caused Mason the most headache.


    After the initial surprise attack failed, the Terdun people did not launch any attacks on the second or third day.


    However, the psychological pressure from their digging of trenches and steadily approaching was perhaps greater than a direct assault on the walls.


    Especially as news of the Terdun people possessing four large cannons spread quickly, causing more panic within New Town.


    Mason scanned the gathering of militia captains. Some had white in their hair, some were still young lads. Without exception, they were either staring silently at the tips of their boots or quietly smoking. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The battle hadn¡¯t even started yet, but the atmosphere was as heavy as if they had already been defeated.


    A militia captain with a red birthmark on his face broke the silence and stood up to ask, ¡°Your Honor, since the barbarians have cannons, should we further fortify the walls?¡±


    Former sergeant, now militia captain [Ivan], although silent, nodded vigorously in agreement.


    After the large-scale preparations for war began, Ivan, as a former member of the security guard and a garrison sergeant, was conscripted again.


    He silently bid farewell to his wife and children and once more entered the barracks, picking up weapons again. In the previous battles, he had proven to be reliable and was promoted to militia captain for his merits.

 Chapter 826 826 83 Sightseeing_2

    ?Chapter 826: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_2 Chapter 826: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_2 Mason looked around the room and saw two people whose attitudes were relatively positive: one was an old subordinate, and the other was a captive from the disciplinary camp.


    ¡°I know you resent me for tricking you to the south bank, forcing you to defend the city.¡± Mason didn¡¯t pick up on his subordinate¡¯s words but instead looked straight at everyone, openly acknowledging their thoughts. ¡°You might also resent Commissioner Montaigne for not coming to Revodan¡¯s aid.¡±


    The air grew heavier; this was indeed what most of the militia captains thought. It would have been possible to safely retreat to the north bank, yet now they were left to defend the town on the south bank, and everyone harbored grievances.


    Mason said politely, ¡°Gentlemen, I have only two things to tell you. If we abandon New Town, we would be cutting off Commissioner Montaigne¡¯s retreat, so New Town must be defended; if Commissioner Montaigne rushed here to help, his entire army would be annihilated, so he cannot come for now.¡±


    Those appointed as militia captains were mostly from the educated gentry class. The majority of them actually understood both points that Mason made. But when it came to themselves, they really didn¡¯t want to.


    ¡°Did you understand what I said?¡± Mason asked gently.


    ¡°Understood,¡± the man with the birthmark and Ivan answered in unison.


    ...


    ¡°Did you understand?¡± Mason asked again.


    One after another, the militia captains murmured their assent.


    ¡°Since you understood, there is another matter you all need to be informed of.¡± Mason¡¯s expression turned somber. ¡°You are now bound by military law, and cowardice or desertion in the face of the enemy will be punished severely, including but not limited to the death penalty or confiscation of property. We are in a wartime situation, with no defense and no trial. Anyone who tests the law will be executed by my own hand.¡±


    A chill ran through the militia captains. Mason¡¯s tone remained calm, but his resolve was as firm as steel, leaving even the most cowardly with no doubts about his determination.


    The group answered again, this time louder and more in unison than before.


    After instilling some courage and fear into his subordinates, Mason began to discuss the matter at hand. ¡°The original city walls were designed to withstand muskets, but now that the Terdunians have brought in cannons, the walls need to be thickened. It¡¯s not troublesome; just pile up earth behind the corresponding section of the wall. Mr. Ivan, you will be responsible for this task.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Ivan stood up quickly and saluted.


    The Terdunians currently only have four cannons, yet I hear among the militia that there are rumors, some saying the Terdunians have deployed forty cannons?¡± Mason thought for a moment and said with a smile:


    ¡°Cannons aren¡¯t something to fear; it¡¯s the rumors that grow more frightening the more they spread. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do: each militia will take turns visiting the western wall to see both the Terdunians¡¯ cannons and our own. Seeing with your own eyes what they are will help you realize they¡¯re not so formidable. I¡¯ll schedule it so each unit takes turns leaving their posts to have a look.¡±


    The atmosphere lightened a little, and the militia captains agreed one by one.


    ¡°The way I see it, the Terdunians showing all this force actually suggests that their main attack isn¡¯t directed at Revodan,¡± Mason said in the tone of a casual chat among friends. ¡°Given the strength of Revodan¡¯s defenses, they don¡¯t need to rely on such time-consuming and labor-intensive trench warfare.¡±


    Many of the militia captains pricked up their ears; they needed some good news.


    Seeing he had captivated the attention of the group, Mason felt words alone were not enough. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and gestured for everyone to come closer.


    Mason patiently began to draw while explaining: ¡°¡­Considering the earthwork capabilities the Terdunians have displayed so far, they could easily approach the trenches and dig to fill them using a mantlet for cover. Revodan¡¯s walls lack salients, so such trench advances would be superfluous.


    ¡°The Terdunians digging trenches to approach signifies they are not in a hurry to attack. But they have come from afar and there are no local supplies to plunder, so they should be anxious. This suggests something is amiss¡­ If I were the Terdunian leader, I would use¡­¡±


    Mason became more and more animated as he spoke, while the militia captains listened with growing bewilderment. Because the Civil Guard Officer Mason almost didn¡¯t seem like the highest commander of the defense, he seemed to be enthusiastically giving strategy tips to the attacking Herd Barbarians.


    ¡°¡­The city would fall.¡± Mason ended his talk with the sketching stick still in his hand and smiled at his subordinates. ¡°So, you see, the Terdunians are only at this level¡ªwith a half-baked understanding that makes one anxious. There¡¯s nothing to worry about, Revodan has enough people and provisions, not to mention holding out for ten years, but holding out for a month or two should be no problem.¡±


    A crowd of militia captains nodded, though somewhat muddled. They didn¡¯t quite understand how the Civil Guard Officer Mason had deduced that ¡°holding out for a month or two should be no problem.¡± But the officer¡¯s confident lecture and certain demeanor cast a degree of assurance in their hearts.


    With the day growing late, Mason planned to have dinner with the militia captains¡ªthough the so-called dinner was just a standard ration of a piece of bread and a bowl of soup.


    A messenger ran over and whispered a few words to Mason. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Mason remained composed. ¡°Bring him over.¡±


    ¡°But,¡± the messenger hesitated.


    ¡°Bring him over,¡± Mason reiterated in a commanding tone.


    The messenger saluted and strode off.


    ¡°The Terdunians have sent an envoy,¡± Mason smiled and informed the group of militia captains. ¡°The purpose isn¡¯t hard to guess. Is it to persuade us to surrender or to extort us, offering money and grain for safety?¡±


    The hearts of the militia captains lifted again, and in the eyes of many gleamed a glimmer of hope.

 Chapter 827 827 83 Sightseeing_3

    ?Chapter 827: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_3 Chapter 827: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_3 ¡°Your Excellency,¡± the birthmarked man suddenly stood up, urgently dissuading, ¡°An officer shouldn¡¯t directly contact the enemy¡¯s messenger, they might be assassins¡­¡±


    Mason smiled and waved his hand, the birthmarked man pursed his lips and sat down, no longer speaking.


    Footsteps sounded again, and the messenger passed on the word, bringing over the people from Terdun, and everyone¡¯s gaze converged on the newcomers.


    Two men arrived, both clad in Herders¡¯ leather robes, but one could tell at a glance that the one in the lead was a Herder, while the one behind felt somewhat awkward in his robe.


    The Herder messenger, seeing the tent filled with people, wasn¡¯t intimidated at all and strode towards Mason, arrogantly stating, ¡°In Herde Language¡­ by order of¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t finish his sentence because Mason had picked up a short gun from the table and aimed it at the messenger¡¯s head, pulling the trigger without hesitation.


    Click¡ªa sound as the sear disengaged, the cylinder rotated.


    ...


    The flash occurred twice, once from the pans, and then from the muzzle.


    The lead ball poured into the forehead of the Herder messenger and bore out through the back of his head, splattering white and red.


    The envoy died on the spot, and everyone was stunned.


    The slave Translator who had come with the messenger wet himself from fright, collapsing to the ground begging frantically for mercy.


    ¡°Take him away,¡± Mason gestured towards the Translator, carefully placing the revolver back in its place, ¡°See if we can interrogate him for any valuable information.¡±


    The birthmarked man quickly stepped forward, propping up the Translator to leave the tent.


    Ivan silently followed, dragging away the body of the messenger.


    ¡°Messengers? They come to waver our will and spy on our reality,¡± Mason said uncomfortably, wiping the blood from his hand¡ªhe still wasn¡¯t accustomed to this sort of thing, and continued slowly:


    ¡°The Herders have a rule, if their messenger is killed, on the day the city falls, everyone must either be killed or enslaved.¡±


    After a brief pause, Mason spoke again, ¡°Let me tell one more thing to the gentlemen, the Herders have another rule, if their messenger is not killed, on the day the city falls, everyone will still either be killed or enslaved. Don¡¯t be naive, there is no compromise between us and the people of Terdun, only life and death.¡±


    Among the leaders of the militia, an estate owner who had just fantasized about negotiating with the Herders involuntarily swallowed his saliva.


    He had just confirmed something¡ªthe Civil Guard Officer, who was kindly explaining siege tactics just a second before, would not hesitate to take a life.


    Recalling the ¡°military law¡± that the other party had mentioned earlier, the estate owner could not help but swallow again.


    Another messenger ran to Mason at high speed, reporting another matter, to which Mason nodded slightly.


    Once again, everyone was on edge.


    ¡°Good news,¡± Mason¡¯s face broke into a smile, and for a moment, the gentle Civil Guard seemed to return, ¡°Lady Montaigne has brought us hot food!¡±


    ¡­


    On the banks of St. George River, small boats carried whole buckets of steaming, fragrant soup from the north bank to the south bank.


    The soup was purposely put in buckets, so the militia coming to collect it could easily carry it away, distributing it among their units.


    It was already winter, and it was freezing cold. The militiamen stationed on the south bank had nothing but hard, cold rations to eat; when they heard there was soup to drink, they all cheered.


    Anna, wearing a veil and a small hat, dressed in a simple deep blue rider¡¯s uniform, accompanied by the old mayor Priskin, came to the south bank.


    [Note: Rider¡¯s uniform refers to tight-fitting jackets with trousers for riding.]


    Anna said somewhat embarrassingly to Mason, ¡°Mr. Montaigne used to tell many stories about wanting a sip of hot soup during a battle¡­ The bridge was dismantled hastily, I hope it didn¡¯t cause you too much trouble¡­¡±


    ¡°The stomach is the foot of the army; how could it be troublesome?¡± Mason laughed heartily, ¡°On such a cold day, having a cup of hot soup means more than anything I could say to keep spirits up!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna became even more embarrassed, ¡°I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, it won¡¯t,¡± Mason reassured her with a smile and a slight shake of his head.


    ¡°How about we deliver soup to everyone daily?¡±


    ¡°Nothing could be better!¡±


    Mr. Priskin bid farewell to Mason, then escorted Anna back to the north bank by boat. The old mayor initially wanted to stay with Mason on the south bank, but Mason persuaded him to leave, as the defense of the Old City could not do without him.


    The tall and thin Ivan sauntered over to Mason, asking in a low voice with a bit of embarrassment, ¡°Your Excellency, should we¡­ burn the boats, too¡­¡±


    Mason roared with laughter, ¡°When that time comes, without a boat, we could swim back to the north bank. Are we also supposed to chop off everyone¡¯s arms and legs? Dismantling the bridge is to show attitude and resolve. Keeping the boats could prove to be very useful.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the Big Horn River, about seven kilometers upstream from the Floating Bridge.


    Captain Moro with his face covered and Samujin were leading soldiers and laborers to drive stakes into the riverbed of the Big Horn River.


    Both had only just escaped death to return to Niutigu Valley the day before and immediately threw themselves into another task¡ªconstructing a dam on the Big Horn River.


    On the Huiqing River, with its lower water volume, it was possible to use a crude method of stacking cages filled with stones to build the dam.


    But that wouldn¡¯t work on the Big Horn River. Although not as vast as The Styx, it was still a large river that could exceed a hundred meters in width during the flood season.


    To cut off the natural barrier of Iron Peak County, they had to employ another construction method.


    With guidance from local fishermen, Moro and Samujin found a suitable spot, not too far from the Floating Bridge, where the river was narrowest.


    They began by driving two parallel rows of wooden stakes into the riverbed, with each stake touching the next one, nestled tightly together, leaving as little space as possible.

 Chapter 828 828 83 Sightseeing_4

    ?Chapter 828: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_4 Chapter 828: Chapter 83 Sightseeing_4 ¡°Next, we need to drive stakes diagonally between the two rows of wooden stakes, dividing them into triangles,¡± Moro explained, using a twig as a pen to draw a diagram on the sandy beach for Samujin. ¡°We don¡¯t need to wait until the parallel stakes reach the riverbank; we can start now.¡± S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Fine!¡± Samujin¡¯s eyes were full of red veins; he hadn¡¯t rested in a long time. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for workers right away.¡±


    ¡°We still don¡¯t have enough people,¡± Moro tapped the sand repeatedly.


    ¡°Montaine the Civil Guard Officer has agreed to support your plan with full force, whatever number of people you need,¡± Samujin said.


    After a personal trip to Saint Town, Samujin had brought back Winters¡¯ unreserved support¡ªincluding manpower, provisions, and the soon-to-arrive Ronald Division officers.


    ¡°Winters Montagne? Right, he¡¯s the lofty Civil Guard Officer now!¡± Moro scoffed a few times, throwing away the twig. ¡°Fine! It¡¯s none of my business if he wants to crown himself Field Marshal for slaying Herders!¡±


    Samujin said nothing.


    ...


    Although they had not been together long, Moro¡¯s stubborn will and ability during their escape from the Terdun and the construction of the dam had earned Samujin¡¯s deep respect.


    But Moro¡¯s attitude towards Centurion Montaine made it hard for Samujin to accept.


    So facing the offensive language, Samujin chose to temporarily play deaf and mute.


    ¡°We need to speed up the plan; no need to wait for the stakes to be completely finished. For each triangular area partitioned off, start filling it with rocks,¡± Moro stood up and looked toward the laborers working near the riverbed. ¡°Start with large rocks, then smaller ones, and finally fill it with mud and sand. Keep driving stakes while dumping rocks.¡±


    Samujin stood up as well. He was still a bit worried and couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Are you really sure this will work?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t trust me? Then let Winters Montagne come here himself,¡± Moro said coldly. ¡°If he can build bridges over The Styx, a dam shouldn¡¯t be so difficult, right?¡±


    Samujin fell silent again.


    Moro stood quietly for a while before speaking, ¡°The method I¡¯m using is fundamentally the same one masons use to build bridge piers¡ªcofferdams, water-pumping, and grouting. We¡¯re not building a stone bridge that needs to stand for a hundred or a thousand years, so no need for water-pumping or grout, just drive the cofferdams to secure the rocks.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Samujin saluted firmly.


    Moro didn¡¯t return the salute, simply turned his head to look at the river, his back to Samujin, and sneered dismissively, ¡°Thanks for nothing! First, figure out how to hold onto this dam!¡±


    No one saw that his dry eyes had reddened a bit.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, at the former Forging Village¡ªnow a burnt and blackened ruin¡ªthe old Translator secretly met with several visitors.


    In total five visitors had arrived; the leader was a golden-haired, green-eyed man about thirty years old, accompanied by four guards wearing iron masks.


    The golden-haired man walked amid the ruined walls, occasionally picking up trinkets from the scorched earth with great interest.


    The old Translator accompanied the golden-haired man on his ¡°stroll,¡± while the four guards stood guard a little distance away.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] It seems they left in a hurry,¡± the golden-haired man said softly to the Translator, picking up a twisted, burned spoon. ¡°[Old Tongue] Earl.¡±


    The Translator was indifferent to the title of Earl, unaffected, and said coldly, ¡°[Old Tongue] For the Terdon Tribe, the most critical advantage in this looting was the element of surprise, and clearly, the rebels of Iron Peak County knew of the Terdun¡¯s arrival well in advance.¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] So who told them?¡± the golden-haired man asked with a smile.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Who do you think told them?¡± the Translator retorted.


    The golden-haired man¡¯s green eyes widened in feigned bewilderment.


    ¡°Playing dumb?¡± the Translator snapped, switching to the common tongue. ¡°Who else but your little pet could it have been?!¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] No, no, you¡¯re wrong,¡± the golden-haired man patiently corrected. ¡°[Old Tongue] Who would treat a lion as a pet? [Those who take beasts as pets will be devoured by them].¡±


    The Translator narrowed his eyes and stopped in his tracks, ¡°If you¡¯re not here to lend a hand, then what are you here for?¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Sightseeing,¡± the golden-haired man answered with a smile.


    The Translator spat in disgust.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Observing, assessing¡­ it¡¯s practically sightseeing,¡± the golden-haired man earnestly said. ¡°[Old Tongue] You¡¯re curious about what we¡¯re doing here, as are others who want to know what you¡¯re up to, what¡¯s happening here. The world is simply too large, so [a single late truth is more useful than a hundred timely lies].¡±


    The Translator grunted. Although he referred to Paratu¡¯s current regime as rebels, he showed no more respect for the golden-haired man.


    ¡°[Old Tongue] It¡¯s not that we haven¡¯t extended a hand. Rather¡­¡± the golden-haired man hesitated for a moment, then softly uttered a epithet with such caution, as if merely mentioning this title would be detected: ¡°[Old Tongue] His Majesty¡­ has many things, but he will use them prudently. If you expect the August to fund your ¡®grand¡¯ endeavor, the powers you rely on must at least be able to survive. But for now¡­ ¡±


    Looking around at the burnt earth and ruins, the golden-haired man shrugged and spread his hands, leaving the rest unsaid.


    The Translator remained silent, parting with the words, ¡°[Old Tongue] Just wait and see.¡±


    ¡°[Old Tongue] Certainly,¡± the golden-haired man replied with a smile.

 Chapter 829 829 84 Beheading

    ?Chapter 829: Chapter 84: Beheading Chapter 829: Chapter 84: Beheading Along the country dirt road, a small convoy struggled to make its way.


    Inside the three large carts were grains and agricultural tools like pickaxes and iron shovels, pulled by a few mules conscripted for the task.


    Apart from the leading cavalry who wore standard sabers and arm guards, the weapons carried by other members of the convoy varied wildly.


    The wealthy wrapped in knitted wool capes carried fire guns, while the poor dressed in coarse hemp robes had only axes or even clubs.


    Two days ago, they were ordinary civilians, but today they had become soldiers. Regardless of wealth or status, everyone moved their feet toward a direction both known and unknown.


    Fear, desire, and confusion¡­ a variety of emotions spread among the crowd.


    Supplies, manpower, and carts continually converged from various parts of Iron Peak County toward Saint Town, this small convoy being one of the tributaries.


    ...


    ¡°Don¡¯t dawdle!¡± the cavalry leading the convoy, who appeared to be a Dusan with his left arm wrapped in thick white cloth, inspected front and back as he urged loudly, ¡°The slower we go, the faster we die! Pick up the pace!¡±


    His rebuke sounded like an invisible whip, seemingly quickening the pace of the temporarily conscripted militia.


    Someone in the ranks muttered under their breath, ¡°Easy for you to say, riding on a horse, while we walk¡­¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Another could not help but complain aloud, ¡°Move, move, move! Just moving! Had I known it would be like this, I wouldn¡¯t have followed!¡±


    The pain in his left arm throbbed faintly as Tulin sighed internally, ignoring everyone¡¯s grumbling.


    No one knew better than Dusack¡ªthose on duty always grumble. Even the bravest warriors could not avoid it, let alone these hastily drafted civilians.


    After being wounded in a fight with the Herd Barbarians, Tulin had been specifically ordered by Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, to leave the front line for safer tasks such as conscripting militia.


    Tulin straightened his back, looking around the horizon, an uneasy feeling lingering in his heart.


    Iron Peak County had become a battlefield, and there was no safe place on a battlefield.


    ¡°How about a break, sir?¡± shouted a young farmer from the ranks toward Dusack, ¡°We¡¯ve been walking for most of the day and can¡¯t go on.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes,¡± others quickly echoed, ¡°Just a short break.¡±


    ¡°Break my ass!¡± Tulin glared, drawing on the sternness of an old soldier, and sharply rebuked, ¡°Stopping here means being slaughtered by barbarians if we encounter them! Whoever the hell wants to die, I¡¯ll help him, and spare the rest of us!¡±


    No one spoke then.


    Seeing the group quiet down, Tulin calmed his tone to comfort them, ¡°We¡¯re near the military station ahead, just a little further. It¡¯s not only safe there, but there will also be food and drink. Once we reach the station, I¡¯ll let you rest enough¡­¡±


    Just as Tulin racked his brain to motivate the convoy, a flock of birds suddenly startled from the hillside to the west, faintly accompanied by the sound of drums.


    Tulin turned back in horror, his heart screaming, ¡°Not good!¡±


    He saw groups of cavalry burst out from the hillock, charging straight toward Tulin¡¯s convoy.


    The newly conscripted militia, oblivious, thought they were friendly cavalry and waved at them. Many others simply stood dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Tulin bellowed, drawing his sword, ¡°Everyone get over here to me!¡±


    Only then did the militia realize they were being attacked by Herd Barbarians, setting off cries and curses.


    People dashed toward ditches and forests beside the road, hardly any paying heed to Tulin¡¯s command.


    ¡°Sergeant!¡± another cavalryman rode up to Tulin, ¡°What do we do?¡±


    Tulin, unable to contain his anger, cursed loudly and helplessly ordered, ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Misfortune seemed multiplied, as cavalry figures appeared on the road ahead. It looked like a pincer attack was set up, with the northern cavalry¡¯s hoofbeats muffled by those from the west.


    Tulin and his men leaped over the ditch, galloping into the forest.


    The Herd cavalrymen who ambushed from the hillock quickly overwhelmed the convoy, brutally slaughtering any Paratu People who hadn¡¯t managed to escape.


    Tulin¡¯s forehead veins bulged, his teeth grating harshly, but turning back to fight was merely an instant death.


    Just then, a cavalryman behind Tulin suddenly shouted, ¡°Wait! It seems to be our men!¡±


    Tulin reined in his horse and looked back¡ªthe second troop of cavalry hadn¡¯t dispersed to chase the militia; instead, they charged straight into the Herd cavalry. The gleaming sabers swung in arcs, targeting the heads and shoulders of the Herd Barbarians.


    The Herd Barbarians screamed in a strange language, similar to the cries of the Iron Peak County militia moments earlier.


    Tulin saw clearly, although his cavalry was far outnumbered by the Herd Barbarians, they only had the advantage of a surprise attack. Once the barbarians recovered, the outcome was uncertain.


    ¡°Stop running!¡± Tulin desperately tried to halt the fleeing militia, ¡°Turn back and fight!¡±


    Still, hardly anyone heeded him.


    Tulin roared in fury, winding the reins around his injured left arm, fiercely spurring his warhorse, and charged at the nearest Herd Barbarian.


    The cavalrymen accompanying Tulin on his mission did not hesitate either, each drawing swords and lances, ready to follow the sergeant and counter the enemy.


    Among the militia, not everyone was solely concerned with escaping; some brave ones were also fighting desperately against the Herd Barbarians.


    Tulin stood in his stirrups, slashing madly at the enemy, his sabers crossing paths with each swing. His dark blue black warhorse also furiously bit and kicked at the Herdmen¡¯s smaller horses.


    The two sides clashed beside the ditches, at the edges of the forests, and near the carts, with most of the dismounted Herdmen beaten to death by the militia, and gunfire occasionally ringing out.

 Chapter 830 830 84 Beheading_2

    ?Chapter 830: Chapter 84: Beheading_2 Chapter 830: Chapter 84: Beheading_2 Seeing that there weren¡¯t many foot soldiers, some fleeing Terdun Cavalrymen circled back. They didn¡¯t dare engage in close combat, so they shot arrows from a distance.


    The sound of galloping hooves came thundering from the east of the fork in the road, this time louder than the previous two combined.


    Tulin couldn¡¯t recognize the second group of cavalry, but there was no mistaking the third¡ªthe one leading the charge was a horse with a red mane.


    ¡°It¡¯s Rejek!¡± Tulin pushed back the Herd Barbarian beside him, raised his saber high, and roared furiously, ¡°It¡¯s Anglu! Kill! Kill! Kill!¡±


    The battle had already been difficult for both sides to resolve, but as soon as Anglu¡¯s fresh troops joined the fight, the hundred-strong Terdun Cavalry immediately collapsed.


    Anglu and Tulin chased and killed all the way until dusk before returning to where their convoy had been ambushed.


    Even though the Terdun Cavalry had been defeated, there was still a mess to sort out. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    ¡°Let the wounded take the big wagons and go to the next military post; there are doctors there.¡± Anglu began organizing the cleanup of the battlefield as soon as he dismounted. ¡°Bjorn, Lekler, take your men into the forest and find all the escaped militia.¡±


    ¡°Centurion,¡± said a Centurion named Bjorn with a bitter face, ¡°only two of my brothers can still move.¡±


    ¡°Round up the Herder horses we¡¯ve seized.¡± Anglu ordered decisively, ¡°Choose people from the militia yourself to fill your ranks. Both of you!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The two Centurions didn¡¯t dare to delay, saluted with raised hands, and ran off.


    ¡°Make sure to record the dead properly.¡± Anglu then turned to Tulin.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tulin first responded, then asked, ¡°What about the bodies?¡±


    ¡°Bury them here for now and we¡¯ll take care of them properly later.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    After dealing with a series of aftermath issues, Anglu finally had a moment to breathe.


    But there was another big problem waiting for him¡ªhe didn¡¯t recognize the second group of cavalry either.


    It was the Terdon Tribe that had launched the initial surprise attack, and Anglu¡¯s cavalry that had come last to rescue.


    The second group of cavalry to appear was an entirely unfamiliar third party, neither wearing military uniforms nor displaying any flags.


    While Anglu¡¯s side was clearing the battlefield, the strange cavalry were also tending to their own, gathering their men and treating the wounded.


    The appearance of an unknown cavalry group in Iron Peak County made Anglu particularly uneasy. However, in Anglu¡¯s view, since the other side had killed Terdun people, they could temporarily be considered allies.


    The strange cavalry assembled and rested in a clearing by the road, making no move to approach Anglu, seemingly waiting for him to take the initiative to negotiate.


    Anglu rallied his spirits, leading two soldiers to approach the strange cavalry, ¡°God bless you, friends. Where do you come from?¡±


    A middle-aged man in hunting gear stepped forward with a smirk, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say thank you?¡±


    Although the middle-aged man was in casual hunting attire, the military bearing in his every move could not be hidden.


    Anglu gave a serious salute, ¡°Many thanks for your assistance, Sir. May I know your unit?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask that.¡± The middle-aged soldier waved his hand and spoke bluntly, ¡°Where¡¯s Winters Montagne? I want to meet him.¡±


    Anglu¡¯s eyebrows slightly raised and, after a brief contemplation, he straightforwardly replied, ¡°Then please follow my cavalry unit. You¡¯ll be able to meet Civil Guard Officer Montagne once this patrol is over.¡±


    Bringing an unknown cavalry group directly to see big brother Montagne was too dangerous. Anglu decided to send a messenger back first to report the situation and temporarily keep control of the other party.


    The middle-aged soldier¡¯s attendants seemed rather displeased, but his expression didn¡¯t change as he pulled out a letter, ¡°When you send the message, also deliver this letter to Captain Montagne.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Anglu took the envelope.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste time,¡± the middle-aged soldier narrowed his eyes slightly, ¡°Send it now!¡±


    Anglu reflexively replied, ¡°Yes.¡±


    Meanwhile, Tulin also encountered a problem.


    Several older, well-to-do militia men came before Tulin, begging on their knees¡ªthey wanted to go home.


    The stench of blood on their faces, the moans of the dying injured, and the mutilated bodies scattered across the wilderness¡­ If the militia men had any greed left in their hearts before, this fierce battle had utterly shattered their courage. Some even ran away without returning, becoming deserters.


    ¡°No.¡± Tulin flatly refused.


    ¡°You are a one in a million brave warrior, we are not the same! We truly don¡¯t have the capability to fight.¡± A landowner, over fifty, pleaded desperately, ¡°Even on the battlefield, we can only run! We¡¯d only make things worse!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Another gentleman sobbed, ¡°Money, grain, whatever you want¡­¡±


    ¡°You are all Centurions, temporary soldiers.¡± Tulin was already somewhat impatient as his vicious Dusack bearing surfaced, ¡°If I let you go, will others stay? Deserting is a dead end! Whoever dares to run, I¡¯ll chop him personally!¡±


    The gentlemen trembled with fear.


    ¡°Think with your arses.¡± Tulin¡¯s tone softened slightly, coldly admonishing them, ¡°What kind of man is a Civil Guard Officer, doesn¡¯t he know what you are like? Can he count on you to fight on the front lines? When it really comes to the battlefield, you¡¯ll just dig trenches, build earth walls, and do some physical labor! There¡¯s danger on the road because the Herd Barbarians are ambushing. Once we reach the main camp at the front, thousands of troops will be protecting you; could the Herders still get to you? Tell me, right?¡±


    With threats and reasoning, Tulin expended some effort to finally send the gentlemen on their way.

 Chapter 831 831 84 Beheading_3

    ?Chapter 831: Chapter 84: Beheading_3 Chapter 831: Chapter 84: Beheading_3 The gentry returned to the expectant militia and relayed Tulin¡¯s words once more.


    The militia were utterly disappointed and desperate, some cried on the spot while others whispered among themselves, preparing to flee overnight.


    Seeing this, Tulin was anxious and wanted to inform Anglu Ralflavich, the company commander, immediately.


    But before he could get up, Anglu sought him out first, accompanied by a strange middle-aged soldier.


    Tulin, regardless of the stranger¡¯s presence, hurriedly explained the situation.


    Anglu¡¯s expression became serious, while the middle-aged soldier did not seem worried at all.


    Instead, he found it quite amusing and looked interestedly at Anglu¡¯s reaction, causing Tulin to be even more frustrated. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    ¡°This situation,¡± Anglu scratched his head, pondering, and said, ¡°the Centurion and I discussed what to do, he even gave an example¡­¡±


    The middle-aged soldier found it increasingly amusing.


    ¡°What did the Centurion say to do?¡± Tulin asked impatiently.


    ¡°Establish credibility,¡± Anglu answered.


    The militia and cavalry were convened, and Anglu took out a notice from his bosom titled ¡°Decapitation Decree,¡± reading it aloud once again.


    The cavalry cheered jubilantly, while the militia were still somewhat confused.


    Speaking in public, Anglu was a bit embarrassed and reminded them kindly yet shyly, ¡°Hurry and go decapitate, it¡¯ll be harder once it gets dark.¡±


    The members of the cavalry dispersed laughing, while the militia looked at one another, unsure of what to do.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tulin, seeing no one move, grew anxious. He shouted gruffly, waving his sabre to motivate everyone, ¡°If we don¡¯t go now, the young rascals will snatch them all!¡±


    Seeing that still no one dared to move, Tulin cursed furiously.


    He swore his way off, and soon dragged back a corpse. Gritting his teeth, he chopped off the head one cut at a time.


    Some of the militia vomited on the spot.


    Holding the severed head, Tulin yelled fiercely at the militia, ¡°A qing of land! Don¡¯t you want it?¡±


    At that moment, the militia truly understood¡ªthe ¡°Decapitation Decree¡± was in earnest. The head Tulin was holding wasn¡¯t just a swollen corpse¡¯s head, but a piece of land.


    Those who reacted quickly were already running towards the corpses of the people from Terdun. The militia member who had just vomited, with food residue still at the corners of his mouth, ran faster than anyone.


    The middle-aged soldier could no longer smile, his expression gradually turning solemn.


    The middle-aged soldier looked back at his subordinates, noticing many swallowing hard, their eyes filled with surprised gazes¡ªand longing and regret.


    ¡°Make it clear to your men,¡± Anglu, seeing the situation getting out of hand, walked over and told Tulin, ¡°Only allow the taking of heads from enemies they personally killed, anyone caught decapitating their own people or allies faces hanging¡­ and make sure they have helmets or caps as proof¡­¡±


    These details were all written in the decree, which had just been read. Yet seeing the militia¡¯s fervor, Anglu regretted not reading it several more times.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tulin instinctively responded affirmatively, he wanted to reconvene everyone, but they were already beyond recall.


    Not far off, two militia members were arguing heatedly, one wrapped in a cashmere cloak shouted, ¡°He was clearly killed by me! I shot him dead with my musket! The bullet hole is right there on his body! Do you have a musket?!¡±


    Another skinny militia member in coarse linen clothing retorted stubbornly, ¡°You only shot him off his horse! He wasn¡¯t dead when he fell! I killed him! Your family already has so much land, why are you fighting me over this one head?¡±


    As for the heads of the people from Terdun killed in the random melee, they caused even more disputes and even fistfights, like a bloody and absurd drama.


    ¡°The ¡®Decapitation Decree¡¯ is too simplistic and crude, it needs more detailed regulations,¡± Anglu watched the chaos unfolding before him, feeling worried, ¡°At this rate, they might start fighting over the heads while the front is still in battle.¡±


    Tulin, cursing, ran over to stop the fights, ¡°Half for each! Half for each!¡±


    The originally quiet country lane turned as noisy and chaotic as a tavern, but no one clamored to go home anymore.

 Chapter 832 832 85 Luck

    ?Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck Chapter 832: Chapter 85 Luck The westerly winds howled, men shouted, horses neighed, and rigid-stepping militia and wagons laden with supplies poured into the small Saint Town from all western directions.


    It was as if a gigantic vortex existed invisibly among them, gathering all the manpower and material resources of Iron Peak County into this place.


    There was no doubt that the church of the Saint Town Monastery sat at the very center of the vortex.


    A statue of the Virgin with eyes cast downward stood above the church¡¯s main entrance, silently watching people with swords come and go.


    ¡°Lieutenant Bard, the village chief of Bai¡¯niu Village in Little Stone Town says the portion of dry food issued to them is not enough.¡±


    ¡°Their ration was increased yesterday.¡±


    ¡°He says it¡¯s still not enough¡­¡±


    ...


    ¡°Sergeant Roland!¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Take the roster and the provosts to Bai¡¯niu Village¡¯s station and check their numbers.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Report!¡± A guard hurried into the church: ¡°Another convoy has arrived from King¡¯s Bridge Town!¡±


    ¡°Mr. Melsin!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Your Excellency?¡±


    ¡°The new convoy from King¡¯s Bridge Town, please handle the inventory and registration with Brother Theodore.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, Your Excellency.¡±


    Supplies needed to be stored, processed, and distributed; militia had to be deployed to various fronts, and accommodations for eating, drinking, and living were necessary.


    If it weren¡¯t for Bard¡¯s support, the great army of Iron Peak County would have already been overwhelmed by logistics.


    The command center had become unavoidably large, since Bard had pulled in every civilian and soldier capable of reading, writing, and doing arithmetic.


    Bard sat in the Monastery¡¯s scriptorium. Intelligence and information continuously flowed in, followed by instructions and orders that were sent out to various locations.


    The clerks were amazed to find that no matter how trivial the issue, as long as it was reported to Civil Guard Officer Bard, he could remember it when needed.


    Therefore, Bard never issued vague instructions; every order was given to a specific executor with clear instructions on what must be done, leaving no room for excuses.


    In this, the clerks found both awe and fatigue.


    Bard seemed to have endless energy; he wielded an invisible whip, driving the lower clerks to press on as if they were horses being urged forward.


    Thus, the command center operated, and the personnel and supplies gathered in Saint Town were methodically registered and allocated to the places where they were most needed.


    There was a minor episode: The centralized office work and the extensive writing inadvertently led to people accepting graphite blocks.


    Originally, there were some traditionalists who insisted on using quill pens because graphite blocks didn¡¯t write clearly and were prone to smudging.


    But soon, even the Monastery¡¯s clergy quietly switched to graphite blocks wrapped with string.


    The reason was nothing but convenience. With quill pens, one needed to use sand to soak up the ink, whereas with graphite blocks, once the writing was done, it could be sent out immediately.


    With Bard securing the logistics, Winters could devote all his attention to military matters.


    Most of the time, Winters was not in Saint Town.


    He inspected the battlefields, talking with militia on the very front lines, and even personally entered the Terdun-controlled areas to scout.


    He scarcely used his knees and spurs to urge his horse forward, but instead kept wielding his whip.


    For this reason, Xial specially prepared many spare horses, switching them out whenever one appeared to be exhausted to the point of death.


    Upon learning of the surprise attack on the dam, Winters arrived at Niutigu Valley as soon as he could.


    At this moment, he stood by the Big Horn River, facing the dam that was extending towards the opposite bank.


    The previous night, Terdun Cavalry had launched a surprise attack on the southern bank construction site, killed some laborers, burned some timber, and were then repelled by Tamas¡¯ troops.


    ¡°Exposed or not, it could hardly be hidden; the key is speed and timing,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, asked Samujin and Tamas seriously, ¡°How much more time do you need?¡±


    Samujin bit his lip and made up his mind to answer, ¡°Three days! If it can¡¯t be finished in three days, you can execute me!¡±


    ¡°Three days won¡¯t be enough,¡± Winters calmly dismissed Samujin¡¯s assurance: ¡°Based on your current progress, it will take at least five days. Taking into account the water storage process, it might need a week or even ten days.¡±


    Samujin lowered his head.


    ¡°Reestablish the camp at the southern bank construction site,¡± Winters ordered Captain Tamas directly: ¡°Take your men down.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tamas responded without hesitation.


    Tamas¡¯ encampment was located at the narrow passage between Niutigu Valley and Forging Village. To the east was Tiefeng, and to the west, the Big Horn River¡ªterrain that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.


    Winters deployed his most elite First Company and auxiliary militia units there with the aim of blocking the Terdun from entering Niutigu Valley through the western foothills of Tiefeng.


    While reestablishing the encampment at the dam would protect the worksite, its low-lying location made it disadvantageous for defense.


    Winters tapped Captain Tamas¡¯ arm, nodded slightly, and spared any further talk: ¡°I¡¯ll reinforce you with Third and Fourth Companies.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll also send some additional workers your way.¡±


    Samujin suddenly looked up.


    ¡°The repair can be slow,¡± Winters¡¯ cane tapped lightly on the ground, ¡°but the existence of the dam is paramount.¡±


    Seeing some confusion in Samujin, Winters didn¡¯t play coy: ¡°As long as the dam exists, the Terdun¡¯s retreat is threatened. If the progress of the dam is slow, at worst we cannot immediately cut off the enemy¡¯s escape route.


    If the Terdun withdraw, the siege at Revodan will be lifted on its own. But if the dam falls, the Terdun will come and go freely, retaining the initiative at all times.¡±


    ¡°The dam must not be lost,¡± Winters said with a stern look: ¡°Do you understand?¡±

 Chapter 833 833 85 Luck_2

    ?Chapter 833: Chapter 85 Luck_2 Chapter 833: Chapter 85 Luck_2 Tamas nodded heavily, and Samujin gritted his teeth and replied, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Now that the dam has been exposed, the struggle here will undoubtedly be brutal,¡± Winters used his cane to sketch out a rough map on the sandy beach and carefully explained to his two most trusted subordinates, ¡°I will launch a feint attack in the direction of Saint Town to lessen the pressure on you.¡±


    At the moment, the situation resembled Russian dolls:


    In the inner circle, the attackers were laying siege to Revodan;


    In the outer circle, Winter¡¯s troops were gradually gaining control of the roads around Revodan.


    The initiative temporarily rested in the hands of the attackers; they could choose to fight, to leave, or to launch an assault on Revodan.


    Winters, however, was placed in a reactive position, as his troops almost lacked field capability and were far less mobile than the Terdun Cavalry, who moved like the wind.


    But to sit idly by was never Winters¡¯s style; ¡°If you don¡¯t have the initiative, fight to seize it¡± was Winters¡¯s motto.


    Winters¡¯s strategy for seizing the initiative had two prongs:


    First, threaten the Terdun people¡¯s route of retreat; once the Floating Bridge was destroyed, the Terdun people would be forced to fight desperately;


    Second, secure the vital roads around Revodan and advance step by step, continuously shrinking the Terdun people¡¯s maneuvering space.


    ...


    As soon as Winters¡¯s encirclement was complete, the Terdun people would be trapped in the narrow area south of the St. George River.


    By that time, the situation would resemble a reproduction of the Panto River battle, allowing Winters to slowly strangle the attackers.


    Currently, however, the dam was not yet completed, and the encirclement had gaps; the Terdun people still held the initiative.


    The attackers seemed to also sense the imminent danger.


    The Terdun Cavalry took backroads and passed through old forests, desperately trying to circumvent the blockade and head toward the rear of the defenses.


    Their intention was clear¡ªto cut off Winters¡¯s supply line and strangle the large army at Saint Town.


    In response, Winters set up a garrison to protect the supply line, with cavalry countering their cavalry.


    When the Terdun people broke into hit-and-run attacks, Winters responded with counter hit-and-run tactics. If Terdun people ambushed the militia convoys, Winters¡¯s cavalry would specifically target the Terdun light cavalry.


    The war was trending towards a war of attrition. Winters, looking at the compiled casualty reports, felt increasingly oppressed but never once wavered.


    Watching the Big Horn River water bypass the unfinished dam and slowly flow downstream, Winters sighed lightly, ¡°Please give my thanks to senior Moro.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Samujin nodded solemnly.


    Winters and Captain Moro had met a few times when building the Styx Great Bridge; he vaguely remembered the other as a refined, witty senior surrounded by a circle of colleagues.


    However, the two were not close, as Moro came from artillery background and was many years Winters¡¯s senior.


    Moro declined a meeting with Winters, who did not insist.


    A cavalry rider with a green plume raced down the hillside, delivering a letter emblazoned with a red diagonal stripe.


    A red diagonal stripe meant the contents were of utmost urgency.


    Winters broke the seal, scanned the contents, and calmly passed the letter to his two subordinates.


    Samujin hesitated for a moment and did not reach out, letting Tamas take it first. Tamas didn¡¯t reach out either, for he was illiterate.


    ¡°Wait until after the war to learn slowly,¡± Winters smiled and put away the envelope. ¡°The Terdun people have started their siege.¡±


    ¡­


    The siege on Revodan began with an artillery bombardment.


    The cold winter increased the difficulty of earthwork operations, demanding a large workforce.


    Winters could conscript militia, while around Revodan there was none to conscript, as all civilians had already taken refuge within the city.


    Therefore, the Terdun people¡¯s trench-digging efforts did not progress smoothly; after five days, the front end of the trench was still over sixty meters from the city wall and had not been expanded in a direction parallel to the wall. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Perhaps seeking to put more pressure on Revodan, to lure out the force from Saint Town for an attack; or perhaps simply intending to break through Revodan.


    Regardless, the Terdun people had abandoned their previous strategy of passive labor and launched a real attack on the walls.


    Four cannons lined up and fired solid shot at the shooting towers behind the walls and the arrow towers on the wall.


    Many militiamen had never seen cannon fire, peeking out from behind the walls to watch the spectacle.


    Mason sat on the ground with his back against the city wall, his left hand resting on his knee, listening intently to the roar of ¡®his second daughter.¡¯


    The four cannons fired at fixed intervals in sequence, indicating that the Terdun people knew how to utilize cannon units.


    And the Terdun people were lucky; the second shot hit the shooting tower directly.


    The arrow shield of the shooting tower broke apart, and sharp wooden splinters flew everywhere along with the impact noise, scaring the militiamen, who had been excitedly watching the cannon, back behind the wall.


    Mason remained unmoved; he had already ordered that until the enemy was close to the walls, no archer was to ascend the shooting towers prematurely.


    The third cannonball flew over the wall, and the fourth directly hit the wall, burying deeply into the masonry, with the surface soil of the wall sliding down into the trench.


    ¡°The angle isn¡¯t enough to burst the shell open¡ªnor did I expect the Terdun people to have cannon,¡± Mason counted silently, then ordered the sergeant next to him, ¡°Climb the shooting tower.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± The sergeant looked troubled, clearly shaken by the earlier bombardment.


    ¡°The Terdun people¡¯s cannon is still loading; you can go up and down quickly, they won¡¯t hit you,¡± Mason had no choice but to explain to the sergeant, who was seeing combat for the first time, ¡°I don¡¯t think that shot went through; go up there and bring the cannonball to me.¡±

 Chapter 834 834 85 Luck_3

    ?Chapter 834: Chapter 85 Luck_3 Chapter 834: Chapter 85 Luck_3 The sergeant went reluctantly and skeptically.


    Mason patiently counted the timing, he wanted to see at what frequency the people of Terdun could fire.


    Compared to accuracy, the loading speed was a better indicator of the gunner¡¯s level¡ªof course, provided they didn¡¯t blow up the cannon.


    About six minutes later, there were four more thunderous booms. Six minutes per round of firing, the loading speed was a bit slow.


    Mason was very familiar with the performance of the six-pound long cannon: three to four minutes per round was normal, and a skilled gun crew could manage every two minutes.


    In the second round of firing, the cannon of Terdun did not burst.


    Another six or seven minutes passed, and four consecutive booms resounded without any bursts.


    ... S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The design purpose of Revodan¡¯s city defense works was to withstand cavalry charges. Thus, the facade of the walls was rather steep, allowing the cannonballs to ¡°bite¡± into it more effectively.


    The people of Terdun were not firing aimlessly, their twelve shots consistently targeted one arrow tower, fiercely bombarding it.


    Continuously struck by external forces, a corner of the arrow tower collapsed, and large chunks of earth fell into the trench.


    Although the wall was still intact, Terdun¡¯s gun crew had already proven their capability to threaten the wall.


    Mason sighed, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the dust off his face.


    The sergeant picked up the cannonballs and proudly presented them to Mason, ¡°Your Excellence, it was very dangerous just now¡­¡±


    Mason took the cannonball, weighed it, and showed a faint smile, ¡°Iron cannonballs.¡±


    The sergeant and the surrounding militia did not understand.


    ¡°On the Great Wilderness, iron is as valuable as gold and silver, Terdun calls iron ¡®black money¡¯. Now Terdun is essentially using money to fight us.¡± Mason patiently explained to the militia around him:


    ¡°If they were using stone cannonballs, it would mean that the people of Terdun were very well prepared. But now they are using iron cannonballs¡ªthey do not have the capability to cast iron cannonballs, these must have been left by the Expeditionary Force on the wilderness, and with each shot, their supplies diminish.¡±


    The militia seemed enlightened.


    Mason flipped and examined the cannonball, trying to find any inscriptions or markings, but there were none.


    He casually threw the cannonball onto the ground, ¡°I reckon it won¡¯t be long before the people of Terdun start using pebbles as grapeshot and switch to close-range firing tactics.¡±


    The militia nodded understandingly, whispering and discussing quietly among themselves.


    ¡°Then are we just supposed to endure the bombardment?¡± One tall, thin young sergeant boldly asked, ¡°Your Excellence?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Mason smiled calmly, ¡°We need to teach them a lesson too.¡±


    How to teach the opponent a lesson? Mason had a bold idea¡ªfighting cannon with cannon.


    A third-generation wooden cannon was placed on the parapet, Mason, as if encouraging it, gently patted the barrel.


    This was the best quality third-generation wooden cannon he had at hand, capable of firing a solid iron cannonball weighing about four pounds.


    The third-generation wooden cannon was designed by wrapping twined rope and iron hoops around forged iron tubes, which were then secured with wood.


    By design, its purpose was to fire grapeshot, but it was not incapable of firing solid shot.


    Mason stretched out his arm and thumb and estimated that Terdun¡¯s cannons were about a hundred meters from the city wall¡ªthus their firing was so accurate, rarely missing.


    Four cannons were lined up in a row, the cannon bases constructed of thick wooden planks.


    If Mason were on the offensive, he wouldn¡¯t have placed the cannons so close. One hundred meters falls within the lethal range of grapeshot.


    The thick wooden planks could withstand the firing of matchlock guns, and perhaps could also endure a storm of grapeshot, but the opponents clearly hadn¡¯t considered the possibility of the defenders fighting cannon with cannon¡ªor possibly it was intentional, leaving the defenders an opportunity.


    Mason spent a lot of time adjusting the angle, then started the loading process: gunpowder, wooden boards, cotton, and hemp wadding were stuffed into the cannon one by one.


    He signaled to disperse the observing militia, nodding to his subordinates that they could load the cannonball now.


    The fierce man with a red birthmark on his face spat twice into his palm, scooped up a red-hot cannonball from the furnace using an iron spoon.


    A few shouts of surprise erupted from the crowd, and the militia then understood why they were not allowed to stand nearby to watch.


    The four-pound iron ball, faintly flaming, was placed into the cannon, and Mason lit the fuse with a long rod, quickly retreating to a distance.


    With a loud ¡°boom¡±, the cannon shook violently, moving from its original position.


    The red-hot cannonball shot out of the barrel, tracing a beautiful arc in the air filled with hopeful victory.


    Then, under everyone¡¯s gaze, it flew over the heads of Terdun¡¯s gun crew, leisurely landing in the distance, bouncing a few times before coming to a silent stop¡ªIt had overshot.


    The huge disappointment involuntarily drew sighs from the militia.


    Unperturbed, Mason first repositioned the cannon, then adjusted the angle with a plumb line, reloaded, and fired again.


    The second shot also missed, hitting the ground too early and bouncing a few times before stopping¡ªit was too short.


    A militia member couldn¡¯t help but mutter softly, ¡°Is Captain Mason really up to this?¡±


    There were also old soldiers confidently vouching for the Civil Guard Officer, ¡°What do you know? During our previous battles, Captain Mason¡¯s first three shots were off, but the fourth shot hit directly! That¡¯s called artillery skills! Test firing, understand?¡±


    Mason was busy adjusting the firing angle with a plumb line and didn¡¯t hear the other militia members¡¯ remarks. Even if he had heard, it would be hard for him to explain to them.


    He was indeed calibrating the shots.


    In the first shot, he deliberately had the cannonball land farther away;


    In the second shot, he let the cannonball land closer;

 Chapter 835 835 85 Luck_4

    ?Chapter 835: Chapter 85 Luck_4 Chapter 835: Chapter 85 Luck_4 Then, by examining the points of impact and firing angles of the two shots, they could calculate the correct firing angle.


    Ballistics is a profound field of study, and although currently, there are only some empirical formulas available, it¡¯s not something that those muscular simpletons in the infantry or cavalry could learn¡ªMason thought with a slight pride.


    Of course, theoretical calculations are one thing, practical combat still needs a bit of luck¡­just a bit.


    The third shot, carrying Mason¡¯s hopes for a successful hit with the most accurately predetermined angle, still missed.


    The cannonball screeched out of the barrel and landed far beyond the target.


    It was somewhat different from the calculations; theoretically, even if it missed, it should have landed closer.


    Mason was not discouraged and continued to adjust.


    ...


    The fourth, fifth, and sixth shots all missed.


    Mason¡¯s forehead was dotted with sweat; the surrounding militia were starting to get bored, while the people of Terdun grew numb.


    During the first cannonade by the garrison, the Terdun people were startled, and the commanding Green Plumed Feathers quickly ordered their men to shield the cannons with thick planks.


    After several rounds of firing, the commanding Green Plumed Feathers realized that the two-legged people¡¯s cannon skills were awful, with cannonballs flying aimlessly and less accurately than his slave gunners.


    Green Plumed Feathers then simply ignored the harassment from the two-legged people and focused on bombarding Arrowhead Fort.


    After firing six cannonballs, the garrison had not even hit a horse¡¯s tail hair.


    In the meantime, Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ cannons fired three rounds, with the majority hitting the walls of Arrowhead Fort.


    ¡°It¡¯s the cannons¡¯ problem.¡± After the seventh missed shot, Mason wiped the sweat from his forehead and earnestly said to his old subordinate with a red birthmark on his face, ¡°These wooden cannons haven¡¯t had their bore drilled; the inner tubes are too rough, making the cannonball trajectories unpredictable.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the man with the red birthmark nodded emotionlessly¡ªhis horrific facial birthmark usually left him expressionless, ¡°The cannon is very hot, should we cool it down first?¡± S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Get some oil, let¡¯s cool it down,¡± Mason glanced around and inadvertently caught the complex looks of the militia, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°It really is the cannons¡¯ problem.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± the red birthmark man nodded again and left to fetch the cooling oil.


    Mason took out a roll of grass paper and began to write and calculate again.


    As the militia saw this, they returned to their posts, many murmuring quietly as they left.


    The garrison¡¯s hopes for the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s artillery skills had faded, but at least with all the commotion, the city¡¯s militia had become desensitized to the cannons¡ªsince their firepower was so mediocre.


    ¡°Terdun people are still very primitive in their use of cannons,¡± Mason recorded, ¡°The advantage of the six-pounder long gun lies in its lightness, which, when coupled with a gun carriage, can be moved at any time. Yet, the Terdun people have placed the six-pounder long gun in a fixed position for use as a heavy siege cannon, voluntarily giving up the advantage of mobility¡­¡±


    Mason continued writing and calculating while observing and recording the points of impact.


    Suddenly, his body stiffened, his pupils dilated, and the piece of graphite in his hand snapped with a ¡°snap.¡±


    Mason didn¡¯t have time to pick up a new piece; he quickly picked up half of the graphite stick, furiously calculating and drawing sketches, his lips pressed tighter and tighter.


    After the red birthmark man and his subordinates had brought the oil and cooled the barrel, seeing the old officer absorbed in sliding the graphite stick over the grass paper, they dared not disturb him.


    The red birthmark man and the other gunners waited quietly.


    ¡°Eureka! Eureka!!!¡± Mason suddenly jumped up, fiercely throwing the last small piece of graphite on the ground, and laughed loudly, ¡°Ongs! Double the charge this time!¡±


    Ongs, who earned the nickname ¡°Demon¡± from his large red birthmark, rarely questioned his old superior¡¯s command, ¡°Double the charge might burst the barrel.¡±


    [Note: A birthmark was considered a devil¡¯s kiss, and a black birthmark on a woman¡¯s body was considered a nipple for feeding devils]


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with a charge of one and a half rounds,¡± Mason immediately began adjusting the cannon to a new firing angle.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do the ignition,¡± Demon Ongs said no more.


    The maximum range of the cannon was at a forty-five degree angle, which was a piece of artilleryman¡¯s wisdom.


    Unlike before, Mason didn¡¯t choose an angle that aimed for a direct hit on the enemy; instead, he opted for a smaller angle.


    After loading, Demon Ongs took the firing rod emotionlessly and lit the primer.


    The extra half charge brought a higher muzzle velocity.


    The blazing cannonball burst forth with unprecedented power, flying towards the Terdun position.


    The militiamen, though not versed in artillery, had seen enough to roughly understand what was going on.


    ¡°It¡¯s close,¡± thought one quick-reacting militiaman instinctively.


    Indeed, it was close; the cannonball had already heavily smashed into the ground some distance from the position.


    The Green Plumed Feathers supervising the cannon burst out laughing.


    But in an instant, his smile froze on his face.


    The high-speed cannonball didn¡¯t bury itself in the mud¡ªinstead, it fiercely bounced off the ground and glided forward again.


    Time seemed to freeze in that moment as the horrified Terdun Green Plumed Feathers watched the cannonball hop and bounce straight toward him.


    Green Plumed Feathers wanted to dodge, but the cannonball was faster.


    The dark-red, high-temperature cannonball hit Green Plumed Feathers¡¯ left leg, forcefully breaking it off at the knee.


    For a moment, the captive artillerymen around thought they heard the ¡°sizzle¡± of meat cooking, and then they actually smelled the aroma of roasting meat¡ªthe gaunt captives unconsciously drooled.


    Then came the pained screams from Green Plumed Feathers.


    The cannonball, like skimming stones, landed and rebounded several times into the crowd, leaving everyone, whether attackers or defenders, utterly dumbfounded.


    ¡°What kind of luck is this?!¡± the defending militiamen first exclaimed in shock before breaking into frantic cheers.


    ¡°What kind of luck is this?!¡± The onlooking Terdun people were astonished as well.


    Demon Ongs quickly figured out roughly what happened: the freezing cold and absence of rain had hardened the soil, and the cannonball, traveling at a steep angle and high speed, was able to bounce instead of burying itself.


    But Demon Ongs still found it hard to believe that this was a ¡°man-planned¡± shot.


    He raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression tinged with surprise, as he looked inquiringly at his old superior.


    ¡°Lucky, I didn¡¯t expect to hit it on the first try,¡± Mason scratched his head embarrassedly, cheeks slightly flushed, ¡°Looks like I hit someone? Should we try double the charge next?¡±


    ¡­


    The Revodan artillery duel ended with losses on both sides.


    Elsewhere, Winters had two guests arrive.


    The first guest claimed to be a runaway slave from the Terdun Tribe, bringing important intelligence.


    The second guest, Good Fortune Gold, brought good luck to Winters¡ªand that was exactly what Winters needed.

 Chapter 836 836 86 Defending the City

    ?Chapter 836: Chapter 86: Defending the City Chapter 836: Chapter 86: Defending the City Terdun¡¯s cannon position.


    The interval between cannon shots was growing longer and their accuracy getting worse, and Hong Lingyu, the officer in charge, was very dissatisfied, not hesitating to use his whip.


    ¡°How the hell do you not understand?!¡± an irate little-eyed slave, wearing a smooth leather coat, explained repeatedly without success and cursed at Hong Lingyu, ¡°If there¡¯s a burst barrel, then we¡¯re all done for!¡±


    For a mere slave to be so impertinent to a warrior was unthinkable, unless he was under the influence of some strange medicine.


    But the little-eyed man¡¯s status was somewhat special; he was a ¡°house slave¡± of the fire stoker. In other words, he was the fire stoker¡¯s private property, and nobody dared to beat or kill him.


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s expression turned even darker as he turned to look at the Translator.


    The little-eyed slave glared and yelled at the Translator, ¡°Translate that for him!¡±


    ...


    The gunners, wrapped in tattered military uniforms, kept silent, coldly watching the farce unfold.


    Apart from the three who were followers, the rest of the gunners were captured Paratu soldiers.


    Those captives who were more compliant and had not tried to escape were selected by the fire stoker, formed into a battalion, taught cannonry by the little-eyed house slave who had become an ¡°honorary Terdun,¡± leading to the formation of the current Terdun artillery team.


    The little-eyed slave had been a common gunner in the Fifth Corps but now, as a favored house slave of the fire stoker, his status had skyrocketed.


    However, the fire stoker clearly did not entirely trust his new slave and had assigned additional supervisors for the artillery team in combat.


    Standing in front of the ¡°honorary slave,¡± Hong Lingyu was the younger son of the former officer in charge.


    The former officer had his left leg below the knee blown off by a cannonball, bled uncontrollably, and soon died.


    The Translator, shivering, relayed the little-eyed slave¡¯s words to Hong Lingyu, making sure to translate the profanity as well.


    Hong Lingyu flew into a rage, not caring for anything else, and struck the little-eyed slave¡¯s face fiercely with a horsewhip, violently kicking him to the ground.


    The little-eyed slave saw stars, struggling to get up, only to have a boot stomp heavily on his chest.


    Hong Lingyu drew his curved blade, pressing it to the little-eyed slave¡¯s neck, and said a few ferocious words.


    The Translator quickly translated, ¡°The Khan commanded you to fire the cannon, so just fire the damn cannon. Dare to make excuses again, and your head will be cleaved off.¡±


    The desperate little-eyed slave grasped at straws, ¡°The Khan! I want to see the Khan! Herde Khan!¡±


    Hong Lingyu, who understood the last word, tapped the other¡¯s cheek with his curved blade, ¡°[Herde language] You won¡¯t see the Khan! The Khan isn¡¯t even here.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, Mason was also inspecting the condition of the third-generation cannons behind the city wall. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s ruined,¡± Mason said regretfully, but decisively ruled, ¡°Send it back to the workshop.¡±


    ¡°It could still be fired a few more times,¡± Demon Ons stated calmly, ¡°The other wooden cannons can¡¯t shoot solid shot far.¡±


    Mason insisted, ¡°No, the seams have cracked open; take it back to the forge for reworking.¡±


    Demon Ons, without another word, led his men to haul away the wooden cannon.


    Terdun¡¯s cannons weren¡¯t nearly enough to destroy the entire wall, so they concentrated their fire on the western arrow bastion.


    Revodan¡¯s arrow bastion was a triangular fortress protruding into the trench from the city wall, a primitive form of bastion structure, able to flank enemies entering the trench.


    The new arrow bastions were generally independent from the main fortress, so even if the bastion itself fell, the defense could continue from the main fortress.


    However, due to the pressing deadline, Revodan¡¯s arrow bastion was integral with the city wall.


    If the bastion fell, the wall would be breached soon after.


    The cannon fire that continued from early morning until afternoon left the arrow bastion badly damaged; the steep walls had collapsed into a gentle slope.


    Inside the trench, Terdun¡¯s soldiers maneuvered, the flickering plumes on their helmets barely visible. They watched the cannons wreak havoc in silence, without launching an assault on the walls.


    Mason didn¡¯t mind if the enemy kept up the cannon fire like this.


    The Terdun people seemed to be counting on the cannons to completely destroy the arrow bastion, but as soon as night fell, Mason would immediately send out crews to repair the walls.


    By continuous ¡°ricochet shelling,¡± Mason had successfully forced the Terdun cannons back to two hundred meters away. After increasing the distance, the accuracy of Terdun¡¯s cannons also declined.


    Even the least confident militia had to admit that it was skill, not luck.


    Ricochet shelling ¨C solid ammunition bounces repeatedly off the ground, like stones skipping across a pond.


    Although it seemed comical, most of the cannonballs would eventually ¡°accidentally¡± fly into the barbarians¡¯ cannon positions.


    Aiming directly at the target, even with minor differences in firing angle, amount of gunpowder, and weight of the shot, could lead to severe deviation in the projectile¡¯s trajectory.


    A shell flying overhead of the enemy would cause no damage, while one landing in front might sink into the mud.


    Yet, when Mason aimed a certain distance in front of the enemy and added more gunpowder to lower the trajectory, a subtle change occurred:


    The hard winter soil allowed the cannonballs to ¡°skew¡± upon making contact at a small angle;


    Under these circumstances, as long as the cannonball fell within a specific area in front of the enemy, the bouncing shot could inflict casualties;


    And ¡°hitting a specific area in front of the enemy¡± was much simpler than ¡°directly striking the enemy.¡±


    Mason had opened a new door¡­ it was just a bit tricky to navigate.


    Because if the iron ball was to bounce, the trajectory needed to be as flat as possible, meaning the speed of the shot had to be fast.


    Currently, the only way Mason knew to increase the velocity of the shot was to add more gunpowder.

 Chapter 837 837 86 Defending the City_2

    ?Chapter 837: Chapter 86: Defending the City_2 Chapter 837: Chapter 86: Defending the City_2 After less than twenty uses, the best quality third-generation wooden cannon was scrapped at a rate far exceeding Mason¡¯s expectations.


    Demon Ons led his men to deliver the wooden cannon to a row of crude wooden sheds by the riverbank.


    This was Revodan¡¯s weapons workshop. Although it was winter, the inside of the workshop felt no coldness.


    Wearing only a single layer of clothing, the blacksmiths were sweating profusely, and the dull sound of the hammering never ceased.


    Gangchalov, wearing a leather coat full of tiny holes burned by iron filings, was forging a large yellowish ingot on the hydraulic hammer.


    Seeing that his eldest brother had flattened the ingot into a cylindrical shape, Gangchalov¡¯s two younger brothers immediately lifted a chisel-like tool to secure it just above the iron column.


    Accompanied by the continuous pounding of the hammer, the iron column was penetrated from top to bottom. After removing the chisel, they replaced it with an iron rod poked inside.


    ...


    The hot forged iron ingot was ¡°strung¡± on the iron rod and then continued to be forged into an iron tube.


    Throughout the process, the Gangchalov brothers remained silent, yet their coordination was so seamless it was as if a giant with six arms was at work.


    After the entire procedure was completed, Gangchalov returned a roughly one-foot-long, one-inch-thick iron tube to the furnace for reheating.


    This iron tube needed to be welded with three other iron tubes of the same size to finally obtain a long-bore cannon barrel.


    Upon seeing Demon Ons, Gangchalov asked straightforwardly, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Cracked,¡± Demon Ons simply answered, ¡°It¡¯s scrapped.¡±


    With cannons booming in front, and iron being forged in the back, neither side had the energy for pleasantries.


    ¡°No way around it,¡± Gangchalov guzzled down a large jug of salt water, panting heavily, ¡°Cannon barrels cobbled together like this are bound to have problems sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°What about the items the Civil Guard Officer asked you to prepare?¡± Demon Ons furrowed his brow and asked.


    Gangchalov¡¯s face turned pale, ¡°They¡¯re ready¡­ but who would dare use them?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s none of your business,¡± Demon Ons coldly replied.


    ¡­


    On the other side, in the Terdon soldiers¡¯ gun position, small-eyed slaves were forced to reload the cannon.


    The small-eyed slave struggled to push the cannonball into the gun barrel, and the other captives looked on indifferently as the slave served his new master, no one coming forward to help voluntarily.


    The captives simply pretended to be busy under the scolding and whip lashes, staying as far away as possible.


    The four long cannons of the Terdon Tribe were bought from the Red River Tribe, ones Mason had previously used, nailed shut and then sunk into the river¡ªtruly second-hand.


    Nailing shut the cannon not only plugged the fire door but also caused nearly imperceptible cracks and deformations in the cannon barrel, necessitating a secondary reinforcement with iron hoops.


    The loading of the shell was rough, a dangerous sign. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon re-examining the cannon barrel, the small-eyed slave noticed that the high temperature had caused the black paint to become somewhat sticky, and the iron hoops around the cannon barrel showed fine silvery cracks.


    ¡°This cannon won¡¯t work!¡± In a total panic, stripped of his prior arrogance, the small-eyed slave looked at Hong Lingyu and pleaded, ¡°This cannon really can¡¯t be used!¡±


    Although he couldn¡¯t understand what the small-eyed slave was saying, Hong Lingyu understood the slave¡¯s meaning.


    Unable to contain his anger, Hong Lingyu slapped the small-eyed slave across the face, grabbed the linstock, and pressed it against the fire door.


    From behind the city walls, Mason saw two plumes of white smoke rise from the distant enemy¡¯s gun position. The cannonballs flew only a short distance before impotently falling to the ground, and faint cries could be heard.


    ¡°Sir, what¡¯s wrong with the barbarians?¡± a militiaman asked, puzzled.


    ¡°It might be a burst barrel,¡± Mason frowned slightly.


    Amidst the smoky gun position of the Terdon people, whether it was the gunners or the supervising Terdon soldiers, everyone was dizzied by the blast.


    The burst cannon¡¯s barrel burst wide open, and the collapsing fragments shot out like lead bullets.


    The largest fragment made direct contact with Hong Lingyu¡¯s forehead, smashing his skull inward before disappearing.


    The burst barrel accident sounded like a starting signal, spreading the news in all directions as the Terdon army mobilized.


    The war drums roared, four shield carts removed their camouflage, and each was pushed by six or seven people, advancing side by side towards the collapsed triangular fortress on the outer wall.


    Following the large shield carts were several small hand-pushed carts filled with earth, and Terdon archers also emerged from the trenches, shooting arrows at the city wall.


    ¡°Beat the drums!¡± Mason ordered, ¡°Everyone to the battlements!¡±


    The small drums began to sound, and the militiamen hurriedly ran out of their cover, scrambling up the wooden scaffolds behind the city wall.


    Seeing the barbarians suddenly reveal their fangs, the foul-smelled blood dripping one drop at a time from their sharp teeth, the militiamen, who had just gotten used to the low-intensity artillery battle and were grinning, were suddenly overwhelmed.


    Silence fell over the city wall, the militiamen¡¯s mouths dry and their tongues parched, eyes wide as they watched the Terdon people approach.


    Hearing Mason explain the tactics, the various militia captains realized: in the end, the barbarians resorted to their signature prowess.


    The Terdon people used the resources at hand, adopting a ¡°hybrid¡± siege method: approaching with trenches, focusing the limited artillery to break down the wall, then resorting to their standard tactics¡ªshield carts, filling trenches, climbing the city walls.


    ¡°You¡¯ve gone mute? What are you afraid of? Did you think war was play?¡± Mason patrolled along the arrowhead fort, harshly scolding the silent militiamen, ¡°Even if you stand on a hundred-meter-tall wall, you can¡¯t escape the ordeal of fighting for your life! From now on, all of you are dead men! Only if you win can you earn the right to live!¡±


    As the Terdon shield carts reached thirty meters, the two wooden cannons on the arrowhead fort roared.


    The small iron pellets wrapped in parchment paper burst open midair, scattering.

 Chapter 838 838 86 Defending the City_3

    ?Chapter 838: Chapter 86 Defending the City_3 Chapter 838: Chapter 86 Defending the City_3 Most of the grapeshot was blocked by the shield carts, with a small fraction passing through the gap between two of them.


    Terdun men screamed in pain, releasing their grip on the push handles, only to have another pair of hands immediately take over.


    ¡°By the Gods above!¡± the commander of the shield carts, Hong Lingyu of Tahai, roared, ¡°The two-legged people are out of thunder! Hurry up!¡±


    The militiamen behind the city walls heard the barbarians let out a unified shout of ¡°Wooka ha,¡± and suddenly, the advance of the shield carts quickened as they rushed towards the city walls.


    Suddenly, a militiaman screamed in agony, clutching his eyes. He stumbled backward, fell off the scaffolding, an arrow shaft wedged between his fingers.


    The stretcher team hurried over to lift the arrow-struck militiaman, but he had already breathed his last.


    With several twangs of bowstrings, the armored soldiers atop the shield carts shot with deadly accuracy, mercilessly killing any Revodan militiamen who poked their heads out in a daze.


    ...


    ¡°Damn it! Fools!¡± The tall, silent Captain Ivan suddenly exploded. He cursed out loud and backhanded the dazed militiaman beside him with a slap, ¡°What the hell are you doing? Waiting to be slaughtered? Fire!¡±


    There was no time for new recruits to get used to the bloody scene, and those who came to their senses began to return fire one after another.


    A moment ago, the militiamen were laughing at the jokes of Mason Commissioner, hiding inside the bunkers and listening to bomb blasts, many of them thinking ¡°war was no more than this¡±;


    The next moment, when the militiamen felt they had grown used to warfare, they truly saw the violent nature of war for the first time, and many had already died.


    Arrows and lead shot danced in the air, gunshots and wails rose and fell, but the siege battle was far from reaching its most brutal point.


    ¡°What are you doing standing here?!¡± Mason charged up to the arrow tower, commanding the gunners who were reloading, ¡°Take the cannon and go! Fire from the flanks!¡±


    Two teams of gunners awkwardly shifted the wooden cannons to both sides of the arrow tower, while the shield carts had already reached the edge of the ditch. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The distance between the two sides was less than six meters, separated only by a trench, close enough that they could even see each other¡¯s trembling beard tips.


    The powerful bows and heavy arrows of the Terdun soldiers were eerily accurate at this distance; some Revodan militiamen were pierced by an arrow the very moment they exposed just half of their bow-holding hand at the battlement notch.


    Seeing the militiamen on the arrow tower being suppressed, Mason pushed and kicked the militiamen who were hiding behind the city wall, too scared to raise their heads, ¡°Stand up! Get to the gunners¡¯ station! Go to the flanks! Move!¡±


    With the cover of shield carts and archers, the Terdun people continuously dumped dirt and firewood into the trench using small carts.


    And there were Terdun people with pickaxes silently descending to the bottom of the trench using ropes.


    ¡°The barbarians are pulling out the stakes!¡± a sentry from the side of the triangular fortress cried hoarsely, ¡°They¡¯re digging at the wall!¡±


    ¡°Greek fire!¡± Mason bellowed, ¡°Ongs!¡±


    Hearing the signal of the drums to mount the wall, Demon Ongs hurried from the workshop back to the arrow tower and immediately had men lift out boxes of pottery jars from the bunker.


    The Terdun centurion at the front line, Tahai, only saw dark objects being thrown from behind the city wall in succession, shattering upon landing¡ªlike pottery.


    An armored soldier with remarkable archery skills hit a pottery jar mid-air, spilling liquid from within.


    Realizing what the enemy was up to, an aghast Tahai, his face twisted in terror, dashed out of the shield cart, desperately crying, ¡°Climb up!¡±


    It was already too late. Several torches were thrown into the trench, spreading a layer of blue flame at its bottom.


    Bundles of dry straw were then thrown into the trench, burning even more fiercely than ordinary straw, instantly transforming the moat into a sea of fire.


    Richard Mason grabbed the gunpowder-wrapped dry straw and flung bundle after bundle out of the city until thick smoke billowed and the stench of burning filled the air.


    The inhuman screams of the dying quickly faded, the Terdun offensive temporarily stalled by the flames, but they did not retreat as the defenders had hoped.


    The Terdun people pinned at the edge of the trench, with heavy-armored archers suppressing the city wall¡¯s militiamen to the point they dared not raise their heads, refusing to retreat.


    The thick smoke obscured the view, and as Mason moved to the side of the arrow tower, he finally saw what the Terdun people were doing¡ªusing the smoke and shield carts as cover, they were actually digging trenches beside the protective ditch.


    At the same time, a beacon of smoke rose into the sky from the Old Town district on the northern shore.

 Chapter 839 839 87 Tug of War

    ?Chapter 839: Chapter 87: Tug of War Chapter 839: Chapter 87: Tug of War ¡°Herde Language What is going on?¡± Red Plumed Feathers with a Lion Nose stopped his horse at the edge of Revodan Valley, dissatisfiedly asking the Green Plumed Feathers ahead, ¡°Herde Language Didn¡¯t the fire starter say he had already captured the city? Brother?¡±


    The Green Plumed Feathers, resembling the appearance of Red Plumed Feathers and also with a Lion Nose, frowned tightly, ¡°Herde Language How should I know? Pick a few good men and cross the river to find out.¡±


    From their elevated position, the white smoke continuously pouring out of the southern city walls was in plain sight.


    But what lay between them and the battlefield was not only the earth but also a wide river.


    The younger Lion Nose whispered in agreement and with a hint of confusion, ¡°Herde Language Then what should we do now?¡±


    Herde Language The fire starter seems to be struggling, let him handle this.¡± Big Lion Nose narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke gravely, ¡°Herde Language But if he fails, it will not bode well for us either. Take your men and go scare those two-legged creatures on the northern bank.¡±


    The younger Lion Nose let out a whistle, turned his horse around, and fired a signal arrow into the sky.


    ...


    The following group of over a hundred loyal tribesmen reluctantly dismounted and began removing their saddlebags.


    Whether on horseback or from their mounts, each horse¡¯s saddlebags were bulging¡ªfilled with their ¡°spoils of war¡± and merely what they carried with them.


    North along the main road, out of sight, more Herders were moving to Revodan, escorting slaves and captives.


    The left wing of the Terdon Tribe had arrived.


    ¡­


    In the old city of Revodan, Anna found the elderly Mayor Priskin amidst the chaos of the town hall.


    ¡°I saw the beacons.¡± Anna struggled to maintain her composure and steadiness, ¡°Mr. Mayor.¡±


    ¡°Yes, beacons, Lady Montaigne.¡± The wrinkles on old Priskin¡¯s face grew deeper as he leaned on the desk and struggled to stand, ¡°The outpost at Hammer Fort spotted the barbarians coming and lit the beacons¡­ Fortunately, the young men have all pulled back, and the residents of Hammer Fort were evacuated early¡­¡±


    ¡°Hammer Fort? Is it to the north?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Old Priskin¡¯s eyes were filled with fatigue, ¡°It¡¯s the barbarians from Vernge County, ah.¡±


    The town hall had already turned into a military camp, with panicked city council members bringing out bundles of weapons to distribute to equally panicked citizens.


    However, most of the young and able-bodied men had been taken to defend the southern walls, leaving only a half-strength city guard and recent Hammer Fort residents for security in the northern part; those left were either too old or too young.


    Even before old Priskin, who needed a cane to walk, there was a dagger set out.


    ¡°Grandfather!¡± A young man in armored leather burst through the door haphazardly, ¡°I¡¯ve brought my friends over!¡±


    Seeing a young and beautiful lady in the mayor¡¯s office made the young Priskin pause.


    ¡°This is,¡± Old Priskin coughed lightly, ¡°the wife of the Mason Civil Guard Officer.¡±


    Young Priskin¡¯s knees trembled subconsciously. He hastily bowed and quickly left, carefully closing the door behind him.


    Anna didn¡¯t understand why the other reacted as if a mouse had seen a cat, but she was quick-witted and soon guessed roughly.


    However, none of those things seemed important at the moment. Anna looked at Mayor Priskin, ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡±


    Mayor Priskin was about to say ¡°nothing,¡± but he responded instead, ¡°I have already sent someone to seek help from the Mason Commissioner, but I fear it will take time. All the city council members, including myself, have to go up to the walls. If you could help stabilize the civilians within the city, that would be great.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Anna nodded slightly.


    ¡°Or perhaps,¡± an idea occurred to Mayor Priskin, ¡°could you help me find two to three hundred robust women to assist?¡±


    ¡­


    New City of Revodan.


    Every musket in the city had been moved to the Arrow Fort on the western wall, and the wooden cannons from the southern and eastern walls were also concentrated on the western wall.


    Behind Arrow Fort, the militia was racing against time to fortify Urn City.


    On Arrow Fort, Mason personally commanded two wooden cannons and used solid shot to heavily bombard the Terdon peoples¡¯ shield carts.


    Musketeers were positioned on both wings of Arrow Fort, pulling away to flank the enemy. Lead bullets and arrows exchanged relentlessly, continually reaping fresh lives.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡± A burly militiaman roared as he ran forward, desperately hurling a grenade toward the shield cart.


    As the grenade left his hand, he seemed to lose all his strength, gasping heavily for air. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, the next scene caused the air itself to solidify: the grenade thrown over the city wall flew back the same way it came, the not-yet-burned fuse still hissing.


    The fuse was too long! The barbarians picked up the grenade and threw it back!


    Beside the cannon, Mason was tackled by Demon Ongs. Other militiamen screamed in despair, scrambling to get away.


    The grenade-throwing militiaman also wanted to flee, but his legs were so stiff he couldn¡¯t move.


    An old sergeant behind him cursed loudly, pushed him away, and grabbed the grenade to throw it back outside the wall.


    It exploded before it left his hand.


    The old sergeant and the grenade-throwing militiaman were instantly killed, shrapnel severely wounded three others, and the sergeant¡¯s right arm was blown off, scattering flesh everywhere.


    As the stifling gunpowder smoke cleared, someone was vomiting.


    Mason got up, bellowing an order, ¡°Carry them away!¡±


    The stretcher team rushed over, carrying away the dead and the severely injured. A member of the stretcher team was picking up pieces of flesh on the ground, unable to collect it all.


    ¡°Sound the drums!¡± Mason personally lit the firing charge of the wooden cannon, ¡°Fire!¡±

 Chapter 840 840 87 Sawing_2

    ?Chapter 840: Chapter 87: Sawing_2 Chapter 840: Chapter 87: Sawing_2 The sound of military drums and gunfire rose again, and the battle continued.


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡± After a prolonged internal struggle, the middle-aged leader of the cavalry, Dusack, made up his mind and approached Mason, ¡°Allow me to take the cavalry out for a charge.¡±


    Although the captain of the cavalry volunteered eagerly, his knees were slightly trembling.


    Mason¡¯s face, blackened by gunpowder fumes, scrutinized the man, ¡°No one can back you up. Going out of the city means certain death.¡±


    Dusack clenched his teeth and responded, ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re unafraid of death, which is why I cannot let you throw your life away needlessly.¡± Mason, wiping the soot from his face, was unusually calm, ¡°No need for a counterattack outside the city walls. It won¡¯t be any use.¡±


    As more troops were committed, the Revodan defenders gradually began to suppress the Terdun people. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Mason convened his militia captains to reposition the defenses.


    Many of the militia captains looked dazed, obviously still unaccustomed to the bloodshed and death.


    ¡°Listen well, do not fear the Terdun people digging trenches.¡± Mason struck the ground fiercely with his sword, ¡°No matter how fast they dig, they can¡¯t be faster than us! Worse comes to worst, we¡¯ll simply build another wall! Earthworks? Those barbarians are still too green.¡±


    Several militia captains unconsciously swallowed their saliva.


    Mason pointed to the east and south, ¡°The Terdun people won¡¯t focus their attacks on one spot. Troops on the south and east walls, hold your positions and don¡¯t crane your necks just to watch what¡¯s happening on the west wall!¡±


    The militia captains defending the south and east walls nodded vigorously.


    ¡°Your Excellency, what about the beacon smoke from the Old City?¡± someone hesitated to speak.


    ¡°The safety of the Old City is not your concern. Civil Guard Officer Montaigne and I are well prepared.¡± Mason replied categorically, his eyes flashing with fire, ¡°As long as we can hold the walls, the situation will favor us, not the Terdun people!¡±


    Mason suddenly drew his sword, startling the militia captains into taking a step back.


    ¡°See?¡± Mason shouted fiercely, ¡°In close combat, those barbarians could slaughter you all in one charge! What¡¯s so difficult about holding a matchlock gun, standing twenty meters away, and pulling the trigger at the enemy?¡±


    At that moment, Demon Ons hurried to Mason¡¯s side, ¡°Your Excellency, the hand cannons are ready.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Mason¡¯s spirits lifted instantly.


    ¡­


    Revodan, Northerly City.


    Little Lion Nose led his followers on a circuit around the city walls and not only failed to find any usable breach but also discovered that the walls were manned by nearly a thousand defenders.


    He intended to get closer to scout the situation, but as soon as he came within bowshot range of the city walls, the defenders¡¯ small cannon immediately opened fire.


    Little Lion Nose did not want to take the risk and retreated.


    The Northerly City defenders were already at their limits. Every man capable of bearing arms was on the city walls, and every available banner had been placed on the ramparts.


    At this moment, half of the defenders were men, and the other half were women with their faces blackened and dressed in men¡¯s clothes.


    Seeing the barbarian cavalry merely probing before leaving, a huge sigh of relief, like one after narrowly escaping catastrophe, went up from the city walls.


    Little Lion Nose returned to the edge of the valley and shared what he observed with his brother.


    Lion Nose, alongside just over a hundred followers, attacking a city defended by thousands would be suicidal.


    ¡°[Herde Language] We should wait for the rest of our men to join us,¡± Big Lion Nose, deliberating, decided it was best to play it safe. They had gained considerable loot from their raiding and did not want to lose their lives at this time.


    Big Lion Nose further asked his brother, ¡°[Herde Language] Have you sent someone across the river yet?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I sent someone, but they haven¡¯t come back,¡± Little Lion Nose gloomily said, ¡°[Herde Language] Brother, if the Fire Tender wants a share of our loot, what should we do?¡±


    Big Lion Nose sneered, ¡°[Herde Language] If the Fire Tender wants meat and ends up gnawing on bone, who¡¯s to blame? Horses have four legs, men have two. If he is unfair, we need not stay with the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Right!¡± Little Lion Nose, already dissatisfied with how the Fire Tender had divided their forces this time, exclaimed, ¡°[Herde Language] The Golden Clan has been bullying the weak for long enough! We should have¡­¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Let¡¯s not speak of this for now!¡± Big Lion Nose interrupted his brother, ordering, ¡°[Herde Language] Set up camp here; let the young men go out and find some food and drink.¡±


    Although the Lion Nose brothers had plundered a considerable amount of wealth, they had brought little in the way of food or drink, relying entirely on looting along the way.


    Over a hundred Herde cavalrymen found a wind-sheltered place to unload their plunder, then split up to raid nearby settlements.


    That night, a cavalry infantry troop dispatched by Winters to the northern shore raided that camp.


    The heads of the Lion Nose brothers were taken.


    ¡­


    Revodan New Town, western side outside the arrowhead fort, Terdun people¡¯s trench.


    As the defenders brought in more musketeers, the Terdun people gradually began to fall behind in the firefight.


    Musketeers needed only ammunition and courage, whereas archers required not only ammunition and courage but also physical endurance.


    Moreover, facing the close-range shooting of heavy matchlock guns, whether one wore armor or not merely made the difference between a quick death and a slow one.


    Hong Lingyu¡¯s servants and guards were continuously killed, which horrified him.


    Yet, since the hundred strong cavalry commanded by the whip was just behind, Tahai dared not retreat. He could only keep telling himself: The rewards promised by the Fire Tender would surely be as abundant as promised.


    Tahai¡¯s subjects and slaves were striving to dig the trench; they all made their living from herding and were not accustomed to the labor of digging.


    In principle, this task should not have fallen to them.


    For it was customary for the tribes to employ captives for labor and drive women and children to fill the trenches.

 Chapter 841 841 87 Tug of War_3

    ?Chapter 841: Chapter 87: Tug of War_3 Chapter 841: Chapter 87: Tug of War_3 But outside the city, not a single biped could be captured, so the troops had to take action.


    The thunderous cannons on the city walls continuously boomed; the shields, reinforced with iron sheets and cowhide, were as fragile as mats. After the solid iron balls pierced through the shields, they were still able to shatter flesh and blood.


    Tahai ordered his troops to pile dirt into the shield carts, which gradually turned into dirt carts, temporarily blocking the deadly thunder from outside.


    No more troops dared to exchange arrows with the bipeds, even if the Kotas offered high bounties.


    Fortunately, the bipeds did not dare to attack either. As the two sides confronted each other at close range, neither could do anything to the other.


    As the trenches were dug deeper, it seemed the bipeds also realized that continuing to exchange fire was pointless. Gunfire became increasingly sparse, and the thunder no longer roared.


    Tahai hid behind the thickening, raising earthen wall; this small space unexpectedly began to make him feel safe. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    After the eerie silence, there came another dull boom of thunder.


    But what followed was not the trembling of the shield carts being struck by solid iron balls¡ªnothing happened.


    ¡°Missed?¡± Tahai wondered.


    No, a pitch-black iron ball with a swoosh, like a giant hailstone, smashed into the space behind the shield carts from mid-air, burying itself deep into the ground.


    Tahai¡¯s eyes widened, because from his position, the thunder could not possibly hit there.


    ¡°Hurled in?¡± Tahai was shocked, ¡°Do the bipeds have such a strong man?¡±


    Then came the second one; this iron ball had a hemp rope attached to it.


    Tahai¡¯s chest nearly burst; he screamed and leaped into the trench, ¡°Black thunder!¡±


    It was too late; the grenade exploded with a ¡°boom,¡± taking Tahai away.


    ¡­


    Revodan New Town.


    Behind the western city wall, a large open area was cleared, hosting twelve bizarrely-shaped, short, thick iron tubes pointing to the sky.


    They appeared to be mortars, but their calibers were too small and the tube walls too thin.


    Mason carefully took out a modified grenade that had an extra layer of protection on its fuse compared to a regular grenade.


    After lighting the fuse, Mason immediately placed the shell into the short-barreled cannon.


    Demon Ongs also immediately lit the fuse of the short-barreled cannon, and both retreated far away.


    The short-barreled cannon fired, shooting the grenade into the sky, its whereabouts unknown.


    ¡°This is how you use it!¡± Mason looked around at his subordinates, ¡°Did you understand?¡±


    The gunners nodded, somewhat puzzled.


    They had learned how to use the first, second, and third generations of wooden cannons with Mason Commissioner, yet they had never seen or heard of this type of grenade-launching device.


    The gunner responsible for observing the impact point ran over to report, ¡°Missed!¡±


    ¡°Too close or too far?¡± Mason asked.


    ¡°Too close! And to the right!¡±


    ¡°Get him two small flags,¡± Mason pointed at the observing gunner, ¡°Use the flags to communicate to save running back and forth.¡±


    Demon Ongs nodded.


    Revodan¡¯s forge workshop lacked the capability to cast whole cannon barrels, let alone directly forge entire ones.


    So they could only forge short iron tubes and then assemble them into long cannon barrels, which was laborious and time-consuming.


    Since Mason was most short on time, the artillery captain decided to simply skip the welding process and directly transformed short iron tubes, one foot long and one inch thick, into mortars for launching grenades.


    The modification work had started on the first day of the siege and today proved to be the perfect occasion to use it.


    ¡°The people of Terdon are digging trenches, pushing shield carts, and stacking earthen walls, trying to block direct fire,¡± Mason said with a hint of cruel pleasure to his subordinates, ¡°Very well! Let them taste the flavor of our mortars!¡±


    ¡­


    The mortar that fired shell easily launched four-pound shells to a distance of twenty meters, and its trajectory was curved, allowing the shells to fly over shield carts and then drop into the trenches.


    They became the last straw that broke Terdon¡¯s resistance.


    Although the Terdon people attacking New Town showed toughness far beyond ordinary Herde tribes, they couldn¡¯t keep digging trenches while being bombarded.


    Mason thought to himself that if he had been commanding the siege, he might have taken some countermeasures. Mortars had their drawbacks too, and were just as dangerous to their operators as to the enemy.


    However, the events of today had exhausted both the attackers and defenders.


    The Terdon people abandoned their dead, their wounded, and their shield carts, and broke ranks in a disorganized retreat, ignoring the supervising cavalry as they brandished their sabers.


    The defenders were too weary to pursue, and there were even no cheers of victory.


    As the evening darkened, the battlefield fell silent; only the dying Terdon people could be heard moaning in pain in a language that was incomprehensible.


    Venturesome militiamen stealthily climbed out from the city walls, aiming to decapitate the barbarians, and unexpectedly encountered Terdon people trying to loot the dead. Both parties startled each other and fled in chaotic shouts.


    Mason ordered the burning of Terdon¡¯s shield carts and the refilling of the enemy¡¯s trenches as much as possible.


    The next day, the siege resumed.


    The Terdon tribe utilized more personnel; while directly digging trenches toward the front, a contingent tried taking the river pathway in an effort to bypass the city walls.


    The Terdon attackers from the river were intercepted by the flotilla.


    Mason stationed second-generation wooden artillery on small boats, bombarding the enemy wading in the water with lethal stones and iron chunks.


    Those Terdon people who managed to swim to the shore discovered that the shallow riverbed was riddled with sharp stakes¡ªhow could Richard Mason possibly have left a loophole? They were quickly slaughtered on the beach.


    On the third day, the Terdon people finally connected their trenches to the city¡¯s moats.


    Mason then used his last resort.


    Accompanying a blast that made the earth tremble, a huge breach was blown open on the banks of the St. George River, northeast of Revodan New Town.


    The raging river water poured into the city moats, and the wall-digging Terdon slaves had no time to escape; they were either drowned or shot dead.


    The defensive moat had become a defensive river¡ªor rather, it had always been intended as a defensive river, just never filled with water until then.


    On the fourth day, the outside of the city was eerily quiet.


    Mason sent men to inspect and found that the enemy camps were deserted.


    ¡°Have the barbarians been defeated?¡± Elder Priskin asked as if granted amnesty.


    ¡°No,¡± Mason¡¯s expression held no trace of joy, ¡°I¡¯m afraid their objective has been achieved.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean, sir.¡±


    ¡°The real aim of the Terdon people has always been to force Winters to make a move. Their primary target has been Winters, then us after him.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Elder Priskin asked, half in terror, half in joy. ¡°Has His Excellency Montane launched an attack?¡±


    ¡°The Terdon people voluntarily lifting the siege,¡± Mason said calmly, ¡°indicates that the real battle has already begun.¡±


    Meanwhile, at the water dam fortress by the Big Horn River, Tamas and Samujin also discovered that the Terdon people besieging them had vanished without a trace.


    ¡°Release the water now!¡± Tamas decisively ordered.


    ¡°The water hasn¡¯t accumulated enough!¡± Samujin disagreed, ¡°Releasing it now, no one can guarantee it will destroy the floating bridge.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t wait!¡± Tamas roared, ¡°The Terdon people pulling back means the Centurion is already engaged in battle! We must release the water now!¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s destroy the dam,¡± Captain Moro, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.


    Samujin looked at both of them and reluctantly agreed.


    Mason and Tamas¡¯s speculation wasn¡¯t wrong; the final showdown had indeed commenced a day earlier.

 Chapter 842 842 88 Narrow Path

    ?Chapter 842: Chapter 88: Narrow Path Chapter 842: Chapter 88: Narrow Path Two days ago¡ªthe most intense stages of the Siege of Revodan and the Dam Siege.


    Out in the fields, the Terdon light cavalry were both surprised and delighted to find that the enemy¡¯s main force, which had always been advancing slowly by relying on strong camps and fortifications, had finally decided to take the initiative and come out in full force.


    Armed personnel and supply wagons continuously left various camps, eventually forming three columns on the plain.


    The three columns moved forward concurrently, like three mighty torrents, charging towards Revodan with unyielding momentum.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly¡­ so¡­¡± Among those overlooking the military might on the hillside, one was so excited that he became incoherent, ¡°Indescribable¡­¡±


    The gentleman grappling for adjectives was none other than Mr. Jacob Green, the lean and tall representative of the will of Niutigu Valley.


    As the only intellectual in the army who had attended grammar school and university, Jacob Green had become Winters¡¯s temporary private secretary, responsible for drafting proclamations and correspondence on behalf of Winters.


    Previously, Jacob Green had mostly experienced the cruel and bloody side of war.


    ...


    But now, as he witnessed thousands of troops slowly unfolding before his eyes, Jacob Green was internally shocked by the magnificent and mighty side of the war.


    Next to the tall Mr. Green, a short, fat man commented like a general, ¡°To move out in such columns really deserves the name of a great army.¡±


    Needless to say, the short, fat man was Nandor Krellov, another representative of Niutigu Valley¡¯s will.


    Nandor, having been injured in a previous battle and refusing to go home to recuperate, was also brought to the headquarters for protection.


    According to the short and fat Mr. Nandor¡¯s own words, he had already missed one battle due to his injuries and did not want to miss another.


    Normally, the thin gentleman would certainly have a sharp exchange with the fat gentleman.


    But the current Jacob Green was utterly engrossed in his excited emotions and thus completely ignored his old adversary¡¯s words, suddenly capturing a few sparks of inspiration: ¡°War¡­ the ultimate violence of mankind¡­ a spectacular manifestation of immense power¡­¡±


    The fat Mr. Nandor, somewhat confused by his words, impulsively urged his old rival: ¡°Then you should write it down, write an epic! An epic sung by a drunken harpist in a tavern.¡±


    The thin gentleman was startled, suddenly overwhelmed by a strong desire to write, then instantly gripped by an inexplicable fear: ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m afraid I might not be able to¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s there to fear? Having something is better than nothing,¡± Nandor expressed a hint of regret and sorrow: ¡°How many wars have been fought in the world? Probably countless, right? But how many are remembered? They all get glossed over with a quick stroke. When I think about how I¡¯ll also be completely forgotten, it leaves me feeling empty inside.¡±


    The hesitant Jacob Green gradually became resolute: ¡°I will do my best, Mr. Krellov, to ensure that our children and grandchildren remember that someone here shed their blood.¡±


    ¡°Remember to add three inches to my height,¡± the fat gentleman said leisurely.


    ¡­


    Upon learning that the bipeds of Saint Town had finally been lured out, the Fire-Tender was overjoyed.


    ¡°[Herde Language] The bipeds have fallen into the trap; they are now like foxes caught in a snare,¡± looking around the tent at all the Kotas, the Fire-Tender laughed loudly: ¡°[Herde Language] Slaughter them, this place is ours for the taking! Slaves, women, goods, all are awarded to you!¡±


    The Kotas cheered in unison, all except the old Translator who remained silent.


    ¡­


    The three columns advanced rapidly towards Revodan, and Terdon¡¯s light cavalry wandered around the troops like specters, trying to probe their reality.


    Anglu led the cavalry in attacks from all sides, vigorously driving the enemy¡¯s scouts away from the marching route.


    When the Iron Peak County cavalry returned to their columns, they looked like mythical headhunting warriors:


    Banners, weaponry, and heads of the unblinking dead hung at the front of their saddles, some even brought back gold and silver ornaments hacked from the bodies.


    Witnessing the separation of their kin¡¯s bodies, the people of Terdon grew even more ruthless.


    They chopped off the heads of the Iron Peak County dead, hoisted them high on long spears, displaying them to the marching Iron Peak County militia, even charging close to the columns to flaunt their valor.


    The vast army of tens of thousands rolled forward along the foothills of Iron Peak County, the closer they got, the more ferocious the cavalry skirmishes between the scouts became.


    The cavalry from both armies chased and fought each other on plains, hills, and rugged terrain, fighting to the death.


    Winters placed his headquarters on horseback, with clerks, copyists, and messengers all equipped with multiple warhorses; wherever he went, that¡¯s where the headquarters would be.


    When the vanguard was less than twenty kilometers from Revodan, Winters finally received news of the enemy:


    ¡°The vanguard of the left column has encountered the barbarian scouts!¡±


    Not only was Winters not nervous, but he also felt a sense of relief: ¡°All troops halt! Have the left and right columns close in towards me.¡±


    He pointed to the flat, open fields on both sides of the road: ¡°No need to go any further; we¡¯ll decide the battle with the Terdon people right here.¡±


    ¡­


    The skirmish started in the morning¡ªa hundred-strong cavalry unit of the Terdon Tribe was repelled by the vanguard of the left column.


    Upon receiving the news, Winters immediately halted the troops, and according to his orders, the left and right columns began to contract towards the center. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In Iron Peak County, every five hundred people formed a camp, commanded by an appointed officer.


    After surveying the battlefield, Winters sent messengers to guide each camp into the positions he had designated.

 Chapter 843 843 88 Narrow Path_2

    ?Chapter 843: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_2 Chapter 843: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_2 ¡°`


    The militia from Niutigu Valley, forming the Third Battalion of the left column, had just entered their designated position when they saw logistics soldiers with red armbands rushing over with horse-drawn carts.


    The scrawny farmer nicknamed ¡°Monkey¡± jabbed his companion beside him and said with a smirk, ¡°Look, the food¡¯s coming.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± replied the stout farmer named Doug, his response weak with exhaustion, ¡°I¡¯m so hungry.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything special about fighting wars,¡± Monkey couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°Isn¡¯t it just marching on and on?¡±


    Doug didn¡¯t say anything; he was wholly focused on filling his belly.


    When the tarpaulin on the carts was removed, the militia were sorely disappointed. Instead of bread and beer, the carts were loaded with bundles of tools: pickaxes, shovels, chisels¡­


    ¡°No resting now!¡± The appointed battalion commander came over, barking orders at the militia, ¡°Everybody up!¡±


    ...


    With tools handed out, the militia had no time to catch their breath before they were ordered to dig trenches in front of their positions.


    ¡°Leave a two-meter gap every twenty meters in the trench!¡± the battalion commander instructed on the position of the trenches at the front line, ¡°They need to be wide enough for two horses and three men to move side by side!¡±


    The militia picked up their tools, all somewhat reluctantly.


    ¡°Sir, could we get some food first?¡± a disgruntled militiaman grumbled, ¡°We¡¯ve walked all day and are starving.¡±


    ¡°The bread is coming right up,¡± the battalion commander scolded fiercely, ¡°Quit your damn slacking! I¡¯m telling you, dig one less handful of earth now, and you¡¯ll lose a pound of flesh later!¡±


    The Third Battalion consisted of ¡°young soldiers,¡± that is, militia with poor equipment and training, who were mostly used as laborers, so they were accustomed to digging trenches and such tasks.


    But Monkey saw and didn¡¯t like what he saw; he noticed that the ¡°adult soldiers¡± in the second line of the defense were not only exempt from digging trenches but were also being given food.


    Monkey immediately voiced his complaint, hopping and pointing toward the adult soldiers in the rear, ¡°Why don¡¯t they have to work? And they have food?¡±


    The noise drew the militia¡¯s attention, and seeing the adult soldiers resting and eating, they erupted in agitation.


    ¡°Shut the hell up!¡± The battalion commander jumped onto the cart, drawing his saber, ¡°Everyone shut your mouths! Another damn word, and you¡¯ll face military discipline!¡±


    The Third Battalion quickly quieted down under the threat of military law.


    Seeing his men silenced, the battalion commander spoke coolly, ¡°They don¡¯t have to work because they¡¯ll be the ones fighting for their lives on the front lines. Anyone who disagrees, I¡¯ll send you to join the adult soldiers.¡±


    The militia fell silent. Monkey, discontent in his heart, couldn¡¯t suppress it and stood out, his neck stiff, ¡°Send me over, then!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± the acting battalion commander couldn¡¯t be bothered with the banter of a rookie, ¡°Who else wants to go?¡±


    Monkey looked at his friend with a pleading gaze. Doug, worried about his friend, raised his hand, ¡°I¡¯ll go with him.¡±


    Immediately, the two young soldiers were dispatched to join the ranks of the adult soldiers, and peace returned to the Third Battalion¡¯s position. Everyone resumed their work with heads down, and the bread was quickly delivered.


    The army of Iron Peak County busily positioned their formations and dug battle trenches across the open field.


    The sun gradually passed its zenith, leaning westward, and amidst the wind, one could faintly hear the rumbling sound of war drums.


    What first appeared above the horizon were the fluttering horse-tail banners in the wind, swiftly followed by the blurry silhouettes of cavalry.


    Only then did people realize that what carried on the wind was not the sound of drums, but the thundering vibrations of horse hooves stamping the ground.


    The hoofbeats grew louder and louder, and the militia stopped their work, craning their necks to look.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± chided the commander of the Third Battalion to his subordinates, ¡°Keep working!¡±


    The militia dug into the trenches with even more vigor, while the battalion commander of the Third Battalion watched the enemy¡¯s silhouette, silent for a long time.


    The troops from Terdun had arrived. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    The Terdun vanguard occupied the northern hillside without rashly initiating an attack.


    The distance between the two sides was approximately four or five kilometers, separated by a hill, barely within sight of each other, and engaged in a standoff.


    As time passed, Winters¡¯ rearguard units gradually arrived, and the forces from Terdun continued to stream onto the battlefield.


    As twilight approached, Winters heard a tsunami-like cheer erupt from the Terdun positions.


    Strolling along the front line, Winters casually said to Xial, ¡°It¡¯s probably Heinrich¡¯s ugly mug that¡¯s shown up.¡±


    ¡°Let them come,¡± Xial murmured quietly, ¡°Damned savages, making all that racket for nothing.¡±


    Strolling around the camp at dinner time had become a habit for Winters, usually alone, but today Xial and Heinrich insisted on accompanying him.


    Wandering aimlessly for a while, Winters felt somewhat weary and decided to rest near a campfire.


    The militia gathered around the fire didn¡¯t recognize this young man in an old coat, assuming he was one of them, and scooted over to make room for Winters and his companions.


    The cold wind howled, and the militia wrapped themselves tightly in their clothing, seeking warmth as close to the fire as possible.


    ¡°Dragging us out to this godforsaken place without even tents!¡± a militiaman grumbled, stirring the fire and complaining, ¡°We¡¯ll freeze to death!¡±


    ¡°Enough, we¡¯re lucky to have this fire to warm us, what¡¯s there to complain about?¡± another older militiaman muttered reproachfully.


    Iron Peak County couldn¡¯t gather enough tents for the use of tens of thousands, so the troops had to rely on bonfires for warmth.


    The grumbling militiaman, envious after spotting Winters¡¯ coat, reached out to touch it, ¡°Brother, that¡¯s a nice coat you got there! Must be warm, right?¡±


    ¡°It is quite warm,¡± Winters smiled, ¡°Bought it last year in Shuangqiao City, cashmere wool.¡±


    ¡°That must¡¯ve cost a fortune.¡±


    ¡°A bit pricey, yes.¡±


    ¡°Lucky you,¡± sighed the complaining militiaman, wrapping himself even tighter into the mat meant for sleeping on the ground, ¡°Really lucky.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 844 844 88 Narrow Path_3

    ?Chapter 844: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_3 Chapter 844: Chapter 88 Narrow Path_3 The aged militiamen upon hearing the word ¡°Shuangqiao Market,¡± ventured to ask, ¡°From the sound of it, are you a veteran?¡±


    Winters nodded, ¡°You could say that.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t look very old.¡±


    ¡°I enlisted early.¡±


    ¡°Then about this battle,¡± the older militiamen anxiously questioned, ¡°can we win it?¡±


    Winters poked the campfire and sighed, ¡°Hard to say. Anything can happen on the battlefield, but I think we do stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Tell us about¡­ that ¡®head for land¡¯ order,¡± the young, complaining militiaman quietly asked, ¡°Is that true? Really get an acre for a head?¡±


    ...


    ¡°To my knowledge, there hasn¡¯t been an incident where it wasn¡¯t honored.¡±


    The complaining young militiaman suddenly became very enthusiastic and asked excitedly, ¡°So if I take ten heads, I¡¯ll be rich, right? Become a landlord!¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, then told the joke about ¡°the old marshal¡¯s hundred thousand soldiers each firing two shots.¡± He had the demeanor of a deadpan humorist, and the militiamen around the campfire laughed heartily after hearing the joke.


    ¡°Actually, killing an enemy is quite difficult,¡± Winters said honestly, ¡°Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t offer so much for an acre. If it were that easy to get a piece of land, the new government would be at a huge loss, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± the ambition of the young, complaining militiaman vanished into thin air. After sitting still for a moment, he muttered wistfully, ¡°Even if it¡¯s not ten acres, one would be good.¡±


    Winters looked over the two militiamen, an old man and a young boy, and kindly inquired of the elder, ¡°Old man, are you two related?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my grandpa,¡± the young militiaman answered nonchalantly.


    The old man glared at his grandson and, somewhat ingratiatingly, said to Winters, ¡°It¡¯s clear at a glance that you are a learned man.¡±


    Xial couldn¡¯t help but snicker, and Winters didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°Can you write paperwork?¡± the old man tentatively asked.


    ¡°What kind of paperwork?¡±


    The old man swallowed hard, ¡°A will.¡±


    The lively atmosphere around the campfire suddenly cooled, and everyone fell silent, with only the crackling of the burning logs audible.


    The old militiaman hastily explained, ¡°This old bag of bones might soon receive the Lord¡¯s grace. I plan to leave the land to this kid here and a little for my daughter. I fear it won¡¯t be clear later on, so I want to draft a will.¡±


    ¡°Oh, what nonsense are you saying!¡± the impatient young militiaman stopped his grandfather from speaking further.


    Winters took out a notebook and graphite stick from his chest and looked at the old man, ¡°Do you dictate, or shall I draft it?¡±


    In the moment the young man opened his coat, the old man inadvertently saw the tassels and trims on the inner garment.


    The old man was taken aback, so Winters asked again.


    ¡°You¡­ please draft it,¡± the old man said respectfully. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters, by the faint light of the campfire, read aloud while writing swiftly.


    The illiterate militiamen watched with admiration, holding a natural respect for an educated person.


    Unnoticed, the number of militiamen gathering around the fire kept growing, almost forming a wall of people.


    When Winters finished, he signed his full name under ¡°Witness¡± and handed the document to the old man.


    The old militiaman made a salute, voiced his gratitude, and accepted his will with both hands.


    The militiamen looked at the old man with envy, then turned their hopeful gaze to the educated young man.


    Winters did not yet know that the inheritance laws in Newly Reclaimed Land were a tangled mess: customary and copper laws mixed together, old laws contradicting new regulations, and if the deceased were a believer, the Church would further complicate matters.


    Although it was unclear to everyone whether the will was of any use, seeing the old man tucking the little piece of paper into his chest like a treasure, they wanted one too¡ªat least for peace of mind!


    Winters looked up to meet the expectant eyes of the crowd.


    He sighed helplessly, ¡°Who else wants to write one, one at a time¡­¡±


    The people of Iron Peak County owned so little: a plot of land, a house, a few pieces of clothing¡­


    Winters sat by the fire late into the night, even helped write a few family letters, until the last militiaman left satisfied, until the alarm bells rang at the edge of the battlefield.


    Then gunfire and battle cries came from both east and west.


    The militiamen by the fire startled, looking around frantically.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing serious,¡± Winters slowly flexed his stiff joints, ¡°People from Terdun just don¡¯t want us to rest easy, old trick. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    With that, he got up and left, with Xial and Heinrich quickly following.


    The crowd watched as the young veteran from nowhere disappeared into the darkness.


    Soon after, rapid footsteps sounded again.


    Xial ran back to the fire, threw an old coat to the complaining young militiaman.


    ¡°Borrow this, return it after the fight,¡± he said, then left.


    The young militiaman looked at the giver, then at the coat in his hand, perplexed, ¡°Who was that guy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the old militiaman said after a pause, ¡°And you don¡¯t need to know.¡±

 Chapter 845 845 89 Sunny

    ?Chapter 845: Chapter 89 Sunny Chapter 845: Chapter 89 Sunny At the first light of dawn, the warriors began to pray.


    Anglu meticulously brushed the back of the Red Mane, softly reciting the curses passed down by the Dusans generation after generation:


    ¡± ¡­ At the top of the iron column stands an iron man leaning on an iron staff, commanding ferrous, steel knives, and sharp swords of all shapes, ¡®Go back to your mother, the earth, stay away from the Lord¡¯s servants and my companions, stay away from my Warhorse. Let the arrow shafts return to the forest, feathers to the birds, and fish bones to the fish¡¯s body¡¯¡­¡±


    Beside the campfire, the militiamen who had suffered all night gathered around the military chaplain to partake in the final sacrament.


    The chanting echoed in the thin purple mist, drifting and lingering while a hint of blue light shone on people¡¯s faces.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the Iron Peak, along the banks of the Big Horn River.


    The dam, now weakened by the removal of some stakes, was on the verge of collapse.


    ...


    Captain Moro, masked, was setting explosives, the last person to remain at the dam.


    On the shore, naked men united, roaring as they pushed a massive triangular raft into the river.


    Others methodically loaded rocks onto the raft using carts.


    Unseen by others, a group of formidable warriors mounted on Herde horses charged toward the dam.


    ¡­


    As the golden sun leaped above the horizon, the blurry outlines of the land gradually took on distinct colors.


    Standing on a hill controlled by the Terdun folk, the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s deployment was clearly visible.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Ha, if the main general of the bipeds thinks protecting the flanks would suffice in an open battle.¡± The fire watcher who climbed the hill for reconnaissance scorned, ¡°[Herde Language] He must be mad from eating rotten meat.¡±


    The armored nobles from Terdun Tribe echoed with unrestrained laughter.


    From their high vantage point, they looked down upon the tiny, ant-like figures forming a massive arrowhead formation.


    To the west of the arrowhead was the foot of Tie Feng Mountain, covered with conifers and shrubs; to the east was a dense primordial forest. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The figures were deployed on a major road and the adjacent farmlands, securing the plains between the hills and forest.


    Though their flanks appeared secure, the reality was that neither hills nor forests could fully prevent cavalry from encircling them.


    The open, flat farmland was indefensible¡ªsave for the hastily dug trenches before the opponent¡¯s position.


    The Terdun Khan Court swiftly moved, several well-prepared groups of a hundred riders silently left the camp, each finding a path to circle behind the arrowhead formation.


    The old Translator viewed the enemy formation from the hill, frowning deeply.


    From the vanguards clashing to the opposition of the main forces, the enemy had ample time to occupy his hill¡ªa higher and more defensible position.


    Yet, they still chose to deploy on flat ground, but why?


    The old Translator couldn¡¯t figure it out, but he didn¡¯t speak. He felt a bit tired, a feeling that intensified since he crossed the Big Horn River.


    From the perspective of the Terdun people, the formation of Iron Peak County Military resembled an arrowhead; from Iron Peak¡¯s view, their formation resembled an inverted letter T.


    Winters arranged the lines by camp, totaling twenty-seven camps divided into left wing, central army, and right wing.


    Among them, the central army was the strongest column, deployed in a fish-scale formation, each unit providing staggered coverage,


    the left and right wings comprised of [Young Militia] and [Mature Militia], overall positioned slightly back, formed in two lines¡ªyoung soldiers at the front, mature behind.


    Winters carefully selected this location to prevent encirclement by the enemy as much as possible.


    ¡°Forming ranks on the hill would simply allow the enemy to surround our forces. If the Terdun people choose to surround and not attack, our supply lines will falter, inevitably leading to our collapse.¡±


    When explaining the formation to his subordinates, Winters had expounded on why they formed ranks on flat ground:


    ¡°Although the terrain at the foot of the mountain is disadvantageous, nearly half of the enemy¡¯s right wing has either been crushed by our forces or trapped in Lower Iron Peak County. The enemy chieftain¡¯s military strength is limited, making it difficult for them to execute strong flanking maneuvers.¡±


    Surveying his subordinates, whose eyes either shimmered with eagerness or flickered with unease, Winters plunged a dagger into the center of the map: ¡°This narrow land between the mountain and the forest is the ideal battlefield to crush the Terdun people squarely.¡±


    ¡­


    Mason stood at the top of the bell tower of Revodan Cathedral, straining his eyes towards the distance.


    The siege of Revodan had been lifted, with joyful crowds bustling in the streets.


    The only bridge connecting the two banks had been dismantled by Mason at the beginning of the siege, fortunately preserving all the timber.


    Using small boats, the timber, and the remaining bridge piles, Mason constructed a temporary floating bridge on the river, allowing horses, weapons, and militiamen to continuously reach the south bank.


    The artillery captain was typically steady and calm, but at this moment, his anxiety was almost palpable.


    ¡°When will the remaining two squads arrive?!¡± Mason asked through gritted teeth.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be long,¡± the commander of the cavalry infantry squadron swallowed nervously.


    Winters¡¯ cavalry infantry squadron, totaling nearly five hundred men, was divided into four squads.


    Because the situation in Revodan wasn¡¯t urgent, the cavalry infantry squadron didn¡¯t rush to Revodan first, but cleared the small bands of Terdun marauders that had penetrated into Upper Iron Peak County, a stance supported by Mason.


    While dispersing troops is easy, regathering them proved challenging.


    Suddenly, the cathedral¡¯s bell tolled.


    The bell rang repeatedly, celebrating the victory of the siege.


    Mason yelled to the commander of the cavalry infantry squadron, ¡°No more waiting!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± the commander yelled back.


    Military police took to the streets to disperse civilians, as Revodan swiftly reverted to martial law, and the city militiamen regrouped in the square.

 Chapter 846 846 89 Sunny Day_2

    ?Chapter 846: Chapter 89 Sunny Day_2 Chapter 846: Chapter 89 Sunny Day_2 Mason made it clear to everyone, ¡°I need volunteers.¡±


    As Mason¡¯s gaze swept over them, the Revodan militia lowered their heads. Having barely escaped with their lives, none were willing to risk themselves again.


    ¡°Your Excellency, I can no longer ride a horse or wield a sword,¡± Old Priskin, dragging his grandson forward, approached Mason, ¡°Let him go with you.¡±


    ¡°Count him in.¡±


    After a fierce internal struggle, Ivan also raised his hand.


    ¡­


    The sound of horns filled the sky, and the silhouettes of the cavalry leapt at the edge of vision¡ªthe people of Terdun began their march.


    ...


    Like a shepherd separating a mixed flock of sheep, the nobles of Terdun each led their followers down the hillside, slowly closing in on the people of Iron Peak County.


    Gazing at the barbarians scattered across the hillside, [Monkey] and Doug, stationed on the left flank of the line, had dry mouths and icy hands and feet, their temples throbbing.


    The greed for the bounty for beheading the enemy leaders was quenched by a bucket of ice water poured over their heads.


    Monkey and Doug looked at each other, both seeing death in each other¡¯s eyes.


    The people of Terdun stopped outside the range of the cannons, forming a wide horizontal line.


    A light Terdun cavalryman, holding a lance, rode up to the front line with a helmet, signaling for negotiations.


    ¡­


    In the center of the battlefield.


    ¡°Pay tribute,¡± the old Translator repeated the condition that would obviously not be accepted, ¡°Emperor Paul lives, and the war stops here.¡±


    The firekeeper was not present, and a Green Plumed Feather took his place.


    Of course, the real purpose of the negotiations was to probe the reality of the opposition. It was the inconspicuous old Translator who was the actual director.


    The firekeeper didn¡¯t expect the opponent to surrender. But, should the opponent genuinely agree to pay tribute, even better.


    Plunder was a bounty collected from bottom to top, tribute was a bounty distributed from top to bottom. If possible, the tribal leaders all preferred to receive tribute.


    The old Translator sized up the odd combination before him: a tall, thin, refined middle-aged man, and his two fully armed guards. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The former was tense, his left hand clutching the reins until his knuckles turned white, and his right hand uncertain where to rest.


    In contrast, the two guards appeared much more relaxed and comfortable.


    The old Translator noticed: the tall, thin man occasionally sneaked glances at the guard on his left, restraining himself from any bold movements.


    He exchanged a few words with the Green Plumed Feather, who then immediately began to loudly and demonstratively scold.


    ¡°Lord Tuman asks you,¡± the old Translator observed carefully, ¡°if we are negotiating, why don¡¯t you show your true faces? Why use the underhanded trick of a stand-in?¡±


    Jacob Green, the tall and thin middle-aged man, was shocked at the words.


    ¡°We hide our faces to avoid frightening you,¡± Winters removed his helmet at a leisurely pace, ¡°Aren¡¯t you playing the same game, Mister Translator?¡±


    Just hearing the opponent¡¯s voice made a chill run up the old Translator¡¯s back, his expression rigid as he watched the face beneath the helmet gradually reveal itself.


    By the time he fully confirmed the other¡¯s identity, he was numb to it.


    The Green Plumed Feather, clueless, asked, ¡°[Herde Language] Who is this person?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] That¡¯s the Paratu Champion,¡± the old Translator replied simply.


    No further explanation was needed¡ªfor the people of Terdun, there was only one Paratu Champion.


    The Green Plumed Feather inhaled sharply, as his Warhorse, sensing its rider¡¯s panic, reared and whinnied incessantly.


    ¡°So that¡¯s it, so that¡¯s it!¡± In a flash, the old Translator connected all the dots and burst into uncontrollable laughter, ¡°You think you can win?¡±


    ¡°Whoever wins,¡± Winters replied, unmoved, ¡°you¡¯ll die first.¡±


    No need for many words between enemies.


    Winters tugged the reins and rode away.


    Another guard, mounted on a black Warhorse, pulled a ghastly head with only one ear from the saddlebag and threw it in front of the old Translator¡¯s horse, then promptly followed Winters.


    The old Translator didn¡¯t need to count the ears¡ªhe didn¡¯t even need to look¡ªto know to whom the severed head on the ground belonged.


    The Red Dog was dead, and the opponent didn¡¯t come here for Revodan, nor for a counter-intelligence plot.


    They came here to end everything.


    ¡­


    On the way back to the central army, another armored rider on a black Warhorse, who had participated in the negotiations, asked Winters, ¡°Did you get a clear look at how many swords the barbarians have?¡±


    ¡°There could be around four thousand in view,¡± Winters mused, ¡°More troops could be hiding on the reverse slope.¡±


    ¡°I think so too,¡± said the black Warhorse rider, helmet on, his voice muffled, ¡°Fifteen thousand infantry¡ªhalf of them are peasants who just took up arms, and the other half have only been in one battle with you¡ªagainst at least four thousand Herd Barbarians in a field battle. Are you really confident of winning?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t I also have you?¡± Winters countered.


    The black Warhorse rider snorted coldly.


    ¡­


    The great battle did not immediately erupt.


    The Terdun people stopped outside of cannon range, not advancing a step further¡ªin fact, they overthought, for Winters had not a single cannon.


    Most of the Terdun people were resting off their horses, many even unsaddled, and so they remained in a standoff with the Iron Peak County Military at a neither close nor distant range.


    If the firekeeper, in a fit of anger, decided to press his entire army forward, this confrontation might have been quickly resolved.


    Nevertheless, the firekeeper¡¯s patience had evidently grown, yet Winters was no longer that rash Centurion he once was.


    ¡°Pass the order down,¡± Winters was in no rush, ¡°Each camp is to rotate its companies to continue digging trenches.¡±


    Monkey and Doug, who had been sitting idly, received their tools and, somewhat bemused, followed their company commander into the trench to resume the laborious task of digging.


    ¡°This is no damn battle!¡± Monkey¡¯s nervous tension had long vanished as he cursed and swung his pickaxe: ¡°Damn barbarians, neither attacking nor retreating. And our lords are the same! If the barbarians won¡¯t attack us, then we should attack the barbarians! Digging trenches! Always digging and digging trenches, with no end in sight!¡±

 Chapter 847 847 89 Sunny_3

    ?Chapter 847: Chapter 89 Sunny_3 Chapter 847: Chapter 89 Sunny_3 ¡°`


    They hadn¡¯t been working long when the Monkey became too lazy to move any further. Doug, as usual, was silent, just burying his head in the work.


    The ¡°prime-age soldiers¡± around them couldn¡¯t be bothered with the young lad full of grumbles. In the prime-age soldiers¡¯ company, the two impoverished boys were completely outsiders.


    No matter the purpose of those stoking the fires, Winters¡¯ response strategy could be summed up in one sentence: if you won¡¯t attack, I¡¯ll just continue to fortify my position.


    The Iron Peak County¡¯s digging of trenches quickly triggered a chain reaction.


    Hundreds of Terdun Cavalry bolted out like arrows from the string, charging directly at the Iron Peak County¡¯s central army.


    The Terdun men who had not been deployed hurriedly mounted their horses, and in an instant, the once lax Terdun army amassed its power, creaking ominously, ready to unleash a deadly blow at any moment.


    ¡°Yellow flag,¡± Winters calmly ordered.


    ...


    A yellow triangular flag quickly rose up the flagpole, signaling a warning to the entire army.


    The massive infantry formation, like a waking giant, sprang to life in an instant.


    ¡°Yellow flag!¡± the orderlies in each camp shouted at the top of their lungs, ¡°Yellow flag!¡±


    The militia looked at one another in confusion, but Winters¡¯ company and platoon leaders knew what they had to do.


    ¡°Pick up your weapons!¡± the commander of the first line of defense waved his cane, ¡°Quickly!¡±


    In the midst of roars and scolding, the young soldiers of the first line hastily stood up, ready to meet the enemy.


    ¡°Here they come! The barbarians are coming!¡± Monkey threw down his pickaxe and screamed as he scrambled out of the trench.


    A shadow loomed over him, and with a ¡°thwack,¡± Monkey was savagely whipped back into the ditch by a cane.


    The platoon leader wielding the cane bellowed: ¡°Keep digging the trench! Without orders, don¡¯t move a muscle! Don¡¯t make a sound!¡±


    Monkey writhed in pain on the ground, his blood, tears, and snot spread everywhere, his wailing incessant.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± the platoon leader raged, drawing his saber: ¡°Want to die? Shut your mouth!¡±


    Monkey, unable to hear what the platoon leader was saying, kept crying and shouting.


    Seeing the platoon leader¡¯s eyes indicating he meant business, Doug, in desperation, grabbed a handful of dirt and stuffed it into his friend¡¯s mouth, causing Monkey to cough violently.


    Similar incidents were happening all over the battlefield.


    It was only thanks to the execution by commanders at all levels that the Iron Peak County Military did not fall into disarray and chaos.


    Therefore, while the young soldiers of the first line entered combat mode, the prime-age soldiers of the second line still sat firmly on the ground resting, not even stopping their trench digging work.


    Moreover, every commander was repeatedly emphasizing a single word ¨C silence.


    No battle cries, no cheering, no shouting ¨C this was how the large army conducted battle.


    ¡°Pikes!¡± rang out commands throughout the central army: ¡°Level them!¡±


    Thousands of soldiers neatly leveled their extra-long pikes, their tips directly pointing at the enemy, looking from afar like waves of wheat.


    The Terdun Cavalry split at the tip of the central army¡¯s wedge formation, like water flow parted by a sharp blade.


    They swept past the formation, showcasing their horseback archery skills, racing along the edge of the trench towards the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left and right flanks.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    The musketeers of the Iron Peak County Military returned fire, with Terdun Cavalry getting shot off their horses one after another.


    ¡°Green flag! To the flanks!¡± seeing the enemy veering to the sides, Winters ordered, ¡°Let the light infantry sortie!¡±


    Winters¡¯ forces not only lacked cannons, but they were also short on muskets.


    Instead of a sporadic distribution, he preferred to use musketeers in concentration, hence only the central army had a complete company of musketeers.


    The melee units on the flanks relied on the cover provided by light infantry wielding bows, javelins, and slingshots.


    Facing the onslaught of the Terdun Cavalry, the ranks of the young soldiers on the flanks wavered slightly. Were it not for the trench in front of them serving as a barrier, many militiamen might have already thrown down their weapons and fled.


    It was entirely due to the control of platoon leaders and sergeants that the first line did not collapse on the spot. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A green square flag was raised on the flagpole, the sound of a small drum filled the air.


    Hundreds of light infantry dashed out from the channels of the trench in front of the first line, striving to throw their javelins and rocks at the Terdun Cavalry.


    Another portion of adults able to wield longbows stayed behind the trench, shooting arrows.


    The light infantry were specifically selected from sixteen or seventeen-year-old adolescents; although their strength was not yet fully developed, it was the bravest and most impetuous age.


    Some audacious light infantry even tried to drag away the corpses of the Terdun men, perhaps forgetting in their haste that they only needed the heads.


    Entangled by the light infantry, the Terdun Cavalry could not calmly shoot down the militiamen behind the trenches. With very few soldiers, they dared not charge directly into the formation and could only probe cautiously.


    Looking at the unstirring second line of the Iron Peak County Military, the old Translator on the hilltop wore an expressionless face.


    Gravel can be easily blown away by the wind, but once packed into a pocket, not even cannonballs could do them harm.


    The old Translator gazed into the distance; the sun had risen above the treetops¡ªtruly a fine sunny day.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 848 848 90 Breaking the Formation

    ?Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Chapter 848: Chapter 90: Breaking the Formation Big Horn River, the dam.


    The signal flag was raised.


    ¡°Enemy attack!¡± The lookout madly rushed down the hillside, yelling with all his might, ¡°Cavalry!¡±


    Once extended to the West Bank, the dam was attacked from both sides.


    Thus, Tamas had built a small fortress on the West Bank beachhead, personally overseeing it.


    With the flood imminent, most of the defensive forces on the West Bank had already retreated. Amid the death-knell-like alarm, the remaining warriors hurriedly grabbed their weapons and ran up to the walls. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Signal the East Bank,¡± Tamas spat from atop the West Bank fortress, ¡°Blow up the dam early if something is wrong.¡±


    ...


    Cavalry continuously leaped out from the horizon at the valley¡¯s edge, not even bothering to reform ranks, charging straight for the dam.


    The leading cavalryman, tall and burly, sat on a small Herde horse, resembling a bear riding a rabbit.


    Atop the fortress wall, a young boy skillfully fixed the match, steadied the gun, and held his breath to aim.


    The enemy drew closer, already breaching a hundred steps.


    Just as the boy was about to press the firing lever, his match was forcefully yanked away by the Sergeant Major beside him¡ªPeter the Dwarf Bunir.


    Tamas¡¯s cry of alarm rang beside his ear, ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! It¡¯s one of ours!¡±


    However, a few musketeers were startled by the sudden shout and directly pulled the trigger.


    Dull gunshots echoed over the river, and the wall spewed white smoke.


    ¡°[Extremely angry expletive]!¡± Lieutenant Andrea Cherini¡¯s roar pierced through the smoke, echoing throughout the fortress, ¡°Which bastard fired at me!¡±


    ¡­


    At the foot of Tiefeng Mountain, the battlefield where two armies faced off.


    After several probes, the people of Terdon had roughly gauged the enemy¡¯s reality.


    While the enemy¡¯s left, center, and right wings seemed similar in flags and numbers, their central troops were far more disciplined, unshaken even by cavalry charges.


    From Terdon¡¯s main formation, positioned on high, one could see white smoke billowing from the center of the enemy¡¯s arrow formation.


    ¡°Herde Language There.¡± A Green Plumed Feathers warrior spoke gravely, ¡°Herde Language How can there be so many small thunder?¡±


    Another Green Plumed Feathers quietly replied, ¡°Herde Language And they fire so uniformly.¡±


    For small thunder, leaders of various factions grew pale at its mention. Warriors once able to charge repeatedly through arrows thanks to their sturdy armor now only fell before randomly flying lead shot.


    Compared to the past, leaders today rarely led charges into battle.


    The elite in the enemy¡¯s center should not be underestimated, but the prowess of the wings was clearly lacking.


    Merely a hundred cavalry swept through, and the lines of the two wings began to falter, with no simultaneous smoke plumes seen.


    According to Terdon nobility, they preferred not to engage directly with two-legs.


    However, as the army passed, villages had been preemptively burned, and populations moved. The enemy would rather turn their homes to scorched earth than let the people of Terdon take anything.


    Khan Court was on the verge of starvation, and morale was unstable¡ªrumors of an attack on the old camp spread wildly, becoming more rampant the more they were suppressed.


    In unseen corners, the tribe whispered among themselves, some claimed it was the work of the Haidong Tribe, others suggested a stealth attack by the Suz Tribe, while others believed the Red River Tribe had acted.


    Regarding which tribe the other party belonged to, opinions varied, but one consensus was clear: something major had happened at the winter pasture; otherwise, Khan Court wouldn¡¯t be so secretive.


    Under these circumstances, Revodan failed to break through in one go, desiring a decisive battle yet unable to achieve it, essentially declaring the winter plundering a failure.


    Only one path lay before the Terdon Tribe¡ªretreat. Preserving life meant there was always a chance to return.


    But it was truly too hard to accept! Truly too intolerable!


    From the fire makers down, everyone in Terdon Khan Court knew they must run, yet no one was willing to spit out the meat already in their mouths.


    On the other hand, Winters could continue to wait. As long as the dam completed and stored water, the Terdon people threatened in their retreat route would have no choice but to withdraw.


    At this crucial moment, Winters decided to take the offensive.


    When he pushed all his chips forward, he also forced the fire makers to make a choice: sever a limb to survive, or¡­ likewise stake all their chips for a complete turnaround.


    Regardless of what drove them, or what tactics ensued, both parties had arrived at this battlefield, barely two kilometers wide.


    Thus, the decisive battle commenced.


    ¡­


    Horsemen from Terdon, armed with bows and riding light, grouped in threes and fives, galloped in front of the trenches.


    They alternated between drawing bows for rapid shots and vicious charges, moving far and near, clustering then scattering, like crows circling over carcasses.


    In addition to these ¡°star-scattering crows,¡± several squads of heavily armored cavalry took turns charging the flanks of the Iron Peak County Military.


    The tactics of the heavily armored cavalry contrasted starkly with the unarmored light cavalry; they formed dense lines, smashing against the Iron Peak County people¡¯s lines like towering waves.


    Many rookie militiamen were so frightened they nearly wet themselves on the spot, fortunate that Winters had a batch of veterans who had experienced barbarian tactics.


    ¡°What are you scared of? They¡¯re all just trying to intimidate us! The savages won¡¯t dare charge directly!¡± A military officer cursed, iron in his tone, unaware that last time, it was they who had gone weak at the knees.


    Relying on lower-level commanders and military discipline, the flanks did not collapse outright.


    Seeing they couldn¡¯t shake the two-legs, the front squadron of Terdon armored cavalry immediately swept across in formation, and the next squadron charged. If still unable to penetrate, the following squadrons continued the pattern.


    Winters suddenly spoke while watching, ¡°Send food and drink down to each camp.¡±


    The surrounding clerks and guards looked at each other, unsure how to execute this command. Winters saw no one moving; he turned his head around, yet still, no one moved.

 Chapter 849 849 90 Break the Formation_2

    ?Chapter 849: Chapter 90 Break the Formation_2 Chapter 849: Chapter 90 Break the Formation_2 Winters suddenly remembered that Bard had stayed in Saint Town to organize logistics and was not on-site.


    During this period, it had always been Winters verbally arranging, and then Bard would transform those verbal contents into written commands or instructions to be issued.


    The two cooperated closely, which greatly improved the efficiency of headquarters operations. However, with Bard absent, Winters had to re-adapt.


    ¡°Go find the person in charge of the logistics convoy and have him distribute food and water to each camp,¡± Winters said, finding Xial by his side and thoughtfully adding, ¡°Priority to the second line of both flanks, then the central army, and finally the first line of both flanks.¡±


    ¡°Start cooking at this time?¡± someone asked doubtfully.


    ¡°The Terdun people¡¯s main formation is still resting and clearly do not plan to launch a general attack now,¡± Winters explained. ¡°The rotation charge seems fierce but its actual purpose is to exhaust the enemy.¡±


    ¡°So, what are they waiting for?¡±


    ...


    ¡°Surprise troops,¡± Winters squinted toward the sun. ¡°Or perhaps time.¡±


    ¡­


    On the banks of the Big Horn River, the Terdun people¡¯s Floating Bridge.


    Days ago, the leader stationed at the Floating Bridge, [Herde Language] person, had already noticed that the water level was changing.


    [Herde Language] person dispatched light cavalry to trace upstream and quickly found the source of the anomaly¡ªa dam across the river.


    If building a Floating Bridge in one day was within [Herde Language]¡¯s understanding, then the dam that appeared out of nowhere completely exceeded his wildest imagination.


    Nevertheless, the problem had to be solved.


    Not only could the debris floating downstream cause damage to the Floating Bridge, but significant changes in water level could too.


    The Floating Bridge was essentially made of wooden planks connected to fixed pontoons, and changes in water level could damage the structure linking the pontoons.


    [Herde Language] person, left to guard the Floating Bridge, did not understand the principles of bridge engineering, but he could see the beams of the Floating Bridge twisting and breaking.


    Unfortunately, [Herde Language] had neither the power to solve the structural problems of the bridge nor the capability to deal with the people causing the problems.


    Several attempts to assault the dam ended in failure; the Firemakers first sent reinforcements, then hurriedly withdrew them.


    Meanwhile, nearly all of the Terdun people left on the West Bank were rushing to merge troops in the tent according to their saying: ¡°The Firemakers have caught the cunning bipeds.¡±


    With fewer and fewer troops at hand and the water level becoming increasingly shallow, [Herde Language] made a tough decision¡ªto dismantle the bridge.


    He pondered before and after, clearly considering the pros and cons: the Floating Bridge would be destroyed eventually, and he couldn¡¯t stop it; rather than waiting with his hands bound for the bipeds to destroy the bridge, he might as well dismantle it himself; as long as the materials for making the bridge were still there, rebuilding a Floating Bridge in the future would not be too difficult.


    The work to dismantle the Floating Bridge was being carried out intensively; due to the loss of many Paratu slaves in a previous rebellion, the progress of dismantling the bridge was very slow.


    Suddenly, a servant girl ran over excitedly, bringing [Herde Language] good news: ¡°[Herde Language] Nayen! The river is rising again! No need to dismantle the bridge!¡±


    [Herde Language]¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he backhandedly slapped the close servant hard: ¡°[Herde Language] Fool!¡±


    [Herde Language] rushed to the Floating Bridge, only to see that the previously clear river water had become turbid¡ªthe undercurrent stirred up the riverbed silt, constantly causing fish to leap out of the water.


    The serene Big Horn River suddenly turned unruly and ferocious, with the water flow speed almost visibly accelerating, and a series of whirlpools appeared from small to large in the river center.


    On the riverbank, a Terdun scout disheveledly ran toward the Floating Bridge.


    The scout tore off his outer robe, wrapped it around his hand, and desperately waved it as a signal, shouting hoarsely: ¡°[Herde Language] Boat! Large boat¡­¡±


    The scout didn¡¯t need to shout anymore because [Herde Language] could already see with his own eyes.


    The gift from Captain Moro¡ªa giant triangular wooden raft loaded with soil and rocks burst out of the river bend, spinning as it drifted along the water, its speed increasing.


    Moro had deliberately designed the impact raft to be triangular because there was always one corner that could hit the Floating Bridge.


    The Terdun people screamed and ran, watching helplessly as the triangular raft spun toward them.


    The ropes across the river caught and then snapped, and the barriers set up in front of the Floating Bridge were smashed into rubble.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Poles!¡± [Herde Language]¡¯s eyes reddened, he forcefully woke the stupefied slaves and locals, yelling until his voice was hoarse: ¡°[Herde Language] Push it out!¡±


    [Herde Language] personally went into battle, leading a dozen tribe members to lift up a log, attempting to counter the fearsome triangular raft.


    He instinctively closed his eyes, waiting for the moment he turned into mush.


    The triangular raft flowed downstream, broke through barriers after barriers, and hit the ¡°offensive raft hammer¡± of the Terdun people directly. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Herde Language]¡¯s hands split, blood pouring out, and his breathing stalled.


    Four Terdun people were flipped into the turbulent water, screaming in terror; soon there was silence.


    Because it lost a considerable part of its speed after breaking through the river ropes, the triangular raft, receiving the same magnitude of reaction force, was also thrown off. The triangular raft rushed up to the riverbank and eventually ran aground.


    [Herde Language] collapsed on the ground, desperately gasping for air.


    After the disaster, his tribe members were both shouting and laughing, some crying with joy, some holding their heads and sobbing.


    But almost in an instant, the Floating Bridge returned to dead silence.


    [Herde Language] followed the gaze of his tribe members¡ªthe second triangular raft burst out of the river bend, then a third.


    Appearing in the view of the Terdun people behind the two triangular rafts was¡­ a windmill.


    No matter how the Terdun people rubbed their eyes and slapped themselves, what floated on the water was indeed a real windmill.


    Faced with the giant triangular rafts, the Terdun people still had the nerve to fight desperately with the Floating Bridge.


    But facing a watermill windmill towering over three stories high, like a ferocious giant, the courage of the Terdun people was completely crushed.

 Chapter 850 850 90 Breaking the Formation_3

    ?Chapter 850: Chapter 90 Breaking the Formation_3 Chapter 850: Chapter 90 Breaking the Formation_3 Samujin held a torch in his hand as he rode in a small boat, personally escorting the ¡°windmill,¡± preventing it from getting stuck on some beach or river bend.


    Indeed, one needs a bit of imagination to conduct warfare, and Samujin had more imagination than everyone else combined.


    He disassembled the sails of an upstream watermill windmill, then disassembled the stone base, coated it with pitch, and pushed it directly into the river, carried by four small boats.


    Like a massive warship, the windmill was thus brought before the floating bridge, where the river¡¯s chains and interception piles seemed like dwarf¡¯s toys before it.


    ¡°Go!¡± Samujin lit the torch and, laughing wildly, hurled it at the windmill: ¡°Go send my regards to those monkey-ass faces!¡±


    In an instant, the pitch-coated windmill turned into a ball of fire.


    The warriors steering the small boats cut the ropes, and the windmill, completely free from its restraints, crashed into the downstream floating bridge.


    ...


    The Terdon people watched helplessly as the burning castle drew closer and closer, growing larger and swaying, but it just wouldn¡¯t sink.


    Nothing could stop the colossal object, nothing could stop the destruction of the floating bridge.


    The Terdon people who couldn¡¯t escape the bridge in time leaped into the river in panic, only to be swept back by the huge waves stirred by the collision of the bridge and the windmill, their bodies shattered to pieces.


    Some Terdon people were caught on the scalding pitch, screaming as they turned into fire people.


    The taut ropes snapped one after another, and the planks connecting the pontoons turned into fragments in the blink of an eye.


    With a thunderous boom, the bridge trembled for a moment, hardly hindering the windmill at all before it was severed at the waist.


    The windmill continued to drift downstream, while both sections of the bridge swayed and sunk with the river, flames spreading to the ropes and the bridge deck.


    Zhi Jue was dragged back to the East Bank by his personal slave only at the last moment, his eyes met with a scene resembling a natural disaster.


    Slaves who had narrowly escaped death and were on the verge of mental collapse frenziedly knelt and worshipped the remains of the floating bridge.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Put out the fire!¡± Zhi Jue pointed at the remaining two parts of the floating bridge, straining to spit out the words: ¡°[Herde Language] Put out the fire! It¡¯s not all over yet!¡±


    Suddenly, the thunderous sound of horse hooves arose from the West Bank.


    Zhi Jue shuddered, instantly straightening his body, looking towards the direction of the hoofbeats.


    He saw a group of fierce warriors clad in robes, riding Herde warhorses, speeding towards them. The leading warrior was so burly that he appeared as if a bear was riding a rabbit.


    Zhi Jue let out a sigh of relief, his body went limp as if all his strength had been drained away.


    Collecting his thoughts, he grabbed his personal slave¡¯s arm and urgently instructed: ¡°[Herde Language] Hurry across the river! Send a message to the Khan! Tell the Khan! The bridge is destroyed, I will do my best to repair it! Hurry¡­¡±


    However, Zhi Jue didn¡¯t notice that the group heading towards them, ¡°Terdon People,¡± were led by a warrior who wore a genuine Piaoqi Troops cap.


    ¡­


    Main battlefield.


    The sun slowly climbed up the treetops, then reached the zenith of the sky, and now it was sliding towards the west.


    The Terdon people had already seen through the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s lack of cannons.


    Thus, hundreds of light cavalrymen lingered just beyond a bowshot away, in a scattered formation, occasionally sweeping past to shoot arrows, using all sorts of means to prevent the Iron Peak County militia from resting.


    Only now did the old Translator roughly understand why the enemy did not occupy the hills to form battle lines.


    If the enemy occupied the hills, the Iron Peak County Military would be subjected to continuous harassment from all directions, without a moment¡¯s rest.


    The current situation was this: the Iron Peak County Military controlled a roughly two-kilometer-wide corridor between the mountain and the forest, making it difficult for Terdon light cavalry to maneuver to the flanks and only able to make repeated sweeps at the front.


    The tactic of ¡°surrounding and harassing the enemy¡± had become ¡°half-surrounding and harassing,¡± with limited effect.


    He could even vaguely see that the Iron Peak County troops seemed to be taking turns retreating to the rear of the lines to rest.


    But these were minor issues; the Terdon people had no intention of letting up, and the Iron Peak County locals were not easily intimidated.


    The outcome of this war would eventually have to be decided in genuine combat.


    The heavenly signs were gradually shifting in favor of the Terdon People¡ªthe morning sunlight was coming from the wrong direction, as was the wind.


    But now, the time had changed hands.


    Winters, in the central army, also faintly perceived the subtle change in the atmosphere: the wind direction was changing, the southwest wind becoming northwest; the sun was setting, and the Terdon people wouldn¡¯t be charging into the sunlight anymore. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Most importantly, the continuous harassment tactic had caused the tightly wound young soldiers on both flanks to become numb and drowsy.


    A faint trail of dust was rising from the Terdon line¡ªthough it looked insignificant.


    ¡°They¡¯re going to charge!¡± Winters threw aside his cane and leapt to his feet: ¡°Get the second line on both flanks ready! Pull back the light troops! Notify the forces ambushed in West Mountain to mount up!¡±


    The sleepy monkeys and Doug were kicked awake by the sergeants, and the line of adult soldiers suddenly tensed up.


    From the seemingly chaotic and unpredictable array of Terdon light cavalry, a troop of armored cavalry charged out diagonally.


    ¡°Again?¡± The young militiamen on the first line were already becoming impatient, the enemy had repeatedly threatened with charges and sweeps, never daring to cross the trenches.


    As fear gradually subsided, many young soldiers developed a sense of complacency.


    But this time, the Terdon people didn¡¯t just sweep past; the leading knight roared, spurring his horse to leap directly over the cheval de frise and trench, charging into the scattering militia amidst the cries of alarm, swinging his spear to send several people flying.


    The other Terdon armored cavalry lacked such horsemanship and such warhorses, they honestly pulled down the cheval de frise and deer racks, passing through gaps in the trenches, following their leader in the assault.


    Meanwhile, the Terdon Tribe¡¯s main formation suddenly came to life.


    Harassment? Horse archery? Crows? Iron Cavalry charge was the Terdon Tribe¡¯s true forte! [Once one point is broken, no matter the numbers, the whole army can drive straight through, even a hundred thousand men would not be able to compete].


    A breach had been made on the left flank, and next, the Terdon people would spare no expense to widen the gap, deploying decisive strike forces to sweep across the entire frontline.


    Meanwhile, on the western side of the army behind the trees, Anglu mounted his horse upon seeing the signal flag.


    Behind Anglu, Dusack, Paratu People, Protestant immigrants¡­ Winters¡¯ cavalry had amassed their energy, waiting for the call to make a decisive countercharge.

 Chapter 851 851 91 The General Offensive

    ?Chapter 851: Chapter 91: The General Offensive Chapter 851: Chapter 91: The General Offensive At first, it might have just been an instinctive dodge.


    Facing a behemoth far greater in size than themselves, humans¡¯ innate reaction is to evade, all the more so when there¡¯s an even more dangerous, howling, slaughtering humanoid beast on the back of the beast.


    However, the individual¡¯s instinctual evasion soon led to the disintegration of the troop¡¯s formation.


    The ferocious warriors who leaped over the trenches discarded their broken spears and drew their swords to hack wildly, while the surrounding militia dropped their weapons and retreated in a rolling scramble.


    The ¡°Young Soldiers¡± were originally the most fragile part of this army.


    The ¡°Mature Soldiers¡± had at least undergone the baptism of the Battle of Panto River; the young soldiers were thoroughly civilians, having only received the simplest training. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Young soldiers could also form a seemingly impregnable battle line, allowing the use of long-range weapons such as crossbows and muskets.


    ...


    But when the moment truly arrived, they lacked the will and belief to face a charge head-on.


    ¡°Herde Language Break the lines!¡± Terdun Cavalry roared, pushing caltrops and deer forts into the trenches amidst the chaos, swarming into the frontline, ¡°Herde Language Break the lines!¡±


    ¡­


    In the central army, someone frowned and asked, ¡°What are the Herders howling?¡±


    ¡°Break the lines, meaning ¡®to break through the enemy¡¯s formation.''¡± The old merchant who had traveled the wasteland for years replied cautiously and added, ¡°I haven¡¯t heard it for many years¡­ almost thirty years.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, the rumbling sound of war drums resonated below the mountains¡ªthe main force of the fire-tenders pressed towards the center of Iron Peak County¡¯s army.


    Hundreds of Terdun Cavalry advanced slowly, at a very slow speed, but the strong sense of pressure was nearly suffocating the people of Iron Peak County.


    The saying ¡°to pull one hair and move the whole body¡± was undoubtedly happening now.


    A wicked wolf had already bitten fiercely into Winters¡¯ left hand, but if Winters dared to divert his eyes for a moment, another wolf would tear his throat without hesitation.


    The prolonged standoff seemed to have been accumulating potential for this very moment.


    When the brass horns sounded, all the beautiful illusions of war were torn to shreds in an instant. Ultimate violence was about to burst forth like a mountain flood, rampaging across the land without regard.


    Seeing the left flank in jeopardy and the central army pinned down, everyone in the command post turned to Montagne, the Civil Guard Officer.


    Even the most pessimistic residents of Iron Peak County had not anticipated that the battle had just begun and already reached a critical point of life and death.


    ¡°We can still redeploy troops from the right flank now!¡± someone blurted out, unable to restrain himself.


    The Terdun had massed heavy troops on the left wing and center. At this moment, the troops on the right wing were practically idle.


    Winters gave the speaker a deep look and said nothing.


    A man riding a black horse beside him scolded solemnly, ¡°Shut up! Look more! Move? The barbarians are just waiting for you to move!¡±


    Although the rider of the black horse was present during the negotiations, he and his attendant were clearly distinguished from the people of Iron Peak County. The one who had just spoken was one of the black horse rider¡¯s attendants.


    ¡°You have seen something unbecoming,¡± the black horse rider turned his head and said to Winters.


    Winters watched the situation on the left flank, showing no emotion.


    To be precise, he had no emotions, and it was not by his subjective will that this was the case.


    Winters was never a commander of overflowing passion. Alpad was, so was Andre, but Winters was not.


    Andre would fiercely whip those who showed cowardice, and he would sit by the fire side by side with his subordinates, taking turns sharing a bottle of wine, laughing and joking in boasting banter; Alpad¡¯s mere presence on the battlefield could lift the spirits of the entire army.


    They were fiery, dazzling, fearless. Soldiers saw them as idols and deities, cursing them vilely while following them into the fray.


    What Andre and Alpad could achieve, Winters could too, and no one could question his courage.


    But from the marrow, he was different from the other two.


    Thus faced with blood and death, he became silent and detached. The more he experienced, the more it was so, as if a subconscious self-defense had completely sealed off part of his emotions.


    Not far from Winters, a tall and thin gentleman, Jacob Green, determined to write an epic, shivered as he scanned the battlefield and secretly observed the expressions of Winters Montagne, speculating about the latter¡¯s inner world.


    ¡­


    Due to the militia¡¯s extremely limited training, the formations of the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s platoons and battalions were not the ¡°square formations¡± commonly used by the Standing Army, but rather closer to the ¡°line formations¡± of the classical era.


    Namely, a platoon of 120 men was arranged in a formation of [15 columns][8 rows], with each battalion¡¯s four platoons side by side,


    The battalion of a total of 480 men spread out in a [60X8] formation, with the two flanks of the battalion-level line protected by caltrops and barricades.


    During combat, everyone faced the same direction standing up, with all actions following the military flag.


    For militia, the depth of 8 rows was obviously somewhat thin, but Winters needed to occupy as much width as possible.


    Given that the total width of the battlefield was close to one kilometer, a flanking maneuver was far more fatal than a frontal breakthrough.


    Moreover, temporarily conscripted militia could not execute the rotation tactics of the Ancient Empire¡¯s legions; once engaged in battle, only two outcomes would occur: an ¡°all-out assault¡± or a ¡°complete scatter,¡± making depth less important.


    ¡­


    Under the pincer attack, the first to engage, the ¡°Fourth Platoon of Little Shizhen,¡± virtually collapsed upon contact.


    The militia, having traveled a long distance to get here, didn¡¯t plan to flee from the start¡ªwhy wait until now to escape?


    Hatred, authority, desire¡­ they stepped into battle driven by various motivations. No one was ¡°ordinary¡±; the joys and sorrows of each individual, if compiled into text, would make for a hefty epic.

 Chapter 852 852 91 The Final Assault_2

    ?Chapter 852: Chapter 91 The Final Assault_2 Chapter 852: Chapter 91 The Final Assault_2 But engulfed in the colossal whirlpool of the battlefield, they felt incredibly small and helpless.


    First, it was just a breaking point, then a company, and soon after, a battalion.


    The Terdun Cavalry with their scimitars and lances drove the fleeing troops towards the adjacent camp, but they quickly encountered the first barrier¡ªthe fences and stakes between camps.


    ¡­


    On the left flank, the second line of defense.


    Witnessing Hell descend upon the earth, Monkey and Doug¡¯s palms turned cold and their limbs went limp.


    A trench had been dug in front of both battle lines.


    ...


    The fleeing soldiers first tried to escape to the east and west, hindered by fences and stakes. Then they turned towards the rear, stopping at the edge of the second trench.


    One after another, the panic-stricken fleeing soldiers jumped directly into the trench.


    Sneering savages raised their scimitars high, and the skull of a young man begging for help at the edge of the trench caved in, instantly sapping his strength.


    Monkey watched in horror as the body of a child even younger than himself fell into the trench, his heartbeat skipping a beat.


    Sergeant Lu Xirong wore an expressionless face, seemingly untouched by the scene. He drew his bow, firing an arrow into the cheek of a grinning savage: ¡°Move the barricades!¡±


    The barbarian fell from his horse, not yet fully dead. The old sergeant drew another arrow, but for some reason, he turned and shot at another barbarian.


    Monkey swallowed hard, unable to watch any longer.


    When they were digging the trenches, the company commander specifically ordered that every twenty meters, a two-meter section be left undug to serve as a passageway wide enough for three men or two horses to pass side by side.


    The entrance to the passageway was blocked with caltrops and cheval de frise, with fences restricting either side, leading directly to the rear of the battle line.


    The light infantry moved through these passages in the battle formation, and food and water were also delivered to each camp through them.


    The militiamen guarding the passage removed the obstacles, and the fleeing soldiers finally found a way out, surging towards the passage like mad.


    Two lines of defense were positioned fifty meters apart. Those mere fifty meters were the distance between life and death.


    The barbarians killed wantonly between the two trenches, with the slower fleeing soldiers falling one after another.


    At the entrance to the passage, people pushed against each other, with the oppressed constantly screaming and more fleeing soldiers being shoved into the trench.


    Behind the crowd, the barbarians were wielding their scimitars, madly hacking away.


    ¡°Pick up your weapons!¡± Monkey heard the company commander roar: ¡°Kill any fleeing soldier who charges our formation without mercy!¡±


    He also heard the company commander angrily curse: ¡°Where are the light troops? Damn it! Where!¡±


    The light troops hurried over, standing behind the trench, doing their utmost to shoot down the enemy.


    However, the people of Terdun kept pouring through the breach into the first line of defense, seemingly inexhaustible. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As more and more soldiers were deployed, the Terdunians pulled down the barriers between the camps and pushed them towards both sides.


    The breach turned into an ulcer, and the first line of defense was on the verge of collapse; the second line was equally wavering.


    A Terdun champion, looking to break through the defense, threw away his blunted blade, grabbed a new one, and pulled on his horse¡¯s reins looking around.


    Suddenly, he spurred his mount, charging straight towards the second line of defense¡¯s passage. The surrounding Terdun warriors did not hesitate to follow closely.


    The heavily armored warhorses charged, barging through everything in their path. The fleeing soldiers at the entrance of the passage couldn¡¯t dodge in time and were all pushed into the trench.


    The Terdun champion broke into the second trench, nearly breaking through the formation, when a dark shadow, accompanied by the whistling of wind, approached him.


    Monkey saw the company commander, wielding an astonishingly long pike, bellowing as he struck at the leader of the barbarians who looked as though he¡¯d been fished out of a pool of blood.


    The Terdun champion¡¯s reaction speed was far beyond that of ordinary people; leaning back just in time, he narrowly avoided the blow.


    The pike grazed the saddle¡¯s leather and broke instantly. The warhorse too buckled on its hind legs and collapsed with a piteous whinny.


    Old Sergeant Lu Xirong, blocked by his own men, couldn¡¯t shoot his arrow and cursed furiously, picking up a stone and throwing it: ¡°Idiots! What are you staring at? Kill them!¡±


    The other militiamen, coming to their senses, swung flails and poles, while the long spears stabbed wildly at the other side of the fence.


    The Terdun cavalry¡¯s spears and scimitars also jabbed back through the gaps in the fence.


    Both sides slaughtered each other across a layer of fencing, each screaming in languages the other couldn¡¯t understand.


    The Terdun Cavalry, clad in heavy armor, barely felt the clubs and spears striking them.


    The militia of Iron Peak County dressed only in cloth; a single thrust of a cavalry spear left a ghastly, gaping wound.


    With eyes widened in terror, Monkey¡¯s nostrils flared many times over, his breathing so intense it drummed against his eardrums.


    All around were people; Monkey couldn¡¯t even make out where the barbarians were. He propped his long spear on a horizontal fence bar, jabbing back and forth like a bellows pump.


    Stepping on something slick, Monkey lost his balance and fell to the ground.


    It was only then that he saw what he trod upon was a piece of intestine, and at the other end of the intestine was the abdominal cavity of a fellow villager writhing in agony.


    ¡°Mother!¡± Monkey wailed uncontrollably, his greed¡ªwhich had propelled him this far¡ªcompletely crushed.


    Not the least bit religious, Monkey vomited while desperately making signs: ¡°Save me! Please, save me!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking stab people!¡± the company commander, struggling like a tug of war holding onto a cavalry spear, shouted, ¡°Kill their horses! Stab their horses!¡±


    Another scimitar reached over the fence, swinging down towards the company commander.


    Monkey¡¯s company commander seemed to forget he could dodge; gripping the spear shaft firmly, he watched the blade descend upon his stiff body, chopping off half of his left shoulder.


    The blade stuck in the bone, and Monkey¡¯s company commander staggered and fell. Panicked militiamen clumsily dragged him toward the rear.


    Even as he lay dying, Monkey¡¯s company commander continued to shriek: ¡°Stab their horses!¡±


    Between the two fences, that Terdun champion had already mounted another horse. He too was bellowing commands: ¡°Herde Language: Pull down the fences! Tear down the fences!¡±

 Chapter 853 853 91 The Final Assault_3

    ?Chapter 853: Chapter 91: The Final Assault_3 Chapter 853: Chapter 91: The Final Assault_3 However, except for a few trusted aides beside him, almost no part of the tribes responded to him.


    When the battle entered an extremely bloody and chaotic state, humans often repeatedly did the same thing, as if they were possessed.


    Those shooting arrows would keep shooting, shooting, shooting¡­ S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Those chopping would keep chopping, chopping, chopping¡­


    Those stabbing would keep stabbing, stabbing, stabbing¡­


    Because repeating an action could bring a sense of security.


    When faced with the ultimate threat with only instincts remaining, even the faintest sense of security became addictive, impossible to shake off.


    ...


    This is what is known as ¡°seeing red.¡±


    People didn¡¯t ¡°see red¡± because of the killing; they were too frightened to think and were left with only the reflex action of repetitive killing.


    ¡­


    The first line of the left wing was one step away from total collapse, but the momentum of the Terdun Cavalry was also slowed.


    Throughout the battle, Winters had not issued any orders to either flank.


    This wasn¡¯t a squad-level fight that could be controlled at will with ¡°Sound Amplification Magic¡±; the army of tens of thousands had fully deployed, and communication difficulties spiked with the widening of the battlefield.


    Any command longer than two sentences that didn¡¯t have a pre-set signal could only be relayed by human messengers.


    Even with efficient communication, the untrained militia lacked the capability to carry out complex tactical maneuvers.


    Winters gave no orders to the flanking troops because their mission had already been assigned in advance:


    ¡°Hold the line.¡±


    Abandon mobility, abandon offensive capability, surround themselves with trenches and barricades in an ironclad formation, and fight the cruelest war of attrition.


    The Firefeeders could choose to surround without attacking, sending troops to cut off Winters¡¯ supply line; or they could choose to confront Winters head-on.


    Whatever choice the Firefeeders made, Winters had a corresponding contingency plan.


    But a true decisive battle was what Winters wanted¡ªand probably what the Firefeeders wanted as well.


    In the Empire¡¯s language, the word ¡°Decisive Battle¡± derived from ¡°Massacre,¡± which alone sufficiently illustrated the nature of a main force battle.


    It was the cruelest solution, and also the most straightforward one.


    This ¡°Iron Peak County-Terdun Battle,¡± whether it should be considered a war or a campaign, had already brought too much torment.


    Both sides deeply craved to settle everything once and for all, in a straightforward, cutthroat confrontation.


    ¡­


    Left flank, first line.


    Although the Terdon Tribe suffered heavy losses in the battle of the Great Wilderness, the true backbone of the Firefeeders¡ªthe ferocity of the Khan¡¯s personal guards¡ªwas still far beyond any barbarians the Iron Peak County Military had previously encountered.


    The heavily armored cavalry ripped out seven fences in a row, charging back and forth in the narrow battle zone between two trenches; the militiamen of Iron Peak County would almost instantly rout the moment they lost the protection of their fortifications.


    On the left wing¡¯s front line, only the most westerly camp and half of the easternmost camp were still barely holding on, supported by fortifications.


    As the armored warriors charged, the unarmored riders continued to pour into the trenches to provide cover.


    Unconsciously, the space between the two trenches became increasingly crowded.


    The commander of the guards, with a quiver at his waist and a golden helmet on his head, reined in his warhorse and tore off his sweaty helmet, gasping for air as he surveyed the battle:


    It was going well to the east and west; but the next trench to the south remained stubbornly uncaptured.


    And these trenches were like narrow-necked bottles¡ªeasy to get into, but impossible to get out;


    While the war drums still thundered, the guard commander grew increasingly uneasy, racing and shouting, ¡°In Herde Language, do not go any further! Move south! Go attack the second trench! Move west! Get behind those bipeds! Do not advance any further!¡±


    ¡­


    Left flank, second line.


    The camp where Monkey was stationed had entered the climax of the battle.


    The valiant warriors of Terdun were whipping and forcefully dragging away the still-living soldiers.


    Monkey had thought they were winning the fight, but soon the barbarians returned with lassos.


    The Terdun soldiers, under effective command, tied the ropes to their saddles, used spears to pick up barricades and Cheval de frise, and could pull down a row at a breath.


    In contrast, Monkey¡¯s platoon leader had already withdrawn from combat due to severe injuries, leaving Monkey¡¯s platoon of soldiers of prime age in complete disarray.


    Seeing the barricades about to be completely uprooted, the sergeant, Lu Xirong, yelled in despair, ¡°Fight them with all we¡¯ve got!¡±


    With that, he raised his flail and charged out of the barricades. Some militia were inspired by Lu Xirong¡¯s act of bravery and also killed their way out.


    Monkey felt a rush of blood, yearning to charge bravely, but his legs would not obey.


    It was only then that Monkey realized he was not the person he had imagined himself to be.


    And then, he saw his good friend climbing over the barricades.


    From childhood, between Monkey and Dog, it was always Monkey who came up with ideas, made decisions, while Dog was the reliable follower and executor.


    Although it was never explicitly stated, Monkey genuinely considered himself a superior leader at heart, while his taciturn friend was an inferior adjunct.


    Monkey stared blankly as he watched what he regarded as an accessory, biting a broken spear, climbing over the barricades with hands and feet, and then leaping into the air, stooping like a hawk to knock the barbarian leader, who was shouting orders, off the horseback.


    ¡­


    On the western side of the battlefield, at the foot of Tiefeng Mountain.


    Anglu finally saw the agreed-upon red flag.


    ¡°All mount up!¡± Anglu drew his saber and yelled with all his might, ¡°Forward! Forward!! Forward!!!¡±


    The cavalry squad no longer concealed their tracks, for the charge was already sounded.


    The riders first accelerated, only letting their warhorses fly when they reached a sparser area of trees.


    They were not cavalry¡ªthey had never been referred to as ¡°cavalry¡±; they weren¡¯t even a true squadron¡ªthe true squadron had been taken by Andre.


    They were farmers, merchants, craftsmen, Dusacks, newly-trained clumsy riders, ordinary civilians who had never thought about going to battle.


    Whatever they were, at this moment, they all clenched their legs tightly, lowered their bodies, and let out the most fearful yet bravest shouts: ¡°Forward! Forward!! Forward!!!¡±


    The bravest of Iron Peak County¡¯s men charged down the slope, cutting the Terdun forces attacking the left flank in two.


    At the same time, a second front was also counterattacking, pushing cheval de frise and barricades into the trenches, with the prime-age soldiers of each camp charging in a disordered melee toward the Terdun Cavalry, who had expended too much strength and were trapped between two trenches.


    But would the battle end this way?


    No, as the Iron Peak County Military¡¯s ambush was launched and Paratu¡¯s champion revealed his hand, the fire-watcher shot the last arrow hidden in his quiver.


    The horns resounded, and the warhorses¡¯ iron hoofs seemed to tear the earth apart¡ªnot from the front, but from the rear.


    The flanking Terdun Cavalry reached the battlefield, and the Terdun main formation also charged. In the place where flags with horse tails stood tall, the fully armored cavalry, even their warhorses clad in heavy armor, finally struck.


    Their target was not the blood-saturated left wing of Iron Peak County, nor Winters¡¯ central forces of Iron Peak County.


    Their target was the ¡°idle¡± right wing of Iron Peak County.


    At the same time, over a thousand horsemen hidden on the reverse slope of the northern hillside charged down the slope.


    These new Terdun arrivals had little armor¡ªthey were, indeed, new, and not the ¡°elite of the Khanate¡±.


    They were the remnants that Winters had repulsed on the West Bank.


    The fire-watcher had displayed all the armored cavalry upfront for Winters to see but hidden these thousand-odd light cavalry until now.


    These thousand-odd light cavalry did not go to strike Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing; they headed straight for Iron Peak County¡¯s central forces.


    The Terdun forces launched their total offensive.


    This was not the end; it was the beginning of the end.

 Chapter 854 854 92 The Endgame

    ?Chapter 854: Chapter 92 The Endgame Chapter 854: Chapter 92 The Endgame On the Western side of the battlefield, the left wing of Iron Peak County.


    Dying warhorses neighed in agony, their warm blood making the earth somewhat muddy.


    The heavily armored guards of Terdun were extremely difficult to kill; even when dragged from their saddles, they continued to wave their curved blades, roaring fiercely as they fought.


    In the chaos of close combat, no one had time to aim for the gaps in the armor.


    The militia swung their Stinger Hammers and flails wildly, beating the fallen barbarians until they were bludgeoned to death.


    As a result, the vast majority of Terdun¡¯s armored soldiers died from blunt trauma.


    Their bodies were purple and blue, but intact, with hardly any sharp weapon wounds. The ultimate cause of death was massive bleeding in the subcutaneous tissue and organs.


    ...


    It was a painful and slow way to die, but the problem was that it was too inefficient.


    Meanwhile, a single blow from a Terdun blade could incapacitate an unprotected militiaman.


    Monkey and two other militia members, like drunk men in a brawl, overpowered a muscular barbarian but had absolutely no idea how to kill him.


    Just holding the barbarian down required all their strength. As the barbarian struggled desperately, they dared not relax their grip.


    Soon, Lu Xirong¡¯s roar reached their ears, ¡°Get off!¡±


    Following that, the militiaman straddling the barbarian was kicked away by the sergeant¡¯s foot.


    Lu Xirong swung a blunt logging axe and chopped viciously at the barbarian¡¯s head.


    The axe didn¡¯t penetrate the helmet, but blood poured out from the barbarian¡¯s nostrils and eyes, and he instantly stopped struggling.


    Lu Xirong swung his axe again at the barbarian¡¯s neck, just to make sure he did not come back to life.


    The Terdun Cavalry attacking the left wing had been split into two:


    The majority were trapped between two trenches; a minority were blocked outside the first trench.


    The one who had bisected the flank of Terdun was none other than Anglu, leading his cavalry.


    Anglu had long since discarded his curved saber¡ªhe found the curved blade good for slashing but less effective against armored soldiers than a straight sword.


    With the cold gleam of his blade, Anglu parried the incoming curved swords by maneuvering his bone-sword handle.


    As the weapons clashed, the curved sword was knocked out of position.


    Seizing the moment, Anglu struck the enemy¡¯s arm with his hilt, causing the Terdun soldier to scream and flee on his horse.


    Without time to pursue the fleeing enemy, Anglu gently tugged his reins, and his red-maned steed neighed as he charged towards another barbarian rider. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Things weren¡¯t looking good¡ªIron Peak County¡¯s cavalry was gradually losing ground.


    In terms of equestrian combat, Iron Peak County¡¯s horsemen were hardly a match for the skillful Herder riders. It was only the timing of their charge that had caught many from Terdun off-guard, causing them to scatter in panic.


    Now, the psychological advantage brought by the ambush was rapidly diminishing.


    Many fleeing Terdun Cavalry, seeing the battle was not entirely one-sided, turned back to fight.


    ¡°Aim for their horses!¡± on the edge of the battlefield, an Iron Peak County horseman waved a flag, shouting at the top of his lungs, ¡°Fire!¡±


    ¡°Boom, boom, boom, boom.¡±


    A series of muffled gunshots rang out; it was unclear how many Terdun Cavalry were hit.


    ¡°Reload!¡± the flag-wielding squad leader nearly broke his voice: ¡°What are you looking at? Reload quickly!¡±


    The horsemen, who had been eagerly searching for their victories, were startled awake and fumbled with ammunition, hurriedly reloading.


    Some of Iron Peak County¡¯s riders were so poor in horsemanship that Anglu had them carry muskets and fight on foot.


    As the gunfire sounded, the Terdun Cavalry immediately noticed that small group at the edge of the battlefield.


    A Hong Lingyu loudly called out, urging his horse out of the melee, followed by a dozen Terdun Cavalry.


    Iron Peak County¡¯s mounted musketeers hadn¡¯t had time to remount and were scattered by the Terdun Cavalry.


    Seeing this, Anglu immediately disengaged from the melee, leading his nearby men around the battlefield to come to their aid.


    ¡­


    On the Eastern side of the battlefield, the right wing of the Iron Peak County Military.


    ¡°Everyone! Listen to the command! Attention!¡± Harsh cheers rose from various parts of the second line: ¡°About¡ªturn!¡±


    The Iron Peak County militia faithfully executed the command, although some turned clockwise and others counter-clockwise, they all turned around anyway.


    Thus, to the amazement of the bewildered Terdun light cavalry, the right wing of Iron Peak County¡¯s second line performed a standard tactical maneuver¡ª[about-turn].


    The chaos that the Terdun had anticipated did not occur, as the various companies and battalions flipped neatly and cleanly.


    In an instant, a flanking ambush turned into a head-on confrontation, and now it was the accelerating Terdun who hesitated.


    The Terdun leader [White Bull] clenched his teeth, urging his warhorse to speed up: ¡°Herde Language Charge through them! Break them!¡±


    What difference did it make if they turned around? Weren¡¯t they still sandwiched from front and back?


    Having led his men on a circuitous route for who knows how far, exhausting countless steeds, White Bull could not allow himself to be scared off just like that.


    White Bull desperately raised his banner, bellowing with all his might: ¡°Herde Language The gods watch over us!¡±


    The thunder of hooves was so loud that the men could hardly hear their leader¡¯s cries; they were guided only by the banner.


    Then, White Bull¡¯s warhorse stepped into a trap pit.


    To be precise, a stretch of Horse Trap Pits laid out behind the lines of Iron Peak County¡¯s army.


    As a substitute for caltrops, Winters had arranged the horse traps strictly according to the manual: each pit had a diameter of a foot, a depth of two feet, and was fitted with sharpened stakes at the bottom; the pits were spaced a meter apart; and their overall formation was a staggered, checkerboard pattern.


    The horse traps¡¯ depth reached fifty meters so far, and if those tending the fires remained inactive, it would continue to be reinforced.


    As the horse abruptly sank, White Bull was thrown from the saddle, instinctively clutching his neck and curling up to avoid breaking his spine, but still he was left battered and bloodied, and his banner slipped from his grasp.

 Chapter 855 855 92 Endgame_2

    ?Chapter 855: Chapter 92: Endgame_2 Chapter 855: Chapter 92: Endgame_2 Following closely behind their leader, the Terdun men successively fell into pits, their horses crying out in anguish with broken fetlocks.


    Some lucky enough to get through the pits looked back and realized their fellow tribesmen hadn¡¯t kept up; they reined in their warhorses and hesitated to move forward.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Don¡¯t stop!¡± White Bull grasped the banner, struggled to his feet with the flagpole, and shouted desperately, ¡°[Herde Language] Charge! Kill!¡±


    The ensuing events, to a certain extent, fulfilled White Bull¡¯s wish. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although his men dared not forcefully charge the bipedal army¡¯s formations, the bipedal army charged toward them.


    The battle flag dipped thrice, the small drums sounded off like hail.


    On the second line of the right flank, the various units fully deployed, disregarding the ongoing battle in front, shouting as they attacked the circling Terdun light cavalry.


    ...


    ¡­


    In the center of the battlefield, the main force of the Iron Peak County Military.


    The man on the black horse finally spoke, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±


    A true melee would not last long and was extremely uncontrollable.


    A flag falling, a soldier fleeing, an odd silence¡­ any minute sign could trigger a cascading defeat.


    Once the battle reached this stage, what kept both sides on the field was no longer skill in slaughter but sheer willpower.


    Yet willpower was intangible, and no one could tell when it might falter¡ªperhaps never, or perhaps in the next moment.


    Currently, Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left wing had not achieved an overwhelming victory.


    Although the Terdun Cavalry was split and surrounded, they still fought fiercely. It was a stalemate, with no one daring to predict who would collapse first.


    Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing displayed two trends simultaneously.


    The heavy cavalry, dispatched last minute by the roaster, swept through the first line of the right wing like a wrecking ball.


    The heavily armored cavaliers, both riders and warhorses, were practically invulnerable, scattering the ¡°Young Soldier¡¯s¡± formation as soon as they crossed the trenches.


    Facing the armored cavalry, the militia was helpless. With each barrier breached, half a unit would completely collapse.


    On the second line of the right wing, the adult soldiers were similarly slaughtering the dismounted Terdun men.


    Knowing there were pits ahead, the circling Terdun light cavalry dared not move recklessly.


    Those Terdun men staying behind tried to navigate around the pit belt but found the pits scattered all the way into the forest.


    The dismounted Terdun men were forced into infantry combat with Iron Peak County¡¯s militia, who held an absolute advantage in numbers and quickly pushed them back.


    The strongest part of Iron Peak County forces, the central unit, was entangled by over a thousand Terdun light cavalry.


    What the roaster was thinking was clear to any discerning observer.


    ¡°[Bad horse against good horse, good horse against average horse],¡± the roaster used part of his main force to pin down Iron Peak County Military¡¯s left wing, drew the central force with his weakest men, and then aimed to crush Iron Peak County Military¡¯s right wing with his strongest troops.


    Once the first line of the right wing collapsed in a total rout, the adult soldiers on the second line could hardly stand alone.


    Whether it was [flanking the left wing] or [hitting the central unit], it made essentially no difference; it was just a different way to execute the kill.


    The battle irreversibly tipped towards a favorable outcome for the Terdon Tribe unless¡­ there was another fresh force.


    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± the man on the black horse asked again, his voice now stern, ¡°Your right wing is about to completely collapse!¡±


    Winters gazed intently ahead, to the north, to that small hill.


    Several riders raced along the ridge and finally stopped, vigorously waving a yellow flag.


    ¡°The Terdun people have used up their reserves,¡± Winters confirmed this fact at last, turning to the black horse rider, ¡°If there¡¯s to ever be a decisive moment in this battle that could determine the outcome, it appears to be now¡­ Colonel Gessa.¡±


    Colonel Gaisa Adonis lifted his faceplate, revealing cheeks marked with fearsome scars, and laughed heartily, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I came for.¡±


    Good Fortune Gold had brought Winters luck, only this time, the ¡°good fortune¡± had no hair.


    Behind the main unit, tents were sequentially pulled down, and cavalrymen in elaborate uniforms led stalwart horses in procession.


    From the absurdly large bear skin hats, brightly patterned tunics, and their defiant expressions, it was clear they were Piaoqi Troops¡ª not Andre¡¯s kind of knock-offs, but the genuine Piaoqi from Paratu.


    In addition to Piaoqi troops, there were also a few half-armored lancers.


    This cavalry was the luck that Gold brought, reinforcements sent by Colonel Bod, a power unexpected at this battlefield, and the very reason Winters dared to engage the Terdun Tribe in a field battle.


    ¡°Tell your men to clear the way,¡± Gessa replaced his faceplate, ¡°I¡¯m off to meet their chieftain.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters shook his head gently, ¡°You should go to the left flank¡ªleave fifty good men for me.¡±


    Gessa¡¯s face was hidden behind his helmet, his expression unseen, but his resolute reply came through, ¡°Alright.¡±


    The two units placed on the left side of the central force quickly converged, creating a gap.


    The soldiers, carrying planks, jumped into the trenches and used their bodies as pilings to construct several bridges allowing the cavalry to cross.


    Without another word, Gessa raised his battle sword high, took his position at the forefront of the cavalry, and commanded, ¡°Follow me!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!¡±

 Chapter 856 856 92 Endgame_3

    ?Chapter 856: Chapter 92: Endgame_3 Chapter 856: Chapter 92: Endgame_3 ¡°Uukhai!¡±


    ¡°Uukhai!!!¡±


    The Paratu Piaoqi Troops responded with three deafening war cries.


    Gessa charged out of the trench ahead of everyone, followed closely by warriors from Thunder Group County, Riverside County, Mont Blanc County, and even further administrative regions.


    The overall formation of the Iron Peak County Military enabled the cavalry, striking from the center, to launch a flank attack on the enemy on both wings.


    The gleaming sabers were like a storm of steel, wherever they pointed, the Terdon Tribe scattered in fear; where the warhorses passed, only the mutilated bodies of the Terdon people were left.


    The right wing of the Terdon Tribe¡ªthe forces attacking the left wing of the Iron Peak County¡ªfinally surpassed their limits.


    ...


    It was like a string had snapped, similar to the falling of dominoes, the right wing of the Terdon Tribe faced total collapse.


    ¡°Ha, so it is,¡± the old Translator on the hilltop neither got angry nor surprised, but instead clapped and laughed heartily, rocking back and forth, ¡°What kind of arrow cluster formation is this? This is clearly two oblique line formations placed together!¡±


    In the center of the Iron Peak County Military, Winters asked softly, ¡°Could you teach me the war cry that the Terdon people shouted earlier, ¡®Break the enemy¡¯s formation¡¯?¡±


    The seasoned old merchant did not dare to delay and repeated word for word, ¡°[Herde Language] Break formation¡­ Break formation.¡±


    Winters chewed over the words several times, nodded, and buckled his helmet.


    Seeing this, Xial immediately grabbed Winters¡¯ reins, his face red with urgency, ¡°No! Lieutenant Bard said! You can¡¯t join the battle! Victory doesn¡¯t depend on you anymore¡­¡±


    Winters looked deeply at Xial, who fell silent.


    ¡°I have a personal grudge with the enemy chief that I want to resolve,¡± Winters asked the fifty elite men left by Gessa, ¡°Would you like to come with me?¡±


    The leading cavalryman replied arrogantly, ¡°We can¡¯t let you kill all the enemies alone.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then follow me,¡± Winters drew his lance, his voice, wrapped in the power of magic, boomed through the center, ¡°All units! Clear the way!¡±


    The center¡¯s arrowhead formation parted for the voice, the crimson battle flags fluttered fiercely, and a squad of cavalry broke through the formation, charging directly toward the campfires of the enemy¡¯s banners.


    The leading cavalryman roared the Herders¡¯ war cry, ¡°[Herde Language] Break formation! Break formation!! Break formation!!!¡±


    The sound was so powerful it seemed to split stones and pierce the clouds, hearing a war cry that clearly belonged to their side, yet the Terdon people parted like the Red Sea.


    At the same time, Mason finally arrived on the battlefield.


    Revodan cavalry and mounted infantry followed Mason up the hill, the scene before them causing everyone¡¯s chests to involuntarily tremble.


    Tens of thousands of humans and warhorses had fully engaged, struggling desperately in combat below the hill, like a massive oil painting unprecedented before.


    The left wing of the Iron Peak County Military was turning its direction, led by a group of brightly dressed cavalry acting as the blade edge, charging with a wide swing toward both sides of the intense battle on the right wing.


    The center¡¯s formation had totally disintegrated, ant-like tiny figures burst out of the trenches, charging toward equally tiny barbarian light cavalry.


    ¡°Where is the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer?¡± Even Demon Ongs lost his cool, ¡°Where should we go now?¡±


    Enemies were everywhere, and so were allies, Mason¡¯s four hundred cavalry plunged into the battlefield like a cup of water pouring into a tank, leaving everyone clueless about what to do next.


    Mason squinted his eyes, looking closely for a while, then suddenly slapped his thigh hard, ¡°Damn! Too late! The fight¡¯s already over!¡±


    ¡°What? It¡¯s over?¡±


    ¡°Never mind!¡± Mason picked up a Hand Mortar, turned back to his men and shouted, ¡°Just hit the barbarians if you see any!¡±


    With that, he charged down the hill.

 Chapter 857 857 93 Weapons

    ?Chapter 857: Chapter 93 Weapons Chapter 857: Chapter 93 Weapons When the left wing and the central army of the Iron Peak County Military gripped the enemy¡¯s right wing like a vise, the only fate awaiting the Terdon Tribe was destruction and death.


    The ¡°Blasting Point¡± that directly led to the complete collapse of the Terdon people¡¯s morale was the thunderous fall of the great tent¡¯s flag.


    Faced with the champion blades of Paratu¡­ the fire-tenders ran away.


    The battle ended at that moment, and what remained was the victors pursuing the defeated.


    The fleeing Terdon soldiers, terrified and desperate, scrambled into dense forests and climbed wild mountains, fleeing in all directions without choosing their paths.


    The exhausted militiamen of Iron Peak County had no strength left to chase their fleeing enemies, the true pursuers being the Piaoqi troops from Paratu¡ªin a sense, this was precisely what the cavalry excelled at.


    The Piaoqi cavalry, riding hot-blooded fine horses, moved swiftly like the wind. They drove the fleeing Terdon soldiers relentlessly, and both sides soon vanished over the horizon. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    It was only at nightfall that the bloody day seemed to finally declare its end.


    The surviving militiamen wanted to return to the camp to rest but found that the camp no longer existed.


    For the camp of the Iron Peak County Military was the battlefield itself, this flat farmland between mountains and forests scattered with unattended corpses and moaning wounded.


    So much blood had been shed that the air smelled sickeningly sweet.


    The militiamen lingered on the edge of the battlefield, unsure where to go, unsure what to do.


    Friends and relatives who survived the ordeal met and many could not help but burst into tears. Even more people were searching the bodies and tearfully calling out the names of their family members.


    It was at this time that Mason encountered Bard.


    Senior Mason, who usually maintained social distance with polite reserve, unexpectedly hugged his junior tightly, which Bard found somewhat hard to adapt to.


    When comrades reunited, there truly were endless things they wanted to say. But when the words came to their mouths, they again didn¡¯t know what to say.


    Still, Mason sniffled and smiled as he spoke first, ¡°Really feel like having some elbow meat.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Bard replied gently with a smile, ¡°me too.¡±


    Bard had also just arrived at the battlefield, bringing with him a complete logistics squadron.


    Previously, Bard had been stationed in Kennel Village, ten kilometers south of the battlefield.


    According to the combat plan laid out by Winters and Bard: Winters would command the main force to seek a decisive battle while Bard, positioned behind the battlefield, would find a suitable location to build a stronghold, accumulate supplies, and prepare for the worst-case scenario.


    Fortunately, there was no need for the contingency plan this time.


    When Bard heard from the courier cavalry that the battle¡¯s outcome had been decided, he immediately led the supply troops to rush to the front line, arriving at the battlefield just before dusk.


    What awaited Bard was an unprecedented mess.


    ¡°All tangled up,¡± Bard summarized with a bitter smile, ¡°Completely frazzled.¡±


    During their conversation, a gendarme with a white armband ran over, gasping for breath and requested, ¡°Civil Guard Officer, the stretcher team has caught two militiamen cutting off barbarian heads, what should we do?¡±


    Mason couldn¡¯t help frowning.


    Stealing [spoils of war] not only severely violated military discipline, but its moral severity was even greater.


    Bard¡¯s reaction was rather calm, ¡°Bring them here.¡±


    The ¡°criminals¡± were quickly brought before Bard and Mason.


    Judging by their appearances alone, both prisoners were peasants who would be hard to pick out in a crowd. Standing before ¡°Sir Civil Guard Officer,¡± they didn¡¯t even know where to put their hands, moving them from behind their backs to hanging by their sides.


    First, they looked around fearfully at the soldiers, then they quickly fixed their gaze on the ground, continually swallowing.


    ¡°Stretch out your hands,¡± Bard approached the prisoners.


    Prodded by the gendarme a few times, the two peasants hesitantly extended their rough, calloused palms.


    Bard looked at their hands and asked, ¡°Do you admit to personally severing barbarians¡¯ heads?¡±


    The two peasants did not reply.


    The gendarme escorting the prisoners was furious and raised his stick to strike.


    Bard stopped the gendarme and asked again amiably, ¡°Did you cut off the heads of Terdon people?¡±


    One peasant turned pale and nodded. The other, a bit younger, nodded as well with tears.


    ¡°Five lashes each, publicly executed, right now,¡± Bard issued the judgment, ¡°After the whipping, send them back to Saint Town with the injured in the wagon, and relieve them from conscription.¡±


    The two peasants were led away.


    Stealing results in amputation, a universal truth; stealing spoils of war, even deserving of hanging.


    Clearly, five lashes was too lenient a sentence, Mason neither understood nor agreed.


    But since those present were all Bard¡¯s subordinates, the senior had to maintain the dignity of his junior, so Mason did not show any opposition.


    Bard realized what his senior was thinking and extended an invitation, ¡°Senior, since you¡¯re here, shall I show you around the camp?¡±


    Mason readily agreed.


    The two of them each led a horse and walked slowly around the camp without any attendants.


    Bard set up the logistics camp on the south side of the battlefield, right next to the road.


    The logistics squadron¡¯s peasants cut down trees, lit bonfires, boiled water, and baked biscuits.


    In the pitch-black night, the clusters of bonfires in the camp shone brightly and warmly like beacons.


    Occasionally, militiamen, dragging their weary steps and carrying their weapons, numbly walked towards the light.


    The patrolling gendarmes were accustomed to this.


    The gendarmes handed a piece of bread to the battle-weary arrivals, wrapped them in a blanket, led them to the fire, and then went to guide others.


    Horsemen carrying torches went out to find lost soldiers, while wagons carrying the injured rattled towards the rear.


    Unknowingly, Mason and Bard reached the edge of the battlefield.

 Chapter 858 858 93 Weapons_2

    ?Chapter 858: Chapter 93: Weapons_2 Chapter 858: Chapter 93: Weapons_2 Perhaps it was psychological, but Mason always felt that the cold air was tinged with the odor of fresh blood.


    The battlefield had already been shrouded in darkness, with the sporadic lights of fires moving about. Those were the stretcher teams organized by Bard, searching for the wounded.


    ¡°Lightly wounded remain at the temporary camp, severely wounded are sent back to Kennel Village, and later sent on to Saint Town.¡± Bard explained his arrangements to his senior, ¡°Father Kaman is on his way, I¡¯ve asked him to set up a medical post here. The sooner treatment starts, the greater the chances the wounded have of survival¡­¡±


    Mason listened intently.


    Compared to the battle itself, the clean-up work afterward was truly torturous. Just dealing with the wounded alone was enough to overwhelm anyone.


    At the end of a day¡¯s bloody battle, both the victors and the defeated gasped for breath in the darkness; those unable to move were left on the battlefield along with corpses, while lawless thieves took advantage of the night to rob the dead¡ªthese were all too common scenes.


    The wounded of the Iron Peak County Military were unfortunate, yet fortunate.


    ...


    Because at least someone cared about their lives and tried desperately to keep them alive.


    From treating the wounded, Bard moved on to discuss the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe.


    ¡°Senior, you might not know yet,¡± Bard said softly. ¡°South of the Panto River, there are more than two thousand prisoners from the Terdon Tribe waiting for us to deal with.¡±


    Mason was shocked, ¡°Two thousand prisoners? From the battle at the Panto River?¡±


    ¡°Yes, from the battle at the Panto River. It might even be more than two thousand, because only Tie Chi surrendered earlier, and there remain quite a few scattered soldiers from the Terdon Tribe in lower Iron Peak County.¡±


    Mason was speechless.


    Bard continued, ¡°Moreover, whether Tie Chi really counts as prisoners is still up for debate. Because we haven¡¯t effectively taken control of them. We left them on the south bank of the Panto River and then rushed to deal with the arsonists. Now that the arsonists are dealt with, what to do with Tie Chi has become the primary issue.¡±


    Mason sighed deeply.


    Bard then dropped another piece of significant news, ¡°Earlier communication with Revodan was cut off, I couldn¡¯t inform you in time¡ªthis battle, the New Reclamation Legion provided reinforcement troops.¡±


    Mason felt dizzy and asked blankly, ¡°Those Piaoqi Troops? Were they people from the New Reclamation Legion?¡±


    Bard pondered and said, ¡°As I see it, they don¡¯t represent the official stance of the New Reclamation Legion.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s going on then?¡± Mason¡¯s hair on his back stood up.


    ¡°Those people are¡­¡± Bard furrowed his brows slightly, ¡°volunteers brought in by Colonel Bod. What exactly is going on, we¡¯ll have to wait for Colonel Bod to come back. Whether those people have other demands, it¡¯s still unknown.¡±


    Mason thought it over and sighed deeply again.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s the ¡®Decapitation Order.''¡± Bard gazed at the battlefield and looked at Mason, ¡°It¡¯s the matter you saw just now.¡±


    ¡°Compared to that,¡± Mason said bitterly, ¡°lightly punishing two thieves is trivial indeed.¡±


    Bard shook his head, ¡°I, on the other hand, think¡­ that this last matter is the most important.¡±


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Mason was puzzled.


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion, the prisoners of the Terdon Tribe¡­ they are external forces, and external forces can¡¯t break us. But the ¡®Stolen Decapitations¡¯ reflect something buried within us like a grenade, powerful enough to shatter us to pieces.¡±


    Mason mulled over his junior¡¯s words and fell silent again.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already dealt with over thirty cases of ¡®Stolen Decapitations.¡¯ Executed seven people¡ªnot for stealing Terdon people¡¯s heads but for taking heads from our own and falsifying achievements.¡±


    Bard calmly stated the facts: ¡°Lower Iron Peak County was destroyed by the Terdon people. What about Middle Iron Peak County? It was also severely damaged. This is the most severe issue. Not punishing those two farmers more harshly is because enough people have died already. Iron Peak County needs many things now, but fear is definitely not one of them.¡±


    ¡°We won,¡± Mason said somewhat sorrowfully, ¡°but we also lost, we lost terribly.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bard¡¯s tone grew serious, ¡°You are mistaken.¡±


    Mason looked up, puzzled.


    ¡°We did win,¡± Bard declared firmly. ¡°We won the right to survive, and that¡¯s the most critical thing.¡±


    For a moment, Mason was stunned, then he broke into a smile.


    He took a long breath, ¡°Yes! We¡¯ve won the right to live past tonight, we¡¯ll deal with everything else tomorrow!¡±


    ¡°By the way,¡± Mason suddenly remembered someone, ¡°where is Winters? He dumped this mess on us, where did he go?¡±


    This time, it was Bard¡¯s turn to sigh, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡­


    In the early morning, Colonel Gaisa returned to the temporary camp and immediately asked to see Winters. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He received the same answer, ¡°We also don¡¯t know where Captain Montaigne is.¡±


    Where Winters was, probably only the arsonists knew.


    ¡­


    Dawn, somewhere in Middle Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Herde Language Big Khan, there¡¯s a river ahead!¡± an archer tub soldier reported breathlessly. ¡°Herde Language It seems we¡¯ve reached the river.¡±


    The arsonist, equally out of breath, asked viciously, ¡°Herde Language Pup¡­ is that pup still behind us?¡±


    The big archer tub soldier listened for a moment, swallowed, ¡°Herde Language Seems like he didn¡¯t catch up.¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Good, good, let¡¯s rest for a moment.¡±


    Four archer tub soldiers plus the arsonist, a total of five people, hid in the woods by the riverside to rest their horses.


    One archer tub soldier, unable to bear his thirst, ran to the riverbank and started drinking fiercely. The big archer tub soldier¡ªthe guard leader scooped some water in his helmet and offered it to the arsonist.

 Chapter 859 859 93 Weapons_3

    ?Chapter 859: Chapter 93 Weapons_3 Chapter 859: Chapter 93 Weapons_3 The illustrious Khan of Terdon now had only four people by his side.


    The firemaker sipped cold water, his face ashen.


    Suddenly, the firemaker sharply turned back to look at the two guards with quivers. Their eyes met, and the guards quickly lowered their heads.


    The firemaker slowly turned around, silently changing his position so that each guard with a quiver was within his line of sight.


    Until death truly arrived, no one knew whether they were cowards or heroes.


    At least the firemaker had thought he had the courage to face Paratu, the champion, in a death duel.


    But when the firemaker really saw the unstoppable blood-dripping red flag approaching, when he really saw the khan¡¯s tent guard shattered¡­ he was frightened.


    ...


    Fear descended like an avalanche in a moment, and the firemaker was terrified from the depths of his heart, scared to death.


    So he ran, fleeing in panic.


    Although defeat was inevitable, there was no doubt that the firemaker¡¯s desertion directly led to the complete collapse of the Terdon Tribe.


    How could the Khan let his banner be taken without affecting the will of his people to fight to the death?


    However, taking the banner did not make the enemy sheathe their swords, and the darkness couldn¡¯t stop their advance. In a nightmarish flight, the firemaker¡¯s guards disappeared one by one.


    Until, at last, only five including him remained.


    But in the end, he shook off the wolf, ¡°I still won in the end,¡± the firemaker thought with a sense of victorious spirit.


    Power can make anyone seem invincible, high above all, and the farther away one observes, the more it seems so.


    But when that aura is stripped away, leaving only a human figure, that person immediately becomes weak and vulnerable.


    Emperors at their wit¡¯s end appear as lowly as the most humble slaves, causing those who once worshipped them to doubt their own eyes. So-called heroic bearing has nothing to do with power.


    With power, even the newest slaves will come to worship and swear allegiance to the death; without power, even the closest guards with quivers become unreliable.


    ¡°Let us rest our horses here,¡± the firemaker indirectly reaffirmed his position. ¡°We¡¯ll move downstream along the river at night. Crossing the river, we can return to the Terdon Tribe.¡±


    The four guards with quivers nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You are all my closest guards. If you do not forsake me, I will reward you profoundly.¡±


    Three guards gave thanks, though their faces showed little joy.


    Only the chief guard bluntly said to the firemaker, ¡°You need not pretend, Khan. As long as I live, I will ensure your safe return to the plains.¡±


    These words were meant to express loyalty, but the manner of speaking was inherently a challenge to authority¡ªthe firemaker usually didn¡¯t need to concern himself with these issues, but now they occupied his mind.


    Before he could figure out how to respond, a series of horse hooves came from far along the riverbank.


    The firemaker and his men immediately hid, hardly daring to breathe.


    The sound of the hooves drew closer, around a dozen riders. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They sounded like plains horses, but the firemaker and his men dared not confirm, for bipeds also significantly used captured horses.


    Only when the riders came closer, and it was clear they wore diagonal robes, did the firemaker and his men breathe a sigh of relief.


    One of the guards with quivers softly whistled; the firemaker had no time to stop him.


    The newcomers halted and whistled back in response.


    Both parties confirmed identities, and hiding was no longer an option. The firemaker, with determination, stepped out of the woods.


    ¡°Which tribe do you belong to?¡± the firemaker called out.


    ¡°Khan?¡± the lead rider asked in surprise, ¡°Is it the Khan?¡±


    The firemaker halted, his hand on the bow, ¡°Which tribe do you belong to?¡±


    ¡°I am¡­¡± the lead rider came forward, drawing near the firemaker and his men, ¡°I am your servant from within your gates!¡±


    The firemaker laughed madly and, drawing his curved bow, shot an arrow at the newcomer, ¡°Traitors! You rotting flesh that not even the grass-stepping cows would eat!¡±


    The sudden action of the fire-maker took the archers behind him by surprise.


    The leading allied troops were shot off their horses on the spot, and the rest of the allies tore off their masks, shouting loudly, ¡°Fire the signal arrows! Fire the signal arrows! Call the others! Big fish! It¡¯s a big fish!¡±


    A dozen or so allies swarmed up and fired arrows at the fire-makers, clearly not intending to capture him alive.


    ¡°[Herde Language] You think you can kill me?¡± the fire-maker roared ferociously, standing his ground, drawing his bow to return fire.


    Four archers joined the fight, using their bodies as shields for the fire-maker.


    Both the archers and the fire-maker were truly skilled.


    The five men didn¡¯t miss a single shot, instead, they forced the allies to retreat in disarray.


    A louder roar of hoofbeats approached; this time, there were at least dozens of riders.


    Seeing the fleeing allies returning, the fire-maker sensed trouble and roared, ¡°[Herde Language] Mount up, let¡¯s go!¡±


    Turning around, where were the horses?


    The horses had already been led away by those allies earlier.


    The thundering sound of hooves grew closer, and the riders charged directly at the fire-maker.


    The fire-maker drew his curved blade and roared in despair.


    ¡­


    A helmet of cold water splashed on him, and the fire-maker regained consciousness.


    ¡°Awake?¡±


    ¡°Seems like he¡¯s awake?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Do you recognize me?¡± The speaker patted the fire-maker¡¯s cheek, his voice mixed with hatred and mockery, ¡°[Herde Language] Your Highness?¡±


    The fire-maker¡¯s head was groggy, the back of his head wet, unable to utter a word.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Can¡¯t recognize it? I am¡­¡± The speaker lifted his hair, revealing a bald side with no ear, warmly introducing himself, ¡°[Herde Language] Red Dog!¡±


    Hearing the name, the fire-maker startled awake, ¡°[Herde Language] Is this the Styx?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] No, this is the river of the great Shaman George.¡± Red Dog replied casually, ¡°St. George River.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] But you died!¡± the fire-maker roared furiously, coughing up several clots of blood, ¡°[Herde Language] Echegke also deceived me!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I was supposed to be dead, but someone thought I might still be useful, so I survived,¡± Red Dog said slowly, drawing a dagger, ¡°[Herde Language] See, here I am to meet you. You shouldn¡¯t have run. If you hadn¡¯t run, you could have died like a warrior.¡±


    The fire-maker wanted to say more, but the other allies held him down tightly, silencing him and preventing him from struggling.


    ¡°I know what you want to say.¡± Red Dog spoke in a language the fire-maker couldn¡¯t understand, ¡°A great leader fleeing from battle dying at the hands of us, the lowest of slaves¡ªwhat an appropriate way to die!¡±


    ¡­


    At dawn, Winters returned to the battlefield.


    Having pursued all night, his cavalry had fallen behind one by one. Because his warhorse had gone lame, he ultimately couldn¡¯t personally kill the enemy chieftain.


    On the way back, only one person remained by his side.


    It was neither Xial nor Heinrich, but Jacob Green, the tall, thin gentleman who wanted to write an epic.


    Seeing Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, charging forward, Jacob didn¡¯t think twice and followed, even without a weapon.


    He just wanted to be a bit closer, ever closer, driven by that fervent enthusiasm. Even though Xial and Heinrich fell behind, Jacob still followed closely behind the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s saddle.


    Sunlight pierced through the treetops, illuminating the battlefield, the corpses strewn about, the blood-solidified soil, the distorted expressions of the dead in their final moments.


    Jacob Green recorded this, ¡°¡­the battlefield was littered with corpses. There were Herders, and there were our own people. Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, tried desperately to prevent his mount from trampling on the remains. He failed, so he dismounted. At that moment, I saw him cry¡­ Is that true? Could the killing machine known as ¡®Blood Wolf¡¯ also possess such emotions? Or is memory deceiving me¡­ yet that moment, the helpless boy walking and crying, eyes filled with tears, left such a deep impression on me, unforgettable for a lifetime¡­¡±

 Chapter 860 860 Prologue

    ?Chapter 860: Prologue Chapter 860: Prologue News spread faster than anything.


    The messengers of victory hadn¡¯t yet arrived in Revodan when the bookmakers had already refused to take any more bets on the outcome of the war.


    The bonds compulsorily issued by the new government, once worthless, were now being dug out by merchants and craftsmen, and some were even seeking to purchase them.


    Large numbers of citizens flooded into the church to fulfill their vows, kissing the altar with tear-streaked faces, giving thanks to their savior.


    Overnight, the epithets of several Civil Guard Officers changed from ¡°Rebels¡± and ¡°Miscreants¡± to ¡°Holy Knights sent by the Lord to save Iron Peak County,¡± and who knows how many candles were lit in their names.


    And the shrewd speculators had already turned their attention to the south bank of the St. George River¡ªthere was a new city and many people there.


    Even bolder, or perhaps more greedy individuals set their sights on another item¡ªheads.


    ...


    ¡°¡­thank you so deeply for your kindness in visiting us¡­¡± Anna politely expressed her gratitude and respect, escorting the guest to the door.


    This was probably the umpteenth lady or miss to visit that day, making the small living room of the military quarters extraordinarily lively.


    Everyone was beating around the bush to inquire about one thing: ¡°Will Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer, truly fulfill his promise?¡±


    On the other side of the wall, someone was eavesdropping.


    Hearing the footsteps fade away and still irritated, Scarlett disdainfully said, ¡°Why invite them before when they were so reluctant? Why the enthusiasm now?¡±


    ¡°Idiot.¡± Catherine laughed, her eyes crinkling, ¡°Before, they didn¡¯t want to come because they were afraid of being solicited for donations. Their sudden enthusiasm now means they can gain something.¡±


    The two young ladies shared a box of milk cakes, with a table full of delicately wrapped boxes of pastries in front of them.


    The Paratu People did not have the custom of visiting empty-handed, which turned out to be to the advantage of two squirrels.


    While Anna was exhausted from hosting guests, Scarlett and Catherine hid in the hallway next to the living room¡ªeavesdropping and snacking, choosing the best from each box of treats.


    Scarlett¡¯s eyes brightened, ¡°Wine!¡±


    ¡°Let me see.¡± Catherine grabbed the bottle first, trying to make out the label in the dim light, ¡°[Bull¡¯s Blood]. What kind of winery is this?¡±


    Just then, Anna pushed open the hallway door and caught the two young ladies red-handed.


    Catherine silently handed the wine bottle to Scarlett.


    But Anna merely put down the new box of pastries she had received, walked back into the living room, and ignored them as if they were invisible.


    Scarlett and Catherine exchanged glances and cautiously entered the living room.


    Anna bowed her head, fiddling with her embroidery basket, simply threading and unthreading needles without actually doing anything.


    Seeing her sister¡¯s restless demeanor, Catherine blinked and tiptoed up behind Anna, suddenly exclaiming with great surprise, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, when did you come back?¡±


    ¡°Stop it,¡± Anna sighed.


    ¡°Really!¡±


    Anna ignored her sister.


    Seeing that her sister was unmoved, Catherine, a bit deflated, sat beside Anna, listlessly collapsing onto her lap.


    Anna¡¯s ¡°embroidery¡± could no longer continue; she set the needle basket aside and patiently tidied her sister¡¯s hair.


    ¡°Seeing you like this, I just can¡¯t be happy either,¡± Catherine said dejectedly, ¡°Maybe you should just argue with me again.¡±


    Anna finally showed a hint of a smile, flicking Catherine on the forehead hard enough to make her sister bite back in pain.


    The two sisters engaged in playful roughhousing, leaving Scarlett awkwardly as the third wheel, unsure whether to stay or go.


    Anna quickly noticed this impoliteness and pushed her sister up, smiling as she asked Scarlett, ¡°Has Mrs. Mitchell not returned from the church yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet.¡±


    ¡°How about we also go to the cathedral?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Scarlett shook her head vigorously, her chestnut short hair swaying with the wind, ¡°Mother will be displeased to see me; I¡¯d better keep away from her. You go to the church, I¡¯ll go add some grass for Longevity.¡±


    Anna stood up and took out another pair of boots, ¡°There¡¯s no rush for the church, I¡¯ll accompany you to add grass for Longevity.¡±


    Catherine burst out laughing, ¡°Aside from not barking, is that little pony almost being raised as a dog now?¡±


    While they talked, Anna changed her boots.


    Scarlett, who had been silent all along, took a deep breath and mustered her courage to ask, ¡°Lady Navarre?¡±


    Anna paused, ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°You are Lady Navarre, right?¡±


    Anna looked at Scarlett and nodded slowly, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone,¡± Scarlett promised earnestly, her face flushing as she spoke to Anna, ¡°Now that the war is over, you could actually go look for him yourself!¡±


    ¡°What bad advice are you giving?!¡± Catherine sat up straight, ¡°Just because the combat has ended doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s safe outside the city!¡±


    However, looking at her sister, Catherine knew her words were in vain.


    ¡­


    The drawbridge was lowered slowly, and eight armed horsemen escorted a carriage out of New Town.


    Old Priskin attempted persuasion in vain, only managing to choose eight best men and the finest carriage.


    Catherine refused to stay in the city alone, and Scarlett, afraid of being scolded by her mother for her suggestion, wanted to accompany them too, but Anna didn¡¯t take anyone with her.


    The city was still dangerous, she knew, but she just couldn¡¯t stay in Revodan any longer.


    Less than a mile from the city, the carriage was intercepted.


    Luckily, the person who stopped the carriage was Mason.


    With Revodan needing a leader, Richard Mason had hurried back from Saint Town to take charge.


    ¡°Lady Navarre?¡± Upon seeing the passenger in the carriage, Mason first expressed surprise, then a bitter smile, ¡°Winters is no longer in Saint Town, I have a letter from him for you. And there¡¯s a guest¡­ Your guest.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A portly horseman stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow and greeting her with a slightly ingratiating tone, ¡°Miss, bless the Lord, I have finally met you. It¡¯s so good to see you safe and sound!¡±


    Anna felt a wave of dizziness as the portly horseman was none other than one of her mother¡¯s most trusted partners, ¡°Mr. Leo.¡±


    As Mason returned to Revodan, news of the victory at Iron Peak spread fast to Mont Blanc County, Maplestone City, and the Great Wilderness¡­ reaching all corners.


    The infamously formidable Khan Court of Terdun had fallen overnight, to the seemingly inconsequential ¡°Rebels,¡± a tale that shook the Newly Reclaimed Land, Paratu, and the Great Wilderness like an earthquake.


    The aftershocks of which would spread far and wide, from Sheltering Mountain to Golden Summit Mountain ¨C beyond even the wildest predictions of the most audacious pundits.

 Chapter 861 861 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 861: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads Chapter 861: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads The Hunter of Fallen Warriors


    In the dark, primordial forest, two people from Terdun fled together.


    They dared not light a fire or rest. The canopy that blocked out the sun made it impossible for them to tell direction¡ªnot that direction mattered anymore; finding a way to survive was what mattered most.


    Still, they were caught up to; hounds followed their scent, and a dozen farmers surrounded them.


    At dusk, the farmers returned to the village with two heads and other items stripped from the barbarians, carried on branches.


    They did not go straight home but headed first to the village hall.


    Wood crackled in the hearth, and outside the walls, winter was freezing cold, yet it was warm inside the village hall.


    A middle-aged man, clearly not a farmer, inspected the two heads, furrowed his brow, and asked, ¡°No helmets, armor, or anything else?¡±


    ...


    The leading farmer, his cheeks reddened from the cold, replied awkwardly, ¡°No, would hats work? And earrings?¡±


    The middle-aged man smacked his lips, turned back to warming himself by the fire, and gave the farmers only a profile view: ¡°That won¡¯t do. Without evidence, who¡¯s to say whether these are indeed barbarian heads, or if you¡¯ve stolen them from somewhere else?¡±


    Another taller farmer immediately flared up, ¡°What are you saying? How could these possibly be stolen by us? None of our people have heads like these!¡±


    The middle-aged man scoffed but did not engage in conversation, not even deigning to look directly at the other man.


    Two fully armed men sitting in a corner of the room stood up, their hands already on the hilts of their swords.


    The taller farmer fell silent.


    The leading farmer remained silent for a long while before speaking with difficulty, ¡°So what do you suggest?¡±


    ¡°These heads, whose authenticity is unknown¡­¡± The middle-aged man paused for a moment before stating a price.


    ¡°How much?¡± The taller farmer asked eagerly, ¡°A barbarian¡¯s head is worth a large piece of land! How much are you offering?¡±


    ¡°Listen carefully, I don¡¯t need to repeat myself.¡± The middle-aged man spread his hands, his attitude clear¡ªit was take it or leave it.


    The farmers were furious, unwilling to agree, yet unable to leave.


    Until a sturdy farmer who rarely spoke suddenly said, ¡°Let¡¯s just accept it, my family back home is waiting for me to bring back flour.¡±


    The sturdy farmer calmly retorted, ¡°What more can we hope for?¡±


    The deal was struck, and the payment was made in the form of flour. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The middle-aged man couldn¡¯t suppress a touch of smugness. As he watched the farmers take the flour, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think that a [head] is the same as [land]. Who knows how long the Rebels will hold out in Iron Peak County? If the Rebels fall tomorrow, won¡¯t these heads become a burden in your hands? Right?¡±


    His words seemed comforting, but in reality, they were a boastful salt in their wounds.


    The farmers silently took the flour and left the town hall without a word.


    Outside the door, they divided the flour along with the barbarians¡¯ clothes and boots. The items went to families who still had mouths to feed, and the farmer with the hounds received an extra share.


    ¡°Mesa got hurt.¡± The sturdy farmer whispered, ¡°Give him an extra share too.¡±


    No one objected, and the taller farmer asked, ¡°What do you want, dad?¡±


    The sturdy farmer took half a bag of flour and a curved blade.


    (Note: Here, ¡°dad¡± is a term of endearment used for older men.)


    Thus, everyone headed home¡ªand all of this was incidentally witnessed by a few passing riders.


    Pushing open his house door, a smile finally appeared on the sturdy farmer¡¯s face.


    He rubbed his son and daughter¡¯s soft hair, handed the flour to his wife, then found a whetstone and started sharpening knives in the backyard.


    ¡°No matter what you plan to do.¡± A young man stood outside the courtyard gate, ¡°Please don¡¯t go.¡±


    The sturdy farmer first startled, then surreptitiously gripped the curved blade, and replied, ¡°And how would you know what I am planning?¡±


    The young man did not answer directly but patiently explained, ¡°The two of them are skilled fighters; you alone won¡¯t stand a chance.¡±


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    This time, it was the young man¡¯s turn to fall silent.


    The daughter ran out of the house and threw herself into the sturdy farmer¡¯s arms. Hugging his daughter, he was momentarily distracted, and by the time he looked up, the young man had vanished.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the sturdy farmer asked his daughter.


    ¡°Mummy said someone left two bags outside the door,¡± the girl answered sweetly. ¡°Mummy asked daddy to go and check.¡±


    ¡­


    The middle-aged man was obliging and respectful in his responses, not even requiring Winters to reveal his identity.


    The matter was simple; the middle-aged man was from Revodan here to purchase heads.


    In Iron Peak County, barbarian heads had become a tradable commodity.


    Unable to compete with his peers in town, the middle-aged man had hastened to this still unnoticed rural area¡ªclearly, he wasn¡¯t the only opportunist smelling Gold Coins.


    Small players bought heads from the militia and farmers but didn¡¯t hold onto them to cash them in later; instead, they quickly sold them to more significant players.


    The big players were gambling, betting that Montaigne¡¯s Civil Guard Officer would keep his promises, betting on the future fate of Iron Peak County.


    Winters and his companions passed through the small village to rest their horses, accidentally stumbling upon this scene.


    Xial, gritting his teeth in anger, exclaimed, ¡°The battle isn¡¯t even over yet! How could such people exist? In the end, are they the ones who benefit?¡±


    The others accompanying them were similarly incensed, except Winters, who was lost in thought.


    Thinking that his brother hesitated to speak, Xial unbuckled his horse saber and said bitterly, ¡°I¡¯ll teach that guy a lesson!¡±


    ¡°Teach them a lesson¡ªfor what reason?¡± Winters stopped Xial, ¡°The county government has never forbidden trading in heads.¡±

 Chapter 862 862 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 862: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_2 Chapter 862: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_2 Xial was taken aback and answered loudly, ¡°I can¡¯t stand it anymore!¡±


    Winters slowly organized his thoughts. ¡°Killing all the speculators, would the starving people stop suffering? No, I¡¯m afraid it would cut off their last lifeline. The trade in severed heads, in fact, has made some people bring out the grain they were hiding, allowing more food to flow into the market.¡±


    Xial and several others listened, not quite understanding.


    Some time later, Winters and his party made camp outside the village.


    Xial then took Winters¡¯ secret letter and retraced his steps, rushing back to Saint Town overnight.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ...


    Anna found that Saint Town had completely changed.


    The few times she had passed through Saint Town before, it had been just an ordinary rural town: two streets, a few rows of houses, some families, quiet and ordinary.


    Now, Saint Town was entirely a military camp: the land was muddy and dirty, with tired men carrying weapons everywhere, foul language mixing with the crowing of chickens and barking of dogs.


    Through the car window, Anna saw someone urinating in an alley by the street, followed by a few men wearing white armbands rushing into the alley to chase after the offender.


    Anna also saw someone whistle at her and look lewdly into the car with salacious eyes, and if it weren¡¯t for the deterrence of the accompanying guards, there might have been further action.


    She hastily closed the window.


    The rotund Mr. Leo, who was riding with her, chuckled and commented incisively, ¡°The war is over, but many people are still struggling to recover. It¡¯s not so easy to return to normal life.¡±


    Another passenger nodded and offered Anna comfort, ¡°Miss Navarre, there¡¯s no need to be afraid, they mean no harm.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Anna politely expressed her thanks, ¡°Colonel Chino.¡±


    Knowing that Anna insisted on finding Winters, Mr. Leo asked to accompany her.


    The plump partner wouldn¡¯t discuss the purpose of the trip, behaving as if nothing had happened, only expressing a desire to meet with Mr. Winters Montaigne.


    Anna, feeling guilty, did not take the initiative to ask about her mother¡¯s attitude.


    By contrast, the other Venetian accompanying them¡ªColonel Buka Chino¡ªwas even more friendly towards Anna.


    As a Venetian Army colonel, Chino was undoubtedly representing Antonio Serviati in Iron Peak County.


    In other words, Colonel Chino was half a family member to Winters; realizing this, Anna¡¯s cheeks grew warm.


    After all, Anna¡¯s false identity as ¡°Lady Montaigne¡± could fool others, but not the Sea Blue visitors. To elope without even an engagement was not something a lady should do, no matter the circumstances.


    The blockade on Iron Peak County had been temporarily lifted, both internally and externally.


    Good Fortune Gold must be mentioned here; the old pirate had actually returned from Sea Blue quite some time ago.


    Unfortunately, his return coincided with the failed joint suppression by Mont Blanc County and Vernge County. Consequently, the old pirate was arrested and imprisoned by Colonel Gaisa upon entering Mont Blanc County.


    Gold spent every day for over a month staring at the gallows in the jail yard, counting his fingers and eating hard, black bread until one day, he was suddenly taken out of his cell. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old pirate thought his luck had finally run out, but what happened next was quite dramatic.


    He was brought before a bald man who instructed him to deliver a letter to Winters and then let him go.


    The old pirate was surprised to find not only his confiscated horse and luggage returned but also a few escorts provided. Although he couldn¡¯t fathom what had transpired, since the favor of the Goddess of Luck hadn¡¯t faded, Good Fortune Gold feared nothing.


    The rest of the events need not be recounted; the story returns to Anna.


    After arriving at Saint Town, Anna first went to see Father Kaman.


    Father Kaman¡¯s medical station was set up next to the church, occupying a large space with temporary huts.


    ¡°The faithful believe that even in death, they must die within the church, to be at least somewhat closer to heaven. So, we set up the medical station here,¡± Father Kaman explained without emotion, ¡°It¡¯s also convenient, the dead can be sent directly into the church cemetery, which is better than being laid to rest in the wilderness.¡±


    Anna, recalling Mr. Leo¡¯s words, felt waves of sadness.


    ¡°Winters? Oh, right, you¡¯re here to find Winters?¡± Father Kaman sighed, ¡°Going further from here would be dangerous, you should wait for him in Saint Town. There are a few very devout believers in town; the living conditions aren¡¯t great, but it¡¯s safe. You could stay there temporarily.¡±


    ¡°Father,¡± Colonel Chino asked politely, ¡°Where did Winters go?¡±


    Hearing the speaker¡¯s accent, Father Kaman¡¯s eyebrows rose slightly, ¡°Are you Venetian? Sea Blue People?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Colonel Chino readily admitted.


    ¡°Winters went to Lower Iron Peak County,¡± Father Kaman revealed candidly, ¡°Even if you are a military man, I would not advise you to follow him there. Lower Iron Peak County is very dangerous, and you would need a whole troop for escort to ensure safety.¡±


    Colonel Chino smiled, nodding repeatedly.


    Seeing the other¡¯s dismissive attitude, Father Kaman grew somewhat cold, simply explaining, ¡°There are still Herders in Lower Iron Peak County¡ªbands of Herder Cavalry that haven¡¯t been defeated. The reason Winters Montaigne is going there is to resolve the Herder issue. Winters can go without an escort, but you don¡¯t have that sort of ability, that¡¯s the situation.¡±


    Colonel Chino was not angered but instead laughed, ¡°It¡¯s refreshing to talk with Paratu People, straightforward and to the point. Then let¡¯s stay here and wait for Winters to return.¡±

 Chapter 863 863 1 The Economic Principle of Human

    ?Chapter 863: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_3 Chapter 863: Chapter 1 The Economic Principle of Human Heads_3 ¡°I¡¯m not from Paratu,¡± Father Kaman clearly had no interest in small talk and went straight to the point, ¡°I¡¯ll find accommodations for you first, and when Lieutenant Bard comes back, he can discuss the details with you. He knows much more about the situation than I do.¡±


    Colonel Chino politely thanked and gestured, and the accompanying Vineta Cavalry dismounted one after another: ¡°Thank you for arranging accommodations for Miss Navarre. As for us¡­ just designate an open space for us. We will camp on our own.¡±


    Father Kaman summoned a caretaker, gave a couple of instructions, and the caretaker quickly left.


    Mr. Leo was more curious about another matter than Winters Montagne¡¯s whereabouts.


    ¡°Father,¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face was full of smiles as he rubbed his hands together, ¡°I saw on the noticeboard something about ¡®bills¡¯ and ¡®heads.¡¯ What¡¯s that all about?¡±


    Father Kaman gave the chubby and affable man a glance and asked indifferently, ¡°What? Does it have anything to do with you?¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± Mr. Leo hurriedly waved his hands and said with a laugh, ¡°Just curious, you know, I¡¯m a very curious person.¡±


    ...


    As they walked into the church for a temporary rest, Father Kaman took the opportunity to talk about the policy regarding the recognition of military achievements in Iron Peak County.


    ¡°Winters Montagne has come up with a new move to first convert the heads into named bills and then later exchange them for land¡­¡±


    Kaman wasn¡¯t particularly interested and was very brief in his explanation. However, Mr. Leo was brimming with enthusiasm and kept complimenting the priest, urging him to say more.


    In short, the new government had once again issued a notice, reiterating the validity of military achievements and promising once again to reward according to the ¡°cutting heads order.¡±


    However, because the allocation of land required measurement and settlement, it was difficult to deliver immediately. Therefore, all heads must first be identified, registered, and converted into named bills by designated official workers, and later the land will be granted upon presentation of these bills.


    As the location of the main camp, Saint Town almost instantly became bustling, with every militiaman who had a capture eager to convert their heads into ¡°land grant coupons.¡±


    Because the official¡¯s second assurance led to a surge in the price of heads, consequently, the price of ¡°land grant coupons¡± was also skyrocketing¡ªeven though they were named, there was no rule against trading them.


    While they were talking, several Piaoqi Troops passed by the church, singing military songs spiritedly. The heads in their saddlebags were dripping blood along the way.


    As ¡°guest troops,¡± the Piaoqi Troops were happy to see the price of heads increase. After all, no matter how rich the reward for heads was, it had nothing to do with these outsiders.


    The Piaoqi Troops would directly exchange the heads for money, and naturally, the higher the price, the better.


    Colonel Chino also became interested and asked some technical questions like how to record merits for ¡°two people getting one head.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Father Kaman extended his hand in a blessing, ¡°Go ask Lieutenant Bard. He should be able to give you a detailed explanation since it¡¯s all his regulations.¡±


    The more Mr. Leo listened, the deeper his frown became. He fiddled with his fingers and pondered for a while, then glanced at Anna, and then at Colonel Chino, before suddenly speaking:


    ¡°At the end of the day, the dilemma faced by Mr. Montagne is still a matter of insufficient food. Measures like bill tickets are just a facade. How is Mr. Montagne planning to resolve the food issue?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Father Kaman heaved a rare sigh, his tone softened a bit, ¡°He has just ordered the military rations to be used for refugee relief.¡±


    The more Mr. Leo listened, the more mesmerized he became. He smacked his lips and remarked, ¡°This is too dangerous, way too risky! He¡¯s playing with fire¡­ yet the audacity is astonishing¡­ whether intentional or not¡­¡±


    Anna was somewhat bewildered, Father Kaman and Colonel Chino exchanged looks.


    Mr. Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked at Anna with a smile, and said, ¡°Miss, we indeed need to see Mr. Montagne as soon as possible¡­ no, actually, he needs to see me as soon as possible.¡±

 Chapter 864 864 2 Shuffle

    ?Chapter 864: Chapter 2 Shuffle Chapter 864: Chapter 2 Shuffle Before dawn, all was quiet, marking the start of a day for nocturnal creatures.


    A hare quietly left its shallow burrow in the acacia thicket and headed out to forage along a hidden path it had traversed many times.


    Unbeknownst to the hare, its trail had already been discovered.


    After dawn, two robed figures ascended the hillside one after the other to check the trap they had set the previous day.


    The hare played dead, its yellow-brown fur blending in like dry grass, but it couldn¡¯t fool the hunter.


    ¡°Over there! Brother!¡± the younger boy behind exclaimed with joy. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The young man ahead also spotted the prey, pressed his lips together, took down his short bow, and signaled for his brother to be quiet.


    ...


    It was too late¡ªthe hare had already been startled.


    It thrashed desperately, leaping up and landing again, trying to free its hind leg.


    The thing binding the hare¡¯s right hind leg was a tough leather rope, not so easily broken.


    But the trapped prey was a strong adult male. In its death throes, it actually managed to yank the branch to which the leather rope was tied out of the ground.


    As soon as it regained limited freedom, the hare took off toward the bushes, dragging the rope and stick.


    ¡°The rabbit is escaping!¡± the young boy shouted.


    The young man inhaled deeply, drew his short bow, and shot an arrow like lightning.


    Although the bow was a poor makeshift from a tree branch and the arrow lacked even feathers, the young man still hit the target.


    The boy, thrilled, ran into the bushes and retrieved the hare.


    The brothers found a sheltered spot, where the boy gathered dry branches and leaves for a fire and the young man skinned and gutted the prey, then started roasting it directly.


    Unquestionably, the young man and boy were Herders¡ªthough, of course, they wouldn¡¯t think of themselves that way.


    In the awareness of the young man and boy, there was no concept of ¡°Herders¡±; they were simply subjects of the ¡°Tie Chi¡± chief.


    After the battle at the Panto River, Iron Peak County didn¡¯t directly imprison the Tie Chi forces, but merely expelled them to the south bank of the Panto River, still governed by Tie Chi himself.


    At that time, Winters decided that annihilating Terdun¡¯s horde was the top priority and couldn¡¯t spare additional forces to deal with Tie Chi¡¯s camp.


    Thus, Tie Chi¡¯s surrendered forces were ¡°placed¡± in Lower Iron Peak County, and Winters gave the guarding units at the temporary camp only one order: do not let Tie Chi¡¯s forces enter Middle Iron Peak County.


    Tie Chi cooperated and didn¡¯t make any move during the battle between Iron Peak County Military and Terdun¡¯s forces¡ªindeed, Tie Chi probably didn¡¯t even know the situation in Middle Iron Peak County.


    As a trade-off, during this period Tie Chi¡¯s surrendered forces were supplied with food and drink by Iron Peak County.


    Since the people of Iron Peak County themselves only had dark bread to eat, naturally, that was all they could offer to Tie Chi¡¯s camp.


    However, the daily diet of Herders mainly consisted of porridge, dairy products, and occasionally meat from hunting. Eating dry food day after day was something the Herders¡¯ stomachs couldn¡¯t endure.


    To stabilize the surrendered soldiers, Iron Peak County provided a certain amount of meat every day.


    But that meat went into the stomachs of the chiefs, while the lower-ranking subjects and slaves had to fend for themselves¡ªsuch as setting traps to catch rabbits.


    The hare had almost no fat and could not be roasted for too long.


    Seeing the fire was about right, the young man used his dagger to cut the rabbit meat into small pieces and took out a small leather pouch with lake salt for his brother to dip the meat in.


    As the boy gnawed on a rabbit leg, he asked, ¡°Brother, did you hear?¡±


    The young man chewed slowly on the rabbit head as if intending to crush every bone and suck out all the marrow, ¡°Hear what?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yu and De Ji¡­ those guys whisper like sparrows all night long.¡±


    The young man snorted coldly, not responding.


    ¡°You and I should join them.¡± Seeing that his brother was noncommittal, the boy grew anxious, ¡°When will these days end? We should follow Bai Yu and make a break for it!¡±


    The young man still said nothing.


    The boy threw the rabbit leg bone down with frustration, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to go home, brother? Nayen is no longer the eagle he was; his soul has been snatched by that wolf! Bai Yu says, Tie Chi, Nayen is going to sacrifice us to that wolf¡­¡±


    The young man spat out the bone fragments, ¡°Shut up.¡±


    Seeing his brother a bit displeased, the boy obediently fell silent.


    ¡°If you can figure out what Bai Yu is thinking.¡± The young man picked up the leg bone his brother had thrown away, wiped it with some leaves, and began crunching on it, ¡°Nayen will know soon enough.¡±


    The boy¡¯s eyes widened and mouth gaped.


    The young man continued, ¡°To go home, we first need a horse. Without a horse, even if we exhaust ourselves, we can¡¯t cross the vast grasslands. And all the horses are in the hands of the leaders.¡±


    On the day of surrender, Winters had men take away the warriors¡¯ horses and weapons, leaving only their personal daggers.


    Therefore, the bow and arrows the young man used to hunt the rabbit were makeshift from branches, not fitting well in his hands.


    But Winters had specifically left some horses and weapons with Tie Chi himself¡ªfor suppressing the Terdun people.


    ¡°What¡­ what do we do then?¡± The boy immediately lost spirit.


    The young man glanced at his brother, ¡°Shut your mouth, open your eyes wide. I¡¯ll think of a way; don¡¯t meddle foolishly.¡±


    The boy came to life again, pestering his brother to reveal more.


    But the young man knew his brother couldn¡¯t keep secrets, so he steadfastly refused to disclose anything.


    Worn out by the pestering, he finally hinted a bit, ¡°It¡¯s not just Tie Chi, Nayen. There are other leaders to the south¡­ leaders with weapons and horses¡­¡±

 Chapter 865 865 2 Shuffle_2

    ?Chapter 865: Chapter 2 Shuffle_2 Chapter 865: Chapter 2 Shuffle_2 The brothers were about to extinguish their campfire when a group of riders suddenly appeared from the slope to the north.


    The riders, upon seeing the light, charged straight towards the brothers. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The youth recognized the tall Warhorses, tight-fitting clothes, and the riding posture of the oncoming strangers, knowing that they were not people of his kind.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Run!¡± the youth dragged his brother and bolted.


    But two legs could never outrun four, and the brothers were quickly caught up to and surrounded by the riders.


    The lead rider removed his kerchief, somewhat puzzled, asked, ¡°Why are you running?¡±


    The youth distinctly felt the weight of his brother suddenly pressing down on him, and in fact, his own legs involuntarily grew weak.


    ...


    For he saw a face that seemed to be etched into his very marrow.


    It was the owner of this face that had taken away the soul of Tie Chi Nayen; it was also before this face that the youth had surrendered his weapons and Warhorse¨Cthe ¡°wolf¡± his brother spoke of had arrived.


    Winters glanced at the still-stunned Translator.


    The Translator hurriedly spurred his horse forward, conveying the words of the Civil Guard Officer to the two Herders.


    The young Herder had no reaction, but the one who looked younger suddenly ¡°plonked¡± to the ground on his knees, spouting off a long string of words.


    ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but let out a wry chuckle, looking towards the Translator.


    After listening for quite a while, the Translator replied with evident embarrassment, ¡°Your Excellency, he says he wants to be your indoor slave, to open doors for you, lead horses, carry swords, serve wine¡­ I didn¡¯t quite catch the rest, probably all similar menial tasks.¡±


    Upon hearing this, Winters really wanted to give the young Herder a whipping.


    The willingness to be a slave to power disgusted him in a way he couldn¡¯t articulate, but considering the state of Herder society, he also couldn¡¯t demand too much.


    Winters shook his head.


    The Translator immediately conveyed the Civil Guard Officer¡¯s stance to the other party and thoughtfully added an explanation, ¡°[Herde Language] The Blood Wolf Chieftain¡¯s tribe doesn¡¯t want slaves, nor do they have any.¡±


    The young Herder was first lost in confusion, but quickly snapped back to reality and eagerly asked a few more questions.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± The Translator became even more uncomfortable, ¡°He¡¯s asking if you don¡¯t want slaves, would you want guards? A Coachman?¡±


    ¡°What exactly did you tell him?¡± Winters lightly flicked the Translator¡¯s back with his whip.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say much,¡± the Translator scratched his head, ¡°just translated your words as they were.¡±


    Most clerks would involuntarily carry a hint of awe and fear upon first seeing Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    But the Translator who had come with Winters to Iron Peak County was a ¡°veteran¡± clerk. Having been by Winters¡¯s side for a long time, the fear gradually faded, replaced by relaxation and a sense of closeness.


    Winters dropped the smile and looked at the two Herders, one older and one younger, speaking gravely, ¡°Go home. If you can¡¯t live anymore, come find me, but don¡¯t bring swords next time¡­ Where is the Tie Chi Chieftain now? Please take me to him.¡±


    After the Translator repeated his words in the Herde Language, the young Herder touched his chest in a bow and gestured in a direction.


    ¡°He says to follow him,¡± said the Translator, ¡°He¡¯ll take you to their camp.¡±


    The two Herders led the way, with Winters and his riders following behind.


    ¡°Your Excellency, I really don¡¯t understand what these barbarians are thinking.¡± Mr. Jacob Green, one of the attendants, had witnessed the recent scene, ¡°Previously, they wanted nothing more than to annihilate us, didn¡¯t they? Now they suddenly want to be your slaves? It¡¯s incomprehensible!¡±


    Winters thought for a moment; he had many things he wanted to say, but in the end, he simply replied, ¡°To survive.¡±


    Mr. Jacob Green was keen to continue the conversation, but seeing that the Civil Guard Officer had little interest, he did not pursue the topic further.


    The group soon arrived at the encampment of the Tie Chi Tribe.


    The sight before them was vastly different from the grim, dark den of barbarians Mr. Green had envisioned.


    Since there was no longer a need to fight, the Tie Chi people were all busily trying to find food.


    Skins of various animals hung haphazardly on tree branches, feathers from fowl and birds were blown about by the wind. Some Herders were sharpening bone arrowheads, while others carried fishing rods outwards.


    At a distance, a bowshot away from the camp, Heinrich hoisted the personal flag of the Blood Wolf.


    The atmosphere in the Tie Chi encampment changed abruptly, as Herders outside scrambled to return, while those within the camp wanted to watch but dared not get close.


    Winters, with a small troop of riders, waited politely at the entrance of the camp.


    The Herders around were gathering in ever greater numbers, and it was then that Jacob Green realized that the surrendering troops were still half an enemy, as he subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword.


    ¡°Sir, why don¡¯t we just go in?¡± Green whispered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters reassured the accompanying clerks, ¡°we cannot just walk in¡ªwe need to maintain Paratu¡¯s authority as much as possible.¡±


    Soon, trumpets sounded from within the camp, and Paratu led a group of Kota and Nayen out of the camp.


    Winters dismounted as well, and in the eyes of his tribespeople, Paratu was welcoming the champion from Terdun into the camp with equal stature.


    For the victor, this might seem somewhat unfair; had Andre been present, he might even have lost his temper.


    Fortunately, Winters never cared for such things. He had already won and had no need to continue humiliating Paratu.


    Moreover, what Winters least wanted to see was the complete collapse of the Terdun Tribe.


    As soon as they entered the inner tent, both hosts and guests completely dropped their masks.


    They had always been enemies, and they still were. Instead of maintaining false etiquette, it was better to cut to the chase.


    Paratu gestured to dismiss his chieftains, and Winters nodded to his subordinates to be at ease. Only Winters, Paratu, and their respective translators remained in the large tent.


    ¡°[Herde Language] You could strut in here,¡± Paratu struggled to sit on the couch, ¡°[Herde Language] which shows that the Terdun Tribe is finished.¡±


    Winters sat across Paratu and calmly stated, ¡°Indeed, the Firestarter is dead.¡±


    Paratu sighed heavily.


    Winters observed the man¡ªalthough Paratu shared some responsibility for the Firestarter¡¯s fall, his current sorrow seemed genuine.


    Paratu¡¯s demeanor, build, and loud voice often made people overlook his true age, but now he seemed to have suddenly grown white hair and wrinkles, turning into an old man at the end of his life.


    The old Herder asked, ¡°[Herde Language] The Firestarter is dead, how do you plan to deal with my people? Slaughter them all?¡±


    ¡°There indeed was such a plan,¡± Winters replied honestly.


    The Translator¡¯s expression stiffened, unsure whether to translate this statement, but Paratu¡¯s Translator had already whispered it in his ear.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Have your ambush forces arrived outside?¡± Paratu scoffed, ¡°[Herde Language] Why not act?¡±


    ¡°After much deliberation, I concluded that it is more beneficial for my interests to keep you and the Terdun Tribe alive,¡± Winters paused for a moment and then spoke slowly, ¡°Therefore, I will not only let you go, but I will also return your warhorses and weapons to you, along with a hundred carts of food. In addition, I will provide you with the Firestarter¡¯s body.¡±


    The Herder tribes, despite their diverse customs, highly value the act of ¡°[returning the bodies of warriors killed in battle] to their families,¡± a practice that is rewarded handsomely in any clan.


    In certain clans, the one who returns a body can even inherit the deceased¡¯s property and family.


    Receiving the Firestarter¡¯s body signifies the right to organize his funeral, which to a certain extent equals the power to distribute his inheritance.


    Winters looked directly at Paratu, ¡°I have only one request for you and your tribespeople¡ªreturn to the Great Wilderness as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    At the same time, ¡°Blue Horse¡± and ¡°Stone Arrow¡± returned to the Terdun Tribe¡¯s winter grazing grounds.


    The loss caused by the fire to the Terdun people was immeasurable, for they had no ability to extinguish the blaze and had to flee.


    Humans could escape on horseback, but what about the livestock? What about the tents?


    The livestock that couldn¡¯t be driven away suffocated, and possessions that couldn¡¯t be carried were burnt. The Terdun people, with their remaining belongings, had to migrate once again.


    More dangerous than natural disasters¡ªmost Terdun people still believed the fire was the wrath of the gods¡ªwere the other tribes.


    Now more than ever, the Terdun Tribe urgently needed a large army to deter the covetous gazes of other tribes.


    But the army had been taken by the Firestarter, and it was unknown when it would return. The chieftains left behind had no choice but to convene a ¡°great meeting¡± to discuss matters.


    Some chieftains firmly wanted to wait for the Firestarter¡¯s return, while others subtly suggested that maybe they could temporarily seek refuge with the Haidong Tribe, the Suz Tribe¡­ or simply go their separate ways.


    As the great chieftains argued incessantly at the meeting, Blue Horse and Stone Arrow did their best to bring together every minor chief and leader they could find.


    Blue Horse and Stone Arrow brought good news: a large tribe was willing to offer pasture and protection for the small clans of the Terdun Tribe¡ªthat tribe¡¯s name was ¡°Red River.¡±

 Chapter 866 866 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 866: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand Chapter 866: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand North, the distant north.


    Crossing the Sheltering Mountain Range, passing through the Holy Empire, and moving towards the end of the horizon, until the tumultuous Narrow Sea is reached, one reaches the true north.


    The Venetians complain about the cold, damp winters and dig out long-sleeved clothes from the bottom of their chests;


    The Paratu People curse the bone-chilling winter winds and hide inside tightly sealed houses.


    Little do they know how gentle fate has been to the Senarthians¡ªthe towering Sheltering Mountain Range blocks the cold air from the south, and the vast inland sea acts as a natural heat reservoir, ensuring that the land between the two mountains hardly ever freezes over.


    But in the true north, the god of winter will show his cruel and merciless side.


    Blizzards sweep everything before them, turning all things in the world into a vast expanse of white. The moisture exhaled by animals freezes on their fur, and preserving body heat becomes a matter of life and death.


    In such a world where water turns to ice, a group of people are performing a ritual.


    ...


    A channel is chiseled through the ice on the lake, and a naked boy shivers as he steps into the icy water.


    His body heat rapidly escapes as he strenuously swims to the end of the channel.


    Many onlookers are present, but no one extends a helping hand.


    Thin ice continuously forms on the water¡¯s surface. Were it not for guards with long sticks who promptly smash the ice and remove the floes, the sharp ice shards could prove lethal.


    Mothers close their eyes, while men whisper among themselves that rite of passage is typically held at fifteen years of age, and even then, tragedies often occur; letting an eleven-year-old boy swim across the ice river is far too soon!


    Yet, the boy eventually reaches the opposite shore. As he steps out of the icy water, the crowd gathered around the river bursts into cheers.


    His grandfather approaches the boy and removes his cape from his shoulder to fasten it around the boy.


    Then, by his own hand, the grandfather hangs a ruby-studded dagger at the boy¡¯s waist.


    Dagger, cape, and sword belt¡ªin the minds of those participating in the ritual, when a boy receives these three items, it means he is no longer a child, but a youth, a warrior.


    From this moment on, the boy gains full rights as a ¡°free man.¡±


    Next, the guests are supposed to present gifts to the boy.


    But the boy¡¯s grandfather does something unexpected: he removes the iron crown from his head and casually places it on the boy¡¯s head.


    ¡°Karl, I had a dream,¡± the grandfather lovingly rubs the boy¡¯s fine golden hair, his eyes full of affection, ¡°I dreamed¡ªthat all this would be yours one day.¡±


    A dream doesn¡¯t explain much; it is merely a beautiful blessing from a grandfather to his grandson.


    Yet, at this gloomy moment, the old king¡¯s prophetic words rekindle a glimmer of hope in people¡¯s hearts.


    The nobles attending the ceremony sequentially pile their gifts at the boy¡¯s feet. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They still have a battle to fight¡ªa battle for survival and existence.


    ¡­


    Most adherents of the Old Church and the Protestant Church are unaware that a group of people still live in the far north, nor do they care.


    However, to those with a better knowledge of geography¡ªsuch as Winters Montagne¡ªthe residents of the far north are undoubtedly barbarians.


    This widespread perception results largely from the Empire¡¯s ¡°long-standing practice of using images of ¡®savages¡¯ and ¡®barbarian tribes¡¯ to distort the image of the north¡¯s ¡®neighbors.''¡±


    Belittling enemies is a consistent narrative strategy of the Empire, describing the northern countries as ¡°barbarians¡± just as it labels the Senas Alliance as ¡°rebels.¡±


    In fact, ever since the Old Church massively sent missionaries to the Coastline of the Narrow Sea four hundred years ago, the northern societies quickly moved away from their original tribal-district forms and entered the feudal era.


    After all, missionaries brought not only scriptures but also advanced technology and culture¡ªhow else could they convince barbarian chiefs to convert without offering something appealing?


    However, what happened next quickly exceeded the Old Church¡¯s expectations.


    Scriptures, culture, and divine arts¡ªarmed with these three treasures, the Old Church expanded its territory unopposed.


    But in the north¡­ they lost control.


    Unlike the old Heretic Religion, which collapsed upon contact, the pantheon faith of the north displayed an unimaginably tenacious vitality.


    Because when the Old Church invaded the north, the Narrow Sea¡¯s shores were still in the ¡°mythical age¡± when demigods walked the earth.


    Priests of the north absorbed elements from the Old Church¡¯s faith, such as the ¡°ultimate battle between good and evil,¡± ¡°heaven and hell,¡± and ¡°eternity,¡± and they reorganized the previously chaotic northern mythology into a complete system of beliefs.


    Usually, the more disadvantaged a group is in terms of discourse power, the more conservative it becomes.


    For instance, during the heyday of many dynasties, they could embrace all rivers, yet in times of decay, they often fell into paranoia, seeing everyone as a traitor; religions enforced conversions when rising, yet debated who was more devout during decline.


    If miracles truly exist in this world, then the rebirth of the northern pantheon faith could be considered one of them.


    The battle of beliefs lasted for two hundred years, the Old Church¡¯s clergy against the north¡¯s demigods, the monotheistic religion campaigning against pantheon faith.


    Marked by the successive conversions of the northern kingdoms¡¯ kings, the Old Church won.


    However, Pope Pius II had no time to celebrate, as he discovered something far more terrifying¡ªheresy.


    The issue arose with the ¡°second-generation missionaries.¡±


    Second-generation missionaries broadly refer to the northern peoples who first converted to the Old Church.


    Most of them joined halfway and lacked a complete theological education, moreover, they preached in the language of the northern people.


    It is known that ¡°mis-translating even a single sentence of the scripture might lead the lambs astray,¡± let alone second-generation missionaries recounting the doctrines they understood in a different language.


    Ironically, these very native-born second-generation missionaries contributed significantly to the Old Church¡¯s victory.

 Chapter 867 867 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 867: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_2 Chapter 867: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_2 During the two hundred years of the War of Faith, generations of missionaries repeatedly faced setbacks, and ultimately, developed a strategy incorporating traditional Northern beliefs to assist with evangelization.


    The veneration of saints gradually replaced monotheism, new chapels were erected on the sites of old sacrificial grounds, and the pantheistic festivals were transformed into public church festivals.


    Thanks to various ¡°localization¡± strategies, the second-generation missionaries found great success.


    Then¡­ they were all declared heretical by the Pope of the Second Protection.


    If in the previous two centuries, the struggle between pantheistic faith and the public church could still be described in the literal sense as ¡°persuasion,¡±


    then in the following two centuries, ¡°the critique of weapons¡± completely replaced ¡°the weapons of critique.¡±


    Because the two hundred years of the Northern public church adaptation were also the years of rapid development when tribal-regional structures were smashed and feudal states took shape.


    At the same time, the once devastated and fragmented Holy Empire was once again unified under a single banner, historically known as the ¡°Falconburg Dynasty.¡±


    ...


    [Note: The current ruling dynasty is different from the Falconburg Dynasty, which has become extinct; the crown of the Empire now belongs to the Dynasty of the Blazing Sun.]


    The war continued, only now lords replaced missionaries, swords replaced scriptures, and increasing political factors intermixed with sectarian conflicts.


    In the end, ¡°the campaign against heretics¡± had become a glorified excuse, leaving only two powerful entities attacking each other in the name of holy war.


    The fighting paused and resumed, paused and resumed. Over two hundred years, the Empire nobles and the Northern ¡°barbarians¡± scarcely had any truly peaceful years.


    But all this was about to come to an end¡ªor was it?


    ¡­


    Three days had passed since the boy¡¯s coming of age ceremony. No, he was now a man.


    The young man, ¡°Karl,¡± clutched his grandfather¡¯s cloak and stood dumbly by the bedside.


    His grandfather, who had personally fastened the cloak around him, lay on the bed, no longer breathing, his blood soaking the sheets.


    A 48-pound cannonball shot from the artillery had struck the charging old king off his horse, and the elderly man had passed away before he could be brought back.


    For the old king, dying in his final charge may have been the best way to die, sparing him the grief of witnessing his army collapse and his nation perish:


    Brand new cast-iron cannons had destroyed ancient walls, spears and muskets had overcome shields and swords, and disciplined armies had triumphed over the brave yet unfearless forces;


    High-ranking warrior bishops who slaughtered like demigods, clad in heavy armor and wielding warhammers, were executed en masse by ¡°nameless foot soldiers¡±;


    Company formations, light cannons, and medium cavalry that balanced striking power and speed shone brilliantly.


    The sound of spurs striking the floor echoed down the corridor.


    The bedroom door swung open, and a nonchalant, magnetic voice inquired, ¡°Where is Karl XI?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The owner of the voice stopped abruptly upon seeing the body of the old king on the bed.


    He removed his helmet, revealing fair blonde hair and a handsome face.


    At any countess¡¯s banquet, this face would have surely been the favorite amongst both married and single ladies.


    Yet for a general commanding an army, this face looked surprisingly young. Thirty years old? Perhaps younger?


    The blonde-haired young general bowed deeply to the body of the old king.


    ¡°Are you the prince?¡± The blonde-haired man bent down, asking Xiao Karl gently, ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    Xiao Karl shook his head.


    The blonde-haired man scoffed and instructed his accompanying officer, ¡°Fetch the royal steward from the palace, prepare the funeral for Karl XI.¡±


    The officer hesitated but ultimately turned to carry out the orders.


    Another vice general removed his helmet, revealing chestnut-colored hair.


    With a sense of resignation, he said, ¡°Duke Congrif is the chief commander, you should ¡®consult¡¯ him regardless.¡±


    ¡°Fine, you go,¡± replied the blonde-haired man casually, ¡°I have other matters to attend to.¡±


    The chestnut-haired sighed, turned, and left to take care of his friend¡¯s affairs.


    ¡°There was something I wanted Karl XI to do himself,¡± said the blonde-haired man, looking at Xiao Karl, ¡°Now you must do it.¡±


    Xiao Karl was led out of the castle, and he watched in horror as the city, blanketed in snow, was defiled by blood and fire.


    The invading Imperial soldiers looted, set fires, and raped without restraint; the army had just fought a grueling siege in the harsh winter, and their pent-up negative emotions needed only a spark to explode.


    In the city¡¯s central square, a temporary execution platform had been erected.


    Clergy, once considered sacred and untouchable, were now herded like sheep to the guillotine.


    The great axe spared no mercy, and ¡°heretic priests¡± were beheaded one by one.


    The blonde-haired man clearly disliked what he saw, but he clearly didn¡¯t intend to stop it.


    A dizzy Imperial soldier barged towards the blonde-haired man¡¯s bodyguards, but immediately sobered up upon seeing the blonde-haired man¡¯s banner and knelt to pay his respects.


    Unimpeded, the blonde-haired man led Xiao Karl out of the city.


    After they left the city, they turned northwest, and soon reached the shore.


    The Narrow Sea stretched out before them.


    The blonde-haired man waved his hand, and an attendant took out a plain wooden box, offering it with great care.


    He unlocked his gorget, removed a key hanging around his neck, and solemnly opened the box.


    In the center, cushioned by silk and cotton, lay two bottles.


    Two very ordinary bottles, made of glass;


    Yet also two exquisitely delicate bottles, for the glass was devoid of any impurities, purely transparent.

 Chapter 868 868 3 One bottle is water the other is

    ?Chapter 868: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_3 Chapter 868: Chapter 3: One bottle is water, the other is sand_3 ¡°Go.¡± A light blond looked at Xiao Karl, ¡°Fill one bottle with sea water, and another with beach sand.¡±


    ¡°You can rest assured, Your Majesty won¡¯t kill you. It¡¯s just that you¡¯ll have to live in the Eternal City for the rest of your life. But the Eternal City is much better than the North¡­¡± The light blond¡¯s attitude showed no pretense, he said somewhat absent-mindedly, ¡°At least it¡¯s not as cold as it is here, really cold.¡±


    Karl, holding his cloak, gazed at the tumultuous Narrow Sea, looking towards the intermittently visible land on the other side, and responded softly, ¡°I like the cold.¡±


    The glass bottles filled with the water and sand of the Narrow Sea were carefully sealed with lacquer and placed back in the wooden box.


    Following this, a dashing cavalry escorted the wooden box as they galloped southwards.


    Crossing thousands of mountains and rivers and passing through numerous barriers, the wooden box was delivered to the heart of the Empire¡ªthe Worry-Free Palace.


    And the transparent glass bottles filled with the water and sand of the Narrow Sea were finally gently placed on a simple writing desk by a pair of hands.


    ...


    ¡°Your Majesty, congratulations.¡± Earl Narzia placed down the glass bottle, bowing deeply, ¡°The Great Northern War, which extended over two hundred years, has been concluded by you. And the Far North route¡ªwill be thoroughly interconnected.¡±


    The man seated behind the desk put down his pen and did something he had never done before¡ªhe slowly turned around to look at the portrait hanging behind him.


    A majestic elder in military attire met his gaze.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in a place far to the south.


    Tang Juan was furiously criticizing Winters Montagne.


    Regardless of whatever earth-shattering events were occurring in the distant North, for the people in Iron Peak County, it all seemed like mumbles from an unknown land.


    The people of Iron Peak County did not know nor care about what the world looked like.


    Their most pressing concern now was¡ªsurvival.


    Where is the food? Where is the water? Where is the place to live? When can we go home?


    ¡°My thighs are all chafed! Both sides! It hurts even to pee!¡± Tang Juan angrily pulled arrows from a corpse, ¡°Who treats people like this!¡±


    Andre pretended not to hear, flipping over the gold-stitched coat to inspect the holes.


    In front of Andre lay a campsite scattered with corpses, where the first cavalry squad was cleaning up the battlefield.


    Due to Hurd¡¯s ¡°Scattered Flower¡± organizational structure, Tie Chi could not fully control the people of Terdun in Iron Peak County.


    In fact, when Tie Chi¡¯s forces entered central Iron Peak County, some people from Terdun who had crossed the river earlier failed to rendezvous with Tie Chi. This was either due to poor communication or simply because they had looted enough and no longer wanted to risk more.


    In any case, these parts of Terdun¡¯s people were acting independently, stuck in lower Iron Peak County for lacking a boat to cross the river.


    And since they did not follow Tie Chi, these people of Terdun naturally did not surrender.


    Without clearing these remnants of Terdun, Winters could not arrange for the refugees of lower Iron Peak County to return home.


    Winters had Tie Chi send people to negotiate their surrender¡ªsafe departure in exchange for their loot. If negotiations failed, the cleanup cavalry would come next.


    All of Iron Peak County¡¯s horse-mounted squads were currently engaged in this ¡°grand battle¡± to exterminate the remnants of Terdun, including the cavalry squads of Andre and Tang Juan, of course.


    Andre, looking towards the horizon, stroked his stubbled chin, ¡°Senior?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Tang Juan was making sure each corpse was really dead by stabbing them one by one.


    ¡°I kind of miss home.¡±


    Tang Juan raised his head, suddenly breaking into a smile, ¡°I do too.¡±


    ¡­ Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two Sea Blue people were homesick, but what about the third?


    Whether Winters missed home or not, others couldn¡¯t say, as he had no one around to confide in.


    But one thing was certain¡ªsomeone back home was thinking of him.


    Winters stood outside the door, taking a deep breath, unsure how to face the person on the other side.

 Chapter 869 869 4 Father and Son

    ?Chapter 869: Chapter 4 Father and Son Chapter 869: Chapter 4 Father and Son ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing Winters holding the doorknob without moving, Moritz¡¯s expression was somewhat complex, ¡°You called me back, not just to help you take the blame, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Winters replied with righteousness and solemnity. ¡°The information about the unidentified spell user must be explained by you personally.¡±


    ¡°Sooner or later this day would come,¡± Moritz chuckled lightly, saying leisurely, ¡°There¡¯s no escape.¡±


    The colonel seemed forthright, but in reality, he had completely given up struggling, known colloquially as¡ªa dead mouse no longer fears the cold.


    Unable to escape, Winters steeled himself and knocked on the door.


    A rich male voice came from the room: ¡°Please come in.¡±


    Winters stiffly pushed open the door, doing his best to greet calmly and casually, ¡°Colonel Buka Chino¡­ Your alias is rather casual.¡±


    ...


    Following behind and entering the room, Colonel Moritz stood erect and saluted seriously: ¡°General.¡±


    Lieutenant General Antonio Serviati of the Vineta Republic Army nodded in return, then looked towards Winters.


    When exactly did the father realize his son had reached a position equal to his own? We do not know.


    There must have been a catalyst, when the lion saw its cub had grown a full mane, and the father realized his son had become an adult.


    When that inevitable moment arrived, the emotions surging in the father¡¯s heart were not only of relief and joy but also of sadness and anger.


    Some fathers choose to embrace it calmly, while others never bear it in their lifetime.


    Antonio was looking at Winters Montagne like that, from left to right, from head to toe.


    Like an artisan admiring the work he was most proud of in his life, and like a lion observing its challenger.


    Being scrutinized made Winters somewhat uncomfortable, so he also stood to attention and saluted formally.


    Yet Antonio did not return the salute; instead, he placed a hand on Winters¡¯s shoulder, burdened and yet relieved, declaring, ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯ve gotten old.¡±


    Winters, that mischievous brat, couldn¡¯t possibly comprehend Antonio¡¯s emotions. He was still young, like a rising sun, and had never been a father.


    Unless one day, he was defeated by his own children¡ªAnglu, Xial, Bell¡ªwhom he had raised with his own hands, only then might he understand one ten-thousandth of the tumult in Antonio¡¯s heart at that moment.


    Sadly, the little ones had not yet reached their ¡°rebellious phase.¡± Whenever they saw Winters, they behaved as loyal as puppies, only knowing how to wag their tails vigorously. Naturally, Winters could not understand Antonio.


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t be like this,¡± Winters awkwardly managed. ¡°The colonel has something to report to you.¡±


    After saying that, Winters looked at Moritz with eyes pleading for rescue. The message was clear: Help!


    Moritz was very aware of the specific reason he had been sought out.


    He stepped back half a step and asked politely, ¡°General, shall I visit later?¡±


    The room was completely quiet.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± Antonio waved his hand and sat back down at his desk, gesturing for Winters and Moritz to take a seat as well.


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief internally.


    When Winters was very young, Antonio had once told him something. Winters had completely forgotten the exact words but remembered the gist was ¡°We are men, men do not share emotions with each other.¡±


    Antonio did so, and so did Winters learn. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The harsh military academy education reinforced this point¡ªin a society comprised solely of men, the weak were bullied.


    Thus, faced with his foster father¡¯s sudden emotional outburst, Winters was slightly at a loss.


    He had anticipated many scenarios, but never had he thought Antonio would say, ¡°Alas, I¡¯m old.¡±


    Fortunately, the hardest part was now behind him. Winters sat down properly and selectively narrated his experiences after leaving the Red River Tribe¡ªomitting some of the more arrogant aspects.


    During the storytelling, Winters carefully watched Antonio¡¯s expressions.


    He was actually very afraid, afraid that his foster father would dismissively comment, ¡°Isn¡¯t this just playing house?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t care how others judged him¡ªor rather, he chose not to care. But he hoped to get his foster father¡¯s recognition, even the slightest bit of approval.


    Antonio didn¡¯t make any judgments; he just listened patiently, nodding occasionally, asking questions from time to time.


    The only praise Antonio offered was: ¡°Your soldiers are not bad, although their equipment and training are poor, their spirit is very good.¡±


    After Winters finished talking, Antonio turned to Moritz: ¡°An unidentified spell user, in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Moritz¡¯s tone became very formal, ¡°The expression form of non-natural phenomena is consistent with the conditions described in the ¡®Red Sulfur Island Report.¡¯ Based on this, it is inferred that the Terdon Tribe can control high-ranking spell users.¡±


    Winters heard a strange combination of words: ¡°Red Sulfur Island Report.¡±


    He looked at his foster father and former superior, obviously among the three present, only he was unaware of what the ¡®Red Sulfur Island Report¡¯ was.


    Moritz continued speaking: ¡°However, it¡¯s strange that in the next two major battles, the Terdon Tribe did not receive any support from high-ranking spell users.¡±


    After learning that ¡°a huge wave appeared out of nowhere and capsized the Iron Peak County fleet,¡± Colonel Moritz van Nassau had disappeared.


    To be precise, Moritz started acting independently, no longer following Mason¡¯s assignments, nor providing direct support to the Iron Peak County Military.

 Chapter 870 870 4 Father and Son_2

    ?Chapter 870: Chapter 4 Father and Son_2 Chapter 870: Chapter 4 Father and Son_2 Mason was initially quite annoyed, half-jokingly and half-complainingly calling the Lieutenant Colonel ¡°into hunting mode.¡±


    Winters could understand Moritz¡¯s decision because he felt the same.


    Although direct combat spellcasters were also terrifying, unknown spellcasters were the most dangerous.


    Any high-value target could possibly be killed without a chance to react if they appeared before a hidden spellcaster.


    Thus, in the main battle with the fire-starters, Winters didn¡¯t join the assault until the very last moment, which infuriated Bard to the brink of madness, and Xial was also severely reprimanded in the process.


    Considering that the Terdon Tribe might have spellcasters, Bard strictly forbade Winters from participating in any actions that might expose him, and Winters even wrote a letter of guarantee.


    Of course, it was proven later that the letter of guarantee was but waste paper ¨C without Bard, without Mason, who else could control the Blood Wolf?


    ...


    Antonio pondered before asking, ¡°Is there a chance that it¡¯s one of Hurd¡¯s shamans or someone who practices Divine Arts?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible. But judging from the actual situation, it¡¯s more likely to be a magician. Spellcasters from The Federated Provinces, or perhaps¡­¡± Moritz paused for a moment before slowly pronouncing a proper noun: ¡°Oath Breaker.¡±


    Antonio was not surprised, his fingertips lightly tapping on the tabletop; ¡°Finish the report as soon as possible, and I will personally take it back to Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters knew the content of his foster father and the Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s conversation had entered unknown territory for him, and although he could guess the rough idea, he still wanted to hear more.


    However, the conversation between Antonio and Moritz had ended. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Antonio looked toward Winters, whose heart immediately tightened, quickly changing the subject: ¡°I know someone who should be familiar with the ins and outs of the Terdon Tribe! The details about the spellcasters, he¡¯s likely to be aware of them.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Who is that?¡±


    ¡°The advisor to the fire-starters, who usually wanders the Terdon tents in the guise of a Translator.¡± Winters tried hard to recall the man¡¯s name, quickly giving up: ¡°As for his real name¡­ I don¡¯t know it right now.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°He could be mixed in with the prisoners, he might still be on the run, or he might be dead.¡± Winters was certain: ¡°But he definitely can¡¯t leave Iron Peak County; he¡¯s between the two rivers.¡±


    Winters then explained: ¡°This man speaks the common tongue very well; with a change of clothes, he looks like any other old man. The identification of the heads and prisoners isn¡¯t complete yet, and not all the fleeing Terdon people have been caught, so his whereabouts are unclear. But sooner or later, he will be caught ¨C dead or alive.¡±


    There was another moment of silence in the room, and Antonio shook his head: ¡°We can talk about those things later, let¡¯s talk about you now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m more surprised that you¡¯re in Iron Peak County.¡± Winters could hardly accept it even now, as if he was dreaming: ¡°What about the third legion? Has the situation with The Federated Provinces eased? How¡­ how did you come here?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t come,¡± Antonio sighed, ¡°then who else could take you away?¡±


    Uh oh, the thing Winters was worried about had come.


    ¡°You heartless boy,¡± Antonio reproached, looking at Winters: ¡°Leaving your sister and your aunt all in Sea Blue, you¡­ what am I to say to you?¡±


    Winters hung his head, unable to answer.


    His greatest fear had finally arrived. Until this moment, he kept convincing himself that ¡°everything in Sea Blue is fine.¡±


    But when his foster father stood before him, questioning him, he had no answer to give.


    If Antonio said, ¡°Come back home with me.¡±


    What then?


    If Antonio questioned, ¡°Are the Paratu People more important than your own family?¡±


    What should he do?


    He might really go back to Vineta with his foster father, because for Winters Montagne, nothing was more important than family ¨C nothing at all.


    But he couldn¡¯t leave Iron Peak County, he couldn¡¯t go, at least not now.


    So, until that moment arrived, Winters had no idea what he would choose, he could only hope that his foster father would not utter those words.


    Moritz tactfully excused himself: ¡°I¡¯ll come back to visit later.¡±


    Winters grabbed the Lieutenant Colonel¡¯s arm, his speech slow and difficult: ¡°I can¡¯t leave¡­ at least not now.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Antonio asked.


    ¡°Captain Montaigne can testify,¡± Winters pleaded, looking at his foster father like a child aware of his own wrongdoing: ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m prideful, but it¡¯s the truth ¨C if I leave now, Iron Peak County will be done for!¡±


    ¡°One county will not collapse because of one person¡¯s departure,¡± Antonio said sternly, ¡°Return Iron Peak County to the New Reclamation Legion; they are capable of taking over.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion won¡¯t forgive my subordinates, and the New Reclamation Legion won¡¯t fulfill my promises,¡± Winters stubbornly retorted, ¡°The New Reclamation Legion can¡¯t do it as well as I did¡­ it¡¯s not that they lack the ability, but they can¡¯t do it like me.¡±


    With a sigh, Moritz earnestly said to the general, ¡°To some extent, I agree with what Captain Montaigne has said.¡±


    ¡°There are still many things I haven¡¯t done yet.¡± The balance tipped between family is on one side and the countless corpses on the battlefield on the other, tearing Winters apart: ¡°Those who died in battle, their families haven¡¯t received any compensation yet. The soldiers lost in the wilderness haven¡¯t been ransomed back. Lower Iron Peak County was burnt to the ground by me, Middle Iron Peak County was smashed to pieces¡­ at least I should restore them to their original state¡­¡±

 Chapter 871 871 4 Father and Son_3

    ?Chapter 871: Chapter 4 Father and Son_3 Chapter 871: Chapter 4 Father and Son_3 Antonio looked at his son, ¡°This isn¡¯t your responsibility.¡±


    ¡°It is my responsibility! I sent them into battle, I led them to their deaths. I knew they would die! The massacre on the flanks was certain, yet I placed them there anyway¡ªI knew the Terdun people would kill them, I knew it from the start.¡± Winters¡¯ body trembled violently as the never-healed scars in his soul were slowly exposed, ¡°Those men, they went to war because they trusted me, yet what have I done? I fed their flesh and blood to the wolves¡­¡±


    Antonio wanted to embrace his son, but he couldn¡¯t do that anymore.


    ¡°You can¡¯t cry,¡± Antonio said, ¡°If you choose this path, you can¡¯t cry.¡±


    Then he was silent for a long time before he began to recount slowly, ¡°The old Marshall once told us a joke, he said, ¡®Common wisdom advises a general to care for his soldiers as if they were his sons, for then they will willingly die for you. But if a general truly cares for his soldiers like his own sons, how could he bear to send them into battle?''¡±


    ¡°At that time, we all laughed.¡± Antonio also smiled briefly, his thoughts slowly sinking into memories, ¡°Your father was laughing, I was laughing.¡±


    ¡°But now, my child,¡± Antonio looked at Winters, his eyes filled with indescribable pain, ¡°I regret letting you take this road.¡±


    ¡­


    ...


    Meanwhile, on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain range, in the heart of the Empire¡ªthe Worry-Free Palace.


    News of the victory had already reached the Eternal City, and the thoroughfares were adorned with colorful banners to celebrate the triumph.


    Thirteen triangular pennants hung from every rope strung across the streets, representing the thirteen victories the Empire¡¯s army had achieved in the northern territories over the past two plus years.


    The great bells of the churches also rang out thirteen peals to summon the faithful to behold the Victory Mass.


    The grand banquet hall of the Worry-Free Palace was brightly lit and festooned with flowers, as courtiers of all ranks gathered there to offer their congratulations to the great Emperor.


    But these were only preliminary modest celebrations because the victors had not yet returned to the Eternal City.


    When the generals arrived with the spoils of war and prisoners, there would be an even grander and more spectacular triumphal procession and presentation of captives.


    His Majesty would personally attend the great coliseum in a magnificent chariot drawn by four white horses, with the barbarians¡¯ battle flags, weapons, and treasures thrown at the steps of his throne.


    Then would come an endless feast to be recorded in the annals of history, with gifts for every participant.


    Therefore, both nobility and commoners of the Eternal City were eagerly anticipating a dreamlike grand triumph.


    As joyous victory songs played and toasts were exchanged in the grand banquet hall, the guest of honor sat alone in a small office.


    The door cracked open.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Earl Narzia called from outside the door, ¡°the Prince has arrived.¡±


    Without requiring any action from the Emperor, Earl Narzia understood His Majesty¡¯s wishes.


    The door swung fully open, and a young man entered the room.


    In appearance, the youth was a tall, handsome, and dashing lad, whose demeanor and grace suggested a privileged upbringing.


    But that was all; after all, his age was still young, and in the Empire where a beard signified a man¡¯s standing, a hairless mouth never spoke with much authority.


    However, when people knew who the young man¡¯s father was, when they realized the youth was the Empire¡¯s legitimate heir, this youth not yet twenty years old suddenly became sacrosanct and inviolable.


    Interestingly, if the elderly man in the oil painting bore a nine-out-of-ten resemblance to the Emperor standing before the portrait, the young man inherited only one-tenth of that likeness.


    People said it was because the Empress¡¯s family bloodline was too dominant. Of course, there were also darker rumors that quietly spread through the sewers.


    The door closed completely, leaving only father and son alone together.


    The room was dark, illuminated by only one lamp.


    The young prince squinted his eyes but didn¡¯t dare to look up directly at his father behind the desk, ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Come here,¡± the Emperor spoke.


    The young prince moved a few steps forward.


    ¡°Come to my side.¡± The person in the shadow of the lamp seemed to be smiling.


    The prince was somewhat surprised but walked steadily to the side of the desk.


    Although the Emperor remained unsmiling in front of the prince, the prince keenly sensed that his father had become a bit emotional¡­ just a bit.


    The Emperor stood, and under his command, the young prince took a seat in the Emperor¡¯s chair.


    It was not the throne; the coronation throne was placed in the main hall. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anyone close to the highest power knew that it was this utterly unadorned chair in the small office corner of Worry-Free Palace that truly represented the ultimate authority of the Empire.


    ¡°How does it feel?¡± the Emperor asked with interest.


    The young prince shifted uncomfortably, ¡°It¡¯s very hard.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s hard, it chafes the buttocks.¡± The Emperor seemed in high spirits today, even explaining to his son, ¡°But if you use a soft cushion, you¡¯ll sweat from sitting too long, and it will be damp and uncomfortable.¡±


    With a pleasant demeanor from the Emperor, the son grew increasingly apprehensive.


    The great father was the son¡¯s greatest obstacle; in the young prince¡¯s eyes, the divine aspect of his father far outweighed his human side, to which he was more accustomed.


    But when the god took on a human guise, when the Emperor became a father, the young prince felt somewhat uneasy.


    The Emperor¡¯s fingertips traced over the indentations and engravings on the desk, ¡°This desk is made from the timber of a warship; starting from my father, it has been used for daily office work.¡±


    The prince glanced over the desk surface, which bore not only stains of ink but also the distorted letters carved by a child, a very old desk indeed.


    ¡°From when I can remember, my father,¡± the Emperor locked eyes with the old man beyond the desk, ¡°would work here. From dawn until deep into the night. At noon, he would walk in the garden. After dinner, he would take a stroll in the streets.¡±


    The prince had certainly heard the stories of the former Emperor, but what he knew better was that after a failed assassination attempt, the former Emperor no longer ventured outside the bounds of Worry-Free Palace.


    ¡°Every day was like this, if he was not on inspection tours, in battle, or receiving his subjects, he would be working here,¡± the Emperor looked towards his son, ¡°Every day, just like this. Only very late would he rest.¡±


    Was the former Emperor really so diligent? The prince didn¡¯t understand very well.


    ¡°But do you know what people called him?¡± the Emperor asked.


    The question reached something the prince knew about, but he dared not answer.


    The Emperor said calmly, ¡°Richard, the madman.¡±


    Richard III, the mad Emperor who had lost all the territories south of the Sheltering Mountains, was known by everyone far and wide.


    ¡°When I was small, people honored my father as a brave man, a handsome man, and a devout one. But when he died, they called him a madman.¡± The Emperor asked, ¡°What do you think people will call me after I die?¡±


    ¡°The Great Emperor,¡± the prince answered.


    ¡°No,¡± the Emperor said with a smile, ¡°they will call me¡ªHenry, the betrayer of holy oaths.¡±

 Chapter 872 872 5 Absolute Punishment

    ?Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Chapter 872: Chapter 5 Absolute Punishment Leaving Antonio, Moritz inexplicably asked Winters, ¡°Do you know of ¡®Solomon¡¯s Judgment¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The case involving splitting the child in two?¡± Winters did not understand what the Colonel meant but earnestly replied, ¡°It seems I¡¯ve seen frescoes of it.¡±


    ¡°The mother who did not love the child agreed to have the child split in two, but the mother who deeply loved the child would rather give the child away,¡± Moritz took on the attitude of an elder for the first time in front of Winters and said with emotion, ¡°But you should know how hard it is for the latter to let go at that moment.¡±


    In the end, Antonio Serviati did not forcefully demand as a father that Winters return with him to Vineta.


    On the contrary, he made no demands at all.


    As if fully understanding the struggle in Winters¡¯ heart, Antonio chose not to present Winters with a ¡°choose one of two¡± decision.


    He merely told Winters that Vineta ¡°might¡± intervene in the Paratu civil war.


    ...


    Because of his foster father¡¯s arrival, Winters finally shook off the information shackles of Iron Peak County and was able to understand the big picture within the Alliance:


    Over the past year, the tension between Vineta and The Federated Provinces in the archipelago gradually cooled off because both sides were building fortifications and fixing strongholds.


    Nowadays, whether it¡¯s The Federated Provinces or Vineta, if they want to completely drive out the other from the archipelago, they must chew on one hard bone after another.


    This phenomenon is almost a replica of the late stage of the sovereignty war, when the old field marshal had specifically coined a military term to describe it¡ª¡±Fortressization.¡±


    The rapid ¡°fortressization¡± of Tanyria resulted in the cost of a military breakthrough in the archipelago skyrocketing, even to the extent that both sides could not afford it.


    Since it was difficult to make headway in the archipelago, opening a new battlefield to exert pressure on The Federated Provinces had become the mainstream thought within the Vineta Governor¡¯s Office.


    Rivers ultimately flow into the sea, and in the struggle between Vineta and The Federated Provinces, there are but four leverages:


    The archipelago and the inner sea¡ªthis is the current focal point of contention;


    Far sea trade routes and colonies¡ªhitting The Federated Provinces¡¯ overseas trade seems to be an effective way to exert pressure. However, it takes too long to take effect, and the interests of both sides overseas are largely intertwined, flourishing or declining together.


    There is also another more dangerous place, where the two ¡°butt heads¡± directly¡ªthe Torrent River.


    The Torrent River is the border river between the two countries, and Vineta¡¯s fourth ¡°Emerald¡± Corps is currently facing off against The Federated Provinces¡¯ second ¡°Torrent River¡± Corps across the river.


    Reinforcing the Torrent River can directly pressure The Federated Provinces¡¯ homeland, but once a spark ignites, it means Vineta and The Federated Provinces would completely tear their faces apart and go to full-scale war.


    And this¡­ is exactly what those in the Governor¡¯s Office least want to see.


    ¡°What on earth is the Great Regent doing?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°Not wanting to fight yet rolling up sleeves. And when it¡¯s time to roll up sleeves, hesitating. This¡­ isn¡¯t this like holding a candlelight ball in an arsenal?¡±


    Antonio looked out the window, ¡°Some people prepare weapons to use them, some people prepare weapons so as not to use them.¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Winters cautiously asked, ¡°Will Vineta and The Federated Provinces eventually be unable to avoid war?¡±


    ¡°We are weapons,¡± Antonio said dispassionately, ¡°Weapons should try not to think.¡±


    Winters wanted to retort but instead found himself blurting out an ¡°Oh¡± out of nowhere.


    ¡°But if it can be resolved peacefully, it¡¯s better not to fight,¡± Antonio sighed, ¡°There are also voices within the Alliance calling for de-escalation, calling for peace. In a few months, it will be Varn¡¯s turn to host the ¡®United Assembly,¡¯ and Debela, the Great Regent, and The Federated Provinces¡¯ Secretary of State will attend¡­¡±


    The United Assembly, a biennial event where representatives of all member states of the Alliance meet, hosted by different countries in rotation.


    A glint of hope shone in Antonio¡¯s pupils, ¡°If everyone has the opportunity to sit down and have a good talk, maybe everything could be resolved peacefully¡ªthat would be for the best.¡±


    In short, the only suitable point for Vineta to exert efforts without direct conflict with The Federated Provinces is the Paratu civil war.


    Moreover, Vineta had ample reason to interfere in the Paratu civil war: debt default.


    Even the debt default was just a pretext; the crux of the issue was this: Vineta¡¯s ruling parliament absolutely did not want the emergence of a Paratu government friendly to The Federated Provinces.


    ¡°What extent is Vineta prepared to intervene in the Paratu civil war?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°It depends on the situation,¡± Antonio replied.


    ¡°Wait and see? That¡¯s too ambiguous.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what it is¡ª¡¯it depends on the situation,''¡± Antonio told Winters unabashedly, ¡°In fact, the Five-Man Group is still waiting for next year¡¯s United Assembly. Debela prefers to talk before making a decision. As far as I see it, it¡¯s the same on The Federated Provinces¡¯ side, and even the smell of gunpowder in Tanyria has been considerably diluted.¡±


    ¡°Do you think the United Assembly¡­ will achieve any results?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Antonio simply answered as he shook his head, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. Let¡¯s talk about you.¡±


    Winters tensed up inside.


    ¡°If Vineta intervenes in the Paratu civil war,¡± Antonio analyzed the pros and cons for Winters, ¡°then the Third Republic will be an ally of Vineta. You could hand over Iron Peak County to the Paratu military government. This isn¡¯t abandoning the people who trust you¡ªyou can negotiate with the Third Republic for the best terms for Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters had a rough idea of what his foster father was about to say.


    ¡°In Paratu, your Venetian identity will eventually become your shackle, while the opposite is true in Vineta,¡± Antonio patiently explained, ¡°This will be the best chance to ¡®let go.''¡±


    The shimmering sea, the bustling docks, the childhood room, the aroma wafting from the kitchen, the cat scratching the door in the middle of the night¡­ all these had appeared in Winters¡¯ dreams.


    Did he not miss them?


    Of course, he missed them!


    The longer he lived in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, the stronger the memory of the jewel of the sea¡ªSea Blue¡ªbecame.


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Please let me think about this some more.¡±


    ¡°This matter is not urgent; you have plenty of time to think,¡± Antonio put his hand on Winters¡¯ shoulder, ¡°Listen, child¡­¡±


    Antonio looked into Winters¡¯ eyes, deliberately saying each word, ¡°Home is a place you can always return to at any time.¡±


    Winters lowered his head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think about anything, don¡¯t worry about anything,¡± Antonio repeated, ¡°No matter when, you can always go home.¡±


    ¡°No matter when, you can always go home¡±¡ªsomehow, this simple phrase almost shattered Winters¡¯ psychological defenses.


    Silence, long silence.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cry,¡± Antonio let go of his hand, joking, ¡°A man must not shed tears so easily.¡±


    Winters tried to change the subject, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about me anymore¡­ Your arrival in Paratu, I still find it incredible. What about the Third Legion?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, even without me, Da Vineta wouldn¡¯t fall into chaos.¡±


    ¡°I still¡­ can¡¯t accept¡­¡± Winters¡¯s linguistic ability became somewhat clumsy, ¡°In my memory, you should always be steadfast at your post¡­¡±


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have been me, but who else could bring you back?¡± Antonio seemed to convince himself, ¡°A true man has his aspirations spread far and wide, a true man has his aspirations spread far and wide.¡±


    If it had been Winters from two years ago, he probably wouldn¡¯t have felt anything.


    But the Winters of the moment keenly sensed something amiss, an illogical gap in the logical chain: why his foster father would come to Iron Peak County.


    In Winters¡¯s memory and understanding, his foster father had never neglected his public duties for personal reasons.


    Just to find himself, he left the Vineta Army in Tanyria?


    Winters thought this matter was both reasonable and unreasonable.


    Unless¡ªunless his foster father bore another mission. That is to say, this was not a simple ¡°quest for his son,¡± nor was it neglecting public duties for personal reasons.


    If that was the case, everything would make sense!


    ¡°You came to Paratu¡­¡± Winters felt a mix of emotions, probing, ¡°Uh, is there something else?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is one more thing,¡± replied Antonio nonchalantly.


    ¡°What?¡± Winters became even more perplexed.


    ¡°Warhorses.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°The Third Legion needs warhorses, many of them.¡±


    ¡°Warhorse?¡± Winters asked dubiously, ¡°Is such a trifle worth your personal visit?¡±


    ¡°After the civil war in Paratu began, Vineta¡¯s channels for obtaining warhorses were completely severed,¡± Antonio did not intend to discuss the matter further, asking Winters directly, ¡°How many warhorses do you have in hand now?¡±


    Winters initially wanted to explain that most of the horses in Iron Peak County were captured Herder horses, different from the typical Paratu warhorses.


    Moreover, warhorses cannot be driven directly from the high-altitude Paratu to the low-altitude Vineta, and the transportation process is quite troublesome.


    But Antonio surely knew these issues better than Winters.


    So Winters sighed, clenched his teeth, and asked, ¡°Then how many do you need?¡±


    Antonio smiled, not quite smiling, ¡°Three thousand.¡±


    Three thousand, not the draft horses or mules, but the kind that could be ridden into battle as warhorses.


    If you totaled all of Vineta Army¡¯s warhorses, including each officer¡¯s personal steeds, there might be only that many.


    After all, Vineta and Paratu had starkly different natural endowments. Paratu could easily arm fifty cavalry squadrons, whereas Vineta had only two cavalry brigades, one shared between the Third and Fourth Legions.


    Winters wanted to shout, ¡°Three thousand? Where am I supposed to find you three thousand warhorses? Three thousand? I might as well return to Vineta with you! Three thousand? What do you need so many warhorses for? Can the small island of Tanyria even make use of them?¡±


    In the end, Winters suppressed his emotional fluctuations.


    His face flushed, he mustered courage, and countered, ¡°Then¡­ how much are you willing to pay?¡±


    ¡­


    The end of the war brought the gradual restoration of normal traffic inside and outside Iron Peak County, and many people who had been unable to meet due to the war finally had their reunions.


    Like Winters and Antonio.


    And, Father Kaman with the mysterious Father Saul.


    After Winters began cleaning up Iron Peak County, the Panto River ford was reopened, and a small militia escorted Father Saul to Saint Town.


    Father Kaman took the initiative to apply to Bard: to be the one to verify Father Saul¡¯s identity. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The meeting took place in the small worship room of the Saint Town church, with no one present in the room besides Kaman and Saul; Kaman even forbade others from entering the adjacent rooms.


    But even if someone eavesdropped at the door, they would hear nothing.


    Because Kaman and Saul communicated with sign language.


    The light slanted in through a small window, watched over by the Virgin Mary, Kaman and Saul communicated silently.


    With just a few simple gestures, Kaman had verified Saul¡¯s identity.


    ¡°I have heard of you, Brother Saul,¡± Kaman¡¯s attitude was very respectful, quite different from his impatience with Winters.


    ¡°When I entered the wilderness, this place was still a Herder stone pile,¡± Saul gazed at the holy image, ¡°Please contact the brothers from the ¡®Reformist Order¡¯ for me.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something I must tell you,¡± Kaman looked strange, clearing his throat before speaking, for the following content could not be conveyed through sign language, ¡°Twenty-five years ago, Pope Pius V deemed the Reformist Order a heretical order.¡±


    ¡°The Reformist Order has been disbanded,¡± Kaman could hardly bear to look at the old man, ¡°All members of the Reformist Order, both deceased and living, have been excommunicated.¡±

 Chapter 873 873 6 Tears

    ?Chapter 873: Chapter 6 Tears Chapter 873: Chapter 6 Tears Some people come, others must go.


    Less than ten days had passed since the collapse of Terdun¡¯s Khan Court, and the remnant enemies had not yet been completely eradicated, but many civilians, eager to go home, already embarked on their journey.


    On the various roads of both Upper and Lower Iron Peak County, groups of men, women, the elderly, and children trudged toward the direction of their homes.


    Their houses might have been burnt to ashes, their stored grain pillaged, yet why they hastened to return was unclear to anyone.


    Perhaps there was a faint yet distinct voice in everyone¡¯s heart, ¡°As long as we go home, there will always be a way¡±.


    Apart from those returning home, a considerable number chose to stay in Saint Town.


    Most of those who stayed were of a younger and stronger age, predominantly ¡°militia¡±, among whom many had taken part in the recent war.


    ...


    Although the war was over and the militia forces had officially been disbanded, many militiamen lingered in the camps, unwilling to leave.


    Because as long as they stayed, they could at least have two meals a day.


    But there might be another reason why the militiamen stayed.


    ¡°Before the Sovereignty Wars, Vineta¡¯s major commercial city-states relied on mercenaries for fighting,¡± Antonio explained slowly. ¡°One common situation among mercenary groups ¡ª many veterans curse war, yet spend their entire lives in the corps. Some veterans save enough money to retire back to their farms, only to return to the battlefield in the end. The reasons for this, no one can really say.¡±


    Antonio went on to explain, ¡°Camaraderie is an indescribable thing. People who have faced death shoulder to shoulder naturally form a certain bond. I¡¯ve seen soldiers abandon their injured comrades, and I¡¯ve seen soldiers risk their lives to save their brethren. Whether this bond is strong or weak, it truly exists. Many veterans don¡¯t like to talk about the brutal battles they¡¯ve experienced, but reminisce about the days endured with their tent brothers.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I say, although your troops were poorly trained and equipped, their morale was high,¡± Antonio looked at Winters. ¡°It¡¯s not an army that would disintegrate at the slightest push, full of mutual hatred and at their wits¡¯ end. Weapons can be bought, skills can be trained, but if an army lacks a soul, it just doesn¡¯t have one. Disbanding like this is really a shame.¡±


    ¡­


    Not only did some choose to stay, but many more starving people from all directions gathered towards Saint Town.


    Women, children, the sick, the disabled¡­ all kinds of people had one thing in common ¡ª they had nothing due to the destruction wrought by the war.


    Saint Town, being the main base of the Iron Peak County Military and accumulation point of supplies, stored a vast quantity of food and materials.


    Driven by hunger, these poor souls set up tents outside Saint Town, wandering daily around the military camp and the town, scavenging for scraps the army left behind to fill their bellies.


    It was at this time, that an unremarkable, short man approached Monkey and Doug in the camp.


    ¡°Why haven¡¯t you two gone home?¡± The short man asked with a shy smile, handing over a greasy paper bag. ¡°Want some roasted cakes?¡±


    Doug took the paper bag but didn¡¯t open it, just stared at the short man with curiosity.


    ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡± Monkey, groggy with sleep, poked his head out of the tent and asked with hostility.


    The short man hurriedly explained, ¡°I just wanted to ask why you two haven¡¯t gone home.¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Is it any of your business?¡± Monkey snatched the paper packet from Doug¡¯s hand, opened it to see the oily cakes, and immediately wolfed them down. ¡°What¡¯s it to you?¡±


    The short man licked his lips and gathered the courage to ask, ¡°You two are homeless, aren¡¯t you? Your parents died, no house, no land, nowhere to go?¡±


    Struck where it hurt, Monkey¡¯s anger surged.


    He jumped out of the tent, grabbed the short man by the collar, and cursed fiercely, ¡°You looking for a beating!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± The short man shook his head vigorously. ¡°Everyone who had a home has left, so I thought maybe you had nowhere to go.¡±


    Monkey shouted loudly in fury, raising his arm to swing at the man¡¯s face.


    The shorter man instinctively protected his head, tucked in his neck, and squeezed his eyes shut.


    Doug grabbed his friend¡¯s arm, separating the two, and asked the short man, ¡°You got something you need?¡±


    The short man, still shaken, looked at his thick-lipped, honest savior and stuttered, ¡°Lu Xirong said you two are pretty good, so I came to see you.¡±


    Lu Xirong used to be Monkey and Doug¡¯s sergeant.


    Hearing this name, Monkey¡¯s demeanor softened, even becoming somewhat timid, ¡°Sergeant Lu Xirong¡­ who are you to him?¡±


    The short man bashfully replied, ¡°Well, I suppose he¡¯s one of my men.¡±


    Monkey¡¯s knees went weak as if his head had been clobbered by an iron cudgel, buzzing incessantly.


    Doug held his friend back and asked the short man in a muffled voice, ¡°You came to find us, you got something you need?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to ask you two,¡± the short man scratched the back of his head. ¡°Since you have nowhere to go, would you be willing to join the military? Not as militiamen, but the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment ¡ª real land-grant soldiers.¡±


    Monkey¡¯s body stiffened, his jaw trembled, and he couldn¡¯t help but swallow his saliva.


    Doug furrowed his brow and asked, ¡°May I ask who you are?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± The short man replied, ¡°My name is Peter Buniel.¡±


    He spoke with a hint of pride, ¡°This surname Bunir was personally given to me by Lord Blood Wolf himself.¡±

 Chapter 874 874 6 Tears_2

    ?Chapter 874: Chapter 6 Tears_2 Chapter 874: Chapter 6 Tears_2 A shiver ran up Monkey¡¯s tailbone, and he snapped to attention, ¡°A thousand acres?! Are you that one with a bounty of a thousand acres?! The legendary Blood Wolf champion?!!¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, not a thousand ¡ª actually just over nine hundred,¡± Dwarf Peter explained frantically, sighing helplessly, ¡°This nickname¡­ It¡¯s getting more and more exaggerated.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Dressed in a full-coverage black robe with a mask shaped like a bird¡¯s beak, Father Kaman stooped as he walked out of the tent.


    Outside, everyone else had their noses and mouths covered with triangular scarves.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Winters asked with a grave expression, the first to speak, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ...


    Kaman glanced at Winters and looked around at the others, saying calmly, ¡°The symptoms are somewhat like ¡®Aichen Plague¡¯, but I can¡¯t be certain¡­ I need to go back and check the books.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To avoid panic, Kaman deliberately used an ancient term.


    Most of those present didn¡¯t understand what Kaman was talking about, and those who did understand didn¡¯t know the specific meaning of ¡°Aichen Plague.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t immediately recall what ¡°Aichen Plague¡± exactly referred to, but he clearly heard the second part of the phrase ¡ª plague.


    That was enough.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave this place first,¡± Winters decided on the spot, leaving two guards to watch the tent and immediately leading the others back the way they came.


    The location where Winters stood was in a shantytown on the outskirts of Saint Town.


    People are naturally inclined to cluster together. A few sticks with a cloth curtain slung over them is what you call a ¡°shantytown.¡± Many such hovels together make what is called a ¡°shantytown area.¡±


    If the Saint Town army never disbands, the shantytown will continue to exist.


    The final form it takes is the ¡°Shantytown Street¡± beside the Shuangqiao military encampment ¡ª a slum street that hides all filth and includes everything unsavory.


    But the shantytown area in front of them was merely a camping ground where the starving people had erected tents and huddled together for warmth.


    Walking on the narrow, winding muddy paths between the tents, Winters led Kaman, Xial and a few others out.


    The refugees gathered there could tell that the group of people was not to be trifled with, a mix of fear and shame on their faces as they hid inside their hovels.


    Iron pots bubbled with horse meat stolen from the battlefield, and through the tent flaps blown open by the wind, Winters saw some engaged in flesh trade.


    All the way outside, Captain Thomas, leading the four companies of the first battalion, was waiting.


    ¡°Surround it!¡± Winters called over Captain Thomas and the company commanders, gritting his teeth as he ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t make too much noise, but let no one escape.¡±


    Captain Thomas saluted and turned to leave.


    ¡°¡®Aichen Plague,¡¯ is there a cure?¡± Winters asked Kaman.


    ¡°Fire,¡± Kaman pondered for a moment, ¡°Historical records show that during the Aichen plague, Hippocrates found that blacksmiths who spent their days by the fire rarely got sick, and ultimately, the plague was dispelled with fire. The specific method involved burning aromatic spices and artemisia plants in the streets, and incinerating the clothes and bedding of the infected¡­¡±


    Winters listened carefully but his frown deepened more and more.


    Despite all precautions, the plague had arrived. Since ancient times, people have noticed that epidemics invariably follow wars.


    The logic behind it isn¡¯t difficult to comprehend: eating well, dressing warmly, living under a roofed house reduces the risk of illness; and even if one gets sick, the chance of survival is higher.


    But those who aren¡¯t fed, aren¡¯t warm, and reside in cramped, dirty shanties, even healthy people are eventually tortured to death.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I address the shantytown issue earlier?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help asking himself, ¡°Why didn¡¯t I prioritize housing for the refugees?¡±


    But now wasn¡¯t the time for self-pity; the rotten, dirty, overcrowded shantytowns were veritable cauldrons of disease. Every second they existed, the risk of an epidemic outbreak increased.


    ¡°Currently, there are two large shantytown areas around Saint Town, and a few smaller ones,¡± Winters resolved, making a rough map on the ground, ¡°They all need to be uprooted.¡±


    ¡°How do we uproot them?¡± asked Kaman, his eyebrows raised.


    ¡°The old way,¡± Winters continued sketching the map, ¡°Build new camps near the shantytown areas. They can¡¯t be too big, otherwise, they won¡¯t isolate effectively. They can¡¯t be too small either, otherwise, they won¡¯t be built quickly. Everything in the existing camps must be burned, all of it turned to ash.¡±


    ¡°Burn everything?¡± Bart Xialing seized the crux of the matter, ¡°Then what will they eat? What will they wear?¡±


    ¡°Clothing and bedding can be used after boiling in hot water,¡± Father Kaman spoke up, ¡°Water also needs to be boiled before drinking, but doing so will require a lot of fuel.¡±


    ¡°Fuel is easy to handle,¡± Winters¡¯ left leg throbbed, and he stood with the support of a cane, ¡°As for food, we¡¯ll provide that first.¡±


    Bart Xialing didn¡¯t speak, just silently saluted.


    ¡°Then what will we eat?¡± Winters knew the question didn¡¯t need to be asked by his subordinates.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the food,¡± Winters looked around at his subordinates, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡±


    Though they didn¡¯t know how Winters would manage, the assurance from the Civil Guard Officer put many at ease.


    Some company commanders worried that once the soldiers learned of the epidemic in the shantytowns and that they would have to face the plague directly, there would be mass desertion, perhaps even leading to a barracks uproar or mutiny.


    So, including Bart Xialing, the three company commanders favored keeping it a secret.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless,¡± Winters ended the argument with a single sentence, ¡°It won¡¯t stay hidden.¡±

 Chapter 875 875 6 Tears_3

    ?Chapter 875: Chapter 6 Tears_3 Chapter 875: Chapter 6 Tears_3 ¡°`


    Shortly afterward, the entire first battalion assembled in formation. They would be the first to be informed after Winters, followed by the entire army, then the whole of Iron Peak County.


    Looking at the soldiers who had just come off the battlefield, with wounds still scarred over, Winters was overwhelmed with emotion.


    He struggled to organize his words, ¡°¡­In the refugee camps, in the southern city of Revodan, because of the strict enforcement of epidemic discipline, although people fell ill, it was ultimately contained¡­ I don¡¯t believe the plague is a calamity sent by the gods, if the Heavenly Father is merciful, he would only help us, not spread the plague¡­¡±


    In the end, even someone accustomed to eloquent speeches before the ranks didn¡¯t know what to say.


    He fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over each face: ¡°I remember it now. The ¡®Aichen Plague,¡¯ two hundred thousand Aichens, in the end, a quarter of them perished. Iron Peak County has just been through a brutal battle and can¡¯t withstand another plague. So¡­ it relies on the courage of each of you, everyone is relying on the courage of each and every one of you¡­ I need you to fight once more¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Wear your kerchief properly.¡± Dwarf Peter¡¯s face was covered tightly, repeatedly cautioning, ¡°Don¡¯t touch it with your hands, if anyone resists, poke him with a spear. Don¡¯t be tempted by good things you see, catching the plague is not worth it¡­¡±


    In the ranks, Monkey¡¯s knees went weak, drained of strength, cursing himself bitterly in his heart.


    Without hesitation, Monkey accepted the recruitment offered on the spot by Chief Sergeant Peter Buniel.


    In the previous conflict with the Terdon Tribe, the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had lost the most lives, suffering the greatest casualties.


    The soldiers who died in battle or were disabled due to injuries needed to be replaced, and the regiment urgently needed fresh blood.


    ...


    As such, without waiting for official approval from above, each company began recruiting new soldiers¡ª from this perspective, the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment had, from the moment of its inception, a tendency to perpetuate itself like a living organism.


    Unexpectedly to Monkey, Doug, who initially planned to return home and settle down, also accepted the recruitment by Peter Buniel upon seeing his good friend enlisting.


    At that time, Monkey felt a bit moved and a bit envious: ¡°You¡¯ve earned so much land, why join the army?¡±


    But now, Monkey felt only guilt and a sense of shared adversity. Because of his decision, Doug had to join this damned, uncertain ¡°epidemic prevention.¡± sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Monkey wanted to run away.


    So did Dwarf Peter.


    He seemed calm, but that was only because his face was covered tightly.


    In fact, at the moment he learned of the plague in the shanty area, Dwarf Peter¡¯s knees started trembling, and his forehead began to sweat.


    However, with dozens of eyes staring dead at him, even if he wanted to escape, there was nowhere to run.


    Dwarf Peter saw Captain Thomas waving at him.


    He turned around, and tears immediately began to flow.


    However, the warriors of the first company could only see the back of Sergeant Bunir, not the tear-streaked face of Bunir.


    ¡°Move!¡± Dwarf Peter¡¯s shout was on the verge of breaking.


    The shantytown outside Saint Town had already been surrounded by each company with stakes and ropes, and another portion of the civilians were urgently constructing a new camp.


    But that didn¡¯t mean they could ignore the shantytown.


    Carrying torches and short spears, the soldiers, led by Sergeant Peter Bu who was known as the ¡°Blood Wolf Champion,¡± entered the shantytown without turning back.


    The sealed-off shantytown first fell into panic, a complete mess. When people realized there was no way to leave no matter what, they gradually became numb.


    Even before the hunger, the shantytown was already a cruel place. Upon learning that the plague had broken out, people became even more indifferent.


    The body of a mother lay across the shanty, and despite the crying of her children, no one paid any attention.


    Leaving the situation unattended would only lead to a further spread of the plague.


    Regardless of whether the dead had died from the disease or starvation, Dwarf Peter led people to carry the bodies out of the shantytown to be burned, and the tents and belongings of the deceased were burned on the spot.


    Monkey overheard someone muttering under their breath: ¡°Did you see that? Sergeant Bunir seems to have cried.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off!¡± Monkey, his eyes full of red veins and brimming with tears, cursed loudly: ¡°It¡¯s the smoke! The smoke!¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 876 876 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and Turnip

    ?Chapter 876: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip Chapter 876: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    ¡°No pass,¡± Ivan repeated no matter how many times, reached a point of annoyance, ¡°No one can leave.¡±


    The halted wagon was loaded with a family of four and all their belongings. The considerably plump male owner was personally driving the carriage, while the female owner hid with their two children inside the coach.


    News traveled faster than the plague. The bow-carrying white Knight had not yet arrived at Revodan, but the outbreak in Saint Town was already public knowledge.


    Regrettably, when the beacon fires of war lit up, civilians from Iron Peak County frantically swarmed into Revodan seeking refuge; and when the plague followed suit, people desperately tried to flee the congested city.


    ¡°Ah, we left in such a hurry that we didn¡¯t have time to ask for a pass.¡± The male owner smiled ingratiatingly, his short, thick fingers deftly slipping Ivan a bulging small leather pouch, ¡°Do me a favor, sir.¡±


    The pouch was hard, unmistakably filled with coins.


    ...


    Ivan couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It was impossible to remain unmoved, with Aksinya and the children depending on him.


    Ever since preparations for war began, the cost of goods in Revodan only rose, never fell. Although there were rations for flour, it had been a long time since Ivan¡¯s family had seen meat.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Ivan didn¡¯t accept the pouch as his voice was somewhat muffled by the handkerchief covering his nose and mouth, ¡°Though I don¡¯t know your name, your family must be quite wealthy¡­¡±


    The portly male owner¡¯s heart sank with a thud, realizing that getting fleeced was inevitable.


    But under someone else¡¯s roof, one has little choice but to bow, and he still met the situation with a smile, ¡°My name is Ivan, your excellence, Ivan Asta.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Your name is Ivan too.¡±


    ¡°So it seems¡­ do we share the same name?¡± The male owner eagerly played along, ¡°What a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Asta,¡± Ivan, interrupted, momentarily lost his train of thought. He fell silent for a while, struggling tremendously to organize his words, ¡°You look to be a wealthy man, perhaps even well-educated. On a normal day walking down the street, you wouldn¡¯t even give me a second look, am I right?¡±


    The owner grew increasingly confused as he awkwardly laughed, ¡°Oh, brother Ivan¡­ where is your mind wandering?¡±


    ¡°But now, you¡¯re pulling out money, actively offering it to me,¡± Ivan continued, ignoring him, ¡°You do this because you think I am someone in power. At least for now, I have the power to let you go. Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± The simple act of bribery suddenly escalated to a philosophical debate, and the male owner¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t keep up.


    ¡°I actually have no power. Only the Civil Guard Officer has the power to let you go, I only have the power to stop you. Now that I have taken your money, by sunrise tomorrow, I will be hanged.¡± Ivan poured out everything on his mind, took a deep breath as he looked expectantly at the other, ¡°You are asking me to exercise a power I do not have¡­ do you understand what I¡¯m saying?¡±


    For this family, it was their first time meeting Ivan, their first attempt at bribing him.


    But for Ivan, this was already his ¡°countless¡± encounter with offered bribes. This created an asymmetric relationship between them.


    Ivan¡¯s words were a release for all bribers and also his intellectual findings¡ªa reason to convince himself not to take the bribe.


    The owner was utterly confused; he simply wanted to grease a palm but ended up being lectured unexpectedly.


    The owner gazed suspiciously at Ivan for a long while, then asked quietly, ¡°Are you asking for more money?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Ivan said expressionlessly, ¡°Without a pass, no one can leave.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the road between Revodan and King¡¯s Bridge Town, a troop of Cavalry was persuading a group of refugees.


    The Cavalry consisted of only twelve riders, but the refugees numbered over a hundred.


    ¡°Revodan has the plague!¡± the young leading Cavalry shouted as he stood in the middle of the road, waving his arms, using his somewhat immature voice to shout as loudly as he could, ¡°Go back, everyone!¡±


    The refugees didn¡¯t dare to assault the Cavalry, but no one was willing to just leave.


    During the standoff, an old man with a cane walked out of the crowd, trembling, and pleaded, ¡°My lord! If it weren¡¯t really the last resort, who would want to leave their hometown! We haven¡¯t seen the plague, but hunger is very real. The barbarians have taken and burned all our grain, we really can¡¯t survive. My lord! Please show mercy and let us pass!¡±


    A gaunt mother also stepped out from the crowd, holding her infant in swaddling clothes, crying and pleading with the Cavalry.


    The previously hesitant crowd now became restless, starting to move towards the Cavalry. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Please listen to me!¡± the young lead Cavalry shouted, ¡°Relief grain will arrive very soon!¡±


    However, the noisy hoofbeats and crying drowned out the young Cavalry¡¯s words. No one heard what he said, and no one cared.


    The young Cavalry gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and the twelve riders turned their horses around and rode off.


    ¡°They¡¯ve retreated!¡± The crowd cheered jubilantly.


    Suddenly someone cried out, ¡°They¡¯re coming back!¡±


    The twelve Cavalry formed a line, each rider close to the other as if chained together, and charged towards the refugees with an unstoppable force.


    Before the Cavalry even reached them, the advancing crowd¡¯s momentum was curbed and shattered.


    Due to hunger, the mother holding her baby lacked the strength to run. She turned around, shielding her child in her arms with her back to the approaching hoofbeats.

 Chapter 877 877 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and

    ?Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 Chapter 877: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_2 The anticipated scene of horses¡¯ hooves crushing human bones never came to pass, as the cavalrymen held their mounts steady on the outskirts of the crowd.


    The scattered refugees gradually halted their hasty retreat. The young cavalry leader rode forward and removed his helmet, revealing a face that was physiologically youthful yet mature and composed.


    ¡°Please hear me out,¡± Anglu repeated his previous words clearly, ¡°Relief grain will be arriving shortly.¡±


    This time, everyone heard him clearly.


    The refugees regrouped as Anglu quickly assessed the crowd: unharmed, unharmed, a broken arm, unharmed¡­


    Then he saw a middle-aged man in tattered clothing sitting on the ground, his face contorted in agony. A middle-aged woman and several children of varying ages were anxiously gathered around him.


    The middle-aged man made no sound, but large beads of sweat kept breaking out on his forehead.


    ...


    A pang shot through Anglu¡¯s heart, and he gently called to the elder Dusack beside him, ¡°Balan Timoyevich?¡±


    In the cavalry, old Dusack (Balan) acted as a semi-medic. The old man sighed, dismounted, and approached the injured middle-aged man.


    In truth, old Balan did not care about the fate of the bumpkin, his nature still bore the cruelty deliberately cultivated from being a ¡°whip of the Emperor.¡±


    But when Balan heard the lieutenant use a respectful form of address that included a full name and patronymic, he knew the young one had gone soft again.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the elderly man who first stood out approached Anglu¡¯s horse and mustered the courage to ask, ¡°Is the relief¡­ really coming? When will it arrive?¡±


    ¡°I am not a ¡®sir¡¯,¡± Anglu reassured him, ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s not fake. The Montaigne Civil Guard Officer has already ordered the allocation of military grain to everyone, and it should be¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Anglu turned his head to look back.


    At the end of the road, over the rise of a hill, a horse-drawn wagon slowly emerged from the horizon, followed by another, and then more behind.


    Each wagon bore a conspicuous red flag.


    ¡°They¡¯ve already arrived,¡± Anglu answered.


    ¡­


    Wherever life congregates, it becomes a natural breeding ground for disease.


    The wealthy who had flooded into the towns because of war were now desperate to leave.


    Meanwhile, the poor, driven by hunger, began to converge on the towns, forming a second wave of people.


    The reason was simple: where safety is lacking, people squeeze towards safer places; where food is scarce, people go where there is food.


    Winters was simultaneously trying to stop the influx of people into the town¡ªmore people meant the plague would be harder to control.


    On the other hand, he was trying to stop people from leaving the town¡ªletting people go would likely spread the plague throughout Iron Peak County.


    But there were some departures Winters could not interfere with¡ªColonel Gessa and the Piaoqi Troops were about to leave as well.


    On this military campaign, the Terdon Tribe was divided into left and right wings. Although the right wing was destroyed in Iron Peak County, the left wing was still wreaking havoc in Vernge County.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s right wing was primarily made up of the direct forces of the firestarters, while the left wing consisted of externally affiliated tribes.


    Such a division was, of course, out of the firestarters¡¯ self-interest. It led to the Terdon Tribe lacking a clear command core, with various leaders acting independently, making them even more challenging to deal with.


    After the main battle between Winters and the firestarters concluded, Colonel Gessa was originally ready to set off for Vernge County immediately.


    He lingered only to wait for someone.


    When the dust-covered Major Ronald finally arrived in Revodan, an extremely impatient Colonel Gessa was ready to depart.


    Winters did not want the Piaoqi Troops to leave, as he feared the recently controlled ¡°Aichen Plague¡± might be carried away.


    However, the problem lay precisely here.


    No sooner had the ¡°Aichen Plague¡± appeared in the shantytown area and started to spread on a small scale than Father Kaman noticed it and Winters promptly clamped down on it.


    As a result, this ¡°plague¡± seemed like a harmless joke: hardly anyone died, yet the response was so harsh. Could it be an overreaction?


    The reason for the Piaoqi Troops¡¯ departure was undisputedly valid¡ªafter all, the fight wasn¡¯t over, and Vernge County needed them.


    Besides epidemic control, Winters had no other reason to retain the Piaoqi Troops. And the reason of epidemic prevention itself wasn¡¯t persuasive in the eyes of the others.


    So in the end, Winters had to bid farewell to the reinforcements.


    ¡­


    Question: How can you tell Paratu People from Venetian People?


    Answer: Look at the beard.


    Paratu People consider growing beards a beauty standard, as if the more luxuriant the beard, the more abundant a man¡¯s virility.


    Venetians, on the contrary, keep their upper lip, chin, and cheeks completely clean-shaven. They might skip bathing, but the beard must be shaved off; otherwise, they feel uncomfortable.


    Even in the Venetian Republic, there is a stringent legal requirement written into law: Venetian public officials and merchants stationed in overseas colonies and trade nations must shave.


    The existence of this strange law is purely to ¡°distinguish ourselves from them.¡±


    In other words, Venetians not only do not intend to blend into other countries but are also deeply afraid of being ¡°melted¡± by them, and forced shaving has thus become a mark of identity.


    Anyone with a discerning eye would recognize where those several young, clean-shaven men at the farewell scene came from.


    The farewell ceremony was not large, only a few prominent figures from Revodan were invited to accompany them. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    According to the customs of Paratu People, after a victory, one should feast and celebrate for three days, or at least have a good banquet. However, given the limited conditions and special situation in Iron Peak County, everything was kept simple, and Colonel Gessa did not pick on Winters for it.

 Chapter 878 878 7 The Old Man Wolf Sheep and

    ?Chapter 878: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_3 Chapter 878: Chapter 7 The Old Man, Wolf, Sheep, and Turnip_3 Upon seeing his junior, Ronald, still alive, Gessa felt a rush of emotions and immediately hugged him and planted a fierce kiss on him.


    Yes, it was indeed a kiss.


    One of the ways Paratu People express intense emotions such as excitement, joy, reunion after a long separation, and everlasting friendship, is through ¡°kissing,¡± and men can also do it with each other.


    Cheek to cheek, lip to lip, whether or not there was an exchange of saliva, nobody knew.


    Probably not¡ªright?


    Andre looked disgustedly at the several enthusiastic Paratu kissers and asked Winters worriedly, ¡°They¡¯re not going to kiss us too, are they?¡±


    Winters¡¯s mind was already filled with all sorts of miscellaneous matters regarding the prevention of disease; he looked up briefly and replied dispassionately, ¡°No, kissing is an intimate act, and they harbor hostility towards us.¡±


    ...


    Andre looked around; the scene of Ronald and the other former Iron Peak County Military officers reuniting with Colonel Gessa was quite touching and heartwarming. A group of grown men were hugging, kissing, and some even crying.


    In contrast, Winters and Andre were somehow isolated despite being in the crowd. No one spoke to them, and certainly, no one came to hug or kiss them.


    Andre humphed lightly and took a sip of his drink, ¡°Now I see why Colonel Moritz and Bard didn¡¯t want to come.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Moritz and Senior Juan¡¯s identities are still under wraps; Senior Mason and Bard are just too busy to get away,¡± Winters replied mechanically, taking a sip from his cup as well. The slightly bitter taste brought him back from the world of epidemic prevention.


    Winters then changed the topic and nudged Andre¡¯s beer mug, ¡°The key point is¡ªFor such a dreadful scene, who else could I rely on but you?¡±


    Andre humphed again and clinked Winters¡¯s beer mug.


    After chugging down the golden liquid in his mug in one go, Andre belched quietly and complained under his breath, ¡°Call this beer? It¡¯s tasteless as heck.¡±


    Winters suddenly had a strange sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu; he felt as if he was back at the Sea Blue Navy Officers¡¯ Club, sitting with Andre at a window on the second floor facing north towards the square, enjoying the breeze and beer.


    Winters took a small sip, ¡°Hmm.¡±


    Andre raised an eyebrow, tilting his head at Winters, ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡°Was I laughing?¡± Winters touched his cheek.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, ¡°Then I guess I wasn¡¯t.¡±


    Andre scoffed lightly and poured himself another cup of the pale yellow liquid.


    Since it was a farewell for the Paratu People, how could there be no drink to offer?


    But Iron Peak County was short even on food, let alone alcohol. Old Widow Airen¡¯s cellar had been empty for a long time, and perhaps a few households still had some bottles of wine stashed away, but that was just wine and the like.


    In the end, it was the short, plump representative from Niutigu Valley who came up with an idea: crush dry bread, soak it, heat it, add distiller¡¯s yeast, ferment¡­


    And ultimately filter to obtain a strange liquid that resembled beer, yet wasn¡¯t beer.


    According to the short, plump representative, when General Yanosh¡¯s army had no alcohol, the soldiers would brew this ¡°fermented water¡± from bread to satisfy their cravings.


    Which was precisely what the people at the farewell gathering were drinking.


    Winters didn¡¯t particularly like the taste of beer; on the contrary, he preferred this strange liquid that hardly had any ¡°beer flavor.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two Venetians stood among a bunch of ardently chatting Paratu People, silently drinking their fermented water, cup after cup.


    A plump gentleman made his way through the crowd and came straight up to them.


    The chubby man took off his hat, bowed slightly, and smiled warmly, ¡°Captain Montaigne, Lieutenant Cherini.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Leo,¡± Winters nodded in greeting, poured a cup of fermented water and handed it over, discreetly asking, ¡°How did it go?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡ªthe representative with full authority from Navarre Commerce¡ªtook the cup and held it in his hand without drinking, ¡°It¡¯s been settled.¡±


    ¡°All settled?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s smile faded, ¡°Please be assured.¡±


    Winters breathed a sigh of relief, feeling unburdened.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Andre, confused, looked at Winters and then at Mr. Leo, ¡°Talking about what? With whom?¡±


    Andre had returned to Revodan with Ronald and the others and had missed many meetings.


    Hearing Andre¡¯s question, Winters was overwhelmed and somewhat at a loss for how to explain.


    ¡°May I have the honor of explaining this to Lieutenant Cherini?¡± Mr. Leo offered.


    ¡°Please do, it would be a great help,¡± Winters was, of course, agreeable.


    ¡°Lieutenant Cherini, you must be aware of Venetian woolen textile production,¡± Mr. Leo said, shaking his cashmere garment. ¡°On one hand, we have the Venetians; Navarre Commerce has a batch of wool that needs to be shipped back to Venetia, General Serviati has a batch of Warhorses that also need to be sent back, and Captain Montaigne needs to get grain into Iron Peak County. On the other hand, we have the Paratu People, who control the roads and the grain¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright, I get it,¡± Andre said, his head spinning with irritation, interrupting the other, ¡°It¡¯s just the old man, the wolf, the sheep, and the turnip!¡±

 Chapter 879 879 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream

    ?Chapter 879: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream Chapter 879: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream A respected lady was awakened in the middle of the night only to learn that her daughters had disappeared¡ªboth of them. What would be her reaction?


    Winters could hardly imagine.


    In the past, the Venetians dealt with such situations often using daggers smeared with deadly poison.


    In recent years, their methods had become more civilized, with the poisoned daggers replaced by revolver guns hidden beneath cloaks.


    Putting himself in that situation, Winters asked himself, what if some rascal dared to kidnap Ella? What then?


    The result of his reflection was that after confirming repeatedly with Anna that she had no brothers, Winters felt an unusual sense of relief.


    All in all, he had no desire to meet Mr. Leo.


    ...


    However, given that Mr. Leo had come to Iron Peak County with his foster father, Winters vaguely felt that Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude might have softened.


    Winters had only met Mrs. Navarre a few times and could hardly recall her face, remembering only that she was a very gentle, kind, and amiable lady.


    Perhaps the situation wasn¡¯t too bad?


    It was a no-win situation; drag it out as he might, Winters finally bit the bullet and met with Mr. Leo.


    The meeting was very private, held in a small living room around a fireplace, with only Winters, Antonio, and Leo present because Winters imagined that Leo wanted to discuss ¡°family matters.¡±


    But soon, the atmosphere became serious and formal. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The reason was simple¡ªLeo wasn¡¯t there to help Mrs. Navarre find her daughters, he didn¡¯t mention Anna at all.


    ¡°Civil Guard Officer,¡± Mr. Leo began formally and directly, setting the tone for the entire conversation, ¡°could you provide me with the tariff rates of Iron Peak County?¡±


    Faced with such a sudden question, especially on a completely unrelated topic, people usually can¡¯t respond immediately.


    To keep the conversation going, most people would instinctively utter a monosyllable:


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    Or ¡°Uh?¡±


    Or ¡°What?¡±


    This is a normal human reaction, and also why many people, even though they have heard the question clearly, still want the other party to repeat it.


    However, this reaction also means falling into a weaker position in the negotiations.


    Although Winters had no idea what Mr. Leo was talking about, he had a unique way of handling such situations.


    He remained silent, calmly staring into the other person¡¯s eyes, waiting for Leo to explain on his own.


    Leo didn¡¯t plan to confront further and promptly clarified his purpose: ¡°I have a batch of wool that I want to transport back to Vineta through Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    Wool, the walking white goldmine, was Paratu¡¯s largest export commodity.


    Compared to wool trade, horse trading seemed like a tasteless small business.


    Many years ago, it was the merchants from the Mountain Front Territory (now the United Provinces Republic) who first pioneered the wool trade.


    These merchants traveled thousands of miles to Paratu from the Mountain Front Territory, first buying wool from herders, then purchasing wood from nobles to build boats. Finally, they sailed down the Ashen Stream River in their wool-laden ships, heading east towards the inland sea and back to the Mountain Front Territory.


    The wool would be sent to spinning mills; the ships dismantled and sold as timber.


    After calculating their profits and settling debts, the merchants would set out for Paratu again with their capitals, embarking on the journey of a new year.


    This cyclical trade, called ¡°Buy Boats, Sail East,¡± saw countless merchants tirelessly traveling back and forth between the Mountain Front Territory and Paratu.


    The continuous supply of wool fed the thriving wool textile industry of the Mountain Front Territory, which in turn generated an ever-growing demand for wool.


    During the era when Venetian city-states dominated the Inner Sea trade, cities in the Mountain Front Territory earned their first pot of gold through the wool textile industry and accumulated wealth over subsequent years.


    Interestingly, because the Venetians firmly controlled transshipment trade, merchants of the Mountain Front Territory found themselves compelled to explore alternative paths to grow and strengthen.


    Out of sheer necessity, these merchants developed a combined strategy of ¡°workshop crafts and commerce.¡±


    Often, they were both workshop owners and traders. Moreover, due to having a common foe, the merchants of Mountain Front Territory were far more united than those of the Venetian city-states.


    However, the disparity in scale was immense, and, barring any unexpected events, the Mountain Front Territory seemed doomed to a perpetual secondary position under the domination of the Venetian city-states.


    Yet, fate granted the Mountain Front Territory an opportunity as the Venetian city-states, basking in their golden age and seemingly unstoppable, collectively embarked on a resolution¡ªdomination.


    Endless discord among the Venetian city-states and significant advancements in fortress siege technology during this period ushered in a prosperous epoch for the Mountain Front Territory.


    Once the city-state wars concluded, the victor¡ªthe noble Sea Blue Republic¡ªwas shocked to discover that the once submissive merchants of the Mountain Front Territory had become formidable sharks, tearing a substantial portion of the Inner Sea trade from the Venetians.


    The Venetian city-states declined, while the Mountain Front Territory officially entered its golden age.


    At that time¡ªabout half a century ago, the Duke¡¯s dominion of the Mountain Front Territory was the wealthiest land in the Empire, the most dazzling diamond on the Emperor¡¯s scepter.


    In terms of area, the dukedom of the Mountain Front Territory was hardly significant. Yet, this small delta provided the Empire with one-third to half of its annual revenue.


    But, as everyone knows, the story that followed is all too familiar.


    The War of Sovereignty erupted, and this time, it was the Mountain Front Territory¡ªnow the United Provinces Republic¡ªthat was devastated.

 Chapter 880 880 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2

    ?Chapter 880: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2 Chapter 880: Chapter 8 Buying a Boat to Go Downstream_2 The century-long accumulations of the people in the Mountain Front Territory turned entirely into fuel for the flames of war.


    At the same time, what were the city-states of Vineta doing?


    Answer: The Venetians were watching, while by the way, making a killing.


    Large numbers of United Provincials, both commoners and nobles, fled to Vineta to avoid the chaos of war¡ªbringing with them wealth, technology, and manpower.


    While Ned Smith and the Duke Butcher bloodily sawed back and forth in the Federated Provinces, the wool textile industry in Vineta flourished.


    The United Provincials¡¯ saying, ¡°Every time the United Provincials fight a war, Vineta gets rich,¡± refers to this period of history.


    In a word, after the Sovereignty Wars ended, the wool textile industry was no longer monopolized by the United Provincials, and the newly born Vineta Republic could now compete with the United Provincials on equal footing.


    ...


    The competition between Vineta and the United Provincials, as both comrades and enemies, has continued to this day.


    ¡­


    What does all this have to do with Winters?


    Actually, it has everything to do with them.


    Apart from markets and looms, another major bottleneck in the wool textile industry was raw material¡ªwool.


    Without wool, the looms would stop; without wool, the weavers would starve to death.


    The trade of ships sailing downstream evolved from today¡¯s on and is no longer the primitive form of ¡°peddlers buying wool from herdsmen by the pound.¡±


    Competition drives the evolution of business models, and financially powerful wool merchants are no longer limited to buying wool; they directly invest in flocks or even buy the pastures.


    Even so, each year the Venetians and United Provincials still fight tooth and nail over wool.


    Wool continues to flow from the plateau to the shores of the inland sea, turned into fabric and trafficked across the continent.


    Fine wines, precious metals, steel, and handicrafts follow the reverse route of wool, pouring continuously into Paratu.


    If the Senas Alliance is a giant, then the Ashen Stream River and Torrent River, which carry the wool trade, are both the giant¡¯s arteries and veins.


    However, the problem emerged here: the Alliance¡¯s major artery was cut.


    After the bloodied night at Kingsfort, Alpad¡¯s military government occupied the ¡°Jiangbei Province¡± to the northwest of Paratu. The land south of the Ashen Stream River and to the northeast was controlled by the Second Republic.


    After several rounds of attacks and defenses, neither side was able to break through the Ashen Stream River.


    There¡¯s a saying: when the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer.


    The Second and Third Republics faced off across the river, but it was the Venetian wool textile merchants who were utterly devastated.


    The wool trade is unlike any other business. If agricultural produce prices fall, plantation owners can switch crops or not plant at all; if pots and pans don¡¯t sell, workshops can stop production.


    But not with wool.


    Sheep don¡¯t care who wins or loses, they just keep on eating grass, growing wool, and bleating. As long as they are not dead, the sheep will grow wool.


    Last year¡¯s wool still had some that hadn¡¯t managed to be transported back to the country. Since transportation along the Ashen Stream River was completely cut off, this year¡¯s wool was all stuck in Paratu.


    By next summer, when the new wool season arrives, there would even be no place to store the wool.


    No, a more likely situation is¡ªVineta¡¯s wool textile industry simply won¡¯t last until next year.


    ¡°Since the water route is not an option,¡± Winters interjected for the first time when he heard this, asking Mr. Leo, ¡°isn¡¯t the land route viable?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve asked the most interesting part.¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s eyes widened slightly; he paused, then turned his head toward Antonio. ¡°Your Excellency General, I must trouble you to help explain.¡±


    Antonio sighed, ¡°The territories of Paratu that border the United Provincials and Vineta are controlled by the Second Republic, which has a strong pro-United Provincials inclination.¡±


    ¡°This is the most infuriating part.¡± Mr. Leo added a witty remark, ¡°Clearly it is Paratu that¡¯s at war, yet only the Venetians are hurt.¡±


    ¡°Your meaning is¡­¡± Winters sorted out his thoughts, ¡°The Second Republic has implemented some kind of trade embargo, intercepting wool destined for Vineta in Paratu, while wool headed for The Federated Provinces can travel by land, without any obstruction?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡± Mr. Leo nodded.


    ¡°Why not just confiscate your wool directly?¡± Winters frowned slightly.


    ¡°There are matters of face that need to be addressed properly,¡± Mr. Leo said with a self-deprecating smile. ¡°In my view, our counterparts in The Federated Provinces are just waiting.¡±


    ¡°Waiting for what?¡±


    ¡°Waiting for us to surrender,¡± Mr. Leo said lightly. ¡°Waiting for us to come begging to sell them the shares of the sheep flocks.¡±


    Seeing that Winters didn¡¯t quite understand, Leo patiently explained, ¡°The wool business is highly risky. Shearing costs money, as does transport and sheep husbandry. Land can be listed for sale, but if the sheep die, all that¡¯s left to sell is the meat. Hence the saying ¡®Family fortunes count thousands, yet none in the herd counts for wealth.¡¯ Better to sell off the shares of the sheep flocks and recoup the capital before a plague wipes us out than to risk everything. The gentlemen in The Federated Provinces aren¡¯t in a hurry, time is on their side; they can afford to wait.¡±


    Winters¡¯ brows knitted even more, ¡°But what help could Iron Peak County offer, given its location? This is the extreme southwest of Paratu, insulated from Vineta by the entirety of Paratu.¡±


    ¡°The caravans carrying wool need to enter the buffer zone. I request your permission for that. As for the rest, you needn¡¯t worry,¡± Mr. Leo said with a polite smile. ¡°It has all been taken care of.¡±


    It has all been taken care of? Winters wondered.


    Leaving Iron Peak County to the east is Mont Blanc County, then Riverside County, then further east is Westwood Province, and one must cross Eastern Forest Province before finally reaching Vineta.


    This route spanned three entire provinces, taken care of?


    But another word in Leo¡¯s statement suddenly struck Winters¡ª¡±buffer zone.¡±


    The buffer zone referred to a hundred kilometers of uninhabited land west of Paratu¡¯s national border. Further west, that was the territory of the Herders.


    Chills ran down Winters¡¯ spine, and he thought to bolt up, but ultimately, he just stayed seated steadily, leaning back in the chair and squinting at Mr. Leo.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re entering through the buffer zone? Where does this wool of yours come from?¡±


    From Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face, Winters read many emotions: curiosity, admiration, concern¡­


    Leo met Winters¡¯ gaze, his smile growing brighter. ¡°It comes from exactly the place you¡¯re thinking of.¡±


    If any company commander dared to talk like this, Winters would¡¯ve kicked them already. He very much wanted to grab Leo by the collar and force him to clarify,


    But for many, many reasons, his physical reaction was limited to leaning back slightly, resting against the chair¡¯s backrest, and narrowing his eyes at Leo.


    ¡°You¡¯re smuggling wool from the Herders?¡± Winters plainly pierced through the pretense.


    ¡°Who¡¯s better at sheep farming than the Paratu People, aside from them?¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s smile faded, and his demeanor became more reserved and respectful. ¡°It¡¯s not smuggling; it¡¯s a purchase. Last year¡¯s wool is currently stored in the warehouses of Kingsfort. Transporting it directly would not be cost-effective and would alert the gentlemen of The Federated Provinces.¡±


    ¡°Purchasing wool from the Herders,¡± Winters reiterated. ¡°And transport isn¡¯t a hassle?¡±


    ¡°Please, allow me to explain¡ªmuch of this year¡¯s wool is still on the sheep,¡± Leo finally revealed the tip of his strategic iceberg. ¡°If possible, it¡¯s more economical to move the sheep.¡±


    Winters blinked. ¡°You might not know, but the meadows at least a hundred miles west of Iron Peak County¡­ I¡¯ve burnt them all.¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s face remained unchanged: ¡°No matter, shearing takes place in the summer, by which time the grass will have regrown.¡±


    Winters considered briefly. Since Leo claimed to have cleared the way, there wasn¡¯t much he needed to do but to allow the wool to enter the territory. Helping the Venetians, while simultaneously courting favor with Lady Navarre, he had no reason to refuse.


    ¡°Just wool?¡± Winters waved his hand, showing a smile for the first time. ¡°Then forget about duties like tariffs and transit fees. Just agree on a time and place, and I¡¯ll send men to erect the Floating Bridge for the caravans to cross the river.¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s expression turned oddly amused, ¡°No, you¡¯d best still provide a tariff standard. Because¡­ you¡¯ll understand when the time comes.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Winters had neither seen nor shorn any wool. Mr. Leo was merely laying the groundwork; the big play was still to come.


    But the portly Mr. Leo had indeed solved a problem for Winters.


    The old problem of the guard, the wolf, the sheep, and the rutabaga.

 Chapter 881 881 9 Negotiation

    ?Chapter 881: Chapter 9 Negotiation Chapter 881: Chapter 9 Negotiation The perspective shifted back to the farewell meeting, situated in the oceanic dialect of Paratu, three Venetians using the ¡°Sea Blue Elegance¡± sounded as if they were in encrypted communication.


    Mr. Leo clearly found Andre¡¯s analogy puzzling, and he looked to Winters.


    Winters sighed and explained the riddle to Mr. Leo.


    ¡°What a wonderful analogy,¡± Mr. Leo laughed uncontrollably, ¡°The first step is to bring the sheep across the river?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Andre suddenly grew excited, ¡°How do you know?¡±


    Mr. Leo seemed to have a great enthusiasm for solving the problem, ¡°The second step? Bring the sheep back? Hmm, no, the sheep will eat the turnips¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Andre said with some pride, ¡°The second step is the key, it took me a long time to figure it out.¡±


    ...


    Winters¡¯ temples throbbed faintly. He had realized that Philip Leo always spoke differently depending on who he was talking to, seemingly flowing like a river of words, yet revealing nothing of substance.


    If necessary, this partner of Navarre Commerce could discuss the problem of crossing the river with Andre for three days and nights without revealing a single piece of valuable information.


    ¡°What nonsense with the old man and the wolf!¡± Winters put down his wine cup and bluntly told Andre, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of each taking what they need.¡±


    Mr. Leo picked up his wine glass and sipped a small amount.


    Now it was Andre¡¯s turn not to understand.


    ¡°What are we short of now?¡± Winters asked Andre.


    ¡°Do we even need to talk about it?¡± Andre replied without hesitation, ¡°Food.¡±


    The flight of the peasants had left vast swaths of land fallow, placing Iron Peak County on the brink of famine.


    According to calculations by Senior Mason, if the food rationing system were strictly enforced, Iron Peak County might barely endure until the next summer harvest.


    However, the aggressive arrival of the Terdon Tribe had pushed Iron Peak County even closer to the cliff¡¯s edge.


    Nowadays, Senior Mason spent his days clutching the ledger and sighing deeply, counting the hairs on his pillow each morning had become his necessary routine.


    But Winters felt nothing anymore.


    Last year, when he checked the warehouses and learned the food might not be enough, he was anxious.


    Now that he was certain there wasn¡¯t enough food, Winters had actually thrown caution to the wind.


    Not enough food in Shizhen? Divert military rations there.


    Revodan flour prices still rising? Then distribute free bread to all the poor of the city.


    With the current rate of consumption, Iron Peak County¡¯s food stores, let alone last until next summer¡¯s harvest, wouldn¡¯t make it through this winter.


    ¡°Originally, I was planning to buy food from Mont Blanc County,¡± Winters gazed at the golden liquid in his cup ¡ª even the ferment was made with bread, a thought that seemed extravagant.


    ¡°Buy, my ass,¡± Andre grunted, ¡°Where do we have the money? Just¡ªwell, you know.¡±


    Mr. Leo watched his nose, his nose watched his mouth, clutching the wine glass as if he heard nothing, as if he did not exist.


    ¡°We can find ways to raise the funds,¡± Winters blinked, ¡°Besides, we still have ¡®that¡¯, right?¡± S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Andre thought for a moment, then said, ¡°It¡¯s not just about having the money. What if we want to buy, but they don¡¯t want to sell?¡±


    ¡°They will definitely sell,¡± Winters sipped his ferment.


    Andre was stunned for a moment, then laughed in exasperation, ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡±


    ¡°No, by nature, extortion and robbery are different,¡± Winters earnestly replied, ¡°If you pay, it¡¯s not considered robbery, only forced buying.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Andre said gruffly, ¡°I thought so! The troops haven¡¯t disbanded until now, there must be something up! Good. After seeing our strength, I reckon even the bald guys wouldn¡¯t dare arm-wrestle us.¡±


    The militia troops conscripted from Middle and Lower Iron Peak County were currently operating under a ¡°free to stay or go policy.¡±


    Meaning: conscripted militiamen who wanted to go home could take some dry food, register, and leave; if they didn¡¯t want to leave, they could stay in the barracks and also get military rations.


    A considerable number of militiamen had chosen to stay in the barracks for the time being, such as Monkey and Doug.


    The light in Winters¡¯ eyes dimmed a little, and he did not plan to explain much further.


    Mr. Leo, sitting beside him, took the initiative to speak up, ¡°From what I see, quite a few of your militiamen are left without homes.¡±


    ¡°And so?¡± Andre raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Men of able bodies with no homes, no possessions, no food, and who have seen battle,¡± Mr. Leo shrugged, ¡°Forcing them away might actually cause greater trouble.¡±


    Andre scoffed, eyeing Mr. Leo straight on, ¡°You said you had everything settled, so what business do you have here?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Mr. Leo replied with a smile, ¡°I am the sheep¡ªOr shall we say, the cabbage.¡±


    ¡°Enough,¡± Winters, not wanting Andre to be led by Mr. Leo any longer, went ahead and explained everything to Andre in detail.


    The matter was, in fact, not complicated; there were currently four players at the table:


    First was Iron Peak County, holding horses, desperately in need of food;


    Next was Mr. Leo, representing the Venetian wool textile merchants, who had money and urgently needed wool as well as the trade routes to transport it;


    Then, the Veneta Army, their funds were unknown, but they could provide food and needed warhorses;


    Lastly, the Paratu¡¯s territorial governors, who had everything but would not give it away freely.


    Winters¡¯ original plan was to raise funds and forcefully buy food. If necessary, he would exchange food with horses. There were too many warhorses captured, and they couldn¡¯t afford to keep them anyway.


    Mr. Leo thought this plan was too slow to turn around and was a one-off deal, unable to sustain the importation of food for Iron Peak County.

 Chapter 882 882 9 Negotiation_2

    ?Chapter 882: Chapter 9 Negotiation_2 Chapter 882: Chapter 9 Negotiation_2 Mr. Leo then provided Winters with a very imaginative plan¡ªthe stepped transportation.


    In the past, Mr. Leo had actively engaged in the traditional business between Vineta and Paratu: mule and horse trading.


    It is said, ¡°Oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar come from the east while cattle, sheep, mules, and horses come from the west.¡± Every horse dealer knows that herds cannot be directly driven from the high altitudes of Paratu to the low altitudes of Vineta.


    If the horses were transported directly to Vineta by boat, at best they would significantly lose weight, and at worst they would simply die of illness.


    Therefore, the common method was: along the trend of decreasing altitude, they set up a series of horse-feeding ranches, and drove the herd down the plateau like descending stairs.


    Firstly, it allows the horses to gradually adapt to the air and environment at lower altitudes, and secondly, to change their feed step by step.


    However, this meant that ¡°there are always some horses in transit,¡± unable to be sold.


    ...


    This was not much of a problem for small-time horse dealers who traded in one batch at a time in a single deal.


    But for major mule and horse merchants, ¡°having horses always in transit¡± meant ¡°constantly having a portion of capital tied up,¡± which significantly squeezed their cash flow.


    Over time, cash-rich mule and horse merchants simply stopped going to buy horses in the higher altitudes of western Paratu, instead purchasing directly from the lower-elevation areas of eastern Paratu.


    Though it was more expensive, it saved a great deal of transportation time and capital returned faster.


    Some extraordinarily resourceful mule and horse merchants were even able to buy directly from the military horse farms in Paratu or even from stationed troops.


    The military horse farms that sold the horses would use the money to buy cheaper horses from the west to replenish their stock, easily making a profit on the margin.


    These pieces of information are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the inside trade secrets of the ¡°Paratu-Vineta¡± horse trading business. It¡¯s not a secret to insiders, but it¡¯s like a mountain barrier to outsiders.


    Without Mr. Leo¡¯s explanation, Winters could never have imagined that someone could be bold enough to privately sell military horses.


    Even more shocking intelligence followed, according to Mr. Leo, most of the warhorses of the Vineta Army were bought this way.


    Finally, Mr. Leo asked Winters to pose a few questions to Antonio, ¡°How many horses does the Vineta Army actually need? How do they want to buy? And what are they willing to offer?¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    Mr. Leo did not know the number ¡°three thousand,¡± but Winters did.


    So the answer Winters received was, ¡°Three thousand, a number proposed considering the long-distance, short-term transportation losses. The more warhorses Iron Peak County can provide, the better, but the minimum per transaction must be enough to equip two squadrons¡ªnamely four hundred horses.¡±


    As for what the Vineta Army could put on the scale, ¡°As for money, the annual budget for both the Navy and Army is being tightened (Antonio sighed deeply). If it¡¯s food¡­ maybe we could work out another accounting.¡±


    ¡­


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°Food is no good.¡± Mr. Leo slammed his fist on the table, becoming somewhat agitated, his plump face turning red, ¡°Food isn¡¯t something that can be transported long-distance unless by water! What¡¯s the use of food? Arms! Arms would be more like it!¡±


    Then, Mr. Leo explained a set of merchant mnemonics used to estimate transportation costs.


    One sentence goes, ¡°Transporting food three hundred li, and you cry all the way home.¡±


    It means, ¡°When trafficking food by land, every one hundred and fifty kilometers, the transportation cost matches the price of the food itself. The grain dealer loses terribly and cries all the way home.¡±


    This is a bloody lesson for merchants¡ªfood can¡¯t be traded long-distance unless via water routes.


    ¡°Go ask General Serviati,¡± Mr. Leo pondered, ¡°if he can provide arms. What¡¯s the price?¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Arms?¡± Antonio regarded Winters, falling into thought, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡­ sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°No?¡± Mr. Leo sneered, ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to talk about. Tell General Serviati, no arms, no warhorses!¡±


    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Winters interrupted an impassioned Mr. Leo, frowning. ¡°Do I always have to act as the messenger? How about this, you fully represent me and negotiate with General Serviati?¡±


    Mr. Leo suddenly deflated, shaking his head vigorously, ¡°No, no, I can¡¯t. If I come forward, it¡¯s not negotiating and it won¡¯t work. Only you can sit at an equal position.¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°Ahem.¡± Winters mustered his courage, gazing directly at his foster father, ¡°No arms, no warhorses! You may go back, and send my regards to my aunt.¡±


    ¡­


    Mr. Leo¡¯s guestroom.


    ¡°Half food.¡± Winters told Mr. Leo. ¡°Half arms, no room for negotiation.¡±


    Mr. Leo paced back and forth, his right hand unconsciously scratching at his cheek. Though it was winter, he was sweating profusely, ¡°Mixing half and half? It¡¯s not impossible, but the food has to be discounted!¡±


    ¡­


    Antonio¡¯s tent.


    ¡°You might not be aware, but every one hundred and fifty kilometers of transporting food, the cost is higher than the food itself.¡± Winters took out his notebook, carefully doing the calculations for his foster father, ¡°If the food isn¡¯t discounted, it would be too much of a loss for me.¡±


    Unable to help himself, Antonio tapped Winters on the forehead.


    Winters was stunned; it had been a long time since anyone had shown him such an intimate gesture.


    ¡°You, silly boy!¡± Antonio, not noticing Winters¡¯ emotional fluctuation, was a bit exasperated, ¡°Mr. Leo is a partner of Lady Navarre, not your partner! You haven¡¯t even become her son-in-law yet!¡±

 Chapter 883 883 9 Negotiation_3

    ?Chapter 883: Chapter 9 Negotiation_3 Chapter 883: Chapter 9 Negotiation_3 ¡°Oh?¡± Winters hadn¡¯t recovered his wits, ¡°Ah?!¡±


    Antonio pointed out, ¡°You thought Mr. Leo was your man, but in reality, he is also a party to the negotiations. A carriage that arrives full surely won¡¯t return empty, will it? Let him stop hiding behind you and lay it all out on the table.¡±


    Winters shuffled slowly toward the tent¡¯s exit, reached the tent flap, was about to lift it, but stopped. He turned back to look at his foster father and asked hesitantly, ¡°Lady Navarre¡­ what exactly is her stance¡­ And how do you see Anna¡­¡±


    Antonio¡¯s gesture halted, his smile complicated, mixed with both the satisfaction of ¡°finally coaxing the cabbages,¡± and the blame of ¡°why coax them so recklessly.¡±


    Antonio set down his cup and sighed softly, ¡°What do I think? How else could I think? Do you know the magnitude of trouble you¡¯ve caused?¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters stood there dejectedly.


    It¡¯s well-known that romantic love is generally an embellishment to married life.


    From the noblest of houses to common craftsmen and peasants, marriage has always been a contract of property, status, and power, not the culmination of love.


    ...


    To ¡°abduct¡± an eligible young lady ¡ª more precisely, two ¡ª is so egregious, it¡¯s enough to entrench blood feuds between two families for generations, even dozens of generations, regardless of any ¡°late tickets.¡±


    Lady Navarre might even send an assassin to dispose of Winters ¡ª it¡¯s a proud tradition in Vineta.


    And Winters would never say such garbage as ¡°Anna came of her own accord; I didn¡¯t seduce her.¡±


    ¡°Catherine personally went to apologize to Lady Navarre at her door,¡± Antonio sighed again, ¡°You may not know, but those two hadn¡¯t seen each other for nearly twenty years¡­ Well, that¡¯s our generation¡¯s old news; better left unmentioned.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°For a man, such an affair might become a boast-worthy romantic escapade for a lifetime. For a lady¡¯s reputation, however, it is a devastating blow,¡± Antonio said as he stretched his hand to warm by the fire, without looking directly at Winters, ¡°So, what do you think?¡±


    ¡°Please go to the Navarre home to propose marriage,¡± Winters asked bitterly, ¡°Isn¡¯t it too late?¡±


    Antonio glared at his son, ¡°They have to be willing to agree, as well.¡±


    Winters paused, sensing his foster father¡¯s deeper meaning, ¡°Are you saying¡­ there¡¯s still room to reconcile this matter?¡±


    ¡°Nominally, Miss Navarre and Miss Catherine are currently at the Blue Mountain Monastery, serving as novitiate nuns,¡± Antonio fiddled with the fire.


    For a moment, Winters felt like shouting ¡®Long live Lady Navarre¡¯ three times in admiration.


    ¡°But I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t hide it for too long.¡± Antonio sighed heavily, ¡°You still need to discuss this with Mr. Leo. His presence here means he fully represents Lady Navarre.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Winters hesitated, ¡°Mr. Leo didn¡¯t mention anything about Anna.¡±


    Antonio¡¯s smile was half-mocking, ¡°He didn¡¯t bring it up, so it doesn¡¯t exist? Have you considered that perhaps he¡¯s waiting for you to speak up?¡±


    Winters was momentarily at a loss for words.


    He¡¯d rather jump naked into the frigid river than face such a complicated and unsolvable predicament.


    After thinking it over, Winters decided to take the simplest approach and carefully sat down next to his foster father, ¡°What do you think¡­ I should do?¡±


    Antonio gave an odd answer, ¡°That depends on you and Lady Navarre.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Winters was perplexed.


    ¡°In the end, it¡¯s a matter between you and Lady Navarre,¡± Antonio¡¯s face revealed a nostalgic smile, ¡°If you two are determined to unite, then the process, the outcome, and others¡¯ opinions become irrelevant.¡±


    Antonio patted his son¡¯s shoulder, ¡°By comparison, I¡¯m more concerned about you two eventually growing to loathe each other, turning lovers into enemies. Know this, married life isn¡¯t always so blissful.¡±


    Winters¡¯s cheeks burned as he retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you and my aunt very happy?¡±


    ¡°Silly boy,¡± Antonio stirred the campfire and said leisurely, ¡°That just shows you don¡¯t know the sacrifices we¡¯ve made.¡±

 Chapter 884 884 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels

    ?Chapter 884: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels Chapter 884: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels ¡°Iron Peak County gets flour, Vineta Army gets warhorses, and Paratu People get money and armaments,¡± Winters, carrying Antonio¡¯s final reply, bluntly challenged Leo: ¡°As an intermediary, what do you want to get?¡±


    ¡°A stable supply of raw materials,¡± Leo, who had his speech prepared, added nonchalantly: ¡°And stable trade channels.¡±


    Winters frowned, already tired of Leo¡¯s diplomatic platitudes.


    No matter what he asked, the plump partner of Navarre Commerce always parried with faultless, meaningless talk. Every punch he threw seemed to hit thin air.


    Staring at Leo¡¯s submissive smile, Winters angrily realized¡ªhe was not good at this kind of situation.


    A restrained politician might have the patience to slowly figure out Leo¡¯s bottom card, but Winters at that moment really wanted to flip the table and land a solid punch on that smiling face in front of him. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That familiar rage surged from the deepest part of his chest, only to be quickly suppressed.


    ...


    After a deep breath, Winters spoke again: ¡°Mr. Leo.¡±


    Leo nodded slightly.


    ¡°If it were a year ago, you would probably have been taken to the dungeons for interrogation by now,¡± Winters said with a mixture of nostalgia and sincerity: ¡°Those were the good times.¡±


    ¡°Indeed,¡± Leo¡¯s smile remained respectful: ¡°The past is always glorious.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m threatening you?¡± Winters continued to ask.


    ¡°What I think is not important,¡± Leo replied, neither humbly nor haughtily: ¡°What matters is how you think.¡±


    ¡°This is the far-flung territory of Paratu, a corner of the Alliance, and one might even say the edge of the civilized world. In Sea Blue, speaking indirectly is regarded as a form of linguistic art. But in Iron Peak County, that kind of artful language is meaningless,¡± Winters said, his gaze moving from the window back to Leo: ¡°I just wanted to let you know that.¡±


    Leo tilted his head slightly, waiting for the young man of complex identity to continue.


    ¡°What you want, what you can offer, just say it straight out, and I will reply to you directly,¡± Winters¡¯s tone turned colder: ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste time on meaningless things.¡±


    Leo kept his smile but shook his head inwardly. Negotiations always favored the patient, and setting a final deadline was a strategy, just not suitable for the present.


    But if he was honest with himself, Leo felt the other side had a point¡ªthis wasn¡¯t Sea Blue, nor was this a negotiation, and he certainly wasn¡¯t here to make things difficult.


    ¡°Please believe we are on your side,¡± Leo leaned forward, spreading his palms, explaining: ¡°Iron Peak County urgently needs food, the army urgently needs warhorses. To solve these problems quickly, a third party is needed to provide the turnover.¡±


    Leo¡¯s strategy, simply put, was simple.


    He saw the local government of Paratu as a ¡°reservoir.¡±


    One end of the reservoir connected to Iron Peak County, the other to Vineta. With one end filling, the other side dispensed simultaneously.


    Iron Peak County would give warhorses and money to the Paratu People, and Vineta would supply arms and food to the Paratu People.


    The Paratu side would then distribute food to Iron Peak County and warhorses to the Vineta Army nearby.


    ¡°Very bold,¡± after hearing Leo¡¯s ¡°grand plan,¡± Winters commented expressionlessly: ¡°And very imaginative.¡±


    ¡°Very bold, meaning taking a huge risk,¡± Leo immediately understood the subtext of Winters¡¯s words, smiling: ¡°And very imaginative, meaning impossible to achieve.¡±


    Winters grunted lightly, his thought being hit on the mark.


    Leo¡¯s plan sounded simple, but it was practically a fantasy.


    From Iron Peak County to Vineta, one would have to cross three provinces, passing through countless counties and towns.


    A trade caravan could perhaps disguise itself as a Paratu caravan, moving unnoticed. Yet, how many military and government personnel would be involved in movements as large as Leo described?


    ¡°I believe you can bribe a Paratu person, I even believe you can bribe ten Paratu People,¡± Winters asked somewhat inexplicably: ¡°But can you bribe all Paratu People?¡±


    Mr. Leo laughed and shrugged his shoulders: ¡°You needn¡¯t worry about that.¡±


    Winters¡¯s brows tightened bit by bit, and his expression became serious as he scrutinized Leo¡¯s eyes, asking in a deep voice: ¡°You couldn¡¯t have¡­ really bribed all the Paratu People, could you?¡±


    ¡°If you trust me,¡± Leo rose to his feet, bowing slightly but not deeply: ¡°I am willing to represent you and negotiate with the Paratu individuals involved in the plan.¡±


    ¡°What would I need to provide?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Warhorses, money,¡± Leo answered: ¡°And sincerity.¡±


    ¡°Sincerity?¡±


    Leo explained calmly: ¡°On Paratu¡¯s side, some time is needed to confirm the goods and clear the channels.¡±


    ¡°You mean,¡± Winters wasn¡¯t asking but sneering: ¡°I give away the goods first, and then whether or not the food comes in depends on the Paratu People¡¯s mood?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no, once the army¡¯s supply is provided to Paratu, they will immediately hand over to you. It¡¯s just that confirmation from both sides is needed, and the coming and going of messengers will also cause delays.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still the same thing!¡± Winters also suddenly stood up: ¡°How do I know they won¡¯t default on the agreement?¡±


    ¡°If you really don¡¯t feel reassured,¡± Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face shone with twelvefold sincerity: ¡°Navarre Commerce is willing to provide a guarantee.¡±


    Winters was about to rebut but felt a flicker of something unusual. He sat down slowly, and Mr. Leo¡¯s gaze followed him.

 Chapter 885 885 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3

    ?Chapter 885: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_2 Chapter 885: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_2 After a moment of contemplation, Winters raised his head, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°What¡­¡± Mr. Leo asked with interest, ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not here to persuade the Paratu People.¡± Winters looked at Leo. ¡°You¡¯re here to persuade me!¡±


    Mr. Leo continued to smile, neither confirming nor denying.


    Winters organized his thoughts and spoke slowly, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know where you got such great energy from, I have a vague feeling¡ªyou¡¯ve already bought over the Paratu People. I just can¡¯t understand, if that is the case, why do you need to persuade me? Is it such a difficult task to have the caravan bypass Iron Peak County? What exactly do you want?¡±


    Leo skirted around the trap with a light touch and replied earnestly, ¡°In fact, the matter is not as complicated as you think. Our trading company¡ªor rather, the entire membership of the Venetian Wool Textile Guild¡ªsimply wants wool.¡±


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t answered my question,¡± Winters pressed on the key point, ¡°Why me?¡±


    ...


    Mr. Leo was about to give his usual diplomatic platitudes but paused for a moment and then resumed with a smile, ¡°Because it¡¯s you, that¡¯s why it¡¯s you.¡±


    Winters¡¯s first reaction was that Leo was brushing him off, but Leo¡¯s expression was incredibly sincere, and his intuition told him the other was not lying.


    Asking further likely wouldn¡¯t yield anything more, unless through torture. There was no point in pressing the issue.


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you an answer to this matter¡­ not right now,¡± Winters stood up and took leave of Leo. ¡°I need to discuss with others before I can give you a response.¡±


    As he spoke, Winters saw a fleeting expression on Leo¡¯s face¡­ strange, surprised, interested.


    And it was just a fleeting moment, so brief that Winters couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it was an illusion. Throughout the entire conversation, Winters had never seen Leo show any ¡°unguarded¡± emotions.


    ¡°No problem,¡± Leo said with a smile, bowing slightly, ¡°I will await the good news.¡±


    Winters had wanted to talk with Leo about Anna, but the atmosphere had changed, and he no longer felt like delving into personal matters. So he nodded, bowed in return, and left directly. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some time later, Winters brought back a response.


    The temporary resolution meeting¡ªWinters, Bard, and Senior Mason¡ªpassed the following content with a two-to-one vote: ¡°Warhorse can be delivered first, which means the quantity of two mid-squadrons. But as for currency, that¡¯s not possible, Iron Peak County¡¯s treasury can¡¯t spare a single silver coin right now.¡±


    ¡°No problem, with the materials provided by Vineta, that¡¯s enough to get the waters moving,¡± Leo accepted without hesitation, suddenly smiling brilliantly, ¡°As for the money issue¡­ there might still be a way.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What method Leo had in mind, let¡¯s not mention it here.


    As the hour hand moved forward, let¡¯s return to the farewell gathering.


    Winters and Leo briefly explained to Andre the ¡°exchange trade¡± between Iron Peak County, Paratu, and Vineta.


    Upon hearing that the Warhorses would be handed over to the Paratu People, Andre was utterly displeased.


    ¡°So¡­ how much do we have to give away?¡± Andre asked Winters with a morose face.


    Not wanting to discuss secrets in front of Leo, Winters consoled Lieutenant Cherini, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we go back, let Senior Mason explain it to you in detail.¡±


    Andre wanted to ask more, but seeing Leo present, he understood Winters¡¯s intention.


    Feeling frustrated, Andre¡¯s irritation turned directly to Leo, ¡°What does this have to do with you?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Mr. Leo pointed at himself, looking very surprised.


    ¡°As if it¡¯s just business,¡± Andre demanded fiercely, ¡°Why are you the one representing us in the negotiations?¡±


    Before Winters could speak, Leo had an answer, explaining submissively, ¡°Please be assured, I absolutely did not betray the interests of you gentlemen. I went to negotiate because only if I did, was there room for mitigation.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Andre wasn¡¯t convinced.


    ¡°If you were to negotiate,¡± Leo looked at Winters and continued smiling, ¡°Or if His Excellency Montaigne were to face them. Should the negotiations break down, then there would be no more chances. But if an insignificant person like me goes first and even if it breaks down, you gentlemen can still salvage the situation. Do you not agree?¡±


    Andre smacked his lips, ¡°Seems to make some sense.¡±


    Winters took a sip of fermenting water¡ªthe situation wasn¡¯t right, better fob it off for now and explain it to Andre later.


    Mr. Leo understood Andre¡¯s hostility and didn¡¯t plan to chat further, finding an excuse to say goodbye and leave.


    Then, there were only Winters and Andre left in this small conversational circle.


    After emptying a small bucket of fermenting water, Andre loosened his gold-embroidered red satin belt and said seriously, ¡°No good, I¡¯ve got to go to the restroom.¡±


    With that, he turned and walked away.


    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re not thinking of deserting, are you?¡± Winters grabbed Andre.


    ¡°How could I do such a thing?¡± Andre became anxious at once, ¡°I really need to go to the restroom!¡±


    Winters released him suspiciously, and Andre strode away, leaving Winters alone in the banquet hall.


    As the two men drank and chatted, the oddity wasn¡¯t quite apparent.


    But when Winters, a Venetian, was left alone amid a sea of Paratu dialect, a sense of loneliness surged in an instant.


    Looking around, Paratu officers were laughing and singing, drinking heartily, and Revodan gentlemen were forming groups, each huddled in circles.


    ¡°Anna must be waiting for me, right?¡± Winters thought. He wanted to leave, but also couldn¡¯t.


    Someone was approaching, and Winters instinctively looked toward the source of the sound: a bald man with a scarred face and a somewhat gaunt man were dragging another tall soldier over.

 Chapter 886 886 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3

    ?Chapter 886: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_3 Chapter 886: Chapter 10 The Fastest Way to Gain 3 Levels_3 The first two individuals were the military head of Mont Blanc County, ¡°Colonel Gessa,¡± and the former military head of Iron Peak County, ¡°Major Ronald.¡±


    Winters did not recognize the person following them, but it was evident that his rank was not low either.


    Both Gessa and Ronald were colonels, and as a captain, Winters respectfully saluted first.


    Gessa paused, then returned the salute.


    Since Winters had volunteered to return a thousand horses, Gessa¡¯s attitude towards him had softened considerably.


    The bald colonel, pleased, readily agreed to Winters¡¯ request to release prisoners¡ªWinters still had three of his men locked up in Gessa¡¯s prison.


    While the unfamiliar soldier sized up Winters, Winters was also observing him.


    ...


    The newcomer was tall, with deep-set eyes and a slightly gloomy expression.


    ¡°This is Thunder Group County¡¯s stationing officer, Colonel Skul,¡± Gessa took the initiative to introduce him to Winters, seeming worried that Winters might not understand, Gessa further explained, ¡°The Piaoqi Troops I brought are mostly from Thunder Group County.¡±


    After hearing this, Winters also gave a separate salute to Colonel Skul.


    Colonel Skul did not return the salute, his gaze complex as he looked at Winters: ¡°Which term are you from?¡±


    ¡°21st term,¡± replied Winters.


    ¡°It has already reached the 21st term,¡± Colonel Skul remarked with a hint of emotion before asking Winters directly, ¡°Was Zibeer killed by you?¡±


    Zibeer? A sting went through Winters, but he couldn¡¯t recall who that was. Searching his memory, he soon realized it was the name of Vernge County¡¯s stationing officer.


    As expected, such matters were unavoidable.


    ¡°Although I did not personally kill Colonel Zibeer. As the highest commander on the opposing side during the conflict, Colonel Zibeer did indeed die by my hand.¡±


    Hurry up then, whether to insult or to seek revenge, let it be quick.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, on the second floor balcony of the banquet hall, Colonel Moritz was passing a bottle of strong liquor to a drinking buddy he had encountered unexpectedly.


    ¡°Meeting on the battlefield means being enemies, clear and distinct,¡± Moritz leaned against a corner, propped up his legs, and said slowly, ¡°Now we¡¯ve become distant relatives, and things are difficult to cut loose, chaotic, and hard to separate¡­¡±


    Captain Moro stood leaning against the wall without a word.


    ¡­


    Colonel Skul¡¯s nostrils flared, words on the verge of bursting out, yet he held them back.


    The two of them stood face to face, neither speaking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be hard on the kid,¡± Ronald¡¯s hand rested on Skul¡¯s shoulder, ¡°If Zibeer had the chance, Zibeer would have done the same.¡±


    Ronald was speaking up for Winters, but his words were like a branding iron, searing into Winters.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to ¡®excuse¡¯ me in this way, nor should you do so,¡± Winters stood up straight, wanting to say much, but in the end, only a short sentence was filtered out, ¡°The act of killing Colonel Zibeer followed my personal volition. It was not due to being compelled by circumstances or having no other choice.¡±


    Colonel Skul¡¯s body suddenly tensed, his cheeks twitching.


    If Skul was a reckless, simple-minded fellow, one who¡¯d shout, curse, and even swing his fist to teach this insolent youngster a lesson.


    But Skul was not like that; on the contrary, ever since joining the Land Academy, he was known for deep thought and outstanding eloquence.


    In just a brief conversation, Skul had realized that interrogation, blame, and questioning could not shake the person before him. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the end, a multitude of words condensed into a weak statement: ¡°Is it worth it? Do you really think all this is worth it?¡±


    Winters also fell silent.


    He did not know which road to take, nor what the end would look like. Even what he originally wanted had become somewhat blurred.


    And yet, merely by taking a step forward blindly, his footprints filled with blood.


    The battlefield covered with corpses at dawn, such scenes could cause anyone to doubt themselves.


    ¡°Whether it¡¯s worth it or not, I don¡¯t know¡­ Perhaps it will take many years to find out,¡± Winters replied softly, ¡°I say this not to rationalize my actions, nor for my self-esteem. I am merely certain of one thing, that allowing the current situation to continue will eventually bring about an even greater catastrophe.¡±


    Colonel Gessa and Major Ronald did not fully understand Winters¡¯ ¡°mad words,¡± but Colonel Skul understood.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about such metaphysical matters,¡± Skul said with a fierce gaze, ¡°I want to ask you a more practical question¡ªare you going to continue fighting?¡±


    Skul pressed urgently, ¡°Can you continue to fight?¡±


    Winters suddenly realized that his conversation with Colonel Skul could skip over much of the middle content and get straight to the point.


    And Skul definitely wasn¡¯t trying to test his resolve.


    ¡°So what?¡± Winters countered.


    ¡­


    Two hours later.


    ¡°So what?¡± Andre asked eagerly.


    Bard and Mason were also fully attentive, waiting for the answer¡ªaside from Mr. A and Mr. B, all decision-makers from Iron Peak County were now seated around the small table.


    ¡°They want to offer us a truce,¡± said Winters.

 Chapter 887 887 11 Stirrup Wine

    ?Chapter 887: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine Chapter 887: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine Revodan.


    As the Piaoqi Troops lined up, Colonel Skul strolled along the banks of St. George River, inspecting this familiar yet unfamiliar city for the last time.


    The stone path was shrouded in pale blue smoke, with piles of pine branches and mugwort burning in the middle of the street, filling the air with a strange fragrance¡ªsaid to ward off the plague.


    Huge logs continuously passed through the curtain of smoke, drifting downstream.


    The logs were drawn ashore by boatmen, and men wielding axes, having waited a long time, split the branches into firewood, and the thick main trunks were sent into the noisy water-powered sawmill.


    Rebuilding homes required timber, and winter heating required fuel.


    The Rebels¡¯ government lifted the logging restrictions, and the material and energy accumulated in the forests for hundreds of years were being released anew.


    ...


    Skul¡¯s gaze lingered on the huge water wheel on the outside of the workshop¡ªa sawmill was already in use, while five more were under construction.


    The crisp sound of horse hooves; Colonel Gessa, riding a black steed, quickly arrived beside Skul.


    ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Gessa asked.


    Skul, smelling the pine scent in the air, replied, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not quite sure.¡±


    Gessa followed Skul¡¯s gaze and couldn¡¯t help but laugh: ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a water wheel?¡±


    ¡°It is a water wheel,¡± Skul answered. ¡°But it¡¯s not just a water wheel.¡±


    Thud!


    Thud!


    Thud!


    The air carried the rhythmic, dull vibrations.


    Across the river, Gessa peered and saw towering wooden towers appearing faintly through the mist.


    ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not just a water wheel,¡± Gessa smacked his lips. ¡°There are pile drivers too.¡±


    On the opposite riverbank, thousands of common people were engaging in something uncommon for winter¡ªbuilding houses.


    With the freezing cold complicating construction, these people constructed a large amount of machinery: tower pile drivers, animal-powered cranes, and movable hoists¡­


    They used massive machinery typically reserved for building churches, fortresses, and palaces, but the resulting houses were so rudimentary it was laughable.


    What kind of houses were they, really?


    Four wooden pillars nailed with wooden boards formed the four walls, and a roof of the same wooden planks finished construction. Rather than calling it a residence, it seemed more like a prison.


    Meanwhile, at the construction site across the river.


    ¡°Move a bit more towards me!¡± Mason, his voice hoarse from shouting, waved his arms grandly, directing the crane operator: ¡°That¡¯s good! Lower it down! Slow down!¡±


    The roof hoisted mid-air gradually descended, and once the roof was in place, carpenters with hammers pulled away the supports to secure it.


    Unlike the normal housing construction sequence of ¡°first setting up beams, then adding the roof,¡± Mason¡¯s construction sites preassembled the roofs on the ground, which were then lifted up with cranes.


    Initially stunned, the residents of Iron Peak County were now used to such sights.


    If anyone thought these houses resembled prisons¡ªthey were absolutely correct!


    These homes were designed exactly like the barracks Mason had overseen at the labor farm.


    Moreover, to further save building materials, Revodan¡¯s barracks adopted a ¡°row house¡± structure. Here, houses were built next to each other, sharing a wall, thus greatly saving on wood.


    Even though the labor farm¡¯s barracks were barely ¡°detached homes,¡± Revodan¡¯s barracks were even less so than prisoners¡¯ barracks.


    Sea Blue¡¯s row houses were made of stone, robust and thick, offering substantial soundproofing.


    Revodan¡¯s row-house barracks only had a thin wooden board separating each room; nothing could be blocked from sight.


    Yet, the people of Iron Peak County assembling these barracks were eager to move in. Every person exerted their utmost effort, racing against time to build intensively.


    Thus, besides the women and children evacuated to Old Town, the majority of those in Revodan from Iron Peak County still only had crude tents that couldn¡¯t ward off the cold.


    And the weather was getting colder day by day.


    Thus, aesthetics and comfort were not considerations for now.


    At the construction site, men, women, elderly, and children¡ªnot construction workers by trade¡ªworked in clearly defined roles and orderly fashion.


    Anyone who had participated in Revodan¡¯s war preparations could recognize it; these men, women, elderly and children adopted the same organizational structure as during the city¡¯s fortification phase.


    Even like during the defense where ¡°who built which section of the wall, defended that same section,¡± now it was ¡°who built which barracks, would live in those barracks.¡±


    Overseeing the housing projects, Mason looked at the busy construction site and suddenly felt a bit of worry: ¡°This¡­ may well be the most embarrassing work of my life.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency?¡± Demon Ongs, half his face covered by a shocking birthmark, sensed something unusual and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you pleased? Isn¡¯t the project proceeding smoothly?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to build,¡± Mason smacked his lips. ¡°But it will be difficult to take down later.¡± sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Take down? Why demolish it?¡± Demon Ongs¡¯s tone was as indifferent as ever. ¡°But if you really want to demolish it, it¡¯s not hard; these wooden barracks could be burned down to nothing with just a fire.¡±


    Mason chuckled bitterly, shaking his head, then suddenly looked startled: ¡°Oh no! These houses¡­ they won¡¯t end up being called ¡®Mason Houses,¡¯ will they?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Now then?¡± Gessa asked Skul. ¡°Do you still think a colonel¡¯s uniform can buy them off?¡±


    Skul, with a serene expression: ¡°At least I¡¯m now completely sure, Captain Montaigne cannot be bought.¡±

 Chapter 888 888 11 Stirrup Wine_2

    ?Chapter 888: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine_2 Chapter 888: Chapter 11 Stirrup Wine_2 ¡°`


    ¡­


    ¡°Negotiation?¡± Andre asked Winters: ¡°Can we really trust them?¡±


    ¡°Trust is one thing,¡± Winters sighed, ¡°but I always feel like they could never truly accept us.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Isn¡¯t letting them be the same as raising tigers?¡± Gessa frowned deeply.


    ¡­


    Resting his chin on his hand, Andre said nonchalantly, ¡°After all the talk, sooner or later, we¡¯ll still have to fight.¡±


    ...


    ¡­


    ¡°As it stands, the cost of using force will far exceed what we can afford,¡± Skul remarked as he observed the bustling figures on the opposite side of the river, speaking to Gessa, ¡°Once he distributes the land, things will get even more complicated.¡±


    ¡­


    Winters was somewhat disheartened: ¡°If they want to negotiate, then let¡¯s negotiate. You know the situation in Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°The current situation is clear to you,¡± Skul said gravely, ¡°We must stabilize them at all costs. We must prevent any complications that might disrupt the ¡®more important¡¯ strategies.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°In any case, if it¡¯s possible to shed less blood,¡± Winters decided resolutely, ¡°then it¡¯s best to shed less blood.¡±


    ¡­


    The Piaoqi Troops were already equipped and ready, Colonel Skul and Colonel Gessa mounted their horses.


    In addition to those designated to see them off, many soldiers from Iron Peak County and citizens of Revodan spontaneously came to bid farewell.


    Winters held his glass steadily and walked calmly towards the three colonels¡¯ horses.


    According to Paratu traditions, in the presence of a lady host, ¡°Stirrup Wine¡± should be offered by her. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Winters insisted on personally serving Stirrup Wine to the three colonels, so today there was no beloved kissing of the hostess.


    Winters didn¡¯t wish to speak those superficial fancy words. He stood in front of the cavalry, raising his hand in a solemn salute.


    After all, when the Herders invaded, these Paratu Cavalry came to Iron Peak County with their sabres, and Winters was genuinely grateful to them from his heart.


    Although it sounds clich¨¦, shared enmity is always the fastest way to build camaraderie among comrades-in-arms. It¡¯s hard to say goodbye to comrades with whom one has fought shoulder to shoulder, bathed in blood.


    Andre was the most emotional, his eyes even a little red. It was only because there was no alcohol in Iron Peak County that everyone remained relatively rational.


    Had it followed Paratu customs strictly, both sides would have been tearful, sniffling, drunkenly embracing and saying strange things by now.


    ¡°Enough, enough,¡± Colonel Gessa shivered, ¡°Don¡¯t you start with any sappy talk, I can¡¯t take it.¡±


    ¡°Actually, I was hoping you could stay in Iron Peak County a little while longer.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, who gets sick in war?¡± Bringing up the old topic, Gessa was rather helpless, ¡°When people crowd together, naturally sickness arises. After a few days when the refugees scatter, that Aachen plague will disappear as well.¡±


    Regarding this matter, several conversations had already taken place. It wasn¡¯t possible to convince Colonel Gessa before, and it certainly couldn¡¯t be done with a few short words during the farewell.


    Winters composed his emotions and nodded his head in respect: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You should go thank Colonel Bod,¡± Colonel Gessa said as he grabbed the back of his slick head, speaking rapidly, ¡°Besides, we weren¡¯t here to help you. The Herders, well, they all need to be killed no matter what¡­ It¡¯s all thanks to General Adams and his so-called [intercept strategy], all of it¡¯s total bullshit! If Iron Peak County goes down, wouldn¡¯t the Herders just detour through Iron Peak County back to the wastelands? What¡¯s the use of his blocking action on the Border River in Vernge County¡­ it ends up being our job to wipe his ass¡­¡±


    ¡°`


    Winters left Colonel Gessa to his self-justifications, picked up another glass of wine, and approached Major Ronald¡¯s horse.


    ¡°Sorry, Major.¡±


    Major Ronald smiled, shaking his head and downed the glass of wine in one gulp.


    Lastly, Winters approached Colonel Skul¡¯s horse with the wine glass in hand.


    Colonel Skul took the glass and gazed at the much junior man before him, sighing deeply, leaving only one sentence after a thousand words: ¡°If only you had come to Thunder Group County earlier¡­¡±


    Winters did not speak, merely nodding his head in acknowledgment.


    ¡­


    Behind the second-floor window of the city hall, a man wearing a mask silently watched the people saying their farewells.


    ¡°You should come with us, Moro,¡± a Junior Officer dressed in Piaoqi Troops uniform, tugging at the masked man¡¯s sleeve, pleaded painstakingly: ¡°You still have a fianc¨¦e waiting for you!¡±


    Captain Moro remained silent.


    The Piaoqi Troops Captain knew that once his comrade resolved to do something, he could be as stubborn as a rock.


    The Cavalry could leave at any moment, and the Piaoqi Troops Captain, anxious and annoyed, demanded: ¡°Why on earth do you insist on staying here? At least convince me!¡±


    ¡°There are still so many people, just like I was before, being driven by the Herders like slaves,¡± Captain Moro replied, looking towards the figure serving Stirrup Wine: ¡°That guy said¡­ no, he claimed he could bring our people back¡­ so I won¡¯t be leaving here for the time being.¡±


    The Piaoqi Troops Captain was speechless; stamping his foot, he said: ¡°At least write a letter to Dunia! Let her know you¡¯re still alive!¡±


    Moro touched his mask subconsciously, the icy touch of the iron mask reaching his fingertips, and he said indifferently: ¡°It¡¯s better for her to think that I¡¯m dead.¡±


    ¡­


    The sharp sound of the military horn resonated, and the imposing Piaoqi Troops rode out of the city. The battle in Vernge County was not over yet; the Piaoqi Troops had to continue swinging their sabers.


    However, for the people of Iron Peak County, the departure of the Piaoqi Troops was like a ¡°signal¡± that divided tomorrow and yesterday into two parts.


    Though there were still small groups of Terdun people roaming lower Iron Peak County, though they still had to guard against enemies from Vernge County infiltrating Tiefeng, and though rebuilding their homes was immensely difficult, the darkest days had finally ended, and the people began to look forward to the arrival of something beautiful.


    Antonio Serviati also left with the Paratu Piaoqi Troops.


    Antonio¡¯s military duties made it impossible for him to stay in Tiefeng for long.


    He had arrived with a small escort, and he left with the same small escort¡ªplus Lieutenant Juan.


    Lieutenant Juan came to Tiefeng to bring Winters back to Vineta. However, it now seemed that this mission was impossible to complete.


    According to what Senior Juan said himself, the weather was quite fine in September, and now Paratu was too cold for his liking, he was homesick¡­


    Respecting Juan¡¯s wishes, Winters did not insist on detaining the senior, and neither did Antonio force Lieutenant Juan to stay.


    As for Colonel Moritz¡­ After a private meeting with Moritz, Antonio made a ¡°strategic adjustment.¡±


    Moritz received a verbal appointment, and in terms of organization, he was no longer part of the Third ¡°Da Weineta¡± Legion, but instead became a member of the [Vineta Military Advisory Group]¡ªthe theoretical military entity that would provide assistance to the Second Paratu Republic.


    Winters had not yet realized that Antonio had in fact assigned his best subordinate to him.


    ¡­


    With Antonio, Senior Juan, Ronald, Gessa¡­ many people leaving all at once, Winters felt suddenly empty, even somewhat at a loss.


    Fortunately, he finally had plenty of time to play with dogs, feed horses, sleep, and more importantly¡ªto be with Anna.


    But Anna¡­ Anna had her worries.

 Chapter 889 889 12 The Dog Marching

    ?Chapter 889: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching Chapter 889: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching Revodan, the stables of the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters.


    Father Emmond from the Revodan parish walked into the stables and found that, apart from Civil Guard Officer Montaigne, there was another man wearing an iron mask present. The two were engaged in a conversation.


    ¡°¡­Building a stone bridge is much more troublesome than a wooden one,¡± the man in the iron mask spoke in a deep voice, ¡°But then again¡­ what you have plenty of right now is manpower, so it wouldn¡¯t be difficult to build if you really want to¡­¡±


    Accompanying the continuous strange noises, Father Emmond heard the voice of Civil Guard Officer Montaigne from the innermost part of the stables:


    ¡°What was before is before, now is now, things have changed¡­ Previously, people reluctantly accepted working without pay. Now it¡¯s different, no one wants to work for free¡­ Ah, I do miss the people of Terdun¡­ Could I entrust this matter to you¡­¡±


    The masked man snickered sarcastically, ¡°I eat your food, drink your drinks, and stay in your accommodations, do I have the right to refuse?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you do.¡±


    The masked man obviously lacked the awe towards Blood Wolf that people of Iron Peak County had; he just snorted indifferently.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take that as your agreement. How long will the construction take?¡±


    The masked man casually responded, ¡°Two or three years, perhaps.¡±


    ...


    The strange noise stopped, and Civil Guard Officer Montaigne came out of the stable with a shovel, ¡°Two or three years?!¡±


    But this pause allowed Father Emmond, who had been awkwardly standing there undetected, to finally be noticed.


    ¡°Good day, gentlemen.¡± Father Emmond made a cross over his chest, greeting them promptly: ¡°Good day.¡±


    ¡°Good day.¡± Winters recognized the man as the current acting manager of the Revodan Cathedral and nodded back.


    ¡°Should I leave first?¡± Father Emmond asked awkwardly.


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters waved his hand, ¡°Captain Moro and I were discussing the bridge construction. Please, stay and listen.¡±


    Then, Winters addressed the masked man, ¡°Two to three years is too long.¡±


    ¡°What you want is a stone bridge, not a wooden one.¡± Moro¡¯s impatience was palpable even behind the mask, ¡°Given the span of the St. George River, two to three years is actually short. Four to five years could also be possible. It mainly depends on how much manpower and money you can provide.¡±


    Winters immediately countered, ¡°How many people do you need and how much money? And how long will it take?¡±


    With others present, Moro preferred not to speak much. He sighed deeply, ¡°You wait¡­ Tomorrow, I will submit a written plan to you.¡±


    With that, Moro was about to leave.


    Winters wouldn¡¯t let his senior off so easily: ¡°I have another question, it¡¯s so cold in winter, wouldn¡¯t underwater construction be dangerous?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no safe underwater construction,¡± Moro replied disdainfully, ¡°Wait until summer, the rainy season, and you won¡¯t even be able to build then!¡±


    Moro then bowed slightly to Father Emmond, ignoring Winters¡¯ continued concerns, and left the stables without looking back.


    Watching his senior leave, Winters politely explained to Father Emmond, ¡°During the previous siege, the bridge was demolished. Since it needs to be rebuilt, I thought it might be better to just build a stone bridge.¡±


    Father Emmond¡¯s expression turned awkward because the old wooden bridge was actually the property of the Revodan Monastery, and outsiders had to pay the monastery to cross it.


    ¡°It¡¯s truly a blessing from the Lord for Revodan to have such a wise and kind Civil Guard Officer.¡± Father Emmond positioned himself properly, generously offering praises.


    Winters, holding a shovel, walked back into the stable, ¡°Did you come to visit me for any specific reason?¡±


    Father Emmond¡¯s gaze wandered inside the stable, past a door where a pure black little pony and two puppies were.


    The little pony stood in a corner of the stable, looking aggrieved.


    The two puppies were running frantically by Civil Guard Officer Montaigne¡¯s side, their running style odd¡ª all high-stepping. Not like dogs¡­ more like a horse¡¯s dance steps.


    Father Emmond finally realized the source of the strange noise: it turns out, Civil Guard Officer Montaigne was shoveling horse manure.


    ¡°You truly have a knack for raising hunting dogs.¡± Father Emmond strained his brain for a compliment, ¡°They even march properly.¡±


    Winters, who was shoveling, stiffened up, his face darkening a bit. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°This little black horse is quite spirited too!¡±


    The dog timely barked.


    ¡°Father, what is it you need.¡± Winters paused, leaning on his shovel, ¡°Please, speak frankly.¡±


    Father Emmond forced a pleasing smile, ¡°I heard your wife rides horses?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for ladies to ride big horses.¡± Father Emmond warmly suggested, ¡°I have brought two small horses that the nuns ride; I hope you¡¯ll accept them.¡±


    Winters was both amused and befuddled.


    After the former bishop of the Revodan district died in a fall, the Revodan Monastery and the cathedral were temporarily managed by Father Emmond.


    Unlike the slick, accident-prone former bishop, Father Emmond was naive, stiff, and extremely devout.


    From Winters¡¯ observation, Father Emmond was likely selected because other monks feared Blood Wolf, putting this honest man in the front.


    Luckily, Father Emmond was agreeable, cooperating well with Winters¡¯ arrangements.


    However, to the extent that gifting made the recipient quite uncomfortable, Revodan probably only had him.


    Seeing his hesitance in addressing the main issue, Winters cut to the chase, ¡°If what you seek is the position of the bishop of Revodan¡ªI must speak frankly, that is an internal affair of your church, and I have no intention to interfere. You better take the small horses back.¡±

 Chapter 890 890 12 The Dog Marching_2

    ?Chapter 890: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_2 Chapter 890: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_2 The Church is a centralized and top-down organization, although the Pope is miles away, the selection of the next bishop still has to be decided by him¡ªat least in theory.


    However, how it is actually carried out involves internal power struggles within the Church, and Winters does not want to get involved in these murky waters.


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Father Emmond shook his head desperately, ¡°The appointment and removal of a bishop should be ordained by His Holiness the Pope, how dare I scheme!¡±


    Winters, leaning on his iron shovel, did not respond, silently waiting for the other party to continue speaking.


    ¡°It seems you have been short of money recently?¡± Emmond tentatively asked, ¡°What if Revodan Monastery donates a sum of cash to you again? Right! Let¡¯s donate it in the name of bridge repair!¡±


    Winters felt wronged, he really wanted to question the other side, ¡°Bridge construction and road paving are public expenditures, how can you say it¡¯s giving me money?¡±


    But when the words left his lips, they turned into: ¡°Then how much can you offer?¡±


    ...


    Emmond carefully mentioned a weight¡ªthe weight of gold.


    Winters cleared his throat, fetched two stools from beside him, and helped Father Emmond to sit down.


    Then Winters sat down himself, face to face, and asked seriously, ¡°Tell me, what exactly do you want?¡±


    Emmond explained anxiously, ¡°I, as well as the other brothers of the monastery, don¡¯t want to ask you for anything, we just hope that you can respect a sacred and established right of the Church.¡±


    ¡°What right?¡± Winters observed Father Emmond with interest, ¡°Worth two ponies plus most of your estate?¡±


    Emmond swallowed, ¡°The right to internal trials.¡±


    ¡­


    After some time.


    Andre led two miniature horses into the stables.


    The small ponies were about one meter tall, barely reaching Andre¡¯s waist, looking more like two large dogs.


    ¡°Where did these little guys come from?¡± Andre asked as soon as he entered: ¡°They really are rare creatures.¡±


    Playing with the puppies without looking up, Winters replied, ¡°Do you want one? I¡¯ll give you one.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want it; they are for old men and women to ride.¡± Andre found an empty stall and temporarily locked the small ponies inside: ¡°Me riding them? That¡¯d be like riding rabbits.¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°They were sent by Father Emmond of Revodan Monastery.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense then; nuns and monks ride these kinds of horses.¡± Andre dragged two large bundles of oat straw, rolled up his sleeves, and started bedding another stall. ¡°But don¡¯t look down on them, these horses are precious! Worth more than ordinary horses. They are also troublesome to raise, if I leave them with you, I bet they¡¯d die sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave them to you then.¡±


    ¡°When will I have the time?¡± Andre spit out the straw from his mouth, standing outside the fence of the stables waiting for the dust to settle.


    Seeing the two small hunting dogs fighting at Winters¡¯ feet, he couldn¡¯t help laughing, ¡°But really, I shouldn¡¯t leave them to you, look what you are raising? Horses bark like dogs, dogs march in step, you can¡¯t argue with that.¡±


    Looking at the two high-stepping puppies, Winters covered his face and sighed deeply.


    Gerard Mitchell¡¯s hunting dogs had a litter of puppies, and when Mrs. Mitchell left Wolf Town, she took two of the puppies with her as companions.


    Later, the two puppies were raised with Changsheng. The result was puppies walking in a military march, with Changsheng barking out of tune every day.


    ¡°Ronald brought back a prisoner from Iron Peak County.¡± Winters picked up a puppy and placed it on his lap to comb its fur, ¡°Did you know?¡±


    The puppy, which couldn¡¯t stop for a moment, suddenly turned very obedient when Winters grabbed it, and tongue-lapped Winters¡¯ fingers.


    Andre, seeing that the dust had settled, led the two small ponies into the stable, ¡°Heard it¡¯s a clergy member from the Church?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Have you seen that person?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t come back with Ronald.¡± Andre picked up an empty bucket to get water for the small ponies: ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    Winters fiddled with the chubby ears of the puppy: ¡°The Church wants to deal with that prisoner.¡±


    Andre stopped, looking surprised, ¡°Deal with?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, calling it dealing with is a polite expression. A more accurate term would be¡­¡± Winters put down the puppy, watching it dash away chasing its sibling, and slowly uttered a term: ¡°[Religious tribunal trial].¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Andre was dumbfounded, ¡°Ah?¡±


    Winters and Andre were born after the establishment of the Alliance, not experiencing the religious oppression of the Imperial Era.


    The term ¡®religious tribunal trial¡¯ gave both of them a visceral feeling, like seeing an old coat pulled out from the very bottom of a box¡ªmoldy, wormy, rotten-smelling¡ªboth familiar and strange, but mainly uncomfortable.


    The frown on Winters¡¯ forehead tightened slightly, ¡°From the price Emmond started with, as long as I nod, Revodan Monastery would probably set up the stakes immediately.¡±


    ¡°Stakes? Wait?¡± Andre dropped the water bucket: ¡°Where did they get so much hatred? Isn¡¯t the prisoner just an old man? Are they going to burn an old man?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Winters pondered deeply, ¡°According to Emmond, the trial of clergy members is an internal affair of the Church. He opened a very high price, hoping I ¡®respect their sacred right.''¡±


    Andre¡¯s jaws hadn¡¯t closed in a long while, ¡°The Church? Internal trial? Is that even a thing? Really?¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t know about that, at least according to Emmond¡ª that¡¯s the case.¡±

 Chapter 891 891 12 The Dog Marching_3

    ?Chapter 891: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_3 Chapter 891: Chapter 12 The Dog Marching_3 ¡°`


    ¡°That¡­¡± Andre was puzzled for a moment, then asked with confusion, ¡°If it¡¯s an internal affair, why do they still need your consent? A very high price? Are they trying to bribe you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the interesting part.¡± Winters stood up and paced, ¡°In fact, it has nothing to do with me, so why bribe me? Why do they need my permission?¡±


    ¡°That does make sense.¡± Andre understood, ¡°Without our nod, who would dare set up a stake for burning in Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°If only it were that simple.¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°Do you know what price Edmond offered me?¡±


    Andre tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.


    Winters named a weight, then added lightly a word: ¡°Pure gold.¡±


    Andre took a deep breath, ¡°Otherwise, just agree to it, since it¡¯s the Church¡¯s own business, why meddle? It¡¯s not related to us anyway!¡±


    ...


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why offer such a high price? Couldn¡¯t they just mention it to me casually, or go ahead with the burning and report back later?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Andre was at a loss for words, ¡°So did you agree to him?¡±


    ¡°I neither agreed nor disagreed. In order not to expose my hand, I hinted to Father Edmond¡ª¡± Winters took a straw casually, momentarily entering a casting state to stimulate his mind.


    The phantom pain made Winters¡¯ smile somewhat eerie: ¡°They have to pay more.¡±


    As if there were an invisible pair of scissors moving back and forth in midair, the straw shortened inch by inch, so precise that the eye couldn¡¯t distinguish the difference between two cuts.


    Winters sorted out his thoughts and suddenly smiled playfully, ¡°Could it be that Edmond thinks we know much more information than we actually do? That¡¯s why he offered such a high price to us.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ well¡­ seems¡­ kinda makes sense¡­¡± Andre pondered for a long time, slapping his thigh, ¡°Damn it, why bother with all this! Just grab that old man and interrogate him, won¡¯t we know everything?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the problem.¡± Winters tossed the last bit of the straw, which disintegrated in midair. He said helplessly, ¡°The prisoner isn¡¯t in my hands.¡±


    ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t that old man come back with Ronald?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, I¡¯ve sent Xial to investigate.¡± Winters walked up to Changsheng, who also licked his fingers with a whimpering sound: ¡°Even if the prisoner did return with Ronald, I have no knowledge of his whereabouts thereafter.¡±


    Andre slapped his thigh again, ¡°Could it be that the old man has already fallen into the Church¡¯s hands?¡±


    Winters shook his head, ¡°Then what Edmond would have brought me should have been news of his death.¡±


    ¡°I really don¡¯t get it.¡± Andre pulled at his hair vigorously, picking up a bucket on the ground, ¡°I better go feed the horses.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that complicated. There¡¯s another person hidden in this matter, the one sheltering that prisoner.¡± Winters caressed Changsheng¡¯s soft mane, his thoughts drifting far away.


    He slowly summarized the information he knew: ¡°Someone with the motive to shelter the prisoner, the capability to do so. Most importantly, someone who could lead Father Edmond and others to believe that ¡®it is Winters Montagne sheltering that prisoner¡¯¡­ Who could that be?¡±


    Andre stood still in a daze, his face expressing oddity, and whispered, ¡°Your wife?¡±


    ¡­


    A quarter of an hour later.


    ¡°Father Caman!¡± Winters kicked the door open fiercely, ¡°What have you done in my name this time!¡± S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°`

 Chapter 892 892 13 Renewal Congress

    ?Chapter 892: Chapter 13: Renewal Congress Chapter 892: Chapter 13: Renewal Congress ¡°The vast majority of people in Iron Peak County consider you my man, no matter if it¡¯s true or not, am I right?¡±


    ¡°So your actions not only represent yourself, but also my attitude, do you understand?¡±


    ¡°We just went through a very tough battle; what Iron Peak County needs the least right now is internal conflicts. I cannot openly confront the church, you should be clear about that.¡±


    Besides seizing the initiative when he entered, Winters had no further aggressive behavior.


    He calmly discussed facts and reason with Caman, without even a hint of reproach in his tone. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Father Edmund just gave me an ultimatum.¡± Winters sighed heavily: ¡°For such matters, you should have consulted with me first. Otherwise, it ends up like this¡ªputting me in a very passive position.¡±


    Caman¡¯s cheeks flushed to a deep purple. He stood up stiffly and, with reluctance, bowed, his voice as faint as a butterfly flapping its wings: ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ...


    Actually, Winters had a bit of a playful thought to tease Caman, given that Caman was usually indifferent to him.


    But seeing Caman bow and apologize due to a sense of guilt, Winters didn¡¯t feel any triumph, instead, he felt quite uncomfortable.


    ¡°Hmm, such a good attitude, I¡¯m actually not quite accustomed to it!¡± Winters quickly pushed Caman back into his seat, jokingly said: ¡°You couldn¡¯t have really gotten yourself into some big trouble, could you?¡±


    Upon hearing this, Caman tried to stand up again.


    Winters sensed a whiff of danger.


    ¡°Mr. Caman.¡± Winters held Caman¡¯s shoulder, asking: ¡°Are we friends?¡±


    Caman was first taken aback, then glared at Winters angrily.


    ¡°We¡¯ve been through so much together, even if we¡¯re not friends, we¡¯re close to it. I would never betray you, and I believe you wouldn¡¯t betray me either.¡± Winters earnestly said: ¡°But right now I still don¡¯t know what I¡¯m being dragged into, I think you should give me some explanation.¡±


    Caman hesitated, struggling for a long time, finally gave up: ¡°I¡¯ve taken a vow of secrecy before the True Holy Emblem¡­¡±


    Caman didn¡¯t need to mention it, but mentioning the ¡°vow of secrecy¡± somehow piqued Winters¡¯ interest¡ªbecause the last time Caman talked about the vow of secrecy was when discussing Divine Arts.


    Winters immediately left the room, ordering Xial to stand guard outside the door, not allowing anyone to approach.


    After closing the door, Winters poured Caman a glass of water: ¡°A vow of secrecy? Can you tell me the wording? Is it stringent? Maybe I can find a loophole.¡±


    Caman snorted disdainfully, without responding.


    ¡°How about this? I ask questions, you only answer ¡®yes¡¯ or ¡®no¡¯.¡±


    Caman shook his head: ¡°No.¡±


    Winters suggested a few more methods, all rejected by Caman.


    ¡°Ah, I see. Any response you give would break the vow.¡± Winters grew increasingly intrigued: ¡°That¡¯s pretty stringent.¡±


    ¡°This matter won¡¯t involve you for too long.¡± Caman said with difficulty: ¡°I just need to buy some time.¡±


    ¡°Suppose there¡¯s another country to the east, suppose that country has another Heretic Church, suppose that country¡¯s Heretic Church also has another vow of secrecy¡­¡± Winters interrupted Caman, pacing the room: ¡°Our discussion is all about hypotheticals, can we circumvent the vow this way?¡±


    ¡°You can fool others, but not yourself.¡± Caman shook his head: ¡°Even if you can fool yourself, you can¡¯t fool the Lord.¡±


    Winters as if didn¡¯t hear Caman¡¯s words, he stopped pacing, and presented the final solution: ¡°No other choice then, how about this¡ªI¡¯ll state the facts, and you don¡¯t need to respond or show any opinion, just listen to me speak.¡±


    Caman was somewhat irritated: ¡°How do you not understand? Just by me tolerating you talking about this topic, I may have already breached the vow.¡±


    ¡°Possibly?¡± Winters caught the loophole in Caman¡¯s words: ¡°You said ¡®possibly,¡¯ right? Since there¡¯s a possibility, it means the vow does have some room for flexibility.¡±


    Caman clenched his mouth shut in anger.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, how can those of you who took the vow of secrecy communicate? Can¡¯t be that the vow restricts you to ¡®speak only with another person who has taken the vow¡¯,¡± Winters, grabbing onto the oversight as if in a swordfight, pressed continuously: ¡°If I take a vow too, would you be able to talk to me?¡±


    Caman¡¯s shoulders and hands were trembling.


    ¡°Nevermind, let¡¯s not talk about that today.¡± Winters rationally decided not to further provoke Caman; he poured himself a glass of water, not caring whether Caman wanted to listen or not, just talked to himself: ¡°Major Ronald mentioned in a letter, he rescued an old slave from the hands of the Herders, who claimed to be Father Saul, no further details¡­¡±


    Caman sat with an expressionless face.


    Winters carefully observed Caman¡¯s expression. To him, the fact Caman did not stand up and leave meant victory.


    A vow? No matter how stringent the words are, it¡¯s ultimately people who carry out the vow¡ªpeople are the biggest loophole.


    ¡°¡­the old slave who claimed to be Father Saul, after coming to Central Iron Peak County, you were the first to see him¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, saying each word deliberately: ¡°and it was you who hid him.¡±


    Caman stared at the water glass, showing no reaction, but his emotions involuntarily betrayed him.


    Winters¡¯ tone was plain, as if he was making small talk: ¡°You wanted to move in secret, but there are no secrets that don¡¯t get out. The monks at Revodan Monastery learned of this, and their reaction was beyond your expectation. You had no choice but to use my name¡ªor rather, you wanted to leverage my reputation to buy time for yourself¡­¡±

 Chapter 893 893 13 The Reform Council_2

    ?Chapter 893: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_2 Chapter 893: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_2 Caman stared at the water in the cup as if the Holy Mother appeared in the reflection.


    Winters sat back in the chair, his tone carrying a hint of reproach: ¡°How can you be so naive?¡±


    Caman suddenly lifted his head, his gaze piercing Winters.


    ¡°Since you¡¯ve used my name, there¡¯s no way you could keep me in the dark! Look, didn¡¯t Emond find his way directly to me?¡±


    Unperturbed by Caman¡¯s angry stare, Winters casually commented:


    ¡°I initially thought you had a special status in the Church. And the outcome? You couldn¡¯t even suppress a few country Priests! Is this how the Church favors users of Divine Arts? I really wonder, how does the Church balance power and Divine Arts? Don¡¯t you ever rebel?¡±


    ¡°Enough! Do you think we are like you?¡± Caman was absolutely incensed: ¡°The status of the clergy is equal, not distinguished by the divine gifts as high or low, noble or base!¡±


    ¡°Equal? Then what about the Holy Orders?¡± Winters retorted: ¡°Why are some Bishops, some Priests, and some poor enough to starve to death?¡±


    ...


    ¡°The Holy Orders are sacraments, they are missions and responsibilities! When knocking on the gates of heaven, everyone is equal!¡±


    ¡°Missions? Responsibilities? Do you really believe in what you¡¯re saying?¡± Winters propped up his chin.


    Caman rolled up his sleeves: ¡°[Profanity ¨C despite being emotionally volatile, it has weak lethality]!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Seeing that he was about to personally experience a potentially fatal Divine Art, Winters quickly called a halt: ¡°I¡¯m not here to debate theology with you. Didn¡¯t the great debate end thirty years ago?¡± sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I only have one question for you.¡± In an instant, Winters¡¯ expression turned cold, his swift emotional shift catching Caman off guard.


    Winters asked coldly, ¡°Where is that captive?¡±


    ¡­


    A quarter of an hour later, at the lodging of the Revodan military officers.


    After making a round, Winters found himself back at his own residence.


    Winters finally understood ¨C why did Father Emond offer him a shameful bribe? Why didn¡¯t the Revodan Monastery simply kill the person first and report later?


    Caman had hidden the person in the lair of the Blood Wolf; who would dare to reach out?


    ¡°You¡¯ve hidden the person here?¡± Winters asked Caman in surprise.


    Caman seemed embarrassed, but still responded with a cold expression: ¡°A temporary stay.¡±


    ¡°What I mean is.¡± Winters pointed at the kitchen door, somewhat incredulously: ¡°Regardless, the person is a clergy member, and you¡¯ve put them in the kitchen.¡±


    Caman was even more ashamed: ¡°It was Brother Saul who requested this.¡±


    Pushing open the door, the kitchen was warm. The fire burned vigorously, and something ¡°burbled¡± in the pot.


    An old man with gray hair hunched over the stove, peeling the skin off a beet.


    Winters could never have imagined that the ¡°heretic¡± whom the Church of Iron Peak County insisted on purging, would turn out to be such an old man nearing the end of his days.


    The old man didn¡¯t seem surprised by the arrival of Winters and Caman, as if he had long anticipated this moment.


    He squinted to see who the visitors were, nodded in greeting, and continued peeling the beet in his hands.


    Winters walked to the side of the pot to take a look at the thick soup being cooked.


    ¡°So the soup this morning was your creation.¡± Winters smiled wryly: ¡°No wonder it had a taste of the prairies ¨C I thought I was imagining too much.¡±


    ¡°Just a slapdash effort.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh heartily: ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡®slapdash¡¯ how the Herders make soup?¡±


    The old man also showed a knowing smile, with only Caman standing awkwardly aside.


    ¡°Elder, I have some questions to ask. But he won¡¯t tell me.¡± Winters pointed at Caman: ¡°So I have to come to you.¡±


    ¡°Ask away,¡± the old man picked up another beet, continuing to peel: ¡°If you¡¯re willing to listen.¡±


    Winters sat down on the floor, because he was taller than the old man, their gazes leveled: ¡°Haven¡¯t you taken a vow of secrecy?¡±


    ¡°I did.¡±


    ¡°You can still speak even after taking a vow of secrecy?¡±


    ¡°I can.¡±


    ¡°Brother Saul!¡± Caman spoke out anxiously.


    ¡°Brother Caman,¡± the old man referred to as Saul continued peeling slowly: ¡°I¡¯ve been excommunicated.¡±


    Caman was left speechless, angrily pushing the door open to leave.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to listen, so he left.¡± Winters got up, poured two cups of hot soup, and sat back down: ¡°That¡¯s alright, we can talk slowly.¡±


    The old man was noncommittal.


    Interrogations typically start with questions about name, age, and origin, but Winters didn¡¯t care for those details. So he went straight to the crux of the matter: ¡°Why does the Revodan Church insist on killing you?¡±


    The old man was silent for a moment: ¡°Because I belong to the [Reformist Association].¡±


    Once a lead was found, the rest was simple.


    ¡°The Reformist Association.¡± Winters continued inquiring along that keyword: ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°The Reformist Association is¡­¡± the old man stopped his hands, a complex emotion that Winters couldn¡¯t understand appeared in his eyes, but it was only for a moment.


    The old man continued peeling the beet: ¡°An association that has already perished.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Winters took a small sip of the hot soup: ¡°I have time.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    What is human nature?


    The pursuit of reason? Or the uncontrollable impulse?


    The binary form clearly cannot effectively explain this, but even the most pessimistic philosophers of human nature have to admit: sometimes, the pursuit of reason takes precedence.


    For exploring the laws of everything is an instinct of mankind, even faced with ¡°God,¡± humans would want an explanation.


    Hence, we witness a peculiar sight: the foundation of orthodox scholastic theology is rigorous logic, and given its premises, scholastic theology is logically consistent.

 Chapter 894 894 13 The Reform Council_3

    ?Chapter 894: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_3 Chapter 894: Chapter 13: The Reform Council_3 Divine Arts were no different.


    At the birth of the public faith¡ªnot the Church¡ªDivine Arts were regarded as miracles, God¡¯s grace, the gospel spread through the hands of the clergy.


    The Ancient Empire originally revered a polytheistic old religion and fiercely opposed the ¡°heretics¡± who believed in public faith, with massacres and persecutions being commonplace.


    Initially, public faith was a religion of the poor, ¡°It¡¯s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven,¡± thus facing the ruling class¡¯s knives with no resistance at all. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For public faith to continue to exist, there was only one way: eliminate the rival and take their place.


    Thus, public faith, originally spread among the poor, began to actively court the powerful and even transform itself to cater to the ruling class.


    The Church¡ªa strict, centralized organizational entity¡ªalso began to take shape during this period.


    ...


    Eventually, public faith was formally recognized as the state religion by Emperor Constantine.


    From then on, the Church, with the power of the state, systematically eradicated the old religious system and derogatorily termed it ¡°heretic religion.¡±


    In the battle for the upper echelons between the Church and the old religion, the unique Divine Arts played an immensely significant role.


    As the Church¡¯s position became more stable, unshakable to the point of immovability, the Church¡¯s clergy finally had the leisure to ponder one question:


    What are Divine Arts?


    Divine Arts are certainly God¡¯s grace, but how is it realized? Is it logically provable?


    Are Divine Arts purely miracles? Or does the caster have some degree of participation?


    If it¡¯s the former, it means Divine Arts can be separated; if it¡¯s the latter, then what is the proportion between the two?


    Once the fire of doubt is lit, it immediately spreads uncontrollably.


    Discussions became more numerous, and opposing views started to emerge, with the Church in the east and the west of the Empire even severely in opposition, historically known as ¡°the First Debate.¡±


    For the Church, this was a debate about truth. But for the ruling group, it was internal bleeding of the Empire.


    The Emperor at that time was Diocletian II, who had no interest in theology and had no desire to watch theological debates.


    The Emperor wanted peace and quiet, good and honest.


    Therefore, Diocletian II eventually issued the ¡°Mia Edict,¡± with an attitude of ¡°you are all correct, but no more discussions allowed,¡± forcibly quelling the First Debate.


    If the Angel Envoys who struggled with heretic religions a hundred years ago and laid the foundations of public faith heard the content of the First Debate, they would probably slam the desk and curse: ¡°I think you¡¯re all just full of nonsense!¡±


    But there¡¯s no helping it, once people are freed from the crisis of existence, they begin to ponder the meaning of existence.


    The Mia Edict temporarily quelled the debate, but it did not solve the fundamental problem.


    The silenced clergy turned to examine ancient records, hoping to find evidence to support their own arguments from historical archives.


    However, they could not find the original records of Divine Arts¡ªcomplete blanks.


    Instead, some found something else¡ªdescriptions of the heretic religion¡¯s witchcraft.


    Although most texts about heretic religions had been erased by the victors, there were still snippets of evidence proving that heretic religions also had the power to ¡°achieve things beyond the ordinary,¡± just not as valued by the elites as public faith¡¯s Divine Arts.


    This discovery caused a huge uproar, if heretic religion also had ¡°Divine Arts,¡± then¡­ that meant public faith would become a castle in the air.


    The Church immediately split into two factions.


    One faction shouted hysterically ¡°Stop the inquiry! Divine Arts are God¡¯s grace, a miracle. The witchcraft of heretic religion is the devil¡¯s dark magic, an impure power.¡±


    The other faction believed firmly ¡°We must investigate thoroughly, otherwise the doctrine of public faith will forever exist with logical flaws.¡±


    In the end, it was the Emperor who stepped in to calm the debate.


    This time, Diocletian II did not muddy the waters. He fully supported the ¡°Miracle Faction,¡± and launched a brutal purge against the ¡°Inquiry Faction.¡±


    Members of the Inquiry Faction were branded as heretics, most of their clergy were arrested, judged, and executed by fire.


    Those surviving clergy went underground, fleeing to the edge of the world¡ªto the wild lands beyond the reach of the Emperor and the Church.


    This was known as ¡°the First Great Schism.¡±


    From then on, the inquiry into Divine Arts became a taboo of the Church, with related content forbidden to be looked up, discussed, or even mentioned.


    ¡­


    ¡°Diocletian II, and the clergy of that era, might have thought that was the end of it,¡± said the old man Saul with his back to Winters, reaching his hand closer to the hearth to warm himself: ¡°But do you know what the most terrifying thing is? The reverberations of the First Great Schism still haven¡¯t subsided to this day.¡±


    Winters was so engrossed that he kept sipping the soup, utterly unaware that his cup had already emptied.


    ¡°Just as Diocletian II anticipated, the debates subsided, and it was so for a very long time. The Ancient Empire was destroyed, and people built a new Empire on its corpse. The Church sometimes declined, sometimes prospered, but it essentially thrived. The warm lands were all converted, and so the Church began to send missionaries to the northern borders in a planned manner,¡± said the old man Saul, lost in thought: ¡°That was probably about five centuries ago.¡±


    Winters was momentarily bewildered.


    ¡°Then, those monks who went to the north to preach discovered,¡± Saul¡¯s voice fluctuated in the light of the hearth: ¡°that the ¡®Demigods¡¯ of the northern Barbarian tribes actually possessed the Divine Arts unique to the Church¡­ and even could perform even more astonishing miracles.¡±

 Chapter 895 895 14 Divine Arts

    ?Chapter 895: Chapter 14 Divine Arts Chapter 895: Chapter 14 Divine Arts Firewood crackled in the stove, the bright yellow flames flickering unpredictably.


    ¡°If you are implying that ¡®all Divine Arts originate from the Church¡¯s Divine Arts,¡¯ it¡¯s a bit too arrogant.¡± Winters put down his cup. ¡°But that does sound like the usual style of the Church.¡±


    Saul placed the peeled beetroots on the stove, stirred up the fire a bit more vigorously, and added some more wood: ¡°No, quite the opposite.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why?¡±


    Saul, with his back turned to Winters, didn¡¯t answer directly: ¡°You have seen Heretic Divine Arts, haven¡¯t you? From your attitude, I should say¡­ you have personally encountered Heretic Divine Arts.¡±


    Winters was not a devout believer and did not shy away from the fact that he was saved by Hurd the Shaman: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You have also encountered Church Divine Arts.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Father Kaman one of your priests?¡± Winters said without thinking: ¡°I¡¯ve seen him heal the wounded.¡±


    Hearing Winters¡¯ words, Saul shook his head: ¡°What do you think is the difference between the two?¡±


    Winters weighed his words: ¡°Different paths, similar destinations.¡±


    ¡°In other words, you also think they are similar, right?¡±


    ¡°Within what I know, a part of them are indeed similar.¡± Winters answered cautiously. ¡°But I don¡¯t know much.¡± S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Saul paused for a moment, calmly using the third person: ¡°For the priests, even ¡®similarity¡¯ is already a grave offense.¡±


    ¡°Heretics also eat bread with their mouths, wield a knife and fork with their hands, and have limbs and facial features.¡± Winters frowned slightly: ¡°Isn¡¯t such blatant copying even more offensive?¡±


    The door was pushed open, and Father Kaman stormed into the kitchen: ¡°Saracens do not eat bread! Nor do they use cutlery! Saint Philip considers them ¡®the fourth nation,¡¯ so it¡¯s completely understandable that Saracens look like us!¡±


    ¡°Why are you back again?¡± Winters asked helplessly.


    ¡°Ignoring a breach of confidentiality is also a violation of my oath,¡± Kaman replied stiffly.


    ¡°Rest assured, Father Kaman, I have not broken my oath,¡± Saul slowly sat back on the stool and sighed: ¡°I¡¯m just talking about some past events to someone who wants to listen.¡±


    ¡°May I listen in?¡± Kaman immediately asked.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡±


    The kitchen in the officer¡¯s quarters was very cramped, with only two stools, one for the old man, one for Winters. Kaman, reluctant to leave in a huff and unable to bring himself to sit on the table or stove, had no choice but to stand.


    Winters noticed there was another stool in the woodpile, but he planned to wait a bit before telling Kaman: ¡°I suppose I¡¯ve rounded back to the origin of Saracens for you. What about further east? Brother Reed has two arms and two legs, doesn¡¯t he? And he is from the Far East.¡±


    ¡°The Far East also has a rich, powerful nation that worships the Church, and their ruler is named Priest King John,¡± Kaman suddenly became serious: ¡°Thus, they are also descendants of Adam and Eve, naturally looking like us.¡±


    Winters¡¯ expression turned a bit delicate, and with pity, he looked at Kaman: ¡°You¡­ weren¡¯t you deceived by that old man Reed, were you?¡±


    Since Saul the elder was present, Kaman couldn¡¯t erupt in anger and explained seriously: ¡°Priest King John is the descendant of the three wise men from the east, blessed by the Lord with immortality and eternal youth, [he is stronger and richer than anyone else in the world. His roof and inner walls are built with gold, and so are the weapons of his army]. In the year 237 of the Empire, the pope at that time received a letter from Priest King John, and many popes have sent people to find Priest King John¡­¡±


    The more Winters listened, the more outrageous it seemed, and he turned his head to ask Saul the elder: ¡°Do you believe that?¡±


    Saul the elder seemed to smile, non-commitally.


    Silence being the deepest contempt, Kaman felt slightly aggrieved: ¡°Everything I have said is clearly recorded in the archives of the highest cathedral.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t want to continue the topic, but couldn¡¯t help but retort: ¡°Is everything written on parchment true?¡±


    Feeling aggrieved and defiant, Kaman gradually became cold and stern: ¡°Your current thoughts are no different from those advocated by the Heretic Oath.¡±


    Winters was silent for a long while, and then softly reminded Kaman: ¡°You forgot? I am not one of your lambs.¡±


    Kaman¡¯s momentum immediately dissipated.


    ¡°If the transcripts are wrong, then the papal decrees might be wrong. If the papal decrees are wrong, then the Gospels might also be wrong,¡± Saul the elder slowly spoke while peeling the beetroot: ¡°The more authoritative it is, the less it should be questioned. No matter when, people¡¯s willingness to defend their own beliefs is always strong. Because it¡¯s not only about denying the doctrine, it¡¯s also about denying the significance of the clerics¡¯ existence.¡±


    ¡°Denial isn¡¯t such a bad thing, people still live all the same,¡± Winters decided not to tell Kaman about the other stool: ¡°Someone once told me ¡®existence precedes essence, reality always comes before the concept.''¡±


    Saul the elder stopped his work: ¡°Material first, consciousness later, has the Enlightenment spread to Paratu already?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Venetian.¡± Winters said, somewhat embarrassed.


    Saul seemed to smile again and continued peeling beetroot: ¡°Actually, looking at Father Kaman, you should also understand why the clerics do not think¡ªor do not want to think¡ªthat Heretic Divine Arts originated from [the first schism].¡±


    Winters did not fully understand, waiting for Saul to continue.

 Chapter 896 896 14 Divine Arts_2

    ?Chapter 896: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_2 Chapter 896: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_2 ¡°Divine Arts are the definitive miracles, the direct expression of the Lord¡¯s will,¡± the old man Saul spoke plainly. ¡°If the heretic Divine Arts of the northern regions originated from [the First Great Schism], it would mean that heretics could also use the orthodox Divine Arts, which would lead to a paradox in the definition of Divine Arts.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Winters pondered and asked, ¡°Like the paradox of [benevolence and omnipotence]?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Winters glanced at the silent Father Kaman: ¡°But there has been an explanation given during sermons¡ªthat the Lord bestows suffering in hopes of humanity¡¯s love for Him.¡±


    ¡°If you are willing to accept that explanation, then it¡¯s possible,¡± Saul sighed. ¡°Theology and religion are always two different things, just like politics and political science.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud, and the corners of Kaman¡¯s eyes twitched slightly.


    ¡°So what? What do all these have to do with you and the Reformist Order? You still haven¡¯t told me,¡± Winters collected himself, assuming a more formal posture, ¡°Why does the Revodan Church want to kill you? Why is the Revodan Church so eager to kill you?¡±


    ...


    ¡°After [the First Great Schism], the inquiry into Divine Arts has always been taboo within the church,¡± Saul seemed to acknowledge Winters¡¯s understanding and no longer beat around the bush. ¡°But the pursuit of the unknown is human nature, something that cannot be completely eradicated. After coming into contact with the ¡®witchcraft¡¯ of the north, the majority of the clergy were alarmed, yet a small number of them were exhilarated¡­¡±


    As if a thin fog was dispersed by a tempest, Winters had an epiphany: ¡°What you want is the heretic Divine Arts!¡±


    The old man lowered his eyelids, tacitly agreeing with Winters¡¯s words.


    ¡°Because inquiring into orthodox Divine Arts is taboo, so you study heretic Divine Arts to circumvent the restrictions? So that¡¯s what the Reformist Order is doing?¡± Winters smiled wryly with realization. ¡°Such a conspicuous name for the Order, isn¡¯t it? Flaunting reform is equivalent to setting up a target for others to strike at. Perhaps¡­ it would¡¯ve been better to operate under the banner of the Inquisition.¡±


    Kaman, standing where Winters couldn¡¯t see, had his fingertips trembling slightly, and his pupils dilated unconsciously.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne,¡± Saul put down the peeler and the beet he was holding, straightened his back and looked earnestly at Winters. ¡°The name ¡®Reformist Order¡¯ comes from the monk Sefir who founded it, so please don¡¯t joke about this matter.¡±


    Winters realized he had been somewhat impolite: ¡°I apologize¡­ What happened next? After the Reformist Order was established?¡±


    The old man picked up the peeler again: ¡°After that, it was about applying to the Pope for a decree.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± Winters raised his eyebrows slightly.


    ¡°Getting that decree,¡± the old man slowly peeled the beet, ¡°Took two hundred and eleven years.¡±


    Rather than marvel at the church¡¯s impressive efficiency, Winters reflected on the timelines Saul provided in comparison with the Empire¡¯s northern expansion.


    ¡°Two hundred and eleven years?¡± Winters frowned involuntarily, ¡°Roughly¡­ around the middle of the third century of the Imperial calendar? When the Emperor sought the Veya Crown in vain and the Great Northern War broke out? The northern regions had converted by then, hadn¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°The northern regions had converted to the orthodox faith, but what about the Demigods? Where did they go?¡±


    ¡°They all died.¡±


    ¡°Died?¡±


    ¡°Yes, died,¡± Saul focused on peeling the beet. ¡°Killed by the Reformist Order, by us.¡±


    It took a moment for Winters to grasp the significance of the information, but when he did, he stood up abruptly: ¡°Are you also a priest? Are you a Divine Arts practitioner?¡±


    The old man slightly lifted his eyelids to meet Winters¡¯s gaze: ¡°Every member of the Reformist Order is a Divine Arts practitioner.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Madam,¡± Mrs. Madeleine, with her hair bound in a black veil, walked into the living room. ¡°Mr. Montaigne is home.¡±


    Although she had heard it countless times, each time someone called her ¡°Madam,¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks still heated up.


    Anna sat up straight: ¡°He¡¯s home?¡±


    The single officers¡¯ quarters were small; the corridor entering the front door was only separated by a thin wooden wall from the living room. Winters¡¯s footsteps were also quite distinctive, Anna could always easily discern them.


    Mrs. Madeleine said that Winters was home, but Anna was certain she hadn¡¯t heard him enter.


    ¡°Where is Mr. Montaigne?¡± Anna picked up her coat: ¡°The stable?¡±


    ¡°The kitchen,¡± Mrs. Madeleine replied.


    To prevent fire hazards, the single officers¡¯ quarters did not have separate kitchens; rather, one shared a large one within a courtyard.


    As Anna approached the kitchen door, Winters just happened to come out. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna had wanted to ask why Winters went to the kitchen first upon coming home, but noticing his mood wasn¡¯t great, she changed her question upon speaking: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Facing Anna¡¯s concerned gaze, Winters mustered a smile: ¡°Nothing, are you cold?¡±


    Anna held her cheeks, dragging out her tone and softly pouted: ¡°Cold¡­¡±


    It wasn¡¯t entirely pretense; the Navarre sisters grew up in Sea Blue and had never experienced a Paratu winter.


    Facing the skin-cracking cold winds, Anna would occasionally venture outside, whereas Catherine had become a complete homebody. Lady Navarre even turned down all ball invitations, leaving the young gentlemen of Revodan repeatedly disappointed.


    Coincidentally, Father Kaman walked out of the kitchen.


    Anna was mortified, but Father Kaman had his own burdens. Kaman gave Anna a distracted nod and left quickly.


    ¡°What were you doing in the kitchen?¡± Anna asked curiously: ¡°And why was Father Kaman there too?¡±

 Chapter 897 897 14 Divine Arts_3

    ?Chapter 897: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_3 Chapter 897: Chapter 14 Divine Arts_3 Winters sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    Anna could feel that Winters was somewhat heavy-hearted and reached out to hold her lover¡¯s arm, ¡°It¡¯s so cold, let¡¯s go home first.¡±


    After much thought, Winters still decided not to tell Anna for the time being.


    At this moment, he began to understand the profound meaning behind his foster father¡¯s words: ¡°You don¡¯t know what we¡¯ve sacrificed.¡±


    Can love really make a person accept another unreservedly, in their entirety?


    Including all their flaws and darkness?


    Who knows?


    ...


    Not to mention love, even when it comes to blood relations¡ªcan a son truly accept all the ¡°bad¡± things his parents have done without reservation?


    Winters really wanted to be honest with Anna, as the most difficult thing in the world is to not be understood or empathized with by anyone.


    It¡¯s like a middle-aged farmer stopping his farm work, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and looking toward the horizon.


    Passersby might think the farmer is slacking off, but who dares to say that the inner world of an ordinary farmer doesn¡¯t have its tumults? Who knows what hardships he has experienced in his life?


    Or maybe the converse is easier to understand: Having a ¡°confidant¡± is something to be most grateful for in life.


    But Winters didn¡¯t dare to explain because he vaguely felt that the process and outcome of this matter wouldn¡¯t look good. He didn¡¯t want Anna to fear him or think of him as a ¡°bad person.¡±


    Winters finally understood why the Revodan Church was determined to kill Saul, even offering such a high price¡ªthey weren¡¯t just trying to kill a heretical theologian; they were trying to kill someone who might have already lost control as a practitioner of Divine Arts.


    Perhaps since the Reformation Association was purged, the Revodan Church has been waiting for Saul.


    Maybe they had sent people to investigate within the Hurd tribes, but to no avail.


    So they could only lie in wait, continue waiting if there was no news, and immediately find a way to execute him if there was.


    Winters even had a guess that he didn¡¯t voice: Perhaps Father Kaman was the one waiting for Saul.


    To deal with a spellcaster, the best weapon is another spellcaster. So, what about sending a priest to deal with another priest?


    The Allied Army didn¡¯t have a dedicated department to purge spellcasters¡ªor at least, Winters didn¡¯t know if there was such a department for dealing with spellcasters within the Allied Army.


    However, after self-evaluation, Winters concluded that if there wasn¡¯t such an enforcement department, it would be extremely dangerous in the event of a spellcaster losing control.


    For example, Winters¡ªif he lost control and walked into the Throne Hall where a meeting was ongoing, not a single Vineta Officer would make it out alive. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the Alliance didn¡¯t have such a department, it could perhaps be explained by the fact that the ¡®spellcaster system is still in its infancy and not yet perfect.¡¯


    Then, for a church that has lasted for a thousand years and can command the users of Divine Arts, does an ¡®enforcement¡¯ department exist within?


    However, this hypothesis also had some logical inconsistencies: For instance, if Saul did not show up, was Kaman going to wait indefinitely? Would the church really be willing to invest so much just for a priest who might already be dead?


    Winters¡¯ thoughts then drifted to the subtle relationship between Kaman and Mrs. Ellen Mitchell¡­ and his head began to throb faintly again.


    Back to old man Saul.


    Sheltering an elderly heretical theologian is one thing; sheltering a practitioner of Divine Arts is another.


    And the risks and rewards are disproportionately skewed; the elderly practitioner of Divine Arts, although condemned, remains devout.


    In Winters¡¯ view, if devotion could be measured, then Saul¡¯s devotion would be deeper than Kaman¡¯s.


    Kaman could not tolerate any attack on the church, and like a hedgehog, he would bristle up in the face of provocation.


    Saul, on the other hand, could calmly discuss ¡®heresies¡¯ and was the epitome of ¡®I am sinful, I have converted, but my soul forever belongs to the Lord.¡¯


    ¡°Anna.¡± As they entered the door, Winters softly called out.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± Anna helped Winters take off his coat.


    ¡°I will explain it to you later, okay?¡±


    ¡°Mhm.¡±


    Winters let out a long, relieved sigh, and embraced Anna from behind; contact with her body always gave him a special sense of security: ¡°I want to say some romantic words that would make you blush, but I don¡¯t know what to say. Can you imagine it for yourself?¡±


    ¡°This is the hallway,¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks flushed red: ¡°Mrs. Madeleine will come by.¡±


    ¡°Then how about the bedroom? I¡¯m okay with either.¡±


    ¡°You naughty guy! You really are!¡± Anna bit her teeth, forcefully stepping on the tip of Winters¡¯ boot, but then she felt a hint of despondency: ¡°Regarding Mr. Leo, I don¡¯t think it can be dragged out any longer.¡±

 Chapter 898 898 15

    ?Chapter 898: Chapter 15 Chapter 898: Chapter 15 Revodan, the stables of the officers¡¯ quarters.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit confused.¡± Andre hangs up the grooming brush and leans on the horse stable fence to ask Winters: ¡°Who is that old man? What monastic order?¡±


    ¡°Caman didn¡¯t make it clear, but I have the feeling that old man is some sort of long-term undercover spy.¡±


    Winters shovels the dung of two small ponies, one shovelful at a time. Despite their small stature, these ponies are formidable dung producers, having worked up quite a sweat on Winters.


    ¡°How long-term is long-term?¡±


    ¡°Caman inadvertently mentioned that the old man was about our age when he went into the wilderness, just over twenty, back when Paratu was still a duchy,¡± Winters explains as he wipes the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, ¡°At least thirty-four years.¡±


    ¡°Thirty or forty years?¡± Andre can¡¯t help but chuckle dryly: ¡°What kind of secret is worth hiding for thirty or forty years? To stay in the wilderness for that long? Wouldn¡¯t he have become a complete Herder by then?¡±


    ...


    ¡°What else could it be? The Herders¡¯ Shaman secrets! In my view, if the church dispatches a cleric to infiltrate that long, that old man must harbor the ambition to join the ranks of the Herders¡¯ Shamans.¡±


    ¡°Can outsiders even become Herders¡¯ Shamans?¡±


    ¡°You said it yourself, staying in the wilderness for thirty or forty years, do you consider him an Imperial or a Herder?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s set aside church matters for now; I have more pressing issues at hand.¡± Mason comes over, carrying two bundles of straw and asks peevishly: ¡°When did I become the stablemaster again?¡±


    Andre¡¯s attention is easily diverted: ¡°Isn¡¯t the stable always under your management?¡±


    ¡°No! T! All!¡±


    Bard is down in Iron Peak County coordinating the return of refugees, the indulgent Tang Juan accompanies Antonio back to Vineta, and Colonel Moritz spends most of his time sleeping.


    The already extremely flat structure of the military council has practically been paralyzed, and Iron Peak County¡¯s administrative system has degenerated completely into a model where ¡°everyone is responsible for their own pile of issues.¡±


    On these freezing days, Winters and Andre are really not up for going to the barracks just to use the meeting room. The two, tacitly agreeing, corner Senior Mason in the stables every morning as their stand-in meeting¡ªwhile also grooming the horses.


    By the way, since Senior Mason diligently takes care of both the large and small matters, Winters usually doesn¡¯t even attend roll call, making him arguably the number one shirker in the Iron Peak County Military.


    ¡°Actually, coming to us has already made your intentions clear,¡± Andre says lazily: ¡°Does this thing really need thinking over? If the Revodan Church wants their spy back, just give him to them, right? Make a neat profit, what¡¯s not to like?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s sound reasoning.¡± Winters, pushing a cart full of horse manure out of the stable, looks troubled: ¡°But I¡¯m quite reluctant to let go. A cleric, a living cleric! If it weren¡¯t too awkward to ask, I¡¯d really like to inquire with the old man, ¡®Um¡­ excuse me¡­ after you¡¯ve been enshrouded in the holy grace, are you willing to donate your body?''¡±


    ¡°Then just keep him.¡± Andre slaps the fence, ¡°No matter how powerful the Revodan Church is, that¡¯s within the Empire, with the Oath Breakers behind them. In the Alliance, they can¡¯t turn the sky upside down.¡± sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Mason sticks his head out: ¡°It¡¯s not really like that, Paratu is not Vineta, and even less The Federated Provinces. The majority of Paratu People are followers of the church, especially those born and bred there. The influence of the Revodan Church in Paratu runs very deep, in many places a priest¡¯s word carries more weight than a mayor¡¯s order.¡±


    Andre snorts, then turns to Winters: ¡°Do you really want to protect that old man?¡±


    Winters, after considering for a while, marks a line: ¡°If possible, I¡¯d like to protect Brother Saul as much as I can. But it¡¯s difficult, the Revodan Church won¡¯t tolerate a cleric¡¯s defection¡ªnot to mention the old man has no intent of defecting.¡±


    ¡°I have an idea.¡± Andre narrows his eyes, revealing that ferocious look familiar to Winters: ¡°This will not only save the old man but also prevent the Revodan Church from causing us trouble down the line.¡±


    Winters covers his face: ¡°Stop, don¡¯t say anymore.¡±


    ¡°Set a fire to the Revodan Cathedral, it¡¯s winter after all, fires are common,¡± Andre grinds his teeth: ¡°The old man is saved, and if we kill all the witnesses, we might even secure the money.¡±


    Mason looks at Winters, and Winters looks back at Mason.


    Andre continues to refine the plan: ¡°¡­we should keep a few alive at first, interrogate them to find out if they have already sent the message out. If so, we¡¯ll need to send someone to take care of the messenger¡­¡±


    ¡°Is he an Heretic Oath?¡± Mason asks, puzzled.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    Andre drives in the final nail: ¡°If we¡¯re going to act, it¡¯s best to do it quickly ¡ª to lock down both Iron Peak County and Revodan Cathedral. No, the cathedral side can be delayed, so as not to startle the snake. But we need to start blocking the roads out of the city and county now, the sooner the better.¡±


    After listening to the entire plan, Mason steps up to Andre and Winters, looking intently at Winters: ¡°In some ways¡­ it might indeed be a good plan. What do you think?¡±


    ¡°Caman didn¡¯t come to me directly, so by the time I got the news, it was already too late.¡± Winters doesn¡¯t outright reject Andre¡¯s idea but rather points out the flaw in the plan: ¡°I reckon the message from Revodan Church has already reached the hands of the Bishop of Maplestone City. We can¡¯t simply kill the entire diocese of Maplestone City.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± Andre shows a toothy grin.


    ¡°Following that logic.¡± Winters sighs: ¡°You¡¯d have to go all the way up to the Pope.¡±


    ¡°What do we do then?¡± Andre smacks his lips: ¡°Fake death? Find a dead convict¡¯s body to give to Edmund?¡±

 Chapter 899 899 15_2

    ?Chapter 899: Chapter 15_2 Chapter 899: Chapter 15_2 ¡°He came to me for help yesterday, and today the man is dead,¡± Winters said helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s too much of a coincidence.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about that.¡± Andre spread his hands, walking into the paddock of the small ponies, patting their round bellies, ¡°Hey, those baldies sure know how to raise horses. Are you going to use these two ponies anytime soon?¡±


    ¡°No. Anna can ride, and Catherine said she¡¯d rather die than ride these two dwarfs,¡± Winters asked puzzledly, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    Andre was overjoyed: ¡°Then lend them to me for a few days.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but didn¡¯t you say you don¡¯t ride ponies?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± Andre said, as he was already mounting one: ¡°But the cavalry has just recruited some rookies, it¡¯s a good chance for them to practice riding ponies¡­ Hmm, very stable.¡±


    Mason also came over: ¡°Was there really nothing that Father Caman, who came asking for help, could do?¡±


    ...


    ¡°He has a way, but he won¡¯t tell me. He just asked me to buy him some time,¡± Winters sighed again. ¡°After thinking it over, Caman¡¯s method is to send people away or hide them. What else can he do?¡±


    Mason was silent for a moment, leaning forward slowly towards Winters, and muttered, ¡°Do you think¡­ would the Magic Combat Bureau be interested in a living priest who can be approached?¡±


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Manyun Valley.


    The alarm bell rang fast and urgent. The bell ringer saw a large cloud of dust rising from the west, and a huge cavalry of unknown identity approaching.


    The shadow brought by the Herdman hadn¡¯t faded yet, and the townspeople were highly alert as if facing a big enemy. Men with tense faces picked up their weapons and ran to the walls, while women clutching children hid in the basements and the church.


    It wasn¡¯t until a few light cavalry arrived waving green flags to report that the residents of Manyun Valley could let go of the anxiety that had reached their throats.


    The cavalry came from Revodan, and according to the messenger, they were here to build a bridge for Manyun Valley.


    Ever since the Manyun Bridge was destroyed by the Blood Wolf, communication between the two sides had been inconvenient, relying solely on boating.


    Learning that the visitors intended to build a bridge, the mayor was enormously hospitable, not only willing to provide manpower but also took initiative in arranging food and accommodation for the cavalry.


    ¡°That?¡± The man who was nominally in charge of the cavalry, [Tamas], inquired with a hint of seeking approval from the man behind him.


    The man standing behind Tamas wore a mask, his voice impatient: ¡°You are the appointed commander, why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Tamas decided, replying to the mayor: ¡°Thanks for the food and drinks, but we¡¯ll skip on accommodations; we¡¯ll camp outside of town.¡±


    The mayor hurriedly expressed his agreement several times, secretly breathing a sigh of relief¡ªletting a bunch of troops into town could lead to all kinds of troubles.


    As the mayor¡¯s tense nerves relaxed slightly, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit proud of his tactical retreat for gaining an advantage. After all, if the military really wanted to enter Manyun Valley, he couldn¡¯t have stopped them; it was better to straightforwardly earn a favor.


    The man wearing the mask seemed to see through the mayor¡¯s careful thinking and let out a disdainful snort.


    ¡°By the way, Mr. Mayor,¡± Tamas called back the departing mayor of Manyun Valley: ¡°His Excellency Montaigne asked me to pass on a few words to you.¡±


    The mayor¡¯s heart lifted again, and after thinking briefly, an image of a ¡°blue steed¡± came to mind in connection with this name.


    ¡°The Civil Guard Officer instructed me to inform you that the circuit court has been restored and Manyun Valley is scheduled for the second week of next month. As for the bridge, we¡¯ll make do with a Floating Bridge for now, and he has promised the people of Manyun Valley a ¡®better, sturdier, more beautiful¡¯ big bridge; he won¡¯t go back on his word, please be assured, and inform the townspeople.¡±


    The mayor was taken aback, then nodded his head.


    After the mayor of Manyun Valley left, Captain Moro with the mask spoke up: ¡°They¡¯re making a fool out of you, don¡¯t you see?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Tamas replied: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    The order was quickly passed down, and the cavalry turned to the northeast, setting up camp on the flat ground beside the river, outside the town.


    ¡°Why though?¡± Monkey was far from happy, hammering tent pegs and muttering, ¡°There are houses right there, why do we have to pitch tents in the wild?¡±


    [Lu Xirong]¡ªMonkey¡¯s current Centurion and his former sergeant in the militia¡ªsaw Monkey¡¯s litany of complaints and got irritated, he kicked him: ¡°You talk too much! Even the lieutenant is sleeping in a tent, what¡¯s wrong with you staying in one? Sergeant Bunir didn¡¯t complain, why are you whining?¡±


    Monkey didn¡¯t get angry from the kick; he rubbed his buttocks and snickered, moving closer to Lu Xirong: ¡°Sergeant?¡±


    ¡°`


    ¡°I am now a Centurion, not a sergeant,¡± Lu Xirong said with a dark face, smashing the tent pegs with a rock.


    ¡°Hey, sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°Get lost.¡±


    ¡°I have a question I want to ask¡­¡±


    ¡°Spit it out if you have something to say.¡±


    The Monkey hesitated as he asked, ¡°When will we new recruits be granted land? When will it be distributed to us?¡±


    Lu Xirong put down the stone and turned to stare at The Monkey, ¡°What do you want to know that for?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just itching in my heart,¡± The Monkey sighed with a lament, ¡°Not to mention land, I¡¯ve never even had a new piece of clothing since I was born. The thought of being granted land scratches at my heart like a cat. With land, maybe I can even take a wife. Alas, I haven¡¯t even touched a woman yet.¡±


    Lu Xirong scolded with frustration, ¡°You haven¡¯t even claimed a head in battle, what¡¯s the rush? Look at your fellow villager; he¡¯s taken three enemy heads and even one from Hong Lingyu! He¡¯s not in a hurry, so what are you?¡±


    The Monkey still sported a grin, ¡°Only because I lack it, I¡¯m anxious. If I had three enemy heads, I wouldn¡¯t be worried.¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Upon learning that the unimpressive and short man before him was the renowned Sergeant Bunir, The Monkey immediately agreed to enlist.


    Originally Doug had been packing up his belongings, but seeing his friend decide to enlist, he also silently stayed behind.


    As soon as they moved into the camp, the two were separated.


    The Monkey was assigned to Lu Xirong¡¯s squad of ten, while Doug was picked by Sergeant Peter Bunir and now serves as a messenger for the acting camp commander.


    Lu Xirong ignored The Monkey and turned to hammer nails. Sensing that the Centurion was displeased, The Monkey wisely shut his mouth and went back to work.


    Soon, the tent that could accommodate six for lodging was set up, and everyone mounted an iron pot to make some hot food before nightfall.


    While sitting around the fire drinking soup, Lu Xirong finally spoke up: ¡°I reckon the treatment for you new recruits won¡¯t be the same as ours.¡±


    ¡°What? Why?¡± The Monkey was immediately anxious upon hearing this.


    ¡°What was the situation back then? What is it now? It¡¯s different.¡±


    If it was a fool, he¡¯d probably still pester Lu Xirong with questions. However, The Monkey was quick-witted and immediately understood the crux of the matter.


    The Iron Peak County Military can currently be roughly divided into three levels, the very top being the Blood Wolf¡¯s oldest subordinates. It¡¯s easy to distinguish them because only they address the Blood Wolf as ¡°Centurion,¡± and they are the only ones who can use this title.


    Most of the old soldiers who still remain in the military have become company-level commanders, such as Tamas and Bart Xialing. Those who are retired due to injuries usually work under Bard, the Civil Guard Officer.


    The middle layer is Lu Xirong¡¯s batch of the ¡°first army establishment.¡± They occupy the ranks of Centurion and sergeants, with estates large enough to be considered small landlords, though these have not been liquidated yet.


    The third layer consists of prisoners who were forcibly incorporated when three Hundred-Men Squads expanded into an infantry battalion.


    They initially joined the Blood Wolf¡¯s forces reluctantly and half-heartedly, and now they have become the backbone of the army.


    Among them, the most distinguished in battle accomplishments is none other than Sergeant Peter Bunir, with a thousand acres to his name. Even those without significant battle accomplishments, as long as they are still alive, have at least the basic three hundred acres granted by the land grant order.


    As for new recruits like The Monkey and Doug, they don¡¯t even qualify to be part of this three-tier pyramid.


    When Lu Xirong mentioned that the situation has changed, he meant that in the past it was difficult to recruit soldiers for the Blood Wolf; people couldn¡¯t be retained without coaxing and deceiving them with generous rewards.


    And now? The news that enlistment comes with three hundred acres has spread throughout Iron Peak County, leaving countless people envious.


    The bloody battle in the valley is a haunting nightmare for many survivors, but there are also many who want to grit their teeth and take a chance.


    Recruitment is easier now, so naturally, the conditions offered won¡¯t be as favorable.


    Even after realizing this, The Monkey still felt very unwilling, but he didn¡¯t have any solution, so he could only let out a discouraged sigh.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry,¡± Lu Xirong glanced at The Monkey, ¡°The Blood Wolf never treats his people unfairly.¡±


    ¡°`

 Chapter 900 900 16 Speculative Business

    ?Chapter 900: Chapter 16 Speculative Business Chapter 900: Chapter 16 Speculative Business The business of trading in human heads is currently the hottest speculative enterprise in Revodan.


    The formal name of the human head vouchers is [Empire Calendar 559 Iron Peak County Military Merit Land Exchange Certificate]. This name is indeed too awkward to utter, and everyone¡¯s first reaction upon hearing it is: ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Thus, in most circumstances, people unanimously use its colloquial name¡ªhuman head vouchers.


    There is no public trading exchange for human head vouchers, and there is no universally recognized real-time price.


    However, whether it is the actual heads or the certificates, apart from the initial period of fluctuating prices, for the rest of the time, the prices have generally risen, up to today.


    After the results of the ¡°Blood Mud Battle¡± reached Revodan, those speculators who gambled and acquired the heads immediately have, at the very least, doubled or even tripled their worth.


    For those who were slower to react or more conservative in nature, even if their bets were small, they did not lose any money.


    ...


    A business where one only profits greatly or slightly, and a commodity that is forever rising in price, can stir up greed in even the most composed individuals.


    Suddenly, human head vouchers have taken over the living rooms, bedrooms, and kitchens of the people in Revodan.


    In front of the stove, beside the dining table, or on the bed, from wealthy merchants and gentlemen to common peddlers and porters, everyone was talking about human head vouchers.


    Discussing why human head vouchers were rising in value, discussing how long they could continue to rise, discussing whether or not to buy some human head vouchers.


    ¡­


    In old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°Tell me the truth,¡± old Priskin tapped his pipe and asked slowly, ¡°How many human heads vouchers have you actually stockpiled?¡±


    ¡°Not many,¡± little Priskin hummed.


    ¡°How many?¡±


    Unable to avoid answering, little Priskin gave a number.


    A very large number.


    Little Priskin shrank his neck, bracing for his grandfather¡¯s thunderous anger.


    Unexpectedly, old Priskin just filled his pipe and said indifferently, ¡°Being able to acquire that many with so little capital is also a talent you have.¡±


    After speaking, old Priskin motioned for his grandson to sit: ¡°Speak up, from start to finish, tell me everything.¡± ¡­


    A father may be strict with his son, but he always has a soft spot for his grandson.


    This is probably because there often exists an invisible competition between fathers and sons, whereas only affection remains over a generation gap.


    When little Priskin was caught plotting a rebellion, old Priskin was so furious he wanted to break his legs.


    After a while, when the old man¡¯s anger subsided, little Priskin once again became his grandfather¡¯s beloved grandson, and was only prohibited from participating in the family business.


    Priskin Trading did not spend much money on the ¡°head speculation,¡± but was one of the earliest buyers of the heads.


    As soon as the triumphant news reached Revodan, old Priskin called his grandson into the study and gave him a small bag of Gold Coins to buy a few heads.


    Little Priskin counted the money, his expression troubled: ¡°Grandfather, only this much?¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a business affair,¡± old Priskin enlightened his grandson, ¡°It¡¯s enough just to make a statement.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± little Priskin was obviously reluctant.


    He didn¡¯t bet heavily, not because the old man didn¡¯t see the business opportunity, but because the Priskin family was already among the wealthiest in Revodan, and they didn¡¯t need to risk speculating.


    The old man knew clearly: as long as Blood Wolf keeps their promise, the price of Hurd heads will definitely skyrocket; but making money means depressing the buying price.


    ¡°Buying heads at a low price¡± is blatantly exploiting those soldiers with military merits, essentially undermining Blood Wolf¡¯s foundation. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If it were anybody else standing in front of the table, the old man wouldn¡¯t have said a word. But it was his own grandson, the son of his deceased eldest son, and he couldn¡¯t help but teach him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve also been on the city wall; how dangerous is battle? You know it all too well. A Herd Barbarian¡¯s arrow flying your way could take a life immediately.¡± Recalling his experience defending the city, old Priskin also became somewhat emotional:


    ¡°Soldiers risk their lives for every head they take, and then you buy them off with a little money, just like that. Is that fair? For minor issues, the Civil Guard Officer might just grit his teeth and bear it. But if it goes too far, Blood Wolf will flip the table! They hold the swords!¡±


    Little Priskin ¡°Oh¡±ed, looking quite dejected.


    In the study with only the two of them, old Priskin asked: ¡°Do you know why I won¡¯t let you handle business anymore?¡±


    Little Priskin¡¯s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible: ¡°Because I caused a big disaster.¡±


    Old Priskin asked again, ¡°Do you think I am punishing you?¡±


    Little Priskin lowered his head, not saying a word.


    ¡°Your father died early; the person who loves you the most in this world is me. How could I punish you this way?¡± Old Priskin looked at his grandson, seeing more and more of his late son in him: ¡°Do you still not understand? I don¡¯t let you handle business because there¡¯s a more suitable plan for you.¡±


    Little Priskin looked up, puzzled.


    ¡°Your uncle is timid and cautious. Entrusting Priskin Trading to him won¡¯t lead it to ruin,¡± old Priskin sighed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who likes to take risks? Who likes to gamble with luck? After much deliberation, there¡¯s another business better suited for you.¡±


    ¡°What¡­what kind of business?¡± Little Priskin, although reckless, was not stupid, and quickly caught on, ¡°Grandfather, are you asking me to go¡­¡±


    Remembering that phrase imprinted in his memory, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, smile,¡± little Priskin shivered involuntarily and used his whole body to reject: ¡°No, no, no¡­I won¡¯t go, just let me be a pampered pig, I¡¯m willing to be that¡­or let me go be an apprentice to my uncle, anything is fine¡­¡±

 Chapter 901 901 16 Speculative Business_2

    ?Chapter 901: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_2 Chapter 901: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_2 ¡°You¡¯re thinking right.¡± Even if his grandson wants to become a pampered pig, old Priskin cannot allow it: ¡°I want you to go to the Montaigne Civil Guard Officer.¡±


    Having received the task from his grandfather, little Priskin began to ponder where to buy heads and how to purchase them.


    At that time, the siege of Revodan had just ended, and the heads of the Herd Barbarians had been generously lopped off by the Revodan city militia as well.


    Some militia members had families to feed and couldn¡¯t wait to exchange their heads for land; they wanted to sell the heads to address emergencies;


    Others were militia members who jointly achieved the credit for a single head and didn¡¯t know how to divide the land in the future, so they simply exchanged it for money.


    There were not a few militiamen willing to sell heads, but very few people were actually willing to purchase them, for two reasons:


    First, no one knew whether Blood Wolf would keep his promise.


    After all, ¡°granting titles and making promises before the goal is achieved, then reneging after the goal is met¡± is traditional culture among the lords.


    If Blood Wolf turns his back on them, then a head will just be a rotting, disfigured human head, not even worth a copper coin.


    ...


    Second, even if Blood Wolf honors the exchange for the heads, by the day the New Reclamation Legion suppresses the Rebels, the granted land will surely be confiscated, making it all for naught in the end.


    Therefore, even though a business opportunity was sniffed out, most people still chose to hold onto their currency and wait. Eager to act, yet afraid to act recklessly.


    However, for little Priskin, these two issues were not issues at all.


    Little Priskin had seen Blood Wolf. Although their interactions were not harmonious, he was certain that Blood Wolf would not easily break his oath.


    Moreover, little Priskin, walking by his grandfather¡¯s side, had been in touch with plenty of ¡°insider information.¡±


    For example: the outcome of the bloody battle was decided by a Piaoqi charge¡ªyet Iron Peak County had no Cavalry.


    Or for instance: Lady Ronald, still residing in the garrison official residence, had dismissed her cook and servants; S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Or yet another example: his grandfather was tallying the backlog of goods from various commercial houses, seemingly ready to negotiate a big deal all at once.


    These signs led little Priskin to a bold idea: could it be possible¡­ could it possibly be that the New Reclamation Legion was planning to recruit the Blood Wolf Rebels?


    If that were the case, the issue of [land legality] would no longer be a problem.


    Little Priskin was equally convinced that Blood Wolf would definitely include the ¡°legalization of granted land¡± in the negotiation terms.


    That guy is just that kind of person¡ªcruel, fierce, but he would never just wipe his hands clean and leave without taking responsibility¡ªlittle Priskin had this strong hunch.


    A golden opportunity was right in front of him, and little Priskin could hardly suppress the excitement in his heart, suddenly feeling an endless surge of motivation.


    Revodan, the goldsmith workshop of Yile.


    ¡°Two for eighteen.¡± Little Priskin wouldn¡¯t let go of Yile¡¯s arm.


    ¡°No, no, no,¡± Yile shook his head like a rattle-drum: ¡°Impossible.¡±


    ¡°Two for seventeen!¡± Little Priskin raised his voice.


    Yile looked utterly helpless: ¡°Master Priskin, you might as well ask in another workshop.¡±


    Little Priskin released his hand and slapped the table hard: ¡°Then two for sixteen!¡±


    ¡°The market rate is now two for fifteen.¡± Yile looked extremely troubled.


    ¡°But I want to exchange a lot!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s still not possible, to lose one for every two exchanged. I can¡¯t do this business.¡±


    ¡°Gold Coins will definitely continue to rise in price, while silver coins are depreciating every moment. When the time comes, you won¡¯t even have the chance to exchange them.¡±


    Goldsmith Yile sighed: ¡°First, let¡¯s take a look at the quality of the Gold Coins.¡±


    ¡°Rest assured! Would I deceive you?¡± Little Priskin happily pulled out the purse he got from his grandfather: ¡°They are all top-quality Ducats.¡±


    ¡°Master Priskin, it¡¯s only because you said you wanted to exchange a lot at once that I reluctantly agreed to two for sixteen.¡± Yile¡¯s face dropped, as he weighed the purse: ¡°This can¡¯t be called ¡®a lot.''¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s more!¡± Little Priskin quickly lifted another wooden box from his backpack.


    Upon opening the box, inside were gold and silver necklaces, earrings, buttons, forks and knives¡­


    Yile¡¯s face turned uglier: ¡°Master Priskin, are you planning to flee?¡±


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Seeing goldsmith Yile¡¯s face turn almost inky, little Priskin hastily tried to lighten the mood: ¡°Let¡¯s exchange these gold and silver wares at two for fifteen, okay?¡±


    ¡°Two for fifteen?¡± A few muffled grunts came from deep within Yile¡¯s nostrils: ¡°Melting down the vessels into coins requires a fee for the loss from melting.¡±


    ¡°Then consider them as a pledge to you, and I¡¯ll come back to redeem them after some time.¡± Little Priskin picked up his backpack, and tentatively asked: ¡°By the way, would you be interested in buying swords? Top-tier steel blades with Weisinberg¡¯s famous craftsman engraving¡­ or do you know anyone who would want to buy swords?¡±


    Revodan, the residence of the pottery merchant Megan.


    A teenage boy around little Priskin¡¯s age walked into the parlor holding a clay pot: ¡°What the heck do you need the money for so urgently?¡±


    ¡°Never mind that.¡± Little Priskin was getting impatient: ¡°I assure you, I¡¯ll pay you back.¡±


    The clay pot was taken outside, and the potter¡¯s son¡ªwho had been a playmate of little Priskin since childhood¡ªlittle Megan, held up a wooden mallet and stood foolishly for a while before turning back with a sad face: ¡°I can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡± Little Priskin took the mallet and swung hard, breaking the belly of the clay pot.


    Silver coins poured out with a clatter.


    Revodan, the home of the builder Tom.


    ¡°Auntie!¡± Little Priskin pushed the door open: ¡°Can you lend me some money?¡±


    Recently, there has been an ¡°exchange difference¡± in the value of gold and silver coins in Revodan.

 Chapter 902 902 16 Speculative Business_3

    ?Chapter 902: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_3 Chapter 902: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_3 Two gold plates or twelve silver plates could buy a Malte weight of flour, but it takes fifteen silver coins to exchange for two Gold Coins.


    This is because the shadow of war has not yet dissipated, and people generally prefer to collect gold, which is easier to preserve and has a more stable value.


    Little Priskin tried every trick in the book and finally managed to get six thousand silver plates¡ªthe silver coins minted by the Republic of Palatu.


    With this start-up capital, little Priskin didn¡¯t directly buy severed heads; instead, he first bought a batch of flour at a low price in the name of the Priskin Trading Company from Revodan grain merchants.


    He was cunning; he first hired some vagrants to walk through the slums carrying barbarian severed heads for sale, pricing them unusually low.


    Even so, the residents of the slums couldn¡¯t afford them, let alone dare to buy them.


    After successfully lowering the estimated value of the severed heads in people¡¯s minds, little Priskin started to trade flour for heads.


    ...


    Initially, little Priskin bought severed heads in Revodan.


    But he quickly discovered that due to the Blood Wolf allocating military rations for civilian use, the demand for flour among the Revodan civilians wasn¡¯t significant except for families with many children.


    What Revodan civilians actually needed most were side dishes, such as smoked meat, vegetables. Some were even willing to trade a severed head for a bottle of wine.


    By contrast, villages and towns that were more severely affected by the war needed food more and were distributed extremely evenly.


    Some villages had their grain silos tightly hidden, leaving the Herders empty-handed;


    Some villages had all their grain looted, and when farmers returned to their homes, they had no choice but to flee famine again.


    Little Priskin smelled an opportunity.


    Revodan civilians temporarily did not lack grain, but the military was short of it. The military had to consider the future, not just the present.


    On one hand, little Priskin exchanged grain for horse carcasses, using the trading company¡¯s caravans to haul back warhorse bodies from the battlefield in batches, then traded these for severed heads from the Revodan militia.


    On the other hand, he spared no effort to hire people to promote the ¡°uselessness of severed heads¡± theory in Revodan and desperately lowered the purchase price of severed heads. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Things went smoothly, but little Priskin soon encountered a problem: he was out of money.


    Buying grain, dispatching horse carriages, hiring laborers; every single activity cost money.


    Some severed heads were collected, but the purse was running on fumes. As little Priskin tried hard to lower the price of severed heads, the purchase price dropped day by day, leaving no way to bring in funds.


    Logically, this should have been the end of it.


    But just at this moment, other speculators entered the scene.


    From ¡°not daring to buy¡± to ¡°gingerly buying,¡± there were many reasons affecting the mentality of Revodan merchants.


    For example: the garrison repeatedly announcing the effectiveness of the ¡°Beheading Order.¡±


    Another example: the aggressive buying of severed heads by the Priskin Trading Company, which deeply offended the restless speculators.


    Severed heads became a sought-after item in Revodan overnight, with speculative investors holding gold and silver flooding into the slums and barracks, pestering the militia to exchange those twisted, bluish dead heads.


    Little Megan came to find little Priskin: ¡°Did you borrow money from me to buy severed heads?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How many have you bought now?¡±


    Little Priskin mentioned a number.


    Little Megan nearly dropped her jaw: ¡°This¡­ you¡­ then you¡¯ve made a fortune this time?¡±


    Little Priskin was somewhat listless: ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°Then can you pay me back first?¡± Little Megan asked pitifully.


    ¡°Why? Do you need the money urgently?¡± Little Priskin knew his friend was not a person of strong jealousy.


    ¡°The price of severed heads has recently risen a lot.¡± Little Megan fiddled with her fingers: ¡°I want to buy a few too.¡±


    A lightbulb went off for little Priskin, he took a breath: ¡°I¡¯m afraid paying back is not possible; all my money has turned into severed heads, and I don¡¯t have any cash.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Little Megan looked a bit disappointed.


    ¡°But I have another way.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Little Priskin patted his good buddy¡¯s shoulder: ¡°How about I count you in as a shareholder?¡±


    ¡­


    In Revodan, at the workshop of goldsmith Yile.


    ¡°Mr. Yile!¡± Little Priskin pushed open the door with force: ¡°Do you know what I exchanged the money for?¡±


    ¡­


    In Revodan, at the home of builder Tom.


    ¡°Aunty!¡± Little Priskin ran into the house excitedly: ¡°Do you know what I borrowed the money for?¡±


    ¡­


    In the study of old Priskin.


    Old Priskin, without reproach, applause, or surprise, slowly smoked his pipe and only after listening up to this point asked the first question: ¡°Is this how you borrowed the second sum of money?¡±


    ¡°I borrowed some, but not much.¡± Little Priskin did not dare to show any smugness.


    ¡°Continue.¡±


    ¡­


    After more merchants started to participate in this speculative business, the price of severed heads in Revodan rose dramatically.


    It became very difficult to trade grain or side dishes for severed heads as before, and the cost kept climbing.


    The partners of little Priskin thought, ¡°Sell the severed heads, then go to remote villages to buy again. The heads outside of Revodan should still be cheap, and we can make a profit margin.¡±


    ¡°Going to villages to buy severed heads is fine, but selling them is not.¡± Little Priskin categorically refused: ¡°A severed head is not just a dead man¡¯s head; it¡¯s a hundred acres of land. How much is a hundred acres worth? How much is a severed head worth now? The price of severed heads will definitely rise even higher in the future, it¡¯s too much of a loss to sell now!¡±


    ¡°What should we do, then?¡± Little Megan spread her hands: ¡°We only have so much money.¡±

 Chapter 903 903 16 Speculative Business_4

    ?Chapter 903: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_4 Chapter 903: Chapter 16 Speculative Business_4 ¡°Perhaps¡­ there¡¯s still a way.¡±


    ¡­


    Revodan, Yile¡¯s goldsmith workshop.


    There are three precious metal craftsmen in Revodan, and the other two have already been invited by Yile to the workshop.


    Precious metal craftsmen often make investments because they hold many customers¡¯ stored gold and silver.


    ¡°Wait, what are you going to do?¡± a square-faced goldsmith asked, frowning.


    Tiny Priskin repeated firmly, ¡°I¡¯m asking you to buy shares.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Buy shares?¡± another long-faced silversmith glanced at Yile and asked, ¡°Buy shares in what?¡±


    Tiny Priskin talked about his small business.


    Both the goldsmith and silversmith obviously knew about the matter regarding Herders¡¯ heads. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the square-faced goldsmith quickly shook his head: ¡°Business has its ups and downs, it¡¯s fine when you profit, but if it fails, we could lose everything and still not be able to cover it.¡±


    After saying that, the square-faced goldsmith stood up, looking like he was about to leave.


    The long-faced silversmith nodded in agreement and got up from his chair.


    ¡°Buying shares won¡¯t work.¡± Tiny Priskin loudly inquired, ¡°What about a loan then?¡±


    ¡°How much?¡±


    ¡°A lot.¡±


    ¡°What will you use as collateral?¡±


    ¡°The Herders¡¯ heads.¡±


    The goldsmith flatly refused: ¡°No, who knows if the Herders¡¯ heads will still hold value tomorrow?¡±


    Tiny Priskin mentioned a very high interest rate.


    The square-faced goldsmith fell silent.


    The long-faced silversmith asked, ¡°If you can¡¯t pay back the principal, what good does a high interest rate do?¡±


    ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Tiny Priskin retorted, ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t be able to pay you back?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± the square-faced goldsmith¡¯s attitude softened, ¡°are you acting on your grandfather¡¯s orders now, or are you making your own decisions?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a task from my grandfather,¡± Tiny Priskin glossed over, then added a more tempting proposition: ¡°I can double the interest for you¡ªbut there¡¯s one condition.¡±


    The long-faced silversmith didn¡¯t refuse outright but hesitated to ask, ¡°What condition?¡±


    ¡°I can pay you high interest, or even use my family¡¯s estate as collateral,¡± Tiny Priskin proposed confidently, ¡°but when it¡¯s time to repay, you must allow me to do so in the form of heads.¡±


    ¡­


    Old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°Did they agree?¡± Old Priskin squinted and asked.


    ¡°No,¡± Tiny Priskin replied dejectedly.


    ¡°Not too stupid.¡±


    Tiny Priskin swallowed a gulp of saliva, ¡°But in the end, they agreed to lend me some money¡ªwith the heads and Megan¡¯s family house deed as collateral.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°One for your face, and two¡­ something happened the next day.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The county government issued a notice saying they would convert all the heads into ¡®Head Coupons.''¡±


    ¡­


    In the following days, Tiny Priskin¡¯s actions became very simple.


    He bought grain from villages with surplus and transported it to famine-stricken villages in exchange for heads.


    On the other hand, he outright bought head coupons from soldiers stranded in Saint Town, with the Piaoqi Troops being major clients.


    The Piaoqi Troops brought by Gessa were auxiliaries; even if they collected many heads, they couldn¡¯t settle in Iron Peak County directly.


    Thus, most Piaoqi Troops traded their head coupons for alcohol, although some secretly kept a few coupons.


    Meanwhile, Tiny Priskin sold some of the heads but used them as collateral more often.


    Using methods of [buying, mortgaging, and buying again] and [attracting shareholders], Tiny Priskin¡¯s speculative business thrived until Old Priskin, hearing rumors, called him into the study for questioning.


    ¡­


    Old Priskin put down his pipe, and Tiny Priskin immediately stood up.


    ¡°You¡¯ve caused many troubles from childhood to adulthood, and I¡¯ve rarely scolded you. Do you know why?¡± Old Priskin asked.


    ¡°Because you love me,¡± Tiny Priskin answered softly.


    ¡°Because your great-grandfather once told me,¡± Old Priskin slowly recited his father¡¯s words, ¡°¡®Those who can cause big troubles can also accomplish great things.''¡±


    Old Priskin paused, then continued, ¡°But those capable of great deeds can also cause great troubles. Between accomplishing great deeds and causing great troubles, often lies a fine line. I will die sooner or later, and you must learn to discern the difference yourself.¡±


    Tiny Priskin was silent for a long time before quietly replying, ¡°I understand, Grandfather.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late to understand now,¡± Old Priskin sighed, ¡°You go ask Blood Wolf for mercy yourself.¡±


    ¡­


    Bachelor officer¡¯s quarters, reception room.


    Three knocks at the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    Tiny Priskin, nervous, pushed open the door and saw Blood Wolf wearing an ugly knitted jacket, lounging relaxedly on a long chair, chatting with a chubby, round-faced middle-aged man in a dialect he couldn¡¯t understand.


    As he entered the room, Blood Wolf sat up straight.


    ¡°Do you have a guest?¡± the chubby middle-aged man tactfully took his leave, ¡°Then I will step out.¡±


    ¡°No need, you should stay; this is the person you wanted to meet.¡± Blood Wolf smiled, looking at Tiny Priskin, ¡°This is the one with the ¡®strange-sounding Sea Blue dialect¡¯.¡±


    Seeing the chubby middle-aged man sizing him up and down, he suddenly burst into laughter, ¡°So it¡¯s our little mouse!¡±

 Chapter 904 904 17 The Purse and the Hilt

    ?Chapter 904: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt Chapter 904: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt The Priskin kid is rather odd, always managing to complicate things for Winters at just the wrong time, like now.


    An extra outsider in the living room made it unsuitable to continue discussing private matters.


    Helplessly, Winters sighed internally¡ª it seemed the conversation could only resume over dinner.


    The official reason Mr. Leo appeared at Winters¡¯ residence was because Winters was throwing a farewell banquet for him.


    Mr. Leo had already bid farewell to Winters, as he personally needed to oversee the transfer of wool, and the partners of Navarre Commerce would soon be leaving Iron Peak County.


    Yet even at this crucial moment, Mr. Leo remained tight-lipped about Lady Navarre¡¯s affairs, as if nothing had happened.


    Mr. Leo might have been able to restrain himself, but Winters couldn¡¯t stand by and watch Anna suffer in anticipation.


    ...


    Ever since running away from home, every time Anna thought of how her mother might react, she felt stifled.


    However, Catherine dismissively snorted at Anna¡¯s anxiety. Lady Navarre, adhering to her usual cheerful attitude, comforted her sister saying, ¡°Since it¡¯s already happened, and we are indeed her biological daughters, what can she really do to us?¡±


    When confronted with a distressing problem that can¡¯t be solved, it¡¯s human instinct to ¡°not think about it¡±. It¡¯s as if by not facing it, the problem doesn¡¯t exist for another day.


    However, the arrival of Mr. Leo tore open the veil over the wounds, making it impossible for the parties involved to continue deceiving themselves.


    Whether it¡¯s fine wine or inferior wine, there always comes a day to open the bottle seal.


    Winters invited Mr. Leo home under the guise of a farewell, preparing to confront and resolve the issues.


    But Winters was faintly worried that Lady Navarre¡¯s sharp attitude may upset Anna. Hence, he planned to have a preliminary chat with Mr. Leo before the formal start of the dinner. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before they could get to the main topic, an unwanted visitor arrived.


    Winters looked at the uninvited guest, a slight frown forming. He shifted his collar¡ª the sweater was a bit tight around the neck, Lady Navarre¡¯s knitting skills clearly had room for improvement.


    The uninvited guest had no self-awareness of being such. Little Priskin, seeing Blood Wolf, trembled to his core.


    That gesture¡­ was it meant to signify a throat cut?


    Little Priskin¡¯s throat bobbed up and down, his sitting posture becoming more upright. Little did he know at this moment, his source of fear was actually scrabbling to recall the customs of the Paratu People.


    Winters cursed his lack of deeper understanding of Paratu; when he actually needed it, he could not think of any action that in Paratu culture meant ¡°enough, time for you to leave, send off the guest¡±.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin,¡± Winters amiably asked, ¡°Is your horse tied outside? Better put it in the stables before it freezes.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Little Priskin, guessing the mind of Blood Wolf, quickly responded, ¡°I walked here.¡±


    ¡°How could that be? I¡¯ll prepare a horse for you.¡±


    ¡°Is¡­ is this banishment?¡± Little Priskin felt a pang in his heart, repeatedly declining, ¡°It¡¯s nearby, not far at all, I can walk back.¡±


    Winters, left without options, straightforwardly asked: ¡°What brings you to me?¡±


    Little Priskin glanced at the chubby, smiling man on the other side, then at Blood Wolf, and finally at his own shoe tips.


    He spoke timidly and unclearly, ¡°My grandfather¡­ oh no, it¡¯s me¡­ coming to confess about the military merit certificates¡­ no, the head rolls¡­¡±


    ¡°Military merit certificates? What about them?¡± Winters leaned back in confusion, asking, ¡°Isn¡¯t your head roll business doing well?¡±


    Winters nodded towards Mr. Leo, ¡°Even Mr. Leo spoke highly of you, wishing to meet you. It¡¯s fortunate, since had you not come today, it¡¯d have been difficult for both of you to meet again.¡±


    Upon hearing this ¡°blatant threat,¡± Little Priskin nearly burst into tears. He suddenly stood up, vigorously shaking his head, his cup falling and smashing on the floor.


    Winters was puzzled by how his words could have upset the other party, looking curiously at Little Priskin and then at the broken pieces on the ground.


    Little Priskin hurriedly bent down to pick up the remnants of the cup.


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but chuckle softly, helplessly leaving his seat and extending his hand to help Priskin clean up the mess, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡±


    Mr. Leo, who had not participated in the conversation, chimed in with a smile, ¡°I think¡­ Mr. Priskin views you as a ruthless figure like the ¡®Butcher Duke¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Winters asked Little Priskin, surprised.


    ¡°No,¡± Little Priskin frantically widened his eyes, his head shaking like a windmill, ¡°No.¡±


    Recalling Anna¡¯s words, Winters sighed.


    After picking up the sharp ceramic pieces one by one and placing them on a plate, he looked at the tear-stricken face of Little Priskin and patted his shoulder, ¡°What¡¯s past is past, you don¡¯t need to be this afraid of me. It¡¯s just a pity about this cup, it was my only set for entertaining guests.¡±


    ¡°When I get to Maplestone City, I¡¯ll send you another set,¡± Mr. Leo said with a smile.


    ¡°Nevermind,¡± Winters said, slightly dejectedly leaning on the bench, ¡°Porcelain cups given to me are bound to break sooner or later.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll prepare an enamel set for you,¡± Mr. Leo smoothly countered, ¡°Iron-baked with a porcelain surface, it won¡¯t break no matter how it¡¯s dropped.¡±

 Chapter 905 905 17 The Purse and the Hilt_2

    ?Chapter 905: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt_2 Chapter 905: Chapter 17: The Purse and the Hilt_2 Being compared to the Duke of the Butcher, Winters always felt somewhat uneasy. He reflected that he had never gone on a slaughter like the Duke of the Butcher, and he could still be considered tolerably merciful and benevolent.


    He really wanted to ask little Priskin, ¡°Why are you so afraid of me? What did I do to scare you?¡± However, he knew it was futile to ask, and could only sigh helplessly in the end.


    ¡°The wealthy always fear those who wield swords,¡± Mr. Leo seemed to understand Winters¡¯ dissatisfaction and comforted him with a smile, ¡°It¡¯s inevitable. It has always been like this.¡±


    As Winters contemplated the phrase ¡®the wealthy fear those who wield swords,¡¯ he couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°What about you? Are you also afraid of those who wield swords?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Mr. Leo said candidly: ¡°Otherwise, why would I follow ¡®Colonel Chino Capu¡¯ to Iron Peak County? It¡¯s because I¡¯m afraid to travel alone.¡±


    ¡°So, after becoming wealthy, do people start to pursue power?¡± Winters remembered historical anecdotes: ¡°Like Crassus?¡±


    Leo slightly tilted his head because he didn¡¯t know who Crassus was. Winters briefly described the life of Marcus Licinius Crassus.


    ...


    After listening, Mr. Leo fell silent for a moment: ¡°Probably so, once you have money, you begin to pursue power, it¡¯s inevitable. Unless¡­¡±


    ¡°Unless what?¡±


    Mr. Leo pointed at little Priskin: ¡°You said why is he afraid of you?¡±


    Startled, little Priskin was left hanging.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it?¡± Winters glanced at little Priskin: ¡°Because I¡¯m holding a sword.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be because you¡¯re holding a sword,¡± Mr. Leo spoke slowly: ¡°Essentially, it¡¯s because you can arbitrarily strip him of his life, property, and status. No need for a reason or explanation, just the power of the sword is enough.¡±


    This time, Mr. Leo¡¯s chubby face bore no trace of a smile as he looked at little Priskin and asked, ¡°Mr. Priskin, do you think so?¡±


    Little Priskin didn¡¯t speak, but his expression said it all.


    Winters defended himself: ¡°I have never thought of doing such things, nor do I have any reason to.¡±


    ¡°Having the desire is one thing; having the ability is another,¡± Mr. Leo paused for a moment, sincerely said, ¡°Unless you can completely eliminate this ¡®insecurity¡¯, he¡ªand thousands like him¡ªwill always fear you, forever.¡±


    After speaking, Mr. Leo shrugged his shoulders, his expression returning to a jovial one: ¡°But perhaps¡­ those who wield swords desire ¡®fear¡¯. Didn¡¯t mad King Richard borrow money from the bankers of The Federated Provinces and brazenly default on it because he wielded the sword? Which ruler would willingly castrate their own power?¡±


    Mr. Leo¡¯s last remark, actually an offhand comment to comfort Winters, but he noticed that Winters had fallen into deep thought.


    ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it,¡± Winters chuckled brightly: ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s quite difficult.¡±


    ¡°I have something to ask Mr. little Priskin,¡± Leo blinked: ¡°May I?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Winters leaned back in his chair, signaling his withdrawal from the conversation: ¡°It¡¯s just right that he¡¯s here.¡±


    Little Priskin, listening to the conversation between Blood Wolf and the stout middle-aged man, was still somewhat befuddled until he heard that something was to be asked of him.


    Little Priskin perked up and sat up straight. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°According to Mayor Priskin, your firm hasn¡¯t invested much in head bonds,¡± Mr. Leo inquired with interest: ¡°So I¡¯m curious, how did you hoard so many head bonds?¡±


    Little Priskin didn¡¯t dare to conceal, and disclosed the whole process of [mortgage-purchase-re-mortgage].


    He initially wanted to hide the part about suppressing the price of head bonds, but recalling his grandfather¡¯s admonition¡ª¡±Don¡¯t be too clever,¡± he also thoroughly confessed his attempts to lower the prices.


    As he confessed, little Priskin kept sneaking glances at Blood Wolf¡¯s expression. However, Blood Wolf was deep in thought throughout, as if still pondering the previous conversation, so he couldn¡¯t discern anything.


    Only after listening to everything, did Mr. Leo ask: ¡°Using head bonds as collateral while suppressing their price, sounds somewhat contradictory.¡±


    ¡°Suppressing the price was initially done at the beginning,¡± little Priskin defended himself: ¡°Afterward, I couldn¡¯t suppress it anymore.¡±


    ¡°Now that the price of head bonds is already high, aren¡¯t you planning to sell some?¡± Leo asked again.


    ¡°There are too many head bonds in hand, it¡¯s not easy to sell,¡± little Priskin honestly replied, ¡°And I always feel like I¡¯d be at a loss if I sold them now.¡±


    ¡°You think the price of head bonds will continue to rise?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°A head bond represents a hundred acres of land, even if calculated at the cheapest low rate, the current price is not considered high.¡±


    Mr. Leo asked intriguingly: ¡°Are you so sure that a head bond can eventually be exchanged for a hundred acres of land, and not end up as an empty effort?¡±


    Taking a deep breath, little Priskin seized the opportunity to lavish praise on Blood Wolf: ¡°It will definitely be worth a hundred acres! I wholeheartedly believe in this.¡±


    Unfortunately, Blood Wolf still showed little reaction.


    Mr. Leo glanced at Winters and burst out laughing.


    ¡°All in all, you¡¯re holding the head bonds on the surface, but the actual owner is the financer who accepted your mortgage?¡± Mr. Leo summarized.


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly like that,¡± little Priskin felt compelled to explain: ¡°I originally planned to use the head bonds to repay, but they didn¡¯t agree. So in the end, we agreed that I would repay using hard currency.¡±

 Chapter 906 906 17 Purse and Hilt_3

    ?Chapter 906: Chapter 17 Purse and Hilt_3 Chapter 906: Chapter 17 Purse and Hilt_3 Leo raised his eyebrows, first puzzled, then burst into uncontrollable laughter once again. His laughter was so intense that he rocked back and forth, leaving Winters also somewhat baffled.


    ¡°Mr. Priskin, I initially thought you were just bold,¡± Leo said, wiping away tears as he shook his head. ¡°Turns out you truly have no fear of death.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Priskin said, a little defiant.


    ¡°It¡¯s quite simple.¡± Leo went straight for the jugular: ¡°The pond in Iron Peak County is too small to play with as you are.¡±


    ¡°But the price of the people¡¯s bonds will keep rising,¡± Priskin insisted loudly.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Mr. Leo smiled, ¡°But all it takes is one drop for you to lose everything¡ªnote, not just you, but your entire family. What¡¯s the point of the bonds rising when you¡¯ve lost everything?¡±


    Priskin fell silent.


    ...


    ¡°In a place as small as Iron Peak County, there are few who can speculate in the market. Once the market starts moving blindly, things will change more rapidly than you can imagine.¡± Leo advised Priskin kindly: ¡°You can mortgage, not because you have credit, but because your grandfather has credit. You¡¯re just going to drag him down with you.¡±


    Priskin didn¡¯t speak, because at his age, he could not admit defeat. The more direct the criticism, the more defiant he became.


    Leo¡¯s smile remained, but he no longer poked at his counterpart, ending the conversation with some bland compliments: ¡°However, bold moves can sometimes yield amazing results. Risk and reward always coexist.¡±


    Winters was also a bit impatient with Priskin¡¯s annoying demeanor.


    But while Leo could afford to be a bystander, Winters could not remain indifferent¡ªeven out of respect for the elder Priskin.


    Winters kicked the table and asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Priskin¡¯s stiff neck slumped, and he tucked his invisible tail between his legs, muttering, ¡°No, no¡­¡±


    ¡°I know why you sought me out,¡± Winters picked up his cup.


    Priskin shrank a little.


    ¡°Your grandfather is wealthy, he fears me who wields a sword, and so do you. Your grandfather thinks you¡¯re pulling a lion¡¯s whisker, so he ordered you to come and admit your mistake,¡± Winters preferred being direct, ¡°But you certainly don¡¯t think you did anything wrong, right?¡±


    Priskin didn¡¯t answer, but deep down, he felt he was innocent.


    Winters said firmly, ¡°I also think you did nothing wrong!¡±


    Priskin was shocked, and even Mr. Leo¡¯s smile paused for a moment.


    ¡°Seizing business opportunities and profiting from them is perfectly reasonable. You may have exploited a loophole, but in the end, it¡¯s because I hadn¡¯t set the rules properly¡ªexcept for price suppression.¡± Winters¡¯ gaze was piercing, causing Priskin not to dare meet his eyes: ¡°Maliciously suppressing prices to purchase heads is like drinking blood from a warrior¡¯s wound, which infuriates me. If you were under my command, I would have had you hanged already.¡±


    Winters continued, ¡°But it¡¯s not just you who¡¯s buying at suppressed prices, and I never banned trading of heads. Ultimately, it¡¯s my responsibility. I underestimated people¡¯s greed. However, I do not plan to solve problems with a sword, or else I wouldn¡¯t have implemented ¡®people¡¯s bonds for heads¡¯. Whether your business strategy is fair, I don¡¯t know, nor do I judge.¡±


    Priskin was dazed by Blood Wolf¡¯s words, just dumbly listening.


    ¡°You, and Elder Mr. Priskin, need not fear me. Although I hold a sword, I have no intention of misusing it, believe it or not.¡± Regardless of whether the other party understood, Winters was ready to send him off: ¡°Go home. I have matters to discuss with Mr. Leo.¡±


    Priskin bowed awkwardly and walked out as if stepping on cotton.


    Before he could touch the doorknob, the door was opened from outside, and Anna stood there.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Anna¡¯s surprise only lasted a moment before she quickly composed herself and offered a polite greeting: ¡°Mr. Priskin, good day.¡±


    Having heard the sound of a cup being smashed from the kitchen, Anna rushed back to the residence immediately.


    With a quick glance, Anna saw that the cups in front of Winters and Mr. Leo were intact, only the empty seat in front of them had a plate with broken pieces of the cup.


    So, it was Mr. Priskin who had smashed the cup, Anna thought with relief.


    Priskin stood there frozen, flustered by the renowned she-wolf: ¡°Good day, Lady Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late; please stay for dinner,¡± Anna invited as a matter of courtesy.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Priskin, with a mind in a haze, replied automatically: ¡°Okay.¡±


    Winters¡¯ temple veins bulged out instantly as he cleared his throat, ¡°Mr. Priskin, are you going to stay for dinner? Huh?¡±


    ¡°No, no, no.¡± Little Priskin fled in total disarray.


    Concerned about the state of Little Priskin, Anna asked Xial to escort him home.


    After everything was taken care of, she returned to the living room and said to Winters with slight annoyance, ¡°Why were you so harsh on Mr. Priskin?¡±


    ¡°Me? Harsh?¡± Winters was the picture of injustice: ¡°That kid is just here to give me a hard time.¡±


    ¡°Adults shouldn¡¯t quarrel with children.¡±


    ¡°Adults? Children? I¡¯m only a few years older than him!¡± Winters felt even more aggrieved.


    ¡°But,¡± Anna said earnestly, ¡°your responsibilities are much greater than his.¡±


    Winters¡¯ bristling mane was groomed smooth, and his mood brightened up all at once.


    ¡°Alright,¡± he cheerfully admitted his mistake, ¡°I won¡¯t hold it against him anymore.¡±


    Anna donned her shawl, nodded to Mr. Leo, and then left the living room.


    Not long after Anna had left, the door to the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters was opened again. Just the sound of footsteps made Winters¡¯ brow furrow.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Xial¡¯s bellow rang out in the corridor: ¡°Stop!¡±


    The door was yanked open, and Little Priskin¡¯s half body squeezed in forcefully, the other half remained outside¡ªheld back by Xial.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± Little Priskin shouted hastily, ¡°Did you not say, if I were under your command, you¡¯d have hung me already?¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do?¡±


    ¡°Please let me be under your command.¡±


    ¡­ S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Priskin¡¯s study.


    ¡°What did Blood Wolf say?¡± The old man asked his grandson, his concern evident.


    ¡°Grandfather, I think¡­ the Civil Guard Officer¡­¡± Little Priskin¡¯s expression was complex, his face flushed red: ¡°Might be even more¡­ than you think.¡±


    ¡°More what?¡± Old Priskin frowned.


    ¡°I can¡¯t quite describe it.¡± Little Priskin gave up trying to articulate and, gritting his teeth, said: ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going with Mr. Leo to Maplestone City.¡±


    ¡­


    The dining room in the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters.


    It was called a dinner party, but it was really a family dinner.


    The officers¡¯ quarters had no servants, hence there was no rotation of courses being served. Dishes in the style of Sea Blue were spread directly across the six-person table, just like any ordinary family dinner.


    Only Winters, Anna, and Leo were seated at the table.


    Catherine should have been present, but Lady Navarre was so shrewd, she wouldn¡¯t attend a dinner that could be awkward.


    After all, I can eat just the same in the kitchen¡ªCatherine said so.


    ¡°Mr. Leo.¡± Winters launched his offensive directly, ¡°I wish to propose to Lady Navarre. May I ask if Lady Montaigne will bless us?¡±

 Chapter 907 907 18 Marionette

    ?Chapter 907: Chapter 18: Marionette Chapter 907: Chapter 18: Marionette Anna Navarre could clearly hear the pounding of her heart, so strong she couldn¡¯t help but worry Mr. Leo sitting across the dining table might notice.


    The ¡°sudden attack¡± of the unpleasant thing had not negotiated with her beforehand, so at this moment, perhaps she was the most surprised person at the table.


    But she still tried her best to maintain self-control, behaving consistently with Winters¡¯ attitude.


    Anna couldn¡¯t help but let her thoughts wander, feeling panic and unease, even a bit of anger: ¡°He¡­ I haven¡¯t agreed to him yet!¡±


    However, deep inside her, an emotion named anticipation uncontrollably stirred waves.


    Anna held her breath, waiting for Mr. Leo¡¯s response.


    Leo put down his soup spoon, sat up straight, and replied sincerely and formulaically, ¡°Marriage is a serious matter, with etiquette and procedures. Mr. Montaigne, if you wish to propose to Miss Navarre, you should have your elder take the lead and negotiate with Mrs. Navarre. As for me? I cannot represent Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude.¡±


    ...


    ¡°This won¡¯t be difficult.¡± Winters, having anticipated this, took a deep breath with relief. ¡°General Serviati understands and respects my wishes, and he will bless mine and Anna¡¯s union. As for the procedure for establishing the marriage contract, my aunt can take the lead, I will write to her immediately.¡±


    Hearing Winters¡¯ optimistic plan, a wry smile appeared on Leo¡¯s lips, and he shook his head.


    Winters was puzzled and wanted to inquire further. But he didn¡¯t speak up because he noticed Anna¡¯s complexion suddenly became pale.


    He subconsciously took Anna¡¯s hand, and a faint response came back through his palm ¡ª Anna also held his hand. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Mr. Leo.¡± Anna¡¯s voice trembled. ¡°May I ask where Mrs. Navarre is?¡±


    ¡°In Sea Blue.¡±


    ¡°May I ask another question, where is Anna Navarre?¡±


    ¡°You know very well, Miss Anna.¡± Leo replied with a smile, ¡°Of course, she¡¯s also in Sea Blue.¡±


    Winters felt Anna¡¯s strength drain away in an instant, her body becoming unstable. He instinctively wanted to stand up and reach across the table to embrace her, but Anna recovered immediately.


    ¡°Please, no more riddles.¡± Winters pressed, questioning Mr. Leo with suppressed anger: ¡°Anna is sitting right in front of you, isn¡¯t she?¡±


    ¡°You jest, Mr. Montaigne,¡± Leo replied unhurriedly. ¡°I can assure you on my life that Miss Anna Navarre would not be present anywhere but Sea Blue at this moment. To be exact, she¡¯s at the Saint Mie Convent¡ªand Miss Catherine, she¡¯s there as well.¡±


    As Leo spoke, Winters was beginning to understand Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude.


    Reflecting on his memories of the affable lady, Winters realized he actually didn¡¯t know Anna¡¯s mother at all.


    He looked at Anna with concern, Mrs. Navarre¡¯s firmness and coldness were beyond imagination, prompting Winters to blame himself for not discussing with Anna what the worst scenario could be.


    Anna also looked at Winters, her eyes conveying ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡±


    Leo sighed deeply, and even though he was prepared, he still found it hard to bear when the time to lay cards on the table had come.


    ¡°Miss Anna, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Leo cleared his throat softly, gazing sincerely at the two. ¡°May I speak a few words from a personal standpoint¡ªnot as a partner in Navarre Commerce, but simply as a half-uncle to Miss Anna and a half-friend to you?¡±


    ¡°Why only a half-friend?¡± Winters held Anna¡¯s hand. ¡°Please, speak.¡±


    Winters dared not squeeze too hard, fearful of causing Anna pain; yet he also wanted to hold as tight as possible to offer Anna even the slightest support.


    ¡°When setting out from Sea Blue, the lady only entrusted me with one task,¡± Leo chose his words carefully, trying not to distress Anna. ¡°That is to take Miss Catherine back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Although Leo¡¯s words were tactful, the message couldn¡¯t be clearer: Mrs. Navarre wanted Catherine back, as for Anna, she wasn¡¯t even mentioned.


    A heavy feeling settled in Winters¡¯ heart, interpreting from Mr. Leo¡¯s previous statements, Mrs. Navarre¡¯s not requesting Leo to bring Anna back to Sea Blue did not imply she approved of Anna staying by his side. Quite the contrary, indifference was the harshest punishment.


    After much consideration, Leo decided it was best to be more explicit.


    Leo looked at Anna, slowing his speech as much as possible: ¡°Miss Anna.¡±


    Anna also looked at Mr. Leo, signaling that she was listening.


    ¡°If you continue to stay in Iron Peak County,¡± Leo said, word by word. ¡°You could be Anna Montaigne, you could be Anna Selvati, you could be anyone, but you will no longer be Anna Navarre. Anna Navarre would be the nun in the Saint Mie Convent who has renounced all secular rights.¡±


    Anna listened, nodding slightly, her composure unsettling Winters.


    ¡°But even if you return to Sea Blue, how the lady will react¡­ I do not know either. You might still be the female heiress of the Navarre family, or you may be sent to the convent, or perhaps directly arranged to be married off,¡± Leo said with resignation after a long pause, ¡°You really angered, angered, angered the lady¡­ she¡­ she didn¡¯t mention you once.¡±


    Then came another oppressive silence.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Leo.¡± Anna nodded calmly. ¡°I understand.¡±


    Winters felt disquieted; the more composed Anna was, the more unease he felt.

 Chapter 908 908 18 Puppet on Strings_2

    ?Chapter 908: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_2 Chapter 908: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_2 Winters wanted to continue inquiring Mr. Leo about something, but Anna was already urging them to start the meal.


    ¡°Please try this braised beef tripe.¡± She passed the plate with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ve restored it as closely as possible to Sea Blue¡¯s recipe, but since we¡¯re missing a few spices, I¡¯m not sure if it suits your taste.¡±


    The ingredient for [Braised Beef Tripe] is the cow¡¯s omasum, a dish originating from the City of Flowers, a favorite among textile workers. Offal was a disdained ingredient, hence relatively cheap, and affordable for ordinary workers.


    After being introduced to Sea Blue, braised omasum quickly captured the hearts of the dockworkers. According to the unwritten classification, braised omasum was labeled as ¡°dock cuisine.¡± Before Winters left for school in The Federated Provinces, a significant reason for visiting Benwei¡¯s house every now and then to freeloader was the braised beef tripe.


    It was rare for Anna to cook Sea Blue¡¯s cuisine herself; it was just unfortunate Winters was not in the mood to enjoy it.


    Dinner ended in a stifling atmosphere, Winters was at a loss for words, and Mr. Leo had lost his usual knack for spirited conversation.


    Only Anna continued performing her duties as a hostess: maintaining the conversation, introducing dishes to the guests¡­ as if nothing had happened.


    ...


    Leo didn¡¯t stay long, briefly touching his cutlery before hurriedly taking his leave. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters and Anna walked Mr. Leo out of the bachelor officers¡¯ quarters, and in contrast to the somewhat unnatural mood of the male host, the female host maintained her politeness and composure throughout.


    Watching the figure of Mr. Leo disappear into the night, Winters felt it was time to say something.


    He hugged Anna, trying to sound as light-hearted as possible, ¡°It seems like your mother has given you to me.¡±


    But the next moment, Winters could no longer utter any witty remarks, as Anna began to sob uncontrollably.


    ¡°How could Mom do this?¡± Anna cried, deeply distressed.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Hearing the guest had left, Catherine and Scarlett quietly sneaked into the dining room.


    Catherine glanced at the table and confidently said, ¡°It seems the atmosphere wasn¡¯t too good.¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Scarlett asked back.


    ¡°Just look at the plates,¡± Catherine picked up a knife and poked at the fish on the plate, ¡°Hardly touched.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it if you¡¯re not eating it.¡± Scarlett smacked Catherine¡¯s hand, clearly regretting, ¡°What a waste, I¡¯ll take it to the guards.¡±


    At that moment, Winters came back supporting an almost unsteady Anna.


    Hearing Anna¡¯s crying, Catherine rushed out of the dining room to see what had happened.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Catherine stood at the door, startled, glaring at Winters, ¡°Did you bully her?¡±


    At the sound of her sister¡¯s voice, Anna threw herself into her sister¡¯s arms and began to cry bitterly.


    Anna¡¯s sudden and abnormal behavior surprised and frightened Catherine, who awkwardly held her sister, patting Anna¡¯s back gently, ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s alright¡­ what happened?¡±


    ¡°Mom.¡± Anna¡¯s tears soddened her sister¡¯s hair, ¡°How could Mom do this?¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Five minutes later, in the living room of Winters¡¯ residence.


    Anna had stopped the uncontrollable crying but was still sniffling softly.


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Catherine, holding her sister on the couch, looked at Winters suspiciously, ¡°Did Mom threaten Anna?¡±


    Winters, sitting alone across from them, heaved a sigh, ¡°Worse, Mrs. Navarre didn¡¯t even make any threats.¡±


    So Winters recounted what Mr. Leo had said. At first, Catherine was frowning and listening intently, but as she listened more, she became dismissive.


    ¡°And I thought it was something serious?¡± Catherine exclaimed, feeling deceived, taking the opportunity to ruffle Anna¡¯s hair, briefly enjoying the pleasure of being an older sister, ¡°Is it just cutting off the mother-daughter relationship?¡±


    At these words, not only Winters but even Anna, with her swollen eyes, gazed at Catherine.


    ¡°After all is said and done, sister, you¡¯ve just experienced too little. You¡¯ve never been scolded by Mom before, so when you really encounter her anger, you¡¯re scared like a little bird,¡± Catherine said with a hint of smugness, ¡°I don¡¯t believe Mom would really dare to cut off the relationship with you.¡±


    Winters anxiously shifted his weight, ¡°No, I feel Mrs. Navarre¡¯s attitude is very firm, not just bluffing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± Catherine snorted disdainfully, ¡°If she doesn¡¯t make you think she¡¯s serious, how else can she bluff?¡±


    ¡°Kate.¡± Anna sobbed softly, speaking in stops and starts, ¡°I think Mom is really angry.¡±


    ¡°Of course she is! Mom must be furious. She might even have thought about killing someone outright,¡± Catherine glanced at Winters, then turned to her sister, ¡°But as I said, she won¡¯t do anything to you.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡± Anna hesitated, clearly not comforted by Catherine¡¯s words.


    Winters also felt Catherine¡¯s attitude was too flippant and unreliable.


    Seeing she couldn¡¯t convince Anna or Winters, Catherine began to feel a frustration akin to hating iron for not becoming steel.


    She gathered her courage and pinched her sister¡¯s cheek, ¡°You see, Mom has always had a tight grip on you from the start. Even being so far away, she still controls you. Since you don¡¯t believe me, I won¡¯t say anything more, suit yourself.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t¡­¡± Anna hugged her sister tightly, pleading softly, ¡°Kate, don¡¯t¡­¡±


    Perhaps this was Anna at her most vulnerable, at least in Catherine¡¯s not-so-long life, she had never seen her sister in such a state.

 Chapter 909 909 18 Puppet on Strings_3

    ?Chapter 909: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_3 Chapter 909: Chapter 18 Puppet on Strings_3 ¡°Sigh, what are you afraid of?¡± Catherine also hugged her pitiful sister and comforted her gently, ¡°Don¡¯t we still have Grandpa? Grandpa adores you so much, what are you afraid Mom will do? Mom threatens you, but her father stands by your side.¡±


    ¡°Grandpa¡­ I don¡¯t know if Grandpa will stand by my side¡­¡±


    ¡°He definitely will.¡± At this point, Catherine felt a twinge of jealousy and humphed lightly: ¡°Grandpa likes you the most, he has always been on your side, always.¡±


    Anna gave a light ¡°mmm¡± and her sobs gradually subsided. She leaned on her sister¡¯s shoulder, and they supported each other.


    Regardless of whether Catherine¡¯s words were reliable, Anna needed a stable point to anchor her emotions, so she subconsciously chose to believe Catherine¡ªfor now.


    Catherine hummed a nursery rhyme softly, making the scene warm and touching.


    However, a certain gentleman observing from the side probably wouldn¡¯t think so.


    ...


    Winters was sitting on the other side of the small living room, feeling extremely awkward.


    He didn¡¯t know whether to stand or sit, leave or stay, or even where to put his hands.


    Catherine noticed the out-of-place Winters too, and she signaled him with her eyes to leave, but Winters did not move.


    ¡°Mr. Montaigne.¡± Catherine had to break the tender quietude and said with a radiant smile: ¡°It¡¯s getting late, and it¡¯s inconvenient for us to accommodate you overnight. Please go back.¡±


    Winters became even more embarrassed: ¡°This is my place, your place is next door¡­¡±


    Soon after, Winters stopped talking. Anna was turned away from Winters, so he couldn¡¯t see her expression. But Catherine¡¯s gaze sent a clear message¡ª¡±Get out.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­ Don¡¯t worry, and don¡¯t cry, I¡¯m here too.¡± Winters grabbed his coat, swiftly crossed the living room, the hallway, and the doorway, and stepped out into the vast winter night.


    Standing outside, chilled by the cold wind and driven out of his own place, Winters did not know where to go for a moment.


    The single officers¡¯ quarters wasn¡¯t one house but about a dozen small detached houses within a large courtyard, temporary homes for the stationed single officers. Mason, Andre, and several others also lived here.


    Looking around, all the detached houses in the courtyard were pitch-black, with only Mason¡¯s place showing a sliver of light through the window.


    Winters thought for a moment, put on his coat, and headed to his senior¡¯s place.


    ¡°There, there.¡± Catherine patted her sister¡¯s back and pushed her away from her shoulder, ¡°He¡¯s gone.¡±


    Anna gave a slight ¡°mmm.¡±


    Catherine couldn¡¯t suppress her vexation as she tidied her sister¡¯s disheveled hair and complained: ¡°¡­Absolutely a blockhead, doesn¡¯t he know a lady needs some time to compose herself after an emotional outburst? I still had to remind him to step away¡­ He really is a perfect match for you, both blockheads¡­¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna broke into a smile amidst her tears and hit her sister hard.


    ¡°Just now you were hugging me and crying your eyes out, and now you¡¯re starting to get rough.¡± Catherine was indignant and pretended to hit back.


    Suddenly, Catherine seemed to remember something, her expression turned serious, and she grabbed her sister¡¯s hand: ¡°Anna.¡±


    Anna was not yet completely free from her dejected mood, and she was caught off guard by her sister¡¯s change of demeanor: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Although I believe, Mom won¡¯t really cut off the mother-daughter relationship; and although I believe, going back to Sea Blue now means Mom wins.¡± Catherine spoke word for word: ¡°But at the same time, I think you shouldn¡¯t stay here any longer.¡±

 Chapter 910 910 19 Human Head Tickets

    ?Chapter 910: Chapter 19 Human Head Tickets Chapter 910: Chapter 19 Human Head Tickets Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    Should they sell the head tokens? This question plagued almost every militiaman in Iron Peak County.


    The more meritorious militiamen were, the more entangled they felt, and Ivan was among them.


    ¡°Sell it,¡± Aksinya begged her husband while holding their young son, ¡°At least sell one?¡±


    Ivan didn¡¯t speak, just stared intently at the five head tokens laid out in a line on the table. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Setting aside the value assigned to them, the head tokens were nothing more than ordinary sheepskin paper stamped with laws and a serial number, with the only distinctive feature being the seal and signature of Montaigne, the Civil Guard Officer.


    The more Ivan looked at them, the more incredible it seemed: such ordinary paper could represent such a considerable fortune.


    ...


    ¡°But who to sell to?¡± Ivan said hesitantly, ¡°And for how many Gold Coins?¡±


    Aksinya, holding her now-sleeping child, sat opposite her husband, her voice trembling: ¡°I just feel very afraid.¡±


    What was Aksinya afraid of? Fearful of some ill-intentioned people? Or simply terrified of wealth? She couldn¡¯t quite articulate it.


    ¡°I think when times stabilize, I¡¯ll exchange these head tokens for tangible land,¡± Ivan bit his nails, pouring his heart out to his wife: ¡°We could go to the countryside and be well-off farmers, no longer having to live this uncertain city life¡ªI no longer wish to wield a sword.¡±


    ¡°But when will things stabilize?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯ll go out and ask tomorrow,¡± Ivan put away the five head tokens, carefully hiding them behind the shrine: ¡°Ask who¡¯s willing to buy?¡±


    ¡­


    Similar conversations like the one between Ivan and his wife took place in Revodan and across the whole of Iron Peak County. In some cases, these talks even escalated into arguments and violence.


    As Ivan and his wife fell into a deep sleep filled with unease and anxiety, Winters was leading Mr. Leo on a tour of the printing workshop, with little Priskin also in attendance.


    The county government printing workshop was equipped with the classic Gutenberg press, which had been specifically outfitted with a set of oversized lead type to meet the unique demands of printing public notices.


    Winters picked up a freshly printed public notice, and after verifying it was error-free, he smiled and handed it to Mr. Leo: ¡°Tomorrow, this notice will be posted. You will be leaving Iron Peak County, so I wanted you to have a look.¡±


    ¡°Thank heaven,¡± Leo took the notice: ¡°It¡¯s finished.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your accomplishment,¡± Winters expressed his gratitude to Mr. Leo.


    ¡°Just a bit of patching up,¡± Leo displayed no pride, his head bowed slightly: ¡°No accomplishment at all.¡±


    Little Priskin could hardly contain his curiosity and sneakily glanced at the newly printed notice.


    The entire notice concerned one thing¡ªhead tokens.


    ¡­


    When Winters first implemented the scalping system, he hadn¡¯t thought too much about it, considering it just a temporary incentive.


    After all, the Terdun Barbarians who had invaded Iron Peak County amounted to just over ten thousand heads, and distributing the land for all of them seemed trivial.


    But after introducing the policies of ¡°free trade¡± and ¡°using scalps as vouchers,¡± the nature of the head tokens changed.


    They became both reservoirs and powder kegs, presenting dilemmas even to Winters.


    Apart from speculators in Iron Peak County, another person was very interested in the head tokens¡ªPhilip Leo.


    Leo, quite interested, observed Winters¡¯ decision-making. After understanding enough, he approached Winters for an in-depth conversation.


    Leo was uncharacteristically direct, asking forthrightly: ¡°I want to know, why did you replace actual scalps with paper vouchers? Counterfeiting a piece of paper is much easier than a head.¡±


    ¡°No particular reason,¡± Winters laughed heartily: ¡°Militiamen sold scalps too cheaply; I couldn¡¯t bear to see it, so I thought to raise the price of scalps a bit.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Leo showed no emotion.


    ¡°That was then,¡± Winters decided to tell Leo the truth: ¡°Now I have some new ideas. I think¡­ maybe head tokens can be used as a tool for raising funds.¡±


    ¡°How to raise?¡±


    ¡°From what I see, most of those purchasing head tokens have no intention of actually exchanging them for land,¡± Winters said somewhat sheepishly, sharing his na?ve idea: ¡°They see them as a commodity that can appreciate in value.¡±


    Commerce was a field completely foreign to Winters; he yearned for guidance from experienced businessmen: ¡°If possible, I would like to issue debt securities backed by all the unsold land of Iron Peak County as collateral¡ªjust like Marshal Ned used to do.¡±


    Leo listened intently, then countered: ¡°Why do you want to issue debt securities?¡±


    ¡°Because we¡¯re out of money,¡± Winters spread his hands: ¡°Iron Peak County is in need of funds everywhere, but the treasury is empty.¡±


    Leo was not the least bit polite: ¡°If you want to link the value of head tokens to the price of land, I can tell you right now¡ªyou¡¯re playing with fire.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Land is not Gold; its value fluctuates. The land price in Iron Peak County is stable now because the New Reclamation Legion has set the price by decree and strictly controls supply, artificially raising land prices,¡± Leo pointed to the ground and asked: ¡°What do you think a head token is?¡±


    Winters followed Leo¡¯s train of thought and answered: ¡°Land?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± Leo dissected the deep logic of the head tokens step by step: ¡°A head token is not a piece of paper; it¡¯s a hundred acres of land. Every transaction is equivalent to a transfer of a hundred acres of land.¡±

 Chapter 911 911 19 Human Head Ticket_2

    ?Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Chapter 911: Chapter 19 Human Head Ticket_2 Mr. Leo¡¯s plump face had turned somewhat red: ¡°By tying headright certificates to land, you¡¯ve covertly reduced the difficulty of trading land, leading to increased land liquidity.


    Previously, all land deals had to go through the New Reclamation Legion. What about now? Land trades have become ¡®money in one hand, certificates in the other,¡¯ no longer priced by the New Reclamation Legion.


    Moreover, with thousands of new headright certificates suddenly flooding the market, it¡¯s as if you¡¯ve thrown hundreds of thousands of acres of land into it at once. I¡¯m not trying to be alarmist, but once the people of Iron Peak County catch on, the price of land there will collapse. All landlords in Iron Peak County will become your enemies.¡±


    At first, Winters frowned tightly while listening, because Mr. Leo was raising issues he had never considered.


    But when he heard Mr. Leo solemnly warn, ¡°You¡¯re going to crash the land prices of Iron Peak County,¡± Winters¡¯s brows smoothed out.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°You¡¯re saying that if headright certificates continue to be issued, it will cause the land prices to drop? Make land deals easier?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± Mr. Leo did not understand why he was asking but still patiently explained, ¡°It¡¯s like a cloth merchant suddenly releasing hundreds of thousands of bolts of wool. Naturally, the price of wool on the market will fall.¡±


    ...


    Winters nodded, his expression easing somewhat: ¡°Then, I can breathe a little easier.¡±


    Mr. Leo, like trying to converse with a self-taught boar-like economist, said: ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne¡ªAll landlords in Iron Peak County will see you as an enemy.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Winters weighed the pros and cons, ¡°But it¡¯s less than the resistance stirred up by direct land distribution. Estate owners may be disgruntled, but more people will become my allies, so I¡¯m not too afraid.¡±


    Mr. Leo was speechless and then asked, ¡°But have you considered, what if the landlords buy up a large number of headright certificates? You want to give land to the poor, but what if it ends up in the hands of the landlords again?¡±


    Winters was stumped, silent and deep in thought for a long time before he grasped Mr. Leo¡¯s hand: ¡°Then you have to help me figure out a way to prevent this from happening.¡±


    ¡­


    The next day, Ivan got up early, intending to find a familiar sheriff to ask if anyone was buying headright certificates.


    Leaving home, he wrapped his clothes tightly around him and headed to the other end of town.


    Passing through the square, he saw many people gathered in front of the bulletin board. It was just dawn, normally there wouldn¡¯t be so many people out and about.


    Driven by curiosity, Ivan approached the square.


    Most of the crowd around the announcement board were illiterate, but that was no problem, a clerk from the municipal office was shouting at the top of his lungs.


    Ivan stood on the periphery of the crowd and listened for a long time, roughly understanding three things:


    First, the county government was going to start land measurement, promising to redeem headright certificates for anyone who wanted to cash them in after Corpus Christi Day next year;


    Second, the county government would issue smaller denomination headright certificates, gradually replacing the current ones.


    Hearing this, Ivan stamped his feet, ready to go home. He no longer wanted to sell his headright certificates as each was worth a hundred acres, and he would be pained to part with any of them.


    He wasn¡¯t in a rush for money, so he planned to exchange for smaller denomination certificates later and then sell them according to his needs.


    ¡­


    Iron Peak County, Manyun Valley.


    The mayor of Manyun Valley originally thought that Tamas¡¯s cavalry was the entirety of the ¡°Bridge Builders.¡±


    Only when he saw Tamas designate a vast campsite capable of accommodating thousands did he realize how wrong he had been.


    With Paratu stepping deep into winter, scarcely any travelers were seen on the roads. Yet, the road from Revodan to Manyun Valley was unnaturally busy.


    Ever since the cavalry arrived at Manyun Valley, for several days in succession, armed convoys kept arriving from Revodan.


    From dawn to dusk, townspeople could hear the grating noise of heavy wagons on the move.


    Tamas kept his promise; once the fortifications were completed, he immediately set people to cutting down trees and setting up the Floating Bridge.


    A sense of fear lingered in the mayor¡¯s heart, and he secretly speculated, ¡°With so much supply being brought in, are we heading for another war?¡±


    The clever ones in Manyun Valley were not just the mayor, as talk of war spread quickly. Suddenly, many wealthy families even fled overnight, seeking refuge with relatives.


    ¡°What¡¯s all this?¡± Tamas said with a wry smile, ¡°Should we convene everyone to explain?¡±


    ¡°Explain what?¡± Moro put down his charcoal stick, speaking impatiently, ¡°The more you explain, the less they believe. They¡¯re idle at home in winter with nothing to do. They latch onto something to gossip about¡­ War? They have no idea what war is like¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Moro realized he was saying too much and suddenly stopped, continuing his drawing in silence.


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame them. First, it was grain conscription followed by manpower conscription. Fighting with Mont Blanc County and then with the Herders; there has been no peace.¡± Tamas sounded somewhat emotional: ¡°If I were a commoner in Manyun Valley, I would be afraid too.¡±


    Moro continued to draw his map, ignoring Tamas. After a while, he said coldly, ¡°You are no longer a civilian¡­ When are the people from Mont Blanc County arriving?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Tell your men to laze around less and get the Floating Bridge done quickly.¡±


    The next day, the arrival of Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops on the opposite riverbank sparked panic in Manyun Valley.


    Tamas had no choice but to come forward to explain the situation and calm everyone down, to little effect.


    The movements of Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops were strikingly similar to those on the Iron Peak County side: they first built a stronghold on the riverbank, then proceeded to construct a bridge.


    The Floating Bridge was completed earlier than planned, crossing east and west.


    The person in charge from Mont Blanc County was a lieutenant of the sappers named Woods. He was not tall and spoke in a gentle manner, lacking the subtle arrogance often sensed from ¡°military men.¡±


    ¡°Tamas.¡± Woods truly did not know how to address him; after much consideration, he chose an error-free option: ¡°Mr.¡±


    Tamas nodded, signaling with body language that he was listening.


    ¡°Regarding the thousand horses that your side agreed to return¡­¡±


    ¡°Rest assured, not one will be missing.¡±


    ¡°I believe the quantity is certainly not an issue.¡± Woods looked towards the herd of horses with furrowed brows, ¡°But the horses you took are Paratu horses, and these, if I am not mistaken, are Herder horses, right?¡±


    Before them, the horses grazing were generally one to two fists shorter than Woods¡¯ mount.


    Moreover, the condition of the horses was not good; their bellies were sunken, with ribs protruding one by one.


    Tamas felt somewhat ashamed and scratched his head: ¡°You may be unaware, but many of the warhorses obtained from your county have died of exhaustion or disease, leaving barely a few left. We only have these captured Herder horses now. See, the horse I am riding is also a Herder horse, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Saying that, Tamas patted the neck of his mount. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why then are the warhorses that serve as goods¡­¡± Woods pointed towards another group of horses in the distance.


    That group in the distance was obviously larger in size than the Herder horses before them.


    Tamas hurriedly interjected: ¡°Our side will certainly prioritize delivering the best warhorses as goods to your side; otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it result in a loss for you? Return is return, and trade is trade. The two must not be confused, nor can the two groups of horses be mixed.¡±


    Woods twisted his riding crop, asking, ¡°Does Colonel Gaisa know about this?¡±


    ¡°Of course, he does.¡± Tamas patted his chest confidently: ¡°His Excellency Montagne has already obtained Colonel Gaisa¡¯s understanding.¡±


    Woods¡¯ expression became increasingly peculiar: ¡°When Captain Montaigne obtained the colonel¡¯s understanding¡­ was the colonel fully conscious?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ I¡¯m not sure about that.¡±


    After Woods repeatedly confirmed that Colonel Gaisa was aware of the situation, he sighed helplessly: ¡°Well, let¡¯s leave it at that. Thinking from a different perspective, no matter how much you give back, it¡¯s a gain for us.¡±


    ¡°You have already checked the warhorses.¡± Tamas put away his smile: ¡°What about our people?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re on the opposite bank, will be sent to you in a moment. They¡¯ve been well-fed and taken care of, not a tooth missing.¡± Woods took out a notebook: ¡°Now, we can discuss other trades.¡±


    The civilians of Manyun Valley were shocked to find that the ¡°Rebels¡± and Mont Blanc County¡¯s troops did not engage in battle, but seemed to have an unspoken agreement, each stationed at the Bridgehead Fortress, neither crossing the Anya River.


    Town residents with relatives on the other side tried to apply for a pass to use the Floating Bridge, and the response they got was ¡°anyone can use the Floating Bridge as long as they do not carry weapons.¡±


    The panic slowly subsided, and the severed communication between the two counties, which had been cut off since Winters Montagne¡¯s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.


    Traffic between the two counties, severed since Winters¡¯s conquest of Revodan, was finally restored.


    Using the fortresses on both ends of the Floating Bridge as the exchange sites, grain and salt went westward, while horses, tobacco, and hemp oil went eastward.

 Chapter 912 912 20 Questions and Answers

    ?Chapter 912: Chapter 20 Questions and Answers Chapter 912: Chapter 20 Questions and Answers Almost no one noticed that after the bloody and mired battle, Winters Montagne fell into a kind of passive mood.


    Or rather, Winters didn¡¯t want anyone to notice, so no one did.


    It was a strange kind of fatigue, specifically manifesting as ¡°seemingly there are many things to be done, but in reality very little can be accomplished¡±.


    New Town on the southern shore, starving refugees, a military school that exists only on paper, Pierre and Vashka who have gone missing¡­ It was a tangled mess of countless concerns, yet it seemed he could hardly do anything.


    ¡­


    Day by day, Revodan¡¯s food storage diminished, and Iron Peak County was on the verge of famine.


    Winters sent Tamas to restore traffic with Mont Blanc County and organize the backlog transportation of goods by various merchants in Iron Peak County.


    ...


    But he could not address the fundamental problem. Until next summer¡¯s harvest, Iron Peak County had to rely on external food supply.


    So he could only wait.


    The new city on the southern bank of the St. George River had only an empty shell, far from what Winters had envisioned, needing replanning and reconstruction.


    However, the southern city was now full of homeless military families and refugees who needed not workshops and cobblestone roads, but bread and shelter.


    Winters continued the policy of ¡°employment for relief¡± and provided houses for the refugees to survive the winter.


    But he still couldn¡¯t solve the fundamental problem ¡ª the refugees didn¡¯t want to stay, it was the winter that stopped them. Only when ¡°it¡¯s not cold enough at night to kill a person¡± could the refugees return home.


    So Winters could only wait.


    Winters also wanted to restart the Iron Peak Mine, facing similar difficulties.


    Previously, the Iron Peak Mine relied primarily on the labor of prisoners. However, due to the contributions of the prisoner group during the siege of Revodan, Winters had granted freedom to most of them, directly leading to a shortage of manpower in the Iron Peak Mine.


    The life of miners was hard and dangerous, and if there was land to cultivate, no one would want to work in the mines.


    What to do? Winters didn¡¯t know.


    Pierre and Vashka had gone to find Berlion and Dusack, and till now there had been no news.


    Winters wanted to send someone again, but couldn¡¯t find suitable manpower at the moment.


    For the planned military academy, Winters had already written two full volumes, even selecting the campus site.


    But the planned students had already become the backbone of the army, whether the subordinates who had already taken on company-level posts were willing to return to school, he also did not know.


    ¡­


    Each time he felt that drowning sense of powerlessness, Winters hated the people of Terdun from the bottom of his heart.


    The future of Iron Peak County, like his life, was driven off its original path by uncontrollable external forces. He tried to steer the wagon back on track, but had no idea where to start.


    Thus, during this period, compared to Bard and Mason, who were models of labor, even Andre¡¯s life seemed more fulfilling than his.


    Apart from a few breeding horses and some public stallions retained for breeding, the remaining warhorses of Iron Peak County had all been sent to Mont Blanc County as goods.


    Currently, Iron Peak County was really unable to ensure that these delicate warm-blooded good horses could survive the winter, whereas the captured Hurd horses were more suited to the present conditions.


    Although there were hardly any ¡°decent¡± warhorses left, Andre still tripled the size of the cavalry.


    Seeing Andre busy training new recruits, leaving early and returning late, Winters secretly felt a twinge of jealousy.


    Contrastingly, he, Seymour, seemed to be needed everywhere, yet also seemed not needed anywhere.


    These troubles, Winters had not spoken about to anyone, not even to Anna.


    Because he felt they were too trivial; being troubled by such small things, in his view, was akin to desecrating the dead.


    After all, he was still alive, he was still physically intact. So many had died, and many more would live the rest of their lives with disabilities.


    Compared to those who had lost everything, Winters truly felt his own pain was trivial.


    There definitely isn¡¯t such a thing as fairness, Winters thought. If there was, then Winters Montagne still being alive would be the biggest irony.


    He pretended as if nothing had happened¡ªindeed, nothing should have happened.


    But he couldn¡¯t control the sense of powerlessness inside, and the guilt arising from it tortured him even more than the powerlessness itself.


    So Winters rarely went out, and when forced to go out, he chose to go very early.


    He didn¡¯t want to see soldiers saluting him, nor dared to see the empty sleeves and pant legs of the wounded.


    Additionally, his family affairs were torturing him as well. He could always hear the deceased questioning, ¡°We died because of you, yet you are troubled by romantic affairs, is this fair?¡±


    He considered sending Anna back to Sea Blue, as Leo advised him too.


    ¡°The Newly Reclaimed Land is very dangerous now, and it will be more dangerous in the future, especially so for a lady from a foreign land without any relatives,¡± Leo sincerely said, ¡°Sea Blue is the safest place. No one can harm Miss Anna in Sea Blue. Starting from Miss Anna¡¯s interests, you should send her back to Sea Blue.¡±


    Leo¡¯s words were persuasive. War is the most uncontrollable beast, and once hostilities recommence, Winters couldn¡¯t guarantee Anna¡¯s safety.


    But Winters couldn¡¯t bear to do so, because Anna was almost the only source of comfort in his life.


    Merely sitting quietly beside Anna made Winters feel less pain.


    But¡­ that was too selfish.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    After a long talk with Winters, on a cold, gloomy morning, Bard returned to Revodan.


    Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 913 913 20 Qamp;A_2

    ?Chapter 913: Chapter 20 Q&A_2 Chapter 913: Chapter 20 Q&A_2 ¡°Why have you come back?¡± Winters asked with a smile, ¡°Isn¡¯t there a lot to handle down in Iron Peak County?¡±


    Old friend, just seeing you makes me so happy, Winters thought to himself.


    ¡°Winter has come, so there¡¯s not much to do.¡± Bard had grown a bit thinner: ¡°Have you thought about how to deal with the Heretic Priest?¡±


    ¡°Did you come back just to discuss this with me? Couldn¡¯t you just write a letter?¡±


    Bard answered earnestly: ¡°This matter can be big or small, we must take it seriously.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any good solution. Caman has asked me to buy him some time; he seems to have his own plan.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s your plan?¡±


    ... S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I only have a backup plan. I wrote to General Serviati, asking him to get in touch with the Alliance Magic Combat Bureau. But the time it takes to go back and forth is probably more than Caman needs.¡±


    Bard nodded: ¡°How do you plan to buy time?¡±


    ¡°Delay, just drag it out.¡± Winters smiled helplessly: ¡°What else can I do? After all, this is not the Empire; the Church does not have the power to act.¡±


    ¡°Delaying is a good strategy, but not delaying forcefully.¡±


    Winters knew his good friend all too well, so as soon as he heard Bard¡¯s words, he immediately burst into a smile: ¡°If you have a way, just say it, don¡¯t give me difficult problems.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually quite simple.¡± Bard raised his hand in a polite gesture: ¡°If we view the Church as a religious organization, then sheltering a heretic is a very serious matter.¡±


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, if we view the Church as a bureaucratic institution, then this matter is not that big of a deal. You need to understand that the clergy of Revodan are not persistent in eliminating Saul because of devout faith or hatred towards heretics. They want to judge Saul simply because their superiors once ordered them to do so, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ The current acting bishop of the Revodan Church is probably one of those ¡®extremely devout¡¯ clerics. And he¡¯s particularly inflexible; it would probably be hard to negotiate with him.¡±


    ¡°Inflexibility means adherence to order; it¡¯s easier to deal with him. Don¡¯t worry about this; leave it to me. I will talk to the Revodan Church.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Winters let out a relieved sigh from deep within: ¡°How do you plan to talk to them?¡±


    ¡°The Church¡¯s judgment of Saul, of course, has no problems¡ªwe respect the Church¡¯s internal jurisdiction.¡± Bard cleared his throat, adopting the tone of a public servant:


    ¡°But the Revodan garrison is a branch facility under the New Reclamation Legion. Procedurally, this matter must first obtain the consent of the New Reclamation Legion; we don¡¯t have the authority to comply directly. In short, we must patiently follow the process; we can¡¯t rush it.¡±


    ¡°What if they really get permission from the Legion?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the bishop of Revodan unfortunately perished, and a new bishop has yet to be assigned. Whether the acting bishop is qualified to apply to the Legion is still a matter for debate.¡± Bard smiled: ¡°After all, you are not planning on solving the problem completely; just delaying is enough.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily.


    Bard also smiled warmly. He gazed at Winters and asked softly, ¡°I heard you¡¯ve not been doing so well lately?¡±


    ¡°What hasn¡¯t been well?¡± Winters wiped tears of laughter: ¡°Aren¡¯t I quite well?¡±


    ¡°They say you¡¯re becoming more and more like Colonel Moritz, hardly ever being seen.¡±


    ¡°Who said that?¡±


    ¡°Senior Mason. There are rumors in Iron Peak County too, saying your old wounds have flared up and you¡¯re not faring well.¡±


    Knowing others cared about him gave Winters an indescribable feeling. He sighed: ¡°Senior Mason probably did it out of spite. Let others say what they will.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t often get a chance to return to Revodan.¡± Bard suggested: ¡°Accompany me out for a walk?¡±


    Winters instinctively refused: ¡°It¡¯s too cold outside; I don¡¯t want to move.¡±


    Bard stood up, grabbed both of their coats, and looked at Winters.


    Winters had no choice but to give in: ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go for a walk. But not too far, my leg has been hurting recently¡ªyou grab my cane as well.¡±


    Upon leaving the residence, Winters realized that Bard had come prepared.


    Because a carriage was waiting in the courtyard.


    ¡°I knew you had an injury in your leg.¡± Bard smiled: ¡°I borrowed a carriage.¡±


    ¡°Where are we going?¡± Winters asked bitterly: ¡°You¡¯re not planning to drag me to Iron Peak County, right? Are the rumors there that bad?¡±


    ¡°No, just a casual stroll.¡± Bard urged Winters: ¡°Get in.¡±


    Both men got in the carriage, Bard knocked on the carriage window, and the coachman spurred the horses, with the carriage smoothly heading towards the St. George River.


    The carriage isolated them from the outside view, slightly alleviating Winters¡¯ discomfort.


    Smoking fire pits split the road in the middle, with pedestrians and carriages each sticking to one side, neat and orderly.


    Bard suddenly spoke: ¡°I¡¯ve been seriously considering General Serviati¡¯s suggestion lately.¡±


    ¡°Which suggestion?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow: ¡°To defect to Alpad¡¯s military government?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°And the result of your consideration?¡±


    ¡°I think we can try to make contact.¡±


    ¡°Alpad¡¯s faction is an orthodox Paratu warlord; they won¡¯t accept us.¡±


    ¡°If we can avoid fighting, then we should strive not to fight.¡± A glimmer shone in Bard¡¯s eyes: ¡°Even if it means making local concessions in exchange for the legitimacy of our efforts in Iron Peak County, it would be worth it.¡±


    If someone else had said this, Winters would think that person was scared and wanted to surrender. But Bard¡­ Winters believed that Bard would never waver.

 Chapter 914 914 20 Qamp;A_3

    ?Chapter 914: Chapter 20 Q&A_3 Chapter 914: Chapter 20 Q&A_3 Winters rested his forehand in his hands: ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know what to do either. Bard, I really envy you; you¡¯re always so resolute while I¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re wrong.¡± Bard¡¯s hand rested on Winters¡¯ shoulder: ¡°No one knows which path to take, no one knows what will be engraved on our tombstones after we die. It¡¯s only because you are here that others don¡¯t have to fret over these unanswerable questions. Tamas, Bart Xialing¡­ and all those soldiers, known and unknown, they don¡¯t need to ponder the future; they survive on their trust in you.¡±


    Winters did not respond.


    ¡°I often wonder if the former Federated Provinces militia truly comprehended the disparity in strength between them and the Empire.¡± Bard seemed somewhat melancholic: ¡°Would they still have the courage to raise the ¡®Flag of Freedom¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about others.¡± Winters sniffed: ¡°The old Marshal comes from the Empire¡¯s army; he certainly understood.¡±


    ¡°Then where does his courage come from? An ant challenging a lion is simply overestimating oneself.¡±


    Winters leaned back with a subtle expression: ¡°Although it¡¯s not mentioned in official records, I saw a letter in the Land Academy¡¯s archive stating that the old Marshal joined the militia through¡­ abduction.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Now it was Bard¡¯s turn to laugh heartily: ¡°Who knows?¡±


    ¡°Right. Regardless of the original intentions, actions cannot be faked.¡± Winters felt slightly moved.


    ¡°Speaking of history, I¡¯ve broadly discerned this pattern.¡± Bard pondered: ¡°No matter what we do, we start with unity and total commitment; there¡¯s no task taken lightly, no individual slacking. It¡¯s not that difficulties don¡¯t exist at the beginning, rather, people actively ignore them.¡±


    Winters listened silently.


    ¡°Once some achievements are obtained, people instead feel lost. With the achievements, setbacks also follow. As circumstances slightly improve, the spirit slackens. More critically, blind confidence gradually fades, and people start to realistically assess difficulties. Mountains are so high, one glance is enough to understand they cannot be crossed. Whether it¡¯s an individual, a family, an organization, or a country, it seems no one can escape this cyclical rule.¡±


    ¡°Are you here to lecture me?¡± Winters smiled lightly: ¡°Then tell me, how do you think we can break this so-called cyclical rule?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± Bard responded cheerily: ¡°But what I think isn¡¯t important, nor is it important whether you feel fear or confusion; what matters is to keep moving forward. Perhaps Marshal Ned is the most frightened among us, but he would still be gritting his teeth and leading from the front.¡±


    ¡°Bard.¡± Winters spoke with difficulty: ¡°I¡¯m not scared; I just¡­¡±


    ¡°Look.¡± Bard tapped on the carriage window: ¡°We¡¯ve arrived at the St. George River.¡±


    Two Floating Bridges spanned the river during the dry season, with people and vehicles constantly crossing back and forth between the two banks.


    Beyond the bridges, there were six pile-driving boats actively working, driving stakes into the riverbed.


    ¡°Are those the pile-driving boats for building the big bridge?¡± Bard pointed at the river: ¡°I heard down in Iron Peak County too, Revodan is constructing a grand stone bridge.¡±


    Winters glanced: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What are those boats doing?¡± Bard asked with interest.


    ¡°Senior Moro¡¯s plan.¡± Winters strove to explain: ¡°Simply put, they drive two rings of wooden piles into the water, fill the space between the two rings with sand and stones to form an enclosure similar to a [cofferdam]. Then they use a water pump to drain the water from the cofferdam, remove the riverbed¡¯s silt, and start pouring limestone mortar from the rock layer to form the bridge piers.¡±


    ¡°When will it be completed?¡±


    ¡°If all goes well, the bridge piers should be ready before next spring. Senior Moro plans to first lay a temporary wooden deck, and during the next agricultural off-season, replace the wooden deck with a stone arch. If the plan goes without a hitch, it should be completed the year after next.¡±


    As the carriage drove onto the Floating Bridge, Bard got a close view of the bridge pier construction process.


    He saw two sets of water wheels, one on each side, installed on a completed cofferdam, continuously extracting water from the cofferdam.


    Several other small boats carrying sand and stones moved towards a cofferdam under construction.


    ¡°The Victory Bridge in M¨¦n¨¨ne Province took a full five years to build, and its span wasn¡¯t even as large as the St. George River.¡± Bard commented: ¡°Although I know your ability, the idea that you could actually finish building the Revodan Bridge still seems incredible to me.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my ability.¡± Winters corrected: ¡°It¡¯s Senior Moro¡¯s ability.¡±


    He sighed: ¡°Moreover, what Revodan currently has in abundance is labor.¡±


    The carriage crossed the Floating Bridge and entered the south bank¡¯s ¡°New Town.¡±


    Rows of low shanties spread out like furrowed fields, lying flat on the ground enclosed by three-sided city walls.


    ¡°Ha.¡± A hint of a smile appeared on Bard¡¯s face: ¡°Mason House.¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well: ¡°Yes, I genuinely worry that one day Senior Mason will run to the south bank and set a fire.¡±


    To save living space, the interior of Mason House had no separate kitchen. Instead, like an apartment for single officers, several shanties shared one stove. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once inside New Town, the road was not very good.


    The constant clattering of broken stones filled the air, as brawny men dug and paved the roads, forcing the carriage to take a detour.


    Approaching the shanty area, faint cooking smoke mixed with appetizing fragrances drifted into the carriage.


    A group of snotty-nosed children chased and frolicked in the open space between two rows of shanties. Women with kerchiefs tied around their heads gathered in the wind-sheltered corners, each with a wooden basin on her lap, pounding clothes with wooden sticks.


    Winters silently watched outside the window, Bard too remained silent.


    Exiting New Town, the carriage took the main road towards Forging Village. For several kilometers, labor teams working on the road were visible.


    In Winters¡¯ memory, Forging Village should have become a dead town. Because the forge workshops had been relocated to Revodan¡¯s New Town, the residents had fled, and even the houses were burnt clean.


    However, as the carriage crossed the hill, the scene that appeared before Winters surprised him.


    Five two-story high smelting furnaces stood erected on the original site of Forging Village, belching out billowing dense smoke.


    A rammed earth road began from the smelting site, extending towards Tie Feng Mountain.


    Many people were busy around the smelting furnace.


    Middle-aged blacksmith Soria and young blacksmith Carlos were greatly surprised by Winters¡¯ arrival.


    ¡°His Excellency Montaigne.¡± Soria was the first to rush up to Winters, sweating profusely as he greeted, ¡°How is your old wound?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t know how to explain: ¡°Rest assured, it¡¯s no longer an issue.¡±


    Carlos babbled: ¡°Mr. Soria and I have always wanted to invite you to have a look at the smelting site, but hearing that your old injury was troubling you, we didn¡¯t dare to disturb you. Thank the Lord for His blessings, you now seem so healthy, I can finally be at ease¡­¡±


    ¡°This place?¡± Winters frowned slightly: ¡°When did so many smelting furnaces get added?¡±


    Seeing Blood Wolf¡¯s displeasure, Soria inwardly panicked and hurriedly explained: ¡°Recently, the County Government has been building bridges and roads, requiring lots of ironware. So Mr. Soria and I hired some refugees, and we resumed operations of Iron Peak Mine. Your Excellency, we didn¡¯t act on our own¡­ we consulted with the County Government¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you.¡±


    ¡°Dare not,¡± Soria wiped the sweat from his forehead: ¡°Dare not.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ how come I wasn¡¯t aware of the Iron Peak Mine situation?¡± Winters looked towards Bard, asking with a light smile: ¡°Was it arranged by Senior Mason? Did you come to show me this?¡±


    ¡°How could you possibly know everything?¡± Bard countered, ¡°This entity¡ªit¡¯s hard to describe¡ªit¡¯s not your puppet; it¡¯s a amalgamation of many people¡¯s wills. It is both thousands of scattered consciousnesses and a being with instincts and desires. You are an important part of it, but you do not own it. You feel it has strayed from the path you envisioned, but have you considered that perhaps there was never a path to begin with?¡±


    What tormented Winters wasn¡¯t what Bard thought, for he never believed he had absolute control over ¡°her.¡± But Bard¡¯s words still struck a chord, from another perspective.


    ¡°Bard.¡± Winters fell silent for a long time, sounding slightly choked up as he asked, ¡°We did do some good things, right? Those people didn¡¯t die in vain, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Bard turned to look at the vast expanses of the world: ¡°You should ask them¡ªI think, they have already answered you.¡±

 Chapter 915 915 21 Arrangements

    ?Chapter 915: Chapter 21 Arrangements Chapter 915: Chapter 21 Arrangements Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    In the winter of the 559th year of the Empire, the campaign of Iron Peak County against the Terdon Tribe has yet to receive an official name.


    However, privately, the people of Iron Peak County refer to this ultimate battle as ¡°The Battle of Blood and Mud.¡±


    Over time, ¡°The Blood Mud Battle¡± has gradually become a generic term for all the battles along the banks of Big Horn River.


    Where exactly the name came from, no one can say for certain. A credible version is that so much blood was shed by both sides that the frozen solid farmland was turned into a swamp, thus it was named the Blood Mud Battle.


    Regardless, on the afternoon Bard returned to Revodan, it was the first time Winters Montagne entered the Revodan garrison after the Blood Mud Battle had ended.


    The duty guards stared intently at Blood Wolf as he approached them, even forgetting how to salute.


    ...


    Similarly, as for Winters, the two-story building of the garrison felt somewhat unfamiliar. Among the people coming and going, there were many new faces, likely recently employed clerks.


    Winters recognized the guard¡ªhe was from Shizhen, joined the army for the second time. But for some reason, he couldn¡¯t recall the guard¡¯s name.


    It didn¡¯t matter, though, because the guard recognized him.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°Captain Bart Xialing,¡± the guard responded and then remembered to add, ¡°Reporting!¡±


    Winters nodded. The guard saluted with his hand, and Winters returned the salute.


    Within the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment, the units that were still fully structured had been sent to Manyun Valley, while those not fully structured were staying in Saint Town for recuperation. Currently, the only troops stationed in Revodan were from the second company.


    After learning that the Centurion had appeared, Bart Xialing arrived at the garrison without waiting for a summoning order.


    Now, the garrison headquarters in Revodan¡ªa modest two-story brick building¡ªwas the true heart and brain of Iron Peak County, not the county office or the town hall. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The authority concentrated in the new garrison headquarters far surpassed that of the old headquarters during ¡°Ronald¡¯s era.¡± All military and administrative orders in Iron Peak County were now issued from the new headquarters, and the previously semi-autonomous system imperceptibly suffered a severe blow.


    Winters had never worked in the garrison before, and thus did not have a designated office.


    Bart Xialing knew this, so he hurriedly climbed the stairs two at a time and pushed open the door of the meeting room with a bit of nervousness, unsurprised to find the familiar cane on the table.


    ¡°Your Excellency!¡± Bart Xialing immediately saluted, shifting his gaze slightly to another person: ¡°Lord Bard!¡±


    ¡°You came quickly,¡± Bard said with a smile, gesturing for the company commander to take a seat.


    ¡°Where is Commissioner Mason?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°He just left the city at noon,¡± Bart Xialing still stood: ¡°Shall I go fetch Commissioner Mason?¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Winters continued writing something: ¡°You sit too.¡±


    Bart Xialing then sat down, but not too deeply into the chair, leaving at least a foot between his spine and the chair back.


    Seeing the company commander¡¯s sitting posture, Bard didn¡¯t say anything, just smiled.


    ¡°Shall I call two scribes?¡± Bart Xialing asked in a low voice.


    Winters didn¡¯t look up: ¡°Don¡¯t reveal the following content to anyone below the company level.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m preparing to station each company in various towns for the winter,¡± Winters glanced at the company commander, ¡°Second company goes to Hammer Fort.¡±


    Knowing very well when to express what tone, Bart Xialing dropped his careful demeanor and asked earnestly, ¡°Will the supplies still be provided by Revodan?¡±


    Giving orders to the company commander, Winters never had to explain too much: ¡°If conditions allow, try to raise supplies yourself.¡±


    ¡°Raise locally?¡± Bart Xialing stated candidly, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that might not look too good.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to force a levy,¡± Winters stopped writing, ¡°Each company will be allocated a small amount of land vouchers.¡±


    ¡°The ¡®small denomination¡¯ military merit certificates mentioned in the previous announcement?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Will the farmers¡­ accept this?¡±


    ¡°They certainly will,¡± Winters said emphatically, ¡°as long as the county government allows anyone to ¡®first cultivate, then submit certificates.''¡±


    The meeting room fell silent, Bart Xialing stood up and asked, ¡°You mean to say, allow farmers to demarcate and cultivate fields in the spring farming season first? As for the process of exchanging military merit certificates for land, it can be supplemented later?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this might¡­¡±


    ¡°Lead to countless acts of encroachment, the county government will suffer losses, right?¡±


    Bart Xialing nodded.


    ¡°If it makes all the farmers in Iron Peak County think they have gained an advantage, then this matter is considered a success,¡± Winters spoke cheerfully, ¡°Taking a bit of loss is nothing; if we really need to count, it¡¯s still a gain overall.¡±


    Bart Xialing pondered deeply but to no avail: ¡°Besides locally raising supplies, are there any other orders? Your arrangements must have further implications, but I can¡¯t quite grasp them¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, and many,¡± Winters never played riddles with his subordinates: ¡°The county government¡¯s clerks will also be stationed with you in the towns. Their task is to census the population, survey the land, and you need to assist and protect them.¡±


    ¡°The county government? Where does the county government get the people?¡± Bart Xialing puzzled. As everyone knows, the Iron Peak County¡¯s government is just an empty shell.


    Bard, who had been silent, answered: ¡°It¡¯s tentatively arranged to be staffed from accounting schools, and some manpower will also be drawn from the farms to help.¡±

 Chapter 916 916 21 Arrangement_2

    ?Chapter 916: Chapter 21 Arrangement_2 Chapter 916: Chapter 21 Arrangement_2 ¡°Surveying the land¡­ Can accounting school students handle it?¡± Bart Xialing remained skeptical, ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s not enough time.¡±


    Isn¡¯t it more convenient to directly dispatch clerks from the garrisons? Bart Xialing really wanted to ask this, but he acutely sensed some deeper implications, so he didn¡¯t speak outright.


    ¡°Exactly because time is pressing, we need them to get familiar and train quickly,¡± Bard patiently explained, ¡°The army has drills, and this year¡¯s land inspection can also be treated as a drill.¡±


    The Civil Guard Officer¡¯s reasoning was very sufficient, Bart Xialing couldn¡¯t find any reason to refute and could only nod in agreement.


    Winters rubbed a small knife, ¡°Including Revodan, Iron Peak County has seventeen towns. You and the county government staff will be prioritized to [North Eight Towns]. The current aloof state of Iron Peak County must end. North Eight Towns must officially fall under the jurisdiction of the county government, at least to the extent of ¡®being able to bring up tax revenues¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bart Xialing, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up, ¡°It should have been this way long ago!¡±


    But then he thought of something and asked with slight concern, ¡°But¡­ what about Shovel Port? Shovel Port might not easily accept our forces stationed there.¡±


    ...


    ¡°We will not send people to Shovel Port for the time being, I have other arrangements.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Besides protecting and assisting the county government, I have other tasks for you.¡± Winters lowered his eyes to the documents in front of him, ¡°I¡¯ve seen all your requests for troop reinforcements. I don¡¯t plan to openly recruit soldiers in Revodan, it¡¯s too obvious¡ªstationing in towns is a good opportunity. The specific plan¡­ Commissioner Mason will prepare it for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°With the current organization, a company has a full complement of one hundred and twenty people.¡± Winters¡¯s fingertips lightly touched the table, ¡°By next year, that number has to become two hundred and forty.¡±


    Bart Xialing was initially dazed, then suddenly understood and excitedly responded, ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°And¡­ many farmers can¡¯t survive, so they run into the mountains and become bandits, robbers. [South Eight Towns], I took you to sweep through once. As for [North Eight Towns], we couldn¡¯t reach it at that time. But now it¡¯s different, since we¡¯re going to collect taxes from North Eight Towns, we must also fulfill our duties to North Eight Towns, understand what I mean?¡±


    Bart Xialing understood immediately and grinned, ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m more worried that there might be too few bandits to kill.¡±


    Bard coughed lightly, ¡°If it¡¯s possible to kill less, kill less.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°The most difficult part about bandit gangs is not their combat power, but the fact that they have legs¡ªthey can run. Farmers who turn to banditry for food are easy to deal with. The difficult ones are those habitual criminals and bandits.¡± Winters looked at the map hanging on the wall, ¡°I have prepared a place for them.¡±


    Bart Xialing followed Centurion¡¯s gaze, focusing on a town in the northeast of Iron Peak County¡ªShovel Port.


    ¡°You mean?¡± Bart Xialing asked tentatively, biting his lip, ¡°A hunt?¡±


    ¡°The places most prone to harboring bandits are at the boundaries of two administrative regions. If the bandits and robbers of Iron Peak County escape into Vernge County or Mont Blanc County, then we can hardly talk about eradication,¡± Winters¡¯s brow furrowed deeply without intention, ¡°So it is necessary to be strict on the outside and lenient on the inside, don¡¯t let any bandit escape Iron Peak County, drive them all to Shovel Port.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°I know what you are worried about, I¡¯ve already decided.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You know why I only wanted you at this meeting?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Subordinate is slow-witted.¡±


    ¡°Among the twelve company commanders, you are the smartest and the most capable.¡± Winters placed the drafted memo in front of the second company commander, ¡°What I¡¯ve told you will not appear in the announcements, so I need you to personally go to Saint Town and Manyun Valley to convey the orders to the other company commanders.¡±


    Bart Xialing jumped up, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Winters now felt an urgent sense of ¡°must complete as soon as possible,¡± which made him unconsciously become stern. He realized this as he looked at the sunken cheeks and wrists of the second company commander.


    ¡°In terms of seniority, among the first batch of twelve company commanders, you are second only to Tamas. In terms of merits, Tamas is not even as good as you. Since Tamas became the first acting battalion commander, the second acting battalion commander should also be you no matter what. Until now, you are still the second company commander. You feel wronged, or blaming me, is understandable.¡± Winters, facing his most capable subordinate, said apologetically: S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Because I wanted you to be promoted through the standard procedure, not by direct appointment like Tamas¡ªI set a very bad precedent with Tamas, so I want to correct it with you. But ultimately, it is not your fault, so I am very sorry.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s lips parted as if he wanted to say something but, in the end, he could not utter any words. He raised his hand and saluted.


    Winters returned the salute: ¡°Let¡¯s go, hurry to Saint Town and Manyun Valley. The specific deployment instructions I have already written in the memo, and the official announcement will be issued no later than the day after tomorrow.¡±


    Bart Xialing nodded, turned, and walked towards the door. He had just touched the doorknob when he was called back.


    ¡°Another thing.¡± With too many issues to handle, Winters¡¯ thoughts were somewhat muddled; he smiled and told the second company commander: ¡°Pick ten people from your subordinates, preferably those who can read, understand arithmetic, are young, sharp-minded, or have demonstrated meritorious deeds and good character.¡±


    Bart Xialing was stunned; he replied with a grimace, ¡°Centurion, your requirements are quite high; where can I find ten young, literate, arithmetic-knowing, sharp-minded soldiers who also¡­ have demonstrated meritorious deeds and good character?¡±


    Winters also felt he might be asking too much: ¡°As long as they mostly meet the criteria, or you can pick the ten soldiers that you think are the best.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s second company currently had only seven centurions left; taking away the ten best soldiers would be akin to removing half of the company¡¯s backbone.


    ¡°Are you preparing to form a guard?¡± Bart Xialing gritted his teeth: ¡°If so, I¡¯ll find ten no matter what.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± Winters¡¯ eyes flashed with a fiery intensity: ¡°I am planning to establish a specialized military school¡­ let the other company commanders also pick ten people based on this standard.¡±


    Bart Xialing¡¯s emotions were complex.


    Having not been a militia officer for long, Bart Xialing learned many nicknames of officers from the veterans of the Standing Army: leather boots, big white goose, officials¡­


    These nicknames were ironic reflections of the arrogance of the Land Academy officers but also contained undertones of admiration and envy.


    Bart Xialing now also barely counted as an ¡°official,¡± but he knew in his heart: sweep through Iron Peak County, and there are only four true officers; there¡¯s no need to list them one by one.


    ¡°A¡­ military school?¡± Bart Xialing awkwardly asked: ¡°When¡­ when does it start¡­¡±


    Winters sighed: ¡°At least two months from now. As for the graduates, they are tentatively supposed to serve as your assistants. Under the current circumstances, it is not possible to directly appoint them.¡±


    Two months, Bart Xialing sharply caught the keywords. Considering the Centurion¡¯s unusual behavior today, Bart Xialing couldn¡¯t help but become suspicious.


    He tentatively asked, ¡°You haven¡¯t appeared before today, and suddenly you¡¯re assigning so many tasks¡­¡±


    ¡°My old injuries have recurred; I need to return to Wolf Town to recuperate.¡± Winters said expressionlessly: ¡°After today, I won¡¯t be able to appear in public for at least two months.¡±


    Bart Xialing was seized by a huge panic; he rushed to the Centurion¡¯s side, stammering anxiously: ¡°Which injury? Isn¡¯t your leg injury not a big problem? What is actually¡­¡±


    ¡°The official reason is this.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s the actual reason?¡±


    ¡°I have to make a long journey.¡± Winters clenched his teeth and said resentfully: ¡°Being used as a tool¡ªhmph, I accept it. But at least, I want to see the hand holding the knife. The Red River Tribe invited me to visit, and coincidentally, I also want to visit White Lion Yasin.¡±


    Bart, standing by the window, sighed deeply.


    Bart Xialing was dumbstruck. His rationality wanted to stop the Centurion, but the words were so incredible that he didn¡¯t even know where to begin advising against it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I still have value, the White Lion won¡¯t kill me.¡± Winters glanced at Bart Xialing: ¡°Besides, it¡¯s also time to dig out that lump of gold.¡±

 Chapter 917 917 22 Flee in Panic

    ?Chapter 917: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic Chapter 917: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic Iron Peak County, Revodan.


    Even if there isn¡¯t a significant age difference, elder siblings still tend to view their younger brothers or sisters with a more senior mindset. This causes the former subconsciously to see the latter as immature and childlike individuals¡ªAnna is just like this.


    Before Mr. Leo arrived in Iron Peak County, Anna had already seriously considered sending Catherine back home.


    Although she never revealed her feelings to her sister, Anna understood that this whimsical adventure had to come to an end eventually. But she did not know how it should end.


    The lingering smell of gunpowder also constantly reminded her that Iron Peak County was not safe. What would happen next day, next month, next year? No one knew.


    That¡¯s why Anna, in a parental manner, made arrangements for Catherine: as long as the roads were clear, she would immediately arrange for someone to escort Catherine back to Sea Blue, regardless of whether Catherine was willing.


    It was precisely because of this, when Catherine held Anna¡¯s hands and seriously said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t continue staying here,¡± Anna was not surprised.


    ...


    In Anna¡¯s view, it was normal for her sister to want to go home, as Catherine was almost constantly complaining about Iron Peak County: too cold, too isolated, too boring¡­ Honestly, Anna felt the same.


    However, the reason Catherine provided did not belong to any of those.


    Little Lady Navarre held her sister¡¯s hands, looked at her sister with pity, and gently said, ¡°Anna, this dream should end.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Anna¡¯s heart clenched sharply.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to think it through yourself, so let me tell you.¡± Catherine¡¯s eyes fixed firmly: ¡°You love that man, and you are crazy about him, right?¡±


    Anna¡¯s cheeks instantly heated up, and she became both panicked and annoyed: ¡°You¡­ what are you talking about? Who said¡­ who said I¡­¡±


    The word that her sister said indifferently, Anna could not utter nevertheless due to embarrassment. She angrily tried to pull her hands away, but Catherine¡¯s grip was unexpectedly firm, and Anna couldn¡¯t move.


    Catherine ignored her sister¡¯s protest, continuing, ¡°So, you should leave. If you still have an ounce of rationality, you would come to the same conclusion.¡±


    Anna frowned in reproach, ¡°You¡¯re hurting me!¡±


    Catherine also looked reproachful at Anna, ¡°Everyone has always said you are steady and smart. But look at you now? When did you become so foolish? Indeed, a woman shouldn¡¯t fall in love; otherwise, she would definitely become a fool¡­¡±


    Anna¡¯s body stiffened, she no longer tried to pull her hands away, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m stating an obvious fact.¡± Catherine¡¯s voice was clear: ¡°The only way for ¡®Anna Navarre¡¯ to officially become ¡®Anna Montagne¡¯ has always been one ¡ª for him to return to Sea Blue with you. But¡­ would he leave here for you?¡±


    ¡°Who said I want to marry him?¡± Anna asked back angrily.


    Catherine nodded somewhat noncommittally. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°I need to rest now.¡± Anna stood up to leave.


    ¡°Anna¡ªmy dearest sister, listen to me.¡± Catherine held her sister¡¯s hand, biting her lip, ¡°There are millions of unmarried women, widows, old maids in this world, each of them¡ªevery one of them!¡ªis more suitable to become ¡®Lady Montagne¡¯.¡±


    Catherine usually referred to Winters as [Mr. M], but this time she unusually used his full name: ¡°Anyone can marry Winters Montagne¡ªyou could too, but it would destroy you.¡±


    Anna burst out laughing angrily, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you love him.¡± Catherine let go of her hands, softly responded: ¡°They don¡¯t love him.¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Anna was extremely embarrassed and angry, ¡°What kind of reasoning is that?!¡±


    Catherine gathered her slightly disheveled hair, leaning against the bench, sighed. She didn¡¯t respond directly but asked an irrelevant question, ¡°Have you ever considered, what if one day Mr. M has a mistress? How would you face it?¡±


    Anna¡¯s breathing grew rapid, ¡°He¡­ he wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± but looking at Catherine¡¯s mocking, barely there smile, Anna had a million retorts yet couldn¡¯t voice a single one.


    ¡°If you wish to be Mr. M¡¯s mistress, I definitely won¡¯t stop you.¡± Catherine covered her lips and chuckled, ¡°Would you like to?¡±


    Anna grabbed a small pillow beside her and threw it hard at her sister.


    ¡°You asked me why every woman is more suited to marry Mr. M than you? I can answer you now.¡± Catherine hugged her sister, ¡°Because they don¡¯t love him, hence they wouldn¡¯t demand equal affections in return. In marriage, they provide the capability to bear offspring and dowries¡ªproperties, power. In return, the more power that man seizes, the more wealth he possesses, the higher position he holds, it all meets their demands.¡±


    ¡°But, Anna, my dear sister, you are different.¡± Catherine held Anna tightly, tears sparkling in her eyes: ¡°What you want is love! What you demand is love!¡±


    Tears also flickered in Anna¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°For love, you can endure everything now, you can give without reservation. Look at you! From the moment you left Sea Blue, you have been giving, constantly giving, seeking nothing in return, not at the cost. You are completely a fool blinded by love.¡± Catherine choked up a bit:


    ¡°But have you ever considered, what if one day love disappears, he stops loving you, or you stop loving him, what then? How will you cope? What would all your sacrifices amount to? I¡¯m your sister, other than Mom, no one loves you more in this world! I can¡¯t¡ªI just can¡¯t stand to see you continue like this anymore. Winters Montagne wants you? Then let him return to Sea Blue and marry Anna Navarre in an upright manner. Otherwise, I will never agree to let him continue to mistreat you like this.¡±

 Chapter 918 918 22 Flee in Panic_2

    ?Chapter 918: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic_2 Chapter 918: Chapter 22: Flee in Panic_2 Tears whirled in Anna¡¯s eyes, Catherine¡¯s words were too heavy, and Anna didn¡¯t know how to respond. If she really was the fool blinded by love as Catherine said, there wouldn¡¯t be any burdens to bear.


    Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t.


    Catherine embraced her sister. Lady Big Navarre didn¡¯t cry, but Lady Navarre sobbed instead.


    Outside, the winter wind howled and the fireplace crackled.


    Anna reached out her arms, gently hugged her sister, and whispered comfort, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it won¡¯t happen¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Anna was almost sleepless all night.


    ...


    When the sunrise lit up Revodan, Anna wiped away her tears and got up to wash and dress like usual.


    After last night¡¯s deep conversation, Catherine seemed somewhat sickly, and even Scarlett couldn¡¯t bring a smile to her face.


    Anna was desperate to see Winters; she wasn¡¯t looking for promises or to vent her emotions. At this moment, she just wanted to see Winters.


    But Anna¡¯s wish did not come true, as Mrs. Madeleine soon brought back the news: ¡°Not long after dawn, Sir Bard took His Excellency Montane out of the city.¡±


    In the afternoon, Mrs. Madeleine brought another message: His Excellency Montane returned to the city and went to the garrison.


    Later, Winters left the city again. It wasn¡¯t until late at night that Winters returned to his residence.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Seeing Anna waiting in the living room, Winters was surprised, sensing something unnatural in her mood, ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± Anna nestled against Winters, her voice very weak, ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°I actually have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    Feeling Anna¡¯s body warmth, Winters couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak and instead tousled Anna¡¯s hair: ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll write to you.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Anna sounded tired.


    The two quietly cuddled for a while, then Anna asked softly, ¡°Can you dance?¡±


    ¡°Court dancing is one of the mandatory subjects at the Land Academy.¡± Winters seemed embarrassed, ¡°But I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve forgotten it all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    Although Anna led him, their movements could hardly be called dancing. They just embraced in front of the fireplace, slowly swaying their bodies rhythmically.


    ¡°Speaking of which.¡± Winters suddenly couldn¡¯t help laughing.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Anna leaned on Winters¡¯ shoulder, wiping away her tears.


    ¡°Do you know how dance lessons at the Land Academy are conducted?¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    Winters coughed lightly, awkwardly saying, ¡°The Land Academy has no female students, so dance classes are¡­ with partners from the same period, which means men dancing with men¡­¡±


    Anna broke into a smile.


    ¡°¡­So no one really had much interest, it was all just going through the motions.¡± As Winters tried to explain, hearing Anna¡¯s laughter eased his mind, ¡°It¡¯s worth embarrassing myself if I could make you laugh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not laughing because of you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine if you won¡¯t admit it.¡±


    Another silence.


    ¡°Mr. Montane?¡± Anna spoke softly.


    ¡°Mm?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get married.¡± Anna¡¯s voice was very faint, as if mentioning a trivial matter.


    ¡°Alright.¡± Winters agreed without hesitation, smiling, ¡°Shall I go find Father Kaman now to officiate?¡±


    On the winter night, only the faint warmth radiated from the fireplace.


    After a long silence, Anna holding Winters let out an almost inaudible sigh, ¡°Never mind, we don¡¯t even have a ring, it¡¯s too cheap for you.¡±


    Winters sniffed Anna¡¯s long hair, murmuring as if pronouncing his own sentence, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s too cheap for me.¡±


    After a long time, Winters walked Anna back to her room.


    The next day, Anna woke up in her own bed to find out: Winters Montane had already left Revodan, leaving only a letter behind.


    ¡­


    West of Big Horn River, the wilderness.


    There was no snow in the wilderness, but the dead grass and branches were covered with frost.


    A small convoy traveled through the wilderness, the escorted riders all heavily armed. But no flags flew, and no insignias on the carriages disclosed any identities.


    ¡°Brother,¡± one of the younger riders, still youthful, asked worriedly, ¡°Can you really just leave like this?¡±


    ¡°Leave?¡± A man wrapped tightly in clothing sat in the carriage, pulled the blanket around him, and said somberly, ¡°It¡¯s more like fleeing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, fleeing.¡± Winters laughed self-deprecatingly, looking at the man on the carriage with a joke yet somewhat seriously, ¡°Colonel, please give me a quick end.¡±


    Xial did not understand the meaning of this sentence.


    Moritz was slightly startled, then closed his eyes to rest, yawning, ¡°It¡¯s all your own doing.¡±


    ¡°¡®Respect others¡¯ choices¡¯,¡± this phrase sounds like a universally correct formula.


    But in some cases, ¡°respecting others¡¯ choices¡± is really just pushing the dilemma onto someone else¡ªWinters thought painfully¡ªselfish and despicable, that¡¯s what I am.


    ¡°Stay behind, cut all ties with your mother amid the perilous Newly Reclaimed Land, give up everything that once belonged to you, and I can¡¯t give you anything.¡±


    These words, Winters couldn¡¯t utter.


    ¡°Return to Sea Blue, wait for me, wait for the day I might live to marry you.¡±


    These words, Winters also couldn¡¯t say. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So he left the choice to Anna¡ªperhaps the most appropriate, or perhaps the least appropriate decision.


    ¡°If there really are such things as souls, the men and women who sacrificed might know of my self-pity over such matters.¡± Winters thought, ¡°Perhaps they would regret?¡±

 Chapter 919 919 22 Fleeing in Panic_3

    ?Chapter 919: Chapter 22 Fleeing in Panic_3 Chapter 919: Chapter 22 Fleeing in Panic_3 Hoofbeats interrupted Winters¡¯ train of thought as three horsemen burst forth from the hillside ahead, galloping towards the caravan.


    Colonel Moritz yawned and shifted into a more comfortable position to sleep.


    The trio pulled up in front of Winters, the leader dressed as a Paratu, and his two companions attired in Hurd garb.


    The two horsemen dressed as Hurds dismounted, placed their right hands over their chests, and gave a respectful salutation, babbling a string of Hurd language.


    Winters beckoned the Translator to come forward.


    After exchanging a few words with the two Hurd horsemen, the Translator reported back, ¡°Sir, they are saying, ¡®Paratu champion, Tie Chi chieftain has sent us to guide you. Tie Chi chieftain has prepared fine wine and feasts in anticipation of your arrival.''¡±


    Winters nodded. He didn¡¯t understand the Hurd language but he could make out ¡°Batu¡± in their speech.


    The shortest route between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe invariably passed through the territories controlled by the Terdun Tribe.


    ...


    For others, plunging into the lands of the Terdun barbarians was akin to suicide. However, for Winters, the danger was much less.


    Since, theoretically, the lands of the Terdun Tribe were under the dominion of Tie Chi, although Tie Chi had his own troubles, he could always provide guidance and hospitality.


    At this moment, Tie Chi also needed Winters to mediate between him and the White Lion.


    Winters eyed the two guides, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, ¡°I seem to have seen them before. Those brothers who hunt rabbits? Mr. Translator, ask them if they remember me.¡±


    The Translator relayed Winters¡¯ words. The younger guide immediately grew excited, while the older one gestured with his eyes for his brother to be quiet and bowed again with his brother.


    ¡°The older one says,¡± the Translator relayed with a smile, ¡°they thank you for remembering them, and they are honored.¡±


    According to the customs of the Hurd tribes, it was appropriate to give them some presents¡ªor should it be called a reward? Winters also smiled, ¡°But we¡¯re as poor as church mice, we don¡¯t have gold or silver to offer. Xial, pick out two guns for them.¡±


    Xial acknowledged and quickly returned, carrying two light matchlock guns.


    The older guide accepted the firearms with respect. The younger muttered under his breath and got a glare from his brother.


    ¡°Sir,¡± the Translator relayed softly, ¡°the younger one says they don¡¯t have gunpowder or lead shot. Giving them firearms won¡¯t be of use to them.¡±


    Winters laughed heartily and turned to command Xial, ¡°When the guides leave the party, provide them with some ammunition.¡±


    The two guides returned to their horses and as they spoke, the Translator relayed, ¡°The older one says that if we continue forward for a distance equivalent to the length of an ox, there are three households who have pitched their tents where we can stay tonight.¡±


    ¡°Good, have them lead the way.¡±


    The caravan, having made a brief pause, resumed its journey into the boundless wilderness.


    After traversing several more hills, Colonel Moritz changed from dozing in a seated position to leaning back for a nap, and finally to lying down for a deep sleep.


    As Winters wondered how the Colonel could sleep in such a bumpy environment, Moritz, like a startled wild cat, bolted upright in an instant.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Winters asked.


    Furrowing his brow, Moritz said slowly, ¡°Someone is catching up.¡±


    Winters strained his ears, only after a while discerning the faint sound of hooves.


    The sound of hooves grew louder and clearer, and soon the figures of three more horsemen appeared on the horizon behind them.


    Seeing that the leading horseman was wearing a monk¡¯s robe, Winters also frowned, ¡°Kaman?¡±


    ¡°Father Kaman?¡± Xial was greatly surprised, ¡°What is he doing here?¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t be sure it was Kaman, and he waved his hand, ¡°Stay alert.¡±


    The guards Andre had chosen for Winters drew their sabers, with several bearing short muskets beginning to load them.


    The distance between two hills was less than two kilometers, and the three horsemen from behind quickly caught up.


    Father Kaman¡¯s cool voice arrived before he did, ¡°What¡¯s all this fanfare for?¡±


    ¡°Stand down.¡± Winters gave the order helplessly.


    The armed riders fired their muskets skyward. The thunderous sound echoed in the wilderness, startling flocks of birds.


    Winters dismounted to greet Kaman, opening his arms to give a warm Venetian embrace, ¡°I¡¯ve been away for just one day and you¡¯re already missing me?¡±


    Kaman snorted lightly, ¡°You left at such an inopportune moment; just a day after, someone came back.¡±


    It was only then that Winters noticed the grinning young man behind Kaman¡ªVashka.


    ¡°Vasya!¡± Winters couldn¡¯t believe it; he grabbed Vashka¡¯s shoulders: ¡°Where is Pierre? And Mr. Michel? And your father, Berlion¡­ have they returned too?¡± S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Vashka¡¯s shoulders ached from Winters¡¯ grip as he grimaced and replied, ¡°Centurion, it¡¯s a long story¡­¡±


    ¡°No matter, take your time.¡± Winters, pulling Vasya, walked towards the caravan.


    Kaman coughed lightly, ¡°Wait a moment, there¡¯s also¡­¡±


    Before he could finish, Winters felt a harsh blow to his back, so painful it halted his breath.


    Without time to ponder the source of the attack, his instinct was to retaliate immediately.


    In a flash, he entered a state ready for casting a spell, subconsciously intending to rip everything behind him apart with violent magic. But as he turned, from the corner of his eye, he saw the most terrifying scene.


    Once spilt, how can the magic be undone?


    Winters struggled to exit the casting state, feeling a sudden and intense dizziness, along with a stabbing pain¡ªbut it was subtly different from phantom pain.


    Under Kaman¡¯s watchful eye, Winters was pushed to the ground.


    ¡°You dare try to run again.¡± A garish golden sword was pressed against Winters¡¯ throat, Anna removed her hood, tear-stained, and said word by word, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, then I¡¯ll take my own life.¡±

 Chapter 920: 23: Blazing Fire

    Jiangbei Province, Rum County, Gaoling Fortress.


    The Alpard Family¡¯s ancestral home had a history of over half a century and was the embodiment of an ¡°old and decrepit abode.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that the Alpard Family¡¯s ancestors were short of money, but when breaking ground for the old house, the Paratu People were still living in the shadow of the Hurd tribes, and every year as autumn arrived, barbarians would come to plunder.


    Therefore, to take into account both defense and warmth, the doors and windows of the Alpard Family¡¯s old house were few and small. The core areas such as the storerooms, armory, and stables were all wrapped within thick walls. After entering the main gate, one would have to pass through a long corridor riddled with arrow slits and gun ports before truly entering the interior.


    The entire building complex is better described as a miniature fortress than a residential place.


    For the designers, sturdiness and security were the most pressing needs, while comfort and aesthetics were clearly not top priorities.


    Precisely because of this, as soon as the threat from the wilderness was lifted, members of the Alpard Family could not wait to move out of the damp and cold building. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Alpard Family¡¯s old house has since been left idle, with only a few elderly and frail servants responsible for maintaining the property.


    Until Alpad Duyome returned to Jiangbei Province.


    ¡­


    On the bloody night at Kingsfort, when the Red Rose faction members of parliament jointly signed the order to arrest Major General Alpad Duyome, they certainly did not foresee the situation spiraling completely out of control.


    Even if some MPs felt uneasy and panicked in advance, they still tremblingly signed their names and stamped their seals.


    Unfortunately, nothing in this world is certain, except for death¡­ and taxes.


    As time moved into autumn, whether it was the ¡°Paratu Provisional Military Government¡± or the ¡°Republic of Paratu,¡± both had to accept this harsh reality: one might achieve victory, but the cost of victory was bound to far exceed expectations.


    The dream of a swift victory had been utterly shattered. It proved that hoping the enemy would surrender without a fight or crumble at the first touch was nothing more than the delusion of fools.


    Those agitators who once shouted ¡°If we do this, and that, the enemy will surely do the same,¡± have now all become mute.


    And the optimists who thought the civil war would quickly produce a winner now realized that the war was just getting started.


    Calls for an ¡°end to the civil war¡± began to emerge and grew increasingly louder. The cry came not only from within Paratu but even from allies expressing their concern.


    The Chief Secretary of State of the Van Republic openly wrote to both the ¡°Republic of Palatu¡± and the ¡°Republic of Palatu,¡± urging ¡°to resolve the war through negotiations.¡±


    And this autumn the large-scale plundering by the Hurd tribes just provided both sides of the civil war with an opportunity.


    After thirty years, the iron hooves of the Herdman once again stepped onto the land of Paratu. Even the Red Rose and Blue Rose, who were slaughtering each other just a moment before, could not help feeling a strong sense of shared animosity.


    What followed need not be elaborated upon¡ªboth the Red and Blue Roses repelled the plundering warbands of the Hurd tribes and tacitly refrained from pulling each other¡¯s legs. Afterward, the two armies rested across the river, and there were no major movements.


    As autumn turned to winter, there seemed to be a turn for the better.


    Kingsfort openly wrote a letter to the Van Republic National Assembly and Major General Alpad Duyome, taking the lead in expressing the willingness to accept the mediation of the Chief Secretary of the Van Republic, agreeing ¡°to negotiate an end to the de facto division of the Republic of Palatu¡± and ¡°not to let one more drop of Paratu people¡¯s blood be spilled in vain.¡±


    This beautifully worded public letter was signed by ¡°Speaker of the Grand Council of the Republic of Palatu, Grof Magnus.¡±


    It was also at this time that Alpad Duyome left the army, left the front lines, left the center of power of the military government, and returned to his homeland, Gaoling Fortress in Rum County.


    He did not stay in the accommodations prepared for him by municipal officials, nor did he move into the spacious and comfortable new mansion, but instead returned to the place where he lived during his childhood and youth¡ªhis family¡¯s old ancestral home.


    ¡­


    As winter days were short and the Alpard Family¡¯s ancestral home was poorly lit, by not quite five o¡¯clock, the old house was already enveloped in darkness.


    A servant quietly entered the study with a candlestick and then retreated just as silently.


    Alpad stared absently at a corner of the study, oblivious to the servant¡¯s comings and goings, until another elderly servant pushed open the wooden door with a tray.


    ¡°Your dinner, I¡¯ve brought it for you,¡± the old servant paused at the door.


    Alpad nodded slightly, and only then did the old servant step into the study.


    Dinner was simple, just bread and soup.


    Seeing their young master¡ªwho was now the master¡ªreturn home, the household¡¯s old servants eagerly cleaned the dining room until not a speck of dust remained.


    However, Alpad Duyome had been a professional soldier for over thirty years, having spent more time in the barracks than in the old house, and had long forgotten all notions of aristocratic airs. Hence, so far, the dining room had yet to be used.


    As the old servant arranged the tableware, Alpad suddenly asked, ¡°Did you see that cabinet?¡±


    ¡°I did, master.¡±


    ¡°There is a hidden compartment behind that cabinet, likely left by a stonemason; you have to move the cabinet to see it. Besides me and Klein, I don¡¯t think anyone else knows about it.¡±


    The old servant certainly knew who Klein was, but he didn¡¯t know how to respond because Kleinheisler¡ªAlpad Duyome¡¯s closest brother¡ªhad died on the bloody night at Kingsfort.

 Chapter 921: 23 Fierce Fire_2

    ¡°Master,¡± the old servant switched topics, bowing his head, ¡°Captain Bod wishes to see you.¡±


    Immersed in his memories, Alpad returned to reality, giving the old servant a cold glance.


    The old servant hurriedly explained, ¡°I¡¯ve already told Captain Bod that you are not receiving guests. But he insisted on seeing you, and he brought something¡ªsomething of yours.¡±


    With that, the old servant took an object out of his bosom and presented it with utmost respect.


    It was a square liquor flask, a very exquisite one. Unfortunately, it was no longer usable because a lead bullet was embedded in it.


    ¡­


    An old servant with gray hair sat by the door of the reception room, his eyes staring at the ground, wooden-like.


    Besides the old servant, there was only Winters in the spacious reception room, along with a row of armchairs along the wall.


    Winters observed the murals on the wall with interest. The murals had no theme, only some decorative patterns. Moreover, the painting was poor, probably done by an amateur.


    Instinctively, Winters was more interested in the fortress-like mansion than the murals.


    On the way from the second door to the reception room, he noticed a patio in the center of the house.


    Houses in Paratu seldom have patios due to the need for warmth in winter. The only logical explanation Winters could think of was for collecting rainwater.


    Why would a residential house need to collect rainwater? To prepare for a siege?


    Considering the location of this mansion, Winters guessed that the ancestral home of the Alpard Family likely fell between a castle and a residential building in terms of architecture and was not constructed too long ago.


    Though there were many sentries and guards, the defensive capability, in Winters¡¯ view, was still not very strong.


    Gaoling Fortress was not the capital of Rum County, nor the administrative center of Jiangbei Province; it was just a small town under Rum County¡¯s jurisdiction.


    Alpad returned to Gaoling Fortress with very few followers, but the military government would not allow such a leader to return to his hometown alone.


    The guards and military officials who followed Alpad nearly packed this small town full.


    Fortunately, Winters¡¯ entry into Gaoling Fortress went smoothly, and he was not subjected to any scrutiny.


    He didn¡¯t need a disguise, as he was an officially commissioned officer, his uniform, his ¡°Federated Provinces accent,¡± every part of him served as his best proof of identity.


    He only brought one Dusack guard¡ªVashka, who was also genuinely a Dusack.


    Winters also forged a pass for himself, copying the signature from a commendation order issued by Alpad, and finally carving a seal in half an hour.


    To Winters, the biggest risk of traveling in territories controlled by the military government was being recognized by an old schoolmate.


    The so-called ¡°college faction¡± officers were actually a small group; two graduates meeting could dismantle any lies with just a casual conversation.


    Thus, Winters deliberately avoided towns that might have garrisons, hurrying to Gaoling Fortress through night and day.


    The door to the reception room opened, and another old servant with graying hair slowly approached Winters and whispered, ¡°Please follow me.¡±


    At the end of a dim corridor, the old servant opened a door for Winters; Alpad Duyome sat behind a desk.


    Compared to the vivid, energetic, and valiant cavalry general in Winters¡¯ memory, who seemed to possess endless vigor, the current Alpad Duyome more easily revealed the fact that he was already stepping into his twilight years.


    As Winters observed Alpad, Alpad also sized up Winters. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Have you married into a family?¡± Alpad frowned, asking out of the blue. His voice was not as loud as before, but still robust.


    The old servant tactfully left the study, closing the door behind him.


    Winters had imagined many conversations, but none of them started with ¡°Have you married into a family?¡±


    The relationship between Alpad and Winters was far from intimate or familiar; the former was a high-ranking major general, while the latter was just a minor Centurion.


    Therefore, Alpad¡¯s question baffled Winters, leaving him uncertain how to respond.


    Alpad motioned for Winters to sit down: ¡°Bod Gates has a daughter.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t stand on ceremony¡ªno longer being a subordinate of Alpad¡ªhe calmly sat down in front of Alpad, ¡°I just borrowed Colonel Bod¡¯s surname for a while.¡±


    Alpad didn¡¯t continue on this subject, but instead asked, ¡°Do you have news of Bod Gates?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still alive,¡± Winters pondered his words, ¡°Currently¡­ Colonel Bod should be in Maplestone City.¡±


    Alpad slightly knitted his brows, then as if coming to a realization, sighed and relaxed his expression.


    Winters remembered, Colonel Bod¡¯s original position was Chief Battalion Leader of the Sixth Legion. In other words, Colonel Bod was Alpad¡¯s deputy. Their relationship, probably, was closer than Winters had initially thought.


    Alpad did not pursue further about Colonel Bod¡¯s current situation and glanced at Winters, ¡°The officer from the Newly Reclaimed Land sent me a letter of reprimand, Adams said you became a bandit.¡±


    Alpad scoffed, ¡°He also held me responsible, asking me to deal with you.¡±


    Winters thought he would be angry, but he actually felt no emotion, ¡°Oh? How did you reply to him?¡±


    ¡°How did I reply to him? I told him¡ªI am glad to hear that Winters Montagne is still alive,¡± Alpad said with disdain. ¡°Adams is a foolish fence-sitter; you need not fear him.¡±

 Chapter 922: 23: Blazing Fire_3

    Winters vaguely felt that if the former Alpad was a blazing flame, then the Cavalry Major General now is like boiling magma churning within a volcano.


    He did not respond, because he did not consider himself close enough to Alpad to pass judgment on him.


    However¡­ perhaps it was precisely because Alpad had no direct interests tied with him, that Alpad was extraordinarily candid with him.


    All the things he wanted to say had been said, all the questions he wanted to ask had been asked. Alpad took out his pipe, tamping down the tobacco leaf bit by bit, and bluntly asked, ¡°So tell me, what do you want?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t want to speak indirectly or play coy, a straightforward conversation suited his intentions well: ¡°One of my subordinates has been arrested by your gendarmerie, currently detained in Xiaolu City.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the charge?¡± Alpad frowned slightly.


    ¡°Deserter.¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡±


    ¡°My other subordinates that I brought from Wolf Town.¡±


    ¡°Wolf Town?¡± Alpad frowned slightly.


    ¡°A very remote, very remote small town.¡± Winters said calmly: ¡°I was the officer stationed there.¡±


    Alpad looked at Winters deeply: ¡°No problem, you can take them all away.¡±


    Winters nodded in acknowledgment: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±


    Alpad shook his head with a half-smile, took a pen, and wrote a safe conduct pass. Then he slowly heated the sealing wax, took off his ring, and sealed the pass with wax.


    ¡°This safe conduct pass will allow you to travel unobstructed north of the Ashen Stream River.¡± Alpad handed the folded safe conduct pass to Winters: ¡°Stay here tonight, and tomorrow I¡¯ll send someone to help you gather your former men.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters took the safe conduct pass and carefully put it away¡ªthis was the real thing, he nodded again to express his thanks: ¡°I have a place to stay.¡±


    Alpad took a puff from his pipe, as if to say ¡°suit yourself.¡±


    Winters stood up, ready to leave.


    ¡°Are you really sure you don¡¯t want anything else?¡± Watching the young man¡¯s back, Alpad finally couldn¡¯t resist reminding him: ¡°Such an opportunity won¡¯t come a second time.¡±


    Winters touched the spot where he stored the safe conduct pass through his clothing: ¡°This is enough.¡±


    Alpad picked up the wine jug that the bullets had nearly pierced, gazing at every scratch and notch on it: ¡°So close.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Winters suddenly felt like laughing for no reason: ¡°Without it, I probably would be dead.¡±


    Alpad tossed the jug, and it arced through the air, with Winters easily catching it.


    Since Winters had walked into the study, this seemed to be the first time Alpad smiled as he used to: ¡°Though it¡¯s no longer of use, keep it as a memento.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters walked to the door, and without even reaching out to touch the handle, the old servant outside, as if foreseeing, opened the door.


    His boots had just stepped out of the study when suddenly Alpad¡¯s voice rang out from behind: ¡°Wait a moment¡­¡±


    Winters stopped in his tracks, Alpad got up and walked towards Winters: ¡°Meeting again¡­ no telling when that might be, or under what circumstances, let me walk you out.¡±


    Even the puppet-like old servant could hardly disguise his shock to see the ¡°master¡± escorting out a mere Captain from the reception room.


    As Alpad saw Winters out the door, the atmosphere of the conversation became very relaxed.


    Alpad casually asked: ¡°Have you seen Grof Magnus¡¯ open letter?¡±


    ¡°The one calling for negotiations?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I saw it a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°What do you think about it?¡±


    ¡°Well written, it¡¯s being discussed everywhere, in pubs, inns.¡±


    ¡°Good what? Flowery language, complete nonsense! Grof Magnus is a despicable and shameless little man who loves to play political tricks. Everyone can speak pretty words, but I wouldn¡¯t believe a punctuation mark of his.¡±


    Winters really wanted to ask for details, but doing so would seem like prying into Alpad¡¯s intelligence, so he didn¡¯t continue the conversation.


    After venting his feelings, Alpad suddenly asked Winters: ¡°Do you have a lawful wife?¡±


    Winters answered without changing his expression: ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Captain Montaigne.¡±


    ¡°General.¡±


    ¡°If you would legally marry Colonel Bod¡¯s daughter, then you would be half a Paratu person.¡± Alpad sighed lightly: ¡°You understand what I¡¯m saying, right?¡±


    ¡°I understand, but I am already married.¡±


    ¡°Then you will forever only be a Venetian.¡±


    Winters replied solemnly: ¡°I thought I was a citizen of the Alliance.¡±


    ¡°I once thought so too, each of us did.¡± Alpad¡ªthe general fierce as fire¡ªunexpectedly showed a tinge of melancholy emotion: ¡°But reality is much more cruel; the Various Republics are incompatible like fire and water, the great Alliance is after all just a beautiful dream of Marshal Ned.¡±


    Winters gave no explicit response, but his expression said it all.


    Whether out of pity, admiration, guilt, or envy, Alpad said to Winters word by word: ¡°Being a Venetian means that you can never take root in Paratu. Sooner or later, you have to return to Vineta, this decision you can make now or wait until it¡¯s absolutely necessary. But the sooner you make this decision, the better it is for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your advice.¡±


    The conversation ended there, and they walked out of the room together.


    Passing through the corridor riddled with arrow and bullet holes, Alpad who had been silent for a long time suddenly asked out of the blue: ¡°Did you kill Sekler?¡±


    For anyone else, Winters had never directly answered this question.


    But to Alpad, he gave a straightforward answer: ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Did he die in pain?¡±


    ¡°No pain.¡±


    ¡°This is as far as I go.¡± Alpad stopped walking.


    The night was dim, Winters could not see Alpad¡¯s expression, but heard a calm ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Winters saluted with his hand and walked towards the door.


    Suddenly, he remembered something: ¡°Sorry, I have one more request.¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°I have another subordinate who I brought from Wolf Town. But their identity is a bit special, I would like to request a guarantee from you, allowing me to take him away as well.¡±


    ¡°Special?¡± Alpad frowned: ¡°What¡¯s so special?¡±


    Winters showed a hint of a smile: ¡°He¡­ is a cook.¡±

 Chapter 923: 23 Ordinary People and Demons

    Jiangbei Province, Xiaolu City.


    Xiaolu City is famous for two things, one being its colorful pottery, the other being the notorious ¡°Shishan Prison¡±.


    Shishan Prison is a debtor¡¯s prison, specifically for incarcerating bankrupt individuals and the poor who owe taxes.


    Unless friends or relatives are willing to lend a hand, there are only two outcomes for those unlucky enough to be locked up in Shishan Prison: to either die of illness in the gloomy, overcrowded cells or to perish from relentless hard labor day after day.


    After the military government took over Xiaolu City, Shishan Prison was also requisitioned, and no longer just confined to locking up debtors.


    The identities of the new prisoners included [deserters], [Red Rose supporters], [civil servants who refused to pledge allegiance], and so on. They had two things in common: firstly, they were regarded as criminals and enemies by the military government; secondly, the military government did not care about their life or death.


    Just in the month of October, nearly a hundred deserters and farmers dodging military service were sent to Shishan Prison; in November, the number rose to two hundred.


    The influx of a large number of new prisoners led to Shishan Prison becoming unbearable due to the already severe overcrowding, and the military government¡¯s method of solving this problem was simple ¡ª not enough space in the prison? Then make space, right?


    Therefore, after winter arrived, the main job of the warden of Shishan Prison was to execute prisoners who had been incarcerated the previous month, to make room for the new prisoners of the next month.


    After all, in theory ¡ª under the assumption that one acknowledges the validity of the military government¡¯s decrees ¡ª the ¡°deserters,¡± ¡°enemies,¡± and ¡°traitors¡± locked up in Shishan Prison had already been sentenced to death.


    Every first day of the week, the prisoners of Shishan Prison would await the roll call by the guards in extreme fear. Those whose names are called would go to the gallows, those not called would live another seven days, and then there would be another roll call.


    Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell could no longer remember how long he had been locked up, a week? Two weeks? A month?


    After all, in the hell on earth that was Shishan Prison, time had no meaning.


    Pierre contracted a severe illness.


    In Shishan Prison, everyone would get sick; not getting sick would be strange.


    Not to mention the food, drink, and living conditions, just take going to the restroom.


    The buckets for feces and urine could only be emptied every other day, but it only took a day to fill them up. Over sixty people crammed into a space meant for twenty, eating, drinking, and defecating, the filthy cell was simply a breeding ground for plague.


    Fortunately for Pierre, a kind old man took care of him.


    The old man bribed the guards, managing to get hot stones every day to warm Pierre¡¯s body. Pierre¡¯s throat was so swollen he couldn¡¯t swallow bread, so the old man chewed up the sour black bread ¡ª the only food the prison provided to prisoners ¡ª and mixed it with warm water into a mushy gruel to feed him.


    The old man was a local from Xiaolu City, locked up in Shishan Prison for a mountain of debt.


    The old man said to Pierre: ¡°Now I think, being deceived might also be a grace from the Lord; as long as I haven¡¯t paid back the money, no one wishes me dead. What could be worse than waiting for death? That demon is just intentionally torturing you all.¡±


    ¡­


    That demon was the nickname the old man used for the new warden.


    For the prisoners, the ¡°roll call¡± every Monday was the most torturous experience.


    When the warden entered the dungeon with the register in hand, the prisoners fell silent as if the air itself was frozen solid.


    The warden would stand in the middle of the corridor, slowly unfolding the register, calling out each name one by one, repeating each thrice.


    Prisoners listened with ashen faces, afraid to even breathe heavily.


    Prisoners whose names were called would either burst into tears or faint from shock, many completely collapsed. They would never voluntarily leave their cells, nor would the warden or guards enter the cells to drag out the nearly insane prisoners. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The warden merely informed the other prisoners, ¡°Let him, or any one of you in his place,¡± and ordered the guards to prepare the matchlock guns.


    The words of ¡°that demon¡± were not empty pale threats, but an objective description of what was to come. As a result, most of the named prisoners were forcibly pushed out of their cells by other inmates.


    As for those not named, though they felt a brief sense of relief and joy, these feelings were quickly devoured.


    Because they understood there would be a next time, and the time after that, and the time after that¡­ As long as they were in Shishan Prison, eventually misfortune would fall upon them. When that time came, they too would be dragged out of their cells by others, discarded like trash.


    Enduring such cruel mental torture, some prisoners had become deranged, and a few even preferred to commit the grave sin of suicide rather than continue living.


    Whether the warden did it on purpose, Pierre was not sure, but the demon clearly took pleasure in the effect.


    ¡­


    ¡°Yes, he is tormenting us,¡± Pierre answered the old man hoarsely: ¡°[An old saying] the sinner has received his due punishment.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± The old man did not understand: ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°An old saying, meaning he takes tormenting us as meting out punishment to sinners ¡ª the words of that demon himself, in front of us and the guards. Heh, he probably thought no one would understand.¡±


    Pierre seemed to be smiling, but the rage and resentment in his eyes made the old man shiver: ¡°We are sinners? What crime have we committed to deserve such treatment? Who does he think he is? A judging angel? He¡¯s just a sick man! A beast eager to inflict suffering with a pitiful little bit of power¡­¡±

 Chapter 924: 23 Ordinary People and Demon_2

    The old man wasn¡¯t paying attention to what the Demon had said; he was more astonished as he asked: ¡°Old language? The words of the lord? You can speak it?¡±


    Pierre just smiled ambiguously in response.


    The old man was overjoyed: ¡°Then¡­ then are you a lord too? Hey! I knew you must be someone important!¡±


    Pierre said with self-deprecation: ¡°If I were a lord, would I be sitting here waiting to rot?¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± the old man dragged out the sound in disagreement, excitedly saying: ¡°Even a good horse has to pull a heavy cart now and then!¡±


    Through the small window of the dungeon, Pierre could see the gallows on the other end of the prison, where bodies always hung frozen.


    Crows swarmed over the gallows, like a flowing black cloud.


    ¡°No matter what kind of horse, they all die,¡± Pierre¡¯s throat was swollen badly, making it difficult for him to speak: ¡°Here, it¡¯s only a matter of time.¡±


    The old man comforted Pierre: ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, your name hasn¡¯t come up so many times, and it won¡¯t come up next time either.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not the one deciding, old master,¡± Pierre said with a bitter smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m not just talking nonsense!¡± the old man insisted: ¡°I really think your name won¡¯t come up.¡±


    Pierre was a bit tired; he leaned against the railing, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit and doze off in.


    The space in the cell wasn¡¯t enough for everyone to lie down, so the prisoners could only sit curled up to rest and sleep.


    Seeing that Pierre didn¡¯t want to talk anymore, the old man also closed his eyes to nap.


    After a while, Pierre¡¯s weak voice reached the old man¡¯s ears: ¡°Old master?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    Pierre wrapped his coat tighter, the stone he used for warmth had long gone cold: ¡°I, I might not be able to hold on, I¡¯ll either die from hanging or eventually die of illness.¡±


    The old man reached one hand toward Pierre¡¯s forehead, and the other to his own: ¡°Hey, what are you saying? Your fever has already subsided! In a few days, in a few days you¡¯ll be back to being a strong young man.¡±


    The high fever left Pierre too weak to muster strength; he struggled to pull up his sleeve, not picking up the old man¡¯s reassurances, he continued speaking: ¡°Old master, look, here¡¯s a silver bracelet, my father gave it to me on my twelfth birthday¡­¡±


    The old man pressed down on Pierre¡¯s sleeve, his old face flushed and embarrassed: ¡°That¡­ that¡­ that¡¯s not there anymore¡­¡±


    ¡°That what?¡± Pierre asked, confused.


    The old man licked his lips, humming: ¡°The bracelet.¡±


    Pierre, in disbelief, felt around and after checking several times, finally realized the bracelet really wasn¡¯t on his arm anymore.


    Not daring to look at Pierre, the old man coughed and stammered in explanation: ¡°It¡¯s not stolen, I didn¡¯t steal from you. That silver bracelet of yours¡­ I gave it to the jailer. The stone you use to warm yourself¡­ and our bread, they were all exchanged for that bracelet¡­ Otherwise, you think those snake-like jailers would have been so kind? Don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Pierre was stunned for a moment, then shockingly touched his earlobe: ¡°Then my earring¡­¡±


    ¡°Also given to the jailer.¡±


    ¡°The one tied in my hair?¡±


    ¡°That too.¡±


    ¡°And also¡­¡±


    ¡°All.¡± The old man was very embarrassed: ¡°All gone.¡±


    ¡°This¡­ you¡­ when did you¡­¡±


    ¡°A while ago, when you were asleep.¡±


    Pierre was dumbstruck, then suddenly he sat up as if awakened from a dream, quickly taking off his boots and frantically searching inside them.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Pierre stopped, letting out a helpless sigh, and put his boots back on: ¡°The bracelet and such¡­ couldn¡¯t have been kept anyway¡­ Thank you, old master. Well bribed, well bribed.¡±


    Hearing that Pierre wasn¡¯t angry, the old man hurried to help him with the boots, pleasingly: ¡°Hey, I knew you would understand. Gold and silver are good, but they¡¯re not filling! In prison, a piece of bread is more useful! Don¡¯t worry, if push comes to shove, I¡¯ll find a way to get them back for you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Pierre leaned tiredly against the railing, the ¡°intense¡± activity earlier had made his face a bit red: ¡°Anyway, I was planning on giving them to you.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve estimated my inheritance.¡± Pierre said with a self-deprecating laugh: ¡°Apart from a bit of gold and silver on my person, it¡¯s just this coat.¡±


    Pierre patted the coat on his body: ¡°Even though it¡¯s dirty, it¡¯s made from good material. After I die, you take it to wear, don¡¯t let it go to waste.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    ¡°I have something to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Tell me, tell me.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre was coughing painfully, his cheeks showing an abnormal redness. After stopping the cough, he straightened his back, speaking earnestly and seriously to the old man: ¡°I am Dusack, you know that, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± The old man scratched his thinning hair: ¡°You Dusans¡­ are quite obvious.¡±


    ¡°After death, I want a Dusack funeral, I don¡¯t want a Paratu funeral.¡± Pierre quickly added: ¡°I don¡¯t mean to look down on the Paratu People¡­ but¡­ I just want¡­ to be buried as a Dusack¡­¡±


    ¡°I understand you, rest assured, rest assured, I also don¡¯t wish to be buried carelessly after death.¡± The old man felt the weight behind Pierre¡¯s words and unconsciously became more solemn.


    But he scratched his head again, troubled: ¡°But what does a Dusan funeral look like?¡±

 Chapter 925: 23 Ordinary People and Demons_3

    ¡°This.¡± Pierre was stunned: ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t explain it clearly in a few words.¡±


    The old man fell into deep thought.


    Pierre was silent for a long time and then suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed loudly: ¡°Let it be then! It doesn¡¯t matter! Where isn¡¯t red earth enough to bury a person? What do I have to be so picky about?¡±


    He clutched the railing, struggling to stand up.


    The old man looked at Pierre with concern.


    Pierre looked through the window at the distant gallows, and muttered through clenched teeth: ¡°I am Dusack, I will not die on the gallows, never!¡±


    The old man pulled Pierre down to sit: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I guarantee that your name will certainly not be called. That demon won¡¯t pick you.¡±


    Pierre cracked a smile and sat back down.


    ¡°If only I had paper and pen.¡± Pierre curled up and muttered: ¡°If I had them, I would entrust you with a few letters to deliver.¡±


    ¡°You can still write?¡± The old man was overjoyed.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Could you teach me? I want to know how to write my name. The Priest from the parish taught me once, but I forgot a few days later.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy. Your name is?¡±


    The old man swallowed: ¡°My name is¡­¡±


    Just at that moment, with a ¡°creak,¡± the dungeon¡¯s door opened.


    The stench-filled dungeon was so unpleasant that even the jailers didn¡¯t want to stay long. Therefore, the door would only open in a few circumstances. For example, lunch served at noon every day, the unfailing thrice daily inspections, the emptying of the chamber pots every two days, and¡­ roll call.


    But the current time obviously didn¡¯t match any of those circumstances.


    The dungeon suddenly fell silent, and the prisoners one by one stood up.


    The old man and Pierre¡¯s ¡°seats¡± were in the corner of the cell, so they couldn¡¯t see what was happening in the corridor. But they couldn¡¯t mistake the intense suffocating sensation.


    The temperature in the air dropped abruptly, whether from the outside cold wind blowing into the dungeon, or a trick of the human mind.


    ¡°Tap¡±


    ¡°Tap¡±


    ¡°Tap¡±


    The sound of boot heels knocking against the floor.


    This way of walking, each step like driving a nail with a heel, was also something Pierre would not mistake.


    The old man and Pierre both froze, seeing the same answer in each other¡¯s eyes¡ªroll call.


    But today was not Monday!


    Both men propped each other up as they stood, but with everyone in front of them, Pierre and the old man in the corner could still see nothing.


    Roll call, all the prisoners understood, it was time for roll call.


    To the left of Pierre, a prisoner who was usually tough to deal with was already sweating profusely. The fierce prisoner wiped his sweat while trembling and incessantly reciting prayers.


    In front of Pierre, another prisoner grabbed the sleeves of the two people beside him, babbling madly: ¡°I¡¯ve figured out the devil¡¯s pattern for roll call! I know it all! I¡¯ve calculated it! Not this time, not next time either¡­¡±


    And many more prisoners just stood silently, rigidly.


    The sound of boot heels striking the ground disappeared, followed by the sound of the roll being unfolded.


    All prisoners swallowed involuntarily.


    The demon hummed lightly, seemingly hesitant. Then, slowly, the demon read out a somewhat awkward name:


    ¡°Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell ¡ª Sir.¡±


    The old man¡¯s face turned pale, and he shivered as he looked at the young man beside him. The old man saw the young man slowly sit down, ¡°He¡¯s frightened¡± ¡ª this was the first thought that leaped into the old man¡¯s mind.


    Next, the old man saw the young man take off his boots ¡ª this was completely beyond what the old man expected. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± the old man wondered.


    Then, the old man saw the young man tear away the boot¡¯s upper and pull out a knife.


    A knife?


    A knife?


    Rather than a knife, it¡¯s more appropriate to say it¡¯s a handleless blade, yet it was indeed a sharp edge flashing with a faint cold light.


    The old man¡¯s saliva in his mouth had completely disappeared, and his heart slammed into his chest like a hammer. Every single hair on his body stood on end from top to bottom. He wanted to speak, to stop the other party, but his body was stiff, unable to move.


    Other prisoners also saw the blade in Pierre¡¯s hand; they were equally shocked, equally silent, and motionless.


    ¡°Mr. Pierre Gerardnovich Mitchell,¡± repeated the Demon.


    Pierre put on his boots again, stood up, and responded: ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°Please leave the cell.¡±


    The old man felt that in the blink of an eye, the blade had disappeared from Pierre¡¯s hand.


    Pierre took his coat off and handed it to the old man, then walked proudly towards the cell door.


    The prisoners parted ways for Pierre, who walked steadily forward as if strolling through the corridors of the Mitchell estate.


    No one had ever walked towards death with such composure after being called by name. The prisoners gazed at Pierre with a mix of reverence and pity.


    The old man also stared fixedly at the young man¡¯s back; he wanted to shout, to go with him, but ultimately, he couldn¡¯t make a sound or take a step forward.


    Pierre reached the prison door, and the Demon gestured to the jailer to open it for him.


    Pierre took a deep breath; his body was weak, lacking the strength and agility he once had, so he didn¡¯t have a second chance ¨C he needed to be patient yet decisive.


    The Demon sized up Pierre, nodding his head.


    Then the Demon revealed an unprecedented smile, turned to look to his left, and humbly asked: ¡°Your Excellency, is it this gentleman?¡±


    Pierre subconsciously followed the Demon¡¯s gaze and saw a middle-aged military officer in a field officer¡¯s uniform.


    And the field officer was looking inquisitively at another man in a captain¡¯s uniform: ¡°Is it him?¡±


    Pierre felt as if struck by lightning; he shivered, stiffened, and his hair stood on end just like the old man earlier, the blade nearly falling from his palm.


    But the captain paid no attention to the field officer, striding up to Pierre and hugging him tightly.


    ¡°It seems there¡¯s no mistake,¡± the field officer said, unannoyed, nodding his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± the Demon replied with a smile, almost servile; he bowed his head, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡±


    At that moment, Pierre suddenly realized that the Demon was not a demon at all; the Demon was just an ordinary person, one that could be found anywhere.


    An ordinary person, eager to exert pitiable power to torment and servilely bow to a field officer¡¯s uniform.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said the field officer, wrinkling his nose. Clearly, the stench of the prison was uncomfortable to him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± the captain urged Pierre, holding him tightly: ¡°Your father, Vasya, Priest Caman¡­ and your mother, Scarlett¡­ we¡¯re all waiting for you.¡±


    Pierre felt a lump in his throat and tightness in his chest. He turned to look back at the cell, seeing faces numb, envious, resentful, anguished, contorted.


    He bit his tongue hard, not even noticing that he had drawn blood.


    The field officer covered his nose and walked out of the dungeon; the captain was also urging Pierre, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Pierre stared hard at the face of the ¡°ordinary person¡± and grasped the blade in his hand tightly.


    The ¡°ordinary person¡± smiled at Pierre.


    The captain noticed Pierre¡¯s odd behavior and asked with concern, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± Pierre was in extreme agony, a single spark away from plunging the blade deep into the ¡°ordinary person¡¯s¡± chest: ¡°I¡­ you¡­ Can you take one more person with you? Just one, just one¡­¡±


    Hearing this, the field officer turned his head back, frowning slightly: ¡°Another deserter?¡±


    ¡°No, not a deserter, a debtor.¡±


    The captain asked bluntly, ¡°How much money is owed?¡±


    The field officer chuckled, waving his hand dismissively; the ¡°ordinary person¡± reopened the register, politely asking: ¡°May I ask, what is the debtor¡¯s name?¡±


    Pierre was stunned because he realized that he never knew the old man¡¯s name from beginning to end.


    ¡°Fugget! My name is Fugget!¡± the old man rushed to the bars, crying out through tears: ¡°I only owe twenty-three silver shields and a corner piece!¡±

 Chapter 926: 25: The Old Man and Dusack

    Chapter 926: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack


    Reflecting on his childhood, old Fugget considered himself lucky, as his mother had eight children, but only he survived to adulthood.


    But unfortunately, Fugget also had a father who was a thief.


    The occupational hazards of being a thief are high, once caught, a light punishment would be a severe beating, while a severe one would mean losing a right hand.


    The income from theft was not proportionate to the risks. After all, Paratu was no prosperous and wealthy Vineta; in the Kingdom of Galloping Horses, hardly any thief could solely rely on stealing to support a family.


    Thus, Fugget¡¯s father mostly earned his bread through odd jobs, only finding the opportunity to indulge in his sideline during crowded occasions like markets, celebrations, or services.


    Odd jobs also had off-seasons and peak seasons. During peak seasons¡ªlike spring planting or autumn harvest¡ªFugget¡¯s father was always the last to be hired, only taken in by employers as a last resort. During the off-season, he was always the first to be fired, because as soon as people saw his wooden prosthetic, they knew what crime he had committed.


    For Fugget¡¯s father, losing a hand meant he would never be accepted by the public again. Even passersby, upon seeing him approaching, would clutch their purses and grip their swords.


    Hence, Fugget¡¯s family fell into a vicious cycle of ¡°steal because of poverty, poor because of theft,¡± from which they could never escape.


    In old Fugget¡¯s memory, his childhood was spent following his parents from town to town, working on farms during farming seasons, and returning to towns to work odd jobs in winter.


    Of course, there was also stealing.


    Being born into such a family, becoming a thief was a matter of course.


    Fugget was sent by his father to steal at the age of eight¡ªchildren were more agile and less noticeable, and even if caught, the consequences were not severe.


    He continued stealing until he was sixteen, at which point Fugget dared not continue. By then, he had grown a beard and an Adam¡¯s apple, and was already a young man.


    For an adult, being caught stealing was not just a matter of being scolded or slapped a few times. Each time he saw his father¡¯s prosthetic hand, the young Fugget felt a genuine fear.


    So one quiet night, Fugget bade farewell to his mother, escaped from his father¡¯s control, and ran to a town where no one knew him, hoping to start anew.


    Interestingly, Fugget, having been a thief from childhood, never once failed. His skill was not something his half-baked father could compare with; he was an impressive third-rate thief, so impressive that he could live quite well just from theft.


    Intending to reform and lead an honest life, Fugget found he couldn¡¯t even make ends meet.


    Having no special skills, Fugget could only rely on menial labor.


    Digging clay, firing kilns, he worked like a beast from dawn till dusk, yet the wages he earned were barely enough to keep him fed and warm.


    Just when Fugget felt he could no longer endure, the first ray of light shone on his life¡ªthe Potter who employed him as a helper took him home and subtly suggested he wanted to take him as a son-in-law. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The official reason was ¡°after careful consideration, he was deemed a reliable and honest young man.¡±


    The real reason was that the Potter¡¯s only daughter had long harbored a crush on Fugget, badgering her widowed father into consent.


    It¡¯s hard to guess from old Fugget¡¯s appearance today what superior physical attributes he possessed at just over twenty years old, one can only assume that the young Fugget was relatively in line with the aesthetic standards of the time.


    Thus, Fugget got married, gaining a virtuous and lovely wife, a generous father-in-law, and the prospect of inheriting a small pottery shop. He believed there was nobody luckier or happier in the world than he.


    Then, war broke out.


    To this day Fugget clearly remembers that it began with a severe drought in spring and summer, followed by heavy snow in autumn and winter, and then ¡°Herdman¡± leading an unprecedented army of Barbarian tribes into Paratu.


    People were terrified, murmuring, ¡°This time the Herdman has come, and it seems they do not plan to leave.¡±


    The Barbarian tribes fought the Paratu People, and the Paratu Republicans fought the Paratu Royalists; Fugget couldn¡¯t tell who was who.


    At that time, he was frantic with another issue¡ªthe war had destroyed his father-in-law¡¯s pottery shop, rendering his father-in-law bankrupt and deeply in debt.


    Fugget ran around trying to borrow money; the money his father-in-law owed was not much, but nobody was willing to lend to him. War was raging outside, and everyone was holding tight to their money.


    Fugget stood in the ruins of the pottery shop all night and decided to take a risky shot.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°And then?¡± Pierre frowned, ¡°You didn¡¯t steal successfully? Were you caught?¡±


    ¡°I did it,¡± the old man looked down and fiddled with the campfire, ¡°Although I hadn¡¯t done it for many years, I wasn¡¯t completely rusty.¡±


    ¡°And?¡± Pierre coughed, ¡°Where is your pottery shop now?¡±


    The old man feigned nonchalance, ¡°Gone, even the land was sold by the creditors.¡±


    ¡°Then where are you?¡±


    ¡°I got caught.¡±


    ¡°You said you were successful?¡±


    ¡°I got the money. But I also got arrested.¡±


    Pierre was a bit annoyed, ¡°How is that ¡®successful¡¯?¡±


    The old man was silent for a while, then explained, ¡°I was arrested because someone in Xiaolu City accused me of theft, which had nothing to do with the ¡®job¡¯ I took care of.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Pierre was utterly confused.


    ¡°Because,¡± the old man lifted his head and said calmly, ¡°I did my job in Crow¡¯s Town.¡±


    Pierre initially didn¡¯t understand, ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re saying they framed you?¡±

 Chapter 927: 25: The Old Man and Dusack_2

    Chapter 927: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack_2


    The old man grinned, ¡°You can¡¯t really call it ¡®framing¡¯ because I deserved my punishment.¡±


    ¡°What exactly happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing complicated, I went to Cold Crow Town and managed to get enough money to clear my debt. The day after I paid my creditor, someone went to the city official claiming a burglary took place at their home, losing an amount of money. The amount was neither more nor less, precisely as much as the debt I owed..¡± Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre narrowed his eyes: ¡°An inside job?¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± The old man scooped another cup of hot soup and handed it to Pierre, ¡°Have a bit more¡­ Anyway, when the city official asked me where the money to repay the debt came from, I couldn¡¯t say.¡±


    Pierre took the cup and held it in his hands.


    ¡°Coincidentally, an ¡®old acquaintance¡¯ exposed my identity. So, everyone found out¡ªI am the son of a thief. Is there anything simpler than believing a thief¡¯s son is a thief?¡± The old man laughed carelessly, ¡°But he wasn¡¯t wrong, I indeed am a thief.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you defend yourself?¡±


    ¡°At that time, there was a war, and the sentences were severe. Death if you pleaded not guilty, no death if you admitted guilt.¡±


    ¡°Did you confess?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I confessed,¡± the old man repeated, ¡°They weren¡¯t wrong, I am indeed a criminal.¡±


    There was a pause of silence around the campfire.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t deceiving me, are you?¡± Pierre suddenly laughed, ¡°Where did you hear this story?¡±


    ¡°I wish I was deceiving you,¡± the old man also laughed.


    Another pause of silence.


    ¡°Then what?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°Then?¡± The old man stood up, brushing dust off himself, ¡°Then I was punished with hard labor and enlisted. There was a war, and the army needed laborers.¡±


    ¡°You served as a soldier?¡±


    ¡°Never held a weapon, just a laborer, chopping trees, driving carts, moving things.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Pierre sounded somewhat disappointed. He lifted the cup and took a small sip of the hot soup, casually asking, ¡°What about your wife and your father-in-law?¡±


    ¡°They are both dead.¡± The old man exhaled, ¡°My father-in-law hanged himself, and my wife soon died of illness after him.¡±


    Pierre stayed silent for a long time, hoarsely saying, ¡°If I were you, I would have killed all who framed me..¡±


    ¡°You are Dusack, you have the ability,¡± the old man gave a bitter smile, self-mockingly, ¡°Me? I am just a commoner, at most a thief, I don¡¯t have the ability to kill. Besides, I am originally a criminal, it¡¯s all deserved.¡±


    Pierre snorted disdainfully.


    ¡°When I returned home,¡± the old man broke branches one by one to feed the campfire, rambling on, ¡°I found my home gone, my daughter missing, and then I started searching for my daughter. After finding my daughter, days just passed by, aimlessly, without knowing how they just passed¡­¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Pierre suddenly coughed violently, ¡°You have a daughter?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where is she?¡±


    ¡°Where?¡± The old man seemed puzzled, ¡°Where else could she be?¡±


    Pierre had a sudden revelation, ¡°Xiaolu City? Your daughter is in Xiaolu City? So that¡¯s why you were in Xiaolu City?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Pierre couldn¡¯t bring himself to finish the question¡ª¡±So why did you sit in that dark prison so long? Why didn¡¯t she come to redeem you?¡±


    The old man saw the confusion in Pierre¡¯s eyes and shook his head, ¡°My daughter is married, has her own children, and is living well. She doesn¡¯t know I am still alive. Why would I tell her? To have her pay for my redemption? And then what? To have a thief father again? Actually, just being able to watch her from afar, I am already satisfied¡­¡±


    Pierre stared at the fire, sighing deeply. He didn¡¯t have children, couldn¡¯t fully understand the feelings of a father, but he thought of his own dad.


    ¡°That what.¡± The old man scratched his head, ¡°Thank you for getting me out.¡±


    Pierre didn¡¯t look up, ¡°Without your care, I would¡¯ve died in that prison long ago.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve talked enough about me. We¡¯ve been squeezed together in that cell so long, I still don¡¯t know why you were locked up. I asked you before and you wouldn¡¯t say, can you tell now?¡±


    Pierre sipped the hot soup a little, ¡°My matter isn¡¯t as convoluted as yours.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Winters sent Pierre to find [Berlion], [Gerard], and others because this task could only be accomplished by Pierre.


    Others either lacked the ability to make decisions on their own¡ªlike Tamas, Bart Xialing at that time; or couldn¡¯t spare the time¡ªlike Bard, Mason.


    Pierre also felt the same way.


    When Herd Raiders invaded the territory of Parlatu, the ¡°overreacting¡± Parlatu Army immediately issued a mobilization order to all Dusack reserves.


    The temporarily recruited Dusacks were organized into a separate Cavalry Corps, commanded by the Expeditionary Force headquarters.


    After the bloody night at Kingsfort, the Expeditionary Force transformed into a military government. In desperate need of combat power, the military government could certainly not let the Dusacks return home; the [First Reserve Cavalry Corps] was naturally incorporated into the Third Republic¡¯s order of battle.


    After winter began, the fighting temporarily ceased. To reduce logistical pressure, the Parlatu military government dispersed its troops across various towns to find food and winter over.


    This move also had another benefit: to deter potential rebels, enhancing the military government¡¯s control over the interior.


    Since there were benefits, naturally there were drawbacks, such as: dispersing for the winter meant dispersing forces, in case Red Rose suddenly attacked¡­


    For instance: Jiangbei Province had a large group of discontented old Dusack soldiers.

 Chapter 928: 25: The Old Man and Dusack_3

    Chapter 928: Chapter 25: The Old Man and Dusack_3


    Veterans love to grumble, it¡¯s a privilege reserved for the seasoned soldier. They moan about the food, the weather, the idiotic centurions, the ill-fitting boots, as if there¡¯s nothing in this world that could ever satisfy them.


    And the Dusack veterans, they are particularly fond of grumbling.


    Due to the special system of lifelong service, most of the temporarily conscripted Dusacks were seasoned veterans who had served seven years of active duty, many of whom already had beards aplenty, with some even boasting of grandchildren.


    When they were conscripted, it was said they¡¯d go fight the Herd Barbarians; beat the Herd Barbarians back, and they could return home.


    So the Dusacks, young and old alike, whether willingly or unwillingly, mounted their warhorses, packed up their rations, and headed to the wilderness camp for assembly. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the result?


    The Herd Barbarians were routed, and now the Dusacks are expected to deal with their own kind? What happened to the promise that ¡°it would be different¡±?


    The Dusacks, who swore loyalty to the Republic of Paratu, had not done any dirty work for many years.


    The young generation born in Paratu didn¡¯t even know the true meaning of [the Emperor¡¯s Whip], only the older generation of Dusacks retained the memories of swinging sabres against the ¡°bumpkins.¡±


    As winter approached, there wasn¡¯t even a hint from the military government about revoking the conscription order. The Dusacks brimmed with grievances, feeling both angry and betrayed, and pining for home.


    The braver Dusacks deserted, while those who dared not desert could only drown their sorrows in drink every day.


    The army didn¡¯t supply alcohol, so the Dusacks bartered with merchants using armlets, belts, silver stirrups, even resorting to robbery at times.


    In the taverns, inns, and crossroads of Jiangbei Province, you¡¯d find Dusacks drunk as lords, looking for a fight.


    Given these circumstances, Pierre and Vashka¡¯s identities were nearly flawless ¨C because they were truly Dusacks.


    After leaving Iron Peak County, Pierre and Vashka took a detour from the uninhabited western region and, with help from the Red River Tribe, crossed the Ashen Stream River. After the crossing, they continued eastward into Jiangbei Province.


    The area of Jiangbei Province is nearly as vast as that of the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, searching for a handful of people in an expanse of more than two hundred thousand square kilometers was like looking for a needle in a haystack.


    But Pierre had a method. In every city, every village, Pierre would first hit the taverns to gather information. When encountering Dusacks drinking to ease their woes, he would offer to buy them a drink.


    The Dusacks stood out among the Paratu People, their hairstyles, ornaments, and attire all distinct from the latter.


    When two Dusacks met, there was a natural affinity. Coupled with the unending rounds of strong liquor, those sitting with Pierre would soon start to shed tears, throw arms around shoulders, treat each other like brothers, eager to spill all they knew to Pierre.


    Passing through Oakwood Town, he learned from a Dusack about a ¡°farrier with exceptional culinary skills,¡± and following the lead, discovered the station of the ¡°farrier¡± from another Dusack.


    Although it turned out not to be Berlion upon meeting, it was serendipitously revealed that the farrier had previously worked with ¡°a young but formidable blacksmith,¡± and learned his cooking skills from him.


    Persistence paid off, and, following the trail from one station to the next, Pierre finally managed to meet with Berlion.


    Winters had tasked Pierre only with ¡°finding the person and doing his best,¡± and even though Berlion wasn¡¯t under tight surveillance, the situation was more than Pierre and Vashka could handle alone.


    So, after consulting with each other, Pierre and Vashka decided that Vashka would return to Iron Peak County to send a message, while Pierre stayed in Jiangbei Province awaiting reinforcements.


    Actually, Pierre had another idea in mind ¨C he wanted to find Gerard Mitchell.


    It was around this time that Pierre was captured and thrown into Shishan Prison.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The old man chuckled, ¡°I knew you were no ordinary fella.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you took care of me, right?¡± said Pierre, with a half-smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± The old man admitted bluntly, ¡°From the first glance¡­ I felt you might be the main one sent to rescue me.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, thanks.¡±


    The old man changed the subject, ¡°How did you get caught? You haven¡¯t said! Was there a checkpoint?¡±


    Pierre snorted, ¡°A checkpoint? If we had come across patrolling gendarmes, a flick of our whips would have been enough to shake them off; they couldn¡¯t have caught up if they tried. Probably thought we were just a couple of drunken Dusacks.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡­¡±


    ¡°Things were going smoothly¡­ I was buying drinks for all the Dusacks in the tavern.¡± Pierre¡¯s cheeks twitched, ¡°For some reason, more and more people kept showing up. They got drunk, started fighting, dancing, raising all kinds of hell.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Then someone suggested setting the tavern on fire.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The tavern owner got scared and locked the place up, and as the gendarmes arrived, they rounded us all up.¡±

 Chapter 929: 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel

    Chapter 929: Chapter 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel


    Pierre¡¯s story contained a contradiction, which the old man apparently did not notice.


    In Jiangbei Province, the farce of soldiers getting drunk and causing trouble happened every day. If military law was enforced to the letter, the military government would soon run out of soldiers to use.


    Therefore, as long as the rank and file didn¡¯t cause too much trouble, they usually got away with a few lashes.


    Pierre wasn¡¯t imprisoned in the Stone Forest Prison for causing trouble, but as a ¡°deserter¡±, which certainly had another story behind it.


    But Pierre only vaguely told of his arrest experience and did not elaborate on what happened before that. The old man, having lived dozens of years longer than Pierre, naturally did not inquire further.


    What made the old man unable to suppress his curiosity was not Pierre¡¯s background, but another mysterious figure¡ªthe young captain.


    With just one glance, the old man could tell who the real leader was.


    ¡°The gentleman who came to fetch you,¡± the old man asked cautiously, ¡°who is he?¡±


    Pierre glanced at the old man and hesitantly said, ¡°He is¡­¡±


    At that moment, the tent flap was lifted. A beam of light poured in, interrupting their idle talk.


    A burly middle-aged man stood outside the tent, the hawk-beak-shaped pure silver hilt of a Cavalry saber sparkling at his waist. Although his temples were graying and his figure slightly out of shape, there was no doubt that he was still solid like a stone wall, which would never be toppled by windstorms.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to set off,¡± the middle-aged man said with a stern face.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Pierre stood up laboriously, supporting himself with one hand.


    The tent flap was let down, and the middle-aged man turned and left.


    The old man reflected on the middle-aged man¡¯s appearance and sneaked a closer look at Pierre¡¯s features, vaguely feeling the two might have a blood relationship.


    ¡°Your father?¡± the old man ventured.


    Pierre did not answer, feeling dizzy and light-headed as he stood up hurriedly, the persistent low fever robbing him of his balance, which took some time to regain.


    He managed a faint smile and extended his hand to the old man, ¡°It¡¯s time for us to part as well.¡±


    Exiting the tent, the sunlight was bright and warm.


    The tent where Pierre and the old man dwelled was just a corner of the camp. Outside the tent was the busy scene of the camp being dismantled at the last minute.


    Without any curse or scolding, men old and young were silently taking down the camp, loading the wagons, and feeding the horses with extra forage, orderly going about their preparations.


    Several sturdy Cavalrymen greeted and then rode out ahead of the camp, seemingly to scout the path.


    The old man was taken to the young captain, who amiably handed him a pouch of coins, ¡°Thank you for your help, Mr. Fugget.¡±


    ¡­


    When infiltrating Jiangbei Province, Winters had brought only Vashka with him.


    By the time he was ready to leave, he had amassed a small army of over two hundred people by his side.


    Despite being far from the center of power, Alpad Duyome was still nominally the supreme commander of the military government. With Alpad¡¯s personal attention, Winters did not face much difficulty or obstruction and successfully found his old troops.


    In addition to the native soldiers from Wolf Town and those from Wolf Town like Dusack, Winters also took away many of his old troops who had fought under his command during the war in the Great Wilderness and were still alive.


    The men were gathered, and the next question was how to leave.


    Pierre, Vashka, and others were still recorded as deserters on the wanted list of the Third Republic; Gerard, Sergei, and others would be seen as deserters once they left the army.


    Winters obtained the ¡°understanding¡± from the military government¡¯s side thanks to his ¡°personal relationship¡± with Alpad, but that didn¡¯t mean the military government wanted to see the ¡°deserters¡± leave Jiangbei Province with much fanfare.


    The safest strategy, of course, was to arrive secretly and leave quietly.


    However, the size of the unit had ballooned to over two hundred people, including a fair number of Cavalry. Eating, drinking, sleeping¡ªthe logistics of life on the road, no matter how you looked at it, it couldn¡¯t be hidden as before.


    Thus, Winters ordered the procurement of goods, carts, and horses, disguising themselves as a trade caravan leaving Jiangbei Province.


    Some subordinates worried that the merchant convoy was too big of a target and would expose them upon inspection.


    ¡°What the bureaucratic system needs most is ¡®compliance¡¯,¡± Winters explained, ¡°If someone is determined to expose us, not even Alpad can protect us. But if no one wants to break the silence, even if it¡¯s just a thin layer of gauze, we are safe.¡±


    In fact, Winters didn¡¯t need to clarify. Apart from his old troops, the members of this temporarily assembled unit were their fathers; in essence, it was his unilateral decision.


    Therefore, whether the others were convinced or not, seeing Winters¡¯s resolute attitude, they consciously maintained his authority, and no further objections were raised. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During the process of purchasing goods, vehicles, and supplies, Potter [Old Fugget] who had lived for half his life in Xiaolu Fortress, provided crucial connections, helping the foreigner Winters quite a bit.


    Due to the war and bandit troubles, Xiaolu City¡¯s polychrome pottery had lost its market, and various workshops had excess stock to some extent.


    Upon learning that Winters¡¯s merchant convoy intended to purchase, workshop owners were eager to sell or even give goods away, anxious to clear their stocks before potential conflicts led to complete loss.


    After the purchasing was completed, the fake merchant convoy actually looked convincing.


    This was exactly why Winters gave money to Old Fugget. In his view, as a middleman, Old Fugget had exerted effort and deserved a compensation.


    But Old Fugget resolutely refused it.


    ¡°No, no, no! I can¡¯t take it,¡± the old man vehemently shook his head, ¡°You rescued me from the black jail, an act of grace I cannot repay. Just a little help I offered, I cannot take this money.¡±

 Chapter 930: 26 Colonel and Colonel_2

    Chapter 930: Chapter 26 Colonel and Colonel_2


    ¡°Old man, fair¡¯s fair,¡± Winters stared into the other¡¯s eyes. ¡°You work for us, we pay you. That¡¯s fair.¡±


    The old man took a step back and bowed, ¡°May the Lord bless you, sir. I cannot take this money.¡±


    Winters felt that Old Fugget was neither being polite nor playing hard to get, so he too spoke sincerely.


    He placed the money bag in Old Fugget¡¯s hands and earnestly said, ¡°Old man, times are tough. After we leave, you still need to live.¡±


    Old Fugget hung his head, and this time he did not refuse. The captain¡¯s words could not be more straightforward. Even though his debts were wiped away, what could an old man like him rely on to survive in these times? Steal?


    Pierre suddenly spoke, ¡°Old man, why not come with us? It¡¯s just one more person in such a big convoy.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s body had not fully recovered, and the cold air outside the tent caused him to cough violently. While coughing, he said, ¡°I have a manor at home, there¡¯s enough space, always something for you to eat. And a place to bury you when you die¡­¡±


    Gerard, standing beside him, looked at his son with a mix of pain and anger.


    The pain was because Pierre¡¯s body was almost broken down by the dungeon; the anger was because Pierre spoke out of turn and made promises in front of Captain Montaigne without regard for propriety.


    But neither Winters nor Pierre felt there was anything amiss. Ever since Winters returned to Iron Peak County, Pierre had been serving as his second-in-command, until they came to Jiangbei Province to search for someone.


    But to Gerard, with deeply ingrained notions of hierarchy, Pierre¡¯s actions were impolite and offensive¡ªa generational difference in perception.


    Suddenly, Winters remembered that the Mitchell manor had been seized¡­


    He hadn¡¯t had the chance to tell Pierre and Gerard about it, and now was not the right time to discuss it.


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing, why not come back with us to Newly Reclaimed Land?¡± Winters adeptly skirted around the topic of the manor. ¡°It¡¯s a bit remote, but there¡¯s a place for you to settle.¡±


    Old Fugget wiped the corner of his eyes, raised his head, his rugged face full of smiles, ¡°My daughter still lives in Dawnforge Fort, I don¡¯t want to leave her too far behind.¡± S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Fugget stepped forward, firmly grasping the captain¡¯s hand, ¡°¡®Thank you¡¯ is too feeble a word¡­ Please believe, if there is a chance, I will repay you.¡±


    Winters was initially startled, then also smiled and grasped the old man¡¯s hand, ¡°You can bring your daughter too.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bit complicated¡­¡± Old Fugget shook his head, repeating almost like a vow, ¡°If there is a chance, I will definitely repay you, please believe me, please believe me.¡±


    Farewells are always brief. After all the tents were folded, carts harnessed, and goods loaded, it was time to set off.


    ¡°Last check of the ropes!¡± Winters led his horse, inspecting from the very end of the convoy to the front: ¡°We¡¯re carrying ceramics, not food. Careful with the bumps on the road, don¡¯t break them.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec, assigned to assist Winters, couldn¡¯t help but feel amused and bewildered.


    Alec was from the artillery service and had overseen bridge building during the battle at The Styx; he knew Winters well. Alpad had sent him to liaise with Winters, specifically because of this.


    In Alec¡¯s view, since they had a travel pass signed by General Alpad himself overseeing directly, Winters and his group should have had no hindrance under the military government¡ªthere was no need to sneak around.


    Therefore, seeing Winters not in a hurry to depart but instead sweeping goods around Dawnforge Fort, Lieutenant Colonel Alec could only lament helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s just like him¡­ just like him¡­¡±


    After inspecting the convoy from end to end, Winters tied his warhorse behind the first large cart and agilely climbed onto it.


    For some reason, Winters felt utterly relaxed. Looking eye to eye with Gerard Mitchell who was sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, he suddenly burst out laughing, ¡°Mr. Mitchell?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Captain?¡± Gerard became much more reserved.


    ¡°Last time we escorted together, wasn¡¯t it to Revodan?¡±


    Gerard was initially stunned, then remembering the past, he also smiled, ¡°Well¡­ let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t meet bandits this time.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in Jiangbei Province! Not your Newly Reclaimed Land!¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec urged displeasedly, ¡°There aren¡¯t that many bandits here. Let¡¯s set off!¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Winters took a deep breath and shouted, ¡°Move out!¡±


    The coachmen joyfully cracked their whips with a ¡°snap¡±, and the boisterous Dusack men sang coarse tunes loudly.


    The carriages, one after another, drove off, leaving only clusters of pale white ash at the old campsite.


    Then, just that evening, the convoy encountered the first group of bandits.


    The next afternoon, they encountered the second group.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ahh, about this¡­¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec awkwardly explained to Winters, ¡°I truly didn¡¯t know it would be like this.¡±


    It was already completely dark, and the convoy camped on a flat open space, arranging the carts end to end to form a temporary fortification.


    Winters wanted to laugh but felt it inappropriate, so he silently sipped his soup.


    Ordinary bandits were no match for Winters¡¯ old subordinates; the Dusack men dispersed the robbers as easily as slicing through melons and vegetables.


    Nevertheless, encountering robberies consecutively for two days understandably embarrassed Alec, who had confidently guaranteed the security conditions in Jiangbei Province.


    Service Soldier also brought Alec a cup of soup; holding the cup, he remained silent for a long while, puzzledly stating, ¡°But¡­ it¡¯s really strange, our convoys have never had such problems before¡­ where did all these criminals come from?¡±

 Chapter 931: 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel_3

    Chapter 931: Chapter 26: Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel_3


    Before Winters could speak, old Sergei, who was sharpening his knife by the campfire, huffed loudly.


    Having interacted with Colonel Alec for a long time, old Sergei realized that the colonel was a good-tempered man. Thus, his inherent desire to mock everything overwhelmed his fear of the military uniform.


    Sergei¡ªVashka¡¯s father¡ªdeliberately made the knife sharpening sound loud, venting all his grievances on the sharpening stone: ¡°Colonel, sir, have you considered how many times a bandit must be kicked in the head by a horse to dare attack military carriages?¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    ¡°After all, as long as they don¡¯t take the military carriages,¡± old Sergei pretended to be relaxed, ¡°do the bandits simply not exist?¡±


    Colonel Alec didn¡¯t lose his temper, but his service soldier could not swallow his pride.


    The service soldier jumped up, kicking over the sharpening stone beside old Sergei: ¡°Insolence! You are speaking to a colonel!¡±


    Old Sergei also burst into fury, picking up his saber, baring his teeth like a wolf, his face turning livid: ¡°Watch your tone, boy!¡±


    The standoff didn¡¯t last long, and Winters lightly coughed: ¡°Mr. Morozov, please go and check tonight¡¯s sentries.¡±


    Old Sergei¡¯s tense body relaxed.


    Winters gave old Sergei a look and nodded.


    Old Dusack obediently left, but not without throwing a fierce glare at the service soldier.


    Colonel Alec also gestured for the service soldier to sit down, and after old Dusack had walked some distance, he said with a wry smile: ¡°Did you see his gaze just now? Truly like a wolf. Alas, the untamed free men (Dusack), I wonder how the old marshal managed to tame them back then.¡±


    Winters thought for a moment: ¡°I actually feel that Dusack, though seemingly rebellious, deep down actually admires authority even more.¡±


    Colonel Alec pondered.


    Shadows fell on the carriage as someone approached Winters¡¯ campfire. It was hard to see who it was until the person came closer; Winters recognized it was Gerard Mitchell.


    Mr. Mitchell¡¯s steps were a bit heavy, his expression tired.


    ¡°How is Pierre?¡± Winters asked directly.


    ¡°Still has a slight fever,¡± Gerard replied quietly. ¡°I¡¯ve let him rest.¡±


    Pierre¡¯s condition had not yet improved, so Winters did not allow him to ride a horse, and had specifically arranged a carriage for him.


    Mr. Mitchell could finally slack off openly without getting beaten by his father, though not in the way everyone hoped to see.


    ¡°The person who went to fetch the doctor from the next town should be back soon, don¡¯t worry,¡± Winters could only try to comfort Mr. Mitchell: ¡°Father Kaman is also waiting; he surely has a solution.¡±


    The tired Gerard nodded, sat for a while, then excused himself to rest.


    Only Winters, Colonel Alec, and Colonel Alec¡¯s service soldier remained by the fire.


    Colonel Alec handed his empty cup to the service soldier and stood up: ¡°It¡¯s getting late, I should rest too.¡±


    ¡°Colonel?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    Winters took out a small notebook from his pocket: ¡°There¡¯s something I need to explain to you.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Colonel Alec slightly raised an eyebrow.


    Winters opened the notebook, smiling: ¡°Tomorrow we head west.¡±


    ¡°West?¡± Colonel Alec¡¯s eyebrows furrowed: ¡°West? To where?¡±


    ¡°To Matou Slope town.¡±


    Heading west to Matou Slope town was the route to the Great Wilderness.


    ¡°What are you doing in Matou Slope town?¡± Colonel Alec became suspicious: ¡°If we continue south through Mirror Lake County and cross Ashen Stream River, wouldn¡¯t we reach Newly Reclaimed Land? Why skip the nearest route and head west instead?¡±


    Of course, it was because someone was waiting in the west¡ªWinters couldn¡¯t possibly disclose that truth.


    So, Winters chose to explain another part of the truth.


    He pulled Colonel Alec to sit down, showing him the notebook: ¡°As you can see¡­ Mirror Lake County is currently occupied by the troops from Kingsfort. After repelling the raiding Herders, that troop hasn¡¯t withdrawn. As for other crossings¡­ they are firmly controlled by the New Reclamation Legion. In other words, I genuinely have no way to take the shortcut across Ashen Stream River; we must head west and cross the river upstream.¡±


    Every word Winters said was the truth: ¡°To tell you the truth, when I came here, I took the route from the west, from Matou Slope town.¡±


    Colonel Alec squinted his eyes, studying the small notebook in Winters¡¯ hand carefully by the firelight.


    The palm-sized, open notebook had two pages with a map drawn on them; although not large, coming from an artillery background, Colonel Alec could immediately see that the rivers on the map were accurately marked. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec¡¯s attention was no longer on the route; pointing at the notebook, he asked sternly, ¡°A map?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Where did it come from?¡±


    Winters replied indifferently, ¡°I drew it myself¡­ using some old maps as references.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it.¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec reached out to take the notebook.


    Winters hastily stashed it away, ¡°Only these two pages have it.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec slowly distanced himself from Winters, crossed his arms, and scrutinized ¡°The Phantom of The Styx¡± ¡ª a nickname privately used by officers who had fought in the Great Wilderness Battle to refer to Winters Montagne, implying ¡°one who crawled out from the river of the underworld.¡±


    ¡°Can you draw maps?¡± asked Lieutenant Colonel Alec.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you know how as well?¡± Winters retorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a required course?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve drawn more than one, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    Winters neither admitted nor denied.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been walking through Jiangbei Province, drawing as you go,¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec accused, ¡°What are you planning?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to hear the truth?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Winters propped himself up with his hands, leaned back, and suddenly sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just a habit.¡±


    ¡°A habit?¡± Lieutenant Colonel Alec clearly didn¡¯t believe him and mocked, ¡°A fine habit.¡±


    Winters said nonchalantly, ¡°Come with me to meet someone, and you¡¯ll understand.¡±


    ¡°Where? Who?¡±


    ¡°To Beacon Fort. I asked someone to check, and he should be at Beacon Fort.¡±


    Lieutenant Colonel Alec furrowed his brow recalling the location of Beacon Fort; he sketched a map in his mind and quickly realized that Beacon Fort was situated slightly to the north between the current camp and Matou Slope Town.


    ¡°Going to Beacon Fort? Is it also part of your plan?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t planned in advance.¡± Winters paused, ¡°But even if it¡¯s a detour, we must go there.¡±


    ¡­


    Three days later, at Beacon Fort.


    Beacon Fort was a desolate small town perched on a bald mountain.


    Due to Beacon Fort¡¯s high elevation, good visibility, ease of defense, and difficulty of attack, and because it¡¯s situated at the inevitable pass-through of the Sandy River Valley during Herders¡¯ invasions, the ninth Duke of Palatu built a stone fortress and a giant beacon tower here, from which Beacon Fort derived its name.


    The bald mountain was strewn with large and small stones, offering limited arable land. In rural areas primarily reliant on agriculture, less farmland meant poverty.


    Because Beacon Fort was too poor to support a knight and its geographical importance, it previously belonged directly to the Duke of Palatu.


    On usual days, about sixty soldiers were permanently stationed at Beacon Fort. Come the autumn and winter, this number would rise to three hundred.


    With the money and food slipping through the soldiers¡¯ fingers, residents of Beacon Fort managed to scrape by.


    Thirty years ago, with the death of Khan Queye, the Herders fell into decline, and the importance of Beacon Fort gradually faded.


    The fortress no longer required maintenance, and the stationed troops stopped coming. Residents of Beacon Fort could only bury their heads in farming the barren land of the bald mountain, praying for favorable weather.


    Thirty years later, Beacon Fort had thoroughly deteriorated. Many had moved away, leaving behind only the poor farmers who couldn¡¯t leave.


    Even Lieutenant Colonel Alec was shocked by the poverty of Beacon Fort.


    ¡°Unless the Creator intervenes with His might,¡± the Colonel said, ¡°this barren land will never escape its fate of poverty.¡±


    After asking around, Winters confirmed that the dark wooden cabin on the edge of Beacon Fort town ¡ª accurately, the size of a village ¡ª was his destination.


    Winters and Lieutenant Colonel Alec had just reached the fence, not even having pushed open the courtyard gate, when the owner of the house already sensed their presence.


    ¡°Oh, we have visitors.¡± A detached male voice emanated from inside the house.


    John Jeska, leaning on the doorframe, stood before Winters.

 Chapter 932: 27: The Map

    Chapter 932: Chapter 27: The Map


    There were two wooden huts in the yard; one was a residence, the other served as a storeroom. Having walked only a few steps, Colonel Alec had thoroughly inspected both huts inside and out.


    Apart from the rudimentary tables and chairs, and a wardrobe, there was no other furniture in the room. Although indoors, it resembled a desolate wilderness.


    The oil lamp, covered in cobwebs, had been discarded in the corner, its wick long dried out. With the sun setting in the west, there was no source of light inside the cabin, dark as a cave.


    Colonel Alec couldn¡¯t help frowning and asked, ¡°How can you live here?¡±


    John Jeska, steadying himself against the wall, shuffled his feet little by little, eventually seating himself back on the stool beside the dining table, retorted, ¡°It¡¯s my home. If I don¡¯t live here, where should I?¡±


    ¡°An officer lives in a place like this?¡±


    ¡°Injured and retired, I can only draw half-pay.¡± John Jeska answered emotionlessly, ¡°Besides, I haven¡¯t received my half-pay for three quarters now.¡±


    Winters glanced sidelong at Colonel Alec, whose face had darkened somewhat.


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Colonel Alec was half in astonishment and half in skepticism, pressing urgently, ¡°How is it possible not to pay you for three quarters?¡±


    With a cold snort, John Jeska did not respond, but his contemptuous demeanor gave the most straightforward reply¡ªbelieve it or not.


    To be honest, before stepping into the courtyard, Winters hadn¡¯t known what to expect upon seeing Colonel Jeska again.


    To avoid an awkward situation, Winters had anticipated many possible conversations. But when he actually saw the dark sockets of Colonel Jeska¡¯s eyes, he found himself at a loss for words. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    John Jeska ¡°looked¡± towards Winters and asked brusquely, ¡°What will you drink?¡±


    ¡°Water is fine.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡± John Jeska cocked his head, ¡°There¡¯s a well in the yard, get the water yourself if you want to drink.¡±


    Winters picked up the water can and headed straight out of the hut, drawing a fresh can of well water and taking the opportunity to wash the cups as well. When interacting with Colonel Jeska, he naturally cut out those insincere pleasantries and formalities.


    Returning to the hut, Winters poured a glass of clean water for both Colonel Jeska and Colonel Alec.


    ¡°Was he under your command before?¡± The words had just left his mouth when Colonel Alec regretted it. He shook his head self-mockingly, ¡°What kind of foolish question is that? Why else would he go out of his way to visit you¡­ Oh, right, since he was under your command, it makes sense why you would find him wherever you went.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± John Jeska showed a trace of interest.


    Cartography is a profound discipline, and Winters admitted he hadn¡¯t even grasped the basics, preferring not to dwell on the subject.


    Winters casually asked, ¡°The well in the yard doesn¡¯t even have a fence around it. Do you usually draw water by yourself?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a couple of farmers on the other side of the village who come over every day to tend to my food and drink,¡± John Jeska simply explained.


    More than his own daily routines, the former Army Colonel was clearly more concerned with other matters, ¡°Communications are poor here, I thought you¡¯d perished on the West Bank of the Styx until just recently. Tell me something I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Then tell it slowly.¡± John Jeska was undaunted, ¡°Time is what I have the most of.¡±


    ¡°Colonel, let¡¯s wait for the right time to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°The right time?¡± The furrow in John Jeska¡¯s brow deepened. Although known for his forthrightness, it didn¡¯t mean he was slow-witted.


    ¡°You don¡¯t find it convenient to talk with an outsider present?¡± John Jeska laughed dryly a few times and then bluntly issued an eviction order to Colonel Alec, ¡°I¡¯ve got poor eyesight; I won¡¯t see you out.¡±


    Even knowing of [One-eyed Gershka]¡¯s reputation for being difficult to get along with, and despite Colonel Alec¡¯s inherently amiable disposition, he was still caught off guard, his face alternating between shades of red and white.


    Winters felt compelled to make amends for his former superior, ¡°Colonel Alec is not an outsider. If Colonel Alec hadn¡¯t extended his help, I wouldn¡¯t have found my way here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that so.¡± John Jeska responded indifferently.


    Based on Winters¡¯ understanding of his former superior: John Jeska could give an objective assessment without emotion, yet to others, it sounded like sarcasm; this was a talent and instinct of John Jeska¡¯s, not aimed at any person or affair in particular.


    Winters nodded apologetically to Colonel Alec, offering an apology on Colonel Jeska¡¯s behalf.


    Colonel Alec took a deep breath, sighing helplessly, half in sarcasm and half in admiration he said, ¡°It seems like overseas deployment hasn¡¯t changed you one bit.¡±


    John Jeska huffed lightly, unmoved. He picked up the half-finished wooden model on the table, fumbling as he continued to carve.


    ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Colonel Alec asked with curiosity.


    ¡°Making a living.¡± John Jeska answered coldly.


    As the evening grew dim, Colonel Alec observed for a while before realizing that the other was carving a chess piece, ¡°It¡¯s too dark in here for you to be working without a light¡­¡±


    Colonel Alec¡¯s voice abruptly stopped. John Jeska¡¯s carving was slow, but extremely precise, precise enough to make Alec forget that the other man could no longer see.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you light a lamp?¡± John Jeska¡¯s tone was as calm as it was cruel, ¡°Being blind has its benefits; it saves on lamp oil.¡±


    The cabin quieted down, with only the sound of wood shavings separating from the block.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t figure it out.¡± Colonel Alec slapped his knee, asking despite himself, ¡°How could they not pay you your salary? General Alpad had issued a special order: to provide generous compensation to officers of the Expeditionary Force who were disabled in service and the families of those who died in action. There must have been some mistake; it shouldn¡¯t be like this¡­ I¡¯ll look into it when I get back.¡±

 Chapter 933: 27 Map_2

    Chapter 933: Chapter 27 Map_2


    John Jeska acted as if he hadn¡¯t heard anything, focused intently on carving the chess pieces.


    Winters fiddled with a water cup, also silent.


    In the silence, Colonel Alec gradually came to his senses. He slowly stood up, squinted his eyes, and hesitated to ask; ¡°Could it be¡­ you never signed the oath?¡±


    John Jeska snorted disdainfully a few times.


    The truth became clear! Signing the oath and distinguishing oneself from the Kingsfort puppet government is a process that all officers serving in the military government must go through.


    Under the military government, the consequences of refusing to swear allegiance are not as simple as just ¡°stopping salary.¡±


    That John Jeska had not been detained, tried, or executed was perhaps a privilege granted out of consideration for his blindness.


    Colonel Alec didn¡¯t even know what to say: ¡°It¡¯s just a piece of paper, is it worth being so serious? Why bother? It¡¯s already your luck not to be executed¡­¡±


    John Jeska put down his carving knife and wooden pawn, stood up as well, ¡°faced¡± Colonel Alec, and stated his stance word by word: ¡°Firstly, I am loyal to the Republic of Palatu, and only to the Republic; secondly, I do not believe that Alpad Duyome and his political faction can represent the Republic of Palatu.¡±


    ¡°Those fat-filled politicians in the Grand Council Chamber of Kingsfort can represent?¡± Colonel Alec retorted sarcastically: ¡°Do you believe, right now¡ªthis very moment, those fat pigs are busily discussing how to sell Palatu to the Federated Provinces!¡±


    ¡°If you didn¡¯t split Palatu from the inside, how could there be an opportunity for the Federated Provinces?¡± John Jeska¡¯s voice was cold, steady: ¡°Regardless of the reason, Alpad¡¯s actions are rebellion.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Kingsfort that betrayed us!¡±


    This kind of argument was meaningless, as neither was likely to convince the other. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    John Jeska picked up the carving knife again and continued to carve the chess pieces. Colonel Alec sat down angrily, gulping down a whole cup of cold well water, with sweat beads forming continuously on his forehead.


    Another silence ensued.


    Colonel Alec impulsively slapped his thigh, staring at Jeska in exasperation: ¡°Forget it! Have it your way. But, you have to come back with me to Oak Forest Fortress. I¡¯ll find you a livable place.¡±


    Colonel Alec took out a handkerchief to dry his forehead, looked around the empty room, and said bitterly: ¡°Since you¡¯re convinced the military government is rebellious, let¡¯s see who will have the last laugh! But, not here¡ªliving in such a broken place, you wouldn¡¯t survive the winter!¡±


    John Jeska unappreciatively countered his friend and fellow soldier: ¡°Will you last until next winter then?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Colonel Alec¡¯s face turned cold.


    John Jeska swept his arm across the table, cleared it, and dipped his finger in the water in the cup to outline on the table.


    The sun was about to sink below the horizon, a magnificent glow hanging high, while it was almost pitch dark inside the cabin.


    John Jeska continued drawing in the darkness, not for others, but for himself. Each line he drew was extremely meticulous, as if he wanted to project entire mountains and rivers onto this small, wooden table.


    Although the specific lines were unclear, Winters judged from the general contours that Colonel Jeska was likely drawing a map of Palatu.


    ¡°Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Westwood Province, Jiangbei Province¡­¡± John Jeska casually indicated on the map in darkness: ¡°Going north is the Monta Republic, following Ashen Stream River eastward are the Federated Provinces and Vineta.¡±


    John Jeska¡¯s map was vast, not only including the Republic of Palatu but also encompassing the other four countries of the Alliance.


    Such a map, depicting thousands of miles of territory within a small space and maintaining considerable accuracy, had probably only appeared before on the emperor¡¯s desk.


    With this intangible yet tangible map, Winters also for the first time comprehensively and visually assessed the internal and external situations of Palatu.


    ¡°Ashen Stream River, Ashen Stream River is the key to everything.¡± The water traces had dried, but John Jeska still accurately pointed out the river nestled between two mountains, the rushing river: ¡°Without breaking through Ashen Stream River, no matter how sharp General Alpad¡¯s cavalry saber is, he can only be trapped in the northwest corner of Jiangbei Province. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°No, you are not wrong,¡± Colonel Alec readily admitted.


    ¡°Did you break through the Ashen Stream River?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t break through Ashen StreamReader, you will only be able to push east along the north bank of the Ashen Stream River,¡± John Jeska took out the chess pieces, placing them one by one on the traceless, formless map. His eyes could not see light, his body was trapped in a confined space, but his thoughts had never been so free.


    John Jeska coldly stated, ¡°From ancient times to now, the Kingdom of Galloping Horses has always been ¡®poor on the north bank, rich on the south bank.¡¯ Even if you fight all the way to the border abutting the Federated Provinces, the land you control will not exceed a third of Palatu. And the essence of Palatu¡ªthe town clusters on both sides of Ashen Stream River¡ªyou similarly cannot touch. Am I wrong?¡±


    ¡°You are not wrong,¡± Colonel Alec nodded slowly.


    ¡°That is to say, even in the most ideal situation, Kingsfort controls double the landºÍ three times the population compared to you. As a career officer, do you think you have a chance of winning?¡±


    ¡°Population, land, wealth¡­ you only count these, but you overlook the most important part.¡± Colonel Alec bluntly rebutted:

 Chapter 934: 27 Map_3

    Chapter 934: Chapter 27 Map_3


    ¡°War relies on people! A lion can subdue a hundred sheep! The Fifth and Sixth Legions¡ªthe most elite of the Standing Army are all in the hands of the military government. Not to mention that most of the professional military officers are also on our side. Those fools at Kingsfort only know how to struggle for power and profit; how could they possibly win?¡±


    John Jeska chuckled hoarsely, and Winters even heard pity in that laughter: ¡°As long as there¡¯s enough money, weapons, and population, soldiers can be as many as desired; with sufficient training, even new recruits can be forged into elite Standing Army. Thirty years ago, the old marshal won the Sovereignty War in just this way. Don¡¯t you understand this logic?¡±


    ¡°[Armed civilians are not an army, the armed civilians are merely the raw materials for an army.]¡± Colonel Alec also quoted the old marshal¡¯s famous saying: ¡°An army cannot be forged overnight. Don¡¯t forget, Kingsfort barely has any officers, and their old soldiers are pitifully few.¡±


    ¡°But they have one person, having that person is enough.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Sekler¡­ Brigadier General.¡± John Jeska forcefully spat out a name, stating resolutely: ¡°With more than double the manpower, land, and wealth, as long as Sekler¡¯s mind is sound, he cannot possibly lose this battle! He will surely turn this war into a brutal war of attrition, slowly tightening the noose around your necks until you are ultimately strangled. He will win¡­ but Palatu will lose.¡±


    Colonel Alec was taken aback at first, then burst into uncontrollable laughter. He laughed so hard that his body rocked back and forth, tears and snot streaming out.


    Even the usually calm John Jeska was baffled by the sudden burst of laughter.


    John Jeska gradually shifted from being surprised and confused to serious: ¡°What are you laughing at?¡±


    ¡°What am I laughing at? I¡¯m laughing that you only know how to calculate military accounts, not political ones. That¡¯s your problem, and it¡¯s Sekler¡¯s too.¡± Colonel Alec finally managed to suppress his laughter, wiped his eyes, and cruelly revealed the truth: ¡°Sekler is already dead.¡±


    The water cup hit the floor, and being made of wood, it bounced a few more times.


    John Jeska¡¯s breathing became labored; it took him a while before he managed to speak: ¡°How did he die?¡±


    Winters coughed lightly: ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±


    ¡°Who knows how he died? We don¡¯t know either; he¡¯s definitely dead though. Perhaps he died from a political conspiracy¡ªafter usurping the position of Grand Speaker, Magnus¡¯ next move was to control the military, and he certainly saw Sekler as a thorn in his side; it could also have been assassination¡ªafter all, he betrayed all the soldiers of the Republic; or perhaps he even died from illness, who knows? Anyway, he¡¯s dead, that¡¯s for sure. As for how he died, we don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°When did he die?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡±


    John Jeska took a long time to digest this thunderbolt, sitting motionlessly as if mourning for Sekler.


    After a while, John Jeska raised his head, his voice weary: ¡°Please leave, I¡¯ve learned enough for today. No escort out.¡±


    Colonel Alec stood up, sighed: ¡°I know your relationship with Sekler was special¡­ Why don¡¯t you come back with me to Oak Forest Fortress? As long as I have a roof over my head, there¡¯s a place for you. You really can¡¯t winter here¡ªyou can¡¯t even make a fire! If you don¡¯t want to leave your old home, I can bring you back in the spring, how does that sound?¡±


    John Jeska shook his head as if on repeat: ¡°Go, leave, let me be alone for a while.¡±


    Colonel Alec reluctantly put on his hat, signaled to Winters: ¡°Then let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll visit again tomorrow.¡±


    Winters made no move.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Colonel Alec asked.


    During the heated debate between Colonel Jeska and Colonel Alec, Winters hadn¡¯t said a word. He stared long at the invisible map spread out on the table, like a stone statue.


    The Jiangbei Province, where the Palatu military government is situated, is surrounded by the Republic of Palatu, Monta Republic, and the Great Wilderness¡ªbesieged both internally and externally, it seemed a hopeless situation.


    But a hopeless situation is not without its critical point, and the Ashen Stream River defense line wasn¡¯t impregnable; the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province across the western part of Jiangbei Province might just be the key to turning the tide.


    If one travels upstream and crosses the Ashen Stream River via the Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Kingsfort¡¯s riverside defense line would be rendered useless, and the military government¡¯s blade could penetrate deep into the heart of Red Rose. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The ¡°political accounts¡± and ¡°military accounts¡± mentioned by Colonel Alec were like a wakeup call to Winters.


    The Palatu civil war had evolved beyond a mere military struggle, and more than just the Red Rose and Blue Rose factions were involved in the fray.


    The Federated Provinces were restless, Vineta had its bow drawn, both Monta and Varn had ambiguous stances, and even the Empire on the other side of the Sheltering Mountain might be watching covetously.


    Starting strictly from a military standpoint was far too naive. But in the end, the final resolution would still have to be determined by a struggle on the battlefield.


    Winters¡¯s thoughts returned to his body, and he looked at Colonel Jeska, speaking earnestly: ¡°Before visiting you¡­ I had also thought, if you were not doing well, I would take you away.¡±


    ¡°Take me away?¡± John Jeska chuckled dryly: ¡°To where? To Vineta?¡±


    ¡°Not to Vineta¡ªof course, if you wish to go to Vineta, arrangements can be made.¡±


    ¡°Finally home, I don¡¯t want to leave again.¡±


    ¡°How about going to the Newly Reclaimed Lands? Newly Reclaimed Lands Province, Iron Peak County.¡± Winters paused for a moment, then added: ¡°My place.¡±


    John Jeska chewed over the phrase ¡°my place,¡± then suddenly sneered: ¡°Your place?¡±


    ¡°That description isn¡¯t quite accurate, but it¡¯s close enough.¡±


    John Jeska¡¯s expression turned serious, veins bulging on his hands. He straightened up, his deep-set eyes fiercely ¡°staring¡± at Winters, and pronounced emphatically, word by word: ¡°I! Will! Not! Go!¡±


    The small cabin once again fell into silence, this time quieter than all the previous ones. The sound of breathing and heartbeats was clearly audible, along with the wind whistling over the rooftop.


    Winters reached out, gently grasping John Jeska¡¯s hand: ¡°You must go.¡±

 Chapter 935: 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse

    Chapter 935: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse


    John Jeska said, ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± and he truly did not want to go.


    Winters Montagne said, ¡°It¡¯s necessary to go,¡± and it indeed was necessary.


    Ignoring his former superior¡¯s objections, Winters hired a carriage in the town, and took Colonel Jeska away from Beacon Fort that night.


    Besides the personal belongings that the colonel could pack in a wooden box, Winters thoughtfully brought along the peasant couple who had been taking care of the colonel¡¯s daily needs.


    When invited into the carriage, Colonel Jeska was no longer in an uncontrollable rage; he calmly questioned his former subordinate: ¡°As a ¡®freeman,¡¯ do I no longer have the right to make decisions for myself?¡±


    [Note: Here, ¡®freeman¡¯ refers to the minority of citizens within the Alliance who have the right to vote and to be elected.]


    ¡°According to the currently prevailing moral ethics, suicide is a serious crime, and assisting in suicide is equally an accomplice crime,¡± Winters casually picked up a shield: ¡°Father Kaman said that.¡±


    Colonel Jeska snorted, and his sharp tone from the past returned: ¡°Captain, your moral standards seem quite flexible.¡±


    ¡°Please take a seat and hold on tight.¡± Winters, outside the carriage, politely and softly closed the door, then turned to Colonel Alec: ¡°Shall we depart?¡±


    Colonel Alec, who witnessed the entire process, sighed deeply: ¡°Back when we were studying in The Federated Provinces, John Jeska was famously difficult to deal with¡­ It¡¯s really something that you can communicate with him normally.¡±


    Winters patted the carriage wheel and couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a compliment.¡±


    The coachman, Dusack, understanding the hint, whistled sharply signaling the departure, and with a light flick of the reins, the carriage set off ahead, escorted by five horsemen.


    ¡°Are you in such a hurry to leave?¡± Colonel Alec said with a playful smile: ¡°Afraid I¡¯d stop you?¡±


    Winters replied: ¡°What about your opinion then?¡±


    ¡°Hmph, what opinion could I have?¡± Colonel Alec released the reins and mounted his horse: ¡°After all, he¡¯s no longer one of our own. Opinion? Better ask what Kingsfort thinks of it!¡±


    The colonel¡¯s meaning was not hard to understand, Winters chuckled accordingly and also mounted his horse.


    Just as the two were about to leave, Colonel Alec looked back at the desolate Beacon Fort and said somewhat sadly, ¡°Staying in such a place, that blind man might survive this winter but not the next¡­ Thank you.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Winters lightly spurred the horse, and the two riders disappeared into the night.


    ¡­


    The episode at Beacon Fort did not delay the ¡°merchant convoy¡¯s¡± journey; after rejoining the convoy, Winters continued leading them westward.


    Passing through various towns, this convoy, holding a military government pass, always purchased some local specialties or overstocked goods while trying to sell as much of the carried merchandise as possible.


    Their demeanor was like a true merchant convoy, rather than a group of deserters using the guise of merchants.


    A back and forth like this once again aroused the suspicions of Colonel Alec.


    During another busy scene of unloading and loading goods, Colonel Alec strolled up to Winters, who was deep in thought and sketching something, and casually asked: ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a hurry to go home?¡±


    Winters looked up, his forehead unconsciously furrowed with three lines, and even a polite smile was hard to muster.


    He firmly closed the hardcover notebook, and somewhat impatiently said: ¡°I know what you¡¯re about to ask, but I don¡¯t have that kind of thought, you can trust me.¡±


    ¡°Then this is¡­¡± Colonel Alec pointed behind him: ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±


    Behind Colonel Alec was the warehouse of the trading post, where hundreds of convoy members and local merchant employees were sweating profusely as they unloaded and loaded the wagons.


    ¡°As you see.¡± Winters tried to rub off the graphite on his hands, and answered pensively: ¡°Doing business.¡±


    ¡°Doing business?¡± Colonel Alec clearly did not buy this evasive explanation.


    ¡°Yes, doing business.¡± Winters exhaled long and painfully, then spread open the hard cover notebook and handed it to Colonel Alec: ¡°I¡¯m out of money.¡±


    ¡­


    Unplanned spending guaranteed that Winters Montagne would periodically be on the verge of bankruptcy.


    This was not very apparent during his military academy days, as students were generally periodically bankrupt. After stepping out of the Ivory Tower, the repercussions began to show. Winters had managed the finances several times, and each time inevitably ended up using everything up.


    After all, Tess and Antonio had not particularly taught Winters how to manage finances.


    According to the life path pre-arranged for young Montagne, rather than learning how to make money grow, it would be better to find a way to marry a wife skilled in financial matters¡­ or a widow.


    This time was no different, using the merchant convoy as a guise was a good strategy, but the problem lay in money. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters originally came to rescue a few old comrades, yet the team size eventually swelled to over two hundred people, far exceeding the initial estimates, and costs skyrocketed.


    Purchasing vehicles, procuring goods, feeding people and horses ¨C everything required money.


    And Winters Montagne, a person who spent money like water, had cleaned out the half saddlebag of Gold Coins he brought, and even the promissory notes given by Anna were all cashed.


    In the unfamiliar Jiangbei Province, he had no means to even mortgage for a loan, making it hard to move without money.


    ¡°The situation is just that.¡± Winters asked somewhat awkwardly: ¡°Would you¡­ temporarily lend some¡­ for turnover¡­¡±

 Chapter 936: 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse_2

    Chapter 936: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse_2


    Colonel Alec was so irritated that he burst into laughter: ¡°We¡¯ve provided the personnel, we¡¯ve granted the passes; what now? Do we have to cough up the funds for your trip home?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a loan.¡±


    ¡°No! Impossible!¡± Colonel Alec waved his hand dismissively.


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no other way,¡± Winters shrugged. ¡°We can only proceed as we are, selling off some cargo along the way to accumulate travel funds.¡±


    He earnestly began to lay out the finances for Colonel Alec: ¡°Due to war and banditry, various parts of Jiangbei Province are experiencing a mix of glut and shortage. Local goods cannot be transported out, and foreign goods can¡¯t come in. Therefore, for a caravan like ours¡­ one that faces no obstructions, there exists a delicate profit margin¡­¡±


    Colonel Alec, having a background in artillery rather than commerce, felt dizzy and irritated after hearing all the business talk.


    ¡°Enough, I get it,¡± said Colonel Alec, hastily cutting off the conversation as the topic drifted further away: ¡°The faster you leave Jiangbei, the safer you are; the longer you delay, the more likely unexpected situations will arise.¡±


    Having said that, Colonel Alec turned to leave.


    However, Winters grabbed hold of Alec¡¯s wrist: ¡°Hold on! Colonel, I have a proposition!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Colonel Alec responded impatiently.


    ¡°If your side is willing to provide some¡­ salary, I can assist in dealing with all the bandit gangs along the provincial route¡­¡± Winters paused for a moment, the implication of that brief pause went without saying: ¡°No need for cash, goods in exchange will do. Flour, horse feed, anything works.¡±


    Colonel Alec laughed dryly a few times: ¡°Such trivial matters under military government control don¡¯t require the help of ¡®allied forces¡¯.¡±


    The word ¡°allied forces¡± was heavily emphasized by Colonel Alec, and after finishing his statement, he left without turning back.


    Winters shook his head, unsurprised, and flipped open his ledger to continue working on his never-ending accounts.


    Once the meeting between the military representatives and Captain Montaigne was confirmed to be over, Gerard and Sergei approached cautiously.


    Gerard wanted to speak, but wasn¡¯t sure what to call him. Old Sergei, on the other hand, didn¡¯t mind at all and cheerfully called out, ¡°Your Excellency!¡±


    Seeing that Mr. Mitchell seemed preoccupied, Winters smiled and said, ¡°Sounds awkward, just call me as you used to.¡±


    ¡°How could that be?¡± Old Sergei shook his head vigorously.


    Gerard Mitchell hesitated for a long time but eventually used a conservative title: ¡°Captain, sir.¡±


    After the joy of their reunion faded, Gerard realized that many things had changed.


    There was no doubt that Gerard Mitchell was a warrior, not even death could scare him.


    However, in the rapidly shifting social climate, he felt as helpless and afraid as reeds swaying in the wind.


    Not long ago, Gerard was the mayor appointed by the New Reclamation Legion, a loyal Dusack, a qualified husband, and father.


    At this moment, however, he was in league with ¡°Rebels,¡± and these so-called rebels were his beloved family and friends.


    He couldn¡¯t even figure out whether he was now a part of the ¡°Rebels¡± or not.


    Old Sergei wouldn¡¯t be bothered by this, as he adhered to Dusack¡¯s simple philosophy of enjoying life as it comes, without overthinking. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Gerard Mitchell was the exact opposite; the reason he had achieved everything he had was that he thought more than his peers.


    But the more he thought, the more anxious Gerard became¡ªWinters understood this completely and was sufficiently generous.


    However, how to adapt to the current reality¡­ or rather ¡°to find one¡¯s place,¡± was something Old Mitchell had to figure out for himself.


    Winters did not dwell on the issue of titles, but instead directly asked: ¡°Has Pierre¡¯s fever subsided?¡±


    ¡°It has,¡± Gerard nodded gratefully. ¡°He¡¯s asleep now after taking the special brew you provided.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually a sedative with some analgesic effects, not really a special brew¡­ But considering Pierre¡¯s current condition, getting more sleep should be beneficial for his recovery,¡± Winters briefly explained, then asked, ¡°When can we depart?¡±


    Gerard¡¯s smile faded as he answered seriously, ¡°In at most two quarters of an hour. As soon as the carts are loaded, we can leave immediately.¡±


    Winters casually stuffed the infuriating ledger back into his pack: ¡°Send the Scouts out now, and set off as soon as loading is finished.¡±


    Gerard and Old Sergei saluted instinctively in agreement.


    Regaining their senses and remembering the original purpose of their approach, Old Sergei asked softly, ¡°Your Excellency, the sun has passed its zenith, and we won¡¯t cover many miles before dark. A few of the old fellows urged me to ask if we should rest here tonight. We¡¯ve been sleeping in the wild for several days, and everyone¡¯s a bit worn out.¡±


    ¡°Truly exhausted?¡±


    Old Sergei patted his belly: ¡°I¡¯m getting on in years¡­ but if you give the order, I definitely won¡¯t have any objections.¡±


    Winters considered for a moment, patiently explaining to his ¡°old subordinates¡±: ¡°We have been delayed too long; we must catch up on time. Camping continuously is indeed tough¡­ How about this, buy as much fresh meat and poultry as possible before we leave, so Berlion can improve the meals for everyone.¡±


    Old Sergei¡¯s eyes lit up, he saluted joyously and turned to leave.


    But Gerard had other concerns and asked with some anxiety, ¡°May I ask¡­ was there something Colonel Alec was unsatisfied with? He seemed to leave in a rather unhappy mood.¡±

 Chapter 937: 28 An Offer You Cant Refuse_3

    Chapter 937: Chapter 28 An Offer You Can¡¯t Refuse_3


    Upon hearing Gerard¡¯s question, Old Sergei also stopped in his tracks and perked up his ears.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m dissatisfied with you¡­ rest assured, your matter has already been properly resolved, and the military government will not pursue you,¡± Winters said, leaning casually against the wagon, speaking in an easygoing tone, ¡°Colonel Alec is upset because I made a proposal to him.¡±


    ¡°What¡­ proposal?¡±


    Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I hinted to him that if he would provide us with some logistical support, we could help the military government clear out the bandits that are entrenched along the provincial roads.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Old Sergei nodded vigorously, seemingly half-understanding.


    ¡°That¡¯s the way it is.¡± Winters spread his hands.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Old Sergei nodded even more emphatically.


    ¡°Colonel Alec.¡± Gerard suddenly frowned, ¡°It¡¯s unlikely he would agree¡­¡±


    Winters expressed regret: ¡°He did not agree.¡±


    Old Sergei suddenly slapped his forehead, as if struck by a revelation, and hurriedly said, ¡°Your Excellency, are you implying something to Lord Alec?¡±


    ¡°Implying?¡± Gerard looked puzzledly at his old comrade.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, Lord Alec won¡¯t understand those kinds of things!¡± Old Sergei spoke passionately, spraying as he spoke: ¡°The bandits don¡¯t rob them, how could they know the severity of how bandits plague the common people?¡±


    ¡­


    Small villages and large towns alike are unable to be entirely self-sufficient; people always need to engage in a certain degree of material and information exchange with the outside world.


    The bandit problems that sprang up with the chaos of war have turned ¡°going out on long trips¡± into a high-risk activity, and the material and information exchanges between different places have also diminished.


    Economic crops harvested are piling up and rotting slowly in the warehouses, and even the small paths just a few steps outside of the villages have become unsafe.


    From clergy, merchants, and landlords to poor farmers and tenants, everyone feels threatened. The once semi-open towns have erected walls one after another, and farmers gather together and form associations as much as possible for self-protection.


    Winters had not fully understood this pervasive sense of panic that now exists.


    It wasn¡¯t until he sat by the fireside and shared meals with many different people along the way that he gradually came to understand, ¡°While bandits are not as devastating as famine, their destruction of ¡®sense of security¡¯ is even greater.¡±


    Given the choice between [no more conscription] and [no more bandits], men, women, the poor, the wealthy, the old, the young¡­ people overwhelmingly choose [no more bandits].


    ¡­


    ¡°Colonel Alec.¡± Gerard pulled on Old Sergei, trying to smooth things over, ¡°He wouldn¡¯t be able to help much, after all, killing bandits and catching thieves aren¡¯t really within his jurisdiction¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, ¡®not within his jurisdiction¡¯.¡± Winters was somewhat disheartened, he didn¡¯t want to discuss the shortcomings of the bureaucratic system with the two old Dusacks, so he said with a smile: ¡°I just mentioned it in passing to Colonel Alec, after all, our convoy is like uncovered meat, and flies will always smell it and come. It¡¯s all about fighting, wouldn¡¯t it be better to dig some money out of the Republic?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Old Sergei suddenly perked up, completely ignoring the increasingly awkward expression on Gerard¡¯s face, and enthusiastically agreed: ¡°I knew you would not do a losing business!¡±


    Fortunately, Winters had another group of visitors¡ªthe three local chamber of commerce directors had come to call¡ªwhich gave Gerard an excuse to pull his comrade away and bid farewell.


    ¡°These are our locally renowned smoked sausages, and there are some other specialties.¡± The lead middle-aged merchant, panting, brought two baskets of smoked sausages, trying to placate with a smile: ¡°My lord, please accept these as a token of our esteem.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t hesitate and gestured for the guards to take them all.


    Seeing the youthful man¡¯s military bearing in every gesture and the fully armed guards around him, the three visiting merchants became even more convinced that this large-scale merchandising convoy must have a military background.


    ¡°If it weren¡¯t for your visit, who knows how many honest merchants in the town would go bankrupt?¡± The middle-aged merchant continued to curry favor, ¡°May we offer our assistance and help you with accommodation?¡±


    ¡°No need, we¡¯re leaving today.¡±


    ¡°So soon?¡± The middle-aged merchant¡¯s eyes widened.


    Winters answered succinctly: ¡°We¡¯re in a hurry.¡±


    ¡°Where are you headed? To the west?¡±


    Winters did not answer, only folded his arms.


    The middle-aged merchant wiped the sweat from his forehead and, after a silent exchange of glances with the other two board members, ventured to ask with clenched teeth, ¡°If I may be so bold, please forgive me, but may I ask¡­to which merchant brigade do you belong?¡±


    Which merchant brigade?


    This out-of-nowhere question baffled Winters. He narrowed his eyes, fixing a gaze on the three guild directors that sent chills down their spines.


    Suddenly, Winters revealed a smirk: ¡°That¡¯s a secret, you mustn¡¯t tell anyone else¡­¡±


    The middle-aged merchant perked up at the hint of information and nodded hastily: ¡°Of course! Definitely!¡± S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters gestured for the middle-aged merchant to come closer and spoke deliberately: ¡°We are the private merchant brigade of that general.¡±


    ¡°Which one? That one? That one!¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers.


    ¡°Yes, exactly that one.¡± Winters let out a surname softly: ¡°Alpad.¡±


    As the young man finished pronouncing the name, the three guild directors held their breath for a second, feelings of ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡±, ¡°No wonder!¡±, and ¡°I knew it!¡± made their scalps tingle with realisation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me?¡± Winters arched an eyebrow: ¡°Would you like to see the pass?¡±


    ¡°Not at all! Not at all!¡± The three guild directors waved their hands in refusal.


    ¡°Have a look, it¡¯s no big deal,¡± Winters retrieved the pass from his bosom, deliberately showing off Alpad¡¯s seal on the outside.


    The three guild directors dared not really take the thin letter and scrutinize it, repeatedly requesting the young man to take back the pass.


    ¡°Finished looking?¡± Winters put away the letter, his expression immediately turned somber, and he demanded in a stern voice: ¡°What are your intentions inquiring about military affairs?¡±


    With Winters¡¯ change in tone, the surrounding guards also closed in, hands on the hilts of their blades, encircling the three guild directors.


    ¡°No intentions, absolutely none,¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s face flushed red as he stumbled through his explanation: ¡°We were sent here by the local merchant guild¡­ to ask a favor of you¡­¡±


    ¡°Speak.¡±


    ¡°As you know¡­ the roads have been quite unsafe lately¡­ could you possibly¡­¡± the middle-aged merchant licked his lips: ¡°allow our caravan to follow yours? You¡¯d only need to wait one more day, just one day! Allow us one day to load our goods. The local merchant guild is willing to offer a token of appreciation to you for this¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    ¡°Yes, yes, yes, just that,¡± the middle-aged merchant¡¯s emotions surged, and suddenly he burst into exaggerated tears: ¡°I beg you to show some compassion. It might be a trivial matter for you, but for us, it¡¯s a matter of life and death!¡±


    Seeing his act, the other two guild directors also began to lay it on thick with tears and snot.


    For a moment, the atmosphere turned bizarre, with three local dignitaries weeping loudly as surrounding guards and hired hands couldn¡¯t help but stop and gawk at the spectacle.


    Winters waved his hand: ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough, I understand what you mean, the other two gentlemen there don¡¯t even have tears with their crying.¡±


    The middle-aged merchant cut short his weeping, awkwardly forcing a few laughs.


    After contemplating for a moment, Winters replied: ¡°No can do.¡±


    The middle-aged merchant wanted to say something more, but Winters stopped him with a gesture.


    ¡°First, my time is pressing, I can¡¯t possibly wait for you for a day and a half,¡± Winters tapped his elbow gently, ¡°Second, even if you did come with us, you wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with our pace.¡±


    If it were a matter of pay, they could perhaps haggle over the price. But Winters¡¯ reasons were solid, and the middle-aged merchant had no reply.


    ¡°Well then¡­ so be it,¡± the middle-aged merchant tidied up his appearance and respectfully bid farewell: ¡°Thank you for condescending to explain to us, the local guild wishes to present a gift of money to you, as a token of gratitude¡­¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything for you, how can I take your money?¡± Winters interrupted the middle-aged merchant¡¯s pleasantries.


    ¡°And my words are not yet finished. The gangs that lurk around your town are actually just two groups, the rest are just small fries, not worth worrying about.¡± He pulled out a map book, urged the middle-aged merchant to sit down, and enthusiastically pitched: ¡°I have a proposal¡­¡±

 Chapter 938: 29 Non-Existent Record

    Chapter 938: Chapter 29 Non-Existent Record


    Republic of Palatu


    Jiangbei Province


    Somewhere in the garrison of a patrolling cavalry squadron


    The captain of the cavalry squadron, Lorenzo Dan, was rubbing his thumb over the pass, inconspicuously scrutinizing the scriptural signature in the middle of the sheepskin document, trying to spot anything amiss.


    The script signature was brief¡ª[Alpad Duyome].


    The officer providing the pass claimed to be ¡°Colonel Alec,¡± who sat opposite at the desk.


    Though still maintaining a polite smile, it was clear from the movements of his fingertips and legs that he was becoming impatient.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t look fake,¡± Captain Lorenzo thought. He had seen General Alpad¡¯s signature before, as there was an identical one on his own appointment document.


    But as for the seal¡ªhe couldn¡¯t help touching it¡ªhe¡¯d never seen a real one, therefore he couldn¡¯t distinguish a fake.


    Captain Lorenzo stole a glance at the officer, then swiftly returned his gaze to the pass, and asked with utmost respect, ¡°You¡­you¡¯re crossing the Border River, sir?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± the colonel replied politely but coldly.


    Lorenzo felt a slight irritation at the other¡¯s demeanor.


    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s definitely genuine,¡± he thought angrily while trying to maintain a smile, ¡°A fake couldn¡¯t possibly be this annoying.¡±


    A brief explanation is needed here: the current Third Republic army officer, Lieutenant Lorenzo Dan, was but a common citizen half a year ago¡ªhe was one of the many junior officers appointed during the last recruitment wave.


    The process was quite simple: his father generously donated two hundred horses plus a significant sum of cash to the military government; Lorenzo Dan was thus transformed from the youngest son of a manor lord, tending to fighting cocks and dogs, into a genuine army captain.


    Fate, however, is often disappointing.


    Although he had received an appointment signed by Alpad Duyome himself, once Lorenzo Dan truly joined the military, he found he was still considered inferior and faced exclusion everywhere.


    Academy-educated officers scorned their new colleagues, not even bothering to hide their disdain.


    When the newly-minted officers excitedly and nervously entered the officers¡¯ club at Oak Forest Fortress, the old officers moved out without a word, and immediately founded a new club¡ªenterable only with the Land Academy graduate ring.


    After such incidents repeated several times, just seeing the ¡°courteous smile¡± of an orthodox officer made Lorenzo Dan feel humiliated.


    Therefore, upon seeing the familiar smile on the other¡¯s face, Captain Lorenzo was certain that the officer before him was undoubtedly a ¡°Herder¡±¡ªthe nickname given by the new officers to academy-graduate officers.


    The young attendant standing behind the officer was definitely a Herder, too, Lorenzo could tell, even though he was not in military attire.


    ¡°He looks younger than me; probably hasn¡¯t even grown full facial hair,¡± Lorenzo thought enviously as he continued evaluating the young attendant, who took the initiative to speak. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°May I ask,¡± the young attendant inquired politely, ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    Lorenzo was slightly flustered. He had many grievances, but tried his best not to show them: ¡°Well¡­¡±


    What¡¯s the problem?


    A merchant caravan heading to Herders¡¯ land is problematic in its own right!


    Despite the de facto division of the Republic of Palatu, both the Red Rose and the Blue Rose had wholly adopted the First Republic¡¯s policies towards the Herder tribes.


    The blockade order was still in effect, smuggling was still a crime starting with hanging.


    Legally, Captain Lorenzo should arrest the two men immediately. If they resisted, lethal force was warranted.


    But¡­even during the strictest blockades, even when there was only one Republic on this land, caravans traveling between Palatu and the Herder tribes had never truly vanished.


    The stricter the blockade, the greater the smuggling profits; the more intense the embargo, the larger the trading margins.


    Possessing a pass signed by certain big shots would allow unobstructed travel at the border¡ªthis was an unspoken secret within the Palatu military-political system.


    Although Lieutenant Lorenzo Dan was inexperienced, he had long known the rules of the game from his elders.


    ¡°Excuse me, is there any problem?¡± the young attendant patiently inquired again.


    The officer, who claimed to be Colonel Alec, appeared at ease, letting the attendant speak for him.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Captain Lorenzo swallowed, picking a trivial suspicion, ¡°Why are there injured people in the convoy? Seems there are even disabled individuals?¡±


    The young attendant pondered for a moment, then replied, ¡°We encountered some bandits on the way.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I see, I see,¡± Lorenzo said with feigned concern, ¡°There¡¯s a good doctor in the nearby town; I¡¯ll send for him right away.¡±


    The brow of the young attendant furrowed slightly, then relaxed, ¡°Thank you for your kindness, the wounded have been properly attended to.¡±


    Lorenzo tore off a slip of paper and, as he wrote, earnestly inquired, ¡°What about medicine? Do you have enough supplies?¡±


    The young attendant shared a look with the officer, who nodded with a smile.


    The young attendant nodded slightly in acknowledgment, ¡°Thank you, it¡¯s sufficient.¡±


    Lorenzo handed back the freshly written note along with the pass, promising with a pat on his chest, ¡°There are gangs of robbers also on the other side of the Border River. If you need it, I can assign some men to escort you, ensuring the convoy¡¯s safety all the way.¡±


    The young attendant glanced over the note, which turned out to be an additional pass written in the name of Lorenzo.


    ¡°People below might not recognize General Alpad¡¯s pass,¡± Lorenzo eagerly explained, ¡°So I¡¯ve written this note too, take it with you just in case, to avoid any mishaps.¡±

 Chapter 939: 29 Non-Existent Record_2

    Chapter 939: Chapter 29 Non-Existent Record_2


    The young Attendant chuckled and nodded: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°A small matter, a small matter.¡± Captain Lorenzo stood up to see off his guests and called for the sergeant to gather the troops.


    ¡°There is no need to escort us.¡± The young Attendant politely but firmly declined.


    Seeing that the other party was not merely being polite, Lorenzo immediately recalled the sergeant.


    He insisted on personally seeing the two guests off the premises, repeatedly assuring them that he could help with whatever they might need along the way.


    The young Attendant courteously declined, and the officer paid no attention to Lorenzo.


    The officer and the young Attendant had already left the patrol cavalry¡¯s station, only to see Lorenzo rushing out after them.


    ¡°Are you two planning to cross the river via Matou Slope town?¡± Lorenzo asked breathlessly.


    Already mounted on his horse, the young Attendant dismounted upon hearing this: ¡°Yes,


    Lorenzo slapped his thigh, annoyed: ¡°Matou Slope town is no longer passable! The town is destroyed, and the bridge is gone too. Now, to cross the Border River, you¡¯ll have to go through Scabbard Bay.¡±


    Upon hearing that Matou Slope town had been destroyed in the war, the young Attendant fell silent for a moment. After a while, he thanked Lorenzo and reached out his hand: ¡°Captain Lorenzo, I hope we meet again someday.¡±


    Lorenzo, smiling widely, grasped his arm: ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll definitely meet again¡­ If you have the chance when you return to Oak Forest Fortress, could you put in a good word for me¡­¡±


    Lorenzo stood at the entrance of the station, warmly watching the two guests leave.


    Only when their figures disappeared from view did his face, stiff and sore from smiling too much and too long, finally relax.


    ¡°[Crude language for emphasis]! Dammit!¡± Lorenzo spat, turning away in a huff.


    ¡­


    Republic of Palatu


    Jiangbei Province


    Scabbard Bay Crossing


    Two ropes spanned the Border River, with only a wooden raft for transport.


    It took a whole day for the merchant caravan and their horses to move from the East Bank to the West Bank.


    ¡°I¡¯ll only escort you this far.¡± Colonel Alec said somewhat sadly as he bid farewell to his junior: ¡°Going further, I can¡¯t help you anymore.¡±


    Winters felt a bit reluctant too, but he cheered up, joking: ¡°Do you want to bid farewell to Colonel Jeska?¡±


    Colonel Alec swung his whip listlessly: ¡°Forget it, just seeing his face irritates me, and seeing me probably makes him even angrier¡­ Just take good care of him. Also, once you cross the Border River, you¡¯re in Herdman territory. Are you sure you can safely return?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll just retrace my route.¡± Winters extended his hand¡ªa handshake or embracing arms, a far more intimate, equal, and even sacred gesture than a military salute or tipping one¡¯s hat¡ªhe smiled heartily as he bid farewell: ¡°Well, I hope we have the chance to meet again, Colonel Alec.¡±


    Colonel Alec also tightly grasped Winters¡¯ hand, but he was both angry and amused: ¡°No! I hope I never see you again in my life!¡±


    Searching for Pierre, it took Winters less than seven days; but to lead his subordinates out of Jiangbei Province, Winters took over a month.


    On the last day of the first month in the year 560 of the Empire.


    Winters Montagne crossed the Border River once again.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Wilderness


    According to the agreement between the three major Herder tribes and the Republic of Palatu, a roughly 100-kilometer area between them should serve as a no-man¡¯s land, ¡°Herders shall not herd, Palatu People shall not till.¡±


    However, after the Palatu People suffered a crushing defeat in the battle against the Red River Tribe, the ¡°no herding, no tilling¡± agreement immediately lost its enforceability.


    Starting in autumn, many small tribes successively moved into the uninhabited area. Some tribes had dozens of households, others just a few, not interfering with each other, each heading to the winter pastures they had explored before.


    Among them was a tribe, consisting of about sixty households, neither big nor small. The tribal chief was named Flying Feather, belonging to the Stone Mountain clan.


    Flying Feather, the eldest son, according to Herder customs, was given a share of cattle, sheep, and tents by his father after reaching adulthood, and then he set up his own household. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Because Flying Feather was skilled at archery and was fair in distributing meat and making judgments, friends and herders naturally gathered around him, eventually coming together to form a small tribe.


    Flying Feather was independent, thus other Herder tribes called his small group ¡°Flying Feather Tribe.¡±


    The winter pasture chosen by the Flying Feather Tribe was about sixty kilometers from the Palatu Border River, in a north-south valley.


    If nothing unexpected happened, the Flying Feather Tribe would stay in this wind-sheltered valley for the entire winter.


    They would only leave after the cattle and sheep had consumed the withered grass and the first spring rain fell, heading to the high mountain summer pastures.


    But this year was unusual¡ªthe Flying Feather Tribe had some guests.


    Flying Feather strictly forbade his people to step half a foot out of the valley because his guests were not ordinary tribespeople, and any leaked information could lead to a catastrophic disaster.


    Flying Feather¡¯s guests came from the east, they were from Palatu.


    Among the guests was a young man who, since arriving at the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s winter pasture, did only one thing every day: he stood at the highest point of the valley, looking eastward, eagerly waiting.


    He did not know how many sunsets and sunrises he had watched, but finally, he saw the silhouette of a rider on the horizon.


    He excitedly shouted, jumped onto his horse, and galloped down the slope, rushing towards the approaching figure, racing all the way to the man.


    The young man embraced the man, crying uncontrollably.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The man¡ªWinters Montagne¡ªwas surprisingly and politely reciprocated with a gentle embrace, asking with shame and concern: ¡°Little Lion?¡±

 Chapter 940: 29 Nonexistent Record_3

    Chapter 940: Chapter 29 Nonexistent Record_3


    The young man¡ªLittle Lion¡ªcried uncontrollably: ¡°How could you only just return?¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± Winters suddenly became alert.


    ¡°Do you even have the face to ask?¡± Little Lion sobbed and cursed loudly: ¡°I¡¯ve hunted down all the rats in the valley!¡±


    ¡­


    The winter valley of the Flying Feather Tribe


    Winters stood outside the felt tent, wanting to enter yet not daring to.


    His subordinates wisely kept their distance, not wanting to provoke the Blood Wolf at this time.


    Colonel Moritz had disappeared, Mayor Gerard Mitchell had disappeared, and even the most upright and reliable Father Kaman had disappeared.


    Winters¡¯s fingertips touched the tent curtain, then he withdrew them, touched again, and withdrew again, repeatedly three or four times, until he heard a crisp voice from inside the tent: ¡°Come in.¡±


    Winters pushed aside the tent curtain, and Anna was waiting for him.


    Fortunately, what he saw was a smiling face.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    An unknown time, an unknown place, a conversation never formally recorded


    ¡°Move a little closer.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Move a little closer again.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Sit here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Take off your coat.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(A silent command with the eyes).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°The inside one.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Another silent command with the eyes).¡±


    ¡°(The rustling sound of undressing).¡±


    ¡°(Sounds similar to washing hands).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(The sound of a warm towel wiping the skin).¡±


    ¡°(Very careful, very gentle breaths).¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(The towel continues to wipe the skin).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(A gentle sigh) Put on clean clothes.¡±


    ¡°(The sound of getting dressed).¡±


    ¡°(The sound of laundering the towel).¡±


    ¡°(The sound of arms stretching out from behind for a hug).¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Over a month, I thought you had run away again (a playful light laugh).¡±


    ¡°(A silent ¡®sorry¡¯).¡±


    ¡°(Softly) To be honest, seeing how you looked when you returned, I knew, you¡¯ve had a great time this month¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Softly) Even in Iron Peak County, I¡¯ve never seen you so happy, like a bird that has flown out of its cage¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°(Slyly laughing) Right? You were happy, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°(Guiltily) I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°(A faint hug) Why apologize? (Softly) I like to see you happy, I like to see you vibrant (voice getting softer and softer) I like to see you free¡­¡±


    ¡°(Uncontrollable tears)¡±


    ¡°(The sound of wiping away tears) Don¡¯t cry, don¡¯t cry, stop crying (nestling in, softly) I want to see you happy (a whisper too faint to be heard by the other, so quiet it¡¯s as if heard only in the heart) As for me¡­ it actually doesn¡¯t matter¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    The winter valley of the Flying Feather Tribe


    The team from Iron Peak County had just merged with the people from Jiangbei Province and started to get their gear in order.


    The guards and veterans were busily packing the carts, while Winters and his men took the time to tend to their mounts amidst the chaos. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the umpteenth time Little Lion had complained to Winters: ¡°We agreed, at most half a month, at least ten days, why have you been gone so long!¡±


    A guilty Winters could only suffer in silence, focusing on brushing his horse.


    ¡°Do you have any idea how I¡¯ve coped these days?¡± This was the umpteenth time Little Lion gave an example: ¡°I¡¯ve hunted all the rats clean!¡±


    ¡°Well, you¡¯ve returned safely, haven¡¯t you?¡± Winters tried to soothe Little Lion.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been delayed too long! Far too long!¡± Little Lion became increasingly agitated as he spoke, stopping his brushing and looking plaintively, tears welling up: ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve missed all the most fun parts! Ah! Ah! I¡¯ve really lost out!¡±


    ¡°The most fun parts? What are they?¡± Colonel Moritz, standing nearby, suddenly chimed in.


    ¡°The most fun parts?! What?! What else could it be?¡± Little Lion turned his head sharply towards Moritz, eyes wide in disbelief, took a deep breath and shouted: ¡°The hunt!¡±

 Chapter 941: 30 s Hunting (Part 1)

    Chapter 941: 30 chapters Hunting (Part 1)


    Empire Year 537 [Note: The war of succession for the Empire¡¯s throne began this year, 23 years ago]


    Castile Peninsula, Greyrock City, inside the Grand Arena.


    A young man around twenty years old is inspecting his armor and weapons. Two attendants beside the young man are sweating profusely, yet unable to lend a hand.


    ¡°News¡± has neither wings nor four legs, yet nothing flies farther or runs faster than it.


    Richard [the Mad] III is dead.


    Some say he died peacefully in his sleep; others say he died from a fall off his horse, enduring long suffering before closing his eyes¡­ But the old emperor¡¯s manner of death is not important; it merely serves as fodder for casual conversation.


    The emperor is dead, a new emperor must ascend. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From the easternmost Kortan Bay to the westernmost Castile Peninsula, from the southernmost Sheltering Mountain range to the northernmost Ice Cold Sea, everyone is holding their breath, waiting for the crowning of the new emperor¡­ especially when there are simultaneously three heirs.


    The door is pushed open, and a man adorned like a peacock strides into the room.


    The man appears to be just over thirty, his features and stature bear a slight resemblance to the young man, but with an added seven parts handsomeness and four parts dashingness.


    Upon seeing the man enter, the two attendants, as if clutching at straws, pleaded with a sobbing tone: ¡°Duke Lothar, sir! We truly cannot stop His Majesty, please, we beg you to persuade His Majesty!¡±


    The handsome man, known as Duke Lothar, gestures for the attendants to leave the room. Relieved, the attendants bow and back out.


    The handsome man closes the door, glances at the lance leaning next to the young man, and then at the well-arranged armor on the young man, jokingly asks, ¡°Are you planning to enter the field yourself, Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°I am not Your Majesty.¡± Only when speaking with the handsome man does the young man show a hint of a smile, deliberately elongating his tone: ¡°Duke, sir.¡±


    The handsome man shrugs, cheerfully retorts: ¡°Am I also not a duke? Your grandfather is still very robust.¡±


    The identity of the young man is clear¡ªHenry of Sunfort, the eldest son of the deceased emperor, and one of the claimants to the throne.


    The handsome man is Henry¡¯s uncle, Duke Lothar Louis, known informally as [Handsome Louis]. Privately, people prefer to call him [Dissolute Louis].


    Pause for a moment, Louis Lothar drops his nonchalant demeanor and asks, ¡°Are you really going to enter the arena yourself?¡±


    Henry stands up silently, beginning a light warm-up.


    His body is slender and well-proportioned, with strong, flexible limbs¡ªa physique that can rival a top gladiator, a reward for years of training.


    ¡°Are you really confident?¡± Duke Lothar insists seriously, ¡°Once you enter the gladiator arena, there¡¯s no turning back. I don¡¯t want to see your mother, my sister, saddened.¡±


    Louis and Henry, having grown up together, have less than a ten-year age gap. Although they are nominally uncle and nephew, their actual relationship is closer to friends or brothers.


    For Henry, even a brother wouldn¡¯t be closer than his little uncle. Thus, such audacious questions can only be asked by Louis, and only Louis asking them is not considered impudent.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Henry responds truthfully, ¡°as I¡¯ve never tried before.¡±


    ¡°In that case, why take the risk? Assign a Knight! Many would be willing to compete in your name.¡±


    Just as Henry is about to reply, suddenly, a thunderous cheer comes from above them.


    The roar, like a tsunami, even shakes the building, and fine dust drifts from the stone dome.


    Duke Lothar brushes off the dust from his shoulder, disdainfully and helplessly remarks, ¡°Hmph, Castilian barbarians¡­¡±


    The magnificent building overhead is an ancient Empire relic, its original name untraceable, commonly called today as [Grand Arena] or [Greyrock Arena].


    Roughly calculated, the Grand Arena has stood for a millennium. Owing to continuous use, it has been well-maintained and repaired.


    As the only ¡°amphitheater¡± that can accommodate tens of thousands, this arena has nearly taken on all major public events of Duke Talar¡¯s domains and even the Castile Peninsula.


    During festivals, mass, executions, competitions, duels¡­ nobles and commoners from Greyrock City, Duke Talar¡¯s domains and even the entire Castile Peninsula flood here.


    If Saint Heart Cathedral is the religious center of the Castile Peninsula, and Regent¡¯s Palace is the political center, then the Grand Arena signifies the glory center of the Castile Peninsula.


    Winning here means winning the Castile Peninsula.


    However, the resounding cheers from the arena at this moment are not for the royal family, nor for Henry¡ªthey¡¯re for Duke Talar.


    To celebrate the birth of his eldest son, Duke Talar has spared no expense in hosting this grand celebration.


    Hosting such a vast celebration during the emperor¡¯s mourning is undoubtedly a severe offence. However, the Castilian nobility is notorious throughout the Empire for their unruliness, and they hold little regard for royal dignity.


    It could even be interpreted this way¡ªDuke Talar deliberately chose this timing for his eldest son¡¯s celebration to demonstrate his disdain for the authority of the Sunfort royal family.


    ¡°How many people are in the arena now?¡± Henry asks thoughtfully.


    ¡°At least twenty thousand,¡± Duke Lothar responds, ¡°Including both major and minor lords of Castile, and many, many commoners¡­ Greyrock City is almost deserted, everyone is here.¡±

 Chapter 942: 30: Hunting (Part 1)_2

    Chapter 942: Chapter 30: Hunting (Part 1)_2


    Henry looked up at the dome upon hearing this.


    He had a strange feeling that, although he could only see darkness, he was certain that thousands of Castilians were waiting on the other side of the thick stone slab.


    Henry closed his eyes and took a deep breath.


    Duke Little Lothair watched his nephew, ten years his junior, and involuntarily held his breath.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go. To expect others to fight for me¡­¡± The future Emperor opened his eyes and picked up his lance, ¡°Will never conquer the Castilians.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Empire Year 560, early February [Present]


    Wilderness


    When Winters set out from Iron Peak County, he only brought a small troop of fewer than forty men.


    His original plan was to visit the White Lion and withdraw some gold to address the financial bankruptcy of Iron Peak County.


    However, changes always happen faster than plans, and Vashka brought news from Pierre, Berlion, and others.


    Thus, Winters entrusted his subordinates to Little Lion and only entered Jiangbei Province, under military administration, with Vashka.


    By the time Winters left Jiangbei Province, his command had grown into a huge caravan of over two hundred people.


    Recovering old comrade was certainly good, but Vashka¡¯s flattery about ¡°people always gathering around the Centurion¡± was misplaced.


    After brief discussion, Winters decided to split the forces:


    The main troop would take the injured with movement difficulties¡ª including warriors wounded in the process of suppressing bandits and older soldiers disabled in last year¡¯s battle on the Great Wilderness¡ªand return to Iron Peak County by the original route;


    The small troop, according to the original plan, would head to the Red River Tribe, accompanied by Little Lion.


    Winters personally led the small troop, but found it difficult to appoint someone to command the main force.


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± Colonel Moritz said matter-of-factly, ¡°I¡¯m not cut out to lead troops¡­ Besides, I¡¯ve always wanted to taste mare¡¯s milk.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to get rid of me again.¡± Anna feigned anger, ¡°I knew it.¡±


    After much consideration, only one suitable candidate remained¡ªPierre Mitchell. Undoubtedly, Pierre was an excellent choice, capable and distinguished enough for the task.


    But the problem was: Pierre was unwilling.


    ¡°I want to go with you to the Red River Tribe.¡± Pierre requested firmly.


    Seeing Pierre¡¯s somewhat pale cheeks, Winters couldn¡¯t bear to let Pierre endure the hardship of travelling: ¡°You¡¯ve just recovered from a severe illness, better return to Iron Peak County and fully recuperate.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t be a burden, I can already ride a horse.¡± Pierre said, standing straight, then suddenly changing the topic, ¡°And I¡¯ve already thought of who can replace me to lead the returning troop.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡± Winters was curious.


    ¡°My father,¡± Pierre stated seriously.


    After brief consideration, Winters shook his head, ¡°I don¡¯t doubt Mr. Mitchell¡¯s capabilities and influence. But he won¡¯t be at ease leaving you behind.¡±


    ¡°I will persuade him,¡± Pierre replied firmly.


    Thus, a conversation between father and son unfolded.


    In a face-to-face equal conversation, with no one else involved, Pierre finally expressed his real thoughts to his father.


    ¡°Dad, I know deep down you still view Winters Montagne¡¯s troops as rebels, bandits; I know you think Kingsfort will eventually obliterate Winters Montagne; I also know Monta Monta has no money, no provisions, no troops, Iron Peak County¡¯s strength compared to Paratu is like a puppy to a lion¡­¡±


    Facing his father¡¯s surprised gaze, Pierre listed many reasons why ¡°Montagne¡¯s bandit troops are doomed.¡± If only this part was heard, it seemed like Winters Montagne¡¯s demise was imminent, and Pierre Mitchell had no doubt about it.


    But in the end, Mr. Mitchell gave Mr. Mitchell Senior an irrefutable conclusion: ¡°But we have no way back now.¡±


    Pierre looked into his father¡¯s eyes, repeating word for word, ¡°We have no way back now.¡± sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Do you still remember the story of Dusack from our old home in North River¡ª the one you told me when I was a child. Over a hundred years ago, the Dusacks who shattered their shackles roamed stealthily in small boats on the upper North River, robbing the Emperor¡¯s official ships. Eventually, the Emperor, furious, sent troops to exterminate them.¡±


    ¡°What happened to those Dusacks then? Those who defeated the Emperor were ennobled as Ataman! And those who failed against the Emperor? They were wiped out!¡±


    ¡°If Montagne brother can hold Iron Peak County, we might have a chance to surrender; if Montagne brother can conquer Newly Reclaimed Land, we might have a chance to be welcomed back; but if Montagne brother loses, fails, we won¡¯t even have a chance to submit. What awaits us is only reckoning! All of our heads will be chopped off in exchange for military honors.¡±


    ¡°So, dad, whether you like it or not, whatever you think.¡± Pierre grimly nailed the final nail, ¡°We have no way back now.¡±


    After hearing his son¡¯s words, Gerard Mitchell remained silent for a long time. When he spoke again, he seemed a decade older.


    Even so, Mr. Mitchell said hoarsely, ¡°Even so, you should first return to Wolf Town with me. Your mother must be waiting for us to return home after we¡¯ve been away for so long.¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be.¡± Pierre said firmly, ¡°I can¡¯t go back now!¡±


    ¡°Just come back home with me to recuperate, and we can discuss other matters later.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand! Dad!¡± Pierre¡¯s cheeks, flushed with excitement, ¡°I can¡¯t go back! Too much has happened in Iron Peak County during my absence! I didn¡¯t achieve any merits! I missed too much! When I left Iron Peak County, I was Montagne brother¡¯s deputy. If I go back now, I am nothing! I can¡¯t go back, at least not now.¡±

 Chapter 943: 30: The Hunt (Part 1)_3

    Chapter 943: Chapter 30: The Hunt (Part 1)_3


    ¡°Captain Montaigne won¡¯t forget you.¡± Gerard comforted his son, ¡°He will take care of you.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ still don¡¯t understand me¡­¡±


    Another bout of silence ensued.


    ¡°So¡­ what do you plan to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve decided to stay by Montaigne¡¯s side.¡± Pierre had made up his mind, ¡°Dad, please take the others back to Iron Peak County.¡±


    ¡­


    The personnel arrangements for the two teams gradually became clear.


    After repeated trims, Winters finally decided to keep only sixty competent subordinates; the rest of the troops were commanded by Gerard, following the original path back to Iron Peak County.


    Interestingly, upon learning that Mitchell was heading to the Red River Tribe, Father Caman, who never showed Winters a pleasant face, also lowered his pride to request joining the journey to the Red River Tribe.


    Vashka and the elder Sergei, father and son, also appeared in the team heading to the Red River Tribe.


    Vashka couldn¡¯t part with his mates, and old Sergei couldn¡¯t part with his son. Both father and son were skilled hands among the Dusacks, and Winters was more than happy to bring them along.


    The reserved Berlion was the last person to approach Winters.


    ¡°Centurion.¡± As always, Berlion was serene and composed, ¡°Please take me with you as well.¡±


    ¡°I do want you to go to Red River, but I¡¯m worried about accidents that might befall you there,¡± Winters voiced his concerns, ¡°And I promised Carlos to bring you back to Iron Peak County safely.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you should take me even more. Carlos is safe in Revodan, so I have nothing to worry about. To investigate the possible iron ore situation at the Red River Tribe, you need an expert.¡± Berlion paused, ¡°You¡¯ve helped me and Carlos so much¡­ let me do something for you.¡±


    Thus, the list of sixty was finalized.


    The team returning home expressed their disappointment when they learned Berlion was included in the sixty-person list, while the morale of those heading to the Red River Tribe was boosted.


    ¡°A [military campaign is fueled by stomachs],¡± Winters thought, ¡°The old marshal really didn¡¯t lie.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Three days after leaving the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s winter pasture


    Wilderness


    At dusk, the caravan camped under a wind-sheltered slope.


    As usual, people connected the wagons end to end to form a temporary enclosure, let the horses graze outside, and then went about fetching water, starting fires, and preparing food.


    The plains held no lights, only the glow of campfires scattered about.


    There was no moon tonight, and the stars shone with unusual brilliance.


    Anna, dressed as a man, gazed upward at the stars until her neck grew sore, ¡°It¡¯s so strange, I never saw so many stars when I was in Sea Blue.¡±


    For someone who has never seen the vast Milky Way, witnessing the starry sky for the first time is an indescribable shock.


    But since arriving in Paratu, stargazing was an experience Winters had had countless times.


    He coughed a few times, but ultimately couldn¡¯t suppress the desire to make inappropriate remarks, ¡°If you saw them every day, you wouldn¡¯t find them special anymore.¡±


    Although the light from the campfires was dim, Winters was sure he saw Anna glance at him.


    Anna turned her head away, ignoring the wet blanket.


    A few steps away, Little Lion was enthusiastically recounting a ¡°hunting story¡± beside Berlion¡¯s stewpot.


    ¡°Hunting in the forest is one way, hunting on meadows is another. Falconry has its own tricks, and hound hunting its own skills, but the most spectacular and challenging is the ¡®surround hunt.¡¯ In Hurd language, ¡®Aba¡¯ is the term for a surround hunt, and it¡¯s the most, most, most important event of the year.¡± Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Little Lion spoke, he took the first bowl of freshly served meat from Berlion¡¯s hands, unable to resist praising, ¡°Blacksmith, with your skills, you¡¯d be underappreciated even as the Khan¡¯s chef!¡±


    Berlion smiled in gratitude and continued serving soup to others.


    ¡°We hunt every year too.¡± Vashka, drawn by the aroma, hurried back to the camp, interjecting, ¡°In autumn, once the crops are harvested, we hunt for rabbits and foxes in the fields. With no straw or weeds, the rabbits and foxes have nowhere to hide; we hit our mark every time.¡±


    Vashka curiously looked to Winters, ¡°Centurion, do you Venetians hunt?¡±


    This caught Winters off guard, he thought for a moment, then smiled, ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar with Venetian customs, but the United Provincials hunt waterfowl every year, and some even raise dogs skilled at swimming for hunting.¡±


    Just as Winters couldn¡¯t hold back his urge to make inappropriate remarks, when it came to hunting, Little Lion couldn¡¯t contain his boasting either. He shook his head pretentiously, ¡°What you¡¯re talking about can only be considered child¡¯s play compared to the surround hunt I¡¯m talking about.¡±


    ¡°You talk a big game!¡± Vashka shot back, not to be outdone, ¡°When can we see this hunt for ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Ten more days!¡± Little Lion wiped his mouth, gesturing for another bowl from Berlion.


    He laughed heartily, ¡°The final hunting ground has been set from the start, just head there¡ª I guarantee you¡¯ll be astounded!¡±


    As it turned out, Little Lion¡¯s estimate was conservative.


    It took only three days, not ten, for Winters and his party to reach the edge of the hunting grounds.

 Chapter 944: 31: The Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 944: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)


    The caravan halted on a slightly elevated mound, ensuring a tactical height advantage.


    The horses, sensing the pervasive smell of sulfur and saltpeter in the air, snorted restlessly.


    The Iron Peak County Delegation had entered a pre-battle state, with warriors quickly unloading crates of armor and helping each other don their gear.


    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve become a burden to everyone¡­¡± Anna gripped Winters¡¯s hand tightly, biting her lip, and blamed herself with a mixture of panic and anxiety.


    ¡°Don¡¯t spout nonsense, it¡¯s just a small situation,¡± Winters reassured Anna while deftly helping her into a breastplate: ¡°Stay on the wagon when it starts, try not to get down.¡±


    Anna nodded forcefully.


    ¡°All set.¡± After Winters ensured all the straps were tied, he habitually patted the back plate of Anna¡¯s armor and, uncontrollably and inexplicably, began to chuckle.


    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Anna turned her head and asked suspiciously.


    ¡°I¡­ I just remembered a¡­ dirty joke.¡±


    A lady of breeding shouldn¡¯t be curious, but Anna couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What is it?¡±


    Winters leaned to Anna¡¯s ear and whispered it to her.


    ¡°You¡­ you know what? The armor doesn¡¯t even touch the body!¡± Anna¡¯s cheeks flushed to her ears, and angry, she reached for the short pistol at Winters¡¯s waist.


    ¡°Careful! The gun is loaded!¡±


    ¡°Is that so? Then all the better!¡±


    The short pistol still ended up in Anna¡¯s hands¡ªin part because Winters had indeed intended to leave it with her.


    After finally helping Anna with her helmet, Winters squeezed the little she-wolf¡¯s hand and turned to get off the wagon.


    The Translator, the Accountant, the Precious Metals Craftsman, and the Cook were indispensable members, so they were all sheltered in the center of the formation.


    Father Kaman was also left in the ¡°safe zone.¡±


    As Winters got down, Kaman was in prayer, holding a prayer book in his hands, with a mallet tucked under his arm, muttering words to himself.


    Seeing Winters approach, Kaman just nodded coldly, while Winters bowed solemnly in return.


    Stepping out of the temporary circular formation formed by the large vehicles, Winters took the reins from Xial and leaped onto his Warhorse.


    In an instant, it was as if an invisible wave radiated out from him, sweeping across the entire hill.


    A subtle change happened to the riders; from an observer¡¯s point of view, it was hard to say exactly what had changed, but something was definitely different.


    Was it the involuntary secretion of saliva? The hastened breathing? The slightly sweaty palms? Or the dilated pupils¡­ It was unclear whether it was the physical condition affecting the spirit or the psychological state being reflected in the body.


    If they were like blades hidden in their sheathes before, now they were ready to strike.


    ¡°My lord,¡± Heinrich asked gravely, ¡°shall we reveal your banner?¡±


    ¡°No need,¡± Winters looked towards the smoke and dust raised by hooves in the distance, ¡°don¡¯t scare them away.¡±


    As early as the night before last, the Scouts had discovered a group of Herders two hours¡¯ ride away.


    After receiving the report, Winters ordered not to alarm the others.


    He didn¡¯t plan on making contact because a ¡°chance meeting¡± in the wilderness only meant danger, especially since he was an outsider.


    The wilderness had its hospitable lords, but it was not short of greedy, cruel, hungry beasts. The law of the jungle here was not a metaphor, but a blood-soaked way of life.


    Whenever a strong leader was lost, the Herder tribes inevitably fell into this costly infighting until the next person who could forge order out of chaos emerged.


    Although Winters actively avoided them, a day passed and not only the distance between the two parties had not widened but had, in fact, decreased.


    Until the Herders also discovered the caravan¡¯s trail, and actively and swiftly pounced towards them. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The smoke and dust approached, the sound of hooves grew louder, and silhouettes of Herder riders flickered on the undulating ridge lines.


    Just as the actions of the incoming riders were fully exposed, the sound of hooves abruptly stopped. The figures of the Herders vanished as if they plunged into the earth.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where are the savages?¡± Vashka looked around bewildered, muttering under his breath.


    Winters whipped his hand to a hillside a kilometer away, saying with interest, ¡°They¡¯re hiding behind that slope, probably not wanting us to see their strength and weaknesses¡­ Interesting fellows.¡±


    Old Sergei glared at his son, clearly unhappy with Vashka¡¯s show of fear.


    The old man spurred his horse forward, volunteering enthusiastically: ¡°My lord, let me take a few sabers over for a look! Humph, no matter their tricks, get at them first!¡±


    ¡°No rush, just wait a bit longer,¡± Winters replied unhurriedly, ¡°However, if we really do come to blows, don¡¯t charge too far ahead, Mr. Morozov, I¡¯m worried the others won¡¯t be able to keep up with you.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± Old Sergei was quite pleased with the remark, grinned from ear to ear, and proudly returned to his place.


    As Winters had said, the silence was only temporary.


    Shortly after, three riders crested over the hill from where the dust cloud had disappeared, racing towards Winters¡¯s position.


    The distance of a kilometer was covered in a blink of an eye; as the three riders reached the bottom of the slope, they heard the leading rider shouting at the top of his lungs¡ªthe voice of Little Lion: ¡°Not enemies! Not enemies¡­¡±


    Little Lion, panting heavily, climbed the hill and saw Winters and his party waiting in battle formation; he paused, and then laughed loudly: ¡°Don¡¯t be so tense! They have no hostility.¡±


    The subordinates all looked towards Winters, but Winters did not order them to stand down.

 Chapter 945: 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 945: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_2


    ¡°No hostility?¡± Winters asked. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No.¡± Little Lion replied with a smile.


    ¡°What kind of people are they?¡±


    ¡°Hunters, the hunting hunters from the Wicked Soil Department.¡± Little Lion said with deep meaning: ¡°Actually, they are more afraid of you.¡±


    A quarter of an hour later, Winters met the leader of the Wicked Soil Department.


    ¡°Batu, you don¡¯t know me.¡± As soon as they met, the burly, dark-skinned leader of the Wicked Soil Department labored in his stiff common language to make an unconventional self-introduction: ¡°But I have seen you, I am Koshach, your defeated subordinate.¡±


    ¡­


    [Day 10 after leaving the Flying Feather Tribe¡¯s overwintering pasture]


    [Wilderness, an unknown small river valley]


    Although identities had been confirmed, and they were ¡°on the way,¡± the delegation from Iron Peak County and the hunters from the Wicked Soil Department still tacitly maintained a certain distance from each other.


    Leader of the Wicked Soil Department, Koshach, was quite unique, visiting the delegation from Iron Peak County every day.


    Koshach had a strong curiosity about the world outside the wilderness.


    What Winters found interesting was that Koshach did not hide his curiosity about the outside world.


    He was always asking questions: astronomy and geography, local customs, religion, science, systems, technologies¡­ Anything that came to mind, he would ask. Some questions were naively hilarious, while others were so profound that they were unanswerable.


    When asking questions, Winters saw no embarrassment in Koshach¡¯s eyes; when not getting answers, Koshach never showed any signs of discouragement or irritation.


    When Koshach wasn¡¯t asking questions, he would take great interest in observing every move the Paratu people made, from dressing to dining, from setting camp to traveling¡­ He even closely watched the delegation members dig a latrine.


    Winters¡¯ subordinates watched this ¡°barbarian¡± with expressions of surprise, disgust, or wariness, while the ¡°barbarian¡± seemed unaffected, continuing to go his own way.


    ¡°¡­Leaving the Inner Sea, sailing southward, until leaving the Jinding Mountains behind, you will reach the [Broken Lands].¡± Winters narrated the geography of the continent by the campfire: ¡°There, only barren hills exist, dotted with a dozen small principalities, from nobles to commoners all dirt-poor¡­¡±


    The campfire was crowded with members of the delegation, some of whom enjoyed the bustle, while others listened mesmerized. Naturally, Koshach was also present, sitting unconcernedly amongst the Paratu people, leaning on his knees listening.


    As Winters was talking, he noticed his cup was empty and got up to fetch water.


    When Winters fell silent, the area around the campfire immediately became somewhat noisy.


    ¡°Hurd old man!¡± someone mockingly asked Koshach: ¡°Can you understand?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand!¡± Koshach grinned, replying in his half-baked common language: ¡°But I understood a bit, the more I listen, the more I understand.¡±


    In a few moments, Winters had already brought back a kettle.


    ¡°Batu.¡± Koshach bluntly said: ¡°In the tribes, tasks like pouring wine, milking are not even done by the leaders of tribes as small as Horse Palm! Doing women¡¯s chores, your subordinates will only look down on you.¡±


    ¡°[Emotional vulgar language] Nonsense!¡± Xial snapped back as if bitten by a dog, immediately grabbing the kettle from his brother and retorted sharply: ¡°Does Blood Wolf need your respect or disdain?¡±


    Koshach thoughtfully nodded: ¡°Makes sense! Warriors like Batu, even if they play with needles and threads daily, would still have a large number of followers competing to be first.¡±


    Winters: ¡°Let me clarify, I neither like these needles nor the thread.¡±


    A faint laughter came from a carriage five steps away.


    Koshach seemed unconcerned about the personal preferences of the Paratu champion; he eagerly asked: ¡°Batu, what about further south from the ¡®Very Broken Land¡¯? What lies further south?¡±


    ¡°Desert.¡± Winters recalled the content of ¡°Geography¡±: ¡°A desert like the sea, endless.¡±


    Koshach scratched his head: ¡°What kind of desert?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the sand on riverbanks?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡±


    ¡°A desert is a place where there is nothing but sand. That¡¯s what the books say, and I haven¡¯t seen the sea of sand myself.¡±


    ¡°Only sand, no grass? No water?¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°How then do you raise horses? Cattle and sheep? How do you farm?¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t raise anything, you can¡¯t grow anything.¡± Winters added: ¡°It is said that there are some very small oases in the desert, but who knows if that¡¯s true.¡±


    Knowing that the sea of sand could not support grazing, Koshach was quite disappointed, continuing to inquire: ¡°What about further south of the sea of sand?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you know?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s impassable.¡± Winters smiled bitterly as he spread his hands: ¡°It¡¯s said that someone once walked south for a hundred days, and all they saw was still just sand.


    Ancient scholar Tosaini believed that the sea of sand was infinite, extending to the ends of the earth, eventually merging with the perpetual ice caps of the poles; some say that further south of the sea of sand is another sea; others say it is the World¡¯s Pit, where all seas eventually flow. But the truth, no one knows.¡±


    A collective sigh emerged from the crowd.


    ¡°What is an ice cap?¡± Koshach persistently asked.


    ¡°Ice cap is endless ice.¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°Ancient Empire people kept heading north, reaching the extreme north only to find endless ice, so they believe the extreme south is likewise endless ice.¡±

 Chapter 946: 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_3

    Chapter 946: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_3


    ¡°May I ask about taking a boat?¡± Sitting next to Winters, Pierre pondered and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t there an ocean on the eastern side of the Sand Sea? Can¡¯t we just take a boat south?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± This question stumped Winters.


    After racking his brains, he said embarrassedly, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know either. I also think taking a boat is feasible, but I have no idea why. I¡¯ve never seen any mentions of crossing the Sand Sea by boat in the books. It seems that scholars consider it unfeasible, or perhaps someone has tried and I¡¯m unaware¡­ I really don¡¯t know much about sailing. If ¡®Good Fortune¡¯ Gold were here, he might have been able to explain the reason¡­¡±


    ¡°Batu doesn¡¯t know something?¡± Koshach burst into laughter, drawing angry glances from the others.


    ¡°There¡¯s much more that I don¡¯t know than I do,¡± Winters admitted his ignorance casually. Yet, for some reason, he also felt a subtle, poignant regret.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him,¡± Xial jumped up agitatedly, ¡°What does that barbarian know?¡±


    ¡°If Batu admits he knows little, then am I not even more foolish than a stone on the ground?¡± Koshach said heartily, ¡°After all, what Batu knows is as plentiful as the stars in the sky.¡±


    Witnessing the brawny barbarian deliver the cheesiest of flattery in the most candid tone left the group with mixed feelings.


    Only Little Lion was in stitches, laughing uproarously.


    Winters felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the impatient face of Father Kaman.


    ¡°Here.¡± Kaman handed Winters a folded piece of paper, shaking his head as he walked away.


    Clueless, Winters examined the paper by the light of the fire, his brows immediately relaxing¡ªit was Anna¡¯s delicate handwriting.


    Winters cleared his throat and the area around the campfire fell silent.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just learned some new knowledge,¡± Winters announced solemnly to everyone, ¡°The reason we can¡¯t take a boat south across the Sand Sea is that to the east of the Sand Sea lies an ever-present zone of thunderstorms, gales, and terrifying waves.¡±


    The crowd held their breath, the crackling of the wood the only sound.


    Winters continued with a smile, ¡°The ocean east of the Inland Sea is known as the [Storm Ocean] due to its harsh conditions, and compared to it, the Storm Ocean is like a gentle gelding¡ªthe ocean there is called the [Rage Ocean].


    Legend says the Rage Ocean is where the Sea God of the Golden Age perished, and upon his death, he cursed mankind so that mortals could never cross that sea.


    There were many Vineta merchant ships that tried to cross the Rage Ocean, but all attempts ended in failure. Most of the ships never returned, and the few that did couldn¡¯t establish a route. On the shores of the Sand Sea, there is a coast named Shipwreck Beach, said to be strewn with the wrecks of doomed vessels.


    After the rise of monsoon sailing, the trade focus of the Inland Sea shifted eastward, and people lost interest in the worthless southern routes¡­ This is why the southern routes are rarely mentioned in the books and literature.¡±


    Following Winters¡¯ explanation, a collective exhale could be heard around the campfire.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how it is,¡± Pierre nodded in admiration, ¡°That makes sense. Storms and raging waves¡­ Is the ocean truly that terrifying? It¡¯s a pity I¡¯ve never seen it.¡±


    ¡°The ocean is a fickle beauty, generally quite gentle though,¡± Winters said with a nostalgic smile, ¡°Otherwise, how could Sea Blue have come to grace the Inland Sea¡¯s shores?¡±


    Vashka protested loudly, ¡°Centurion, once we stop waging wars, let¡¯s go and brave the so-called Rage Ocean! I don¡¯t believe it¡ªjust wind and rain, they can¡¯t scare us Dusacks, can they?¡±


    ¡°What do you know?¡± Old Sergei raised his hand and smacked his son¡¯s head, ¡°Have you ever been on a sea ship?¡±


    Vashka retorted with his neck stiff, ¡°So, you have?¡± S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Your old man has, damn right!¡± Old Sergei smacked his son again, ¡°Back when I and Pierre¡¯s father came to Mountain Front Territory by ship, how many days did we sail, eh? Nearly lost our lives in the sea! It was all vomit and diarrhea, I had to crawl off the ship. Stick to your horse and think less about messing with ships!¡±


    Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh, and the atmosphere around the small campfire was filled with joviality.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile


    Rage Ocean


    The fast sailing ship [Fearless] was cutting through the waves, attempting to cross this sea of death.


    The fury¡¯s arrival came without warning:


    One moment, the sea was calm;


    The next, pea-sized raindrops pounded the hull as the storm followed, revealing the Rage Ocean¡¯s ferocious nature in an instant.


    The sky overcast with clouds was illuminated by constant flashes of lightning, the thunder as if tearing the air apart.


    Strong winds lifted waves over ten meters high, like towering walls of water, crashing down towards the ship.


    All of this seemed as if the dying Sea God was venting his unquenchable resentment and fury.


    The sixty-ton Fearless, amid these waves, was like an ant in the hands of a cruel child, tossed high by the waves one moment and slammed down onto the sea next.


    Had the ship not been built without sparing any expense, that single blow alone might have split the Fearless in two.


    One of the deckhands failed to secure himself, and in a flash, was flung overboard. Not even the safety rope could save his life; instead, it wrapped him under the ship¡¯s keel, subjecting him to a death more agonizing than drowning.

 Chapter 947: 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_4

    Chapter 947: Chapter 31: The Hunt (Part 2)_4


    On the stern deck, a lean man furiously cursed at another man at the helm: ¡°Are you trying to get us all killed here!!!¡±


    The helmsman¡¯s gaze was steadfast, and his hands gripping the wheel were steady, without the slightest tremble. He ignored his crewmate¡¯s shouting and calmly gave the order: ¡°Maintain one-third of the sails!¡± S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sailing ships rely on strong winds to travel, but they can also be capsized by them.


    People have marveled that ¡°sails¡± tame the ¡°wind¡±, yet every captain knows deep down: when facing the true forces of the gods, all you can do is furl the sails and pray.


    But now, that was not an option¡ªat least not in the Furious Ocean.


    Without sails, the ship could only be carried along by the waves.


    And the waves of the Furious Ocean headed straight northwest¡ªtoward the direction of the Sand Sea.


    Any ship that loses its sails in the Furious Ocean will be mercilessly smashed against the shore, eventually shattered helplessly over the reef-ridden shallows.


    Another terrifying bolt of lightning revealed the shape of the rotting wood and wreckage on the Shipwreck Sandbank, like a forest of white bones¡ªthese were the remains of ships, the only traces left behind by countless failures.


    Now, the only force that could prevent the [Fearless] from suffering the same fate as its predecessors was the ¡°wind¡±.


    The howling, furious wind that vowed to smash the Fearless to pieces.


    The helmsman watched the lean man and calmly repeated the order: ¡°Maintain one-third of the sails!¡±


    Maintain one-third of the sails?


    Easier said than done!


    The Fearless¡¯s capstan was long since destroyed, and the only remaining way to furl the sails was to climb the mast and operate from the top of the yardarm¡ªan act no different from suicide.


    Even the bravely selected sailors did not have the courage to climb the mast at this moment.


    Their will had already been shattered by the wrath of the sea gods; all the sailors could do, all they were still doing, was praying.


    Seeing this, the lean man cursed furiously. In one swift motion, he ripped off his shirt, tossed aside his pants, drew his knife, and bit down on it.


    Suddenly, the lean man turned around, delivered a fierce punch to the helmsman, and immediately climbed up the rigging, climbing naked toward the top of the mast.


    The helmsman spat out a mouthful of blood-stained spit, still firmly controlling the wheel.


    At this moment, on this sailing ship with forty-two sailors, only two were still fulfilling their duties: the helmsman¡ªthe captain, and the lean man¡ªthe first mate.


    If Winters Montagne had the chance to witness the heroic defiance against the gods of these two men, he would be surprised by the twist of fate.


    Because both the captain and the first mate were ¡°old acquaintances¡± of Winters.


    The lean man struggling to climb the mast was none other than the notorious pirate captain, the master of Tanilia Federation sails, who had commanded the Tanilia fleet in the lighthouse port naval battle against Rear Admiral Nalesho¡ª[Frank Drake].


    And the man gripping the helm was the one who rescued Drake at the last moment of the lighthouse port battle, also a master of Tanilia Federation sails, captain of the Phoenix¡ª[Edward Kenway].


    Nominally, the Tanilia Federation had ceased to exist.


    But the reason why these two masters of sails, these two leaders of the Tanilia Federation appeared in the Furious Ocean right now, was to fulfill an important mission entrusted by the Tanilia Federation¡ªif there really is a route leading to the Empire¡¯s Western Colonies south of the Sand Sea, find it!


    Find it!


    The storm showed no signs of weakening, and the ropes creaked under the critical stress limit.


    Finally, one tiny fiber could no longer bear the strain and snapped.


    Then the second, the third¡­ A rapid chain reaction caused one of the Fearless¡¯s main cables to be torn apart as if by a tremendous force in an instant.


    The accumulated elastic energy within the rope was suddenly released, sweeping through the curtain of rain and aimed straight for Captain Kenway.


    In a flash of lightning, Kenway miraculously dodged the fatal blow that could have shattered his skull.


    Had he let go of the steering wheel, perhaps the rope would not have had the chance to hit Kenway.


    But there were no what-ifs; Captain Kenway secured his hands on the wheel at the price of a severe lash to his left shoulder.


    Drake, witnessing this moment of crisis, lost his balance and fell from the mast.


    Ignoring the excruciating pain in all his bones, Drake struggled to his feet, grasping the safety rope and crawling toward the stern.


    ¡°Edward!¡± Drake yelled, tears streaming: ¡°You damn well better not die!¡±


    As the ship pitched violently with the waves, Drake climbed into the stern, where Edward Kenway¡¯s hands were still tightly gripped on the rudder.


    Captain Kenway¡¯s face was ashen, but his voice revealed no pain: ¡°Are the sails secured?¡±


    ¡°Secured!¡± Drake bellowed back¡ªhad he not, his voice would have been lost in the wind and storm: ¡°What next?!¡±


    ¡°Take the wheel!¡±


    The steering wheel of the Fearless was connected to the rudder via a system of pulleys and levers, transmitting the force of the rudder directly to the wheel.


    The moment Drake¡¯s hands took the wheel, he immediately felt the immense counterforce from the rudder and clenched his teeth, holding on for dear life: ¡°What next?!¡±


    Kenway crawled to the railing near the stern and tied himself securely to a wooden post with a rope.


    ¡°[Expletive]! I¡¯m going to die here with you!¡± Drake had become somewhat mad: ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡±


    ¡°No, you won¡¯t! Listen carefully to me!¡± Kenway¡¯s voice carried an extraordinary clarity that pierced through to Drake¡¯s ears.


    Not only that, Kenway seemed to be laughing: ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through! Sailing along the coast, against the wind and the waves! We¡¯ll never get through the Furious Ocean!¡±


    ¡°[Expletive]!!!¡± Drake used all his strength to fight the wheel, oblivious to Kenway¡¯s words: ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always been only one way to get through the Furious Ocean!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to die here!!!¡±


    It was as though the downpour stopped at that moment, and all the noise had vanished.


    Edward Kenway delivered the final verdict:


    ¡°Go east! Sail to the heart of the ocean! To the center of the storm! Once we break into the open sea, we can make a large detour, circling outside the Furious Sea!!!¡±


    Even the crazed Drake seemed rational in face of Kenway¡¯s wild idea, bellowing with bloodshot eyes: ¡°Do you know what the hell you¡¯re talking about? [Expletive]! For this! For this! You¡¯ve brought us here!!!¡±


    ¡°Are you in or not?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha ha!!!¡± Drake roared and laughed like a beast: ¡°Edward Kenway, turns out you¡¯re the real mad gambler!!!¡±


    ¡°In or not?¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha! Give the order, Captain!¡±


    ¡°Fearless!¡± Kenway took one last look at the coastline of the mainland: ¡°Set course southeast! At all costs! Advance! Advance!! Advance!!!¡±

 Chapter 948: 32: The Hunt (Part 3)

    Chapter 948: Chapter 32: The Hunt (Part 3)


    Wilderness


    The vast expanse of heaven and earth, Winters rode along the hillside for a while, feeling utterly exhilarated.


    Far below the hill, a large group of antelopes was foraging.


    ¡°There, Batu,¡± Koshach pointed at the antelopes from afar: ¡°Prey.¡±


    ¡­


    For this hunting expedition, the entire assets of the tribe were deployed. Each family sent at least one able-bodied person, totaling over a hundred.


    Besides manpower, the hunters involved in the expedition also had to provide their own horses, weapons, and food.


    It is no exaggeration to say that if something unfortunate happened to Koshach¡¯s hunters on the road, the tribe would fall apart.


    Although the tribe seemed to place great importance on the hunt organized by the Red River Tribe, it was difficult to connect their actual performance with the words ¡°hunting¡± and ¡°importance.¡±


    Because the tribe¡¯s hunters neither ¡°surrounded¡± nor ¡°hunted.¡±


    Their daily activity merely consisted of following a group of antelopes at a moderate distance, moving steadily in one direction. They patiently herded, guided, and protected the prey, as if they were tending a flock of sheep.


    It would be more accurate to say that the tribe was escorting the migration of the antelope herd rather than hunting.


    However, if someone were to look down from a great height at this moment, they would see: on the vast land, hundreds of hunting teams were doing the same thing as the tribe¡¯s hunters¡ª[unwaveringly driving the wild beasts towards the ultimate hunting ground].


    In the Herder Tribes, hunting is second only in importance to warfare.


    Whenever a major hunt occurred, the leader organizing the hunt would define the hunting area in advance, command the tribes to prepare manpower, supplies, and equipment, and send elite cavalry to ascertain the location and number of the prey.


    As soon as everything was ready, the hunters would set out. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The hunters operated as teams, independent yet coordinating seamlessly with each other.


    They spread out across the vast hunting grounds, like a loose but impenetrable net, driving the prey from all sides to a predetermined end point.


    According to Little Lion¡¯s description, the process of driving the prey could even take up to three months.


    During this period, the hunters subsisted only on the food they carried, suffering hunger without causing the slightest harm to the prey.


    Sleeping outdoors was not the toughest part; the most tormenting aspect for the hunters was the fear of the unknown.


    A hunt required precise coordination on a massive scale, and any negligence by any hunting team could lead to severe consequences.


    Other hunting teams¡¯ timely encirclement was uncertain, and all the hunters could do was to focus on the prey ahead and proceed steadily and solitarily.


    ¡­


    ¡°Leading a solitary force to a battlefield where the outcome is uncertain,¡± Winters envisioned the magnificent scene of tens of thousands of hunters working together, and exclaimed, ¡°Such a scale of military exercise, I doubt even the Alliance and the Empire have ever undertaken.¡±


    ¡°¡®Military exercise,¡¯ what is that?¡± Koshach asked bewilderedly.


    Winters smiled lightly and responded, ¡°It¡¯s a practice for war.¡±


    In the meantime, four hunters from the tribe came rushing from the direction of the antelopes, saluted Winters and Koshach, and then tiredly ran towards the camp.


    In the process of driving the prey, the hunters could neither let the prey tire to death nor stray from the course, nor allow predators to prey upon them.


    Hence, the tribe¡¯s hunting team was divided into six shifts, watching over the prey round the clock.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®an uncertain outcome,¡¯ Batu.¡± Koshach gestured earnestly, ¡°The Red River Tribe deployed many, many, many hunters. Even if some prey escapes, there will still be plenty left.¡±


    Winters understood Koshach¡¯s point: ¡°In my view, hunting is a rehearsal for war, but what you really care about is how much prey can be captured.¡±


    Koshach grinned, pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°A hunt involving so many hunters hasn¡¯t happened in a long time. Since I¡¯ve been able to draw a bow, this is the first time.¡±


    ¡°Haidong Tribe, Terdon Tribe¡­ Were there fewer hunters in the three major tribes¡¯ hunts than in this one?¡±


    Koshach shook his head: ¡°I¡¯ve never been a hunter in the three major tribes. But I guess, probably not as many.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Winters raised an eyebrow. ¡°The Red River Tribe has not been strong for many years. Do the hunters of the three major tribes not outnumber those of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    Koshach struggled to organize his words: ¡°White Lion, uses many hunters from other tribes; the three major tribes, only their own hunters.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t hunting better with more hunters?¡±


    ¡°The more the merrier,¡± Koshach said seriously, ¡°but in hunting, obedience is key.¡±


    According to Koshach, it was only after suffering defeat at the Battle of the Styx Encampment that he began learning the language of the bipeds.


    In such a short time, to have learned a language to his present level is truly no small feat¡ªhowever, it is still not adequate for more complex conversations.


    Therefore, when Koshach speaks, he always spits out words one by one, and Winters often has to guess Koshach¡¯s intended meaning through his body language.


    Winters pondered and asked, ¡°Are you saying that participating in the Red River Tribe¡¯s hunt means submitting to them?¡±


    Koshach nodded emphatically.


    To this, Winters was not surprised: ¡°I fear it¡¯s not just about submission. Big fish eat little fish; it¡¯s only a matter of time. I¡¯m just curious, knowing that the Red River Tribe plans to absorb the vile lands, why do you still participate in their hunt?¡±


    ¡°It is natural,¡± Koshach stated, ¡°the vile lands are weak, the Red River Tribe is strong, we must participate.¡±


    ¡°Is the Red River Tribe forcing you to submit?¡±


    ¡°No, being eaten earlier by a big fish is better than being eaten later.¡±


    ¡°I am not asking ¡®why submit to the White Lion¡¯.¡± Winters looked intently into Koshach¡¯s eyes, ¡°I¡¯m asking¡ªare you truly willing to submit to the White Lion?¡±


    It was a dangerous question, but Koshach still answered it honestly:


    ¡°Unwilling.¡±


    ¡­


    Koshach wanted to learn about the world beyond the steppes; Winters also wanted to know what was happening in the wilderness.


    Before this, Winters primarily relied on Little Lion for inside information about the Herder tribes.


    Little Lion had provided Winters with many valuable pieces of information, even including the critical warning that ¡°the Terdon people are coming.¡±


    However, relying on Little Lion for information meant that Winters could only ever know what the White Lion wanted him to know.


    Therefore, Winters urgently needed to develop new sources of intelligence.


    But easier said than done.


    Not to mention the physical separation and the deep hostility between the Herders and the Paratu People, just finding a Herder who could speak the common tongue was as difficult as panning for gold in sand.


    Thus, Winters tolerated Koshach observing his men like a spy, answering Koshach¡¯s various questions as best as he could.


    In exchange, Koshach also had to answer Winters¡¯ questions; an unspoken agreement between them.


    ¡­


    ¡°How about the leaders of the other tribes?¡± Winters continued to inquire, ¡°Are they willing to submit?¡±


    ¡°No one is willing,¡± Koshach answered truthfully, ¡°but the White Lion divides the spoils fairly and has prestige.¡±


    Winters listened quietly.


    Koshach extended his left hand: ¡°Eaten by the three great tribes.¡±


    Koshach then extended his right hand: ¡°Eaten by the Red River Tribe.¡±


    Finally, he clenched the hand symbolizing the Red River Tribe: ¡°This way is better.¡±


    Winters nodded slightly, noncommittally.


    ¡°Or.¡± Koshach dismounted, pulling an iron arrow from his quiver and offering it with both hands to the Paratu champion: ¡°Submit to Batu.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyebrows slightly raised: ¡°The vile lands? Or you?¡±


    Koshach bowed respectfully: ¡°Me.¡±


    Winters did not accept the iron arrow; he replied frankly, ¡°You are more valuable to me in the wilderness.¡±

 Chapter 949: 33: Hunt (Part 4)

    Chapter 949: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)


    [Twilight, somewhere in a valley on the west bank of The Styx]


    After repeatedly confirming that no one was following them, Pierre hesitantly asked, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s here?¡±


    Winters halted his horse and looked around, trying to recall the route they took to retreat after breaking through Terdun¡¯s camp. However, the wild mountains and ridges all looked similar, and he was also a bit unsure.


    If he couldn¡¯t figure it out, then rather than overthinking, Winters laughed heartily: ¡°It should be here¡­ Whatever, let¡¯s dig a few shovels first!¡±


    After a long journey, the Iron Peak County Delegation had already arrived deep in the Great Wilderness¡ªat the same time, in the heart of Red River Tribe territory¡ªthe Confluence River basin.


    The group even camped outside Bianli City last night.


    Revisiting old battlegrounds made those who had experienced the [Great Wilderness Campaign] inevitably sentimental.


    Vashka seized the opportunity to half proudly, and half regretfully, recount the Battle of Bianli to the new recruits, but he significantly boasted about Blood Wolf, and incidentally boasted about himself as well.


    As a symbol of both the White Lion¡¯s palace and the Red River Tribe, Bianli has already been rebuilt.


    The east triangular fortress that Winters personally blew up has been repaired, with only the conspicuous color difference of the old and new walls silently reminding people how fierce the siege was.


    According to Little Lion, the White Lion spends half of his time in Bianli dealing with affairs and receiving envoys.


    If the journey hadn¡¯t been delayed, Winters should also have met with the White Lion in Bianli.


    However, the White Lion was not in the city at the moment. It was only after asking Little Lion that he found out¡ªthe main camp had left Bianli three days ago, headed for the hunting grounds.


    Learning that the main camp had already embarked, Little Lion was so anxious that he was about to cry, and he blamed Winters a bit: ¡°The departure of the main camp means the hunt is about to be enclosed, we really need to hurry or we¡¯ll miss it!¡±


    Winters fully expressed his understanding of Little Lion¡¯s anxiety.


    The next day, he took a detour.


    It wasn¡¯t that Winters intentionally tricked Little Lion; he just wanted to check the gold-burying location along the way.


    In the evening, while others were busy unloading and setting up camp, Winters excused himself to go hunting, taking only Pierre and Xial with him.


    The three followed the river upstream, first finding the site of Bridgehead Fortress, then continuing to search along that night¡¯s retreat route, and finally finding this ¡°suspicious-looking¡± place.


    At the valley floor, Xial couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Such a big piece of wasteland, just relying on you, me, and Pierre, we can¡¯t finish digging by tomorrow! Should I go back and call some more people?¡±


    Winters dismounted, taking a shovel from his saddlebag: ¡°There are markers.¡±


    ¡°Markers?¡± Xial was greatly surprised: ¡°Didn¡¯t Colonel Jeska say at that time that leaving markers would lead to discovery, so we didn¡¯t leave any?¡±


    Winters and Pierre exchanged glances, the latter shrugged.


    Surveying the valley¡¯s entrances, Winters roughly deduced the route the wagon had taken: ¡°Surface markers might be exposed, so Captain Mason and I thought of a method. After hiding the gold, we buried three wooden stakes nearby¡­ They should be about half a foot under the soil layer.¡±


    Thus, the three lined up across the wagon-accessible flat valley floor, continuously turning over the soil with iron shovels.


    ¡°I wonder how Sea Blue is doing now.¡± Xial said, huffing and puffing: ¡°I also wonder how Iron Peak County is doing now.¡±


    Winters casually asked: ¡°How long have we been away from Iron Peak County?¡±


    ¡°Almost two and a half months?¡± Xial calculated for a while, then whispered in complaint: ¡°Brother, how much longer do we have to walk?¡±


    ¡°Soon, we should catch up with the White Lion within a few days.¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­ actually, many people don¡¯t understand now.¡± Xial spoke hesitantly: ¡°Why have we run thousands of miles to join the Herders¡¯ encirclement hunt?¡±


    Winters thought for a moment, did not answer directly, but asked another person next to him: ¡°What do you think? Pierre.¡±


    Pierre, who was just recovering from a severe illness, had already sweated profusely after swaying the shovel for a short while. He wiped his sweat and countered, ¡°Do you want the truth or a lie?¡± S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Where did you learn this trick?¡± Winters couldn¡¯t help but laugh.


    Pierre also chuckled for a moment, and honestly answered: ¡°The last time we encountered the Red River Tribe, it was a life-and-death struggle, but this time we have become their honored guests. Honestly, I find it hard to accept.¡±


    Winters stopped his work: ¡°Do other people think the same?¡±


    ¡°Many comrades think the same,¡± Pierre said seriously: ¡°Especially those subordinates you just brought out from Jiangbei Province, who have not experienced the formation of the army in Wolf Town, they are all very puzzled.¡±


    Winters, looking at the setting sun, fell into silence.


    Every member of the delegation was personally selected by Winters. To a certain extent, they were the subordinates Winters trusted and valued the most.


    If the members of the delegation all thought this way, then the attitude of others need not be mentioned.


    ¡°Your Excellency.¡± Pierre actively broke the silence: ¡°Although I don¡¯t trust the Herders, I trust you. I believe that you have sufficient reasons to shake hands and make peace with the Red River Tribe. I believe others think the same as I do. So, you don¡¯t need to have any concerns.¡±


    Winters sighed: ¡°I should explain¡­¡±


    ¡°If you feel there is no need to explain,¡± Pierre said emphatically. ¡°Then there¡¯s no need to explain.¡±


    After pondering for a moment, Winters had made his consideration.


    Winters took a long breath and solemnly promised to Pierre and Xial: ¡°When the timing is right, I will explain carefully to everyone¡­ Everyone has the right to know what they are fighting for.¡±


    Pierre seemed to want to say more, but it all went back down. In the end, he only said: ¡°You just need to give the order.¡±

 Chapter 950: 33: Hunt (Part 4)_2

    Chapter 950: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_2


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Winters slightly curled his lips: ¡°I have an order right now.¡±


    ¡°What order?¡± Xial asked, perplexed.


    ¡°Keep digging!¡±


    So, shovel by shovel, the three of them kept turning over the soil like carpeting the valley until the moon hung high.


    Just as Winters uncontrollably began to doubt his memory, he heard Xial¡¯s exclamation again: ¡°Here!¡±


    Since Xial mistook rocks for wooden stakes several times, both Winters and Pierre responded indifferently, ¡°Is it another rock?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Xial, anxious, pitched his voice: ¡°Wood! It is a stake!¡±


    ¡°Let me see!¡±


    Indeed, this time it wasn¡¯t a mistake. It definitely was a stake.


    Winters stepped on the wooden stake and, using the stake as the central point and his stride as the radius, drew a circle: ¡°Dig more! There must be two more stakes within this circle.¡±


    Spurred by the good news, Xial and Pierre moved swiftly, swiftly finding the other two stakes.


    At this very moment, Winters could finally confirm that beneath his feet there was not only soil and stones but also two tons of gold.


    Xial shouted excitedly: ¡°I¡¯m going back to call for people!¡±


    Pierre couldn¡¯t hide his joy either.


    Since the gold had been found, Winters¡¯s heartbeat slowed down instead.


    ¡°No!¡± Winters stopped Xial and commanded pensively, ¡°Fill the soil back.¡±


    Xial stared in astonishment, ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t we bring the crane exactly to dig out the gold man?¡±


    Pierre was also puzzled: ¡°Most of the fit men of the Red River Tribe have gone to the hunt. If we want to dig out the gold man without attracting attention, there couldn¡¯t be a better time than now.¡±


    ¡°You guys,¡± Winters chuckled woefully, helplessly lecturing the two: ¡°Only thinking about how to dig it out! Have you considered how to take it back?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t we still have the furnace and bellows?¡± Xial replied confidently, ¡°Dig it out! Melt it down! Load it and cart it away!¡±


    ¡°Once melted, it¡¯s just gold,¡± Winters explained with a smile, ¡°Before I finalize the terms with White Lion, the gold man is much more valuable than the gold.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Wasteland, hunting ground]


    The three-month-long hunting game was about to come to a grand conclusion, and even an observer like Winters couldn¡¯t help but feel stirred and excited.


    Tens of thousands of hunters scattered far and wide were now gathering in one spot, and the sparsely populated wilderness suddenly buzzed.


    All the hunting squads were doing the same thing¡ªdriving the prey into the final hunting ground.


    As the end approached, herding the beasts proved more difficult.


    The hunting squads, originally scattered, were now within each other¡¯s line of sight.


    Whenever the nearby presence of other hunting squads was noted, the Koshach¡¯s hunters would be exceptionally cautious.


    They were too close!


    The hunters needed the prey to move yet not to panic.


    Some squads hunted herd animals, while others hunted wild beasts¡ªany encounter could lead to disaster.


    The panic among prey could spread; if squads were too close, it might trigger a chain reaction collapse.


    Therefore, Koshach preferred to stand still rather than walk side by side with other squads.


    Perhaps sensing an impending disaster, the antelopes bleated, wandered, reluctant to move forward.


    The Koshach¡¯s hunters had to resort to harsher tactics. All hands were on deck, ropes were pulled to surround the prey from three sides while screaming, clanging iron, and even whipping to force the antelopes to move.


    Only when Winters witnessed the finale of Red River Tribe¡¯s hunt did he truly understand the phrase Little Lion mentioned before¡ª¡±The final hunting ground was set from the start.¡±


    White Lion¡¯s chosen grand finale venue was a highland named [Qingqiu].


    Standing on Qingqiu Plateau, overlooking the vastness, all that could be seen was open plains. For miles around, only Qingqiu stood solitary.


    Atop Qingqiu, White Lion¡¯s resplendent royal tent, with blue tail flags fluttering in the wind.


    Hunters tread on thin ice as they approached Qingqiu, only stopping when the golden top of Red River Tribe¡¯s tent came into view.


    They had completed the last stretch of the hunt!


    The hunters planted stakes in their respective positions, connecting ropes between the stakes and hanging felt and Flying Feathers on top.


    The stakes, ropes, and felt formed a wall to prevent beasts from escaping; the sound of the Flying Feathers in the wind scared the beasts away.


    Hundreds of hunting squads connected their felt walls.


    Eventually, a gigantic hunting ring, with Qingqiu as the center and a radius of a sighting distance, rose from the wilderness.


    [Note: A sighting distance is about five kilometers, the farthest distance one can see]


    From The Styx in the east to Xianhai in the west, from the south to Yinshan in the north, wild beasts were driven into the final hunting ground from all eight directions in the west.


    The density of animals within the hunting ring reached unimaginable levels, the cries of herbivores incessant, the roars of carnivorous beasts one after another. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Hurd Shaman sang: ¡°Hunting the cunning beasts, I am the leader; let the beasts of the wilderness thigh to thigh; let the beasts of the cliffs belly to belly¡±.


    ¡°Look!¡± Winters pointed at Qingqiu, his eyes shining, ¡°The stage is set, now let¡¯s see if the show will be fiercely thunderous!¡±


    Anna smiled sweetly, asking, ¡°Then¡­ who are the actors?¡±


    ¡°Definitely not me,¡± Winters laughed heartily, ¡°I am here to be an audience.¡±

 Chapter 951: 33: Hunt (Part 4)_3

    Chapter 951: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_3


    The people following Winters on his mission to the Red River Tribe also had their eyes opened; even old Sergei, who looked down on the Herd Barbarians the most, was greatly shocked at this moment.


    ¡°Good grief!¡± Old Sergei exclaimed, his face suddenly fierce: ¡°Did some remarkable figure among these barbarians show up?! How did they manage to put up such a grand spectacle?¡±


    Witnessing the grand finale of the Red River Tribe¡¯s ultimate hunt, the older generation was utterly astonished, while the younger generation developed an unexpected sense of sour humiliation¡ªit was not their fault, as competitiveness was the nature of youth.


    ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about making a show? Weren¡¯t they almost split by the Blood Wolf?¡± Vashka was at the age when he enjoyed talking back to his father, and he immediately seized a large banner and loudly exclaimed, ¡°Centurion, when we get back to Iron Peak County, let¡¯s also organize a hunt! A bigger one!¡±


    Upon hearing this, a chorus of approving responses came from the delegation¡¯s team.


    Old Sergei instinctively wanted to curse at his son. However, the banner Vasya raised was too big, and the old man had to swallow the swear words at the tip of his tongue, simply glaring furiously at his son.


    Winters looked around at his subordinates, seeing many of them eagerly nodding, their faces full of anticipation.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Winters said to Vashka: ¡°When the time comes, you¡¯ll be in charge of driving the game.¡±


    ¡°Roger that!¡± Vashka failed to notice the trap in those words, and, as if he had been commended, stood proudly with his chest puffed out and his face flushed red.


    Pierre sighed softly.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like hunting, do you?¡± Anna asked quietly.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Winters replied, smilingly, whispering: ¡°I¡¯m tricking him.¡±


    Koshach¡¯s group was the last to arrive at the hunting ground. By the time they could see Qingqiu, the hunting circle was already completed.


    So Koshach only needed to temporarily open a gap in the felt wall so that his men could drive the game into the circle, saving some effort in building the felt wall.


    Winters could clearly see that when the game entered the circle, the tense cheeks of the Koshach¡¯s hunters all relaxed.


    ¡°Do you just have to wait for the official start of the hunt?¡± Winters asked Koshach with a smile.


    ¡°No.¡± Koshach shook his head: ¡°We need to guard the felt wall, to make sure the game doesn¡¯t break through.¡±


    But in the end, this robust Herder man still revealed a relieved and weary smile: ¡°However, the harvest is not far off.¡±


    A spirited chestnut horse came galloping, and Little Lion shouted excitedly from a distance, ¡°Montaigne! You finally caught up!¡±


    Three days ago, Little Lion, upset with Winters for deliberately taking a detour, went to the hunting ground by himself. The two are now meeting again after a short separation.


    ¡°Until we meet again.¡± Winters looked at Koshach and extended his hand.


    Koshach hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand too.


    The two men gazed at each other, their palms touched and released.


    ¡­


    ¡°If someone asks, just say you¡¯re from Paratu¡¯s merchant caravan.¡± Little Lion walked ahead, leading the way, constantly looking back to explain, ¡°It¡¯s not that the Red River Tribe can¡¯t protect you¡­ it¡¯s that there are too many miscellaneous tribes, and I¡¯m afraid some may harbor ill-intentions¡­¡±


    Not only hunters from various tribes but also ordinary members of the Red River Tribe, as well as leaders and envoys from other tribes, participated in the final ¡°hunting shoot.¡±


    Felt tents belonging to the Herders were scattered all around the hunting ground, and Winters and company felt very out of place as they walked among them.


    Therefore, White Lion and Little Lion specifically prepared a separate campsite for Winters.


    ¡°¡­ Also, it would be better not to let your people wander around carelessly.¡± Little Lion advised with embarrassment, ¡°If you need anything, just tell me, and the Red River Tribe can possibly provide it to you.¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize, safety first. The arrangements by the Red River Tribe are already good enough,¡± Winters reassured Little Lion by patting his shoulder: ¡°However¡­ for water, we¡¯ll need to fetch it ourselves, so we¡¯ll still need to leave the camp a few times.¡±


    Little Lion smiled: ¡°My brother specifically instructed me to arrange for you a campsite near a water source. There, it¡¯s just ahead.¡±


    Following the direction pointed out by Little Lion: twelve small felt tents were clustered around a larger one. A total of thirteen felt tents were neatly located on a small hill near a stream.


    Even by Winters¡¯ standards, the campsite¡¯s location had no obvious flaws. Close to a stream for easy water access and elevated ground to prevent outsiders from peering in.


    As for the terrain not being defensible enough¡­ around Qingqiu were plains, and there were no natural defenses to begin with. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Moreover, with Winters¡¯ group surrounded by tens of thousands of Herders, if something really happened, no ¡°defensible position¡± would be of any use.


    Looking at the thirteen felt tents, Winters¡¯ heart uncontrollably trembled slightly. He caught hold of Little Lion, ¡°Umm¡­¡±


    Little Lion looked puzzled and asked in return: ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What do you want to ask?¡±


    Winters was silent for a long time, finally shaking his head and saying with a smile, ¡°Nothing¡­ when can I see White Lion?¡±


    ¡°Now is fine,¡± Little Lion shrugged, ¡°But don¡¯t you need to rest first?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Winters took a deep breath: ¡°The sooner I see White Lion, the better.¡±


    ¡­


    [Iron Peak County Delegation¡¯s Campsite]


    Since the host had generously provided accommodation, there was no need for the guests to pitch tents. After all, the thick, spacious felt tents were much more comfortable than marching tents.


    While others were busy unloading carts and lighting fires, Anna curiously walked into the largest felt tent at the center of the camp.


    The ground inside the felt tent was covered with soft fur leather, and sheer curtains divided the spacious interior into left, middle, and right sections.

 Chapter 952: 33: Hunt (Part 4)_4

    Chapter 952: Chapter 33: Hunt (Part 4)_4


    In the center of the yurt stood a half-man-high iron stove, on top of which a cooking pot was placed, and the gentle crackling of burning wood continuously came from the stove.


    Thanks to this heat-giving iron stove, the inside and outside of the yurt were simply two different worlds.


    Outside was the deep winter of the cold wilderness, howling winds; inside was a warm, blissful paradise.


    Touching the fur laid out on the ground, Anna quickly took off her heavy boots, stood barefoot, and carefully stepped onto it.


    The soft sensation under her toes made her unconsciously let out a gentle sigh.


    The stew pot was bubbling with ¡°gurgle gurgle¡± sounds; Anna carefully lifted the lid, and the aroma of lamb meat rose with the steam, diffusing in all directions.


    Anna instinctively stepped back and turned her head because of the wall of hot steam.


    The next moment, Anna could hardly believe her eyes.


    Because she saw a bathtub.


    A wooden bathtub large enough to accommodate an adult.


    Anna took a deep breath, exhaled, inhaled, and after adjusting her mindset, she walked towards the bathtub, praying.


    It was as if the gods had heard her prayers¡ªthe bathtub was considerately filled with water.


    Anna touched the surface of the water¡ªand it was also pleasantly warm.


    A sense of happiness she had never felt before surged into Anna¡¯s heart; she could hardly contain her impulse to cheer and jump for joy.


    Carefully scooping up a handful of warm water, Anna sat dumbly for a moment, and for some reason, she suddenly started to sob softly.


    But she quickly stopped the tears, wiped her eyes, and regained her usual demeanor.


    She sat next to the bathtub, propping her cheeks with her hands, gazing at the water surface, contemplating how to use this precious warm water.


    After a moment of thought, Anna shook her head slightly with a blush on her cheeks, felt the water temperature one last time, stood up, and prepared to see what else was set up on the other side of the yurt.


    As she was leaving, Anna caught a glimpse of a neatly laid out set of clothes on the square table beside the bathtub.


    Anna picked up the clothes¡ªit was a very clean set of hunting gear.


    ¡­


    [In the center of Qingqiu, the Palace Tent Complex of the Red River Tribe]


    From a distance, only one splendidly ornate palace tent could be seen on Qingqiu.


    In reality, there were more than just one tent; the palace was a temporary complex composed of more than a dozen yurts of varying sizes.


    Accompanied by Little Lion, Winters entered the palace tent complex of the Red River Tribe without any checks.


    The members of the Red River Tribe were making final preparations for tomorrow¡¯s hunt, checking horses, testing bows, sharpening arrows¡­Warriors with various colored feathers scurried about; servants dashed out of one yurt and into another in a panic.


    Winters observed the bustling scene of the Red River Tribe with interest as he followed Little Lion towards the most lavish and largest of the palace tents.


    Suddenly, without any warning, Winters stopped in his tracks.


    He turned to look behind him¡ªthere was nothing; he then scanned his surroundings¡ªstill nothing.


    He continued walking forward.


    Inside an inconspicuous tent ten steps away, Erhulan¡¯s heart was nearly bursting from her chest.


    An aged crone next to Erhulan asked hoarsely in Herde Language: ¡°Is that him?¡±


    The old woman was so aged that her years were indiscernible; her teeth were almost all gone, and her face was crisscrossed with wrinkles like ravines carved by the wind. Her hair and clothing were adorned with various animal bones, encompassing all kinds of creatures.


    What was downright chilling were the crone¡¯s eye sockets¡ªwhat used to be there was gouged out alive, leaving behind two empty, dark, bottomless abysses.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s him,¡± Erhulan hugged the old woman, crying in pain, ¡°What should I do? Old mother¡­¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The old woman hugged Erhulan back, her dry hands gently patting Erhulan¡¯s back.


    With the old woman¡¯s consolation, Erhulan¡¯s crying gradually subsided.


    Through the thick yurt, the old woman fixated her gaze on Winters¡¯ back.


    There was clearly nothing left in her eye sockets, yet she strained to straighten her back, panting heavily, staring fixedly at Winters until he was far away.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen through the mist to White Lion¡¯s future, and for that future, I returned the name of White Lion to him,¡± the old woman muttered in a hoarse voice, ¡°But I can¡¯t see that man¡¯s future, nothing at all¡­ I can only smell the scent of fire, blood, and tears¡­ they all cling to him¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Little Lion lifted the curtain decorated with gold and silver, and Winters stepped into the palace tent of the Red River Tribe.


    White Lion stood up and nodded in acknowledgement.

 Chapter 953: 34: Hunt (Five)

    Chapter 953: Chapter 34: Hunt (Five)


    It is unknown whether the Little Lion forgot to report or did it deliberately. When Winters crossed the tent curtain, there were many nobles from the Red River Tribe seated inside besides the White Lion.


    The nobles from the Red River Tribe who remembered Champion Paratu were either angry or surprised, but seeing the White Lion stand up and take the initiative to greet, they restrained themselves and did not make any excessive moves.


    The new elites of the Red River Tribe, who did not recognize Champion Paratu, whispered to those beside them for a bit, and their gazes towards Winters were somewhat complex.


    Winters had not expected to make his entrance in this manner, nor had he expected the White Lion to adopt such an equal stance.


    In response to a peach with a plum, Winters removed his hat and placed it on his chest, returning the greeting seriously.


    With a signal from the White Lion, the nobles of the Red River Tribe tactfully withdrew, and even the guards stepped back. Only Winters and White Lion remained in the tent, with Little Lion standing guard outside.


    After the others left, the body language of the White Lion visibly relaxed a great deal.


    He propped his back and slowly sat down on a legless chair, gesturing for Winters to also take a seat.


    As soon as he began the conversation, the White Lion casually asked a difficult question, ¡°Have you met Erhulan?¡±


    Winters stiffened instantly.


    He had come to negotiate with White Lion with an extremely serious attitude, and faced with White Lion¡¯s unexpected question, he did not know how to respond.


    Moreover, he could not immediately ascertain whether this was a negotiation strategy from the White Lion or merely a casual inquiry.


    Amidst his tumultuous thoughts, Winters subtly shook his head, ¡°Is she also in Qingqiu?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± White Lion answered calmly, ¡°This is the safest place.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Then there was a few seconds of silence, as White Lion seemed to be waiting.


    Taking a deep breath, Winters looked straight into White Lion¡¯s eyes and asked, ¡°Can we do business now?¡±


    White Lion imperceptibly sighed lightly and replied seriously, ¡°Not yet¡­ but at least we can talk now.¡±


    Winters reviewed his chips in his heart one last time; only three things were worth putting on the negotiating table: gold, trade routes, and iron mines. Everything else was just icing on the cake, dispensable.


    And there was only one thing he wanted¡ªpeople.


    Winters did not rashly speak, and while he was still considering which card to play first, White Lion picked up a scroll from the table and handed it directly to him.


    Although puzzled, Winters politely accepted the scroll.


    He slowly unrolled the scroll, unfamiliar names, ages, and military ranks flowed out one by one.


    A list, a list of captives.


    ¡°All the captives that could be found are on this,¡± White Lion¡¯s rich, magnetic voice spoke, ¡°There are still others in the hands of Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe, for now, there is no way.¡±


    Winters put away the scroll and asked calmly, ¡°Are they also in Qingqiu now?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Where then?¡±


    White Lion smiled slightly, ¡°They should be close to Iron Peak County by now. Don¡¯t worry, they are escorted.¡±


    Winters held the scroll, falling into silence.


    After a while, he earnestly asked White Lion, ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± White Lion nodded gently, ¡°You are a guest; please consider this as a gift.¡±


    Winters, persistent, asked further, ¡°What should I give you in return?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already received your gift in advance,¡± White Lion spoke amicably, ¡°On the grassland, exchanging gifts signifies friendship. If you don¡¯t wish to accept the friendship, you can also consider it as compensation.¡±


    Another bout of silence.


    ¡°Terdun Tribe¡¯s ritual golden figurine is in my hands.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± White Lion replied nonchalantly, ¡°You¡¯ve already told me, haven¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°I can give it to you.¡±


    White Lion laughed heartily, clapping his hands. He looked at Winters as if admiring a proud young horse: ¡°At that time, Dexe Zen thought I wanted to recruit you, so he said you are a conflagration that burns all things, bringing disaster if kept close, and advised me to let you return to Paratu. In fact, Dexe Zen was mistaken, from the first glance, I knew you would never submit.¡±


    Hearing White Lion mentioning the old priest¡¯s tone, Winters felt uncomfortable, so he did not continue the conversation.


    Patiently, White Lion asked Winters, ¡°Do you think the ritual golden figurine is very important to me?¡±


    Winters still did not speak.


    ¡°The ritual golden figurine is not important,¡± White Lion¡¯s eyes twinkling with amusement, he asked and answered himself, ¡°Not having the ritual golden figurine¡ªis very important to me.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    [Iron Peak County delegation campsite, Winters¡¯s felt tent]


    The diameter of the wooden bathtub was less than one meter, forcing Winters to bathe in a cramped, knees-hugging posture.


    While washing Winters¡¯s hair, Anna felt his mood was somewhat depressed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Anna asked softly, ¡°You seem a bit down since you returned.¡±


    Winters replied instinctively, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    Anna hugged him from behind around his neck, ¡°You can talk to me.¡±


    Out of pride, Winters initially wanted to respond with ¡°it¡¯s nothing,¡± but then he remembered Anna had said, ¡°I want to understand you more.¡±


    Winters self-deprecatingly said, ¡°You¡¯ll laugh at me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think that way!¡± Anna nipped his ear gently. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, Winters, enduring the discomfort, told Anna everything about the captives, White Lion, and the happenings inside the Red River Tribe¡¯s royal tent.


    During his recounting, Winters continued facing away from Anna, neither needing to see nor able to see Anna¡¯s expression.


    While listening, Anna did not pass any judgement, just quietly hugged Winters.


    After hearing it all, Anna asked puzzled, ¡°Hasn¡¯t your goal been achieved? Why be unhappy then?¡±

 Chapter 954: 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_2

    Chapter 954: Chapter 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_2


    ¡°The goal might have been achieved,¡± Winters said pensively, his feelings resembling those of a chess player who¡¯s been led step by step to a winning game, ¡°but I¡­ I always feel like I¡¯ve lost.¡±


    Anna, playing with Winters¡¯ hair, burst out laughing, ¡°Is it that competitive male pride again? Like a puppy scrambling for a bone, not satisfied with just its own, needing to snatch the other¡¯s to be happy.¡±


    Winters wanted to retort but couldn¡¯t think of a way, so he sulkily defended himself, ¡°I didn¡¯t let the White Lion steal my bone! And I¡¯m not upset about the bone.¡±


    ¡°There, there, I believe that no one could beat you when it comes to snatching bones,¡± Anna continued, rinsing his hair, ¡°And I believe that even though you think you¡¯ve lost now, one day you¡¯ll surpass him. So¡­what are you unhappy about?¡±


    Winters¡¯ mood plummeted again and he muttered, ¡°Nothing.¡± Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Anna, sensing the change in Winters, encouraged him, ¡°But you saved your comrades, didn¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t that a reason to be happy?¡±


    Hearing Anna¡¯s praise, Winters felt a need to clarify, ¡°If the White Lion didn¡¯t lie, then ¡®those who fell into the hands of the Red River Tribe¡¯ and ¡®those the Red River Tribe could buy¡¯ have already left the wasteland. Others are slaves in other tribes that deeply oppose the Red River Tribe, and even the White Lion is helpless, though he promised to help redeem them as much as possible. That¡¯s pretty much the situation¡­¡±


    The more Winters explained, the quieter Anna became, until she finally stopped speaking or moving altogether.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Anna asked with a mixture of pity, ¡°Why do you intentionally belittle yourself? You deliberately avoid the word ¡®save¡¯ and the word ¡®comrades¡¯¡ªyou¡¯re purposely distancing yourself from those you¡¯ve rescued.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not intentionally avoiding them,¡± Winters struggled to explain, ¡°The term ¡®save¡¯ is too severe, and as for ¡®comrades¡¯¡­¡±


    He paused, exhaling wearily, ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m still one of their comrades.¡±


    ¡°You did a good thing.¡± Anna kissed his cheek, ¡°And you did it better than many people. Many more powerful people did nothing. Many who should¡¯ve taken responsibility did nothing. When you tried to do something, you were more honorable than all of them.¡±


    Winters turned to face Anna, ¡°You are really kind.¡±


    Anna feigned anger, ¡°You only realize that now?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not as good as you think,¡± Winters said calmly, his eyes filled with pain, ¡°Do you really want to understand me?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Anna felt a twinge of unease, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you.¡± Winters took a deep breath, gathering immense courage, for the first time voicing the most hidden, dark thoughts of his deepest self, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not noble at all.¡±


    ¡°Today at the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace tent, I realized a fact when I saw that list¡ªthere wasn¡¯t a single person on there that I know, they probably don¡¯t know me either.


    It was at that moment, I suddenly couldn¡¯t understand why I should ¡®save¡¯ them? Save a bunch of strangers?


    I would save my subordinates because I have an emotional bond with them. They entrust their lives to me, and I must fulfill my responsibility.


    But the others? They don¡¯t know me, and I don¡¯t know them. Why should I save them?


    Just because we fought in the same army? Ha, that¡¯s hardly a sufficient reason.


    So, I can¡¯t help but doubt, am I really ¡®saving¡¯ them? Am I really doing it to ¡®save¡¯ them?


    Or is it to use them? To sweeten them up so they¡¯d owe me their lives, and then use them for revenge against those who owe me.


    Or maybe it¡¯s for self-gratification? To satisfy my vanity of wanting to be a savior? To satisfy my desire to be thanked, to be admired, to be praised?


    Or even possibly a spur of the moment? Just doing it because it felt right at the time?


    Ha ha, who knows?


    You say I am more noble than many, but when I scour my heart, I can¡¯t find any noble motives, only selfishness, baseness, and cruelty¡­¡±


    Winters let out all the built-up frustration in his chest, vented without holding back, even shocking himself with his recklessness.


    ¡°What will Anna think after hearing this? Will she detest me?¡± Every time he thought about this, it felt as though a sword was piercing his heart.


    How could someone not feel disgust after seeing another person¡¯s darkest side?


    But there was some sort of self-destructive urge driving him to keep going.


    He was like a self-harmer, cruelly flaying himself open, prying apart his ribs, and extracting the dirtiest part to show the other person, telling them: ¡°Look, this is who I am, are you disappointed?¡±


    When Winters eventually fell silent, Anna¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears.


    ¡°You said you wanted to understand me.¡± Winters asked softly, ¡°Do you understand me now?¡±


    ¡°I understand you, but you don¡¯t understand yourself,¡± Anna said, her eyes red, insistently, ¡°You saved them because you are kind-hearted.¡±


    Winters let out a deep sigh and gently rubbed Anna¡¯s cheek, ¡°Your sister was right, you really are a fool blinded by love.¡±

 Chapter 955: 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_3

    Chapter 955: Chapter 34: The Hunt (Part 5)_3


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t talk yet, listen to me.¡± Anna spoke in an indisputable and irrefutable tone. She took Winters¡¯ hand and held it tightly, very tightly: ¡°When I was seven years old, during the winter, my mother would traditionally take me to the shop. On our way home, outside the city, we encountered a beggar who was nearly frozen to death. My mother didn¡¯t have any money with her, nor did the coachman, so she took off her earrings and gave them to the beggar.¡±


    ¡°Mrs. Navarre is very kind.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°No.¡± Anna looked at Winters with a complex expression: ¡°It was only later that my mother found out that the beggar had frozen to death on the way to pawn the earrings.¡±


    Winters could tell, even after so many years, this incident still troubled Anna greatly. He silently squeezed her hand.


    ¡°I asked my mother if we had taken the beggar home, would he have not frozen to death.¡± Anna spoke rapidly, her eyes brimming with tears: ¡°My mother said ¡®yes, but bringing a stranger home could have put our family in danger.''¡±


    Winters wiped away Anna¡¯s tears: ¡°Actually, Mrs. Navarre made a valid point.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to tell you ¡®my mother is right¡¯!¡± Anna revealed her true feelings: ¡°I want to tell you that my mother is the most cold-hearted, merciless merchant in Sea Blue and even in Vineta! Yet even she, hesitated not a bit to take off her earrings and give them to a strange beggar. Even she has a side of kindness and compassion.


    Because kindness and mercy are human nature, God also put kindness and mercy into our bodies when He created man in His image. If everyone was devoid of kindness, the world would not be as it is today.


    But when kindness and reason conflict, one always has to make a choice! My mother always listens to reason, so she would give her earrings to a stranger, but not bring a stranger home.


    And you? You are the person who, after much consideration, still brings the beggar home, yet your reason cannot accept this action, so you must invent a sufficient reason ¡ª a selfish reason. ¡®I saved him because I want to use him¡¯, ¡®I saved him because I like that he is grateful to me¡¯. It¡¯s because selfish reasons can convince reason.¡±


    ¡°My dear, don¡¯t you understand?¡± Anna said tearfully, ¡°You don¡¯t think you¡¯re kind, because reason tells you kindness is a flaw, indicating weakness. So you despise kindness, hate kindness, blame kindness.¡±


    Anna stepped into the bathtub, hugging Winters tightly: ¡°But you are wrong, dear. Kindness is a precious quality. Especially kindness that chooses to remain after going through hardships, pain, and betrayal. You save your comrades because of this. Your companions trust you, follow you, fight for you, die for you, because of this. Nobility is not motivation, nobility is the result, just like kindness.¡±


    ¡°Do not despise yourself.¡± She gently touched the scars on Winters¡¯ forehead: ¡°No matter what, I will stand by you.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Shortly after, the bath ended.


    Anna brought Winters some clothes to change into: ¡°Put these on after a while.¡±


    Looking at the new hunting outfit Anna brought, an ominous premonition surged in Winters¡¯ heart, and he carefully said: ¡°I don¡¯t think I own this article of clothing¡­ Was there a mix-up with my luggage when unloading?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s your size.¡± Anna smiled beautifully, yet her tone left no room for refusal: ¡°Just wear it.¡±

 Chapter 956: 35: The Hunt (Six)

    Chapter 956: Chapter 35: The Hunt (Six)


    The new hunting attire with narrow sleeves and a short jacket, silver-bottomed with red edges, was finely crafted and used quality materials, but Winters found it a bit ill-fitting when he put it on.


    Perhaps because the tailor hoped that the wearer would eat well, sleep well, and gain some weight, the hunting attire was made a bit too loose.


    However, Winters hadn¡¯t been eating or sleeping well for quite a long time. So compared to when he had just returned from the Great Wilderness, he had actually lost more weight.


    ¡°Hm.¡± Anna looked at Winters with puzzlement, standing close at one moment and far away the next, even circling around Winters several times.


    Finally, Anna came to a conclusion and asked with a light smile, ¡°Why do I feel like you¡¯ve become a little more ¡®handsome¡¯ since we first met?¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t take it seriously since, in Sea Blue, his counterparts were peers dressed up like beautiful butterflies; whereas in Paratu, most of the men around him were rough and unrefined.


    ¡°Just a little bit?¡± Winters tugged at the hem of his clothes and jokingly countered, ¡°What about compared to Colonel Moritz?¡±


    Anna carefully smoothed out the wrinkles on Winters¡¯ shoulder, half teasing, half defiantly, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have your aura.¡±


    ¡°¡­Thank you.¡±


    Anna returned to the inner chamber and soon came out again, holding a ¡°folding board¡± with excitement.


    Seeing the board in Anna¡¯s arms, Winters immediately guessed what Lady Navarre intended to do.


    Winters took four or five steps back, knocking over several items, ¡°Next time! Is next time okay? Give me a little more time, at least let me know in advance so I can prepare mentally!¡±


    ¡°Next time? You¡¯ve only modeled for me once, and that was in Sea Blue!¡± Anna was already in the zone, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, turn your head a little; put your right hand inside your pocket, and don¡¯t move. Hm, the light is a bit dim. Can we open the skylight?¡±


    ¡­


    To allow Anna to record her inspiration any time and anywhere, Winters personally crafted a set of portable drawing tools modeled after the structure of atlas collections.


    Although the issue with paints wasn¡¯t resolved, Anna treasured them and couldn¡¯t put them down.


    Trudging along the way and recording their journey, Winters¡¯ mailbox was filled with Anna¡¯s drawings: the starry sky, the cold and silent wilderness, antelopes leaping high, the profile of a warrior staring at the campfire¡­


    The people involved¡ªincluding Anna herself¡ªhad not yet realized that they were creating history.


    When Anna faced the rising sun, fully engrossed in outlining the contours of the land, Anna Navarre became the first recorded painter to enter the Great Wilderness for inspiration and left behind her artwork.


    ¡­


    Suddenly, it became very lively outside the felt tent, with people shouting and laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out!¡± Seeing a golden opportunity, Winters dashed out of the tent and deliberately asked loudly, ¡°Who¡¯s making noise?¡±


    Of course, it was Little Lion.


    Upon discovering that Winters had made an effort to bathe and change his clothes, Little Lion was elated, ¡°Did you already know?¡±


    ¡°Know what?¡± Winters was clueless.


    Before Little Lion could explain, Vashka dragged someone right in front of Winters.


    ¡°Centurion!¡± Vashka¡¯s joy was overflowing as he shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°Look who¡¯s back!¡±


    When Winters finally recognized the face of the person Vashka was pulling, he was equally surprised, ¡°Bell?!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bell grinned, tears swirling in his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s me!¡±


    ¡°Why the tears?¡± Winters hugged the young hunter tightly and ruffled his hair with emotion, ¡°You¡¯ve grown too much! I almost didn¡¯t recognize you! How¡¯s the little guy?¡±


    After the Great Wilderness campaign, Brother Reed, Bell, and Xial planned to retrieve Winters¡¯ body, but they ended up reuniting with a still-living Winters instead. When Winters returned to Paratu, Bell chose to remain in the wilderness to continue studying how to become a [Beast Spirit Speaker] with the great Shaman.


    Compared to when they had parted, Bell had grown at least an inch taller now. He was not only nearing Winters¡¯ height, but his physique was visibly more robust. Although he had not completely shed the immaturity of his youth, he was no longer the ¡°little hunter,¡± but a genuine ¡°Hunter.¡±


    ¡°The little guy is at the northern camp. I didn¡¯t dare bring him over, afraid of startling the horses,¡± Bell reported the good news quickly through his tears, ¡°You¡¯ll definitely be surprised! The little guy is now a big guy! When he stands up, he¡¯s taller than a horse¡­¡±


    Since Winters did not allow Bell to name the young lion, the club had simply called him ¡°little guy.¡± As time passed, the young lion unexpectedly came to recognize ¡°little guy¡± as his name, to everyone¡¯s surprise.


    Others in the camp, hearing the commotion, also gathered around one by one.


    Pierre saw Bell and rushed over for a bear hug; the two were both crying and laughing.


    Old soldiers who had fought in the Great Wilderness campaign also came forward to embrace Bell¡ªBell had been Winters¡¯ messenger, and there wasn¡¯t an old subordinate of Winters who didn¡¯t know the young hunter.


    Comrades who had faced life and death together were now reunited, and everyone had thousands of words they wanted to say to each other. In the end, they just shook each other¡¯s hands and silently patted each other¡¯s shoulders.


    Even old Sergei, who considered himself to have a heart of stone, witnessing this scene, cursed and walked off to a secluded spot, secretly wiping his eyes.


    ¡°I won¡¯t disturb your reunion,¡± Little Lion said, feeling a bit uncomfortable as an outsider and giving a few words of instruction before attempting to leave, ¡°Montaigne, I¡¯ll come find you tomorrow; remember to prepare in advance.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Winters hurriedly stopped Little Lion, ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°What else could it be? Of course, it¡¯s tomorrow¡¯s hunt!¡± Little Lion looked Winters up and down in his hunting gear, surprised, and asked: ¡°You didn¡¯t know? Then why did you get ready so formally in advance?¡±


    The camp was in disarray, so Winters pulled Little Lion into the tent.


    ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± Winters said bluntly. ¡°So I hope you can explain it from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t anyone tell you? My elder brother wants to invite you to join tomorrow¡¯s hunt,¡± Little Lion said with a laugh and a cry: ¡°Seeing how you¡¯re dressed, I thought you already knew!¡±


    Winters¡¯ brows furrowed slightly: ¡°A hunt by the Red River Tribe, can an outsider like me participate?¡±


    ¡°If I have to say, normally only members of the tribe join the hunt. But why is it ¡®the Red River Tribe¡¯s¡¯ hunt?¡± Little Lion said with ease: ¡°You are an honored guest of the Red River Tribe. When White Lion issues an invitation, others have no say to disagree.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°The situation is like this.¡± Winters gathered his subordinates and explained briefly: ¡°The Red River Tribe has invited us to join tomorrow¡¯s hunt.¡±


    The temporary meeting place became silent, everyone was somewhat surprised.


    Vashka, who always spoke his mind, asked in disbelief: ¡°Does that mean¡­ we can enter that hunting circle?¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about?¡± Old Sergei quickly made his son shut up and covered for Winters: ¡°The barbarians are inviting the Civil Guard Officer! Not us. How could they allow us to go in?¡±


    ¡­


    In reality, at the time when Little Lion came to invite Winters, the Iron Peak County Delegation was packing up, preparing to go home.


    Winters came to the Red River Tribe expecting difficult negotiations, only for the most important goal of the trip (exchange of prisoners) to be achieved smoothly in an unexpected manner.


    The remaining two minor goals: the trade route and the iron mine, were assigned to two Archery Officers by White Lion.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Archery Officers were enthusiastic about the trade route, but only showed lukewarm interest in the potential iron mines. They promised to provide Winters with ore samples, politely declining Winters¡¯ offer for ¡°on-site exploration help.¡± S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since the goals were accomplished, Winters had no intention of staying longer ¡ª he was eager to dig for gold.


    A few days ago, when digging for gold, Winters had nearly turned that valley upside down. The nights are long and filled with dreams; who knows if any Herders might by chance discover the newly-disturbed soil hiding the gold? Sooner it is unearthed, the safer it is.


    Thus, as soon as he returned to the camp from Qiuqiu, Winters told his subordinates, ¡°Rest well tonight, we set out tomorrow.¡±


    Some of the quicker delegation members had to pack the things they had just unloaded from the carriages back in, while Little Lion arrived while they were busy.


    ¡­


    ¡°Then, do you want to participate?¡± Pierre asked calmly.


    Winters looked towards the direction of Qiuqiu.


    As dusk fell, the hunters guarding the felt walls lit torches. Winters couldn¡¯t see the scene inside the hunt circle, but the rising and falling wails of the beasts grew clearer.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to participate,¡± Winters answered.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Vashka sounded disappointed, and the others could hardly hide their disappointment.


    It seemed a pity to miss out on such a magnificent event, to only observe and not to participate, leaving everyone feeling a bit empty inside.


    Seeing the heartbroken look in his subordinates¡¯ eyes, Winters sighed: ¡°If you guys want to join, then I¡¯ll accept Little Lion¡¯s invitation. According to him, if I enter the hunting ground, you can join as my guards.¡±


    The members of the delegation suddenly revived, their faces flushed with excitement, breathing more rapidly.


    Vashka became stuttering in his speech: ¡°Really really real¡­ really?¡±


    Old Sergei could no longer maintain his lesson to his son, and although he was trying to maintain formalities, Old Dusack could no longer suppress his excitement: ¡°Can we really join? Sir?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Winters said with a carefree smile, yet with a touch of regret: ¡°We probably won¡¯t have the chance to see such a spectacular hunt again in the future. If you want to have some fun¡­ go have fun. Just remember, we are outsiders and should not cause conflict with the Red River hunters.¡±


    Everyone cheered with joy.


    ¡°Can only bows be used? Are firearms allowed?¡± Vashka asked excitedly: ¡°What should I do if I can¡¯t use a bow and arrow¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, a veteran from Wolf Town seized the moment to begin telling the story of ¡°Blood Wolf Hunting the Bear¡± in the crowd.


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Old Sergei scolded.


    ¡°Why do you say it¡¯s nonsense?¡± the storyteller took offense.


    ¡°When Civil Guard Officer Montaigne hunted a bear, I was right there! How do I not remember you being there?¡± Old Sergei boasted with pride: ¡°Let me tell you all, it actually went like this¡­¡±


    Amidst the noisy recollection, anticipation, and joking, Winters quietly left the temporary meeting area.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rare opportunity.¡± Anna caught up to him from behind, holding onto Winters¡¯ arm, and asked softly: ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to go?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too lazy,¡± Winters replied with a smile. ¡°I don¡¯t like hunting.¡±


    The night grew deeper, Qiuqiu disappeared into the darkness, and the carefully prepared stage of the Red River Tribe was about to witness the final performance.

 Chapter 957: 36: The Hunt (7)

    Chapter 957: Chapter 36: The Hunt (7)


    Before dawn, everyone had already begun preparing.


    Near the hunting ring, there were no longer herds of grazing horses; all the horses were busily chewing their supplemented feed. The hunters carefully inspected their bows and arrows, sharpening the arrowheads repeatedly.


    As the first rays of sunlight touched the green hills, groups of hunters from various tribes streamed out of their camps, spontaneously gathering toward the hunting grounds.


    The sound of hooves thundered, dust clouds overshadowed the sun, hunting dogs barked furiously, and warhorses neighed loudly.


    ¡°Lady Navarre, please refrain from taking any dangerous actions,¡± Colonel Moritz politely expressed his concern. ¡°You weren¡¯t frightened, were you?¡±


    ¡°Rest assured,¡± Anna replied with a smile. She wasn¡¯t scared, just a bit disappointed.


    Listening to the rolling thunder of hooves, Anna felt as though she could see a spectacular scene of ten thousand horses galloping like a giant wave.


    However, as part of that giant wave, even standing on horseback, Anna could only see a dozen horse butts ahead of her and ended up with a mouthful of dust.


    Regrettably, the only nearby place that offered an overview of everything was the green hill, but not everyone could go up there.


    At this moment, members of the County Delegation had already changed into herder attire, and without speaking, they were almost indistinguishable from the Herders.


    Since the Iron Peak County Delegation was acquainted with the Evil Soil Tribe, Little Lion arranged for hunters from the Evil Soil Tribe to accompany the Iron Peak County group for the hunt.


    Everyone followed the Evil Soil Tribe¡¯s riders and finally stopped outside the felt wall of the hunting circle, waiting for the command.


    Over a hundred tribes and nearly thirty thousand hunters were quickly scattered across the hunting circle that spanned [two Mu of land].


    [Note: Two Mu of land is approximately ten kilometers]


    The hunting circle delineated by the Red River Tribe was so vast that even if all the hunters stood next to the felt wall, they would have to take at least two steps to reach the next person on average; thus, none of the Iron Peak County group felt cramped.


    The sun had fully risen, and the clusters of royal tents above the green hill became clearly visible, as did the groups of prey.


    Members of the delegation who registered for the hunt were both nervous and eager.


    Except for Father Caman, the blacksmith Berlion, and a few who preferred quiet, the rest signed up, not wanting to miss this rare grand event. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Old Sergei voluntarily took on the sergeant¡¯s responsibilities. While helping others check their gear, he repeatedly instructed, ¡°Listen up, pups! This is barbarian territory! Absolutely no conflicts with the barbarians! And do not reveal your identity¡­¡±


    ¡°When does it start?¡± Vashka, parched and repetitive, muttered, ¡°When will it be our turn?¡±


    Koshach, leading a horse by, heard Vashka¡¯s words and replied in a muted voice, ¡°It starts soon. Your turn, our turn, much later. Dismount first, rest.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Vashka widened his eyes.


    Koshach furrowed his brow, took out an arrow, and drew a series of circles from large to small on the ground.


    Pointing to the largest circle first, he said, ¡°Khan.¡± Then he pointed to the middle and smaller circles in turn: ¡°Leaders, you and me.¡±


    Koshach stared into Vashka¡¯s eyes and said solemnly, ¡°One by one, no chaos. Small ones before big ones will lead to bloodshed.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡± Vashka was somewhat confused.


    ¡°He means that hunting has to take turns, and those with higher status go first. It will probably be late before it¡¯s our turn,¡± Pierre stepped up to the group and loudly ordered, ¡°Everyone! Dismount and rest!¡±


    Vashka obediently dismounted, and the others also followed Pierre¡¯s command.


    Although theoretically, Colonel Moritz held the highest rank on site, during this return period, Pierre had regained his position as the deputy of Blood Wolf¡ªby taking on a lot of work and subtly instilling this.


    Moritz did not care about how Mr. Mitchell established his authority. He was rather happy to be free of issuing orders if someone else was willing to do it.


    He slowly dismounted and looked around¡ªthere wasn¡¯t even a stone to rest his legs.


    Moritz wasn¡¯t picky; he sat down next to the felt wall and casually pulled out a small flask from his pocket.


    Just as he was uncorking it, Lady Navarre¡¯s gentle voice came from in front of him: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to participate in the hunt?¡±


    Anna, leading a horse, curiously looked at the colonel.


    Moritz took a sip from his horse milk liquor, not lifting his eyelids as he replied, ¡°Because Winters asked me to protect you.¡±


    ¡°Protection can rotate, but a grand hunting expedition comes only once. Aren¡¯t you really going to join?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like hunting.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Anna persisted.


    Moritz caught the question lightly: ¡°Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°Because Mr. Montaigne also doesn¡¯t like hunting, but he refuses to say why,¡± Anna earnestly requested. ¡°He respects you greatly, so I want to know your answer.¡±


    Moritz sighed: ¡°I only know my own thoughts.¡±


    ¡°Please, tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well, Lady Navarre, first tell me what hunting is.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡±


    ¡°Assume that hunting is physical labor,¡± Moritz spread his hands, ¡°then my reason for not liking hunting is simple¡ªI am too lazy to move.¡±


    Anna sensitively realized that the colonel hadn¡¯t finished speaking: ¡°Is there another assumption?¡±


    Moritz smiled slightly, sitting up a bit: ¡°Yes. Another assumption is that hunting is a recreational activity; then my answer is even simpler.¡±


    Anna waited quietly for the answer.


    Moritz spoke softly: ¡°Killing wild animals does not bring me any pleasure.¡±


    Anna was momentarily at a loss for words, and Moritz didn¡¯t say anything more.


    Anna pondered for a moment, then suddenly revealed a smile: ¡°I may not fully understand what you mean, but I¡¯ve realized one thing¡ªyou are a very gentle person.¡±

 Chapter 958: 36: Hunt (Seven)_2

    Chapter 958: Chapter 36: Hunt (Seven)_2


    Moritz, who was sipping mare¡¯s milk wine, coughed violently as if he had heard the most absurd joke.


    Just then, twelve long horns sounded simultaneously in the green hills.


    The penetrating sound of the horns spread outward from the green hills, continuously and clearly reaching everyone¡¯s ears.


    The attention of the people of Iron Peak County was instantly focused, because the information conveyed by the sound of the horns was unmistakable¡ªthe hunt was about to begin!


    ¡°Is it here?!¡± Vashka excitedly ran to the edge of the felt wall, stretching his neck to look: ¡°Where is it?¡±


    Others also gathered around, everyone leaning against the felt wall, anxiously waiting.


    The Red River Tribe did not keep the ¡°audience¡± waiting too long.


    Suddenly, several plumes of white smoke burst out from the top of the green hill. The horn sound suddenly stopped, followed by a loud peal of thunder:


    ¡°Boom!!!¡±


    Inside the hunting circle, groups of deer, sheep, donkeys, and other wild animals were frightened by the thunder and began to run blindly.


    Old Sergei¡¯s hair stood on end: ¡°Cannons?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Pierre replied expressionlessly: ¡°We¡¯ve experienced them before.¡±


    Vashka clenched his fists, somewhat annoyed: ¡°Weren¡¯t they very well hidden before? Now they are not hiding anymore!¡±


    ¡°What used to be is what used to be, what is now is now.¡± Pierre clenched his fists too: ¡°Just having cannons is not enough for Red River Tribe, they need others to know they have them.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Vashka kicked the felt wall hard: ¡°What grand hunt? It¡¯s just a performance!¡±


    Echoes of agreement arose from the crowd of Iron Peak County, also stirred by unpleasant memories.


    Only Colonel Moritz mildly spoke in defense of the Red River Tribe: ¡°Every ceremony is essentially a performance.¡±


    Pierre was about to say something in rebuttal. But turning his head, all he saw in the eyes of the hunters from the hostile tribes were envy, admiration, and jealousy.


    Pierre had to admit in his heart, the colonel was right¡ªno matter how these outsiders viewed it, for the Red River Tribe, this opening performance was already a great success.


    As they spoke, someone exclaimed: ¡°What is that?¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, and a gap suddenly opened in the felt wall to the northwest.


    More than ten riders leaped into the hunting grounds through the gap.


    All the riders wore white armor and rode white horses, except for the one at the very front who wore bright red armor and rode a robust reddish horse, making him extremely conspicuous among the white armor and horses.


    A large banner with nine horse tails in blue closely followed the rider in red armor.


    ¡°Is that the Barbarian Chief?¡± Old Sergei asked quietly.


    The thunderous cheers answered Old Dusack¡¯s question.


    As far as the eyes of the delegation could reach, the Herder hunters from all tribes were shouting in unison: ¡°Yasin! Yasin! Yasin¡­¡±


    Pierre also noticed that the shock and fear shown by several Herder leaders nearby were no less than those of the people from Iron Peak County.


    After the rider in red armor entered the hunting circle, he immediately started chasing the game. He saw him drawing his bow and riding fast, shooting the prey without stopping.


    The riders in white armor that followed would pick up the carcasses with long poles, openly demonstrating them to the other tribal hunters.


    At the same time, every time a game was hoisted onto a pole, the green hill would fire a round of salute, and the tribal hunters, having witnessed the agile figure of the White Lion, would cheer once again.


    While others watched intently or with disdain the rider in red armor galloping and hunting, Anna took out her sketchpad, eagerly yet anxiously asking: ¡°When will we see Mr. Montaigne?¡±


    ¡°Winters?¡± Colonel Moritz said nonchalantly: ¡°Isn¡¯t he with the brother of the White Lion?¡±


    ¡°When can we see the Little Lion?¡±


    ¡°Soon.¡± Koshach, knowing the relationship between the lady disguised as a man and Batu, explained eagerly: ¡°First the Khan, then the Khan¡¯s brother, then the tribal Nayen, then the tribal nobles, then the tribal hunters¡­¡±


    ¡°The White Lion has already shown up, why hasn¡¯t the Little Lion appeared yet?¡±


    ¡°This¡­¡±


    Colonel Moritz sighed and explained for Koshach, ¡°Lady Navarre, have you ever seen a pack of wolves sharing meat?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, no.¡±


    ¡°How about dogs?¡±


    ¡°¡­No, neither.¡±


    ¡°Then listen well. The hierarchy within a wolf pack is strict. When the alpha wolf is eating, the others can only watch. Only after the alpha has eaten and drunk its fill can the others feed.¡± Colonel Moritz elaborated, ¡°I believe it¡¯s the same among the Herders, as long as the White Lion hasn¡¯t finished hunting, it¡¯s not the Little Lion¡¯s turn to step in.¡±


    Anna looked inquiringly at Koshach, who nodded emphatically.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry, you¡¯ll see Winters soon,¡± Colonel Moritz seemed to be in a good mood, joking unusually, ¡°But as far as I know, our respected Captain isn¡¯t very skilled with a bow and arrow. You might want to pray that he doesn¡¯t embarrass himself in public¡­¡±


    Without any warning, Colonel Moritz¡¯s voice abruptly stopped. In an instant, he seemed like a different person, and the faint smile on his lips had completely disappeared.


    The onlookers sensed the change in the Colonel and exchanged glances.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Colonel?¡± Anna asked cautiously.


    Colonel Moritz slightly narrowed his eyes: ¡°Something¡¯s not right.¡±


    Everyone followed the Colonel¡¯s gaze; the Red Armor riders were galloping in pursuit of their prey, yet nothing seemed amiss.


    ¡°Give me your quiver,¡± Colonel Moritz said coldly to Koshach.


    Koshach did not hesitate and immediately handed over his quiver with both hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the Barbarian Chief chasing the prey now,¡± Colonel Moritz drew all the arrows from the quiver and, under the puzzled looks of the crowd, snapped off the arrowheads one by one, yet his tone was unnervingly calm, ¡°It¡¯s the prey chasing the Barbarian Chief.¡±


    Before he finished speaking, another peal of thunder sounded.


    This time, the roar of thunder was unlike the celebratory sound of cannons; it was closer, clearer, and more deafening.


    ¡°Look!¡± someone from Iron Peak County exclaimed.


    The cries and shouts of the Herders merged into a tidal wave, striking at everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Limbs and soil flew into the sky, and the terrified herd frantically bolted in all directions. The area where the Red Armor riders had been had now vanished into dust and a blood mist.


    Old Sergei¡¯s eyes widened as large as cowbells, he bellowed, ¡°Smoke signals!¡±


    Beyond the horizon, columns of smoke were piercing straight into the sky.


    In an instant, everyone realized what had happened.


    The next moment, the clan leaders were screaming hoarsely for their men, and the Herders rushed to their Warhorses. Some mounted without hesitation and left, others recklessly dashed into the hunting ring.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Vashka asked in panic.


    ¡°Wait,¡± replied Colonel Moritz coldly.


    Meanwhile, inside the hunting ground, a White Armor rider charged into the smoke and blood mist, dragging out a Red Armor rider from beneath the carcass of a Crimson steed.


    ¡°Still alive?¡± the White Armor rider asked.


    ¡°Not¡­ not dead¡­¡± Little Lion pulled off his helmet, fresh blood was flowing from his left ear. Because he was wearing red armor, the mixture of blood and mud was indistinct, making it difficult to see where his torso was injured.


    Little Lion coughed violently, each heave of his chest brought out a trace of blood, ¡°What do we do now¡­¡±


    Winters lifted Little Lion, ¡°Qingqiu.¡±

 Chapter 959: 37: The Hunt (Part 8)

    Chapter 959: Chapter 37: The Hunt (Part 8)


    [Outside the Hunting Circle]


    The hunting grounds were like a boiling volcano crater, with signals of smoke, glares of fire, the sound of hooves, and the whizz of arrows.


    Mad beasts stampeded in every direction, even breaking through several felt walls; the Herder hunters who could not escape in time were trampled underfoot, screaming as they vanished.


    In the dust kicked up by the horses¡¯ hooves, Herders and Herders were also killing each other.


    However, the people of Iron Peak County could only hear the screams and the clashing of weapons; they couldn¡¯t see anything clearly.


    Without any warning, Vashka¡¯s Warhorse let out a frantic neigh. It reared up on its hind legs, savagely kicking out at old Sergei.


    If not for Colonel Moritz¡¯s swift reaction in pushing old Dusack down, Sergei¡¯s skull would have been kicked to pieces.


    It wasn¡¯t easy for Vashka on horseback either; he gripped the reins tightly and clamped his legs around the horse¡¯s ribs, struggling to subdue the suddenly uncontrollable Warhorse.


    People nearby scattered to give Vashka space. However, the Warhorse leaped and stamped violently, tossing Vashka from the saddle before running away.


    Vashka fell heavily and instantly lost consciousness. Old Sergei cried out and rushed to his son.


    The delegation from Iron Peak County and the people from the vile lands gathered their members, instinctively distancing themselves from each other.


    Koshach, with two hunters, came rushing over, stopping twenty paces away to warn the people of Iron Peak County: ¡°Horses! Horses!¡± He then quickly returned to the ranks of the vile lands.


    Pierre didn¡¯t need Koshach¡¯s warning to notice the abnormal behavior of the Warhorses.


    Even the gentlest riding horses, at that moment, had become restless and agitated.


    Pierre¡¯s mount drooled from the mouth, constantly pawing the ground with its hooves, trying to attack any of its kind that came close.


    ¡°Dismount!¡± Pierre decisively ordered: ¡°Pull down the felt walls!¡±


    The delegation members selected by Winters quickly dismounted and secured the hitching posts for the horses outside the crowd.


    Those who had secured their Warhorses immediately began to dismantle the felt walls, constructing a makeshift barricade with wooden stakes, ropes, and leather.


    ¡°Please rest here for a moment,¡± Colonel Moritz calmly positioned Anna in the middle of the formation, apologizing gracefully: ¡°Forgive me for leaving briefly.¡±


    Anna did her best to appear calm, nodding with a smile.


    Swords unsheathed, guns on ropes, the Iron Peak County Delegation erected two layers of caltrops, remaining vigilant by the temporary felt walls.


    Pierre proactively sought instructions from Colonel Moritz: ¡°Please give your orders, Colonel.¡±


    ¡°The water has been purposely muddied. Let¡¯s wait for it to clear before we act,¡± Moritz took out an arrowhead, found its balance point, and casually shot it away: ¡°Hold the fort here, kill anyone who approaches.¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the Hunting Circle]


    Winters carefully placed Little Lion on the back of the horse. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just now, Little Lion was a couple of arrows¡¯ distance from him; Winters hadn¡¯t seen what injured Little Lion. He only heard a thunderous boom, and then Little Lion disappeared in the smoke.


    Arriving at the scene, the lingering smell of gunpowder smoke confirmed Winters¡¯s suspicion¡ªthe assassin had used firearm weapons.


    It could be heavy artillery or a grenade; either way, it had far exceeded the limits that Little Lion had informed him about.


    ¡°How could the Red River Tribe allow outsiders to set up heavy artillery right under their noses?¡±


    ¡°Who could have hidden a grenade on Little Lion?¡±


    All sorts of questions filled Winters¡¯s mind, only to be suppressed by more pressing matters. There was no time for questioning or accountability; keeping Little Lion alive was the priority.


    With unclear enemy positions, numbers, and identities, there was only one place that could be considered safe in the hunting grounds¡ªQingqiu Hill.


    Little Lion gradually sank into a semi-conscious state, even unable to articulate a single complete sentence. He groaned over and over: ¡°[In Herde Language] Wolf¡­ wolf¡­¡±


    Hoofbeats approached again; three white-armored Cavalry burst into the smokescreen. Seeing Little Lion covered in blood and uncertain whether he was alive or dead, the three white-armored Cavalry dismounted in panic and crowded around.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Winters, holding his lance straight, aimed at the newcomers.


    The young white-armored Cavalry on the right flared up in anger, pulling out his saber.


    ¡°[In Herde Language] Stop! Seek not death!¡± The leading white-armored Cavalry forcefully grabbed the saber-drawer back, shouting sternly: ¡°[In Herde Language] Let Batu protect Little Lion! Little Lion trusts Batu!¡±


    After speaking, the leading white-armored Cavalry forcefully patted his chest, then pointed towards Qingqiu Hill.


    Although neither party could understand what the other was saying, the information conveyed by body language was sufficient.


    Winters nodded, indicating for the three to go ahead.


    After just a few steps, an odd sound that penetrated the noise reached Winters¡¯s ears.


    The strange sounds were like whistle calls, like sobs, like the song of cicadas; yet upon careful discernment, they resembled none in particular.


    The strange sounds lasted only briefly, but Winters was certain they were not illusions. The youngest of the three white-armored Cavalry¡ªthe one who drew his saber¡ªwas also searching for the source of the sound.


    The other two older Cavalry showed no reaction at all.


    The surroundings grew increasingly eerie; the smoke did not dissipate but became thicker and more extensive, engulfing them all.


    Winters stopped in his tracks¡ªsomething else was coming!


    Startled herds fled blindly, hunters of various tribes fought independently; chaos reigned inside and outside the hunting grounds, with hooves thundering, roars, and clashing sounds all blended together.


    Despite the expected tumult, Winters detected an odd sense of silence.


    All sounds seemed to come from a distance; he heard nothing close by. The rampaging herds ran aimlessly without direction, yet they unanimously avoided the area where Winters was. It was as if some terrifying creature lurked nearby, scaring away all the wild beasts.

 Chapter 960: 37: The Hunt (Part 8)_2

    Chapter 960: Chapter 37: The Hunt (Part 8)_2


    Winters looked around; the smoke was so thick that one couldn¡¯t distinguish between human or beast beyond ten meters. It seemed that the smoke was also poisonous; it didn¡¯t take long before his eyes started to sting.


    A quick escape on horseback? The seriously injured Little Lion wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the jostling. Moreover, a blind action could very likely be falling right into a trap.


    Winters was unclear about the enemy¡¯s weaponry or their tactics, but he surmised that the enemy forces couldn¡¯t be large; otherwise, they would have swarmed him already. Why would they be so cautious like this?


    He made a decision.


    He drew out steel darts, closed his eyes, held his breath, and listened intently.


    He noticed that Batu suddenly stopped in his tracks, and the three White Lion Cavalry halted as well.


    Out of respect, the three White Lion Cavalry maintained silence. However, after a few breaths and no action from Batu, the situation became critical, and every breath seemed unbearably long. The youngest White Lion Cavalry could no longer contain himself.


    Just as the young White Lion Cavalry opened his mouth, Winters spotted the enemy¡¯s flaw: a low growl of a fierce beast and a hissing sound like a snake spitting out its tongue.


    Winters didn¡¯t hesitate for a moment, firing five steel darts in rapid succession toward the source of the noise.


    A miserable groan came back from behind the smoke, followed by a series of footsteps.


    There were more people!


    Suppressing the phantom pain, Winters once again entered a spellcasting state and hurled his spear with full force towards the fleeing figures.


    Casting spells with full force twice in a row, the phantom pain nearly caused Winters to faint. The spear, carrying a massive kinetic energy, pierced through the smokescreen and disappeared in the blink of an eye.


    Winters didn¡¯t hear the sound of the spear penetrating a body, but the three White Lion Cavalry were also top-notch fighters and had already charged in the direction he had indicated.


    Glancing at Little Lion, who had fallen into unconsciousness, Winters stayed put, not following them.


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Without warning, two deafening booms erupted not far from Winters.


    The blast carried hundreds of sharp projectiles, instantly dispersing the smoke and sweeping across the land. Limbs and soil were thrown into the air, then falling down in a light patter.


    Dust and gunsmoke once again enshrouded the area, and no more sounds could be heard from the direction of the Red-armored Cavalry and White-armored Cavalry.


    ¡­


    [Within the hunting circle, outside the smokescreen]


    ¡°Has [Herde Language] died?¡± Bai Xuan, hiding among the withered grass, cautiously observed the prey: ¡°[Herde Language] died?¡±


    As the best falconer among the tribes, camouflage and hiding were Bai Xuan¡¯s specialties. If one didn¡¯t come close and look carefully, no one could tell that a person was hidden among the yellow-brown withered grass.


    Bai Xuan lay in silence, yet a different voice kept nagging in his mind: ¡°[Herde Language] Dead? Dead?¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Talking to oneself was one of the occupational hazards of a falconer.


    Capturing a mature falcon usually required traps. Falconers would set traps for at least four or five days, sometimes up to a month. Spending too much time alone, falconers unconsciously got used to conversing with themselves.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Should we do it again?¡± Bai Xuan carefully weighed pros and cons. Only the slight sound of burning grass came from within the smokescreen, and nothing else; it seemed as though they were dead.


    Bai Xuan made up his mind and picked up the bone flute hanging around his neck.


    Bai Xuan wasn¡¯t surprised that the White Lion was protected by a Chosen One. Since he could be hired to kill the White Lion, it was not strange for the Red River Tribe to have their own Chosen One protect the White Lion.


    On the great plains, Chosen Ones were extremely rare. Unless it was absolutely necessary, one Chosen One would not attempt to kill another.


    But if blood had already been spilled onto the ground, it had to be a fight to the death, otherwise there would be endless troubles.


    ¡°Talent¡± was a matter of life and death; every Chosen One tried to conceal their own ¡°talent¡± as much as possible, but Bai Xuan had already figured out his opponent¡¯s hand.


    ¡°[Herde Language] A Chosen One who¡¯s skilled at dart throwing?¡± The spear that had passed by like a shooting star just now still left Bai Xuan with lingering fears: ¡°[Herde Language] Why haven¡¯t I heard of this before?¡±


    But it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Now that he knew his opponent¡¯s ¡°talent,¡± Bai Xuan had a way to cope.


    Bai Xuan just felt it was a pity¡ªanother Chosen One was about to return to the spirits.


    The strange bone flute sounded again. The bone flute¡¯s sound was not loud, but its penetrating power was strong, making it easy to discern amid the noise.


    The invisible ripples emanated by the bone flute spread to the edge of the hunting circle. A few neatly dressed hunters heard the bone flute sound and immediately walked to the back of the carriage, removing the covers.


    Under the cover was two iron cages, each containing a wolfhound that resembled a wolf.


    The hunter brought a total of two carts, each with four iron cages. The other cart with its cover just lifted had four more wolfhounds, but the iron cages on the other cart were all empty.


    The wolfhounds, already impatient from the sound of the bone flute, dashed out of their cages, leaped over the felt walls, and headed straight for their master¡¯s hiding place.


    Bai Xuan lay in stealth among the withered grass, waiting until the two wolfhounds arrived.


    The ferocious wolfhounds, normally too intimidating for hunters to approach, were exceptionally docile and well-behaved beside Bai Xuan.


    Having been trained, the wolfhounds rarely barked. So they only whined softly, wagged their tails frantically, and licked Bai Xuan¡¯s cheeks with their moist tongues.


    Bai Xuan gently caressed the two wolfhounds, chanting silently. With his touch, the animals grew increasingly excited, joyful, and satisfied.


    Almost ready, Bai Xuan took out a sealed iron box from his bosom, which contained several pieces of dark yellow fatty substances. He placed the box in front of the wolfhounds to let them sniff.


    Within the hunting grounds, only two people carried the scent of Wolf Spore. One was Bai Xuan himself, and the other was White Lion clad in red armor.


    Gunpowder smoke and sulfur might confound a person¡¯s sense of smell, but not Bai Xuan¡¯s wolfhounds.


    Lastly, Bai Xuan pulled out a wooden tube.


    He removed the lid, revealing the smoldering wood shavings, and expressionlessly ignited the gunpowder fuse hanging from the ¡°little barrel¡± under the wolfhounds¡¯ necks.


    ¡°Go,¡± Bai Xuan silently commanded in Herde Language, blowing the bone flute once more.


    Just like in their previous training, the two wolfhounds obeyed the command faithfully and without hesitation, they dashed into the smoke and lunged towards the target that emitted the scent of Wolf Spore.


    Bai Xuan patiently waited.


    Soon after, muffled explosions came from behind the curtain of smoke. Waves of air swept over the ground, showering Bai Xuan with fragments of iron, blood, and soil.


    Then, everything fell silent.


    Bai Xuan continued to wait for a while longer, hearing not even a groan, presuming they were truly dead.


    He cautiously threw a few stones into the smokescreen; still no reaction.


    ¡°A token,¡± Bai Xuan silently stood up, carefully approaching the site of the explosion.


    As per agreement, he needed to obtain evidence of White Lion¡¯s death¡­ preferably White Lion¡¯s head.


    The smoke still enveloped the ground like a filmy curtain, not yet dissipated.


    ¡°The smoke box, there¡¯s one less now,¡± Bai Xuan thought with some regret.


    The smoke box was a two-legged creature¡¯s creation, with each use, one less remained. To the tribal chiefs, a smoke box might not be that useful. But to Bai Xuan, it was even more precious than wolfhounds.


    The wind picked up, and the wall of smoke slowly drifted.


    Bai Xuan felt the wind behaving oddly, but couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on what was off.


    Lifting his head, Bai Xuan realized the smoke wasn¡¯t ¡°flowing,¡± but ¡°spinning.¡±


    The smoke spun faster and faster, and before Bai Xuan could react, it suddenly dispersed in all directions, as if the force restraining the smoke had vanished in an instant.


    The ground cleared in a flash, and the smoky wall surrounding the explosion site completely collapsed.


    In the battle of Chosen Ones, the outcome hinged on a fraction of an inch.


    ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± It was the first time a sound escaped Bai Xuan¡¯s throat, revealing his position. He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to conceal himself.


    A person covered in bloodied mud leaped out from beneath a warhorse¡¯s corpse, simply raising a hand, Bai Xuan¡¯s consciousness was utterly snuffed out.


    Winters spat a bloody phlegm, walked over to the assassin¡¯s body, confirming that the assassin was truly dead.


    The assassin¡¯s clothes were bound with dry leaves and yellow-brown shredded hemp cloth, looking like a thicket from a distance, no wonder the hiding was so concealed.


    An oddly-shaped bone flute hung prominently in front of the assassin¡¯s chest; he casually tore off the bone flute and tucked it into his pouch.


    Only then did Winters feel acute pain in his left shoulder.


    Fumbling, he pulled an armor fragment from his shoulder.


    ¡°This thing,¡± Winters threw the bloodied armor fragment onto the assassin¡¯s corpse, ¡°was my own invention.¡±

 Chapter 961: 38: The Hunt (9)

    Chapter 961: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)


    [Outside the Hunting Circle]


    ¡°What is he shouting?¡± Pierre¡¯s brow furrowed tightly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Just beyond the felt tent walls, the identity of the shouting Hurd horseman remained unknown.


    However, no matter how important the message he wanted to convey was, Pierre and the others could not understand it. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without waiting for the Translator to arrive, an enraged old Sergei snatched a matchlock gun from someone else and fired at the clamorous Hurd horseman without hesitation.


    The lead bullet whizzed past the Hurd horseman, who paused for a moment, then turned and left.


    Pierre clenched his fists suddenly and immediately looked towards the source of the gunshot. But when he saw who had fired, he still forcibly suppressed his anger and refrained from lashing out at old Sergei.


    ¡°Devil! Heretic! Die!¡± Old Sergei could not contain his anger: ¡°They all deserve to die!¡±


    A cool voice from Colonel Moritz rose: ¡°Mr. Morozov.¡±


    Old Sergei fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth in response: ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Please tell me about young Mr. Morozov¡¯s condition.¡±


    ¡°Busted open!¡± Old Sergei snorted heavily: ¡°But not dead.¡±


    ¡°Go look after young Mr. Morov.¡± Colonel Moritz ordered calmly: ¡°You are not needed here anymore.¡±


    Old Sergei stood still like a puppet for a while, then slowly saluted and walked stiffly toward the inner circle of the hunting formation.


    Pierre now had no time to console Uncle Morozov. He had more important responsibilities.


    According to Pierre¡¯s estimation, his position was about five kilometers away from Qingqiu.


    Five kilometers, even a fast horse would take about ten minutes to cover that distance.


    If the hunting ground was roughly circular in shape, then its circumference would be over thirty kilometers.


    Thirty kilometers, it would take at least an hour to ride around once.


    From a formal point of view, the Red River Tribe¡¯s ¡°Grand Hunt¡± was nothing more than simply making a crude circle on the ground, with hunters from various tribes sitting around in rings, shooting game as spectators.


    But when the ¡°circle¡± drawn by the Red River Tribe was so large it could contain an entire city, the situation became complicated.


    Hundreds of tribes and tens of thousands of hunters dispersed around the giant ring. Aside from the Red River Tribe occupying the central highland, Qingqiu, the other tribes could not oversee the whole area, and it was also difficult to coordinate communication with each other.


    Such a setup undoubtedly provided an opportunity for those with ulterior motives to fish in troubled waters.


    ¡°I can see it.¡± Pierre thought to himself: ¡°Can the Barbarian Chief not see it?¡±


    On one hand, Pierre believed that with the Barbarian Chief¡¯s cunning, there must have been preparations made in advance. Paratu¡¯s Expeditionary Force¡¯s stumble with the Red River Tribe was something he had never forgotten;


    On the other hand, not knowing where Blood Wolf was, what the Red River Tribe was up to, or what the smoke signals represented beyond the horizon¡­


    Surrounded by the Barbarian tribes, bearing the life and death of friends and family, one wrong step would not only lead to Hell but wouldn¡¯t be enough to atone for the sins¡ªPierre truly felt the pressure of Winters Montagne for the first time.


    He strenuously reminded himself to stay calm, to keep thinking, but the shirt on his back was still uncontrollably drenched in sweat.


    Moritz glanced at Pierre and, with his usual nonchalant tone, said: ¡°You are doing quite well.¡±


    Pierre nodded expressionlessly, but deep down he was grateful. He appreciated having someone reliable by his side in this moment.


    The sandstorm grew, and the airflow raised a layer of fine red dust that covered everyone¡¯s clothing. Pierre remembered it being clear at sunrise, but now the sandstorm had intensified beyond the dust raised by a galloping horde of horses.


    ¡°Keep waiting?¡± Pierre asked.


    ¡°Wait a bit longer.¡± Moritz replied, looking up and sniffing the air.


    As the dust filled the air, others covered their faces with scarves, but Colonel Moritz acted out of the ordinary.


    ¡°What are you smelling?¡± Pierre asked.


    Colonel Moritz calmly wrapped his cloak around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed. His gaze was almost smiling: ¡°An abnormal scent.¡±


    The visibility was gradually reduced by the sandstorm, and soon even Qingqiu was no longer visible.


    Pierre climbed up a wooden post to look out. He saw the nearest malevolent Earth Tribe hunters all carrying bows and knives, leading horses on foot, seemingly trying to escape.


    The hunters of the malevolent Earth Tribe struggled valiantly against the frenzied warhorses. Some horses broke their reins and galloped into the blinding red sand. The hunters chased breathlessly, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.


    A nearby group of Hurd hunters, though fewer in number than the malevolent Earth Tribe, had also dismounted and armed with bows. However, they simply stood their ground on alert, evidently undecided about whether to stay or go.


    Unease also spread within the Expeditionary Force. Someone approached Pierre and suggested in a low voice, ¡°We¡¯ve got the carriage fortification at the camp, much safer than here. Should we return to the camp soon? If something happens to the camp, we are all¡­¡±


    Pierre interrupted the other person and answered loudly enough for everyone to hear: ¡°Without horses, against the sandstorm, we can¡¯t go anywhere! Acting rashly now is asking for death. Unless we can ride or the sandstorm stops, don¡¯t even think about heading back to the camp.¡±


    ¡°But the camp now has only Father Kaman and a few people like Berlion,¡± the proposer raised his voice further: ¡°If we don¡¯t go back, they won¡¯t be able to hold it!¡±


    ¡°No worries,¡± Colonel Moritz ended the argument lightly: ¡°Leave it to Father Kaman.¡±


    The proposer was not convinced, but he did not dare to contradict Colonel Moritz, and could only walk away angrily, saluting and returning to his shooting position.


    ¡°The camp?¡± Pierre watched as the person departed.

 Chapter 962: 38: The Hunt (9)_2

    Chapter 962: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)_2


    ¡°Leave it to Father Kaman,¡± Moritz repeated unchangingly: ¡°And there¡¯s that lion anyway.¡±


    While they were speaking, the sound of hooves like hailstones piercing through the sandstorm reached everyone¡¯s ears, getting louder and clearer.


    Cavalry was heading their way!


    ¡°Musketeers!¡± Pierre ran towards the direction of the hoofbeats, holding a spear, and bellowed: ¡°My position! All units, prepare!¡±


    The members of the delegation equipped with muskets moved in order to face the incoming cavalry, each finding a suitable firing position and carefully opening their powder pans.


    The sandstorm was too powerful; some of the powder in the pans was instantly blown away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Reload!¡± Pierre suppressed his urge to curse out loud: ¡°Cover the pan with your cloaks!¡±


    Others quickly took off their cloaks and even outer garments, helping the musketeers block the windblown sand.


    Herders are not deaf; they too heard the thundering hoofbeats.


    The smaller group of Herder hunters immediately succumbed to panic; some hunters rushed towards their warhorses, while others stood frozen on the spot.


    The poor leader tried desperately to control his people, but the oncoming cavalry did not give him the chance.


    A dark mass of cavalry broke through the dust storm, their spear points covered in dark red dried blood, charging directly at the smaller group of Herder hunters.


    Before the two sides even made contact, the smaller group of Herder hunters had already completely collapsed.


    Like a splash of blood spilled onto the sandy ground, the hunters from unknown small tribes scattered in all directions. Some dove into hunting circles, others fled into the sandstorm, and yet more ran towards the Iron Peak County Delegation in their blind panic.


    ¡°Do not fire!¡± Pierre leaped out from behind the felt wall and entered the space between the first and the second rows of caltrops, throwing his long spear fiercely at the oncoming Herder hunters.


    With the spear thrown, Pierre drew his saber, rolled in front of the caltrops and roared loudly: ¡°Get lost!!!¡±


    Even without a common language, Pierre¡¯s intended message was unmistakable. The Herder hunters immediately regained their senses, the majority of them repelled by Pierre¡¯s shout, stumbling and scrambling to other places.


    Only a skinny Herder, either petrified by fear or not scared at all, continued to run towards the temporary fortifications of the Iron Peak County Delegation.


    Pierre gritted his teeth as he moved to confront him.


    Seeing Pierre, the skinny, fleeing Herder hunter began shouting something frantically and, not watching his step, tripped over the first row of caltrops.


    The skinny Herder hunter fell hard, pulling askew the stakes that were securing the caltrops.


    Furious, Pierre raised his saber aiming to cleave the skinny Herder hunter. Seeing Pierre¡¯s ferocious expression, the Herder hunter scrambled back in terror.


    The next moment, Pierre roared angrily and with resignation, turning to rush back to the stake that fixed the caltrops. Common sense triumphed over rage for a moment; repairing the caltrops was more important than venting his anger.


    He lifted the tilted stake; the soil of the hunting ground was loose, the original hole for the stake had deformed. Pierre could only use the handle of his saber to hammer the stake deeper.


    Suddenly, a stone followed the handle and landed on the stake ¡ª the skinny Herder hunter had not run away, but instead, picked up a stone from somewhere; while looking at Pierre with terror, he helped.


    Every time the skinny hunter struck the stake, he jumped up, compacting the soil around the stake as well. During the brief respite from the cavalry¡¯s slaughter of the Herder hunters, Pierre and the skinny hunter managed to secure the stake once again.


    Glancing at Pierre¡¯s dark face, the skinny hunter turned and tried to flee but was caught by the collar by Pierre and yanked to the ground.


    Regardless of the other¡¯s struggle and shouting, Pierre dragged the skinny hunter, and with swift steps returned behind the felt wall.


    The attacking cavalry did not pursue those who had fled far, nor did they collect war spoils. After scattering the skinny hunter¡¯s tribe, they quickly regrouped.


    Pierre threw the skinny hunter aside, panting as he asked: ¡°How many barbarian cavalry?¡±


    ¡°Half a squadron, less than a hundred,¡± a Musketeer stated with wide eyes: ¡°How come they can ride their horses?¡±


    Pierre sneered: ¡°Because they are the ones behind these tricks!¡±


    There were two groups of Herder hunters near the Iron Peak County Delegation. The smaller group bore the brunt of the attack, receiving the first strike.


    The other group of hunters ¡ª the people from the Haidong Tribe ¡ª acted decisively. As soon as the attacking cavalry appeared, they immediately abandoned the warhorses that truly couldn¡¯t be ridden, multiple people riding together on the barely rideable warhorses, swiftly escaping the area.


    The attacking cavalry had noticed the escapees but chose not to pursue, instead turning their attention towards the Iron Peak County Delegation that stood its ground.


    They spurred their warhorses, circling the round formation of the Iron Peak County Delegation from a distance, not too close nor too far.


    New recruits seeing this formation for the first time might feel intimidated; however, the soldiers picked by Winters were thoroughly familiar with the Herders¡¯ tactics.


    ¡°Put away the muskets,¡± Pierre didn¡¯t want to reveal their strength and weakness: ¡°Be wary of arrows.¡±


    The skinny hunter cowered behind the felt wall, incessantly repeating a word to Pierre.


    Pierre grew suspicious: ¡°Translator! What is he saying?¡±


    The Translator listened several times and hesitantly provided an answer: ¡°He seems to be saying ¡ª ¡®east of Xianhai.''¡±


    ¡°Haidong Tribe?¡± sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At that moment, the attacking cavalry seemed to have made up their minds, turning their blades and thrusting straight at the round formation.


    Pierre had limited musketeers at his disposal, while the cavalry had the choice to launch an assault on any part of the round formation.


    ¡°Fire at will!¡± Pierre¡¯s voice was already hoarse: ¡°Hold the position!¡±


    The Iron Peak County Delegation was few in number, and even if the position was very small, they could only barely maintain a hollow formation. Additionally, as they had not brought any long spears when they departed, everyone was only equipped with cavalry spears.

 Chapter 963: 38: The Hunt (9)_3

    Chapter 963: Chapter 38: The Hunt (9)_3


    So, in Pierre¡¯s view, the only way to win was to limit the enemy cavalry¡¯s movements with defenses and then drag the enemy cavalry into close combat.


    This is a perfectly normal thought, as Pierre had never seen Colonel Moritz kill.


    ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± Moritz touched Pierre¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Thank you for your hard work.¡± Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After saying that, Moritz began to call out names.


    Before even reaching the tripwires, the fierce barbarian cavalry at the forefront fell stiffly from their horses, followed by the second, the third¡­


    The riderless warhorses continued to sprint until they were tripped by the wires.


    Realizing that even riderless warhorses could destroy the tripwires, Colonel Moritz decided to call out the warhorses¡¯ names first, then the riders¡¯.


    There is no hatred, no anger, no fear, no pleasure¡­ precisely, no emotions at all.


    Arrowheads disappeared from Moritz¡¯s hand and appeared inside the enemy, as Moritz van Nassau took lives non-stop.


    It took Pierre a moment to accept the reality, and he cried out in a bit of a panic: ¡°Colonel, please wait.¡±


    The slaughter paused.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Moritz looked at Pierre.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to kill men,¡± Pierre swallowed hard, struggling to speak: ¡°We can use the warhorses.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡±


    The slaughter continued.


    The attacking cavalry did not even understand what was happening. This was supposed to be just a probing attack, with a plan to distract the enemy on one side and then split half of the forces to strike from the back.


    If the pincer movement also failed to defeat the enemy, they would retreat. There was always weaker prey, and the enemy could not catch up anyway.


    But¡­ how could this be¡­ Just a probing charge, and why had most of a hundred-men squad disappeared? Why were the remaining men still dying one after another?


    The centurion Erhulan stopped his horse, took off his helmet, and looked forward confusedly. Between him and the low felt wall, there were no longer any living persons.


    The next moment, Erhulan saw something move in the dust, and then he no longer existed in this world.


    Witnessing the centurion¡¯s death, the surviving Herders didn¡¯t know whether to advance or retreat.


    According to unwritten customs, they should take away the bodies of the deceased as much as possible. But they couldn¡¯t carry so many bodies, nor did they dare to advance further.


    Shouts arose from behind, as the earlier fleeing villagers from the Bad Land Tribe turned around and charged back. About twenty horsemen from the Bad Land Tribe, and another twenty on foot, screamed and charged.


    The last of the Haidong Tribe cavalry bravely and without hesitation met them head-on.


    This was a death they were familiar with.


    ¡­


    [In the middle of the hunting ground, Qingqiu]


    ¡°[Herde Language] Stop! Who goes there?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Red armor?¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Is that Little Lion?!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Little Lion is injured! Quickly, find a healer!¡±


    The people of Red River Tribe stationed in Qingqiu hurriedly took Little Lion, clumsily carrying him to the sleeping tent, for a moment no one cared about the armored soldier who had brought Little Lion up to Qingqiu.


    Winters¡¯ shoulder had numbed. ¡°Good thing it¡¯s the left shoulder,¡± he thought.


    After handing over Little Lion to the Red River Tribe, he finally had the energy to feel annoyed.


    The current situation had far exceeded the most severe possibility Little Lion had informed him of beforehand.


    Whether the Red River Tribe had intentionally deceived him or was equally unprepared, in Winters¡¯ view, it spelled danger.


    ¡°[Herde Language]¡­ horse¡­¡± Winters stopped a female slave, struggling to use the Herde Language to express his needs: ¡°[Herde Language]¡­ water¡­¡±


    He couldn¡¯t stay long; he needed to hurry back.


    The palace tent¡¯s female slave of the Red River Tribe looked in terror at this armored soldier who seemed to have emerged from a pool of blood and staggered away.


    Winters still wanted to call her back when suddenly he felt dizzy, and the next moment he knew nothing.


    When he regained consciousness, he was wrapped in warm, soft animal fur, the air smelled pleasantly of milk, and his left shoulder had been bandaged.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± a timid female voice said: ¡°Thank you for bringing Little Lion back.¡±


    Winters felt an empty ache in his skull: ¡°How long was I unconscious?¡±


    ¡°Not long. Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.¡±


    Winters struggled to sit up, and Erhulan was watching him.

 Chapter 964: 39: The Hunt (10)

    Chapter 964: Chapter 39: The Hunt (10)


    [Qingqiu, Erhulan¡¯s palace tent]


    Outside the palace tent, it was very cold; inside, it was very warm. Yet Winters was burning with anxiety, not daring to stay for even a moment.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Winters tried to get up.


    Erhulan hurriedly supported Winters, her voice barely audible, ¡°I¡¯ve been here the whole time.¡±


    Winters stumbled as he reached for his clothes, not daring to meet Erhulan¡¯s eyes, because in truth, the White Lion had already informed him: Erhulan was in Qingqiu.


    ¡°The hunting outfit you took off has been stained with blood.¡± Erhulan gracefully picked up the clothing, helping Winters dress, ¡°This is a new set; I¡¯m not sure if it will fit.¡±


    All Winters could do was softly murmur ¡°Mm-hmm,¡± in response.


    Dressing in winter was a painful affair, especially with undergarments. The fabric, devoid of warmth, would be as cold as ice and as hard as stone, making the process of putting them on feel like being dipped in icy water.


    However, Erhulan had prewarmed the clothes until they were toasty, so putting them on felt comfortable and warm.


    Tightening his belt, Winters moved his hands simply, feeling some strength return. The dizziness and fatigue he experienced upon waking were gradually replaced by adaptation, and the wound on his left shoulder no longer hurt so much.


    Having assured himself he was ready, he took a deep breath, turned to face Erhulan, ¡°Erhulan¡­ I need to see the White Lion.¡±


    Erhulan lowered her head, ¡°Brother is not in Qingqiu.¡±


    Erhulan¡¯s words revealed too much, and Winters became instantly alert, pressing urgently, ¡°Where are the Red River Tribe¡¯s troops?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡®I don¡¯t know¡¯ had two implications. First, Erhulan did not know the current whereabouts of the Red River Tribe¡¯s troops; second, whatever their location, they were definitely not in Qingqiu.


    This was in stark contrast to what Little Lion had said.


    Putting away the distractions, Winters quickly reviewed everything he had seen, heard, and known in his mind:


    A show-of-force spectacular hunt;


    A massive mobilization that engaged hundreds of tribes, conscripted tens of thousands of able-bodied men, and covered the entire territory of the Red River Tribe¡¯s influence;


    The far-reaching impact of the unexpected disastrous defeat of the Terdun Tribe;


    The small and medium tribes wavering over whether to submit to the Red River Tribe;


    The mismatch between the White Lion¡¯s unprecedented personal prestige and the seriously weakened strength of the Red River Tribe¡­


    Though it seemed like a tangled web of issues, Winters vaguely grasped the thread¡ªpower, on the harsh Great Wilderness, everything was closely related to power.


    ¡­


    In the battle on the Great Wilderness, the Red River Tribe and the Terdun Tribe shed the most blood.


    Thus, after the battle, the Red River Tribe and the Terdun Tribe had to huddle together for warmth, to claim the original position of the Terdun Tribe, and to avoid being consumed by the Suz Tribe and the Haidong Tribe.


    However, the further damage to the strength of the Terdun Tribe¡ªparticularly the death of the fire-tenders¡ªbroke an already fragile delicate balance.


    The disastrous defeat at the Battle of Blood Mud not only made the Terdun Tribe into a vulnerable target but also left the Red River Tribe in an isolated and desperate predicament.


    But, a great crisis also signifies a great opportunity, and the White Lion is undoubtedly the leader best at utilizing crises that Winters had ever seen.


    A devastating defeat deprived the Terdun Tribe of its status among the great tribes, yet the population, pastures, and herds of the Terdun Tribe would not disappear due to that defeat.


    There was more than one predator eager to feed on the flesh of the Terdun Tribe, with the Red River Tribe being merely one of the weaker ones. Moreover, in the eyes of the other beasts, the White Lion himself was also prey.


    Thus, the Red River Tribe launched this unprecedented hunt while the dust from the Battle at Blood Mud had barely settled, and the other tribes did not yet react.


    This hunt was not only about hunters encircling sheep and deer but also about giving ravenous beasts eyeing the Red River Tribe a chance to hunt the White Lion, and it was also the White Lion¡¯s setup to encircle all enemies within and outside the Red River Tribe.


    ¡­


    A complex mix of emotions surged within Winters, feeling anger, heartache, helplessness, and frustration.


    Winters looked at Erhulan, exhaustedly asking, ¡°Is this the ¡®safest place¡¯ the White Lion spoke of? Did he use you as bait too?!¡±


    ¡°No, brother is not like you think, he explained it to me carefully.¡± Erhulan was eager to clarify, ¡°When the men are not at the old camp, Qingqiu is the safest place. If anything unexpected happens, the quiver-bearers will protect everyone and leave. I never thought you would get involved; I had no idea you would come to Qingqiu. Originally, I wanted Little Lion to bring the clothes to you¡­¡±


    As she spoke, tears began to well up in Erhulan¡¯s eyes, she cried without being able to make a sound, repeatedly murmuring, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you.¡± Seeing Erhulan weeping made Winters feel uncomfortable; he could not bring himself to harbor resentment against Erhulan.


    He wanted to wipe away Erhulan¡¯s tears, but could not reach out his hand, eventually only able to softly comfort her, ¡°My coming to Qingqiu was also not out of being fooled or lured by someone; it was by my own will. As for the White Lion and Little Lion keeping secrets from me¡­ that¡¯s their business¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Erhulan sobbed, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°But I did not come to Qingqiu alone, Erhulan.¡± His breath agitated his injury, and Winters began coughing violently, ¡°My companions are still in danger. I need weapons, armor, and a warhorse, I must return to their side as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡­


    [Outside the hunting grounds, temporary fortifications of the Iron Peak County Delegation]


    Most of the attacking Cavalry had been killed, with only a few scattered riders escaping with injuries.


    Amidst the swirling sand and dust, old Sergei dragged the body of an attacking Cavalry back within the felt wall, spitting a mouthful of sandy saliva venomously, ¡°Look at this!¡± sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 965: 39 s Hunting (10)_2

    Chapter 965: 39 chapters Hunting (10)_2


    Pierre, who was leading people to replace saddles on captured horses, was puzzled: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Old Sergei drew his sword and slashed towards the corpse¡¯s chest, but instead of a spattering of blood and flesh, the sound of metal colliding emitted a dull thump.


    Old Sergei then flipped open the garment on the corpse, revealing thin iron plates, each the size of a palm, affixed inside the leather robe.


    ¡°They all wore hidden armor!¡± Old Sergei tore off his scarf and spat: ¡°I wondered why there was no blood when they were hit by arrows.¡±


    ¡°Fabric armor? Plate armor clothing?¡± Colonel Moritz curiously touched it: ¡°Can the Herders make this too?¡±


    Pierre furrowed his brow: ¡°Not to my knowledge. Last time we clashed, the Red River Tribe¡¯s armored soldiers were using small iron pieces strung together into laminar armor.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s worry about what the Herd Barbarians can make later!¡± Old Sergei pointed to the nearby ¡ª people from the Tonrid Tribe were joyously stripping the corpses of their armor.


    Old Sergei clenched his teeth, his expression like that of a wolf: ¡°Look! Only a few of the Tonrid barbarians wear armor; they came to hunt, not to fight! Now look at the barbarians who ambushed us, every one of them wearing hidden armor! They were prepared well in advance! Investing so much, whoever wants to eliminate the Red River Tribe surely won¡¯t just send these few men!¡±


    Members of the Iron Peak County Delegation all had similar thoughts, but Old Sergei was the first to explicitly point it out.


    The fierce wind carrying sand and dust moaned ominously, almost as if one could vaguely hear the sounds of hooves, screams, and the clashing of metal, like bloodshed was happening everywhere.


    The slight sense of security everyone had just felt vanished in an instant.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pierre asked in a deep voice to Old Sergei.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, now.¡± Old Sergei spoke firmly: ¡°We ride two or three on a horse if we must. First, back to the camp, and then find a way to locate the Civil Guard Officer, let him decide whether to stay or go. Get more horses, the more the better. If the Red River Tribe can¡¯t hold, then we can only rely on ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Returning to the camp is the safest.¡± Pierre thought hard, undecided: ¡°But the sandstorm is getting worse, it¡¯s hard to discern the direction¡­¡±


    Colonel Moritz suddenly extended his right hand, spread his fingers, and raised it high, as if feeling something.


    This abrupt action caught everyone¡¯s attention. They exchanged glances, hesitating to question him due to his rank.


    Moritz lowered his hand, looking around at everyone: ¡°The wind is dying down.¡±


    ¡­


    [In the center of the hunting ground, Green Mound]


    Winters sensed the change in the wind just as well. He immediately looked towards the flags in front of the royal tent, observing the horsetails gradually drooping lower.


    At the peak of the sandstorm, standing atop Green Mound, one couldn¡¯t discern directions at all, only able to see the vast expanse of red sand and dust.


    With his vision limited, Winters used the orientation of the royal tent to gauge north and south, roughly locating the direction of Iron Peak County Delegation.


    Erhulan made no objections, only requested that the captain of the guards stationed at Green Mound send someone to escort Winters.


    Before departing, Winters went to bid farewell to Little Lion.


    Little Lion was still unconscious, his face pale, lying quietly on the soft couch. An elderly healer stayed by his side, nodding slightly as Batu entered the tent, continuing to finger his rosary beads.


    Winters paused for a few seconds, said nothing, and turned away.


    In just the time it took to enter and exit, the wind speed had already changed significantly.


    As the sand followed the wind, with the wind weakening, the gravel also settled down, leaving only some fine dust floating in the air.


    Standing atop the summit of Green Mound, the panoramic view of the hunting ground gradually became clearer.


    Relieved, Erhulan timidly asked Winters: ¡°Is it¡­ over now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Winters replied, ¡°Now is the most dangerous moment.¡±


    ¡­


    [On the outskirts of the hunting ground, an unknown location]


    The change in the wind wasn¡¯t only happening at Green Mound; throughout the vast hunting ground, everyone felt the mysterious fierce wind that appeared and then mysteriously disappeared.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What¡¯s going on?!¡± Shiya Tribe leader Geha, both shocked and scared, sharply questioned the armored soldier beside him: ¡°[Herde Language] Why has the wind stopped?¡±


    A dark red viscous liquid dripped from Geha¡¯s sheath, and his lance was also smeared with blood.


    According to the agreement, the Priests of the Haidong Tribe will summon strong winds and flying sand, and the Shiya Tribe only needs to use this astronomical phenomenon to create havoc.


    But now, the wind is visibly getting weaker.


    What should we do? What should we do?


    No matter how prepared beforehand, the forces of the Shiya Tribe are just that many¡ªbarely a hundred riders. Once the Red River Tribe regroups, the Shiya Tribe will be crushed in the blink of an eye.


    ¡°[Herde Language] What¡¯s the panic?¡± the warrior said gloomily, glancing at Geha: ¡°[Herde Language] The Red River Tribe is already a bird in a cage, meat on the plate. The young warriors of the Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe will arrive soon.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Soon! Soon! Why haven¡¯t they arrived yet?¡±


    The warrior did not answer. He stared intently in the direction of Qingqiu, suddenly punching his thigh heavily: ¡°[Herde Language] Whether they come or not, what can we do? The arrow cannot be recalled once it¡¯s left the bow! It¡¯s too late to disperse the tribes now. To make the tribes flee like startled gazelles, there¡¯s only one path left to take!¡±


    Geha looked towards the direction pointed out by the warrior, and in the distance on the hills, the palace tent of the Red River Tribe was shimmering with golden light.


    ¡­


    [Central hunting grounds, Qingqiu]


    The real commander of the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace guards is not Little Lion, nor Erhulan, but Green Plumed Feathers Stag.


    As soon as the sandstorm weakened, Stag immediately sent messengers to spread the news to the surrounding tribes. A warrior bearing the banner of the Red River Tribe galloped down Qingqiu, speeding off in all directions like lightning.


    When Stag found Winters, he brought twelve fully-armed quiver bearers.


    Facing the notoriously fierce champion of Paratu, Green Plumed Feathers Stag maintained both vigilance and courtesy: ¡°[Herde Language] These young men will escort Batu back.¡±


    After listening to Erhulan¡¯s translation, Winters waved his hand, cutting to the chase: ¡°No need to waste troops to escort me. Since the sandstorm has stopped, there¡¯s no chance to fish in troubled waters. Now, the most dangerous place is actually Qingqiu. You should consider retreating immediately.¡±


    Because of the special treatment by White Lion, the Green Plumed Feathers of the Red River Tribe harbored a mixture of awe and jealousy towards the champion of Paratu.


    It is also because of this mixed feeling that Winters¡¯s straightforward suggestion made Stag feel humiliated.


    Stag suppressed his anger, responding loudly: ¡°[Herde Language] The warriors of the Red River Tribe only advance! There is no retreat! White Lion entrusted Qingqiu to me, and I will not let the jackals snatch White Lion¡¯s palace tent.¡±


    Normally, Winters might have dismissed Stag¡¯s words with a laugh, but at this moment, Winters was also filled with anger.


    ¡°Advance only, no retreat?¡± Winters retorted with a cold laugh: ¡°From my personal experience, you have retreated more than once!¡±


    Stag glared fiercely at the champion of Paratu, as if he might draw his sword the next second.


    After a brief standoff, Stag bowed hastily and left with large strides, leaving the twelve quiver bearers uncertain whether to stay or go.


    Seeing the fearful look in Erhulan¡¯s eyes, Winters restrained himself from showing any emotion, calmly saying: ¡°Now¡­ he¡¯s even less likely to retreat.¡±


    ¡­


    [Edge of the hunting grounds, Iron Peak County Delegation camp]


    A flag-bearing rider sped to the vicinity of the people of Iron Peak County, shouted a few times, then dashed towards other tribes.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± Pierre asked, frowning: ¡°Translator!¡±


    The Translator who was changing saddles hurried to Pierre¡¯s side, quickly responding: ¡°He seems to be saying ¡®Red River Tribe wants to kill you and me, Red River Tribe wants to annex the tribes.¡¯ I only heard these two sentences clearly.¡±


    Old Sergei scoffed: ¡°Red River barbarians wanting to devour other tribal barbarians, isn¡¯t that fucking obvious? Did he need to come all the way to say that?!¡±


    For some reason, as soon as the sandstorm stopped, the horses also gradually calmed down. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pierre wasted no further time, immediately ordering to prepare horses to leave.


    ¡°From now on, stand by my side!¡± Pierre sternly ordered the Translator: ¡°Translate whatever the Herders say, and don¡¯t miss a single word!¡±


    Three riders came galloping from the direction of Qingqiu, the lead rider also bearing a white horse tail banner.


    The three riders circled the felt walls, shouting loudly to pass the message whenever they encountered people.


    Pierre looked at the Translator.


    ¡°Let us not move.¡± The Translator strained to discern the voices through the sound of hooves: ¡°White Lion orders all tribes to hold positions on the spot, no movement permitted without orders¡­¡±

 Chapter 966: 40: Encirclement (End)

    Chapter 966: Chapter 40: Encirclement (End)


    Pierre was cornered, unable to see the entirety of the hunting ground. Winters, standing atop the Greenhill, however, overlooked everything.


    The sandstorm was calming, but the chaotic battle on the outskirts of the hunting ground not only did not cease but grew even more fierce.


    Many small tribes that had been called to the hunt had already left, but soon they fled back to the hunting grounds as if something in the dust was chasing them.


    Stag dispatched guards from the palace tents to quell the riot, while Winters quickly inspected and assessed the defenses of Greenhill.


    All arrangements on the Greenhill by the Red River Tribe were meant to showcase power. To ensure that the imposing golden tent of White Lion was visible from all directions, the foundation in the center of Greenhill was artificially elevated, and deliberately no buildings or fortifications were built that could obstruct the view.


    Overall, apart from its height, Greenhill had no geographical advantages.


    All clues led Winters to his initial speculation: from the beginning, Greenhill had been the sweetest bait in the trap.


    The younger members of the Red River Tribe who were left in the hunting field strung their bows and grabbed their spears, riding down from Greenhill; among the hunters who were rushing about, some seemed ready to move.


    The arrows were already on the string, the bow arms creaking, just waiting for the furious war drums of the sky deity to strike.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take you with me,¡± Winters told Erhulan. Time was of the essence, and Winters¡¯ tone was firm, brooking no disagreement.


    Erhulan was initially delighted but soon her eyes dimmed.


    ¡°White Lion is not on Greenhill, which shows that the outcome of this battle does not depend on what happens inside the hunting ground, but on what happens outside,¡± Winters explained succinctly. ¡°Since the beacon already risen, leaving one royal tent and one banner on Greenhill is enough. You don¡¯t need to continue being this bait.¡±


    ¡°Do you know? I dreamt of hearing you say this,¡± tears filled Erhulan¡¯s eyes, her lips curving slightly, ¡°but not like this.¡±


    Winters didn¡¯t care about the Red River Tribe, nor about White Lion, but he cared about Erhulan. He grabbed Erhulan¡¯s arm and without further discussion led her towards the horse pens.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ Little Lion is still on Greenhill¡­¡± Erhulan, tears streaming, stubbornly stood her ground, ¡°¡­I can¡¯t go with you¡­¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    ¡°Boom!¡±


    Suddenly, three consecutive cannon shots¡ªthe gunners of Greenhill were issuing a warning.


    Winters looked towards the direction indicated by the smoke, only to see two groups of horsemen colliding head-on.


    One side was clad in iron armor, their headdresses fluttering, clearly Red River Tribe Cavalry; the other, dressed like regular hunters, was of unknown identity.


    At the edge of the hunting circle, Red River Tribe cavalry stayed within the felt walls; the leading Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] shot three warning arrows and shouted fiercely: ¡°[Herde Language] If you still revere White Lion, withdraw immediately! Dismount! Step over the felt wall and you will be killed on sight!¡±


    However, the approaching Herde horsemen were already panic-stricken, crying for help while indiscriminately crossing the felt walls.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] made a harsh decision and roared the order: ¡°[Herde Language] Those who entered the hunting circle, kill without mercy!¡±


    After speaking, Hong Lingyu drew the bow fully, and one warning arrow nailed a Herde hunter trying to climb over the felt wall.


    The sound of the arrow broke through the air like the command for slaughter, and the armored Red River soldiers did not hesitate any longer; they brandished sabers and shot arrows without restraint.


    Those who fled over the felt walls continuously fell dead; seeing the dire circumstances, those who tried to escape along the sides of the felt walls were also caught up from behind and cleaved to death, only those who managed to escape back to the outer side of the felt walls were lucky enough to survive.


    However, the escape of the Herde hunters outside the felt walls only prolonged their lives a moment longer.


    Soon, another group of cavalry emerged from the dust, yelling ¡°Red River Tribe suppression,¡± slaughtering all the Herde people who had escaped the felt walls.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Red River Tribe suppression?¡± The real Red River Tribe Hong Lingyu [Black Sheep] exploded in anger: ¡°[Herde Language] Rotten flesh! Stinkier than the stuff pulled from a wild boar¡¯s intestines! They are the rebels, the hungry wolves!¡±


    Black Sheep gripped his riding spear and charged forward towards the enemy leader: ¡°[Herde Language] By the gods above! Kill!¡±


    A crowd of Red River armored cavalry cried out in unison, following their hundred riders leaping out of the felt walls.


    Saber against saber, bow against bow, the two groups of cavalry engaged in a bloody melee.


    As soon as Red River people engaged with the enemy, they suffered setbacks; their curved swords and spears hit the enemy¡¯s bodies only to produce a dull sound without any bloodshed. The enemy¡¯s maces and war hammers targeted specifically the necks and heads of the Red River armor.


    Black Sheep instantly realized something was wrong and roared with all his might: ¡°[Herde Language] The pups are wearing hidden armor! The pups are wearing hidden armor!¡±


    Without needing any reminder from Hong Lingyu, those Red River armored cavalry who had suffered but were still alive had already discarded their spears and drawn their maces to continue fighting the enemy.


    Witnessing this engagement, Winters remained silent, but his tightly furrowed brow and tense cheeks already offered a silent judgment. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Green Plumed Feathers [Stag] was also a witness to this engagement from above on Greenhill; flags fluttered, and cannons fired continuously, with Stag frantically directing more troops.


    Winters stopped watching; he pulled Erhulan and strode towards Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    Black Sheep¡¯s engagement acted like a starting gun; the moment Winters turned, another dozen cavalry units leaped from the felt walls and charged into the hunting ground.


    Each cavalry unit was shouting ¡°White Lion arrows order,¡± ¡°Red River Tribe suppression,¡± even disturbing the minds of the Eagle Forest Tribe¡¯s troops.


    Eagle Forest Tribe, the maternal tribe of White Lion, was always considered to be the closest ally of the Red River Tribe. As a vassal tribe participating in the hunt, they were hidden among the many tribes outside the hunting circle.

 Chapter 967: 40: Encirclement (End)_2

    Chapter 967: Chapter 40: Encirclement (End)_2


    Suddenly, so many ¡°Red River Tribe¡¯s riders¡± emerged that even the members of the Eagle Forest Tribe were dumbfounded.


    Which are real? Which are fake?


    ¡°You fools!¡± the leader of the Eagle Forest Tribe, and uncle of White Lion [Tie Feng], cursed anxiously, ¡°Real or fake?! Whoever dares to go to Qingqiu will be killed!¡±


    The cavalry of the Eagle Forest Tribe immediately roared and charged into the hunting ground, colliding head-on with the torrent of the numerous ¡°Red River Tribe¡¯s riders.¡±


    On top of Qingqiu, Stag¡¯s forehead broke into a sweat. He began to regret the bold statements he had made in front of the champion Paratu.


    Stag had anticipated that the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe would send troops to sneak into the hunting grounds, but he had never expected them to invest to such a great extent.


    Holding the only high ground also meant facing attacks from all directions. With Qingqiu at the center, the circular hunting group with a radius of five kilometers is now truly a meat grinder.


    The cavalry loyal to White Lion were risking their lives to intercept enemies from all directions, while enemies from all directions were recklessly attacking towards Qingqiu.


    Looking around, everywhere was a battlefield, everywhere were enemies.


    Closing his eyes to listen, everywhere were shouts, everywhere were screams.


    In a moment of distraction, Stag even had the illusion of being surrounded by tens of thousands of troops.


    Just the few ambush soldiers sent by the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe could definitely not create such a powerful impact. Surely some participating tribes were swayed by the Haidong Tribe and the Suz Tribe¡­ and not just a few.


    The twelve strategically placed cannon on Qingqiu even lost their meaning, as by the time one round was loaded, the enemy¡¯s cavalry had already reached the gunners.


    At this moment, the soldiers of the Red River Tribe were like a dam overburdened, unable to stop the flood despite risking their lives and giving their all.


    Only eighty of the royal guards and arrow masters responsible for guarding White Lion¡¯s golden tent remained by Stag¡¯s side.


    Stag took off his gold-inlaid horn, the sound calling the warriors to throw themselves into the final bloody battle echoed through Qingqiu.


    Meanwhile, in Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    Holding prayer beads, the venerable white-haired healer respectfully answered Edun¡¯s question.


    Winters asked sharply, ¡°What did he say?¡±


    ¡°Little Lion¡¯s condition has just stabilized; any bumps would kill him.¡± Erhulan hesitated, then finally shook his head.


    ¡°What else did he say?¡± Winters noticed Erhulan was hiding something.


    ¡°The healer advised us to leave, saying he could ensure Little Lion¡¯s safety,¡± Erhulan made up his mind, pleadingly looking at Winters, ¡°Shigutu is a renowned healer on the plains; he can protect Little Lion and me. Please go, don¡¯t worry about us anymore.¡±


    Winters did not believe an old healer close to death could ensure the safety of White Lion¡¯s brother and sister, and he also understood that Erhulan, despite appearing fragile, was as stubborn as Anna.


    He couldn¡¯t persuade Erhulan to abandon Little Lion and flee, just as Little Lion couldn¡¯t persuade Erhulan to abandon her and flee.


    The earth vibrated, the shouts of killing filled his ears, and even the thick leather of the tent could not isolate them.


    ¡°There¡¯s another way.¡± Winters slowly flexed his finger bones and wrist joints.


    Erhulan and the old healer Shigutu looked at Winters, puzzled.


    ¡°The people outside merely want two things; one is the Red River Tribe¡¯s sky-blue banner. The other¡­¡± Winters looked towards the tattered, blood-stained and mud-smeared red armor hanging beside Little Lion, and heavily spat out a word:


    ¡°White Lion.¡±


    Erhulan covered her mouth, tears streaming down, shaking her head and repeatedly stepping back.


    Winters cut off the straps around him, pulled off his own armor, and pointed to the armor standing in the tent like a silent ghost, of White Lion:


    ¡°Armor me!¡±


    Erhulan didn¡¯t move, but the old healer Shigutu stood up, spoke a few words to the others in the tent. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The female slaves serving in Little Lion¡¯s tent quickly began to move.


    Breastplate, skirt armor, shoulder armor, arm armor¡­ The red armor hanging on the rack was disassembled piece by piece and then fixed onto Winters.


    Erhulan held up the final helmet, trembling as she fitted and fastened it on Winters.


    ¡°White Lion has a purpose, Little Lion has a purpose, Red River Tribe has a purpose, the enemies of Red River Tribe also have a purpose,¡± Winters stared at Erhulan like the first time he awoke in the felt tent, ¡°I have no purpose¡­ I do all this only for you.¡±


    After finishing his farewell words, Winters put down the faceplate and strode out of Little Lion¡¯s tent.


    The royal guards and arrow masters guarding White Lion¡¯s golden tent witnessed White Lion going into battle once again, their emotions of fear and shock were overwhelming.


    Shigutu, holding a cow horn cup, chased out of the tent. The old healer bowed deeply, raised the cup, and spoke unexpectedly in the language of the Empire: ¡°Batu, please drink this brew!¡±


    Winters burst into ecstatic laughter as if suddenly enlightened, and without saying much, he briskly lifted his faceplate, took the horn cup, and drained it in one gulp.


    Seizing the moment, the royal guards and arrow masters guarding the golden tent realized that beneath the red armor was not a lion, but a wolf.


    Winters tossed the horn cup away: ¡°Warhorse!¡±


    As Shigutu translated for Winters, several arrow masters immediately ran towards the stable.


    More and more soldiers of the Red River Tribe gathered around Winters, walking towards him as if on pilgrimage while respectfully maintaining their distance.


    The soldiers suddenly made way, and Stag, leading a splendidly majestic white horse, moved through the crowd and bowed to hand the reins to Winters.

 Chapter 968: 40: The Hunt (End)_3

    Chapter 968: Chapter 40: The Hunt (End)_3


    ¡°This horse¡­ is the White Lion¡¯s.¡± Shigu worked as a translator for the house guards.


    ¡°What¡¯s it called?¡±


    With pride and loud clarity, Stag answered with a name.


    After a moment of thought, Shigu translated: ¡°Longwind!¡±


    ¡°Longwind?¡± Winters was immensely pleased. ¡°What an excellent name! Perfect for today.¡±


    Having said that, he buckled his face armor and mounted his horse.


    The armored warriors of the Red River Tribe seemed to be called to action, each of them mounting their warhorses.


    ¡°No need! You stay behind to protect Erhulan and Little Lion.¡±


    ¡°In Herde Language, Batu!¡± A silver-armored archer spurred his horse forward: ¡°In Herde Language, I volunteer to lead the charge!¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, eleven more silver-armored archers stepped forward, the very twelve ¡°guards¡± Stag had previously chosen for Winters.


    ¡°Good!¡± Winters drew the azure great banner standing before the golden tent with his backhand: ¡°To break the army and breach the formation, twelve knights suffice!¡±


    ¡­


    The leader of the Hound Warrior Division, Geha, drove his warhorse madly, its flanks already bloody and matted, its chest heaving with white foam.


    Geha had left the Red River armored cavalry far behind, the Hound Warrior Division¡¯s curved blades only three bowshots away from the Green Hills¡­


    Two bowshots¡­


    One bowshot.


    The White Lion¡¯s magnificent golden tent was now a mere stone¡¯s throw away; Geha felt as if he could reach out and grab it.


    ¡°In Herde Language, kill!¡± Geha couldn¡¯t think of anything to spur on his men; he roared out the only desire in his heart with all his strength: ¡°In Herde Language, kill!¡±


    No one heard Geha¡¯s roar, as it was drowned out by the furious bellowing of twelve heavy cannons.


    The next moment, a beast-like roar filled the hunting grounds, and the raging battle even paused for it.


    Under the gaze of half the hunting ground, a red-armored knight leaped from the Green Hills.


    Merely catching a glimpse of that streak of crimson, the people of Red River Tribe fell into an unprecedented frenzy: ¡°Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Yasin!¡±


    ¡°Yasin!¡±


    The other half of the hunting ground couldn¡¯t witness the miracle through their eyes, but as the sky-shaking cheers erupted, the same frenzy immediately spread¡ªthe White Lion was back!


    Geha watched dumbfounded as the magnificent white horse leapt high and landed heavily, its hooves pounding the earth as if striking Geha¡¯s own heart. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Geha couldn¡¯t believe his eyes: the red-armored warrior on the white horse was holding the Red River Tribe¡¯s azure great banner.


    A banner might have a pointed tip, but Geha had never seen anyone use such a heavy ceremonial object as a weapon.


    There could be no mistake¡ªit had to be the White Lion.


    ¡°In Herde Language, were you not already dead?!¡± Geha screamed in rage, charging towards the red-armored warrior with his spear: ¡°In Herde Language, were you not already dead?!¡±


    The next moment, Geha was dead.


    Just before dying, Geha had a strange thought¡ªturns out a great banner really could be used as a weapon.


    Winters barely noticed Geha¡¯s death as he drove his warhorse without reservation, smashing into the Hound Warrior Division¡¯s ranks like thunder.


    Twelve silver-armored Archers followed closely behind, the Dog Soldiers were instantly crushed to pieces.


    Like a basin of ice water thrown into a pot of boiling oil, the Green Hill Hunting Ground erupted.


    Everyone¡ªpeople of the Red River Tribe, enemies of the Red River Tribe¡ªrushed madly toward the ¡°White Lion,¡± the latter frenzy driven to kill him, the former frenzy determined to protect him.


    Winters didn¡¯t need to seek out enemies; he merely charged straight through, and the enemies would come to him on their own.


    The mead he drank before the battle numbed his senses, pain, and fatigue; at this moment, Winters was like a demon crawled out from Hell, a demigod from ancient legends, a berserker from the songs of the Northern bards, wantonly scattering death, fighting tirelessly.


    Disintegration Spell, Disintegration Spell, Arrow Flying Spell, Arrow Flying Spell, fling one, then another¡­ endless battle will, boundless rage, infinite strength.


    Winters lied.


    He didn¡¯t step onto the battlefield just for Erhulan.


    At least, at this moment, all his repression, unwillingness, and pain were unleashed in the killing, and Winters couldn¡¯t remember how long it had been since he¡¯d experienced such a thrilling, exhilarating battle.


    He no longer needed to consider responsibility, mission, family, friends, future, present¡­ he didn¡¯t even need to think, he just needed to fight, fight, fight.


    The enemy¡¯s deaths facing Winters became more and more gruesome, from initially having their brain tissues precisely destroyed by the Disintegration Spell, to their skulls being torn apart inside their helmets, to limbs being forcibly torn from torsos by the violent force of magic.


    The uncontrollable magic power even ignited the grand banner in the sky; with flames and blood, Winters charged and slaughtered across the field.


    Gradually, everyone began to flee from him in frenzy¡ªboth the members and the enemies of the Red River Tribe.


    Witnessing the warriors in red armor literally ¡°raising a storm of blood and flesh,¡± old Sergei found himself with a dry mouth, and with his heart thumping, he turned to the other members of the Iron Peak County Delegation, ¡°The Barbarian Chief¡­ wasn¡¯t the Barbarian Chief dead? Or at least seriously injured? How¡­ how¡­¡±


    Anna unblinkingly stared at the figure in red armor atop the white horse, covering her heart, whispering softly, ¡°That is not the White Lion.¡±


    ¡°Then who is it?¡± old Sergei asked in shock and fear.


    Colonel Moritz sighed.


    It struck old Sergei like a thunderbolt, ¡°That is¡­ that¡¯s Montaigne the Civil Guard Officer?¡±


    Colonel Moritz sighed again.


    Pierre gritted his teeth, mounted his warhorse, drew his sword from the scabbard, ¡°Whilst the Centurion bathes in blood, how can we just stand by and watch! I am going to fight shoulder to shoulder with the Centurion! Who will join me?!¡±


    Without a second word, old Sergei leaped onto his horse¡¯s back, laughing maniacally, ¡°I¡¯ve only got two passions in my life, one is hunting game, and the other is killing barbarians; today I can finally enjoy both to the full!¡±


    The people of Iron Peak County laughed heartily, mounting their horses one after the other, heading toward the battlefield under Pierre¡¯s lead.


    Colonel Moritz found a clean spot, sat down on the ground, took out a flask from his bosom, and took a small sip.


    ¡­


    In the distance, a cavalry troop with strict formation and bright armor appeared on the horizon.


    Although the cavalry appeared fatigued, with bloodstains still on their armor and weapons not yet cleaned, their morale was high as they sang the Herders¡¯ triumphant war songs in unison.


    A Green Plumed Feather rider galloped from the front of the formation and stopped beside another Green Plumed Feather in the middle of the troop.


    The Green Plumed Feather who came to report bowed respectfully, presenting a scroll-like object with both hands, saying half in doubt and half in shock, ¡°[Herde Language] White Lion, Green Hill seems to¡­¡±


    The other Green Plumed Feather removed his helmet, revealing himself to be the White Lion, who was supposed to be reigning over Green Hill.


    The White Lion took the scroll-like object from the hands of the ranger, pulled it open, and put it to his eye; distant objects were drawn closer.


    After a moment, the White Lion retracted the telescope, shook his head regretfully.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Keep moving forward,¡± he said. ¡°[Herde Language] Continue singing.¡±

 Chapter 969: 41

    Chapter 969: Chapter 41


    [Qingqiu]


    It¡¯s all over now.


    Deer, antelopes, bison, wolves¡­ Countless prey corpses were brought to the middle of Qingqiu Mountain for inspection.


    As soon as the inspection was done, the hunted animals were skinned, deboned, allocated, and preserved on the spot.


    The blood of the beasts flowed along the terrain, converging along the way, transforming the wilderness at the mountain¡¯s foot into a swamp of blood.


    No one could bypass that blood swamp; those wanting to reach Qingqiu had to continue stepping through the tainted blood and mud.


    Eventually, countless dark red hoof prints and footprints were left on the hillside.


    This scene, although merely the Red River Tribe tallying the hunt, was no different from cleaning up a battlefield.


    As for the other hunted prey¡ªentire or partial human corpses¡ªhad been already gathered.


    The Herders typically do not use burial, but at this time around Qingqiu, there were no ferocious beasts or birds of prey capable of consuming such an abundance of flesh. Hence, the unclaimed bodies were all thrown into a pit and hastily buried.


    ¡­


    Contrary to many people¡¯s expectations, the first thing White Lion did upon returning to Qingqiu was not to suppress the rebellion, but to dispatch troops and encircle from all sides.


    The Red River Tribe like a cascade of mercury divided themselves into over a hundred tulurs, erecting an extensive yet precise net that drove most of the escaped prey and tribes back to the hunting grounds.


    White Lion¡¯s attitude was clear¡ªno matter what had happened, the hunt would continue. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Also conveyed to the tribal leaders was the Red River Tribe¡¯s recent major victory¡ªWhite Lion ambushed at the Hantu River Estuary, defeated the Suz Tribe and Haidong Tribe¡¯s joint forces over a hundred miles, slaughtering twelve Green Plumed Feathers, capturing sixty-four banners, and killing countless foes.


    ¡­


    Thus, the felt walls were repaired, corpses removed, escaped wild beasts recaptured, and the fleeing hunters returned.


    The stage was set once again, but this time, as White Lion rode swiftly shooting arrows, no one dared whisper secretly.


    Everything proceeded according to ancient customs: White Lion shot the first arrow, then Red River Tribe¡¯s Green Plumed Feathers and other tribes¡¯ Nayen followed, and then the Red River Tribe¡¯s Hong Lingyu and other tribes¡¯ Kota followed them.


    After the noble warriors hunted to their heart¡¯s content and moved on to rest and feast in Qingqiu, it was finally the turn for the lower-ranked hunters to enter the arena.


    In an atmosphere thick with unease, expectation, and the smell of blood, the hunt uneventfully marched towards its end.


    Because everyone was waiting for the subsequent ceremony that could determine the fate of all tribes:


    ¡°Dividing the meat¡±.


    ¡­


    [Qingqiu Mountain¡¯s waist, inspection site]


    A large stag with grand antlers was placed on the workbench.


    This beautiful large animal was shot with two arrows, one in the hind leg and one in the ribs, already having moved on to the spirit world.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Twelve branches.¡± The elder from the Red River Tribe muttered a few phrases and placed the final bundle of dry grass between the dead beast¡¯s teeth before proceeding to examine the two arrow wounds:


    The rib arrow could have penetrated deeper into the prey¡¯s lungs, but unfortunately, the arrowhead lodged between the ribs, resulting only in a superficial wound;


    The fur below the arrow wound on the right hind leg was caked with dried blood.


    Removing the arrow, the elder barely perceptibly nodded his head, indeed it was a crescent arrow.


    Further examining the wound, no major blood vessel could be felt; it seemed to have been severed by the crescent arrow. Similarly, for the tendons.


    The Red River Tribe elder explained briefly before picking up the crescent arrow and making a determination: ¡°[Herde Language] This arrow was the first shot.¡±


    The two hunters who brought the deer for inspection, the middle-aged one showed a delighted expression, while the younger one, although unable to hide his disappointment, did not argue and took the arrow before leaving.


    The elder then checked the markings on other arrows in the middle-aged hunter¡¯s quiver¡ªconsistent with those of the crescent arrow.


    Thus, the ownership of the prey was determined.


    The stag was quickly disassembled:


    Antlers, fur, and sinews were given to the middle-aged hunter as a reward for the ¡°first shot¡±;


    The venison was smoked and preserved, waiting to be distributed;


    The bones were communal property, used for making glue.


    Not only was nothing from the hunted prey wasted, but even the retrieved arrows were to be returned to their owners, and anyone found hiding them would face severe punishment.


    For the Herders, the distribution of spoils was a matter of utmost importance, even more critical than looting or hunting itself.


    Distributing spoils symbolized power, and how much one could obtain indicated their status.


    According to tribal tradition¡ªfirst shot, heavily rewarded; flesh divided equally; White Lion fairly distributed the hunt gains, showing no favoritism towards the Red River Tribe nor any discrimination or exploitation of hunters from other tribes.


    Regardless of what the tribal leaders thought, the lower-ranked Herder hunters were thoroughly content.


    Leaders might not care about the trivial gains from the hunt since they already owned herds of slaves and livestock.


    However, ordinary hunters cared deeply about how much meat they could get, as it was the reward for their laborious efforts.


    ¡­


    The hunt lasted a whole day and a half; while hunters pursued wild beasts within the enclosures, the tribal leaders gathered atop Qingqiu to spectate, feast, and rest.


    Until there were hardly any living prey left on the hunting grounds, the leader of the Evil Earth Tribe, grandfather [Tashi] of Koshach, solemnly left his seat and headed towards the golden tent.


    Dancing slave girls quietly withdrew, wrestling performers turned and exited the arena, and no longer were strings or bells sounded. The once lively Qingqiu instantly fell silent.


    Moments earlier, while still drinking and laughing, the Red River Nayen and the tribal leaders¡¯ expressions unknowingly became somber and serious.


    Everyone faintly felt that¡ªa crucial moment was about to arrive.


    Old [Tashi], accompanied by eight equally white-haired and bearded Herder elders, entered the golden tent with the most humble and respectful of manners.


    Living to old age in the wilderness is a difficult feat, and nine is considered a ¡®great number¡¯ among the Herder people.

 Chapter 970: 41st _2

    Chapter 970: 41st Chapter_2


    Nine Herders elders first blessed the White Lion and then toasted him.


    The White Lion took the golden cup and drank up the milk wine: ¡°[Herde Language] having said that, elders, you may ask for anything. Whatever you desire, I shall grant.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Wise White Lion, Merciful White Lion, Powerful White Lion.¡± Tashyi bowed deeply: ¡°[Herde Language] Please spare the living creatures in the pen, let them go to places with water and grass to breed, let the next great hunt harvest beasts from mountains and valleys, let your wise and merciful renown spread across the plains.¡±


    The White Lion nodded in agreement.


    The dull sound of the horn reverberated through the hunting ground, it was the command of forgiveness, the signal to cease the slaughter.


    The hunters who were still chasing the game reined in their horses upon hearing this, and even those who were not yet satisfied dared not draw their bows again. A large gap was torn open in the felt walls, allowing the lucky surviving animals to escape and return to the embrace of the wilderness.


    Releasing the last game in the enclosure is a tradition among the Herders, and no one was surprised.


    What really made the tribal leaders break out in a cold sweat was what Old Tashyi said next: ¡°[Herde Language] Wise White Lion, Merciful White Lion, Powerful White Lion. Spare the lives of the creatures, for they can breed. Let wild fires rage on, for they will only spread. Those tribesmen who defy you, please eradicate them like ash, let every pasture, every river know of your power!¡±


    Without needing an indication from the White Lion, the palace guards of the Red River Tribe had already brought a group of heavily bound captives to the front of the golden tent.


    Among these captives were nobles and warriors from both Haidong Tribe and Suz Tribe, as well as leaders from the vassal tribes of Red River Tribe who had been turned against them. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some captives glared with fury and struggled fiercely; some had weak knees and pleaded with nods and bows; others were like walking corpses, already broken in spirit.


    While the tribal hunters were busy hunting, the warriors of Red River Tribe were chasing down the fleeing enemies across the hills and fields.


    This time, the White Lion did not immediately agree to Old Tashyi¡¯s request. He took a silver jug and personally poured half a cup of wine.


    The Head of the Guard understood, holding the horn cup with both hands he slowly walked to the captive on the far left.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Would you drink this wine?!¡± The Head of the Guard shouted loudly.


    The palace guard removed the wooden gag from the captive¡¯s mouth.


    The captive took a deep breath, his eyes widened in anger, ready to curse. However, just as he let out a piercing sound, another palace guard behind him had already beheaded him with a single strike.


    The unsupported head fell to the ground with a clear ¡°thud¡±. The body slowly tilted, staining the beautifully embroidered carpet with blood.


    None of the tribal leaders under the tent were without blood on their hands, but for some reason, seeing the ruthless slashing by the palace guard of Red River Tribe just now, everyone felt a chill down their spine.


    The Head of the Guard walked up to the second captive, this time the palace guard escorting the captive was wise and did not remove the wooden gag at all, allowing the captive to only nod or shake his head in response.


    The second captive was a warrior from the Suz Tribe, his gaze struggled intensely but in the end, he slowly shook his head.


    The palace guard thrust a blade into the captive¡¯s heart from behind, leaving an intact corpse.


    For the third captive, there was no need to ask. He desperately nodded his head, with such vigor that it almost seemed his neck might break.


    The Head of the Guard fed the third captive a small sip of wine¡ªthere were others to consider.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Having drunk from this cup, you are now my guest.¡± the voice of the White Lion came from inside the golden tent: ¡°[Herde Language] Your life is my gift; your tents, slaves, and herds must all be handed over, as a compensation for the deceased and injured among the tribes, as your gift.¡±


    The White Lion was not asking, but rather issuing a judgment directly.


    The captive who just barely saved his life hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to rejoice when he heard that all his possessions were to be deprived, and could not help but feel profoundly sorrowful. However, he was quick-witted¡ªhis properties would not be preserved if he were killed anyway, after doing the math, he still profited a life.


    The third captive suddenly threw himself to the ground, sobbing and praising the mercy of the White Lion.


    The Head of the Guard slightly lowered his eyes, and the palace guards took the third captive away.


    Most of the tribal leaders under the tent were visibly pleased; during the recent upheaval, many tribes had suffered losses, and obtaining some compensation was indeed best.


    Only a few astute chiefs slightly frowned¡ªjudging by the way things were divided today, even with compensation, it was unlikely to be given to the chiefs themselves.


    One captive after another was questioned, and it did not take long before all were dealt with. Both the living and the dead were taken away, leaving only a few pools of blood on the carpet.


    A leader from a small tribe initiated, and many chiefs and leaders raised their drinks to praise the mercy of the White Lion.


    Mercy is a relative concept. Part of the reason why Red River Tribe was able to expand rapidly was that the White Lion rarely used ruthless means of eliminating dissent.


    In the process of the Herders tribes annexing each other, beheading above the wheel was a common practice¡ªmen taller than a wheel killed outright, young children who had no memory of events taken in to be raised, women redistributed as resources. The reason was simple: only one¡¯s own people can be trusted, and only those raised from young can be reassured.


    The Red River Tribe, most of the time, however, would accept the adult males of the defeated tribes. Last year, the White Lion subdued the Zhu¡¯er Qin Tribe, and this year, the Zhu¡¯er Qin people had already become part of the Red River Tribe. Even among the archers in the palace tent today, there were no shortage of Zhu¡¯er Qin people.


    Due to the White Lion¡¯s reputation for ¡°justice¡±, the lower members of the tribes aspired to join the Red River Tribe. But tribal leaders and nobles wished to affiliate with the Red River Tribe, due to the White Lion¡¯s reputation for ¡°mercy.¡±

 Chapter 971: 41_3

    Chapter 971: 41_3


    At this moment, every tribal leader sitting inside and outside the Red River Tribe¡¯s golden tent had already convinced themselves:


    ¡°Whatever the White Lion wants, let it be.¡±


    ¡°Whether it fits customs, rules, or breaks an agreement, let it be.¡±


    ¡°To serve him as lord, if he wins, we share the spoils; if he loses, we return to as before.¡±


    As for the leaders who hadn¡¯t convinced themselves¡­ they had just been bound and taken away.


    The tribal leaders were all waiting for old Tashi to speak those words, waiting for the White Lion to nod, waiting for the time to loudly concur.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh most great and mighty White Lion!¡± Old Tashi stood still for a moment, then suddenly knelt to the ground, tearfully shouting:


    ¡°[Herde Language] I wish to acknowledge you as the Khan of all tribes!


    You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you! Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When facing numerous enemies, I wish to be your vanguard!


    Take back both noblewomen and maidens for you!


    Take back both palatial tents and treasures for you!


    Plunder back foreign women and wealth for you!


    If I defy your command, you can disperse my wives and concubines, seize my property, throw my head to the ground!


    If I violate your decree, you can kill my offspring, burn my tents, abandon me in a place where no grass grows¡­¡±


    As soon as old Tashi knelt, all the Herders inside and outside the tent knelt down too.


    Old Tashi made a vow, and chiefs, Nayen, Kota, palace guards, and quiver bearers each echoed a vow in turn.


    Their voices carried beyond the blue hills, no matter whether from the Red River Tribe or from other tribes, all the Herders knelt facing the golden tent, their heads bowed.


    In the vast hunting ground, there was only one person still sitting¡ªthe White Lion.


    The White Lion watched everyone bow their heads; at this moment, no one dared to look him in the eye.


    For many a heroic figure, they had reached the pinnacle of their lives at moments like this, their bodies and souls would tremble, but the White Lion seemed indifferent.


    He listened quietly to old Tashi¡¯s oath, and even leisurely took a small sip of mare¡¯s milk to moisten his throat.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I¡­¡± The White Lion¡¯s voice was calm and carried a hint of a smile: ¡°[Herde Language] Once vowed that in this life, I would not claim the title of Khan, otherwise, I wish to die under a thousand arrows.¡±


    Old Tashi¡¯s body visibly trembled, the tribal leaders buried their heads even lower, nobody dared to move.


    If Father Reed were here, he would certainly have some odd things to say; even Winters, who had only learned a fraction of Father Reed¡¯s humor, would probably have a sharp comment or two.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh White Lion!¡± old Tashi spoke again, his voice tinged with a plea: ¡°[Herde Language] If you do not become the Khan of all tribes! No one can be the Khan of all tribes!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you!


    ¡­¡±


    The crowd inside and outside the tent, once again, followed old Tashi in reciting the vow.


    ¡°[Herde Language] I am not of the Gold lineage.¡± The White Lion refused again: ¡°Khan Hongyun once made an oath with all tribes that none other than the Gold bloodline could be Khan. I am not qualified to claim the title of Khan.¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] Oh Khan!¡± Old Tashi was flustered, his voice now carrying a sob: ¡°[Herde Language] Rivers change their courses! Stones wear smooth! Wild grass grows and withers, withers and regrows! The faces of our tribal descendants change year by year! Even vows must one day be broken!¡±


    ¡°[Herde Language] I am willing to break the vows of the past for you!


    You have become the Khan!


    When hunting cunning beasts, I wish to round them up for you!


    ¡­¡±


    ¡­


    This time, Old Tower did not have the chance to finish reading the oath, as White Lion¡¯s majestic command interrupted him.


    ¡°Herde Language Shut up!¡± White Lion shattered the desk, rising proudly: ¡°Herde Language Lift your heads! All of you, look at me!¡±


    No one dared to look up.


    ¡°Herde Language Look at me!¡±


    The tribal chiefs slightly lifted their heads, but their chests still touched the ground.


    ¡°Herde Language Rivers may change their course! Stones may become smooth! Wild grass may die and come back to life! The younger generation of our tribes has already changed their faces!¡± White Lion¡¯s voice thundered, echoing through Blue Hill: ¡°Herde Language But the oath of the Herders is more stable than the mountains! More enduring than the rivers! More precious than gold!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Once I take an oath, I will never break it! Once my ancestors made an oath, I will never break it! You should do the same! Whoever breaks the oath shall be punished by heaven and man! He who takes the oath lightly shall die under a myriad of horses, under a myriad of arrows!¡±


    ¡°Herde Language But¡­¡± Old Tower desperately kowtowed, blood streaming from his forehead: ¡°Herde Language If you do not become the Khan of the tribes, no one else can be!¡±


    The tribal chiefs echoed like insects, continuously kowtowing following Old Tower.


    ¡°Herde Language Shut up!¡±


    With a roar from White Lion, Blue Hill fell utterly silent.


    ¡°Herde Language I will not be the Khan of the tribes! I do not wish to be the Khan of the tribes! I disdain to be the Khan of the tribes!¡± White Lion released his feelings, the relief extreme.


    He swept his gaze below the tent, quietly reveling. At this moment, he truly reached the pinnacle of his life: ¡°Herde Language As long as you obey my laws! Respect my regulations! Uphold my oath! Then I don¡¯t need to be your Khan!


    ¡°Herde Language Obey my laws! Respect my regulations! Uphold my oath! I, shall be for the tribes the¡­¡± White Lion pushed aside the golden tent curtain, revealing a stele engraved with fine text:


    ¡°Herde Language Lawmaker!!¡±


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡°Herde Language First, the great code of Lawmaker White Lion is beyond question;¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Second, the great code of Lawmaker White Lion is unchangeable;¡±


    ¡°Herde Language Third¡­


    When the palace guards of the Red River Tribe read ¡®The Codex¡¯ to the tribal chiefs, Kota, and the tribespeople, Winters was not present.


    He was lying in an ox cart, slowly approaching a valley where gold was buried.


    Someday in the future, Winters might regret missing the most spectacular part of what happened on Blue Hill ¨C all Herder tribes¡¯ younger generation snapping arrows to swear together, vowing to forever uphold the law of the Golden Stele.


    While the Herders demonstrated how to effectively destroy arrows, Winters was trying to figure out how to trick Father Kaman into massaging his legs.


    He lay there stiffly on the hard cart, every inch of his skin and muscle in agony, without the strength even to wriggle his little finger.


    Father Kaman sat beside Winters, holding a small silver jug and feeding Winters hot cow¡¯s milk, a bit gleeful yet distressed, chiding: ¡°I truly can¡¯t understand how you¡¯ve managed to get yourself into this state. A normal person would have either fainted or simply died of exhaustion before getting to this point; how exactly did you manage it?¡±


    Sitting on the other side of the ox cart, Colonel Moritz, sipping on his liquor, casually said: ¡°The power of love.¡±


    Father Kaman coldly scoffed: ¡°Truly a realm beyond my understanding.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ want to¡­ go down¡­ with you¡­ all¡­¡± Winters, using his astounding willpower, barely squeezed out the words: ¡°¡­together¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Father Kaman continued to drip cow¡¯s milk into the corner of Winters¡¯ mouth: ¡°Come on then.¡±


    Winters¡¯ eyes began to moisten: ¡°That old man¡­ the wine he gave me¡­ there was something wrong with it!¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    ¡°¡­Today, the very first codified law of the Herder culture known to us, ¡®The Law of the Golden Stele¡¯, is also the origin of the Herder written language¡­¡±


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªHistory¡¤Seventh Grade(Upper) [New Sea Blue Education Publishing]

 Chapter 972: 42 Trading (Part 1)

    Chapter 972: Chapter 42 Trading (Part 1)


    [Herd Wasteland, the location where the Gold is buried]


    The tranquility of the valley was disturbed once again, with unwelcome guests returning after their previous visit.


    But this time, it wasn¡¯t like before, with only three riders sneaking in. This time, Winters brought his people and openly marched into the valley.


    The Red River Tribe¡¯s Golden Tent Guard spread out their cavalry patrols at the perimeter of the valley to intercept any herders or hunters that might appear.


    The Iron Peak County Delegation set up camp within the valley. The side boards and tarps of the six horse-drawn carts were removed for the first time since leaving Iron Peak County, and Winters¡¯ subordinates got their first look at the ¡°mysterious cargo¡±:


    Furnaces, crucibles, moulds, refractory bricks, bellows, and prefabricated pieces of hoisting machinery¡­


    Seeing familiar tools, a goldsmith who had been repairing horse hooves along the way felt an inexplicable twinge in his nose.


    ¡­


    Long before departing from Iron Peak County, Winters, Bard, and Mason had repeatedly discussed ¡°how to securely recover the gold statue?¡±


    All three agreed: Merely exposing the location of the Gold Celestial Statue posed a huge risk for the relatively weak delegation;


    The Great Wilderness was always a land filled with hostility, and the best course of action to deal with the gold statue would be to strike a deal with the Red River Tribe, exchanging the gold statue for gold or equivalent goods;


    If the aforementioned plan was not feasible, then they should proceed with the understanding and protection of the Red River Tribe to unearth the gold statue and¡­ destroy it on the spot.


    Yes, to destroy it.


    The Gold Celestial Statue in Paratu could only be used as Gold; aside from boasting of military exploits, it held almost no additional value.


    Better to destroy the eye-catching gold statue on the wasteland than to carry it across the Great Wilderness. It made more sense to simply melt it down and bring it back home as gold bars.


    During negotiations with White Lion, Winters realized that the White Lion had no interest in the Gold Celestial Statue, but he also understood¡ªWhite Lion wouldn¡¯t mind providing some reasonable help in destroying the Gold Celestial Statue.


    Thus, the fate of the Herders¡¯ most sacred object was decided.


    ¡­


    When the tarps were removed from the last two carts, what was inside wasn¡¯t tools, but a type of black-grey rock.


    ¡°Rocks?¡± someone asked, puzzled.


    The mysterious cargo they had painstakingly transported were just a few carts of tools? And rocks?


    The delegation¡¯s blacksmith stepped forward, picked up a black rock, weighed it and then chuckled, turning around: ¡°What rocks? These are clearly coal!¡± Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°It¡¯s coke,¡± Berlion said softly.


    ¡°It is coke,¡± Winters, leaning on his cane, walked into the crowd, nodded appreciatively at Berlion: ¡°Processed coal.¡±


    Winters, worrying that they could not find sufficient fuel in the Great Wilderness, had even brought two carts of coke all the way. He made such comprehensive preparations that he would definitely not leave the Herd Wasteland until two tons of Gold were in his hands.


    Winters walked to the front of the crowd, sweeping his gaze over his subordinates: ¡°Have you all had enough excitement?¡±


    ¡°[Monosyllabic words expressing submission and approval in fitful murmurs.]¡±


    He smiled: ¡°Then let¡¯s get to work!¡±


    ¡°[An outburst of monosyllabic words full of eagerness to obey and approval]!¡±


    And with that, they set to work.


    Xial led people to find some log stakes and began digging; Pierre led people to unload the carts, getting to work on assembling the lifting machine; the delegation¡¯s blacksmiths and goldsmiths busied themselves with setting up the furnaces.


    Winters did not publicly explain what they were digging for, but those who had experienced the Great Wilderness Battle had their suspicions.


    As for those who joined the military for the first time after its establishment, even if they knew nothing about the existence of the gold statue, just by observing the secretive demeanor of the Civil Guard Officer, they could tell that what lay underground was significant.


    Although the sun was already leaning westward, everyone was eager to seize every minute and second.


    Only Vashka, his head wrapped in layers of white bandages, approached Winters: ¡°What is it that we¡¯re digging for, Centurion?¡±


    As an injured man, Vashka could quite straightforwardly slack off.


    ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t remember?¡± Winters responded with a wry smile.


    Vashka sounded aggrieved: ¡°I took a fall that day¡­¡±


    ¡­


    On the day of the Greenhill Hunt, Vashka fell from his horse, striking the back of his head. Luckily, he suffered no more than a dozen stitches and a long sleep¡ªupon waking, he was lively as ever.


    But the fall did leave some sequelae; at least he could not recall anything about the day of the Greenhill Hunt.


    Afterwards, Vashka learned about the Blood Wolf¡¯s rampant and invincible presence on the Greenhill and how his companions shined following the Blood Wolf, turning green with regret.


    Every time he thought of how his companions would boast about their feats at Greenhill in the future while he had no memory of it at all, Vashka¡¯s heart ached.


    So, these past few days, Vashka had been indirectly enquiring about the specifics of the Greenhill Hunt. However, Pierre was tight-lipped, his companions were reluctant to share details, and his father had given him a severe scolding.


    After much thought, he concluded that the most reliable source would be first-hand information from those directly involved. Thus, whenever he had the chance, Vashka would sidle up to Winters in the hope of extracting some information.


    ¡­


    Winters reflected carefully¡ªVashka had been present when they seized and buried the gold statue. Surely, a fall on the day of the Greenhill Hunt wouldn¡¯t make him completely forget everything that had happened before, would it?


    He looked at Vashka¡¯s cheerful face and the white bandages wrapped around his head, suddenly feeling a pang of heartache. Because Vashka¡¯s fall was severe, had his luck been just slightly worse, he might have lost his life.


    But then another thought repeatedly surfaced: ¡°The kid probably got knocked silly from the fall¡­ No, even sillier than before.¡±


    ¡°When you see that thing, you¡¯ll remember,¡± Winters said as gently as he could: ¡°Vasya.¡±


    Vashka nodded desperately, not really understanding what the Centurion was talking about, but the Centurion¡¯s tone made him feel overwhelmingly flattered.


    Berlion was installing a bellows, and Winters called him aside.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe has brought samples of ore,¡± Winters said. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    Both men took horses and rode leisurely out of the valley, heading for the camp of the Red River Tribe.


    Winters was recovering much faster than Father Kaman had anticipated. He was already able to walk with a cane, but his limbs were still sore, weak, and felt stiff and uncoordinated when he moved.


    Therefore, Father Kaman strictly prohibited Winters from riding fast horses; had it not been for Winters¡¯s refusal to sit in a cart again, Father Kaman wouldn¡¯t have allowed him to ride at all.


    ¡°The Red River Tribe seems to have no interest in mining iron ore,¡± Winters said, gripping the saddle tightly and struggling to maintain his balance. ¡°It always feels a bit abnormal.¡±


    ¡°Iron ore requires many processes before it can enter the smelting furnace. If it¡¯s just roughly mined ore, a hundred portions won¡¯t yield one portion of pure iron. Steel can be sold far away, but iron ore isn¡¯t worth transporting to distant places. That¡¯s why well-known ironworking towns are all next to large mines; when the veins are exhausted, the towns also decline.¡±


    Although Berlion was still reticent, when discussing ironworking with Winters, he was a veritable fountain of knowledge: ¡°The chief of the Red River Tribe probably has determined that you wouldn¡¯t set up a smelter in their territory, and the ore isn¡¯t worth buying from a distance, hence their indifference.¡±


    Winters asked, ¡°What about transportation by water?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Berlion honestly replied. ¡°But I estimate it¡¯s unfeasible. From what I know of mining towns, even when water transportation is convenient, there won¡¯t be merchants coming from a hundred kilometers away to buy rough ore.¡±


    Winters caught an unfamiliar term: ¡°Rough ore?¡±


    ¡°It refers to the ore extracted from mines, mixed with rock.¡±


    ¡°Rough ore isn¡¯t worth long-distance transportation.¡± Winters, in the presence of an expert, was never afraid to show his curiosity and asked, ¡°Then, is there such a thing as fine ore?¡±


    ¡°In contrast to rough ore, blacksmiths generally call it ¡®concentrate¡¯,¡± Berlion explained carefully. ¡°If we let the Red River Tribe handle selecting, roasting, crushing, screening, and even sintering, we could directly buy concentrate from them. If transported by water, concentrate might be worth the long haul.¡±


    ¡°When you were not in Iron Peak County, a Mr. Leo visited me¡ªhe¡¯s a very astute merchant,¡± Winters mused. ¡°He said, ¡®Only goods with high enough profit margins are worth the long-distance trafficking, as the cost of transportation can exceed the price of the grain itself over two hundred kilometers away.''¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly the case, Your Excellency.¡±


    ¡°But you didn¡¯t bring it up immediately,¡± Winters sighed. ¡°There must be something wrong.¡±


    ¡°There is something indeed¡­¡±


    ¡°Out with it. If you think it¡¯s not feasible, I¡¯m not holding out much hope either.¡±


    ¡°Concentrate is just one step away from becoming worked iron. If we can obtain concentrate, then crude furnaces could be used to produce worked iron,¡± Berlion said seriously. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, the Herders are not inexperienced in ironmaking. On the contrary, their craftsmanship is very intricate.¡±


    Winters recalled the weapons and armor confiscated from the various Herder tribes; although most were quite old, there were also some new ones among them. This led him to ponder the Red River Tribe¡¯s iron usage rate, which far exceeded that of other tribes ¡ª while poor small tribes were still using stone and bone arrowheads, every member of the Red River Tribe was already using iron arrowheads.


    ¡°I think,¡± Winters said with a smile, ¡°the Red River Tribe might have been secretly mining and smelting iron all along.¡±


    Berlion thought for a moment: ¡°The area around Qingqiu is all red soil, and the Red River Tribe does indeed have a ¡®Red River,¡¯ so there could very well be shallow iron ore deposits. It would be best to ask the local residents if there used to be iron mines? Or are there remnants of old iron smelting?¡±


    ¡°Where are there local residents when the Herder tribes roam everywhere?¡± Winters laughed heartily. After the laughter, he still adopted a serious attitude: ¡°I have already asked people from the Wutu Tribe. At least in recent decades, there has been no talk of an ¡®Iron Hill¡¯ upstream of Red River. As for earlier than that, no one knows.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a possibility that the ancient Herder people exhausted the shallow deposits and lacked the capability to mine the remaining ore, so over time the mines were abandoned and forgotten. Hence no one talks about them, and no one remembers them.¡±


    Winters wound the reins around his fingers loop by loop: ¡°Assuming that¡¯s the case, where would the Red River Tribe get the technology to mine deep ore deposits from?¡±


    Berlion did not answer, he had a vague feeling that this wasn¡¯t the real issue.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about it!¡± Winters stretched on horseback, smiling as he spoke: ¡°Even when you go to war with a map, you still need to see the terrain with your own eyes. It¡¯s useless to think it over here without checking the place in person¡ª the more the Red River Tribe refuses us to do the on-site exploration, the more I want to see what¡¯s there.¡±


    The two of them rode on for a while, and after exiting the valley, the world suddenly became open and bright.


    Berlion took the initiative to speak: ¡°Your Excellency, in fact, many places are known to have ore deposits that no one bothers to mine. Either because the veins are too poor, or because mining is too difficult, or because transportation is too inconvenient.¡±


    ¡°Like Iron Peak Mine?¡±


    ¡°Just like Iron Peak Mine. Unless the price of iron bars is too high or the ore deposits in other places are exhausted, Iron Peak Mine isn¡¯t worth digging, because it¡¯s not cost-effective.¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh: ¡°You mine when there¡¯s profit, and you abandon it when there¡¯s not. In the end, iron smelting is also a business.¡±


    Berlion remained silent for a long time, then he retorted, ¡°What isn¡¯t, Your Excellency?¡±


    Winters laughed out loud, gently nudging the horse¡¯s ribs: ¡°Still, there are some things that aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡­


    Going against every single one of Father Kaman¡¯s medical advices, Winters galloped to the encampment where the Red River Tribe¡¯s palace guards were stationed as if in high spirits.


    Although the Gold Tent Guard were following the White Lion¡¯s orders to protect the Iron Peak County Delegation from disturbance, they did not camp in the valley nor did they have much contact with the Iron Peak County Delegation.


    From beginning to end, no one from the Red River Tribe has set foot in the valley¡ªthis was another command from the White Lion.


    Therefore, negotiations and exchanges were all conducted at the palace guard¡¯s camp outside the valley.


    Two Arrow Guards, one in front and the other behind, came to greet Winters as he delivered the ore.


    The Arrow Guard standing in the front was a typical Herder, with his skin exposed to the elements over the long term, resulting in a unique texture due to keratinization.


    The one standing behind, although dressed in wilderness garments, looked nothing like a Herder.


    ¡°Lord Batu.¡± The Arrow Guard who didn¡¯t look like a Herder spoke up, his Common Tongue carrying a hint of a Monta accent: ¡°What do you think about the conditions laid out by King White Lion?¡±

 Chapter 973: 43: Trading (Part 2)

    Chapter 973: Chapter 43: Trading (Part 2)


    Upon hearing White Lion¡¯s new title, Winters suddenly became interested: ¡°Didn¡¯t White Lion always proclaim to be a legislator? When did he become a king?¡±


    ¡°He has always been!¡± the unfamiliar archery officer replied with righteousness and firmness.


    Winters chuckled, ¡°How may I address you?¡±


    ¡°This is [Tuhar], the envoy of King White Lion.¡± The unfamiliar archery officer introduced another archery officer first, then introduced himself: ¡°As for me, your excellency Batu may call me [Skylark].¡±


    Winters calmly sized up Skylark: of average height, around fifty years of age; temples greyed, deep-set eyes; skin hung in wrinkles due to loss of elasticity, his shriveled body failing to fill out the broad Hurd-style robes;


    Fingertip joints uniformly thick, in stark contrast to the other archery officer¡ªTuhar¡¯s joints had swollen and deformed due to years of intense use of bows and firearms.


    This was the first time he had seen a ¡°Republic person¡± serving as an archery officer for the Red River Tribe, and while he was curious, he felt somewhat uneasy: ¡°By your accent, you¡¯re Montan? How long have you been serving White Lion?¡±


    Old Skylark replied with a smile, ¡°I am a man of King White Lion. Ever since King White Lion accepted me, I have been in his service.¡±


    Seeing the attitude of the other party, Winters knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to extract any valuable information, so he didn¡¯t bother to ask any further.


    He yawned and poured himself a bowl of horse milk: ¡°If all of White Lion¡¯s subordinates are as shrewd as you, dealing with you all would be quite troublesome.¡±


    ¡°If all Paratu People were as wise and friendly as your excellency Batu, dealings with the Red River Tribe would indeed be much easier.¡± Skylark¡¯s response was neither humble nor arrogant: ¡°Your excellency, let us get back to the main subject. What do you think of King White Lion¡¯s proposal?¡±


    Skylark got an indifferent reply: ¡°Still considering.¡±


    ¡­


    Captives, trade, and the iron mine¡ªthese were the three purposes of Winters¡¯ visit to the Red River Tribe. Among them, captives were of greatest concern to Winters, while trade was most important to White Lion.


    Officially, the Republic of Palatu had imposed a strict blockade on the Hurd tribes, leaving the smaller Hurd tribes too poor to afford even iron arrowheads.


    However, the sheer chaos Winters had witnessed firsthand was evidence enough: there had always been clandestine goods being transported between the wastelands and Palatu, making some people a fortune.


    ¡°Why did you let me go in the first place?¡± This question, Winters had never asked White Lion.


    He believed that White Lion¡¯s decision not to kill him had more to do with not wanting to hurt Erhulan¡¯s and Little Lion¡¯s feelings than with any long-term benefits.


    As for releasing him unconditionally, judging by the details revealed in White Lion¡¯s conversation, Father Reed had made significant efforts.


    But once he took control of Iron Peak County, considerations of interest had to come first.


    White Lion wanted Iron Peak County to become a gateway for the Red River Tribe to engage in material exchange with the outside world, and he had even made preparations in advance: S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Lion had traveled back and forth between Red River Tribe territory and Iron Peak County multiple times, already having scouted a route;


    And the return of the ¡°slaves¡± by the Red River Tribe was a trial¡ªshould the vehicles carrying the ¡°slaves¡± pass, so too would carriages laden with goods in the future.


    But even after meeting the tangible requirements, White Lion still needed to resolve two ¡®human¡¯ issues.


    First, the Terdun people.


    The territory of the Terdon Tribe lay between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe, impossible to bypass¡ªa tiger blocking the path. So if White Lion and Winters wanted to trade, the firekeeper must first nod in agreement.


    Would the firekeeper be gracious enough to agree?


    Unknown, for he had died.


    The Terdon Tribe¡¯s issue was resolved¡­ but not entirely.


    Although the tiger was dead, from its carcass emerged a flock of vultures.


    The vultures were uncontrollable and would eat anything. The Terdun people had lost a recognized leader and, with him, the bridle that held them in check.


    Intermittent envoys traversing secretly might manage, but once a fixed trade route was established, it would sooner or later attract hordes of starved vultures.


    Besides the threat of Terdun people, White Lion also needed the consent of another person¡ªWinters Palatu, Champion of Iron Peak County Civil Guard Officer Montaigne.


    Ultimately, a deal has to be appealing to both parties to go through¡­ at least most of the time it¡¯s like that.


    Iron Peak County needed funding, horses, buyers for ironware; in theory, trade with the Red River Tribe would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.


    The reason Winters kept delaying his response lay in the conditions proposed by the Red River Tribe.


    White Lion didn¡¯t participate in the negotiations personally; instead, he delegated a number of archery officers to discuss with Winters.


    And due to the lack of a ¡°Civil Guard Officer¡± on the Iron Peak County side who was knowledgeable and presentable, Winters had to go into battle with his bear chest.


    The archery officers from the Red River Tribe put forward only two vague conditions:


    First, White Lion would only trade with ¡°Batu,¡± and Batu would only trade with White Lion;


    Second, White Lion could dispatch troops to protect the trade caravans from being plundered, and Iron Peak County would have to give up a portion of the goods as tribute.


    Should Winters consent, by the onset of spring, the Red River Tribe would send out their first caravan to Iron Peak County.


    ¡­


    ¡°King White Lion specifically instructed,¡± Skylark stood respectfully in front of Winters¡¯ table: ¡°The wealth carried by the first caravan won¡¯t require any return goods; it is all to thank you for giving refuge to Prince Little Lion and Princess Erhulan at Qingqiu. Besides, King White Lion also picked out a thousand fine horses¡ªas additional thanks.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Winters asked with interest, ¡°So assume I don¡¯t agree, does that mean the thanks-gifts are also gone?¡±

 Chapter 974: 43: Trading (Part 2)_2

    Chapter 974: Chapter 43: Trading (Part 2)_2


    ¡°Of course not.¡± Skylark remained composed, ¡°Whether or not an agreement is reached, the White Lion King will not take back his gift.¡±


    Winters gestured for the two archery officers to sit down, smiling as he said, ¡°The Herders swear by ¡®words spoken like arrows shot,¡¯ never to be taken back, rarely specifying terms in great detail. We Venetians, on the other hand, prefer to clarify all the details in advance¡­¡±


    ¡­


    [The time rewinds to the night before the hunting in Qingqiu]


    ¡°The first condition is easy to understand.¡± Anna peeked out from behind the drawing board, ¡°You may not bypass the White Lion, selling directly to the civilians of the Red River Tribe. In exchange, the White Lion will not go over your head to do business with the merchants of Iron Peak County.¡±


    Winters secretly stretched his legs that had gotten a bit sore from standing.


    ¡°To put it bluntly, it means the White Lion wants to become the exclusive import and export merchant, monopolizing trade profits. As an exchange, he supports you gaining monopoly rights too.¡± Anna noticed Winters fidgeting and chided, ¡°Don¡¯t move around!¡±


    ¡°Like how you provide me valuable consultation, and I pose for you as a model?¡± Winters whispered a complaint, ¡°But where would I get the money to take in all the goods from the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s simple. If other people have a demand, you can just sell it on.¡± Anna said.


    Winters asked back, ¡°What if others don¡¯t have a demand?¡±


    ¡°Then you don¡¯t import, right?¡± Anna answered with a smile.


    Winters thought to himself: The lion¡¯s goods, those are not something that can simply be refused when unwanted.


    Anna¡¯s graphite stick scratched across the paper: ¡°Monopoly means power, but the source of power is not making profits, it¡¯s allocating profits. Suppose you have a monopoly on trade, then you can require all buyers to provide a security deposit, or even pay in advance.¡±


    Winters pondered: ¡°Allocating profits? Distributing spoils of war? For the White Lion, monopoly signifies power too.¡±


    Anna continued to explain, ¡°Mother always says that Venetians have a bad reputation abroad because they always try to grasp monopoly rights at any cost, not shying away from bribery, violence, undercutting prices¡­ stopping at nothing.¡±


    Winters protested: ¡°You are Venetian too.¡±


    ¡°Only half.¡± Anna blinked her eyes.


    Winters asked, ¡°Can we agree to the first term with them?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not done yet.¡± Anna set down her graphite stick, ¡°The term is too vague, there are many details that need clarification. Is the White Lion¡¯s exclusivity limited only to the Red River Tribe, or the entire Herd Wasteland?¡±


    Anna stepped in front of Winters: ¡°The content of the first term also includes an implicit condition that, if you promise to ensure the White Lion¡¯s monopoly status, you must also take on the responsibility of ¡®inspecting smuggling.¡¯ If the merchants from Iron Peak County bypass you and the White Lion, secretly selling goods to the citizens of the Red River Tribe, what will you do? Have you thought it through?¡±


    Winters fell into deep thought.


    ¡°And then there¡¯s the most critical issue.¡± Anna¡¯s hands rested on Winters¡¯ shoulders, ¡°Who will ensure the enforceability of the treaty?¡±


    ¡­


    [The time returns to the present]


    Hearing Winters mention wanting to ¡°clarify details in advance,¡± Skylark¡¯s cheeks twitched slightly.


    The more vague the terms of a contract, the more advantaged the stronger party. Between the Red River Tribe and Iron Peak County, clearly the Red River Tribe is the more formidable force.


    Discreetly, Skylark took a sip of his milk wine, ready to hear what kind of ideas this young man in front of him could come up with.


    Then¡­ he saw the other party solemnly take out a sheepskin parchment filled with text from his bosom.


    ¡­


    The intense debate lasted from the afternoon into the deep night, and it was only concerning the first article of the treaty.


    ¡°Representative of the Red River Tribe¡± Skylark and ¡°Winters¡¯ representative¡± Winters fully exchanged opinions, reaching a beneficial consensus on issues such as [delivery locations], [negotiation methods], [taxation], and others.


    Some crucial aspects, for instance, were made clear ¨C that ¡°monopoly trade¡± was only to be within areas actually under Winters¡¯ control.


    Winters argued logically, also reserving the right to sell goods to tribes beyond the Red River Tribe.


    Ultimately, when the treaty took written form, Winters said with a smile, ¡°I believe this will certainly be a mutually beneficial agreement.¡±


    Dehydrated, exhausted Skylark sipped his ice water, grumbling internally.


    There is no force to ensure both parties adhere to the agreement; if either side feels aggrieved, they can readily overturn the table. Of course, it¡¯s mutually beneficial.


    ¡°Now, only one thing remains unresolved,¡± Winters said relaxedly, ¡°Who will protect the safety of the routes.¡±


    Skylark was feeling overwhelmed, his eyelids struggling to stay open, unable to concentrate. He was already past forty, lacking the energy of his opponent: ¡°Lord Batu, it¡¯s quite late. Shall we continue tomorrow?¡±


    Winters poured Skylark a drink, sincerely encouraging, ¡°It¡¯s not late, it¡¯s still today before dawn. Today¡¯s affairs should not be left to tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Alright then¡­¡± Skylark gathered his strength, preparing to turn the tables, ¡°As you know, according to the currently planned route, the coming and going carriages will inevitably pass through the grazing fields of the Terdun Tribe. The Terdun people are as cunning as wolves, as greedy as vultures, and will not let go of meat within their reach.¡± sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Skylark cleared his throat, ¡°So the only thing that can protect the safety of people and carriages is military force. The only one who can provide such force is the White Lion King!¡±


    Having said that, Skylark stared intently at Winters, afraid to miss any slight change in the other¡¯s expression.


    The threat of the Terdun people was real and present, meanwhile the Rebels of Iron Peak County lacked the swift cavalry strength of the Herders. Even if they wanted to protect their trade routes on their own, they lacked the power to implement it.

 Chapter 975: 43: Trading (Middle)_3

    Chapter 975: Chapter 43: Trading (Middle)_3


    The inability to ensure the security of the trade route is the Achilles¡¯ heel of the Iron Peak County Rebels. Skylark was convinced: seize this, and it¡¯s like grasping hold of their ball.


    ¡°Ultimately, it still comes down to force. No tribute, then bloodshed.¡± Skylark thought to himself, admiring yet regretting as he looked at the young man before him: ¡°No matter how many advantages you secure upfront, in the end, you can¡¯t escape the ¡®blood tribute.''¡±


    Winters pondered: ¡°Tribute¡­ really sounds rather unpleasant.¡±


    ¡°Compensation, security deposit, all are acceptable.¡± Skylark said magnanimously: ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, even calling it a tax is fine¡ªsafety tax.¡±


    Winters: ¡°But what if, after paying this compensation, safety still can¡¯t be guaranteed?¡±


    Skylark: ¡°Any caravan that pays the safety tax and gets plundered, the Red River Tribe will be responsible for retrieving it. If we can¡¯t retrieve it, we¡¯ll compensate at full value.¡±


    Winters: ¡°What if people die?¡±


    Skylark: ¡°Compensation is the same, we can agree on a figure in advance. How much for a person dying, how much for a horse, how much for a lost wagon.¡±


    Skylark had his detailed plan prepared, including compensation schemes, relay station locations, how to deter the Terdon Tribe, and so forth. He patiently explained to Batu, making every effort to dispel the other¡¯s doubts.


    Winters listened and took notes, also interjecting with questions now and then.


    After hearing the complete plan, Winters lightly tapped his knee: ¡°After saying so much, how much goods do you plan to take as compensation?¡± S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Skylark cleared his throat, extended three fingers, then lowered one: ¡°One third.¡±


    The tips of Winters¡¯s eyebrows raised: ¡°One third? Better off without your help!¡±


    ¡°If there¡¯s no one to protect them.¡± Skylark said calmly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid not just a third, but half the caravans will not make it back.¡±


    Winters with a gentle smile: ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±


    ¡°Just stating facts.¡± Skylark bowed slightly: ¡°Batu.¡±


    ¡°It seems you¡¯re quite sure of yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡± Winters sighed helplessly.


    Skylark did not display the slightest complacency: ¡°Mutual benefit.¡±


    ¡°But there¡¯s an issue here.¡± Winters propped up his chin, asking unhurriedly: ¡°The White Lion not only protects my caravans but also those of the Red River Tribe. Even if I don¡¯t pay the compensation, White Lion would still send troops.¡±


    Skylark was well prepared.


    He frowned slightly, as if deep in thought. After a moment, he ventured to ask: ¡°Batu makes sense. How about this then¡ªevery wagon traveling between Iron Peak County and the Red River Tribe, the White Lion King will only take one quarter of the tribute. From that tribute, we will take out another quarter to share with you. What do you think?¡±


    Winters revealed a smile: ¡°Mutually beneficial?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Skylark bowed deeply: ¡°Mutually beneficial.¡±


    Winters clapped his hands in laughter, with Skylark also smiling along.


    ¡°Your proposal is good.¡± Winters suddenly became serious, took out a parchment from his chest: ¡°But I have a more mutually beneficial suggestion.¡±


    On the parchment was a map, with a few simple strokes outlining the Ashen Stream River, Jinding Mountains, and Sheltering Mountains. The Red River Tribe was marked on the northern bank of the Ashen Stream River, with Iron Peak County located at the bottom of the map, just next to the Jinding Mountains.


    Winters pointed on the map, making a casual stroke: ¡°White Lion takes care of Ashen Stream River, I take care of south of the Ashen Stream River, everyone minds their own side. Let¡¯s be frank, Mr. Skylark. If the Red River Tribe sends troops to protect the trade route for five years, the old lands of the Terdon Tribe will likely all become yours. If White Lion truly wants to grab territory, then send troops to fight. As for using the wind to sail¡­ I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m unwilling to help for free.¡±


    Skylark felt his blood rush to his head in an instant, and he sharply questioned: ¡°South of the Ashen Stream River? What gives you the authority to ensure the safety of south of the Ashen Stream River?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s none of White Lion King¡¯s concern.¡± Winters, of course, wouldn¡¯t tell Skylark about his secret agreement with Tie Chi. He placed the notes he had just taken onto the table: ¡°If there are any accidents, my side will also compensate at full value¡ªaccording to the prices you¡¯ve just set.¡±


    The tired and angered Skylark suddenly stood up, his vision going dark, and just before fainting, a final thought flashed across his mind: ¡°Damn Venetian!¡±

 Chapter 976: 44 Trading (Part 3)

    Chapter 976: Chapter 44 Trading (Part 3)


    The winch creaked, and the cable groaned in agony.


    The heretic relic, long buried underground, was inch by inch lifted by the crane. Soil fell away in flakes, revealing the true form of the treasure. Under the torchlight, the surface of the heretic object glinted with a dim yet captivating luster.


    Every person present couldn¡¯t help but hold their breath¡ªin the face of a lump of gold taller than themselves by half, anyone would react in the same way.


    Because the density of gold greatly exceeds that of dirt, the idol had been slowly sinking.


    Xial and his team had dug through the night to find the idol, facing countless moments of self-doubt. Then, it took a full day to clean up and expose the idol.


    What remained was but to destroy it.


    Anna couldn¡¯t help but approach the idol, reaching out to wipe the wet mud from its face.


    The golden visage was serene and peaceful, utterly indifferent to its impending end.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± Winters said, walking up to Anna. ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Anna observed the golden idol closely.


    This statue before her was nearly disconnected from the word ¡°exquisite.¡± It seemed as if the Khan who ordered its casting disdained to carve out any detail, refusing to alter a single stroke after the heated golden liquid had cooled in the mold.


    As a result, the facial features of the idol appeared so blurred, with the pits and flaws from the casting being preserved exactly as they were.


    But precisely because of this, as compared to the gold and silver sacred vessels enshrined in churches, and the glittering crowns worn by kings and lords, this object of a heretic religion possessed a rugged, sturdy, and pristine beauty unique unto itself.


    It didn¡¯t need any delicate or intricate processing; its mere value was enough to overpower any sacred artifact or crown.


    ¡°How long has it¡­ existed?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°If the records in the Great Archive are correct,¡± Father Kaman, invited to oversee the ceremony, replied softly, ¡°It should be around 240 years, forged by the first Khan conquering the Great Wilderness, out of the gold tributes from various tribes.¡±


    Anna looked at Winters, wanting to speak but hesitated, and in the end, only a sighed regretfully.


    Winters also felt a hint of regret. If it were possible, he would have preferred to preserve the idol as a monument. Because seeing this golden statue reminded him of the endless days and nights of the battles in the Great Wilderness.


    But the future is more important than the past.


    ¡°One wonders how many relics like this have perished in history, leaving not a whisper behind,¡± Winters touched Anna¡¯s fingertips. ¡°But at least you witnessed its disappearance.¡±


    Anna silently nodded.


    Winters at last met the gaze of the idol, which stood silently; the west wind howled through the valley, and crows circled and called in the night sky.


    ¡°Melt it,¡± Winters said.


    The final verdict thus delivered, the idol was dragged to the makeshift workshop. Father Kaman performed a simple baptismal rite, and the people immediately set about dismembering the idol.


    The first saw stroke landed on the neck, as two blacksmiths used a specially made steel saw to sever the idol¡¯s head, bit by bit.


    Witnessing the sawing back and forth, the heart of the accompanying goldsmith ached almost to tears.


    To minimize loss, craftsmen usually use shears to cut precious metals. But the size of the idol was so astonishing that not only shears were out of the question, but even axes and chisels were of no use; only a special steel saw could do the job.


    The goldsmith shed his outer garment, hoping to catch the gold dust.


    But how could he catch it? With a gust of wind, the gold dust scattered. They were the blood of the idol, returning to the wilderness.


    The idol, worshipped by Hurd¡¯s tribes for 240 years, was ultimately divided into seventeen pieces. The heavy gold pieces were buried in the charcoal to be heated, then melted into liquid in the crucible, and eventually cast into bars.


    When the first light of dawn appeared in the sky, the golden idol was no more, replaced instead by gold bars neatly laid at the bottom of four carts.


    Winters set down his walking stick, jumped onto a carriage, and picked up a gold bar.


    The residual heat of the gold bar had long dissipated, cold to the touch. The bar, weighing around a kilogram, with the thickness of a sword handle and the length of a palm, fit snugly in one¡¯s grasp.


    The members of the envoy gradually gathered around the carts. Among them, some had followed Winters since the recruitment at Wolf Town, some were assigned to Winters¡¯ command during the campaign in the Great Wilderness, and others were prisoners of war forcibly conscripted after Winters¡¯ conquest of Revodan.


    The eyes of all were involuntarily drawn to the gold bars¡ªwhile busy working, it hadn¡¯t seemed like much, but once idle, they truly began to comprehend the immeasurable fortune before them, within arm¡¯s reach.


    Everyone¡¯s heart thumped wildly, their mouths involuntarily secreting saliva, accompanied by heavy, overlapping breathing.


    Winters surveyed his men, and in their eyes, he saw desire, awe, greed, and fear¡­


    ¡°The gold on these four carts,¡± Winters looked into the eyes of his subordinates, calmly stating, ¡°is enough for any man to live like a god-king anywhere.¡±


    No one could meet Winters¡¯ gaze, not even Pierre, who also lowered his head.


    ¡°Come,¡± Winters casually handed a gold bar to Pierre. ¡°Take this, feel it.¡±


    Pierre hesitantly accepted the gold bar, while Winters continued to distribute them. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, over sixty people present each had a gold bar, all a bit at a loss.


    ¡°No one¡¯s seen what a life of royalty is like, so let me give a more tangible description,¡± Winters, showing the bar in his hand, said. ¡°The small piece you hold would be enough for you to buy a farm in Newly Reclaimed Land and live a life of plenty. And on the carts, there¡¯s a total of¡­¡±

 Chapter 977: 44 Trading (Part 3)_2

    Chapter 977: Chapter 44 Trading (Part 3)_2


    Winters paused for a moment: ¡°Two thousand two hundred and seventeen pieces.¡±


    ¡°Now, do you realize how staggering this wealth is?¡±


    ¡°Now, do you know what these gold pieces can buy?¡±


    Winters paused again, scrutinizing the crowd, and slowly asked, ¡°Now, do you understand¡ªwhy it is you who have come here with me?¡±


    ¡°Each of you has proven your courage and ability in the most brutal battles, each one of you handpicked by myself. I can call out each of your names, and you can count every scar on my body. In Revodan, in Iron Peak County, in Palatu, you are my most trusted subordinates, you are the ones I can count on the most, you are the ones I can entrust my life to, that¡¯s why I lead you here¡ªinstead of anyone else.¡±


    Beneath the carriage, the crowd held gold bars and listened quietly. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°There are many doubts in your hearts. Why do we deal with the Red River Tribe? Aren¡¯t their hands stained with our blood? Aren¡¯t our hands also stained with the blood of the Red River Tribe members? Why are we now acting as if nothing happened, contentedly being the guests of the Red River Tribe?¡±


    ¡°I will tell you honestly¡ªfrom this moment on, I will keep nothing from you.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe can redeem our comrades-in-arms who are stranded in the fallen wilderness.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe can ensure the transportation of this batch of gold.¡±


    ¡°Because the Red River Tribe is willing to sell us warhorses, wool, because the Red River Tribe is willing to buy our ironware, mineral resources.¡±


    ¡°To put it succinctly, it¡¯s because the interaction with the Red River Tribe will allow us to grow and strengthen.¡±


    Winters swept his gaze over the faces of his subordinates, missing no minor details.


    He took a deep breath, his back against the magnificent sunrise, and for the first time, he opened his heart to his subordinates, to the world, revealing his ambitions: ¡°The war is not over, the war is far from over.¡±


    ¡°Taking Iron Peak County isn¡¯t a victory, taking Iron Peak County is far from victory.¡±


    ¡°The New Reclamation Legion, the Military Government, Kingsfort, they will not tolerate our existence. Sooner or later, the armies that encircle us will reappear. Only next time, they will have learned from their mistakes, they will be more prepared.¡±


    ¡°So we must grow strong, we must flourish, we must desperately suck up every bit of nourishment, absorb every drop of nutrients, even if they come from our enemies! Even if their hands are covered in our blood!¡±


    Winters slammed his fist onto the carriage, causing the board to break. He didn¡¯t amplify his strength with a spell, but to the listeners, his voice was deafening, like a roaring gale.


    Winters steadied his breathing, then suddenly looked up and asked, ¡°Why do we fight?¡±


    ¡°For you, we fight!¡± Pierre responded without hesitation.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to fight for me!¡± Winters shouted fiercely, this time involuntarily using a sound-amplifying spell, his roar echoing through the valley: ¡°I, you, we¡ªwe are fighting for the right to survive! We are fighting for fairness! We are fighting for justice!¡±


    ¡°We must fight, for if we don¡¯t, we will starve to death! And we cannot surrender! Because to surrender would mean being sent to the gallows!¡±


    ¡°The Republic of Palatu discarded us like trash, not caring about the blood and sacrifices we made for her. We fulfilled our responsibility, but the Republic of Palatu did not fulfill hers!¡±


    ¡°Those in power alter the fate of ordinary people for their own selfish desires, treating lives as expendables, wasted in places with no meaning, no value, no use!¡±


    ¡°This tramples on all fairness and justice in the world! It betrays every promise made when this republic, this alliance, was founded! It lets down every hero who shed blood for this republic, for this alliance!¡±


    ¡°I stayed in Palatu because I can¡¯t stand it! Because I can¡¯t take it! Because I can¡¯t swallow it! Because the country founded by the old marshal should not be like this!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what true fairness and justice look like when they finally come to this world, but it¡¯s definitely not what Palatu looks like today. So Iron Peak County is not the end, Mont Blanc County, Vernge County, Maplestone City, Newly Reclaimed Land¡­ we must continue to expand, continue to conquer, continue to seize power, until the old world is destroyed, until a new world is born.¡±


    The valley fell back into silence.


    After a long time, Pierre asked, ¡°And what after the Newly Reclaimed Land?¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s Jiangbei Province, Westwood Province.¡± Winters replied with his head held high: ¡°Then Paratu!¡±


    The scene fell silent. For many around the carriage, the Newly Reclaimed Land was already vast, and Paratu was unimaginably larger. Many of them had never even left their hometowns before.


    Pierre was silent for a moment, staring intently at Winters, and asked in a deep voice: ¡°What comes after Paratu?¡±


    Winters revealed a smile, the next targets were too distant for him, so far that hope was slim, but his answer was as resolute as a vow: ¡°Then it¡¯s Vineta! The Federated Provinces! Monta! Varn! Then the Various Republics!¡±


    Winters did not know what his subordinates were thinking at this moment. For him, this was also a wondrous instant.


    Because of the flames roaring within his chest, for the first time, he shared his deepest desires, ambitions, visions, aspirations¡­ however one might describe them.


    It was an unrealistic, vague, hard-to-achieve goal¡ªat least that¡¯s what Winters thought of it himself.


    He shared this wish with his most trusted subordinates, not expecting everyone to accept it.


    ¡°I won¡¯t force any of you to fight alongside me.¡± Winters said: ¡°Anyone who wants to leave can do so with a bar of gold.¡±


    No one spoke. Pierre took a few steps forward and returned the bar of gold to the carriage. The others, following Pierre, one by one, returned their bars of gold to the carriage.


    Two thousand two hundred and seventeen gold bars lay quietly at the bottom of the carriage, not one more, not one less.


    ¡­


    [Vashka and Pierre¡¯s tent]


    During their rest, Vashka was still groggy and asked Pierre in confusion: ¡°What exactly is the New World like?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Pierre collapsed directly onto the blanket and closed his eyes to sleep: ¡°As long as it¡¯s better than the old one.¡±


    ¡­


    [Winters and Caman¡¯s tent]


    ¡°No one can save the world, Mr. Montaigne.¡± Caman was stirring the campfire: ¡°That is the prerogative of the Lord.¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I want to save the world?¡± Winters sipped on mare¡¯s milk: ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m better at destroying it.¡±


    ¡­


    [Anna¡¯s tent]


    Anna gazed at the drawing board for a long time, yet never started to paint.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    While Winters was busy leading his men in melting the gold men into bars, a convoy arrived at the west bank of Big Horn River.


    The dawn began to break, and the silhouette of Tiefeng gradually became visible.


    ¡°[Herde Language] Wake the slaves, send out the envoys.¡± Hong Lingyu, who was escorting the convoy, ordered the guards as he squinted toward the solitary peak in the distance: ¡°[Herde Language] Across the river is ¡®Iron Peak County¡¯.¡±


    The prisoners of the Expeditionary Force, who had once become slaves of the Herders, had finally returned to Paratu.

 Chapter 978: 45 Another Hunt (Part 1)

    Chapter 978: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 1)


    [Empire, Castile Peninsula, Royal Hunting Lodge, Hunting Grounds]


    As the grand hunt of the Red River Tribe came to a close beyond the Sheltering Mountains ¡ª a thousand miles away on the Castile Peninsula, another hunt was reaching its climax.


    Compared with the spectacular scene of thirty thousand hunters sweeping across the wilderness at the sound of the White Lion¡¯s roar on the Red River Tribe¡¯s side, the Empire¡¯s hunt seemed quite modest, employing fewer than a thousand attendants and servants.


    However, this impression of modesty was solely due to ¡°comparison.¡±


    For the nobility of Castile, even the annual Ascension Mass was less important than the grand hunt.


    Twenty years ago, on the eve of the Empire¡¯s civil war, when the situation was unpredictable and the various princes holding heavy troops remained silent.


    It was the nobles of the Castile Peninsula who first openly rallied under the banner of [Henry the Sunfire], charging into the fray during the subsequent war of succession and earning glorious military achievements.


    To honor the loyalty and valor of the Castile nobility, once the dust settled on the royal succession, the Royal Family held a grand hunting event on the Castile Peninsula every winter.


    Even the Emperor himself would attend the event in person, a commitment he has never once missed in twenty years, never delegated to another.


    Hence, every deep winter, nobles from across Castile gathered like migratory fish, donning their most extravagant hunting gear and converging at the Royal Hunting Lodge from all over the peninsula.


    Even the landless knights and commoners without the privilege to participate in the hunt would go to great lengths to enter the hunting grounds, eager to catch a glimpse of the Emperor¡¯s true face.


    After all, the people of Castile are famous for being brave and robust warriors, but also carry a reputation for being unruly and easily angered.


    The geographical location of the Castile Peninsula, far from the Empire¡¯s core, naturally bred a lack of awe for imperial authority among its people.


    Thus, during the reign of the Mad King Richard alone, the Castile Peninsula saw no less than seven major and minor rebellions.


    After their distinguished service in the war of succession, the pride and arrogance of the Castile nobility grew even more unmanageable.


    It was solely thanks to the Emperor¡¯s masterful handling that the Castile faction neither grew too powerful nor lost its balance.


    In the twenty years since the new Emperor ascended the throne, not once has the Castile Peninsula seen a rebellion.


    Therefore, the grand hunting event is not only an opportunity for the young generation of Castile nobility to showcase their prowess and win the Emperor¡¯s favor but also an important occasion for the Royal Family to maintain the loyalty of the Castile nobility and display their affection and favor.


    Especially at a time like this.


    When is that?


    When the Northern Sea route opens.


    Before the conquest of the northern countries, ships from the Empire¡¯s Western Colonies could only dock on the Castile Peninsula, then transport goods like Gold, Silver, slaves, tobacco, and sugar to the Empire by land.


    With the growth of trade along the western routes, the shipbuilding industry also thrived on the Castile Peninsula.


    The continuous influx of wealth brought unprecedented prosperity to the Castile Peninsula, and the noble Castilians progressively adopted a life of luxury and indulgence.


    They built magnificent palaces, bought the most prestigious and spirited Flemish Warhorses, adorned their tables with exquisite Vineta gold and Silverware, and wore only the most lavish Mountain Front Territory twill fabrics.


    And underpinning all these expenses was the western trade route.


    Now, the northern lion has been subdued by His Imperial Majesty.


    The northern trade route is in the hands of the Emperor, and the two oceans are henceforth connected. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The ships passing through the Narrow Sea no longer have to pay exorbitant transit taxes or risk interception by Norsemen pirates.


    The wealth from the Western Colonies no longer requires the incredibly wasteful land transportation but can now be directly shipped to the eastern coast¡ªcloser to the heart of the Empire.


    The rise of trade routes can bring prosperity, just as their disappearance can lead to decline.


    Some far-sighted Castilian nobles have already felt uneasy, and they can¡¯t help but speculate: although the Emperor has granted Castile numerous honors, he rarely admits Castilians into the inner circle of power.


    The Castilian nobles, with a gloomy mood, partake in this winter hunt; they are now even more in need of a benevolent gesture from the Emperor.


    Yet, there are always those who do not believe in such things.


    Inside a tent in the hunting camp, Prince Richard Monta was earnestly pleading with another blond man.


    The blond man ignored the Prince, silently strapping on his armor.


    The one who could treat the prince like this and treat the prince in such a manner could only be one person in the entire Empire¡ªEarl Harlan, Knight of the Golden Fleece, the Empire¡¯s youngest general, and Prince¡¯s childhood playmate¡ªHarlan¡¯s Siegfried.


    Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, Prince Richard looked at another chestnut-haired man with both anger and urgency, ¡°You¡¯re his deputy! Why don¡¯t you speak up? Farnan!¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s useless,¡± the chestnut-haired man replied calmly: ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Perhaps no one in the world understands Siegfried better than Farnan, not even Siegfried himself.


    So, from the start, Farnan did not attempt to stop him, merely silently assisting Siegfried with his greaves.


    Siegfried, tall and handsome, with a noble aura in his well-fitted hunting attire. In contrast, Farnan might not possess outstanding looks, but his efficiency and steadiness inspired trust.


    With a stern tone, Prince Richard demanded, ¡°What do you mean by useless? Isn¡¯t he supposed to listen to you the most?¡±


    ¡°Farnan is not wrong, Your Highness,¡± Siegfried finally spoke, ¡°Please do not trouble him further.¡±


    Seeing that Siegfried had spoken, Prince Richard suppressed his anger, trying to persuade as calmly as possible: ¡°It¡¯s just a show; what will it mean to defeat those Castilians? You no longer have anything to prove. Victory or defeat is meaningless, and failure would only bring shame. Do you really want to fight such a battle?¡±

 Chapter 979: 45 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 979: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    Siegfried stretched out his arms, allowing Farnan to wrap his wrists, palms, and knuckles tightly with cloth strips.


    ¡°As you said, Your Highness.¡± Siegfried gently clenched his teeth: ¡°It¡¯s just a performance.¡±


    ¡­


    [Time rewinds to fifteen minutes earlier]


    ¡°Earl Harlan?¡± Duke Tarlac, proudly holding a trophy animal ear, walked past by Siegfried, and seemed to casually ask: ¡°Aren¡¯t you participating?¡±


    The Castile Lords always looked down on the ¡°new nobility,¡± not to mention Siegfried who came from a humble background, the son of a poor Knight.


    Siegfried acted as if he heard nothing, ignoring Duke Tarlac. He held his wine glass, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the royal viewing platform.


    Duke Tarlac was about to explode in anger, but the auburn-haired Lieutenant by Siegfried¡¯s side stepped forward first, replying neither humbly nor arrogantly: ¡°Your Grace, the winter hunt is a stage for the Castile youth to display their prowess. How could the Earl compete for the spotlight with the gentlemen of Castile?¡±


    Being a favorite of the Emperor, Siegfried didn¡¯t want a real conflict to erupt, so Duke Tarlac directed his anger at the auburn-haired Lieutenant.


    Duke Tarlac glanced at the Lieutenant and asked: ¡°Are you Farnan? The ¡®Shadow of Earl Harlan¡¯ as they say?¡±


    ¡°Or to put it another way¡­¡± Duke Tarlac¡¯s tone shifted, becoming mocking and lewd: ¡°Earl Harlan¡¯s male concubine?¡±


    Before Farnan could speak up, Siegfried turned around, glancing at Duke Tarlac. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Siegfried¡¯s face was like a marble statue meticulously crafted by a master sculptor, then the three deep lines at his brow now were like scars left by a craftsman¡¯s slip.


    The newly-appointed Earl Harlan spoke coldly: ¡°His Majesty does not permit me to participate.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± Duke Tarlac, seeing the blonde young man provoked, left with a smile of a victor: ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡±


    Siegfried pursed his lips tightly, his left hand unconsciously resting on the hilt of his sword.


    Suddenly, another hand rested on Siegfried¡¯s bracer¡ªit was Farnan, who looked at Siegfried and shook his head.


    The matter should have ended there, but¡­


    ¡°No wonder.¡± Duke Tarlac, who had walked some distance, loudly spoke to himself: ¡°The hunting of Castile is too barbaric, how could His Majesty bear to let his male concubine take the risk?¡±


    ¡­


    [Time returns to the present]


    [The hunting ground, viewing platform]


    The Castor Empire¡¯s royal winter hunt included falconry, hawk hunting, dog hunting, and the grand hunt. Both dog hunting and hawk hunting involve horseback chases, while falconry is conducted on foot.


    After the other hunting activities concluded, it was time for the grand hunt, the main event of the winter hunt.


    The grand hunting tradition of the Empire¡¯s nobility closely resembled that of the Herders, involving Attendants and servants herding wild animals scattered throughout the forest together, then enclosing the hunting ground with wooden barriers and curtains.


    Compared to the nearly ten-kilometer-wide hunting grounds of the Red River Tribe, the diameter of Castile¡¯s winter hunting ground did not exceed a hundred meters.


    As there was no high vantage point similar to Qingqiu, craftsmen would build temporary viewing platforms around the hunting ground.


    The higher the viewing platform, the more prestigious the spectators on it.


    Royal family members and dukes had their separate viewing platforms. Lesser nobles without the privilege to sit either stood or rode horses, with their status clearly reflected by their positions.


    The largest amphitheater was reserved for the families of various households, a special courtesy extended to the ladies.


    At this very moment, on the highest viewing platform, a young girl was quietly complaining: ¡°So boring, Daddy, do they really have to torment those poor wild boars?¡±


    ¡°Mind your words.¡± Said a voice, gentle and pleasing to the ear¡ªit must belong to a noble lady: ¡°Elizabeth.¡±


    The girl pouted: ¡°Daddy didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    The girl¡¯s demeanor only increased the lady¡¯s dissatisfaction: ¡°Where did you learn such manners? Your father spoils you too much; you¡¯re almost turning into a wild girl.¡±


    The girl blinked her eyes, putting on an expression of a helpless young creature, her gaze imploring the man on the throne: ¡°Daddy¡­¡±


    The man on the throne showed a trace of a smile: ¡°You have angered your mother yourself; don¡¯t expect me to help you.¡±


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always like this, always like this.¡± Beside her anger, the gentle voice of the noble lady carried a touch of sorrow: ¡°Always thinking of using your father¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough.¡± The man on the throne looked toward the lady on his right.


    The mature, gentle voice abruptly ended.


    The girl sneakily arched her eyebrows, as if celebrating her victory.


    This ordinary exchange occurred within the most prestigious family of the Empire.


    The girl who was acting coy with her father is the Emperor¡¯s eldest daughter and the most beloved Princess Elizabeth. The noble lady admonishing Princess Elizabeth was the Empress Diana.


    The man sitting between the princess and the empress needs no further introduction; his full title would require six hundred forty-six characters to spell out.


    Typically, he would use a simpler designation ¡ª Graced by the Principality, the sole and lawful ruler of the Empire, Tannaria, Castors, and Norsen along with their territories and dependencies, Protector of the Faith, the most supreme and splendid Emperor, Henry IV.


    At this moment, the Emperor seemed different to those unfamiliar with him¡ªdevoid of authority and divinity.


    But those who truly walked the courts of the palace would not be surprised, for it is only in the presence of Princess Elizabeth that the Emperor becomes mortal.


    So you see, while everyone else sat properly and even dared not breathe too loudly, Princess Elizabeth could move her seat next to the Emperor¡¯s throne, lean on his knees, and complain about the dullness of the hunt.

 Chapter 980: 45 Another Hunt (Part 3)

    Chapter 980: Chapter 45 Another Hunt (Part 3)


    The latest round of performance had just ended, and a young Castilian nobleman on a spirited horse was riding around the hunting ground, receiving cheers and blown kisses.


    The Emperor nodded slightly, and the royal flag at the viewing stand was waved three times, indicating appreciation for the gladiator.


    Acknowledged by the Emperor, the young noble dismounted next to the carcass of the prey. He drew his dagger, cut off the ears and tail of the prey, and walked under the viewing stand to bow and pay homage to the Emperor.


    Princess Elizabeth muttered softly, ¡°What¡¯s so fascinating about a bunch of men battling a bunch of wild boars¡­¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, Your Highness,¡± Duke Lothar said with a smile as he approached the viewing stand: ¡°The most interesting part of Castilian hunting is the duel between man and fierce beasts.¡±


    ¡­


    Why does Duke Tarak say that Castilian hunting is ¡°barbaric¡±?


    The reason is simple, the highlight of Castilian winter hunting has never been the ¡°hunting¡± itself but a one-on-one duel between man and fierce beasts.


    In times when civilization¡¯s light was but a mere twinkle, battling fierce beasts was a skill humans had to master. In the remnants of ancient civilization¡¯s murals, numerous scenes of human and beast combat are visible.


    As civilizations developed, humans gradually evolved from the stages of consuming raw meat and living in caves. Although battling wild beasts was no longer a necessity for survival, humans preserved it as a way to showcase bravery.


    Therefore, in the early histories of various civilizations, records of ritualistic duels between humans and beasts are also common.


    Step back a thousand years, gladiators fighting fierce beasts was a bloody pastime for the citizens of the Ancient Empire.


    Step back three hundred years, hunting fierce beasts was one of the responsibilities of feudal nobles, and even native lions were hunted to extinction.


    However, nowadays, on the continent where the Empire is located, the only place that still views ¡°battling fierce beasts¡± as an entertaining activity and a proof of bravery is the Castile Peninsula.


    The disappearance of the beast-fighting tradition is due partly to the decreasing number of wild beasts, and partly to the prolonged criticism by the Church.


    Doubtless, taking pleasure in fighting beasts disregards human life safety, and theologians from the Church have always detested and fiercely condemned it.


    In the end, only the remote and primitive Castile Peninsula still retains this ¡°barbaric¡± and ¡°rudimentary¡± tradition.


    According to the tradition of Castilian winter hunting, small prey such as deer, roe, foxes, rabbits, birds, etc., are cleaned out in the earlier days of dog hunting, falconry, and hawking.


    Whereas fierce animals such as wolves, wild boars, and bears are cautiously preserved until the last day of the hunt.


    The final day of the hunt is conducted in the hunting ground, and all the visiting nobles come forward, even the Emperor himself attends in person.


    The fierce animals are released into the hunting ring one by one, each stronger and more ferocious than the last.


    The Castilian nobles participating in the last day of the hunt also take turns entering the hunting ring, engaging in one-on-one duels with fierce animals.


    Fighting beasts is an extremely dangerous challenge, with injuries and deaths being not uncommon, yet the Castilian nobles relish in it.


    Barbaric? Then let it be barbaric! I am simply savage!


    This is the deep-seated thought of the Castilian people, the more the Church criticizes ¡°beast fighting¡± as barbaric, the more Castilians regard it as a unique symbol.


    ¡­


    [The Hunting Ground, Viewing Stand]


    Seeing that the Emperor was in good spirits, Duke Lothar shared a story with the princess: ¡°Your Highness, you should know, twenty years ago at the Grey Rock arena, His Majesty personally took to the field and consecutively slaughtered a giant wolf, a bull, and a brown bear.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Why didn¡¯t I know about this?¡± Elizabeth suddenly became excited, grabbing her father¡¯s arm: ¡°Daddy, is it true?¡±


    The Emperor smiled and shook his head.


    ¡°Certainly it¡¯s true,¡± Duke Lothar also said with a smile: ¡°And it was under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of Castilians. The shocked expressions and deafening cheers of the Castilian people¡ªI remember them all too clearly even today.¡± S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Elizabeth begged Duke Lothar: ¡°Please tell me more, I beg you!¡±


    Duke Lothar and the Emperor smiled at each other.


    Twenty years have passed, and the tender prince of then is now the supreme Emperor. Duke Lothar has aged¡ªthough he still retains his charm as in his younger years.


    ¡°Let His Majesty tell you,¡± Duke Lothar said with a teasing smile: ¡°Your Highness.¡±


    Elizabeth turned to her father, just about to deploy her skills of cajoling, when the rhythmic sound of horns arose in the hunting ground¡ªnew knights were entering.


    Princess Elizabeth saw her father slightly furrow his brows.


    Duke Lothar also immediately noticed the Emperor¡¯s change of mood, looking towards the knight in the center of the hunting ground, he too couldn¡¯t help frowning: ¡°Earl Harlan?¡±


    Meanwhile, in the center of the hunting ground.


    Siegfried held the reins in his left hand, a lance in his right hand, controlling the Warhorse with his knees, his eyes fixed on the direction of the animal pen.


    Another horn sounded¡ªnow it was time for the fierce beast to enter.


    The gate of the animal pen was raised, and a massive wild boar charged towards Siegfried.

 Chapter 981: 46 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 981: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    Every word and action in the stands is observed, requiring a constant maintenance of image.


    Nobles of medium and small stature, who have no right to sit there, can critique and comment as they please.


    Although their view is somewhat inferior, their enjoyment is substantially greater:


    ¡°Eh? Is this the last gladiator to enter the arena?¡±


    ¡°Seems like it.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®seems¡¯? Shouldn¡¯t ¡®Little Hernan¡¯ be the [Spear-end]? Who¡¯s this blond kid, then?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?!¡±


    While two young nobles from Castile were bickering back and forth, a voice suddenly interjected from behind:


    ¡°The blond kid is Earl Harlan, Siegfried.¡±


    The person who interjected was a young man in his mid-twenties, with almond-shaped eyes and a large forehead. He was a tad ugly, but not so much that it left a lasting impression, possessing a face that could be quickly forgotten after a farewell.


    As if to compensate for his lackluster appearance, the young man wore an overly ornate and extravagant top hat.


    Even by the most ludicrous and libertine standards of the Castilian nobility, that top hat was definitely not something one could wear out in public.


    But the young man wore it openly, without a hint of shame.


    The young man also sported two carefully groomed mustaches above his upper lip, which framed a smile that bespoke of a cynical and dissolute young master.


    The first speaker was quite intrigued, ¡°Siegfried? The real conqueror of the North? I¡¯ve heard that Duke Konggriff is only a namesake, and it was that young man who defeated Karl the Eleventh.¡±


    The other one dismissed it with contempt, ¡°The ¡®real conqueror of the North¡¯? Nothing but a golden-haired hound! He only rose to power because of the Emperor¡¯s favor!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t help it, an aging Emperor just loves a young and handsome general,¡± the top-hatted man blurted out carelessly once more: ¡°Counting on fingers, our Emperor is over forty years old¡­ right?¡±


    The two Castilian nobles instantly quieted down and turned their heads together.


    Insulting nouveau riche was one thing, but publicly mocking the Emperor was another matter entirely. Not only was the speaker courting death, but even just listening to such talk was dangerous.


    ¡°[Old Language] May I ask,¡± a Castilian noble hesitantly inquired, ¡°[Old Language] who are you?¡±


    The man with the top hat removed his hat courteously, revealing his somewhat sparse hair: ¡°[Old Language] I am Marvey.¡±


    ¡°Marvey? Marvey!¡± another Castilian noble exclaimed in realization, stuttering a bit, ¡°That¡­ That playwright who insulted the Emperor!¡±


    ¡°Indeed, it is I,¡± Marvey answered cheerfully, then corrected seriously, ¡°I never insulted the Emperor¡ªI merely spoke some truths.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the arena, Siegfried spotted his opponent.


    Such a formidable boar, its size nearly catching up to a calf, with two robust and sharp tusks, and its tiny eyes filled with rage and madness.


    The attendants guarding the animal pen urged the boar to move forward, but the beast became ferocious, charging at the humans outside the enclosure.


    A cry of alarm rose from the women¡¯s spectator stand.


    The animal pen shook violently from the impact, causing the attendant on the platform to fall down. Had the base stakes not been firmly planted, the boar might have already broken through the enclosure.


    The boar, unfazed by the failure to break open the pen, continued its frenzied ramming.


    Suddenly, from the center of the hunting ground, a roar erupted.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Siegfried knocked his greave with the butt of his spear: ¡°I am your opponent!¡±


    The boar turned its head, looking at the knight in the center of the open field.


    This wild creature was born in a cave, roamed the forests and swamps, until humans arrived.


    Since then, it was chased, captured, imprisoned.


    Humans allowed it to live until this day, only to kill it publicly.


    And now, it had finally been given a chance to kill a human.


    The boar let out a howl of despair and fury and charged viciously at the knight.


    Siegfried¡¯s knees exerted a slight force, and Warhorse immediately understood his master¡¯s intent, nimbly leaping diagonally forward, passing by the boar.


    In the moment of crossing, Siegfried thrust his lance.


    However, the lance only managed to tear open a piece of flesh on the boar¡¯s back, inflicting non-fatal wounds, and the two once again drew distance.


    Siegfried rode close to the fence at a measured pace, dark red blood dripping along from the tip of his spear.


    The pained boar became even more enraged, its snout exhaling a steamy heat, keeping its eyes on the circling rider, gathering strength.


    Outside the hunting field, where Castilian nobility were gathered, some were loudly booing.


    Siegfried paid them no mind, regardless of his original intentions, once he set foot in the hunting field, the young knight only wished for victory. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And he had already figured out the tactics of Castile.


    The boar was thick-fleshed and tough-skinned, and since it was low to the ground, it was hard to exert force with a lance.


    A reasonable tactic would be to maintain distance, utilize Warhorse¡¯s agility to continuously inflict bleeding wounds on the boar, deplete its stamina, and then find an opportunity to kill it.


    But if he chose a conservative tactic, then Harlan¡¯s Siegfried would not be the ¡°real conqueror of the North¡± who had single-handedly routed the armies of the northern borders!


    Siegfried gripped his lance, stabbed forcefully into Warhorse¡¯s ribs, and fearlessly charged straight towards the boar in the center of the hunting field.


    The boar, having regained some strength, charged in irritation straight towards Siegfried.


    In the Royal Family¡¯s stand, Princess Elizabeth watched the charging knight unwaveringly, unconsciously gripping her father¡¯s sleeve tightly.


    The Emperor, the Queen, and Duke Lotaire watched silently, emotionless.

 Chapter 982: 46 Another Hunt (Middle)_2

    Chapter 982: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Middle)_2


    In the blink of an eye, two figures were almost at close quarters.


    Siegfried¡¯s lance pointed straight at the boar¡¯s spine, and at the moment of contact, he felt a huge reactive force transmitted through the lance. Yet, he still held the lance steady, unwavering.


    With the combined momentum of the warhorse and the wild boar, the tip of the lance pierced into the boar¡¯s body like piercing through water, followed by the socket and then the shaft.


    The lance entered through the spine and exited the lower abdomen, brutally piercing through the boar¡¯s body, stabbing into the frozen soil of the hunting field.


    Siegfried released his grip on the lance, creating distance from the boar.


    The boar continued to rush forward a few steps before collapsing fiercely.


    Two attendants immediately entered the hunting field, ending the boar¡¯s life with a steel spike, also ending its agony.


    Sporadic applause arose outside the hunting field, in contrast, the applause from the women¡¯s viewing stand was much warmer.


    With only shin guards for protection and no helmet needed, Siegfried almost immediately captured the attention of the ladies and madams upon entering the arena.


    ¡­


    [Royal Stand]


    ¡°Marshal Hernan,¡± the Emperor asked, ¡°what do you think?¡±


    Behind the Emperor, an old military man in uniform stepped forward half a step upon hearing the question: ¡°Although the first thrust was not successful, the second thrust was clean and spectacular.¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s voice was magnetic and calm: ¡°Being from Castile, you are most entitled to judge Earl Harlan¡¯s skills. Are you willing to bestow upon him the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail?¡±


    ¡°Certainly,¡± the old military man bowed deeply: ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    The Emperor nodded slightly.


    Flags at the royal stand waved three times again, and the band played a celebratory tune.


    Siegfried dismounted, staring at the muddy, blood-smeared carcass of the wild boar, his brows furrowed with distaste, hesitant to proceed.


    A chestnut-haired military man walked quickly to Siegfried¡¯s side from across the fence, closed the boar¡¯s eyes with his hand, and then proceeded to cut off the boar¡¯s ears and tail for Siegfried. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Hurry and salute His Majesty,¡± said Farnan as he wrapped the ears and tail with his glove, handing them to Siegfried: ¡°Please, do not embarrass His Majesty or disgrace the people of Castile.¡±


    Siegfried sighed, took the trophies, and walked before the royal stand, bowing deeply.


    Even warmer applause and cheers rose from all corners of the hunting grounds, especially from the women¡¯s viewing stand.


    Siegfried pretended to casually glance at the young girl sitting beside the Emperor.


    Princess Elizabeth intentionally turned her body away, pretending to speak to her maidservant, ignoring the blonde knight.


    Below Siegfried¡¯s stern expression was hidden anger and pain. He bowed again, then strode toward the women¡¯s viewing stand to accept the cheers and congratulations of the noble ladies.


    Farnan watched everything, sighing deeply in headache.


    The attendants dragged away the carcass of the wild boar, and the horn sounded again¡ªa gladiator was entering the field.


    Unlike before, this entrance music was repeated three times, signifying that the final knight was about to appear, and the combat with beasts was approaching its end.


    The royal stand returned to a relaxed and joyful atmosphere, the Emperor smilingly looked at the old soldier: ¡°Is it Little Hernan taking up the rear this winter hunt?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The old soldier replied with a hint of pride and joy.


    The Empress also gently asked, ¡°Does Little Hernan have a matrimonial engagement?¡±


    ¡°He has been serving with me in the army since a young age,¡± the old soldier appeared slightly ashamed: ¡°It has delayed his marital affairs.¡±


    The Empress covered her mouth with a smile.


    During their conversation, a young knight in dazzling attire jumped into the hunting field.


    The young knight wore ornate clothing, with cuffs, collar, and hem embroidered with gold threads in the style of Castile.


    The knight¡¯s silver steed was also meticulously adorned; its mane neatly braided, and the tail near the buttock tied up to allow the remaining part of the tail to hang in the air and flutter with the wind.


    No sooner had the silver knight entered than he received cheers far warmer than those for Siegfried, especially from the younger generation of Castilian nobles, who shouted and cheered vigorously.


    Unsurprisingly, this silver knight was Marshal Hernan¡¯s young son, Little Hernan.


    ¡­


    Marshal Hernan occupies a very special position in the politics of the Empire.


    Firstly, Marshal Hernan originated from the Castile Peninsula and is of pure Castilian nobility;


    Secondly, Marshal Hernan holds the highest military rank among today¡¯s Castilian nobility and is the only Castilian noble in charge of the New Army;


    Last but not least, although Marshal Hernan holds high power and has notable military achievements, his title is low, merely a Baron.


    Moreover, the Hernan family is not a traditional prestigious line of Castile.


    Marshal Hernan is merely the son of a bankrupt knight, sent to serve as an Attendant from a young age, and despite his greying temples, he never obtained nobility status, remaining a swordsmanship instructor in the Ducal family of Tarlac.


    It wasn¡¯t until the succession war for the throne twenty years ago, that the then over forty-year-old Old Hernan finally emerged prominently.


    He decisively joined the New Army, starting from a soldier, repeatedly establishing extraordinary feats, advancing through the ranks, and ultimately becoming one of the three Imperial Marshals personally appointed by the Emperor.


    For the younger generation of Castilian nobility, Marshal Hernan is their idol and role model, hence it is no wonder that Little Hernan received such enthusiastic cheers as soon as he entered the arena.


    ¡°In a nutshell! Marshal Hernan is not only one of your Castilians but also a close confidant highly trusted by His Majesty.¡±


    [Marvey], wearing a ceremonial hat, went on endlessly, unfolding Empire¡¯s secrets to the audience: ¡°His dual identity makes him a binding agent between the Castilian nobility and the Empire¡¯s core, also making him a crucial tool for the Emperor to stabilize the Castilian faction.¡±

 Chapter 983: 46 Another Hunt (Part 3)_3

    Chapter 983: Chapter 46 Another Hunt (Part 3)_3


    A group of young Castilian nobles listened with their eyes wide and mouths agape, vaguely understanding why a third-rate playwright would be assessed as ¡°dangerous.¡±


    The Castilian nobles present all felt it wasn¡¯t good to keep listening, yet they couldn¡¯t help but continue to eavesdrop.


    Marvey, caught up in his enthusiasm, took a wine cup from the hand of a noble next to him and gulped it down in a few swigs.


    After moistening his throat, Marvey continued, cryptically saying: ¡°Do you know? Maybe, just maybe, the Empire is about to have a royal wedding soon!¡±


    ¡°Who? Prince Richard?¡±


    Marvey waved his finger: ¡°Nope.¡±


    A Castilian noble thought for a long time: ¡°Other than the prince, the only royal children of suitable age are¡­¡±


    ¡°Exactly, the eldest princess.¡±


    ¡°With whom?¡±


    Marvey revealed a smile: ¡°Guess?¡±


    The surrounding Castilian nobles, following Marvey¡¯s line of thought, all couldn¡¯t help but widen their eyes: ¡°With Sir Little Hernan?¡±


    Marvey neither confirmed nor denied, simply looking meaningfully at the knight on the silver warhorse in the center of the hunting grounds.


    The group of Castilian nobles buzzed with speculation, with someone displeased asking: ¡°How do you know these royal secrets?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Marvey crossed his arms, answering with an air of righteousness: ¡°I guessed!¡±


    The surrounding nobles were dumbstruck, and an impatient young noble directly stepped forward, grabbing Marvey by the collar, ready to give this brazen troublemaker a taste of Castile Peninsula¡¯s customs on the spot.


    ¡°Stop!¡± An earl intervened to prevent the imminent action scene. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, this was the Royal Hunting Ground, and the Emperor was watching not far off; any trouble would only shame the people of Castile.


    ¡°Mr. Marvey.¡± The earl stepped out of the crowd and asked with a stern face: ¡°May I know what brings you to the Castile Peninsula?¡±


    Marvey shyly smiled: ¡°Gathering material.¡±


    The earl looked around at the others: ¡°How did he enter the hunting grounds?¡±


    The group of Castilian nobles looked at each other, none aware.


    ¡°This is the Royal Hunting Ground, commoners don¡¯t have the privilege to spectate.¡± The earl stared intently at Marvey: ¡°Please tell, how did you sneak in here?¡±


    ¡°Me?¡± Marvey waved innocently: ¡°I didn¡¯t sneak in.¡±


    ¡°Then how did you get here?¡±


    ¡°A friend brought me in.¡±


    ¡°Who? Who is your friend?¡±


    Marvey pointed towards the other side of the hunting field, his face beaming with a joyous smile: ¡°That golden dog over there.¡±


    ¡­


    [The other side of the hunting field]


    The golden dog was blissfully unaware that he had just been mentioned.


    He was intently watching Little Hernan in the hunting ground, experiencing a complex mix of emotions: frustration, admiration, and¡­ jealousy.


    If Siegfried¡¯s recent display was a perfect combination of strength and skill, then what Little Hernan was performing now was absolute skill.


    Peak-level skill!


    The closing performance needed a worthy opponent.


    The ferocious beast prepared by the Castilians was undoubtedly deserving of the finale¡¯s honor.


    A bull.


    A male Castilian wild bull weighing over seven hundred kilograms.


    The moment this monster appeared, it demonstrated a fearsome power and aggression.


    It charged towards the spectators around the hunting circle, heaving fixed barricade posts half a man¡¯s height out of the ground, causing a panic-stricken flee.


    As if the wild bull¡¯s temperament wasn¡¯t fierce enough, the Castilians had driven a javelin tip into its back in advance.


    The severe pain made the already enraged bull even more ferocious; it didn¡¯t need any provocation from Little Hernan.


    The bull, with bloodshot eyes, failed to break the barricade and immediately turned to charge at the knight on the silver warhorse.


    Little Hernan sped up the warhorse, showing no haste to take the life of the wild ox, instead allowing it to chase after him.


    The horns of the wild ox were not sharp, but when combined with the tremendous strength of the beast, they could easily pierce through a chest and rip out the innards.


    Yet at this moment, this monster among monsters, no matter how it ran, could not touch Little Hernan at all.


    The wild ox charged back and forth within the hunting ground, but its horns and the silver steed remained forever just a small distance apart.


    Even as the tip of the wild ox¡¯s nose touched the very end of the horse¡¯s tail, it still could not catch up to that very last bit of distance.


    The perilous scene evoked bursts of alarmed cries from the ladies on the spectator stand, while the noblemen similarly had their faces tensed, their hearts in their throats.


    Yet Little Hernan remained composed, still maintaining his gracious equestrian posture. The steps of the horse were in no disarray, as if performing a dance.


    Siegfried couldn¡¯t help but want to applaud and commend: on the surface, it was the wild ox chasing Little Hernan, but in reality, it was Little Hernan leading the wild ox in the chase.


    Little Hernan¡¯s control over the warhorse was precise, as if using his own fingers.


    The rider and the warhorse were one, making it unclear whether it was the rider commanding the warhorse, or if the warhorse had acquired the intelligence of the rider.


    Just by watching the horsemanship displayed by Little Hernan, Siegfried felt his journey was worthwhile.


    But Siegfried did not show any emotion, simply watching in silence.


    His sincere side made him want to praise his opponent, but his competitive side could not allow such a thing to happen.


    He turned his gaze towards the royal spectator stands¡ªwhere Princess Elizabeth was.


    ¡­


    [Royal Stand]


    Elizabeth felt somewhat dizzy.


    She wasn¡¯t squeamish about blood; she had gone hunting with a rifle¡ªtaught by her father himself.


    The Emperor educated Elizabeth just as he would a prince, teaching her philosophy, arithmetic, and even horsemanship. The Empress disapproved but dared not publicly object.


    So Elizabeth had killed prey and had seen blood.


    But the performance in the hunting ground at this moment made her somewhat uncomfortable.


    Sir Little Hernan, following the Castilian way, was slowly killing the wild ox step by step: teasing it, stabbing it in the back with a short javelin to aggravate it, continuing to tease, continuing to stab with the javelin¡­


    In the meantime, Little Hernan changed warhorses several times, each one displaying a different gait, all unique.


    The wild ox, on the other hand, became increasingly tired, its steps slower, its desire to chase weaker,


    and its back was already a mess of blood, a blurry red from a distance.


    Seeing that the wild ox had exhausted its last strength, Little Hernan finally used a lance to finish it off, declaring an end to this bloody performance.


    Cheers and applause erupted deafeningly from the hunting ground, the noblemen doffing their hats in respect, while the ladies waved their handkerchiefs frantically.


    Princess Elizabeth felt out of place; she sneakily glanced at her father.


    The Emperor sat on the throne, expressionless, showing no discernible emotion.


    The Emperor calmly called out, ¡°Ella.¡±


    Elizabeth unconsciously shivered: ¡°Daddy.¡±


    ¡°Stand up,¡± commanded the Emperor, leaving no room for doubt: ¡°Acknowledge Sir Little Hernan.¡±


    Elizabeth obediently left her seat, took the handkerchief, and mimicked the others by gently waving towards the arena.


    Beneath the spectator stand, Siegfried, seeing the girl waving her handkerchief towards the knight, felt as if there was a hollow in his chest.


    Sir Little Hernan cut off the ox¡¯s ear and tail and walked to the front of the royal spectator stand to pay respects.


    The musicians played a celebratory anthem as attendants entered the hunting ground to start dragging away the carcass of the wild ox.


    The nobles who had come to watch the hunt were already preparing to leave; they had to return to their camps, change into gala attire, and attend the upcoming feast.


    Things should have ended this way.


    A rider leaped into the hunting ground on horseback, heading straight for the spectator stand, with his light-colored blond hair incredibly noticeable.


    The royal guards wanted to step forward to stop him, but hesitated upon recognizing who the rider was.


    Siegfried dismounted, kneeling on one knee in front of the royal spectator stand.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± the voice of the Empire¡¯s youngest general resounded through the hunting ground: ¡°Please grant me the honor¡ªto hunt beasts on foot.¡±

 Chapter 984: 47 Another Hunt (Part 2)

    Chapter 984: Chapter 47 Another Hunt (Part 2)


    [Earl Harlan¡¯s Tent]


    ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± Prince Richard bellowed furiously: ¡°Even His Majesty, to agree to you¡­¡±


    Prince Richard clenched his fists tightly, ultimately unable to utter that word.


    ¡°Also insane?¡± Siegfried replied calmly, though his eyes shot a crazed light.


    Prince Richard was shaking with anger, he stared at Siegfried for a good while, then left in a huff, unable to contain his rage.


    Only the golden-haired youth and the chestnut-haired youth remained in the tent.


    ¡°Fighting beasts on foot requires agility as a priority, so any attire that hinders movement must be shed,¡± Farnan expertly assisted Siegfried in removing his armor: ¡°Take off the bracers too, any less weight is an added chance of winning.¡±


    Siegfried nodded silently.


    Farnan knelt on one knee, unbuckling Siegfried¡¯s greaves: ¡°His Highness sees you as his man, which is why he said those words just now.¡±


    ¡°I am His Majesty¡¯s man,¡± Siegfried replied stiffly.


    Farnan let out a long sigh: ¡°Arrogance and competitiveness are your fatal weaknesses. You know it best, but either can¡¯t change or simply don¡¯t want to.¡±


    Siegfried huffed lightly, choosing not to continue the conversation.


    ¡°One¡¯s abilities are always limited; don¡¯t push everyone to oppose you,¡± Farnan cinched Siegfried¡¯s bootstraps tighter: ¡°Besides¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough already, when will you stop?¡± This time it was Siegfried who erupted with annoyance: ¡°No matter what, aren¡¯t you still with me?¡±


    ¡°And is that enough?¡± Farnan shook his head: ¡°My capabilities are equally limited.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Siegfried took the hunting spear, turned away to avoid Farnan¡¯s gaze: ¡°A true friend, one is enough.¡±


    ¡­


    [Royal Viewing Stand]


    Prince Richard bounded up the viewing stand three steps at a time.


    Duke Lothar rose to give his respects to the prince; the Queen was very pleased to see the prince, but the Emperor remained expressionless.


    Having just reached the stand, Prince Richard immediately met his sister¡¯s pleading eyes. He nodded slightly towards Princess Elizabeth, and walked steadily towards the throne.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Prince Richard saluted the Emperor: ¡°Fighting a beast unarmed is far too dangerous, Earl Harlan acted impulsively without consideration. He has shown remorse, I beseech Your Majesty to retract the decree!¡±


    ¡°Remorse,¡± the Emperor queried with interest: ¡°Really?¡±


    Prince Richard didn¡¯t dare to continue, mustering up other reasons instead: ¡°Your Majesty, to allow Earl Harlan to confront a ferocious beast alone and unarmed is tantamount to letting him commit suicide. If Earl Harlan were to slip up, his soul can only suffer in Hell, unable to find redemption even when final judgment comes. I urge you to reconsider, Your Majesty.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth also pleaded tearfully: ¡°Yes, don¡¯t you most admire Earl Harlan? Father? Why watch him commit suicide? Please!¡±


    The Emperor surveyed his son and daughter, then turned to the old man standing behind, dressed in a black velvet priest¡¯s robe: ¡°Your opinion?¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s personal priest, a brother of the Order of Michael named [Ambrose], stepped forward respectfully: ¡°Your Majesty is the supreme leader and protector of the Church, and whether Earl Harlan¡¯s death is considered suicide should be adjudicated by Your Majesty.¡±


    Although the question was directed at the personal priest, the Emperor¡¯s gaze returned to and lingered on the prince, making him feel the sharpness of thorns.


    The stand fell quiet, the Emperor nodded slightly, and brother Ambrose retreated back to his original position. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Emperor looked towards the hunting ground and remarked indifferently: ¡°Then it shouldn¡¯t count.¡±


    The winter winds of the Castile Peninsula howled, yet Prince Richard¡¯s forehead was unknowingly dotted with fine beads of sweat.


    Prince Richard gritted his teeth, mustered his courage, and looked directly at the Emperor, wanting to say more.


    But it was too late, the tune that heralded the entrance of the gladiator had already begun to play.


    ¡°Look,¡± the Emperor murmured softly. ¡°The man you say has remorse¡ªhere he comes.¡±


    ¡­


    [Hunting Ground]


    Siegfried did not know what sort of opponent the Castilians would send for him, but he hoped it would be a formidable one.


    If the Castilians set loose a deer or a gazelle, it would simply be an attempt to humiliate him.


    Siegfried, spear in hand, jogged at an even pace around the elliptical arena¡ªhe still took some advice to heart.


    ¡°Stay warm, stay active,¡± Farnan had repeatedly admonished before entering the field: ¡°The Castilians you publicly humiliated might resort to dirty tricks. For instance, having you wait in the field until you¡¯re frozen stiff and numb in your limbs.¡±


    ¡°I did not publicly humiliate the Castilians,¡± Siegfried countered.


    ¡°Stay warm,¡± Farnan presented a fine fleece cape, ¡°stay active.¡±


    The proud Castilians did not stoop to base tricks, and the earl hosting the ceremony even politely raised the flag to ask¡ªis it time to begin?


    Siegfried nodded and discarded the cape.


    Many spectators couldn¡¯t help but gasp, for the golden-haired knight in the arena was without any armor, clad only in a simple shirt, breeches, and low soft shoes.


    The banner waved, and the tune signifying the beast¡¯s entrance followed.


    The gate slowly rose, dull thuds of hooves preceded their source from the pen, and in the blink of an eye, a burly wild bull charged into the hunting ground.


    Perhaps the lack of deceit was not because the Castilians were noble but because the opponent they had chosen for Siegfried required no additional advantages:


    A formidable adult male bull, each inch of muscle bursting with explosive strength, slightly smaller in stature than the one Little Hernan had just slain, but no less wild and perilous.


    You want to claim the glory of ¡°spear¡¯s end¡±?


    Fine, we¡¯ll give you a beast worthy of that honor.


    There was no need for Siegfried to taunt; the bull, back pierced by a dart, took the initiative to attack the person in the arena.


    The enraged buffalo lowed furiously, striding forward at full speed, plowing towards Siegfried in a frenzy.


    Siegfried did not hesitate, charging at the buffalo with his spear as well.


    As they were about to collide head-on, many ladies, unable to bear the sight of the handsome blond man being eviscerated, instinctively covered their eyes and looked away.


    At the critical moment, Siegfried leapt diagonally forward half a step, narrowly avoiding the horns and turning to stab viciously at the bull¡¯s neck.


    No sooner had the spear tip touched the bull¡¯s neck than the bull turned its head, lowering and then raising its head to charge at the human once again.


    Siegfried¡¯s muscular and well-proportioned body burst forth with incomparable strength, like a humanoid big cat leaping continuously towards the side and rear of the bull, spear always ready to pierce the bull¡¯s carotid artery.


    The bull¡¯s explosive power was even more astonishing; it stomped fiercely, twisted its body, and flicked its tail, with each hoof hit making a loud thud against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust half a person¡¯s height.


    Man and beast tangled within less than a two-meter radius, each desperately trying to kill the other.


    Outside the hunting field, there was silence except for the ¡°thuds¡± of heavy impacts resounding.


    Everyone held their breath; Elizabeth¡¯s heart was clenched so tightly she didn¡¯t even realize she had turned her father¡¯s arm blue and purple.


    The intense yet brief struggle ended with Siegfried leaving two shallow cuts on the side of the bull¡¯s neck.


    After another failed attempt to charge and twist towards the human, the bull stood its ground while Siegfried seized the opportunity to put some distance between them.


    Both the man panting heavily and the beast snorting white steams faced each other in the winter wind, entering a temporary standoff.


    It was at this time that the stands erupted with deafening cheers and applause, even the Castile nobility shouted praises loudly.


    The young Earl Harlan watched the bull, his heart inexplicably filled with a mixture of pity and respect, yet his desire to kill the opponent did not diminish in the slightest.


    This duel was destined to have only one survivor; Siegfried found either victory or destroying himself in front of her an acceptable outcome. Even if it meant causing her a little bit of heartache, he was ready to embrace death with satisfaction.


    Outside the hunting arena, amidst the atmosphere of joy, Farnan¡¯s expression became increasingly solemn.


    If Siegfried¡¯s background could be considered poor, Farnan¡¯s background wouldn¡¯t even qualify as poor¡ªit would be deemed lowly under the Empire¡¯s system.


    Farnan was able to become a soldier because he passed an exam to enter a new school founded by the Emperor; his father was an ordinary hunter. Although his father had no title to pass on to Farnan, he taught Farnan many hunting skills.


    When facing a large ferocious beast, hunters must follow a basic principle: exhaust the beast¡¯s physical strength while conserving their own.


    A skilled hunter can slay wolves, leopards, and mountain lions with just a spear because the hunter can use the spear to defend in place, continually draining the beast¡¯s energy while inflicting damage.


    But facing a behemoth weighing nearly seven hundred kilograms, using a defensive counterattack strategy is tantamount to suicide. The buffalo would smash both the man and his spear into pieces, toss them into the air, and grind them into mincemeat.


    Therefore, Siegfried had no choice but to keep dodging actively, jumping and sprinting constantly.


    After the struggle, the bull was bleeding while the human was unscathed; it seemed that Siegfried had won entirely, but in reality, it was a complete loss for Siegfried.


    At the current rate, Siegfried¡¯s stamina would surely be exhausted before the buffalo¡¯s.


    The wild bull might sustain a hundred more wounds, but should Siegfried make a single mistake, death is all that awaits him.


    Farnan originally thought that the Castile nobility would at most release a wild boar, yet what charged out of the animal pen was a wild bull¡ªwithout a doubt, this was the Castile nobles challenging the Emperor¡¯s authority, with Siegfried¡¯s death being merely a means rather than the goal.


    A clear and penetrating voice rose from behind Farnan: ¡°Truly fascinating! The display by Earl Harlan is nothing short of miraculous. His Majesty too had once slain fierce beasts in succession twenty years ago, no wonder some say Earl Harlan is His Majesty¡¯s illegitimate son¡­¡±


    Turning around, Farnan realized the voice belonged to Little Hernan.


    Little Hernan, holding two bull ears and a bull tail, smiled at Farnan.


    ¡°Earl Harlan is not His Majesty¡¯s illegitimate son.¡± Farnan bowed slightly: ¡°Lord Hernan.¡±


    Marshal Hernan had his firstborn, Little Hernan, only at the age of forty, thus Little Hernan was actually just over twenty, an age brimming with curiosity.


    He coughed awkwardly, his shame battling his urge to pry: ¡°Really not? Tell me, I won¡¯t tell anyone else.¡±


    ¡°Can you first answer a question for me?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    With respectful inquiry, Farnan replied, ¡°Why won¡¯t you believe that the Earl is simply the son of an insolvent Knight?¡±


    Little Hernan scratched his head and said with a smile, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll believe it. Because my father was also just the son of an insolvent Knight.¡±


    Farnan nodded in acknowledgement and turned back to observe the ongoing situation within the hunting ground.


    In the midst of their conversation, a new round of struggle erupted in the center of the hunting field.


    Siegfried, still relying on his agility and burst strength, dodged the horns in a dangerous fashion.


    And the bull, while appearing to exert fruitless effort, was in fact delivering attacks that could be lethal, just waiting for one small human error.


    ¡°You see it too, right?¡± Little Hernan casually hung the bull ears and tail on the fence, looking over the human-beast battle in the field, saying, ¡°At this rate, the one who¡¯s bound to die is Earl Harlan.¡±


    Farnan looked at Little Hernan, waiting for him to continue speaking.


    Little Hernan slapped Farnan¡¯s shoulder in a carefree manner, ¡°At the end of the day, you guys oversimplify beast-fighting. Do you really think we people of Castile are all about brute force? It¡¯s all about skill! Understand? Skill! Fighting beasts on horseback already requires helpers, let alone fighting them on foot. Do you really think just anyone can do it?¡±


    Little Hernan extended four fingers: ¡°I changed horses four times just to exhaust that wild bull¡¯s stamina. Does Earl Harlan have more endurance than four horses combined? Just wait a little longer, and you¡¯ll see his physical strength hit rock bottom first.¡±


    Little Hernan became more disheartened as he spoke, ¡°Ah! This is my first time being at the tail end of a scheme. And what happened? Everything¡¯s been messed up by Earl Harlan¡¯s interference, and now who knows when the next chance will be¡­¡±


    ¡°Lord Hernan,¡± Farnan asked politely, ¡°What exactly are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°What am I saying?¡± Little Hernan snapped back to reality and slapped his forehead, ¡°Oh, right, I came to help you¡ªhelp you deal with this bull.¡±


    ¡°Could you tell me, why do you want to help Earl Harlan?¡±


    ¡°Why? What else could it be for?¡± Little Hernan shrugged, ¡°My father told me to.¡±

 Chapter 985: 48 Another Hunt (4)

    Chapter 985: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (4)


    [In the center of the hunting ground]


    Siegfried was approaching his limit, with each muscle tearing agonizingly, and every breath felt as though it would burst his chest. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The wild bull displayed not a hint of fatigue, seemingly possessing infinite stamina.


    Its neck was safeguarded by high-raised tendons and thick fur, making it impenetrable.


    Moreover, the brute was exceedingly adept at using its massive, sharp horns. It dodged left and right, bowing its head as if to retreat one second, and fiercely lunging upward the next.


    No sooner had the spearhead pierced the bull¡¯s thick skin than its horns were once again targeting the human, not giving any chance for exploitation.


    Thus, Siegfried could only inflict one shallow wound after another on the bull¡¯s neck, unable to deliver a fatal blow.


    Some began to discern the facts: the wild bull that Earl Harlan was wrestling, although slightly smaller than Little Hernan¡¯s, was incomparably more ferocious and dangerous than the latter.


    How is this a beast without intelligence? It is clearly a formidable Gladiator wielding daggers, weighing half a ton.


    After a brief and fierce struggle, Siegfried seized the opportunity to distance himself, and man and beast once again stood in silent confrontation.


    The Castile nobles cheered thunderously, while a persistent fog of doubt hung over the grandstand of the princes: ¡°How dare the Castilians bring such a beast into the arena?! Do they truly wish to slaughter His Majesty¡¯s beloved officer in public?¡±


    ¡­


    The blond Knight in the center of the hunt knew not what others were thinking, nor did he care.


    When numerous nobles had already lamented in advance or reveled in schadenfreude, Siegfried had entered an extremely heightened state of excitement.


    The pain of his body and the fierceness of his opponent stimulated Siegfried¡¯s desire to win a thousandfold, even enabling him to transcend his own limits and think.


    High-intensity combat depleted stamina and energy far faster than aerobic exercise.


    Siegfried assessed his own condition with an icy composure: one more battle, and he might not even have the strength to escape pursuit, while the wild bull in front of him could fight for at least ten more rounds.


    But ten rounds were no different from one, because Siegfried had already seen through the opponent¡¯s range of attack and patterns of movement.


    All he needed was one opportunity, one chance to cut the opponent¡¯s artery and windpipe with a single strike.


    This was it, Siegfried coiled his body, gathering strength.


    He tapped the ground with the spear tip, and the bull charged instantly.


    Like a spring compressed to its limit and suddenly released, Siegfried deftly dodged to the left¡ªhe was left-handed¡ªand thrust his spear with lightning speed.


    The power transmitted from Siegfried¡¯s lower limbs, waist, pectorals, and arms to the very tip of the spear, piercing toward the bull¡¯s neck in a ruthless, perfectly straight line.


    This time he didn¡¯t pull back, driving the spear with a do-or-die determination.


    The spear sank into the bull¡¯s neck as smoothly as if it had entered cream, the blade disappearing entirely.


    But in the next moment, the bull¡¯s massive frame twisted around, slamming into the spear shaft with an unrivaled force.


    The power recoiled back to Siegfried¡¯s end, the shaft slipping from Siegfried¡¯s grasp and striking his chest hard.


    The walnut wood spear shaft, a handspan thick, snapped with a sound, the front half breaking out from the wound in the bull¡¯s neck, the remaining half held in Siegfried¡¯s embrace.


    The confrontation took place in the blink of an eye and ended just as quickly.


    Most of the nobles didn¡¯t catch what had occurred, only to see the giant bull twist its head and the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± was flung away.


    A collective gasp arose from the crowd encircling the oval hunting ground, and from the royal stand came a shrill scream.


    Intense pain drove the wild bull into a frenzied rage; it lowered its horns and charged at the man lying on the ground.


    As it seemed the Emperor¡¯s favored knight would not even leave an intact corpse, the body in the center of the hunting ground moved¡ªSiegfried was not dead, he stubbornly attempted to block the horns with the rear half of the spear shaft.


    However, with a toss of its head, the wild bull hurled the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± like a sack of flour, sending him flying once more.


    This time, even the remaining half of the spear handle slipped from his hands.


    Siegfried landed hard, and in that moment, time seemed to slow: a father lost to drink, a weeping mother, the royal estate that took in an orphan, Elizabeth¡¯s smile like a crescent moon, the battlefield where death reigned, Farnan pulled from a pile of corpses, the fiery Cavalry charging across the snowy white expanse¡­


    In the end, there was only a hint of regret and a wealth of apologies.


    Siegfried let out a gentle sigh, probably his first sigh in life, and then he closed his eyes.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    ¡°Thud¡±.


    The sound of striking a Shield? And someone shouting loudly?


    Then came the sound of horse hooves, rapidly approaching; the sound of bull hooves, on the other hand, grew more distant. Accompanying the sound of hooves was a series of crisp and pleasant jingling bells.


    Onlookers outside the enclosure saw only the maddened bull, inexplicably forsaking Earl Harlan, turning and charging straight for the enclosure. A dozen nobles faced with the wild bull were caught off guard and scattered in fear.


    Just then, a silver steed leaped into the hunting ground with a knight in regalia on its back, holding an inverted lance with a little triangular flag fluttering below its tip.


    The bull immediately turned and charged at the silver-horsed knight.


    Seeing that he had successfully drawn the bull¡¯s attention, the silver-horsed knight casually led the bull towards the other side of the arena.


    Based solely on the knight¡¯s illustrious riding and beast control, the Castile nobles present would not mistake his identity¡ªLittle Hernan, the best Gladiator on the Castile Peninsula.

 Chapter 986: 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_2

    Chapter 986: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_2


    Bursts of cheers erupted once again from the crowd of onlookers, and the younger generation of Castilian nobles were particularly vocal in cheering for Little Hernan.


    For a moment, hardly anyone paid attention to the life-or-death unknown fate of Earl Harlan.


    Taking advantage of Little Hernan¡¯s distraction of the bull and the spectators, Farnan, carrying something wrapped in red silk, rushed through the barrier and sped towards Siegfried.


    Another man in a black robe carrying a spear followed Farnan into the arena but was left far behind by Farnan.


    Farnan didn¡¯t waste any words; upon reaching Siegfried, he immediately checked his injuries.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± Siegfried asked with a severe cough, trying to smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to bring you weapons.¡± Farnan gave Siegfried a reproachful look while quickly cutting open his shirt, ¡°Your spear is broken. I¡¯m your assistant, bringing you backup weapons doesn¡¯t violate the accepted rules.¡±


    As they spoke, the man in the black robe carrying the spear caught up.


    The man in the black robe looked to be just over thirty, with a round, plump face, and was panting heavily from running a few steps.


    Upon arrival, he immediately introduced himself: ¡°Earl Harlan, I am Brother Luke from the Order of Michael.¡±


    ¡°The Order of Michael?¡± Siegfried sounded somewhat familiar with it.


    ¡°No severe external injuries.¡± Farnan briefly explained Siegfried¡¯s condition: ¡°No fractures found for the time being.¡±


    ¡°No fractures? You¡¯re very lucky, the Lord watches over you, Earl Harlan¡­¡± Brother Luke muttered as he untied a delicate silver box from his neck, dipped his finger in the holy oil inside the box, and anointed Siegfried¡¯s forehead, chest, and abdomen.


    He placed the sacred emblem on Siegfried¡¯s forehead, his hands pressing on the emblem, his expression solemn and devout as he chanted, ¡°[¡­May those who take refuge in you be glad; may they ever sing for joy. Shield them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a Shield¡­]¡±


    Amidst Brother Luke¡¯s chanting, Siegfried clearly felt the pain in his body gradually recede, and some strength returning.


    ¡°Little Hernan will take over.¡± Farnan looked at his friend, ¡°For you, the best strategy now is to leave the field outright.¡±


    Siegfried, without a word, clenched his jaw and used his hands to attempt to rise from the ground.


    Farnan sighed and unfolded the red silk, revealing a one-handed rapier in front of Siegfried.


    This rapier was even shorter than the ceremonial small sword, completely flat, with no tapering along its blade. The most peculiar feature was that the blade was not straight; the tip of the sword had a slight curve.


    ¡°This is from Little Hernan.¡± Farnan¡¯s tone was calm, ¡°He says this is your only chance.¡±


    ¡­


    [The clock rewinds slightly]


    ¡°¡­There are blood vessels and the windpipe in the neck, which is a weakness, that¡¯s correct. But beasts also know the neck is a weak point, and they will desperately protect it.¡± Little Hernan enthusiastically imparted his insights to Farnan: ¡°So Earl Harlan aiming for the bull¡¯s neck seems right but is actually a grave mistake¡­¡±


    Farnan spoke politely yet firmly: ¡°Your Excellency Little Hernan, please be concise.¡±


    ¡°Alright, in short, if Earl Harlan wants to take down that big fellow.¡± Little Hernan produced a specially made one-handed rapier, ¡°You can only use this.¡±


    ¡°This?¡± Farnan took the rapier¡ªits length wasn¡¯t even a quarter of that of the spear.


    ¡°Exactly this.¡± Little Hernan nodded emphatically.


    ¡°How to use it?¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± Little Hernan cleared his throat, ¡°Quite simple, when the bull charges at you, you jump up and stab this sword into the bull¡¯s back, the curvature of the blade is sufficient to bypass the ribs and pierce the heart¡­¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency Little Hernan.¡± Farnan stared intently at Little Hernan: ¡°You¡¯re saying, Earl Harlan needs to stab this sword into the bull¡¯s back precisely into the heart, in the instant the bull charges at him.¡±


    Little Hernan nodded frantically, and as if worried Farnan wouldn¡¯t believe him, hastily added, ¡°If it¡¯s not accurate, puncturing the lung is also effective. If the lung is pierced, the wild bull won¡¯t last long¡ªthough that would be quite a grisly scene. And if it deviates a bit and hits the liver or intestines¡­¡±


    Farnan interrupted Little Hernan directly: ¡°Have you tried it yourself?¡±


    ¡°Of course! How else would I bring it to Earl Harlan?¡± Little Hernan protested loudly, then added somewhat sheepishly in a soft voice:


    ¡°But the few times I tried¡­ the biggest wild bull was only around three hundred kilograms, a bit smaller than the one Earl Harlan is facing¡­ Uh, slightly. But I assure you, the position of the heart is the same. Ah, I put a lot of thought into this sword. It¡¯s making its debut by giving Earl Harlan a favor; to be honest, I¡¯m a bit reluctant¡­¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about feasibility.¡± Farnan¡¯s expression was serious: ¡°Earl Harlan has never practiced this technique, do you really expect him to succeed on his first attempt?¡± S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Little Hernan also put away his smile: ¡°It¡¯s not that I expect him to succeed in one go, it¡¯s that if Earl Harlan wishes to fight the wild bull honorably, this is the only way.¡±


    Little Hernan kicked at a lance leaning against the enclosure with the tip of his boot: ¡°This thing, it works against small ones, but it¡¯s useless against big creatures. Earl Harlan isn¡¯t riding a horse to combat the beast; he¡¯s on foot! I respect his courage, but let me tell you, without the help of Warhorse, Earl Harlan¡¯s strength alone won¡¯t be able to inflict a fatal injury on the bull.¡±


    Farnan conceded Little Hernan¡¯s words.

 Chapter 987: 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_3

    Chapter 987: Chapter 48 Another Hunt (Part 4)_3


    ¡°So, to deliver a killing blow in a beast struggle on foot, you have to use the beast¡¯s own strength against it.¡± Little Hernan took back the Dagger, swinging it casually a few times: ¡°Otherwise, what did you think? That human arm strength alone could drive this blade into a wild bull¡¯s heart?¡±


    In the hunting grounds, a man and beast were facing off, leaving Farnan little time to make a judgment.


    ¡°Of course, there¡¯s another way.¡± Little Hernan said in a relaxed tone: ¡°Let Earl Harlan step down, and I¡¯ll take over the fight with this wild bull¡­ That¡¯s what my father ordered.¡±


    Farnan did not respond.


    ¡­


    [Back to the present]


    ¡°Little Hernan and his people will help you control the wild bull, creating an opportunity for you to strike.¡± Farnan explained the situation succinctly, then carefully described how to use the Dagger.


    Siegfried didn¡¯t ask a single question of doubt, simply taking the Dagger: ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here, you all should go.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing, Little Hernan asked me to tell you.¡± Farnan handed over a cloak he had just picked up from the ground to his friend: ¡°He said the wild bull prefers to attack moving objects, so if you want to contend with it, absolutely do not move erratically and use the cloak to draw its attack. Whether you trust him or not is up to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you trust him?¡± Siegfried asked.


    Farnan¡¯s brow was furrowed as he answered: ¡°Trust.¡±


    Siegfried replied without hesitation: ¡°Then I trust him too. It¡¯s dangerous, leave quickly.¡±


    Brother Lucas looked exhausted and did not want to stay another moment, urging Farnan to hurry.


    Farnan nodded to Siegfried and stood up, ready to leave.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Siegfried said in a low voice to Farnan¡¯s retreating back.


    Farnan paused for a moment, because this was the first time he heard Siegfried apologize; he was unaware that he had also missed the first time Siegfried sighed.


    Farnan smiled and shook his head at Siegfried, then nodded, quickly leaving with Brother Lucas. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    [Royal Family Stands]


    ¡°¡­Call it off, please, Daddy.¡± Princess Elizabeth could no longer hide her pain, clutching the Emperor¡¯s left hand, sobbing and pleading: ¡°Don¡¯t let it continue.¡±


    The Emperor tenderly wiped the tears from his daughter¡¯s eyes and calmly asked an unexpected question: ¡°Ella, do you still find the hunt boring now?¡±


    Elizabeth was stunned.


    The Emperor did not continue, waiting quietly for his daughter¡¯s reply.


    Elizabeth¡¯s tears flowed again: ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ that¡¯s because¡­¡±


    The Emperor said indifferently: ¡°I¡¯m not asking why.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth could no longer answer.


    The Emperor watched Little Hernan and Siegfried on the hunting ground: ¡°Only the fiercest beasts can forge the greatest warriors. Little Hernan¡¯s skill is beyond doubt, but because his expertise is so extraordinary, spectators overlook the capabilities he demonstrates, forgetting the danger he faces, and merely see his process of taking down the wild bull as a slow torment.¡±


    ¡°Little Hernan¡¯s performance will soon be forgotten, while Earl Harlan¡¯s battle will be remembered.¡± The Emperor paused briefly: ¡°Perhaps, remembered forever.¡±


    Princess Elizabeth was nearly out of control: ¡°But Siegfried will die! He¡¯s going to die!¡±


    The Emperor¡¯s expression was impassive: ¡°That¡¯s all the more reason you must watch him, not missing even a breath or a moment.¡±


    Ignoring the obstruction of her ladies-in-waiting and guards, Princess Elizabeth ran down from the Royal Family stands, crying.

 Chapter 988: 49 Another Hunt (Conclusion)

    Chapter 988: Chapter 49 Another Hunt (Conclusion)


    [Hunting Ground]


    The Silver Knight was skillfully teasing prey on the east side of the hunting ground when sharp-eyed spectators noticed something unusual on the other side:


    ¡°Look! That blonde kid is still alive!¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡±


    ¡°Heh, he¡¯s not dead? Lucky him.¡±


    ¡°No! Why is he still walking towards the center of the hunting ground?¡±


    The noblemen and women watching the event had thought Earl Harlan would at least be gravely injured, if not dead.


    Therefore, when they witnessed the blonde gladiator stagger to his feet and once again walk alone towards the bull, they were indescribably shocked.


    Seeing Siegfried return to the stage brought a faint smile to Little Hernan¡¯s lips.


    He lightly waved his lance flag, and immediately eight more gladiators entered the arena. Among them, four were mounted and four on foot, each bearing lance flags or capes.


    Little Hernan¡¯s eight assistants spread out around Siegfried, keeping a distance of a dozen meters from him.


    Seeing everything was ready, Little Hernan on horseback took off his hat adorned with large feathers and elegantly waved it to the audience as a salute.


    Then, Little Hernan drove the bull towards where Siegfried was.


    But he did not let the bull charge directly at Siegfried.


    When the bull was less than twenty meters away from Siegfried, two of Little Hernan¡¯s assistants took the initiative to ¡°take over¡± the bull.


    Among them, the mounted assistant was tall, continuously tapping his spurs with the lance. The shorter foot assistant, on the other hand, let out loud, sharp shouts.


    The actions of the two assistants successfully diverted the bull¡¯s attention.


    Confused by the sudden noise and adversaries, the bull stopped pursuing Little Hernan and did not charge at Siegfried either.


    After a moment¡¯s hesitation, the bull attacked the foot assistant.


    The attacked, short assistant, far from scared, was delighted. His face showed no fear as he spread his cape and circled the bull with big steps.


    But how could two legs outrun four? In a few steps, the bull had caught up with the short assistant.


    Just as the bull¡¯s horns were about to skewer the short assistant through, the high-held cape created an illusion for the bull, making it think it was about to crash into some massive object.


    So the bull swung its horns sharply upwards.


    The short assistant took advantage of the bull¡¯s slowed momentum as it raised its horns, using his cape to guide the bull alongside him, narrowly avoiding the horns.


    He then leaped to the side and behind the bull, folding his cape and quickly retreating to a distance.


    The bull suddenly lost its target and stood panting heavily.


    With this fluid movement, the short assistant won applause from the entire audience, and he too took off his hat, waving it to thank the clapping noblemen and women.


    Thus, the bull stopped about ten meters away from Siegfried, and Little Hernan¡¯s assistants quietly retreated, clearing space.


    Most of the nobles watching the spectacle did not understand the undercurrents beneath the surface; they thought Little Hernan was a pre-arranged rescuer. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But seeing ¡°resurrected¡± Earl Harlan continue to fight in the arena, many applauded sincerely.


    Siegfried, standing in the center of the hunting ground, understood¡ªthis was ¡°Little Hernan¡¯s assistance¡±.


    Only now did he have the leisure to take a good look at his opponent for the first time.


    The bull¡¯s tongue hung out, and white saliva dripped from its mouth. This wild creature was now exhausted, its shiny black fur under its neck stained with blood.


    It was seriously injured, with wounds inflicted by Siegfried still bleeding, especially the last almost fatal strike.


    Yet its expression was calm¡ªas it had been from the very beginning.


    Siegfried looked down at the rapier and cloak in his hands; regardless of how the duel had started, it could only end with one party¡¯s death.


    Siegfried slowly raised the rapier and swung the cloak.


    The bull charged again.


    To face a gigantic beast weighing nearly seven hundred kilograms charging at thirty kilometers per hour and not instinctively turn to flee took praiseworthy bravery.


    But Siegfried had to do something even more difficult, he had to sink a slender, curved sword into the bull¡¯s heart.


    Siegfried stood bare-chested¡ªhis clothes had been cut open and torn off by Farnan¡ªstanding steady, wielding the cloak lightly with just his right hand.


    He trusted Farnan¡¯s judgment, and Farnan had not let him down.


    The bull indeed charged straight at the cloak, not the human hidden at the edge of the cloak.


    The onlooking crowd didn¡¯t understand what Siegfried was doing; they only saw the bull running madly at him, while Siegfried stood motionless.


    As the golden-haired ¡°beauty¡± was about to perish in the next moment, spectators around the stands and fences couldn¡¯t help but scream out.


    ¡°Ah!¡±


    However, the sharp horns grazed past Siegfried¡¯s waist by a hair¡¯s breadth. At the same time, Siegfried leapt up, stabbing viciously at the bull¡¯s back with the sword in his left hand.


    The tip of the sword met the bull¡¯s back at a shallow angle, ultimately slipping off, leaving only a blood groove on the bull¡¯s back.


    Witnessing this, the crowd let out another collective sigh of regret:


    ¡°Oh¡­¡±


    The bull, having charged past Siegfried, turned swiftly, aiming its horns at him again.


    At this moment, the two assistants who had just retreated stepped forward quickly, shouting, banging, and swirling their capes to provoke the bull, leading it away from Siegfried.


    ¡­


    [Outside the Arena]


    Farnan gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and clutched the fence tightly with the other, watching the situation in the arena intently, as if he might charge into the hunting ground to rescue someone at any moment.

 Chapter 989: 49 Another Hunt (Final)_2

    Chapter 989: Chapter 49 Another Hunt (Final)_2


    After dismounting, Little Hernan, who had just tied up his horse, hurried over to Farnan with his cap in hand: ¡°Did I miss anything?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Farnan bowed deeply, still watching the arena: ¡°Thank you for your assistance, Lord Little Hernan.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of being so polite all the time?¡± Little Hernan affectionately hooked his arm around Farnan¡¯s shoulder: ¡°But that¡¯s all the help I could give him. The final blow that will kill the buffalo must still be delivered by his own hands. Still¡­ if Earl Harlan messes up, come work for me! What do you say?¡±


    Farnan cleverly stepped back half a step, keeping a distance of an arm¡¯s length from Little Hernan.


    Little Hernan shrugged regretfully and turned his gaze back to the ring: ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much. Earl Harlan has already exhausted a lot of the buffalo¡¯s strength, and it has lost a fair amount of blood. I also led the buffalo on a run for a while. Its strength and speed are now far from what they were in the beginning, so I reckon Earl Harlan¡¯s chances are about¡­¡±


    Little Hernan optimistically judged: ¡°Fifty-fifty.¡±


    Farnan silently gripped the handle of his sword.


    ¡°So really, if Earl Harlan screws it up, you might as well become my lieutenant.¡± Little Hernan proudly slapped his chest: ¡°My father is the Empire¡¯s Marshal, you know!¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the ring]


    Unknown to him, Siegfried was unaware of someone trying to poach his lieutenant.


    He was gradually entering a state of absolute focus.


    Each round of the struggle, each clash, had made him increasingly ¡°familiar¡± with this bull.


    At this moment, Siegfried understood his opponent as one would a friend, as one would an enemy:


    The width and direction of its horns, its reactions when attacked, the speed at which it turned, its habitual movements¡­


    Siegfried raised his curved sword and unfolded his cloak.


    Little Hernan¡¯s assistants originally wanted to give Earl Harlan more time to breathe, but seeing Siegfried prepared once again, the assistants exchanged glances and lured the bull back to Earl Harlan.


    Another absolutely perilous confrontation occurred, with the horns even closer than before.


    Siegfried leaped and lunged with his sword.


    Still no good!


    The thrust was deeper than before, but it stopped less than a foot in, likely stuck in a crevice of bone.


    Siegfried endured the intense pain in his palm and withdrew the curved sword as the bull turned.


    The assistants quickly stepped forward and led the bull away again.


    ¡­


    [Outside the hunting grounds]


    ¡°Damn!¡± Little Hernan suddenly exclaimed: ¡°[A continuous flow of intense, surprised Castilian expletives]!¡±


    Farnan turned his head sharply.


    Little Hernan¡¯s eyes widened as he asked: ¡°Is Earl Harlan left-handed?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Farnan replied without hesitation: ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    Little Hernan quickly placed his hands on Farnan¡¯s chest and explained rapidly: ¡°The buffalo¡¯s heart is also on the left side, you get it? A gladiator must use their right hand to thrust the sword in! Since Earl Harlan is left-handed, with the cloak in his right hand, he can only dodge to the left, a position from which the sword cannot enter!¡±


    Hearing this, Farnan immediately looked towards the hunting grounds.


    Little Hernan was extremely frustrated: ¡°Earlier, I said Earl Harlan had a fifty percent chance of winning. Now he might not even have ten percent¡­¡±


    ¡­


    [Inside the hunting grounds]


    The assistants had just lured the buffalo away, and Siegfried was already prepared once more.


    Under his right rib was a new, superficial bleeding wound¡ªa souvenir left by the bull in their recent clash. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Had it not been for Siegfried¡¯s shirt already having been fully cut open and removed by Farnan, this attack from the bull could have sent him flying.


    Siegfried did not waste a second longer, as if he was unwilling to rest for even a moment.


    He shook off his gloves, and the accumulated blood within was also flung out.


    He stood on his tiptoes slightly, fully extending his left arm which held a sword, the tip aiming straight at the bull, while his eyes intensely followed the blade, focusing on the bull¡¯s back.


    Sweat trickled from his forehead, gliding across his eyebrows and finally dripping from the tip of his nose, falling drop by drop onto the dusty ground.


    Siegfried remained utterly motionless, as if his heartbeat and breathing had entirely ceased.


    He had entered a state of extreme mental concentration, where nothing in the world existed other than his opponent.


    He stood there in the center of the hunting ground, his bare upper body glistening with a special sheen from the mixture of blood, sweat, and dirt.


    He stood there like a bronze statue, his arms, chest, and every muscular contour a marvel of craftsmanship.


    He was no longer simply in control of the audience¡¯s emotions; by just standing there, he had already made everyone hold their breath.


    The bull came, and Siegfried waited quietly. This time, he did not move to the left.


    He stretched his cloak in front of him, holding it low.


    As he could feel the warmth of the bull¡¯s breath, he abruptly lifted the cloak, covering the bull¡¯s eyes, without even jumping or moving a step.


    His feet firmly planted, his left hand thrust the sword forward, piercing straight into the hump between the bull¡¯s shoulders, until the hilt was buried.


    The bull¡¯s massive horns had now become a disadvantage because their span perfectly accommodated Siegfried¡¯s body.


    In that instant, many spectators had the illusion that the man and the bull merged into one, indistinguishable and whole.


    But it seemed only to be an illusion, for when they closed their eyes and opened them again, the blond man had been thrown flying by the bull.


    Yet the scene had made such an impression that noblemen and women watching could see the same thought mirrored in each other¡¯s eyes.


    Inside the arena, the bull majestically stood at the center of the hunting ground, while the blond man lay on the ground, life and death unknown.


    Outside the arena, there was dead silence.


    The bull took a few steps towards the blond man, then suddenly its knees buckled and its hind legs bent.


    The wild creature slowly lay on the ground, collapsing thunderously.


    And from the dust raised by the carcass of the bull, a golden-haired figure struggled to stand erect.


    In an instant, the cheers were thunderous, reaching for the heavens.


    At that moment, the Royal Hunting Grounds were conquered by the man standing at its center, sending the nobility of the Castile Peninsula into complete frenzy.


    The men cheered until their cheeks flushed, the ladies, discarding all decorum and restraints, threw handkerchiefs, veils, scarves, and anything else they could toss into the arena. Numerous young men leaped into the enclosure, racing to embrace the new legendary Gladiator.


    In the crowd, nobody was happier than Little Hernan who, in extreme excitement, shook Farnan¡¯s shoulders and shrieked, ¡°He did it! He really did it! Hahaha¡­ ¡±


    On the Royal stand, Earl Lothaire was brimming with delight.


    Looking at the Castilian people celebrating inside and outside the hunting ground, he laughed and said to his nephew, ¡°This scene, it really does remind me of your bear-wrestling, lion-stabbing, beast-conquering days. I remember the Castilians were just as crazed! My God, I nearly went deaf!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not as good as him; his challenge was tougher,¡± the Emperor commented, without any visible joy but clearly in good spirits, evident from his use of address, ¡°Uncle.¡±


    Earl Lothaire¡¯s mind stirred and with feigned nonchalance he joked, ¡°Surely Earl Harlan couldn¡¯t really be your illegitimate child, could he?¡±


    The Royal stand instantly fell silent, while just below, the hunting ground was like a sea of joy.


    In sharp contrast, the atmosphere on the Royal stand turned extremely eerie¡ªthe question posed by Earl Lothaire was an absolute taboo, even within the Royal Family.


    Suddenly, the Emperor burst into laughter, leaning back and forth, and it had been so long since anyone had seen him laugh so heartily.


    Even when glass bottles filled with Northern waters and sands were presented, even when the Empire¡¯s Navy defeated the Flemish and reclaimed Rhodes Island, even when the native Emperor of the Western Colonies kneeled before him, the Emperor had never laughed like this.


    The Emperor waved his hand with a chuckle, ¡°No.¡±


    His voice was neither too loud nor too quiet, just enough for everyone to hear clearly.


    The Royal stand returned to the previous atmosphere¡ªcheering for Earl Harlan, laughing, celebrating.


    In the midst of the jubilant atmosphere, only the Emperor seated at the front seemed somewhat melancholic.


    Resting his chin on his hand, leaning against the throne, there was a trace of warmth and a touch of regret in his eyes¡ªEarl Lothaire felt as if he was looking once more at the young man of the past who had not yet lost his humanity.


    ¡°If only I had a son like him,¡± the Emperor murmured softly.

 Chapter 990: 50 The Mountains

    Chapter 990: Chapter 50 The Mountains


    The legendary beast-fighting performance came to an end, but the story was not over yet.


    Siegfried was lifted high by strangers and carried all the way to the foot of the royal viewing platform, with the body of the bison being dragged along as well.


    The flags on the viewing platform waved, signifying that the Emperor had granted Siegfried the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail.


    The crowd gently set Siegfried down, and Farnan finally found a chance to speak with Siegfried: ¡°How are you?¡±


    Clutching his left arm and gritting his teeth, Siegfried replied: ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡±


    He staggered towards the body of the bull. The once majestic and wild animal now lay silently on the ground, its lifeless eyes gazing at the sky, still in peace.


    For some reason, the thirst for victory and conquest that had just been storming inside Siegfried¡¯s heart had vanished in an instant.


    He felt no joy or pride, no sense of achievement or happiness, in stark contrast to when he first entered King Karl XI¡¯s palace.


    Looking up at the stands, the girl who had haunted his dreams was no longer there, leaving Siegfried suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of absurdity and powerlessness.


    He lowered his head to look at the bull, thinking that if not for this impulsive and meaningless gladiatorial combat, this strong and beautiful creature might still be free to run, live, and reproduce in the wilderness.


    Seeing that Siegfried was hesitating to cut off the beast¡¯s ears, Farnan drew his sword, ready to do it for Siegfried.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Siegfried stopped Farnan.


    Farnan recognized the struggle in Siegfried¡¯s eyes, his look full of sympathy, but his attitude left no room for debate: ¡°Some things must be done, otherwise it¡¯s like insulting the Castilians¡­ Let me do it.¡±


    The flags rose, but the new legendary Gladiator was reluctant to cut the beast¡¯s ears and tail, and the Castilians around started to sense something amiss.


    Siegfried stood unmovable, staring at the body of the bison: ¡°I should listen to you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all over, don¡¯t think too much,¡± Farnan sighed, reaching out to close the bull¡¯s eyes: ¡°No matter what you choose, from the moment it was captured, it was fated to die in the arena. Having you as an opponent, at least it died with honor.¡±


    ¡°What honor is there in a death so pointless?¡±


    Farnan didn¡¯t answer, instead, he leaned over to cut off the bull¡¯s ears and tail, wrapped them in his cloak, and placed them in Siegfried¡¯s hands. He grasped Siegfried¡¯s arm, lifting the spoils high.


    A deafening cheer erupted, and the young nobles around surged forward, intending to lift the legendary Gladiator up high according to tradition and carry him out of the hunting field.


    ¡°Back off!¡± Farnan protected Siegfried: ¡°He¡¯s injured! Don¡¯t jostle him! Earl Harlan needs a physician!¡±


    The frenzied crowd suddenly parted like a tide and quickly became quiet.


    The crisp sound of horse bells approached, and an old man led a silver-grey Warhorse towards Siegfried, as Castilian nobles on both sides bowed their heads in respect.


    In the entire Empire, only two people could make the proud and unbridled Castilian nobility make way and pay homage. One is the Emperor, and the other was now in front of Siegfried¡ªthe Baron Hernan, Imperial Marshal.


    ¡°A performance of extreme magnificence, Earl Harlan.¡± Marshal Hernan took the initiative to speak, not sparing any words of praise: ¡°Charging at a rampaging bison with a sword, such courage! Such skill!¡±


    He smiled and passed the reins he held to Siegfried, saying kindly: ¡°Earl, please accept this Warhorse as a congratulatory gift from me.¡±


    Hearing Marshal Hernan¡¯s words, the Castilian nobles, who had been concentrating on the Marshal, finally paid attention to the Warhorse he had brought.


    Indeed, it was a Warhorse of immense value; with a tall, lean body, strong limbs, proper joints, and a beautiful front chest, even the strictest horse appraisers could not detect any flaws.


    The original owner apparently cherished this horse greatly, for there was not a scar on its body, not even under the ribcage. It was clear that the owner was reluctant to use spurs and always controlled the horse with just the knees and reins.


    To give such a beloved horse away, the original owner must have been in great pain. And there he was at the moment, the horse¡¯s former master with a downcast face following behind the horse¡ªit was Little Hernan.


    The Castilian nobles witnessing Marshal Hernan gifting the horse to Earl Harlan had shimmering eyes and various expressions.


    Farnan nudged Siegfried¡¯s elbow, signaling him to accept.


    Exhausted and out of willingness to deal with the Castilians¡¯ thoughts, and even if he did, Siegfried did not care.


    ¡°Marshal Hernan.¡± Siegfried summoned his energy, and straightforwardly responded to old Hernan: ¡°If not for Sir Little Hernan¡¯s assistance, this bison would have killed me. This fight was not fair, so please forgive me for not wanting to accept congratulations.¡± sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The atmosphere instantly froze, and the smiles of the Castilian nobles turned stiff.


    Siegfried, clutching his left arm, hobbled out of the crowd. As he brushed past Little Hernan, he nodded gently at him, and besides that, he did not say a word to anyone else.


    Farnan apologized deeply to Marshal Hernan with a bow, then quickly followed after Siegfried¡¯s departing figure.


    ¡­


    [Siegfried¡¯s Tent]


    Farnan entered the tent with an armful of firewood, shoving it one by one into the stove to make the fire burn brighter.


    Siegfried, bare-chested, sat on the campaign cot, being examined for injuries by Brother Luke from the Order of Michael.


    ¡°Earl Harlan.¡± Brother Luke released Siegfried¡¯s left arm, speaking helplessly: ¡°If you are in pain, you need to express it, so that I can know where it hurts.¡±

 Chapter 991: 50 Mountains_2

    Chapter 991: Chapter 50 Mountains_2


    ¡°Oh, it hurts.¡±


    Monk Luca then pinched his left shoulder lightly: ¡°How about here?¡±


    ¡°It hurts too.¡±


    ¡°How is it?¡± Farnan asked caringly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like a fracture, but there might be a crack.¡± Plump Monk Luca wiped the sweat from his forehead. ¡°Bone issues are best checked by the Imperial Physician, they are more adept at treating such injuries.¡±


    ¡°Divine Arts won¡¯t work?¡±


    Monk Luca smacked his lips, feeling it wouldn¡¯t hurt to tell them: ¡°No, those with fractures can seem to heal after being treated with Divine Arts, but after a few days, the patient might get a high fever and then¡­ be called to the beyond.¡± S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Why?¡± Siegfried asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask, and don¡¯t delve into it.¡± Monk Luca spread his hands out: ¡°[Do not put your Lord to the test]! Ah, why am I even telling you this? I shouldn¡¯t have. Alas, since you¡¯ve heard it, make sure not to spread it around. Just bear with it a little longer, Earl Harlan, I¡¯ll go find the Imperial Physician.¡±


    Monk Luca draped a blanket over Siegfried, then hurried out of the tent.


    After a while, the tent curtain was lifted, but it wasn¡¯t the Imperial Physician who entered, it was Duke Lothar.


    Duke Lothar gestured with his hand indicating that Siegfried and Farnan need not bow, first surveyed the furnishings inside Siegfried¡¯s tent, and then turned to Siegfried.


    ¡°How is it?¡± Duke Lothar asked.


    Siegfried replied with effort: ¡°Superficial skin wounds.¡±


    Duke Lothar looked at Farnan.


    ¡°Monk Luca diagnosed it as possibly being a fracture.¡± Farnan bowed slightly, impeccable in his manners: ¡°The monk has just left to summon the Imperial Physician.¡±


    Duke Lothar watched Siegfried for a moment, the corners of his mouth holding a subtle smile. Time had not marred the Duke¡¯s handsomeness; instead, it had lent an even more dignified and elegant air to his persona.


    ¡°Earl Harlan.¡± Duke Lothar asked deliberately: ¡°I do not understand why you publicly humiliated Marshal Hernan?¡±


    ¡°Humiliation?¡± Siegfried furrowed his brows tightly, about to erupt, but he suppressed the impulse: ¡°I never humiliated Marshal Hernan. If I inadvertently caused any harm to the Marshal¡¯s honor, I am willing to offer an open apology to him.¡±


    Duke Lothar chuckled lightly, too lazy to explain much to the tempestuous young lord.


    ¡°Rest up and heal.¡± After saying this, Duke Lothar exited the tent.


    Not long after, the tent curtain was lifted again, and it wasn¡¯t the Imperial Physician who entered once more.


    Little Hernan stormed into the tent, furiously demanding: ¡°My father granted you the honor of cutting the beast¡¯s ears and tail, even gave you the Warhorse¡ªwhat more do you want?¡±


    ¡°There must be some misunderstanding.¡± Farnan stepped in front of Siegfried: ¡°Your Excellency, Little Hernan.¡±


    ¡°Misunderstanding? Too late!¡± Little Hernan shouted and stormed out with a swing of his hand.


    Just as Little Hernan left, the tent curtain was pulled aside once more.


    This time, an exaggerated hat was poked into the tent first, below which was Marvey¡¯s head with his eyes blinking rapidly. However, it was only his head; Marvey¡¯s body was still outside the tent.


    Ensuring there was no one else inside, Marvey then entered confidently. He adeptly pulled out a bottle of wine hidden under the march bed, took a big gulp, and then handed it to Siegfried.


    ¡°They¡¯ve really put you through the wringer, haven¡¯t they?¡± Marvey said with a smile: ¡°How about basing the protagonist of the next play on you? A handsome man who spares nothing for love, those vain middle-aged noblewomen in the capital will go crazy for it. If you¡¯re willing to go on stage and play yourself, that would be even¡­¡±


    Siegfried gave Marvey a sidelong glance and silently took a sip of the wine.


    ¡°Hey, I knew you wouldn¡¯t be pleased. Alright, I¡¯ll respect your personal wishes and not write it.¡± Marvey said with feigned heartache: ¡°Such a pity to waste good material.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you should also respect the Emperor¡¯s personal wishes, Mr. Marvey!¡± Farnan took the bottle of wine from Siegfried¡¯s hand, turned, and looked at Marvey: ¡°Duke Lothar just came by and mentioned that Earl Harlan humiliated Marshal Hernan¡­¡±


    ¡°I thought you did it on purpose!¡± Marvey burst out laughing: ¡°You guys don¡¯t know what ¡®publicly giving a Warhorse on important occasions¡¯ signifies in Castilian culture?¡±


    Siegfried snorted softly.


    Farnan asked solemnly: ¡°Please enlighten us.¡±


    ¡°Marshal Hernan giving you the Warhorse meant he was also passing onto you the opportunity to seek glory, but you¡ªpublicly refused him.¡± Marvey¡¯s smile faded into a regretful sigh: ¡°I estimate you won¡¯t lay a finger on the Marshal¡¯s baton for the next decade.¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in the Emperor¡¯s royal camp tent. Attendants and maids were dismissed, leaving only the Emperor, Empress Diana, and Prince Richard within the spacious tent.


    ¡°Earl Harlan has declined Baron Hernan¡¯s gift horse.¡± The Emperor said, looking at the Prince: ¡°And before the people of Castile, no less.¡±


    A cold sweat broke out on Prince Richard¡¯s back; he hastily explained, ¡°There must be some misunderstanding, Your Majesty. I will go find¡­¡±


    The Emperor slightly raised his hand and Prince Richard immediately shut his mouth.


    ¡°The issue is not with Earl Harlan.¡± The Emperor said softly: ¡°The issue is with you.¡±


    Hearing this, Prince Richard immediately knelt on one knee and bowed his head deeply.


    ¡°You desire to take over My Empire.¡± The Emperor looked at his son and slowly continued: ¡°But¡­ you can¡¯t even control a single hound.¡±


    These words weighed heavily; even the Empress beside him changed her expression, and Prince Richard was struck as by a bolt of lightning.


    Grievance, indignation, resentment¡­ a surge of emotions overwhelmed Prince Richard, and tears spilled from his eyes. After all, even as a prince, Richard was just an eighteen-year-old youth.

 Chapter 992: 50 Mountains_3

    Chapter 992: Chapter 50 Mountains_3


    Richard Lietyang wiped away his tears, stood up straight to give a salute, turned around, and left the tent of the Imperial Palace.


    As soon as the prince left, the previously silent Empress immediately couldn¡¯t help but defend her son: ¡°He¡¯s only eighteen years old!¡±


    ¡°I was already campaigning alongside the late Emperor at the age of fifteen.¡±


    ¡°Richard is different from you.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, he is different.¡± The Emperor frowned slightly: ¡°I left him in your care, yet he failed to inherit any of the Lietyang family¡¯s robust and straightforward nature. Instead, he learned to act like a whimpering woman, fearful as a mouse upon seeing a cat when he meets me. I simply dislike his deceptive and effeminate demeanor.¡±


    ¡°Have you ever considered that it might be your overbearing nature that terrifies Richard so much?¡± Empress Diana retorted in grief. ¡°Ask yourself, have you ever hugged him? Have you ever kissed him? Have you ever let him play on your lap? Not even once! How could he not fear you?!¡±


    ¡°Diana.¡± The Emperor looked into the eyes of the Empress: ¡°If he can¡¯t even handle me, how is he supposed to face the responsibilities and adversities I deal with?¡±


    The Empress was speechless, grief-stricken, and suddenly burst into tears, covering her face.


    The Emperor sat quietly for a while¡ª even being an Emperor, he also had familial troubles that were hard to clarify.


    ¡°The ¡®Grand Council¡¯ of the Senas Alliance will be held next month in Varn.¡± The Emperor paused for a moment: ¡°Let Richard replace Earl Narzia in attending it. Allow him to step out of the Imperial Palace and see the vast world¡ªrather than continuing to be a ¡®caged bird¡¯ by your side.¡±


    Earl Narzia, the Emperor¡¯s Chief Minister of Seals and responsible for diplomacy, often represented the Emperor on missions. It was undoubtedly a great opportunity for Prince Richard to replace Earl Narzia in visiting the Senas Alliance.


    Empress Diana was first elated to the point of ecstasy, but then anxiety soon occupied her heart: ¡°The territory of the southern rebels? Would it be dangerous for Richard to go there? What if the rebels took Richard hostage? Could they¡­¡±


    The brief display of true emotions disappeared, the Emperor stood up indifferently, and without saying a word, he walked out of the tent.


    (The Royal Hunt ¡¤ End)


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Time: The last day of February in the year 560 of the Imperial Calendar


    [Note: half a month after the end of the Red River Tribe hunting and the royal hunting]


    Location: Iron Peak County, Revodan, old garrison.


    Early in the morning, the office of the Mason Civil Guard Officer was neatly lined with a row of people. The already narrow corridor was immediately occupied by half, leaving only just enough room for one person to pass through.


    Don¡¯t get it wrong, these people in the hallway are neither here to seek revenge nor to appeal.


    They are official officers of the Republic of Palatu, all once served in the 5th and 6th Standing Army Corps of the Alliance, blocking in front of Richard Mason¡¯s door for one thing¡ªto meet Winters Montagne.


    Ten days have passed since the Expeditionary Force prisoners of war arrived at Iron Peak County. The municipal government of Revodan arranged accommodation, food for the prisoners, and even deployed doctors to check on, diagnose, and prescribe medication for them.


    They received food, lodging, and medical care, but there was no word on how the returning prisoners would be arranged, nor were the prisoners allowed to leave Revodan on their own.


    Being subjected to what amounted to house arrest, how could the officers tolerate this?


    Thus, they came to demand an explanation.


    As Mason turned the corner on his way to work early in the morning and saw the perfectly aligned row of people sitting in the hallway, he felt a splitting headache.


    Poor Mason had been blocked at his door for a week, and the alumni demanding explanations were neither noisy nor rowdy; they just wanted to see Winters, and wouldn¡¯t leave until they did.


    After such a performance for a while, rumors spread throughout the city of Revodan.


    The most widely circulated gossip was ¡°Mason Civil Guard Officer owes a love debt, and the woman¡¯s brother blocks the door to demand an explanation.¡±


    Those who spread the gossip often went so far as to ask pointedly, ¡°Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t they block someone else, but only block Mason Civil Guard Officer?¡±


    The sensational news added quite a bit of fun to the long and tedious winter for the citizens of Revodan but caused unjust accusations against Captain Mason. The most noticeable change was this: councilmen who had unmarried ladies in their households no longer invited Mason to their homes.


    ¡°Excuse me.¡± Mason backed against the wall, sidestepping toward the office door: ¡°Sorry, excuse me.¡±


    As he was about to reach the door, an arm stretched out, blocking Mason¡¯s way.


    The owner of the arm was a ragged skinny man in his early thirties, his officer¡¯s uniform old and patched, but the skinny man still wore it proudly.


    ¡°Good morning, Colonel Seber.¡± Mason greeted with a smile.


    ¡°Captain Mason.¡± The skinny man, known as Colonel Seber, asked emotionlessly: ¡°Is Captain Montagne able to work yet?¡±


    Mason scratched his head, conveying the official response: ¡°Sorry, Colonel, he¡¯s still recovering.¡± Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°As far as I know, he¡¯s been ¡®recovering¡¯ for almost three months now, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Colonel Seber coldly glanced at Mason: ¡°What? Did he die and you¡¯re not announcing it?¡±


    Mason could only smile wryly.


    Colonel Seber Carrington of the Republic of Palatu¡¯s Army, nicknamed ¡°The Saber.¡±


    It is said that there are only mistimed names, not misgiven nicknames. Seber Carrington is renowned in the Palatu¡¯s Standing Army for being ¡°fearless to the point of madness,¡± earning him the nickname ¡°sharpest saber.¡±


    However, in Mason¡¯s view, more than the actual saber in his hand, Colonel Seber¡¯s true sharpness lay in his words.


    Yet Mason merely grumbled internally for a bit, as his good-nature rarely let him confront others directly, leading to only a wry smile to soothe Colonel Seber: ¡°He¡¯s getting better, almost fully recovered.¡±

 Chapter 993: 50: Mountains_4

    Chapter 993: Chapter 50: Mountains_4


    ¡°Captain, there are no civilians here, don¡¯t brush us off with lies we both know are false!¡± Colonel Seber suddenly stood up: ¡°Where on earth did Winters Montagne go? When can he return?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡± Mason, heart full of sorrow, said to no one: ¡°I don¡¯t know either!¡± S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°Then what do we do? What about the soldiers at the settlement?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ Winters must make the decision; no one else can call the shots.¡±


    ¡°When can Captain Montagne return?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    Colonel Seber stared at Mason for a while, and after confirming that the latter was not lying, he slumped back down, wearily propping his forehead: ¡°Forget it. My apologies if I spoke out of line.¡±


    Mason looked at Colonel Seber, then at the other alumni who had just returned from the wasteland in the corridor, and couldn¡¯t help but feel a lot of sympathy.


    When they stepped into the wasteland, they were army officers with bright futures. When they returned to Paratu, not only had their country vanished, they didn¡¯t even know what they were anymore.


    ¡°Don¡¯t panic, you have food and shelter, take care of your health first,¡± Mason put his hand on Colonel Seber¡¯s shoulder: ¡°I know you want to go home, I also believe Winters will respect your wishes.¡±


    Colonel Seber, hand on his forehead, asked, ¡°When is Winters coming back?¡±


    Mason was stunned: ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Then you do your job,¡± Colonel Seber lifted his head, resuming a proper sitting posture: ¡°We¡¯ll continue to wait.¡±


    Mason stood still for a moment, then turned to open the door. His fingertips had already touched the doorknob when he turned back around, proactively suggesting: ¡°Actually, there are two other decision-makers in Iron Peak County, Lieutenant Bard and Lieutenant Cherini. Maybe you could pay them a visit? By the way, Colonel Jeska has recently been compiling textbooks and could use some help; you could also assist there.¡±


    ¡°Colonel Jeska has people helping. Lieutenant Bard is in Blackwater Town, hundreds of kilometers from here,¡± Colonel Seber snorted coldly: ¡°Lieutenant Andrea Cherini is even more cunning, having snuck off to the city¡¯s outskirts stables early on.¡±


    ¡°So.¡± Mason asked word by word: ¡°Blocking my door is because¡­¡±


    ¡°Right, because you¡¯re the only one we could find,¡± Colonel Seber patted Mason¡¯s shoulder: ¡°In Revodan, it¡¯s only you who¡¯s working.¡±


    Mason, struggling, didn¡¯t let others see the tears in his eyes and forcefully pushed open the office door.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be working anymore either,¡± he thought fiercely, but he immediately reconsidered: ¡°But if I don¡¯t work, how will the usual matters be handled?¡±


    At that moment, there was an excited shout from outside the corridor: ¡°They¡¯ve returned! They¡¯re back!¡±


    Mason was startled, loudly asking: ¡°Who¡¯s back?¡±


    ¡°The delegation!¡± the messenger beamed: ¡°Everyone is back!¡±


    Mason¡¯s heart bloomed with joy, no longer caring that others were present: ¡°Quick, lead the way!¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Winters¡¯ camp.


    ¡°You asked for me urgently, saying there was an emergency, and it¡¯s for this?¡± Father Kaman glared at Winters, suppressing the urge to curse: ¡°Do you realize I was in morning prayer? I thought you had slit your own throat!¡±


    ¡°This is the emergency,¡± Winters answered seriously, then threw the stick in his hand far away.


    The two shadows sitting in front of him instantly vanished into the mist.


    Soon after, a big dog looking like a wolf joyfully ran back with the stick, followed by another big dog looking like a wolf, looking dejected.


    ¡°Emergency.¡± Kaman clenched his fist: ¡°You¡¯re saying watching your dogs fetch?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Winters smiled enigmatically, stretching out his right hand, dangling a peculiar bone whistle: ¡°It means I¡¯ve figured out the principle behind Hurd¡¯s Divine Arts of beast speaking. Want to hear it?¡±


    ¡­


    [Outside Revodan]


    ¡°Major! Where¡¯s Winters?¡± Mason grabbed Major Moritz¡¯s shoulder, yelling in anger and despair: ¡°Where is he? Did you drink too much and leave Winters in the wasteland? Winters! Winters Montagne!¡±


    ¡°Stop looking,¡± said a groggy Moritz Major with a yawn: ¡°He¡¯s not here.¡±


    Mason felt like crying: ¡°Then why have you returned alone?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Oh.¡± Moritz said slowly: ¡°He asked me to bring these things back.¡±


    Having said that, Moritz, who was sitting in the carriage, casually lifted the blanket beneath him.


    All those who came to greet him gasped in unison: gold bars, a layer of deep yellow gold bars paved along the bottom of the carriage.


    It turns out the Major had slept on top of gold all the way.


    Mason immediately pounced to straighten the blanket, tucking it in carefully as if afraid the gold bars would catch a cold.


    ¡°Did you find it?¡± Mason asked softly.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Moritz yawned again, absent-mindedly fiddling with an arrowhead: ¡°Found it.¡±


    He patted the carpet beneath him and pointed to the back: ¡°Three carriages, check them. Oh, and another carriage was taken away by Winters.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Right!¡± Mason, immersed in joy, suddenly remembered another crucial question, ¡°Where exactly did Winters run off to? Does he know how hard I¡¯ve¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, in Winters¡¯ camp.


    Just as Winters was about to haggle with Father Kaman, Pierre arrived: ¡°Centurion, Mr. Ed from the Navarre Commerce Iron Fortress branch is here, he wishes to see you and your wife.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Winters hopped off the carriage, smiling in reply: ¡°Mr. Ed¡¯s arrival means we¡¯ve got our ¡®invitation¡¯ to enter Iron Fortress.¡±


    Just then, a gust of wind cleared the mist in the valley.


    The trail, pond, and the hillside covered with a thin layer of snow, with flocks of sheep, cloud-like, strolling on the slopes.


    Looking out from the mouth of the valley, one could also see the mountain peak covered with perpetual snow in the distance.


    Pass through the mountain pass ahead, then another mountain pass, and Iron Fortress is fully in sight.

 Chapter 994: 51 Trade Embargo

    Chapter 994: Chapter 51 Trade Embargo


    Although Hornfort is the capital of the Monta Republic, Solingen is the most prosperous and thriving city in this mountain nation.


    Benefiting from its rich mineral resources and the settlement of skilled craftsmen, Solingen has long been a famous town of ironworkers in the Monta imperial domain¡ªalbeit only within Monta.


    Constrained by the mountains, the high-quality ironware of Solingen could not be transported out.


    Even if it could be transported, the lords and autonomous cities outside preferred to protect the local iron products that contributed taxes.


    Until thirty years ago, two major events happened.


    The first event: The completion of the Wooper Canal, which connected the waterways between Rose River and Ashen Stream River.


    To excavate this short canal, the Solingen Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild took forty years just to raise funds.


    By the time the first Gold Coin buried was brought back to the light of day, the leader who had inititated this project had long passed away, and the young man at the time who watched ignorantly had already turned gray.


    After that, it took another fifteen years to construct the canal, a total of fifty-five years, the span of three generations.


    The second event: The Duke of Arlion led his troops into the Mountain Front Territory, and the sovereignty war broke out.


    War, like a hungry monster gone mad, demanded more steel and blood at all times.


    The iron-producing areas in the Mountain Front Territory were burnt to cinders by the brutal tug-of-war, while Solingen, far from the troubles of war, made a fortune.


    Two sovereignty wars lasted for eight years of conflict. By the time the Mad King Richard retreated, Solingen had already jumped to become the largest center of iron manufacturing between the two mountains. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the war ended, the business of weapons was no longer booming.


    But Solingen didn¡¯t decline; on the contrary, it developed more freely by shaking off the shackles of the Empire.


    The Federated Provinces, in need of reconstruction, had an endless demand for iron products. The Solingen smiths no longer churned out swords but sold iron bars instead.


    With the reduction of internal tariffs in the Alliance, the iron bars produced by Solingen were no longer trapped by the mountains. They were loaded onto ships, flowed downstream, and were sold far away to the Various Republics, the Empire, and overseas.


    The decade of the sovereignty wars was a miserable one for many ordinary people, but for Solingen, it was a golden decade.


    Even the twenty years following the end of the war were years of rapid development for Solingen.


    Solingen not only developed from a small but famous town of ironworkers to a steel capital renowned across the Alliance, but it also grew from a remote valley by the Rose Lake into today¡¯s bustling traffic hub where numerous trade routes converge.


    Therefore, foreign businesses looking to trade in the Monta Republic focused their major efforts on Solingen rather than the capital, Hornfort.


    For most trade houses in Solingen, the person in charge is practically their chief representative in the Monta Republic¡ªthis is the case with Navarre Commerce.


    ¡­


    The Navarre family¡¯s agent in Solingen is an old gentleman with a Vineta-style beard, named Carlo Aide.


    Vineta-style beard, that is, no beard at all.


    Mr. Ed is tall and thin, with a serious demeanor, and if not for his bald chin and upper lip, many would mistake him for a clergyman based on his dress and temperament alone.


    When Anna returned to camp dripping with dew from her sketching, Mr. Ed was discussing the issue of Gold exchange with Winters.


    ¡°¡­Although Solingen wouldn¡¯t choke on half a ton of Gold, converting it to Ducats all at once would surely result in being forced into a lower price,¡± Mr. Ed said as he dipped his fingertip in water and wrote a number on the table: ¡°The goldsmiths in Solingen are backed by guilds, and if they catch wind of our actual situation and join forces to drive down the price, the exchange rate will be even lower.¡±


    Winters gently fiddled with his bone whistle, nodding thoughtfully. Two well-behaved hounds lay beside Winters¡¯ boots, sneakily glancing at him with anticipation.


    Sitting alongside at the small table was Father Kaman, who wore an expressionless face.


    Compared to Elder Aide and Father Kaman, whose beards and hair were neatly groomed, Winters was somewhat unkempt.


    Although Winters¡¯ clothes were still neat¡ªthanks to Anna¡ªhis beard and hair were not so fortunate¡ªalso thanks to Anna.


    Seeing Anna Navarre return to camp, Mr. Ed stood up to greet her: ¡°I¡¯m delighted to see you, my lady. Compared to two years ago in Sea Blue, you appear healthier and more vibrant now.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ed, I¡¯m even happier to see you looking well,¡± Anna replied with a smile, setting down her sketchpad: ¡°However, ¡®more vibrant¡¯ and ¡®healthier¡¯ are not attributes that should be used to describe a lady.¡±


    ¡°For someone my age, nothing is more important than health.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Ed is right,¡± Winters affirmed earnestly: ¡°Health is beauty!¡±


    Those who spend all their days together often fail to notice the changes in each other. Winters couldn¡¯t quite pinpoint how Anna had changed, but it seemed she had changed everywhere: her nose tip and cheeks were prettier; her waistline, more enchanting; her thighs, firmer; her vigor, more sparkling¡­


    If Lady Navarre, when she first arrived in Iron Peak County, still had a touch of pampered baby fat,


    Then after a long journey, the delicacy on Anna¡¯s body had disappeared entirely, replaced by a robust vitality, as if the idealized realistic statues of ancient goddesses had come to life among mortals.


    This vibrant beauty overwhelmed Winters, so now whenever Anna used ¡°superlatives,¡± Winters would sing praises without hesitation.


    Except for skin issues¡ªthat was a forbidden zone within forbidden zones, who mentions it perishes.


    Anna returned from sketching, entered the tent, unbuckled her sword, scooped up handfuls of clear water to wash her face, and wiped it dry. Then she stepped out of the tent and sat down at the table with ease.


    There were now four people at the table: Winters, Father Kaman, Mr. Ed, and Anna.


    Elder Aide glanced at Winters, then at Anna, noticing that both of them appeared natural with no abnormalities or affectation.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Mr. Ed?¡± Winters asked softly, ¡°I¡¯m still waiting for you to continue.¡±


    ¡°Nothing much.¡± A slight smile formed on Elder Aide¡¯s serious face: ¡°I think, perhaps only a formidable woman could match a great man.¡±


    After a pause, Elder Aide continued talking about the exchange of gold bars for Gold Coins.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Half a month ago, after recasting the sacrificial golden figure into four carts of gold bars, the Iron Peak County Delegation split into two groups.


    One group was escorted by Colonel Moritz, carrying three-quarters of the gold directly back to Iron Peak County. The Iron Peak County Government urgently required this hard currency to alleviate the financial crisis.


    The other, led by Winters himself, went secretly north to enter the Monta Republic.


    However, upon returning to the ¡°civilized world¡±, Winters faced the dilemma of being wealthy but unable to spend: the gold bars couldn¡¯t be used directly, and even if someone was willing to take them, it would be too conspicuous. They had to be exchanged for common Gold Coins.


    Fortunately, Navarre Commerce also did business in the mountainous nation, ensuring that Winters was not entirely without options.


    First, Winters found a branch of Navarre Commerce in the border city of Lucerne in the Monta Republic, exchanged a small portion of the gold bars, and sent an urgent letter through the channels of Navarre Commerce to the head office at Steel Fortress.


    Then, he headed to Steel Fortress with the remaining gold bars without a moment¡¯s delay.


    And then, he met Mr. Ed in a small village on the outskirts of Steel Fortress.


    ¡°In summary,¡± Elder Aide returned to his terse demeanor, ¡°exchanging all your gold at once for Ducats, Federated Provinces¡¯ Shields, or Montan Gold Coins would be an unwise business practice.¡±


    ¡°What would you suggest?¡± Winters asked.


    ¡°My suggestion is¡ªmortgage. Use the gold as collateral for Gold Coins first, then slowly liquidate them to maintain a stable exchange ratio. Of course, the best course would be to bring the gold back to Vineta and recast it into Ducats; that¡¯s the most cost-effective way.¡±


    Winters, confused: ¡°Mortgage gold for gold?¡±


    ¡°Yes. But not to a goldsmith, to other merchant houses,¡± Elder Aide elaborated: ¡°Divide the gold bars into several portions, mortgage them to different merchant houses, this way you can bypass the Steel Fortress goldsmiths. Moreover, the collateral can¡¯t be remelted during the mortgage term, so it won¡¯t impact the market exchange rate between gold and Gold Coins.¡±


    Winters saw Anna give him a subtle nod and stood up with peace of mind to thank the elder gentleman: ¡°I trust everything to you, Mr. Ed.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to be of help,¡± Elder Aide nodded: ¡°His Excellency Montaigne.¡±


    After confirming how to exchange the gold bars for Gold Coins, a series of even more pressing problems awaited urgent solutions.


    Mr. Ed took out the urgent letter in Anna¡¯s handwriting from his bosom: ¡°In your letter, you mentioned wanting to be introduced to the decision-makers of Steel Fortress. That won¡¯t be difficult. Mr. Borso da Este from the Este family is in Steel Fortress. He¡¯s a close friend of Mayor Wooper. I can introduce you to Mr. Borso da Este, and then he can introduce you to Mayor Paulo Wooper.¡±


    In the ears of any well-informed Venetian, the name da Este carries immense distinction.


    Although Winters did not know who ¡°Borso da Este¡± was, if a ¡°White Eagle¡± was willing to offer help, meeting the Mayor of Steel Fortress should not be difficult.


    [Note: The symbol of the Este family is the white eagle]


    ¡°Regarding your other request¡ªto acquire weapons,¡± Mr. Ed frowned slightly: ¡°That may be somewhat difficult.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± Winters did not seem surprised, jokingly said: ¡°Steel Fortress smiths rejecting money?¡±


    Elder Aide once again took out a folded piece of rough paper from his bosom: ¡°Montan¡¯s way of doing things is indeed different from ours. Life is harsh in the mountainous country, so Montans are more united, more loyal. Once a decision is made through consensus, they never renounce it or violate it.¡±


    Winters unfurled the rough paper and the fresh print ink still exuded a faint odor.


    There was a large seal at the bottom of the paper, and the heading read: ¡°Monta¡¯s Sole Ruler and Free People¡¯s Beloved Senior Representative of Solingen unanimously pass the following consensus¡­¡±


    Elder Aide gravely said: ¡°The Steel Fortress City Council has just passed an administrative order. It prohibits any individual or guild from selling weapons, ammunition, or any resources that can be used for war to the Republic of Palatu. However, this order is just an administrative decree. It still needs to be taken to the General Assembly for debate and voting before it becomes formal law.¡±


    Having skimmed through the bulletin, Winters then handed the rough paper to Anna.


    ¡°Steel Fortress is about to impose a trade embargo on the Republic of Palatu.¡± Elder Aide looked severe: ¡°And this may be just the beginning.¡±

 Chapter 995: 52: Unbreakable Alliance

    Chapter 995: Chapter 52: Unbreakable Alliance


    Winters did not return to Iron Peak County as soon as possible, instead stepping into the nation of mountains. Although it was beyond the initial plan, this decision was not on impulse.


    In fact, ever since visiting Alpad Duyome, Winters had been contemplating the feasibility of a journey to Steel Fortress.


    Up until now, the primary means for the Iron Peak County Military to acquire weapons was still seizure.


    The weapons seized from enemies were not only limited in number but also varied in quality and severely lacked firearms.


    Iron Peak County could barely manufacture simple weapons like spears and Stinger Hammers. Ignoring the cost of production, perhaps they could also make some matchlock guns.


    However, more technically complex weapons like long-barrel firearms or Longswords were beyond the capabilities of local blacksmiths like the Gangchalov brothers.


    To insist on making them¡­ it was not impossible.


    If they couldn¡¯t make long gun barrels, they could make short ones, and then assemble those short barrels into long gun barrels. Firearms made in such a manner may look decent at a glance¡ªyet they are utterly unusable.


    The assembled barrels naturally possessed inherent flaws; no one knew whether there were internal damages at the joints, much less whether such damages could cause a barrel burst during the next shot.


    After the Battle of Blood Mud, various musketeer squads reported behavior resembling cowardice: some musketeers always loaded as little gunpowder as possible, even deliberately pouring the gunpowder in the paper cartridge out of the barrel, causing the lead bullets to lack force, producing only a thud without drawing blood when hitting armored savages.


    And through actual investigations, Winters discovered: most of the ¡°cowardice¡± musketeers used assembled firearms, and commonly witnessed teammates getting severely injured by exploding barrels, leading them to dare not load enough gunpowder.


    If a warrior fears his weapon, how can one expect him to fight?


    Thus, Winters braved mountains and rivers to arrive at Steel Fortress¡ªhis army needed weapons, and Steel Fortress was the largest weapons production center in the Various Republics.


    As for how to transport them back¡­ do you remember the permit issued by Alpad?


    The traditional route for exporting Steel Fortress metal goods to Paratu was water transportation, following the Rose River then downstream to the Ashen Stream River, then distributing throughout Paratu.


    However, this trade route was now impassable because the lower reaches of the Rose River were controlled by the military government.


    Of course, the military government would not allow Steel Fortress metal goods to flow into the ¡°pretend government¡± territory, so merchant ships on the Rose River could only unload their cargo in Jiangbei Province and could not advance any further.


    But¡­ perhaps ships belonging to the Iron Peak County Rebels might be shown some leniency.


    The enemy of an enemy is a friend, for the military government, the Second Republic is an enemy, and the New Reclamation Legion is an indecisive enemy.


    Compared to the loathsome former two, the ¡°Iron Peak County Rebels¡± in conflict with Red Rose and the New Reclamation Legion seem much cuter.


    Additionally, the military government currently has an effective alliance with Vineta, and the attitude inside the military government toward Iron Peak County Rebels¡ªespecially Winters Montagne¡ªhas consequently become very ambiguous.


    Winters tested the military government¡¯s bottom line, even making some excessive requests to Colonel Alec (like taking all his former subordinates).


    As a colonel of engineers, Alec didn¡¯t technically have the authority to grant Winters¡¯ permissions.


    But all of Winters¡¯ demands were fulfilled without any complications¡ªconsidering he had Alpad¡¯s tacit approval beforehand, the smooth progress was nearly miraculous.


    This suggests not only Alpad but other high-ranking officials in the military government chose to turn a blind eye.


    Winters therefore speculated: it¡¯s highly likely that elements within the military government were considering winning over the Iron Peak County Military,possibly aiming to use them to contain the New Reclamation Legion.


    Thus, before traversing Jiangbei Province to the Monta Republic, Winters sent a letter to Colonel Alec.


    Apart from sincere greetings and some intelligence on the Hurd tribes, Winters also enclosed thirty gold bars and a simple verbal message in the letter:


    ¡°Would it be possible to allow the Iron Peak County Commerce to purchase some agricultural tools in Steel Fortress¡­ for spring plowing?¡±


    Winters has yet to receive a reply, but according to Elder Aide¡¯s explanation of the situation, the issue of ¡°Steel Fortress not willing to sell¡± is more pressing than ¡°the military government forbidding purchase.¡± S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡­


    ¡°Steel Fortress is implementing a trade embargo on Paratu?¡± Winters sensed a hint of dark humor: ¡°Isn¡¯t that just blocking the military government? After all, the route from Monta to the Ashen Stream River is entirely under military government control, and Kingsfort was never able to acquire military equipment from Steel Fortress anyway.¡±


    Elder Aide¡¯s smile carried a hint of derision: ¡°The statement from the State Council is ¡®for the sake of peace¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Has the nation of mountains already chosen a side?¡± Winters sipped some ice water.


    ¡°Rather,¡± Elder Aide corrected lightly: ¡°The stance of Monta Republic has never changed.¡±


    Winters, clutching the metal cup, sighed¡ªhistorical issues, no one can handle them.


    ¡­


    Unlike The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Paratu, who won their independence amidst blood and fire, the sovereignty of Monta and Varn was not earned by themselves.


    No one knows what conditions Marshal Ned offered under the walls of Guidao City to King Richard IV, but the outcome was clear to all: the mad king withdrew his troops, and most of Monta Royal Territory and the Varn duchy were incorporated into the Federated Provinces¡¯ map, with no flags of the Fierce Sun Royal Family south of Sheltering Mountain ever since.


    However, as soon as the imperial troops withdrew, The Federated Provinces, Vineta, and Paratu nearly fell apart over the ¡°New Territory Disposition Plan.¡±


    The Federated Provinces demanded openly that Monta and Varn Territory should be merged into The Federated Provinces due to proximity¡ªalso a well-founded reason:

 Chapter 996: 52: Unbreakable Alliance_2

    Chapter 996: Chapter 52: Unbreakable Alliance_2


    The Federated Provinces hold the smallest territory; they paid the heaviest price in the war; fully entrusting the Sheltering Mountain range to The Federated Provinces¡¯ jurisdiction is even more conducive to the overall defensive planning against the Empire.


    Paratu firmly opposed the proposal of The Federated Provinces, suggesting that Varn Territory could be annexed by The Federated Provinces as it is nearby, on the condition that Monta Territory must be merged into Paratu.


    Neither bordering Monta nor Varn, Vineta could not accept either of the above proposals.


    Eventually, under the appeal of Marshal Ned, a compromise was reached: Monta Territory and Varn Territory would join the Alliance as independent republics, with the Alliance government responsible for guiding and supervising the establishment of the republican government and its initial operation, and neither of the two countries would have veto power over Alliance affairs.


    On the surface, the final plan appeared to be an acceptable outcome for all countries.


    However, the representatives who signed the agreement never imagined that in the end, it was The Federated Provinces that won everything.


    In the years following the Empire¡¯s withdrawal, the United Provincials infiltrated and took control of key departments within the Alliance, successfully turning the Alliance government into a puppet and mouthpiece for Guidao City.


    This manipulation eventually led to Paratu and Vineta leaving the Alliance in disgust, and the Alliance government was henceforth a name only, devoid of substance.


    But The Federated Provinces also extended their control over the government, deeply involving themselves in the political ecosystem construction of Monta and Varn, spreading their influence to every vein and pore of the two new republics.


    In this political game, it was still the more unscrupulous who took everything, and those with a greater sense of morality who lost everything.


    But in reality, the real loser was ¡°the permanent alliance of free republics¡±.


    After the grand vision of the great alliance dissolved into nothing, Marshal Ned passed away within a few years.


    And so it has been up until today.


    ¡­


    Winters, having spent nine years in a military academy, hardened by three years in the archipelago, the wilderness, and Paratu, had limited exposure to politics, but still possessed a basic understanding of the inner workings of the Alliance.


    At least during his time at the Military Academy, topics like [Paratu and Vineta¡¯s withdrawal from the Alliance government] ¨C a decision tantamount to capitulation when faced with an unwinnable game ¨C were frequently dragged into internal discussions for criticism, often igniting intense arguments.


    The reins of Monta government were held by the United Provinces Republic, so [the country of mountains intervening in the Paratu civil war] seemed inevitable in Winters¡¯ view.


    The Paratu military government and Kingsfort might have a fighting chance in an arm wrestling match, but if The Federated Provinces and Monta were to deploy troops simultaneously, the military government would have no hope of surviving the three-way siege.


    And the future of the Iron Peak County Military relied not only on their own efforts but was also influenced by the power plays of the various republics.


    [Those who do not focus on the big picture cannot even defend a corner of the chessboard.]


    It was precisely because he kept this saying in mind that Winters took the risk of infiltrating the mountainous nation, not just to purchase military equipment, but also to clarify the intentions of the Monta Republic ¡ª and it would be even better if he could deploy someone to regularly send back information.


    ¡­


    Therefore, the crux of the Monta issue lies in¡ª


    ¡°To what extent is the Monta National Affairs Committee prepared to intervene?¡± Winters asked Mr. Ed: ¡°Trade embargo? Political condemnation? Military confrontation?¡±


    The elderly gentleman shook his head gently: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ His Excellency Montaigne, may I ask a question?¡±


    ¡°Please, go ahead.¡±


    Mr. Ed asked slowly, ¡°Amidst the mountains, between the sky and the earth, does there exist a person named Monta Republic?¡±


    Winters understood what the elder was getting at and answered with a smile, ¡°Of course not, a country is a collective made up of thousands and thousands of people.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, like a trading company, the interests between partners aren¡¯t always aligned,¡± Mr. Ed gazed at Winters. ¡°For instance, some may think you are a prized asset, others believe it¡¯s essential to distance themselves from you as soon as possible, and there are those who have never made their position clear¡­ especially the most important one.¡± S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°What are your thoughts?¡± Winters asked courteously and formally.


    ¡°Me?¡± Elder Ed looked at Anna and said kindly, ¡°I¡¯m just lending a little help to our dear young lady here.¡±


    Anna nodded with gratitude and gently took Winters¡¯ hand, ¡°Mr. Ed is an old friend of my grandfather and was a comrade who moved to Vineta from Rhodes Island with him.¡±


    ¡°Time flies.¡± Elder Ed smiled with nostalgia and regret, ¡°But let¡¯s return to the topic of Monta. The interests of The Federated Provinces and those of Montans are not exactly aligned, nor are the interests of Monta¡¯s State Affairs Committee aligned with those of Kingsfort. The trade embargo policy alone has seen considerable discrepancies among various Montan states.¡±


    ¡°You mean to say there¡¯s still a chance?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is that a consensus has not been formed yet, and no one knows what the final outcome will be,¡± said Mr. Ed, gesturing to the mountains. ¡°Monta, with its vastly different customs from Vineta, as you saw on your journey here, is essentially a series of small settlements carved out by high mountains. Hence, the small Monta Republic has twenty-six states, with each state retaining a considerable degree of autonomy¡ªa structural organization that even the United Provincials couldn¡¯t change¡­¡±


    Winters patiently listened to the end and then posed a blunt question, ¡°According to the current power structure of the Monta Republic, to whom do the command rights of the Seventh [Mountain] Legion and the Eighth [Iron Wall] Legion belong?¡±


    Mr. Ed hesitated for a moment before replying, ¡°It should be the Army Committee.¡±


    Winters asked again, ¡°And whom does the Army Committee listen to?¡±


    The elder pondered for a moment and laughed helplessly, ¡°The intricacies of the military, I cannot fathom. Mr. Borso da Este should have clearer insights; you can ask the White Eagle later.¡±


    Winters let out a long sigh, ¡°If even you are not clear about it, then I have a rough idea what the situation is. It must be another historical issue¡­ on the surface, they follow the orders of the State Affairs Committee, but in reality, they heed no one.¡±


    Elder Ed didn¡¯t quite understand, and the other two looked puzzled as well, while Winters was still emotionally reflecting, ¡°Why can¡¯t the United Provincials teach something useful?¡±


    Mr. Ed coughed softly, bringing everyone¡¯s attention back, ¡°At present, the only way to find a channel to purchase agricultural tools would be to start with the divergent interests between Kingsfort and Monta¡¯s State Affairs Committee.¡±


    Winters quickly grasped the implied meaning, ¡°Are you suggesting that there is a possibility to bypass the embargo restrictions?¡±


    The elder spoke unhurriedly, ¡°If the Kingsfort Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild is willing to trade, there could be a thousand ways to circumvent the embargo; but if the Ironsmiths¡¯ Guild refuses to trade, a thousand methods to circumvent the embargo would be pointless.¡±


    ¡°What if instead of direct purchase of the finished products¡­¡± Winters asked deliberately, ¡°We were to exchange formulas, customize machinery, or hire craftsmen¡­ would that be feasible?¡±


    Weapons are consumables, prone to damage with usage; relying solely on purchase is not a long-term solution. Beyond procuring arms, Winters had a more pressing plan in mind¡ªbuying technology.


    Elder Ed was first surprised and then laughed heartily, a laugh filled with three parts appreciation and seven parts regret.


    He shook his head, earnestly advising, ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne, your vision is far-sighted, which is rare at your age. But I still advise you to focus on the materials you need most urgently, better not to mention any other demands.¡±


    ¡°May I ask¡­ why?¡±


    Mr. Ed did not specify, only smiling in reply, ¡°You will know when the time comes.¡±

 Chapter 997: 53 Golden Friendship

    Chapter 997: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship


    Although Carlo Aide was advancing in years, his decisive and brisk nature had not changed in the slightest.


    Having agreed on a visit to White Eagle and left two reliable servants to run errands and deliver messages, he did not linger any longer and took the initiative to bid farewell to Winters and Anna.


    The silver-trimmed black carriage rolled out of the village, and Caman, who had been playing the puppet all this time, coldly asked Winters: ¡°Lies, deceit, and conspiracies¡­ You dragged me here to witness all this, do you intend to confess and repent? Or is it simply to waste my time?¡±


    ¡°Neither,¡± Winters replied immediately, he solemnly declared: ¡°I asked you to join me in receiving guests because there is a friendship between us, as precious as gold.¡±


    Anna ashamedly looked towards the distant mountains, pretending she had heard nothing.


    ¡°Your Excellency Montaigne,¡± Caman put on a ceremonial smile: ¡°You really aren¡¯t embarrassed in the least when you speak! That¡¯s so typical of you.¡±


    Winters nodded in thanks, completely immune to such attacks.


    Caman humphed lightly, lifting his cup to sip some ice water.


    Next was Winters¡¯ turn; he also picked up his cup and asked unhurriedly: ¡°I¡¯m curious too, if you dislike eavesdropping, why not simply make an excuse to slip away?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of¡­¡± Caman stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Anna¡¯s back, he swallowed back what he was about to say.


    Victorious, Winters left his chair, stretching heartily, his spine popping with a series of muffled crackles due to long sitting.


    Winters exhaled comfortably. He looked towards Anna and asked with a smile, ¡°Was the sunrise beautiful?¡±


    ¡°It was stunning,¡± Anna answered softly.


    ¡°Come on, Mr. Caman, let¡¯s go enjoy it too.¡± As he passed by Caman, Winters patted his shoulder: ¡°Even though we missed the sunrise, taking a walk isn¡¯t bad either.¡±


    Caman remained motionless, continuing to savor his ice water.


    The devout Priest of Wolf Town had wasted an entire morning, even missing the morning prayers, fuming silently, not in the mood to pay any attention to Winters.


    After walking some distance, Winters whistled, and two wolfhounds immediately dashed towards him like arrows.


    Seeing the two wolfhounds frolicking and spinning around Winters, Caman was slightly startled. He then stood up, nodded to Anna, and hurriedly followed them.


    ¡­


    The mountain looks close when you gaze at it from afar, but Winters had walked for a whole hour and still found himself halfway up.


    The human village in the center of the valley had become so small it could fit into a portrait frame, while the mountain peak had already disappeared due to the slope¡¯s curvature.


    The air was thin at high altitudes, and Winters felt tired, so he stopped climbing further. He found a flat patch of grass nearby and sat down slowly.


    The moment his bottom touched the ground, Winters couldn¡¯t help but sigh in contentment. He slapped his sore calves and called to Caman, ¡°Let¡¯s not go any further, let¡¯s rest here for a while.¡±


    ¡°Is that it? You¡¯re done?¡± Caman¡¯s cheeks were slightly flushed, but his breathing was still steady.


    ¡°Stop with the pretenses, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯re not tired,¡± Winters said, patting the empty space beside him: ¡°Sit down and take a break, we¡¯ll head back once we¡¯ve rested enough.¡±


    Caman was non-committal. He walked directly next to Winters, but instead of sitting, he stood with knees propped, slowly adjusting his breathing rhythm.


    The two wolfhounds that had followed Winters up the mountain were also exhausted. The two large dogs lay beside Winters, tongues lolling wetly, panting heavily and still. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The cool air of the late winter was invigorating; Winters leaned comfortably against the wolfhounds, alternately rubbing the heads and chins of the two dogs.


    Suddenly, Winters sighed deeply.


    After his sigh, he joked to Caman: ¡°If not for seeing it with my own eyes, I couldn¡¯t imagine there are people in this world who live surrounded by mountains from birth to death¡ªopening their eyes every day to only see mountains.¡±


    Caman asked indifferently, ¡°What, have you never seen mountains before?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about having ¡®seen mountains¡¯. [Seeing with your own eyes] and [hearing about] are different,¡± Winters explained with a smile, choosing his words: ¡°I mean, from the time I was born until I became an adult, wherever I lived, as long as you walked for an hour, you could always see the ocean.¡±


    ¡°And after you became an adult?¡±


    ¡°After I became an adult?¡± Winters self-deprecated: ¡°After that, I was exiled to Paratu, wasn¡¯t I?¡±


    Touched by Winters¡¯ sincerity, Caman also couldn¡¯t help but sigh.


    He sat down next to Winters and narrated softly:


    ¡°Montan people would probably find it difficult to imagine a world where ¡®an hour¡¯s walk leads to the ocean¡¯. I¡¯ve seen some followers who have never left their parishes all their lives. For them, the world consists of their homes, farmlands, markets, and churches. Life is so meager that they need the existence of heaven, and heaven must exist.¡±


    After Caman¡¯s remarks, both fell into silence.


    Sitting quietly for a while, Winters asked, ¡°By the way, have you ever seen the ocean?¡±


    Caman was about to answer when he suddenly stopped.


    A moment later, he hesitantly said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it¡­¡±


    But he quickly added, ¡°But I know what the ocean looks like.¡±


    Winters chuckled, speechless: ¡°You¡¯ve never seen the ocean, yet you know what it ¡®looks like¡¯. How do you know? Did an angel reveal it to you in a dream?¡±


    ¡°Through books, paintings, and descriptions from others,¡± Caman defended himself: ¡°I don¡¯t need to see the ocean with my own eyes to know what it looks like.¡±

 Chapter 998: 53 Golden Friendship_2

    Chapter 998: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship_2


    ¡°What did I just say? Seeing with one¡¯s own eyes is different from hearing from others.¡± Winters patted Caman¡¯s shoulder with pity: ¡°Given the opportunity, I¡¯ll take you to see the ocean yourself. But¡­ didn¡¯t you take a sea vessel to Paratu? Didn¡¯t you first dock at Inner Sea before entering Paratu?¡±


    ¡°I traveled overland, through Monta to reach Paratu.¡± Caman explained helplessly: ¡°The land route is slower, but it¡¯s much safer than taking a ship, so I try to avoid sailing whenever I can.¡±


    ¡°Before coming to Paratu? You had never seen the ocean before then either.¡±


    ¡°As soon as I was old enough to remember, my sister handed me over to the clergy, and I¡¯ve lived in Saint Michael¡¯s Monastery since I was young. How could I have possibly seen the ocean? The Monastery had only stone walls, corridors, tunnels, prayer rooms, a library, and the Altar of Divine Grace¡­¡±


    Without any warning, Caman¡¯s voice abruptly stopped.


    Listening with keen interest, Winters didn¡¯t understand and looked at Caman enquiringly.


    Realizing his slip of the tongue, Caman abruptly stood up, staring intently at Winters, with his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.


    ¡°I thought¡­ we were friends.¡± Caman said through gritted teeth.


    Winters had already sensed Caman¡¯s change; the Caman before him was no longer the cold outside, warm inside priest of Wolf Town, but rather a wound-up fierce beast, ready to pounce.


    Two wolfhounds bristled at their necks, flanking Winters on both sides, baring their teeth at Caman.


    But the wolfhounds had their tails tucked between their hind legs, their chests nearly touching the ground, and they dared not make any barking noise¡ªthis was the posture of the weak, as the spiritual wolfhounds knew that the erect beast before them was far more dangerous than they were.


    Winters¡¯ instincts were also sounding a wild alarm, his intuition telling him that any slight movement could provoke Caman to lose control.


    ¡°We are friends.¡± Winters said in a calm tone, trying not to agitate Caman.


    ¡°Friends? Is this how you treat a friend? With deception? Trickery? Schemes?¡± Caman¡¯s chest was heaving with a fury he had never felt before, his eyes nearly blazing with tangible flames. At that moment, when he believed he had a true friendship with Winters, he encountered what he saw as a vile ¡°betrayal.¡± S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Winters understood Caman¡¯s thinking: ¡°You think¡­ I was trying to trick information out of you.¡±


    Caman¡¯s body was tense, staring hard at Winters without saying a word.


    A vow of silence, he had broken the absolutely unbreakable vow of silence. An indescribable loathing swelled within him; he detested himself for breaking the vow, even more so due to Winters¡¯ ¡°betrayal¡± fueling his uncontainable anger.


    Winters stood up, meeting Caman¡¯s gaze squarely: ¡°I indeed hoped to learn about the Divine Arts through you, but only if you were willing to provide help. In our recent conversation, I had no intention of extracting information, nor did I use any lures or deceit. I was just chatting with you, asking questions out of curiosity, not about the Divine Arts¡­¡±


    As he spoke, Winters realized he had fallen into a quandary: he had never intended to trick Caman into revealing secrets¡ªCaman hadn¡¯t shared anything significant¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t prove it.


    Winters didn¡¯t want to fight Caman; a battle between Spellcasters was like using a sledgehammer to crack eggs; at least Winters knew no spells for non-lethal combat.


    He needed to de-escalate the situation first, at least so that Caman would be willing to hear his explanation.


    So Winters sat back down, adopting a completely unguarded posture: ¡°There were actually two reasons I asked you to hike with me.¡±


    Winters glanced down at the village in the valley, decisively avoiding eye contact with Caman¡ªeye contact could also provoke a sense of threat.


    ¡°The first thing is to say thanks. I didn¡¯t drag you to meet Mr. Carlo Aide for no reason.¡± Winters said with a bitter smile, calmly explaining:


    ¡°Carlo Aide is a partner at Navarre Commerce, and I was worried he might convey Madame Navarre¡¯s attitude, which is not very friendly. But she has a sore spot¡ªsecrecy. Madame Navarre doesn¡¯t wish for more people to know about my relationship with Anna.¡±


    Caman gave no response¡ªwhich was a good sign to Winters.


    Winters continued: ¡°That¡¯s why I needed an absolutely trustworthy third party to be present. If there¡¯s an ¡®outsider¡¯ present, Madame Navarre¡¯s messenger would be cautious; and if the ¡®outsider¡¯ is also a clergyman, even if Madame Navarre herself came, she wouldn¡¯t be overly aggressive. Just in case, I also had a final contingency plan¡ªto have you officiate at mine and Anna¡¯s immediate wedding. So, your presence was crucial for me to face Madame Navarre¡¯s envoy without future troubles.¡±


    ¡°Of course, Mr. Ed¡¯s unexpected tolerance¡­ those are all details for later.¡± Winters glanced at Caman: ¡°All these reasons, I can¡¯t discuss in front of Anna, nor in the camp. That¡¯s why I had to express my gratitude to you alone, in a setting with just you and me.¡±


    Winters nodded his head in a greeting: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    The wind surged into the valley, fluttering through the coniferous forest on the hillside, with the rustling sound of swaying branches echoing among the mountains.


    The wind also passed between Winters and Caman, caressing Caman¡¯s cheek, ruffling Winters¡¯ hair, and departed with a laugh.


    ¡°The second matter.¡± Caman¡¯s voice was hoarse.


    ¡°The second thing is even simpler.¡± Winters stretched out his arm, opened his hand, and the peculiar bone whistle fell down: ¡°The way the [Spirit Talkers] from the Shaman Hurd command beasts.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me for free?¡± Caman asked sarcastically: ¡°Not making a trade? Not exchanging secrets for secrets?¡±

 Chapter 999: 53 Golden Friendship_3

    Chapter 999: Chapter 53 Golden Friendship_3


    ¡°The principle is actually quite simple, it¡¯s just buried beneath Hurd¡¯s complex rituals and rules.¡± Winters twirled a bone whistle around his fingertip: ¡°Just ask, and I¡¯ll tell you.¡±


    Caman gritted his teeth: ¡°Ask?¡±


    ¡°Yes! You just need to ask. ¡®Mr. Montaigne, how does a beast speaker drive wild beasts?¡¯ Is it that hard to say? If you do not seek knowledge, do you expect it to come knocking at your door?¡± Winters was resolute: ¡°If you don¡¯t ask, then I won¡¯t reveal a single word. I won¡¯t force you to divulge the secrets of the Divine Arts, and I hope you can do the same.¡±


    Caman roared like thunder: ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about the magic of heretics!¡±


    Winters responded sharply: ¡°That¡¯s your concern!¡±


    The two seemed to clash fiercely, but actually, Caman¡¯s attitude was unconsciously softening.


    Another bout of silence ensued.


    ¡°According to¡­¡± Caman, his voice hoarse, struggled to say: ¡°I should eliminate you right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Over a few casual remarks? That would be an injustice since I haven¡¯t heard anything useful.¡± Winters met Caman¡¯s gaze: ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t speak in my own defense.¡±


    ¡°Under the Lord¡¯s watchful eyes, no one can hide.¡± Caman coldly sneered: ¡°You think unbelievers can escape judgment?¡±


    ¡°Are you suggesting¡­¡± Winters had a sudden epiphany, ecstatically embracing Caman: ¡°Mind reading? Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? There are Divine Arts of this kind? What are you waiting for? Let¡¯s start right now!¡±


    Caman stood dumbfounded as if punched hard.


    ¡­


    [At dusk, in the camp]


    The sun was about to set, but the camp was still lively.


    Pierre and Berlion were repainting the wagon borrowed from Navarre Commerce, while others were preparing for tomorrow¡¯s trip into the city.


    As for Winters himself¡­ he was nervously lying on a bench, waiting to be ¡°slaughtered.¡±


    To be honest, even when facing a cavalry charge, he had never felt as scared as he did at this moment.


    Anna, carrying a lantern, came over and saw Winters nervously shifting his body, chiding: ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to move.¡± Winters miserably pleaded: ¡°Darling, please let me do it myself, I¡­¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Anna sat beside Winters, unfolding a roll of leather containing four razors shimmering coldly under the lamplight: ¡°How could you possibly shave as cleanly as I can? Besides, I need more practice to get even better.¡±


    ¡°I hate to see you bother with these trifles. Let me do it myself, or let Xial help, please?¡± Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°How many times can I manage your beard?¡± Anna brought over a basin of water, softly sighing.


    Anna¡¯s fingertips brushed Winters¡¯ ears and cheeks, and she said melancholically: ¡°It¡¯s only ever when we are traveling. Mrs. Mitchell mentioned, some men are not meant for women. So, I don¡¯t want to miss a second, a moment of memories.¡±


    Winters immediately stopped talking.


    Cold soapy water ran over his jaw, followed by even colder razor blades against his skin.


    Cold sweat immediately broke out on Winters¡¯ forehead and back. He dared not only to move but even to speak, fearing a slip of the razor¡­


    ¡°This afternoon when you and Father Caman returned.¡± Anna had the leisure to chat: ¡°Why did he look so despondent?¡±


    Winters, trying as much as possible to stay still, uttered a weak grunt.


    The razor blade scraped against the skin, making a rasping sound.


    Anna asked, ¡°How did you bully him this time?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± Winters hummed: ¡°Focus, please.¡±


    Anna flicked Winters¡¯ forehead: ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±


    After shaving one side, Anna moved to the other, continuing with the razor: ¡°You trust Father Caman so much, but why do you always argue?¡±


    Winters seriously pondered this question, he initially wanted to say, ¡°Because Caman is a very difficult person and he never misses any opportunity to mock me.¡±


    But the answer he finally gave was: ¡°(sigh) Who makes us friends?¡±

 Chapter 1000: 54 Steel Fortress

    Chapter 1000: Chapter 54 Steel Fortress


    [Monta Republic, Solingen State, Steel Fortress City]


    The coldest weeks of winter have passed, and the weather is gradually warming up.


    On sunny noons, the snow on the mountains melts under the glare of the sun. At night, when the temperature drops, the melted water freezes again, eventually forming a layer of crystal-clear ice crust on the surface of the snow.


    The melting snow trickles beneath the ice crust, eventually flowing into Rose Lake in numerous streams. Occasionally, there are loud cracks echoing from the mountains as large sheets of ice break apart.


    In three days, the Steel Fortress Ironsmith Guild will elect the next executive committee.


    The employees of the city hall are busily preparing the assembly hall and sweeping the streets. Shopkeepers along the streets are also vigorously cleaning their storefronts, hoping to make extra business from the upcoming election day festivities.


    Some say that Steel Fortress is a city of blacksmiths.


    In fact, Steel Fortress is a city ¡°belonging to¡± blacksmiths.


    Among all the working-age citizens of Steel Fortress¡ªregardless of gender¡ªnearly one-sixth are directly involved in mining, smelting, and metalworking, with another third being their family members.


    The remaining half of the city¡¯s population mainly earn their living by providing services to the aforementioned groups.


    Everything in Steel Fortress revolves around blacksmiths, and the organization that binds all the blacksmiths is the Ironsmith Guild.


    Therefore, the executive members of the Ironsmith Guild become the executive members of the District Guild Alliance;


    The executive members of the District Guild Alliance, in turn, become the executive members of the Steel Fortress City Hall;


    The executive members of the Steel Fortress City Hall, further become the executive members of the Solingen State Parliament.


    There is neither written nor customary law stating: ¡°The executive members of the Steel Fortress Ironsmith Guild automatically become the executive members of the Solingen State Parliament.¡± Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But nobody has ever objected to this process; everything happens logically and naturally.


    Yet, who outside the process could imagine that the internal election of a guild within a district of a city, which is part of an autonomous state, could decide who wields considerable power over the state, or even who calls the shots within the Republic?


    ¡­


    As the streets of Steel Fortress are fraught with the tense atmosphere of the upcoming election day, a young couple from the Empire checked into the best hotel by the Rose Lake.


    The full name given by the male guest upon registration was [Enrique, Baron of Granashi], so the waitstaff at the hotel addressed them as [Lord Granashi] and [Lady Granashi].


    The baronial couple generously rented a detached two-story building by the lake, along with a private stable.


    Although they did not travel with many attendants, it took a full three carriages just to transport their luggage. Tasks such as moving luggage and feeding the horses were exclusively handled by their own servants, without resorting to the help of the hotel staff, exhibiting the utmost nobility.


    [Enrique and Catherine of Granashi] themselves conversed only in the ancient tongue, not uttering a single word of the common language, leaving the waitstaff utterly confused and disoriented.


    The hotel supervisor cursed the ¡°newlywed fools of the decaying Empire¡± countless times in his heart, yet maintained a constant apologetic smile on his face.


    Just as the overwhelmed supervisor was urgently seeking a translator, he saw the impatient baron casually gesturing him over.


    Following that, a handsome man clad in a priest¡¯s robe, presumably the baron¡¯s private chaplain, stepped forward and translated the baron¡¯s instructions into the common language¡ªalbeit with a slightly awkward expression.


    The hotel supervisor was shocked; he had dealt with nobility before but had never seen ¡°a noble who wielded a clergyman as if he were a servant.¡±


    For a moment, the supervisor even empathized with the pitiful priest before him, fully understanding the struggle and regret in his eyes.


    After settling Lord Granashi¡¯s party, the supervisor gathered all the waitstaff and patiently advised, ¡°Pay extra attention, this Lord Granashi appears to have a significant background.¡±


    ¡°Significant? How significant can it be?¡± a younger waiter asked curiously.


    ¡°Why the nosy questions?¡± The supervisor glared fiercely, causing the young waiter to shudder: ¡°Don¡¯t ask what you shouldn¡¯t! What, got nothing to do? Go fill up the water troughs in the stable. The rest of you, disperse.¡±


    Chastised, the young waiter sniffled as he went to fetch the water. The others also quietly dispersed.


    An elderly waiter with a tall, slim figure and gray hair intentionally lingered until the end. When only he and the supervisor remained, he smirked and asked, ¡°How significant can he be? Isn¡¯t he just a dime-a-dozen young baron? Look at his arrogant self!¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡± The supervisor¡¯s eyes narrowed: ¡°One day, your tongue is going to get you in trouble!¡±


    ¡°Yes, my mistake.¡± The tall, gray-haired waiter gestured as though zipping his lips: ¡°But really, what¡¯s the deal with that guy?¡±


    The gray-haired tall waiter was Roger, the supervisor¡¯s nephew, and before his trustworthy subordinate and relative, the supervisor no longer held back.


    ¡°In my opinion,¡± the supervisor mused, ¡°he¡¯s either the heir to some marquis or the illegitimate son of a duke. It wouldn¡¯t be far off.¡±


    Roger was puzzled, listening attentively for the supervisor to continue.


    The supervisor mused: ¡°Big shots¡­ I¡¯ve seen my fair share. Although Baron Granashi is young, when I place him among those lords in my mind, he doesn¡¯t seem out of place at all.¡±


    Roger nodded on the surface but internally scoffed at his uncle¡¯s assessment.


    The supervisor saw through his nephew¡¯s thoughts at a glance. Frowning, he gestured towards the lakefront building: ¡°You didn¡¯t notice anything at all?¡±

 Chapter 1001: 54 Steel Fortress_2

    Chapter 1001: Chapter 54 Steel Fortress_2


    ¡°Find out anything?¡± Roger asked, clueless.


    ¡°Baron Granashi¡¯s guards.¡± The supervisor lowered his voice, ¡°They are all Dusacks!¡±


    Roger was shocked: ¡°But they?¡±


    ¡°What about them? Dusacks who don¡¯t wear uniforms, don¡¯t wear earrings, don¡¯t have forehead hair, and don¡¯t carry sabers aren¡¯t Dusacks anymore? Their accent, the way they ride horses¡­the bow-leggedness, I could tell their origin with my eyes closed. Didn¡¯t you notice anything?¡± The supervisor said reproachfully, ¡°If there weren¡¯t someone more powerful behind him, where would a minor Baron get so many elite Dusack guards?¡±


    ¡­


    All nobles of the Empire take pride in having Dusack guards.


    Although often criticized for loose military discipline and debaucherous lifestyle, Dusacks are ¡®freemen¡¯ who owe allegiance directly to the Emperor, a status that sets them apart from the noble class.


    Since Emperor Charles assigned [Earls] to govern local territories, the imperial feudal system has evolved to this day, where the role of Dusacks is similar to that of [Barons]. Both derive their power from the Emperor, with the difference being one is a noble, and the other is not.


    Only the Emperor can change the personal dependency of Dusacks. Without an imperial decree, even royal princes do not command the service of Dusacks.


    Hence, being granted Dusack guards signifies the Emperor¡¯s favor, a symbol of power and status.


    As for Baron Granashi¡­ a young noble barely in his twenties, he clearly didn¡¯t qualify yet for the honor of receiving Imperial Guards.


    ¡­


    After receiving a stern talking-to from the supervisor, the hotel staff unconsciously became much more attentive towards the Baron. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rumors also travelled fast.


    It started when a guest saw the carriage pass by and casually inquired with a waiter. Soon, various rumors about the Baron became the latest topic among the hotel guests.


    Baron Granashi and his wife only arrived at Steel Fort at noon, and before evening fell, some well-informed individuals in town already knew a wealthy noble from the Empire had arrived.


    The so-called well-informed individuals included but were not limited to: certain respectable ladies from local families, other hotel or restaurant operators, merchants involved in the ironware trade, and very active local social groups in Steel Fort.


    Among them, some excitedly shared rumors, some felt jealous, some saw the last straw before bankruptcy, some smelled the scent of easy prey.


    But there was one person, whose reaction to the rumors was entirely different from everyone else in Steel Fort, because¡­


    because he was not from Steel Fort, nor was he Montan.


    ¡­


    [Steel Fort, Bay District, Lexi Brothers Trading Company]


    ¡°¡­ The Baron and his wife, eight guards, and one priest. Nine people in total, they booked an entire standalone.¡± The tall thin man with gray-white hair stood at the table, counting on his fingers pensively, ¡°Oh right, they used five carriages!¡±


    The dark-faced man sitting behind the desk, seemingly uninterested, scribbled a few notes in a ledger-like notebook.


    The tall thin gray-haired man with an expression of wringing out his brains as if he could not squeeze anything more, said sheepishly, ¡°That¡¯s all I know.¡±


    The dark-faced man, without lifting his head, casually dipped his quill into the ink bottle, picked up a bit of sand and sprinkled it over the paper, and said, ¡°You¡¯ve done well, Roger.¡±


    The tall and thin gray-haired man¡ªthe waiter named Roger from the hotel where Baron Granashi stayed¡ªbowed deferentially, showing none of the impatience he had when facing his uncle.


    But his eyes were stealthily glancing at the purse the dark-faced man placed on the table.


    Noticing Roger¡¯s gaze, the dark-faced man grinned, opened the purse, and tossed Roger a silver coin, ¡°Keep being smart, and let me know whatever news you hear. If a deal is made, you will get a share too.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± Roger flashed a habitually sycophantic smile, ¡°Leave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead.¡± The dark-faced man waved his hand.


    Roger walked backwards towards the door.


    ¡­


    Ironware from Steel Fort not only circulated within the Alliance but was also largely exported to the Empire, with many bulk buyers maintaining offices or branches in Steel Fort.


    While all parties do not actively reveal their identities, everyone is well aware of each other¡¯s backgrounds.


    For instance, [John H. Shylock Trading Company]. Despite having a peculiar name that could not be associated with the Empire, [John H. Shylock Trading Company] is actually the representative of the [Imperial Royal Charter Commerce Committee] in the Monta Republic.


    And the [Imperial Royal Charter Commerce Committee] is the openly acknowledged purse and glove of the Oath Breaker.


    Make no mistake, every move of [John H. Shylock Trading Company] is closely watched ¡ª using commerce to gather information is a common tactic, and merchants are natural spies.


    Thus, most of the time, [John H. Shylock Trading Company] conducts legitimate business, occasionally making small maneuvers to maintain its presence.


    The real eyes and ears of the [Empire Security Committee], known as the ¡°Emperor¡¯s Hand¡±, in Steel Fort is the inconspicuous [Lexi Brothers Trading Company].


    Even [Lexi Brothers Trading Company] adopts a low-profile approach, passively collecting information through public channels ¡ª just like everyone else.


    ¡­


    The dark-faced man never gave Roger specific instructions, only asking him to report any ¡°noteworthy news¡± to him in a timely manner.


    This kind of activity is common among many business establishments and local influencers, and does not attract undue attention.

 Chapter 1002: 54 Steel Fortress_3

    Chapter 1002: Chapter 54 Steel Fortress_3


    Roger¡¯s news this time isn¡¯t worth a silver coin, but sometimes it¡¯s necessary to spend money on useless rumors when gathering intelligence.


    ¡°White-haired¡± Roger is quite a greedy guy and is in a very good position; the dark-faced man doesn¡¯t mind spending a bit of money to keep him on the hook.


    It was getting late, and the dark-faced man yawned, planning to close up shop and rest.


    Suddenly, Roger, who had already stepped outside, seemed to remember something, rushed back frantically in front of the dark-faced man: ¡°Oh! Mr. Black! All of Baron Granashi¡¯s guards are Dusacks.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± The dark-faced man was initially stunned, then he flipped open his notebook, glanced at it, and with arms crossed, smiling, he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t he a baron?¡±


    Roger didn¡¯t answer, just looked eagerly at the money pouch on the dark-faced man¡¯s table.


    The dark-faced man felt a surge of annoyance, realizing he had been played.


    But still, he grinned and opened the money pouch, tossing another silver coin to Roger: ¡°Can you talk now?¡±


    Roger thanked him profusely, carefully pocketing the silver coin: ¡°Yes, he is a baron, or at least he claims to be¡­ That¡¯s why I thought he was someone important, otherwise how could a minor baron have Dusacks as guards?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his surname?¡± the dark-haired man struggled to make out his own scribbled handwriting.


    ¡°De Granashi.¡±


    ¡°How many guards does he have?¡±


    ¡°Eight.¡±


    ¡°All Dusacks?¡±


    ¡°All of them.¡±


    ¡°¡­And a personal priest?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Is he very wealthy?¡±


    ¡°Like a tycoon.¡±


    ¡°How old is he?¡±


    ¡°Just over twenty.¡±


    ¡°Just over twenty?¡± the dark-faced man closed his notebook, leaned back in his chair, and asked with a smile: ¡°Did he ever say what he came to Steel Fortress for? [Grand Tour]?¡±


    ¡°Grand¡ªoil?¡± Roger was confused: ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    The dark-faced man briefly explained.


    ¡­


    The Grand Tour has become a new fashion trend in recent years.


    Despite the brutal purges at the beginning of the current Emperor¡¯s reign, his dedicated governance afterward has been evident to all. The Empire is increasingly prosperous, and the purses of nobles, large and small, are gradually filling up.


    With more money, there are more ways to spend it.


    Because the Emperor won the civil war, opposed private wars, and suppressed bandits, there has been no conflict within the Empire for many years, making long-distance travel no longer a life-threatening matter.


    Some noble families take out money to allow their offspring who have completed their studies to make a lengthy journey; while enjoying the pleasures of life, they also get a glimpse of the world.


    With the growing popularity of this new trend, many wealthy families without noble status have also joined in. Some young people, not satisfied with a month or two of long-distance travel, begin to try touring around the Empire, even venturing into territories of southern rebels.


    If Baron Granashi is just over twenty, it¡¯s the perfect age for the Grand Tour. It¡¯s reasonable for the family elders to not trust a young person to spend money frivolously alone and to dispatch several guards to protect him.


    ¡­


    After hearing this, Roger scratched his head: ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know. But¡­ but Baron Granashi also brought his wife? Can you bring your wife on a Grand Tour?¡±


    ¡°Uh.¡± The dark-faced man chuckled drily a few times: ¡°It surely can¡¯t be a honeymoon, right?¡±


    ¡°Would they come to Monta for a honeymoon?¡± Roger, tugging at clumps of his gray-white hair, said anxiously: ¡°It¡¯s all mountains, what¡¯s there to see?¡±


    ¡°Maybe they just love mountain scenery? Who knows what Empire¡¯s nobles like?¡± The dark-faced man waved his hand, indicating Roger to leave: ¡°Keep an eye on that baron for me, if he¡¯s indulging in pleasures, you needn¡¯t bother. But if he makes contact with merchants, smiths, or any other local people, come tell me.¡±


    The dark-faced man grinned: ¡°If you can make business with him, I¡¯ll also give you a share.¡±


    Roger was once again profusely thankful, retreating as he left.


    After the white-haired boy left, the dark-faced man disgustedly spit, then tapped the desk bell.


    Several employees walked into the room.


    ¡°Lock up, it¡¯s time to rest,¡± the dark-faced man said.


    The employees nodded and left.


    The dark-faced man also prepared to leave, putting on his coat and walking to the door, but he couldn¡¯t help returning to his seat, spreading out his notebook and re-reading the recorded content.


    ¡­


    Nominally, the Security Committee is responsible for the defense and espionage work of the Empire.


    But when the will of the Emperor needs to be executed and the capabilities of the Empire¡¯s Security Committee are insufficient, the Oath Breaker will employ another hand. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A more powerful, more invisible, more terrifying hand.


    Inside the Empire Security Committee, people refer to the Oath Breaker¡¯s other hand as ¡°The Envoy.¡±


    If the Empire Security Committee represents the interests of the Empire, then the Envoy represents the will of the Emperor.


    The Envoy could be one person, several people, or even a group. No one knows how the Envoy operates, only that they can mobilize vast amounts of money, authority, and force¡ªonly to fulfill their mission.


    Therefore, there are complaints, the Envoy is not carrying out the Emperor¡¯s orders; the Envoy is exercising the Emperor¡¯s authority.


    And at this moment, in Steel Fortress, there is such an ¡°Envoy.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°Should I report this matter to the Envoy?¡± the dark-faced man hesitated.

 Chapter 1003: 55 Throwing a Stone to Ask the Way

    Chapter 1003: Chapter 55 Throwing a Stone to Ask the Way


    [Early Morning]


    [Steel Fortress, South Bank District, Rose Lake]


    When Vashka brought Borso da Este¡¯s servant to meet Winters, Baron Granashi and his personal priest were practicing by the lake in the morning.


    The so-called morning practice involved the priest unhappily throwing stones into the lake while the baron kept trying to shoot small pebbles into the air to shatter the thrown stones.


    During his travels in the Monta Republic, Winters enjoyed some rare leisure time.


    He was not only free from being constantly on alert but also had plenty of time to appreciate the scenery, investigate local conditions, draw maps, and explore regional cuisines.


    He even picked up his long-neglected spellcaster practice and had the energy to develop some new tricks.


    ¡­


    Had things gone as planned, Winters should have had such blissful days when he graduated from the Military Academy two years ago.


    Because each officer cadet, in the fourth term of enrollment at the Land Academy, would need to return to their place of origin for a year of practical internship.


    At that time, the apprentice officers from Vineta invariably chose to embark on a long journey by land back to their country.


    The young officer cadets would dress sharply and bond closely to visit famous cities, ancient ruins, and battlefields along the coast of the Inner Sea, reveling and making merry all the way home.


    This ceremony was known internally among the Vineta officer community as ¡°Victory Parade,¡± signifying that after enduring nine years of hardship at the military school, they had finally come into their own.


    It was also jokingly called ¡°the voyage of lost virginity,¡± because most Vineta officers lost their virginity on one of the nights during the Victory Parade¡­


    Every year during the Victory Parade, apprentice officers would cause all kinds of trouble. However, the high command of the Vineta military always turned a blind eye as long as no lives were endangered, often helping clean up the mess.


    Unfortunately, when it was Winters¡¯ turn for the ¡°parade,¡± the Vineta apprentice officers unprecedentedly took a ship home. He and his peers not only missed out on the joy of indulging themselves, but were also intercepted by pirates halfway.


    This journey from Paratu to Steel Fortress happened to inadvertently make up for that missed opportunity from two years ago.


    ¡­


    At this thought, Winters sighed inwardly.


    The pebbles on the shore varied in size and shape, not ideal for casting the Arrow Flying Spell, making it difficult to control their flight trajectory.


    As Winters¡¯ attention slightly drifted, the pebbles he shot went off course instantly.


    Caman seemed unaware of the discrepancy, continuing to throw goose egg-sized rocks into the lake. His teeth-gritted expression seemed as if he was not aiming at the ice on the lake but at Winters¡¯ face¡­


    Although the priest didn¡¯t have a burly figure and his demeanor was gentle, his arms and abdominal muscles were strong, and his movements smooth.


    He swung his arm and twisted his waist, seemingly effortlessly, and the stone traced a beautiful arc before landing on the distant ice surface.


    Winters estimated the distance between Caman and where the stone landed to be at least thirty-five meters. He picked up a stone and weighed it, feeling he probably could not throw as far as Caman.


    ¡°Why! Must it be me!¡± Caman grumbled as he threw stones at the ice surface: ¡°Accompanying you in throwing stones!¡±


    Winters shot out pebbles leisurely: ¡°If we asked someone else to help, wouldn¡¯t it reveal my identity?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t reveal if I do it?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a priest, I¡¯m a spellcaster, we can keep each other¡¯s secrets,¡± Winters said lightly: ¡°And you know all about my capabilities.¡±


    ¡°Less nonsense!¡± Caman, provoked, threw the stones with three times more force: ¡°Your apprentices, Xial, Pierre, and your other subordinates, they can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°Who would have them, when they are not here? Xial and Heinrich are protecting Berlion, Pierre is on stand-by outside the city.¡± Winters innocently shrugged: ¡°Among the rest, I trust you the most. I practice spells, you vent your feelings, benefits for both, it¡¯s a win-win.¡± S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡°You perfected a spell and still annoyed me,¡± Caman retorted: ¡°Win-win? You mean you win twice?¡±


    ¡°You finally started to show a sense of humor, Mr. Priest Caman,¡± Winters said with a smile: ¡°Truly delightful.¡±


    Suddenly, the wolf-dogs by their side alertly raised their heads and growled low towards Winters¡¯ back.


    Winters turned around and saw Vashka leading someone over.


    ¡°Quiet.¡± Winters commanded simply, and the two wolf-dogs immediately sat down obediently.


    Vashka brought Borso da Este¡¯s servant to Winters, and the liveried valet respectfully bowed and then presented an invitation with both hands.


    The invitation was embellished with gold-embossed patterns, and inside it had a section of elegant script:


    [Dear Sir or Madam, if you have no better diversions in mind and are not worried about being bored spending an evening with me, please do not hesitate to grace my residence tonight, where you will be most welcome]


    The signature read ¡°Borso da Este,¡± and there was a ¡°Spreading Eagle¡± watermark on the paper.


    Winters nodded, and Vashka motioned to take the valet away. However, the valet¡¯s movements were somewhat sluggish.


    ¡°[Old tongue] Wait.¡± Winters called out to the duo, handed the messenger three Gold Coins, and spoke a series of the old tongue.


    Standing by, Caman hesitated momentarily, and after a brief struggle, reluctantly translated: ¡°The Baron thanks His Excellency Este for the invitation and will surely attend.¡±


    The messenger thanked them repeatedly, satisfied, and left with Vashka.


    Once the two were far away, Winters took out the invitation again and inspected it carefully inside and out.


    ¡°Where did this invitation come from?¡± asked Caman.


    ¡°A gift from Mr. Ed.¡± Winters glanced over the text of the invitation: ¡°It seems they¡¯ve sent out many; there won¡¯t be a lack of guests at the soir¨¦e.¡±


    Caman nodded his head.


    Winters lightly sniffed the paper of the invitation and laughed, ¡°Scented with perfume, the White Eagle family truly is extravagant.¡±


    As he spoke, he tried to peel off the gold foil on the invitation cover, without success.


    ¡°Casually rewarding a runner with three Gold Coins.¡± Caman, without any reservation, mocked, ¡°Feeling the pinch now, are you?¡±


    Winters put away the invitation, resignedly saying, ¡°What Vasya gives has a number, what I give is another. Vasya is such a simpleton; if it were Pierre, he wouldn¡¯t need anyone¡¯s hint to get things done right.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you find yourself hypocritical, Mr. Montaigne?¡± Caman pointed towards the buildings by the lake, ¡°You¡¯ve gained so much Gold, moved into the best hotel in Steel Fortress, do you really need to pretend to care about three Gold Coins?¡±


    ¡°Living here is a necessity of status.¡± Winters remained unmoved, ¡°And I¡¯m not upset about the money; it¡¯s the waste that I regret.¡±


    Caman was noncommittal.


    ¡°The gold bars melted from the Sacrificial Gold Statue are all public property, you know it, you were a witness at the committee vote.¡± Winters was slightly indignant, ¡°Even if I do really regret it¡­ I¡¯m not using public funds for staying at the hotel; it¡¯s all my own money, why can¡¯t I feel regret?¡±


    ¡°Where do you get the money if not from public accounts?¡±


    ¡°Salary!¡± Winters without guilt, ¡°I haven¡¯t received my salary for over a year! Can¡¯t it be reimbursed?¡±


    After glaring at each other for a long while, Caman¡¯s attitude softened, half-seriously, half-jokingly praised, ¡°You really do separate public and private matters, His Excellency Montane.¡±


    Winters, feeling wronged, ¡°Separating public and private? I haven¡¯t even counted Anna¡¯s salary!¡±


    Caman fell deeply silent, then after a moment, surrendered saying, ¡°Mr. Morozov is not suitable, why not call Pierre back?¡±


    ¡°Then who would stay and lead the people outside the city? I only have a few capable assistants; they must be placed in the most suitable positions.¡± Winters wrapped an arm around Caman¡¯s shoulders, affectionately saying, ¡°That¡¯s why I need you to help me train them, dear Priest, I truly appreciate your willingness to translate.¡±


    Caman disgustedly knocked off Winters¡¯ arm, ¡°Why must you speak the old tongue? Is playing nobility amusing?¡±


    Winters answered defiantly, ¡°Playing nobility is boring, but if I spoke the common tongue, wouldn¡¯t my accent give it away?¡±


    ¡°Huh.¡± Caman sneered, ¡°You think your old tongue is very standard, do you?¡±


    Winters touched his nose, feeling a bit ashamed, ¡°Does my old tongue have an accent too?¡±


    Caman didn¡¯t answer, only kept sneering persistently.


    ¡°Regardless, as long as they don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Caman retorted, ¡°Then why is it you playing the noble, and I your personal Priest and translator, and not the other way around?!¡±


    ¡°Good idea!¡± Winters, as if finding a treasure, sincerely promised, ¡°Next time you play the Bishop, and I¡¯ll be your steward and manservant, you¡¯ll be satisfied for sure.¡±


    ¡°Next time?!¡± Caman was alarmed.


    ¡°I mean,¡± Winters hurriedly pacified, ¡°if there is a next time.¡±


    Caman stared at Winters, his shoulders jerked, and he forcibly split a stone in his hand into two halves.


    ¡°[Thou shalt not steal, nor deal deceitfully, nor lie one to another].[The liar, thou shalt surely destroy. He that sheddeth blood and uses deceit is abomination unto the Lord.]¡± Caman solemnly warned, ¡°Mr. Montaigne, lying also leads to Purgatory.¡±


    ¡°Only Purgatory?¡± Winters was a bit surprised, ¡°I thought you were going to say Hell¡­¡±


    Caman took a deep breath and threw both halves of the stone.


    Winters stopped joking, and both quietly ¡°shot at targets.¡±


    After a while, Caman grumbled, ¡°The Empire¡¯s nobility have their pedigrees officially registered; a quick check reveals the truth. Don¡¯t concoct a surname casually, it¡¯s better not to be overly conspicuous.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Caman threw a few more stones in silence.


    ¡°¡­What¡¯s the deal with the Beast Spirit Speaker?¡±


    Unlike his usually teasing manner towards Caman, Winters¡¯ movements did not stop as he casually replied, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you now.¡±